Post Vitam

Chapter 181

It honestly felt like Izuku had barely closed his eyes when he was being gently shaken to wake up. It didn't help matters that it was actually still dark outside. If it wasn't for the calm nature of everyone moving about groggily and stumbling to get dressed, Izuku would have thought one of his nightmares had come true and they were in the midst of an attack.

Once he was sure nothing horrible was currently happening Izuku joined the rest of the boys in getting dressed. It was a quiet affair with nobody rushing them on. This much like every morning since it had occurred brought a moment of thinking about Iida. He'd no doubt have them form some sort of orderly system to go brush teeth instead of the mad dash that had occurred when a number of them were finally dressed and no longer half asleep. Smiling sadly to himself, Izuku gathered his own toothbrush to join the fray.

Katsuki and Izuku were some of the last ones to join the breakfast table. That didn't bother Izuku much though. He got to walk with him without anybody interrupting them. Izuku has come to care deeply for Class A, but they rarely if ever leave him and Katsuki alone. Any alone time they have has to be spent in Katsuki's room, so something as simple as a lazy walk to breakfast was a small treat for him.

Something else that brought him high levels of joy was when Kota came rushing over to him as they sat down. The kid looked much less sour than the previous day and Izuku couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride in having some part of that. "Morning Kota" Izuku smiled at him.

Kota rocked on the balls of his feet and returned the smile which in no doubt filled everyone who saw it with a pleasant sense of warmth. "Morning Izuku. Auntie says you guys are going to be training today. Can I come and watch you?"

Izuku put a finger to his bottom lip as if he was thinking deeply about it. "Hmm... that depends." Izuku told him cryptically

Kota tilted his head at that looking a tad worried that Izuku might say no to him. "On?"

"Did you eat this morning?" Izuku asked, actually serious about that so he could go get the kid food if he hadn't.

Kota turned bright red at that and mumbled out a "I forgot" that Izuku barely managed to hear.

Izuku softly clapped his hands together... "Well we can't be having you pass out and miss all my cool tricks now can we?" Izuku said and then turned to Kirishima who along with most of the class was watching the exchange like Izuku had grown an extra head. "Kiri, be a lamb and go fetch another breakfast plate for me?"

Katsuki chuckled softly as he carried on buttering some toast. "Only you Izu..."

Kirishima had sprung into action immediately, nearly knocking the table over as he got up. Meanwhile Izuku had reached over and pulled Kota onto the bench next to him and slid his own untouched plate toward the kid. "Eat up kiddo. It doesn't have to be everything but at least something so I don't have to worry about you while you watch."

Kota's eyes lit up hearing that. "So I can watch you then?"

Izuku adjusted the cap he always seems to be wearing and smiled at him. "Definitely"

Just then Kirishima had returned and held out the plate of food for Izuku who in turn decided to tease his friend a bit more. "For me? Why thank you Kiri." Izuku said sweetly before pretending to look around and not seeing everyone watching the interaction with amused looks. "I'd watch out though if i were you... Kacchan can get very jealous, you know..." Katsuki joined in on the act and put on a fake angry face which turned the red themed boy quite white...

"We'll have to keep our love a secret Kiri..."

Kirishima stuttered looking between Izuku, Katsuki, the class and his own boyfriend. "i-i-I uhh... I can't do that." He seemed to gain some sort of strength from looking back at Kaminari. "I'm sorry, but I love Denki. I can't betray him."

Izuku wanted to melt right there at how sweet that was. The majority of the class seemed to share the sentiment if the amount of audible aww's were anything to go by.

In the end it was Kaminari who took pity on his boyfriend instead of just giggling along with the class after that. "Ei, he's joking... Do you honestly think he'd actually flirt like that with Blasty right next to him?" he sighed and walked over to him. "I love you too, you gullible musclehead. Let's eat before Eraser gets us to train without food."

Kirishima turned red again and muttered an "oh" as he took his boyfriend's hand and they returned to where they were sitting. Izuku started eating too and halfway through made sure he and Kirishima were okay. "Sorry if I took the joke too far there Kiri."

He shook his head and showed off those shark-like teeth. "No, it's fine. I'm kind of glad."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it was just the push I needed to tell Denki how I feel."

Izuku felt like a bit of an arse for forcing such an important moment in his friend's relationship. At the same time though, knowing the amount of hang-ups Kirishima has about his own sexuality he might never have pushed past his own mental blocks. Maybe it would have caused problems for them down the line.

Conflicted but ultimately judging by how happy both of them looked now he made some peace with it. "Glad I could be of service..."

He looked down the table at the rest of the class and jokingly asked "Anyone else need me to profess my love for them to get their relationship going in the right direction?"

"Don't you fucking dare mister." Katsuki said, pulling him closer, making Izuku laugh.