moving up

Chapter 27

"Tenya said it might work!" is the first thing that Ochako says when Izuku picks up the phone. He was surprised that she didn't just text him, but when he hears what she says, he is a little more concerned with that.

"I told you that I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" he protests, as soon as he realizes that this means she's been talking about things with Tenya. Now he at least understands why she called him, since this will probably be easier for her to explain over the phone.

"You never specifically told me not to tell anyone I heard, though! Besides, it's not like I was talking to Katsuki, so calm down and listen to me," she says. "I just brought the idea up to Tenya, to see what he thought about it. Even though he's difficult, he's definitely the easier of the two to start with, and if everyone else is on board, then Katsuki might be a little bit easier to deal with."

Izuku makes a face even though she can't see him before sighing. "I know you're right, but still...should you really have just brought it up like it was nothing?"

"If we're going to get anywhere, then yes. Somebody has to say something," she says. "I just decided that it needed to me, since I've mostly just been waiting around this whole time. And Tenya is sort of in a similar position to me."

Izuku can't argue with her on that, and he knows that she's right about someone needing to do something. "Okay, so...he said that it might work? What all did he say about it?" he asks.

"He was really reluctant at first, like I knew he would be. Mostly, he tried to pretend like he had no idea what I was talking about, but I got it out of him eventually. Not like he could lie to me, when I already knew the truth," she says. "After a while, he started to warm up to the idea, and in the end, he said it could work, so I'm taking that to mean he's completely on board!"

"That does sound promising...so I guess if you talked to him, that means I'm the one who'll have to talk to Kacchan about it, huh?"

"I don't think Tenya is ready to take it that far, and I doubt he'd even want to talk to me at all right now. So, yeah, if anyone is going to do it, it'll have to be you. Do you think you're up for it?"

"Whether I am or not, I've got to go for it. I mean, you were willing to talk to Tenya, so it's only fair that I do my part, right?" he asks, even knowing that Tenya and Katsuki are completely different, and his part is probably going to be the harder of the two.

"You know I'll be rooting for you!" she assures him, and they talk for a little bit longer before they hang up so he can text Katsuki.

~X~

Katsuki is reluctant to meet up with him, but Izuku tells him that it they need to talk more about their situation, and he eventually agrees to come over and talk about things. He says that he doesn't know what they have to talk about when neither of them have done a damn thing to change the situation, and Izuku doesn't mention all that's happened behind the scenes. He saves that for when they see each other in person.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Izuku says, "and I think I know what we should do."

"And what's that?" asks Katsuki, not looking convinced.

He takes a breath. "I don't think...I don't think that we should have to choose. So, we shouldn't."

"You..." It takes a moment for this to really sink in for Katsuki, before he can even begin to understand what Izuku is saying. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"You don't have to choose between me and Tenya," he explains, "and I don't have to choose between you and Ochako. I think we could make it work both ways."

"So, what, we just keep this fucked up thing going?! We just keep kinda cheating on each other and cheating on them and pretend like everything is fine?! That doesn't make any damn sense!" he snaps, his confusion turning to anger.

"I don't mean it like that," Izuku insists, and his scowl deepens.

"What other way could you mean it? Why'd you even waste my time inviting me over, if you were just gonna say stupid shit like that?"

"It wouldn't be cheating if we all knew about it, and we were all okay with it," he explains, trying to get through to Katsuki before he gets too angry and gives up on the entire conversation. "Don't you understand? We could all-"

"Like either of them would think that was okay! Are you crazy?"

"Well, actually...they both think it's a good idea," he admits sheepishly, and that really sets Katsuki off, once he's figured out what that means.

"What the fuck?! You told your little girlfriend? And you told Tenya that you know?! What the hell were you thinking ?!" It takes some time to get him to calm down, and at first, Izuku doesn't think he'll be able to do it. Eventually, though, Katsuki starts to cool off, glaring at him as he says, "So? You kept me in the dark and talked to them, and now they think we can just keep going like that?"

"It's going to take work, and it'll probably be weird to get used to, but...I like her a lot, Kacchan," he says. "I don't want to stop seeing her, but I've always cared a lot about you too. Since we were kids, I...I know you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"God, you're such an idiot. You act like you haven't made all that obvious," Katsuki mutters, saying nothing about his own feelings.

"You care about Tenya," he presses on. "You may not want to admit it, but you want to be with him, too, don't you?"

"Would you just stop pointing out the obvious?!" he snaps, which is as good as any admission from him.

Izuku smiles. "It's alright to just say what you're thinking, Kacchan."

"I think you're a fucking idiot, and I think this is the stupidest thing you've ever suggested. We all work together, you know that's gonna come back to bite us in the ass, right?" Katsuki grumbles. "I think you should stop saying obvious shit like that, about Tenya, and about...about you and me..."

That's all the confession Izuku needs. Katsuki returns his feelings just the same as he has feelings for Tenya. And, knowing that, he knows that this is going to turn out just fine. Katsuki may be resisting it now, but already, he's beginning to soften up to the idea, or else he wouldn't have admitted to his feelings at all.

"It's going to be alright," he says, trying not to laugh at the glare that Katsuki shoots him for his reassuring words.

"I've never even dated anyone, much less two people, dumbass," he says, mostly under his breath.

So that's his biggest concern! It's very hard for Izuku to not laugh as he tries again to reassure him.