A Communication Error - Part 1

“Hey Midoriya, I’ve been trying out that new workout regime you suggested, do you think it’s working?”

Kirishima flexed his arms pointedly, showing off his arms and back, and Katsuki just rolled his eyes. At some point in the last six months, all his classmates had apparently become thirsty as fuck, and the number one target of their stupid advances had been Izuku, of all people.

“Oh! How are you finding it?” Izuku asked. “You’ve always looked strong, so the most important thing is how you feel, right? Do you feel like your endurance has improved? Or like it’s easier to get the same results? Does it feel sustainable?”

Katsuki wasn’t sure if he appreciated Izuku’s obliviousness or not. On one hand, it was kind of funny to see him unintentionally shoot down all their classmates repeatedly, but on the other hand, their exploits seemed to get more and more annoying every time they tried it. Maybe if Izuku noticed the stupidity and shot them down, they’d finally cut it out.

“It feels pretty good!” Kirishima continued, apparently refusing to call it quits. “I feel like my delts are getting way more defined, do you think so?”

“Hmm... It’s hard to tell since all your muscles are pretty defined, I guess I’d need to look at old photos or something to compare. Did you take any measurements at the start?”

Katsuki finished buttoning his shirt and headed for the door, before he could snap. He wasn’t in the mood for the stupid responses he got from them all when he got mad, the teasing and bear-poking as they laughed at his frustration.

“Your delts are definitely still better,” Kaminari was saying, as Katsuki pushed his way through the door. “Let’s see them, Midoriya!”

Ugh, his classmates were so gross.

The dorms were still quiet when he got back, most of his classmates left behind to continue their pathetic attempts at perving or flirting or whatever the fuck they wanted to call it. The only occupants were a small cluster of the girls, whispering together in a corner. Uraraka perked up when the door opened, but when Katsuki stepped inside, she immediately returned to her conversation. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who she’d been hoping for.

“You’re his best friend!” Asui was saying, in what Katsuki supposed was meant to be a whisper, though she failed at it. “You should at least know if he likes boys or girls.”

“We’ve never talked about it!” Uraraka huffed. “I’ve tried but he just never seems to get the hint about what I’m asking; I might just have to ask him directly, at this point, awkwardness be damned.”

“She’s also not his best friend,” Katsuki mumbled to himself, as he headed through to the kitchen.

Truth be told, he was a little bitter about all the attention Izuku was getting all of a sudden. Not that Katsuki wanted that attention, obviously, that sounded like a nightmare, but it had made it really difficult to hang out with Izuku.

“Deku-kun!” Uraraka called, as soon as the door opened again. “You were so cool in training today, you’ve gotten so good at controlling your quirk!”

“Aw, thank you!” Izuku answered, and even from the next room, Katsuki knew the nerd was blushing. “I’ve been working really hard, and you guys have all been so helpful!”

“You’re looking super strong, too,” Ashido said, and Katsuki rolled his eyes – even she was at it, now? She barely even liked dudes. “Have you changed your workout routine?”

“Oh, you think? I have, a little, but I wasn’t sure it was working.”

“You look great!” Uraraka assured him.

“Nah, his arms got skinny,” Katsuki said, heading back in with his bowl of ‘post-workout abomination’, as his idiot friends had labelled it. “I know you want to up your leg strength, but you can’t neglect your arms.”

“Bakugou! Don’t be mean!” Uraraka objected. “His arms look great!”

“He doesn’t need false platitudes,” Katsuki snorted. “He needs to know his shitty experiment isn’t working out.”

“Bakugou, come on,” Ashido said with a sigh. “Don’t be a jerk.”

“No, it’s okay,” Izuku assured them. “He’s right, my arms have been looking pretty bad lately.”

“They do not look bad,” Uraraka argued.

“You’re sweet, but you know what I mean!” Izuku smiled softly at them, heading for his turn in the kitchen, but pausing to look into Katsuki’s bowl. “Cottage cheese and boiled eggs?”

“You know it.”

“I bet it would be great on a sandwich.”

“Don’t start your bread bullshit again.”

“But bread is so goooood!” Izuku whined. “It has no right to taste so delicious, when it’s basically just flour.”

“It has no nutritional value.”

“I know that, but it’s good for my soul!”

Katsuki couldn’t help but laugh, and Izuku seemed oddly triumphant, boldly shoving Katsuki as he passed to find a snack of his own. They’d grown comfortable together, after everything they’d been through, and Katsuki was grateful for the ease of their relationship, so far from the strained, tense one they’d had when they’d first started high school. Katsuki knew that had been his fault, of course, he was just grateful that Izuku was willing to forgive and forget.

Damn nerd had always been too good for his own... good.

“Later,” Katsuki said, when Ashido sidled over to shoot her shot. “Good luck.”

Izuku gave him a weird look for the words, but didn’t have a chance to ask, quickly cut off by Ashido leaning in to talk to him, the top three buttons of her shirt suddenly mysteriously unfastened. Katsuki knew for a fact that they’d all been done up just thirty seconds ago, and he was genuinely starting to feel concerned for Izuku’s observational skills, if he hadn’t realised it too.

“I’ve been working on my pecs,” Ashido said, batting her eyelashes at Izuku in a way that Katsuki supposed was meant to be sexy, or something. “You want to see?”

“Your new routine? Sure!” Izuku said, beaming as usual. “Everybody is testing out new workouts lately, huh? I guess we’re all feeling the pressure!”

“Oh yeah, I’m definitely feeling something!”

Katsuki’s classmates were going to be the death of him.

[Part 2]