I'll Be Wearing Green - Part 3 [NSFW]

“I had a really long day. Are you busy tonight?”

Izuku fell into his favourite spot on the sofa, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and smiling to himself as he began to reply.

“Nope! Today was my day off. You wanna chat?”

“Do you want to get a drink with me?”

Izuku froze, staring wide-eyed at the screen as he considered the proposal. This was what he’d wanted, right? To make a connection with someone before he met them?

“I know it’s only been a few weeks since we started talking,” the guy continued. “So if you’re not ready, that’s fine, just all my friends are either working or out of town, so I thought... It was worth asking, I guess. I don’t know, forget it.”

“You sound like me, now,” Izuku replied, smiling to himself again. “Rambling on, like you’ve been making fun of me for. You’re not a villain with a plot or something, are you?”

“Fuck off.”

Izuku laughed. He’d been expecting some snarky remark about not being worth the effort to kidnap him, but yeah, “fuck off” seemed about right too. Ochako had been nagging him about when he was finally going to meet this guy he was always chatting to and talking about, so it seemed only fair that he give it a chance.

“I’d love to meet up with you. Do you have somewhere in mind?”

“Wherever is convenient for you. I’m standing in a large train station right now, so just tell me which way to go.”

All Izuku knew was that this guy lived in the same city as him, according to their profiles, so chances were they lived pretty close – he didn’t really want to give out his home address just yet, though. Or his neighbourhood, anyway. But what if he picked somewhere the other direction from the guy? Then they’d both be going out of their way.

In the end, Izuku picked two landmarks – one about ten minutes north of him, one about ten minutes east. He grabbed links to them both on a map, and sent it through their little chat window.

“Which of these is closer to you?” he asked.

It took a minute for the guy to respond, but Izuku was prepared for that – he knew he wasn’t being ignored, he just needed to allow time for map checking! He was getting better at the waiting-anxiety thing.

“The second one.”

So the guy wasn’t north of him.

“Or this one?” he added, as if it were an afterthought, linking somewhere about fifteen minutes south of his apartment.

“Second one is closer, but I don’t mind going to third if it suits you better.”

“Nope! Second is good!”

East, then. Noted.

“How about we meet at the station? There are a few bars near the main entrance.”

“Sounds good! I can be there in fifteen to twenty minutes?”

“See you then. I’ll meet you at the central exit, I’m wearing a red hoodie.”

“I’m wearing...” Izuku paused, glancing down at himself and pulling a face. No, he was definitely going to have to change first. “I’ll be wearing green!”

There, easy. He owned plenty of green stuff, he was sure to have something clean in the closet that he could throw on. It seemed like a casual event, if the guy was wearing a hoodie, so he didn’t need to dig out a suit and tie or anything crazy, just something clean and neat, not threadbare sweatpants and a t-shirt covered in crumbs.

The weather report on his phone predicted a massive temperature drop later in the night, so he opted for the green down jacket that Ochako liked to call him a marshmallow in. It was so warm and cozy, though, he couldn’t resist the thing. A decent pair of jeans and a failed attempt at brushing his hair later, he was out the door, power-walking to the station to jump on a train.

He was grateful that he lived in a relatively small neighbourhood, where people knew each other and saw most of the same people each day. His first few weeks had been rough, with all the kids excited about a new hero living near them, and the older people asking him all about his family, his life, his work. The people his own age were fairly normal, but the kids and the older generation were all over him. Now, they’d gotten used to seeing him around. They still asked after him and his mother, still occasionally wanted autographs to show their friends, but for the most part, he was just any other young adult in a train station.

As he found himself a seat, next to one of the particularly chatty grandmas so she wouldn’t disturb the rest of the passengers by talking to him across the car, he was strangely nervous. His hands wouldn’t seem to stay still, always twitching or fidgeting as he nodded along to the latest story about her grandchildren.

“Are you okay, dear?” she asked, when his smile wavered a little. “You seem jumpy today.”

“Oh, yes! I’m fine! I’m just, um, going to meet up with someone!”

“Oh?” she asked, smiling slyly. “Our local hero has a date?”

“Something like that?” he squeaked, not failing to notice the way a dozen pairs of eyes turned his way, suddenly curious. “Just a friend! But, maybe, it could... You know. Change.”

“Well dear, I’m sure she’d be delighted to have you as a boyfriend! You’ve got that sweet smile and a good job, what more could she want?”

Izuku’s smile faltered again, but this time he didn’t speak, struggling to decide what words he wanted to find.

“Grandma,” the little boy next to her hissed, tugging on her sleeve. “Deku doesn’t like girls!”

“Oh sweetie,” she chuckled. “I know you still think girls are gross, but adults-”

“He likes boys,” the kid cut her off stubbornly. “I don’t think girls are yuck, he does.”

“Well, actually,” Izuku laughed awkwardly, leaning forward to see his face. “I like both, but you’re right, I’m meeting up with a boy tonight. Thank you for sticking up for me!”

The train pulled to a stop, and when the driver’s voice sounded on the speaker he leapt up in a hurry, bowing a quick apology to the pair as he headed for the doors.

“Nice seeing you!” he told them quickly, waving. “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck!” the boy called after him. “Have fun!”

He scurried out the doors, weaving his way through lines of passengers waiting on the platforms, and took the stairs two at a time to get to the top. He was breathing a little hard by the time he made it, quickly choosing to blame his nerves rather than consider that he needed to do more cardio, and as he followed the signs to the central exit, he scanned the crowds for red.

His thoughts were forgotten when he saw a familiar face standing off to one side, scrolling on his phone, and Izuku lit up in excitement as he hurried over to say hello – he still had a few minutes, he had time for a quick catch-up on his way!

“Kacchan!” he called, waving when the head shot up. “I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you doing?”

“Fine,” Katsuki grunted, straightening up from where he leaned against an empty wall. “You live around here now?”

“Not really, a few stops away. Do you? I thought you’d want to be somewhere quieter.”

“Just here for tonight,” Katsuki confirmed. “I live a bit further out, but I came from work.”

“Oh, are you meeting someone? Are you still hanging out with your high school squad? I saw Kirishima the other week, he seemed to be doing well!”

“I still see them,” he nodded, glancing down at his phone. “Not tonight, though. I um, have... Kind of a date, I guess?”

“You?” Izuku asked, realising too late that it came out a little too incredulous. “I thought you had no  interest in dating! When did that change? How do you find the time?”

“I don’t find the time,” Katsuki snorted. “The idiots signed me up for a dumb app and I ended up talking to someone who seemed kind of cool, I guess.”

Izuku felt like all the air had been knocked out of his lungs, a high-pitched whine ringing in his ears as he stared blankly at Katsuki’s face – his usual scowl had given way to something Izuku could almost call nervousness.

He forced his gaze to drop lower, to scan down from the piercing red eyes to a stubbled jaw, a long neck,  and finally-

“Holy shit,” Izuku whispered.

“Haah?”

Katsuki was wearing a bright red hoodie.

Izuku fumbled for his phone, pulling up the conversation he’d kept so close to hand for weeks, and typing a message with fingers that barely wanted to cooperate. As he hit send, he lifted his gaze again once more, hearing the faint buzz of Katsuki’s phone vibrating in his hand. He looked down, and Izuku held up his own, eyes watering when Katsuki finally started to piece it all together.

“I should have known,” he huffed, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “The moment you told me you were an All Might fan I should have asked if you were Deku.”

“Demolitions,” Izuku giggled.

“Shut up,” Katsuki grumbled, cheeks tinged with pink. “I wasn’t gonna put hero on there. It’s not like you did either.”

“I know!” Izuku grinned. “I’m kind of happy, Kacchan. I didn’t think dating apps were for me, but here I am, reconnecting with my old best friend!”

“We can still get a drink,” Katsuki offered, refusing to meet his eyes. “If you want, I mean.”

“Can it still be a date, too?”

Izuku wasn’t sure who had said those words. They may have come out of his mouth, but there was no way they belonged to him.

“If you want,” Katsuki repeated. “You’re paying.”

“Of course! Don’t you know the man always pays for the first date?”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s not polite until the third.”

“I can’t swear until the third date?” Katsuki snorted. “Yeah right.”

“Oh you can swear, you just can’t fuck me until the third date.”

Katsuki’s jaw dropped, staring at Izuku with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

“Was that too far?” Izuku squeaked, cringing. “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”

“Not too far, just... New.”

“New?”

“From you,” he clarified. “When did you get so confident?”

Izuku scrunched up his face considering it, but Katsuki shook his head.

“Rhetorical,” he clarified. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Okay,” Izuku grinned. “Come on then, let’s go find somewhere I can buy you a drink.”