he saves you from a bad date
It was around 10pm when Katsuki got the call.
Heâd been fast asleep, snoring away soundly in the comforting shadows of his bedroom as moonlight peeked in through the curtain cracks.
Distant murmurs of traffic spilled in through the cracked open window, soon broken by the rude awakening of his phone ringing on his bedside.
The bright light from his phone illuminated the backs of his eyelids, its blaring ringtone breaking him from his slumber.
With a groan, he dragged his sleep-subdued muscles up to grab his phone. One of his crimson eyes pried open just barely, reading the blurry caller ID through the broken darkness.
Your name was glowing on the screen, causing him to sit up rather abruptly and answer the call.
You and Katsuki had been friends for a very long time. If you could necessarily label the dynamic as âfriendsâ.
Intrusive fuzzy feelings and complicated emotions had always poked holes in your relationship, but it hadnât changed the fact that you were the closest person to him. Throughout your shared time at UA, and now living as pro heroes, youâd stuck by each other no matter what.
Heâd been pushing down his feelings for years.
Katsuki didnât have time for sappy romance and sentimentality. He was busy trying to be the number one hero, so why would he bother?
What did it matter to him that you were the most beautiful woman heâd ever seen? Why should your incredible personality and perseverance affect him the way it does?
It was most likely unrequited anyway. After all, you were on a date right at that very moment.
In his opinion, none of the idiots youâd dated over the years had ever been good enough for you.
He told himself it was because your standards were so low they were on the fucking floor. That you should raise your expectations and not settle for the shit you put up with from these douchebags.
Of course, what he was really thinking was that he was better for you than any of those extras. That he could treat you the way you truly deserved.
Katsuki ran a sleepy hand through his hair, bringing the phone to his ear as the line opened and sounds of chatter spilled through the speaker.
âYou know itâs almost midnight, right?â Was the first thing he said, mostly thanks to his grumpiness around having his sleep interrupted. âThe hell are you calling for?â
Your voice crackled through after a moment. âKats?â He was taken aback by the wobble of your voice, the shakiness of it. âIâm sorry for waking youâŠâ
Suddenly he didnât feel so tired anymore. His spine corrected itself as he sat up in bed, sheets strewn about as concern filled his body.
âStop apologising, idiot.â The man mumbled and kicked his bedsheets away, feeling his chest constrict. âWhatâs goinâ on?â
Down in the city, you were stood outside of a bar. One of the finer places in Musutafa, drawing in the night crowd. A gentle wind whipped at your styled hair as you stood outside, leaning against the wall.
Your dress clung to your figure, giving way for the bitter late night chill to bite at your sides and burn your cheeks. Police sirens wailed in the distance, smaller crowds of drunk citizens stumbling up and down the paths.
âI know itâs late, and itâs kind of a big ask.â You began, feeling nausea still stirring up in your gut. Your jaw chattered slightly, partly due to the chill, but also thanks to the anxiety still thrumming through your veins.
âDo you think you can come and get me?â
The date had started off great at first.
The guy you were seeing seemed pretty nice, polite and sweet. Heâd seemed like a gentleman, opening all of your doors for you and always walking on the outside of the pavement.
Guys like that seemed pretty few and far between, so youâd gone in with some naive expectations.
Of course, your track record hadnât been great and a part of you wished you hadnât gotten your hopes up in hindsight.
Heâd bought you drinks at the bar, keeping up some decent conversations. Everything felt like it was going smoothly, untilâŠ
âSo, why is a girl like you a pro hero?â
The question had thrown you for a loop, momentarily pausing your sip of the cocktail youâd been drinking.
âExcuse me?â You chuckled, partly assuming youâd misheard him. Misheard the patronising tone creeping in.
Putting the glass down, you stared at the man sitting in front of you. He nursed his glass of whiskey, a subtle smirk resting on his sharp features.
âWell, pro hero work is typically better suited to the men, you know?â He let out a huff of a laugh, one that indicated he thought highly of himself.
You were alarmed at the switch up, still processing whether or not you were hearing him correctly. âNo, I donât know.â You replied abruptly.
He unfortunately continued. âA girl like you shouldnât have to be a pro. You should be living comfortably, doing things youâre better suited for. Like having a family.â
You stared at him like youâd been slapped.
Heat clawed up your spine, a growing sense of uneasiness stirring in your gut. Had you really misjudged this guy?
âUmm, wellâŠâ You laughed, but it was humourless. More in disbelief than anything. âI donât think gender really matters when it comes to saving lives. Are youâŠsuggesting that a woman shouldnât have aspirations like men do?â
The man just smiled, toothy and sickly. You began to feel a prickle of shame, that familiar disappointment youâd grown to know. You were almost starting to believe youâd never really find someone.
Katsuki had always admired your passion for being a hero. He always had respect for people who pushed for their dreams no matter how hard it was. It was motivating.
Perhaps it was because of that, that you found the manâs words rather ridiculous. Youâd been around someone like Katsuki for so long youâd forgotten that people like this actually existed. People who believed that some shouldnât have ambitions and aspirations.
After that, you just kind of zoned out. With every new sentence that spilled from your dateâs mouth, you felt your disappointment grow.
Youâd tried so hard to push down your feelings for Katsuki, going on dates all of the time trying to find someone who wasnât your best friend. You were starting to realise that maybe you just wouldnât find someone else like him.
At some point during the manâs rant, his hand had made its way to your thigh. Right by the cut of your dress, sending bile rising in your throat.
Tears started to well up but you refused to let them fall. After all, it was only a man. Why should you let someone like him make you feel weak?
Thatâs how you ended up standing outside of the bar, leaving the man inside thinking youâd gone to the restroom, on the phone to the only person you trusted to have your back.
âDid somethinâ happen?â Katsuki grumbled through the call, and you had to gnaw at your bottom lip to prevent the crying from choking out of your throat. âIs it that bastard youâre on a date with!? IâLL KILL HI-â
â-Can you just pick me up, please?â You pushed out, shaky and restrained. You didnât want to stand outside of this bar any longer, you didnât want to be anywhere near this asshole for longer than necessary.
Katsuki caught the desperation in your voice, and was moving before you even finished the sentence. âIâll be five minutes. If that bastard tries anything else, make sure to kick his ass.â
The call fell silent. Pulling the phone from your ear, you saw that heâd hung up. Probably to get in his car and speed over here.
Katsuki was always serious about you. He knew you wouldnât have called at a time like this unless it was urgent.
As expected, his black car pulled up to the curb a couple of minutes early. Heâd probably sped his way here. You just hoped he hadnât violated any traffic laws. The man was a pro after all, so it wouldnât be great for his image.
He came out from the driverâs side, very visibly disheveled from sleeping not too long ago. It made you feel even worse, dragging him out here like you were some damsel in distress. You hated it.
The moment he walked up to you, his arms were around you.
You didnât hesitate, finally letting yourself feel everything that the night had accumulated. His warmth was so welcome, just the familiar scent of him getting you comfortable enough to just have this.
He didnât say anything yet, he didnât need to. He just held you, your face smushed against his chest over his hoodie. Large, safe hands sprawled across your back, secure and calming.
Your eyes fluttered closed, the tears welling up and your mascara smudging a little.
âIâm sorry.â The whisper brushed over his chest, barely audible over the breeze and the faint music spilling through the bar doors.
âThe hell are you sorry for?â He scoffed, but the usual bite was gone. Replaced by something softer, something reserved for you, and you only. âThat moronâs the one whoâs gonna be sorry once Iâm done with him!â
He gently pulled away, fury piling up in his body so hard that steam was practically shooting out of his ears. He didnât even know the details about what had happened, but he knew enough.
He was about to storm through those doors. Bulldoze his way through and grab the idiot by his shirt to drag him out. Then heâd lay into him like he deserved and make him pay for getting you into this state.
Before he could though, his steps halted upon feeling a tender hand wrap around his wrist.
He paused mid stride, head turning to meet your glossy eyes peering up at him through your makeup.
âDonât.â You exhaled into the breeze. It sounded unusually defeated. Like youâd been drained of all the energy inside of you. âJustâŠjust leave it.â
Katsuki just watched you for a second, mind battling between storming into the bar, and just getting you somewhere away from here.
Considering your broken state, he decided on the latter.
He got a hold of his temper, taking some deep breaths of the refreshing night air before bringing you into his side. His arm curled around your shoulders.
ââM takinâ you to my place.â Katsuki muttered and guided you to the passenger side of his sleek car, opening the door for you. âDonât want you alone tonight.â
His bedroom was illuminated by the warm glow of his bedside lamp, casting shadows across the walls. The curtains were pulled closed still, but moonlight still creeped in.
You sat on the edge of his bed, fidgeting with your hands and chewing the inside of your cheek.
A hoodie of Katsukiâs and a pair of his sweatpants now adorned your smaller frame, practically drowning in them. Despite your initial brushing off of his attempts at making you comfortable, he basically shoved the clothes in your face and demanded you put them on.
And obviously you did feel a little better once you complied. Katsuki always seemed to know how to handle you.
He knew everything there was to know. He understood you, learned all of your little mannerisms and every little thing you didnât even realise about yourself.
Honestly, you figured maybe he knew you better than you did.
The intimacy of that thought made your cheeks flush, and your shyness worsened when he came back into the room.
A mug filled with hot coffee, your favourite brand, was placed on the bedside table. You avoided his gaze, sitting there stiffly. Anxiety still beat through your heart, but it had lessened thanks to him.
âDonât let it go cold. That shitâs expensive, so drink up.â
His words were spoken gruffly but they were laced with affection, even you could see that despite trying to brush off the obvious. The man wouldnât care if you drank it or not, he just made the gesture to help in any way he can.
âThanks.â It came out a little weaker than intended, but with Katsuki it didnât matter.
He knew how you felt, it was plain as day to him. He always knew, no matter how well you hid it most of the time.
He just stood there for a few moments, before moving towards the door. You shuffled into his bed, the scent of him filling your senses in an intoxicating way.
âIâll be on the couch if you need anythinâ. Just try not to interrupt my sleep again.â He sighed and made a move to leave as you switched out the bedside lamp.
âWait.â You called out, surprising yourself.
Katsuki stopped in the doorway, slowly turning to look back at you. You were swallowed in his clothes, sitting under his bed covers with a familiar sad look on your face.
It made his heart swell in his chest.
âWhat?â He spoke into the silence, quiet and gentle in a way you would never have expected from him back in your UA days.
There was a tug at your heart strings. A pull towards him that youâd felt many times before.
You justâŠneeded him. The same way he needed you.
The words were soft, tender just like you. It was raw, in a way that made him melt a little inside. Katsuki didnât move yet, just letting it sink in.
You needed him. Warmth spread through his body like a wildfire, one that he wouldnât dream of putting out.
âFine.â He sounded annoyed but you knew better, because he didnât hesitate as he crawled on to the bed beside you and slid under the covers at your side.
Like it was natural, you curled into him.
He guided your body to lay down, shuffling you both so that you were cuddled up against his chest. Your ear pressed just over his heart, the comforting thump of it already lulling you into a sleepy state.
It felt so normal. It felt right, in a way. Like this was how you were supposed to be, soaking in each otherâs safety and familiarity.
His arms held you close, not caging you in but grounding you. The mug of coffee steaming on the bedside table went untouched, just allowing yourself to melt away from the horrible date youâd had.
Just like every time before this, Katsuki was there to catch you.
Through the sweet silence, your whisper returned and wrapped itself around his heart.
âI think youâre the only one for me, Katsuki.â
He wondered if heâd misheard you, but it was impossible. The quiet made it so clear. He could feel the beat of your pulse against his body, his hand brushing over the goosebumps on your arms.
âYeah?â He whispered back, and the confession felt all too hopeful. So hopeful that he wanted to pull you impossibly closer into his body.
You didnât miss the wobble of his voice, the vulnerable uncertainty. He was scared, scared that heâd misunderstood.
âYeah.â The breath felt weighted, but it soothed him more than he could ever begin to express.
He knew what it meant, he knew what you were both communicating even with the fragmented confessions.
âYouâve always been the only one fâme.â
At that, you turned your head and peered up at him to find he was already watching you.
After a brief moment of hesitation, you pressed your hand to his jaw and left a lingering kiss on his cheek. Just below his eye.
A seal. A confirmation of everything either of you had ever wanted.
He didnât smile, he couldnât. Everything heâd been longing for was coming to fruition. His contentment couldnât be expressed through something like a mere smile.
With a returned kiss to your temple, sending warmth through your veins, you both let yourself drift off to sleep with a newfound hope.
Maybe this could be it for you. No more dates, no more pushing it all away. Just Katsuki.
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