synopsis: you and childhood unofficialbf!katsuki are idiots about your relationship status.
notes: been a minute since i posted hello friends <33 sorry this is lowk shit and got was uninspired and rushed but trust me it is uphill from here
you and katsuki are not in denial.
denial implies awareness. denial implies deception. denial implies a lie told completely on purpose.
this is genuine, full-bodied, wholehearted stupidity.
you’ve been friends since forever. it's a fact. it’s written into the universe somewhere, for sure. you are utterly and completely entangled and intertwined in each other's lives.
you grew up together. you've lived parallel lives. you've gone to the same daycare and schools. you've spent countless hours being dragged on adventures outside and dragging him inside to play in an air-conditioned house. you've spent probably just as many dinners at his house as you have at your own. your moms are the best of friends, and mitsuki treats you like her own daughter. you cannot remember a time that you didn't know katsuki bakugo.
so when people tease you about dating or acting like an old married couple, it genuinely confuses you.
“that’s just what happens when you know someone for a long time,” you say reasonably.
katsuki nods. “yeah. dumbassess.”
you know exactly how long to let him cool off after a bad day, and also exactly how long to wait before you come talk to him before he gets lonely. you know which silences are comfortable and which ones mean he’s about to snap. you know what snacks and drinks he likes and even have some in your own house. you can tell whenever he's getting pissed and whenever he's just acting like he is.
this is not romance. this is efficiency.
katsuki knows you don’t like being alone in big crowds. he can tell when you’re lying about being fine. he knows how to ground you with nothing but his presence, no questions asked. he knows how much you hate mornings, but has learned the right method to wake you up. he knows your top 3 favorite drink orders and you'll sometimes find them on your desk when you're having a bad day.
this is not intimacy. this is teamwork.
really, it just makes sense. you've grown up with each other. known each other since the dawn of time. obviously, your relationship is close. it's really not that crazy.
people point things out sometimes.
“why does he always sit next to you?” mina asks.
“because there’s space,” you say. obviously.
“why do you text each other every day?” kaminari asks.
“we're just giving updates,” katsuki says flatly. duh.
“why are you sleeping over at this place again?" sero asks.
"just 'cos," you answer. dumbasses.
every answer makes sense. to you. to him. everyone else is just idiotic.
to everyone else, it just sounds like the craziest denial attempt they've ever heard. you're the fucking idiots.
people start giving up on asking or trying to get you two together and move straight to commentary.
katsuki shows up at your dorm?
“of course he did.”
you sit next to him in class?
“naturally.”
he reaches behind him without looking and you hand him what he needs?
“wow.”
you don’t notice. you’re busy doing literally anything else.
you don’t notice the way katsuki’s voice drops when he talks to you. how he never yells at you - just around you. how his hands always find you in a room like they’re magnetized.
you don’t notice how you lean into him without thinking. how your stuff has been migrating into his space since you were kids to the point that you could fully stay at his place for weeks without having to get stuff from your own. how people stop asking which dorm you’re staying in because the answer is obvious.
best friends are comfortable.
you grew up close as kids, who have no concept of personal space. all you've done is continue on as you are. there's nothing weird about it - it's just a natural given when two people are best friends from ages 3-now. it's normal for kids to cuddle up or hold hands, and so it honestly isn't that weird that you still do it now. you're just close childhood friends; that's it.
you don’t think it’s strange that he’s always there when something goes wrong. or that you don’t flinch when he yells, because you know that it’s not meant for you. or that you know can read his body language perfectly and know what he's thinking without so much as a glance.
this is simply what happens when you know someone forever.
people just don’t get that.
later, you’re walking together. not because you planned it. you just ended up going the same direction, like always.
someone from another class points at you.
“they’re totally dating.”
you hear it. register it. discard it.
katsuki doesn’t react at all. neither do you.
you’ve been this way since you were three. since knowing where the other would be without asking. since peaceful post-daycare afternoons spent tangled up in each other without thinking.
complicated relationship status talks are for people who don’t already understand each other.
you and katsuki bakugou have been in each other's worlds since the dawn of time. you understand each other perfectly. he's just always been a constant in your life, and you've been a constant in his.
that’s really all this has ever been.
if you have any suggestions for a 4k event, lmk! <3
