The Crux of the Matter [SFW except for a few dirty jokes]

Izuku buzzed with excitement as they crowded into the lobby, arms wrapped tight around his favourite sports bag. It had been way too long since his last venture, and getting to go in with all his friends from school just made it so much sweeter.

“Welcome, folks!” a lady called above their chatter, the group falling silent immediately. “I’ve got a stack of harnesses beside me here; please come and grab one, then head around the corner, and I’ll meet you there to help get them on you all!”

They fell into a messy line obediently, filing through the doorway, and Izuku watched with a tiny smile as Katsuki just waved his bag at her wordlessly, walking right on by. With a sheepish smile he held up his own as he got close, speaking up with a voice that was painfully awkward even to his own ears.

“Can I use my own gear?” he asked quietly.

“Of course!”

Satisfied, he hurried after Katsuki and the others, chuckling quietly when he found Kirishima and Kaminari puzzling over their harnesses on the other side. He found an empty corner to set his bag down in, unzipping it to reveal a pile of beautiful gear that he’d collected over the years and really wished he got more opportunities to use.

“Oh, you climb too?” Ashido asked, making Izuku jump. “Sorry!”

“Didn’t hear you coming,” Izuku explained, already stepping into his harness with a lot of gentle clanks signalling its arrival. “I used to! I’m lucky to go once a month, now.”

“That’s still more than most of us! Cool harness too.”

“Thanks! It’s super comfy!” He grinned, turning around to show her the back. “And look at all my loops! I love that they’re on angles and stuff so I can reach better, the straight ones are so much less convenient.”

“Story of my life.”

Izuku giggled, and Ashido flashed him a grin, any further comments quickly cut off by the staff lady speaking up again.

“Alright, everyone! If you’ve never worn a harness like this before, find a spot where you can see, and we’ll all do it together!”

Ashido hurried off to join them, and Izuku quickly finished adjusting his waist strap, getting it settled comfortably before he tightened the legs to match. When he looked up, Katsuki was already done with his own, fastened into sleek, black webbing that Izuku had always thought looked very cool on Katsuki, even if he preferred his handsome shade of blue for himself.

“Step into it just like a pair of pants,” the lady was saying, his classmates hopping and wobbling as they stumbled into their gear clumsily. “When you’ve got it nice and high, you’re gonna start by tightening the waist, so you won’t accidentally fall out while you’re halfway up a wall.”

Izuku took the opportunity to check over the rest of his equipment briefly, making sure it was all still in place where he’d left it. Shoes hanging over his butt, ready to kick on when he was ready to go; chalk bag underneath it, still relatively full; shiny blue belay device to match his harness, just like Katsuki and his black one; and a dozen carabiners, most of which he probably didn’t need to carry with him, but he always preferred a few extras over not enough. Besides, they were all slightly different sizes and styles, to suit him for different purposes, and all coloured with various pretty shades of blue – if he was gonna invest in his own gear, it only made sense for it all to match.

“Awesome!” the lady continued. “Now, the most important thing here is being able to belay properly, so gather round and I’ll show you the ropes real quick, then we can do some climbing!”

“Why?” Katsuki asked. “They’re right there.”

Izuku snorted, clapping a hand over his mouth to stifle it, but the rest of their classmates just stared at Katsuki, blinking at him slowly. Aizawa rolled his eyes, not dignifying it with an answer, but the lady – to her credit – had a good chuckle of her own.

“Point taken, not my best choice of words,” she laughed. “The pun was accidental, I promise.”

“Acceptable.”

“Have I ever mentioned,” Yaoyorozu whispered, leaning over to Jirou’s ear. “That I hate heights?”

Jirou gave her a sympathetic look, and Izuku took a tiny step forward, trying his best to look apologetic for the eavesdropping.

“Want me to belay you the first time?” he offered quietly. “I promise I won’t let anything happen, I’ve done this a bunch!”

“That’s so sweet of you,” she smiled softly. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your fun, though!”

“It’s no problem at all!” he assured her. “They’ll want to see us all practice a bit before we do any of the big climbs, anyway, so I don’t mind helping you get comfortable while they make sure I’m doing okay!”

“Sounds great,” Jirou answered, when Yaoyorozu glanced at her. “I’m gonna go hang with Mina.”

Jirou slipped away to claim her partner, and Izuku smiled reassuringly, patting Yaoyorozu on the shoulder lightly.

“You can take it as slow as you want,” he assured her. “And the moment you say you want to come down, I won’t even ask you if you’re sure. You never have to go to the top unless you want to!”

“Thank you.”

With the brief explanation complete, Izuku picked out a spot that looked easy to climb – lots of nice big holds that would be easy to grip, and hopefully keep Yaoyorozu feeling stable. He clipped himself in quickly to claim the spot, getting set up on the equipment already provided, and didn’t hesitate to reach over and clip Yaoyorozu’s end on too, to save her trembling hands the effort.

“Before you start climbing, I want you to try something for me,” he said softly, tightening the rope up. “Just hold on to your rope and lean back like you’re gonna sit down in a chair, let the rope keep you up.”

She found a clear spot on the mats and followed his directions, letting her weight rest on the rope as she leaned back slowly, and Izuku beamed as he pointed at the belay device with his free hand.

“See? Not going anywhere,” he explained. “I just have to keep my hand on the rope here, and this whole setup will take your weight for me. Honestly with these devices even if I did let go it’d probably still hold you up because of the safety mechanism it has built in, but I won’t let go of it anyway unless I somehow lose both my hands in the middle of your climb, so there’s basically zero chance of anything going wrong! If you slip, or when you’re ready to come down, it’ll feel just like this does now!”

She smiled faintly, still looking a little nauseated, and nodded when Izuku gestured for her to stand.

“Wanna give it a try?” he suggested. “You don’t have to go all the way to the top, just see how you feel, even if it’s just a step or two.”

“And you’ll still let me straight down when I want to stop?”

“I swear on All Might’s life.”

She tentatively put her hands on two holds, finding a good grip, and glanced back at Izuku for confirmation. He nodded, smiling widely, and gestured with his device slightly.

“You’re on belay,” he assured her. “Climb away.”

With a last little nod, she followed her hands up with one foot, getting it stable on a nice big rock. The second foot came with a deep breath and a very slow ascent, her grip shaking a little as she managed to lock all four limbs into place.

“Perfect!” Izuku praised, tightening her rope by the tiniest amount, just to keep on top of it and make sure she felt secure. “There’s a big jug to your left there, you can get your hand in the top and get a really nice hold on it.”

She reached up carefully, finding the hold just as directed, and Izuku couldn’t keep the grin off his face as she looked up, swallowing hard.

“Nice! Have a look for your next one,” he encouraged. “Decide before you reach, so you don’t have to let go for long.”

“Can I use any colour?”

“Yeah! Of course!” he assured her. “I won’t call the climbing police, I promise.”

She cracked a tiny smile at that, and Izuku couldn’t help but feel triumphant.

“Maybe that green one?” she suggested. “It’s not very big.”

“It’s not big,” he agreed, “but it’s a nice shape, I think it’s a good choice!”

Sure enough, she reached for the green rock, wrapping her hand around it and finding a nice, strong hold.

“Awesome!” he beamed. “Feeling stable?”

“I think so.”

“Wanna try a foot?”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“There’s a nice flat one just by your knee, I think you can get a good spot there!”

She lifted her foot, finding the spot, and Izuku cheered when she braced herself on it, already looking around for her next hold. One rock at a time, step by step, he helped guide her up the wall, and she got a solid two metres off the ground before she froze, trembling a little.

“Okay,” she said nervously. “I’m ready to come down.”

“Got it!” Izuku assured her, before anyone hanging around them could question her or try to push her further. “Can you put your hands on your rope for me like before? I’ve got you, I promise.”

He made sure her rope was extra tight, so that she wouldn’t move even an inch when she let go of her holds, and slowly she moved her first hand to the rope, adjusting her feet a little before she moved the second. Sure enough, with Izuku on the other end, she didn’t budge at all, and she let out a long, slow breath when she was settled.

“Perfect!” he said again. “I’m gonna start lowering you, okay? We’ll go slow, and you can just walk your feet down the wall as we go, to make sure you don’t swing or anything.”

“Got it.”

“Lowering now!”

He shifted his left hand to the lever, pulling on it with the tiniest increments he could muster until the rope began to slide through his hand, bringing her down the wall a millimetre at a time. He kept her steady the whole way, crawling at a snail’s pace, and when her feet landed on the ground, half the room burst into cheers. Izuku looked up in a hurry, eyes wide, to see half their classmates watching their every move, Yaoyorozu’s face flushing bright pink when she saw their supportive gazes.

“Only four new people can belay at a time,” Uraraka explained, when Izuku looked pointedly at her rope, Asui’s feet still firmly on the ground. “We’re just waiting our turn!”

“Oh, sorry, did I go out of turn?”

“Nope, you’re good!” Uraraka assured him, gesturing toward the lady hovering at Kaminari’s side. “She watched you a bit and left you to it, Bakugou too.”

“Oh! I’m glad I’m not too out of practice, then.”

“You did great!”

“Thank you,” he chuckled. “Um, do you wanna have another go, Yaoyorozu?” he offered. “Since the lady is okay with us not waiting for a turn?”

“I think I need a moment,” she smiled awkwardly. “But thank you, I’ll definitely come back soon!”

“Do you want to take some of the others up?” Aizawa asked, making Izuku jump. “Shouji, Kouda, and Sato are a little nervous too.”

He waved toward the little cluster of the three guys, hanging back from the group as they watched awkwardly, and Izuku nodded immediately.

“Sure, if they want me to! And if you and the staff are okay with me going again, of course!”

“I appreciate your help,” Aizawa nodded. “You’ve done a lot of this, haven’t you?”

“Quite a bit,” he agreed sheepishly. “You can tell?”

“You look very comfortable.”

“Oh! Yeah, absolutely! I mean, once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s pretty tough to lose the skill! And these belay devices are practically foolproof, it’s hard not to be comfortable! They’re a really good choice for a facility like this, but it must have cost them a fortune to set it up! I don’t even want to think about when they have to replace them all. Each of these things costs like fifteen thousand yen, it’s way too much for a kid to pick up! Me and Kacchan just use the two thousand yen types that we got for our birthdays one year!”

“Good to know,” Aizawa smiled wryly. “I won’t go out and buy myself one any time soon.”

“You don’t need it, Sensei! I bet you’re perfect on the cheap kind!”

“Thank you, I appreciate your confidence.”

Aizawa stepped away, speaking to the guys quietly, and Izuku flashed Yaoyorozu one more smile as she unfastened herself and stepped back off the squishy mats, onto solid ground.

“You did great,” he told her. “Let me know when you want another turn!”

“I will, thank you.”

He tried his best to look capable when Aizawa returned, gesturing toward the wall slightly when they got within earshot.

“Do you guys wanna have a climb?” he offered. “I can belay if you want!”

“It’s uh...” Sato began, hesitating. “A little nerve-wracking?”

“Because it’s high? You don’t have to go all the way!”

“No, um, it’s more... I’m a lot bigger than you guys, I don’t want to break anything.”

“Break what?” Izuku asked, frowning slightly. “Like, a bone? You won’t!”

“The rocks and the harnesses and-”

“Oh!” Izuku couldn’t help but laugh, quickly trying to repress it. “You won’t! All this gear is rated to like, ten to twenty-five kilonewtons of force, you could literally hang a truck from it! I mean, as long as you didn’t drop the truck from a significant height or something, but if the truck had hands, it could climb the wall!”

“What if we fall?” Sato asked, “we might drag you up off the ground or something.”

“Nope! That’s what these are for!” he tugged at the strap anchoring him to the ground. “All your weight would go on this bolt, and those can hold a truck too, maybe even multiple trucks! Plus the rope would absorb some of the impact because it stretches. I promise you’ll be fine, no matter how hard you fall!”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah! I’ve seen way bigger people than you do it, and the staff would have said something if there were size limits! Come have a go, you’ll have fun!”

Sato hooked himself on obediently, letting Shouji and Kouda watch him first, and Izuku grinned when Sato stood at the bottom of the wall, glancing back at him for confirmation.

“You’re on belay!”

“Okay, I’m going. Oh, I mean, climbing now?”

“Climb away!”

He moved slowly at first, testing each hold before he shifted his weight to it, but Izuku just continued to calmly pull the rope through, keeping it taut in case of any slips. He was pretty damn sure that none of them were going to fall anyway – they’d have to attempt something they’d probably be too scared to do, if they wanted to fall – but he didn’t bother to say that out loud, just let it be his own private knowledge that he hoped would make them a little more confident to not know. If they got through a climb without falling, that was gonna give them a much bigger boost than if he told them from the start that it wouldn’t happen!

With his bit of extra height over Yaoyorozu, it didn’t take Sato long to start nearing the top, and Izuku grinned when Sato touched the roof, glancing back at him with a proud smile on his face.

“Gonna bring you down!” he called, tightening the rope up and locking it off. “Lean back when you’re ready!”

Sato eased his weight onto the rope, shifting his hands to hold on, and Izuku just waited patiently for him to get settled, keeping the rope still until he looked comfortable up above.

“Lowering!” he called, reaching for the little lever. “We’ll go slow, just trust me!”

A little at a time, Sato began to lower down the wall, and Izuku just grinned again when his feet finally reached the ground, watching him stand up and get his balance back.

“Told you,” he laughed, when Sato looked up. “No problem at all, see? Nothing even creaks, let alone breaks!”

“Thank you, Midoriya.”

“I’m glad I could help! Have you had a go belaying yet?”

“We all did some for the others in the first group,” he nodded, “but I wasn’t sure about climbing with someone like Sero on the ropes.”

“I resent that!” Sero called, from the top of the wall. “I’m strong!”

Izuku grinned again, and unhooked himself from the anchor, gesturing with it to Sato.

“Why don’t you do it for Shouji or Kouda, then?” he suggested.

“I can do that,” he agreed, looking back at the pair watching. “I definitely won’t go flying if you fall, especially if the anchor helps.”

Kouda nodded faintly, stepping forward to clip in, and Izuku beamed at him as he got set up.

“You’re gonna love it!”

Kouda smiled nervously, and Izuku took a step closer to Sato, pointing at the rope with a laugh.

“I’ll watch him too, don’t worry.”

Sure enough, with a little more confidence in the gear, Kouda started off strong. In fact, he got over halfway before he began to slow down, glancing back nervously at the group watching from below.

“Do you want to come down?” Izuku asked knowingly. “You don’t have to go all the way to the top, if you don’t want to.”

Kouda nodded firmly, and Sato tightened up the rope, nodding to himself when he had it secure.

“Okay, you can let go if you want to come down,” he instructed. “Put your hands on your rope.”

Trembling a little, Kouda moved his hands, letting the rope hold him up, and slowly Sato began to bring him down, talking him through it the whole way there.

“You both did great!” Izuku grinned, as soon as his feet touched the ground. “Good work!”

“You’re a good teacher,” Sato chuckled. “You make it much more comfortable.”

“I’m glad I could help! One more switch? Kouda can belay for Shouji?”

“Sounds good,” Sato agreed, glancing at Kouda and Shouji each for their confirmation. “It’s more fun than it looks.”

“Is it cheating to use all of my hands?” Shouji asked, clipping himself to the rope in Kouda’s place.

“No such thing as cheating!” Izuku assured him. “We’re here for fun, not for a competition, so you can do it however you want!”

“He really is comforting,” Shouji chuckled softly.

“I know,” Sato agreed with a grin. “Have fun up there!”

Izuku hung back to watch as Shouji made his climb, already looking a lot more confident even before he even got all his limbs off the ground. No matter how much Izuku assured them the weight difference didn’t matter, he knew they’d still have their doubts about it, so getting them belaying for each other where there was minimal difference had felt like a much better plan – especially in the event that they did end up doing some unanchored belaying later on, it was gonna be one less step to stress them out about.

Shouji laughed when he reached the top, looking down at the little group all grinning up at him, and knocked on the roof lightly with one hand.

“Easy peasy!” Sato called. “Nice job, dude! Making it look like a piece of cake!”

“It’s not so bad now that I’ve seen you guys do it first.”

“Ready to come down?”

“Yeah, when you guys are ready.”

“Okay,” Kouda said softly. “Lowering.”

Izuku kept his eyes trained on Kouda’s hands as Shouji came down, making sure there was nothing that could go wrong, and when Shouji’s feet reached the ground, Kouda looked up knowingly. Izuku gave him a quick grin and a thumbs-up, and Kouda smiled, nodding faintly in thanks.

“I think that’s everyone,” Aizawa was saying, off to one side a little. “Everything look okay?”

“Absolutely!” the lady nodded. “I’ll definitely keep an eye on them all still, especially the new ones, and I’m sure you’ll do the same, but I’m happy to take them down to the main wall.”

“Alright class, listen up,” Aizawa called over the mass of intersecting conversations. “Ms Hirata is going to take us down to the main wall now, I need you to listen up and be respectful – if you don’t follow the rules, you will be out of here and failing this unit of the class. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sensei,” they chorused, already tidying up their used lines and grabbing their bags to move.

“Alright! Follow me!” Hirata called, waving them back toward the lobby where they started. “If you can’t hear me at any point, stick your hand up and I’ll talk louder!”

They followed her like a line of ducklings down a long flight of stairs, and Izuku marvelled at the massive room they stepped into down below. It looked like an old aeroplane hangar or something – massive and super tall – fitted out with what felt like a thousand different lines to climb on.

Okay, it was probably closer to fifty, but still! A lot!

“So this end here has the walls we’ll be starting out on,” she explained, gesturing to the section of at least twenty ropes directly in front of them. “Each line has a few different routes you can try out, with tags telling you the difficulty of each one; or if you’re new and a bit nervous, you can just use a combination of the colours, whatever feels best! If you’re waiting for a turn, or you just want to try some stuff out, you’re also welcome to climb up to the black line without being on the ropes, just make sure you don’t go underneath anyone who is on the ropes.”

She continued leading them forward, and Izuku found himself itching to get on a rope – it felt like forever since he’d last been up a wall, let alone one so high!

“Down the end here you’ll see we’ve just put up some brand new ropes, make sure you’re extra careful on those lines because they’ll be a bit more slippery than the others! They have little red tags on them to show which ones are new, but they’re also the ones in the much brighter colours! The room looks so much more exciting now that these new ones are up!”

Katsuki marched himself forward to inspect them, getting a few surprised looks from Izuku and their classmates, but he didn’t even seem to notice the confusion, too busy walking right up to a pretty purple rope and staring at it in silence. No one dared to speak first, too stunned by his actions – Katsuki was the last person to break rules, despite his general attitude, so to see him wander off while an adult was giving directions was honestly a shock.

His gaze shifted upward to where the rope changed shades in different lighting, a whole spectrum of pink and purple and blue depending on how exactly you looked at it, and finally his mouth opened.

“This rope is so fucking gay,” he said.

The room fell dead silent, so quiet you could have heard a pin drop from way over the other side of the building, and with a horrified look on his face, Kirishima stepped forward, ready to reprimand him, or lecture him, or at least tell him ‘dude, not cool.’ But before he could get the words out, Katsuki spoke again, almost reverent in tone.

“I fucking love it.”

Izuku couldn’t help the giggle that came out of him, his hands completely failing to stifle it no matter how tightly he covered his mouth with them, and the sound echoed through the room, the rest of their classmates – not to mention the adults – still far too stunned to speak.

“You must get so many people saying that,” Katsuki continued, glancing back at Hirata. “Like, hell yeah, look how gay this goddamn rope is.”

“Ah... Actually, you’re the first,” she chuckled awkwardly. “But you’re not wrong, and it’s definitely my favourite of the new colours.”

“Hell yeah.”

Aizawa finally let out a sigh, defeated, and with an amused look from Hirata, he addressed the group once more.

“Buddy up,” he instructed. “Pick a spot to start, and get one of us to check your gear when you’re ready to climb.”

“Dibs on the gay rope,” Izuku said immediately.

“Fuck off!” Katsuki yelled. “I saw it first, asshole!”

“Too bad, I called dibs.”

“Dibs ain’t mean shit when I’m the gayest motherfucker in the room!”

“Great,” Aizawa cut in. “Sounds like Midoriya and Bakugou are working together, good job sorting it so quickly. Have the rest of you found your partners yet?”

No one spoke, watching Izuku and Katsuki for the inevitable argument that was about to explode between them, but Izuku just tossed his bag in a cubby hole by the changing rooms, his harness making rhythmic little clink clink clink sounds as he hurried over to where Katsuki stood in wait.

“Hook yourself on, nerd,” Katsuki instructed, tossing him the climber’s side of the rope. “If I don’t drop you, you can’t drop me.”

“Deal!”

It took another minute for anyone else to move, still staring at them in disbelief as they quickly got set up, Katsuki glancing back at them finally when Izuku was stood at the bottom of the wall.

“Do you wanna check us?” he asked.

“Oh! Um, n-no, you two are okay!” Hirata assured him. “You clearly have a lot of experience, so just call me if anything goes wrong or if you have any questions!”

“Nothing’ll go wrong,” Katsuki answered, already turning back to the wall, to Izuku’s eager expression. “Clicky clicky no death?”

Izuku clicked his carabiners obediently, and Katsuki nodded, tightening up the rope.

“Dude on rock!” Izuku called, reaching for his first holds.

“Rock on, dude.”

The first step onto the wall felt like Izuku had finally come home after a long trip. His recent trips to the climbing gym had mostly just been bouldering, since he didn’t have anyone to take along with him anymore. Occasionally he’d joined up with a few friendly regulars who took pity on him, but he’d never felt entirely comfortable in those groups, always watching his back just in case they messed something up.

With Katsuki, he felt safer than he ever had.

“That, believe it or not, is actually a great example of communication with your partner,” Hirata chuckled from below him. “More commonly you’ll hear the ones we talked about earlier – which, by the way, are listed on the wall just there if you forget – but with climbers who work together a lot, it’s pretty normal to mix it up a bit.”

“Sorry!” he called, as he pushed himself up to grab the next hold. “Should have set a good example!”

“Just focus on your climb!” Uraraka called, her voice wracked with nerves.

“Why?” he asked, one hand and foot coming off the wall as he turned to look back at them. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t do that!”

Izuku couldn’t help but grin, catching a glimpse of a smirk below him, too, as he put his hand back on obediently, hunting down a spot for his foot to join it. In all honesty, it really wasn’t a difficult one – he knew any one of them could have done it just as easily, given enough confidence, but he also didn’t mind that little bit of admiration being aimed his way for a bit.

“You don’t normally climb so clean,” Katsuki snorted, as Izuku got closer to the top. “Does the rope give gay dudes magic climbing powers or something?”

“I’m bi!” Izuku pointed out with a chuckle, looking up to scan for his next hold. “Is that rock red or orange?”

“Red.”

“Are you sure?”

“Who the fuck do you think I am, Deku?”

“Okay, you’re sure. I don’t see any more orange until that one up on my left, am I missing one?”

“Go buy your ass some postage stamps, it’s time to send.”

“Alright, alright,” Izuku laughed. “Sending!”

“Send on.”

Despite the chuckles refusing to leave him alone, Izuku launched himself, grabbing the hold he’d been eyeing and reaching for a second one to get his balance. He glanced down as he moved, wedging his foot into a corner for good measure, and pouted when he saw the route below.

“Bullshit!” he yelled. “That was absolutely orange!”

Katsuki laughed below him, and Izuku quickly managed a smile again. It wasn’t often that he heard Katsuki laugh like that, even if it was at his expense.

“Asshole,” he grumbled, hauling himself up the last stretch and touching his hand to the roof. “Alright, drop me.”

“Dropping.”

He moved his hands to his rope, figuring he could at least set one good example for the rest of the class, and bounced off the wall lightly as his rope began to bring him down. He moved at a steady pace, with a sharp red gaze locked on him the entire way through, and he shot Katsuki a quick smile when they got close enough for their eyes to meet properly.

“Jerk,” he said fondly.

“Ass,” Katsuki replied.

“Is that some kind of climber lingo too?” Kaminari asked with a smirk, all eyes still on Izuku as his feet touched down on the ground.

“I think that’s old friend lingo,” Hirata laughed. “Nice climb, boys.”

“Thanks,” Izuku grinned back. “It felt good. Kacchan, you want a go?”

“Fuckin’ obviously.”

“Maybe you should ask nicely.”

“Maybe you should get a foot to the face.”

“Only maybe? That’s so unsure of you, Kacchan!”

“Ass.”

“Jerk.”

Despite their bickering, they changed places, and the rest of the class scattered to make their own attempts up the walls. Izuku was practically dancing as they got set up for Katsuki’s turn, so full of a strange joy that he didn’t often get to feel lately, considering how much stress they were under at school. He knew being happy wasn’t the intent of the exercise, that it was about learning and practicing skills that might be useful to them in a rescue situation, but he couldn’t help but feel like Aizawa had chosen the place just for him. He’d never been to an indoor facility with such high walls before, it was amazing, and he made a mental note to find out whether it was a special facility or a public one – if it was public, they’d found themselves a new member for sure.

“You paying attention, nerd?” Katsuki asked pointedly, jolting him out of his daydreams.

“Yeah!” Izuku assured him, gesturing with the belay device. “On be-gay!”

“I’ve been gay for years, nerd, it’s a bit late to tell me that now.”

“Okay, gay away!”

“Not likely.”

He began his climb all the same, and Izuku grinned to himself. He still vividly remembered the day he’d found out they didn’t have to use the exact calls they’d been taught, the day he’d heard far more experienced climbers using a whole range of different words to communicate what they wanted, some of them more fun than others. He and Katsuki had tried out something new every week, after that – much to the chagrin of some of the supervisors – until they’d picked out a few favourites. ‘Gay away’ and ‘not likely’ hadn’t exactly been on their list, but the tone and intonation were right, and at this point, that was enough for them.

Besides, the gym setup was foolproof – Izuku would have had to actively try to screw it up.

“Cheater,” Izuku laughed, when Katsuki grabbed the rock he’d managed to trick Izuku into skipping. “You’re so mean to me.”

“Not my fault you’re colourblind.”

“I’m not!” he huffed. “It’s a weird shade! I just couldn’t decide!”

“Story of your life, bi-ass.”

“Bye Kacchan!”

Katsuki snorted, shaking his head as he reached the top of the wall, tapping the roof lightly before he dropped his weight onto the rope.

“You’re meant to tell me before you do that.”

“I knew you had me.”

Izuku wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a compliment or just a fact, but it made him feel warm inside all the same. It was always nice to know someone trusted him, and when that person was Kacchan? The guy who trusted no one but himself? It felt like a pretty big compliment.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Katsuki said knowingly, as he got closer to the ground. “You literally did the bare minimum and kept your hand on the rope, that was all I needed.”

“Too late, already went to my head.”

“Damn nerd.”

He unhooked himself from the line, hooking it back to Izuku’s end to keep everything neat and together, then reached up to ruffle Izuku’s hair briefly, ignoring the look of surprise he got for it.

“Let’s go see if there are any more gay ropes.”

“You know, Kacchan, technically that rope is closer to the bi colours than the gay ones.”

“Fuck off, I claimed it first.”

─────

“This is Midoriya and Bakugou,” Aizawa said from behind them, making both heads dart up quickly to look. “They’ve done a lot of climbing together in the past.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” the man beside him grinned. “Nice to meet you, boys. I’m Haku.”

“Nice to meet you,” Izuku echoed, glancing at the logo on his t-shirt. “Do you work here?”

“Yeah! Hirata suggested I take a few people down the other end to the harder climbs, while she keeps an eye on the less confident people. Aizawa here said that you two would be incredibly keen.”

“Hell yes,” Katsuki grinned, already abandoning the line they were about to hook on to. “I’ve been wanting to try that lead wall since the moment we saw it.”

“Can we?” Izuku squeaked, eyes widening. “It looks like so much fun.”

“Course you can! Figured I’d take you two down there, make sure everything was groovy, then pick up some of the top ropers to come learn some clipping with me while I keep half an eye on you.”

“That sounds perfect!”

“Using our own gear?” Katsuki asked. “I hate belaying lead off one of these things.”

“Yeah, of course. All your own setup. You got ropes here too?”

“Mine’s a bit old,” Izuku admitted. “I’d have to take a look and make sure it’s still in decent condition first.”

“I’ve got good rope,” Katsuki assured them. “It’s not gay though.”

“How do you know?” Izuku asked, nudging him lightly. “Do you frequently find little baby ropes in the bottom of your gear bag?”

“Where do you think I get all my prusik loops from?”

Aizawa rolled his eyes at that, even when Haku and Izuku both burst out laughing, and Katsuki looked rather triumphant to see his dumb joke land so well.

“Alright, let’s get you up on that wall,” Haku suggested, when he’d managed to contain his laughter. “I’ve gotta see you do a few things safely before I can sign off on you leading unsupervised.”

“Tie in, clip properly, fall safely?” Katsuki asked.

“Bingo. But I'll be looking at the belay end too.”

“Hand position, body position, catch a fall?”

“You’ve done this before.”

“A lot of times.”

“We’ve been to about four different gyms together,” Izuku clarified. “It’s been a little while, but  we know the routine.”

“Excellent, this should be an easy one then.”

“Do you want them to use proper calls?” Aizawa asked, giving them a pointed look, much like a father praying his kids won’t embarrass him in public. “Standard words?”

“As long as you two know what you mean, that’s all I care about.”

“Perfect,” Katsuki smirked.

“Just remember you asked for it, Haku.” Aizawa sighed, cracking a tiny smile all the same.

Katsuki grabbed his gear bag, pulling out a neatly-wound coil of dark rope, and Izuku smiled faintly when he saw callused fingers running across it almost reverently. Brash as he may be, Katsuki was a sucker for nice things, even if that was just a near-new rope in his hands.

He untied it as they walked, making sure it was all neat and tidy, so it wouldn’t get caught as it unwound, and then he tossed one end to Izuku pointedly, unhooking his belay device from his harness while Izuku caught it.

“Do you care what kind of knot we use?” Izuku asked, as he threaded it through the loops on the front of his harness. “Is a figure-eight okay or do you prefer bowlines? Or double bowlines?”

“Just shut the fuck up and tie a knot so we can climb.”

“I’m trying, Kacchan! Give me thirty seconds!”

“A figure-eight is great,” Haku chuckled. “I appreciate the attention to detail.”

Izuku poked his tongue out at Katsuki, getting a brief glare in return, but neither of them could manage to keep the expressions in place for long – the prospect of a twenty-something metre high lead wall, full of all sorts of steep overhangs and fun angles, was far too exciting to worry about sulking at each other.

Izuku tied in with the ease of someone who hadn’t taken the better part of three years off lead climbing, he was proud to say, and Haku nodded quickly when he looked up, not even waiting for the question.

“Nice. When you’re ready.”

Izuku grinned, stepping up to the base of the wall, tracing the coloured route with his eyes before he glanced back at Katsuki one more time.

“Not gonna lie, it looks like a bitch of a climb.”

Katsuki sneered, hooking the rope over his arm and raising both his hands to get started.

“Climb on, bitch.”

Izuku could practically hear the eye roll from behind them, but Haku didn’t seem to mind their idiocy, so Izuku did exactly as he was told – he climbed.

About a metre up he reached the first carabiner hanging off the wall, finding a good spot to hold on firmly before he took one hand off the wall.

“Clipping!” he called, grabbing the section of rope nearest his harness and pulling it out, hooking it smoothly through the metal. “Clipped!”

“On belay.”

Izuku forgot all about the people watching as he got absorbed in the climb, all his focus going on the next steps, the next holds, the way he was going to hook his foot under a rock, or jam his knee in a corner, to help inch his way there. It seemed to be a universal rule that the route setters hated short people, the next hold always millimetres from his reach, forcing him to find creative ways to squeeze out just a tiny bit more distance to keep moving on.

When he reached a clip about halfway up, he could feel his fingers aching, all tight and weak from choosing what was probably a ridiculously hard route to do their practice round on, but he just hadn’t been able to resist!

“Take!” he called down to the ground.

“Took!” Katsuki called back, sitting down in his harness and catching Izuku’s weight, holding him up as he shook out his hands and gave his fingers a quick break. “You good?”

“I’m good,” Izuku nodded. “Forgot how much it destroys my grip.”

“You probably hadn’t broken your hands sixteen times last time we did this. Need to come down?”

“No, I’m okay! Just gimme a sec.”

“Take your time, nerd.”

“Thanks!”

He gave his hands one last shake, then found his way back onto the holds, taking a deep breath as he prepared himself to take his weight back.

“Ready!” he called.

“Climb a-gay.”

With a little grin Izuku shifted his weight back onto the rocks, and Katsuki fed him out a little more rope, giving him space to move. He worked his way slowly to the next clip, and then the next, his fingers trembling when he began hauling himself underneath a completely horizontal section, all his weight bearing down on his forearms as he struggled to find good spots for his feet.

“Shit,” he hissed to himself. “Falling!”

“Fall on.”

He let go.

Below him, someone squealed, but he didn’t even look to see what was going on. He let his hands fall to his sides, the pain already fading, and let his eyes sink closed to savour the feeling.

Izuku was no stranger to falling – he’d done enough of it to last a lifetime. When he fell from a building, or was knocked out of the air mid-fight, it came with a sense of dread, with eyes squeezed tightly shut and every muscle tensing as he braced himself for impact.

But when he fell from the wall, he felt an odd sense of peace.

His rope caught, stretching a little to lessen the shock as his drop ceased in a hurry, leaving Izuku swinging back and forth in open air.When he looked down, Katsuki was sitting back in his harness, his feet hanging a few centimetres from the ground as he swung lightly from side to side.

“You good?” he called.

“Yeah!” Izuku assured him. “Sorry, fingers gave out.”

“Quit apologising.”

“Okay! Sorry!”

Katsuki carefully lowered himself down, getting his feet back on the ground, then looked up at Izuku one more time.

“Alright, bringing you down.”

“Thanks, Kacchan!”

He finally spotted the source of the squeals as he neared the ground, spotting Uraraka and Iida watching them from behind Katsuki’s back, Uraraka’s hands still clapped over her mouth to hold it in.

“It’s no big deal!” Izuku assured her. “You get used to it.”

“You fell so far!”

“Yeah, I guess!” Izuku looked up, following the rope to his last successful clip. “I didn’t quite make it to the next one, so it was pretty much as far as I could have gone. Sorry to put wear on your rope, Kacchan!”

“You’re good, I had heaps of time to lock down, it won’t have done anything significant.”

“I’m glad!”

“Besides, when it wears out, I have an excuse to get a new one.”

“You can’t get gay rope, Kacchan, you’d have to replace all your other gear to match!”

“Shit, you’re right,” Katsuki huffed, unhooking himself from the rope. “You get one then and let me borrow it, purple is close enough to blue.”

“Are you admitting that I deserve the bi rope more than you?”

“Fuck off, it’s gay as hell.”

“Suuuure, Kacchan.”

Haku stepped closer again as Izuku untied himself, letting Katsuki pull the rope back down, and gave them both a smile when they looked up questioningly.

“That looked good!” Haku assured them. “Good communication, smooth clipping, no back clipping or anything silly like that, and Bakugou, your positioning and timing looked excellent. If you’re ready, you can switch jobs and show me the other side.”

“Even though I didn’t make it to the top?”

“That’s not the important part,” Haku shrugged. “It’s a big wall, and there are some tough climbs in there. All I care about is that you can get four clips safely.”

“Oh! Great, I’m glad!”

He picked up the end of the rope, hooking his own belay device on this time, and Haku turned to watch Katsuki tying in, giving him a thumbs-up that Katsuki didn’t even bother to acknowledge – he knew his knot was good without the staff telling him.

“You gonna do the same one?” Izuku grinned. “Gonna show me how it’s done?”

“It does look fun,” Katsuki admitted. “I really like that full-wall traverse too, but that might not be first-climb material.”

“Give it a try, you only need four clips!”

“That’s true.”

Katsuki nodded, checking his gear one more time as he stepped up close to the wall, putting both hands on a big orange hold.

“Attempting to climb,” he said, as he lifted his first foot.

“Attempting to belay!”

“Har har, so funny,” Katsuki drawled, starting his climb all the same. “You’re lucky I understand your shitty sense of humour.”

“And you’re lucky I know you’re not as mean as you pretend to be!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he didn’t bother to answer, levering himself up to grab the next hold and hook onto the first clip. Izuku shut his mouth obediently, letting Katsuki focus, but he couldn’t help but smile to himself all the same.

“On belay,” he said, well-aware that Katsuki wasn’t listening, and didn’t really care whether or not he confirmed it out loud. “Go for it, Kacchan.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

He braced one foot on a solid hold, sticking the other out to help keep his balance as he leaned to reach a hold – Katsuki may have been taller than Izuku, but he still wasn’t quite there yet when it came to short-phobic setters, apparently.

“I like his precision,” Haku was saying quietly, a few steps away. “Slow and steady, calculated.”

“Despite his mouth, that’s very much his personality,” Aizawa agreed. “Everything is thought through before he ever makes a move.”

“It’ll be interesting to see his dynos, if he’s not much of a sender.”

“He’s great at them,” Izuku assured him. “He takes a second to prepare but always nails it, I’m the one who throws myself and hopes for the best.”

“Me too,” Haku chuckled. “I feel like it’s more fun that way.”

“I totally agree!”

“I envy his control, though.”

“Me too, but don’t tell him I said that.”

Katsuki reached his first major overhang, leaning back and shifting all his weight to his arms, carefully working his first foot up to hook between a rock and the wall. His second foot lifted right up near his shoulder, pressing against a rock backwards to swing himself a little higher, and Haku let out a low whistle.

“You’d be surprised how many people don’t think of that,” he explained, when Aizawa glanced over at him. “Or don’t have the flexibility to make it work, if they do think of it.”

“Careful, you’ll give him a big head,” Izuku grinned. “Kacchan! Haku says you’re going too slow and he wants to see you send it!”

“No he didn’t, asshole,” Katsuki snorted. “He’s smarter than that.”

“Fine, but can you at least show them a good dyno? You need to put on more of a show.”

“There’s one up top, be patient.”

“There is?” Izuku followed the route with his eyes, grinning when he spotted the big orange hold with nothing around it. “Oh! That’s a fun one!”

“Hold yourself together for like two minutes.”

“That should only take you one minute, Kacchan.”

“Fuck off.”

Sure enough, Katsuki was soon rounding the edge to an easier slope, taking a second to brace himself and shake out one hand at a time, getting some blood flowing better through his forearms. He lifted one foot up high, loaded all his weight onto it, and with one short, explosive push, he launched himself upwards. Both hands wrapped around the big hold, one foot shooting out to brace himself against a small corner where the slope of the wall changed, and with a long, deep breath, he began to shift his weight.

Izuku watched intently as he worked himself around the hold, walking his feet up the corner until he was almost in a push-up position, freeing one hand to grab his rope.

“Clipping.”

“Gotcha!”

With his rope in place, he shifted one of his feet to brace a knee beside his hands, navigating himself up to stand where his hands once were. It all came with a level of precision that Izuku wasn’t sure he’d ever reach, moving each of his extremities millimetres at a time to get his grip perfect. Izuku didn’t have the patience for that, was more inclined to just move on quickly and hope for the best – a habit he should probably start training out of himself for the sake of rescue missions.

Katsuki slid his fingers in a little crack between two blocks, and Izuku pulled a face – he hated moves like that, was always convinced his fingers would get stuck and he’d never get them out again.

“Looks like you could use a good jug right there,” he mused. “would make the whole next section a lot simpler.”

"Who needs big jugs when you've got a tight crack?"

Izuku laughed brightly, glancing over just in time to see Aizawa rolling his eyes at them again, although Haku at least had a little smirk playing at his lips.

“Nice move!” Izuku called, when Katsuki closed his fist to jam his hand in tighter, giving himself enough stability to shift his feet up higher.

"Nothing better than shoving your fist in a crack."

“Kacchan!”

“I said what I said.”

Another clip got Katsuki to six, one higher than Izuku had managed, and even without saying a word, Izuku saw the smirk that stretched across Katsuki’s lips.

“Yeah, yeah,” he groaned. “We get it, Kacchan is amazing, don’t rub it in.”

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” Katsuki replied, completely unconvincing. “Climbing here.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

Before he could quite get to clip number seven, Izuku saw the telltale signs he’d once been so familiar with. Before Katsuki even said a word, Izuku was giving the rope a sharp pull and locking it down, sitting back to take the weight as Katsuki’s feet began to slide.

“Shit!” Katsuki burst, as his grip faltered.

“Got it!”

Katsuki fell back to the ledge he’d not long ago conquered, dangling in the empty space just below, arms up to make sure he didn’t crash into the wall and whack his head. He groaned at himself, even as Uraraka and Iida clapped their hands lightly, and Izuku smiled up at him.

“I had it,” he huffed, as Izuku brought him down to the ground. “Just needed to get my damn hand up quicker, before I lost my footing.”

“Next time!” Izuku assured him. “You know what to do, now!”

“Yeah. Fuck.”

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, but you both did a great job,” Haku assured them. “It’s a hard wall. That’s the whole point, after all! You’re welcome to keep climbing here while I work with some of your classmates, I have full faith in you!”

“Thank you!” Izuku grinned. “I’m keen to try some more of these routes, they look awesome.”

“By all means!”

“You’ve got about an hour left until we head back,” Aizawa informed them. “Should be enough time for a few turns each, so take your time, don’t hurt yourselves.”

“We’ll be careful! I’m gonna grab some water. Kacchan, you need anything?”

“Me too.”

“I’ll grab your bottle, you untie.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

He stepped away to the cubby holes, rummaging through both of their bags to find bottles, and grinned when Uraraka hurried after him, already gushing over their climbing attempts.

“I don’t know how you do all that crazy stuff,” Uraraka said faintly, glancing back at the massive lead wall. “It looks terrifying!”

“But you have a belayer at the bottom taking care of you, it’s not scary at all!”

“What if the belayer does something wrong? Leaves the rope too loose, or doesn’t lock it down in time, or something?”

Izuku frowned slightly, contemplating, and finally shook his head.

“It’s Kacchan,” he said simply.

“Even Bakugou makes mistakes!”

“Not when he’s in charge of keeping me safe, he would never. It’s all about trust, and I trust Kacchan completely.”

“It looks like he puts a lot of trust in you, too.”

Izuku smiled at that, glancing over to where Katsuki was pulling his rope back down to the ground, coiling it neatly for their next attempt.

“I hope so,” he said finally. “I do my best, and I think he knows that, even if we make fun of each other a lot in the process.”

“He definitely knows,” Uraraka assured him, taking Katsuki’s water bottle to let Izuku open his own as they walked. “You two make a really good team, when you want to.”

Izuku set his bottle down at the edge of the mats, where he could grab it again quickly between climbs, and while Katsuki took a few gulps from his own, he began tying himself back in for his next climb.

“Alright nerd, get your ass to the top this time,” Katsuki instructed, giving Uraraka a quick nod of thanks as she took his bottle back. “I’m not letting you down unless you clip the anchors.”

“I hope you’re prepared to haul me back up when I fall, then!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Alright, deal!”

They glanced over each other’s gear, and with a quick nod Izuku began his next climb, making his way quickly to the first clip and sliding his rope onto it smoothly.

"How do I belay again?"

Izuku snorted, losing his grip and immediately falling back down, Katsuki chuckling quietly to himself as he quickly loosened the rope to let them both stand comfortably again.

“You alright there?” he asked, as Izuku hiccuped through his laughter. “Are you choking?”

“Kacchan!” he insisted breathlessly. “You can’t do that to me when I’m climbing!”

“Pretty sure I just did.”

“Kacchan!”

Katsuki watched on with a hint of fondness in his expression as Izuku slowly managed to conquer his giggles, taking long, slow breaths to gather himself, even though every hiccup sent him into another fit and set him back a solid twenty seconds.

“Okay, I think I’m good,” Izuku sighed. “That one really got me.”

“Tell me about it. Anyway that’s your turn, start untying.”

“Kacchan!”

“Stop yelling my name,” Katsuki shoved him lightly, looking a little amused all the same. “Let’s go then, nerd. This time I really am gonna refuse to let you down.”

“Noted,” Izuku grinned. “Alright, just pretend that last one never happened!”

“Not a hope in hell,” Katsuki smirked. “But let’s go with take two.”

─────

Katsuki shed his harness and shoes, putting everything away neatly in the different pockets of his bag. It was much more organised than Izuku’s one, where everything just got thrown in the largest compartment, the smaller pockets just used for band-aids and painkillers and other stuff he pretty much never used. Katsuki even had other, smaller bags to keep things from getting lost or damaged, while Izuku just let everything stay on his harness for next time. Not to mention his bag still looked brand new, even though he’d bought it at the same time Izuku got his own, and his looked ready to fall apart.

Izuku lifted the strap over his head, settling his bag in place, and Katsuki shouldered his own, marching toward the exit with Kirishima and Kaminari hurrying along behind. He paused as he passed Izuku, the pair almost running into his back, and Izuku smiled up at him when their eyes met.

“Oi,” Katsuki said, shoving Izuku lightly. “You and me, here again, Sunday.”

“Wow, Kacchan, are you asking me out on a date?” Izuku couldn’t help but tease. “I didn’t know all your insults were meant to be flirting with me!”

Katsuki froze, staring at him blankly, and Izuku mentally kicked himself. He’d taken it too far, had made him uncomfortable when he could have just said “sure!” and been done with it.

“Yeah,” Katsuki said finally, the entire class stopping to stare. “Sure. Climbing then dinner.”

“Wait, what?” Izuku stuttered, hurrying to keep up when Katsuki began walking again. “Kacchan, don’t say that then walk away! Are you seriously asking me on a date?!”

“If you don’t want to, just fuckin’ say so.”

“I do want to! Stop running away from me! Yes, Kacchan! I’m so excited! Let’s do it! Please!”

“Shut the hell up,” Katsuki snapped, face burning bright red. “I already said I would, didn’t I?”

“Yeah!”

“Then shut up about it already.”

“Are you getting all shy now? You’re so cute, Kacchan!”

“I said shut up!”

Despite his sharp words, Katsuki didn’t make any effort to push him away or make his escape. Izuku just grinned up at him, and Katsuki shoved him again lightly, forcing his gaze away from Katsuki’s glowing cheeks.

“Thanks, Kacchan,” he said softly, as they stepped out the door into a cool evening breeze. “I can’t wait to go out with you.”

“Damn right, I’m amazing.”

“I know.”

Katsuki hesitated for a moment, then leaned over slightly, planting a tiny, gentle peck on Izuku’s freckled cheek.

“If you tell anyone I did that, I’ll kill you.”

“I won’t,” Izuku giggled, his own face taking a turn at going pink. “You can trust me, Kacchan.”

“Good.”

“On one condition.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, surprisingly patient as he waited for Izuku to elaborate.

“You’re paying for dinner.”

Katsuki laughed, and Izuku’s grin grew extra wide, watching in delight as Katsuki attempted to cover up his momentary lapse of self-control.

“Deal?” Izuku prompted.

“Deal,” Katsuki agreed. “You drive a hard bargain, nerd.”

“I learned from the best.”

They stepped up into the bus, heading for their seats – Katsuki at the back where his squad would no doubt join him, and Izuku at the front where he got less motion sick – but as they sat down, they shared one last look across the bus, Katsuki managing a tiny little smile before he quickly hid it away where his classmates wouldn’t see it.

As the bus filled up, Izuku pulled his phone out of his pocket, humming to himself happily as he opened up a search tab.

Where to buy purple climbing ropes.