A Convincing Effort [NSFW] - Chapter 1

“Oh,” Izuku mumbled, eyes widening as he continued to scroll down the webpage. “I know this.”

“You do?” Ochako asked, blinking at him. “Are you...?”

“Oh, no, not me! But... A friend! Um, this is what one of my friends is! I think. He just never used this word, but it all... fits!”

“Yeah? That’s cool! I think Shouto is kind of happy to finally have a word for it, you know? A word that makes him belong, instead of just feeling out of place and stuff.”

“I get that,” Izuku nodded faintly. “It’s always nice to know there are other people out there like you! I’m happy for him! We should buy him a gift, to celebrate. What does the Asexual flag look like? Could we get him something in Asexual colours?”

“I don’t know, actually. Look it up! A gift would be fun!”

Izuku bent over his keyboard again, typing it in, and when Ochako leaned in to look with him, he couldn’t help but smile. His friends had all been so accepting when he’d told them he liked guys, it was so nice to finally have the opportunity to support one of them back before they’d already come to terms with their sexuality and no longer needed his encouragement.

“I think he’ll like that,” Ochako hummed, as they stared at the four stripes. “It’s kind of... neutral? It’s not overbearing, like the rainbow is. No offence.”

“None taken,” Izuku laughed brightly. “There’s a nice blue and green one too, it’s a lot more subtle. But I like my pride flags loud and in your face, it’s a lot more fun that way.”

“You continue to surprise me every day.”

Izuku grinned at her, and Ochako smiled right back, leaning over to click on a link.

“We should get this shirt, that’s hilarious” she said, pointing at it eagerly. “I bet they have matching ones in other flag colours too, we could get them for the whole squad.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think they’re gonna have one for straight people.”

“Oh,” Ochako sighed, face falling. “Right. I never get the fun stuff.”

“Human rights?”

“Okay, shut up, point taken.”

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh, and Ochako cracked a smile of her own, shaking her head fondly.

“Alright,” she continued, clicking the add to cart button. “One ace, one rainbow, one bi, one lesbian, and little old me sitting sad in the corner.”

“There there,” Izuku chuckled, patting her on the head lightly. “Every group needs a token straight friend, we wouldn’t be a squad without you.”

Ochako puffed out her cheeks in a huff, but it gave way quickly into another laugh – Ochako had always been quick with a smile, it was one of the first things that had made Izuku want to be her friend.

“Do you wanna get one for your friend too?” she suggested. “Saves on shipping if you do it all at once.”

“No, I’m good.” Izuku’s smile wavered a little. “I’m not sure he knows it’s a thing, yet, so I don’t wanna push him too soon.”

“You’re a good guy,” she praised, leaning into his side. “We’re lucky to have you.”

Izuku burned bright red, and Ochako smiled up at him, moving the mouse to check out and clicking the button.

When their spontaneous squad purchase was done, along with a decent Ally shirt that had taken a surprisingly long time to hunt down, Izuku headed off to turn in for the night. Time had gotten away from him somewhere along the way, and as he tiptoed down a hallway, he felt himself shiver a little. He’d meant to pick up his things from Katsuki’s room hours ago, before the train to dreamland took its inevitably early stop at Kacchan Station, but he’d screwed up and he was about to face the wrath of a tired Katsuki for it.

As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard a sound from inside, and something about it made him hesitate. He’d never heard Katsuki make a noise like that before, it was almost like... a whimper? Was something wrong? There was no way Katsuki was alone in his bedroom crying, right? Unless he’dhad a nightmare?

Oh no.

What if someone had broken into Katsuki’s bedroom?

Another whimper, and Izuku pressed his ear to the door to listen closer, quirk buzzing just beneath his skin as he listened for any sign of a struggle.

“Fuck.”

His quirk died down as quickly as it had come – if Katsuki could say something and it wasn’t a scream at someone to die, he probably wasn’t being kidnapped. So back to nightmare, then. It was no surprise, after everything he’d been through in such a short time, but he’d never said a word about it – Izuku had thought they were getting closer, thought they could finally talk to each other again as friends, but Katsuki still wasn’t comfortable mentioning nightmares.

Unless it was a one-off, but that somehow seemed unlikely.

“Fuck, yes.”

Well. That certainly threw a wrench in the works.

He knew he should knock, should just get in there and grab his stuff then move on – maybe he could even sneak in, then he wouldn’t even need to wake Katsuki up! Yeah, that was a good plan – sneak in, double check Katsuki was safe, sneak back out with the homework and textbooks he’d left behind, and no one had to be any the wiser!

Slowly, carefully, he twisted the door handle.

With the sliver of light from the hall as his guide, he slipped his arm through the crack into a dark room. He conjured up a mental map of every piece of furniture in Katsuki’s room, to make sure he wouldn’t hurt himself in the process, then with a last deep breath, he stepped forward.

“What the fuck?!” Katsuki demanded, jolting upright and yanking his blankets up where they slipped away in his haste. “Don’t you knock?!”

“I’m sorry!” Izuku squeaked, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I thought you were asleep!”

“So you broke into my room?”

“I was trying to be sneaky! I didn’t want to wake you!”

“So you broke into my room.”

“I didn’t break in, it was unlocked!”

“Well you sure as hell didn’t knock.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“What the fuck ever, just grab your shitty stuff and get the fuck out.”

“Okay! Sorry! Hurrying!”

Izuku tore his eyes away from Katsuki’s bare torso, turning them instead to the desk where his homework sat, perfectly stacked in a neat little pile. It was already gonna be a struggle to get it done before class in the morning, let alone with that image burned into his brain. Why the fuck did his childhood friend have to be so hot?

“Stop muttering, you creepy-ass pervert,” Katsuki demanded. “First you break into my room in the middle of the night, now you’re muttering your ass off about my abs?”

“S-Sorry! I just- I don’t see you shirtless often! I swear I didn’t mean anything by it!”

“God, Allo people are so fucking weird.”

Izuku froze, jaw hanging open a little, and Katsuki actually blushed when he saw it.

“Google it, nerd-ass, get out of my damn room.”

“So you are Asexual?”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him, and it was Izuku’s turn to blush again, waving his hands frantically and hoping it was placating despite his nerves.

“Sorry! That’s none of my business! I’ll just-”

“Did he finally come out?”

He froze again, his brain ceasing to function, and Katsuki just waited.

“I’m not gonna elaborate,” Katsuki clarified, when the silence grew uncomfortably long. “In case he didn’t.”

“Todoroki?” Izuku asked faintly.

Katsuki nodded this time, and Izuku returned the gesture.

“He did. I didn’t know you knew.”

“It came up,” he shrugged.

“Were you like... His Asexual mentor, or something?”

“God, you’re so fucking weird.”

Izuku cracked a smile finally, and Katsuki just rolled his eyes, waving at the door.

“Piece of shit can tell you his own life story, I’m going to sleep.”

“Okay,” Izuku nodded, scooping up his books. “Sorry to uh, disturb you.”

Still he lingered, and Katsuki’s eyes narrowed, as if he could glare Izuku out of the room quicker.

“I... Didn’t know Asexual people still jerked off.”

“Out.”

Izuku hurried out the door before Katsuki’s explosions could aim his way, cracks and pops behind him telling him it was far too close a call as he slammed the door shut between them.

God, doing his homework was going to be excruciating.

─────

When his new shirt arrived, Izuku changed into it immediately. He was so excited for it, gleeful even, and he hoped his friends would share the same enthusiasm he and Ochako had gone through. He ran into Tsuyu first, sitting in the corner of the common area, and quickly dug out the right shirt for her. She flashed him a bright smile when he handed it over, unfolding it to take a look.

“I think yours is the prettiest colours,” Ochako informed her, as she held it up to see. “I wish I liked girls.”

“I wish you liked girls too!” Mina piped up from the couch, getting snorts from the friends around her.

“Awww! Thank you!” Ochako gushed. “That’s so sweet, Mina!”

Izuku caught Katsuki’s eye, when he looked Mina’s way, and quickly looked away again, his cheeks already warm. The image of Katsuki’s dick falling out of his hand as he jumped, hastily covered with a wrinkled bed sheet, was living rent free in his stupid brain.

“Shouto!” Uraraka beamed, quickly digging his shirt from the box. “We got you something!”

“Oh?”

She held it up for him, and to everyone’s disbelief, Shouto smiled. Not the small, shy thing Izuku had seen him crack a few times over the years, but a full-blown, genuine smile.

“I love it,” he said sincerely, accepting it from her grip. “Thank you.”

“We match!” Izuku beamed, pointing down at his own rainbow letters. “Gotta make sure everyone knows we’re the queerest squad on campus!”

“Good luck with that,” Katsuki snorted, his entire group cracking up around him. “We don’t have a token straight girl in ours.”

“Rude!” Ochako pouted, pointing at her own shirt stubbornly. “I’m an ally, that’s close enough!”

“The A in the acronym ain’t for Ally, sunshine.” Mina laughed. “I hate to break it to you.”

“I know that!” she insisted, cheeks burning. “That’s not what I meant!”

“She knows,” Shouto confirmed, holding up his shirt in explanation.

“Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not.” Mina read aloud, laughing brightly. “Oh, that’s so cute! I love that.”

“Are you Ace too?” Eijirou asked curiously, leaning over the arm of the couch to look closer. “Or A-spec of some sort, I assume?”

Before he could answer, Katsuki held out a fist, not even looking Shouto’s way as he waited. Shouto took a step closer, bumping it painfully awkwardly with his own, and cracking another smile when Katsuki nodded at him.

“Nice,” he said simply.

“Nice,” Shouto echoed.

Izuku couldn’t decide whether he wanted to laugh or cry at the interaction – especially knowing that Katsuki had known first. He knew to the others it looked like nothing – a simple acknowledgement that they were the same, to Katsuki’s friends, and an acceptance of his announcement, to Shouto’s, but to Izuku it held a strange weight. Katsuki had known first, Katsuki had talked him through it, probably on one of their long days at the remedial course. Katsuki wasn’t just acknowledging his sexuality, he was praising Shouto, on the courage it must have taken to speak up. And Izuku felt that knowledge in his chest, like an odd ache that squeezed at his heart.

“Aro?” Denki asked bluntly, snapping Izuku out of his reverie. “Not sure yet?”

“Probably Aro,” Shouto agreed. “Could change.”

“They often do,” Denki nodded, painfully sincere. “And that’s okay.”

“Thank you,” Shouto answered, cracking a more familiar smile – one that said he was trying not to laugh at someone else’s expense. “I’m glad you all approve.”

“Obviously,” Mina laughed, ruffling Katsuki’s messy hair. “We’ve got our own resident Ace, it’s about time he had someone else on his team.”

“Oh,” Ochako squeaked quietly. “That’s what you meant, Deku?”

Izuku smiled sheepishly, and Katsuki raised an eyebrow at them, shoving Mina off with a lot more care than he’d ever admit to out loud.

“I didn’t know that you knew,” he began to explain – poorly. “But when I read about it for Todoroki, I thought oh, because I knew, that even if you didn’t know, that it was probably you too.”

“You can say the fucking word, De- Izuku. It’s not an insult or some shit.”

“I know that!” he huffed. “I just... Forget it, it doesn’t matter.”

“You thought Ace people didn’t jack off?” Mina practically sang, making Izuku’s face flame with red-hot heat. “Oh, we heard, sweetie.”

“Kacchan!”

“It was fuckin’ funny, what’d you expect?”

“It’s not my fault I’m new to this!”

“Bet my Ace ass is better at sex than your Gay ass anyway.”

“Kacchan!!”

Katsuki just smirked, enjoying his misery, and Izuku groaned, searching for something to just disappear into – maybe he could call Thirteen over, get her to just suck him into oblivion and let him avoid the awkwardness forever.

“You’ve tried?” Shouto asked, leaning on the back of the couch to settle in. “And didn’t like it?”

“Sex is boring as fuck,” Katsuki answered flatly. “At least when I jerk off I can just get it over with and not deal with all the shitty foreplay.”

“Foreplay is the best part,” Mina objected.

“Says the lesbian.”

“Okay, point taken! But come on. The intimacy and the sweetness and love, the build up, the anticipation, it’s so nice!”

“Gross. I’d rather read a book or some shit.”

“Maybe you just need the right person to make it good for you?”

“Good luck,” Katsuki snorted. “You can cuddle and shit any time. If you wanna fuck, just fuck.”

“They might be the queerest squad at school,” Ochako whispered in Izuku’s ear, forlorn. “Sorry.”

“No, thank you, I don’t want it if this is what it takes.”

“And you, Izuku,” Katsuki cut in, dragging him back to the conversation he’d hoped he’d escaped. “For someone apparently not Ace as fuck, you sure as hell walk into a lot of bedrooms without knocking.”

“It was one bedroom!” Izuku insisted. “And I already apologised a dozen times!”

“If you think you’re getting away with any less than a year of making fun of you, you are sorely mistaken.”

“Oh look, Iida is back!” Izuku said quickly, forcing a smile back on his face as he made his second attempt at escape. “Look what we got you!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he didn’t object, and Izuku breathed a sigh of relief as he handed over Tenya’s matching squad shirt, striped with pink and blue and purple. He knew he hadn’t heard the end of Katsuki’s torment, but at least for the moment, he could breathe easy again.

[Chapter 2!]