Work Text:
Izuku recognized that he was far too tipsy and drenched for a bachelorette party.
Neither were a common occurrence for him, making the fact he was both at the same time a little worrisome. He hadn’t thought to look at the weather when he planned Ochaco’s party, wishing he’d at least remembered to bring umbrellas to the game board bar. The place’s rave reviews about being a welcoming place for all types meant it was perfect to celebrate her engagement with Toga. Though he knew people were less discriminatory toward same sex marriage, he refused to take a chance with such a special occasion. Plus, what was better than sinking someone’s battleship while sipping on a frozen margarita?
From how Ochaco squealed and drunkenly spun around in the rain, she had agreed. “That was so much fun! Izu-kun, you’re the best Best Man I could ever ask for. And you got it to rain? How did you know I love the rain?”
“I don’t think he chose the weather,” Tsu answered, holding her green coat over her head to avoid getting her long hair soaked.
“Also, you used two ‘bests’ in the same sentence. That’s not really necessary.”
“Oh, Tenya, you’re so funny!” Ochaco’s punch of the tall man’s arm nearly knocked him off the sidewalk, Shoto quick to grab him and tug him back to safety. If she noticed her strength, she didn’t react, quick to run in her heels to grab the lightpost and spin around it. “What would we do without our human encyclopedia?”
“I was unaware she liked rain so much,” Shoto said, though Izuku sighed and tried to keep his feet walking in a straight line.
“Trust me, this is the alcohol talking.”
“Maybe we should have cut her off after that fourth starburst shot.”
Tsu had taken each offered drink without a problem, acting like it was simple water. Tenya chose to avoid drinking in order to have one sober mind around, while Shoto seemed to know the perfect amount to get him pleasantly buzzed. Izuku was further along than he planned to be when they went to the bar, knowing how much of a lightweight he was. He couldn’t be hungover for the rehearsal dinner, knowing he’d be in charge of assuring Ochaco and Toga’s ceremony was perfect. Things like making sure all of the guests checked in to the hotel, and confirming all amenities were good to go, would be a lot harder with a headache and upset stomach. But Ochaco’s demands to have a drinking buddy tended to fall on his shoulders as her Best Man.
“Ochaco, please get off the streetlight.” Tenya’s concerned command only made Ochaco laugh, seeming weightless as she wrapped her arm around the pole she climbed up.
“I’m getting married to the cutest girl I’ve ever met!”
The call of her happiness made Izuku smile while Tenya and Shoto took lead getting her back to the ground safely. Since he’d met Ochaco at the tender age of six, she’d always spoken about her dream wedding. When they would draw, Ochaco covered her pages with pretty dress designs and cake ideas she wanted for her perfect day. He was used to the excited conversations about color schemes, pros and cons of each season, and food options best for the ceremony. It had only gotten awkward for the two weeks they tried to date in high school. Both realized quickly the other was 1) like a sibling and 2) not the right sex, making their breakup something they laughed about for years after. Izuku became her wingman, and vice versa, though neither was ever quite as good at it in college.
But at twenty four, Izuku managed to finally help Ochaco when convincing her to settle her sexual tension with the infamous Himiko Toga. Rivals on opposite roller derby teams, the two flirted like school kids with pigtail tugs and elbow jabs in the matches. Outside of it, Ochaco couldn’t stop watching her, Izuku noticing her face growing pinker anytime their eyes met across the wooden rink. After months of begging her to get the other’s number, Ochaco finally did, never expecting the ‘girl with the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen’ to actually like her.
Three years later, the happy couple were two days away from being married forever.
“Oh, it’s so warm.”
The lobby of the hotel heated his chilled bones from the rain, Izuku sighing while he relaxed into the welcoming temperature. Though they dripped rainwater as they walked across the expensive tiles, nobody batted an eye at them, and he wondered if part of that had to do with Shoto’s lineage. As a wedding gift to Ochaco, he’d paid for her wedding party’s hotels for the weekend to make sure they could have a safe time without fear of having to drive home. Even though the wedding was only in the next town over, each of them were quite aware of how easily a life could be changed with bad choices.
Touya, a groomsman for Toga and the (estranged) older brother of Shoto, had suffered the consequences of a drunk driver that hit the family car. Though Enji Todoroki got most of the family out from the vehicle that caught fire after the impact, thirteen year old Touya’s broken seat belt sealed his fate. The result was severe burns and trauma that rippled through their family for over a decade, though seeing the two brothers have tentative conversations during friend events gave Izuku hope that not all the scars had to be permanent.
“Alright everyone, into the elevator.” Tenya’s directive was met with Ochaco’s giggle, Tsu linking their arms to help guide her into the spotless car.
“Did Touya say how Toga’s bachelorette party went?” Izuku asked Shoto, who blinked before looking at his phone while walking into the elevator.
“From what he sent, they had their version of fun.”
“That’s… good?” He wasn’t sure what the wording meant, though he understood the slight differences between Toga’s friend group and theirs. The growing pains of getting along had taken time and effort on everyone’s part, but their affection for Toga and Ochaco made it worth it.
“Speaking of fun ,” Ochaco said, swaying before Tsu leaned her on the railing of the elevator. “Izuku was a super hit at the game bar.”
“Oh, that’s right. Izuku, didn’t the guy who was playing Sorry write down his number for you? What did you do with that?”
At Tsu’s question, Izuku shrugged, feeling his ears give away his embarrassment when they flushed. “I still have it, but I… Well, he seemed really nice.”
“If I understand your patterns of language, I’m expecting to hear a but,” Tenya said, and Izuku laughed at how easily his friend picked up on his tells.
“I didn’t feel it.”
The rule he’d implemented for years was why he never gave his number to men he met. No matter their level of attractiveness or the intrigue he had in pursuing something more, Izuku could count on one hand the times he’d been the one to offer his information first. Most of times were to the people that now sat in the elevator with him, something in his soul telling him he needed these four to stay in his life.
“Izuku, I must insist you give romantic interests a chance with more realistic expectations.” Tenya fixed his glasses, the familiar fatigue over the running trend weighing down his voice. “While I commend you for having standards, there’s no empirical evidence that your gut intuition will actually end up with you being happy.”
“That’s not true!” Ochaco waved her finger with the hand not bracing her on the railing. “I waited for it, and that’s how I got Himiko! Don't doubt the power of the punch spark.”
“The punch spark?” Tsu asked, tilting her head at the unfamiliar term. “What’s that?”
Shoto hit the button for their floor, waiting for the doors to close while he spoke. “Oh, you’ve never spoken with them about this? Uraraka brings it up quite often, though I’ve yet to feel anything like it.”
“That’s because you only do hook-ups,” Izuku said, knowing he was far too defensive of something he and Ochaco discovered as teenagers. But even if they were young when they came up with the title, he still felt it was an honest phenomenon. Toga and Ochaco were proof of it.
“So, is it love at first sight?”
He shook his head at Tsu’s question. “No, not exactly. I can’t really put it into words, because— well, you have to be in the moment to experience it. There’s no rules or process, which is why Tenya doesn’t like it. But when you find the person you’re supposed to be with forever, it kind of hits you out of nowhere like… lightning.” His hand pressed over his chest, unsure if his words made any sense with the fuzzy edges of his brain. “You’re numb but tingly. There’s a swell of emotions that drowns you. And you’re desperate to breathe, but you can’t find air. Except you like it? No, you love it. Because it's a… a…”
“It’s a punch spark!” Ochaco cheered, pumping her fist up into the air.
Like magic, once she finished her shout, a strange noise went off above them before the elevator stopped moving. For a moment, the lights shut down, but emergency ones came on right after, keeping the car just as bright as it had been the moment before. But despite the blink of the lights, the elevator didn’t resume its ascent, the stagnant situation leaving everyone in the car speechless.
Finally, Tsu blinked before she glanced between Ochaco and Izuku. “Maybe I should’ve waited until you two were sober to ask.”
“The elevator hates the punch spark!” Ochaco wailed out, and Izuku rushed over to calm her down. “It’s as awful about true love as Tenya!”
“Did I just get compared to an elevator?” Tenya asked in shock, Izuku ignoring him to focus on the crying bride. He’d forgotten how easily her emotions flipped when she got drunk, though her watery eyes brought him memories of too many college bathrooms together.
“No, no! It’s not your fault. I’m sure the, uh… elevator totally supports true love.” He gave her a thumbs up, watching her sniffle through her tears. “And if it could come to your wedding with Toga, it would.”
“You really think so?” He nodded, knowing Ochaco would hate herself in the morning when Izuku told her about the drunken conversation. For now, he let out a breath of relief when she rubbed her tears away, turning his attention to Shoto’s casual pressing of the hotel buttons.
“Any luck?”
“None of the numbers are doing anything when I click them,” he answered, Tenya pacing while he waved his phone around.
“I can’t get a signal for more than a few seconds.”
“What about the emergency phone?” Tsu pointed to the bright yellow button to the right of the elevator levels. “Looks like that one’s still glowing.”
“Wonderful idea,” Tenya replied while Shoto followed the suggestion, tapping it hard enough to make it blink in recognition.
It only took a moment before the operator’s voice entered the elevator. “Hello, what’s your emergency?”
“Good evening.” Tenya took control of the communication while Izuku moved Ochaco to the opposite corner of the small space. He didn’t need her sudden exclamations to interrupt the important information gathering. “It appears our elevator had some sort of short-circuiting and it’s stuck. We have emergency lights but nothing else is currently online.”
“Okay, we’ll be sending someone to fix that problem right away. From what we’re hearing, there’s a storm that could have affected the hotel’s electricity, which may be the cause of your pause. How many people are inside with you?”
“Five, including myself.”
“Okay, any medical emergencies we need to know about?”
“No, we’re all okay.”
“Thank you for that information, I’ll inform the fire department that’s currently on route to the hotel. Please keep away from the doors and do not try to open them. They’ll be in contact soon. Reach out again if any changes inside the elevator car come up.”
“Fire department?” Ochaco asked once the call disconnected, her eyes opening wider when Shoto nodded. “We’re gonna get rescued by hot firemen?”
“I thought you weren’t interested in men?” Tsu asked, curious over accusatory.
Tenya’s voice held more scandal. “And you’re getting married in two days.”
“Men can be attractive without me wanting to be with them!” Her pout was better than her crying, Ocacho pretending to kick at Tenya while sticking out her tongue. “Also, Himiko would rate them with me.”
“I can pretend to be Toga for you.” Too straight-faced to not be a genuine offer, Shoto moved across the elevator to sit on the other side of Ochaco, offering her his hand. “Shall we use a color system or numbers?”
“We gotta do a tier list!” She giggled and linked their fingers, pressing his hand to her cheek while she sighed. “I love you guys so much.”
“We love you, too,” Izuku answered, knowing he spoke for the other three easily. Even if she was a little more like her fiance when drunk, Ochaco was still one of his favorite people.
“I can help make a chart for you on my phone.” Tsu scooted to sit in front of the two, who easily fell into naming levels and discussing the parameters of each category. Despite his earlier judgment, Tenya was weak to data collection, and he quickly joined the conversation to help Tsu manage the rubric.
Shaking his head with a smile, Izuku wiggled to shove his hand into his pants pocket, pulling out the paper shoved inside nervously an hour ago. Though they didn’t have a lot of service, he could still enter the number for the next morning, or maybe after the busy weekend. Except when he unrolled the soaked paper, he let out a soft huff of a laugh. The pen used to write the number was blurred beyond recognition, two of the numbers nothing more than a stain he’d never be able to discern. Izuku knew he should have felt upset about the loss, but he took it as another sign from the universe. If he didn’t feel the punch spark before, he didn’t want to waste time on someone that didn’t have his happy ending.
He wasn’t sure how long the group worked on the ‘fireman hotness tier’ list, zoning out when a wave of his alcohol intake fuzzed out his thoughts. But he was shaken back into reality when Ochaco’s foot bopped against his shin, her affection over whatever the conversation was highlighting her brown gaze.
“What’s up?” He asked, smiling without a real reason.
“I can’t wait to see you get married.”
“Oh uh…” Cheeks growing red with the blunt comment, Izuku laughed through his nerves. “That was random.”
“We were talking about who we thought would get married next, since all of us are single,” Tenya explained, relaxed against the opposite wall next. He’d taken off his jacket, letting it hang over the railing by his head. “She started making imaginary weddings for each of us, and she made herself cry when she got to yours.”
Tsu, with her shoes sitting in her crossed legs, nodded. “It was a really nice ceremony. Your future fiance is lucky.”
“Midoriya has a husband personality.”
“Shoto, I-I’m not even dating anyone!”
Despite his protest, Tenya spoke like he’d thought over the topic before. “You have good morals, but can be adaptable to those around you when they need empathy. When dealing with crisis situations, you can be the voice of reason. My belief is you’d be a supportive and understanding partner, and would carry half of the responsibilities around your house. From the previous conversation, you’re a romantic, so affection won’t be an issue. With all these criteria, I cannot imagine a situation where you wouldn’t be a good choice to marry.”
“What he said,” Shoto said, Tsu’s sagely nod leaving him speechless.
“I want Izuku to get married for my wedding gift.” Ochaco’s outrageous comment made him panic, voice squeaking when he shook his head.
“How would we even make that happen?! It’s not like a husband is going to fall out of the sky.”
The sudden jerk of the elevator doors made everyone jump, heads quickly turning to see the crack emerging through the middle. Though it didn’t open completely, Izuku was able to see enough to realize they were slightly under one of the floors of the hotel. The gap was small, but not impossible to squeeze through if they could get the right lift. Before he could try to do any of the angled math in his head, something popped into the space. There, like some sort of illusion, a dream dressed as a firefighter appeared. Starstruck, Izuku blamed the alcohol for his inability to look away, taking in the pretty face that only grew in attractiveness when the man scowled. Blond hair was a sharp contrast to the black fireproof jacket, the collar far too open to be professional. The red of his sharp eyes burned like the fire he was paid to put out. Did they accidentally hire a model?
His gawking came to an embarrassing end when Ochaco gasped, pointing up in the vicinity of where her drunk gaze saw the new man. “Husband in the sky… Izuku, I found him!”
“Hah?” The rough tone rubbed like a cat’s tongue down Izuku’s back, a pleasant burn he didn’t know how long he could withstand without breaking apart. Except the moment of pleasure quickly doused itself when he realized what his plastered friend just said.
“If I was Toga,” Shoto started, tilting his head in his observation. “And I was placing this fireman on our tier list… my pick is the ‘I would yeet myself into a burning building so he’d touch me’ tier.”
“Oh my gosh.” Mortified at the ease of Shoto’s comment, he looked at Tenya with wide eyes. “Why did you let them use that as a level?!”
“Because they wanted to base it off the duties of a fireman, and I determined that was the most dangerous those in this career encounter.” Tenya coughed after, seeming to recognize the error of his ways when he mumbled. “The wording was left to Ochaco and Tsu.”
“I think Izuku’s upset because the fireman’s his type.”
“Tsu!” Any inhibition from the alcohol gone, Izuku snapped his head back up to the firefighter watching their conversation with an arched brow. He stood up quickly holding his hands out like a defense. “Please ignore them. They’re all drunk.”
“Actually, I believe most of the rum I had is gone now.”
“Izuku drank more than any of us.”
“I was the sober adult in the group.”
“Guilty!” Ochaco was the only one who went with his explanation, laughing before she leaned against Shoto.
The stranger watching them didn’t hide his annoyance at the chatter, turning his head away to yell at someone behind him. “Oi, Shitty Hair. We’ve got a drunk tank in here. Well, that or a bunch of weirdos.”
“Excuse me, sir!” Tenya moved to stand after his protest, pressing his hands onto his hip like a disapproving parent. “That’s highly disrespectful. What if one of us was struggling with a mental health breakdown, and your negative comments elevated it?”
“Unless someone’s dying, I don’t care.”
“Bakubro, we talked about this.” Another face, much friendlier than the first, nudged its way into the space with a grin meant to calm hurricanes. “Hi there, my name’s Eijiro Kirishima, and this is my buddy, Katsuki Bakugo. Is everyone doing okay in here?”
“Oh, another one.” Ochaco tapped her cheek, looking down on Tsu’s phone in her lap. “He’s gotta be either ‘steal a cat so I can watch him rescue it from a tree’ or ‘offer to shine his boots so I can kneel for him’. What do you think, Shoto?”
While Izuku mentally cursed the dangerous mixture of Ochaco’s creativity and alcohol, Shoto glanced up at Eijiro and stared longer than appropriate before he spoke. “Hm… can I put my vote in ‘fake a charity so he’ll model in my calendar’?”
“I have no idea what’s going on, but I think I should say thanks?” Unlike Katsuki, Eijiro seemed to be a good sport, ignoring the scoff to his left before he continued. “Anyway, our plan is to see if our electric specialist can fix the motherboard of the elevator. This shaft was luckily the only one that got overloaded by the power outage, so we can focus on getting you out of here. Kami’s the best, but if he can’t figure it out, we have a couple ideas of how we’ll get you out through this gap. Worst comes to worst, we’ll do an advanced rescue. No matter what, we won’t ask you to move until we’re sure we can get you out safely. Everyone okay with that?”
“No.” Before Izuku could turn at Ochaco’s protest, a sudden sting of pain bloomed over the side of his hip, dangerously close to the curve of his cheek. “Izuku’s butt won’t fit through that small space. I don’t want it to be injured before my wedding.”
“Oh, that’s true.” Because Shoto somehow couldn’t read the moment, he simply nodded in agreement at Ochaco’s humiliating comment. “Or his thighs. He’s been adding more squats in our work-out—”
“The firefighters don’t need to know any of this.” He was going to throw out his Best Man speech and re-write it with every embarrassing memory he could think of. That was if he made it out of this before he melted into the floor.
“Dimensions are important for a safe rescue,” Tsu said, and he silently wonders what he did to her to cause such a betrayal from his sober friend.
Luckily, Tenya didn’t feed into the bit. “I apologize for our friend’s comments. We were coming back from her bachelorette party, which is why she’s being so forward.”
“I’m just worried about my Best Man!” With a wobbly frown, Ochaco looked up at the firefighters watching them. “You can see him, right? Isn’t it a serious concern?”
While Eijio laughed through his sheepish smile, Katsuki sent a pointed glance toward Izuku, who stiffened when he felt the unwavering gaze roam over his body. As quickly as the firefight took in his frame, the attention was shifted back to the bride sitting on the floor. “I don’t care how nice his ass is, we’ll make sure the nerd gets out as fine as he was walking in.”
“Nerd? I’m not a—”
“What generation are those All Might sneakers based off of?” His mouth dropped open at the call out, Katsuki’s smirk growing at the reaction. “What kind of weeb wears All Might shoes to a bachelorette party? A nerd , that’s who.”
“I didn’t know those were anime merchandise,” Tsu said, looking up at Katsuki. “So if you did, then you must also watch that show, right?”
Eijirou snapped his fingers, nodding in agreement. “Oh, she’s got a point. You could have given me twenty chances, and I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“What the— you two are stupid.” The hint of a blush crossing the fair skin only made his eyes look darker. He was pretty before, but with the little flush, he was beyond handsome.
“So you’d also throw yourself into a burning building for him?” Shoto’s question left him confused for only a moment before he came to his horrible realization.
“D-Did I say that out loud?”
“Did you not mean to?”
“Obviously not!” A hurried peek from the corner of his eye caught the growing smirk above him, Katsuki looking far too smug at his slip-up. Huffing in his embarrassed annoyance, Izuku turned away and pretended to look at something on the phone that still had no service.
“Not that I don’t think this is awesome, but Kami just said the motherboard’s dead, so he can’t turn the electricity for the elevator back on. Everything’s been shut down manually, so we’ve got the green light for extraction. How do you want to do this, bossman?”
“Let’s try a basic rescue first. Despite Pink Cheek’s worries about the nerd—” Even without looking at him, Izuku could feel the fleeting glance down his spine. “We’ve got about three feet to play with. They’ll all fit through fine. Shitty Hair, grab the step ladder and give it to Glasses. You idiots think you can handle climbing four steps for us to lift you out, or do you need me to come in and help you?”
“I think we can manage,” Tenya said, Shoto pushing up to help him with the preparation.
Tsu went first, climbing up the ladder before she took Katsuki and Eijiro’s hand to lift her through the open space of the elevator. The suggestion to have Ochaco go next failed when she protested the plan, refusing to stand up despite Izuku’s gentle coaxing.
“I saw that movie where the girl died just like this,” she said, eyes wide when she stared at Tenya role modeling the safety of the process by letting the firefighters pull him through.
“Oh, she’s talking about Final Destination 2 .”
“Not helping, Candy Cane,” Katsuki hissed, though Shoto’s answer made her shudder and yank her knees to her chest.
“Is there another way we could get her out?” Izuku asked, looking up at Katsuki in hope he’d have a second plan. “If you lift Shoto, I can hand you the step ladder and I’ll hang out in here to keep Ochaco calm while we do Plan B.”
“You’re being a pain in the ass.”
“Please?”
His soft request made Katsuki scowl, blowing out a slow breath through his nose before he pushed backward from the elevator’s opening. “Fucking idiots with their stupid freckles—”
The rant drifted away, but Izuku caught enough of the mumbling to smile at the firefighter’s annoyance. He looked up to Eijiro, hoping for clarification. “Where is he going?”
“Probably to get his repelling harness on.” The answer caught him off guard, Kirishima laughing while he nodded. “Your name is Izuku, right? And your friend’s Ochaco?”
“Oh, um, yes. You caught that?”
“It’s always good to build a little rapport with people in stressful situations, so I learned to pick up on names fast.” Then he peeked behind him, as if checking on something before turning his warm smile back toward them. “Don’t worry! Katsuki’s a little rough, but he’s actually our rescue specialist. He’s done this kind of thing dozens of times, so you and Ochaco are in good hands.”
“You’re so nice.” Ochaco hummed after her comment, perking up a sudden thought. “Can you come to my wedding?”
Not missing a beat, Kirishima laughed and nodded. “I’d love to, but we have to get you out of the elevator first. Sound like a plan?”
“Thank you,” Izuku said softly, knowing he was being much kinder than his job required.
He wasn’t sure how many minutes slipped by before he heard something drop on the top of the elevator, making him glance up to the latch door that opened from the ceiling. A second later, the end of a rope plopped to the floor before Katsuki dropped down after it. Izuku’s heart squeezed at the new angle, unsure how the firefighter looked even more attractive with a harness squeezing the loose pants against his thighs and waist. The thick jacket was abandoned somewhere in the process, revealing biceps that proved Katsuki took his job seriously. He admired the rolled up sleeves that ended just under his shoulders, sewn around his torso like the seamstress stitched it on him.
“Alright, who's going first?” Katsuki asked, crossing his arms over his chest to prove his lack of patience.
Izuku already knew his answer before he asked. “Take Ochaco. I don’t want her to be in here alone, so let’s get her to safety first.”
“Yeah.” Katsuki gave him a once over that made his toes twitch in his shoes. “Seems like something you’d say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, unsure why the comment darkened his face.
If Katsuki heard him, he didn’t answer, dropping one of his arms to crook a finger at Ochaco. “Get over here, Round Face. I’ve gotta get you in the harness.”
Intrigued, she let Izuku help her up before she walked to Katsuki, who didn’t bother asking for her help when strapping her in. She giggled when he shoved her feet in the loops before tugging it up to her waist, tightening it to fit her smaller frame before he used the carabiners to secure her to his sturdier frame.
While he double checked the rescue harness and ropes for the rappel up, Ochaco looked over her shoulder and grinned at Izuku. “Can you get me and Himiko one of these for our honeymoon? It could be a lot of fun.”
“Way too much information,” Katsuki muttered, though Izuku tried to ignore the second hand embarrassment.
“You’re going to be mortified when you wake up tomorrow,” he said, knowing her only saving grace was that nobody recorded the night.
“Midoriya’s going to think about the application of the hardnesses when it’s his turn.” Shoto’s voice came from the top of the elevator doors. Izuku looked up to see him sitting comfortably next to Eijiro, who appeared perplexed by his appearance.
“Uh, Shoto, was it? You’re really not supposed to be this close to the scene while we’re still mid-rescue.”
Shoto turned his attention to the firefighter beside him, not seeming to care about the proximity or the widened eyes he looked into. “But I like being here. Am I bothering you?”
“Not at all!” Despite his big frame and larger than life personality, Eijiro’s voice crack proved that Shoto’s natural charm had struck again. “If you just want to watch, I guess there’s no harm in you staying with me.”
“Thank you, Eijiro.” The hint of a smile after the soft murmur made Eijiro’s face match his hair color. Izuku had to wonder if Shoto even realized how many hearts he stole accidentally.
“Wow.” Katsuki seemed to be immune, face twisted with disgust while watching the scene unfold in front of them. “I hate so many things about tonight.”
“Join the club,” Izuku said, offering a sheepish smile when his words dragged Katsuki’s attention back to him. “Would it help to say you’ve caught most of us at our absolute worst?”
“Not at all.” He gave one final tug to Ochaco’s harness, though he didn’t move his gaze away from Izuku. “I’m coming back for you, so don’t touch anything.”
“What is there to touch?”
“No clue, but knowing you for all of three seconds, I bet you’d find a way to press the one thing you shouldn’t.”
“That’s a very accurate assessment of Midoriya.”
“Don’t need the cheer squad, Half-and-Half.”
Wanting to move away from picking on his shortcomings, Izuku crossed his arms. “I won’t do anything. I’ll just… wait for you.”
“Good.”
After his declaration, Katsuki didn’t move, eyes like the quiet before a raging storm. They didn’t say anything, but the chill left on the back of Izuku’s arms created phantom goosebumps. His feet iced to the floor, stomach releasing any saved air to choke Izuku without any pressure on his throat. Izuku knew the alcohol had long ago left his mind, but the pink haze that tinged the edges of his brain made him feel drunker than Ochaco. A buzz nipped at each of his fingertips, urging them to trace the growing blush playing peek-a-boo with his freckles.
A sudden giggle snapped the moment in half, Ochaco smacking Katsuki’s chest with her open palm. “Giddy up, fireman! I have to pee.”
“Jesus fucking— don’t even think about it until you’re out of my harness.” Wrapping a hand on the rope above him, he tugged twice before looking up. “Alright, drag us up, Pikachu.”
“Bye, Izuku!” Ochaco waved when their feet left the floor, and Izuku returned the gesture until both disappeared into the open latch. Once he heard Ochaco and Katsuki’s bickering echoing through the elevator shaft, he sighed and dropped his hand over his face.
Except when he felt someone watching him, Izuku turned his head, catching Eijiro’s beaming smile next to Shoto’s pleased expression. “W-What are you two looking at?”
“My buddy thinks you’re cute,” Eijiro said, like he’d been waiting forever to blurt out the words.
“Oh, that’s a relief.” Shoto bumped his shoulder against the broader one while he spoke. “Bakugo is Midoriya’s type, and he’s been staring at him for most of this interaction. Ask him if he felt the punch spark.”
“You—this is a rescue mission . Why are you trying to wingman me?”
“There's nothing wrong saying someone is attractive.” Then, like he didn’t know what the meaning of embarrassment was, Shouto continued. “I find Eijiro quite handsome.”
“Oh, wow.” The firefighter’s amusement fell away with his shock, staring at Shoto with wider eyes. “Really?”
“You’re quite fit and your welcoming presence makes me think you’d be a good kisser. I stand with my earlier ranking of you.” Shoto’s mismatched eyes looked back at Izuku, missing his previous target’s red face. “See? Now do the same for Bakugo.”
Before he could process his friend’s flawless charm, Katsuki dropped back down into the elevator, Ochaco no longer attached to him. “Alright, one hot mess done. Come here, Nerd.”
“You have a rude name for everyone you meet?” Izuku asked, though followed the order and approached him, knowing from watching Ochaco’s preparation what was about to happen.
Except he didn’t remember the suiting up of the harness being so… intimate. Firm palms slid up the back of his thighs like they’d been lovers for decades, fingers dragging the rough straps of the harness to rest under the curve of his ass. Without being asked, Izuku widened his stance, feeling heat creep up his neck despite knowing the hands on his waist were needed. He parted his lips in a silent gasp at the sharp tug of the material, forcing him into the cradle of Katsuki’s hips. A sensual spark pulsed through him when thumbs pressed into the edge of his hip bones, arching them back a bit to let the fireman gain access to the hooks that would connect them. Izuku knew he liked men after high school, and never questioned or looked back for the years that had passed.
But when the metal carabiners clicked shut, leaving Izuku unable to shift his body away from the thicker frame surrounding him, he felt like he was having his gay existential crisis all over again. Had it been that long since he'd been with someone real that an elevator rescue was sexy?
“Told you.” Shoto’s murmur wasn’t quiet enough in the small elevator, making Izuku jump. “That’s Midoriya’s thinking expression.”
Remembering his friend’s earlier prediction about Izuku and the harness, he buried his face in the soft shirt of the man he was attached to. “Well, this was fun. I’ve lived a good life. Can you just unclip me in the elevator chute, please?”
“Why, so you can leave me to deal with your idiots?” Instead, an arm wrapped around him, guiding Izuku closer with a hand on the back of his head. “Not gonna drop you. Not a fucking chance in hell, Freckles.”
Despite the question being a joke, Izuku relaxed against him, smiling into the warm collarbone. “I know.”
Because trusting Katsuki, despite the lack of time knowing him, felt easy.
With a final check on his handiwork, Katsuki tugged the rope above them. “Find a good position and stick with it, cause Pink Cheeks squirmed like a worm on a hook.”
As soon as he felt the pull of his weight leave his feet, Izuku didn’t think twice about his movements. Snapping his legs up, Izuku hooked them over the bottom of Katsuki’s spine, the back of his knees fitting snuggly against his torso.
“Wow,” Katsuki said, arching a brow. “Didn’t even hesitate on that, huh?”
Izuku quickly rushed his apology. “Sorry, just a habit for me.”
“A habit of wrapping your legs around men?” Hearing his words thrown back at him highlighted the dirty implication, though the smirk proved Katsuki wasn’t disgusted by his slip up. “Good to know.”
He wanted to ask Katsuki what that meant, but before he could build up his courage, the bright light above them proved he’d run out of time. Two men, one with blond hair and another black, appeared in the open doorway of the elevator chute, helping the two step onto the ledge before finding the solid ground of the hotel’s hallway. The sudden shift made him drop his feet, nearly pulling them both to the floor by their connected hips. Katsuki snagged the rope still attached to them to keep them upright, shouting at the two firemen hovering to ‘back off’ before focusing on releasing their clips.
“You wanna get checked by medical?” Katsuki asked, looking over his head while skilled hands unwound the harness without effort. “Seems like Pinky just finished giving your friend some fluids to help nurse that hangover of hers.”
“Oh, I’ll be okay. Thank you though.” Once he slipped his feet through both holes of the harness, he waited until Katsuki stood back up to clear his throat. “A-Actually, thank you for everything. I know Ochaco made things a little more complicated, but you were such a big help.”
“Don’t need a thanks for doing my job.” Still, even when Katsuki tried to make his shrug casual, Izuku caught the hint of a blush from the turned away cheek.
“Bakugo!” Izuku grunted when Ochaco’s chest shoved into his spine, her arms quick to wrap around his neck before he could get away from her intense hug. Despite her physical affection, his friend’s attention fell solely on the glaring fireman in front of them. “Come to my wedding Saturday.”
“Hah?”
“O-Ochaco…”
“He’s gotta! Himiko said she needs to meet the people who saved my life.”
“You weren’t in danger, dumbass,” Katsuki said, though she waved him off.
She leaned closer to Izuku’s ear, though her attempt at a whisper was three volumes too high. “And if he comes to the wedding, you get to see him in a suit. It’s a win-win.”
“That’s not a…” Stammering over himself, he flicked his glance back to Katsuki and tried to laugh through the awkwardness. “You already know how drunk she is.”
“You don’t think she’d want me there if she was sober?”
“What? No, I never said—”
“So then it's your ungrateful ass that wants me to say no.”
Unsure how this had been turned on him, Izuku did his best to correct the situation. “Of course not. I’d love it if you came. Please, come!”
“That’s what she said.” The blond from before snickered at his own joke, his friend high-fiving him through his own laugh. Katsuki didn’t seem amused when he glared over at them, Izuku preferring to look at his feet.
The plan of escape only lasted until a phone was shoved in his line of view. “Here.”
“Huh?” A flick to his forehead made him jerk back before he looked up at Katsuki, who rolled his eyes and leaned closer.
“Round Face is too drunk to give me details about the wedding, so give me your number, Nerd.”
“Oh, that… makes sense.” He typed in his name and number while Katsuki collected his equipment and tossed back on his jacket. Once double checking his information was right, he offered the device back with a shaky smile. “There you go.”
“Good. I’ll text you when I’m off shift, but it ain’t for a couple more hours.”
“That’s okay!” A step closer made Ochaco grumble from her new resting spot against him, seeming to finally wind down from some of the alcohol’s energy. He looked back at her before returning his attention to Katsuki. “I don’t think I’ll be going to bed for a while, so that gives me something to look forward to.”
“Whatever. You better answer.” Katsuki pocketed his phone before turning around. “Alright, idiots! Wrap it up and let's go back to the station. I’ve got shit to do tonight and I ain’t staying a minute late.”
“Sir yes sir!” The taller firefighter Izuku hadn’t managed to meet still waved when he chased after Katsuki, tossing an arm over his shoulders before he was shoved away.
“Well, this has certainly been a night.” Tenya approached him as the firemen started to leave, his hands finding his hips. “I’m not sure I’ll ever look at an elevator the same way again.”
Shoto seemed to have a different perspective on the situation. “I thought it was enjoyable.”
“Do you think Ochaco will remember anything?” Tsu asked, poking the cheek that wasn’t limp against Izuku’s shoulder.
“Hopefully not.” Sighing, Izuku bent down to gather her into a piggyback. “Let’s get her to bed.”
The group took their time on the way back to their rooms, though Izuku lingered in the back to keep from bumping Ochaco awake. Tenya rambled about the collected information regarding the incident, and the history of faulty elevators. Tsu seemed more interested in whoever Shoto was texting, and the ‘obvious signs’ he’d missed before. From the slight smile tickling Shoto’s lips between hums of agreement, Izuku had a guess who he was talking to.
“You felt it.”
Ochaco’s sleepy mumble made him shift her higher on his back, keeping his voice low. “Huh?”
“With Bakugo.” Sighing like she settled into a warm bath, her words were syrupy smooth. “You felt the punch spark.”
Her comment parted his lips, but before he could protest, he thought back over the small moments shared with the snarky fireman. From his abrupt introduction, to the way he easily shifted his plan for Ochaco’s anxiety, Katsuki kept his attention without effort. He knew it was foolish to think that something as crazy as an elevator rescue would lead to a real chance of a relationship. But then again, Toga and Ochaco’s love had started with them beating each other up. Despite the logical voice in his head (that sounded surprisingly like Tenya), telling him not to get his hopes up, his heart didn’t care. The locked stare that suckerpunched him and the trust he felt handing Katsuki his number proved something was different between them.
Smiling over the thought, he closed his eyes and sighed. “Yeah, I think I did.”
“Yay.” Though he knew her excitement was genuine, her yawn stole the show when she snuggled closer to his back. “I’m gonna have the best Maid of Honor speech about this at your wedding.”
And though he said nothing when finally making it to their rooms, he knew he couldn’t wait to hear it.