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Izuku doesn't know what he was expecting when he accepted Kacchan's offer to move in with him, but it certainly wasn't discovering Kacchan's secret merch in the laundry.
It's been a few weeks since they finished moving their stuff into their new apartment. It wasn't a luxurious penthouse or anything, but it was spacious and cozy enough for the both of them. (And—Izuku was hoping—spacious enough for adopting a pet in the near future, although he has yet to discuss that topic with Kacchan.)
Before they moved in with each other, Kacchan made it very clear that both him and Izuku would be sharing the household chores. Izuku doesn't mind. He wants to contribute as best as he can, despite his lackluster homemaking skills. They swap their tasks as needed based on their work schedules, but the one task that Kacchan has not asked Izuku to do was laundry. It was odd, especially considering how Kacchan was strict about remembering their chores.
"I'll do my laundry myself, so don't worry about it," Kacchan had told him. Izuku hadn't realized it then, but now that he thinks about it, isn't it odd that Kacchan has a separate hamper from him? The hamper Kacchan uses is made of cloth that's completely opaque and even has a lid on top. They've been dating for a little over a year and they've known each other their entire lives. It's not like they have anything to hide.
So, Izuku decides that today, he'll do his and Kacchan's laundry together. He's sure Kacchan will his appreciate his help!
He just needs to grab the clothes out of the hamper, put them in the laundry bag, and carry it downstairs to the shared laundry room, no biggie.
Except, when he opens Kacchan's hamper, the first thing he's greeted by is a Deku themed hoodie. Izuku blinks at it for a few seconds, wondering if he's seeing things correctly. The hoodie has his costume's colors and design, and his brand logo on the tag. It's even got bunny ears on top of the hood. The next item in the hamper is a matching pair of Deku themed sweatpants to go along with the hoodie.
The more Izuku digs through the hamper, the more merch he finds. T-shirts, shorts, sweaters, socks, thigh-high stockings, and even underwear, all of which were Deku themed. Izuku can hardly believe it at first, to the point where he looks at tagged clothing to check if their in Kacchan's size. Only when he finds that they are indeed the correct size for Kacchan does the giddiness settle in.
Izuku can tell it wasn't all just gifted to Kacchan since every piece is tailored to Kacchan's taste. This particular merchandise has the type of subtle and/or simplistic designs that Kacchan prefers. Kacchan actually bought all this Deku merch for himself. He bought Izuku's merch. Kacchan, the most emotionally constipated, tsundere boyfriend to ever exist, bought Izuku's merch because he likes it. How freaking adorable was that?! Why has Kacchan been hiding all of this? When did he wear it? How long has he had this?
Maybe Kacchan used to wear the merch in his old apartment before he moved in with Izuku, or maybe he wears it whenever he knows Izuku won't be home until much later. Either way, the thought makes Izuku's heart beat faster. Imagining his boyfriend in his merch...he'd be lying if he said it didn't get him a little excited.
Another questions comes to mind as Izuku is grinning at the clothes like weirdo. If Kacchan owns this secret stash of clothing, does that mean he has other Deku merch too?
Izuku whips his head around to stare at the small mahogany wardrobe in the corner of their room. Most of their furniture was brand new, but this wardrobe was from Kacchan's old apartment.
"For storing your nerd shit in the living room when we invite a lot of people over," Kacchan had said, "so that no one breaks anything with their dumbass clumsiness."
There's no locks on the doors or drawers of that wardrobe. Izuku had never bothered to open the wardrobe since he just assumed it was empty. But what if...
Izuku opens the drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe and finds even more clothing. He opens the doors above the drawers and is met by a wide array merchandise spread across four shelves. The top shelf has mostly Deku figures and plushies, with a handful of All Might ones sprinkled in between. These figures were detailed and expensive, and most of them were limited edition. Kacchan has a penchant for collecting limited edition stuff, but Izuku didn't think he had this much merch. The second and third shelf has box sets of Deku comic books, light novels, and movies. The fourth and bottommost shelf was filled with Deku and Dynamight doujins sorted alphabetically, many of which were labeled R18. Izuku's brain nearly short circuits when he sees those. His body moves on its own, hand reaching out to pull one of the fanbooks off the shelf.
His face flushes at the detailed, lewd art the cover, but he keeps going. He skims through each and every one, unable to peel his eyes away. Most of them were about their relationship, but some of them were solely focused on either him or Kacchan. Each one has a sticky note on the inside back cover with a short review written by Kacchan, neatly written bullet points listing what he liked and disliked. Even the sticky notes were Dynadeku themed, with artwork of the two of them hugging in the bottom right corner.
If Izuku estimates based on the dates of each figure release, that would mean that Kacchan began his collection long before they began dating.
The thought of Kacchan alone in his old apartment, wearing Deku merch to bed, falling asleep with a Deku plushie in his arms...
Izuku wants to see it. He needs to see Kacchan wearing the merch!
But he should finish doing the laundry first.
✧
"I'm home," Kacchan calls out, closing the front door behind him.
"Welcome home," Izuku replies from the kitchen. "How was your day?"
Izuku's frame towers over the stove. Kacchan used to be bitter about how Izuku became several inches taller than him, but he got over that real quick once he realized how good Izuku is at being the big spoon.
"It was a fucking pain in the ass," Kacchan replies, shuffling out of his shoes. He picks them up and places them aside neatly by the door, then walks over to the kitchen so he can hug Izuku from behind. He presses his face into Izuku's back, taking in the pleasant, subtle scent of his nerdy All Might themed body wash. It's exactly what Kacchan needs after a long day. His next words come out quieter and more whiny. "I wanna do patrols with you again, dammit."
Izuku chuckles. "We'll get to patrol together soon, Kacchan. You just have to keep doing your best on your mission."
"I fucking know that," Kacchan whines. He hugs Izuku harder, groaning. "Ugh."
"By the way, I did laundry today before starting on dinner."
Lazily, Kacchan rubs circles around Izuku's stomach as a gesture of affection. Definitely not so he could feel up Izuku's abs. "That so?"
"Mhm. I folded and left your clothes on the bed after they came out of the dryer."
"You didn't have to that, dummy—"
Kacchan abruptly stops his movements, the realization slowly sinking in.
Izuku says, "I have to say, Kacchan, you have good taste in my merch."
"What," Kacchan unwraps his arms from around Deku and leans away, "the fuck."
Izuku turns around and smiles at the way indignation mixed with embarrassment have turned Kacchan's cheeks red. Izuku engulfs Kacchan in tight bear hug, burying Kacchan's face in his chest, his All Might spatula still in hand.
"You fucking asshole," Kacchan says, but it comes out weak and soft. He melts into the embrace, arms hesistantly sliding around Izuku's middle again. "I told you not to touch my shit."
"Why would you hide it from me? You know I would never make fun of you."
"Because it's fucking embarrassing, okay?"
"It's sweet!"
"Shut up."
Kacchan stiffens, Izuku breath suddenly hot and close to his ear.
Izuku whispers, "I want to see you wearing the stockings and underwear the next time we do it. Maybe we could reenact some of those doujins you read, too."
"You found out about that too?!"
"Answer me."
"Fuck you," Kacchan murmurs. Izuku bites his ear, making him yelp. "Ah!"
"That wasn't an answer."
"Fucking...yes, or whatever. Shut up and go back to your burnt dinner."
"Burnt dinner...?" Izuku says, slowly coming back to his senses. He leaps away when he finally notices the smell of smoke in the air. "Crap!"
Kacchan watches as a panicked Izuku struggles salavge his omelette, and wonders how he Izuku could switch so quickly from being in complete control to becoming an absolute mess. Either way, Kacchan loves this cool and dorky fool, and he'll always be there to support both sides of him...
"Kacchan, don't just stand there! Help me! Kacchan!"
...after he's done enjoying Izuku's suffering for a bit.