Behind the Seams [Chapter 11]

Katsuki tore into the cardboard boxes, eager to see everything the crew back home had put together. Somewhere in the packed box would be the pieces his dad had started for him, leaving him just the fun parts to finish off, and that thought was more exciting than he cared to admit. He chucked a few bags at Mina when she looked up, letting her sort them into the right piles, but he paused when he reached a huge, unlabelled one.

“You ask for extra stuff?” he asked, holding it up and squinting at the materials rolled and squeezed within. “It doesn’t look like stage stuff.”

“I didn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “Open it up?”

He pried the edges apart, letting air rush back in, and shook the first piece open, frowning slightly as he examined the pair of pants he found. They were perfectly assembled, studded with simple silver spikes, but a little baggier than he’d have expected for either of their likely wearers.

Mina’s phone was ringing before Katsuki could even reach for his own, and his dad’s voice came out within seconds – old man had clearly been waiting for the damn call, sneaky bastard.

“Did you get the package?” he asked, his tone far too gleeful. “What do you think?”

“What’s all this unlabelled shit?” Katsuki demanded.

“You keep adding extra events, so we thought we should get you some additional pieces to work with,” Masaru explained. “They’re not altered for size yet, but we thought that might give you some flexibility on who you want to put them on; you can just adjust them to fit whoever needs it.”

“Oh,” Katsuki said, looking again at the baggy pair of pants. “That’s... kind of smart. Thanks.”

“I do have a good idea on occasion,” Masaru teased. “Does everything else look okay?”

“So far,” Katsuki agreed. “We’ve got a couple of things left to open.”

“Alright, well, you know the drill, let me know as soon as possible if there are any issues. Are you all sorted for the photoshoot?”

“Yeah, as long as your camera guy comes through, we’re fine.”

“They’ll be there!” Masaru promised. “I talked to the owner yesterday, he’s very excited.”

“I guess we’ll be in touch if anything gets fucked up, then.”

“Sorry about him,” Mina said with a chuckle. “I think he’s still hungover from the event in Aomori.”

“Fuck off, it’s been hours.”

“Yeah, and you’ve been cranky ever since.”

“Shut up.”

“Take some time to rest,” Masaru instructed. “Mina, if he doesn’t, you tell me right away, okay?”

“I’ll do my best!”

Katsuki glared at her, but she didn’t even seem to notice, too busy bidding farewell to Masaru and going back to the rack of new clothing. He aimed the next bag at her head, thinking better of it seconds before it left his hand, and redirecting it to hit her in the leg, instead.

“Rude,” she complained, picking it up all the same. “Why are you so cranky?”

“I’m not cranky!”

“Buddy.” Her tone was dripping with disdain, and Katsuki clutched the next bag extra tight. “Did something happen at the bar?”

“Like hell.”

“After the bar, then?” she asked knowingly. “Talk to me, Blasty. You can’t keep doing this.”

“Nothing happened.”

She sighed, hanging up a shirt and taking the moment of silence to look it over.

“I scared him off,” Katsuki admitted, voice barely a mumble. “Pushed it too far.”

“There’s no way that’s true.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“He adores you. He would absolutely not reject any move you could make.”

“Well, he’s sure as hell avoiding me.”

“Absolutely not.”

He glared at her, and she just rolled her eyes, grabbing the cardboard box and dragging it toward herself.

“I’m gonna sort the last of this,” she said. “You are gonna go talk to him.”

“Like hell.”

“Fine,” she said, reaching for her phone again. “I’ll talk to him, then.”

“What the fuck?”

Her phone started ringing again, and Katsuki practically dove over the box, growling when she managed to move it just in time to keep him from swiping it.

“Hi, Izuku!” she said brightly. “It’s Mina here! How are you?”

“I’m good,” Izuku’s voice came back, a little less bright than usual. “And you?”

“I’m doing great! But listen, I’ve gotta know – oh wait, are you alone right now?”

“Yeah, I’m in my room and Tenya is out, what’s up?”

“Spill the tea about the bar,” she said excitedly, twisting away when Katsuki grabbed at her again. “Blasty won’t tell me a thing, but he’s having all these ridiculous mood swings, so I’ve gotta know!”

“Mood swings?” Izuku asked, immediately turning concerned. “Is he okay?”

“Honestly, he’s even crankier than usual,” she said, laughing when Katsuki tried to kick her in the leg – she’d gotten far too used to his attempts, damn it. “He’s obviously all in his head about something stupid, and I had to know!”

“Fuck off!” Katsuki hissed. “Leave him alone!”

“Kacchan?” Izuku asked, and Katsuki fell still, cursing himself. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! She’s being an asshole!”

“That’s not very nice, Kacchan,” Izuku said, disappointment clear in his voice. “She’s obviously worried about you!”

“Why don’t you two go grab food and talk about it, since he won’t talk to me?” Mina suggested gleefully. “You have some free time, right?”

Izuku hesitated, and Katsuki hated himself for not snatching the phone before it got to that point.

“We were gonna go for a walk to that store, right?” Izuku asked quietly. “Sorry, I just saw the time.”

“S’fine,” Katsuki grumbled. “Not a big deal.”

“I took a nap,” Izuku admitted. “Can we still go now? When do they close?”

“Not for hours!” Mina assured him, beaming again. “I’ll finish off here, you two can go for a nice little walk through the city!”

“Kacchan?” Izuku asked. “Do you have time?”

“Yeah,” he caved. “I have time.”

“Great. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed, then I’ll come to your room.”

“Okay. Um, I’ll see you soon.”

“Super soon!”

Mina gave him a smug look, when she hung up, but Katsuki refused to acknowledge it, quickly turning back to the box, to take out all the packaging and break the cardboard down.

“You should change,” Mina said finally. “You’re a mess.”

“I’m never a mess,” Katsuki huffed, glancing down all the same. “Fine.”

“Wear something nice for him! Show him what a cutie you are!”

“I’m not cute.”

“Sure, buddy.”

He stomped off to his suitcase, digging through a pile of clean stuff that was honestly a lot smaller than he’d have liked. He really needed to do some laundry, but he’d been so distracted by Izuku and meet-ups and new designs. He was gonna have to sort it the moment he got back to the hotel, lest he end up wearing dirty underwear to a whole damn concert. At least his favourite pants were still clean, he’d been keeping them for an occasion a little more special than just sitting on a bus, so he pulled them on first, making sure all the dark green straps that wrapped around one leg were sitting in the right place. He still hadn’t figured out how to stop them from twisting up all the time without just sewing them in place and ruining the hanging look.

“Nuh-uh,” Mina said, the moment he picked up his favourite old skull t-shirt. “Wear the white one.”

“I never wear white.”

“Shut up, yes you do. The patterned one you were obsessed with for a while.”

Katsuki muttered expletives to himself, but picked it up all the same. He hated that he knew exactly what she was talking about, and hated even more that she was so damn familiar with his wardrobe.

“Much better,” she said, when he pulled it on over a grey tank top, to look a little less prissy. “You look hot.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re welcome.”

When the gentle, rapid knock hit the hotel door, Katsuki grabbed his phone and wallet, heading over to step into his shoes. Mina bleated something behind him that he refused to acknowledge, other than flipping her off as he opened the door.

Fuck, the nerd was so damn cute.

He wore a pair of grey jeans that Katsuki had never seen him in before – not that that was a stretch, considering he only ever saw Izuku in clothes he made, or baggy old shorts and sweatpants – that hugged his thighs just right, reminding Katsuki exactly what was underneath the outfits he put together each day. Over top he wore a white t-shirt, with the name of some nerdy comic book hero across the front in green – Katsuki had forgotten how good he looked in green, to match his eyes and hair. Bolder colours didn’t work so well with the group, when they all had to match to some extent, but once upon a time Izuku had lived in greens and teals, and Katsuki suddenly missed that.

“I dressed myself!” Izuku said knowingly, flashing Katsuki a slightly sheepish grin.

“Good work, nerd,” Katsuki said fondly, ruffling his fluffy curls. “You look good.”

Izuku beamed at him, and Katsuki quickly closed the hotel door behind them, to stifle Mina’s laughter. Together they walked to the elevator, standing in silence as they waited for it to arrive, but when they finally made it out the front door, Izuku reached out, sliding his hand into Katsuki’s.

“Is this okay?” he asked shyly.

“Fucking obviously,” Katsuki answered, well-aware that his face had turned bright red.

“I’m glad,” Izuku said softly, gripping his hand a little tighter. “I’m sorry I missed your messages earlier.”

“It’s whatever,” Katsuki shrugged. “Should’ve known you’d fallen asleep.”

“I had such a good time last night, and this morning, but the adrenaline finally wore off,” he said with a chuckle. “It hit me like a ton of bricks and I just crashed.”

“You deserve the rest.”

“So do you! Have you gotten some sleep yet?”

Katsuki shrugged, and Izuku pouted at him. Katsuki wanted to bite that damn lip that jutted out.

“You’re gonna have an early night, then, right?” he asked, though Katsuki was pretty sure it wasn’t actually a question. “Gotta take care of yourself!”

“I’m fine.”

“I know you are, but you still have to keep it that way!”

“I will,” Katsuki assured him. “Wouldn’t wanna miss your events because I fucked myself over.”

Izuku grinned, and Katsuki squeezed his hand a little tighter, channelling all the urges to just stop and grab his stupid freckled cheeks into that one little squeeze.

“I never thought you’d want to be my friend,” Izuku mused, as they walked through a pretty park, otherwise surrounded by high-rise buildings. “I’m a lot more boring when I’m not on stage.”

“Fuck that,” Katsuki growled. “You’re not boring, asshole. And yeah, you’re fuckin’ amazing on stage, and I love seeing it, but I like being around you like this, too.”

“I’m glad. I like hanging out with you, too.”

“Clearly,” Katsuki teased. “Why else would you insist on coming with me to a fabric store?”

“It’s to make stuff for me!” Izuku objected. “I need to help pick out things I like!”

“As if you get a say,” Katsuki snorted.

“I told you I liked the holographic ones and you used them for every outfit,” Izuku pointed out stubbornly. “Same with the stars.”

“I already knew about the damn stars,” Katsuki argued. “And it’s not like I wasn’t already using a ton of the holo stuff.”

“We both know you try to make me things I’ll like,” Izuku said firmly. “And I appreciate it! I love them all!”

“Yeah, well,” Katsuki grumbled, looking away. “Want you to feel good on stage and shit. Not gonna have fun performing if you’re stressed about clothing.”

“Thank you, Kacchan.”

Katsuki refused to answer, for fear of saying something stupid. His face was already so red, and every time he even thought of making words, they seemed to come out stuttered and stumbled.

“Is this the one?” Izuku asked, when he spotted the store in the distance. “It looks so classy, am I allowed in?”

“Of course you are, damn nerd,” Katsuki huffed, grateful his voice came out relatively level. “We’re customers, we’re here to spend money, they don’t give a shit who goes in. Even if they did, you’re classy as fuck.”

“I’m not,” Izuku argued, giggling all the same. “One day you’ll have to come shopping with me, pick me out a suit or something for special occasions. Don’t say you’ll make me one, I know formalwear isn’t your thing.”

“I’d do it anyway,” Katsuki objected. “I like making stuff for you.”

“I know, and that’s super sweet of you,” Izuku assured him, still giggling to himself. “But you don’t have to, I don’t mind supporting other designers on occasion.”

Katsuki sighed, but when he phrased it like that, he supposed it was more acceptable. Other people needed their work bought occasionally.

“I’ll put you in touch with some people,” he offered instead, as a compromise. “My parents have friends in different areas.”

“Of course they do,” Izuku laughed. “Thanks, Kacchan.”

A little bell jingled above the door as they walked in, and Katsuki had to hold back a laugh; so much for classy. Classy stores didn’t have cheap bells, they had greeters and shit. Not that he cared, he wasn’t sure what a classy fabric store even was, but it was kind of cute to see exactly how oblivious Izuku was about the little things.

“Oh wow!” Izuku gushed, when he saw rows upon rows of shelving, each stacked high with different bolts of fabric in every possible shade. “Where do we even start?”

“On the left?” Katsuki suggested, cracking a smile. “And work our way to the right?”

Izuku grinned, and Katsuki squeezed that damn hand a little tighter again, savouring the touch and the warmth. It was already so good to spend time with him, let alone time alone with him; seeing him get excited about a store full of fabric? That was probably gonna give Katsuki a heart attack or something.

“Is it expensive?” Izuku asked in a whisper. “I don’t want to go too crazy.”

“Relax, I’ll charge it to the company card anyway. Dad doesn’t care, it’s not like I’m making stuff for myself with it. Hell, even if I was, that’s still good brand rep or whatever. As long as I’m making stuff with it and not, I dunno, using it for cleaning, it’s a work expense.”

“That must be a nice perk,” Izuku said knowingly. “You don’t have to stress about paying for it and finding a worthy use of it, you can just get stuff because you like it, and trust that you’ll know what it’s for when the time comes.”

“I’ve done that a lot,” Katsuki admitted, thinking about the stacks upon stacks of folded fabrics that were sitting in his hotel room. “I uh, picked a lot of things because they reminded me of you. My parents teased about it and stuff, but now I can claim it was just preparing for the future, that they just weren’t thinking far enough ahead.”

Izuku released his hand when they started down the first narrow aisle, and Katsuki kind of wished he hadn’t. He was sure they could have found some way of wiggling down the aisle side-by-side, or turning to walk sideways or something, but he supposed that was kind of pathetic, when he could just spend ten damn minutes with both hands to himself.

He was starting to think maybe he was a little pathetic, though; at least when it came to Izuku.

“I miss seeing you in green,” he blurted out, when Izuku ran his hand over a fluffy, foresty fleece. “I know, I know, I’m the one dressing you, don’t start.”

“It wouldn’t match the group,” Izuku said knowingly. “I thought you liked me better in white?”

“White more than black,” Katsuki clarified. “And I think the neutrals look good on stage. But you’re... a colourful person. Even those shitty sweatpants you wear on the bus are kind of nice, just to see colour on you again.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Izuku promised, nudging him a little teasingly. “Maybe when the tour is over and you don’t know what to do with all your free time, you could make me something cute, just for me instead of stage-me.”

“Don’t give me that permission, nerd, you’ll never wear anyone else’s clothes for the rest of your life.”

“I’m okay with that if it’s Kacchan.”

“You’re so cheesy.”

Izuku just grinned, unoffended, and Katsuki couldn’t help but smile back. He was such a sucker for the guy, damn it.

“What’s your favourite fabric to use?” Izuku asked, as they wandered down aisles, inspecting all the colours and patterns and materials.

“For what?”

“Anything! Everything!”

Katsuki frowned slightly, reaching out to test the stretch on something that caught his eye.

“The black holographic stuff has been fun for the stars,” he began, grimacing as he put the stuff back – way too stretchy. “I got something new for this weekend that I really like, but it’s kind of hard to sew through by hand, so that’s not ideal. Cotton is always good for simple structures and bases and stuff, but it’s boring to look at, so I have to put cooler stuff on top.”

“So you don’t have a favourite overall?”

“I don’t know how I would pick. They all do different things.”

“What about, ummm... your least favourite? Is there one you hate?”

“Velvet,” Katsuki answered immediately. “It’s shit to work with, it makes a mess, you can’t see where your needle is properly, and it never looks as good as you planned, after all that nonsense.”

“Noted,” Izuku said, laughing brightly and turning a few employee heads their way – damn it. “I promise I won’t ask for any velvet!”

“Can I help you find anything?”

Katsuki barely contained his urge to groan, but thankfully, Izuku was already shaking his head, smiling at the woman who was suddenly hovering.

“We’re okay!” he assured her. “We’re hoping to look at everything, I hope that’s okay! Kacchan is teaching me all about the different fabrics he likes to use!”

“Shut up,” Katsuki whispered, getting pointedly ignored by the overly-friendly nerd.

“All I know is that shiny and holographic things are cool,” Izuku said, a little sheepishly. “So he’s gonna teach me all the more important stuff!”

“We have a whole collection of holographic materials down this end,” she offered, gesturing toward the back of the store. “But by all means, take your time. Please feel free to ask, if you have any questions.”

“Thank you! We will!”

Thankfully, she departed, and Katsuki breathed a sigh of relief. When store staff found out he worked in fashion, they always became way too clingy, trying to impress him, or entice him with their most expensive collections. He probably should have warned Izuku about that, come to think of it.

“If anyone asks, it’s just a hobby,” he whispered, when the staff member was out of earshot. “Don’t tell them I have a company card.”

Izuku just nodded, miming zipping his lips, and Katsuki’s shoulders sagged a little, his tension slipping away.

“But Kacchan,” he whispered back, despite the lip-zipping. “Can we look at the holographic stuff?”

They were at least three aisles away from where the lady had pointed, but Katsuki nodded all the same – they could go back to the other stuff later.

“Yeah, nerd,” he said, cracking a smile. “Where else would we go?”

Izuku giggled, grabbing Katsuki’s hand again with no hesitation when they reached the end of the aisle, the store opening up a little on the ends. It didn’t take a genius to spot the collection, oncer they got a little closer, and Izuku gasped over it, like the big, over-excited, puppy of a human that he was. If he’d had a tail, Katsuki knew it would have been wagging up a storm, and fuck that was too damn endearing.

“I love them,” Izuku gushed, Katsuki’s hand forgotten in favour of running both of his reverently over the shiny colours. “I need everything made from these. My curtains, my sheets, my towels...”

“You really do have a lot to learn about fabric types,” Katsuki teased, joining him anyway. “First of all they’d do nothing to soak up water.”

“I know that,” Izuku objected. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want it.”

His eyes lingered on a deep, dark green fabric, that lit up with little sparkly spots when the light hit it just right. Katsuki saw him touch it gently, like he might somehow break it, then quickly move on, his smile a little less effortless as he picked up a bolt of white, instead.

Katsuki reached past him, picking up the green without a word, and ignored the way Izuku’s eyes got a little watery, as he tugged at it and inspected the edges.

“Stretchy, good for athleticwear,” Katsuki informed him, his mind already flicking between ideas like a slideshow of photographs. “Do you wear leggings for the gym?”

“Not really,” Izuku admitted. “But I could.”

“Might be too much, anyway,” Katsuki mused, trying to imagine Izuku dressed entirely in sparkly green leggings and coming up short, despite how much he’d expected to like that image. Black leggings? Okay, that one worked. “Maybe as panels on the side of less-tight pants. Could probably do a matching shirt. Maybe even a hoodie, just a lightweight one for going out running on cold mornings.”

“I love your brain,” Izuku said fondly, giggling when Katsuki blushed. “I can practically see you figuring it out in your head, coming up with options that would work for me. You don’t have to make my gym clothes, I’m not gonna be wearing those on stage!”

Katsuki didn’t dignify it with an answer, just held the bolt out to a staff member who still hovered a little closer than he’d have liked, nodding slightly in greeting.

“Can you cut this for me and put it aside until we’re done?”

“Of course, Sir. How much would you like?”

He paused for a moment, mentally tallying it up, as she accepted the roll.

“Three metres,” he decided.

“Absolutely.”

He glanced back at Izuku again, at the shy little smile on his face, still so inexplicably surprised by Katsuki wanting to make him stuff. Fuck, he’d make every piece of clothing the nerd would wear for the rest of his damn life, given half a chance.

“This one would be better on— uh, on me,” Izuku said sheepishly, holding up a bolt of white in a similar pattern. “If you prefer.”

“We’ll get two metres of this one, too,” Katsuki agreed, handing the second bolt to the lady. “That’s all for now, we’re still looking around.”

“Take your time, Sir.”

She hurried away to get them cut, and Katsuki smiled, reaching out to ruffle Izuku’s fluffy hair. It was so damn enticing, he always wanted to just feel his fingers tangled in those curls, watch them spring back up around his touch.

“Any others catch your eye?” he asked, glancing back to figure out where the staff were, before he lowered his voice a little and continued. “Company card, remember? Don’t hold back.”

Izuku dithered a little, but finally reached for a translucent black material, with little inlaid silver strands.

“I don’t know if it counts, but I think Tsuyu would love this one.”

“It counts,” Katsuki assured him, tucking it under his arm for when staff began to hover again. “At this rate you’re gonna take my job.”

“Only if you take mine,” Izuku teased. “You already know all the dances.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki huffed, slipping his hand back into Izuku’s before they continued through the shiny section. “Pick some more cool stuff, nerd.”

Izuku just squeezed him a little harder, beaming from ear to ear when their eyes met.

“Okay, Kacchan!”