You had always been chubby. Not obese, just soft around the edges. Curvy. It never bothered you much until UA, where everyone seemed carved from marble and built for heroics.

Katsuki noticed everything about you. The way you hesitated in training sometimes, how you tugged at your gym uniform. But what he noticed most were your cheeks—round and soft, the kind that made you look perpetually cute even when you were trying to be serious. He poked them constantly, called you annoying, but his eyes always lingered a second too long.

The friendship crept up on both of you. Study sessions turned into late-night conversations. Somewhere between first year's chaos and now, you became his favorite person to be around, even if he'd never admit it out loud.

Late August felt like summer's last gasp. The lake trip was his idea, just the two of you, away from the dorms before September dragged you into midterms and whatever villains decided to show up next. The water looked perfect, sun glittering across the surface, warm enough to swim but with that edge of autumn chill creeping in.

You stood at the shore in your shorts and oversized t-shirt, swimsuit underneath, arms wrapped around yourself.

"You coming in or what?" Katsuki called from the water's edge, already shirtless, all lean muscle and confidence.

"In a minute."

He trudged back, water dripping from his shorts, eyes narrowed. "The hell's the problem?"

"Nothing. Just... not ready yet."

His gaze softened slightly. He knew. Of course he knew. You'd been friends long enough for him to read every hesitation.

"Alright," he said, voice dropping to something almost playful. "But you're coming swimming with me. Either with a shirt or without."

"Well, good luck trying because I'm not moving."

"Is that a challenge?" That smirk spread across his face as he poked your cheek—that damned gesture that always made your heart stutter.

You knew what was coming. "No, Katsuki! Don't you dare, I'm too—"

Too late. He scooped you up like you weighed nothing, tossed you over his shoulder with an ease that made your protests die in your throat.

"Yeah, yeah. Too heavy." His voice carried that cocky edge. "That makes me either very strong or you a liar."

Your face burned from embarrassment, from how effortlessly he carried you, from how his hand steadied you against his shoulder. He waded into the water until it reached his hips, you still suspended over his shoulder like a prize he'd won.

"Last chance to get rid of that shirt," he said, voice low and teasing.

Your heart hammered. The water lapped at his waist, cool against the late summer heat. From your upside-down vantage point, you could see the shore, the trees, the sky—everything except his face.

"Katsuki..."

"What?" He shifted you slightly, and you felt how steady he was, how secure. "Shirt's gonna be a pain to swim in. Gets all heavy and clingy."

"That's not—" You bit your lip. "I don't look like Yaomomo or Uraraka or—"

"Good." He cut you off. "They're not you."

Something in his tone made you still. He lowered you slowly, carefully, until your feet found the lake bottom and you stood facing him. Water swirled around your waist, shirt already starting to cling.

His eyes met yours, red and intense. "You think I don't notice? How you hide? I notice everything about you, dummy."

He poked your cheek again, but gentler this time. His thumb lingered, tracing the curve of it.

"These cheeks? Cute as hell. Drive me crazy." His smirk returned, but softer. "And the rest? You think I'd carry someone I didn't wanna hold?"

Your breath caught.

"You're built perfect for a hero. Strong. Tough." He leaned closer, voice dropping. "Soft in all the ways that matter. And if anyone says different, I'll blast them into next week."

Heat flooded your face—not from shame this time.

"Now," he tugged at your shirt hem, "you taking this off, or am I throwing you in deeper and letting the lake do it?"

Despite everything, you laughed. That was Katsuki, blunt, impossible, and somehow exactly what you needed.