Just a person writing fanfics

Izuku sat in front of the flower littered gravestone, knees up to his chest and arms wrapped around them. The sun was setting, giving the area an orange glow. People had come and gone since he arrived a couple of hours ago, but he didn’t want to leave just yet. He still wanted to mourn properly while he had some free time.

First responders had shown up to the scene that night after some of the heroes had gotten them to come arrest what villains had been captured. The only ones who had gotten away were Toga Himiko, Dabi, and Tomura Shigaraki. Izuku had been informed earlier today that while Tomura escaped, his former classmates let Dabi go before the police saw him this once because he helped defend them.

He wasn’t totally clear on the details. It was hard to listen to anything not pertaining to Katsuki at the time.

Izuku, after he had woken up, had been surprised to be approached by his former classmates. The group had seen Shouto carrying Katsuki after Katsuki’s last attack and a few came running over to see what had happened.

The first responders wasted no time taking Katsuki to a nearby ambulance. Izuku tried to go with him, but Katsuki’s condition was apparently too bad to allow anyone but paramedics onboard. He had to watch Katsuki, who was unconscious at that point, get loaded on and taken away.

It was a painful scene to see, but Izuku tried to distract himself by watching over the villains that were being arrested at the time. He kept a close eye on both All For One and the strongest Noumu, even when he was urged to go meet Katsuki at the hospital.

There would’ve been no point at the time. He wasn’t a doctor, but even Izuku knew that they would have had to do some work to try and save Katsuki. And if they were doing that, Izuku wanted to avoid sitting in the waiting room and worrying himself to death until either Katsuki was stable enough to be visited or…

Izuku glanced up at the sky. He’d not only stayed here longer than he meant to, but went and made himself cry again. He needed to get back. It was too cold to sit in a graveyard all night.

He started walking back, still unable to stop the feeling of paranoia that accompanied him everywhere. He was too used to being with Katsuki, running and hiding from people who were hunting them. It would still take time before it really sinks in that all of that is over.

Unfortunately, it meant both the good and bad was over.

Memories began flowing through his mind like a movie. The night they both saw All Might fall on that big screen in the middle of town, and then the school being raided the following week.

Had it just been the league attacking that day it would’ve been a suicide mission, but with All For One openly backing them up at that point the only reasonable goal was to get the students away safely. Something that wasn’t easily done, but was done.

Izuku remembered running into Katsuki at the school’s entrance. He remembered the reluctance they both felt at the idea of running away, and yet they both ran regardless. The place was far too chaotic to do anything else, and the pro heroes were risking themselves to get all the students away. It’d have been stupid to run right back in.

The worst part was the realization that they couldn’t go home. It’d be too big of a risk drawing the villains to their homes.

Izuku’s thoughts jumped ahead to the two of them by the campfire with Aizawa talking to them. He didn’t know what happened between the two of them while he was gone, but he definitely noticed Katsuki seemed more on guard around Aizawa from that day on.

He also remembered it as the first day Katsuki kind of ‘officially’ accepted help from him for the first time.

He never did get to the real truth behind the friction between Katsuki and Aizawa that developed that day. He only had a few guesses and assumptions as to why. As well as the short-but-definitely-not-the-entire-truth explanation Katsuki gave him once.

Whether Katsuki accepted Izuku’s help from that day on to spite Aizawa or because he genuinely wanted it, Izuku felt a certain warmth every time afterward. A warmth that resembled the feeling of acceptance, in a way.

Izuku reveled in that thought. One of the few times Katsuki had accepted him as more than a nuisance.

His mind wandered on to the two of them in the cave, and with all those memories he realized that the times Katsuki didn’t think of him as a nuisance actually weren’t so few anymore. Living in that cave together was the real beginning of their new relationship.

Izuku jumped when he heard a car horn go off. He looked to the side and saw several vehicles waiting on him as he stood in the middle of the road. He ran ahead to the sidewalk, apologizing profusely even though he knew no one could hear him. He must’ve been standing in the middle of the crosswalk, lost in his own thoughts.

Once on the sidewalk he glanced around to get a bearing on his surroundings. He was on the right path at least. He placed his hands inside his coat pockets, continued forward, and tried to remember where he left off in his thoughts.

The cave. The place where he’d really taken note of Katsuki’s changing behavior. It was obvious even before, but that was when he had really begun to change. That was when he’d really started showing increasing amounts of concern, care, and respect.

He remembered when they first held hands, too. Their first kiss, first hug, first everything. As awkward as some of those were, he still wouldn’t have changed them in the slightest. He’d happily bump noses with Katsuki in an awkward first kiss again. He’d happily let Katsuki crawl into bed with him and hug him. He’d happily do it all over again if he had to.

“Back already, Midoriya?”

Izuku blinked a couple of times, almost as though his brain were trying to process that someone was speaking to him. He hadn’t realized he’d made it back already.

“Y-yeah. Sorry, I’m a little distracted today.” 

“I see. Well, it’s the same two rooms. You’re still allowed inside both.”

Izuku smiled, thanked the person, and left with a wave. He was hoping to have heard good news, but they probably wouldn’t have been the person to let him know. He would have to remain hopeful for now.

He retreated to his thoughts again. It had almost become a temporary coping mechanism over the past couple of days. To let himself get lost in happy memories. Nothing could bring him down while he was there. In those memories it was only Katsuki and himself enjoying each other’s’ company.

Even the bad memories were laced with good, if he looked in the right places. Such as when the villains found the two of them, but they managed to escape on their own by working together.

Never had Izuku felt so alive during a fight than he did when he and Katsuki worked together. He felt like they could do anything as long as they stayed together. Things like escaping villains, navigating an unfamiliar city with no money or food and finding the right people to help them, and saving their friends from the villains.

The time they lived underground with the rest of their friends helped to remind Izuku that if they could live casually, even in an underground network under a building dedicated to science and tech industry, then the two of them could’ve managed even better without the threat of the villains looming over them the whole time.

Izuku opened the door to the soft, constant beeping of a heart monitor. He didn’t expect to hear the two voices in the room talking over it. One was Mitsuki, and the other–

“And where the fuck were you?”

Izuku grew a tender smile at Katsuki’s accusatory pointing. He made a mental note to thank Aizawa and Shouto since Katsuki was okay. He couldn’t have won the fight without their help. Especially not without Katsuki’s. He would’ve thanked them earlier if he had seen either of them recently, but now that Katsuki was awake he felt more comfortable going other places.

But for now Katsuki was going to get his full, unabated attention.

He and Mitsuki had both stayed in Katsuki’s hospital room for the past two days, waiting for Katsuki to finally wake up. Izuku had told her almost everything he could remember from the moment they ran from the school up until now, and she told him about how Inko, Masaru and herself were put in hiding for their own protection.

Of course Katsuki would wake up the one time Izuku decided to go out for a while. But as worried as he was before, he knew deep, deep down that Katsuki was going to come out okay. Because Katsuki didn’t give up so easily. Katsuki would fight death in the depths of hell if he had to. If that’s what it took for them to stay together. And Katsuki hated to lose a fight.

“I was visiting All Might. I wanted to let him know what we did, and that everyone is safe,” Izuku explained as he pulled a chair up to Katsuki’s bedside.

“So we won?” Katsuki asked, ignoring his mother’s complaints about how she just told him that mere minutes ago.

Izuku leaned forward, kissed Katsuki, grabbed his hand, and leaned back in the chair sleepily.

“Yeah, we won. It’s over.”

Post-chapter notes: Turns out I stayed true to my word. The major character death tag was specifically for All Might. But I won't lie I considered killing one of the two of them in the big fight.

Maybe one day I'll post the alternate fight chapter I had in mind where Izuku is the one who gets hurt and Katsuki loses his shit trying to keep All For One away from Izuku.

Aizawa moved silently through the halls. The was a growing tension the deeper he went, like a cloud of smoke that refused to disperse. It would give most people a chill, maybe a sensation of choking, if they weren’t used to it, but he had long been used to it by now.

The only thing that gave him tension was the thought that if he took too long to find Tomura, then the villain could already be helping another league member to take down a different hero.

Their plan wasn’t perfect. While they had their assigned targets, there was still the problem of both finding and isolating said targets. Luckily the heroes with him tonight were not rookies. Save for two, technically. Everyone would know how to handle themselves, and whatever situation they got put in.

“You’re awfully sneaky for a big group of people.”

Aizawa spun on his heel and caught sight of Tomura, ready to fight with eyes glowing red. It took a few seconds until his eyes returned to normal, and he slowly took a more casual pose.

Tomura wasn’t attacking. Simply staring from the other end of the corridor.

“We’re here minding our own business, simply taking a night off from our very busy lives, and in come a large band of trespassers tearing down our walls and attacking us.” Tomura took the hand off of his face and narrowed his eyes in a sharp glower. “That’s downright despicable, don’t you think? It pisses me off.”

Aizawa kept quiet. He had no intention of having a conversation with this man. He knew, just as well as anyone else, that Tomura’s opinion on the matter would not change. The same way that Aizawa’s own opinion wouldn’t budge in the slightest.

They were both the antagonist to each other. They both saw each other as the evil that plagued this earth. It wasn’t something that would be resolved with a conversation, and even though both knew that fact, Tomura still felt the need to get his point across.

“I saw a couple of fights happening and put two and two together. You have specific heroes going for specific villains, huh? And the fact you haven’t run off yet means you were looking for me, weren’t you?”

Silence ensued once more. Tomura placed the dismembered hand back on his face, but Aizawa didn’t need to see his face to know that Tomura had no interest in him. His slack body language said all that needed to be said.

Aizawa intended to stop him right here, but apparently Tomura had other plans.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes. I have to decline the invitation. Apparently I’ve a few rats in the area, both figuratively and literally. I need to hunt them down. I can come kill you after I’m done with them.”

“Rats?”

Tomura perked up, a grin hidden behind the hand. “Oh? Now you’re interested in talking? Only when we talk about what you want instead of what I want? Well I don’t have time to talk to you anymore. Goodbye.”

He turned around and started walking away, hands in pockets and guard completely down. A perfect chance to subdue him without much struggle.

Aizawa ran forward. If he was quick enough, he could double back and help the others, and then they could all go after All For One with Katsuki and Izuku.

A mere few feet away, his quirk activated to keep Tomura from fighting back as well. He reached for the villain with wraps in hand.

And then Aizawa heard a loud crash as the wall to his left exploded. He was sent flying through the wall to his right and onward, breaking through wall after wall until he was buried under a pile of rubble with only his head sticking out.

Everything felt hazy. His mind was cloudy and body numb, though he could see what hit him. Off in the distance, from the same direction he’d been hit, he spotted Izuku and Katsuki fighting All For One.

Aizawa could barely make out the big, black helmet facing him even from such a distance. In his clouded state of mind it took him longer to put the pieces together, but eventually he got it before he blacked out.

Ragdoll’s quirk.

Shouto and Dabi stopped in front of another door with the Noumu still behind them. It was a large, ironclad door similar to the vault of a safe. They knew that behind it the majority of the former students of class 1-B were being held, and they intended to free them. Especially after learning why all the students from both classes were being collected.

“You should have it from here,” Dabi said with a wave of his hand. “I’m going to go do my part outside. If I know Shigaraki, the other Noumus should be on their way to free the big one.”

“How do you know the heroes handled it already?”

“Because if they’re smart, that’s the first thing they’d try to take care of.”

“I’ll be sure to lead everyone else away from there then,” Shouto replied. He placed his right hand against the door and froze it, then turned to the Noumu and pointed at the door. “Break this, please.”

The Noumu didn’t acknowledge him in the slightest. It only continued to stare ahead at the wall, waiting for orders.

“Break the door down,” Dabi commanded. The Noumu then smashed its fist into the frozen door without hesitation, shattering it to pieces. “It only listens to me. Remember?”

“Oh, right.”

Dabi patted Shouto on the head before turning to leave. The Noumu followed him automatically and only stopped when Dabi did.

“You still never told me who you were working with. Or for. Whichever. Be sure to get out of this whole thing alive so I can know who to thank for getting rid of Tomura and his crap teacher.”

Dabi left with that, with the Noumu in tow, to go keep a lid on the second biggest threat in the area. Shouto watched him leave, and when Dabi was out of sight he went into the room and informed the former class of 1-B that they were being freed.

Dabi made it outside and looked down the street at the destroyed buildings. Off in the far distance he caught a glimpse of Izuku, Katsuki and All For One battling in the air. His attention came back to what was in front of him, counting himself lucky that he wasn’t part of that fight.

He stopped in front of a large majority of the former students of class 1-A, all surrounding Cementoss and the Noumu buried up to its neck in the asphalt. From the sight of all the angry stares being sent his way, maybe the other fight wouldn’t be so bad.

“If you came to free the creature, I’m afraid you will have to give up that hope,” Cementoss said.

Eijirou hardened his fists and pounded them together. “Back off.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down,” Dabi said, waving his hands in a placating motion. “I’m here to make sure that thing doesn’t get loose. I didn’t know there were already a hundred more of you here.”

“Why would you want to keep your own monster from getting free?” Tenya asked.

“Because I’m on Todoroki’s side, and he’s on yours,” Dabi explained. He pointed behind the group at the approaching horde of mindless, monstrous creatures. “I can tell you more later. Looks like the other Noumus have come to free this guy.”

Everyone else turned around and saw them. A large number of other Noumus being led toward them by Tomura.

“Kurogiri warned me about you,” Tomura called out to Dabi. He scratched at his neck, irritated at Dabi talking to these people instead of attacking them. “I told him we should wait and see what you do. I should’ve just killed you after all.”

“After you killed other villains for calling you out on not truly following Stain’s will, I couldn’t just jump right out with the rest of them and die too.” Dabi raised his hands as smoke started to rise from them. “Most of the other league members may be happy with what you’re doing, but I’m not.”

“Then you can die by my hand. The Noumus can handle the children.” Tomura glanced toward Cementoss, anticipation rising at the situation. “Unless you want to save them. Let that Noumu go and keep them safe, won’t you Mr. pro hero?”

Katsuki’s eyes darted from left to right as his stare followed the dueling pair. He kept his distance and bided his time, waiting for another opening.

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew his role in this. Something he’d never really done for anyone, but was now shoehorned into doing.

He had to play support for Izuku, rather than being the vanguard.

The idea wasn’t exciting in the least, but he understood full well his position. Both of them had nearly, if not just as much, strength as All Might did. Strength that his quirk dwarfed to in comparison. He’d fought All Might before, and knew the pain of taking hits like those.

At least he and Izuku went over how they would fight him, lest Katsuki spend his first time fully supporting another attempting to figure out how exactly to go about doing that.

But he still felt partially lost. He wasn’t used to this. To watching the fight happen and waiting.

There was a hundred things Izuku did every passing second that Katsuki would have done differently. But it still worked out for Izuku, so he shouldn’t be complaining.

Katsuki’s gaze snapped to where All For One was going to land after Izuku got a hit on him. He propelled himself in that direction with his quirk.

It was hard to tell whether he was doing any actual damage to All For One, but damn it if he wasn’t going to keep up the assault to the best of his ability. Whether he was an opponent taken seriously or a minor annoyance, he was going to make sure All For One felt some type of pressure from him.

He heard the familiar click from his grenadier bracers, indicating they were ready to be of use. With a quick change of tactics in mind, he turned himself around in the air and dropped to the ground on his back. From under All For One he pulled the pin, his bracer aimed upward to the sky, and let the blast fly free.

All For One, while an impatient man, did not go without learning. He could tell that their tactic was to not let him have a chance to do anything. With that in mind, he could surmise Izuku would be coming for him as he was forced into the air once more by the explosion.

A puddle of black liquid formed in front of him. Right at the moment Izuku met him in midair, already sending a punch his way, Katsuki’s confused and panicked face appeared through the puddle. Izuku stopped just short of Katsuki’s face and tried to reach around, but his lost momentum kept him from hitting All For One.

“Throw me at him,” Katsuki growled, ready to continue the onslaught. “I can distract him.”

Both of them went into a free fall while All For One stopped his fall and levitated high up in the air. They’d done a great job of not giving him a moment to breathe up until now, but Izuku knew when it was time to back off and regroup.

All For One was waiting for their next move, and it would be suicide for either of them to go charging after him in this moment.

Izuku shook his head and hugged Katsuki close. He landed on his feet hard, unperturbed by the cracks that appeared on the ground as a result.

“He was waiting for something like that. We need to start over,” Izuku said. It was a reasonable assumption, given that All For One was still levitating in the air and staring at the both of them. “I need you to do something for me.”

Katsuki pulled himself away from Izuku’s hold and stared at him curiously. Izuku waved for him to come closer and Katsuki leaned in so Izuku could whisper whatever it was he needed.

All For One strained his ears to hear them. He could hear them making noise, but couldn’t make out any definitive words.

He was quick to grow tired of humoring the two of them—of letting them have their time to talk—and raised his hand toward them. Ragged, black tendrils shot out toward the two. They took notice and jumped in opposing directions, but the tendrils turned and sank themselves into Katsuki’s chest and shoulders.

Katsuki felt pain, but nothing too bad. He still pulled at them frantically, panicked by the fact these things that had implanted themselves in him. Especially because he didn’t know exactly what they did. An explosion emitted from the hand clinging to the tendrils against his will and the recoil blew his arm back toward Izuku, who was running over. A large blast erupted from the very same hand right as Izuku reached him and sent Izuku flying back away.

Rage flared up inside of Katsuki. Not only at the prospect of someone harming Izuku, or controlling his quirk against his will, but using his quirk to hurt Izuku. Forcing his hand to harm him.

He wanted to glare up at All For One, but instead was jerked forward, down onto the ground, and dragged away by the same tendrils embedded in him. His body skidded across the ground, face scraping on the concrete, until he was suddenly lifted up into the air.

Two more explosions went off, this time of his own volition, in an attempt to both break the tendrils and propel himself away from the nearing All For One. Neither worked, and within seconds his face was held firmly in All For One’s hand.

“You’re more of a nuisance than he is,” All For One said in a low voice.

Izuku rushed toward the pair, getting a running start for his jump, and he reached out toward Izuku with one arm that then split into two. One stopped Izuku’s attack, and the other used an air blast to send him back to the ground. The second arm retreated back into the first immediately afterward.

“It is becoming clearer why Tomura wanted you on his side.” All For One cocked his head to the side and listened for Izuku’s movements. While he had a quirk to keep track of his position, it still helped to know what he was doing. To know what movements he was making.

“If you couldn’t see the potential in either of us, then you’re stupider than I thought.” Katsuki’s eyes slid to the side, throwing a sidelong glance down at Izuku’s crouched legs.

He was about to come up again, and Katsuki wanted to make an opening for him.

If this idiot wants to talk all damn night, Katsuki thought to himself as he opened his mouth, he should know I’m not the talking type.

“Midoriya is very straightforward and easy to read. You are not quite the same, so I’m going to do away with you–”

All For One let go of Katsuki’s head as a sharp pain filled his hand. He quickly figured out Katsuki had bitten him and tried to balance himself in the air when Katsuki grabbed onto his arm to keep from falling.

“How barbaric,” All For One stated blandly, evidently unsurprised by the action. He’d expect nothing less from someone so desperate.

Katsuki ignored him, uninterested in All For One’s opinion of him. Regardless of how he fought, he needed Izuku and himself to win. This was ultimately a fight for survival above all else.

He let off an explosion behind himself to propel his body forward and up, high enough to wrap his legs around All For One’s neck. Katsuki could feel the muscles tightening on All For One’s arm and swiftly pulled it up to change the direction of his next air blast toward the sky. At least up there it wouldn’t cause damage to anyone or anything.

Upon seeing the opening Izuku jumped into the air without hesitation. He closed in and sent All For One’s other arm upward with a heavy kick. He started to fall, but grabbed onto All For One’s shoe and covered his face as spikes erupted from All For One’s body in all directions.

Izuku noted that those spikes appeared to be his regular response to danger.

One scraped his arm, but he got out okay otherwise. A quick glimpse at Katsuki showed he’d also gotten out fine, perched on top of All For One’s helmet on one hand.

Katsuki let loose an explosion that sent him up, and then on his way down slapped his hand onto All For One’s helmet and blasted him downward.

Izuku, while falling with All For One, pulled the man down to his level and grabbed his arms. He pulled them back, hands held tight around the man’s wrists to keep the two extra arms attempting to grow out from being free, and pulled with his foot pushing down on the helmet.

They landed with a loud crash, and as the smoke cleared Izuku could see where the helmet’s cracks began to crumble. Bit by bit, piece by piece, the helmet broke away until there was but a scarred, eyeless face staring back at him.

Izuku remembered seeing it on the giant screen in the middle of town the night All Might fought him, but it felt more menacing up close. Worse than fighting him while he had the mask on, in fact. Because now Izuku could see the amused grin on his face. Almost as though he were simply playing a game with them.

“You stink of fear.”

Izuku lifted All For One up by his arms and threw him over his shoulders in one swift motion. He waited a couple of seconds, crouching low to prepare, and then kicked off in the same direction.

All For One rocketed through the air, trying to use his levitation quirk to fight against the sheer speed he was gaining. Katsuki clapped his hands together, took a step back, and then stomped forward and swung one arm forward. The palm of his hand connected with All For One’s face with an explosion.

The force of both the hit and explosion caused All For One to stop in place and flip backwards, but before he could fall to the ground Izuku’s feet slammed into his stomach with a dropkick and sent him off once again. He crashed into a wall that had already been damaged by their fight earlier and it came crumbling down on top of him.

“We’re smacking him around a lot, but it doesn’t feel like we’re getting anywhere,” Izuku said as he picked himself up off the ground.

Katsuki exhaled heavily, annoyance filling him as their opponent stood once more. “He has to tire out eventually. No one is invincible. Not even him. He has to be hurting.”

All For One shook the rubble off, seemingly unfazed by the attacks. He looked towards them with disdain.

“No one is invincible, and I do feel the pain from your attacks,” he admitted, unashamed by those facts. To think otherwise would be foolish. “However, I most certainly do not have to tire out before the both of you. I will admit, you two are rather annoying. I am used to simply overpowering anyone in my path, or being unchallenged in the first place. But even where I lack the experience of fighting multiple people at once, I assure you that I am a fast learner.”

He moved forward at a blinding speed, faster than either of them had seen from him before. Katsuki blinked after noticing that All For One had vanished from sight, gritted his teeth and whirled around with an explosion already primed.

His open hand met with All For One’s and the explosion that followed was all but snuffed out as All For One seemed to absorb it in his hand.

It had quickly become obvious that All For One was letting himself get tossed around in an effort to learn how to fight back, and this was going to be his first real move.

All For One reached around and caught Izuku’s fist in his other hand, then pulled Katsuki up and over and slammed him down onto Izuku. A large flame then erupted from the palm of his hand down at the pair.

It was Endeavor’s quirk this time.

He’d rather take both of their quirks before killing them, but evidently they’re too much to deal with together. He’d decided that killing them would be both easier and safer.

Izuku flipped them over and swung his arm as he continued to roll over. The power from the swipe of his hand caused enough wind to blow the flames out. As he continued to roll, his arm linked with Katsuki’s so that Katsuki would switch places with him. Katsuki, once facing upward, tossed a grenade that had already had its pin pulled into the air, which exploded almost instantly in front of All For One.

They both used the distraction to jump onto their feet, whirl around, and hit him in the stomach in one fluid, synchronized motion. Izuku’s punch and Katsuki’s explosion sent him rocketing away, and gave the both of them a brief reprieve.

They used the moment of freedom to look around and really notice what their fight was doing. Entire buildings had been leveled, damage to the surrounding area was increasing, and there were already police evacuating people.

The two looked at each other. They needed to end this soon. The fight was becoming too much, and innocent people were beginning to be put in danger. There never was going to be a quiet way to take care of this, but it shouldn’t have gotten this bad either.

As heroes they’re supposed to be minimizing as much damage as possible. Even if their opponent is a psychopath who can cause large-scale destruction at will.

Izuku’s gaze snapped up behind Katsuki and he shoved him out of the way. His fist struck All For One’s, though while All For One appeared to be completely calm, a shockwave of pain spread through Izuku’s arm to the rest of his body.

That must’ve been the impact recoil Gran Torino warned him about.

“You’re not the one I want,” All For One stated as he grew another arm from his side and swatted Izuku away.

Izuku landed on his back and was immediately grabbed by his ankles and wrists. A cursory inspection showed Kamui Woods’ quirk again, coming from All For One’s legs, through the concrete below, and up through the ground below Izuku.

Even though All For One had no eyes, Katsuki felt an intense gaze land on him when All For One’s head turned towards him.

“The both of you are far too troublesome together,” All For One said, “but without you following up his attacks, it will be a lot easier to deal with him. You can leave now, or I’ll kill you.”

Katsuki felt his stomach drop, but held himself together nevertheless. Even threat of death isn’t enough to make him consider ditching Izuku. Not during a life threatening fight or any other situation.

“Piss off.”

All For One didn’t bother responding. He simply reached for Katsuki, who ducked under his arm, blasted it away, and then used another explosion to jump over All For One’s head.

He needn’t bother with trying to fight All For One. He needed to get Izuku free and keep up what they were doing. As long as they both had each other–

Katsuki stared at Izuku questioningly. He wasn’t getting any closer. No, he was simply staying in place. Why wasn’t he moving? Why was Izuku screaming at him? Why couldn’t he hear Izuku screaming at him?

Something wasn’t right.

“As instinctive and experienced as you appear to be,” All For One’s voice cut through the strange silence he was experiencing, “emotional bonds will always make someone predictable.”

The pain set in suddenly. Katsuki looked down and finally noticed it. The spike that had pierced his back and was poking through his side. His body going into shock must’ve kept him from realizing it at first. He was stuck in the air, held up by the very thing that had impaled him.

He gripped what little of the spike had made it all the way through him with both hands and tried to blow it up. The explosions that came from both hands were small and weak. Barely half of what he had intended to do.

It was something that had slipped their minds. All For One used the quirk so defensively this whole time that Katsuki didn’t consider it when he was trying to get to Izuku. It was unexpected, and he was pretty sure that was exactly what All For One had intended. To make them believe that he wouldn’t use it in this way.

“I gave you the chance to run, but you chose the wrong direction,” All For One continued.

All For One clenched his fists, a movement intended to release more spikes from his back. The fastest one made it out and into Katsuki’s shoulder and the ground shook violently enough to send them both toppling over before the others made it through him. The spikes coming from All For One receded into his back as he fell, and the ground shook again. Both of them looked over at Izuku, who had gotten one arm free and was pounding wildly on the ground.

Izuku tore the rest of his bindings off and rushed over to Katsuki. He picked Katsuki up and ran towards a nearby building to hide in the alleyways. Surely the area would’ve been evacuated by now, and if they kept quiet they could remain unfound. Even if only for a few minutes. He just needed a few minutes.

Izuku laid Katsuki down on his back and examined him. The wounds looked serious. He needed to stop the bleeding first–

“Stop wasting time with me and go stop him,” Katsuki said. He shoved Izuku’s arms away and pushed himself up onto his elbows, and then further into a sitting position. The pain he felt became very obvious in his expression the more he moved around. “The longer he’s running around without one of us to distract him, the more damage he can do to everyone else.”

“But–”

“Shut up and go!” Katsuki yelled at him. He lowered his voice at the sight of Izuku wincing, “We knew the risks, and this isn’t about the two of us. This is about finally stopping that asshole.”

Izuku stared at him. He didn’t want to leave Katsuki like this. The thought of doing so made him sick to his stomach. But Katsuki was also right. If All For One didn’t come looking for them, then he’d go looking for the other heroes.

Izuku closed his eyes, sucked in a shaky breath, exhaled, and opened his eyes. “You have to get out of here then. Go find someone to help you. Get to a hospital. If he catches you again he’ll kill you. So go find help.”

“There won’t be any help for the two of you.”

Izuku glared over his shoulder at the voice. All For One was levitating slightly off the ground at the entrance to the alleyway. His hand rose as the familiar sound of that air cannon made it to Izuku’s ears. Izuku hugged Katsuki and covered him as best he could. He held onto Katsuki tightly when the two of them were blasted away and tried to take as many hits as he could from the walls they rocketed through.

They slowed to a stop and he landed on his back with Katsuki on top, then he let his arms fall to the ground. He was beginning to get covered in blood, but none of it was his. It was all seeping from Katsuki’s wounds down onto him, and his emotions were becoming a non-stop rollercoaster of worry, anger, and regret.

He could fix all of this. He knew he could if he could just stop and think. If everyone would just stop.

But Izuku knew All For One wasn’t going to stop, if Katsuki could help it then he wouldn’t stop either. There was no pause to be had here, no distractions coming to help them, and no one coming to save them. They had to save themselves this time.

“Kacchan, you have to get away while I keep him busy.”

“I’m not done with him.” Katsuki tried to push himself up, slipped on the blood pooling on the ground and fell back down onto Izuku. “Need to kill him for this–”

“You can’t fight him like this,” Izuku tried to reason with him. He helped Katsuki up and propped him against a wall. “You need to leave. You need to get to a hospital as soon as possible. Even if we win, it’ll still be the biggest loss ever for me if you don’t survive. Please, you have to leave.”

Katsuki appeared to barely register anything Izuku said. His eyes were fluttering open and closed. Izuku grabbed his face and made Katsuki look at him.

He didn’t know much in the way of medical knowledge, but he could tell Katsuki was losing too much blood from the way his eyes had begun to glaze over. He didn’t seem able to focus that well. Although Izuku did see Katsuki’s gaze fix itself on something. Or rather, on someone.

“He’s going to die of blood loss, if nothing else.” Izuku whirled around and glared absolute death at the levitating villain. “I don’t quite care for him, but I’ll kill him quick if you move. I’m not interested in playing cat and mouse until his body gives out.”

He faced Katsuki again and ushered him to the corner of the alleyway, and then urged him to continue on. Katsuki, in his hazy state of mind, did little to fight against being shooed away.

Izuku didn’t want to leave him alone. He didn’t want to send Katsuki away in that state and hope for the best. He wanted to carry Katsuki to the hospital himself and watch over him, but so long as All For One was coming for him, he couldn’t stay with Katsuki.

“You won’t need to worry about that,” Izuku reassured him. He stood in front of All For One and clenched his fists. “Because you gave me a reason to end this right now. ”

Katsuki kept his hand with the injured shoulder pressed to the wound on his stomach. It didn’t do much for the gaping hole in his back, but he needed the other hand against the wall so he wouldn’t fall over with each step.

He made it out of the maze of alleyways and onto a sidewalk, where he fell to his knees and grabbed onto a nearby street light with a curse under his breath.

In the distance he could hear the crumbling of stone and cracking of cement. He didn’t like the thought of it, but it didn’t take much to realize that Izuku was on a rampage. Likely going after All For One with everything he had.

The sharp, intense pain in his abdomen began to wind down into a dull ache. His arms had begun to go cold and he was losing feeling in his face.

“I really fucked up this time.”

He’d have been fine if he didn’t go straight for Izuku in that moment. He’d already figured that out, but even now every instinct he had screamed at him to go to Izuku. He knew that if he were put in that very same situation, he’d have gotten impaled trying to get to Izuku all over again.

Katsuki slid down the light pole to the ground, then rolled over onto his back and stared up at the sky. Each movement was accompanied with a groan of pain.

The stars that dotted the darkened sky reminded him of Izuku’s freckles. Bright, gorgeous, and something he could stare at forever.

Izuku and All For One flew by his line of sight, high up in the air, and then the sky left his view as a face blocked it out. Someone standing over him and staring down at his wounds. It took a few seconds for him to recognize the face.

“Oh, great. You, ” Katsuki said weakly.

Izuku’s fist crashed into All For One’s again. Exactly the same as last time, All For One appeared to be unfazed while a shockwave of pain flowed through Izuku’s entire body.

He continued to push through the pain still, until his fist slipped by All For One’s and collided with All For One’s face. He was quick to follow up with a swift quick to the shin, and then an uppercut that sent All For One into the air.

Izuku hesitated for a second. He was used to waiting for Katsuki to come in at that point, and then he remembered that he was on his own here.

He jumped up into the air to chase after his prey. He flipped in the air until he was upside down and gave All For One a light punch on the leg, something to get rid of the impact recoil in case it was waiting for him, followed by the hardest kick possible on the head.

Izuku was no longer pulling punches. He wanted to subdue All For One without injuring him too much, but now he just wanted to end this as quickly as possible. The only things on his mind were keeping this fight in as deserted a place as possible, stopping All For One, and getting back to Katsuki.

All For One landed on the ground, creating a crater in the hard concrete. He raised his hands up and caught Izuku’s feet, yet his arms buckled under the sheer power Izuku had landed on him with. Izuku jumped off of him, predicting the spikes that erupted from All For One’s chest and jumped to the side from the following air cannon attack.

He pounded his fists on the ground to get rid of the wood that was surely coming. As he predicted, he could see the wood in the newly formed cracks in the ground. He jammed his hand in and grabbed one of the wooden tendrils, ripped it out of the ground, and jerked All For One along with it.

All For One was hurled through the air, over Izuku’s shoulder and down onto the ground. As Izuku neared him, flames exploded from his body and Izuku had to cover his face with both arms to shield himself from them. When Izuku uncovered his face, his eyes widened at the dragon-shaped flame racing toward him.

Izuku shielded himself with his arms again and waited for the flames to hit. It was too late to react to them, and he felt the heat burn through his clothes–

Yet the flames never touched him.

Izuku opened his eyes and saw a separate set of flames derailing All For One’s. He followed the trail to Shouto, who was holding Katsuki up with Katsuki’s arm across his shoulder. Katsuki pulled the pin on his unused grenadier bracer, despite Shouto’s protests, and the recoil knocked them both onto the ground.

All For One raised one hand toward the two of them, already aware of their presence before the explosion had gone off, and blasted the explosion away with another air cannon.

Or rather, he tried to. But nothing came out.

He didn’t feel the increased muscle mass that normally came with it, either. Nor could he control the flames anymore.

In fact, similar to a television, the infrared ray he used to see and Ragdoll’s quirk had shut off, leaving him completely in the dark.

He was blasted away by the explosion, where he hit a wall and felt pain like he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Pain on a level he hadn’t felt since before he had a handful of quirks to reduce the damage he would take from attacks.

Izuku ran after him, following up on the chance to get in some hits, but halfway there he could feel all the strength his quirk gave him leave his body. A feeling he knew all too well.

He shifted mid run so that he would hit the wall with his shoulder, well aware of the fact he wouldn’t be able to stop himself at this speed without his quirk. On impact with the wall he stopped and fell on top of All For One, knees on the villain’s arms and started hitting him relentlessly.

All For One tried to do something, anything, to stop him. No quirks were working at all. No spikes came out, no flames burst forth, no black liquid to teleport this boy off of him, no air cannon, no strength, no wood, no vein-like appendages, nothing.

One of Izuku’s punches knocked his head to the side, where he could picture the culprit now. A set of red eyes under floating black, messy hair, half buried by rubble. There was no other explanation as to how this could be happening.

With each punch to his face, he felt himself slipping more and more into unconsciousness. He had no quirks as long as he was under that man’s quirk erasing gaze. And while Izuku didn’t either, All For One was still well informed about the training one had to go through to inherit One For All. Quirk or no, the boy still had power behind his every hit.

All For One kicked Izuku in the back with one foot. It budged Izuku just enough for him to get an arm free and catch Izuku’s next punch. He slipped his other arm out and caught Izuku’s other hand.

Izuku struggled to get another hit in, and All For One struggled to keep him at bay. He just needed to last until the hero had to blink. The second he was free he’d finish that man off, and then continue with Izuku.

He fought against Izuku until he managed to get a swift hit on Izuku’s stomach. Izuku doubled over and All For One shoved him off.

Both of them got on their feet at the same time and glared each other down. Quirk or no quirk Izuku wasn’t going to relent. He was still just as used to not having one and he was used to having one. He wasn’t going to let something like this slow him down.

Izuku ran forward, arm pulled back and ready to strike. All For One appeared to still be dazed after Izuku’s onslaught, and he had to take advantage of that while he could.

He reached All For One as the man began to snap out of it. All For One quickly threw out a punch of his own with what little time he had to react, and right before his fist connected with the villain’s cheek his arm began to glow once more.

His fist hit All For One, backed with the full force of his quirk, at the same time All For One hit him. The sound from each hit was loud enough for anyone nearby to hear as All For One went straight down to the ground and Izuku fell backwards.

Izuku began to lose consciousness as his back hit the cold pavement. He saw All For One lying next to him, unmoving, and Shouto in the distance trying to keep Katsuki from toppling over.

I kept my promise, Kacchan.

His eyes slowly closed, gaze fixed on Katsuki.

“You don’t seem very interested in keeping us from escaping.”

Shouto glanced to the side at the person who addressed him. He caught a glimpse of Mezou on the floor, who was staring him down. Nedzu was doing the same, though with a much more positive and casual stance on their situation. Shouto then went back to what he was doing before being interrupted.

His gaze returned to the table he was staring at, and his attention back to his thoughts.

“We outnumber you,” Mezou pressed on. “You could at least pretend like we could give you trouble.”

Shouto side-eyed him, and then focused on the table again. He fiddled with one of the chess pieces on the board All For One left behind. A bishop was twirled between his fingers absentmindedly as he thought of a response.

“Have I done something to upset you?”

Mezou stared at him, bewildered by the question. Did he mean besides joining the villains, helping to capture his former classmates, and trying to prevent their escape on multiple occasions?

“You’re helping the league.” Mezou settled with that answer. It easily summed up the majority of his thoughts, and his irritation.

“Oh,” was all Shouto replied with. He could understand having hard feelings about that, but he knew what he was doing. As did a couple of other people.

He looked to Nedzu this time, who continued to smile back at him. His thoughts became clouded again, and he returned to staring at the table.

Shouto wasn’t happy with himself either. Not by a longshot. Regardless, he simply did what he was told to and tried to stay out of whatever trouble he could for the time being. It made his role easier if he had as little hands-on activity as possible.

Mezou glared at Shouto’s back, unsatisfied with the response he got. He kept a level head and refrained from doing anything that could get the three of them in trouble, but he also noted how antsy Nedzu had started to become as the day went on.

It didn’t take him long to figure out something was going to happen tonight, and Nedzu obviously didn’t care who knew. Whatever it was, there was evidently no stopping it.

Shouto sighed out of boredom and stood up. He went past the three prisoners he was supposed to be guarding and toward the door, intent on going somewhere.

“Where are you going?” Mezou asked, his voice laced with an obvious confusion. Normally captors didn’t leave their captives alone in a room they could simply walk out of.

“To talk to someone.” Shouto stopped with his hand on the doorknob and thought for a second. Mezou’s confused tone reminded him that he was supposed to be keeping them here. He looked over his shoulder at the three set of eyes watching him. “Can you guard yourselves for a bit? If I’m not back in thirty minutes then do whatever you want.”

He left with that. Mezou turned to look at Nedzu and Chiyo, who both simply sat back and waited. He stood up and went to go check on the other side of the door.

“No one is there,” Mezou commented as he checked both directions of the empty hallway. He glanced back at the two of them. “We can get out of here if we hurry.”

“No need to rush,” Nedzu stated. He hopped up, patted down his suit, and began to rummage through the nearby drawers and shelves. “He said he would be back momentarily. He trusted us to stay put while he went to go handle some type of business. To betray that trust would be rude. Not to mention that, while I would like to finally get out of here, there is a correct time for doing so. The time is not quite right. Thirty minutes from now will be right. If he hasn’t returned by then, that is.”

“In other words, you’re trying to act too soon, dear,” Chiyo chimed in. “Nedzu has been plotting for a long time. He knows what he’s doing. Come sit down and be patient.”

Mezou stared at her, and then noticed the pile of objects Nedzu was now tinkering with. He reluctantly closed the door and went to sit back on the floor beside Nedzu. Nedzu held up a small device not long after. It looked like something he should not have easily been able to replicate with what little he had to work with.

Nedzu placed it on the ground and began working on something else, an innocent smile on his face the entire time.

He’d been under the impression that he should be protecting them, given that their quirks didn’t seem too combat oriented. But he was slowly beginning to realize that they likely didn’t need any form of protection.

They weren’t two of the few surviving pro heroes for nothing.

  Izuku peeked over the edge of the building with the rest of the group.

Six villains guarding the front door. That seemed rather lackluster for what they knew was coming.

“I don’t like the look of this,” Shinya said. “We know their leaders are here, they probably know we’re coming, but this is all they sent to stop us?”

“They know that any amount of common villains, whether a large group or single person, has significantly less of a chance of stopping us than they themselves do,” Aizawa responded. He scanned the area around the building the six were guarding, trying to find anything else that might be there to try and slow them down. “I’m sure they’re–”

A loud grunt caught everyone’s attention, and they all whirled around to find a Noumu standing behind them, staring straight ahead silently. Whatever it was doing, it didn’t appear to notice any of them at all. It had a canister in its mouth, and they couldn’t see its eyes behind the visor blocking them.

Izuku and Katsuki recognized it as the one that was with Dabi at the factory. Likewise, they remembered well the weapons that could sprout from its body.

“–a distraction,” Aizawa finished, annoyed that he’d walked right into that.

They all watched it curiously. Not one of them moved a muscle as the hulking blueish monster continued to stare ahead at seemingly nothing and no one.

Izuku slowly raised his hand and waved it in front of himself, and the Noumu’s head snapped down toward him. He immediately froze.

“Can it only see us if we move?” Ectoplasm asked in a hushed tone.

“That was never the case before,” Gran Torino responded. “Something is off about this one.”

After another few seconds the Noumu turned around and leaped off the other side of the building.

“Okay…?” Nemuri said.

Aizawa looked over the edge at where the Noumu had jumped off to. It was nowhere to be found below. Only people going about their business in the late evening, unaware of the fight that was soon to break out.

“If it isn’t hostile then I wouldn’t worry about it for the moment,” Shinya said. “If they could communicate in any way, or even think for themselves, then it might be more troublesome. But as far as we know, they cannot.”

The big double doors to the building opened and the six people that were guarding the entrance scattered. Tomura, along with Kurogiri and two Noumus exited the building. Katsuki and Izuku recognized both creatures as the ones that had chased them for the longest time.

“Get down. They’re going to know where we are,” Katsuki stated loudly enough for all around him to hear. “That thing can track Deku and I.”

The moment he finished speaking the Noumu’s gaze turned to where all of them were hiding, followed by Tomura’s and then Kurogiri’s.

“Well that’s annoying,” Nemuri said. “Kind of takes away the element of surprise.”

“We didn’t truly have it to begin with if they knew to come outside with that thing in the first place,” Gran Torino said.

“We might be able to have it.” Izuku glanced at Katsuki, and then back to the rest of the group. “It only knows the two of us. Let Kacchan and I go. The rest of you can find the league members you’re supposed to deal with while they’re talking to us.”

Aizawa glared at the duo. “You’re not–”

“What makes you believe they want to speak with you?” Gran Torino interrupted Aizawa.

“Because the Noumus haven’t come up here yet. He’s waiting for us,” Izuku answered with a quick peek over the ledge.

“He’s being cautious,” Katsuki said, “because he doesn’t know if we actually are alone. Let us make him think we are. Paper guy can get inside the foggy asshole and disable him like last time while we’re talking. Aizawa can go after Tomura. The rest of you can go around and find your people.”

Aizawa stared ahead at nothing in particular, ignoring Shinya’s indignant complaints to be dubbed ‘paper guy’.

He’d been the only one against bringing the two of them into this in the first place, and he still was. The only reason he’d relented was because Izuku was the only one who could fight that hulking monster or All For One on even ground. He’d been outvoted, and for good reason.

The only consolation he had was that everyone else agreed with him to some degree. None of them liked the idea of bringing kids into something like this. If possible they’d rather handle it without endangering anyone else. But they knew they couldn’t.

Dangling the two of them in front of the league like bait was yet another thing none of them wanted to condone, yet none of them objected. Because just like before, they knew it was their best course of action. Even if it wasn’t the most favorable.

  Shouto peeked around the corridor corner before he continued walking. His steps remained light and his senses alert. Being caught away from the prisoners would lead to questions. Questions he knew he wouldn’t be prepared to answer. And if he were to get in trouble now, All For One himself wouldn’t hesitate in dealing with him.

That was made abundantly clear before All For One left him to guard the others.

He peeked around the next corner, jerked back upon seeing someone and felt his heart stop.

“Hey! That you, Todoroki?!”

Twice. Of course he ran into the loudest person possible.

He jumped and nearly froze the entire hallway over when a hand landed on his shoulder. Relief washed over him as he saw it was Dabi, who continued to walk past him and around the corner.

“It was me. Go get ready. Something big is going down,” Dabi called out to Twice.

“Quit sneaking around like that! You won’t ever surprise anyone if you do!” Twice shouted at him with a shake of his fist, and then continued on his way.

Dabi backtracked to Shouto and then stared down expectantly, waiting for answers to obvious questions.

“I think the heroes are here, so I went looking for you,” Shouto explained. “We never said where we were going to meet.”

“Because I was going to come to you when my Noumu returned,” Dabi said. He waved toward the other end of the corridor where his Noumu stood waiting for orders. “I told him to come back to me if he found the heroes nearby, so they’re here. That means the fighting is about to start any minute.”

“Then we need to go.”

Dabi grabbed Shouto’s arm before Shouto got too far away. “Are we not going to free the others first?”

“I told them to go if I’m not back in thirty minutes.” Shouto rubbed his arm after being released and followed Dabi down the corridor. He looked at the Noumu upon hearing its loud footsteps begin to follow the pair.

“You’re not worried they’ll run into opposition?” Dabi asked.

“A little,” Shouto admitted, his gaze fixed on the hard cement ground. “But one of them was a classmate. Nedzu and Recovery Girl aren’t pro heroes for nothing. He’s capable of supporting them, and they’re all capable of handling themselves.”

Someone dropped to the ground from around a corner a ways in front of them, but neither of the two, nor the Noumu, slowed their stride in the slightest. As they passed the body they glanced down the turn toward a third hallway and spotted Nedzu, Chiyo and Mezou. Nedzu was grinning down at the unconscious villain with a small device in his hand that was emitting electricity.

Both groups gave each other a small nod, with the exception of a confused Mezou, and continued on their separate ways.

“Did you give them a taser?” Dabi questioned once they were out of earshot.

“No,” Shouto admitted with a similar confusion to Dabi’s.

  Izuku and Katsuki gave each other a look as they approached Tomura. They stopped on the other side of the street, what they considered to be a fair distance in case the villains tried something, and waited.

They couldn’t see his expression behind the hand on his face, nor could they read his mostly passive body language. Though they could sense the hatred radiating off of him as he stared the two of them down.

Tomura finally decided to break the silence and took a step forward. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to kill you, Midoriya?”

Katsuki and Izuku glanced at each other again. Izuku could see the fury slowly starting to build in Katsuki’s eyes from that one question, but still he took a step forward as well.

“Since the first day I attacked you and the Noumu saved you from me?”

Tomura glared at him, regardless of the fact that no one would see it. That was the correct answer, but what bothered him was that Izuku didn’t seem to be phased in the slightest.

“You’re carrying yourself with a lot of confidence tonight,” Tomura said. “Where are the other heroes that came with you? Surely you both wouldn’t be stupid enough to come all this way by yourselves. Or do you suddenly think that little of us and all that we’ve accomplished?”

“If all the other heroes were here, then why would we be the only two to show up at your doorstep?” Izuku pulled at his glove to tighten it. “We came to free the last of our friends and stop you. You can still stop all of this yourself if you–”

“You sound just like the so-called ‘Symbol of Peace’. It’s sickening.” Tomura tilted his head and scratched at his neck. “It pisses me off. We already killed that sorry excuse for a hero. So why do more of you keep stepping up? Why won’t you all just lie down and die like him?”

Both of them had to stop themselves from attacking Tomura as he began to insult All Might. It was something neither of the two of them could stand by and let happen, and they knew that Tomura probably knew that as well. If he was trying to provoke them, they couldn’t let that happen.

“He died the same as he lived. A failure. I would have thought after that the rest of you heroes would follow suit. That the rest of you would realize what failures you all are. But you came after us as a wave of vengeance to avenge your fallen pillar of peace, solidifying the fact that he truly was all about violence. Every one of you are. It only proves my point.”

Tomura lowered his hand as he paused and glanced around the block. This part of the city was mostly empty a majority of the time. It made it easier to keep an eye out when people weren’t in the way.

“And then the majority of you ‘heroes’ died, and all that’s left is a sorry excuse of a group that wants to make a last stand. Well make your last stand, because I’ll be happy to finally be rid of the last remnants of you people. There is no peace in this world, and you’re all living proof of it. Each and every one of you.”

Izuku could almost hear Katsuki’s teeth grinding and practically feel the rage emitting from him. He grabbed Katsuki’s hand in an attempt to calm him. They didn’t have to fight Tomura or Kurogiri, they just had to distract them for the time being. Even if that meant listening to the ramblings of a madman.

“All I can say is that you’re wrong. About everything,” Izuku said after a long pause. “If you can’t see that, then there’s nothing more for us to talk about.”

“Finally, something we can agree on. There is no more for us to talk about. If you really came here alone, then you’re going to die alone. If not, then this ought to expedite the others coming out of hiding,” Tomura responded with another tilt of his head. He pointed at Katsuki.

“Separate and kill them.”

Izuku activated his quirk and charged Tomura. He’d be damned if he was going to sit back and let them separate Katsuki and himself again. Not without a fight.

In the blink of an eye he found himself stopped dead in his tracks where Tomura was, his fist having connected with something else. He looked up and locked eyes with the only Noumu that could withstand his punches. The perpetual thorn in the heroes’ side.

It grabbed him by the arms and fought to keep him from moving as the other two Noumus charged past them to go after Katsuki. Before Katsuki could move out of the way he found himself suddenly falling from a portal beneath his feet. The two creatures didn’t hesitate in jumping in after him, and the portal closed.

Izuku glared at Kurogiri, only to see that Kurogiri’s metal plating was actually lying on the ground and unmoving.

Edgeshot retreated from inside him as Kurogiri and Tomura both melted into a pile of black goo, just as surprised as Izuku was.

“They were clones,” he growled at the black liquid on the sidewalk. “Snipe, let’s go find the real Kurogiri. Cementoss, trap that thing.”

Izuku fought against the Noumu’s hold and tried to keep him in place. It was a struggle to do so, especially considering the size advantage the creature had on him, but he managed to keep it moving slowly rather than letting it plow right through him.

It pushed against Izuku, shoving him back at a snail’s pace. Izuku’s feet slid against the pavement as he was pushed back, both his and the Noumu’s arms shaking from the effort being used to attempt to overpower the other.

The Noumu began sinking into the sidewalk like quicksand, and still it didn’t stop moving forward. Even as the cement hardened around its feet to try and slow it more it only tore through and continued pushing Izuku back.

“Very well, we will do this the hard way,” Cementoss said to himself. He rubbed his hands together and slapped them back down onto the pavement.

The ground beneath the Noumu opened up wide like a predator’s maw, leaving it with nothing to stand on. It dropped down into the hole, losing grip on Izuku’s hands, and the concrete slammed shut around it right before its head went under.

Izuku fell back onto the sidewalk and quickly stood in a fighting stance. He glanced around, and then down at the Noumu’s head poking out from the concrete.

“I will hold it here. Go and find their boss.”

Izuku watched the concrete cracking around the Noumu, but it was almost instantly repaired each time it did. More cement from the surrounding sidewalk and street moved to its spot and compacted itself with the rest, making it more and more dense with each passing second. So long as Cementoss kept focus, he should be able to keep the creature locked down.

For how long was up for debate, but Izuku would just have to trust him.

He glanced around the block, more concerned with where Katsuki had been teleported to with the other two Noumus. A hand landed on his shoulder and turned him in the direction of the building across the street.

“He can handle himself,” Aizawa said. If there were anyone he trusted to handle themselves in a situation such as this, it’d be Katsuki. And even though he wanted to run off and find him too, they might not be able to afford the lost time.

They had a goal, and it needed to be seen to the end.

Izuku stared down the street for a few more seconds, nodded, and ran across the street.

  Fucking annoying.

People screamed and ran to take shelter from the monstrosities that appeared out of nowhere. A few bumped into him, but he held his ground and tried to get past them. Fed up with the people bumping into him, he climbed on top of a car and launched himself into the air with an explosion.

Fucking annoying.

So long as they were after him, anyone else near him was in danger. He needed to get away from the crowds. Not only for their own safety, but because he couldn’t fight in a mess of people.

They’re all so fucking annoying.

Katsuki landed off to the side and moved out of the way of another oncoming group of civilians. Getting away from them all was one option, but if he managed to hold out long enough then everyone would simply leave on their own.

He ducked and dodged the combined attacks of the Noumus, using his explosions to propel him around and away. There was too much potential for collateral damage if he were to use any big explosions, something he wanted to avoid for now.

At least until he felt he was in life threatening danger. At the moment he wasn’t too afraid of these two.

Katsuki landed on his feet and swung his arm forward, an explosion trailing along with his palm. It burned the webbing that was shot at him to cinders, and he spun around in time to see and barely dodge the fist that came swinging down at him from behind. He slapped his palm onto its chin and blasted it hard.

It swiped wildly, blinded by the smoke, while Katsuki ducked forward. Another shot of webbing flew over his head and tied both the Noumu’s wrists together. Even so, it still continued to swing wildly.

Katsuki sidestepped any swipe or punch that came his way and backed away as it stumbled toward him. He glanced over his shoulder at the other Noumu that was now charging their way. Thankfully all the people that were fleeing the scene were no longer in the way, save for some random onlookers keeping their distance to watch.

Katsuki blasted the Noumu’s hand up into the air. The explosion incinerated the webbing tying its wrists together, but gave him much needed time to turn around, get a running start, slide under the charging Noumu’s spider-like legs, and prepare an explosion that would send it flying into the other.

Unfortunately, as he slid across the ground, nothing went over him. There was suddenly no sign of the charging Noumu. He sat up and stared forward, annoyed yet again by what he saw.

Rikidou and Eijirou were holding it back. They fought against its struggling arms while Hanta wrapped his tape around its legs.

Katsuki looked to the other Noumu. It was flailing wildly, floating in the air, as Denki hugged it from behind where it couldn’t reach him and electrocuted it relentlessly.

“Where are the others?” Tenya appeared in front of him and asked. He held his hand out for Katsuki to take.

“Don’t know,” Katsuki replied, almost taking Tenya’s hand. It’d started to become second nature with how much he and Izuku helped each other. At the last second he realized what he was doing and swatted Tenya’s hand away, then stood on his own. “Got teleported away with these two.”

“Do you know the best way for us to help out right now?” Momo asked, coming over to stand next to Tenya. “We couldn’t sit back and let you guys go at this alone, but we don’t want to get in the way of the pros either.”

“Take care of these two and find the cement guy. Make sure that monster doesn’t get away if he already has it trapped. The villains will probably try to get it free if they can,” Katsuki said, already running back in the direction of the other heroes and villains. He shouted over his back as he went, “And stay away from Deku and the leader!”

The last thing he needed was more people getting in his and Izuku’s way.

  Izuku turned another corner and stared down the hallway. He felt the need to be extra cautious now that he was alone. Especially since he had no idea where he was going, or where he was trying to get to.

He’d run into several of the other heroes already, both trying to find their assigned villains and already in fights. The first fight he ran into he wanted to help with, but they told him to go where he was supposed to.

The problem was that they never scouted this place out. He had no idea where All For One was, or if he was even here to begin with.

Izuku turned another corner and backtracked to hide. Shouto, Dabi, and a Noumu were walking by. They’d made no plans for the two of them because, for whatever reason, Aizawa was under the impression the two of them would not be there.

After Izuku was sure the two of them were gone he turned the corner and spotted a set of big, double doors. They were the first set of doors he’d encountered that looked relatively out of place, as though they were recently added.

He approached them and placed his hand on the frame. The very presence of those doors filled him with a sense of dread. This had to be the place he was looking for.

Izuku took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was to come. He was chosen for this, and he wasn’t going to let All Might’s death be in vain. All For One had so much to answer for, and Izuku wanted to make sure justice was dealt.

So long as he kept that in mind, he would be ready for anything.

Izuku marched forward and shoved both doors open, only to come face to face with an empty room. He scanned the area carefully and stared down every corner. Nothing and nobody was here, but he couldn’t fight the feeling that someone was here.

Someone terrible.

A whirring sound started behind him and he had little time to react. He activated his quirk and, not a second later, was sent careening forward through the now destroyed wall, through the adjacent building, and into the next one over.

Izuku dug himself out of the rubble, got up off the ground, and coughed from the dust floating around the air. With a few waves of his hand the dust began to disperse, but that lingering sense of danger did not.

That was the same attack Izuku had seen take out that group of pro heroes the night he and his friends went to save Katsuki.

Izuku whirled around at the sound of the league boss landing on the ground. The click of his heels hitting concrete in the dark room resounded throughout the room and the sense of dread returned full force. The same one from a few moments ago, and the same one from that night so many months ago. It left Izuku nearly paralyzed, but he repeated in his head the reasons he was here and clenched his fists in anger.

He would fight the fear with anger, the same way he would fight villainy with justice.

“A mere teenager is the best the remainder of the heroes are able to scrounge together?” All For One leaned forward, the black helmet on his head a mere shadow in the darkness. “Oh, you are Midoriya Izuku. No wonder you survived that. I thought you were Bakugou Katsuki for a moment.”

Izuku’s head cocked to the side and his glare was replaced with a confused stare. “You know us?”

“Yes. Bakugou is someone Tomura has talked about much, and I was well aware of whom One For All was passed to before Toshinori was removed from my path. I’ve lived through a multitude of the quirk’s users. I would think by now I could tell who has it with a little observation.”

“Well that isn’t important,” Izuku said, his stare turning back into a glare. “What is important is–”

“You’re right,” All For One interjected, his arm already transforming into a hulking mass of muscle, “it isn’t important anymore. What is important is that I take back what belongs to me, because it has been used against me for too long. Right now may not be the most opportune time, but it will suffice.”

“Take back…?”

Izuku crossed both arms in front of himself and braced for the incoming attack. He was only sent a few feet back as he fought against the shockwave trying to blast him away. He looked up into the air, now able to see the night sky through the utterly devastated building they were—used to—be in.

He glared forward and attempted to charge, but was stopped when he realized his legs wouldn’t move. A quick glance down revealed wooden tendrils wrapped around his ankles that were slowly growing up his legs and encasing him in a wooden cocoon.

Izuku could feel all the energy in his body waning, as though the wood itself were sapping any strength he had, and fast.

He recognized the wood quirk as Kamui Woods’ quirk, though he didn’t remember it ever draining energy from its victims. That must be something else All For One had that he was combining with this quirk.

“I made sure to grab these two quirks specifically for you,” All For One explained. He tightened the wood around Izuku’s body and levitated forward until he was within arm’s reach. “You’ll find it increasingly difficult to break out. Until then, I’m going to take back One For All so that it will never be a nuisance to me again.”

Izuku gritted his teeth and jerked his head away from All For One’s hand when he reached for Izuku’s forehead. “You can’t take it. You outlived all the other people who had this quirk, but you’re not going to take it from me. You should be the one who’s afraid of me.”

All For One grinned under his helmet, amused by Izuku’s spirit even when in a dire position. It reminded him of his disgust for humans.

“If the deceased symbol of peace couldn’t stop me with neither the full power of this quirk or the vestiges of it, why need I fear you?”

Izuku’s gaze shifted upward for a couple of seconds, and then back to All For One.

“Because I have something the others didn’t have, and it’s even better than this quirk that was gifted to me.” Izuku grinned at him mischievously. “It’s going to kick your ass, too.”

All For One’s hand retreated. Izuku could see his curiosity even through the helmet. Something more powerful than One For All had to be worth knowing about.

“And what would that be?”

Izuku looked up again, and then grinned at All For One once more.

“Kacchan!”

The moment Izuku yelled for him, Katsuki came rocketing through the air and landed on All For One’s head with both feet at an angle. He rammed All For One’s helmet into the ground and, caught off-guard, the wooden tendrils from All For One’s hand broke off and dissipated.

Katsuki spun around and, in his fury at seeing Izuku in such a position, unleashed a barrage of unrelenting blasts on the prone All For One. He screamed ‘Die!’ with each one, and didn’t pull back a single bit. He knew full well this guy could not only take it, but absolutely deserved it.

The explosions finally died down after a moment, and Katsuki panted while glaring down at the still body of All For One. For a brief second he thought he may have gone too far, but that thought disappeared swiftly as a hand shot out toward his face and he had to dodge out of the way.

Izuku, finally free of the tendrils, ran forward and grabbed both of All For One’s arms. Katsuki used an explosion to jump over their heads and land on All For One’s shoulders. He kicked All For One in the face as he launched himself high up into the air.

All For One pulled himself up onto one knee and Izuku took the opportunity to kick him in the shin, lift him up, and slam him down onto the ground. He dragged All For One across the ground in a circle as he spun, and then tossed him up into the air.

Reminiscent of their previous fight with Muscular, All For One flew high up into the air, flipping as he went, and caught glimpses of Katsuki using his explosions to spin himself in the air. Katsuki aimed his hands downward and set off a huge blast from each hand that, with the explosions spinning along with him, created a sort of explosion tornado.

All For One was too slow to do anything about it and was sent flying back down to the ground from the explosions hitting him. He hit the concrete hard enough to bounce back up a few feet, and then was subsequently slammed back into the ground by Katsuki’s explosion-filled dive bomb on his head and Izuku’s feet on his stomach.

Both of them jumped away from the small crater he was left in as spikes erupted from his body in all directions. The quirk left holes in his suit, which then began to repair themselves as he picked himself up off the ground.

Izuku and Katsuki landed side by side, glanced at each other, and then glared at him.

“In case you’re wondering,” Izuku said, “the thing that’s stronger than my quirk is what happens when Kacchan and I work together. Nothing can defeat that.”

All For One stared at the two of them, though they couldn’t see his expression under the now cracked and dented helmet. Although his clothes had repaired themselves, it seemed his helmet couldn’t do the same. But they didn’t need to see his face to feel the intent to kill radiating off of him.

If he didn’t want to kill them before, it was extremely clear he had every intention of doing so after that little stunt.

In that moment, Katsuki felt fear once again. Not the same type of fear he felt whenever Izuku flinched away from him, or whenever someone questioned if their relationship could truly work out.

No. This was the same fear he felt the night he was with the league of villains. The night All Might died. This was the fear of having a real villain, who wanted nothing more than to kill you, right in front of you. And to make matters worse, just like the night Tomura Shigaraki was standing in front of him while he was tied to a chair, this villain had far more than a fair chance of killing him.

But, unlike that night, he wasn’t alone. Not this time.

Katsuki looked to Izuku, and then back to All For One.

Unlike that night, they also had more than a fair chance of taking him down.

Together.

Bored, bored, bored, bored…

That word was repeated in Denki’s head like a mantra, drowning out the sound of the television in the room, and yet there’s little he can do about it. He wanted so badly to go back on patrols with Kouta, to help people out on the streets again, but he’d been stuck on this couch for the majority of the last month and a half and will be for one more day as well.

Why?

Because his ankle is broken.

Bored, bored, bored, bored…

He picked up his phone, scrolled through the contacts, and then put it back down again. He already called Eijirou and found out he was busy. Katsuki, Hanta, Mina and Izuku all were as well. Kouta was surely busy by now as well. He didn’t want to bother his partner and keep him from going out to do hero stuff just because he couldn’t right now.

At least he had something really good cooking in the oven that should be done soon. That shouldn’t make his mood better.

“I shouldn't watch the news,” he said as he turned to the news channel anyway. He continued to warn himself, “It’s going to make me want to go out.”

Lo and behold. He felt all the more stupid when they started reporting a situation with a villain that was handled because his sole purpose for avoiding the news channel was to not wish he was out there helping people right now.

Just like he had thought, simply hearing the words ‘Hero’ and ‘Villain’ made him want to go out there.

He focused on the television again when he heard a familiar name, and a familiar voice to go with it.

“It is well known that you and the hero Chargebolt are one of the up and coming new hero teams, a pair of rising stars some would say, but today we see you’re working alone. Are you–”

“No, we didn’t split up. He’s just away right now.” Kouta waved at the cameraman and reporter dismissively as he began walking away. “I keep telling you people I don’t want to be on TV. Leave me alone.”

Denki snickered at the sight of the flabbergasted reporter still on screen. They continued to stare at Kouta’s retreating back.

His partner never did like the publicity of the job. Kouta said long ago that Denki could have all the fame and he wouldn’t care in the slightest. That he didn’t care much what people in general thought of him so long as he got to help people in need. That perspective tends to throw the news crews and the public for a loop, often confusing them.

I want to give them hope, not be their entertainment. Those were his exact words, if Denki were to remember correctly. He admitted to getting the idea of being that type of hero from Denki’s homeroom teacher at U.A., Aizawa.

“The popularity is half the fun.” Denki’s words fell to an empty room as he flipped to a different channel. A knock on his door took his attention away from the television and he reached for his crutches.

Kouta shifted his weight from one foot to the other and waited in front of the apartment door anxiously. He hadn’t announced that he would be visiting, and while he knew Denki wouldn’t turn him away he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. He’d only ever come over when invited in the past, but he hoped it wouldn’t be a problem.

He knew Denki would most likely be lonely, being stuck in an apartment with no one to talk to all day. Denki was too much of a people person for that type of life, and Kouta knew it.

He knew it because he felt it was his job to know about his partner’s habits and lifestyle.

Kouta heard it in the way Denki would call him to complain about being stuck inside all day long. He found it exceedingly hard to deny Denki’s wishes, so whenever he was invited over he’d always come. Especially because he considered it his fault that Denki got hurt in the first place.

Though he couldn’t exactly complain about spending time with Denki.

He'd been over almost every day for a whole week, but then suddenly Denki stopped inviting him over. It'd been an entire week since he'd last visited, and there was an unmistakable feeling of something missing from his days in that time.

Kouta knocked on the door and stared down at his feet as he waited for it to open. He could barely hear the sounds of the Denki’s crutches on the other side of the door before it opened. He’s greeted by Denki’s surprised stare, and then a grin.

“Hey, Izumi. What’s up?” Denki greeted him. “Not that I’m complaining or anything, but I didn’t ask you to come over. I thought you’d still be busy. In fact, I just saw you on the news. How did you–?”

“That was like two hours ago. I stopped at home to change before coming.” Kouta stared at Denki’s cast for a moment. It still bothered him every time he saw it. He couldn’t help feeling that it was his fault Denki had to wear it. If he’d remained more aware of his surroundings–

“It’ll be a while before I get it off,” Denki interrupted his thoughts, as though he read Kouta’s mind. “But I still don’t blame you. We’re supposed to watch each other’s backs. You would’ve done the same thing for me.”

Kouta looked up at him and was caught off-guard by the soft smile Denki gave him.

“Right,” Kouta responded as he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked off to the side. “Well I just wanted to come and see if you were alright. We haven’t talked in like a week, so I was getting kind of worried that maybe something happened or you were mad about something.”

Denki’s smile turned into a smirk the more Kouta spoke. He’d already put two and two together at ‘We haven’t talked’.

“So, in other words, you missed me?” Denki asked in a taunting manner. “Cause if that’s the case, you can come in if you want.”

He moved out of the way and waited. It didn’t take long for Kouta to enter, take his cap and shoes off, and shut the door behind him. Denki hobbled back to the couch with Kouta in tow and dropped back down in his former position. Kouta slid down onto the floor with his back against the sofa and trained his eyes on the television ahead, feeling strangely out of place the entire way. He’d been here before, too many times to count, but this time felt different for some reason.

“You don’t have to sit on the floor.”

Kouta leaned his head back and met his partner’s gaze.

“You’re taking up the whole couch. If I sit up there you won’t have any room to stretch out.”

“We don’t know that until we try.” Denki pushed up and held himself there, his hands sinking into the sofa under his weight, and waited for Kouta to join him.

Kouta, after giving him a look of disbelief, did as he was told and pushed himself up onto the open spot. He glanced down at the sliver of space between Denki’s arms and his legs, then sent him an ‘I told you so’ look.

“See? You’d have to sit up if I–”

Kouta’s words were cut off and that look was suddenly replaced with a flustered expression as Denki dropped his head down on Kouta’s lap. He let his upper back rest against Kouta’s leg while the back of his head was nestled into the other leg.

“All I see is plenty of room for me to relax,” Denki replied with a mischievous grin pointed up toward Kouta. He stretched his arms up in the air—which ended up right in front of Kouta’s face due to his position—and then held the remote out to his friend. “Guests get to pick what to watch, so find something good.”

Kouta, still surprised that Denki would lie in his lap so casually, slowly took the remote and changed the channel to a random movie channel.

He knew he shouldn’t be surprised by this action, but he still found himself caught off-guard every time Denki managed to find new ways to get closer to him. Whether it be randomly holding his hand, a sudden hug, sitting closer than needed, or now this. He believed his friend was flirting with him, though he had no concrete proof for that and didn’t want to follow up on it if he wasn’t sure.

Call it paranoia. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Denki away with an unwanted attraction.

Denki had been this way for a few years. Four, to be exact. They’d only known each other for five years, so for all he knew this is just how Denki got closer to his friends.

Although he wouldn’t mind if Denki were flirting with him. He’d welcome that concept happily, in fact. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d thought of his best friend in a romantic manner.

Denki closed his eyes and relaxed in Kouta’s lap. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to enjoy his time with Kouta now.

The feeling of loneliness and boredom had disappeared instantly the moment Kouta walked through the door. He wanted to keep Kouta here as long as possible for that reason.

And because he’s beginning to grow impatient.

He’d most definitely been flirting with Kouta for a long, long time. His biggest frustration was that Kouta had yet to show any signs of interest, or disinterest.

Hence his growing impatience, and his growing desire to get a more definite sign from Kouta.

What else can I do besides wear a big sign that says “Kiss me”? Denki wondered.

Kouta glanced down at Denki. He looked so comfortable that Kouta began to wonder if he had fallen asleep already. It was kind of late, but he hadn’t thought Denki would fall asleep already. Maybe it was a mistake to drop by without asking first.

One of Denki’s eyes cracked open and looked up at him. Kouta blinked, and then his gaze quickly shifted to the television. He tried to appear as though he wasn’t just staring at, and thinking about, Denki.

Another mischievous smile formed on Denki’s lips, and he closed his eye again. Maybe there was hope yet. He’d just have to take a chance.

“I can ask you anything, right Izumi?”

Kouta placed his elbow on the couch’s armrest and rested his cheek against his fist. He continued to stare at the TV and tried not to think about where this could lead. Hypotheticals always got strange when it came to Denki.

“Yeah,” Kouta replied, and then he gave Denki a displeased look, “and I told you that you don’t have to call me that. Call me Kouta.”

“I know, I just like when you tell me to call you that. It’s cute when you try to get me to use your first name.” Denki replied in an amused manner. He took in Kouta’s embarrassed expression upon the realization that he had been tricked into reminding Denki to call him by his first name for a long, long time. He then closed his eyes again and refocused on the task at hand. “Anyway, I wanted to ask what you think about us?”

Kouta opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. It took him a second to process what was just asked, and suddenly he wasn’t so ready to answer.

That wasn’t one of Denki’s usual questions. Usually the desire to ask a question generally consisted of some outlandish type of hypothetical question that would either never happen, or couldn’t ever happen. This one was very different from those.

“What do you mean?”

Denki placed his hands under the back of his head. He moved his elbow slightly so that it wouldn’t be digging into Kouta’s belly. “You know, like… are you okay with the way things are between us?”

Kouta tried to think about it. There was obviously something to this question he wasn’t seeing. Something he didn’t understand.

Why wouldn’t he be happy? They talked about becoming a hero team together after they graduated from U.A., were the best of friends for years, and they get to do hero work together almost every day. They hung out more often than not and were as close as could be.

Well, as close as two friends could be. As great as that was, there was actually more he wanted from Denki. More that he was always too careful to pursue. Though maybe now would be the time to make an attempt, what with their current position and all. Plus it helped that Denki appeared to be in a good mood.

“Of course I’m happy with us,” Kouta said. He kept his cheek on his fist as his gaze slid off to the side. “I mean, I think we could maybe try being a little closer or something. If you’re asking for that sort of thing, I mean…”

Oh, real smooth, Denki thought sarcastically. Still, he recognized that as a sign. Finally something more definite to go off of. It was a good thing Kouta was terrible at being subtle.

“Closer, huh? I don’t think we could get any closer than we are now.” Denki opened one eye to stare at Kouta with a smirk. “I am lying in your lap, after all. How much closer do you want me?”

Kouta’s fist moved to cover his mouth and it became clearer he was consciously trying to not look directly at Denki.

“That’s not what I meant. I think you know what I meant,” Kouta said. He looked down and saw Denki’s soft smile staring back at him. The sight helped to calm him, if only a little. “At least, I hope you do.”

“Alright, alright. Yeah, I think I know what you meant.” Denki pushed himself up on one hand to make his face level with Kouta’s. He placed his other hand on Kouta’s thigh and got close. His mouth stopped just in front of Kouta’s fist, the only thing standing in the way of their first kiss together. “You want to be closer. Let’s try it.”

“Try– Really?” Kouta’s fist moved from his mouth to Denki’s waist. “Okay.”

Denki had to contain his laughter from seeing Kouta’s growing excitement. He had to admit he was a little excited too, but he was the one to hold it together this time. Strange, given that it was the other way around in most cases.

They both began to inch forward, little by little, until their lips were but a hair’s breadth away. The closer they got, the more their eyes closed.

“Wait,” Denki said, suddenly turning his head away from Kouta and jerking his eyes open. He could see the surprise on Kouta’s face slowly turning to regret from the corner of his eyes. “No, no, I still want this. Just, one second…”

Denki took his hand from Kouta’s thigh and gently tapped one of Kouta’s arms. Kouta’s arm recoiled as a shock stung the surface of his skin, and he stared at Denki incredulously.

“What the hell?!” Kouta exclaimed.

“Sorry, I accumulate a lot of static. Sort of like when people walk around carpets with fuzzy slippers? Wanted to get rid of that before… You know.” Denki put his hand back on Kouta’s thigh and grinned sheepishly at him. “I thought it would be better on your arm than on your mouth.”

“Would be better if it didn’t happen at all,” Kouta grumbled, rubbing his arm. “Fine, I’ll give you that,”

He tentatively placed his free hand on Denki’s cheek, giving it a couple of light taps to test for any residual static, and pulled Denki closer again. His head tilted to the side, and their lips brushed against each other as they paused to relish in the joy of what was to come.

They could feel the heat radiating from each other, their breaths tickling each other’s mouths. Right as they were about to give the final push that would press their lips together, several loud beeps went off in the kitchen. The noise startled them, and their eyes flew open. At the same moment, the nozzle of the sink in the kitchen bursted. A torrent of water violently spilled into the air and sprayed all over the kitchen floor.

They both stared at the water flowing freely all over the apartment kitchen, mouths agape. They turned back to each other and Kouta took his hand off of Denki’s cheek. His fist clenched and the water stopped flowing from the sink, now trapped inside the pipes from Kouta’s will.

“I–I– “Kouta shook his head, his eyes still wide with shock. “I’m so sorry. The– the beeps, they startled me, and then my quirk…” Kouta glanced over his shoulder at the flooded kitchen again, and then back to Denki. “That’s never happened before. I’ll fix it right now. I–”

Kouta was cut off by two hands jerking him forward by his shirt. His lips met Denki’s in that moment, yet another thing that surprised him. However, this one was a pleasant surprise at least.

Denki continued to kiss him, pulling him closer still and following Kouta as Kouta’s head dipped back. He’d come too far, gotten too close, to let all that time flirting and pushing be reduced to naught by something as dumb as that.

Even if it wasn’t his dream first kiss with Kouta, he refused to let the chance pass him up. He refused to let Kouta walk away and feel bad about wrecking his kitchen to the point that he wouldn’t feel he deserved to kiss Denki anymore.

His grip on Kouta’s shirt grew looser with each passing second, until his hands were simply resting on Kouta’s chest. Kouta’s eyes had closed long ago, and he was now cupping Denki’s face with both hands. His hold was gentle, yet firm, as if to keep Denki from trying to escape without coming across as forceful.

Because this was what he’d wanted for a long, long time as well. This is the ‘closer’ he wanted from his partner.

They broke apart, but didn’t move far, and simultaneously exhaled. As their eyes opened and they focused on each other’s’ gaze the noises around them seemed to gain volume, as though everything that didn’t have to do with the other was dulled to nonexistence during their kiss.

The sound of the water splashing against the floor was present again—evidently Kouta couldn’t keep his concentration—and the beeping had grown more incessant. Within seconds the pair began to realize it was a timer. Denki recognized it as the timer he set to go off when his meal was done cooking, and that it was something he should probably deal with before a fire is started.

Yet they both simply continued to stare at one another. They kissed once more, this time short, chaste, and then Denki shoved himself away from Kouta. He needed to stop his apartment from going to hell.

“You want to be my boyfriend, right?” Denki asked quickly.

Kouta stared at him, dumbfounded. He then nodded wordlessly and eagerly.

“Good. I dub thee boyfriend,” Denki said, his words coming out quick as he tried to rush this along. “Your first active duty as boyfriend is to stop my apartment from being destroyed. Go.”

Kouta blinked a few times, and then remembered what was happening behind him.

“Oh, r–right!”

He slipped out from under Denki and rushed off to the kitchen.

Take my hand.

That seemed to be the theme every time.

They were on a mountain, not really looking for anything special. They liked exploring, finding new things, experiencing new adventures. They found that out about each other when they went to school together, bonded on their wishes to explore as much as possible in their lives, and made plans to do so in the future.

Kouta placed his foot on another rock to test how well it would hold before letting his weight fall fully on it. He didn’t have the same dexterity as his partner, so he always tried to be careful. Samidare, on the other hand…

Kouta looked up to try and find where Samidare had gone and spotted him a ways up the rocky wall. He was sitting on a ledge up above, a hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun. He was scanning the area by the looks of it.

Samidare caught Kouta’s gaze and waved down at him. He appeared more relaxed at the sight of his friend, more than he did when enjoying the view of the setting sun from far up. It was hard to find a clear view such as this in most places they ended up—inside a cave, down in the bottom of a valley, surrounded by trees in a forest—and on the off chance they found themselves somewhere high, it was the best time to try to enjoy it.

Kouta caught up to Samidare and stopped right under the ledge where Samidare’s feet were idly kicking back and forth. A hand came into view right in front of his face and he looked up.

“Take my hand,” Samidare said.

Kouta stared at his hand for a moment, then grabbed it and let Samidare help pull him up. He got up on the ledge next to Samidare, then turned around to sit down and catch his breath. They’d been climbing for a few hours without break. While they were somewhat knowledgeable on the activity, they weren’t exactly veterans.

He was really tired, and Samidare could tell when he dropped backwards on the ground and closed his eyes. He heard the sound again—the sound of someone dropping on the ground—and cracked one eye open to look at Samidare.

Samidare had fell back with him, his back flat on the ground and eyes closed as well, abandoning the view to mimic his friend.

Kouta glanced at Samidare’s hand, realizing that their hands had separated, and laid his hand next to the other’s while they rested for a bit.

Samidare grabbed Kouta’s hand again when he thought Kouta had fallen asleep.

Kouta wasn’t asleep at the moment, but he didn’t move his hand. He let himself fall asleep with the comfort of knowing Samidare was beside him, holding his hand.

Hours passed with Samidare lying there, listening to Kouta’s soft breathing. He’d begun to grow restless, but held it together so that Kouta could rest. He had a much easier time getting up the mountainside than Kouta did, what with his ability to leap high distances. He simply jumped from ledge to ledge, foothold to foothold. Kouta had to actually climb.

That’s one reason he’d elected to stay and wait for Kouta to wake up. He didn’t feel the need to safeguard Kouta. As far as they knew, nothing dangerous was up here.

That meant the only other reason he stayed was because he didn’t want to leave Kouta’s side.

The two had been wandering through a forest when they found a waterfall. It wasn’t something they hadn’t seen before, but upon closer inspection there appeared to be something behind the waterfall.

Samidare dropped his backpack by a tree and was quick to leap through and find out what.

“Don’t just jump through like that!” Kouta shouted after him. “Who knows what’s on the other side?!”

Samidare never listened to that kind of talk, and Kouta knew it. But he always felt a need to chastise him anyway. One day he was going to leap into something that he couldn’t get out of.

Kouta grabbed both of their backpacks and followed him in. With a wave of his hand, his quirk parted the waterfall and revealed the opening to a cave. He could see Samidare waiting just in front of the darkness that hid the true depths of the caverns.

“You’re soaked,” Kouta stated very matter of factly as he approached.

“That’s why I left the backpack behind,” Samidare replied, tossing a rock up and down in his hand.

“You could’ve waited for me to part the waterfall.” That was obvious. As obvious as it was that no, Samidare couldn’t have waited. Kouta knew his friend got excited at the prospect of finding something new. Especially when there’s a chance no one else has found that something new. He often got the same feeling, though he always managed to control it better.

“Wanted to hurry and see what we found.” Samidare threw the rock into the darkness, and then listened intently. He heard a loud echo, indicating this cave was indeed larger than a mere indent behind a waterfall. He grinned over his shoulder at Kouta. “Besides, you can just dry me off.”

He held his arms out and waited. Kouta rolled his eyes and jerked his hand across the air near Samidare. The water that coated him flew off of his clothes and hair and splattered against the cave wall. Kouta then shoved Samidare’s backpack against his chest.

“At least try to stay close. We don’t know what all is in here,” Kouta warned him.

“I’m a little impulsive, not dumb,” Samidare said as he dug through his pack for the battery powered lantern they each carried. “That’s why I didn’t go charging into the dark.”

“Some might call those synonyms in some situations,” Kouta said jokingly. He pulled out his own lantern and shone the light so they could see the immediate area.

“Mean,” Samidare complained. He pulled out his lantern and turned the light on.

The pair ventured forth into the cave, their lanterns on opposing hands to light as much as possible around them. They walked for a while, leaving arrow shaped stickers on the walls to direct them back to the entrance should they find themselves lost.

Eventually the light of their lanterns began to fade, little by little, until they could barely see around themselves. They both stopped, placed their lanterns on the ground, and went through their packs for extra batteries.

“You didn’t put any batteries in my backpack. Hand me some,” Samidare said.

He held his hand out while staring into his bag. He glanced over at Kouta when nothing was handed to him and noticed Kouta standing there with his own pack open, staring ahead at the darkness with a shamed look. It took a few seconds for Samidare to get the idea.

“You forgot to get more batteries in town.” It was a statement, not a call for affirmation. One that Kouta nodded slowly to. The second he stopped nodding, the lanterns both died out and left the pair in pitch black darkness. “Great, now what?”

Kouta sighed. “I guess we feel our way out?”

“Everything just feels like rocks,” Samidare said. “How are we supposed to feel our way out?”

Samidare jumped when something landed on his thigh. He quickly swiped at it, letting out a yell as he moved away.

“Calm down,” Kouta said with a laugh, “I’m trying to find your arm.”

“Well that isn’t it!” Samidare took a second to calm himself, and then reached around until he found Kouta’s hand. “I thought something jumped on me.”

“I thought frogs were supposed to eat bugs, not yell when one touches them.” Kouta wrapped his fingers around Samidare’s wrist and held his hand up, then rubbed one of the stickers he had been placing on the walls against Samidare’s fingers. “We’ll feel around for these on the walls. I left a bunch so we could find our way out.”

Samidare nodded, and then mentally kicked himself once he realized Kouta couldn’t see him nod. “Okay.”

They began walking, and for a while neither of them could find any of the stickers Kouta had supposedly placed. They didn’t give up hope though. They were always good about not giving up hope in the face of adversity.

But that didn’t mean doubts never entered their minds.

“Guess we should’ve thought about bringing someone with an electric quirk or something.”

Kouta could hear the nervous undertone in Samidare’s voice. He knew it well enough after spending so much time with him. He also knew Samidare was trying to break the silence to calm himself. Kouta was never all that talkative, but he tried to be whenever Samidare needed it.

He took a step closer to Samidare and their shoulders bumped. He made sure his arm brushed against the other’s so that Samidare would know where his hand is.

“Take my hand,” Kouta offered. “So we don’t get separated.”

Truthfully he was also a little worried, and holding Samidare’s hand helped to make himself feel better as well. If it calmed Samidare also, then that would be a bonus.

It took a moment for Samidare to respond, almost as though he were unsure. He let his hand glide across Kouta’s arm, and Kouta tried to enjoy the brief feeling of Samidare’s fingertips running across his arm, until he found Kouta’s hand.

“Your hands are sweaty,” Kouta complained, though he didn’t let go. “Gross.”

It was said in a joking manner, and Kouta could practically feel the shift in the air around Samidare. He went from nervous to light-hearted almost in an instant.

“You sure it isn’t you? Both sweat and water can come out of your hands,” Samidare responded. “That’s two reasons your hands could be wet. Seems kind of fishy to me.”

“Oh, the guy with the amphibian quirk is calling me fishy,” Kouta said. “That’s rich.”

They both looked at each other in the dark. Though neither could see it, they each knew the other was smiling back.

They moved closer together, to the point their arms were touching, and eventually found their way out of the cave hand in hand.

“Hell no,” Kouta protested, making sure his words came out loud and clear, “I am not walking across that.”

Samidare chuckled at him and patted him on the back. “Come on, it’s not that bad. It’s just an old bridge.”

The two of them were in a forest this time. They needed to pass through to get to the next town, which unfortunately meant walking across a very old, very damaged looking bridge.

One that Kouta outright refused to touch.

He glared at Samidare for the comment, and then pointed at the bridge. “That is not a bridge. That is our death ten feet in front of us daring us to try and cross it. We’ll find another way.”

“Come on,” Samidare tried, placing a hand on Kouta as Kouta tried to turn around and walk away. “We’ll be alright, okay? We’ve climbed mountains, found our way through dark caves, and lived in the wilderness for years now. There’s no way a little old bridge is going to stop us.”

Kouta stared are Samidare from over his shoulder, then at the bridge, and then back at Samidare. He began to weigh the options in his head.

“Okay, how about I cross it first to show you we’ll be okay?”

“Don’t–” Kouta attempted to stop him, but Samidare was already walking towards the bridge.

He held a confident stride until he got to the front of the bridge and stopped in his tracks. He steeled himself and took a step forward. The tip of his shoe tapped the first wooden plank a couple of times, and then he carefully put his weight into it. Nothing happened, so he stepped on the next plank, and then the next.

“See? Perfectly fine,” Samidare said as he looked back at Kouta and took another step forward.

Kouta watched him with an expression that was just waiting for something bad to happen. He unwillingly moved closer to the bridge and stopped right in front of it. He didn’t want to even attempt to cross it, but if something were to happen to Samidare he wouldn’t hesitate in dashing across.

Samidare was more than halfway across when he glanced back again and saw Kouta watching him. He went back to Kouta and stood next to him.

“I made it that far and nothing bad happened,” Samidare tried to persuade him again. “Do you really think I would put your life in danger?”

“Not intentionally,” Kouta replied.

“So there’s absolutely no way I can get you to cross this, huh?” Samidare asked him. “You haven’t been afraid of heights before, so I know it isn’t that.”

“That’s because I was confident that I wouldn’t fall.”

“But there’s a bridge, and you haven’t been afraid of bridges before,” Samidare reasoned.

“Sturdy, concrete bridges over small rivers and streams. This is an old, shitty, rope bridge over”—Kouta peered over the edge and took in the rocky, moss covered sides of each cliff with a violently rushing river before—”a death drop.”

“Okay, but the only problem is there is no other way around.” Samidare backed away to the third plank on the bridge and extended his hand. “So take my hand. I promise we’ll be okay.”

Kouta stared at Samidare’s outstretched hand and cursed under his breath. He could never distrust that hand and he knew it. He took Samidare’s hand and took a tentative step on the first plank.

“If we die,” Kouta warned Samidare with a glare, “I’m going to kill you.”

“Fine,” Samidare agreed, and then smirked at him, “but if we live, you have to kiss me.”

Kouta’s eyes widened, and for a second, in the silence, Samidare regretted saying that. He never exactly tried to hide the fact he had a thing for Kouta, but he’d never been so brazen about it before either.

Kouta looked down below their feet, at the rushing water and jagged cliff sides, and then back up at Samidare. He bit his bottom lip, as though stuck in thought, and then replied with a single word as he felt a small rush of heat rise to his cheeks.

“Deal.”

Samidare’s doubts were washed away with that one utterance, and he grinned at the prospect of finally getting a kiss from Kouta. He pulled Kouta forward eagerly, wanting to get across as fast as possible now. The sooner the better.

A creak emitted from a plank he stepped on and they both immediately froze in place. Kouta’s grip on his hand grew tighter and Samidare took a breath to calm his energetic attitude. He reminded himself that, regardless of how badly he wanted to get across fast, they both still had to survive in order for him to win the deal.

He tapped the plank that had creaked earlier and slowly put more and more of his weight on it until he was sure it would hold. Even if there was a chance that one would break, the last thing he wanted to do was have to jump over it.

Jumping on this bridge seemed like a very, very bad idea. Even a small jump might break the entire thing.

“Be careful of that one,” Samidare told Kouta as Kouta neared the creaky plank.

Kouta nodded and mimicked what Samidare did. He placed his weight onto it slowly and carefully, and jerked forward when it cracked under his foot.

“Damn it Sami–”

Kouta was cut off by Samidare squeezing his hand and dragging him into an all out sprint. It took Kouta a moment to realize one of the ropes had snapped on the other end and the bridge was falling apart.

Samidare crossed the end of the bridge and fell backwards as something jerked him down. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kouta hanging onto the edge of the cliff with one hand, and Samidare’s hand in a death grip in his other.

His leg had broken through the very last plank on the bridge, and the falling bridge finally caught up to him, leaving him with nothing else to stand on.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” Samidare said repeatedly, over and over. He was trying to reassure himself more than he was trying to reassure Kouta at this point. He didn’t dare let go of Kouta’s hand as he tried to spin around so that he was lying on his stomach rather than his back. He grabbed hold of Kouta’s other hand and started trying to pull.

“I’ll fucking haunt you Samidare!” Kouta yelled at him, trying to kick off the wooden plank stuck on his leg. “I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life if I die! I swear I will be the most vengeful fucking ghost you’ve ever heard of if I die because of this bridge!”

“I’m not going to lose you here, Kouta, okay? You’re not going to die today. I promise you.” Samidare stuck his tongue out in thought, and then an idea came to mind. “Kouta?”

“What?”

“I need you to trust me,” Samidare said.

“I’ll kill you if you let me go,” Kouta growled. “I will kill you dead if you let me go.”

“I have to. Just please trust me,” Samidare pleaded with him.

And then he let go.

Kouta fell back and swiped at thin air, trying desperately to grab onto something, anything to stop his fall. He trusted Samidare, but fear still took a heavy toll on him nevertheless.

Samidare stood up straight and eyed Kouta, watching his descent to make sure he aimed as perfectly as possible. He refused to mess this up, because doing so would mean losing Kouta, and he didn’t know if he could live with himself if he became the reason Kouta was gone.

He leaned back and snapped forward once he was sure he had the shot. His tongue flew through the air and wrapped around Kouta’s waist, and then he jerked backwards and retracted his tongue at the same time. The action pulled Kouta straight upward, over the edge of the cliff, and well over Samidare’s head, into the air.

He’d most definitely pulled back way too hard, but he didn’t want to risk it. Not in the slightest. Not with Kouta’s life on the line.

He took his backpack off and let it drop to the ground behind him, and then took a few steps backwards and held his arms out to attempt to catch the screaming man barreling toward the ground. He didn’t have a lot of upper-body strength, but if he could cushion Kouta’s fall even a little he would be happy with himself.

Kouta landed in his arms, though the sudden weight crashing into him caused his legs to buckle and they both fell to the ground in a heap.

For a second he was worried Kouta may have died from shock, but he was happy to feel the rise and fall of Kouta’s chest against his as Kouta practically hyperventilated. Trying to calm him down would hopefully be a lot easier, and less stressful, than saving his life was.

Kouta pushed himself up on his hands and sent a death glare down at Samidare under him. Samidare stayed flat on his back and grinned sheepishly at him in the hopes it would placate him, even if only a little.

Kouta climbed off on Samidare and sat next to him, which allowed Samidare to finally sit up. He took his backpack off and glared at Samidare again.

Samidare stared at the ground between his legs, trying to ignore the set of eyes he could feel beating down on him. He knew he deserved Kouta’s ire after that. He felt he should’ve listened to Kouta in the first place and either tried harder to find another way around or given up completely on going that direction.

He glanced over at Kouta when he no longer felt those intense set of eyes digging holes into him and felt worse as he saw Kouta hugging his knees to his chest. His chin was on his knees and he was glaring at the bridge that was no longer there.

“I’m sorry,” Samidare said. He sighed when Kouta didn’t acknowledge him in the slightest and tried to reach for his backpack.

Kouta grabbed his arm right before he could reach his pack and jerked him closer. Samidare was taken by surprise as Kouta kissed him hard. The kiss became softer as slowly as the grip on his arm loosened.

The shock wore off and his eyes had just begun to close when Kouta backed away. Kouta stood up and began walking in the direction they believed the closest town was.

“Let’s go,” Kouta demanded.

Samidare quickly grabbed his backpack and followed, suddenly feeling a lot better.

Kouta and Samidare remained rooted in place. Neither of them dared to move. Not with what was just waiting for them to—wishing they would—make a move.

“You think food will make them go away?” Samidare questioned quietly.

“I don’t think anything we have will entice them as much as all the meat on us will,” Kouta replied just as quietly.

One of the four lionesses took a step toward them, eyeing the pair hungrily. They’d been stalking the two men for a while now, and had finally decided to make their presence known. They weren’t sure if the pair would be good food or not, but at the moment they seemed willing to take that chance.

Neither Kouta nor Samidare knew much about lions, but one thing they’d heard applied to all cats, big or small, is to not run if you’re not being immediately attacked. Running will only prompt them to give chase.

Kouta took a chance, and took one step backwards. A leaf crunched under his foot, and all four pairs of eyes darted straight to him.

“Dude, don’t give them a reason to look at you,” Samidare chastised him. The last thing he wanted was for the lionesses to come closer and inspect them for some reason. That meant less distance from the extremely sharp claws and teeth.

“If someone told me ten years ago I was going to die by being mauled to death by lions, I would’ve scoffed at them,” Kouta murmured. “But now? Now I believe it.”

“Don’t be so cynical. We’ll get out of this like we got out of everything else. The same way we got out of that cave behind the waterfall four years ago, and the same way we found our way out of the desert two years ago after getting lost, and the same way we got out away from that old, crappy bridge last year,” Samidare explained.

“How are any of those related at all?” Kouta asked incredulously.

“Because any time we’re in trouble, we always get out of it together,” Samidare said. He reached out to Kouta and smiled. “Take my hand.”

Kouta couldn’t help the smile that fought its way onto his lips, and he reached out to grab hold of Samidare’s hand. As corny as it sounded, his partner was right. Whenever they got in trouble, they could always rely on each other to find a way.

One of the lionesses jumped down from their rock and charged at the pair.

Kouta reached out with his free hand and got ready to blast it with water, but could do nothing as he was suddenly jerked upward. He found himself in a tree seconds later, still holding onto Samidare’s hand.

It took him a moment to realize Samidare had leaped to a high, nearby tree branch to get them away from the lion that charged them. Samidare helped him get fully onto the tree branch and when he looked down all four lionesses were clawing at the tree trunk.

“How long do you think they’ll wait?” Kouta asked.

“Not sure. I can try taking us from tree to tree until they stop following,” Samidare offered.

“No. It would only take one weak branch to screw us over,” Kouta said. “Best to just wait it out.”

Samidare nodded in agreement, and then his hand snaked across the branch to find itself on Kouta’s waist. Kouta scooted closer and let Samidare rest his head against his shoulder.

They ended up waiting for a couple of hours after the lionesses were gone to be sure they weren’t lingering around and waiting to ambush them. In all that time, Samidare had apparently fallen asleep while leaning against Kouta, and Kouta didn’t have the heart to wake him up just to have them set up camp and go right back to sleep.

Instead, he carefully situated himself so that he was leaning with his back against the tree trunk and one leg was hanging off the side. Samidare had woken up a couple of times while Kouta had moved him into a better position, but Kouta soothed him back to sleep each time.

Finally he’d gotten Samidare into a position where he was sleeping against Kouta, while Kouta remained propped up against the tree trunk. He wrapped one arm around Samidare, buried his face in Samidare’s hair, and tried to go to sleep himself.

Samidare sat in the grass, knees hugged to his chest, as he ran his hand across the smooth stone in front of him.

It was quiet today. A little windy, and often he could hear the leaves rustle in the nearby trees, but otherwise quiet. No one had chastised him today, or reminded him to check that everything was organized in his backpack so he wouldn’t lose anything. No one reminded him what needed to be bought for the next adventure, or planned with him about where they were going to go.

Those were all the things Kouta did, and Kouta is away right now, so he has to do those things himself. All because of one stupid accident.

It was definitely lonelier, and there was a tremendous pain in his heart whenever he thought about the time Kouta went away. But at least he could always visit.

He’d come after every new adventure now and tell Kouta all about it. He just finished telling Kouta about the pyramid he went to explore not too long ago, and wished Kouta would comment on it. He knew Kouta couldn’t, but he still wished he would.

A lump formed in his throat as he continued to run his hand across the smooth stone. He had to go, even though he didn’t want to yet. It was about to start raining. He’d already felt the first few droplets minutes ago.

“I still get nervous from time to time. I miss having you there to lighten the mood. You could always tell when I was nervous and knew how to make me laugh. Like when you forgot the batteries for the lanterns that one time?” Samidare stopped and waited for the reply he knew wouldn't come. “I never did tell you my hand was sweaty because I was nervous about holding hands with you. I really liked you a lot. I always did.”

Silence again. More droplets fell from the sky, and one landed on his nose.

Eijirou threw several side glances at Denki from his position seated on the floor. He’d come downstairs after waking up to meet with Denki for their Saturday morning ‘sit in front of the TV and do absolutely nothing for an hour’ session.

However, apparently today Denki had been joined by three other people already. Eijirou had come bounding down the stairs excitedly and the grin was wiped off his face instantly upon finding Denki already on the couch with two other people and a third person sitting on the floor in front of him.

Now Eijirou sat off to the side here, on the floor in front of the couch, barely within arm’s reach of his boyfriend. To make matters worse, Denki didn’t seem to mind in the least. He’d greeted Eijirou when he came down the stairs, told him to join them, and hadn’t said a thing since.

Needless to say he wasn’t happy about his current placement.

He wanted to be up there with Denki. No one ever joined them before, so they always lied on the couch together in various positions. He didn’t mind that other people joined them this time. What he did mind was that he was nowhere near Denki in all of this and he really wanted to be.

Why did the others get to be right next to him? Why did they get to be on either side of him with Denki leaning against them tiredly?

He wanted to be the one Denki leaned on.

A quiet sigh escaped through his nose as he looked toward Denki once more, who was snickering at something one of the others said.

Before he knew it the hour was up, and Denki was moving out from between the three to go somewhere. Eijirou stayed seated on the floor in front of the couch, his knees up in front of his chest and arms resting atop them. He buried the bottom half of his face in his arms and grumbled quietly into them so no one would hear his complaints.

At least it would only be a one-time thing. Next week he could happily spend his time with Denki and no one else would keep him away.

The next Saturday Eijirou bounded down the stairs, excited to make up for last Saturday with this morning. Last week was just an unlucky chance occurrence. This morning would be much better. He didn’t even bother to style his hair before coming down this time so that he would be on time.

Though it all appeared to be for naught. His excitement dwindled to nothingness as he approached the couch and saw a familiar group of heads all huddled together.

At least this time the open spot on the floor was right in front of Denki. A spot he swiftly went for, lest a fourth person end up in it as he went for it.

He unhappily settled in on the floor in front of the sofa again, mentally dreading the next hour that he’d be stuck down here without Denki at his side. It was annoying, to say the least, that the other two got to be up there with his boyfriend and he didn’t. That they all got to lean against and rest on each other while he was down here.

The hour passed by the same as last week, except this time Eijirou wasn’t in a position to throw side glances at Denki. He spent the entire time with his cheek in hand, boredly watching the television without Denki’s comments to make it more enjoyable.

Come next week he tried being a little early, and was still too late to make it on the couch. It was like they all planned to be there without him at this point. Eijirou stood at the base of the stairs for a few seconds, trying to decide whether he wanted to go through another hour of this or not.

Another hour of Denki paying minimal attention to him, only acknowledging him with waves and taps. An hour of being the only one not able to be close to him.

He couldn’t—wouldn’t—sit through another hour of it. Not this Saturday morning.

No. Instead he marched forward, around to the front of the couch, and stopped in front of Denki.

“Hey, Eijirou–”

Denki was cut off, and caught off-guard, by Eijirou lifting him into the air. He cried out in surprise as Eijirou spun him around, sat in Denki’s spot on the couch, and placed Denki in his lap unceremoniously.

The entire time Eijirou had a deadly serious expression that dared anyone to challenge him for Denki’s company. Luckily, everyone could see this, and no one said a word. The three that had been regularly accompanying Denki these past few weeks chose to scoot away a little rather than say a single thing.

Denki, on the other hand, pulled weakly at Eijirou’s death grip around his stomach. The arms wrapped tightly around him didn’t budge an inch.

“I know you love me, but this is harder than you usually hug me. What’s going on?” Denki questioned, still pulling at Eijirou’s arms. The only response he got was a grunt. “Are you mad or something?”

“Yes,” Eijirou murmured.

On that note, the other three people snuck away to pursue other, potentially less dangerous, activities. When Denki had Eijirou alone, he tried—with a great deal of effort involved—to turn his body around in Eijirou’s hold until he was facing the other. He didn’t dare try to escape Eijirou’s hold, however.

He straightened his back as best he could and let his knees dig into the cushions of the sofa while his bottom rested on Eijirou’s legs.

“Care to tell me what you’re so upset about?”

Eijirou looked up at Denki and his glare disappeared at the sight of Denki's calm, expectant stare. He couldn't stay completely upset while Denki was so close.

“Because the Saturday mornings used to be our thing, and I always got to sit next to you and lie down with you and have you talk to me. Now I can’t sit with you because those other people surround you, and they talk to you the whole time but you don’t even notice me,” Eijirou explained. His hold on Denki loosened as Denki ran a hand through his hair and hummed in acknowledgement. “I kind of feel left out, but I guess I’m a little jealous too? Because they’re getting all your attention. I want attention too. I want your attention, too.”

“So I take it you never noticed the times I was trying to get your attention?” Denki asked, a small smirk forming on his lips as he spoke.

“Huh?”

Denki chuckled at him, and then kissed his cheek. “You looked like you were in such a sour mood last Saturday morning. I tried to talk to you, but the others were talking so loudly that I think you couldn’t hear me. I tapped your shoulder too, but you were completely out of it. I thought you were falling asleep or something, so I left you alone.”

Eijirou stared at Denki. His mouth hung open slightly as he listened. He didn’t remember that at all. He only remembered thinking about how much he wanted the hour to be over with so he could get away from all of them.

“O-oh, no, I never noticed.” Eijirou laughed nervously as heat rushed up to his face. It would embarrass him too much to admit he was thinking about Denki too much to notice Denki was trying to get his attention that morning. “Sorry.”

Denki took advantage of Eijirou’s embarrassment and spun around so that his back was facing Eijirou again. He slid down in Eijirou’s lap until the back of his head was resting against Eijirou’s chest and pulled Eijirou’s arms around him.

“Don’t worry, I forgive you. I’ll make up for making you jealous by giving you an extra hour if you want. Just the two of us,” Denki paused to grin up at Eijirou, “but in return, you have to make up for ignoring me and ambushing me by giving me ten kisses whenever I say so.”

Eijirou’s eyes widened. It sounded like a win-win situation at first, but he knew his boyfriend better than that. He raised one eyebrow and stared down at Denki.

“Whenever you say so? For how long?”

“A week. And yes, that means in public too. Any time I say so.” Denki’s mischievous grin grew wider, “Think you can handle that?”

Eijirou thought about it for a second, and then nodded. He wouldn’t back down from a challenge that simple.

“Cool,” Denki said, and then he tapped Eijirou on the lips twice. “Hope you’re ready for those to get a work out, because we have missed time to make up for. You can start right now.”

“Like, right now right now?” Eijirou asked.

“Yeah, I’m already calling in the first ten,” Denki tapped his cheek, a sign for where he wanted his kisses. “Right here, please and thank you.”

Eijirou happily obliged with Denki’s surprisingly polite demand. On the tenth kiss Denki turned to make Eijirou kiss him on the lips, rather than on the cheek. Eijirou was caught by surprise, but didn’t protest in the slightest.

Denki stared boredly, cheek resting in hand, at the two talking to each other across the table from him. They’d both been laughing, evidently having fun with whatever they were talking about, and sitting close to each other for a while now. Obviously that wasn’t a problem. He wanted them to have fun.

No, the problem came from what he was feeling.

He could vaguely make out the sound of Eijirou asking him if something was wrong, and he didn’t really know how to answer. Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what to classify it as.

It was hard to describe a feeling. He could potentially put a name to it, but that didn’t help one to truly understand what was being felt.

A sting in his chest, trailing down through his stomach, that made him antsy and annoyed. He realized he was glaring at the person sitting next to Eijirou and quickly dropped the angry stare.

“No, I’m fine,” was his reply, a fake smile in place to alleviate any doubts. It must’ve looked real enough, because Eijirou smiled back and returned to his conversation with the other person.

He didn’t have a problem with Eijirou talking to other people. His problem stemmed from the way they interacted. They did things that Eijirou never did with him, including things Eijirou did do with him.

Sitting super close together, shoulder touching, elbows bumping, pats on the back. There was a lot of contact between the two. That was what he didn’t like. Not that Eijirou wasn’t allowed to touch or be touched by other people, but…

It just bugged him to see so much of it with one person. And right in front of him too. It made him… Envious?

No. Envy was what you felt toward something, or someone, that wasn’t yours. Jealousy would be the right one, because Eijirou was his boyfriend. Yet, he didn’t want to make a big scene. He didn’t want to come across as clingy or overly possessive either.

The next time their shoulders touched, he got up and walked around to the other side of the table. It felt like he was in a haze, as though he wasn’t directly in control of his actions, and he was just a passenger watching someone else pilot his body.

Even so, he couldn’t ignore the agitation welling up inside him any longer. Too much of it was there for him to hold back any longer. He’d been the one to ask Eijirou out on their first date weeks ago, and he felt it time to give Eijirou a short reminder about who his boyfriend actually was.

When he approached, and Eijirou looked up at him questioningly, he cut Eijirou off before he could finish asking what was wrong for the second time by kissing him. He then left without a word.

It didn’t last long, nor was it too passionate, but it was enough to leave Eijirou staring speechlessly at his retreating back in confusion.

He felt bad for leaving without saying anything.

Perhaps it was a mistake to react in such a way, or maybe Eijirou would figure it out. He knew he should’ve asked to talk to him, pulled him aside, anything else, but controlling emotions is not an easy thing to do for everyone. They aren’t meant to be held down for too long, or they eventually burst.

Not long after that Denki was found in his room, reading through the same book he had at the table and writing notes on paper. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his back against the bed and using the cover of another text book on the floor as a surface to write on. He glanced up as his door opened and met Eijirou’s concerned stare with an unsurprised look.

He knew Eijirou would come to check on him at some point, whether he was ready for it or not. He just hoped it wouldn’t have been within the same hour.

“Come on, I know something is wrong,” Eijirou tried as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, right above Denki. At the sight of Denki’s short, annoyed glance over the shoulder, he offered a sympathetic smile. “Did I do something?”

Denki buried his face deeper in the book and wondered how exactly he was supposed to answer that.

‘No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I got jealous and left before I overreacted in a bad way’. Or maybe, ‘Yeah, you were getting too chummy with someone. I perceived it as flirting when it probably wasn’t flirting at all and got scared that I suddenly wasn’t good enough for you’.

Either one could work, and either one was just as embarrassing to admit.

He’d lost most of the fire that grew inside when he retreated to his room for a while. Without that clouding his thoughts, the more he thought about the whole thing the more embarrassed he felt.

He snapped to attention as Eijirou waved a hand in front of his face. He hadn’t realized he’d zoned out while pretending to read.

“No, you didn’t do anything. I’m upset at myself for something,” Denki replied. He hunched forward to avoid Eijirou’s legs on either side of him and feigned studying in the hopes that Eijirou would leave it at that.

He didn’t, of course. Denki knew he wouldn’t have. Still, it was worth a shot at least.

Eijirou placed one hand on Denki’s shoulder to pull him back. His other hand came to rest on Denki’s cheek, and he grinned as he felt Denki’s head subtly lean into his palm.

Denki fought the smile that tried to force its way out. Eijirou knew he liked it when they were close together, but he didn’t want to give Eijirou the pleasure of cheering him up right now. He was still upset—more at himself than anyone—and wanted to stay that way for a bit longer.

Eijirou wasn’t having that, though. He took the hand from Denki’s shoulder and started playing with Denki’s hair while poking at one of Denki’s feet with his own.

“Well you shouldn’t stay mad at yourself for something. People make mistakes all the time. Even heroes. We can’t be perfect,” Eijirou tried to soothe him. “I don’t know what’s got you upset, but I’m here if you need me.”

Denki couldn’t hold the grin back any longer as Eijirou’s thumb caressed his cheek and dropped his book onto the floor next to him. He reached up and grabbed the hand in his hair to hold.

“Alright you big, mushy rock.” Denki laid his head back against Eijirou and grinned up at him. “I’ll get over it if you take a nap with me.”

“Sure,” Eijirou agreed readily. He had no qualms with that.

Kouta woke up to an empty room and sunlight filtering in through the single window. There was a lot of noise coming from what he assumed was the dining area, the noise most likely being everyone eating breakfast.

He vaguely remembered what happened last night. Catching Eri outside, walking into the forest for a little bit with her, the promise to take her up to his not-so-secret-anymore spot. It hadn’t been a secret since Shino made him tell her where he disappeared to all the time after the villain attack four years ago.

He changed into a set of day clothes and put on his hat, then went to meet with everyone else in the dining hall. Inside he found the chaos that was twenty-six people eating and talking in one large room. He was about to go sit at the table where Eri was next to Izuku, already halfway across the room, when Shino grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him down into the seat next to her.

“Morning Kouta. Your food was starting to get cold.” Kouta looked down at the tray in front of him, then looked around the table. It wasn’t unusual for him to be seated with the teachers, given that he was too young to be a student and had never cared to try to get along with the students anyway. “We were just discussing the plans for today and we might need your quirk, so do me a favor and stay close by, alright?”

“What? Wait, I was going to…” Kouta trailed off mid-sentence when he realized Shino was no longer paying attention to him.

He glanced over at Eri and caught her staring. She motioned to him in a beckoning gesture and he pointed over his shoulder at Shino with his thumb while shaking his head. Her expression turned crestfallen and Kouta hoped she understood that he wasn’t saying no, but that he couldn’t at the moment, even though he wanted to.

Breakfast went on as such, with Kouta and Eri constantly throwing glances at each other as they off-handedly listened to the conversations going on around their tables. He could vaguely see that she still looked a little tired, able to catch a yawn or two from her every so often. Of course, seeing those caused him to yawn as well.

Once the teachers at Kouta’s table were finished eating they got up and began to leave so they could meet the students outside. Shino patted Kouta on the back to get his attention and urged him to finish eating after seeing he had barely touched his food. He promised to meet her outside the moment he was done and waited until she was out of sight, then scooped up his tray and made it halfway across the room toward Eri’s table.

He stopped at the midway point and watched Eri and Izuku both pick up their empty trays to put away. His excitement dwindled more and more as the two put their trays away and left with Eri giving one final glance to Kouta on the way out.

The students began clearing off the tables and Kouta went back to sit where he was, muttering obscenities to and about no one in particular. If he had gotten away just a few moments sooner he could’ve gotten to Eri and Izuku before they left.

Regardless, he can’t be bothered to dwell on it now. He had other things to do.

Kouta stood by Shino’s side, half listening to what she needed from him.

Aizawa was giving his class a lecture that Kouta had heard a thousand times now from the times he’s been here each year. Even though this was only the second year he was actually using his quirk to help, he had always stuck around and watched the students for a while every year. Whether out of sheer boredom or a growing curiosity about ways he could use or strengthen his quirk, or maybe even the possibility of finding another person similar to Izuku, he always ended up watching from the trees when he wasn’t needed or keeping a close eye on them when he was needed.

If he didn’t see anything interesting within the first half hour, that was when he usually wandered off to sit at his special place.

“Apparently we have a few quirks that synergize well with water, so we’re going to need your help,” Shino explained. “There’s one student who adapts to their surroundings, but his body can only handle the transformations for a limited time. We’re going to give him a pool to swim around in so he can push his limits there.”

“Why do I have to stay with him then?” Kouta complained. He could just fill whatever hole in the ground Ryuko made and let them use it.

“Because you’re the best person to stop someone from drowning in the event of an unfortunate accident. Also there’s another student who, similar to you, needs to stay hydrated for his quirk–”

“No way! I’m not someone’s personal water fountain! Go get it from our water supply!” Kouta stuck his tongue out in disgust at the idea of someone drinking water that came from his hands, something even he wouldn’t do himself.

“If we let him use the water supply we’ll be out long before the week is up. You require far less than him.” Shino crouched down and patted him on the back when she noticed Kouta glancing at Izuku and Eri, who were both sitting against a tree and watching everyone from afar. “I know you want to spend time with Midoriya while he’s here, but we just need you for a couple of hours. After that you can go do whatever you want.”

Kouta sighed and hardly got one step away before Ryuko grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.

“How come Kouta can’t spend time with us right now?” Eri asked Izuku while watching Kouta get dragged away.

“Because the teachers need him right now.” Izuku patted Eri on the head and watched Kouta as well. He almost felt a little bad about bringing Eri to make friends with Kouta, only for Kouta to end up being too busy. Had he known Kouta would be helping the staff he might’ve reconsidered. “I can go ask if it’s alright for us to stay with Kouta if you’d like. Maybe he isn’t doing anything too arduous.”

“Yeah, let’s go ask. Last night Kouta said he’d take me somewhere today, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to him since then.” Eri jumped up and dusted the dirt off of herself, completely unaware of the confused stare Izuku was giving her.

“Where is he taking you?” Izuku asked. He let himself be pulled up by Eri’s eager and insistent pulling on his arm.

“I’m not sure. After we went for a walk last night, before we went back to bed, he said he would take me to a place he likes to go when he isn’t doing anything around here.”

Oh. Izuku had a pretty good idea of where that place is. He was surprised Kouta would still want to go there given what transpired at the location.

Lucky for them, Shino told them that they could go stay with Kouta if they agreed to help watch the two students Kouta had been put in charge of. Something Izuku would’ve done even if not asked to.

He looked down to take Eri’s hand, but she was already gone. He turned to the direction Kouta and the two students went in and saw Eri already running off that way.

Kouta groaned and his head dropped down to face the ground with his eyes closed. He’d only been at it for a few minutes, but his arms had already begun to tire from being held out in front of him for so long.

“Stupid students,” Kouta mumbled to himself, low enough that the other two nearby wouldn't hear. “Stupid quirks. Stupid pool. Stupid–”

“Kouta!”

Kouta looked up in her direction and couldn't fight the grin that forced its way onto his face.

“Eri! What are you doing out here?”

“Deku asked if we could come over here with you, and the lady said we could.” She stopped beside him and stared at his arms. “Your arms are shaking.”

Seconds after she pointed it out his arms dropped down to his sides. He looked down into the large hole in the ground Ryuko made for him to fill up and saw it was only half done. With the thought of holding his arms up for that long again in mind he dropped to his knees, and then down on his face in the grass with his arms at his sides. The visor of his cap hit the ground and knocked it off his head, where it fell on the ground between him and Eri.

“Yeah, I’ve been holding my arms up the entire time I’ve been over here. They hurt.”

Eri giggled and sat down next to him. “Why didn’t you just do it while lying down like you are right now?”

Kouta lifted his head to stare forward at the edge of the pit and the grass poked him in the face. He pulled his arms forward and placed them flat on the ground with his palms facing the large hole in the ground. Water started spraying from each palm again and flowed down into the half full pool.

“Nice,” Kouta said. He smiled up at Eri to his side. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. Thanks.”

“Deku says everyone can have different ideas, so it’s good to have a lot of people who think differently.” Eri tapped her bottom lip with her index finger and looked up in thought. “Maybe those weren’t his exact words. It was something like that.”

“That’s because Midoriya is smart. Everyone says he is.” Kouta stared forward at the slowly filling pool until he could come up with something else to say, and a question popped into his head. “Hey, if you spend so much time with him, why do you still call him by his hero name instead of his real name?”

“Because he told me that was his name when he saved me. Uraraka and Kacchan call him that all the time too, so it just kind of stuck I guess.” Eri closed her eyes and shrugged with a faint smile. “I like what he said when he told me what it means, too. The Deku who never gives up. It sort of reminds me that I never gave up hope he’d rescue me after the first time I saw him.”

Kouta didn't fully understand what all had transpired between Izuku and Eri, but he nodded nonetheless.

“Makes sense. I just call him Midoriya because that's what he introduced himself with when we met. I don't know if he had a hero name yet.”

Kouta stopped spraying water from his hands when he saw the pool was full enough to use. It isn't filled to the brim like it should be, but he figured a few feet short won't cause much of a problem. It was practically a lake at this point anyway.

He looked back to find the barrels of water he was supposed to fill for the other student, and upon finding them, sat up on his knees and reached down for his hat. His hand patted the ground in various spots, unsuccessful at getting a hold of the cap.

“Hey, you had Deku sign your hat!” Eri exclaimed. “When did he do that?”

“What?” Kouta quickly took the hat from her and placed it on his head. “So what if I did? Is it a crime to be a fan now?”

“No, I just don’t know why I didn’t think of that first!” Eri stood and absentmindedly followed Kouta over to the two barrels, trying to think of something of hers she could have Izuku sign.

Kouta placed his hands above each barrel and started filling them with water. From the corners of his eyes he saw Izuku sitting against a tree and waving at him from afar. Kouta knew there was a decent chance Izuku heard the conversations about him between Eri and himself.

He kept his attention on the barrels from then on and tried to ignore the fact Izuku likely knew how much of a fan he was starting to—had already—become.

“Probably because you already spend so much time with him anyway,” Kouta replied to the earlier rhetorical question. “Why get him to sign something if you're like his favorite person already?”

“Because it would still be cool to be able to say I had the greatest hero ever sign something of mine! Isn't that why you had him do it?”

“Something like that…” Kouta threw another quick glance at Izuku. Truthfully he just felt like he didn’t get to see Izuku enough and wanted something to remember him by. He didn’t plan on showing the signature off to anyone and everyone like some people might. It’s more for him than anyone else.

Though that wasn’t to say he wouldn’t show it off at all.

“I'd show it off to any friends I make. Like you,” Eri said.

Kouta finished filling up the barrels and stopped using his quirk, thankfully before what she said disrupted the flow and made it obvious it affected him in some way. He called out to the two students to let them know they could both proceed with their training, then took Eri by the hand and led her to the edge of the lake.

She called me her friend…

“I have to stay here and watch them for a couple of hours, and then we can go.” Kouta sat crossed-legged and placed both hands on his knees. “So if you want to go do something else while you wait I'll understand. I don't want you to be bored.”

“I don't think I'll get bored with you.” She sat next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest. “Izuku warned me that you might be kind of mean or grumpy, but I haven't really seen that from you.”

As if I'd be mean to you, Kouta thought.

He ran his hand across the top of the water and pulled several balls of water out of the lake. They’re held between both hands in front of Eri, who watched his actions curiously.

If she really did want to stay, he supposed the least he could do was try to entertain her.

“Any animals you like?” Kouta asked her, pushing the orbs of water into each other and then beginning to shape them into something.

Eri clapped excitedly upon figuring out what Kouta was doing. “Oh! Can you do a dragon?!”

“A dragon?” Kouta asked incredulously. He expected something more like a bunny from her, but he would oblige nevertheless. “Yeah, I can try a dragon. One second.”

Unfortunately the reason he said try was because he was still working on putting finer details on anything he formed with his quirk. He had no trouble making basic shapes and forms with nothing special about them, but putting things like faces and such was where he still needed work. He never thought he’d have need for something of the sort, and so only ever tried very rarely.

Not that a dragon counted as a basic shape or form to begin with.

The water began to grow two back legs and a tail, though the tail was only roughly in the correct shape and the legs were devoid of feet. Kouta’s tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as his hands moved around as though the water were within his own grasp to shape.

Slowly but surely the tail came to form with a triangle tip. He cursed under his breath when he did the feet next and the tail began to lose shape. Once he fixed that problem, the front legs started coming out. He had to do them painfully slow lest he lose control of something else.

Eri watched the legs grow feet with the fascination of seeing something come to life in front of her. Being around Izuku for so long, she had run into other people with quirks that could manipulate types of matter, but never had she seen anyone use their quirk in an attempt to simply have fun.

A long neck sprouted from the still ball-like shaped torso and wiggled from side to side as a head began to form at the end. The tail and one of the back legs started to break apart while Kouta was working on forming the head and he stopped the half formed head from finishing to quickly keep the other two shapes from disappearing.

Kouta cursed under his breath when he went to work on the head again and found that all progress he’d made on that was gone. What little of the head he’d formed had disappeared, and the neck had been reduced to a nub. He didn’t think it would be this hard with how many other people could do small things with their quirks. Others made it look so easy.

He was loath to admit that he might not be able to do this. Even more so upon seeing Eri watching him expectantly. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her, and he had already gotten some of it right.

He inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth in a huff, and then began forming the neck again. It grew in length and wiggled to life, and Kouta transitioned immediately into forming the head to keep his good luck going.

After the head was finally made and he tried to hold in the excitement from his success he noticed the tail had disappeared.

“You have to be kidding me,” Kouta murmured, trying to bring the tail back out without getting rid of the head or neck.

He knew the issue. A few basic shapes are no big problem, but making actual body parts wasn’t the same when he was trying to keep them proportionate with each other. The neck was a shape, the head was another one. The tail was a shape, the end of the tail was another one. The legs were all the same, but then the feet were different from the legs. Not to mention he hadn’t even begun on the wings or the torso, which was still an amorphous blob.

“I don’t think I can do a dragon,” Kouta admitted quietly, looking away in shame.

“It’s alright. You’re still learning how to use your quirk, aren’t you? You’ll get there,” Eri tried to reason with him. She poked the head of the dragon and, besides the ripple that traveled through its entire body like a miniature wave, it didn’t move. “How about you show me what you can make. Bonus points for anything with claws or sharp teeth.”

Kouta looked at her weirdly, a little confused by her tastes. She didn’t seem like the type to like big, dangerous animals, but if that was what she wanted then that was what he would try to make for her.

He closed his hand into a fist and all the dragon’s features were crushed into the amorphous blob of water floating in the air instantly. He opened his hand slowly and the blob formed a bear standing on its hind legs, claws in the air as if ready to strike a target that only it could see.

Eri stared in awe and poked at the bear. A ripple flowed through its body and it swiped at where her hand was. She giggled at the meek, playful roar Kouta emitted when the bear’s mouth opened and it swiped at the air again.

“Where are its ears?” Eri asked upon noticing the bear lacked them. It also appeared to lack eyes and a nose as well.

“Oh, uh…” Kouta bent his index and middle finger down onto his palm and then sprang them back up. Two ears popped up on top of the bear’s head, but still no eyes or nose showed. “I think that’s the best I can do. I’m not good at doing small details. It’s more to concentrate on, so more strain. But I can make it move.”

The bear dropped down onto all fours and walked across the air toward Eri. It circled around her head with uneven steps that didn’t match its pace until it stopped in front of her face and sat down in the air. One paw rose to pat her cheek and she poked the bear’s face at the same time. She inspected her finger to find that it wasn’t wet even though another ripple traveled across the bear’s body.

Kouta couldn’t fight the smile that appeared on his face while watching her play with the bear. Her laugh when it pawed at her and the joy in her eyes made his stomach dance again. The sound was music in his ears that drowned out all other noise and made everything else around him irrelevant.

Eri’s gaze landed on Kouta in his moonstruck daze. The bear kept moving in the same repeated pawing motion, but Eri’s focus was now on the floating heart of water next to Kouta’s head.

“Kouta?” she called to him while ducking under the bear in front of her to move toward him.

Her voice and movement snapped him out of his thoughts and all the water he was controlling dropped down onto his shoulder and Eri’s head. Her yelp brought a grimace to his face and he instinctively reached out to stop her from falling when she slipped forward. He quickly helped her to sit up straight again and climbed up onto his knees while cursing repeatedly under his breath.

“I’m so, so, so sorry! I swear it was an accident! You startled me and I lost control of my quirk for a moment and I would’ve stopped it if I was fast enough but I didn’t know you would be right under it and…” Kouta trailed off into an unsure silence. He looked her over to make sure he didn’t miss any water on her. His hands hovered between the two of them, moving back and forth as he tried to decide whether he should touch her or not. He’d like to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure if she was upset with him or not and now he was worried she was going to hate him or be mad at him or something. “I’m so sorry.”

His hands swiftly swiped past Eri and all the water that had splashed on her flew off, though in his hurry he failed to think of where to send it, and all the water came rushing directly at him. He was left with no time to react at all and was subsequently left soaked in the wake of his actions.

She stared at him for a brief moment, and then started laughing at him as he sat frozen in place, a look of both shock and embarrassment on his face. A shiver traveled through his entire body and he pulled the water off of him and tossed it back into the lake.

“I know you didn’t mean it,” Eri finally responded after calming down and examining herself to find she was dry. She glanced around until she saw the tree Izuku was sitting at and noticed he appeared ready to run over at a moment's notice. She mouthed to him that she was fine, knowing he can be a little overprotective of her at times, and he reluctantly settled back down. Her attention went back to Kouta then. “I’m okay though. The cold water just scared me is all. I’m not that fragile.”

Kouta followed her earlier line of sight and saw Izuku, then looked around and saw both of the students staring at them. Never had he wanted to dig a hole just to bury himself in it and hide forever so badly. The heat was rising to his cheeks and he covered his face with his hands in an attempt to hide from the embarrassment. A soft groan is uttered from him at the same time his hands came up to his face.

Eri looked around too and noticed all the eyes on them. She made a shooing motion at each of them with a little glare and scooted closer to Kouta. She tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him when he peeked through his fingers at her.

“Don’t worry about them. They don’t even know what happened. Maybe they just think I was clumsy and splashed myself or something,” Eri said in an attempt to comfort him. She grabbed his arms and pulled his hands away from his face to see his dispirited expression. “Can you make that heart again? Or… I think it was a heart.”

Kouta raised one eyebrow questioningly at her now. “Heart?”

“Yeah. There was a water heart on your shoulder before the bear splashed me.” She released his arms and tapped her chin in thought. “At least I’m pretty sure it was a heart. I think you were staring at me when it appeared.”

Kouta could feel the embarrassment coming back tenfold. This time the heat in his face was accompanied by the feeling of his heart dropping into his stomach. He didn’t remember making a heart, but if she saw one and he was staring at her while making it then there was a pretty obvious explanation for it that he himself wasn’t entirely aware of. It would explain a lot of the occurrences that’d happened to him whenever she was around, and the strange, fluttery feelings in his belly that kept coming and going.

“I don’t remember. Might have been something else,” he retorted with a glance thrown to the side to avoid her stare. He dropped back down onto his backside and sat cross-legged again. “Or maybe you’re just seeing things. I don’t know.”

Eri grew suspicious, but dropped the subject regardless. If he really didn’t know what she was talking about then it would be a wasted effort to pursue it, and if he did but didn’t want to talk about it then that’d practically be the same.

She shrugged and sat back down next to him. “Maybe.”

Katsuki and Izuku pulled up to the apartment complex, with Izuku asleep in the back next to Katsuki. Katsuki paid the cab driver with the money Izuku gave him before he fell asleep, and then shook Izuku awake so they could both go.

The fight with Aizawa was two nights ago. After they returned to their hotel room that night Izuku almost immediately retreated to bed and stayed there until their flight the next day. Katsuki did the packing for the both of them that night, changed clothes, washed the dye out of his hair and went to sleep for the flight the next day as well.

They were both uncharacteristically quiet on the way to the flight, on the plane, and on the car ride back.

Katsuki waited on the curb for Izuku to come around, watching him move in that zombie-like state. They both held their backpacks above their heads to shield themselves from the pouring rain, though Izuku didn’t appear to be in any rush to escape the deluge.

It made Katsuki feel bad for holding back to some degree in that fight, but he also refused to blame himself for that at the same time. This was supposed to be Izuku’s goal and, personally speaking, he wanted nothing to do with it. The only reason he got involved in the first place was that he hoped Izuku would be the one to kill Aizawa, and so at the very least he tried to give Izuku openings to get the job done.

Katsuki almost began to wish he had gone for the kill as well, and next time he certainly would. It was uncomforting seeing Izuku—who was normally lively and a little on edge—borderline depressed and uncaring.

“Your spirit didn’t die that easily, did it?” Katsuki asked half-jokingly on the walk to the apartment building. He got a sideways glare from Izuku in response and rolled his eyes. “It isn’t like we won’t have another chance. Worst case scenario; he comes after us and we kill him. Easy as that.”

“You know it won’t be that easy,” Izuku grumbled. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and onto his back once inside, stood up straighter as they climbed the flights of stairs, and prepared himself for the usual ‘welcome back’ gathering that everyone prepared whenever he returned from a long trip. “You saw him fight. He isn’t a pushover, and he got better since the last time I saw him. If he didn’t have those stupid… wraps or… whatever! It’s just stupid. I should’ve done better. That’s the second time I’ve ever failed to kill someone.”

Izuku ended his rant with a heavy exhale through his nose, and then opened the door with a giant smile on his face. He announced his return, which was met with a handful of greetings from the majority of his little family all squeezed onto the couch.

Izuku left his shoes by the door and joined the group, already trying to quell the onslaught of questions coming from Mashirao, Kouta, and Mei before he even sat down.

Katsuki stayed in the doorway, watching him with an unimpressed glare. He couldn’t tell whether Izuku had a sudden mood swing, was putting on a facade to not worry the others, or actually managed to bounce back that quickly after such little venting.

“–think Kacchan did. Ask him.”

He was pulled out of his thoughts upon hearing his name—No, that dumbass nickname—called. He was met with stares from Izuku, Kouta, Mei, and Mashirao, and no idea why they would be talking about him. Shouto stared at Izuku as though he obviously didn’t believe what Izuku had said, and at some point in Katsuki’s stupor Kouta must have made room for Izuku to sit on the sofa and climbed in his lap.

“What?”

“I was telling them how I forgot to get them gifts from our trip, but you got a few things for them.” Izuku nodded subtly towards the backpack on Katsuki’s shoulder, and then gave him a look. “Remember?”

“Yeah, apparently I did,” Katsuki retorted and took his shoes off.

Katsuki shut the door on the way in and dropped his backpack on the back of the couch above everyone’s heads. He started digging through the main part with his other set of clothes and found smaller objects hidden at the bottom.

How Izuku found the time to do this when Katsuki was with him every moment of each day was beyond his comprehension, but he would play along nevertheless. Even if only this once.

Out he pulled two…

What the hell are these?

“Yes!” Mashirao shouted as he snatched the manga copies out of Katsuki’s hands. “How did you know I needed these last two?!”

Katsuki, taken aback by Mashirao’s excited demeanor, glanced down into the open backpack, at a loss for words. He knew Izuku was very obviously responsible for this, but he didn’t think Izuku would give him credit for something that would make them this happy.

He could see a shine in Mashirao’s eyes, and the curiosity and eagerness growing in the others around them. It was somewhat off-putting to have those emotions aimed at him from people he didn’t know so well, and because of such another glare was thrown toward Izuku. He could have gone the rest of his life without being put in a situation like this, and he knew exactly why Izuku did it.

“A lucky guess,” Katsuki practically growled. He began rummaging through his backpack again, and this time he pulled out a black beanie and looked it over.

“How did you know Shouto needed a new one, Kacchan?” Izuku asked with his best attempt at being surprised.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and tossed the hat to Shouto. “Just had a feeling, considering his line of work and all.”

Back in he went, this time with Mei staring into the bag as he dug through his clothes to find whatever else was hidden in there. He pulled out a screwdriver that was still in its packaging with the word ‘Magnetized’ written on it, which Mei promptly plucked from his hand.

“Heckie yes! You have no idea how long I’ve been telling Izuku I need one of these!” She grabbed Mashirao by the back of his shirt and dragged him along as she left. “Come on my faithful assistant! We’re going to go test this baby out.”

“What? Wait, no I–!” Mashirao tried to protest, though he had already been dragged away and his words faded in the distance.

Kouta crossed his arms over his chest and stared ahead at the TV. Even though he wasn’t really interested in seeing what was currently on, he tried to look as invested as possible in the hopes that Katsuki would leave him alone.

Whether Katsuki was unfooled or just didn’t care at all was unclear, but something was still dropped into Kouta’s lap from over his head after the sound of cardboard and plastic being ripped and torn was heard. He glanced down and his lip curled up in disgust at the Rubik’s cube resting in his lap.

“What’s the matter? You afraid you can’t figure it out?” Katsuki mocked him, leaning forward and resting his arms on the back of the sofa next to Izuku.

Kouta scowled at Katsuki’s taunting smirk, then grabbed the cube and shook it at Katsuki threateningly. “Why the–”

“Language,” Izuku warned.

“–heck would I want to waste my time with this thing?” Kouta turned his back to Katsuki and started twisting and turning the Rubik’s cube, putting on a show of attempting to solve it. “I could finish this in five seconds if I want. Just wait and see how you wasted your stupid money.”

Kouta continued to vigorously twist and turn the cube’s sides in every direction, and Izuku gave Katsuki a thumbs up behind the child’s back. He hugged the boy in his lap, careful not to disrupt his actions, and Kouta responded by leaning into him, still fumbling with the cube but allowing Izuku to give him affection.

“Why don’t you take that to your room and solve it in there so Katsuki doesn’t see how you beat it? Then you can rub it in his face that you can do it and he can’t.”

Kouta paused for a second, quiet and unmoving, and then acknowledged Izuku’s suggestion with a quiet grunt. His motions had slowed and it was apparent that he was paying closer attention to where he turned each side of the cube, but he still found his way down to the floor and through the apartment to his room.

Shouto couldn’t believe Kouta fell for that. Or rather that the child was so distracted that he didn’t care to leave Izuku.

He caught the stares from both Izuku and Katsuki, but didn’t seem to catch whatever hint the pair was giving him. Instead he simply stared back, at a loss for what to do or say.

“What?” Shouto questioned once he deemed it more awkward than necessary.

“Go away,” Katsuki demanded. He took off his earpiece and tossed it to Shouto. “And take this shit with you.”

“Kacchan!” Izuku sighed and turned back to Shouto. He took his earpiece out and held it out for Shouto to take as well. “We uh, need to talk if you could give us the room?”

“Oh, sure. I’ll go take these to Kyouka then.”

Katsuki dropped down on the couch next to Izuku, and Izuku clasped his hands together and hunched forward with his elbows resting on his legs as soon as Shouto was gone. He stared at the wall as one leg started bouncing repeatedly.

Katsuki could clearly see something was on Izuku’s mind from the display of unease. He slapped one hand down on Izuku’s bouncing leg to get his attention and Izuku’s gaze shifted toward him.

“You’re jumpier than usual.”

“Well, they know I’m after them now. Aizawa said he was there on Nedzu’s orders, and that means all three of them know by now.” Izuku covered his face and took a deep breath in the hopes it would help calm himself some.

It would’ve been far more beneficial and optimal to kill one, which would just look like a job gone wrong. Then a second killed would cause the third to be suspicious, but by then it would be too late. Izuku would have already been coming for them with nothing and no one that could stop him at that point. It would have been perfect.

It would have.

“Shit will always go wrong,” Katsuki said. He took his hand off Izuku’s leg and the bouncing started up again almost immediately. His hand came back down on Izuku’s leg to stop it once more, and then he continued, “You just have to get over it, adapt to it, and keep going.”

Izuku grinned at him and placed his hand on top of Katsuki’s. “It’s okay. Everything is fine.”

“No, it isn't,” Katsuki retorted, his voice having forgone gentleness. “I know you're putting on a brave face and a fake smile and all that shit so no one around here will worry or whatever, but it's just annoying to me and unhealthy for you. Don't do that shit.”

Izuku’s grin vanished, and he slowly took his hand off of Katsuki’s. He was left meeting Katsuki’s glower with surprise that he saw straight through his act.

“How do you…”

“Because you looked like a goddamn zombie all the way from Japan to the cab ride here, and then you did a total one-eighty the moment you walked through that door. Did you think I wouldn't notice?”

Izuku let that sink in, suddenly becoming aware of how he must've looked when Aizawa escaped and he'd lost hold of himself.

In hindsight it would make problems much easier to deal with if he had someone to talk to about them. Shouto always knew about his past but tried not to take sides, given that Nedzu had employed him in the past. Because of such, Izuku did tend to withhold information from Shouto. He knew Shouto would never hurt him or anyone here, but giving information was, in the eyes of some, not seen as harmful even when it could be.

Izuku trusted Shouto, but he was no fool.

“I know. I wish you weren’t, but you’re right.” Izuku sighed and smiled at Katsuki again. This time more sincere, more genuine. “I'll try to confide in you then. I guess it makes your job more difficult when I don’t. But I'm fine now, honest. I'm just upset that Aizawa got away from us. I'll be over it, given a little time. I definitely wouldn’t give up that easily. I just need a little time to be sad about it before I fully move on.”

Katsuki scrutinized Izuku, but believed him nevertheless. “Good. I already have one little piss baby to deal with. I don't need another.”

“Don't worry about that. But hey, isn't there something you wanted to talk to me about? You said to remind you when we got home.”

Katsuki placed a hand on the back of his neck and glanced off to the side. “Yeah, but I really don't think now is a good time.”

“I could really use the distraction.” Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s hand and pulled it off of his leg. In Izuku’s mind anything to forget the other night would be great right now. “Even if it's something bad. It can't be as bad as what happened with Aizawa.”

“Alright,” Katsuki replied with a sigh. He pulled Izuku by the arm and tilted his head to the side as he closed in. His other hand came to guide Izuku closer by his chin. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Izuku went rigid and his eyes grew wide at the realization of what Katsuki was doing. His head was swiftly filled with questions relating to the moment they kissed in Japan, as well as the time they almost did on the sidewalk right after.

Is he interested after all? Is he really about to kiss me now? Should I let him or is he making a mistake?

Izuku resigned to letting it happen. Katsuki was an adult that could make his own decisions. He must have a reason for doing this, a reason for making a potential mistake. Surely because it was something he would enjoy, just like Izuku knew he himself would, no matter how much he knew he was in denial with himself.

This time they’re going to kiss and it won’t be an act. It’ll just be for pleasure, for–

Pain.

Sudden, excruciating pain.

Izuku tried to yelp, but it was muffled by the hand covering his mouth. He couldn’t focus fully on the intense, red eyes taking up his line of sight. The glare could barely be made out, however the pain in his finger was more evident than ever.

Izuku glanced down at the hand Katsuki was holding. His pinky finger was pushed further and further back by Katsuki’s grip and he was unclear about what to do about this. He fought a strong, instinctive urge to fight back and defend himself so he could see where this was going. To see if Katsuki had lost his mind.

“You know how pinky promises work, right?”

Oh… shit.

Izuku began to panic inwardly. At the very least he knew Katsuki wasn’t going to try to kill him. Not that a broken bone was a significantly better alternative.

“I could—should—break it.” Katsuki accentuated that fact by pushing Izuku’s finger even further back. He pressed his other hand harder against Izuku’s mouth to muffle the next cry that tried to escape with the added pain. “I’m not going to, but I should after what you did there.”

It wasn’t the improvisation that upsetted him. He could see firsthand that the situation had called for it without question. He was actually somewhat touched Izuku fought so hard to not let Chisaki send him outside to whatever potential dangers may have waited. Not that he felt he needed someone looking out for him in that manner.

No, the problem comes with what he did.

Katsuki realized that same night—while he was staring relentlessly at Izuku without realizing it—that he liked that kiss. Not for the pleasure of kissing someone, but for the pleasure of kissing Izuku.

On that night he realized his slowly growing attraction to this idiot. This talented, cunning, and oh so determined idiot.

He’d begun to question whether his desire for someone who could challenge him had actually fostered a potential rivalry like he originally thought, or if it created an attraction he mistook for a challenge to be had until now. Even more so after seeing Izuku handle himself against Aizawa and the way the two of them managed to work together so well without any type of training to work together to begin with.

He hated Izuku so strongly before, but working with him was increasingly exhilarating the more he did it. He started to feel a twinge of excitement at the prospect of doing something else like the things they did in Japan so long as it was with him.

With all of that beginning to weigh on his mind and confuse him for the time being, he had decided he cannot abide Izuku toying with him in a way such as that. Whether it’d be him just being friendly or some kind of cover for them to use in a troubling situation.

If on the off chance he was perhaps starting to feel something, he didn’t need Izuku coming onto him and pressuring him into it. Not until he figured this out for himself.

“Don’t give us a cover as lovers again. Don’t repeat what happened on that couch,” Katsuki warned him. He released Izuku’s hand and uncovered his mouth, and then shoved Izuku away. “We both know neither of us are idiots. While your intelligence is debatable sometimes, I’m still under the belief you aren’t fucking stupid.”

“Mean, but okay–”

“Shut up. I’m not done,” Katsuki interjected. “I know you’re attracted to me. Physically at the very least, anyway. I see the way you stare at me sometimes. I may be starting to have… fuck, I don’t know, mixed feelings about you right now? Something fucking stupid. I’m trying to figure it out and I don’t need more confusion piled onto that. I don't need you toying with me or taking advantage of me and shit. That's the only reason I'm being honest and saying anything.”

“Wait, is this a confess–”

“Shut up!” Katsuki shouted at him. It can’t be a confession, he knew that much at least. It was still too soon to tell if these feelings were anything significant or some type of Stockholm syndrome. Logic and feelings don’t go together, and using one to figure out the other was too complicated more times than not. “This is a warning. Don’t treat us like a fucking couple if we’re not one or I will break you.”

“Okay, I won’t,” Izuku reassured him, holding his hands up placatingly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that bothered you and I didn't know a kiss meant that much to you. I wouldn’t have done it if you said it was off limits.” Izuku placed his hands in his lap and looked down at his feet. “Can I ask you a question?”

“As long as it isn’t something fucking stupid.” Katsuki leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms. He glared at the still running TV that was turned down to a near mute when he and Izuku arrived. “And if you make fun of me I’m going to break your fucking finger. No hesitation, no remorse.”

“No, no, this is important. I wouldn’t make fun of you for something important. Especially not your feelings,” Izuku said. He rubbed one arm and gave Katsuki a small, lopsided smile. “Would you want to… t-try it out maybe?”

Katsuki stared at him through the corners of his eyes. “Try what out?”

“Being a–”

“Izuku!” Kouta’s voice rang out through the apartment for his attention.

Izuku looked over his shoulder towards Kouta’s room and debated in his head whether it could wait or not. He considered this conversation important, but Kouta rarely calls out to him. He decided he should probably go handle whatever it was.

He mentally cursed on his way to Kouta’s room after apologizing to Katsuki and asking him to wait a moment. He’d never thought of Kouta as an inconvenience, not once, but this felt like the worst time for Kouta to need his attention for something. Izuku felt like he was finally making a meaningful connection with Katsuki. More than he could have hoped for even. If it could have waited just a few more minutes he would’ve gotten somewhere.

He came into Kouta’s room and saw him lying on his back in bed, still trying to solve the Rubik’s cube. He stepped into the doorway and kept his hand on the knob in the hopes this would be quick.

“Is something wrong? I’m kind of in the middle of–”

“Are you mad at me?” Kouta interrupted.

Izuku, surprised and confused by the question, studied Kouta for a brief moment, and then came in and shut the door. This probably won’t be quick after all.

“Why would you think that?” Izuku asked. He came over and sat down on the foot of the bed and stared over his shoulder at Kouta. Two pats on the spot next to him signaled for Kouta to come and join him, but the boy didn’t acknowledge him if he even noticed.

“Everyone keeps kicking me out of places. I keep getting kicked out of a room when Katsuki is there, I got kicked out of Kyouka’s place two nights in a row while you were in Japan. You just got back and you sent me to my room,” Kouta elaborated, listing off the most recent occurrences one after the other. “I don’t know if I should say something or not, but if no one wants me here then you can just tell me.”

The Rubik’s cube was snatched out of his hand and Kouta looked up at Izuku, who dropped the cube on the floor to get it out of the way. He held his hand out for Kouta to take, the stern expression upon his face a silent demand for Kouta to take it. Once Kouta reluctantly had his hand Izuku pulled the boy to the foot of the bed next to him and squeezed Kouta’s hand.

Izuku could hardly stand seeing that sad and hurt gleam in Kouta’s eyes as the boy spoke. If Kouta hadn’t explained his reasoning Izuku would be utterly baffled as to how he could possibly be convinced that he wouldn’t be wanted.

“No one is mad at you, and no one wants you to leave. I know for a fact I don’t.”

“Then why do you keep trying to get rid of me?” Kouta asked in a small voice. “I’m trying to stop being mad at Katsuki. I haven’t done anything to him in a while and you still want to spend more time with him than with me.”

“I’m not trying to get rid of you, Kouta. I’m trying to make sure you and Kacchan stop trying to kill each other by keeping you both separated. I’m spending a lot of time with him for a few reasons, but not because I don’t want to spend time with you. I’m definitely not avoiding you,” Izuku explained. He pulled Kouta onto his lap and hugged him tight. He was filled with joy when Kouta reciprocated the hug rather than trying to break free of it. “And the times we send you out of the room is because things you don’t need to know about are happening at the time. I was doing stuff in Japan that I didn’t want you to see. Kyouka will only send you out if she knows something I don’t want you to see might come up. It’s not because we’re trying to get rid of you. It’s because you’re not ready for stuff like that, and personally I hope you never get into a life like mine in the first place.”

“I get scared when you say stuff like that,” Kouta responded after a long silence. He dug his face deeper into Izuku’s shoulder and gripped Izuku’s shirt in his fists. “I feel like something bad is going to happen to you, and I don’t want to lose you.”

Izuku’s eyes widened and he looked down at Kouta’s back, stunned by what Kouta was saying. Not that he ever doubted Kouta cared about him, but to hear it like this was new. This was the closest even he had ever come to having Kouta show his softer and innermost feelings. He only wished it was under happier circumstances.

He didn’t know how to respond to that. He can’t say he’ll be around forever, especially not in his line of work. Even more so now that he knew for sure he poked the bear with Aizawa. All three of his mentors are going to be out for blood. But he can’t say nothing. Not while Kouta was actually communicating with him. What can he say to alleviate Kouta’s fears without lying to his face?

“I… I don’t plan on going anywhere, Kouta. As long as I have you and everyone else here, I have that much more reason to make sure nothing happens to me. Katsuki is here to make sure nothing happens to any of us too, just like Shouto,” Izuku said after he gathered himself. “One reason we send you out of the room is because I want to avoid scaring you. I didn’t know that was also bothering you this much, and I’m sorry for that. We’re going to keep doing it because sometimes I see things I don’t ever want you to see, but I want you to know that as long as I can help it I’m going to make sure I keep coming back to see you, alright?”

“Okay,” Kouta replied, his voice cracking with the one word. He cleared his throat and tried to push his steadily rising urge to cry by repeating reassurances in his head.

He won’t leave. He’ll be okay. There’s nothing to be scared of.

His fists gripping handfuls of the back of Izuku’s shirt relaxed bit by bit until his hands lied flat on Izuku’s back. He felt silly for doubting Izuku now, for being worried that something would happen to him. He’d seen some of what Izuku was capable of, and he shouldn’t be worried at all. Except for one person that still caused him to worry…

“How long is Katsuki going to stay with us?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s going to be a little longer than I originally thought now.” Izuku let go of Kouta, but the child didn’t release him, and so Izuku tentatively wrapped his arms around him again. “It isn’t so bad having him around anymore is it? You two have been doing better around each other.”

“No, I still hate him for what he did to you,” Kouta replied. His fists clenched in anger at the memory of seeing Katsuki beating on Izuku. “The sooner he’s gone the better. Then everything can go back to normal.”

Izuku felt his heart drop into his stomach with that. He knew it would take some time, but he’d hoped Kouta would at least be warming up to Katsuki by now. He felt like he’d finally gotten somewhere with Katsuki—somewhere he never thought he’d be able to get—and to think he might have to put a hold on it while Kouta continued to get used to Katsuki was disheartening to say the least. If he ever got used to him, that is. But he didn’t even think about how it might have affected Kouta or the others.

He cared about all of them too much to force Katsuki on them any harder than he already had.

“You know he only did it because of the things I did to him, Kouta. I told you that,” Izuku clarified in an attempt to save himself from having to backtrack with Katsuki. “Katsuki and I have both begun to put our differences aside, and I feel like if you put the past behind you like we’ve done, you and him could be pretty good friends.”

Izuku waited with bated breath for Kouta’s answer. He wanted so badly for the two of them to start treating each other better, yet he also knew he couldn’t force them to like each other.

“No way,” Kouta responded after a moment of thought. “Just seeing his stupid face makes me mad because I think about the ways he hurt you.”

And with that Izuku’s heart sank further.

“Alright, I understand,” Izuku said. He patted Kouta on the back and placed him on the spot next to him on the bed once Kouta let him go. “He’s just here to help out until I finish a project I’m working on. So as soon as I’m done with that he’ll be out of our hair.”

“Good,” Kouta replied with a nod. He reached down to get his Rubik’s cube off of the floor, and then crawled back across the mattress to lay his head on his pillow again. “Thanks for talking to me.”

“Anytime. Don’t be afraid to talk to me if you ever need something,” Izuku replied on his way to the door.

“Izuku,” Kouta called out to him. He rolled over onto his side and stared at Izuku with an unsure expression. “I’m… I-I’m happy you’re my dad.”

His voice was low and his words were barely heard, but they still managed to strike a chord in Izuku and he can’t help the grin that forced its way onto his face.

“But don’t tell anyone I said that,” Kouta warned him as he rolled back over onto his back and continued his attempts to solve the Rubik’s cube. “That’s just between us.”

Izuku mimed himself zipping his mouth shut, barely able to confine the large grin fighting to stay on his face. He left the room and shut the door, and halfway to the couch where Katsuki was still waiting for him he suddenly felt that feeling of dread welling up inside him again.

He never made it to the couch, opting instead to stop behind it and tap Katsuki on the shoulder.

“I’m feeling tired, so I’m going to go take a nap in the bedroom if that’s alright with you.”

He didn’t wait for an answer and started making his way toward the hallway. His hopes of getting away without the earlier conversation resurfacing are dashed when Katsuki called out to him. He flinched at Katsuki’s voice and hoped against hope that Katsuki would want something—anything—other than to continue the conversation.

“Being a what?” Katsuki asked.

In the time Izuku was gone he’d thought about what Izuku might have implied. When he put two and two together and figured out exactly what Izuku was about to ask before he was called away, he then thought about whether he’d be alright with trying that out.

And how dumb he’d look if he was wrong.

Trying to be a couple with someone he used to, and still did to a lesser extent now, consider his enemy. All in all there was no harm in simply trying it out, was there? If anything he’d get to kiss Izuku again, and that alone was worth the risk in his book.

But he wanted to hear Izuku say it. He wanted to be sure Izuku shared the very same feelings he was trying to figure out, and that this wasn’t something else.

Izuku hesitated, and then sent a forced grin over his shoulder to Katsuki.

“I was just going to ask if you wanted to try being a… a team. Like, you know, work on some moves together or something? But we can worry about that later.”

Izuku left with that, hoping to get away before Katsuki said anything else. He had lied a lot before, always with an objective in mind, but this time lying was just plain painful.

Katsuki watched Izuku leave, and continued to stare at the hallway even after he was gone. He felt a slight pain in his chest from what Izuku said. A pain he couldn’t identify as it was the first time he ever felt this.

Disappointment? A new kind of anger?

He turned back to the TV and turned it up.

Stupid of me to think of him like that anyway.

“At least you have something to do tomorrow. I don’t have anything until next Friday,” Eijirou complained from his spot at a table. He flipped another page in the magazine he was skimming through, feet up on the table and chair tipped back.

“It’s not like I’m going to a party or anything,” Denki reasoned with him, his head in his arms on the same table. “Just going to guard a couple of guys during a meeting is all. They aren’t even first rate. Pay isn’t all that great.”

“It’s better than nothing though!” Eijirou exclaimed as he dropped his feet to the floor and slapped the magazine on the table excitedly. “It–”

“Makes you feel manly to have someone else trust you with their safety,” Denki mocked him jokingly. “You’ve said it like a hundred times, man. I know already.”

“I just wish I had more to do.” Eijirou sighed and started flipping through the magazine he had again.

The door to the bar swung open and all eyes were set upon the group of people that entered. Denki raised his head and furrowed his brows at them, and Eijirou dropped his magazine and gave them a stern look. The two could swear they knew two of those four people from somewhere.

“Greetings!” the shortest man shouted as he waved his hand. He tucked a loose lock of white hair behind his ear and looked down at a slip of paper he pulled from his suit jacket’s pocket. “We’re looking for an Eijirou Kirishima.”

“That’s me,” Eijirou replied hesitantly with a raised hand. “Wh–”

“What do you want with him?” Mitsuki asked from the doorway of the backroom. “And don’t try to convince me you want to hire him for anything. I know two of you by face alone.”

“I wouldn’t be doing very well in my position if people didn’t know me just by looking at me,” Nedzu explained, his arms behind his back and a smile on his face. “I just want to ask him a few questions.”

“Then ask away,” Mitsuki urged him on with a flippant wave of her hand. She crossed her arms and leaned against the frame of the doorway, ready to scrutinize.

She was convinced there was absolutely no reason for the vice president to be entering their establishment, let alone looking for someone here, without something bad tied to the situation.

She couldn’t fathom why, but deep down she knew this had to do with Katsuki.

“I’d prefer to talk to him in private. Come with me if you’d please.” Nedzu made a beckoning motion to Eijirou. “We’ll go for a walk.”

There was something about him. Whether it was his soft smile, easygoing tone, or small stature, something made Eijirou trust him for whatever reason. Not to mention his place in the country led Eijirou to believe that if he was told to follow, then he should follow.

Eijirou stood up and was shoved back down into his chair by Mitsuki.

“I’ve already had my son poached by some backstabbing little assassin. I don’t need one of my last two boys taken by someone else.” Mitsuki placed her hands on her waist and glared Nedzu down. “So what’s the big secret? Why come here with two mercenaries and a tin man to ask some questions in private?”

It hadn’t been clear to either Eijirou or Denki that Mitsuki had been a little more protective of the two of them than usual until now. She really cared for them almost like they were her own children, and after losing one she clearly had no intention of losing any more.

“For that very reason! We seem to have a mutual “rat” problem, the rat being that little assassin. The four of us are on an extermination mission, so to speak. Eijirou here apparently has some information that could help us, and you in turn, with that endeavor.” Nedzu glanced up at Aizawa, Snipe and Power Loader and nodded to them. He then began walking towards Eijirou with his hand out. “Now I’m in a bit of a rush, being a busy man and all, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take Eijirou’s hand and we’ll go for a short walk so we can talk. Just him and I. I’m certainly no match for him by myself if I wanted to try anything funny. This man looks as if he tears phonebooks in half for fun! So he will be in no danger at all.”

“It’s okay, Mitsuki,” Eijirou reassured her. He patted her hand on his shoulder and stood up, then went to stand next to Nedzu. “If he just wants to talk then it’s no big deal. You and Denki can watch the creepy looking dudes and put them down if I’m not back in ten. Sound good?”

Mitsuki considered his words and nodded once deemed fair. He was given a strict warning that he better know what he was doing, and Nedzu was warned that if they aren’t back in ten minutes exactly she’d start cracking skulls. The two of them left with no time to waste, and once walking down the sidewalk Nedzu took a quick glance at Eijirou.

“She seems very protective of you.”

“She’s protective of all of us. Especially after what happened with Katsuki.” Eijirou ran a hand through his hair and stared down at Nedzu. “So like, I know you probably want some kind of information about that Izuku guy or whatever, but I can’t give you anything. They asked me to keep quiet about it, and a man who breaks his word is no man at all. I’m sorry.”

Nedzu kept a casual appearance as he studied Eijirou for a moment, and then turned his attention back to the walk ahead of them.

“I understand, truly I do.” Nedzu nodded with a little smile. “I still had an obligation to try. Well listen, my friends back at your shop are expecting me to try my hardest, but you seem like an unbreakable man. So let’s make a compromise here.”

“I’m listening,” Eijirou said. The reluctance to continue this walk was evident in his voice.

“I won’t ask you about Izuku or your friend. Instead we can just talk about other stuff while we walk around for the rest of the nine or so minutes. Light conversation and what not. That way you don’t get pressed for information and I can tell my team I tried my best within the allotted time. Sound fair?”

“I guess that’s okay,” Eijirou responded after a few seconds of thought. “We both get something out of it, so it doesn’t seem like a bad idea. No reason for you to get the short end of the stick too, right?”

Eijirou failed to notice the grin creeping onto Nedzu’s face. Giving Eijirou a sense of safety and security in an unnecessary compromise had just turned him into a fly caught in the spider’s web, ready to be devoured.

There’re plenty of indirect ways to get information from people who aren’t willing to talk. Nedzu knew them all, and invented a few himself, and they’re especially useful on people pleasers like he believed Eijirou to be.

“Excellent. I already have a topic in mind to pass the time…”

Post-chapter notes: And their relationship just took one step forward and four steps back. How joyous. But don't worry. Give them a little more time and they'll get there.

Next chapter will be fun though. Fun in a bad way, of course. Won't say how, but there's your warning~

Now I'm off to update my kouri (Kouta/Eri) fic, start writing for rarepair week, and the start writing OTR after rarepair week. If you don't know about rarepair week you can find it on the link right there. It's in a month and four days and it'd be real cool if any artists or writers out there could participate!

Katsuki idly flipped through the pages of one of the many magazines left in the meeting room. There’s a picture of him on the cover and a follow-up article that he’s working his way towards inside.

It isn’t unusual for people magazine publishers, paparazzi, and sometimes even news stations to come looking for something to write about him. He’s a high profile model born into a rich family with parents that helped him get to where he is now with their connections in the fashion industry. So of course people want to write about him. Of course they want to praise and photograph him.

And of course they want to try to tear him down at the same time.

Kacchan chases off another agent! Third one this month!

“Fucking ridiculous,” Katsuki said to no one in particular.

He never chased anyone off. He may have yelled at them, called them names, perhaps given a few empty threats to one or two, but he never told them to quit or anything. His agency always says he goes too far, that it’s his fault they left and he needs to get control of himself, but as far as Katsuki was concerned those people deserved it for being grossly incompetent.

He tossed the magazine over his shoulder halfway through the article after they had started calling him too rash and volatile for the modelling business.

They don’t know a damn thing.

“I really insist that you reconsider, Midoriya.”

Izuku kept his hands buried in the pockets of his hoodie, a bright smile on his face the whole way down the hall.

“Why would I want to do that? It’s exciting that my first model is going to be one already so famous.”

“While I understand your eagerness, the agency would consider it a shame to lose a new employee so early in his career. Bakugou can be rather harsh and hard to handle, and he’s driven off even the most experienced agents.”

Izuku shrugged in response. He’s heard, and been warned, many a time of Katsuki’s attitude problem. As far as he’s concerned, it’s something he should get used to if he wants to continue down this career path. Not all models are going to be nice or have mercy on him just because he’s new. But as long as he does his job right and toughs out the meetings with his model, he should be fine.

That isn’t to say he isn’t nervous at all though.

“It’s okay, really.” The two of them stopped in front of the door to Katsuki’s room and Izuku’s smile turned into a grin. Despite his nervousness he’s still excited about this. It’s the beginning of his career and he’s ready to take the next step.

“Fucking lying assholes!”

Izuku could surmise that that was Katsuki on the other side of the door, and suddenly he no longer felt as ready as he thought he was.

“Oh, wonderful. He’s in a good mood.”

Izuku didn’t have time to wonder whether that was a joke or not. His boss opened the door and pulled him in with a hand on his shoulder, and Izuku could see Katsuki tearing a magazine in half on the other side of a couch. He physically felt his nervousness turn to fear when Katsuki whirled around and glared at the person standing next to him.

Then Katsuki’s gaze turned on him, and he’s surprised to see the glare vanish. There’s an unexpected softness in his eyes now, mixed together with a spark of interest and even the hint of a smirk.

“What do you want now?” Katsuki asked as he walked up to the pair. “We’re not even doing anything today. Why the hell did you call me in?”

Izuku’s fear is gone, and his nervousness is slowly going with it. Katsuki isn’t nearly as bad as Izuku thought he would be, or as their boss made him out to be.

“To meet your new agent. This is Midoriya Izuku, and he’ll be handling your career now.”

Katsuki’s gaze hardened immediately and he looked at Izuku with only displeasure in his features. Izuku had no idea what he just did wrong, but evidently something has displeased Katsuki.

“I thought his name was Midoriya Deku. That’s what it said on the application you showed me,” Katsuki said.

“It can be read both ways.”

“Whatever. You’re giving me a fucking nobody?” Katsuki stepped forward and loomed over Izuku threateningly, and then proceeded to speak about him as though he weren’t even there, regardless of glaring directly at him. “Does this kid even know anybody in the business? Any experience? Or did he just kiss some major fucking ass to get here?”

Izuku shrunk down under Katsuki’s heavy stare, but still managed a few words. “W-we’re the same age.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “At least he can fucking speak.”

“I have been told to warn you that this will be your last agent, Bakugou.” The person didn’t flinch in the slightest when Katsuki turned on them and scowled. “I’ve been informed that the moment Izuku walks, you do too.”

“You wouldn’t fucking dare,” Katsuki retorted in a low growl. “You couldn’t afford to lose me.”

“You’ve made us enough profit that we can afford to lose you now, actually. So I suggest you get your act together, or we’re dropping our contract with you.”

Katsuki was left standing there with his fists clenched, practically grinding his teeth at the retreating back of their boss. He’s surprised when Izuku’s speaks up, and even more so when their boss actually stopped for a moment to regard Izuku’s words.

“Um, actually, you can’t do that.”

“Excuse me?”

Katsuki snorted and crossed his arms over his chest with an amused smirk. “I get another chance if you fire him.”

Izuku made an annoyed face and stepped back from Katsuki to face their boss. He knows perfectly well what he’s talking about, and he knows when he hears a bluff too.

“We can fire him at any point he becomes too much of a burden to us. It’s in his contract.”

“Yes, at any point he becomes a burden to the company’s budget. Not a burden to you or I specifically. And even with that, there’s a separate clause on page twenty-three that states he be given priority over other models for auditions as a last chance to jump start any slump he may be in. But he isn’t in a slump or anything. He’s just been having trouble with agents recently, which falls under the jurisdiction of the agency to both fix the issue and keep the person under contract compensated with a bare minimum living wage and no more until whatever problem the agency is currently having is no longer an issue. So because he’s only two years into a four year contract, you still can’t fire him for another two years.” Izuku held his chin between his index finger and thumb in thought as his gaze shifted down to the floor. “Speaking of which, I’ll need to see his last few payments to be sure you all have been compensating him fairly during this falling out of agents that has been keeping him from getting work. A living wage changes with inflation, you know.”

“I haven’t been paid shit since my last show,” Katsuki replied. “A fucking month and a half ago.”

“Oh. I suppose we can get that fixed while we’re on the topic then–”

“Now hold on just a minute,” their boss interrupted. He approached Izuku with confident strides and tried to stare him down the same as Katsuki did, but Izuku paid that no mind. “Just how do you know so much about this? And why have I not been informed of any of this?”

“Well, it’s all clearly stated in his contract. I asked for a copy from your assistant the day you told me I had my first model, so I could know what I was getting into.” Izuku grinned and pulled the contract out from the inside of his hoodie and waved it back and forth happily. “I thought it prudent to plan ahead for my first day on the job. My model is a very high profile one, so I didn’t want to screw up right off the bat. I have a copy of my own at home too, so I know I’m not overstepping my boundaries by warning you that if he isn’t fairly compensated within the next twenty-four hours we are liable to sue for misconduct. Also, please refrain from using false information and empty threats on my model from here on out. I truly don’t mean to be rude when I say this, but you should really have someone brief you on these or something. You’re probably breaking a lot of contracts with a lot of models if you don’t know this stuff.”

“Now he doesn’t know how to shut up all of a sudden.” Katsuki is chuckling at this point, fairly amused by how this is turning out. “But don’t stop there. I like where this is going so far.”

“Why did you bring that with you? Were you planning to call this stuff out from the very beginning?” The person growled, trying and failing to snatch the contract out of Izuku’s hand.

“Well, actually I brought it for two reasons. The first is because I’m still new, and if someone tells me I’m doing something wrong with my model I’d like to be able to double check to make sure for myself.” Izuku glanced over his shoulder at Katsuki nervously for a second before continuing. “The second… well, I thought he might punch me in the stomach or something. That’s why I was hiding it in my hoodie.”

Their boss stormed out of the room with a muttered ‘We’ll see about this’, and Izuku turned to grin at Katsuki. He could only hope he did the right thing by sticking up for Katsuki there, and by the amused look on Katsuki’s face it’s safe to assume that he probably did.

“I uh, just want you to know that I may be new and everything, I may not have a ton of experience or know everybody in the business yet, or any of that stuff–”

“Would you get to the fucking point already?”

“Right, right, sorry. I may not be one of the glorious agents you’re used to, but I’m still going to do my best to make sure you get the best out of your job. Even if that means I have to butt heads with the higher-ups every so often.”

Katsuki stayed rooted in place with a dumbstruck look on his face. No one ever argues with the higher-ups like Izuku just did, hence why it was so amusing. Though what’s truly amazing is that he not only got away with it, but now he’s offering to do it again for Katsuki’s sake?

Izuku pulled the neck hole of his hoodie open and dropped the contract inside again.

“Well you’ve already done better than every other agent I’ve had.” Katsuki waved him over to the two couches with a coffee table between them and sat on one. He clasped his hands together and hunched forward while Izuku situated himself on the sofa opposite of him. “So I suppose you want to tell me about yourself or some shit?”

“I didn’t plan to. Not that I mind, but I didn’t think you’d care.” Izuku placed his hands on his knees and sat up eagerly, happy to know that Katsuki might actually be interested in him rather than wanting him gone like he would with the others. “Am I supposed to?”

“There’s nothing saying you have to,” Katsuki replied with a casual glance thrown off to the side. “More so curious why you care about what’s in my contract. I never read that shit.”

Izuku gave him a little half smile. “You probably should have. Besides not paying you during all these issues with agents, who knows what other ways they’ve been cheating you for years and years. But you don’t have to now, because I intend to fix all of that.”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed. He grew more and more suspicious of what Izuku is trying to get out of him every time Izuku spoke. No other agent he’s ever had has cared in the slightest whether Katsuki gets what he’s owed, so long as they themselves got paid and got whatever luxuries they desired.

To everyone at this company he’s just a walking bag of money, and the moment he isn’t that they’re going to toss him aside like how Izuku just stopped them from doing.

“What is it you want from me?” Katsuki questioned slowly, his skepticism becoming more and more glaringly obvious.

“Huh?”

“Are you trying to get a meeting with my parents or something?” Katsuki leaned back and rested his arms on the back of the sofa. “Because if so, you’re kissing the wrong ass. I don’t control your career, either. That belongs to the other bastard you just told off. Whatever you want, you’re not going to get it by doing me any favors.”

“What are you talking about?” Izuku couldn’t look more affronted and confused at this moment. “I-I’m just doing my job. You may be mean sometimes, but you’re still a person who deserves to get paid for his work, aren’t you?”

Katsuki was left speechless by that. So much so he still doesn’t say anything when Izuku stands up and goes for the door.

It’s beyond unexpected that Izuku sees him differently from everyone else, and doesn’t speak to him with empty and meaningless words of praise or just agree with everything he says without any thought at all. Furthermore, he’s willing to risk his brand new job just so Katsuki could get what was promised rather than keeping himself safe?

“Well, I really need to go. I have to find a way to start getting you into shows again or I’m not doing the most basic part of my job.” Izuku waved to Katsuki in the doorway. His waving slowed to a stop when Katsuki didn’t turn around to return the gesture. “I’ll see you later then. It was nice meeting you, Kacchan.”

Katsuki snapped out of his thoughts and whirled around in his spot on the sofa just in time to see the door shut. He’s sure he heard that correctly.

“Why did that twerp call me by my stage name?”

Katsuki tapped his foot impatiently next to his limo and looked at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. Izuku was supposed to meet him here six minutes ago so they could head over to a meeting that Katsuki arranged with someone that called him about a show.

He was surprised that someone came to him for an opportunity rather than the agency or Izuku, but thought nothing of it and accepted the meeting anyway. The only issue is, so long as he could help it, he’d rather not go without Izuku. Any experience Izuku could gain from this will only benefit both of them, and Katsuki is well aware of that.

It’s only been two days, but Katsuki hates Izuku markedly less than the others he has had before.

At the very least he isn’t bad to look at, Katsuki reasoned with himself while scanning the area one last time, a hand placed sideways on his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun.

“So much for being eager to do well,” Katsuki said on his way into the limo’s backseat. He couldn’t risk being late this time. Not while he needs to start getting more work in to keep his face out there. Preferably with good publicity, rather than the negative type he’s been getting recently.

He froze halfway into the door and stared at the other person that was waiting inside for him, and then sighed and shut the door once he was seated.

“Katsuki.”

“Mom,” Katsuki replied in an unimpressed tone. “How did you get in here?”

“I asked them to pick me up before they came to get you.” Mitsuki crossed one leg over the other and cocked her head to the side as she tossed a magazine with Katsuki’s face on the cover at him. “Why are you being a spoiled brat? This affects your father’s and my business reputation as well.”

“How the fuck does–”

“Because there’s headlines everywhere about how our twenty-four year old son is an unruly beast and people are speculating that it’s our fault!” Mitsuki shouted. “It’s not good for business when the public starts to think we’re all a family of monsters.”

“Blame those dumbass agents who don’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” Katsuki said, crossing his arms and glaring out the window. “Apparently all of them are utter fucking shit at what they do.”

“That’s no excuse to act out!” Mitsuki took the magazine back, rolled it up, and hit him on the knee with it. “Start acting like you have some common sense or you’re going to be living with us again, and I’ll treat you like the child you want to be so badly.”

Katsuki wanted to say something; that he was an adult and she couldn’t tell him what to do anymore, that she couldn’t punish him or ground him or anything anymore. Anything. But he knew none of that meant anything to her at all.

He held himself back with that thought in mind and resigned to glaring at her quietly.

The limo stopped and Mitsuki opened the door for him. Katsuki exited with nothing else to say, and thankfully without another scolding from her, and paid no mind to the door that slammed shut behind him. He kept his eyes fixed on the tall building in front of him and went forward to the meeting. He assumed that wherever she took the limo, it’ll end up back here before he’s done.

The receptionist pointed him in the right direction, and with minimal wandering he ended up outside the office of the person he’s meeting with. Something deep inside him is urging him to wait for Izuku, but at the same time he’s sure he doesn’t need someone else for this stuff. How hard could it be to just walk in, talk money for a little bit, get the venue, and leave?

Katsuki entered the room and is promptly greeted by a woman and her assistant. He’s waved over to sit on the couch opposite of the woman’s desk.

“Bakugou!” she called out as he sat down. She began twirling a pen in her hand and leaned back in her seat. “We’re so glad to see you’ve chosen to take this opportunity. The Yaoyorozu’s always love it when you show off their newest releases.”

“Yet Momo can’t come and meet me herself today?”

“Well she is busy learning how the company operates so she can take over one day. She has decided to learn the jobs from the ground up so that she can better understand the needs of the company.” The woman placed her pen on the desk and slid it toward Katsuki at the same time her assistant placed a small stack of papers on the desk in front of him. “She’s such a bright young woman. But back to business, this contract is a short little formality for the show. Sign that and we’ll get into date and location, so on so forth.”

“What is it with you people and contra–”

The door burst open and Izuku ran in, whirled around, and slammed both of the doors shut. He placed his back against them, revealing his frightened face and heavy breathing to the group. Hard thumping on the other side of the door began until it burst open a second time. Two guards rushed and grabbed Izuku by the arms.

“W-w-wait! I’m with Kacchan! I swear!”

“If you want people to believe that, then you ought to get used to using his legal name instead of–”

“He’s with me,” Katsuki interjected, his casual tone betraying the obvious seriousness of the situation.

The woman took on a concerned gaze, but ordered the security guards to release him. Upon being released, Izuku backed away from them until his back hit the sofa, and he quickly went around to sit next to Katsuki. Katsuki rolled his eyes at the entire situation and picked the pen up again, which Izuku promptly snatched out of his hand.

“What are you doing? What did I miss?” Izuku asked. He pulled the contract toward himself and started reading the first page, much to the woman’s obvious displeasure.

“Everything, because you’re fucking late.”

“I turned the corner and was running up to the limo right as you were climbing in. I missed the bus today,” Izuku explained while reading.

“Bus? Why the fuck are you–”

“Excuse me, if I could interrupt? Bakugou was just in the middle of signing. It’s a standard contract. No need to waste our time reading it all day.” the woman said, snapping her fingers repeatedly to get their attention. She reached to take the contract out of Izuku’s hand and Katsuki smacked her hand away, and then stood between her and Izuku.

“There’s no such thing as a standard contract for a show this simple,” Izuku responded absentmindedly. He started skimming the second page. “These are generally done with verbal agreements. It’s just a simple payment after the show. That’s why I’m reading. To see what you’re trying to pull.”

“Nice to know,” Katsuki growled, glaring down at the woman.

“This is a business meeting! Not a place for friends and family to come barging in and–”

“Oh, well I guess we’re in luck.” Katsuki dropped back down on the sofa next to Izuku and spread his arms out across the back of the couch. He placed his hand on top of Izuku’s head, then ruffled Izuku’s hair. “He’s my business partner. So shut your fucking mouth and let him do what he does. Next time you try to grab something out of his hand you’re going to lose that arm.”

“Well, as his business partner I have made my decision. Excuse my language, but,” Izuku lifted the contract in the air with a proud grin and tore it in half, tore what was left in half, and then cleared his throat as he tossed the shreds on the desk, “this contract is utter shit. You’re just trying to take advantage of him because you thought he still didn’t have an agent, weren’t you? You were going to pay him next to nothing for his time and keep any complaints he had quiet by waving this contract in his face. So how about we make the usual verbal agreement instead?”

The pair exited the building after a meeting that Katsuki paid little attention to. Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s wrist when Izuku tried to walk off in another direction, away from the limo that was waiting outside to pick them both up.

“Where are you going?” Katsuki asked.

“I was going to take a walk around the city to see if I could find anything that might lead to another show or something.” Izuku scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile. “See, I don’t have a car, so–”

“Don’t waste your time with that shit. Come on.” Katsuki pulled Izuku toward the limo and practically shoved him in. He climbed in, sat beside Izuku, and knocked twice on the wall between them and the driver to get the driver’s attention. “Take us back to the agency. Keep the car running when we get there.”

Izuku looked around in both awe and confusion. He’s seen limousines before, but he’s never actually been inside of one. It’s roomier than he thought it would be, and he certainly wasn’t expecting a mini fridge in it.

Katsuki watched in amusement as Izuku’s gaze roamed the inside of the limo. He almost placed his arm around Izuku, but stopped with his arm hovering just above and pulled it back into his lap.

“This is really cool,” Izuku said, still looking around with an awestruck grin. His gaze landed on Katsuki’s amused smirk and he quickly sat back, shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets, and tried to look casual. “What do we need to do at the office?”

“Get something that’ll make your job easier.” Katsuki suddenly remembered earlier, during the meeting, when Izuku mentioned having to take the bus, and now him saying he doesn’t have a car and has never been in a limo before raises some questions in Katsuki’s head. “What the fuck are you doing taking the bus anyway? Why don’t you have a car? You’re supposed to be able to call the agency and request a ride at any time.”

“I can do that?” Izuku questioned incredulously. “No one told me that!”

Katsuki snorted, amused that Izuku really didn’t know anything about this job at all. Though to be fair, and as much as he hated to think about it, he had apparently been getting scammed by his own workplace for a while now. This is the second time Izuku has saved him from something stupid.

“Yeah. There’s a number to call and they’ll send one where you tell them to. But obviously that costs the company money, so it isn’t something you do just because you want to.” Katsuki rested his cheek on his fist, his elbow on the door, and stared out of the window. “You do it if you’re trying to impress someone so that a meeting goes better or something, or if something happens on the day of an event and you need a ride. Shit like that.”

“Oh, so it isn’t an everyday thing. That makes sense.” Izuku thought about those words for a second, and then realized something. “Wait, so why did you call one today? I saw your car in the lot when I got here, and the person we were meeting with wasn’t going to come out with us, so it couldn’t have been to try to impress them.”

Katsuki continued to stare out of the window, purposely ignoring Izuku’s words. Izuku called his name a couple of times to get his attention, and on the third time Katsuki finally spoke, though only in an attempt to change the topic.

“You still haven’t told me why you don’t have a car. What happened to yours?”

Izuku tilted his head to the side in a curious manner and his eyebrows furrowed. Katsuki had always been good about answering his questions up until now, which only piqued his curiosity even more.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me why you got a limo for a quick little meeting.”

Katsuki regarded Izuku with a glare. “What the fuck does it matter?”

“Well, I guess it doesn't really matter, but I want to know.” Izuku got silence in return and thought that maybe if he went first, Katsuki might be kind enough to follow his lead. “I don't have a car because I just can't afford one right now. I just got out of college and got this job. I didn't actually think I would get it either, but I saw the pay was good and thought I might as well give it a try. Even if they didn't hire me it isn't like I would have lost something for trying, right? So after I got the job I found a closer place to live and moved out. I'm starting to save up now, but it'll be a while before I can get one.”

Katsuki raised one eyebrow in response to the story. He just thought something bad happened to Izuku’s car, not that he didn’t have one. Still, he never asked for the guy’s life story, and he definitely couldn’t bring himself to feel bad for or pity someone who managed to land a job like this. As far as Katsuki is concerned, Izuku had a fair chance at becoming a model himself, and would’ve become one if whoever hired him had any kind of sense at all. He definitely has the looks for it.

Katsuki shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. The unexpected action thoroughly confused Izuku even more.

“Alright, alright, fuck. I didn’t ask for your life’s story and shit.” Katsuki ran his hand through his hair and sighed through his mouth. “I’ll tell you after I drop you off. Sound fair?”

Izuku nodded, happy to take that compromise.

The limousine stopped and Katsuki got out before him. He thought Katsuki was dropping him off here, and he got out just to be shoved back in by Katsuki.

“I’m just grabbing something. Wait here.”

It took a while, but eventually Katsuki returned with a book in hand. He handed it off to Izuku and, once it was out of his hands, placed his arms behind his head, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

Izuku skimmed through the book filled with names he didn’t recognize. Phone numbers, company names, and addresses were next to each name. He glanced up at Katsuki confusedly, but got nothing in response. Katsuki simply kept his eyes shut and stayed in his relaxed state.

“What is this?”

“It’s a directory of contacts. People who do shows, photo shoots, shit like that. Some of them are just people who work in fashion industries or whatever that might know of something going on. The last agent that quit on me left it behind. If he didn’t care enough to take it with him, then you can have it. Now tell the driver where you want to go.”

“Where I want to go?”

Katsuki opened one eye and took in Izuku’s confusion. He could tell this confusion isn’t about what the book is anymore. It’s something else entirely.

The more Katsuki offered to help Izuku or show him the ropes rather than leaving him to drown in the sea of a new job, the more confused the poor man looks. With that in mind, it isn’t hard to tell Izuku is puzzled about why Katsuki has been so rude to everyone else—past agents and people around the two of them alike—and not to him.

“Yeah. You said you were going somewhere, so pick a place.”

“Well I was going to walk around and see if I could find any other companies to meet or maybe see some billboards, something to get started in making contacts, but with this book you gave me I got practically everything I need.” Izuku grinned while flipping through pages. He’s already begun to memorize names and numbers. “I should head home and start making calls. Maybe I can get you something to do before the show next week.”

“Cool. Then I’m getting out of here. Tell him where you live and he’ll drop you off.”

“Wait,” Izuku called to him as Katsuki was climbing out of the limo, “you still didn’t tell me why you–”

“For you, dipshit.” Katsuki got out and leaned down in the doorway to face Izuku. “Because you told off our boss for me, said all that shit about being fair to me and treating me like a person instead of an idiot with a dollar sign on his face. Just think of it as thanks for not being an asshole. But don’t be late next time or I’m kicking your ass.

Katsuki shut the door before Izuku could get a word in edgewise.

He’s getting too used to seeing that big, stupid smile on Izuku’s face already.

“I said places people! We don’t have these people all day! I want pictures taken and ready to go pronto!”

Katsuki growled as he pushed the same two strands of hair to the side for what felt like the hundredth time in the last minute. It’s only during photo shoots that things go wrong for him.

Fashion show? Everything is perfect. Everyday life? Perfect. Photo shoot? There’s always one thing.

Although this time there’s two things, Katsuki reminded himself upon seeing Izuku appear in his mirror, hugging a bundle of papers to his chest and trying very hard to contain himself from bouncing up and down repeatedly in excitement.

Katsuki caught him doing it on the ride over and made him promise not to do it when they arrived. So much for that.

Normally he wouldn’t require his agent to come with him for stuff like this, but Izuku insisted on having a hands-on approach and wanted to do things by the book as much as possible. Plus it doesn’t hurt to let him see what goes on around here so he knows more of what to expect in this line of work.

Katsuki just wished Izuku wasn’t so excitable. As cute as it is, it becomes a little much when he’s trying to work and he feels the need to check over his shoulder at every possible moment to make sure Izuku isn’t doing something he shouldn’t be. Such as when Katsuki had to step in to stop someone from yelling at him for touching the photographer’s camera, even if it was only a little poke.

“Oh, Kacchan, you’re up in a few minutes,” Izuku reminded him for the umpteenth time.

“I fucking know. You’ve already told me a thousand times,” Katsuki said, still trying to keep his hair from bouncing back into his eyesight. “For fuck’s sake. Pass me those fucking scissors.”

Izuku chuckled at him. “You don’t need to go that far. Here.”

Izuku turned Katsuki’s stool around and leaned down to his level. Katsuki felt a strong urge to slap Izuku’s hands away when his hair is reached for, but he kept himself under control and trusted the other. He’s come to trust that Izuku wouldn’t do anything that could harm their jobs in anyway unless he was certain he knew what he was doing.

Izuku pulled the strands up and tucked them in into a small tangle of hair higher up on Katsuki’s head.

“That’s going to feel kind of weird for a while, but don’t touch it and it’ll stay.” Izuku’s stood up straight and pointed at his own hair with a bright grin. “I know a thing or two about messy hair. If you find a knot you can tuck a loose strand of hair under it and it’ll stay like that for a while.”

“Wish someone else would have taught me that a long time ago,” Katsuki said. He spun the chair back around to face the mirror and checked the make sure everything else was good, and then at the call of his name rushed out to start on his pictures. “Good job, Deku.”

“Um, Izuku,” Izuku corrected him.

“Katsuki,” Katsuki retorted.

“Huh?”

“You keep calling me by my stage name. If you want to call me that, I want to call you Deku. Either that or we go by Bakugou and Midoriya. Your choice,” Katsuki explained on his way to the shoot.

Izuku stopped following and stayed a fair distance away from where Katsuki is having his pictures taken. He hadn’t thought about which name to use in the past few days, or even when they first met. He just assumed he was supposed to call Katsuki by his other name and no one ever corrected him.

Not until now that is.

“Bakugou.”

Izuku tried the name, and it felt weird in his mouth. He’s only known Katsuki for a week and hasn't had a ton of contact with him, save for two meetings, the car ride, and the call he made to tell Katsuki of the photo shoot he got him, but calling him by any other name sounds weird in his head and feels wrong on his tongue.

“Katsuki,” Izuku tried. It felt better, but still not quite right. “Kacchan.”

Definitely not as right as that sounded.

“Fuck no!”

Izuku is torn from his reverie by Katsuki’s loud protests. He hurried over, unsure of whether this would require him or not, to try to lend a hand.

“I told you the moment I walked in here: I don't do co-ops with fucking randoms!”

“But we don't have anyone else,” the photographer said. “Who could we possibly get on such short notice?”

Izuku stopped next to Katsuki at that moment and glanced back and forth between Katsuki and the photographer.

“What's going on?” Izuku asked. “Is there a probl-”

“Him,” Katsuki said as he grabbed Izuku’s arm and jerked him closer. “He'll do it.”

“…What?”

“Who even is this boy? He is not a face I have seen before, and I never forget a face.” The photographer leaned into Izuku's space and studied him closely for a few seconds before Katsuki pulled Izuku away and got in the man's face.

“He's the one who's going to pose with me,” Katsuki said. “Or find yourself someone else to pose with the nobody over there.”

“Wait, what?!” Izuku pulled Katsuki in close and spoke in a whisper, “I can't do a photo shoot! I barely know what I'm supposed to be doing off set, let alone on it!”

“Chill the fuck out. You'll be right next to me and I'll tell you what to do.” At the reluctant approval of the photographer Katsuki dragged Izuku to his dressing room to get Izuku in the needed outfit.

“But what if I-”

“What if I break your face?” Katsuki said. An empty threat meant to shut Izuku up that happened to work for him. “Look, you're not an idiot, you’re not bad looking, and I don't hate your fucking guts. You're already three steps ahead of almost every other model and agent I've ever met. So get dressed in this”–Katsuki pulled a suit off the rack in his dressing room and shoved it at Izuku’s chest–”go out there, pose with me a few times, and boom. Easy money. Prove you aren't a Deku.”

Izuku's grin from Katsuki calling him good looking dwindled swiftly. “Wait, a ‘Deku’ is an actual thing?”

“Yeah. It means useless, and you've proven you aren't useless so far, so keep it up.” Katsuki was about to leave the room and is stopped again, this time by the call of his name from Izuku. “What?! Hurry the fuck up. We don't have all day.”

“You really think I'm good looking?” Izuku asked with a big grin.

Katsuki stared at Izuku with a deadpan expression, and then slammed the door shut. He wasn’t about to repeat himself on that matter right now. Not in a situation where Izuku could openly tease him.

Izuku managed to get changed surprisingly fast for someone putting on a suit, but Katsuki stopped him the moment Izuku crossed the threshold into the room.

“What the fuck did you do to your tie?”

Izuku looked down. “I, uh… don’t know how to tie a necktie.”

“Then why the hell didn’t you say something?” Katsuki chastised him. He undid Izuku’s carelessly tied knot and started tying it for him.

“You were already gone when I saw it, so I just kind of,” Izuku paused to shrug and flinched when Katsuki flicked him on the forehead for moving, “winged it.”

“If you end up in this situation again, come get me so we don’t waste time.”

“Again?” Izuku examined the necktie once Katsuki was done. He mentally noted that he should get Katsuki to teach him how to tie one like this the next time they have free time. “How often do agents do modeling work?”

“They don’t. I just didn’t want to do a set of couples suit poses with some random guy.” Katsuki pulled Izuku toward the photographer and lowered his voice so others wouldn’t hear them as they approached. “Easier to do couples poses with someone you know. There’s a lot of touching and shit.”

Katsuki warned the photographer to go easy on Izuku, given that he’s new to this, and then dragged Izuku away.

“W-wait, how do you know I even want to do stuff like that?”

“Call it a hunch,” Katsuki retorted. “You got an issue with it?”

“Well, no,” Izuku said. “If it’s with you then I suppose it’s alright.”

Truth be told Katsuki didn’t know for sure, but Izuku didn’t complain when Katsuki touched his hair in the meeting a few days ago. Nor did he complain just now when Katsuki was standing close to him to tie his necktie for him. While that’s hardly much of a basis, it’s what he chose to go off of.

Katsuki pulled Izuku onto the small set in front of the camera and showed him a pamphlet that had the poses they were supposed to do.

“Memorize these. We’re doing them in order. Left to right, top to bottom.”

Izuku stared at the pamphlet and started to memorize them. Katsuki stood next to him with his arms crossed and stared over Izuku’s shoulder.

“Do you always have to memorize so many?” Izuku asked, flipping pages and furrowing his eyebrows at a few of them. “Also, these are kind of–”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t want to do them with the no name. I don’t know if you asked for any details before you took the gig for me, but these are suits for couples, and the company wants to post an ad with two of their suits being showed off on a couple. That’s also why they gave us designated poses instead of just letting me do whatever. Groups of people don’t sync up that well doing random little changes from picture to picture, so it’s better to give them specific things to do.”

“I didn’t know–”

“I’m not mad, Katsuki interjected. “I don’t mind this kind of stuff, but personally I don’t want hands on me if I’m not comfortable with the person. Speaking of which, you’re okay with this, right?”

“Yeah, for sure.” Izuku glanced at Katsuki from the corners of his eyes, thankfully able to choose a moment that Katsuki wasn’t paying attention.

He didn’t think of the situation like that. Now that he looked at the poses again, they do have a lot of touching, and with another glance at Katsuki, Izuku realizes that he wouldn’t mind that with him either. It’s nice to know that Katsuki doesn’t mind it with him. It makes him feel a little special.

“Hurry up,” Katsuki urged Izuku on with a few backhanded pats to his arm. “Just memorize a few at a time if you can’t get them all and you can look at it again when you need to.”

“Alright,” Izuku responded and placed the pamphlet aside. Truth be told, he got all of them memorized already and was starting to space out in his thoughts. “Sorry, I’m ready. Let’s start with the first one.”

“We’re starting,” Katsuki said to the photographer, and then took his place next to Izuku.

The two of them stood side by side with their hands in their pockets and leaned against each other. A simple pose to start out with. Izuku tried to keep a smile on his face through the multiple pictures that were taken.

He wondered if the photographer was going to take this many pictures every time as he counted ten clicks before they’re told to move on. The next pose remained just as simple; the both of them with their backs to the camera. Another ten clicks ensued and the photographer called for the next pose.

Izuku turned around for what he remembered of the next pose. Katsuki moved behind Izuku and tentatively placed his hands on Izuku’s waist. Izuku’s hands came to rest on top of Katsuki’s and he tilted his head slightly to the side.

Only three clicks followed this time, and the photographer took a closer look at the pair from over his camera. He stared at them for a moment and Izuku hesitantly began to move into the next pose. Katsuki tightened his hold on Izuku’s waist to keep him in place and leaned in closer to speak quietly.

“He’s thinking about a change. Just stay still and wait to see what he wants,” Katsuki explained.

“I’m loving the yin and yang you both have here, with the one smiling and the other’s serious look,” the photographer said after another moment of staring, “but you’re both looking too… how should I put it? Impersonal. Be more intimate, make them think you’re in love! This is an ad for couples, so really sell that!”

Izuku felt a puff of air against the back of his neck as Katsuki snorted in annoyance. He could practically feel Katsuki’s eyes roll from behind.

“They always want more,” Katsuki grumbled.

He leaned forward against Izuku’s back and wrapped his arms around Izuku’s stomach and waist in a hug from behind. His mouth is pressed down in the crook of Izuku’s neck and shoulder and his cheek is up against Izuku’s neck. He felt Izuku go rigid in his hold and he had to raise his head up to Izuku’s ear to speak to him.

“You’re too stiff. Loosen up some.”

Izuku, realizing how petrified he must look from the sudden change in pose, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

It’s not as big of a deal as he’s making it out to be, really. He’s just being hugged and touched all over by someone he finds extremely attractive and has been only nice and helpful to him in the past few days and now he’s suddenly stuck on thinking about how Katsuki is pressed up against his back, whispering in his ear and–

“Deku!” Katsuki whispered angrily, “You’re fucking holding us up. What’s going on? What the fuck are you mumbling?”

“N-nothing, nothing.”

Izuku took another deep breath to calm himself. He placed his hands on Katsuki’s arms again and leaned into Katsuki’s hold. He tried to relax, and slowly but surely he managed.

Ten clicks and they’re on to the next pose.

The two of them turned to face each other. Katsuki grabbed hold of Izuku’s hands and they pressed their foreheads together. It took Izuku a few seconds to notice, but he could take solace in the fact that, for whatever reason, Katsuki is nervous as well. It shows in the way he keeps looking away when he’s supposed to be staring into Izuku’s eyes for this part.

He started to feel something on Katsuki’s hands, too. It felt like…

“Kacchan, are your hands sweating?”

“Shut up,” Katsuki bit back.

Izuku’s faint smile grew and suddenly he felt more relaxed than ever before. He was so preoccupied with watching Katsuki he didn’t notice the ten clicks. Katsuki surprised him by beginning to move to the next pose without warning.

“How come there’s so many poses?” Izuku asked while the two were getting into position. “Don’t they only use one or two pictures?”

“Yeah, but the person who decides what to put in the pictures will want a lot of options to choose from,” Katsuki responded.

Izuku wrapped his arms around Katsuki’s neck and pressed himself up against Katsuki when the other’s hands came to rest on either side of his waist. This time Katsuki looked petrified for a second, but he quickly regained his composure and exhaled softly in a calming manner. His breath hit Izuku’s face and Izuku blinked twice. He smiled at Katsuki and moved closer until their noses were touching.

Izuku could see the debate taking place in Katsuki’s head through his eyes. He’s deciding whether he should move back or stay right where he is. Izuku considered it a good sign that he even had to debate in the first place. It meant he might actually be interested.

Not that Izuku was in the first place. Or maybe he was. He couldn’t really remember when he got interested since they met. Maybe it was when he first saw Katsuki and how good he looked, or maybe it wasn’t even until this moment. This moment when they’re so close, with hands all over each other, and Izuku can look into his eyes.

Izuku caught himself moving forward, his head tilted somewhat to the side, and his eyes shot wide open. His gaze met Katsuki’s half-lidded eyes now that he was no longer in a dreamlike state, and seeing the way Katsuki was looking at him—waiting for him—made him realize Katsuki would’ve let him do it. He might have even wanted him to do it.

“You’re both doing fabulous!” the photographer called out to them, packing his camera into his bag and getting ready to leave. “I just got word that what we have now should be good, so we’ll stop there. Thank you for your time! Lock the door on your way out after you change.”

The pair stayed frozen in place, with Izuku’s arms around Katsuki’s neck and Katsuki’s hands resting on Izuku’s waist, while the photographer and his supervisor left.

“Kacchan,” Izuku cooed once they were gone. “Did you want to…?”

“Shut up,” Katsuki responded, but there was no fire in his voice like usual. His words were soft and breathy and his lips brushed against Izuku’s when he spoke. “Come on.”

He moved away and dragged Izuku with him by the wrist into his dressing room. The door is slammed shut and Izuku pushed against the wall roughly. Izuku grew increasingly nervous, suddenly unsure of where this was going, and rubbed his wrist once it was released.

“What the fuck were you doing?” Katsuki asked sharply. He placed one hand on the wall next to Izuku’s head and the other on Izuku’s shoulder to hold him in place.

“I got carried away,” Izuku said apprehensively, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I read the situation wrong. I’m sorry.”

Katsuki’s gaze grew less intense the longer he searched Izuku’s body language for some sign of a lie.

“You really wanted me?” Katsuki’s grip on Izuku’s shoulder became gentler as he spoke. “You weren’t just acting or anything?”

“Yeah, I thought you looked interested, but it was just the poses for the shoot. I’m so, so sorry and I promise I won’t let it happen aga–”

Katsuki grabbed Izuku by his suit jacket and jerked him forward into a kiss, and Izuku’s eyes went wide again. As the kiss went on his eyes closed and felt something settle in between his legs—what he could only guess was Katsuki’s leg—and press against his groin.

The pressure caused Izuku to tremble and groan into the kiss. One hand went up to tangle fingers in the back of Katsuki’s hair and the other pulled at Katsuki’s tie.

“You’re not a fucking asshole like everyone else I know. You don’t try to take advantage of me at every turn,” Katsuki said during their break for air, “and on top of that, you’re actually good looking. So you better let it happen again, and again, and again.”

Izuku was left with no time to respond as Katsuki pulled him in again. Izuku couldn't pull away even if he wanted to. His back was barely away from the wall and Katsuki held his head in place to make sure he didn't escape.

Not that I want to get away.

Katsuki picked Izuku up and took him over to the desk. Izuku wrapped his legs around Katsuki’s waist and Katsuki held him with Izuku’s back against the desk. His hands gripped the bottom of Izuku’s thighs and he started grinding against Izuku, and Izuku groaned against his mouth.

“We really shouldn’t be doing this here,” Izuku said as Katsuki moved down to start kissing under his chin. “Someone might come back. These aren’t our clothes. We’re not supposed to be here anymore. We’re going to get in trouble.”

Despite his many complaints, Izuku still found himself pulling his head back to give Katsuki more access to his neck. His legs involuntarily opened themselves more as a silent plea for Katsuki to keep going. He closed his eyes with his arms hugged around Katsuki’s back and a hand on the back of his head.

“Should be happy these aren’t our clothes. Jeans would hurt after a while.” Katsuki carried Izuku to the chair and sat in it with Izuku on top of him.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

Katsuki stopped moving and took his hands off of Izuku, but kept his face on Izuku’s shoulder. The sudden loss of friction elicited a quiet whine from Izuku, who pulled Katsuki closer with his hand on the back of Katsuki’s head. Katsuki pried Izuku’s hands off and leaned back in the chair to look up at Izuku.

“You want me to stop then?”

Izuku bit his bottom lip, unsure of how to answer. He wanted more from Katsuki. He wanted to keep going even though something in the back of his mind told him to stop. They’re supposed to be business partners in a sense, and getting this personal could cause problems.

The last thing he wanted was to lose his newfound job for getting in a relationship with a coworker, or subordinate, or whatever Katsuki counted as.

“They can’t fire you for that. Not that I’m aware of anyway. And they won’t reassign the first agent I get along with if it stops me from giving them more trouble,” Katsuki responded to Izuku’s murmuring. He suppressed a laugh when Izuku covered his mouth upon realizing he was thinking out loud. “So this is me officially asking you out. It’s your decision because I’m not going to force you into shit, but I’m pretty sure you’d be safe.”

Izuku stared down at Katsuki with wide eyes, still mortified that his thoughts were uttered right on top of Katsuki.

It’s true that they can’t fire him for something like this, and Katsuki’s reasoning behind them refusing to reassign him makes sense.

Perhaps it’s mere paranoia driving a fear of losing everything into him. He found both a great job and a potential partner in one go, two things so rare that anyone might be afraid of losing them just as easily as they were found.

But he couldn’t lose the latter if he didn’t even follow up on it, and Katsuki seemed like he’d fight for Izuku if anything were to happen…

With that thought in mind, he uncovered his mouth, leaned in, and started the grinding again himself.

Supposedly there was someone who snuck into the backstage without permission that no one recognized and said they know him. Unsurprisingly it also happened to be during the big show Izuku got for him, which Izuku had yet to show up to.

He’s was pretty sure he had a good idea of who the so called trespasser is.

Katsuki walked into the room that the backstage security led him to. Exactly like he thought, the first thing he noticed was the back of that big mop of curly greenish hair on the couch.

Katsuki moved to sit next to him and Izuku’s glare and pout dissipated instantly at the sight of him.

“Sorry to bother you, sir. This man strongly insists that he knows you. We can throw him out as soon as you say the word.”

He looked Izuku over and put on a show of trying to figure out who he was. Izuku’s smile dwindled at the sight, and a look of shock overtook him when Katsuki spoke.

“No idea who the fuck this guy is.”

“Kacchan!”

Katsuki placed one leg on the other and leaned back on the couch as the guard grabbed Izuku by the arm. He slapped the guard’s hand away and placed his hand on top of Izuku’s head, ruffling his hair slightly.

“Oh, right, now I remember. This is my fucking manager, you dumbasses. The guy who got me in this show in the first place.”

Izuku placed both hands on his knees and smiled proudly up at the security guard. That’s the first time Katsuki had presented him as his manager rather than business partner, or anything else. It gives him a satisfied feeling to hear it coming from Katsuki.

“That’s what I told them when I tried to show them my card, but they wouldn’t listen.”

Katsuki had to fight the urge to smirk. It was hard to do so when Izuku was being stupidly adorable, but he kept up his scowl to intimidate the man in front of them.

“So you even saw his business card and still decided to hold him up.” Katsuki waved his hand in a dismissive motion when the guard tried to speak. “Not interested in hearing any bullshit. Memorize his face and then get the fuck out of here and leave him alone or we’ll make sure you’re fired. He’s the only person you’ll see managing me for a long time to come.”

The man apologized profusely to Izuku, and then left to make sure the rest of the security team knew to leave the pair alone.

“You didn’t have to be so mean,” Izuku whispered to him once they were alone.

“You know why you didn’t get past them from the very beginning?” Katsuki stood up and stretched, then grabbed Izuku by the wrist and pulled him along. “Because you weren’t a pretentious asshole. That’s the type of person that’s usually back here.”

“I don’t want to be that type of person though.”

“That’s why I told you not to be late. You never would’ve made it past them,” Katsuki said. “I know because you’re not an entitled asshole.”

Katsuki sat on his stool in front of a mirror and pulled Izuku down into his lap. Izuku tried to stand up and Katsuki jerked him back down into his lap, then began putting on makeup in the mirror over Izuku’s shoulder. A few people stared at the pair as Izuku squirmed in his lap uncomfortably. Izuku didn’t seem to notice them, and Katsuki didn’t care.

“Why are you making me sit here?” Izuku questioned, his eyes on the mirror.

“Because I’m busy and don’t have time to go fishing for you in a crowd if you get lost or some shit.”

Izuku rolled his eyes and leaned back against Katsuki. “You act like I’m a kid or something.”

“You basically are in this business,” Katsuki said while checking his face in the mirror. “You’re more like a junior agent or something honestly.”

“I’ve done some good things!”

“I didn’t say you’re doing a bad job. The fact I haven’t yelled at you yet says nothing but praise for you.” Katsuki smacked Izuku’s hand when he reached for the foundation. “Don’t touch shit.”

“I just wanted to try,” Izuku whined while rubbing his hand. “It looks good on you.”

“See? Like a kid.”

Izuku huffed and crossed his arms. “So what, I’m just supposed to sit here and do nothing? Shouldn’t I be getting some experience or something?”

“You’re getting it right now,” Katsuki retorted, taking the foundation for himself to touch up a few spots. “I’ll show you whatever you need to see to know what goes on here. The rest of it is irrelevant to you. You’re only even here so you can know what to watch out for and shit. So chill the fuck out and do what you do best. Sit there and look pretty.”

“Actually that’s what you do best,” Izuku said, throwing Katsuki a grin in the mirror.

“No, I look fucking hot. There’s a difference.” Katsuki put everything back on the makeup table and moved out from under Izuku. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move and don’t touch shit.”

The first thing Izuku went for was the foundation, which he promptly spread across his face in the mirror in a rush, lest Katsuki come back before he’s done. He stared in the mirror and tilted his head to look at his slightly sloppy handiwork at different angles. It looked okay, but something seemed a little off.

Izuku looked down on the desk and picked up a magazine that was left there. There’s a picture of him and Katsuki coming out of a restaurant on the cover and an article about the two of them inside the magazine. Izuku smiled at the flattering photo of the two of them and started flipping through the pages to get to the article. Right when he found it the magazine was ripped from his hands and Katsuki tore the cover off, slapped it down on the table, and tossed the rest of the magazine in a nearby trash can.

“I said don’t touch anything,” Katsuki chastised him.

“What’s wrong with reading an article about us?” Izuku questioned incredulously.

“They’re going to find a way to spin the story and make it look bad. It’s what they do.” Katsuki moved the trash can further away with his foot and grabbed Izuku’s face to force Izuku to look at him. “You messed with the fucking foundation, didn’t you? You’re not supposed to use that shit.”

“Why not?” Izuku asked defensively. If he wanted to use something that he thought would make him look better he felt he should be allowed to.

Katsuki licked his thumb and started rubbing the powdery substance off of Izuku’s cheeks. “Because it’ll cover up your freckles, dumbass. They’re the second best thing about your face.”

Izuku’s eyes widened a fraction. “What?”

Katsuki wiped his thumb off on Izuku’s hoodie, licked it, and rubbed the other cheek. “Your face, stupid. Top three things in order: your smile, your freckles, and your eyes. Don’t hide any of those three and don’t draw attention away from them. You’d be stupid to do that, and those are some of my favorite things about you.”

Izuku felt a fluttery warmth in his stomach from hearing that. While Katsuki isn’t one to shy away from complimenting him in some way, he normally didn’t do it in such a heartfelt or touching manner.

He leaned forward and pecked Katsuki on the lips. It took Katsuki by surprise and he stopped rubbing Izuku’s cheek for a moment, then wiped his thumb on Izuku’s hoodie again and leaned down next to him to look in the mirror.

Izuku clasped his hands together in his lap and watched Katsuki with a bright grin on his face. His grin dwindled down to a small smile as he thought about what Katsuki said only a few moments ago.

“Hey, what do you mean they’ll spin the story about us?”

Katsuki continued to stare in the mirror without acknowledging Izuku’s presence at all. The look in his eyes seemed almost angry now, as opposed to the soft stare he had right before Izuku asked that.

“They like to make me look more dramatic than I really am, and I’m an easy target because I have a bad temper and I’m famous. Drama sells, so I’m easy money to them.” Katsuki sighed and stood up straight to stretch his arms over his head. It’s about time for him to go on. “They’re going to try to say shit about us, and I don’t want it to affect us. I want an honest relationship without either of us worrying about a bunch of fucking lies and shit. I haven’t read the article and I don’t plan to. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t either.”

Izuku nodded in understanding. He doesn’t normally read magazines like that, but he can understand where Katsuki is coming from.

“I won’t read it then.” Izuku looked at the ripped magazine in the trash, and then grabbed Katsuki’s hand when Katsuki said he had to go. “How come you had it on the desk if you weren’t going to read it though?”

“I wanted that picture of us in front of the restaurant. They got your good side.” Katsuki smirked at him. “Hoping they get it again when we go out after the show.”

He pulled away from Izuku and went to go do his first lap on stage.

Izuku sat there, puzzled by what Katsuki said.

But we didn’t make plans after… Oh.

“You keep stepping on my feet.”

“Your feet are in my fucking way!”

The two glare at each other, Katsuki’s right hand on Izuku’s lower back and left hand clasped firmly in Izuku’s right hand. Izuku released an irritated sigh and placed his left hand back on Katsuki’s shoulder.

“You have to learn at least one of these. We can’t stand out too much or–”

“Do you ever shut the fuck up and move on or do you always state the obvious this much?” Katsuki jerked Izuku closer and started moving again, half dragging Izuku with him this time. “Stop wasting time and let’s get this over with.”

Another irritated sigh, and Izuku rights his position to follow Katsuki properly.

Chisaki informed Izuku that his request to meet with Aizawa was declined on the grounds that, in Aizawa’s words, ‘If you want to meet, don’t use the name of a popular radio host who would never have need of my services’.

Because of this, Izuku has now taken it upon himself to teach Katsuki at least two forms of ballroom dancing. They’ll need them to sneak into a formal event Chisaki is holding. One slow dance and one fast.

Izuku doesn’t know why he would be holding such an event, nor does he care. All he cares is that Chisaki, currently his only chance at beginning his hunt, will be there.

Katsuki hesitated on one of his steps, convinced he would’ve stepped on Izuku’s foot yet again. That unexpected hesitation sent the both of them tumbling down onto the ground. Thankfully Izuku had the foresight to move the furniture in their hotel room to the side to have more room. Not that it gave them a ton of extra room, but it’s better than hitting a bedpost with your foot. Or, in the case of falling, with his head.

“Kacchan–”

“Don’t say a damn thing,” Katsuki warned, pushing himself up onto his knees. He grabbed Izuku by the wrist and dragged him up. He slapped his right hand onto Izuku’s lower back and waited for Izuku to get his hands into place.

Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s hand and pulled it off. “You’re too stiff. Loosen up.”

“You said–”

“I know. I shouldn’t have rushed you and I’m sorry. Here,” Izuku placed Katsuki’s right hand on his lower back, clasped Katsuki’s left hand with his right at shoulder height, and righted himself to look Katsuki in the eyes, “stay calm and watch my feet. Let’s try a different one and go slower this time. Start with your left foot.”

Katsuki glared at the uneasy grin Izuku had, his temper beginning to spark because of that wobbly smile. His gaze shifted to their feet, and he took the first step. His left foot moved forward, followed by Izuku’s right foot moving back.

“Good, now your right goes diagonally. Slowly turn ninety degrees to your right as you go.”

Katsuki did as he was instructed. The two moved slowly, both watching their feet the entire way. Once they were stopped, Katsuki looked up at Izuku questioningly. Izuku found the look especially cute on Katsuki. He normally exuded confidence to the point that Izuku didn’t think he’d ever see the look of lostness on that face.

“This time your right foot goes back. My left will go forward.” Izuku nodded down, a signal for Katsuki to watch their feet. His left foot went forward at the same time as Katsuki’s. Katsuki steps on Izuku’s right foot at the same time they’re both running into each other.

The two remained pressed against each other, noses touching, for a brief few seconds, then Katsuki takes a step back. He tried to remove his hands from Izuku, and Izuku stopped him by tightening his grip on Katsuki’s left hand and grabbing his right.

“We’ll say that was my fault. I should have told you we weren’t repeating the first steps.”

Katsuki can’t help the wave of annoyance that washes over him. The situation being his own fault isn’t what annoys him. No, he’s annoyed because Izuku is trying to take the blame to keep Katsuki calm and not let him try to retreat again. He’s annoyed because Izuku is, even in the midst of teaching him, studying his habits still. Izuku is learning how to handle him, how to keep him from losing his temper, and how best to teach him.

None of that is bad in hindsight. It’s only annoying to know Izuku is accomplishing it so swiftly.

He’s glaring at Izuku while his hand is being placed on Izuku’s lower back again. Izuku has that uneasy smile again. The one that somehow makes Katsuki even more angry. It’s infuriating to think about how he’s being read this easily, yet he can’t tell if this is a facade in front of him or the real deal. He can’t tell if Izuku is actually nervous, or faking it in an attempt to give Katsuki more confidence.

“We’ll start over. Go forward with your left.” Katsuki continued to glare for a moment longer, and then looked at their feet and stepped forward with his left foot. Izuku’s right foot went back at the same time. “Now your right foot, and turn.”

Katsuki, once again, did as he was instructed. Same as last time, Katsuki looked to Izuku for his next step. Izuku’s smile grew at the sight before him. The way Katsuki’s head stayed facing partially down and his gaze shifted upward to stare at him.

Izuku gave him the next step, this time sure to mention they’re not repeating the first steps. Katsuki’s eyes rolled back down and Izuku watched Katsuki’s face instead of his feet. He isn’t used to seeing such a look of concentration on Katsuki’s face. He can tell Katsuki is trying to memorize it all in one go, attempting to create a loop in his mind. If he can accomplish that he won’t need Izuku to instruct him any longer.

“Now my right goes diagonally, your left goes diagonally, and we turn to my right.”

Katsuki did what he was told again, and then stared at Izuku’s growing grin. “What?”

“That’s it! We keep going like that again and again.” Izuku righted himself and fixed his arm’s position on Katsuki’s shoulder. “This time I’m going to number your steps. That way I’ll be able to call them as we go. We’ll try to go at a speed close to what’s intended for the dance this time. Left foot forward will be one, right foot and turn to your right will be two. Right foot back will be three, left foot and turn to my right will be four. Got that?”

Katsuki nodded. At Izuku’s call for the first step, his left foot goes forward at the same time Izuku’s goes back. Izuku waits two seconds to make sure Katsuki is ready, and then calls for the second step. He goes a little faster, only waiting one second before calling for the third step. Katsuki hesitated again, his attempt at perfection becoming his downfall as he stepped in what he thought would be the wrong spot and froze to stare at his feet. Izuku waited, head down and eyes up at Katsuki’s face, for him to reassure himself.

“You’re on the right spot. You’re fine.”

Katsuki took a breath to calm himself. Izuku waited until he was sure Katsuki wasn’t angry or frustrated, until he was sure Katsuki is ready to continue, and then called for the fourth step. He didn’t wait before calling for the first again, and started calling the numbers repeatedly with the only pause between them being the time it takes for their feet to move.

“Good, good. There’s one more I need to teach you,” Izuku said. He went to get something out of a bag in the bathroom and came back holding up two boxes of hair dye with a big grin. “We should probably start getting ready to go first. Some of this will take a while. Do you want black or brown?”

Katsuki’s eye twitched once, twice, and then he took a step back. “You touch me with that shit and I’ll break your fucking face.”

“Come on, be reasonable. We can’t walk in there looking the same way we always do if we don’t want to get spotted. If Chisaki knows we’re there he’ll either have us watched the whole night or leave entirely to avoid us. That means we’ll have gone through all of this for nothing. So,” Izuku shoved both of the boxes forward into the air between them with another large grin, “black or brown?

“Won’t they recognize us by face?”

Izuku shook his head. “Nope. It’s a masquerade party, so everyone will be wearing masks.”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed. He’s getting the urge to kill Izuku again. Not an uncommon one, though not one he intended to follow through with.

Izuku and Katsuki entered a large room full of people, Katsuki in a tuxedo and Izuku in a long flowing dress. There are tables of food and drink along each wall. Music is being played throughout the room for couples to dance to. Fancy tablecloths and decorations adorn the room and stage with bright lighting coming from the three chandeliers.

Izuku pushed a few strands of his now light brown, straightened hair behind his ear. Izuku’s arm is linked around Katsuki’s and Katsuki is fumbling with the mask on his face on the way into the building.

“I don’t like this mask,” Katsuki complained quietly. He pulled it off to examine it and Izuku slapped it back onto his face without warning. Katsuki growled and grabbed Izuku’s wrist. “Do you want to fucking die?”

“Do you? I don’t like wearing one either. That doesn’t mean we can take it off in the middle of a room full of people who know Chisaki and might warn him we’re here. Everyone will be on us in a matter of seconds if they find out we’re here. And try not to threaten your date in a room full of people.”

“I’ll threaten whoever the fuck I want.” Katsuki adjusted the mask on his face and looked around the room. “I wasn’t going to keep it off. I wanted to look at it to make sure it was on right or whatever. It feels fucking stupid.”

“Look, Chisaki knows we’re in the country right now. All of his guards are probably on high alert and on the lookout for us specifically.” Izuku smiled and waved to a passing man who greeted them. “The longer he knows we aren’t here, the easier a time we’re going to have.”

“You make it sound like he’s definitely going to find out.” Katsuki gave a half-hearted wave to another passerby. A glare is then directed to Izuku. “You still haven’t told me what exactly we’re doing at this party.”

Izuku stared forward intently for a couple of seconds before answering. “He’ll find out we’re here.”

That’s all Katsuki needed to hear to understand that, whatever they’re doing, there’s a very high potential things will get loud.

Izuku pulled him through a door at the end of the room full of people. Together they slipped out and into a stairwell. Katsuki let himself be lead up the stairs, where Izuku paused at the second floor. His hand hovered near the knob to enter the second floor, and then he whirled around and dragged Katsuki to the third floor.

“How do you know where he is?”

“I don’t,” Izuku said, inching the door open and peeking through.

Katsuki snorted and kept an eye on the staircases for anyone that might come behind them. Izuku pushed the door open and moved silently into the hallway, followed closely by Katsuki. Izuku grew annoyed by Katsuki’s not-so-quiet footsteps fast.

“I know you don’t do stuff like this normally, but can you try to be a little lighter on your feet?” Izuku stopped at a corner and peeked over to see if there’s anyone on the other side. “I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to be up here, and I don’t think they’ll buy any excuses if we get caught.”

“What do you want me to do? Walk on my fucking toes?” Katsuki whispered over his shoulder. “And you’re damn right I don’t go undercover at a goddamn crime lord’s party on a regular basis.”

“Okay, okay,” Izuku whispered back, desperately trying to keep Katsuki from losing his temper. “I wasn’t insulting you. Just… whatever you can do to stay as quiet as possible would be really helpful. Anything at all.”

Katsuki let out a short growl and followed Izuku around the corner, walking backwards to keep an eye out behind them. They’ve gone through three hallways now and Izuku has yet to see any guards. In fact, now that he thinks about it, there weren’t any guards inside the party or around the building.

They both look to each other. Izuku can see Katsuki is probably thinking the same thing. They both rushed downstairs to check on the people and returned to see everyone the same as when the pair snuck off. There’s still people milling about, eating and drinking, dancing and talking.

“He wouldn’t kill a whole room full of people,” Izuku murmured to himself, eyes darting around the room for some sign of trouble.

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s wrist, intent on dragging him out of here kicking and screaming if need be.

“Well, not a room full of these people.” Izuku wrenched his wrist from Katsuki’s hold and stared at the front doors. “They look important.”

“Okay, well you know him better than me, so what the fuck is going on here?”

“I don’t know. He should be here, but he wouldn’t come without a bunch of guards. He doesn’t like to get his own hands dirty.” Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s hand and led him forward into the crowd. “Both literally and figuratively.”

“Maybe he’s running late,” Kyouka said into their earpieces.

Katsuki and Izuku both gave each other a look at shrugged. However unlikely that is, it doesn’t sound completely unreasonable.

Katsuki leaned in and asked in a low voice, “So what do we do until he gets here?”

“Blend in I guess.” Izuku isn’t all that sure himself. If there are no guards, does it matter if they stand out at the current moment?

He’s beginning to wonder if they crashed the wrong party. This building should be owned by an associate of Chisaki’s. Izuku has been to this building before. He knows Chisaki uses it for events such as this.

Chisaki should arrive at some point. It’d be strange to host a party and not show up.

“Kyouka must be right. He’s probably just late,” Izuku murmured, more to himself than to Katsuki. “Let’s just keep our eyes peeled for anything weird and go… I don’t know, dance for a while? I don’t trust the food.”

Katsuki’s groan at the suggestion is loud enough to draw the attention of nearby people. Izuku grinned sheepishly at them and pulled Katsuki along with him. The two of them stopped in the small crowd of people waltzing near the large speakers on the ground.

“Come on. I know you don’t like to dance, or the music, or the crowd, or me… but this is how we kill time without looking suspicious.” Izuku stopped in a small, open spot and placed his left arm around Katsuki’s shoulder with the other out and waiting for Katsuki’s hand. “We can’t be wall flowers because we came together.”

Katsuki placed his right hand on Izuku’s lower back and grabbed Izuku’s waiting hand with the other. He doesn’t want to be around the other people, that much is for sure, though he figures if he focuses solely on Izuku it might not be as bad.

“Do the slow one,” Izuku told him in a quiet voice. “Want me to count?”

“Shut it,” Katsuki retorted.

He started off like Izuku taught him before they left for the party. As opposed to the other dance, this one takes up far less space and follows a much slower tempo. There are only really three steps to this one, and each step hardly moves them anywhere at all. Katsuki, once in the rhythm of it, stops looking at their feet and notices Izuku looking around the room.

“You’re being pretty fucking obvious about looking out for someone,” Katsuki commented. He pulled Izuku closer to get Izuku to focus on him.

Izuku’s chest, along with his forehead, bumped into Katsuki’s and he emitted a small grunt. “If he isn’t here yet then I don’t have to be all that discrete.”

“Then why the hell are we trying to blend in?”

“Because if we aren’t fitting in when he gets here, it’ll look even weirder when we suddenly do try just because he is here. However, if we already look inconspicuous when he arrives, they won’t even notice me looking around, and when I see him I won’t be looking around anymore. Or they could just think I was searching for someone else.”

Katsuki stared at him, wondering just how many times Izuku has done something like this.

“You’re so fucking weird.” Katsuki smirked and held back a laugh. “You can’t deal with a social situation or solve problems in any logical way, but when it comes to stalking or killing someone, you’re ten steps ahead. Seriously, what the fuck?”

Izuku shrugged with a half-smile. “It’s what I know.”

“Yeah, well, you need to learn how to not fuck up literally everything else.”

“I will. I just need to… I don’t know, get used to it or something. I’m still getting used to being around people who aren’t trying to teach me to kill and stuff.” Izuku noticed the few people around them giving them strange looks and smiled bashfully. He leaned into Katsuki and hid his masked face on Katsuki’s shoulder. “M-maybe we should change the topic…”

Regardless of Izuku saying that in the barest whisper, Katsuki heard him and began to notice the pairs of eyes staring them down. The two were talking quietly, though not quietly enough apparently.

“Fuck off.” Katsuki’s declaration to everyone staring at them causes Izuku to bury his face even further into Katsuki’s shoulder. To his credit, it does cause them all to look away, even if only because of the rudeness.

“You’re making it worse,” Izuku complained softly.

“Then you do something about it.” Katsuki says this knowing that Izuku won’t do anything. He’ll just hide away like he’s doing right now.

Something—or rather someone—catches Katsuki’s eye. Up on the second floor a man is gazing around the room from an interior balcony. Katsuki is sure he’s never seen him before, yet they still give off a vibe that he’s wary about. As though they are someone Katsuki should know.

“What is it?” Izuku asked, looking over his shoulder to see what Katsuki is staring at.

Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s face and turned him back around. Katsuki’s hand instinctively presses harder onto Izuku’s lower back in a protective manner. “There’s someone staring at the people in the room. I think he’s looking for us.” Katsuki gave him one last glance, and then gave his attention back to Izuku. “He definitely doesn’t look like he belongs here. Look up at the second floor directly behind me when we turn.”

It takes a few seconds for the two to turn naturally in their dance. Their slow swaying to the rhythm doesn’t break and they remain as inconspicuous as possible. Once they’re in position for Izuku to see, his eyes widen. Katsuki calls to him, asking who it is and what’s happening. Silence is the only answer he gets as Izuku jerks away from him and pushes past person after person to make his way to the nearest staircase.

Katsuki stands there, frozen and dumbfounded.

What just happened?

He gave chase and caught up to Izuku in the stairwell. At the sight of Izuku pulling his pistol out from the holster on his hip hidden under his dress he quickens his pace and grabs Izuku by the arm.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Katsuki asked in a hushed, yet urgent tone. “Who is that?”

“It’s Aizawa,” Izuku stated coldly, jerking his arm away from Katsuki and crouching down low before he opened the door to the second floor. “And I’m going to kill him. I know you don’t like to kill without sufficient reason, so you can stand watch and make sure no one else interrupts. Just stay out of my way if you don’t want to help, please.”

Katsuki is stuck debating what he should do at the same moment Izuku crawls forward on the floor, using the balustrade for cover. Granted it isn’t the best cover in the world, it should still be helpful while his target is searching the crowd below and not paying attention to what is above.

He was unfortunate enough to choose the stairwell completely opposite of Aizawa. Because of that he has some distance to cover, but eventually he makes it to the last corner before he can peek over and see Aizawa still staring below. Aizawa’s attention shifts to the side opposite of Izuku, and his mouth starts moving. Izuku can’t hear what’s being said or who he’s talking to, but he can clearly see someone has started a conversation with Aizawa. He took a gamble and poked his head up over the balustrade, and his heart raced at the sight.

“You’re not supposed to be up here.”

Katsuki took note of how tired this man sounded. From close up he can better see the smaller details, such as how messy his hair is, the wraps—They look like bandages…—of some sort coiled around his neck, and the goggles on his face.

“Yeah, I figured. I saw you up here and came to tell you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be down at the party?” Katsuki glanced down at the first floor, and then gave Aizawa a small smirk. “You hiding from your date or something?”

“The opposite, actually. Trying to stand out. Waiting for someone to find me, and I believe they just did.” Aizawa took his hands off the balustrade and began walking towards Katsuki. “It isn’t you, so I’m going to have to apologize for killing you. I need you out of my way.”

Katsuki cocked his head to the side, but didn’t move. He found it almost amusing that Aizawa didn’t know who he was, or otherwise didn’t care. He just needs to keep him distracted long enough for Izuku to kill him. That’s all.

The gunshot goes off. There’s a scream from down below. Katsuki blinked, confused as to why Aizawa is still moving towards him, still walking as though nothing has happened.

One.

Another gunshot rings through the air, and this time Katsuki sees Aizawa’s arm move back with one of the wraps coiled around it. The move is fast and subtle, so much so that Katsuki wouldn’t notice if he wasn’t looking for it.

Two.

“Cool trick,” Katsuki said, taking his mask off and casually tossing it over the balustrade to the first floor. “I got a few tricks too. Let me show you.”

Aizawa began backing away from the now approaching Katsuki. “Oh, you’re the one with Izuku. Thought he’d have left you behind.”

Two more shots come in their direction.

Three. Four.

Aizawa blocks them both with the steel wraps and Katsuki capitalizes on the distraction, moving in to get a hold on him. Aizawa rolled backwards and kicked Katsuki over him to get both Izuku and Katsuki in the same direction.

Katsuki landed on his hands and flipped forward onto his feet. He whirled around with his arms already up to block whatever may come.

Yet instead of Aizawa being there, all he sees is Izuku running across the balustrade right past him.

“Don’t just stand there! He’s getting away!” Izuku shouted at him while jumping onto the floor and turning the corner into a hallway.

Katsuki shook his head, befuddled that someone could escape that quickly, and followed Izuku around the corner. The moment he turned the corner a boot came at him from a door that swung open and he reflexively dodged.

“Deku!” Katsuki yelled at Izuku, who was still running down the hall without noticing anything.

Katsuki’s arm is caught in a wrap that he blocks and he’s jerked face first into the wall, then straight down to the ground. Aizawa stepped on both of Katsuki’s hands and held his ground, blocking bullets with his arms wrapped in the steel alloy cloths.

Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven.

“I told them to keep you under tighter security,” Aizawa said to Izuku, who is running directly at him with no pause in his shooting, “warned them that making someone like you would only give you the ability to get away from us. They were too arrogant, and you too emotional.”

Izuku released the empty clip in his pistol and caught it mid-drop, then threw it at Aizawa’s face before he holstered the gun and jumped at Aizawa. Aizawa batted the magazine away and caught both of Izuku’s fists, refusing to budge off of Katsuki’s hands.

“You should’ve warned them about giving me the ability to kill you all,” Izuku retorted with hatred in his eyes.

“That I was never worried about,” Aizawa stated coolly.

“Then you’re too arrogant too!”

Izuku aimed a kick at one of Aizawa’s legs, intent on freeing Katsuki, only to have his own leg snatched up by one of Aizawa’s wraps. He’s flipped up and backwards where he lands on his face in front of Aizawa.

“No, arrogance would be if I believed I could capture you both without sustaining significant injury. Those are my orders, but I’m not going to follow through with those.” Aizawa lifted one boot and stomped it back down as Izuku tried to grab his ankle, leaving one of Izuku’s hands trapped with Katsuki’s. “While I could easily kill you both, I don’t believe Nedzu wants you dead. That’s why I’m going to leave, and come after you with Snipe once I tell them I failed.”

“Fuck that.” Katsuki twisted himself around onto his back, his arms now crossed, and swung his lower half up to kick Aizawa in the back.

Aizawa backflipped over Katsuki’s incoming feet and turned to run on landing. Izuku swiftly kicked off the ground and jumped up onto Katsuki’s feet, then jumped off using them as leverage. Aizawa is about to hop over the balustrade to the now empty first floor as Izuku tackled him and both of them tumbled over the edge.

“Fucking agile as shit, batshit crazy, dumbass assassins,” Katsuki complained under his breath while picking himself up and running to the edge of the balustrade. He glanced down at the two fighting and jumped over to join in.

“The cloths are new,” Izuku said, dodging the wraps Aizawa is trying to catch him in. “So are the goggles.”

“Keep your tactics ever changing, or else you fall behind when everyone else adapts to you.” Aizawa paused to glance into the mirrors on the edges of his goggles, which showed a fair share of the area behind his back. He could see Katsuki dropping into a roll and dashing toward him now. “New tools also help when you’re not in your prime anymore.”

He sidestepped a strike from Izuku and placed his palms on either side of Izuku’s arm, ready to break the bone. Izuku kicked him in the back of his ankle and sent him tumbling down. Aizawa, rather than catch himself, let himself fall to the ground so he could roll back and have the both of them in front of him.

Katsuki took the offensive now, transitioning smoothly between kicks and punches that left Aizawa reeling back after the first block.

“You found someone with some power behind his punches,” Aizawa noted aloud. It isn’t often he finds someone who hits him hard enough that blocking still hurts. “Almost seems like he knows where to hit.”

He resorts to dodging only, mentally cursing as Izuku ran behind him and cut off his ability to move backwards, away from Katsuki. He turned his back to Katsuki and used the mirrors in his goggles to dodge anything he saw coming from behind, leaving his hands and arms free to block Izuku.

Izuku pulls out his pistol and tosses it high into the air. The action is a sufficient distraction to allow both him and Katsuki to land a blow on both his chest and back. Aizawa ducks under Katsuki’s next punch and slinks off to the side to free himself from being trapped between the two. Katsuki’s fist froze just short of Izuku, and both stopped to stare at Aizawa.

The three of them simultaneously inhaled, and then audibly exhaled. Izuku and Katsuki glanced at each other briefly.

Izuku grabbed a new clip and tossed it into the air in the same direction of the pistol. The clip landed perfectly in the slot at the same time Izuku dashed off to the side. Katsuki caught the pistol and cocked it immediately, then began shooting relentlessly at Aizawa while walking to the opposite direction Izuku ran in. Aizawa blocked bullet after bullet as he slowly turned to keep his eyes on Katsuki, checking the mirrors every split second he could for Izuku.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

Izuku ran across the room while Katsuki kept Aizawa distracted and jumped on the stage, then onto the large speakers, and finally up to grab onto the edge of the balustrade. He swung forward and then back to flip up onto the balustrade and ran across it until he was directly over Aizawa’s head.

Ten.

Aizawa caught a brief glimpse of Izuku in the very corner of one of his mirrors.

Above. One bullet left.

Aizawa deflected the last bullet and spun around. He looked directly up where Izuku was dropping down from the balustrade and blocked Izuku’s feet with his arms.

Another shot echoed through the room and Aizawa felt the sharp pain jolt through his arm.

…Twelve?

Izuku jumped off and landed behind Aizawa. He spun around and kicked Aizawa in the arm where the bullet wound is, sending the man toppling down.

“You told me to always count the bullets, so I made you think there was only eleven.” Izuku pulled his dress up and grabbed another clip from the belt hidden under his dress, and then tossed it to Katsuki. “Guess you need to adapt quicker.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.” Aizawa rolled backwards to dodge the bullet that hit the carpet right where his head was. He deflected the next bullet and threw a wrap out that grabbed Izuku by the leg. “I also need your new friend out of the way. He’s extremely irritating and dangerous.”

He tripped Izuku to the ground and pulled him over. Izuku clawed at the carpet with nothing nearby to grab onto. Aizawa pulled him up and ran at Katsuki using Izuku as a shield while Izuku punched and kicked at Aizawa’s back to attempt to break free.

Katsuki growled and dropped the pistol. He dug his feet into the carpet and held his hands out, ready to stop them in their tracks. Right before they collided with him, Aizawa let Izuku go and jumped over the both of them. He landed directly behind Katsuki with the heel of his boot stomping down onto the very edge of the pistol. The gun flew up into arm’s reach and Aizawa snatched it up with his injured arm.

He placed the gun against Katsuki’s head and pulled the trigger at the same time Izuku jerked Katsuki’s head out of the way. The bullet whizzed by Katsuki, leaving him uninjured, and grazed Izuku’s cheek.

Aizawa, having failed his best attempt at getting Katsuki out of the way, decided to finally retreat for good and jumped back. Katsuki’s arm shot out and grabbed Aizawa’s wraps. He dragged Aizawa over and planted his fist square in the middle of Aizawa’s face.

Katsuki struck Aizawa again, this time with the back of his fist. Aizawa kicked Katsuki in the stomach with both of his legs. The force of the kick caused Katsuki to take a step back, but he didn’t dare let Aizawa go. He knew if he did he wouldn’t get ahold of him again.

Izuku ran to the side and snatched the gun out of Aizawa’s hand. He placed the barrel against Aizawa’s head, ready to end this struggle. Aizawa kicked Izuku’s legs out from under him at the moment Izuku pulled the trigger. Izuku fell backwards and the shot went up and hit the chandelier above them.

The chandelier began to fall, much to Aizawa’s pleasure. Katsuki let him go and grabbed Izuku by the shirt collar to drag him out of the way, which left Aizawa free to run toward the exit. The chandelier shattered on the floor and Izuku ran around it, undeterred, to catch Aizawa.

He ran out the front door and stood on the front steps of the building, glaring into the night with rage beginning to fill his stomach. His hands flew up to his hair and he started pulling at it angrily, the action followed by a stomp of his foot.

“Fucking hell!” he yelled into the busy street, catching the attention of every passerby.

Katsuki placed his hand over Izuku’s mouth and started pulling him away. He could hear the sound of police sirens some distance away closing in on them.

“I know you’re pissed, but we have to go. Come on.”

He started shoving people out of their way on the sidewalk and continued to usher Izuku on. He didn’t stop for the people in their way, he didn’t stop for Izuku to put away the pistol he was openly wielding in public, and he didn’t stop when he felt the wet droplets hit his arm.

Katsuki looked up at the sky. There were no clouds in sight. Just a crack in Izuku’s voice.

“We’re meeting in this shithole? I thought the guy was supposed to be rich?”

Ahead lied the old factory that Izuku mentioned they would be meeting his “contact” in. He did fail to mention the meeting would be in the dead of night with multiple people pointing guns at them right at the entrance to the property.

Then again, the detail with the guns being pointed at them could’ve been assumed from the very beginning.

“Rich via illegal activities,” Izuku said on their way inside, “as in arrest on sight. Shoot on sight to some people.”

“Is this what I think it is?”

“...Probably.”

Izuku leaves it at that. With only a fair idea of what Katsuki thinks it is he can’t give a straight answer. He knows Katsuki is smart enough to figure it out by now though. A large number of armed guards—with more than your conventional weapons—awaiting them at a seemingly random building for a secret meeting in the middle of the night in Japan?

“Why are you making enemies with these kinds of people?” Katsuki ignored the stares he got from the guards for that utterance.

“You’re a bodyguard with a name for yourself. Shouto is a mercenary who takes jobs all over the place for all sorts of people. When you both do your jobs you get happy clients who recommend you to others. The people you upset understand it’s just business. They can hire you to do the exact same thing that happened to them,” Izuku explained as they made their way through the building and followed someone who waved to them down into an underground entrance. “I, on the other hand, am a freelance assassin and thief who has no name for himself–”

“Because you choose not to have one.”

“For good reason,” Izuku continued, “who has no name for himself, kills people without explanation to any third parties, takes things that I need, etc. When I do my job, I don’t get happy clients. I get dead bodies, stolen objects of interest or intelligence, disappointed looks, and angry enemies.”

“You should probably stop doing that.”

“What’s the saying? You have to break some eggs to make an omelette?”

They reached the door to the meeting room and he grabbed Izuku’s arm to pull Izuku back behind him. Regardless of how competent the person he’s guarding may be, he’s still not going to let them take charge so long as he has a say in it. Letting them walk into a potentially dangerous room is the first step to getting them killed.

Whether he likes Izuku or not at this point is irrelevant. If he’s going to do a job he’s going to do it right.

With that in mind, he’s the one to kick the door open, both hands in his pockets lest they think he’s attempting an attack. There’s one person sitting in a chair at the end of the room and two masked and hooded figures on either side of him pointing rifles at Katsuki. His eyes roam the room slowly, the only thing to be noticed so far being the person who thinks they’re hidden behind the door. Katsuki can see him through the crack between the door and the frame.

Not something someone hasn’t tried before, hence why he kicked the door open instead of just walking in. Izuku is staring at him questioningly when Katsuki walks in and places his hand on the door.

“How fucking stupid do you think we are?” Katsuki questioned. He slammed the door shut and spun around to slam the head of the person behind the door against the wall. He dragged the person by their arm to the middle of the room and tossed them at the other three’s feet. Halfway there he could hear Izuku open and peek through the door, then enter and follow behind him.

“I thought we weren’t going to kill each other this once, Chisaki?” Izuku complained.

“I felt if we didn’t get the first attempt out of the way right at the beginning you would be paranoid the whole time. That would make this exceedingly tedious.” Chisaki leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “Please, have a seat. Then tell me your reason for asking to meet.”

Izuku sat down, though Katsuki did not. He instead chose to stand next to the couch. It’s fairly obvious he has no trust for anyone in this room. Not even after the guns that were pointed at him are faced away.

“I’m here to ask about someone you’ve been hiring recently. I don’t know if you know his name yet. Aizawa Shouta?”

Chisaki stared at him, seemingly unphased by the question. His eyes slid toward Katsuki. “And why is he here?”

Izuku looked up at Katsuki. “This is Kacchan. He’s currently under my employ.”

“As what?”

“Does it matter?” Izuku and Chisaki glared at each other. Izuku could see Chisaki would refuse to continue without an answer. “He’s my bodyguard.”

Chisaki glanced up at Katsuki briefly, and then gave Izuku another unimpressed stare. As anonymous as Izuku tries to be, he still manages to make plenty of ripples in the stream of things. Enough that people like Chisaki try to find out everything they can about him.

“You expect me to believe you need a bodyguard?” Chisaki leaned back in his chair and adjusted his gloves. “I don’t feel much like talking while you’re both here. He can wait outside.”

Izuku frowned, his eyes narrowing a fraction. He refuses to be locked in a room alone with someone as cunning as Chisaki and two disposable guards. Forget that he truly means no harm to them in this moment, there’s nothing proving they mean no harm to him or Katsuki.

“Why do you need him gone if I’ve made it clear I have no intention of harming you?” Izuku followed Chisaki’s gaze to the unconscious man on the floor between them. “Okay, first of all he’s not dead, and second, he was lying in wait to ambush us. That’s fair game.”

“It’s been proven time and again that your promises are meaningless and your words fickle, Midoriya Izuku. I have no trust in you at all. He leaves or you don’t get a single word from me.”

Katsuki looked to Izuku after hearing that. Memories of the lies and tricks Izuku has used on him for the upper-hand come flooding in. Izuku is bent forward ruffling his hair, very obviously and openly showing his frustration by being cornered into this decision. Katsuki goes from wondering what all Izuku has done to this man to be put in this position to the realization that if someone like this can’t even trust Izuku to keep his word, then how can he?

He’s also wondering just what Izuku is trying to accomplish by this pathetically fake show of frustration, and if Chisaki can tell if it’s real or not.

“Alright, fine, I lied,” Izuku said. His voice brings Katsuki’s attention to him. Chisaki is wholly unamused by this declaration. His eyes watching their every move carefully betrayed the calm body language as Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s hand and guided Katsuki onto the couch beside him. “He’s not my bodyguard. He’s my lover, and I’m not letting him out of my sight where you can hurt him. I don’t trust you or your guards.”

“The fuck?” Katsuki said in a low voice.

“He’s not your lover or you wouldn’t have brought him with you.”

Izuku blew a puff of air from his nose and his eyes narrowed even further. He looks as though he’s just accepted a challenge that Chisaki issued. Likewise, he very clearly remembered what Katsuki said about improvising, and how he said he wouldn’t do it so long as he could help it.

Izuku absolutely refuses to send Katsuki out of his view so he can be trapped in here alone and have Katsuki walk into whatever potential problems may be waiting outside alone. So, he did the only thing he could think of in this situation.

He improvised. Because he has decided that he can’t help it this time.

There isn’t a great many lines Izuku won’t cross, especially when it comes to achieving his life’s goal of killing his mentors. He has boundaries of course. Ideals he won’t betray and ideas that he considers too much and wouldn’t force himself to do. Thankfully the line is far enough out there that he can get away with a lot of things to keep himself and others alive and safe.

The idea comes almost naturally to him, regardless of the sheer embarrassment he’s trying to hide, to move over and settle himself on his knees above Katsuki’s lap. His legs straddle Katsuki’s thighs and he grabs hold of the other’s face, cradling Katsuki’s cheeks in his hands and moving his face extremely close.

“Sorry about this,” Izuku whispered with a tilt of his head, and then he’s pressing his lips to Katsuki’s.

Katsuki’s very first urge is to hit him. Hard. One he thankfully doesn’t follow through with, given their current situation. He wouldn’t have sat down if he knew this is what Izuku was leading him to do. He wouldn’t have even walked in the room.

His second urge comes another two seconds in. This one he does follow.

His lips part and he leans into the kiss. His hand grabs hold of the front of Izuku’s shirt and jerks him closer because Izuku’s lips are so small yet feel so good, so warm, that he can’t help indulging.

Katsuki didn’t know what to expect from helping Izuku on missions and stuff. Of all the things to probably assume from the sound of it, the last two things he ever thought he’d be doing were trying to keep Izuku and one of his best friends from killing each other, and kissing Izuku.

That line of thinking brings forth another urge he can’t follow through with. He wants to kill Izuku right now for putting him in this position. For putting him in a situation where he has to kiss this bastard so that he can do what’s asked of him. So that the two aren’t separated with potentially horrible results awaiting them the moment they’re no longer in sight of each other.

Katsuki ends up following three other urges, all of which are deemed necessary by him to complete the illusion they’re attempting to weave. Katsuki’s eyes slid closed and the hand holding onto Izuku’s shirt slid down to rest on Izuku’s hip. The other hand lands on Izuku’s other hip long enough to pull Izuku down fully onto his lap, and then slides back to grab hold of Izuku’s backside.

If he’s going to be forced to go through with this, he might as well make it look as realistic as possible. That’s his reasoning that warrants squeezing Izuku’s butt.

Izuku tried to pull off, convinced that they’d done enough to hopefully fool Chisaki. He can’t see the man’s reaction in his current position, so he can only hope right now. The moment he tries to move away from Katsuki, the hand on his hip grabs onto the back of his neck and keeps him in place.

His own hands fall off Katsuki’s face and down to Katsuki’s chest, where he tries very unconvincingly to push away.

He’s about to bite Katsuki’s lip in an attempt to escape before he’s dragged further into this than he meant to go. Then he can feel it. The way Katsuki’s head tilts further to the side. The way Katsuki’s lips try to ease his mouth open, and the tongue that tries to move into the opening.

Izuku knows he shouldn’t let Katsuki in. This was meant to be a fast act to convince Chisaki that he wasn’t going to let Katsuki out of his sight. This isn’t supposed to be for personal pleasure and going this far would be just that.

Just pleasure.

And knowing that, he still does nothing to stop Katsuki.

“Disgusting,” Chisaki said. His voice rang out through the near-silence of the room and caught the attention of them both, reminding them where they are. “He can stay, if you stop doing that. It’s inappropriate and I have no interest in seeing anyone act so childishly.”

Katsuki allowed Izuku to retreat from him, but kept his hand on the back of Izuku’s neck. Izuku released a breathy sigh, his face still entirely too close to Katsuki’s. He held back the laughter bubbling up in his chest and licked his teeth. Both of his hands are resting on either of Katsuki’s shoulders.

“You didn’t have to go that far,” Izuku murmured.

Katsuki smirked, looking pleased with himself for the accomplishment of, both figuratively and literally, stealing Izuku’s breath away. “I don’t half-ass things. If you’re going to do something then commit to it. Now get the fuck off me.”

“Quit squeezing my butt so hard and I will,” Izuku said. A light tap is placed on Katsuki’s arm to emphasize the point that Katsuki is still holding onto his backside.

Katsuki let him go, raising both his hands up at shoulder height to show he’s no longer holding onto Izuku in any fashion. Izuku lingers a second longer, then crawls off of Katsuki to sit next to him.

Chisaki appears visibly disgusted. Even with the plague mask covering a portion of his face Izuku can see it.

“Why do you want to know about Aizawa Shouta?”

“I just want to know anything you can tell me about where he is.” Izuku tried to come up with a reason. Saying he wants to kill Aizawa would be a quick way to not get any information at all. If Aizawa has been working for Chisaki then there’s no reason Chisaki would want to help the man get killed. “He’s a very elusive man and I’d like to meet with him.”

“What makes you believe he wants to meet with you?”

Katsuki’s eyes are trained on the guards during the conversation. Izuku can handle the persuading here. He doesn’t know this person—Chisaki, he believes Izuku mentioned—and doesn’t want to say something that could be detrimental for the situation.

Izuku is doing a perfectly fine job of botching this himself as it is.

“Nothing. There’s also nothing leading me to believe he wants to avoid me. I can’t know either until I speak with him, so stop jerking me around. Are you going to help me or not?”

Chisaki watched Izuku for a long moment. He weighed his options, thought of the benefits and detriments.

“I can contact him and ask if he is interested in meeting you. If he agrees to meet, then that is that. If not, then it is out of my control.”

Katsuki can see what’s coming next from a mile away. His hand flies down to Izuku’s arm and grabs hold of it. Izuku is pulling, trying to reach for the gun he keeps with him at almost all times. He’s adamant about getting information on Aizawa and Katsuki believes Izuku is on the verge of making a mistake with the information practically being waved in his face similar to waving a bone in front of a dog.

“Is it upsetting realizing things are not as in your control as you’d like them to be?” Chisaki goaded him. “I will not give information about him without his consent. To do so would be the equivalent of signing a death warrant. I am no more important to him than a beggar on the street, and neither are you. I will ask if he wishes to meet Midoriya Izuku, the attack dog of Yaoyorozu Momo and Iida Tenya, and you will be given an answer within a week. Take the offer or leave it.”

Katsuki side-eyed Izuku. He’s waiting to hear the refusal so he can jump in to stop Izuku from being an idiot yet again. Waiting to hear a barrage of threats or insults. While he and Izuku aren’t the same person, he can’t see anyone responding to being egged on like that positively.

He also knows Chisaki knows that and expects the same.

“Fine, but let’s alter it a little,” Izuku said, much to Katsuki’s surprise.

“No,” Chisaki tried to reject him. He doesn’t try to hide his annoyance when Izuku continues anyway.

“Don’t use my name. Tell him Yamada Hizashi wants to meet, and I won’t steal your next weapons shipment.”

“You were going to steal from me after asking me for a favor?”

Izuku gave him a lopsided smile, eyeing Chisaki’s movements. Katsuki kept his eyes on the guards once Chisaki’s gaze moved to him.

“It’s not a favor if you don’t do it in a way that’s beneficial to me.”

Chisaki snorted irritatedly. His gaze shifted up toward the ceiling, then to the wall, and finally back to Izuku’s smiling face. “And if I kill you right now?”

“If all the people you have come bearing down on the two of us, we might die, and you’ll still die long before either of us do.” Izuku shook his head and eased his arm out of Katsuki’s hold. “You’re not going to risk that. You’re also not going to increase the body count by sending more guards to your shipment. It won’t work and you know it. I’m trying to make this work for both of us, so help me out here.”

“You’re a cocky bastard, you know that?”

Izuku shook his head again. “Not cocky. Determined. I try to make sure I know what I can and can’t handle. It just so happens I can handle you.”

Chisaki appeared to weigh his options one more time. “Okay. If you cause him any trouble and he comes for me, I’m going to make sure you both die if it’s the last thing I do.”

Izuku clapped his hands together once and stood abruptly, causing the two guards to jerk their guns toward him. “All right! Glad to see we finally came to an understanding. Get in touch with me the usual way within the next two days and let me know what he says.”

Izuku tugged at Katsuki’s shirt to signal their departure. He doesn’t wait for a response from Chisaki or anything, already leaving with Katsuki.

Chisaki watched the pair leave. Once he’s sure they’re out of the building he stands up and heads for the door.

“I don’t know what business you have with him, and I want no part in it.”

“Doesn’t look like he cares about that,” Aizawa commented. He stood up from behind Chisaki’s chair to meet the man’s gaze. “I need to speak with someone else first. I’ll tell you if I wish to meet him before the deadline is up.”

“You didn’t say anything about stealing some shit. What the fuck would we even do with a box of weapons?” Katsuki asked after they were clear of the building and walking down a mostly empty sidewalk.

“Nothing. I don’t care about his weapons.”

Katsuki frowned, upset by the realization he had fallen for the trick as well. “You were never going to steal it. You just wanted leverage.”

“Yep. Whatever business Aizawa and I have between us isn’t worth losing money or manpower to him.” Izuku flashed him a bright grin and casually bumped shoulders with Katsuki. “It worked. That’s all that matters.”

Katsuki shoved Izuku in retaliation. “And if it didn’t?”

Izuku caught himself before he fell over the curb and returned to Katsuki’s side. “Then I would have had to go with what he said.”

Katsuki nodded, and then tapped the pistol under Izuku’s shirt. “What did you plan to do if I didn’t stop your dumbass from grabbing this?”

“I knew you were going to stop me, like how you stopped me from going off on Momo and Tenya. That’s why I went for the gun. I was hoping it would make him more paranoid and want to get me to leave sooner if he knew I was on the verge of attacking him.” Izuku shook his head with a small, knowing smile. There would’ve been no point in attacking Chisaki and he knew it. If Katsuki didn’t try to stop him he still wouldn’t have done anything. Only given empty threats, lest he wanted a lot of dead guards on top of a dead end. “You don’t understand how badly I want revenge on these guys, Kacchan. I wasn’t going to kill the only lead I had. I just had to work him right.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t understand. I don’t want to understand either. What I do what to understand is how you got to be so fucking stupid when it comes to critical thinking. Given the correct information and everything you do great, and then when you have to react to something on the spot you automatically choose the worst possible fucking option or take way too long to try to think of something.”

Izuku shrugged. He was taught to never let something go wrong. Nothing is supposed to go wrong. Likewise, social situations tend to be a big weakness for him. Nedzu taught him to read people, to learn their fears and weaknesses and use those against people, not to befriend them or hold conversations. Or, rather, Izuku never got that far into his lessons before he ran away.

“Just not something I’m good at yet. I do intend to learn.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “I’d tell you to stop thinking and go with your gut when you’re in a situation like that if I didn’t think you’d still choose the stupidest fucking option. So try going with the opposite of what your gut tells you.”

Izuku doesn’t reply to that, and Katsuki doesn’t relish the awkward silence afterward. Even worse is the topic Izuku chooses to break the silence with.

“I’m sorry I kissed you.”

Katsuki absentmindedly rubbed his thumb across his lips as that moment came to mind. “It’s fine. It was just so he wouldn’t separate us.”

“Yeah.” Izuku kept his eyes fixed on the passing cracks in the sidewalk. The corners of his mouth twitched up in a partial smile. “That’s the only reason.”

The two continued on in silence again for another two blocks, then Katsuki moved ahead of Izuku and stopped in front of him. The action forced Izuku to stop too, lest he bump into Katsuki. Katsuki’s eyes roamed Izuku’s face, and his hand came up to grab Izuku’s chin.

Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s wrist, his brows furrowed from confusion. “What are you doing?”

Katsuki inspected him for a few more seconds. He looked unsure of something. His face closed in on Izuku’s, his mouth hovering less than an inch away from Izuku’s. Izuku stood frozen in place, shocked and curious.

“You owe me something,” Katsuki whispered into Izuku’s ear. He backed away with that, shoved his hands into his pockets, and continued the trek back to their hotel. “Ask me what when we get back from Japan.”

“...Huh?” Izuku said quietly to himself, bewildered about what just transpired.

“You’re still not showing your work.”

“Why does it matter if I get the right answer?”

“Because I’m curious how you’re doing it.” Izuku, on his belly in bed, tapped the screen of the laptop in front of him three times, his smile unwaning. “Do it on a different sheet and show me. Maybe you’ve got a better way.”

Katsuki watched from his position in a chair across the room. His cheek is resting on his fist, elbow on the armrest. One knee is up close to his chest, the other arm lying flat on the other armrest. From here he can only see Izuku’s hair around the laptop.

Izuku is supposed to be asleep, but under the different time zones he’s taking the time right now to deal with teaching Mashirao and Kouta. Katsuki had to deal with two painstaking hours of Mashirao learning history. Right now it’s time for Kouta’s math lesson and Katsuki is ready to tear out his hair after an hour and a half.

If it isn’t bad enough that it’s four in the morning, he’s also had zero hours of sleep. He’s still trying to decide whether the worst part is that Izuku seems to be running at full capacity even after being up for the same amount of time, or that he has to listen to the man drone on about these lessons endlessly. The only silver lining is that he doesn’t have to hear anyone on the other side of the screen.

Thankfully Izuku is wearing headphones.

He took note of it the first time Izuku’s head popped up from behind the laptop’s screen to stare at him for a brief moment. Then again the second time, and once more the third.

On the fourth occurrence Katsuki snapped the fingers of his resting arm to gain Izuku’s attention.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“Hmm?”

Katsuki’s eyes narrowed. “You keep looking at me. What do you want?”

“Nothing,” Izuku responded with a shake of his head. His eyes switched down to the laptop screen, and a small smile formed. “That’s Kacchan talking.”

Katsuki let it go for the moment. The only lights in the room are coming from the moon in the window and Izuku’s screen, making his movements easier to notice under a sort of spotlight.

Izuku looks over the screen at him again a few minutes later. This time Katsuki throws a half empty water bottle that was in his lap at Izuku. Izuku rolls to the side, dragging the laptop with him, and the bottle hits the wall with a thud.

“What. Do. You. Fucking. Want?”

“Nothing,” Izuku responded with another shake of his head. He doesn’t react to the water bottle on his bed at all, or the fact that Katsuki just threw it at him. To him it’s as if nothing at all just happened. He ignored the idle threats Kouta is making at Katsuki, as he knows that Katsuki can’t hear him anyway.

Katsuki pounded both of his fists on the armrests of his chair. “I’m going you fucking murder you if you don’t tell me what it is.”

Izuku looked down at the screen again. “Have Kyouka or Shouto help you with the rest. It’s all in the same chapter in that book I got you. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

Katsuki’s eyes stayed on Izuku the entire time he put his laptop and headphones back in the backpack by his bed. He sat cross-legged in the middle of his bed and stared back at Katsuki. The two maintained a steady gaze at each other for a while, and then Izuku finally spoke up.

“You know you’ve sat there and watched me for nearly four hours, right?”

Katsuki didn’t react on the outside. In his head he went through the last three hours and realized that he had in fact kept a watchful eye on Izuku this entire time. Every time Izuku looked up at him he never considered the fact he’d been staring intensely at Izuku long before then.

He didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, because anything he said in response to that would just be in Izuku’s favor.

“I’m not upset,” Izuku said after picking up on Katsuki’s refusal to speak. “I’m curious what you want. Did I do something?”

Katsuki continued to stare at him in silence. It’s irksome that he has become so stubbornly silent all the sudden. Normally he’d yell and shout about whatever Izuku has done wrong. Now, with no answer being given, Izuku doesn’t know very well how to pry.

“I do care about you. Your feelings and thoughts I mean. Er, I mean like, you’re an important person to me. Not just because of what you can do. It’s also because you’re a person just like me, and you deserve consideration. I know you probably get tired of hearing stuff like that from me,” Izuku said, his hands folded in his lap and eyes trained on the floor between them. His gaze moved up to meet Katsuki’s once more. “I don’t know what else to say, really. If I’ve done something wrong that I’m not sure about, please let me know so that I can try to make it right. If I don’t know what it is, chances are I’ll just do it again without knowing you don’t like it.”

Izuku, by stark contrast to Katsuki, has all the patience in the world. He waits for Katsuki to give him some kind of sign, anything, and is soon rewarded for said patience with a short sigh from Katsuki.

“You always want to make shit right, yet you never stop yourself from doing the wrong thing in the first place,” Katsuki said as he stood and went to lie down on the bed next to Izuku’s. He doesn’t look to see Izuku’s puzzled expression. He faces his back to the other, pulls the cover up over his shoulders, and lets himself finally begin to fall asleep.

Izuku kept a steady gaze on Katsuki’s back. There’s more than enough truth to what Katsuki says. Izuku has learned that Katsuki rarely, if ever, lies.

Izuku landed on the floor hard, the surface almost cracking under his glowing legs. He can’t let himself get caught here or it’s all over. He’ll die and all will be lost.

He jumps over to the side, then the other way, and follows up with a charge forward into a leaping kick. The kick is dodged and Izuku is hit, sent tumbling to the ground hard enough to bounce off the floor a few times as he went. He rolled over onto his side and glared at his opponent.

I can’t lose. I’ll die if I do. I can’t die yet.

No one else is going to help him. Even if anyone else was around he wouldn’t accept the help anyway.

“What the fuck are you mumbling about?” Katsuki yelled at him, a maniacal grin on his face. “Didn’t I tell you I won’t let you think? A villain isn’t going to stop and let you think either!”

Katsuki propelled himself toward Izuku with an explosion. Izuku stuck his hand out to catch Katsuki and was kicked in the face when Katsuki used his explosions to twist himself in mid-air. Before he could hit the ground Katsuki caught him by the shirt collar and threw him up into the air.

I can’t lose cause Kacchan will totally kill me if I lose again!

Izuku did a downward strike with all his strength, sending a strong gust of wind down to blow Katsuki to the ground. Katsuki tried to move out of the way, but didn’t make it out in time. Izuku landed back down on the ground and stomped his foot. A chunk of the floor flew up in front of him due to the impact and he kicked it towards Katsuki, who was just beginning to stand up.

Katsuki ducked and the rock whizzed by. When he looks up again Izuku is already standing above him in mid-swing. Katsuki slapped the punch away with an explosion from his palm while still down on one knee, and then did the same to another. He headbutted Izuku in the stomach and lifted him up with his hands on Izuku’s chest and stomach.

Izuku flailed as Katsuki let loose an explosion from each palm, sending Izuku up into the air again. He propelled himself upward to follow immediately after, intent on keeping Izuku off the ground.

You can’t fight in the air, but I can.

Izuku scrambled about in the air, his arms swinging at nothing. There’s nothing for him to grab onto, nothing to stop him from going up, and only one thing that’s now stopping him from going down.

Katsuki met Izuku in the air with a knee to Izuku’s stomach. He set off another explosion from each hand to push them both higher up and slapped his hand onto Izuku’s face.

In any normal situation he wouldn’t dare think to do this to his boyfriend, but he knows now more than ever Izuku can take it. He knows when Izuku has that strange glow all around his body that he can take anything Katsuki throws at him.

And so he lets loose the explosion on Izuku’s face, only to find in his hesitation, in the moment he doubted Izuku could take the hit, Izuku had grabbed Katsuki’s wrist and moved his head out of the way.

“Fuck me,” Katsuki grumbled, knowing full well how much he just screwed up.

Izuku twisted his body around to swing Katsuki over his shoulder and down to the ground. Katsuki rocketed through the air and landed on the floor. The cement cracked on impact and he lost all the air in his lungs the moment his back touched the ground. A wave of pain erupted through his entire body and everything went blurry for a split second.

Izuku landed on the ground, his quirk already deactivated. He ran to Katsuki’s side and knelt beside him, panic on every feature of his face.

“Crap, are you alright?” Izuku touched Katsuki’s cheek gingerly. “I-I didn’t mean to throw you that hard. I got a little carried away. I’m so sor-”

Izuku is cut off by a hand shoving him down onto the ground face first. There’s no explosion like he would expect, but he’s waiting for the yelling and screaming that will inevitably follow. His arms are bent behind his back and Katsuki holds them in place. Izuku can feel a knee digging into his back and Katsuki’s other leg holding his own legs down.

“You let your guard down. Again.” Katsuki pressed down on Izuku’s head harder, then grabbed Izuku’s hair and rubbed his face into the ground. “You want to stop eating dirt? Then quit getting worried about hurting your opponent.”

Izuku closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. When Katsuki lifted his head he replied, “I let my guard down because I was worried about you. Forget being my opponent for a minute, I was worried that I had hurt you.”

Katsuki snorted in response. He got off of Izuku to let the other up and stood with his arms crossed, glaring Izuku down while Izuku dusted himself off.

“I’m not that fragile. Yeah it fucking hurt, but that’s the point. You’re supposed to hurt your enemy, because they’re not going to worry about hurting you.”

“We’re supposed to be heroes, Kacchan. We still have to hold back to some degree. Hurting them permanently isn’t what we do and, no offense, but I have a lot more strength to worry about and learn how to control than you do.” Izuku rubbed his arm and stared down at the ground, a forlorn look about his face. “I’m just barely at 100% with One For All now and I’m still trying to figure out how to, you know, hit someone without tearing their head off. It kind of scares me a little to know I could accidentally kill someone if I get desperate or something.”

Katsuki’s glare softened. He forgot that Izuku hasn’t had that long to gain control of his quirk like everyone else. Anyone else has been using their quirk since before grade school, learning their limits and how to keep within safe boundaries as they progress through the years.

Izuku, on the other hand, has had less than a year to gain precise control over a quirk that has recently been growing exponentially in power. Just when he thinks he has it figured out, it gets stronger and more dangerous, and he has to compensate for the newfound strength.

Katsuki remembers well his own time spent trying to control his explosions. His attempts to gain precise control over size and power to be able to use an explosion right in someone’s face without seriously injuring them or to maneuver around the field of combat without overshooting and sending himself flying.

“Alright, fine, yeah.” Katsuki scratched the back of his head and scowled at the ground. “You have a point. Still, we’re going to need you at your best tonight. Everyone is going to need to be at their best tonight. You’re afraid of hurting someone too badly, but this is the guy who took out All Might. There’s a chance we might not get out of this without somebody dying.”

“Kacchan-”

Katsuki slapped a hand down on Izuku’s shoulder and stared him dead in the eye. The intense fire in his eyes is enough to silence Izuku.

“We might get him without any deaths, or he might have to be the death. Whoever the fuck dies, you make sure it isn’t you.”

“Kacch-”

“You make sure that it isn’t you. Because I’m going to make damn fucking sure that, if anyone, it’s going to be him. If I have to choose between being a proper hero or keeping you alive, I’m going to choose you.”

Izuku’s heart clenched in his chest. “O-okay. But you have to make sure it isn’t you either.”

“As if I’d die,” Katsuki retorted.

The elevator doors opened, catching the attention of both of them. Aizawa stepped out and waved for them to approach. They did, though they already know what he wants them for.

It’s been a little over three weeks since Katsuki’s casts were removed. He’s been considered healed enough to fight for a while now, but Aizawa insisted on giving him a little longer to be sure. Truthfully Aizawa doesn’t like the idea of dragging the two of them out into the fight at all.

He knows he can’t, and shouldn’t, protect them forever.

“Suit up. The others are upstairs. We’re going to discuss the plan and then head out to the villain’s main base. We should arrive there by nightfall. That’s when we’ll start.”

Izuku and Katsuki looked to each other, nodded once, and stepped into the elevator with Aizawa.

They stopped in the residential area. The moment the doors opened to let them out the three of them are surprised to see almost the entirety of the rest of Izuku and Katsuki’s peers gathered around the elevator. A handful of them are sporting glowers and scowls, very obviously annoyed at something.

“How come they get to go and we don’t?!” Mina asked Aizawa, pointing an accusing finger at Katsuki and Izuku.

“What?” Izuku said. He looked up to Aizawa questioningly, his brows furrowed. “Go where?”

“The pro heroes have decided not to take everyone with us to this battle. Too many people for the few pros we have to make sure they don’t get seriously injured.” Aizawa waved the pair off to go get their hero outfits on, blatantly ignoring the looks the rest of his former students are giving him. He doesn’t care as much what they think as he does their safety and, were it not for Izuku’s quirk being a necessity and Bakugou’s extremely possessive attitude and innate battle sense, he wouldn’t be taking the two of them either. “This isn’t field training for experience or some movie you saw with your friends where everyone goes to the final battle together and everything turns out okay. We decided ahead of time that a small, qualified team will be best for this and cause the least amount of chaos.”

“That still doesn’t explain why they get to go,” Eijirou complained. “It’s not manly at all for all of us to hide out here while two of our friends go risk their lives. What kind of heroes are we if we let them go without us?”

“You’re not heroes whether you go or not,” Aizawa stated firmly. He pushed Katsuki and Izuku forward to get them out of this conversation and expedite their order to go get ready. Coming back into the residential area to be bombarded with questions and demands is something he wanted to avoid, even though he knew he couldn’t.

“They aren’t either,” Tsuyu argued quietly, pointing at the pair’s retreating backs.

“I’m aware,” Aizawa replied, watching the both of them go and proceeding to ignore all other arguments.

Aizawa, Izuku and Katsuki all entered a room upstairs. They’re on the third floor of the same building they’ve been living under, in a small meeting room. In the middle of the room is a circular table with the rest of the remaining known pro heroes seated around it.

Present Mic, Cementoss, Snipe, Edgeshot, Gran Torino, Ectoplasm and Midnight. Izuku and Katsuki know them all by name and face and, given their quirks, neither are surprised to see these are the current survivors.

Aizawa didn’t hesitate in closing the door and making his way to an empty seat, leaving Katsuki and Izuku to be stared at until the duo quickly found a couple of seats for themselves. Izuku sat in an empty chair next to Gran Torino, and Katsuki between Izuku and Aizawa.

“Now that we’re all here,” Gran Torino said, “We’ll discuss how to go about this assault. After that, we can officially consider this mission started.”

All but Izuku and Katsuki nodded in unison.

“From what we know right now, they are likely to know that we’re coming. We believe the girl, Himiko Toga, has been using her quirk to disguise herself as civilians to keep an eye on us. We don’t know if she’s made it into the building and figured out what we’re up to, but at least two employees have been noted as acting strange recently and there’s been a large spike in activity from Noumus. They’ve all been congregating to what we know to be their main stronghold, where All For One is currently holed up,” Nemuri explained. “They’re convinced we have no chance at all, so they have yet to move to another base.”

“How sure are we of that?” Ectoplasm asked

“Edgeshot and I have been keepin’ a steady eye on their movements up to this point,” Snipe reassured everyone, his statement being followed by a nod from Shinya. “We took turns keepin’ watch while the other slept to make sure we didn’t miss a thing. Only way out without us knowin’ would be if Kurogiri warped them somewhere.”

“Doubt it,” Katsuki interjected. All eyes turned to him and suddenly he felt a pang of something he isn’t used to feeling ring through his body.

Anxiousness? he wondered.

He was sure of himself when he spoke, though now that he has the eyes and ears, the unwavering attention, of eight pro heroes who were in the middle of their most important meeting on him he suddenly isn’t so sure he should’ve spoken.

There’s a feeling of inadequacy accompanied by the anxiousness. However small it may be, it drives him to realize he just interrupted an important conversation between people who have been doing what he aspires to do all their adult lives.

They know what they’re talking about. He’s just a high school kid.

“Out wit’ it then, boy,” Snipe urged him. “We ain’t got all day. If you’ve got knowledge on these guys, let us know.”

Katsuki glanced at Aizawa, almost as if silently asking permission. If this were a group of his peers he’d have said his piece, called them all idiots, and moved on before even being urged to. But even Katsuki, in all his bloated pride and ego, knows when not to make enemies of his superiors.

“You and Midoriya weren’t only brought into this meeting because you’ve been allowed onto the field with us,” Aizawa said from his spot next to Katsuki. “You’re here because you’ve both been the closest to the villains out of everyone here. You’ve each had your own personal conversation with Shigaraki. You’re also here because you could have knowledge of him that we aren’t aware of. Your input is more than valued here, so don’t hold back.”

Katsuki looked back to the rest of the eyes on him and steeled himself. In his mind he can’t be the number one hero if he can’t even talk to other pro heroes. That timid kind of attitude is something he has come to expect from Izuku, but definitely not himself.

He mentally slapped himself for letting his mind drift to thoughts of submission.

“Hand-face or whatever the fuck wouldn’t run away from us. He’s fucking full of himself and believes he can get whatever he wants. That’s why he came after me, because he thought if he tried hard enough he could turn me to their side.” Katsuki grimaced at his next thought. “Especially now that he has half-n-half–”

“Todoroki,” Izuku clarified for the group.

“–on his side and has killed a large majority of pro heroes in his wake. He probably feels invincible and won’t back down. He’ll let us walk right on up with the expectation of finishing us off. If anything they’ll just be waiting by to launch a counterattack or some shit on us.”

“It would make sense as to why he’s gathering all the Noumu at their base,” Izuku chimed in, keeping his eye sight glued to the table to avoid any additional nervousness from seeing everyone staring at him. “When they attacked us at U.S.J. Kurogiri separated us students into smaller groups to overwhelm us with villains in separate areas. They might try something similar, like separating us so we’re each alone with a villain or two and a number of Noumus.”

“Left in a secluded room where I can scream to my heart’s content? That ought to show me,” Hizashi mocked the idea.

“Hopefully we can prevent that, as we already have a similar plan ourselves,” Gran Torino said. “We’re planning on separating them into groups that would be favorable for us to handle. The plan is to have Cementoss here and the police force handle the Noumus outside. While that’s happening, the rest of us will make our way inside and separate the villains to the best of our abilities. The groups will hopefully come out as: Edgeshot and Snipe against Kurogiri, Present Mic and I against that muscled behemoth they broke out of prison and Sako Atsuhiro, Ectoplasm will keep Bubaigawara Jin busy, Midnight will handle Hikiishi Kenji and Himiko Toga. That leaves Eraserhead to capture Shigaraki Tomura, and Midoriya and Bakugou to handle All For One.”

“Oh, I see,” Izuku said quietly, his chin held between his index finger and thumb with a thoughtful look on his face. “Cementoss will be with the police force handling the Noumus because they’ll be fighting outside where there’s concrete everywhere. Edgeshot can disable Kurogiri while Snipe is distracting Kurogiri’s fog with his gun long enough for Edgeshot to get close. Present Mic can keep Muscular and Sako at bay with his quirk and stun them so Gran Torino can use his hit-and-run tactics on them without worry. Ectoplasm can conjure his clones to deal with Bubaigawara’s clones, and maybe even handle them all at once with his Forced Internment Giant Bites move. Midnight can deal with Hikiishi and Himiko because if either of them get close to her they’ll be in trouble with her quirk. Aiza– I mean, Eraserhead can handle Shigaraki in a one on one situation easily, especially if he gets the drop on him.”

Katsuki is the only one to not stare at him for that long-winded explanation of the plan. While the others are surprised Izuku figured all of that out by himself in a matter of seconds, Katsuki has been well aware of Izuku’s analytical nature and knowledge of heroes and quirks longer than anybody.

“Yes, actually. That was all spot on,” Gran Torino finally said in his surprised state.

“There are still two problems,” Izuku continued, rubbing his chin in thought. “There’s a Noumu that isn’t like the others. I believe it has just as much strength as All Might did. Er, just as much strength as my quirk does now, and he has two other quirks that I’m aware of. Shock absorption and quick regeneration. Even with Kacchan I won’t be able to handle that Noumu and All For One at the same time, and nobody else but me can match its speed and strength.”

“I can attest to that,” Aizawa stated, raising one hand in the air. He pointed to the scar under his eye. “It’s the same creature that gave me this at U.S.J. Its strength isn’t a quirk I can cancel out either. It’s just that strong.”

“Same thing that broke my arms,” Katsuki added. “That thing didn’t even fucking blink. It’s like it puts no effort into breaking body parts at all.”

“I can attest to that as well,” Aizawa said again.

“Does its shock absorption have a limitation to it?” Ectoplasm asked.

“Yes,” Katsuki and Izuku answered simultaneously. They both glanced at each other for a second, and then Katsuki continued, “It took absolutely everything I had—grenades, gauntlets and quirk—just to be able to stun it, but I did stop it for a few seconds.”

“All Might was able to overpower the shock absorption when he fought it at U.S.J. with an overwhelming amount of speed and power behind a non-stop flurry of punches, but I don’t think I could do the same thing,” Izuku explained. “The punches didn’t stop it from hitting back at first, and All Might was a lot bigger and heavier than I am. I have his strength, but I still weigh nothing compared to him. I’ll get thrown around easily.”

“Its strength may not be something you can cancel out, but its shock absorption must be,” Hizashi offered with a look to Aizawa. “Cancel that out long enough for Midoriya to pound it into the ground. Cementoss can trap it in the ground where it can’t break out, and bam! It’s out of the picture!”

“Not a terrible plan, coming from you,” Aizawa replied. He turned his attention to Cementoss. “Think you can bury it deep enough that it can still breathe but not be able to break out?”

“I’m sure I can,” Cementoss replied matter of factly.

“Then the plan is settled. Eraserhead, Cementoss and Midoriya will handle the strongest Noumu and immobilize it. Afterward, Eraserhead, we’ll need you to keep an eye out for Kurogiri to prevent him from separating us. Once Snipe and Edgeshot are in position to handle Kurogiri, you branch off and find Shigaraki. Midoriya and Bakugou, you will both need to find All For One to keep him from using his teleportation quirk to pull all the villains into one place, so move fast once the Noumu is dealt with.” Gran Torino clapped his hands together to signal the end of the meeting. “Is there anything else before we go?”

Everyone remained silent. Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s hand under the table and ran his thumb across to top once. Izuku looked to him, and squeezed his hand back in a reassuring manner.

“Just another few seconds.” Katsuki’s arm is tired. He’s getting annoyed by the sound of the saw. Izuku is sitting next to him and keeping him calm while the technician does their work, holding his already freed hand. “And there we go!”

The second cast splits in half and drops to the ground. Katsuki started stretching his freed fingers, the fact they’re horribly stiff and don’t go very far at first not deterring him in the slightest. Izuku grabs his arm gently to get him to stop.

“The muscles are still weak from not being used for so long, so you have to limit your movements for a while.” Katsuki nodded and curled his fingers into a loose fist. His arm is pale and slightly shrunken from just below the elbow to his fingertips. “Think of it like you just manifested your quirk-”

“I get it,” Katsuki interrupted, staring at his palms. It’s been well over a month since his arms were put in casts, and seeing them drop to the ground is nothing short of pleasing.

His gaze landed on the signatures everyone wrote on each while he was asleep one morning. As stupid as the gesture was, it still felt somewhat endearing. There’s a few drawings and colors decorating some of the names, such as the soundwaves around Kyouka’s name, the lightning bolts around Denki’s, the flowers around Mina’s and what he assumes are sparkly laser beams above and below Yuuga’s. There are rocky lines drawn around Eijirou’s, crudely drawn sweets around Rikidou’s, and two black claws that resemble Dark Shadow’s around Fumikage’s.

Bittersweet. The term brings itself forward in his mind. That’s what he would define watching the casts be carried away for medical waste.

He doesn’t remember exactly when they did it. He does know Izuku is likely the reason for it. The past month Izuku has been waking up early in the morning to run laps around that target practice area they’ve been using. It’s a big enough room that he can treat it like a track field, and often Katsuki would join him. If he can’t use his quirk he might as well do something to burn off extra energy.

He, Aizawa and Izuku exit the room once the technician tells him he’s fine to leave. The doctor’s words about taking it easy and using his arms gradually to help the muscles recover repeat themselves in his head.

“Don’t use your quirk for at least a week. Only do very light explosions to get used to it again when you do,” Aizawa said as if he were reading Katsuki’s mind. “And wash your arms carefully before you try. We don’t know just how much sweat your hands have accumulated during the time you’ve had those casts on.”

Katsuki grimaced, remembering all the times he felt the sweat amassing under his casts. Had he ever used his quirk during one of those times there’s a good chance he could have potentially lost an arm from all of it igniting at once.

It’s a short trip from the nearby hospital back to the building that housed everyone else. The entire way Aizawa can’t help the feeling of eyes on them. Once inside, the feeling vanishes, though his suspicion does not.

“Take Bakugou back down and help him get situated. Let everyone know he’s fine,” Aizawa said to Izuku, “I’ve got to find Present Mic and take care of something.”

Katsuki is already moving into the elevator, leaving Izuku to come running to catch it before the doors shut after he’s done speaking with Aizawa.

“Were you just going to leave me up here?”

“You were taking too long,” Katsuki responded, already pressing the button to go down to the residential area.

Katsuki has already been forgiven with a roll of Izuku’s eyes. He can understand Katsuki’s eagerness and impatience to get back and start getting his arm muscles back in shape. Katsuki wants to get back to using his quirk as soon as possible, and Izuku can understand that well enough after the times he hasn’t been able to use his own quirk due to damaged body parts. Just a few days is maddening, so a whole month must have been killing Katsuki on the inside.

Izuku jumped from the sudden ‘Pop!’ that jerked him out of his thoughts. He looked over to Katsuki’s outstretched arm. Another minuscule ‘Pop!’ goes off in Katsuki’s hand, and then another.

“Kacchan, you really shouldn’t–”

“I know what I’m doing,” Katsuki interrupted, switching to his other hand.

“What if you hurt yourself?” Izuku said, reaching for Katsuki’s hand.

“What if you get shot out of a cannon into the fucking moon?” Katsuki retorted, backing away and glaring Izuku down.

“What does… what?” Izuku asked, bewildered as to how that scenario came up.

“What if I hurt myself? What if you get shot out of a cannon into the fucking moon? The answer is the same for both questions,” Katsuki explained, setting off a series of explosions that gradually get bigger and bigger. “You shut the fuck up and deal with it. That’s what.”

“That isn’t even close to the same thing!”

“Shut up!”

Izuku snaps his mouth closed and stares down at the ground. Even with all they’ve gone through in the past months Katsuki’s enraged shouts still prove to be enough to shut Izuku down from time to time. The shout has put him in a position to continue worrying while being afraid to help.

Instincts instilled into him from past encounters are not so easily overcame.

From the corner of his eye he sees a small movement. A twitch of Katsuki’s hand reaching for his and then stopping just short. Again it moves for Izuku’s hand, and again it stops.

Izuku, confused, chanced a glance at Katsuki. He’s staring at their hands, no more miniscule explosions radiating from his, as though he’s trying to make a decision. His pinky finger twitched one last time before Izuku tentatively grabbed his hand.

The both stood in silence, hand in hand, the rest of the elevator ride down.

It’s been a few days since Katsuki has gotten his casts off. He had immediately gone back to doing everything without help the moment he could, much to Izuku’s pleasure. Not that he minded helping Katsuki with anything that was needed. It makes him happier to know when Katsuki is around him, it’s because he is wanted instead of needed.

Much to Izuku’s displeasure however, Katsuki has rarely been seen awake by anyone ever since the casts came off. The day he came back he went from the elevator straight to the bedroom. He stays in bed all the time now.

True that it still isn’t uncommon for him to be seen, given that there are very few places for him to go and a fair amount of his peers are all around. Still, it feels as though he’s making an attempt to not be seen.

On the fourth night Izuku, wakes up from a lack of warmth. It doesn’t take long to come to his senses and realize he isn’t sleeping on top of Katsuki. He sleepily reaches around to find the other, intent on crawling back on so as to not shove Katsuki out of bed by accident. His arm moves slowly from left to right, then increasingly faster until he realizes Katsuki isn’t there.

Katsuki is gone, and with him goes Izuku’s will to sleep.

Izuku tiptoes around the various people still asleep on the floor, having long memorized the spots they sleep in enough to avoid them in the utter darkness. He doesn’t find Katsuki in the bathroom, common room, or the kitchen.

It’s not unusual for Katsuki to go off on his own. What is unusual is for him to go off on his own in the dead of night without saying a single word to Izuku about it. Izuku, knowing the threat that’s after all of them, begins to worry enough that he considers searching the girls’ room.

The thought of Katsuki sneaking into the girls’ room in the middle of the night is so alien that Izuku decides against checking. Instead he goes to the place his peers have dubbed the ‘training room’. That’s the only half-sensible location left to search. If Katsuki ended up going outside, something must be very wrong.

He stepped out of the elevator to see Katsuki sitting on the floor some ways into the room, back facing him and shoulders hunched forward. Neither say a word as Izuku moved to sit next to Katsuki. He hugged his knees up to his chest and stared ahead into the brightly lit room.

He could tell Katsuki is upset about something. It shows in the way Katsuki stares silently with him, still not acknowledging Izuku’s presence.

Izuku wished he knew what to say to make Katsuki feel better about whatever is bothering him. He only has a couple of ideas of what might be wrong and picking the wrong one could possibly make things worse.

“Why are you awake?” Katsuki asked.

Izuku looked at him briefly, wondering why the answer to that isn’t obvious. “Because you weren’t there.”

“I’ve only been gone for fifteen minutes.”

Izuku shrugged. “You’re warm. It got really cold without you. Our bed is right under the vent.”

Another bout of silence. Izuku learned from the last few times that if Katsuki has something to talk about, it’s probably best not to push him. If Katsuki wants to sit in silence then Izuku will stay up all night. He has nothing important happening tomorrow to prevent him from doing so. If Katsuki needs him to leave, he’ll reluctantly do so. If Katsuki needs to talk, he’ll happily listen.

They sat in silence too long for Izuku to know how much time has passed. Katsuki raised one hand in front of his face and stared at it. The action caught Izuku’s attention too. Izuku watched him stare at his hand until the thoughtful expression morphed into one of irritation.

“They’ve already gotten a lot of color back,” Izuku tried, his guess for what’s bothering Katsuki narrowed down to the state of his arms. “Look, they’re not so shrunken anymore either.”

Izuku reached for Katsuki’s hand and slowly ran his index and middle finger across the palm. A small explosion goes off in Katsuki’s palm. Izuku jumped and pulled his fingers away, then stared forward again timidly. While it was surprising and disconcerting, it didn’t harm him.

“They piss me off.” Katsuki’s gaze stayed steady on his hand. “I don’t like looking at them. They’re ugly and remind me of the failure.”

Izuku glanced at Katsuki’s hand, then forward once more. He leaned to the side and rested his head against Katsuki’s shoulder. Katsuki’s hand didn’t look that bad anymore. The color is almost all back, the shriveled appearance all gone, and the size already back to normal. The only semblance that Katsuki’s hand is still recovering is the slight paleness of his skin from the elbow down. Izuku doesn’t see any ugliness where Katsuki is looking.

Izuku raised his scarred hand and held it next to Katsuki’s hand. He doesn’t consider this scar a sign of failure, just like he doesn’t consider Katsuki’s recovering arms a sign of failure. They’re symbols of success to him, in fact. Something to learn from too, not to feel remorse over.

“The scars on my hand look far worse. Do you think they’re ugly?” Katsuki stared at Izuku’s hand, and then shook his head. Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “Your arm, your hand, isn’t ugly either. You didn’t fail. So many of our friends are alive because of you. Because you gave them the chance to escape. You put yourself in horrible danger so everyone else would be safe. Your injury isn’t a symbol that you lost the fight. It’s a symbol that everyone else got to safety.”

Katsuki continued to stare at their hands. Their interlocked fingers wouldn’t stop him from pulling away should he want to. Izuku’s grip is loose enough that he’d get away without a fight.

He grips Izuku’s hand and lays his head on top of Izuku’s. “I hate when you’re right.”

Izuku smiled. “What were you down here for anyway?”

Katsuki answered with an explosion from his free hand. The sound, even without the echo that rang through the large room, is enough to make Izuku jump. A safe guess would be that Katsuki has been down here using his quirk to regain strength with it.

“I’ve been down here for a few hours every night. Haven’t been going crazy or anything, just getting used to it again.” Katsuki furled and unfurled the fingers on his free hand. “Fucking hurts sometimes, so I have to take a lot of breaks. Pisses me off every time I have to.”

“I don’t think you should be doing them at all yet, so it’s good you’re taking breaks.” Izuku’s eyes scanned the room. There’s no evidence of Katsuki blowing up anything in specific. No scorch marks on any of the targets, walls, or floor. No broken dummies. “I don’t suppose I can talk you out of doing it at all for a little while longer?”

“No.” Katsuki’s answer is quick and decisive. His tone gives no leeway to argument or debate. “I want to end this shitty lifestyle as soon as possible. If I didn’t get injured we would’ve already dealt with the league of assholes and been moving on with our lives.”

“Don’t blame yourself for that.”

“It’s true.” Katsuki reeled back from the sharp pain on his shoulder. He stared incredulously at the angry expression Izuku had and considered Izuku might have gone mad from lack of sleep already. “You fucking–”

“You can’t blame yourself for that if you don’t know that’s what we would even do next! Aizawa didn’t clearly say we would do that immediately after freeing everyone else. Especially because Shouji, Nedzu and Recovery Girl didn’t get away. And that’s my fault. Not yours. We still haven’t even found any of the students from class B yet.”

Katsuki shoved Izuku away, breaking their hold on each other’s hands. “You just fucking bit me!”

Izuku scooted away, hugged his knees to his chest, and looked away. He believes he’ll regret saying this, even if Katsuki needs to hear it right now.

“Yeah, I did because you’re being dumb.”

Izuku can feel the glare directed at him, hear the irregular breathing beginning from Katsuki. Regardless of not wanting to say that, sometimes it just needs to be said. This is one of those times, he felt. Perhaps it isn’t and he’s made a mistake. Either way it’s already done, and now he’s awaiting the outburst that’s sure to come from insulting Katsuki Bakugou.

He stayed braced and waiting for what felt like forever, the only sound being Katsuki’s angered huffing and puffing that’s slowing down. There’s no outburst before the noise dies back down to regular breathing that Izuku can’t hear. He looks to Katsuki from the corners of his eyes, curious as to when Katsuki will lose control.

Surprisingly Katsuki looks well in control. Still a faint scowl, yet no evidence of an oncoming outburst.

“Just because it doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it’s dumb, fucking idiot,” Katsuki said.

“It makes sense to me because I’ve had similar thoughts about myself before. That’s why I know it’s dumb.” Izuku looked to Katsuki again and rested his cheek on his knees. “I mess up a lot. Because of that I think a lot about how my screw ups inconvenience everyone. I don’t know how it feels for you. I can only assume it feels almost the same. It hurts to think about and you can’t think about anything else because you want to stay by yourself. You feel like if you go to someone else, you’ll think about how you screwed them over. So you stay by yourself and think about how you screwed everyone over by yourself. You think about how you want to get better so it doesn’t happen again. So things that are out of your control are no longer out of your control.”

Katsuki stared at Izuku. Most of that is true, and Katsuki is a little surprised Izuku does understand. Not that he should be surprised, given how Izuku is merely speaking of his own past experiences. Katsuki should’ve known Izuku of all people would know what he’s feeling. Up to this point in his life Izuku has almost always been one of the very, very few who ever do.

Izuku crawled on his hands and knees to stop in front of Katsuki. He sat on his knees and grabbed Katsuki’s hands, holding them between the two of them and rubbed his thumb across one of Katsuki’s hands once.

“I know at least a little about how you’re feeling, and feel free to tell me if I’m wrong about any of it. You don’t have to think about how we’re waiting on you before we go after the villains. We’re waiting for you because we need you. Because I need you. You’re truly amazing, Kacchan, and I don’t think we could do this without you.” Izuku tilted his head to the side and a bright smile broke out on his face. “If you didn’t get hurt, we’d be going after the villains with everyone else either captured or dead. Because of you we’re going after them knowing everyone we got is safe, and I’ll feel so much better knowing you’re fighting right next to me.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, groaning at the mushiness of Izuku’s words. “All right, all right, I get it. I did well and all that shit.”

Izuku crawled back to Katsuki’s side and laid his head in Katsuki’s lap. He doesn’t believe Katsuki is fully over it; it’s rare for someone as full of pride as Katsuki to shrug off what they consider a failure so easily. Even so, they both need sleep, and Izuku is falling asleep already.

A large yawn escapes him. “Come on my morning run with me tomorrow. I’ll help you get used to your quirk again afterwards.”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow. “How are you supposed to help with that?”

Izuku shrugged, and then buried his face in Katsuki’s shirt. He said something too muffled for Katsuki to hear. Katsuki pulled his head back by his shirt collar and told him to repeat himself.

“I said we’ll spar or something. Or I’ll just watch you and be there for you. Whatever helps.”

Katsuki released Izuku’s shirt and Izuku’s head dropped back down into his lap. He considered the proposition, and then shook his head slowly.

“No. The size and power of the explosions are coming back pretty fast, but I don’t think I’m ready for sparring or anything. At least not with someone who can break a brick wall with his fucking pinky finger.” Katsuki heard a muffled snort from below. The corner of his mouth tugged upwards, a hint of a smile working its way onto his mouth from Izuku’s sleepy laughter. “We’ll wait a couple of weeks just to be sure. And I’m not using this place during the day. I don’t want any of these assholes to see me like this.”

He isn’t afraid of his arms getting injured from his explosions. As long as the explosions aren’t too big he doesn’t need to worry about the recoil harming his arms. He is afraid of something, or rather someone, he can’t control hitting his arms and potentially breaking them all over again because they don’t know how much strength to use. Whether it’s Izuku or not doesn’t matter, though the fact Izuku has the power of All Might coursing through him at will doesn’t do well to make him think twice about trying.

He doesn’t want to be in this state any longer than he has to. Preferably he wouldn’t be in this state at all.

“Okay,” Izuku said in a muffled voice. He turned his head up at Katsuki with his eyes closed. “They won’t make fun of you, but if it’s what you want I won’t talk you out of it. Will you come sleep with me tonight still? I miss you.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes again and ran his hand through Izuku’s hair. “I’m not tired because I’ve been sleeping during the day so I could be up at night when no one else is.”

Izuku laid there in silence for a moment, his eyes still closed, before replying in a quiet voice, “Okay.”

Katsuki, unable to tell if Izuku is disappointed, half asleep, or both, sighed quietly. “Fine, I’ll come lie down with you awhile.”

Izuku turned his head again and pulled Katsuki into an awkward, sideways hug. Katsuki let him stay like that for a few seconds, then patted him on the head and stood up to lead Izuku back to their bed.

Izuku leaned against Katsuki in the elevator, eyes still closed and head on Katsuki’s shoulder. Katsuki snaked an arm around Izuku’s waist and let him stay like that. After the elevator stopped he grabbed Izuku’s hand and led him down the hall to the boys’ room.

They stopped in the doorway for a moment, and then Katsuki lifted Izuku up to prevent the half conscious boy from stepping on anyone. Izuku wrapped his arms around Katsuki’s neck and rested his head on Katsuki’s shoulder. His legs wrapped around Katsuki’s waist and he let himself be carried to the bed.

Katsuki laid them both down with Izuku on top of him. He brushed a tuft of hair out of Izuku’s face and laid there listening to Izuku’s soft breathing.

Eri glanced over her book at Kouta sitting across from her. She’s twisting and turning the book he gave her in different directions, turning it upside down and right side up multiple times, trying to make sense of the letters on the pages. Kouta is unaware of her dilemma and she’s not too keen on making it known.

Kouta is watching the male students in the bathing area, resting his head in his arms on the edge of the wooden wall he and Eri are on top of. He’s been given the task to guard anyone of either side from trying to climb over the wall and he asked Eri to watch the girls for him so he doesn’t have to.

The actual reason he asked her is so he could have an excuse to be around her for a while. The book was brought to hopefully keep her from getting bored and leaving; a gamble given that he doesn’t know if she even likes to read.

Kouta has only had any issues with students trying to get over the wall twice, the first time being when Izuku’s class was here. He hasn’t noticed Eri looking at him, or that she’s apparently having trouble reading. He’s trying to keep her around in the hopes he’ll experience that same joy he got from seeing her earlier in the day, curious and eager to find out what’s causing it.

Is it part of her quirk? Something else?

“So…” Kouta began, sneaking a glance at her from the corners of his eyes. He can only catch a very small glimpse without turning his head, and he doesn’t want her to know that he is trying to look at her. “Do you like that book?”

“Y-yeah,” Eri replied nervously. She flipped a page and smiled at Kouta. “It’s pretty interesting. Do you read it a lot?”

“I did once.” Kouta shrugged and tilted his head back, giving him a better view at her. Her knees are pressed up to her chest and the book is in front of her legs. She’s staring down at the pages with her chin resting on her knees, a few strands of hair covering part of her face. “I don’t reread things a lot. Not much of a point if you already know what will happen, right?”

Eri hummed in response and turned another page. Kouta finally looked over his shoulder and noticed she is currently holding the book upside down. His brows furrowed and nose scrunched at the sight, thoroughly peeved at the thought of being treated like he was stupid.

“What’s wrong?” Eri asked when she noticed him. She followed his line of sight to the book and slowly turned it right-side up, that being a simple guess of what is bothering him. “Do you want it back?”

“If you didn’t want it you should have said so,” Kouta grumbled. He placed his chin back in his arms and glared down at the boys below rather than continue to look at her pretending to read. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.”

“I wasn’t,” Eri said. Her arms wrapped around her legs and she sent a crestfallen gaze down to the book. “Deku is teaching me how to read. I didn’t get to start learning until a while after I was rescued. I didn’t want to say because it’s embarrassing. I’m sorry.”

Kouta’s eyes widened, and suddenly he felt like kicking himself. Hard. If it was possible to do it he might actually go through with it. He stood and whirled around, waving his hands frantically.

“No, you don’t have to apologize for that. That was totally my fault. I’m the one who should be sorry.” He rubbed his arm, his eyes downcast, and took another look at the boys below. He should really be keeping an eye on them, but Eri looks so sullen now that he can’t help tearing himself away from the task. “I-I can read some of it to you if you want. You know, to see if you like the book. Or maybe you can learn some more from it or… something. I don’t know.”

Eri glanced up at him, then grew a smile and nodded. Kouta crawled over to her side and picked up the book. Once he’s settled in next to her, he began on the first page, his words just above a mumble so the people below hopefully wouldn’t hear.

What he didn’t plan on was Eri not being able to hear him so well either, an issue fixed by her to leaning in closer and placing her chin on his arm. His entire body went rigid for a moment and he paused in his reading. If Eri noticed she didn’t appear to show it, instead waiting patiently for him to continue. Kouta picked up where he left off in the middle of a sentence, his eyes glued to the page to try to avoid seeing the head resting just within his sight.

He tried to ignore her presence, but to no avail. Her chin is pressing lightly into his arm and her hair is partially blocking his view of the right side of the book. Her breathing is soft against his skin and each exhale causes goosebumps to form.

Kouta manages to get through three pages before he can’t take her being so close anymore. Not that it’s unpleasant. The opposite in fact; it’s almost too pleasant. He’s not used to wanting to be near somebody. If someone were to try to grab his hand like she did, he’d jerk his hand away even if it were his aunt. Something he’s had to do before.

He always thought Izuku would be the only exception, and barely a partial exception at that. With her, earlier that day on the cliff, not only did he not mind it, he enjoyed it.

It’s mind-boggling.

The book is closed as soon as Kouta finished the last word on the third page. Eri sat up and looked at him quizzically.

“Why’d you stop?”

“I need to check on the boys. Make sure they’re not peeping or anything.” A valid excuse, given that he was tasked with doing exactly that.

“Peeping at what?”

“The girls on the other side.” Kouta peered over the edge of the large wooden wall separating the two groups and did a head count.

“Why would they want to do that?” Eri asked while looking over at the girls’ side.

“I don’t know, but it’s wrong. They like it for some dumb reason, but it’s disgraceful and dirty.” Kouta shook his head disapprovingly at the teenagers below. “I don’t get why they would want to see someone naked. That’s so stupid.”

“We could ask Deku,” Eri suggested after making sure all the girls were accounted for. “I bet he knows why.”

“Speak of the devil,” Kouta said as Izuku barged into the bathing area below and started looking around frantically.

“Kouta, have you seen Eri?” Izuku shouted up once he spotted Kouta peeking over the wall. All of the male students followed his line of sight and, for the first time, noticed Kouta staring down at them boredly. “I can’t find–”

“I’m right here,” Eri shouted back, her head popping up over the edge of the wall. Kouta quickly covered her eyes with his hand, still watching Izuku, and Eri closed her eyes. “Oh, right.”

“What are you doing up there?” Izuku asked incredulously. “D-don’t move! I’ll come and get you down.”

“She’s fine. I brought her up here,” Kouta called down to him, stopping Izuku in his tracks. “She’s watching the girls’ side for me. Quit being so paranoid.”

“Kouta, you fell from there last time I was here. I had to catch you or you would’ve hit your head–”

“I fell because your classmates were all idiots!” Kouta yelled back. “I haven’t fallen since, and she won’t either. I wouldn’t let her.”

Izuku sighed and walked off, leaving Kouta to lead Eri away from the edge at the boy’s side. He stopped covering her eyes once the boys below were out of her line of sight. They both sat back down in front of each other, Kouta’s back against the wall.

“Where did he go?”

“Don’t know. He just walked away.” Kouta glanced away for a moment. “How did you get to know him anyway?”

Eri looked down at her hands in her lap. “He rescued me from a group of villains. I’d… rather not go into it any more than that. I’ve been with him and a few other heroes ever since. They saved me almost four years ago.”

“Guess he went on a saving spree that year. He kept a villain from killing me four years ago too, even though I treated him like crap before then. He got all bloody and beaten for me when he didn’t even know anything about me.”

“Yeah, and then he picked me up and–”

“Carried me off to safety,” they both finished together.

The hatch leading up to the top of the wall swung open and Kouta’s hand shot out towards it, blasting a burst of water into the face of whoever climbed the stairs to the top.

Izuku stayed frozen in place with his head poking through the hatch, his eyes squeezed shut, hair and face drenched in water. Kouta and Eri glanced at each other, Eri in disbelief and Kouta shocked.

“I did not mean to do that,” Kouta said as the first one to break the silence. “Why did you come up so abruptly like that?”

Izuku spit out the water that made it into his mouth and wiped his face off with his forearm. “I was in a hurry. I didn’t know you would try to blast me away.”

Eri laughed at Izuku’s predicament, a hand over her mouth to try to hide it, after seeing that he is okay. “You made me jump too, Deku. You should tell us when you’re coming up next time.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.” Izuku watched Kouta’s little hand wave over his face, and with it the water that was dripping from him followed. Izuku sat up and placed his hand on Eri’s shoulder. “We should get you down from here. Come on.”

“But I’m fine up here.” Eri grabbed his hand and pulled him to keep him here. “Why not stay here with us? Then you can keep both of us from falling if you’re so worried about it.”

“Yeah, you can watch over us,” Kouta said, jumping on Eri’s plan to keep him here. “Read that book I brought to us. The students shouldn’t be here much longer.”

Izuku picked up the nearby book and sighed quietly. Their logic is sound, so he has little room to argue. Although, truth be told, this is the first time Eri has tried to stay with someone when Izuku has said it’s time to go, and he doesn’t want to discourage her from spending time with Kouta.

 “Alright, alright, but just until the others are gone.”

Kouta glanced over the edge of the wall again, and then moved over to the other side of Izuku from Eri. He mirrored Eri by leaning into Izuku’s side and hugging his knees to his chest.

She’s resting her head against Izuku’s side with her eyes closed, listening to Izuku read, and Izuku can see Kouta stealing glances at her every so often. It’s very obvious he has no interest in what’s being read, but rather in what she’s doing instead. Still, Izuku continues to read while watching the two of them from the corners of his eyes. If this is their way of trying to spend time together before bed then he wouldn’t want to try to separate them anymore than he already has tried. He was unaware that they had taken such a liking to each other in the first place.

Granted the moment they arrived at the cabin Kouta was eager to meet with her again, and Eri doesn’t seem to disapprove of Kouta as far as he can tell. Kouta was more than happy to give Eri a tour of the place, and Izuku trusted him to do so.

Perhaps his uncertainties about letting the two meet today were misplaced after all.

Some twenty pages into the book Izuku closed it. Eri had fallen asleep a bit ago and he can see Kouta beginning to nod off as well. He can tell by the way Eri’s body has gone limp and Kouta’s eyes keep closing. It’s about time for the students to go to bed as well and most, if not all of them, should be gone by now.

He carefully moved out from between the two of them and caught Eri’s head before she fell over. Kouta barely caught himself before falling over as well and looked up at Izuku.

“What time is it?”

“Time for bed,” Izuku replied while picking up Eri. He held his hand out to Kouta with a small smile. “The others are already gone and Eri is asleep. Will you show me where we’re staying?”

Kouta took Izuku’s hand, though surprise filled him when he isn’t lifted to his feet, but up into the air and onto Izuku’s shoulder. He glared down at Izuku’s grin, and then yawned as Izuku carried them both down the stairs and back into the cabin’s hallways.

Kouta gave simple directions—a left or right at every turn—until they reached the room the teachers were sleeping in. Kouta pulled lightly at Izuku’s hair upon arriving at the door, and Izuku let him down. Kouta turned to leave and was stopped by Izuku’s hand on his shoulder.

“You’re not coming?”

Kouta shook his head from over his shoulder and yawned again. “Mandalay said there isn’t enough room in there this year, because you and Eri came. So I’m supposed to sleep with the boys in the other room.”

“Oh, I didn’t know we’d be kicking you out.” Izuku looked to Eri in his arms, then to the door, and then back to Kouta. “We can find somewhere else to sleep if–”

“Nah,” Kouta interjected with a wave of his hand, already walking down the hall to the boys’ room, “it’s fine. It’s only for the week.”

Izuku is about to insist, but Kouta has already turned the corner and made it just outside the door to the boys’ room. He draws in a deep breath and let’s it out in a quiet, drawn out sigh. The last thing he wants to do is bunk with a bunch of teenage hero wannabes.

The door is swung open and he stands there quietly with his hands in his pockets. All eyes in the room are on him, but he ignores them, as well as the annoyed whispers of ‘That boy’ and ‘The water quirk kid’ that take up the silence of the room. He has no interest in conversing with them or hearing what they have to say, and so he takes an extra sleeping mat from the closet and makes himself a place to sleep in a corner of the room away from the others before changing into his pajamas.

Eri stared out into the dark woods, the only light coming from the moon and stars, still in her sleeping gown.

It isn’t often she gets to see nature in its purest form, untouched by society beyond the cabin behind her back. The only noises she can hear are the faint sounds of distant crickets and the occasional snore from a nearby window.

While Izuku will take her out and about, from U.A., to festivals, to field trips with the students. Anywhere where there would be a lot of people around to circumvent any plans Chisaki might come up with to take her back. So long as there are other people around, there will be other heroes around, as well as witnesses, and the last thing Chisaki wants is to be caught at the scene of a crime.

This is a rare moment she has where she can be away from crowds of people and stay in a peaceful environment for a while. The moments are far and few, but she takes advantage of them each time whenever possible.

“What are you doing?”

Eri glanced to the side and saw Kouta standing in the doorway leading into the cabin. She has to suppress a laugh at his sleeping attire, almost able to see his chest with how oversized his shirt is. His pants are at least his size, though she’s surprised to see him without his hat. Izuku had told her before they arrived that he, to Izuku’s knowledge, almost never took it off.

“What?” Kouta questioned. He looked himself over to see whatever it is she’s attempting not to laugh at.

“N-nothing, nothing.” Eri leaned back against the wall of the cabin and stared forward into the forest again. “I’m enjoying some quiet time. I don’t get to be out in nature that often, so I’m taking it in while I can.”

Kouta nodded and moved closer to her with his hands clasped behind his back and eyes turned downward. “Yeah. It was kind of nice the first time I came, but I’ve been here so many times now that it isn’t that special anymore.”

He stopped next to her and leaned against the wall the same as she’s doing, his hands still behind his back. Instead of staring into the forest ahead, he keeps his sight fixated on the ground beneath their feet.

“How come you’re up?” Eri asked him, now looking up into the night sky.

“I had to use the restroom and saw you outside the window when I went back to bed, so I came to see what you were doing.”

They both stood in silence after that, Kouta staring at the ground and Eri looking at various different places. Kouta noticed her shifting her weight from foot to foot every so often, and saw that she came outside barefoot.

Eri’s gaze turned down as Kouta kicked his slippers in front of her. She looked at him questioningly, and then smiled at his very obvious attempt at being aloof about offering them to her.

“You don’t have to. I’m used to being barefoot.” She says that, though she doesn’t hesitate to slip her feet into them to escape the cold and partially rocky ground.

“It’s fine.” Kouta refused to look directly at her since the moment he moved next to her. He’s looking in the opposite direction right now, wondering why he can feel his heartbeat so clearly. It isn’t pounding so much as he’s just able to feel it, whereas normally he’d never even notice it was beating. “We can go a little farther out, if you want. Ya know, see the forest and stuff…”

Eri gave him a concerned glance. “But what if we get lost?”

“I’ve been coming here for years, so I know my way around most of the forest.” Kouta shakily held his hand out for Eri to take, still refusing to look directly at her. “There are no dangerous animals here, and we won’t get lost if we stick to the routes I know.”

Eri stared at his hand, a little unsure of the proposition. Normally she wouldn’t wander too far off from Izuku, but maybe this once couldn’t hurt.

Her hand is placed in his, and Kouta hesitantly led the way forward into the forest. Something told her she could trust him just as much as she trusted Izuku, even if she was wary about wandering into the dark.

The two sauntered into the forest, and a few steps in Eri moved closer to Kouta, somewhat apprehensive about the lack of light breaking through the treetops. Kouta took a breath to calm himself when her shoulder pressed up against his. He squeezed her hand gently to reassure her that nothing bad would happen, and finally looked at her to give her a big grin.

“I know it’s dark, but it’s all right. We’ll be fine if we stick together.” Kouta feels so out of place being that positive, but if it’s what will calm her down then he’d resign to doing it every single day. Especially if doing so gets him a smile from her like it did just now.

She began to unwind with that, growing ever calmer after seeing a big smile from Kouta for the first time. It’s enough to wash away her nervousness for the time being and allow her to look around in awe of her surroundings, rather than in fear. Her new outlook allows her to see the fireflies flashing in various spots around them. She can’t tell if Kouta is ignoring them or hasn’t noticed them yet, but she remains attentive to them nevertheless. The chirps from the crickets are getting louder and more plentiful the deeper into the forest they go.

Kouta doesn’t take them very far in, and turns back around after a few minutes of aimless wandering to head back. He doesn’t want to keep her up for too long, even less so when he remembers that they’re not supposed to leave the cabin at night anyway.

“Tomorrow we can go further out, when it isn’t the middle of the night and all,” Kouta said as they approached the cabin. “I’ll show you where I like to go during the day when I’m not doing anything around here. It’s a high up place where you can see the whole forest.”

“That sounds great.” Eri reluctantly took her hand from Kouta’s and yawned on her way to the door. “I’m going back to bed, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, for sure.” Kouta waved to her retreating back, stuck in place with a smile on his face.

After she was gone he went back to the boys’ room and was met with several sets of eyes upon opening the door, most of them accompanied by amused grins.

Kouta sat on the edge of the familiar cliff. He ends up at this same place every year, dragged here by his aunt to help oversee training for U.A. students. Or at least that’s what he’s told it’s for. He knows it’s because she won’t leave him alone at home for more than a few hours. Especially not after what happened to Tomoko’s quirk.

This year he’s been told Izuku is supposed to come here with Aizawa’s class. The reason why hasn’t been explained, and nothing else has been changed from their normal plans. There’s students coming for the training camp and everything is supposed to go the same.

Kouta hasn’t seen Izuku in four years—beyond seeing his rising popularity on the news—and is somewhat excited to see him again. It’s clear to his aunt by the way he’s been more talkative than usual, even if only to ask questions about when the group will arrive.

In the four years since that night Kouta has come to appreciate his quirk. He’s still mostly against the thought of trying to become a hero, though after that night he understands the current need for them. However, he does finds it useful to train his quirk as if he were going to be one regardless.

Because of that his aunt has found a lot of uses for him in regards to helping with the training camp sessions every year. The extra help is especially appreciated with the loss of Tomoko’s quirk.

“They’re almost here,” Shino said from her spot near the side of the road.

Kouta stared over his shoulder at the road impatiently, then stood and crossed his arms to wait for them. Being here earlier than everyone else is the worst part every year. There’s nothing to do besides wait.

A moment later the bus full of students arrived. Aizawa is the first one off the bus, followed immediately by a lot of people in U.A. student uniforms that Kouta didn’t recognize. Kouta finally spotted Izuku exiting the bus with what he assumes is the last student in Aizawa’s class.

Izuku stopped in the doorway of the bus and called out to someone, his voice too far away for Kouta to hear clearly. He held his hand out for someone to take. A small hand took his from around the corner and a girl comes out of the bus with him.

Kouta can’t hear Ryuko, Yawara and Shino doing their Pussycats introduction bit to the students, nor the instructions being given to them. He’s too focused on this strange girl holding onto Izuku’s hand, hiding halfway behind Izuku’s back, with a look of curiosity on her face.

“Kouta?”

Somehow Izuku and the girl had made their way in front of Kouta without him noticing. Apparently he had been far more zoned out than he thought.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you wanted to meet someone.” Izuku tugged the little girl forward, crouched down beside the two of them, and grinned. “This is the boy I told you about. Kouta, this is Eri. I brought her along because I’m keeping watch over her while we handle a, um, ‘issue’ involving a villain and her well being.”

Kouta and Eri watched each other inquisitively, Eri with a small, timid smile and Kouta with a half-hearted glare. Izuku’s grin dwindles at the sight, having hoped Kouta could’ve been Eri’s first friend that’s around her own age. It was a gamble, knowing Kouta’s usually distant and loner personality, that he was willing to take.

“Eri, why don’t you go wait on the bus for a moment,” Izuku said, lightly pushing her in the direction of the bus. She left with a quiet ‘Okay’ and Izuku watched her go until she was out of sight, then he met Kouta’s glare with another uneasy smile.

“What do you want?” Kouta questioned. He can tell that Izuku is nervously beating around the bush. “I missed you, but doesn’t mean you should waste my time.”

Izuku grew less unsettled after hearing that Kouta missed him. “You think I don’t want to talk to you? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

Kouta sat on the ledge again, his feet swinging back and forth over the edge. “If you only wanted to talk then you wouldn’t be so on edge. You want something.”

Izuku chuckled at that. He forgot Kouta is a smart, albeit misguided, child that will definitely pick up on things like that.

“That’s fair.” Izuku sat next to Kouta and raised his hand to pat him on the head, the instinct instilled in him from his years with Eri. Before his hand touched the top of Kouta’s hat he pulled it back. He isn’t sure how much Kouta has changed and it’s probably not a good idea to cross any social boundaries until he’s sure he’s allowed. “I am genuinely wondering how you’re doing. I just happened to also need your help. Maybe you’re not the right person for it though. Sorry for trying to get you to do something as soon as we saw each other again. We can talk about something else if you want.”

Kouta bristled at the sound of that. “You think I can’t help you? You don’t know what I can do now!”

“I didn’t mean…” Izuku started with a small smile, waving his hands in a placating motion. “I’m not saying you’re weak or anything. I don’t think you’re the right person for it is all. Your personality may be too… abrasive for it.”

“How do you know that if you don’t ask first?” Kouta questioned, scowling at Izuku. He still feels like he owes Izuku something for saving his life. All he’s done is apologize for punching Izuku and thank him and he doesn’t feel like that’s enough, even if Izuku has told him before that it’s okay.

Izuku can see, and is utterly confused by, the disappointment and borderline anger on Kouta’s face and in his voice. He didn’t think Kouta would get upset over not being asked for help. If anything he believed Kouta wouldn’t have cared in the slightest, or maybe he would have been relieved to not be given extra work.

“Um, all right. I wanted to know if you could try to be Eri’s friend?”

Kouta’s expression morphs into one of confusion, then annoyance. “Have you been talking to Mandalay? I don’t need a bunch of stupid friends if that’s what she’s telling you.”

“No, no. I’m asking because Eri is the one who doesn’t have any friends.” Izuku scratched the back of his head and looked back toward the bus to check for Eri, then shifted his gaze to the large forest below them. “I mean, she has a few adult friends, and some of Aizawa’s students give her attention, but that’s about it. She doesn’t know anyone her own age because of… I feel like it’d be really good for her to make at least one friend her own age and I’m afraid to send her to a school or some public place without my supervision. There are some people after her that I’m trying to keep away.”

Kouta glanced over his shoulder at the bus and saw Eri staring out of one of the windows at all the people talking to each other outside. She has a forlorn stare and he can see why Izuku would want her to have a friend or two.

Normally he’d be repulsed by the idea of having to stay with some other kid. For Izuku, and his strangely growing curiosity about the girl, he’ll swallow his pride and try this once, seeing how it’ll only be for the time they’re all here.

“If she annoys me I get to tell her to leave me alone.”

“W-why don’t you bring her back to me and quietly tell me to avoid hurting her feelings instead? And try not to insult heroes around her if at all possible?”

Kouta heard Shino’s voice in his head, a telepathic warning from her quirk that they’re about to wash all the students over the side of the cliff, and sighed tiredly.

“Fine. But you have to do something for me first.” Izuku watched Kouta take his hat off and dig around in his pocket for something. A black sharpie is pulled out and Kouta holds both out to Izuku expectantly.

“What…?”

“Don’t make me ask,” Kouta warned him.

Izuku took the pen and Kouta’s cap and stared down at them. He’s utterly baffled at what Kouta is demanding of him and he can feel Kouta’s growing frustration from watching him try to put the pieces together. He furrowed his brows and looked to Kouta, almost ready to apologize for having to ask. Thankfully he didn’t have to anger Kouta any more as the child practically shouted at him.

“Fuckin’ sign it already!”

Izuku’s face lit up with understanding, and then he grew confused again. “You want my signature?”

“Yeah?” Kouta stared back, almost as equally as confused as Izuku was. “Why wouldn’t I? Aren’t you supposed to be a pro hero or whatever now? Just hurry up and sign the inside. They’re about the start the training and I’m supposed to be helping.”

“O-oh, okay.” Izuku stared down at the inside of the cap and proudly wrote down his hero name for him with a lopsided smile and an elated feeling.

The first signature he ever wrote for the first person he ever saved.

“Cool,” Kouta said. His hat is placed back on his head and the sharpie in his pocket. He held his hands out over the cliff and water began spouting from his palms into the forest below, a steady non-stop stream dropping to the ground. “Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got stuff to do.”

“You’re helping out the Pussycats now?” Izuku asked amusedly. He’d kept very scarce contact with Kouta and had no idea Kouta has been using his quirk to this day. “Would you mind if Eri and I watched?”

“Not like I can stop you.” Kouta kept the water coming, slowly gaining the attention of the students who are starting to find out they’ve been locked out of the bus. He shouted over his shoulder at Ryuko, “Keep your dirt out of my water this time!”

Izuku watched the students begin to frantically pound on the bus door as they slowly put the pieces together. The begging and shouts of protest began and Izuku grew a sad smile, almost feeling sorry for them. He remembered when he and his classmates were caught off guard by this trick too. Everyone was sure it’d be a nice bus ride to a cool camp site, but alas.

Reminiscent of the year he came here, an avalanche of dirt and rocks bursted out from under everyone’s feet, throwing every single student over the cliff side and into the forest below. Ryuko made sure not to blast any of the adults, Kouta, or the bus with Eri in it over the edge, and with everyone gone Kouta pulled his arms back to begin spraying water across the top of the cliff all the way up to the street.

Izuku watched the water beginning to soak his shoes questioningly, and then motioned for Eri to come join them.

Kouta closed his eyes and held his hands out, palms facing straight down at the ground with his fingers splayed out. He breathed in deep, and then exhaled slowly, something to help the strain of controlling a large amount of water. He’d already begun his search by the time Eri had approached. Kouta didn’t see Izuku whisper something to Eri, nor did he see the little smile on her face.

He did feel the disruptions in his water as Izuku walked off to go watch the forest from another spot on the cliff, as well as the disruptions from Eri’s footsteps as she moved to stand next to him.

Eri had her hands clasped together behind her back. From the look on his face Eri guessed Kouta was concentrating on something. She’s nervous about interrupting him, and simply stared at him instead.

“I can feel you staring at me,” Kouta said after a couple of minutes. “What do you want?”

“N-nothing. Deku told me to stay with you.” Eri looked down to the forest where Kouta’s hands were pointing. “Can I ask what you’re doing?”

“Looking for the lose… the students,” Kouta corrected himself upon remembering Izuku’s request. Unsure of why he can’t insult them in front of her, he decided to refrain from doing it for the time being. “I’m supposed to try to slow them down as much as possible.”

Eri nodded, wondering how he would go about that, at the same moment Kouta finally found the group traveling in the forest below. A small smirk formed on his lips. His fingers curled into fists and unfurled back into open palms to stretch his fingers. His palms turned upwards and he raised his arms.

Eri and Izuku both watched him curiously. Their heads snapped toward the forest as a giant octopus-like creature made of water erupted from the trees and started snatching up students from Aizawa’s class. The creature was devoid of any small details, such as a face or suckers on the tentacles.

They’re too far to be able to tell who is who—not that Kouta would be able to put names to faces anyway—and all they see are small dots struggling in the distance.

“Wow. It’s not going to hurt them, is it?”

“Nah, I’m controlling it,” Kouta explained with his arms making different little movements. Every time his arms move, something on the water creature in the distance moves as well. It can be seen that while he will shiver every so often, and he appears to be a little strained, overall he is completely in control of it. Currently only he and his aunt know he has difficulties controlling an amount this big, not to mention the toll it takes on him just to pump out this much water in the first place. But so long as he isn't in the thick of it and it's only for a short time, he believes it should be fine. “I’m supposed to toss them around and try to slow them down so the teachers can see how they handle the situation. I’m not going to hurt anyone. Probably.”

“So it’s more training for them. Deku and Mr. Aizawa say they need a lot of that before they can save other people.” Eri surveyed the area, now intent on helping Kouta. She suddenly pointed to a small clearing off to the right of Kouta’s creature. “Oh, there’s someone getting away over there.”

Kouta’s attention switched to where she was pointing. He kept his arms still and slid his right foot forward across the ground, keeping the side of his boot facing out toward the cliff. The giant water octopus froze in place, still holding onto several students and keeping others pocketed in its enormous head. He twisted his right boot in the muddy water on the ground to face the side toward the cliff, and a blast of water sent that escaping student back toward the collapsing octopus. Kouta realized, upon seeing the creature begin to unravel and collapse, that he’d stopped focusing on the beast and quickly fixed it so that it could continue its rampage.

Eri giggled at the person’s plight. If she hadn’t said anything they would have gotten away, yet at the same time she knew if she didn’t say something she would have been helping them to avoid more experience. Izuku did say that’s what they came here for.

The creature in the distance faltered and began to come crashing down, becoming a tidal wave in all directions for a brief second, which caused Eri to glance at Kouta. She caught him staring, a dumbfounded look on his face.

His eyes were wide, mouth hung open slightly, and concentration breaking bit by bit. Once he came to his senses and realized that, not only was he gawking at her, but that she’d caught him gawking at her, he quickly faced the creature in the distance again and regained his composure so it could reform and continue to try to snatch up students who were freed. He tilted his head down to try to hide his face behind the visor of his hat.

“Can the people inside of it breathe?” Eri asked after a moment of watching them, tapping her bottom lip with her index finger. She didn’t notice the ones trapped inside at first. She’s able to see them now that she’s actively searching the field.

“Duh. I’m not trying to drown them,” Kouta said. He clapped his hands together in front of himself, and then slowly and shakily pulled them away from each other as if trying to contain an expanding ball. “I can feel when something disrupts the water I’m controlling, so I can keep track of their position when squirming in it. I’m keeping their heads outside of it so they can breathe.”

His hands got a decent distance away from each other by the time he finished talking, and then he suddenly released whatever he was pretending to hold. His arms flew to each side as though something had exploded in his hold and the octopus that was terrorizing everyone exploded in the distance. Water that was filled with U.A. students came crashing down into the forest in every direction.

“You’re letting them go now?” Eri placed a hand sideways on her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun and scanned the forest to see if she could spot anyone again.

Izuku’s gaze interchanged between the students in the forest and the two children on the cliff regularly. As hesitant as he was about letting Eri meet Kouta, he’s surprised to see how fast she has begun to unwind around him. He remembered it taking a full week before she stopped hiding behind him after he introduced her to Aizawa’s class, even after countless attempts to get her to talk to some of them.

Perhaps it’s the fact Kouta is much closer to her age, or maybe it’s because Izuku told her he and Kouta knew each other before. Either way he’s happy to see they’re getting along.

“No. I can’t keep that up or they’ll never get to the camp. Doesn’t look like they’re smart enough to get away from something like that.” Kouta stomped his foot on the ground, startling Eri and sending three blasts of water carrying a handful of students high into the air. “Also something that big and complicated takes a lot out of me. It’s giving me a headache. I shouldn’t have even been able to do it for that long.”

Kouta took a step back, his boot splashing in the muddy water. He reached forward and pulled at the air and a wave carrying all the students came crashing into the cliffside. Each and every one of them were trapped against the rock wall with shackles made of water around their wrists and ankles.

He moved to the very edge of the cliff and peeked over. He started to count and noticed Eri standing away from the edge. He beckoned to her and continued counting. By the time he finished she was inching up next to him, staring uneasily at the cliff, and he felt a hand grab onto his.

His head snapped down toward his hand in surprise and his line of sight followed the other hand up to Eri, who was looking down at the others now. He slowly turned back to the students below, trying his best to ignore the hand in his and the fingers intertwined with his.

Together they counted eighteen of twenty students at the bottom and Kouta scoffed in disbelief.

“Really? Only two of you got away? I thought you all were supposed to be elite heroes in training or whatever.”

Eri smiled down at the group. “It’s okay. You’re all trying your best. Keep going and I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it!”

Kouta rolled his eyes and pulled Eri closer to whisper, “You can’t be too nice or they’ll never learn.”

Eri furrowed her brows, confused by that statement. “Deku says they need a lot of positive reinforcement because they’re still learning.”

Kouta tilted his head, puzzled by that concept. Being nice when they fail sounded weird. Though now that he thinks about it, he does remember his aunt being gentle and firm at the same time. She never did berate him while he was learning how to better handle his quirk.

Eri sniggered into her hand at Kouta’s perplexed appearance and squeezed gently squeezed his hand in hers. She’s able to practically see the cogs turning in his head as he tries to process what she said.

Kouta felt a rush of heat swiftly fill his face. His stomach felt weird when he heard the sound of her laughter and saw the sight of her smile, just like a few minutes ago. He turned away to avoid seeing her, though nothing could be done to drown out the sound of her laughter.

“Give it a chance. I bet they’ll listen to you if you’re nicer,” Eri insisted. “They listen to me sometimes.”

That’s ‘cause you have a pro hero standing beside you all the time. Kouta huffed and glanced over the ledge to reluctantly give this ‘being nice’ thing a try, only to find that everyone down below was long gone.

“What? Where…” Kouta examined the puddles of water on the ground and slowly put the pieces together. “Ugh, not again.” He stomped his foot on the ground out of frustration and the same three geysers of water from earlier erupted high into the air, this time devoid of any students. His boot stomping into the muddy water at their feet, coupled with the columns of water erupting, startled Eri and her hand retreated from his.

Kouta hardly noticed at first, instead shouting over his shoulder, “Mandalay, they got away!”

“Don’t mind,” Shino shouted back at him. “I’d prefer if you had killed more time, but we’ll just head back and meet them there.”

“Damn it,” Kouta muttered, glaring over the cliffside to hopefully catch a glimpse of the group.

Unfortunately the trees are too dense for him to see through them and they’re likely too far gone and scattered for him to try to find them with water, short of flooding the entire forest.

While that is something he wouldn’t mind doing, the Pussycats would be furious and he wouldn’t be able to control anywhere near enough water to do that. What he’s been doing so far has been pushing his limits as it is.

“I didn’t mean to distract you,” Eri said. She stepped back from the ledge and began to search the area below to see if she could spot any of them for him.

Kouta’s gaze shifted to her, and he finally realized she was no longer holding onto his hand. A brief twinge of disappointment is felt, though he tried to think nothing of it.

While she did divert his attention, he knows she didn’t do it on purpose, and for one reason or another he really didn’t want her to think it was her fault. It’s not like she tackled him to help them all escape or anything. All she did was laugh and smile and somehow that sound and image being replayed in his head is becoming a hefty distraction all over again.

“N-no, you didn’t… you didn’t do anything wrong.” Kouta stared down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not used to comforting someone. “I should’ve paid more attention or something. You were pretty helpful. You spotted that one person trying to get away for me, and kept me company or whatever… It probably would’ve been more boring without you.”

Eri felt relief from hearing that it wasn’t her fault. She stopped searching when Izuku came over and offered his hand to her to lead her back to the bus. Eri took it happily and smiled brightly at Kouta, sending another rush of heat to his face and causing his heart to skip a beat because now that smile is directed right at him.

He doesn’t understand why her smile or her laugh causes him to react so weirdly, why it gives him a funny feeling in his stomach. All he knows is he hopes that smile of hers never goes away for any reason.

“It was fun being with you, um, Kouta, right? I’ll see you at the camp.”

Once she was on the bus and out of sight he came to his senses and ran over to his aunt. It’s a spur of the moment desire that makes him want to take the bus to the camp. He doesn’t know why, he just knows he wants on that bus before it leaves.

“Mandalay! Let me ride the bus to the camp,” Kouta demanded, pointing at the bus that Izuku and Eri were boarding. “Er, please?”

Shino, suspicious of the sudden politeness in the way he’s asking, narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“I… I don’t know. Just let me ride the bus this once. Come on,” Kouta pleaded, anxiously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Shino stared at him quizzically. Whether he’s up to something or not, she can’t tell. She can, however, clearly see that he really wants on that bus. Although regardless of her decision, the bus is already leaving. She points to it so that he can see that too.

“Doesn’t look like you can this time. Maybe next year?” She waved for Kouta to follow and stood next to Ryuko and Yawara at the edge of the cliff. “Come on. We should get to the camp before the students do or they’ll complain about us taking longer than them.”

Izuku cracked open the door, peeking his head through to see if he could spot anyone. On one of the sofa arms he catches a glimpse of Eijirou’s hair.

He sneaks in, leaving his shoes by the door, and makes his way to Kouta’s room. Inside he sees a lump under the covers on Kouta’s bed, and happily believes it to be the boy still asleep. Near-silently he makes his way over to Kouta’s closet, pulling out an outfit to change Kouta into. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done this, and Kouta gets angry at him every time because the boy hates this outfit so much. Izuku can’t help it with how adorable Kouta looks in it, so he continues to do it anyway.

Next he peeks inside Katsuki’s room. Katsuki is lying on his side, his back shown to Izuku.

“What the fuck do you want, Deku?”

Izuku grins while stepping into the room and closing the door. He rests his back against it and stares at Katsuki. “I’m just checking on everyone. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Katsuki rolled over and to the edge of the bed. He kicked his feet over the edge and onto the ground. The foot of his injured leg is stomped onto the floor a couple of times, seeing how bad it still is, and then he glared at Izuku.

“You didn’t. I was about to get up.” He stretched with his arms in the air, the action lifting his shirt above his waist for a brief few seconds. Afterward he catches Izuku’s stare. “I know you want me, but at least fucking try to be subtle.”

Izuku’s gaze darted up to Katsuki’s face. “I don’t… Did Kouta behave? Did you happen to find out why he doesn’t like Eijirou?”

Katsuki fell back onto the bed, his arms spread out wide on either side, and let a quick, mocking laugh escape. “I have a pretty good idea why. I’m not going to tell you because you’re going to overreact.”

“What? Why would I… What did he do?!”

“See? You’re already freaking out.”

Izuku closed his eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled and opened his eyes. His eyes are fixated on what he can see of Katsuki’s face, his stare intense.

“I’m calm. I won’t overreact. Tell me why please.”

Katsuki propped himself up on his elbows and scrutinized Izuku. Katsuki doesn’t doubt Izuku believes he won’t blow things out of proportion. Still, it isn’t enough to be convincing.

“No.”

Izuku dragged his hand down his face, a deep sigh being emitted through the entire action. He can’t fathom how to go about dealing with this right now.

“Okay, whatever. Is Eijirou open for another day? When your leg is better I need you to come with me to Japan.” Izuku’s crooked smile in response to Katsuki’s confusion only serves to irritate Katsuki. “I have to talk to a, uh, ‘friend’ about something and he won’t come here, so we have to go to him.”

“Why do I have to go?”

“Because he hates me with every fiber of his being. If given the chance he’d kill me without a second’s hesitation, and the people who work for him are practically a cult. If he tells them to kill me they would kill themselves just to do it. So I’d feel a little bit safer if you were there with me.

Katsuki takes a few moments to think about it. Obviously he’s going to go. It’s what he’s being blackmailed for in the first place. What he needs to take into consideration is whether he should ask Eijirou to come back another day.

Regardless of if Izuku wants him to know or not, he can tell that Izuku is stressed out. Strange, as he has been under the impression Izuku is a very laid back guy. Though after hearing about the other’s background he doesn’t deem it too weird for Izuku to be more than a little high strung.

What he believes he should do, rather than getting Eijirou to come back this time, is get Izuku to welcome Shouto back. Personally he hates the guy, yet it’s become evident that Izuku feels as though he’s lost a limb with Shouto being banished. Izuku even said himself that he, Katsuki and Shouto are the only three he completely trusts to protect people. Taking away one of three is a pretty big loss.

“Just get the other guy to do it. He knows more about what’s going on than Eijirou does.” A lame attempt, but at least a base to be laid out for him to work forward from. Obviously he wouldn’t have suggested Eijirou had he not trusted the man wholeheartedly, and Izuku will know that. He’s working on the spot and doing what he can for now.

“I can’t let him be here if he thinks he can just do whatever he wants, attack whoever he wants, and take matters into his own hands without repercussions.” Izuku goes to sit on the bed next to Katsuki, then unties his shoes and kicks them away to the wall. Each one hits with a soft thud, and he lets his hands rest on the mattress while leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. “I want him back. He’s a great friend. The first friend I made when I was freed. I feel the place is left safest with one of us three rather than an outsider–”

“I am an outsider.”

“Kyouka told me you cooked for everyone, had Mashirao bring her food and you left something for me in the fridge. You’re not an outsider anymore, because even if you don’t want to show it, you obviously care for everyone. Even if just a little.” Izuku gives him a half smile, watching Katsuki from the corners of his eyes. “Even though I forced you into this I don’t want you to feel alienated. If you still feel like an outsider, even after being silently accepted by everyone, then I’d like to do what I can to change that.”

Katsuki deadpanned, thoroughly annoyed by how this is beginning to get turned around on him. That Izuku wants so badly for him to fit in causes a strange feeling in his belly.

“I don’t. I’m just doing the shitty job you gave me. It’s easier to keep everyone protected if they’re all in one place, which is why having six people split up into four different buildings pisses me off so fucking much. Do you know how much walking I’ll have to do just to check on the others? It’s fucking idiotic.”

“I understand, and I agree. Still, do you know how hard it would be to have everyone jammed into one apartment with two bedrooms and one bathroom? Including you that would be seven people in this place. Most of the living room would be taken up with Kyouka’s equipment, and there’s no garage for Mei to work in here, Mashirao will want to play his games and Kyouka will get mad if he tries to use one of her screens. Chiyo likes to read books in peace and Kouta will get angry if I put anyone else in his room. I wouldn’t even have a place to give Kouta and Mashirao their schooling.”

Katsuki waves his hand in Izuku’s face. A pathetic attempt at getting him to shut up that works nonetheless. This has gotten way off track anyway, and he aims to steer the conversation back on course. “I still think you should bring Shouto back. I don’t like him, but you’re obviously distraught over the whole thing–”

“No I’m not,” Izuku argued quickly. His glare is directed to Katsuki, who looks as though he couldn’t believe Izuku’s words any less.

“I’m not good at empathizing, or dealing with feelings in general, and even I can still tell you’re stressed about something. And you only started showing signs of it right after the fight. You’re not the only one who can read a person or a situation. You’re just the only one who is fucking shit at dealing with the problem.” Katsuki waited for those words to sink in, taking in Izuku’s thoughtful expression. He figures that, as long as he’s going to have to be looking at the other, he may as well learn to read Izuku like Izuku has already begun to learn to read him. “He wanted to talk, and I wouldn’t listen because I was pissed off. That’s why he started the fight. I’ll talk to the fucker if you just bring his dumbass back and stop freaking out about everything.”

He waited for Izuku’s response, getting only silence in return. Impatience begins to kick in fast and he has to hold himself back to the best of his ability. The whole thing is stupid to him. He has to try to remind himself that this is important to Izuku, so it’ll take some convincing.

People like to be touched to be reassured, right? Eijirou does it, as do other people. With that reasoning in mind, he reaches for Izuku’s hand. He’s not normally one for calming people, and definitely not one for using someone’s attraction to him against them, so this whole ‘empathize with and convince’ thing is really throwing him for a loop.

Even more so when Izuku’s hand snaps towards his. Izuku’s fingers wrap around his palm and his arm is jerked backwards to the point of pain. His face is warped into a grimace almost instantly and he sucks in a breath through his teeth. He’s about to wrench his hand free and punch Izuku in the face when Izuku releases him, gaze never having left the floor.

Katsuki is on the verge of attacking him, and Izuku must have picked up on that because he’s already moving over to pin Katsuki onto the bed. Katsuki hears the familiar cock of a pistol, and he glances down to see it after feeling the cold metal of it’s barrel pressed under his chin. He’d have reacted had Izuku not purposefully moved on top of his wound.

He’s trying hard not to let it show that he’s in pain. He can tell Izuku can see through his facade when more pressure is added.

“Don’t try to manipulate me.” Unlike the time he’s asked not to curse around Kouta, this is a warning. Not a request.

Katsuki smirked at him, not showing the slightest hint of fear or even discomfort. “Or what? You’ll shoot me?”

“Don’t test me,” Izuku said, pushing the barrel against Katsuki’s jaw harder, “I’ve been manipulated long enough and I’m not going back to that.”

Katsuki’s smirk disappears, and he’s left staring expressionlessly up at Izuku’s glare. He might consider this position a little more exciting if he thought for one second he was in any real danger. Sadly, as far as he’s concerned, this is just a pathetic attempt to make an empty threat seem real. A show of confidence or bravado. It almost makes Izuku seem a little more attractive.

Almost.

Katsuki slaps Izuku’s hand away and kicks his legs upwards, the act toppling Izuku forward with Katsuki following to pin him down. Izuku’s hand with the gun is held off to the side, and he snatches the other up to defend against the strike coming for his neck. With Izuku’s hand still in his he reaches down to grab hold of the other’s neck and turns one leg to weigh down both of Izuku’s so that Izuku can’t repeat what he just did.

“I’m trying to help you, asshole. Whether you want to allow other people to help you or not isn’t my issue, but my task becomes exceedingly harder if you start going crazy over the stupidest fucking problems that can be solved easily.” He lets go of both of Izuku’s arms. “It’s not often I try to help someone, so quit being a goddamn paranoid fuck and let me help.”

Izuku never bothered to struggle, and doesn’t defend against the flick on his forehead either. He’s well aware he won’t overpower Katsuki while the other is prepared for him and doesn’t want to waste the energy.

Still, he shies away from Katsuki’s offered help. “I know what I’m doing–”

“I know you do. I also know what you’re doing is fucking stupid.”

The door opened and Eijirou peeked his head in, his sharp teeth revealed by the grin that grows on his face. “Is this why you didn’t want us to give him to the police, Katsuki?”

Katsuki stares at him questioningly, then realizes the position he and Izuku are in. He’s quick to move off and nearly stumble from the pain that shoots up his leg once it makes contact with the floor.

“I’m not involved with him like that, you fuck–”

“Eijirou, can you come by again in a few days–”

Katsuki’s hand slammed down over Izuku’s mouth, and then he takes the opportunity to voice Eijirou’s rejection for the man. While the two are arguing, Eijirou sighs at their childishness, unaware of why this is happening.

“Whatever is going on, can you guys keep it down? Kouta is still asleep.”

With that he closes the door and retreats to the living room. He’s barely three steps away before the pair is trailing right behind him. His ears are peppered by a barrage of ‘I need you for’s and ‘Don’t you fucking dare’s and he’s entirely not awake enough to deal with this.

“Guys, I don’t know what’s going on, but can this wait until I’ve been awake for more than two minutes?” While not particularly in a bad mood, it’s still seen as rude by Eijirou to bombard someone with questions and demands with no context while the person is only half conscious. He sidetracked to the kitchen, being under the impression the two of them are not going to let him go back to sleep on the couch right now. As if that isn’t bad enough, they’re both trying to talk over each other, so he can’t even understand who wants what. “You’re acting like an old married couple right now. Can we cool it down a bit?”

That shut them both up quick. It takes a moment of searching for Eijirou to remember that the apartment doesn’t have a dining table for him to sit at. Only a foldable table that’s kept around somewhere. He pinches the bridge of his nose with his index and thumb, and then makes his way back to the couch. Once there, he drops down and shows his back to the pair that are still stalking him. He can only hope they’ll get the hint.

Sadly, they appear not to, as he can still feel their eyes piercing his back while trying to fall back asleep.

“Eijirou,” they both said simultaneously.

He groaned and rolled over to stare up at them. “What is it?”

“Would you be willing to come by again in a few days and stay for a couple of nights? I need to take Katsuki to Japan with me and don’t have anyone to watch over the people here.”

“Say no,” Katsuki demanded.

“Don’t just decide for him!”

“Guys, guys,” Eijirou said while moving his hands in a calming manner to get them to stop, “chill out. Why don’t you want me to do it, Katsuki?”

“This dumbass banned his regular babysitter from coming here because the asshole started a fight with me–”

“They started the fight?” Eijirou asked for clarification. Katsuki has been known to have his fair share of blame whenever something bad happens between him and another person.

“Yes, he started it, you assclown. Something about the kid not liking me and it pissing him off or some dumb shit. I don’t know and I don’t care. Bottom line is, this dumbass needs to make up with that dumbass and he’s trying to use you so he doesn’t have to.”

“A punishment is a punishment,” Izuku said. “I can’t let him do whatever he wants just because he’s doing something for me. There are limits.”

“He’s not going to do it again if we talk to him,” Katsuki argued. “I’m already over it. You shot that fuck in the shoulder and kicked him out. That’s already enough to let him know he can’t do what he fucking wants.”

“And all of that gets negated if I let him right back in a day later! It’s the principal of the matter!”

“Guys!” Eijirou sat up and pinched both of their arms to silence them. “Izuku is right. It sounds like the guy did something bad and needs to be punished for it somehow–”

“See?” Izuku grew a smug grin. Finally this debate would end on his terms.

“–but, I bet he’s a reasonable guy on some level, right? So make him apologize this time, and if he does it again then banish him. Next time show no mercy.”

Katsuki smirks at Izuku, and then shoves his elbow into Izuku’s arm. “Hear that? Call the fuckwad up and set us up a play date.”

Izuku, albeit deeply annoyed by this turn of events, decides to comply now that he’s outnumbered. While reaching for the phone in his pocket he spots something in the corner of his eye. A glance in that direction causes his face to brighten up immensely.

Katsuki and Eijirou, both noticing Izuku is shamelessly gawking at something, turn their heads in the same direction he’s facing. Both of their faces immediately light up as well. While Izuku and Eijirou’s grins are more excited, Katsuki’s is noticeably more impish and entertained.

“What’s with all the noise?” Kouta questioned, rubbing one of his eyes with his fist. It’s obvious he’s just gotten out of bed, though what everyone is staring at right now is the slightly oversized fox onesie with a large, bushy tail trailing behind him that he’s unknowingly clad in. “And what’s with those looks on your faces?”

“Nothing.” Izuku shoved Katsuki hard enough to send him down to the ground before the man could say anything taunting and moved over to pick Kouta up quickly. His only regret is that he didn’t put the hood on Kouta’s head. If he did there’s more of a chance the boy would’ve figured out what’s on him before Izuku could get a chance to see him walk around in it. “We’re just talking about something. Go back to sleep.”

With the rubbing and patting on his back Kouta had already made it back from half asleep to being out like a light by the time Izuku makes it over to the sofa. Izuku sat down next to Eijirou, who is staring giddily at Kouta’s outfit. He’s about to say something, when Izuku presses a finger up to his own lips and continues to rock back and forth with the sleepy child in hand.

Izuku mouthed the words ‘He doesn’t know’ and Eijirou nodded in understanding. At this time Katsuki is already standing again and debating whether kicking Izuku in the leg for the shove would be worth losing his chance for something to use against Kouta in the future. He wants to take a picture for that reason, and something suddenly dawns on him.

“What ever happened to my phone?”

Izuku shrugged, then spoke in a very low voice, “I assume it’s still at the prison. I never went looking for your belongings after you were arrested. I was planning on getting you another one before we go to Japan.”

Katsuki motioned for Eijirou to hand something over, and Eijirou immediately starts reaching for his phone. The device is pointed at Kouta, camera ready, and Izuku waved his hand in front of it to try to stave him off.

“If you wake him up and he finds out he’ll get mad and take it off. Just wait until he’s waking up and you can take a few before he runs away.” Katsuki rolls his eyes, then tries to shove Izuku’s hand out of the way. “Kacchan! Please, do you know how hard it is to get him in one of these while he’s asleep? It’s really rare I get this opportunity.”

Kouta mumbled something against Izuku’s shoulder, prompting the man to switch his attention over to the boy. He begins rocking slowly again, rubbing Kouta’s back and shushing him. All actions that, if he wasn’t dead asleep, Kouta would consider demeaning and instantly fight back against.

Katsuki pockets the phone to silence Izuku’s borderline begging.

“Let me hold him and you make the call to that one guy,” Eijirou offered, though it’s clear from the grabby hands he’s making that he just wants a turn to hold Kouta before the boy wakes up. Izuku reluctantly hands Kouta over, then quietly stands to go make the call to Shouto.

“I don’t understand how you can like that little rat so much.”

“Quit calling him names, try to get along with him and you might understand.” Eijirou’s voice is hardly above a whisper, though he knows Katsuki heard him loud and clear from the disgusted visage. “He’s really sweet and cool if you get to know him. Did you know he likes dinosaurs? You like Godzilla, try using that–”

“I’m not trying to make friends with anyone here,” Katsuki interjected, “I just need to do what Izuku says until he doesn’t need me anymore. Then he’s going to prove my innocence and I won’t ever see anyone here again.”

“I’d take over for you if I could. The Mashirao guy has some pretty cool games, Mei is super fun to talk to, Chiyo is really sweet and I love babysitting Kouta.” Eijirou continued to run his fingers through Kouta’s spiky hair, listening to the tiny breathing on his shoulder while recounting the fun he had meeting everyone. “I still want to meet the other person they were talking about. Kyouka? Everyone said she can’t be bothered.”

“Long story. You can go meet her before you leave today if she’s awake.”

Eijirou carefully pulled the hood of the onesie over Kouta’s head, grinning widely the entire time. “Cool. Is she as friendly as everyone else?”

Eijirou forgot for a second who he was talking to and expected to get either no answer at all or a completely negative one. Likely he’s already started a fight with her or something to sully their relationship right off the bat. With that in mind, the answer he did get caught him off guard.

“She’s all right.”

Eijirou is now beaming for an entirely different reason. It takes a second for him to remember to keep his voice down. “Really? Now I definitely have to meet her if you think she’s all right.”

Katsuki is about to shout in protest, only to be stopped by Izuku returning and dropping down on the couch next to Eijirou again.

“Shouto will be here in three days. With the pay from the job I just did I’ll buy us plane tickets when I wake up. Think your leg will be healed in three days?”

Eijirou tossed a concerned glance to Katsuki. “What happened to your leg?”

“Fuckass here shot both me and the other guy to break up our fight,” Katsuki explained with a glare in Izuku’s direction, “because, you know, yelling at us or something would be fucking stupid, right?”

“That would’ve left a chance for one of you to die. I don’t like dealing in chances,” Izuku said, crossing his arms and glaring off to the side. “And after I shot him you turned the knife around on him. I didn’t know what you were going to do.”

Eijirou, while becoming annoyed to hear that anyone would shoot Katsuki, keeps himself composed. Even if it was to stop the fight, it’s still become very apparent that this guy doesn’t know how to deal with people in a normal manner at all.

“Well hey, if you ever need me and I don’t have a job from a client lined up, I’ll be happy to drop by.” Eijirou’s words are clearly aimed at Katsuki, not regarding Izuku’s existence with so much as a glance. “I bet Denki will help out too if you need him. You know we’re always here for you.”

“Yeah I know, quit with the sappy shit and turn the little fuck around.”

Eijirou grinned and turned Kouta around in his lap with both of them ignoring Izuku’s protesting about potentially waking him up. His hand came to prop up Kouta’s head after it drooped to the side. Katsuki knew just what threat to make with these if Kouta ever decided to try to be a handful again.

Around the fourth picture, where Eijirou is hugging Kouta with one arm and making a peace sign with the other, the boy starts to rouse. His arm comes up to rub his eyes and, finally waking up enough to notice, he realizes this isn’t the sleeve of the shirt he fell asleep in. Even stranger is he doesn’t recall owning any orange clothes.

“What the…” A cursory glance down reveals he’s in fact in one of the outfits he detests so much. Even worse is when he realizes just why Katsuki is pointing a cellphone at him.

He bites Eijirou’s arm hard and jumps after the phone once he’s released from Eijirou’s hold. The device is narrowly missed with Katsuki sidestepping the boy to let him drop to the floor gracelessly. Kouta is quick to stand and reach for the phone, jumping up and down repeatedly to try to get a hold of it. Neither of them pay any mind to Eijirou voicing his concerns about being careful with his phone.

“Give me that–”

“Language,” Izuku warned.

“–stupid thing!”

“No way. Keep being a little shit and I’m printing out a thousand of these and putting them up on every lamp post, street light, and everything in between for the next hundred miles.” Katsuki took delight in the horrified look on the child’s face. Even though he had no intention of going through the trouble of doing all that, all he needs is for Kouta to believe he would.

“You’re such a–”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Katsuki sing songs with a wag of his finger, “choose your next words carefully. Just be a good little runt and we’ll all get along peacefully. Got it?”

“I haven’t done anything to you for a while,” Kouta said in a low voice.

“Insurance to keep it that way,” Katsuki said, then tossed the phone over to Eijirou.

Kouta chased after it through the air. He’s about to run face first into Eijirou’s knee, as his attention is focused wholly on the cellphone. Eijirou’s hand jerks out and stops him an inch away from his knee, the other hand snapping up to catch the device in the air.

“Please don’t throw my phone,” Eijirou said to Katsuki, ignorant of the mortification on the child’s face.

Kouta swiftly retreats to his room to change clothes. Whether he’s going to come back out is another matter entirely.

“I told you guys you’d wake him up,” Izuku complained while watching Kouta run away. “There goes my little kit.”

“You put him in the fucking thing,” Katsuki retorted.

“He only gets annoyed when I do it. He understandably gets angry when he finds out someone was taking pictures of him in…” Izuku stops and sighs, “Nevermind, that’s not important right now. Will you be good to go in less than a week? There’s a pretty decent chance the person I need to go see will try to kill us. I don’t want to go unless you can handle a potential fight.”

“Why the fuck are we going to see him if he might try to kill us?”

“Because, that night you were trying to get me in the vents; the guys you were guarding had something I needed to prove something. His organization has been hiring, uh, one of them often, apparently. I’m not exactly on good terms with them, but they’re going to be my biggest lead to finding one of the three I’m hunting.”

Eijirou listens on in utter bewilderment. Never has he felt more like a third wheel than at this very moment. “Do I need to know any of this?”

Both of them give a synchronous ‘No’, to which Eijirou frowns with half-lidded eyes that showcase his annoyance when the two begin speaking to each other again. Obviously whatever they’re talking about is important, and he can guess by the occasional pauses in their conversation to change a word or a name to something ambiguous that not everyone around this place knows what they’re talking about.

Regardless, he’s already moving towards the door to gather his shoes. It’s at that point that he remembers the other reason he agreed to come by, and approaches Izuku before leaving. He’s rummaging in his pocket, then the other, while Izuku’s attention moves to him after noticing him standing next to the arm of the couch.

“By the way, Izuku, is it? Here.” Eijirou pulled out an envelope and placed it in Izuku’s lap, then goes on his way to head home. “Denki found it in his coat pocket. Mitsuki doesn’t want to accept it. If you need help with anything feel free to call me, Katsuki.”

Izuku picks up the envelope and sighs through his nose. “Is she too proud for it?”

“No,” Eijirou responds from the doorway, “she just doesn’t want it coming from you. Personally I wouldn’t want it from you either. No offense. Who knows what you’ve done to get it. They both asked me to punch you in the face too, and if there wasn’t such a young kid running around that would get upset by your black eye I would because of the things you did. I’m not going to make Kouta see you hurt though.”

Eijirou is gone after that, leaving Izuku with a curious Katsuki. Izuku can tell right away Katsuki is staring at the envelope in his hands.

“It’s money. Nothing bad.”

“If you had money to give, why didn’t you just hire me in the first place instead of screwing with everyone?”

“Remember our conversation outside the prison?” Katsuki nodded while Izuku pulled the money out of the envelope. A note was inside as well, though Katsuki can guess Izuku isn’t the one who put it there or else Izuku wouldn’t be taking the time to read it over. “It’s still true. I don’t have much free money to give. If I pay you it’s going to be so little you’d probably consider it an insult. The majority of it all goes to equipment, keeping this place from falling apart, food for seven people, so on so forth.”

Katsuki’s gaze shifts down to the money in Izuku’s hands, seeing several hundreds next to the note, and wonders if that’s what Izuku considers insultingly low.

“Most of it is what I was going to spend on a new generator for Mei. Her electricity is still going on and off because it needs to be replaced. The last little bit is about half our food money,” Izuku clarified after seeing what Katsuki is staring at. “I put it in his pocket when I was sneaking him into the house after hearing I caused trouble for their business.”

“And what the fuck did you plan to do when we couldn’t afford enough food for everyone?”

“I’d be the one eating less. There’d be no difference for the rest of you. If everyone asked for what is usually bought that is,” Izuku explained as he stood and began making his way back to the bedroom. Katsuki is hot on his tail, though they’re both stopped by Kouta’s door swinging open and nearly hitting Izuku in the face.

He’s in regular clothes now, hat in hand instead of on his head, and Izuku can already tell what’s about to happen from the look of indignity on the boy’s face. Kouta zeroed in on Izuku and pointed at him, then down at the floor between them. Izuku, having gone through this more than once before, crouched down to Kouta’s level and covered his eyes.

Katsuki watched the pair curiously, never thinking for one second that Kouta would take revenge on Izuku for anything. Watching Kouta slap Izuku across the face with his hat feels somewhat like witnessing history at this point.

Izuku uncovers his eyes, tilts his head to the side and grins at Kouta. “I told them not to, you know.”

Kouta’s gaze shifts over to Katsuki, who is quite obviously amused by all of this. He wants to kick the man in the leg as hard as he can. He knows Izuku will get far more upset about that than what he just did, so it doesn’t. It still doesn’t lessen his desire to do so any.

“One day you’re going to pay for this,” Kouta warns him in a low voice while donning his hat. “I swear on it.”

Kouta shoves past the both of them and puts his boots on by the front door. The apartment door is slammed shut, hard enough that the sound echoes through the apartment, as he leaves, the two of them watching him over their shoulders the entire time.

Katsuki looks down at Izuku, holding back a scoff. “The fuck does he think he’s going to do?”

Izuku grows an amused smirk. He looks as though he knows something Katsuki doesn’t, and the look unsettles Katsuki. He follows Izuku down the hall, trying to hide his slight concern.

“So what, you planned on starving yourself just to-”

“Yes, I know how stupid it sounds,” Izuku interjects in an extremely dull tone. He falls onto the mattress to sleep, and it’s then that Katsuki becomes aware of that fact that Izuku has been awake all night. “I still owe them don’t I? I didn’t intend to harm them like that. So I’d like to make it right somehow. Provided it’s a way I can. As long as I eat enough to not die, I can afford to send them some money every other month or something.”

“The best way to make it right would be to let me go,” Katsuki tried, though he already knows the answer to that.

“I said a way I can. I can’t afford that now. Especially after I need to go to Japan with someone, and I need someone else to stay here. I need at least two people with me now, and you’re one of them. I’m sorry, but no.”

Worth a try. Katsuki crossed his arms and stared at Izuku’s back while the man lay face down on the bed. “At least you’re trying to do something about it, unlike a lot of people I wish I didn’t know.”

“You don’t mind if I use the bed while you’re not using it, do you? I don’t want to sleep on the couch and keep anyone else off of it all day.”

“You’re still a fucking asshole.” Katsuki withdrew from the room, his voice soft as he spoke on his way out, “The plate in the fridge is all for you. Take it whenever.”

Izuku watches Shouto cautiously from his spot at the table he placed for the three of them to talk. Katsuki is seated directly across from Shouto, Izuku to the side of them both.

It’s obvious from the way his eyes are constantly darting between them that Izuku is a little paranoid about having the two so close to each other. Katsuki said he wouldn’t start a fight and Shouto promised over the phone he wouldn’t either. Still he finds himself ready for anything at this moment.

“So, Kacchan decided he wants you back-”

“That you need him,” Katsuki growls with a glare tossed to Izuku.

“-and I want to see if you think you can handle being around him without something happening. So let’s get the problems out of the way now so both of you no longer have an issue with each other. Shouto, why don’t you explain why you have a problem with Katsuki?”

Neither Shouto or Katsuki have broken eye contact since the group has sat down. Izuku can’t tell if they’re having some sort of silent conversation, quietly threatening each other, sizing each other up or something. Shouto breaks the silence after being prompted by Izuku, though the impassive expression is still not broken.

“Kouta has been having problems with him. I wanted to make sure it was not as serious as Kouta was making them out to be. Katsuki gave me reason to believe it was when he acted so aggressively toward me. I don’t want Kouta to be stuck with someone who will potentially harm him in some way.”

Katsuki snorted and turned his head to the side, then back to Shouto. “Harm him? How big of a cliff did you jump off of to reach that conclusion? The only reason I haven’t kicked his ass is because he’s a child. If he was an adult the things he’s done to be would be seen by any sane person as fucking assault and premeditated murder. Anything I do to him at this point would be self-defense in a court of law if he was older.”

“He’s misguided and your aggressive tendencies are making it worse.”

“If he was misguided before I even got here, then whose fault is that? The dimwit who spoils him rotten or fucking idiot who kills someone just because the brat doesn’t like them? You’re only defending him because he’s Deku’s little hellion. If either of you two were in my position I’d like to see you handle a murderous little fuck without doing something to him.”

“Okay guys,” Izuku cut in, placing his hands on the table calmly. His voice is soft and his eyes fixated on the table. “I don’t want to take a definite side, but Katsuki is right in this situation, Shouto. I’m not normally around you both, so I don’t know if you have anything to do with it. As far as I know Kouta’s behavior is my fault. I already intend to work on that. I would appreciate if you understand Kouta is not in the right. We both need to make sure he knows that.”

Izuku waits for Shouto to give him some kind of sign that he understands. Shouto nodded quietly, and Izuku’s gaze moved to Katsuki.

“I’m going to handle Kouta, so moving on to you and the antics with Eijirou–”

“You know damn well you wanted those pictures just as much as I did.”

“That isn’t the point. Kouta was right that morning. He hasn’t done anything to you in a while. He’s been surprisingly restrained, so if you want him to lay off then that’s a two way street. I’m going to have that much more trouble trying to get him to leave you alone if you pull stunts like that. I know you want payback. I just want it all to end. Be the bigger man.”

Katsuki nodded. That nod inserted the final nail into the coffin of their dispute. Izuku grinned and sat back in his chair.

“Good. You all don’t have to get along. You just have to work together and not kill each other. That’s all I need.” Izuku’s grin dwindled down to a soft smile. “Although I wouldn’t complain if you could get along too. Everyone here is important to me. Whether either of you believe it or not.”

“Enough with the sappy shit,” Katsuki complained, already standing and heading for the door to go check on the others. He’s made it a point recently to go from place to place and make sure everyone is fine at least once every two hours. He would do one hour if everyone wasn’t so spread out.

He opened the front door and stopped in place. Down below he spotted the familiar horned hat staring up at him. The two glare at each other, both of them seemingly unwilling to move for the other, until Katsuki steps aside to let Kouta in.

The child is notably confused by Katsuki yielding to him. He accepted the right of way without question and Katsuki watched him make his way up to Izuku and hand off the papers in his hand—presumably some type of schoolwork Izuku gave him—before attempting to retreat to his room.

Izuku grabbed onto the back of Kouta’s shirt and pulled him up into his lap. “Where are you off to in such a hurry? Come help me review the work. You didn’t even greet Shouto.”

Kouta’s complaints are but background noise to Katsuki by now. He’s already halfway down the hallway, wholly uninterested in watching those three interact.

“Katsuki.” And he has even less interest in hearing what this guy has to say to him. Still, he glances over his shoulder at the hand extended to him. “I apologize for my rash behavior. I should have gotten all the facts first.”

Katsuki’s gaze moved up to Shouto’s face, then back down to his hand. He pushed Shouto’s hand away and continued on down the hall.

“Get your shit right next time. And if you want to talk, don’t fucking stalk me.”

“Katsuki,” Shouto called to him again, “Izuku would also like to know if you’re fine to leave early in the morning. You’ll only be there for a couple of days.”

“I’m fine. Let’s just get it over with.” He has no desire to be on the other side of the planet from the places he needs to be right now. He also has no desire to leave Izuku in someone else’s hands on the other side of the planet either.