Chapter Text
The train was fairly empty for a Sunday. Usually, it was full of people either returning home or to school or work. But Katsuki liked the quiet; he needed it. He didn’t know what to make of Auntie’s request to see him just yet, but she’d been adamant. And of course, she’d sounded happy about Deku’s recovery, but he also thought she’d sounded a little sad.
When she answered the door, she greeted him with a bone-crushing hug and ushered him inside almost conspiratorially. She offered him tea and cookies, which he knew better than to decline, even though he wasn’t feeling particularly hungry.
“Katsuki,” she began warmly, as they sat across from each other in the living room. He was struck by just how much she reminded him of Deku, their faces so similar. It hurt just a little more to look at her than he cared to admit. “Thank you for helping Izuku get better.”
“Oh, Auntie, I didn’t—“
“I know what you’re doing, Katsuki-kun. I’ve known for a long time how my Izuku has felt about you. I’m sorry it has to be like this. I know you want him to get better, but I know this is hurting you too. And it’s not what he wanted. He didn’t want to let go of you.”
Katsuki’s eyes burned. He hid his reddening face behind his mug of tea. He knew it wasn’t his turn to speak just yet.
“Don’t give up on him,” she said and Katsuki saw there were tears in her eyes too.
“Auntie, I won’t. I wouldn’t. I’m too stubborn for that,” he said. He set his cup down and looked at her directly. He wanted to take her hand.
“You’re both that way, aren’t you?” she asked with a small laugh. “Always have been. I guess that’s part of what you love about each other.”
“Yeah,” Katsuki agreed. “So, he really is getting better?”
Auntie Inko nodded. He was glad to see her looking so much happier, more at peace. It mirrored how he wanted to feel. She looked sad for him, but not sorry for him—and Katsuki felt there was a distinct difference. She also looked hopeful, like she believed in him and in Deku, and in their love for each other. And it was a boost he desperately needed.
“Thank you, Auntie.” He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “You really knew, huh? About how he felt.”
“He wasn’t the best at hiding it. Not from me, anyway. It was always ‘Kacchan this’ and ‘Kacchan that’ . He didn't talk about it with me until he got sick. But sometimes a mother just knows. ”
She made dinner for him and asked about his family. She didn’t pressure him about Deku’s case or what was happening with the villains. She’d made it plain over the years that she trusted Aizawa-sensei. And it was a damn good feeling to know that she trusted Katsuki now too.
Katsuki offered to clean the dishes and he was just putting the last plate on the drying rack when he received a call from Aizawa.
“This is Kacchan,” he answered, shrugging the phone against his ear as he wiped his hands with a towel.
“We’ve got her. Valentine. I’ll text you the address.” Katsuki inhaled sharply and thanked Auntie Inko as quickly as he could without seeming impolite, though he knew she understood the urgency that came with hero work all too well. Still, he spared her the details and he tamped down the peculiar feeling that came with knowing she seemed every bit as worried for him as she was for Deku. He didn’t have time to process that right now.
*****
He could have moved faster with his gauntlets, but he’d have to make due in his street clothes as he’d done dozens of times. He hurtled through the air at top speed, the afternoon sun providing him with just enough heat for him to make good use of it.
“Bakugou!” Uraraka’s voice. She floated not too far from where he’d landed by the address Aizawa had provided.
“Where is she?” He snarled.
“Stay back!” Uraraka warned, gesturing at him with an arm, though it was no use at halting him considering the distance.
“Like hell!”
“ Kacchan , I’m serious!” She urged, as he began his own ascension towards her. Shit, if she was using his hero name, then she was serious. He followed her gaze and down the row of rooftops, he spotted the familiar cloud of pink gas rolling through the sky. “You can’t get hit!”
“Yeah, and what about you Round Face?!”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not in love with anyone.” She stared at him with wide, round eyes and raised brows.
He stared back for a moment, confused, but then she rolled her eyes in exasperation and it clicked. “Right,” he responded. Of course, she was trying to protect him from suffering the same fate as Deku. Shit, but that was twice now he owed her, if not infinitely more. Katsuki propelled himself back to the ground as gently as he could.
As much as Katsuki wanted to face Valentine on his own, as much as he’d love to stare down her smug expression and wipe it from her face, Uraraka was right. He had to stay out of her range. Katsuki’s palms itched as he watched Uraraka bounce from the rooftops, shuddering as debris hurtled at her from the direction of the pink cloud.
This one fight’s dirty. Midnight’s original assessment of her fighting style still proved true. Katsuki supposed he’d have to overcompensate too if he had such a shitty ass Quirk. To Uraraka’s credit though, she fought back just as hard, making use of the very bricks and stones that had flown at her; clearly, Valentine hadn’t done enough research on her opponent.
Valentine moved faster now. Katsuki could make out her wavy red hair and pink gear, and though he was out of range of the gas, he still thought he smelled a hint of something like a vanilla candle that irritated his nose enough to make him sneeze. He moved to situate himself further back as he watched Valentine roll straight towards Uraraka, but just as the two were about to meet in a hand to hand brawl the pink gas disappeared completely and Valentine froze.
“Eraser!” Uraraka called and Katsuki turned to see Aizawa perched on a nearby scaffold, his scarf already winding towards the villain, to reel her in. Valentine squealed and squirmed, but the fish was caught.
*****
They sat around Detective Tsukauchi’s office, drinking coffee and sharing case notes. “How’d you find her?” Katsuki asked, blowing on his drink to cool it down. The steam billowed around his face and it soothed him, even if the coffee was still too hot to drink.
“She came after me on purpose,” offered Uraraka. “Actually, she invited me in for an interview, but I was immediately suspicious. I texted Mr. Aizawa right away.”
“Looks like she wanted a part-two for her little expose,” said Aizawa.
“What else?” Tsukauchi asked, scribbling down notes on a little brown notepad.
“Koiyamai Sagi. The man Midnight apprehended during the initial attack on Deku.”
“The one who wouldn’t talk?”
“The business card we got at Hero Dispatch. It led right back to him.”
“Motherfucker,” cursed Katsuki. “So, he’s no Quirk scientist then, I’m guessing.”
“No. But this time we have leverage.”
Aizawa led them down the long hallway to the villain’s holding cell. Katsuki tensed the closer they got, and the closer they got, the more he thought about how these assholes had willingly used Deku as a pawn, like he was expendable, when he was anything but. Aizawa gave him a knowing look, his dark eyes ascertaining Katsuki’s thoughts in a way only someone who’d worked with him for so long could.
The door to the cell hissed as it opened and it shut again behind them with a bone-rattling thud.
“Oh good, the heroes are here,” sneered the Koiyamai Sagi. When Katsuki’d last seen this man he’d been dozing against Midnight’s leg, lips curled back in an unpleasant snarl as heavy snores escaped him. Even so, while sleeping, he’d looked almost innocent, docile. Now he reminded Katsuki of a feral cat. His eyes were yellow and bright, and he looked like he’d refused a comb since being captured.
“So, you’re a dead end. No surprise there.”
“Then you have no use for me. Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be out saving people?”
“This is the last chance you have to save your sorry excuse for a magazine,” Katsuki replied. “We’ve captured Valentine because she got too greedy with her stupid story. A story that’s completely fake—by the way—so she was wasting her fucking time with Uravity. You can tell her that yourself.”
“Your company’s not gonna last. Not if I expose your family for the villains you are, and definitely not when the public learns that you cowards put Japan’s Symbol of Hope out of commission for your own personal gain. People won’t respond kindly to that, will they?” said Aizawa. He had the same look in his eye as when he was about to erase someone’s Quirk. It was thrilling to see up close, even though Katsuki knew that wasn’t the aim here.
“So, I guess you won’t mind if we leave right now and put together a statement about what you did to Deku,” said Katsuki, turning on his heel. Aizawa followed his lead this time.
“Wait! The Lovesick Quirk! There’s still no known antidote or medicinal cure. But the Quirk- it’s still being studied-it never quite settled, ya see. The lovesickness. It can be cured with something else: a love confession. From either party or both, as long as it’s requited. It’s true, I’m no expert, but we’ve been testing her Quirk for some time, to get different outcomes, and that’s one of them.”
“Permeable like a gas,” Aizawa remarked.
Katsuki stopped short, nearly tripping from the leftover momentum. “What did you say?” He asked, gazing over his shoulder.
“I said the effects of the Quirk can be cured with a love confession.”
And once again, Katsuki found himself sprinting towards the hospital, even faster this time, he was sure. When he arrived, though, he stopped himself for a moment to catch his breath and gain his composure. He smiled giddily as he obtained his guest pass and walked towards Deku’s room. He doubled back as he passed the gift shop, grabbing the biggest bouquet of roses they carried.
“Deku,” he called as he knocked, waiting momentarily for a reply.
“Kacchan?”
Katsuki pushed open the door and found Deku up, out of bed, walking the length of the room. He no longer looked gaunt and pale. He filled out his clothes a little better. He looked more like himself. He really was getting better. And it wasn’t because he was falling out of love with Katsuki. It was because Katsuki loved him back because he’d confessed. His love did that. Katsuki rushed forward and pulled Deku into a deep kiss, crushing the freshly bought flowers between them.
“Kacchan, what're you—?”
“My confession is what’s making you better, Deku.”
“What?”
“Turns out there was another cure. A better one. And it works.”
Deku blinked at him, confused, then surprised, then elated. All of it mingled until Deku thrust himself at Kasuki, slotting them together again in another needy embrace. And Katsuki could feel the very real difference in his physicality from just a few short weeks ago. Deku had most assuredly regained some of his strength.
“That makes so much more sense,” Deku said as they pulled apart. Still, he sounded distressed.
“What do you mean?” Katsuki asked. Deku bit his lower lip in a frustratingly adorable manner and gazed up at Katsuki with something like guilt in his eyes.
“Kacchan. I can’t believe I actually thought I was falling out of love with you. How could I even do that and how could it happen so quickly? But, I was getting better, so I thought—I didn’t feel any differently about you—but it...it made me think maybe I never really loved you enough at all…”
“Then you wouldn’t have gotten sick, dummy!”
“Oh. Right.”
Katsuki pulled Deku into a tight hug, discarding the bouquet on the bed. He bent his head to look at Deku squarely, holding the sides of his face. Deku leaned into the touch, smiling, nuzzling, almost like a cat.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Kacchan.”
“Hey, what’re you sorry for?”
“I made it so difficult. If I’d told you how I felt before, maybe I could have gotten better sooner. I should have just confessed to you when you first asked, maybe even earlier. But I held on. Because I didn’t want to stop loving you.”
“I know. You’re so stubborn. But you don’t have to stop loving me, Deku. You never do.”
“Kacchan. I never will.”
*****
Every headline celebrated Deku’s recovery, his health touted as a victory for all, because it was.
Hero Deku’s Back in Action!
The Symbol of Hope Returns
Welcome Back, Deku!
Katsuki found he couldn’t be cynical, not even a little bit. The people loved Deku and of course, he couldn’t blame them because Katsuki loved him too. And he finally did that out in the open, as well.
Wonder Duo? More Like Wonder Couple
Kacchan and Deku: We’re in Love with Their Love
Hope and Victory (And Romance).
Katsuki didn’t mind these stories. They weren’t superficial or fabricated, nor were they invasive or malicious; just enough to tease the fans and to let the world know that Deku was his and he was Deku’s.
Sure, he rolled his eyes and scoffed and pretended to be annoyed, but he could hardly say it was an invasion of privacy when he’d so blatantly declared it in a press conference, himself.
“Kacchan, how does it feel to have your hero partner back by your side?”
“ Tch, it feels fucking great! And he’s more than that. He’s the love of my damn life.”
It had just slipped out. The heat of the lights, the closeness of Deku seated next to him—fully healed—the newness of their changed relationship and the excitement therein. How the reporters had swarmed. He could still hear the hubbub rising in the room, see the flash of the cameras and the hands shooting up for follow-up questions, Aizawa’s warning look that said, ‘what did you just do?’. And Deku’s undeniable blush at the brush of their hands under the table.
That short, direct statement had launched a thousand think pieces and speculative articles about how long the two had been an item, which they neither confirmed nor denied and Aizawa advised them not to do either.
Still, the press and the public adored the Wonder Duo even more after this discovery and didn't blame them for wanting their privacy, especially not after what had happened to Deku. Katsuki and Aizawa didn't need to do much to ensure the demise of Hero Dispatch. That followed pretty naturally after the story of Deku and Uravity turned out to be a clear sham. Katsuki wasn’t the only person to investigate the bylines in a gossip rag and just as Aizawa had predicted when it came to light that the Koiyamais had been willing to harm a popular hero—to put public safety at risk—and sow discord just to save their dying magazine, that had been the end of it.
*****
“Yo, Bakugou, I picked up some beer on my way home. I figured you wouldn’t mind if I stopped by. Thought we could hang out,” Kirishima said brightly, as he entered the apartment Katsuki now shared with Deku. Katsuki stood at the kitchen island, methodically chopping vegetables, something bubbling on the stove behind him. He looked up and wiped his brow as he watched the realization dawned on Kirishima’s face. “Oooh, that’s right, it’s your anniversary tonight. I’m so sorry, dude, work’s been so busy lately since we took on interns at Fat Gum’s, I musta forgot what day it was!”
Katsuki wiped his hands on his apron, one that said, ‘Danger: Explosive,’ across the front, a housewarming gift from Kaminari, if he remembered right.
“That’s okay. Deku won’t be home for a bit.”
“Whatever you’re making, it sure smells great.”
“Of course it fucking does. Can I get you a drink or something? You can stay for half an hour and then I have to kick you out.”
“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll come over next week or something. Say, what’s with that grin on your face.”
“What grin?” Katsuki asked, trying to play innocent but failing. Dammit, he knew it must be written all over his face. Kirishima was starting to smile like a dope and Katsuki knew it was no use trying to hide. “Okay, okay, but don’t say anything, even to Mina. Especially not to her.”
Kirishima put his hands up in surrender.“Okay, man, you got it.” He mimed sealing a zipper across his lips.
Katsuki moved towards him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. With the other, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green velvet box. “I’m planning to propose tonight,” Katsuki said.
“That’s so manly!” said Kirishima, pumping his fist. “Can I see?”
Katsuki shook his head. “Nope. That’s for Deku only. But if all goes well, you’ll see soon enough.”
“Why wouldn’t it? I’m so happy for you guys! That’s so Plus Ultra!” Kirishima dove at Katsuki, bringing him into a tight hug. Damn, if Shitty Hair was getting this emotional, Katsuki could only imagine how Deku would react. He smiled to think of it, his chest glowing warmly.
“Okay, okay,” Katsuki said, gently easing out of the hug, “I gotta get back to work.”
“You got it, man. I’ll get outta your hair. Oh shit! I’ll leave the beer.” He set the six-pack of lager down on the counter then retreated like he was on some kind of stealth mission. He better fuckin’ not tell Mina, Katsuki thought. He’d kept it a secret—from Shitty Hair, Todoroki, from all of them, even his parents. The only one he’d told about his plan was Midoriya Inko and she’d cried and hugged him until there were no tears left on either side.
‘I told you I wouldn’t give up on him,’ he’d said. ‘Because he never gave up on me.’
Katsuki was glad he’d decided to cook their anniversary meal because he needed the tasks to keep his mind off what loomed ahead of him. He wasn’t nervous—not in the slightest. He knew what Deku’s answer would be. But he was excited, nonetheless, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on Deku’s face. Couldn’t wait to take him in his arms and shower him with all the love and affection he deserved, from now until the end of time because Katsuki was completely and utterly a lovesick fool.
He finished the meal in the nick of time and was just dimming the lights and lighting some candles in the dining room when he heard Deku come in and kick off his shoes.
“Hi Kacchan, I’m home!”
“Hey,” Katsuki said, planting a solid kiss on Deku’s nose. Deku carried a bouquet in his arms of orange osmanthus flowers and Katsuki took them and set them on the counter with care before pulling Deku in for a longer, more intimate greeting.
“Mmm, what’s all this?” Deku asked like he didn’t already know.
“I made us dinner, nerd. Happy Anniversary, Deku.”
“Happy Anniversary, Kacchan. I love you. I always have. And I always will.”
“Mmm. Then I’m a lucky person.”