Chapter Text
The day of summer solstice had always been important to the draconic tribe, but this year, it would be especially significant. Because for the first time in decades, the neighboring tribes had agreed to join the celebration. It was going to be the first post war. Yes, of course, there had been festivities when All for One had finally been defeated, but they had been laced with grief, with so many of the tribe's folk dead at the hand of the sorcerers. The ashes of the pyres had rained on the celebration then. But the tribe couldn’t linger too much on the loss. Tonight would be the celebration of life.
Mina took her baby into her hands. Her daughter was the first baby dragon born in the tribe since Eri’s birth, 25 years ago. The fragile little thing had hatched the day before, her little wings still crumpled, her scales a beautiful shade of purple, in a mix of her parent’s colours, the red of Eijiro, the pink of Mina. Kirishima had hardly stopped crying since her birth, moist reverent eyes darting incessantly from Mina to the clumsy lizard curled in his hand.
Katsuki had chewed Mina when he had learned that she had been fighting in the war while expecting, but now, as he was handed the little gem, he only felt gratitude and joy. He sent a silent prayer to the Goddess, not sure he was being heard. He hadn’t felt any sign of her presence for almost one year now. But that was all right. He could feel very distinctly the bond that relied him to Izuku that drowned him in love and another one, as unbreakable but of a different nature, weaved from loyalty and friendship, that tied him to Eijiro. He smiled.
“Can I hold her?” asked Katsumi coyly, while tugging at her brother’s trousers.
“Sit down first!”
Katsumi had never obeyed that quickly. She sank on the ground, arms extended. Katsuki squatted beside her and carefully deposited the precious package in her eager hands.
“Now. The fragile points of a baby dragons are its wings and it's neck. Don’t touch them, don’t put pressure on them.” Katsumi's eyes were sparkling.
“Her scales are so small!! How are you going to name her?”
“We won’t!” answered Mina. The Ancient will, at her ceremony. For now, you should use any pet name you can imagine.”
The baby dragon started nibbling on Katsumi’s fingers, and she cried.
“Ouch! Ow! Take her back, take her back!”
Mina laughed while taking back the baby and Eri consoled the little girl.
“We dragons have sharp teeth. Give me your finger, I’ll wrap it.”
“It’s all right, it doesn’t hurt that much.”
“It’s bleeding, you tough girl!”
Izuku chuckled. Katsumi had grown so much during the winter! She was exactly as he imagined a younger Katsuki, brash and determined. He was happy about the feast. Maybe it could help him let go of the war’s memories. He couldn’t help thinking about the weird days that had followed his father’s death, at his own hands. In order to win, he and Katsuki had worked together, had kissed publicly and proclaimed their love in front of an audience. Hell, they had even slept in each other’s arms with or without clothes, but, curiously enough, they had never talked privately about their bond and what it meant to them. The first night had been a sort of test when, without thinking, they went to sleep in the same tent. He remembered how they had both stopped abruptly before undressing, both looking awkward.
“If you want, I can have a tent put up for you, nerd,” said Katsuki, with a hesitation in his voice.
“There’s no place I want to be more than…”
“Where?” Katsuki asked again, hopeful this time.
“With you,” confessed Izuku, and the bond had confirmed his words.
“In what way?”
“Any way.”
Katsuki had opened his arms and kissed his soulmate slowly, languidly, desperately. He had then pressed his body against Izuku’s and buried his head in the crook of the other’s neck.
The clothes had been discarded. They had taken refuge under the soft blankets and had talked, kissed, talked some more, exploring their bodies in between the silences. Katsuki had chuckled when Izuku had asked :
“How do two men have sex?”
“Do you want me to tell you… or to show you?”
“Both?”
Katsuki had been a good teacher that night, because Izuku had wanted to practise his new skills a lot after that.
It had taken some time for them to adjust to the new situation. Katsuki was the victorious king of the draconic tribe and, though, he felt he had no purpose anymore, now that his enemy had died. Izuku, for his part, could do for the first time of his life exactly what he wanted to, and though he felt he had lost his compass. All for One had lived in their thoughts for years and his departure had left a hole in both their souls. But at least, they were not alone in this trial. Slowly, patiently, they had mended their damaged selves, Izuku reminding Katsuki he was more than a tool for a Goddess, Katsuki telling Izuku he was more than a vessel for magic. One day in spring, while they were keeping company to Mina and Eijiro, who took turns brooding their egg, Kirishima had told a terrible joke, and Katsuki had burst out laughing, his eyes sparkling in a cloudless mirth. Izuku had fallen in love again, and the last part of his soul had quietly mended itself.
A rush into the den interrupted Izuku’s thoughts.
“They’ve been spotted!”
“We’re coming.”
Katsuki extended a hand to Izuku and they both exited the den. The day was as bright as one could hope for the celebration of the solstice. The young of the tribe had collected flowers everywhere and braided crowns and collars. They adorned profusely the king and his consort. An arch had been erected at the pier, dressed up with blue and yellow flowers, the colours of the Endeavor Kingdom. Soon, three sails appeared on the river, blinding white, propelling swift boats against the stream. The larger of the three boats docked first, and a smiling Shoto was the first to land. Katsuki bowed curtly.
“Prince Shoto.”
“I’m not Half and Half today?”
“Enjoy it while it lasts, Half and Half” retorted Katsuki, grinning.
Shoto bowed, still smiling.
“I’m honoured to be invited today. Greetings, king Bakugo, greetings, Izuku. There’s someone I wanted you to meet.” He extended his hand to a young teen who waited three steps behind him. “This is Mahoro. If you accept her, she’ll stay here for a month and learn a way around dragons.”
The girl stepped forward and bowed deeply.
“King Bakugo, please allow me to stay in your tribe and learn!”
“How old are you?”
“Thirteen!”
“You don’t mind getting your hands stinky do you?”
Izuku stifled a laugh.
“I don’t” answered Mahoro sternly, head held high and eyes fixed somewhere at the horizon.
“We’ll see that,” answered Katsuki, suppressing a smile of his own. “Welcome”, he added as an afterthought. He liked the girl already.
They led the guests of honour to a large table, in the village Hall. By the time they arrived there, Izuku was already chattering with Shoto, feeding him with all the news he had missed. There were people already seated, and they stood up to greet the prince of Endeavor. What could have been a formal affair was actually a very emotional one, as the last time they had seen each other was on the battlefield, busy winning the most damaging war of their times. Iida hugged Shoto fiercely, at the great surprise of the prince. The man had learned a lot during the war, and let go of his insecurities. Shoto greeted everybody with an evident pleasure, and stiffened at the sight of All Might. He had never fully recovered from his childhood admiration. Yaoyorozu presented him with a basin to wash his hands and he was both pulled out of his torpor and plunged into another kind of stupor. Who was this incredibly gorgeous woman?
He didn’t have time to linger, though, as a woman was getting him, looking so much like Katsuki that she could only be a close relative. The former queen Mitsuki, he guessed. But, hadn’t her husband been severely injured by All for One? The man at her side was limping a bit, but walking on his two legs.
“I’ll explain it to you later”, whispered Izuku in his ear.
Shoto could imagine. Izuku’s magic was very powerful, after all.
The day he had performed this bit of magic on Masaru was carved on Izuku’s soul. He had been so afraid to miss a part, to over or under do it. Chiyo had warned him: he could have an organ or a bone coming back the way it was two days, two months or two years earlier. But the rest of the body would stay the same, and young parts and old parts in the same body could lead to conflicts inside. So, he had thought very carefully of what he wanted to turn back. He had finally decided to only replace the faulty vertebrae that was the cause of Masaru’s paralysis. The rest of his injuries, in accord with the man, he had not touched. The performance was healing for him too. When Masaru stood up, after years of not being able to, he had felt another part of his persistent guilt dissipating.
He could not erase All Might’s injuries. Too much time had passed, and his body had adapted himself around the wounds. The chances the magic would kill the old dragon were too high to attempt anything, and Izuku had to adjust to the frustrating limitations of his magic. But All Might had come back living with the tribe, where he was lovingly taken care of, so that was a consolation for his heart.
It had taken Sato and a reinforced team of cooks three days to prepare the banquet. There were spring potatoes with cream and chives, salmon of the river grilled with herbs, mountains of rice with saffron, roasted lamb, and with that, barrels of the best wine from Vitali, homemade cervoise and even warm milk with honey for the prince and his generals. Shoto had made All Might retelling all the stories he had heard when he was a child, Yamada had sung his repertoire of love songs, a very serious Eri had walked among the tables, never leaving Katsumi’s hand, and teaching her all there was to know. It was the first time Katsumi and Eri were allowed to be seen by foreign eyes.
“They look like they’ll do a nice Pair”, commented Mitsuki, pensive.
“How do you choose Pairs?” asked Mahoro tentatively.
“Do we choose them? I’d say we let the bonds develop.” answered the Ancient who lay here, curled on herself in her draconic form. “Take Eijiro and Katsuki, for example. It started when Katsuki was only a baby, really. Eijiro couldn’t help it, always looking for him, and couldn't look elsewhere if he were around.”
“And the same could be said from Katsuki’s side. He was always calmer when Eijiro came. Until they started going on ‘adventures’ together” added Mitsuki. “That’s when trouble started.”
Everybody laughed at the jab.
“True. When they were older, Katsuki was close to others, Denki, Mina… but being friends and being a Pair are two different things.”
Mahoro nodded solemnly. You could say she was trying to memorize every word from the Ancient, even if she couldn’t process everything right away. The old dragon spoke again.
“I observed them for quite a long time, and it became evident. The first time one answers a question the other has not asked yet, you know the bond is there.”
“Does everyone get to be Paired?” Asked Mahoro again.
“No, of course not. The dragons live a long time, and the humans come and go. That, young girl, is the great sorrow of the dragons. We only bond once.”
There were glances towards Mitsuki, and she raised her glass:
“To the memory of Midnight, the best Dragon and the best Pair ever.”
Everybody drank in silence.
“Stop mopping now!” Admonished Mitsuki. “She died a hero, protecting her tribe. What more do you want? If anything, she’d want you to get drunk on her account and then... “ she remembered the presence of children. “And then, not being thirsty again,” she finished lamely.
The others couldn’t help laughing at her embarrassment. Masaru saved her wife by offering her his hand:
“Dance with me. That’s one of the things I missed most.”
“Where’s Katsuki?” Mitsuki asked.
“Already dancing. Look!”
And there, Katsuki was in the middle of the Green, holding Izuku close, eyes lost in his soulmate’s one.
“That’s far too cheesy. Kyoka! Play something brisk! People need to wake up!”
Izuku pressed his brow against Katsuki’s collarbone. There were so many smells, smoke, meat roasting, flowers everywhere. But he was only after Katsuki’s distinctive scent, the sweet whiff of sweat and skin and desire. He smiled for himself. The party was going very well. Of course, Katsuki had been everywhere, everybody wanted a bit of him, but he was their king after all, and Izuku was not jealous. As long as he could have some moments with the man too. He also had been solicited a lot too, at his own surprise. He was the consort, after all. He remembered a conversation they had in their tent, just at the end of the winter. Katsuki had sounded disquieted. He had asked :
“Are you comfortable with the soulbond?”
“Well… yes? Why shouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You could feel… used.”
“Used? By who? You? Never!”
“I mean… thank you but… you know. Fate.”
Izuku had taken a step back and thought for a while.
“You know’” he had answered, “I think we weaved that bond ourselves.”
“You think so? But the Goddess told me she’d send me someone.”
“Someone to help you. Not to love you. The love part… It's only me. With my free will.”
At this moment, Izuku was grateful that Katsuki had raised his concerns, because, somewhere in the back of his mind, it had been nagging at him for a while. He had been sent in the tribe under a confusing spell, had been assigned a mission by a Goddess and had been a dekunobou all his life. Where had been his free will in the mess that had been his life? But the words he said rang true.
“I love you too”, said Katsuki, “so much it’s painful sometimes. Be my consort.”
“Am I not already?”
“You little sneak. You took my name even before I made a move.”
“You barely use it! That way, somebody gets to carry it proudly!”
Katsuki took him in his arms and started kissing and biting him.
“Never leave” he breathed.
“I promise”
The slow song Kyoka and her musicians had been singing quietly turned into the most frenzied tune ever heard under the stars. Katsuki smirked at Izuku and took his hand. He then raised his other hand
“Farandole time!”
In a jiffy, dancers clasped hands, reaching for each other, until most of the people were tied in an undulating snake whose head was a wild looking Katsuki, flower crown crooked on his head. A very brave Katsumi came in the front and raised both her arms towards her brother. He caught her under the arms and settled her on his shoulders, still dancing, still leading his tribe. Mitsuki and Masaru were jumping like teenagers, All Might was giving a hand to Aizawa, Iida was laughing, between Eri and Sato; Shoto had shyly invited Momo and was now dead bent on never letting go of her hand. The caterpillar of people wound up around the cabins, around the embers of the bonfire, around the vast form of the Ancient, and stopped in front of two people. Eijiro and Mina had stayed a bit apart, lost in their own world. Their child would be hidden from all outsiders' eyes for years, so they hid her, soundly sleeping in their clothes. She was so small anyway. Kirishima offered Katsuki his cup; the king raised it and turned towards the string of people, still clutching Izuku’s hand
“To the future of the tribe!” he cheered.
The clamor that answered him was deafening. Katsumi had let go of his hair to raise her tiny hands to the sky, Izuku’s eyes were moist again and the lights of the fires were dancing in his dilated pupils. Katsuki didn’t fight the urge : he threw the cup, took the face of his lover between his hands and kissed him deeply, ignoring the protest of an unbalanced Katsumi, the yells, whistles and roars of the tribe’s folk. He had fought, lost, won, toiled, been injured, protected and been saved, and there was no place he wanted to be more than this one, at this right moment, with the man he loved and the people he cared about. He closed his eyes. He was blessed in more ways than one.