Chapter Text
Izuku stared at the woman in front of him. She was stunning.
She'd introduced herself as Mina, and when she'd tilted her head with a friendly smile, her skin had caught the light—flecking with iridescent pink that gleamed and glittered in the sun.
A fae?
She had shining, lightweight armor curving along her shoulders, arms, and chest. Her face was streaked with black paint that was liberally dotted with vibrant yellow. War paint.
One of the warrior fae from Musutafu?
"Midoriya?" she asked, alerting him to the fact that he'd been staring at her like an idiot.
"Sorry," he yelped, standing aside so that she could enter his shop. She bounded inside, examining his space excitedly. "Er—how can I help you?"
"I'm here to give you this!" she declared, reaching into her satchel and pulling out a small wrapped parcel.
He frowned, taking it from her and carefully pulling away the wrappings as though he thought it might explode. When he finally saw what was inside, he nearly dropped it. "For me?" he demanded. "This is too much! You can't just give me this much unicorn hair!"
"Sure I can!" she replied cheekily as he slowly crumbled into a panicky mess. "Besides, it's not from me. I'm just the delivery girl."
He blinked at her, still processing the parcel of freakishly rare ingredients in his hands. "Delivery for who?" he uttered.
She grinned, and it was terrifying. "Are you familiar with the courting customs of the Bakugou clan?"
His jaw dropped. "Courting customs?"
"How we signify our intent to pursue a partner," she explained excitedly, even though he knew what she'd been trying to say. "We give a gift to the object of our desires. It needs to show that we'd be a worthy partner for them—something unique and thoughtful. This is a courting gift!"
"From who?"
He didn't even know anyone in the Bakugou clan!
Well, except...
Oh. Oh no.
"Katsuki the Dragonborn!"
He looked at her. Then down at the package.
What the fuck.
Meeting Katsuki had been the most stressful twelve days of his fairly young life.
Izuku was a healer by trade but loved to explore. He'd insist on collecting his own ingredients from all corners of the continent—excusing it by insisting that the local apothecaries just could guarantee the quality that he needed to provide the best products and care.
It's not like he was the only healer in town.
It's not even like he was the most well-liked. In fact, people avoided him if possible. His preference for magical remedies—magic in general, really—made the people in his sleepy, backward hometown uncomfortable.
He was doing both himself and the townsfolk a favor by venturing away for months at a time. He learned so much and saw so many new things when he traveled.
But four years ago, he'd been exploring the forests on the border of Dagobah and Musutafu when he'd literally tripped over Katsuki the Dragonborn, heir to the chief of the Bakugou clan.
Of course, he hadn't known that's who he was.
At the time, he only knew that he'd tripped over an injured and passed-out man who was dressed in shredded clothes from one of Musutafu's warrior clans.
He was a healer, so he did what healers did best.
After dragging the (ahem...scantily clad) warrior to a nearby cave, he'd meticulously set about cleaning his wounds and dressing them.
"God, what did you do? Fall from the sky?" he muttered, as he gently removed grit and splinters from scratches on the man's face. 'Handsome,' he observed absently. 'I hope these don't scar.'
By the time he was done cleaning and bandaging the myriad abrasions and splinting his two broken bones, night had long since fallen and Izuku was exhausted. He'd given the stranger his bedroll, so he curled up on the cave floor next to the meager fire he'd built and fell asleep on the rocky ground.
It took four days for him to wake up, and it just happened to be when Izuku was redressing one of his larger wounds across his ribs. He thrashed—either in pain or panic—knocking the fresh bandages out of Izuku's hand and snarling at him.
"It's okay!" he cried, trying to hold him down. He was going to hurt himself again. "I'm just changing your bandages. You're okay," he assured him, tone softening like he was soothing a startled animal. The man bared his teeth.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"I'm a healer. I found you in the woods," he explained. "I've been taking care of you for a couple of days now."
"I don't need your fucking help!" he snapped, moving to stand before curling back in on himself. Izuku raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"You were saying?"
"Stay the fuck away from me!"
Izuku sighed. "Fine," he muttered, standing up. "I'll leave you with some supplies. The brown bottle is for cleaning your wounds, the red bottle is to help with the pain. Good luck."
He stood and started gathering his things. He eyed his bedroll but figured that the stranger needed it more. Before he left, he pulled a necklace from his bag. "Here. I'll be in the area for a few more days. If you decide you need help, say 'Izuku,' and I'll come back."
The stranger glared at his outstretched hand and the offending amulet. Rolling his eyes, Izuku dropped it into his lap.
The amulets he kept on his person were a personal point of pride for him. Whenever he treated a patient on his travels, he made sure they could contact him if problems persisted. He'd created the magic himself and had saved many lives through its use. He wanted people to know that they were safe and cared for in his presence, and he'd gone through great pains to make it happen.
He'd made so many over the years that he'd lost track but all the same, he'd maintained their connection to his own tether—a small golden ring circling his pinky.
His patients were plentiful and often called on him again. He was pretty sure he would never see this one again, though.
"Katsuki."
"That's right!"
"Blonde, angry, loud. Violent. That Katsuki."
"Uh...yep! That's the one!"
"Is courting me?"
"Mhm!"
"I'm pretty sure the last time he saw me he said that he was 'glad to be rid of my stupid fucking freckled face,'" Izuku intoned dryly.
Mina grimaced. "Yeah, that sounds like him. He's not good with words. Or feelings. Or...socializing. Man, he kinda sucks," she muttered.
Izuku snorted in amusement. "He was definitely entertaining. I was just under the impression that he never wanted to see me again."
She raised both eyebrows. "Man, talk about a miscommunication. He thinks about you every day. It's...honestly kinda pathetic. Believe it or not, this is the least extravagant courting gift he had prepared for you."
Izuku's eyes widened and dropped back down to the package, doing the mental math. A single unicorn hair could sell for a hundred dinar on the conservative side. There were at least eighty hairs in the bundle. Eight thousand dinar could keep him afloat for six years easily. Much longer if he were to budget. Hell, he could actually leave his shop to write the encyclopedia of medicinal plants he'd been dying to create with that kind of money.
He could move to Hosu.
He could move to Tatooin, the capital city of Dagobah. He could pay to learn at their hospital under the greatest healer in the kingdom and have money to spare.
And this was the least extravagant gift?
He was a nobody. A healer sure, but little known and little liked.
Katsuki was powerful. A leader. And—the most confusing part—Izuku was fairly certain that the warrior prince actively disliked him. That was certainly the impression he'd given. Why had he suddenly decided that Izuku was worth courting with rare, extravagant goods that he'd have to sell his soul for?
And more importantly—
"Why isn't he the one bringing this to me?" he asked quietly, still staring down at the package. "This feels like the kind of thing you do in person."
Mina was silent for a beat too long and Izuku looked up to find her shuffling uncomfortably like she was caught with her hand in the candy jar. "For good reason, I promise."
He raised an eyebrow.
There was no way he'd accept that as an answer.
Two days after he'd left the stranger, Izuku found himself in a meadow littered with medicinal wildflowers—a bounty to a man like him. He would have picked them all if they weren't so beautiful.
He sat on the ground and pulled out his map, carefully marking the meadow so that he could find it again. It wasn't far from the cave, but it was a bit of a hike. It was worth it for the brilliant glade poppies—relatively scarce and so versatile in its uses that finding an entire field full of them was practically impossible.
Before he could collect a satisfactory amount of the vibrant orange flowers, his ring grew warm. Someone needed him.
But it felt weird—like the heat from the ring was far away, whereas it usually felt like it was burning into his skin. If it were possible for heat to feel clammy, that's how he would describe it.
He shoved the flowers he'd collected into his satchel and took off, following the ring's pull. To his surprise, it led him back to the cave.
Angry Man had actually called him back?
He entered the cave, seeking out the man on the bedroll. He was asleep under his tattered cape, curled into a ball with his back to the entrance. As he approached, he noted the tremors wracking the blonde's body. Damn. Something must have gotten infected. The resulting fever was giving the poor brute the chills.
He walked around the edge of the bedding to see if he was awake. His eyes were squeezed shut—awake and clearly not happy about it. "Hey."
His eyes snapped open. "Deku," he growled. Izuku raised an eyebrow. Deku? What did that mean? "What the fuck are you doing here?"
He lifted his hands. "You're the one who used the amulet. I'm just here to help."
"I already told you I don't need your fucking help!" he snarled, eyes wild. Izuku relaxed as he realized what was wrong. The fever was causing delirium. Poor guy probably didn't even remember calling him back.
"You might not need it, but it would make things easier," he suggested. "Why deal with this when I'm prepared to help? You'll be on your way faster if you let me help you out."
"Fuck you."
"Come on," he cajoled. "That fever can't be fun. And you can get out of here faster if you just let me take care of you for a few days."
The man maintained his glare far longer than Izuku anticipated, but he waited patiently for an answer anyway. He grinned when the man finally relented, slumping back with an irate grumble. His eyes looked a little glazed—like he was struggling to remain focused on Izuku.
Izuku got to work—quick but gentle. He started with the bandages, nose wrinkling when the sickly smell of infection reached him. That was...not good. He'd cleaned these wounds pretty carefully. Maybe he'd been lying on the forest floor longer than he'd thought.
"Okay, this is going to sting," he murmured. "Actually at this point, it might burn a little. Sorry in advance."
The stranger's jaw clenched as he re-cleaned the wounds with one of his more potent potions. "Fuck, Deku that hurts!" he finally snapped, jerking away. Oh, was he Deku?
"I know, I'm sorry. I'm almost done, though. After that, I'll give you something for the fever. It'll help you sleep, too," he insisted, pulling his shoulder back to the bed so that he could reach the laceration on his chest.
When he was finally done with the wounds, he poured water from his canteen into a cup and added two drops of fever tonic to it. He helped the man sit up, before holding the cup out to him. "Drink this," he instructed. The man eyed him suspiciously and Izuku rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his own. "See? Not poisoned. Drink."
He took the cup and eyed it distrustfully, clearly weighing his options. His shoulders eventually slumped in defeat, and he downed the drink in one go. Satisfied, Izuku stood. "Good. You'll be drowsy in a few minutes. Don't fight it. You need to rest."
There was an inscrutable look on his face and Izuku felt very examined. He sat on the other end of the cave and took out his bounty from today. The flowers needed to be dried or else they'd rot before he could do anything with them.
He could feel the calculating stare burning through him until the other man finally fell asleep—a serious relief for his nerves. He was intimidating, even when he was feverish and delirious.
He almost didn't want to be around when he was healthy again.
When he'd finally tied the flowers and hung them up to dry, he glanced back over at the man on the bed. He'd been snoring softly for about five minutes now, and Izuku was pleased to see that the shivers seemed to have left him.
He was...really pretty when he wasn't scowling. Those eyelashes could whip up a tornado.
His stomach growled loudly. Yikes. He should find something for them to eat. Angry Man hadn't eaten in days unless he'd managed to find something in the two days Izuku had been gone. He should take care of that.
He left the cave quietly, eager to not incite the wrath of his patient again. He grimaced when he noticed that it was already getting dark. He probably wouldn't be able to catch anything tonight. He'd have to deal with whatever he could forage.
But he could set some traps that would hopefully be sprung by morning, and he could collect some wood for a fire while he was at it.
Unfortunately, he didn't get very far before his ring blazed with heat again. He'd managed to find some berries and roots that they could eat, but he'd only managed to set three snares.
Hopefully, it would be enough. If his stubborn patient was summoning him, it must be bad.
"Where'd you go?" Angry Man demanded as soon as he entered the cave. Izuku raised his eyebrows. He seemed way more lucid than before. He got the impression that the only reason that he hadn't been pacing restlessly was because of his broken leg.
He held up his bag. "Finding dinner. Are you in pain?"
Angry Man shook his head. "Thought something happened to you. You didn't take your sword or your shitty flowers with you," he grumbled, slumping back on the bed. Before Izuku could reply, he'd fallen back asleep.
What on earth?
Fine. He had enough roots and dried deer on him to make a passable stew. He'd been hoping to save it for his trip into the Altair mountains though. That just meant he'd have to take a trip into a nearby town beforehand. Most of the towns in this part of the country were more friendly to magic than his hometown, but there were always the few people in every town who spurned it.
If only there were larger cities closer to the mountains.
He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Angry Man woke up again. "You're planning on traveling the mountains?" his growling voice snapped him back to the present.
"Once you're better," he agreed. "There are ingredients that I need that grow up there. Too expensive to buy from an apothecary."
"It's dangerous this time of year."
"Man's gotta eat. Besides, I make that trip pretty often. Leopard Mushrooms are a key ingredient for one of my more popular potions. I need to stay well-stocked or I'll be out of business," he muttered. Not to mention, if he stopped making the stupid potion, the villagers would officially deem him useless to them and classify him as a magical nuisance. He didn't really like living there, but he didn't want to be run out of town. "What's your name, by the way? I've just been calling you 'Angry Man,' and that's probably not the way you want to be addressed for the next few days."
"Angry Man?"
"You've been snarling at me every minute you've been awake over the last six days. Angry Man suits you," he replied, unbothered. He suppressed a smile at the irate growl that came out of his reluctant companion.
"Katsuki."
"Nice to properly meet you," he replied amiably. "Dinner's almost ready. Nothing fancy. Breakfast will be better."
There was a stretch of silence, and Izuku assumed that Katsuki had elected to ignore him. "...thanks," he murmured. Izuku was very careful to not react too outwardly. He got the impression that Katsuki wasn't great at showing vulnerability.
"No problem," he replied, grabbing more wood from the little pile he created and igniting it in his hand.
He heard Katsuki shift in the bed. "Magic. Are you any good?"
Izuku shrugged. "I'm okay, I suppose. Nowhere for me to learn properly. Not that I could afford, anyway. I'm a healer, not a mage. Any magic I can do is for my practice. Helps me get by."
Katsuki was quiet for another moment. "I can help you learn more," he offered quietly. "As payment for your help. I'd rather not owe you anything when this is done. And that fire is pathetic."
Izuku looked back at him with a smile. "That's not necessary, but thank you for offering. Really, you don't owe me anything."
"Let me."
Izuku considered him for a moment. There was a mulish set to his jaw. He wasn't going to back down and honestly, it would be nice to learn more. "If you insist. Thank you."
"Whatever."
Mina was seated at his tiny dining table with a cup of fatigue tea. She'd been more tired from the journey than she'd thought, and Izuku had noted her creeping exhaustion with a healthy amount of concern.
"Explain," he insisted, sitting down across from her.
She bit her lip. "He really was planning to do this on his own. But...look, it's been four years. We've been hearing about how kind and thoughtful and beautiful you are for ages. He's been hoarding courting gifts for you for years, looking for the perfect thing to give you. That's sweet and all, but we're warriors. We're in danger all the time. He's nearly died seven times since he last saw you, yet he's never done anything about courting you. Sometimes perfect is unrealistic, you know?"
Izuku blanched. Seven times? "If he's not ready, then you shouldn't push it. Maybe he's not sure about me."
She scoffed. "He's sure. His mother's been pressing him to take a Chosen for ages, and he's turned down anyone who came near him because they weren't you. At this point, we're not afraid that he's not sure about you. We're afraid that by the time he gets his off his ass to do something about it, he'll be dead or you will have found someone else."
He winced. That was highly unlikely. As far as he knew, no one wanted anything to do with him. "So he has no idea that you're here doing this?"
She grinned. "Oh, I'm sure he knows. First of all, I stole from his horde. He's definitely noticed that something is missing. If he still hasn't figured it out, I told his second in command to give me a three-day head start before telling him. He should be on his way by now."
Izuku choked on his tea. "He's coming here?"
In the following days, Izuku managed to banish Katsuki's infection but didn't have the means to completely mend Katsuki's body. He'd had to splint the man's leg and arm at their breaks, and fought valiantly to convince him to keep his bandages on.
It was akin to trying to baptize a cat.
Aside from being a shitty patient, Katsuki wasn't bad company. Brash and rude but smart and fairly helpful.
Izuku didn't want to admit to preening when he managed to impress him with his trapping and cooking skills. The blonde didn't dole out compliments easily but it was easy to read the appreciation on his face when he'd brought three fat rabbits back to the cave the morning after their root-and-jerky stew.
For the most part, he'd stayed close by, and Katsuki had begun to make good on his promise to teach Izuku how to better wield magic. Where before Izuku had relied on pure determination and concentration, Katsuki's instruction had helped him come by his powers more intuitively.
"How are you feeling today?" he asked when Katsuki awoke on their ninth morning.
Katsuki considered the question, quietly shifting his body around. "Better. Arm hurts more than my leg," he grumbled back.
"I'll give you more of the painkiller for that," Izuku assured him. "Here, have breakfast," he instructed. Katsuki rolled his eyes but took the bowl. When Izuku didn't back away immediately, Katsuki pinned him with a glare. "Um...do you mind if I leave you alone for the day? I need to replenish some of my stores and I can get it all nearby but it's a bit of a trek—"
"Do whatever the fuck you want, just stop rambling and get out of my fucking face!" Katsuki snapped, face red with irritation.
"Right, sorry," he flushed, scrambling back. His concept of personal space was questionable. Mostly because he was rarely around people unless they needed medical help. "If you need me or anything—"
"The fucking amulet, I know. I don't need you to fucking baby me—"
"Right, of course. Um, I'll be back by sundown. There's still some food in the pot, so if you get hungry—"
"Deku."
"Right. Okay, I'm going now, then," he said, moving to pick up his pack before heading for the cave mouth.
"Wait," Katsuki barked. Izuku spun on his heel immediately. Katsuki was staring down at his lap. "You have a needle and thread? Wanna repair my clothes," he muttered.
Izuku nodded, then remembered that Katsuki wasn't looking at him. "Yep! Here, hold on," he muttered, swinging his bag from his shoulder to root through it before pulling out a beaten-up old sewing kit. "Just be careful with it."
"How good of a healer can you be if you can't even afford to replace a sewing kit?" Katsuki scoffed.
Izuku pursed his lips, eyes flashing in anger. "I can replace it. I just don't want to. If you can't take care of it then forget about it," he snapped. Katsuki raised an eyebrow, studying him surprisedly before holding out his hand. Reluctantly, Izuku handed it over, relieved to see him handle it with care.
Without another word, he turned and left the cave.
When the cave was out of sight, he took a moment to calm down. He had to remind himself that most people didn't form emotional attachments to something as simple as a sewing kit. His irritation was valid, sure. He didn't like being spoken down to, and he didn't like having to explain the things that were important to him. He shouldn't have to.
But Katsuki was stir crazy and irritated and kind of an asshole to begin with, so he probably shouldn't hold it against him for too long.
He was kind of honor-bound to stick by him until he was healed, especially now that Katsuki had agreed to let him help. And Katsuki, despite not needing to, was teaching him how to use magic properly—the way his mother never got a chance to. He could tell it was the same—the way Katsuki moved when he conjured was so familiar to him that it made his heart ache.
He returned well after sundown. It was an accident—he'd gotten turned around when he couldn't see the sun in the thick of the woods. Still, he hadn't expected Katsuki to be actually concerned about him now that he was lucid. But when he entered the cave, the man was limp-pacing across the uneven floor. "What the hell are you doing?" Izuku snapped. "You're supposed to be resting your leg!"
"Where the fuck have you been? Sundown was hours ago!" Katsuki yelled. "I thought you'd fucking died!"
"Sit down now!" Izuku insisted, striding up to him and pushing him toward the bed. "I just got a little lost, that's no reason to screw up your leg even more!"
Katsuki snarled at him but allowed himself to be shoved into the bedding. He hissed when Izuku prodded at his leg. "That fucking hurts!"
"It would hurt a lot less if you hadn't burned through the fucking painkiller potion by walking around like an idiot!" Izuku snapped. He grabbed the cup that lay abandoned beside the bed and refilled it. "Drink this. I'm gonna make dinner. Do. Not. Move."
"Fine," he snarled, grabbing the cup.
The next half-hour was suffered in tense silence—Izuku cooking and Katsuki scowling until Izuku shoved food in his direction. He sighed, scraping a hand over his face. "Thanks, Deku."
Izuku gave a jerky nod. "You're welcome." They ate in silence and when Izuku was done, he got up and started preserving the ingredients he'd collected—setting aside the ingredients he'd need to make more painkiller. He worked quietly, immersed in the repetitive grind of his small mortar and pestle. He saw Katsuki move in his periphery, picking up his cloak to continue repairing it. He watched as Katsuki gingerly handled his sewing supplies, pleased that he'd taken his request to heart.
Almost an hour later, Katsuki set the material aside. "I'm done with your sewing kit. Thanks for letting me use it, Deku," he said into the silent cave, quiet and uncomfortable.
"Sure," he muttered, standing to take it from him. He put it back in his bag before pulling out more bandages. "Gonna change your bandages, then you should sleep," he said, kneeling beside the volatile blonde.
"Fine," he huffed, shifting to make himself more available to Izuku's treatment.
"Why do you call me Deku?" he asked as he slowly unwound the bandage at Katsuki's bicep.
He frowned. "Because it's your name? It's on the back of the amulet. 'Speak Deku.'"
Izuku paused, frowning at him. Then he remembered that Katsuki's first language probably wasn't Dagoban, and that the first characters in his name—which were supposed to say 'Izu'—looked very similar to 'De'. "My name is Izuku," he replied, smiling softly. "But you were close."
"Huh. Makes more sense I guess."
"More sense than a made-up word? Yeah, I'd think so," Izuku chuckled.
Katsuki gave him a sharp grin, and Izuku almost flinched back. His heart thudded so hard that he felt it in his stomach. That smile was...too much. "It's not a nonsense word in Musutafari. Actually, it kinda suits you," he chuckled, sounding very pleased with himself.
"Oh?" he asked with a small smile.
"Mhm," he smirked. "Means 'useless.'"
Izuku's smile dropped, as did his stomach. He felt that familiar, all-encompassing frustration that dragged him down every time he tried to talk to the townsfolk in his hometown. "Fuck you," he snapped, pulling away and throwing the bandages in Katsuki's face. "Bandage your own wounds, asshole."
"Deku, wait—"
He stormed from the cave for the second time that day, Katsuki calling that stupid name after him as he went.
"You probably have a few days until he gets here," she tried to assure him as he slowly devolved into utter panic.
"This was a bad idea," he said, standing so that he could pace along his worn wooden floors. "I know your heart was in the right place, but he hasn't seen me in years. When we left off, it wasn't on the worst terms, but it wasn't on the best. And we only knew each other for twelve days."
"They made one hell of an impression," she muttered around the rim of her teacup. Izuku carried on like she hadn't spoken.
"He's next in line to be the leader of the Bakugou clan. He's next in line for the throne entire coalition of Musutafari Warrior clans. I'm just some random healer he met in the woods. I'm not even formally trained in healing or magic—"
"You kept him alive for twelve days. I've spent twelve days alone with him before. If the wounds didn't kill him, it's a miracle that you didn't—"
"I'm nobody next to him."
Mina raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Uh-huh. You're only the man who made him fall so ass-over-mouth in love with you that he hasn't gone a day without saying your name in four years. Did you know that when he's drunk he can talk about how your eyes glow in the firelight for approximately an hour? I do. Intimately. I also know that the freckles on your right cheek form the Aquila constellation," she drawled.
A blush crawled up Izuku's face as she spoke, until his face was so hot that he was sure he looked like a strawberry. He could probably fry food on his face at this point. He hid behind his hands.
"So he thinks I'm attractive. That doesn't change the fact that I'm a second-rate outcast healer with the social skills of a drunk squirrel," he grumbled through his fingers.
She chuckled at that. "He and his dragon spent three weeks carving out the side of a mountain to build a horde for you. He'll find another chosen if you don't accept him, but I don't think he'll love them the way he loves you."
He pulled his hands from his face with a grimace. "He barely knows me."
Izuku returned to the cave a few hours later. He hadn't gone far. There was a stream a couple of miles north, and he'd dangled his feet in the water and watched the stars, letting the bone-deep feeling of dissatisfaction seep out of him.
It took a while, but he managed to come down. In a few days, Katsuki would be fully healed, and they'd never have to interact again.
He made his way back to the cave slowly, a little reluctant to return. He hoped the blonde was sleeping because he really didn't want another altercation this late at night.
As soon as he rounded the corner of the cave mouth, Katsuki's head snapped in his direction—eyes wild and searching. "Thank fuck," he swore, dropping his face into his hands and rubbing hard at his eyes with the heel of his palm. "What the hell were you thinking? You didn't even take your pack or your sword! If something or someone had attacked you, you wouldn't have been able to defend yourself—"
"I'm fine, Kacchan," he replied. "I stayed pretty close."
"What the fuck is a Kacchan?" he snapped.
"You are. If you're gonna call me Deku, I get to make a name for you, too," he replied wryly. Katsuki's jaw set mulishly. Izuku could actually see it grinding. It was clear he wanted to say something, but didn't know what—or maybe how.
That was fine. Izuku didn't want to talk to him anyway.
Izuku made his way to his corner of the cave and made himself comfortable on the ground, using his pack as a pillow and his cloak as a blanket.
The fire was still crackling in the dim cave—the only sound between the two of them. Izuku couldn't fall asleep. He wasn't sure if it was because he was uncomfortable or because he hated tension.
The almost-silence broke with a frustrated groan. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to upset you. I was messing with you. I'm just...not used to dealing with new people," Katsuki grumbled just loud enough for him to hear. Izuku turned so that he was facing him.
"It's fine. I probably overreacted," he admitted. "I let it get to me again.
Katsuki frowned, eyes studying his face intently. "Again?"
Izuku shrugged, donning a tired smile. "You're not the first person to call me useless. Probably won't be the last," he replied.
Silence fell between them again. "...that's all you're gonna tell me?" Katsuki finally prodded.
"You already know way more about me than I do about you," Izuku pointed out. Katsuki considered that.
"I'm from the Bakugou clan."
Izuku flinched. The Bakugou clan's territory in Musutafu was far away from the Dagobah border. "What are you doing here?"
"No way, Deku. It's your turn."
Izuku rolled his eyes. "Fine. My mom was a hearth witch."
"Hearth?"
"Magic of the home and garden. Seems pretty simple, but it's one of the more multifaceted witchcraft paths. She was especially good with potions magically infused foods," he explained.
Katsuki made a noise, and Izuku assumed it meant that he understood. "I'm the leader of our warriors." Izuku blanched again.
"Then what are you doing out here?" he demanded again.
Katsuki chuckled. "I'm on vacation." Izuku scoffed. He hardly seemed like the type to take a vacation. "Your turn."
Izuku sighed. He knew what Katsuki was after here. He wanted to know how to avoid stepping into another trap. "Nobody wanted me after my mother died. They didn't trust magic, so they didn't trust her. By extension, they didn't trust me."
"My mother is a pushy hag who's trying to tie me to the ground before I get the chance to see the world," he offered immediately.
"So by vacation, you meant—"
"Falling off the map for a while so she'd stop nagging me," he agreed. Izuku barked a laugh, and Katsuki looked entirely too pleased with himself. He looked at Izuku expectantly. He tried not to dwell on how it felt to have those eyes on him when they weren't glaring holes through him.
"The kids in my village used to throw rocks at me if I got too close," Izuku said quietly. Katsuki went very still but maintained his gaze. "They'd tell me that a useless freak wasn't welcome. That I was ruining the village with my evil."
Katsuki grimaced but schooled it into a scowl. "And you stayed?"
Izuku gave him a sad smile. "Didn't have much of a choice. I was a broke orphan. My mother left me the cottage and I knew how to take care of the garden, but I was only ten. A nearby healer took pity on me and taught me the basics, just so that I could get by. I taught myself the rest. He ended up leaving me his shop when he died, but not his home. I ended up taking all his products and books back to my village and setting up shop out of my house. By then, everyone else pretty much left me alone unless they needed something."
"That's shitty," Katsuki insisted. "You're clearly not evil."
"True. It isn't perfect. But where else would I go?"
When Izuku woke up he felt like the world was a little off its axis. Like there was something he should be taking care of—or maybe something he should be running from.
Then he remembered.
Not exactly difficult, considering Mina was snoring up a storm on the cramped cot he kept for drop-in patients.
Mina had (mercifully) realized how uncomfortable Izuku was with the conversation, and had allowed him to change the subject away from Katsuki's apparent infatuation with him.
Instead, she'd told him about the nonsense Katsuki had dragged her into—from how they'd met and he'd recruited her (fighting a mountain troll while simultaneously introducing her to her chosen, Eijirou), to the time a rival clan had plotted his assassination but failed because the assassin they'd sent had an allergy to the incense Katsuki had been burning in his room.
He'd told her about his adventures—how he preferred to collect his own ingredients and it tended to get him into trouble, and all the places he'd been. She'd been riveted when he regaled her with the story of the time he'd been collecting cave algae and accidentally woke a hibernating wyrm. She was downright floored that he'd managed to survive the encounter.
She'd fallen asleep a little before midnight, but before that she'd smiled at him—eyes glowing in the dim light. "I can see what he loves about you, you know. You're...well, you're warm. Easy to talk to. Clearly caring. Passionate. If I weren't already happy and in love, I would get lost in you, too. I wouldn't be particularly interested in finding my way out, either."
He blushed furiously. "I'm nothing special," he insisted.
"When you look at yourself in the mirror every day, it's hard to see the things that make you special. They seem ordinary to you, you know?" she said, smile widening. He shrugged, breaking eye contact to look at the floor and wringing his scarred hands.
"If you say so."
Now, in the light of the morning, he looked at himself in the mirror. The most unique thing about him was his hair. Not many people had green hair. Well, he supposed his scars were unique, too. Other than that, the only thing he really liked about his appearance were his freckles. His mom had once said that she'd fallen in love with a man with the universe on his face, and he'd passed on his stars to his son.
Other than that, he was plain. Awkward. Short and shoddy, to be honest. Clothes that were old and worn, hair that was constantly messy, gnarled hands, and a forgettable face. Why would someone as beautiful as Katsuki want him.
The last time he'd seen Katsuki—despite his injuries—he seemed to glow. Being near him was like sitting next to dragon fire. He was incendiary and loud—blazing in every possible way. Even his eyes burned, no matter what expression he was wearing. They'd sear your skin, whether they were razing you with fury or incinerating you with passion.
He supposed they were an intellectual match, but that hardly meant that he'd make a good romantic partner. They could be friends. But he didn't think that Katsuki could actually want him. That seemed...implausible.
He could admit that he was attracted to Katsuki. Even found himself wondering about him from time to time. But he was so sick of disappointment and longing that he hadn't even entertained the idea of seeing him again. The Dragonborn really didn't seem to like him very much.
But Mina was so insistent to the contrary. He supposed he would see when Katsuki actually arrived.
If he arrived.
He hated the part of himself that was hopeful.