Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started around Halloween. Katsuki still didn’t know where all the candy that had filled the dorm nearly a week in advance of the holiday had come from, but one day he came back from his morning run to find half the kitchen taken over by it. Personally, Katsuki had never been one for sugar. He was strict in his eating habits, and candy was too sweet for him. Still, he’d indulged in a few pieces of some super sour American candy just to stare down his classmates with a dead expression on his face as he did so.

It had tasted like hell, but he hadn’t flinched and it left his classmates staring at him with fear in their eyes so it had been worth it. Less worth it after both of his boyfriends refused to kiss him for the next hour or so until he’d given up and choked down some sweet garbage to get the flavor out of his mouth.

None of that was what haunted him that evening though. No, what would stick with him from that night was far more horrific than a bad taste or withheld kisses. It occurred later in the evening, after half the class had gone out somewhere. Shouto had been on the couch, Izuku napping in his lap, while Katsuki was making a proper dinner for the three of them. The entire evening Shouto had only indulged in candy when it was offered directly to him. Katsuki had just assumed that his boyfriend shared his distaste of sugar. Yet now that the common room was mostly empty, Shouto’s mood shifted slightly. He glanced around, seeming almost guilty, like he was preparing some grand heist. Katsuki didn’t want to make his boyfriend feel caught, so he kept his gaze down and just watched out of the edge of his vision.

With slow, shy, movements, Shouto reached out to one of the many candy bowls in front of him and began to rummage through it. After a moment or two, he pulled back, a Kit Kat just barely visible between his fingers. As if he were hiding it. Huh. Katsuki kept pretending like he couldn’t see anything, even if he was probably going to need to have a talk with Shouto about this later regardless. Fucking Endeavor and making Shouto feel guilty for enjoying literally any part of his fucking life.

Shouto unwrapped the candy quickly, and Katsuki had been about to look away for real when it happened. Instead of breaking the candy bar apart like a normal human being, or even biting into all four pieces like Eijirou did; Shouto breathed on it. Or more accurately, breathed fire onto it. The flame was small, but it melted the chocolate all the same, running down the wafer into Shouto’s mouth. He licked his fingers clean. The now bare wafer crackers were cupped his hands, and then, like a scene out of a horror movie, he turned them sideways and began to nibble his way through.

It was the only time in his life where Katsuki seriously thought one of his boyfriends might be a villain.

Because what the fuck.

Who the fuck would ever think of doing that to a Kit Kat? Why?

Katsuki had openly stared in shock, before catching himself as one of his pots started to boil and managing to turn away while Shouto finished up the candy. He didn’t see Shouto eat any more candy that night, but the image stuck with him.

Maybe it was a bit of an overreaction to his boyfriend having a weird way to enjoy food, but even after the initial horror wore off, something about it still stuck with Katsuki. Maybe because Shouto hated using his fire. He would rarely use it when it was required in combat, but he’d used it like it was second nature for something as silly as eating a candy bar wrong.

There was just something about it, something about how easily Shouto had done it, and how secretive he’d been that set off alarm bells in Katsuki’s head.  

He didn’t have much time to think about it. Halloween happened, classes started picking up, he got kidnapped again, Aizawa's birthday was coming up and he was supposed to plan dinner for that. Oh, did he mention he got kidnapped again? Because yeah that was a fucking thing and a half.

Worse, it’d been horribly public and he hadn’t even gotten to kick ass during it. Somehow, the League had managed to take an entire building hostage. Five hundred people or so, all trapped towards the top floor with several of those fuckers ready to kill at the drop of a hat. Most of it was sheer dumb luck that they’d gotten the drop on Best Jeanist and Gang Orca who had been the assigned patrol for the area.

Of course it’d been the building that Auntie Inko was working in. Not that the villains knew that, or that it changed much. It just felt like an extra slap in the face from life.

Their demands had been simple, Katsuki was coming with them unless he wanted 500 people dead. Class A-1 had been brought in as possible back up as the pros had been trying to work out a plan with the stand-off. The moment his name had been mentioned Aizawa had whipped around to restrain Katsuki and stop him from doing anything stupid.

Unfortunately, Katsuki was both incredibly smart and very dumb. He’d figured out that they wanted him in the first minute or two of their arrival. Shigaraki’s eyes on him gave it away. Not to mention that the villains had waited until their class had showed up to start in on their demands. It’d taken him half a heartbeat to consider his options. The League was down All for One which meant they couldn’t take his quirk, and they didn’t have any brainwashers. That meant they either thought that they could convince him to join them or this was a revenge thing. Either way it was one life versus 500, and the answer was too easy for him.

As soon as Toga had started babbling, making a scene before she got to announcing their demands, Katsuki had made his choice. Shouto and Izuku had each been given a quick kiss to the cheek before he’d told them he needed a bit of air. They bought it, because both of them were wonderful and understanding. To his credit, Katsuki had walked away from the building.

Into another nearby building.

One that just so happened to have a sky bridge connecting it to the building where the hostages were currently kept.

Fuckers weren’t even watching it.

Katsuki seriously considered a surprise attack, the weakness was just enough of an oversight that there was a decent chance of victory if he fell back and let a few of the pros know. But as he quickly discovered, Dabi was with the hostages. It’d only take a second for this to go terribly wrong. He couldn’t risk it.

So, instead he waited patiently in the shadows of the doorway for Toga to finish announcing the League’s demands for “that cute explosive blond” and for Shigaraki to cut her off and clarify “Katsuki Bakugou”. From his vantage point, he watched Aizawa whip around to find him gone, and his classmates start to panic.

Katsuki waited until the villains noticed the confusion and panic, just enough to throw them off. And make his entrance extra badass.

What? If this was how he was going to die, he wanted to make it fucking count.

“You know, I’ve got a fucking cell phone. And a damn email address. Hell, mail me an actual fucking letter if you’re that bad at technology. No need to make a goddamn scene and waste everyone’s time on this shit.”

Watching all of them startle as he stepped out into the room was incredibly satisfying. He didn’t have his hero costume on, hadn’t had time to get changed. It wasn’t like it was going to help him here. Keeping his head held high, his hands stuffed casually into his pockets and his shoulders level, he strode out into the center of the room. The hostages were all packed into one corner to his left, Dabi standing by them with a flickering flame in his hand. Toga and Shigaraki were over by open balcony in front of him. Kurogiri was towards the far end of the room on his right. As far as Katsuki could tell that was the entire party today.

It was clear that none of them had expected him to come willingly, let alone this quickly. They were caught off guard now. Excellent, he could use that. He couldn’t fight with this many people here, so the more uneasy they were the more control he had.

A moment passed as the group recollected themselves. Clearly this had not been a part of their plan, and all eyes drifted to Shigaraki. Katsuki just cocked an eyebrow at the creepy fucker in front of him. Expectant. As if somehow, this had been Katsuki's plan all along.

Shigaraki’s hand drifted up to scratch lightly at his neck. Good, the fucker was uncomfortable with being out of control. Still, Katsuki waited for him to speak. The longer he dragged this out the better. Who knows, maybe one of the pros would be able to use this distraction to their advantage.

“My apologizes… we hadn’t expected you to be.... so cooperative.”

He was suspicious. Fair enough. Katsuki watched out of the corner of his eye as Dabi slowly drifted closer to Toga. Clearly expecting him to try something. Well, whatever got him to move away from the hostages was fine in Katsuki’s books. Time to put on a good show. Exaggerating his motions, he rolled his eyes and swung his arms up behind his head, taking note at how all of them flinched when he did.

“Yeah well I’ve got a fucking essay due Monday, so I’d like to get this shit over with as quickly as possible. I’m not pulling another all-nighter because you assholes don’t have anything better to do beyond bothering me.”

It took willpower, but he kept his posture lose and his tone uncaring. Like they were fucking groupies or some shit. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kurogiri tense. Since none of them spoke up right away, he decide to press his luck a bit as he left his gaze slide away from the villains to glance out the window instead.

“Seriously, this crap is starting to get boring. Don’t y’all have like, hobbies? Goals? Other things going on in your life? Because I’ve got shit to do and I really don’t have the time to keep wasting on this.”

Shigaraki seemed agitated and Katsuki decided to press a little further, swinging his arms down to his sides and bouncing up onto his heel. As he did so, he took a casual glance around the room. Quickly noting that aside from Gang Orca and Best Jeanist, there were no injuries among the hostages. The two pro-heroes were still out cold, but he saw a twitch from Best Jeanist’s finger that let him know he might have help if he kept them talking long enough. At the very least, his former mentor knew his fighting style well enough that if Katsuki needed to go for a sudden offensive, he could shield the hostages from it. He didn’t dare let himself look for green hair in the crowd.

He could feel her eyes on him anyways. Begging him not to be there. Thank god she was smart enough not to say anything.

But seriously, if Izuku got to pull this shit, he did too. That was his justification anyways as he let his gaze swing back upwards towards the posse in front of him. This next part was probably gonna get him killed, but damn if it wouldn’t be worth it. He let his face twist into a grimace.

“This isn’t like, a crush thing, right? Because if so, one, I’m pretty sure I’m too young for you, and two, I’m outta your league.”

Katsuki felt a sense of pride knowing that his last words were going to be a pun. It’d piss off his mother which was always in a win in his books. Or at least, would’ve been his last words if Dabi hadn’t broken down cackling, redirecting Shigaraki’s attention. Before Shigaraki could start in on either of them, Kurogiri appeared to have decided that it was his turn to speak. Shit, he was closer then Katsuki remembered him being. It was only through sheer force of will that Katsuki kept himself from startling.

“I can assure you that nobody here has intentions towards you of that nature. We are villains, but none of us would stoop that low. No this is more of a matter of… unfinished business. I think it would best be discussed elsewhere, since we don’t want any bystanders getting involved.” As the mistfucker finished, he conjured a warp gate midway between himself, Katsuki, and the other three members of the party.

The casual threat didn’t go unnoticed, but Katsuki decided to ignore it. He wasn’t dumb enough to just go along with what they wanted. Not without reassurance that the hostages would be alright. He let the silence hang for a moment as his eyes swept the room. Best Jeanist was starting to rouse. He’d be up and able to fight in a minute or so, but it was too risky in such close quarters. Sizing them up and feeling somewhat in control of the situation, he closed his eyes and shook his head, arms swinging back up again to rest behind it. Again, posture almost languid.

“While I don’t mind moving the party elsewhere, I’m also not fucking dumb. You want me to come with you? The Scarecrow’s Uglier Cousin and Ms. Crazy Eyes can go first.” It was calculated. Shigaraki and Kurogiri could, together, probably take him down in close quarters but if they tried anything after he was already through, then Best Jeanist would have a fair shot against them. Dabi was their best counter to his threads, and without him it’d be a hell of a lot harder for them to kill hostages quickly.

Shigaraki spoke this time, his tone agitated and his eyes dangerously thin. His hand was digging into his neck now.

“I’m not sure you’re in any positions to be making demands. Or do you not realize how quick your death could be here little hero?”

That got a snort from Katsuki, again surprising his audience. He let his eyes blink slowly, staring directly into Shigaraki’s, even through the creepy hand on plastered on the asshole's face. A smile spread out over his face, and he let himself draw the moment out, let the villains become uncomfortable because fucking ha, they could know how that felt for a change. Then his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he spoke, making damn sure that the cameras were picking up every bit of this. If he was dying today he was going to leave a fucking impression.

“Bitch, do I look like the kind of coward that dies?”

It left the entire room stunned, because not even fucking Warpy knew what to say to that. Shigaraki was so taken aback by the sheer confidence in his delivery that his hand had frozen mid-scratch as he tried to process the implications. Again, Katsuki was pretty sure that those would’ve been his last words if Dabi hadn’t been the first to react.

“Man, I knew I liked you before kid, but damn! See you in a few I guess.” Dabi was doing everything in his power to hold back from laughing. It wasn’t every day some kid called Shigaraki a bitch, and honestly, Dabi was willing to help the kid for the expression on his boss’s face alone. Not to mention he had to admire how well the kid was holding himself together despite how bad of a situation this was. So, without waiting for instruction from the other two villains in the room, Dabi snagged Toga’s wrist. Two steps and the both of them were stepping through the warp-gate in the center of the room, smoke billowing behind them.

Kurogiri seemed to recover after that, taking a step towards Katsuki and raising his hand to gesture to the portal.

“I believe your terms have been fulfilled. Now if you wouldn’t mind?”

For a moment, Katsuki considered fighting. But there were still hostages in the room. Even though he could hear Best Jeanist starting to mumble as he woke up, Katsuki wasn’t willing to risk a fight.

Besides, he was a man of his word. No villains were going to make a liar out of Katsuki Bakugou.

So, ignoring the shouts from the hostages behind him he shoved his hands back in his pockets, and with his head held high confidently strode through the portal. He didn’t need to look back to know Shigaraki and Kurogiri were following closely behind him, or to hear the familiar sound of thread being launched a moment too late. One strand just barely brushed his wrist, and then the inky blackness engulfed him and the cut string fell limply to the ground. Some childish part of Katsuki wanted to try and grab it. He kept walking forward instead.  

Chapter Text

He had been taken about twelve hours ago if Katsuki was still able to track time correctly. The moment he’d stepped into the base, his arms had been snapped into restraints behind his back and there had been a muzzle enclosing his mouth. All Katsuki could do was try to hold onto his dignity and fight down the panic at being in this situation again. He kept his head held high as he was moved to a cell of some sort. He was so focused on controlling his breathing that he couldn’t take note of his surroundings or the journey at all. Fucking useless. Already, his mother’s voice was pounding in his ears, but he shut his eyes tight and blocked her out. That was not helpful, he had more important shit to worry about right now. He kept his eyes closed for a long time, hearing shuffling and voices that he couldn’t understand. Some part of him wished that they’d knock him out. Would’ve saved him a lot of nightmares in the weeks to come.

When he opened his eyes again, Twice was there. He seemed uninterested in Katsuki. The guy was playing some game on his phone. Katsuki practiced breathing exercises instead of paying him any mind. He went over what he was planning to write for his essay in his head, because he was going to be out of here so soon that it shouldn’t even matter to him where he was. After two hours of mentally detailing his exact thesis, which sources he wanted to rely most heavily on, a killer set of transitions that would build up nicely throughout the paper, and ignoring the heavy weight of the metal in his mouth,  Katsuki stood up to stretch. The restraints on his arms were connected to a thick chain that in turn connected to a loop on the wall. He could sit down, stand up and walk two steps in either direction, but little else. Taking in the cell he was in, it appeared that it was empty save for the guard outside. No windows, empty cells on either side of him. Great.

Twice cast him a glance as he moved around, but seemed otherwise unconcerned.

Katsuki sat back down and closed his eyes again. He could remember some of his other homework, and he kept his focus on working through it. Standing up had reminded him of the one smart thing he’d done before walking into that room. And that the villains apparently had been so thrown off by his attitude that they had forgotten basic shit.

Like if you’re kidnapping someone, you take their fucking phone. Particularly if that person knows you’re trying to kidnap them, and is smart enough to turn on their location and have a specifically designed app to transmit their location and any audio or video it could pick up straight to their teacher. Seriously, there was a “so you’ve been kidnapped” app for heros, and they didn’t even check him for a phone.

The Pros would have to know where he was by now. If Twice was using his phone down here, it meant that his signal should still be getting out. That just meant they were holding off on the rescue until they had the best chance of capturing as many of these fuckers as possible.

A voice in the back of his head whispered that nobody was coming. That they’d left him here. Katsuki told that voice to shut the fuck up and talk to his two boyfriends who were probably literally in quirk restraints right now to stop them from coming to rescue him again.

Besides, he had homework to think about.

Another two hours passed before Katsuki heard footsteps. They were light, almost oddly familiar, but slightly wrong. He waited until there was a hushed discussion in front of him, and then much heavier footsteps were making their way away from his cell. Crimson eyes flicked open to take in the pair of thin blue eyes in front of him. Dabi raised an eyebrow at him, and Katsuki noticed he had food and a water bottle with him. He didn’t let his gaze get drawn towards it, even if it had now been over 24 hours since he’d had anything to eat or drink. They weren’t going to get through to him that easily.

Actually he was planning on just closing his eyes and ignoring Dabi again when the other gave a soft snort and set the tray down. The flame user grabbed a set of keys from his pocket while Katsuki’s gaze hardened.

“Don’t worry kid, I’m not here to try and make you give in or anything like that. That’s someone else’s job. I’m just here to keep you from dying while the others are finishing preparations. We want you on our side, remember? Besides, I like you too much for that shit.”

As Dabi spoke, he carefully removed the muzzle. Katsuki’s first thought was to snap at him, but he restrained himself at the last second. The muzzle had fucking hurt and he’d like to get some water first at least. He wished his hands were free, because fuck now his face was itchy and sore, but he knew better then to push his luck. Surprisingly, Dabi seemed to pick up on it anyways and moved to rub at the sides of his face where the muzzle had dug in. His hands were the right kind of warm and for a moment Katsuki allowed himself to relax into it. It was familiar, almost like Sho-. At the thought, Katsuki tensed up again. Now suddenly very uncomfortable. Dabi pulled his hands away with a jerk when he tensed, raising them in a sign of peace.

At least the guy wasn’t being creepy about it. Instead while Katsuki slowly stretched his jaw, he set about getting the plate of food ready. Katsuki kept his eyes on Dabi’s hands as he broke the seal on the water bottle, but he didn’t see anything. Not that he could really do much if Dabi did decide to drug him, but it was somewhat reassuring that it appeared to be safe.

From there, Dabi helped Katsuki through his meal in silence, offering water and food in equal measure. Surprisingly, the food wasn’t half bad. It was some sort of Soba and it had a good kick of spice to it. Katsuki end up finishing it and the water bottle after what couldn’t have been more than half an hour. He had been expecting the muzzle to go straight on afterwards, but Dabi took a long look at the rubbed raw patches on his face and set it to the side instead.

Katsuki fixed the man with a long look, trying to figure out his motive.

“I’m not going to join your stupid emo band. I’d rather die first.”

Surprisingly, Dabi just snickered.

“Oh trust me kid, I’ve been saying that for the past two weeks. I know you’re a lost cause, but Handsy is fixated on winning you over. I think it’s got something to do with his ‘Sensei’ getting captured the last time we had you. He’s stubborn like that, once he sets his sights on something.”

The man pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, leaning up against the wall of the cell as he inhaled. Katsuki wrinkled up his nose but didn’t comment. As much as he thought the habit was disgusting, he actually liked the smell of smoke.

There was a long moment of silence before Dabi spoke again.

“I do gotta ask though, why so set on the heroics?”

Katsuki was about to start on a rant, about how he’d be the best hero and wouldn’t be won over by some cheesy villain when Dabi cut him off.

“Don’t get me wrong kid, I’m not trying to sway you over or anything.” He took in a long inhale, breathing out the smoke as he continued “I’m just a little confused by you is all. See most these heros, it’s easy. They want glory, praise, power, sex or money. I had you pegged as the first kind for awhile, but it just never quite added up. I swear, I’ve never seen someone try so hard to make others think poorly of them while helping them . You’re not interested in money, you’re definitely not after sex, anyone tries to praise you and you shut it right down. Can’t be power either, otherwise you would’ve signed up with us.” Another inhale, another exhale of smoke around words Katsuki didn’t want to hear.

“Even though you talk awful lot about how much you hate your classmates,your teachers or whoever, you’re always there to defend them when someone else is trying to pick on ‘em. Not that it seems like they’d do the same for you.”

At that Katsuki started, anger in his eyes. “What the hell do you know, sure seemed like they had my back when you assholes came around the first time, huh?!” And before his rant could continue, Dabi had started talking again. Unperturbed by Katsuki’s outburst.

“Well yeah, sure, when it was a big public thing of course everyone wanted to be the one to save the poor helpless student from the big bads. But they would’ve done that for anyone, right? That’s the whole hero thing!”

That was hard to refute, Katsuki lost for words for a moment. Dabi pressed on.

“But when it comes down to the harder stuff, the not public stuff, well, your teachers didn’t seem to care much about your mom knocking you around after you’d been kidnapped. They didn’t really have much to say about her blaming you for getting kidnapped either.”

Katsuki froze. Eyes wide and fixed on the man leaning up against the cell wall. He couldn’t know about that. Dabi gave him a lazy smile.

“All-Might wrote it in one of his reports. Toga stole your file not too long ago, and he made mention of the incident. Implied it might offer a hint as to where your violent nature comes from. Seems even the great All-Might is okay with a kid getting smacked around as long as that kid’s mouthy. He didn’t speak up when she blamed you for being too weak either. Makes me wonder if maybe he agreed with her.”

Katsuki shut his eyes tightly, trying to focus on breathing. He didn’t how how Dabi had figured it out but he was hitting him right where it hurt. All-Might had thought it was fine for him to get hit. Aizawa-sensei had thought it was fine. They had agreed with her, sat there in silence. So it must’ve been fine and he was just being a weak bitch about it.

“You know, if that’s how your mom acts when your teachers are there, how bad is she when they aren’t?” Dabi’s tone was still light, but his eyes had narrowed down, glaring down ghosts Katsuki couldn’t see. It was just words. It shouldn't have set him off this badly. But he was tired, scared no matter how much he wanted to pretend otherwise, and nobody had ever asked that before.

All of the sudden he was three years old again and she was screaming at him for crying after he’d fallen and hurt his knee. He was four, and she was slapping him upside the head because he’d been cutting carrots and accidently cut into himself instead. He was five and she was telling him he ought to go jump off a building after he’d gotten a bad grade on a test. He was six and he’d fallen down into a ravine while out hiking, and she was on the phone and telling him to shut the fuck up and deal with it because she was busy and he wasn’t a fucking baby that needed his hands held anymore. He was seven and he’d learned to yell back instead of crying when it hurt, because she made it worse if he cried. He was eight and she was locking him in a closet for hours on end so he could “cool off”. He was nine and she’d spent the past two hours telling him why he was a failure and he’d never become a hero, he couldn’t remember why anymore, only that he had a nasty bruise forming on his cheek that he’d need to lie to his teachers about. He was ten and everything hurt, he was laying down on his bed and facing the wall while his father pleaded with him to just behave because his mother wouldn’t need to do this to him if only he were better.

He was sixteen years old, he was sitting in front of his life-long hero and one of the few teachers he respected. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he’d been taken by villains, since he’d almost watched his hero die, since he’d almost watched his friend die, since he’d taken on six fucking villains on his own before he’d even gotten a provisional license and come out alive. It had been less than twenty-four hours, and she was glad to get rid of him. He hadn’t even said anything wrong and she’d hit him anyways. For being weak. And they’d said nothing. His dad just didn’t want her to hit him in front of the teachers. Told them not to fight as if it had somehow been two-sided.

The world was closing in on him and suddenly there was a hand on his cheek and one brushing through his hair. A voice was counting slowly. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Slowly, he managed to get a grip. She wasn’t here. She wasn’t here.

Dabi went silent as Katsuki came back to himself, watching as he slowly regained control. It was a long while before the other spoke.

“Sorry, kid. Wasn’t trying to set you off like that. I was just trying to understand what was going on in that head of yours. Fuck though, she did a number on you, huh?”

Some part of Katsuki’s brain realized that he must’ve started talking out loud at some point during his breakdown. Most of it was still trying to process the concept that a serial killer who’d kidnapped him twice and tried to kill him was more comforting to him than his own mother. Fucking funny world. Still he didn’t move away from the hand stroking through his hair or the soft one cupping his cheek. It had been a very long time since someone had comforted him like this, and he was so fucking tired. Besides, Dabi had already proved that he’d stop if Katsuki was uncomfortable. That was more than could be said for either of his parents.

There was another long period of silence. Dabi finally broke it, his tone soft, dangerously so. Like he meant what he was saying.

“Listen, Kid. Katsuki. I get the whole ‘I’m gonna be a hero and nobody can stop me rawr!’ thing, I really do, but what are you fighting so hard to get back to? Sounds like your family makes your life hell, and it’s not like those ‘heroes’ did anything to stop ‘em. Hell, they’ve basically already decided you’re a villain. They’re the real reason All for One wanted you in the first place.”

That got Katsuki’s attention, his gaze shot up. “What the fuck are you talking about?!”

The smile that Dabi gave Katsuki was almost sad, his eyes full of pity in a way that made Katsuki want to fight him even though he knew damn well that he’d lose.

“A kid so dangerous that U.A. decided to put him in quirk restraints and a muzzle to give him an award? Not weak shit either, that was straight up the stuff they use for villains. They practically slapped a giant flashing neon sign onto you. Day after it aired there were already talks starting about which of us should get sent to recruit. Why do you think Shigaraki’s been so insistent on you?”

Katsuki didn’t want to think it was true. But god it made an awful sort of sense. His gaze drifted down to the muzzle that Dabi had removed. It was the same model. Well fuck. That little voice in the back of his head was getting louder. Maybe he was meant to be a villain. Maybe that was why his teachers were okay with his mom hitting him. Or tying him up for a stupid fucking award he didn’t want.

Maybe he already was one, and that’s why they weren’t coming for him.

The voice got louder, he shut his eyes tight and tried to block it out, shaking his hand back and forth violently as he bit into his own lip. He could taste the blood and it hurt but it kept him grounded. He wasn’t a villain, he’d fucked up in the past but he was doing better. He was getting better. He was learning that just because your mom hit you, didn’t make it okay for you to hit others. That just because your mom told you to kill yourself every other day didn’t mean it was an okay to repeat. Just because he had lived through that hell, doesn’t mean he had to drag anyone else down with him. Was living in that hell. Was living between that hell and the safety of the dorms. Where his two boyfriends lived. Who for some fucking reason loved him despite the fact he was weak and awful and-

“Hey, hey, you’re fine kid. Just breath, alright? They aren’t here. Just the bad guys here, and you’re allowed to hate us.”

That shouldn’t have been reassuring. It was somehow. Katsuki breathed.

“I know you’ve already given the ‘I’ll never join you spiel’, but kid, even if it’s dirty work at least we’d keep you safe. Can’t promise it’s all sunshine and rainbows, but we aren’t going to chain you up on national TV or let your mom beat you up. Hell, you’d never have to see her again if you didn’t want to.”

For just a moment, Katsuki considered it. Well and truly. One deep breath in, one deep breath out. It’d be nice, never having to see her again. Make some of the nightmares stop maybe. And hey, at least Dabi seemed to care about what happened to him. Who knows, maybe the others weren’t so bad either. But as soon as the thought was in his head it was gone. Replaced instead by visions of Izuku and Shouto and how hurt they’d be. How much it would rip them apart if he betrayed them.

He thought about the long talks he’d had with Izuku late at night. He’d never worked up the nerve to tell his boyfriend how far his mom had gone with him, but he’d been able to communicate it a bit. Enough that Izuku understood that it had never been something that Izuku had done, it had never been his fault that Katsuki was an asshole. On the rare occasions that Katsuki had to go home, Izuku had somehow found a way to always be around. More often than not, Inko was able to convince his mom that both boys should stay at her apartment. It was no trouble after all, and the threat of villains still lingered. Inko didn’t know the whole story either, but Katsuki had noticed she spoke to his mother less and less these days.

Apologizing to Izuku had been hard, because nobody had ever taught Katsuki how to. But he’d learned anyways, because he wanted to be better. Izuku had forgiven him before he’d even managed to get all the words out, but had waited patiently anyways. Katsuki didn’t deserve him, he wasn’t sure he ever would, but for some reason Izuku wanted him anyways. So Katsuki was going to be the best fucking person he could be for him. Progress took time, but he was getting there.

Shouto and him didn’t talk about their pasts much. They both knew enough. The night after their retest, Shouto had pulled Katsuki into his room. Usually Izuku would be there to celebrate with them, but Shouto had quietly let him know that they needed some time alone. He still remembered how Shouto had looked him in the eyes. How he had whispered to him, as if it was a secret. You’re allowed to change. You’re allowed to get better. You’re allowed to not become her.

He cried that night, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t let himself feel guilty about his tears. Lots of people had told him that he needed to be better. Shouto and Izuku believed that he could be and somewhere along the way they’d convinced him too. His classmates filtered into his thoughts. Eijioru would never accept him switching sides, it was too unmanly. Already he could hear a thousand speeches trying to win him back. Besides, who else was gonna lead tutor sessions for those losers when they failed their tests again? Kyoka would miss having someone to bitch about bad music with too. God knows what sort of shit Hanta and Denki would get into without him there. Mina would cry or kick his ass, probably both.

And… And his classmates would miss him. Because they liked him. Despite Katsuki’s best efforts, they had somehow managed to like him anyways. He’d started getting better too. Now he didn’t shove Eijioru away whenever the other was trying to help him. He’d learned to be softer with Denki than with Mina when tutoring because while Mina totally got his tough love, sometimes it hit too close to home for Denki. Kyoka and him could chill out together and just listen to music sometimes. Not only that, but when it came down to it, he knew damn well that any of his classmates would trust him to watch their backs, and he could do the same for them.

Katsuki still wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t even sure he’d call himself good yet. But he was going to be better, and no damn League of Villains was going to stand in his way. And he certainly wasn’t signing up for that shit. Katsuki let his eyes open, his resolve stronger than ever. The panic had left, and he felt like himself again.  

“I’m flattered, but I just don’t think I could pull off dressing emo. Honestly punk’s about as far as I can go, and I’m still thinking I need to add more color to my hero costume.”

Dabi threw back his head and laughed at that. The whole mood in the cell had lightened, and somehow it felt like a weight was off Katsuki’s chest that he hadn’t known had been there. It was weird that Dabi had cared so much, but somehow it had felt important to sort out anyways.

“Fucking fair enough kid, the look isn't for everyone. I can’t say I agree with where you’re going in life, but I gotta respect your dedication to it.”

Really, Katsuki had been expecting that to be the end of the whole thing. Only Dabi had apparently decided this conclusion called for a celebration, so he pulled out a familiar orange and white wrapper from one of his coat pockets.

Goddamn, even villains believed in rotting their teeth apparently. The patchwork man slid off the wrapper and carefully broke the Kit Kat in half, holding up part of it for Katsuki. It was a little weird to eat without using his hands, but Katsuki took it nonetheless. The soba had been filling, but he wasn’t going to turn down food right now.

And then Dabi turned to his own half of the candy bar. It happened in an instant, a well practiced move that had been haunting Katsuki for weeks. The flames licked out from his fingertips, melting down the chocolate and leaving the wafer behind. Then Dabi turned it to the side and crunched his way through it like the monster he was.

Fuck.

This made a lot of fucking sense.

After having finished with his candy, Dabi noticed Katsuki staring, and went to make some sort of witty remark by the look on his face. Only, Katsuki cut him off.

“You’re Touya Todoroki.”

It wasn’t a goddamn question.

The whole fucking room went still. Which was weird because it was only the two of them, but it still felt like a room had stilled. Maybe the revelation had been so stunning some random room of people had just frozen out of respect. Dabi’s eyes were wide, caught. It quickly morphed into anger.

There was a fist wrapped around his throat and Katsuki could feel his flesh starting to burn and Dabi was growling out a demand for answers so Katsuki gave it to him.

“You eat Kit Kats wrong.”

The hand on his throat went cold. Then released him all together. Touya Todoroki, Dabi, took a step back with a look of pure confusion on his face.

"What.”

“You both eat Kit Kats wrong.”

His face twisted up into a confused scowl, and all Katsuki could see was how alike they looked. The turquoise eyes really should’ve given it away sooner. That or the fucking fire quirk. It took a moment for Katsuki to realize that Dabi wanted more than what little explanation he’d given. Since he’d prefer to avoid dying, he pressed on.

“The first time I saw Shouto eat a Kit Kat, I thought he’d been possessed or some shit. The chocolate is the whole part that makes the fucking wafer taste good! And he did it instinctively too, even though he never uses his fire when he doesn’t have to. But he eats it the exact same way that you do. What are the odds that two people with rare fire quirks, at least one matching eye color, and bad fashion sense, just happen to have the same specific and dumb way of eating a goddamn Kit Kat?”

At this point, Katsuki was aware he was getting into Izuku levels of rambling but goddamn it, he’d earned it today.

“You’re the right age. Endeavor has issues with his quirk overheating his body, if you got some aspect of that then it’d explain the burns. And if you’re his kid then the personal vendetta makes sense. And… you knew his real name. But not any of the other pro-heros.”

Yeah, Katsuki was definitely going to die today. Which fucking sucked because he’d had an emotional breakthrough and he’d been hoping to go somewhere with that.

Dabi regarded him for a long, long minute. As if unable to comprehend Katsuki.

“...He still eats Kit Kats like that?”

Katsuki just nodded.

Dabi’s phone buzzed.

He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the message for a long moment. Then he looked back up at Katsuki, something different in the air now. Judging him. Then he turned pulled the keys from his pocket.

“Doesn’t change a damn thing who I was before. Seeing as your friends have finally showed up, I’ve got more important shit to worry about anyways.” He paused, clearly considering his next move. “Shigaraki just told me to grab you and head up to met the others so we can shift bases.” As swiftly as he spoke, he moved, unlocking Katsuki’s arm restraints from the wall. His arms were bound still, but he wasn’t chained down anymore. It took a moment for Katsuki to realize he was free. In that moment, Dabi had already made his way out of the cell, leaving the door wide open behind him.

“But oh well, looks like you somehow got away from me. And headed straight towards where the rescue crew is coming in.” As he spoke he gestured towards his left, and Katsuki took the fucking hint. He didn’t waste any time in pushing himself to his feet and darting down the hallway. Pausing only to glance back at Dabi, to see if he was really just going to be let go. Dabi rolled his eyes at him.

“This doesn’t change shit between us, kid, I’m just fucking bored of us wasting our time on you. You’ll clearly never be a villain no matter what we put you through.” Another pause, his gaze soften for just a moment. “If you been through that hell and still decided you want to be a hero, well I don’t think we can top that shit.”

With that he turned and started to walk away, but Katsuki caught muttered words just loud enough for him to make out above the slowly rising din.

“Hopefully Kit Kats end up being the only thing we share.”

With that on his mind, he turned and raced down the hallway as Dabi had directed him. Making his way towards the sound of fighting.

Maybe Aizawa wouldn’t expel him if he could pretend he’d had a plan for getting himself out of the the entire time.

Chapter Text

As it turned out, it wasn’t Aizawa that snagged him off the battlefield the moment he emerged. He’d managed to safely make it to the hero’s half of the fight, with the villains already starting to retreat. No sooner had he poked his head up the top of the ruined stairs then he felt his own shirt yanking him up and behind a protective barrier that was a familiar shade of blue. He could hear people shouting, but it seemed be mostly in victory so he let his eyes drift shut for just a moment. It wasn’t like he’d be much good in a fight without his arms anyways.

Then suddenly Tsunagu was at his side, talking to him in a soothing tone and moving behind him to take a look at his restraints. Thread poured over the lock and then they were falling away. Katsuki pulled his arms in front of himself, stretching carefully through the muscle ache. Feeling a bit more like himself, he glanced around to assess the situation. As far as he could tell, the battle was over. He could see a few pros scattered around, talking into cell phones and organizing others. Nobody appeared seriously injured. That was good at least. He was a little surprised he hadn’t been tackled by one of his classmates yet or collected by one of his teachers for a lecture, but then Tsunagu was guiding him to his feet and over to a car. Someone was driving the car. It wasn’t Tsunagu or Katsuki, because both of them were in the back seat. Huh. Weird. Katsuki just buckled himself in. He was really hoping he could catch a nap before the lectures started. It’d been a long fucking day.

Instead, he found himself flinching as Tsunagu reached for him suddenly. His former mentor froze and fuck Katsuki hated the feeling of weakness that swelled up in his chest. Still, he beat it down. He’d just been kidnapped, he was allowed to flinch. It didn’t mean anything. More slowly, Tsunagu reached toward Katsuki and… into his pocket? Huh. Okay. Weird.

Now that he thought about it, Tsunagu was talking softly but Katsuki’s hearing wasn’t working great at the moment. It didn’t work great in general, but it was near impossible when he couldn’t focus. So he just stared blankly as his phone was pulled out from his pants pocket where it had been the entire time. Oh. Yeah. The transmission. He probably should turn that off so he didn’t waste any more battery. Honestly he was surprised it lasted for as long as it did.

Numbly he took the phone when Tsunagu handed it to him and unlocked it. Then he handed it back, trusting the other not to mess with anything. After disabling the app, Tsunagu frowned at something on the screen. Really, Katsuki meant to pay more attention to what he was doing as he started doing something that definitely wasn’t disabling the app. But his eyes were so tired, and the car ride was soothing him, with just enough light in the car that he didn’t have to worry about shadows stealing him away.

If asked later, Katsuki would firmly insist that him slumping over onto his former mentor was just him trying to get his phone back before passing out. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was cold, tired and shaken. Even though he hadn’t gotten along well with Tsunagu, the other had been kind but firm and patient with him during his internship, and well, that was a lot more than could be said for a good portion of the adults in Katsuki’s life. It helped that Tsunagu just moved one arm around Katsuki and allowed the child to snore into his side without comment. The kid had saved well over five hundred lives the day before, quite possibly including his own. Thought that didn’t mean that Tsunagu didn’t steal one quick photo for the pro’s group chat. It was good to let the others know the boy was alright, and fuck it, he wanted bragging rights however uncouth they were.

When Katsuki awoke next, he was in the infirmary. Huh. Well, at least it wasn’t a hospital. It took him a few moments to realize he wasn’t alone. Aizawa was sitting by his bedside. He looked worse than usual.

What’s weird was that it was only Aizawa sitting by his bedside. Not that Katsuki had expected a fucking parade or anything, but he couldn’t have been out for that long and he had kinda been hoping that Shouto and/or Izuku would be waiting for him like they usually did when one of them was injured. Before any panic could start to seep in, Aizawa spoke.

“Your classmates are currently barred from the room, despite their best efforts otherwise, because you and I need to have a serious talk.”

Fuck. Well hopefully Shouto and Izuku wouldn’t break up with him just because he’d fucked up and gotten himself expelled. Katsuki dropped his eyes, refusing to look at his teacher.

“So there’s the obvious don’t you ever fucking do that again, kid. Midoriya almost had an actual heart attack and I had to grab Todoroki and Sero out of mid-air to stop them from going after you. But I also know damn well you’re going to ignore me, then bitch like hell when Midoriya does something equally as self-sacrificing and dumb in three months or so. I’m pretty sure you children have a damn contest going on to see who can put me in an early grave from stress. All Might has also been blaming himself for all of this. To be fair, I’m blaming him too at least a little because he’s the shining example of stupid self sacrifice.”

Katsuki snorted at that, because it was fucking true no matter how much All-Might tried to lecture them on it. The guy couldn’t even argue the point without coughing up blood and proving them right.

“Best Jeanist has also taken the incident rather hard as it was his own failure that lead to the hostage situation escalating in the first place.” A hand held up to stop Katsuki’s protests. “He and Gang Orca failed to properly assess the situation and keep their guard up, instead they got distracted by fans just prior to the event. It happens to the best, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a failure on their part all the same. Trying to convince either of them otherwise is a pointless mission. Instead, I’ve been asked to tell you that he would like to meet with you when you are feeling better to apologize. Trust me kid, it’s easier to just get that over with then fight it.”

With an eye roll, Katsuki relented. He could understand it, even if he knew damn well that he’d made his own choice in the situation. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to bitch about it whenever the time came, but he’d listen anyways. Aizawa was willing to take it.

“With the whole ‘never do that again’ in mind, I will say that despite your choices being risky, unsanctioned and a dumbass move overall, the situation was diffused with no major injuries in the initial situation or in the later raid. All of the hostages made it out okay, and since you did the smart thing and got us your location through your phone, we had time to plan things out. So while I’m still not happy that you put yourself at risk, I’m proud of how you kept a level head, took control of the situation without fighting and at least somewhat thought things through.”

It was better than Katsuki could have possible dreamed. Only… then Aizawa sighed. Wait. No. That was definitely not fucking good. If he was going to be expelled then his teacher would've lead with that. He wouldn’t have gotten his hopes up. So what could it possibly be then? Katsuki’s eyes flicked up to met his teachers, and there was a mix of concern and regret that made him shiver.

“Katsuki-”

First names were never a good thing. Fuck. He was dying. They had poisoned him.

“-your phone was transmitting the entire time. Not just your location, but everything. Audio and technically video.”

Ah, so he wasn’t dying, he just wished that he was. Dying was definitely preferable. He knew that he looked like a deer in the headlights, but he didn’t know what to do or say. Really, he should’ve known. It was what the app was designed to do, and he’d turned it on himself. But it’d just… slipped out of his mind.

Aizawa, for the first time since Katsuki had known him, dropped his gaze. He’d never seen his teacher look like this before… ashamed? Lost? Silence filled the room like water. Thick, heavy and suffocating.

“I-We-The entire pro team sent to your location was listening to the transmission. We needed to know if you were on the move or if they had gotten wind of us coming yet. It took us longer than we would’ve liked to get there too.”

Another long pause. Katsuki’s hands were shaking. He couldn’t make them stop. He tried to glare them into submission instead. He felt like he should say something. That it didn’t matter. That he’d said what he’d fucking said and that he’d stand by it. Maybe he could try to distract him with the whole Dabi revelation. Storm out of the room and never come back.  

“Kid, can you look up at me?”

Katsuki looked because fuck he had promised Izuku and Shouto that he was going to get better and part of getting better meant you had to actually talk about shit. You couldn’t just blow up whenever you felt threatened or like someone was getting too close to seeing you for comfort.

Aizawa held his gaze as he moved his hands to slowly to cover Katsuki’s smaller ones, slowing the shaking. “Katsuki, I owe you a hell of a lot more than an apology, but I’m going to start with it.”

Deep breath. “I fucked up. Several times. I should’ve intervened at the sports festival well before they were putting a goddamn child in chains and a muzzle. You should’ve had the right to say no and walk away if you didn’t feel that you’d earned the damn medal. You should always have the right to say no and walk away because that is the responsible and mature thing to do. We shouldn’t ever have taken that from you.”

It took a lot for Katsuki not to interrupt, but he held his tongue and let Aizawa keep going.

“Even prior to the training camp incident, you showed several signs of, if not abuse, at the very least a lack of healthy outlets or emotional control. I commented on those faults, but I never offered you any tools to fix them and between my own comments and other teacher’s, we almost certainly just reinforced the idea in your head that you were violent and unable to change. The school has therapy for its students for a reason, but at no point did I or another instructor encourage or even offer those resources to you. That should have been my first response to my concerns over your behavior, but instead I just left you to try and fix these issues on your own.”

He really wanted to say he wouldn’t have gone for it. That his mother had bitched about psychos and crybabies on couches one too many times for a year ago Katsuki to have even considered opening up to a therapist. Somehow he didn’t think that was what Aizawa wanted to hear though.

“After the first time you were kidnapped, when I visited your home... “

There was a pause as Aizawa searched for words that he didn’t have.

“I have no excuse for why I didn’t act. Not only should I never have stood by silently and allow one of my students to be hit by their parent, but you had just been through a highly traumatic experience. And I said nothing as your mother blamed you for it, despite the fact you were a child against a number of significantly older, more experienced villains you shouldn’t have been fighting in the first place. I let her tell you she’d be glad to be rid of you and criticize you when it was the last thing you needed. There were a thousand things that I should’ve done as a teacher in that situation, and I sat by silently and allowed it to happen. Katsuki, I failed you as a teacher and as an adult that day and every day after when I didn’t take action to protect you.”

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Katsuki had to drop his gaze again, unable to met the intensity of his teacher’s gaze any longer. There were tears welling up in his eyes from just how much emotion he was experiencing at once. Aizawa gave him a few seconds to recover.

“I’m sorry for failing you as an adult. I’m sorry for failing you as your teacher, and I’m sorry for failing you as a hero. I have no excuses, I cannot change my inaction in the past, and I’m ashamed that a villain did a better job offering you support after having kidnapped you than I did in well over a year of knowing you. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had agreed to join him given how poorly the adults in your life have acted, and yet you held strong to your convictions regardless and ended up saving yourself yet again.”

Careful hands moved to tilt Katsuki’s face upwards as tears silently rolled off his cheeks. Aizawa held his gaze carefully.

“I and the rest of your teachers have given you more than enough lectures on how you need to learn to rely on others, but that advice is absolutely worthless if you don’t have people that you can rely on. So that’s changing starting now. A lot of things are going to be changing starting now.”

Aizawa let go of Katsuki’s face, letting him take a few more deep breaths as his teacher reached for some paperwork on a table by his bedside. It took him a moment to realize he was being offered the papers, and almost a full minute before he could focus on them enough to make sense of what they were. Aizawa let him skim them quietly.

Custody papers made up most of the stack. Both of his parents had signed over full custody rights to the school. Two restraining orders were just below that, preventing them from so much as speaking to him without his full consent and the consent of his guardian. A formal apology from the school for the incident at the sports festival. There was a copy of his class schedule in there, with a new time blocked out on it for counseling.

Tears were coming out of his eyes again and blurring his vision. Katsuki knew that he was feeling a fuckton of emotions, but he couldn’t even start to untangle what emotions they were. All he knew was that it was a lot. That and he didn’t know what to do about them.

For a moment, all he could do was feel. Somewhere in that moment, the papers were gently moved out of his hands. At some point he realized he was sobbing but for once in his fucking life he let go of his shame and just let himself cry. When he came back to himself, he found that he was wrapped up carefully in his teachers arms. A hand was rubbing his back and he felt safe. Instinct told him that he should shove the other man away. That he should scrub the tears from his face and blow up. That he should start shouting, as loud as he possibly could be so nobody would see that he’d been weak.

Katsuki told his instincts to go fuck themselves because while they were useful in combat, they were shot to hell for social situations and he was fucking done with pushing people away. He just wanted to feel safe and be held, his pride be damned.

They stayed in silence for awhile before Katsuki felt okay enough to gently break the contact. Sitting up straight and glancing towards the window. It looked like late afternoon. It had been early afternoon when he’d left, and while he knew for sure that he must’ve been gone at least a day, it almost felt like it had only been a few hours. All the time in between felt fuzzy.

“How long was I out?”

“They had you for about 20 hours. You were taken just after 1pm yesterday, and we recovered you at 9 am the next morning. Shortly after you were recovered, you fell asleep, you were semi-lucid while we moved you in here but I doubt you remember that. It’s 10 after 4 now. While you were out you were given an IV and Recovery Girl took care of your injuries. You’re medically cleared to leave at any point, but you’re also welcome to stay the night here if you need some time before seeing your classmates again.”

It was tempting, but Katsuki wanted to see his boyfriends again too badly to stay. Besides, he’d knew damn well that between the two of them and Eijioru his personal space would be well enforced. Next question.

“Did you catch any of them?”

“Unfortunately only one, Spinner. The rest were able to successfully escape. They were expecting us to track you down it seemed, but weren’t expecting how quickly we were able to do it.”

One was better than none. Before he could ask his next question, Aizawa added on to his first statement.

“They also apparently weren’t expecting you to figure out the identity of one of their primary members from the way he ate Kit Kats. ”

How- The transmission. Right. Oh god. No wonder it felt like a room had frozen, there had been an entire fucking crew of pro-heros listening in. Katsuki glanced up at his teacher and the disbelief and amusement on his teacher’s face made the entire fucking night worth it. Or at least made it quite a bit better.

“Please tell me that’s not going in the official report?”

Aizawa’s grin was downright malicious and god damn it, Katsuki was taking back the touchy-feely stuff. His teacher was awful.

“Oh kid, it’s going in the official report, your classmates have already heard about it and they are never letting you forget it.”

That got his attention and set a more serious tone.

“How’s Shouto taking it?”

Aizawa’s grin faded. “As well as can be expected. He’s been pretty shell-shocked that his older brother’s alive, but he seems a bit more shell-shocked about how you figured it out. He’s also told me to tell you he doesn’t eat Kit Kats wrong and the wafer tastes good. We’re currently investigating the situation regarding Endeavor.”

Katsuki shook his head but didn’t argue. There was shit left to sort out there, but it could be left for another day. Instead he stretched his arms out and swung himself off the bed. He didn’t even stumble on the landing, even though it was a close thing. God, he was still so tired. Aizawa stood, a gentle hand coming to rest on his back. It was almost shrugged off, before Katsuki reminded himself of his resolve and instead let himself take comfort in it as the two of them started towards the dorms.

There was a lot of shit left to work through, but Katsuki was alive. He was going to be okay. He was going to get better. That could wait until tomorrow, though. Tonight, Katsuki was going to eat an entire horse, tell his classmates to fuck off when they made fun of him (but not pushing them away when they held onto him tighter than they would normally dare), and go the fuck to bed with his boyfriends curled around him so he’d wake up complaining that he was too hot and not mean it for a second.

He’d earned that much at least.