Work Text:
Rain dripped from the sky in unforgiving streams, soft and relentless. The clouds were dark and heavy, shadowed like a new bruise in the evening sky. Katsuki’s breath misted in the chill autumn air as he gasped for air. He searched the ruins of the city with his eyes as he struggled to slow his heart.
Where is that fucker?
As if in answer, the villain he was fighting burst out of a broken building to his right, rocketing up into the air. Katsuki tapped his comm.
“Deku, I got him,” he said quietly.
“Yeah, I see him,” came the answer, crackly with static. “How do you want to do this?”
“How do I—You’re the ‘master analyst’, Deku.”
“You mean you think I can do better than you?”
Katsuki could hear the challenge. It was blatantly obvious. But he couldn’t find it in him to do anything but rise to the bait. He grinned, all teeth.
“I never said that, loser. What’s your location?” He eyed the villain in the sky, a self-styled avenger. He called himself Avenging Angel, too, and with those large white wings spreading from his back and a western-style broadsword in hand, he certainly looked the image. Currently, Feathers was simply holding his position in the sky, scanning the wreckage for threats. Katsuki ducked back behind his broken wall.
“I’m near the train station,” Deku said in his ear. Right, ok. Villain to his right, Deku straight ahead.
“Alright,” he murmured. “This guy is pretty slow with his sword, but flight gives him an advantage. We need to ground him before anything else.”
“I’m not… I’m not ripping his wings off, Kacchan.”
“The fuck?! What is wrong with you, nerd?” Did Izuku think he would even ask that?
“O-oh. Yeah, um. Do you remember that capture of Waspish a couple months ago?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Don’t compare me to some amateurs, dweeb.”
“Right. What are you thinking?”
“Well, last time I went in for an upgrade, Tinkerbell outfitted me with some extra tech. Here’s what I want to do…”
*
The plan was really pretty simple. Katsuki would explode onto the scene and engage Fluff-Face. Then Deku would come in like Katsuki was the distraction, and Katsuki would use him as cover to deploy a sticky grappling mesh. Once it attached itself, the mesh would tighten like shrinkwrap in a microwave, effectively grounding the so-called angel.
And it worked like a charm, because: Katsuki, duh. Now they just had to disarm him.
This was actually proving more difficult than either hero had anticipated. Chicken-Boy’s sword split down the middle, providing him with two swords that were individually lighter and faster, and neither Deku or Katsuki were particularly defensive types. That meant they had to work hard to avoid the two blades while trying to get a hit in. To top it off, Avenger-san revealed that wings weren’t the extent of his quirk.
While Deku attacked him head-on, Katsuki tried to get a shot in from the rear. Just as he fired off an explosion, however, McFeathers leaned forward and sprayed. When the spray hit the explosion, it ignited, sending Katsuki slamming back into a pile of rubble.
“Did—did that fucker just fart at me?” he asked in outrage, pulling himself to his feet.
Deku snorted a laugh as he used Full Cowl to bounce around between broken buildings to try to keep ahead of Villain Mc-Asking-To-Be-Deep-Fried. “Whatever it is, it’s obviously combustible. You’d better try to keep to his front.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” Katsuki sighed as he threw himself back into combat. His quirk might be the greatest thing ever, but even Explosion had its drawbacks.
Just when Katsuki was wondering where the hell their backup was, he saw his opening. He’d ended up on the fourth floor of a brick apartment building, knocked into it by another unfortunate fart-blast. Deku had engaged him in the narrow alley below.
“Don’t look up, Deku. I’m behind Nasty Nuggets. See if you can bring him toward the north end.”
“Got it,” Deku said, and even he was sounding weary. He pressed the assault, forcing the villain back step by laborious step while Katsuki moved as much as he could to meet him in the middle.
Normally, Katsuki’s explosion-aided movements gave his location away, but this position gave him the opportunity to drop from above like a freakin’ ninja and hopefully catch the villain unawares.
“There,” he murmured, and leapt out of the building, but his foot skittered on some broken bits of rubble, giving him away.
Fuck dammit! he swore, and his hope that Freaky Feathers down below hadn’t heard was dashed when he whirled around. But Deku darted in close, relentlessly forcing his attention back around, and he fought so hard, the villain was forced to bring both blades to bear, allowing Katsuki to drop to the ground at his back and land a punch on the side of his head, dropping him.
“About fucking time!” he said, grabbing the unconscious villain’s hands and cuffing them behind his back, a process made obnoxious by stickily bound wings getting in his way. When he was done and Deku still hadn’t responded, Katsuki looked up.
Deku was staring down at one of the swords, plunged hilt deep into his chest cavity. Blood spread across his lower half like a tide of encroaching darkness. Wordlessly, he reached up to touch the sword, then looked up at Katsuki, horror written across his pale features. His knees buckled.
“Deku!” Katsuki dove forward, tripping over the feathered fuckface and barely managing to catch his partner before he hit the ground. The hilt of the sword caught against him, jarring, and Izuku gasped.
“Fuck, shit! Sorry!” Katsuki carefully lowered Deku to the ground, keeping him upright with an arm behind his shoulders so the sword didn’t hit the ground and do more damage. He fumbled at his comm unit with shaking fingers, trying to change the frequency, managing it on the third try.
“This is Ground Zero!” he shouted into the mic. “I need emergency responders at my location now.”
“Your request has been heard, Ground Zero. Responders will be dispatched as soon as they become available.”
“You aren’t hearing me!” Katsuki growled, his mind a mess of white noise. “I need them fucking now.”
“All responders are currently attending to civilian casualties, sir.”
“Fuck them!” Katsuki shouted, but Deku’s hand patting at his chest centered him, reminded him of the proper procedures. “Hero Deku is down,” he bit out. “Send them now.”
There was a short pause, then: “Emergency responders have been dispatched to your location, Ground Zero. Please administer first aid until they arrive.”
“Administer—the fuck.” Katsuki wanted to shout at the dispatcher. He’d be administering first aid if he could, dammit! But Deku’s green eyes, trained calmly on his face, stopped him. “Copy that. Will stand by. Send a villain retrieval team, as well,” he said, remembering the villain behind him.
“Ten-four,” the dispatcher said, and the line crackled and went silent.
“Th-think there’s anything they can do?” Deku gasped out, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. Katsuki wiped it away with his gloved hand.
“If they can’t, they’re shit medics and should be fired,” Katsuki grumbled. He looked at the ornate sword still pushed into Deku’s body and wished he could just rip it out and cast it away. Unfortunately, it worked to staunch some of the bleeding, and Katsuki knew it would be foolish. Then he remembered another of Gearhead’s inventions and groped blindly at the gadgets on his belt.
“Shit!” he said, finally managing to get the spray can he was looking for, only to drop it on the ground.
“What’s that?” Deku asked, voice weak.
“Oi, wake up, shitty nerd,” Katsuki said, grabbing up the can, only to curse when he couldn’t get the top off. He reached awkwardly around Deku to grip it with his other hand and pull the lid off. “You’re gonna love this. Your costume buddy gave me this stuff that’s supposed to act to stop bleeding. She said it was based off of cobwebs or some shit. Apparently, hundreds of years ago, they used cobwebs to stop bleeding.”
“R-really?” Deku gasped as Katsuki started spraying the stuff around the entry wound the blade had created. “A-ah! That’s cold!”
“Good. It’ll wake you up. No sleeping. Sleep is for losers.” Once Katsuki had layered the pseudo-cobweb on the wound, he realized he needed to get Deku’s back.
“Oi, I gotta lay you down,” he said. “It’s gonna hurt.”
“O-okay,” Izuku said breathily. “I trust you.”
“What—Of course you’d better trust me!” Katsuki pretended to be affronted as he ignored the warmth that filled him at the words. As gently as he was able, he helped Izuku to lay down on his side. Deku gasped and groaned as the movement pulled on his wound, and Katsuki saw blood start to soak through the spray web on the front. Shit. Shoulda done this first.
Once Deku was on the ground, legs curled up to provide stability to his position, Katsuki moved quickly to spray the wound on his back. He had barely enough to come back around and spray the front again where blood was leaking through the broken seal. Then he tossed the empty can aside and sat, casting a quick glance to be sure the villain was where he’d left him and not trying to pull any tricks. Satisfied, he turned back to Deku. Nothing to do but wait and—
“Where the hell are those damned medics?” he grumbled.
Deku caught his hand in a tight grip, squeezing whenever the pain became too much. “They’ll be here,” he said, eyes scrunched shut.
“They’d better,” Katsuki snapped. “If—” He stopped. “They’d better,” he repeated.
“Ka—Kacchan, I think this my worst injury,” he said, teeth gritted through a wave of pain.
“Nah,” Katsuki said. “Remember that time last year when you nearly got disemboweled?”
“N-nearly, Kacchan,” Deku said. “My bowels were fine. Not… Not so sure this time,” he said.
“You’re gonna be fine, Deku,” Katsuki insisted.
“Okay, but if I’m not…” Deku trailed off, breathing shallowly.
“I said fine, moron. Stop making me repeat myself.” Katsuki gave himself away by gripping Deku’s hand back just as tightly, by chewing on his lip, but he couldn’t make himself stop.
“Just—”
“You have your stuff in order, right?” Katsuki asked, not wanting to talk about this, trying to avoid having to put possibilities that weren’t going to happen into words.
“I… yeah, but—”
“Then just shut up and save your energy,” Katsuki said, interrupting again.
“Kacchan!” Deku shouted, and immediately choked on a breath, squeezing Katsuki’s hand hard enough to grind bones together. “Just—just listen!”
“Shit, okay.” Damn, he hadn’t meant to get the other hero all worked up.
“Listen,” Deku said again. “If I’m not fine… there are some things I need to say.” His grip eased on Katsuki’s hand, but Katsuki held on tightly to make sure he wasn’t letting go.
“Alright,” Katsuki said gruffly. “I’m listening.”
“Good.” Deku stopped to breathe and collect his thoughts. “First, can you make sure Mom is okay? She’s always worried too much, but—but this is part of being a hero.”
Katsuki nodded. It didn’t make a difference, really, since Deku would be fine, but if it would make him feel better…
“Okay. Next, you have to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Katsuki said, because Deku was gonna be fine, dammit. How many times did he need to say it?
“Okay,” Deku said. “I believe you.” He didn’t. Katsuki could tell. Katsuki didn’t call him on it. Deku had always known him best.
“This last… hah…” Deku coughed, wet splatters of red, and that was normal, right? Well, not normal normal, but for the wound. He’d be fine.
Katsuki wiped at the droplets on Deku’s cheek with the back of a hand, but only succeeded in smearing them. “Just save your strength and tell me when you’re better,” he said.
“No, it’s… it’s important…” Deku’s breath came in harsh, rasping gasps, and he choked before clearing his airway. “It’s just… the most difficult.”
“Okay, alright. I’m still listening.” He squeezed Deku’s hand.
Deku’s other hand came up to cover Katsuki’s. “Do you remember that time we fought in Ground Beta?” he asked.
“Do you know how many times we’ve fought at Ground Beta?”
“I meant during our first year,” Deku said, as if that clarified anything, but Katsuki knew what he meant and took pity on him.
“Yes, I know, dweeb,” he said. “What about it?” Katsuki wasn’t particularly proud of that time in his life, but that night had been something of a turning point for him—for them.
“I think… I fell in love with you that night,” Deku said.
“Wh— Haaaahhh?!”
Deku winced. “Ow?”
Katsuki stared at him. “You… No,” he said.
“No?”
“No. You did not fall in love with me.”
Deku rolled his eyes. “I think I’d know if I was in love with you, Kacchan,” he said.
“No, you’re clearly delusional,” Katsuki said. “Probably brought on by shock from blood loss.”
“Kacchan…” Izuku sighed, then gripped Katsuki’s hand as his wound throbbed. “It wasn’t anything I recognized at the time,” he said.
“What makes you think you recognize it now?” Katsuki asked stubbornly. “How do you know it’s love?”
“Oh, Katsuki… You are my most important person. I want you to always watch me move forward and up. I want you to succeed the most. When I can make you happy, I feel like I’ve accomplished the most amazing thing. It makes me feel all warm and stupid inside when you smile. When you’re not alright, I would try to move the planets to make you better. If that isn’t love, nothing is.” Deku panted shallowly, clearly exhausted from speaking so much. Katsuki stared.
“That’s dumb,” he finally said, finding his voice. “If that’s love, then I’d be in love with you, too. Nerd.”
Deku looked at him and his eyes grew wide. “Oh…” he breathed.
“No, that’s not what I meant, moron!” Katsuki said, backpedalling, but Deku held his hand, keeping him from escaping.
Deku smiled at him, eyes bright and wet and freaking gooey.
“I said that’s not what I meant, what the hell!”
Deku tugged on their clasped hands. “Kacchan…”
“...Yeah?” he asked warily.
“Kiss me, Kacchan.”
There was really no resisting those wide green eyes.
Deku’s lips were soft and cool. Katsuki’s world narrowed down to just this as he leaned over him, threading fingers into wild curls, tugging at Deku’s lower lip with his teeth. He tasted like grit and blood and fight. Katsuki never wanted to taste anything else.
“Ahem.”
Katsuki jerked back, feeling his face flood with heat. The medics had finally arrived.
The rescue team worked quickly and efficiently to remove as much of the blade as they could through a convenient acid quirk. When they’d done as much as they could to stabilize him onsite, they moved Deku onto a stretcher and into a chopper, and how had Katsuki not heard that thing arrive? He tried to follow, but he was refused. Weight limit, they said. Villain retrieval team, they said.
“You’re gonna be fine!” he hollered at Deku. “And then I’m gonna kick your ass!”
Deku blew him a kiss. Idiot.
Katsuki turned away. The sooner he got this villain taken care of, the sooner he could get to the hospital to make sure they were taking care of his partner properly. But if Deku saw his grin before he turned away, well, that was okay. Deku knew him best, after all.