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Bakugou Katsuki is getting married.
The famed alpha Dragon King is finally getting married. To the youngest beta prince of the South. To him, to Todoroki Shouto.
Shouto had been worried that the dragons might rebel against their king for not taking an omega as his mate. That they might wage war against his home kingdom, something his father was doing his best to avoid actually.
He could only imagine how fierce the dragons must be in battle if even his own father did not wish to engage them. And after spending a week here in their midsts, he can see exactly why his father would not want to go to war with them.
The dragons are fierce, protective, blunt, but warm. They will fight until the last breath for something they care about and never question the actions of their king. No one raises their noses up at him when he walks through the hallways of the castle. All of Bakugou’s servants treat him with respect and courtesy when he makes a reluctant request from them, assuring him again and again that they are happy to serve him. No complaints are made about Shouto’s subgender. Everyone smiles kindly at him when he greets them and they welcome him easily into their kingdom as their king’s soon-to-be mate.
Even if he is not a dragon, even if he will not be able to bear whelps for their king, he is one of theirs now. He knows just from the way they treat him, just from the way Bakugou’s court seems to stare at his burn scar then glare at his father when he visits for the upcoming wedding.
Shouto is never left alone with his father in a room. Never. Shouto remembers two servants stepping easily between him and his father when the alpha’s voice raises and Shouto flinches away before he can stop himself. Bakugou arrives not too long after that with a handmaiden panting to catch her breath behind him, obviously, the one who went to fetch their king. The alpha Dragon King takes in the scene quickly before he dismisses all three of the servants with a nod and a quiet thank you before he settles down beside Shouto. The fire in his eyes roars to life as he glares at King Todoroki, jaw clenched when Shouto sits down beside him, the beta smelling wary and fearful all at once while two powerful alphas appraise one another.
He doesn’t know about it until the next morning, but Bakugou appoints guards outside his chambers so that his father won’t try and continue the conversation from before in private. Shouto apologizes to the guards when he steps out the next day for his daily walk around the gardens, but they only smile and reassure him that they are happy to follow their king’s bidding and keep him safe.
From the way they all talk about him, he can tell that Bakugou is a good king to his people. Shouto can only assume at this point that he is also a good man, but he knows without a doubt that his fiancé is a good king.
Honestly, Shouto could have ended up with worse. A lot worse.
On their wedding day, Shouto kisses his husband for the first time.
It is chaste, something neither of them put too much feeling into, but it is nice. Shouto likes the feel of Bakugou’s lips against his and when they turn to face the crowd, his husband slips an arm around his waist before pulling him in close to his side. He goes along with it, not feeling uncomfortable with the physical contact as he usually would be.
His alpha is warm beside him, almost like a fire except instead of leaching the warmth away as his father does, he offers it readily to Shouto. Shouto quietly accepts it, finding himself leaning more and more into his new husband’s space. Bakugou doesn’t seem to mind and he never strays far from Shouto’s side, always keeping in sight of one another with his fiery ruby eyes burning holes into Shouto’s skin.
By the time the reception is over, Shouto is nervous as they retreat to their wedding chambers.
Bakugou strips and climbs into their bed without another word. He buries his blonde head in the pillows and falls asleep promptly, the suddenness of it all startlingly Shouto. He watches his husband for another moment before he exhales deeply and relaxes, stepping out of his own clothes until he too is naked.
The bed is large and inviting and without having to think much of it, Shouto climbs in beside his alpha and falls asleep soon after.
Shouto is almost certain that Bakugou does, in fact, want to mate with him, he’s just more dignified than to demand it of him.
Dignified, civilized, respectful. Everything Shouto’s father wasn’t when he was growing up.
Bakugou is a good alpha, a good king, and a good man after all.
In public, they do most things mate would do. Bakugou holds his hand, wraps an arm around his waist or shoulders, and scents him.
The first time Bakugou rubs his nose into Shouto’s scent gland is the morning after their wedding. Shouto wakes up slow and steady, feeling drowsy as something moves against his throat. It takes him a moment to realize it’s a naked Bakugou, but instead of sending him into a panic, it only makes him want to present his neck for his alpha to do with it what he wants and fall back asleep.
Bakugou pulls away when Shouto stretches his throat out to him, humming something under his breath that Shouto can’t catch.
From then on, Shouto wakes up to Bakugou scenting him. Always stopping once he realizes Shouto is awake and never doing anything more than that, no matter how aware Shouto is of his alpha’s hardness. It would be easy to whine and shift until Bakugou goes back to scenting him, but Shouto is too embarrassed to do it in the early morning light of their chamber.
At least until a whelp gets lost in the castle, her mother having came to apply for a job in the laundry room. Bakugou finds her as he is warming up for his daily training exercises, having to abruptly stop himself from singing her as he takes notice of her small, flitting form almost too late.
Shouto pauses as he walks by, deciding to lean against a pillar and watch his alpha. Bakugou is gentle with the child, showing her his flames and the harmless sparklers that Shouto had seen him show off at the wedding only once.
It warms something in him that he didn’t know he could feel.
Bakugou catches him staring when the whelp’s mother comes searching for her, panicked and yelling and then nervous when she sees who is holding her. Shouto smiles at him and turns back to his earlier task, making his way to the library as Bakugou’s soft reassurances fade away.
That night, Shouto is the one to lie naked in their bed first. He waits under the covers and smiles to himself when Bakugou enters.
His alpha is growling something or other to himself before he notices Shouto and quiets, assuming that Shouto is asleep. He lets his alpha believe so up until he also slides into bed as naked as Shouto is.
Shouto stretches his arms over his head and rolls onto his side until he can see Bakugou in the dying flames of their lanterns. “Alpha.”
Bakugou stares at him, head tilted up in confusion. “Beta.”
“I want you to mate me tonight,” Shouto says next, not wanting to waste any more time. “If you would have me.”
It is silent in their chambers for a moment, not long enough to make Shouto regret his decision, but enough to make him appropriately nervous at least. Strong arms wrap themselves around him then and pull him in close until their chests bump together.
“I would have you for the rest of our lives if you so wish,” Bakugou whispers into his ear.
Shouto shivers, presenting his throat for his alpha. “Then I am yours.”
Bakugou dives down into his scent gland until they cannot properly tell their distinctive smells apart. “Mine.”
Their lips meet in a kiss to seal the deal.