Chapter Text
Crown Prince Izuku, at the tender age of nine, rides into the Bakugou lands with his father and a few guards. It’s the first of June, and they are planning to stay until late August. Izuku’s father has told him that from now on, he’ll be spending his summers with the Bakugou Prince, Katsuki, so that they may improve the relationship between their kingdoms.
There hasn’t been war on the Continent for years. The three kingdoms and one queendom frequently meet to participate in events meant to perpetuate the peace. Despite this, the royal families’ sizes have been dwindling. Todoroki has four children, Yaoyorozu has a second child on the way, while Izuku is the last of the Midoriya line, and Katsuki is the last of the Bakugou’s.
But he doesn’t care about that. All he knows is that he is being forced to spend time in a foreign land surrounded by strangers. His fingers brush over a silver bracelet on his wrist absently. It had been a gift from Prince Katsuki for his naming, a ceremony every royal goes through on their first birthday, introducing them to the world. Coincidentally, it’s one of his favorite jewelry pieces, and he hopes it’s a sign that he’ll like the other Prince.
Despite his optimism, he most definitely does not want to be here.
His father signals the soldiers behind him to halt as they approach a turn in the road and stone pillars. Izuku swallows the sudden lump in his throat as his father presses his horse forward. They round the corner where Prince Katsuki and Queen Mitsuki await them.
Izuku watches warily as his father dismounts and pulls him down with him. The Queen is smiling, but the Prince is kicking at the ground and scowling.
He hides in his father’s robes. He wants to go home.
His father untangles his fingers from their grasp on his robe and pushes him towards the Queen and Prince, who is undergoing the same treatment as him, and it isn’t long before they are forced together.
“Hello, Prince Izuku,” Prince Katsuki grumbles towards the ground. “I’m very pleased to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you, Prince Katsuki,” Izuku replies with a deep bow like his father had taught him. When he looks up, Prince Katsuki is already walking back towards his mother. Izuku glances back at his father, who looks at him sternly and shakes his head once.
He waits until Prince Katsuki returns, shooed back by his mother, and to his horror, the other Prince grabs his hand. And plants a kiss on bare skin. It’s wet and gross. Prince Katsuki releases his head quickly and grimaces, wiping his hand on his trousers.
He can’t believe he’s going to be stuck with this Prince all summer. Maybe if he’s lucky, he’ll get chickenpox. Izuku turns back to his father, but the torture isn’t over yet, the stern expression still on his father’s face. He sighs and turns back to Prince Katsuki, wearing matching forced smiles.
“So happy you could come,” Prince Katsuki grinds out.
“So happy to be here,” Prince Izuku returns through clenched teeth.
With formalities over, they are free to part. Izuku wishes he could run away. This is not his idea of fun.
Izuku tries to protest this unfair arrangement by hiding away in his room, but that quickly becomes boring. He tries to find anyone else to play with, but the only people in the castle are boring adults. And Prince Katsuki. By mutual, unspoken agreement, they play together, but their relationship doesn’t thaw. Prince Katsuki takes to calling Prince Izuku “Deku”, citing that the younger Prince is practically useless, and purposefully trips him when they play with wooden swords. Prince Izuku returns with the nickname ‘“Kacchan”, but that’s mostly because he keeps stumbling over the second syllable in the other Prince’s name.
They end the summer covered in bruises and share a disgusted look at their parents’ stupidity, as their clueless parents laugh and coo over their supposed friendship. They say their formal goodbyes while making faces at each other, although it doesn’t mask the relief in their eyes.
Three summers later, Izuku and his father arrive in the Bakugou kingdom by boat. While his father goes and greets the Queen, Izuku delays his descent defiantly. When his father’s back is turned, a tomato pelts him in the face, thrown by Katsuki and someone Izuku hadn’t seen before. A boy about their age with messy black hair dressed similarly to Kacchan.
It isn’t fair that Katsuki gets a friend, and he doesn’t! He bares his teeth at the laughing boys. As part of his revenge, he follows them around all summer and interrupts their games. It’s amusing to see their faces turn red with anger and frustration every time he shows up.
They almost manage to evade Izuku at the end of summer in a treehouse. They hurriedly pull the ladder away from Izuku before he reaches it. Blinded by his own anger, he kicks at a support beam, and they all scream in surprise when the whole thing comes tumbling down.
That August, Prince Izuku and Prince Katsuki part, each swaddled with bandages and a broken arm apiece between them.
In the summer of Izuku’s fifteenth year, he tries a different tactic. This time he’s ignoring Kacchan. The Prince isn’t the only one in his kingdom. He practices his swordsmanship with the Bakugou soldiers and endlessly questions them about tactics he’d read about over the past winter.
In the evenings, when he is forced to spend time with Kacchan, they play cards or chess. Izuku always wins at cards, no matter the game they play, which makes Kacchan mad enough to sweep his hand across the table more than once and send the cards flying about the room. But Kacchan always wins at chess, no matter how many strategy books Izuku seeks out. Kacchan always lords his victory over him. Loudly.
Izuku is quite sure that he hates Kacchan, even though everything about the other Prince is impressive. From chess to shooting to swordplay, his skills are unparalleled.
When it comes time to leave again, Izuku takes his revenge and splatters Kacchan with a tomato while their parents are distracted. That summer ends on a fantastic note.
Over the next two years, their parents spend every chance they get urging the Princes to marry, but neither Prince cares about some stupid legacy or whatever nonsense about unifying their kingdoms; not when they’d have to be with each other. And so they resist their parents’ efforts with all their might. The only thing they have ever agreed on is how much they don’t want each other.
It’s the summer of his eighteenth year, and Izuku still does not want to visit the Bakugou kingdom, but after all these years, resistance seems futile, and it’s become almost… bearable. In fact, Izuku is looking forward to visiting this year. The captain of his father’s guard, Toshinori, more commonly known throughout the continent as All Might and similarly renowned throughout for his battle prowess, has been teaching Izuku swordplay all winter. Under All Might’s tutelage, he feels more confident than ever that this would be the summer he beats Kacchan at sparring.
Izuku speeds up ahead of his father and their soldiers, spurring his horse around the last corner, and then comes to an abrupt halt at the sight of Kacchan.
He immediately dismounts and walks forward until they are only a few feet apart. Kacchan has his arms crossed, a signature scowl on his face.
“What took you so long, nerd?” he demands.
Izuku shrugs. “A storm delayed us. That eager to lose to me?”
“Hah?” Kacchan stomps forward and pokes him in the chest. “Who’s losing to who now?” Kacchan’s red eyes gleam in the light; he notices without trying to. It is almost… pretty.
Izuku’s confidence can’t be shaken though. “This time, I’m winning.” He grins, although his teeth are bared more like a snarl, a similar expression on Kacchan’s face.
They glare until Kacchan finally relents when the patter of hooves draws closer.
“Well, you’ve filled out a bit,” Kacchan says. “Maybe you’ll finally put up a little fight.” Izuku rolls his eyes, although his cheeks start to heat up at the thought of Kacchan noticing him. All that marriage nonsense is finally getting to his head. There’s absolutely no way—
“Race you to the field!” Izuku yells and shoves Kacchan away to get a head start, simultaneously thrusting aside his erroneous thoughts. His father yells something about propriety behind him, but it’s drowned by Kacchan sprinting and shouting out a bunch of curses after him.
They reach the training yard, Izuku half a step ahead of the other Prince, and Kacchan tackles him to the ground where they wrestle around for a bit until Kirishima, the friend who had helped Kacchan pelt him with tomato all those years ago, shows up.
“Hey, Izuku!” he calls out cheerfully. “Welcome back!”
Izuku pushes Kacchan away and jumps to his feet to hug the bright red-haired boy. “Wow! I love your new hairstyle! You’ve gotten taller! How are you?”
Their relationship has gotten better in the past two years, unlike his and Kacchan’s. Like now, as he grabs Izuku and pulls him away from Kirishima with a glare. Kacchan is way too possessive over his friends sometimes.
“I’ve been good, you?” Kirishima replies like Kacchan hasn’t done anything.
“Great!” Izuku elbows Kacchan in the side. “Training with All Might to finally take this guy down.” Turning up to Kacchan, he lets out a wide grin.
Kacchan scowls and turns away. “Like even his impressive sword skills could help you.”
“Oh, you guys are going to have a match?” Kirishima asks before either Prince can start an argument. He links his fingers behind his neck, shoulders dropping. “Why don’t you have it tomorrow? Mina was planning on a picnic today for us.”
As if on cue, Mina, Kirishima’s pink-haired betrothed, arrives, carrying a large basket. Izuku and Kacchan turn back to each other and shrug at the same time, while Kirishima darts over to help her.
“Not like one more day will help you,” Kacchan says like it’s a favor to Izuku.
“I think you mean, not like it will help you,” Izuku shoots back with a smirk.
“You wanna go, nerd?” Kacchan explodes, hand going to his sword. “I’ll take you down right now.”
His smirk doesn’t falter, as he mimics Kacchan and places a hand on his own sword. If Kacchan makes a move, he’ll be ready.
“Come on, boys!” Mina interrupts. “I have the perfect spot picked out!” Neither move immediately, but this time Izuku relents first.
“Tomorrow,” Izuku promises and runs over to Mina to give her an excited hug.
“Tomorrow,” Katsuki echoes, almost inaudibly, before following after Deku. It was barely midday, but the heat must be getting to him already; for just a second, he had thought that Prince Izuku, that nerdy Deku, his sworn nemesis, was... attractive.
The trek to Mina’s “perfect spot” takes about an hour. It’s a small grassy clearing between the edge of the forest and the edge of a lake. They waste no time in setting down the blanket and digging into the food. After they take the edge off their hunger, Izuku and Kirishima start chatting about their winters, while Kacchan and Mina lay down and stare up at the sky, basking under the steady summer sun.
“—and Kacchan fell off his horse! Into a huge pile of snow!” Kirishima gasps out through his laughter. Izuku’s cheeks burn and stomach hurts from his own laughter. He can clearly imagine the disgruntled expression that must have been on Kacchan’s face.
“Ugh, enough of your yapping,” Kacchan complains, kicking at Kirishima. He glares at Izuku, who quickly averts his gaze. “Let’s go swimming.” Kacchan stands without waiting for them to reply and strips off his shirt. This, for some reason, shuts down Izuku’s brain until he catches himself and shakes his head to clear it of the strange thoughts. It’s not like Kacchan had been unattractive in the previous years, so why does it seem so… noticeable now? His toned muscles. The way the sun glints off his hair. The curve of his lips. Izuku opens his mouth to say something but stops himself. Kacchan isn’t moving, instead staring intently into the forest behind them.
“Kacchan?” he asks quietly. “Is someone there?”
Kacchan studies the trees carefully for another second, before shrugging. “Guess not. Must have just been a—”
His words cut off in a string of curses as he hurls himself at Izuku. Izuku’s eyes track an arrow plunging through the air, right where he had just been. The boys collide against the group sharply. Their eyes meet briefly, a shiver working over Izuku’s skin at the contact, before they both scramble for their swords and to their feet.
Several men emerge from the forest.
Kacchan doesn’t wait for them to advance—he dashes forward, taking the fight to them.
Izuku swallows down a lump of fear and follows. His mind releases a wave of adrenaline. He breathes shallowly, trying to clear his thoughts.
A bandit lunges at him. Izuku parries and slices his sword across their throat. As soon as he collapses, another bandit leaps at Izuku. Their sword grazes his shoulder as he dodges; he slams the pommel of his sword into their face. When they stagger back, he spins his sword around and stabs the blade into their stomach.
Someone bellows behind him. Izuku spins, bringing up his sword to protect himself as a bandit rushes at him. An arrow sinks into their neck. The momentum carries them to the ground at Izuku’s feet. He glances back in the direction the arrow came from. Mina gives him a nod, knocking another arrow.
Izuku turns back to the fight.
There’s only three bandits left, engaged in combat with Kirishima and Kacchan, who make short work of two of them. The third attempts to flee; an arrow sinks into his back.
Izuku frowns down at the ground. These rogues weren’t trained, and they obviously weren’t expecting such resistance, especially from outnumbered foes.
“Looks like our little excursion will have to be cut short. I have to go report this to the old hag,” Kacchan says. Izuku looks up, a little disappointed; he’d been looking forward to taking a swim. Kacchan’s lips are turned down in a fierce frown, as he wipes his blade clean on a bandit. “I’d heard a report about some guys roaming the woods but didn’t expect them so close to the castle.”
“Maybe they just got lost,” Izuku remarks. “The forest is pretty large, but close to the castle is regularly patrolled.”
“Probably.” Kacchan glances over to him. His eyes narrow.
Izuku waits for Kacchan to say something, but the other Prince continues to stare at him, unspeaking. He glances behind, but nothing appears amiss. Kacchan can be very bizarre sometimes.
The heat of battle begins to fade, leaving him a bit drained. He sheathes his sword and stretches. The motion sends sharp pain shooting up his arm. Izuku looks and sees a cut on his bicep. It doesn’t look too deep, although blood seeps through his shirt and blossoms outward.
“Idiot!” Kacchan suddenly snarls and yanks Izuku forward by the uninjured arm.
“Kacchan!” Izuku protests, although he doesn’t struggle against Kacchan’s grip. Sometimes it’s easier to just go along with whatever Kacchan decides to do. He allows Kacchan to sit him down and listens to him grumble about how stupid he is, and this better not affect their match tomorrow and how he’s not going to go easy on him even if he is injured. Izuku considers reassuring Kacchan that it’s merely a scratch, but he’s reassured himself by Kacchan’s fussing.
“It won’t affect our match,” Izuku promises instead. “I’m still going to beat you.”
“Hah?” Kacchan pushes Izuku over and ignores the indignant squawk that follows. “The blood loss must be getting to your brain, dumbass. There’s no way in hell you’re going to win.”
Izuku merely smiles up at him, which Kacchan glowers at. Kacchan breaks their staring contest as he reaches down and yanks Izuku to his feet, his grip rather gentle despite the harsh movement.
“Whatever, you damn nerd. Let’s go.” Kacchan snaps and starts walking to the forest, back towards the castle. He pulls Izuku along, who is too stunned to say anything. Maybe he should say something, but he doesn’t really want to.
“Hey! Wait for us!” Kirishima calls behind them.
“No way, you extras!” Kacchan shouts back without the slightest hitch in his step. But not even a second later, his pace slows down, and his hand drops to Izuku’s wrist, still not letting go. Izuku tells himself that his heart is only pounding, and his cheeks are only flushed because of the sudden battle. Or, maybe his cut is graver than he initially thought, and he is developing a fever.
Still, he doesn’t protest Kacchan’s grip on him, which lasts all the way until the castle comes back in sight. Although the warmth fades rather quickly, the sensation of pressure around his wrist lingers far longer. Izuku falls asleep that night holding his wrist, definitely not with a smile on his face, and definitely not thinking about how different Kacchan’s hand was from his own.
Izuku wakes the instant the sun touches his face, raring to go. Today is the day that he’s finally going to beat Kacchan. He stumbles out of bed and hops into his clothes as fast as he can. His arm twinges slightly at the movements, but he’s not worried that it will affect the match. After a few warm-up exercises, he doubts he’ll even remember the injury.
He makes a quick stop at the kitchens before going to the training yards. The head cook recognizes him and hands over some bread, cheese, and strawberries, enough to tide him over until lunchtime. Izuku eats as he walks, although he doesn’t pay attention to the food, mostly absorbed with mentally preparing himself for today’s fight. He has to win and show Kacchan that he isn’t useless. It won’t be easy, but Izuku is confident that he can do it.
Some people are already out training, and they wave him over. Izuku hesitates before jogging over—oh! It’s Kirishima, Sero, and Tokoyami. He’s a bit surprised to see the latter man, who is renowned for being nocturnal.
“Good morning!” Izuku calls over when he’s close enough. “What are you guys doing up so early?”
Kirishima and Sero burst out laughing, heads tilted back and clutching their stomachs.
“His Highness was causing a ruckus this morning,” Tokoyami replies, his gaze impassive.
“Kacchan?” Izuku’s eyes crinkle in confusion. “But why?”
All three boys, Kirishima and Sero gasping for breath now, point at the building in the middle of the training yards, where, on cue, Kacchan comes storming out.
“Alright, you fuckers, let’s go—” The words cut off sharply when Kacchan’s eyes focus on him. “What the fuck are you doing here, Deku?” he demands. The question sets Kirishima and Sero off again. Izuku ignores them and glances at Tokoyami, who has a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Uh…” he begins uncertainly. “I just wanted to warm up before our duel?”
Kacchan stops short of him, still glaring, eyes raking over him. “Fine. You can have Kirishima.”
The boy’s laughter sputters off. “Wh-what? Bro, you’re deserting me just like that?” His eyes widen in a fake pout, which is broken a second later when he tacks on, “No offense, Izuku.”
“I see how it is,” Izuku says with a shrug. “You’d rather stay and get beaten mercilessly by Kacchan. I understand.”
“Well, when you put it like that…” Kirishima trails off and then smirks. “Guess I’ll gladly go along with you. Have fun, Hanta, Fumikage!” Izuku and Kirishima dart off before Kacchan can change his mind. They hear groans and indecipherable shouts behind them, but they don’t stop.
They settle down at a training field on the south side and go through some maneuvers together before facing each other and going through drills against each other slowly. While they warm up, Izuku takes the chance to finish asking him about everything he didn’t get a chance to yesterday, like his and Mina’s wedding, which is two weeks away. Kirishima’s responding smile is practically blinding from radiating bliss.
Izuku swallows a lump of jealousy that just the mention of Mina’s name can bring Kirishima such delight, and focuses on Kirishima’s response; that he can’t wait to marry her although the politics that keep popping up around their planning are a bit… annoying. But, it comes with the territory of being a second son and a sole daughter of nobility. Izuku fervently understands what Kirishima is talking about.
“What about you and Katsuki?” The question discombobulates Izuku, who trips and drops his sword. “Whoa, man! Didn’t mean to scare you like that!”
Kirishima helps Izuku up, hands him his sword, and brushes him off.
“Me and Kacchan?” Izuku repeats nervously, his hands tensing and relaxing on the sword grip. “I don’t—It’s not like—” He can’t find the right words and takes a deep breath to try and slow his racing thoughts. Kirishima waits patiently.
“I know my dad wants me to marry Kacchan. To align our kingdoms and promote peace and stability. But…” Izuku trails off, unsure how to phrase it. He plows on though; he has already begun, might as well finish now. “I don’t want to marry out of obligation or duty. Maybe it’s only a dream meant for peasants, but I want to marry someone for love.”
There’s a moment of silence while Kirishima formulates his response, and it gives Izuku a chance to wipe at his eyes, which had started to tear up at the end. He’s grateful that Kirishima doesn’t mention his tears; he knows it’s not manly, but he can’t always control it.
“Mina and I got lucky, you know?” Kirishima finally says. “We met, fell in love, and we both happen to be in the noble class, and our parents agreed that it was a suitable match. So we’re lucky that we’re in love and it aligns with our family duty. Are you sure you can’t love Katsuki?”
Izuku blushes but seriously considers the question. “Maybe I could. I think. I just would want to be sure that our marriage would be for us, not our kingdoms.”
“Fair enough,” Kirishima agrees and drops the subject. “Keep going?”
“Yeah.” Izuku readies up, and they finish practicing in silence.
They’re both panting lightly when an hour passes, and Izuku suggests that they go see if Kacchan is ready. He feels better after conversing with Kirishima, and he’s decided that he’ll use this summer to see if he can love Kacchan. The past few summers haven’t been overly antagonistic, and Izuku can admit to himself that Kacchan was physically attractive. He also likes how intelligent and reliable Kacchan is, and enjoyed it when Kacchan had bandaged his cut yesterday. He shivers, remembering how Kacchan’s hand had felt around his wrist. And when Kacchan smiles—really smiles—well… Izuku swallows. Maybe he is more in love than he had thought.
Nope. No way. Izuku is not ready to think that deeply about it, at least right now. He shakes his head and focuses. He has a duel to win after all.
They reach the other training field, just as Kacchan kicks Sero down and places his sword at Tokoyami’s throat.
“How manly!” Kirishima exclaims and starts clapping.
“Shut up,” Kacchan snaps in return, sheathing his sword. “I’m going to get a drink, and then I’m taking you down, Deku.” He doesn’t wait for Izuku to respond before he stomps away.
Izuku watches the ornery Prince leave, wondering not for the first time how he manages to be so angry all the time, and then lays down on the grass while Kirishima heads over to Sero and Tokoyami. He stares up at the sky, watching the clouds drift by, under the steady heat of the summer sun, and starts to visualize the match.
Kacchan favors an opening right slash, so Izuku pictures the ways he can avoid or counter it. Dodging. Deflecting. Parrying. Any of those have a chance at working, and then he’ll have the opportunity to press an attack. Of course, this won’t work if Kacchan chooses to open with something other than the right slash, but Izuku can’t imagine him starting off with anything else.
A rush of adrenaline sends shivers down his spine. He’s eager to prove himself to Kacchan after all these years of being called useless.
Izuku goes through a few more moves before starting to wonder where Kacchan had gone. The well is on the other side of the training field, but it’s not so far away that the other Prince shouldn’t have been back yet. He snorts at the idea of Kacchan getting lost, but he’s still worried, even though they are within the castle walls. A groan slips past his lips as he stands and trudges off to find Kacchan, unable to shake the slight anxiety.
“Izuku!”
The shock of hearing his own name from Kacchan’s mouth stops him in his tracks, and he narrowly avoids an arrow that flashes through the air. If he hadn’t stopped, the bolt would have skewered him. Holy shit. Death or serious injury had been merely a second away. It’s hard to focus past the shock of nearly dying, but he manages to pull himself from his thoughts and return to reality at the sound of Kacchan yelling, first asking if Deku is unharmed and then who dared to fire upon the Midoriya Prince.
“I’m fine, Kacchan,” Izuku manages to force out of his mouth, the words thick, almost slurring past his tongue. Kacchan’s hands grip his shoulders, digging in, and Izuku focuses on that to anchor him to reality. Through unfocused eyes, he sees a soldier approach them and then kneel, placing his forehead on the ground.
Kacchan suddenly releases him—the world becomes unsteady—and draws his sword, advancing on the prostrating guard. The realization of Kacchan’s intentions jolts him a little further out of his thoughts.
“Wait!” Izuku dashes forward and grabs Kacchan’s sword arm, preventing him from lifting up the sword. “Don’t. It was an accident.”
“He almost killed you,” Kacchan snarls. He yanks his arm free and faces Izuku. Their eyes meet, and Izuku can see the fear hiding behind the rage in Kacchan’s eyes.
Izuku sighs. “It was my fault. They have practice here daily, right?” He waits until Kacchan gives a terse nod before he continues, “And I walked straight through their practice. I wasn’t paying attention. It’s not his fault.” He places a hand gently on the same arm Kacchan had pulled away and looks up at him, pleading for Kacchan to understand.
Kacchan stares at him in stony silence, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Several seconds pass. The tension slowly leaves Kacchan’s spine. Then he sheathes his sword and turns back to the soldier. Izuku’s cheeks lift in a smile, ignoring the tingling in his hand as it falls away from Kacchan’s arm.
“Two demerits and a week’s suspension,” Kacchan orders. “No matter practice or real life, you should always be aware of your surroundings. Dismissed.”
Izuku relaxes, finally, glad his stupidity hadn’t cost someone their life. Kacchan whirls back on him, anger flashing across those deep red eyes. He takes a step back and nearly trips. His legs feel unusually weak.
“Let’s go,” Kacchan snaps, though his tone lacks the sting of a bite. He grabs Izuku’s arm and starts to drag him away. “I still have to beat you and put you in your place.”
Izuku doesn’t reply, too surprised at Kacchan’s unusual gentleness. Had… he noticed Izuku’s hands shaking? Surely not, otherwise he would have teased him. He keeps his eyes trained on the ground, focusing on the comforting warmth of Kacchan’s hand seeping into his skin. As they walk back to their training yard, the shaking in his hands finally starts to subside.
He can face down bandits but not an arrow. He really is weak.
Kirishima rushes over. “Are you ok, Midoriya?” he exclaims, patting the Prince’s arms up and down. Kacchan quickly lets go of Izuku’s hand, and Izuku has to hold himself back from lunging back for the retreating hand.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Izuku replies with a smile. It’s a little forced, doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but no one notices. “I’ve got a match to win.”
“Great! I know you’ll kick our Prince’s ass!” Kirishima replies cheerfully and claps a friendly hand on Kacchan’s shoulder.
“Fuck off,” the Price grinds out, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring. Izuku’s cheeks relax into a more genuine smile, before he goes ahead to meet up with Sero and Tokoyami.
“I’m surprised Bakugou didn’t kill that soldier,” Sero comments to Tokoyami when Deku approaches.
“I wouldn’t let him,” Izuku remarks. “It wasn’t his fault.”
Tokoyami frowns in consideration. “Still, Bakugou isn’t known for his leniency.”
“You’re such a good influence, Midoriya!” Sero exclaims.
What? A good influence? Izuku’s cheeks heat in a blush. He opens his mouth to say something, anything--
“Ready to go, nerd?” Kacchan shouts.
Izuku slams his mouth shut and looks back at Kacchan. His arms are crossed, cheeks red. He hopes Kacchan isn’t getting burned by the sun.
“Ready if you are, Kacchan,” Izuku calls back after inhaling and exhaling. His nerves have settled. He’s ready to fight, ready to win. He knows what he has to do.
Kacchan draws his sword and raises it, hilt next to his right ear, blade pointed at Izuku’s face. Izuku holds his hilt near his right hip, tip aimed up towards the sky. They face off against each other as the sun approaches zenith, heat starting to beat down mercilessly.
There’s an unspoken decision, a beat where their eyes meet and they both… know. The match begins.
Izuku watches hazily as Kirishima leads another toast to his victory against Kacchan. He unsteadily raises his own glass amidst the others—Mina, Sero, Tokoyami, Shinsou—the group of people in the castle their age—and joins in with the cheers and laughter, even though they are really over-exaggerating. He and Kacchan had fought ten bouts, and Izuku had only won once. Next time he’ll definitely take the majority of the wins.
“Shut up, you losers!” Kacchan screeches and scrambles up to stand on his chair. “I’m the winner today! Not that nerdy Prince!”
“What a sore loser,” Shinsou comments loudly. Everyone’s resulting laughter drowns out anything that Kacchan might’ve said, and when Kacchan slips and falls, the raucous clamor only increases, and even Izuku’s lips twitch around his drink.
His eyes focus on Kacchan as the Prince stands, face bright red. His face contorts, eyebrows furrowing, eyes narrowing, lips curling up in a snarl, and Izuku tries to brace himself to prevent Kacchan from murdering his friends, but then… the tension dissipates from Kacchan’s body, and he turns and stalks away.
Despite the alcohol, or maybe because of it, Izuku is on his feet before he consciously decides to be. He sets down his drink, sloshing some of it onto the table, and then he’s stumbling after Kacchan—
Holy shit.
His sudden movement jostles the ale sloshing around in his stomach in an uncomfortable direction. Izuku blurrily, hastily tries to find someplace to vomit discreetly.
All at once, warm hands grab his shoulders from behind and guide him down a few steps into the courtyard and over a hedge. Izuku barely manages to contain himself until the foliage. His body forcefully expels his food and drink, and he tries to focus on the hand rubbing soothingly down his back instead of the minor panic of not being able to breathe.
After four more heaves, his stomach settles, so he can breathe again, and the anxiety dissipates enough that he can make out a voice—Kacchan’s voice—muttering behind him. Izuku suddenly, strongly wishes that he had suffocated and died, to spare him from facing this embarrassing situation.
“Sorry, Kacchan,” he mumbles into the hedge. An exasperated sigh is the only warning he gets before Kacchan forcibly spins him around. Izuku bites down on the sudden burst of laughter at the motion, and he takes a second to focus his eyes on Kacchan.
Fuck. He should not have drunk so much. There are two Kacchans. This is like the start of a nightmare. Or a really great dream. Sleep. That sounds nice, Izuku thinks, just as his legs suddenly can’t support his weight. He has a brief moment of panic before arms wrap around him and hold him up before he can hit the ground.
“Whoa, how strong, Kacchan,” Izuku says. He thinks he says, at least. He tries to. He meets one of the Kacchan’s eyes, and to his surprise, Kacchan doesn’t look angry. He’s pretty pretty when he’s not mad.
Pretty pretty, Izuku giggles to himself.
The background behind Kacchan starts to change—oh, he’s moving—and he wonders where they’re going, but Izuku doesn’t really care. Kacchan’s arms make him feel safe and secure. And he’s sleepy, so it’s just…
Katsuki carries the snoring Prince to his chambers and sets him down gently before falling to the ground. He rests his back against the bed, pulling his knees to his chest and dropping his head into them. Deku is no lightweight, that’s for sure, despite his slight appearance. His cheeks are one step away from being on actual fire. What the fuck sort of Arts had conjured up this punishment for him? The “really great dream” moment repeats for maybe the fiftieth time in his mind, and he lets out a loud groan. Deku, the idiot, doesn’t even stir; he’s so defenseless.
Katsuki turns to look at Deku. Almost of its own accord, his hand reaches up and brushes against Deku’s cheek. His innocent, sleeping face is worlds away from the smug, triumphant grin when he’d won their first bout, but they both suit his face.
“Mmm… Kacchan,” Deku mutters in his sleep. That’s like a bucket of ice water dumped down Katsuki’s back. He lurches to his feet and races out of the room.
Once outside, he leans against the door and stares at the hand he’d touched Deku with. He thinks of the fire lurking behind the green eyes as he’d stared him down over that stupid soldier. The dopey grin he’d given Katsuki when he’d been picked up. The confidence in his moves during their duel. He brings his hand up to his face and feels his hot cheeks, wide eyes, and smile. Oh… shit… is he… in love? With that shitty, nerd-ass Prince?
No. No way. Katsuki definitely can’t be. He straightens and storms back to the party, intending to drink and forget that he’d ever even considered that because there is no way in hell that he’s in love!
To say the next morning is awkward would be putting it mildly. Neither Deku nor Katsuki are graced with alcohol’s convenient memory loss, but neither is willing to say anything, despite Mina and Kirishima’s probing questions. They keep the night tight under wraps, although it’s obvious something happened, given the way they hesitate around each other. It isn’t until Katsuki trips Deku during a sparring match and sneers down at him, that their interactions return to normal.
By the end of next week, the incident is put from everyone’s minds, and Katsuki invites Deku out on a hunt for a boar to roast for a party for just the boys celebrating Kirishima’s wedding. A private hunt.
And then they’re out in the woods, tracking down the boar. Katsuki spends more time watching Deku than participating. He notices the way Deku’s eyes narrow in concentration while he takes in every detail, and how focused Deku stays on the hunt.
Before he knows it, they reach the boar.
When it charges, Katsuki shakes his head. This is not the right time for distractions. He jumps down, ready to join the attack, but Deku holds his ground against the rushing boar. The butt of his spear digs into the ground behind him. His lips part in a snarl, his biceps bulging, as the boar pierces himself on the spear. Katsuki’s heart stops beating for a moment, but then Deku rolls out of the way before the boar collapses on him, dead.
That is probably one of the most attractive sights Katsuki has ever seen. Izuku, panting hard, a little dirt on rumpled clothes, defeating the massive, dangerous beast, by himself.
Fuck. Maybe he is in love.
The rush of endorphins leads to poor impulse control on Katsuki’s part. Deku turns up to him with a wide grin, and he barely feels himself moving until his hands grasp Deku—Izuku’s face, and their lips meet. When the other Prince’s lips don’t move, Katsuki pulls away to apologize for fucking up. Izuku’s hands twist into his shirt to haul him closer, and Katsuki lacks the words to describe how perfect Izuku’s lips feel against his.
Eventually they have to part--they have to return to the castle with Deku’s kill before it spoils. The whole ride back, Katsuki forces himself to stay on his horse, while his mind screams at him to go back to kissing Deku.
The party goes fantastic. Everyone is suitably impressed with Deku’s kill, and Katsuki makes sure everyone knows who dealt the finishing blow. There’s too many people for Katsuki to make another move. He goes to bed aching that night and dreams of the way Izuku’s lips had felt and tasted.
The next five days are filled with stolen kisses, stolen moments in empty corridors, pressed against closed doors. Before they know it, it’s the eve of Kirishima’s wedding. King Hisashi arrives the morning before with his contingent of guards, All Might at the helm. Katsuki tries to tap down on the nervous energy simmering in his veins; All Might is a legend, someone he has admired his whole life.
Deku rushes ahead to greet his father and All Might, and something in Katsuki eases at the sight of Deku’s cheerful face. Especially when Deku glances back and a light blush stains his cheeks. Katsuki quickly scowls and glares at the damn nerd, hoping nobody has noticed. It’s not like he wants to hide their relationship—or whatever it is—but it’s new, and theirs, and Katsuki doesn’t want anyone interfering. Maybe it’s because all he’s heard is pressure from his mother to marry Izuku, and he wants it to be their choice. And because he didn’t see Deku like that before this summer. What if it doesn’t work out?
The thought burns in his stomach.
Once the formalities are over, thank fuck, he escapes to the training yard, desperate to destroy the pit that had formed in his stomach. Not too long later, Deku, Mina, and Kirishima approach… followed by All Might, who, now that Katsuki is paying attention, looks… slighter. Hearing the rumors of the strongest man’s decline is a lot different than seeing it in person. He still isn’t someone to underestimate. He’s the one who trained Deku after all and passed along some of his prowess.
“Ah, young Prince!” All Might booms when he gets closer. “It’s a pleasure to see you again!” And despite this not being their first meeting, Katsuki… blanks. All Might is talking to him. It’s fucking stupid, but growing up on tales of All Might and then being face to face with him, he wants to declare that he’ll surpass him and become the strongest, but the words are stuck in his throat.
Next thing he knows, All Might is setting him and Deku up in a training exercise that will test their reflexes, aim, and trust. Deku lifts up his bow and points the arrow at his chest, an apple on his head. Katsuki very quickly tunes back into the conversation to figure out what the hell is happening.
“—aim at young Bakugou’s back. He will spin around and grab the arrow, then shoot it immediately back at the apple,” All Might finishes explaining. It barely takes a second, and then Katsuki feels ignited, adrenaline spiking, blood rushing through his veins. This will be fucking amazing. Timing the turn perfectly and quickly shooting the apple. He takes a deep breath to counteract the adrenaline and turns around. He palms the bow once, twice, almost nervously, before he steadies himself, and it’s like everything in him is focused on Deku, waiting for the other Prince to release the arrow.
They spend nearly two hours on the exercise until Katsuki can do it flawlessly from several distances, and the thrill of his victory almost every time brings a broad smile to his face.
“My turn!” Deku finally exclaims, his eyes alight with the challenge.
“Wait—” Katsuki starts, startled, and he can’t—but Deku has already given him the arrow and apple. Katsuki places the apple on his head and draws back the bow, aiming squarely down Deku’s back. He sees Deku’s grip on his bow tighten. What if he misses and hits Deku? His mind flashes back to the fear he’d felt when the soldier had nearly struck Deku with an arrow accidentally. His bow hand starts to tremble.
“Kacchan?” Deku calls out, glancing over his shoulder, and all Katsuki sees in his eyes is absolute trust. But he can’t shoot Deku in the back. If something goes wrong…
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, stupid Deku,” Katsuki sneers as he throws the bow and arrow to the ground. “You’re too useless to even think of doing this. You may have beat me once, but you’ll never be stronger.”
That isn’t what he meant to say at all—he just—he can’t—He doesn’t meet Deku’s eyes, afraid to see the hurt he’d just caused. Disgusted with himself, he storms off, ignoring the calls after him, and heads straight to his room and locks the door.
Izuku wakes the next morning as a beam of sunlight crosses his face. He lays there and enjoys the peaceful moment. It’s almost immediately broken by the activities of the servants preparing for Kirishima and Mina’s wedding. His heart swells with happiness for his friends, despite the cloud of Kacchan’s outburst from yesterday. He can’t deny the hurt the other Prince’s words had initially caused, but Kacchan couldn’t still see him as the weakling of their childhood, could he?
Especially after… A blush creeps up his cheeks, remembering all the kisses they had shared.
There has to be something else going on, and Izuku is determined to find out. He had tried yesterday, but Kacchan had stormed away before he could say anything, though not before he had seen a look of regret cross Kacchan’s face.
He quickly dresses and goes in search of Kacchan, but when he asks a passing servant about the other Prince’s whereabouts, he learns that the other Prince is busy with Kirishima and the wedding preparations. Of course. That makes sense. Izuku stands in a hallway and wrings his hands fretfully. He doesn’t want to wait until later to resolve their situation, when the wedding is in full swing, but it’s looking like that’s what’s going to happen.
Izuku sighs, then goes to find something to distract him from his thoughts until the ceremony.
His first sight of Kacchan is at the Great Hall, dressed in his ceremonial armor. The Queen presides over the ceremony, a huge honor, partially because of Kirishima’s and Mina’s noble status and also because of their status as Kacchan’s friends. Izuku’s heart stops when Kacchan’s eyes meet his, and Kacchan doesn’t look away immediately. It’s a heartening sign, but eventually, Kacchan looks away, and their eyes don’t meet again for the rest of the ceremony. That’s… less encouraging, but he tries to be optimistic.
Then it’s the gift-giving portion of the wedding. Izuku watches this semi-intently, curious what the newlyweds will receive. He notes with some amusement that although they acknowledge each guest, Kirishima and Mina can barely keep their eyes off each other, and their faces are adorned with matching adoring looks. Will his wedding be like that? At that thought, he glances at Kacchan, who’s directing guests around with a scowl on his face. The familiar expression sends a fleeting smile across his lips.
“Getting along better with Prince Bakugou, then?” his father suddenly asks.
“Ah- uh… yes, I guess,” Izuku stumbles through his words, unprepared for the sudden question.
“Good,” his father replies gruffly. “I have high hopes for your union.”
Izuku merely smiles thinly while his heart sinks at the reminder of the politics between him and Kacchan. It’s not like he had forgotten… it’s just… he’d managed to not think about it for the last few weeks. He suppresses a sigh at his own naivety, and suddenly it’s his turn to present his Kingdom’s gifts to the newlyweds. It’s something his mother picked out, a blanket with names embroidered into it like a family tree. Kirishima’s parents’ names leading down to pure red Kirishima, Mina’s parents’ names leading to a bright pink Mina, with space left over for any children they decide to have, if any. They break protocol to step off the dais and envelop Izuku in a hug.
He laughs and hugs them tight. “May your union be blessed.” Their arms tighten briefly before they let go and return to the dais. Nobody says anything about them diverting from the usual protocol; the Bakugou kingdom is known for being sometimes… relaxed.
The gift-giving ends with a present from the Bakugou family. It’s a month-long vacation to their seaside residence, the one they use to escape from the pressure of ruling occasionally. Mina practically squeals with excitement and rushes forward to wrap Kacchan in a hug. Kirishima follows a second later and pats Kacchan's shoulder heartily. For his part, Kacchan looks kind of embarrassed, but he allows the hug briefly before starting to complain loudly.
Queen Mitsuki laughs boisterously—she is definitely where Kacchan gets his energy from—and announces the banquet is ready and that everyone should make their way over to the ballroom for the first dance.
Everyone manages their way, more quickly than expected for such a large gathering. Izuku lets himself be swept along in the flow.
Kirishima and Mina’s dance is beautiful. The music is lively but romantic, emphasized by the way the new couple smiles and holds on to each other. After two minutes, Izuku’s father joins them, taking Queen Mitsuki as his partner. He stifles a laugh at how stiff his father looks next to the Queen.
A hand to his elbow startles him; he turns around- it’s Kacchan. Izuku had been expecting to have to hunt him down, but suddenly Kacchan is in front of him, and Izuku’s mouth is frozen shut. Kacchan looks slightly uncomfortable and doesn’t meet his eyes.
“Dance, nerd?” Kacchan finally asks.
“So, I’m not too useless for that, Prince Katsuki?” Izuku can hardly believe the words out of his mouth, the hurt lashing out unexpectedly. He had thought he had come to terms with what Kacchan had said, especially since he’d seen Kacchan’s regret. Apparently not.
Kacchan’s eyes finally meet his, and they are narrowed in anger. Izuku braces himself for harsh words, but Kacchan merely grabs his arm and drags him out onto the dance floor. There is no way to escape without causing a commotion, which would not please his father, but he does glare at Kacchan while they get into position and start dancing.
“I am… sorry,” Kacchan mutters, almost too low to hear. “You’re not useless… Izuku.” Immediately all the fight drains from Izuku’s body. He had just wanted an apology. He deserved one. Although his face turns bright red at the sound of his actual name from Kacchan’s lips.
Kacchan glances at him when he doesn’t respond right away and then scowls and curses him out. “What the fuck, Deku! I’ve said your fucking name before!”
“I know!” Izuku exclaims. “…Katsuki.” The blush doesn’t falter in its intensity. He bites his lip and looks up at Kacchan. A red flush is working its way up the other Prince’s neck. Their eyes meet, and they both look away quickly.
“I hate you,” Kacchan grouses.
Izuku grins because it is quite easy to tell that Kacchan doesn’t mean that. “I like you, too.
They dance the rest of the song in silence. When it ends, Kacchan shoves him away and stomps off, but his hand ghosts over Izuku’s wrist as they part.
“Unfair…” Izuku grumbles, his hand going to his wrist in an effort to hold on to that sensation, and then goes to find his seat.
The celebration is trickling to an end. While the band is still performing, Kirishima and Mina had left an hour ago for the Bakugou’s seaside estate, and most of the guests were in the process of departing. Kacchan had been non-stop busy since he’d left their dance, and Izuku is just waiting silently at his table, not really feeling like dancing if it isn’t with Kacchan. His father is by Queen Mitsuki and King Masaru, sharing drinks.
He must doze off because the next thing knows, Kacchan’s face is right in front of his. He nearly falls out of his chair in shock.
“I can’t believe you fell asleep,” Kacchan teases Izuku as they make their way to the nearly empty dance floor.
“Leave me alone,” Izuku whines.
“Alright, bye,” Kacchan says and starts to walk away.
“Hey!” Izuku lunges forward to grab Kacchan’s arm and spin him forcefully back around. “Dance with me. We barely got to earlier!”
The band moves into a jig, and Kacchan begins to dance. Izuku follows his lead, and they take advantage of the nearly empty floor to complete some more complicated maneuvers. Kacchan’s face is alight in a cheerful smile that Izuku returns when Kacchan finishes off a jump move that Izuku thinks is better than anything he could do.
“Alright, alright,” Izuku laughs. “You win this time. You’re an amazing dancer!”
Kacchan shrugs. “I like going to the nearby village dances. I picked up a few things there.”
A slower tune starts playing. More intimate. Kacchan holds out his hand, almost imperiously, but Izuku hesitates before taking it. Kacchan pulls him close, and they sway on the dance floor.
“What if our parents see?” Izuku whispers.
He feels Kacchan shrug, and his chest vibrates with his answer. “Let them. Who cares?”
It doesn’t matter, Izuku supposes, and lets his thoughts drift while Kacchan spins him around. This would have been unthinkable even last year. Izuku is glad that he and Kacchan grew closer, that Kacchan isn’t as mean to him anymore. Maybe they do have a future together. Izuku can almost imagine them dancing at their wedding, content in the fact that Kacchan would choose Izuku for himself, not for his kingdom.
Suddenly Kacchan’s grip on his arms tighten, and he looks up at the other Prince, confused. Kacchan is looking at him with a solemn expression, an expression Izuku rarely sees off the training field. It suddenly brings to mind his training accident from the other week.
“Kacchan?” Izuku asks, confused.
“Let’s go,” Kacchan says. He takes Izuku’s hand, which almost causes heart palpitations because it’s right in front of their parents, and then Izuku thinks he’s going to die because Kacchan leads him right to their parents and doesn’t drop their hands.
“We’re getting married,” Kacchan announces. Did he just—? Izuku can’t—What in the hells just happened?
“Wonderful!” Queen Mitsuki rushes to her feet and exclaims. “About time, you damn brat!” She cuffs her son lightly across the head, which Kacchan returns with a scowl. It’s starting to sink into Izuku that he is not asleep and that Kacchan really went up to their parents and announced their intention to marry. Well, Kacchan’s intention to marry Izuku, his implicit understanding that Izuku would agree, and Izuku… despite their affection and the sparring match and Kacchan’s apology… Izuku feels unsure. He could marry Kacchan, but he has to know for sure.
“Wait,” he says, withdrawing his hand from Kacchan. It’s like time freezes. Everyone looks at him.
“Izuku,” his father hisses at him. “What are you doing?”
He looks at Kacchan, ignoring his father, and meets Kacchan’s eyes. “Why?” he simply asks.
“Because…” Kacchan starts. “You’re… strong.” His eyes are full of sincerity.
“What else?” Izuku asks, dread starting to pool in his stomach. “Is strength all that matters to you?”
“Of course not!” Kacchan is quick to refute. “There’s…” He trails off and closes his mouth. Opens. Closes. Opens. Closes. Frowns, then tilts his head in a confused way. “What else… is there?”
Queen Mitsuki gasps. King Masaru groans. King Hisashi’s head drops into his hands. There are several loud clangs as servants drop what they’re carrying.
Izuku tries to breathe, but he can’t quite seem to draw in air. “I see.” His mouth feels stiff, barely able to move properly to speak. He’s probably going to burst into tears if he stays any longer. “There will be no wedding.” His voice cracks at the word wedding, and it’s finally over, after nine years.
The moment is not as pleasant as he’d once imagined.
Katsuki stares out the window into the forest where Deku had disappeared hours ago. A light drizzle had started, gray skies reflecting the despair he feels in his bones. He hadn’t said goodbye. He couldn’t say goodbye. Just like that, with barely a chance… they were over.
“You really said, what else is there?” Kirishima demands hotly, and Katsuki is confused to turn around and see his best friend standing in the doorway, looking furious and a little bit wet. Reality catches up with him, and he returns to watching out the window with a snarled, “I know. It was fucking dumb.”
“You literally could have said anything else!” Kirishima says and walks over to join him at the window. His eyes remain glued to the spot where he’d last seen Deku; Katsuki’s heart aches.
“I froze.” Katsuki leans his forehead against the window. His breath fogs up the glass. “I didn’t know what else to say.”
“Think, man,” Kirishima orders him. Katsuki lets it pass because Kirishima is here with him instead of enjoying his vacation with Mina. “You must see something else besides his strength?”
“Well…” Katsuki begins, and the word tapers off. He remembers the way Deku always beat him at cards. “There is…” He remembers the way he’d wanted to comfort Deku after his brush with death on the training fields. “And then…” The fire in Deku’s eyes as he’d confronted him over the fate of that guard. “When he…” The feeling of their lips and bodies pressed together in a stolen moment in the hallway. “And the way he…” Deku never backs down from him and managed to win a sparring match. “You know, right?” The way his eyes crinkle in a smile when Deku looks at him.
Kirishima doesn’t respond, so Katsuki looks over at his friend. Who is staring at him like he’s lost his mind.
“Ugh, I know,” Katsuki groans, cutting off Kirishima before he can say anything. A bolt of lightning crosses the sky. The jagged pattern gives him a burst of inspiration. “I’m going to go after him!” he declares. His hands reach up and grip Kirishima’s shoulders. “I’ll explain it to him; he’ll understand!” Deku has to understand. Deku knows him.
“What are you telling me for?” Kirishima exclaims. “Go after him now!”
Katsuki runs. He doesn’t have a jacket, one shoe is unlaced, his sword isn’t in his scabbard, but he has to reach Deku before it’s too late. He rushes past his mother, and she probably shouts after him, but whatever she wants to say is lost in the blood rushing past his ears. Just as he’s about to reach the entrance, the doors burst in, and All Might stumbles in and falls to the ground.
His joy is cut off, a sudden change to confusion, as he walks over to the famed guard and lifts up his head. Blood trickles from a wound on All Might’s side and a gash on his forehead.
“We were… attacked,” Toshinori breathes out. “A great… animal.”
It feels like Katsuki’s heart isn’t beating anymore. “Deku… Oh, gods…”
The scenery passes in a blur as he grabs a horse from the stable and gallops down the road, the rain starting to fall heavier, and then he reaches where Midoriya had fallen. Dead guards and horses lay strewn about, blood seeping into the earth, the carriage overturned, wheels broken.
“Deku!” Katsuki shouts as he jumps off the horse and races over to the carriage. A flash of lightning reveals it’s empty.
“Deku!” he calls out again in the empty, wet forest. “Deku!” Another strike of lightning illuminates the sky, and a glint of sparkle catches his eye in a puddle near his feet. He reaches down, and shaking hands reveal a simple silver bracelet. Oh, gods. It’s the bracelet he’d given Deku all those years ago, the bracelet he never took off and cherished, despite their rough relationship. He never takes it off. Katsuki’s heart thunders in his ears louder than the thunder in the sky. His eyes feel almost… hot. Burning. What the hell had happened here?
Someone coughs behind him. He looks, and it’s King Hisashi, lying on the ground next to a tree. Katsuki stumbles over to him, legs weak like he’d run around the castle fifty times, and kneels next to the fallen king.
“Who did this?” he asks. It feels like he asks, his tongue is heavy in his mouth.
“It came… so quickly,” King Hisashi says faintly. Katsuki struggles to calm his heart to hear the king over the downpour. “A great animal…”
“Where’s De—Izuku?” Katsuki demands. If King Hisashi saw what happened, he’ll know what happened to Deku.
“Listen to me, Katsuki,” King Hisashi says with a sudden burst of passion, gripping the front of Katsuki’s shirt. “It’s not what it seems!”
“What?” Katsuki doesn’t know what the king is talking about. He doesn’t particularly care. “Where’s Izuku?” he demands again.
The fervor in King Hisashi diminishes as quickly as it had come. “Izuku is…” His eyes start to drift close, and Katsuki shakes the king a little. He has to know where Deku is! “Izuku is… gone.” The king breathes out his last breath on the last word, and his hands fall down, limp.
Katsuki shakes his head. No… that wasn’t right. Deku is fine. He stands up through weak legs and turns away from the king. Deku can’t be gone. There’s so much… He never properly explained himself, explained the way that he feels about Deku. Izuku. There’s no way…
“Izuku!” Katsuki screams out into the void and collapses on his knees into a puddle. The silver bracelet cuts into his hands as he brings it up to his face and gently kisses the thin chain. “Izuku…” he breathes. The despair hits him like an avalanche, and he lets out a loud wail as tears start to fall from his eyes.
He’s unsure of how long he remains in the rain, in the puddle, on the muddy ground, until his knees ache, and he can’t feel his legs anymore. By the time Bakugou soldiers catch up to him, and Kirishima wraps a cloak around him and helps him to his feet, Katsuki is resolute. Determined. He knows what he has to do, and he’ll do it if it’s the last thing he does.
It’s nearly dusk when the man who’d kidnapped him a week ago visits him, trailed by a giggling blonde girl. Izuku is resolved to ignore the man, instead choosing to stare down glumly into the water. His face isn’t reflected back at him; instead, it’s a swan’s face and body he sees, bright white feathers laced with the occasional green one. The same shade his hair had been. Is he stuck as a swan forever now?
The girl skips forward and scatters some bread into the lake, distorting his reflection. Hunger tightens his stomach, but despair blunts the ache. His father is dead; Izuku had seen him fall before he’d lost consciousness. Oh gods, how is his mother going to react? She’s been frail since giving birth to Izuku, rarely leaving the palace. Anguish tears at his heart, but there’s a small sliver of hope left. Is Kacchan going to find him? Despite the awful way they’d parted, Izuku had felt the beginnings of… something more… maybe a relationship between them. He knows he loves Kacchan, probably for far longer than he cared to admit, reflecting on his memories.
Kacchan’s thoughtless answer had driven Izuku into breaking their engagement decisively, but surely… Kacchan cares enough to come find him and save him. It’s the only thing he had to hold onto now.
“Now, now, little Prince, don’t sulk,” the man cajoles him. Izuku wracks his brain; he thinks the man had introduced himself as… Shigaraki? And the girl as… Toga? “As soon as the moon touches your wings on the lake…” Shigaraki gestures up to the moon and back down to the lake, Izuku following his motions despite his earlier conviction. “You’ll return to human.” The water starts to glow beneath Izuku and rise up to cascade around him and suddenly, he’s human again.
Izuku touches down at the bank and looks at his hands. He’s really human again.
“There,” Shigaraki says with a smile that gives Izuku the chills. “Isn’t that better?”
He holds his tongue, instead choosing to walk past the two and into the forest. While he has no idea where he is, anywhere else is better than here.
“Ah, ah, ah!” Shigaraki chides him, suddenly appearing in front of him with a puff of black smoke. “Where do you think you’re going?” It’s startling enough that Izuku lets out a surprised squawk and falls back onto his butt.
“I’m leaving,” he snaps and tries to summon his inner-Kacchan. He stands and walks away again.
This time it’s Shigaraki’s indifferent voice that stops him in his tracks. “No matter how far you run, as soon as the moon leaves the lake, you’ll return to being a swan.” At swan, his voice lilts in a sort of triumphant, vindictive tone. Izuku longs to lunge at the man and silence him somehow, make him stop talking, but he holds himself back– that’s not the type of Kacchan he needs to channel at the moment. He fights back the tears of frustration that threaten to pool in his eyes. This is definitely not the right time to be crying; he imagines Kacchan scolding him, his imaginary voice providing the support Izuku needs to halt the imminent breakdown.
“What do you want?” Izuku whirls around and demands, forcing the words out of his mouth.
“I’m so glad you asked!” Shigaraki exclaims and claps his hands. The world changes around them– he instantly recognizes the throne room. Shigaraki steps up to him and grabs his hands, which Izuku warily allows, despite his skin crawling. “I want the Midoriya kingdom–”
“So take it!” Izuku interrupts with a snarl.
Shigaraki’s grip tightens painfully when Izuku pulls away instinctively. “Can’t.” His rebuttal is accompanied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “My master tried the forceful way, but your precious All Might–” the disgusted way he sneers Toshinori’s nickname makes Izuku’s blood run cold as he recognizes this story, “– managed to stop him. If you steal something, you’ll never stop fighting to keep it. However, if I marry the heir to the throne, we can rule together as King and Consort. Legally.”
The pieces instantly click into place in Izuku’s mind, and he stumbles away in revulsion, the illusion disappearing around them.
“I’d rather die,” Izuku snarls. He needs to—to leave—to be as far away from this place as possible. His stomach is rolling, heart beating loudly in his eyes.
Shigaraki’s laughter follows his departure and lingers in his mind long after his ears can no longer hear it.