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For Izuku, life changed so subtly that these days he wouldn’t even notice it until he took the time to think about - and time wasn’t always something that was available to him. Sometimes, he wanted to simply take a step back and evaluate, and lately, life hadn’t given him a chance to do so. Yet, one evening, in the silent space of their favourite gym, the only signs of life the flickering lights above and the occasional sounds of limbs and bodies colliding in a practised dance of punches, kicks and parries. Though mentally exhausted after a long day and his body being strained and pushed now in the middle of the night, both of them wilfully ignoring the late hour, Izuku didn’t feel the sweat on his body, didn’t hear his own laboured breathing nor his pounding heart. As his body moved by instinct and defended on reflex, his eyes and mind wandered freely, suddenly struck by the familiarity of their situation, the heat of their shared passion and the comfort of his company.
Much could be said of their relationship - be it good or bad - but Izuku had long since learned to blur out the voices of others, because no matter how much anyone may try (and try they did), they would never truly come to understand. Some would say that the past was the past. That they had moved on and all was fine now. Izuku disagreed. The past had shaped them, broken and rebuilt them. They had moved on, yes, but neither had forgotten nor did they wish to forget. Their past was a part of them and Izuku didn’t feel any regret.
Others would say that only the past mattered. That wrongs couldn’t be forgiven and scars would never heal, forever a blemish on his soul. Izuku disagreed with them too. He carried battle scars all across his body, all memories of fights won and lost, of lives saved and failed, all of them a part of his story, none of them a blemish to hide in shame - words etched into his heart by the only one whose voice he still heard loud and clear. Izuku didn’t carry any scars of the past, he carried lines of history, memories of their story right from the beginning. And he would continue to collect them all, proudly, all the way until the end, because their story had only just begun.
Only one person could ever understand Izuku, but even he needed a bit more time. Izuku knew this because once in a while his fiery eyes would flicker in doubt, looking at Izuku as if asking permission to simply exist in his presence, when all Izuku wanted was to bask in the light of his brilliance. However, more often than not, they would seek each other out. Out of comfort, familiarity or something else entirely, Izuku would never be able to explain, but it was there, their red string of fate, visible to only them and no one else.
And Izuku almost choked on his own breath in realization.
Everything between them was warm and familiar, yet increasingly new and exciting, everything so unthinkable not too long ago, yet now completely and irrevocably unchangeable. Izuku always wanted him by his side, yet in the time passed, that desire had become an expectation, a constant in his life, an unchanging variable in his happiness and joy.
There was a raised eyebrow and a stalled motion in response to Izuku’s sudden hesitation. No words were exchanged, but in this moment, they weren’t necessary. Izuku responded with a quick smile, signalling to continue and they were quickly at it again. There would be no winner in this fight. That was not why they did it. Most would believe it was for training, and while they wouldn’t be wrong, it was about much more than that. This was a way to connect. Between the many languages they shared between them, this had always been the easiest form of communication, even if sometimes not the most efficient. In the years passed, they had learned to use it well.
They stopped only when the lights flickered one last time before engulfing them in complete darkness. Izuku looked to where he stood and thought that maybe it wasn’t so dark after all.
They walked back side by side, a comfortable silence between them. He was looking at their path ahead while Izuku remained lost in thought, staring only at him, trusting that he wouldn’t let any harm come to him while his mind so obviously wandered freely in the night. As they walked, the occasional light from a lamp or the elusive moon would be cast upon them, illuminating his fair skin and ash blond hair, before the light would retract, leaving him to shine all by himself.
Halfway to their destination, he seemed unable to keep his curiosity in check and stopped abruptly, no light around them, only darkness and the two of them.
“What is it?” He asked curiously. He was neither frowning or smiling, kept his expression neutral, yet Izuku could hear that he was content, no ill feelings in his voice or demeanor, fulfilled after their spar, comfortable with Izuku by his side. Izuku wondered when things had changed so much, when he’d gotten used to living like this.
“Is this forever?” He asked without much thought and it was clear that his question was not quite understood.
“Nothing is,” came the reply regardless - Izuku tended to hate him for being such a realist - no respect for the beauty of philosophy or the hopes of dreamers. “But do you want it to be?” He asked not in a way that made Izuku want to demand a forever, but in a way that him question if he had been wrong for wanting it in the first place.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t,” he demanded instead, the words spoken softly, his next words spoken silently, tell me why right now isn’t perfect.
A smile found its way unto his lips and red eyes looked at him like he was the brightest star in the galaxy, shining light from millions of light-years away.
“We could be more,” he said simply, yet so confident, his words defining, knowing and kind. Though they remained in the dark of the night, Izuku felt the clouds part and his light shine upon them.
Izuku had thought that this was it. The realization of the dream he had always had, but right in that moment, he let his dream grow, let it spread its wings and take off, soaring to heights yet unexplored. They could be more.
They continue down the path, their present reflecting their future, their light guiding their way. Together, they could be more, together, they could be anything they wanted, and right now, in the darkness of the night, a light was shared as Katsuki took his hand.