Work Text:
Izuku hummed as he set the table in the small apartment he shared with Katsuki. It was their anniversary and he’d just spent the last couple of hours cooking a surprise dinner. The kitchen looked like a tornado had hit it; Izuku had probably used every pot and pan they owned in the process, but the delicious smell of Katsuki’s favorite curry permeating the apartment made him feel like it had been worth it.
They’d been through so much together over the years. If anyone had told Izuku years ago that he would eventually marry his childhood friend turned bully turned rival, he would not have believed them. He wouldn’t change it for the world though, and their mixed past made it even more important to celebrate their relationship as it currently was. He couldn’t wait for Katsuki to get home and see what he’d made.
Except Katsuki was in a terrible mood when he got home. He stomped into the apartment and slammed the door, heading straight for the bathroom and turning on the shower. Izuku was caught off guard and immediately concerned, so he followed him. The bathroom door was open and he found Katsuki sitting on the floor, head in his hands, with the hot water from the shower beginning to steam up the room.
“Kacchan, what’s wrong?” Izuku asked softly.
“Shitty day,” Katsuki grumbled, without taking his eyes off the floor.
Izuku knelt beside him, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing him tightly. He began to rub his back in the way he liked, making small circular motions to relieve the tension in his shoulders.
“It’s okay, Kacchan. You’re home now, and...”
“Not for long,” Katsuki said, cutting him off. “I only came home to change. I got called in for a fucking double shift at the agency. The new intern quit and now I have to go clean up their mess.”
“Oh.”
Izuku had been about to say ‘and we can celebrate our anniversary’ but never got the chance. Once again, Katsuki was preoccupied with work. He came home exhausted most days and his health was starting to suffer from working such long hours all the time and pushing himself past his limits. Izuku felt selfish for thinking about his own wants when Katsuki was clearly having such a hard time, but he felt like they never spent time together anymore and he was lonely. Today was supposed to be different. He wanted to yell and scream and make his husband actually pay attention to him.
“Do you need any help?” he asked instead, stuffing his anger down inside.
“No, I got it,” Katsuki said. “Just give me some time to shower and I’ll come and talk to you before I leave all right?”
Izuku nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek and then heading back to the kitchen. He understood that sometimes these things couldn’t be helped, but it was still upsetting to not have his hard work acknowledged. Thinking maybe he could at least get Katsuki to eat something before going back to work, he put some of the curry he’d made into a bowl and placed it on the table.
He heard the water shut off and a moment later Katsuki came out, drying his hair with a towel and wearing his backup hero costume. He barely even stopped on his way to the front door, seeming to move on autopilot.
“Kacchan, wait!” Izuku cried. “You said you would at least talk to me on your way out!”
“Right!” Katsuki stopped and turned back, but he was clearly not giving Izuku his full attention. He inched toward the door and shifted impatiently, as if talking to Izuku were a huge inconvenience and he couldn’t wait to leave.
“At least sit down and have some food!” Izuku pleaded.
“No time right now, I’ve gotta get back to work,” Katsuki told him. “And besides, we don’t even have red pepper flakes. We fucking ran out yesterday.”
Izuku blinked back tears. It was just too much. He had worked so hard to plan something special and all Katsuki could think about was red pepper flakes. Izuku could not remember the last time he had felt so under appreciated.
“Kacchan, it’s our anniversary!” he blurted out.
Knowing how emotionally drained Katsuki was right now he hadn’t been planning on saying anything, and upon seeing the devastated look on Katsuki’s face he immediately wished he hadn’t. It was too late though, and the dam had broken. Tears continued to sting his eyes and even though he knew he was making it worse, he just couldn’t stop the things that were spilling out of his mouth.
“I feel like I never see you anymore!” he sobbed. “We’re both pro heroes and I make time for you! Why can’t you do the same for me?!”
“Deku, I...”
Izuku cut him off. “One night! All I wanted was one night! On our anniversary, no less! Why didn’t you just tell them to find someone else?! And now you won’t even eat the food I made because there are no red pepper flakes...”
Izuku collapsed to the floor, hands over his face and shaking. Katsuki reached out to him, then drew back before reaching out again as if he didn’t know the right thing to do.
“Deku, I’m so sorry,” Katsuki said quietly. “I know this is the worst possible time to leave, but they need me at work. We’ll talk about this as soon as I get home, I promise! I’ve gotta go...”
He left the apartment and shut the door firmly behind him, not even slowing down enough to say goodbye. Izuku’s heart sank. He felt like a broken record, saying the same things over and over during the past few weeks and practically begging for attention. He hated how Katsuki had simply dismissed his feelings. In a way he was glad to be alone right now because everything about that had really fucking hurt, and now he didn’t have to try to pretend like he was alright. He flopped down on the couch, grabbing one of the pillows and burying his face in it.
Izuku knew that Katsuki hadn’t meant to be so hurtful. Chances were he’d been so caught up with work he just hadn’t realized it was their anniversary. Being a hero could be really hard and meant things like birthdays and anniversaries sometimes had to be put off. They would just celebrate after Katsuki was back, that was all. He felt bad about getting so upset and tried to think of some way to make it up to him.
Feeling a bit better, Izuku began to clean up the kitchen and put away the food. He thought about what Katsuki had said regarding the red pepper flakes and looked at the clock, wondering if there was time to go to the store before it closed. If dinner was going to have to wait either way, then he might as well replace the pepper flakes in the meantime. Katsuki would be happy to have them and it would make a good peace offering.
His mind made up, Izuku put on his winter coat and boots. It was only a short walk to the nearby grocery store but it was already starting to snow outside, and the weather report said there was more to come. He stepped onto the sidewalk and breathed in the crisp cold air. The wind picked up suddenly and he shivered. Just a quick walk to the store and back, he told himself, and then he’d be able to climb into a hot bath.
When he got to the store it was crowded with holiday shoppers. Bright fluorescent lights shone down on the aisles; chaotically placed sections of seasonal merchandise were jammed in here and there amongst the regular groceries. He located the pepper flakes quickly and went to wait in the line, which was already extremely long. Izuku sighed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, just wanting to get out of there and go home.
The line moved forward slowly. Monotonous beeps could be heard from cash registers and it seemed like everyone was talking at once. The employees were clearly tired and overwhelmed. Bad holiday music blared over the speakers, putting Izuku in a bad mood again- not that it took much to sour his mood after the kind of day he’d had. Izuku stopped paying attention as he zoned out and waited for his turn to pay.
Suddenly there was a commotion at the front of the store as one of the cashiers burst into tears and someone could be heard shouting. There was a collective gasp from the crowd as people jumped back and began to run for the exits. Izuku stood his ground as people bumped and pushed in order to get past him. Struggling against the flow of the crowd, he made his way to the front to see what was going on.
There was a man in a plain worn out jacket holding a gun. He had the gun aimed at the cashier, who was trying to get money out of the cash register but her hands were shaking so badly that she kept dropping it. The man looked a combination of anguished and desperate. Izuku immediately moved forward, his face set with determination.
“Leave these people alone,” he said.
The man looked over at him, then back at the cashier, his hands shaking as if he couldn’t figure out where to aim the gun. He settled for aiming at Izuku, who was clearly the greater threat.
“I don’t want any trouble,” the man said in a voice so quiet Izuku could barely hear him. “I just need the money and then I’ll leave... I didn’t want to do this, but I have nothing and I need to buy food for my kids…”
Izuku opened his mouth to speak. He was about to tell him it wasn’t too late, that he didn’t have to do this. He knew he could convince him to put the gun down. Hell, if food was all he needed then Izuku would gladly buy it for him out of his own pocket. Before he could say anything, a pair of police officers burst through the door, guns drawn and shouting orders too quickly to be understood.
Frightened, the man shut his eyes and cowered away from them, but not before he squeezed the trigger. Whether it was intentional or his finger slipped when the police officers scared him was unclear.
Izuku felt an impact to his chest that knocked him backward, then numbness started to spread out slowly. What was probably a few seconds stretched out into an eternity as Izuku’s knees gave out and he sank to the floor. He was vaguely aware of the police taking the shooter into custody, but more pressing were the immediate sensations- The wetness pouring down his chest and soaking his shirt; the numbness which was beginning to turn into a dull ache; exhaustion. He felt so tired! Maybe he could just rest for a moment. It seemed like a reasonable idea as he turned on his side and laid his head on the floor.
Medical personnel seemed to flood the scene and Izuku was vaguely aware of strangers touching him and moving him as he closed his eyes. He reached into his pocket and his fingers closed reflexively over the object there. If he’d been at all capable, he would have laughed out loud. It was the bottle of red pepper flakes, which he’d put in his pocket during the confrontation simply because there hadn’t been a good place to set it down. That was the last thought he had before his consciousness faded.
~~
Katsuki arrived at work feeling like a total asshole. He had forgotten their anniversary. What kind of person does that?! Izuku must have been so hurt! Katsuki hated that he’d left without talking this through, but if he hadn’t left right then he would have been late and then there wouldn’t have been anyone to cover his patrol. He tried not to worry about Izuku but he couldn’t help it.
Pacing up and down the street restlessly, he kept thinking of Izuku literally crying on the floor as he walked out the door. What in the world had made him think it was okay to just leave him like that? He blamed it on his lack of sleep. His priorities were all screwed up. He wasn’t seeing things clearly. Izuku must feel so betrayed right now!
Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore and took a short break to call Izuku. All he got was his voicemail.
“Deku, I’m sorry,” he said as it recorded. “Just... please call me.”
Katsuki wondered why Izuku would not be answering his phone. Was he just that angry that he didn’t want to pick up? Possibly. Katsuki sent him a quick text, just telling him he loved him and again that he was sorry, and then went back to his patrol. He checked occasionally to see if Izuku had seen the message, but it never switched to ‘read.’ Maybe the battery had died on Izuku’s phone? It was the only possible explanation.
Fuck it, he thought. He had to put Izuku first. He had to put their relationship first. He would get someone to cover the rest of his shift and then he would go home and fix this. He was in the process of calling the agency to let them know when his phone lit up with an emergency alert. Apparently there was someone with a gun at a nearby grocery store and he was threatening civilians. Damn it! Getting his shift covered would just have to wait. Cursing under his breath, he used an explosion to launch himself into the air, heading toward the scene.
Katsuki made it to the store in record time, but by the time he got there he found his presence was mostly unnecessary. The police had already apprehended the shooter. Great. What a waste of time! There was one person waiting for medical attention, but other than that the police would probably just be filling out paperwork for the rest of the night.
Katsuki got ready to go, preferring to leave the minor details to the police and the witnesses who had actually seen what happened. All he really wanted was to go home and see Izuku. He glanced around the store to survey the damage one last time; shelves had been tipped over as people had fled the scene and there were myriad items scattered across the floor from where the people in line had abandoned their purchases. There was a steady dripping sound from a container of milk that had burst on the counter, its contents slowly dribbling to the floor.
Katsuki yelped in surprise at what he saw next. Over by the cash register, among a slew of dented cans and battered produce, was a head of curly green hair. No! It couldn’t be!
“Deku?!”
Overwhelmed with fear, Katsuki bolted over to the unconscious figure.
“Deku, what the fuck were you even doing here?!” he cried, even though Izuku couldn’t hear him.
It didn’t even register that Izuku had already been examined by the professionals, and that he was the person they were readying for medical attention. Not stopping to realize the EMTs had already done so, he quickly checked Izuku’s pulse. What was left of his shirt was covered in blood; the shirt had been cut open in the front and there was bloody gauze taped over a wound on his chest.
Shit shit shit shit…
“Sir, we need you to get out of the way, please,” said a voice.
Katsuki barely heard it because his entire world had narrowed to Izuku alone. This could not be happening... none of this was real, it had to be a bad dream...
Katsuki rocked back and forth on his heels, trying to get his shit together and do something useful. Finally he swallowed his fear enough to actually look at Izuku. He was definitely breathing, so that was good news. Katsuki reached for his hand, pulling it out of his pocket. With it came the jar of red pepper flakes, falling and rolling across the floor. Katsuki stared at it in shock as the realization hit him.
His husband had come to the store late at night to get one of his favorite things for him, because he had complained about running out. Izuku was always making little gestures like that- doing small things to show how much he cared. It made Katsuki’s heart melt every time, but this time the warm fuzzy feeling was overlaid with guilt.
“Sir, please move,” someone else said, more urgently than the first person, but it still didn't occur to Katsuki that it might be directed at him. He was too far gone.
Izuku was here because of him. If he hadn’t complained earlier, then this never would have happened. Hell, if he had been even just a little bit nicer to Izuku this might not have happened. He should have taken five fucking minutes to sit down with him and have a conversation. They might have been able to come up with a plan- one that didn't involve Izuku getting shot over a bottle of red pepper flakes. Katsuki picked up the bottle and shoved it into his own pocket.
Feeling like a shitty person, Katsuki laid his head down on Izuku’s chest, being careful to avoid the injured areas. That’s when the EMTs physically moved him. He snarled as they nudged him gently aside and began to lift Izuku onto a stretcher.
“No! You can’t take him away from me,” Katsuki sobbed, not understanding through his distress why they were putting his husband into a vehicle.
“He needs to go to the hospital,” one of the EMTs told him patiently. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him!”
The EMT gasped when he got a look at Katsuki’s face. “You’re Ground Zero, aren’t you? A-and this... this must be Hero Deku...” the poor man struggled to put two and two together. It had been a long night.
“Mr. Ground Zero, I’m sorry. This must be so hard for you. Will you be coming with him to the hospital?”
“Damn right, I’m going,” Katsuki growled.
No way was he letting the nerd out of his sight! He followed closely behind the EMTs, taking care to remain within arm’s reach of Izuku until he was offered a seat in the back of the ambulance. The ride to the hospital was short, and then Izuku’s stretcher was being taken into the emergency room.
“This is as far as non-medical personnel can go,” a nurse informed him. “If you’d like to have a seat in the waiting room, we will be with you shortly to update you on his condition.”
Katsuki stared helplessly through the double doors until the nurse placed her hand on his arm and guided him to one of the chairs. Everything was a blur and he couldn’t tell one moment from the next. He recalled the argument they’d had earlier, realizing that the last interaction he’d had with Izuku had made him cry. All of the things that had seemed important up until then now seemed trivial- the problems at work, the extra hours, the lousy interns- none of it mattered anymore. The only thing that mattered was whether Izuku was going to be okay, and that Katsuki needed to start prioritizing their relationship. Eventually his thoughts were interrupted when a doctor approached him.
“He is stable,” she said. “He got lucky and the bullet didn’t hit any major organs.”
She went on to explain that the bullet had been surgically removed, but it had damaged the tissue and broken one of his ribs. Tears of relief streamed down Katsuki’s face. Deku was going to be okay!
“Can I see him?” he asked.
“Yes,” said the doctor, “but give us a little while to get him into a room first. Once he’s in there we’ll get you a twenty-four hour visitor pass and you can see him all you want, as long as you let him rest.”
Katsuki nodded and forced himself to wait patiently. He wanted to tear through the doors and find his husband immediately, wherever he might be. He gritted his teeth and tiny explosions went off in his palms as he struggled to cope with Izuku being out of his sight. He knew the doctors and nurses were doing their best, though, and now that he was aware of his surroundings he didn’t want to get in the way of them doing their jobs.
Eventually he sat in Izuku’s hospital room holding his hand, waiting for him to wake up.
~~
Izuku blinked his eyes open, trying to figure out where he was. He heard the sounds of monitors and machines. The light above him was much too bright and it stung his eyes. His chest and limbs felt heavy, like he was underwater, and his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. He closed his fingers around warm skin damp with sweat and realized someone must be holding his hand. Izuku used his fingertips to trace the familiar wedding band and the callouses that came from years of repeated explosions.
“Kacchan?” he whispered, feeling relieved when Katsuki squeezed his hand. “W-where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital,” Katsuki told him. “You got shot but you’re going to be okay.”
“Right, I remember,” Izuku said, the events at the store flooding back to him.
“Deku. I’m so sorry,” Katsuki said, his voice breaking. “I was such an asshole tonight, and you didn’t deserve it. All you wanted was to celebrate our anniversary together and I...”
“It’s okay, Kacchan,” Izuku interrupted. “It was just a stupid fight, let’s put it behind us. We’re here together now.”
“Yeah, okay,” Katsuki agreed. There was no way his conscience was going to let him off the hook that easily, but he felt like they shouldn’t discuss it further at the moment with Izuku being so disoriented from the surgery and the drugs.
“You damn nerd,” he said instead. “All this over a bottle of pepper flakes. I can’t believe you would do that, just for me.”
“Oh no!” Izuku said suddenly. “Kacchan, the pepper flakes! I lost them!”
“Right here,” said Katsuki, producing the bottle from his pocket with a smirk.
The relief that flooded Izuku’s face was downright comical and Katsuki couldn’t help but laugh. Izuku joined in and laughed right along with him, until the pain in his chest forced him to stop.
“Kacchan,” he said, “promise we’ll always be together.”
“Deku, I’m not going anywhere,” Katsuki replied. “Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me!”
That got them both to smile again, but they were careful not to laugh this time.
~~
Several days later, the two of them sat at the dinner table in their apartment. Katsuki had made the food this time, because Izuku was still having trouble moving around. Izuku looked at the kitchen with envy, thinking how unfair it was that Katsuki had managed to keep it perfectly clean. Meanwhile he’d made an entire meal- Katsudon this time, because he’d wanted to make Izuku’s favorite- in about half the time it would have taken Izuku to make the same thing. They had both taken some time off, and Katsuki had made it clear to the agency that he wasn’t going to be disturbed. It was time to start putting his husband first.
“Happy anniversary, Kacchan,” Izuku said as he took his first bite. “Thank you for this amazing meal.”
“Happy anniversary nerd,” Katsuki said.
He wanted to say more, to tell him how much he loved him, but he was so overwhelmed with emotion he didn’t trust himself to speak; Katsuki hated crying and avoided it whenever possible. There would be plenty of time to talk after dinner, and maybe by then he could find the words he wanted to say. He wished it were easier to tell Izuku how he really felt, to let him know that he loved him more than anything in this world, and that he would do everything he could to take care of him and strengthen their relationship.
“It’s okay, Kacchan, I already know all those things,” Izuku said, reaching for his hand. “I love you too.”
Katsuki stared at him with wide eyes. He didn’t think he had said any of that out loud! “How did you…”
“Kacchan, we’ve been around each other long enough that you have definitely picked up on my muttering habit,” Izuku told him, squeezing his hand affectionately.
Katsuki blushed, wondering how often it happened and what other kinds of things he might have inadvertently said out loud.
“Nothing too bad,” Izuku told him.
“Damn it!”
The bottle of red pepper flakes remained unused. Neither of them had wanted to break the seal, and Katsuki saw it as a reminder of how lucky he was to still have his husband. He never wanted to forget that, and as out of place as it may have seemed, he had set the bottle on the shelf along with their wedding photo. For years to come their friends would question it and give them odd looks, but he and Izuku would simply smile at each other and remember.