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Back when Katsuki was nothing but a tiny little hellraiser, his parents had made the arduous journey down the mountain and into the nearest city to get a suitable alpha that would be waiting for him when he grew up and became ready to join his life to someone else. It couldn’t be helped: their small settlement high up in the mountains hardly had enough kids to enter into any agreement that would be favourable for Katsuki, and everyone knew that pups tended to thrive better in big settlements down in the lands of the king, so it was best for everyone if little Katsuki ended up tied to someone from down below, which often translated into a chance of a better life.
Katsuki’s family didn’t have a whole lot to offer in the name of their omega son - sure, they had the Blood of the Dragons running through their veins, but that didn’t necessarily translate into coin or glory, so not everyone would bite. And so, they leaned in hard on the fact that their boy would grow strong and hardworking, tempered by the fires of life in a barely-hospitable place: everyone knew that strong omegas would bear many strong children, and Katsuki was a cute-looking child, so chances were he would grow into a beautiful young man.
The Bakugos weren’t really sure of what part of their pitch stuck with the matchmaker, but after it was all said and done they were introduced to another couple holding a child that happened to be just a couple of months younger than their own, who was apparently chosen by the gods to be their Katsuki’s lifelong companion once they became old enough to grow into each other.
Neither couple had much of a say in the match, as neither the Bakugos nor the Midoriyas were planning on defying the will of the gods over some minor flaw found with the other couple’s five-year-old, so the arrangement was drawn and the potion was brewed. Getting a pair of squirming children to drink up the foul-tasting liquid was by far the hardest part of the whole ordeal, but after some small bribes, a few threats and a lot of tears, both boys managed to be coerced into the beverage that would link their souls and ensure they got through the perils of youth by sharing the very essence of life with one another.
The visit ended with a promise to meet again and an exhausted child sleeping against his mother’s chest as they made their trek all the way back into their settlement.
Katsuki had spent his whole life aware that he was betrothed to an alpha boy that lived in the village at the foot of the mountain; he didn’t know much about him other than his name and the fact that one day - after he was all grown up and ready to settle down with his alpha - he would meet him again and they would get married. Sometimes he wondered what that mythical other boy was like, but his incessant questioning would usually be brought to an end using the same phrase every single time.
“He was chosen by the gods just for you. He will be perfect for you, Katsuki.”
That was always enough to shut him up.
As Katsuki grew, his worries shifted from that ethereal alpha that he could not really remember to a more pragmatic outlook on life.
War broke out through the land when Katsuki was barely old enough to wield a sword, and his life changed completely: all of a sudden, the Dragon People from the Mountains were no longer a little weird in the civilised eye of the King’s men, but rather a threat to the safety of the Kingdom. Sure, Dragon People weren’t exactly the easiest to get along with, as their views about relationships made them seem too blunt and crass for the Kingdom’s sensitivities, and they had been known for stealing a bit of cattle here and there, but jumping from that to being labeled as a full blown threat sounded a bit extreme in their eyes.
There wasn’t much room for negotiation, though: when the King decided they were a threat, the King’s soldiers began to raid every single mountain settlement they could find and attempted to wipe them out. And when the King’s soldiers arrived, the Dragon People fought back, showing the Kingdom how very easy it was to annihilate whole battalions when the soldiers had no idea of how to navigate the treacherous terrain of mountains that bled fire and had been expecting little resistance from the mountain savages . They had come up looking for quick genocide, but they found war.
From there, it was only natural things escalated: the King’s men would burn a settlement, then the Dragon people would raid a town in retaliation. Of course, that would not be allowed to slide by the King’s men, who would in turn round up and murder a bunch of Dragon People and be surprised when the mountain clan returned the favour. And on and on for the best part of fifteen years.
The intensity of war ebbed and flowed through the many years of sustained conflict; tensions would run high whenever news of a recent offensive travelled the land, but life had a habit of finding a way even through the less than ideal living conditions, and therefore both sides found themselves building their lives around passing armies, threats of violence and horrific tales of whatever had happened a few towns over.
Katsuki grew up alongside the conflict, with his small clan constantly moving up and down the mountains to avoid the danger that came along with the soldiers from the valley. There were a few close calls, of course, but he could count himself lucky enough to go through armed conflict without much more than a few good stories to tell around the fire and a handful of scars.
That didn’t prevent Katsuki from taking up a sword and fighting back against the King’s men when he became old enough to be of any help in keeping the invaders out of their land and ensuring their people remained as safe as possible.
Being omega posed no impediment for him to grow into a fearsome warrior that would actively fight soldiers off and hunt down any perceived threat whenever they deemed it necessary. And so, Katsuki grew into a warrior, lean with muscle and covered in the adequate tattoos to ask for protection from his ancestors and the gods.
It was on the morning of his twenty-sixth birthday that Katsuki felt his insides seize up for the first time; he had been walking back to their current settlement while carrying water for the day when everything inside him seemed to suddenly cramp up and blind him in a flash of pain he had never experienced before. It didn’t last long, disappearing completely after a few moments of catching his breath. Katsuki shrugged it off and didn’t think much of it, simply being very annoyed at the fact that he had to head all the way back down to the stream to get water again after spilling it all due to whatever that was.
He didn’t think about his sudden fit of pain until it happened again a few days later, this time when he was getting ready to sleep; just like the first time, a flash of pain overwhelmed him only to fade once again and leave nothing behind to point towards what was wrong.
The third time it happened was a week after the first fit, when he was sitting in front of the fire with his clan, sharing food and hoping for better days. The searing pain crept up out of nowhere and had him crumpled down on the floor for a couple of long minutes until it faded and he was able to catch his breath again, as if nothing had happened.
Given the fact that everyone he knew had just seen him collapse in pain, he was not allowed to simply brush it off this time. Everyone saw this as their chance to make a massive fuss of getting him to lie down and sip at some water and whatever. They didn’t seem to listen no matter how many times he protested and said he was fine.
“It’s the link, it’s starting to fray.” someone said, causing a collective gasp to ripple through the small crowd.
Twenty years was usually more than enough time for the betrothed to grow into themselves, settle down in life and find each other, with most people getting married and bonded around age seventeen, when heats and ruts started to normalise. This meant that under normal circumstances, Katsuki would have married this Izuku guy long ago, perhaps he’d have a couple of pups running around already, but the war had pushed whatever thoughts of marriage he once had completely out of his head.
And somehow, over twenty years had already gone by without Katsuki going back to his alpha and fulfilling his part of the deal sealed with ancient magic: he grew up protected, healthy and strong while tapping into the life force of another child to fight illness and develop into his full potential, all while offering the other pup the same benefits, so it was only fair that the magic that had allowed for that to happen was asking him for payback already.
“What does that mean?” Katsuki asked once he caught his breath, knowing he would not be able to shrug this one off now that everyone’s eyes were on him.
“It means you need to find your alpha soon and get bonded.” his mother explained, concern all over his face.
“No way. He’s from the Kingdom, and fuck knows where he is anyway.” Katsuki complained straight away. Chances were his prospective alpha was a soldier, just like the ones that took it upon themselves to terrorise their people, so he wanted absolutely nothing to do with that man.
“You haven’t got a choice. You will die if you don’t.”
Katsuki groaned, scowling at nothing in particular and running rough fingers across his face with a deep sigh. He didn’t want to die, especially not the horrifyingly debilitating death that an unfulfilled link brought along, but he didn’t necessarily want to go and get himself married to the enemy.
“How the fuck am I even meant to find him anyway?” he asked, very much not sold on to the idea but coming to terms with the fact that there wasn’t much he could do other than find this stupid alpha and do what their parents had promised back when they were nothing but pups.
“You’ll feel it in your soul. You are linked to him already.”
“And what if he’s a fucking soldier? I’m not gonna fuck a soldier.” Katsuki complained and folded his arms across his chest, glaring like a child about to throw a tantrum.
“Then you kill him and break the link, come back home..” his father spoke, causing all eyes to land on her at such outrageous claim. “It will hurt like hell, but it won’t kill you. And then the link will break and you’ll be free to do as you please.”
He was slightly taken aback by the unconventional suggestion but nodded nonetheless. Killing one’s own linked betrothed sounded brutal, but he decided that he had what it took to do it if things weren’t looking like a favourable union for him given their current circumstances.
When morning came, Katsuki left home and started to walk. He wasn’t really sure of where he was heading, but something within himself made it so that it felt as though every single step was guiding him exactly to where he was meant to be. There was no sense of certainty in what he was doing, so he could do nothing but walk following whatever vague thread connecting him to his promised alpha and hope he was not just wandering off into a certain death at the hands of inhospitable terrain.
Luckily for him, the uncertain path he followed seemed to lead him out of the mountain’s peak with ease and all the way down to the foot of their slopes and where the King’s land began. He didn’t quite know where he was heading, but if he had to guess he’d say that it must be that one village he had been brought to as a small child or somewhere in the surrounding area.
He wasn’t sure of what he had been expecting at the thought of walking into enemy territory all on his own, but what he found didn’t match up with the idea of an armoured wall of savagery ready to try and fuck him up. Everything seemed quiet, eerily so, as Katsuki made his way through what looked like a deserted little country lane.
Katsuki couldn’t help but feel as though soldiers were going to jump him with every single step he took, but after an hour or so of walking within the boundaries of the Kingdom, he realised that perhaps people were not all that concerned about a lone omega wandering on his own. The tattoos on his arms and his clothing made it obvious that he was part of the mountain clans, and he did have a sword at his hip for self-defense, but regardless of how well built he was, he was not an army on his own. He was hardly striking fear into anyone’s heart.
And so, Katsuki walked following whatever vague feeling pulled at him, keeping an eye on his surroundings: despite being out of the mountains he seemed to be in the absolute middle of nowhere still, with nothing but fields and fields as far as the eye could see.
He couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take him to find his dumb alpha - they didn’t have too long left, and the closer they got towards the link severing completely, the more debilitating pains and fits would be, so he thought that unless this Izuku loser made himself known in a couple of weeks at most, that was the both of them done. For all he knew, the alpha could very well be all the way across the Kingdom, so he would never make it in time.
He walked until night creeped in, forcing Katsuki to set camp as soon as he found a decent-looking spot and waiting for the morning to arrive for him to continue on his search for an alpha that he might as well never find.
Katsuki walked the land for two whole days, only ever pausing to eat and sleep before restarting his search for his alpha. He was starting to feel desperate, as the fits of searing pain seemed to come every day and a half or so, so he couldn’t imagine he would be in any condition to continue this journey if he couldn’t find him before the week was up.
On the morning of his third day of searching Katsuki began to wonder if he was actually going the right way, as he had absolutely no proof that the vague feeling he had been following was a real thing or whether it was just a product of wishful thinking and some sort of self-soothing mechanism to find some purpose in his final days.
Still, he continued to walk further and further along the edge of the kingdom, barely finding any people at all in his journeys and having come across no trouble whatsoever. He didn’t think about it too much and focused on walking and following that stupid vague sensation that may or may not be leading him nowhere.
“Fuck!” he groaned as he felt the now familiar cramps make his body seize up as burning pain flowed through his veins. The pain was always sudden and intense from the get go, so there was not much Katsuki could do other than let himself live it out right where he was, in the middle of an empty country road.
He had been expecting to fall to the ground as the fiery pain washed over him, but instead he found himself being caught by a stranger that held him tenderly, almost as if he were some sort of precious object, and carried him out of the middle of the path.
It felt like forever, but eventually the pain searing through his body stopped and Katsuki was able to catch his breath. He immediately peeled off the man that held him, jumping to his feet and unsheathing his sword, ready to attack the man that had helped him just a couple of seconds earlier.
“Stay the fuck back, pervert.” Katsuki demanded, pointing his sword at the alpha and glaring at the thought that he had decided to come and try to have his way with an omega that was lying in the middle of an abandoned road.
“W-what? I’m not! I wasn’t…” the alpha started and trailed off, hands up in surrender until Katsuki lowered his sword. He didn't put it away, but at least he wasn't actively pointing it at him.
"Wasn't what? You weren't feeling me up?" He pressed, still scowling but very much amused by how easy to fluster that stupid alpha was.
“No! You fell and I caught you before you could hurt yourself.”
“So? Do you want a fucking medal for it?”
“No. I was just being nice, so you shouldn't be so angry at- Wait. Katsuki?” the alpha interrupted himself, looking at him with new eyes.
“What? How do you know my name?” Katsuki glared. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little creeped out by that.
“It’s me, Izuku. We’re betrothed. I, I mean, I bet you know that, right? I don’t remember a lot about that day, but my mum told me about you. I’ve been trying to find you and was starting to think I wouldn’t.” the alpha rambled, leaving Katsuki to look at him with his mouth gaping open and his heart beating in his throat.
In his anger about finding himself in some stupid damsel in distress moment, Katsuki had not noticed the fact that the yearning inside him that was guiding his footsteps had somehow stopped pulling him forward; he had found his bound soulmate and he had not even noticed as he was too busy calling him a pervert.
“Yeah, I know who you are.” Katsuki said, looking at the alpha up and down as if studying him.
The man was okay looking, just like pretty much any alpha his age, simply nothing to write home about. He wasn’t too skinny but he wasn’t fat either, he wasn’t tall but he wasn’t short, he wasn’t a striking parangon of alpha beauty but he wasn’t ugly either, he didn’t look strong but he had been able to carry him, which meant he wasn’t weak either. He was bang on average. Katsuki decided he could work with average.
“So… uhm…” Izuku broke the silence that formed as Katsuki took his time to analyse his looks, prompting the omega to look at him.
“What?”
“I don’t know. I mean, what do we do now?”
Katsuki scrunched up his nose as the words hit him. Of course things were going to be incredibly awkward when they found each other, but Katsuki had never really thought about what they were meant to do then. Sure, they were supposed to get married, settle the soul-bond and all that, but he wasn’t sure of how to get there. Should they just find the nearest House of the Gods and go at it? He knew that given their overdue link they didn’t have time to exchange dumb pleasantries and arrange a ceremony they would like, but jumping right into it felt dirty somehow.
“Guess we get married and shit.” Katsuki said with a shrug.
“Just like that?” Izuku asked, seemingly surprised.
“Well, yeah? We’re fucking dying, there’s no time to send shitty invitations and weave flower crowns.”
“Yeah, I guess… but don’t you want to at least get to know each other a bit before we marry?”
“What for? It's not like we’ve got a choice anyway.” Katsuki pointed out, which made the alpha visibly deflate.
It wasn’t the most romantic way to go about it, but it was obvious to Katsuki that they had no say in what they were meant to do next. And yes, he had been told many times that his alpha was chosen by the gods just for him and that he would be loved and cherished and all that, but now that he was an adult he couldn’t help but wonder if that had any true behind it or if it was something people just told themselves to make an arranged marriage a little more palatable.
“Yeah… you’re right…” Izuku mumbled.
“Are you fucking pouting?” Katsuki asked, looking at the alpha with a snicker “What are you, five?”
“I am not! I’m just sad, okay? You don’t have to be mean…”
“Why?”
“Because being mean isn’t nice?”
“What? No, dumbfuck, why are you sad?” Katsuki asked.
“Well… I don’t know, I wanted to get to know you and fall in love, and plan the ceremony, get everything ready to live together… all of that, I guess.” he admitted.
Katsuki scowled, letting the fact that Izuku seemed to be a massive softie sink in. He knew people from the Kingdom were pussies, but he never expected his gods-chosen prospective alpha to be the biggest.
“We’ll be dead in a fortnight, no fucking time to fall in love, nerd.”
“I know.”
Silence weighed heavy between them for a couple of long minutes in which Katsuki pretended to be busy picking dirt off his clothes, completely unsure of what they were meant to do next. Eventually, Izuku broke the silence.
“There’s a town south from here, there must be a House of the Gods there. We should be there by noon tomorrow, so we can, like… get married”
“Okay.” Katsuki said with a nod, motioning for the other man to lead the way.
They walked mostly in silence, sometimes making smalltalk and inserting stupid little factlets about themselves into the idle conversation. That’s how Katsuki learned that Izuku was an only child, that his family had a farm somewhere south from there and that he had been bitten by a goat once. He was happy to learn that the alpha was in no way involved with the war and that therefore he didn’t have to kill him. He shared a few useless details about himself too, letting him know that his family worked with leather and fur, that he had helped forge his own sword and that he had even more tattoos hidden under his clothes. It was nice, just a benign little conversation as they walked.
Eventually, it was Izuku’s turn to fall prey to one of the fits that came about with a fraying link, falling to the ground while gritting his teeth in pain and waiting for it to end. Katsuki didn’t know what to do, feeling sick to his stomach at the horrific sight but knowing that there was nothing he could do to make it better for him.
“It’s almost over. This is the last one.” he said quietly, crouching down by his side but without touching him, waiting it out with him and repeating his words every ten seconds or so. He let out a long sigh when it became clear that the fit had broken and Izuku was no longer in pain, watching him regain his composure and catch his breath.
“We should start a fire and settle down for the night. The sun will set soon.” Katsuki said, getting up and offering him his hand to pull him off the dusty ground.
Immediately, he started scouting the surroundings for the most adequate patch of land and promptly set his stuff down when he found it. He didn’t ask Izuku for help, instructing him to stay with the stuff (and rest) as he went to gather enough wood and kindling to get a small fire going in order to keep warm for the rest of the night.
They settled down and ate around the fire, each pulling out some sort of dried meat and bread from their respective bags and continuing with the idle little chatter from earlier.
Once the meal was over and the skies were completely dark, they both decided to settle down for the night. It was going to be impossible to get a good night’s sleep knowing that their fucking wedding awaited them, but they needed to at least try.
“I can’t believe it’s finally happening.” Izuku said, probably more to himself than in an attempt to start a conversation as they set their bedrolls down and got ready to try and sleep before what was likely going to be their wedding day.”Just like that…”
“You could have found me earlier if you wanted the whole fucking thing, you know?” Katsuki pointed out. He himself had never tried to find his alpha before due to the fact that he had more pressing things to do while struggling to keep his clan alive and hidden.
“I did try, but you kept moving. And then your people set White Stream on fire and I thought that trying to find you would be dangerous for us both. And then I tried again, but wasn’t sure how to get past the misty peaks up the Red Mountain, and I didn’t want to break a leg climbing on my own. And then I needed to work the farm to keep our people fed. I tried again last year, but winter came early and I had to turn back.” Izuku explained, recounting every failed attempt to find him. He didn’t sound angry, but something about his words made the omega’s heart feel heavy.
“Hm.” Katsuki couldn’t say much more to that as he laid there and felt guilt creeping in when he realised that this alpha had spent the better part of ten years trying to find him and that a mixture of unfortunate circumstances meant he was never able to.
He knew that people from the Kingdom weren’t particularly apt at navigating mountain terrain, so it made a lot of sense that Izuku would be physically unable to get to him even if the war had not been an issue. And even if he had managed to find his settlement without breaking a leg, he was pretty sure that the Dragon People would have been at least suspicious of a lone alpha wandering into their isolated territories while in the middle of war. Everything would be very different for them if Katsuki had tried to find him at all, but he had not.
Katsuki let silence wash over them, wondering if pretending to fall asleep would work at all to alleviate the awkwardness he had gone on and created by saying stupid shit. Surprisingly, physical exhaustion was stronger than guilt and awkwardness, so Katsuki did end up falling asleep as he pretended to do so.
He woke up with the first rays of sunlight, stirring in his bedroll and sitting up after a few moments. Much to his surprise, Izuku was awake already, sitting up next to the remnants of the fire and studying an old and discoloured map.
“What are you doing?” Katsuki asked as he sat up and stretched before walking towards the other man and looking at the map.
“Morning, Katsuki~ just checking that we are heading the right way. There’s a couple of forks in the road and I want to make sure I don’t get us lost.” he explained, tracing the route they were meant to follow with his finger. “We should be there a bit after midday if we go soon.”
The omega nodded and let out a quiet hum as he studied the map, trying to get his bearings around where he had come from and where they were going even if this was entirely unfamiliar territory for him. He was quite far away from home.
They got going pretty soon after that, having a small and hurried breakfast before starting on the road once more and walking in their own mixture of silence and brief smalltalk.
Just as Izuku had predicted, they found their way to the town he had described just a little past midday, asking around and eventually figuring out their way to the House of the Gods in hopes to get married and put an end to their fraying link before either of them fell prey to any more fits.
The conversation with the seer that tended to the House of the Gods was interesting to say the least, as not very many couples strutted into an unfamiliar town and demanded to get married on the spot while looking like they had spent days on the road. There was a palpable tone of judgement dripping from the seer’s voice, but eventually she agreed to marry them that evening.
Katsuki knew the seer thought he was knocked up and that their marriage was brought along because of that , that they were somehow unprepared and dumb and were rushing into things, and it annoyed him. Sure, they were unprepared and rushing, but not because they were stupid or unable to keep it in their pants.
Whatever the case, they were getting married and they needed to prepare for it, so they parted ways for the time being. Katsuki wasn’t sure of what his soon-to-be husband was going to be doing with his last few hours of unmarried life, but he had a few things to sort out before he tied his life to someone else forever.
Given that he had nowhere to go and get ready, Katsuki was welcomed to stay in the House of the Gods for the few hours before he was married, so he did the best he could with the borrowed space and what little resources he had on hand.
First, he needed a ribbon. Normally, an omega waiting for marriage would take a lot of time and care to weave and decorate a long ribbon needed for the ceremony, making beautiful pieces of lacework and colourful weaving that they would cherish for life. Katsuki knew how to do it, but he was very aware that he had three hours before he was to be married and no supplies whatsoever, so he came to terms with the fact that he had absolutely no time to sit down and do complicated needlework for them: they were dying, and every single second counted.
After some deliberation, he took his knife to the hem of his shirt and slashed into it, pulling at the fabric and hearing it rip as he split a ragged and uneven strip off the bottom of his shirt. It wasn’t pretty and he didn’t even have the resources to try and hem that to make it a little less atrocious, but given the time pressure and circumstances they were under, that would have to do.
Next came the bath. In usual circumstances, it would be a whole thing, with his omega family members tending to him and symbolically building a bridge between unmarried life and the new life he was about to start with his soulmate, but right there Katsuki was alone. He decided to not think about it and took a bath for the sake of bathing: he had been on the road for days already, so soaking up tired muscles and washing away layers of sweat and dirt was divine. And it sounded like it was the very least he should do if he was expecting to get fucked before the night ended.
When the bath came to an end, Katsuki did his best to make himself look presentable with what little he had: he did his best to comb his hair with his fingers and changed into the one other set of clothes he had, thinking that even though he wasn’t wearing beautiful furs and delicately woven wools he was at least clean. That would have to do.
The handful of hours he had for himself flew by way quicker than he ever expected them to, which meant that Katsuki could do nothing other than leave the little room that had been loaned to him and make his way to the hall to wait for fate to take place.
Izuku was already there by the time Katsuki found the hall: he looked clean and had changed clothes as well, and he was smiling even if anyone with eyes could tell that he was nervous as hell. He even waved a little at Katsuki, which made the omega smile briefly as he went to take his place next to him.
Due to the nature of their situation, there was no need to wait for guests or accommodate people within the hall, so the ceremony could start right away. It felt sudden and awkward, but there was no need to waste time and risk giving their bodies more time to stage another bout of pain for them.
Katsuki stood next to his husband-to-be as the seer began the ceremony with prayers and blessings he had heard before but never directed at him. He listened, trying to focus on the words alone and not on the overwhelmingly empty hall behind them or the heavy knowledge that this event that felt sudden and alien was somehow their wedding.
Eventually, the seer asked the omega for his ribbon, and Katsuki felt his heart light up with embarrassment as he produced his ratty piece of fabric and handed it to her for blessings. The seer said nothing, but Katsuki wouldn’t be surprised if she was even slightly disgusted by the fact that she had to touch his sorry excuse of a ribbon to bless it before handing it back to him.
Katsuki repeated a couple of mumbled words of blessing before handing the fraying strip to his betrothed, who took it with the same care he would have if it were an exquisite piece of lacework. He took a deep breath and exhaled before pressing his palms together as if in prayer, looking at the alpha and urging him to move on with the wedding ritual.
Izuku wasted no time and complied, taking one end of the improvised ribbon and threading it around Katsuki’s left wrist and over to his right, around his right wrist and then back to where he started, crossing the strands in the middle. He then took both ends of the ribbon and braided them together, tying them up when he reached the end of the strand.
Katsuki lowered his hands when he was done, rotating his wrists until the tips of his fingers pointed at the alpha’s chest, just like he was supposed to. It was then when Izuku bowed his head to touch his forehead against his fingertips for a couple of seconds, rising back up after that and slowly untangling the ribbon from itself and from Katsuki’s wrists when he was done.
Izuku handed him the ribbon he had carefully untangled from him, setting it down on Katsuki’s upturned palm and offering him a smile before pressing his palms together, waiting for him to repeat his actions.
With trembling fingers, Katsuki took the sorry excuse of a ribbon and wrapped it around his wrists, braiding the strands carefully and keeping his eyes locked on what he was doing. He didn’t want the alpha to realise how nervous he was, so he didn’t look at him as he used rough and calloused fingers to set the ribbon in place. He took a slight breath in and exhaled quietly when Izuku lowered his hands, bowing down to press his forehead to his alpha’s fingertips before rising up and untangling the ribbon, handing it back to his alpha and offering some sort of nervous smile as the seer continued to mumble prayers and words that were going over his head entirely as he stood there with his hand in Izuku’s gentle grasp.
He didn't even notice the whole thing was coming to an end, having zoned out of the quiet blessings as his mind was simply too overwhelmed by the thought that this alpha he barely knew was standing by his side, holding his hand and moments away from becoming his husband. He was brought back to the reality of the ceremony when Izuku slipped his rough hand out of his own and turned towards him again.
Katsuki closed his eyes for a moment, feeling every fiber of his body tense up when Izuku’s fingers brushed against bare skin as he fumbled tying the ribbon around his neck, marking him as a newly-wedded Omega and making him hyper-aware of the fact that he would have Izuku’s mark upon his neck before the night ended; it was an overwhelming thought. And still, he didn’t flinch away from him and let him tie the damned ribbon to his heart’s content.
Once the ribbon was secured and Izuku seemed happy with what he had done, Katsuki guided his hand up to touch the ribbon, scrunching up his nose as his fingers found the frayed ends of the roughly cut fabric. This was exactly why most omegas spent months weaving a pretty little ribbon they would cherish their whole lives and add somewhere into their clothing, and yet there he was with a shitty scrap of fabric.
“It looks pretty.” Izuku assured, causing Katsuki’s cheeks to light up in embarrassment. The one thing stopping him from telling the alpha to shut up and go fuck himself was the fact that even he knew it wasn’t the best idea to curse someone out inside the House of the Gods and right infront of a seer. He opted for a non-committal huff.
In any case, the ceremony had to come to an end and the one thing missing was for them to kiss right there, before the eyes of the gods, to seal the deal in public.
Katsuki was the first one to move, closing the small distance between them with a step forward and locking eyes with the bashful alpha in front of him. The kiss was small and soft, the chastest of pecks, and yet it felt awkward and odd - Katsuki couldn’t even imagine what the actual wedding night would end up being like if a simple kiss made everything feel so damn weird.
The little awkward kiss came to an end and so did the ceremony after one final blessing, leaving the couple to quietly exit the House of the Gods hand in hand. Normally, a feast and a party would be held in honour of the newlyweds, but due to the precipitous nature of their marriage there was no one waiting to hold a celebration well into morning-light. It was just them.
Before Katsuki could ask what they were supposed to do now, Izuku gave him a smile and squeezed his hand before letting go.
“I thought we could find a nice place to set camp before it gets completely dark, and we can just… I mean, I got us a few things.” he offered.
Katsuki nodded, definitely itching to get out of the town as he wasn’t used to that kind of environment and it made him feel somewhat claustrophobic. He didn’t give himself the time to ponder what Izuku meant in regards to getting things for them, but he guessed he’d find out whenever they set camp.
They walked as far away from the town as they could before it got dark, eventually settling down and starting a small fire together, ready to spend their first night together as a married couple and still somewhat unable to believe that they were in fact married now.
“You said you got things, what did you get?” Katsuki asked after a long moment of silence, looking over at his now husband and arching up an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah. I got us stuff for dinner. I mean, we didn’t get to have a feast, but I got us some nicer stuff.” he said and started rifling through his bag to pull out a nice, fresh loaf of bread, cheese, a few cuts of meat he had clearly just bought for them and a big bottle of fortified wine.
Katsuki laughed at the sight of the bottle, picking it up and looking at his alpha.
“Liquid courage, nerd?”
“Well… yeah.” he admitted, chuckling a bit and making Katsuki snort.
“Fucking great call.” he said and was quick to uncork the bottle, taking a long swig of the burning liquid before handing it over to his alpha and prompting him to do the same.
They drank as they set the meat to cook over the fire, munching on bread and cheese and having their own personal low-end feast as they sat together and enjoyed the warm summer night and the open skyline.
The more they drank and ate, the easier that conversation seemed to flow between them, which meant that by the time their small feast was done the two of them were a lot more at ease with each other, chatting and resting as the night grew darker.
“I’m so glad I found you, Kacchan… I had started to think I wouldn’t at all and it made me sad.” Izuku blurted out during a pause in their conversation.
“What the fuck is a Kacchan?” Katsuki asked with a light scowl.
“You!” Izuku announced and laughed. It was clear by then that the alpha was a lightweight that couldn’t hold his liquor at all.
“Huh?”
“I couldn’t say your name when I was little, so to me you’ve been Kacchan since I was five.” he elaborated, lying flat on his back and looking up at the night sky as he spoke.
“What a stupid name.” Katsuki complained as he moved where he sat to face his mildly drunk husband.
“It’s your name, though!” Izuku pressed, smiling bright in the dark night.
“That’s not my name.”
“It is!”
“It’s not. My name is Katsuki, victor amongst dragons, not fucking Kacchan, dumb name fitting a shitty fat cat or some shit”
Izuku laughed openly and loudly as though he had just said the funniest thing in the world, which made Katsuki scowl but eventually laugh as well. He was slightly buzzed after all, and the damned nerd did have a contagious laugh.
As their laughter died down, Katsuki ended up lying down on the grass next to his alpha, catching their breath and letting silence was over them as they rested next to the fire with full bellies and the buzz of strong wine running through their veins.
It was Izuku who moved first this time, pressing his lips against Katsuki’s until the blond sighed and kissed back, scooting closer to him and relaxing into the hold. The kiss tasted of alcohol and hesitance, but it was a lot less awkward than the first kiss they had shared before the eyes of the gods.
Another kiss came after the first one ended, this time with Katsuki leading and making it rougher, trying his hand at what exploring this alpha would feel and deciding that it wasn’t half as bad as it could have been given the hurried circumstances that brought them there.
Kisses grew deeper and heated through the night, sometimes going back to smaller pecks and at times going full on experimental with their actions, slowly becoming acquainted with the other one and starting to learn what felt right for them both.
Things felt awkward and rushed still, but alcohol helped them both ease into their new roles. Katsuki told himself that time would help too, hopefully allowing them to grow into each other and develop their marriage as the gods intended them to.
All in all, something in his heart made him feel that what they were starting was right for them, and he could do nothing but let himself trust that vague sense inside him; it had led him to his fated alpha, just like it was meant to do, so it couldn’t be wrong.