Work Text:
Kacchako Week Day 2: Love Languages / Families
Katsuki weathered the impassioned ravings of his hag of a mother about as patiently as could be expected, he thought. While he felt that their meeting had taken up his whole morning already, he was content to let her go on about upcoming meetings and plans while he dreamed of fencing, riding, boxing…pretty much anything that meant he’d be free of sitting here. The conversation had been going in circles for some long minutes now and he worried that at this rate his scowl of discomfort might become a permanent fixture on his face, which would undoubtedly prove the point his mother was currently trying to make.
“-and when you meet your betrothed I expect that you greet her with a /SMILE/ or at the very least a polite expression of welcome and friendliness. You will not fuck this up for us Katsuki, do you hear me??” There was a beat of silence before he realized that by some miracle it seemed that the Queen had finished her lecture.
Demonstrating his unending patience once more, Katsuki finally replied, “I’m not gonna fuck anything up, okay?! We have a strategy. I’ll be fucking polite. I’m not gonna scare her off. It’s not like I’m not a complete idiot...” While he did love his mother very much, their personalities were so similar that they clashed - violently and often.
Taking this rare opportunity to escape, the Crown Prince left the plush meeting chamber with minimal stomping, and even made an effort to straighten his back as he walked out, at least while his mother was watching. At twenty-three years old, Katsuki was more than eager to move on with his life and leave the ever-watchful presence of his royal parents, but as heir to the throne this was a little more difficult than a typical coming-of-age. However, a kind of unbelievably convenient miracle had occurred only a few months ago when Katsuki had received a letter.
Skipping over the pleasantries and some considerable historical context he couldn’t be bothered with he had skimmed the text until reaching the bottom, and was pleased to find out that the nearby kingdom of Urae had recently announced the eligibility of the king’s only daughter. She was to begin her own rule over a grouping of islands and was seeking a consort with some urgency. Something about the rulers only allowing her free reign of her own jurisdiction once she was properly married.
Katsuki found he could relate in a way - as the Crown Prince he was eager to make his mark on his home kingdom of Bakuria, but found that the youth and vitality of his parents may keep him waiting for some time yet. Ruling over some islands in the meantime, far away from the mundane appearances and responsibilities that bored him to death here might be just what he needed. Not to mention his hag mother had loved the idea. She might have even made him meet with the eligible princess anyway, regardless of his opinion on it. She also seemed particularly caught up on the whole “arranged marriage” and “this will strengthen the bond between our two kingdoms” part of the deal, which Katsuki honestly had not considered fully.
With the meeting between the two heirs scheduled later this evening, Queen Mitsuki’s nagging was at its peak. If he didn’t have serious matters to attend to (bathing and choosing a reasonable outfit before nightfall) he was sure she would have continued past lunch.
But none of that mattered. Katsuki’s confidence was at an all-time high today. Had he ever spoken to a girl with romantic intent, let alone asked one to marry him? No. But if this princess was his ticket out of here there was no way he could fuck it up. And like he mentioned to his mother, he already had a plan.
—
If you had asked him this morning, Katsuki might have considered himself good looking, maybe above average, maybe even /dashing/ in the right light. It hadn’t really come up beyond state-sponsored balls and public appearances, but he at least got the impression he was an eligible bachelor. Not to mention he was a goddamn prince too, by the way.
Dark brown eyes leveled him with yet another discerning glare from across the dining table, and he felt slightly like a worm instead. Katsuki shifted in his seat uncomfortably, taking in the princess’ defensive body language and the way she gripped her drinking goblet like she might choke the life out of it. Needless to say, the plan was not going well so far.
The first thirty seconds or so had been fine. The two heirs had entered the intimate dining hall from opposite doors. They were unchaperoned tonight besides a few guards - while it was somewhat untraditional they were both of age and the Princess Uraraka had traveled alone, he assumed to emphasize the value she placed on her independence. They had nodded at each other, Katsuki had held out her chair for her to take a seat, and then…he’d opened his mouth.
“I’ve brought you a gift! I trust that this will be sufficient for you to accept my offer of marriage.” He finished with a wide smile, which he wasn’t used to and may have looked more like a baring of teeth. The princess was courteous enough to look away from his face and toward the gift in question.
The oak box he had brought with him was small but heavy, and creaked dramatically when he opened it to reveal a set of jewels - sapphire teardrop earrings, a bracelet and heavy necklace in accenting colors, and a disgustingly ornate crown to match. Still filled with the utmost confidence, Katsuki took a step back and gestured toward the ensemble.
Finally he took a moment to look at the princess’ face. She still managed to look elegant, even regal, in spite of the soft roundness of her cheeks, and the slight blush of pink that filled her face at all times. Katsuki remembered that in her portrait she had worn a pastel pink dress that he found unremarkable, but tonight she was dressed in darker colors, only accents of pink peeking out throughout the garment. Her hair was brown, her eyes a darker brown, with full lashes that might have made her look younger or naive in any other circumstance. Her lips were pink and began to pull into a frown. And wait, did she look bored? Maybe even irritated?
“So?” he blurted with some impatience as the silence started to lengthen.
“So?” she repeated his question back to him. “So what?” Oh yes, she looked fully annoyed now that Katsuki was paying attention.
“Is this the extent of your proposal?” she actually had the audacity to stand up and turn to leave! Katsuki could only look on in disbelief. “If your intention was to insult me you have succeeded,” she went on, “If you had bothered to read my letter, which you clearly didn’t, you would know that on my tour to choose a marriage partner I will be taking no gifts or bribes, and wish only to discuss matters of the state or matters of…compatibility.” Her cheeks flushed impossibly further and Katsuki struggled to find his voice. She began walking back the way she came.
“Um. Wait! Okay hold on.” he held out her chair again and gestured for her to sit, frantically thinking of a way to placate her. He really hoped the desperation didn’t show on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him but complied, slamming the box shut as she did so. She crossed her arms and awaited his speech.
“We can be compatible! Trust me, just uhh,” he slid the stupid oak box across the table, where it slammed into a dinner plate. “Just forget that I did that and I’ll prove that I’m the person you wanna pick!” Although he felt his ears burning, he managed to give a wide grimace that he was really hoping looked like a smile this time. Luckily, something about this seemed to amuse the princess slightly, and instead of leaving she grabbed a dinner roll and sat back in her seat.
“I wouldn’t have come here if I thought you were a bad choice,” she admitted with a slight smile. “Did you really not read the letter, though??” Katsuki observed that she looked very pretty when she smiled at him, and gave a shrug in place of an answer as he returned to his seat. Time to review the plan.
King Masaru had discussed strategy with Katsuki just the other day, and he had memorized accordingly. There were just five steps to get an eligible lady to like you enough to marry you - that’s maybe not exactly what the king had said, but that’s what Katsuki had heard.
The plan was five steps: give her an extravagant gift, have some long boring conversations at dinner, do something nice at some point (he /had/ pulled out her chair when they came in), tell her what a great ruler she is, and maybe hold her hand or something.
Swallowing his mead heavily, Katsuki used the awkward silence to really think back to that conversation. He was supposed to do all five, right? Did he get the order wrong? Or was he supposed to try the first one and move to the next only if it failed? Katsuki started to worry that he might actually fuck this up.
The princess looked like she might be thinking the same thing. Okay, step two, Katsuki thought. Start a conversation about something she cares about, make sure this dinner takes forever. (‘This one is called Quality Time, Katsuki.’ He felt his father correct in his memory.)
“So your kingdom,” she looked up from the bread roll she’d been picking at. “It’s…nice.” he finished weakly. There was silence again, much longer than Katsuki was comfortable with. He got the sense that she was trying her best to be courteous about it, but the princess did laugh in his face at his proclamation. “Yes, um, I guess it is?” she covered her mouth as he stiffened in his seat, not accustomed to being laughed at.
“I admit I was expecting you to be the most prepared of all my suitors this month…” Even as his temper flared at that, he willed himself not to be distracted by her smile, which was growing less stiff with every minute.
“Okay, princess.” finally Katsuki dropped his demeanor of odd smiles and stiff compliments, slapping the table firmly. He rose from his seat and walked toward her once more,
“Tell me what the hell you want,” he insisted. “I wanna get out of this castle and you wanna get married or please your parents or whatever. Sure, I didn’t read your letter because it was way too long,” she managed to laugh again at that, “But we both wanna do this thing. I’ve read about you, I know what your people think of you, I know you’re gonna be a great ruler, and I’ll do pretty much whatever you want as long as you say…yes.”
He had reached her side of the table once more, and looked at her more intensity than he had intended. Her deep eyes met him in challenge, and a smirk played around her face as she chose her next words.
“What I want,” she started carefully, and Katsuki was reassured by the amusement in her eyes, as well as the open expression on her face that was missing before, “is someone that will spend their time with me, will respect me, and can rule well alongside me.” She didn’t break their eye contact, even as staff entered the room and finally presented their meal.
“Do you think you can do that?” she finished, the challenge in her eyes less teasing and more real than before.
Katsuki walked back to his place for the second time that night, this time with some swagger in his step. He raised his goblet toward her and said, “Well let’s start with some quality time, and go from there,” and was pleased when she raised her own cup in response.
~~~
Ochako looked out at the ocean from the parapet that stood on the west side of her keep, the brightness of the setting sun almost blinding her and the colors of sunset falling over her small kingdom stealing her breath. /Their/ kingdom, she reminded herself.
A year ago she’d gone to a far-off region seeking a suitor, and also seeking a challenge. Many of the men she’d met were calculated, stiff, with a formality befitting their station and hers.
She found it hard to understand these men, let alone relate to them; she worried that she wouldn’t find out who they really were until it was too late and her future was decided. Prince Bakugo - Katsuki - was a different kind entirely. While things had started with some difficulty, they had grown to like one another, respect for each others’ ideas and goals and fierce independence turning into a comfortable alliance. More recently, she thought, turning into an unyielding love. In equal measure they had shared arguments and worries, triumphs and kisses.
She still thought back to their first meeting with fondness, and was glad she had given him a second chance after his initial blunder. She could tell that he wanted someone to keep up with him, to note his victories and appreciate his efforts. And, after some time, he came to understand that instead of gifts and crowns, what she wanted was a true partner, and equal in all things (though she had, in the end, kept the extravagant jewels).
(end)