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It wasn't often that they had to leave on the same mission together. There was some clause in the hero programs that wouldn't take both spouses at the same time. It was true that they didn't have a child at home, but they did have you, and you were dependent on them. It wasn't that you didn't make money at your job, it was that you knew you wouldn't be half as well off if you didn't live with them.
But emergencies happened, and they were a devastating pair. They had learned how to feed off of one another to make things happen. They did things quicker than other hero pairs, simply because they loved each other so much and were so in sync with each other. You couldn't blame anyone in charge for the two of them having to go off together. After all, loving heroes meant that you willing to sacrifice a lot.
There was nothing they could tell you. No hints, no clues. They couldn't contact you while they were gone. There was a reason so many heroes were single, or divorced at least once. Being in a family with them was so lonely. The very nature of what they did was dangerous, and so isolating. And when they were home, they were often bothered by fans or the media.
The two of them left early one morning, only waking you up to kiss you goodbye, pull the blankets up high. Eijiro had whispered how much he loved you, and how much he would miss you. Katsuki told you that you'd better not be a dipshit and let anyone in the house, or go around getting into trouble. Which was really the same thing, just said with some very different words. But it was Katsuki who had made sure that you were tucked in safe and warm, and who had double checked all the alarms before he and your other lover left.
Sometimes you envied them. You knew that they were exceedingly close, knew that they knew each other in ways that you could never hope to. Some of that was the sheer amount of time they had been together, and some of it was the fact that their work depended on how well they could rely on one another. You were also jealous of the fact that when they were taken away together, they got to keep each other, while you were left here alone.
You ate the premade meals that Katsuki liked to leave you. He always grumbled about you stinking up the kitchen with terrible take out and awful frozen dinners while he was gone. Or eating that dry cereal he hated right out of the box with your hands, some some sort of feral gremlin no one ever gave home training to.
You even dragged yourself out to the trampoline to work. You focused on gentle landings. Even though your muscles could leap those incredible distances, it didn't mean that your joints were perfect. If you had been more careful when you were a child, you wouldn't have knee problems now. But there was nothing you could do about what an idiot you had been in the past.
It was enjoyable though, that sensation you had of flying, of the time you could look down on everything. Even though so many people could fly or float, or use boot jets or something, this still felt like it was special just for you. As you were jumping, you saw a car pull up. Curious, you looked at it, grinning when you saw some familiar green hair coming out. Hands were shoved into pockets.
“Hi, Izuku!” you shouted.
“Why don't you come down?” he called back up.
“Because Katsuki gets a hair up his ass if I don't work enough while he's gone.” you called back, rolling your eyes, even though he probably couldn't really see.
“I... really need you to come down.” he said again. There was something in his voice that gave you pause. You focused on your gentle landings, feeling the bounces instead of fighting them. You approached the edge of the trampoline. Izuku held out his hand to you, helping you step down.
“What's the matter?” you demanded instantly. He wasn't meeting your eye, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. Izuku was closer to Katsuki and Eijiro, but you had always liked him. You saw him and his wife at cook outs and other get togethers, and they had always been kind to you. It was hard to break into a friend group as close knit as they had been, going through what they had been through together at UA.
“Uh, well... The mission that Kacchan and Kirishima are on...”
“Yeah, it's taking forever.” you cut him off. “Isn't it terrible? Do you want some tea?” he was sitting at the kitchen table. You went to fill the kettle and turn it on. He watched you for a moment and swallowed a few times.
“I really am sorry to tell you this.” he began again. “But the mission is very dangerous.”
“I know, like every other one.” you were gathering the tea cups and filling the pot, letting the tea steep. You felt your hands start shaking as prickles worked their way down your body. You swallowed hard, feeling your knees knocking together.
“No, this was different from the others.” his voice was so soft, so delicate, and so fucking sorry. It felt like sandpaper scraping down your skin. You didn't turn to look at him, the tea and saucer clattering in your hands as he spoke.
“They've gone missing. No one is able to locate them.”
“They-they-they wear GPS things.” you inhaled deeply.
“Usually.” he agreed. “And we checked, but they are offline.” he was watching you for a moment. He listened to the harsh way that you were taking breath in through your noise, saw the way your whole body was trembling.
“Put the cup down, honey.”
“Where are they?” you choked out. He was next to you in seconds, taking the cup and setting it down, walking you to the table. He squeezed both your hands.
“I don't know. I wish I did.” and you knew that it meant it all sincerely, as sincerely as he meant anything he had ever said to you. “If I did, I promise you, I'd already be there, getting them out. Please breathe.”
You sucked in a breath, pursing your lips and blowing. He watched you take a few more breaths, holding your hands until the shaking stopped. He went and poured you some of the tea, encouraged you to take a few sips. When he thought that you looked a little more stable, he looked satisfied. He ran his hand through his messy hair and glanced around the house.
“You need to pack a bag. You're going to stay with me and Ochaco until we figure this all out.” he said firmly. “I know that Kacchan had you pack a bug out bag, so go ahead and grab that.”
“I can't!” you shook your head. “They'll look for me here. We had a whole plan. If the threat isn't here, coming towards me, I'm supposed to stay here and wait. This is the place that they'll come back and look for me.”
“The three of you made a plan for a scenario like this?” he sounded like he wasn't sure if that was heartbreaking or impressive. He should have expected that Kacchan would sort something like that out, especially knowing how risky it was that there were two high level, high profile pro heroes and one civilian.
“I can't promise that the threat isn't coming near you and doesn't know about you.”
“They don't.” you shrugged. “Kat and Ei would never tell anyone about me. That's why we've kept everything so low profile. As far as anyone really knows, they're in love with each other. And it's not a lie, so it's easy to sell.”
“I would feel a lot better if I knew that you were safe with me and Ochaco.” he sighed. “That would be what I would want Kacchan and Kirishima to do if something happened to me.”
“And would your wife go without a fight?” there were tears stinging your eyes, and you made no move to stop them, or hide them. You let them fall, hoping that they made it clear how strong you were, not that you were so weak you needed someone to look after you.
“Of course she wouldn't.” he smiled faintly. “She'd be the first one out there looking for me.”
“And I would too, if I had any of the connections that would get me any of the information to get me closer to them.”
“You win,” he put up his hands in defeat. “You can stay here, but I'd like to be able to be notified if someone breaks in or something.”
That was fair. You pulled out his phone and hooked him into the app and added him as a temporary emergency notification. You wondered just how much Kat had spent on this system that this would even be possible. You wondered if this was even available in stores, or if it was special for heroes. Izuku looked happy with that, at least.
“You know we're not just going to leave you here alone, right?” he asked gently. “Someone will be here to check on you. Every day.”
“And someone will call me the second anyone knows anything?” before you could stop yourself, you were clutching handfuls of his shirt in your hands. He caught your wrists and nodded solemnly, giving your skin a comforting squeeze.
“I will call you the very moment anyone knows anything at all. I promise you that.” he eased you back into your seat and encouraged you to drink some more of your tea. He spent a few minutes giving you numbers of a few heroes you didn't have, telling you
who would be coming and what they would look like so you wouldn't leave anyone locked out.
***
You were off work on bereavement. Which was strange, because they weren't dead. You were certain of that. You would know if they were dead, you assured yourself. You would know the moment they were dead. There was no scientific reason, no quirk based reason. You just would know.
Izuku came, his wife came, Todoroki came, Hanta came, Ashido came. They brought meals, your favorite drinks. At first, you met them at the door, trying not to appear too eager. They would kindly tell you they knew nothing, ask if you were okay. Were you sure? Were you really, really sure? What could they do? What did you need? Call them if you wanted anything, even just to talk. Are you sure you wanted to stay here all by yourself?
Eventually, Izuku came and found you on the couch, where you'd been laying since Ashido came the day before. Your eyes were swollen and red, and you were clutching a tissue in your hand, even though you weren't actively using it. You hadn't slept, staring instead at your cell phone and cursing every second that it didn't ring.
“Honey,” he sighed. It wasn't scolding, or reproachful. It was simply an admission that this situation did indeed suck. He walked over and propped you up, getting you a glass of water and a few ibuprofen. He pulled you a few crackers from the bag he carried in. You took the meds and drank the water, chewing a few of the crackers.
“Hasn't there been anything?” your voice sounded raw, even to your own ears. He looked upset, not meeting your eyes as he shook his head. You couldn't even stop yourself before you wailed, pulling your knees up and wrapping your arms around them.
“I am so sorry.”
“Does everyone just think they're dead?” you demanded. He didn't meet your eye again, and his silence spoke volumes. You crumpled down on the bed, balling yourself up as much as you could. He knelt down next to you, encouraging you to unwrap yourself.
“I don't think they're dead.” he stressed to you firmly. “If there is anyone I would trust to find their way out of a thing like this, it would be them. They would do anything to come home to you. I believe that with all of my heart, and I know you do, too.”
“They wouldn't leave me like that.” you sobbed out. He nodded, agreeing with you, swiping at your face.
“Please will you come home with me and stay?” he begged. “I really do not want to leave you when you're feeling like this.”
“Why? I'll just be pathetic and sad sacking all over your house instead of here. At least here I can leave my snotty tissues wherever I want.” you pointed out. He laughed slightly, appreciating your dark humor.
“I'm just afraid you won't be okay, and if something happened to you, I don't think I could ever forgive myself.” Before you could respond, his phone buzzed. He sighed and shook his head.
“I have to go. There's an emergency. Please call Ochaco? Or Mina? Or anyone at all?”
He was rushing out. You sighed and flopped back down on the couch. This was what it was to have heroes as your personal support. You curled away from the television and stared at the couch.
There was a heavy hand, threading through your hair. Carefully avoiding all the tangles in your hair. The hand stroked down your face, thumb rubbing at your cheekbone. It felt so much like Ei, you knew you had to be dreaming.
“Baby,” a whisper. “Baby? Please wake up.” it was his voice. You had to be dreaming, you knew you were dreaming. But when you raised yourself to press into that hand, when you reached for the wrist, you could feel warmth. Your eyes flew open, feeling dried out and painful.
“Eijiro!”
“Yes,” he was kneeling next to you as you laid on the couch. You nearly rolled off, throwing yourself at him. He cuddled you in close, peppering you all over with kisses. You finally pulled away to look at him.
A cut on his lip, scratches at his temples. A black eye. He looked tired and worn out, but not broken. He crushed you against his chest, and you could hear the fluttering of his heart. There was something you didn't know yet, you understood that. But this moment, you had your Ei with you.
“I was waiting. Right here, like you and Kat told me to.”
“Such a good girl,” he sighed. “Listen, sweetheart, you need to know... Kat has some injuries?”
“H-how bad?” you sat up in his lap, clutching his t shirt. You recognized it as the spare one that he kept at the agency to change in case of emergencies. You felt the blood draining from your face.
“He's alive.” he said grimly. “I need to get you to the hospital.”
There was a car waiting for the two of you. You nearly stumbled out of the house, throwing yourself into the backseat. The ride to the hospital was fast, and you were wringing your hands in your lap, your thumbs popping as you yanked at them.
“Izuku said he'd call me as soon as someone knew.”
“I asked him not to.” Eijiro turned to look at you. “I just... I had to see you for myself. I wanted to be the one to see you. Everything hurts right now, and I meant to bring Katsuki home to you. Like I always told you that I would. I'm so sorry, sweetheart.”
He held your hand through the hospital, and you were walked to the room where Katsuki was. He looked asleep, although he had the oxygen mask and the tubes, the beeping machine. You whined, backing into Eijiro, who rubbed your shoulders. He wound an arm around your waist and walked you into the room.
“Hey baby, I brought your brat with me.” he said cheerfully. There was no response. He walked you into a chair next to Katsuki's bed. You reached out and gingerly took his hand. Eijiro took the chair at his other side and held his other hand.
Neither of you spoke for quite a time.
You weren't aware of anything until you felt a hand on your head. You murmured, stirring finally. The hand on your head came down to your cheek, brushing away a few tears.
“Go back to sleep.” Katsuki rasped. You nearly jumped out of the chair. “It's early, idiot.”
“I have to tell the nurse you're awake.” you whispered.
“She knows, I was awake five minutes ago.”
“Are you okay? What hurts?”
“Baby,” oh, he wasn't calling you an idiot right now. “Lay your head back down. Go to sleep. Don't wake up Ei, please?” you obeyed, putting your head back down. His hand came back to your hair, rubbing at your scalp.
“Must have been scared out of your mind. Look like shit. Bet you haven't slept in days. Idiot,” he sighed. “Didn't you know that there's nothing I wouldn't do to come back to you?” his words, as rough as his voice was, were enough to lull you back to sleep, at last knowing both of them were home with you.