Work Text:
Pain. That's the first thing Izuku registered when he woke up. He felt a burning, throbbing pain on the back of his head where he'd been attacked with the purpose of being knocked out. It had to be bleeding because he could feel that it was wet, his hair uncomfortably stuck to his head.
The second thing he noticed was that he couldn't see. When he tried opening his eyes to access his predicament, he realized that the darkness that he was seeing was not due to his eyelids being closed, no, but because there had to be something covering his eyes.
He brought his hand up to his face to see if there was something covering his eyes like he guessed there was, but the effort only resulted in the skin of his wrists being pinched by what he could only assume to be chains or handcuffs.
'That's okay,' he told himself (internally because speaking out loud could have possibly brought more attention to himself, and he couldn't risk that at the moment). 'I still can use One For All to try to break out of these.'
With that idea, he tried to power up his quirk, only for it to not work. With a sudden panic, he realized that he couldn't even feel it.
He hadn't panicked earlier when he first woke up, as he was trying to think rationally about the situation, but he certainly was starting to panic then.
He couldn't see, he couldn't move his arms, and he couldn't break through the cuffs (quirk-canceling he presumed- no, he hoped because he wouldn't know what he'd do if his quirk was somehow gone).
The whole situation was unfortunate. The last thing he remembered was changing into his favorite white 'T-shirt' shirt and black basketball shorts before going for a late night jog after tossing and turning restlessly in his bed.
Now, he was here and he couldn't move his arms. But he still had his legs, so he decided to try to see if he was fully incapacitated.
To his relief, when he tried, he was able to move his legs. But when he moved his right foot around to try to get a feel of his whereabouts, he ended up kicking what could only be another person.
Green eyes widened underneath his blindfold as he realized that it wasn't only his life at stake now; there was another person besides himself. There could be even more people for all he knew! He didn't know anything about the situation besides the fact that he and another person were kidnapped, cuffed, and blindfolded. Not who captured them, not why, and not where.
He could only hope that the other person was okay. There was only one way to tell, though. Since his arms weren't an option, he couldn't shake the person next to him. His next best option was to kick the person, no matter how much he felt it was wrong to do so.
Lifting up his signature red shoes, he swiftly and repeatedly kicked his companion.
"Hey!" He whisper-shouted. "Are you awake by any chance? And if you are, are you okay?"
His attempts didn't get any results for a bit, but Izuku wasn't the type of person to give up that easily. That, and he needed a confirmation that there was possibly hope for their situation. If the other person was awake(he hoped they were alive), then they could think of a plan to escape together.
He kicked the other person a bit harder as he grew more desperate. "Come on, please be alive…"
After about five nerve-wracking minutes, he felt the person to his right stir.
Izuku heard a deep groan indicating that his fellow kidnapee was male.
"What the hell! Why the fuck are you kicking me?!" Was hollered in the same deep voice, but Izuku would recognize that voice anywhere(he often dreamed about that voice).
"Kacchan?!" He exclaimed in both fear and relief.
Since Katsuki was there with him, he didn't doubt that they'd make it out of captivity together.
He heard chains rustling and the sound of Katsuki shifting around, no doubt confused like Izuku was at first.
"There's no point," Izuku told him. "They're quirk canceling cuffs. I've already tried, believe me."
Katsuki scoffed at him like it was Izuku's fault they were where they were. "Thanks, Captain Obvious, I've gathered that already." He added just to further prove how petty he was.
Izuku sighed, exasperated. "Kacchan, now is not the time for petty, childish remarks. As it may be obvious, we are captured in an unknown place with no idea of the situation and how to get out. So, I'd really appreciate it if you'd actually cooperate with me and help us get out of this situation. Please."
"Tch. Whatever." Katsuki reluctantly agreed. Not long after, however, he asked, "Did you smack your head or something?"
The way he said it was in an accusatory manner, which left Izuku baffled.
"Is that your way of calling me stupid?" He asked, offended.
"No, you idiot." Katsuki said, and Izuku could tell he was smirking just by the tone of which he spoke.
Izuku huffed in irritation, but before he could speak, Katsuki continued his train of thought, "Your head is bleeding…dumbass."
He had added that last word just to irritate Izuku, he could tell. Then he realized the implications of what Katsuki had just told him.
"Wait…you can see?!" He turned towards Katsuki as he asked.
"What do you think?" Katsuki jested.
"Kacchan…"
"Fine! Yes, I can see. I'm not blindfolded like you are, for some reason. That's stupid of whoever brought us here."
"Hm," Izuku started to mutter. "That really was quite stupid of them, leaving Kacchan's eyes uncovered. With his sight, he would be able to have more of a chance to escape, especially with how smart he is. Furthermore, leaving him with me here was also dumb on their part. Two pro heros, two top ones at that, conversing; it's not in their favor at all. They must've thought of a plan to get us here, but that singular flaw could just as easily be their downfall. Honestly, it just makes me wonder-"
Izuku stopped himself mid-ramble when he heard Katsuki growl in irritation.
"Deku!" Katsuki kicked the aforementioned boy. "Quit your yapping. The why isn't as important right now compared to how we get out. The bastards can spill their reason once we take them down, but until then we need to focus on our situation."
"You're right. Sorry," Izuku replied sheepishly.
"I know, I'm always right." Katsuki boasted.
Izuku knew when to pick and choose his battles, so he decided not to make a snarky comment to Katsuki's declaration like he had the strong urge to. Instead he just opted to roll his eyes in displeasure.
The action caused a prominent vein to show in his childhood friend's temple(although he couldn't see to know for sure).
"Why do I have the feeling you just rolled your eyes at me?" Katsuki asked, his tone holding a false niceness as fake as the smile it was paired with. Although there was a genuine amusement there if you'd look closely enough.
Because he knew it would urk the blond, Izuku smiled at him with his own false sincerity and amusement and simply jested, "Yes, Kacchan. Yes, I did. And what are you going to do about it?"
If Katsuki wasn't already pissed, Izuku's comment took him in that direction as he aimed to fight him, but failed in his efforts due to the chains that bound them together at the wrists.
"Stupid chains," Katsuki cursed. He shifted around more after the comment. "At least they covered your creepy eyes. They make me want to punch you, it's distracting," He laughed lowly as he teased.
The sound was a welcomed one, a little light to their dire situation.
"Hey!" Izuku chastised, indignant but fond. "These creepy eyes are great at analyzing, something I could be doing right now if not for this stupid blindfold." He huffed.
Katsuki stared at Izuku as he saw him grow restless with his current lack of vision.
"Yeah? Well what do you expect me to do about it, huh? My hands are kind of tied up, nerd." Katsuki stated plainly.
"I don't know," Izuku let out a long sigh. "Is there any way you could get it off?"
Getting more frustrated by the minute, Izuku breathed in and then out three times to calm himself. His hands shifted in the chains hold, rubbing his skin raw.
Katsuki took a minute to think about what he could do to get Izuku's blindfold off.
"I could try to get it off with my boot. You'd have to scoot closer to me for that, though," He told Izuku.
At the suggestion Izuku's face brightened up.
"Really? Yeah, let's try that," he said.
"But," Katsuki started, humor in his tone, "I can't promise your hair won't get tugged in the process. Not that it would make it look any worse than it usually does. Heh."
"That's fine," Izuku replied. "I don't mind, I just want this stupid thing off."
"Alright then. Get your nerdy ass over here," Katsuki beckoned him.
Izuku scooted closer to Katsuki, but as he did so he realized with his vision covered, he had to feel around to get to his friend's boots.
Impatient as he was, Katsuki decided Izuku was taking too long so he lightly kicked him down towards his other boot.
"Ouch!" Izuku shouted, more out of habit rather than out of hurt.
"I didn't even kick you that hard, you baby," Katsuki said, amused.
"Oh, shove it," Izuku sassed.
Katsuki just smirked in reply. "Okay, I'm going get your blind fold off now." He remarked.
"Okay," Izuku agreed.
For as much as Katsuki claimed he could hurt Izuku in the process, he was gentle in his task. He methodically hooked the tread of his boots on the knot of the blindfold, tugging it lightly as he pulled it off.
Not long after, Izuku's eyes were freed from the darkness and the first thing he saw was ruby eyes staring back at him with a hint of softness. Katsuki was wearing a black shirt with a skull at the center and black ripped jeans.
"There they are, those creepy eyes," Katsuki said as he stared deeply into the mentioned 'creepy eyes'.
"Well, hello to you too, Kacchan." Izuku chuckled.
Katsuki laughed at the absurdity of it all. "Your eyes are uncovered. So what now, dork?"
The comment had Izuku pause to think. "Oh. Well I guess I didn't think that far yet." He smiled sheepishly.
"Is that so?" A voice rang out, a voice that wasn't Izuku's or Katsuki's.
Both boy's heads snapped in the direction of the new voice.
"Who the fuck are you?" Katsuki snarled.
With his eyes now free, Izuku could see the room in which they were captured. It was a white padded room, not unlike you'd see in a mental institution. The only form of escape looked to be a singular door at least ten feet ahead of him, but there was a black hooded figure in the doorway, the figure that the new voice belonged to.
"Me?" The voice, indistinguishable but masculine, inquired. "Well, Katsuki Bakugo, I go by Grim, but you can refer to me as the person whose hands you'll perish from. Both you and your little friend right next to you there."
The villain, Grim, was covered in a black cloak, his face being the only thing visible, and the two childhood friends found themselves wishing that it wasn't. His face was a gray color, almost like it was corpse-like. What was really unsettling, however, was the smile he showed after he spoke. It was vicious with several sharp teeth showing, yet nothing like the familiar sharpness of Kirishima's; these ones were sharpened to a point so sharp that one small prick would definitely draw blood. And his eyes? His eyes were pitch black, the pupils hidden in the depth of the color, making him look even more eerie.
Both heroes felt an involuntary shiver go down their spines, but they refused to give in or show fear.
"Why are we here? What are you planning?" Izuku questioned, voice unwavering and strong.
"I'm just planning to get rid of the scum that call themselves heroes, and what better way than to go for 'The Symbol of Hope' and 'The Symbol of Victory'? It's quite funny really, being called a hero, someone helpful and good. In this society there is always black and white, good and bad, hero and villain. The world would be a better place without that and laws. Survival of the Fittest is what we all should be following, not this current garbage. So tell me, heroes, what exactly do you define as a villain?" The hooded figure questioned mockingly with pure hatred in his tone at the thought of heroes.
"It doesn't matter what we define as a villain, asshole. If you don't know then you can look it up," Katsuki then spat in the direction of the villain to further show his distaste in the villain's twisted psychology.
"Oh, you'll regret that, Blondie," Grim snarled.
Izuku watched with widened eyes as he feared what the villain would do to Katsuki for his comment, only to be surprised when he headed towards him instead.
The closer he approached him, the more a sense of dread crept up in his stomach, and for good reason because next thing he knew, Grim leant down towards his leg and grabbed it. What resulted was a searing pain that had him screaming and his eyes rolling into the back of his skull.
"You bastard," Katsuki yelled. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?"
The villain laughed darkly and unsettlingly. "I'm just giving Hero Deku a little taste of what's to come."
"That didn't answer my question! And get the hell away from him!" Katsuki growled.
Grim smiled at Katsuki once more before he left the room as abruptly as he came.
"Stupid villain," Katsuki whispered harshly.
"Kacchan…" Izuku spoke quietly.
"Izuku!" Katsuki looked over to his childhood friend. He inched his way closer to Izuku as he looked over at him, trying to inspect what the villain had done. "What did he do to you?" He asked, not even bothering to hide his worry behind a facade due to the seriousness of the situation.
"He electrocuted me, I think. I didn't see any visible charge coming from him, but I felt it." Izuku forced out between his gritted teeth.
"Well shit."
"Yeah…"
"Don't worry, I'm going to fuck that bastard up the next time he comes in here," Katsuki assured him.
Izuku chuckled lightly at Katsuki's antics, but stopped when the vibration it caused brought pain from the recent electrocution.
"Thanks, Kacchan," he breathed. "But how do you plan to do that when you're chained up like that?"
Katsuki stared at him, offended. "Are you saying I'm incapable of kicking his ass without my quirk or hands free?"
From his tone, Izuku knew that Katsuki was offended but knew that Izuku didn't have ill intentions when he pointed out the issue of chains.
"Never," Izuku smiled at him through the pain. "Just that you might have a bit of trouble, is all."
Katsuki huffed in lieu of a reply.
They sat there in silence, not peaceful exactly, but comforting nonetheless.
After about thirty minutes, Katsuki spoke up.
"How's your leg?" He asked.
"Bearable," Izuku said, looking up at the padded ceiling. "I felt the shock all throughout my body. It was painful, but I've had it worse."
Katsuki scoffed. "Just because you've felt worse pain doesn't mean it wasn't bad, Deku."
"I know," Izuku shifted his head to look at his blond companion. "How long do you think we've been here? Someone has got to be looking for us by now, right?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm hungry as fuck, so it must've been awhile. I know the idiots will be looking for us, they can't go a day without pestering me." Katsuki mentioned.
"Now that you mention it, I'm also hungry." Almost like it was queued, Izuku's stomach growled at the admission. "Us not being at work is also a giant red flag. So even if we don't get out of here ourselves, I have trust in our friends to find us."
Katsuki hummed, "Yeah."
They sat in silence yet again after that until it was broken by a soft snore. Katsuki looked over at Izuku who was sound asleep, his lips slightly parted and his eyelashes casting a shadow on his freckled cheeks.
He found himself thinking he would protect Izuku with his life, that he would die for him and not just out of the urge to be a hero to him. Seeing Izuku get hurt for his own comment hurt not only his pride but his heart as well. He knew he cared about Izuku, and clearly the villain had that knowledge as well, seeing as he went for Izuku instead of him. As a hero he's not supposed to kill villains unless absolutely necessary, but when Izuku was being electrocuted he had the strong urge to blow the fucker to bits, consequences be damned. But he was useless in helping. His quirk was blocked, his arms locked behind his back, but now that it was over he felt like he could've done something. What he could've done, he didn't know, but it also could've caused the villain to be even more pissed off and to hurt Deku even more. He felt helpless and he hated it. He didn't know what to do.
He stared at Izuku, watching his chest move up and down, his breathing slow. He watched him until he fell asleep himself.
-
The next time Izuku awoke (was it day or night?), it was to the sound of Katsuki yelling.
"You bastard! What the hell is your problem?!" Katsuki screamed at Grim, who was standing above Izuku.
Izuku didn't even sense his presence. Danger Sense was a part of his quirk, but his quirk was blocked by the chains/handcuffs.
Those black, dark, unsettling eyes were peering down at him and they seemed emotionless. But the knife in his hand showed that whatever emotion he was feeling was not a good one.
"Awake, dear hero? Wanted to witness the start of the show?" The hooded figure asked.
Izuku stared right back at him, his face void of emotion. He didn't know what came over him at that moment, but he felt himself spit on Grim. "No matter what you deem right, what you're doing is definitely wrong and a crime. You're just a crazy maniac." His green eyes held irritation (perhaps Kacchan was rubbing off on him).
He heard Katsuki choke slightly to his right, muffling his laughter.
Black eyes widened, then narrowed. "Oh, I see how it is. Little hero wants to play? Then let's play." He smiled down at Izuku, all his sharp teeth on show.
He brought his knife towards Izuku's throat and trailed it from there up his chin to his cheek, slightly piercing into his skin, leaving a line of blood up to where he stopped on his cheek bone.
Katsuki was thrashing in his chains hold, the chains rattling Izuku's own.
Izuku didn't flinch at the knife's cut, he didn't want to give Grim the satisfaction he was looking for.
"No reaction? That's no fun," Grim exaggeratedly pouted. "You see, I want to hear you scream. I want to see your fear, want to taste it." He brought the knife up to his mouth and let Izuku's blood drip into his tongue.
Izuku and Katsuki both stared at him in disgust at the action. The man was an absolute psycho.
"Doesn't matter, anyhow. That was nothing, the real show will be much more fun." The villain said, addressing both Katsuki and Izuku.
After staring at them for an uncomfortable amount of time, he left the room for a brief moment only to come back with a metal chair. The thing about the chair was that it had straps, belt-like straps that were meant to hold down.
The childhood friends stared at it, their eyes widening in panic in realization of what it was and what Grim planned to do with it.
"Now that's what I want to see," Grim said, his voice hysterical and unhinged. "Show me your fear, heroes."
Izuku stared at Katsuki, trying to converse with him through looks alone. He was scared, they both were.
"I think," The villain started pulling the chair into the room, scratching its legs on the floor like nails across a chalkboard. "That it's time to start. Any volunteers?" He asked like they were at a carnival playing some sort of fun game.
When neither of them said a word and only glared at him, he brought his hand to his chin, pretending to contemplate his next move. "I know! How about I play Eenie Meenie Miney Mo!"
With an unwavering glare, Katsuki growled at him.
"Now, now, Dynamight, that's not very nice." Grim tsked. "We play fairly and nicely here."
"What kind of messed up game is this?!" Izuku shouted.
Katsuki, at the same time as Izuku, whispered, "You're fucking demented."
"SILENCE!" Grim bellowed. After taking a breath, he smiled at them, "Now boys, let's start, shall we?"
"Stop!"
"You fucke-"
Grim lifted his thin hand up, ghostly gray like his face, and pointed at Katsuki first.
"Eenie," Grim started the rhyme as Katsuki fumed.
"Meenie," Izuku stared at the finger pointing at him, feeling tense.
"Miney," The finger was back to Katsuki.
"Mo," Grim smirked at Izuku.
"Catch a," Katsuki shifted when the finger was pressed into his forehead, and Izuku thrashed in his chains as he yelled at Grim to get his hands off of Katsuki.
"Tiger," The boney finger pressed into Izuku's forehead.
"By the," Grim stood back, still smiling, with his finger pointed at Katsuki.
"Toe," Izuku's face was twisted in anger.
"If he," Katsuki started cursing Grim out, who continued, unbothered.
"Hollers," Izuku attempted to bite the finger as it came towards him.
"Let him," Grim laughed at Izuku's attempt as he pointed at Katsuki yet again.
"Go," Izuku yelled as Grim stepped on his leg.
"Out," Katsuki kicked Grim's leg, making his arm shift, but the finger still continued moving.
"Goes," Izuku sat still, glaring at Grim with the fury of a thousand suns.
"Y-O-U," Grim ended, his finger unmoving as he pointed at Katsuki.
Izuku stared at the finger, to its owner, to Katsuki, and then back again over and over in shock. He didn't want to believe what was happening or what would happen now that Grim had ended the rhyme.
"It seems we have a winner! You like winning, don't you, Katsuki?" Grim mocked.
"Go fuck yourself, Grim," Katsuki spat at him.
"You'll lose that attitude of yours soon enough." The villain laughed.
He then started to drag a kicking and cursing Katsuki to the restraining chair.
"NO!" Izuku screamed, his voice desperate. "LET HIM GO. LEAVE KACCHAN ALONE!"
Grim punched Katsuki, who was struggling, in order to stun him enough to strap his legs to the chair. He hit him hard enough to knock him out, his head snapping to the side limply, and Izuku got pissed at the sight.
"You asshole! Let him go right now! I'll kill you!" He yelled at Grim. His face was completely red, and he was angry, oh so angry, but he was also terrified.
"No can do, Greenie." Grim looked back at Izuku, but his face was indifferent. "You see, your friend here is being punished. It's quite sad they don't use the electric chair anymore, such a beautiful thing it is. Don't worry though, your turn will be coming up. Wouldn't want you to feel left out. We can't have that."
Izuku felt nothing but utter hatred for the man standing before him. He wanted to kill him, as unheroic as that thought is. But he doesn't care if it's unheroic, Grim hurt Kacchan, and he plans to hurt him more and worse.
Grim left the room again, all while Izuku screamed his throat raw yelling at him.
When he returned, it was with something new. He held a bucket of water with ice.
The villain dumped the water over Katsuki's head, shocking him awake.
Spluttering, Katsuki yelled, "What the fuck?!"
"KACCHAN!" Izuku screamed.
"Deku?" Katsuki questioned.
"Kacchan! Oh my God. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Izuku started crying.
"What for? This isn't your fault, Deku." Katsuki tried to reassure him.
"It should be me. I should be there, not you!" Izuku sobbed, tears running down his face with no sign of stopping.
"Don't say that! And I'm not going to die, I'm fine!" Katsuki chastised him.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it, you're in love with one another. Blah blah blah. Touchy moment's over. Now, would you shut up?" Grim interrupted their conversation, his tone annoyed.
"What?!" Izuku spluttered, surprised.
"We're not!" Katsuki tried to deny, his face turning red from embarrassment to which he hoped would be seen as from anger.
"Such liars, the both of you," Grim rolled his eyes. "Now, back to Dynamight's punishment.
Grim looked down at Katsuki who was soaked from the water and was looking rather pissed. "Any last words?" He asked, jokingly.
"Fuck." Katsuki smacked his head into Grim's, "You."
"Feisty." Grim said as he stepped back from Katsuki, a hand on his throbbing head.
"Serves you right," Izuku snarled.
"Oh, I wouldn't be too happy there, Hero Deku. Your boyfriend here is about to die, and you're next."
"Fuck you." Izuku said, repeating Katsuki's earlier words, his voice firm and a smirk on his face.
Katsuki stared at Izuku in shock, then burst into laughter. "Damn, Deku." He smiled at him.
Grim snarled at the pair and slapped Katsuki for good measure. "Shut up, the both of you!"
He then held Katsuki by the neck and activated his quirk.
"You….urg," Katsuki grit his teeth at the pain, trying to hold back a scream.
"NO! KACCHAN!"
Grim smirked. "Not so snarky now, are ya?"
"I'll stop it! Please, just let him go!" Izuku tried to plead.
The villain just laughed maniacally. "I don't think I will."
He applied more pressure to Katsuki's neck and upped the voltage to a point where Katsuki could no longer hold in his scream.
"ARGHHHH" Katsuki thrashed in his restraints, sweat shining his skin, mixing with the water that was dumped on his head.
Unable to take it anymore, with the villain's attention all on Katsuki, Izuku started to try to break out of the chains on his wrists.
"Please," he said, his voice desperate like he was, but with a purpose of sounding defeated instead of determined. "Stop this, please!"
Grim ignored him as he continued to torture Katsuki with his quirk.
Izuku let himself babble pleads and curses alike as he shifted his hands in the chains, twisting them and adjusting them in a way that he knew would break them. It was the only way to get out of them right then, and breaking bones was nothing to him, nothing compared to what Katsuki meant to him.
He cried out in pain, but it could easily be taken as the anguish of seeing his loved one tortured. He felt as his bones were crushed by the hard steel chains, but he persevered by reminding himself it was for Katsuki's sake, 'No one hurts Kacchan and gets away with it. No one.'
The whole time Grim remained unaware of Izuku's plan, which was to his advantage. Izuku slipped his hands free of the cuffs and tried to see if he could activate One For All. Unfortunately, the cuffs seemed to have an aftereffect, so he couldn't activate it. To his relief, though, he could feel it.
Katsuki continued to thrash and scream as he was tortured and Grim continued to laugh.
Izuku saw red.
His body moved on its own accord and then one second he was on the floor, just free of the chains, the next he was kicking Grim off of Katsuki and punching him.
"Ugh," Grim grunted as his head knocked against the floor. "How did you get out?!" He yelled at Izuku as they wrestled on the floor.
Izuku couldn't hear him, though, he could only hear the blood rushing in his ears and the sound of his racing heartbeat as he snarled at the man who dared to hurt Katsuki.
Katsuki had stopped screaming but he remained dazed on the chair as his eyes were at half-mast, barely aware of his surroundings.
Izuku punched Grim everywhere, his face, his stomach, wherever he could reach. Grim spit out blood at the rough punch to his stomach, but he was unwilling to take everything Izuku was doing.
As Izuku was determined, unseeing of anything except hurting the villain, Grim slowly lifted the knife from earlier out of his cloak and stabbed Izuku in his stomach.
At the strike, Izuku flinched for a moment, his eyes widening in shock, then shifting to seething anger. He spoke no words, only animalistic sounds as Blackwhip suddenly sprouted out of his back and picked Grim up and slammed him into the wall.
Hearing the loud noise, Katsuki groggy, but more aware, looked over to where Izuku had Grim held by the throat with Blackwhip, his broken hands were hanging limply at his sides and blood was steadily drenching his white 'T-shirt' shirt and dripping onto the white floor.
The sight had him focused, not unlike the shocking clarity of sobriety after being drunk.
"Deku!" He yelled hoarsely at the unresponsive green-eyed boy.
When there was no response, Katsuki got even more worried.
Izuku's focus was on Grim and nowhere else. It was as if he was in a trance. Blackwhip's grip on Grim was so tight that it caused him to be knocked unconscious but Izuku was unaware. He was running on pure adrenaline and anger and his eyes were misted over.
"IZUKU," Katsuki tried again, desperate.
The yell seemed to snap Izuku out of his trance as he dropped Grim and turned to stare at Katsuki in relief.
"Kacchan?" he asked, almost as if he were in disbelief. "You're okay?"
Katsuki could tell Izuku was not okay from not only his injury in his stomach, but now with a closer inspection of him, Katsuki could see that whatever wound had been on his head when they first woke up was reopened and bleeding as well, staining his green locks red.
"Yeah, Izuku," Katsuki spoke softly, reassuringly. "I'm alive and okay. We're both okay."
Izuku was responsive, but still out of it. "Kacchan's okay? I'm glad." He smiled at Katsuki, only one corner of his mouth upturned. "You're safe?" He then asked, needing to be sure.
Katsuki was growing more worried by the minute. "You got him, Deku. It's over." He tried to reassure him. He could tell Deku was delirious.
At Katsuki's confirmation, Izuku walked over to where he was restrained to the chair and unbuckled his legs, then ripped off the chains with green sparks dancing around his skin.
As soon as his hands were free, Katsuki rubbed the sore skin. What he wasn't expecting was for Deku to start to fall over, but it happened.
His reflexes quick, Katsuki caught him and cradled him against his chest. "Deku?" he questioned, startled. "Deku, what's wrong?"
Eyes glazed over, Izuku stared up at Katsuki from where his head lay on his collar bone. "You're warm, Kacchan," was all he offered.
Panicked, Katsuki brought a hand up to Izuku's forehead to feel it and was unsurprised to find it to be hot.
"Shit," he cursed.
"Kacchan's funny." Izuku giggled in his grip.
"Is that so, nerd," Katsuki said, indulgent.
"Ye..ah," Izuku said, his speech broken and his eyelids fluttering.
"No," Katsuki tapped Izuku's cheek lightly. "You gotta stay awake, Izuku. Don't close your eyes."
"'M not gon' sleep, Kacchan. Jus' restin' my eyes 's all," Izuku slurred.
"You can't do that, Deku. You gotta stay awake for me, okay?" Katsuki pleaded, his hand swiping gently under Izuku's eyes.
With horror, Katsuki felt as Izuku's blood started to seep even further on his shirt and through it onto his other hand where he was holding him up.
"Kacchan is pr'tty," Izuku smiled up at him, eyes lidded and heavy with sleep.
Katsuki slid his hand from Izuku's cheek to hold the back of his head, cradling it. "Tell me that when we're out of this dump, dork." He said with a slight smile.
"'Kay," Izuku said as he nuzzled his head further into Katsuki's embrace.
It was then that the door to the padded room flew open revealing pro heroes Shoto, Uravity, Red Riot, and Eraser Head.
"What have you problem children gotten yourselves into this time," Aizawa sighed.
"Bakugo! What happened?" Eijiro exclaimed as he rushed towards his friend's side. When he saw the body Katsuki was cradling, he gasped. "Holy shit, is that Midoriya?!"
"Deku?" Ochako rushed over.
"Midoriya!" Shoto followed.
The room turned into a loud ruckus once the heroes saw Izuku's condition, so much so that they overwhelmed Katsuki and he snapped.
"SHUT UP!" Katsuki roared over them. "I can fill you guys in on what happened while we were here later. Right now, Deku needs medical attention."
"Bakugo is right," Aizawa spoke up. "We need to get him to a hospital."
Ochako, Shoto, and Eijiro nodded in agreement, calming themselves.
"Alright, I'll get Midoriya-" Kirishima started to grab Izuku, only for Katsuki to smack his hand away.
"No, I've got him," Katsuki told him, his voice firm.
"Bro, you've been through a lot, I can tell. I can carry hi-" Eijiro tried to reason.
"No!" Katsuki interrupted him. "I said I've got him." He stared Kirishima dead in the eyes, his own conveying that his decision was final.
Kirishima sighed, but nodded his head. "Alright, you got him." He stared at Katsuki knowingly, restraining a smile from breaking out on his face.
Katsuki glared back, but Kirishima knew they would have a talk about it later.
"Let's go," Shoto startled them. "Midoriya needs to go sooner than later." His tone was serious but his eyes held the same look as Ejiro's.
Looking around the room, Katsuki saw the same look in the other's eyes as well (fuck them all).
Katsuki huffed, then adjusted his hold on Izuku to a bridal carry. He followed everyone out of the room because he didn't know anything about the place they were, and they made their way out of the building (which turned out to be hidden underground) and out to where there were police and ambulances on standby.
--
When Izuku woke up, he was on high alert, still thinking he was in captivity with Katsuki and that Grim was torturing Katsuki.
He sat up with a deep inhale and looked around, prepared for a fight. Instead of white padded walls and chains, however, he saw white walls, blue curtains, and red eyes staring at him in relief.
"Kacchan!" Izuku spoke, his relief evident. "When did we get out of there? How did we get out of there? Where's Grim? Are you okay? How long have I been-" He had so many questions and he craved answers.
"Calm down, Deku." Katsuki urged him. "We got out of there yesterday. Aizawa, Kirishima, Pink Cheeks, and Icy-Hot found us through our phones that were somewhere in that place through a tracking system.They got us out of there, although we could've done it ourselves." He left out a small huff at that admission. "You beat the everloving shit out of Grim and he's currently in police custody. You've been in here for around half a day and you just underwent surgery on your stomach and hands, so be careful you little shit." He added the last part as he saw Izuku shifting around in his bed.
Izuku blushed at being called out and averted his gaze. "And you? You're okay?" He asked, his voice low.
"Thanks to you, yeah." Katsuki said. When he saw Izuku look back up at him in surprise and happiness, he quickly added, "Don't let that get to your head, though."
"I won't," Izuku let out an airy laugh, but stopped when he felt the movement pull at stitches. "Ouch."
"I told you to be careful, idiot," Katsuki said worriedly, making his way over to Izuku's hospital bed.
"It's fine, Kacchan. I just didn't realize I had stitches." Izuku told him, taking his hand.
"Be more careful." Katsuki scolded him.
"I will, promise," Izuku smiled at him.
"Y'know," Katsuki started, his fingers gliding across the scarred skin of Izuku's hand, "For all the bullshit that that bastard villain spouted, he did say one truth."
Izuku gasped in disbelief. "You've got to be joking with me! He was full of shit!"
Katsuki laughed. "He was, wasn't he? But yeah, he did say one truth."
Deciding to hear him out, Izuku asked him, "And what would that be?"
"I do recall him saying something about you being in love with me." Katsuki teased.
"No!" Izuku shouted. At Katsuki's raised eyebrow, he added, "I mean no, that's not what he said. He said that we're in love with one another. Not just me." Izuku corrected.
"Same thing," Katsuki continued to tease.
"No it's not!" Izuku said, irked. "They're two different meanings!"
"Are they, though?" Katsuki didn't let up, finding Izuku's reactions amusing.
"Yes!" Izuku shouted.
Katsuki laughed. "Fine, they are. He still didn't lie though."
Izuku stared at him for several beats, analyzing him. "Are you implying what I think you're implying?"
"I don't know, am I?" Katsuki smirked.
"Kacchan…" Izuku said, his tone warning.
"Yes, nerd," Katsuki confirmed. "You read it right."
"Really?" Izuku smirked, trying to get back at Katsuki.
"Yes." Katsuki affirmed.
"And who said I loved you back?" Izuku questioned.
At his statement, Katsuki's smile fell. "You don't?" He asked, hurt.
"Of course I love you, you blond idiot." Izuku laughed.
"You asshole!" Katsuki laughed.
"Oh? And yet you love me," Izuku mocked.
"I'm starting to regret that decision," Katsuki pettily replied.
"Too bad! No take backs, you're mine now and I'm not letting you go!" Izuku declared, pulling Katsuki into a hug.
Katsuki's first instinct was to push Izuku away, but he relaxed into his hold. "I wouldn't take it back, Izuku," he whispered.
Izuku pulled back from the hold to look Katsuki in the eyes. "Thank you."
They stared at one another, and just when Izuku thought Katsuki was going to kiss him, he pulled away to say something.
"I don't think anyone should allow you to get drunk." He said.
"Where did that come from, Kacchan?" Izuku asked, amused.
"When you're delirious you say some embarrassing shit," Katsuki told him.
Izuku blushed at that. "Like what?"
"You called me funny and pretty. I call bullshit. I'm just hot," Katsuki smirked.
Izuku slapped Katsuki's arm lightly. "Oh, hush. And I didn't lie, you're pretty."
Katsuki stared at him blankly, unused to such a compliment. "Well you're plain," He blurted out.
Izuku pouted at him. "Mean," a beat. "Am I really?" He asked him, turning his head away because he suddenly felt insecure.
Katsuki couldn't have him being insecure. "No, I lied." Katsuki turned Izuku's head back and laid a quick but firm peck on his lips. "You're the only thing I would never get tired of looking at," He confessed.
Izuku's eyes practically sparkled. "You're secretly a romantic at heart, aren't you?"
"Like hell," Katsuki denied.
Izuku knew he was lying, but let him have the win.
"If you say so," Izuku agreed (read: lied).
"Damn straight," Katsuki said. He then pulled Izuku into another kiss, this one longer.
When they pulled apart, Izuku asked him, "Stay with me?"
Katsuki held his hands on the side of Izuku's face. "Forever," he promised.