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There’s a faint wind in Izuku’s apartment.
Oddly enough, there are no windows open or fans on, making the gust of wind out of place in an otherwise stagnant room. Curtains rustle, the book pages in his hands start flipping, and the candles on the floor almost go out. He ignores them all, making sure his blackout curtains are still covering the window before taking a deep breath.
On the bright side, Midoriya Izuku is also out of place. He’s standing at a good 5’7” with his platform shoes on, and the brim of his black hat sits nicely on his curly green hair as he cracks his knuckles and starts reciting Latin from the book in his hand. The candlelight glints off his rings, and Izuku’s talon earrings start to twirl, being pushed back by the unknown wind.
“I have answered your call, mortal, and what is it you—”
There’s a pause and a hum from the summoning circle. Izuku gives it a moment and decides to fix his dramatic, long flowy cape before he hears an excited, “You’re here!”
Flames burst from the hardwood floor and shower Izuku in bright red sparks, making him wrinkle his nose as claws emerge from the ground and scrape their way to the surface. Jet black horns, curving to a bright red color scheme, appear as Kirishima Eijirou lifts himself out of the demon realm and stands in Izuku’s bedroom.
Izuku takes a moment to survey his surroundings, hands on his hips as he has to stand even taller to meet Kirishima’s eyes. “Long time no see!” he says, trying to mask the way he wants to throw himself into his arms. “How’s it going, Kiri?”
“It’s boring in the demon realm,” Kirishima whines, stepping out of the circle and shaking himself like a dog. Izuku dodges his large dragon wings and almost trips on a candle before a taloned hand grabs his arm and yanks him upright. “Watch your step, Midoriya! You could start a fire in your apartment!”
Izuku gives him a withering look and tries not to laugh as he gestures to the demonic fire that was there less than a minute ago. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one about to cost me my deposit if you keep that up. Besides, you’re not the one who’s going to deal with other witches and creatures out there! You get to go home after the circle’s out of power!”
“And those are my least favorite times.” Kirishima sighs, pretending to wipe away a tear as Izuku giggles. “How’s life in the human world? Are people still being mean or underestimating you again? If we find a long-lasting power source, I can actually stay with you longer so I can scare them off!”
“You don’t have to do that,” Izuku assures him, trying not to think about his current friendships. So far, he’s got a demon and maybe the nice space witch that lives several blocks away, but he’s not having any luck so far. His magic’s based on being a jack-of-all-trades witch, and it basically brands him as “useless” to everyone else. He doesn’t specialize in anything and stays as average as he can be.
Kirishima frowns at him, then shows off his grin to make Izuku smile again. “Alright then! Talk to me about your theories for how to balance your magic again. I wanna see if any of my abilities will help you either increase your power or just look really cool!”
Izuku affectionately rolls his eyes and leads Kirishima out of the summoning circle, smiling as the demon happily stretches his limbs and ignores the pull of magic in his gut. Having a demon as a familiar really drains his magic supply, since he’s not a shapeshifter or animal suited to bond to witches. He’s out of his element here, and makes sure the tether to Kirishima’s soul is strong and steady, just like him.
“So I was walking my friend’s hellhounds the other day.” Kirishima starts telling a story, laughing as he raids Izuku’s fridge. “And that jerk didn’t tell me he trained them to tackle down another one of our friends! I ran across him on a jog with the hounds and sure enough, they clotheslined him! Poor guy. I took a few photos before I helped him up though, you wanna see them?”
As Kirishima starts swiping through whatever device is holding his photos, Izuku gazes lovingly at him and thinks, Maybe I can keep him around longer this time so we can go on a date and hold hands like an actual couple.
Wait.
Izuku short-circuits, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Kirishima. “Hey, you alright?” the demon asks, always too nice for his own good. “Midoriya? Sit down, I’ll get you some water from your Brita! The tether just flickered and you haven’t stumbled like this in a long time.”
There’s a demon rushing around Izuku’s apartment as he sinks onto his shitty couch, and Izuku’s come to the horrifying realization that he’s in love with him after spending so much time with him.
Son of a bitch.
The first time Izuku decides to summon a demon, he isn’t planning to meet a relatively nice one. He’s completely ready to sell his soul, or do some other immoral activity to achieve his goal of getting a familiar, but he is completely blindsided by the one he bonds with.
It took him about fifteen books and several attempts to gather the proper items, since every single answer varied in how to do it correctly, and Izuku had knocked over a lamp and cut himself on accident before realizing that this ritual indeed required blood. Not that bad, considering it was for a demonic summoning. It also needed several strange chalk symbols and some rare phoenix dust that Izuku had a pack of since he’d helped out someone weeks ago and was given the pouch for his assistance.
Izuku drops a good amount of blood on the chalk before the circle starts glowing and smoke fills the room. A clawed hand emerges from the ground and makes deep scratches in the fake wood, screeching to a halt. Feeling his magic flare and spark, he grits his teeth and tries to not panic as the demon gets to his feet and stands up, going higher and higher.
Oh boy.
“I have answered your call, mortal, and what is it you require from me?” The demon booms, flexing his arms dramatically. Izuku keeps on staring at him. “Your summoning circle spoke of your genuine intentions, and I have come to offer my power for a price!”
“Ah,” is Izuku’s first word to the (frankly gorgeous) demon that looks down at him. “Hi? My name’s Midoriya Izuku, and I’m a witch! I was hoping I could potentially talk to you about, I don’t know, being my familiar or just a friend if that’s okay…?”
There’s a pause, and the demon blinks at him, looking confused. “You… want me to be your friend? You didn’t summon me for literally anything else? Or anything bad against the general human population?”
“No? Should I have?” Izuku blinks at him. “It’s just, no other familiars fit my aesthetic or my vibe, so I thought I’d look somewhere else that could potentially answer my call! I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, honestly. I’m sorry if I wasted your time.”
The dramatic smokescreen and lights stop, and Izuku’s heart stutters as the demon leans down and grins at him with teeth that could slice open a vein in a heartbeat. “Ooh, you’re a fun one!” he says, dropping the echo and boom from his vocal cords. “I’d be down for that if you’re willing to make a blood contract with me, Midoriya Izuku! Whaddya say?”
Staring at his glowing red talons, Izuku leans forward with a cut palm and confidently grabs it in a strong handshake. His blood burns, and there’s a strange sensation of something getting branded on his forearm. Upon checking later, there’s a tattoo freshly marked in the shape of dark red gears interlocking, along with the demon’s name in his mind: Kirishima Eijirou.
Kirishima Eijirou lives and resides in the demon realm, a low ranking demon who’s 6’4” with long red hair flowing down his back. His black to red horns make the prettiest gradient Izuku has ever seen in his life, along with those leathery dragon wings and deep red eyes, and honestly, Izuku finds him hot. Can you blame him? A jack-of-all-trades witch like himself bonding with a demon who didn’t want something like a body part or another person dead? He lucked out big time.
Since Izuku’s magic isn’t strong enough to keep Kirishima around for too long, and Kirishima still has to spend some time in the demon realm, they’ve decided their schedule should be based on Izuku’s magic supply. When he’s feeling strong enough, he’ll call upon his familiar/friend/now crush, and they’re off to the races, trading stories and helping each other get stronger.
After Izuku panics about his newfound feelings, the two part when Kirishima’s assured that nothing’s wrong and he has to go back home again. Izuku goes to take off his shoes and cleans up the chalk dust from the floor (no one wants to be summoned by stale chalk, y’know?) when the circle pulses once, twice, and continues on like a phone call.
There’s another call from the summoning circle. Izuku pauses from where he’s removing his boots and jams them back on, narrowing his eyes and trying to fix his hat. Kirishima wouldn’t call again without a heads up first, so who—?
Izuku’s room is suddenly washed in blood red lighting, and every single candle bursts into flame. There’s a burning inferno of heat and fire melting the wax, and Izuku scrambles for his magic, trying to focus it into an offensive spell before the intruder takes form.
He’s too late; a demon rips his way through the spell meant for his familiar, standing slightly taller than Kirishima, spewing fire and smoke from his mouth. This is the aura of a high-ranking demon, and yet, Izuku doesn’t falter or flinch in his presence.
“Moron,” the demon starts, blood-red eyes flaring as he puts his hands on his hips. “Are you the one contracted with Kirishima Eijirou?”
“And what about it?” Izuku asks, a bit testy. He has no idea how he’s gonna get soot streaks out of his floor, but he’s already not looking forward to it. “What do you want? You’re standing in my home territory, sir. Please make your voice lower, by the way; I really don’t want tinnitus at a relatively young age. You’re not my familiar, so be very careful about what you say next.”
“Feisty.” the demon laughs. “You got a name and title? I’m Bakugou Katsuki, the most powerful demon out there! Your ‘familiar’ is someone I can actually tolerate, so it’s my business on what you want with him. Why’d he say yes to you, anyways?”
“My name’s Midoriya Izuku, low-ranking, jack-of-all-trades witch. Is it your goal to try and split us up?” Izuku demands. “I summoned a demon who claims he’s low ranking and has enough power to easily tear this apartment down to its foundations. I don’t know why he chose me, over everyone else who could have potentially called him, but I’m fighting to earn his time and attention!”
“Do you even know how hard it is to get his stupid ritual down?” Bakugou asks, leaning down to puff smoke in Izuku’s face. Izuku chokes for a second before glaring up at the demon. “Kirishima’s an idiot, but he’s powerful as hell. To summon him, you need all the details of his stupid circle and actual good intentions. He could’ve been in my rank but he decided to be all nice and shit.”
“And what's wrong with that?” Izuku snarls, suddenly glad he chose to keep his platforms on as he attempts to stand on his toes to jab a finger into Bakugou’s chest. “It doesn't matter what rank he is to me, he’s my familiar and my demon and you damn well better respect that! He’s everything I could’ve asked for, and he chooses to be kind and my best friend!”
His magic swirls around the two of them, sharp and furious, and Bakugou’s nose wrinkles before he looks closer at Izuku. The witch doesn’t know what he sees, but he clearly passes some test when Bakugou huffs out a laugh.
“And you said you’re a small-time witch trying to make it in the world?” Bakugou narrows his eyes before snorting. “Well, shit, I just figured it out. You both require intricate magic to fully operate, and you’re underestimating yourselves. Look, Deku—”
“It’s Izuku.” The witch glares at him.
Bakugou waves his hand. “Semantics. You think Kiri’s hot shit and you’re just a worthless excuse of a witch, yeah? If I flip the goddamn script, he thinks the exact same thing; that he’s just a worthless demon and you’re hot shit. In summary, you’re both stupid and I’m tired of hearing him talk about you.”
Izuku’s heart flutters. “He talks about me?”
“Not the point,” Bakugou snaps. “Do something about it already before I ban him from seeing you or I steal your materials and make sure you can’t summon him again.”
Izuku turns up his nose and flips him off. “You can try, asshole! For him, it’s worth getting all those ingredients back!” And, because Izuku was raised by his mama, he awkwardly gestures to the rest of his apartment. “Ah, sorry. Do… do you want any refreshments? Snacks or something? I’ve got a Brita if you want water?”
Bakugou stares at him. “How old is your filter?”
“...Two months?”
The circle wavers, and Bakugou breaks his way out of it with no hesitation. He stomps off to Izuku’s kitchen, muttering under his breath. Izuku thinks he’s made a new friend and gotten his approval in the process.
Izuku’s in love with Kirishima.
There’s a moment where he considers burying his feelings and trying to never think of them again. That, of course, doesn’t work at all, and he genuinely wants to see if he’s got a chance to go on a first date with his crush.
He knows he can’t put it off any longer when his magic swells and flares on a day that he’s made up his mind. Izuku can feel his chest pulse with magic, and he knows the time has come to talk to Kirishima about his feelings.
And maybe hanging out with Kirishima for so long has given Izuku courage, some reassurance that even if Kirishima rejects him, he’ll still have the strength to keep on going and keep fighting for something bigger than himself. He’s worth it.
With that knowledge, Izuku’s frantic as he rips open drawers to find his phoenix dust. He finds the packet and yanks his lighter out of his pockets, trying not to let his rings get tangled in various chains as he sets up the candles in the proper formation and lights them.
Sprinkling the phoenix dust on the ground, Izuku finds that he doesn’t even need his blood or the book of Latin. He takes a deep breath, not noticing that his aura is starting to glow a deep red color, and shouts, “KIRISHIMA EIJIROU!”
The room shakes, sending magic everywhere and exploding into sparks. Izuku stumbles and nearly falls but manages to stay upright, gasping as the ground practically tears itself open. Kirishima bursts out of the demon realm, nearly feral as he flexes his claws and snarls, “What’s going on?!”
Izuku stares at him with his hat covering his right eye, eyes wide as he fearlessly steps forward and fully understands what’s happening. With all the time that Izuku’s been practicing and getting better at magic, while also falling in love with a demon, he hadn’t realized that he’d encountered one of the oldest fuels of magic: love. In turn, his own magic is amplified, and it means that he can start summoning Kirishima purely because he wants to, even getting to skip parts of the ritual.
“I needed to talk to you,” Izuku says, voice quivering as he gives him a bright smile and fixes his slightly askew hat. “Nothing’s wrong, no one’s hurting me, I’m okay! I’m not injured or anything! I’m safe!”
Kirishima takes a moment to process his words before shaking himself and coaxing his battle characteristics down, shrinking his claws and horns and making his scales recede a bit on his body. “You scared the shit out of me,” Kirishima breathes, fire flickering around his mouth. “I thought someone hurt you, Midoriya! I wasn’t expecting such a strong… summon…”
Izuku’s eyes flicker down to the magic that’s flaring in his hands. It’s both red and green, with pink mixed in, and a pretty obvious indicator of what happened. Kirishima follows his gaze and his eyes get impossibly wide. “That’s love magic.”
“It is,” Izuku says carefully, feeling the corner of his mouth starting to quirk up. “As it turns out, I’ve fallen in love with someone very special to me. I know I’m still working to get even stronger, but I’d really like to do it with my favorite person by my side.”
Kirishima’s been staring at his lips this entire time, and then blinks rapidly. “You’re in love with me? Me? The demon that can’t even live up to the stereotype properly? I heard what Bakugou told you! You’re already such a powerful witch, y’know! You deserve a higher-ranking demon to have as your familiar and lover.”
Izuku stares at him. “I chose this for myself,” he says slowly, making sure he heard Kirishima correctly before he takes a step forward. “I chose you for myself. I’m the better version of everything I’ve ever wanted to be when I’m with you. Can’t you feel it in yourself too?”
He takes a bold step forward, right into the circle, and reaches up to cup Kirishima’s cheek with his hand, feeling his cold rings press into Kirishima’s warm skin. Izuku gets on the tips of his toes, feeling his boots flex under the stretch. He has to make it to Kirishima, to get him to understand! In his free hand, his magic lights up, and Izuku feels like he can do anything.
“I do.” Kirishima swallows, eyes wide as he stares into Izuku’s bright green gaze. “We really bring out the best in each other, huh? I figured it’d be like, really weird if I told you I was starting to get feelings for you too? I didn’t want you to think I was an incubus or anything else! I swear, I help Bakugou plan his strategic meetings—which technically only consist of how to bother Kaminari without him figuring out it was us—but I really wasn’t expecting to start loving you, y’know!”
Izuku feels breathless. His newfound love magic swirls in-between them, casting the prettiest pink glow on their faces as he smiles at Kirishima, nearly pressed against his lips. He’s still cupping Kirishima’s cheek as he leans in. “Well, jokes on you! Because I realized about a week or two ago that I was in love with you! I wasn’t expecting it either, honestly.”
“So we’re both dumb?” Kirishima jokes, still fixated on Izuku’s face. “Ah,” he starts, clawed hand hovering above Izuku’s long black cloak. “Can you… um. I’ve never kissed anyone before. Is that weird? You’d think I’d have more experience, but I have no idea what I’m doing, sorry.”
A flicker of pink magic, and Izuku recalls the one time he got pulled into a spin-the-bottle game. “Close your eyes?” He requests, feeling his soul twisting and becoming intertwined with Kirishima’s. The demon follows his ask, and Izuku carefully presses his lips against Kirishima’s, smiling wide.
Whoever said kissing feels like fireworks knew what they were talking about; Izuku’s hands, both now cupping Kirishima’s face, start glowing and making his black nail polish stand out in the lightshow. Kirishima is warm, kind, and lets Izuku set the pace, carefully putting his claws on Izuku’s cloak and tilting his hat up to allow himself better access.
Weirdly enough, his tattoo starts burning. Izuku, in heaven while still kissing Kirishima, gently pulls away and laughs when Kirishima tries to follow. “Hold on! Something’s up with your brand. I gotta check what it is—”
Izuku’s voice trails off, and Kirishima looks embarrassed. “Listen,” he says, sighing while Izuku laughs excitedly and grabs his hand. “I didn’t know branded marks could change like that! Oh my god, the gears have lines of pink in them now; they don’t look badass anymore!”
“I think they fit us just fine,” Izuku teases, and leans up to kiss his partner again with his eyes fluttering shut, feeling complete for the first time in his entire life.