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The rain stops falling, and everything is silent.
It takes Izuku a moment - two - to catch his breath and glance around quickly. It doesn’t feel like it’s over; part of his brain is still in fight or flight mode, strung up and waiting for a surprise attack.
There’s more silence. No attack comes. All he can hear is the sound of his own breathing.
And then the cheering starts.
He has no idea who started it, or where it first came from, but now it’s all around him. There's cheering and clapping and people yelling out in celebration. And finally the reality of it all hits him like a speeding bullet train.
They won.
The war is over.
They won.
And just like that it feels as if a massive weight had been pulled from his shoulders and he can finally breathe again. It feels so liberating and good and Izuku’s not sure whether he wants to laugh or cry, so he does both. He can almost hear Kacchan calling him a crybaby in his head and-
Kacchan.
Almost immediately, Izuku’s alert again, and he searches every nook and cranny until he finds what he's looking for. A brilliant green locks onto an even more brilliant red and the sounds of the cheering fade into oblivion. It’s like it’s only them that exist right now.
“Kacchan!”
“Izuku!”
They speak at the same time, desperate cries overlapping each other. A sob tears from Izuku’s lips and electricity crackles all around him, One For All suddenly launching him forwards. There’s not much thought to his movements, only Kacchan Kacchan and Kacchan. He wants- no, needs to get close to him. Needs to feel his skin against his own. Needs to know for sure that he’s alive.
Kacchan’s firing explosions too, soaring closer and closer to him in a brilliant blaze of glory like he always does and the moment their bodies collide, Izuku doesn’t feel any pain. Instead, shockwaves set his entire being alight and he immediately pulls Kacchan into a bone-crushing hug.
Kacchan is quick to reciprocate, bringing his arms around Izuku and grabbing onto the fabric of his shirt like it's a lifeline. It’s the kind of grip that doesn’t let Izuku escape easily, the kind that says I thought I lost you and I’m never letting you go ever again .
Izuku can’t find his voice as his body shakes violently in Kacchan's hold, only able to let out a series of choked “Kacchans” as he cries and cries and cries. Because he's terrified. He nearly lost him. Being able to feel the heat of his body against his - his heartbeat - all but breaks him. Because this is confirmation that he's really alive. That this isn't some sick and twisted dream he's going to wake up from in a world where Kacchan no longer exists.
He doesn't know how long it takes, but eventually he manages to get control of his breathing again. One stuttering breath at a time. But even then, his grip doesn't falter in the slightest. Neither of theirs does. They’re not ready to let go. They're still both processing. There’s still so much to say.
"I thought- I thought I lost you Kacchan," Izuku manages out, voice small and muffled from where it's buried in Kacchan’s shoulder. A warm hand rubs up and down his back in response, and he all but melts underneath it.
“I know,” Kacchan replies, sounding tired and yet so understanding that it breaks Izuku down even more. He could’ve missed out on this. In another universe, in one where Kacchan didn’t survive, Izuku would never know what it felt like to be held by him; how perfectly his own body fit against his. Izuku grips Kacchan even tighter.
“Don’t- don’t you dare do something like that ever again, Kacchan. Please. I don’t- I don’t think I can do this again. I just-” his breath hitches and he squeezes his eyes shut, the knot in his throat tightening so much that the task of getting words out seems close to impossible right now. “I can’t…” he rasps out feebly. Like the broken wreck he is.
For a moment, all is silent, and then he can feel Kacchan pulling away slightly. It takes everything within him not to protest. Now separated and with nowhere to hide, Izuku stares at the floor. Unable to bring himself to look at Kacchan now that he’s finally been able to process and realize everything that he’s to blame for. There’s a reason for why this reunion hurts so much. There’s a reason for why Kacchan's covered in so much blood. And it’s all him. He did this. He-
“Izuku,” Kacchan's voice sounds heartbreakingly close to a desperate plea. “Just shut up. Look at me.”
Izuku blinks, those words shocking him back to life enough to make him pull away and force himself to look into Kacchan's eyes instead. The moment he does, he wonders for a brief moment if he’s accidentally activated gearshift with the way all the air seems to leave his lungs.
Kacchan's eyes aren’t dull anymore; no longer open and lifeless and staring at him accusingly. They’re alive. Full of fire and passion and emotion. It’s got everything that made it so hard for Izuku to look away in the first place. Heck, even now, even when he knows he doesn’t deserve to be on eye level with Kacchan after all the misery he’s caused, he can’t take his eyes away. He’ll probably never be able to. He’s beautiful.
It’s only then when realization strikes. It comes crashing down on him like a bucket of cold water and his heartbeat starts pounding rapidly against his ribcage. He loves him. Has probably loved him for a while now. That thought is terrifying and new and yet it makes sense. It was always going to be Kacchan, wasn’t it? He was the only one he could imagine having a future with.
Izuku blinks away his tears at this realisation and brings a hand to clutch at the fabric of his shirt, right above his racing heartbeat. He needs Kacchan to know. He nearly lost him. And the very thought of risking losing him again, this time without ever knowing his true feelings hurts Izuku more than any of the injuries scattered across his body ever could.
“Kacchan I-”
He falls silent when a warm hand cups his cheek.
“I know.”
If Izuku couldn’t bring his gaze away from Kacchan before, he definitely can’t now. The look he’s giving him is full of raw emotion; all soft and understanding and hopeful. It’s a look that makes Izuku’s heart stutter. One that makes his palms slick with sweat and awakes this sensation deep within his chest. It yearns for everything that is Kacchan. His touch. His smell. His lips. Everything.
Izuku opens his mouth to say something more, to try and articulate everything he feels right now but before he can get the words out, Kacchan’s lips crash against his own.
It only takes Izuku a second to process what’s happening, and another for him to freak out. Because Kacchan is kissing him. This doesn’t feel real, it can’t possibly be real - yet the lips against his are rough and warm and everything that is Kacchan that it can’t possibly be anything but.
It’s only then when he realises that he still hasn’t kissed back, and so he shifts - body moving as if it’s known what to do since day one - to reciprocate.
The kiss is more than just the feel of lips against lips. It sends shockwaves down Izuku’s skin. Conveys feelings that words never could. Tells Izuku that Kacchan wants this as much as he does. Makes his heart jackhammer against his chest and overwhelms him with emotion. It’s desperate and messy and becomes more and more heated as time passes. Kacchan kisses him like it’s his last minutes on earth, and Izuku kisses back like he’s been waiting since day one to do this.
Maybe he has.
Regardless, Izuku feels like the luckiest guy to ever walk the earth. And for the second time that day, Katsuki feels alive again.
They kiss until they no longer can; until their lungs are screaming for air. And when they do pull away, there’s only mere inches between their faces. Izuku can feel Kacchan’s breath against his skin, and the warmth of it sends pleasant tingles down his spine. He knows that he’s smiling like an idiot, but he can't bring himself care. Nothing else matters except for the fact that Kacchan had just kissed him. Him.
Izuku’s grin widens and he's the first to break the silence. “So, Kacchan Bakugou, huh?”
He’s expecting a sneer or a glare in response to that, but Kacchan surprises him by smiling back and leaning forwards to close the distance between them. “The one and only,” he mumbles against his lips.
Izuku all but turns to putty, letting the warmth freely spread throughout his body as he closes his eyes and gives himself to Kacchan, completely and fully in a way he never could with anyone else. He smiles into the kiss.
Yeah, he could get used to this.