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Katsuki’s whole body was aching as he sat down on Kaminari’s bed. His friends had talked him into joining them at some stupid card game after he had showered. Just the five of them – Kirishima, Kaminari, Mina, Sero and Katsuki. Something about quality time before the big fight.
“If I catch you cheating again, Dunce face”, Katsuki said warningly, eying Kaminari, “I’m leaving the fucking room.”
Kaminari rolled his eyes. “You’re way too serious about those kinds of games, you know that?”
Sero snorted. “Of course. Haven’t you met him?”
“Yeah”, Mina agreed, “Competitive as ever. Still trying to outdo Midoriya in every training session. Even when we were out searching earlier.”
Katsuki grumbled.
Their operation against Shigaraki would start in a few days and it was only mere hours ago that they’ve discovered the truth about Sparkling face. They were all still in shock, feeling a weird mixture of betrayal, sympathy and determination.
And on top of that Izuku’s words on how doing something wrong didn’t mean someone had to be a villain for the rest of their lives were still ringing in Katsuki’s head.
Katsuki was totally aware of the fact that Izuku had said these words to Aoyama but Katsuki hoped he wasn’t delusional for thinking they could also be Izuku’s response to his apology.
Katsuki sighed, rubbing his eyes. What a day.
“Coming to speak of. Say, Bakugou”, Kirishima said, “why did you snap at Midoriya earlier because he took a walk and tried to find Aoyama with Toru?”
Katsuki clicked his tongue, drawing a card from the deck since it was his turn. He had yelled at the nerd for running off without telling him and had felt bad the second his harsh words had left his mouth. But...
“Bakugou?”, Mina asked, placing a hesitant hand on his shoulder when he stayed silent for a while.
“I”, Katsuki started to say, feeling heavy all over at the thought why it had gotten under his skin so much, “I thought he’d left again.”
No one said a word for a moment.
“I mean, I kinda get it”, Sero was the one to break the silence, playing his cards, “But he promised he won’t. Maybe trust him?”
Katsuki twisted his mouth, chewing on the inner side of his cheek.
“He really makes it fucking hard though”, Katsuki admitted, “He’s been throwing himself into danger like some idiot since we were little kids and he doesn’t seem to really learn his lesson. He was like that even before getting a quirk”, Katsuki shook his head at all the memories of their childhood days.
That nerd and his mighty need to help.
“Even with the sludge villain”, Katsuki grumbled, more to himself, not really intending for anyone to hear.
Because he instantly sank too far into his own memories, feeling the overwhelming pain of being captured by that shitty villain and also the sheer dread and anger – of course, always that anger back then – when he had seen Izuku running towards him.
Katsuki now reached out for one of the glasses of water on the table, feeling himself getting worked up.
Kirishima had heard his comment though, now saying: “Yeah, that sludge monster was brutal. And for Midoriya to run towards you and confront him a second time was so manly of him.”
Katsuki heard something falling and tumbling across the mattress and carpet. It took him a second to realize it was his own glass and that he had dropped it.
“Blasty?”, Kaminari asked, surprise and worry in his tone.
But Katsuki could just stare at Kirishima. “What did you just say?”
Everyone was eying him carefully at that.
“What do you mean?”, Kirishima asked, putting his cards away, “About Midoriya coming to help you?”
“No”, Katsuki said, not really recognizing his own voice. He felt so strange right now, like he was out of his body and deep buried in it at the same time, “No, yeah. What do you mean, confronting him a second time?”
Confusion flashed over Kirishima’s face, looking over to the others. When Katsuki looked at them too, he found the same perplexed expression on their faces.
“A second time”, he empathized, growing irritated, “What the fuck do you mean by that?”
“Dude, don’t you know?”, Sero said, frowning.
Katsuki wanted to punch something. “What is it that I don’t know?!”
Again, shared glances between them. Katsuki gritted his teeth, trying to stay calm.
“Well, Blasty”, Mina was the one to finally explain, “You know, a few months ago, Midoriya was having one of his Kacchan sugoi-rants.”
Not expecting that, the blond was caught off guard and tried very hard not to blush. But judging by the heat on his face, he wasn’t doing a good job.
“And during his rambling he came to mention the sludge villain and how well you withstood him and that he really could tell since he had been caught by that villain too and that he’d thought… well, I mean, don’t get upset, okay?", she avoided looking at him, hesitating to go on.
When Katsuki made an impatient gesture, she cleared her throat and continued: "Well, he said, he felt like suffocating and like he would... you know, die after just a few moments. And then All Might came to rescue him.”
Dead silence.
After a while Katsuki’s lungs began to burn like hell and he realized he wasn’t breathing.
When he took a deep breath, it was like the world slammed back into place and he jumped to his feet, turning towards the door.
“Wait!”, Kirishima, apparently reading his mind, grabbed his arm, trying to hold him back, “Don’t run off that angry, you will start a fight and Midoriya doesn’t need that right now! And neither do you!”
Katsuki let out a frustrated groan and shook him off, knowing damn well that he was right, which was even more frustrating!
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”, Katsuki run his hands through his hair, feeling the urge to just pull and pull and pull on it until the world returned to its state from two minutes ago, “That… nerd!!”
Izuku encountering that sludge bastard before Katsuki had? Even getting captured by him?!
Katsuki was feeling sick.
“It’s so weird that you didn’t know”, Sero said into the tense silence and Mina instantly slapped his arm, telling him not to rub it into Katsuki’s face.
“I don’t mean to!”, he insisted, “I’m just saying something’s off.”
That’s when Katsuki exhaled a long deep breath, trying to remember the breathing technique Hound Dog had showed him.
“I need to be alone”, he eventually said, flashing them a brief glance, “Thanks for telling me though, I guess.”
“Are you sure you're okay, man?”, Kaminari called out when he was already opening the door.
Katsuki halted for a second, registering the absolute mess of feelings in his chest.
“Don’t know. I just need space”, he mumbled and walked out.
~~~
On the next day Katsuki was even more restless.
Their final fight was just mere days away and he just felt like he had found out something groundbreaking, without being sure if he was overreacting or if this was a totally legitimate reaction to learning your childhood friend and somewhat savior from probably the most disgusting villain ever had been his prior victim and that this said childhood dumbass friend had thrown himself into his reach again! And hadn’t deemed it important enough to tell you!
Katsuki felt like his head was about to explode while he was making his breakfast, all this stuff running through his mind.
Make a list, he reminded himself of an anger management skill, Just list it, no need to overanalyze or fucking feel it. Yet.
Okay. Making a list shouldn’t be that hard.
- Katsuki was surprised he hadn’t known about this whole thing and that Izuku had never mentioned it with a single word. Not even All Might had told him back then on Ground Beta when they had explained OFA to him. They had talked about Izuku running towards him that day but Katsuki has had no idea whatsoever that there had been a freaking background story.
- He was pissed off they hadn’t told him.
- He wanted to know why they hadn't told him.
- He felt so fucking left out.
- He was also worried Izuku was still keeping secrets from him. Was there anything else?!
- He was now even more intimidated by Izuku’s heroic nature since the nerd had already known what he was getting himself into, just like Kirishima had said.
- He was even more mad and grateful at the same time for Izuku rushing into this danger.
- Which scared him even more because the list of Izuku not taking himself into account just had gained another huge point. And-
“What are you making?”
Katsuki almost threw the spatula he was holding over his head.
“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you”, Izuku said, holding up his hands.
When Katsuki just waved it off, regaining his posture, Izuku walked up to him to look over his shoulder, eying his food.
At this proximity Katsuki's heart suddenly started to run a mile per hour. Before he could think too much about it – because recently his heart had squeezed and his stomach had flipped a few too many times when it came to the nerd – he cleared his throat and said: “Tamagoyaki with some vegetables. Want some?”
Izuku gasped. “Yes, I’d love to, thank you, Kacchan! Your cooking always tastes amazing.”
Katsuki pressed his lips together.
And his face had recently been flushing way too many times too.
~~~
“Have you talked to him?”, Kirishima curiously looked at him.
Katsuki and his friends were walking through the city, or rather what was left of it. They had teamed up at today’s searching.
“No”, the blond grumbled, “And I probably won’t.”
“What?!”
Katsuki rolled his eyes at Mina’s exaggerated expression.
“We have three days until Shigaraki is done transforming and you know the plan to make the first move. There’s no time to talk about stuff that has happened almost two years ago.”
“But there’s time to make him breakfast and banter with him over some quirk theory all morning?”, Sero arched a brow at him.
Katsuki’s mouth snapped shut.
Well. Tape got him there.
“Don’t know, Blasty”, Mina said pondering, “I don’t think not talking to him has ever brought you two anywhere whereas addressing things has made a real impact.”
“Yeah”, Kaminari agreed, “He only stopped for your words when we tried to bring him back.”
Katsuki didn’t answer, just fell into thoughts, reliving the Ground Beta fight and his apology from a few days ago.
They’ve come a long way, huh?
~~~
Later that day when Katsuki was having trouble sleeping, he got out of his bed to go downstairs and make some tea.
But when he opened his door he stopped in his tracks, startled to see some figure right in front of him, also having a surprised look on their face.
“Izuku?”
“Eh… yeah, hi. I…”, the nerd started mumbling, a shy expression on his face and already taking a step back as if to leave and without thinking Katsuki pulled him out of the dark hallway into his dimmed room.
He closed the door and turned towards Izuku who was shifting awkwardly, obviously not knowing what to say.
Katsuki closed his eyes for a second, collecting his thoughts.
It was late, Izuku was in his room and they would be fighting the biggest fight very soon. This was not the time to-
“Are you avoiding me?”
Katsuki’s eyes snapped open, frowning.
“I fucking made you breakfast, ate it with you and sparred with you for two whole hours before dinner. What gave you the impression that I-“
“No, sorry, I’m not trying to be ungrateful”, Izuku instantly cut in, waving his hands in a calming manner, “It’s just that… I don’t know, I can’t really explain it. I just feel like you’re avoiding looking at me? And you seem so”, Izuku gestured vaguely, “so composed around me, I don’t know. And I can’t stop thinking about it, so, yeah. That’s why I’m here.”
Katsuki’s eyes had grown wide, staring at the greenhead with his nerdy ass clothes and his messy hair and his constant tired face of recent and Katsuki just couldn't help but feel jittery because Izuku couldn’t stop thinking about Katsuki’s behavior, when it was the exact same for him.
Which…
Katsuki sighed.
Which also made him realize that right now, before the second war started, was not only the right time but the necessary time to talk about what he had found out. They couldn’t afford to be distracted and apparently, they were really bad not being exactly that.
“Okay”, Katsuki exhaled, trying to sound calm, deciding to just go with it without wasting any time, “Yesterday I found out from the others that the sludge villain asshole had captured you even before me and I have so many fucking questions and so many fucking thoughts, you have no idea.”
Katsuki watched as Izuku’s face went pale, his mouth falling open.
When the silence continued, Katsuki walked up to the greenhead and gently pushed him towards his bed. “Come on, let’s sit down.”
Izuku just nodded absently.
When they sat down, side by side, Katsuki started to play with his hands, waiting for Izuku to break his silence. Which was unusual for the nerd and therefore unsettling enough.
“Say something”, Katsuki whispered after too many moments had passed.
At that Izuku whimpered a little and pressed his knotted hands to his chest, leaning forward until his forehead was almost touching his knees.
“Hey”, Katsuki placed a trembling hand on Izuku’s back, offering whatever comfort he was capable of. He wanted to do more but he didn’t know how, so he just plainly added: “It’s okay.”
At that Izuku shook his head forcefully, saying: “No, Kacchan, it’s not. It’s so not okay, you don’t understand.”
Okay, well…That stung.
“I mean, not that it’s a fucking competition or something but I do know what it was like to be in his grip and I fucking hate that you also had to go through that but-“
“No!”, Izuku shook his head even stronger, sitting back up and looking at Katsuki through thick tears, “No, that’s not what I meant at all! I know your capture was way rougher and longer and just… I'm so painfully aware of that, believe me”, a sob escaped his lips, “Oh god, Kacchan, you’re gonna hate me.”
Katsuki was overcome by a overwhelming urge to hug Izuku but he was too scared to actually do it, so he just pressed his hand a little firmer into Izuku’s back.
“I won’t, what the fuck”, the blond said, hurt shining through his voice, “I told you I would step in for y-“
“It was my fault the villain attacked you!”, Izuku blurted out.
Katsuki flinched a little.
After a moment he shook his head. “First, stop interrupting me, shithead. And second, what the fuck are you talking about? You were his victim too and-“
“That’s not exactly right, I-“
“Stop interrupting me! I want to-“
“But you don’t know what happened, so-“
“Then fucking tell me!”
Izuku stopped what he was about to say, clearly stunned by Katsuki’s desperate tone.
They sat in silence for a while, watching each other, not knowing how to do this without talking over each other.
“Can you”, Katsuki finally started, pulling back his hand to fold his arms, feeling too vulnerable, “please tell me what happened? I won’t interrupt you and you don’t have to worry about me being mad or some shit. It’s still the villain’s fault for attacking middle schoolers, for fuck’s sake. Just…”, Katsuki pulled his shoulders up to his ears, “Just let me in, nerd.”
Izuku let out a shaky breath, nodding slightly, taking a few more moments to start.
“You know the underpass near our houses, right?”
Katsuki nodded.
“Right. So, I was walking home from school that day. You and I had another fallout because I was applying to UA. I mean, well… yeah. You remember.”
Katsuki nodded again.
He did remember. Izuku sitting on the floor of their classroom, being blasted away by Katsuki’s explosion. Him burning Izuku’s notebook and throwing it out of the window. And worst of all-
Why don’t you take a swan dive…
Katsuki clenched his eyes shot.
“I’m sorry”, he said breathlessly.
“I know.”
“I really am.”
“I know, Kacchan.”
“For everything. For that day in particular.”
“I know”, this time it was Izuku who put his warm, big hand on Katsuki’s back, “Thank you for saying that.”
“No need to thank me for that. And”, he opened his eyes and met those ridiculously green eyes, “I interrupted you. My bad.”
Izuku smiled. “No worries.”
A few moments passed.
“What happened that day?”, Katsuki asked silently.
Izuku nodded again, swallowing hard. He retracted his hand from Katsuki’s back and Katsuki bit on his lower lip to hold back from protesting.
“Well”, Izuku started to fidget with his hands, “I was walking through the underpass when the sludge villain appeared and attacked me, he said something about wanting to hide inside my body? It was horrible, but”, Izuku teared up again, “you know better than me how awful it felt. But before he could really take over my body All Might appeared, rescued me and squeezed the villain into two bottles. I wasn't awake for the last part though, I passed out”, he chuckled sadly, brushing a tear away, “When I woke up, he already signed my notebook, it all felt so unreal”, Izuku was staring into the void for a moment, lost in thoughts.
Katsuki gulped at all that new information, feeling almost dizzy.
“All Might was running on a time limit back then, you already know that”, Izuku eventually went on, “And he wanted to hand the sludge villain over to the police before he turned back into his weaker form. So he went off, jumping up into the air but…”, Izuku sniffled, shaking his head, “But I latched onto him, clinging on for dear life, wanting to ask him a thousand questions, especially, like...”, he laughed without real humor in it, “It's kind of stupid. I wanted to ask him if I could become a hero like him without a quirk and...”, Izuku's voice broke and he held up his hand, signaling Katsuki that he needed a moment.
Katsuki could just look at the greenhead, feeling a deep sorrow. He remembered the Izuku from back then, way smaller and thinner, being mocked by too many people, including Katsuki, all of them making fun of his dream. To imagen this kid asking All Might this question, made Katsuki emotional. He could feel his throat closing up.
“It’s not stupid”, his voice came out hoarse.
Izuku sobbed at that, nodding slightly to thank Katsuki.
“Okay”, he mumbled to himself, ready to go on, “But because I clung onto him, he lost the villain and that’s why he could attack you”, a new, deep sob escaped his lips, ripping through Katsuki’s chest as well. He hated to see the nerd like this. It hurt.
“Kacchan, I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t mean for all of this to happen. You almost… you almost died, I’m so sorry”, Izuku buried his face into his hands, starting to bawl his eyes out.
Katsuki took a deep breath, trying to take all of this in.
He thought back to that alley he was attacked at. His mind always refused to let him access that memory too clearly, always making it weirdly blurry but something Izuku had said made his stomach ache.
“I kicked the bottle."
"Huh?", Izuku looked up at him, all tears and puffy eyes.
"I", Katsuki swallowed, "I kicked the bottle. It wasn’t your fault.”
Katsuki’s chest felt tight at all the memories flooding his brain, his senses registered stuff that wasn’t even there – the slippery feeling around him, smoke in his eyes, people screaming, the suffocating.
He knew it wasn’t real but his heartrate sped up nevertheless.
“I”, he choked out, “I kicked the bottle the villain was in. That's why he was able to escape. It wasn't your fault.”
Izuku was staring at him for a moment but eventually shook his head. “You wouldn’t have had a bottle to kick if I hadn’t-“
“Stop that, nerd, what’s with the blame game?”, Katsuki said impatiently, “The villain is the one to blame and if you want something else to curse, then turn to fate or some shit. It was”, he threw his hands around, “an unfortunate turn of events.”
Izuku closed his eyes, obviously not convinced.
Katsuki was still feeling a little breathless, the topic getting more under his skin than he had thought it would.
He shook his head, trying to refocus.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”, he asked the question that was burning inside his chest since he had found out about the whole thing.
Izuku opened his eyes but wouldn’t meet Katsuki’s gaze.
“Just spit it out”, Katsuki said in a unusual shy voice, “Did you think I would flip out on you?”
Izuku shrugged, looking miserable. “I know it was only a matter of time until you'd find out after I accidentally spilled the truth to the others”, he sighed, "And regarding your question - Yeah I guess, I didn't want us to fight."
Katsuki lowered his eyes, looking at his hands. “Fair”, he admitted, "But I've got a right to know, don't you think?"
“Of course", Izuku responded with a thick voice, “It was just that we didn’t really hang out or even talk back then and I felt so guilty, Kacchan, I still do, even though I get what you’re saying about the villain being the one to blame. But…”, Izuku shrugged, leaving the sentence unfinished.
“I get it”, Katsuki mumbled, thinking back to how his world view started to shift back then. Or rather, crumble bit by bit. He didn’t think he would’ve taken the news very well even if Izuku had told him.
“Whatever. I’m glad you latched on to All Might. That’s how he could see how serious you were and trust you with One For All.”
“Oh. No", Izuku chuckled nervously, "That’s not how it went down.”
Katsuki frowned at Izuku. “What do you mean?”
The greenhead scratched the back of his neck. “To be honest, All Might told me that I should rather pursue a carrier as a police officer and that I needed to see the reality of being quirkless for what it was.”
Katsuki frowned even harder, his skin almost protesting.
“All Might?”, he asked, unbelieving, “Our mentor who is fussing all over you? Rejected you?”, he thought about their bond (of which Katsuki was only a little bit jealous), “How?!”
Izuku sighed, shrugging. “I mean, I was just some random fan without a quirk, having the same dream as millions of other kids. What was he supposed to do?”
Katsuki twisted his mouth. He knew Izuku was right but it still didn’t sit right with him.
“So…”, he concluded after thinking for a while, “Him losing the villain and the shithead attacking me, so you could come running to safe my ass, was the reason he changed his mind?”
Izuku shrunk in on himself. “Yeah.”
Katsuki thought about the nightmares he still got from time to time, of not being able to breathe and how he always kind of panicked whenever he got a cold and his airways started to get blocked. He thought about the humiliation he had felt and all the paranoia that still haunted him to this day.
“Still glad it all turned out this way.”
Izuku gasped, looking at Katsuki with that damn puppy eyes.
“But I’m pissed at All Might though”, Katsuki looked away, “You would’ve crushed the entrance exam even without a quirk.”
“Kacchan”, Izuku mumbled, new tears running down his face.
And now Katsuki allowed his mind to go where it hurt. Where all his worries lied.
He thought about Izuku being almost devoured by that sludge villain, even though he hadn't been there to witness it, the image in his mind was crystal clear. He thought about Izuku later that day, running towards him, in midst of all the fire Katsuki’s quirk had created, trying to get him out of all that stinky sludge. About Izuku crushing his fingers and hands in training sessions and the sports festival. He thought about Izuku running towards him when he was being kidnapped at the summer camp, his arms blue and purple and broken in multiple places. About Izuku being part of that mission to rescue Eri with Katsuki being completely out of reach. He thought about Izuku fighting against Shigaraki, going totally batshit crazy, almost getting stabbed to death.
Katsuki closed his eyes at all these thoughts, feeling as if his scars were suddenly burning beneath his shirt.
He brought his hands to his face and just followed his guts for once: He leaned sideways, pressing himself against Izuku, still hiding his face behind his hands.
Before Izuku could say anything, Katsuki began to speak: “Don’t act reckless when we go up against all those fuckers, you hear me?”, his voice was muffled by his hands, “Don't go into that fight, thinking that sacrificing yourself could always be your winning card”, and even though it was hard to say it out loud, he said his truth once again: “I’m begging you, Izuku.”
Katsuki could feel how Izuku tensed up a little. Maybe still surprised whenever Katsuki called him by his actual name.
It did feel strange for Katsuki too, but at the same time filled him with a sense of peace and familiarity.
Before he could get too flustered, he felt how Izuku pressed up against him too, returning the gesture.
“Please be safe too, Kacchan”, he whispered back and Katsuki got goosebumps all over on how close Izuku’s voice was, “The sludge villain, the kidnapping and you getting impaled… I don’t want to witness you getting hurt ever, ever again.”
Katsuki sighed, letting his hands sink but without opening his eyes yet.
This whole situation between them right now was… weird. And very nice. And felt a little dangerous. And also very safe.
“We chose the wrong carrier for this wish to come true.”
Izuku huffed. “I know”, he said with a defeated voice, “But getting some scratches in a regular villain capture is one thing and getting seriously injured is a completely different story.”
Katsuki titled his head just a little more, feeling his own hair brush against the nerd’s.
“I get it. Same for me”, Katsuki said, “Get that into your head, alright?”
Izuku hummed.
“Just so you know,”, Katsuki said after a while, his voice coming out husky, “I mean what I said. I really believe you would’ve made it into UA, even without that cursed power.”
“Don’t call it cursed!”, Izuku called out.
“Come on, even you have to-“
“It hurts my feelings”, Izuku interrupted him.
That shut Katsuki up immediately, instant regret forming in his stomach.
“It’s my quirk now, you know”, Izuku went on, his voice starting to soften again, “And even if it wasn’t always a part of me, it is now and I feel blessed to connect to all of the former holders. And it got me where I am now. So... please don’t call it cursed.”
Katsuki opened his eyes and leaned away from Izuku even if he didn’t want to. But he wanted to look into Izuku’s eyes when he told him: “Sorry. Shouldn’t have said that.”
Izuku blinked at him a few times before smiling one of his tender smiles that did funny things to Katsuki's stomach.
“Thanks for apologizing, I accept it.”
Katsuki nodded at that, being able to breathe a lot easier.
After a few moments in silence Izuku huffed a smile and stood up, looking at Katsuki.
"I should go, I know it's late", his smiled deepened, "Thanks for sharing all of this and talking it through with me, it really means a lot!"
Katsuki nodded, looking down at his hands again.
He felt the same way but couldn't return the smile, not sincerely, because there was still something else weighting him down.
Katsuki was nervous, not being sure if he should bring it up.
I don’t think not talking to him has ever brought you two anywhere, Katsuki remembered Mina's voice from earlier, knowing that she was annoyingly right.
“I have a request", he admitted and looked up to meet emerald eyes, "It might seem… pretty weird to you.”
Izuku titled his head, curiously smiling at him.
Katsuki took a deep breath, already feeling heat creeping up his neck.
“Even though I was relieved as fuck, I… I hated how it felt when I caught you a few days ago. You know, after I apologized."
Izuku’s eyebrows went up a little, a confused look on his face. Maybe even a little bit hurt.
"It was", Katsuki rushed to explain, "I mean, it's just that", the blond sighed deeply, "It was your limp weight, okay, just hanging in my arms? I hated that it felt like you were..."
dead.
Katsuki pressed his lips together, not able to spell it out, feeling a deep cutting pain in his chest.
Izuku's eye were widely staring at Katsuki.
“I can’t get it out of my head", Katsuki said strainedly, "It actually fuels my… horror scenarios of you being… of you not being okay or not even here after the war.”
“Oh Kacchan”, Izuku gasped, reaching out to take Katsuki’s hand.
And that was all the blond needed to actually voice his thought: “So… can I hold you? Hug you, I mean. To get it out of my mind?”
Katsuki knew his whole body must be totally red and Izuku’s stunned face didn’t really help with his flusteredness.
A few moments went by without them moving or saying anything.
Katsuki was about to blurt out that Izuku should forget all of this when the greenhead straightened up and opened his arms.
Ugh, Katsuki couldn’t help to think, Cringe.
But he jumped to his feet and practically fell into Izuku’s arms nevertheless.
Because he wanted to be close to him, to feel that he was okay, without any injuries, and that he was warm and dry and not soaked in rain and dirt and blood, with almost no light in his eyes.
Without realizing Katsuki had started squeezing Izuku way too hard but Izuku wasn’t complaining. He was almost crushing Katsuki’s ribs too, actually.
He was hugging the nerd, he almost couldn't believe it.
It felt so right. Nothing more and nothing less. Just right.
“Shit”, Katsuki whispered, “Don’t leave my side when the fight starts, I fucking mean it.”
“I’ll try my best”, Izuku answered, mumbling the words right into Katsuki’s neck, giving him once again goosebumps.
“Tch”, Katsuki clicked his tongue, ignoring the tingling allover his body, “Don’t just try, do it.”
Izuku chuckled, his laugh also vibrating through Katsuki’s chest.
It was then and there that Katsuki realized he didn’t want to let go of that nerdy, self-sacrificing dork. Like, ever. In like, never-in-his-life-ever.
“Let’s have another talk when all of this is over”, Katsuki said, suddenly feeling sentimental, wanting to spill all the beans.
“Sure”, Izuku agreed, “About... whatever, probably?”
“Exactly”, Katsuki said with a smirk, feeling content at how well Izuku knew him and what his answer would be if he’d asked him what Katsuki wanted to talk about.
Izuku laughed again. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Katsuki just nodded, tightening his grip even more.
They would win. They would save. And then they would talk the shit out of each other about everything and nothing at all. And maybe (hopefully) hug some more.
Sounds like a plan, Katsuki thought while closing his eyes and enjoying this embrace for as long as it would last.