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Love is beautiful but frightening.
This is something that Izuku learned in his existence as a deity. He’s seen women cry oceans of tears in front of him, begging with their hearts in their throats just to be blessed with a seed of life. A seed that will soon blossom into the family that they always wanted.
So he gave, and he gave; always eager to please. A deity doesn’t have anything to lose after all.
───
“I love my husband,” one of his visitors says, Izuku vividly recalls, “I want him to be happy, for us to be happy. Please, we just want a child of our own. The people in town have said that you can help us. We’ve tried everything, but it’s been years...” her face falls, flat and empty—devoid of the happiness that she craves.
“Please,” she begs, falling to her knees with the weight of sorrow anchoring her head near the ground.
Suddenly, the rain starts to pour. Loud and heavy with thunder and lightning in its wake, as the wind’s howls match the cries of the woman in front of him. It seems like even the sky mourns for the child that she yearns for but can never have.
Izuku is stricken in disbelief.
Is this what love does to people? Shredding their hearts into pieces until they’re left with nothing but their tears flooding the emptiness left behind? Pleading for a remedy until their knees bleed?
He feels his own heart clench, goosebumps prickling his skin at the thought.
“You don’t have to beg.” Izuku smiles, kneeling in front of the woman and taking her hand. He urges her to stand, and she does, her head still bowed.
“Everything is going to be okay, Mei.” He assures her, immediately wiping the lone tear with the back of his hand.
“May I?” he asks, pointing at her stomach. She nods eagerly and Izuku is relieved to see a tiny bit of hope shine in her eyes.
Izuku puts his palm on her clothed stomach and closes his eyes. He hears her breath hitch at the action but he pays it no mind.
As he feels his power flow through Mei’s body, he can’t help but look at her again. Izuku’s heart aches, realizing that he’s never seen her smile yet. All he saw was a barrage of tears, unrelenting and filling him with dread.
The rain continued to pour as Izuku gave it his all.
───
It is said that selflessness doesn’t come easy to a deity, but it all comes natural to Izuku. This is all he is born for; to help troubled wives with bearing children. The only reason for his existence.
All he asks in return is to see the smile on their faces as he grants them their wishes.
When Izuku takes his hand away, the pitter-patter of the rain also stops, petrichor filling their lungs with every breath they take.
The sun finally peeks through the clouds, illuminating the once gloomy sky. Its glow suffuses the room gradually, until it shines down on Izuku, a halo of light forming at the top of his head. Mei gasped at the sight, a sliver of hope finally forming in her eyes.
A promise of a new life.
“You’ll be fine, Mei.” Izuku nods at her.
And deities never lie, they’re forbidden to do so.
Mei’s face fills with awe, light touching her sad brown eyes for the first time since she stepped foot into his home.
Izuku feels her happiness and he soars, basking from her gratitude.
───
Izuku stands outside of his house, his hand combing through the soft wool of his sheep as he watches Mei walk home, skipping happily until she disappears beyond the horizon.
Until all that’s left in the farm is Izuku, his sheep, and his muddled thoughts about love.
Izuku can’t help but wonder if he will ever shed tears for someone, to cry until his throat begs him to stop. To smile until his cheeks hurt just from the thought of somebody. To utter the words “I love you” and hear them say it back, like a beautiful melody that he can replay again and again.
He’s not sure if he will ever be.
Deities have too much burden in their hands. There is no time for love, not at all.
Izuku sighs, ignoring the longing that he feels in his heart.
But this same feeling has been festering inside him for so long now, growing like vines around his heart, squeezing it tight until he feels like he couldn’t breathe sometimes. His lips dry, throat parched—he wants to drink something, to relieve his thirst. But he can’t seem to pinpoint exactly what he needs.
He settles for water. His respite to the unquenchable thirst that boils within.
“Love, huh?” he whispers to himself and the sheep bleats in response, temporarily pulling him away from his thoughts.
Deities aren’t immune to love, a lesson that Izuku learns the hard way. It won’t be too long until the vines of yearning suffocate him fully.
───
It happens when Izuku least expects it.
It’s a quiet afternoon, only the rustling of the leaves can be heard when the wind blows a little too hard. Reckless and hasty as it is, the trees still dance with the breeze, brushing off the leftover autumnal leaves from the branches.
The cold gust brushes on Izuku’s face like a greeting. Leaving the tip of his nose and cheeks red, an ice-cold kiss from the approaching winter.
Snow is coming, the wind seems to whisper to him. Izuku replies with a smile.
Winter is Izuku’s favorite season.
───
The tranquility is broken with a loud whine coming from his sheep, alerting Izuku instantly. He runs outside, his bare feet hitting the grass as he opens the door.
Izuku startles, his words caught in his throat when he sees a wolf.
He has never seen one, has only ever read about them in old fairytale books that were given to him by his visitors, its pages crumpled and worn down by the storm of time.
Wolves. They are always depicted in stories as merciless predators or villains in disguise, ferocious hunters that leave nothing but blood and bones from their prey.
Izuku feels a shiver run down his spine when his eyes meet the wolf’s yellow ones. Its fur is gray with white patches all over it. Silky, thick, and well-groomed. The wolf’s sharp, ivory teeth make an appearance as it licks its own fang, saliva dripping to the discarded red scarf under its paws. Its claws are tearing into the poor cloth as it gets ready to sink its fangs on Izuku’s sheep that is currently frozen in fear.
The wolf snarls, a warning that Izuku paid no heed as he screams at the top of his lungs.
“Hey!” His words echo in the lone farm, he has never used his voice this loud before.
Unfortunately, the wolf doesn’t look away from its prey. Its hind legs bend, gearing to pounce on the sheep.
Without thinking, Izuku rushes to get in the middle of the two, his arms outstretched, shielding his sheep.
“No!” Izuku yells petulantly. His arms are shaking in fear but he refuses to yield despite the angry growls coming from the wolf.
Izuku backs away slowly, his hand reaching out for his sheep to make sure that she’s following him as he walks backwards to his house, his stare never leaving the wolf.
The wolf bushes out its fur to make itself look bigger, baring its teeth at Izuku. Fear consumes his body but he is not one to back down, deities never run away from their responsibilities, and protecting his sheep is one of them.
“It’s gonna be okay, Mika.” he shushes, trying to soothe the frightened sheep behind him. “It’s gonna be okay, I’ll protect you—”
“Yuki!” A thundering voice coming from the distance shatters the tension like glass, turning the wolf and Izuku’s attention away from each other as they turn around to where the voice came from.
Izuku’s entire world slows down as he sees a man running towards them. His stature is big and threatening, his body covered by a big coat with a red scarf wrapped around his neck—the same one like the cloth underneath the wolf’s paw. His hair is blond and spiky, unruly because of the wind. A scowl mars his features as he whistles, the wolf sprinting to him straight after.
A hunter, Izuku notes, catching the sight of a machete in his hand. He puts it inside a sheath in favor of greeting his wolf with a scratch on its head.
He hears the man scold Yuki, which Izuku assumes as the wolf’s name. Izuku takes this time to look at his sheep, who is now munching on the grass like nothing happened. He sighs in relief, happy that she’s safe.
Izuku hears the sound of boots walking closer to him, heavy and confident. He stops right in front of Izuku and like a wolf looming over a prey, he towers over him. The man’s shadow enveloping Izuku’s line of sight.
He turns around and forgets how to breathe when he hears the stranger’s rough voice, domineering and demanding Izuku’s attention.
“Who the fuck are you?” The stranger squints at him, a hint of wariness present in his voice. His crimson eyes seem to hold Izuku’s neck in shackles, words soon forgotten.
Izuku shivers. Not from the cold air or the promise of a frigid snowfall in its trail. It’s because this man looks like a predator, and a far greater one than a wolf.
Danger. Izuku’s in danger.
───
The trepidation that lingers in the air seems to drop the temperature a couple more degrees. Izuku shivers in silence, all he wants to do is to run back to his house and lock himself from the danger that is the hunter right in front of him.
He thinks that if he doesn’t hide, he will get devoured.
The hunter speaks again, breaking Izuku’s train of thought. “Answer me or I’ll call you little sheep instead.”
Izuku frowns, “I’m not a little sheep!” he exclaims, earning an eyebrow raise from the hunter, “And isn’t it rude for you to ask my name without telling me yours first?” Izuku adds, scared out of his wits yet determined to stand his ground.
A long silence stretches through as Izuku waits for a response, and as soon as the hunter speaks again, it snaps.
“Fair enough,” he stares at Izuku for a while before whistling, he sees the wolf run towards them and stops obediently beside the hunter.
“Bakugou Katsuki,” he says, his hand patting the wolf’s head gently, “This is Yuki, my wolf.”
What a beautiful name, Izuku thinks, To win. To be victorious.
“Katsuki,” Izuku nods, testing the name on his tongue. Katsuki frowns but Izuku ignores him, turning to the wolf instead. “Yuki.” Upon hearing its name, the wolf’s ears perk up, looking at Izuku with a tilt of its head.
Izuku lets out a laugh, enchanted by the wolf’s adorable curiosity which is far from the savage display that it showed earlier. He thinks that he might’ve misjudged the wolf after all.
“Oi. It’s your turn, little sheep,” Katsuki demands, tapping his foot impatiently and effectively stealing Izuku’s attention away from Yuki.
Instead of giving in to the temptation of petting the wolf, Izuku takes off his glove and offers his hand to Katsuki. “I’m Izuku.”
Katsuki looks at Izuku’s hand, smooth and flawless, showing no signs of labor. He scoffs and pulls his glove off with his teeth, shaking Izuku’s hand with his rough, calloused ones. His grip is tight and almost painful but Izuku squeezes him back in retaliation.
Suddenly, the snow came fluttering down on them, subduing the autumnal hues that once filled the place with a wintry blanket. The winter announces its appearance whilst dancing along an icy nocturne, inhaling all the remaining warmth in the air and exhaling coldly into the world anew.
Izuku shudders, letting go of the hunter’s hand and putting his gloves back on. Coldness has already seeped in the cloth, but the remnants of heat from Katsuki’s hand warms him instead.
Instead of seeking shelter alone from the cold he finds himself asking, “Do you want to come inside?”
Winter finally arrives, blustering through Izuku’s life along with a hunter and his wolf.
───
“Deku.”
The silence is shattered at once by a single word. Izuku is left to pick up the pieces of quietude that kept him company throughout the years.
“What?” Izuku asks, the tremor in his voice present as he turns to face the hunter.
“You’re Deku. That fuckin’ deity that lives at the foot of the mountain.” Katsuki declares, squinting at him as he walks closer to where Izuku is.
He can feel the hunter sizing him up, looking at Izuku from head to toe. But instead of cowering; Izuku meets Katsuki’s gaze, his own eyes unwavering.
“Yes, I am. What gave it away?” He pauses, frowning at Katsuki, “And my name is Izuku, not Deku.”
Katsuki ignores him, settling for a grin before he speaks.
“Oh our benevolent fertility deity; ever so gentle, ever so trusty—” the hunter pauses, running his gloved hand through the wolf’s fur, who is sitting obediently beside him. He glances back at Izuku, taking in the confusion in his face and continues.“Fuck, what was it again—hair as green as the fucking meadows? Smile as bright as the morning sun arose?” He looks at his wolf and Yuki just tilts her head, pressing her snout on Katsuki’s hand.
The hunter glances back at Izuku, then he feels a gloved finger tipping his chin up and is met with Katsuki’s intense stare.
“Bless the shitty—lonely mothers with your grace, a child for our kin’s sake.” Katsuki lets go of his chin, but his eyes remain on Izuku’s face.
Izuku blinks, “What was that?”
“It’s from a shitty song that everyone and their mothers sing in town every 15th of July,” he snorts. “I always thought it was stupid, but here you are in the flesh, huh?”
“Why do they sing every 15th of July?” Izuku asks, “They don’t need to do that.”
“Fuck if I know, Deku. It’s been going on for years.”
“I don’t understand, they don’t need to worship me.”
Katsuki lets out a frustrated huff, “Fuckin’ naive aren’t you? Maybe I should go back to calling you a little sheep.”
“I told you my name is Izuku.” He glares, but Katsuki continues to turn a deaf ear to his complaints.
Katsuki is about to retort but the whole ordeal is interrupted by the sound of the wind howling loudly along with Katsuki’s wolf. Izuku rushes to the window and opens the curtains, gasping when he sees the surroundings veiled by the flurry of snow coating the entire place rapidly. The serene and frosty greeting from the winter earlier is soon replaced by a wintry fury, unyielding and abrupt.
“Shit.” He hears Katsuki hiss under his breath behind him as they both realize what is coming.
A snowstorm.
───
“You can stay here and wait until the snowstorm ends, Kacchan,” Izuku says, while adding more wood to the fireplace. He fans it and nods in satisfaction as the fire starts to become bigger, filling the room with warmth.
“What did you just call me?” Katsuki snaps, his words causing more chill than the wintry storm outside.
“Hm?” Izuku hums, undeterred by the hostility as he dusts his hands off in a satisfied manner. “I said you and Yuki can stay here with us until the snowstorm stops.”
Mika bleats at the back as if to agree with Izuku.
“What the fuck did you just call me, Deku?” Katsuki repeats slowly, he stands up until he’s looming over Izuku’s hunched form in front of the hearth.
“Oh, you mean Kacchan?” Izuku looks up to him and smiles, “Since you insist on calling me Deku, I think I should call you a nickname as well!”
Katsuki freezes, seemingly startled by the radiance that is Izuku’s smile. He covers half of his face with the back of his elbow and coughs awkwardly before he speaks.
“Are you fucking stupid?” He grits his teeth. “It’s not a nickname, Deku. It’s an insult.”
Izuku pays no heed to Katsuki's irritation. Instead, he stands up and faces the hunter toe to toe, standing firm as he looks up to meet the hunter’s eyes. His handsome face is marred with a frown, yet Izuku just grins.
“I’ll cook us some soup, Kacchan!” he says cheerfully as he walks to the kitchen, completely unbothered by Katsuki’s glares burning a hole on his back.
───
Katsuki makes a face as soon as he tastes the soup. “What the actual fuck is this?”
“A tomato soup?” Izuku answers, unsure because of Katsuki’s sour reaction.
“You fucking serious?” Katsuki scowls as he eyes the bland red concoction in front of him. He swirls it with his spoon and grimaces when he sees a poorly sliced tomato in it. “Clearly you don’t know a damn thing about tomato soup, Deku.”
“What? I think it tastes great, Kacchan,” he claims, taking a mouthful of the soup.
“Fuck no, even Yuki thinks it’s shit and she eats anything,” the hunter insists, pointing at Yuki who whines at the sound of her name. She has her back turned from the bowl that Izuku prepared for her.
Izuku winces.
“If I’m staying here then I’m the one who’s going to do the cooking.” Katsuki slams the table, the bowls rattling at the force of it. “Now sit fucking tight and I’ll make the best damn tomato soup that you’ll ever fucking have.”
───
“Kacchan, you’re amazing!” Izuku exclaims, his eyes twinkling with wonder as he takes another sip of the soup.
“Hell yeah, I am,” he snorts, satisfied with Izuku’s reaction. He leans back to the chair, resting his feet on the table as clasps his hands behind his head. “Have you been eating that garbage since you were born?”
“It’s not garbage!” Izuku sighs, “I cook food because it’s fun! The villagers give me their old cookbooks sometimes.”
“It’s not fun when it tastes like ass. You don’t even know how to slice a stupid tomato to save your goddamn life.”
“That’s rude, Kacchan!”
“I don’t give a shit, Deku. Now, shut up and eat.”
───
“So, what’s the deal with you being a deity?” Katsuki prods as he hands the plate to Izuku, the said deity takes it gently from his hands and wipes it with a cloth.
“What do you mean, Kacchan?” he asks, putting the plate on the rack and then takes the utensils from Katsuki’s hand.
Katsuki wipes his hands dry on his coat and watches Izuku intently, happily drying down the utensils before putting them to the rack neatly.
“How do you give those villagers their brats?” he adds, his brows furrowed as he stares at Izuku.
“I was just born like this,” Izuku answers, calm and benign. “I don’t really think about it that much, Kacchan.”
Katsuki stares and stares—his eyes are intense and ever consuming yet never revealing what he actually thinks. In return, Izuku smiles brightly at him.
Gradually, Katsuki’s eyes soften. Like a predator finally lowering his guard and calming down his hackles, his shoulders sag and he chuckles.
Izuku breaks eye contact first, nodding at the hearth in the living room where the sheep and wolf are cuddled together in front of the fire.
“Would you like a hot chocolate or tea, Kacchan?”
“Do you really think I’ll drink something that you made after that shitty soup, Deku?”
“Tea it is!”
───
“But are you happy, Deku?” Katsuki gulps the entire cup in one go, setting the empty cup on the table as he raises a brow at Izuku.
Izuku blows the steam on his cup before taking a small sip. “Happy with what, Kacchan?” he asks, holding the cup close to his chest.
Katsuki motions at him with a wave, “With whatever the hell you’re doing.”
“Oh! You mean helping the village wives?” Izuku sighs blissfully, his eyes sparkling as he gets lost in his thoughts for a second. Then, he continues, “Of course, Kacchan! Helping people makes me happy, especially when it makes them smile.”
The hunter snickers. “It’s truly a mystery how you survived all this time, Deku.”
“What do you mean?”
“Humans are greedy,” Katsuki starts, resting his arm at the back of the chair where Izuku is sitting and scoots closer to him until their faces are only mere inches away from each other. Feeling inexplicably shy all of a sudden, Izuku hides his face behind the cup he’s holding. “They will take and take from you, Deku. Especially when you ask nothing in return.”
Too close, Izuku thinks. He wants to hide, but he’s frozen in his seat, completely under the hunter’s mercy.
“I don’t think all humans are greedy, Kacchan,” Izuku assures, words confident yet a bit wobbly in the edges.
“Sure.” Katsuki scoffs before snatching Izuku’s cup and downing it fast.
“Wha—hey! That’s my drink, Kacchan!”
“Humans are greedy, Deku. Remember that.” Katsuki stands up, taking both of the cups with him as he strides to the kitchen to wash them. “Especially hunters.”
Izuku takes off his gloves and cups his cheeks, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. He stumbles in his room until he reaches the mirror. He blinks when he sees his own reflection blushing, a faint redness surrounding his freckled cheeks.
Lying down on the bed with his hand on his chest, Izuku breathes slowly as he tries to calm himself. The beating of his heart can be felt right through his thick coat, then all of a sudden his entire body pulses when his mind conjures an image of Katsuki leaning close to him.
Shocked at the mental image, Izuku slaps his cheeks and huffs.
What is happening? What did Katsuki do to him?
With the thoughts of Katsuki filling his mind, Izuku falls asleep. Unaware of his door opening and a blanket being wrapped around him like a soft embrace.
Izuku unconsciously pulls the blanket up, chasing the warmth that it provides as he tosses and turns. He stops and smiles in his sleep, finally comfortable enough whilst laying down on his side.
A chuckle and the click of the bedroom door closing goes unheard by the sleeping deity.
───
When Izuku finally wakes up, it’s already late in the evening and judging by the wind’s continuous howls outside, the snowstorm has yet to calm down. He peeks from the curtains and sees nothing but darkness, not even the moon and the stars came to greet him tonight.
Izuku walks out of his bedroom, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes and he stretches his arms. However, his yawn gets cut off with a yelp when he hears someone grumble from the living room, “About time you wake up, Deku.”
“Wah—cchan! You scared me!” Startled, Izuku goes red in the face, causing Katsuki to snicker.
“Should’ve known that your ass is jumpy, Deku.”
“I wasn’t! You just surprised me,” Izuku mumbles. “I thought you’d be asleep already.”
“I was, then I heard you rustling in your room like a goddamn squirrel so I woke up.”
Izuku stares at him, puzzled. “You heard me moving in my room?”
“Yeah, like a small animal burrowing a hole in the ground to hide.” Katsuki uncrosses his legs to where he’s sitting and he stands up. “I’m a hunter, Deku. I am sensitive to sound, I wake up pretty fucking easily, I have fast reflexes. You know the deal.”
He snorts before continuing. “I can hear everything. Especially skittish prey like you who get startled with every little thing in the forest.”
“Wow!” Izuku exclaims, his fists balled in excitement as he looks at Katsuki with genuine wonder in his eyes, ignoring the jabs directed at him. “Kacchan is truly amazing!”
Unprepared by Izuku’s amazed reaction, Katsuki scratches the back of his head and walks straight to the kitchen. His ears are visibly red as he clears his throat.
“Come now, Deku. Your dinner’s already cold. I’m not heating this shit up for you.”
“Okay, Kacchan!”
Yet, the soup wasn’t cold in the first place. The steam coming out of the pot shows that it was just reheated recently.
Izuku smiles but he doesn’t say anything. He starts to eat as Katsuki watches him.
They talked for hours and hours as they waited out the rest of the snowstorm together. In spite of the branches groaning with the force of the wind and snow dancing together in a reckless abandon, it is the warmest winter that Izuku has ever experienced.
───
“Have you ever fallen in love, Kacchan?” Izuku asks, a passing question that he can’t help blurting out. He shivers under the gravity of Katsuki’s stare, not used to the attention at all.
He panics and feels his cheeks heat up from the lack of response. “Of course, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to!” His hands are flailing around as he stutters, “I was just curious! I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable—”
“Gods, Deku. You never shut up, don’t you?” Katsuki snaps, cutting him off.
“Uhm, I’m sorry?”
“No, you’re fucking not.”
Amidst their bickering, the sun finally rises and the light filters through curtains. Gasping, Izuku jumps out of his seat and opens the windows. They’re immediately greeted by the chirping of the birds, like an orchestra welcoming the sunrise after the night of a winter aggression. The heaps of snow covering the ground outside are the only evidence that a snowstorm ever landed in their area.
“Kacchan! The snowstorm finally stopped!” Izuku grins at him and turns to call his sheep excitedly. “Come here, Mika!”
Izuku and Mika walk outside, leaving Katsuki in his seat as he stares fondly at the deity who’s now looking up in the sky as he basks under the sun’s presence whilst droplets of snow fall freely on his face.
He looks so blissfully serene, a vision so ethereal that Katsuki feels his breath get caught in his throat. It’s truly a mystery how he never noticed that Izuku’s a deity when he first laid his eyes on him, because no human can ever match the kind of beauty Izuku has.
No one.
Katsuki soon follows the both of them, whistling at his wolf who immediately wakes up at the sound. Yuki’s tail wags and she pants happily as she runs to where Izuku is, who’s currently making snow angels on the ground.
Izuku’s question from earlier remains hanging in the air; the words digging stubbornly in his heart, demanding answers.
Before he can even think about it, Izuku’s laugh pervades the morning air with cheerfulness, immediately catching Katsuki’s attention. He chuckles, seeing Yuki tackle Izuku on the ground.
Have you ever fallen in love, Kacchan?
The question persists but this time, Katsuki already knows his answer.
───
“What the fuck—Stop fussing over me, Deku. Aren’t you forgetting that I’m a hunter? I’ll be fine.” Katsuki groans, ignoring the food containers that Izuku offers as he gets ready to go outside. He whistles at Yuki who whines as she walks beside him, albeit reluctantly.
“I know, but you should still carry some food with you, Kacchan! Just in case!”
Katsuki snorts, “What are you, Deku? A wife sending a husband off to work?”
He meant to say it as a joke, but as soon as the words come out of his mouth, Izuku’s entire face reddens. He tries to explain himself but to no avail, when he can’t even form proper sentences due to his flusteredness.
Katsuki’s eyes soften at the sight, the fondness that he feels for Izuku making him smile unconsciously.
Gently, he grabs Izuku’s hand and takes off his glove; he puts the deity’s hand on his cheek and sighs, closing his eyes contentedly at the feel of Izuku’s warmth seeping through his skin, thawing the coldness in his heart completely.
“You’re acting like you’re sending me off, Deku. I’ll come back here tonight,” he whispers, pressing his lips on Izuku’s palm.
“Wha—?” Katsuki didn’t know that Izuku’s face could be any more redder than it was earlier, but it is now.
“I want to court you, Izuku,” he declares, kneeling on the ground with one knee and leaving a kiss at the back of Izuku’s palm.
Katsuki hears a sniffle.
Worried, he looks up and sees Izuku wiping his tears away. He falters for a second because of the deity’s reaction and his lack of response. However, it’s soon soothed when Izuku pulls him upwards and kisses his cheek gently; an action that makes Katsuki’s heart beat rapidly.
“It’s the first time you ever called me by my name, Katsuki.” Izuku laughs through his tears. Katsuki clicks his tongue and wipes them away, yet they keep falling. He fights the urge to kiss the deity’s eyelids in an attempt to stop the endless stream of tears.
“Crybaby,” Katsuki snorts. “Would you let me fucking court you, then?”
This winter, the hunter finally found a prey worth keeping.
“Of course, Kacchan!”
And the deity finally shed tears and smiled for someone, offering his own heart on a platter for the hunter.
───
Deities aren’t immune to love, a lesson that Izuku learns the hard way as the hunter lures him into a trap—yet as the deity falls deeper and deeper—instead of the cold, hard ground that awaits, he finds himself in the arms of the hunter instead.
Then he learns that it wasn’t a trap after all. He was just falling in love.
Izuku finally learns to be selfish for once, seeking warmth in Katsuki’s arms at the peak of the winter. He allows himself to be greedy too, basking in the warmth of Katsuki’s love, taking all that he can whilst reciprocating it.
The deity smiles, finally for himself and for Katsuki too as the sun settles behind the winter clouds, allowing Izuku to shine.
The snow continues to fall.