Work Text:
"Same as you, Kacchan. It was either me, or you."
A strangled sob clawed its way out of Izuku's throat. He couldn't repress the laughter that followed, starting out as shrill giggles but morphing into deranged cackling. Then, it stopped. His breath hitched and he grew completely still, not even the slightest twitch in his muscles.
"You chose me," Izuku whispered quietly, voice cracking near the end. He covered his face with his trembling hands and shook his head frantically. He shoulders shook with each heave of his chest, and a screech tore itself from his throat.
"You chose me, you chose me, youchoseme."
His arms fell limply to his sides and he stared at some point over Katsuki's shoulder, eyes blank. Lifeless.
"Why...did you choose me?" Izuku asked sadly. "Why did you pick me!?"
A weight barreled into Katsuki's chest, managing to knock him flat on his back and pin him there. He was forced to look up at Izuku, perched above him with a hand on his throat.
"Why!? " With his free hand Izuku punched the ground beside his head, the impact sending a few pieces of gravel into Katsuki's eyes. He winced in pain and squeezed his eyes shut. Izuku punched the ground twice more and the proximity of One For All's impact made his head rattle. He clenched his teeth and kept silent.
"This would have been so much easier if you were as selfish as you wish you were. Why can't you be the Kacchan you used to be?"
Izuku's voice had taken on a much softer tone, and it threw Katsuki for a loop. Cautiously, he opened one eye and then another, coming face to face with Izuku, wearing his usual tender smile. A warm hand trailed down his cheek, leaving a sticky path in its wake. The metallic stench filled his nostrils, and Katsuki knew it was blood. He wasn't sure he wanted to know whose it was.
"I should kill you, I have to kill you," Izuku said. Any response he could have came up with was cut off by the nails digging themselves into his throat. He coughed violently and tried to buck Izuku off, to no avail.
"I want to kill you, Kacchan..." The nails dug themselves in harder and the hand on his face tightened. There were tears falling on Katsuki's face and Izuku sniffed loudly and hiccuped before the pressure was gone.
"I want to kill you, but I c-can't! They told me to and I can't do it..."
Izuku wiped at his tears with one arm, keeping the other firmly positioned at Katsuki's throat. Katsuki didn't understand what could've been remotely funny about this situation, but Izuku must have found something amusing. The laughter started again and it was painful to watch, seeing someone who used to smile so brightly fall so tragically. Izuku fixed Katsuki with the most pained expression he'd ever seen on another person. It was wrong. Izuku wasn't meant to make that face. His soft features weren't built to warp in such a way.
"We had the same choice, Kacchan. You wanna know the difference?"
Katsuki's breath became more labored with every inch Izuku drew closer, until his lips were covering Katsuki's ear, whispering softly:
"You chose me...."
A breathy giggle caressed his skin and he shivered.
At that moment, Katsuki knew he'd lost. Izuku was gone, and there was no reaching him anymore.
"And I choose you."