Warning: obsessive behavior, possessive behavior, alluding to kidnapping
I like the idea of you asking out the weird guy, with the even weirder stare, from the local butcher shop as a bet you made with your friends.
But when you break up with him, for some reason he still goes on as if you’re not???
Still insistent he picks you up and drops you off for work everyday? Any guy you went on date with/flirted, all ghosted you?? Forcing those gross, sloppy kisses where he uses a lot of tongue and spit. With a hand cradling the back of your head, while grabbing a fistful of your hair. Worse of all??? He does it in public. Your coworkers haven’t been able to make eye contact with you for a week.
But it doesn’t matter, because when he comes to pick up you today, you will give him a piece of your mind.
—
Imagine his joy when the hot girl he’s been playing eye tag with for the past few weeks, asked him out???
Wounded his masculine pride she beat him to it, but nevertheless happy.
He doesn’t date much at all, so this is still very new to him. But he knows the basic. Kiss her every time you see her, she leaves, she smiles, she laughs, she winces, looks scared, looks angry.
Make sure to feed her and she’s not skipping meals. Saving her only the best slab of meat the butcher shop could offer. Personally cooking and cutting her meat for her and transferring the chewed up meat from your mouth into hers through a kiss.
That male coworker who seems to give her a hard time? Show up at her job and show him she has a man that doesn’t play about it and let her watch as you take that hammer and break every single one of his fingers. Her coworker screaming for him to stop till his voice gives out
Obviously he can’t forget the physical affection. Both behind close doors and in public.
Giving her only the most tightest of tight hugs, so she knows how much he loves her. Sometimes she thinks she can hear her rib bones cracking.
Kissing with his eyes opens so she knows he only has eyes for her and she will never leaving his sight.
Despite it all, she wants to…break up???
As how much he was in love with her, he recognized she had her flaws. She was inconsiderate self respecting, mean spirited opinionated and a tab but selfish autonomous at times.
Like any good man, he will work it with his lady. Nothing like love and affection can’t fix, and some duck tape and rope.
As a teacher, the suit couldn't really have come at a better time.
When he'd graduated from college, he'd been surprised to see Principal Nezu in the crowd with All Might and Aizawa-sensei, and even more surprised to receive Principal Nezu's invitation to teach at UA - in the hero course no less!
They'd assigned him to the 2nd year hero course -- the 1st years, who were often still figuring out the limits of their quirks, needed teachers who might be able to physically intervene if something went wrong
His first year teaching, he'd spent just trying to get his feet under him: he borrowed a lot of the previous teacher's curriculum while he tried to get the hang of classroom management, and and grading, and parent contact, not to mention conducting practical exercises with his students while he was quirkless
But his second year he started making the curriculum his own: his strength had always been his analysis and he wanted his students to have that, too.
He started adding in case studies for each unit; invited his friends in to give talks about declassified or appropriately anonymized cases they'd worked on
By his third year, he'd gotten his unit plans down to a science: intro topic, host guest speaker, complete case study, hold class discussion, conduct practical exercise, students submit a reflection, test
His first unit of the year was always his favorite -- an intro to battle analysis. He'd never gotten Kacchan to commit to coming on campus, but if Deku sent him footage from a fight, Kacchan would send back a recording of his analysis
Once the kids got over the initial hilarity of Kacchan roasting the shit out of hero or villain or both, they usually asked Deku to play the video back a few more times so they could see just which errors Kacchan had caught, how quickly they could arise, how consequential they could be. It was a great way to get them open to Deku's whole approach to the class, and a good way for them to know that he would accept their work in their own voices -- no need to hide their personalities for points
The rest of the units -- meant to get his students ready to apply for their provisional licenses -- all followed suit.
And since most hero agencies had given new priority to community relations, he could schedule through his friends' offices to get them on campus: Tenya, Uraraka, Tsu, Momo, Shinso were especially reliable guests
And while the first half of the year was dedicated to the practicalities of being on the ground as a hero; the second half was dedicated to the heart of being a hero
They looked at rise of the League of Villains and Stain, talked about the plight of heteromorphs; he pulled in primary sources, they discussed their own personal credos (he liked to use Kacchan's and Hawks' as examples of how different and personal they could be while still leading to similar work), discussed the sociological and psychological impact of challenging quirks
All that to say, year four is the perfect time for the suit to fall into his lap.
He's got his professional shit together
And, though he's let himself shed some of the weight he needed to maintain One For All, he's kept himself in good condition
(High school students are so easily motivated by a little good natured teasing, "you really gonna let your quirkless teacher lap you?" has been a remarkably easy way to keep his kids going through tough conditioning work)
So, after he's managed to stop crying on All Might long enough to schedule a call with Hatsume to go over the specs; and stopped crying after that call long enough to process everything she's shared about its function, he realizes he's going to need to train before he can take this thing out in the field
The suit is incredible: a light exoskeleton that'll enhance his strength, 360 degree sensors that will pick up objects moving at certain speeds or sudden changes in air pressure, a light propulsion system that will allow him brief bursts of flight or slightly longer periods to hover, a chord system that he can use to pull himself forward or restrain villains, a diffuser that will set off a smoke screen
He spends another hour or so after the call with Hatsume to cry about how closely they've tried to recreate the capabilities of One For All
And then spends another four thinking about all of the manual controls he'll need to learn to replicate the skills he used to be able to call forth with a thought.
Thinks too about the kind of conditioning he'll need to do in order to not lose speed or an arm to the weight and propulsion of the suit
He remembers fondly a dirty beach half a lifetime ago; remembers, too, a forest trail where a quirkless All Might declared he'd change the future. Deku can do this.
And there's no better way to address the Kacchan of it all:
He'd tried calling Kacchan after All Might had dropped the news -- and been sent straight to voicemail three times in a row; received back a terse text: u r welcome nerd
Which told him Kacchan wasn't ready to deal -- with Deku's tears, or his gratitude, or with a conversation about how Kacchan had dedicated all of his professional career to funding Deku's dream -- as if all the long hours, and parties missed, and extra shifts covered, hadn't all been some sort of declaration of intent about the rest of their fucking lives
Which was fine. What was Deku going to say anyway?
"Was this a proposal, Kacchan? Because if so, my answer is yes."
That could wait. They had the rest of their fucking lives, apparently.
But in the meantime, Deku needed to train. He couldn't afford to rush this. Kacchan would be furious if Deku got himself hurt because he was being reckless.
So he headed over to the gym in Kacchan's building after work, just in time to catch Kacchan coming in for his biweekly workout.
"I've got a plan. I think I'm going to need to dedicate some attention to these particular muscle groups to protect from injury. I think I probably need to gain a little more muscle, too. Then, I want to start training in the suit. I'll need to get a feel for how it works as a whole in combat and rescue settings. But then I want to work on isolations. Can I trigger just this response as quickly as possible in various circumstances. What can I do or not if I've just got control of the arms or just the legs or just one limb. I've put together a timetable. I think, if you'll help me, I could be ready for field work without injuring myself by the end of this school year."
When Deku finally pauses and looks up from his notebook, Kacchan looks visibly relieved, shoulders down from his ears, that gleam in his eye that's signals amusement in spite of himself, the start of smile tucked into the corner of his mouth
Kacchan snatches the notebook from Deku's hands and looks over the charts. Deku barely grumbles at all at Kacchan's free hand tousling Deku's hair while he skims.
So its been awhile, but inspiration struck, in the middle of a bad mental health day. Uh, enjoy this short blurb.
____________________________________
The duvet and sheets fly off the bed as an annoyed groan leaves my slightly parted lips. If anyone had entered the room, they'd think a tornado had torn through. Clothes on the floor, hamper turned over, drawers thrusted open, and let's not talk about the closet. Clothes were half hanging on hangers and even some of the shoes that had been previously nestled on a shoe rack were scattered on the closet floor.
I tug at my hair in frustration, where was my damn hoodie? I had planned to go out with a friend to an art fair/farmers market, the air just chilly enough to only need a hoodie, and it would hide the small bump that had been forming from Tom's and my's newest addition, who had yet to be even introduced to his family.
Another groan falls past my lips as I stomp out into the hallway and toward the laundry room.
"Darling," Tom’s voice calls from his seated position on the couch. "What's wrong?"
I push the door open and start sorting through clothes still left in the basket to be washed. "Have you seen my hoodie?" I call out, huffing when the clothes only end up being some of Tom's work out clothing.
"Uh, you mean the one I stole from the Cherry set?"
I roll my eyes as I exit, walking toward his voice. "You know for a fact that the only person who can fit in that is you." His laughter carries as I pass through the kitchen to the closet by the front door.
"Then, the one you got from your trip to where your parent's condo is." He tries again.
"No, my love, and that's not even a hoodie, that's a crew neck sweatshirt-"
"Jumper-"
"Whatever!" I laugh as I shut the closet door and make my way to the living room for one last look. "No, I'm looking for the one that-" My eyes finally land on Tom, cuddled on the couch with a blanket, Tessa’s head resting in his lap, scrolling through his phone, with none other than my missing hoodie draped over his frame. I fold my arms over my chest and let out a short, breathy laugh through my nose.
"Which one was it again then? You have dozens of them, love." He asks, not even looking away from his phone.
I can't help but laugh, "Oh, you know, the one I got when I went to Japan. It has the Spirited Away bath house on it with Haku flying above it." He nods his head, eyebrows pulled together like he's really trying to think about it. "You know, the one you're wearing."
His eyes finally snap away from his phone to look at me, before falling down to the article of clothing he'd donned. He gives me a sheepish smile, and snuggles into it further making me cackle. "Oops-"
"You little shit, I need that-"
"But you have others! And you left it in here, and I was cold, so not my fault-"
"You couldn't have walked twenty paces to our room to fetch your own?"
He smiles like a kid caught with his hands on something he wants, and planned to not give back. "Nope!"
I roll my eyes, "What is this bullshit, I can't even fit in your shit." I walk back up the hallway, going to find a different one to wear as I was going to be late if I didn't leave in the next five minutes.
When I come back, Tom hasn't even moved, but his phone is no longer his main focus. "Well, it's comfortable, and smells like you. And fuck gender standards, guys can steal their girlfriends clothes too."
I roll my eyes and walk up to him, pecking his lips softly, "You're lucky you're cute, Holland."
"Sexy, you mean-" I pinch his cheek, making him whine in annoyance. "Meanie," he pouts.
"I love you too." I stand up and stretch before heading to the door. "Alright, I'm out. I'll text you when I'm on my way back."
"Have fun!" He calls out, and I get one last view of him in my hoodie, and I can't help but admit-
I love the idea of being held captive in some homestead deep in a snowy mountain by a retired military man with a Russian accent.
You’re not from there originally from that country/region. So you don’t know the terrain as much a he does. So it’s either being cooped up with him or freezing to death out there (doubt he would let you get that far)
He’s a tall man with short dark cropped hair, with it shorter on the sides. He’s strong and sturdy with a layer of fat. He reminds you of a bear with how hairy he is. All around his arms, legs, chest, and other places (//blushing//)
I can imagine you once being a nurse in the military.
You were stationed some where far and much warmer than where you are now.
All took for him was you stitching him up one day, feeling your hands glide and roam his body for him to want to take you.
—
He wasn’t really interested in women. From birth, his sole purpose was to be a killing machine. Which left no room for any kind of relationships (romantic, platonic, familia, etc). Even growing up, his caregivers didn’t give him much love.
He thought he was strong.
He thought he was strong enough to resist the desire for any companionship or relationship.
But the one time he got hurt, badly too.
He observe the way you fretted over him. You were so gentle and loving, it made him embarrassed at times.
Not like he would show it, keeping a stoic exterior.
You gave him the best customer service you could muster up. With hand feeding, rubbing his feet and shoulders, singing his praises (let’s ignore the company’s threats breathing down your neck if you treated their best weapon with anything but the best treatment)
But when it was decided he was all healed and ready to go back to the field. He didn’t want to go back, if anything he wanted to spend more time with you.
So he decided to retire.
He done so much for the company, it was time to put up the cape.
Putting in your resignation letter along with his.
His superiors joked it was his own little “retirement present”.
Then, you woke up one day gagged in a fetal position with your hands and feet tied together in an unknown house in an unknown place but with a familiar face brutishly grunting about you finally being wake.
For this one Futuristic astronaut man (kinda like oil rig but it’s in space, in a space ship if that makes sense):
Don’t ask what or why they do, the situation is they’re out in space, on some kind of space ship for months doing something (kinda like an oil rig, maybe their mining/collecting space rocks or something).
I love the idea of you’re the sole girl on the team.
It’s you with like 4-6 men. (Like let’s pretend how not stupid that is)
And you want to prove yourself so badly but constantly getting singled out and harassed by the captain second hand command.
You can’t even complain about him to the captain (who btw were Orphans and grew up together) because the yandere is really competent at his job. Probably the best one on the team (probably better than the captain but that’s up to debate). While you’re pretty good (good enough to get hired) you’re not close to being as good as him, so it wouldn’t be a hard decision on who they would get rid of.
So it looks like you’re going to have to put up for the next 6 months and hopefully by the time it’s over you can be asked to be assigned to a different team.
What’s worse? He’s pretty easy on the eyes with a country accent and dark hair to accompany his good looks.
You thought maybe because he likes you (attracted to you?) but you seen the poster girls he hangs up on the walls of his room (bikini cald skinny blonde women, one laying on a beach or displayed on some sports car). So obviously that can’t be the case (lol).
Everyone else is no help either.
Either pretending they didn’t hear the crude remarks he makes about or making excuses for his brash behavior. “He probably didn’t get enough sleep”, “probably didn’t get his coffee today” and etc etc.
Constantly breathing down your neck (literally and figuratively) close enough to call it micro managing. Also popping up at your room during non work times for “team bonding”.
As if he wasn’t making gross comments earlier about “space is not place for a woman” and if you’re were his woman you “would be at home, pregnant and bare foot”. When you looked at the captain as in “see the kind of things he’s saying” all he does is shake his head and go “not like he said anything wrong”.
Let’s say, just for a single small mission they sent the two of you. And for some reason something goes wrong and you end up crashes landing on some deserted planet.
Now he’s talking about how it will be awhile till you guys will get rescued so best to “make use of your situation” and how he plans to make you truly “useful”.
Zoro looked down between them where his captain had his cock -- both of their cocks -- wrapped in his hands.
Luffy's grip was hot -- he always ran hot, something about all the energy he burned through just by the nature of his ability -- and wet beneath the surface of the bath. With one fist he held them close. The fingers of his other hand traced over them both as if trying identify the differences between them and commit them to memory.
Zoro's hands clutched at his captain's shoulders. Initially, he'd thought to brace Luffy from crashing into him, but now he wasn't sure if he was holding Luffy back or clutching him tight, though he was certain he'd be leaving bruise on anyone who wasn't dumbass captain.
"Luffy. The hell are you doing?"
Luffy's fingers pressed into the slit at the tip of his cock before dragging across to his own. Luffy hummed distractedly.
"Hmm. Is this okay, Zoro? I've been wondering what it'd feel like."
Zoro's heart hammered in his chest as Luffy punctuated his statement with a loose twist of his hands around their filling cocks.
He hadn't been aroused before.
When Nami had shoved them into their brand new bathroom aboard The Merry and demanded they take a proper bath, his main focus had been on making sure Luffy hadn't drowned or brained himself in the short time it had taken Zoro to trim and clean under his nails. Then there'd been the battle of getting Luffy to actually bathe -- cloth and soap behind ears and under arms, behind the knees and between toes. He'd just been settling in to relax when he found himself with a lapful of his captain.
"Been wondering about what, Luffy?" He sucked in a stuttering breath as Luffy's wandering fingers wedged impossibly between their thighs to trace Zoro's balls. "What it's like with another man?"
Luffy shook his head, eyes never leaving where his hands were working them toward full arousal. "What it's like with you."
Zoro groaned and let himself give in, head falling backward as he rolled his hips upward into Luffy's grip, and the slide of them against each other was obscene.
"Zoro --" He'd never find out what Luffy might have said next, because he used the hand he'd shoved into his captain's hair to guide his mouth to his own. The other hand found Luffy's ass and squeezed, pulling him into another delicious grind.
Luffy gasped against his mouth, and then moaned, stilling almost completely when Zoro tongued and bit at his lips.
And then all at once, Luffy was in motion: hands squeezing and gliding in maddening counterpoint to the grind of his hips. His tongue pressed into Zoro's mouth, overwhelming and hungry, only to disappear entirely so he could bite into Zoro's lip, hard enough to draw blood. He lapped at the wound, then sucked Zoro's lip into his mouth as if trying to draw out more.
Zoro's hand in Luffy's hair tightened, pulling him away just enough that he could pressing sucking kisses and nipping bites into his captain's shoulders and neck.
Zoro couldn't be sure -- not entirely, Luffy always kept him on his toes -- but if there was even half a chance that Luffy was learning his way through this by example --
Zoro grunted as Luffy butted Zoro's head to the side so he could latch his own mouth to Zoro's collar bone. He licked a scorching path across Zoro's clavicle before sucking bruising kisses up Zoro's neck to his ear. With only the slightest pause, he sucked Zoro's earlobe, and all three earrings, into his hot, wet mouth and moaned as if the gold against his tongue was doing something for him.
Pride be damned - he wasn't going to last. While Luffy still had his ear between his teeth, Zoro grabbed two palmfuls of his ass, making sure to press two fingers to the taut skin behind Luffy's balls and one against the tight pucker of his hole, and then came pulsing against the hard line of Luffy's dick. Whether it was the squeeze of his hands, the embarrassingly loud groan, or something else entirely, Luffy followed him almost immediately over the edge.
"We should do that more often, Zoro," Luffy giggled against his chest.
Izuku Midoriya recognizes a declaration of romantic intent when it slaps him in the face with a mechanical arm, and he's sick of Kacchan's bullshit:
Fucking Kacchan -- like everything else with Kacchan -- is complicated.
It'd started off simple.
A text late one night to Kacchan: "it's gone ...the ember is gone"
An hour later, and Kacchan had been knocking at Izuku's university dorm door
Izuku had fallen into him, amazed that Kacchan had traveled all the way from his campus to be with him in this moment
A kiss to Izuku's hair made him look up into vermillion eyes
Kacchan had followed it with a kiss to Izuku's forehead, his eyelids, his tear-stained cheeks -- he'd paused and Izuku hadn't dared to move, not even to open his eyes, unwilling to break whatever spell this might be
Kacchan had brushed his thumbs over Izuku's cheeks, cradling Izuku's face, as if Izuku was precious, delicate: "Let me make you feel good." Yes.
"Please."
And then Kacchan had moved with the kind of decisive action that never failed to take Izuku's breath away; only this time he had actually been stealing Izuku's breath, un-selfconsciously pressing the gentlest kiss to Izuku's mouth following it up with a series of licks and bites that had left Izuku unable to think about anything beyond Kacchan
His hands in Izuku's hair, the bite of his teeth against Izuku's neck, the warmth of him under Izuku's hands, the dizzying sight of him sinking to his knees
Izuku had come embarrassingly fast. Kacchan was as good at sucking Izuku off as he was at everything else, all hot mouth and large hands completely focused on holding Izuku captive.
"Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean -- I mean I didn't want -- I still want, I mean if you want --"
"Zuku," Kacchan's voice had been serious, his stare arresting, "You think I'm done with you? You think I'll ever be fucking done with you?"
And then Kacchan had reached behind himself and pulled his shirt over his head; stood in one fluid motion and tossed a small bottle to the bed from one of his pockets. "Come here."
Izuku had crashed into Kacchan with all the urgency of years' worth of desire
It had taken almost the whole night to exhaust themselves, and even then, Kacchan stayed and held Izuku until he'd finally been able to sleep
In the morning, when Izuku had woken to the sun streaming through his window and an empty bed, he'd almost panicked.
"Shhh, go back to sleep. I've gotta get back to my internship." Kacchan was halfway through the door, but he stopped to look back over his shoulder. "But, I'm here, Deku. Always."
Then he was out the door.
Izuku'd crashed back into bed, only to realize there was a note left on his pillow: "You're still my hero, Deku."
And it might have stayed simple if either he or Kacchan had ever figured out how to have a proper conversation, but it was always heartrending confessions or almost nothing at all with them. It was easier when they were in person. Kacchan communicated through action. For instance:
After Kacchan left that morning, Izuku didn't hear directly from him, but suddenly the mostly dormant Class 1A group chat lit up
Ashido mentioned wanting to meet up to celebrate some of the upcoming birthdays; Momo thought maybe they could make a tradition of it, meet up once a month any month where 1A had a birthday; Tenya had a scheduling survey posted in the chat almost before Momo finished her last message
Then Uraraka and Tsu, both attending the same university as Izuku, had shown up at his door with snacks for an impromptu movie night
No one mentioned a word about One For All or Katsuki, but it all still felt like Kacchan taking care of him
"Did he tell you," Izuku asked once the first movie ended, "that we finally slept together?"
Once the shock of the revelation died down, the questions began: How do you feel about that? Have you talked since? Are you dating now?
That last one was where he got stuck. He wasn't sure. He couldn't explain what they were.
Tsu and Uraraka thought he should talk with Kacchan, but Izuku kept thinking about the night they helped Kacchan escape the League -- the way the plan worked because Izuku didn't press. When Kacchan was ready, he'd made contact. And Izuku had gotten his best friend back.
Izuku decided he would wait, let Kacchan lead
A week and a half later, when 1A met up for Koji, Shoji, Tsu, & Jiro's birthdays, Kacchan made a beeline for Izuku as soon as he arrived
Kacchan was clearly freshly off duty, hair a little damp, clothes clinging slightly from his shower
He pressed his way through the crowd, barely waited for their friends to make space next to Izuku before he was dragging a seat into the space
He settled in close, arm around the back of Izuku's chair, before butting his head lightly into the side of Izuku's. His free hand reached to Izuku's closest and pulled it into his grip and then to his mouth for a quick kiss
Izuku nearly died.
It's not that they hadn't spoken since that night, they had, but not about them, not about what that night meant. Kacchan had sent over footage from some villain who'd been good at evading their agency: "how would you stop him? the short version"; and there'd been random hero trivia, stuff that was hard to find online but Kacchan had gleaned from some old timers who consulted at his internship
Nothing that would have prepared Izuku for this; for fucking casual contact in the presence of their friends
All Might help him
When Kacchan found him after dinner, chatting with Jiro and Kaminari, and asked him, audibly, if he wanted to come back to Kacchan's place, Izuku had practically floated out after him
On the way over, he could sense Kacchan tensing up. They needed to talk - should talk. But, even Izuku could admit that sometimes there's was too much to say and too few words that would make any of it make sense.
He thought sometimes that's why they'd had such a hard time of it in grade school. What do you do with the knowledge that you and this other kid are permanent when you're 10 years old.
So when they got up to Kacchan's dorm, Izuku didn't say anything, simply took Kachaan's hand and pulled him close. The way Kacchan fell into the kiss, fell into Izuku's arms, like it was a relief, was all Izuku really needed to know.
It was a pattern they'd keep up over the next few years.
Kacchan stayed busy: school, internship, training, recovery. But he never missed a birthday gathering. And -- as they'd done since their second year at UA, they always met up on the anniversary of Kacchan's escape from the League of Villains at All Might's statue.
On the first anniversary of Izuku losing his power, Kacchan showed up at Izuku's dorm with a bag full of groceries: "Stop looking at me like that, dweeb, it's our fucking anniversary. Put some pants on so we can go down to the kitchen."
It didn't stop Izuku's tears, but it did muddle them into something closer to sweet than bitter
It was also how he learned that they were in fact (probably) in a relationship
But when graduation rolled around, and other 1A couples were preparing to move in with each other, Kacchan asked Izuku and Kaminari and Kirishima to help him move into a spartan little studio apartment a five minute walk away from his agency
"You've got that offer from UA. It wouldn't make sense for you to commute all the way from out here."
Which was its own manageable sort of wound.
What wasn't manageable was watching Kacchan constantly try to get himself killed:
Some time during college, Kacchan had named Izuku as his emergency contact
It wasn't a romantic thing -- more a Mitsuki Bakugo was a lot to handle when healthy & uninjured, and while she absolutely knew how to tune it down when her son needed her, she would absolutely flame the shit out of Bakugo if she felt he was taking unnecessary risks
So Izuku got a first hand look at Kacchan's fucking death wish
It hadn't been obvious at first; when they were in college he'd just seemed driven, eager to finish his degree on time, eager to leverage it plus his experience to secure a position at one of the best agencies
(Which was ridiculous -- he'd saved the fucking world in his first year of high school; he would have personal recommendations from Endeavor and Aizawa-sensei and All Might -- but Izuku could pretend Kacchan's work ethic made sense, could speculate that maybe Kacchan had some plans for their future that required it)
But Kacchan graduated, and moved into his tiny ass apartment -- alone -- , and never let his foot up off the gas
He put in hours at his main agency, signed up for work with the Security Office, took on every overtime opportunity for community outreach events
He was always working, rarely left himself time to get more than a handful of hours of sleep, let alone time to really recharge
He started making mistakes
Oh, nothing that would get him removed from the agency or any of his other gigs, but the kind of things that left him taking more damage than he needed, the kind of mistakes he'd dedicated himself to beating out of Izuku in training over half a decade ago
With every injury the warnings piled up: take more sustained damage here and risk doing permanent harm to his hand, one more fall like that and he might sustain the kind of concussion it took a year or more to recover from, another shoulder dislocation and he was looking at permanent tendon damage
It would have been one thing if the injuries were unavoidable, but Izuku watched the footage, scoured the web for every angle of Kacchan's fights and rescues. It was exhaustion. Kacchan was reacting slower, taking more risks, because he was fucking exhausted
Izuku had tried to be patient, tried to be calm, but Kacchan was a bull-headed asshole who refused to take more than medically prescribed days off, or give up any of his side jobs, or reasonably explain why he was driving himself into the ground with nothing to show for it
"Is this what it was like watching me with One For All? Because I completely understand why you beat the shit out of me to make me stop!"
"I can't stop right now, Deku."
"So I'm just supposed to sit here and watch you get yourself killed?"
"I don't want you to leave."
"But you won't so much as take a day off to show me that I should stay?"
The silence had been deafening.
You could call it a break up, their friends in 1A did, but Izuku didn't think he and Kacchan were capable of closing the door on each other. Not permanently. Every time they'd walked away from each other in the past, they'd come back stronger, closer. But he'd be damned if Kacchan died because Izuku had been permissive.
So, for almost two years, Izuku's world got quieter:
He gave up almost half of the birthday gatherings ("Sorry I'm on dorm watch duty, Aizawa-sensei will kick my ass if I skip!" "Big field trip in the morning guys, I won't be able to make it this time." "Nobody told me essays would take this long to grade! I'll catch you next time, I promise!" Please, please, please take care of Kacchan for me.)
And teaching really did kick his ass: he needed to get familiar with UA curriculum from the teacher side (because of the League of Villains he'd barely seen the traditional coursework his first two years), he needed to tailor it to his own teaching style, had to figure out his teaching style, and grading, and student discipline, and managing practical exercises while quirkless
In between all of that, there were still calls from Kacchan's agency infirmary or the nearby hospital. Fewer than before. But.
Izuku spoke with Kacchan's doctors over the phone, determined whether the situation was a send-over-a-1A-in-the-morning or call-in-Mitsuki-now and reminded himself why he himself needed to stay put
That didn't stop him from showing up at All Might's statue on the anniversary of All For One's reemergence
They'd sat quietly next to each other for a while before:
"Deku..."
"Are you going to slow down?"
"I can't yet."
"Okay. Be careful, Kacchan."
And Kacchan sent Izuku a small Deku statuette on their anniversary, one of the niche merch items sold by artists local to either he and Kacchan's childhood neighborhood or the area Izuku had patrolled after Shigaraki's awakening. It reminded Izuku of that note Kacchan left for him their first morning together.
Needless to say, when All Might asked to meet him after class he couldn't have begun to expect The Suit.
"Explain. What do you mean Kacchan...and 1A? Explain."
All Might wasn't sure how long Kacchan and Hatsume had been working on the idea, but sometime before college graduation their near complete prototype had been completely destroyed during testing
This is when Kacchan had reached out to All Might and the Security Office: If the SO could hire Hatsume and fund the most basic form of the suit, they'd be able to use it to allow disabled heroes with valuable experience (All Might, Hawks, Mirko, etc) back in the field, even if just in the capacity to train young heroes; Kacchan would continue funding the unique features he wanted for specifically for Izuku's
As Kacchan had already funded the basis of the suit's research and the SO had already been looking to recruit Hatsume, they'd been able to solidify the deal
But, the materials needed to make the suit as safe as necessary were expensive, even with folks like Jeanist (who'd created a new fiber for the undersuit that would afford Izuku more protection should a battery explode, etc) volunteering their time for free
Around that time, class 1A had had the.....opportunity to confront Kacchan without Izuku present
Once they understood what Kacchan was up to, they created a fund to support the completion of the suit
Izuku had struggled then. He knew his eyes were leaking, but he didn't have time for the breakdown this deserved, because he needed to be across town. He needed to see Kacchan's stupid, beautiful, infuriating face.
He barely remembered leaving All Might (he would call him later with a proper thank you); he booked a rideshare, plugged in Kacchan's location (they'd started sharing it in 2nd year at UA -- "I'm not gonna be stressed that you've gotten yourself caught up in some mess without backup. What if the ember burns out mid-reckless decision? Share your location, nerd.") and spent the next 30 minutes trying to understand it all
Why Kacchan had been so hellbent on working all the time, why it had all gotten so much worse after graduation, the desperation he'd had to continue. "I can't yet."
After 20+ years of friendship, it finally struck Izuku that Kacchan was always telling him the important things in fucking decade old callbacks
"You were looking down on me, you thought you were better than me." That fight at Ground Beta revealing some long held misperception.
And now, he was thrown back to a hospital bed the day One For All died: "I thought I'd be on your heels for the rest of our lives."
Izuku had tried so hard then not to read into that. Had tried not to read into a simple statement more than Kacchan could possibly have been trying to say.
But, fuck that.
The car stopped before Izuku could work himself from incensed muttering to a full body scream
He was shocked to find himself in front of Kacchan's apartment, but the little blue bubble on the map indicated that Kacchan (or his phone at least) was in fact in the building in front of him
It was rare for Kacchan to actually be home, he usually just caught naps at his agency unless he was taking a rare 24 hours or more off
Izuku couldn't care about any of it. He quickly coded into the building and made his way up to Kacchan's room. He couldn't sort himself out enough to find the key and so instead spent 20 seconds banging loud enough on Kacchan's door to probably alarm the neighbors.
Kacchan answered the door groggy and gorgeous, but the bags under his eyes were a reminder of why Izuku was here
"Why, Kacchan?"
It took him a moment to respond. "All Might told you?" And then, after Izuku nodded, "What the fuck do you mean 'why'?"
"Why do all of this? Why work so hard just for --"
"Just for the person who gave their fucking everything to save the entire world? To give something back to the person entire governments were content to let take the fall for their failures? I don't know Deku. Maybe I wasn't content to watch the one person who did nothing wrong lose the one thing he wanted most. Maybe I wasn't okay with that karmic injustice. So I did something about it. Because you're worth more than being relegated to the sidelines."
Fuck
Whatever anger or confusion had been holding back the swell of Izuku's tears broke then in the face of Kacchan's sincerity
Izuku barely registered the door closing as Kacchan pulled Izuku out of the hallway and into his arms
Izuku cried. For a long time. For the unfairness he rarely let himself acknowledge. For the way Kacchan, as always, had identified the problem and started working on the solution before Izuku had even finished processing. For the way the burden of fixing everything always seemed to fall on them. For the time they'd lost. For the time they would continue to lose if Izuku couldn't find the courage to speak.
He braced himself against Kacchan's shoulder because facing Kacchan had always given him strength: "I love you, Katsuki Bakugo. A decade ago you told me about a future you'd imagined. A future for the both of us. Together. If this -- if all of this -- wasn't about us and forever, can you tell me now so I can try and find away to kill this hope?"
"Deku, shit --" here Kacchan pulled him closer, a hand to the back of Izuku's neck, the other finding Izuku's hand to lace their fingers together. "Yeah, this is about...us. Forever."
Izuku moved then, bodying Kacchan into the couch, pressing himself into Kacchan's chest
"Good. That's good. I'm moving in. But not here. We're finding a place where our bed isn't the living room and the bathroom isn't next to the pantry."
"Tell me how you really feel, asshole." Said so warmly as to be an endearment.
"And you're taking time off. Real time. And dropping at least one job."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, Kacchan."
"Pushy."
"You spent the better parts of the last decade working to get just this -- so you'll deal with it."
"Yeah I did." Kacchan ran a hand through Izuku's hair. "What else?"
"Whatever else is left to pay for, it's mine. I've been getting paid to live in the teacher's dorm for the last three years. I've got savings --"
"It's done, Deku. It's all -- with everyone chipping in, especially Todoroki with his dad's guilt money -- it's all taken care of."
"Huh. Okay. But repairs are mine. If the Security Office or our agency or whatever can't cover it, it's mine. You've done enough."
"Mm, maybe."
"No, Kacchan. I'm serious. I need you to rest. I need you to take care of yourself. Let me worry about me for a little. What would have been the point if you burn yourself out just as I'm getting started. I want what you said. Us. Together. Flawless victories."
Okay, I just turned on MHA like six weeks ago, and just finished the manga yesterday. And while I have.....thoughts -.- about that ending, I also can't help think about:
Deku's Accidental Charm Offensive & Unintentional Rehabilitation of Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight's Image
Like:
On one of Deku's first patrols with Dynamight, they wrap up a villain with no injuries, no collateral, no casualties, and Dynamight lets rip his signature shout: "FLAWLESS VICTORY!"
The PR folks at his agency (and the internet) have told him that it's off-putting and unnerving
But Deku breaks out laughing behind him, Bakugo turns for the fist bump, aggressive, still pumped up from the adrenaline
They've responded to a request to back up heroes in an adjacent zone
Bakugo's been picking up more requests for backup now that Deku's in the field -- he knows the nerd gets a kick out of working in teams, and sometimes they run into their classmates, it makes Deku smile, whatever
There's a group of villains working in a team, and the biggest of them has a quirk it takes the the BakuBros way too long to figure out, but Deku, Chargebolt, and Red Riot manage to clear the extras from the field long enough for Bakugo to finally put the big bad down
It was a messy and exhausting fight, Bakugo's barely staying on his feet in the aftermath, but then he hears a shout from a nearby roof -- Deku:
"Great Explosion Murder God --"
"DYNAMIGHT" Kaminari and Kirishima join Deku's dumbass shout, and Bakugo is tossed up on the idiot's shoulders like an American frat boy.
They're so embarrassing.
The nearby newscaster filming from the police line laughs with the rest of the nearby civilians, says something about the atmosphere of joy as the villains have finally been subdued
But especially that time:
Some overexcitable brat almost got themselves killed on Deku and Bakugo's watch
There'd been some two-bit criminal, hardly enough of a threat to be called a villain, but Endeavor'd taught them to respond quickly, and they'd never been able to kick the muscle memory
The kid, no more than 8 or 9 had seen them passing by from her window and climbed out onto her fire escape, climbing up on the rails to try and record the interaction
Thank fuck the sensors on Deku's suit had picked up the anomaly of her sudden descent
Though they'd both rushed into action, Bakugo made the save snatching the kid from the air before she'd injured herself
When he got them both on solid ground, he'd been ready to light into her -- "Listen here, you --"
But Deku had been there, hand firm on Bakugo's elbow, "Kacchan, no!" Before hip-checking Bakugo out of the way and crouching down to get at eye level with the girl
"Hey, what my buddy, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight" (Deku always says it like Bakugo had dreamed it, like it's the name of someone trustworthy) "is trying to say is that your safety is way more important than a picture or video of us. Right?"
Here Deku had turned to look up at Bakugo. His midnight green eyes stern and expectant. Reminding Bakugo:
He'd made a promise to himself. If Deku gave becoming a hero a chance -- not just doing test work with the suit, not just moonlighting between class and grading papers, but really gave partnering with Bakugo his best effort -- Bakugo wouldn't let himself do anything to get in the way of Deku becoming the #1 hero. Anything.
"Yeah kid, it's not a flawless victory if you get hurt."
Deku beamed at him as if Bakugo just plucked the moon from the sky and personally gifted to him. Bakugo's cheeks had burned. But it didn't matter (he'd thought it wouldn't matter -- smartphones are the worst) Deku had already turned back to the girl.
"And if you want to come chat with us, we'll be at the Fall Festival at _____ Park around the corner in just a couple weeks! We'll be at the ______ Agency booth!"
Business kids had gotten the bright idea that heroes ought to be more accessible, feel more a part of the communities they helped protect.
A week later, Ashido sent a tweet to the Forever 1A group chat. A video of he and Deku with the kid. The caption: "Turns out Great Explosion Murder God just needed an anger interpreter."
The first comment under the tweet: "Anger interpreter? Do you mean husband?? Look at the blush!"
Bakugo is going to kill them!
But like, after 3 months of he and Deku partnering, they're neck and neck with Todoroki - the Big 3 back in competition.
