Chapter Text
Katsuki flipped through the patient charts. He kept one eye on the evening news as heroes flew across the television screen. A villain raid. Flashes caught on shaky footage, one particular shade of green making Katsuki's head turn.
A very familiar shade of green.
"You better not roll in here on a gurney, hero." Katsuki mumbled, tearing his gaze off the T.V to go terrorise his interns. If he stayed to watch the news any longer, he'd stay glued to the television all evening.
Why do I have to date a hero?
Katsuki caught himself int time. Were they dating? They had gone on two dates over the course of the eight months they had known each other. Did that count as dating? Did that give Katsuki the right to worry?
"Hey munchkins! What're you mooning about?" An elbow stabbed him in his ribs, jostling him
Katsuki rolled his eyes, turning to his friend, Camie looking at him wiggling eyebrows and chewing gum. "What?"
Camie balanced the lollipop stick between her teeth, gesturing to all of him. "Mooning. Worried about your boyfriend?"
Katsuki tried not to wince. "He's not my....Shut up, we have patients to attend to."
"Don't tell me? All this time and you haven't DTR'd yet?"
"I don't know what that means and I don't care." Katsuki tried speedwalking away but Camie was fast as fuck, keeping pace with him.
"You can't run from me blondie."
"Watch me." Katsuki barked out, picking up his pace. The two doctors coming to a skidding halt when their pagers beeped incessantly.
Code Zero.
Katsuki and Camie exchanged a worried glance. Katsuki cursed under his breath as they rushed to the trauma room, snapping on gloves, dreading the worst. The alarm meant only one thing.
All hands on deck. Rogue villain. And multiple casualties.
You better not break your streak, Izuku.
The stretchers rolled in and Katsuki worked quickly between the injured, halting at a small child who couldn't be older than six. His heart churned every time a tiny body rolled in. "Sanitise the wounds and run a tox screen."
The lack of quirk somehow made him perceptive, giving him a keen eye.
It used to be a game, when he was little. While he was waiting for his own quirk to show, Katsuki spent his day people watching. Trying to guess stranger's quirks as they passed by. Paying attention to mannerisms and physical manifestations.
An eye for detail.
Katsuki waited patiently for his quirk till he was eight, harbouring hope. And when the waiting game turned into a knack for quirk analysis to becoming a Specialist who can identify quirks inflicted upon a patient, well, the lines blurred along the way.
Katsuki ran his eyes over the small frame, blood running cold. "Prep an OR. NOW." The nurses rushed, keeping the child top priority. The poor kid had lacerations and chemical burns littered all over his skin. He was barely breathing, ribs broken and four of his little fingers missing.
Hours passed by in the OR, Katsuki doing his best to control the damage while dealing with the unknown quirk afflicted on the child. Katsuki rolled his shoulders as he stepped out of the OR to see Izuku outside discussing something with Dr. Matsuda and a few HPSC officials.
The hero was yet to notice him, giving Katsuki the chance to observe the No. 8 Hero at work. Izuku, the man usually full of sunshine and wide grins looked so different as the Pro Hero Deku.
Japan's Sweetheart, the infamous War Hero, standing there with eyebrows furrowed in a concentrated frown, calculative and decisive.
Unfaltering.
"Dr. Bakugou." Dr. Matsuda called out, drawing the attention to Katsuki, Izuku's lips quirking up in a small secret smile when he met his gaze, eyes going soft. "The patient's status?" The attending demanded, drawing Katsuki's attention away from his.....away from Izuku.
"Multiple injuries, we need to keep him in observation and have an ortho consult. The extent of the injuries are too severe and the quirk—"
Dr. Matsuda held up a hand, cutting Katsuki off. "We can leave the quirks to the Specialists."
Katsuki clenched his fists, physically restraining himself from cursing out his attending. "I am a Quirk Specialist."
"Yeah, the quirkless quirk specialist." Dr. Matsuda murmured. "Pro Hero Deku needs a consult, I will send up Dr. Utsushimi." In the past three years of his residency, Dr. Matsuda never lost an opportunity to nitpick at Katsuki or remind him of his quirklessness. As if Katsuki was the hospital's charity hire.
"Dr. Matsuda, it's protocol I talk to everyone involved in the handling of the patient. The case is time sensitive." Izuku spoke up, crossing his arms, gritting his jaw. "The villain's still at large, any hypothesis on his quirk would be really helpful for the heroes currently trailing him."
"I'm aware of protocol Deku-san, i've been running the department longer than you'v been alive. I'm sending up the best."
Katsuki scoffed. "There is a reason you keep a quirkless quirk specialist here, sir." He spat out. "I'm the best you got."
Dr. Matsuda rolled his eyes. Before Katsuki could retort, Izuku turned to face Katsuki. Like full body turned, back very rudely turned to Dr. Matsuda, dismissive. "Dr. Bakugou, I'll take that consult now, please."
The damned nerd. Katsuki had to stamp down the victorious smirk as Dr. Matsuda boiled at the blatant disrespect. "You aren't going to get an accurate run down from him." Dr. Matsuda let out an incredulous laugh that only made Izuku's fingernails dig into his biceps, arms still crossed over his chest.
"Dr. Matsuda, this is my case. I will deal with it as I please. And obstruction of questioning is a criminal offence. Do I need to get into the protocol for that as well?" Izuku droned, bored eyes shooting Dr. Matsuda a dirty look before turning to Katsuki. "Dr. Bakugou?"
The low, stern voice snapped Katsuki out of the vivid daydream of murdering Dr. Matsuda, red eyes slanting over to Izuku. "The child is severely injured. Lots of scar tissue from a possible emitter quirk, my bet is on a chemical base of some kind. But there multiple injuries that could have only been caused by a close ranged quirk. My theory is either multiple quirks—" He paused, gesturing to Izuku, such as yourself, "—or genetically manufactured."
Izuku and Dr. Matsuda both froze at the implications. Nomu. "I will inform the HPSC." Dr. Matsuda made his way to his office.
After the war, the HPSC's priorities had shifted. They invested all their funds into boosting morale, and regaining the public trust in heroes. An aggressive influx of Limelight heroes, Izuku being one of them, to rebuilding the Hero Society. Izuku's agency had cracked down a few hideouts in the past eight years.
But some, managed to slip under their radar.
"How is the kid?" Izuku ran a frustrated hand through his curls. Something Katsuki enjoyed doing a lot. "He was the last witness to see the villain, Teruya Minho, I just hope we didn't reach too late." He paced around looking at the floor.
Katsuki glanced through the chart, shaking his head. "The anesthesia should wear off soon but, the kid's in a pretty bad shape. Crooked bones from improper healing, almost 90% vision loss in one eye and four fingers are....missing. And that's just the external injuries. I might have to get Neuro in too."
Izuku snapped his neck up. "Missing?"
"The scar tissue...it's too old for the injury to be related to this villain raid. The victim has all signs of abuse."
Izuku's eyes went blank. "The child had no place being in an illegal laboratory. Fuck." Izuku paced about the corridor, rubbing his neck when Todoroki approached them.
"Shoto-kun, any leads?"
Todoroki shook his head. "Not yet. Dad is with the Analysis team to scope out the laboratory. Trigger vials were found but the villains are still at large. Did you talk to the kid? He could be one of the experiments."
With the Quirk Singularity Theory was growing popular, many child trafficking rings springing up in the past three years, missing report stats increasing staggeringly.
Katsuki glanced down at his watch. "He should be waking up any moment now."
Izuku looked conflicted, casting Todoroki a worried glance. "I'm not going to interrogate a child, Katsuki." Todoroki peeked into the room to see the child, fist clenching at the little chest intubated.
"Like you said, he might be the last one to see the villain. And if anyhting, seeing the No. Eight Hero might lift his spirits up." Katsuki arched an eyebrow. "Certainly raises my spirits." He mumbled the last part so only Izuku would hear it.
Izuku managed to crack half a smile at that, a victory in Katsuki's book. "All right." But Izuku and Todoroki were nowhere near prepared for the sight on the other side of the door.
A child, far too small for the bed, sipping on water in tiny gulps, head bandaged as he looked up at the door. A lone eye blinked slowly, tiny head weighed down by bandages. "Is that Pro Hero Deku?" Todoroki was an underground hero and the child didn't recognise him.
Izuku managed to put on his best PR approved smile as he approached the bedside. "Hey champ, how're you feeling?"
The little guy bobbed his head up and down, wincing slightly before smiling. "I'm fine! It hurts a little, but it's ok, I'm used to it." The adults flinched at the child's seemingly innocent words.
"Um, what's your name? You seem to know mine." Izuku smiled.
"Everybody knows Hero Deku. I've seen all your fights! My name is Hiro."
"Is that so, Hiro-kun, well I'm flattered."
"Where is my Papa?" He chirps, searching for someone behind Izuku.
"We will do our best to find him, kiddo. What's his name?" It took everything in Izuku to not choke while talking to the little kid with blood all over his face, no matter how much the doctors tried to clean up.
"Teruya Minho."
Izuku's stomach fell, his worst fears confirming. He had assumed and hoped it was a kidnapped child experimented on by those bastards. But this....this was infinitely worse. For a moment, an old memory flashed in his mind. Of a small, scared, grey haired girl with red eyes and a little horn on her forehead. "He's um, with the other heroes. That's why I'm here."
Izuku looked over his shoulder to check on Todoroki, his friend awfully quiet and still. Hiro glanced down at his hands, lip trembling. He was but a child. No matter how hard he tried to be brave. The monitors hooked up to him, the bandages, the blood. The fingers.
Hiro raised his hand, or what was left of it, staring at the stumps where his fingers are supposed to be. "Deku-san, will my fingers grow back? I like drawing."
Izuku gulped, willing every last ounce of strength to stop his eyes from watering up. "Um, can I tell you a secret? There was once a very strong hero who lost his leg in a villain fight and had to retire. My best friend, Hatsume Mei, she's an inventor and made him a bionic leg. Now he can patrol and be a hero again."
"What's bionic?"
"It's like a robot leg."
"Oh like Iron Man!"
That drew a short chuckle from Izuku. "Yeah bud like Iron Man. I'll ask Hatsume to give you cool magic fingers then you can draw as much as you want. How does that sound, hmm?"
The smile Hiro gave them was blinding. Like a dying star. "Thank you Deku-san! Once you give me fingers, I'll practice a lot! Maybe...Papa will like them and stop tearing them." Izuku and Katsuki flinched at the boy's innocent words, unaware of the weight those tiny shoulders have been carrying all this while. "If my drawings get better, he won't yell anymoe right? We'll be happy again?"
"Yes, kid but I need to ask you something, can you help us out? my friend Shoto and I here are trying to find your father. Can you tell us about him?"
Hiro went still, eyes blank, fear seizing him as he scrambled out of Izuku's reach, leaning against the headboard, having asked that question one too many times. "My Papa is not a bad person!" He shouted, pulling at his bandages. The monitors beeped incessantly, his blood pressure rising rapidly. Katsuki was by his side at an instant, the little boy fighting him off. "He's not I promise! Please don't take him away."
Izuku was at a loss for words when Todoroki surged forward. "Hey calm down, we are not going to hurt your father, we promise." His voice was low and comforting, Hiro trembling but no longer fighting the adults. Todoroki took a seat beside him, near but not touching. "Hiro, I'm assuming the burns on your hands are a result of your father's quirk?"
Hiro chewed on his lip, voice small and hesitant, words rehearsed. "He didn't mean to. It was an accident."
Todoroki brushed the hair out of his eyes, the scar on his face more prominent with his bangs out of the way. "I know you believe that. I used to be like that too. But it's wrong. You are a child and in pain. Your father made a mistake and we will help him make up for it. We will learn how to not hurt people and he will come back to you. We will give him a second chance, I promise you. But we need your help."
"I-"
"You won't be betraying him. I know he told you to be quiet but we can help. That's what heroes do right, we help people." Todoroki smiled gently, Hiro's shoulders coming down from his ears. "We can't help him if we don't know where he is or what his quirk is."
"Papa used to have only one quirk. He called it Sulphur."
"Used to?"
"He borrowed my quirk." Hiro's words made dread pool in Izuku's stomach. "I can grow blades on my fingernails."
Katsuki looked horrified, staggering back a few steps, struggling to keep his composure, eyes falling down to Hiro's mangled fingers.
Izuku felt like throwing up, guilt prickling under his skin like he had swallowed a thousand needles. After the war, Izuku had spent countless nights tossing and turning, cursing himself for not doing more. His teachers had spent months trying to convince him that Shigaraki was dead.
That AFO was dead. That he was no longer a threat and the war was over.
But they never found the body. The heroes came to the conclusion that Shigrakai's own quirk backfired on him, his body decaying before the heroes could reach him.
At least that's what they told themselves, whatever helped them sleep at night. It was easier to live in denial, pretending Shigaraki and AFO's quirk was destroyed instead of going dormant.
The same way All Might convinced himself that All for One was dead the first time round. That it was safe to pass on OFA to Izuku.
They remained blissfully ignorant for eight years while children like Hiro suffered in silence.
My fault. It's all my fault. Izuku's thoughts spiraled, chest caving in as the weight of regret crushed his windpipe, unable to breathe. I was too selfish. I refused to give up OFA and Hiro paid the price.
Before Todoroki could say anything to comfort the child, Hiro seized, little body jerking in pain, the visible eye rolling up. Katsuki surged forward, slamming the blue button at his bedside. "I need you both to wait outside. I NEED A CRASH CART!"
Nurses flooded in through the door, escorting Todoroki and Izuku out while they tried to save Hiro, the poor boy's entire body locking up, flailing like a fish yanked out of water. Izuku couldn't hold it anymore, hunching over the trashcan, emptying his lunch. Which was more than six hours ago, throwing up nothing but bile.
He shivered, kneed buckling when Todoroki caught him, guiding him to one of the chairs. Izuku dry heaved coughing as if trying to expel the guilt out.
"Izuku." Todoroki crouched before him. "We couldn't have known he survived. The heroes didn't know, we were just students."
"I should have gone with Strategy C. We knew it was not enough. Only OFA could destruct him from the inside."
"Strategy C was always doomed to be a double edged sword. It could have gone south if he didn't destruct AND got his hands on OFA. He would have been invincible and we would have lost the war. You made the rational choice."
"No I made the selfish choice." Izuku's eyes glistened, pale and defeated. "I made the selfish choice and now all of AFO's quirks are out there circulating underground!" Izuku yelled, grabbing fistfuls of his hair, shivering uncontrollably. "I made the selfish choice."
"Izuku—"
The doors opened and the nurses slowly filed out, sullen and remorseful. No. The door swung just enough for Todoroki and Izuku to catch a nurse pulling a sheet over Hiro's head. Laying him to rest.
Katsuki walked out, hands stuffed in his white coat. "His injuries had gone far too long without medical intervention. We tried everything but.....it took a toll on him."
I made the selfish choice.
"His father," Katsuki's voice cracked, "his father's quirk, Sulphur burnt through a lot of cardiac tissue and caused sepsis."
Izuku remained impassive, face blank and numb. Izuku didn't blink for a moment as they wheeled the child out, the memory of the small shroud etched into his memory.
"Izuku, Yaomomo has pinged. They have a perimeter narrowed—"
Izuku stood up, silent as he clenched his fists, storming down the corridor, wisps of BlackWhip curling around his fists, ignoring Todoroki and Katsuki's worried calls. He slammed open a window, activating float and disappearing into the night sky.
Teryua Minho was not going to live to see dawn break.
Hero or Villain: A Blurry Line.
Pro Hero Deku was scene apprehending a villain with a particularly gruesome approach. The villain, Teruya Minho, was charged with quirk experimentations, organ trafficking and smuggling. While some are grateful that a villain as powerful as Teruya was put down, some argue that the approach was too cruel, with no chance for redemption.
Some speculate this is an abuse of power, often seen in many high ranking heroes—
Katsuki shut the news off, observing Izuku's reflection against the black screen for a moment before turning towards him. The hero wouldn't look him in the eye, silently sitting on his couch with blood seeping down his temple, staring down at his knuckles.
"They are spewing nonsense, you know. They always do." Katsuki commented, tone light as he crossed the room to grab the first aid kit and started working on his wounds. "How did it feel, breaking somebody else's bones for once?"
Izuku let out a dry scoff. "Is it bad if I say it felt great?"
Katsuki let his fingers brush against Izuku's chin, a hint of prickly stubble and lifted until green eyes met his. "No. He deserved it."
Izuku's mask cracked, a lone tear rolling down as he let his head fall against Katsuki's chest, shuddering as the sobs broke the damn, unable to hold it in any longer. Izuku cried in terrifying silence, as if trying to hide it, suffering quietly. Katsuki wrapped one arm around Izuku's shoulder, the other cradling Izuku's head, making the hero cry harder, a gut wrenching sob tearing out of his throat.
Izuku lifted his arms to wrap them around Katsuki's middle, holding on tight, as if the doctor was the only thing anchoring him. And Katsuki held on tight, holding him close to his chest.
After a long silence of holding him, Izuku finally quietened down. "Katsuki-" He pulled away slightly, no longer shivering. He wiped his face, voice hoarse but the tears had stopped. "Katsuki I can't be in the hospital again, please don't...."
Katsuki stroked his hair, shushing him lightly, pressing his lips down in the green curls. "Ok, ok. I won't. But I don't want to leave you alone. You should come with me."
Izuku nodded, running a hand down his face and mustered a watery smile. "Didn't expect you to move fast. Two dates and already trying to take me home?"
Katsuki rolled his eyes, smacking his arm. "You don't want to be in the hospital and I still need to observe your bruises. It's the only way." Izuku rolled his eyes at the blatant fib but let Katsuki drag him down to his car.
The ride home was somber, Katsuki often stealing a sideway glance at Izuku. Izuku had gone quiet again, numb and blank. Out of it, almost as if ruminating. Katsuki didn't tell him that his injuries were surface level and didn't need to be in observation. He didn't tell him that Eraserhead texted him privately, requesting he keep an eye on Izuku.
The outburst was uncharacteristic. Izuku's entire image post the war was built on being Japan's Sweetheart. The kind hearted, freckled smile that reassured the public that they were in good hands.
The Symbol of Hope.
And the footage of Teruya's, for a lack of a better word, execution, that image was effectively shattered. Izuku had gone feral, bat-shit crazy, ignoring as the villain begged for mercy. He was suspended and advised to avoid the public eye for an undisclosed amount of time.
Katsuki watched as Izuku dragged his feet around, pacing, fidgeting. "Fuck Katsuki, I know you don't like this but....I need to leave. I need a smoke."
Katsuki placed his hand on Izuku's chest, shoving him back into his living room. "Balcony, go." He let the hero pace in his cramped balcony and let out steam with a phew smokes, waiting until his some tension bled out of his shoulders before stepping in to stand by his side. The smoke irritated his nostrils, lingering in the air, the stench unbearable. Katsuki slowly reached out, guiding Izuku back inside, slumping on the floor, leaning agains the couch with a far off look in his eye.
"I was born quirkless too." Izuku blurted out into the quiet night. Beside him, Katsuki froze, caught off guard. "I have the toe joint too. This quirk isn't mine." Izuku whispered, the words finally flowing out. How his parents divorced shortly after his diagnosis. About how he met All Might in his final year of middle school. How he entrusted Izuku with the mantle of being the Ninth Wielder of OFA.
And Katsuki listened until his legs went numb from sitting on the cold wooden floor.
"I had a choice during the war." Izuku let out a wry laugh, scornful and disgusted with himself. "We called it Strategy C. That I pass on the quirk to Shigaraki and the toll of OFA along with the millions of quirks he had absorbed would self destruct him from within. I didn't want to let go. I didn't want to be quirkless again. So I held on and fought until the villain simply disappeared. We thought he had succumbed and his quirk turned on him. We assumed, like fools, that he died and now countless lives are compromised. All because I didn't want to go back to being worthless Deku again."
Katsuki remembered the war footage. He used to watch it all, never missed an update. Izuku hunched over and Katsuki carefully pulled him close, Izuku breaking down with his head on Katsuki's lap. "You said," Katsuki cleared his throat, speaking after a long pause, "you said this quirk isn't yours. But I have never seen All Might use BlackWhip."
Izuku lifted his head, confused. Katsuki rubbed his thumb along Izuku's cheekbone, wiping his tears. "What?"
"You say this quirk is borrowed." Katsuki repeated slowly, his fingers trialing up to scratch his scalp. "That you don't feel worthy of it but have the other wielders ever unlocked the past user's quirks? You were the first, weren't you?" Izuku stared up at him, stunned into silence. Katsuki looked down at the hero in his lap, lost and defeated. At that moment, Izuku looked younger, boyish and frightened. He looked like the boy who held the weight of the world on his shoulders at sixteen. "This is your quirk, Izuku. You earned it, fair and square and you have every right to hold on."
Izuku's eyes watered, trying to sit up only for Katsuki to gently push him back down on his lap. Izuku shook his head. "Not at the expense of other lives."
Kasuki shrugged, running his fingers through Izuku's hair, the hero's eyes drooping with exhaustion. "Actually, you have saved about 4590 lives since your debut if your hero wiki is accurate. I'm sure the classified files would add at least another thousand. Seems like a good tradeoff."
"Katsuki—"
"Hush now, I'm trying to comfort you." Katsuki smirked, guiding Izuku's head onto his shoulder once the hero sat up. "I watched the war footage. There was nothing more you guys could have done. You did well, Hero." Katsuki whispered, pressing his lips to Izuku's temple, holding on tight.
And for the first time, since the evening, the knot in Izuku's chest finally unravelled.
Katsuki stared at the wall, stirring the miso soup in idle movements. The previous night's conversation kept looping in his mind over and over again, like a broken tape recorder, the truth sinking in. The nation's No. Eight Hero was born quirkless.
Just like me.
Suddenly the advocacy for quirkless children, speaking against quirk discrimination, the bullying, the need to prove himself, all made sense. The way he never thought of Katsuki less than, because of the lack of quirk. Suddenly, it all made sense.
Katsuki set the table for two, a warm, simple spread of miso soup, braised fish and some vegetables. He peaked into the living room, carefully waking Izuku up, the hero uncomfortably wedged on his sofa. The two had fallen asleep in the living room, sitting up with Izuku's head on Katsuki's shoulder.
"Come on, breakfast is ready."
"Kats-chan. You didn't have to." Izuku's words slurred, still drowsy as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
"What the fuck is a Kacchan?" Katsuki raised an eyebrow when Izuku smiled slowly, teasing.
"Just a cute nickname for a cute man."
"Oh no, you're not calling me that! That's so fucking kiddish."
"Hmm, I think I will call you that, Kacchan. Just cause you said not to." Izuku grinned, ignoring Katsuki's grumbling protests asa he sat down and dug into the food, famished. He couldn't even remember the last time he had real food and not a granola bar from the vending machine. Danger sense tingled and Izuku decided against telling Katsuki that. Izuku attacked the food with gusto, outright moaning as he shovelled more food into his mouth. "Kacchan, this is so delicious."
Katsuki exhaled sharply, head falling into his hands. I cannot put out after just two dates. But it was getting increasingly harder to keep his hands to himself and Izuku was sinfully hot. And the worst part was that Izuku wasn't even doing it on purpose. Katsuki ate his food in silence, not trusting himself to not jump the infuriatingly sexy hero in front of him.
Katsuki all but body shoved Izuku out of the kitchen when he offered to the dishes, shooing him into the shower. "Um, Kacchan?" A voice called out form the end of the hallway, Izuku having finished with his shower.
"Yeah?" Katsuki yelled back, the scene disgustingly domestic, igniting dangerous dreams in Katsuki's heart. Katsuki by no means was a pessimist and rarely pulled himself down.
He was fucking fantastic and he knew it.
But Izuku was a Limelight hero. Why would a hero, even if formerly quirkless, would ever attach his brand to somebody like Katsuki.
Even if Izuku wasn't bothered by it, the media would surely be, attacking the story like vultures. The Symbol of Hope, dating a quirkless doctor. It had happened far too many times before. It's not you, it's me Katsuki. Bullshit.
But this one, when the other shoe dropped, would be hard to get over. He really, really liked Midoriya Izuku.
"What's this, a supply closet? The door keeps swinging open." Izuku called out, almost making Katsuki drop a plate in the skin, hurrying down the hallway. No, no, no, not that closet.
Katsuki shut his eyes, cursing his fate. Fuck my life. "Um, nothing. Just some, um, cleaning supplies." Izuku's eyes narrowed, catching the lie from a mile away, inching towards the closet. Katsuki went pale, ducking under Izuku's outstretched arm to slam the closet door shut, pressing his body against the door. "Nothing. I told you, it's just useless junk."
"Then why are you hiding it?" Now Izuku's curiosity was needled, wrenching the door open only for Katsuki to push himself against the door, using his weight to keep the door shut.
"What kind of a freakish kink is this? Looking into people's supply closets?" Katsuki screeched when Izuku all but picked him up and moved him aside, no match for the hero's strength. Izuku ignored Katsuki's very futile attempts at pulling him away and threw the door open only for a green poster to roll out, unfurling to reveal Izuku's face.
Or rather Pro Hero Deku's debut poster staring right back at him.
Katsuki wanted to sink into the floor and die. After a long stretched silence, Izuku found his voice. "You....you have my merch? Limited edition?!" Izuku swiveled his head, giddy in excitement. Katsuki groaned into his palms, refusing to meet Izuku's eyes.
"Wipe that stupid smile off your face! I mean it, nerd!"
"A stupid face you kiss." Izuku retorted. "You have my merch!" Izuku repeated with a smug drawl, no doubt a stroke to his ego. "Was this before or after we started going out?"
Katsuki peeked out from behind his fingers, contemplating which would be less embarrassing. The truth was infinite times embarrassing. "After?" He said it like a question, unsure.
Izuku blinked before a wide grin split across his face. "Awe, Kacchan, you were my fan all along?!" Izuku clocked in the lie in less than a minute, gathering a fighting Katsuki in his arms, wrapping him in a hug. Or rather he hugged Katsuki while the doctor's arms were wedged between them, still trying to push him off to hide in his room and never come out. "How scandalous, you must have been thrilled when your ~favourite hero~ got assigned as your patient?" Izuku waggled his eyebrows, unfairly proud of himself.
"Fuck you, first of all, my favourite hero is All Might, get over yourself."
"Ah right, you don't kiss celebrity crushes after all." Izuku was throughly enjoying this.
Katsuki smacked the front of his face, squishing Izuku's nose to push him off. "Second of all, it's not half as scandalous as a pro hero getting on with his fan."
"So you admit it, you are my number one fan." Izuku's words came out garbled with Katsuki's palm squishing his face. Katsuki twisted out of his grip, only for Izuku to pull him back, Katsuki's back flush against Izuku's chest. The hero tucked his chin on Katsuki's shoulder. "Debut poster, huh? Have you really been watching me all this time, Kacchan?"
All witty retorts died on Katsuki's tongue when he noticed the hint of vulnerability. He didn't answer at first, reaching up to caress his cheek, pressing his face against Katsuki's, the stubble slightly prickly. "I haven't looked away since the reckless kid with a bone breaking habit appeared on my tv screen."
Katsuki turned around in Izuku's arm to look him in the eye, Izuku sucked in a shuddering breath, placing his forehead against Katsuki's, as if restraining himself. "You know, as of today, I complete my 30 day no-hospital streak. If I remember, you promised me something."
Katsuki bit his lip, impressed with the hero's self control. But it seemed like the said self control was dangling by a thread, ready to snap at an moment. And how eager Katsuki was, to watch it snap. Katsuki let his arms loop around Izuku's neck, pulling him closer, until his breath was ghosting against Izuku's lips. "Yes, I believe I did." Izuku's fingers dug into Katsuki's hips, earning a gasp from the blond, Izuku letting out a strangled groan.
"I've been good, haven't I?"
"Hmm, yes you have. You deserve a reward." Katsuki barked out a laugh and finally let their lips meet, Izuku groaning like a parched man who just discovered the oasis. Katsuki let one hand travel down to Izuku's neck and shoulder blades, the other threading through his curls, pulling him closer. Izuku gently coaxed Katsuki into moving backwards without breaking the kiss, having the blond pinned against the kitchen island in two steps.
The hands were unapologetically grabby and roaming, melting Katsuki's brain as he lurched forward, pressing into Izuku, both groaning at the pressure.
Katsuki hummed approvingly, swiping in his tongue, relishing the way Izuku's shoulders flexed, drunk on the power he had over the No. Eight Hero. A warm, calloused hand slipped under Katsuki's shirt, pressing into the small of his back. Fucking finally. Izuku deepened the kiss, pressing into Katsuki until he had the doctor up on the island, Katsuki leaning back on his elbows.
The moment broke when Katsuki pressed his knees against Izuku's side, the hero wincing, breaking Katsuki out of his daze. Katsuki, with great difficulty, disconnected their lips, eyes narrowing. "What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing." Izuku ducked to recapture Katsuki's lips but Katsuki evaded him, pushing him off and pulling Izuku's shirt up. "Hey!"
Katsuki ignored him and pressed two fingers against Izuku's ribs, glaring when Izuku tried to smother his wince. "How long as it been hurting?"
"Um-"
"Izuku!"
"Last night?"
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Katsuki pushed him off, examining the bruise. "Yeah, it's infected. You need an IV."
"Kacchan, no please."
Katsuki shook his head. "No excuses, hero. I gave you one night, which I shouldn't have—NO! I'm not letting you seduce me into skipping the hospital."
Izuku grumbled all the way to the hospital and into the bed, almost biting Nakai's head off when he jabbed in an IV. Nakai was unfazed, sticking his tongue out at the hero. Katsuki shook his head, debating whether to throw Izuku out the window or permanently seal the hero in bubblewrap. "I don't need all this, a couple of light patrolling and I'll be fit as a fiddle."
"Well, it's your fault for dating a doctor." Katsuki grinned as Izuku glared at him, leaning in only for Katsuki to push him off. "No, no no. I don't kiss my patients."
"Oh come on doctor, I'm sure we can figure something out." Izuku grinned, much like their first meeting.
Katsuki shook his head, laughing as he untangled himself from Izuku's very convincing arms before his resolve could weaken. "Oh trust me hero, we cannot."
Izuku fell back on the pillows with a mischievous grin. "I will make you chase me again."
"Try it, I dare you. There are a lot more privileges I could revoke." Katsuki glared.
After a beat of silence. "So, your poster. Want me to sign it?" Izuku asked, stamping down a grin.
"....yes. Don't laugh at me fucker!"
Izuku laughed out loud before looking at him with unbearably fond eyes. "What my Kacchan wants, my Kacchan gets."
Katsuki tried to ignore the way his breath hitched when Izuku causally said 'my Kacchan' as if it was easy for him. As if he whole heartedly believed it. That Katsuki was his. He smiled and muttered an excuse about rounds and went about his day, Izuku's words echoing in his mind.
Was a quirkless doctor really what the future Number One Hero wanted to keep by his side?