Chapter Text
Every fortnight in the great plaza of their capital, the omega market is set up.
By law, every omega is the property of the king. And all property can be bought and sold, at the owner’s discretion. But the days when the king could barge in anyone’s home and take their omegas away as his concubines or goods for his market are long gone.
They aren't barbarians and there’s nothing that would lead to a public claim for the king’s head like him taking away their sons and daughters. The king knows better than to antagonize his people like that if he wants to keep being the king and receiving all the hefty sums of money his people pay in taxes.
So the only omegas to be taken to the market are the ones who are not sons or daughters. They’re not partners, or siblings, or anyone who matters for any citizen. They’re the unclaimed ones — omegas without families or alpha mates to provide for them. Widows and orphans, mostly.
The kingdom can't be without omegas for the market — it's one of the most lucrative dealings of the crown. People come from land and sea to buy the king’s omegas. And the orphans and widows need someone to look after them, after all. You can’t expect omegas to fend for themselves in such a brutal world.
This way, everyone is happy.
Everyone, except Katsuki.
Katsuki hates the omega market with his whole being. It reeks of distressed pheromones from the ones about to be sold and it reminds him of all his failures.
Failures because a good deal of the omegas there are widows and orphans of fallen soldiers and, as one of the king's top generals, Katsuki sees that as a reminder of every man he couldn't lead back home. Every time he passes by a body on the battlefield, he has to wonder if that alpha’s mate or their children is going to end up in the market. Most likely, yes.
Every fortnight, when he sees the tents being set up and the auction stage being built, Katsuki feels like leaving town. Going away. Leaving everything behind. How can he walk freely in those streets knowing that so many are enslaved because of his failures?
But it's not failure that brings him to the market today, but rather, success. Katsuki led the overtake of a strategic town that was under the enemy's ruling and his king was very pleased. So pleased that he gifted Katsuki an omega — any omega he wants, actually. One of the king's advisors is accompanying him to the market today, where Katsuki is supposed to pick his prize.
Undoubtedly, the king thought Katsuki would feel honored with such an expensive gift. As the only unmated high-ranking general, he knows he’s always mocked and criticized behind closed doors, and sometimes in open training grounds. The king must know that as well and saw this as an opportunity to fix Katsuki’s predicament.
However, there's nothing Katsuki would prefer less than to take one of the sorry, leftover omegas home. He doesn’t want an omega who must be there because of him, who will look at him and be forever reminded of their sire’s death.
Besides, Katsuki is a bit traditional in this. He always thought that when he found the right omega, he'd properly court them as his parents taught him. Offer them clothes and food, work his way up until he’s rewarded with a wrist-scenting.
However, one doesn't say no to their king's gifts. Not if they want to keep their job and reputation. So the plan is for Katsuki to take the oldest widow he can find. Someone who won't expect anything from him, who probably lost their mate to old age, and will be happy to just clean and cook for the young alpha.
The advisor twists his nose as Katsuki peruses the omegas on the widows’ tent, clearly not agreeing with his choice of prize. Katsuki doesn't care about the fucker's opinion, though. His skin crawls with the idea of taking one of these scared and depressed omegas as a mate. Their stench clogs his nose and makes him feel nauseous in a way not even the smell of death on the battlefield manages to do.
So he looks through the widows, commits a few of them to mind, and walks to the stage where the auctions are happening. Katsuki had already picked his prize. He has every intention of taking one old omega woman who has a bad eye back home. He does.
Until he sees a small, skinny omega being brought to the stage. He has a mess of curly, green hair, and wears simple samue clothes of rough cotton, showing he wasn’t in a rich family before he ended up there.
If this omega was anyone else, Katsuki would have ignored him. He’d have stuck to his plan to take the old widow home. But that isn’t anyone else, that’s Deku.
Instantly, memories of running through the meadows as a kid with his best and only friend by his side fill his mind. Memories of simpler times. Times before presenting, before joining the army, before learning to take lives and the inner workings of the king's war-filled ruling. Memories of two young boys who cared about nothing but having fun and counting stars.
"That one," he tells the king's advisor without even thinking. "I'm taking that one."
Katuski doesn’t know what happened to Deku’s life. He didn’t even know Deku presented as an omega. They got separated when Katsuki presented as an alpha and was taken away to the king’s training camps, where young, well-bred alphas study to be officials in his army. They never saw each other again and sometimes, on lonely nights, Katsuki wondered what happened to his only friend — just to feel thankful that Deku never showed up as one of the soldiers he has to lead to war.
Now, however, the reasons that led Deku to be on the market don’t matter. All that matters is that Katsuki found him again — alone and scared, his skinny knees shaking in fear — and he won’t lose Deku one more time.
***
The omega market loomed like a dark omen over Izuku’s head for many years. His father passed away when he was little, so, when Izuku presented as an omega, the market became a threat to him, a horrid promise to his future.
His mother, a simple seamstress, did her best to prove to the king’s collector that she could provide for her omega son. She worked from dawn to dusk, and sometimes into the night, to make sure she paid the toll to the collectors. Some weeks, they’d go to bed with empty bellies, but the collector’s pouch was always full.
However, this tentative peace could not last. Barely a month ago, his mother passed away from a nasty fever, and Izuku’s only protection was gone. When the collectors came, Izuku knew there was nothing to do except gather his meek belongings and pray — he is to be sold to the highest bidder.
Alphas from all over come to the market to get mates or sometimes house slaves for cleaning and cooking. Izuku is afraid of being bought. He could be taken by an alpha of a different country and then he'd be alone in a foreign land, not knowing the language to even ask for help. Or he could be taken as a second, or even third mate, and live under the harassment of the other omegas, begging for scraps.
The market is big, tents take over the whole plaza. Omegas of all ages, from young orphans to old widows, are there to be sold.
Everyone who doesn't have anyone in the world.
Izuku knows his carefree days of running through the city and the fields are over. There's little hope of that freedom being present in his future. He also knows he's not the best the market has to offer — too old, male, his skin is sunkissed and his hands show that he knows hard work. No alpha will want him as a first mate. Not when there are better looking, young, female omegas around, ready to be taken home.
Right now, all Izuku can hope for is to be taken as a house slave. He hopes he can show enough strength to look like someone who can work hard. But the eyes that roam his body as he stands under the tent don’t seem to take notice of the ability of his hands or the speed on his legs. They look at his hips, his thighs, lingering leers that make his skin crawl.
When Izuku is taken to the auction stage, he doesn’t know what to expect. On the back of his head, a desperate thought of ‘maybe no one will buy me this time’ tries to unravel the ball of anxiety that sits on his chest and makes him feel like throwing up.
The crowd looks at him uninterestedly but that’s enough for Izuku to want to curl on himself and vanish. The auctioneer clears his throat, ready to start taking bids. Izuku shakes all over, terrified.
And then, it all stops.
A man dressed in expensive clothing gets up on the stage and whispers something to the auctioneer’s ear. The auctioneer nods and gives a curt nod to the guard that has been leading Izuku since he was taken to the tent. The guard puts a hand on his shoulder and he’s quickly escorted off the stage.
The words ‘What happened?’ are stuck on his throat, but Izuku doesn’t dare utter them out loud. Why isn’t he being sold? Is this a divine intervention? Has someone taken pity on him?
As if reading his silent questions, the man who invaded the stage turns to him, “You’ve been chosen as a gift to one of the king’s generals. It’s a big honor.”
A big honor. Funny enough, Izuku doesn’t feel honored or humbled by it. He still feels scared of the unknowns his future holds.
Still, the word ‘general’ gives Izuku a tiny glimpse of what life may hold for him as his imagination fills with the image of a big alpha, strict and demanding, leading a huge household of three or four omegas with an iron fist. Alphas are allowed to have as many omegas as they can afford — all the collectors want are the tolls paid in full — and generals can afford a lot.
And yet, when Izuku hears the man saying, “There he is. Look presentable,” and raises his head, what he sees takes his breath away.
“Kacchan?” he murmurs in disbelief.
“Hi, Deku,” Kacchan says.
Instantly, every thought of Izuku’s head is replaced by memories of running after the other boy through rice fields, getting mud up to their hair, which their mothers would sure nag them for later, being as happy as their innocence allowed.
“General Bakugou,” the man interrupts Izuku’s musings. “The omega is healthy and unhurt. Can I tell the king your reward has been gifted?”
General Bakugou. That’s right. This isn’t Kacchan anymore. They aren’t unpresented kids, playing around and having fun. General Bakugou was just awarded a gift from their king, and the gift just happens to be Izuku.
“Yes. I’ll be taking him home now,” Kacchan answers, then he turns to Izuku and mumbles, “Let’s go, Deku.”
Izuku motions to pick the satchel that holds his belongings, but Kacchan is quicker and grabs it for him.
“That’s all you’ve got?” he asks and Izuku just nods.
Kacchan leads him out of the plaza, through the maze of tents, filled with omegas who didn’t have the luck or misfortune of being bought yet. It’s hard for Izuku to keep up with Kacchan’s pace since the alpha is so big, his long legs cover twice as much ground as Izuku’s with each pace, and he seems to be in a hurry to leave the market.
Only when they’re outside the market and left the crows behind is that Kacchan slows down and turns to Izuku.
“My estate is out of town,” he says. “We’re taking a carriage back there. The coachman is waiting for us a few blocks away.”
He doesn’t leave a chance for Izuku to answer before going back to briskly walking away. Not that Izuku would know what to answer anyway. His mind is in a whirlwind, so many thoughts running around that what’s left seems like a storm — too loud and scary for him to identify the sound of rain.
A carriage really waits for them not far from the market. Kacchan opens the door for him and wordlessly indicates for Izuku to get in. They sit facing each other and the coachman takes off with a simple, “Let’s go,” from Kacchan.
In the enclosed space of the carriage, for the first time, Izuku inhales Kacchan’s scent. It’s warm and spicy, and immediately calms him down. Kacchan smells like home, a home Izuku lost long, long ago. It’s impossible for Izuku to not feel comfortable around the alpha — despite what reason would dictate.
Still, Izuku feels overwhelmed and confused. Like lightning that brightens up his room in flashes during stormy nights, some questions start to take distinct shapes inside his mind. How has Kacchan's life been so far? Does he have an omega already? If he does, did he take Izuku to be a concubine, a second omega, or a house slave? Does he remember their days together as kids? Will that make any difference in Izuku’s future?
Though the questions were stuck in Izuku’s throat, Kacchan seems to have heard them loud and clear.
“I didn’t know you’d be there,” he says, awkwardly looking outside the window. “Didn’t even fucking know you had presented as an omega. After I left for the training camps…” Kacchan trails off and Izuku picks up.
“Mom and I moved to the outskirts of the capital after I presented. She could make more money there than in the countryside,” he explains.
Kacchan nods. “And now Aunty is…?”
“She passed away about a month ago,” Izuku whispers. “A fever.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Kacchan says politely.
“Thank you. And aunty Mitsuki and uncle Masaru?”
“They’re fine,” Kacchan dismisses. “Went back to the countryside when the old hag left the army.”
“And now Kacchan is part of the army. A general! And you even got favor from the king himself!” Izuku offers a tentative smile.
Though he never found much love in himself for the army, he can’t deny it’s a position of great prestige. Kacchan must be a great soldier if he climbed to the highest-ranking officer position so young.
But Kacchan just huffs and shakes his head. “Yeah, something like that,” he dismisses again. “Listen, Deku, I wasn’t planning on taking you. My plan was to take a widow to cook and clean around the house,” the alpha confesses, looking slightly ashamed.
So Kacchan was looking for a house slave. It makes sense. An alpha so handsome and amazing as Kacchan wouldn’t need to find a mate at the market. He probably already has a mate waiting for him home and now he’s thinking about how he’s going to explain to his mate that he went to pick a house slave and came back with Izuku.
Nonetheless, Izuku has no plan on making things hard for Kacchan. He can clean and cook just as well as any widow. That honestly sounds like a better fate than the others he was fearing at the market.
“I understand, Kacchan. No worries. I won’t be any trouble,” he promises, to which Kacchan just nods again.
The rest of their trip is made in silence as Izuku tries to imagine what his new life will be like.
****
When he went to the market, the plan wasn’t to take an omega in mating age. But now Katsuki has Deku living in his home and filling every little corner of it with his delicious scent.
Katsuki lives in a big estate, a traditional house he bought when he made it to general. And yet, despite the considerable size of his home, barely two weeks in it feels like Deku’s scent is already everywhere.
It’s baffling, and yet, Katsuki loves it. For the first time since he moved in, the house feels like home. Because Deku’s scent is homey. Even though Katsuki left before Izuku presented, the moment he sniffed Deku’s scent, he knew that was Deku’s scent. Peppermint tea and honey, the scent of coming home.
It’s been some weird couple of weeks. He and Deku don’t seem to know how to act around each other, or what to expect from one another.
When they got there the first day, Deku asked about ‘Katsuki’s omega’ and seemed very confused when Katsuki told him he’s unmated. Then Deku seemed to have put on his head that he’s the one in charge of cleaning the whole place — despite the fact Katsuki has already explicitly told him to not bother, he has people for that already.
There’s a family, an old beta couple who takes care of Katsuki’s estate when he’s gone. The man takes care of the garden and the house’s structure, and the woman cleans and cooks. That should be more than enough for Katuski and Deku to live comfortably without much work. And yet, Deku seems completely confused with their role in the house and insists on cleaning even for them. Confessing his original plan to the king’s gift to Deku was a mistake on Katsuki’s part and now he spends every day trying to correct it.
Katsuki knows he and Deku need time to get accustomed to each other once again. And that with such time, he’ll maybe convince Deku he wasn’t brought to that house to work from dawn to dusk. However, time isn’t something Katsuki has much luxury. It’s very common for him to spend most of the year away, fighting battles for his country and training his king’s new soldiers. And today, a new letter summoning him for war has arrived.
Accepting his fate, Katsuki goes down to the town’s market and makes arrangements for food and other supplies to continue being delivered at his home during his absence. Their town is awfully small, and the market even smaller.
Since it’s a good twenty-minute walk from his estate to the town’s center, Katsuki never goes there. Everything he needs is delivered to his home. But the sellers are used to only delivering goods while Katsuki is in town. He needs to make sure Deku won’t have to worry about anything in his absence.
Once he’s there, Katsuki can’t help but notice the small clothing and accessories shop that caters to omegas. It hadn’t crossed his mind so far that Deku might need new clothes as he got used to seeing him in the ones he brought with him. Katsuki mentally kicks himself for his stupidity. He should have checked if Deku needed anything before. Now he has to leave the next day, he won’t have time to ask Deku what he wants.
Still annoyed with his oversight, Katsuki resigns himself to talking to the food sellers and guaranteeing Deku won’t need anything else. The sellers know the general is good for his word and will pay them once he’s back home, so that’s easy to set up.
After that’s arranged for, Katsuki walks back home to inform Deku.
“Deku,” he calls as he stands in front of Izuku’s bedroom door. “Can I talk to you?”
Izuku quickly leaves his room to meet him in the hallway.
“Yes, Kacchan?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” he says, straight to the point as ever. “I was summoned to work by the king. I don’t know how long I’ll be away.”
“Oh…” Izuku whispers, his face falling into a resigned expression. “I hope you have a safe journey.”
“Thank you,” he grunts, trying not to think that there’s little safety in the quests the king sends him. “I made arrangements so that you’re provided for while I’m away. And I left a pouch of money in the kitchen’s jar. You can buy whatever you want with it. It’s yours.”
“Thanks, Kacchan…” Izuku whispers, his eyes on the floor just like Katsuki’s.
“I’ll let you get back to your things,” he mumbles, not knowing what else to say. “See you at dinner,” Katsuki finishes, already turning away.
“I’ll make mapo tofu today! As you said you liked it!” Deku rushes to say.
“You don’t need to cook every day,” he grumbles. “I can-”
“You can rest,” Deku interrupts him. “You’ll have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow.”
Katsuki nods one last time and leaves.
For some reason, he knew it’d be hard to tell Deku he would leave — and he was right. He could barely look Deku in the eyes. Katsuki wonders if it’ll ever get any easier.
***
For three long weeks, Kacchan stays away.
From what Izuku learns from the old beta couple that lives by Kacchan’s estate, that’s a very common thing to happen. They said the general can stay away months at a time. So when Kacchan returns just three weeks later, Izuku considers himself blessed.
The house is way too empty without Kacchan in it. Honestly, it’s already very empty when it’s just the two of them. The estate was clearly built for a big family. So being just the two of them made the house feel like it was abandoned.
Izuku’s heart hurt thinking of Kacchan living there alone for so many years. And, even worse, coming back to such a lonely place after working so hard in the army. That’s why he decided to make the place as cozy and homey as possible — at least until Kacchan finds himself an omega to mate and starts a family.
When Kacchan arrives, Izuku is working on the garden. He has mud on his clothes and face, and is focused on getting rid of every little weed that could get in the way of him planting some food there.
He almost dies from the embarrassment of Kacchan seeing him that way, but the alpha brushes it off, just saying he shouldn’t work so hard in that heat. There are shadows in Kacchan’s eyes that the sun can’t seem to reach, even in the middle of the day. So Izuku smiles his brightest smile for him — which is an easy feat since he’s so happy Kacchan returned — and rushes to prepare some tea and food as the alpha freshens up from his journey.
They meet again in the kitchen. Kacchan looks a bit better after changing into clean clothes, out of his army uniform.
“I’m just heating up something,” Izuku says, serving a cup of tea for Kacchan. “We still have chicken stew from lunch, and I’m making some rice.”
“Thank you,” he grumbles as he accepts the tea.
“Did you have a nice trip, Kacchan?” Izuku asks, trying to make conversation as he busies himself with the food.
“There’s nothing fucking nice about my work, Deku,” Kacchan answers in a rough voice.
“How come? Kacchan protects the kingdom, keeps us all safe,” he tries arguing.
“I fucking wish…” Kacchan says in a whisper, pain tainting his words.
Izuku swallows back any other comment he could make and focus on the stove. Clearly talking about his job isn’t something that helps Kacchan relax, so he needs to give the alpha space and think of another subject to talk about.
As focused as Izuku is finishing up with the food, he misses when Kacchan gets up from the table and walks around the room. He just hears the complaint not much later.
“You haven’t used any of the damn money!”
“What?” Izuku turns, confused. “What money?”
“The one I fucking left you! I told you to buy the shit you needed,” Kacchan huffs.
Izuku just shakes his head dismissively, “There was nothing I needed. The merchants delivered more than enough food for me. I could barely keep up with all of it.”
“You eat too little,” Kacchan grumbles.
“I eat just enough,” Izuku retorts as he serves heaping portions for the alpha. “Now you eat,” he says, putting the bowls on the table.
“Thank you for the food,” Kacchan mumbles before starting to eat.
Remembering something lighter they could talk about, Izuku comments, “I planted some tomatoes. And some cucumbers. I’m also preparing the soil for other things, so we don’t have to buy as much from the merchants.”
Kacchan clicks his tongue, “That’s why you were out there digging on the mud…”
“Yes! I want to plant some pumpkins before the weather changes.”
“You don’t need to do any of this shit. We can buy our food.”
“I know… But it’s special when we grow ourselves it, isn’t it?” Izuku says smiling. “And I can’t just be around the house the whole day not doing anything.”
“Of course you can. Most omegas do,” Kacchan retorts.
“Most omegas take care of their children. Only the ones waiting for a mate loiter around.”
“And what are you?” Kacchan asks with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“I-... I’m not waiting for a mate,” Izuku says, looking away.
The years where he’d dream about having an alpha and growing a big family are long gone. He knows he’s not mating material. He got too old, missing the traditional mating age because his mother couldn’t put together a dowry. But it’s alright. Fate already gifted him with a life way better than he could hope for. All that he wants is to make himself useful for Kacchan, show him Izuku isn’t the dumb Deku he used to be.
“Writing,” Kacchan says, breaking Izuku from his thoughts. “You used to love caligraphy when we were brats. Used to write in the sand and mud all the time.”
Izuku smiles sadly, nostalgia filling him up as he remembers those days. “It’s been years since I wrote anything, Kacchan… Caligraphy is a hobby for omegas from good families.”
After that, they both fall into silence. It seems that there are still too many painful subjects that they should not bring up around each other.