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On the autumn path, leaves keep twirling down to gather on the dirt to mark the change of the seasons. The trees continue to sway in the breeze, and a various assortment of birds fly overhead, singing their song.
Down below, several leaves crunch and crack. A blond man exhales as he pushes forward on the road, a scarf wrapped around his neck. Behind him, his companion does his best to keep up, waving his arm excitedly. “Katsuki!” He shouts, skidding to a halt and grinning when Katsuki sighs. “Dude, why’re you walking so fast? Don’t you wanna sit around and have like, a picnic under the trees?”
Katsuki gives him an incredulous look, turning to face him with a bag on his arm. “Why the hell would I do that? Seems stupidly counterproductive, Eijirou. We’re supposed to just get in and outta here, idiot. We’re delivering some items, remember?”
Eijirou snorts and jumps around, catching a leaf in his hands. “Man, this stuff is so damn cool.” He tilts the leaf to catch a ray of the sun, turning it a golden shade. “Did you know autumn’s my favorite season out of the entire year? Winter’s great and all, and summer’s fun to hang out, but autumn really is the best. It’s got Halloween and a bunch of other holidays!”
“It’s a pretty good season,” Katsuki admits, pressing his hands together from the slight chill. There’s a faint whisper on the breeze, and Katsuki shakes himself to get rid of it. “How much longer do we have left, anyways? I wanna get this over with so I can go home, sit in the warmth of my place, and do whatever I want.”
Eijirou frowns, a bit put-out by Katsuki’s snippy attitude. “I mean, however long it takes on this path? I’ve never been down this way anyways. I don’t own a bike, sorry. Maybe we could’ve Ubered…?”
Katsuki sighs, deciding to shut up and take in everything around him. He’s wearing a nice black coat, complete with a green scarf and warm black and orange mittens that match his combat boots. Eijirou, on his left, has a dark red hoodie that’s a shade darker than his hair, and the most horrific pair of fuzzy Crocs that Katsuki’s ever seen.
Other than that, that’s currently what Katsuki knows. They’re on an autumn path, it’s beautiful outside, and they’re on their way to deliver something. He still doesn’t know what it is. Maybe something important like books or papers? Some weird UberEats food delivery? A true Red Riding Hood scenario? (Eijirou oddly enough fits that description, but not the attitude. Maybe Katsuki’s the wolf.)
“I guess it doesn’t matter anymore,” Katsuki muses. “But at least the weather’s decent. I didn’t take you as an autumn person though. I would’ve guessed summer after meeting you. You give me ‘frat guy going to the beach for spring break’ vibes.”
“Think I’d look hot in a speedo then?” Eijirou teases, and cackles when Katsuki turns his head, refusing to let the other man see his blush. “I kid, I kid! I like all the seasons like I said, especially since I can go swimming in summer and have snowball fights in the winter. Spring’s also neat since it can symbolize new beginnings!”
Eijirou sighs, wistful as he looks up at the sky. Katsuki (gently) grabs his arm and guides him back on the path so he doesn’t hit a low-hanging branch. “Autumn though? It’s like, people start coming together for this time of the year! There’s a bunch of excitement in the air and it’s starting to get cold, so everyone starts bringing back their favorite cold outfits, and since I’m always warm, it doesn’t bother me! I dunno dude, there’s just so much love in this season and I really like expressing it to other people, especially my friends.
“And of course, the holidays that get associated with it.” Eijirou nudges Katsuki and laughs when Katsuki rolls his eyes. “We’ve got Halloween and Thanksgiving, and everyone comes together for both! Thanksgiving is pretty obvious, but have you ever been part of a Halloween group before?”
Katsuki refrains from telling Eijirou that he purposefully spent most of his Halloweens alone and only got forced to be part of the group in high school. “Can’t say that I have. Sounds really tedious to try and plan costumes for everyone. Wouldn’t you have to account for someone bailing on you? I wouldn’t take that damn risk. I’d get too pissed.”
“You can plan backups!” Eijirou says cheerfully. “But yeah, it’s just a great time of the year in general. Do you have a favorite season, Kats? I can’t get a good read on you, but I’m sure you’ve got a good reason for whatever your favorite is!”
And now that Katsuki thinks about it, he doesn’t have a favorite season. They’re all annoying in their own right, and he’s never particularly cared about any of them. Why should he? He just adapts to the weather and dresses accordingly.
But Eijirou’s looking at him with huge red eyes, excited to see what his answer is, and all Katsuki can see is red, red, red. The color of the trees, the leaves, his hair, his eyes. (Even his nails, now that Katsuki’s looking closer.) Fuck, what should he say? What’s the right answer to this?
“I bet it’s also autumn,” Eijirou vigorously nods. “You don’t give me spring vibes, and summer and winter could be too extreme for you! I’m placing a bet it’s also autumn! Am I right?”
Man. Katsuki takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, watching another leaf spiral down. Red, red, red.
“It sure is,” he says, and gets the absolute joy of watching Eijirou let out a loud whoop and punch the air. He supposes he has a new favorite season now, and the image of an excited Eijirou will always be branded on the back of his eyelids.
He’d do anything to see that smile for the rest of his life.
Maybe it’s weird to be in love with your best friend, but Katsuki doesn’t do things by halves. It feels like Eijirou’s only been with him for a short amount of time, but he’s the one that Katsuki wants to deal with at his best and worst for the rest of his life. It’s a very strange feeling, and makes Katsuki scrunch his nose as he tries to recall their first meeting.
The bag, still hanging off his arm, feels a bit heavier.
“Glad you have good taste,” Eijirou teases, and for a moment, Katsuki panics and feels like he just said that out loud. Did he? It feels like he’s been off his game for a while, and an uncomfortable sensation starts to build under his skin. He’s off about something, but he doesn’t know what it is. “Most people just say summer and move on! And everyone weirdly thinks I’m a summer bro, but I’m not sure what gives people that vibe. I guess I’ll never know!”
Katsuki squints at the bright energy and lets out a small sigh, still trudging along the path. It feels like the path is neverending, but further along, there’s a sign that points towards the woods. Kinda weird, but Eijirou has no reservations as he bounces up to the sign and reads the note on it. “Oh, hey! The person’s apologizing for having their place so far in the woods. We’re supposed to go through the trees and make it to some clearing where their place is at. Man, these are terrible delivery instructions. I guess this wouldn’t fit in the allotted character line, huh?”
They both share an amused look and Katsuki shuffles the bag further up his arm, trying to not let the circulation cut out in his arms. He still hasn’t looked inside; it’s none of his business, y’know? He’d be pissed if someone was delivering food or a package and ripped it open to check what it was. That’s why Katsuki was trusted with the bag in the very beginning, and not Eijirou.
Deeper into the woods, the treetops start covering the sky and it grows darker. Damn. There’s no hotels or AirBNBs out here, so they’ll definitely have to hurry home before dark after the delivery. Eijirou perks up when he almost trips over a root. “This feels like an adventure! You sure we shouldn’t check the bag anyways to see if their package is okay? It’d take a few seconds!”
“No,” Katsuki barks out, feeling oddly nervous. “My responsibility, my delivery. I’m taking care of it and I’m getting us out of here.”
For some reason, his words make the world dim for a few seconds, before Eijirou’s bright smile brings back the light and love again. “Ah, fair enough. I guess I don’t know why I tagged along, anyways. Sorry you had to deal with me, but I appreciate you letting me come along with you! I like spending time with you. It’s my favorite love language.”
Katsuki trips over a root, and feels his cheeks burn when Eijirou snorts. “Shut it! You can’t just say nice things like that, idiot! How can you say that shit so bluntly?”
“Well, it’s true.” Eijirou shrugs. He walks a bit taller as they keep going, pushing through tree branches. “I know you appreciate people being upfront with you, so I adapted that to the best of my ability! Besides, you’re my favorite person to be with. You know that, right?”
Katsuki chooses not to answer for the moment. He feels it in his soul before the answer pops into his head; yes, of course, how could I ever pick anyone else? You’ve always been it for me. Stay with me. Be mine.
He instead chooses to stomp ahead, trying to prevent Eijirou from seeing the blush crawling up his neck. He feels like he’d normally be okay with Eijirou seeing him like this, but the scenario prevents him from showing too much emotion. He’d rather be safe and sound before being vulnerable.
The red and orange tipped trees finally, finally give way to a gorgeous clearing. It looks like something out of a fairytale, with autumn leaves swaying in the wind and a beam of sunlight casting a warm glow around the surrounding environment. It’s the perfect embodiment of autumn, and it takes both of their breaths away, but for two very different reasons.
In the middle of the clearing, fitting into this dream setting, stands the cottage.
It’s a house that Katsuki hasn’t remembered in a very long time. He used to daydream about leaving everyone and staying in a cottage in the woods if things got too bad, complete with his own touch and making his new life there. He whipped up schematics and plans for the paint and everything he could’ve ever wanted.
It’s two stories and with the typical vines you’d think of if you saw a woodland cottage. Stonework on the sides and on the path to the front gives it an aged feeling, and Katsuki warily looks at the pretty lantern above the door frame before going to press down the handle to the front door, pushing his way inside. Eijirou follows him in, gently closing the door with a perfect click.
The cottage is too perfect, too nice for his taste. The decor’s decent, but the interior is everything he’s ever wanted, like fairy lights and comfortable chairs that were close to being designer but not quite. There’s several pieces that look thrifted, just like he’s wanted. That’s what’s weird; there’s not a speck of dust anywhere, and every decision in this room has already been made for him in regards to the house. It makes him profoundly uncomfortable.
Something’s decidedly wrong. It’s been nagging Katsuki for the past few hours, but he thinks he can finally put it into words. Along this fall path, it’s been wonderful, and perfect, and all Katsuki wants to do is keep walking alongside it with Eijirou at his side and stay in this house with him. He wants to be swept up in an autumn storm and never land again.
His palms itch.
The bag gets heavier.
A bead of sweat falls down his face, and Katsuki recognizes the feeling of adrenaline in his veins as he goes to wipe it away. His palms start sweating too, and he just doesn’t know why his brain keeps telling him to angle his hands away from his face. He’s acting on instinct at this point, so then why is he on edge—?
“Katsuki?” Eijirou asks, concerned as he walks across a patterned rug. (Not too messy or unruly, a perfect shade of white with blue and orange accents.) “You started acting weird when we saw this cottage. Are you alright? Do…do I need to call someone? Or have I done something to upset you? I’m sorry if I somehow pissed you off, I just want to help and I don’t know what to do, but please tell me if there’s something I can do.”
Something’s still off! He’s been talking to Eijirou this entire trip, but…how’d they get here in the first place? Why are they delivering a package to a cottage in the middle of the woods that’s been created from Katsuki’s memory?
Open the package.
Katsuki squeezes his eyes shut, realizing the whispers on the breeze are getting louder in his ears. “Nah, I don’t think I will.”
Open the package.
His name is Katsuki. He’s been walking on the autumn path for a very long time. He doesn’t know how he got there, or why Eijirou is with him, but his anxiety is flaring up and sending alarm bells ringing through his skull.
Katsuki clenches his hands, going to shake the bag off his arm, and freezes as his palms crackle for a moment. What the fuck? What the hell is that? Is this why he keeps wanting to lift his hands and use them for something?
“Katsuki,” Eijirou says urgently, eyeing the bag as Katsuki slams it into the floor. “What’s happening? What the hell is happening? My instincts are telling me to get in front of you and defend you with everything I’ve got. What’s going on?!”
Katsuki licks his lips, a plan forming in his head. If he manages to pull this off, he might be able to answer the questions that have been at the back of his mind for a while now. “Eijirou, what’s my name?”
Eijirou gives him an incredulous look, taking a step back. “Do you really think I wouldn’t know your full name—”
He falls silent, and Katsuki sees the moment he understands what’s happening. There’s a fog starting to clear in Eijirou’s eyes, and he looks up with the situational awareness he’d lost this entire trip. “I’ve seen this house before,” Eijirou says quietly, judging everything in the room. “These building plans are in our apartment. You put them in a box for the future.”
“I did,” Katsuki agrees, starting to grow more understanding and feral at the same time. “I’ve been wondering why I couldn’t remember how this journey started or where we were going with the bag, but that’s the whole point! My body’s reacting to some stupid shit with muscle memory and I don’t know what it wants me to do!”
“You too?” Eijirou exhales, closing his eyes before spinning around. “My body wants to tense up but it’s like, I’m not doing it enough, if that makes sense? We’re forgetting something very important, and it’s really pissing me off! C’mon brain, work with me here!”
Katsuki’s already starting to ransack the kitchen to try and see if there’s any idea of what he’s missing. Eijirou starts going through the living room, searching couch cushions and tearing up the carpet. Katsuki’s ripping through drawers, shoving aside sketchbooks and cookware and pictures on the countertops, when he finally spots it.
Placed perfectly on the fridge is a sticky note, slightly curled upwards with scratchy orange writing. It sits at eye-level and Katsuki nearly goes cross-eyed when he reads what’s on it. Decide on catering; watch out for spice level for everyone else, it reads, and there’s a smaller sticky note underneath it in red ink.
Remember to tell Deku he needs to write best man vows! Don’t read them beforehand, Kats, you should be surprised for our wedding! Love you! <3
Oh.
Oh.
Katsuki gently grabs the sticky note off the fridge with tears in his eyes and crouches down, brain running a million miles an hour. He’s silent for too long, and after a few minutes, Eijirou hurries over to the kitchen, eyes wide as he reaches a hand out to him. “Katsuki…? Did you find something?”
It takes one more moment as memories flash, and something stirs deep inside him, feeling like his soul just got snapped into place. Katsuki’s not just some dude, he’s—
Pro Hero Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight rises from the floor. His palms sizzle and start crackling with explosions, and Bakugou Katsuki sighs with relief, cracking his neck and stretching his back as his battle instincts kick in again. “What a fucking buzzkill,” he drawls, glaring at the cottage around him. “Rude to go through a guy’s memories like that, yeah?”
Eijirou’s still staring at him, looking a bit scared and intrigued at the same time. “You’re not my Katsuki,” he tries saying, but he bites his tongue at that. “Nope, that’s definitely not true. You’re my Katsuki regardless of everything that’s going on. What’s going on? Am I part of it?”
“You’re always a part of it,” Katsuki snorts. He takes a few steps towards Eijirou, feeling better than he had this entire trip. “C’mon Riot,” he coaxes, starting to grin. “Don’t tell me you let that asshole get to you that much?”
Eijirou stiffens, taking a step back as Katsuki crowds his fiancé with a sparking hand. “My favorite person, my other half? Wake up, you asshole, don’t you remember? We’re fighting against that stupid son of a bitch, so snap outta it so we can get back to it!”
Eijirou bends at the waist, staring at the ground, and Katsuki knows the moment his fiancé is back when Pro Hero Red Riot clenches a fist, standing taller when he looks at Katsuki with wide eyes. “Wow, that’s really not cool of that villain, huh? Wait, is that the note I left you? Is that what snapped you outta it? That’s so sweet of you!” He coos.
Katsuki resolutely tries to ignore his suddenly red face and shakes his head, looking around the cottage with his hands on his hips. “Run me the stats of what the hell we were doing, Riot!” He shouts, starting to blow up appliances with a clean shot. The walls start cracking.
“Pro Heroes Dynamight and Red Riot got dispatched to help with a red alert on our day off,” Eijirou calls back, starting to create holes in the wall with his fists. “We arrived on scene to see a bank robbery and hostage situation on-going, and one of the villains had backup while she used her Quirk on us!”
“If she had backup, then she doesn’t have a physical Quirk. That means mental or psychological.” Katsuki growls. He feels like an idiot for getting stuck for so long, but it doesn’t last as he turns and spots the bag again on the floor.
Open the package.
“I think the fuck not.” Katsuki aims his hands at the floor and blasts directly at the bag. Whatever’s in it, it does the trick; their entire world shakes and knocks various things off the shelves. Katsuki grunts as he increases firepower, and Eijirou almost gets knocked off his feet as he stumbles over to ground zero. “Well, you’re doing something babe! And looking great too in that coat, did we ever add that to your wardrobe? And these fuzzy Crocs are incredible! Remind me to order a pair when we get home.”
Katsuki gives him a dry look as the cottage breaks apart and autumn leaves come spilling in, starting to drift and spiral into the vortex that starts forming. “What’re the odds that we have to get home through here?”
Eijirou peers into the vortex and grabs Katsuki’s hand, squeezing it softly for reassurance as Katsuki stops his Quirk and instead watches the lightshow. “Honestly? Pretty high! But I’m sure we’ll be fine, we usually are anyways. Race you!”
Katsuki laughs as Eijirou jumps in, already using his Quirk just in case something happens on the other side. He leaves their little prison realm with a fond look, primarily at the interior of the cottage, and leaves, feeling a rush of cold air get blasted in his face.
When the world rights itself, they find that Eijirou was indeed the right person to send in first; a blast of power gets shot directly at them, and Pro Hero Red Riot’s Quirk is thankfully strong enough to keep it at bay. “That’s really rude of you!” Eijirou shouts, grunting with the effort. “What if it was Dynamight who went first, huh?”
Katsuki takes a brief moment to look around; there’s roads cracked and splintered, a few nearby buildings have their windows blown out, and there’s still pro heroes fighting in the streets. If this battle had barely started when Dynamight and Red Riot got to the scene, how long had they been gone?
Their answer, of course, comes in the form of Pro Hero Deku, who jumps down from the sky and adds another crack to the pavement. “Oh, hey Kacchan!” He shouts over an explosion that Katsuki aims at a running villain. “I was pretty worried you guys would be gone for too long, but looks like you managed to break out of it pretty quick—”
“If you don’t tell me what happened in the timespan we were gone with this stupid ass villain, you’re not my best man anymore.” Katsuki threatens, and Midoriya’s jaw clicks shut before he gets his bearings.
“Hayakawa Chiyo! Quirk: Pandora’s Box!” Midoriya rattles off as he shoots past them. “She traps something precious of yours in another object like a box or bag like the Greek myth, and you get stuck in a loop if you open it! People have been recorded to be stuck there for two years maximum!”
“And how long have we been gone?” Katsuki asks as he does an awesome flip and dodges another laser aimed at him from Hayakawa. Eijirou’s already thrown himself into the fight again, cheering and whooping as he meets up with Kaminari and Sero for an attack.
Midoriya cracks a grin. “Ten minutes tops. You had a bag of groceries when you got here, and it got hit by Hayakawa’s Quirk and you and Kirishima got sucked in. Please tell me about how it was later when we’ve debriefed and this is over!”
Katsuki thinks about the description of the Quirk, and realizes what could have potentially been in the bag. He needs to get to it before his ingredients get covered in dirt. On the other side of the street, Eijirou gets flung skyward by Sero’s tape. Kaminari, who’s already taken down Hayakawa’s guard, shocks the shit out of Hayakawa, leaving her stuck in place.
One perfect landing by Eijirou, and the villain’s crushed under his Unbreakable form. Every other villain has already been taken out by various heroes, but Katsuki doesn’t give a shit about that. He eyes the thankfully unbroken bag and stalks his way towards it, trying to remember what the hell was in it.
“How the fuck did you get outta my Quirk so fast?” Hayakawa shouts from her spot. “You’re supposed to be tempted into opening the bag, damn it! You were supposed to get stuck in there forever!”
“I’m literally a pro hero and better than you in every way, idiot!” Katsuki shouts back. Midoriya snorts loudly. “If you damaged my fucking ingredients, I’m going to shove them straight up your ass and make you pay for them!” He looks down and blinks, mind going blank.
There, sitting in their bag of groceries, is a bright red leaf from the trees. Katsuki remembers grabbing it off the ground earlier because it reminded him of Eijirou and how pretty he looked surrounded by warmer shades. “Well, fuck.” Katsuki sighs. “No wonder our realm was an autumn wonderland. Damn bastard, but I’ll admit that it was nice before we remembered why we were there.”
Eijirou sniffs from where he’s still sitting on Hayakawa, looking oddly touched. “Babe, that’s so sweet of you! You wanna take a trip together soon to the mountains? It’s been a long time and we can recreate that world again!” Sero, in the process of attempting to cuff Hayakawa, cackles when the villain looks disgusted and pretends to throw up.
“Move your boney ass, Kiri.” Sero complains as he gets Hayakawa to her feet. “So what, you guys were in a time loop, kinda? Another dimension type thing? Your Quirk’s annoying, dude.”
“They were supposed to get curious and keep opening the bag since they had no idea who they were with or why they were there!” Hayakawa struggles in the cuffs. “What the hell possesses you to NOT do that!! That’s the whole point of my Quirk! You open it, and it restarts the entire thing!”
Eijirou makes his way to Katsuki, throwing an affectionate arm around his shoulder. Katsuki rolls his eyes and doesn’t move, even when Eijirou presses a warm kiss to his cheek. “You underestimate how much I love him,” Eijirou laughs at Hayakawa. “Why would I want to open some weird bag when I knew the love of my life was next to me? He was so handsome in the autumn lighting, and it held my attention the entire time.”
Katsuki feels his heart flutter and makes a face. “Shut it. And yeah, your Quirk sucks ass. Figure out a better way to deal with it instead of robbing a bank, idiot. Get fucked.”
Hayakawa screeches all the way to a nearby police car, and Eijirou cracks his back loudly. “Did you save the groceries? I wasn’t expecting to get into a villain attack today but, y’know, shit happens. You mentioned making a new recipe, I think, but if you just want to order takeout then we can do that too.”
“Hell no, I’m making that recipe.” Katsuki wrinkles his nose. “This is literally my day off. I’m not even supposed to be here, but no, I had to aim for the top of the hero industry. This was the dumbest idea I’ve ever had and that includes—wait.”
Ignoring the shouts of the reporters that start swarming the police, Katsuki whirls around and jabs a finger into Midoriya’s chest. “If you take my fucking paperwork,” he threatens, trying to look intimidating in his nice winter coat that’s barely singed, thankfully, “then I won’t proofread your best man vows. I swear on All Might.”
Midoriya’s eyes widen and he gives him a feral grin. “You won’t have paperwork for the next month, Kacchan. I won’t let either of you down, I swear! Have a great dinner, you two!”
With the rest of the pro heroes doing their jobs and Midoriya covering for them, Katsuki and Eijirou make their getaway. Eijirou whips out a beanie from inside the grocery bag and smacks it on Katsuki’s head, snickering as his blond hair sticks up in different directions. “You look awesome, babe.”
“I always look awesome,” Katsuki snarks, squeezing his fiancé’s hand before sighing. “Add that idiot’s Quirk to the list of ‘Weird Quirks We’ve Encountered’. I didn’t think some stupid leaf would make up an autumn world like that. I hate to admit it, but…it was pretty as fuck.”
“It really was!” Eijirou laughs as they take a shortcut to their place. “Oh, I need to buy those Crocs too. I’ll go to their website after dinner’s done, and then we gotta do some more wedding stuff. You sure you don’t want to wrestle and then tell everyone that was the wedding?”
Katsuki barks out a laugh, eyes crinkling. “It’d be fucking hilarious but I don’t think our families would let that fly. We can do it for our anniversary.”
It’s quiet on the walk home. It’s just the two of them, two very accomplished pro heroes and very much in love. Eijirou makes a face about ten minutes in, and Katsuki waits patiently for him to figure out what he wants to ask. (He’s learned to not get upset when Eijirou doesn’t know how to formulate his question, and finds that it really pays off for both of them.)
“Is your favorite season still autumn?” Eijirou finally asks. “I remember you mentioned it when we were still stuck in there, and I honestly couldn’t remember if you had told me that before!”
“I didn’t have a favorite until you said one,” Katsuki admits, thinking back to their so-called prison. “I don’t usually have a favorite, but as long as I get to spend them with you, then I don’t care which one it is. I guess it is autumn for now, though. It definitely has its appeal.”
Without thinking, he reaches over and brushes a wayward leaf out of Eijirou’s hair. “Idiot,” Katsuki sighs, making sure they’re both in one piece after their eventful day. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Eijirou opens his mouth and closes it again, glassy-eyed. “I’d probably hunt you down so I could propose again, honestly. We’ll celebrate every single autumn for the rest of our lives. Aw, man, this is stuff I wanted to save for the wedding vows! Now you’ve got me rambling about my favorite season again.”
“Our favorite season,” Katsuki corrects, and gets rewarded when Eijirou squeezes his hand, leaning in close so they can feel each other’s warmth. Around them, the world stays lit in shades of red, red, red.