Chapter Text

Epilogue

Katsuki grunted as he shouldered his way into his agency, scowl in place, harsh enough that the few sidekicks mulling around the main lobby averted their eyes and moved out of his way. His arm ached something terrible, likely from a pulled muscle while using his quirk without his braces to help relieve the pressure, and he gave it an idle rub as he stormed through the lobby, already in a sour mood and he hadn’t even officially started his day yet.

“Ground Zero” the woman behind the desk squeaked, her nose twitching a mile a minute as her large mouse like eyes seem to grow to twice their size at his disheveled appearance and harsh expression.

He knew he looked like shit, that soot clung to his skin in darkened smears and blackened his lungs from how much of the stuff he had inhaled. That the ends of his hair were most likely singed, and his flesh was red and shiny in some places from minor burns. He rolled his tongue around his teeth, tasting the horrid powdery film and spitting into a trash can as he walked past.

Fucking villains!

He was meant to be having the morning away from work! Instead he had been pulled in to help save civilians from a burning building. A villain had attacked a nearby shop, his fire quirk getting out of hand before he could completely comprehend what he was doing. Next thing he knew the building next to it had gone up in flames. Many people who were trapped inside - because of old age, or from being home from work with little ones - had needed saving and Katsuki wasn't going to leave them stranded.

He wasn’t complaining about saving people, that was par for the course. He was pissed that he didn’t have his hero costume on because it was at his agency and therefore was useless to him as he had to run in wearing his casual clothing. They, unfortunately, were not flame retardant like his costume and were now the reason he was stood in the main lobby with half his chest out. Apparently even though his tee had been stupidly expensive to buy, it still caught fire way too easily.

“Not today chipmunk” he said has he stormed past, boots stamping down hard enough that they rumbled through the room, telling anyone stupid enough to try and talk to him to stay the fuck away.

She puffed up her cheeks, ears twitching as she muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like ‘squirrel, but like you would listen’ before snapping her head back up and licking her stupidly large buck teeth. “Uravity wants to see you” she called to his retreating back, ignoring the finger he used to flip her off.

He groaned once in the lift, banging his head back against the metal paneling, teeth tearing at his bottom lip it a bad habit he had picked up while under capture by a certain idiot he didn’t want to think about right now. It would just make his chest ache and he really couldn’t be feeling sorry for himself if he was going to have it out with Ochako.

Not that he was in the mood for dealing with his right hand woman, and the second owner of the agency. He knew why she wanted to see him, and it wasn’t to do with his top shelf villain captures or the handling of new sidekicks. No, Katsuki had destroyed a whole newly built apartment block last week while fighting and simply shrugged if off when the insurance came knocking. He had also snorted in their faces when they demanded he take better care, that he stopped being so reckless.

Like he gave a shit what those two bit extras thought! If it was between and empty building and saving someone, then goodbye empty building.

That didn’t mean Ochako had been any less pissed at him, she had been raring to tear him a new one for a full week now. Somehow he had managed to evade her every effort at cornering him, took shifts that either put him on the other side of the city, or worked the days she was meant to be off.

It was why he was taking the afternoon shift today instead of the morning one he preferred. Knowing that by the time he should have made it into the office, that Ochako would have been long gone. But fate, or Mother Nature, or just that arsehole in the sky had other ideas. So Katsuki was tromping into work a full three hours earlier than usual.

Well sooner rather than later or whatever fucking soothing advice he was meant to give to himself right about now.

When the elevator dinged, Katsuki resigned himself to his fate of an hour if not more of Ochako’s bitching and stepped out. He had made it all of three paces down the hall when she flew out of her office. “Bakugou!”

He cringed, mumbling something about getting padded carpets in his next building and turned on his heel to face the other woman. “Can I at least get a new shirt on first?” he said, waving at his open chest, smeared with black and red shiny skin.

“Bakugou” she said again, voice softer now and finally Katsuki looked at her. Her eyes were wide, so much wider than normal and red, like she had been crying. Hair pulled back in a messy bun, something she only did when stressed and needed it out of her face, and lips red from how much she had bitten them. He knew her nails had probably sustained the same mistreatment and Katsuki’s gut sank.

Ochako had been with him since school, he knew what she looked like after a break up, knew how she acted when receiving devastating news, knew her when she was angry and sad and everything in-between. So he knew how she looked when she had to give the worst possible news to families, when she had to tell them a person they held dear couldn’t be saved.

Katsuki didn’t like how that look was now aimed at him.

She sent one of the sidekicks to go to Katsuki’s office to get him a change of clothing before turning back to him. “we should go in my office” she said not meeting his eyes as she spoke to the floor and Katsuki felt his chest tighten, felt the restrictions around his heart, making it impossible to breathe.

When Katsuki didn’t move she finally looked at him, her brown eyes shining as a hand came up like she wanted to reach out for him but thought better of it at the last second and instead clutched at her own chest. “I’m so sorry Katsuki”

Katsuki could feel the nausea setting in, the churning of his stomach. Knew his hands had already started trembling as the ice cold claws of fear wound itself around his body. Could feel the way his head shook from side to side in denial. Katsuki knew the one and only reason she would be looking at him with such sorrow in her eyes, the only reason she would be apologizing to him and he couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it.

He said he would come back

He promised.

Katsuki hadn’t realized he had spoken out loud until Ochako had taken a step closer, whispering. “Katsuki it’s all over the news -”

“No!” he snarled, causing her to shrink back in fright. Katsuki looked away quickly, rubbing the back of his hand over his eyes in hopes of ridding the prickling that had started up behind them. His throat felt clogged up, making it hard to swallow and his chest ached, pounded erratically. As if his heart had become a hummingbird and wanted free of its prison. He knew what he was experiencing, knew these feelings all too well. Had become so acquainted to them all at a certain time in his life.

The stages of grief.

Please God no, not again, he couldn’t mourn again.

Katsuki couldn’t control the small choked sound that left his throat, couldn’t stop the shaking of his hands or the tears that gathered and fell even as he rubbed at them. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Katsuki didn’t want to be here any longer, he wanted to be gone. At home, on his hiking trail, anywhere that wasn’t in this hallway with devastated eyes looking at him. But his feet wouldn’t budge.

Ochako took a small steadying breath, stepping towards him once more. “All Might is talking about it right now” she said, voice low and soothing as she rested a hand on his shoulder, he tried shrugging it off but her grip held firm. “All for One, The league, their gone Katsuki. He did it but he didn’t survive”

Katsuki’s breath shuddered and he snapped his eyes up, blinking away his blurry vision so he could hold Ochako’s steely gaze. Something about that sentence didn’t want to sit right with Katsuki, a part of it just wouldn’t click into place for him, gave him pause.

Of course after… after Izuku, Katsuki had told his friends everything. Starting from the beginning when he was nothing more than a brat, nothing more than a big fish in a small pond who thought the world owed him because his quirk was amazing and therefore he would be. Explained how there was another little boy who didn’t have a quirk but would hold Katsuki’s hand one second and stand up to him in the next. How that boy had saved him, how that boy had gone missing, how he returned years later as a villain and Katsuki was hell-bent on destroying him. Led by nothing more than pain and regret.

Finally finishing with how all Izuku had needed all along was someone willing to try and save him and how Katsuki had promised him just that.

They hadn’t all taken it so well at the start, but over time they began to understand, began to see Izuku for who he was. None of them would know him like Katsuki did, none of them would understand his resolve, his determination, his heart. None of them would see a man who made a promise and stick to it even if it meant seeing the world burn.

Katsuki remembered all those nights ago as they lay in a dim room, Izuku’s soft voice and gentle hands as they tried coaxing him back to sleep, the whispered words of ‘now I have a reason to fight, to live’

No Izuku wouldn’t give up, not so easily. Not after completing his mission.

Katsuki shook out of Ochako’s grip, storming into the office and looking around for the remote to the large T.V plastered on her wall. She followed him, steps shadowing his own with confused eyes as she tried to talk to him. “Bakugou please, I know your hurting but you don’t need to listen to this-”

“Where is it Ochako” he snapped, spinning on her with a curled lip. “Where the fuck is the remote”

He didn’t know what he looked like in her eyes, but he could guess. Her gaze danced off to the side and he followed, knocking papers off her desk and picking up the little piece of plastic, aiming it at the flat screen as he rewound the news that looked to have been running non-stop all morning. He hit the play button when All Might went to take the stand, volume up as loud as it could go.

“Good morning” he said into the microphone and Katsuki stared, mouth slightly agape. All Might was too happy, smile too bright, eyes too alive even if he was in his larger form. Katsuki felt the twisting in his chest subside some more as he looked to the hero, hope taking root in a small tiny flutter within his chest. “As most of you know the city has been in quite a bit of an uproar this morning, rumors spreading like wildfire. And you’re here now to see if these rumors hold any light, if any of them can be true?”

All Might took a second to look around the crowd, eyes dancing over each reporter who was stood in front of him with a microphone raised and cameras at the ready. “I am here to tell you that they are”

The crown broke out into a roar, each person demanding their own questions be answered first. All Might hushed them all with a raise of his hand. “I will answer all of your question once the announcement is over” he promised before starting back up again. “Late last night a brave young man, a man who has had to put himself in some terrible situations to pull this off, a man who made the public believe him a villain while working for the heroes, finally took his last stand against All for One and won, though at a terrible cost.”

A picture popped up on the top left corner of the screen, a picture Katsuki had seen all too much back when he was younger and out for blood. Dauntless stared back at him, mask fixed firmly in place, hair cropped close to his head and eyes hard and dangerous. The picture was blurry, hard to make out all the details, couldn’t even see his freckles. The media had never been able to get a close up of him and Katsuki had to wonder why. Had Izuku just been good at keeping himself hidden from the camera, or had there been other motives behind it.

Knowing the younger man there were always other motives.

“As you all know, the Heroes and myself have been looking for All for One for many years, but the super villain has always managed to evade capture. We needed a way in and it came in the shape of a young man who was ready to poison his own soul in the hopes of helping take down one of the greatest villains of our time. He succeeded while also leading us right to the league, unfortunately he gave his life to bring down All for One.” he paused to look over the crowd and Katsuki felt himself breathing easier, felt his chest stop aching even if his hands still shook slightly.

He might have lost contact with his former teacher after his school years, but once out of the mansion Katsuki had made sure to talk to All Might more often, even if it wasn't always about Izuku. So he had picked up on the other heroes tells once again.

The smirk that curled across his own face had Ochako looking at him in concern. He turned from the T.V, making his way out the office and snatching the change of clothes from a sidekick who had just came into the room as Katsuki was leaving. Hearing the last of All Might’s statement from the T.V before he started rushing down the hall and out the building “I think we should remember this man for the Hero he truly is, for the sacrifices he had to make, for the life he had to give up on to keep the people of Japan safe. I hope that wherever he is, he has found peace and happiness, and maybe even a home for himself”

- - - -

Katsuki ran like the gates of hell had opened and was nipping at his heels. Feet pounding the pavement, tearing up the tarmac in his wake. He would have used his quirk to move faster if he wasn’t worried about the shake in his hands that could cause runaway explosions. He needed to get home and he couldn’t worry about accidentally hurting someone and being held up, so it looked like he was running on foot for now.

Katsuki remembered waking up two years ago, blinking open eyes to a cold bed that hadn’t held a body other than his own for hours and a note pressed against the opposite pillow. He remembered opening it with shaky fingers and bated breath, eyes glossing over with tears and smudging ink when they finally fell.

Now he knew what Izuku had been writing the night previously, what he had been so determined to finish before joining Katsuki in sleep. Though it looked like he never had, had simply snuck out in the dead of night with nothing more than an apology in words on white paper.

Izuku explained so much, poured his heart out and begged Katsuki not to look for him, that this wasn’t goodbye, it wasn’t forever, it was just for now. He would be back, he would come home, how Katsuki held his heart and that he couldn’t live without it, not anymore. How he had a reason to live now, to fight! A person he loved and a future he wanted so bad he was willing to destroy the world for it.

Izuku had handed Katsuki back his quirk during the night, it may have been while he slept or before when Izuku ran slow fingers through Katsuki’s hair. He didn’t know and didn’t care. All Katsuki could think about was the letter in his hands and an empty bed next to him.

There was a moment when Katsuki had thought himself strong enough, angry enough, to burn the paper in his hands. But he hadn’t been able to. Instead he had sobbed while clutching the flimsy letter to his chest, mourning the fact that Izuku had left him once again before finally climbing from the bed and following out Izuku’s last order.

There was a phone placed on the coffee table, files stacked around it and the blueprints of the mansion laid out for Katsuki to view. It hadn’t taken him long to scan what he needed, to pick up the phone and dial a number he had memorized so long ago.

Shouto had picked up on the second ring, voice weary as he greeted whoever was on the other side of the line. He had soon hung up when he heard Katsuki’s voice, only picking up again when Katsuki rang 3 more times and threatened him over message.

Katsuki was fast to explain the situation, to explain the part Izuku had played with the villains. He ran over the plans that had been left open by Izuku, told Shouto the layout of the mansion and sent a picture soon after so the other man could look himself. Once it had all been laid out, the plan set Shouto had asked in a tone barely restraining anger.

“Why should I trust you?”

He had snorted down the line, to numb with the knowledge that Izuku had left him behind once again to care about anything else right now. “I’m about to have the same conversation with Kirishima, Ochako and the chief of police. I don’t care if you don’t forgive me for choosing him, I don’t care if you never trust me again. But I’m about to blow this place up and then follow this plan to a T, so come to my ‘rescue’ or don’t, but it’s going to happen either way” with that he hung up the phone and started the whole process again.

Kirishima had been furious at him at first, but a bit of an explanation later and Eijirou’s angry voice had gone sort of flat at the end, most likely imagining his own life if one of the few people he loved left him, before he whispered. ‘I’m so sorry Bakugou’ Katsuki had shrugged it off, even if Kirishima couldn’t see and hung up.

He was working on autopilot, couldn’t afford to get sucked into what had happened, couldn’t allow himself to think too hard about the words on a page and Izuku missing from his side. He had already allowed himself to break down once, now he had to pull himself together to get the job done. He could fall apart again later, when the mission was complete he would allow himself the time needed to grieve.

Ochako had practically screeched at him down the line, but was fast to listen to the plan and ask questions. He knew she would most likely be here first, she might be angry but she wouldn’t leave him high and dry.

The last call was the chief of police and his tone was a low growl when he spoke.

“This wasn’t the agreement we had with Midoriya”

Katsuki clicked his teeth, sitting back on the couch and lifting one hand to watch the tiny explosions dance in his palm. “Well he’s gone now so tough shit. This is the new agreement, either get with it or don’t, I don’t care either way. But know it can cause more problems for you if you don’t go along with this plan. The heroes already know about your involvement, raiding the main bullet factory and knowing it was under Dauntless’ control. It’s not going to look good for you if they think you was working with the villains, so good luck hiding it”

With that he hung up the phone and threw the device on the other side of the couch. Katsuki paused to run a hand through his hair, looking around to see Izuku had laid out some clean clothes for him, had even found the gloves Katsuki had left at the gym, and placed them neatly atop the pile. Katsuki felt his throat close once again, the rush of tears burning the backs of his eyes. He took a deep steadying breath and stood to get changed.

‘Break later’ he told himself as he slowly started to pull on the clean clothes. ‘For now I need to finish what he started.’

Izuku left him with one final order and no matter how devastated Katsuki was, he was going to finish the task set for him. After all, it was what he promised, to hand his leash over, to follow Izuku. He wasn’t going to go back on everything he had promised just because the younger man wasn’t here to see it through. Izuku needed him to do this so that was what Katsuki was going to do.

Izuku had left him with all he needed to take the mansion and the eight precepts of death down with it, gave Katsuki all the information needed to keep them all locked up until dead. Left Katsuki step by step instructions on what to do.

If Katsuki followed the order then the heroes would arrive to ‘save’ him, another tip off that he would have handed to them himself. Afterwards there would be an announcement that Katsuki had been working undercover, trying to gain intel so as to take down the eight precepts of death and succeeding. It wouldn’t matter if one of the leaders were missing, the public would be too happy to know that one of the major crime organizations had been taken down.

This way it would also help Izuku do what he needed to stay hidden, to work in secret. If the information they let out was controlled then no one would know if he was actually dead or alive, not even the villains of his own home would know. Izuku wanted them to think Katsuki had killed him in his sleep and Katsuki was happy to play along if it kept Izuku safe wherever he was.

Only a handful of heroes would know the truth, know about Izuku. Only the ones Katsuki decided to tell, only the ones he trusted. All other heroes would think Dauntless had been majorly wounded or killed, and when nothing new was broadcast in the months to come they would eventually think him dead.

Ochako had been one of the few who knew the whole truth. It was the only reason she agreed to come back and work with him after the whole fiasco. Shouto had – rightfully – told her about Katsuki leaving with Izuku at the warehouse. Apparently she hadn’t believe it right away until she had seen Kirishima and how devastated he had been. It had only been a day but they all believed that Katsuki had turned on them, until he phoned each of them up in turn and explained. He was just thankful that his friends trusted him enough to believe him based of his word alone or it could have ended up a lot more messy than it already had.

Katsuki didn’t think any of them truly accepted what he was saying until they finally saw him, there was no way the heartache in his eyes could have been acted, or how he finally broke in front of them all later that night. Sobbing in a way he didn’t even know himself possible.

He hated it, hated their pitying looks. The way they gazed at one another when he told them Izuku would come back to him, he had promised. They didn’t know Izuku like Katsuki did, and he held onto that last scrap of hope with everything he had.

It hadn’t taken long for the heroes to attack the mansion after the phone call had been placed, and when they came Katsuki was already in Izuku’s office, destroying the hundreds of notebooks, making sure not a shred of his work would survive to fall into the wrong hands.

Overhaul was where Izuku had said he would be in his letter, strung up by his wrists in the basement. His hands had been removed from his body and placed on the table in front of him like a grisly offering to the Gods. Katsuki had to wonder how Izuku had managed it, but he shook the thought off just as fast, Izuku had always been able to best the bird and it would have been made so much easier with Overhaul believing he could trust Izuku, that the younger man was on their side.

Once all the villains had been moved to Tartarus, Overhaul spitting and screaming, even through the blood loss. A statement had went out, the heroes kept questions to a minimum afterwards, none denying or agreeing that Dauntless was either dead or captured. They needed to allow him to move freely in the dark underbelly of the crime world, and it was best if they didn’t draw light to him.

Katsuki hadn’t even been able to really be mad at the younger man’s plans, because if the roles were reversed he knew he would have done the same. Would have done anything in his power to make sure Izuku would be free from that life. It didn’t mean to say he hated it any less, but he knew what motives had been going through the younger man’s head when deciding how he would leave.

It had all died down eventually, and Katsuki had been able to go back to hero work after a brief interrogation under detective Tsukauchi to make sure he wasn’t lying. His insurance had paid out enough that he could open up another agency and his team was fast to flood back towards him. Soon it was as if he had never left the hero world, as if those six months with Izuku had been nothing more than a dream.

He would have fully believed he had made it all up also, if not for the few times Izuku had shown himself over the years. Not in the flashy way, no, in the small subtle way of his. First he healed Kirishima’s daughter, took her quirk and wished Eijirou well before telling him to relay a message to Katsuki, and then Katsuki started noticing the flashes of green.

He no longer ran towards it like he had done the very first time. Knew from experience he wouldn’t catch Izuku unless the younger man wanted to be caught. But Katsuki would turn around, search for large green eyes that would land on his own and hold for what felt like an eternity before disappearing in the next blink.

Izuku wasn’t gone, not really. And those small flashes had helped keep Katsuki sane, knowing that the younger man missed him just as much that he had sought Katsuki out time and time again, even if only to glance at him for a second.

Katsuki just hoped his instinct were right now.

He barreled up the stairs to his apartment, key shaking in his hand as he tried three times to get the stupid thing in the lock. Finally the door swung open and Katsuki froze, breath leaving him in a rush.

Izuku stood at his window, back to Katsuki but he turned when he heard the door opening, smile large and bright against a face that had been through the wars. Tears were gathered in Izuku’s eyes and Katsuki couldn’t stop his own from forming.

His heart beat like a war drum in his chest as he slowly stepped into his apartment, terrified it was all a dream and he would wake up any second now. Slowly he used his heel to kick the door shut behind him so he never had to take his eyes of the younger man as he looked Izuku over for the first time in what felt like forever.

Izuku was dressed down in a pair of faded jeans that had holes at the knees, a white long sleeve tee with rips at the cuffs and neckline and a pair of beat up red sneakers that Katsuki couldn’t help snorting out a laugh at.

This was real.

Izuku was scarred more than he had been before, hands a mess of crooked fingers and thick skin over knuckles. His face had a tiny white nick over the corner of his top right lip, but the most startling scar was the one that pulled from Izuku’s left eye and up into his hairline, three large marks, as if a big cat had mauled his face. The green of that eye was milkier in color, the black pupil seeming to be a light blue and Katsuki knew Izuku could no longer see out of that eye anymore.

“You left” he found himself saying, words tearing from his throat as tears fell from his eyes.

Izuku’s smile never wavered, but his crying intensified, his hands fidgeting by his sides, as if he wanted to reach out and touch Katsuki but held himself back by sheer willpower alone. Katsuki didn’t know if he could be as strong. “I had to, I couldn’t leave you to that life. I couldn’t have you resenting me”

“You took that choice from me” Katsuki hated how he sounded so damn week, how his voice broke, how he just wanted to fall into Izuku’s arms.

Izuku sniffed, looking out the window and then back to him just as fast, like now he finally had Katsuki in his sight he never wanted to look anywhere else. “I know and I’m sorry, but I would do it all again”

“Why?”

Izuku held his gaze and Katsuki felt his knees shake, how his legs wanted to buckle. He had missed that look, the one Izuku aimed at him as if Katsuki had hung every star in the sky just for him. And then Izuku spoke, voice light as though he had been waiting to say the next few words all his life, as if he had been made to say them and was finally given the right to. “Because I love you”

Katsuki closed the space between them, hands cradling Izuku’s face as he pulled the younger man in, so their eyes could meet and hold “You said that if I ever said those words to you that you wouldn’t be able to leave me, and now you’re here, so what does this mean?”

“It means I’m not going anywhere, whether you say them or not. The public thinks I’m dead, the villains and heroes think I’m dead. I’m ready to start the next chapter of my life, I’m ready to move on, to have a future, to live.” Izuku’s eyes searched Katsuki’s face, tears staining his cheeks. “I’m ready to be with you Katsuki, in this life and the next. For as long as you’ll have me.”

There was a pause, a beat of silence and then Katsuki was pulling Izuku closer, leaning down until his lips lined up with Izuku’s own, until he could breathe against them. Knowing that when he spoke next, Izuku wouldn’t just hear the words but would feel them also. “I love you”

Izuku had thrown his arms around Katsuki neck in the next instant, mouth catching Katsuki’s in a blazing kiss. He could feel the tears he had tried to hold back come crashing down over him, how he cried and sobbed and clung to Izuku.

He held the younger tighter and tighter, kissed him as if the world was ending. Whispered how much he loved him again and again, against lips and cheeks and eyelids. Let the words he had held back all those years ago spill from his mouth like a mantra, as if he was making up for all the times he hadn’t been able to say it.

Izuku giggled when they pulled away, eyes wet but smile so large. He leaned into Katsuki’s touch when he ran a hand down Izuku’s face, sighed into Katsuki’s palm when he rubbed a thumb under Izuku’s scarred eye.

“I told you I would come home” he whispered into Katsuki’s hold. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long”

“S’okay” he mussed, nuzzling into the side of Izuku’s face and taking in the sharp mint and strawberry scent that was all Izuku. He couldn’t wait to wake up to that scent every day, to come home to it, to have Izuku in his arms right where he belonged. “You’re here now and that’s what matters”

“We’re in this together Kacchan, to the end” and Katsuki knew it wasn’t a mistake to believe him this time.

He pulled back to place another soft kiss on Izuku’s lips. “Welcome home nerd”