Chapter Text
Izuku found the correct seat on the plane in record time and thought this surely was some sort of sign. Everything was going according to plan. He was making the right choice in leaving now.
Then he heard a soft cough from behind him. Turning, Izuku saw there was a person standing practically on his heels.
Um, yes? Izuku’s face must have reflected his confusion because the Dalmatian spotted face of the person behind him contorted with annoyance. They pointed to the center seat in the very same aisle. A spark of anxiety flared beneath Izuku’s skin as his eyes flicked to the growing line of other passengers building behind the two of them.
“Sorry!” Izuku said too loudly then mentally chastised himself for saying it at all. There was nothing to be sorry about; he was just putting his belongings in the overhead bin where they belonged.
Still, he picked up the speed as he haphazardly pushed his larger carry-on into the bin then tossed the smaller messenger bag onto the window seat. Then he threw himself into the aisle with a loud “thump.”
Was it just him or were airplane seats getting smaller? Izuku wasn’t even the biggest guy, but it was a struggle to wiggle his way into the correct seat as quickly as possible. In the end, he stuffed his messenger bag under the seat in front of him, settled in his chair, and buckled up right as the spotted person plopped into the middle seat.
Izuku let out a long exhale and let his head drop back against the headrest. His eyes fell closed. From the packing to security, traveling exhausted him. He desperately hoped he could sleep on the flight, but he doubted he would. His fingers came up to touch the raised skin of the Marks on his neck with a small smile, a habit he’d picked up recently. He buzzed with nervous excitement.
The next chapter of his life was about to begin.
Something else began to buzz, quickly followed by a familiar ringtone. Izuku’s eyes flew open.
Crap! How could he forget! He’d planned to call Kacchan as soon as he found a quiet spot by the gate. Yet he’d thoughtlessly thrown his phone into his messenger bag after going through security and forgotten.
His body nearly broke into two with how quickly he bent his upper half forward to grab for his messenger bag. His forehead hit the upright tray table, but Izuku didn’t even register it.
“Crap, crap, crap,” Izuku half-thought, half-muttered. The phone was still buzzing from the incoming call, the ringtone obnoxious with its increasing volume. No matter how hard Izuku tried, though, he—just—couldn’t—seem to—get his bag out from where he’d stuffed it under the seat. The strap must have caught on something.
This left him no other choice.
Izuku lurched himself a little more forward, basically sticking his head between his knees. The extra bit of distance let his hand slip into the bag itself. When his fingers wrapped around his cell phone, Izuku didn’t even bother sitting up before he pressed accept on the video call.
“Kacchan! Hi!” Izuku whispered into the phone as he pulled it free. He cupped his hand around his mouth and pressed his thumb against the speaker to muffle the sound as best he could.
“Oi, Deku. Your camera’s off.” Katsuki looked down at him as his camera bobbed up and down. He must already have been on his way to the agency for work. “I can hardly hear you.”
“Um, yeah, sorry, I—uh—” he stuttered trying to think of an excuse.
“Are you still at fucking work?”
“Yeah!” Izuku jumped on the offered explanation. “I’m still on patrol.”
Kacchan scowled as he glared down at the phone screen, but that only made Izuku smile. “Isn’t it past midnight there or some shit? What did I fucking tell you about taking doubles? Shit’s going to burn you out.”
“I know—”
“You ‘know,’” Katsuki mocked, “but you keep taking them anyway. Are you eating?”
“Yes.”
“And sleeping?”
“Yes.”
“And keeping your apartment clean?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Izuku cooed with a roll of his eyes, but his smile only got wider.
He secretly loved when Kacchan fussed over him like this. An Alpha’s protective nature frequently came out in the form of aggression, but people often forgot that Alphas also tended to dote on their mates at home. When he and Kacchan were in the same place, that usually materialized in his insistence that he cook Izuku healthy meals, or demanding that he get enough sleep.
Since Izuku wasn’t there, Katsuki had taken to interrogating Izuku on his well-being during their daily calls. And Izuku couldn’t blame him. He did the same in his series of instant messages sent throughout the day. Every day. For the nearly two years since he left Japan. The only exceptions were when either of them visited the other.
“Watch it. Don’t make me fucking come over there.”
“Tu promets?” Izuku softly laughed at the irony of his threat. If only Katsuki where Izuku was right now. Katsuki opened his mouth ready to retort, but Izuku cut him off. “Hey, Kacchan?”
“What?”
“Happy birthday.”
Instantly, the scowl on his mate’s face softened. The Alpha looked away from the screen, but Izuku could still see the bit of a flush that colored his cheeks.
“Just another fucking day at the agency. I’m here, by the way. Finish your patrol and get home. None of this paperwork bullshit ‘til sunrise like last time. You better still be asleep by the time I get off patrol.”
“Mm-hmm,” Izuku hummed non-committedly. A chime went off above him signaling the turning on of the seat-belt sign.
“What was that?”
“Store door!” Izuku answered as quickly as possible. “Gotta go too, have a great patrol, IloveyouKacchanbye!”
The Omega hung up before Katsuki could object. He sat up quickly, the world spinning as all the blood that had pooled in his head drained back into his body. Izuku didn’t react soon enough to stop the airline stewardess from pausing to turn to him.
“Monsieur, veuillez éteindre tous les appareils électroniques.”
“Oui, je suis désolé.”
The stewardess smiled and continued walking down the aisle. Izuku found himself smiling too. He turned to his window, catching his own reflection.
“Bye, Paris,” Izuku whispered as the loudspeaker came on to give in-flight instructions. He hardly paid them any attention.
He could only think about returning to Kacchan.
For good.
———
“HAPPY B—”
“No.” Katsuki shut down his companions before they could finish popping out from behind the row of office desks. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the confetti from bursting from the large gold balloons hanging on the ceiling that cracked in half as if on cue. The Alpha scowled while he shook the colorful pieces of paper from his hair.
“C’mon, Bakubro,” Kirishima grinned as he held up a large cake (as if Katsuki couldn’t see the thing from space). “We bought cake!”
“We let ya patrol,” Camie continued with a bright orange party favor between her lips. She gave the plastic kazoo a long blow, letting out a shrill warble that wobbled and died a slow and painful death. “Now it’s time to get lit!”
“The hell it is! I don’t pay you all to sit on your asses and stuff your faces with cake!”
“We’re off the clock,” Saiko said before taking a sip of her tea.
Next to her, Kaminari spit out the beer he’d been drinking. “We are?”
A mutter broke out among the rest of the Pros and side-kicks, a couple going as far as to grab their bags as if to leave. Camie waved her arms to stop them, accidentally hitting Kirishima’s arm. Both Omegas let out a loud scream as they went to catch the cake, but both only ended up with handfuls of cake while the rest hit the ground with a splat.
Chaos ensued as some people groaned in earnest while others rushed to get cleaning supplies.
Katsuki watched them, exhaustion keeping his rising anger at bay. He’d woken up earlier than normal, hoping Izuku would call early for his birthday, then his morning patrol ran long because he stopped not one but two petty criminals using fake ChromoChanger pills. The real shit had basically been cleared from the street, but leave it to small timers to keep buying the knock-offs to disastrous results. For them.
“No,” the Alpha said with a low growl right before Mina could put a party hat on his head. She’d been ‘sneaking’ up behind him with the orange plastic hat.
The other Alpha only huffed back. “Party pooper. We put a lot of effort into throwing you a party here since you refused to go to a bar with us after work.”
“That’s your fucking problem.”
Katsuki put his hands on his hips and walked straight past the chaos to the relative solace of his office. The door closed with a snap behind him, but he could still hear much of the commotion happening out in the main room. As an added measure, he closed the blinds. If Camie hadn’t ruined the cake, maybe he would have stayed long enough to blow out the candles and wish they’d all leave him alone.
He shook his head. He knew he didn’t mean that.
As annoying as his friends and colleagues could be, they were his annoying assholes. They might have gone directly against his wishes and planned a stupid fucking party that he definitely never wanted, but they did it with the best of intentions.
The agency had grown from a couple Pros and a handful of sidekicks to a full building of heroes, staff, and interns alike. Dynamight Agency had attracted a lot of interest ever since he gave that impromptu interview about two years ago. There were mostly newcomers, but they also received some government funding so the big-wigs could throw off any more talk of prejudice against Omegas on their end. Katsuki wanted to throw the money back in their faces, but Saiko convinced him otherwise.
He couldn’t argue with the results. He got to hire some of his friends he’d originally turned down for fear of underpaying them, plus a ton of newcomers, including the newest Big Three from UA that year. Now Dynamight Agency was ranked number one in the country.
Despite the exponential growth, or maybe because of it, everyone at the agency acted more like a family than a workplace. Much to Katsuki’s chagrin, there was always loud laughing or screaming echoing down the hallways, not to mention a few screams of panic as someone blew up the copy machine or the building shook from enthusiastic spars in the basement training room.
Shit was annoying even on a normal day, but it also made Katsuki’s chest swell with pride.
This was his agency. He made this shit happen. He gave all these people jobs, but more than that, he gave them all a place to thrive.
In return, the agency’s growth meant Katsuki could afford to outsource some of his work. He hired a whole team to take care of the mundane paperwork that used to cover his desk. Yeah, Katsuki still had to deal with the important shit and his email inbox never reached zero, but fuck it felt great to walk in and not see any folders on his desk (some days).
Delegating his office work also meant he could go back into the field. He’d lost his number one spot during the second round of rankings his first year of starting the agency and that shit sucked. Ever since, Katsuki had kept up a steady round of patrols and enough missions to keep his villain take-down counts near the top. Add in his impeccable reputation as founder of the leading hero agency and who else could compete for first?
That didn’t mean balancing field work and running an agency couldn’t get fucking exhausting.
Katsuki kicked his office chair away from his desk, pressed his back to the wall, and slid down to the floor. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. On autopilot, Katsuki’s hand dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened one eye and frowned at the phone screen empty of any alerts.
What the fuck was Deku up to now?
It was nearly eight p.m. there, which meant it was about to be one in the afternoon in Paris. Katsuki was used to doing the mental calculations between his and Izuku’s timezones. Some were easy to maneuver since he tended to stay “close.” Australia, China, Russia. Only in the last country, France, was it the hardest for them to keep up their daily calls. They alternated between when Katsuki first woke up or right before he went to sleep depending on Izuku’s work schedule, with Izuku constantly messaging in the interim.
Not that Katsuki demanded that he did...but he appreciated it nonetheless. Deku would send pictures of himself doing mundane things. Eating, folding laundry, putting away clean dishes. He’d send these long messages about something funny that happened on patrol or a thought that popped into his head. Katsuki would send pictures back, often of their old classmates or new sidekicks that gushed about the Omega despite never meeting him themselves.
At some point, it became clear to Katsuki that somehow, despite all odds, the pair were closer now than ever.
All that time they’d spent together before, they’d never been on the same page. Izuku had been a mess since the very beginning of their tumultuous ‘relationship.’ His ping-ponging between begging Katsuki to Claim him to demanding to leave him alone... From fucking to distance and fucking again... The Omega never seemed to stick to one plan for too long. Worse, Izuku never told Katsuki what he was thinking until shit grew and grew and blew up in both of their faces. Now, Izuku told him everything. Small shit to big shit, and he did so freely. Comfortably.
Then there was him.
Katsuki denied his feelings for Izuku until he let them cloud the obvious truth that Izuku was dealing with some major insecurities and depression, then he tried to disavow those feelings of love altogether. As if he could. From the very start, he assumed Izuku understood him because that was how it had always been. Katsuki gave him Orders to make Izuku realize he was strong enough without a Claim to fight them without understanding the traumatic experience that drove the Omega to ask for one. He’d hurt Deku, pressing him into a well with a rough kiss to aggravate his wounds enough that Izuku would have to admit he’d been in the hospital because he’d lied to Katsuki. He assumed Izuku knew that they both loved each other and put off telling him so, even when he was obviously unwell after the baby incident. Then he gave him ultimatum after ultimatum: pick him or never come back.
Shit felt stupid in retrospect. He’d been too insecure about his own worth as a mate to think he and Izuku would actually make it. That they could put up with whatever the world threw at them, including distance, and come out stronger for it.
Now they both were moving forward on their own paths, moving toward their dreams.
And they were doing so in parallel. Side by side. Soon to be together again. Izuku only had a few more weeks before he’d get his international license.
Katsuki cracked an eye open and clicked his phone alive again.
Still no notifications.
He growled and knocked his head back against the wall. Seriously, what the fuck? Deku should have been awake by now, night patrol or not. He’d kill his mate if he found out he was still at work this late into the day after working all night.
From the other side of the office, the door opened. For a brief second the sounds of the party that had continued without him became louder, but were instantly dulled by the door closing again.
“I’m not coming out, so fuck off,” Katsuki mumbled loud enough for his new guest to hear but didn’t bother opening his eyes or coming out from behind his desk. To his surprise, there was no response.
Before Katsuki could even open his eyes, he felt a figure sit beside him. A hand fell on top of Katsuki’s as it still clung onto his phone.
The scent of pine and chocolate had his head whipping sideways and his eyes snapping open. Then the soft set of lips on his had his eyes falling closed.
A small kiss between mates intensified in a heartbeat. Katsuki’s hand dropped his phone to intertwine his fingers with Izuku’s. The press of Izuku’s other hand in his hair brought Katsuki closer to his Omega so that he could deepen the kiss. The sweet taste of Izuku’s tongue on his awakened the slumbering beast inside Katsuki’s chest.
The Alpha’s right arm wrapped around Izuku’s waist, pulling his mate onto his lap. Izuku straddled Katsuki effortlessly and pressed into him with a content mewl. Low vibrations built from deep within Katsuki’s vocal cords. The resulting purr traveled up both their bodies before traveling back to the other through their still connected lips.
They pulled away too soon, but their aching lungs demanded it. They both took in large breaths in perfect harmony. Yet, when Katsuki opened his eyes, Izuku was already looking at him with bright eyes.
“I’m back.”
For some reason, that made Katsuki blink. Well, yeah, that was fucking obvious. Then Katsuki blinked a few times before the thought occurred to him.
“Back?” He emphasized.
Izuku nodded, his face illuminated by his bright smile. “Back, back.”
By sheer strength, Katsuki stood, lifting Izuku up with him. He placed the Omega on the desk, caging him in with both his arms on either side of Izuku’s sides. “Back for good?”
Deku leaned forward and kissed him again.
“Forever,” he whispered.
Katsuki kissed Izuku this time, but kept it short. He pulled back only far enough to lean his head against Izuku’s forehead.
“I thought you still had another month?”
He felt Izuku shrug beneath him. “I might have worked up a deal with my boss to fudge the paperwork if I did a few extra doubles.”
The Alpha couldn’t help but growl. “Is that why you were working so fucking much?”
Izuku nodded too aggressively, making them fall away from one another. Somehow his grin was even wider. They were about to kiss again when Katsuki noticed something else. He put one finger to Izuku's lips and grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him from falling forward when Katsuki didn’t meet his kiss.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Katsuki let go of Izuku and walked to his office door. When he pulled it open, Mina, Camie, and Kaminari fell to the ground. Behind them, the rest of the agency began to busy themselves with nonsensical tasks like watering a plant with beer or pointing to a plate like they were explaining the design on it.
“What the fuck are you all doing? Wait, fuck that. Oi, Deku.” Katsuki turned his head to where Izuku still sat on his desk, face tinged red from surprise. “C’mon. We’re getting out of here.”
Izuku nodded and jumped off the desk right as the objections began to be raised.
“But your party!”
“But Midoriya just got here!”
“But I was listening to that! It was sexy af!”
Their protests fell on deaf ears. As soon as Izuku’s hand was in his, Katsuki tore through the crowd of nosy heroes and went straight to the elevator. The crowd kept up their whining until all noise was cut off by the large metal doors closing.
As the elevator began to descend, Izuku pressed into Katsuki’s side. Katsuki pressed back.
When the door opened again, they walked out into the fresh night air.
“What was that about?” Izuku teased. Katsuki shook his head.
“You don’t want to know,” he responded blandly.
But after a beat, Katsuki did start to tell him. He began to recount the party, their friend’s antics, his long day and successful villain captures. Katsuki had gotten used to talking, specifically to Izuku, from their daily video calls.
By the time Katsuki finished, Izuku picked up with his day right on cue. How he had been planning on coming back to surprise Katsuki for weeks, how hard it had been to keep a secret, how he’d stuffed all his stuff in Katsuki’s front hallway so Izuku could rush to see Katsuki sooner and he hoped that was okay?
They talked and walked for what felt like hours, but probably couldn’t have been more than one. Time had a way of slowing down when they were together, maybe because over the last two years the time they did have together never felt long enough.
That wasn’t the case anymore. Izuku was back for good, but it still felt unreal to Katsuki.
Somehow, their feet had taken them to a park. A familiar one. The one they’d walked to from the bar and Izuku’s failure of a birthday party all those years ago.
Where they’d had their first real kiss.
Katsuki looked around, his eyes immediately locating the bench from his memory. It’s not like he could ever forget that night. He tugged at Izuku’s arm, pulling him with him as Katsuki walked to the bench. When they both sat down, Katsuki couldn’t help but wonder if Izuku remembered too.
“You’re such a romantic,” Izuku tilted his head back to look at the sky.
So he did remember.
Katsuki smirked, then tilted his head back to look up at the stars too. The lights from the city and street lamps made the stars hard to see, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.
“Maybe I am.”
“There’s no ‘maybe’ about it.”
“Then consider yourself fucking lucky that you have a romantic for a partner.”
“I do.”
Katsuki dropped his chin so he could stare at Izuku. He’d been joking, but Izuku’s response had been exceptional in its sincerity. It instantly caught Katsuki’s attention and now he couldn’t look away.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have you, Kacchan.” Izuku spoke to the stars, but his truth was for Katsuki to hear. “I can’t imagine a future with anyone else.”
When he finished speaking, Izuku’s hand went up to his neck. Katsuki watched as the Omega’s fingers dusted over the Marks on the left side of his neck. At that moment, certainty burned bright in Katsuki’s gut.
“Deku, let me Claim you.”
Izuku jerked his head downward in shock. “Wha—”
As if just noticing his hand on his neck, Izuku immediately stopped touching his Marks. He held both hands out in front of him between himself and Katsuki, shaking them back and forth.
“No, no, I didn’t mean anything by touching—ah, I just mean, if you want to, of course! But there’s no rush or pressure or—”
“Deku,” Katsuki interrupted and Izuku felt silent.
A long time ago, Katsuki had asked Izuku when he would Claim him again. Back then Izuku had said that he wouldn’t be asking him to again.
But then he had. Izuku asked Katsuki to Claim him before he left Japan to start on his international license. The Omega had begun to explain that being Claimed by the Alpha again was his promise to Katsuki.
“Even if something happens and we don’t work out, you’ll be the only one for me. I want to know how you are feeling no matter where we are because you’re my True Mate, Kacchan. I know you are.”
And Katsuki said no. He wouldn’t Claim Izuku.
Not until he came back.
“I want to,” the Alpha said with certainty. “As long as you still do—”
“Yes!” Izuku jumped in. His eyes were wet with tears, but he cleared his throat as if that would keep them at bay. Such a cry baby. “Of course I do, Kacchan.”
“Okay then.” Katsuki twisted his body to face Izuku properly.
The Omega turned his head left to right. “You mean here? Right now?”
“Why not now?”
At that Izuku smiled. The offer had caught him off guard, but Kacchan was right. Why not here? Why not now? They may have forever, but why wait any longer than they already had?
“Okay.”
Izuku scooted forward on the bench to grip at the bottom of the black sweatshirt he wore. Katsuki hadn’t noticed Deku’s outfit at all, too taken aback by his surprise appearance. Now he realized Izuku was wearing his favorite black hoodie. Katsuki’s hoodie. The Alpha gave a small snort. Deku called him the romantic, but the nerd was the real sentimental one.
Not that it bothered Katsuki one bit. Izuku looked good in his clothes and it was fitting that he wore the black hoodie, tonight of all nights. Katsuki had originally given the hoodie to Deku on the night he first Claimed him. Tonight, Katsuki would Claim Izuku again.
“Kacchan?” Izuku prodded. He’d removed the hoodie and was holding his shirt down, neck tilted up toward his right shoulder. The two sets of Marks on his shoulder overlapped, but Katsuki could clearly make out his set of teeth prints.
Katsuki’s canines began to elongate, but the sound that left his throat was much more like a purr than a growl.
Izuku relaxed the moment Katsuki put his hand on Izuku’s thigh. He’d been waiting for this for years. Part of him was afraid that Katsuki would never Claim him again after he’d turned him down before leaving. Izuku had secretly promised himself that he wouldn’t ask again. He refused to pressure Katsuki into the soul-binding connection...again. The decision would have to be the Alpha’s this time.
Hearing Katsuki ask set him at ease, despite making his heart race. Izuku steadied himself now for his mate’s bite. Unlike the first two times Izuku had been Claimed, he wasn’t worried about a thing.
The Alpha leaned toward him. Izuku twisted his body to meet him. Instead of going straight in for the bite, Katsuki began to rub his own neck and chin against Izuku’s. In the middle of spring came the scent of summer. Their pheromones mingled together to create the familiar comfort of a scene they both knew well. Memories they’d made over their visits these last two years, sitting in front of the fire on a camping trip, warming themselves in front of the flame and with cocoa sliding down their throats. They were each other’s favorite way to pass the time.
Pliant in Katsuki’s hands, Izuku didn’t pull away when he felt Katsuki’s teeth brush against the sensitive skin of his neck. He trusted Kacchan. Kacchan would never hurt him.
When Katsuki broke Izuku’s skin with his bite, it in fact didn’t hurt.
It didn’t feel like anything.
Until it felt like everything.
Certainty, calm, peace, and relief. All the words they’d said, all the feelings they felt, and the future that waited before them. Izuku saw a night sky full of stars, a perfect snowflake on his nose, and new life springing from the Earth. He felt strength that was his own and the heat of Katsuki’s palms on his back, ready to catch him should he fall.
But all he heard was Kacchan.
“Deku?”
Izuku blinked and Kacchan was in front of him. Not in the park or from his memories, but here in this moment between reality and fancy. The Alpha’s eyes were wide, his head turning from side to side. Could Kacchan see this too?
Then he heard something else.
Laughter.
Children’s laughter.
Both he and Kacchan turned to see two little children playing on the grass. Green hair and red eyes, Christmas-colored babies in the middle of spring. As if sensing the pairs of eyes on them, the little kids turned to look at both the Alpha and Omega. Their smiles, blinding, invincible, all encompassing, were true symbols of peace.
Then they were gone.
Izuku hadn’t even blinked, but suddenly he was back in the park. He was sitting on a bench next to Katsuki who looked dazed.
“What?” The Alpha asked, shaking his head then once again looking from side to side.
“Did you see it?” Izuku whispered and his eyes widened. “Did you see them too?”
Katsuki stared at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “That didn’t happen last time. What the fuck was that?”
Warmth traveled through Izuku. He’d done a lot more reading on True Mates since realizing Katsuki must be his.
“It was our future.”
Katsuki’s heart stopped for a moment. Not out of disappointment, not even from shock, but from an overwhelming feeling of elation. He didn’t know if he believed it. Shit was just due to an overactive imagination, right? Pheromones from the Claim driving Katsuki temporarily insane.
Then again, if this is what Izuku also saw...if this was what he wanted…
At the same moment, they both leaned in to kiss each other. Their sudden movements led to them knocking heads instead
“Ow!” “Shit!”
They held their palms to their foreheads before their eyes caught the other’s. Then they began to laugh. Like earlier, they settled for resting their heads together by the forehead and closing their eyes.
“Our future huh?”
“Yeah,” Izuku whispered, but his voice sounded so sure. “One day.”
“Gotta marry you first.”
Katsuki didn’t open his eyes but he could feel Izuku’s smile widen.
“Hey, Kacchan?”
“Yeah?”
“...Can I Claim you?”