Work Text:
Katsuki held his partner as the boy cried, his lip busted and his cheek sported a quickly forming red mark from when he'd gone to get the boy. He'd barely intervened in time and got the backlash as well.
Kariage had it much worse, nose bleeding, staining his lips and chin, and his throat had hand-shaped bruises. He hated it, the way the smoky teen was treated.
"You did so good. You're with me now, I'll keep you safe with me forever" He said.
"No, no" Kariage whispered, voice shaking.
"Yes, you did so, so good. You're so strong" The way that the grip on him tightened made his heart hurt. The amount of disbelief about his worth in his partner's near-nothing ego was heartbreaking.
"I'm getting you out of there, I'm not letting you go back" Kariage shook his head and Katsuki ran a hand through the boy's dark hair. "I am. I'll keep you here forever. You're my everything. Got it? I'm keeping you here"
Sniffles answered him. What was he supposed to do, it wasn't like his family could really keep him. Legally, the smoker's 'family' could demand he was given back.
Katsuki was sure his mother would go kill them to keep Kariage with them, but there was nothing they could do they had to legally have him removed from the house
Even if it would mean the boy could be taken away, he'd rather the Kariage be safe than hurt, and if their relationship was really keeping it from transitioning, he'd have to take the pain. Kariage was his everything, he would keep him safe. No matter what.
"I don't wanna go. Please don't let them take me. 'Tsuki please don't let them. I don't wanna leave you"
"I know baby" His heart was hurting and his eyelashes were beginning to hold salty tears. "I know"
It took a week or two, but finally, finally, Kariage was gone from that household forever. However, that meant that the teen wouldn't be in his house anymore, he wouldn't be nearby.
"'Tsuki?" The boy said while they waited in the parlor with his bags.
"Yeah?" They stood together, nearly on top of each other as Kariage clung to him.
"I have this one song stuck in my head and..."
"You wanna dance?" Katsuki whispered, pulling himself further into the teen's hold. "You wanna dance to your song?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I wanna dance"
He took a half-step back, letting then have a little space. Not much, but enough to move with.
They moved, synchronized sways as Kariage hummed the song. He heard his mother quietly weeping in the next room. They all loved him. Katsuki the most. He loved his partner more than anything in the world.
Kariage finally broke, tears slipping down as he cupped Katsuki's face. "'Tsuki, I really love you"
He couldn't respond right away, his voice coming out choked and wet when he did. "I know Kari. I love you too, more than the world"
Pulling the slightly taller teen closer, he leant in and touched their head together, foreheads touching as they simply took in each other's presence.
He was going to miss this.
"This's it?" Kariage whispered. "This's all we have left?" Katsuki almost broke at the words. His tears clung to his eyelashes, not yet falling.
"No" he responded. "No, we're much more than that. So much more. It's me an' you to the goddamned end. You an' me, yeah?"
The teen nodded, moving to further pull him closer. There was no more room left between him and his partner, but it felt like there was an eternity of space between them.
"Yeah.'Til the end" Katsuki pulled away and slipped off his necklace. A ring hung from it, a ruby red jem attached.
"When we see each other next time, you better give this back"
Kariage bit his lips, chewing on them for a moment before answering in a hesitant tone. "You sure? I might lose it"
"I trust you" He clipped the chain around the teen's neck. "When you get back, I'll give you one to keep"
"Shitty time to propose" His partner whispered. "But they better be matching rings"
"Nothing less" Katsuki mumbled before catching his lips on the other's. "Never less than perfect for you. Never"
When his partner pulled him even closer to deepen the kiss, he ignored the fact that he could taste the salty tears that each of them shed.
---
Katsuki felt horrible. He hadn't felt the same since Kariage was taken into foster care. He'd never seen the boy since.
It was torture, not seeing his partner. Were they even together now? Had Kariage moved on without him there?
He was studying in the dorm lounge when Aizawa approached him. He looked up from his notes. It was Friday night, so they rarely saw the man.
"Here, I was told to give you this" The man held out a chain. A ring hanging on it. The ruby red gem shining. He snatched it from the man's grip, that was the one he'd give to Kariage.
"Where the fuck did you get this from?" Any classmates in the room who weren't already onlooking turned to watch. "Who gave this to you?"
"Should've expected this reaction, honestly. I adopted a problem child last week. He wanted to give this back. You know him?"
"It's- It's Kariage? You have Kariage?" Please, it better be the boy he'd been mourning over. It had to be. It had to. He wouldn't take it back if it was something handed off to return to him.
The nod his teacher gave had his breath sharply stopping. It was Kariage. His teacher had Kariage. He wanted to cry.
"He's okay, then?" He whispered.
"Yes, he's perfectly fine"
Katsuki nearly hugged the man. He couldn't think of a better adult to adopt his partner. At least the teen would be safe now.
"Y'know..." The man drawled out. "Since everyone's staying in the dorms, I unfortunately have to be here too. And since I'm here-"
"Katsuki!" He'd never turned so fast. Kariage was there, running to him with his arms wide open. Katsuki sank into the boys hold, noting how the smell of cigarette smoke hadn't faded; he wondered if his teacher knew.
He was pulled so close that the breath left him, but he didn't mind. Katsuki was too engrossed in the boy's face.
"Welcome home" He whispered as he leant up to catch his lips on the other's. It was so warm, so loving; it was as if they'd never separated.
There were some whistles and exclamations from his classmates but he couldn't bring himself to care. Kariage was here.
"Yeah, I'm home" The teen finally responded when they pulled back.
Katsuki couldn't help but smile, leaning into the hand that moved up to run through his head. "You asshole, I was starting to think you were gone" The laugh he received was worth everything he'd ever done in his lifetime.
Not only was the teen safe, but they were back together. He wouldn't let them separate again. Never ever.
"So... Who's that?" He heard. Neither him not his partner acknowledged it.
"This's Kariage, I recently adopted him"
"Hi, I'm Kariage... Oh, I guess I have a different last name now... Hi I'm Kariage Aizawa, but just use my first name I guess..."
"You didn't use your last name anyways" Katsuki commented, . This wasn't particularly entertaining compared to his partner.
"You two know each other?" Kaminari asked, finally addressing out the elephant in the room. Katsuki rolled his eyes. The answer was obvious, he didn't go around kissing strangers.
When Kariage glanced back at him in question, Katsuki shrugged. "Whatever you want"
At the permission, his partner beamed. "We've been dating for one and a half years. One year and uh... Two hundred and fifty two, probably"
Katsuki blinked, tilting his head on his hand. Huh, he didn't realize that the boy counted it like that. Katsuki just remembered the date they started and the halfway point.
"What? Wait! Woah, woah, woah!" Uraraka exclaimed. With a sigh, he turned to glance at his teacher. The man was watching with an entertained look. Figures, the man enjoyed shocking the class.
"Surprise" He replied to her and consequently the rest of the class.
"Hey 'Tsuki, wanna get outta here?" Kariage whispered to him, pinching his chin to force them to meet eyes. He loved his partner's onyx eyes, they held the universe and everything in-between.
"Yeah, let's go"