Chapter Text
“Come on,” someone was pulling up your chair, undoing the ropes quickly. “You really shouldn't be here, princess.” Deku gave you a small smile as he looked over your shoulder.
“We need to move quickly.”
You glanced over and gasped. People were coming out of the shadows, people in masks, people with obvious quirks and not so obvious ones. There were shouts, explosions, cries, people falling and climbing back up.
“What is happening?” you asked him.
“A turf war, I'm afraid. Come on.” he was trying to usher you towards the open door. But someone with tentacles had you, dragging you backwards. Deku's mouth curved into a sick smile, and he began to chase after you.
“Katsuki!” you screamed. His hands were in front of himself, blasting at that man with all the hands. His eyes went towards you, a blast going towards the tentacle that was holding you up high. A scream was heard, and you were plummeting towards the ground.
“Gotcha, princess.” tape was wrapped around you, and you swung into Deku's waiting arms. Sero threw you a wink and went back into the fray. Deku cradled you, leaving the tape on you for the moment.
“I didn't know that an accountant could move like that.” you said. He laughed then. “Ochaco, here,” you were tossed towards Ochaco and Mina, waiting for you. Ochaco was ripping off the tape, grabbing your arm to run you out.
“We're just going to leave them here?”
“It look to you like they're having a bad time?” Mina asked. Well, now that she mentioned it... Dabi and Todoroki were throwing flames at each other. You wondered what the history was there, but now seemed like a bad time to try and get caught up on the lore of all of this.
“Car is running,” Ochaco was hauling you as she rushed away from the building. Sure enough, a car was running, and you were stuffed into the back.
“Go, go, go!” Mina said, looking to make sure you weren't being followed. She slammed the gas and the car went squealing away from the block with the building on it. You glanced behind you and saw black smoke curling towards the sky.
“Won't be long before someone notices that. Iida is doing what he can to keep the police away, but he can only do so much and still come out looking clean.” Ochaco glanced back, too.
“Are you okay?”
“We have to go back for them. How are they going to get away? If the police come...” you were on your knees on the seat, looking out the back window.
“We're more worried about you right now, sweetie. Are you hurt anywhere?” Mina asked. You sort of slumped down and shook your head.
“Nothing serious. Just scratched and a little scared, I think, maybe. What is Katsuki going to do with them?”
“If he's pissed enough, he's going to kill them this time, I think.” Ochaco said seriously. “Last time he gave them a pass because he really did care for Himiko. Even if he doesn't love her, it's hard to ignore that kind of history.”
“Will he really kill her?” you looked at them. They glanced at each other aqnd said nothing for a moment. You didn't pry, wondering about the way they were considering things.
“She put her hands on you.” Mina finally said.
“Well, sure she did, but--.”
“No, you don't understand.” Ochaco cut you off. “She put her hands on you specifically to hurt you. Not just to get at him. Bakugo would do anything for you, and he isn't going to stop until he knows that you're safe. I don't think he's going to know that for sure unless Himiko is out of the picture.”
You were silent as they drove. Time didn't have a meaning by then. You didn't recognize the building you pulled up to, but the light was on. You took off your shoes and were walked into the kitchen. Ochaco applied cream to your wrists, cleaned up the bruising on your face from being slapped. Good think Katsuki hadn't seen that, you thought. Antiseptic was patted into your little cuts, and the burn made you feel like you were still alive.
You were provided with a change of clothes and told to sit on the couch to wait. They were on their phones, speaking in hushed voices or frantically typing. You flexed your fingers. Waiting was the hardest part, you thought. You'd spent all day waiting. This was harder, though. You'd been rescued, but you still weren't with Katsuki, and you didn't like the way that felt.
Ochaco brought you a class of water and a few pills. You took them without question, knowing that she'd never give you anything that would really hurt you. You closed your eyes, leaning against the couch, waiting.
The door opened, and you didn't open your eyes. You could hear the heavy footsteps. You could smell him, the amber smell. You wore if you listened hard enough, you'd be able to hear his heart beating. Your arms were already opened by the time he dropped to his knees on the floor in front of you.
“Love,” he breathed out, his head pressing to your chest. His arms locked around your waist. You pressed your face to his hair, taking in deep breaths, filling yourself with him. Neither of you spoke, wrapped so tightly in one another.
“I knew you were coming.” you said into the sticky strands of hair. “I was just waiting for you. I knew you'd come for me.”
His arms went impossibly tighter. It almost hurt to be held that way, but it also felt so wonderful. There were other voices around you. You should tell him to move, try and thank everyone else. Tell them what happened. Finally ask what was going on between Dabi and Todoroki. But the sensation of being close to Katsuki was overriding everything else.
“You should go and change, Kacchan.” Deku said softly, his hand on the blond's shoulder. “She'll be here when you get back.”
He unwrapped himself from you, pressing kisses to both your cheeks as he stood. He dragged himself off to another room. The others were already changed. You smiled at them, feeling tired, but overjoyed that they had all come out.
There were bandages, and Sero had a sling around one arm. You frowned and went to stand up. Kirishima just put his hand on your shoulder.
“We're all okay, princess. For the most part, we're just fine. Everything is fine. Don't worry. He's just a little battered, but we all would have gotten hurt much worse if it meant that you were coming back to us.”
“I'm so sorry,” you managed. “I thought it really was Katsuki.”
“You thought who was me?” he was coming back in, fresh faced, but still upset. He sat down on the couch and dragged you over into his lap. He wrapped his arms around you, making sure that you couldn't go far or disappear.
“Todoroki told me to stay in my room. So I did, until I heard the door open. And I thought it was him, or someone coming back to check on me. So I snuck out of the room, and then it looked like you downstairs. I thought you'd come back for me. I ran downstairs, and the way you were talking wasn't making sense, and you just wanted me to go with you without telling me where Todoroki was.” you were rubbing one of his arms nervously.
“I safeworded.”
“You used your safeword?” he looked impressed. “That's one thing I never really thought of.”
“But you didn't know what I was talking about. I knew it couldn't be you.” you melted into him. The two of you were quiet for awhile. Everyone was sitting around the living room, looking half dead and a little shell shocked.
“I'm sorry that happened to you.” Katsuki finally said. “I can promise you that it won't happen again.”
“How can you be so sure?” a large part of you wanted to assure him that it was fine. That you held no hard feelings. They could come for you again and again and you'd always take it on the chin. He turned your face towards him. His fingers, so sweet and loving, traced over the place where you were bruised on your face.
“Because she's gone. Himiko is gone.” you didn't want to ask how. Even if he loved you, it must have been painful to do something like that to someone had had cared about so deeply. “There is nothing that I wouldn't do for you, I meant it when I said that.”
“I believe you.”
“Even before I proved it?” he traced the bruise again. “I'm sorry I didn't get to you faster.”
“Wouldn't have mattered.” you shook your head. “But I always believed you. I'm sorry that it had to come to this.”
He just touched your necklace. You were surprised that Himiko hadn't snatched it off you. You were surprised, really, that you hadn't been injured more. You didn't know whether or not you should be happy you were more of a means to an end than her true goal. She probably didn't care if you lived or not, as long as she got Katsuki. Better if you had survived, actually, so she could call you back into play and keep terrorizing him.
“You need a ring.”
“I do?” you shook your head. “Right now, I just want to sleep.”
He was laying down on the couch then, kicking Denki off it. He stretched you out on top of him, your arms and legs tangled together. A blanket was pulled over you, and you looked to see Ochaco and Deku passing out pillows and blankets. You felt no small amount of satisfaction when you realized that Mina was laying on the floor next to Kirishima, and he was drawing her into his chest.
Katsuki's fingers were in your hair. You snuggled into his chest, surprised at how quickly you fell asleep. It didn't feel like nearly long enough when the smell of coffee stirred you. Shit, had you fallen asleep at work? You needed to get all of those lattes made and--.
“Quit it,” Katsuki grumbled. “I'm sleeping, you don't need to toss and turn.”
“I'm not at work.” you sighed, relaxing. He just rubbed your back until you were asleep again. You felt yourself being lifted, laid back down against a pillow. He had gotten up for whatever reason. A few minutes later, he was shaking your shoulder.
“Oi, get up. I have some hot cocoa for you.” you sat up, blinking at the dryness in your eyes. He handed you the mug. Everyone else was up, in various states of blurriness, drinking their own coffees. “You okay this morning? Anything hurt?” he was still fussing around over you. You just shook your head. Anything that was sore was going to be easy to repair later.
“How did she keep finding me?”
“Sakura,” Katsuki ground his teeth a bit. “I knew there was something about her. The drawers kept coming up funny, and you had mentioned the tip jar a few times. Shigaraki had lent her money a few times, and she couldn't pay it back.”
“Why would she need the money?” your brow knit.
“Gambling,” he shook his head. “Those pachinko machines... Anyway, she was kind of skating by, even though Deku had found some things and flagged it on review. But when you and I started talking, she panicked. She was afraid that you'd notice.”
“So is that why she was always mean to me?”
“She also thought that you'd quit. It would have been better for her if you had.” Deku added. You stared into your hot chocolate.
“But once Shigaraki figured out who you were, they offered her a deal. Give them you, and they'd cancel her debt, and give her enough to sneak back to me to balance the books.” Katsuki played with your hair for a moment.
“She doesn't work for us anymore.” he said blandly. “Which does mean that a management position has opened up at the cafe. But we can talk about that later.”
Everyone was beginning to gather themselves, head out. When you had finished, Katsuki muttered an apology and thank you to Deku and Ochaco. Apparently you were at their house. You were walked downstairs and sat in the backseat of a car with Katsuki, the others piling in as well.
“Is our home still safe?” you asked, leaning against Katsuki.
“Yes,”
“Is Todoroki's house okay? Was... Was Dabi his brother?”
“Wild, right?” he snorted. “That family is all kinds of messed up. But yes, Dabi was supposed to be in the roll that Todoroki is in. That's all I can really tell you right now.”
When you had arrived at the mansion, everyone crawled off to their rooms. Katsuki carried you to the room you had begun to share with him. You were both silent as he filled the tub and stripped you both. You sank into the warm water with him, content to just be so close and feel so safe.
“Did you mean what you said? About a ring?”
“Have I ever really told you anything I don't mean?” his hands were rubbing the outsides of your thighs under the water.
“Is this like an ownership thing, or like, a round about way to ask me to marry you?”
“Would you want to do that? To marry me?” you went quiet. Marriage hadn't been something that you had considered. Everything was hard enough being quirkless, throw in a real romantic relationship and you just hadn't pictured that for your life.
But now that you had him, you couldn't see your life without him. Dirty dealings in the underground, or no dirty dealings. He belonged to you. You picked up his hand, played with it for a moment.
“I would want to do that, if you wanted me to be your wife.”
He just pulled you to his chest and sat with you in the water.
“I always wanted you.” he murmured against your hair. You let your eyes close, and exhaled a breath you didn't know you'd been holding. Katsuki just kissed your shoulder, relaxing too. This was where you belonged.