Chapter 30
Consequences
Izuku crept down the stairs as quietly as possible, his hand dragging along the wall to guide him through the dark house. It was well into the night, probably past midnight at this point, but his aching stomach had been more convincing than his resolve in trying to sleep.
He had barely eaten at dinner- for obvious reasons- but was hoping to be able to get some of the leftovers without waking anyone.
The omega was completely silent as he moved, his bare feet distributing his weight evenly from years of practice and discipline. He kept his form hunched so he could move quickly in case he stepped on a noisy part of the floor, each breath controlled and silent.
It was easy, something that the omega shouldn’t have found so joyable in doing. Yet, he had a wide smile on his face, a memory of when he was little played in his head as he descended the stairs.
It had been late just like this, as he snuck down the stairs of his childhood home. He could still remember the texture of the carpet under his toes, and the textured wall felt under his fingers when he peered around the corner into the living room. The glow of the Tv would alway burn his eyes at first, but that didn’t deter him from watching along with his oblivious mother.
His progress through the Bakugo home was a rush now that Izuku could smell hints of different pheromones as he passed each room, each one different enough to help guide him and indicate what he was passing. He felt like a superhero, creeping through the night without any concern. His senses acting as his power.
As Izuku slinked around the corner into the kitchen, the room just as dark as the rest of the house, a looming figure had him flying back in fear. His heart careened out of his chest as he tried to swipe at the humanoid shadow that had suddenly appeared only inches from him.
The clatter of a plate crashing to the floor echoed throughout the quiet house.
“Shit!” Someone hissed through the darkness, their voice raspy and low.
Izuku blinked at the figure, finally able to make out distinct characteristics. “Kacchan?”
The shadow moved, walking to the wall before flicking on the kitchen light. The sudden light burned Izuku’s eyes, but it didn’t take away from what he was suddenly able to see. There in all his glory was the blonde alpha, shirtless with only pajama bottoms riding low on his hips.
Izuku stood in shock, not knowing what to do now that he was face to face with the alpha.
His mind raced as he looked over the man, trying hard not to focus on the deep v of muscle that disappeared along with the trail of blonde hair under the dark blue pajama pants. He forced his eyes up- not noticing at all- the prominent abdominal muscle that seemed to guide his gaze up to the large pecs that were decorated in a bit of blonde hair.
Instead- like the adult and well rounded and not caught off guard omega he was- directed his attention to the alpha’s face out of respect. For the first time noticing the large scar that dragged over the man’s cheek and up into his eyebrow. It wasn’t one that Katsuki had the last time they were together.
Izuku frowned at the realization that he hadn’t noticed it at dinner, or how the blonde’s right eye wasn’t as vibrant as the other. The once vibrant red now had a dusty tinge to it as the white around it was now tinged a pink hue. It looked like it had been a painful injury, one that would require some medical leave.
Katsuki didn’t seem to notice the other’s stare, a sigh leaving his mouth as he crouched to the floor to pick up the mess scattered between them. Izuku sprung forward to help, slightly embarrassed for being the cause for the rice and meat all over the kitchen. At least the plate hadn't broken in its fall.
”Don’t worry about it nerd, I got it.” The blonde spoke, his voice just as low but much softer with a smooth cadence.
Izuku shook his head as he began to pick up pieces of food to place them in his cupped hand. “It’s my fault too, I-i didn’t expect anyone to be awake so late.” He admitted.
The alpha snorted. “I get it. I’ve been trying to get back to my day schedule for a while now, but Toshi has made it hard since he’s really only up at night.”
Izuku blinked in confusion. “Toshi?”
Katsuki looked up at him, a small frown on his face before realizing. “Ya, um. Shinsou Hitoshi. I call him Toshi since his name is a bit of a mouth full.”
Izuku nodded, though the confusion didn’t leave his face. “How does he keep you up? Aunty said you were on medical leave.”
The blonde nodded, tilting his head slightly before glancing to the side as he understood the underlying question. “Ya, we are on leave, just spending it together since... You know, we’re together.” He cleared his throat quickly. “Haven’t been for long, but ya, we’re in a relationship.” Katsuki mumbled, cheeks going pink as he turned his attention back to the floor.
“Oh,” Izuku didn’t know what to say, or how to feel about that. “C-congratulations, I guess.” He whispered as his chest clenched. It was a weird sensation that seemed to suppress deep into his gut, his omega whining in sadness at the new information. Izuku tried to swallow down the lump that was suddenly in his throat, push the conflicting emotions further down so as to not cry in front of his childhood bully.
Katsuki looked at the green-haired man, a smile forming as he answered. “Thanks.”
The two sat there in silence for a moment as they continued to clean, the atmosphere turning awkward as the omega seemed to get lost in his head. The blonde alpha didn’t know what to do, but he knew well how the omega could spiral into bad places when he got like this.
When they were pups, Katsuki had taken to being like a service dog for Izuku. It was something he found pride in. Being the only one able to nudge the small omega out of his spirals or how he was the only kid on the playground that the smaller clung to for reassurance and support when their mother’s weren’t around. That was up until middle school…
”Let me heat up some more food.” Katsuki finally said, standing with the plate in hand that was piled with the dirty food.
Izuku only nodded, eyes void of any emotion as he continued to stare at the ground. Katsuki didn’t know what had brought this on, it wasn’t like anything much had happened. He didn’t even know how to approach a new subject now that they had this wall between them. It hadn’t gotten any easier since the raid, but he couldn’t expect much when today was the first time they had seen each other since then.
The sudden change in behavior was concerning to the alpha. He didn’t like how Izuku was suddenly turned into himself without much of a trigger to cause it. Yet, he knew he wasn’t the best person to form that conclusion. Especially since he was one of the main people to cause such reactions in the omega.
“How much do you want?” The blonde asked while grabbing clean plates.
Izuku finally shifted, though his eyes stayed focused on the ground. “You don’t have to…” He whispered, getting up to grab a rag to wipe down the floor. “I can-“
”I know you can,” The blonde interrupted, his tone as light and gentle as he could make it. “But if I’m already doing it for myself, I might as well do it for you.”
Izuku snorted, a frown hinting on his lips. “ Ya, okay. What do you want, Kacchan?” He asked, walking to the sink to rinse the rag. “I never thought I would hear you say something like that.” Me muttered under his breath. “Especially to me.”
“Why do you say that?” Katsuki turned around, leaving the container of food next to the two plates he grabbed. The damn food could wait. “Heating up food isn’t fucking hard.”
The omega looked toward him, eyes wide in shock- or fear? Katuski didn’t really know- as he tried to figure out what was happening.
“I-I didn’t mean for you to hear that.” Izuku admitted, the frown pulling harder at the corners of his mouth. “It’s just that the last time you actually cared about me or even wanted us to spend time together was when we were kids.” He continued, eyes falling to the floor.
A heavy sigh from Katsuki drew the smaller man’s attention. “Fuck. I was always a real dick to you, even when we were kids. I’m surprised you thought that friendship was worth more than all the shit I did to you.” He chuckled, but it was dry. “but I guess compared to everyone else our age, I was the nicest to you… that would make sense in your perspective.”
Izuku furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding what that last statement meant. “But that last time w-we were friends, playing on the seesaw.” Izuku muttered, his brain trying to dissect the memory. “You were so nice to me. You helped me, cared for me when I cried.”
The blonde snorted. ”You talking about when I finally let you get off because your light ass was stuck in the air?” Katsuki asked, turning around completely to lean up against the counter. “I got bored of your whining. You were starting to cry and I knew my sire would smack the shit out of me for doing it. There was nothing fucking nice about what I did, it was for my own self preservation.”
Izuku’s shoulders fell at those words. “I guess it just stuck in my mind as something you did out of kindness.” He gritted out. “Still strange that you now decide to act like this, like you care.” The omega lifted his hand to motion to what the blonde was about to do for him.
Katsuki sighed, tilting his head up to look at the ceiling for a moment. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m a real shit. Our entire childhood was fucked up because I made it that way- cause I’m fucked in the head. It’s not something I’m going to hide behind anymore though.”
He continued, his arms flexing across his chest. “There was never anything good about how I treated you or any other damn person. I’m not going to make excuses or blame anyone but myself, cause even if I was a brat I still made those choices without consequences.”
The blonde took a deep breath, his jaw stiff as he seemed to try to keep talking. After a moment the alpha looked toward Izuku, his eyes softening before he walked up to the omega slowly, his muscles losing their usual intensity.
“I know that I was a bully to you- a down right villain who targeted you for so long,“ Katsuki stopped right in front of the shorter man. His throat bobbed as his mouth went dry. Red eyes looked away for a moment, as the alpha cleared his throat.
“When you disappeared… I-“ Katsuki paused to take a breath. “It was a miracle that I found you, Izuku. The statistics were against any possibility of you returning, but I still looked for you.” He whispered, those red eyes meeting green.
“The way you controlled me even while you were gone, it broke me over and over with every day I failed to find you. I couldn’t accept that you were gone, even with how awful of a person I was to you. Because you were a light that shouldn’t have been taken away.” Katsuki whispered, reaching up gently until the tips of his fingers touched the omega’s cheek bone, almost reverently.
Izuku stared up at the blonde, taking in the hurt expression on the alpha’s face as he tried to understand what the other was saying. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out as red stared deep into dark green.
With a thick swallow, Katsuki continued. “I begged fate, and when I was answered it was like nothing else mattered.” The alpha confessed. “I know that to you, the last time I was even a decent fucking human was when we were brats… but the moment I saw you alive in that ring, it was me who made the decision to help you,-no one else influenced me. It wasn’t because I felt obligated- or even if it was the right thing to do- it was made because of a selfish choice. I went against protocol because I needed you home. I do care about you, Izuku. More than I can ever express, and I will try and prove that to you every day for the rest of my life.”
A tear slipped down the alpha’s cheek, his large hand now cupping the side of Izuku’s face as he tried to control his heavy breathing. His palm was hot, the tinge of sweat coating the omega’s cheek in a warm tingle.
Izuku wasn’t sure what to say. It was like everything he knew was turning upside down and being shaken. Especially when the first hints of musky ginger began to fill the room.
Izuku blinked at the sudden scent, one he hadn’t realized had been lacking in this house before. Katsuki must have been keeping his scent at bay since the moment he walked into his parents house, not allowing his alpha any kind of freedom to scent-mark at his own parent’s den. There had been no trace of the scent, even with how sensitive Izuku now was to pheromones, this was the first time in weeks he was able to smell the thick musk.
It was strange to Izuku, to suddenly be able to bask in the alpha’s scent like he once did in middle school after the blonde presented. The omega had been used to it being overpowering and almost acidic with the way it commanded the space around the alpha.
Yet, as that deep scent began to wrap around Izuku, it was far more gentle and much lighter than he had ever scented it before. He could make out the slightest bit of sadness within it. The way it tinged at the edges of the omega’s brain until he suddenly understood the weight of the alpha’s remorse.
“K-kacchan?” Izuku whispered, a pang of concern filling his chest.
The blonde hummed, his thumb rubbing lightly against Izuku’s cheek. ”I know that you have been going through a lot, and are trying to regain who you are,”
The alpha suddenly straightened, his hand falling to his side as he took a large step back from the omega. “I don’t want to overstep your progress. I- I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry for everything I did- back then. I’m sorry for being an ass, for making you feel less than or that you didn’t fucking belong. I’m sorry for ever touching you with such anger. You never deserved that, never fucking deserved what I did to you.”
Izuku tried to step forward to close that space between them again, his omega urging him to comfort the taller male. But the alpha backed off even more, cowering his shoulders in as he kept his gaze set away from Izuku.
Katsuki gaze looked up over the omega, hand now threading through his hair. “I don’t want to pressure you into anything- not even forgiveness- so while I’m here I’ll try to keep my damn distance so you can heal properly.”
Before Izuku could say or do anything, the alpha was walking out of the kitchen. Izuku was frozen, his hand reaching out to where the alpha had been. He didn’t know what to do, his eyes welling with tears as he looked around at the empty kitchen.
His emotions that he had bared so deep were beginning to rage within his chest, demanding that he finally release the built up pressure. But he couldn’t, no now, not here.
The omega searched for something to do to distract himself from this weird filling that was pulling his omega toward where the alpha had left, the beast practically clawing at Izuku to do something.
Finally his eyes landed on the counter, at the forgotten food. His omega quieted after a moment once the omega stepped over it.
Izuku moved robotically, mindlessly spooning himself up a helping of food. His movements deliberate as he tried to control himself for a bit longer. He replayed the alpha’s words over and over in his mind to the soft hum of the microwave. Eyes closed as he tried to concentrate and remember everything spoken.
Izuku never expected to talk with his former friend/ bully/hero while he was here. The omega had fully intended to hide away, but it seemed that the universe had other plans once again.
It seemed that every thought and apprehension Izuku had toward the blonde hero only proved to be too overwhelming and far beyond what the omega could handle. Yet, for some reason -the universe or whoever was in charge of Izuku’s fate- would only respond that Izuku could on some level handle it because here he was, forcing himself to figure it all out despite how his emotions were everywhere during that speech Katsuki had made.
Izuku didn’t understand how Katsuki’s words could put him on edge while also warming his heart. It was a complete contradiction. The whole exchange reminded him a bit too much of what Kia would do after one of his outbursts. Apologizing and suddenly becoming considerate of how Izuku felt. How it felt like the alpha was being sincere and was truly sorry, but for it to only in that moment because it didn’t actually matter in the end. Kia would treat him the same, sometimes worse the next day.
Izuku didn’t like comparing the two alphas, but it was hard not to when Katsuki was the first person to ever treat him so badly. The blonde took away years of Izuku’s happiness, time that he never got the chance to reclaim since then.
With their reunion in the ring, Izuku had concluded that the blonde was just as standoffish and uncaring as in middle school. That Katsuki was just the same as he always was, but just more evolved into a version that was acceptable as an adult.
Izuku had assumed the alpha despised him with each glance those red eyes would cast across the room or how at times it seemed that the omega didn’t even exist. It was like how Katuski would act in middle school; stone cold and heartless.
Yet, after the alpha’s speech, it seemed that many of those assumptions weren't correct about the Alphan Hero. When did Izuku become so prejudiced? So quick to label and judge? Izuku didn’t completely feel bad for his incorrect assumptions toward Katsuki- not with the shit he had to deal with. But to outright ignore certain moments that spoke against them was a bit beyond logical for even Izuku’s reasonability at this point.
Even as Izuku stood alone in the kitchen, swarmed with so many thoughts and feelings, he could recognize the differences in Kai and Katsuki just as easily as the bad.
Unlike Chisaki, the blonde hero hadn’t been uncaring in his behavior at all. Instead, it seemed that Katsuki was rather a complete contrast to his former self from the beginning, down to the second of their first reunion.
A younger Katsuki wouldn’t have cared about Izuku, would have forced him to do what he wanted, or completely ignored and left Izuku to rot where he was. but that was not what had happened. The alpha had not once pushed his way into Izuku’s space, nor had put a hand on him. He never directed an angry thought or tone in Izuku’s direction- even when it would have been so easy for the alpha to do.
Now that Izuku was looking back on the many meetups before the raid, he was realizing just how much behavior he had misinterpreted. None of them were like Kia. Katsuki didn’t do anything but give Izuku space with the help he needed.
Katsuki wasn’t heartless and cold, he was mature and level headed. Able to see past the emotions of the moment and analyze what was best for the situation- best for Izuku.
That was proven enough by the way the alpha was able to pull away and leave without causing a scene in the kitchen. The man’s words were respectful and far more caring than anything that Izuku had ever heard come from the blonde’s mouth.
It was with that realization that Izuku was finally able to calm the swirling chaos deep inside himself. Finally able to take a deep breath and clear his mind.
Izuku sighed heavily when the timer went off, the smell of the food making his mouth water. His omega whined at him, reminding Izuku that the alpha was probably still hungry, so he quickly plated up the other dish and heated it up. He didn’t want Katsuki to go to bed hungry, and his own unexpected appearance in the kitchen shouldn’t have changed that.
He walked through the house, feet tapping lightly as he carried the two hot plates up the stairs. He stopped at the unassuming door, one where it had stayed closed the entire time Izuku had stayed at the Bakugos. He hadn’t cared before with what was on the other side, not wanting to overstep his visit.
Yet, now that he knew the two alphas were staying there; Izuku couldn’t help but wonder if the Bakugo couple had reserved a room solely for their son. Though, Izuku could only imagine how disgruntled Katsuki would be at that- insisting that he didn’t need a place since he was an adult and moved out.
The thought brought a smile to Izuku’s face.
He squatted before the door, setting the plate gently on the floor before knocking lightly and walking toward his own room.
Masaru hummed thoughtfully as he sat at his desk, his cellphone pressed to his ear as he looked over a few files on his computer.
“A home nurse?” He asked, his voice light and unassuming. “Midoriya has another check up next week, should we wait until then to decide if a nurse is needed?”
The older omega sighed as he placed himself on mute, not wanting the person on the other end to hear him groan in irritation. He had been on the phone with the Governing Health District for about an hour, and he was already at his wits end.
Him and his mate had done their best to keep the GHD at arms length as long as possible, able to convince them that the omega in their care was doing well enough to not need in house intervention since Midoriya was already seeing an online therapist.
“Mr. Bakugo?”
Masaru quickly unmuted himself. “Yes, I understand.” He replied. “I just don’t see why this is needed now when his file didn’t indicate anything about needing medical assistance when you first sent it to me.” He questioned, his patience waning a bit to anxiety.
The person on the other end spoke, their voice on edge as they too were over the conversation. “I am not aware of what was on the patient's file when it was sent over for your approval. All I know is that Mr. Midoriya has been placed under our outpatient medical program. I am sure it has to do with his previous stay at the Psychiatric Ward.“ The woman spoke. “As he was volatile at the time of arrival, as well as neglected before entering the Government’s care, he is required to have a nurse to assist with his condition.”
The brunette omega bit his tongue hard as anger overcame him. The audacity for this woman- whether she was in the know or not- was astounding and disrespectful. It was a good thing that Masaru had taken this call himself instead of Mitsuki. The alpha would have already combusted trying to deal with this call. The brunette knew for a fact that this would have sent her over the edge.
“I just don’t understand who authorized this.” The omega pressed, trying his hardest not to get angry at the woman just doing her job. “His therapist hasn’t reported anything from their sessions that indicate any type of need for this. Midoriya has been here for two weeks and has yet to show any kind of need for a nurse.”
”Mr. Bakugo. I feel we are talking in circles.” The woman said with a sigh. Masaru winced at the defeated tone from the woman, feeling bad for the situation he was causing. “I can email you the contact information of the medical department for the GHD so you can ask these questions. I will notify my supervisor that you would like clarification on this order and he can reach out to you when he has time.”
Masaru thanked the woman, content when he saw the email appear in his inbox with the information. All of this was exhausting, but the omega wasn’t going to give up on protecting his ward.
Word count: 4284
It’s been a while since my last update, but hopefully it wasn’t too dreadful of a wait. It is the busy season for my job and I haven’t had a lot of time to dedicate to writing. Though now that everything has slowed down, I’m hoping to get back to my usual writing schedule.
Anyways, let me know your thoughts and feelings down below ❤️
