Archive of Our Own ^beta

It's dark.

Not in the way where there's a shortage of light, but in the way where you don't know where to look, the void so vast it feels like it could extend on to infinity. A sort of darkness that comes from the feeling of disorientation and aloneness, a darkness that seizes the mind and confuses the senses, leaving one grasping for straws.

The kind of darkness that comes with fear.

The idea bothers him, for some reason, like he couldn't stand the thought of being scared. 'Don't give in' comes a voice from deep within himself 'you're not weak, don't let it get to you'. It feels like a mantra, something he always repeats to himself to assuage his fears, like he's engraved the words deep into his being, into his heart. 'Heroes aren't afraid of the dark', the words feel hollow, and worn out, but they work somehow; a small fire is lit inside himself, tiny embers that chase away the cold and make the overwhelming darkness a tad bit easier to bear.

Suddenly, there's something. He doesn't know how he can see it, without any apparent light to provide visibility, but it's there, somehow both far away and right in front of his eyes.

There are two figures, two boys, specifically. One is looking at his feet, his posture rigid and his shoulders trembling with fear, the expression on his face miserable, while the other one is looming over the smaller boy, like a predator toying with his prey. His back is facing Katsuki, so he can't see the expression on his face, but he can imagine the sadistic smirk and the burning glare adorning his features, hate and resentment oozing out of him in waves; he can see it in his posture, like a heavy cloak draped on his shoulders.

He knows who the boys are, he realizes, they're Izuku and Katsuki himself, from back in middle-school.

The younger version of Katsuki appears to be speaking, but the sounds come out muffled and distant, like they were underwater. He doesn't need to hear them to know what he's saying however, he knows this scene, these words, even if it occurred slightly different in his memory.

"If you wanna be a hero that badly, there's one quick way to do it."

The words are clear inside his head, cold and sharp like a knife's edge. He doesn't want to hear it, to witness it again, but the scene continues to unfold in front of him undisturbed, like a movie.

"Take a last chance dive from the rooftop, and believe you'll be born with a quirk in your next life!"

The statement rings loud and final, like a sentence in a trial, and he wants with all his might to erase it, to go back and rip the words right off from his past self's poisonous lips, but it's too late, they are already said and hanging in the air, on his subconscious, cruel and heavy like the resentment he carried on his shoulders for so many years.

The scene starts to gradually fade away in front of his eyes, the figures rippling and distortioning like a reflection in the water. Soon it's replaced by another scene, this one he doesn't recognize.

It's Izuku again, that he notices right away; he's lying on the ground, his body limp and unresponsive, green curls matted with blood, draped around his head in a cruel parody of a halo, a pool of blood growing around his body and slowly creeping towards Katsuki's feet completing the horrifying image.

He feels something cold and heavy settle into his stomach, for one short, blood-curdling moment Katsuki thinks that Izuku really did it, that he went and jumped off the roof, just like Katsuki told him to do, that Izuku killed himself, all because of him.

But then he notices that Izuku is not wearing his gakuran, but his hero uniform, he looks a little bit older too, more like when they were in Yuuei.

Another figure materializes from the darkness, an eerily familiar figure, one he hasn't seen in many years, but that he could never bring himself to forget.

Shigaraki Tomura.

He looks just the same as he always did, tall, lanky and covered in severed hands; a cold and menacing aura emitting from him in waves, he had always creeped the fuck-out of Katsuki, even before he became the ruthless monster they had all grown to know him as.

Shigaraki walks in slow, measured steps until he's right in front of Izuku's body -corpse, a small part of his mind corrects him, but he refuses to listen- He doesn't stop to even gaze at Izuku lying at his feet, instead he keeps his one visible eye steady on Katsuki, like he's the only thing present in the room - space - whatever. Katsuki feels trapped under that gaze, like he physically can't move away; some part of Katsuki's mind vaguely recognizes it as fear, but again he refuses to acknowledge it, Katsuki can't afford to be afraid.

"It's your fault" his voice is slightly muffled from the hand covering his face, but it rings strangely clear and echo-less inside Katsuki's head, like he was speaking directly into his mind. "You did this to him"

"Wh-what?" Katsuki hates how small and scared his voice sounds, but he can't will himself to gather any strength into his words, not when Izuku's inert body is lying cold and unmoving right in front of him, his blood still creeping closer towards Katsuki's boots, not when Tomura's words settle heavily into his chest like a pile of bricks.

"It's your fault" he repeats "You couldn't protect him" then he walks right over Izuku's body, as if he wasn't there at all, and draws closer to Katsuki, his one visible eye continues to hold his gaze, staring deep into his soul, mocking him, gouging out his most guarded fears, his guilt, his shame "Because you are weak."

Shigaraki's gaze turn from contemplative to malicious, the edge of a cruel smile peeking from behind the hand covering his face. "He was such a hero until the very end" he sneers, as if the word hero was the most degrading insult on itself "giving his life away to save scum like yourself."

Katsuki feels himself become cold, colder than before, like the tiny embers he had been nursing in his chest had been replaced by a block of ice. He feels the heavy weight of overwhelming fear crushing from all sides, latching onto his heart, like dead, skeletal fingers prying him open from the inside.

"...No" he hears himself say, though he doesn't notice the words leaving his lips "No, you're wrong" he slowly backs away from Tomura, from Izuku, from all of this "This isn't happening, y-you're lying" he hears his voice crack, but he can't muster the energy to care. He covers his ears so he doesn't hear any more of this bastard's lies, 'Deku can't be dead' 'This isn't happening'.

He recognizes the scene now, it was from their last fight against the league of villains, where Izuku and Katsuki had been fighting side by side; Katsuki had been too distracted, too arrogant, and he hadn't seen the attack coming, but Izuku did.

He had taken that blow for Katsuki, he had put himself between the enemy and Katsuki's body in a desperate attempt to block the attack that would surely kill Katsuki had it hit him, like it was supposed to.

But that wasn't how it went down -or was it- Izuku didn't die from that blow - you killed him- he was heavily injured -because of you- but recovery girl managed to get him on time -there was blood everywhere- Katsuki managed to beat the rest of them -but you couldn't protect him- with the help of their classmates and the teachers that came to their aid -you should have been stronger-

He clutches at his ears harder, attempting to drown out the words, but it's futile, they are edged into his mind, swirling around his head in a never ending whirlwind of self-inflicted chaos and mutiny; he hears those dreadful words flashed at him again and again 'killed him' 'your fault' 'weak'.

"No!" he screams, his voice loud, as if to drown out the noise of the accusations inside his head "No that's not true!" the grip on his hair is painful by now, his nails making indents on his skin "Deku is fine! He's alive, we're together." he repeats to himself, the words growing with confidence the more he says them, but he stops when he's interrupted by loud, jeering laughter ringing in his ears.

He open his eyes -when had he even closed them- expecting to see Shigaraki Tomura, but instead he finds himself face to face with Izuku, Shigaraki nowhere in sight. He's the same Izuku that was lying on the ground a moment ago, still wearing his hero uniform, blood still staining both the green of his suit and the curls on his head a deep and eerie red color, but his face looks different, older, more like the Izuku he remembers most recently.

Katsuki feels himself overcome with relief at seeing Izuku alive and well, but the joy is cut short when he sees the look that Izuku is directing at him.

It's a look that he doesn't recognize on Izuku's face, however it's one he has always dreaded to see one day, a look that he had convinced himself Izuku was incapable of making, but still Katsuki kept him at bay for years, out of fear that he would one day have this same expression aimed at him.

It's an expression of pure disgust, of raw unadulterated contempt.

Something heavy lurches in Katsuki's stomach, he feels like he is going to throw up. Somehow, that look grates, it hurts bad, worse than anything he could ever imagine; it hurts even worse that seeing Izuku's cold and still form on the ground, being so thoroughly rejected by Izuku like this, and having his worst fears confirmed, that he is worth less than the dirt at Izuku's feet.

"D-deku" he calls softly, trying to make sense of the situation, he doesn't want to believe it, but the reality in front of him tells him otherwise, no matter how much he wants all this to be a lie.

"Don't call me that" Izuku says firmly, his tone sharp and annoyed "I'm sick of pretending to be beneath you" he turns away, as if looking at Katsuki for too long was damaging to his eyes "when we both know who's the real lesser one here."

Katsuki swallows the knot in his throat "Izuku, wait-" he absentmindedly extends a hand to-to something- he doesn't know, but he refuses to believe that Izuku-

Izuku turns back to look at him again and Katsuki stops in his tracks, his hand still halfway in an aborted gesture; the deep, seething hatred burning in Izuku's gaze makes the blood on Katsuki's veins freeze, chilling him to the core.

"Or did you really think that we could be equals" the tone in his voice has turned more playful, mocking, the fire in his forest-green eyes taking a more cruel glint that feels out of place on Izuku's usually kind and soft face "Did you really think that after everything, that I could just forgive you and we could live happily ever after together or something?" he gives a small scoff "Did you seriously believe that I could honestly love you?"

Katsuki is falling apart, he knows it. He can feel himself slowly unraveling like he's something someone hastily put and sewed together in a hurry, and has been gradually decomposing and fraying at the seams; so he waits for it, he listens closely and patiently, as if in a trance, and waits for Izuku to pull the last thread.

"It was fun in the beginning" Izuku says with an air of indifference "seeing how much I could get the strong and fearless Katsuki Bakugou to depend on me" he says the words 'strong' and 'fearless' with a heavily sarcastic tilt in his voice, like he didn't believe for a second those adjectives applied to Katsuki "but it got boring fast" he pauses, looks straight into Katsuki's eyes, forest-green to wine-red, and he pulls "In the end, you're as weak and pathetic as they come, Kacchan"

And Katsuki falls, he plummets to the ground like a puppet whose strings has been cut, like he physically couldn't hold himself together any longer.

He hears Izuku's jeering laughter again and even when he can't see him any longer, his last words ring loud on Katsuki's ears, heavy and final like a sentence.

"Goodbye Kacchan, maybe you can try again in your next life"

And then everything is dark again.

It's dark, he's cold, he's numb and he's alone.

And it's everything he deserves.

-----------------------------------------------------------

He wakes up in a heap of limbs and pillows.

His heart is beating a mile an hour inside his chest and there's a nauseating feeling crawling in his stomach. Katsuki makes quick work of dislodging a sleeping Izuku from his side and staggers to the bathroom.

He feels cold and numb, like he had been plunged into a tub full of ice and stayed there for hours. He touches the back of his neck and feels the familiar stickiness of cold sweat on his fingers, and he realizes most of his skin is covered in it.

Suddenly he remembers the thick texture of blood matting green curls and the sick feeling in his gut returns tenfold. He bends down and hurls into the toilet, the sickening sound echoing into the walls of the bathroom, he hopes he doesn't wake up Izuku with the noise, he doesn't want the other to see him like this.

He stays in the same position until he has emptied everything in his stomach, and even after he remains, breathing heavily and shivering against the cold of the bathroom tiles; he knows he should probably put on a shirt, but he can't muster the strength to stand up and get it, still too shaken up from the remnants of the dream. The details are quickly blurring and becoming undecipherable, but some parts remain with stark quality, flashing in his mind like some sort of freaky slide-show.

Suddenly he hears the sound of approaching footsteps and Katsuki regrets not having gotten up to put on a shirt. "Kacchan...?" he hears Izuku's sleep-riddled voice say "Kacchan why are you up so earl-" Izuku stops in his tracks when he sees Katsuki sitting on the bathroom floor facing the toilet. Katsuki wants to brush him off, to get up, tell him he's alright and to go back to bed, cuddle together and forget this ever happened, but the moment he turns to look at Izuku his mind is assaulted by the memory of forest green eyes heavy with loathing and disgust, and his heart rate starts to speed up, his vision tunneling and suddenly he's struggling for breath.

Izuku doesn't waste any time, he runs to Katsuki like something has caught fire, he sits down with Katsuki and gently nudges him so that he's facing Izuku's concerned green gaze "Kacchan" he says, his voice soft and steady, tone comforting "Kacchan it's okay, I'm here, breath with me" he takes a deep breath and holds it, waiting for Katsuki to do the same, he obliges and takes a breath as well, letting it out slowly along with Izuku; they repeat this a few more times until Katsuki's breathing is stable, his heart rate less erratic as well.

Izuku handles himself with the efficiency of someone who has dealt with this situations several times before, both in his professional and personal life. He maneuvers Katsuki until his face is tucked into the crook of his neck, taking on a slow rocking motion "Shhh baby, it's okay" he whispers against Katsuki's hair, his hand starts drawing small reassuring circles on his back "it's fine, you're fine, I'm here now" at this point Katsuki feels his tears soaking into Izuku's shirt, but if Izuku notices he doesn't say anything, he just continues to hold Katsuki against his chest, softly whispering words of comfort into his hair "you're safe with me, Kacchan"

They stay like that for a while, silently embracing each other on the bathroom floor, the occassional sob racking Katsuki's frame, and Izuku quietly holding him together.

"Do you want to move to the bed?" Izuku says breaking the silence, his voice quiet and unobstrusive. Katsuki nods against Izuku's shoulder, and together they help each other stand and move towards the bed, Izuku never breaking his hold on Katsuki.

Once they are settled under the covers, both lying on their sides, Katsuki with his face pressed against Izuku's chest and Izuku with a hand on Katsuki's back and another on his hair, gently petting the soft spikes, Izuku speaks once again "Do you want to talk about it?"

Katsuki sighs and shakes his head slightly, he doesn't want to tell Izuku about Shigaraki Tomura or the dream Izuku, he doesn't want to see Izuku's face when he hears the things that Katsuki's subconscious whispered to him while wearing his face. He knows that Izuku means well, but he's an overly emotional person, and most times he can't stop those emotions from bleeding into his expression, and Katsuki doesn't feel like seeing Izuku's grief-stricken face, he has had enough of that for this lifetime.

"Okay..." Izuku doesn't press him either, he knows better than to force Katsuki to talk about something he doesn't want to. "Oh that's right!" he suddenly exclaims, startling Katsuki "your throat must feel awfully parched, let me get you a glass of water" he cautiously pries at Katsuki's arms, urging him to move them, but in response he only tightens his hold on Izuku's waist, Izuku snorts amusedly at his stubborn gesture "C'mon you oversized cat, I'll just be a minute, you're going to thank me later" he nudges him again and this time Katsuki relents, but not without groaning exaggeratedly to emphasize his unwillingness, Izuku laughs once again and sneaks a quick peck on Katsuki's forehead before taking off to the kitchen.

Once upon a time, it would have outraged Katsuki, to have someone coddle him like this, to be treated like he was something fragile, something important. The him from that time would have rather exploded his own face than show vulnerability to Izuku in any shape or form, or to anyone for that matter. He had come in time to see Izuku's gestures of affection not as something born out of sympathy, but as something that came to Izuku naturally, his caring and affectionate self craving to connect with Katsuki in the best way he knew how, and Katsuki learnt to accept them, crave them, and even return them; he had come to accept Izuku's love as much as his help, even though it was still difficult for him at times, but he still tried, mostly because it made Izuku so ridiculously happy whenever Katsuki relied on him, even for the smallest of things. Plus, Izuku cried all the time for the stupidest of reasons, and yet he still was the strongest person he knew, so Katsuki guessed he could afford to be vulnerable from time to time, if only in front of Izuku.

Izuku returns with the glass of water shortly after, he holds it towards him and Katsuki takes it without protest, he downs the glass in two large gulps and puts it down on the bedside table. Izuku sits on the edge of the bed right next to Katsuki, even with only the little morning sunlight filtering through the blinds for light, Katsuki can easily make out the concerned frown on Izuku's face. He understands Izuku's worry, even if he didn't like it, Katsuki had nightmares from time to time, but it had been a while since he had one this bad, since he had woken up covered in sweat and with his heart leaping in his chest, not to mention the panic attack, that had only happened a handful of times before, some of them dating back to before he and Izuku started living together.

Back when he still lived in his parents' house, his mother would be the one to come and comfort Katsuki at times like this, to hold him and whisper reassuring words into his hair, to bring him a glass of water or a cup of warm milk to help him sleep. Sometimes he told her about his dreams, but only ever a few things, and never the worst of them; most times he just told her that he had forgotten them, even though he suspected that she knew it wasn't true. He had his own ways with dealing with them after all, being who he is, he convinced himself that he could do anything by himself, so when his night terrors got especially bad, like during the time following the slime villain attack in middle-school, or after the kidnapping incident by the league of villains, Katsuki would wake up heaving and covered in sweat, throw on his training clothes and go on a morning jog, or do his training routine at the odd hours of the night, or even go to the beach to blow shit up and scream his lungs out to the sea.

Katsuki had never been one to bottle up his feelings, he didn't have the patience for that, instead he dealt with them the only way he knew how, with explosions and anger. Rage had always come easily to him, it was a deeply ingrained aspect of his personality, much like his quirk, and he had always understood anger better than any other emotion. Anger made sense, because he could simply let it out by screaming or blowing up the object of his rage, other feelings however, they weren't as easily handled.

So Katsuki translated all those bothersome feelings into rage, anything that he perceived as weakness, that got in the way of his perceived goal, he pounded them and blasted them into submission with his fists and the sheer force of his will. Fear, guilt, shame, loneliness, insecurity, regret.

Love.

Katsuki screamed loud, and louder; he yelled until his throat was raw and his chest throbbed from the exertion, so the voice of such fruitless feeling never reached his ears, so that the whispers in his head that constantly tried to drag him down wouldn't be heard over the powerful bellow of his conviction.

He doesn't need to do that any longer, however. Now he has Izuku, who never stops reminding him to share some of his weight whenever he can, that they can walk easier if they carry it together, and that they can be each other's heroes, just as much as the rest of the world's.

He reaches for Izuku's face and smoothes the tiny crease in his brow with his fingers. "Stop fucking worrying so much, you're going to get wrinkles"

Izuku looks surprised by his actions, he looks at Katsuki with wide open eyes, and suddenly he bursts out laughing.

"You-" he starts to say in between giggles "you of all people are lecturing me about wrinkles, Mr. permanent-scowl-on-his-face" Izuku's forest-green eyes are brimming with mirth, the frown on his face having disappeared completely, Katsuki mock pouts at Izuku's words, even as he fights down a smile, that cheerful expression fits Izuku a lot better than worry.

"Tch, that's different, I'm the dangerous type so the angry wrinkles are gonna look fucking badass on me, in your freckled baby face they'd just look fucking ridiculous"

"Hey! I don't have a baby face, I can be pretty badass as well!" Izuku puffs out his cheeks as he says this, making his face look even more round and babyish. Katsuki can't contain himself any longer, he snorts, and then bursts into a full belly laugh, his entire frame shaking with mirth.

When his fit finally ends, he opens his eyes to Izuku's soft green gaze, his eyes are wide and fond, the honest affection spilling out of them so openly surprise Katsuki and fill his chest with warmth; it never stops amazing Katsuki, how Izuku can direct such a loving gaze at him.

Izuku raises his hand and tentatively reaches for Katsuki's face, gently wiping at the dried tear tracks marring his cheekbones. "But you know" he says, his voice low and whisper-soft "I'm plenty strong, I'm not going to break under the strain" he finishes wiping his tears, but Izuku doesn't move his hand away, instead he leaves it there, sweetly cupping Katsuki's cheek "So you can tell me about these things too, you can rely on me, Kacchan"

Katsuki presses his hands against Izuku's to hold it there and nuzzles into the hand cupping his face. He never stops marveling at Izuku's hands, they were big and warm, and riddled with scars, they were the hands of a hero, hands made for protecting.

Sometimes he felt like they could encompass the entire world within them, safe and secure in his hold. Even when they were younger, those hands never stopped reaching for Katsuki, and now that he had had a taste of Izuku's warm touch, he could no longer live without it. Izuku's hands are what held Katsuki together, and even with all his chipped parts and jagged edges sticking out, Izuku still continued to hold on tightly.

He knows Izuku is strong, stronger than Katsuki ever was. He, better than anyone, knows Izuku wouldn't break for such a trivial thing as Katsuki's nightmares, after all he had spent the better part of his younger years trying to break Izuku to no avail.

But how could he tell him, how to tell Izuku that he fears the day he wakes up and realizes that he has wasted his time with Katsuki, that he can do better, that he deserves better than some worthless, damaged asshole like himself. When he inevitably decides Katsuki is too much of a nuisance to keep around, that he's better off without his emotional baggage weighing him down, and walks out the door and of his life forever.

And Katsuki couldn't do a thing about it.

He's brought out of his musings by the faint sound of muffled sobs. He opens his eyes to Izuku's tear-stained face, he looks utterly devastated, but what's more, he looks absolutely livid.

'Oh shit' he thinks 'Did I say that out loud?'

Suddenly Izuku tackles Katsuki into the bed and he finds himself pinned down by his wrists, face-to-face with a clearly pissed off Izuku.

"Kacchan..." Izuku starts to say, his voice strained with emotion and the remnants of tears "You...you giant dummy!"

Katsuki gapes at him. He doesn't know how to react, part of him wants to be offended by Izuku's insult, and another part is incredibly amused by Izuku's choice of words, most of him however is just confused.

Izukus sniffs and brings a hand to his eyes to wipe the tears that are now dripping down and landing on Katsuki's face. "H-how can you say t-that" he says in between sniffles "after all this time, d-do you h-honestly think that I could just up and leave you l-like that?" he asks, his tone disbelieving, angry, and hurt, and Katsuki wants with all his might to erase that expression from his face, to make his voice sound light and mirthful again, he wishes he hadn't said anything "When I spent so many years chasing after your back, and now that I have finally reached you, now that I can finally hold you like this, do you honestly think that I would just give that up, because what, I got tired of you?" he puts his hand back down and Katsuki is faced once more with Izuku's fiery green gaze, his eyes heavy with determination, the same look he always wears right before a fight "Don't you underestimate my feelings like that!"

Katsuki suddenly finds himself with a face-full of Deku, their lips crashing together in an awkward and messy kiss, this doesn't deter Izuku however, and he continues to kiss Katsuki like his life depended on it. Katsuki remains unresponsive, completely dumbfounded by the turn of events.

Before he understands what was happening the kiss is over, Izuku leans back and looks at Katsuki with a sheepish expression "Do I really seem that vain to you?"

Suddenly, like a switch had been flipped, Katsuki grabs Izuku by the collar of his shirt and flips him on his back, so this time he's the one pinning him down, and crashes his mouth against Izuku's once more. Izuku opens his mouth eagerly and Katsuki accepts the invitation in kind, softly nipping at his bottom lip and sliding his tongue down the warm cave until it meets Izuku's own, their tongues locking together in a familiar battle for dominance.

They continue like this for a while, their kisses oscillating from rough and intense to sweet and gentle. Katsuki is in the middle of sprinkling Izuku's freckled neck with kisses when he hears a soft snort coming from the boy under him "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that..." he looks at Katsuki sheepishly, but his green eyes are twinkling with amusement "you just puked a few moments ago and now we're kissing it's kinda gros-AH!" Izuku looks down at Katsuki, offended at his betrayal "That hurts Kacchan!"

Katsuki smiles into Izuku's neck, placing a soft peck on the mark he had just left on the pliant skin "That's what you get for spewing dumb shit and ruining the mood, you dork" sometimes it was like Izuku had no filter whatsoever, though he'd be damned if he didn't love that part of him as well.

"Tch, why do you always do that? Kacchan's like a dog" says Izuku, his lips pursed in a mock pout.
Katsuki responds to Izuku's jab the most mature way he knew how, by biting Izuku's soft cheek "Mffoo arph yuff callimph a dogph?!"

"Agh! I knew it, Kacchan's a mad dog! Somebody save me I'll contract rabies!!" Izuku starts trashing in honest and playfully batting at his head. katsuki briefly considers biting harder into Izuku's cheek, but he decides that the temporal satisfaction of annoying Izuku isn't goinng to be worth the berating that's going to follow for leaving a mark in such a visible place, so he pulls back and flings himself next to Izuku, the mattress bouncing softly under his weight "Ugh, that's it, I'm fucking exhausted, I'm going back to sleep, wake me up in a few hours"

Izuku grabs the covers and pulls them back over their bodies, then he proceeds to cuddle into Katsuki's side, hugging his waist and pressing his face against Katsuki's chest "What, without brushing your teeth?" he asks playfully.

"Don't make me bite you again" Katsuki growls, Izuku lets out a squeak and hides his face on Katsuki's chest, pretending to snore. Katsuki snorts, amused by his boyfriend's antics and closes his eyes, Izuku's warm breaths on his skin lulling him back to sleep. He's almost drifted completely when he hears Izuku's voice mumble softly against his chest "Kacchan?"

"Mmmh?"

"You mean everything to me, more than my life as a hero, I'd give that up any day if just to stay with you" Katsuki opens his eyes to a mop of dark green curls blocking his view, sleep enitrely forgotten at the face of Izuku's admission. Izuku's face is still tucked into Katsuki's chest, and he feels the hold on his waist tighten slightly "So, don't ever call yourself worthless again"

Katsuki stares at Izuku's hair, stunned, and smiles. He places his arms on Izuku's back returning the embrace, and whispers into the messy dark curls "Yeah, you too"

He feels Izuku smiling against his chest, and at that moment, it feels like everything is going to be fine; that he will wake up in one or two hours, cranky as fuck, with Izuku still at his side, he's going to nag at Katsuki to brush his teeth, they'll have a rushed breakfast that Katsuki whipped down in a hurry and then they'll leave together for patrolling duty, or to fight some two-bit villains that showed up last-moment to wreck havoc. He'll wake up to the person he loves most, to do the work he loves most, together.

And even if the day comes, that Izuku wakes up and decides he was done with Katsuki, maybe, just maybe...

Maybe Katsuki could convince him to stay.