Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Inko gazed sightlessly, her tears ran dry long ago. The light streaming through the narrow hole shifted from inky black, to warm hues, to bright sun and then back to twilight. Her fingers twitched; the dull ache of broken nails caked with dirt, stone, and blood from her desperate, futile scrabbling. Her muscles tightened as a stream of dirt wafted from the short ceiling of her hastily dug burrow, terrified the earth would heave under her again. But no, the earth was still. The loose dirt slipping through the knot of the large tree’s roots were hurriedly fashioned into a nest, just large enough for her and—

Izuku whined, wiggling against her chest.

Inko glanced down at her kit. He was still so small, barely larger than her other kits when they were first born a moon before. When he was first born, she and her mate feared he wouldn’t survive, but her little Izuku was a survivor. He was the only kit that took after her with his dark, green fur and wide eyes. The only exception was the little one’s curls and tendency for freckles that were already dotting his chubby cheeks. She softly petted her whimpering kit’s fur, her little survivor, the only reason she was here now.

But what kind of life will it be? Just the night before she was happily settled between her mate and seven kits. Her heart continued to plummet at the thought of her burrow she created with her mate, the warm inviting dirt set on the side of the mountain, perfectly positioned to catch the sunrise every morning. The gentle stream circled the bend, and the groove of trees, perfect for raising their first of many litters of kits.

Inko slowly closed her eyes as she hugged Izuku close. Both Inko and her mate felt something was coming even before the earth’s upheaval. Skirting back to their burrow to wait out the unknown threat, but in their haste, her smallest kit got sick. She only stepped out with him for a moment. Her mate worried for her safety, but she assured him that it was only for a moment. Just long enough to wash him off to prevent further sickness in him and the other kits. Just a moment was all it took for the life she expected to have to be ripped away.

The world started to shake from under her. Her long ears echoed with the sounds of trees slamming into each other and the rumbling of stones. She could barely stay standing, Izuku huddled safely in her bosom. Her mate screamed for her to return to the burrow. She stumbled, following the sound of her wailing kits. And then time slowed down as she saw the rock shearing off the side of the mountain. She screamed as the stone crashed down, the iron-salt tang permanently trapped in her nose. When the earth settled, she was left with only an eerie stillness.

She opened her eyes as Izuku continued to squirm, searching for her beast. He was hungry. Inko frowned as she brought Izuku to her tit, watching as his little pink lips lap greedily. She would have to get up, even if she didn’t want to. She had to eat and drink despite having no desire to ever do so again. If she didn’t, she would follow her mate and other six kits into death and bring her poor, innocent Izuku with her. She needed to be strong despite the pain. For him. For her little hero that just wants to live.

She let Izuku finish eating his fill despite her exhaustion. She was used to feeding seven kits, her smallest kit had more than enough to satisfy him. Placing the kit down, Inko peeked her head out of the burrow, scanning for any threats in the twilight-lit forest. Her ears twitched at every noise, from an overzealous cricket to the bellows of a great frog from the nearby river. Her dry mouth parted, tasting the air with apprehension. She was far away from their old home now, away from that place where she lost everything. They fled down the mountain some ways just in case the earth wasn’t done shaking so nothing was familiar. She could smell stale aromas of fellow Tamed on the air, but nothing recent which was a small blessing. She had no clue whether the Tamed of these parts were friendly or otherwise.

Satisfied with her investigation, she turned back to Izuku and went back and forth in her mind on whether she should bring him or not. If her mate was still alive, they would’ve taken turns watching the kits in their burrow while the other went to attend to their needs, but that really wasn’t an option now. Plus this burrow wasn’t exactly what she would call preferred, it was rushed and sloppy and liable to cave in, especially if the earth begins to shake again. But if she brought him with her, she would be severely hampered in case of a predator attack. Carnivore Tamed were the most dangerous because of their intelligence, but there were also the Wilds that could be as equal a threat to a lone rabbit Tamed.

After a long deliberation, Inko decided she didn’t want to take the chance of what remained of her family getting separated again and collected the sleeping kit into her arms. She will be quick, she passed a small clover field not far from here and just a little past that is the river. Once she has satisfied her needs, she’ll start planning for what she’ll do next as a single omega rabbit with a young kit to take care of.

It didn’t take long for her to hop to the clover field, her ears on a swivel as she started eating. She hadn’t eaten anything since the morning and her stomach reminded her of that. Twisting and turning as she forced more flavorless greens down. Her stomach hadn’t revolted since the earliest months of her pregnancy, but just as she did then, she compelled herself to continue eating for the life she was supporting.

The sound of a great bull frog jolted her as she finished eating. Her eyes probed around her shadow-weighted trees, the leaves shaking as the cool breeze passed. A Wild, it was too primal in nature to be a Tamed frog, she concluded. But the sound of the water dwelling creature brought her attention back to her dry mouth.

Glancing down at Izuku, the kit was still sleeping with a soft smile on his face as he cuddled against her soft mane of fur, she began hopping to the river. She kept to the shadows, knowing that this was easily the most dangerous part as the trees thinned and she and her defenseless kit would be exposed at the river’s edge.

She kept her eyes on her goal as she approached the evenly flowing, crystal clear water. Lapping at the cool, refreshing water she felt the corners of her eyes burn fresh. The water tasted like home, no doubt the river was fed by the many streams from further up the mountain. She glanced up towards the lingering peak, the gentle waterfalls splashing down the wide birth of the river, so beautiful that it hurt. Mesmerized by the sun cresting behind the horizon, she jumped when she heard a whimper of a baby from behind her.

She wasn’t alone.

She froze. That was certainly not a Wild, that was the sound of a Tamed infant. Her maternal instincts battled against her survival ones, all happening within a heartbeat. Whether to run away to the safety of her burrow or to see who made that noise. In the end, her wounded and desperate maternal instincts won as she turned towards the noise to see what went unnoticed by her due to the silence.

The wind changed and Inko got a strong inhale of blood that made her cover her nose with her one free hand. The figure was barely recognizable as a Tamed half submerged in the river, caked in mud with short, labored breaths. She took another cautious step forward, the pale light of the moon starting to rise in the sky illuminating how massive the slumped figure truly was. Easily twice her size if not more, and many times her weight. Even the far larger predator type of Tameds would be dwarfed by this one. Inko was so in awe of the sheer size of this Tamed, she neglected to watch her step. As her soft foot snapped the twig, brown eyes shot up as the large Tamed was alerted to her presence.

For a moment, neither moved and instead looked at each other. Inko has never seen a Tamed quite like this one before in all her seasons. His ears were small and rounded at the side of his head, he had no mane but some kind of strange lining that didn’t attach directly to his skin. She noted when the mouth of the strange Tamed opened, that while he had canines, they were dull. After the initial shock of the strange Tamed, more glaring concerns became apparent to Inko.

He was injured badly .

A trail of blood flowed down from his mouth, spotching the grass below it, some specks even turning the clear water pink. The entire lower half of his body was  twisted and crushed. Barely able to push himself up with one arm, the other wrapped around his wheezing, misshapen chest. A part of the Tamed face was sheared off, exposing oozing blood and bits of bone below the brown hair. She couldn’t tell for sure if he was missing an eye or otherwise injured, but he was missing a good chunk of his ear on that side.

Inko couldn’t even move if she wanted to under the single eyed glare of the massive Tamed, glancing between her and Izuku. How could a Tame grow to that size? A beast? Her heart was beating out of her chest. The single thought flashing before her mind. Her mate if she would have torn the rock from their burrow. Crushed and warped, it was extraordinary that he still took breath, Inko thought until she heard that little whimper again.

Inko focused her attention to the sound, finding it hidden within the nook of the large Tamed’s arm, pressed close against his chest as the infant started to cry.

The Tamed opened his mouth again and strange noises came out. It took her a moment to realize he was attempting to speak to her, but Inko had no clue what he was attempting to say. It was a tongue she’s never encountered before, not rough growls like predator Tamed, but neither was it the short squeak, chuff, nor honks of her kind. It was completely different, repeating again and again the same short phrase.

“Help… Katsuki. Katsuki. Katsuki.”

The large Tamed shifted, moving the wailing infant from his chest, his entire body shaking terribly.

Inko looked around, not sensing another being like the Tamed in front of her. Glancing up towards the mountain again, she saw the pebbles from top of the small waterfall splash into the water as the moved earth still worked to settle. She started to put the pieces together in her mind, realizing these Tameds suffered the same fate as her family did with these two only just barely escaping down the river. The mother and who knows how many siblings were already taken, just as her family was from her. 

Feeling an overwhelming sense of compassion, Inko looked into the strange Tamed’s eye, and somehow understood him completely. A parent, a father. She twitched her nose, attempting a few times to copy the sounds he was making, “Katsuki.” She looked at the infant, repeating again but this time in question, “Katsuki?”

The father smiled, “Katsuki,” he said with a shaking arm presenting the infant.

The rabbit Tamed moved forward, pressed by her maternal instincts' enormous pull towards the screaming baby. They were a bit older and of course larger than her Izuku, but she could tell not by terribly much. Maybe two or three moons at most. It had a similar sheet of almost woven fur around it, snuggled around their arms and legs that the more Inko looked at it the more she believed it was removable. Perhaps it was like how sheep Tamed would use their extra wool as blankets during the colder seasons? Unlike their father, the infant has bright blond hair, and sharp, grumpy red eyes.

She took the infant into her arms, sniffing and checking them over. Much to her surprise, the infant wasn’t injured other than a few tiny cuts and bruises here and there. No, the grumpy little kit was crying because they were hungry. She didn’t even have to coax him, as soon as the baby was brought up to her tit it ravenously latched on and suckled away.

Inko’s heart swelled. “Katsuki,” she cooed, sure that it was this little one’s name. She knew what she was doing was crazy. She didn’t even know what kind of Tamed they were, let alone what they would need to eat as they grow, but it didn’t matter to her. The loss she suffered left a hole in her heart that Izuku alone couldn’t quite fill. A decision she knew she wouldn’t regret.

She looked up as the large Tamed body hit the ground. His breathing shallower now, his one eye growing more vacant by the moment. She realized the only reason he had lasted so long against death’s call was for his kit. He protected his kit in the wake of the disaster that took so much from them both, unwilling to die until he knew his little Katsuki was safe.

“I’ll take care of him,” Inko said, making eye contact and trying to fill all of her meaning into her voice.

The father smiled, muttering something back that she didn’t need to be translated in the slightest.

“Thank you.”

And then he was gone. His body lost all strength, and soon enough it was carried away by the river’s current. She watched it go and when it was out of sight, she headed back to her burrow, knowing that it would have to be dug out more with another, potentially very large, mouth to feed.

Chapter Text

“I’m so sorry my son—”

“Knocked out my baby’s tooth!”

Katsuki’s head lowered, the heat of the summer was warm on his sun-kissed shoulders as he listened to his mom apologize repeatedly to the rat bitch and her dick of a son. The plump rabbit constantly repeating that she didn’t know what got into Katsuki, but that she’ll have a long conversation with him after this, and of course, promising that such a fight will never happen again.

Katsuki’s hands dig into the earth to keep them in place. He hated this, it’s always the same. His mom would profusely ask for forgiveness even when he wasn’t the one that picked the fights. And he was attempting to be good, not wanting to keep putting his adoptive mother in this position again. He and Deku were playing in the clover field not bothering anyone when the rat strolled up and started talking shit. It was all stuff Katsuki was used to, and he was prepared to just ignore him. He could handle that. But—

Deku pressed his flank against his arm, green eyes overflowing with regret. His split lip wavered, the bruise steadily growing more pronounced on his freckled cheek. “I’m sorry, Kacchan,” Deku whimpered in a small voice. “I’m sorry.”

Katsuki scoffed, lifting his hand, and wiping the dirt gingerly from the bunny’s face.

The stupid fucking rat was crying that he hit Deku by accident, that Katsuki’s resulting explosion was a wild outburst over a simple mishap. But Katsuki had eyes, he wasn’t fucking blind,  the rat did it on purpose. Katsuki didn’t care how much shit anyone spouted at him, but there was no way he was going to sit back and do nothing after that. No one hurts Deku, and he’ll gladly knock out the rest of the rat’s teeth without flinching if the bastard tried again. And once they all re-grew, he’ll knock them out again as a warning to all the other little assholes. 

As the sun shifted through the sky, dancing through the soft breeze of the thick green foliage, a small crowd gathered. All small woodland Tames with apparently nothing better to do with their evening. Gossiping in staged whispers that even Katsuki’s dull ears could hear clearly.

“I feel sorry for her, I really do.”

“Losing her mate, most of her kits, and now is burdened with raising a mysterious Tamed.”

"Mysterious or defective?”

Katsuki stiffened at the words of the unseen, shrill voice.

“I think we’re done here. Boys let’s go back to the den,” Mom said with her lips an impossibly thin line. She ushered both Katsuki and Deku away from the crowd, but that didn’t stop the accumulating whispers all around.

"Might be big, but that's all he has going for him.”

“Legs too long to correctly walk.”

“No fur.”

“No claws.”

“No sharp teeth.”

“Can’t smell.”

“Can barely see.”

“Can barely hear.”

“Defenseless.”

“He’ll always be dependent on others.”

“That poor rabbit.”

“You can see it in her eyes.”

“She knows it was a mistake taking in that defect.”

As he awkwardly hopped, Katsuki hid behind his wild blond hair. Red hot anger boiled in his stomach and leaked from every pore as the tears dripped down his scratched-up cheeks. This time was no different, he’s heard it all before. He knows he isn’t a rabbit like the rest of his family, nor was he like any other Tamed. He didn’t have large ears on the top of his head, but little pink nubs on the side of his face. He didn’t have a fluffy, cotton tail, he didn’t have any kind of fucking tail at all. His skin burned in the sun, he didn’t have fur in any of the places he should have fur for protection or otherwise. His legs bent the wrong way and were way too long so it was impossible for his hands to comfortably reach the ground. Even Deku, who was far smaller than him and other Tames their age, had to slow down to not leave him in the dust.

Red eyes watched two sets of green paws beside him, unspeaking as they moved further away from the commotion. Nothing was being said because there was nothing to say . Both knew it was true, every word of what the others were saying.

“Boys,” Mom said after a short hop over a thicket of weeds and mushrooms gradually consuming a fallen tree. Katsuki stopped, but refused to look up. Couldn’t meet her green eyes with fake kindness. But he wasn’t given a choice as a soft hand guided his chin up. “Katsuki.”

Katsuki shook away the kindness.

The mother rabbit frowned, biting her bottom lip. “How about you two head back to the burrow ahead of me? Mama has some things she needs to take care of, and she’ll be home with some spicy peppers and hazel nuts. We can talk about this more once we have full bellies, how does that sound?”

Deku looked at Katsuki, as the blond quickly turned away sharply. “Yes, we can do that. Thank you mom.”

“Take care of each other,” Mom said before chinning both him and Deku over with a scent Katsuki could never seem to smell before hopping back in the direction they came.

The wind started to pick up while the sun set and the chilly temperature started to cool both of the young Tames. Despite being unable to hear soft, furred feet against the sandy earth, Katsuki didn’t have to look behind him to know that Deku was following him. Deku barely ever left his side. It was a given that Deku was following him no different than the sun rising every morning or how each breath filled his body with fresh air. A constant. A given.

It was frustrating.

Deku pitied him, Mom’s comment only cemented it. He was nothing more than a burden and outcast, special in the wrong way.

"Kacchan?" Deku whispered, from behind him. He vaguely felt a hand on Katsuki’s shaking shoulders.

Katsuki took a sharp breath, refusing to turn towards the rabbit, not wanting Deku to see the frustrated tears that refused to stop. So, he ran. He didn't know where he was going, nor cared about the noise he was making as he fumbled forward on awkward legs. He just wanted to get away.

He bounded over fallen trees and through the brush, not thinking anything through. Almost as if he was the prey running from a looming predator he didn’t want to face. He didn’t want to see the pity and false kindness in Deku’s eyes. And in his rush, he forgot about his constant, his extra shadow. He jumps onto the log, the one he crosses above the stream. 

“Kacchan!”

The worry in the rabbit’s voice distracts Katsuki just enough that he trips over his deformed feet, tumbling into the cool waters below. He landed on his non-existent tail, a momentary pain shooting up his spine that stunned him in place. They were all right about him. He couldn’t keep himself balanced on a damn log; how would he ever survive by himself. He was a pathetic Tamed and an even worse rabbit.

“Kacchan?” Deku worried, his voice trembling as he hopped effortlessly down into the small swale. He offered a hand, “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Concern, no pity, was scratched all over his face. The rabbit pitied him. Looked down on him.

Katsuki slapped the hand away. “I don’t need your help!” He screamed. He pushed Deku down into the mud of the creek, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I don’t need anyone’s help!” He said before running off again.

The wind picked up behind him, the sky darkening far quicker as clouds rolled in. Even his stupid, broken nose could smell the rain quickly approaching, but he didn’t give a damn. He kept running. Past the burrow, through the thickets of trees. He started picking up speed, his hands meeting with the ground less with each kick of his feet until  he stopped even trying to have them meet the earth at all. His body rose, his back straightened as each stride against the ground became more steady. No longer hopping, but running as fast as his legs could take him. He ran and ran until he couldn’t breathe any longer, falling to the ground in the middle of an empty clearing.

The first drops of rain splashed against his face. He glanced back at the path he came, but he was completely lost. He wouldn’t be able to find his way back even if he tried.  But there was another thing, he couldn’t see his shadow. Deku wasn’t following him.

Katsuki blinked. Did he outrun Deku? No, that was impossible. Deku must’ve realized the truth of the situation, that Katsuki was a lost cause and he was better off without him. It was obvious really. Any sane Tamed would do it in the same position.

Katsuki looked up to the starless sky, aimless and beginning to cry again. Isn’t this what he wanted? He didn’t want anyone’s pity, least of all Deku’s. This is what he wanted and maybe this is even his chance to show them all what he’s really made of. Prove them all wrong. That Katsuki could survive on his own without anyone else’s help. Yeah, that’s it. That’s what he’ll do. He’ll just live all by himself and show them just how wrong they all were for underestimating him! 

Katsuki smirked, assured in himself and the plan quickly formulated in his head. He can build his own den out here, and find a water source. If he can’t grow his own fur then he’ll fucking fashion something out of leaves and grass make his skin less susceptible to the sun’s stinging rays. He’ll find his own hot peppers and hazel nuts to eat, and there most definitely would be a clover patch nearby so he could provide for Deku…

Deku.

No. He didn’t need that stupid rabbit. Why did he even think about him? Stupid fucking shadow wouldn’t even fucking leave him alone in his own damn head. He didn’t need Mom or Deku. But even as he thought that, his chest started to hurt as the sinking silence of loneliness creeped in. 

He didn’t miss them. Wouldn’t. Especially not Deku. He’s the last Tamed Katsuki would miss. His stupid ass face with all those damned freckles and soft bouncy emerald green hair like grass in the summertime. His stupid non-stop rambling, his cute giggle. No. Not cute, annoying. His annoying giggle. He hated it. Of course he hated it because that stupid rabbit never saw him as an equal. He always looked down at him because with Katsuki around, Deku was no longer the runt of the liter. Ha, he’ll show Deku. He’ll never be able to look down on Katsuki again. He’ll make sure of it!

Katsuki was interrupted mid-thought as blurry shadows suddenly sprung from the bushes towards him. The blond went to protect his face from the attacker, knowing that be it Tamed or Wild predator, it would make little difference. 

“KACCHAN!” Deku yelled in relief, pouncing full force onto Katsuki's chest. The blond winced in pain, as the heavily crying rabbit started to scent him. “I thought I lost you! You were running so fast and then the rain started and I couldn’t find your scent and I’m so sorry Kacchan. I’m sorry you got in a fight with Kei-chan because of me and then got in trouble. It wasn’t your fault. You were only trying to protect me. And I’m sorry for whatever else I did to make you mad. I don’t know what I did wrong, but whatever it is I’m sorry about it and will do anything to make sure I don’t do it again so ple—OUF"

Katsuki forced his hand over the bunny’s mouth to make him stop talking. “Shut it,” he hissed. He couldn’t believe for even a second that he could outrun his fucking shadow. “I don’t want your fucking pity.”

Deku’s eyebrows shot up, furiously speaking into the blond’s hand in undistinguishable grunts and whines.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, removing his hand. For some reason 

“I don’t pity you Kacchan,” the rabbit said the moment the hand was removed. “Was it what those others were saying that gave you that idea? Kacchan, that can’t be further from the truth! You’re amazing! The most wonderful and—OOF”

Katsuki covered the rabbit’s mouth again, “I don’t want your damn lies.”

Deku shook wildly in protest until Katsuki removed his hand again. “They’re not lies, Kacchan. You are amazing. I look up to you.”

“That’s just because I’m bigger than you,” Katsuki snapped back.

“I’m not talking physically,” Deku chuffed. “Every day I watch how hard you work to be the best rabbit you can be.”

“Ha, damn good rabbit I am,” Katsuki sneered.

“And that’s the point,” Deku said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re not a rabbit, nothing rabbit comes instinctually to you like it does for me, but you still try. No one knows what kind of Tamed you are, you’re basically  a Fish Tamed trying to climb a tree! The fact you’re able to do as much as you can despite it being against your nature is amazing. You’re literally fighting nature! You keep doing everything, determined to prove them wrong.” Deku said, a halo of soft curls, dripping with the raindrops smiling down. “You’re what I strive to be, Kacchan, my image of victory. Not because you always succeed, but because you never stop.”

“I’m not a damned fish!” he snapped, though admittedly was stunned. He wanted to believe Deku’s words so badly it hurt. Impossible, or at least it should be. But Deku’s eyes, those damned emeralds, glowed with serenity— unwavering in his declaration. Would it be so bad if he believed him? 

Deku suddenly turned his head, even in the dim light, he was able to make out there was some rosiness in the rabbit’s cheeks. From the running? Did he really run that fast earlier? “N-Neither me nor Mom think you’re a burden Kacchan. I can promise you that,” he said as he hopped off Katsuki quickly. For the first time Katsuki noticed how covered in mud Deku was. “I know there will always be mean Tames out there that underestimate you, Kacchan. But, please,” he glanced back, “please don’t ever for a single moment believe I’m one of them.” 

“You promise?”

“Promise,” Deku said, offering Katsuki his hand to help him up. “I want to see you prove them all wrong.” 

Katsuki looked at the offered hand for a long moment. Debating silently before finally saying, “We’ll show them together.”

Deku blinked in surprise. 

Katsuki took Deku’s hand and held it tight. “We’ll show them how wrong they were to underestimate both of us.”

Deku’s eyes lit up, capturing the lightning as it struck a distant tree. The green bolt dancing in his eyes. 

“Let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

Izuku leapt, kicking his legs as he went around the trunk of the cherry blossom tree. The pink petals danced in the soft breeze around him as he binkied, hands outstretched attempting to catch one. The pleasant smell swelled in his nostrils and soaked into his fur. He’s sure in no time he’ll smell so much like the cherry grove even Kacchan will be able to smell him from a distance.

Izuku’s eyes locked onto two, delicate petals dancing around one another and made his move. His small hands clasping around one petal as a larger hand snatched the other.

“How many, Deku?” Kacchan said as Izuku’s paws found purchase on the ground.

“Um, four,” Izuku said.

Kacchan clicked his tongue, taking the acquired petals from Izuku with surprising care before stomping off to the other side of the trees in the opposite direction of their new burrow. He didn’t know why Kacchan was so adamant about collecting petals all of a sudden, but Izuku didn’t question it. Being the sole secret keeper of Kacchan’s worries, he’s been trying to put his best paw forward in showing the blond that he is by his side no matter what!

“Izuku, could you come help me for a moment,” Mom’s voice came from the dirt burrow she was digging out.

“Of course,” Izuku said happily, hopping over to help scoop out some roots and pebbles for his mother. Izuku knows it’s been hard on both Kacchan and Mom with the move, so he’s trying his best to be the most supportive for both.

“Thank you,” Mom said with a small, exhausted sigh. They’ve traveled much farther than ever, the Gray Mountain merely a dot on the horizon, almost completely obscured by the near constant fog over the thick trees. Mom said it was because they were older now and could handle a longer journey, but both he and Kacchan knew it was because their mother was hoping for them to have a fresh start. She knew Kacchan wasn’t at fault for the fights, that Kacchan was just standing up to the bullies that were attacking them. She knew nothing would change as long as they stayed there, so her decision was obvious. Her response was so genuine that Kacchan demanded to know if Izuku broke his secret. He didn’t of course, but Izuku had a feeling that even though he didn’t say anything Mom knew everything.

“Deku, where are you?”

Izuku’s eyes swiveled back towards Kacchan’s voice.

Mom smiled, “Go ahead. Thank you for the help.”

“This place will be different,” Izuku said before he hopped back to the blond.

“I sure hope so.”

It will be, Izuku just knows it. It wasn’t just because this place was the most pleasant place they’ve settled with no prickly shrubs, stinky garlic patches, nor even excessively wet swampy soil that left you muddy all over. No, Izuku knew from the first time he heard about this place from a strange, migrating Tame they crossed paths with during their journey for a new home.

The Golden Valley.

The eccentric travelers told fanciful stories of the Golden Valley and the Golden Beast. A place of plenty and open to every kind of Tamed, from the smallest mouse to the largest bear. The greatest secret, hidden to all those who know not the way. It was amazing to think about. While it wasn’t uncommon for Tames to live close to each other, interacting was something to be expected, most of the time Tames stayed with their own. Even larger gatherings like the one following Kacchan’s fight, the crowd was limited to mostly rabbits, rats, and mice, and one practically nosey squirrel. 

But here? Just about every type of Tamed you could think of you would find living here and abiding by the rules of the Golden Beast. Somehow, the Beast interested Izuku more than the Valley itself. The namesake of this Valley, a legend that appears during disasters and conflicts, or to uphold the rules of the land, and most importantly its protector for no less than eight generations of Tames. Eight! A Tamed that old would surely know what kind of tamed Kacchan is! Maybe they even know where other Tames like Kacchan live and then they could all go meet them! 

“Kacchan, what did you need?” Izuku asked as he approached the blond. The large Tamed was crouched over something that Izuku couldn’t see. “Do you need more petals?” he asked as he attempted to get a better look at what was in Kacchan’s hands.

“Eyes closed Deku.”

“Huh?” Deku blinked.

“Are they closed?” Kacchan snapped.

“Y-Yes!” Izuku said as he closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt something be gently placed on his head.

“You can open your eyes now,” Kacchan said, so close he could feel each word.

Izuku crackled open his eyes, Kacchan encompassing everything. Scarlet eyes soft, a gentle smile on his lips. A different kind of Tamed than the rest of the forest. He wasn’t a boring bunny like Izuku, Kacchan was something else entirely. Something amazing. Something special.

Kacchan turned slightly, his cheeks taking on the hue of the cherry blossoms. “Looks good on you.”

Izuku balanced his hind legs, gently touching around the curls on top of his head and found there was something else there. A circle of petals, woven together with cloves. It took a moment for Izuku to process it and when he did he couldn’t contain his joy. “Thank you Kacchan!” He said, bouncing towards the blond. He couldn’t help himself, chinning his sweet cherry blossom scent all over his Kacchan. 

“Fuck, Deku. Be careful or you’ll fucking break it!”

Katsuki turned towards the great oak tree and began to count. He listened to the disorganized shuffling and muttering of his playmates spreading out in the gently sloped field. Katsuki hurried his counting, yelling the last number to be sure that his voice carried (even though no one went very far from the sounds of it). Their mistake was believing he hadn’t evolved from the last time as he started to raise on his legs to a full standing position.

Katsuki turned back to the field and the shimmering fog over the crescent lake; a competitive smirk grew on his lips as he started running. Wind from the distant mountains licked at the leaves in the Valley, pushing Katsuki forward with each pounding step.

The hunt was on.

Predator and Prey was a fun enough game, the only kind of chase young Tamed children experience in this peaceful portion of the forest. A game that, at first glance, was merely a test of speed, hence underestimating him, but Katsuki knew better. With the greenery shaking with anticipation, Katsuki set upon his first target.

He bolted after the all-legs fawn. The moment red met watery brown eyes; the fawn bolted in the other direction. Katsuki smirked, running as fast as his two legs would allow after the fleeing deer. Despite the awkward gate of the deer Tamed, he was effortlessly gaining ground, leaving Katsuki in the dust. Even cutting corners did little to compensate as the spotted coat got further out of reach. But Katsuki’s smile only grew as he without warning pivoted on his heel and effortlessly caught the onlooking squirrel that was leering just a little too close to the path of travel.

“No fair! I thought you were chasing Riri-chan,” the squirrel squeaked as she splayed out on the ground “dead”.

“It’s your fault for being sooo stupid!” Katsuki whooped victoriously as his first target was captured successfully. This was as much of a game of speed as it was strategy, outsmarting your opponents, and relying on endurance— all things Katsuki excelled at. He might not be as fast as all the others, but he would be damned if that meant he would fall behind.

Katsuki hunted down his prey one by one; tripping the deer over his own legs, outwitting the fox, sneaking up on the mouse with poor eyesight, and his personal favorite so far, distracting the magpie with shiny stones he found down by the bank of the river this morning. 

“It’s no’ fair!” the magpie trilled, “You know I have tae collect shiny things!” 

“It’s basic’ly cheatin’,” the fawn mumbled.

One by one, Katsuki reduced their numbers until there was only one left. 

Green eyes, gleaming and intense, have been watching Katsuki this entire time, unmoved from their spot in the middle of the field. Deku, the damn rabbit that he is, was smarter than the others by leaps and bounds. He knew perfectly well that Katsuki wasn’t going to chase someone that wasn’t even trying, so he sat perfectly still in the middle of the field, watching, and waiting with that stupid look on his face. 

“What’s it going to be, Deku?” Katsuki asked. “Run or die?”

The sun danced on top of the freckled face, making his eyes practically glow at the challenge. With a leaping binky that caused his green curls to bounce, the bunny jumped to his feet and dropped into a prepared stance with his furry bunny ass in the air.

Katsuki chuckled, wiping the sweat and dirt from his forehead with the back of his hand. He lowered his body, hands at the ready on either side for a long moment in an attempt to read what was going through that frustratingly strategic bunny’s head. Read his intentions. He’ll go left, Katsuki prefers his dominant side. Or maybe he’ll expect Katsuki to expect that and go right instead? Or maybe he’ll—

Deku bolted, neither left nor right. Not even backing away, no. That damn rabbit ran straight towards Katsuki. The wind seemed to be trailing compared to the small, green rabbit sprinting full force at Katsuki. Before sliding between his splayed legs.

The blond blinked, double taking what just happened. Of all the things Deku could’ve done, that was the last thing he expected. Deku was small for their age, even the field mouse who should be smaller than a rabbit, had the edge on the green thumping menace. This was in stark contrast to Katsuki who despite being the same age as Deku and the others, towered over them, and it had nothing to do with Katsuki’s inclination and comfort standing up right.

“Kacchan?” Deku called from behind him.

Katsuki snapped back to look at the rabbit, dancing with excess energy and desire to continue playing. Katsuki felt a bead of sweat drip down his back, his lips curling around the words, “Oh you’re dead now, cotton tail.”

The two players chased around the grass and circled the trees as stray clouds passed in the gentle breeze, catching their laughter and taunts to keep running. No matter what Katsuki did, he couldn’t seem to catch up to the rabbit that was bobbing and weaving circles around him, but that didn’t stop him. So engrossed in their fun, neither noticed the other Tamed kids had grown bored of their antics and started a completely separate game on the other side of the field. 

But eventually, Deku’s boundless energy began to taper, and Katsuki grew closer. The last and most important strategy to win: endurance. The rabbit may be faster in bursts, but Katsuki had the long game, able to run when all others have given up. 

“I win,” he smirked, panting heavily and absolutely drenched in sweat when he finally pinned Deku to the soft earth. He pressed his weight into his left leg immobilizing the rabbit’s legs, one hand holding the rabbit, the other pressed against the whining face. 

“You win,” Deku sighs, going completely limp under the blond. He clearly believed this was over, but after that little stunt earlier Katsuki wasn’t going to let Deku off that easily. 

“Kacchan?!” Deku’s eyes snapped open as Katsuki bit on the bunny’s fluffy ear. It wasn’t enough pressure to actually hurt, let alone draw any blood. No, the intended effect was more devious than that! “Stop, stop! It tickles!” The rabbit laughs, squirming but unable to break out of Katsuki’s hold. He continued his tickle-based attack until he was satisfied, rolling off Deku and flopping to the ground beside the rabbit.

Katsuki watched the clouds pass overhead as they laid among the blades of grass, flowers, and clover. He took a deep breath of the brisk air teeming with a taste Katsuki still couldn't decern even after moons of living in the Valley. 

“You were amazing today,” Deku said. 

Katsuki snorted, “Wrong. I’m amazing every day.”

“I m-mean our training and planning paid off,” Deku said timidly, rolling onto his stomach. 

“Hah,” Katsuki snickered.  He rose to a sitting position and bangs a fist against his chest, “Of course it is, I’m the fuckin’ symbol of victory, aren’t I? Better start winning sometime.” 

Deku laughed sweetly, also rising to a seated position, and smiling up at Katsuki. His eyes gleaming through his full lashes. 

Katsuki’s heart skipped a beat.

Chapter Text

The sun was hanging low in the sky, the crisp scents of another summer day coming to a close. Inko’s ears flicked back, a smile growing on her face as the sound of her two rambunctious kits bounded closer. She lifted to her haunches, peering over the shrub as the younglings played with high-pitched voices and giggles. Often than not, they were roughhousing, wrestling, and bouncing around in the dirt as they raced each other home after a day of playing, or as they called it ‘training’. She honestly didn’t know how they had so much energy!

“I won,” Izuku chirped happily, wiggling under his far larger brother.

“Yeah, because you cheated,” Katsuki spat grumpily.

“So did not!” Izuku yelled, able to wiggle around just enough to get leverage and flip the tussle.

“So totally did!” Katsuki yelled back, regaining control, and once again pinning his brother to the earth. “If it was a proper race and not a damned sprint than I would’ve—”

“Language, Katsuki,” Inko said in an exacerbated tone.

Her kits froze at her voice, clearly not aware of her presence. Slowly, they looked toward her as she hopped into view. As soon as Katsuki’s red eyes met hers, his head dropped. “Sorry Mom,” he muttered. “Won’t happen again.”

“We both know that’s not the case,” Inko sighed affectionately. She had no clue where her kit picked up such foul language, nor why, despite her best efforts, she couldn’t get him to stop. It was almost like it was instinctual to him, but obviously that wasn’t possible. “You two have surely worked up an appetite,” she said, her smile returning. “You two should tell me about your day, unless it’s still top secret training.”

“Kacchan won Predator versus Prey!” Izuku said excitedly, leaping to his paws the moment he was no longer pinned.

Inko blinked in surprise, looking at her blond kit in awe. “Really?”

Katsuki looked up hesitantly, a slight dusting of pink on his cheeks as he gave an affirming grunt, “Yeah. I won.”

“He was so cool! First he was like wham! And then he kaboomed! And! And! Mom, this was the coolest, Kacchan tricked them all and then it was like a giant woosh!”

Inko, though not fully comprehending everything her Izuku meant, couldn’t help the tears that started too well, “My baby boy!” And then, despite not having done it in many years, did a small binky.

Katsuki blushed hard, looking away again. “Mom you don’t have to get so fu-freaking worked up about it. It’s lame.”

“I’m your mother, being lame is what I do best!” Inko said with a hearty laugh. “Come on boys, you have to tell me everything over dinner.”

The boys eagerly went over how they planned everything for today’s game from the shiny pebbles and outsmarting the other children to how their ‘training’ has been Katsuki learning to walk on two legs instead of hopping on four. Katsuki being the one that said it was obvious that his kind of Tamed is bipedal because of how long his legs were compared to other Tames, albeit not with that elegant (nor clean) wording. And to say she didn’t cry again was a lie, she was so proud of her boys working together so effectively. In retrospect, it was obvious Katsuki was struggling trying to hop around like all the other rabbits. It often amazes her how he can so easily figure something out that older Tame’s minds have a harder time wrapping around.

“Kacchan is so cool.”

“He sure is,” Inko mused, giggling into her hand.

“Deku,” Katsuki rolled his eyes and Izuku munched away at blackberries, not noticing the dark specks dusting his little, wiggling nose.

“Hmm?” Izuku looked up at Katsuki confused, head tilting to the side.

Katsuki leaned down and licked the juice off. “Missed a spot.”

Izuku smiled ear to ear, “Thank you Kacchan.” He gave a quick chin to his brothers’ shoulder in thanks.

Her boys were so cute together! Inko never had a good relationship with her siblings, especially after it was learned she was the only one born an Omega, so she was so glad her kits got along so well.

As they finished up eating and started to prepare for bed, Inko overheard her boys talking about how they were going to continue their training and couldn’t help but smile. For the first time in a long time, she felt well and truly happy. It wasn’t like there wasn’t happiness in her life all these years as her kits were growing up, and at the time she would’ve said she was happy, but looking back there was always a cloud over her head. She couldn’t completely let her guard down, always looking over her shoulder for the next threat.

But here she felt a calm she had never felt before, like someone was always watching over her. She laughed to herself, thinking of that silly story that so enraptured her kits about the Golden Beast that supposedly protects this valley. A kits-tale she was all too familiar with as it was something that her own mother told to her long ago. This wouldn’t be the first place that has claimed to be the ‘Golden Land’, but out of all other options this is the place they ended up going.

The valley was almost hidden in plain sight, down rock faces, waterfalls and woven into the thickest of trees covered in thorns. At points around the outer edges, the trees were too dense to even tell if it was day or night. It brought about an unnerving sensation right up her spine, she thought for sure she was played as a desperate fool by the Raven Tamed and walked into a trap. She knew how close Raven Tames and Wolf Tames could get. But the Raven was truthful, and just like he said, behind the waterfall was a place where all Tames were welcome.

She looked back at her yawning kits as they curled in for bed, Izuku taking his normal spot right on top of Katsuki’s chest. Her sweet little Izuku always wants to make sure Katsuki is warm enough because of his lack of fur.

Up until this point, they moved from one close-knit community to another, never really finding a home, running out of the colony in which she grew up. They were always outsiders. But here, despite being possibly even more of a stranger than normal, there was a sense of community. Everyone was a little bit quirky here, but not in a bad way. They were a curiosity, not exiles to be shunned. More curious on what Katsuki’s like rather than what he was and luckily for her, her Izuku seemed to reach a core with Katsuki and kindle his hope.

She watched the smooth, steady breathing of her kits in the moonlight. She knew something happened after she returned to give that darn rat an earful, but the specifics were never told to her. She knew Katsuki wasn’t in a good headspace, she knew he was trying but the world was stacked against him from the start. She regrets not more openly defending her kit, but it would’ve been far too dangerous with such a crowd with obvious bias. Not while her kits could be caught in the middle. She bit her tongue until it bled.

But her kits were able to work it out, and together they found a new level of determination to ‘train’ and learn what Katsuki could do. It’s something Inko encouraged since they were very young, but it must’ve been different coming from his brother and it finally sunk in for Katsuki.

The blond kit, almost sensing her staring, shifted an arm over Izuku’s back.

Inko smiled. Katsuki would never be the best rabbit, but he will surely be the best Katsuki there ever was.

“You want to what?” Hanta, the squirrel the same age as them, looked at them puzzled.

“You hard of hearing, squirrel?” Kacchan growled, his foot thumping the ground refusing to repeat himself. It took a lot for Izuku to talk the blond into asking because, despite their best efforts, observation alone wasn’t going to be enough.  

“Can you teach Kacchan how you climb trees?” Izuku asked, looking up to the squirrel. Larger than Izuku, but that wasn’t much to say as all Tames his age were bigger than him, with dark hair and almond-shaped eyes, but he seemed friendly enough. He always had a wide smile at least, however, right now his face held confusion.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said,” Hanta said, scratching the back of his head. He looked Kacchan up and down, a half-smile returning as he jested, “No longer satisfied beating my little sis, huh?”

“I fucking knew this was a bad idea,” Katsuki stomped, turning on his heel. “Come on Deku, we’re out of here.”

“Wait,” Hanta yelled. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t teach you, just—” the squirrel paused as if thinking of his next words carefully. “Why do you want to learn to climb a tree?”

“None of your fucking—”

“Kacchan wants to learn more about himself,” Izuku interrupted. “He’s clearly not a rabbit but no one, not even he knows what kind of Tamed he is. So, we thought if we knew what he could and couldn’t do beyond rabbit things, we could narrow it down.”

“God damnit Deku!” Kacchan huffed. “Why’d you go and tell him all that.”

Izuku puffed out his cheeks. Kacchan was standing now on his two hind legs, so he was absolutely towering over Izuku but that didn’t intimidate the rabbit in the slightest. “Because it’s the truth? Didn’t you promise mom you’ll try to make new friends and not be so grumpy all the time?”

Kacchan rolled his eyes, grumbling swear words incoherently under his breath.

Hanta laughed. “My sister was right, you two do sound like an old, mated couple.”

“What did you say. asshole?!”

“You’re lucky Hanta still wants to teach you after you blew up at him like that,” Izuku whispered to his blond companion a short while later

Kacchan’s face was a bright scarlet, huffing.

“Your arms and legs are pretty long, but you look pretty dense,” Hanta mused, looking Kacchan over.

“You calling me fat?”

“No, muscular,” Hanta said. It seems the squirrel was already starting to pick up the fact the blond was more bark than bite. Not that Kacchan couldn’t fight, of course. He could fight very well. Kacchan was just a very proud and stubborn person that didn’t like freely showing emotions that weren’t grumpy because of how it turned out in the past. “That’s both a pro and con. Means you’re stronger and can jump and grip better, but also makes you heavier,” Hanta continued. “Definitely be rough if you fall. So I say we start small.”

While Kacchan, unsurprisingly, was grouchy about being ‘babied’, the blond was extremely attentive as he listened to every word Hanta said. How to start his ascent, how to grip and wrap arms and legs around the trunk of a tree, using every part of the tree like a sturdy gnarl to grip, and of course having three points of contact at any time. Despite this, Kacchan suffered more than one bruise and cut from a misplaced foot or a weak branch that couldn’t support him and falling to the earth below. They had to hide the worst of it from their mom. She’s been so supportive of their training and neither wanted to worry her.

Over the next half-moon, Kacchan would continue to take lessons from Hanta, but also practice just the two of them, slowly creating a style of climbing all his own. Kacchan didn’t have the claws to hold onto the outside of bark nor a tail to balance like Hanta, but instead used his long limbs and grippy toes to find sure footing. He wasn’t as fast as a squirrel, but he was amazingly adept. He would run at full speed and jump to branches just out of reach, pulling himself up in the branches, ascending further and further into the green canopy.

It was awe inspiring, and he wasn’t the only one that thought so.

Hanta’s friends, a small group of Tames all the same age, started coming to their training lessons to watch Kacchan. It worried Izuku at first, that they may be hecklers that would interrupt Kacchan’s progress but they were all nothing but supportive. In fact, after a while they started to help with other skills to help learn more about what kind of Tamed Kacchan was and their training continued.

First were the energetic and shy mice, Denki and Kyouka respectively. Denki was mostly blond, but had a unique darker pattern stripes on his hair and down his legs that reminded Izuku of lightning and matching eyes. Kyouka on the other hand was a dark shade of purple with lighter lavender highlights, trimmed with an asymmetrical fringe with slightly oversized ears. Kyouka was the first Tamed his age that Izuku was actually larger than, if only barely. Denki, despite also being a mouse, still had him beat, well, if you didn’t count Izuku’s ears which he didn’t. 

“Many Tames don’t realize mice are great swimmers,” Kyouka said as the late summer heatwave clung over the valley, the sun glistened sparkling patterns on the lake’s surface. “To start you should—”

Without warning Denki jumps head first into the lake, splashing everyone present and breaking the flawless water’s surface. Moments later, the blond head broke the water’s surface, a silly grin on his face. “My Mah always says I must’ve been a fish Tamed in my last life cause ’f how well I swim.”

Kyouka sighed, before continuing her lesson where she was interrupted. 

Swimming came to Kacchan slightly easier than climbing a tree, despite the sometimes conflicting or out right confusing instruction from mostly Denki. “That’s it!” Denki encouraged Kacchan as he was showing him how to float on his back on the surface of the water. The mouse was swimming around him, looking at his foam before stopping to stand up in the shallow water. “Really get your butt into it, or err, butt out of it. Lift your butt up just like that!”

“Touch my ass again and you’re dead, fucking rat,” Kacchan yelled as a rainbow of colors filled the air as he splashed it. 

Denki’s ears flattened, as the wave settled. “I’m a mouse not a rat.”

It all looked so very fun, Izuku thought as he sat on the sidelines looking on. He so wanted to join Kacchan in the water and learn how to swim, but the blond yelled at him the last time he did. Izuku’s fur just wasn’t made for swimming. His mother said she knew of some rabbit that could, however, he inherited his father’s thick, curly fur that retained water so tightly it would be unwise for him to attempt getting soak as the summer night started to cool. Even Mina, the pink sheep, couldn’t completely dry him before the sun set early on the horizon leaving him shivering all night long.

They quickly eliminated flight with Fumikage, a raven Tamed with midnight black feathers. Apparently, he was the nephew to the Tame that directed them to the Golden Valley in the first place half a year before. 

“My Uncle has a gift for weaving stories that captivates the mind,” Fumikage mused. “Little surprised he isn’t back yet from his travels, but it wouldn't be the first time he’s gone longer than expected.” 

Fumikage was somehow both dark and mysterious, but also a bit of a funny Tamed. Suggesting because usually only bird Tames walk fully on two legs, maybe Kacchan was a strange kind of bird Tamed. The suggestion that Izuku still didn’t know whether was meant to be a joke or not quickly grew out of control.

“I DON’T HAVE ANY FUCKING FEATHERS!” Kacchan yelled. 

“Maybe they're invisible!” Eijiro, a bear cub, shouted back. 

Kacchan growled, jump attacking the bear’s back as if the bear cub wasn’t nearly his size, didn’t have those sharp claws, or didn’t eat meat. 

Eijiro, for his part, didn’t seem to notice the punches against his thick, dark fur that shone red in the sunlight to match his scarlet eyes. The bear laughed, as if Kacchan was tickling him and for all Izuku knew, maybe the punches were to him. All the Tames were their friends, but if Kacchan were to have a best friend (minus Izuku of course), it would be Eijiro. The bear could do something no other could do, and that was the ability to keep up with Kacchan’s immense strength and he had the durability to take a couple play fight hits from the blond. It was fun watching the two roughhouse, despite the fact the first time their mom saw them playing she nearly fainted. 

Their mom still wasn’t used to living alongside bear Tames, let alone being friends with one. It’s why tonight the three of them convinced Eijiro’s family to invite them over for dinner. Both he and Kacchan knew it would be good for her to get out of the burrow more often. 

“You’re sure they didn’t mean to have us for dinner, correct?” Mom asked, a nervous waver in her voice. 

“Mom, bears don’t just eat meat, you know,” Izuku said to calm her down as he hopped beside her. 

“I know, but they do eat meat,” Mom said, stopping suddenly, arms out to shield both him and Kacchan at the rustling autumn leaves in the wind. She sniffed the air and Kacchan rolled his eyes. 

“Mom, I know you’re a bunny but cool it with the jumpiness,” Kacchan snorted. 

Izuku laughed.

“I’m sorry,” Mom exclaimed, her ears folding back. “Give your mother a break, this is all very new to me.” 

Dinner itself went well, like Izuku said, Eijiro and his parents prepared an oversized spread of fruits and honey with promises of seconds and even thirds if needed. Bear Tames didn’t have the luxury of hibernation like their Wild counterparts, but they do tend to increase their food intake in the winter. It was all very sweet, almost too sweet even for him. Especially the honey which Izuku had only ever heard about  before today, but as he looked over to Kacchan he could tell the blond was struggling. 

Izuku frowned, his mother’s timid conversation with Eijiro’s mom fading into the background. He watched as Eijiro’s father, a large auburn bear, came back into the clearing with a mouthful of a colorful, still flopping, Wild fish. The bear dropped the fish down, allowing Eijiro to take the first big bite as ‘Salmon was his favorite’ before the papa bear went for a far larger bite. The snap of the large bear’s massive jaw made his mother jolt, completely losing her thought while Izuku’s mind was racing. 

“Kacchan.”

“Hah?” Kacchan questioned, looking over to him and following his glance over to the father and son enjoying a fish. Eijiro’s teeth, sharp like his mothers but his father’s teeth were— “‘You're going to start freaking too?”

Could it be? There were a lot of similarities between Kacchan and Eijiro, swimming, climbing, strength, endurance. Was it that obvious? Izuku looked to Kacchan, to his mouth. Could Kacchan be a—

Kacchan glared back, “What are you staring at.”

Izuku reached a hand out, catching Kacchan’s lip before his finger slipped into the blond’s mouth. Feeling the slight point of carine teeth. Kacchan’s teeth aren’t like his nor Denki’s, Hanta’s, or the others; they didn’t keep growing and have to be worn down regularly. They were—

“Da-fook?” Kacchan sputtered, whirling back in surprise.

“Kacchan… I think you should ask to try some fish,” Izuku said, slowly removing his finger.

Kacchan blinked, staring Izuku down. He could see his own reflection in those scarlet eyes, his ears up right, his nose twitching, a rabbit. As the words sunk in, all anger left Kacchan’s features, thinking before questioning in a hushed tone, “You think?”

He doesn’t have to finish the question, “Just enough to see how your stomach reacts. It will be obvious tomorrow morning whether or not I’m right.”

“And if you’re wrong?” 

“I’ll do whatever you want.”

“You already do that,” Kacchan rolled his eyes. 

Only then were they aware all eyes were on them, staring. Izuku blushed, realizing he did kind of do something a little odd didn’t he?

“Please excuse my sons, I swear I taught them manners! But they’ve only had each other for so long that they forget themselves.”

“It’s okay, dear. My son forgets things all the time. But it’s so cute how brotherly they are!”

“Indeed,” Inko hummed softly, “they’re best friends and the best of brothers.”

Eijirou snorts loudly and then almost chokes on a fish bone.

“Whatever,” Kacchan sucks his teeth. “Can I try some fish or what?” 

Just like Izuku thought, Kacchan’s stomach was able to handle the fish, and the following week, he was learning how to fish with Eijiro. Izuku stared at them, watching how Kacchan took quickly to hunting fish right out of the water. Kacchan wasn’t a bear, but they were on the right track now. He knew it. 

“Get that creepy-ass fucking smirk off your face, Rabbit,” Kacchan said, but he was smiling.

Chapter Text

Katsuki woke with a shiver as the wind found its way into the burrow. The false spring that greeted them the last few days broke into a second winter as Katsuki could see the sparkling refraction of snow against the dark brown ceiling. He had his coverings trapping most of the warmth with fur carefully strung together with the help of thick pink wool. A luxury he didn’t have growing up outside the valley, but Katsuki still felt the bite of winter from what was missing. His hand came up to feel around his chest, even though he was well aware the second source of heat was absent under his covers.

Deku wasn’t there. Of course, he wasn’t there.

Katsuki clicks his teeth together as he sits up sharply, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling of the burrow. He was already bigger than the rest, but he hit a growth spurt these last couple of moons, he was now taller than mom including her ears and showed no signs of stopping. Once the earth thaws and spring truly comes, Katsuki has a plan of helping her expand the burrow with the new tool he created. A simple combination of a sharpened stone combined with a study stick that he fused together with the tightly woven rope. Not only did the tool allow Katsuki to effectively dig evenly without the claws, but it also allowed him to use his size and strength to effectively move the dirt.

Katsuki wraps his covering over his shoulder and adjusts the rope to tighten the covers he wore around his waist and legs.

“You’re just like every other Tame now, Kacchan!”

The once happy memory tainted with irritation swirled in his head. He wasn’t like every other Tamed, stupid fucking Deku. In the nearly five years since they moved to the Golden Valley, Katsuki always had to work to do what came naturally to every other Tamed. These covers weren’t like other Tames fur that grew without effort or thought from their owners, Katsuki hunted with the bears for these pelts from Wilds, studied with the sheep to weave them together. He wasn’t like the others, his effort made him better.

Katsuki looked over to his mom, still sleeping in her nest of dried grasses and her own fur from the previous year. Katsuki offered to make her a covering like his own to soften the earth or keep her warm in the winter, but the old rabbit refused staunchly. He thinks it’s because she is still more than a little spooked by the Wilds pelts and the sheep’s wool was ‘too warm’ for her. He didn’t push as she supported him full-heartedly with his hunting despite turning her own stomach. He paused only for a moment as he noticed that she seemed to be sweating slightly, in spite of the cool morning. Huh. Maybe sheep’s wool would be too much if she naturally ran warm.

Careful not to wake her, Katsuki ducked his head down so he could squeeze out of the tight mouth of the burrow growing increasingly more frustrated as he looked out to an empty clearing dusted with light snow. There were some flowers peeking from under the frost, a byproduct of the premature thaw that Katsuki kicks just because they are Deku’s favorite snack.

It started about a half moon ago, Deku started acting weird and sneaking out early in the morning before he or Mom woke up. It’s not like he wasn’t fucking allowed to have a life outside of him. Not like that’s just been their life since their earliest memories. Deku was allowed to do whatever he wanted, have whatever friends he wanted. It wasn’t Katsuki's problem what the damn rabbit did with his time. He didn’t care if he kept dodging both his and Mom’s questions about the day.

It was because the rabbit refused to look Katsuki in the eye anymore.

Katsuki huffed, digging down into the snow and plucking one of the smashed flowers. He didn’t understand what was going on in Deku’s mind. One moment it’s the same affectionate Deku that he knows, and then the next moment he looks at Katsuki with an expression Katsuki was all too familiar with, but one he never thought he would see on Deku’s face.

Disgust.

It was a flash, momentary before fleeting away as Deku became twitchy and agitated. His nose that normally always twitched so energetically stilled and snitched up as if he smelled something practically fowl. Looking about, avoiding him just to find a way to bolt as quickly as he could. That Katsuki was insufferable to be around.

Katsuki didn’t know why Deku still attempted to sleep with him at night if he was so obviously disgusted by him. Obviously, Katsuki bitched him out for that shit, but the fucking rabbit more than once used the fact he’s a deep sleeper to sneak into the covers with him. Deku doesn’t know Katsuki knows, the damned rabbit thinks he’s sly, always leaving before Katsuki wakes up. But Katsuki wasn’t that deep of a sleeper not to notice the sudden weight on his chest.

Stupid fucking rabbit.

Katsuki crushes the purple flower in his palm, his brows knitting together. So why every night does Katsuki allow him to stay? Bitterness burned in his stomach, because he’s definitely not an idiot like Deku. He does truly know why he allows Deku to stay, and it’s got nothing to do with wanting to stay warm during the cold months. He knows exactly what he wants from Deku and he could have sworn Deku wanted the same thing as him, so why is that damned rabbit making him doubt himself? 

Katsuki exhaled; sulking will do nothing but piss him off more. He ducked into his nearby stash, hidden within two intertwined trees on the outskirts of this small cherry grove, selecting his fishing stick and he sets off towards the river. The morning sun was already beginning to warm the earth, melting the fine dusting of snow they got the night before on well-traveled paths. Practiced steps led him almost without thought through the familiar forest, his eyes scanning for movement from any Wilds. While he had his eyes set on the immediate meal of fish, he wouldn’t turn down a Wild if it crossed his path.

Quickly after discovering he was an omnivore; Katsuki took to adding Wilds to his diet albeit to quote Mom, “You’re not this picky when you eat vegetables.” He wasn’t fucking picky, just the meat didn’t taste right raw, nor is the texture pleasant. No thank you. Fish was better, at least after he takes the time to meticulously remove all the hard scales and bones before eating. He hated the sensation of chewing only to chomp down on something unexpected. Learning how to cure meat by the bears was easily the best solution for him, both in texture and flavor, however it takes time to prepare. Over the seasons, he’s had just about every prey Wild the Valley had to offer, even once a deer however, that was something Shitty Hair’s parents caught and offered him some. Everything except—

Katsuki paused as he saw the little brown creature bounce into view just a hand’s throw away. Katsuki watched as it sniffed around, nibbling on some clover before its long ears leading its eyes to him before freezing to the spot. He looked into the terrified eyes of the Wild rabbit, his weapon loose at his side and it stayed that way as he continued towards the river. Not giving the Wild rabbit a second glance as it finally bolted away, disappearing into the thicket. Nothing will get him to ever eat rabbit.

Katsuki spent the morning at the river’s bank, frustratedly attempting to spear a fish but the fuckers were faster than normal. Or maybe he was too distracted, impatient to let the fish swim close enough before wildly slamming his spear into the water and scaring not only the fish, but all the surrounding animals away. No, it must be the first thing. These fucking Wild fish were training behind his back.

With one final, frustrated splash of the water that spooked a young deer Tamed and their mother who just arrived at the river for a drink, Katsuki slumped. He was just getting more frustrated, cold, and wet as time passed. He leaned back against a large, nearby stone that was settled not far from the river’s bank. Carefully, he pulled his covers under him, so no part of his skin touched the icy stone and he just sat there. He watched as the mother deer glared at him as she and her son drank, Katsuki gave her the closest he could come to an apology.

He closed his eyes, listening to the lapping of water of the two Tames, trying to think of what he should do now. He could try hunting; however, it wouldn’t be as bountiful without Deku startling the Wilds into his trap. Maybe some training? He’s been slacking since the beginning of winter so it would do him some good to run some laps; he’ll just have to be careful of the mud. He’s already splashed with enough cold water today, he was too old for his mom to clean him, and Deku– Katsuki growled, slumping back further into his hideaway. Why the fuck does everything always come back to him?

Katsuki opened his eyes when he was sure the deer had finally left, blinded for a moment as the sun finally peaked completely out from the clouds and illuminated the valley. He blinked, squinting his eyes as the water’s edge reflected directly into his eye. He brought up a hand to block the light, finally realizing it wasn’t the water that was reflecting into his eyes.

Katsuki stood and carefully moved to the river’s side, ready to spring back at the tiniest hint of danger. Whatever it was, it didn't move and simply continued to reflect the sunlight. It wasn’t very large, smaller than the palm of his hand and was an odd shape with shear edges. Katsuki kneeled near the edge of the river, looking at the shiny object, before reaching one hand in to pick it up. It was as ice cold as the river, but completely smooth to the touch. Even smoother than the smoothest river stones he’d ever found and polished to a seemingly impossible shine.

He turned the silver stone in his hands a couple of times, tapping it against the nearby rocks. Hard too. He’ll have to test it more to see how hard it was and if he could shape it into some kind of tool. Or maybe with its brilliant color, a gift for Deku. Shiny like those damn green eyes and—

He stopped, shaking the thought out of his head. No, this would make a good tool. He hid the stone in his coverings before collecting his things and started back to his workshop. He’ll test the hardness of this stupid rock and see if he couldn’t shape this into one hell of a spear. Maybe he’ll stop by Shitty Hair’s place and see if he wants to watch. Having someone to talk to that wasn’t the damn rabbit might help to get his mind off the damn rabbit. 

Katsuki traveled up the river to the crossing stones to the other side, taking each leap one at a time. It didn’t take long for him to come to the familiar bear’s den and an equally familiar Tamed. 

“Auntie,” Katsuki called as he approached. Mom always said never sneak up on a predator Tamed, you don’t know what they might do on instinct and while he didn’t heed a lot of the his worried mother’s comments, he still didn’t want to scare her. 

Eijiro’s mother turned to him, a peculiar expression Katsuki couldn’t place on her face. “Oh, hello Katsuki,” she sat back on her hind paws and looked around, “No Izuku today?”

Katsuki clicked his teeth, “Where’s Sh-Eijiro?” 

She perks over her shoulder toward the den. 

“Is he still sleeping?” Katsuki grumbles, moving towards the cave but she stepped in his way. 

“Eijiro wouldn’t be able to play for a little while,” she said quickly. “It came as a bit of a shock to us, but he’s under the season.”

“Hah?” Katsuki questioned. “He's sick or something?” 

She blinks in surprise, seeming to grasp something as her lips part. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?” Katsuki scratched his nose. 

The bear clears her throat, “Well, um. I don’t think it’s my place to explain further,” she smiles apologetically.

“Why not?” Katsuki narrows his eyes. 

She looks around for a moment, starting and stopping twice before saying, “Your mother is very scary for a prey tamed, especially when upset. It’s something she should tell you, not me.” 

Katsuki huffs, turning on his heel. 

“I’m sorry, Katsuki,” The mother bear called after him. “I’ll be sure to let you know when Eijiro can play again.” 

Katsuki could almost break out laughing if he wasn’t so pissed. A bear Tamed afraid of a rabbit Tamed, ha. No, what little humor he got out of that thought was completely encompassed by the fact that clearly, a secret was being kept from him.

Katsuki started to run, jumping over the river stones back to the other side of the valley. He didn’t even care as his foot splashed into the chilly water on the last leap. He was burning hot with streams of anger dripping down his face. Why is everything still a secret from him? Why did it have to be difficult, always one step forward and five billion leaps back? All this time, were they all just humoring him? He was some thing and it’s unbelievably unfair that whatever he is, has shit instincts, but that couldn’t be the whole story of him. Was he really that dumb? Clearly he was because the one person that he desperately right now is—

Katsuki slammed full force into a Tamed. They squeaked in a familiar high pitch Katsuki would know anywhere as he fell on top of the far smaller body. Katsuki swore, expecting to look into green, but when he looked into the rabbit’s eyes, they were so dilated he could barely see the color. His freckled cheeks have an intense rosy hue, breathless and leaning closer. 

“Deku?”

And the rabbit kissed him.

Chapter Text

Their lips met and the rest of the world vanished. No longer was Katsuki in a chilly forest, feet damp from the river and eyes prickling with tears, but floating on a cloud. No thought passed his mind except the feeling of Deku’s mouth on his, and the almost intoxicating scent that filled his nose. It had a sweetness to it, but not overpoweringly so. Like a delicate flower perhaps? Rich with depths of woody musk and comfort. The smell of home.

Taking a deep breath, he fell deeper into the inviting aroma and into the burning heat. Katsuki is innately aware of every point of contact between their bodies, his heart fluttering out like a bird’s wings. Deku was hot, feverishly so. Where their skin touched it was an inferno, catching in his own body. Something in the back of Katsuki’s head told him this wasn’t right, something was wrong but just as suddenly as it began, the heat was whisked away as Deku wilted in his arms.

A cloud passed over the sun, consuming the warmth with a biting cold. “Deku?”

No response.

“Deku,” Katsuki shakes the rabbit gently. Watching as his long ears flopped without resistance, his breath slow but nose still twitching. Breathing. 

Katsuki’s eyes widened as he shifted the small body and a stream of crimson from between Deku’s legs dripped onto the ground. He dipped his fingers down to the droplets on the ground, disbelief and confusion mounting. The familiar scent sinking into his nose from all his hunting. 

Blood.

The cold melted into action as Katsuki swept the unconscious Deku into his arms and wrapped him protectively in his coverings and started sprinting faster than he ever ran. It was like he was flying, his feet barely hitting the ground before they were airborne again. The extra weight of Deku was nothing. No, it was the opposite if nothing. Katsuki’s arms wrapped tightly around the rabbit, pressing him close to his chest. It was almost like at this moment he somehow had Izuku’s incredible speed.

“MOM,” Katsuki yelled as he entered the cherry meadow of their home.

“What?!” Mom yelled as her head popped from the den of the burrow. Her fur was still a curly mess, a line of drool still down the side of her lip, but her eyes were alert.

“Deku, he’s—he’s,” Katsuki couldn’t speak, it was like he swallowed a stone. His lungs burned He moved his covering, just enough to show Deku curled in his arms.  

Her ears fixed, her nose twitching violently. If Katsuki could smell the blood, she surely could. She muttered something, barely audible to him, but sounded like ‘too soon.’ Before Katsuki could ask, her face settled from unease to composed. She smiled, “Inside now.”  

Katsuki obeyed without question.

“Gentle now,” Mom said, directing Katsuki to lay him down on the floor of the den as she grabbed things from their dwellings' winter supplies.

Katsuki sat next to the bed of furs; his leg practically gave out the moment he ducked within the burrow but found himself unable to loosen his grip on Deku. His arms wouldn’t listen to him. Admitting to himself, he was scared the moment he let go, Deku would disappear again. This time permanently. He stared down at Deku, his cheeks still a rosy flush with an almost peaceful expression on his face. It was like he was sleeping.

“Katsuki.”

He jumped, not noticing his mother’s approach.

Her hand cups Katsuki’s cheek, whipping a tear he didn’t know he shed. “It’s okay, kit. You did the right thing to bring him hope, you don’t have to worry now.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Katsuki whispered.

Mom blinked, a little taken back before she laughed. “Nothing is wrong with—”

“Bullshit!” Katsuki yelled. “H-He’s bleeding. You don’t just bleed from d-down there for no reason!”

“Shh, kit,” She says in a soft grunt. “I’ll let the language go this time because I know you’re just worried about your brother, and,” she looks at Katsuki, pondering before sighing. “And I’m to blame for not adequately preparing you.”

Katsuki blinked. Didn’t prepare them? “You knew this was going to happen?” 

Mom frowned, looking up from her work. She was chewing on some roots Katsuki was familiar with from his youth. She used to always use that to curve fevers and just to confirm his assessment, she rubs the balm on Deku’s forehead. “No. I knew there was a small possibility, yes, but I didn’t think it would be a possibility for another few years at least.” 

Katsuki wrinkled his nose, but before either could say anything more, Deku started to stir in his arms. Two sets of eyes were watching intensely as the young rabbit’s ear twitched once, twice before his eyes fluttered open.

Katsuki could see his reflection in Deku’s wide eyes, a goofy smile spreading across his lips. “K-Kacchan,” he said in a high, bubbly voice. His hand lazily glided up to pat Katsuki awkwardly on the nose before he laughed.

Katsuki could barely keep up with the whiplash of emotions. The frustration and feeling of abandonment by his closest friends, the kiss, Deku passing out bleeding, and now Deku acting like those old farts who like eating fermented fruits.

“Izuku, kit,” mom said softly.

Deku blinked, his eyes returning to a more natural state as he refocused on his surroundings. “M-Mom?” he asked in his normal voice. “When did you get here?”

“Kit, your home.”

 “Oh.” Deku frowned as if he was attempting to solve a difficult riddle before asking, “When did that happen?”

“Katsuki brought you home after you fainted,” she said.

“Kacchan,” Deku muttered under his breath. It wasn’t the same dreamy state like when he first got up, or when he ran into him in the forest. It was grounded in familiarity, tinged with uncomfortably heavy emotions. 

“Is it correct of me to assume you also don’t know what’s happening, Izuku?” Mom asked.

Izuku took a moment to answer, as if the words were stuck on his tongue. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Mom’s lips pulled into a tight line. “I’m sorry. You two were both probably so scared and confused.” She sighed, “I thought I had more time, and naively that it or when it did, I would’ve seen the signs well enough in advance.” She bows her head until her forehead brushes against the burrow earth. “I’m truly sorry for my mistakes.”  

“That’s good and all,” Katsuki said impatiently. “But what’s going on? Why’s Deku bleeding?”

“I’M BLEEDING?!”

It took some time between the two of them to calm Deku back down, apparently the bleeding didn’t start until after they bumped into each other. Deku admitted before that he was having some horrible cramps that only started early this morning, but it was an obvious lie. Mom didn’t attempt to take Deku from his arms as she cleaned him of blood matting to his fur. 

“Do you remember our conversations about where kits come from,” their mom asked as she applied some different combinations of balm to tender skin. 

Katsuki rolled his eyes, “Yeah Mom. A buck and doe of the same species of Tame get together because they ‘love each other’. The buck puts his dick in and the doe gets pregnant. Three seasons later, bouncing baby kits are born.” 

She takes a deep breath, “Not the diction I used, but okay. And you remember how I said there were special individuals who break those rules?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki says. “Alphas and omegas.”

“M-Mom’s an omega?” Izuku chirps in. 

 She smiles, “Yes I am. Alphas, while more often than not male at birth, can impregnate any doe of any Tamed species. Omegas on the other paw, more often female at birth, can become pregnant by any buck no matter the species. They’re also known to be more, how to say, fertile than other does or bucks. But they are rare, very rare where I come from, but a little less so here it seems.”

“And Deku?” Katsuki asked, growing impatient. 

Deku shifted his ear to shyly peeked up at him, hiding away again as soon as their eyes met. 

“Neither alpha nor omegas are born, having either as a parent doesn’t guarantee any of the kits to be one. It happens seemingly at random, the proof that all Tames are the same in something called presenting,” Mom explains. “Normally in late adolescence, a young Tame will go through a process that changes them into either an alpha or omega; changing of scent, going into ruts or heats respectfully, just to name a few.” 

She pauses for a moment, somewhere between a smile and a frown. “The ones with the hardest transition periods are those very , very rare few male omegas, and female alphas. Their bodies have to change rapidly in a short amount of time to provide the means to either impregnant to become pregnant. I’ve never seen it before personally, but from what I’ve heard it includes bleeding, cramping, achiness, and even on occasion fainting.”

Katsuki freezes as the sun rays finally pierced the clouds. “Deku’s a—”

“Omega?” Deku finishes his sentence.

“Yes, it seems so.” Mom gathers both into her arms, grinding her teeth in a purr like hum like when they were small. “I’m sorry kits, your mother really dropped the acorn on this one, huh?”

Katsuki clicked his teeth.

She laughed. “I just really didn’t expect either of you to have to deal with even the possibility of presenting for another couple of years and even then, I thought for sure it would be Katsuki presenting as an Alpha.”

“What?” Both Katsuki and Deku said at the same time. 

“What?” she smiled, nuzzling Katsuki’s head despite how awkwardly she had to reach. “I mean, you still might. You have a couple of years yet, my special little kit.”

“Little?”

“You’ll always be little to me,” She said matter of factly. “But really, I could kick myself for not realizing sooner! I knew I should’ve pushed the parents when I first got the inkling that kits were presenting younger, but they were all so skittish about it. Talking in riddles about birds and bees.”

“Birds and… bees?” Katsuki question.

“I honestly have no clue. It was always something silly like that or ‘the season’ for heats and ruts,” mom tuts. 

“It came as a bit of a shock to us, but he’s under the season.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Mom raised a brow. 

“Just figured something out,” Katsuki muttered. 

The older rabbit hummed. “How are you doing, kit?” 

Deku was staring out to space, taking a moment to bring his attention back. “I’m… okay.” 

“Are you sure,” she asked. 

“Yeah,” Deku said. 

“It will get better, kit,” Mom encouraged. “After the first couple of heat cycles, it will become less of an event and you’ll find it easier to go about your day normally like me.”

Deku sniffs up curiously as Katsuki realizes, and blurting out in shock, “You’re in heat right now?” 

“Just starting,” she says as Katsuki is once again noticing her pinked cheeks, it was nowhere near as red as Deku’s cheeks, but it was noticeable. In addition, she’s been sleeping more than normal and in general more exhausted. “But first one in a long while that’s really thrown me for a loop. I think the last one like this was the heat before Izuku was born.” 

“Gross, too much information mom,” Katsuki sticks out his tongue.

“Sorry!” 

“But you’re not,” Deku started, his voice barely a whisper. “You’re not—”

She pats Deku’s head. “Like I said, heats become easier. Right now, your body is going through a lot of changes so everything will be that much more. A heat might keep you burrow ridden for a day, maybe two but it's more of the fatigue and the headaches if you’re unlucky and inherited that from your mother as well. Urges right now will be more intense than what it will eventually be, but never anything unwanted. You keep your mind about you, this goes for alphas and omegas alike. We’re not Wilds. The heat just makes feelings and emotions more intense.”  

“And scent too? That’s more intense? Stronger?” Katsuki asked, attempting to not sound too motivated. Deku’s smell bled into Katsuki’s coverings, lingering wherever their bodies touched.  Normally to smell something clearly, especially someone's scent, Katsuki would have to get close or bury his face in them. Even when Deku scented him, it wasn’t this strong. Deku’s scent but more. A sweetness like flowers, honey, and bright sunshine.

“Yes and no,,” she answered. “Yes, both alphas and omegas scents change when they’re in ruts or heats respectfully, but they don’t get ‘stronger’.” For a moment, she gained that distant stare Deku’s had on and off this entire time. “Not that your father believed that. He always said my scent called for him.” 

She grew more distant, a sad smile on her face before jolting back. For the first time, she grew flustered, “Sure I had a bit of a crush on your father, but I wasn’t enticing him. He was a dashing young Hare Tamed that happened upon our colony. No one wanted him around, of course, but he wasn’t causing any problems so they begrudgingly allowed his presence—”

She continued on, but Katsuki was no longer paying attention to her as Deku’s sweet scent wafted into his nose, calling for him just as his mother just said. He could still feel the vivid feeling of Deku’s lips against his own. Kissed him on the lips like mates do.

Deep down, he thinks he always knew his feelings for Deku were more than were typical of brothers. 

He didn’t know when it happened, it snuck up on him one day and never really left. Butterflies in his stomach whenever Deku smiled at him. Always wanting the damn rabbit to look at him. 

It seems Deku felt the same way.

“Katsuki?” 

Katsuki blinked, realizing his mother had been talking to him. 

“I’m going to go out and gather some food, do you have any request?” She asked. 

Katsuki shrugged, “Just whatever you find.”

She smiled, nuzzling his hair. “Take care of your brother while I’m gone?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Thank you,” mom said, kissing Katsuki’s head before kissing Deku’s as well.

Katsuki watched her hop out of the burrow, waiting until his dull ears couldn’t hear her anymore and waited twice as long counting in his head before finally:

“Deku.”

Izuku stiffened, despite the warmth of a small sun burning inside him, he felt cold as a shiver went up his spine. He knew this was only a small reprieve, Kacchan wasn’t the type of Tamed that would allow even someone he hated to bleed out in the forest. He just wished it would have lasted a little bit longer.

“Deku,” Kacchan said again. His voice was soft, and it terrified him. Kacchan was normally so loud when he was angry, but what he did was so bad it brought a new kind of anger. 

“I’m sorry,” Izuku curled away from the warmth on his back and side, hiding his face behind his ears. He wanted to run away, but Kacchan’s hands were secure on his arms and legs. 

“Sorry?” 

“P-Please, Kacchan. P-Please forget about the kiss,” he whispers as tears start to drip down his cheeks. “Please forget about it and we can go back to normal. Like it never happened.”

“Not going to happen,” Katsuki said without hesitation. 

He knew he was foolish for holding onto that spider thread of hope even for a moment, that they could go back. These feelings for Kacchan weren’t new, not by a long shot. He learned he loved Kacchan more than just a brother years ago. It just kind of snuck up on him one day. The joy of his realization was short-lived as the reality really sunk in. How weird it was, disgusting even. They were supposed to be brothers, even if they didn’t share blood. Grew up together for as long as he could remember, not to mention as Kacchan so regularly demonstrated, he wasn’t a rabbit. 

Everything about it was odd despite all their friends always joking they were already an old mated couple. The comment always made Izuku’s heart swoon before burying it just as quickly. But these feelings just continued to grow and Izuku was running out of room in his body. He couldn’t tell anyone, the Tamed he would tell is the target of his feelings and his mother? She might try to separate them for the ‘good of her two boys’ and a life without Kacchan is just not something he could imagine. 

And that’s when the aching started. Now he knew it was his presentation and first heat, but at the time he thought he had trapped his feelings for too long and he was just overflowing. Kacchan’s scent, always a pleasant thing to him, suddenly became intoxicating. His eyes wandered, watching the way he moved through the trees, hunted for food with senses far beyond just smell. The way his muscles moved under his skin. The hair that he was starting to (finally) grow trailing down, down, down. 

Soon, the only thing that could stop the pain was his touch, but it was dangerous. He was dangerous. It felt like he was losing his mind. It’s why he wanted to tell his mom she didn’t have to apologize so much. Even now knowing that it’s his heat doesn’t make anything better, well, other than the bleeding but that wasn’t happening until just now. 

Presenting was so narrow compared to how she described it, the physical changes mostly when it ran so much deeper. He was sure even if she fully explained, he wouldn’t have been able to put together the pieces and figured out what was happening. He didn’t want this to happen. 

Big, fat tears rolled down Izuku’s cheek as he snotty inhaled, a memory drawn to the surface. Thousands of stars brilliant and twinkling overhead when before his eyes, one after another started to fall. 

“Make a wish!” 

“I wish--”

“Wait, don’t say it out loud!”

“Why?” 

“Then it wouldn’t come true, duh!” 

“Oh, I didn’t know that.”

“Find a shooting star and make a wish, hurry!” 

Izuku did make a wish that night. An impossible, silly wish as he looked not up into the sky but to the Tamed right next to him. He wished for some way they could be together. He guesses he should be more specific about his wish.

As an omega he could be with Kacchan, not that he will. 

Especially not after Izuku forced himself on him. Even if he was in the haze of his first heat, it wasn’t acceptable. He was still there, he could stop himself if he really really wanted to! But he didn’t. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he didn’t care about the results, he just wanted to kiss him. 

Kacchan pulled him back into his lap, his voice even, “Look at me.” 

Izuku shook his head. 

“Deku,” Kacchan said, raising his voice. 

He shook his head again. He didn’t want to look and see Kacchan’s repulsed face. 

“You love me?” 

“No,” Izuku said, but he couldn’t even convince himself. 

Kacchan sighs. The hand around Izuku’s legs shift and then the other is moving as well. In the foggy hazy of his brain, it took Izuku a moment too long to realize what Kacchan was doing. “No, no, no!” Izuku squeaked, trying to fight being moved. but the blond was so much stronger than him even when his body wasn’t exhausted by the heat. Within seconds, he was pinned to the fur coverings of the burrow’s floor, face inches from each other. 

Kacchan’s breath mixed with his and he felt his head get lighter. He quickly closed his eyes, speaking in a single breath. “I’m sorry I’m such a gross bunny. I promise I won't get carried away and do it again so please don’t hate me!”

“Do you love me, yes or no?”

“Yes, yes. I’m sorry that I love you!” Izuku opened his eyes, tears pouring down as he looked into red eyes staring back. But they weren’t angry or disgusted, not even uneasy. They were--

“Well I’m not sorry,” the distance between them disappeared, but Izuku wasn’t the one that moved. Their lips were practically touching. “Because I love you too.” 

And Kacchan kissed him .

Chapter Text

“Are you sure, kit? You can wait another day or two before—”

“Mom, I’m fine,” Izuku protested, wiggling out of his mother’s arms. She was attempting to draw him back to the nest that she helped him craft, his refuge during the worst of his heat. The pain only got worse as the blood started to freely flow, his body changing and everything aching. His mind a constant fog, but—

“This bunny isn’t going to leave my sight,” Kacchan said, placing a hand on his head and ruffling his hair. “I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble.”

Izuku felt his cheeks warm with a familiar heat as he looked up. His mind was foggy, but he had his beacon in the dark. The pains of his first heat were nothing compared to the heartache of attempting to navigate his preheat all by himself. The confusion and pain bottled up for seasons reaching a head where he couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“Yes, Kacchan will take good care of me,” Izuku confirmed, leaning into his hand. His feelings were mutual, Kacchan liked him the way Izuku liked Kacchan. He smiled, an involuntary response every time he remembered.

Kacchan stayed with him the entire heat, leaving mom to be the one to gather food. Hugging Izuku closer when his fever caused chills and rotated the coverings as they got soiled. He would even Massage his back as the pain radiated out, applying the balm Mom crafted to his body, rubbing his stomach so softly. The feeling of Kacchan’s lips against his own in those secret moments where it was just the two of them, soothed the ache away. Even now thinking back to it, it made Izuku’s stomach flutter with butterflies.

Mom looked between them before sighing, “Just don’t hop too far from the den now.”

“I don’t hop.”

“You know what I mean!” Mom said, looking stern. “Izuku, kit, your body is still recovering. No crazy training. That goes for both of you. I need you to promise.”

“We promise.”

“Promise.”

She kisses Izuku’s forehead first and then Kacchan’s before smiling. “Go have fun you two, be back before the hottest part of the day, and that’s…”

“Before the sun grows too low in the sky,” the two boys said in unison.

“That’s my good kits!”

His mother barely finished her sentence before Izuku was dashing out of the burrow. His legs had grown sore being cooped up for so long! Mom said future heats won’t be as bad, it will be just the first few while his body adjusts that will be longer, but that didn’t help at the moment! For days now, there was nothing Izuku wanted more than to be free. And to continue kissing Kacchan, but mostly to stretch his legs.

Izuku took a deep breath of the forest air, the soft scents of flowers and new life spring forth around him. The season of birth has sprung in time in the den. Every tree was decorated with tiny buds, the forest floor vivid with fresh meadows of green. Spring was easily Izuku’s favorite time of year. He looked up to the sky, the sun just peeking over the horizon bringing with it the endless blue skies.

“Fuck Deku,” Kacchan panted from behind him. “How’d you expect me to watch you if you run off like that?”

“Sorry Kacchan,” Izuku smiled, binkying as he hopped. “Just happy!”

Kacchan chuckled, “Really, didn’t notice.”

They continued at a moderate pace, Izuku racing circles around Kacchan’s legs as a burst of happiness struck. Which was basically constant at this point.

Kacchan grumbled about it after nearly tripping over him for the second time. It was under his breath, ‘damn rabbit’, ‘boundless energy,” and the one to confirm Kacchan knew he was able to hear, ‘lucky he’s so cute’. Izuku’s cheeks reddened again for who knows how many times this morning alone, and Kacchan smiled.  

They continued on the rest of the way to their special place hidden in plain sight.

They slowed as they reached the familiar edge of the pond, which was less of a pond and more of a continuation of the lake in an outlet of stone. The old willow that marks their arrival at their destination, its long branches wave as if in greeting, its roots laced within the stone barely visible already. This end of the pond was rarely occupied by other Tames because of the even line of closely knitted pricker bushes all around. As Izuku came to a stop and looked at the tiny red leaves and the white flowers that produce the bitter berries poisonous to all but the Wild birds. It was still early in the season; the cover isn’t as full as it will be in another month, but they need to be here to prune the bushes before they grow too wild.

Kacchan started clearing their path near the willow, Izuku helping wherever he could. They found this place a couple springs ago, it took nearly until the end of that summer to work a path to the center without getting too poked up. But when they did, they had a place for themselves. Their secret base for their super special training.

It was here Kacchan started experimenting with new ideas away from the eyes of other Tames, even their friends. It wasn’t like they were worried that their friends would make fun of Kacchan like the other kids did in their previous homes, Kacchan just needed the space to work.

 Izuku still didn’t know where Kacchan got these ideas from, he was a natural inventor of new tools no one else would ever think of. Tools for hunting, tools to make life easier, tools for cutting, tools for digging, just so many tools that it was hard to keep track! Maybe it was because something like digging comes like second nature to many Tames, they have no need to think about it. Kacchan has proven time and time again, his ‘weaknesses’ were truly his greatest strength. Izuku could watch him work for days, and he has! It’s amazing just to watch how his mind works, and to help in what little ways he can.

“Are you just going to drool over me Deku, or are you going to help?”

Izuku blinked, realizing he had just been staring at Kacchan as a pile of pointy sticks grew in his outstretched arms. “Oh, I—”

“I know my ass is fan-fucking-tastic,” Kacchan smirks, “but I need you paying attention if we want to get done before Mom expects us back.”

“Yes!” Izuku said, rushing off to deposit the sticks.

“Deku, you forgot something.”

“Huh?” Izuku hopped back, looking around the forest floor for a missing stick.

Kacchan caught his chin with his hand and pressed his lips against Izuku’s own.

Izuku’s ears stood straight in shock. His heart was still not used to the feeling of Kacchan’s lips, the sampling of Kacchan’s taste as their lips moved together. The embers in his belly flicker in a tickle-like excitement, they had died down too much to fully ignite again but it still heated him, until his entire body warmed with blush.

“This,” Kacchan said when he pulled away far too soon. He smirked at what must’ve been the blushing pile of bunny goo and chuckled. “Jump to it rabbit, or no more kisses.”

Izuku’s body reformed in an instant, gathering all the sticks that he dropped to the ground and sprinting away to deposit them.

Together, they were able to clear the opening to their secret base with plenty of time to spare before they were expected home. Their careful pruning and weaving of branches over the years helped in abating the inevitable return of the wild. Kacchan was first to sit in the center of the clearing, Izuku flopping on top of him, chinning him happily. Here, they were safe to be as openly affectionate as they desired, hidden from the rest of the world. The branches hiding them from view, the strong musk of the fallen logs and later on the water lilies masking their scent. As long as they weren’t too loud, no one could find them.

“Deku, calm it down with the scenting,” Kacchan said. He made no move to push Izuku from his lap, something he would do without hesitation if he really wanted him to stop. “Even I’m starting to smell it.”

“Good,” Izuku said, puffing out his cheeks. “Kacchan is mine.”

“I’m yours, huh?” Kacchan chuffed.

“And I’m Kacchan’s.”

“Is that so?” Kacchan smirked wickedly.

“Of course!” Izuku said proudly.

“So that means, I can do whatever I want with you?”

Izuku wasn’t given a chance to respond before his entire world shifted and he was pinned to the forest floor by the far bigger Tamed. Large hands moved swiftly but expertly, the faintest touches with wiggling fingers to Izuku’s sides and belly.

Izuku bursting into laughter as the tickling continued. He squirmed to get away, but Kacchan was faster, gathering Izuku’s hands in a single of his own and trapping his legs between his own. “Not getting away that easily!”

“Nooooo!”

The relentless onslaught of tickles continued until Izuku’s sides started to hurt from laughter, mixing with Kacchan’s own amused laughter. And then the kisses began. Bird Tamed-like pecks all over Izuku’s body, wherever Kacchan tickled he followed it up with another kiss. Izuku could barely keep up with the overflow of stimulation he was receiving. His stomach was growing warm again, tightening.

He felt like he was standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking the lake, fireflies pulsing around him, moments away from being pushed over into the unknown below. But he wasn’t scared of the unknown, the opposite in fact. He was excited. He wasn’t alone at the cliff’s edge, Kacchan was there with him. Kacchan was the one that brought him here. Kacchan’s hands secured around him, warm and safe. He trusted Kacchan with his everything, with him here he wasn’t afraid of anything.

“Kacchan!” Izuku whined as he jumped, his stomach twisting one final time before releasing all at once.

Kacchan froze, eyes wide and unblinking. His cheek taking on the same hue as his eyes at a record pace as he watched Izuku pant. He opened his mouth to speak, once, twice, a third time but nothing came out.

“Kacchan,” Izuku practically purred, a happy buzz in his ears and clouds in his head. Freed arms wrapped around Kacchan’s neck and without resistance pulled the larger Tame down until their bodies laid flush. Burying himself in Kacchan’s musk, he felt like a bunny on the moon.

“ Izuku ,” Kacchan said softly, his body shifting awkwardly.

Izuku gently started to float down at the use of his name instead of his nickname. His head pulled back, looking into Kacchan’s bright red face, the way Kacchan couldn’t meet his eyes. Slowly, far too slowly, Izuku realized what happened, why Kacchan was so embarrassed. The steady thrum of his body in time with his heartbeat, the feeling of something wet leaking down his fur, and finally the warm, hard heat pressing against his stomach where even Kacchan’s coverings couldn’t completely hide.

Izuku released Kacchan, and the blond sharply retreated. He shifted away, turning his back towards Izuku as Izuku does the same.

“I-I guess mom was right,” Izuku said shakily.

Kacchan hummed.

“M-My heat is lingering for a couple of days longer,” he attempted to laugh but it came out as a nervous wheeze.

Kacchan hissed a swear under his breath.

Izuku peeked over his shoulder at the sound of frustration and coverings falling. Kacchan was hunched over, another of his pouches being shoved to the side and falling to the ground with quick, shaky hands. He can smell Kacchan’s scent get more potent, knowing exactly what the bigger Tame was attempting to hide. His cheeks grew pink, but he couldn’t look away.

The blond gripped his hard shaft tight, slowly moving his hand up and down. Izuku watched as every time Kacchan’s hand came closer to the tip, milky fluid eked out. Izuku was entranced watching, wanting to touch, but not sure if she should. Kacchan’s hand moved faster, and his moaning became less muffled, and little whines left his lips. The blond glanced over at Izuku in time to see Izuku licking his lips, red eyes zeroing in on the movement before his head tilted back and white spurts leaked from Kacchan’s cock. He slowed down his movements, until finally he came to a stop.

Kacchan let out a sigh, his shoulders loosened all at once. His scent, which had been steadily growing, finally peaked on his own release. It assaults Izuku’s nose, filling it until it’s the only thing he can smell. The blond lean backs, his breath returning to a regular rate before he looks at Izuku again.

“Oh, come on Deku,” Kacchan growled, “I think we’ve had enough horny bunny for today.”

Izuku straightened up, recognizing his betrayal of what was playing in his mind’s theater. “S-Sorry,” Izuku muttered.

Kacchan stared at him for a moment, cursing under his breath again. “Did you really enjoy watching me jerk off that much?”

“I—” Izuku looked down at his feet.

“Horny little thing,” Kacchan said, a curve of a smile in the tone of his voice. “But I think we should wait a few seasons before surprising mom with grand kits, don’t you think?”  

“K-Kits?” Izuku stuttered in surprise.

“You want kits don’t you?” Kacchan asked. “Wouldn’t force you if you don’t want—”

“I want kits,” Izuku blurted out before hiding his face in his hands before the next words came crashing out like a raging waterfall. “I just hadn’t thought of that yet, we’re both so young still and I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that I’m an omega and that I can have kits at all let alone with Kacchan. Oh no, that came out wrong. What I mean to say because it’s Kacchan. I want to have his kits, but I won’t be able to for a while yet, at least not until my body fully matures to make sure neither me nor the kits get sick. I really, really want to have kits with Kacchan, nothing would make me happier than to spend my life with Kacchan, have a family, and grow old together. The thought makes me cry happy tears that it’s even possible and—”

“You talk too much,” Kacchan says, far closer than Izuku was expecting. He peeked from behind his hands, seeing Kacchan was kneeling in front of him.

“Sorry.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Kacchan ruffled Izuku’s ears. 

Izuku blushed, eyes darting away from Kacchan’s intense gaze, but came across something glinting from Kacchan’s discarded pouch. He tilts his head in curiosity, trying to make it out.

“What you lookin’ at, rabbit?” Kacchan questioned, following his gaze.

Izuku hopped over to the fur-lined bag, picking up the shiny stone that was partly hidden inside. “Kacchan, what’s this?” Izuku says as he turns the stone in his hand. It was small, but heavy in its hands and brilliantly reflected the rising sunlight on its surface. The sides were perfectly smooth, like the smoothest of river stones but the edges were sharp coming together at neat, flawlessly matching edges.

Kacchan came up behind him. “Don’t know, I found it by the river’s edge.”

“Are you going to use it as a tool?” Izuku asked as he turned it over in his hands again.

“Maybe,” Kacchan took the stone from Izuku’s hands and lifted it over his head. “I haven’t tested it out yet, had a bunny in heat to deal with.”

Izuku chuffed.

“We still have some time before heading back, can see what this stone can do,” He flips it in the air before catching it again. He watched Izuku and smirked, “If nothing else, I can give the shiny stone to my horny little bunny since he seems to like it so much.”

“Kacchan!”

Kacchan started testing the shiny stone with various other materials. It glinted in the light, but it didn’t reflect it like the crystalized stone Kacchan found in the Bat Tame’s cave. The crystal’s effects cascading into rainbows of light on command, but while this one was certainly shiny it wasn’t the same. It was able to cut through leaves and branches, at first Kacchan thought it could be turned into a cutting tool of sorts if he could sharpen the edges to a point, but that didn’t seem possible. The stone was hard, far harder than any of the other stones Kacchan could throw at it. It easily chipped through other stones of similar size with barely any damage to itself. This, of course, interested Kacchan as he contemplated its uses, sharpening other less shiny stones for other tools and weapons. A tool to make other tools.

Izuku could stare at Kacchan work all day, and if it wasn’t for the fact they needed to get home soon, he very well would. Begrudgingly, as Kacchan grabbed a few more dark colored rocks from his testing collection, he said, “We have to start heading back or Mom will get worried.” Izuku sniffed, “And we still need to clean up or Mom will smell what we’ve been up to.”

Kacchan waved Izuku off, “Go get cleaned up. I’ll do the same in a moment once I test out these last couple of stones.”

Izuku smiled, looking fondly at the serious concentration in Kacchan’s face. He quickly kissed Kacchan’s cheek before grabbing some clover flowers, fresh and potent with scent and hopped over to a nice sunny patch of dirt to start rolling. Small poofs of dirt clouds surrounded Izuku as he covered himself with the earthy scent mixed with the sweet scent of clovers. So preoccupied with his cleaning, he didn’t notice the sound of stone on stone stopping with a small surprised gasp from Kacchan until the distinct, distress scent hit his nose.

Smoke.

For a moment, Izuku was a kit again, huddling close to his mother with Kacchan. It had been a dry summer when the storm clouds swam overhead, deep and threatening. He remembered the flash of lightning so close it made his fur stand on end, the booming and sizzling crack as the old dead tree was hit. The heat of the orange flames that licked up the side and across the ground, the smell of smoke that filled his lungs. Mom was able to get them to safety on the other side of the river, but not all Tames were lucky that night.

Fire.

“Kacchan?!” Izuku yelled.

Kacchan looked at him and then back to the flame. Surprised more than worried. Izuku watched the small, flickering flame sitting deceptively harmlessly in front of Kacchan in the twigs and leaves he gathered earlier to test the shiny stone.

“Kacchan,” Izuku whined. “Get away from it before—”

But Kacchan didn’t listen, watching the fire intensely.

“Kacchan!” Izuku grabbed his arm as Kacchan grabbed a stick and offered it to the fire. “What are you doing?”

Kacchan blinked, looking up to him. Seeing him in distress, Kacchan gathered the large stone he was sitting on and snuffed out the small fire.

“Kacchan,” Izuku watched the smoke helplessly escape from under the rock. There was no lightning to cause the fire, the sky was clear and Izuku couldn’t feel any telltale signs of an oncoming storm. He would’ve felt it so close. “How?”

Kacchan showed him the shiny stone in one hand, and then another grayish black one in his other hand.

Izuku titled his head, not understanding until Kacchan clapped the stone stones together and tiny sparkles appeared. His eyes widened.

“I made it,” Kacchan said, surprised, no. Excited. “Deku, I made fire .”

Chapter Text

Katsuki pulled at his shoulder coverings, drawing the fur closer to his skin as he stepped from the green forest and into the stone cove. Located on the far edge of their side of the valley, a place where few Tames visit on normal days let alone the morning before a storm, and none called it their permanent residence. It wasn’t an excessively big space, nothing like the vast stoney scales of the great mountain from their mom’s stories, but it served what they needed.

He dampened his finger, assessing the wind as even his weak nose could smell the impending storm. It was still half a day away by the looks of the gray clouds blocking all but the most persistent morning rays. The looming clouds brought with them unseasonable wind to the valley, not strong yet but far cooler than expected so early in the summer season. It kept any sane Tame nestled in their burrows, but Katsuki was never known for being sane.

“Wait up, Kacchan.”

And neither was his faithful shadow. Katsuki turned to watch the rabbit hop to his side, his normally far more dexterous feet slowed by the bushel of apples he carried.

Katsuki snorted, “If you didn’t want to fall behind, you should’ve let me carry the damn apples.”

“You already had your arms full,” he said with a pant. The rabbit, unused to using only his back legs to move more than a few hops at a time, wobbled on his legs a bit. “It’s called helping!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes as he started setting down his supplies before returning to take the apples from Deku. “Is that what you call it?” he asked with a smirk. “I call it slowing us down.”  

Deku puffed out his cheeks and turned his head to the side. “Only because the pouch you made for me was too small to carry both the apples, pears, bits of clover and the rest of our food,” he said as he swung the over filled bag from his back and placed it on the ground next to the rest of the supplies.

“So, you’re blaming me for you being a glutton?” Katsuki snickered, as he wrapped his arms around the rabbit, squeezing the soft side of Deku’s stomach.

“Kacchan you are the worst!” Deku huffed, his face a brilliant scarlet.

“Would you love me any other way?” Katsuki smiled cockily. He took a seat next to the circle of stones he placed on earlier visits, making sure to place his covers between his ass and the cold stone. His smile grew wider as he glanced over at Deku, whose nose wrinkled as he tried not to meet his gaze and gone ahead dumping materials out of the pouches.

The rabbit began occupying himself with organizing everything as it was tossed out, occasionally Katsuki could swear he heard Deku mutter under his breath “the worst.”

Katsuki chuckled. Ever since Deku’s first heat, the bunny had been putting on much-needed weight. It was something the rabbit was still getting used to. He always had a baby face but otherwise Deku was a scrawny kit, looking years younger than the rest of the Tames their age. It always worried him because it always looked like he was one missed meal away from starving to death. While the extra weight was distributed mostly evenly across his still shorter than average body, it laid heaviest on his thighs, lower stomach, and just a bit softening to the chest. Mom explained how this was just a part of being an omega, a little extra padding and protection for eventual litter.

It was a good thing in Katsuki’s opinion for many reasons. Deku wasn’t slouching on his training and the weight hasn’t hampered a hair of his agility, if anything he was faster than ever. Under that healthy layer of fat and cute as sin curves were toned muscles. Katsuki had to repeatedly tell Deku it was sexy for the rabbit to believe him, but he wasn’t the only one that’s noticed it. Deku was oblivious, but Katsuki noticed the steady collection of glances that lingered just a bit too long for his liking.

Deku was his.  

“That’s everything, except—” Deku started as everything from the pouches laid bare on the ground. Besides the fruits, they had dried wood, sticks of various sizes, leaves, wood shavings, long tools tipped with sharpened rocks, his knife, and shoveling tools. Finally, Katsuki pulled the most important tools of all from his hidden pocket, the spark rocks.

“Ready?” Katsuki questioned.

Deku shuffled closer, laying his palms and head on Katsuki’s crossed legs.

“I thought I was the worst?”

“Still the worst,” Deku mutters into Katsuki’s leg, “but warm.” The unseasonably cool weather was slithering over the rabbit as he shivered. A combination of his summer curls lacking the thick mass of curls of his winter coat and the heavy dew that stuck to the earth making everything damp. Mud clung to the rabbit’s paws, climbing up his leg and Katsuki suddenly felt like shit.

“Don’t be half-assed about it then,” Katsuki tented his covers in invitation.

He barely finished his sentence before Deku wormed his way onto his lap. Like Deku, Katsuki’s body has changed rapidly over the last couple of months. His voice deepened, he grew taller and stronger at a rapid pace. At some point, he was nearly the tallest Tame in the valley.

“Smell good,” Deku mused as he got comfortable hiding within the covers. That too, at least according to Deku, has changed. ‘Matured’ to use his words. Other than the thick patches of fur he’s started growing, that one was his favorite development.

Katsuki waited for Deku to settle, ears popping out followed by the rest of the rabbit’s head from the warmth of their shared heat, before starting. He started with the shavings, laying them in a small pile in the middle of the circle of stones before grabbing the spark rocks and clapping them together.

Deku jumped slightly at the noise; the sparks created by the collision of materials repeating until catching on the prepared shavings. The rabbit continued to watch as Katsuki continued to feed the flame and promote the flames, memorized by the art.

It wasn’t always this way, at first Deku wanted nothing more than to throw the rocks to the bottom of a lake or bury them in a random hole in the middle of the thorned woods. It wasn’t like his concerns weren’t valid. Fire was dangerous, and only an idiot would say otherwise. Even as he blew the embers to catch the newly added log, Katsuki understood the dangers and had a healthy fear for the fire growing out of control. Tames had lost their lives to the wild and violent flames or the smoke poisoning.

But he wouldn’t let it grow out of control. He’s been testing for months now, adding little by little but keeping safety first. It’s why they hiked all the way out here as even their secret base wouldn’t stay secret for long if they started lighting fires there. He kept the fire small, preventing any spread with stones and always had the means of extinguishing the blaze before it ever got a chance to escape his control.

“Almost there, you hungry?” Katsuki asked as he put on a second log.

“Mm,” Deku said reaching a hand from the covers to make grabby hands for the heating stick and apples.

Katsuki snorted. Despite the fact Deku’s been with him all the time, he had no desire to actually create fire himself. He’s not dumb and sees it often enough to know how to do it, but the rabbit refuses to partake. Which for any other Tamed would be expected, but the rabbit wasn’t any other Tamed. Deku always pushed the limits of what he can do, even when he fucking shouldn’t, but making fire was a determined limit built into his body.

But the rabbit eventually came around if only to enjoy the benefits. However, if it took too much effort to convince Deku, maybe Katsuki’s idea is a far-off dream. Katsuki was hoping this could be the ultimate tool, not only for himself but all Tames of the Valley. Light for Tames that had trouble seeing at night, warmth even in the coldest of winters, and of course—

“Hurry up,” Deku bounced.

“Calm the fuck down,” Katsuki growled as he gave the apple on a stick to the rabbit who at once hovered the green and red fruit above the glowing yellow and orange flames.

Food.

It was Deku’s idea originally, born from a kit’s tale from a migrating extra many years ago. Katsuki could barely remember it, something about overcoming hardships and the sweetest berries from the ashes of a great fire. He thought nothing of it, just another kit tale like the fox and the hound or the inquisitive monkey, but the rabbit questioned if it could’ve been literal.

At this point, they’ve tried warming up several different foods. The next time when there wasn’t an approaching storm, Katsuki was determined to bring fresh hunt to see if fire can cure the meat and make it fucking eatable.

Katsuki grabs his own apple and places it above the flame and for a while, both sat in contemplation of the flickering flame. Every so often, they turned the apples listening to the sounds of the sizzling juices as they drip from the brazening fruits. Enjoying the sweet smell that was filling the air.  

“Careful,” Katsuki says as they pull the apples, hot steam wafting up into Deku’s twitching nose. “Let it cool for a fucking second, so you don’t burn your mouth a-fucking-gain.”

Deku grumbled, or maybe that was his stomach. He was almost sure he could see the rabbit drooling in anticipation.

Between the two of them, they ended up devouring all the apples and in no time. Their bellies filled, Deku yawned into Katsuki’s chest, rubbing his cheek against him

“Kacchan?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we taste like cooked apples now?”

“Huh?”

“If I were to kiss you, do you think your lips would taste like warmed apples?”

Katsuki didn’t even need to take a moment to think. “I dunno bunny, let’s see,” he said before leaning to capture Deku’s lips.

Toshinori raised his head, nose pointing to the darkened sky as he confirmed the distinct scent of fumes.

Smoke.

Fire.

The valley was in danger.

Blue eyes looked upward, seeing the trail of smoke lingering in the air, a steady stream from the trees into the clouded sky. Aching muscles stretched, tightened, and bulged in preparation. It was close. He had to make sure no Tame was in the line of fire, get them to safety. Maybe if it was still small enough, put it out before it had a chance to take hold. He lunged forward from his stone den, leaping and darting as fast as his paws could take him. His fur golden in the dim light, taking on his false form.  

His mind was racing with the pounding of his feet. Surprised that fire caught with all the rain they’ve had soaking the earth. He didn’t even hear the rumble of thunder, but maybe it was just because he was getting too old and slept through the flash.

As he drew close, the smell of smoke thickening in his nostrils, he could hear them. Tames, young ones at that. Screaming and moaning in pain.

He pushed himself faster. He needed to be quicker and stronger to save the youths. His muscles screamed at him in his old age, until he burst through the last of the foliage in the quarry of stones.

“Don’t fear, for I am here!”

“Ahh!” The two young Tames, a small green rabbit Tamed and a much larger blond one, right in front of a small blaze of fire. It was an odd sight, the fire licking at the clearly meticulously placed cut wood, the circle of stone around the blaze. The two young Tames were so near the fire, scared but showing no signs of fleeing from the pitiful fire. Their faces red, hot flushed, both panting wildly. From the heat of the fire? Then why—

Toshinori sniffed the air once more, and then immediately regretted it with every fiber of his being as the smell of smoke married with young teenage hormones.