18 Chapter 18

Izuku woke up slowly. He was getting really sick of passing out in different places, but at least he was waking up somewhere surprisingly nice this time. He was warm, the bed was soft, and his head felt clear for the first time since the Striker incident.

Izuku pried his eyes open and looked down to find a mess of blond hair next to his hip. Katsuki was passed out, face pressed into the mattress, drooling a bit. His arms were still in casts and sat uselessly in his lap. Izuku's heart twisted. Katsuki had stayed with Izuku, even after Izuku had run off and nearly worked himself to death.

Hesitantly, he ran a hand through Katsuki's hair. With a snort, Katsuki's head jolted up. Sleepy red eyes met his, and Izuku was pained to see the relief that filled them.

"Deks, how're you feeling?" Katsuki's voice was raspy, bordering on inaudible. Izuku's heart lurched at the nickname, and he found himself tearing up. He'd made it through, he was okay, and Katsuki was calling him stupid nicknames again. All was right in the world. Or at least, close enough to being right that Izuku could finally relax.

"Better," Izuku said, taking a moment to find his voice. His throat was dry and rough from disuse. Katsuki wiped the drool off his mouth with his shoulder, looking over Izuku appraisingly.

"Can I get you anything? Shit, I should probably call a nurse or something." Katsuki eyed the call button next to Izuku's bed meaningfully, so Izuku hit the button himself. In no time, he was being subjected to a round of questions from a nurse.

He'd apparently suffered from exhaustion, dehydration, and lack of food in addition to his injuries from Striker. He'd been out for days, which was disorienting but a little comforting in a strange way. At least he hadn't had to see the first rounds of the news cycle.

Once the nurses left him in peace, Katsuki reclaimed his seat next to Izuku's bed.

"I'm getting discharged tonight," Izuku told him. "They just need to watch me for a while longer."

"That's good."

"Thanks for staying with me," Izuku said, mindful of everything that had happened. He knew he had a lot to apologize for.

"Shove it, Deku," Katsuki scoffed, finally showing a bit of his normal spirit. "Of course I did."

The fact that Izuku hadn't done the same for him remained unsaid. The moment stretched, ending only when Katsuki cleared his throat. "Deku, you feel good enough to talk?"

Bitter dread filled Izuku's stomach. He didn't want to be lectured on how unsafe he'd been, how awful it must have been for Katsuki. He knew . But he nodded anyway because if Katsuki needed to talk about it, Izuku would listen.

Wordlessly, Katsuki leaned over to the remote and switched on the TV. He awkwardly flipped through a few channels, punching the buttons with stiff, bandaged fingers until he found one with Ground Zero on it. The banner beneath it said, D*** IN A** S**?

"I don't want to see the news," Izuku protested, looking down at the blankets bunched over his legs. He heard Katsuki sigh.

"I wanted to wait for your input before making a statement, but you were out for fucking ever," Katsuki told him, and turned up the volume. "So you get what you get."

Ground Zero's hoarse voice became audible from the TV set. Izuku looked up reflexively and was immediately unable to look away. It clearly wasn't the start of the segment, but he could see Ground Zero standing in a studio, casts on his arms instead of his usual grenade-like bracers. He was clearly in the middle of giving an apology.

... was inappropriate. I apologize to Deku and his fans, as well as anyone watching the broadcast. I was not in a good state of mind, but that's not a fu-, that's not an excuse. I only ask that you don't hold this against Deku, and know that my words only represent me, not him. If you need to judge someone, it should be me.

The voice faded out, overlaid by newscasters discussing it. Katsuki switched the TV off, sighing again. "They've been running it non-stop. I fucking hate apologies, but it's helped at least a little. The news has left you more or less alone, so don't worry your shitty brain too much, alright? I'm gonna do as much as I can to stop it from affecting you."

"Kacchan, thank you," Izuku whispered. In truth, it was a massive weight off his shoulders. He hadn't realized how much he'd dreaded dealing with that mess. While he probably would still have to say something about it eventually, Katsuki's statement would take the edge off the worst of it. Now that he thought about it, it was far from the first time he'd seen Katsuki intercede to save face for him. Izuku narrowed his eyes at him, watching as Katsuki shifted his chair closer to Izuku.

"I signed up for counseling again," Katsuki said abruptly, slouching back in his chair. Izuku was unable to stop his quick intake of breath. Katsuki shrugged, ignoring Izuku's surprise. "There's a lot of shit going on for me right now," he said gruffly. "Figured it might be fucking useful. I don't want to get so overwhelmed I lose my shit again."

"Kacchan?" Izuku stared at him and saw determination written in his expression. Sure, Katsuki had made a mistake, but wasn't that allowed? Izuku wanted to spend his whole damn life with him, and mistakes were going to happen in a lifetime spent together, no matter how hard they tried. He was just glad to see that Katsuki was someone determined to learn from his mistakes.

Izuku wanted to do the same for him, as well. He didn't want to make this moment about himself, though, so he just said, "I'm proud of you for doing that. And I'm here to support you, too."

"Fucking hell, Deku," Katsuki murmured. Despite his words, he sounded grateful. Slowly, he stood and leaned over the bed, brushing Izuku's forehead with his lips. He pulled back slightly, searching Izuku's face. "We're gonna be okay, right?"

"We will," Izuku promised him. And it was a promise that Izuku intended to keep. As long as Katsuki was willing to work with him, there wasn't anything they couldn't overcome. Even with Izuku's own shortcomings and Katsuki's persistent flaws, they'd be able to get through anything together.

Izuku's friends found him shortly after, and in no time they'd crowded into the room. He was also hugely relieved to see they were all okay, although Uraraka was still bed-ridden, apparently still unable to move much due to severe nausea. It looked like Izuku wasn't the only person who'd pushed himself too far. And then there was Kaminari, who hadn't yet regained consciousness.

His friends were kind enough to not mention Katsuki's outburst, but the knowledge of it laced their interactions. Tsuyu said something along the lines of, "You know we support you no matter what," at least five separate times, and Iida heavily insinuated that he'd fight an unnamed someone if it came down to it. Izuku was touched, enough that he was tearing up by the time they'd all left. Shouto hung back, hovering by the door.

"Can I say something about Bakugou?" Shouto said, obviously hesitant. Izuku was a little wary, knowing how harsh Shouto could be sometimes. Still, Izuku always wanted to hear what Shouto had to say. When he nodded his permission, Shouto came and sat next to the bed.

He looked tired, and had his bangs clipped back. The mess of red and white hair mixed to a pale pink in places, an endearing detail that softened the dark circles beneath his eyes.

"Look, right after I graduated I… I made a serious mistake." Shouto took a deep breath, like it was hard to admit. Izuku tried to think of what he could mean, but Shouto had never mentioned anything like this. He adjusted his collar uncomfortably.

"I was teamed up with Bakugou for a mission; I guess they thought since we'd interned together, we could work together well? Anyway, it was pretty terrible, the idiot refused to cooperate and..." he trailed off.

"Anyway, that's not the point. I made a mistake, and he took the blame. He can tell you about it if you really want to know, but I wanted to say something. Our friends are being pretty harsh on him, and I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm going to guess it was something like this? Sorry, I really don't want to overstep. I just know that you two weren't close for a long time, so you might not know about this kind of thing, but he is a really good friend-"

"Wait, what?" Izuku was getting whiplash from this conversation.

"We're friends," Shouto laughed slightly. "Me and Bakugou. It's actually nice to be able to tell you this. I always felt like I had to keep you two separate, what with everything."

"You're messing with me," Izuku said, warily. Shouto shook his head.

"He's a lot easier to deal with than he used to be. I guess you already know that, though. Anyway, he likes to act like he's a bad bitch, but that wasn't the only time he helped someone out. Like the time he was criticized for getting caught out by the villain with the undressing Quirk?"

Izuku would never forget the image of Bakugou's naked body running around in public, fighting a very overdressed villain. "They said he stole the credit from Aoyama, because it wasn't even in his sector and he hadn't been called to the fight." But he'd looked so glorious.

Shouto huffed out a laugh. "It was a coincidence that he was there, but he actually was helping Aoyama. Apparently, Aoyama is really worried about his appearance and was terrified of being naked in front of the public. Maybe something about his navel laser?"

"That sounds about right," Izuku conceded. It was a lot to ask of a hero, or of anyone.

"Bakugou didn't give a shit, and that's a direct quote. I guess he realized that he can get away with a lot of things, because people expect him to act like that anyway? And then sometimes he uses that for a good cause? I'm just saying that while it's not okay that he hurt you, he probably had good intentions. Even I know he's a good person despite his delinquent personality, for whatever that's worth."

"You know, I never thought you'd be encouraging me to get along with Kacchan," Izuku laughed, still a little thrown by the admission.

"Oh, I was always encouraging you two," Shouto said, blinking at him. "You couldn't tell?"

"Uh, not really," Izuku admitted. "But I appreciate it? Anyway, we already talked through that, and I think it was pretty much what you described. It's just that this time, he threw my reputation in the dumpster along with his, and I don't have the same ability to deal with it."

Izuku's stomach sank just thinking about it. Sure, Katsuki had alleviated some of the pressure, but it was still Izuku's image. He was the one who looked bad. Or at least, he was the one who cared if he looked bad.

"Why can't you deal with it?" Shouto said. Izuku was tempted to scoff, but Shouto's serious expression stopped him.

"What do you mean? You know how people see me. I'm not controversial, and I'm famous for being a, you know. A good, moral person, I guess." He could see Suika's imageboard for him in his mind now, filled with things like virtuous, moral, innocent, determined .

"That's true, but it doesn't mean you have to sit there and take whatever people say about you. That image of you isn't wrong. You are a good person, and an amazing hero. Those things don't change just because of some pointless scandal, and you shouldn't act like it either."

"Shouto," Izuku said, choking up again. Shouto put a cool hand on his.

"I know you like to avoid interacting with the press, but maybe it wouldn't hurt."

"Like how?"

"People probably want to see you stand up for yourself," Shouto said. He put a cool hand on Izuku's arm, and gave him a comforting squeeze. "I know I do. I want you to know I support you. But I also want to watch you tell every judgemental prick out there that they can't touch you." His voice was fierce, and Izuku was taken aback. It was uncommon to hear him swear, and the sentiment behind the words was making Izuku tear up a little.

"Thanks, Shouto." He put as much sincerity into the words as he could.

Shouto gave him one of those half-smiles that can stop someone's heart. "Of course, Izuku. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Izuku promised. Stand up for himself. Had he not been? If he was being honest, he realized that he had been acting passively, letting everything play out. Letting a hurt, drugged-up Katsuki talk to the press, hell, not even being able to answer the interviewer's questions in the panel ages ago. He'd been unconsciously relying on Katsuki to deal with all the difficulties that would come with this, and it wasn't working. No matter how well Katsuki represented them (which was honestly debatable, at this point), it would only show one side of their dynamic. He resolved to do better.

Katsuki took him home. Home in this case was Katsuki's flat, because Katsuki sheepishly admitted that he'd bullied Kirishima into breaking into Izuku's apartment to see if he was there, which he obviously hadn't been. Kirishima's version of breaking in was very literal. Apparently his door didn't lock anymore, and it wouldn't be fixed until the weekend. There was a hole in Izuku's door where the handle used to sit, and his landlord had apparently elected to cover it with duct tape. Izuku had stayed there only long enough to pack his things and grab any confidential case materials.

The idea of staying in Katsuki's flat after everything felt a little strange. A little too domestic, and a little too safe. In a way, it was just what Izuku needed. His own bed would be better, but there was something comforting about laying on Katsuki's couch while listening to the man curse about the difficulties of changing clothes in the other room.

He finally stormed out of the bedroom, only wearing underwear. Izuku stared at him. He was covered in yellow-purple bruises, and there were lines of stitches across his chest.

"Like what you see?" Katsuki said, predictably smug. Izuku was starting to realize that this was something Katsuki was going to say literally any time Izuku was caught checking him out. So, very frequently. But this time was different, because Izuku was worried instead of horny.

"You look… rough," Izuku managed to say. He was a little horrified, because he hadn't really realized the extent of Bakugou's injuries. Katsuki just scoffed.

"Oh, I can be rough alright."

"Kacchan!"

"What!"

"You look like someone ran you over!" Izuku protested. Katsuki finally looked down at himself, and made a face. "I only knew about your arms," Izuku pressed. "What happened?"

"Howitzer impact," Katsuki said, frowning slightly. "I can't handle one that size without my bracers, so once I set it off my arms were toast. And that meant I couldn't control my fall, and I ended up falling a hell of a lot further due to the crater. I just got knocked around a bit, it's nothing to worry about."

"Well, I'm worrying," Izuku announced, closing the distance between them. He put his hands on Katsuki's stomach, feather light. "Does this hurt?"

"Nah," Katsuki breathed out. "Not really. Feels good to have you touch me again."

"Right," Izuku murmured, his heart aching a little. He could felt it too. After the stress and tension of the last week, what with his frantic search and rescue efforts subsequent time spent unconscious, it had been a long time since they'd just been together. He slid his arms around Katsuki's waist, and tucked his head against his chin. "I missed this."

"Me too, baby." Katsuki's voice was soft and deep, and Izuku wanted to sink right into it and never surface. "It's been a long day, okay? Let's get some sleep."

Izuku woke up covered in sweat, his phone buzzing on the nightstand. Apparently his do not disturb setting had been on a timer, and now he was getting flooded with notifications. Bleary-eyed, he sat up and picked up his phone. Most of the messages were from earlier in the week, but he'd recently gotten a whole string of videos from Shinsou. Weird.

He clicked on the first one, and jumped when it immediately blasted full volume. He frantically tried to mute it, but the words were unmistakable.

The words dick in ass sex, gay ass fucking sex echoed through the room, mutated by copious amounts of auto-tune and a trap beat. Next to him, Katsuki groaned, blinking up at Izuku. Izuku gave him an awkward, apologetic grin.

"Sorry?"

"The hell," Katsuki groaned, slowly managing to sit upright.

"Shinsou sent it," Izuku just said, and held the phone up in lieu of any other explanation. The video went on. It was a whole two-minute-long song of Katsuki's audio clips. Shinsou had followed up with a message saying, Too soon? Lmao

And Izuku busted up laughing. Katsuki looked deeply disgruntled, which only made Izuku laugh more. "Kacchan, I'm sorry, it's just so funny," he choked out, wiping tears from his eyes.

"You're lucky I like you," Katsuki grumped, then flopped back down onto the bed. "Go the fuck to sleep, Deku."

Izuku kissed his forehead, holding back more laughter. "I can't sleep; I'm gonna get up. Maybe I'll make you breakfast."

"Please don't," Katsuki grunted, turning his head away. "Don't want food poisoning, thanks." That sent Izuku into another fit of giggles. It felt so good to feel normal again, it was making him feel giddy.

Izuku looked at the rest of the videos from Shinsou in the living room, curled up on Katsuki's couch. There were five or so, and at first glance seemed to be about various times Ground Zero had fucked something up. Most notably, though, the first about the house Shouto had set on fire.

The second was about Aoyama. The creator had pixelated Bakugou's middle section as per YubeTou's terms and conditions.

The others were all times Katsuki had done something that looked bad on camera, and Izuku deeply suspected it was to cover for someone else. Izuku was hooked. Despite the fact that it was maybe four in the morning, he went on a hard deep dive about Ground Zero and every mistake he'd ever made.

There were a lot. If Izuku's career had been spotless, Katsuki's was pretty much a dumpster fire from the start, filled with bad press, errors, injuries, and more. They were always just excusable enough, and never going so far that anyone could really say he shouldn't be a hero.

And there was the whole thing where he was damn good at what he did. Pretty much no one could currently match his sheer firepower, and he was one of the rare heroes who had the analytical mind to match it.

But the temper, oh the temper. Maybe seven pages into YubeTou, Izuku found a video claiming to be Katsuki's coming out video. However, it was just a blurry close-up of his face as he was being mobbed by reporters. Izuku could recognize his post-hook-up look from tabloids, and apparently everyone was very excited to see him leaving a man's house. Someone had the nerve to say he probably topped. Katsuki had rounded on them and screamed,

WHAT, YOU THINK I'M TOO FUCKING WEAK TO TAKE A DICK HUH? WANT ME TO FUCKING SHOW YOU? HUH??

Apparently their more recent fiasco hadn't been Katsuki's first time losing it on live TV. Then Izuku found an auto-tuned version of that encounter, and then he was lost in a sea of low-tier Ground Zero edits mixed in with the occasional conspiracy theory video.

He awoke to Katsuki unceremoniously sitting down on his stomach. Izuku jolted upwards with a panicked snort, making Katsuki laugh.

"Deks, it's 3:00 PM. I ordered lunch ages ago, get your ass up."

Izuku tried to make sense of where he'd slept and what time it was. He'd fallen asleep at some point, watching video after video. Was this why Shinsou always looked so tired?

"Kacchan?"

"Yes, Deku?" Katsuki gave him a very skeptical look, apparently not over Izuku's audacity to sleep past 8:00 AM. Well, Izuku had more important things to talk about.

"How long have you been taking the fall for other people?" Izuku looked up at him, trying to gauge his reaction. Katsuki went still, his eyes widening.

"What are you talking about?" He said. He sounded cagey and defensive. Izuku glared at him. He hated not knowing things about Katsuki, and he couldn't figure out how this fit into Katsuki's personality.

"Bakugou Katsuki, also known as the hero Ground Zero, who wants to be the #1 hero in the country- no, in the world," Izuku said mildly, "Also has been letting his public image suffer to cover for other people?"

Katsuki sighed, slouching into the couch. "Half n' half was the first one," he admitted, finally. "Guess the asshole finally let it slip."

"He was trying to convince me to forgive you, actually."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Meddling bastard."

"Why do you do this?" Izuku demanded. He didn't understand it, and he hated not understanding anything about Katsuki.

Katsuki's face darkened considerably, likely because Izuku had the sheer audacity to question his ambition. "Do you really not know? I graduated with perfect attendance, perfect grades, perfect combat, glowing fucking reviews from my internships, and you know what I see in the paper the next day? Bakugou Katsuki: Most Likely UA Student To Become A Villain! And that's just one example."

Izuku had seen that article in Ono's collection of terrible articles. He swallowed hard, hearing the old hurt in Bakugou's voice. "So you what, gave up?" It came out harsher than he intended, but Bakugou just shrugged him off.

"Hell no. I just dropped the nice guy act-"

"UA was a nice guy act?" Izuku couldn't help laughing, sudden and bright against the tension in the room. Bakugou wrinkled his nose at him, somehow managing to look adorable.

"You saying I wasn't fucking nice?"

"Um." Izuku wasn't going to answer that.

"Nah, I know what you mean," Katsuki snickered. "I got sick of the bullshit pretentious pro scene really quick. I wanted to kick ass and take names, not kiss ass and… well, I actually talked to Aizawa about it a lot. Sleepy bastard is fucking on it, said I just got jaded a little early in my career."

"So, early as in before it even started?"

"Exactly, but you know me. I'm an ambitious fucker, so I decided I'd be number one anyway. I just wasn't going to do it while sucking media dick, you know?"

"Wow." Izuku couldn't keep the skepticism from his voice.

"I think it worked out well," Katsuki threw him a razor-sharp grin. "I checked the rankings today. I've dropped to #10, sure, but I also wasted Striker and shouted about sex on TV, so I think that says a lot."

"I don't think most people boast about those things," Izuku sighed, giving up. Bakugou was gonna be Bakugou.

"Can't stop, won't stop," Katsuki said, leaning back with a grin.

"Shouto thinks I should stop sucking media dick," Izuku murmured, making Katsuki choke on a laugh.

"Oh really? Tired of deepthroating every newspaper you see?"

"Gross, Kacchan."

"All that practice has paid off, you're really good at-"

" Gross, Kacchan," Izuku protested, trying to be serious. "I'm just thinking I've been too much of a pushover. Like, I get so caught up in being a hero sometimes that everything seems exciting and sacred, you know? But it's not like that, in reality. And me acting like everything is fine doesn't actually make it any better."

"Fuck yeah," Katsuki grinned. "I've got your back."

Izuku gave him a long look, because very recently Katsuki had failed to do just that. To his surprise, Katsuki flushed faintly. "Come on, Deku. I just meant I'm here for you while you do your thing. Fucking supportive fucking boyfriend, and all that."

"Mm, and maybe if you swear more it'll be more convincing," Izuku teased. Katsuki scowled at him.

"Just wait till I get these shitty casts off. I'm gonna wreck you, you sassy little asshole."

"You can try."

"Oh, I will," Katsuki said, his words holding a burning promise.

"Let's have breakfast first," Izuku snorted. Katsuki was, well. He could manage to be attractive trotting around in underwear and arm casts, but it wasn't really the most intimidating of looks. Izuku wanted to kiss him silly more than ride his dick into the sunset.

"It's lunch at this point, dumbass."

"Dinner?"

"Just fucking eat."

Katsuki hadn't talked to him about Izuku's ill-advised rescue rampage through the city. The absence of conversation was wearing away at Izuku. He knew Katsuki wanted to talk about it, but the man was just mindlessly flipping through TV channels on the couch. Izuku had insisted on cleaning up after they ate, but he was getting more and more nervous with every minute.

When he thought about it, Katsuki wasn't one to talk about his feelings. More accurately, he seemed willing enough if it concerned Izuku's feelings or wellbeing. Izuku couldn't think of any time Katsuki had brought something up because he needed help or support. Or because Izuku had hurt him.

Izuku suddenly realized it might be on him to do it. He'd had good intentions, and he didn't regret the lives he'd saved. But he did regret leaving Katsuki like that. It hurt to imagine him lying in the hospital bed, alone, wondering where Izuku was. Katsuki deserved his best attempt at communication.

Izuku sat next to him on the couch, and started simple. "Kacchan, I'm sorry."

Katsuki's head swung towards him slowly. It hurt Izuku to see how guarded his face looked. But then he said, "I know. Thanks, Deku."

And was quiet. Izuku waited at least a minute, hoping he'd say something else, before he gave up.

"Shouldn't we talk about it more?" Izuku asked, nervously. Katsuki looked back at the TV, but clearly wasn't watching it. His posture was stiff, tension written all over his body.

"I," he said softly, then muted the TV. "I'm just glad you're okay." His breathing was shaky and irregular, betraying how worked up he was.

"It's okay if you're angry," Izuku murmured, venturing to put a hand on his shoulder. "I should have been there for you. I shouldn't have stayed out in the field so long. I know that. I know you're probably really upset."

In a strangely robotic motion, Katsuki's head turned back towards Izuku, as if he had to force every inch of movement. His face was twisted up with emotion. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and hardly audible.

"I thought you were dead, when I found you. I couldn't even check your fucking pulse because my hands were bandaged and all I could do was shout at you and hope you woke up. You were just laying there, covered in dirt and blood and pale as a ghost and I thought you were dead." His voice cracked on the last word, and he suddenly hung his head, hiding his face behind a fringe of blonde hair.

Izuku was horrified. Horrified at what he'd put Katsuki through, and that he hadn't realized how hard it had been for him this whole time, that Katsuki had been bottling it up with apparently no intention of letting it out.

"I'm so sorry Katsuki," Izuku said, reaching out to him, pulling closer. "I'll do better, I promise. I know being a hero is unpredictable but I won't take pointless risks and make you feel like this for no reason again, I'm so sorry." Somewhere along the way, Izuku had started tearing up.

Still looking down, Katsuki said, "I thought Striker might have killed you, and I lost it a little bit. I wasn't sure, and I was in denial, but I didn't really believe you survived until I saw you in the first aid center and then right after I got you back I lost you again."

"Katsuki…" Izuku couldn't say anything. In Katsuki's place, he'd be furious and terrified. He couldn't imagine Katsuki putting him through that, actually. Katsuki was dangerously reckless, sure, but he wasn't mindlessly self-sacrificing like Izuku was. When Katsuki looked up, Izuku could see the lingering embers of the fury he must have felt.

"I made them call everyone, Izuku," Katsuki said between gritted teeth. "Followed up with every supervisor who'd reported you heading home, followed sightings of you on the news and fucking social media-"

"The tracker in my suit-"

"Was fried by Striker, you dumbass!" Katsuki shouted, then snapped his mouth shut. "Sorry. Want to know how I found you? Fucking bullied Kirishima into making a map that triangulated your probable position based on recent sightings and your average travel speed. I was doing a goddamn grid search when I found you. I looked behind hundreds of fucking dumpsters expecting to see you dead somewhere, 'cause I damn well knew you'd never want to collapse in public. And despite all that, seeing you lying there shocked me so bad I thought my heart fucking stopped."

They sat in silence for a moment. Izuku had to admit he'd been avoiding thinking about what he'd done, because he knew just how dangerous it had been. He hadn't really realized he'd been assisting the rescue effort for days . Not hours, days.

"I was so scared, and that made me angry," Katsuki sighed. "And it's hard to be mad at someone for saving other people, and that made me angry too. I fucking know how you are, but this was just too much. Even for you."

"I know," Izuku said, feeling tears of shame prick at his eyes. "It felt like I wasn't even there. I just kept moving, I was barely thinking at all. The last thing I remember was wanting to go back to the hospital and see you, but I got distracted, and everything after that is a blur. I don't think I was thinking straight after everything with Striker," Izuku finished lamely, hoping it didn't sound like he was just spouting excuses. Katsuki looked tormented.

"I shouldn't have let you go," he growled. "I should have said something to the staff, that you'd been fucking fried by that bitch twice and-"

"It's not your fault," Izuku interrupted firmly, putting his hands on Katsuki's shoulders. "Don't go there. It was all me, being reckless and having a dangerous hero complex."

Katsuki nodded sharply. "Look, Izuku, I'm kind of a volatile person. There's a reason my life is so full of routine. I don't… I don't handle this kind of stuff well. I need to be able to rely on you not to do shit like this."

"You can," Izuku said, his heart in his throat. He could hear the unspoken words. If he wasn't able to be someone Katsuki could rely on, then he wouldn't be a good partner for Katsuki. Katsuki would leave, and Izuku wouldn't blame him. "I'm going to work on it, I promise."

Katsuki let out a long, slow breath. "I'm sick of this shit." Ice ran down Izuku's spine, and Katsuki must have noticed the change in expression because his mouth quirked up. "No, Deks, I just mean like all this bullshit. I'm ready to put it behind me. Now I just wanna stay inside and smother you until my suspension is up."

Izuku blinked. "Wait, your s uspension?"

"Yeah," Katsuki grinned. "The whole Striker team is under investigation for how it went down. Me especially, because I KO'd her. I'm suspended for the next month, which is coincidentally my exact projected recovery time before returning to active duty. Sure is funny how that works."

"Kacchan, I'm so sorry," Izuku whispered. "I can't believe they're investigating you-"

"We're also under consideration for receiving national awards for our work," Katsuki scoffed. "So don't get your panties in a twist. It's just bureaucrats pushing paper, it'll come out fine."

"Unbelievable," Izuku muttered. It had been a long time since he'd been completely blind to the flaws in their society, but sometimes it was more apparent than others. To be condemned and rewarded for the same action simultaneously? It was clear it wasn't about Katsuki's actions, it was about how it looked. Who it benefitted. It made Izuku irrationally angry, but Katsuki interrupted his thoughts.

"I get this bullshit off tomorrow, though," Katsuki said, holding his arms up and looking pleased. "They're flying a specialist out from Nigeria. She should be able to sort out Denki too."

"That's good!"

"Top heroes get top treatment," Katsuki snorted. Izuku couldn't tell if he was gloating, or if he was bitter that a hero's non-fatal injuries received so many resources while plenty of civilians were likely suffering fatal injuries.

They woke up early the next morning to head to the hospital for Katsuki's appointment. They made it all the way down to the front door before they realized the front of the building featured reporters camping out.

"I wonder if they've been here this whole time," Katsuki grumbled. Izuku glared at them, starting to feel righteous indignation burn in his heart.

"Wait here," Izuku said, snatching Katsuki's keys.

"Deku?"

"I told you, I'm tired of sucking up to the media," Izuku snapped. Katsuki's eyebrows shot up.

"Pretty sure you called it sucking media dick -"

"I'll be right back," Izuku snapped. He stormed back upstairs and made a beeline for Katsuki's closet. He dug through it, grabbing whatever Ground Zero gear Katsuki, which ended up being his standard-issue Ground Zero sweats and what apparently was an ancient orange hoodie. It would have to be good enough.

Katsuki was obediently waiting in the lobby, looking vaguely bored. He perked up when Izuku arrived, but Izuku pushed right past him and out the door. "Wait here," Izuku told him sternly.

"Have you talked to Suika about whatever you're about to do?" Katsuki called after him. Izuku paused.

"I'll talk to him later," Izuku said, feeling a little guilty, but not guilty enough to stop.

"Knock 'em dead," Katsuki waved him on, looking both amused and concerned. Well, all that mattered to Izuku was that he stayed in the lobby while Izuku went to talk to the press.

As soon as he stepped out of the gate, cameras began flashing in his face. He never used to hate this part, but now? Now he remembered Katsuki standing in front of Kirishima, looking like a cornered animal. Izuku wasn't going to lose his mind, though. He waited until they'd lost some of the fervor, and pointed to someone at random. Their question didn't matter, Izuku was going to say the same thing no matter what.

"Deku, what do you have to say about the recent announcement by Ground Zero? The-"

"Thank you for the question," Izuku cut in forcefully. He could be loud when he wanted to, and now his voice carried across the street.

"However, I am not accepting questions right now. Instead, I'd like to say how disappointed I am with the way Ground Zero was treated at the disaster site. This kind of unprofessional behavior has no place near crisis sites where heroes need to communicate timely, crucial information to the public. It is also incredibly disrespectful to direct such invasive questions towards heroes who were risking their lives for everyone's safety merely hours before."

Izuku paused, and silence rang on the street. He was sure there were plenty of honest, hard-working journalists out there, and likely in this crowd. However, he wasn't feeling merciful.

"I don't know why you have been camping outside of Kacchan's apartment building, but we both deserve our space and privacy. That includes the ability to leave the damn building without sneaking out to avoid paparazzi. I'm asking you all to politely leave, right now."

A few people raised hands, and Izuku felt a scowl descend over his face. He knew he looked angry, and he was glad of it. "Now. We will make statements to reputable news sources when we feel it is appropriate."

Then he stared them down, glaring at them one by one until they all slunk away. After several minutes, Katsuki ambled out of the building and nudged him with a shoulder.

"Looks like you scared 'em off," he remarked, glancing around the empty street. "Did you really have to raid my closet for that?"

"It's called a show of support," Izuku said, and was surprised how shaky his voice sounded. That had taken a lot more out of him than he'd expected. He summoned up a smile for Katsuki. "How's that for not sucking media dick?"

"I think you graduated from sucking media dick to straight-up ass-fucking the media from behind."

"Ugh, Kacchan," Izuku groaned. "Do you have to be so vulgar?"

"In fact, you could even call it dick in ass se-"

"Kacchan!" Izuku protested, laughing. "No! No. Just… no."

Katsuki was still snickering to himself by the time their taxi arrived, but Izuku was lost in thought. He couldn't believe how powerful standing up to the press had felt. Sure, he stood up to villains on a near-daily basis. Somewhere along the way, that had become routine. Now, Izuku was determined to stand up for everything he believed in. It wasn't just about villains anymore. It was about creating a just, safe world where people could be the best versions of themselves.