Take a Breath

Katsuki walks back to his seat. When he's almost there, Izuku smiles at him, and he nearly trips. This is one of Izuku's real smiles–undimmed and untainted by worry or doubt. It takes Katsuki a moment to find his focus again.

"I like it, it sounds powerful," Izuku says.

"That's the point, idiot."

By the end of the day, Katsuki feels less stressed than he has for the past several days, but his system still feels worn out. The internship thing is sorted out and he doesn't have to watch 20th, but the threat of the empty seat in the classroom still lingers in the back of his mind. Who will replace it? Are there still traitors in their midst? And how the hell did Toga make it into the school in the first place–and why? As they leave school, he notices Izuku muttering about 20th.

He forgets to part ways as the reach the stairs and doesn't notice until he finds himself face-to-face with Inko. He hesitates in the doorway. Since he's already there, he only pauses for a moment before removing his shoes. Izuku waits for him and then leads the way to his room. They study in silence until the next day's homework is done. When he's done, Izuku puts his homework notebooks into his backpack.

"Togata-senpai said that Nighteye wants to talk to us, is tomorrow afternoon okay?"

"What the hell else would I be doing?"

Izuku shrugs. He grabs a T-shirt out of his closet and shakes it out. After staring at it for a second he turns back to Katsuki.

"I think this is yours," he says, tossing it in his direction.

Katsuki flings it back. "Don't give me your shitty laundry."

Izuku sighs and drapes it over his arm as he looks for a pair of shorts to sleep in. Katsuki flops backward on the bed. It is nice to be back to only his original worries: how the fuck he's going to make sure Izuku beats Shigaraki and how the fuck he's going to survive being in love with Izuku for long enough to be there. He only realizes he fell asleep when there is a dip in the mattress, and Izuku prods him.

"Kacchan, don't sleep in your school uniform."

He opens his eyes slowly. Izuku has already changed out of his. Without the collared shirt, Katsuki can see the full extent of the white bandages. He raises his fingertips to the side of Izuku's neck and hears a sharp intake of breath as Izuku flinches. Katsuki freezes. What the fuck is he doing. He withdraws his hand quickly. 

"Do you want to see? I need to change the bandages anyway," Izuku asks as he straightens up.

Katsuki nods with a sort of morbid curiosity. He sits up as Izuku untucks the end of the bandage and starts to unwrap it. As it falls away, he sees that the wound really does look like a vampire bite. There are two round scabs a little ways apart on the side of his neck, and the area around them looks slightly bruised. Just looking at it makes him want to hunt down Toga and tear her apart. 

"Why didn't you get Recovery Girl to heal it?" Katsuki asks, since that seems like the logical thing to have done.

"It'll heal in a few days by itself."

Izuku reaches for a roll of bandages on his desk. It looks like most of it has already been used, and there are two unopened rolls behind it. Just how many training injuries does Izuku have? When he looks back at Izuku, he already has the new bandages tied neatly around his throat.

"I want to sleep soon," Izuku says with a yawn. "Are you staying over?"

Katsuki considers for a minute. He is tired, and he doesn't want to walk the short distance from the Midoriyas' apartment to his own. Part of him wants to stay. It would be easy to. Part of him thinks staying is a bad idea. He stares at Izuku for a moment longer before he packs up his things and bids him goodnight.

In the morning, he walks out of the front door and nearly walks into Izuku.

"Have you seen the news?" he asks before Katsuki can ask what the hell he's doing.