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trashmenofmarvel · 4 years

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Branded - Chapter 18

Pairing: Demon!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky makes breakfast. Reader has a proposal.

(This is a fan AU of Falling’s Just Another Way to Fly by @araniaart . Please check out this incredible series for all of your demon Bucky needs.)

Chapter Warnings: Quick references to past abuse, internalized guilt

Word Count: 5.5k

AO3 (Now with fan art!)

This wasn’t the first time Bucky had been startled awake with a warm arm draped securely over his chest. It was for that reason that, before he was fully conscious, every muscle in his body froze and his heart lurched in his chest.

But then the soothing smell of petrichor and the subtle scent of the penthouse flooded his nostrils, and Bucky slowly relaxed from his panic-stricken state.

He was safe. No HYDRA soldiers to come rattle his cage and leer at his naked body. No Fairbanks with his grasping hands and lurid smiles. No Lukin taunting him, mocking Bucky for daring to believe he could escape.

It was her. Just her.

Bucky had to focus hard to deepen his shallow breathing, take in enough air to calm his frantic heart. He opened his eyes and stared up at the sun-drenched ceiling, a further reminder of how far he was from that nightmare. Deep in the bowels of the Siberian fortress, sunlight had been a rare luxury, kindness and comfort even rarer.

His human hand was resting on the arm slumped over him, and Bucky lowered his gaze to follow the limb up to its owners face. The rest of his anxiety quieted at the sight of her, the strange girl who never ceased to surprise him.

Even now, he wondered why she was still here. Maybe that would change once she woke, but for now, Bucky was going to let himself be selfish, to believe for a moment that this was… was…

Normal was too generous a word for what this could never be. Even if he didn’t take the demon side into consideration—a big fucking if—Bucky was too damaged. He had given her a tiny glimpse into what HYDRA had done to him. Before his heats had returned, Bucky hadn’t had sex or fed from anyone since he’d escaped HYDRA. And if it wasn’t for the feedings, he doubt he’d ever have sex again. He was too broken to be a decent partner to anyone. The idea of someone putting their hands on him used to turn his stomach inside out.

And yet, here he was, unable to get enough of the simple, intimate touches of sharing a bed with someone. As much as he wanted to push her away, put some appropriate space between them, her closeness was intoxicating. It was all he could do to stop himself from burying his nose in her hair.

He shouldn’t linger, it was cruel and unfair to both of them, but… what was the harm in staying just a few minutes longer…

Bucky turned his head toward her, closing his eyes and breathing her in as the strands of her hair tickled his face. There was a twist in his chest, knowing he was stealing this moment, but it had been so long since he’d had something like this.

The only person he’d ever been this close to was Steve, and Steve hadn’t known… hadn’t fully understood what Bucky had been becoming. Back in the cold muddy trenches and war-torn towns, scouring all of Europe for signs of HYDRA and their occultist laboratories, Steve had helped Bucky through the confusing and terrifying new feedings as much as he could. It had even had the upside of finally letting Bucky admit he’d had feelings for Steve as long as he could remember.

Steve had always been more religious than Bucky. Still believed in God long after Bucky had lost his faith, and he had no delusions what Steve would think about him if he knew Bucky was still alive. When Steve had last seen him, Bucky had been normal, for the most part. The only thing that marked him as no longer human from Zola’s first round of experiments had been his tail, much shorter and smaller in those days.

If Steve saw him now… Bucky knew he’d be the #1 monster on the Avengers’ list.

All these dark thoughts flew around his head, because he needed to be reminded why this could never be a reality. That Bucky’s first priority should be to find a way to break the bond and let her go, back to her life where she could one day recover from everything he’d done to her.

Bucky would never deserve normal. He’d lost that chance a long time ago.

And yet… why couldn’t he pull away?

A muted tune rang from across the room, startling Bucky, his muscles tightening on learned response. Carefully pulling her arm off his chest, he quickly got up from the bed to his dresser where the phone was still chiming away. It went silent before Bucky could reach it, giving another beep as a message came up on the screen.

Mom – 1 Voice Message

Guilt poured through Bucky’s insides. It was nearly noon and people were probably wondering where she was. She had a life to get back to, one that didn’t include him.

Bucky glanced over his shoulder toward the bed, surprised to see the noise and jostling hadn’t woken her.

He knew from observing her over the years that any little noise seemed to startle her awake. Sometimes in his more paranoid moments, Bucky had wondered if she could somehow sense he was there, on the adjoining rooftop of her apartment building, unable to see past the curtained window but feeling her clearly enough. Always watchful, always waiting to see what escaped demon would make its way back to her, and then intervening and killing it before she was ever the wiser.

In hindsight, Bucky was an idiot for not suspecting the bond’s existence. Not when he could find her so easily, sense where she was at any given time, and even felt when she was frightened or angry.

But Bucky had been in complete denial, chalking it up to his powers that he didn’t fully understand.

Remembering what he had promised last night, Bucky carefully picked up the stuffed toy and carried it to his study, an overlooked room that branched off from the foyer. Inside was a safe, and within that safe contained his contingency plans.

After everything Bucky had survived, and after seeing HYDRA nearly return several years ago, he was prepared. Falsified passports from dozens of countries, currency from those same nations, and keys for various vehicles he had stashed around the state.

These weren’t just fake IDs for Bucky; there was a second set made for the girl, just in case HYDRA ever found out about her. As obsessed as they were with demon lore, he knew she would be a target if they ever knew how Bucky came back from the dead.

But now, he wondered. Had the bond been influencing him all this time and he had no idea?

Bucky still didn’t know. Sometimes… he felt like he couldn’t trust his own mind.

He returned to the main living area, casting a sidelong glance toward the bed. She was still tucked under the covers, now hugging a pillow tight to her chest and burying her face into the fabric.

Knowing it didn’t mean anything, Bucky headed toward the kitchen to make himself useful. The least he could do was cook her a decent breakfast before she inevitably left.

Pulling the ingredients from the fridge and cupboards, Bucky tried not to think about how he wanted her to stay, and the disappointment settling in his chest at knowing she wouldn’t. It wasn’t fair of him to feel that way. He didn’t deserve to want anything.

Bucky would give her a few days, like he promised, but then he was going to Strange. This had already gone too far, and he should have gone straight to the sorcerers after the first feeding.

Maybe he couldn’t be blamed for the first time, but everything after was on Bucky.

Steeped as he was in his grim mood, Bucky didn’t realize she was awake until she was already in the kitchen. He looked up from where he was cooking pancakes on the stove, warmth spreading in his chest at the sight of her disheveled appearance. Her hair was a mess and she was rubbing her cheek where it was still wrinkled from being pressed against the pillow.

She was also wearing a sweater. His, specifically; an old grey one he’d almost forgotten about.

“Was cold,” she said by way of explanation, shrugging self-consciously and plugging at one of the baggy sleeves. “Sorry. I can take it off if you want.”

Bucky bit the inside of his cheek. Of course the memory of the night before rose full force in his head, and he suddenly loved the idea of her just taking everything off. Writhing on his bed, this time fully naked as he dragged his tongue up her stomach, between her breasts and latching onto her throat—

He cleared his throat and struggled to speak past the lump there.

“Borrow all the clothes you like.” At least his voice was passably steady. There was no reason for her to think he had any filthy thoughts running through his head. “Sorry for waking you, was trying to be quiet.”

“I needed to get up,” she responded, almost sounding… cheery. She took a step forward, seemed to think better of it, and remained hovering near the island counter.

Bucky forced himself to turn back to the stove, his tail flicking back and forth with interest, and he was tempted to swat at it with the spatula. With her here, in his kitchen, in his house which had been cold and empty for so long, it felt painfully domestic.

He shouldn’t get used to it, he told himself. It was temporary.

“I’m making blueberry pancakes, if you want some. I know you like ‘em.”

Bucky winced. Fucking fantastic. As if she needed to be reminded he’d been watching her for years like a goddamn stalker.

“If you want to eat them before you go, I mean,” Bucky hurriedly added, wanting her to understand she could leave at any time, that she wasn’t a prisoner.

Strangely, he heard her breath hitch as she gave a small, “Oh.”

She almost sounded disappointed. Bucky was imagining it, wishful thinking, because of course she wouldn’t want to stay, especially if she knew how tempted he was to toss the spatula, turn off the stove, and carry her right back to bed where he wouldn’t let her leave for the rest of the day—

What the fuck was wrong with him? He’d just fed last night! There was zero reason he should be this fucking hard up for sex again.

“What about you? Do you like blueberry pancakes?”

Bucky had been so distracted he hadn’t realized she’d snuck up on him, standing at his elbow and looking up at him curiously. Somehow, he managed not to flinch aside from a slight shifting of his wings.

His tail started to reach out to her, so Bucky tightly coiled it around his leg. Stupid fucking thing.

“Uh…” He blinked down at her, not knowing what to say.

“Because until now, I didn’t know you even ate food.” She scrunched up her nose, giving him a funny little smirk. “I thought you lived entirely on sex.”

A snort was startled out of him and he had to fight not to smile, pressing his lips firmly together. Only she could joke about something like that.

“That’s only the demon side. The human part of me still has to eat.”

“Mmm, I see.”

God, was she teasing him? He could have sworn there was a lilting edge to her tone, but that couldn’t be right.

“Do you need any help?” she asked, slightly leaning forward to the stove. Without thinking, Bucky put a hand on her shoulder to gently pull her back. Last thing he needed was for her to get hot vegetable oil burns.

“I’ve got it covered. Thanks,” he said, internally wincing at his stiff response.

Bucky looked back down at the pancakes, focusing very hard on the simmering mixture, but the warm presence at his elbow didn’t go away, and instead leaned closer, begging to be paid attention to.

Goddamn if it wasn’t working.

He had pancakes to flip. He couldn’t think about how cute she looked right after waking up, or how seeing her dressed in Bucky’s clothes made him feel something he couldn’t quite explain to himself.

“So…” she drawled, “I have questions.”

“Uh-huh?” Bucky answered noncommittedly. It seemed she hadn’t forgotten his promise they could talk in the morning, so he kept his entire attention honed on flipping, scrapping, and transferring a cooked pancake to the plate before adding more batter.

“Living in a clock tower isn’t exactly what I’d pictured for a demon’s natural habitat.”

Bucky said nothing, stubbornly waiting for an actual question to be put to him. Probably a mistake on his part, because she propped herself against the counter, leaning back just far enough that he couldn’t avoid her eye.

“Okay,” he said, flat, staring at the pan as if his life depended on it.

“I’m just curious how you wound up in a multimillion dollar penthouse in Brooklyn.”

Bucky released another soft snort. That question, at least, was one that was easy to answer.

“It’s not mine. It belongs to the Masters. The Sorcerer Supreme, specifically, and the last one was… generous enough to let me stay.” A small tug pulled at the corner of his mouth as he added, “And the current one hasn’t decided to kick me out. Yet.”

“That’s Strange, right? I mean.” She sheepishly winced. “Strange the man, not… strange as in…”

“Yeah, I got what you meant.” Now it was Bucky’s turn to turn a playful smirk in her direction. “That’s his real name, did you know that? He used to be a surgeon not that long ago. Permanently injured his hands in a car accident and went searching for the sorcerers for a cure. And then he never left them.”

Bucky could tell this piqued her interest. She seemed fascinated with that kind of thing, to his eternal dismay. He would have thought after being attacked by an Alp, and then a heigore, and having to deal with Bucky himself, she’d want nothing to do with demons or magic.

“Neat,” she said, confirming his suspicions that she wasn’t the least bit interested in forgetting about occultism and that she lacked a serious self-preservation instinct. “I mean, not neat that he got in an accident—“

“I know,” Bucky repeated, his smirk forming into an actual smile.

It felt… odd on his face, rusty and not as bright as his smiles used to be, but he couldn’t deny it was nice. Couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled like that.

Bucky caught sight of the look on her face, staring up at him with such raw, unfiltered wonder that he had to immediately duck his head again, cheeks suddenly going hot.

The hell was she looking at him like that for?

“Okay, so, next question,” she said, apparently not noticing the borderline panic-mode Bucky was in. “How did you end up with the wizards? I know about the portal business, but you haven’t really told me much about what happened right after.”

Bucky bit his lip. This area was a little more… difficult. It was a time he really didn’t want to think about, and considering all the fucked up memories he didn’t want to remember, that was really saying something.

But he’d made a promise, and he was actually planning on keeping it, for once.

“They knew about the portal. Sensed it themselves or through their weird magic shit, I don’t know, but they went looking for the demons that came through. They also went to the origin of where the portal appeared. Your house,” he clarified when she remained silent and gawking.

“My… house?” Her brows were furrowed severely. “I think I’d remember wizards at my house.”

Bucky lifted his brows and gave her a long look, pleased with himself when she became flustered and looked away.

“They probably disguised themselves,” Bucky continued. “Police, pest control, city maintenance. They try not to shape or alter memories when they can. That kind of thing has a lingering effect.”

If Bucky was scraping the spatula a little too hard against the frying pan, she didn’t comment on it, and he was relieved to see the batter was almost gone. One more batch should do it.

“I… think I remember pest control people, yeah. They were in my room a long time. Said I had termites in my closet.” She let out a snort. “Yeah, I definitely remember that, because I thought they were a bunch of liars. Told my mom and she scolded me for being rude to strangers.”

A slow smile made its way onto Bucky’s face. He could see the scene all too clearly. Even at that age she’d seemed fearless.

His smile faded a little as he recalled what happened after. He could still see the glowing orange glyphs in the dark alley, feel the fiery ropes around his wrists and ankles as they restrained him.

“The sorcerers caught me in a trap. It was… bad.” He worried at his lip, wings shifting and his tail tightening around his leg. “I wasn’t myself. After where I’d been, I barely remembered what it was like to be human. It took me a long time to remember who I was, and they helped me with that. I owe them a lot.”

Too much, he thought. And he’d never be able to pay her back. The Ancient One’s death had come as a shocking blow, and Bucky wished more than anything that she was here now. She’d know what to do, how to actually handle the bond, unlike the goateed prick.

“Really?” she asked, curiosity back in her tone. “Because I got the impression you didn’t really like the wizards. Not that I can blame you. I was this close to strangling Strange with his own cloak.”

And just like that, the dark thoughts edging in were chased away, and Bucky was trying not to smile again.

“The Masters had a different leader back then. She was… kind. Terrifying, in a quiet kind of way. She had to kick my ass a few times before I got the hint that I wasn’t going anywhere.”

He looked down at the pancake, flipping it over with a small, soft pull at his lips. “It didn’t take me long to realize she wasn’t HYDRA. She never hurt me. Never forced me to feed. In fact, she created the first version of the replacement potion. Apparently, no one knew how to do it, but she figured it out, somehow…”

Bucky trailed off as he caught the strange expression on the girl’s face. She was looking pointedly at the floor, her mouth drawn into a tight line with her brows at a troubled angle.

“She sounds like she’s important to you,” she said, still refusing to meet his eye.

“She was,” Bucky agreed, eyeing her a moment before turning back to the pan just long enough to flip the pancake onto the plate, joining it with the full stack. “She was killed two years ago.”

“Oh.”

He didn’t have to look at her to know the guilt would be all over her expression, replacing the jealous Bucky was pretty sure had been there a second ago. Now, why she would feel jealous, Bucky didn’t have the slightest idea.

“I’m didn’t know. I’m sorry.” She rubbed her arm as if cold, the long sleeves of his sweater hanging past her fingertips. “That must have been hard on you.”

“Yeah. It was.” Bucky paused, bracing his hands on the counter after turning off the burner. He allows his tail to unwind from around his leg, having to be careful not to bang it against the cabinets in its agitated state. “I wanted to track down her killer myself, but by the time I knew what had happened, Strange was the new leader and the bastard who had killed her was dead.”

It was unfair of him to hold that against Strange, robbing him of his chance of revenge. But Bucky had been so angered by her death, angry at himself he couldn’t prevent it, and no one who seemed to care or understand. Wong was a decent guy, but he wasn’t exactly the drinking buddy-type, and Strange was… a pompous jackass.

Master Drumm would have been Bucky’s first choice of someone to confide in, he’d always been kind to Bucky, but he’d been killed in the attack too. Bucky hadn’t felt that alone in a long, long time.

He could still remember it so distinctly. That sharp pang of losing someone, of being left behind. Of being lost. It should have been a familiar feeling, something he was used to, but it hurt with the same amount of devastating pain every single time—

There was a gentle warmth on his bare forearm, drawing his attention down to it, then up to the girl’s face. Bucky hadn’t even realized she’d moved.

“Bucky,” she said in a quiet voice. “Are you okay?”

Such a simple question shouldn’t have left him reeling, but it did. He stared down at her, having no idea what to say, especially to her. Why was she asking Bucky if he was okay?

“I’m fine,” he said, the lie sticking in his throat. He turned toward the pancakes, hoping she would get the hint. “You should eat before—“

A startled noise made its way out of him when she wrapped her arms snuggly around his chest. She maneuvered under his arm to lay her head against his shoulder, firmly attaching herself to his side.

Bucky was solid stone, not even breathing. Nothing but static in his ears and a dial-tone in his head.

His traitorous tail was working just fine though, and it wrapped itself firmly around her waist as if to draw her closer.

Bucky’s face was on fire, and he wondered if he’d burn up on the spot, banished back to the demon realm. Wouldn’t that just have been a fucking kicker of a way to die.

When he realized she wasn’t about to just let go, he released his held breath and placed a hand on her head, not sure what else to do with it.

She’s not a dog! Hug her back, you goddamn idiot!

Hard-swallowing, Bucky lowered his hand to the back of her neck, settling his human hand there in what he hoped was a comforting way. She hugged him tighter, so Bucky took that as a hopeful sign.

He didn’t used to be like this, so awkward and stiff with affectionate touches and simple hugs. He hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten until…

…until her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, warmth breath tickling his neck. “You just looked so… sad. I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’m fine,” he tried again, having to clear his throat so it wouldn’t crack. “But... thanks.”

She eventually pulled away, leaving him suddenly aware of the chilly temperature of the penthouse. Not meeting his eye, staring fixedly on his chest, she said, “I keep doing that. I should be asking you beforehand, especially after what you told me last night. I wasn’t thinking, I’m sorry—“

Bucky carefully took hold of her hand, interrupting her from the spiral of apologies she was about to go down. He’d traveled that same road, after all.

She lifted her gaze to meet his, slightly widened and lips parted. Bucky had to swallow again, pushing back against the overwhelming desire to taste those lips.

“You can hug me whenever you want, how ‘bout that?”

Her eyes brightened, joyful and jubilant, which made his next words extremely difficult to say.

“But… only when we’re in private.”

Watching her expression dim made him want to reach out, take it back, but it was true. Strange’s people would be watching her more closely now, at least for a while, and they couldn’t know the truth. Not yet.

“Right,” she said, quiet as she looked down at their joined hands.

Hers were soft, so much so that he was afraid his sharp nails would scratch her, so Bucky held her with the faintest grip. It seemed to be how he touched her when he wasn’t feeding, careful to make up for the times he wasn’t. A large part of him was constantly terrified of hurting her, and that fear seemed to grow each day.

Needing to interrupt the heavy silence and find a reason to release her hand, Bucky said in a low tone, “Your phone rang earlier. I think they left a message.”

“Oh. Right. I should go check that.” She smiled, almost bashfully as she pulled away from his hand… and his tail.

Bucky had forgotten the stupid thing was still holding on to her, and he pulled it back quickly, coiling it around his leg again. It didn’t escape his notice that she ducked her head bashfully before leaving the kitchen.

Bucky blew out a breath as he got out the syrup and orange juice. He retrieved additional plates and glasses, unable to think of a time he’d ever needed more than one set, and he went to put them on the table. Couldn’t remember a time when he’d actually ate at the thing, either.

Bucky could hear her on the phone in the bathroom and tried not to pay attention to the words, though he couldn’t exactly turn off his unnaturally sharp hearing. But what did slip through was clearly a heated argument.

“—I didn’t forget, Mom! I’ve been busy! I haven’t been ignoring you, I just—“

Bucky winced guiltily. It was almost Christmas and he knew she usually celebrated it with her family. Just another thing Bucky had ruined for her.

Her voice eventually lowered enough that Bucky couldn’t hear the conversation, for which he was grateful. When the bathroom door opened, he expected to find her flustered and still angry.

Instead, she seemed nervous, avoiding his eye as she approached the table, chewing her lip in thought. She’d also taken the time to dress in her old clothes that Bucky had laid out for her, clean and dried.

He didn’t acknowledge the brief flicker of disappointment he felt.

“So…” She didn’t sit down, instead standing behind one of the chairs and resting her hand on its back. “I’m leaving tonight to go home for Christmas.”

“Okay.”

He bit his tongue, wanting to say that was a horrible idea considering what had just happened with the heigore, but she seemed to have more to say, so he remained silent.

“And I won’t be back until after New Year’s.”

Bucky blinked. He couldn’t have heard right. “But that’s a week, no, more than a week you’d be away.”

“Yep,” she answered, tapping her finger on the chair.

Bucky pulled out another chair at the head of the table and sat down, bracing his elbows on his thighs as he rubbed his face. He hated to do this to her, but they had no choice.

“You can’t go. You know that, right? We would need to… There would have to be another feeding before then.”

“I know.” Again she spoke in that airy, anxious tone as she tapped her fingernail against the chair. “I know that.”

“So then why are you—“

“Come with me.”

Bucky stiffened. Then looked up at her.

“Repeat that?”

“I said, come with me.”

There was definitely a nervous energy in her voice as she spoke faster, almost as if afraid Bucky would interrupt.

“Come with me, back home for Christmas. I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Whenever you need to feed, I’ll be right there. And if there are any more demons around, you’ll also be there to protect me. You can even tell that to the sorcerers. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Bucky gaped in silence for too long, and she stumbled over her next words.

“I mean, unless you already have plans for the holidays—“

“No, I don’t, I—that’s not the—Are you serious?”

He was on his feet now, incredulous and floored at her for even considering this. “You do remember what I am, don’t you?”

Her eyes narrowed quickly, her brows thunderous as she took a step toward him, unafraid when Bucky practically towered over her.

“Yeah, you’re a demon. So what. You think I didn’t consider that beforehand?”

“Okay, you considered it the whole five minutes you were in the bathroom. What a well-thought out plan,” he said, dripping sarcasm. “Let me tell you something right now. You don’t want me, a goddamn demon, around your family—“

“—No, you don’t get to do that! You don’t get to decide what I want.”

She was standing in front of him now, a finger pressed against his chest, her expression absolutely fuming.

“Listen to me, Bucky. I know you, and I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt us. You go above and beyond just to keep me safe. I trust you.”

Her words robbed him of his own, and Bucky stood there in silence. She searched his eyes, her expression softening the smallest amount as her voice dropped into a more reasonable tone.

“You can make yourself look human. My family won’t know the difference, so why does it matter? The fact is, it doesn’t. It’s a good plan that’ll address all our issues, so all I ask is you stop and consider it, actually consider it, before you veto it.”

She took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest, squaring up like Bucky had seen Steve do in too many back-alleys.

“I haven’t seen my family in months, Bucky. It’s the reason I took time off work to begin with. I’m going whether you like it or not, so you can either come with me tonight.”

She lifted her chin in defiance.

“Or you come out to Boston in a few days when I’m in excruciating agony. Your call.”

She was out of her mind. A lunatic. A girl on a suicide mission with no sense in her head.

He’d never wanted to kiss her so badly in his entire life.

Bucky also crossed his arms to prevent himself from doing any such thing. “And how are you gonna explain it to your family when I show up on their doorstep?”

The fury evaporated off her face, and Bucky was curious to witness the sheepish angle of her brows return.

“I already told my mom you might be coming. She, uh… asked if you were my boyfriend, and I… didn’t correct her.”

“You didn’t…”

Bucky’s voice was faint, mainly because he couldn’t take a breath properly. This girl was going to be the death of him.

“Let me get this straight,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You want me to spend Christmas with your family, and not only lie to them about me being a demon, but that we’re also… dating.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Bucky nodded. “This is officially insane.”

To his surprise, she actually laughed. It wasn’t a mean laugh either, but a warm, honest one, her head tilted at an amused angle.

“Bucky, this entire situation is insane. I mean, we’re having sex on a weekly basis so we both don’t die. It doesn’t get any weirder than that.”

And just like that, the fight vanished out of him like hot air out of a balloon. He could actually feel his shoulders loosen and the frown on his lips fade away. It was hard to argue with her when she was staring up at him with that teasing fondness back on her face.

She was right. There was nothing safe or normal about any of this. Maybe Bucky was the one being a stubborn idiot.

At the moment, anyway. He was still fully convinced she had a death-wish of some kind, so it wouldn’t hurt to be able to have a cover story for being able to stick close to her side.

“You’re gonna regret this,” he grumbled as he pulled his hand away from his face, rolling his eyes. “No one’s taken me home to meet their parents in over seventy-five years.”

“Is that a yes?” The mischievous light in her eyes should have been a sign for Bucky to abort mission, but… he was quickly realizing his ability to refuse her of anything was diminishing by the day.

“It’s a yes,” Bucky sighed. Barely got out the words before she was barreling into his chest once more, wrapping him in an impressive bear-hug.

Having a sneaking suspicious she was figuring out exactly how to win every argument against him, Bucky found he didn’t much care if she did. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his wings unfurling to droop around her without him telling them to do so.

Bucky had promised himself he wouldn’t let this continue, but being trapped in a house with her, allowed to be close and touch her and pretend he was something he wasn’t? It was going to test every ounce of willpower he had to let her go afterwards.

Bucky didn’t know if he would have the strength to do it.

Next Chapter

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #demon!bucky barnes #demon!bucky #demon!bucky x reader #branded #my writing #my fanfiction

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shutupandshipit · 4 years

Text

Cosmic Joke - Oneshot

Summary: There was a wanting in his chest, a humming underneath his skin, a whine behind his rib cage.

He swallowed thickly, throat dry. His hands trembled at his sides, sweat dripping from them as he tried and tried and tried to light that match, to start that explosion, but something in him had switched on and extinguished those flames. Something soft and wanting and small. Something that was small, but large enough to overcome his whole being.

Saliva pooled in his mouth like the stickiness that pooled in his underwear.

.....

Or where Katsuki never entertained the thought of presenting as an omega, and then he did. That's not going to stop him from being the number one hero, but hiding being an omega at UA was harder than he thought.

Pairing: Bakudeku with mentions of Shinkami and Bakukami friendship

Rating: E

Fluff piece post main events: Gentle Lovers

There was a reason male omegas were so rare. A perfectly valid fucking reason that Katsuki wished every day the universe had listened to. A male omega was a mistake. A mutation in the genome. They were rarer than people born quirkless which was becoming more and more rare with each passing birth.

Male omegas, in society's eyes, were an extraneous part of the machine that already ran smoothly. Much like a woman who had been born whole and intact, who bled and hurt every month, but still couldn't get pregnant. Or people who were quirkless.

Even then, society still found other uses for them, but there was absolutely no use for an omega that couldn't get pregnant.

Katsuki hadn't understood what that really meant, hadn't wanted to call absolute bullshit on society as a whole, until he'd presented as an omega. Before that, he'd been one of the people to even subscribe to that thought process. After all, he'd only been eleven and cocky and so sure that any day his alpha would rear its head. Then Izuku would present as an omega, and he'd have just one more thing to lord over his childhood friend's head.

Several of his other classmates had already presented at that point. A little omega girl, a set of beta twins that had been a boy and a girl, and an alpha girl. Girls most often presented faster since puberty for them began earlier than boys, but if the girls were presenting, that meant the boys wouldn't be far behind.

Katsuki had been impatient to meet his alpha.

He'd presented over that summer break, the heat hitting him like a punch in the stomach as he meandered through the thick twilight air with several of his friends. The heat started as sweat pooling in his palms and lower back, down his thighs and in the cups of his collar bones. Heat flushed his cheeks with color as he laughed wildly at something stupid one of the others was doing. Euphoria coursed through his body as one of them bumped into him.

Something hot and wet and slick coated the inside of his underwear, and he stopped.

Something wasn't right.

There was a wanting in his chest, a humming underneath his skin, a whine behind his rib cage.

Saliva pooled in his mouth like the stickiness that pooled in his underwear.

“Bakugou, what's going on, man?” his friend asked, the one that had bumped into him. He turned to walk back towards him from where the others had stopped. “You still coming over to my house?” He clapped a hand on Katsuki's shoulder, looking concerned. “Hey, you okay? You look a little red. Are you sick?”

“Don't fucking touch me!” Katsuki snarled, smacking away the boy's hand with more ferocity than the situation deserved. He stared down at the concrete, fists clenched tightly at his sides. “Don't fucking touch me,” he hissed even though that humming whine in his chest only increased at his friend's touch.

'Friend. Protection. Comfort. Scent friend. Protection. Comfort. Friend. Protection. Comfort. Scent friend.' The voice in his chest wasn't his own, too soft and high. He knew what that voice belonged to.

“Hey, what's going on? You're kind of acting like a nut case,” the boy asked again with more concern, reaching for him.

Ignoring the whine, Katsuki snarled and bared his teeth. “Don't touch me!” Turning, he sprinted down the road, away from his friends and away from their comforting scents.

They couldn't know he was- They couldn't know. They couldn't find out. No one could know. No one could find out. He'd take the secret to his grave before that ever happened.

There had to be some kind of mistake. Where was the rewind button? Where could he press reset on his body? It all had to be some kind of sick joke the universe was playing on him. He couldn't be... He couldn't be...

He hadn't realized he wasn't running towards home until he stopped, out of breath and panting on an unfamiliar street. The smell of a lighting storm in full swing clogged his nose, and it took him a long moment to realize he'd been following the scent. He'd been searching out the person it belonged to. He knew who the scent belonged to even though he would have never smelled it until he presented. They'd known each other longer than anyone else. There was no way he wouldn't know.

“Fuck,” he hissed, trembling in the middle of the street like the scared child he was. The sun had dropped below the horizon, the stars beginning to materialize in the sky and the street lights just starting to flicker to life. The heat hadn't abated.

In the darkness, he knew he needed to get home. He needed to get to, 'Protection. Comfort. Family. Protection.' He needed to get home, but he was also terrified of what his parents would say about his new secret. He knew what his mother thought of male omegas, he'd heard her talk about them too many times before.

They were 'useless, pathetic, disappointing creatures that were better off if they just ended it when they presented. They were just a strain on society. It's not like they could amount to anything.'

It had been years since he'd cried. That last time had been when he'd accidentally burned himself for the first time with his own quirk. There in the middle of the street though, he felt the tears welling in his eyes, hot and traitorous.

He was so hot, unbearably so. His skin felt wrong, like it didn't fit right or didn't even belong to him. The dampness of his underwear got worse with each passing second, and something warm slipped down the back of his thigh.

“Hey, do you smell that?” a husky voice said from around the corner ahead of Katsuki.

A hum, deep and primal that made his own hum turn to whine. “Smells like heat. I can smell the slick too. Smells like a new omega. She's close by.”

“Real close.”

She.

The word hit Katsuki like a punch to the chest. Right. Because almost all omegas were women. Ninety-five percent of omegas were women. It made biological sense. Why would anyone assume he was a boy? He probably didn't even smell like one anymore. Why would anyone assume any omega they couldn't see was a boy? Omegas were meant to continue on the population, to give birth and raise and nurture the next generation.

Even if he'd been born a girl, Katsuki wasn't a nurturer.

He shouldn't be an omega. He couldn't be an omega.

He couldn't.

He cou-

“It's making me kinda horny,” the first voice rasped, closer than before.

Fear pierced through him. All his senses were on high alert. Ready for a threat. Ready for an attack. Ready to defend himself. Ready for-

'Alpha,' his omega whined.

“Let's go see if she... needs some help.”

Katsuki took off again. Away from the lightning storm scent, away from those two men. 'Two Alphas.' This time, he didn't take a detour. He was home in what felt like moments, mind frantic as he pushed through the door and slammed it behind him. He was up the stairs despite his mother yelling at him to not 'slam the fucking doors, you damn brat!'

He slammed his bedroom door closed. If he had a lock, he would have locked it as well.

Sheets, blankets, pillows. All stripped from his bed quickly and efficiently.

Everything shoved into the closet.

Wriggling out of his clothes, he left them in front of his bare bed.

Dive into the dark, cramped space. He barely fit. Burrow and burrow and burrow until he was surrounded. Until his skin stopped itching so much. Until his breathing eased and the omega in his chest purred.

'Safe.'

“Safe,” he agreed tiredly, curling as tightly in on himself as he could. He breathed into the space and settled, calmed by the warmth of his own body heat radiating back at him.

Outside the door, he heard his parents shuffling around. There was his mother's cinnamon and cardamon scent. 'Alpha Mother.' And there was his father's much more subdued scent that his mother had told him once smelled like Tequila. 'Beta Father.'

Their scents were calming, a gentle reminder of the safety and protection they provided. He wished he had something covered in their scents in his hiding place. 'Nest.' Something that he could curl around and hold close because his heart was still racing, sweat still pouring off him, his quirk still not sparking. He was still scared of their reactions, but he also knew they would keep him safe no matter what.

“Mitsuki,” his father's soft voice said on the other side of the door, and he heard his mother's responding rumble.

“Fuck. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to get the suppressants and pheromone blockers. It might be early enough that we can at least get the blockers into him and not attract every alpha on the block. For now, it's going to get a little unbearable while I mask his scent,” she growled, and her stomping footsteps faded down the hall.

After a moment, his father asked, “Katsuki, can I open the door?”

Turning onto his opposite side, Katsuki opened the door himself just a crack. He could see his father's gentle brown eyes, smell his bitter Tequila scent, hear the gentle hum he was emitting. “I hate this, Dad,” he whispered, suppressing the urge to let hot tears fill his eyes.

“I know. It's your first heat. It's going to be a little uncomfortable for a while, but Mom's getting you something that should help a little. After your heat is over, we'll explain everything.”

“How can I be an omega? I can't. But you're acting like you knew I was going to be,” he accused, some of that familiar anger sliding back it, but too dulled by the heat to do him any good. Masaru's head dropped in answer, and Katsuki whined, “Dad.”

Marasu only glanced over his shoulder.

“Let me talk to him,” Mitsuki demanded, coming into view behind him, and his father immediately moved out of the way for her to crouch, “Go get some of our clothes. Probably last nights clothes would be best.”

Her scent was nearly overwhelming as she crouched before him, and his knees went weak with the sense of calm she was silently pushing onto him. He wanted to fight it, wanted to fight the command in her scent, but he couldn't. He didn't know how to yet.

His body ached all over like he'd just finished fighting an ogre, and the ogre had won.

'Alpha Mother. Safety. Protection. Family.'

"Mom," Katsuki whined, shifting in his blankets to face her better.

"Here, take these and drink this entire bottle of water," she said, shoving the water through the hole and then holding out a cupped palm ready to drop whatever she was holding.

He held out a trembling, sweat slicked hand, and she deposited two pills into his palm. He took them without question, swallowing them down and then gulping down the contents of the bottle until it was empty. "What was that?"

"A desensitizer and pheromone blocker. They'll help. At least a little." She sat back, taking the bottle from him. "I heard what you asked your father. When you were really little, the doctors let us know that you had elevated levels of estrogen which is common in omegas. There was always the possibility, so we aired on the side of caution, but we didn't want to worry you."

"I don't want to be an omega," he said, covering his face with his blanket as the tears fell, the ones he'd been holding back since the street and those alphas and his friends. "I want to be an alpha like you. I should be an alpha."

Mitsuki's hand nestled into his hair, her scent enveloping him in a cocoon of warmth and spice. "I know."

"Does this mean I won't be able to be a hero now? Because no one likes male omegas? Because we're useless?"

She looked away and cursed under her breath before snapping fierce eyes back to him. "Of course not! Don't say stupid shit like that!" Mitsuki snapped irately, and he stretched out his neck long in unconscious submission. She sighed, softening her voice as much as it ever could. "You can do anything you want. This doesn't define you, and it never will. Just because you can't give birth-" His omega lifted its head and whined plaintively, the sound rising in his own throat, and Mitsuki's scent only grew stronger in response. "This doesn't define you. Your actions are what's going to define you in the end." She ruffled his hair. "So if your weak, it's only because you rolled over for your omega. If you're weak, it'll only be your fault."

He growled and snapped at her hand, more subdued than normal, but still the same as always. Swatting her hand away, he pulled the sheet up to completely cover himself and scrubbed at his face. "Okay," he said, voice stronger than before. He wouldn't let this define him. Omega be damned. He was still going to be the number one hero, and if anyone had a problem with a male omega being on top... Well, they could just suck his dick.

His omega raised it's head in his chest, cocking it in confusion. This wasn't how an omega was supposed to think. Submission. Softness. Nurturing. That's what he was supposed to be like.

Staring down at his chest, he muttered, "Do you hear that, omega? I'm not going to let you control me. Just because you're here now doesn't mean you get to boss me around. I'm not some skinny, whiny, panting omega looking for an alpha, you hear me? I've got plans. I'll die before I let you ruin that for me."

Both Mitsuki and Masaru were laughing outside the door, and he peaked out to look at them again.

Unceremoniously, his mother shoved two shirts through the hole. They reeked of his parents, and his omega purred loudly in his chest.

"How about you start with getting through your first heat and then we can talk about learning how to put your omega in its place," she suggested before closing the door, "We'll come check on you in a few hours. I have somebody to run off."

The door to his room opened and closed, and then he was alone. Both his parents scents faded until he was only smelling them on the shirts his mother had given him. He folded them up and shoved them into his pillow case, curling around the pillow.

The heat flooding his body was more bearable now, as if he simply had a fever. Like when he got sick. He could live with that. He could pretend this one time that this was just some fucked up cosmic joke.

.....

It wasn't long after that the Izuku presented as an alpha, but that only seemed to make him duck his head more, tucking his canines away.

Katsuki hated him all the more, ignoring the way his scent slipped beneath his defenses, slipped into his body. When Izuku was around, his underwear was always wet despite the suppressants and pheromone blockers and everything else he did to hide the fact that he was an omega now. None of the other alphas in the school did that to him.

And he hated it. Hated all of it.

He had to hide away just to protect himself while Izuku should have been proudly displaying new canines and flaunting his scent. Instead, Izuku seemed to take pheromone blockers as well, muting the unmistakable signs of 'Alpha' until they were unnoticeable if you didn't already know. After that first week when he presented, he was never absent from school for a rut which meant he was taking suppressants as well.

Katsuki hated him, and he didn't understand what Izuku had to hide from.

.....

Katsuki's second heat started during the UA entrance exam as Present Mic was explaining the second portion. Just like the first time, sweat began to coat his neck and back, along his thighs and collarbones. His palms dripped with the pooling sweat, and he did his best to keep his eyes focused as the heat slipped along the back of his neck. Under the desk, he experimentally set off a small explosion to make sure his quirk hadn't been extinguished like the first time.

He could feel Izuku's eyes on him as he pulled out his small bag of pills and downed another dose of suppressants and pheromone blockers for the day.

Sitting with Izuku at his side, his scent was nearly overwhelming. Still, it was, 'Comfort. Protection. Safety. Friend. Family. Alpha Lover. Safety. Alpha Lover. Comfort. Protection.' He shouldn't have been able to smell Izuku at all, but Izuku had either skipped a dose or was as affected by the atmosphere as he was, unconsciously pumping out more pheromones to clash with the others in the room.

His parents and he had guessed this might happen after suppressing -against theirs and the doctor's advice- his heats for so many years, during the years they should have been the strongest. He'd never been around so many preening and flexing alphas in his entire life. Besides his mother, Izuku, and a couple kids in the school, there hadn't been any other alphas to deal with. Overall, the omegas had outnumbered the alphas which was a statistical improbability.

And yet it had happened, so he'd been pampered through the earliest years of his puberty with the luxury of fewer alphas.

All hero courses always attracted more alphas than anything else though, and the room was all but hazy with pheromones. So, they'd adjusted his dose schedule so it'd be safer for him to take a second dose that day if he'd needed to.

He really, really needed to.

"Kacchan, are you alright?" Izuku's voice was right at his ear, just a whisper. "You look a little flushed. Are you sick? Do you need to see the nurse?"

Not looking at Izuku, Katsuki stood with the other students, and snarled, "Shut up, Deku. Leave me the fuck alone, and stay out of my way." Turning, he ignored the spike of curiosity and worry that shot through Izuku's scent and the whining omega in his chest.

Blessedly, slick only began to spill from him towards the end of the practical. Flushed with victory and destruction and adrenaline, he didn't really notice it or pay it any attention besides acknowledging that he was wet until he heard the conversation of a group of burly looking idiot alphas and singular female alpha.

The buzzer ending the practical rang.

"Hey, does it smell like slick to you?" one asked, sniffing the air with barely contained bliss, nose twitching, "It smells so sweet."

Another laughed wildly.

The alpha girl with bubblegum pink skin and little white horns laughed more quietly along with them, but concern filled her voice as she said, "Damn, some poor girl started her heat here? That fucking sucks. She should make a run for it. Find a little hidey hole until the proctors can come grab her. I don't even want to imagine what could happen in a group of alphas this big."

"A ravaging is what would happen," the first alpha laughed, "She wouldn't even survive. She'd be pregnant before she left."

Anger flitted across the girl's face, but she didn't say anything.

Another spoke up, shaking his head. "See, this is why omegas shouldn't be heroes. There's a reason there's no top heroes that are omegas. I mean, almost no heroes are omegas in general. What if they went into heat in the middle of battle? They'd totally be dead. Or like, during a mission? What are they supposed to do then? Hope some alpha comes along to fuck them through it? Omegas should just stay home where they belong."

Katsuki felt his hands crackling with frustration and bitter, bitter hate, the anger pushing down his omegas head forcefully. His omega went willingly though with a grumbled, 'Not real Alpha. Not worthy. Piss baby. Small penis.' He would have laughed if the female hadn't spoken up.

She snapped her teeth at the other alphas, growling deep in her chest. "That's not how heats work, dipshit. Why don't you go back to middle school and take sex ed again! In high stress situations like a mission, it's highly unlikely an omega's body would even be able to go into heat. On top of that, they can take suppressants to keep their heats on hold, to keep them on a timed schedule, make them easier or stop them all together. Like the pill or the depo shot for alpha or beta women. Ruts pretty much work the same, and statistically speaking, you're more likely to go into a rut during battle than an omega going into heat. Idiots."

"What's the depo shot?"

The girl was red as a tomato now despite her pink skin, far from the shy girl she'd seemed to be moments before. Liquid bubbled in her palms. "It's birth control, you absolute moron. I'll be surprised with how ignorant you are if anyone every wants to mate you. I bet you're dick is useless, isn't it? I bet your dick is smaller than mine. Oh wait, that would mean you don't have one." A cruel smile curled across her lips.

The snarling growls of the other alphas around her sent a shock straight through Katsuki, and he hated everything about his body. Instead of curling into himself like he wanted, like how his omega was telling him to submit, he turned completely to watch as the other three alphas squared off against her. Fear tinged her strong, bubblegum sweet scent, but that didn't stop her scent from flaring out dangerously to meet theirs.

They were fighting because he was near. He knew that's how this worked, but he'd never actually watched a fight break out over an omega before. Or not even an omega, just the idea of one. Just the smell of one. Alphas fighting for a prize.

It made him nauseous and scared though he'd never admit it, but not enough to keep him from calling, "Don't you think three on one is a coward's move? You guys want to be heroes? Don't make me laugh."

The four paused, eyes flickering towards him and noses twitching. There was so much alpha stink in the air though, the smell of his slick should have been well covered up by that point. Before they could get a good hold on his scent though, just in case it wasn't, he turned and started towards the exit.

Back home in the comfort of his room, his heat hit him full force. He had no time to prepare, no time to grab water or something to eat or take a desensitizer, as the wave of heat crashed through him and sent him to his knees.

Struggling, he pulled his sheets, pillows and blankets from his bed like the first time he'd gone into heat and shoved them in his closet. Stripping down, he left his briefs on only for the fact of the shear amount of slick coating them. They were soaked through, but hadn't begun to drip meaning they'd done their job.

After his first heat, his mother had bought him specialized underwear for omegas close to heat. 'Like period underwear, but for slick,' she'd explained helpfully, and he'd wanted to gag, 'And they're supposed to help block the smell.'

He'd never had to wear them, but along with the extra dose of suppressants, he'd thought nothing would hurt from being too cautious.

If he wasn't slowly going out of his mind with his heat and the feeling of his skin, he would have gone to the bathroom to clean up before crawling into his make-shift nest. Instead, he rifled through every drawer of clothing he owned until he found the clothes he used to wear as a kid. Pressing each piece of fabric to his nose, he searched, searched, searched for something. Something that smelled like-

'Alpha Lover.'

The scents of a lightning storm crowded his nose, pouring rain and electricity. More subtle than he would have preferred, but there all the same, held in an old All Might t-shirt Izuku had given him when they'd been kids before they'd been split apart by their quirks. It was the only alpha scent that invoked the same feeling of comfort that his mother's scent did. Shuffling through the rest of the clothing quickly, he found another shirt with Izuku's scent.

With the two shirts and his uniform jacket, he burrowed into his nest and closed his closet door.

Except that the scent of an alpha wasn't enough to get him through his heat this time, not like when he was young and hadn't fully grasped the idea of what he was attracted to. When his body wasn't mature enough to understand what his heat was meant for. He was well and truly into puberty now, and that made his heat a million times worse.

He spent the entire week and a half of his heat whining and sweating and incensed as he rutted against his bedding searching for that distant friction that would guide him through his heat. He kept a tight grip on himself throughout the entirety of his heat. Not matter how hard it got though, he never touched his entrance, moist and aching with slick.

He hated it, hated the substance his body produced for a process he couldn't even partake in. He hated that his body yearned to be filled even though he couldn't get pregnant. He hated his body because it was broken, a mistake in the genome. He'd never thought about the idea of pups before, but with his heat in full swing, his imagination went on a full tour of a family he would never have.

Two or three pups. Blonde hair and green eyes. Green hair and red eyes. Meek and timid. Boisterous and rowdy. Boys and girls. Alphas and betas only, god willing. Fire erupting from palms roughened by playing too hard outside.

His alpha curled around him, supporting him through his heats. Light touches of his abdomen, his thighs, his shoulders. Gripping him tightly, nipping at his shoulder and whispering in his ear. Body strong along his back. Breath hot-

The phantom touch left Katsuki shuddering against his bedding, sticky and hot and wet, but unable to lift himself to go clean.

There was a plaintive, high pitched whine in the middle of his chest that slipped passed his lips, more of a keening whimper than a whine. 'No pups. Cannot birth. No pups,' his omega keened.

The despair in his chest choked him until the keening was falling from his own lips in long drawn out whistles. His buried his teeth into his forearm, silencing his own voice.

That heat may have only been his second, but he was reminded of why he'd eaten suppressants like candy to keep them at bay.

.....

Class 1-A's A/B/O percentage make-up was an interesting one that made it easier and harder at the same time for Katsuki to hide his omega status. With a fifty-fifty split of alphas to omegas, and the rest being betas or unpresented, there were more than enough pheromones to cover up his own, but not enough to send him into another heat. Which was a relief. Besides Izuku, neither Mina nor Todoroki had scents that were pleasing enough to his nose to make him wet. Kirishima was the only other alpha in the class that he was willing to smell or smell like, his scent strong enough to cover any smell of slick that may present and pleasant enough not to rile his stomach.

It made it harder because omegas naturally flocked together. Power in numbers. Protection in numbers. Someone who understood the plight.

'Friends. Protection. Scent friends,' his omega chanted at him constantly, urging him towards the others.

Denki had managed to weasel his way into Katsuki's group of friends by virtue of his stupidity, but the others, Uraraka and Jirou found their places in Izuku's circle which was fine by Katsuki. Two less liabilities to his secret.

As much as he tried to ignore them though, he always seemed to find himself with them close to their heats whether it was intentional or not. Whether it was their two groups of friends sitting at tables next to each other or the other omegas unconsciously brushing up against him to scent him. It didn't bother him as much as it should have, his omega happily purring in return.

Despite how much he pushed them away and called them names, his omega recognized a kinship with them and never let him forget it. So he let them scent him and gravitate towards him and find comfort around him.

Luckily, their coming heats never affected him the way it affected the others. Pulling their heats a little further forward as well. After that first day, he'd doubled his daily dose of both suppressants and pheromone blockers, and carried extras with him just in case. The others, he'd found out from Denki's ramblings, only took suppressants to regulate rather that stop their heats.

"I can't go without my heat for too long. I tried some of the higher dosed suppressants, the ones that actually stop your heats, and I literally went nuts. I only missed one heat, and that was it. They took me off them faster than they'd every pulled anyone," Denki told him, straddling the bench of a table in the school's courtyard.

They were the only ones out there, waiting for the others to turn up. They would have eaten in the cafeteria, but the sun was out and warm on Katsuki's face, and the air was free of the stench of flaunting alphas.

Denki went quiet, pulling at a loose string on his pants. "I was emotional and crying all the time. It's like... higher doses of estrogen, you know? Or something like that. Whatever hormone controls when we go into heat. And I..."

Katsuki glanced at him, waiting for him to continue. He set down his chopstick, frowning deeply. "And what, Dunce Face?" he asked, his omega pacing worriedly in his chest.

Rubbing at the sleeve of his right arm, Denki said, "I, uh, it made me want to- Uh- I tried to kill myself. They put me on suicide watch for my first couple heats after that because I was still really volatile. Suicidal ideations and everything. I almost managed that time when someone wasn't looking for like two seconds. The suppressants... they just made everything about being a male omega seem twenty times bigger. All I could think of was the pups I couldn't have and the alpha I'd inevitably disappoint." He laughed helplessly, tears in his eyes. "It was kind of the worst six months of my life. I think I was... thirteen."

Katsuki pressed his lips into a thin line, staring down at his lunch. The words slid right beneath his skin, making a home there. They were too familiar to the thoughts that ran through his own head when he let down his guard. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Denki looked at him, startled. "I don't really know." A grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. "I guess I'm just comfortable with you. More than the other betas. It's almost like your one of us."

Katsuki didn't want to outright lie to Denki, so he didn't say anything, only glared back at him.

After a moment, Denki shouted in surprise. "Oh god, that sounded insulting! I didn't mean you're an omega! I just meant, like, you're comfortable to be around! Like how it's nice to be around the girls! Like you kind of put off a vibe-"

"Denki."

"W-what?"

"Shut up."

Denki ducked his head. "Okay."

Sero, Mina and Kirishima showed up in that next moment, flopping onto the benches with bursts of exhausted breath. They dropped their trays on the table.

"Ah man," Mina groaned, "What the fuck, Bakubro? For a beta, all the omegas seem to flock to you. How do you do it? Like even the ones in 1-B. What's that about?"

"Who's to know?" Katsuki muttered, staring into his food.

"Come on, man, what's your secret?" Sero asked, leaning towards him.

Rolling his eyes, Katsuki raised them. "My winning personality," he said in a monotone.

The group burst out laughing, but Denki's eyes were on him, questioning.

.....

Katsuki's secret began to unravel as the omegas began to go into heat. Denki was the first, his heat coming soon after they were admitted into the school dorms.

The day started out as it normally did. Everyone shuffling into class. Denki making a fool of himself to make Jirou and Uraraka laugh where they were crowded around Katsuki's desk without his permission. Halfway through the beginning of the day, he went silent, stopped answering questions, stopped asking questions. His scent, ozone and lemonade, grew thicker as the hours passed.

Denki was gone at lunch, and didn't come back for the second half of the day.

Katsuki already knew what was happening before he stepped onto his floor, but the sickly sweet scent of slick filled the air along with something bitter. Bitter like distress. Their conversation from weeks ago came back, and his omega whined plaintively in his chest.

'Friend. Distressed. Go comfort. Help. Don't let alpha touch. Protect. Friend. Distressed.'

"Dammit," he whispered, hurrying to his room and dropping his bag there. He grabbed the few water bottles and snacks he kept for after he worked out early in the morning, and made his way to Denki's room.

A crowd had gathered around his door, sniffing at the cracks, crooning softly to him. There were Uraraka and Jirou with their own supplies, a blanket and bag filled with water and food, a teddy bear held close to a chest.

There were also Kirishima and Mina, softly knocking and purring and asking if he was okay. They were his friends trying to look out for him, but they were also a pair of alphas, ones that hadn't scented or courted Denki with the intent of mating him.

Then there were others who were just curious and wondering about the fuss. They're noses weren't strong, but they didn't have to be to smell the heat in the air. Sero, Iida, Aoyama, Hagakure, Mineta and Momo hovered behind the alphas. Betas that were definitely not welcome.

Uraraka and Jirou chirped at his arrival, backing along the wall to let him to get close to the door.

Shoving Kirishima and Mina away from the door, he snarled deep and low in his throat. He snapped his teeth at the gathered crowd. "Get back!" he growled, voice full of the authority that his omega didn't have but still stood stall and gave, "Now!"

His friends skittered back into the others, eyes wide with surprise as they stared back at him.

Not turning his back on the group, he tapped lightly on the door and waited for the answering whine. He allowed his omega to croon back. 'Comfort. Protection. Safety. Friends. Here to help. Protection.' He waited until Denki's omega responded, and he cracked the door open.

Both Mina's and Kirishima's expressions sharpened and shriveled as distress and pheromones rushed over them. Even the betas responded, covering their noses and mouths with their hands.

Katsuki motioned for the two girls to enter, and they scurried in quickly as he snarled again. 'Leave. Stay away.'

"We want to help," Mina stammered, eyes worried as she peered around him.

"Bring one of your shirts, something you've worn recently. Leave them outside the door. I'll rip your fucking heads off if you try to come in," Katsuki snapped before closing and locking the door behind him.

Denki was curled up in a nest of his blankets and what seemed to be every piece of clothing he owned on the floor. He only wear a pair of black briefs that looked identical to the ones Katsuki owned, and he had to wonder if their mothers had bought them from the same place. Denki trembled, sweat damp hair sticking up all over his damn head, body flushed red in the small shaft of sunlight pushing through the crack in his curtains.

Blood coated his pale arms from several bruising bite marks, bright and new against old scars. "Why am I here?" he moaned, tears tracing over the bridge of his nose and down his temple, "Why do I have to be alive? I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to hurt anymore, Jirou. I don't want it."

"Don't say that," Jirou whispered, pressing gentle kisses to his broken skin and temple, kissing away his tears as they fell, "There's so much to live for."

"There's no point. I can't do what I'm meant to. I'll never have pups. I'll never make an alpha happy," he sobbed, golden eyes squeezed shut.

Uraraka nestled the teddy bear against his chest before covering him with the blanket Jirou had brought. Katsuki set down his bag where Jirou had set the other.

Without discussion, the three omegas moved to surround him, their scents and omegas reaching out to him. Even through his blockers, Katsuki's omega was stretching, stretching, stretching his pheromones as far as they could go. Jirou laid in front of Denki, wrapping her hands around his. Uraraka lifted his head into her lap, petting at his matted hair.

Katsuki laid behind him, their backs pressed together. His purr overlapped the girls', and they created a chorus around him, trying their best to calm him. "Listen to me, Dunce Face," he whispered, the purr making his voice waver, "This does not define you." He dug into his memory, pulling out what his mother had told him all those years ago. He was older now, had more experience, and he understood Denki on a level none of the others ever could. "Your actions will define you. They'll determine what kind of man you are in the end. Whether you can give birth is not your only function. Don't let that whiny, bitchy omega in your chest determine your worth. Your worth is not determined on whether you can make an alpha happy or not, if you can give an alpha pups or not. And if an alpha hates you for being born different means they're not worthy of being your mate anyway. There are always alternatives to traditional birth, don't think that's the only way. Don't you want to be a hero?" When he didn't get an answer, he pushed up onto an elbow and snarled over his shoulder, "Don't you?"

Denki nodded, but his eyes were still screwed shut, his chin dimpled.

"Then become a hero. Don't let this," Katsuki waved his hand over Denki's body, "This mutation in your genes stop you from doing that. Don't let your omega make you want to leave this world. To do this." He ran warm fingers over Denki's bloody bite marks, gentler than he'd ever been. "That's not their decision. You are their master. You're worth is not determined by their one track desire."

The three omegas were blinked at him, Denki sniffling as he stared at him.

After a long moment, Denki whispered, "Alright. Okay," but he pressed his forehead back to Jirou's, the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes again.

Sighing, Katsuki stood as there was a knock at the door. When he opened it, the hallway was empty, but there was a small pile of shirts on the floor. He knew from the size of the pile that they weren't just from Mina and Kirishima, but instead of getting annoyed, he just picked them up and dumped them over Denki. "Presents from your friends. I hope they smell to your liking."

Sniffling, Denki pushed himself up, and started to pick through the pile.

Katsuki, Jirou and Uraraka stayed with him throughout his entire heat except for when they had to be in class. They took shifts to get food, shower and use the bathroom. They stayed so he wouldn't be alone. They stayed to make sure he didn't do something stupid. Like let in an alpha sniffing at the crack of his door.

Katsuki couldn't remember how many times he ran off one of the four alphas in their class or ones that had found their way into their dorm. He wasn't keen on their four, but he instinctively knew they were only worried about their friend. The ones from other classes... He could smell the menace and ill intent and wanting.

The dorms were supposed to be a safe haven for them.

After running off the sixth wayward alpha, Katsuki found the entirety of the class gathered in the common room and chewed them out until all their heads were ducked. He focused particularly on the alphas as it should have been an instinctual thing to run off other alphas encroaching on the classes' territory, especially with a particularly vulnerable classmate in the building. Especially with an omega in heat in the building. "He may not be fertile, but that doesn't stop him from being your fucking classmate. Take some fucking responsibility. Make your alphas submit to you, and do what you were born to do!" he's snarled at the four, standing in the middle of the class smelling like omega and heat and Denki's distress.

The alphas ducked their head, even Todoroki, with Kirishima and Mina looking bad, but Izuku looking the worst. After that, the number of unwelcome alphas in the dorms exponentially decreased.

Walking out of the dorms the next morning, he wasn't expecting to see Izuku raise his hackles to display deadly canines and snarl at another alpha that stepped not only too close to the dorms, but too close to the three omegas that smelled thickly of Denki's heat.

Katsuki hadn't been able to tear his eyes from Izuku the rest of the day, his omega unbearably restless in his chest. 'Alpha Lover. Mate. Scent. Friend. Family. Alpha Lover. Mate. Mate. Mate.'

It was almost a relief to go back to Denki's room, but that meant the other three could smell the arousal and confusion on him. That also bothered him because they kept glancing at him. They weren't, luckily, stupid enough to comment on it though.

Denki's heat broke on the third day, and while it was a welcome relief, it was bittersweet as the four dispersed back to their respective rooms and groups. The four didn't make sense as a group of friends, but it had been comfortable. Simple talk and comparing music and all piling together in Denki's nest.

One day, they'd all have to take their heats on their own because they'd actually be seeking out mates. They were in this together for now though, and even if the others didn't know he was an omega like them, he'd let his omega steer him to protect them as well.

While Katsuki's omega was more than happy with the events, Katsuki couldn't get Denki's scent out of his clothes and hair for a week.

.....

Katsuki should have known that at some point the others would start to wonder about his lack of a definitive scent. Sometimes he smelled like omega, mostly when he'd just taken his blockers for the day and the blockers from the day before had begun to wear off. Sometimes he smelled like beta, scent muted almost to the point of nonexistence, no discernible features speaking to alpha, beta or omega. Sometimes he smelled like an alpha, Kirishima's or Izuku's scent sticking to him after brushing too close or letting Kirishima scent him. His attitude and personality made people who didn't know him not question it.

That didn't stop them from challenging him though.

Katsuki stood in the middle of the ring, stretching slowly as he waited for his opponent to step up.

Shinsou, hair messy and a deeper purple than the last time Katsuki had seen him, stepped out onto the mat with a heavy sigh. "You know, you're the last person I wanted to spar today."

'Likewise,' Katsuki thought viciously, but remembered to stay quiet. His skin felt hot with exertion, sweat beading across his forehead. He was having sympathy heat pangs as Uraraka made the slowest slide into heat that Katsuki had ever had to suffer through. Normally, he didn't respond to their heats, but he suspected one of the others had started their pre-heat as well. His omega was releasing a higher volume of his scent in response. As it was, he couldn't increase his dosage of blockers any more, so he'd been using Kirishima's casual and often scenting to cover up any remnants of his own scent.

His omega lifted its head, sniffing the air as Shinsou stepped closer to him. 'Alpha. Compatible. Good smell. Companion. Competitor. Possible mate.' His omega like Shinsou's frame, how he'd filled out since the Sports Festival and the gentle lilac scent he was releasing.

'Don't even think about it,' he thought savagely at his omega, especially when he saw Denki perk up. His ozone and lemon scent filled the area to overpower the others in both classes.

The alpha across from him cocked his head, glancing from Katsuki's aggressive expression to Denki's curious one. His eyes snapped back when Katsuki snarled low in his throat. "Protecting your little omega friend? He's cute. And I can smell that another one is going into heat. It's all over you. It's like it's under your skin."

"Alright, you two. Try not to hurt each other too badly. Recovery Girl isn't healing you guys anymore if you ruin each other," Aizawa said tiredly, standing at the edge of the ring. He narrowed his eyes specifically at Katsuki, but Katsuki just ignored his teacher in favor of cracking his knuckles.

'You might be here now, but you can't beat me,' Katsuki said in a wordless growl.

"Don't underestimate me," Shinsou murmured, "I'm not the same person from a year ago."

Katsuki dropped into a low fighting stance, hands held palms out. 'Neither am I.'

As Aizawa stepped away from the mat, waving for them to begin, Katsuki burst away from his mark. He dropped to the floor before Shinsou could consider dodging, shooting out a leg to sweep his feet from under him, but the alpha wasn't there.

Instead, in a move that was far more limber than he appeared, Shinsou flipped himself backwards, legs following one right after the other. He came up with his fists raised beside his chin and eyes sharp. "I told you not to underestimate me."

Katsuki snarled low in his throat, and his omega thrilled at the challenge in Shinsou's words. 'Challenge. Opponent. Alpha. Fight. Strong. Possible mate.' Fighting the rumble of approval his omega was making, he darted forward and slipped under Shinsou's guard. Fist flying, he just barely noticed Shinsou's own fist on a path towards his face before their fists impacted.

They wheeled away from each other, surprised and spurred on at the same time.

Standing straight, Katsuki licked at the blood in the corner of his mouth and watched as Shinsou wiped away the trickle of blood down his lips.

Sniffing, Shinsou frowned and stared down at his fist. Glancing back up, he cocked his head again. They stalked back towards each other, and Shinsou started speaking as they exchanged blows. "Your friends' scents aren't the only thing all over you," he said calmly, just barely dodging a fistful of fire to the face, "Do they know?"

'Know what? Stop fucking talking and fight.'

His voice dropped lower, and Katsuki wouldn't have heard him if they weren't already nose to nose. "Do they know you're a little omega bitch too? Or have you been hiding it this whole time? They don't know, do they? That you're an extraneous piece. Useless."

Katsuki froze, eyes wide, and in that fatal moment, Shinsou slammed his knee into Katsuki's stomach. He doubled over as his omega shrank back beneath the onslaught of the alpha's spilling pheromones. 'Don't you dare cower! Don't you dare submit!' Shoving a foot into Shinsou's stomach, he put as much distance as he could between them to catch his breath.

They were both panting and bloody, smoking holes in their clothing. It took them a moment before they rushed each other again, fighting as if their fate would be decided by the win or the loss.

"Do they know you want to be fucked into the floor as badly as your little friend? Do you think he'd open up for me? Just let me mount him like a slut and use him up?" Shinsou asked, and even though Katsuki knew that he was only talking out his ass to get a rise out of him, he felt his blood begin to boil in response. "Do you help him through his heat? Fuck him as if you were an alpha? I bet he'd be so wet if I fucked him, dripping wet even if he didn't really want me. Should I try?"

Katsuki could barely stop the words from falling from his mouth. His vicious growl was warning enough. 'Don't fucking touch him!'

"Can't you smell him? Putting out all those pheromones. Do you think he even realizes? That he's broadcasting an invitation? Do you think he's getting wet just thinking about it?" His face never changed, the blood dripping over his lips and down his chin. His face was impassive, even as he asked, "What about you? I bet you get wet thinking about alpha cock too. All you omegas are the same, aren't you? Even useless, sterile ones. You just want some alpha to come and put you in your place. You'd like to be filled, try to breed, but you know you can't. You're broken too, just like your little friend."

Katsuki roared, and in the next second, they were on the ground. He straddled Shinsou, pinning him more effectively than he'd pinned Deku in their stupid fucking fight. His pheromones were wrapped around him, trying to make him submit non-verbally, but Katsuki was done with the flight. He pummeled into Shinsou's body, and he could hear the other scrambling behind him. "Shut the fuck up! Don't fucking touch him! Don't fucking talk about shit you don't understand!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Shinsou may have finally been able to use his quirk, but Katsuki was bodily pulled away from him before he could.

He struggled against Izuku's strong hold, fighting against the calming pheromones radiating off of him. Fresh rain and lightning were accompanied by mint, and Katsuki realized Izuku must have come off his scent blockers. His scent was ten times stronger than usual, nearly choking him. Who was he trying to attract anyway? Who's attention was he trying to catch by coming off his blockers? Or had he finally just realized there was no reason for him to hide? His mind was reeling with Izuku's body hard against his back, solid and built.

"Let me go! I'm going to fucking kill him!" Katsuki snarled, pushing against Izuku's body as much to get back to the fight as to get away from him and his warmth and his scent.

Smoke filled his eyes. Someone was calling to Tsu for help. The acrid smell of burning paint doubled in beside Izuku's scent. Something was on fire.

"Bakugou!" Aizawa warned.

"Stop." Shinsou was sitting up, his face a bloody, impassive mess as he stared at Katsuki.

Katsuki stilled immediately and his mind went blank. Rage still simmered in his chest, riling up his omega even though he'd been so excited for the fight before. Threatening Denki had turned him against Shinsou. Small blessings, Katsuki supposed.

"Midoriya, let him go, please," Shinsou said, and Katsuki's mind cleared as Shinsou stepped close.

Izuku released him, but kept a hand on his shoulder.

Shinsou held out a large hand to Katsuki. "Thank you for a good fight. It was amazing. Most people hold back, so I'm honored that you didn't. I'm impressed at your self-control not to respond. I didn't mean anything that I said. I was just trying to get a rise out of you, to get you to say something." He waited until Katsuki grudgingly took his hand, and his voice dropped lower so that only Katsuki could hear him. "I'd never hurt your friend, and I don't tell other peoples' secrets." His scent had receded, allowing Izuku's to overpower it. "So, I'll keep yours too," he finished.

Katsuki glared at the alpha, feeling a defensive snarl rise from his omega. "Don't do me any favors. And his name is Denki, not 'your friend'," he spat and turned on a heel.

Izuku stuck around, apologizing and chatting with Shinsou.

Grabbing his sweatshirt, Katsuki marched from the gym.

.....

Denki's heat rose with one of Uraraka's months after his spar with Shinsou. Jirou and Katsuki split up between them instead of keeping them together. Two omegas in heat in the same room would not only send every alpha in a ten mile radius into a rut, but also push Jirou into her next heat sooner than planned. Splitting up between the two meant they were with them at all times, and that meant Katsuki was around after the school day when a knock sounded at Denki's door.

Groaning, he pushed himself off the floor where he'd been curled around Denki only for the omega to whine at the loss of contact. His heat had been worse than usual, leaving him thrashing and rutting against the floor as Katsuki tried to soothe him without touching him too intimately. Normally, he didn't have a problem lending his cock or hand or mouth to the situation, but not this time. No matter how much Denki begged and pleaded, Katsuki wouldn't be able to give him what he wanted no matter what he did.

They hadn't slept in days, and Katsuki had stopped going to class after the third day.

Deep bags marring the skin beneath his eyes and shirtless chest sticky with sweat, Katsuki opened the door. "What?"

The alpha's lilac smell hit him like a bulldozer, and he knew if he was being so affected by the subtle scent, Denki would go out of his mild.

Anger flared in his chest. Stepping into the hallway, Katsuki pushed Shinsou towards the opposite wall. "Rein in your fucking scent, shit head. You're going to make him worse. He's been out of his mind for nearly five days. You guys have been getting pretty chummy lately, so why the fuck are you here now? So late?" Katsuki spit his words bitterly. His omega's protection was out in full force, snarling and rumbling deep in his chest, but his omega immediately backed down, recognizing Shinsou's scent all over Denki's room.

Shinsou had a hand over his mouth and nose, breathing shallowly through parted lips as the smell of Denki's heat lifted from Katsuki's skin and spilled from the cracked door. "I came to drop off some clothes. Denki texted me at the beginning of the week, but I was on a work study mission, and... Tell him I'm sorry."

Katsuki stared down at the bag Shinsou was holding, eyes narrowed. He backed away from Shinsou, frowning. "What is Denki to you?"

"He's-"

Before Shinsou could continue, the door creaked open to reveal Denki hanging off the frame, his heat briefs soaked through and straining over his erection. His golden eyes were glazed, his hair matted from days of sweat and Katsuki's fingers. He looked like he was wanting for nothing more than to be dicked down. "Toshi," he rasped, taking an unsteady step out the door.

Horror and the need to protect the unsuspecting omega tore through Katsuki. "No, you horny idiot! Get back inside and shut the door!" he shouted, but his omega didn't rise like he was expecting.

'Mates. Mark. Alpha. Omega. Pair. Mates. Need to mark.'

Shinsou remained pressed against the wall under Katsuki's hand, stalk still.

Scooping up the bag Shinsou had brought, Katsuki rushed to push the idiot back into the room, but Denki ducked his arm with more speed than he'd been expecting. He just barely managed to wrap his arm around Denki's waist as he pressed up against Shinsou. Denki's arms wrapped around his neck, and he pulled himself up Shinsou's body enough to press their mouths together.

Shinsou stiffened even further, fists tightening at his sides even as his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth moved along with Denki's. A moan slipped passed his lips.

Stunned, it took Katsuki several long moments before he could jerk Denki away. He didn't know that they'd gotten that close. He lifted Denki off his feet, turning him back towards the room, kicking and screaming. Kicking open the door, he struggled to get Denki back through the door, both hands and feet braced along the door frame.

Slick started to slip down Katsuki's stomach and into the top of his shorts.

"Hitoshi! Alpha!" Denki all but screamed.

Katsuki caught a glimpse of Izuku at the end of the hallways, seemingly coming to investigate all of noise. "Oi! Deku! Come fucking help me with this dunce face before he sends Shinsou into a goddamn rut!" he yelled at him.

Izuku looked startled, eyes darting over the entirety of the situation before moving quickly. He clapped Shinsou on the shoulder. "Get out of here before you do something you'll regret," he said gently, squeezing the other alpha's shoulder, "We'll take care of him." When Shinsou didn't move, he continued. "Your panting. You're not going to be able to hold out much longer. Run while you can. You did great."

"Alpha!" Denki yowled, nearly bending Katsuki in half as he pushed away from the door. His nails dug deep into Katsuki's arm, and the smell of blood filled the air.

"Go!" Izuku shouted, and Shinsou took off down the hallway. Crossing to Katsuki and Denki, he ran a hand down Katsuki's back and coaxed a tremble out of him. "I've got it," he whispered for Katsuki's ears alone as to not send Denki spiraling even further.

Pulling a shirt from the bag on Katsuki's arm, Izuku started to purr loudly and lifted the shirt to press to Denki's face as he clamped his free hand around the back of Denki's neck.

Denki went limp instantly, and Katsuki sagged beneath his weight. He purred, purred, purred, reaching up to cradle Izuku's hand and inhaling deeply. "Hitoshi. Alpha," he moaned happily, slick dripping down Katsuki's stomach again.

"Okay. I'll hold this while you walk in," Izuku murmured, his voice warbling with the force of his purr.

Katsuki was trembling. Between Denki's heat and his fading suppressants and Izuku's scent and Izuku's body pressed close to his, he could barely keep himself from rubbing his scent all over him. He wanted to scent him. He wanted to mate him. He wanted-

'Alpha. Mate. Companion. Friend. Family. Alpha Lover. Heat. Mate. Heat.' His omega pressed flush against his skin, heating him from the inside out.

Katsuki growled deep in his throat, and both Izuku and Denki reacted.

Denki became utter putty under his hands. The front of his shorts was soaked with Denki's slick.

Izuku's eyes flickered to him, his hand dropping from Denki's neck to slide around the back of Katsuki's, and he shivered again. Did he just slide his wrist against his scent gland? Did his fingers just trace the length of his neck? Did he-

"Calm down, Katsuki, I'm not going to do anything to Denki."

A silent sigh of relief passed through Katsuki. Izuku didn't get it which meant he didn't get that Katsuki was releasing so many pheromones that they were nearly covering up Denki's. His omega rubbed against his chest, scratching to be let out. 'Alpha Lover! Mate!'

He needed his suppressants and a very long bath.

"I've got him," he growled, trying not to think of the heat on the back of his neck, "Now, fuck off!"

Wrenching away from Izuku, he hefted Denki into the room and kicked the door closed behind him, locking it quickly. He laid Denki down in his nest, dumping out the bag of Shinsou's clothing right on top of him. He immediately started to roll through the clothing, sighing happily as his pressed another shirt to his nose and a pair of shorts between his legs.

Katsuki sat down on the edge of Denki's bed, staring down at him and trying to reign in his own omega. There was slick on his stomach and slick between his thighs, and the heat of Izuku's hand lingered back of his neck yet. He wasn't a little terrified that it would never leave.

It was only thirty minutes later that another knock sounded at the door.

Denki moaned loudly, so Katsuki waited until he'd settled down again before opening the door.

The doorway was empty, but a change of clothes, a bag of waters and snacks, and a damp wash cloth sat on the ground. Everything smelled like Izuku, even the clothes which were clearly Katsuki's.

The image of Izuku vigorously scenting Katsuki's clothing had him gathering everything and slamming the door again. He pressed the stack to his nose. Tucked into the folds of his clothing though, he found his bottles of suppressants and blockers, and ice dumped into his veins.

"Fuck," he whispered, slumping to the floor.

Denki's head lifted from his nest, and after a moment's consideration, he crawled over to curl up against Katsuki's side. He purred gently, stroking down Katsuki's bare side.

.....

Izuku swallowed down the feeling that rose in his throat after Katsuki slammed the door. He shouldn't have touched Katsuki like that. He shouldn't have scented him without permission. He shouldn't have-

He shook his head, running a hand through his curls. His suppressants were in full swing, but he could feel the pre-rut surfacing along his skin.

It could have just been from the proximity to Denki or it could have been the sight of Katsuki all rumpled covered in Denki's heat pheromones looking like a wet dream come to life.

Or it could have just been Denki's heat.

That was definitely it.

For sure.

Nothing more than that.

His wrist felt seared where he'd ran it along Katsuki's skin.

'Mate. Omega. Mark. Mate. Friend. Family. Omega Lover. Mate.'

Shoving down his own alpha's head, Izuku headed towards Katsuki room. Despite knowing Katsuki was going to be pissed about him going into his room uninvited, he figured he'd at least be a little grateful for a change of clothes.

When he picked up the bottles of suppressants and blockers, he was less surprised than he thought he should have been. He'd suspected Katsuki of being an omega since the entrance exam, and the pills were just the last bit of evidence he needed.

Being in Katsuki's space, surrounded by his scent, his alpha purred loudly in response. 'Omega Lover.'

Heat flushing his cheeks, Izuku shoved the bottles between the folds of the clothing he'd grabbed and muttered dispassionately, “Not yet.'

…..

Later, when Denki's heat had finally broken and they were laying silently in his nest, Katsuki asked, "So, when did that start?"

"When did what start?" Denki asked. He was cuddled up in Shinsou's sweater and a clean pair of boxers. He stared at the ceiling and didn't look over at Katsuki.

Katsuki didn't turn to look at him either, lips pressed into a thin line. "You know what I'm talking about Dunce Face. When did that shit with the purple haired bastard start?"

Pushing himself up, Denki started down at Katsuki. "You mean Hitoshi?"

"Who else would I mean, dumbass? You've literally been masturbating to his smell for two whole days. Your heat lasted for a week because you didn't have his smell. Is there another alpha whose dick you're trying to jump? You slutting it up with all the alphas?" Katsuki snapped, all patience leaving him after being stuck in a room with Denki for an entire week and producing slick for the last two days because of Izuku's intentional or otherwise scenting. Stupid fucking Deku. He was at his wit's end with Denki and Izuku and his own fucking body.

Denki sputtered. "N-no! No! I've only been s-s-seeing Hitoshi! There's no other alphas! Why would you say that?"

"Because you were hiding the fact that you were seeing some half-baked alpha behind our backs!" he spat, sitting up and pushing away from Denki, "Do the others know?"

Denki dropped his eyes, playing with a fraying thread at the edge of a cuff. "No. I mean, Sero knows, but that's because he walked in on us. We were just hanging out in here." He quickly continued as Katsuki's eyebrow drew into sharp points over his eyes. "We weren't doing anything! We were just laying in here talking. You know what? I don't know why I'm defending myself. I shouldn't have to defend myself for being in a relationship. I shouldn't have to defend myself to my friend! You should be happy for me! You're supposed to be my friend!" There were tears in his yellow eyes, and his fingers were wrapped tightly in the cuffs of the sweater.

Katsuki hated post-heat probably the most out of anything surrounding the three omegas' heats. They always got so emotional. It was like even after being rung out by their heats, they still found some well of emotion that hadn't been touched and needed to expel if before things could return to normal. It was a hassle.

He glared at Denki, angry because there were tears in Denki's eyes. He was angry because he had made Denki cry so soon after his heat, after he'd cried for the first five days of it. He was angry because he could feel sympathy tears building in the corners of his own eyes. Fucking post-heat! "I am your friend, are you fucking kidding me? I'm the one who's been here through your entire heat! I'm the one who kept you from doing something fucking stupid like giving yourself to some random alpha! Just because I worry about you doesn't mean I'm not your fucking friend, asshole!"

"Yeah, but you don't have to act like Hitoshi's a bad guy, like he's trying to take advantage of me! He'd never make me do something I don't want to do! He's never commanded me!" Denki shouted back, the tears falling. He scrubbed at his face, but the tears just kept on rolling. "I'm not stupid, Katsuki. I know you think I am, but I'm not. And neither is Hitoshi. No matter if you think I'm an idiot, we know better than to rush into things. We know that things in high school might not last forever. We're waiting to do anything more than kiss, and that's why this heat was so hard. Because all I wanted was him curled around me, protecting me, but I couldn't. We'd go too far. I know that! So, stop treating me like a kid!” The tears had dried up, and he simply stared imploringly at Katsuki. “You should be happy for me that I found an alpha who wants me even though I can't give him pups. Don't you want to find an alpha like that too?"

Katsuki was taken aback by the sudden change in conversation, glaring at the other omega. His hackles raised defensively. "Why the fuck would I want that?"

Denki stared back at him sadly, bottom lip trembling. "Katsuki, we've been here for two years. I know."

"You don't know shit!"

"I do! And so does Ochako and Kyoka! We've known since our first year the first time you helped me through heat. We started to suspect when we were all drawn to you. We know, and we haven't said anything because we know you don't want people to know. Aren't you tired though?"

"There's nothing to be tired of because there's nothing to know!"

"Aren't you tired of hiding? Of the blockers and suppressants and all of it? Fighting your omega every single day? None of it is healthy, and no one would think less of you just because you're an om-"

Katsuki's snarl was animalistic as he stood and stalked towards his pile of belongings. "Don't fucking say it."

"What? That you're an omega? Well, you are Katsuki, and you can't run from it forever! One of these days, you're going to have to come off your suppressants, and it's not going to feel good. At all. You're so strong and great, but you can't get through a heat that's been suppressed for years on your own. You're going to be one of the top heroes one day, but are you really going to hide away what you really are just because you're scared?"

"Shut the fuck up, Denki. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Denki sighed, still sitting in the middle of his nest. "One day, Katsuki, you're going to find someone, whether that's an alpha or not, that you really want to be with, and you're going to have to come clean. Are you going to be able to?"

Without turning to look at him, Katsuki stalked from the room. He needed to scrub himself clean until he couldn't smell Denki's heat on him. Until he couldn't hear Denki's words echoing through his ears.

.....

Katsuki should have known better. Should have prepared better.

No one thought the mission would last so long. It was just a work study mission over their last summer at UA. They were only supposed to be out of the city for a couple weeks at most. He'd prepared for the worst case and taken both bottles of suppressants and blockers instead of just what he'd need for the trip. He'd assumed he'd have enough. The prescription was up at the end of the month, which was just enough time for them to get back if something went seriously wrong.

He'd started rationing them as soon as he'd been told they'd be there for another week. They were there for nearly a month and a half.

He ran out the day before they were meant to come back.

His heat started to push against his skin as they traveled back, but it was a creeping, tentative thing almost as slow as Uraraka's heat. When he finally pushed back into the dorms, empty as everyone was still in class, he combating the need to nest. That restless, uncomfortable feeling beneath his skin that made him want to itch bloody scratches into his skin. He had the thought that while everyone was still in class, he could sneak into their rooms and borrow just one thing, a shirt or pillow or extra towel, that they wouldn't miss while it was gone. It'd only be a few days after all.

'Nest. Nest. Nest. Nest. Nest,' his omega chanted.

Instead of beginning, Katsuki dropped his stuff off in his room and grabbed his shower things.

The shower was nearly unbearable on his already oversensitive skin, and to make it bearable enough to finish the shower, he had to turn the temperature down as low as he could. Standing beneath the freezing spray, he could barely feel the cold as his skin steamed. He gritted his teeth against the sensations, scrubbing until his skin was raw and pink.

Once he was out of the shower, he slipped into his heat briefs and stalked through the dorms for the kitchen. Following his instincts, he gathered water bottle after water bottle and snacks that would be easy to get down and keep down.

Back in his room, he pulled his sheets from his bed and considered where to start nesting. He preferred small, dark, cozy spots so far for his heats, but he didn't have a closet to nest in this time. Growling out his irritation, he dropped the blankets on the floor and pulled his mattress from his frame. He shoved it in a corner opposite of where his frame was, opening one side of the sliding glass doors as wide as they'd go. Returning for the blankets, he dropped them in the middle of the mattress and then began pushing all of his furniture around the mattress to enclose the space as much as possible. It wouldn't be as small and dark as he'd like, but it'd have to do.

Satisfied with his nest to that point, he stalked from his room, leaving his door wide open as he made his way to Kirishima's room first. The door was unlocked as always, and he pushed into the room without hesitation. Standing in the doorway, he inhaled the alpha's heady, spice ridden scent, like seasoned meat cooking over an open flames. Apples and cinnamon and paprika all mingling together as he shuffled through the clothes scattered across his floor for something suitable. He found Kirishima's favorite workout shirt saturated with his scent and slung it over his shoulder before leaving the room.

He stopped by Uraraka's and Ashido's rooms, both unlocked -was he the only person that locked their damn door?- and paid a visit to Sero's room after that. He grabbed only one item, something they might not notice for awhile, but that he could wash thoroughly once his heat was over.

Dropping down to the floor beneath his, he went into Jirou's room first, finding the box she kept all of the clothing she was willing to share with the others during their heats and rifling through it. There was a pair of tattered old sweatpants in the bottom that Uraraka coveted during her heats that Katsuki pulled out with a decided hum. Closing the box, he pushed it back into its hiding hole.

He paused outside Denki's door for several long moments. After their argument months and months ago, Denki had made it a point to attach himself to Shinsou's side. If he wasn't with him, he was hanging out with the other two omegas. Things had been far tenser in their friend group than ever before, and Katsuki wasn't sure the other omega would be okay with him going into his space.

'Friend. Scent. Need. Nest,' his omega whined plaintively, pressing against his rib cage.

He could only hope that their time apart had helped Denki's anger calm. He could only hope that Denki wasn't still holding a grudge against him for everything he'd said.

He should have just apologized when Kirishima, Mina and Sero had told him to.

Slipping into the room, he tried his best not to touch too many things, but it took him several shirts to find one that smelled solely of Denki and not also of Shinsou. They're scents were already beginning to tangle together, and he knew they'd make it passed graduation. He suspected they'd be a mated pair before the end of the year after graduation.

He tucked the shirt beneath the folds of the other clothing he'd gathered, and quickly left the other omega's room.

He grimaced at the overwhelming scent of alpha coming from Hagakure's room, and wondered when the girl had finally presented. She'd been the last in the class, trailing behind Oijirou who had been a beta. He'd forgotten how out of control new alpha's pheromones could be. Not that two omegas on the same floor helped the situation.

He dropped his haul on his bed before finding his way to the second floor and the last bedroom he was compelled to borrow -steal- from. He stood outside Izuku's door for far longer than he'd stood outside of Denki's, nose twitching and dick already half hard in his heat briefs. 'Just do it. Just go in there, take something, and go. It's not hard. Stop being a pussy. Just. Do. It,' Katsuki chanted at himself as his body trembled at the thought of being encompassed by the alpha's gentle scent.

It took his omega to push him into the room. 'Alpha. Scent. Need. Nest. Alpha Lover. Want. Want. Want.'

Inhaling deeply, Katsuki finally twisted the knob and pushed open the door.

The room was just like he remembered Izuku's room from childhood. All Might merch plastered across the walls and his bed and bookshelves. Even his curtains are All Might themed, and he couldn't believe that he'd forgotten how much of fanboys they used to be over All Might. All Might hoodies and action figures and cartoons. Only, one of them had outgrown the obsession in the physical sense and the other still wore it proudly on his sleeve.

Sniffling at the sudden rush of emotion, Katsuki ran the back of his hand beneath his nose before stepping further into the room. Izuku's scent is as clean and subtly strong as ever, and it eased the omega in his chest immediately as he took in the room one piece of fan merch at a time. On a high shelf, he spotted the notebooks Izuku had been notorious for when they were in middle school. He'd figured he still made them, but the shelf was nearly full with more than twenty notebooks. He had to wonder how much time he'd spent on them.

If Katsuki had more time before his heat made it impossible for him to even move, he would have pulled down the notebooks and paged through Izuku's thoughts, but he didn't, and with each passing moment he knew it was getting more and more dangerous to be outside his bedroom. He didn't have suppressants in his room, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to suppress the heat that had been building for two years. Two years of hiding later, he'd be outed as an omega and his feelings for Izuku would be broadcast just by his heat scent being in Izuku's room.

He wished he could stop himself from needing Izuku's scent, but even as a child, he'd never been able to help being near Izuku. After everything that had happened in the passed two years alone between them, it was a wonder he could have still been in denial.

The scratching and clawing and needing in his chest screamed a different story.

He let his omega lead him forward, running his fingers along his desk and the back of his chair. He picked up the night shirt draped over the chair and pressed it to his nose. Heat crawled into his cheeks from embarrassment rather than his heat. Being in Izuku's room felt more illicit than the others, like he was doing something untoward. Like he was some kind of pervert. Like he was planning on jerking off in his bed instead of just taking a shirt.

The thought made heat rush south, and he tilted his head back on his neck to stare at the ceiling and breath. He couldn't afford to rush himself into heat while still in an alpha's space, let alone in Izuku's room. He hadn't had a heat in over two years on double suppressants, and that didn't bode well for him.

Growling down his omega, he threw the shirt over his shoulder and continued around the room. There were his curtains, pulled open to let the sun in. There was his stupid All Might plush. There was his pillow with a drool stain on the corner.

He stopped as he stared at the end of the bed.

Folded at the end was an annoying familiar blanket. When they'd been younger, it had been the softest kind of flannel, but years of washings and abuse had matted the material. Under his fingers though, it felt as soft as he remembered, and when he lifted it, he laughed at the hole they'd ripped through the fabric when they'd been fighting over it. Pressing the blanket to his nose, Izuku's smell was the most prevalent, but he could smell himself beneath that as well. Their childhood scents mingling together.

His omega's purr was deafening.

Snuggling into the blanket, he pulled it around his shoulders and felt no qualms about taking it with him. Izuku would come looking for it eventually, but that might be for the better in the end if his omega's obsession was anything to go by.

"Come on, you utter animal," Katsuki muttered to his chest, closing Izuku's door behind him and taking his ass back to his room. He needed to sequester himself. He needed to nest.

Locking his door behind him, he threw himself on his makeshift nest, rumbling and purring and nuzzling until he was hopelessly tangled in his friends clothing. He wriggled into Izuku's oversized sweater, covering his nose with the collar. The sweater fit well on the alpha, but on Katsuki, it as loose around the shoulders and flapped around his waist. His arms felt a little more snug than he preferred though.

There was something missing, and it didn't take him long to realize what it was.

.....

Uraraka frowned down at her phone at lunch, staring at the text Katsuki had sent her.

Hot Head

I don't have anything that smells like my parents

"What?" she muttered, wondering what that could possibly mean. It didn't make much sense. Actually, it didn't make any sense at all. She hadn't heard from Katsuki in over a month. He'd been on that work study mission that had lasted way longer than it was supposed to. So, he must have been back, but she didn't understand why he was texting her now. Of all times. None of the three omegas were in heat, and that was usually where Katsuki's vigilance over them stopped. "What does this even mean?"

"What's going on?" Izuku asked, leaning towards her to catch a glimpse of her phone.

She turned her phone so he could see the message, still frowning. "Katsuki just sent me that. Do you have any idea what it could mean?"

"Oh? Kacchan?" Izuku asked, eyes skating over the screen, "Is he back? The mission ran long."

Uraraka shrugged. "I mean, I guess. He hasn't talked to me since they went out, so probably. But I just don't get what this means."

Izuku read the text again before sighing. Standing, he tapped her on the shoulder. "It's fine, I know what it means. I'll take care of it."

Startled she stared up at him. "I don't know..." She trailed off at his wide smile.

"It'll be fine. I'll take care of it. I'll meet you guys back at the dorms tonight," he said, picking up his tray and moving from the table.

"Wait, you're going right now? You're skipping afternoon classes?"

Izuku smiled wider. "I'm sure it's important, so I'm going to take care of it now. Take care of him when you get back."

"Wha- Izuku!"

Izuku was gone though, already heading from the cafeteria.

.....

"I don't know. He just left in the middle of lunch. He said to take care of Katsuki like he knew something. I figured we could check on him." Uraraka explained as she stepped into the dorms with Jirou and Denki. As soon as they started up the stairs towards their rooms, the scent hit them like a brick to the face.

Denki dropped to the stairs, panting harshly. "Oh my god, what is that?" he whispered, accepting Jirou's helping hand and pulling himself up.

"Someone's in heat," Jirou and Uraraka said together, supporting him between them even as they felt the weight of pheromones pressing on them. They were already beginning to respond to the heat, skin uncomfortable, slick gathering between their legs, sweat coating their bodies.

"Who would be-" Denki stopped in the middle of his sentence, realization dawning as the bitter despair rolled over them. Lifting his head, he stared at his two friends. "Katsuki.” He pulled away to scramble up the stairs with the girls following close behind him.

"Katsuki? But he's on suppressants!" Uraraka called, sprinting after Denki, but she knew. They all knew. There was no one else in the building that would possibly be in heat, but that didn't mean it made sense.

They were still confused when they got to his door, but it was undeniable. Katsuki's pheromones were filling the entire hallway, pouring from his room in waves of despair and pain and heat. With trembling hands, Uraraka pulled out the ring of keys she kept all the omegas' room keys on. None of them ever locked their doors, but she knew him better.

"Katsuki, we're coming in," she called, pushing the key into the lock.

"We're lucky the others were lagging behind," Jirou whispered, both her and Denki pressing close to Uraraka to slip into the room and close the door as quickly as possible.

The room was surprisingly well lit, the curtains and sliding door pushed open to let in the afternoon light and breeze.

Jirou whined low in her throat, hand pressed over her mouth and nose. "Blasty?" she asked quietly as they got only a couple steps away from Katsuki and his nest.

Lifting his head, he stared at them with blurry eyes and hair even more of a mess than normal. A low growl had begun in his throat, but he stopped as soon as he recognized them. He locked his eyes with Uraraka, blinking some of the heat away. "Did you bring them?"

"Did I bring what?" she asked, stepping forward and crouching on the edge of the bed through an opening between the dresser and desk.

"I texted you."

"Oh." She bit her lip, looking away instead of facing him head on.

Flopping back down, back turned to the other omegas, he grumbled, "Whatever."

Leaning over him, Uraraka tried to catch his eye again, but he turned his face into a familiar blanket wrapped in his fingers. "I'm sorry. I didn't understand the text. You didn't really give me any context. But, um..." She trailed off again, more guilty than she'd already been.

He turned his head to glare at her. "What?"

"Um, Izuku saw the text, and I guess he understood it? He left at lunch. I, uh, I figured he was going to get something from your parents," she said quickly, scrambling back was he sat up straight.

There was a snarl on his lips and color high in his cheeks, and Katsuki looked absolutely wrecked. "Are you fucking kidding me? Deku knows? This could not possibly get any worse! Get the fuck out of my room! Now!" He was screaming, and his commanding snarl was something pulled deep from his chest. "You're not welcome in here. Fuck off."

"Katsuki!" Denki protested, stepping forward, "This is your first heat in who knows how long! You're going to need our help!"

"I don't need anyone! Get the fuck out of my room!"

"Katsuki," Denki tried again, but Katsuki's resounding snarl had him reacting as if he were an actual alpha. He scrambled away from Katsuki's nest and back towards the door with the other two.

They closed and locked it behind them, and immediately heard the same keening whine that Denki had used during his firsts heats a UA. A sound that was the embodiment of despair, and spoke to Katsuki's true feelings.

'Barren. Sterile. Useless,' it said, and Denki's omega responded in kind until he was keening back, sinking to his knees as he pressed his forehead to the door.

"Come on, stop listening to your omega. Remember what Katsuki always tells you. Don't let your omega control you. It doesn't define you," Jirou told him, but even she was feeling it, swallowing hard as she tried to stay strong. She looked to Uraraka. "What do we do? We can't leave him. What if someone comes by? His scent is so strong..."

Inhaling a steadying breath, Uraraka said, "We stay out here. If he needs us, he'll come get us. Until then, we stand vigilance. We're strong heroes in training. If we can't protect Katsuki during his most vulnerable time, what kind of heroes and friends would we be?"

"Ones very affected by their friend's heat?" Denki asked, turning to slump with his back against the wall instead of the door.

Jirou and Uraraka couldn't help the small laughs that fell from them as they sat on either side of him.

.....

The scent of Katsuki's heat had permeated through the dorm, and not for the first time, Izuku was supremely glad for the double suppressants he'd taken as soon as he'd understood the text Uraraka had shown him. The other alphas were already fighting their instincts, and Hagakure being the newest alpha had sequestered herself away after being catapulted into a rut. Kirishima and Mina hadn't even attempted to get to their rooms. Even Todoroki had decided to remain outside with the others instead of having to pass Katsuki's floor.

Izuku stepped in front of the three omegas outside of Katsuki's door, frowning at the deck of cards Jirou was skillfully shuffling and their various stages of undress. The girls had changed into tank tops and loose joggers, and Denki wore only shorts. The three were sweating profusely, but steadfastly ignoring the moisture as Jirou dealed the cards.

"Hi, guys, what are you doing?" he asked, friendly as ever and holding the bag that held a pair of shirts and blanket from Katsuki's parents.

None of the omegas looked up as they sorted their cards.

"Well, Katsuki kicked us out, so we're keeping an eye out for any alphas that happen to wander passed from out here," Denki said, laying out four aces and making the girls groan loudly.

"You're a fucking cheater," Jirou spat, shuffling through her cards quickly as Uraraka grumbled and she picked up a card just to discard another.

"Why did he kick you out?" Izuku asked.

The three glanced up at him, eyebrows raised. Uraraka was the first to say anything. "It's Katsuki," she said simply, glancing down at the bag, "Are those from his parents? I can take them in. How are you not affected?" She reached for the bag, moving to stand up.

Izuku held the bag out of her reach. "I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to bring it to him."

"I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to bring it to him," she told him, voice dropping lower to nearly a growl, and he couldn't remember a time she'd ever talked to him like that. Not even when he'd stopped by to drop off supplies for Denki or Jirou during their heats.

He stared back at her, impassive. He'd learned the expression from Shouto and Shinzou, and found it to be particularly useful at times. "I'm bringing these in to him. He's already kicked you three out previously."

"You're an alpha, Izuku. He's in his first heat since I don't know when-"

"The entrance exam."

She paused, staring at him. "What?"

"The last time he went into heat was at the entrance exam. I remember because I could smell how his body heat had changed. He was on blockers and suppressants at that time too, but his body temperature spiked. And the smell of his sweat changed. I didn't really realize what all that meant until later when we were already here. Actually, I only kind of started to get it after Kaminari's first heat."

Uraraka stared at him, confused. "You can't smell someone's heat in their sweat, and you shouldn't be able to smell anything if he was on blockers. That doesn't make any sense, Izuku."

"Ask him. The last time he went in heat was the entrance exam. The smell of his sweat doesn't change like that when he's having sympathy heat symptoms."

"That's not a thing."

"It is. I've known Kacchan since we were in grade school. And I'm very observant."

"What?" Uraraka asked, exasperated.

Denki stood, blocking Izuku's way to the door also, but there was a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared back.

From the floor, Jirou tilted her head, eyes narrowing.

"You're an alpha, Izuku, and I don't know if Katsuki would want you in his room," Denki said calmly, calmer than he ever usually was, "What are your intentions with him? Explain how you're not going to lose control. The other alphas seem to have cleared as far out as they can. Kiri and Mina haven't even come back to their rooms."

"Denki!" Uraraka hissed, pupils constricting the longer she stood there, fingers poised in front of her for a fight.

It hurt Izuku that they thought he would ever be a threat to any of them, let alone Katsuki. "I took double suppressants before even considering coming near here. I just want to help him any way I can. If he wants nothing to do with me, I'll leave. You can even chaperon me in there to make sure neither of us go out of our minds, but I need to check on him myself. I can..." He swallowed thickly, throat growing tight as he dropped his eyes. "I can smell his despair. I need to check on him. I need to help him."

The three omegas glanced between each other, communicating without words. Finally, Uraraka huffed and stepped out of the way. "Fine, Izuku, but we're going in with you."

Izuku nodded without argument, just happy that they'd accepted his terms without more negotiation. Standing outside the door was slowly driving him nuts because he could hear Katsuki's keening and the sourness of his heat. He was just through the door, in pain and without anyone in there to help him. Even knowing that they'd been exiled by Katsuki himself, he was still a little mad that they hadn't pushed to stay.

Pushing the unfamiliar annoyance away before they smelled it on him, he stepped passed them as Uraraka unlocked the door. The pheromones were stronger passed the door, but not as strong as he'd been expecting. What was strongest was the undercut of copper and salt, of blood, beneath the heat.

Worry in his voice, Izuku stopped into the middle of the room as close to Katsuki's nest as he was willing to get without permission. "Kacchan," he murmured, knowing Katsuki knew he was there, that he'd already caught his scent.

"Deeeekkkkuuuu," Katsuki whined, dragging out his nickname so long that he was breathless by the end.

Izuku took another step forward before dropping to the ground. "I brought shirts from your parents and a blanket," he whispered.

His whine grew high and wordless, like the whine of a dog in distress.

"Kacchan, can I get close to your nest?"

Instead of answering, Katsuki extended his hand backwards towards the end of his nest, clenching and releasing his fist.

Izuku ignored Uraraka's warning growl as he crawled to the edge of the mattress and tentatively pressed a knee into the surface. Setting the bag aside, he pulled the shirts and blanket out, lying them just behind Katsuki's back. He didn't retreat though, watching Katsuki sit up slowly and adjust them as he saw fit. When Katsuki glanced over his shoulder at him, Izuku's breath caught in his throat.

His eyes were red rimmed and swollen, blood dried on his chin. Color stained his cheeks, running down his neck and over his chest and back. Several bruising bite marks marred the creamy skin of his forearms, dark blood dried around the crescents where his teeth had broken through. His eyes were glazed over, but present enough to know who Izuku was. They skated over him, taking him in from head to toe and stopping at his hair.

"You got a hair cut," he whispered, softer than Izuku had ever heard his voice.

Something twisted in Izuku's chest. This was wrong, this soft, vulnerable, hurting version of Katsuki. This wasn't his Katsuki, his Kacchan. He wanted to return him back to the Katsuki he'd fallen for all those years ago.

He hated that his alpha loved the vulnerability in his expression.

He ran a self-conscious hand through the thatch of curls on the top of his head and over the shaved sides. "Does it look stupid?"

"You look hotter without the bush." Ignoring the way Izuku sputtered, he turned his eyes to the three omegas standing just behind Izuku. "Get out."

"Izuku-" Uraraka started, but he cut her off.

Izuku watched the exchange in amazement as Katsuki said calmly and clearly, "He stays. If you try to make him leave, I will hurt you. If you argue with me, I will hurt you. If you try to stay, I will hurt you. I'm not playing games today. I'm not entertaining you today. I know you're trying to help like we've always done with each other, but you can't. Not today. So get out."

Uraraka and Jirou sputtered, "B-but-"

Denki stayed suspiciously silent, watching the situation.

"I'm not some mindless fucking omega. I'm not going to do anything I don't want to do. I can't even smell his alpha, okay?" Katsuki snapped, scent flaring over them and making the three omegas flinch. He sighed tiredly. "Just... get out." He turned, lying back down with his back to the group. Over his shoulder, he said, "And stop hanging out outside my door. Just go... take care of yourselves. I don't need you protecting me. Deku will get you when I kick him out. And don't get close to the other alphas."

Izuku wanted to laugh a little. Even deep in his own pain and heat, he was still thinking of their safety. If that wasn't the epitome of Katsuki, he didn't know what was.

"Okay," Denki murmured, the first to respond with voice soft and fond, "We'll come check on you in a little bit if Izuku doesn't come find us." His eyes narrowed as they turned to Izuku. "If I find out you did anything..." He trailed off, glancing to Katsuki's back again. "Well, let's go guys."

"What? We're just going to roll over!" Uraraka shouted, anger coloring her voice.

"Yes," Jirou said quickly, now eyeing the other pair the same way Denki had been, "He'll be fine."

"But-"

"Let's go." The two omegas pulled Uraraka out as she struggled, closing and locking the door behind them.

In the silence, Izuku couldn't miss when the whine started up again. "Get over here," Katsuki demanded softly, and Izuku crawled onto the bed, sitting on his knees beside him.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Make my omega shut the fuck up," Katsuki hissed, panting breath and face buried in the All Might blanket Izuku usually kept on the end of his bed.

Izuku's head spun with the implication of that blanket here, of what it meant. Katsuki had needed his scent enough to go into his room and take something important to him, something that connected the two of them. Warmth bloomed in his chest, and he started to purr quietly. Cautiously, he laid down behind Katsuki without touching him. "What is he saying?"

"He's just-" Katsuki stopped, and a shudder ran through his body. "Can't stop reminding me that I'm... barren. I can't do what an omega is meant to do. I'm useless and I'll never find an alpha willing to be with someone who can't give them pups. God, fuck this!" The smell of fresh blood filled the air. "Fuck being an omega! This is why! This is why I- I can't- I fucking- I don't- I want- I want-" The keening started again. "God, I just want a pup, but I can't. Denki's lucky. He found an alpha who wants him despite his inability. But I'll never-"

Driven forward by his alpha's need to comfort the distressed omega and his own to help his childhood friend, Izuku pressed a kiss to Katsuki's shoulder. Katsuki went silent beneath him as he started to speak. He couldn't stop his honestly, and really, he didn't want to. He was so tired of dancing around his own truths. "I do. I want you. Ever since we were kids, I've loved you. That didn't change when we were in middle school and you hated me and I figured out that I also wanted you. That didn't change when I realized you were an omega. It's always you. It's always been you no matter what. Even when you're an asshole to me and call me names and push me away. It's still you. Even if you were an alpha, it'd still be you."

Katsuki's breath was a shudder as he exhaled. "I don't believe you. You're delusional," he whispered.

"Do you want me to prove it somehow? Just tell me what I need to do. Tell me if you even want that from me."

"I-" Katsuki stopped and turned towards Izuku, hunger and exhaustion and despair crowding together in his eyes. Pushing himself up on an arm, he shoved Izuku onto his back and leaned towards him, brushing their mouths together. Just the barest brush of lips, but so intimate that it made Izuku's head spin. Katsuki didn't pull away, eyes half-lidded and lips brushing Izuku's as he spoke. "Tell me to stop."

"No," Izuku said simply, closing the distance between them and pressing their mouths together.

Katsuki leaned into the touch, pressing Izuku down into the mattress. When he slipped his tongue passed Izuku's parted lips, he groaned so deep it reverberated through Izuku's chest.

True to omega fashion, Katsuki's mood immediately switched. His scent barely took a moment to change and fill the room with the heady scent of slick and arousal. He attacked Izuku's mouth with the same ferocity that he battled with, hot and in control and primal. Grinding his hard clothed cock against Izuku's thigh, he groaned again.

Izuku knew this was partially his own fault. It had been the same for Denki, he remembered. His heats had changed once Shinsou had taken to him as much as Denki had to Shinsou, accepting him for everything he was. Only after his alpha had accepted his omega.

Despite Katsuki's desperation though, Izuku's mind was as clear as it could be with his long time crush hovering over him. He'd heard what it was like for other alphas to go into a rut, how uncontrollable and painful it could for them. How they sometimes couldn't keep themselves from marking omegas they stumbled upon. How they had been pushed into a rut by an omega in heat.

But Izuku was confident in the suppressants and his own will power. He knew that he wouldn't let Katsuki's omega or his own alpha push them into something they couldn't do so soon after coming to an understanding. He'd help Katsuki, but he hadn't shown up to fuck Katsuki. He didn't think that Katsuki would want that anyway. Not right now. Not like this.

…..

Katsuki was hot. Hot and breathless and hungry for Izuku. He wanted to devour him body and soul. He wanted to feel him against his body. He wanted to feel his hands on him as he took his pleasure. Katsuki had never been so sure in his life of what he wanted.

'Mate. Mark. Alpha. Acceptance. Mate.'

Vaguely, somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he wasn't ready for something so permanent. Something neither of them could take back.

But the desperation was unbearable. He couldn't fight against the omega filling his skin, telling him to take while the alpha was still there. Before the alpha ran, realizing what he was doing.

"Deku," Katsuki moaned, reminding himself and his omega that the alpha before him was Izuku, that he had wants and needs that may not align with his omega's. With his own.

He never realized just how much he wanted to devour Izuku all these years until that very moment. "I want you to touch me, Deku. Touch me. Kiss me. Fuck me. Mark me," he panted, unable to control the words slipping from his heat addled mind. If he hadn't been so blissed out on the feel of Izuku's thigh between his legs, he would have been embarrassed. Never had he imagined his first sexual encounter with Izuku would be as the bottom. Despite being an omega, he was very, very certain in his status as a top, but his omega screamed for him to be filled. To feel the push of hot flesh against his entrance. To feel seed fill him to the brim and a knot stretching him tight to keep it all in.

The thought grossed him out, but also made him wet with anticipation.

Izuku kissed him again, licking into his mouth. His scent was as calm as ever as he pressed his knee up between Katsuki's legs, making it all the easier for him to rub himself off. He was one hundred percent positive he could come just from the little friction.

Groaning, he slid further into Izuku's lap.

The feel of Izuku's own hard cock through his pants sent Katsuki straight over the edge, and he bit into Izuku's bottom lip as he shuddered, slumping heavily against him.

"Tell me what you want. I'll give you everything accept for fucking or marking you. But I know there's more. What do you want?" Izuku murmured with hot breath against his ear, voice gentle and coaxing. "I want to make you feel good, but I can't go too far."

"Go too far," Katsuki whispered back, voice nearly a plea and nose buried in the crook of Izuku's neck, "Touch me. Take me. Bruise me and bite me. I want everything you give me. I want it all. I want all of you. I want to feel you hot inside me." He licked at Izuku's scent gland beneath his jaw, searching for that alpha scent, but the blockers were still working as advertised. He and his omega agreed immediately on their annoyance, grumbling their displeasure.

Izuku trembled, hand on Katsuki's waist. "Kacchan, you're going to be the death of me."

"Call me by my name."

"K-Ka-Katsuki?" Izuku stuttered, and Katsuki shuddered against him. "Do you really hate my nickname for you?"

Huffing, Katsuki took the time to suck a mark into the side of his neck just under the collar of his uniform shirt. "That's what you called me when we were little kids. We're not kids anymore. I don't want you to call me that in bed."

"Th-Then I don't want you calling me 'Deku' i-i-i-i-i-in bed."

Smirking, Katsuki growled, "Izukuuuu," against his hear, and relished in the groan that it pulled forth.

"That's not all you want, is it? Tell me what you want me to do."

"I told you what I want."

"I'm not fucking you."

Katsuki huffed again and slid off Izuku to lay on his back, eyes closed as he breathed. His heat had calmed to a dull roar after he'd come, enough to give him some thinking room, to see through the fog. He hummed thoughtfully, fingers roaming over Izuku's chest. "You're right. Don't let my omega speak for me."

Izuku laughed, his own hand trailing up Katsuki's side. He turned his head to look at him. "I'm trying not to let my own alpha direct me. The suppressants are helping, but you're still an omega in heat. So he's kind of going nuts that I'm not taking you. But we're not animals. And I don't think it'd be a good idea right now."

Katsuki chuffed, smirking. "Agreed." He slid two fingers through the hole between two buttons, trembling at the skin to skin contact. Electricity skittered up his arm, and he wondered idly if this was what Denki felt like with Shinsou. If his body felt like a live wire. "My omega is screaming. You heard what he was sayings. It's kind of hard to-" He inhaled sharply as Deku's hand skimmed across his abdomen just above his briefs. "-droooown him o-o-out." The heat burst back to life, and he was panting and hard all over again. "Fucking fuckity fuck. Jesus. Dammit Izuku, just touch me," he hissed, eyes still screwed shut as his fingers curled into claws on Izuku's chest.

"Where?"

"Jesus, god, anywhere! Literally anywhere! Just put your goddamn hands on me!"

"Bossy," Izuku laughed, but swung a leg over Katsuki and straddled his hips. He sat purposefully on Katsuki's unmistakable bulge, rocking his hips gently down. He hadn't had many ruts, more than Katsuki had had heats, but less than the other alphas. Only one for each summer since he'd presented. He'd spent even less of those with another alpha or helping an another through their own rut. That didn't mean he was innocent though, and he knew what he preferred during sex. Sure, alphas were supposed to top at all times, but like he'd already said, they weren't animals. They had tastes and appetites and desires just like every other person. And his alpha had never really seemed to have a problem with him being a power bottom with another alpha.

Now though, with Katsuki beneath him barely clothed and chest heaving with heat and so pliant under his hands, his alpha was telling him to, 'Take. Take. Take!'

Ignoring his alpha's chanting, he rolled his hips again and smiled at Katsuki's groan. He leaned over Katsuki, pressing a kiss to his mouth, his nose, his cheeks and forehead and jaw and neck. He trailed his kisses down, down, down, licking at the sweat droplets beaded on his skin, rolling a pert nipple between his teeth. He was loosing himself in the rhythm of them, the grind and the thrust and the press. The only saving grace was that he was still fully clothed, and he was going to stay that way.

Sliding from Katsuki's lap and watching how he willingly spread his legs for him, Izuku nipped and sucked marks across the hard expanse of Katsuki's abs until he was stopped at the waistband of his heat briefs. Unable to resist, Izuku nuzzled at the crease of his hip and thigh, deeply inhaling the scent of allspice and burnt sugar and slick. Izuku could get well and truly drunk off of Katsuki's scent.

"I'm going to take these off," he warned before sliding the briefs down Katsuki's hips and thighs, setting them off to one side. The heat radiating from Katsuki was nearly suffocating once he had his face between his thighs, kissing along the inside of his thighs with single minded focus. With each moan Katsuki release, Izuku moved closer to the crux of his thighs to abuse a new patch of skin.

"Fuck, Izuku, just do something already," Katsuki snarled, hands gripping at the roots of Izuku's curls, "You're driving me up a fucking wall."

"How do you ask?" Izuku asked boldly in a deep rumble.

Katsuki jerked beneath his hands and mouth. "Please," he whispered, fingers tightening ever so slightly.

Izuku hadn't actually expected him to respond, and so he did what he'd been wanting to do since their first year in high school. Wrapping his arms up and around Katsuki's thighs to hold him in place, he licked a stripe up the underside of Katsuki's cock before taking him in his mouth. Katsuki's resounding whine sent a jolt of pleasure straight to Izuku's own dick.

…..

Izuku was sinfully good at sucking cock, so much better than any of the other omegas. They'd all needed different things to push through their heats, and sometimes that had led to compromising positions between the four. Their sexual relations never went further than heats. Heats were one thing, but just have sex to have sex was a line they'd never crossed in their friendships. He didn't actually know if it felt so good because he was in heat or that Izuku was actually that good, but it was only a few moments after Izuku had swallowed him down that Katsuki's mind whited out. He hadn't even had the presence of mind to thrust into his mouth.

He came to panting and breathless, fingers still tangled in the newly shortened curls, unconsciously scratching his fingers over Izuku's scalp.

Izuku purred happily. He hadn't come up from between Katsuki's legs, nuzzling his nose through the blonde curls around the base of his cock. He was kneading at Katsuki's hips and thighs, and Katsuki for the life of him couldn't understand what he was still doing down there. "Are you just going to chill down there or what?" he bit out, but his voice was softened around the edges, dulled by two orgasms and the intoxicating sensations of his body being worshiped.

"I want to..." Izuku trailed off, eyes still closed. He pressed his nose into the crease of Katsuki's thigh again.

"What do you want, Izuku?" he asked, voice husky and omega rioting in his chest as he started to grow hard at the mere thought of Izuku taking what he wanted. God, this was not something he missed from his last heat. Being rung dry and coming back to life moments later.

Izuku's grip was tight, but not bruising. Katsuki wanted the bruises, wanted the marks if he wasn't going to bite him, and Izuku seemed to reply to that silent command as he dug his fingers into his skin.

Katsuki hissed.

"I want to... I want to eat you out. Lick up all your slick until you don't know up from down. Finger you until you forget I even have a cock. That's what I want, but I know you probably don't like- I don't want to overstep-"

"Do it. Do it. Fucking do it," Katsuki chanted, thighs tightening around Izuku's head, "Make me feel good. Make me forget myself. Do whatever the fuck you want with me, Izuku."

Izuku groaned, closing his eyes to keep himself in control. "Well, since you requested so nicely..." Lifting Katsuki's hips a little higher, he used his thumbs to spread his cheeks.

A pool of slick had gathered beneath him on the sheets.

When Izuku swiped his tongue over Katsuki's entrance, he nearly blacked out. His slick was sweet to the point of too sweet with undertones of his all spice and burnt sugar scent. He couldn't stop the utter keen of pleasure that exploded from him.

Katsuki shouted above him, jerking beneath his hands. His heels dug into the mattress on either side of Izuku, using the leverage to lift his hips higher.

Izuku licked at him again, and again, and again, until Katsuki was a writhing wordless mess and he'd cleaned up every last drip of slick. Katsuki hadn't cum again yet, so Izuku waited until both of their breathing had slowed before teasing at the tight ring of muscle with the tip of his tongue, circling and prodding, but not pushing further. Only when the slick began to drip again did he push forward, working Katsuki open with his tongue. He opened easily, even more so when he finally slipped a finger in beside his tongue.

Katsuki was beside himself, eyes screwed shut and hips being held securely as he tried to thrust against Izuku's mouth. If he'd known that Izuku felt the same way, if he knew what the stupid nerd could do with his mouth besides run it, he had no doubt that he would have come off his suppressants sooner. He would have let Izuku take him apart heat after heat after heat just to feel his hot breath on him again.

He couldn't wait for Izuku's next rut so he could repay in kind, and dissect him piece by piece until he didn't know his own name.

"Izuku!" he panted, dragging at the alpha's curls, needing to kiss him, "Izuku, come up here! Kiss me!"

Izuku complied, his fingers burying themselves deep in his ass to replace the loss of his tongue.

Katsuki moaned into his mouth when their lips finally crashed together again, tasting himself, sucking on his tongue until Izuku was moaning right back. "Move already, nerd," he hissed against wet lips, needing more. Needing to feel that movement inside of himself. To spur him forward, Katsuki pushed his hands between their bodies and worked quickly to open Izuku's pants.

When Katsuki finally wrapped hot, damp fingers around him, Izuku moaned long and low and unbroken. "Oh god," he whined, stock still above Katsuki.

"Move, dammit," Katsuki growled, wrapping his free arm around the back of Izuku's neck and rolling his hips down onto Izuku's fingers.

The movement snapped Izuku out of his reverie. They moved together, Katsuki jerking Izuku off and Izuku thrusting his fingers as deep as he could into Katsuki's heat. Matching rhythms. Matching moans. Matching pitch. They had never been as in sync as they were in that moment, but they were both too blissed out to realize.

"Oh god. Oh gooood," Izuku moaned, fingers stuttering as Katsuki ran a thumb over Izuku's head, pressing just slightly into the slit before sliding down again.

"Hurry. Hurry. Hurry," Katsuki panted against Izuku's jaw, dragging his teeth along his skin. Copper and salt slipped across his tongue, and he moaned deeply. He'd broken skin, just a small scratch along Izuku's cheek. He screamed with Izuku's next thrust. "Fuck! Right there! Right fucking there!"

"I'm so close, Katsuki, so close," Izuku whispered, hips thrusting sloppily forward into Katsuki's hand. His hand had gone still in Katsuki, fingers buried deep and simply massaging that singular spot that had made him scream. He wanted to pull that noise from him again, but he was too far gone to focus enough to keep up the same onslaught.

"Come on, baby, cum for me. Let me hear-" Katsuki's voice cut off with a barely audible moan, his body going tense before shuddering with his release. Turning his teeth away from Izuku's skin quickly, he dug them into his own arm instead.

His fingers convulsed around Izuku, and he was following behind him with a shouted, "Fuck!" White liquid spilled over Katsuki's fingers, joining the pools of his already covered stomach.

Izuku carefully pulled his fingers from Katsuki, rolling onto his back as he panted. The smell of blood cut through the haze, and his nose scrunched in response. "Did you bite me?"

"No," Katsuki said, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, "Myself. God, I need a fucking nap. I need a shower too. I'm disgusting."

"Sorry about that."

"Say sorry again and I'll never let you in here again. I'll die before I open my legs for you again."

Izuku laughed. He tucked himself back into his pants and turned to face Katsuki. "Don't. Please."

"That eager to get your cock wet?"

Sighing, he placed a hand on the side of Katsuki's neck and tugged them towards each other. "No. I just don't want to know you'd be suffering like when I first came in," he said soberly.

"That's fair. That's a good reason," Katsuki said, turning to meet his mouth.

They kissed lazily for long minutes that felt like they stretched on for hours. Tongues slid into mouths and along teeth. Hands trailed over bare skin. There was no heat beneath their skin, just taking in all the years they'd missed out on.

"Get me a wet wash cloth, nerd," Katsuki ordered, pushing at Izuku's shoulder when they finally broke apart. "And you should change."

"I need to get my blockers and suppressants too."

Katsuki hummed his agreement, eyes already drifting closed. The breeze drifted through the open sliding door, cooling the sweat on their bodies and pulling the stale air from the room.

Leaning over him, Izuku pressed a kiss to Katsuki's forehead. "You should sleep, or eat something and then sleep. I'll be back soon if one of the others doesn't hang me from the trees."

"If they do, they'll be hanging right beside you," Katsuki threatened, but he was barely there at all.

Izuku drifted out without Katsuki even noticing.

.....

The fallout from Katsuki's secret being revealed was less than he'd assumed. It was easier for the class to accept than the school, but Aizawa and All Might shielded him from as much of it as possible until mostly everything had calmed down.

The media completely blew the story out of the water and out of proportion, and it had been harder to hide from them as it was from the others. The hero agency that his did his work study had been on a high profile mission less than a month before the news came out, and all the speculation came down to whether him being an omega had dragged it out.

Katsuki let everything roll off his back though. He had an alpha who wanted him, Izuku of all people. Being an omega didn't change the fact that he was the strongest hero for their generation.

Three years found him still dealing with the same criticism as someone shoved a microphone in his face after a battle. A battle that didn't even have any other omegas involved in it. "What do you have to say about the controversy of omegas on the battlefield? Do you think male omegas in heroes agencies has increased due to their inability to birth? Do you think they're trying to carve out a spot in the hero world because that's all they can do?"

The signs of Katsuki's approaching heat had begun earlier that morning, but the mission had taken precedence. So instead of calling it off, he'd popped a suppressant and blocker and went on his way. Now, more than twelve hours later, the suppressants were beginning to wane, and all he wanted to do was get home. He'd built his nest the day before out of that idiotic animal instinct, but now he thanked that instinct. It meant he wouldn't have to spend the time to build one when all he wanted to do was rest.

Ignoring the reporter, he took a moment to send a text to Izuku.

Me:

Heat starting. My apartment after paperwork. Bring snacks.

The text came back immediately.

Deku:

I've got it. Love you. See you soon.

Shoving his phone back into the pouch he kept on his belt for miscellaneous items, he glanced back at the beta still in his face. "What were you saying? I wasn't listening. Some anti-omega bullshit."

"I was saying-"

"You know what? I do have something to say," he said, cutting the man off, "What I have to say to all omegas, but male omegas in particular, is that being an omega doesn't define you. If you let it, then you're fucking weak and you need to get over it. Your actions will define you, not your omega so don't let anti-omega idiots fucking tell you what you can and can't do." Stepping around the reporter and pushing the camera out of his face, he shouted over his shoulder, "I'm done talking. I've got shit to do!"

Shit meant dealing with the rest of the victims and rescue operations and then submitting his report.

At the end of it though, he had a fiance and alpha waiting at home for him to get back.

#my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bakudeku #dekubaku #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #mentions of shinkami #bakukami friendship #omegaverse #a/b/o #omega katsuki #alpha izuku #my writing #cosmic joke

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creative-type · 4 years

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Hey @oriigami, I was your Secret Santa for the @opsecretsanta2019. I hope you enjoy your gift, and have a Merry Christmas

Title: Deliverance Rating: T Characters: Sabo, Koala Summary: It stood to reason that Sabo and Koala would get a cupcake for their first mission. It also stood to reason that nothing would go as planned.

Or, the story of how Sabo got his first bounty.

“Promise me you won’t go off script.”

“I told you already, I promise.”

Sabo fought with an ill-fitting workman’s cap, which despite his best efforts to pummel into submission did not want to sit nicely on his head. It was new and stiff, without any of the give his usual tophat had. He heard Koala give a nearly inaudible sigh. Standing on her tiptoes she swiped it out of his hands, giving him just enough time to bend down so she could force it on, pulling the bill so low it nearly covered his eyes.

And his scar.

“When did you get so damn tall?” she groused.

“I’m perfectly average, thank you very much,” Sabo said. “You’re just short.”

Koala punched his arm a little harder than was necessary, but he got her to smile. A real, honest-to-god smile, and not the strained bastardization she resorted to when she was nervous. “Seriously, Koala,” he said. “They gave us a cupcake of a mission.”

“We’re going in alone. There won’t be any backup this time around,” she pointed out.

Sabo scoffed, “Hack will be a snailphone call away, not that we’ll need him just to make a delivery. Seriously, Koala, we��ll be fine.”

“I will be fine,” Koala corrected, jabbing her finger into his chest. “It’s you they don’t trust not to run off towards the nearest explodables.”

“That was one time! How was I supposed to know that ship was transporting gunpowder?”

“I rest my case.”

She took a step back and looked Sabo with a critical eye. He considered making a quip about how cute she looked dressed up like a little peasant girl out running errands, but decided he would rather start his first solo mission without any conspicuous bruising.

It was a simple enough job, all things considered. The Revolution had gotten wind of a few nasty rumors regarding some upstart nobleman on the Isle of Doulos and sent an agent to infiltrate the household, who was now in need of some extra reconnaissance equipment that Koala and Sabo were to smuggle in to the estate.

“I’m not going to screw this up,” Sabo promised for what felt like the dozenth time. “I don’t plan on having Hack babysit me forever so might as well show them we have what it takes, right?”

“Right.” Koala adjusted his collar before giving her final nod of approval. “Remember, we absolutely cannot blow Bunny Joe’s cover. So no hitting douchebags in the face.”

“I won’t,” Sabo promised for the thirteenth time. He paused. “I mean, unless they really deserve it.”

Sabo set sail to Doulos with a sore arm, but it was worth it to hear her laugh.

Xxx

There had been some question on how the Revolution would smuggle supplies into the mansion of Lord Chandler, the recently turned nobleman who was promoted from the merchant class after performing some kind of service to the crown. Preliminary scouting missions reported an exceptionally thorough snailphone system that covered every inch of the nobleman’s vast estate. Stealth was technically possible, but it would be difficult to sneak around without arousing suspicion.

Further surveillance uncovered a surprisingly simple solution: Supplies from the nearby port city were often delivered by children the same age as Sabo and Koala. All they had to do was get in, drop off a few snails of their own, and get out again.

It wasn’t exciting, or brimming with danger and glory. The Revolution was still treating Sabo and Koala like children even though they’d been around longer than most of the adults, training and studying for the day they could officially join Dragon’s army.

“This is almost embarrassingly easy,” Sabo complained as he carefully loaded a cart left by other agents in the area. Beside him, Koala was readying the donkey that would lead them to their glorious future.

“Would you rather get a free pass?” Koala asked. “There’s already talk about how you get preferential treatment. Boss doesn’t give out one on one lessons to everybody, you know.”

“Talk? From who?” Sabo asked.

Koala gestured vaguely. “You know, people. Is this really the best time to be talking about this?”

“No. And I don’t want any free passes, either,” Sabo said. He took the reigns from Koala and helped boost her into the cart.

“I know that, the boss knows that. Everyone who matters knows that.” Koala’s expression softened, and she placed a calming hand on his forearm. Sabo forced himself to relax, not wanting her to feel the tension that had him all wound up and irritable.

“Yeah, well I’m going to prove it. Yee-freaking-haw.” And with a gentle snap of the reigns, they were off.

It was a pleasant trip, the air of the spring island crisp and cool while the sun danced its way through a cloudy sky. Sabo and Koala picked their way through town and out into the countryside where Lord Chandler’s estate was nestled between rolling green hills, away from the polluted pall of the city and the dirty peasants who lived there. It was about an hour of slow, deliberate plodding on a bumpy and unpaved road, but time with Koala always seemed to fly twice as fast. Their most arduous task was trying to lead the stubborn donkey pulling their cart.

“I think he takes after you,” Koala teased.

“I’d like to see you do better.”

And so she did.

Their first roadblock came at the estate itself. Koala knew better than to lead them through the main entrance, following down a well-worn servant’s path farther back. The security guard manning the gate, a burly man who seemed to have more muscles than brains, looked down at his clipboard and frowned.

“I don’t have any deliveries scheduled for today.”

“We were only called for this morning,” Sabo said. “We probably didn’t make it on your list.”

He flashed his most winsome smile while Koala gave a small nod in agreement. The guardsman’s frown deepened, and he squinted harder at his clipboard as if it would spontaneously give him the answer he was looking for.

“Who ordered the delivery?” he asked after a long moment of thought.

Sabo shrugged. “Some guy named Joe, I guess? We were only told to bring the stuff over to the kitchens.”

He climbed to the back of the cart and showed the guard their wares: A dozen bags of flour, sugar, and other staples, plus a few rarer items imported just that day from a faraway island that they could pass off as the reason for the emergency delivery.

“I don’t know...” the guardsman said, stretching out the know so long it almost became two words.

Sabo was not about ready to have his first mission waylaid by some no-name grunt. He took a deep breath, gearing himself to launch into another argument when he was interrupted.

“What seems to be a problem here?”

Sabo turned sharply toward the new voice. All the color left the guard’s face as a newcomer slid out from the shadows of the gate, seeming to glide across the ground as if he were a glob of human-shaped oil instead of a real person. He wore an expression that could technically be described as a smile, provided whoever was doing the describing was blind, standing very far away, and had never known the pleasure of genuine human kindness.

It took a small measure of effort for Sabo not to recoil in disgust as the newcomer observed both Sabo and Koala through heavily lidded eyes. There was something eerie about his expression, magnified by a pair of the palest blue eyes Sabo had ever seen in his life, so clear as to be nearly devoid of color. His gaze flitted from Koala, to Sabo--lingering a moment his scars--before returning to Koala and staying there. His lips stretched to reveal a few more teeth, and it took every scrap of Sabo’s will not to break his promise and punch him in his big, leering face.

Koala, bless her, feigned a look of desperate pleading. “Please, sir, we just want to make our delivery and go home.”

Only Sabo heard the sarcastic edge in her servile tone. The newcomer took another gliding step, the guardsman instinctively shying away as he got too close for comfort. “Ah, yes. The extra supplies for our guests tonight. You’re early.” He made a motion like he were batting away an annoying fly. “Hurry up and let them in. You’re causing a scene.”

“Yes, sir!”

Koala and Sabo exchanged a look of surprise, but they didn’t have any time for anything else as the guardsman snapped at them, “You heard the man, get a move on! You’re causing a scene!”

The newcomer’s eyes never left them as they made their way toward the kitchens. Sabo could feel him boring a hole into his back even as they disappeared out of sight.

Xxx

For as long as Sabo could remember, he had a cat’s instincts for people. He was able to decipher tells with uncanny accuracy, the little pushes and pulls of body language that said more than words ever did. It was something that came to Sabo naturally, but he didn’t think it was Haki. Dragon had taught him some of that, too, and while the ability to Observe had its roots in the same place deep in his subconsciousness they were not the same.

Sabo was one of the only people in the world who could tell when Koala was only pretending to smile. He could read the minute changes in Dragon’s expression to know if he was pleased or upset. He could look at two strangers and dissect the power dynamics between them after only a few minutes of observation, and he didn’t need a Devil Fruit or any supernatural willpower to do it.

It got him into trouble more often than not, his instinctual gut reactions making him act without thinking, but he never regretted plowing ahead when he knew in his heart of hearts he was right. The Revolutionary Army was in the middle of a war; they didn’t have time to wait around for opportunities that would never open up of someone didn’t force the issue.

“Don’t,” Koala hissed under her breath. “I know what you’re thinking. Do not go off-script.”

“Do you see Joe anywhere?” Sabo asked serenely, the picture of perfect innocence. “I don’t want to lay this stuff out where anyone can find it. Someone should go look for him.”

Before Sabo could move, Koala’s hand was around his bicep, her grip tighter than an iron vice. “I swear to whatever god cares to listen, I will murder you in the most painful way I can imagine. For once in your life, listen to me: There’s someone already here investigating. We know there’s some bad juju here and there are measures in place to take care of it.”

“Not fast enough, by the looks of it.”

He felt rather than saw Koala’s reaction, his gaze straight ahead to the men and women scurrying around Lord Chandler’s estate at the same frenzied pace as a colony of ants whose nest had just been overturned. The servants had their heads ducked low, hurrying from one place to another like they were scared to be caught loitering. No one had the time to make small talk with one another. No one seemed to be happy at all.

“Who do you think the guests are for tonight?” Sabo asked, his voice barely carrying the distance between he and Koala. “There wasn’t anything about that in the report.”

“Maybe it was need-to-know, and we didn’t,” Koala said.

“Or maaaybe something’s going on. Joe really should have been here by now,” Sabo said. “If we stick around much longer someone’s going to kick us out.”

He kicked a pebble at his feet for emphasis. It dinged against the side of the great building Lord Chandler used as his kitchens, the heat of a dozen ovens making the air ripple and haze. He hated waiting out in the open like this. It was hard enough trying not to be conspicuous with his face half-fried. They might as well have flashing signs over their heads saying that they didn’t belong.

“Then I’ll go look for him,” Koala said. “You stay here and guard our stuff.”

“But…”

Koala silenced him with a raised finger. “Do you even know the right staff person to ask?” She allowed him a moment to answer, and when he couldn’t said, “Exactly. Of the two of us, I have the most experience with...this kind of thing.”

Her mouth twisted in a way that meant she had unwittingly dredged to the surface the horrors of her childhood. Koala shook herself slightly, like a dog would to dry off, and immediately her more familiar smile was back.

Sabo hated when she looked like that, more than he hated the possibility of flubbing his first mission. “You’re right, you’re right. I’ll be a good boy and stay put.”

Koala’s soft flit of laughter lifted the dour atmosphere of the estate, if only for a moment. “I doubt that.”

She bounded off towards the servant’s entrance, moving with a warrior’s poise and grace. She would have to work on that if they ever went deep undercover; a layman would never notice, but an experienced fighter would and might ask questions they dare not answer.

Sabo was tucking that tidbit in the back of his mind when he saw a blur of color at the edge of his vision. The scarring on his bad eye rendered him nearly blind on that side, and by the time he got turned around the weird man with the blue eyes was nearly at his cart.

“Sorry, sir, we’ll be out of your way as soon as we can,” Sabo chirped in his most simpering tone. “Just trying to find who we’re supposed to drop this off with. It’ll only be a moment more.”

The hairs on the back of Sabo’s neck prickled as he felt the Presence of three others walking up behind him. A quick glance showed that none of them were Bunny Joe, and Sabo didn’t trust the strange man’s smile any more than he had before.

He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, remembering countless lessons with Hack and Koala and Dragon. He couldn’t lose control. Sabo felt his focus narrow as adrenaline hummed in his veins, sharpening every detail to its finest point.

The strange man stood directly in front of him, while three of the estate’s security detail formed a half-circle at Sabo’s back. Blue Eyes was empty handed, but the rest either held guns or wore them at their hips.

“Does there seem to be a problem, sir?” Sabo asked. Too late he remembered that he was supposed to be a normal city boy making a delivery, and the question came out more impertinent than fearful.

It seemed Koala wasn’t the only one who needed practice.

“Walk with me, boy,” Blue Eyes said. “I think I know where to find your friend.”

Sabo took a sharp breath. He had a split second to make his decision, and a not-so-small part of him wanted to fight. The mission was obviously compromised and Bunny Joe missing, and he’d foolishly allowed himself to be separated from his partner with no easy way to get into contact with her.

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Koala’s told him to wait. There was no turning back once he decided to turn things into a slug fest. There were still too many questions he didn’t have answers to; if there was a chance of salvaging anything out of the mission, then he should take it. For the Revolution’s sake and his own curiosity.

“Um, okay. Sure thing, boss.” Sabo jumped down from the cart, carefully palming the baby snailphone hidden under the bench as he did so. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he shuffled forward with his head ducked low and his shoulders rolled in defensively.

The Blue-Eyed man’s eyebrows crept up toward his hairline. “Hands where I can see them. I’ll not have any funny business now.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but have I done something wrong?” Sabo asked. “It’s just...you see, my sister’s the worrying type, and she’s going to wonder where I’ve gone.”

“I assure you, your sister is in the best of hands,” he said, before giggling at his own poor attempt at a joke.

Blood thundered in Sabo’s ears, and he couldn’t stop a smile of his own, feral and just as unnerving as the one worn by the man who stood before him. Sabo got the satisfaction of seeing something that was very close to fear flash across Blue Eyes’ face, quickly covered by an imperious mask of self-importance.

Sabo was shoved forward while guardsmen came on either side, boxing him in and marching him away from the kitchens, his cart, and Koala. All of a sudden they were alone; the servants had decided it was best to batten down and wait for the storm to pass.

“Who are you?” Sabo asked. “Lord Chandler won’t be happy to see you interfering with his business.”

The man laughed a cruel and terrible laugh, high-pitched and cold like iron scraping against ice. His guardsmen aped him like a trio of trained monkeys, their low guffaws a mocking harmony. Sabo’s stomach sank when he realized his mistake. He should have known an ass of such massive proportions had to be titled.

“The better question is who are you?” Lord Chandler hissed once he regained control of his facilities. He bent close enough to Sabo that their noses were nearly touching and he was seeing double. “Who sent you? Was it El Jefe, or that upstart LeBlanc? I’ll have my answers one way or another; if you’re smart you’ll save me the trouble of beating them out of you.”

“And I told you, sir, I’m just here making a delivery,” Sabo said.

He saw the blow coming in time to turn his head with the hit, but Lord Chandler’s fist still caught enough of his nose to bloody it. Sabo dutifully let his head snap back to sell the hit. He didn’t really know how much to fake it, but erred on the side of caution. The supercilious grin that spread across Lord Chandler’s face as Sabo pretended to writhe in pain told him all he needed to know. The bastard was the kind of man that liked hurting people, and Sabo wasn’t the least bit surprised when he followed it up with a blow to his solar plexus.

This time Sabo didn’t need to fake a wheeze as all the air was forcibly excavated from his lungs.

Lord Chandler rubbed his knuckles. “The first was for your cheek. The second was for making me touch you.” He gestured for his guards. “Come along. I’ve wasted too much time already.”

Sabo drug his feet, making them work for every inch. Somewhere along the way ill-fitting hat fell off of his head and floated gently to the ground, accompanying the trail of blood that would lead Koala to wherever these idiots were taking him.

A curtain of hair fell over Sabo’s eyes and obscured his mad grin. This wasn’t over. Not by a longshot.

Xxx

Sabo had to applaud Lord Chandler’s ingenuity. He kept his prisoners in a slaughterhouse.

He smelled it before he saw it, the metallic stink of warm blood that never went away no matter how often the floors were scrubbed clean. The building itself was unassuming and plain, windowless, made of concrete with a roof of corrugated tin. Sabo was grateful for the island’s mild climate, but once he was forced inside there was no circulation to help keep cool. The air was stale and suffocating, and while the deadly machinery had been removed the long, narrow corridors remained. A true death row.

Sabo could hear other prisoners through the thin walls. He expanded his senses and thought he felt the Presence of fifteen, maybe twenty people in total. Did Lord Chandler have that many enemies, or was he snuffing out competition? His noble title was still sparkling new, after all. Maybe he was afraid of losing it.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of business, it’s the importance of taking a hands-on approach,” Lord Chandler said in a conversational tone. He rolled up his sleeves past his elbows with deliberate slowness, savoring each moment. “That’s the problem with nobles these days, they’re afraid to get their hands dirty. But I’ve made an effort not to forget my roots.”

Sabo braced himself, not for any sort of blow, but the pain of the pretentious monologue he was certain was coming his way. He was considering saying something rude in hopes of making Lord Chandler shut up and hit him, but was saved the effort by the unexpected ring of the snailphone.

The snailphone that was currently in his pocket.

The snailphone that Lord Chandler did not know he was carrying.

Blue eyes narrowed into slits. “Search him!”

“Left pocket,” Sabo said with a longsuffering sigh.

One of the thugs growled in a way he probably thought was intimidating and forced one of his meaty paws into Sabo’s pants pocket. He looked at the baby snail as if he’d never seen a phone before in his life, causing Lord Chandler to bark, “Well, answer it, you buffoon!”

The guard did as he was told. He listened to the voice on the other end, thick eyebrows growing closer and closer together, and after a moment said, “Boss, it’s for you.”

Lord Chandler snatched the phone out of his hands and shouted into the receiver, “Who is this?!”

Sabo would have loved to hear what was said on the other end, but after a moment Lord Chandler’s face went ghost-white. He thrust the snail into one of his men’s hands without saying a word and rushed out of the slaughterhouse.

“Uh, boss…?”

“See, that’s the problem with doing everything yourself,” Sabo said. “A leader has to trust their underlings to do their job when they’re not around. Unfortunately, you’re just not up to the task.”

Sabo was moving before they had time to even process what he said. He broke out of their hold effortlessly, not even bothering with covering his fist with haki before ramming it into the nearest face. He had a brief moment of yearning for his metal pipe before thrusting the palm of his hand beneath the jaw of another. The third tripped over his own feet trying to run away, and Sabo decided to help him down, palming the back of his head and smashing his face into the concrete floor.

He took a step back, surveying his handiwork. They were all alive and twitching, so he took advantage of the abattoir aesthetic, wrapping them in the chains hanging from the ceiling. The hooks once used when draining blood of freshly slaughtered animals long-since repurposed with iron shackles.

Iron shackles. The idiot didn’t even invest in proper sea stone cuffs.

“Amateur,” Sabo muttered to himself. He wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and went in search of Bunny Joe.

He found him in the locker, standing over an uneasy group of prisoners. There weren’t enough rooms for individual cells or even chains to bind them all, so they were kept together in one huddled mass.

For a moment Sabo was irritated that Joe hadn’t freed himself of such a pathetic prison. The man himself was talking quietly to a young woman, wide-eyed and trembling like a frightened doe, and Sabo forced his annoyance down. There were some things that were more important.

“Hiya, Joe!” Sabo said cheerfully. “Lovely place you’ve got here.”

Joe whirled around. Confusion flashed across his face, before his eyes lit up with recognition. “Oh, hey. You’re the boss’s brat. What are you doing here?”

“Trying to find you,” Sabo said. “What’s going on? Chandler’s goons jumped me ‘n Koala before we had a chance to explain ourselves.”

Joe muttered a string of expletives and drew a hand over his forehead. “He got me early this morning. Must have seen me snooping someplace I shouldn’t and decided to tag you too. I’m so sorry, kid. I’ll get you out of this mess here in a bit.” A pause. “Wait, you said there was someone else with you? Where are they?”

“With a little bit of luck, out causing chaos and mayhem,” Sabo said.

“That’s no good. I need to get you guys out of here before the auction tonight.”

At the word auction the woman beside him burst into tears. Sabo saw her wobble like jelly, before the strength left her legs entirely and she collapsed into a sobbing mess on the ground. Bunny Joe knelt beside her and started rubbing her back in slow, steady circles.

“I’m going to get you all out of here, I promise. I need you to stay strong for me for just a little bit longer. Okay?”

She nodded, and Joe helped her stand with tears still streaming down her face. Taking her by the elbow, he led her back to the other prisoners. “I need to, uh, confer with my colleague for a moment. We’ll sort things out and get you home.”

“This was my home,” she whispered hoarsely.

Her expression crumpled into a look of wretched misery, and she buried her head in her hands. Joe handed her off to another one of the women, an older, matronly-type, his motions stiff and awkward. He returned to Sabo rubbing the back of his neck, uncomfortable and out of place.

“I’m no good at this sort of thing,” he admitted. “But I couldn’t just leave them here.”

“Lord Chandler’s hosting an auction?” Sabo said. It took enormous effort not to start shouting, the spark of his previous indignation ignited into a roaring fire of fury and rage.

“An art auction, yeah. It’s his third in the last two months.”

“I don’t get it.”

Bunny Joe sighed, scratched temple and tried to explain. “Chandler was a smuggler, yeah? And a damn good one at that. He opened up all sorts of illegal trade on this part of the Grand Line under the name Mr. Mooneyes.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” Sabo said.

“Yeah, well, the king turned a blind eye so long as he got his piece of the pie. That was how Chandler earned his title, and now that he’s got it he’s decided to expand his business.”

He looked back at the people behind him. “Auctions are the perfect way to get dirty money clean, and art is easy because the value of any given piece is so subjective. You know, the eye of the beholder, that sort of thing. I was digging through old records, and nearly every piece sold was going for about B500,000. I thought that was a little suspicious, so I tried to find out who was buying, but Chandler runs a tight ship. Everything’s anonymous, supposedly to protect the buyer and their new investment.”

“So you tried to find out who the buyers were.”

“And apparently got caught doing it,” Joe said wearily. “Sorry, I didn’t think he’d go as far as gathering up you guys. I’ll make sure you get home safe.”

“I don’t need your protection. What I need to know is what’s your plan to blow this out of the water, and what can I do to help. Lord Chandler isn’t going to stay away for long, and my guess is he’s going to bring backup. We need to be ready when he does.”

Joe peered down at Sabo, as if he were seeing him for the first time. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Deadly.” Sabo said. “And here’s our backup now.”

Sabo felt Koala’s Presence before he saw her dance into the locker. She faltered for the briefest moment at the sight of the room before quickly finding Sabo and Joe. She didn’t appear seriously hurt, but it was impossible for Sabo not to see the blood on her knuckles. He wondered who it belonged to.

“I assume that was your work at the entrance? You were always good at tying people up.” Koala said.

“And I assume you were the one who called me?”

“I was surprised when you didn’t answer, but I think it worked out better this way,” Koala said, a look of pure wickedness on her face. “I wish I could have seen Chandler’s expression when I told him someone had knocked out his surveillance system.”

“And Hack?”

“I convinced him to hold off just a little bit longer. He’s at the harbor now snooping around the ships coming into port. Hopefully he can identify a few of the people on Chandler’s guestlist for tonight.”

She brushed a stray hair out of her face and scanned the room, noting each detail with a methodicalness that Sabo was sometimes jealous of. “But that’s enough about me. What’s all this?”

“A slave market,” Sabo said. “Seems like that’s how Lord Chandler is making money these days, with the approval of the crown.”

Her eyes hardened, the bright blue of her irises frosting over with an icy coldness. Her lips pursed together into a nearly invisible line, every muscle in her small body tensing. It was so rare to see her truly angry Sabo had almost forgotten how scary she could be. Bunny Joe took an involuntary step back as fury radiated off her in waves.

“The auction is this afternoon. I don’t think Chandler can afford to cancel. Not with so many VIPs coming in from all over the Grand Line,” Joe said. “But he’ll be ready. How bad did you mess up his snails?”

“It won’t be back up anytime soon,” Koala said tersely. “And I’ve brought you all a present.”

Without waiting for their response Koala turned sharply on one heel and walked back to the corridor near the entrance. Sitting next to the three guardsmen strung up from the ceiling was a man who’d been stripped down to his skivvies and hogtied, his clothes folded neatly beside him. Sabo almost laughed. “Who is he?”

“A visiting prince from the Moorlands,” Koala said. “I assume he came for the festivities later today.”

At the sight of them, the prince tried to yell into his gag. Sabo knelt down and picked up the man’s waistcoat with his thumb and forefinger, holding it away from his body as if it were diseased. “Is there a reason you decided to strip him?”

“He looked to be your size. Had this in his pocket.”

Koala handed him a card written on thick stock paper, the words TICKET OF INVITATION written in fancy script. Sabo took it from her skeptically. “His Lordship knows what I look like.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Joe said. “Everything is done anonymously. They wear masks.”

“It’s in there somewhere, just keep digging,” Koala said.

Sabo found a porcelain carnival mask, white a black domino pattern around the eyes, trimmed in gold. “Oh my god, it’s hideous.” He grinned up at her. “I’ll take it.”

Xxx

The clothes didn’t feel all that different from what he usually wore, albeit in black instead of his usual blue. Koala had even found him a cravat. But Sabo felt stiff, like he was wearing someone else’s skin.

He had to remember to walk like he had a stick up his ass, to look down at everyone else like they were bits of mud to be scrapped off of his polished boots. He stood in the spacious halls of Lord Chandler’s mansion, taking in the marble columns and the shiny crystal chandeliers, the smell of sandalwood in the air.

Even with his invitation he was afraid of someone seeing his disheveled hair, or that a guard would somehow see through the mask to see the imposter that lay beneath. The scars on his face and shoulder itched every time someone so much as glanced at him.

Security had been tripled, both inside and out of the mansion, but was thickest around the ballroom where the auction would take place. After a moment of consideration Sabo bypassed it. He was distinctly aware that they were running out of time, seconds ticking off the clock in the back of his mind. Following the directions left by Bunny Joe, he walked up a winding wrought-iron staircase to the second level of the mansion. A servant gave him a questioning look that Sabo dismissed with an aristocratic flick of the wrist. He ignored the stammared apology, stomach curling with guilt.

He hated acting like this. Hated more how good he was at it.

Sabo’s foul mood had nearly reached a boiling point by the time he reached the upper foyer. Two guards in white masks stood at attention by rich mahogany doors. At the sight of him they shifted their rifles, ready to raise them at a moment’s notice.

“No guests on the second floor,” one barked.

“But I have an invitation,” Sabo protested.

“No guests on the second floor.”

“I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with,” Sabo said softly. Dangerously.

He was moving before they had time to a look of confusion, twisting a hand into a dragon’s claw. Haki coating his hand black, he struck the middle of the rifle. Wood snapped into splinters under his hand, metal warping and bending with the force of the blow. The guardsman was thrown backward, head cracking against the doorpost. Pivoting sharply, Sabo grabbed a fistful of the second guardsman’s uniform. WIth a roar of fury he hurled him into the door with as much force as he could muster.

The door didn’t break, but the guard did. Shaking his head, Sabo stepped over him and jiggled the handle. Locked. Grinning behind his mask Sabo cracked his knuckles, surveying the door while he rolled his shoulders to loosen them.

One hit to break the lock. Another to blow the door off of its hinges. Mr. Mooneyes himself stood at a table at the center of the room in abject shock, the remnants clattering at his feet. His security was a little better, but Sabo hadn’t spent the past two years training with Dragon to be beaten by a handful of scrubs.

The last man fell before Lord Chandler could make his escape. Sabo grabbed him by the back of the waistcoat and whirled him around, pinning him up against the wall. Somewhere in the scrum the mask had fallen off of his face, and Lord Chandler’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Ha...You won’t get away with this,” Lord Chandler said, gasping for air. He looked down at Sabo with those clear, soulless eyes, a terrible grin twisting his face into something that was more monster than man.

“I think I will,” Sabo said.

“Marines are coming,” Lord Chandler said. “They’ll get you and the girl. No one will come to rescue you when you’re locked in Impel Down. I bet they have her already. I hope they make the little bitch suff--achgh!”

Somewhere along the line Sabo’s hand had found his neck and began squeezing. “I think you’ll find that girl doesn’t need rescued. Now tell me, who are your buyers? Who’s letting the slave trade expand this far from Mariejois?!”

“Hypocrite” Lord Chandler sneered. “Hubris like yours stinks of the Revolution. Where do you think Dragon gets his weapons? His supplies? Men like me...like my benefactor...are the grease that turns the wheel of society. My father always said you need a little bit of shit to make the garden grow, so don’t pretend you’re innocent. What sort of monster sends children out to do his dirty work?”

“What sort of monster puts free men and women in chains for profit?” Sabo spat through gritted teeth. “I’m not going to ask again, who’s the one letting you get away with it?!”

Lord Chandler laughed a dry, wheezy laugh. “Someone bigger and scarier than you. I’ll not breathe a word, boy, to you or your Revolution, so you might as well end this charade and kill me now.”

Before Sabo could answer, the snailphone in his pocket started to ring.

At the sound of it, Lord Chandler cackled like a madman.

“You’re too late, little Revolutionary. You should have known better than to challenge me when the World Government is on my side.”

Sabo kept one hand wrapped around Lord Chandler’s neck as he answered the phone. “What is it? I’m a little busy here.”

“We need to get out of here now,” Koala said. “Hack and I have the ship ready and Joe’s just about got the last of the slaves on board, but there’s half a dozen marine ships coming in hard. We’ll hold them off as long as we can, but they outgun us by...a lot.”

“I’ll divert their attention here,” Sabo said.

Hack’s voice cut in past Koala’s protests. “Sabo, you’ve done enough. It’s time to cut our losses and--”

“I’m going to burn it to the ground.”

Sabo hung up the phone. He looked at Lord Chandler like he were a newly discovered insect he was about to pin onto a specimen board. “I’ll admit, you’re clever. Joe said you have a code during your auctions, a whole system for bidding so that an outsider looking in would have no idea what was really going on. What was it, oil paintings if they were women, acrylics for men, that sort of thing? I have to wonder why even bother with all the subterfuge if the World Government is really on your side.”

Lord Chandler opened his mouth to answer, but Sabo stopped him with a little bit of pressure against his windpipe. “I didn’t say you could speak. See, I’d say you were scared of the Revolution, but you didn’t even suspect us to start with. You’ve got enough goons here and the approval of your king, which makes me think it’s not the local competition you’re worried about. You’ve got too many resources for them to ever be a true threat.”

Sabo leaned closer. “The slave market’s pretty much a one man show these days. You were a smuggler once, right? I’m sure you’ve heard who’s in charge.”

A spasm passed over Lord Chandler, all-but-confirming Sabo’s gut instinct.

“I’m going to give you one last shot,” Sabo said. “Either you come with me and tell us everything you know, or I leave you here for Joker to take care of. You have thirty seconds to decide.”

Sabo dropped Lord Chandler with an unceremonious thud. He kept half an eye on him while making a quick sweep of the room, gathering up any sort of documentation that looked to be important and stuffing it down the front of his shirt.

Everything else he gathered into a pile. Sabo found the nearest candle and carefully lowered the wicking flame. The paper caught, curling to black ash and smoke.

He would have to help it along if he wanted to make good on his promise to Koala, but Sabo figured he could make it work. He turned back to where Lord Chandler sat whimpering in a corner.

“Time’s up, your Lordship. What do you decide?”

Xxx

“Wanted for kidnapping, assault, and impersonating a noble.”

Koala slipped Sabo’s newly-minted bounty from between the pages for closer inspection before handing him the rest of the paper. “I thought you would be happy. Why are you not happy?”

“I don’t know,” Sabo admitted. He propped his head on his hand and scanned the news, trying to read between the lines of lies to find the truth that lay underneath. “It was all...vaguely unsatisfying.”

“You burned down a mansion.”

“I burn down things all the time. I wanted something...more. Something meaningful.”

Koala quirked an eyebrow. “Saving eighteen people from slavery isn’t meaningful?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’m not sure I do.

Sabo set down the paper and looked at her helplessly. A bandage covered one cheek from an errant bullet, a result of her staving off the marines long enough for everyone to escape.

He felt himself getting angry all over again, but it was an impotent anger. They’d completed their mission, but it wasn’t enough.

It would never be enough.

“Lord Chandler’s one man. One. He’s not even that important in the grand scheme of things. How many others are out there just like him, trying to get their piece of the pie because the Government says it’s okay to sell people like chattel? He’s a symptom, not the disease.”

He tried to go back to his paper, but after a few seconds feeling Koala’s eyes boring into his side gave up and tossed it aside. He leaned his chair back on two legs and groaned. “I want to do more. Go higher. Punch more dochebags in the face.”

“And you will.”

Both Koala and Sabo whirled around where Dragon’s massive body filled the doorway. How he managed to be so sneaky in a base full of Observation Haki users Sabo would never know.

“I’ve gone over Bunny Joe’s report. You commended yourselves well, both of you.”

Koala bowed her head. “Thank you, sir.”

“When’s our next mission?” Sabo asked at the same time.

Dragon’s lips quirked in one of his almost-smiles. “Now. It turns out Mr. Mooneyes made sure to get dirt on each of his clients as a means of protecting himself. With this information, we’ll be able to climb a little bit closer to our goals. Now go pack your bags, you leave tonight with the tide.”

Sabo let out a whoop of joy and jumped to his feet, but before he could make a mad dash to his room Dragon placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Patience. A lion may stalk for hours waiting for the perfect time to strike. Our work will not be in vain. The Celestial Dragons will fall.”

Sabo nodded once, sharply. “And I’ll make sure to be there when it happens.”

#opsecretsanta2019 #sabo #one piece #koala #creative-type writes

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