Don't Be Afraid of Shadows (BakuDeku)

◅ Chapter 12 ▻

Izuku growled in frustration, unable to articulate the full breadth of his emotions in regards to his father; his father the murderer, who would likely never be convicted for murdering his poor wife; his father who robbed his son of a mother and Yagi of a happy life filled with love; his father who portrayed the poor abandoned husband left to raise his disgusting fag of a son alone, left with no choice but to try and beat his proclivity for men out of him.

Katsuki held the other boy's cheeks in his palms and whispered in hushed tones to him.

“I know I can’t ever imagine how this feels nerd, but I can’t let you confront him. I just can’t,” Izuku’s eyes burned into his, “I’m never one to tell you what to do, but if he’s gonna get away with the fucked up shit he’s done, I can’t risk losing you.”

“Kacchan, you wouldn’t lose-”

Katsuki shook him slightly, cutting him off with desperation written across his face and cutting through his voice, “I would Izuku. I fucking would.”

“You wouldn’t, I would just confront-”

“Don’t you get it?” the blond cried, hands fisting into green locks and bringing izuku’s wide eyes close to his own frantic flitting gaze, “I’ve grown to know you, to fucking love you! You’re gonna storm in and start a fight. You’ll kill him, or he’ll fucking kill you, and I can’t lose you. Not when I’ve- Fuck! When I’ve found someone I want more with. I just can’t let you risk that. Please tell me you understand that?”

Izuku had pulled his head back from Katsuki’s at some point during his declaration, and despite the hands still woven tightly into his hair he’d made enough distance to gape at the blond with wet shining eyes.

“You- You love me?” It comes out on an exhale, almost not there at all, hanging like gossamer in the air and connecting them together. Seemingly fragile but impressively strong and pulling them towards one another.

Shit. Did Katsuki really say that? And fuck him for just laying it all out there like that.

Well, time to just roll with it. No taking it back now. Although Katsuki decided that in hindsight, he wouldn’t want to even if he could.

“Yeah- Shit, yeah, I’m pretty damn sure I do.”

Katsuki tried to withdraw his hands, feeling sheepish and stupid for bringing up his trivial shitty emotions when Izuku is dealing with all this, even if it is truly how he feels. But the nerd is having none of it, capturing both of Katsuki’s larger hands in his own and pulling them to his chest.

The blond can feel the steady thrum of the greenette’s heart beneath the fabric of his clothes.

“Since when?” Izuku asked in the same breathless tone as before.

“I honestly don’t know, it just kinda built ya’ know- Shit Izuku, my feelings aren’t important okay? There are more pressing matters than my fucking emotional developement. It’s not about me.”

Izuku suddenly grabs the other's chin firmly, thumb digging into the blond’s jawbone.

“Fuck off with that shit Kacchan,” he states, standing firm, even as his collar is still damp with tears shed not too long before, “Your feelings are just as important as mine, and- and I know it took a lot for you to say that okay? So just- Just let me have this, let me have the fact that you cut yourself open for me! You! The great playboy, Bakugou Katsuki opened his heart to me! Some plain nerdy repressed gay-boy, with a two-bit dream of becoming a photographer.” He let out a strange strangled chuckle, both hands moving to clench onto Katsukis shoulders and stopping him from protesting against Izuku’s description of himself, “Even with a murderer for a dad, and a dead mom who haunted you for most of your life, you still love me?”