Drowning in You

Thank Fuck, Freckles

The entire time Katsuki was walking, Izuku's world was shaking. Or maybe it was his unsteady legs that were causing what felt like an earthquake in his core.

Whatever it was, he was glad to have found something sturdy to hold him up. First, it was Katsuki who had him trapped securely in his arms, hauling him off somewhere that he really couldn't care less about. Izuku knew that the Alpha was taking him somewhere safe. But he still couldn't breathe properly. His chest was heaving irregularly as he sucked in as much fresh air as he could. It was terrifying the state his mind and body were in.

The sheer realization that he was a slave to his instincts hit him like a truck and Izuku wasn't sure how to feel about it. It was different from the instincts that came out to play during his heats — when he was alone and his body could peacefully run through the cycle of natural behaviors. What shook him so badly was that another person could cause his body to shut down and bow to the demands of another.

His knees buckled the moment Katsuki placed him on the bench and he was finally able to take 'falling face-first into the pavement' off the laundry list of things he was concerned about. The Alpha was talking to him — he could hear his voice, muffled and foggy in his mind.

But Katsuki was backing away, his scent becoming duller and bitter the longer he stayed curled on the cool wooden planks. He wanted to call him closer and clear the haze that was mugging up his mind. Katsuki could help, and that should have been on his list of concerns, but it wasn't. Katsuki wasn't a concern, an issue, or a problem. Katsuki was the solution.

"Ka-Kacchan," the first word that left his lips came out riding a whine. His lungs were finally free of the heavy pheromones that had thrown him into submission, but now they were also free of the one thing that his body seemed to know would bring him to the surface.

" — Alpha." The title tasted like honey on his tongue and dripped from his lips the same way, thick and sweet. Katsuki wasn't technically his Alpha, but his body didn't seem to know that, not now. Not when he was with the Alpha that pushed him over the edge and into submission. Logically, he knew Katsuki meant no harm by what he did. On the contrary, he did what he had to do in order to protect Izuku, and that made him bubble with happiness. Katsuki claimed him. Maybe not in words, but in actions the Alpha had laid down a claim and Izuku was preening.

"Kacchan. Alpha," he wanted to say more, to explain that he wished Katsuki would come closer and scent him. Wrap him in that same protective hold and place his claim once more. Izuku wanted to know the other wasn't upset over his reactions, or mad at how weak we had been. Caving to his instincts at the first sign of danger. The Omega wanted Katsuki. He wanted his Alpha.

Izuku pushed his hands out, lifting himself from the bench until he was sitting upright and steady. Blinking his eyes seemed to clear some of the fog from his vision and the more he rubbed, the better he could see. Izuku could first make out the blond tufts of hair, and then his face became more clear. He was backed away with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. The picture was one that would have made him laugh if he wasn't busy drowning in his own mind. He was so far away when all Izuku wanted was to be in Katsuki's arms.

Primal parts of his mind were telling him to move closer and shove his nose against the Alpha's nape, inhaling a fragrance there that was suddenly becoming fresher than the early morning breeze. But a million things were running through his mind as Katsuki stood so far away, and none of them calmed the squirming Omega that wanted to be in his arms.

The danger was gone, and he knew he was safe, but Izuku felt something was missing that would have snapped him out of this daze. So, he sat there, chirping in a way only his instincts could have initiated, hoping that the Alpha would respond to his calls and save him from drowning any further into his own mind.