Traded Mate - Bakudeku

Chapter 14

Izuku was woken up by some noise next to him. 

His emerald eyes slowly fluttered open, his mind still froggy with sleep as he took in his surroundings. The room was engulfed by darkness except for some moonlight brightening the place. It had to be the middle of the night and Izuku wondered why he was already awake at this hour. 

But the noises that had woken him up resumed and Izuku suddenly remembered that he was in the King's bed, before realizing that the noises were coming from no one else but Katsuki...

The alpha was trashing around on the bed, low groans escaping his mouth. Sweat was forming on his forehead and his brows were furrowed, his handsome features replaced by a pained expression. 

Izuku was left startled by the sight. There was no doubt that Katsuki was having a nightmare and the tiny omega nervously bit his lips, wondering what he should do. 

It was his first time seeing the king in such a vulnerable state. Katsuki always had this cold and emotionless expression on, only anger or arrogance slipping past his mask. Never once Izuku had thought he would one day see pain and distress painted on Katsuki's face and, now that it was happening, he was at a loss for what to do.

Should he wake Katsuki up?

"My King..." Izuku timidly called out, his voice coming out low and hesitant. Katsuki didn't respond nor showed any signs of waking up so Izuku tried again, this time lightly nudging the King's shoulder with his hand. "Katsuki..?"

Suddenly, Katsuki woke with a start, his large hand instinctively closing around Izuku's neck in a choking grip and a deep threatening growl leaving his mouth.

Izuku gasped, the scream that wanted to escape his mouth catching up in his throat as Katsuki's firm grip on his neck prevented him from making any sound. His emerald eyes widened in pure fear as a small whine managed to slip through his lips, terror submerging him. 

The sound of Izuku's whimper seemed to nudge Katsuki out of whatever trance he was in and the alpha promptly let go of Izuku's neck, realizing where he was and who he was choking. 

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath. He had thought someone was trying to attack him and his instincts had kicked in before he could even look at his surroundings. But he had instead attacked Izuku and probably scared the tiny omega to death.

"Sorry." He murmured, removing himself from on top of Izuku and sitting on the bed. 

Izuku's eyes slightly widened at the word. Katsuki had just apologized to him and he couldn't believe it; the King surely wasn't in his normal state to have said this. 

Katsuki hadn't choked him enough to hurt him, Izuku had been more scared than anything else. He also couldn't blame Katsuki. He should have thought waking him up in the middle of a nightmare was dangerous. 

But, now, he was left wondering what kind of nightmare had haunted Katsuki's dreams to put the alpha in such a state...

"A-are you okay..?" Izuku timidly asked, the question coming off as a whisper on his lips.

These three words shocked Katsuki to his core. He didn't remember having heard them even once in his life. He was the King and surely the most powerful alpha of the land, nobody ever asked him if he was okay. But what shocked him the most was that these words came from Izuku's mouth, just after Katsuki had almost killed the omega.

"Shouldn't you worry about yourself? You're the one who has just been choked." He said in a particularly cold tone that sent shivers down Izuku's spine.

"I-it's okay, I'm not hurt." Izuku answered with a small wavering voice. "I'm more worried about you..." He admitted in a whisper and Katsuki frowned. "Don't act like you fucking care." The King spitted out.

Why would Izuku care about his well-being, when Katsuki had done nothing but torment the omega? He was the one who had ripped him out of his family and kingdom. He was the one who had forced him to become his omega by threatening his people. How come Izuku would even be worried about him?

"B-but I do care..." Izuku assured and Katsuki furrowed his brows before looking right at the prince. He searched for any trace of lies inside Izuku's beautiful emerald eyes but only saw honesty and innocence... 

Izuku really was worried about him.

"Why are you so fucking nice? Why do you always want to help everyone?" Katsuki suddenly asked. He wanted to understand why Izuku was the way he was, always thinking about others before himself.

The prince had sacrificed himself for his kingdom, to save people he didn't even know. He had promised to do absolutely anything in order to save Todoroki, even though the knight was the one supposed to protect him. He had let Monoma live, only because he didn't want to cause harm to anyone. And now, he was worrying about Katsuki, whereas the King was the source of all his problems? 

Katsuki couldn't understand. 

"Because that's who I am..." Izuku answered. "I like helping people." He confessed, his voice soft and soothing. Helping people had always been what he liked to do, it made him happy and was part of who he was. 

"Putting others before you will get you killed," Katsuki stated. That's what he had been taught all his life, and he had unfortunately experienced it himself. You could only count on yourself and no one else in life, it was the cruel reality of this world.

"Maybe but, even so... I can't help it..." Izuku answered in a soft murmur. He helped people without asking for anything in return simply because he was full of kindness. He was a selfless person with a loving heart.

Katsuki felt drawn by so much purity. 

His world was dark and merciless. The awful memories that had haunted his dreams were enough proof of this. But Izuku wasn't like anything he knew of. The omega was kind and pure, untainted by the world's dementia... 

He was what Katsuki never knew he needed. 

Katsuki slowly leaned in, burying his face into Izuku's neck. "Your scent relaxes me." He murmured as he inhaled the omega's irresistible smell. 

Izuku certainly wasn't expecting this, but he didn't push the King away. Instead, he released more of his scent, hoping his soothing pheromones would help Katsuki forget whatever painful memories his nightmare had revived. 

Katsuki hummed in approval. He took deep breaths of Izuku's scent while wrapping his arms tightly around the omega's slim waist, pulling him close to him. Their bodies were naked and pressed together as they both lay on the bed but, right now, Katsuki didn't care about this. He only relaxed into Izuku's appeasing presence, appreciating the soothing warmth coming from the tiny omega.

The King was showing another side of him, a softer one. His usual coldness was gone as he put done his guard, emotions other than anger slipping past him...

Izuku liked this Katsuki. 

For once, he wasn't scared of the ruthless alpha. He even felt comfortable in Katsuki's warm embrace and his emerald eyes slowly fluttered close, his body fully relaxing. He could hear Katsuki's soft breath close to his neck and the sound soothed him, sleep slowly but surely taking over him. 

He eventually fell asleep like this, with Katsuki's arms securely wrapped around his body and their legs entangled together...

To be continued

I hope you enjoyed this cute chapter! ;)