So, since my last update one of the Todoroki siblings finally got a name and some character development. Yay! Sadly the only thing that matches the fan-version sibling I made up for this fic is his age (19). I was just going to go back and fix the name, but Natsuo is apparently kinda care-free and loves his family which doesn't work well with the "Yuki's kind of as bitter as Dabi is toward favorite child Shouto" thing I've got going on right now. And on top of that the canon Natsuo looks more like his dad than his mom (whereas I chose to have Yuki & Dabi resemble their mom more).

Which left me a tiny dilemma that I solved pretty quick: I decided to stick with my AU version of the brother. It super dates the fic, but that's fine—I'm sticking to the original plans I had for Dabi. It's An AU. I can do that and so I shall.

Anyway, last but not least, sorry for the wait! Thank you for reading. :D

Chapter 21

Izuku didn't let go of Katsuki's hand. He held it between his own, playing with Katsuki's fingers and knuckles at first before he slowly started massaging the hand properly. It felt good and didn't do much for helping Katsuki to wake properly.

But he was awake enough.

"How'd you get in here?" Katsuki asked, forcing himself to sit up on the pillow. He looked around, spotting a backpack on the ground near Izuku's feet. Someone had to have noticed him entering the building. He wasn't even wearing a disguise! "There's security everywhere."

"My broker had a connection to a nurse smuggling out prescription drugs," Izuku said, rubbing his thumb into the palm of Katsuki's hand. "I had her sneak me in and she's going to help me leave in another hour or so when her shift ends."

Katsuki tugged his hand back out of Izuku's grip and set it on his chest. He felt resigned to it all and ignored the stretch of pain in his side that snuck through the painkillers. "Is this your latest plan to kidnap me?"

"No," Izuku said. He deflated and went back to resting his head in his arms on the side of the bed. "You're still recovering and I don't exactly have a hospital room back at our hideout. Besides, I'm already in trouble with Shigaraki's Ma—Shigaraki. I need to start pulling off some successful jobs or I might be banned from seeing you at all, so this might be the last time I see you for a while.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Kacchan," Izuku said, looking up. He bit his lip and glared into the blankets. "It's bad enough I only get to see you when we're fighting, but now I can't even do that. It's not fair! I can't even make Toga suffer for hurting you because she's been declared off limits."

"I thought Shigaraki was your buddy?" Katsuki asked, feeling the confusion grow. "Wouldn't he pick you over her?"

"Shigaraki would, yes," Izuku said, staring into the blankets. "But there's someone bigger than him behind the League that I can't talk about who thinks I should be doing better.

"I'm not sure what you think my rank is, but the truth is I'm a bit of a grunt in the League, Kacchan," Izuku said, huffing into the blanket. "Shigaraki's been humoring me with all my attempts to take you home, but all the failures have added up and now they want real results to benefit the League as a whole or else."

"If it's that bad, why don't you come back?" Katsuki asked. He grabbed Izuku's hand and squeezed. His head still felt woozy from the painkillers but Katsuki forced himself to stay in the moment. "I know you'll have to go back to jail, but if you start actually cooperating like they've been telling you the entire time maybe you can earn an early parol or house arrest."

"Kacchan, there's blood on my hands. The only thing waiting for me if I turn myself in is life in prison," Izuku said, shaking his head. He dropped his forehead onto the back of Katsuki's hand. "If I'm stuck in jail, I'll never be able to see you again and that is not an option. If I leave the League I'll have nowhere to go. Shigaraki is my best bet, Kacchan."

Blood on his hands. Was that all that was keeping Izuku from coming back? But Izuku hadn't killed anyone. There was only their classmate and he—

"Izuku, you didn't kill anyone," Katsuki said, leaning forward. He shook Izuku's shoulders. "You tried twice, but you didn't actually kill anyone. That brat you tried to suffocate survived the explosion, they just reported that he died to stop you from looking for him again. There's no blood on your hands, I swear."

"Kacchan," Izuku said, soft and slow. He reached up and squeezed the back of Katsuki's wrist. Izuku sent him a fond, but strained, look. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. You're tired and not thinking straight, so for your sake I won't go after that boy again even if he deserves it.

"But I'm still guilty," Izuku said again, eyes going dark. He squeezed Katsuki's arm tighter and whispered. "I killed a lot of people before I tried to murder Kirishima, Kacchan."

Katsuki stilled, wondering if he'd heard that wrong.

"Shigaraki thought I should have some practice before I tried to kill Kirishima," Izuku said, cracking a half smile. Katsuki's heart fell into his stomach, his limb shaking in Izuku's steady grasp. He shrugged, like he was talking about the weather and not innocent lives. "So I did."

"You seem pretty calm for having your favorite pet run away," Dabi said, sitting next to Tomura on the couch. Toga and Mustard slept on the floor, their faces glued to their controllers after a gaming marathon that had Kurogiri grumbling before he turned in for some sleep. Dabi and Tomura were the only ones still awake at the late hour. "Surprised you're not running out to drag him back by the ear."

"He'll come back on his own when he's ready," Tomura said, dropping his head on the back of the couch. "Midoriya chose me and he knows where he belongs."

Dabi clicked his tongue. "That guy's going to choose 'Kacchan' if he has to pick between the two of you. I've only known him a short while and I know that much."

"Midoriya will come back on his own like I've said before," Tomura said. He reached over and pinched Dabi's ear, tugging it. The fire-user glared at him out the corner of his eye but didn't remove the hand. Tomura grinned behind Father's hand. He liked it when his pets let him touch them. "You'll see."

"Let's say that's true," Dabi said, "then what are you going to do with him? Toga might be nuts enough to flip a switch and stop caring, but I think he might be holding a grudge."

"I just need to point that grudge in another direction," Tomura said. He held his hand toward the ceiling light and rolled his fingers. "Maybe I'll encourage him to kill people that remind him of Toga. Any form of chaos he can create will be good enough."

"You have no idea what to do with him, do you?" Dabi asked, inspecting his nails. He used his thumb to dig the dirt out from under them. "Newscast is kind of a one trick pony when you get down to it."

"He spent a year doing Villain analysis for Giran before he got obsessed with Kacchan," Tomura said, glancing out the side of his eye at Dabi. He continued to tug on Dabi's ear, moving it back and forth. "If we make him do all that analysis for himself instead of others, I think he'll be just fine taking any job I give him."

"Which will be?" Dabi asked, reaching up and pushing Tomura's hand away. He rubbed his ear and crossed his arms. "What's your end goal, anyway?"

"Kill All Might," Tomura said. He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. He dragged his fingers down and scratched at the skin. "I'm sure I'll figure out the rest after that."

"I can't tell if it's sad or fun that you're as clueless as the rest of us," Dabi said. He reached for the remote and clicked on the television, keeping the volume settings low as to not wake the other two on the floor. He stopped on a twenty-four-seven shopping channel. "But hey, as long as I don't have to pay rent, I guess this is better then what I was doing before."

"A true stray to the end," Tomura said. He patted Dabi on the head, keeping his fingers up. "I like that."

"Woof," Dabi said.

They didn't speak again after Izuku's admission.

Kacchan continued holding this hand, but went quiet in his internal conflict. It hurt to disappoint him that way, but Izuku knew it was better than to hide it from him. Kacchan looked pained, both from his newly gained knowledge and from the stab wound in his side. He kept holding it, like the stress of the situation by itself had aggravated his physical injuries as well.

Izuku breathed out, counting to ten. Kacchan was fine. He was alive. He was here and hurting but he wasn't dead. Izuku had always known Kacchan hating him was going to be their future, but as long a he was alive they could still be together.

He wasn't going to be picky, but he had run out of time for the night.

"I need to go now, Kacchan," Izuku said, whispering under his breath. He got up from the chair and stepped next to the side of the bed. Izuku stared at his face and the hurt and he felt his own chest ache. His eyes fell on Kacchan's pursed lips and an intrusive thought escaped from his mouth. "I forgot to ask something earlier."

"What?" Kacchan asked.

"Did you really kiss Toga when you thought she was me?" Izuku asked. "She bragged about it when she said that she killed you."

Kacchan looked away, staring at the blankets. He tugged his hand to take it back, but Izuku tightened his grip again. Kacchan breathed in and closed his eyes.

Izuku rubbed his thumb against warm knuckles. "Kacchan?"

"Yes," he whispered.

Izuku dropped his hand and leaned over the side of the bed. His body moved by itself and he cupped the sides of Kacchan's face and whispered, "Then I hope you won't mind kissing the real one."

He pressed their lips together and Kacchan kissed him back, soft and gentle.

The world fell away and there were no Villains or Heroes. No stab wounds of any kind, whether by Izuku's hand or Toga's. No Shigaraki. No All Might. No Parents. No friends. No anything.

There was only Izuku and Kacchan, kissing in the dark on a hospital mattress to the sound of a heart monitor.