***Warnings: Mild love scene, language, debating conflicts, very focused on Bakugo and Izuku in this chapter
***Please read and enjoy! XOXO
Chapter 8: Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?
When Izuku opens the first box, he sees a neatly folded item of clothing. At first, he thought it was a fur coat but when he touched it, the material was not animal. Holding it up, he sees that it's a pelt of some kind. There are white scales tipped with gold yet they are soft like feathers. Tokoyami tells him that it's a white dragon pelt and places it over Izuku's shoulders. Izuku asks what is the significance of a white dragon pelt and Sero answers that they are a rare creature to hunt, which makes them very expensive.
"Open the other one!" Sero urges him.
Izuku does so, finding a gold crown with ram horns much like Bakugo's, but smaller. He stares at it for a moment, realizing that he is actually going to be an omega of some political power. With trembling hands, he places it on his head, though it's a little big and tilts to the side. Sero says he'll make sure to get it resized as soon as possible while pushing Izuku to the body mirror. Izuku straightens the crown, then flushes at his own reflection. King Izuku. Well, Bakugo won't allow him to have any title greater or equal to his own, so Izuku will have to keep a lesser title. Dom-Omega Izuku. If only his mother could see him now with rich, fancy clothes rather than patched pants and a raggy tunic.
"Bakugo bought these for me?"
"Yes. He sent me out to get them," Sero tells him. "Kirishima apparently told him to ask you first before buying gifts, but Bakugo just went ahead and said to get these for you. He's trying his best, you know."
"I want to thank him for the gifts in person. Where is he?"
"In a meeting with Iida, I believe," Sero answers. A kobold peeks out of the tunnel and corrects Sero, telling him that Bakugo is in the library.
"Oh! We can read together," Izuku says, picking up the book. "Tokoyami, thank you for the meal and book. And Sero? Can you show me the way to the library?"
Bakugo looks up from the book he's reading at the long table when Sero announces Deku's arrival. Seeing Deku in the items he purchased gave him a little thrill. Deku is smiling, so he must like the gifts. He's also carrying a huge book, which Bakugo instantly recognizes as the history of the demon realm. He doesn't say anything as Deku comes over to sit across from him.
"Thank you for the gifts, Bakugo. That was very kind of you,"
"Well, you were so mopey before, and gifts usually make people happy,"
"I've never had anything like this," Izuku opens the book to the first page. "Would you mind if I read here with you?"
Bakugo shrugs his shoulders, returning to his own book.
Izuku figures it's best not to press Bakugo for conversation. It was nice to have someone to read with, even if they are sitting in silence. Izuku gets lost in the book, trying to learn everything he can. The demon realm is not that much different from the human world in ways of government and management. There are parts about plants and animals, of monsters and fish. Demon realm animals are very different from the human world, though most have similar traits, like antlers or scales. None of the animals looked…friendly.
"I'm sure you have some questions," Bakugo says, breaking the silence. "I can see the wheels in your head turning,"
"Oh. I'm just thinking, that's all. I do have a few questions, but I'm sure the book can answer them,"
"Just ask me, Deku,"
Izuku hears the hostility in Bakugo's tone. Best not to anger him further. This is the closest thing to a casual couple's conversation they've had. "Okay. Um...do you keep any of these animals as pets? Like we humans have dogs or cats as companion pets."
"The small ones we keep as pets," Bakugo answers. "But I have a strict 'no pets policy' in my castle."
"Oh."
Bakugo narrows his eyes at Deku. "What? Do you want one? Is that what you're asking?"
"Huh? N-no! You just assumed that of me. I happen to be in the section about plants and animals. What about flowers? Are there any that aren't...dark-colored?"
"No. This realm is a dark, shitty place in case you haven't noticed. Why do you think we want to live in the human world?"
Izuku places the ribbon to bookmark his page. "My world is not perfect, either. Other than flora and fauna, and sunlight, society is very much the same as it is here. Although…"
"Although?"
"Before I fell through the sky, I was working as a miner to save up enough money to cross the sea to the New World,"
Bakugo's ears perk up at the sound of 'New World'. "What New World do you speak of?"
Izuku chuckles and adds, "It's not what you think. Where I'm from, we call it the New World because there's more freedom there for people, especially omegas. Omegas have the same opportunity as alphas to make a good life for themselves that doesn't rely on marriage and nest making. I could have the chance to make my own way in the New World, and that is what I wanted," his smile fades thinking about his new position.
"So? Why are you mopey all of a sudden?" Bakugo asks. "You can go to that 'New World' once we're up there. Make your way in the New World as a boss," he pauses for a second. "This 'New World,' aside from freedom, what makes it so special and different?"
"For one, their economy is booming. They are currently a small government but are quickly growing with people flocking to its shores. It's the richest, strongest country full of hope and new ideas!"
"Then that's the territory I want," Bakugo tells him, matter-of-factly. "Annoyingly, I have to fucking share the upper world with the other three Blood Lord goons! I want the best territory, and I have a trump card because you're my married mate and birthing the successor. So, stop fucking pouting and get over yourself! You'll get your New World."
"If that's true, then I want to have control and reign over all omegas and children,"
Bakugo raises a brow. "Why? Oh, wait, I know," he smirks. "You want that same opportunity crap for the human omegas," There's no point in telling Deku that most, if not all, humans will be enslaved.
Izuku furrows his brows. "And why not? What is wrong with that? I'm curious to hear the view of a demon alpha prime rather than an alpha human,"
"Did I say there was something wrong with it?" Bakugo counters.
"No, but you implied it by belittling the idea. The humans blame the successor's sacrifice for everything bad in the world, and they suppress omegas because of it. I don't see it that way. Do you?"
"...before I answer, what's your take on it?" Bakugo asks.
"I asked you first," Izuku counters.
Bakugo grumbles softly, lounging back in the chair. "My full honesty is I don't really give a shit," he says. "So long as I remain at the top, it really doesn't matter what omegas do. Do you want to change the dynamics of equality? Then do it. Makes no difference to me."
"...but the people would know that I am still a step below you,"
"I'm an alpha prime," Bakugo reminds him. "I'm above everyone, including alphas."
"But if we don't show a mutual bond of equality then what is the public going to think?"
"That we're better than them," Bakugo points out, but adds something else before Deku can fire back at him. "And give them something to strive for. So far, have I done anything to you that shows disrespect because you're a human omega?"
"Well…"
"I haven't hit or beat you, have I? Have I denied you food? Drink? Shelter?"
"...no,"
"Doesn't that show enough mutual equality? I have every legal right to treat you like shit and you have to put up with it, but you don't see me doing that, do you? And you signed the contract, which clearly states that I have offered you a wide variety of control and freedoms that I don't have to give. So, I don't want to hear any more about how you feel 'oppressed'."
Izuku's shoulders slump. 'You just don't understand…' he thinks to himself. Without another word, he goes back to the book. He and Bakugo do not speak for the rest of the time until both Shoto and Iida come in with news.
"Why are you still here?" Bakugo shouts at Shoto.
"We planned to leave tomorrow," Shoto says calmly. "However, Blood Lord Mirio has invited all of us to his castle for dinner. He wants to meet your new mate."
Bakugo grits his teeth. "We decline!"
"Lord Bakugo!" Iida starts. "I suggest you and Izuku accept this invitation as a show of respect and acknowledgment of your marriage!"
"Then why do half-and-half and windbag have to be there?" Bakugo asks.
"Isn't it obvious?" Shoto says. "With your marriage comes our time to join with the human world. The four of us need to be on good terms with one another. After all...not all of the Blood Lords like to share."
Bakugo flips Shoto the middle finger.
"What do you say, Izuku?" Shoto asks.
Izuku glances at Bakugo, then says, "I would like to meet the last Blood Lord. And...I think it's nice that he invited us to dinner."
"We eat and then leave," Bakugo states quickly and firmly. "That's all! Eat, drink, and leave!"
Later that night, as Izuku was preparing for sleep, a kobold says that Bakugo wants to see him. Still learning his way around the castle, Izuku asks the kobold to lead him there. His chambers are not far from Bakugo's, and Izuku is certain he'd be able to find his way back. He thanks the kobold and knocks on Bakugo's door, waiting for the word to enter. He hears Bakugo call him in. Ignoring all the taxidermied kills and weapons, Izuku's gaze is on the large bed where Bakugo is polishing his horns. They make eye contact and Izuku feels his face flush. Bakugo's chest was bare, and he assumes the alpha is naked under the sheets. He wonders what Bakugo's skin will feel like- if it's warm or rough.
"You asked to see me?"
"Yeah. We need to talk, you and I, about this stupid dinner tomorrow,"
Izuku nods and looks around for a chair when Bakugo tells him to stop being 'dumb' and come sit on the bed. Izuku does so, tucking his knees to his chest in an attempt to make himself look small. He was in Bakugo's bed after all, his future mate and husband.
"You don't have to worry about this Blood Lord making a marriage move on you," Bakugo tells him. "But, he is overly friendly, and I'm certain you're going to like his company. I can just tell you will."
"But I haven't met him yet. I should be the one to make that decision. Unless...you're jealous?"
Bakugo glares at him. "Why would I be jealous?! I'm never jealous! They're all jealous of me!"
Izuku give a lopsided smile. "I mean jealous about how the other Blood Lords want me as a mate. Are you threatened?"
Bakugo scoffs. "Hardly. We've made our decision to marry," Bakugo twists the polishing cloth in his hands. "Everyone likes Blood Lord Mirio. He's going to get friendly with you because he will want to share in my glory."
"...there's nothing wrong with sharing,"
"I don't share," Bakugo reminds him, and it draws a little chuckle from Deku. "Also, I want you to tell everyone tomorrow at the dinner that you are going to marry me, and that's the final end of it. Unless someone challenges me, which they won't, but if they do, I'll wipe the floor with them! Blood Lords aren't supposed to fight each other yet there are always exceptions."
Izuku looks around the room and asks, "Why aren't any of the other Blood Lord's mated and married?"
"I'm not their keepers. I don't follow their personal lives, nor do I care to," he tosses the cloth to the floor, then adds, "As I said, Mirio has someone. Shoto is a little too close to his siblings in my opinion. And Inasa...well...who'd want him? Someone deaf maybe,"
"That's the first time you called them by their names," Izuku points out. "What about me?"
"You're just Deku to me," Bakugo states.
"...okay. Then you're not Bakugo. You're Kacchan."
Bakugo freezes in place when he hears that nickname; the same one he heard in his dream when he passed out. Someone was calling him 'Kacchan' and now Deku just said the same name. But that can't be more than a simple coincidence. It's in the letters and form of his first name...it's just coincidence and nothing more than that.
"Bakugo?"
"...say it again."
"Huh? Say what?"
"...the nickname."
"Kacchan? OH-" Izuku was not expecting Bakugo's face nuzzling into his neck. The tips of the horns sometimes scratch his skin as Bakugo moves his head as a cat would. 'What brought on this change?' Izuku wonders. 'All this from just a nickname?'
The nuzzling moved to biting and nipping. Izuku couldn't help but melt under Bakugo's touch and alpha scent, wrapping his arms around the other. Bakugo is scenting him, likely in response to the dinner tomorrow. Bakugo pushes him to lay flat on the bed, pressing their bodies together. Izuku moans softly as he lets his hands travel along Bakugo's back, admiring the feel of hard muscles and smooth skin. Bakugo is being tender with him, and that makes his lower belly tingle with arousal. The more Bakugo pressed against him, the greater his arousal grows until he is panting. Bakugo makes sounds that are a mix between a growl and a moan.
By chance, Izuku's wandering hands moved up to Bakugo's horns at one moment to touch them. When he touched the base of one it triggered a violent reaction from Bakugo. Izuku wasn't hurt in any way, nor was Bakugo. However, they both lay perfectly still as the heat of Bakugo's surprise ejaculation has the front of Izuku's nightshirt wet. Izuku thought his face felt red with embarrassment, but when he looked at Bakugo's, it was redder than a cherry. Bakugo looked twice as shocked as he feels. Whatever spot he touched at the base of the horns triggered this reaction, and judging by Bakugo's face, it's the first time this happened.
"It's okay," Izuku whispers.
"...the fuck was that?"
"You would know better than me," he feels cold and alone when Bakugo rolls off of him.
Bakugo slaps his hand to his face. How fucking embarrassing! To cum that much from a little touch? And that stupid nickname that put him in some kind of nuzzling trance? What was that about? 'Fuck this shit! I'm better than this! I'm-' his hand is gently pulled from his face by Deku, who kisses the palm. Bakugo stares at him.
"It's okay, Kacchan," Izuku says. "I won't tell. It's between us...and if we're going to be married and mated...it's natural that this sort of thing will happen between us. Don't be embarrassed,"
"...there's something about you that is doing this to me," Bakugo says. "I never had this issue before...until you showed up. Strange things have been happening to me,"
Izuku continues to hold Bakugo's hand. "Same goes for me,"
"You can go back to your room," Bakugo says. "Our talk is done."
"...can I stay the night?"
Bakugo's face has become less red. "You want to stay?"
"Yes. We're still courting, remember?"
"...alright. But lose that shirt. I don't want my jizz all over the sheets."
Izuku removed the nightshirt and tossed it to the floor, settling under the covers. He folds his hands across his chest and waits for Bakugo to lay beside him. All the candles go out and the room is dark. He wished Bakugo kept at least one candle on for a bit of light. The dark was too dark if that was even possible. Izuku lays silently while waiting for his eyes to adjust. He wasn't particularly sleepy, but he wanted to stay with Bakugo. After a while of laying still, Izuku's omega instincts tug at him to lay closer to Bakugo. In any other circumstance, Izuku knows he would fight this urge. However, this is his future husband and mate; and despite their differences in ideas and conduct, Izuku can't deny his feelings. When they're together, strange feelings and emotions pass between them. There must be something more too that, and Izuku wants the answer. Maybe after they mate the emotions will become clearer.
It's worth the chance.
He slides closer to Bakugo, finding the demon's back, and spoons against him. Bakugo is asleep, though he lets out a little grunt. Izuku smiles as he spoons himself closer, scenting Bakugo as well. For a Blood Lord of great strength and power, Bakugo smells too sweet. Izuku doesn't think Bakugo will tolerate a cute nickname. The first name to come to mind is 'Sweet Cake Kacchan,' but that will earn him some kind of punishment in the form of harsh yelling. He can change the 'c' in 'cake' to a 'k'; Sweet Kake Kacchan. If he wants a quick, swift death, telling that to Bakugo will achieve it instantly.
As Izuku began to fall asleep, he wakes up when Bakugo shifts onto his back. Izuku smiles and lays his head against the alpha's chest, right above Bakugo's heart. Then, he frowns when there is no heartbeat to be heard. Baffled, he presses his ear against the spot, holding his breath, and lying very still. No heartbeat. How can Bakugo live without a heartbeat? Or is it that demons don't have hearts? Maybe their bodies function differently? It's a question he will have to ask one of the others. For now, he simply indulges in a quiet, peaceful Bakugo.
Bakugo wakes up with a cramp in his neck. That was odd because he never slept in odd positions to cause such an ache. Then, he realizes the cause in the form of the human omega sleeping soundly beside him, or rather on him. Bakugo's first thought is to throw Deku off of him but before he can, the memories of last night come back. He had made a fool of himself. Cumming like a young male experiencing an erection for the first time. It was all due to that nickname. Kacchan. Bakugo decides to lay in bed a little longer to be alone with his thoughts, keeping his arm around Deku's waist.
'What is it about him that has me acting this way?' Bakugo wonders. 'There has to be something more to this whole marriage and mating. I've never acted this way around any omega, only him. There has to be a reason why I'm panting after him like Shoji used to do to Tokoyami. I can't let Deku have any sort of power over me...yet his stupid smell and smackable face have me battling with myself!' he grits his teeth. 'I should start a fucking harem like Kaminari has! Oh, who am I kidding? I don't want a fucking harem! I've got this thing here,' he tilts his head down to look at Izuku's sleeping face. 'Stupid freckles. I want to flick each one right off his stupid smiling face!' Bakugo grumbles then. 'I'm going to speak to All For One about these 'feelings' and 'issues' I have with Deku. He knows something more that He's not telling me, and fuck if I will be left in the dark! Deku can be a puppet, but I sure as fuck won't!'
"Mmm...Bakugo?" Izuku stirs awake.
"Yeah. It's time to get up. I've got work to do before this fucking dinner tonight,"
Izuku sits up and stretches with a yawn.
Bakugo admires the curve of Deku's pale back. This omega before him is going to become not just his husband and mate, but the bearer of his child; a child born of both worlds. It's still a little hard to believe. 'And I'm going to be the alpha father…'
"Do you have anything I can wear back to my room?" Izuku asks, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
"Closet over there. I have some robes," Bakugo watches Izuku cross the room from the bed, pleased that the omega isn't afraid to show his body. A thought crosses his mind then and he can't help but ask. "You don't mind being naked around me?"
Izuku puts the robe on. "Not really. We're going to be married after all...and you saw me in the bath already...and last night...um, why?"
Bakugo shrugs his shoulders and looks away. "I was wondering if you were used to walking around naked in front of alphas,"
Izuku furrows his brows slightly. "Are you asking me if I was 'loose'?"
"It was just a thought. Don't get fucking offended. I know you're a flat out virgin."
Izuku wanted to think of it as offensive, but coming from Bakugo, it might be a compliment. A 'compliment' in the form of an alpha becoming possessive of their omega. Could Bakugo possibly be falling for him? It's not the healthiest way to begin a relationship. And yet Izuku's heart still fluttered thinking about Bakugo falling in love with him. "I couldn't walk around naked among alphas because I'd get jumped," he tells Bakugo. "I didn't really have any interaction with alphas until I joined the miners, and was the only omega there. I used to line cans around my miner's tent in case any alphas tried to sneak in to try something," he closes the closet door and looks down. "You probably wouldn't understand,"
Bakugo crosses his arms and flicks his demon tongue. "Hey, don't go making assumptions about me! Say what you want to say!"
Izuku smiles sadly at him. "None of the alphas mining there could see me as anything but an omega. They didn't see that I have muscles, that I can wield a pickaxe and lift rocks the same as them. I'm not trying to BE an omega; an omega is what I AM. I think people should have a choice of how they wish to live. Maybe some omegas want nothing more than to be a mate and parent, but that shouldn't be expected of all of us. The reason why I don't think you'd understand is that you're in the same mindset as other alphas when it comes to how you view omegas."
"...even after our conversation in the library yesterday?"
"Yes. I'm still not equal to you,"
"What exactly do you mean by 'equal'?"
"I want to have the same respect as you do like an alpha. Because I was born this way, there is a set of rules I 'should' follow. But I don't think that's right. Tell me, if you were born an omega, and someone told you that there is no chance you can be a Blood Lord because of the way you were born...wouldn't you fight tooth and nail to gain your place and prove them wrong?"
The question gave Bakugo pause. He was not expecting Deku to come up with a counter-argument like that. The truth of the matter is that yes, he would fight tooth and nail to rise higher than everyone. He understands Deku's view of the difference between omega and alpha. Still, it does not change the notion that he is a Blood Lord and has worked hard to be The King of All Evil's favorite. Even if he were born omega, he would find his way to the top. And, though he agrees with Deku, he cannot let the other rule him with the wanton prowess of an omega. He learned this by watching Shoji and Tokoyami's courtship. Shoji had been (and still is) a fine gargoyle warrior; but when he set his sights on Tokoyami, who denied him at each turn, even after their first mounting, Bakugo lost some of Shoji's dedication. Shoji's main goal had turned to find any way possible to please and pleasure the mate he set his sights on, and he changed for it. That was not going to happen to him. If he were any other type of alpha, he would take Tokoyami away from Shoji and remind them both of their places here in HIS court. Luckily, it hasn't come to that, and Bakugo knows he needs Tokoyami's astrological skills and medicinal powers.
Then there was a time when Kirishima and Kaminari had a minor courtship going too. Kaminari is a beta male, so Bakugo didn't really give any thought to it. He thought it would be good for Kirishima to get some distraction from work, and so long as it was among his team members, Bakugo can control it. Unlike Shoji and Tokoyami's courtship, Kaminari and Kirishima couldn't make it work. As a beta male, Kaminari (and Sero) can't bear children. And for alphas and omegas, betas can be used as sex partners to release pent up frustration. But Kirishima, the kind and doting alpha he is, could not handle Kaminari's need to have multiple lovers of both male and female. Kirishima was hurt by this, but over time the alpha got over it.
"To answer your question, yes, I would fight. But it's in my nature to be completely unstoppable. I'm undefeated for a reason, and even if I were born omega or beta, I would still be at the top."
"Maybe I want to be at the top, too?" Izuku poses the question to him
"Idiot. You are at the top, just a tier down from me. That's the way it's going to be. And honestly, you're looking way too deep into your new position. You're going to have the power to rule."
Izuku sighs. He can't have this conversation anymore. Bakugo's head was too thick and he's better off talking to the wall for he'd get the same response. "Fine. Whatever. I'll see you later when it's time to leave,"
Bakugo growls at Izuku's retreating figure as the omega leaves the room. He punches the pillow and then throws the covers over his head. "Everyone annoys me!"
Izuku is getting dressed for dinner with Tsu and Tokoyami in his room. He had recently dismissed Iida from his company (politely) because the beta male wouldn't stop dictating how he is to behave at dinner. Unlike Bakugo's thought process, he understands that Iida is different, a very 'by the book' person who likes and needs to have and follow rules, whether he agrees with them or not. Still, Izuku was inwardly raging from his talk with Bakugo earlier and didn't need to hear any more 'be a good omega' discussions. He's been taking the time to ponder how to say what he wants to say at dinner for all the Blood Lords to hear.
"We sense your distress," Tokoyami says from his spot by the fireplace. "The Blood Lords will notice it too,"
"Best to try and calm down," Tsu adds.
"I don't know if I can,"
"We don't want to give the other Blood Lords any reason to challenge Lord Bakugo," Tokoyami warns him. "If they sense you are unhappy or angry, they might take that as an excuse to pick a fight for the chance to mate with you. We need unity right now, and you're the key to that unity."
Izuku places the crown on his head and Tsu straightens it with her tongue. "Yes, Tokoyami. I understand. Everyone keeps reminding me of how to act,"
"I'm not trying to be condescending," Tokoyami says.
"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm a little frustrated and nervous, that's all. Hey, can I pose a question to you both?" They nod. "First, let me say that I am choosing Bakugo, but, if I were to say at dinner that I would like to keep my marriage options open, how would Bakugo react?"
"He'd explode," Tsu states.
"Inasa and Shoto will jump at the chance to take you away from Bakugo, thus starting a fight," Tokoyami says. "You're not really going to say that, are you? Please tell me that it's just hypothetical?"
Izuku pulls the white dragon pelt over his shoulders and answers, "It could be,"
TBC
