Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Ugh, my dude, you would not believe the day I just had!” Eijirou gripes as he shoves open their shitty apartment door with a hearty shoulder jerk- spilling into the hallway like a drunk. He’d just gotten home from his late afternoon classes and he honestly could not wait to just eat nachos in his underwear. It was an utmost favourite past time of his.

Eijirou sighs at the sight of his ‘home sweet home,’ seeing rather blatantly that Bakugou, once again had left his shoes on inside. Therefore tracking dirt into the creaking floorboards once more.

His roommate wasn’t exactly the most… respectful when it came to- well, anything. But Eijirou would be damned if he said that cranky bro didn’t make killer chilli.

As Eijirou moved down the little dingy hallway, he continued to speak. Making sure to have his voice carry through the small space so he could be heard. “I had two exams one after the other and let’s just say that the last time I got screwed over that hard, I was in a bathroom at Denny's.” With a laugh, he turns the corner to the kitchen he, Kaminari and Bakugou all shared with much struggle. He was already imagining the sweet, sweet smell of gas station cheese in their shitty microwave~

It’s then and there that he sees Bakugou Katsuki.

Completely, and entirely, covered in blood.

His once presumably white shirt had been tinged scarlet and his mess of hair was even worse than usual. His skin was a sickly pale hue that made him look like a corpse and he had a large (animal?) bite on the nape of his neck.

“Wow, that really fuckin’ sucks,” Bakugou said, completely neutral, and unaffected by Eijirou’s choked gasp, he continued to scroll on his phone. “Wouldn’t want to switch places with your sorry ass today.”

Eijirou stares in utter, abject horror at his friend. There was no way that was fake blood. Eijirou Kirishima was a connoisseur in the art of pranking- he knew the properties of good fake blood and this wasn’t it.

“Bakugou!” He shrieks, rushing over to him, “we need to get you to a hospital- you’re covered in blood.”

Upon hearing the noise, his second roommate, Kaminari Denki, arises from the bathroom with a wince- the steam from the shower falling out of the door like a wave. Rubbing his still-damp hair with a towel, he takes one look at the situation- he sees Bakugou caked in his own blood and Eijirou on the verge of fainting and he can only summon one coherent thought. “What. The. Fuck?”

Bakugou turns at the noise and begins to glare at Kaminari. “Oi, shithead, did you eat my cereal this morning?”

Kaminari raises his eyebrows at that. “Uhhh… Were they the froot loops?”

Bakugou rolls his eyes, looking twice as venomous than usual with all the fucking blood on his face. “Fuckin’ duh.”

“Oh, well, maybe.” Kaminari has the good grace to look sheepish.

“You son of a bit-”

Eijirou makes a noise of great incredulity- this was absurd. This was batshit crazy.

“Cereal is not the most pressing issue right now, guys!”

Bakugou huffs, turning to face Eijirou with a glare that was most likely just his normal facial expression at this point. “Calm your tits, shitty hair, I’m fine.”

“Dude! You look like a corpse! We need to take you to the E.R!”

“Nah fuck that, in this economy?” Bakugou clicks his tongue, “I’m fine. I feel great.”

Eijirou looks at him like he was utterly insane. No one covered in that much gore could be fine. If they kept squabbling over fucking froot loops, Bakugou was going to die.

“I’m fucking serious,” Bakugou says with a growl, standing up. “I’m not hurt at all.” He lifts his shirt to show the pair- an action that would have elicited a much different reaction between them all if it were in any other context than right now.

Aside from the residual blood on his skin, he was completely fine. His skin didn’t have any bruising or cuts on it, it was the same milky white as the rest of his body. The only mark apparently on him was the bite at his neck.

“Okay, what the fuck?” Eijirou is scanning Bakugou like a fucking barcode reader- and he may not be the smartest man alive, but he could tell that something was definitely amiss here.

A thought strikes Eijirou that has his blood go cold. “Is this your blood on your shirt?”  

Bakugou snorts in derision, “ yes, it is- I didn’t fucking murder someone if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Dude, what is that thing on your neck?” Kaminari asks next, moving closer to inspect it.

Kaminari Denki wasn’t the smartest man alive either, so he decides to poke the wound on Bakugou’s nape.

Bakugou instantly reels back with a little hiss of pain, “Ow, fuck! Don’t do that.”

Kaminari and Eijirou exchange a glance.

“Okay, this is weird,” Eijirou says, wondering if this was some weird obscure nightmare he’d just stumbled upon by accident. “What the hell happened to you, bro?”

Bakugou shakes off the worried gazes from his friends with an unattractive sneer, throwing himself back down onto the chair. He has the back of his neck cupped by his hands now, almost like he was shielding it from any further prods.

Bakugou looks pensive in his seat like he wasn’t exactly sure how to even begin to tell his two roommates of what had happened. It was valid, in all honesty, for this was the kind of shit one would only read in dumb stories.

Bakugou Katsuki takes a deep breath and, with a bloodied hand and toxins in his veins- He starts this long-winded tale with a quite ineloquent, “okay, you’re not going to fucking believe me but-”

Bakugou’s life had never been normal per see, but it was, without a doubt, about to get way fucking weirder.

Especially since it had been extended indefinitely.

Now Bakugou Katsuki was pretty sure he had this vampire shit down to a tee. All he had to do was stay away from the sunlight, avoid churches and not have any attachments to humans? That was literally how Katsuki had lived his life up until now- it was the exact same, except, he supposed, with higher stakes (ha, get it?)

And now that he’d figured out everything- that all this cuckoo bananas shit was actually for real, he could start testing it out for himself.

The first thing Katsuki did as a tester was put his right arm out in the sun. Not exactly an entirely intelligent gesture- considering that nearly every vampire movie had sunlight as a vampire’s literal worst enemy.

His skin sizzled like a particularly fatty steak and he felt a burning brimming from his hand.

However, he did not disintegrate into dust.

Good to know.

That would have been a bit shit.

It’s not like Katsuki could go and ask someone about this kind of stuff. When he’d been bitten he hadn’t exactly asked for the dude’s Instagram or some shit.

And every time he looked up stuff on the internet he proved it to be false within the next moments.

The only source, that had some provable factual recounts about vampires (and was actually a rather helpful guide) was a really bad twilight fanfiction from 2007.

Katsuki owed his life to Xx-eat-my-ass-edward-cu11en93-xX and he would find her someday to thank her.

And also ask why the fuck anyone in the world would think for a moment that Edward Cullen WASN’T a bottom.

Katsuki’s making a list on his phone- one that, out of context would make somehow even less sense than with it. It’s a bunch of things that he hasn’t quite tested out yet about his so-called ‘vampiric powers,’ along with what he knew. Both Kirishima and Kaminari had retired for the evening- the pair having morning classes the next day, losers.  

• Sunlight is no fucking bueno? No, it’s fine- I just fucking sound like frying chicken

• Enhanced Eyesight? Definitely- I can actually see what those ‘I’m not a robot’ captcha quizzes fuckin say finally

• Rampant, uncontrollable thirst? = only for Sasuke Uchiha

• Bitchin’ Fangs? H E L L  Y E S, kiri nearly shat himself when I was brushing them this morning

• Super strength and speed? TBD

• Human Blood > Animal Blood? TBD

• Aversion to Garlic? TBD

• Sleeping in a coffin? Bold to assume I sleep at all

Katsuki was always one for finishing things promptly and efficiently- so, with phone still in hand. He runs (with his fuckign SICK super-speed) to the little 24-hour grocery store down the road.

He must look like some crazy asshole- his hair was a mess and his skin still had that sickly pallor that began when he was bitten.

It definitely didn’t help when he approached the poor dude at the counter with a manic look in his eye, “y’all got fuckin’ garlic?”

The young man looks at him with a neutral kind of curiosity. He didn’t look any older than Katsuki, perhaps even younger. But there was something in his expression that told Katsuki he’d seen a lot of shit working the graveyard shift at this place.

Well, he was going to see some more tonight.

“Uh, yeah, it’s over there.” The man points over toward the left corner of the small store, off to where those little tasty bastards were, situated in a small pile next to the onions.  

Katsuki saunters on over, picking up the largest garlic clove he could find in the group and, without hesitation, bites into it like it was a fucking apple.

The store clerk doesn’t even bat an eyelash when Katsuki hisses like a banshee. “Good fuck! Jesus Christ’s tasty asshole- what in GOD’S name… This tastes like what math feels like.”

Aversion to Garlic?  Keep that demon onion away from me

“Are you going to pay for that?”

Katsuki, mouth still stinging with pain just nyooms the fuck out of the store. The plastic flaps in front of the entrance flying out into the cool night air like tree branches.    

He tells Kirishima about his escapade the afternoon after. The entire story, and, after a moment of silence. Kirishima looks at him like he’d just realised the severity of this.

“What? It’s not that fucking bad-”

“Hey dude, does this mean you can’t eat garlic bread anymore?”

Oh.

OH NO.

Okay yeah, this was the worst.

As Katsuki slowly ticked more things off of his strange, cryptic list- it was as if he was slowly growing more and more used to being… well, dead.

There was a sort of therapeutic quality to it that had Katsuki accepting everything at face value, nothing more and nothing less. Sure, it had started off super weirdly- and he may not have taken it as seriously as he probably should have- but what did he expect? He was a post-millennial looking bitch ass with about five dollars and nothing but ramen in his cupboard... The only thing that changed after his ‘death’ was that he now had ten dollars because he didn’t really need to buy ramen anymore.

But that did raise another question, of course.

What did he eat?

“I’m not going to fucking go into the forest to try and bite deer, again .” Katsuki tells his roommates, “the national park is like two hours away and I’d have to take the bus…”

They’d tried it last Saturday- the group of them taking Kaminari’s car and heading over to the wilderness… It hadn’t ended quite well. Katsuki had felt bad about killing a rabbit and he’d gotten blood everywhere.

Not only that, but even as he continued on in pursuit- he realised that his thirst hadn’t even been entirely sated. Animal blood didn’t do a whole lot for him, it was like a glass of water- lining his stomach for what was to come.

Which left him a little bit...well, screwed. If he couldn’t survive entirely on animal’s blood- what the fuck was he going to drink?

Kirishima nods in firm understanding, a thoughtful expression on his face. “But what other choices does that give you?”

Katsuki sighs, “I don’t know…” Grumbling, he stands up, “I haven’t been like, desperately thirsty for blood or any shit like that yet but…” He looks off into the distance, trying to describe this foreign feeling, “it’s like I can feel it coming.” It was like there was something in the back of his throat, waiting to pounce at the best moment.

It was strange and ever-present- but it wasn’t as intrusive as Katsuki could have imagined...

He could, however, imagine it getting a lot worse if he let it lie.

“You could be a vigilante?” Kaminari suggests from the couch, still looking at his phone.

This had been the norm for about a week now- the three of them just openly discussing how the fuck Katsuki was going to eat. “Wait outside of a shady bar and look for the creeps trying to attack people.”

Katsuki considers the idea for a moment with a decent amount of thought. “Wouldn’t I technically be a creep trying to attack people though?”

“Oh fuck, I guess?”

Kirishima chimes in next, “yeah but you’re a vigilante.”

“Yeah, and vigilantes are cool as shit.” Kaminari continues.

“Stop saying, vigilante.” Katsuki snaps, his mind still racing with possibilities with what he was to do. That was another thing he’d noticed about his newfound powers- he was able to think a lot clearer.

However, that might just be the outcome of him being unable to mix red bull and coffee anymore.

“I don’t really know if I could fucking kill someone… No matter how shitty a person they were.” Katsuki confides, looking at his feet. The thought of having to take a human life wasn’t entirely foreign to him- he’d thought about killing people plenty of times.

Take the guy in his engineering class- for instance. The one that typed way too loudly. We fucking get it, Cooper, you have a MacBook.

Kaminari and Kirishima just look at him, confused- their eyebrows raised.

Kaminari speaks first, a little high pitched. “Just??? Don’t kill them?? Knock out some asshole and drink their blood??? Were you actually going to go and kill someone??”

He said it like it was obvious.

Okay, maybe Katsuki wasn’t smarter in his new form.

Like, sure, he got full marks on his tests- but sometimes, when he was really tired- he forgot how to tie his shoelaces.

“Oh shit, yeah.”

This is what leads Katsuki into the shadiest bar in town.

The neon lights and general eighties vibe of the place would usually be the type to attract the trendsetters of the city, but the place was just that shitty that it had them turn tail in the other direction.

Katsuki really didn’t blame them- he hadn’t had the balls to go in here before either- and he walked past it every afternoon for school.

It was the kind of place that you’d go into, half expecting you wouldn’t come out.

Katsuki looks up at the flashing red sign- a third of it lit up while the other segment sparked uncontrollably. Looking up at the blaring text, which once presumably read,   ‘The Crimson Crypt,’ Katsuki takes a soft breath and enters. After all, what was the worst that could happen?  

It’s a typical shifty-looking bar- the kind that, in movies, you’d see the protagonists go into to gather information. Katsuki could picture it now- all the hardened criminals, grasping their glasses of whisky- the jukebox that had been playing hard rock until then stops in its tracks when he walks in. The whole bar goes silent and stares at him.

That isn’t what happens.

There’s no jukebox, and no one spares him a glance when he enters (to his reluctant disappointment.)  

It’s half-filled- which is rather surprising for a Wednesday night- and it continues to buzz with energy and sound as Katsuki comes through the doorway.  

The dimly lit seated areas would have been really hard for Katsuki to see if he hadn’t had like, fucking vampire vision. The lack of lighting in those corners had Katsuki wondering if it had been an intentional decision or more so a financial one.

Nevertheless, the dark corduroy booth seats were mostly filled with all kinds of characters to behold. From seedy old men smoking cigars with (disconcertingly much younger) girls on each arm- to heavily tattooed persons, cloaked in leather, sloshing their drinks onto the table and jeering.

The Crimson Crypt would not disappoint tonight.

He would just have to wait.

But he couldn’t just stand in the doorway like a dickhead. That screamed ‘suspicious’ from the get-go.

Well, Katsuki supposed- so did everything about this shit hole but that was neither here nor there.

Fuck.

Shuffling over to the bar with a sheepish yet cranky expression, he sits on the furthest stool from anyone and just waits for something… shifty to happen. He’s not quite sure what he’s looking for- he just knows that it’s bound to happen eventually.

“Hello, Sir, what can I get for you- oh, hey, you’re that garlic guy.” A voice says from behind the counter, sounding far too light for a place like this.

Questioningly, Katsuki turns his head toward the noise.

Oh.

It was the clerk from the grocery store a few nights back.

The guy that saw Katsuki take a fucking bite out of a giant clove of garlic, shriek and then dip without paying for it.

He stands there behind the bar, drying off a glass tumbler with a towel- looking a little more awake and a little less apathetic.

He’s a bit hard to fully perceive in this light, even with Katsuki’s vampire vision. His hair was appearing far too saturated under the neon glare.

But the colour reflecting off of his pretty green eyes, alongside his pronounced freckles are vision enough for Katsuki in this trying time.

“Are you even old enough to drink?” Katsuki looks him up and down, inquisitive. He was probably about half a head shorter than Katsuki- but he made up for it with his extremely (adorably) fluffy hair.

The bartender/ store clerk looks at him, mildly insulted- but not visibly surprised. He must get it all the time.

“I’m 21 if that’s what you’re asking.”

Hmmm, same age as Katsuki. It was so strange- he didn’t definitely look it. Then again, Katsuki supposed, as he continued to age without really ageing - he would eventually have the same effect. After all, you can’t really look 235.

Unless you were a bag of dust.

“So! What can I get you, garlic guy?”

Katsuki scowls, “don’t call me that.”

“Sorry, do you prefer garlic man?”

Katsuki scowls, “I prefer nothing at all.”

The other nods at him, a little bit of an apologetic smile on his cute face. “Right then...”

Katsuki rolls his eyes, “what’s your name then?” He squints a little, more out of habit than anything else- looking closely at the guy’s name badge.

He tilts his head in question. That was a weird name.

“Deku?”

‘Deku’ huffs out a laugh, waving off his confusion. “I don’t use my real name here. It’s a… safety concern.”

Katsuki glances about the bar and swears he sees a dude loading up a pistol in the back corner, “I can imagine.”

The mutual silence the pair of them share is a bit of a strange one. ‘Deku’ is humming quietly to himself as he cleans glasses- he’d forgotten to ask Katsuki what he’d wanted to order after they’d gone off on a mutual tangent. Katsuki suspected they shared the same kind of intelligent dumbass brain.

Nevertheless, it was almost… Pleasant for that spare moment in the Crimson Crypt.

But that was never going to last very long.

Katsuki can see from the corner of his eye a man approaching the bar, his slovenly appearance and grisly beard instantly putting Katsuki on high alert.

“Oi, barkeep.” He slurs, holding an empty cup. He looked like the very epitome of ‘sleazy bar guy 3#’ in every movie Katsuki had seen.

Deku looks regretful to leave but obliges with a friendly, wavering smile, “yes sir? How can I help you?” His strangely happy customer service in a place like this had Katsuki thinking that he hadn’t been here long- there was no way.

Katsuki thinks dimly of- not if- but when this place will chew Deku up and spit him out.

“Where’s that-” the man hiccups, “-that hot piece of ass that was here yesterday? The brunette? She on tonight?”

Deku visibly stiffens, his back muscles tensing in nervousness. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, sir.” He definitely did. There was no doubt about it.

Katsuki had just learnt something about this ‘Deku’ guy.

He was a truly awful liar.

Chapter Text

Katsuki’s hairs are beginning to stand on end from the sheer tension between the two. Deku, calm, collected and polite staring at this disrespectful drunk dude who just seemed to be getting more and more angry.

“Sir, I suggest you begin heading home. Would you like me to call a cab for you?” Deku asks, not harbouring the same kind of tone as he did with Katsuki. This was definitely forced politeness.

“Don’t give me that bullshit!” The man slurs, “my buddy says he saw her walk in from the side!”

“You’re mistaken,” Deku repeats, his lip quivering. It was like every lie was physically hurting him. “It’s just me on tonight.”

The drunkard, his eyes still narrowed, just slams his empty drink onto the counter. The sound ricocheting off the stained bar walls with shrill fervour. “You think you’re protecting her, huh?” He was now leaning rather heavily on the bench like it was the sole reason he was upright at all. He gets in Deku’s face, and, like it were a petty secret, begins speaking once more. “Maybe she should have thought about that herself before she came here, in that slutty shirt-”

Katsuki’s about to intervene- try and find a convincing way to drag this asshole outside and knock him out for dinner-

but he’s beaten to it.

Deku grabs the man by his collar, the action emphasizing the hidden muscle (HOLY FUCK) he harboured under his shirt. His gaze was freezing and- frankly, terrifying.

“Whatever you and your friend were planning on doing to my coworker. I suggest you drop it.” There’s a very dangerous tinge to his voice that has a severe chill running down Katsuki’s spine. “I strongly advise that you leave before I have to use force.” Despite his stone-cold expression and his threatening posture- Katsuki can see the backs of his legs fidget in nervousness. He was afraid- but he was defending his friend.

There was something stupidly admirable about that.

Deku lets go of the man’s collar with a shove, his expression turning back to something more neutral. The hand at his side was still shaking.

The drunkard scowls, adjusting his shirt collar with an angry vigour before turning his back and huffing. “I’ll be back.” There was an ominous tone to that final remark- one that Katsuki doesn’t like at all.

But Deku is undeterred. He must see this shit way too often for him to really care. Now THAT was concerning.

“Have a safe trip home, sir,” Deku replies, his cheerful tone returning ever so slightly- but this time it was definitely to spite the man in front of them.

He waits until him and his buddy have shuffled out of the doors before his expression slackens into a relaxing one. He breathes out a sigh of relief before straightening his sleeve cuffs again.

“Uh… Holy shit?” Katsuki says, causing the bartender to jump. He’d obviously forgotten that Katsuki was even there in the first place.

Deku just looks at him, apologetic, “sorry you had to see that. We don’t have the most savoury customers here.”

No fucking kidding. Katsuki was well aware of that factor- but the cute, freckled, baby-faced dude behind the counter with balls of steel? Well, that was hardly to be expected.

“Am I being lumped into that group?”

Deku hums in thought, continuing on with his daily business as if he hadn’t just manhandled some asshole out of the bar by himself. “No.” He replies, “you’d have to actually buy something to be a customer.”

‘I’d much rather eat the customers than be one of them.’ Katsuki thinks ironically, putting a hand on his chin. A pleasant lull of silence drowned out the raucous voices of the bar and Katsuki forgets for a moment why he was here in the first place.

Hunger- Thirst? Katsuki wasn’t sure but it was something in between.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see shadows outside of the stained glass windows by the front of the entry. They shuffle about minutely but do not move into the bar, instead, hovering between both the front door and the (Katsuki presumes) staff entrance.

“I don’t think your buddies listened to you.” Katsuki points to the shadows, both of which matched the height of the men that Deku had just kicked out.

Deku sighs, a worried frown on his face- Katsuki could tell it wasn’t for himself, however. Rather, the girl that he’d just been defending. “They’re a lot more adamant than the usual jerks we get around here.”

Katsuki looks between the door and the bar- staring at Deku’s face with quirked eyebrows.

Oh, this would be perfect.

“I’ll take care of them,” Katsuki says, trying not to sound too eager. He begins to rise from his stool with feigned annoyance.

“Oh no, I can’t ask you to do that,” Deku replies, looking surprised at the sentiment. He waves his hands out in frantic dismissal.

Katsuki huffs, “it’s nothing.” He knew very well that the other would be out there chastising their asses if he wasn’t on the clock.

He’s halfway out the door before the bartender speaks again.

“Um-” Deku says, causing Katsuki to turn around.

“What?”

Deku’s expression is warm and filled with a pure gratefulness one wouldn’t expect to find here at all. “Thanks.”

Katsuki scowls at him. “Whatever,” he bites, feeling the curlings of embarrassment grasp at his chest.

‘If I fucking get blood on my shirt tonight I’m gonna be PISSED.’

The vampire that had bitten Katsuki had had an alarming presence.
Though his intentions weren't entirely benevolent- there was just a strange aura of intensity about him.
Katsuki hadn't gotten his name or a good look at his face- he'd been dying, after all- But he was certain that the creature that turned him wouldn't have if he were anything less.
His voice was calm yet eerie. He spoke like he'd been around death for millennia.

"Do you want to die here?"
Katsuki remembers spitting out a mouthful of blood, feeling freezing heat envelope his entire body.

Was this how it felt to die?

"F-fuck no?"
"You have a choice; die here now or become immortal... Humanity's enemy. Doomed in the afterlife. A vampire."
Katsuki definitely thought this dude was on… something, but- well, he was dying so he thought what the fuck.

His life was not going to fucking end here. He still had shit to do.

And if he had to get bitten by some weird crackhead in the gravel to do it, well, so be it.
"Go for it, asshole, I got nothing to lose."
He remembers the cool feeling of fangs on his neck and the dull sense of numbness washing over him but everything after that had been plunged into the abyss of his mind.

Now if Katsuki remembered anything about the Twilight movies it was the constant harping on about the fact that they couldn’t control their thirst- that, when they began to drink blood they couldn’t stop.

That was bullshit.

Katsuki finds- on his first try, he might add- that it was quite easy to stop.

It was nowhere near as difficult as every movie and book made it out to be. Katsuki suspects that all vampires may have been theatre kids in their previous lives because they were being fucking dramatic about it all.

If Katsuki had to explain it, he would as so; If humans ate, say, a really delicious cheeseburger- did that mean they physically couldn’t stop eating it if they wanted to? No.

That was like drinking blood for vampires.

Sure, it tasted good- really good. Katsuki could perhaps liken the experience of human blood to ice-cold water in the dead of night- euphoric and just what one needed. Only a little redder and it most certainly shouldn’t come out of the tap.

But he didn’t really want to be accountable for murder because of his version of a fucking delish cheeseburger- not before exam season at least.

So he stopped.

He only took about a pint from both of his victims and left them in the alley he’d knocked them out in. They’d wake up feeling a little woozy- but they would wake up. It was probably more than what they deserved.

Katsuki entertained the thought of leaving them a cookie and some orange juice like they did at blood banks but Katsuki figured, fuck them, they were assholes.

No cookies for them.

Another interesting tidbit Katsuki had learned from this experience was that blood tasted different depending on what the subject had had to eat or drink recently. (Which did give an answer as to why the rabbit he’d drank from last had fostered a rather weird aftertaste of grass.)

The two guys Katsuki had siphoned his meal from were reminiscent of the gross combination of shitty onion rings and cheap beer. A lot of beer.

Which meant that Katsuki felt pretty fucking hammered right now.

It honestly wasn’t the worst thing in the world- Katsuki had been kind of bummed when he figured out he couldn’t get drunk anymore so he supposed this was a welcome alternative. Even if it wasn’t very good timing.

He did have the good grace to check if he’d gotten any blood on his shirt- he was clean… fuck yeah biiitch- Before stumbling into the Crimson Crypt for no discernible reason.

He’d gotten his meal for the night- why was he going in here again...?

“Ah! You’re back.” Deku says, a bright smile on his face. “Are you alright?”

Oh…Yeah… The bartender. He looks at Katsuki with such a grateful face that it makes his chest begin to warm strangely. He looked so cute when he did that why did he look so cute when he did that. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-

“I’m... gay.” Katsuki slurs before righting himself, “I mean~ I’m okay.”

Izuku raises an eyebrow at that, tilting his head questioningly. “Are you sure? Did they inject you with something?” Of course, Deku wouldn’t suspect he was drunk. That didn’t make any fucking sense.

Well, unless he was a vampire.

But Katsuki is pretty sure he can’t just go around telling random people that.

It seemed a bit like a no-no situation. Sure, telling his roommates was one thing- but some hot dude at the bar? Maybe not.  

“No uh... “ Katsuki mumbles, trying to keep himself upright. “I think I have a cock-cushion. I mean, fuck, a concussion.”

Deku’s easy-going expression is instantly wiped away by an expression of concern, “do you want me to call an ambulance?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine.” Katsuki waves it off- he really didn’t want to go into debt because he was too awkward to tell this guy that he’d gotten drunk off some asshole’s blood because, oh yeah, he was a vampire.

“I’ve got crazy recovery time, it’s like a party dick- trick.” He starts fumbling to put his coat back on. “Uhh I need to go homo- I mean home.”

Deku looks disappointed for a moment there- but more so just amused by his antics. “Oh, well, thank you for dealing with those guys for me…?” He raises his eyebrows as if waiting for Katsuki’s name.

“Uh...  Katsuki. Katsuki Bakugou.”

“I guess I’ll see you around then, Kacchan.”
Even in his drunken state Katsuki makes a noise of protest, “the fuck is that?”

“I figured if you have to keep calling me Deku I should give you a nickname too.”

Katsuki pouts. “So you’re not going to tell me your real name, even after I beat up those guys for you?”

“Nope!” He says cheerfully, popping the ‘p’ sound. “Maybe if you come by more often I’ll have to change my mind.”

“Oh?”

Deku nods sheepishly, continuing to do busy work behind the bar. “It was nice meeting you, Kacchan.”

Katsuki, the drunken idiot that he currently was, just does finger guns as he walks out the door with a final, “see you around, Deku.”

Kaminari and Kirishima find him the next morning in their apartment hallway, face down and completely passed the fuck out.

Chapter Text

God, Katsuki fucking missed garlic bread.

When he finally came to after his night of accidental headassery he awoke to his two roommates sitting on the couch eating their leftover takeout. He’d smelled it with a pang in his heart- the betrayal was what hurt the most.

Garlic- his cruel mistress, whom he’d once treated with such love and delight- now scorned him like bitter lovers split apart by conflict.

Who was the dramatic one now, Bakubitch?

Katsuki groans as he then once more faces the cool timber of his hallway floor. He’d made a complete dickhead of himself in front of the bartender- but, on the brighter side, he had gotten what he’d come for.

He didn’t even have to go back there if he didn’t want to.

It wasn’t like there wasn’t any more shady bars on his side of the town. This suburb was practically an amalgamation of shady bars- if someone looked up the dictionary definition of shifty, a map of Katsuki’s neighbourhood would probably show up. This shit hole wasn’t all that great- but it was cheap and it was close enough to school that Katsuki didn’t have to catch the bus.

Fuck buses. They were just worse trains- who did they think they were?

Okay, perhaps Katsuki was on a tangent.  

The problem was that he did want to go back to that bar.

And it wasn't because of the meal. Katsuki’s gay ass knew deep down that it was because he was intrigued by that ‘Deku’ dude. He was so sunny and cheery- yet such a badass. He’d underestimated him and it kind of pissed him off all the while simultaneously turning him on.

“Rough night?” Kirishima asks him, still holding a half-eaten plate of garlic bread in his hands. He chews on a piece as he speaks, “didn’t get anything to eat?”

“No, I ate…drank?” Katsuki says, his words muffled by the ground. “I went to the Crimson Crypt.”

“Oh shiiiiiit,” Kaminari calls from behind, sounding both mildly impressed and worried. “Did you die?”

“I’m already dead, shithead,” Katsuki growls, lifting himself off the ground to meet the gazes of his roommates. Their curious expressions and Katsuki’s need to get the previous night off of his chest combine and he soon relents.

He tells the pair of them about his escapade- leaving the part about Deku out. It’s the most he’s talked in… ever and it leaves his throat feeling weird.

Nevertheless, it felt good to talk to Kirishima and Kaminari. He hated to admit it- but they were most definitely something like friends at this point- whether he liked it or not.

Their mutual poorness and shitty life decisions had brought them together in a pretty bow of homosexuality and Katsuki wasn't sure what he’d do without their dumbasses.

“Man, your life is so fucking weird,” Kirishima says after Katsuki’s finished going on his cryptic rant, flopping back down on their shitty couch that they’d taken from the side of the road. It was a little stained and… gross but there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it.

“Tell me about it.” Katsuki groans, remaining on the ground for now. Apparently being a vampire didn’t exclude him from some kind of fucked up hangover equivalent. He wondered idly if there was any cure to it- like humans and greasy food.

Would he have to drink from someone that had just walked straight out of a McDonalds?

“Wait… If you drank our blood now, would you like… die... ?” Kirishima asks him, gesturing wildly to the garlic bread still in his hand.

Katsuki had outrightly refused to drink from either of his roommates. It was weird and kind of just freaky- also the one time he’d considered it a few days before, Kaminari hadn’t stopped fucking quoting Twilight- so that was a solid no go.

He didn’t need to fuel their flame of meme fuckery, it was strong enough as it was.

“As much as I don’t want to go to class this afternoon, I’d rather not test that hypothesis.” Katsuki bites weakly, covering his eyes with his arm to block out the light from the TV that had begun beaming through.

Kirishima entertains the statement, nodding his head, “alright fair.” He goes back to looking at his phone with a frown now on his face. He squints before jumping up from the sofa with a gasp. “Fuck! I forgot!” Kirishima begins fumbling around like a drunk, trying to pull one of his sneakers on all the while nearly face planting into the ground.

“What the fuck is it?” Katsuki scowls, not particularly enjoying the cacophony of noise added onto his vampiric hangover.

“I booked an appointment with a maths tutor in the library for like-” he looks at his watch, “five minutes ago!” As Kirishima frets, his phone begins to ring and he jumps, nearly dropping it. He was in a blind rush and he’d forgot he’d been holding it in his hands.

Katsuki rolls his eyes at him.

Answering it with an awkward nonchalance he presses answer, “hello? Midoriya, right? Yeah, I’m sorry dude I’ll be right there…”

Katsuki huffs out a laugh.

That poor son of a bitch ‘Midoriya’ or whatever would be in for a treat dealing with Kirishima’s dumbass.

A week passes by rather dutifully in the shared household of Kirishima, Kaminari and Katsuki. Katsuki continues to take notes on his phone about his newfound powers and detriments. The list continually grows longer and longer with every spare hour Katsuki had alone.

He’d found out about his enhanced speed the night he and Kaminari had been leaving the library. Kaminari had looked at him with all the seriousness in the world and said ‘the last one to get home is gay.’

Even though both of them were, in fact, gay. Katsuki had always been a competitive spirit. He’d rushed off in front of the other and made it there in a minute flat as opposed to the usual ten minutes. He hadn’t even been out of breath.

Once Kaminari had finally gotten back to the apartment, his hair a wild mess, he’d looked at Katsuki with terrified bewilderment. He tilted his questioning gaze at the other, about to open his mouth to voice his questions... when his expression morphed into one of clarity.

“Oh right, you’re a vampire. I forgot.” Kaminari brushes off that fact with a laugh and then dives onto their sofa, a box of froot loops in hand.

Super speed. Katsuki settled into his chair, nodding to himself quietly. That was pretty fucking rad.

It wasn’t all good, however. Unfortunately being undead did have downsides to it.

For as the new week chimed with its genesis- Katsuki could once more feel the beginnings of thirst crawl up his throat. That wasn’t quite as fucking rad as super speed.

Now that he knew what thirst felt like, it wasn’t as easy to ignore. It began to scratch at him the longer he pretended it wasn’t there. In class it caused him to lose concentration- when he slept it had him tossing and turning. Katsuki knew he would need to go back again- the Crimson Crypt, it was a good waypoint. Shady, grim and not that far away.

That and, hopefully, Deku would be there again.

He’s grabbing his coat- about to leave when Kirishima approaches him from the kitchen. His eyes are alight with excitement and he’s waving his phone around, obviously trying to show Katsuki something but forgetting that- even though he now had super vampire vision, it didn’t cover him for dumbassery.

“Dude! I got you a date!” Kirishima cries, his face a mask of sunshine. He’s practically bouncing up and down on the walls.

“Wait, what the fuck?” Katsuki can already feel the dread rising. He was planning on brushing Kirishima off in hopes of getting to the bar early so he could go to bed sooner but- a date? A blind date?

That was the last thing he needed right now.

“My tutor- Midoriya- I was walking with him to the train station and we started talking- he’s really smart and super adorable- he’s totally your type dude.”

Katsuki didn’t know about that. Didn’t even know if he had a type. After all, Katsuki couldn’t recall ever mentioning to Kirishima about his personal preference in… anything except gender.

...And cereal.

Unless this ‘tutor’ dude was made out of froot loops, he really had no idea what Kirishima was going to pull. Katsuki just knew he wasn’t going to like it.

“I’m not looking to date anyone right now, shitty hair,” Katsuki growled, shrugging on his leather jacket with a vengeance. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve got my own shit to sort out,” he gestured vaguely to his fangs that he so epically flashed at his friend.

Kirishima looks sheepish, pressing his two pointer fingers together. He kicks the non-existent dust about the apartment with a socked foot before looking back up at Katsuki. “I may have… already given him your number.”

“You WHAT. ”

Kirishima knows what’s coming next and makes a valid run for it. “Have fun at the crypt! Don’t get plastered again! You’ve got a physics final tomorrow afternoon!” Katsuki hears Kirishima’s bedroom door slam and the lock clicking shut.

That fucker… meddling with his love life. That wasn’t the most pressing issue in Katsuki’s life as of late.

Besides… he was kind of interested in someone else right now.

God, he was tragic.

With a click of his tongue, Katsuki closes the door to his apartment and once again makes his way down to the bar.

Stupid, shitty, Kirishima.

He didn’t want to go out with that Midoriya dude- he wanted to go out with Deku!

Bakugou Katsuki was many things, but he wasn’t a little bitch. That was for certain. He wasn’t nervous to see Deku again after he’d made a complete ass of himself. No. He was Katsuki-fucking-Katsuki and not even death (apparently) could stop him from being a chaotic neutral homosexual with an agenda.

An agenda to get to know this cute bartender more and ask him why his face was so dumb and why he was so pretty.

However, re-entering the Crimson Crypt with the very same vigour he held the instance before, he can’t help but feel a slight slither of hesitation enter his veins.

Perhaps it would be better if Deku wasn’t there. He’d be a lot more focused on getting something to eat- that was for sure.

After all, it was the main purpose of this expedition.

Yeah, Deku didn’t need to be here for Katsuki to get what he came for-

“Ah, you’re back, Kacchan.”

FUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK YEEEAAAHHHHH.

Okay, the whole ‘not wanting Deku to be there’ thing was a lie. Bakugou Katsuki wasn’t a little bitch- but he was a liar. He could deal with that.

The only thing left was to formulate a perfect, witty albeit charming reply to this greeting.

“Ngh, you live here or something, Deku?”

Outstanding.

Katsuki’s vampiric ass had more charms than a motherfucking Pandora ™ bracelet.

Midoriya just rolls his eyes a little bit, waving off Katsuki’s mild hostility like it was nothing. He isn’t alone behind the bar this time, in fact, the whole establishment seemed more lively than last week.  

Katsuki glances about the place, taking in his surroundings with a newfound clarity that his immortality had brought him. He counts his blessings, the mild crowd would most definitely work out in his favour- with all these people around. It would be easier for a few of them to go missing without suspicion.

Ugh, that made him sound like a fucking serial killer.

Taking a seat in a stool right opposite Deku, he moves his gaze back to the man that had harboured a spot in the back of his mind for the last week. Katsuki wasn’t overly sure why he found Deku so interesting- perhaps it was the geekish way he conducted himself, so unlike a place such as this... Or maybe it was the way he seemed to hide his strength behind a smile because he wanted to believe the best in people- Katsuki wasn’t certain.

“Glad to know you got home okay, you were pretty out of it last time I saw you.” Deku says with a smile, “those guys must have been more trouble than they were worth!”

“It’s nothing,” Katsuki grumbles.

Deku’s expression turns earnest, “no- I- I want to thank you again.” His eyes shimmer so peacefully under the dusty lighting of the bar, Katsuki can see within them immense gratitude. “This place isn’t the safest and we can only do so much to ward off pushy customers...” Deku looks a little flustered as he stares off into the distance behind Katsuki’s head. “Not that I’m telling you to beat up everyone that gives us trouble!” He exclaims, waving his hands frantically like Katsuki was about to start swinging. “Just… Thanks. I slept better that night knowing my friend got home okay… Not that she can’t handle herself!” He sighs, “I guess I just worry about her sometimes, you know? This world is messed up and I can’t help but think that-”

Deku is quickly brought off of his train of thought by a feminine voice.

“Deku! Is this ‘garlic dude’?” She asks, akin to Deku, she sounded as if she didn’t belong in a bar like the Crimson Crypt.

Her tumble of chocolate brown hair is evidence enough for Katsuki to know that this is the woman that those scumbags had been talking about. She looks as if she is made from marshmallow fluff and is just as sweet. No wonder Deku had gotten so scary when those guys had threatened her.  

“Katsuki.” Katsuki corrects with a sneer, “if you call me ‘garlic dude’ I will have to kill you.”  

She levels her gaze, unintimidated. Instead of replying she opts to lean into Deku’s ear and whisper to him. “You’re right, he is cute.”

Her intention most definitely was to ensure that Katsuki couldn’t hear.

Unfortunately for everyone involved though, Bakugou Katsuki had vampiric hearing.

Both Deku and Katsuki go a lovely shade of pink and avert their gazes.

“Nice to meet you then, Katsuki.” She says, unfazed, her smile is bright and warm- but something tells Katsuki that she’s just as powerful as Deku.

She’d have to be in a place like this.

“Thanks for taking care of those guys for me.” She holds out a hand for Katsuki to shake- and he takes it with a neutral expression.

“I’m assuming you’re also not going to give me your name?” Katsuki asks with a raised brow, eyeing her shirt with keen suspicion. No name tag.

She laughs, looking at Deku and then back at Katsuki, “Nah, I’m not secretive with that stuff like Deku is- I’m Uraraka.” She shakes Katsuki’s hand firmly with an unwavering stare. “I think you’re a trustworthy adversary.”

God.

Maybe the Crimson Crypt didn’t rely on electricity at all to power their lights. Maybe it was all big dick energy.

Either way, Katsuki’s pretty sure Uraraka didn’t need a saviour.

Due to the bar being busier than as per usual- Katsuki didn’t have a whole lot of time to talk to Deku.

Which may have been for the best, if Katsuki had actually used that time to scope out potential meals for later in the night-

But, instead, he’d spent the last five minutes just watching Deku work.

The young bartender seemed to have a penchant for muttering to himself as he poured drinks for the customers. Katsuki watched with a strange curiosity as Deku’s calculating expression moved his lips despite not speaking to anyone. He watched Uraraka mill about around him, obviously used to his murmurs enough for it to be commonplace. What a weird guy.  

...Said the fucking vampire.

Nevertheless, Katsuki enjoyed watching Deku work. He was very cheerful and methodical. The complete opposite of Katsuki, who’d had a large handful of part-time jobs and nearly committed homicide in multiple instances.

He just wasn’t cut out for customer service.

Luckily he’d gotten a gig helping out in the labs at his school. He didn’t have to deal with any shit heads with names like ‘Susan,’ reprimanding him for not giving them ‘service with a smile,’ he just needed to analyse samples and type that shit into a computer. Easy peasy.

Deku- however, well, he made his job look easy. But it clearly wasn’t, Katsuki found it hard to keep up at times. Especially when all the people asking for drinks were usually grumbling out the order like they’d been personally wronged by the Crimson Crypt in particular.

All the spirits, the liqueurs, the fucking garnishes… Katsuki felt a headache coming on without him even doing any actual work.

As his palm meets his forehead, his eyes leave his usual spot at Deku’s back and glance about the crowds surrounding the bar. It is there that he feels something… peculiar.

It’s like there was a significant pull gesturing him forward, some kind of bound connection hidden amongst this large group of people. It was indescribable and… and really fucking weird.

Amongst the throes of people? Who was doing this to him? It definitely felt strange… almost certainly supernatural. Was it one of his own kind? Ugh, that sounded so weird to say.   

He sees an ominous tuft of red and white hair stand out in the masses, drifting about in a sea of people like a note in a bottle.

Katsuki instantly feels a pull toward it- and not just because it was a weird as fuck hair colour. He watches it give pause for just the briefest of moments before moving toward the exit, in pursuit of something… or someone.

Sparing a last glance toward Deku, he gives chase. Curiosity was never something Katsuki struggled to not give in to, but right now there was this compelling urge driving him forward.

It’s a different alleyway, darker, more secluded. One that could only be picked by someone that knew it was there.

Katsuki doesn’t have to guess to see what was going on. His eyes could see perfectly fine in the dark now.

Two unconscious bodies lie on the cool concrete ground. A man and a woman. Another is held up just centimetres away from them, in the clutches by the mysterious owner of the… odd hair. The one that had drawn Katsuki in the first place. He knows that Katsuki’s watching him. He knows and he doesn’t care. He bites down onto the body’s neck with a precision that only lots of practice could perfect as Katsuki stands and watches.

“I’m assuming you’re one of me too… Unless you’re just a fucking weirdo?” Katsuki speaks, sizing the other up. He wasn’t sure how he’d fare in a fight against him. He looked tough in a weird… chill kind of way that made Katsuki weary.

Perhaps it was the cartoonish facial scar covering half of his face… who knew?

The figure wipes his mouth, laying the body calmly to the ground with ease, he could sense she still had a pulse so that was super, Katsuki supposed. He wouldn’t be witnessing a murder tonight. No thank you.

“What if I was just a weirdo, what would you say to that?”

Oh great, so he was one of those assholes that answered questions with more questions.

Katsuki sets his jaw, frowning, “you’re definitely weird. But I don’t think that’s it.”

He stands like some kind of weird ancient deity, looking down at Katsuki.“...I thought you’d remember me, Bakugou Katsuki.”

Oh fuck.

“How the fuck do you know my name?” Oh FUCK. Can he read minds? That would really fucking suck if he could read minds. Katsuki has a lot of weird thoughts that would be better off in the fiery inferno of hell.

The figure must sense his distress because he raises an eyebrow. “I saw it on your Denny’s rewards card?”

Now that was just fucking ridiculous.

“How could you have seen my-”

Katsuki goes cold.

Oh.

Wait.

The night he was turned was still mostly a blur.

After leaving the ‘restaurant’ (would you even call that place a restaurant?) from where he’d gotten some… average pancakes on his lonesome, he’d been shuffling on home to his shitty apartment, hands in his pockets when he’d… died.

Katsuki remembers seeing all of his stuff go everywhere as he felt the car hit him, his wallet, his keys, his Tamagotchi...NOT HIS FUCKING TAMAGOTCHI!!

Looking up at the moon, his back on concrete, with his breaths getting harder to stutter out, Katsuki couldn’t help but think that ‘Tamagotchi’ really shouldn’t be a person’s last coherent thought.

Then he’d felt a presence block the slither of light that he’d been granted. His hair was a shock of two colours that Katsuki had convinced was just a dying haze of a hallucination. He peered down at him with a casual expression, so calm that Katsuki had been convinced he was already dead.

“ You fucking bit me?!”

The man frowns, looking at Katsuki like he was expecting what he’d say next. “Yes, I know. I turned you into a monster. I did try to tell you-”

“Monster?” Katsuki asks, incredulous, “this shit is cool as FUCK.” He was never one for compliments of his own volition. But sometimes, things had to be said.

Now that does elicit a surprised expression from the other, “hah?”

“I can literally run to class, two minutes before it starts, and still get there on time.”

“But-”

“You don’t understand. I don’t need to spend money on groceries anymore.”

Why did this sound like Katsuki was trying to convince this guy of something?

Katsuki sizes him up, going silent for a moment,  “why did you… Why did you do it?”

Silence.

“Why did you bite me?”

The stranger’s second bout of quiet leaves Katsuki feeling unnerved and irritated.

Candy cane hair picks up the man he’d left unstirring on the ground with a strange grace. “It was on a whim. Nothing else.” He said cryptically, tossing the man over toward Katsuki’s direction. “Meal’s on me.” He continued, beginning to walk away.

“Wait-”

But Katsuki was too late. His ‘creator’ had fallen away into the darkness of the night.

What the fuck.

Okay, that could have gone better.

But Katsuki wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity for free food. His mother told him not to take food from strangers… But that guy wasn’t really a stranger... Technically, he’d saved his life. By making him undead.

Ughhh what the fuck. His life was so weird.

When he’s finished, he still feels a weird tug toward the Crimson Crypt. It wasn’t supernatural this time, just his usual gay ass telling him to go bid Deku goodnight. It was dumb as fuck but, god, he’d never been this sweet on anyone before. The way he’d politely told that drunk asshole to fuck off that night with his big strong arms had done things to Katsuki’s non-functioning heart.

“Ah, Kacchan.” He hears the voice call out from behind him and it instantly makes Katsuki jump.

He’s about to throw hands- about to yeet whatever the hell this next bullshit was out of his life and out of his mind.

But it turns out to just be Deku.

He is in normal clothes now, a dark green sweater and some jeans… and some ridiculous red shoes.

“Ha, you dress like a nerd.” Is the first thing that escapes Katsuki’s mouth.

Deku frowns at him, “where did you go? I turned around and you were gone.”

Oh right.

“Uh…” Katsuki fumbles with an excuse, something feasible. He definitely couldn’t tell the truth. He’d sound fucking CRAZY. ‘Oh well you see, Deku, I was just having an impromptu meet up with the weird emo bitch that turned me into a vampire but before I could get any answers he threw me a phat human snack and fucked off into the darkness. “...Smoke break.”

“You smoke, Kacchan?” Deku looks disappointed in him.

God, maybe he should have just told the truth.

“...Yes?”

Deku looks like he wants to reprimand him more, but he holds back. “Well… My shift is over so I’m heading home… Uh, I- I’m sorry we couldn't talk more tonight. I was sort- sort of hoping I’d meet you again...” He tugs on his messenger bag strap a little nervously, “I guess I’ll see you around?” He moves to head in the presumed direction of his house-

“Wait!” Katsuki calls. Too loud for this time of night.

Deku turns his head, curious. “Hmm?”

“Uh… It’s dangerous around here. I should walk you home.” His flimsy excuse wasn’t fooling anyone. Not him and not Deku.

This was so dumb. Deku was more than capable of handling himself- he’d shown Katsuki that the first night he met him-

“I’d like that.”

He was a genius, a god, nothing could match his grandeur.

For the past few weeks, Katsuki had been using his vampire speed to fucking nyoom everywhere he wanted to go.  

But now that he was actually walking with someone- with a human - who didn’t know about his… immortality. Well, he figured that sprinting off into the horizon wouldn’t really be the best of ideas. Especially after he went to such lengths to conceal his nature.

Besides, it felt kind of nice strolling along the cracked pathways with Deku. The shifty apartments and stores weren’t much to look at, but the overhead night sky was an ever-present beauty in his field of vision. It was easier to keep things in perspective when he looked up there. Staring up at that crater filled ball in the sky, it filled him with resolve. One day he was going to fucking fight the moon.

Admittedly, most of the thoughts that occupied Katsuki’s mind involved him fighting inanimate objects. But hey, it really do be like that sometimes.  

Katsuki didn’t have a whole lot of time to keep his head to himself, however- for Deku was beside him, obviously wanting him to reply to conversational topics.

You know, like a normal person.

So, like the Normal Person Katsuki definitely was- he began with something that was universally known as the one decently safe topic. The one constant at family gatherings as a young person, exchanged between relatives- asked without rhyme, reason or resistance.

School.

Katsuki had had an inkling Deku was studying at the same college Katsuki was- but suspecting and knowing were two very different things. And he couldn’t exactly ask Deku- it would sound kind of weird.

He’d just have to wait until he himself brought it up before he could check that off his mental list.

He’d just have to wait for the right situation to arise...

He was right.

Just like Katsuki always was.

His suspicions were confirmed a moment later as they walked closer and closer to the campus. Deku began brightly speaking of his times in the library, tutoring classmates in need. He explained how he helped out a few times a week, no pay- or anything- Just out of the goodness of his own heart...

Because of course, he did that. Of course, Deku was- not only smart, strong and cute- but also kind.

Fuck.

“God, how many fucking jobs do you have?”

“Three- including tutoring… Ah, but that’s more like volunteering, isn’t it?” Deku says with a smile. Katsuki didn’t know how he did it.

Did he have any free moments at all? When did he find time to moisturise? Katsuki wouldn’t be having any bullshit about how he didn’t. That freckly skin was as clear as crystal Pepsi- it had to be some kind of fancy Lush ™ shit he was using.

Katsuki was getting sidetracked again. His mind was falling into the unknown and he really needed to get into the more ‘normal’ territory of thinking.

Back to school.

School was a good topic.

School was safe- fighting the moon and skincare routines? Not so much.

As it turned out they were both doing wack ass nerd degrees, with Deku specialising in medicine- as opposed to Katsuki who focused more on the side of chemical engineering.

Mostly because he loved blowing shit up, but whatever. He wasn’t going to tell Deku that.

“Wow, you would have to be careful about fires, right?” Deku asks him as they walk, gazing forward at the bobbing streetlights in his vision. The smile is still on his lips as he moves.

Fires? What? Why did he say that?

Katsuki feels himself freeze. Was it because vampires could only truly die if their bodies were put to a flame? What- Oh my God did Deku know? Holy fucking shit dicks-

“Some chemistry students sure do love a good chemical reaction… Maybe a little too much.” Deku continues with a laugh, clearly not thinking anything else of it.

Oh.

Katsuki was an idiot.

Despite the fact that he was definitely one of those chemistry students, he kept moving forward with a composed expression. Katsuki clears his throat of the internal panic that had been waging war on his insides and asks another question; “You mean you fancy pants doctors don’t love a good explosion?”

“I mean... Not when I’m doing calculus?”

Katsuki makes a face, “calculus is the perfect subject for an explosion. It would liven shit up, that’s for sure.” 

Deku pouts, crossing his arms. “Hey! I like calculus!”

“Yeah of course you do, you fucking nerd.”  

“Kacchan, you like chemistry. That’s not fair for you to say at all!”

“Shut up, Deku, chemistry is valid.”

It wasn’t.

Both of those subjects sucked.

The only chemistry that was even useful in this case was the one between Kacchan and Deku right now.

And one certainly didn’t need calculus to add that shit up.

Eventually, Deku stops in front of a stoop about two minutes away from their school. His footsteps slow reluctantly, almost as if he was thinking of continuing down the road. It’s a rundown place- much like Katsuki’s abode, but despite all of that Katsuki can see a sunflower blooming in the topmost window of the complex.

He knows for certain that that was the window that led to Deku’s room, because again, of course, it was.

“Well, this is where I am.” Deku clears his throat, shrugging his shoulders. “Thanks for walking me home, Kacchan.”

“Don’t mention it,” Katsuki replies, his cheeks dusted with a flush.

A flush which seemed almost… impossible. What with the whole ‘vampire’ shit-

Vampirism didn’t, and never would, counteract gay panic.

No print in this household, only fax.

“I usually work Wednesdays and Fridays.” Deku blurts out despite himself. He too, sporting a lovely mist of pink on his spotted cheeks. “Uh! I mean… A-at the Crimson Crypt! You know, just in case you-”

“Just in case I get a hankering for some shitty alcohol those nights in particular?”

Deku nods, “y-yeah... “

“Hmm.” Katsuki sizes him up and then begins to glance around the street with a nonchalance only an unkillable asshole like him could muster. “You know I heard that there have been a few muggings around here...”

“Oh?” Deku entertains the comment, knowing full well it was sculpted out of bullshit.

Katsuki scratches the back of his neck, looking a little… awkward now. All bark no bite. Typical Katsuki. “So yeah, I better walk you home after all of your shifts…”

“...Yes, I think that’s for the best.”

There’s a soft smile on Katsuki’s lips, one that hasn’t seen the break of day in a very long time. He hopes it comes off more like a grimace in the moonlight but he doesn’t count his blessings just yet. After all, did vampires even get blessings?  

“Goodnight, Deku.”

“Goodnight, Kacchan.”

As Deku rustles his keys out toward the door, Katsuki shouts one last thing- his hands cupped to unnecessarily amplify his voice.

“You’re still not going to tell me your real name are you?”

“Nope!”

It’s almost a game at this point. 

“Fuck you.”

Wishful thinking there, Katsuki.

Chapter Text

Now that Katsuki was finally back in his shitty abode, kicking off his sneakers to the sound of the tv in the background- he slowly gives pause to the happenstances of the night.

He walked Deku home! They had a quippy, banterous conversation together where there were no awkward pauses! He wasn’t even insulted by Katsuki’s… bitchiness, in fact it almost looked like Deku found it endearing .

This. Was. GREAT. Best night ever.

Katsuki pauses.

...Oh, right.

He’d also met the guy who turned him into a vampire.

...Semantics, really.

Who cared about that shit- HE TALKED TO A CUTE BOY TODAY.

Katsuki can’t seem to hide his smirk as he shuffles out of his coat. He hadn’t felt this giddy in ages. And it was all because of some nerd bartender he barely knew… God, how strange.

Katsuki moves into the hallway toward the noise, cringing at the sheer shrillness of the voice on the screen. He’s almost about to shout at his roommates to turn the fucking volume down on the TV when he finds the pair of them asleep on the sofa.

Kaminari is drooling on Kirishima’s shoulder, snoring his ass off. Whereas Eijirou seems to be using Denki as a human body pillow, hugging him close in a death grip that seemed near impossible to escape. They had probably been waiting up for him but passed out as the hour went on.  

Pathetic, they’d never be able to keep watch during a zombie apocalypse.

Still, Katsuki can’t help but feel a little bit of warmth spread through his heart. Perhaps it was this shitty, emotionally vulnerable state he was in right now- but it almost felt nice knowing that his friends cared about him enough to try and wait up for him. Almost.

Katsuki debates on what to do, kick them awake, carry their asses to their room… But instead he just sighs. They looked peaceful where they were- quiet for once . He didn’t want to risk disturbing them. Katsuki groans, shuffling on over to snatch a blanket from the linen closet, the one they usually used when the winter cold was particularly biting.

Katsuki couldn’t very well feel cold anymore, but the slight shiver on their bodies was evidence enough.

He throws the blanket over the pair of them with an embarrassed scowl. If they caught him doing this he’d never live it down.

He turns the TV volume down to a dull murmur and returns to his room to do some homework.

It’s about an hour later and far too late in the night when Katsuki gets a text from an unknown number.

400-XXX-XXX: isn’t it nice that snails never get homesick bc they carry their homes with them! :D

What the fuck?

Katsuki knew full well why he was up at this hour- there was a perfectly good reason for it.

But for a normal- well he shouldn’t say normal after hearing that weird ass text - person, this definitely wasn’t a time that should be spend doing anything other than sleeping.

Bakugou_Katsuki: who the fuck is this

400-XXX-XXX: omg

400-XXX-XXX: im so sorry i thought i texted a greeting before that

400-XXX-XXX: hi! Im izuku! :D kirishima gave me your number!

Katsuki frowns, suddenly wishing he had woken up his room mates with some demonic screeching after all.

He’d forgotten all about Kirishima’s shitty escapade in getting Katsuki a boyfriend…

This must be his tutor, Izuku or whatever.

Wait…

Kirishima had said this guy was his ‘ type.’

He went to their school.

He was a tutor.

...And he was super smart…

Hmm...

Katsuki puts a hand on his chin.

‘...I wonder if this guy knows Deku?’

Bakugou_Katsuki: oh right

Bakugou_Katsuki: yo

Bakugou_Katsuki: im katsuki

Katsuki had no interests in pursuing some kind of relationship with this guy if he was being honest with himself. Despite Kirishima’s obnoxious badgering- he just couldn’t see it happening. Especially not after tonight. Not after getting to know Deku even more. He really didn’t want to lead anyone on knowing that his heart wasn’t in the right place.

He was an asshole but not that much of an asshole.

Speaking of Katsuki being an asshole- an idea had struck his head. One that was mildly sinister but utterly harmless.

It felt kind of like a dick move, but hey, if it worked it would definitely be useful.

Bakugou_Katsuki: ...since ur a tutor at school do u know a guy named deku or some shit

There’s a weird silence where Katsuki can see the ‘ typing…’ icon rise and fall on Izuku’s side. It had been doing that since Katsuki had introduced himself.

It was probably a weird question to ask. Katsuki feels a touch of guilt rise in his chest. He really ought to know not to use this guy to go after another one. It was a total douche thing to do. Especially after Kirishima had told him how nice Izuku was…

Besides, Deku definitely wasn’t his real name- and he probably only used it when he was at work… Katsuki scowls. He was probably no closer to figuring out this mystery than he was before...

400-XXX-XXX: DSHDLAHDAKL

400-XXX-XXX: NO WAY

Bakugou_Katsuki: do you know him or what?

400-XXX-XXX: HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH

Bakugou_Katsuki: whats so fucking funny

Katsuki feels himself beginning to frown even further when Izuku sends an image through his phone.

It loads slowly, making it damn near agonising. Fucking Androids.

What could this guy find so funny about Katsuki’s question? Why was he being such an asshole about it? Could it be that this was all some elaborate scheme to prank Katsuki or something?

The image finally appears before Katsuki’s eyes.

It’s a selfie of Deku, his face lit up by the light of a study lamp. His face is slightly red from laughter and he holds up a peace sign at the camera. Katsuki can see his bright yellow sunflower in the corner of the image, shining outward toward the window.

So he had been right about that...

400-XXX-XXX: yeah u could say I know him

Katsuki feels his breath catch.

Does this mean…

No fucking way.

...Deku had an identical twin brother named Izuku?

400-XXX-XXX: guess u got me after all, kacchan

Oh wait shit no. He was Izuku.

WHAT.

FUCK.

SHIT.

Katsuki had obviously been drinking dumbass juice instead of blood tonight. Good fuck. He nearly had a PHD.  Why was he like this?

Bakugou_Katsuki: uve gotta be fucking shitting me right now

Bakugou_Katsuki: coincidence is an asshole and im going balls deep

Yeah, he really did just send that to a real life person he was trying to get to know better. Katsuki is too buzzed about the situation to even care.

Bakugou_Katsuki: HA I GOT UR REAL NAME NOW BITCH

400-XXX-XXX: dangit! :0

400-XXX-XXX: i wanted to keep it to myself 4 a bit longer to keep the allure of mystery

400-XXX-XXX: i cant believe the first thing you asked me was if i ‘knew deku’

400-XXX-XXX: kacchan do you have a crush on me?? :DDDD

Somehow, Deku had managed to flip this conversation in his favour once more. Katsuki promptly goes a nice shade of pink, thanking the gods above that he was alone in his room.

This was bad in a totally different way now.

Bakugou_Katsuki: in ur fucking dreams nerd

Bakugou_Katsuki: i just wanted to find out ur name

God, he was hopeless.

400-XXX-XXX: so now that you have r u going to stop coming to the crimson crypt D:

Bakugou_Katsuki: …

Bakugou_Katsuki: why are you up so late deku

400-XXX-XXX: !!! subject evasion :0

Bakugou_Katsuki: better than tax evasion

Bakugou_Katsuki: nah nvm fuck the government

400-XXX-XXX: u definitely seem like an anarchist kacchan

400-XXX-XXX: that checks out

Bakugou_Katsuki: u still haven’t answered my question

400-XXX-XXX: u still haven’t answered mine :D

Katsuki sighs. This little shit and his dumb ass emoticons.

Bakugou_Katsuki: im not going to stop coming to the crimson crypt

Bakugou_Katsuki: if u get fucking murdered or something kirishima wont have a tutor and then ill have to teach his dumb ass

FUCKING. HOPELESS.

400-XXX-XXX: ah

400-XXX-XXX: i see :0

400-XXX-XXX: im up late bc this is the only time i can do my homework :/

400-XXX-XXX: im basically nocturnal at this point lol ;P

Katsuki stares at the screen, still not fully comprehending the fact that Izuku Midoriya and Deku were the same person. He’d somehow managed to get Deku’s number by accident. He was that good. Holy shit.

With the hopes that this wasn’t some kind of fucked up dream, he quickly adds the new contact into his phone under the name, ‘Sunflower’ with a flush in his cheeks.

That shit was corny as fuck but he just couldn’t manage to figure out if he ought to put down ‘Izuku’ or ‘Deku.’

So he chose something else, five times more gay than that.

Ugh. Katsuki.

Sunflower: but kacchan,,, why are YOU up this late??

Bakugou_Katsuki: time is an illusion

Bakugou_Katsuki: also i sleep during the day

Katsuki is still staring in disbelief at the mere absurdity of this situation. By the time he’s snapped out of his bubble Deku has left another text in his wake.

Sunflower: lol its like ur a vampire

Bakugou_Katsuki: ha

Bakugou_Katsuki: thats fucking dumb

Chapter Text

Time passes Katsuki by like it usually did.

Once, he’d been over eager to speed up the passage of time to get to the good part, but now more than ever he was looking for ways to slow it down.

Things were going good. Like, really good. He was at the top of his classes (of course), he had more money than he’d ever had (which was like, $20.)

And Deku was a pleasantly present factor in his life.

Katsuki was always one to keep his word, he never missed a night walking Deku home. It became a routine of theirs. Sometimes Katsuki wouldn’t go into the bar, (sometimes he’d be out… getting a bite to eat) but, without fail, he’d be waiting by the staff exit with a half hearted scowl when it was time for Deku to finish. The pair of them would usually talk about anything they had on their minds, which was most likely nerd shit.

As Katsuki got to know Deku more, the fidgety bartender began to open up further. Deku began to grow less afraid of the potential of boring Katsuki with his interests. He’d go on and on about the cool thing he’d learned in his biology class that day and Katsuki would listen to the soothing sound of his voice against the cool night. Hearing the happiness in Deku’s tone made it the best part of Katsuki’s day.  

But Wednesday and Friday nights weren't the only time the pair of them saw each other around. After all, they lived in the same shitty neighbourhood and went to the same shitty school.

In the afternoons, when Katsuki walked to class, hooded and grumpy, he passed the grocery store Deku worked at. He was usually running late (or being incinerated by the dying fucking rays of sunlight) so he didn’t have time to talk... But it didn’t stop him from trying to take the ugliest candid photos of Deku possible and then sending it to Deku himself.

A very Bakugou Katsuki way of flirting.

Katsuki had gotten a real gem one Tuesday when Deku had been stacking oranges. He’d caught him mid-sneeze fumbling over the fruit in his hands. It had become Katsuki’s contact image of him for the next month.

It had manifested as almost a challenge on who could snap the roughest picture of one another without the victim noticing. Deku had gotten some real awful ones of him as well. One on his way to class when he’d caught Katsuki picking his nose, one where he was tripping over the crack in the sidewalk, one where he looked like a fucking cryptid- covered head to toe in black without an inch of skin showing. (In Katsuki’s defense, it had been a particularly sunny evening.)

It was all in good fun and it never ceased to make the two of them smile. Even if they were… horribly embarrassing.

What Katsuki wouldn’t let Deku see, however- were all the times when the photos turned out… not as funny. Where Deku’s hair was dusted by the dying rays of sunset, his freckles bouncing off his skin like rogue stars… Those were photos that Katsuki didn’t care to think about.

Because even after months of dancing around one another.

Katsuki still hadn’t asked him out.

FUCK.

He was pathetic, he really was. Even Kirishima and Kaminari could tell he was agonising over it. Ugh, Kirishima had looked so smug when Katsuki had finally admitted he’d been talking to Deku.

“I am a genius!” He’d cried, his nose sticking up in faux haughtiness. “No one can match my intellect!”

“You just failed your English exam.”

“Yeah well, English is homophobic now.”

“What?”

“I’m gay and I’m bad at it.”

Whatever. No matter how much Kirishima had technically helped him out- there would be no helping Katsuki’s situation unless he himself tried.

And he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to try at this point.

Him and Deku had something… real funky cool. Their friendship was built on mutual dorkiness and absurdity with an extra slice of Katsuki teasing the other and Deku being able to take it. It was special. It wasn’t something Katsuki wanted to risk losing just because he might like Deku .

Sunflower: hey kacchan! I found a lizard on my way home today! :D

Sunflower: his name is lawrence!!

Sunflower: i put him in the garden by the chemistry building say hi if u see him!!

Okay he really liked Deku.

What Katsuki once thought was an attraction based purely on aesthetics, had now morphed into a straight up crush on everything about him. His stupid face, his stupid brain, the way he laughed with his stupid mouth, his stupid kind words… Ugh. Why did he fall for a fucking dork like him?

“I swear to god, bro, if you don’t ask him out I will.” Kirishima sighs, still looking at the door that Deku had left out of. The pair of them had just finished their tutoring session for the day and Kirishima had obviously had a good time. “He spent like five minutes of our lesson talking about how he made sure to use all of his pencils an equal amount so the others wouldn’t get jealous. I would fucking die for him.”

“He’s so pure.” Kaminari states from the kitchen, his hand gripping the place on his chest where his heart would be. “But he could still body slam me into a wall… Duality.”

Katsuki sighs, “I don’t want to fuck it up.”

“Yeah, I get it dude,” Kirishima placates, a warm smile on his face. “But sometimes you just have to go for it…” He spares a glance at Kaminari, who smiles back at him, “you have to take a chance to see if you could be something even more.”

Katsuki groans, “that’s so fucking corny why do I even listen to you people?” (Said the man who still had Deku’s contact name as fucking SUNFLOWER .)

Sliding off the sofa with what sounded like great effort, he slinks back to his room with a sulking frown on his face. In the end, he knew that Kirishima was right- that taking a chance was good every once in a while. Usually, one would probably say ‘life is short’ in a situation like this. But that was hardly the case now.

All the more reason for Katsuki to stop dallying, he supposed. Because even if he was immortal- it didn’t mean everyone else was.

Opening up his phone with a sigh, he taps on his most recent contact, which was, of course, none other than Izuku Midoriya.

He’s surprised to find an unread text message from him there.

Sunflower: kacchan! Im free tonite :DDD do u want 2 come over? I just bought that new game i was talking to u about and its two players!  

Sunflower: ill even make dinner :)))

Katsuki was typing out a reply before he could even realise.

Bakugou_Katsuki: aight

It was like Deku could read his mind- Katsuki couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn’t the one to suggest it- that made him sound less weird, he thought.

Besides, he’d never been to Deku’s before. He’d only seen the window of his room from the outside whenever he walked him home.

Dinner and video games… It sounded fun. Katsuki feels a warm swell in his heart that only ever made itself known when Deku was involved.

Alright. He could do this. Katsuki nods at himself in determination. He would do this.

Just as Katsuki moves to tell his room mates his plans for the night he pauses in his steps.

Wait…

He couldn’t eat dinner.

FUCK.

Chapter Text

Katsuki is screwed.

He knows this in all of its entirety as he pads up the cracked concrete stairs to Deku’s apartment- seeing the ever present sunflower in the window smiling, mockingly down at him.

He knows this as he raps on door 006 with a frown- wondering if this was really a good idea; all the while smelling some kind of human food aroma coming in waves from inside the door.

And he knew it as he was frantically picking out some decent clothes to wear back at his house- which turned out to be near impossible, by the way. After all, Katsuki had wanted to look nice- but not like he was trying too hard. Which had proved to be a lot harder than he’d ever anticipated.

In the end he’d just picked his usual combo of baggy jeans with a t-shirt and threw a windbreaker on top of it for good measure. Kaminari had thrown him some weird fancy belt as he was going out the door- “now you look like instagram threw up on you, go forth, my good thot.”

Katsuki wasn’t fully sure what the fuck that actually meant- but he took it as a good sign.

Anyway, the point was that Katsuki was screwed.

Katsuki wasn’t fully sure what human food would do to his body. He’s fairly certain that it wouldn’t fuck him up as much as that clove of garlic did- but he’s not certain. He kind of just assumed it would be the human equivalent of eating like, a lot of napkins.

Probably not good- but probably not fatal either.

Either way, Katsuki would probably rather die than try to explain to Deku that he was a fucking vampire.

Izuku opens the door with a flurry, his hair even more of a mess than as per usual. It curled up in tendrils, presumably from the heat of a stove. “Kacchan!” He says with a cheery smile, “I like your jacket!” There was something slightly off about him though… And it only took Katsuki a moment to realise what.

Katsuki squints at him, “are- are your eyebrows singed?”

“...No…”

Yes.

Katsuki raises his own (noticeably non-singed) eyebrows all the while narrowing his gaze at the man before him. “Yeah, sure ... You gonna let me in?”

Izuku flushes, “yes! Right! Okay!” He opens the door further, gesturing into the space like it were a grand mansion.

In the end, it was just an apartment quite like Katsuki’s.

...Maybe a bit nicer.

Okay, well it was definitely decorated much nicer.

At the very least it didn’t have posters for Space Jam and Hannah Montana in it- which was already lengths better than his own. (He would forever be cursing his dumbass roommates.) There’s a weird cozy aura to it that Katsuki is certain can be attributed to all the pillows, plants and throw rugs fucking everywhere.

It’s called accessorising, Katsuki, you fucking knob.

The only exception (Paramore, 2010) to this however, was the strange but constant presence of All Might memorabilia spread about the apartment. Katsuki remembered Izuku gushing about the old cartoon hero many nights home; talking in waves about how much he’d wanted to grow up and be just like him- even now. It was cute- and Katsuki had to admit- he’d always held some weird nostalgia for the superhero as well. He still had All Might pyjamas in his drawers.

“My roommate’s been walled up in his room all day so I don’t think he’ll be making an appearance tonight…”

So they were basically alone.

As Katsuki tried not to ruminate on that fun thought- he stares about with a huff and a nod. One particularly fluffy throw pillow catches his eye. Mainly because it was fucking moving.

“What in the name of sweet fuck is that?” Katsuki asks, mildly horrified.

“Huh?” Deku asks, his eyebrows raising in question, following Katsuki’s line of sight. “Oh!” Izuku begins to laugh, approaching the ball of fluff with a weird cheery nonchalance.

He picks it up and only then does Katsuki see the ears, the tail and the huge fluffy, (yet extremely angry) face staring back at him.

A giant maine coon cat glares at him from Deku’s arms. The thing was huge, like it were some kind of pygmy tiger.

“This is my cat ‘Izumi!’” Izuku replies with a grin. Izumi, in turn, hisses at Katsuki.

It was strange- ever since Katsuki had turned, animals just seemed to hate him. Izumi, apparently, was no exception to this. Which was- Katsuki could admit- a little disheartening.

“ That’s a cat?”

“Yes?”

Katsuki’s about to find a retort in his repertoire when he senses more odd smells coming from the kitchen. Katsuki had been right about the human food scent- but he may have overestimated how edible it may be.

“Do I smell burning?”

Izuku lets out a squeak, nearly dropping Izumi. He places the cat on the ground- quickly but gently- before rushing back into his little kitchen.

The cat returns back to his spot on the couch from before, curling up in the corner like it truly were a pillow. Katsuki makes a mental note not to use it as a headrest. He didn’t want to lose an eye- or his head.

With a sigh, Katsuki’s about to leave Izuku to his own ‘cooking’ devices when he hears the man yelp in pain from the other room.

Katsuki’s head shoots toward the kitchen in an instant. “Oi, Deku, you alright?”

“...Yes!”

No.

Katsuki moves with mild haste into the dingy little kitchen on the side of the living room- the sound of boiling water making him quicken his pace ever so slightly.

It was chaos in there. The pot that Deku had been obviously trying to cook something in was overflowing with searing hot water, accented rather nicely with a few loose, dry twigs of spaghetti sticking out of it.

But all of that was nothing compared to a tray of baked potatoes, charred to hell like a dragon had breathed on them. The things were completely black and billowing out smoke- with no sign of edible qualities. They were nicely seasoned with oregano though.

“Deku, have you ever fucking been in a kitchen before?”

Izuku makes a disappointed noise in the back of his throat. “I only know how to make katsudon…”

“Then why didn’t you make that?”

“Katsudon doesn’t go well with potatoes…”

“And spaghetti fucking does?!” With a click of his tongue, Katsuki promptly turns off the gas under the stove. “Guess there is stuff you can’t do...”

“Eh?”

Katsuki hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He’s about to defend himself when the burnt potatoes finally reach the nose of the smoke detector.

The alarm lets out a shrill, incessant beeping noise that makes Katsuki’s ears ache. Smoke alarms for normal people with normal hearing was hard enough- but with his supersonic rad as  fuck hearing- it was like torture. He covers his ears with both his hands, grimacing.

“How do you turn this thing off?!” Katsuki half yells- not fully realising how loud he was being.

Izuku looks mildly close to panicked tears but he responds rather quickly. “This always happens when I cook dinner… I’ll go get the broom.” Izuku rushes off back into the living room to fetch this aforementioned tool of wisdom.

It’s only a moment later that Katsuki hears more footsteps approaching the kitchen.

“That was fast as fuc-” The words die on his lips.

This was most certainly not Deku.

There he stands once more, neutral faced but with an icy quality. His half and half hair sticking up in weird angles everywhere.

He’s staring straight at him, wordless and stony.

Oh shit. It’s that emo vampire fuck. What the hell was he doing here-

“Ah sorry Todoroki-Kun! I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important!” Deku apologises, carrying the broom with haste toward the kitchen.

Todoroki…? Deku knew him by name?

Katsuki’s eyes widen.

That was Deku’s roommate. ...The vampire that turned Katsuki.

THE VAMPIRE THAT TURNED KATSUKI

“Coincidence pisses in my froot loops once again.”

Deku looks confused, “huh?”

“Nothing.”

Chapter Text

Deku obviously doesn’t notice the weird tension between Katsuki and his roommate because as they stare each other down, he is bashing on the smoke detector with his broom.

There’s so many questions racing around in Katsuki’s head. Why was a vampire rooming with some random ass college student? Did Deku know that this guy was a vampire? Did he know Katsuki was a vampire?

And, most importantly;

Was he the one that picked out those ugly ass bowls in the cupboard?

All of these questions, of course, could not be answered in Deku’s presence. After all, what if Deku was the one that had bought the bowls? That would be terrible.

Oh and his secret would be revealed, but whatever.

He would have to play it cool for now. If everything went according to plan, perhaps he could have both- a nice ‘date’ with Deku and some answers to his dozens of questions. After all, he was Bakugou Katsuki. He could do anything he wanted to.  

“I’m Bakugou Katsuki. You Deku’s roommate?” Katsuki introduced, trying his best not to sound weird as all hell. It wasn’t everyday that your creepy vampiric sire also happened to be your crush’s roommate.

He regards the hand with an unimpressed glance but takes it regardless. “Todoroki Shouto.” He grits- Todoroki had obviously not planned this encounter. He was probably hoping to never see Katsuki again and leave this weird air of mystery about him. Too bad edgelord, no cape swishing in this house tonight.

Their hands are clasped far too long for it to be considered normal. Katsuki can’t stop looking at Todoroki’s impossibly cute cat socks. He definitely hadn’t planned this.

It sent a spike of haughtiness through Katsuki- he’d actually managed to get a leg up on this guy.

Deku is still bashing on the ceiling to get the shrill alarm to stop ringing. His efforts being rewarded with the continual droning of the device.

And Todoroki, well, with every continuing moment, looks more and more like he wished he’d perished of the fucking black plague or some shit.

Finally, the invasive sound fades and Deku lets out a tired sigh. “Sorry about that.” He dusts his hands and turns to face the other two.

Todoroki and Katsuki quickly fix their postures to appear… less fucking crazy. Shouto pulls it off with the composed elegance as he always did, whereas Katsuki somehow managed to just glare at Deku.

Which, to be fair, was Katsuki’s resting face.

After the sound dies down into blissful silence, Todoroki speaks. “I’m sorry to disturb your date, Midoriya, but I heard the alarm and just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” Shouto confides, his voice level. It seemed that the vampire had no true intention of outing Katsuki. Which meant that, most likely, Deku wasn’t in the know about.... All of this.

At Todoroki’s words, Deku promptly goes bright red and begins waving his hands about. “D-date? Todoroki-Kun, I-”

Shouto, however, is unfazed by his bashfulness. He sends one final warning glance to Katsuki- one that sent a chill down his spine. “It was nice to meet you, Bakugou.”

Katsuki doesn’t like the way this guy was looking at him. Not one bit. He doesn’t like that he’s sizing him up like he were some kind of opponent...

But even more than that, Katsuki doesn’t like that he’s almost certain he couldn’t beat him in a fight. He’d sooner defeat the moon than this edgy bitch.

‘But Katsuki- he saved your life!’ Someone would probably say. Well, fuck that. Katsuki scowls into the ground for a moment. He didn’t owe that fucker anything. He was a weirdo and Katsuki really wasn’t digging the strange vibes he was putting out. It was as simple as that.

Deku laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “So… That was my roommate.”

“It sure was.” Katsuki tries not to growl out his reply. What the fuck was he going to do now?

The pair of them once more look onto the stove- the causation of this entire situation. The charred potatoes and- the somehow both under and over cooked spaghetti. They were the true enemy in all of this; Carbs.

“Pizza?” Deku suggests weakly.

If Katsuki was being honest with himself- the weird shit in Deku’s crock pot would probably be easier to stomach than pizza. At least that way human-him and vampire-him would agree that it tasted like shit.

But he couldn’t very well just say that in front of Deku. So, instead, he says “...Just no garlic.”

And Deku laughs, soft and warm- sending a tendril of honey into Katsuki’s chest.

“You got it.”

Katsuki doesn’t see Todoroki after that. It’s jarring, really. And, unlike the first night they’d met- he can’t get it out of his mind. The burning factor that the man who’d turned him into a vampire was in the room next door was really… unsettling.

So much so that he didn’t even really remember to feel nervous about this aforementioned ‘date’ that Deku and he seemed to be on right now.

After all, Deku hadn’t denied that it was a date. And Katsuki certainly wasn’t about to.

The pizza arrives about half an hour later and Katsuki can’t help but just say… ‘fuck it.’

The vampire takes a huge bite of cheesy goodness and instantly starts gagging.

What Katsuki is sure was once delicious, albeit cheap pizza- now tasted like a dirty sponge with pvc glue on the top of it.

God, that was so fucking depressing. Pizza was a staple for college kids!

But…

It didn’t kill him instantly. So that was pretty hot, he guessed.

“Did it go down the wrong way?” Deku asks him through Katsuki’s coughing fit, nibbling on his own slice. Even the way Deku ate was cute . God fucking DAMMIT.

“Something like that.” Katsuki sputters, looking down at his plate with great disdain. He knew he’d have to finish at least two pieces to fool Deku.

Distraction and cunning would most definitely be key in this situation.

And Bakugou Katsuki was Solid motherfucking Snake.

“Unpause the game, nerd, I need to kick your ass.”

Perfect.

Deku nods with a playful smirk, “you’re on, Kacchan.”

Okay. Maybe Katsuki overestimated his ability to keep his shit together.

As the pair of them sat seated together on Deku’s couch, Deku kept leaning close to him every time he was really concentrating on the game.

Which was a lot of the time.

...And Katsuki thinks he might just die.

Katsuki had never really noticed it before due to them always being outside together- or around a bunch of other people… But Deku smelled really good.

Like, really good.

When he moved closer, Katsuki could catch a whiff of everything he’d missed as a human- everything he couldn’t eat and everything that no longer smelled appealing to him anymore. After choking down the hell that was that pizza- it was a welcome relief.

Deku smelled like early morning coffee, coconut shampoo and his childhood konbini store taiyaki. It’s jarring and… strange. But it was the opposite of unpleasant.

Katsuki doesn’t notice how close their faces are until he hears the end music from the game sound in his ears.

Deku turns to face him and their noses are mere inches apart from one another.

The victorious smile on Deku’s face soon morphs into one of fixation as he doesn’t move away from Katsuki. He’d anticipated that the other would get flustered and move away, but instead he holds his gaze. Katsuki was stubborn- they both were. Neither one of them wanted to be the first to turn away. It was the world’s most ridiculous game of gay chicken.

Katsuki can hear his non-functioning (he’s pretty sure it’s non-functioning) heart beat a thousand miles a minute. He can only pray Deku can’t hear it as well.

“Hey… Deku?” Katsuki’s voice is far too soft for his own liking. It’s heartfelt in a way that would make Katsuki want to throw himself in a volcano a few hours later.

But right now, all he could hear was this silence between the pair of them.  

“Yeah, Kacchan?”

It was now or never. He needed to stop being a pussy. He wanted more than anything to heed Kirishima’s corny words. He had to. He had to see what they could be.

Life was short. Well, Deku’s was. And Katsuki didn’t want to waste another minute of it not kissing his stupid face.

“I- would it- could we- maybe-” He was a hot mess- Katsuki had never been so nervous in his life. He was so worried about the possibilities of all of this turning sour. Because, romance or not- he treasured Izuku Midoriya’s company. Ugh. He scowls. “You and me- us, uh-”

Luckily, Deku interrupts his embarrassing rambles with a soft finger to his lips.

“Kacchan, will you go out with me?”

Katsuki is so relieved about the sentiment that it has his chest thundering. Deku smiles at him now, a warm understanding in his eyes. He’d done it for him.  

The relief that floods through him is exhilarating.

So much so that he decides to just grab the sides of Deku’s face and pull him in for a kiss as his answer.

He wished it had been more romantic, not just on some couch in the bad part of town with video game music playing in the background. But it was theirs and that was enough.

Deku is probably the only human related thing Katsuki had tried since he turned that actually tasted good. (Besides blood, of course.)

Chapter Text

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

HOLY SHIT.

Holy shit.

Katsuki was freaking the fuck out.

Deku. He was kissing Deku- Deku was kissing him back! Deku just asked him out and now they were kissing.

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-

Izuku Midoriya was a surprisingly good kisser.

Despite his disastrously dorky persona- there was no doubting the dude had game.  

And it was most certainly a skill one could only better with a lot of practice.

Katsuki’s hands shake a little as he cards them through Deku’s mess of hair. It was far softer than Katsuki would have thought. He’d kind of just assumed it would have the same consistency of broccoli- but that probably wasn’t a good thing to admit to the person you were currently kissing the fuck out of.

Midoriya is really warm- alive in his arms and it makes Katsuki wonder if he was the exact opposite. Truth be told, he hadn’t really touched anyone since he’d become a vampire- apart from the casual high-five or an awkward handing over of cash to the clerk. But Deku doesn’t flinch against him- so he takes it as a sign that he was okay.

Katsuki and Deku had both been seated rather close to each other before- but now Deku was practically in Katsuki’s lap- and Katsuki found that situation quite… precarious.

God,,, how did vampire dicks even work??? It wasn’t his own blood in his veins- it was his ‘meals’. Would it work the same as a human’s?

He would definitely have to consult early 2000’s Twilight fanfiction once more, it seemed. It had never let him down. Except for maybe that one Naruto crossover he’d skimmed…. there was no fucking way Sasuke was a top you dumb FUCK-

Now was really not the time to be thinking about Naruto fanfiction. 

Midoriya moves closer to him, making their chests nearly completely flush with one another. His arms are wrapped around Katsuki’s neck loosely. The action alone sending a chill of boiling ice down Katsuki’s spine- alongside an amalgam of dirty thoughts that he ought not to think about.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Finally, far too quickly, Deku breaks the impromptu makeout session by pulling away. The action eliciting a terrifyingly embarrassing whine from Katsuki.

Deku’s cheeks are flushed a lovely crimson colour, making his freckles stand out even more. His hair is a mess from the intervention of Katsuki’s hands.

He looks perfect.

“Bakugou.”

For a moment Katsuki thinks it’s Deku who’s calling him that.

But no- it was from behind him..

Todoroki.

Oh fuck. Right. He’d actually managed to forget about him again for a second. Figures. Of course the exact moment that bastard left Katsuki’s mind he’d be barging in again to make an appearance. He probably just wanted to stand in the corner and answer Katsuki’s questions with even more convoluted ones...

Was he watching the whole time?

Katsuki turns, an annoyed sneer crossing his lips- a retort on his tongue before he’d even finished rotating-

Todoroki’s glare silences it instantly.

“A word?”

He says it like a question- but it’s most definitely a demand. Katsuki rolls his eyes before looking back at Deku- who still happened to be on his lap. Katsuki wouldn’t admit it- but the glare that Shouto was pointing at him wasn’t the most comfortable one.

“Todoroki-Kun, what’s this about?” Midoriya asks, looking reluctant to part with him. Still not budging from his position on the couch (or Katsuki.) That, at the very least, added another hot puff of air into the enormous air balloon that was Bakugou Katsuki’s ego.

“Nothing of your concern, Midoriya. I just wish to speak with Katsuki alone.” Todoroki replied noticeably more polite.

Asshole.

Deku pouts, accentuating the beginnings of his swollen lips. Holy motherfucking shit dude. “Okay. Bring him back, though.”

Katsuki makes it a step out of the front door before he gets slammed into the wall.

“Ah- what the fuck-” Katsuki grits, nothing had managed to hurt him in quite a while so it was a bit of a shock. And not the good kind.

Todoroki has him by his shirt collar, pressing his back against the cool brick wall exterior of Deku’s apartment. It happened lightning fast, so quick Katsuki hadn’t even had time to think of defending himself. This guy was no joke.

At first glance, his expression seemed to be as neutral as ever, but upon further inspection...

“I don’t have a clue how you discovered my whereabouts. I understand that you’re interested in finding out more about the being that you’ve become. But you’ve gone too far .” Todoroki’s got a fiery look in those icy eyes of his. It wipes the confidence out of Katsuki’s expression. The face he was making was no smirking matter- it had goosebumps rising on his skin.

“Hah?”

Shouto looked genuinely angry and it was beginning to give Katsuki the heebie jeebies. Something about him and Deku making out had really gotten him pissed. “I can’t believe you’re using Midoriya to get information from me-”

Ohhh.

“Wait- bitch, what the fuck-” Katsuki blurts, trying to shrug out of Shouto’s iron hold. Is that what he thought was going on? He thought that Katsuki somehow found out where Todoroki resided- and used Midoriya to close in on him?  Katsuki was expecting unrequited love- but he guesses he could work with this too. Them kissing must have confirmed these suspicions that the vampire harboured as soon as he’d caught him in their kitchen. Ah. The hostility did make more sense now...

Todoroki doesn’t relinquish his composed grip. “Midoriya is a kind soul, if you’re willing to hurt him like this then I suppose I was a poor judge in character after all...”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Katsuki spits, finally managing to squirm out of the other’s grip. It was no simple feat- and he’s certain he looked like an idiot doing so.

“I’m not using Deku to do anything! I like that nerd!” Katsuki brushes off his jacket with a huff, scowling at Todoroki. What the hell had he been thinking? A poor judge in character? This asshole didn’t even fucking know him! “I had no fucking idea you would be here as well- in fact, if you wanted to fuck off somewhere while I went back inside. That would be marvellous.”

Shouto’s mouth parts ever so slightly in surprise. For once, he looks human. “You’re not here for information?”

“No, I’m here for dick. What the fuck?”

Okay, not dick. ...Well, if it led to that- Katsuki certainly wouldn’t be complaining. But that was only an underlying factor in the grand scheme of things. If anything Katsuki was here because he was a disaster that couldn’t make a move for himself.

“Hah?”

“Are you so full of yourself that you think I’d actually stalk you to know some shit?” Katsuki bites, clicking his tongue.

Katsuki accusing someone of being full of themself was the epitome of the pot calling the kettle black. But- the irony was lost on him.

“Now if you don’t mind- I’m going back inside to finish what I started.”

Katsuki makes a beeline for the door, his hand grasping the metallic knob. His anger is simmering slowly in the pit of his stomach but he thinks he’ll be able to keep it from Deku.

“Hold on.” Todoroki says- his voice a lot less fiery now.

Something in Katsuki’s bones have him stopping. He isn’t sure if it’s instinctual or something purely supernatural, but he halts nevertheless. Todoroki looks reluctant- like he doesn’t want the words on his tongue to cross his lips.

“If that’s truly the case, then I apologise.”

Ah. He hadn’t been expecting that.

Katsuki huffs, feeling an embarrassed frown turn his mouth. This guy had really thought he was just playing with Deku to get closer to him? The thought alone turned Katsuki’s stomach.

“Whatever. You were just making sure I wasn’t taking advantage of him. I get it... I guess. Just… Don’t slam me into a fucking wall next time.”

Todoroki makes a noncommittal noise that doesn’t exactly fill Katsuki with the utmost confidence. But it’s affirmation that he’ll think about it- and that’s all Katsuki could probably hope for with this weirdo.

“I mean, if you did want to give me the lowdown on how this whole-” he gestures to himself, “ thing works. That would be responsible of you. Considering you- you know- fucking turned me.”

Shouto just makes another noise that could mean nearly anything before passing by his front door. “Perhaps another time.”

“Where the fuck are you going?”

“Elsewhere.”

Great. Another cryptic fucking answer.

Why did he have to be saddled with the most vague vampire in the whole world?

“Fucking wait a minute-” Katsuki stops him with a hand. He doesn’t actually expect Todoroki to oblige, but he gives pause. “I got one question.”

Todoroki sighs, long suffering and emo. He was probably the world’s oldest my chemical romance fan. “Yes?”

“How do vampire dicks work?”

A beat of silence.

“I’m leaving.”

Since Shouto Todoroki seemed to be a cockblocking little bitch that decided not to let Katsuki in on how vampire dicks worked- he went back inside to Deku with a renewed mindset. That encounter with the other, much older- much more experienced immortal had given Katsuki a few more things that needed to be worried about.

Katsuki really didn’t want to, like, accidentally fuck someone to death or something.

Especially after seeing how strong Shouto seemed to be- would Katsuki be like that with time? Or was there some kind of rad vampire gym he didn’t know about? Was there a membership card? Was there a leaderboard? Was there a way for Katsuki to obliterate his competitors?

He resolved to badger the asshole with questions at a later time...

Besides, just because death by succ was probably the way Katsuki wanted to die doesn’t mean he wanted to do it to someone else. Especially not Deku.

Katsuki gulped. That reminded him… the pair of them probably ought to talk about what had just happened between them.

Katsuki really didn’t want to begin this relationship with any kind of miscommunication.

“Kacchan?” Deku is still on the couch where Katsuki had left him. He has his cat on his lap now, though, and looks decidedly less disheveled.

Which was a shame, really.

There was just something about getting that nerd all bothered that riled Katsuki up. God he was such a disaster- how the hell did Deku not realise sooner that he had a gigantic crush on him?

Was it because that all these panicked moments he’d spent thinking about Deku had been hidden underneath a scowl?

Probably.

“I think we should talk.” Deku continues, he doesn’t look entirely serious. Perhaps a bit nervous but nowhere near as grave as his conversation with Todoroki outside. “I was kind of hoping to do this before we started making out- but you beat me to the punch.” There’s a sheepish smile on his face, he’s pointedly looking at the ground, shy. “...Not that I regret it.”  

Leave it to Deku to, once more, say what was on Katsuki’s mind. God he was so cute. Katsuki wanted to bash his own head against the wall… But ugh, his bitch ass was like a nokia phone now. He’d probably just break the wall.

“Mhm, sounds good.” 

In the end, the rest of the night was spent with them simply talking. The excited passion that began this charade had been cast aside for the moment in favour of hashing everything out.

But Katsuki was weirdly okay with that. He liked being aware of his relationship with people. Especially people he really liked. Especially Deku.

“You want to go out, right?” Katsuki asks him, the most embarrassing sense of insecurity filtering in through his words. Something about being around Deku broke down the walls he always had built up. He wasn’t sure if he hated it or not- he just knew that it was different.

“I do.” Deku admits, smiling. He’s still got that flushed complexion in his cheeks. It makes his freckles stand out more than usual and it makes Katsuki die more than usual .

“I have since you bit into that clove of garlic in the supermarket.”

Katsuki sputters, completely forgetting that had even happened. Deku had finally stopped calling him ‘garlic man’ so it had slipped his mind. Well, when he said ‘slipped’ he actually meant- he’d repressed it to all hell.

“Why the fuck-”

“I thought you were interesting.”

Katsuki cards a hand through his hair, scrunching up his nose, “in normal circumstances, you don’t wanna date those people, Deku.”

Deku shrugs, “I like different.”

Oh how true that was. It really was a shame that Katsuki couldn’t point that out.

“Obviously.”

As it grew later, Katsuki knew that it had grown time for him to leave. Shouto still hadn’t returned but he could see Deku beginning to yawn out of the corner of his eye. As much as the man talked up how little he needed to sleep- he still got tired eventually.

Katsuki thought to perhaps wait up for Todoroki to, maybe, just maybe, get some actual information on his condition. But he didn’t look to be returning anytime soon- and Deku didn’t seem all that concerned for his roommate. Which meant he did it all the time.

Katsuki really didn’t want to impose- as much as everyone believed that Katsuki lacked manners- he did have them. He just didn’t use them all that much.

“See you tomorrow.” Katsuki tells Deku as he reluctantly moved toward the door.

“See you tomorrow,” Deku returns, a sleepy smile on his face. There’s a dream-like quality to his grin that makes Katsuki feel like he still has a working heart.

And then Deku goes on his tiptoes just the slightest bit to give Katsuki a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Get home safe.” He whispers, that same soft smile on his face that makes Katsuki want to turn into a puddle. There’s a strange giddiness to the air around them, dyeing the world around them a warm sunset orange.

Oh fuck. That was so much more embarrassing than when they were making out. Katsuki feels his brain turn entirely into steam.

“Y-you too.” He panics, rushing out the door before he can humiliate himself further. He swears he can hear Deku laugh at him from the other side of the door. Fucker.  

When he gets outside, into the cool night, populated only with breezy silence. Several things hit him all at once. Quite like the car that had actually hit and killed him the first time.

1. He now had a boyfriend.
2. That boyfriend was Izuku Midoriya.
3. HIS BOYFRIEND WAS IZUKU MIDORIYA

Katsuki just can’t help himself, he punches the air and jumps with a victorious fervour. He’d done it! He’d actually (sort of) taken initiative and gotten the boy! Semantics regardless- this really was the fucking best. This was the highest Katsuki had felt in the longest of times.

This rising feeling of pride in his chest was far different from the usual kind he harboured within himself. This was strange, it was warmer- more wholesome.

Katsuki must have looked like a fucking crackhead, jumping about on the street in the darkness- but he couldn’t have cared less. He was happy- really happy, and that felt really good. Besides, no one was out here to see. The night was quiet with sleep and all the lights above had long been turned off. He allowed himself this one indulgence- because for once he didn’t feel like scowling. He felt like a little kid- he felt alive.

Sunflower: I can see you from my window, Kacchan :3

FUCK.

Bakugou_Katsuki: thats not me

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya wasn’t stupid.

He knew full well there was something up with Kacchan. He knew this before they even started dating- hell, he knew it as soon as he took a huge hecking chunk out of that hunk of garlic in the store.

Izuku knew he really ought to stop going after guys with obvious issues, but, well, perhaps messy was his type. Like he’d told Kacchan, ‘he liked weird.’

But this wasn’t weird, no, this was strange . And there was a glaring difference between those two words. Weird was liking pineapple on pizza- Strange was not liking pizza at all.

And Izuku was starting to think Kacchan didn’t like pizza- if one could catch his drift.

For one, he only ever saw his boyfriend during the dying rays of afternoon and the darkness of night. That wasn’t inherently strange- they were pseudo nocturnal college students after all. But when it got to the point of Katsuki outrightly refusing to wake up a little earlier to go do something date-ish? Well, it clouded Izuku’s mind with insecurity.

Perhaps he didn't like him anymore? Had Kacchan grown tired of him already? The thought of it alone made his stomach hurt...  

But no, that couldn’t be it! He always told himself, usually out loud on the bus- causing everyone to stare at him.

The pair of them were still very much so in that strange honeymoon period of dating in which they couldn’t stop being, as Katsuki stated, ‘gross’ with one another. Kacchan just about exploded every time Izuku kissed his cheek... That wasn’t really the actions of someone that was losing interest in him… Was it?

No.

Right?

Izuku, despite his decently flawless logic when it came to many aspects of his life, was utterly hopeless when it came to love. His anxiety always did cause him to second guess himself- but this was getting ridiculous...

Another instance of obscurity was that, on occasion, when Izuku was bartending as usual on a Wednesday night- Katsuki would disappear out of nowhere, only to return about an hour later with no explanation on where he’d been.

Not that it was Izuku’s right to an explanation or anything. It was just quite odd that he never really addressed it. At all. Everytime Izuku brought it up Kacchan just gave a non-committal grumble-excuse about him going out to smoke or something of the sort- never meeting the other’s eyes.

But that was just another aspect on the pile of absurdity that was Bakugou Katsuki. Izuku was almost certain that the man didn’t smoke.

For one, it was a habit that he couldn’t afford- neither of them could, really. Having a nicotine addiction in this economy was just asking to have a bank balance in the negatives.

Another glaring reason was that, well, Izuku had made out with Katsuki enough now to ascertain that he didn’t taste an inch of smoke on him. He didn’t smell like ash or anything else remotely associated with smokers...

This might have been passable in Izuku’s mind- but at the rate in which Kacchan was supposedly smoking all these cigarettes... He ought to smell like a goddamn ashtray. But no, instead Kacchan just smelled like laundry detergent and fruit shampoo and...

Izuku had entertained the idea that it wasn’t cigarettes that Kacchan was smoking. But, again, drugs were also pretty expensive- and they were in college with minimum wage jobs. He didn’t think so.

Even if narcotics were practically sold out of vending machines around here- Katsuki didn’t really seem the type.

Thus, Izuku Midoriya was stumped once more about another aspect of his boyfriend’s (AHHH boyfrIEND’s ) life.

However, the final, most damning point of it all was his roommate, Shouto Todoroki.

Izuku would be the first to admit that Todoroki (as well as himself) were a bit strange. But this was different. Whenever Katsuki was around, which was admittedly, quite a bit. Shouto would stalk around the apartment like a weary cat- never speaking, only watching. Izuku feels his eyes on him a fair bit, but whenever he turned around to ask him what was wrong, the man had disappeared into thin air.  

At first, he thought it was because the pair of them didn’t like each other. Perhaps when they were outside that night, they’d said something unsavoury to one another.

But every time he tried to pick their brain for reasons as to why they acted the way they did around one another, he was dismissed. Not just by Todoroki, but Kacchan as well.

This level of deceit was really beginning to get to Izuku. He was a firm believer in full honesty in relationships. And even though he’d only been dating Katsuki for a short amount of time- the fact that he was already keeping secrets from him was quite a warning sign.

But, as long as it wasn’t something detrimental... He would wait for Katsuki to come to him. He would have to. Kacchan wasn’t a creature that liked to be prodded and poked at- he would rear up and bite if it came to that. Izuku would just have to be patient and wait. He would do it for Kacchan.

It was so odd. Izuku just seemed to feel a special connection with Katsuki. The night they reunited in the Crimson Crypt... he was like his own personal hero- taking down those guys in one fell swoop without so much as a scuff on his shirt… He was so cool. Everything about Kacchan was cool. His leather jacket that he wore on cold nights, the way he smirked when he teased Izuku about something, his barking laugh whenever Izuku managed to say something funny...

“Oi, what the fuck is up with you tonight?” Kacchan calls him out of the stream of consciousness in his mind. He waves a hand in front of Izuku’s eyes trying to provoke a reaction.

“Kacchan!” Izuku squeaks. He must have just arrived to pick him up. Izuku looks over at his watch and sees that he only had fifteen minutes left of his shift. God, had he done anything tonight? “I didn’t see you come in.”

“Obviously.” Kacchan replies, “I could have done a strip tease in front of you and you wouldn’t have registered shit.”

Izuku huffs out a laugh- trying not to think too intricately about that right now. “Oh I think I would have noticed that, Kacchan.”

Katsuki makes a noncommittal noise, looking away to keep from getting flustered.

Izuku’s heart warms, he was so cute.

“Anyone give you any trouble tonight?” Kacchan asks, clearing his throat.

“Nope.” Izuku replies, feeling the slightest bit of guilt in knowing that wasn’t entirely true. They were just the usual rude assholes, it was the norm here. Kacchan didn’t need to get fired up over them.

Kacchan nods. “Good.” He always sat at the bar, always on that same corner stool spot. It was darkest there, with a view of the whole room. Anytime someone else was sitting in his seat, he’d glare them away- or if that didn’t work- threaten to, and Izuku could quote ‘steal all their fucking bones.’ Izuku had yet to see the threat not work. Kacchan had a strange aura about him that sent most of the seedy people around here packing.

Izuku so desperately wanted to tell Katsuki that whatever problem he had- he could handle it. But he just knew that it wouldn’t go over well. Midoriya would just have to wait for Kacchan to come to him.

In the end, the pair of them walk back to Izuku’s apartment, just as they always do. It unfortunately seemed that tonight- Izuku would be none the wiser on what his boyfriend seemed to be hiding from him. And that was okay! It really was! Midoriya just hoped it was nothing bad- he didn’t want Kacchan to suffer...

The walks home were always Izuku’s favourite part of the day, the only different thing about it now that they were dating was that Kacchan would occasionally grab a hold of Midoriya’s hand. Which made it even better. It turned Izuku’s exhaustion into a peaceful, fuzzy drowsiness that made his insides feel as if they were filled with cotton candy.  

“Deku-” Katsuki’s frowning, but that’s not out of the norm. He was always frowning. Perhaps that was just his neutral expression.

“Yes, Kacchan?”

Kacchan’s lips muddle around- like he was wrestling with his own tongue, trying to get words from his mouth that didn’t want to come out. “I- I need to tell you something.”

Midoriya’s heart raced at that. “You can tell me anything, Kacchan.”

“You’re not going to believe me.”

Midoriya smiles at that, “try me.”

“I’m…” Kacchan begins, Izuku had never seen him look so nervous. “I’m…”

Izuku wants to help him so badly, but there would be no way of doing so this time. He was stumped- he didn’t know what was ailing Katsuki- but he wanted to assist him regardless. And to help him- he had to know what was wrong.

“I’m a…  I’m… gay .” He chokes out the last word in a weird panic that didn’t sound natural.

“Hah?”

Katsuki himself looks like he definitely didn’t intend to say that.

“No offense, Kacchan, but I can definitely believe that.” Izuku gestures to his hand in Katsuki’s.

“Fuck. That’s not what I meant-” Kacchan breathes, “I-” he looks horribly conflicted, staring at Izuku with that intense gaze of his. He looks down at their hands, clasped together and his gaze suddenly turns… sad “I need to go.”

“Wait, Kacchan-”

“G’night, Deku.”

Midoriya sighed, fumbling for his keys. Another time then.

When Katsuki arrives back at his apartment he flops face down onto the couch.

“How did telling Midoriya go?” Kirishima asks through a hearty mouthful of cereal.

Kaminari uses Katsuki as an ottoman and props his feet up on his back. “Yeah. Did he freak out about you being a full-time twilight roleplayer?”

Odd alternate word for vampire. He’d definitely have to use that on Todoroki next time.

The plan had been to tell Deku about his immortality. Katsuki had been mulling it over ever since he’d come back home from their first date.

But seeing Deku, smiling at him like that had made his throat close up. What if Izuku became afraid of him? What if he thought he was a monster?

And worst of all, what if he thought Katsuki’s vampire dick didn’t work!?

Chapter Text

“Good evening, Bakugou.”

Katsuki’s soul nearly leaves his body.

....Wait, shit, did vampires even have souls?

Katsuki had just casually been sauntering down the row of stores and dingy restaurants on his way to walk Deku home when he’d been called out of his thoughts by a familiar voice. That neutral tone could only mean it was one person- and that person was Todoroki.

But where the fuck was he?

Katsuki cranes his neck behind him, searching the area around himself for that ridiculous two toned hair. He’d been alone on the backstreets for a good five minutes, his senses telling him that no one human (or otherwise) had been tailing him for at least the past few blocks. He knew full well that this meant he could be using his vampiric speed but- well, he liked the street lights in the twilight, sue him.

He was just about to cut through the shady ass park to get to the Crypt a little bit quicker when he’d heard the voice.

What the fuck…?

At this rate he was going to be late picking Deku up, and he really didn’t need that shit right now. After he struck out that first time telling Deku that he was a vampire- he didn’t want to squander his next chance. He wanted everything to be perfect, safe and have a strong beginning. Katsuki, more than anything, was afraid that Deku would hate him. He didn’t need anything else not weighing in his favour.

“I’m up here.”

And lo and behold, Katsuki looks up- angling his head toward the sound of the voice and finds it. Above him is a large oak tree planted on the edge of the dimly lit side of the greenery- and it is there Todoroki sits, expressionless and postured on the top branch.

That only raises further questions.  

He’s in his usual clothing attire- way too fancy and put together for him to actually look his age. No sneakers, no jeans- Katsuki wondered just how old he actually was.

The way he acted... It had to be super old. There was no other way to explain his weird as fuck tendencies. Katsuki’s surprised he’s avoided getting found out by his roommate- the way he spoke sometimes… He sounded like the world’s most pretentious asshole, especially when he said shit like ‘whom.’ What a dickhead.

“What the fuck are you doing up there, you crazy asshole?”

“I am watching.”

Cryptic bastard.

“You some kind of stalker?”

Todoroki, looks thoughtful, appearing to take the question rather literally. “No. I prefer to intimidate my prey rather than follow it.”

“God you’re so fucking weird.” Katsuki’s about to move on and forget about this whole weird ass conversation when Todoroki speaks again.

“I sensed something ominous tonight, Bakugou. Take caution.” Todoroki is frowning, but Katsuki can’t take the guy seriously. Was that a leaf in his hair?

“Pretty sure that’s just the smell from the pizza joint across the street.” He juts his thumb out in the direction of the offending parlour. “Their mozzarella sticks are fucking wack.” Katsuki curls his lip in distaste. Well, of course they tasted wack to him. He was a fucking vampire. That didn’t change the fact that his human self thought so too.

Todoroki shakes his head, narrowing his eyes off into the distance, “sticks of cheese regardless. Something strange is going on.” He says it with the utmost seriousness, his expression a mask of stone as he sat in that dumb tree.

When did Katsuki’s life get so fucking weird?

Oh right, when he became an honest to god vampire.

That would be it.

Nevertheless, Todoroki’s words remain in Katsuki’s head the entire time he walks through the winding paths. He never would have gone this way when he was human. It was way too fucking creepy- but with his vision the way that it was now, it was like Katsuki was strolling through the shifty ass park in the mid morning sun. He catches glimpses of lurking shadows, spindling trees, hooded figures exchanging goods for services- but Katsuki continues on. Maybe he was going a little bit faster than he ought to, faster than was humanly possible, but in the end- it didn’t matter as long as no one saw him.

There were no street lights to behold in here anyhow.

Katsuki isn’t sure if it’s what Todoroki had said, or his own instincts, but something was definitely amiss at the Crimson Crypt this evening. The lights were still flickering with shady ambience from the front windows, the music was still playing softly from the street side- and the drunken chatter of the people out the front were all still there. But something was wrong.

“You sense something too, don’t you?”

Jesus fuck.

Katsuki jumps out of his skin.

How the hell was Todoroki able to do that?

“So what if I do?” Katsuki growls, trying to play off the fact that Todoroki had just managed to scare him twice in one night.

Just as Todoroki sets his jaw, about to indignantly provide a reply- their conversation is cut off by a loud shout coming from the alley aside the crypt.

They exchange a look.

Todoroki raises his eyebrows. Katsuki nods, solemn.

They go off in pursuit of the sound.

If it was something that had both of them on edge- it was something important. It had to be.

The first thing that Katsuki sees is a man on the ground, not-so-fondly reminding him of his introductory meeting with Todoroki. Only this time the man on the ground is not out cold, rather he’s clutching his face and groaning in pain. There’s a large welt at his cheek that looks fresh but there doesn’t seem to be any blood. It has Katsuki wondering just what was so important about some asshole getting punched in the alley way.

What was this thing in his head that was screaming at him to be here?

And then he notices that he’s not alone.

Another figure comes into Katsuki’s field of vision.

He has to stifle a gasp. He’d been so focused on the person on the floor that he hadn’t even noticed.

The familiar scent of early morning coffee, coconut shampoo and konbini store taiyaki drifts through his nose and he feels stupid not to have connected the dots. He had been sensing danger- a danger which unconsciously seemed to hold importance to him- near the place his boyfriend worked.

“Deku?”

He flinches at the sound. It’s only then that Katsuki notices the soft tremors moving across his body. Already, Katsuki can begin to piece together just what might have happened here tonight.

Deku looks afraid, but he looks strong. Just like the first night they met, his eyes are alight with an uncharacteristic fierceness.

“Kacchan?”

Katsuki always knew that the area around here was shifty.

He had had that thought in his mind as a constant, ever present presence. It was like a time bomb, ticking away in the back of his head- one that he’d begun to pay little mind to since his turning. He’d forgotten that it was due to the dangerous aura of this town that it was so easy for him to find food. It was why blind eyes were turned... It was why people didn’t ask questions.

To Katsuki- it made everything so much easier.

But he hadn’t considered what it meant for everyone else- everyone else that didn’t have a death wish or very well couldn’t be killed. Katsuki had only been a vampire for a matter of months but already he’d began to forget what it felt like to be cornered, endangered- afraid of the alleyways that he now lurked in.

Deku’s hair is all messed up, even more so than the usual, his cheery eyes are wide and twitchy- devoid of the light that was always there, even when he was tired.

He’s clearly unsettled, afraid -he holds his right fist against his chest tightly, like an expensive textbook.

“What happened, Midoriya?” Todoroki asks him, Katsuki had forgotten Todoroki had even come with him. Everything seemed to disappear around Katsuki at that moment.

He only saw the possibilities of what had just taken place, and the probability of his hypothetical intervention preventing them. A strange emotion pulls in Katsuki’s chest and he can’t find the word to place it.

“I- he-” Deku looks distraught. “He was waiting outside the alley here for me. I-It was dark so I thought it was you, Kacchan but then he-” Deku looks at him with imploring eyes, “I knew almost straight away that it wasn’t you- but he grabbed me and tried to-” Deku doesn’t finish the sentence, instead looking to glare at the man- still groaning on the ground. “I think I broke his jaw- I didn’t mean to but-”

“Midoriya. Are you hurt?” Todoroki was clearly the voice of reason in all of this. Midoriya was a rambling mess and Katsuki couldn’t seem to find the ability to speak.

Even so, there was a sense of haste to his words that had everyone on edge.

Deku sighs, scratching his head, he still looked unnerved, but he appeared to be calming down now. “No. No. I’m fine- I.” He holds his fist out a little, “I think I cut myself on the earring he had in his nose though,” he holds the hand out, the one he’d kept at his chest, displaying the beginning trickle of blood spilling down from his fingers. It falls in rivulets, softly hitting the ground like crimson raindrops.

Blood.

Deku’s Blood.

Oh no.

Todoroki allows his expression a knowing look of premeditated horror before he chances a glance back at Katsuki- whom of which was seeing red for a whole other reason now.

Shit.

Shouto had had hundreds and hundreds of years to learn to control himself- to go against his instincts and live civilly in the face of his greatest temptation. It had taken him literal ages to hide this monstrous part of himself... He’d almost been convinced that his humanity had died that day along with the remainders of the Todoroki family...

He’d had time, so much of it, in fact, that it was no longer precious.

But Katsuki-

Katsuki could feel his eyes zero in on the blood, feel his fangs burst from his lip and puncture it without warning. There was a halting sound in his head that stopped him from pouncing- but it would only last for so long. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t do anything besides focus on the red spilling out from Deku’s hand. It wasn’t a massive gash or anything, but it was more than just a papercut… He’d had to deal with that kind of stuff before, there’d been plenty of times when his classmates had gotten bloody cuts while using lab knives in his practical lessons… It had had Katsuki ‘breathing’ through his mouth to mask the scent from his nose, but it wasn’t this… intense.

So why was this time different? What was wrong with him? Was the burger analogy that he thought up wrong, after all?

“Kacchan?” Izuku’s eyes are confused- hurt, almost. Kacchan seemed to be looking at him with such an angered intensity- did he think this was Izuku’s fault?

Izuku’s eyes almost welled in tears at the thought of it. He didn’t think he could deal with that thought right now. Not after everything.

Shouto only has a moment to decide what to do. A moment seems like nothing when a person’s lived this long- it feels even shorter now. He closes his eyes, sighs and knows that within the minute, Midoriya would either know about the both of them- or he’d probably be dead.

He doesn’t need to weigh his options to know which one is the better deal.

After all, Midoriya was a treasured friend of his- having him perish before his time would pain him greatly.

He’d lost too many people before their time.

Bakugou couldn’t control himself like this. No matter how attached he was to Midoriya, there would be no quelling this intense bloodlust that had reared its ugly head. Shouto clicks his tongue, poised to strike as soon as Bakugou made a move toward Midoriya. He feels the strange sensation of his own fangs make an appearance, a feeling he’d long grown accustomed to.

He was doing this for everyone’s own good, really. He knew enough about Bakugou to know that hurting Midoriya would tear him apart- and Shouto’s fairly certain that Mdoriya being dead wouldn’t bode very well with Midoriya either. Funny that.  

“I… Need…” Bakugou is practically growling at this point, his eyebrows are furrowed and his teeth are on full display.

Izuku suppresses a squeak of surprise. Kacchan’s eyes looked like they were glowing in the darkness, a burning shade of red- far different from the usual hue. He was breathing, hard, his teeth sharpened to pointed ends in his mouth. He looked like he was going to attack him. Izuku’s heart seizes, his posture going stiff. Kacchan would never do anything like that! He wouldn’t!  

“I need...To… Go…” Katsuki grits, his slumped posture beginning to turn in the opposite direction.

“Huh?” Todoroki can’t hide his surprise at those words. His posture is still on the defensive, covering Midoriya- but he loosens up just the slightest bit.

“Make... Sure... He gets-” A sharp inhale, “home okay.” Katsuki hisses, looking as if he were in physical pain- obviously in no state to put two and two together; Todoroki literally lived with Deku after all. Of course he’d make sure he got home.

With a finality in his posture, Katsuki gives the man on the ground a swift kick to the balls (if he wasn’t so fucked up right now, he might have just killed him) and then, without much warning, darts off with extreme speed, into the night and into the darkness.

Izuku just watches with wide eyes, looking at the same spot that Kacchan had just disappeared off into. His glowing eyes, his pointed teeth- his superhuman speed.

He looks at Todoroki.

“What the fuck?”

Izuku Midoriya swearing meant that something was extremely amiss. He supposed that finding out your boyfriend was a vampire was pretty amiss, but still- the word slipping out of Midoriya’s lips surprised him.

Perhaps Bakugou was rubbing off on him in more ways than one.

Shouto is still looking off into the distance as well, a perplexed expression on his face. Bakugou never ceased to surprise him. “We have a few things to discuss, Midoriya. But I think it’s best that we move locations before we go further..”

Midoriya just nods silently, clutching his bleeding fist with a calculating frown. To Shouto’s surprise, Midoriya doesn’t hesitate- nor does he look afraid any longer, he just seems… Confused. “You’re… one of them too aren’t you?” He whispers, his tone of voice indistinguishably incomprehensible.

Shouto nods, “I am.”

Midoriya looks down at the concrete, still clutching his hand. His eyes are wide and he can’t stop this puddle of confusion dripping into his head.

“What the fuck?” He whispers to himself.

What the fuck, indeed.

Chapter Text

Denki was pretty sure something had happened with Bakugou after he’d gotten home from walking Midoriya.

But Bakugou being weird wasn't anything… weird. The guy was about as unpredictable as a hurricane and just as destructive.   

So it was nothing out of the ordinary, right?  

Denki, admittedly, had thought so too...

Well, if he hadn’t came through his and Eijirou’s bedroom window...

Luckily, it had been open, for once, due to the strange warmth spreading across the world known as global warming. The three of them sure as fuck couldn’t afford air conditioning so the best alternative was for them to just hope that any potential thieves realised that they were broke ass bitches and chose not to bother them.

Besides, their place was on the third floor- it would be quite a hike to get in through the window.

Let Denki repeat, their apartment was on the third fucking floor.

He knew that Bakugou was a vampire but jesus fuck.

“Bakugou? Dude?”

Bakugou had always been a generally noisy person for as long as Denki knew him- but when he’d become a vampire, it was like he no longer had footsteps.

This wasn’t the case for tonight, however, it was like he was back to his normal, chaotically loud, noise-complaint-y self from before. He was sluggishly bumping into things, sending Eijirou’s hairbrush on the dresser flying and Denki’s poor Hatsune Miku figurine was yeeted into the fucking air.

So Bakugou going back to his ‘normal’ self wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

He was upset.

“Did Midoriya break up with you or something?”

Bakugou turns to look at the other and Denki sees the man’s crimson gaze on him. Oh shit.

Bakugou’s fangs were still apparent, resting on his lips uncomfortably; like they weren’t meant to be there when his mouth was closed.

He looked momentarily like he was going to attack Denki, but then breaks his stare on the other blonde. He doesn’t say a word, instead opting to move from the room and into their lounge.

Yeah, something was definitely up.

He kicks Eijirou awake from the other side of the bed. The guy was such a deep sleeper that Bakugou probably could have actually broken through the window without him noticing.

“Ugh, what?” He says lethargically, “I love you but if you ask me if the plural of moose is meese again, I’m going to sleep on the couch.”

“No, it’s not that… Wait is it mees-”

“What were you going to tell me?!”

“Bakugou just came through our fucking window.”

That has Eijirou waking up a little bit. He begins to sit up with a bleariness in his eyes, his hair was a tangle over his forehead. “Why-” he stifles a yawn, “why would he do that?”

Denki shrugs and makes that ‘I don’t know’ sound that’s common with teenagers before sharing a glance with the other.

“We should probably go talk to him.” Eijirou says, rubbing his eyes.

Denki sighs but nods in reply.

The pair of them are up in an instant, with Eijirou’s hand closing around the door knob.

“Wait- Eijirou?” Denki tries to halt him, shuffling out of the covers as well.

“Yeah?”

“...Is cereal a soup?”

“You are a visionary, my dude, but at one in the morning the last thing I want to do is be kept up all night thinking about cornflakes.”

The walk home from the Crimson Crypt is a silent one. It was to be expected with a companion like Todoroki. For as long as Izuku had known him, he hadn’t been much for small talk.

Izuku frowns. He’d always just thought it was because he was awkward, but now he was having different thoughts. Just how old was Todoroki really? How old was Kacchan? Looking back on the night that the pair of them first ‘met’ Izuku remembers seeing their tense handshake.

He’d just thought it was because they were both… weird.

But perhaps it was because they were ancient enemies that were face to face once more! Izuku could see it now; the pair of them in 16th century samurai armour, fighting to the death on a bloody battlefield- all of their human comrades having perished to their foes, they were the only ones left- an immortal against another immortal- A fight that would last hundreds of years...

“You’re saying all of this out loud, Midoriya.” Todoroki remarks, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He walked with perfect posture, his footsteps not making a sound on the concrete pathway.

Izuku flinches, suddenly worried that he’d overstepped his boundaries, “ah! I-I’m sorry! I-”

Todoroki shrugs it off, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”  

Izuku sheepishly nods, hoisting his bag over his shoulder. “I do.”

“I’ll answer this before we collect ourselves back at home then... No, Bakugou and I aren’t ancient sworn enemies destined to kill one another and end our immortal toiling. I only properly introduced myself to him within this year.”

“Oh.”

Izuku almost sounded disappointed.

Wait… Properly introduced? He frowns at the anonymity of the reply. He really wasn’t fond of Todoroki’s crypticness, but now, he supposed, he could understand it a little bit more.

It was okay. It kept his mind away from what had happened in the alleyway. After Kacchan had rushed away from the pair of them, Izuku was at a loss on what to do. In the end, Todoroki and him decided to just call the police and hope the cops, at the very least, kept him overnight. There would be no certainty that they’d charge him of his crimes- Izuku was a man, after all- it made everything even more complicated when an outlying factor like that was added into the mix. But they had to try.

Besides, they had far more important things to attend to now, and Izuku hated to ruminate. He didn’t want to think about it, it sent a spiked sinking feeling into his stomach that made his insides churn with unease. It was better to focus on the absolutely outlandishly insane circumstance he seemed to be in as they spoke.

When they get back to the apartment there’s three people waiting for them.

Izuku has to suppress a gasp at the sight of them; they were in on it too? Kirishima, Kaminari and Kacchan stand outside the door- the former two still being in their pyjamas. Kacchan wasn’t meeting his eyes.

“Guess we beat you back.” Kirishima says cheerfully, rather obviously trying to lighten up the situation.

“Bakugou.” Todoroki’s gaze narrows.

“Yes, they know .” Kacchan growls, his eyes still on the floor. “Those assholes dragged me here.”

Shouto knew full well that was near impossible. With the strength that vampires possessed- the sheer act of dragging Katsuki here against his will was more than just a death wish. Which meant that he’d come here of his own volition but didn’t want to tell anyone that. Typical.

“Kacchan...” Deku’s voice is quiet, but to Shouto’s surprise, he doesn’t appear to be wary of the other.

“We-” he glances around the small hallway that the five of them had crowded in. With a sigh, he fishes out his key, “we all need to talk.” 

Chapter Text

The weird, tense aura surrounding the five as they enter Todoroki and Izuku’s apartment is one that didn’t look to be going away anytime soon. Even Kirishima and Kaminari had a frown on their faces- obviously not quite anticipating that they too would be roped into… well, whatever this intended to be.

Just what was this?

Izuku bites his lip. He was never fantastic with confrontation. Even as he’d gotten older, more jaded- a little less like the starry eyed fifteen year old he once was, the thought of it still made his knees knock just the slightest bit.

Kacchan is being oddly silent. It’s not the kind of broody silent that Izuku is accustomed to, either. It’s a strange, indignantly nervous silence that has both of their stomachs undoubtedly in knots.

“Ow! Fuck!” Kirishima exclaims, the first sound anyone had made since entering the small space. He’d moved to the sofa to sit down and then jumped up all of a sudden.

Everyone looks at him in question.

“Your throw pillow fucking bit me!”

Ah, Izumi.

Izuku watches with a tired amusement as Izumi unfurls from his fluffy ball on the sofa, his tail flicking out in irritation. “He doesn’t really like being sat on.”

“Oh! Damn! Sorry little dude!” Kirishima laughs awkwardly, reaching down to pet the cat before pulling back- thinking better. He moves to the other side of the sofa, meticulously checking the cushions before plonking down on it.

The silence once more stretches across the room.

Todoroki is pointedly staring at Kacchan, yet again- but surprisingly not with the anger that Izuku had expected would be there. It was almost something close to fascination, perhaps. He wasn’t all that sure, Todoroki had always been rather hard to read.

Kacchan was still staring at the ground, further away from where the group had gathered. He looked like the epitome of misery in the world. Izuku wished he could remedy that.

Kaminari and Kirishima now sat on Izuku’s sofa together with Izumi, looking the most relaxed of the group, pyjamas and all. They were tense, but obviously more comfortable next to each other’s presence.

Izuku feels a soft sigh escape his lips. It was way too late in the night to be having a discussion in his living room about… about two of the people he was closest to in the world, being honest to god vampires. He isn’t exactly sure how to feel about it all. He isn’t sure if he’s amazed over the fact that a supernatural entity actually exists- or horrified at the fact that they’d been under his nose this whole time.

“I don’t really know what to say...” Izuku admits, sheepish. “I called you all in here but I can’t seem to find the words…” He shakes his head, “this is all so…”

“Fucking WEIRD?” Kaminari suggests.

“Some twilight bullshit?” Kirishima interjects.

Midoriya nearly nods at both of their recommendations. It was fair, to be honest.

It really was some fucking weird twilight bullshit that they were in right now.

“No offense… But do those two have to be here, Midoriya?” Todoroki frowns,  eyeing the pair of strangers on his couch with an air of suspicion.

Kirishima meets his gaze, “we could go, Mr. Vampire, but I can guarantee that Bakugou will be hot footing it out of the door the moment we leave.”

Kacchan, in reply, lets out something akin to a growl, but doesn’t disagree. What a fucking furry.

“Todoroki, don’t be impolite. They’re a part of this too.” Midoriya frowns, crossing his arms. “I kinda think I’m owed answers from all of you at this point.”

Todoroki huffs, feeling chastised- but a little bit impressed that Izuku still had the guts to tell him off, knowing of his… immortality. Perhaps it wouldn’t change everything , like he’d originally thought. Maybe it would be okay to tell him more about himself...

“Fine.”

Izuku breathes out another weary sigh. He was already tired- but this whole circumstance somehow made it a different kind of exhausted. “How long?”

The heady silence continues, no one obviously waiting with bated breaths to speak again. Kacchan is staring a hole in the wall and Todoroki is staring a hole into Kacchan. And so, ever dutifully in their stead, Kaminari grins, “eight inches.”

Kirishima hits him upside the head.

Izuku stares at the pair of them for a moment, he had actually humoured the thought of both Kirishima and Kaminari also being immortal beings... but then remembered far too many circumstances involving the pair of them destroying a few loaves of garlic bread each.  

Izuku turns his gaze onto the actual vampires of the evening.

Todoroki, neglecting to hide his mild glare, purses his lips in thought. He hated exposing himself, hated the connotations of it. But it seemed he would actually have to give a non-cryptic answer for once. “Since ‘73.” He replies.

Izuku raises his eyebrows at that, feeling surprise sink into him for the fiftieth time this evening. “Only 1973? You’re basically the same age as my mother-”

He shakes his head, “1473.”

“WHAT.” If Kirishima had been drinking anything, he would have done a spit take.

“Wait!” Izuku’s eyes only widen further. “So my samurai theory wasn’t exactly wrong?”

Todoroki shakes his head. “Just the part about Bakugou and I being immortal enemies.”

Kaminari snorts.

“WAIT.” Izuku says once more, despite the fact that literally no one else was speaking aside from him. “I thought your last name was familiar! You’re from the Todoroki dynasty aren’t you?”

Shouto’s already bitter expression gains more traction. “Nnn, I was the youngest son of Enji Todoroki.”

“HOLY FUCK.” Kaminari jumps up from the couch like he’s seen either a ghost or Leonardo Dicaprio.

Even Kacchan looks surprised.

Actually ‘surprised’ wasn’t quite the word Izuku would use to describe his expression. Fucking pissed would probably be more apt at the moment. “You mean to tell me that you died in a blaze of glory 550 fucking years ago- and I die outside a fucking DENNY’S?”

“Kacchan, you died outside a Denny’s?” Izuku looks aghast.

“Shit.”

“He died like, four months ago.” Kirishima replies helpfully, hands behind his head.

“Four months ago? But we only met four months ago-” Izuku hears himself gasp, “oh my god the garlic…”

“He was trying to see if the legend thing was true.” Kaminari shrugs his shoulders. “We didn’t have any in the kitchen so the next best thing was to, like… Go to the nearest store and take a bite.”

“You took a bite out of raw garlic?” Todoroki looks at Kacchan, incredulous.

“Yes?”

“No wonder you reacted against it, it was raw garlic, Bakugou.”

“Fuck off. It’s not like you were here to tell me any of this shit. You just bit me and left.”

“You bit him?” Izuku’s beginning to wonder just when he would stop getting shocked about all these little tidbits of information. At this rate he was probably going to die of a heart attack.

“He was dying.” Todoroki replies smoothly.

“Outside a Denny’s.” Kirishima adds, unhelpfully.

Izuku hadn’t neglected to notice that Kacchan still hadn’t looked at him- nor had he neglected to notice the fact that he hadn’t even directly addressed him as he spoke. Something was wrong- even more wrong than it already was.

“I can’t deal with all of this tonight.” Izuku feels himself say, not quite sure if he’d intended it to sound that exhausted. He pressed a calculating hand to his temple. “I have a maths test tomorrow.”

“So we can leave?” Kirishima asks him, feeling the beginnings of a yawn curl around him.

Izuku nods, “except you.” He points at Kacchan, “you’re coming with me.”

Kacchan furrows his eyebrows.

Izuku was tired of running from this problem that Kacchan obviously had with him. This secret he’d been keeping had been exposed- but there was still something else eating at the guy.

And Izuku was done walking on eggshells around him. He cared about Kacchan, more than he’d like to admit just yet. He didn’t want to let that go.

Vampire or not. The two of them were going to chat. And they were going to get their shit together.

Kacchan finally meets his eyes for a split second. It’s just enough time for Izuku to see the slightest tidbit of what was going on inside his head. Guilt, crippling guilt- Izuku could see it behind his eyes as plain as day.

“Kacchan-”

“I can’t.” The other breathes out, looking more like a cornered animal than an apex predator. He still looked furious- but Izuku knew that it wasn’t with anyone else in this room aside from himself.

Without any further notice, Kacchan simply opens the window overlooking the street below and jumps out of it like it were a mere bench seat.

Izuku’s frown only deepens.

Kaminari and Kirishima, however, do not seem as awfully worried.

“He likes to go off on his own to think about things,” Kirishima admits, a sheepish look in his eyes. “It was our idea to bring him here in the first place… Thought it would make things easier but… I guess he wasn’t ready to talk.”

“Will he be back?”

Kirishima has a soft glint of fondness in his eye, “he always comes back.”

Kaminari, not quite as sentimental as the man beside him, looks to Todoroki with a neutral expression and simply asks, “so, how do vampire dicks work?”

Despite the severe happenstances of the night, Midoriya was all near hell bent on going after Kacchan when he ran (or more accurately jumped) out of the conversation they ought to be having.

Shouto could tell on his face that this… everything, had begun to distress him to a point of unhealthiness. If Midoriya were to go out into the night- in the state he was currently in, not even his quick wit and surprising strength could save him if something happened.

That’s why the master vampire himself, rather begrudgingly, volunteers to go in his stead.

It isn’t that he particularly cares about this apparent existential crisis Bakugou appeared to be having at the current moment...

...But he did care about the safety of his roommate- and such a thing would most certainly be in jeopardy if Midoriya were to step a foot out into the night right now.

“I can take care of myself,” Midoriya replies, not particularly haughty in any sense of the word. Izuku Midoriya wasn’t cocky, but he was, by all means, as stubborn as a mule. This wouldn’t be easy.

Shouto had no doubts that Midoriya could handle himself. He was one of the strongest humans he knew. And yet, still, humans were so fragile. The recent incident had brought that lovely fact back up to the surface of Shouto’s consciousness. He’s loathe to admit; but this night had shaken him as well.

“Do you not have your exams tomorrow?” Shouto raises an eyebrow at the other, nodding his head to the clock on the far right wall.

“This is more important.” Midoriya replies, he wasn’t lying- at least not to himself.  However, Shouto could see the beginning quiver of uncertainty in Midoriya’s lip when he thought about the impending doom of tomorrow.

He already looked so drained (mind the pun.) The weight of studying, his work and the recent attack- it was all adding up to be far too much for him.

“Please, Midoriya.” Shouto never said please lightly. He’d grown long tired of the word, especially when he needed it so little- he’d heard it from so many different lips in this world, but rarely ever his own.

Midoriya must note that too, because he pauses for a moment- a frown growing on his young face. Shouto can see all the changing emotions arising from him, indignant, upset, frustrated and then, finally, acceptance.  “Okay,” he says, breathing it out- barely above a whisper.

“He’s probably on our rooftop. He always sits up there when he’s got something on his mind.” Kirishima adds helpfully (for once,) ruffling his bed head with an awkward air. Shouto had completely forgotten the other two of them were there. “I can take you there if you want.”

Shouto holds a hand out to halt the other, “no need,” he replies, “I’ve been to your shared abode before.”

Kaminari, Kirishima and Midoriya share a mutual look of ‘uhhh what the fuck.’ But don’t question the other, for fear of hearing the answer.

Shouto was pretty fucking weird.

But, Kirishima supposed, he would be pretty fucking weird too if he’d seen all of the world’s shit for more than half a millennia.

“Oookay.” He stretches his arms, yawning. “We’re gonna head back then. Sorry for intruding.” Kirishima bows his head ever so slightly, still set in his ways from living in Japan for most of his life.

Kaminari notices him doing it and huffs out a laugh, “stay safe, Midoriya, we’ll see you around school.” He then turns to Shouto, mildly peeved at him for outrightly ignoring his perfectly valid question about vampire dicks. “I’m expecting an answer next time I see you.” He grins.

Shouto meets his smile with a frown, regrettably not as icy as his mind had intended it to be. These were Bakugou and Midoriya’s friends. Verbose crudeness and all. He didn’t have the luxury of being an asshole. “You will be quite disappointed then.”

Shouto doesn’t waste anymore time ruminating on the detailed concept of friendship and sets off in search of his stupid vampire friend (very hesitant use of friend there.)

The spiky haired one (Shouto couldn’t recall his name) is correct, Bakugou is perched upon the rooftop of his apartment building. There’s a landing up there that has been concreted- obviously intended to be a possible barbeque/ hangout spot for the residents of the building. Unfortunately, the place seems more desolate than anything else; the light of the moon washing over the space with a cold indifference, illuminating the bare corners, the utility doors, the rickety iron stairs that long should have been replaced.

Perhaps if it were a nicer building, in a nicer place, it could have been something else. There wasn’t much appeal to a sweeping town view filled with nothing but a bird’s eye look at the degradation of the area.

“If you’re thinking about chastising me for being an idiot, I really don’t fucking need it right now.” Bakugou bites, hearing Shouto approach. He’d gotten better, his senses were growing stronger.

“I am not here to chastise you, Bakugou.” Shouto replies, walking forward. He sees the other, sitting on the edge of the apartment building, his legs tucked up under his chin- making him seem so much lesser than the large, intruding presence that Shouto had grown accustomed to. “In fact, I am rather… impressed.”

“Hah?”

Shouto regards the ledge with a disgusted look, it was riddled with grime, dirt and general filth. He dusts as much off of it as he could before delicately sitting down a metre or so away from Bakugou.

“I’ll admit I haven’t been as informative as I could have been through this process.”

Katsuki snorts derisively, “no shit.”

“Despite that, however- you displayed… impeccable self control back in the alley.”

He can hear Bakugou roll his eyes, “self control? I nearly fucking killed my boyfriend. You call that self control?”

“You found the will to run away when others could not.” Shouto notes, a solemn tone in his voice.

“Yeah, and now he’s terrified of me.”

Shouto clicks his tongue. This one was still as stupid as a human. “He’s not terrified of you, Bakugou. He’s terrified of losing you.”

There’s silence spreading throughout the pair. The night breeze probably would have been unpleasant if they were mortal, but now it just served as a welcome white noise amongst the startling quiet between them.

“Why is Deku different? ” Bakugou asks after a moment, swallowing his pride like a bitter pill and finally raising the question that had been bouncing around in his head for the past few hours. “Why did I freak the fuck out when he started bleeding? Why was it him?”

Shouto is looking off into the distance, as he usually does. It seems more… melancholy this time, though. “Love.”

“ WHAT. ”

Shouto rolls his eyes at the exclamation, “you care for Midoriya, do you not?”

Bakugou sputters, flustered by the question. He rakes a frustrated hand through his hair, “yeah, but I don’t fucking love him yet! We’ve only been dating for like, two months!”

“Humans are always so touchy about that word.” Shouto clicks his tongue, “I suppose you haven’t grown out of it yet... “ He pauses, trying to think of a way to explain Bakugou’s circumstances in a way that wouldn’t make him run away screaming. “Midoriya smells appealing to you, correct?”

Bakugou is about to cough up a lung. He doesn’t reply verbally, but he does nod.

So much for a gentler approach.

“When vampires associate with humans, they tend to take on a much more appealing scent to the vampire. It’s almost as if our nature is telling us to bite them. Especially when they’re injured.”

He makes a face. “Uhhhh what the fuck?”

Shouto nods. “I agree. It makes befriending people much harder. But there’s only been a few cases that I know of such a thing ending in the permanent... ‘death’ of the human in the equation.”

“Permanent death?”

He clicks his tongue. “You didn’t want to kill Midoriya, Bakugou, you wanted to turn him. You saw him injured, your instincts were telling you he was dying. And you reacted.” Shouto finds his eyes drifting out into the city view once more. It wasn’t much of a sight to see, but it had been his home for some time now. “Vampires are sentimental creatures, just like humans. We want to keep what is ours. Forever.”

Bakugou intakes a large breath, something he hasn’t needed to do for quite a while now, mulling over what Shouto had just sprung on him. He turns to him then, scowling,“but you care about him too, he’s your friend. How come you didn’t go batshit?”

Shouto hums, a fair point, “I’ve had five hundred year’s practice.”   

Bakugou’s eyes widen, relief pooling into his irises,”so this shit… It goes away?”

He nods. “With a lot of training and willpower, you can learn to completely assimilate into the world again. I think you’ll be exemplary if you consider how well you did tonight.”

“Thank fuck.” Bakugou breathes, slumping a little further into the delinquent positioning that Shouto had grown accustomed to. The frown on his face, however, didn’t leave.

“I am sorry I didn’t breach the subject with you earlier,, I…” Shouto fiddles with his hands, “I suppose I underestimated how deep your feelings for Midoriya ran.”

Bakugou doesn’t answer. There’s something strangely far away in his eyes, it makes it look like there’s actually something inside his brain aside from expletives and the ability to scowl. That would be news to Shouto.

“What else troubles you?”

His expression worsens, his hands clenching tighter and tighter until they were the colour of paper. “Tonight… I-” Bakugou stops himself, looking down, he looks frustrated, conflicted- like he did back at the apartment. “It’s stupid. Forget about it.”

Shouto nods, beginning to stand. For all he harped on about being undetectable to humans, he had a hard time with common sense at times. Now was one of these times. Rising from his perch, he bids his farewell to the other, “ah okay, goodnight-”

Katsuki sputters, irritation bubbling up to the surface of his chest. “Oi! Asshole! You’re not supposed to say that!”

He turns, eyebrows raised, what had he done wrong? “Then what do you want?”

Bakugou groans, waving his hand in dismissal. There were just some things he didn’t feel comfortable sharing with the stuffy immortal idiot before him. “Nevermind.”

Shouto sighs, long and hard, if he were still human he would feel a migraine coming on. “Go speak to Midoriya tomorrow.” He begins, noticing how Bakugou seemed to tense at his words.

Shouto fixes his jaw. “Oh, and your roommates told me to relay this message;” he clears his throat, “stop being a pussy and get that mcfucking relationship my good dude.”

...Now that was not something he’d expected to come out of Shouto Todoroki’s mouth.

“I do not understand the message, as you are not a feline, but a vampire. Perhaps you should inform them better of your new status.”

Todoroki then gives no further warning before taking a running jump off Katsuki’s apartment building, soaring into the air with an impossible grace. He lands on the opposite building and doesn’t turn to see if Katsuki was still watching (he was.)

At this point, if Katsuki’s life was actually just a fever dream he was having while high as balls at a fucking BURGER KING he would not be surprised.

Chapter Text

Katsuki didn’t return back to the apartment until much later in the night. After all, this was the time of day (or night) that he was predominately conscious for. To him now, this was like retiring to bed at three in the afternoon.

Not that he hadn’t done that before, but he digresses.

Katsuki feels a frown settle on his face as he continued to watch the nightlife from up above. Todoroki’s words had, admittedly, made him feel just the slightest bit better about himself- but there was a definite itch within him that he just couldn’t get at.

It was this aspect of mortality that he didn’t want to think about- That just because his life had been indefinitely extended- it didn’t mean everyone else’s was.

And that in all honesty scared the shit out of him.

Maybe Todoroki was right for being so… melancholic about this whole ‘vampire’ thing- Katsuki definitely wasn’t appreciating it at this current moment. These strange instincts had made themselves known tonight and Katsuki didn’t like them at all, for they didn’t feel like his own. He felt like a puppet on a string, being controlled by some animalistic impulse that came packed with super cool fangs, incredible speed and bloodlust.

Todoroki had told him he had impressive self control, but Katsuki couldn’t seem to return the sentiment about himself. All he could really remember about that moment in his head was the look on Deku’s face when he felt these so called instincts take over.

He looked afraid, hurt- whatever it was it had sent a spike of pain through Katsuki’s heart (an organ that he didn’t even fucking need anymore, for that matter.) It was awful, Katsuki had never felt anything quite like it. The burning something in his chest whenever he thought back on Deku’s expression.

Ugh.

Katsuki scowls. These feelings were definitely Deku’s fault. He should have to deal with them instead.

‘Maybe if you weren’t such a little bitch that was scared to talk to the human embodiment of a rabbit powered by sunshine then you could voice these feelings, asshole.’

God, his mind was such a dickhead. Katsuki sometimes wishes he could beat himself up. Especially because it was right.

Which essentially meant that he himself was right- but he really didn’t want to hear that right now.

Katsuki just wanted to wallow in self pity until the sun was up. Pathetic, he knew, but in the end- wasn’t brooding for extended periods of time a very vampire thing to do?

Just as Katsuki was about to move to the other side of the building for a more picturesque landscape for his emo pondering- he feels his phone buzz.

Sunflower: kacchan

Sunflower: we have to talk

Sunflower: todoroki went over everything with me

Sunflower: i just want to make sure you’re okay

Katsuki never thought the lack of emoticons in Deku’s text messages would be so startling to him. It was jarring, like it wasn’t really him sending them. This night must have been so much more rough for him… All the things he found out in just an evening- it would have driven Katsuki insane.

It was definitely keeping Deku up- that was for certain. No one else should be up at this hour, not even near-nocturnal college students.

Especially not college students with math tests the next day- well actually… Katsuki checks his phone, it was well into today now.

He couldn’t have that dumbass failing his exams because he was worried about him.

Bakugou_Katsuki: take your ass to bed deku

Katsuki turns off his phone after that. He knew it wasn’t a means of solving things- but shoving that shit down into the void in the back of his mind was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with everything right now. He didn’t even fully know what was wrong anymore- Todoroki had seemingly cleaned up after him- he’d done nearly everything for him.

But this discontent in his heart couldn’t seem to leave his chest and it was really pissing him the hell off.

He decides to call it a night and go to bed at the technical vampiric time of about three in the afternoon because, fuck it, even if he didn’t really need that much sleep anymore, it was better than thinking. The four brain cells that he had were working fucking overtime to make his ass miserable.

Izuku  feels himself begin to frown at his phone. Kacchan’s reply had initially filled him with the ease that he so desperately longed for after such a night of utter chaos.

But the feeling hadn’t lasted much longer than that.

“Why are you still awake, Midoriya? I told you everything you wanted to know, you should be getting some rest… Don’t you have a test this morning?” Todoroki is simply watching him from the kitchen counter- vigilant as ever. Izuku never used to pay any mind to his strange habits; his random, but frequent trips into the night, his penchant for perching on things like a bird (or spiderman) and, of course, all the staring.

Now, however, it all seems to have a meaning behind it. It made more sense.

Why the hell hadn’t he questioned Todoroki before?

Was he just so blind to the fact that his roommate was… different that he didn’t pay it any mind? Was he that rooted into the known reality that he couldn’t suppose that maybe, just maybe, this pale, gloomy man- that never ate and had a battle scar over his eye could be an honest to god vampire?

And Kacchan, oh Kacchan He never even smoked did he? He was just covering up for the fact that he- that he-

“Do you kill people, Todoroki-kun?” Izuku asks him, his blood feeling a few temperatures colder than it ought to be. Somehow the thought hadn’t occurred to him until then.

“Bakugou hasn’t murdered anyone, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Izuku frowns, “that wasn’t what I was asking.”

“No, but it’s what you were thinking.”

“So you can read my mind?”

Todoroki shakes his head, “no, but I can read you.”

Izuku stares at his roommate and then back out at the window. He could see his potted sunflower staring back at him from behind his bedroom door- he could all but feel his soft duvet covers surrounding him in a comforting warmth…

Sleep sounded wonderful right now, it sounded like heaven.

He stifles a yawn.

“I’m awake because I’m still trying to figure out how i feel about all of… this.” Izuku gestures to the general area about him, looking puzzled. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep even if I tried.”

“But have you tried?”

Izuku feels a spike of irritation enter his veins. “Put yourself in my shoes. Some man waited outside your workplace and tried to assault you. After you finish knocking him out, your boyfriend begins to look at you like you’re a piece of meat. His eyes are glowing and his teeth are as sharp as knives... This is when your best friend, a boy that you’ve known for three whole years calmly tells you that, ‘oh, both of us? We’re vampires.’ Because they’re totally a thing that haven’t existed purely in the realm of fiction for me up until now. How would you feel, Todoroki-kun?”

Todoroki has the good grace to look mildly guilty. “...Bakugou really was planning on telling you.”

“But were you planning on telling me?” Izuku narrows his eyes.

“No.” He admits, setting his jaw. “I wasn’t planning for any of this to happen. I never saw Bakugou coming. I never expected him.” Todoroki finds himself looking anywhere but at Izuku.

“So this is all Kacchan’s fault?”

“If I say yes, will you be mad at me?”

“Yes.”
“Then… No.”

Izuku sighs, the action eventually turning into a barely covered yawn. He fixes his gaze on the clock and tries to blink away the fuzziness in his eyeline. “I need to get to class soon,” he says, beginning to stand up. “If Kacchan comes by please tell him to wait for me… Or call me… Or anything.” Izuku grits his teeth, “I just want to see him.”

Todoroki nods, his expression solemn, as Izuku moves from his view- back into his room to change out of his clothes and prepare for school.

Shouto knows that his own meddling is no longer doing the pair of them any good.

But with that being said. If this shit wasn’t fixed by the end of the week he’d be dragging them both by their ears to sort it out.

Only HE could be the resident emo around here and both Midoriya and Bakugou were encroaching on his territory.

Chapter Text

Izuku is left in the proverbial dark for a few more days.

For him, it means a few more days of going through the motions, school, work, work again- tutoring, eating, sleeping… Waiting.

He finally returned to the Crimson Crypt on the third day- where he, once more, was rostered to close up. He met the building with a weariness in his step- but was otherwise able to maintain a level of calm that came to him naturally. After all, the circumstances that had led up to this situation felt like centuries ago.

“Are you sure you’re ready to come back to work?” Uraraka meets him inside with a worried glance, she frowns at him the moment he enters the staff room. She obviously saw the smile that didn’t meet his eyes, encircled by shadows. “What happened to you was really awful, Deku, I couldn’t stand to think what it was like,” she continues, buttoning her uniform shirt up with a hardened grace. “If you want to leave early tonight, I can close up.”
Izuku waves it off with a calloused hand, “I’m fine, really.” And he was, he really was… About that anyway. He’d just have to be more vigilant when he went home now. Izuku always knew it was dangerous around here- but this was the first time he’d been attacked to this magnitude.

He’d have to watch out…

Especially if Kacchan wasn’t going to be walking him home anymore.

He bites his lip, fiddling loosely with the edge of his tie. Kacchan hadn’t texted him anything else for the past few days and it was beginning to really eat at Izuku. He so desperately wanted to barge into his boyfriend’s apartment and talk it out- but he wasn’t all that sure he ought to.

After all, this wasn’t some simple miscommunication. This, just like an ogre, had layers to it that Izuku wasn’t sure Kacchan wanted unfolded. He was a vampire- a powerful immortal with extraordinary abilities of benefit and detriment.

That wasn’t what was bothering Izuku, though. The whole ‘Kacchan and Todoroki being a vampire’ thing that had been broached a matter of days ago had, admittedly, taken him by surprise- but as he grew more and more used to the idea, the more sense everything made.

What was bothering him, though, was that Kacchan had been ghosting the FUCK out of him, and it was beginning to grate on his heart and his nerves.

“Did you tell that Bakugou guy about it?” Uraraka asks him, innocently enough.

Izuku nearly huffs out a laugh, “yeah, he knows.” He was there.

Uraraka has a smile on her face now, “oh, he’d be raising hell over that, wouldn’t he? He seems like the protective type… under all the prickles of course.”

Izuku’s warm expression morphs into a frown, he makes an affirmative noise with his mouth before buttoning the final buttons of his shirt up. “He is.”

Izuku really really missed Kacchan.

That was it.

Shouto was done. He was DONE .

This shit had gone on way too long now. It was getting ridiculous. As the end of the week grew nearer and nearer- with no resolution in sight, he began to grow more and more irate. He was like a senile old man hearing children play on his lawn from his living room window.

...Except, of course, the children in question were an emotionally stunted vampire with anger issues and a sleep deprived college student with more caffeine in his system than blood.

He was tired of seeing his roommate like this- when Midoriya had returned from his test that afternoon- he’d looked like a mess. And, in all honesty, he hadn’t gotten all that much better with time. The longer his phone stayed silent, the longer this shit would keep up and ruin Shouto’s day (or night, depending on how you saw it.)

The real question, was why in the world did he care so much about this? Why did he care so much about these two idiot’s happiness?

That was a question he asked himself the entire way to Bakugou’s apartment.

But he just couldn’t seem to glean a clear answer.

If Katsuki were to detail his favourite activity right now- it would, without a doubt in his mind, be the act of lying face down on his kitchen floor and groaning.

At the beginning, Kirishima and Kaminari had tried to drag him out of it, tried to talk him through these dumbass feelings that he was experiencing.

But, by the end of the second day, they’d just decided to step over him when they wanted pop tarts. It wasn’t giving up, per se, rather it was leaving their roommate to sort out his everything on his lonesome. Just how Katsuki liked it.

That, however, would all be interrupted on the third night, when none other than Shouto Todoroki came through their living room window with a swift ease.

Kaminari and Kirishima had been playing mario kart on the couch, (Kirishima was winning, again, ) when the pair of them had seen the speedy blur of red and white pass them and land on their gritty rug like an established gymnast.

“What in the sweet fuck.” Kaminari nearly drops his controller- the game on the television completely forgotten for now.

Kirishima just stares in disbelief.

Todoroki stood in the stark middle of their apartment, his posture immaculate and his clothes unruffled, despite the fact that he had just jumped through a fucking third floor window . He wore his usual garb of black everything, including his cape-like trench coat and his honest to god knee length combat boots.

It wouldn’t be the first time Kirishima wondered how the fuck this impeccably immaculate emo prince was the same species as the miserable asshole in his kitchen lying face down in old cheeto dust.

“Where is Bakugou?” Todoroki asks them, brushing off his sleeve with an incredible nonchalance.

“He’s in the kitchen.” Kirishima replies, too flabbergasted to think of a quip.

“No I’m fucking not,” said Katsuki, from the kitchen. His voice was muffled by the shitty linoleum flooring.

Todoroki nods at the pair of roommates before marching over to the other side of the room and promptly grabbing Katsuki’s left leg up from the ground.

“Hey what the fuck?! Let go of me!” Katsuki cries, incredulous as he saw Todoroki staring down at him with cool, calculating eyes.

“Are you going to go see Midoriya?”

“No.”

Todoroki begins dragging Katsuki out the doorway.

“Oi! Fuck! Ow!” He continues, clawing at Todoroki’s hand on his ankle like a fucking raccoon trying to free itself from a trap.

But the vampire did not let up.

“Then I’m taking you there myself.”

Denki and Eijirou just watch Todoroki drag Bakugou out the door, kicking and screaming the entire way.

Denki looks at Eijirou, completely desensitised to the weird shit they now experienced everyday. “Rainbow road next?”

“yeah, alright.”

Chapter Text

In the tremendously long ordeal known as his lifetime- Shouto Todoroki had only known 'Bakugou' for a mere moment of it. He was but a speck on the timeline of events that had occured up until this day.

...Why was it Bakugou? Why was it him?

Both he and Midoriya had barged into his life like no other shadows of his past- and Shouto hadn’t the faintest clue as to the reason he felt such a companionistic emotion for these… for these idiots.

It was, perhaps, the reason for this ridiculous sentimentality. It was, perhaps, the reason why Todoroki was so adamant about their happiness.

Pending friendship or something else entirely- it didn’t particularly matter. Because Shouto was near certain that those two would inevitably end up imploding due to their complete inability to express emotions to one another.

Which was R I C H coming from him.

Shouto still remembered when he’d first met Midoriya.

The immortal had been keenly looking for someone to room with that would think nothing suspicious of his weird, nocturnal self.

And thus, he’d found himself a weird, nocturnal (human) roommate.

It was about a month into their cohabitation when Todoroki had appeared from his room in the early evening and seen Midoriya wobbling around in their living room.

Curiosity striking him, Todoroki approached to see what was the matter. “Midoriya?”

Midoriya turned around when he heard his name, a sheepish smile on his face. It was only then that Shouto noticed the absolute behemoth of a cat the other was holding in his arms.

The cat in question hissed at him- glaring at Shouto with sharpened daggers in it’s eyes. It was truly the most dastardly looking feline Shouto had ever had the displeasure of setting his eyes on- with wild dark grey fur and a peculiar dark spot by his eye.

“He’s so cute, isn’t he?” Midoriya cooed, holding the cat at an arm’s length now. It was obvious there had been a struggle getting him up here. There were scratches all over him and scuffs on his clothes.

Shouto barely glanced at the blood falling from Midoriya’s fingers. It had been years since he’d lost control- something as miniscule as that no longer phased him.

“This is my new son! I found him in the dumpster!” His roommate grins, dodging another one of the feline’s swipes.

Shouto looked to the pair of them, his gaze switching between both animal and human. He had had roommates before- both vampire and human- but they were never quite this… eccentric.  “Midoriya, you’re getting blood on the throw pillows.”

Todoroki finally lets go of Katsuki when they’re well out of the way of his apartment. Katsuki recognised it numbly as the sneaky route he usually took to head to the Crimson Crypt. It was a path littered with shadowy spots and shady corners for people to lurk in. Katsuki usually enjoyed a meal or two around here before he went to pick Deku up. That way he could spend more time with him when he got there.

Katsuki’s non-functioning heart pangs. He missed that nerd so much. It had only been three days but it felt like a lifetime.

“Midoriya is working tonight. You’re going to go see him.” Todoroki drops his left leg, dusting his hands off lightly- as if Katsuki’s leg had rabies. (Such a thing was not unlikely, judging by Katsuki’s whole… vibe, if he was being honest.)

“What?!” Katsuki felt himself exclaim, “he’s back at work ?!” He could not hide the sheer incredulity in his voice. It had only been a couple of days since the attack, after all! There was no doubt in Katsuki’s mind that Deku’s hand hadn’t healed from then- let alone all the mental shit that the guy was undoubtedly dealing with… By himself… Because of Katsuki.

Another pang.

Todoroki nods at him, “it was his choice.”

Katsuki feels his mouth begin to edge into a frown, he knew that. He knew Deku could make his own decisions- he didn’t own him. He wasn’t about to go psycho-stalker on his ass...  

It was just… Well, Katsuki didn’t want him to get hurt even more than he already had.

“Fuck.”

That boy… Katsuki wasn’t sure who was more stubborn out of the two of them. He had his explosive determination and Deku harboured the inner machinations of a protege with a hero complex. Ugh.

Maybe, just once- for the first time possibly ever… Katsuki could be the one to concede defeat.

For Deku. He would do it for him.It would probably be the only reason that would get his dumb ass in gear.

He scowls at Todoroki, patting at his clothes to get the general ‘I got fucking dragged here’ vibe out of them. “I have to go make sure that fucking idiot gets home okay!” Katsuki springs up, a furiousness to him that came naturally whenever he got like this. All of the mopiness had burned out of his system the moment those words had come out of Todoroki’s mouth. He kept seeing flashes of dark alleyways and dripping blood and knew that he couldn’t let that happen ever again.

Todoroki gives him an expression that says ‘duh.’

“Why the fuck did you drag me all the way here, asshole? You could have just told me what was going on! I would have gone!”

Todoroki nods, stoic as ever. “I know, but I needed some kind of payment for dealing with the two of you for the past few days.” He answers truthfully, still managing to look down at Katsuki despite the mere centimetres that he had on him.

“And you took it in the form of dragging me down the street for three blocks?!”

“Yes?”

Katsuki huffs, “whatever. I’m going now.” He turns his back to the vampire, pausing briefly, another sentence on the very tip of his tongue. “...Thanks. For helping.” He grits it out like it’s a confession of murder- but it was a start nevertheless. Deku was beginning to rub off on him. That nerd.

“You’re welcome.” Todoroki replies- Katsuki had his head turned, but he could have sworn he’d heard an inkling of warmth in the other’s voice that time.

As the night slowly settled over the town, Katsuki felt solace in the cool silence that allowed him to think. Not that he hadn’t been doing enough of that these past few days.

As he strolled past the usual shifty park, his eyes caught on the peculiar sight of the plants growing in the communal garden. It had been one of those governmental ‘beautifying’ projects- to make the area look less shitty, Katsuki supposed. He caught sight of the sad cherry tomatoes, the shitty little strawberries that would only ever taste awfully sour, and he feels himself smiling despite this. Because, through it all- there were people here that cared enough to water those shitty vegetables.

His eyes then land on the small gathering of growing flowers. Roses, Lavender… Sunflowers. All in their respective patches of soil, growing the best they possibly could.

Katsuki focuses a lot more attention on the sunflowers than he ought to. There were a solid two dozen of them there, sprouting up taller than all of the other plants combined.

Surely no one would miss one… or two of them.

...Right?

Izuku would be loathe to admit that he felt a tinge of fear as he began closing up. He knew that it was foolish to be afraid- that he’d fought off his attacker without much trouble at all. And yet- there was still an inkling of hesitation in his steps as he moved toward the exit.

Uraraka, bless her, had been loitering around the bar after her shift ended because she didn’t want to leave him alone. It took Izuku nearly outrightly demanding that she leave and get some sleep before she finally let up and went home- with the assurance that Izuku would call her as soon as he got home safely.

The night was cold when he finally finished locking up, and the alleyway was thankfully, blissfully empty.  

Okay... Maybe- just maybe, Izuku had been holding his breath for a certain someone to be waiting for him out here.

But it was fine. It was fine.

The chill of the air makes Izuku sneeze and he pulls his coat much closer to him- preparing himself for a desolate walk back to his apartment. Ugh. He had so much homework left to do, but he couldn’t for the life of him manage to summon up the will to go do it when he got home.

It would have to wait until the morning.

He suddenly feels his phone buzz with his text tone, the sound startling him ever so slightly in the silence. Intrigued, he fished the device out of his pocket instantaneously. Todoroki rarely texted (and when he did, he was awful at it,) but he’d probably be the only one up right now...

Well, besides...  

Kacchan: ha u look crusty as fuck

Below the text was an image of Izuku, wearing the exact same clothes as he was in right now, mid-sneeze, at the exit of the Crimson Crypt.

It truly was an awful photo of him- he looked entirely ridiculous. His mess of curls were frozen in the picture, but they looked like they had gained sentience nevertheless.

Wait…

How did Kacchan get that photo?

Heart pounding, Izuku finds himself turning around.

And there he was. Bakugou Katsuki. Standing illuminated under the lights of the street lamps. He had the strangest expression on his face as they locked eyes- half relieved to see him and half dreading it.

He holds a trio of sunflowers in his grasps.

“You don’t look too great yourself, Kacchan.” Izuku replies, sizing the vampire up. Kacchan had always had dark circles around his eyes- something, he learnt, that vampires always inherited when they turned. Izuku had an inkling that they’d been there before that for Kacchan, though. His clothes are rumpled and his hands have hints of soil on them. It was like someone had dragged him across town and thrown him in a veggie patch.

“I-” Kacchan begins to speak. Izuku had expected a scowl to appear on his face after that little quip- but there was nothing.

Instead, he just looks… tired and utterly miserable.

He began to cautiously approach Izuku, holding out the sunflowers like a peace offering. They’re about an arms width away when he finally presses the bunch against the other’s chest. “I want to talk.”

Izuku looks down at the sunflowers, peeking out from the butcher’s paper. Kacchan definitely hadn’t gotten these from a florist- they were swaddled in the paper too haphazardly for that, like the person wrapping them got frustrated midway.

It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to see what had happened.

“Kacchan, did you steal these from the community garden?”

He pauses, “...no.”
Izuku smiles, taking the bouquet into his hands. “Oh, that’s good. Because I just planted them a few weeks ago while I was volunteering for the parks department.”

Kacchan looks like his life is flashing before his eyes again and he sputters for a brief moment. If it was possible, he would have gone even paler than he already was.

Grinning, Izuku brings the flowers up to his nose- they held no particular smell but he liked the earthy scent regardless. “I’m kidding, Kacchan.”

Kacchan stares at him, his expression morphing into one of great relief.

“...I planted them a few months ago.”

“Shit.”

Izuku just laughs at him, the sound echoing off the alleyway- carefree and lighthearted. It felt good to hear himself like that again. Even Todoroki , of all people had been commenting on how moody he’d been recently.

The two of them begin walking in calming silence that never felt as good as it did right now.

“...I’m sorry.” Eliciting apologies, to Katsuki, was akin to pulling teeth. His mother had taught him manners but he’d also inherited her terribly proud and stubborn nature. Yeah, it was definitely her fault and not something that he, as an adult, should work through. The words tumble out of him without warning, though- because Katsuki knew that they were needed.

“For the flowers?” Deku beside him just laughs it off, waving his hand away, “it’s fine, Kacchan.”

“No- I-” Katsuki scowls, biting his lip. “I’m sorry for everything. For scaring you, for running away- for not telling you I was a fucking vampire…. I was worried I’d freak you out.” He confesses, his eyes trained on the ground. “I didn’t want to… to lose what we had.”

Oh… Izuku hadn’t expected that.

“Kacchan…”

“When I saw you that night in the alleyway, something in me freaked the fuck out. I was terrified- but not for me, for you... What I want to say is that I care about you… a lot. And I thought you were dying.” Katsuki scratches the back of his head as he walked, wincing, “it made me realise how fucking fleeting life is. Well yours, at least.”

Deku regards the words with a calculating nod of his head, he clutches the sunflowers in his grasps a little tighter now. “You don’t have to worry about that, Kacchan.” He says, “I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon.”  

“I know that.” Katsuki snaps, almost defensively. “I… I’m still sorry.”

Deku looks at him now, reaching out to grab the base of Katsuki’s chin. The warmth of his hands were surprising… comforting, he pulls Katsuki’s face toward him to make sure they were looking face to face. They had stopped walking now, standing stationery in front of the central park that the pair of them always passed by.

“It’s okay,” Deku says, a hint of a smile on his face, “it doesn’t change my feelings toward you.”

“It doesn’t?”

“Like I said. I’m into weirdos.”

Katsuki snorts. If he knew things would go over this well- he would have done this sooner. Looking at it now, it really shouldn’t have taken that asshole Todoroki to finally get him in gear.

Deku just continues to grin, “I missed you, Kacchan.”

The reply is a lot quieter- but no less the truth, “I missed you too.”

“It’s literally been three days.”

Bakugou and Midoriya nearly astral project into the next world.

There sits Shouto Todoroki, once more, perched on a large oak tree, teasing the edge of the garden, watching them like a racoon watches a garbage can- or a hypebeast eyes a sneaker sale.

“Can you not leave us alone for five fucking minutes?!” Bakugou screams, trying to hide the fact that he’d just squealed in fear when he’d heard Shouto’s voice.

Shouto simply ignores him with an intake of unneeded breath. “The blood from your latest meal flows through you, allowing for circulation throughout you body so the penis can get erect with the correct amount of stimulation-”

“BITCH WHAT?!?!”

“I’m telling you how vampire dicks work.” Shouto tilts his head, confused as to what he’d done wrong, “isn’t that what you’ve been wondering this whole time?”

“Now really isn’t the time Todoroki-kun,” Midoriya winces, looking up at his roomate with an equal part of amusement and embarrassment.

“Ah, I just supposed you would have wanted to know before you got back to the apartment.” The other says simply, without an inch of sheepishness.

Bakugou narrows his eyes, “and why is that?”

Shouto jumps from the tree with an elegant grace that befits a dark prince like him, landing on the tips of his feet with a similar energy to the fucking raven from that Edgar Allan Poe poem.

“After living for more than half a millenium, I’ve come to the conclusion that make-up sex is truly the best kind of sex.”

He then walks away without so much as a farewell, not to be seen until daybreak.

Katsuki wanted to die.

Again.

Chapter Text

Todoroki was right. Make up sex, was pretty fucking NEATO. Not that Katsuki would ever fucking admit that to Todoroki himself- a part of him would never be able to stand that guy being right about something...

He did, however, appreciate that the emo prince had finally had the decency to explain how the fuck vampiric hokey pokey is able to work.

...Because twilight was definitely not a great source for it. And neither was fanfiction, for that matter.

It had been a question that had been fucking plaguing Katsuki the entire time he had been among the undead. Like, he was aware that his dick still fucking did dick things, obviously, because it was his dick and like, it was attached to him and shit- but he wasn’t sure how- because you know, he had no fucking blood.

...And things like that generally needed shit like circulation.  

“It definitely still works, if that’s what you were worried about,” Deku tells him, mildly smug.

Now, Katsuki was certainly not ‘old-fashioned’ enough to count this night as the first night that he and Deku had partaken in the devil’s tango- but it was… in some essences, he supposed. Like, sure, if you counted jacking each other off and stuff as sex then, like, they had plenty of times- but this was the technical first time... If everyone put up what Katsuki was putting down- or putting in, for that matter.

“I fucking know it works, Deku,” Katsuki growled.

“Oh? How did you figure it out it did though? Were you thinking of me?”

Post-sex Izuku Midoriya was a fucking asshole. That dumb smirking smile was something that looked so foreign on his usually cheerful, purehearted face.

But it certainly wasn’t a bad thing.

Katsuki goes bright red.

Or would have if he still had a large supply of normal, human blood flowing through him. Instead he just groans and turns away so that Deku can’t see his horrified expression.

He turns to see the pot of sunflowers that Deku always kept by his window. Katsuki’s freshly picked (or stolen) ones had been introduced into the ceramic vat after they’d returned to Deku’s apartment.

He’d been milling about, muttering about ‘transplanting the flowers’ into his little flower pot for quite some time after. So much so that Katsuki didn’t think they’d actually get to doing the aforementioned activity that Todoroki had so pointedly suggested they did.

As they walked back, side by side in a renewed sense of quiet, Deku looked at him- his arms clutching the flowers.

“How did you even know I liked sunflowers?”

Katsuki bites back a laugh. How could he not? They were everywhere around Deku. They were Deku. Bright and warm- pretty in a way that pissed Katsuki off.

“...Let’s call it vampiric intuition.” He replies with a smile.

It’s so weird that he’s never felt this alive before.

Considering he’s fucking dead.

The knock at Deku’s front door interrupts Katsuki’s blissful thoughts.

Both Deku and him exchange a mutual glance of mild panic before quickly beginning to redress themselves. Neither of them had been expecting anyone.

“Just a minute!” Deku shouted at the door, trying to hop into his jeans and falling on his ass.

Deku was good at a lot of things, he was a multi-tasking, multi-talented genius... but he could not balance for shit. He goes down like a pile of bricks.

Katsuki was too busy laughing at him to think to also get dressed. Instead, he just stands there, chortling at his boyfriend struggling on the ground, all the while in pokemon boxers. What a great guy.

He had really missed this kind of shit while he and Deku weren’t talking. He knew it was kind of ridiculous to miss something that he’d only been without for a matter of days… But he just couldn’t seem to shake the feeling. He’d missed Deku. A lot.

“Alright, I have waited thirty seconds to enter my own apartment. I’m not giving you two any more warning than that.” Todoroki’s voice is muffled on the other side of the door, but Katsuki can hear it, as clear as day.

So much for not returning until the morning... Not only was he a bastard- he was also a liar.

Well, he never explicitly said he would be gone until then… But still.

Katsuki can hear the sound of the front door opening.

“You better not be sullying my decorative pillows. I bought those back in 1874.”

“1874?!” Deku squawks, finally shuffling off of the ground. He now had pants on and was beginning to button up his shirt.  

Katsuki’s super duper hearing senses three sets of footsteps padding onto the timber flooring now. Raising his eyebrows, he quickly grabs his sweater and zips it up- not bothering with his shirt underneath. An assuredly good thing in the long hall because Deku was currently wearing it.

Katsuki wasn’t entirely sure if Deku himself even knew it- but the collared shirt that he was frantically buttoning up was a bit too large for his shorter frame. It was also buttoned up in the wrong places.

And covered in soil and… was that cheeto dust?

Fuck, that’s gross.

So why was it still hot?

God damn, Katsuki’s gay ass was beyond any hope or reason. It truly transcended anything and everything.  

Kaminari and Kirishima stood in the living room alongside Todoroki, all with varying forms of smug expressions on their face. When Deku and Katsuki sheepishly walk out of Deku’s room together- obviously disheveled, their expressions only amplify.

“Todoroki came around and told us you guys were chill with each other again…” Kaminari explained, still smirking, “so he suggested we all had a movie night.”

“We didn’t think you guys were so... preoccupied, though…” Kirishima replies, scratching the back of his head, “Todoroki didn’t mention that you were-”

“You’re such a bastard,” Katsuki seethes, glaring at Todoroki. The insult falls on deaf ears though, the immortal looks like he couldn’t give less of a flying fuck.

“You call your saviour a bastard?” Todoroki looks Katsuki up and down, unimpressed.

“I do when he’s trying to cockblock me.” Katsuki replies.

“Technically, he didn’t cockblock us,” Deku replies, speaking up for the first time since they entered the living room. He’s holding Izumi the cat once more, most likely using the feline to shield his hastily fastened shirt from the audience. “They came after… We came… I guess, heh.” Deku laughs at his own gross joke.

Post-sex Izuku Midoriya was fucking nasty.

“Heheh, nice.” Kaminari leans over to give Deku a fist bump- which, to Katsuki’s dismay, he accepts.

“So, movie night, right?” Deku quickly brushes past the exchange, looking like the picture of calm as he held that demon cat in his arms. “Give Kacchan and I a few minutes to shower and we’ll be right out.”

Todoroki frowns,“just don’t have intercourse in the shower, I don’t want my loofah anywhere near that.”

“Is it an ancient loofah from 1783 or something?” Katsuki bites back.

“No, I got it from bath and body works last year and it’s the only thing in life that makes me happy.”

“What the fuck.”

Chapter Text

Denki and Eijirou hadn’t paid that much mind to the mild ‘kidnapping’ of their roommate. Though they weren’t all that familiar with Todoroki- they knew that he probably wouldn’t eat Bakugou… Probably.

He was definitely an intriguing person, though. An oddball, in every sense of the word.

….But who wouldn’t be after they’d lived for such a long time?

All the things he could have seen, could have done… The possibilities were endless.

Naturally, this kind of in-depth thinking led the pair of them into the wonderful world of weird ass conspiracy theories involving Bakugou’s mysterious vampiric sire. It was the next step that one would generally assume came after meeting a powerful immortal. Right?

The compelling evidence that they proceeded to collect throughout their post-mario kart, post-roommate kidnapping time is intriguing to say the least. It more or less made perfect sense to them that Todoroki was simultaneously the zodiac killer and bigfoot.

It was basic science.

With all these theories knocking around in their heads, begging to be let out, they were both admittedly quite eager to show Bakugou when he arrived back home. Just for the sheer drama of it all. He’d probably say it was some, quote, ‘dumbass shit.’

But Bakugou was a nark non-believer anyway.

Denki doesn’t even look up when he hears their front door opening, instead just turning in the general direction of the noise and gesturing to their outstanding work.

He had to admit that he wasn’t currently in the soundest of minds. After bombing a math test that morning- and not sleeping the night before, there was a definitive difference in normal, weird Denki bullshit and sleep deprived, failure Denki bullshit.

“Aight so,” He begins to speak in the general direction of the door.

Eijirou watches him from the kitchen, all the while going ham on a pop tart sandwich (don’t ask.)

“Eijirou and I have conclusive evidence that Todoroki fucking murked JFK.”  Denki states, gesturing to his massive array of ‘evidence files’ that he and Eijirou had accumulated in the few hours they had been left to their own devices.

“Uh… Denki.” Eijirou says, through a mouthful of bad decisions.

“What is it, my love?” Denki blinks at him.

“It’s not Bakugou at the door.”

“Huh?”

Todoroki himself stands in their living room now, regarding the pin board with a mildly impressed expression.

“Oh shit. Do you have to kill us now?” Denki asks him, only slightly afraid.

“Wrong president. I didn’t assassinate that one.” Todoroki simply replies without much more than a nonchalant glance.

“W-we were just fucking around, we know you didn’t really assassinate… Wait what?” Denki doesn’t like the way that Todoroki was currently looking at him. It was like he knew exactly when and where he died. Which, if he was correct about these theories, would be here and now.

The immortal simply blinks at him, “Bakugou and Midoriya have reconciled, at last.”

Obviously he did not care to continue with their original line of thought though.

Damn.

Todoroki looks over at Eijirou now, his expression shifting to mildly disgusted when he sees the ‘meal’ in the other’s hands. “It has been quite some time since you have all seen each other, yes?”

“Three days?” Eijirou says from the kitchen, his voice muffled from his food.

“That feels more like a month in human years, does it not?” Todoroki continues on, sounding utterly convincing to everyone but himself.

“We’re not dogs.”

“Of course not.” Todoroki replies, indignant. “I was simply wondering if you felt inclined to… ‘hang out’”

“You want to hang out?” Eijirou asks, tilting his head in confusion.

“...With us?” Denki finishes.

Todoroki looks like he’d rather die again than admit that. So he doesn’t. “I am… intrigued by that movie Bakugou and you keep speaking of.”

“Twilight?”

“Yes, I believe that’s the one.”
The two exchange a mutual look of ‘FUUUUCKKK YEAAAAH BIIITCCHHHH.’ Before getting their asses into gear.  

“We’ll be ready in five.”

“No.”

Katsuki is looking at the pair of them, his hair still dripping from the shower. Deku was in there now, taking his own (unfortunately, separate) shower. This might have been a contributor to Katsuki’s grouchy mood, but it certainly wasn’t the catalyst- “we’re not doing a fucking Twilight marathon.”

“Why not?” Kirishima whines, “Todoroki really wants to see it,” he gestures to the other vampire on the lounge, sitting with near perfect posture and staring at the blank screen. He turns when he hears his name.

“It’s true I do wish to see it. I was at the top of mt. Everest for the period of time it was at its most popular, so I missed out on the …’hype.’” He winces on the last word. Apparently Katsuki’s dumbass roommates had rubbed off on him.

Kaminari raises his eyebrows. “Mt. Everest?”

“Frozen blood is quite delicious.” Todoroki replies, cryptic.

Katsuki really didn’t want to get into whatever the fuck that was supposed to imply, so he just moves past it. He was near certain that it was better for everyone involved that they did not receive an answer. “I’m not watching Twilight. Again.”

“Why not? You love Twilight!”

“I don’t love Twilight.” Katsuki snaps, scowling.

“Fine. You love-hate it.” Kaminari rolls his eyes, already teeing up Netflix on the TV screen.  

“What do you love-hate?” Deku emerges from the steamy abyss of the bathroom, towelling off his curls with a haphazard fervour.

“Twilight.”

“Ah.” Deku says, “I’ve never seen it.”
“WHAT!?” Kirishima, Kaminari and Katsuki all exclaim in unison. It’s the one time that they actually seem like likely friends.

“Why were you not this surprised when I, a vampire, proclaimed I had yet to see it?” Todoroki says quietly, with a pout.

“Because you’re not a normal fucking person?” Katsuki replies, already sliding over the back of the couch to get comfortable. That settled it. They had to watch it now. “Pull up some chair, Deku.”

“Wooo movie night!” Kaminari cheers.

Shouto looked upon the four faces in his living room with a curious intensity. He wasn’t sure what this was, really. A group of people laughing, having fun together... It had been so long since he’d had this.  

Whatever it was, it was nice.

...Perhaps Shouto’s true intentions weren’t to watch this entirely inaccurate film about his kind. Maybe it was because he’d missed this little group of something and he didn’t want to let it go to waste because they were all idiots.

But that was neither here nor there.

They get through all five movies, somehow.

It’s ten hours and eleven minutes of the three humans asking both Todoroki and Katsuki ‘can you guys do that too!?’ every five minutes. It’s ten hours and eleven minutes of Todoroki staring with his eyes glued to the screen in utter fascination...

...And it’s ten hours and eleven minutes of Katsuki trying not to think about how fucking weird his life had become over the past few months.

He was watching Twilight with a vampire, as a vampire.

What the fuck.

What the fuck?

“Denki, we’re having the Twilight soundtrack at our wedding.” Kirishima says offhandedly as they watch the credits.

“Fucking duh.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “You guys are like twelve you can’t get married.”

“We’re literally the same age as you.”

He huffs, moving about on the couch to get more comfortable. Deku was starting to look like he was about to doze off at any moment and if there was even a CHANCE that he’d fall asleep on Katsuki’s shoulder- he would be fucking taking it. “Nope. I’m immortal, bitch.”

“Yeah since six months ago. ”

“Not the point.”

“I will have to see to it that I purchase the novels that accompany these films.” Todoroki says offhandedly, still watching the credits roll. He has a calculated hand on his chin. “For… comparison purposes, of course.”

“You liked it, my dude?” Kaminari asks him, tilting his head in question. He too looked like he was ready to pass the fuck out on the floor.

Todoroki makes a face that says he’d rather be skinned alive (or, well, undead) than admit that, so he simply rises from his position on the sofa with his usual grace. “It is horrendously inaccurate.”

“And?” Katsuki snaps, “your hair colour is horrendously inaccurate to… fucking… everything…” He pauses, screwing up his face. “Why the fuck did you even dye it like that, anyway?”

Todoroki frowns at him. A very common gesture that already has Katsuki scowling. “I didn’t dye it. It’s my normal hair.”

“What the fuck?”

Kirishima gapes at him, “bro, on god?”

“How the hell did you get this far without being found out?” Katsuki just looks incredulous, “you have a huge burn scar on half of your face, your hair is fucking red and white- and you sit in trees all the god damn time.”

“I don’t know, Bakugou, do you ask every odd person what their ‘deal’ is, or do you just assume they’re kind of weird and go about your day?”

Katsuki scowls at him, “alright, fair point. But I still don’t get how you have hair ...like that.”

“Oh, you know I’ve never wondered about that before… I’m sure I could just go ask my family… No, wait, they’ve been dead for five hundred years.”

Oh. That put a damper on things.

Katsuki supposed even Todoroki was touchy about things.

“Sorry?”

“Why are you sorry? People die.”

“God you’re so weird.”

Eijirou yawns, stretching the joints in his arm with great exaggeration. “We should probably head home.” He says, nodding toward Kaminari- who was evermore looking like he was about to fall asleep on the throw rug as they spoke. Lethargy had hit him like a fucking bus.

Todoroki frowns, gazing outside at the window. “It’s much too late for that. I suggest you stay here.”

“Huh?” Eijirou raises his eyebrows, “we really don’t want to impose…”

“It’s dangerous around here at this time of night. If you insist on returning to your abode, I would have to carry you both across the rooftops to ensure your safety. Which, admittedly is much more of an imposition.”

“You’re proposing to jump rooftops to ensure our safety.” Eijirou gapes, he looks at Kaminari- who’s still trying to blink the drowsiness away. Kaminari would never forgive himself for being unconscious for the ‘coolest fucking shit ever.’  He couldn’t do that to him.

Eijirou sighs, mentally giving the offer a rain check , “okay, we might just stay here then.”

Katsuki looks at Todoroki and narrows his eyes. Why the fuck was he being so… courteous?

Had he actually begun to find friendship in this lovable group of idiots?

Katsuki, despite his usual penchant for ruining most good moments- decides to just let Todoroki’s strange whims go for now. He’d already pissed him off once and he really didn’t want to see what the vampire was fully capable of.

“I’m gonna take Deku to bed.” Katsuki says simply. Unfortunately, Deku hadn’t fallen asleep on his shoulder, rather he’d just sort of started dozing completely upright. A skill Katsuki is certain had stemmed from all the time he’d fallen asleep at his desk. Nerd. It’s a little disappointing Katsuki wouldn’t be getting that cliche romantic moment- especially after such a FANTASTIC movie, but he’s certain there’ll be other circumstances that will greatly make up for it.

“Haha, yeah you are.” Kaminari says, half asleep at best. He gives Katsuki his laziest finger guns.

Katsuki just rolls his eyes, trying to fight off any kind of defensive instinct that would only further his two roommates’ teasings. It was bad enough that they’d caught them just after he and Deku had finished… having a good time with one another.

God Katsuki just say fuck.

With his great vampiric strength, he hoists Deku up into his arms- princess style and carries him off into his bedroom. He wasn’t feeling all that tired himself, so he probably wouldn’t be joining him for a while. But he felt himself wanting to just lie there regardless and… stay with him.

God, Twilight had fucking rubbed off on him now. Fuck.

No, he wasn’t going to be doing any of that shit. Fuck that noise.

Deku doesn’t stir when he tucks him under the covers- obviously quite deeply in his own dreamland. Deku was always kind of in a dreamland anyway, this time he was just asleep.

Opting to return when he himself feels tired, Katsuki adjourns to the fresh night air above Deku’s apartment.

He isn’t sure what it is about being up high- but the vampire side of himself always went fucking apeshit for it. There was just something really fucking cool about crouching like Naruto on the edge of a fucking building that had him both at ease and feeling like a total badass.

Katsuki really didn’t want to voice any of these things to anyone- especially Todoroki- because knowing him, he’d just tell him that it wasn’t anything vampiric at all and he was just a dumbass edgelord.

It wouldn’t surprise him.
This night had lasted for a rather long time but it hadn’t felt like anything agonising to Katsuki. Everything had turned out exceedingly well, considering. Deku and him were cool. Better than cool. They were… together still- even closer, one would even say. He didn’t even care about the whole vampire thing! It was like a massive weight had been lifted off of Katsuki’s chest that he hadn’t even known was there. He didn’t need to mope around anymore- he didn’t want to.

God, it was great.

Love sure was crazy like that.

Katsuki feels himself pause.

Love?

Chapter Text

Katsuki knew that he was technically fucking dead- but, god, living right now was fucking NEATO.

Two months pass by in what feels like a blink- and it wasn’t even because he was immortal or anything. It was just because he was having such a great time.

School was still kind of shit- he was a bit of a broke ass bitch- but it all seemed paltry in comparison to the array of good things surrounding his life right now.

...Perhaps it was just a momentary change in perspective, but Katsuki just couldn’t stop waking up with a dumbass smile on his face. Sometimes he even found it hard to scowl- which was just fucking absurd considering that was literally his default expression.

He found a bit more work around the college science lab- it was pretty difficult shit but it was nothing that a star student like him couldn’t do with ease. It was extra cash-

And extra cash meant extra dates with Deku.

Deku was definitely the poignant catalyst for this whole ‘happy go-lucky Katsuki’ scenario. Ever since Katsuki had told him about his vampirism- he’d noticed little changes to their whole dynamic. There wasn’t so many walls anymore- because there didn’t need to be. They didn’t hesitate to speak their mind- well, not that Katsuki ever really did...

They understood each other better. So much better than before.

...And since Katsuki opened up a little to Deku-

...Deku opened up a little more to him.

Katsuki knew Deku to be a serial mumbler- but he had always been a little hesitant to get personal with Katsuki- even in his tangents. But this mutual trust that the pair of them had built over the past few weeks had really helped with easing the tension. Katsuki slowly learnt that Deku was an only child to a single mother. He had lived in Japan until his dad left when he was three. That had been when his mom and him had moved over here. He’d always been smart, but he was kind of a loner in middle school. He soon blossomed into a more confident person as he met more like minded people. He still kept in touch with his group of friends from then- Iida, Shinsou, Tsuyu...

He also found out why Deku had so many jobs.

“Uh, my mom’s… she’s sick.” Deku had admitted to him, slowly- like he wanted to taste the words on his mouth first.

He must see the horrified expression on Katsuki’s face because he quickly tries to dismiss the thoughts swimming around his head- “nothing terminal or anything!” He blurts, waving his hands out, “but,” he scratches the back of his head, a little uncomfortable to be talking about the subject at all, “health care here is really expensive- and we’ve never been rich… That and my tuition… It would have crippled us financially.” Deku looks to the floor before a small smile creeps onto his face, “she’s actually partially one of the reasons I wanted to become a doctor in the first place.”

Katsuki raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything for fear of Deku not saying anything else on the matter.

“Do you remember All Might?”

Katsuki nods, the warm feeling of nostalgia heating his chest. “that old cartoon? The guy that’s a doctor by day, superhero by night?”

Deku nods in affirmation, laughing, “it’s really embarrassing, but I really loved him as a kid… still do. When my mom first got sick, I realised that I wanted to be like him… I wanted to help people… I wanted to help my mom.” Deku flushes, looking embarrassed. “So I guess it was a weird mix of me being a naive little kid that just wanted my mom to be okay, and a naive little kid that wanted to be like my hero.” He fiddles with his hands, “this is super embarrassing, I’ve never even told my mom about this...”

And, because Katsuki is inept at sensitivity at the best of times- he fixes his jaw before blurting, “I think that’s kind of kickass.”

Then Deku gave him the brightest smile Katsuki had ever seen and they made out with each other for half an hour.

Like Katsuki said, life was kind of kickass right now.

They had their routine and they tended to stick to it. Deku worked at the Crimson Crypt three times a week (the store for two)- and Katsuki made sure he was there at the end of all of his shifts, without fail. He knew full well that Deku could handle himself- he knew that he would probably be completely fine on his own…

But Katsuki had begun to think more and more like a vampire these past few months. Every time he thought too long about mortality, it had his non-functioning heart in a frenzy.

He tried his best not to think too deeply on it- tried to put his mind to something else. And sometimes that something else was making sure that Deku got home okay from his shady ass job.

Deku tended to sleep over at his house whenever he was tutoring Kirishima- which tended to be every Friday afternoon. Katsuki’s two roommates had accepted Deku into the apartment as an honorary roomie and had started stocking the fridge with all the ingredients for Katsudon. But since neither of them could actually cook- it was mostly just a subtle hint at Katsuki to move his lazy ass off the couch and get cooking for his boyfriend… and them.

Which was fucking dumb because he couldn’t even taste the food properly anymore. Just because he’d been good at cooking when he was mortal- it didn’t mean he was the honorary chef of the apartment.

...He makes it anyway.

Apparently his cooking is so delicious to the three humans that they insist on Katsudon night being every Friday. Katsuki obliges because he likes the way Deku’s eyes light up when he takes the first bite of his food.

And, perhaps, he quite enjoys the little boost to his already inflated ego.

The most interesting tidbit of Katsuki’s life, however, is the addition of Todoroki into the equation. He’d show up at the most random times- perched and collected as always, non-smiling and expressionless.

They’d actually begun hunting together. When Deku was out working during the night, Todoroki and him usually created a tag team of weirdos. It meant that they could take out a whole group at a time- which meant that it was less work.

And, Katsuki would have to admit, it was kind of fun. He’d missed eating with someone.

Even if it meant sharing his meal with Todoroki- it was better than being lonely. He’d deny it for the rest of his long life- but he’d missed the comfort of someone else’s presence when he went fucking ham on a cheeseburger.

Overall, Katsuki’s life was going pretty fucking neato at the moment.

Which, most definitely meant that something, anything was going to come fuck it up at any given moment.

Chapter Text

“Like I said before, you can’t keep jumping through our fucking window- not only is it weird as shit- it’s also dumb as shit- because the lock on our door doesn’t even fucking work.” Katsuki whisper-yells, sending his piercing glare Todoroki’s way. Ever since they’d started eating dinner together- Todoroki had been around a lot more often. 

...Which meant that more and more of his weird ass antics were being made known to Katsuki. How Deku lived with the guy- Katsuki would never know, his boyfriend had the patience of a motherfucking saint.

Todoroki doesn’t seem to catch the figurative daggers heading his way and simply continues to stare off into the cityscape with the same moody expressionless face as he always did.

They were on the top of some dumbass building, watching from the edge- looking over at the city and alleyways in search of their next ‘victim.’ It never really felt right calling them that- after all, Katsuki made a note to only go after assholes that actually deserved a good beating or two. 

And the assholes in this town? There was an abundance of them. 

Besides, it wasn’t like Todoroki and him were actually killing these people- they were just knocking them out and stealing some of their blood, the usual vampire shtick. 

Disregarding the supernatural elements of this activity- it made them kind of seem like organ harvesters...or really fucking insistent red cross volunteers... 

Either way, there was no real harm in it. 

Perhaps even some good was coming out of these night hunts... Maybe they made these streets safer for some people... Maybe the jerk-offs that they were preying on would see the error in their ways and turn over a new leaf.

...Or maybe Katsuki was back on his self-congratulatory bullshit all over again. 

“I don’t like climbing stairs.” Todoroki says simply, narrowing his eyes on a spot in the distance.

Katsuki just rolls his eyes, “maybe Deku and I should get you one of those old people stair lift thingos then.” 

“I am twenty-two, just like the rest of you.” 

“...But how long have you been twenty-two?”

Todoroki bites back a smirk, “a while.” 

It seemed Todoroki had been watching Twilight again. 

“I hate you so much.” 

Todoroki frowns, but says nothing more on the subject. 

Todoroki and Bakugou had a sort of system when it came to finding, hunting and uh… drinking their prey. The first rule of thumb, of course, was to observe and see who their target/s would be- the next was to see where they were heading. 

Then came the fun part. 

The intimidation. 

Katsuki narrows his eyes at the back of the group of strangers heads. Todoroki had picked them out a few blocks away. They’d been loitering around the train station being a general nuisance to people just trying to make a commute. 

Todoroki had called it when he noticed that they’d started to follow a young woman home. Whether their actions were supremely nefarious or just disruptive in nature- it didn’t particularly matter. 

These people were assholes and Todoroki and Bakugou were hungry.

That was one thing that was kind of fun about this whole ‘hunting’ thing. It was always different- but somehow the same. Sometimes it was a bunch of drunken bullies picking on students around Katsuki’s college campus- sometimes it was catcallers, muggers, disruptive dickheads- other times it was intolerant assholes making someone’s life miserable… 

On slower nights it was just people that decided to litter in the wrong place. 

The situation was always different but one way or another, but whatever it was that Todoroki and Bakugou had seen them doing… It was enough to wipe the guilt away from Katsuki’s chest when he sunk his teeth in. 

Now, he knew it was increasingly hypocritical to judge these people without really knowing them- but, like Katsuki had said- it wasn’t as if they were actually hurting them. They needed to eat- and those people needed to be taught a lesson. 

It was a win-win scenario.

Katsuki began trailing the group of men- there looked to be around five of them, all huddled together- throwing insults at the lady in front of them as she quickened her pace. 

Katsuki gritted his teeth. He hated making the assumption that this woman was some damsel in distress that needed saving, but- whether she was or not, they wouldn’t be bothering her anymore.

The cover of night makes the perfect camouflage, as the group moves under the large overpass- exactly where Todoroki had been waiting for them. 

Katsuki could say what he wanted about Todoroki’s weird habits, but the guy had crazy good intuition. 

Just as the guys look like they’re about to pounce on the woman, Todoroki emerges from the shadows, like the edgy bitch he truly was.

“No further.” He says, his voice is icy. It had taken a while for Katsuki to realise the difference in his tone of voice when they’d first began this charade. But there was a significant change in the way he spoke to his ‘friends’ and the people before him right now.

Katsuki was beginning to realise more and more about Todoroki. Perhaps he wasn’t the brick wall that he thought him to be. 

After all, he must have some compassion. He’d turned Bakugou instead leaving him to die, after all. 

The woman that they’d been trailing doesn’t stay for long- she was far more clever than to stick around and waste her opportunity to escape. Katsuki sees her face for but a moment before she races off into the night- her heels clicking against the pavement with haste.

The men make their protests, pushing at Todoroki to move out of the way.

Todoroki stands as still as a concrete pillar- his face set. 

Todoroki did not take any enjoyment out of this whole scenario- Katsuki never saw an inch of enthusiasm within him as they kicked around the pieces of shit that they found. He most likely had long gotten tired of seeing the scum of humanity. 

“I don’t know what kind of sick fucks think that following a woman home is in any way funny but I guess it doesn’t really fucking matter now, does it?” Katsuki says from behind them, his voice echoing around the enclosed space as he began to crack his knuckles.

The group turns their attention from Todoroki onto Bakugou.  

“Guess you’ll finally know what being hunted feels like, at least.” 

He nods at Todoroki and then they make their first move.

Katsuki dusts his hands off with a satisfied smirk, “that was fun,” he says to Todoroki, who looks as solemn as ever. 

“It’s not supposed to be fun,” Todoroki replies with a frown. “It’s out of necessity, nothing more.” He nudged the side of one of the men, making sure they were still out cold. They were. 

“Yeah, yeah, all that shit.” He waves it off, shoving his hands in his pockets and moving away from the clump of unconscious shitheads that they’d collectively hauled away from the sidewalk. 

“I’m being serious, Bakugou.” Todoroki continues, catching up to him with ease. They were both around the same speed, but he always seemed to move with such elegant silence- as opposed to Bakugou’s raucous footfalls. “If you take pleasure in inflicting harm on people- you will lose your humanity.”

He scowls, “I thought I’d already lost my humanity when you fucking turned me into a vampire.” 

Todoroki clicks his tongue, “you won’t be able to restrain yourself as well as you have been- your morality will wither away… It’s much harder to rebuild than it is to begin on solid, untapped foundation.” 

He must have been speaking from experience, because Todoroki’s eyes are far away again. 

“I’ve got crazy good resilience, you said it yourself,” Katsuki snaps, “besides… Deku cut his finger when he was slicing tomatoes the other week and I didn’t even have to leave the apartment!” 

Todoroki looks unfazed by that tidbit of information but decides to let the subject go. 

Instead he decides to bring up a worse one.

“Do you intend on turning Midoriya into one of us?”

Katsuki pauses.

He’d be lying if he said he’d never considered it. The thought of Deku and everyone else he had ever cared about growing old and dying while Bakugou remained frozen in time was something utterly terrible to think about. It had been running through his brain as a constant- ever since that night in the alleyway outside the Crimson Crypt. 

“I… I haven’t really asked him about it.” Katsuki admits, oddly vulnerable. He rakes a hand through his mess of hair- forgetting that his fingertips were still mudded with remnants of his meal. He grimaces. “It’s not exactly something you say out of the blue.” He doesn’t even know why he’s telling Todoroki all of this- it wasn’t as if the pair of them were particularly close. Like, sure, Todoroki had technically saved his life- but like, it wasn’t as if they were braiding each other’s hair and having sleepovers every Friday night. 

“It’s like a fucking marriage proposal. ‘Hey do you want to spend eternity with me real quick?’ Except instead of ‘death do us’ part, we just… we don’t fucking die… ever. ” 

Todoroki shrugs, “I don’t think granting him immortality should bound you two to each other forever. If that were the case, after all, we would be unable to rid ourselves of the other.”

Katsuki makes a repulsed face. “You got me there.” 

Todoroki takes note of his expression and sighs, “it’s just something you might want to discuss together… Since you love him and all…” 

Katsuki flushes. He hadn’t said anything about love.

Todoroki’s stupid pseudo telepathy strikes again.

Chapter Text

Todoroki’s words are on his mind the entire time Katsuki walks back to his apartment. 

Curse that bastard for making him think of the one thing that he’d been agonising over for the past few months! All he wanted to do was beat up some assholes- not have another fucking existential crisis.

In the end, though, the only person he could really be mad at was himself.

Not that that has ever stopped Katsuki from blaming other people before. In fact, it was one of his most defining features- being a shithead. 

Katsuki scowls, huffs out a breath of air that he didn’t even need to take. He watches and sees the useless air right in front of him, the cold puffing it out like a smoke cloud. It had gotten even more icy these past few days- but it was still yet to snow. It was the worst kind of weather, all slippery sidewalks and no snowball fights. Distantly he wonders what Deku was doing right now- if he was thinking about him too… If he was asleep.

Hah, no way- that guy was more nocturnal than actual-vampire Katsuki. 

Katsuki eyes the people moving about in the darkness, undoubtedly up to no good. He was never afraid of walking the streets alone, even when he was human. He had died on these streets and he wasn’t any less wary of them. It was definitely that stubborn nature of his that refused to do something weak- like being afraid, or being vulnerable. 

But the irony was that he was afraid. He was terrified.

He was terrified of this newfound immortality- but not because he would live forever...

...Because everyone else he loved wouldn’t.

Katsuki bites his lip, when was the best time to bring the subject up to Deku? How did you even start a conversation like that?
And what about his dumbass roommates? His parents? 

Where did he draw the line? 

How much did he have to care about someone to want them to be in his life forever?

...What was he to do with this accursed gift that Todoroki had given him? 

Why had Todoroki even turned him in the first place?
The questions circling around his mind fight for prominence. 

When Katsuki brought the subject up with him- Todoroki evaded the question with more questions. It was something he always seemed to do… But as they’d grown to something close to friends, he had opened up a little more about his exploits, his family… 

But never about why he turned Bakugou. 

Katsuki thinks back to the day he chased him out of the Crimson Crypt- he’d spewed out some cryptic answer before diving off into the night.

...But there had to be more to it than that. There had to be.

Katsuki grumbles out a curse, feeling a vampiric migraine coming on. He had to figure at least one of these things out pronto- because otherwise he was going to go crazy. 

Katsuki sighs, he needed to see Todoroki and Deku again.

Guess it was a good thing they lived with one another. 

Bakugou_Katsuki: u up?

Sunflower: omg kacchan is this what they call a booty call :0

Bakugou_Katsuki: no get fucked

Sunflower: wait so is it or not?

Sunflower: ur reply makes the answer even less clear than before…

Bakugou_Katsuki: keep ur dick in ur pants deku this is important

Sunflower: :0

Bakugou_Katsuki: can I come over?

Sunflower: of course! ill leave the door unlocked

Katsuki blanches at that. If that’s even possible. Can a vampire go pale? 

Bakugou_Katsuki: dont do that

Bakugou_Katsuki: ill just text u when im at the door

Sunflower: aww kacchan r u worried about me?

More than you will ever know.

“Kacchan!” Deku opens the door with a smile on his face. 

Katsuki frowns- which, in turn, makes Deku frown. “Is Todoroki here?” 

Deku gives him a worried glance, “no… I haven’t heard him come in… Is something the matter, Kacchan?” 

“No- I just-” he sighs, “I just- we… We need to talk.” 

The uncertain expression on the other’s face makes Katsuki’s stomach begin to turn uncomfortably. 

Deku’s apartment was a place that always made Katsuki feel at ease. It was warm (not that it really mattered to him,) and it was nicely decorated- it actually felt like a home compared to the pile of bricks with naruto posters that he called his own lodgings.

Katsuki was never one to dance around things- he loved to speak his mind, no matter how asshole-ish it was.

And now would not be any different.

“I’m just gonna say it, okay? Leave all questions for the end- keep your fucking hands inside the vehicle and no flash photography.” He paces around the room as Deku watches him, cocking his head to the side. 

He stays silent, though.

“Immortality is new to me. Which means that I’ve had my fair share of recent enough existential crises where I’ve lost my shit over the concept of death.” He takes a breath, “now… The only thing that’s changed is that I’m not losing my shit over my death now- I'm losing my shit over everyone else’s.” He continues to pace, his sneakers squeaking awkwardly on the timber floorboards. “So, what I’m asking is that… Is that… I don’t know,” he puts his face in his hands, “if- and only if- we, you know, graduate and are still together… What do you think your opinion would be of me…” He bites his lips, “turning you. I- it-s completely up to you, and you don’t have to decide now… But… Fuck, I don’t know, Deku…” He turns to looks at the other, “I don’t know how the fuck to bring this shit up- there isn’t a wikihow article for this.” 

Deku remains silent for a moment before standing to meet Katsuki’s gaze fully, “you’re asking me if I want to become an immortal like you and Todoroki-kun?” 

Katsuki scowls, nodding, “basically.” 

Katsuki isn’t sure what kind of reaction he’s expecting- maybe astonishment? Gratefulness? Something like in the movies were they promise forever together and it fades to the credits... 

...He doesn’t expect the growing frown on Deku’s face. 

“I’m sorry Kacchan.” 

“Huh?” 

“I can’t do that.” 

What?

Chapter Text

Katsuki hadn’t anticipated this- he hadn’t thought for a second in his tunnel-visioned head that Deku would actually refuse his offer…

After all, that was how all vampire/human romances went, right? The love interest would shirk their humanity aside and live for eternity in bliss with their significant other. They would walk together into the horizon, knowing with glee that they now had forever together... 

Katsuki had read all those shitty novels- he’d seen all those shitty movies-

How was this any different from that? 

Sure, he wasn’t the most mysterious vampire- he was kind of a shit one, if he was being honest, but he still held qualities that were utterly vampiric. 

...Even if they had just been parts of himself before he was turned. 

Grumpy? Check. Didn’t go outside much? Check. 

Insatiable lust for human blood? Okay, that one was new...

But, still… 

“Why?” Is all he can manage to utter out. Deku is still frowning at him, his eyes awash with conviction. This wasn’t some practical joke he was playing- he was being serious. 

Katsuki would rather it be a prank. He wouldn’t even be mad- just relieved. 

...Well, maybe he’d be a little mad.

Deku looks downwards, like he’s trying to find the right words to say. “I- I just…” He stutters, nervous, “what happened to you, Kacchan- it was a freak accident. If Todoroki-kun hadn’t been there, you would be…” Deku trails off, not even wanting to say it. “I don’t think he did anything wrong turning you.” He continues, fiddling with his hands, “but, to me, life is something extremely valuable because of how short it is- I’m not saying you should be dead or anything, even though you kind of are,” he chuckles nervously, “I’m just saying that I don’t like the idea of playing god. I don’t want to partake in immortality because so many people don’t have that opportunity.” 

The words ring in Katsuki’s head, echoing in his mind and making him relive them all over again.

“You mean you don’t want to live forever… with me?” 

Katsuki hates how pathetic he sounds right now. It’s stupid- it’s ridiculous. He’d given Deku a choice- and he’d chosen (the wrong) one. He couldn’t, shouldn’t do anything about that... 

It was Deku’s decision.

So why did it turn his stomach so ardently?  

“Of course I would,” Deku replies- almost defensive. His nerves weren’t entirely gone- but they had mostly been replaced by an indignant aura. 

“Then why-” 

“Because forever should have a limit, Kacchan. I care about you so, so much but I can’t make the decision to do that... I’m… I’m not strong enough to.” Deku grits, “I wouldn’t be able to stand seeing everyone else I love succumb to the effects of mortality.” 

Ah, so that was it... 

“Then why should I?” Katsuki’s voice is barely above a whisper. He can’t remember the last time he’d felt this utterly, wholeheartedly lost.

Deku smiles at him, sympathetic, as he places both his hands on Katsuki’s cheeks. Katsuki had been around him enough to have a decent comprehension on his many glorious smiles. This was most definitely his least favourite so far. “You shouldn’t have to. You should still be a normal college student. You should still be human.” 

Katsuki recoils and shakes out of his grasp, feeling the beginnings of frustration itch at him. “But I’m not, Deku, that’s not how it works.” 

“I know.” 

His reply bites Katsuki, it makes him bleed. “I can’t fucking understand why you’re acting like this.” Because he can’t, he is so damn confused right now. Katsuki thought that tonight may have been a touch bit awkward- but overall one of the best moments in his eternal life... But it was turning out to be one of the worst. 

He could feel his non-functioning heart start to break and there was nothing he could do about it. “...How could you be so fucking selfish?”
Deku purses his lips, obviously unsatisfied with that particular comment. “I am not being the selfish one here, Kacchan.” 

“What?” Katsuki sneers, incredulous, every word more sends another dagger of horrible emotions into him.  

“It is not my fault that you died and became a vampire. It is not my fault that you decided to pursue me, knowing I was human... And it is not my fault that you thought that I would agree to becoming an immortal like you.” 

Katsuki scowls, feeling with bitter realisation that he was right but not at all wanting to admit it. 

“I guess I just thought that you were something you’re not.” He grits, hands clenched. 

Katsuki can’t even pinpoint everything he was feeling right now. There was the familiar feeling of rage burning up his insides- but it was mixed in with the most awful melancholy.  

“I’m sorry you thought that way.” Deku says, cold and clinical in a way that he only used with particularly difficult customers at the Crimson Crypt. 

He’d never used it on Katsuki before. 

It hurt more than he thought it would.

“Yeah. Me too.” Katsuki replies, feeling his lip begin to wobble. He had to get out of there before he lost his shit. It would make him look even more pathetic than he already did. He had to leave. He had to. He’d figure this shit out somewhere else- he would not let Deku see him like… like this.

He’s nearly out the door when Deku speaks again… wavering and quiet. 

“Kacchan… Does this… Does this mean that we’re done?” 

No. Katsuki thinks to himself. I’m still in love with you. 

I want to be with you for as long as you’re going to live. 

I may not understand your choice but I’ll learn to respect it. 

I’m sorry. 

I don’t want to waste anymore time fighting with you. 

I love you. Even if you don’t love me. 

I’m sorry. 

I know what I’m like sometimes and I’m sorry. 

Katsuki doesn’t turn around, his hand is gripping the door knob so hard that he feels it warp in his grasp. 

“What the fuck else would it mean?” 

He slams the door without another word.

Chapter Text

“How long do you think he’s been like that?”

“Hmm… I’m gonna say since late last night.” 

Another day, another drama. 

Denki and Eijirou stand just on the edge of their kitchen on an unusually warm Saturday morning. It’s a nice day outside, birds are chirping- their neighbour upstairs is breaking up with her boyfriend for the fifth time, the weird dude downstairs that sells fireworks from his car is listening to marimba music… Nothing out of the norm. 

Usually, on a morning as fine as this one, the pair would start their day with a ridiculous amount of sugary breakfast foods and coffee. It was the routine; Denki would power up their shitty old kettle, and Eijirou would pour them each a bowl of cereal. 

(As well as pick through the boxes to find the prizes.)

Then, they would sit in front of the couch and watch cartoons for a few hours.

...This, however, would be a problem today.

-because there was a fucking vampire taking up the entire floor space of their kitchen. 

Yet again.

“...Hey bud?” Eijirou looks down at Bakugou, wondering if he was even sentient at this point. He was laying facedown on the ground- not moving at all. “You good?” 

“Up you get Baku, ya boi needs some fucking froot loops,” Denki adds, nudging him with his foot. He didn’t flirt with death- he damn near courted it. 

For their efforts, they receive an admittedly rather threatening warning growl in reply. It’s strangely animalistic and- in time, would be mildly hilarious. 

But at the given moment, it meant one thing and one thing only; something had happened with Bakugou, and it was so not funky fresh.  

Eijirou and Denki exchange a mutual look before Eijirou reaches for his cell on the counter.

It had to be something to do with Deku again- something big. Judging by the way Bakugou lies, all sprawled out in despair- it must have been something bad too. 

This wasn’t some kind of dumb lovelorn melancholy, no, this seemed a lot bigger than that. Bigger than the realm of what was considered normal... 

Eijirou feels himself begin to frown as he dialled the numbers. Though both he and Denki really did love Bakugou- they weren’t entirely sure at this moment that they were what he needed. 

Or, to put it more simply, they didn’t want to pry too hard and die trying to figure their mess of a roommate out. 

They needed someone that wasn’t on the mortal side- someone that could take the wrath of Bakugou and not perish in the crossfire.

So who could they call that couldn’t die?
“Yeah hi, Todoroki? It’s Kirishima.” 

Denki picks up the man’s monotonous voice on the other line. It had only taken a few rings, despite it technically being the vampiric alternate to one in the morning. Todoroki had always seemed like the insomniac type, so it wasn’t all that surprising. 

Eijirou sighs, “yes, I’m the spiky one.” He scratches his neck, “look, I think we have a problem here- Bakugou’s having another moment…” More speaking on the other line,  “Mhm, and it was kind of funny the first time because we knew what the problem was and how to deal with it ... But I think he’s actually really having a thing thing right now.” Another pause, “Yeah, he’s on the floor again… In the kitchen.” Another. “I know it’s late for you- and the sun is up, but could you please get down here as soon as you can.?” One more. “Huh?” Eijirou raises an eyebrow, “why do you want Denki and I to see Midoriya?.. I- uh, okay?... I guess… See you...” 

Eijirou hangs the phone up with a relieved finality. “Todoroki said he’d be here soon- told me he might be a bit longer because he has to keep out of the sun.” He informs with a frown before continuing, “he also said that he wants us to go talk to Deku for him. He needs, and I quote, ‘a human’s touch’.” 

Denki just sighs, shucking his coat on over his pyjamas. “You owe me a shit tonne of froot loops, Bakugou, I hope you know that.”

Shouto had an inkling he knew what Bakugou was upset about. He’d had an inkling since last night when he’d returned home from… being outside.

Midoriya had still been awake, he was sitting on the couch with Izumi in his lap- stroking the cat’s head in a continuous, absentminded pattern. 

Upon closer inspection- Shouto saw the tear tracks on his roommate’s face- his reddened eyes, the consistent sniffle he had...

That had been the first sign. 

The next one had been when Midoriya hadn’t said a word of it to him. The pair of them were decently private individuals, (more so Todoroki, whom of which had refused to get an email address until 2016,) but there had always been a sense of trust between them. 

If Midoriya was having trouble with something- Shouto would be there to listen to his troubles. That was perhaps all he could do in that situation- but it seemed to help. 

This time, when Shouto asks him if something was the matter, Midoriya just shakes his head no, picks his cat up, and shuffles into his bedroom.  

Shouto knows better than to chase him. He hadn’t been human for a long time, he’s fairly certain that he’d be no help… Even if he was mildly curious over what it was all about… 

And then, a few hours later- Kirishima was calling him about Bakugou…It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out a general idea. 

So, with a sigh that held hundreds of years of ‘ugh,’ he formed a deal with Kirishima. He’d deal with the vampire- but the pair of them had to go talk to the mortal. 

It seemed the three of them would be attempting to pick up the pieces of Bakugou and Midoriya once again. 

Ridiculous. 

It doesn’t stop Shouto from heading out into the sun for them, though.

Katsuki is still on the floor when he hears the familiar elegant tread of Shouto Todoroki. He’d heard all of Kirishima and Kaminari’s conversation. They’d been standing right fucking next to him, after all. 

It didn’t make it any less rage inducing. 

After he’d left Deku’s last night- it had all kind of been a blur. He’d felt so wholeheartedly lost that he hadn’t had the slightest clue what to do. Katsuki thinks that, perhaps, he’d spent a significant amount of time on the rooftops of the city, jumping from one edge to another with ease- faster and faster until the wind whipping at his hair grew near cutting. He couldn’t remember thinking clearly for the rest of the hours leading up to sunrise- he just remembered finally collapsing in his kitchen again… 

Only to be woken up by fucking Kirishima and Kaminari trying to get their shitty froot loops.

He was having a fucking crisis here and they wanted froot loops? 

“Get up, Bakugou, I refuse to talk to a lump on the floor again,” Todoroki’s voice is as piercing as ever. It was always weird- him being in Katsuki’s shitty little apartment. 

He was an anachronism to the place entirely- he didn’t belong here. 

“Then don’t fucking talk to me.” Katsuki hisses, his voice muffled by the floor. He didn’t want to talk to the bastard- he just wanted to wallow. 

“You asked Midoriya if he wanted you to turn him, didn’t you?” 

Katsuki feels himself stiffen. The pain was still fresh- it was like rubbing salt in the wound. He doesn’t say anything. He just lets Todoroki’s words consume him, building his emotions up higher and higher until he knew they’d make him snap. 

He wanted to take it out on someone- and it was better him than Deku. 

“Judging by the circumstances, I presume that it did not go as planned?” 

Shouto couldn’t say it was surprising. He’d known Midoriya for longer than Bakugou, after all. He’d had time to figure him out a little more.

It still didn’t stop a tinge of sympathy bite at his insides for the man. 

“This is all your fucking fault.” Bakugou growls, still refusing to look at the other vampire. His shoulders had begun to shake as he lay there.

Shouto feels his frown deepen. “I did not tell you to go and immediately ask Midoriya his opinion on the whole situation...”

“No- you-!” Bakugou sneers, he pulls himself off the ground, whipping around to face Shouto with the most venomous stare he’d seen on the other yet. 

Well, it would have been if his eyes weren’t so red and puffy. They mirrored Midoriya’s in so many ways.

“Why the fuck did you even turn me? You should have just let me die. It wasn’t any of your fucking business if I bit the dust back there.” 

Shouto purses his lips, “you don’t mean that.” 

Bakugou scowls, “Doesn’t matter if I do or not... It’s still your fucking fault.” 

The words come out of Shouto’s lips before he can think to stop them- they’re quiet, too quiet. “I couldn’t leave you to die.”
“But why?!” Bakugou exclaims, his voice rising. “People die every fucking second- why was I special? Why me?” 

Shouto bites his tongue, “like I said that night at the Crimson Crypt. It was a whim, nothing else. ”

“Bullshit!” 

“We’re not here to talk about me, we’re here to talk about you and Midoriya.” Shouto deflects, narrowing his gaze at Bakugou. “You’re just trying to avoid the subject.”
“Oh? Like you haven’t been avoiding my fucking questions every chance you got?” Bakugou bites back- he was shouting at this point. His whole body was shaking with anger. The leftover feelings from last night had combined with the ones of the current- it was a ticking time bomb.

“I don’t owe you anything.” Shouto replies- his expression cold. “I came here to try to help your imbecilic self with the problem that you got yourself in…” 

“You never told me not to fall in love with a human.” 

“I never told you to do anything.”

“Yeah, that’s why it’s your fucking fault! You didn’t tell me shit!”

This was beginning to grate on Shouto’s nerves- more than he’d like to admit. Bakugou had been an expert at getting under his skin recently. “Would you have preferred I’d just left you to drown in your own blood on that street corner? I certainly didn’t hear any qualms from you when you consented to my making you a vampire. I didn’t hear you complaining when we met again, either... What did you say again...” Shouto puts a prim hand to his chin, feeling perhaps a tad too petty at that moment, “that it was ‘ cool as fuck’ ... But you’ve never been one to go back on your word, have you Bakugou?”

Bakugou sneers, harsh and scathing. “Fuck you. I hate you so much.” 

Shouto feels a pang in his chest but doesn’t let it show. He keeps his face as blank as ever. “That’s a shame, Bakugou. Because I’ve taken quite a liking to you.” 

Katsuki feels hot rage boil into him once more- he’s unable to control it anymore. He charges at Todoroki- grabbing him by the collar and slamming him into the wall at his back. The plaster cracks and splinters under the force but Shouto doesn’t wince, he just stares at Bakugou, neutral.

Until Bakugou starts talking again.

“Yeah, that’d be fucking right… You probably turned me into one of you because you had a creepy obsession with me, huh? Did you see me in the street that night and fall into some kind of sick, perverted, love with me? You always did seem like a pathetic lonely bastard…” He sneers, “did you think I’d be grateful? Did you think I’d grovel at your feet because you saved my fucking life?” He’s blinded by it, this anger, he doesn’t see anything but red. His tongue moves faster than his mind does- just like it always seemed to do. “Guess you fucked up, huh? Your shitty little plan didn’t work because I hate you- I hate you!” Bakugou screams- his eyes clearing enough for him to see Todoroki’s expression. 

He doesn’t expect to see one that matched his own from the night before. 

It’s legitimate hurt he sees in Todoroki. Muted- tired, but hurt nevertheless. It’s the same kind of swirling, painful emotion- frustrating and all consuming as his own. He can see it on Todoroki’s face as if it were a mirror to his own. 

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Todoroki replies to him in a hiss. That vulnerable expression is gone from his face the second Katsuki blinked. He’s stopped letting Katsuki hold him in place against the wall and now has a crushing grip on the other’s wrist- so strong and powerful that it makes him wince in pain. 

“Let go of me, bastard!” Katsuki shouts, he’d hate to admit it- but this icy gaze on Todoroki had always sent a chill down his spine.

Todoroki’s eyes glow red, blaring and terrifying. Katsuki thinks for a moment that he’ll never release his hold on him- that’s when Todoroki shoves him away, hard, to the other side of the kitchen. 

“Maybe I really should have left you there that night.” He spits, that same look still in his eyes. Katsuki could see his fangs peeking out from his mouth. “...But I couldn’t watch you die again.” 

...Again?

Todoroki sneers, “you want to avoid your own problems? Fine. I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you why I decided to scrape you off the concrete that night. But it won’t make Midoriya magically appear back to you.” He looks at Bakugou without an inch of warmth in his eyes, “just know that you asked for this.”

Chapter Text

“Do you believe in reincarnation, Bakugou?”

Katsuki pales, the question sending a barrage of questions to his head. “No.” He admits. 

The mere concept of it all seemed like pure nonsense to him. The idea that no one truly stayed dead was entirely too preposterous to even comprehend...

Todoroki huffs out a dry, humourless laugh. “That is understandable…” He trails off into silence. 

Katsuki frowns at him, impatient and waiting for him to continue. He was still on edge from their bout in the kitchen- Todoroki didn’t seem right, at the moment. He was off- somehow, more off than usual, at least. His eyes no longer glowed in the light- but that furrow in his brow hadn’t gone away. 

“You’re not going to like this,” Todoroki admits softly, fiddling with the buttons on that ancient coat of his. 

“I don’t give a shit. Fucking tell me.” Katsuki grits, his hands balled into fists. He needed answers. Answers that only Todoroki could give to him. 

“Fine.” Todoroki replies shortly, still not meeting his eyes.

Shouto couldn’t help but wonder what life was like after death. Perhaps it was just something cruel his mind had forced into his head at some point... It was far too ironic for him to think about it- he couldn’t die, after all. 

He hadn’t been able to die for a while now. 

And it wasn’t due to lack of trying. 

Shouto sighed, looking upon the train tracks- the plume of burning coal never really did leave the station- nor did the constant sound of the steam locomotives. These large behemoths of movement- they had only gotten more powerful in recent years. 

He checks the pocket watch hidden away in his jacket and notes that he only had around five minutes until the next one was to arrive at this platform. Five more minutes. 

Shouto isn’t entirely sure what brought him to London. He doesn’t like the crowds at all- nor does he like the buildings, the smog- or the grime of the city. Perhaps he’d been in search of somewhere new- somewhere that felt like home. He was grasping at straws and it was pathetic. 

Four more minutes.

He’d begun to see more people hailing from Japan arrive on boats at the docks. It was a peculiar sight after all this time- hearing people speak the first language he’d ever known. It was almost nostalgic- lapsing into his mother tongue as he passed the shanty vendors offering him onigiri.

Three more minutes.

Shouto wasn’t afraid of dying- he wasn’t afraid of anything. This strange numbness had taken over him for the longest of times. He lived amongst the humans- but he was not one of them. He would never be one of them.

Two more minutes.

He begins to hear the familiar chuffing speed of the train- the soft sound of people milling about the station. Yet, the platform he stood on was nearly entirely empty. This train did not stop here, after all.

One more minute. 

Death didn’t seem like anything to him. Just a means to an end. Shouto had lived more than four lifetimes and he’d seen every awful thing known to man. The cruelty of humanity- the awful prejudices, the war, the violence… He isn’t even sure that people were even capable of kindness. 

...But that sentiment hadn’t been something that had been brought on by his immortality, no. Even as a human- as the youngest son of a shogun- he’d only seen the worst in people. He’d watched his family estate burn to the ground with all of his family within it, he’d resigned himself to burn along with them. 

Only he hadn’t. Death, alluded him once more. 

And it was likely it would again.

But that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

Shouto doesn’t hesitate as he steps off the platform- he closes his eyes and lets the overwhelming sound of the train envelope him. He wasn’t sure if this would kill him- but it’d definitely try. 

He’d have to see.

He doesn’t feel anything- he doesn’t feel the impact. For the first time he thinks he may have actually succeeded. Perhaps, this was what death was like; Nothingness. 

...Then he opens his eyes to see the train pass him by, alongside feel the strong momentum of being pulled back by his coat collar. Shouto lands with little to no sound on the ground, his eyes wide with surprise. 

What in the world had just happened? 

“What the hell were you trying to do, you fool!?” He hears a voice- Japanese, yelling over the sound of the locomotive. 

Shouto turns to see a ruffled man- not much younger than him, (well, appearance-wise, at least,) staring right at him with a fierce anger in his eyes. He looked flustered- like he’d been running. His hair- that had most likely been pressed down to appear more tidy- was now unkempt and fluffy due to the exertion.

Shouto doesn’t say anything. He just stares at him.

“Are you mad?!” He continues to shout over the noise. His voice grating and incredulous.  

Shouto continues to stare at him. He was peculiar, that was for sure. He couldn’t recall ever being stopped in his tracks like this before. 

“Were you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Shouto finally snaps out of his haze. He looks to the train tracks for a spare moment. “Yes.” He answers truthfully. 

The man widens his eyes at the honest answer before he begins to scowl, “so you can talk.” Is all he says as he holds out his hand- an obvious gesture to help Shouto to his feet.

Shouto doesn’t take the outstretched hand and stands on his own. 

This action makes the other’s frown deepen further.

A crowd had gathered to watch the pair of them interact- Shouto could pick up all kinds of whispers surrounding them.

The man in front of him noticed too, apparently, because he scowls- obviously foul tempered. “Come with me,” he snaps, grabbing Shouto’s arm without much more of a complaint. The crowd doesn’t lessen, the angry man just raises his middle finger at them before hopping the gate and moving into the hustle and bustle of the London streets.

“I’m Kasai Katsurou” He tells Shouto, looking somewhere into the horizon ahead. 

“Todoroki Shouto.” 

It had been a peculiar start to something Shouto hadn’t anticipated. Kasai hadn’t left him alone- or more so, he wouldn’t leave Shouto alone after that. 

Shouto was hardly an idiot- he was dense, but not an idiot. He knew that it was because the other was worried he’d probably do something stupid again- like take a nose dive off of Big Ben or something.

But the real question was why did he even care? 

Kasai certainly didn’t seem like the kind to care- he was grouchy and rude, he kept his shirt collars ridiculously haphazard and he refused to wear any kind of hat. 

...And yet still he’d cared enough to rush over the gates and save someone that hadn’t even needed to be saved.

He was an anomaly- that was for sure. Just like Shouto. 

Perhaps it was out of loneliness on both parts- or perhaps it was an invisible pull- but the pair of them see one another a decent amount afterward. 

Katsurou Kasai was an example of the human kindness that had been so absent from Shouto’s everlasting life for the longest of times. He couldn’t recall a previous time in which he’d interacted with one person for this long. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a… friend.

It was nice.

“There’s no possible way you don’t like onigiri.” Kasai growls at Shouto as he shovels more rice into his mouth. The pair of them were sitting on the dock watching the trading ships and workers mill about. “No Japanese person dislikes onigiri. You’re full of shit.” 

Shouto frowns at the expletive- Kasai seemed to be quite fond of them. “I am not hungry.” He replies, looking out into the horizon. 

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you eat anything.” Kasai comments, taking another heaping mouthful of the food. 

Shouto purses his lips. There had been many a time in which he’d attempted to sustain himself with human food. But it had been long ago. All he could remember was the acrid taste of the foods he’d once loved most in the world. It was more depressing than he’d thought it ought to be… 

It was strange how enjoying food was such an inherent human thing- he’d never realised it until he didn’t need it anymore 

Almost as if to test himself, Shouto snatches the ball out of Kasai’s hand and inhales a mouthful of the onigiri before he quickly hands it back to him. “There,” he says, the rice in his mouth tasting like wet newspaper. He makes himself swallow it nevertheless.

Kasai huffs, but doesn’t say anything more on the subject. A cool silence passes between them where it is just the pair listening to the soft sounds of the sea and the distant shouts of the merchants. It’s only broken when Kasai relents.

“...Why was it that you wanted to die?” It’s a lot softer than what Shouto had grown to expect. 

Shouto looks forward, “I’ve seen all there is to this world and I can’t stay I’m all that impressed.” 

Kasai rolls his eyes at him. “How could you have done that? You’re how old exactly?” 

He purses his lips, “three-hundred and ninety next January.” 

Without much warning, Kasai spits out the onigiri that had been piling in his mouth. The small white grains fall into the ocean and float there for a moment like little fish hovering the surface for bread crumbs. “I didn’t think you were the joking kind.” 

“I’m not.” 

Kasai raises an eyebrow at him, “how was the great plague then?” 

Shouto frowns, “not pleasant.” 

“You’re mad.” 

“Quite.” 

Shouto is sure that Kasai doesn’t believe him for a second, but that didn’t matter to him. In the end, it was the truth- if he chose to believe it fiction he would not disallow him. Though the idea of sharing his secret with him was rather tempting. 

Shouto doesn’t get the chance to prove it to him, though. Even if he had wanted to, in the end. 

They’d only known each other for a matter of months before their relationship would crest and plummet all in one swift motion. 

Kasai steals a kiss from him one night in a dark alleyway- Shouto takes another from him a moment later. It was something that was so inherently shamed against that the two shared a collective sigh of relief when their affections had been returned. 

Shouto knew he wouldn’t be killed for it- he couldn’t die, but there were much less preferable things to that. He didn’t want to lose his friendship to Kasai because of these feelings that he’d just begun to feel. He hated the mere thought of it. 

Over these past few months he’d begun to think of Kasai as his companion- immortal or not- he’s certain he was unalike to any other. He risked death itself to ascertain Shouto’s own immortal life, but he had been an ass about it. He was kind- but always did it with a scowl. He was a contradiction in everything he did and for that Shouto might have started to fall for him.

This forbidden romance was one like so many others- doomed to fail from the start. The blissful weeks they spend together move with the wind and all of a sudden nothing was good anymore.

On a street, in an alleyway- akin to the one in Shouto’s fondest memory of them, he’d found Kasai again. He’d found him for the last time. 

He isn’t sure if it was the man’s sharp tongue, their scandalous relationship- or a mix of the two; But the mob surrounding him had spared no mercy. By the time Shouto had smelled blood- it was far too late. He was the fastest creature on this Earth but he was still too late. 

He’d really wished he hadn’t looked at his body. Wished he hadn’t seen all the blood- the purpling, ugly bruises all over him. He wanted to keep an image of Kasai in his mind that better reflected how he saw him every day- playful arrogance with that same scowl he always wore... 

It was so ironic how he’d thought himself immortal despite it being the other way around... 

The crowd surrounding Kasai’s body turn on Shouto next- or, at the very least, they attempt to. Their jeers only get to a certain level before the emotions piling in Shouto’s heart threatened to finally burst. He’d never killed before- he’d made sure of it. No matter who it was- no matter how truly wicked they were... He’d never murdered another human being. He thought it to be the defining factor- what would finally make him a monster.

He didn’t care now, though. The world had proved to him, once more, that nothing good could last and the cruel would always rise to the top. If these humans could murder- that made them monsters too. 

There’s a group of them- close to a dozen, Shouto believes. It wouldn’t matter. 

Shouto stares at their faces as they approach him with their threatening sneers and disgusted faces. 

He wouldn’t feel any guilt for killing them, he thinks, right before pouncing. 

When it is all finished, twelve bodies lie on the ground- eleven monsters and Kasai. Shouto doesn’t drain any of them- he just leaves the mob where they lie, hoping that the rats would take care of them. It didn’t matter. 

Shouto idly thinks back to his time at the train station when they’d first met. How foolish he’d been to do something like this- to care about something so horrendously mortal when he was such a failure.

He sees Kasai’s dark outer coat discarded by the cobblestone a few metres away- free from blood. Probably to be looted later after the mob had been finished with their evil deed.

He picks it up without question and puts it around his own shoulders. It still smelled faintly of him; of gunpowder and the ocean. 

He doesn’t cry- he wouldn’t cry. This was inevitable. Death was inevitable. He wouldn’t cry.

Shouto looks to the sky and notes how odd it is that it was raining when there were no clouds in the horizon. It was the only reasoning he could possibly fathom as to why droplets were falling onto his face.

When he spies Bakugou in the alley that night, his mind flashes back to then. It had been years and years- countless days, innumerable hours and infinite minutes since it had all happened.

But it was him. It was Kasai. 

He was different- but he was the same. The same as when he’d last seen him- bruised and bloody in the street. 

He couldn’t leave him again.

Something in Shouto tugs at him- this instinct that he could hardly control. It was pulsing and intense from within. He couldn’t leave him again. He couldn’t.

This wasn’t Kasai- this was someone different entirely, a new person with the same face- the same ridiculous fluffy hair. He couldn’t leave him. 

Bakugou Katsuki and Katsurou Kasai were different versions of one another in Shouto’s memory- but they were distinguishable by one sole factor.

One had loved him and the other hated him with all his being. 

Quite ironic that the one he’d managed to save ended up loathing the sight of him- but it was perhaps his punishment for failing the first time. 

Fate was a cruel mistress and the only escape was death. 

And by now Shouto knew he couldn’t die.  

“When I saw you on the road that night, I just saw his blood on the cobblestones, I saw his body, cold and pale- no life left within it. But then you took a breath and I saw a chance.”

Katsuki blinks, his eyes wide. There was no fucking way this was the truth- it was too crazy- it was too much of a coincidence. “You bit me because...”

“-Because I saw the love of my life bleeding out again and I couldn’t control myself anymore. I bit you because I saw him .” 

Katsuki was afraid that that was the answer. He swallows, feeling the shame pool in his chest. He shouldn’t have said all that shit to Todoroki. It wasn’t the truth- he didn’t hate him.

...But he didn’t love him either. 

“You think I- But I love Deku.” 

Todoroki’s reply is soft, “I know.”

“But you-”

“I know.” 

“Shit.”

“I don’t want you to pity me,” Todoroki tells him coldly. “I would have gladly never told you if you hadn’t been so… insistent,” he cringes and turns to finally meet Katsuki’s eyes. “I am more than content knowing that you are alive… Even if you do hate me.” He walks about the apartment, toeing the floorboards with quiet composure. “I am aware that you’re not him- it would be unfair of me to assume otherwise.” He turns away, his finger tips brushing his coat pockets, “I suppose you should take this as a cautionary tale about the fragility of human life and the idiotic recklessness of fate,” Todoroki tells him. 

“You should cherish every moment you have with Midoriya and hope you’re not too late.”

Chapter Text

“Oh that shit’s fucked, yo.” Kirishima says, eloquent as always as he listens to Izuku finish speaking. 

Izuku had initially been rather reluctant to confess what had happened the night previous to both Kirishima and Kaminari. However, with a little prompting, it hadn’t been all that hard to get him to start blabbering again. He’d only just barely managed to maintain himself when Todoroki had first asked- but the pair in front of him hadn’t been as lucky. 

He’d spilled his and Kacchan’s situation rather tearfully- not so much regretful as he was mournful. Mournful of their relationship- of everything they’d had, everything they could of had. 

Izuku understood the ramifications for Kacchan in his choice to remain mortal. He understood why he had made the decision he did. 

But it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell. 

“Not to be That Bitch, but I kind of think Bakugou has a point.” Kaminari declares, lounging on the couch opposite of Izuku, he picks at his fingernails with a nonchalant air. “But he was also a major asshole about it, like he always is.”

Izuku nods, solemn, “but I think I was too harsh on him as well.” He hadn’t let Kacchan down easy- something that he did regret. The look on his face when he left had been something that had torn Izuku’s heart up from the inside.  

Kirishima hums, “it’s kind of hard to tell that he’s a sensitive dude. I think your straight up answer threw him a little.” 

Izuku frowns, “It’s just because I feel so strongly about it.” 

Kaminari hums, looking over at him now. “Yeah, I guess if you put a pair of stubborn people with two different viewpoints into a room they’re bound to get a little nasty.”

“I’m not stubborn,” Izuku said stubbornly. 

Kirishima huffs out a laugh, “of all the crazy bullshit I’ve heard recently, that takes the cake.” 

Izuku pouts at the answer. Sure he was determined- ambitious, even, but he wasn’t stubborn… ...Was he? 

“That’s why you two are so good for one another.” Kaminari adds, throwing one of Todoroki’s various pillows up into the air and catching it. “You and Bakugou can keep up with one another- you’ve got the same mindset, but different ways of expressing it… It’s like Bakugou is an explosion; he’s raucous and he’s destructive, and you, you're like a candlelight; constant and,” he smirks, “a lot more stable…” Finally, he turns to look at Izuku, “but you’re both fiery and burn people if they get too close.”

“Bro, that’s deep as shit.” Kirishima replies, impressed.

“Similes are sexy, Eiji.” 

Izuku frowns, “but a candle would be decimated by an explosion. I wouldn’t even make a dent.” 

“Look, I failed English in highschool, it’s not a perfect analogy.” 

“No, I think you have a point,” Izuku replies, “Kacchan is always so impatient… He makes rash decisions and tears everything down in his path… Even me.” 

...So why was it so hard for Izuku to accept his decision?

“Bakugou is bad with feelings at the best of times. But with something as important as this… You have to understand that he’s not used to rejection. Bakugou’s been a savant all his life, he’s good at sports, good at school- good at everything- his ego is so huge that it could crush us all,” Kirishima says with a laugh, “he acts rashly when things don’t go his way because he’s a huge brat that rarely ever gets told no.” 

“Jeez, babe, I thought we were meant to be trying to get them back together,” Kaminari replies slyly. 

Kirishima waves him off, “what I’m saying is that Bakugou didn’t want you guys to break up. I’m sure of it. He’s probably still face down on our kitchen floor as we speak… That’s certainly not the actions of a man that agrees with his own decisions, now is it?”

Izuku shakes his head no, because it wasn’t. 

“I just think you guys need to talk it out a little more… Civilly. Less yelling, less dramatic tension.” 

Kaminari nods in agreement.

Kirishima and Kaminari did make fair points. Izuku had known Kacchan long enough now to know that he did tend to act rashly when he was at his most emotional.

However, he always knew him to be incredibly pigheaded. Izuku didn’t think he would waver on his decision on their break-up. Especially because it was over something so important. 

And Izuku knew that he wouldn’t be willing to compromise his mortality to make it better. 

He didn’t want to be immortal. He had told Kacchan just that. Relenting now would not be a compromise- it would be admitting defeat and Izuku would essentially be going against everything he stood for. He wouldn’t be able to become a doctor- too much blood… He would have to watch his friends, his mother- everyone around him die. 

He would have to hurt other humans in order to survive. 

It went against everything Izuku was. 

And even though what happened to Kacchan was a horrific accident- Izuku just didn’t think it was right to make a choice such as this when so many others didn’t have one. 

He didn’t like to think of it as these aspects trumping Kacchan. He loved Kacchan. But in the end, that could be the only possible reasoning as to why Izuku chose his mortality over staying with Kacchan. 

He couldn’t have both. He had to accept that.

It would be better for everyone involved if Izuku and Kacchan… If they remained apart. It would save Kacchan a lot of pain- a lot of heartache. It would be like a bandaid now- virtually painless and quick. As opposed to a number of years from now, when the creeping curse of death grew closer and closer and Kacchan remained untouched by it, and Izuku succumbed. 

Yeah, it was better. It was better for everyone.

Izuku stands, his lip quivering. “I don’t think I can do that.” He moves to take his coat off the rack with a sigh. “I don’t think I could do that to Kacchan.” 

“Midoriya?” 

“I have to go to work,” is all he mutters next, trying to keep his voice level.

This would be for the best. He had to be strong. He had to stay away. Kacchan would find someone else- someone that wasn’t as weak as he was. Someone that could choose. 

“Wait- Midoriya-” 

He closes the door before either of them can get another word in. 

As he walks to his next shift at the Crimson Crypt- he’s unbeknownst to the fact that it is quite possibly his last. 

His steps, as they grow closer and closer, draw other people around him. 

Like predators to prey in the wild- they target the vulnerable.

Chapter Text

The moon prominent and everlasting in the sky by the time everything had been settled.

Katsuki hadn’t needed much more convincing to head over to Deku’s apartment. Todoroki’s words had shaken him to his core- something he’d rather die (again) than admit. Whether it was true or not- the story’s end had been enough of a wakeup call for him.   

Not to mention it added a whole new layer of fucked up to his and Todoroki’s relationship.

After the other had finished speaking- it had taken Katsuki a good few- well, hours to figure all of his shit out again... And even now he wasn’t fully sure how to feel about it all.

He’d thought it would be good to finally figure out the reason for his prolonged existence- but he almost wished he hadn’t asked now. There was a peculiar sense of guilt in his heart. It was strange and ever-present as he walked alongside the other. 

In another world the two of them had been in love.

That was so fucked up. 

Katsuki turns to glance at Todoroki for a split second. He had his usual neutral expression fixed on his face as he moved. It was strange how the pair of them were the fastest creatures in the world, but walked at a snail’s pace now. Perhaps it was a mutual decision- to clear both of their heads and allow time for all their thoughts to settle into their minds before they faced Deku again...

Katsuki wasn’t sure why Todoroki was at his side, though. He couldn’t imagine why he was steeling himself from coming face to face with Deku again. 

Perhaps he was staying for moral support. For Katsuki.

“Did you... Tell Deku?” He asks, breaking the silence like a pickaxe to ice. “About…” He gestures between both himself and Todoroki rather vaguely. “You know?”

Todoroki, luckily, did know, “no I did not tell my roommate, your boyfriend, that the pair of us were lovers in a past life. I didn’t think it would be the wisest of ideas.” He admits, his gaze set on the dark sky in the horizon. The moon was out in its full glory tonight, shining bright and blaring over all the shitty buildings around the city. “I thought I’d let you tell him if the need arose.” 

Katsuki huffs, “I’m… I’m sorry.” He admits, digging his hands into his jacket pockets. 

“I thought I told you that I do not want your pity.” Todoroki replies back, cold.

Katsuki continues, regardless, “I shouldn’t have said that I hated you. I don’t.” 

Todoroki hums, “I do not mind if you hate me.” 

“Well, I don’t.” He snaps.

“...I’ve long since thought that I was cursed with truly awful luck.” He looks over at Katsuki now, “the fact that you’re ‘alive’ in front of me... It is a miracle within itself.” 

“God, can you just accept my apology, you weirdo.”  

“Apology accepted.”

Katsuki nods, satisfied. “I don’t think you’re cursed.” He says, “you’re probably just looking for a reason to hate yourself.” 

Todoroki stops in his path, turning to face Katsuki. “Perhaps. But there has to be some sort of penance for the ‘gift’ of immortality, correct?”

Katsuki shrugs, “I guess, but that whole ‘fate’ thing is bullshit.” 

“You still say that after everything I’ve told you?” 

He purses his lips, “if anyone is cursed- it’s me. I’ve fucking died twice.” 

That makes Todoroki smile just the slightest bit. “Perhaps you have a point.” 

The two of them continue to walk, with the night growing old. Unknowing and unaware of the dire situation beginning to unfold.

Izuku had never had too much trouble concentrating. He had a penchant for getting sidetracked, sure, but it had never impeded on what he needed to get done. 

Today, however, he just couldn’t seem to do anything right.

He gives customers the wrong drinks, he breaks glasses, he nearly trips over his own feet… It’s to the point where Uraraka is near insisting that he goes home to collect his thoughts. 

“You’re a mess, Deku, I can take care of closing- just get some rest.” She says, helping him pick shards of glass off the floor.

Izuku shakes his head, a frown on his face. “I need the money.” Is all he says, because, well, he did. He’d never missed a shift because of that factor- and he wouldn’t start because he was a little heartbroken.  

That would be bordering on ridiculous.

He glances at the clock by the door- one more hour, he thinks to himself. It was odd, counting down like this- especially because he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to go home. Home meant answering questions and it meant being alone with his mind.

At least here it was too loud to truly think. 

The Crimson Crypt tonight was more raucous than usual. It was packed with unsavoury people, cigarette smoke and alcohol; a deadly mix for the best of times. The threat only rose tenfold when Izuku’s head had gone off with the clouds. These people- their customers, they were impatient normally, but when someone gave them a reason - well, it was just a recipe for disaster. 

This, however, was not the defining factor of tragedy for this night. It was just an accessory. 

Izuku makes it out of the place with a few more insults on his belt and the smell of alcohol clinging to him- but he makes it out nevertheless. 

Closing the side door by the alleyway, Izuku breathes a sigh of exhausted relief. It had been a hellish shift- but it was over now. 

Almost expectantly, he looks into the shadows for a familiar figure. 

It takes him a few moments for him to realise that no one would be there. 

No one would ever again. 

He sees the darkness move for a second and thinks that, perhaps he was wrong. 

It’s far too late before he realises that there was, indeed, a person in the shadows- but it wasn’t Kacchan. 

They weren’t supernaturally malevolent, nor were they out on a vendetta.

It was merely the twisted hand of fate.

Katsuki feels something wrong when they’re a few minutes away from the apartment. It’s strange and indescribable- this feeling. It had every hair on his neck standing up, but he couldn’t quite pick why. Had this been what Todoroki had spoken about so long ago? Could he just sense when things were amiss?

“Do you feel that?” He asks, looking around about the buildings to try and pick what was wrong.

“I do.” Todoroki confirms, a frown on his face. 

It’s a mutual realisation, the pair of them look at one another and the light of recognition dawn in their eyes.

“It’s Deku, isn’t it?” Katsuki asks, quiet- almost hoping that he was wrong. He swore under his breath. “Something’s up.” 

Todoroki nods, setting his jaw. “I don’t understand- he’s most likely at the apartmen-” he pauses, his eyes widening. “He’s working tonight.’

“He’s-” 

The pair of them stare at one another for a split second before they realise what must be done. 

In a vast juxtapose from their slow stroll in the night, Todoroki and Katsuki dart off into the darkness- rushing as quickly as they could back to the Crimson Crypt. 

Katsuki couldn’t help but think about Todoroki’s words- the story that he had told him.

He couldn’t- no, he wouldn’t let that happen to him and Deku.

Chapter Text

Katsuki no longer felt tired from running. It was an extra added bonus from being dead, he supposed. The lack of a working heart and his own blood meant that it was just a swift and efficient process now.

Even still he feels his breath catching in his throat. 

Deku was in danger. He just knew it. In a town like this it was no surprise that one would run into trouble every once in a while- but Katsuki can’t help but worry that it was something truly awful this time .

His mind keeps flashing back to Todoroki’s story. His retelling of discovering Kasai’s body- seeing the man he loved lying in a pool of his own blood, feeling helpless and far too late.

He’s faster than Todoroki. He isn’t sure if he’s just surpassed the other- or if it’s his sheer determination, but Katsuki makes it to the Crimson Crypt much sooner than Todoroki does.

The first thing he notices is the disgustingly intoxicating scent of blood. The smell already has his fangs springing from his mouth. Katsuki feels his eyes glow red in the panic- there could only be one reasoning to this reaction.

It was about the time that Deku finished. He was still here. 

His eyes narrow on the alleyway. 

That’s where he finds him. 

Deku lies, slumped against the brick wall- clutching his side. The mere sight of him nearly sets Katsuki off into a spree of animalistic impulses.

"Deku? Deku? Oh- Oh my god." Katsuki's breaths are stuttered as he looked at Deku shiver on the ground. 

There was blood everywhere- staining the concrete with carmine.

It smelled so good.

Self hatred rises in Katsuki’s chest like a phoenix at the thought. It bubbles up like a poison in his heart and has him gritting his teeth. He pushes through every instinct that tells him turn and instead focuses on breathing through his mouth. He can’t let it take control of him. He actually had to listen to that bastard Todoroki for once.
"Ka...cchan? Oh Kacchan, you came… I’m sorry.” Deku whispers, his voice so weak Katsuki could barely hear it over the sound of the street. There’s tears welling in his eyes- he always was a bit of a crybaby.
"It's me. Deku. It's me." Katsuki kneels down toward him, moving closer so the other could see him more clearly. It’s hard to talk- hard to do anything but stare at him. Everything in his head is screaming at him. It’s near impossible to get his words out over the haze.
"It's cold." Deku squints, his words slurring as if he were drunk. "Hold my hand Kacchan."
Katsuki couldn’t- he couldn’t do it. If he touched Deku now- he wasn’t sure what he would do. He felt so utterly useless. His head was hissing at him to bite the other. 

"Fuck- Deku. You should have called me- why were you so stupid?!" Katsuki grits, his eyebrows furrowing. They both knew that wasn’t what he was really asking. Deku was better at reading Kacchan than Kacchan himself sometimes. “Why was I so stupid!?”
"Not your fault." Deku replies, dimmer than before. "...You were stupid before any of this happened."
Katsuki chokes out a watery laugh. "That's easy for you to say, nerd. I’m not the one fucking bleeding out .”
The eerie silence replacing Deku’s reply has Katsuki's stomach dropping.
Deku was dying. There was no doubt about it. He was dying. And Katsuki-
Katsuki could save him.Just like Todoroki did for him. It would be so easy. Nearly painless. He wouldn’t have to worry about it again-

Deku’s breaths are growing more and more shallow as he thinks- Katsuki can feel his heart well with pain. "Don't leave me- Don't-" Katsuki bites his lip- his fangs piercing it with a dull ache. "I'll make it all go away, okay? Just let me..."
As Deku faded, Katsuki could only see the emerald sharpness of his eyes.
"Don't..." Deku tells him, so softly it's like a gust of wind. With his final bout of strength, Deku raises a bloodied hand to Katsuki's cheek- smearing the vermillion across it like an oil painting. "Please... Don't."
"What are you talking about Izuku?" Katsuki had never used his first name before- it slipped out in the alleyway like a curse. It never felt right. "You're dying- you can't die! I can't- I can't lose you!"
Sirens are closing around them, Katsuki could hear them long before they turned the corner. Someone must have seen.
Deku's face twitches with the hint of a painful smile as he watches Katsuki's expression. 

With the tip of his thumb he wipes a tear coming from the other's eye. "I always thought vampires cried tears of blood."
Katsuki sniffs, brushing the tears out of his eyes, angry and terrified. "Please Deku, let me turn you. I-"
"No, Kacchan." Deku pleads. "I don't want that. I never did… I’m sorry.” 

I never did.
"Deku! You idiot! Don't fucking die on me! I-" Katsuki's voice cracks, "I… I love you."
Deku's eyes drift upward into the night sky. The stars above always were the best part of this town. Tonight it was a dark abyss. The brightness of the moon had been hidden by the buildings. "Where are you Kacchan? I can't see you anymore..." He whispers, his eyes glazing over. A single tear falls down his face, congealing with the mess of blood left there.
"Deku?"
Katsuki's heart pounds with an immense pain.
"Deku?" He tries, louder. The sound of sirens drowning him out.
Watching with numb horror as the love of his life bled out- Katsuki couldn't help but wonder if this was what Todoroki had been speaking about- how the dead didn't lose anyone- but the immortal lost it all. 

Perhaps he truly was cursed...
The concrete underneath Deku had long turned crimson. The colour would be there for years- but Katsuki would stay there for longer. He'd stay longer than any trace of Deku ever did. And that was what was truly terrifying.

“Bakugou.” Todoroki’s voice is calm, collected- the exact opposite of what Katsuki felt at that moment. “Bakugou,” he repeats. Katsuki doesn’t hear him.

Todoroki approaches, lightning fast from behind and grabs him. He’s holding his face in his hands, a collected urgency in his eyes, “we can still save him, but we need to get him to a hospital.” 

The song of the sirens were doing nothing to drown out the thrashing howls in Katsuki’s head. It was going against everything he felt was right in his mind- bite, turn, save. It wasn’t a certainty that Deku would survive- but if he’d just let him- 

No.

“You take him, I’ll find the ambulance.”

If Deku truly wanted to live as a mortal , Katsuki would have to learn to respect that.

...But there was no way in hell he was letting him die now.

Chapter Text

Katsuki could not stop pacing outside the hospital room. He’s shaking and covered in Deku’s blood- but he refuses to stop moving for even a second to clean up. 

There’s a million things going on in his head right now- most of them being the hisses of regrets whirling about in his head. They rush at him with full speed- ‘had he made the right decision? What happened if Deku didn’t wake up?’ 

Todoroki had long since stopped trying to get him to do anything but think. Katsuki had noticed him on the phone a few moments ago- but aside from that, he had just stayed seated a few metres away from him since they’d gotten here. Stark still- frozen in time like every other part of him. It was disconcerting to look at. He almost looked human with the way he sat in that chair. His perfect posture had been done away with- instead he sat slumped on the chair, staring straight ahead at the blank wall in front of him, unblinking. Katsuki doesn’t have enough room in his mind to dwell too harshly on that factor- nor did he have the emotional capacity. 

...So he resorts to his pacing- and leaves Todoroki to his own devices. 

Kirishima and Kaminari rush in a few minutes later. They must have been who Todoroki had been on the phone to…

Seeing them all here like this makes Katsuki realise the sheer impact Izuku Midoriya had made on all their lives. 

It makes Katsuki stops in his tracks. He’d been so fixed on what it meant for him if Deku were to… were to die- that he didn’t stop to consider what it would mean for everyone else. 

“Have you heard anything from the doctor yet?” Kirishima asks him- there isn’t an inch of humour on his face anymore. The pair’s constant smiling demeanour was gone- it was so jarring that it strikes a white hot cord through Katsuki. It makes everything seem so much more real.

He shakes his head in answer- not trusting his voice. 

Kirishima and Kaminari stare at him, frowns on their faces. Not knowing what else to do- Kirishima holds out his arms. “I don’t care if you want to kill me after this- you just need a hug.” 

Katsuki is too tired to protest. His pride was gone and all he felt was a painful numbness spreading through his body. 

The trio pile together in a ridiculous hodge podge of limbs- it’s warm and entirely uncomfortable, but it makes Katsuki’s shaking stop. He’ll never admit it to anyone, but that hug was probably the sole reason he kept sane after all of this.

They stand there, holding each other up like that for a long time. It’s the first time that Katsuki truly realises how much these two people cared for him. 

Despite their constant teasings, their nonchalant attitude- everything. They all loved one another.

The doctor finally pulls them apart with the sound of the surgery room door opening. His white coat is pristine- entirely clinical and uniform in the way that all hospital things were. They all stand at the noise. Todoroki, Katsuki, Kirishima and Kaminari watch him approach with bated breath. 

He moves so slowly that Katsuki wants to snap at him to hurry up- wants to rush over and get the news faster than now. 

But he’s frozen- he’s frozen again. He wants to hear the news but he doesn’t at the same time. 

Finally, he stops in front of all four of them. 

“Mr. Midoriya has lost a significant amount of blood due to the stab wounds he’d sustained.” Katsuki holds his breath- not that he needed to breathe anymore. “But the attacker did not puncture any vital arteries… I believe he will make a full, albeit slow recovery.” 

The air, that had been tense enough to cut, began to stabilise. Katsuki felt the hole that had been growing larger and larger in his heart stop in its tracks. The numbness was still there- but it didn’t hurt to know of it. 

Deku was going to be okay. He was going to be okay. 

Katsuki, at last, slumps into the seat beside Todoroki- as if the nerves had been the only thing keeping him upright. 

Kirishima and Kaminari stay for a while after that- but, eventually, their human bodies had required more rest than the others. 

Suddenly it’s just Todoroki and Katsuki again- sitting with one another in that desolate hospital waiting room. 

The sound of the ticking clock was the only noise in the room. Katsuki found it hard to stand.

“How the hell does the world expect us to love things when they’re so… fragile?” Katsuki asks, aloud- he sounds frustrated- angry even, like he expects Todoroki to give him a genuine answer. “When everyone is gone… When it’s just you and me... Every footpath, every plant- fucking everything, it’s gonna be full of all these shitty memories that used to be happy ones... They’ll just hurt.” He looks at him now, searching the other’s expression for some semblance of understanding. “What’s the point of it all when everything is just going to fucking die?” 

Todoroki almost looks like he isn’t going to answer for a moment. His mouth is unmoved and his eyes lie straight ahead. 

But, unexpectedly, he turns and meets Katsuki’s gaze. His lips part and then they close, as if he was choosing his words carefully- before he, at last, begins to speak.

“Life… is something so cruelly ironic to us that it’s hard to comprehend. It’s taken away within the blink of an eye, but we only truly notice it when it’s stolen from someone other than ourselves. I think that there is reason within your words, Bakugou, that- love is something worth more bad than good. But in the end, it’s one of the only reasons to want to keep living...” He sighs, “I’m not speaking of anything as… constricting as the concept of romantic love.”  He continues, “I’m speaking of the love you feel when you... wear your favourite shoes, or when you see a dog in a cafe window or when your friend tells you how much they appreciate that you’re here with them. They're all fleeting- but they matter. Those sneakers will grow worn, that dog will eventually die and the friend will drift away from you one way or another… But it’s the memories- sad or not- that we hold inside ourselves that allow us to remember why we try in the first place.” He stands up now, looking to Katsuki with an earnest look in his eyes. “There is no true living without love, no matter how miniscule, it is there. On rainy nights and warm duvets- in a stranger’s smile... What I’m saying is that every essence of love is fleeting and that some are more important than others… But  If you’re too afraid to embrace any of them… Then no, there’s no true point in being ‘alive.’” 

Katsuki stares at him, blinking. 

That had easily been the sappiest thing Todoroki- or anyone had ever said to him. “...Where the fuck did that come from?” 

Todoroki lets out a ghost of a smile. “I’ve had half a millenia to learn how to be philosophical, I’ll be damned if I don’t utilise such skills.” 

“Well, I mean, you are damned.” He gestures to the two of them, “we both are.” 

Perhaps it’s the leftover relief over hearing that Deku was going to be alright- or perhaps it was the fact that Todoroki had actually given Katsuki a straight answer for once- but the two of them share a small look of mutual contentment.

Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be alright. 

Chapter Text

Izuku wakes up to a stark bright white-ness and, for a moment, thinks that he’s in the afterlife. It’s only when he feels the pain in his sides and the consistent beep surrounding him that he realises that, no, he wasn’t actually dead. Not yet, anyway.

But he certainly feels like death- judging by the way his body seemed to groan with every single little movement he made to reacquaint himself to the sensation. 

Blinking, blinking and then blinking some more- he manages to make out some shadows and figures- windows and doors, IV drips and charts. He’d always wanted to be in this environment, but he hadn’t thought it would be in this sense. 

Finally, craning his neck to the side- painfully, he spies a familiar face. One that he wasn’t sure he’d ever see again.

Kacchan. 

“Ka…” He croaks out- not managing to get the rest of the syllables out. The sides of his throat felt like they were glued together- stitched in a way that painfully stopped him from talking. 

It was awful.

Every other part of his body doesn’t feel too hot either.

“Don’t talk.” Is what Kacchan tells him, “You’ve been asleep for a few days now. The doctor said you won’t be able to speak properly for a while.” 

Kacchan had been seated beforehand- presumably to wait for Izuku to awaken… Now he stands up on the direct side of Izuku’s bed, watching him like a hawk- but far more frantic than predatory.

Izuku thinks for a moment that he was going to head straight out of the door. 

After all, now that he knew Izuku was okay- his conscience was clear and they could go back to being broken up- complete strangers, right? 

There was no obligation for Kacchan to stay.

...But he remains still nevertheless.

The pair of them just look at one another. Two pairs of eyes locked to their partner. Unable- or unwilling to drift. 

So much had happened since they’d ‘broken-up,’ but time-wise it had only been a matter of days. Why was it that it always felt like a lifetime when they were apart?

Kacchan is the first to talk- because he’s the only one that’s able to. 

“It’s kind of shitty of me to do this when you can’t reply but…” He looks toward the window, the door, anywhere but at Izuku as he speaks.“I really gotta say some shit.” 

It’s all quiet again for a moment- only the sound of the constant beeping between the two of them. It was a different kind of silence compared to what the two of them used to share. It was static- tense, filled to the brim with a horrific anticipation.

It crests when Kacchan opens his mouth again.

“I… shouldn’t have broken up with you.” He tells Izuku, meeting his gaze with the same fiery ambition he always seemed to see in the other’s eyes. Only this time- it mostly burns with regret. “I didn’t want to. I- I was just upset because… Because I was scared. Scared of losing you… It’s pretty fucking ironic that it took nearly that exact thing happening for me to get my shit together.” He paces about the room- it’s a small space so he doesn’t go very far. In the end, he settles back into the chair by Izuku’s bed- still incredibly restless. 

Another silence. 

Kacchan scratches his head. "...You know, Izuku, it's strange. I only ever learned to feel alive when I fucking died… And that has everything to do with your dumb ass.” Their eyes finally lock again. “If I lost you that night. I think I would have considered this power I have a curse- because if I couldn't save who I... “ He swallows, “love. Then what was the point of it all?" 

Izuku feels his heart in his throat. 

“But- with that bastard Todoroki’s help, I think I’ve realised that… I’ve realised some shit.” He clenches his fists, “if you’re willing- I-” he fiddles, nervous, “I still want to spend forever with you… No matter how short that is. It’s gonna hurt like hell- but… But it’s better than never feeling anything.”  

Izuku feels tears well in his eyes. Kacchan had such an earnest look on his face that he could hardly take it. It was killing him that he couldn’t say anything- and Kacchan could clearly see that.

...The beeping on the pulse monitor beside Izuku could also notice it. 

It was going off the fucking charts.

“Jesus fucking christ. Don’t have a heart attack, Deku.” Kacchan tells him, eyeing the machine with caution- to Izuku’s embarrassment. 

He looks back to see the tears that had sprung to the other’s eyes were now falling down his cheeks. 

“Oh- hey, don’t cry.” 

Izuku weighs his options. He could sit here, quiet and crying- unspeaking and frustrated with his vocal chords undamaged. Or- he could do something reckless and impulsive.

Fuck it.

“I-” He croaks, sounding awful as his voice grated through his throat. It didn’t matter. “I... you...” He garbles- not entirely sure if he was getting through to Kacchan. He’s making insane gestures with what little mobility he had in his arms. 

Kacchan looks at him and grimaces, “shoulda known you wouldn’t fucking keep your mouth shut. Hold on, I’ll get some paper.” 

The lead pencil was blunt and the paper was an ugly shade of yellow- but to Izuku, it was a refuge. His hands had far more give than his voice at the moment- and he scribbled onto the page the moment it was within his grasp.

He writes so fast he swears he can see smoke coming from the point on the page he’s centred around- but he doesn’t for a second stop. 

‘A little eternity with you is all I could want, Kacchan. 

Sorry I was so terrible to you that last time we spoke. You didn’t deserve to be treated so harshly. I know now that it was just your way of trying to protect me. 

I hope you can understand my decision one day.

But for now… If you’ll have me… 

It’s all I could want. 

I know it’s selfish. It’s awful of me to let you stay when I know the inevitable will eventually happen.

This lifetime with you, Kacchan, it is it’s own little eternity of mine that will feel like a blink to you in the many years that pass. But that doesn’t scare me. And I hope you find peace in the fact that I’ll love you for this entire little eternity and continue to do so when I’m nothing but a memory.’

Kacchan reads the paper with careful eyes, scanning it with furrowed brows and a quiver in his lips. 

“You… You still want to be with me?” 

Izuku nods, wiping a stray tear from his own cheek. He’d had himself convinced that it was better for Kacchan if he stayed away. But perhaps he was just too selfish to let him go, after all.

“...I honestly thought this was going to just tell me to fuck off.” Kacchan replies, waving the piece around as a gesture. He was clearly overcompensating for the emotion on his face.

Izuku shakes his head. He doesn’t have any paper left so he just points at Kacchan and then holds his hand against his heart. Hoping that it’s enough to get the message through. 

If the soft look in Kacchan’s eyes is any indicator- Izuku thinks he managed just fine. 

“I’m… I’m so glad you’re okay.” Kacchan admits, his words sounding a bit watery- even to Izuku’s ears. 

Izuku can’t offer any encouraging words of comfort so he just holds out his arms. 

Katsuki Bakugou may not have a beating heart anymore- but it didn’t mean that Izuku couldn’t see the affection within him, as bright as the day.  

The distance between the two of them was closed within the next moment. 

“...I think they’re back together.” Kaminari says, standing in the doorway of the hospital room. He, Eijirou and Todoroki had gone in to check on the two of them to see if their angsty asses needed a kick in the pants to get all their dumb feelings out...

The trio had then found Midoriya and Bakugou squished onto the same cot- sound asleep and holding onto one another like they were afraid of letting go.  

“...Mission success?” He asks, cautiously- staring at the two of them. 

“I suppose.” Todoroki replies. “I could go without the melodrama, though.” 

Eijirou nods in agreement. 

“I can’t believe you told Bakugou your tragic anime backstory but not us!” Kaminari whines. 

“He was in crisis… Besides, you were the ones that said you had required my assistance. I did what I could to help.” 

Kaminari pouts nevertheless. “I’ll just keep guessing then…” 

Todoroki huffs.

“Hmm…You had a fiancé that died on the Titanic?” 

“No.”

“You’re actually the loch ness monster but you were run out of your home by people trying to hunt you?”

“No.” 

“You inspired Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ but he didn’t give you a cut of the royalties?” 

“Hmm, you got it.”

“Really?”

“No.” 

Chapter Text

Life was always strange in the sense that it never went the way it was intended to go. Despite fate’s urgings and damn near sabotages- life always found a way to stray from the path that destiny had paved for it.

Deku is back on his feet within the next few weeks with a renewed vigour of sunny disposition to further blind Katsuki with. They had returned to one another with a better mutual understanding of each other’s feelings- and a bittersweet resolution in the back of their respective minds; 

They would live out the greatest eternity together that they possibly could.

It wasn’t so much a compromise as it was allowing the inevitable to happen. Katsuki still loathed the idea of losing Deku- but in the end, he could not have a cake and eat it too. 

...Not that cake would taste any good to him now, anyways. 

A vampire and a human coupling was never a fantastic idea to begin with. The whole concept was rash and irresponsible-

-Two words that aptly described both Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou. 

In the end, the decision made was mutual and Katsuki would be damned to think otherwise. This journey he chose to undertake… It wouldn’t be an easy one. He knew the full risks now of staying with Deku- staying with a human. He knew of Todoroki’s story and his lamentations on the futility of it all. 

And, like a foolish- lovesick idiot he made his decision. He wasn’t sure if it was the right one but it was the one that he knew he wouldn’t regret in his long life to come. Loving Deku with his entire being would not be a mistake. It would hurt. But it would not be a mistake. 

“I’m warning you now; Todoroki gave my two idiots the key to your apartment- so they’re probably wreaking havoc in there as we speak.” Katsuki tells Deku as he walks him up the stairs. He still wasn’t fully healed so it was a tad difficult.

Deku nods, grimacing a little. 

Katsuki silently swears that if he ever found the bastard that did this to him he’d fucking end him. He’d peel his skin off and wear it as a coat. He’d use his eyeballs as ice cubes for the bloody cocktail he’d make with his innards-

...Katsuki suspects Deku isn’t really listening (which is hypocrisy at its finest) and is more so just focusing on making it up to the apartment first.

That’s when Katsuki remembers that he’s a literal vampire and is ripped as shit.

“Oh fuck yeah,” he mutters, scooping Deku up without a second thought. It was like he weighed nothing more than a potted plant. Ha, he was like his own personal potted sunflower. 

“Kacchan!” Deku squawks, “what are you doing?!” He can already see the flustered red of his cheeks rise from his complexion.

“I’m like one of those old people stair lift things... But way fucking cooler.” Katsuki replies, making no move to put the other down. Instead, he bounds up the flights of stairs with incredible ease, relishing in the fact that his powers allowed him to do such things.

Like a couple on their honeymoon, Katsuki kicks open Deku’s apartment door- to Deku’s dismay, and crosses the threshold with the other still in his arms. 

“Surprise!” The three on the other end exclaim. Todoroki’s enthusiasm had left much to be desired but he did, however, participate in letting off those cheap confetti poppers. 

Katsuki finally puts Deku down on solid ground rather reluctantly. He’d quite liked having him pulled that close.

“Welcome home, Midoriya!” Kirishima says with a grin. “It’s good to have you back!”

Deku nods at him, grateful. “How did your math exam go?” He never had been one that liked all the attention to be on himself. That’s why Katsuki had ascertained that there only be a small celebration when he brought Deku back to his apartment. 

As if he was brought to life- Kirishima approaches Deku with a vivid enthusiasm- fishing something out of his pockets with an advancing urgency. “Look!” He says, splaying a crumpled piece of paper in Deku’s face. “A solid B-minus for my math exam!” Kirishima is brimming with excitement as he grins. “It’s all thanks to you!” 

Deku swells with pride, taking the paper in his hands. “I knew you could do it, Kirishima-kun!” He says it with a bright smile as Kirishima nearly tackles him with a hug.

Kaminari comes up next and just piles on next to Kirishima. “We really missed you dude!” He cries, “Bakugou gets so bitchy when you’re not around!” 

“Oi.” Katsuki warns, crossing his arms. He was mildly jealous of the display going on right now- even if he’d be loathe to admit it.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Kaminari continues, lacking both the required fear and self-preservation…. And perhaps a touch of common sense. 

Nevertheless there would be no homicide in this apartment today.

Todoroki finally approaches next. He’s more cautious- Katsuki would even go as far to say that he was wary. 

Deku is having none of it because he just yanks down on the man’s arm and pulls him into a hug. Todoroki is a lot taller than him so it’s a little awkward- but heartwarming nevertheless. 

Todoroki stiffens in his grasp for a split second before he relaxes. It’s strange to watch- like a doll coming to life. Katsuki idly wonders how long it had been since Todoroki had last been hugged.

The night had been long in effect when Deku had come home, and it seemed it would be continuing for some time after. Kirishima and Kaminari had headed home an hour prior, a skip in their step and smiles on their faces. It was a nice sight to see them back in their full, idiotic glory. 

Todoroki, for all he was lacking in social cues- seemed to mysteriously disappear yet again, leaving Deku and Katsuki alone in the apartment. 

“It’s crazy to think about everything that’s happened.” Katsuki says idly, looking out onto the street through Deku’s window. Todoroki had, luckily, managed to maintain Deku’s growing sunflower collection while he was gone. The blossoms were still in their full glory- to Katsuki’s surprise. He didn’t seem like the nurturing type- but Katsuki ought to know by now that there were a lot of things that he didn’t know about Todoroki. 

“When we tell people how we met, should I leave out the part where you took a huge bite out of a clove of garlic and then dipped without paying?” 

Katsuki scowls, “that doesn’t count… I hadn’t even introduced myself then.” 

“You know I still have your contact name as garlic guy in my phone.” Deku admits with a laugh, scrolling through his list of phone numbers as proof. He shows it to Katsuki with a flustered amusement. 

“I can’t believe you’ve been calling me garlic guy all this time behind my back.” Katsuki sneers, “especially since I gave you such a cute nickname in my pho-” He stops himself.

Deku’s eyes widen. “You have a cute nickname for me!?”
“What?! No!?” Katsuki squawks, jumping off the bed. 

“What is it? Is it darling? Sweetheart?” Deku approaches him with a mischievous smile. “My love?” 

Katsuki freezes at the words, unable to move. 

It’s enough time for Deku to snatch the phone out of his pocket with an evil laugh. 

Just like Deku had made Katsuki a better person- he seemed to have infected Deku with his shithead tendencies.
“Oi! Fucking give that back!” Katsuki screeches, reaching for the phone. 

Deku does not give it back. Instead he opens the phone with ease. Of course Katsuki was one of those weird bastards that didn’t have a passcode on his phone. It was like he had something to prove.

Guess it came and bit him on the ass, finally.

Deku stops in his tracks as he eyes his contact name. 

Sunflower <3

His eyes fill with tears in an instant. “Oh my goddd…. Kacchan.” He chokes, putting a hand to his mouth. 

Katsuki wants to jump out the fucking window. Death doesn’t sound so bad anymore now that he’s done it before. 

“This is so cute, you’re so cute!” Deku exclaims, his voice watery. Without any warning he flings himself at Katsuki. 

Katsuki is unprepared and still horribly embarrassed by the interaction- so his boyfriend throwing himself at him was something that he hadn’t been expecting. Especially since he was still fucking injured.

The pair of them fall back onto Deku’s bed with a thud. 

Deku winces but shows no outward sign that he’d hurt himself any further. Which was a good- and frankly, miraculous thing if Katsuki was being entirely honest with himself. 

“Give me my fucking phone back.” He growls. 

Deku, having gotten what he’d came for- quickly hands over the device. He still has his face hidden in Katsuki’s shirt. 

The pair of them lie there like that for what feels like a lifetime. The midnight breeze was cool- perhaps even bordering on chilly, but Katsuki didn’t want to move. He was exactly where he wanted to be. He couldn’t feel it, after all.

“Deku?” 

“Yeah, Kacchan?” Deku’s voice is muffled against the fabric. 

“I love you.” 

Deku sniffles- which in turn makes Katsuki grimace. “I love you too.” 

Now Bakugou Katsuki was pretty sure he had this vampire shit down to a tee. All he had to do was stay away from the sunlight, avoid churches and not have any attachments to humans? 

Okay, well, the first two steps were easy enough. But he had to say that he’d failed the last.

He didn’t think that that was a bad thing, however. 

He was no longer truly human, but, just like a human- he had every right to choose who got to hurt him.

And he was more than willing to have his heart broken by Izuku Midoriya any day.

Chapter Text

Graveyards are naturally somber- the grass was always too dark to be vibrant and the grey of the tombstones gave everything a wash of monotone- no matter how beautiful the day was. 

“This doesn’t feel right.” Katsuki says to Todoroki as he walks, their steps in time with one another. It was strange that Todoroki was actually letting Katsuki keep pace with him for once- he was always one for either trailing behind or blazing right ahead. “It’s so fucked up.” 

Todoroki hums next to him, flowers in hand, “I thought you believed that this whole ‘thing’ was ‘bullshit.’”

Katsuki scowls, keeping pace with him, “it’s still weird.” 

Todoroki is much better at navigating the yard than Katsuki is- it only makes sense. He’s been here a lot more. 

Katsuki imagines that Todoroki, in general, has been to a lot more graveyards than he. 

The vampire stops in front of one stone, his eyes drawing to the letters engraved onto them long ago. Katsuki frowns as Todoroki places the fresh bouquet onto the dirt. 

Flowers were the most ironic thing one could possibly bring to a graveyard. Flowers represented all kinds of aspects of life; love, friendship, fresh beginnings and new lives- but they died quicker than anything else. 

Katsuki thinks there ought to be a more acceptable thing to bring- perhaps a particularly nice looking rock. Rocks were forever, after all. 

Ah, he supposes that’s why people gave their lovers diamonds... 

He wonders if Deku would like a diamond. 

...Not that he had any money.

“You know, I always used to pass a cemetery by my parent’s house when I lived there… I’d always look at it and think that one day that that would be me in there.” Katsuki admits, trying to fill the air with something other than static silence. He wasn’t good with any aspect of this kind of thing. “In a way, I guess I kind of did.” 

Todoroki hums in thought, “that is true.” 

Being immortal meant never dying- it meant always being the mourner and never the mourned. It was a strange feeling to know that no one would ever put flowers on your casket. 

But then again, Katsuki is fairly certain that the dead don’t recognise that feeling, either. 

After all, they were dead. 

What a strange dichotomy of confusion that they all shared.

The pair of them eyed the stone with a mutual melancholy stare, looking down onto it as if they could garner any sense of answer from it. That’s when they hear footsteps approach. 

“I’m sure Kasai-san was a wonderful person, Todoroki-kun.” Deku says from behind them, he was walking up from the bottom of the hill with a large bundle of sunflowers in his arms. He’d told them to go on without him for a spare moment to fetch them. 

Todoroki looks back at the grave, a soft smile playing on his lips, “mhm, he was.” 

Deku stands in the middle of them, lightly placing the bouquet from his arm onto the ground. Todoroki and Katsuki had finally come clean to him about the situation with Kasai. The whole reincarnation thing had sent Deku into a spin, but in the end- he’d taken it in his stride just like all the other freaky shit in this little world of theirs.

“They weren’t going to give him a funeral.” Todoroki says idly- a frown on his face. “He didn’t have any family around him- and the way he died…” He winces, “but he had friends that had loved him. And he had me. I didn’t let them just bury him, unmarked. He deserved to be remembered here. Even if it was just by one person.” 

Deku watches him, a sympathetic smile on his face. “You did the right thing, Todoroki-kun.”

“...The right thing would have been to save him,” Todoroki replies, a cold starkness in his words.

“Well, you kind of did.” Deku adds, obviously in an attempt to console his friend. “You can’t torture yourself for something that was completely out of your control.”
Katsuki will never know how Deku could say the right things all the time. He was so encouraging and kind- so friendly and likable. He interacted incredibly well with humans- not because he was human, but because his heart was earnest. That was something that Katsuki had never been able to do all that well. Mortal or not.

Idly, selfishly, Katsuki wonders if he did turn Deku- would he still be this same empathetic person? 

Or would his mind twist? 

It didn’t particularly matter, he supposes. Deku had made his decision. And no matter how much it hurt. Katsuki had to learn to understand it. Even if it did send his mind into a state. 

He wouldn’t be alone. After all.

He nods toward Todoroki before grabbing Deku’s hand. “Come on, let’s give him a second alone.” Katsuki says to Deku, pulling him away from the stone. 

Deku obliges, following in his steps. He’s oddly quiet this morning- and Katsuki can tell it’s not just because he’s in a cemetery. There was something else burning in the back of his mind (there usually was.) 

“What’s up?” He asks, stopping a few dozen metres away from where they originally were. They were standing in a small garden section of the yard- the blooming pansies didn’t do much to lighten up the area, but they helped.

“I’m sorry that I can’t live forever with you.” Deku says to him in a burst, his eyes blooming with honest, heartfelt emotion. He looked genuinely sorry- which was almost absurd. 

“You could.” Katsuki replies, his voice barely above a whisper. There isn’t any optimism in the words- but they stick nonetheless. 

Deku shakes his head, “you’re going to keep trying to change my mind until I’m old and grey, aren’t you?” 

Katsuki doesn’t trust his own voice, so he nods. 

Deku smiles at him, a little sad, “you’re incredibly stubborn, Kacchan.” 

“Yeah, well,” Katsuki scowls, trying to clear the lump in his throat, “likewise.” 

If a Sunflower didn’t face the horizon it would only be a matter of time before it died. That was just the way of the world. Katsuki had always found it peculiar as to why he knew such a fact. He couldn’t give less of a shit about gardening- especially flowers. But there was just something about the natural progression of things… Sunflowers thrived as a collective- if they turned their back they shrivelled. They had to stay together- had to live with one another, help one another- to survive. He didn’t think there was any bullshit metaphor to it all- it was just a fucking flower, after all. 

But, in the end, it didn’t really matter. People would take their meanings- their interpretations, and they would wax poetic to anyone that would listen. They would go on and on about the true meaning of the world around them, all the while never truly knowing if they were right.

Katsuki looks at a trio of sunflowers now- glares them down like they’d just insulted him. They’re vibrant young things- just beginning to bloom in all their brilliance. 

“...Are you ready to go?” 

Todoroki gives him space, a social cue that Katsuki didn’t even know the other was aware of. He appreciated it nevertheless. 

“Not really.” 

He can hear Todoroki sigh from behind him and he doesn’t bother to turn around. 

“You remember all that shit you told me about reincarnation?” Katsuki asks, sudden and out of the blue, still gazing at the flowers before him. He says it mostly in jest. 

“...I do, why?” 

“I think that one over on the right is teasing me.” Katsuki replies pointing to the particularly bright sunflower. It was speckled ever so slightly with the soil from the pot.

 “See? It’s even got freckles.”