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It had been a complete accident. No one was at fault, really, unless you counted the people who made the Quirk Erasing Bullet. But the Shi Hisissaki had been gone for almost six years now and Bakugo Katsuki knew that.
So when he got shot by one, when he lost his explosion to one, he had no one to blame but himself.
The fallout of him losing the one thing that made him a hero hadn’t affected the world as much as it had himself. The public mourned, sure, but then they went about their days. They had simply forgotten that Ground Zero had even been on the rankings (He had finally broken the top fifty in his 3rd year as a pro!) nor did they recall how he lost his powers.
Only that he had.
Bakugo had spiralled, of course, anger had been the only thing that kept him going but without the nitro-glycerine-type substance in his body he just…wasn’t that angry anymore. If anything, he felt cold and hollow.
Was this how Deku felt for 10 years?
Two years after the ‘incident’ Bakugo decided to leave the city, of course, the idiots tried to stop him. The saying ‘he didn’t need a quirk to be a hero’ followed him like a taunt. But it didn’t fit him anymore. He wasn’t a hero.
He was QUIRKLESS.
Each year after that, was met with a few of his classmates coming out to his ranch (the word was used loosely due to him only have two horses, a handful of cows and a dog) to try and bring him back.
By the time he turned Twenty-Eight, 19 out of the 20 had been by. Katsuki had given each and everyone the same answer, he wasn’t going back and he was ‘happy’ here. He wasn’t, it felt like something was always missing. But he had spent his entire life ignoring that, and if the one person who could probably bring him back never came? Well, that was Karma.
Deku had been Number One for three years by his 28th.
Bakugo had been tending to his horses when he saw a dark orange Jeep pull up into his drive. He sighed, wondering if it was Kirishima and Ashido again (they had came by last week to announce their engagement, asking if they could get married here. He had agreed.) So, he simply squared his shoulders and faced the car.
Bakugo’s breath caught when a familiar head of green curls appeared out of the door. Izuku had been on the smaller side their entire lives (Probably due to all the bullying, abuse from teachers and pain from having no one believe in him) but now, now the man before him was nothing like the kid he knew.
The other had more scars, new ones that gave the essence of power, and he had those same freckles that seemed to give him a friendly aura. Of course the nerd looked like a love child between All Might and Auntie, he had yet to be spotted so he watched the man look around with a small smile.
Why was Deku here?
Viridian eyes finally caught him and the smile brightened, how was it fair? He didn’t deserve that. He had pushed that boy, that was once his best friend, to the point of almost destruction. Now? Their roles reversed and Deku still smiled at him like they were the oldest of old friends.
“Kacchan!” the Number One hero called, waving happily. Katsuki felt a flicker of anger and that made the man falter.
“What are you doing here, nerd?” Katsuki asked, dropping the hay down and leaning on the wooden fence that surrounded the paddock.
“Oh! Right.” Deku reached into his coat and handed the man a letter, “It’s almost your birthday! And I finally got a break, so I wanted to see how you were. Everyone keeps telling me too, but I have no idea why.” Katsuki felt himself twitch, he still rambled it seemed, “Even Dad said that I should, but you weren’t answering your phone, so I just came!” the greenette smiled warmly, though there was something else there.
“Dad?” the blonde grumbled, opening the letter the other had handed him.
“Oh! Yagi, he…erm, started dating my mum?” Katsuki managed a snort at the image of that talk going down. “But he said I should give that to you, but that’s for later. Can I see your horses? I have never seen a real one.” Izuku seemed to bounce with energy. Like always.
“You not gonna try and drag me back like everyone else?” Katsuki read the letter, the usual ‘How are you, are you eating, what’s happening?’ from their shared mentor.
“Why would I?” Izuku asked, and that caused the blonde to freeze again, looking up at bemused green eyes. “Kacchan, you never do things you don’t want to do.” the greenette climbed over the fence and dusted his hands, looking towards the fields of green. “I can’t force you back, nor can anyone else, and if you are happy here? Then who are they or me to stop you?” Izuku asked and Katsuki felt himself falter for the second time today.
The silence stretched between the two, Izuku once again showing how he was so much better at being kind and heroic. He didn’t push for conversation, didn’t force him to face uncomfortable memories or ideas, he was just simply there.
“Thanks, nerd.” Katsuki finally said, and he meant it. Because that small part that had been missing, that little thing that made him regret running away, finally quietened and clicked into place. The blonde led the hero to his mare first. A beautiful white horse that had a dusting of cream and the darkest of brown eyes.
Izuku was smitten it seemed, gushing over her, and laughing when Katsuki showed him how to take care and stroke the horse. They spent the afternoon just touring the farmstead, Katsuki answering the greenette and just…enjoying the day.
It was later that night, that the uncomfortable topic finally came up. They had set up the fire pit, with Katsuki shaking his head at the silliness of the Symbol of Hope. Save Japan? No problem. Make a fire? Stumped.
“I didn’t think you would ever come.” Katsuki started, staring at the fire as Izuku passed him a beer. Izuku hummed and fell into the spot beside him. “I didn’t think you would want to,” he added, sighing and looking down at the bottle.
“You know, Kacchan, our relationship is extremely complicated.” Izuku mused, sipping and leaning back against the logs. “Did you bully me for almost ten years? Yeah, you did. Did I blame you? Sometimes.” Katsuki flinched slightly at that. “But you weren’t the worst, you learned through the adults who looked after us. Society decided we weren’t allowed to be friends.” Green met red and the soft sad smile physically hurt Katsuki.
“Doesn’t take away what I did.” Katsuki said simply, he would always be angry at himself for it, even if the greenette forgave him.
“No, it doesn’t. But to be honest with you, that’s not up to you.” Izuku chuckled and nudged the blonde. “Others would probably demand justice, others would probably call what I see you as some sort of syndrome. But it’s not up to them either.” another sip and a warm grin as the flames cracked before them.
“So, what do you suggest then?” Katsuki asked, looking up towards the dark skies, and the glimmering of stars. Katsuki had picked this land for the stars, he loved walking and animals kept him from…falling into that darkness.
“We are best friends, brothers, whatever you want to call it. And we will always be that. If you want to stay here and become a cowboy, fine, I will buy you a hat.” Izuku laughed when the blonde pushed his head down.
“Fuck off!” Katsuki chuckled and finally took a drink of his own beer.
“If you want to come back, be an underground hero or an informant, or an office worker, or even a fucking teacher!” Izuku waved his hand with a laugh,
“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Katsuki asked, ruffling the green curls.
“Every Goddamn Sunday,” Izuku replied, with a faint giggle of laughter, “The point is, Kacchan, that I am here for you in whatever way you want me to be. I kept my distance because of our history, you didn’t reach out so I accepted that.” Katsuki glanced at Izuku now with a frown.
He had retreated away, like a fucking coward, but what else was there to do? Without his spark, what was he?
“I didn’t and still don’t know.” Katsuki admitted, “I find peace here, but I am not sure if I am…” the word happy was left unsaid. Because the truth was, Katsuki didn’t know what happiness felt like. He couldn’t remember a time where he wasn’t angry and the last ten years had been slow and painful.
“And that’s okay.” Izuku smiled more, leaning back the whole way, so he was lying down. “It took me ten years to finally get to my starting line and even now, hero work is only a part of what I do. I’ve been working with getting rid of old laws that hurt more than help. Nedzu seems to want me to be headmaster after he steps down…but I am not sure.” Izuku smirked as the other rolled his eyes.
“Can’t help saving people, eh Nerd?” Katsuki asked, lying down with him. The two stayed there, until the fire simmered to embers. They spoke of what they could do, what would work, what would make the blonde happy and if finding a balance was possible.
The end result? Almost a crate of beer between them gone, the two men trying to climb the stables without help and both devolving into full belly laughs at Izuku falling face first into the feeding hay. Did they manage to find a solution? No, but they both agreed that it wasn’t something that needed a fix right away.
As they watched the sunrise from the roof, both made a promise then and there, that they would be friends (even if one was a little too cheerful for most people). It would be theirs, and no one else’s.
They ended up play fighting slightly, and that was how their mothers had found them. Mitsuki and Inko took one look at the pair, the sheepish smile of Izuku and the grin of victory from Katsuki, and both sighed. Were they still drunk? Very much so. Did they care?
Not at all.
Toshinori and Masaru both laughed at the fact these were both adults that were still acting like children. Their children.
The following day was met with shouts from a blonde, laughter from a greenette, chuckles from a retired hero and smiles from the other three parents. It wasn't perfect, but it was theirs.