Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Katsuki tugged the bill of his hat down over his face for what felt like the millionth time. Paranoid that his hair had slipped out of the tight knot at the nape of his neck or that by some horrible turn of fate, one mover would see his face and recognize him. His whole body tense and filled with a million “ what-if ”s as he watched the movers finally descend the porch after placing the last box into his new home.

Home.

The word tasted stale on his tongue after all these years of disuse, but it still tasted right after these past few months. Hell, these past few years . Katsuki never thought he’d feel safe enough to consider somewhere home again, but as he looked up at the western-style cabin, he found that it was the only word that fits. Although it wasn’t permanent, it was sure a place to start.

His parents had immediately insisted he move in when he’d finally caved to Mina and Deku’s begging and told them what had happened. It had surprised him a bit to learn that they had even owned property this far in the country since they both lived in the lap of luxury in Tokyo’s suburbs. But now it had a perfect purpose.

It is a perfect place to hide away and isolate himself to start the healing process of all the wounds he’d accumulated over the last five years. Both physical and mental. A homey, rustic little cabin that looked like it belonged in an American catalog in the middle of a small forest that his father had used when he was younger.

As most of the movers wandered back towards the moving truck, they’d all come in, the one Katsuki knew was the boss made his way towards him. His hands clenched into fists as he fought his first instinct to lower his eyes and hunch his shoulders forward to make himself look smaller. He took a few deep breaths to keep himself from snarling like a cornered animal and squared his shoulders.

“That should do it!” The man said with a wide smile holding out a clipboard to him. “Just need your autograph, and we’ll be all set.”

Katsuki accepted the clipboard with a grunt and quickly glanced over the sheet before signing his name on the dotted line. The man took the clipboard back with a still wide smile and gestured towards the home.

“We set up the bed frame and mattress for you since there weren’t that many boxes, and the guys put the boxes in their assigned areas according to what you wrote on them.” That was a pleasant surprise for Katsuki, and he gave another grunt in acknowledgment while reaching into his pocket to pull out a couple of folded bills.

“Thanks, I guess you didn’t have to do all that.” Handing over the bills, he couldn’t stop himself from yanking his hand back when their fingers accidentally touched, but luckily, the guy either didn’t notice or chose not to comment.

“Enjoy your new home, Bakugou-san and if you notice anything wrong with your stuff, just give us a call, and hopefully we can fix it.” With that, the mover took his leave to join his coworkers in the truck and drove away. The sound of the loud engine a jarring disturbance to the quiet woods.

Katsuki watched the truck leave until he couldn’t see it anymore and finally released the breath he’d been holding. Slowly skimming over the multi-color-changing leaves, the silence finally settled deep into his soul.

“Finally,” he sighed. He was finally alone, and somewhere he could consider safe and away from what his mind now regarded as  dangerous.  Ripping the damned hat off and yanked his hair loose to let his head breathe for the first time in hours, he turned back to the house and set his mind on what all still needed doing.

A deep clean was no doubt in order since his father had admitted to not using it in a few decades, but Katsuki didn’t mind. It gave him something to do since he knew unpacking wouldn’t take him that long. The next would have to be getting the woodstove going. Even if fall had just started, the nights had just started getting chilly to the point of having to wear his winter sleep clothes. He would like to not get sick after just moving in, especially with so much to do.

Tomorrow would be a trip to the closest town for groceries and a bit of a tour to see what was around. It wouldn’t be significant, at least not like Katsuki was used to, but he was curious and admittedly a little excited to see what a small town could hold within its boundaries’. Plus, he wanted to make sure that the clinic or hospital out here would be able to get both his medication and his T-shots so that he could start retaking them. Whether or not the townspeople were open-minded enough for that didn’t concern him, he wouldn’t be seeing them long enough to care about their backward or old-fashioned opinions.

The only thing that he wasn’t looking forward to was that the internet company wouldn’t be out to install an adaptor or T.V. cable until next week at the earliest, so he was stuck with no phone or WI-FI until then. It would put him a little behind the rest of his online college class, but since there wasn’t anything else to do, he was sure it wouldn’t take him that long to catch up.

Hopefully.

Creeping around the side of the house, he wanted to check to make sure the massive pile of wood his father had told him about was still good when the hair on the back of his neck rose. His body locked up immediately, muscles ready to pop as he held himself perfectly still and scanned every inch of the tree line he could see. But even as his eyes found nothing, the feeling of being watched didn’t go away.

Ever since he’d managed to escape that bastards grasp, he’d been frustrated to find that his body’s fight or flight instinct had only intensified. With added fear and anxiety, it manifested itself into something he considered worse than physical fists connecting with his body. The paranoia that his ex would suddenly jump out of nowhere and take him back to how things used to be is more frightening than all five years he’d spent with the man. That paranoia had only increased after Dabi’s release from jail had circulated back to him. He’d thought almost two years was enough time to sort everything out, but the minute those words reached his ears, he realized that he wasn’t anymore close to getting away than the day the man was locked up.

The feeling persisted even as his limbs slowly unlocked, and he took in a few large lung fulls of air to cool his head. Katsuki brushed the sensation off as best he could and proceeded to check the woodpile. Deeming it good enough for the coming winter, he hurried back to the front where his car sat in the gravel driveway.

Popping the trunk, he pulled out the suitcase and bookbag he’d been living out of for the past few months. As well as the revolver his mother had stashed in one of the side compartments. It was a parting gift that felt more than just physically heavy, but it was a comforting weight that reminded him that he could defend himself. Climbing the steps two at a time, he quickly opened the screen door and walked in.

Outside, it smelled like autumn and the deep damp richness of the earth.

Inside, it smelled like dust, wood stain, and late summer.

To the left was a small kitchen with a table off to the side for eating. Boxes of utensils, plates, pots, and pans that his parents had bought him obscured the dark amber counter that ran the length to the far wall, distressed wood cabinets above and below it. Sunlight streamed through so many open windows that he was sure he’d never have to use the lights until the sun went down or it was cloudy outside. The living room was to the right; it was all open concept like the kitchen. The woodstove rested in the farthest corner, set atop a stone platform with the same stonework creeping up the wall behind it. His desk sat near the hallway, but he knew it wouldn’t stay there. The rest of his furnishings, the loveseat, recliner, and T.V., with its stand, would all need to be moved. Roughly, he already knew how he wanted things; he’d seen pictures of the cabin before agreeing to use it, it was still nice to have options.

Options that he could control.

Built-in bookcases stood on either side of the woodstove. All the boxes for the room stacked neatly in front of them. Though there were only a few, unlike the kitchen, they held the majority of everything Katsuki owned before meeting Dabi and very few that he’d wanted to take with him. It wouldn’t take long to unpack them or any of the others in the other rooms, the space he didn’t use would look out of place, but he was planning on remedying that with things  he  wanted to put up around the cabin.

Down the small hallway next to his desk was four doors - one bedroom on the left with the bathroom being the next. Another door inside the rooms connecting them for easy access while the other two acted more as closets then rooms. The one right next to the bathroom was a small space that held the washer and dryer while the other was like a linen slash coat closet in one. The cabin was small, but it somehow reminded him of his parents in the best way, which would help with the transition from a busy city to a quiet forest.

Depositing his bag on the desk chair as he passed by, he decided to set his useless phone down on the desk itself and carefully put the revolver into the top drawer. Shrugging off his light jacket, he hung it on the back of the chair with his hat before making his way to the bedroom. The boss hadn’t been lying when he said they’d set up his bed and mattress already. It would be different sleeping on a regular bed instead of a futon. Still, Katsuki decided that he would take things the passive-aggressive and maybe a little petty route instead of bottling everything up and praying it didn’t explode in his face. At least, that’s what Sero had convinced him to do, and he had a degree in that sort of thing, so he guessed it was worth giving a shot.

Katsuki had to admit, shitting on Dabi’s traditionalist ideals while silently cursing him to hell and back did bring him a bit of joy every time he could.

Dropping the suitcase onto the bed, he started with the first thing he’d wanted to do since starting the drive out here.

Unpack.

The bedroom didn’t have a closet, but his mother had pre-shipped a dresser out so that he’d have somewhere to put his clothes and he was begrudgingly grateful, even if he’d never admit it. Putting everything away took less than five minutes since he’d already washed and folded everything before leaving his parents’ house.

In the house he’d lived in with Dabi, not even a quarter of the clothes he’d owned would have fit in this dresser. Only those had been for someone else. A person Dabi had forced him to be for the majority of their relationship.

Now though , he could be himself without worrying about reprimand or consequence.

Cleaning as he went, he unpacked the rest of the bedroom. Next was the bathroom with his small stash of makeup he’d bought right before leaving and linen slash coat closet. Even the kitchen took about as much time as he’d expected while the many nails along the walls that his father hadn’t bothered taking down served well enough to hang the larger pictures he couldn’t just place on his desk or dresser. One of the photographs, as he was pulling them out, caught his eye as he took it out of the box, and he couldn’t help but cringe slightly while a weight settled in his stomach.

She was a little girl who couldn’t be older than seven in an elementary school girl outfit with pastel pink ribbons in her long blond hair. It was almost as long as it is now. She glared at the camera with eyes so red that it seemed like it had personally offended her in some way while her parents both had the softest and proudest smiles.

He remembered being adamant about not wanting to wear the ribbons, but at the time, his mother had just assumed that he was going through a time that he hadn’t wanted to look childish. He’d need to see if there was a barber in this little town or if he’d have to cut it himself. It’d been growing out for almost seven years too many, and he was more than a little impatient to chop it all off. Flipping over the picture, he felt the weight ease as he saw the scribbled out note on the back, as well as the second one scribbled beneath it.

Katsuki

Age 7

We’re so proud of you, champ!

They’d been so supportive when he’d finally confessed to them how he felt. It had taken a lot of confidence and swallowing his pride to admit that something  had  been wrong in the first place, but when all of it was said and done, they’d looked at him the same way they always had with love and support. Though his mother had thrown a bit of a fit about all the wasted opportunities for designing cute boy clothes for when he was younger, besides that, she had been supportive to the point of suffocating. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

With a light feeling in his heart and a rare smile, he placed the picture on the wall right over where he’d decided to put his desk.

Kneeling by the bookcase, he started on the boxes of books; what had taken up the majority of boxes in the truck and small knick-knacks he was able to save as the last things to unpack. His collection of books had diminished when Dabi decided that anything even remotely related to things Katsuki liked was trash, which had included his college courses that he’d dropped out of not long after they started dating. But in the months since Dabi’s arrest, everyone had been trying to help him re-gather all his lost items.

As he put things in their place, his skin started to prickle and tingle again. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck rose on end. Turning slowly, Katsuki looked out the windows near the front of the cabin. The forest was still, not even a breeze, while the dwindling sunlight cast shadows everywhere. Squinting, he rose slowly and scanned the tree line, trying to see if anything moved, but couldn’t discern anything out of the ordinary.

Then why do I feel like something is watching me?

Dabi.

It had to be because of Dabi. That motherfucker did this to him. He took his pride and confidence and twisted it until he couldn’t make hide or tail of what was up or down. He squeezed his hands into fists until he felt the bite of his blunt nails dig into his skin.

The cabin was a new place, a new beginning for him. He refused to let that  monster  control his life any more than he already had. Katsuki would fight tooth and nail to take it back; he refused to be a victim anymore.

Chapter Text

Eijirou made sure to keep to the shadows as he watched the mortals walk in and out of the unorthodox shrine, only creeping closer when one of them remained at its front.

Following the mortal towards the back, he flowed over dead leaves and fallen branches without a sound as he tried to get a better look at the human. The other shadows seemed to mock him in his curiosity, but like all the other times they whispered to him, he ignored them. The need to investigate who had decided that this abandoned structure was livable after so long drove him to wander to the edge of the tree line, just out of reach of the sun’s still high rays. When he saw the human suddenly freeze, he tensed and was surprised when their head turned towards where he’d hidden within the trees.

Can they sense me?

Eijirou didn’t have time to ponder the question, as the mortal seemed to shake off whatever had made their hackles rise and continued towards the pile of wood that had sat untouched for years.

Thee forest scent was an unconscious one to him, rich and damp with the undertone of decay. But as he continued to watch this human move back towards the front area, a breeze brushed past them and carried towards him a new yet familiar scent that curled around his senses.

Warmed sugar and biting spice.

Before he realized what his form was doing, a ray of late evening sunlight touched him, and he recoiled back with a low hiss like the wind through leaves—squashing the sudden little piece of instinct that had wanted him to move closer to the tantalizing scent and forced himself to think clearly. He wasn’t a beast, had never been even before his damnation, no matter how much his people had gained such a reputation from outsiders simply because of their appearance and strength. However, something he’d had to learn the hard way is that his force had no use in the shadow’s body.

As the sun continued to shift west and the forest’s shadows began to grow longer, he continued to creep forward, Eijirou watched the mortal move about the shrine. He was biding his time until he finally reached the porch to get a much better vantage point to see what they were doing.

This mortal seemed… different.

Though it was evident that they were cleaning and arranging their furnishings that they were indeed planning on staying, even living in this shrine, they didn’t seem like any shrine maiden or holy man he’d ever encountered.

Their blond hair, now free of the updo it had been in before, was long, and their dark carmine eyes were unusual, especially compared to how light their skin seemed from the interior lighting. It all gave Eijirou the impression that this mortal was more than meets the eye, even if he couldn’t sense any magic. Though that didn’t mean they didn’t have other means of tapping into the supernatural. He’d met plenty who could hide their abilities from even Kitsune’s with all nine tails, so taking someone at their face value wasn’t on his list any time soon.

With his curiosity far from sated, he made the rash decision to follow them carefully when they came outside to gather a few logs for their fire. As they bent to collect a few near the front of the pile, he let a small tendril of shadow creep forward and just brush against the skin the peaked out from their shirt when they bent down so that he could feel them. All at once, emotions bombarded him quickly, and it felt like he got whiplash from just a few seconds of contact.

Anger

Fear.

Hope.

Each one, he felt more clearly than anything since the beginning of his damnation.

And then there was warmth.

It started from the point of contact and quickly made its way up the tendril to bloom across his being. A low hiss started but quickly turned into a moan like the high winds at the unexpected but not unwanted temperature different. It had been so long since he’d felt anything besides blistering cold, it wrapped him in soothing comfort for only a few moments longer before it was snatched away along with the connection.

The mortal jerked away as if they’d been burned and whipped around at an impressive rate. Eyes wide and searching for something they’d never be able to see unless Eijirou stepped into a patch of light from one of the windows. The fear he’d felt now showed openly on the mortal’s face though they seemed to cover it with a mask of false bravo. Pupils shrunk to the point they looked like slits.

Immediately his mind jumped at the similarity between them and-

No.

Banishing that train of thought before it could get any further, he forced his attention to the now quickly retreating form of the mortal. To his shock, a few tendrils raced after them, chasing the warmth they’d felt without his permission, and he was quick to pull them back to him. Though he couldn’t blame them for wanting more, he didn’t wish to frighten this interesting human away.

As Eijirou watched them walk away, he was surprised by his desire to follow after them again, almost as if they were a beacon of light drawing him in. This small, insignificant, short-lived mortal had already made him force his baser instincts down once, and now he was doing it again to keep from trailing after them like a lost animal.

He’d lost the want to feed and gain solidity early into his damnation, but now his form twitched with the wish to feel their skin and see if it was as soft and defined as the light made it seem. And the  warmth he’d felt just moments ago. However, he shoved that thought away quickly as well. That once blessing had turned sour when he learned firsthand how much he’d have to take to gain even a fraction of flesh and feeling that would only last a few hours.

Eijirou shook himself and reasoned that one last look at them would help ease the mounting wanting he was feeling towards the mortal and quickly flowed towards one of the many windows to peer inside. A surprising surge of panic filled him when he realized that the front of the shrine turned dark and that the mortal was nowhere in sight. Quickly moving between all the windows in search of them, he finally calmed when he seemed to come upon their bedchamber.

He knew that watching others dress and undress was wrong to humans, but he held no reverence to watching this mortal prepare for bed. Besides, as long as they didn’t know he was there, what harm could it do? Plus, if he watched long enough, he might be able to see what kind of human would be living in this type of shrine and know how to address them. So he settled himself to watch them as they began with their shirt to reveal… a strip of cloth?

Looking closer, it looked like something he’d seen a few of the shrine maidens wear long ago under their traditional robes to keep their breast in place, though this one looked much tighter compared to those. Eijirou would even go as far as to say that it looked uncomfortable. He continued watching, curious to see if they had any other odd things he’d never seen. Next went the pants, though the undergarment stayed, replaced with a different set of pants though he wasn’t sure the material, but it was very different from the first. Eijirou watched as they started to unwind the binding around their chest, a sigh of… pleasure? Relief? - left their lips before moving to sit on the high placed bedding. His eyes widened as he finally got a look at their chest, and two small but full breasts were now on full display for him to see before a shirt was tossed over their head and pulled down to cover them.

So this mortal was a shrine maiden? Or was going to become one since they didn’t seem to have everything they would need.

Maybe he could find a few things laying around in the abandoned shrine he called home as a small welcoming present?

The quick absence of light snapped him back to the present, and he stiffened when he noticed the mortal standing at the window with the drapes in either hand ready to be drawn. But before they could, those different yet otherworldly eyes looked right at him, and for a second, Eijirou felt he’d been in this same situation before.

Looking into the eyes of someone so different but so beautiful as they looked back at him with no fear or disgust like so many others. No, their face was full of the most innocent of fascination and awe. The next second that he blinked, the feeling was gone, and the curtains were being closed tight, cutting whatever connection made and leaving him desperate for more.

So much more.

Eijirou forced himself to wait until he was sure they had fallen asleep before rushing back towards the door that acted as the entrance. No warding prevented him from slipping underneath to gather himself on the other side and make his way towards where he figured the bedchamber would be. While he’d usually be fascinated by modern mortal furnishings, his mind was too preoccupied with the need to…

To…

To what?

Eijirou wasn’t sure he knew what he was doing but knew that he needed to do it now. Four closed doors met him at the end of the short corridor, instead of spending time trying to guess, he slid a tendril under each entry to see where the mortal’s scent was most potent. Slithering under the first door his eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness, and the part of him that had been frenzied to get to them calmed.

Their scent was so much stronger here. Eijirou could distinguish each aspect of the scents now, with it so congealed into a single area. Smooth and melted caramel with the tinge of chili’s that made him think that if he could kiss any part of them with his lips, licked any part of them, even in shadow form, his lips and tongue would tingle with sweet heat for hours afterward.

Though no light permeated through the curtains, his eyes saw as if it was daytime, and he took full advantage of it as he looked over every inch of this moral. They lay facing the door; the blanket draped over them gave away the curves that the clothes during the day hadn’t been able to. Moving closer to the bed their scent only grew, and with it the desire to touch, he quickly realized that it would be too risky. Even if he didn’t touch and take, he wasn’t sure how it would feel to the mortal since a tendril had caused panic and fear earlier. He didn’t want to risk waking them with a similar reaction.

Eijirou had only started to scratch the surface of his curiosity for this human; he didn’t wish to run them off to a place he couldn’t go.

Debating for a moment more on what he could do, he finally came to a safer route.

He collected himself a moment, let a few of his tendrils forward and skimmed them over the blanket to find an area not covered. Seeming to sense something happening, the mortal curled in on themself tighter, as if warding off something or in a vain attempt at comfort. It caused Eijirou to hold himself back from reaching forward to comfort them himself.

But what comfort would his being bring?

Eijirou moved the tendrils carefully up towards the human’s shoulders since it seemed was the only area uncovered.  Running them over the shirt, his breath hitch as their warmth bleed through the material that was nothing but a memory of feeling, but he couldn’t touch.

It was maddening.

Ripping himself away, he forced his body to leave before he couldn’t control the unknown wave of emotions suddenly crashing inside of him. Spilling under the entrance, he made quick work of the distance between the shrine and tree line, and soon he was zipping by trees, brush, and startled animals until he finally stopped within the rotten doors of his own home. He’d found an abandoned shrine not long after his damnation that no other spirit seemed to have wanted and therefore became his.

As he took in useless lung fulls of air, he tried to make his mind process what the fuck had just happened.

Something hadn’t been right.

Eijirou was centuries-old; he wasn’t young by even his own people’s standards, so why was he suddenly having a hard time controlling his baser instincts as if he were a child? And all because of a human?

This was dangerous. They were dangerous, but a different kind of danger than Eijirou was used to dealing with. This mortal was no Kitsune, or a jaded spirit, or even a western witch. At most, they were a shrine maiden with no magic to keep the supernatural at bay and all of that, plus the unfamiliar feeling that was starting to bloom inside his nonexistent heart made everything seem that much worse and incredibly thrilling.

Oh.

Eijirou felt a manic grin stretch across his face as a feeling he did recognize but hadn't felt in so long rushed through his shadowed veins.

To hunt.

To conquer.

To prove.

To claim.

Chapter Text

Katsuki woke slowly, shivering in a pitch-black room, curled into a tight ball, arms tucked close. The cold morning air caressed his exposed skin, and he couldn’t help but revel in the silence for a few seconds before it became too cold. Reaching for the blanket, he was annoyed to find that it wasn’t there. Grunting, he propped his head up and looked towards the foot of the bed to find that one corner of the heavy blanket was hanging on for dear life while the rest had fallen to the floor. Groaning, Katsuki dropped his head back onto his pillow and glanced hesitantly at the clock.

It was almost ten in the morning.

He stared at the barely glowing numbers, the only form of light in the room, in shock. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept past five-thirty or not woken up every few hours from a horrible nightmare.

Dabi had drilled a specific routine into him early on in their relationship, and breaking it had proven more difficult than he’d like to admit during the entire time they’d been apart.

Iron clothes, a traditional breakfast, jacket if it was chilly, and a briefcase with a parting goodbye kiss at the door. He’d learned a little later to eat his breakfast after the bastard had already left for work, else the comments about his weight wouldn’t stop until he’d lost a few pounds with visual proof.

Katsuki had thought that it would have been just as difficult as before to shake the routine, but this was a no doubt pleasant surprise.

However, despite this pleasant surprise of a long good night’s rest, he was rudely reminded that he was freezing as a violent shudder passed through him. Slipping out of bed into his waiting slippers, he made his way into the living room to check the woodstove, fixing his hair from the mess it had become in his sleep into a more reasonable loose bun along the way.

“Fucking bullshit.” He cursed when he saw that the fire had burned itself out.

Grabbing the fire poker, he stirred up the ashes to reveal the few remaining embers. Reaching into his memories, he tried to remember how his dad had taught him to keep a fire going when they’d go on their father/son bonding camping trips. Adding a few sheets of newspaper and another log seemed reasonable enough to him, and with a quick flick of a match, the embers turned back into a rolling fire. With the cabin heating back up, Katsuki made his way into the kitchen to start the coffee pot his… friends? Had bought him as a housewarming gift since he didn’t have one to take with him.

Dabi had always found coffee distasteful and disgusting and had told Katsuki that he wouldn’t tolerate it in his house. Home brewed or café ordered, if caught with it, he’d end up with the minimum of a bruised lip and, at worst, a broken finger. So to celebrate the first morning at his new home, he made his coffee extra strong and with just two packets of sugar to take the edge off.

Stepping out onto the front porch with his steaming mug felt like closing one door and opening another. Though the air was nipping at his exposed arms and creeping up his stomach, Katsuki couldn’t find it in himself to care as he basked in the fully risen sun and took in all the scenery. The early morning dew looked like little diamonds on the lawn, and the way the sun was shining between the trees made it look like something out of a movie. All in all, he couldn’t lie that it was beautiful out here, and he wouldn’t mind staying here for as long as possible to appreciate all of it.

Sadly his tranquility didn’t last long.

All too soon, his skin started to prickle with a sensation that had nothing to do with the early fall chill. While all of his limbs locked to flee at any sign of danger, Katsuki’s eyes scanned the tree line critically. He was trying to see if he could see anything in the shadows or between the thick trunks, but nothing popped out.

Gathering up a large lungful of air, he gave a sharp, “ Oi !” and waited a few long minutes to see if anything would answer. In the distance, he heard a flock of birds stir, and other species dart about in surprise. A stab of annoyance twisted his chest as he forcefully took a seat on the porch swing, uncaring that some of his coffee sloshed over the side and nearly scorched his leg.

“Goddamn, fucking asshole, I should’ve burned that retched house to the ground along with your body while I had the chance you good for nothing-”

For the rest of the morning, Katsuki forced himself to keep all thoughts away from his ex as he enjoyed his first coffee in a long time.

After a quick shower and getting dressed, he brushed his teeth and swept his hair back up into a tight knot that would fit under his hat. He looked at his small stash of makeup and decided a bit of eyeliner would do and headed into town for the first time. Through back roads that only started to transition from forest to buildings five minutes before hitting the main street, Katsuki knew that he’d undoubtedly get lost if he wasn’t careful.

Pulling into the parking lot of the grocery store just off to the left, he parked and dug his phone out of his pocket to check it since he finally had service, even if it was shitty. His brow rose; ten missed calls from his mother, six from his father, and a variety of text from both his parents and friends.

How was the drive?

Send us pictures, Blasty!

When can we come to visit you? I’ve never stayed in a cabin!

Let us know when you’ve settled in Katsuki.

Answer your damn phone brat!

You doing ok, dude? Move everything in, alright?

Kacchan, we’re getting a bit worried.

Katsuki, I know you don’t have service yet, but you’re starting to scare your mother and me.

“Fucking… idiots.” Katsuki sighed fondly. It was nice to know that everyone was worried about him but damn. Huffing a laugh, he opened his contacts and dialed the third number on his speed dial.

“Kacchan!” Came the shrill and panicked voice of Midoriya Izuku. Soon an incomprehensible amount of noise followed the exclamation, and he could make out the voices of Sero and Mina in the background, among others.

“Hey.”

“Bakugou Katsuki. You ignoring our texts and your parents' calls, and all you have to say for yourself is, hey?!” Izuku screeched.

“Stupid Deku, I told you idiots that I wouldn’t have service at the cabin until next week. Don’t nag at me like you’re my mother, I still need to call her and the old man, so I don’t need to fucking hear it from you too.” He groused, but silently he was smiling. It was nice to have people who cared about him. Even if he still didn’t feel like he deserved it.

“I know, we know, but it was still scary to not hear from you when we’ve talked every day either over the phone or in-person…”

“Yay, yay, stop your sappy shit. I’m sorry for worrying you or whatever.” Katsuki tightened his grip on his phone and took a deep breath to steady himself for his next question. “Is he…?” Biting his tongue when the rest of the words got stuck in his throat, he hoped the nerd got where he was going so that he would have to choke himself to get the rest of it out.

The gods must be smiling upon him today because Izuku sucks in a sharp breath, letting him know that he’d heard his meaning. Soon there was the sound of movement and a pause before a relieved sigh met his ears.

“He’s still here. I’ve been keeping an eye on him.” 

Katsuki released the tense breath he’d been holding.

He’d never say it out loud, but he was entirely grateful that his old childhood friend had moved into the apartment buildings right across from the house he’d been living in with Dabi. At the time, it had seemed like just another cruel joke on his life, but it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Of course, the nerd had recognized him the first time they’d run into each when Dabi had decided to take him out shopping for a new gift after he’d slapped him that morning. The fear Izuku had had in his eyes at first quickly disappeared when he’d noticed the bruise blooming on his cheek. Even after Dabi had tried to explain it away, Izuku had only looked that much more worried. The little shit had always been too observant, only this time; it had saved Katsuki’s life without question.

It wasn’t long after that first meeting that Izuki had begun “accidentally” running into them around town. And each time he noticed a new bruise or bandage covering any part of Katsuki’s skin, he made sure to never comment on it, but he could tell that the younger man was taking note of it.

About three years ago, after Dabi had already gone to work, Katsuki had gotten a knock on the door from the second to last person he wanted to see. But Izuku had made it very clear that he wouldn’t be leaving until they talked about everything that he’d noticed throughout the months they’d been living as neighbors. Those all-seeing green eyes that Katsuki had only seen filled with tears now held determination to help someone in need, even if that person had caused them so much harm in the past.

Katsuki had tried to deny the accusations and tried defending Dabi even though the words tasted like hot coals on his tongue that burned with every desperate word he spat out. After a hard breakdown that ended with an almost hour-long crying fit, he finally let the truth out. He’d begged, actually begged, the other not to say anything to anyone. Izuku had reluctantly agreed that he didn’t want to face Dabi when he was mad any more than Katsuki did, but swore that he’d use everything to get him out.

They’d decided to act normal when in public to keep up appearances as Izuku worked to get all the legal paperwork they’d need to meet and discuss details only when Dabi was at work or away to visit his family.

However, it hadn’t made a difference how much planning they did, or how close they had been to getting Katsuki out in the end. But now he was free, and he owed that freedom to someone he hadn’t even deserved a second glance from, let alone help.

Katsuki thanked every deity and god that he hadn’t made Izuku lose his kindness towards others when he’d been a shitty brat. He also thanks Izuku for introducing him to the batch of idiots he now called friends. He’d stayed with them in their three-bedroom apartment, so he wouldn’t have to live with Izuku next to the house that housed all his nightmares.

“What’s he been doing?”

“For the most part, he hasn’t left the house. He lost his job, but I can’t be sure if he isn’t doing side jobs to keep up appearances.” Izuku said. “He’s angry, and he took a bunch of trash out to the curb yesterday for the garbage men. It looked like mostly clothes and a few other things that you didn’t want to take, but he dragged it all back inside right before the truck came.”

Katsuki sucked in a breath of surprise at that.

“Kacchan, I think he’s obsessed with you.”

Katsuki didn’t know what to say to that, so he just let the silence hang in the air until his rapid heart didn’t feel like it would burst from his chest.

“I’ll keep you updated if anything changes if that helps,” Izuku said to fill the silence.

“Yay, even if you can’t reach me. I’ll probably be in town again before the internet company can come out, and I’d like to know what’s going on even if it’s late.” He agreed, glad he didn’t have to be the one to break the silence.

“If it gets worse and I can’t reach you, I’ll call your parents, and they’ll be out there in a few hours to warn and or get you.”

“Fine.”

They talked for a few more minutes, each of the others getting a turn afterward since they wouldn’t stop asking to speak with him. After finishing that call, he managed to get a hold of his father since his mother would still be at work, thank the gods, and let him know that everything had gone smoothly. Trading goodbye’s with the promise to call as soon as the internet was up so his mother could hear from him, he hung up and took a moment to take in his surroundings.

A few storefronts, a bank, two gas stations, and what looked like a communal building and the grocery store made up all he could see, but from what he could tell, there was a lot more to see off the main street.

He was safe.

He was in a small town that he’d never even heard of until six months ago, which means Dabi couldn’t possibly know where he was.

He was safe.

Gathering himself with a few deep breaths, he left his car and walked into the grocery store. Several people watched him when he entered, which put him on edge but forced himself to grab a cart and carry on like nothing was wrong. 

They’re not staring at you because they know. You’re a new face in a small town, of course, people are gonna stare at you.

But even as he kept repeating it to himself over and over as he wandered down the soup aisle for easy dinners, it didn’t stop his brain from going into paranoia mode.

Gathering some meats, cheeses, and bread with a large helping of frozen box dinners quickly filled his basket with a handful of instant ramen cups that should last him a few weeks. He made sure to take a trip to the seasonings section to pick up a variety of chili flakes and other desired ingredients to help make the food better. Heading towards the check out lane, pulling into the shortest line, it didn’t take long until it was his turn. As he placed his items on the belt, the older man behind the counter gave him a wide smile. His face reminded Katsuki a bit too much of a skeleton, but he seemed friendly enough that he didn’t glare as harshly as usual.

“Well, it’s nice to see a new young face around here finally!” The man, Toshinori, by his nametag, greeted.

Pulling out his wallet, Katsuki grunted in acknowledgment.

“So which house did you move into?”

Freezing in taking the money out, he kept his head down as he hissed, “Why do you think I’d move to a shitty town like this, huh?” Biting his tongue when his voice didn’t come out as loud as he’d wanted.

“Well, for one,” Toshinori started calmly, cautious of what had caused the sudden change in his customer to make them defensive, “This is a lot of frozen food for someone just passing through. And two, this is a small town, my boy. Everybody knows everybody who knows everything about everybody.” He gave a loud laugh at the dramatic sneer he received in return, but it did seem to help ease whatever tension had accumulated.

Katsuki chewed the inside of his cheek as he weighed his options on how to retort. This man didn’t seem dangerous, but he was all too familiar with people keeping their true selves hidden from the public eye. But then he looked at the man’s skeletal face again and was hit with the realization that if this was just his face, then the rest couldn’t be much better. If the situation escalated into a fight, Katsuki would undoubtedly be able to overpower him and get away…

Blinking rapidly, his eyes connected with two small pinpricks of sky blue surrounded by voids of black and realized that he’d been avoiding eye contact this entire interaction.

When had he started doing that?

He couldn’t remember…

“My boy?”

Blinking again to clear his suddenly blurry vision, Katsuki was shocked to realize that he had tears brimming. Wiping them away, uncaring if he streaked the eyeliner, he coughed to get rid of the lump starting to form.

“Nothing, just…” Taking a steadying breath as Sero had taught him, he steadied himself before continuing. “Fine, I moved here. But I didn’t buy any of your shitty houses in town. My old man owns a western cabin in the forest off the interstate, and he’s letting me use it to-“ Stopping abruptly, he didn’t know what he was going to say.

Surely, he hadn’t just been about to spill his life story to a stranger in the middle of the goddamn store?

“For personal reasons.” Katsuki finally decided on when the silence stretched a little too thin.

“Ah, that old thing? We all thought it condemned since no one seemed to live there for a long while.” Toshinori laughed as he scanned the last item. “Well, be careful out there. A few folks around here say there’s something in that forest more dangerous than any predator, but it’s usually just the older ones who can’t even remember their own children’s names anymore.”

Katsuki handed Toshinori the money with a roll of the eyes; if there were something in the forest that was dangerous, they wouldn’t have built anything that could harm anyone.

Though, in the back of his mind, the feeling of eyes watching him made an involuntary shiver run down his back.

“I can handle myself.” He snapped instead and growled when he got another laugh in return.

“I never said you couldn’t, but it’s hard to beat old habits when you’re a retired firefighter. The need to make sure everyone’s alright and safe never really leaves you, even when you haven’t done the job in years.”

Katsuki couldn’t help but feel he could relate.

About the kicking habits, at least, but if this morning was any indicator, he looked forward to the future.

Grabbing his bags with a begrudged ‘thanks,’ he was ready to leave and get everything home before it dethawed but was stopped at the automatic door by Toshinori’s voice.

“If you have any questions about anything in our little town, don’t be afraid to stop by and ask! I’d be happy to tell you all you need to know!”

For a second, Katsuki thought about flipping the older man off, and continuing on his way, his words registered and turned. There were no other customers in Toshinori’s line, and the rest of the store didn’t look all that busy.

“What if I have questions now?” He asked cautiously, unsure if there would be a catch to the information if he wanted to know earlier than the man expected.

“Then I can answer them now if you’d like,” Toshinori chirped.

Unable to detect any signs of possible ulterior motive, Katsuki turned his cart around and headed back to the register.

“What do you want to know about?”

Katsuki paused for only a moment to pick through the number of questions suddenly burning in his head now that he had someone who could answer them.

“You got a clinic in this small ass town?”

By the time he was driving home with his now almost fully thawed groceries, he felt… lighter. He’d gotten a recommendation, and office phone number for a doctor at the clinic that Toshinori assured was experienced with all manner of patients since he hadn’t wanted to disclose precisely why he needed to see a doctor as soon as possible. To his relief, the older man hadn’t pried but still seemed worried even after multiple reassurances that he was not sick, though now he also knew that there was a hospital about fifteen minutes away if anything was wrong.

He’d kept the rest of his questions to himself when they’d finally finished and who had seemed to be Toshinori’s boss had come out to see who was taking up his employee’s time. Katsuki had instantly been on guard, even if the man only seemed to reach his knees the scar across his right eye and the way his friendly smile seemed… off, gave the impression that he wouldn’t have knees anymore if he didn’t let his employee get back to work.

With the number burning in his wallet and the knowledge that he maybe had someone he could partially trust, Katsuki felt he was making progress in moving on with his life.

Maybe I will be able to lead a healthy life sooner rather than later...