Hello! Welcome to the second to last installment of this fic! We're officially going from choocoo train of angst to the rowboat of love 💗

First off, everyone of course give it up for the best beta in the world! Luna is amazing and her feedback is as priceless as she is and I am always so happy that we found our way to each other. Our friendship means a lot to me and it's really great a story like this and Kacchan brought us together :))

Now let us get started!

Warnings: Adult scenes and themes. Tooth rotting fluff. Himbo energy.

Song: Die Hard - Marc E Bassy

Chapter 30 - Rekindle

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Katsuki crossed Izuku's mind every day since he departed for Yaizu.

His alluring smirk and soft golden hair appeared inside of Izuku's mind anytime he was idle for too long. It all felt like an airy passing daydream that Izuku would try to reach out and grasp. However, when he would pull his fist back, Izuku opened his empty palm and was reminded he no longer had Katsuki.

The decision to part ways was one of the most difficult things Izuku ever had to face, but it made sense deep down. They rationalized a long distance relationship, however the prospect of it being permanently long distance was too painful after living together for so long—for their entire relationship really. Therefore the two men agreed to end on good terms and not sour what they had. They went their separate ways and promised to keep in touch and hold onto their friendship

And Izuku tried.

For an entire month Izuku found himself composing text after text to Katsuki, only to realize he loved him too strongly to act as if they were friends. Sometimes he would type 'I love you' quicker than he could think at the end of a message. Then he would slowly press delete until it was wiped clean. Or sometimes he would catch himself rushing off to tell Katsuki about his great day at work, but the tired pull in the other's voice was evident. There was indisputable longing and hearing Katsuki try to pretend to be happy for him was hard.

What made it unbearable though, was how Izuku felt his heart be pulled into that damning gravity every time the name 'Lieutenant Kacchan' appeared on his screen. And Izuku didn't have the heart to change Katsuki's name.

Not yet.

So in the process of trying to shake the feeling of Katsuki's embers, Izuku felt like he had to wean himself away from Katsuki's light. Izuku kept contact to a minimum as he dived into work and rebuilt his life in Yaizu. Where he belonged.

The summer winds and comfort of the sun reassured Izuku that he was back home and it only reinforced the young detective's decision to move away. He knew deep in his heart he hadn't made a mistake. Spending time away from everything about Shizuoka City reminded Izuku of who he was and what he loved about life to begin with. He had nearly forgotten all of this while caught up in the firestorm of Shizuoka City.

Painting, running his mother's gallery, and working on cases. These were all the components that were necessary to his happiness. Izuku had everything he adored back in his life. Things that he could never have in Shizuoka City but this time there was no imminent threat of the Shigarakis. There was no glancing over his shoulder afraid of a stalker. No fear of another fire that may consume him.

No more Touya.

It was all gone, and he was back home.

Izuku felt like he had finally had all the pieces to his heart reassembled. There were cracks in between them, but he sealed the gaps with gold paint and molded himself to fit a shape that he was happy with. And at the end of the day, that's what truly mattered: that he was happy with who he was. He could feel all the puzzle pieces falling into place.

Well, all except one.

The thought of the house he grew up in crossed Izuku's mind.

It was now the evening before his gallery opening and also his 24th birthday. He was dressed in an expressive short sleeved emerald shirt Itsuka had picked out for him. To match, he tried his best to couple it with flowy high waisted khaki color pants that neatly tied in a bow in the front and brown sandals. He fiddled pensively with the shortness of his sleeves as his eyes raked over the exposed skin of his left arm.

It was the first short sleeve shirt in four years he had bought and the first time ever his burned arm was fully on display.

Izuku had invited everyone in his life he could think of to celebrate the official new beginning. He happily invited all his new co-workers who were warm and welcoming to him. Itsuka and all her bubbly joy. Mirio after proper apologies were spoken and understanding was found. Izuku even extended the invitation to all the officers at Uchimizu Ave and the 1B precincts.

Part of him was nervous to see all his past team members, but also extremely excited.

He briefly thought about pretty red eyes but quickly he shook his head. He needed to stay far away from that part of his mind. Friends. They were friends.

Izuku repeated this mantra to himself as he walked his way from his small apartment to the art gallery in downtown Yaizu. The stroll between his new place of residence and the gallery always passed by a particular narrow sidewalk he found bittersweet to take. He could go around, there was a quicker way. But Izuku took this path every chance he had to make sure the small blue 'For Sale' sign was there until he could put down the down payment for his childhood home.

However, when he passed by the small home he grew up in this day, that sign of reassurance was no longer there. Instead a large red 'SOLD' sign was being stuck into the ground by the landlord as Izuku walked towards the black fence.

Everything froze in place.

Izuku's mouth hung open and his heart fell out of his chest to shatter on the ground.

"E-Excuse me!" He called out loudly. The frantic freckled man quickly paced himself all the way down the sidewalk as everything in his eyes started crumbling faster than he could comprehend. "Mr. Tanaka! Wait!"

The landlord lifted his gaze once the sign was stuck deep into the front lawn. Izuku stared in horror as if it was the final nail in the coffin of his dream being sealed away forever.

"S-Someone bought the house?" Izuku panicked. The grey-haired man gave him a deep look of sympathy before standing upright in the yard. "I thought bidding wasn't done until the end of August."

"I'm so sorry, Izuku," Mr. Tanaka said in a low voice. His honey brown eyes were drowning in understanding as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I tried my best to tell the young man about the bidding process, but he offered me double the listing price on the spot last week. Paid in full. I couldn't turn down that offer with all the medical expenses I need to pay for my wife."

"Double the listing price?" Izuku whispered in disbelief. He blinked several times to push back the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "It's sold? Completely?"

"Yes, it's no longer my property," Mr. Tanaka confirmed woefully. "I'm so sorry, Izuku. Maybe in the future you can get a duplicate house made or possibly move on. I know your parents wanted this house for you but sometimes things don't work out that way."

Izuku's freckled features twisted in pain as he thought the dream of buying back his childhood home being just that—a dream. Green eyes bittersweetly studied the small home in front of them. He took in the newly restored yellow paint on the house, the wooden porch and the lush green yard filled with newly potted vibrant flowers. Izuku noted how all the weeds from the previous day had been plucked and there was a radiant glow around the house.

Then he pictured his mother and father dancing on the front lawn like they used to. Izuku felt his heart break into tiny shards.

"D-Do you know who it was?" Izuku asked quietly.

The orphan bitterly laid his sights on the red tulips lining the front yard.

"I can't give out that type of personal information, I'm sorry, kiddo. But if it's any consolation the guy was a really nice young man. A little pushy and frowned a lot, but he said this was the perfect house to make sure his loved one felt at home. Then he even bought all the paint, plucked all the weeds and fixed up the yards. All by himself."

The jealousy in Izuku's heart wrestled with his hurt as he imagined another family inside doing all the things he wanted. The tears in his eyes clouded his vision completely.

"Well, he was right," Izuku said through a forced smile. "It is the right house to feel at home."

"It'll be okay, Izuku. I'll see you at the gallery opening later tonight? I think it's great you're reopening your mother's business."

Izuku nodded emptily as he quickly tried to rebalance himself. "Right, of course. I'll see you there."

The gallery. He had his show to focus on and he could cry about losing his childhood home later in private.

The heartbroken freckled man gave a fragile smile to the now ex-landlord. They said their goodbyes and Izuku could have sworn someone had secretly come by and attached two large cement bricks to his ankles as he trudged his way to the gallery.

A single tear escaped from his eyes as he thought about the irony of finding out on his birthday about his—or, er, no longer his childhood home was bought from underneath him. He tried to wrap his head around what kind of strange man pays double for a house on the spot? It frustrated Izuku because he was so certain he had scouted out the only competing buyers.

But it seemed like fate still had a couple of tricks up her sleeve and she was going to twist the knife up until the bitter end. Izuku pushed back the tidal wave of disappointment the closer he arrived at the gallery.

As he walked closer, he saw his new art gallery. It was simple with flowers sprouting all over in the front of the shop. On the glass front door was a sign that read 'Inko's Flowers' in pretty pastel green Kanji surrounded by painted roses.

It was perfectly how Izuku always imagined it. Small, private, and full of the flowers his mother used to grow. He spent years daydreaming about this day and now it had finally arrived.

Izuku smiled to himself as he unlocked the door and he decided to be grateful in the moment for the victories he had, and not his losses.

. . .

"Someone bought the house!?" Itsuka's astonished voice yelled as she helped him set up the last painting for the show. Her blue eyes were wide with disbelief as Izuku pressed his lips in a thin line. "How did that happen so quickly?"

"Some rich guy paid double the price," Izuku grumbled. "Probably is going to knock it down and build a larger house in place of it. Cover up the garden in the back with more house."

"Are you going to introduce yourself to him? Maybe if you explain how your parents originally designed it there may be some wiggle room to buy it from him."

Izuku sighed as he hung the last painting. He took a large step back and tilted his head to admire his own work with both happiness and sadness in his heart.

"I don't know," Izuku confessed quietly. "It would feel kind of sad to see who the buyer was but maybe later, or maybe not at all. It all depends, Itsuka."

The ginger woman gave a sympathetic expression as she made her way over to her pensive best friend. She smiled brightly and clasped her hands on his shoulders lovingly before leaning in to look at his work as well.

"Well, that's a later problem," she said with a large grin and deflected the topic. "Only positive vibes right now! You're the big twenty-four today and we need to make sure it's properly celebrated after you ditched town directly after you turned twenty-three."

Izuku gave a light chuckle. "Twenty-four is not a big deal. The hallmark is twenty-five and after that the next is thirty."

"Oh hush! Every day of life you have is a big deal as far as I'm concerned," She giggled and turned him around to face her bubbly expression. Izuku felt warmth start to fill into his heart at the light in her eyes. "But, right now, I am admittedly intrigued about how I get to meet all the famous U.A officers you told me so much about! I can't believe you had such a big adventure in a year and met such great people."

She leaned in towards him with a mischievous smile and glint in her eyes. "And I particularly would love to meet this Bakugou."

"Oh, he's great, you'll love him," Izuku said as if the words were second nature.

He started to make his rounds to double check all his paintings were secure to the wall. The conditioned pull on his heart tugged hard at the mention of Katsuki but he tried his best to drown it. Friends. He had to think of Katsuki as a friend, goddamnit.

"Please, how can you be so sure?" Itsuka challenged in a bored voice. "What if I turn out to hate him or just don't think he's interesting?"

Izuku stopped and whirled around, completely surprised to hear the judgmental tone. "Because everyone likes him," the freckled man quickly defended.

Gradually, without an ounce of warning, Izuku's thoughts started to swarm around the image of Katsuki until all the colors collided to make a vibrant visual of the blond man in his imagination.

"I-I mean at first most people see his handsome looks," Izuku said with a shrug and his eyes glanced down. "He has these cheekbones that are so sharp and angular like his jaw line—it's really striking but then there's his eyes. They're red but not quite red. They're an off red. When they catch the light, they hold it and next thing you know it looks like they're glowing a bit—like fire."

"Oh really? So he's all good looks and nothing else? Not really selling me here, Izuku."

"N-No!" Izuku stammered. He quickly twirled around flustered and nervously twiddled with his fingers. "Of course not! He's really smart, brave, and super excellent at workplace delegation—but he has a really foul mouth to be truthful so when he's giving out assignments you can never tell if he's passionate or just angry. B-But he's really amazing. He's witty, caring and always makes sure people feel safe. He loves to have his nose in some puzzle or book, and he has these reading glasses...and his button nose always scrunches up when he's...concentrated."

The end of Izuku's ramble trailed off into a quiet whisper when the smirk on his friend's face grew wider with each praise. Green eyes narrowed as Itsuka began giggling lightly with a knowing look in her blue eyes.

"...You did that on purpose," Izuku grumbled when a deep blush set into his face.

"I did," Itsuka said through a snicker. "You're so deep in it."

"Not helping, Itsuka!" Izuku huffed and spun on his heels in the other direction. He began walking towards the front for the food to set up on the tables. "I'm supposed to be falling out of love with him. Not rambling on about how great I think he is."

Which, he could do all day without much effort if he was being honest with himself.

"Sorry. It's only because I have never seen you this happy, Izuku! It's so wonderful," she explained with a warm smile and followed him. "Throughout college or even when you worked at your dad's station you didn't smile this much. This is the most I've ever seen you smile. I'm sorry if I keep teasing you, I'll ease up."

"Thank you, Itsuka. I just would rather tonight not be awkward."

Izuku bent down by the waist to grab the case of bottled water as the thoughts inside of his head rattled. Itsuka wasn't wrong, in fact, she had hit the nail right on the head. Meeting Katsuki in the bar that night marked the first step on his path to true healing and recovery. The handsome blond had an undeniably positive effect on his life in more than one way.

A large effect being that if he hadn't ever met Katsuki, only the deities above knew how his kidnapping would've gone. Izuku had thought it over and realized that one way or another, whether he was in Yaizu or Shizuoka City, Touya had planned to come back for him. Without the intervention of Katsuki, Touya would've kidnapped him and no one would have heard from him ever again.

Izuku considered moving to Shizuoka City as divine fate after that.

The green-eyed man looked around at all the paintings in a sad manner when he could very clearly feel a part of him still missing.

And it wasn't his childhood house.

"I-I'm going to set up the food table," Izuku quickly said as he walked past his ginger friend.

Itsuka paused at the sullen mood that had captured her best friend. She watched him walk to the back, past all his paintings to the long wooden table and quietly set up for the guests. The young woman pursed her lips slightly and tilted her head.

. . .

When it came time for the show Izuku was happy with everything he had set up. There was a wide variety of foods on the table ranging from colorful desserts to warm hors d'oeuvres.

All the oil paintings he had hung were displayed exactly the way he wanted to on the white walls. Each was a different stark memory from the past year that he held dear and thought hopefully people would understand the theme. He looked at all of them nervously, hoping that the show would go well as Itsuka fixed his hair for him one last time in a fuss.

Orange dawn was painted in the sky as people started to pour in and Izuku welcomed them all with his award-winning smile. Each individual wished him a happy birthday and gave him either a small gift or inquired about buying a painting. Laughter and awe were all around at the gallery opening as people were enjoying talking with Izuku about his work.

Mirio came by with a gift and Izuku was happy that they had found some level of understanding between them as his friend brought a date. The guy was a little taller than him with a shy demeanor and Izuku briefly recognized him from one of Mirio's partners at the law firm, Amajiki Tamaki. Izuku smiled brightly because they looked great together and the two childhood friends took a traditional picture together to mark their shared birthday.

By the time all the U.A officers began to pour in, there was a healthy sized crowd packed inside the art gallery. All the colorful people of Yaizu were raving over the re-opening of Izuku's mother's shop. Many told Izuku how blessed he was to be someone who was the embodiment of both his parents and Izuku felt himself smile because he finally had achieved what he set out to.

"It's so lovely you renamed it Inko's Flowers, Izuku," Mina complimented while standing side by side with Kirishima. Their eyes held love and pride inside of them. "This is perfect. I never knew her, but I'm sure she would have loved this. Your father too. They would be so proud of you."

Izuku felt his heart swell with love.

But as the evening stretched on and more people poured in, Izuku couldn't help but notice the lack of one specific person. Shouto came. Toshinori came. Iida and Ochaco came bustling inside with overjoyed smiles. Even Sero and Denki arrived and brought all their silly humor with them. Everyone from U.A seemed to have embarked to Yaizu together.

All except Katsuki.

Izuku's green eyes kept flickering to the door for a handful of hours as he laughed and talked in conversation with Itsuka and Ochaco.

Maybe he thought it might be better to stay away. Izuku thought quietly to himself. He studied the dark red liquid in his wine glass and thought of the paint and sip he had gone to with Katsuki. He imagined his smile and his heart did an unwanted flip. Izuku sighed slightly when he realized it may be too soon. He still had feelings for Katsuki, and it was possible the move was taking its toll on the blond ex-lover.

I guess I don't blame him. We're in a weird spot. His eyes glanced down to the ground when Ochaco and Itsuka began talking about a topic that went in one of his ears and out of the other.

Just as his thoughts began to tint blue, the sound of the chime attached to the door rang out loud and clear. Izuku's head whirled around to the door with Itsuka's and the nervous fluttering inside of Izuku's chest stopped.

His heart skipped more than several beats at the visual that flooded his sights. Coming through the glass doors was Katsuki, completely dressed up without a hair out of place. His blond spikes were smoothly tapered with a fresh undercut and the expensive gold watch on his wrist sparkled. Izuku lifted his eyebrows surprised to see the man wearing the dressy black and white striped shirt he had picked out for him so long ago tucked neatly into black jeans.

Then sharp red eyes cut in his direction and then the most striking smirk Izuku had ever seen stretched across Katsuki's angular features. It was almost as if there was a secret hiding behind the handsome man's features.

"Ah, Bakugou finally showed up," Ochaco said through a giggle. "I was beginning to wonder when he would arrive. Always the fashionably late one."

At this Itsuka nearly choked on her wine. She whirled around to stare at Izuku with wide eyes full of disbelief.

"Wait—that Adonis is the man who fearlessly ran into a burning building for you?" Itsuka harshly whispered as Katsuki began making his way over through the dense crowd. "Izuku—holy shit. I see why you said you tried to screw him the second you saw him, he's perfect. You have amazing aim, green eyes."

But Izuku was too mesmerized by the shimmering light in Katsuki's eyes. The artist fiddled with the wine glass in his hand nervously because he hadn't truly considered what it would be like to see Katsuki in person after nearly being apart for a full month post-separation. It was almost as if the flame inside his chest was rekindling to be stronger rather than dying out like he needed it to.

Izuku could feel the electric charge in their eye contact—but neither man broke the gaze as the distance between them closed in.

He somehow got even more handsome.

"He was less handsome before this!?" Itsuka questioned beneath her breath. Izuku quickly shook his head and broke eye contact when he realized he had accidentally spoken out loud. "How is that legal—"

"Er—ignore me," Izuku nervously laughed as he rubbed behind his neck as the temperature beneath his collar shot up.

By the time Katsuki finally approached their small circle, Izuku could see out of the corner of his eye all of the U.A officers turn their heads. His ex-coworkers began to glance at them with small smiles and Kirishima and Mina started whispering.

"Hey there, freckles," Katsuki's deep voice greeted with a tiny smirk. Red eyes glanced around in a calm manner at all the paintings on the wall and the chattering crowd. "This really turned out to have a damn amazing show. I'm so glad everyone can see this vision of yours finally come true. You worked really hard for this."

Izuku's eyes never left Katsuki's face and a subconscious smile twitched onto his own lips coupled with a blush. "T-Thank you Kacch—I-I mean Katsuki." Shit. A blond eyebrow quirked at him and Izuku winced. "S-Sorry...force of habit."

"No need to apologize, Deku." That knowing smirk grew wider and soon the blond man lifted his hand to reveal a small green bag with an orange ribbon. "I actually got you a birthday present if you want to open it now."

Green eyes widened and Izuku heard Ochaco suddenly clear her throat.

"Itsuka, I-I think I see someone upfront interested in buying one of Izuku's paintings!" Ochaco said. Her large brown eyes spared one glance in between the two men before wrapping her arm around Itsuka's shoulders. "I think we should go help them out!"

The ginger women quickly got the hint. "O-Oh yes! I, um, see someone over there looking quite confused. We'll be back, Izu. I'm going to go talk to all the people bidding on your paintings."

Before Izuku could even respond, the two women hurried across the room through the crowd. The baffled artist tried to push down the blush blossoming on his face when he realized what they had done. They left him alone with Katsuki. Izuku returned his eyes to the man in question and the blond held out the gift with a sly smirk.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Izuku muttered shyly. "You being here is enough. I'm really happy you came despite everything. I know it's a little awkward between us right now."

"It's no problem, Deku. I wouldn't miss your art show for anything in the damn world." They exchange quiet looks as Izuku reached for the gift bag with a hint of excitement. He wondered what it could be, and his mind supplied a vision of possible things.

He thought maybe it would be paintbrushes, or something for Akira. But when he peered inside the tiny green bag, sitting inside was a small jewelry box. It was velvet black, no larger than his palm and it made Izuku's heart skip several beats.

Green eyes flicked up to Katsuki's anxiously awaiting face and the blond man flexed his eyebrows in an expecting manner. Izuku hesitantly reached inside and pulled out the box but when he sprung it open, he was blindsided by a sparkling earring.

It was a tiny, aquamarine teardrop that shimmered brightly made of a precious gem.

"It's beautiful," Izuku whispered, stunned. His green eyes looked down at the singular piece of jewelry and quickly put the pieces together that the gift was not a small price tag. "Katsuki, this is too expensive. I can't accept this."

"Sure you can, nerd," Katsuki chuckled and Izuku tried his best to wrap his mind around what was in front of him. "I'm only trying to make good on my promises that's all. I did say I was going to buy you a new one, right?"

"Y-Yeah," Izuku stuttered out. "Thank you so much, Katsuki. It's beautiful."

He blinked once. Then he blinked again as he tried to make sure that growing feeling of warmth inside of his chest wasn't a passing daydream. But the longer he studied the gem that sparkled with what felt like unspoken promises, Izuku realized that it was not one of his many dreams.

The blue gem glimmered inside of the velvet box in a way that made Izuku feel special. Green eyes started to swell rapidly with tears and Izuku tried his best to blink them away. He looked around at all the people inside of his gallery—no—his mother's and his gallery—and felt undeniably loved.

Katsuki smirk then shifted to a caring smile.

"Here, let me put it on you," the elder man proposed when Izuku stayed rooted too long.

Izuku nodded, words lost. He was feeling overwhelmed for reasons he didn't quite understand because it was only a birthday present. He had gotten other presents from other people—but why did this one feel so incredibly different?

Izuku pondered this as his once lover reached forward and took the single earring out of the box. He stepped forward and Izuku was wrapped up inside of the comforting, familiar smell of Katsuki's cologne. It was always crisp, sharp and smelled like a mix of spices and citrus fruits.

It evoked a deep, longing emotion in Izuku—the proximity of their bodies did nothing to help.

Katsuki pushed the earring through Izuku's pierced lobe with a delicate touch. The light weight of the water shaped jewel in Izuku's ear made a small smile twitch onto his face. It was an odd sensation after so long. He hadn't placed anything inside of it since he threw the golden hoop he was once so attached to in the river.

Izuku felt a trickle of self-consciousness but when Katsuki stepped back and examined him as a whole, it vanished. Washed away with all the reassurance the blond always radiated.

"Perfect," Katsuki whispered. The proud blond grinned wide and showed off his white teeth. "You look damn good as always."

"Really?" Izuku asked with an unsure smile. The nervous man crossed his arms out of habit, fully aware of the ember eyes assessing the large, exposed burn of his left arm.

Katsuki nodded. "Breathtaking."

They held each other's gazes and Izuku watched as Katsuki seemed as if he was going to say something. But whatever it was it stayed tethered to the tip of his tongue.

"Hey you two!" Kirishima laughed loudly in a booming voice. Izuku startled lightly out of the trance he didn't realize he was in when the redhead came over. Kirishima was carrying a large grin and glass of wine. The redhead glanced between the two men before he playfully wrapped an arm around Izuku's shoulders. "Everyone here has so many questions for you regarding some of the more abstract paintings. Denki can't really wrap his mind around them, and I think we need your help."

Katsuki let out a bark of laughter and Izuku giggled slightly as they fell into old familiar friendship. The pair of men melted back into the crowd as the night moved on. Izuku explained all the pieces on the wall to the U.A officers as they went around.

He explained the more abstract one Denki was trying to wrap his mind around. It was a medium painting of a red rose with petals burnt at the edges. The beautiful flower was wilted and surrounded by hungry blue fire. Izuku was open and honest about how he felt his relationship with Touya was conveyed through this painting. He described how being with Touya was never meant to be as they were opposing pieces in nature. Izuku was always flammable when in contact with someone like Touya and it ate away at the pieces of himself that he gave away too readily.

Izuku watched how Katsuki made a pained face. Red eyes studied the withered rose long and hard.

The next was an image of Izuku's unconscious body floating in water in a white shirt and black shorts. The dark hues of the deep blue submerging Izuku's figure were broken up with carefully placed dusk orange light rays. The light from the surface shone on his face and the crimson blood leaking out of his body slowly transformed into vibrant colors.

This time, Katsuki spoke.

"That moment really did change things for you, didn't it?" The pensive blond asked.

Izuku nodded as he stared at the hyper-realistic image of himself in his near watery grave. "Yeah, it did. But for good I like to believe, despite how we got there."

"...It changed things for me too."

Izuku cut his eye at the unusual comment, but Katsuki didn't look at him.

The next painting was a clearer picture of the point of view of some drowning under water, but the scene was filled with light. Painted air bubbles filled the canvas and in the back was an unfocused render of a hand reaching out towards the viewer. Izuku didn't explain this one when he realized he was too embarrassed to admit it was the moment right before he closed his eyes underwater. The moment when Katsuki swam down to him after Touya shot him.

Then finally, after going over several other paintings the group arrived at the last one. It was a painting that stuck out in Izuku's memory, one he held dear to himself. It was a clear picture of wind and water intertwining together to wrap around a fully flourished rose that was proudly reaching towards the sky. The wind and water sprayed outwards to litter the surface with colorful paint splatters of light grey and bright blue.

"This one is very stunning," Shouto said through his smile. "I think I finally see the theme. It's a story, right? About the progression the rose had from being burned, its healing process, then finally how it reached a stage where it could finally grow."

Izuku nodded happily and added a private thought in his mind. With your help.

When the galley finally came to a close, Izuku's heart felt full. He started saying goodbye to people who were exiting out through the door. Toshinori gave him a large bear hug and a proud smile. Mirio and his date quickly left after his father with an equally proud gaze and warm, friendly hug.

As all the U.A officers began to say their goodbyes, Izuku couldn't help but wonder why Katsuki didn't leave with them. He watched as Kirishima and Mina left and spoke in hushed whispers to Katsuki. Then slowly everyone who seemed to have taken the train in together, wandered out.

But Katsuki stayed rooted, walking around separately off to the side studying all the paintings closely.

Then when Itsuka gave him a hug goodbye, Izuku was alone with the pensive handsome blond man. The freckled artist walked over to Katsuki who was staring long and hard at the painting of the flourishing rose.

"What are you doing here so late? You're going to miss your train and end up having to walk all the way back to Shizuoka City," Izuku teased when he walked up from behind Katsuki. The blond chuckled and turned his head towards Izuku with a smirk.

"I actually have Ground Zero parked out front," Katsuki replied. "I was waiting to see if I could give you a lift home. I knew you'd stay until the last person left so you could lock up."

"I actually would love to take you up on that," Izuku replied back fully elated. The birthday high was fully carrying him on his feet to the point Izuku felt as if he was walking on air. The thought of topping his day off with a maybe one last peaceful motorcycle ride with Katsuki was more than appealing.

The pair chatted casually with Izuku giving his new apartment's address. But the freckled man couldn't help but notice how there was a nervous air slowly bubbling around Katsuki.

When they arrived at Ground Zero, there were already two helmets awaiting them and Izuku almost questioned it. He prepared himself to ask if Katsuki had planned to take him back to his apartment but let it go when the blond situated himself on the orange and black bike in an antsy manner.

There was an unsure look in scarlet eyes as Katsuki gazed upon him. "Helmet fastened tightly?"

"Yeah, all safe this time," Izuku said with a smile as he double checked everything was secure.

Izuku got on the back of the bike like it was second nature and he could feel his heart rate triple in speed. He allowed the self-indulgence of riding with Katsuki for what may be the last time. Neither said a word as Izuku locked his arms around Katsuki's waist and leaned his head against his back.

They took off and Izuku found himself to fall into the bliss of being pressed against the elder man again. He sadly thought about all the times he had been on the back of the motorcycle and thoughtfully wished he had more opportunities to in the future—but it didn't seem that way.

Izuku didn't pay any mind to the direction and trusted Katsuki's perfect navigation skills. They weaved in and out through traffic with the blond making sharp turns to elicit a yell of excitement or burst of laughter out of Izuku. Katsuki's deep rumble of laughter would vibrate through their connected bodies and resonate inside of Izuku.

It felt right. It felt right in a way that made Izuku almost feel guilty.

But when the ride came to a halt and Izuku looked up, they were not at his newly rented apartment. Instead he saw a yellow painted house lined with red tulips and the large 'SOLD' sign on it.

Izuku straightened out his back confused. He waited for an explanation but Katsuki wordlessly turned off Ground Zero and took off his helmet.

"What are we doing here?" Izuku questioned slowly as he took his own helmet off.

The greenette tried to make sense of what he was seeing, but when Katsuki got off the bike with a huff it only made Izuku more confused. Green eyes studied the house in front of him bitterly, still mildly upset over the news from earlier in the day.

"I...I have one more birthday gift," Katsuki said in a quiet voice. The blond twirled on his heel towards the house when Izuku got off the motorcycle with a baffled expression. "Well, I actually have another promise to fulfill."

Izuku followed Katsuki to the front of the black gate. He watched intensely as Katsuki took in a deep breath and turned back to face him with vulnerability in his eyes.

Then like a passing dream, Katsuki reached down in his pants pocket to pull out a golden key.

An old, familiar looking golden key that Izuku remembered being attached to his parents' keychains. The world stopped moving and Izuku gaped mildly. His brain slowly put all the pieces together.

He glanced at the house. Then to the keys. Then back to the house. Then finally Izuku stared wide eyed at the nervous expression written across Katsuki's face.

"K-Katsuki—W-Wait. It was you?" Izuku stuttered out pointing at the blond in front of him.

Katsuki shrugged and let a wide grin stretched across his face as he began walking inside the black gate. Izuku could do nothing but follow helplessly as he struggled to process what was happening. They stepped through the no longer rusted black gate together and Izuku felt as if he had wandered through a time passage.

He looked at the wooden porch he used to sit on up close and noted the door he would always run in and out of. They stopped right before the porch's steps and Izuku's heart tightened to a point he couldn't tell if he was in pain or relieved.

"Kacchan," he whispered, at a loss for anything to say at the gesture of kindness. "You bought it. You bought the house."

Watery green eyes turned to the golden man in front of him and Izuku's eyes finally broke with happy tears. He quickly tried to wipe them away but was unsuccessful when visions of the future he thought had shattered quickly rewound back to their original daydream.

"I also planted both roses and tulips in the garden, just for you," Katsuki confessed. Burning scarlet eyes never left Izuku as the freckled man tried to will away his falling tears. "I didn't know if you like tulips, but the lady at the store told me they symbolize pure love or something like that."

Izuku laughed and let out a shaky sigh. "Perfect love. T-They symbolize perfect love and rebirth."

Katsuki was the first to move. He wrapped a careful arm around Izuku's shoulders. He pulled the smaller man in close and led him up the wooden porch. With each step they took together Izuku felt as though he was dreaming and when they finally reached the door, Izuku held his breath. It all seemed too surreal.

Katsuki pushed the golden key in the door and opened up the home that Izuku had been sealed off from for years.

Izuku wandered into the portal first and stared up amazed at the interior. The orphan cried softly and held his hands over his mouth in shock. He gazed at the empty space but all he could see were the memories of the home that was taken from him. The visions of his parents played out in front of him like a silent movie and his already full heart began to overflow.

"It's all still the same…" Izuku whispered, still astonished. The green-eyed man did his best to process it all. The creaking of the floorboards. The fresh coat of paint on the walls and how there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere to be found—Katsuki had cleaned it top to bottom.

His home.

Katsuki had bought his childhood home.

Izuku whirled around and stared in amazement at Katsuki. The blond was looking around as well with a calm expression on his features and Izuku shook his head, still not understanding.

"K-Katsuki, why would you buy this?" Izuku whispered.

His heart wished for one answer deep down. An answer to a question he had been too afraid of asking a month ago in Shizuoka City.

The look in Katsuki's eyes grew deeply affectionate mixed with a variety of emotions. The blond carefully stepped forward with evidence of nervousness in his body language. Red eyes glanced down to the floor and his hands were fiddling behind his back. Izuku recognized it as a vulnerability that Katsuki rarely let anyone have, yet it was displayed fully in front of him with bravery.

"I realized when you moved, that without you nothing felt like home and nothing ever did before you," Katsuki confessed in a steady voice. Red eyes trailed up gradually from the wooden floorboards to stare into the deep abyss of emerald. "You are home to me...and if you let me, I want to feel like home to you too. It doesn't matter what city we're in to me, but I recognize it matters to you and I want to be by your side."

Katsuki reached forward to take Izuku's shaking hand and held it tight. A raw, vulnerable expression was written across both men's faces as Katsuki spoke his next words.

"You're my person, Izuku."

Izuku's eyes clouded with more tears as he heard the words he had only dreamed of. "B-But what about your Captain's position—"

"There will be another," Katsuki quickly cut off. He pulled Izuku in close to him and the gravity between them doubled and Izuku found himself attracted deeper than before. "There will always be another damn award, Captain's position and late-night work shift but there's never going to be another Midoriya Izuku and I'm so fucking sorry it took me a month to see that this was the answer."

The realization at what Katsuki was saying began to sink in as the shock wore off.

A vision of Katsuki inside of the home he loved so dearly flashed in his head. But Izuku always considered it to be his most unattainable dream. He struggled to fathom that he could truly have it—after everything.

"Are you sure?" Izuku questioned breathlessly. He desperately searched Katsuki's eyes for any hint of hesitation—something that told Izuku he was going to wake up at any moment and be alone again like he always was.

But the reassurance of Katsuki's warm hand entangled in his own kept him grounded that this was all real. The love of his life nodded and gave a heartfelt gaze.

"If you don't want me, then I will go back to Shizuoka," Katsuki explained with a serious expression and Izuku felt his heart twist. "I'll get back on my bike tonight, leave, take the Captain's position and we can remain friends. But the house is yours with or without me."

"But w-what about your work?"

"I had Toshinori make some calls. We found a station that's near yours that would love to have The Symbol of Victory working for them as a Lieutenant."

Katsuki gave a cocky grin and Izuku's tear stained face blossomed into a heart touched smile. "Of course, anyone would love to have you."

"Exactly," Katsuki said full of excitement like he finally figured out the key to his happiness. "Any precinct anywhere would hire me, and my dumb, goofy ass friends will find a way to visit me no matter where I am. Kirishima and Mina are already planning to come out next weekend with Shouto if I chose to stay. If you want me to stay. I only need to hear you say it because I know you can feel it."

The electric pull on Izuku's skin ignited as Katsuki's voice dipped into a low, provoking tone. Izuku knew what Katsuki was talking about. The spark—the heat—the flame between them that rekindled over and over because no one was ever able to put it out.

Katsuki slowly stepped impossibly closer and the warm breath from the older man mixed in with the scent of spice. "There's always been a gravity between us, and I don't know about you, but I'm not going to fight it—I'm going to follow it through. I'm going to follow it even if it lands me here in Yaizu."

Izuku opened his mouth to agree but the words he wanted to say were caught in the net of his own insecurities. All the reasons why Katsuki shouldn't uproot himself flooded in and Izuku found himself torn.

Katsuki sighed and lifted his free hand to cradle Izuku's freckled cheek. He guided Izuku's watery gaze up towards him and the two destiny bound men gazed deep into each other.

"I know you're going to have trouble saying it," Katsuki said in a hushed voice. "I already figured you're going to have trouble asking me to move in. You don't want to feel as if you're putting your wants and not your needs above everything, but I can see it in your eyes. I can see how much you want this."

Izuku's mind flashed all the vibrant visions of the future with Katsuki in his mind. He saw them reading together in bed again, then the two of them gardening in the backyard and laughing over dinner. His heart pulled full of longing because that was all he ever wanted.

A happy future.

"Be selfish, Izuku," Katsuki pushed and leaned down to rest their foreheads against each other. "If you want me here with you, all you have to do is ask me and I'm all yours."

Izuku lifted a hesitant hand to pull Katsuki in closer. He gripped Katsuki's shirt tightly in his shaking fist, begging that this was real. It felt too good to be true after a lifetime of destruction—but the warm Katsuki in front of him pushed Izuku to say the words he didn't dare to say a month ago.

"I want you," Izuku confessed and his chest began heaving.

Katsuki shook his head. "You gotta be more specific than that."

"I want you here—with me. I-I want my Kacchan in my home," Izuku dared to say out loud his deepest want against all the fear holding him back. "I want you here with me, Kacchan."

Anxiety gripped his conscience as he felt the two of them dive into the unknown together—but what made him the most afraid was how good it felt to finally speak the words he told himself not to. The shackles around his heart broke free and a weight he had no idea he was carrying detached from his body as he floated all the way up to cloud nine.

"That's more fucking like it." Katsuki grinned like a mad man and leaned in closer until their chests were flushed together. The blond leaned in until their noses brushed and Izuku could hear his own breath hitch at the heated closeness of their lips. "Say it again."

"I want you to move in with me," Izuku said with confidence as he cut the last thread of restraint holding himself back. "I want to come home to you—come home with you. Wake up next to you and spend all my weekends beside you. I-I want the happy ending I always daydreamed of and I want it with you."

"Good. Because I want to give all of it to you and more."

With those words, the final ounce of tension snapped. Izuku gasped as Katsuki pulled him until a kiss that flooded his soul.

Every ounce of love both men held for one another poured into the other as they pressed their lips together. They worked against each other in a deep, passionate kiss and the temperature between them quickly began to rise.

Izuku snapped his hands up and tightly wrapped around Katsuki's shoulders as they crashed into each other. All the building gravity that drew them towards each other was evident and Izuku felt as though they were two twin stars that were always set on a path of collision. Bound to meet in this moment as the peak of everything came fully together.

"I want you so badly," Izuku whispered in a hoarse voice as he broke the needy kiss. "A month was too long—ah!" Izuku didn't get another chance to speak as Katsuki fiercely pushed him back into the nearest wall and the burning want inside of deep ember colored eyes completely ignited. "W-Wait there's no furniture—"

Izuku was effectively silenced when Katsuki captured his lips again and caged him against the wall with his arms. Izuku sunk into the kiss as his hands gripped tightly onto Katsuki's shirt and when they broke apart again there was a confident glint inside of his lover's eyes.

"We don't need it," Katsuki said with a wide smirk. "I think I still owe you one more promise. I seem to recall a certain someone saying that they wanted to get fucked up against the wall or something like that, right?"

Izuku grinned widely as he found himself leaning up against Katsuki's body. "R-Right—Kami. Your memory is always so amazing," Izuku breathlessly whispered between kisses. His body's temperature began to slowly climb as his lover's hands grazed over his chest until they finally rested against his restrained member in his pants.

"How many times do you want to cum?" Katsuki asked as he palmed Izuku's growing hard-on.

A whimper escaped past Izuku's lips as he tried to push backwards but found himself trapped. The red eyes in front of him were blazed and hungry as Katsuki's hand groped Izuku's sensitive area and caused his thoughts to quickly cloud.

The green-eyed man tried to get out the words 'As many as you'll let me have' but was thoroughly silenced as if Katsuki was a mind reader. Izuku let out a loud needy yelp as the large hand began to heatedly stroke him through his khaki pants and Katsuki's mouth began to lightly suck against his pale neck.

"C'mon, Deku. Tell me how many times you wanna cum in our new house," Katsuki's voice rasped out in a sinful tone and Izuku felt his dick jump at the sentence. Their house. He groaned deeply.

"Two times," Izuku commanded through a sigh and rolled his head to the side to give Katsuki more access. Izuku's hands clutched tightly to Katsuki's shirt as he fluttered his eyes closed at Katsuki's generous ministrations. He felt himself swept away under the feeling of the intoxicating tongue sucking and licking at his neck.

"I'll make damn sure of it," Katsuki chuckled and the deep rumbles vibrated against Izuku's sensitive skin. "Turn around for me, 'zuku."

Izuku didn't hesitate as he quickly found himself with his cheek pressed against the wall. He moaned softly in anticipation and tried his damndest to keep it together. Katsuki pressed his hard chest against his back and Izuku nearly felt his knees buckle at the touch when he felt the other grind into his backside unrelenting.

Izuku's breath was stolen as he pushed against the pressure and chased the intoxicating feeling. Everything was hot, intense and overwhelming as he stared around at his wildest dream. Katsuki hissed a low curse in his ear and used his large hands to grip tightly onto his hips and headily pressed his clothed cock in the cleft of Izuku's plush backside.

When the blushing freckled man felt a hand reach around to toy with the small bow his pant's belt was tied into, Izuku couldn't help but bite his lip in anticipation.

"Such a cute bow," Katsuki teased and Izuku could hear a smirk in his voice. Katsuki tugged on it playfully right before he unraveled it completely. "It almost feels like my birthday instead."

His pants became undone slowly as Katsuki slid them down off his body along with his boxers. The action was tentative and caring as the rough hands of his lover graced his skin. Then just as carefully, Katsuki reached around and began slowly unbuttoning Izuku's shirt until the cold air graced his skin. His lover commanded him to lift his arms and Izuku did so with pleasure. The green shirt was tossed carelessly to the side.

It was then that Izuku was completely laid bare in front of Katsuki.

No bandages, no clothes and no more secrets or feelings left in his heart to hide after being unraveled by the man for months. Izuku bit his lip harder and leaned his forehead against the white wall when he felt gentle kisses laid against his shoulder.

Katsuki slowly bent down to his knees, leaving a trail of worshiping kisses, bites, and hickeys down along the way. He didn't stop until Izuku's back was a mixture of his print on the man he loved so he could add to the canvas that was Izuku's uniquely beautiful body.

When finally on his knees, Katsuki came face to face with exactly what he wanted and the hunger inside of him sparked to life. A tiny gasp escaped past Izuku's moistened pink lips when the firm hands of the elder man kneaded into his freckled skin. Katsuki's fingernails dug into the skin until he heard the tiny moan he wanted, and he had Izuku push his muscular ass back in his face.

"Kacchan, please," Izuku whined when Katsuki pulled apart his plush globes to reveal the tiny pink puckered entrance.

"There it is," Katsuki grinned wide as he leaned in carefully. He reached into his pants pocket for something and Izuku quickly snapped his head down to see. Green eyes widened in surprise to see Katsuki reveal a tiny can of flavored lube with the man's telltale favorite flavor: strawberry.

"You came prepared?" Izuku teased with a smirk. "A little oddly confident."

"I'm always prepared to have you screaming for me." The eager blond man grinned up at his beautiful partner above him before he snapped the lid off.

Without a single warning, Izuku gasped loudly at the tantalizing feeling of cold substance against his body and Katsuki grinned as he worked two fingers over the tiny hole, massaging in the flavored lube.

The blond man eagerly leaned forward and swirled his tongue around the fluttering entrance awaiting him. Katsuki's eyes fluttered closed as he pushed his tongue across Izuku's tiny hole and drank up the loud cry Izuku gave at the feeling. His lover's body automatically jerked at the action and Izuku felt heat begin to simmer under his skin.

Katsuki groaned deeply as he pushed his tongue in further, lapping and teasing the perky backside with all that he had. He quickly snapped his hands up to grab onto Izuku's hips and hold the now bucking man still but was only half successful.

The satisfying moan the green-eyed man gave shot straight down to Katsuki's own straining crotch when Izuku began to rock his hips backwards and started to ride his tongue out. Katsuki quickly gave in as he ate his lover out with every suck, kiss and wet lap of his tongue he gave. It was a beautiful push and pull as Katsuki's own breath became shallow with Izuku's and guided the smaller man's movements.

"Hgn!" Izuku breathed out as he allowed the large hands to twirl his hips onto Katsuki's face. "K-Kacchan, your tongue feels so good. Kami, I missed you so much. I-I don't want to be apart from you that long again."

Katsuki groaned in agreeance with a light nod as the sweet flavor of strawberry danced across his tongue. He continued to kiss and lick Izuku's sweet tasting entrance until he used one hand to reach around and grabbed Izuku's thick cock in his hand.

"Ah!" The younger man startled when Katsuki's calloused hand ran a thumb over the droplet of precum that had gathered at the tip. Katsuki smeared it, loving the wet feeling beneath the pads of his fingers as he worked into stroking Izuku's length graciously.

Like beautiful clock work, Izuku's delicate voice began to climb with each jerk against his cock's sensitive tip. Katsuki vigorously found himself speeding up his hand motions and pushing his face into Izuku's ass more until the whining of his lover grew desperate.

"K-Kacchan, please!" Izuku begged when electricity from both sides of him began to catch in euphoria. His senses were rocked back and forth between the tongue sinking through the slickness of his backside and the warm hand wrapped tightly around his pulsing cock, jerking him off furiously.

Right when Izuku's moans reached the next octave and his legs began to shake, Izuku cried out loud at the feeling as two slickened fingers coated with lube pushed their way past his tight ring. Izuku's hands curled into fist against the wall as he desperately pushed back onto the digits that sunk into him quickly. They fucked against his pleasure button in harmony with every cry and moan.

"You like that, bunny?" Katsuki's deep voice demanded lustfully. "You wanna come all over yourself in our new home for me? I can't wait to fuck you everywhere and make you scream out my name in every room."

The dirty words crawled against his skin and rekindled old fantasies of himself and Katsuki making love all over the house. He saw them entangled on the floor, in the bed, and in the kitchen like they always were in Shizuoka City and it only made his body grow hotter to think they were going to do the same here.

Izuku pushed back and jerked forward in complete rhythm with the hand jerking him off and the fingers that were now fucking relentlessly inside of him. Izuku's shallow breathing became choked up when a small spot of white entered his vision. His legs began to shake with tidal waves of need as he felt Katsuki's slide in against his overly sensitive hole and happily tasted him.

"I-I'm gonna cum," Izuku warned when his legs began to shake more. The pleasure enrapturing him only doubled tenfold when Katsuki stiffened for less than a singular second before ramming in his finger and curling them expertly. "Ah! F-Fuck!" Izuku cried out as his knees buckled completely and fell forward fully against the wall but he was held up by Katsuki's strength as the man pushed his face in fully.

Izuku tried to get a plea out so he wouldn't cum against the wall but was left with only the will to cry out Katsuki's name when four pleasure filled pushes against that sweet spot inside of him made his voice crack. His body shook in the elder man's grasp as his vision was washed over completely in white. Katsuki gripped Izuku's cock tight and slowly began to milk him for his seed and all of the moans sitting deep in the back of his throat.

"That's my good little bunny," Katsuki praised. Izuku blushed when he could see the small pull of cum that was inside of Katsuki's hand leak onto the wooden floor—but of course Katsuki didn't let him feel embarrassed for long. "You cum so fucking prettily. So needy for me."

Izuku didn't retort because he wasn't going to argue against facts.

The freckled beauty's mouth hung open in a small 'o' when Katsuki's cum filled hand pulled back and began to apply the thick layer of white cum on top of Izuku's hole. The elder man used his finger to tease Izuku's already well-opened hole with a feral grin at the sight of the white cum mixing against Izuku's delicate area.

Izuku glanced over his shoulder when he felt Katsuki shift and as he laid sights on the man behind him, Izuku saw all that he wanted and more. He saw his future, a man he loved and trusted with his whole being and he saw his heart.

The blonde stripped himself of his shirt and pants quickly, and thus left himself bare as well for Izuku to gaze upon all his new scars.

Izuku turned around to face him and in that fragile moment in time they held eye contact. Somewhere in that precious second Izuku could feel something change between them.

Katsuki stepped forward carefully without breaking eye contact and towered over him. Izuku watched as his lover hooked one arm around his slim waist and hoisted him up properly with the wall as support. Izuku cried out in surprise when his feet no longer touched the ground, but a loving kiss was placed against his temple when his hands grappled around Katsuki's broad shoulders.

"I got you, don't worry," Katsuki reassured and Izuku did as he was told and clung to the being of support in front of him.

Katsuki cursed when Izuku locked him in between his legs entirely and his own cock slid between Izuku's freckled cheeks. The slick feeling of the lube and Izuku's cum mixed together in a sensation that had the elder man groaning already in anticipation for being inside of the tight body in his grasp. Katsuki moved slightly to grab the back of both freckled knees and quickly bent the man he loved in half to spread him wide.

He looked down at their mess as he carefully aligned the dripping head of his large cock to Izuku's small entrance. His own length twitched several times as he pushed against Izuku's tightness and his fingertips dug into the skin of Izuku's knees as he forced him further into the wall.

"You gotta relax for me," Katsuki hushed when Izuku's entrance fluttered several times in anticipation. "I know you're really fucking excited and it's been a minute, but you gotta relax to let me in, okay? Don't you wanna let me in this pretty body?"

Izuku nodded and he sunk further into their colliding gravities. His body went slack in the other's grasp as the strong blond used all his upper body strength to hold them up against the wall. Izuku gripped tightly onto the other as Katsuki let out a low curse and leaned forward into the wall as he began to slide in.

"That's it," Katsuki's deep voice groaned. "Let me in—f-fuck. Y-Yeah, just like that."

Izuku leaned forward for a kiss and their mouths locked together in an intimate dance as Katsuki stretched him outside. Izuku moaned into the kiss as he felt his body opened wide for Katsuki and the warm cock inside of him inched its way inside until it was fully seated inside against that part of him that leaked the glowing feeling of rapture. Both men let out shaky gasps at the feeling and Izuku could only describe the sensation as being full—full of Katsuki and full of the moment they were sharing.

The blond began rocking his body to hit that sweet spot deep inside as he bit onto Izuku's plump bottom lip. Izuku held on dearly and let himself be swept away from the motion Katsuki was creating as reedy whimpers and groans slipped off his tongue.

Their synchronized breathy moans gradually filled the house as Katsuki's thrusting became more quickened in pace and needy. Izuku clung on more desperately as the gentle motion transformed into something that was purely Katsuki. It was forceful, caring, but most of all it was powerful.

"A-Ah!" Izuku cried out and broke their kiss as he began bouncing against the wall loudly. "J-Just like that, Kacchan!" Izuku encouraged him when the thick cock began thrusting in and out of him.

Katsuki effortlessly pulled out all the love sitting deep inside of him through the motion of their joined bodies. His love spilled out in increments of blinding euphoria, litanies of Katsuki's name and moans that climbed steadily higher in pitch until his voice cracked loudly in a helpless cry.

Katsuki's brow creased deeply and as his own body slowly began to feel the rising temperature. His fingernails sunk into perfect ivory and he fucked upwards into the smaller man with all that he had. He gave Izuku every inch of himself repeatedly and made sure he knocked directly against the other's soft prostate.

"Y-You feel it, right?" Katsuki said in a loud groan as he sensationally grinded his hips upwards. The motion shocked something rapturously deep sitting within Izuku and the freckled man cried out and arched his back beautifully off the wall. The blond gave a large smirk at the visual as he did the same motion and elicited the same addictive cry. "You feel how this time is different?"

Izuku nodded furiously as he was relentlessly fucked against the wall. The sweat gathered on his brow made the curls of bangs begin to stick to his forehead as Katsuki's speed suddenly doubled in pace. His hands gripped tighter around Katsuki's shoulders and wove their way through soft golden locks.

"I-I feel it," Izuku whispered as he brushed their noses together. The pressure in his stomach built with every ounce of love that shot through his core all the way down to his toes. "It's us—I-I feel us—"

"Y-Yeah," Katsuki groaned out and Izuku curled his toes. "I-It's us—me and you—from here on out—fuck!"

Katsuki gave a harsh curse as he began to thrust in an uneven rhythm trying to chase the heat building inside of his core. With every cry of his name from Izuku, the temperature under his skin grew and the tightly coiled feeling in his core wound tighter until he felt Izuku begin to shake with him.

The freckled man gave a loud cry as his entire body was quaked with all of his nerve endings being drowned underneath intoxicating pleasure. His vision blew out to white at the same time as Katsuki's and he threw his head back against the wall as he arched fully into the man's arms he was inside of.

Katsuki cried out Izuku's name loudly until the sound bounced off the wall. He buried himself to the hilt inside of his lover when Izuku's body sucked him in tightly—and their cum sprayed on the other. Katsuki emptied himself fully into Izuku and the freckled man released white ribbons of cum between their bodies.

Katsuki's knees slowly wobbled and the pair slid their joined bodies down to the floor as they melted into another heated kiss. Katsuki laid back onto the wooden floor, still fully seated inside of the warm body and without much effort, the pair of lovers lost all awareness of what was around them.

In that moment Izuku could only describe Katsuki—and Katsuki only Izuku as they stayed entangled into the long hours of the night. They tossed around, filling each other and soft moans and cries bounced against the empty walls.

"I love you so much," Izuku whispered desperately when his body was brought back to the brink of another orgasm as they went another round on the floor. "I love you with everything I have." Izuku's vision swirled with colors as waves of ecstasy washed over him and Katsuki smiled down at him as he spilled inside of him again.

"I love you all the same, 'zuku."

. . .

Izuku stared up at the white ceiling in amazement, completely adrift to the feeling of time.

They both lost track of what hour it was as he and Katsuki rolled around on the floorboards. When they thought they were done, they found themselves sucked back into that ever-damning gravity and embarking on another heated session. They found themselves making love endlessly in the pile of blankets Katsuki had been using to sleep inside while renovating the house.

Izuku couldn't even remember what number round they were on when they stopped—and he couldn't recall how many times Katsuki has successfully orchestrated a blinding euphoria filled orgasm out of him. But it was more than the two he had proposed.

It made Izuku feel as if there wasn't another person in the world besides Katsuki.

And now they laid there side by side under the large white comforter with their heads resting against the pillows. Everything still felt like a passing daydream that Izuku never wanted to wake up from—but it was real. It was as real as the gorgeous man next to him holding his scarred hand and whispering a symphony of sweet promises. Together they laid there chuckling and laughing on the high of their bliss.

Izuku's viridian eyes glanced around again.

He looked at the walls, the stairs and the windows that gave way to delicate moonlight. Then finally he stared at the man next to him who was tracing the scars on his hand with his calloused fingertips as if they were a road map. Katsuki's body was glowing under the illuminating moonlight and the soft tint almost made him look divine.

As divine as Izuku felt he was.

"I can't believe this is real," Izuku whispered into the air as if he was afraid someone may hear. "I can't believe we're here."

Iridescent like fire eyes flickered up to him and a radiant grin was bestowed on him. "Oh, you better. It's all yours, 'zuku." Katsuki chuckled as he lifted up their joined hands and gestured around at the house.

Izuku's smile stretched wider.

"No," he corrected as he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the top of Katsuki's hand. "It's ours."

AN: Next up is the epilogue and it feels so incredibly bittersweet!

This story really worked its way into my heart along with all of you lovely readers, especially the commenters who leave such kind messages. Thank you all so much for reading and please let me know what you think below as I go off and cry a bit for the ending of this fic!