Chapter Text
Epilogue
The sun is blinding, even as it peeks through the leaves. The crisp air is turning warmer and more humid as the sun goes high in the sky. Each step is slightly harder to take than the one before, as his muscles grow tired, the path grows steeper, and the weather gets hotter. There’s sweat dripping down his temple, his neck, his spine. His t-shirt is getting soaked and clinging to him in the most disgusting way.
For a second, Izuku can’t help but think that he should probably have stayed home, watching tv on his couch.
“You’re getting behind, nerd!” Kacchan mocks him.
Izuku looks up and sees his boyfriend infuriatingly unaffected by the hours of climbing. He barely broke a sweat, edging more towards “healthy glow” than to “dissolving into a puddle” as Izuku is. Clearly being a pro hero on top of his form pays off while hiking—while Izuku’s sedentary lifestyle of the last several years is weighing him down.
“You—You—” he tries retorting something sassy, but only ends up panting and puffing.
That makes Kacchan frown in concern. Before Izuku can say anything, his boyfriend is already by his side, offering a hand for support.
“Should have said something if you were too tired,” he chides Izuku gently. “Sit down. Let’s take a breather.”
Izuku doesn’t have enough energy to resist when Kacchan pushes him to sit down. His legs instantly give in the moment he allows them to and the dead leaves cushion his ass quite nicely. Before he knows it, Izuku is leaning against a nearby tree. Still, he expresses his protest.
“I’m already slowing you down,” he pouts. “And you said you wanted to have lunch at the top.”
Kacchan clicks his tongue dismissively. “We can have lunch right here, take a rest and reach the top before dark. There’s no need to rush.”
“But you said—”
“I say a fuckload of bullshit,” Kacchan interrupts him.
But Izuku continues, “—that you’d show me your quirk when we got to the top.”
Rolling his eyes, Kacchan opens his hand and shoots some small sparkles up.
“Here it is. My quirk. All for your watching pleasure.”
It’s beautiful. Izuku loves seeing the sparkles. Still, he forces himself to keep the pout and whine, “I’ve seen these before. You said you’d make the big ones.”
“Demanding nerd,” Kacchan says, pinching his cheek. “You’ll get your private show. I can do it tonight or tomorrow morning before we come down.”
“We can’t waste too much time tomorrow morning. We have Mina’s party to get to in the evening and I’ll probably need a shower before that.”
“Or we can blow Pinky’s boring night and go home to rest,” he offers.
There’s no denying it’s a tempting offer. Cuddling in bed with Kacchan still is Izuku’s favorite thing to do in the entire world. But Mina will be so sad if they don’t show up, Izuku couldn’t bear doing that to her.
Turns out Mina is actually a big fan of Izuku’s webcomic. Who would have thought his subscriber named Pink_Queen was actually the queen of Pink, Pinky herself. After they found out about each other, Mina latched herself onto Izuku and titled herself his best friend, much to Kacchan’s chagrin. Whatever hang-up Kirishima had about Izuku was quickly stomped by Mina’s blind trust that the man behind her favorite webcomic couldn’t be anything but perfect and that Kacchan was actually the lucky one to be in a relationship with such a genius.
After that, Izuku quickly got integrated into Kacchan’s group of friends. No one ever said a word about him being quirkless—a fact that still makes him tear up when he thinks about it. Everyone was just happy to see him and Kacchan happy, and eager to spend time with them. Izuku refuses to let Mina and the others down by not showing up for squad night, so he shakes his head.
“You know we have to go.”
“Fine, whatever,” Kacchan grumbles, rummaging through his backpack. “We can still rest a little and eat an early lunch here.”
“But—”
“But nothing. This trail is much harder than the ones we did before. It’s not an easy climb.”
“You’re doing great,” Izuku points out.
“I am great.” Kacchan shoots him an infuriating cocky smirk. “I can carry you up the last stretch.”
Izuku scoffs. “You’re already carrying all of our gear.”
Kacchan has only allowed Izuku to carry his own water bottle. Everything else—tent, blankets, food—is strapped to Kacchan’s back. Which only adds insult to Izuku’s fatigue.
“And you’re carrying this big brain of yours. It must weigh a ton. And—”
“Are you calling me big-headed?”
“—your fat ass is probably slowing you down too.”
Another smirk. Izuku feels the urge to throw dead leaves in Kacchan’s face but holds back.
“I don’t have a fat ass!” he protests, pouting.
“Yes, you do,” Kacchan fires back instantly.
“Well, you weren’t complaining about my ass last night,” he accuses.
“Still not complaining.” Dropping a bento box on the ground by Izuku’s feet, Kacchan hugs his midsection and smirks close to his face. “I love my fat ass boyfriend. I love your fat ass. If it were for me, we’d be home right now with you sitting on my face.”
Izuku feels his face burning in embarrassment and pushes Kacchan away, grumbling. “You’re impossible.”
“The offer still stands. Both of them. I can carry you uphill and let you sit on my face to rest when we get there.”
This time Izuku throws the leaves on his face.
***
After a light lunch and some needed rest for Izuku’s legs, they finished hiking the mountain. True to Kacchan’s words, the peak is absolutely stunning. They reach it just in time to see the sunset painting the forest in beautiful reddish and golden tones. Kacchan pulls Izuku onto his lap and they rest, watching the moon and stars show up in the sky.
They only get moving when their bellies start to grumble. Izuku organizes their dinner and the wood for the fire as Kacchan sets up the tent. It’s the first time they’re camping outside. All their previous hikes had been on short trails and they were back home for supper.
The first time Kacchan suggested hiking as a way to get Izuku out of the house without having to deal with too many people, his first instinct was to say no. Sure, there would be no people but there could be bears! Snakes! Falling trees! They could get lost! There’s a reason most people don’t go hiking, it’s so dangerous, Kacchan!
But, as with everything in his life, Kacchan was gentle and helped settle Izuku’s worries. And Izuku found courage in knowing Kacchan would be there with him and nothing bad can ever happen when he’s with Kacchan. Their first hike could barely be called a hike. It was just a short trail in a nearby park. It reminded Izuku of their little adventures when they were kids, and turns out he loved it.
Now, it has become a routine. A them thing. Almost every weekend, they go outdoors, find a nice trail and enjoy a nature walk. It’s great and special. Izuku treasures every little adventure they go on together despite how tiring they are. And Kacchan treasures it as well. Making good on his promise, Kacchan has slowed down his work routine. He doesn’t sleep at the agency anymore, always coming back to Izuku’s place at the end of the day. And he makes sure to have at least one full day free every weekend, most times even two.
Izuku knows how hard this has been for him and how the constant threat of losing the number one spot stresses him out. But Kacchan keeps trying his best, going as far as adding a weekly visit to a therapist to talk about his anxieties and his need to be the best. He’s been doing all of this to be the best partner possible to Izuku—and in return, Izuku is doing everything he can to be the best partner possible to Kacchan.
That’s why he accepted to go for an overnight hike, camping on the peak, despite the anxious voice in his head screaming at him about all the dangers involved.
Once the tent is ready, Kacchan lights up the fire with small sparkles and they heat up the food they brought.
“It’s amazing how Kacchan can use his quirk for so many things,” Izuku can’t help praising as he sees the little explosions doing just enough to light the kindling.
“I’m not making popcorn again,” Kacchan says, shooting him a skeptical look. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I’m sure we can make it work if I buy a proper bowl next time. You burned the blanket just because the bowl wasn’t high enough for the popcorn to jump.”
“I burned the blanket? Ex-fucking-cuse me, I believe the fault lies on the dumbass who told me to use nitroglycerin explosions to make fucking popcorn.”
Unbothered, Izuku continues, “Do you think you could make crème brûlée?”
“Don’t. Even. Think. About it,” he hisses. “You’ll see your big explosions and you’ll be happy about it, do you hear me?”
Izuku giggles, knowing that Kacchan said something similar about the popcorn and Izuku managed to convince him otherwise. Still, he acquiesces, “Hai, hai, Kacchan.”
After eating, just as promised, Kacchan takes up the sky with huge explosions. They light up the night like a sun. Izuku’s personal sun, painting the dark blue in firey red and oranges. It’s even more beautiful than the sunset they watched just a few hours prior.
They feed off each other’s energy. The bigger Kacchan’s explosion, the more Izuku giggles, laughs, and claps. And the more Izuku cheers, the flashier Kacchan’s explosions get. It’s incredible; the type of liberty they never find in their daily lives, letting go of everything that isn’t them at that moment.
When Kacchan comes down, tired from his big display, they both have mirroring giant smiles on their faces.
“Kacchan! It was incredible!” Izuku praises the moment the explosions allow for conversation. “So beautiful!”
“You’re beautiful,” Kacchan says, cupping Izuku’s face and pulling him for a kiss.
Kacchan’s hands are still hot and make Izuku’s cheek tingle. There’s a strong smell of smoke and explosions on them. And yet, the kiss couldn’t be more perfect. It’s all-encompassing, Kacchan kisses him with the strength of his explosions and it shakes Izuku to his core.
Hands and arms embrace each other, pulling as close as humanly possible. One kiss chains into the next, tongues tasting deep and teeth nibbling plump lips. There’s an urgency to convey physically the closeness they feel emotionally.
And yet, the mood between them is light, as easygoing as they always are when together. So when Kacchan pushes him to the ground, Izuku falls with a dramatic “Oof!” and laughs openly.
“So that’s how a villain feels? Big boom and then you’re on the floor?” he jokes.
“Pretty much.” Kacchan kneels on top of him, face darkened by the night but eyes still burning bright. “And now, the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight shall punish you for your wicked ways.”
Izuku ugly snorts laughter that is stolen right off his lips by Kacchan’s mouth. He wants to laugh, he wants to kiss, he wants to fuse himself to Kacchan and never be apart. He wants his heart to expand enough to envelop them in a bubble and separate them from the world forever. As that isn’t possible, they need to make do with losing their clothes and sharing skin as they share breaths.
There’s no surprise when Kacchan pulls lube out of a pocket from his cargo pants, but Izuku can’t help but tease, “So you were planning on getting lucky?”
“Don’t need luck. It’s all skill,” he answers cocky as ever.
Which just makes Izuku laugh again.
“Oh, you didn’t just say that,” he says laughing but at the same time, slapping Kacchan’s shoulder. “Try again before my boner dies forever.”
“I was hoping?” Kacchan offers tentatively.
“Almost.”
“I’m lucky because I have you by my side?”
“Great. I’ll take it,” Izuku says, pulling Kacchan for another kiss.
Kacchan is smart enough to let his actions speak for themselves after that. He takes his time massaging Izuku’s thighs, kissing his neck, biting his stomach. In return, Izuku’s hands dig into his strong back and he welcomes Kacchan into his spread legs, pulling him closer with his heels.
Kacchan still feels warmer than usual, though Izuku can’t know for sure if it’s from the explosions or the heat of the moment. All he knows is that Kacchan’s warmth is the perfect blanket to fight against the biting chill of the night. They’re a few meters away from their camping fire, so all Izuku has to warm his naked skin are Kacchan’s hands and mouth.
Prepping is smooth—having sex almost every day makes this little step easy for them. All it takes is lots of lube and a little patience until Kacchan can sink into him and they become one.
Gasps and moans are quick to fill the empty night. Kacchan fucks him slowly, almost reverentially. He never really pulls away, making their movements somewhat restricted. That doesn’t hinder the pleasure from blooming through every slow thrust that drags on Izuku’s inner walls and probes him in the most wonderful places.
It’s incredible how the experience is just as perfect and romantic as in the books and movies. Izuku would expect in real life he’d be too cold, the grass would be prickly and they’d have to relocate in the middle of it because of bugs or whatnot. But it wasn’t. The moon was shining bright, the stars were unending, Kacchan offered more than enough heat to make Izuku sweat, and they were both too entranced in each other to care about the grass.
Through it all, they share breaths and kisses and whispered love confessions.
When they’re done, Izuku floats in bliss, physically exhausted but emotionally fulfilled. They stay there in the grass, watching the stars buck naked, trying to catch their breaths at the same time they go for one last kiss. It’s all too easy for Izuku to start dozing off despite the cold settling in.
“Come on, nerd. Let’s get in the tent,” Kacchan says, gently poking him to move.
Izuku grumbles and tries to get up. An annoying pain on his backside and exhaustion in his legs make it so he doesn’t actually manage. He offers a few grunts and rolls around, ready to sleep right there.
“It’s cold. We can’t stay here,” Kacchan says gently, trying to get Izuku up.
He grumbles again, limbs feeling like noodles.
Kacchan chuckles. “Alright, I said I’d carry you, didn’t I?”
Before he can protest, Izuku feels himself being picked up in a princess carry. Kacchan carries him to the tent and tucks Izuku naked under the blankets. Izuku isn’t sure what happens next because his brain instantly shuts off and he falls into a comfortable sleep.
***
Izuku wakes up with the first few rays of sunshine. When he opens one eye, it’s clear it’s terribly early and he should be going back to sleep. He doesn’t, though, because he’s alone in the tent. Motivated by curiosity and some light grumpiness from waking up alone, he puts on some clothes and goes out to look for his boyfriend.
He finds Kacchan sitting by the place they had sex last night, watching the horizon where the sun slowly started peeking.
“Why are you up so early?” he grumbles, showing in his tone that he believes he should be back in the tent, cuddling with his boyfriend.
Kacchan completely disarms him by opening a big, easy smile and patting the grass by his side. Izuku can do nothing more than plop down—Kacchan’s smiles are his biggest weakness.
“I was waiting for you to wake up,” he answers. “You lazy nerd slept before planned last night.”
Izuku chuckles, “I didn’t know there was a planned schedule for—”
And then the words die in his throat because right there, in Kacchan’s hands, there’s a little velvet box opened to show a beautiful wedding ring.
“If you had stayed awake like I planned, I could have done this under the moonlight. It’d be romantic as shit. Pinky would die of jealousy and Shitty Hair would never forgive me for setting the bar so high. But you slept and now I have to do this in the sunrise, like just another extra.”
Gently, Kacchan takes his hand and lays the box on Izuku’s open palm.
“Marry me.”
“I—I—” Izuku stutters, mind running too fast for his mouth to catch up, hands shaking around the little velvet box. His throat closes. His lungs burn. Is he breathing? He doesn’t think he’s breathing. He can’t— He— “I’m quirkless,” he blurts out as if that explained everything.
Kacchan doesn’t seem bothered. His smile doesn’t even falter.
“Marry me.”
“I—The media—We don’t know—”
“Marry me.”
“I—I can’t go out in public. People—”
“Marry me.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever—”
“Marry me.”
The way Kacchan's confidence doesn’t waver shows that he already knows all of what Izuku’s trying to say. They both know, they both have talked about these issues so many times before. Izuku still can’t go out in public, say to a restaurant or even to the grocery store. If any reporter cornered him to talk about his relationship with Dynamight, he might go into a panic attack. He has been going to therapy and working on leaving the house, but so far all he’s managed is empty places like their hikes or going to friends' and family’s houses.
There are a lot of years of fear and trauma to work through, and Izuku is a naturally anxious person. They don’t know if he’ll ever get to the point of being able to have a public relationship with a famous pro hero, even if he manages to lead a somewhat normal life. They don’t know how the general public would react to having a top-ranked pro hero married to a quirkless man. They don’t know if things will ever get easier for them to be out in public.
But Kacchan clearly doesn’t care about any of that. He cares about Izuku. He loves Izuku. Kacchan shows him this in every way possible, big or small. And he has stuck to his words and walked with Izuku through his path of recovery without placing any expectations, but cheering for every single victory.
And Izuku loves him right back. There’s nothing he wants more for his life than spend it by Kacchan’s side, however this may look for them. So when Kacchan reiterates his request yet again, there’s only one answer he can honestly give.
“Marry me.”
“Yes.”
After that, there are laughter and tears and kisses. There’s unmeasurable happiness and there’s a lot of hope. A great preview of how their married life will be.