coagulate

Chapter 5: Epilogue

Katsuki

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"Are you sure we can't put you in a dress one last time, Bakugou?" Mina asked as she held a glass of sake in her delicate, dark fingers.

Katsuki glared ferociously at the woman who was wrapped in Kirishima's arms. "Hell fuckin' no. I ain't doin' it. Corsets ain't for me."

"Aw, c'mon man. You have to admit you looked good," Kirishima said with a shark-toothed grin.

"I didn't even get to see it, Kacchan," Deku pouted from beside him.

"And you never will," he said resolutely.

Katsuki sat on one of the sofas in Midnight's with Deku glued to his hip. It was a late, summer night, and the Ripper case was long behind them.

Just a week after Chisaki's death, Katsuki, Deku, and Chisaki had been given Medals of Honor for their sacrifices, valor, and bravery. It only took another few weeks for the Police Department to officially wrap up the case. And by wrapped up, Katsuki meant that it had gone defunct. When there weren't anymore murders in the weeks that followed, the police deemed that the case was unsolvable. They'd shelved it quite shamefully. It would stay shelved for all of time if the police department could help it. The four people that knew the true identity of the Ripper - himself, Deku, Yagi, and Tokoyami - planned to take that secret with them to their graves.

At the ceremony where he, Deku, and Chisaki had been given their medals, Katsuki had given a speech. He wasn't much for talking to crowds. He spoke like a sailor on a daily basis, and Yagi still expected him to talk. He'd done his best to be professional. He spoke of how he'd worked hard to protect the general public, and wanted to continue to do so for many years to come. An injury at the hands of the Ripper would not deter him in his pursuit of justice. It had taken all of Katsuki's self-control not to announce to the general public that it was, in fact, Chisaki who'd terrorized the city's women. But he'd managed. And he'd only said 'fuck' once.

At least, the things that he could put behind him were put behind him. The nightmares that followed that night still plagued him, but it wasn't anything that he and Deku couldn't handle. He and Deku handled everything together these days. After confessing their love to one another, he and Deku had found a small townhouse and moved there. It was really easy to spin a tale to their neighbors of their platonic working relationship. It was even easier to convince their colleagues considering Deku had literally been living out of the morgue prior to this change in accommodations.

Katsuki didn't mind it at all. It gave him company on late nights when he felt lonely. Deku was also the perfect cuddler when he was coming down from the highs of his nightmares. They hadn't gotten much farther beyond sleeping in the same bed together, though. Much to Katsuki's sexual frustration, they hadn't actually had sex yet. They were moving slowly with their relationship, which was fine on all accounts. They should move slowly with it as to avoid arousing suspicion. But the real issue lay in their paper thin walls that connected them to the townhomes of their neighbors.

It was why he'd been trying to convince Deku to come with him to Midnight's. Nemuri had promised that it would be a safe place for him and Deku if they wanted to... explore their sexual relationship. But between the work Deku had as an officer, a physician, and a mortician, his schedule was pretty booked.

That night was the first time he'd gotten the greenette out with him in ages. They were surrounded by the people they had come to call their friends, too. Nemuri, Mina, Camie, Ochako, Tsuyu, and Kyouka. Kirishima was there, too, but that was only because he'd taken a certain liking to a rather flamboyant, pink-haired she-devil. Out of all of the people in his life, the people currently relaxing in Nemuri's private parlor were some of those that he trusted the most.