The Other Side

The first time Izuku Midoriya saw heaven was during the enormously mundane drive through the infinite expanse of farmlands skirting the rural outskirts of Texas. They weren't at a considerable millage from Almo, but Izuku had long forgotten about the city as the wind carded cool fingers over his dusty, green convertible and unruly curls. In front of him, the sun set without much thrill, lazily slumping behind soft, round thickets of clouds. Gentle waves of peachy light dusted smoothly across the sky, highlighting the curves and corners in the relatively sparse world around him.

His lips twitched and then spread comfortably into a charming grin, letting the languid atmosphere settle and brim through his being and spill. He felt so full - so satisfied. Although he could hear the incessant revving of a bike many miles behind him, he could not see a single vehicle in front. Beneath the sunset, all that stretched was the long, winding road that, Izuku figured, led to Elysium. In his state of utter bliss, he used his free hand, the one not on the wheel, and squeezed another secure in his grip. When he didn't receive any acknowledgement, Izuku repeated the motion. He was on cloud eight, and the sound of his voice would put him one cloud higher. Still, the hand rested limply in Izuku's.

Tearing his eyes from the road ahead, Izuku looked over to the person of all his devout love and admiration. This was the first time Izuku saw heaven. It wasn't the first time he had one foot over onto the other side, but usually, it was a bloody mess of mangled limbs and choked tears. This was a different type of heaven. This made Izuku's chest tighten and his lungs expand like he had just taken one fruitful breath of clean air. It made his mind soar with pretty words and even prettier memories. If Izuku wasn't on a deathly winding road, he'd have remained content just gazing over like an artisan looking at his art.

But the image of Katsuki Bakugou never truly left his mind. Words could never do justice to the way Katsuki looked in front of the fuzzy shades of gold behind him. Izuku knew he was beautiful and handsome even with a blindfold on. Most of his features reflected his mother - a sharp nose, crimson eyes, long lashes and soft cheeks. His father's traits were overpowered, but Izuku had spent many hours watching Katsuki to still be able to identify a few. But it wasn't Katsuki's looks that did it. It was the vulnerable and pliant way in which Katsuki had his eyes shut and fingers tightly secured around Izuku's hand as he trusted Izuku with the wheel - trusted Izuku to take him wherever. Izuku's heart thrummed in his chest.

Katsuki was, often without his control, always on guard. He was an altercation waiting to happen; a cord waiting to snap. And Izuku never loved him any less for it because he understood the need for self-preservation when it came to their line of work. But Izuku also saw days when his frowns would deepen into a permanent etch of the stress he was under. Days in which he'd look decades older because he refused to live in the decade he was in. It took a lot for Izuku to pry through those layers of hate, anger, fear, mistrust, and the bile of emotions built through Katsuki's life, but, once he did, Izuku found love, loyalty, and forgiveness. He was satisfied.

But, somewhere in Texas, Izuku saw Katsuki Bakugou's vulnerability. And gods was it sweet. Everything about Katsuki was sweet to Izuku, but this - this other side of Katsuki he was sure no one had seen before was rattling. It was overwhelming and so so pleasant. It was ridiculous to think of Katsuki as a mission - because of how entirely unpredictable and linear he was - but, if he did, this was the precarious moment in which Izuku grabbed the exorbitant diamond ring.

He wanted to reach out to Katsuki and grab his face between his own scarred fingers and pepper what ceremoniously great amounts of kisses over every expanse of skin Katsuki allowed him to. He wanted to stop the car and just coddle Katsuki till even his bones melted in Izuku's arms, and Izuku would take care of him and mould those bones back together because he loved him so. He wanted to just stop the car and do nothing but watch on and on as Katsuki's chest rose and fell.