Frenzy

|CHAPTER 13|: The Deal

Izuku stiffened as he felt Katsuki's grip on his wrist, firm yet careful enough that it sent an uninvited shiver down his spine. His heart pounded as he tried to wrench himself free, but the alpha held him in place with ease. Izuku could practically feel the heat radiating from Katsuki as he leaned in closer, his breath warm against the back of his neck.

"What's the rush, Deku?" Katsuki's voice was low, almost teasing, and laced with a dangerous edge of curiosity. There was a smugness in his tone that made Izuku's skin prickle, but beneath that, there was something else—something challenging. "You always bail right when things start getting interesting."

Izuku clenched his jaw, refusing to turn around and meet Katsuki's gaze. He could hear the amusement in the alpha's voice, could feel the way Katsuki's thumb absentmindedly brushed against his pulse point as if testing how much control he had over the situation. It was infuriating, the way Katsuki seemed so confident, so sure that he was under Izuku's skin.

"I have other work to get to," Izuku snapped, voice harsher than intended. He hated how breathless he sounded, how his resolve seemed to waver the longer Katsuki kept his grip. "I actually have a job outside of you. I have other patients too."

Katsuki chuckled softly, the sound rich and maddeningly self-assured. He finally let go of Izuku's wrist, but not without letting his fingers linger for a moment too long, as if daring him to react. "Yeah, but I'm the only one who gets you like this." His words were laced with a provocative edge, and Izuku's stomach twisted at how accurate they were.

Izuku spun around, unable to hide the irritation flashing in his eyes. "You're unbelievable," he hissed, but the bite in his voice was undercut by the way his heart raced when he looked up at Katsuki. The way the dim light played across Katsuki's features, highlighting the sharp lines of his jaw and the intensity in his eyes, was enough to make Izuku's breath catch.

Katsuki's smirk deepened, his gaze unwavering as he leaned in just a fraction closer, enough that Izuku could feel the warmth between them. "Maybe," Katsuki murmured, his voice dropping to a near whisper, "but you keep showing up, don't you?"

That simple statement struck a nerve, leaving Izuku momentarily speechless. Katsuki wasn't wrong—no matter how much Izuku complained, he kept answering the alpha's calls, kept coming back. And they both knew it wasn't just because of Katsuki's injuries. The charged silence that followed was almost unbearable, the air thick with all the things neither of them were willing to say out loud.

Izuku's hands tightened into fists at his sides, his frustration warring with the undeniable pull he felt toward Katsuki. "You're such a pain," he muttered under his breath, turning away again, determined to put some distance between them before he lost what little composure he had left.

But before he could take more than a few steps, Katsuki's voice cut through the silence again, softer this time. "You know, you could always stick around a little longer. Just in case I need you."

The casual suggestion was anything but, and Izuku knew it. There was a challenge there, hidden behind Katsuki's words—a challenge that dared Izuku to confront the tension between them head-on. But Izuku wasn't ready for that, wasn't ready to admit how deep this went.

Without looking back, Izuku grabbed his bag and headed for the door. "I have better things to do than babysit your ego," he tossed it over his shoulder, trying to sound indifferent even as his chest tightened.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he watched the omega head for the door. "I wanna make a deal with you." His voice was sharp. Nothing good could come from a statement like that but for some reason Izuku's legs stiffened while his back faced the blonde. He stood right at the door. To just walk out would be about as easy as simply breathing but Izuku didn't move. He shouldn't. He knows he shouldn't. For fuck sake his hand was hovering right over the door handle.