Against the World

Chapter 23

BAKUGO'S POV

We stood outside the safe house, hiding in the tree line at the back of the property. Deku was on my right, and Dunce was on my left.

"Why does this feel more like a frat house instead of a safe house?" Dunce asked. The small house that was three miles in the woods was currently having a massive party. "I lived in a frat house, so I know the difference."

"You're sure this is the safe house?" I asked Deku.

"Positive. This is the one my father moved me to a lot when I was a child." His life was always in danger when he was growing up. His father had a lot of enemies, and if you really want to hurt an organization like a gang, you kill the boss or the heir.

"We could call him," Dunce suggested.

"Hey, Dad, I randomly decided to drive to a safe house in the middle of the night to see if you were using it to traffic kids. Can I check the basement?"

"The basement here or the basement at the main house?" Dunce asked, ignoring Deku's sarcasm.

"Both."

"Should we head back to the hotel? We can talk more and figure out our next move because we can't go in there now." Going in there now would be a suicide mission. Usually, I'm not one to run away from danger, but I just officially got Deku. I'd lose him in the process, and that's not a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

"Yeah," Deku said before sighing.

We stepped back into the woods, leaving the party house behind us. We'll have to do more research, dig around, and come up with a plan.

We walked in silence until we passed the pond about half a mile away.

"You know, we should get married here," I told Deku. I wouldn't mind getting married here, then staying here for a week or two. This far out, and with nobody else around, we could probably stay naked the entire time.

"I'm sure that can be arranged." He grabbed my hand, squeezing lightly. "Whatever you want, cariad."

"Wait, did I miss something?" Dunce asked, turning to look at us.

"I proposed an arranged marriage with Kacchan." An arranged marriage doesn't probably sound great to many, but Deku could have had anyone. If he went in, demanding to marry Dunce, he would have gotten him. The fact that he turned others away and chose me is all I'll ever need. I don't care that it was technically arranged.

"You did?" Dunce raised a brow.

Deku nodded. "Yeah. He's stuck with me now."

"Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?"

He scoffed. "Because it definitely can be."

Reaching out, I grabbed him by the throat. Dunce stopped walking but turned away quickly when he saw me squeeze my hand and pull Deku close. "If you keep talking like that, we're definitely going to have problems."

"Harder," he mumbled.

"Later. If you fucking stop dissing yourself."

He's been taught his entire life that his disorder is an obstacle. He always says it's inconvenient, and he's adamant that he's going to ruin my life. Somebody taught him to act like that and think like that.

I'm going to put an end to that.

"Let's go," Deku said, stepping away from my grasp.

We quickly made our way back to the car, avoiding the cameras that were placed in the woods. When we got to the car, Dunce jumped in the back, I got behind the wheel, and Deku sank into the passenger seat.