help me / bakudeku omegaverse /

Part 18

The air between them was brittle.

Katsuki had barely spoken since they left the Queen Regent's chamber. The palace corridors felt longer than usual, each echoing step a reminder of what had just happened.

Izuku didn't say anything either. He couldn't. His throat ached from holding back sobs he hadn't let fall in front of Mitsuki.

But now, in the privacy of Katsuki's quarters, the weight became unbearable.

Izuku stood near the hearth, his hands clenched tightly in front of him. Katsuki paced like a storm behind him, boots scuffing over the floor. Neither knew where to begin.

Until Izuku finally said, quietly, "She's right."

Katsuki stopped moving. "What?"

Izuku turned, eyes glassy. "The Queen Regent. She's right. I am a liability."

"Bullshit."

"You lost control because of me. People are talking. You might lose everything."

"I don't care about—"

"But I do!" Izuku's voice cracked. "You've worked your whole life for this! And now everyone's questioning you because I'm around—because I fell apart in a marketplace and you defended me like I was some helpless thing!"

Katsuki's eyes narrowed. "You were helpless. That bastard humiliated you—"

"And now you're being humiliated for it!"

Silence. Heavy. Sharp.

Izuku swallowed hard, chest rising and falling quickly.

"I think... I think I should stay away from you. Just for a while."

Katsuki blinked. "What?"

Izuku looked away. "It's the only way to stop this from spiraling further. If I put some distance between us—if people see you taking your role seriously again—maybe the rumors will die down."

"No."

"It's not forever."

"No," Katsuki said again, louder this time. "You don't get to decide that."

"I'm not deciding, I'm protecting you—"

Katsuki moved toward him fast.

"I don't need protection from you!"

Izuku flinched.

Katsuki reached out—grabbing Izuku by the shoulders, too tightly."You don't get to walk away like this! You think you're helping? You're breaking us!"

Izuku's eyes went wide, panic blooming in his chest. His breath stuttered.

"Katsuki—""I gave everything for you!" Katsuki shouted, voice raw. "I've fought the court, my mother, the whole damned kingdom for you—and now you want to leave?!"

Izuku's knees nearly buckled. His fingers clutched at Katsuki's wrists, trembling.

"Please—let go—"

Katsuki froze.

The fear in Izuku's eyes hit him like a slap.

His grip loosened instantly. He backed away as if burned, hands held up.

"I—fuck—I didn't mean—"

Izuku stepped back. Then another step. His breath was ragged.

Katsuki's heart pounded in his chest. "Izuku, I didn't mean to scare you. I would never—"

But Izuku shook his head, eyes shimmering. "I know. I know you didn't..."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

"I just need time," Izuku whispered. "Please, Katsuki. Let me... let me figure out who I am outside of all this. Outside of you."

Katsuki didn't try to stop him as he turned and walked away.

Didn't chase him. Didn't beg.

He watched the door close softly behind the one person he would have razed kingdoms for.

And said nothing.

The quiet that followed hurt worse than the slam of any door.