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Scars cover his arms and hands, his legs. His heart. They look like vines, twisting and turning around his limbs. Like a snake curling around its prey, tightening its hold. Smothering. Suffocating.
Izuku’s left breathless.
He feels lightheaded as he gasps for air but he can feel the snake’s hold getting stronger. Imagines the coldblooded reptile slithering over his arms and around his heart. He can almost feel the sharp teeth that sink into his skin.
Pain.
There’s so much pain and Izuku’s lungs are aching; in dire need of oxygen. His vision goes black. There’s only darkness behind his closed eyes and he reaches out into nothingness, but his hands only grasp air; whisks of dust passing through his fingers. He feels so alone. Shivering. Bleeding.
Cold.
The floor he’s lying on is cold, and hard, but mostly uncomfortable. His side aches just as much as his lungs do at this point. He twists and turns, motions similar to the snaking feeling inside his chest. He curls in on himself and clutches at his ribs.
Broken.
His chest hurts in a way that makes him believe his ribs are broken, bones puncturing his lungs. Needle-like pricks run over his body and he’s convinced he’s dying. Another ragged breath and suddenly he’s seeing through a blur; smudged colors, unfamiliar surroundings and he panics. Villains, he thinks dazedly and he struggles to get his limbs moving, but every move sets off another rush of pain and another wave of nausea and he needs to swallow back the bile rising in his throat.
This isn’t happening, he thinks, his eyes blinking rapidly. He’s trying to focus, trying to grasp any form of reality in this discolored uncoordinated mess but his brain is not cooperating. He’s desperately holding on to his consciousness as he feels it slipping away, he needs to stay alert, he thinks. Danger! Danger! Danger! His mind screams and Izuku follows suit.
Ringing.
His ears are ringing but he doesn’t care, doesn’t care. He’s in danger, sirens are whirring in his mind, lights flashing. He’s screaming, he vaguely notices but he doesn’t care. The screaming continues and it burns; his throat, his eyes. He clutches at his ears because it hurts, but the ringing doesn’t stop. He’s gasping for breath, now, heaving like a fish on the dry. Panic settles deep within him and his breaths falter, his throat contracting.
I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t—His mind continues a mantra and Izuku’s screams die in his throat because he’s sobbing. Tears running down his face, leaving salty tracks in their wake. His hands move to protect his ribcage; reflex more than anything else, and he’s curling in on himself again.
Izuku shuts his eyes tightly when he hears someone. He opens his eyes, unfocused gaze settling on a red and white blotch in front of him. He recognizes the colors, vaguely, but he still flinches away from the contact; a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Izuku,” the voice calls him and amid the confusion and panic there’s now recognition. A hand reaches out again and this time Izuku grasps it tightly, feeling it ground him.
“It’s okay, Izuku. I’m here, yeah? Take long deep breaths, alright?” Izuku is gasping, trying to follow the other boy’s breathing, but he’s struggling and the fading panic from before comes back full force. He’s blindly flailing his arms, trying to get a hold of something.
“Easy, Izuku, it’s okay… that’s right, you almost had it,” the voice seems clearer than before and Izuku tries his best to follow the loud breathing. His world is slowly coming into focus around him, colors coming to live, eyes adjusting to the sharp contrasts of lightings. He finally recognizes who’s in front of him and the panic quickly fades, making room for affection and gratefulness. He’s still trembling, but the arms around him keep him together and that’s all that really matters right now.
“Hey,” Shouto murmurs, leaning back. His arms are still around Izuku as they both sit on the ground. Izuku looks up into stunning dichromatic eyes and he can only blink at the sight in front of him.
“Hey,” he answers after a while and he cringes at the hoarse edge to his voice, hands clenching the fabric of Shouto’s t-shirt involuntarily.
“I’m here with you, Izuku,” Shouto speaks the words against curly green hair like a promise or a vow, and it’s the truth, Izuku thinks. His hands find their way around the taller boy’s waist and he buries his face in a solid chest. He feels so safe in this moment, strong arms keeping him from falling apart and a beating heart against his ear to remind him that he’s okay; he’s here. Safe.
They both revel in the silence, there are no words necessary in these situations because Izuku just needs Shouto to be there for him. And Shouto knows.He’s not just there for Izuku’s sake, but for his own as well. He wants to be there for him, he wants to comfort him, he wants him. It’s less like a choice and more of a necessity to live. Shouto breathes Izuku like he is the oxygen in his lungs, he needs him to survive. He doesn’t know when it started, but frankly he doesn’t care, and all that really matters now is the person in his arms.
Izuku is beautiful. Shouto learned that the very instant the other boy had entered class 1-A and yet, it still feels like that very first day whenever their eyes meet. Izuku’s touch still leave tingling traces on Shouto’s skin and he loves it, loves the way it sets his insides on fire; like passion bursting into flames. He’s learned that these flames don’t burn like his father’s, whose flames aim for the kill, and caress his heart with gentleness instead. It’s thrilling to know what Izuku Midoriya is capable of doing to his being. Enchanting, even. It’s like the very air that surrounds Izuku is filled with magic. Ancient; full of history and purpose. Shouto can’t believe he has the right of loving him, and the privilege of receiving Izuku’s love in return.
Izuku’s like a blessing, especially after the years of emotional and physical abuse, and he’s just glad to finally have found a person that he can call his own. A safe haven. Home.
“Shouto?” Izuku tugs on said boy’s sleeve to get his attention, and oh, he does. Shouto glances down and Izuku’s left breathless at the intense gaze. The love is so clear in his eyes, it takes him back to their first year when they’d fought each other during the U.A. Sports Festival. He remembers the passion burning in those eyes like the flames he’d resented so much back then, still, Izuku had allowed him to burn even brighter.
Flames.
Shouto’s love is like a bonfire, fiery and buoyant. Grand. Resilient. Izuku knows what it feels like to be touched by Shouto’s love. It’s scalding hot, but it doesn’t hurt; it fills his insides with wanton desire. Izuku can’t help but fall in love with Shouto all over again. Shouto, who is like the calm before the storm. Like ice, clear and vast and cold but not as unwelcoming as that may seem. He’s composed and reminds Izuku to relax once in a while, to take a breather. Shouto is a fresh waft of air in a stuffy room and Izuku is inhaling all of it eagerly.
“Thank you,” Izuku whispers and heaves a shaky breath in Shouto’s chest. Shouto hums in response and carefully moves some stray locks from Izuku’s face.
“I love you, you know,” he mutters under his breath and Izuku doesn’t know whether he’s even aware of himself, but it warms his heart all the same.
“I love you, too.” Izuku lifts his head with a small grin, and leans in to kiss the duality that is fire and ice in front of him. The kiss is equally as contrasting; all of their kisses are. There’s a sweet and soft initiation, like first snowfall in winter, or the first cherry blossom in spring. Then, all of a sudden there’s a slight shift; a spark and the air is loaded with electricity. There’s passion in their bones, igniting inside their chests and their mouths are hot, hot, hot. Every touch is scorching.
There’s a forest fire in Izuku’s eyes as he looks upon Shouto; crackling like fireworks and it’s beautiful. Shouto thinks Izuku is absolutely and otherwordly beautiful.
They part to take breaths, foreheads pressed against each other, hands grasping skin and clothes.
“Shouto,” Izuku gasps and cradles Shouto’s head in his hands.
“What did I do to deserve you?” he asks him as he gazes lovingly in dichromatic eyes. Shouto watches him carefully before he huffs out a laugh.
“You almost broke every bone in your body for me,” Shouto answers and there’s a tightness in his voice that betrays his true feelings. Izuku's smile falters a little.
“I already told you, didn’t I? It’s not your fault, babe.” Izuku moves the hair covering his boyfriend’s scar to the side and kisses his closed eye softly.
“I know…” Shouto takes a shuddering breath, “I know, but I can’t help but feel guilty.” He looks up at Izuku again and wraps his arms around his waist tightly.
“I understand, but I’ll be here to constantly remind you, you don’t have to,” Izuku replies and leans in for another kiss. One that steals the breath from his very lungs and leaves his insides fuming with want. His stomach flutters at the hand that snakes under the white tee he’s wearing. Shouto’s white tee, he reminds himself. The thought is oddly comforting and it sets his cheeks aflame.
Domestic.
They fit together like pieces of the same puzzle, like flowers on a kitchen table or coffee in the morning; like the moon and the stars. They are the better half of one other, and also each other’s weaknesses. Then again, their love for each other is what makes them so, so unbelievably powerful. They move with practiced ease, like they’ve been doing it their entire life. They train together, fight together and conquer together. It’s not just Izuku Midoriya. It’s Izuku Midoriya and Shouto Todoroki. They’re strong on their own but stronger together. They are inseparable. Invincible.
The fist in Midoriya’s hair tightens and he pulls away from leaving a blooming mark in Shouto’s neck.
“Hm?” Izuku cocks his head and Shouto swears he’s going to faint because –God, is that even allowed – Izuku’s biting his lip, waiting for him to tell him what’s wrong.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” Shouto barely breathes and Izuku can only give a shy laugh before Izuku is being pulled in and they’re kissing again.