#Also I have this image of All Might Izuku and Inko running together every morning

[gentrychild]

+5 HCs: okay last uhh, AU where Inko reignites her childhood want to become a Pro Hero but thinks she’s too old for it now, but then Izuku starts wholeheartedly supporting her ;A;

Listen, I don't know how and I don't know why but I know that this started with Endeavor being his usual charming self and Inko, who was probably minding her business and doing grocery shopping until she walked on him, got so annoyed that she decided to get a license out of spite. Endeavor: "I'm the number 2 hero." Inko: "Well, apparently, they let anyone be a top hero these days." Endeavor: "Oh yeah? If it's so easy, why don't you become one?" Inko: "So you don't come crying to me when I inevitably steal your spot."

She comes back home and cries out of frustration. She doesn't know what took her over. (Spite and righteous anger.) And yes, there was a time when she wanted to be a hero but her quirk is nothing to write home and she had to be realistic so she didn't even try to pass the entrance exam. Izuku is surprised to know that his mom wanted to be a hero once and tells her that there are nowadays many ways for an adult to get a hero license! Honestly, she just has to take a couple of class and pass the exam! So Inko studies, often borrowing her son's school books, and she trains with the insane schedule that is still hanging on their fridge. She also trains her quirk, which becomes stronger.

When Inko is about to give up because it's too hard and insane, Izuku is right next to her and he is "Mom, don't forget that so many people are believing in you!!!" and she is "You mean you and I?" and Izuku is "Well, sure you and I, but also I told that one classmate that the woman who made Endeavor literally fume is my mom and now he and his siblings are you biggest fans." And she can't disappoint her son and those three kids she's never seen so she hangs on, she passes her exam and she gets her license! She becomes a hero! Shouto, barging into Endeavor's office as soon as he gets Midoriya's text: "HEY, GUESS WHAT?!" Endeavor: "Oh, I am not going to like it..." Natsuo and Fuyumi, appearing out of nowhere while throwing confetti: "SHE GOT HER LICENSE!!!"

Inko isn't the kind of hero who fights villains. She is more Tatsu from The Way of the Househusband. You can't make a budget? She got you. You have taxes problem? She got you. Your restaurant is about to fail? She got you. You need to impress someone with your cooking skill/tea ceremony/absolutely whatever? She got you. She has spent fifteen years as housewife. She got all the skills you can imagine. Though it doesn't she can't kick ass and takes names. It just that she will use her sturdy support item known as the iron pan instead of her quirk. Izuku couldn't be prouder. Also, there is this tiny detail about villains avoiding the hell out of her. There are many memes about Inko being such a mom that even villains don't dare to do bad things in front of her. I'm sure that's the reason.

Now, you remember how the ranking isn't so much about cases closed than it is about popularity? You remember that? Because Endeavor was rudely reminded of that as he saw Pro Hero Inko ascending through the ranking at Mach speed because she is just so beloved. The fact that she apparently got a feud with the number 2 hero and that her kid is the bone breaking kid from the Sport Festival doesn't hurt. So now, Endeavor sleeps with his eyes open, terrified at the idea of becoming the number 3 hero because of this tiny woman who decided to become a pro hero just to spite him.

5 + 1: Every Todoroki children constantly wearing Inko merch just to annoy Endeavor. Unfortunately for Dabi, it backfired on him when he raided the Summer Camp in an Inko T-shirt and Pro Hero Inko's number 1 fan yelled "MY MOM WOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOU!!!" as he kicked Dabi in the face.

[shutupandshipit]

Sharpen Your Blades - Ch.16

Summary: “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

The thinning of Aizawa’s patience was evident in the twitching of his brow. “If you stop asking questions, maybe I could finish explaining.

”With a huff and roll of his eyes, Katsuki glanced away from their coach.

“City Hall and the SC want us to give them more variety. We are a team solely made up of single skaters. Every year, we dominate the rankings for single skate while Shinketsu dominates the pairs, so this year both cities are being required to split their skaters evenly between singles and pairs with at least one pair coming from out top five.” There was a collective intake of breath, but no one commented, choosing instead to remain silent. “Unfortunately, for us, it’s a lot easier to switch from pairs to singles. With our male to female ratio, alpha/beta/omega ratio, and those of you actually experienced with pair skating, we’re at a disadvantage. So, I’ve decided to choose your partners for you.”

…..

Or where Katsuki and Izuku are forced to be partners so they can continue to compete, but the blood in the water may be thicker than anyone realized.

Pairing: Bakudeku

Rating: M

Chapter: 16/20

Previously <- Chapter 15: Gross Holiday Activities

Chapter 17: ??? -> Next (coming 5/9)

Author’s note: You may or may not notice that the rating jumped this chapter. It is also going to jump next chapter provided I can be a big girl and actually write the explicit content. TW: Overdose in this chapter.

Chapter 16: Heats and Ruts

“Oh, Katsuki, it’s nice to see you. What can I do for you?”

For a moment, Katsuki was completely lost for words as he looked at Inko’s haggard appearance. There were bags sitting heavily beneath her once shining green eyes and her clothes seemed to hang wrong on her frame. Like she’d lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Even her scent was off. Musty almost. Darker than her usual bright citrus and mint scent. Almost like when fruit began to rot.

His pre-rut had started that morning, and he could smell everything. And he meant everything. Inko’s scent made him want to gag, but he forced the reaction down.

Swallowing, he said, “Mom sent me over because you texted her about something. She thought I could help.”

“Really? Mitsuki sent you over?” She wrung her hands together, dropping her eyes before glancing over her shoulder. “Well, that might be better actually.” She glanced back at him, a sheen of tears making her eyes sparkle.

He felt his stomach begin to drop.

“Izuku won’t come out of his room. I haven’t heard him moving around. I thought it was because he was supposed to start his heat today, but I haven’t been able to smell it. I’ve been trying to give him space, but I’m worried-”

“You want me to check on him?” Katsuki asked, interrupting her ramblings.

Inko’s eyes dropped again. “You two have always been such close friends. Maybe he’d be willing to talk to you over his mother.”

‘Highly doubt it,’ Katsuki thought, mind flashing with the image of Izuku on the ice. Blood and tears and pain etched into a face that wasn’t meant for it. How it never would have happened if he’d been Izuku’s partner. Outloud, he said, “I’ll try. No promises.”

Inko stepped back to let him in, and Katsuki immediately smelled the difference in the place. It had lost the scents that he remembered so well from his childhood. Baked goods and flowers and Izuku and Inko’s scents mixing harmoniously. Instead, they’d been replaced by the strange chemical cleanness of a hospital.

It took Katsuki until he was standing in front of Izuku’s door to realize the scent was coming from his room. He glanced back at Inko. “What’s that smell?”

Inko’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Katsuki’s stomach dropped out from under him. His hand shot out to try the door handle without knocking, and Inko didn’t try to stop him. The door was locked.

“Shit!” Katsuki hissed under his breath before pounding on the door, “Hey, Deku! You awake in there? Open the door!”

“Katsuki!” Inko gasped in horror, reaching out for his arm, but unable to catch it. There was no answer from within, and Katsuki banged louder, the door rattling in its frame. “Katsuki, please! He’s healing! He’s been in a lot of pain!”

He turned a heated glare to the woman at his side. “As long as I’ve known him, he’s never locked his door. Why would he have started now?”

Inko opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes were wide, fear beginning to cloud them.

“I’m going to break the door. Step back.” Inko followed his instructions without comment, and Katsuki immediately rammed his shoulder into the door. Pain lanced through his shoulder, his frame still bonier in all his pre-teen glory than he would have liked. The door was flimsy for the most part though, not meant to hold up to vigorous assault, and it took less time than Katsuki had assumed to break it open.

He fell into the room as the door swung open, and wretched at the strength of scentlessness of the space. A space that had always been so drenched in Izuku’s scent, every one of his emotions. Now there was nothing. Not even a whiff of happiness or anxiety. It was wrong. All of it was so fucking wrong.

Once he’d gotten his gagging under control, he took in the scene. There was an empty orange pill bottle on the bed near an open hand. Little white pills scattered across a navy blanket and tan carpet. The longer Katsuki looked, the more damning the picture became.

It was only until he made it to Izuku’s face that ice water was injected straight into his veins.

Sunken eyes. Stringy, greasy curls. Hollow, distant, clouded green eyes. His chest didn’t seem to be moving.

“Fuck! Izuku!” He raced for his childhood friend, grabbing the limp wrist by the pill bottle and holding it so tightly that he felt the bones grind together. It took several long moments for Katsuki to feel a faint flutter, but still, there was too much space between each beat. “Call an ambulance! Auntie, call an ambulance! Goddammit, Izuku, what did you do?”

He didn’t wait to see if Inko had followed his orders. He turned Izuku on his side, prying his mouth open to shove his fingers down the boy’s throat. There had been so many times over the past year during his ruts that Katsuki had imagined doing this exact thing, but never had he imagined it would be in this context. He never wanted it to be like this.

“Please, please, please,” he prayed desperately as he reached and reached until he felt Izuku’s body begin to convulse. He hung the boy’s head over the side of the bed, ignoring the sick that splattered across the floor. Little white pills floated in the yellow liquid, most nearly dissolved. Even as Izuku stopped wretching, he remained catatonic, no life to his eyes. 

For the first time in years, Katsuki felt his throat close and his eyes burn with tears. “No, Izuku, don’t fucking do this! What about your mom? What about the team? What about me? You can’t do this to us! Izuku!”

Inko whirled back in, her hair wild and face tear streaked. “They’re coming! They’re coming!” she screamed, running over to Izuku. “My baby! Why? How did this happen?”

It took what felt like forever for the paramedics to arrive, and Katsuki watched from the curb as Inko scrambled into the back of the ambulance without a second look back at him. He stood there silently until suddenly there were arms around him. Mitsuki dragged him into her chest and stroked his hair roughly, and it was only then that he realized how sore his throat was.

His parents took him to the hospital hours later. When he’d calmed down and Inko had called to say that Izuku had woken up, and it was only moments after that that he found himself standing at the omega’s beside.

Izuku stared straight ahead, eyes sightless and flat, while their parents slipped out into the hallway.

“Why?” Katsuki whispered desperately, reluctant to reach out for the boy to get his attention.

He didn’t need to though. Izuku blinked slowly, and when his eyelids opened again, his eyes were on Katsuki. Still, he didn’t seem to even realize Katsuki was there. “Why?” he repeated, voice raspy from the rough treatment of his throat, like he didn’t understand the question.

Katsuki seethed, and it was a chore to keep his voice down. “Yes, why, Izuku! Why did you do it? You- You almost died. Do you realize that? Is that what you wanted?”

Even more slow confusion clouded his already cloudy eyes. “No, I don’t want to die. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I didn’t know it could.”

“You can overdose on anything, idiot! Why didn’t you stop if you weren’t doing it on purpose?” It was all Katsuki could do not to tear his own hair out in frustration. Or to start crying again. He didn’t want to cry again, not in front of Izuku, not in front of anyone. He was supposed to be the strong one.

Izuku reached out, but Katsuki jerked his hands away at the chill of his fingers on his skin. He didn’t seem to notice, clasping the bed railing instead. “I just wanted it to stop.”

Katsuki waited, and when it didn’t seem like Izuku was going to continue, prompted, “Stop what?”

“The pain. I just wanted it to stop.”

He couldn’t stay there, not with this deadeyed Izuku or his complete lack of scent, and turned out of the room. Masaru caught a glimpse of his face before he hid it away to duck around the trio, and it was his dad who found and held him that time while Mitsuki stayed at Inko’s side.

…..

December Week 1

Katsuki should have stayed home.

As soon as he stepped into the rink for practice, he knew that. Every little loud sound from his teammates and burst of scent sent his mind reeling with anger. Every time one of them got too close to Izuku sent his mind reeling with anger. Every time he caught the remnants of chemical scentlessness sent his mind reeling with anger.

The overwhelming rage and jealousy was his constant companion.

Not only that, but when he did catch a clean breath of Izuku's scent, the scent of approaching heat, it just filled him with the urge to 'Mount, mate, mark, mine, Mark, mate, Mount'. The only thing he could do was grit his teeth against the urge.

He knew that if there were still suppressants in Izuku's scent, especially with his heat coming on, that meant Izuku wasn't ready to share a nest with him. Not that Katsuki had expected him to, but he thought maybe he'd at least come off his suppressants. It would be best if they'd be gone at the same time.

Thinking about it though, Katsuki had never seen Izuku take time off for his heats. Did that mean their cycles had always lined up? Or maybe Izuku's cycles were just very short, lining up with the weekends? The only thing was, he could never remember Izuku smelling of heat. But he could remember Izuku smelling like suppressants when he would get too close to the omega.

And now, as the rest of the team gathered their bags and called their goodbyes, he searched desperately for a memory. The only one he could drag up was from more than a decade before.

Some time later, a darker thought filled his mind.

The only other option was that Izuku just had been skipping heats somehow. And that pissed him off for an entirely new reason.

…..

Izuku didn’t know why he thought they’d be able to keep going without a fight. That wasn’t who they were. They were arguments and biting words and seething tempers and teeth clenched in utter frustration. They were not, in fact, tender lovers who only had sweet words and soft touches for each other.

Still, Izuku let himself fall for the wonderful evening with all of its beautiful lights and cozy coats and hours of recreational skating and the way Katsuki had been so much more beautiful than anything else around them. The kiss they’d shared, the only kiss thus far, had made his knees weak, and he wanted to experience that sensation for the rest of his remaining days.

He’d been lulled into complacency by the feeling of what he thought may be love beginning to bloom between them, and hadn’t realized just how quickly his suppressants were running out.

Now, standing on the ice late at night, Izuku couldn’t help but be hyper aware of every little thing. The slight ache of his feet in his skates. The soft sound of his blades biting into the ice. The taste of the cake Satou had brought to practice earlier that day that Izuku had saved a piece of. Katsuki’s scent, full of anger and lust and pre-rut, congealing on his tongue until it was more of a taste than a smell. Katsuki’s eyes burning into him every time he stumbled across the ice or trembled in his hands or ran his hands through his curls. The heat beginning to burn him alive from the inside out, like he’d been freezing and then plunged into a hot tub.

Panting, Izuku stumbled through simple footwork he’d never had trouble with before. They slid to a stop, and Katsuki’s hands tightened on him. Izuku didn’t want to look at him, to see the disgust on his face. Because surely he would be disgusted. He would know that every negative thing he’d ever thought about Izuku would be true.

“Deku,” Katsuki’s voice was low, but furious, and when Izuku glanced up to meet his eyes in a flash of defiance, he saw that Katsuki knew. Knew all of his secrets and sins and wants.

“No.” He turned from his partner, hurrying towards the entrance with energy from a reserve he didn’t know he had. The reserve of terror.

“Deku!” Katsuki snapped, following him off the ice. Neither of them paused long enough to put their guards on, and somewhere in the back of his brain, the part that always thought about skating winced.

Izuku could feel Katsuki right on his heels, so close that he could feel the heat radiating off his body. Or was that Izuku’s own heat radiating back at him off his thermals? No, he’d taken off his thermals hours ago. It had to be Katsuki then with cayenne in his scent and possessiveness in his grip.

The grip that was currently wrapped around Izuku’s upper arm, jerking him to a stop just as he reached for his bag.

“Deku!”

“No, Kacchan!”

“We’re going to talk about this!”

Izuku whirled around to face Katsuki, the bleed through of Katsuki’s pre-rut fiery fueling him as he shouted, “What, Kacchan, what are we going to talk about? We never talk! And you know what, I’m not in the mood to get berated! I’m going to go home and go to bed!”

As if he hadn’t heard a single thing, Katsuki continued. “We’re going to talk about the suppressants!”

“No, we’re not!”

“I don’t understand, Deku. Why would you chance taking them after what happened when we were younger? I’ve been smelling them in your scent since we started skating together! Why are you still taking them?”

Izuku threw up his arms. “Well, guess what, Kacchan? I’m not taking them anymore. How wonderful! How amazing! How great for everyone, but me!” When his arms dropped back to his sides, he glared at Katsuki. “And stop pretending like you know what happened that day. You weren’t there. You’re making assumptions you have no place making.”

Katsuki's face fell slack, and it was the first time that Izuku could ever remember seeing that expression on his face. After a moment, it shifted back to anger. “What the fuck are you talking about? I was there!”

“No, you weren’t! My mom was the one who took me to the hospital!”

“I was the one who fucking found you!” Katsuki roared, “I was the one who knocked down your door and found you with all those pills in your stomach! Of course you wouldn’t fucking remember because you were too far in your goddamn head! I was the one who stuck my fucking fingers down your throat to make you puke them up! That was me! And you expect me to not care about you still taking suppressants even when you’re about to go into heat? I want to be your fucking mate, Izuku, of course I care!”

Izuku couldn’t hold himself back anymore. “I don’t want to have a heat!” His words were something between a scream and a sob, and they echoed deafeningly around the rink. He’d never said them aloud before, and he covered his face with his arms to run away from their truth. His breath came out as a shudder when he whispered, “I don’t want to have a heat, Kacchan.”

Strong arms wrapped tightly around him, and he immediately melted into the touch. Just like an omega. He hated it. Wanted to fight it. Wanted to stay angry just to feel something new.

Instead, like a switch being flipped, unwelcome searing heat pulsed through him. “No,” he moaned as that ever so distant, but unforgettable pain settled in his abdomen, “Not here. Not now.”

…..

Katsuki jerked away from Izuku as his scent flared like a supernova, overwhelming in its sudden sharpness. There was finally no trace of suppressants left. When he met Izuku’s eyes, it was to find them wide with pupils blown.

"I need- I need my- I need my nest. Kacchan, I need my nest. Not here. Not now. I need-" Izuku rasped, the hand on Katsuki’s arm the only thing seeming to keep him from doubling in on himself.

Katsuki crowded Izuku, burying his nose in the crook of the omega's neck, right up against his scent gland. ‘There! Right there!’ That's the scent he'd been wanting to smell underneath all of the chemicals and artificial hormones. Mint and a thunderstorm and now, warm summer apples. He exhaled shakily. It was so strong, and so wholly right.

"Kacchan," Izuku moaned, body trembling against his, heat radiating off him in waves, "Please, my nest."

"I've got you," Katsuki rasped against his throat, fighting every neglected instinct in his body that told him to, 'Mount. Mate. Rut. Heat. Mate. Mount. Mark. Mine.' Never before had his alpha been so insistent during his ruts -never in his life, period- but now his alpha was nearly screaming at him, pressed as far forward in his mind as Katsuki would allow. Screaming for him to assert his dominance, to take what was his. Fuck, but he didn't want to be like other alphas. "I'll get you back, Deku. Can you stand?"

"Just don't let go of me." Izuku's words were a whisper right against his ear, and it became just that much harder to think straight.

Was this what other alphas’ ruts were like all the time? Clouded? Focussed on one thing only? Driven mad by the mere thought of an omega in heat? He hated it, wanted it to stop, wanted to be in full control of his thoughts again. Still, there was his alpha right at the forefront of his mind, 'Mount. Mate. Mark. Mine.' He wished it would shut the fuck up long enough for him to rub his two remaining brain cells together. The two brain cells not currently taking the interstate down south.

"Can you put your shit on? It's freezing outside," Katsuki asked before he realized how stupid that actually may have sounded. If Izuku really was spiraling into heat, no amount of cold was going to affect him. It might still affect Katsuki though.

"No," Izuku moaned piteously, skin flushed red as his head lulled back on his shoulders.

"I know. I didn't think. But I need to get my stuff on."

"Let me help."

Together, they wrestled Katsuki into his coat, gloves and hat and each other out of their skates without breaking contact in some form or another. Izuku's fingers on the back of his neck. Katsuki's arm slung across Izuku's waist. Their foreheads pressed together. When Katsuki pulled their bags over one shoulder and Izuku slumped into his other side, he slipped the beanie, scarf and gloves he'd gifted Izuku onto him. "Just these. I know you're overheating, but that's not going to save your fingers or ears."

"My nest," Izuku whispered instead of answering, pressing closer into Katsuki's side, so close that there wasn't any space between them, “I don’t have- I need- A nest.”

By the time they got back to their apartment complex, Izuku had wiggled his way into Katsuki's jacket and he couldn't tell if he was hot because of Izuku or his rut was finally cresting. If he were a betting man, he would have bet on the latter.

“Deku, where’s your nest?”

Izuku wasn’t paying attention as he dragged the fluffy red blanket off his couch and onto the floor. There, he wrapped himself up tight, trembling as he slid to the floor with a moan.

Katsuki frantically searched the small apartment for where the idiot’s nest might have been. He checked the kitchen, bathtub, closet, bed and even beneath the bed. He came up frustratingly empty.

Hurrying back, wobbling a little with the ungodly hard-on he was toting, he crouched beside the omega. As gently as he could, he shook Izuku to try and rouse his attention. “Nerd, where’s your goddamn nest? I need to get you in it before I leave. And I need to leave sooner rather than later.”

Izuku blinked green eyes hazy with heat and pain up at him. His mouth hung wide, panting out small agonized breaths. “You can go, Kacchan, I’ll be fine.”

“What are you talking about? I can’t go anywhere until you’re safe in your nest! And where’s your heat supplies?”

“Don’t have any.”

Katsuki blood ran cold, distracting him long enough to catch his stupid alpha’s attention and point it in a different direction other than down. “What do you mean?”

Izuku’s eyes squeezed tightly shut. “I thought- I wasn’t expecting it. I thought- I’d be able- to find a way around it.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Deku? No, you know what? Where’s your goddamn nest? I’ll dump you in it and bring half of my supplies over.”

“Don’t have one,” the omega moaned, the words increasing in volume to become a full blown wail.

“What do you mean you don’t have one!” Katsuki shouted, unconsciously mimicking Izuku’s volume and tone.

Izuku’s just sobbed desperately, curling in on himself within his blanket.

“Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-” If the omega didn’t have a nest, there was no possible way he could stay in the apartment. He would make himself sick without one. Sick from fear and anxiety. Sick from discomfort and being unsafe. Katsuki had a solution, but at the same time, it wasn’t much of one at all. Because they had only just come to terms with each other, started courting. They hadn’t even sussed out the monumental mountain of bagage they had between each other. Still, Katsuki couldn’t leave his omega without food or water or safety.

Carding his hand through Izuku’s curls, he purred loudly to get his attention. “Izuku.”

His given name more than anything probably made Izuku’s head lift, eyes narrowed but focussed on him.

“Listen, I know this is going to sound crazy, and it is crazy, and dangerous, but I can’t leave you alone in this apartment without everything you need.”

“Kacchan?”

“I have a nest. I built one. For you,” he said haltingly, even now terrified of being rejected, “Just in case you ever-”

“Yes!” Izuku cut him off, hand clawing out towards Katsuki to grip at his wrist, “Please, it hurts, please. I don’t want to be alone.”

Katsuki didn’t need to be told twice. He scooped his omega into his arms, blanket and all. He all but ran for the door, only restraining himself from actually running due to his precarious hold on his package.