The Enemy Next Door
After a turbulent night spooning with Kacchan to sleep, Izuku woke up a little later than his usual the next morning due to the exhaustion.
A strong hand softly shook his shoulder as a familiar voice called his name back to the real world.
“Hmm… Kacchan?” He mumbled, still grog out of sleep.
The blonde one sighed worriedly. “Aren’t you getting up? It’s 10AM.”
Checking the time on his phone beside to make sure, the freckled one buried his face in the pillow and grumbled annoyed.
Bakugou sat by his side on the bed and began caressing his back.
“You don’t plan on hiding in the room all day, do you?” He asked.
Izuku turned his face just enough so that he was looking at Kacchan from the corner of his eyes.
“And what else am I supposed to do? The chances of seeing my father in a whole other country were low as it is, now that I know that he’s out there, I don’t wanna risk to see him again.”
“So you’ll stay hiding until the day of the wedding?” Bakugou scolded softly.
The greenette fell silent.
“Come, I won’t let you stay rotting in bed.” Katsuki called, standing up.
“Alright…” Izuku sighed and sat up unwillingly, checking the notifications on his cellphone and widened his eyes.
“What is it?” Bakugou asked, warily.
“It’s my mom… she tried to call me several times last night.”
They both paused with one thing in mind.
“You won’t answer her now, right?” The Incubus asked.
“It’s my mom… if I don’t, she may worry.”
Katsuki opened his mouth to argue, but noticed that Izuku had a point.
“Alright… I’ll be in the living room. Come see me when you’re finished, okay?”
“Sure.” The freckled one nodded in agreement and sent Inko a text message as Kacchan left the bedroom.
Hi, mom! Sorry for the late reply, I had a tough night…
Shortly after hitting “send”, his phone was ringing with an incoming call. The greenette was startled by the sudden sound and answered it reluctantly.
“He-hello…?”
“Izuku! I tried to call you all day yesterday! Where were you?!” Inko’s voice sounded louder than usual, making her son retrieve the cellphone from his ear.
“Erm… asleep.” He answered awkwardly.
Inko sighed on the other end. “Do you have any idea of how worried you got me? Now that you’re in another country, how can I know if something dangerous didn’t happen?!”
“I’m sorry, I… had a tough night…” The greenette repeated.
“I heard… your father contacted me.”
“I thought he did…”
“Look, Izuku, I know our divorce is still hard for you, but Hisashi has a right to go out with whoever he wants.”
Silence…
“Sweetie…?”
“So that’s what he told you…” The greenette said with a disappointed tone.
“What do you mean?”
Izuku scoffed sarcastically. He didn’t want his mother to know, especially that way, but Hisashi provoked and she still deserved to know. “I don’t think that going out with hookers is ‘moving on’.”
There was a perplexed silence on the other end of the line.
“You’re kidding, right?” Inko laughed, but it was still possible to hear in her voice that she was saying that because it was what she wanted to believe.
Izuku shrugged. “I may not be very good in English, but I understood well what that woman who was with him meant.”
Inko seemed to be trying to let the information sink in before she resumed speaking. “Either way, you can’t choose who we go out with. Me and Hisashi are divorced and we can-!”
“Mom… he was cheating on you.” Izuku cut her off with a nosy voice.
“How can you know? Only because your father was with a… well, you know!”
“Because I asked him for how long he’s been doing that and he couldn’t lie.” He said with shaky lips.
His mother didn’t want to believe that story, it was too absurd to be true, but she could hear in her son’s voice that he was being honest. She knew him ever since he was born and he never lied.
“Izuku… that is…”
“I’m sorry to tell you this way.” He sobbed.
It was another moment until Inko spoke up again. “I-it's not your fault, honey.” Her voice, strangely, didn’t sound as if she was crying.
“Will you be okay?” Her son asked.
“I’ll be fine, dear, I just…” She couldn’t manage to finish the sentence, Izuku heard sniffs and sobs from the other end.
“Mom…”
“I-I… need to be alone for a bit.” With that, Inko hung up.
The greenette wasted no time, he searched for Yagi’s number on his phone and called him, crossing his fingers for him to pick up.
“Hello?”
Izuku almost sighed in relief as he heard the older one’s voice.
“Hi, Yagi…” He paused to try and hold back his tears.
“Young Izuku…? Are you crying?”
“I just… need you to go see my mom.”
“Son, it’s a little late to visit your mother, what happened?”
“Maybe she can explain it to you… but she can’t be alone for now… Please.”
A moment of silence dragged by as Yagi wondered whether he should comply to it or not. “Alright, I’m heading there.”
“Thanks, Yagi.”
“Of course. You know how much I appreciate Inko and you, right?” Izuku could hear the smile in his voice.
“Sure… Don’t keep her waiting for long.”
“See ya, son.”
Hanging up, the greenette put his phone aside and buried his face in his hands in a crying fit. He really didn’t need to be reminded of that nor have to tell his mother the truth and worsen the situation; Hisashi turned that trip among friends into a nightmare.
A sudden knock on the door took him out of his thoughts; Izuku gasped as he turned towards the sound. From a crack, he could see Kacchan’s worried face eyeing him from the door.
Inviting himself in, the Incubus hurried up to his soulmate, sitting by his side on the bed and caressing his back.
After giving his partner some time to spill his tears, Katsuki sighed. He wouldn't ask unnecessary questions, so he tried another approach.
“Come.” He said, taking his hand and standing.
“What-?” Izuku asked, confused.
“I won't let you stay weeping in here.”
“Kacchan, I need some time-”
“I won't give you time to remember that and suffer.”
The greenette paused, standing alongside him right after as they held hands and buried his face in the other’s chest.
“I-I don't want to risk to see-”
“I know, that's why we won't leave the hotel.” Bakugou cut him off.
Izuku laced his arms around the Incubus’ waist and he returned the gesture.
“Thank you.” The freckled one whispered.
Bakugou caressed his green locks before speaking up again. “Go get dressed.”
The greenette nodded and complied, searching for a fresh change of clothes in his suitcase and got dressed under his partner's attentive gaze; after quickly using the bathroom, Katsuki guided him out the bedroom and they were promptly received by their friends who waited anxiously in the living room. They all seemed to hold their breaths when they spotted the freckled one.
“Guys…” Izuku mumbled, confused.
“Mido-” Before Yaoyorozu could finish her sentence, Ochako, Mina and Denki ran up to him, hugging him and speaking all at once, completely ignoring Bakugou’s presence by his side.
“Will you stop?! Give him some room!” The blonde one exclaimed, annoyed.
Their friends complied and let go of him slowly, all eyes were fixed on Midoriya attentively.
“How long have you been here for?” Izuku asked them.
The group went quiet for a short moment.
“Long enough…” Momo spoke up. “We feel bad for you to be facing this situation… if you didn't come for me and Kyouka, none of this would've happened.
“D-don’t worry! It's not your fault.” The greenette assured promptly.
“Still, we understand if you're not feeling well for the ceremony. We won't make you go, if you don't want to.” The brunette added.
“No… I can't let this get in the way. You are my friends and I'll be there for you.” The freckled one said, determined.
All of his friends smiled tiredly.
“This isn't just about us, Midoriya, you have a right to skip the wedding, if you're not feeling well. After what happened to you, we'll understand. We can't make you go, neither do you.” Jirou added.
His watery, green eyes looked from the couple of brides and his other friends who smiled in agreement, it was a moment until he spoke up again. “Guys…”
“But don't you think that we'll leave you hanging!” Uraraka said, determined with both hands on her hips.
“Yeah! We scheduled this day to cheer you up.” Mina nodded as she hooked her arm on Midoriya’s. ”We won't let you remember that fiasco today, let's just have fun! Right?” She said, winking a golden eye at him.
Izuku sniffled and wiped his water-filled eyes to calm down. “Thank you.” He said with a shaky voice.
“No need, Midoriya, we're your friends and are here for you.” Kirishima smiled.
“Yeah, we were worried…” Uraraka agreed. “Wanna go have lunch? You got up late, after all.”
The greenette sniffled again and nodded. “That would be nice.” He smiled awkwardly.
They spent the day at the hotel; a trip to celebrate Yaoyorozu and Jirou’s wedding suddenly took a different turn to try and cheer Midoriya up. At lunch, everyone's attention fell upon him, playing and telling jokes in the attempt to brighten up his mood, soon after, they went back to the hotel room he shared with Katsuki to play games and talk.
Suddenly, the greenette no longer felt as terrible anymore, he was grateful to have friends like his.
At nightfall, Momo and Kyouka went back home and all the others returned to their respective hotel rooms, leaving Izuku and Katsuki alone. They took the chance to watch a bit of TV, even though the freckled one didn't understand absolutely everything that happened on the screen, but the moment made it worth it.
They both cuddled on the couch, almost giving in to sleep in the middle of the dimmed-lit room; it was a long moment under a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company, until Bakugou opened his mouth.
“How are you feeling?” He asked in a raspy voice.
Izuku blinked the sleep away and turned his face towards his partner with a soft smile. “A bit better, thanks to Kacchan and the others.”
The Incubus smiled at the information. “Good… I won't let anyone take your happiness away from you, not again.” He lamented as he caressed the small one's body.
“I thought you weren't blaming yourself over that anymore…” Izuku scolded.
“It doesn't matter how many times you forgive me, nothing will take this blame away from me… You deserve the best and I'll never redeem myself enough, even if I spend the rest of your life treating you as you deserve.”
The greenette sighed with a tired smile. “Kacchan… There really is nothing I can do to change your mind about that, right?”
“Nope.” The Incubus replied plainly with a smile.
Izuku giggled. “You're so stubborn.”
“But you love me still.” He said as he caressed a green lock behind the other one's ear.
“You're right… I do love.”
They both approached in a long kiss and exchanged loving looks as they broke.
“With every imperfection.” The greenette added in a whisper.
“I love you too, Zuzu.” The nickname made the freckled one blush. “I'd tell you the same, if you had any imperfections.”
Izuku’s lips parted and he couldn't respond; he wanted to tell him otherwise, he felt like he wasn't enough compared to his partner, but the compliment made him feel awkward enough to lose his train of thought, he just turned his face away to hide the redness on his freckled cheeks.
Bakugou held his chin and forced him to look back at himself, his carmine eyes were fixed on the other's plump lips. He leaned in for another kiss, but an incoming call on Izuku's cellphone ruined his plans.
The Incubus watched impatiently as his boyfriend stretched towards the coffee table to reach for his phone and checked the ID on the screen, stretching his neck to peep and they both noticed it was an unknown number.
Before the greenette had time to react in any way, Katsuki yanked the mobile from his hands and answered it in his place.
“Hello.” He greeted impatiently.
A pause stretched by on the other end before he got a reply. “Who is this?”
“I should be the one to say that, you’re the one calling to bother my boyfriend.” Bakugou said, bluntly, recognizing Hisashi’s voice.
“Hmpf, so I was right about that…” He mentioned, unimpressed.
“What do you want?!” The blonde one exclaimed on the phone.
“I want to talk to my son, is he there?” Hisashi sounded indifferent, in a way.
“He's heard enough from you. If you want to go on with your threats, speak to me.” The Incubus challenged.
Suddenly, the greenette’s eyes widened as the pieces fell into place.
“Why, I'm not here to threaten anyone, I just wanna know why Izuku went to gossip with Inko about me.” Hisashi sounded embarrassed.
Bakugou scoffed. “Weren't you the one to gossip with her first? He just told her the truth, unlike you.”
A pause was made on the other end of the line. “That doesn't matter. She's been calling me the whole day to yell at me, I even had to block her number!”
“Because you made Izuku tell her the truth; maybe you should've thought about that before lying to try and save your ass. You were the one to cause that to yourself, now deal with the consequences of your actions!”
After shouting that last part, Katsuki hung up on Hisashi and proceeded to block his number, huffing impatiently at the phone's screen; he soon turned to the greenette who whimpered by his side and his expression softened.
Handing the cellphone back to Izuku, Katsuki looked straight into his emerald eyes, holding his freckled face and speaking carefully. “I want you to keep that number blocked, alright…? Let's forget about this.”
The greenette nodded slowly, Bakugou then pecked his lips and kissed his forehead lovingly, hugging him right after to comfort him.
Izuku buried his face in his partner's neck and sobbed in his arms, they remained like that for a moment until the smaller one calmed down enough so that they could go to bed.
In the middle of the night, when Bakugou was sure his soulmate was in a deep slumber, he reached for the small one’s cellphone and sat up in bed, facing away from him and checked the notifications in search for news on Inko; he worried about her too, especially after the call he overheard that very morning.
With no hints or clues, he decided to call her to be sure; he closed his eyes as the phone rang, mentally wishing with all his strengths for her to pick up and be okay.
“Hello, young Izuku.” A deep voice greeted.
Bakugou widened his eyes, perplexed. “Mister Yagi…?”
“Oh, young Bakugou, what a surprise.”
“I should be the one to say that… Is miss Inko okay?”
“I mean… could be better.”
The Incubus paused and ran a hand through his face. “I figured… Thank you for looking after her.”
“Likewise. By the way, how’s young Izuku?”
“Well, ‘could be better’.” He mimicked. “We took this day to try and cheer him up, but Hisashi just had to call him a bit ago.”
“And what did he want?” Toshinori asked, frightened.
“Just point the finger; ‘looks like he still thinks he deserves respect, even after what he did.” He replied in disdain.
A pause stretched by on the other end. “Unbelievable.”
“Isn’t it? I just hope he won’t keep pushing it; I blocked his number, but I don’t want to have to file a restraining order.”
“Do you think he’d go that far?” Yagi asked, concerned.
“I hope not… we just want to finish this trip at once and go back home.”
“It must be tough… Inko is also suffering a lot with all this, I feel bad for them both.”
“We all do.” Bakugou spoke slowly.
“Well, I have to go now, I’m in charge of cooking lunch.” Yagi laughed awkwardly.
“I see… Thank you for taking care of miss Inko, mister Yagi, and sorry for putting you through this.”
“No problem, you can be sure that I’ll be here for her, and thank you for being there for young Izuku.”
Katsuki smiled. “No problem.”
“Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Hanging up, Bakugou put the cellphone back on the nightstand beside Izuku and eyed his freckled face below him; he loved to watch the greenette in his sleep, he always looked so peaceful and adorable, this time, however, he looked exhausted.
The Incubus couldn’t hold himself back; leaning in slowly and extremely carefully, he placed a kiss on the corner of Izuku’s mouth before laying by his side to try and get some sleep.
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