AN: Okay, I love writing stories to songs. If you have any song requests/ideas, comment them! I'd love to hear them.

Warnings: Fluff and A N G S T

Word Count: 4928

---

I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart.

I watched the small, green haired teen from my window. It was late evening on a lovely summers day, the sun sinking low into the horizon and casting beautiful rays of golden beams across the ground, streams peeking through the trees. The sky was painted a thousand different colours, the sunset beginning. The forest was silhouetted perfectly, the trees dwarfing it's surroundings, yet all of this beauty paled in comparison to the person who stood in the middle of it all.

Izuku Midoriya crouched down, his back to me, and turned a page in the book he was looking at. After a moment, he leaned closer, then straightened in the way I had learned meant that he had figured something out. Standing up again, Izuku balanced on his right leg, bent it slightly, and even from this distance I could see the crackling energy spike up his leg. Then he was jumping, arching his body to aid his momentum and spinning, the leg that had been supporting him snapping out. Izuku's other leg came around faster than my eyes could even keep track of and the boy was spinning, his extended leg wheeling forwards in a kick that would have been devastating had anyone been in its path. Izuku had really improved.

But you came around,

As he landed, his arms whipped up to shield his face from an impending attack, like a shield. A defence. Izuku, knees bent, energy fading as it was no longer needed, lifted his head, eyes scanning the side of the dormitory building, methodically looking across at each window until they came to a rest on mine. Our eyes locked and, for a moment, I thought that he was going to look afraid, that his eyes were going to show the anguish that had resided there for so many years, the pain I had caused. I feared he was going to turn away, avoid me.

But after that moment, a beaming smile appeared on the smaller teens face, banishing the darkness my mind had conjured in that one second in which my doubts had formed. Gesturing frantically for me to join him, I tried to remember that I was changing, that I had changed, that I was no longer the monster that had tormented the green-haired angel for all those years.

I nodded, a silent reply to Izuku's request, and pushed away from the window, noting the way he seemed to glow a little brighter when I accepted, even though I could barely bring myself to say no to him anymore.

I walked to the door and opened it, bristling at the creaking sound the hinges made. I padded across the hall and stopped at the elevator, waiting impatiently as I listened to the whirring sound it made. The ding sounded and the doors opened.

I scowled. Todoroki gave me an impassive stare, his cool demeanour as impenetrable as always. He barely gave me a sideways glance as he exited the elevator, so I refrained from talking to him. I didn't want to initiate a conversation with the half and half bastard anyway.

After I had pressed the button for the ground floor, the doors slid shut and I was left alone with my thoughts. Always a bad thing, as ever since that fateful day I was doubting myself. Doubting my ability to love, to care for and protect him. Doubting his ability to forget about the past, realise that I didn't want us to be like that anymore. Realise that even though I was still harsh, still yelled and got angry and sometimes started fights I shouldn't, this difference was a transition, and that I was trying.

I don't know why. Izuku was the one person who had always, somehow, seen past all of that, had stuck by me because he knew I could change, become a better person. What I don't think he understood is that I was becoming a better person for him, because of him.

The ping sounded again and then I was looking at the hall on the ground floor. Instead of turning right as I walked out, heading towards the kitchen and living room and the large glass doors, I turned left, towards the back exit. The single wooden door was one not many people used, mainly because they found it easier to train in bigger, sturdier areas where they weren't in a danger of knocking down our whole dorm building if something went wrong. Izuku was pretty much the only person who used the back yard, because he was focusing on controlling his Quirk, not unleashing it on a scale of mass destruction.

And you knocked me off the ground from the start.

The door swung open and almost instantly a small bundle was barrelling into me, catching me by surprise and knocking me backwards. My arms flailed at my sides and one of them managed to hook onto the doorframe, stopping my backwards momentum and keeping me upright. I grunted in surprise and looked down at the greenette who had his arms tightly wrapped around my waist, face buried in my t-shirt. He mumbled something I didn't quite hear.

You put your arms around me,

"Speak up, Deku," I grumbled, grasping his hands and pulling them away from me, forcing him away.

Izuku peered up at me and, not for the first time, I got lost in those eyes, the green that, if you got close enough, you could see were flecked with gold. He was pouting, adorably so, his bottom lip jutting out. His freckles were even more prominent, the summer sun making them even darker than usual. Wide eyes fringed with long, dark lashes fluttered gently. God, I wanted to kiss him. "I missed you, Kacchan."

And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go.

I tsked, my low voice almost inaudible. "Yeah, okay Deku." I couldn't help but think that maybe I had this all wrong, that whatever this was just wan't meant to be, that it was all a mistake, that he would be better without me. Of course he would be better without me, so I put my defences up, not showing how much I wanted - no, needed - him.

The sun was even lower now, setting fast, almost hidden by the trees in the distance. It wasn't quite as warm, but still enough that I wasn't chilled in my vest and cargo shorts. Izuku wore a light blue tank top which was clinging deliciously to his figure, and shorts similar to mine, although underneath I could see the tight, black, stocking-like material that he wore. It was his leg support. His Quirk, One-For-All, was still a danger to his body. I hated seeing him get hurt, but I knew that trying to stop him was futile. Despite being timid and nervous and incredibly awkward at times, the boy was as stubborn as anyone I had ever known.

Izuku smiled softly, not deterred by my stand-offish attitude. My hands were still holding his and he intertwined our fingers, squeezing gently. My eyes flicked to our hands, then back to his face. Tilting his head, Izuku blinked, like he was studying my face, taking in every little detail and memorising it.

I huffed. "What are you doing?"

Izuku jumped slightly, like he wasn't aware of his actions. "O-Oh, it's just...you're so pretty."

Furiously fighting back the blush that threatened to break loose, I turned my head away, hiding my face and not looking at the teen.

Izuku giggled. "Aw, did I make Kacchan embarrassed?" Instead of waiting for my answer, which would almost definitely include me jumping away and yelling something, Izuku unlinked our fingers and, once again, pulled himself into my chest, hugging me.

You put your arms around me and I'm home.

I stilled, not moving, simply standing there as Izuku nuzzled his head, his hair tickling my chin. After a moment, I hesitantly raised my arms and draped them over his shoulders, feeling his soft locks on my skin, and tightened, pulling him against me. I could feel his warm breath as he sighed happily. And in that moment, I knew exactly how he felt. The sun shining on us, the chatter of our classmates drifting through the door that was still open, the cool summer breeze blowing on our faces, perfectly content. Maybe, just maybe, he could accept me.

---

How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around?

"Just shut up, Deku!" I yelled, whirling around to face him. The sky outside was dark, no stars, no Autumn moon, only darkness. Izuku was curled up on the bed, eyes wide and filled with unease, his back pressed up against the wall. His bottom lip quivered and tears were welling up. My heart broke into a million pieces but the anger didn't abide, instead exploding inside me. "This isn't going to fucking work and you know it! I'm fucking done, alright?"

Turning away and biting hard on my lip, hard enough to draw blood, I stalked towards the door, kicking a discarded hoodie out of the way and grasping the door handle.

"Ka-Kacchan..." I heard a broken voice sob, and I stopped in my path but didn't turn. Instead, my resolve hardened.

"Don't cry for me, Deku," I growled, but it came out softer than I intended, my voice quiet. Then I ripped at the knob and the door opened, light spilling into the previously darkened room, illuminating it.

I knew Izuku was crying, tears of pain and rejection, but he would be better off without me. All I did was hurt him. The past wouldn't go away, always lurking in the shadows, ready to remind us whenever we started to get comfortable, start to think that this could be okay, because the past couldn't be erased. It was always going to be there.

I practically ran down the hall, fighting back the tears, opening my bedroom door and slamming it shut. I didn't even make it to my bed before the first howl broke free. My legs gave out and I crashed to the floor. With the rooms being sound-proof I wasn't afraid of anyone hearing me break down, hear me release my emotions. I wailed, the salty tears running down my cheeks and dripping off my chin and dampening my shirt.

It was hours and hours before I managed to stop crying and crawled into bed, collapsing into it. Sleep never came, and in the early hours of the morning my body lifted itself off of the mattress, my feet touched the floor and my legs moved. My arm reached out and unlocked the door. The lights in the hall were off, so I navigated my way blindly, knowing exactly which door I was heading to. My fingers traced the edges, feeling around the frame. My brain and heart were fighting on what I should do.

He is better off without me, or he will be. This is for the best.

You need him. He completes you.

I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown.

Then the cool metal was in my hand and my wrist was turning it, the door swinging open just enough for my body to slip through. It shut almost silently behind me.

I spun slowly, noticing a single lamp was on, lighting corner of the room where the bed resided. A boy was sat there, eyes open and unblinking, framed with dark bags. His hair was a mess, even more so than usual, his face drawn and tear-stained, yet he didn't look surprised.

I hope that you see right through my walls.

He said nothing and neither did I. His eyes gleamed in the soft light, showing the pain, showing me so much that I wished I could return. Even after all we had discussed, all we had promised each other, I still couldn't reveal myself. I just hoped that he could see, that he could understand that I was trying, that I wanted to keep going with this.

We stayed like that for a while, him silently telling me a thousand things while all I could do was stand there.

Izuku was the first to speak. "Can we do this?"

I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling.

I exhaled, trying to let out all the cryptic replies. "I...I want to try."

"Me too."

I stumbled forwards, reaching the bed and lying on it, my right arm trapped underneath me. Izuku sat up to let me on, then flopped back down, resting his head on the pillow and twisting so his body fit into the natural curve of mine.

"It's so painful, Kacchan. Being away from you," Izuku whispered, his voice making my heart ache.

I'll never let our love get so close.

"I know," I replied, wrapping my free arm over the smaller boy and squeezing him tightly. "I know."

Izuku turned suddenly, his small frame twisting so that he was facing me. "If we're going to do this," he murmured, his face set in a determined line. "You can't keep pushing me away."

With his eyes flashing with that persistence, nose slightly scrunched and eyebrows creased, I couldn't help but wonder how on earth I had gotten so lucky as to have this angel want me.

I gulped, not knowing if I could promise him something so big. "I'll try."

Izuku paused, then smiled, slipping one arm under me and enclosed the other over me. "That's good enough for me."

You put your arms around me and I'm home.

---

The world is coming down on me,

Everything was burning with green flames. It was the winter holidays and I should be resting, doing the ridiculous amount of homework that had been assigned, visiting Izuku and having long night filled with intense games of Mario Kart and kisses. Instead I stood in the middle of a battleground. Or, at least, the collateral damage.

Somewhere close by, I could hear screaming. It was feminine, loud and filled with terror, so that's where I headed. Presumably, that was where this villain bastard was.

I didn't have my hero costume - I didn't have time to put it on - but I had managed to grab my gauntlets, so these distinguished me from the civilians that ran past me. They ran away from the danger, like sheep, trusting the heroes to do the work. My provisional hero license rested in my pocket. The memory of seeing my name on the board on my second attempt of achieving it, feeling that satisfaction as well as wounded pride that it took me an extra try to get it, suddenly flashed in my mind.

The screams got closer as I ran, my legs pounding on the pavement, one hand raised to shield my eyes from the smoke. Said smoke began to get thicker, denser, making it almost impossible to see, and while it was a nuisance it meant I was getting closer to the source. I wondered, briefly, what heroes were already there.

I kept stumbling forwards, my free hand extended outwards to make sure I didn't crash into anything - or anyone.

For a moment, it was silent, the only sounds being the wailing of the sirens in the distance and the roaring of the fire. Then, suddenly, a single shriek echoed out, one of panic, before there was a sickening crack and everything was quiet once again. That sounded very, very close.

My feet slowed and I came to a quiet stop, listening. There were footsteps nearby, but I couldn't see anything. The smoke was so thick I could barely see my hand in front of me. I narrowed my eyes, water streaming out of them as my body involuntarily tried to protect my corneas.

I jumped violently when a bright flash of green light lit off, not even two feet to my left. I pressed my back against the wall, readying myself, then felt the nitroglycerine drip and knew it would be powerful. I heard the footsteps once more, maybe a few steps from where the fire had just been, so I activated my Quirk, the explosion boosting me forwards. I collided with the person, the villian. They were huge, I noted as I smashed into their body, maybe seven feet tall. Their body was rippling with muscles, hardened against the elements and me, because he didn't even move when my shoulder met his side. It was like hitting a wall.

I crumpled to the ground but was instantly on my feet, gauntlet aimed up. The villain chuckled, his face hidden from my view.

"Ah, a child, you are," he boomed, his voice deep and threatening. I simply narrowed my eyes further and glared at him. My finger twitched, resting on the pin that would initiate the explosion. I knew I need to delay him. I hadn't been wearing my gauntlet for very long, so the chain reaction it would set off wouldn't be powerful enough to damage him very much, if at all.

"Who are you?" I growled, not letting my voice give anything away. I wasn't nervous, but I wasn't stupid either. This guy was clearly dangerous and letting my guard down could potentially be fatal.

The villain chuckled again, the sound resonating around me and I had resist the urge to shiver. "Green Death, you may call me, child. May you be, who?"

Just a little longer. "Ground Zero."

The villain, his face still obscured by the smoke, tilted his head. "A little young to be a hero, you are. Perhaps a student at a hero school, are you?"

What was up with this guy's speech pattern? "Perhaps," I mocked, my voice taunting.

Green flared somewhere to his right. "Then die, you."

Times up.

My finger yanked on the pin and suddenly there was fire, fire everywhere. I was shot backwards, smacking into something solid and sliding down it. My head throbbed, my ears ringing. It took me a moment to realise that the villain, Green Death, had fired off his quirk at the same time. The two explosions going off had cleared a lot of the smoke, I noticed, and I could see the devastation. A building had been flattened, whether from just now or from previously, although I suspected the latter. I could see the silhouette of a body, neck twisted at an awkward angle, limp and broken.

"Kacchan!"

My head snapped to the side. I saw Izuku, clad in his hero costume, running towards me. His body was lit up by the lightning, signalling that he had activated his Quirk. "Deku," I coughed, pushing myself to my feet. My body felt heavy, but I ignored it. What was important right now was making sure neither of us were killed. I glanced to where the villain had previously been standing but he was gone. That wasn't good.

"Kacchan," Izuku reached me and hooked an arm around my waist, helping me stand. "Are you okay?"

And I can't find a reason to be loved.

I pulled away, trusting my legs to support me and, thankfully, they did. Izuku didn't seem particularly upset, like he had gotten used to my stand-offish behaviour. Or maybe he just didn't care anymore, didn't care if we were together.

"What attacked you?" Izuku was asking, bending down to examine a piece of debris. He twisted it in his hands, squinting to look closer at how it had broken off. "Did you do this?"

"What?" I saw he was pointing to the scorch marks. "No. The villain...Green Death, his Quirk is some sort of green fire. It makes a shit ton of smoke too. Could barely see two feet in front of me."

Izuku hummed, dropping the brick and looking around. He had quit his mumbling habit but I could tell that the gears in his mind were whirring faster than anything. "Where did he go?"

Shrugging, I made sure that I wasn't going to cry out in pain if I moved by gingerly taking a step forward. "No idea. The bastard disappeared when that huge explosion went off."

The green-haired teen hummed again. "And was that you?"

I scowled, mad that he was assuming everything was me. "No!" I paused. "Well, not all of it. Some. Our Quirks went off at the same time and...I don't fucking know, made some big-ass bang."

After a moment of silence, Izuku nodded. "Alright. We should split up, try to find him. The Pro's will be here soon and they can help us. I don't want to let him hurt anyone else." I noticed him deliberately turn his head away from the girl who lay on the floor. Sometimes I forgot how sensitive Izuku was to human life.

I never want to leave you.

"Okay." I walked forwards, immediately spotting the most likely path the villain would have taken, an alley between two buildings that had stood behind him at the time. I made sure that Izuku was okay, glancing behind my shoulder to watch him heading in the other direction. It was highly unlikely that Green Death would have gone that way, so he should be safe. He wasn't going to get hurt.

The alley was surprisingly long; dark and dingy, as most alleys were, filled with trash and empty cardboard boxes. There were no windows on the walls that towered over me, nowhere for the villain to be clinging on to or be hiding behind.

I turned a corner and ran forwards a good ten steps before I came to a sudden stop. The villain stood there, green flames curling around his forearms and threading its way through his hair, not singeing a lock. The air was clear, although I suspected it wouldn't be for long, and I could get a good look at his face. Or, at least, what was left of it.

His mouth had no lips, only a gaping hole where they should be, the skin ripped and burnt and scarred, with teeth gutting out of the gums, most of which were blackened and broken. He had no nose, not even slits where his nostrils would be, just skin marred with scars. His ears had been severed, the wounds seemingly recent since they hadn't scarred over. In fact, some of the blood still seemed decently fresh, glistening slightly in the unnatural light cast my the fire he held, although that could simply be the aftermath of our little scuffle from earlier. It was his eyes, though, that really seared itself into my memory.

His eyelids were...well he didn't have any, only thin scars at the browbone where they had been cut off. His eyeballs were pure black, not even a hint of iris or the white around it. It made it difficult to see where he was looking, however I was almost certain it was at me.

"Child. Hello," Green Death said, his mouth contorting into what I assumed was meant to be a sneer, or a leering grin.

I raised my gauntlet, my left one this time, aiming directly for his face.

The villain eyed it. "Nice toy, that is not," he said, almost like he was disgusted. "Hurt me, it did."

"Oh really?" I asked, my right finger hooking around the trigger. "It wasn't even at its most powerful."

Raising an eyebrow, practically the only normal thing on his face, Green Death clicked his tongue. "Nice toy, that is not," he repeated, his voice much quieter but filled with an equal amount of distaste.

I studied the alley. The smooth, narrow walls meant that setting it off here would have even more force than before, and added with the fact that more of my sweat had built up would only increase the power. However, I would most likely be propelled backwards, and the impact alone could injure me badly enough that I would be out of omission. I needed to be against that wall, use it as support.

I slowly took a step back, gauntlet still raised and aimed at the bastards face. Ten running steps was around 25 of the small steps I was currently taking. "Retreat, you are?" Green Death queried, letting out a disturbing laugh. "Child is coward."

I took another step back. Yes, think I'm a coward. Think I'm afraid. Stupid bastard. I'm Katsuki Bakugo. I don't get afraid.

"Get away, the child does," the villain muttered, turning to the side like he was talking to someone, but there was no one there. There was a moment of silence, and I took another step back. I had ran forwards too far. I wasn't going to make it before he caught on, even though he looked like an idiot. "Get away, the child does?"

Another pause, then the villain pointed a finger at me. There was something new on his face. Something downright terrifying. "Get away, the child does not."

"Hey!" someone yelled, voice filled with an anger and passion I had only heard on a few occasions. No. Why was he here? He shouldn't be here.

Green Death whirled, his dark hair whipping about his face as he did so. Izuku stood at the other end of the alley, his arms pulled up to protect his face, knees bent, eyes narrowed in anger. "More children, there is?"

Izuku didn't respond, only kept his eyes on the villain. He needed to get out. My Quirk, in as enclosed a space as this, was dangerous enough for me. I couldn't have him getting hurt. I should keep moving, get closer to the wall, but I was frozen in place, my thoughts halting my body's ability to move.

Izuku was fast. If he saw what I was doing, he would move. He would get out of the way, and this villain would be demolished.

"Which child, I get?" the villain mumbled. His eyes darted furtively between Izuku and I, After a second, they stopped, facing away from me having made his decision. "The small one, I get."

No.

Green Death was already running - no, sprinting - down the alley, his target locked. Izuku wasn't moving. He was doing that thing, that stupid mechanism. Fight or flight. Well, Izuku had added another one. Freeze.

No.

I finger was tugging at the pin, letting go instantly and letting it clatter to the ground, the metallic ping of it bouncing off of the concerte sounding, and then I was being shot backwards as if out of a cannon.

There was light, and noise. Pain. My back, cracking as I smacked into the brick. Noise, echoing in my ears. Warmth, flowing down my head. Gasping breaths. Pain. Noise, from the sound of something falling. Metal, in my mouth. Pain. I couldn't breathe. Pain.

I struggled to suck in air, my lungs feeling like they were being crushed, filling with fluids as if I was trying to breath underwater. Then there was someone pounding towards me, but although my eyes were open I couldn't see anything. Everything was blurred and faded.

"Kacchan? Oh god, Kacchan, what did you do?" Izuku was crying, his questions spewing out. "You-you shouldn't have d-done that. You've hurt yourself."

And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go.

I coughed violently, tasting that metal that I suddenly realised was blood, hearing it splatter on the ground. "The...the villain..." I panted, fighting unconciousness as it tried to consume me. Passing out right now would be bad. Why was Izuku here? He should be assessing the damage, checking on the villain, trying to find victims.

"He's down," Izuku was saying, his hands touching my face briefly before pulling away. He didn't want to touch me. He had already moved past me.

My mind felt fuzzy, the pain that had been spiking up and down my back fading into nothing. For a moment, my vision cleared, and I could see the angel before me.

His eyes were red, filled with tears. His mouth was quivering and he looked so, so sad. All I wanted to do was reach up, caress his face and tell him everything would be fine, but my arms wouldn't cooperate with my brain's demand, my lips wouldn't open to tell him. It took me a moment to realise that he was sobbing, the heartwrenching sound echoing through the alley.

"D-Don't do this, Kacchan," he cried. Don't be here. Don't stay with him. He's better off without m- "Don't leave me."

"W-What?" I managed to choke out, feeling the blood leak out of my mouth and drip down my chin.

"Don't leave me, goddammit!" Izuku shouted, a yell filled with more pain than I could comprehend. "I can't...can't..." he let out a shaky breath. "I can't survive without you, Kacchan. I love you. Please."

I coughed again, the blood falling past my lips, warm and almost calming. Surely this should hurt?

Then his words clicked in my mind, made it past the barrier and I understood what he said. For the first time, I understood.

And just like that, my walls came down.

"I love you too, Izuku," I raised my eyes, red meeting green, and I smiled, a pure, meaningful smile, conveying everything I had been hiding, every emotion, every feeling, every thought. "I love you so much."

My sight faded once more, the last thing I saw was Izuku screaming, and I let the darkness consume me, the empty abyss carrying my soul away from my body.

You put your arms around me and I'm home.