————

"You're gonna get released in a week."

"Hah, I know."

"Where's your stuff?"

"Dunce face and shitty hair were a bunch of vultures. They jacked my shit once they caught scent of my leave," Katsuki chuckles. "But you can have my leftover stuff from commissary."

Izuku gapes at him, eyes bright. "Like-"

"-these?"

Katsuki's locker pops open and a bunch of chips, snacks, and juice packets fall out with a crinkle.

Izuku squeals, drawing attention until Katsuki slams the locker shut. It raises a few curious brows, but they quickly avert their eyes when they see Izuku. "Oh, thank you Kacchan! Thank you!" The boy throws himself on Katsuki.

It's a big deal, to get stuff from commissary. They're treats and goods from outside the cafeteria, coming from money that parents or guardians send into your account from outside juvie. Katsuki kept his stash away from grabby hands- knowing Izuku would appreciate it, especially since he's been inside juvie for more than a year, sweets from the outside unheard of.

Izuku pinches his cheek, and Katsuki bonks their foreheads on accident. "Ow-" he laughs, until he sees the serious expression on Izuku's face. He's straddling his chest, hands cupping Bakugou's cheeks.

".. Don't come back here, Kacchan. Okay?"

Katsuki's breath hitches.

".. Yeah. I won't."

"Stay off the streets. If I see you back here.. I'll kick your ass. Okay, dummy?"

And Katsuki pulls him closer, making the boy tilt and fall on top of him, laughing. "I know."

————

".. could I ask you something?" Katsuki leans his head on the wall, watching Izuku eat his way through his commissary treats, already halfway finished with a chocolate bar. Izuku peers up at him with curious eyes, legs crossed on top of his bottom bunk, blankets scattered around him.

"Mm.. sure."

"How'd you end up in here?"

Izuku pauses, before resuming to eating. "I lived in a bad neighborhood," he says between bites. "Had to make money somehow."

".. So, a hit man..?"

He giggles, shaking his head at the attempt to lighten the conversation. "No. I worked in a gang. I didn't do the dirty work." He adds when Katsuki shoots him an incredulous look. "I was.. the brain? I guess? Managed the funding, kept the steady flow of money and controlled the budget, bought the guns."

"You're saying that you were the fucking boss? I mean, that's basically your job and-"

"If you think about it that way.." he trails off, before discarding the candy wrapper into the trash. "I guess I was. We only got caught 'cause of a snitch. Didn't get prosecuted cause I was- what, fourteen? Thirteen? Ah, I don't remember but I was mega underage. They were surprised. Toshinori scooped me up, told me I could get a lesser sentence if I tell."

"Well.. did you?"

"Nope," he pops the 'p'. "I'll get a hit placed on me if I do. They're quick." Izuku pulls up his arm compressor, and shit..

Scars litter his forearm, fingers twisted, as if it had healed wrong. There was a burn mark on his shoulder. It made Katsuki's stomach clench and Izuku flushes, embarrassed. ".. It's pretty ugly, huh?"

Katsuki takes his rough hand on his, feeling the callouses and the little swells of the past wounds, evidence of Izuku's struggle.

".. 's fuckin' weird," he ignores how Izuku's face falls. "But shit. It's badass, Deku."

He was telling the truth- it DID look cool as shit.

Izuku squirms when Bakugou laces their fingers together, squeezing gently. He'd taken the open space next to him on Izuku's bunk, the blanket hanging from the top bunk acted like a curtain between them and the outside world.

It was just them, in their own little space.

Lips brush against his knuckles and Izuku reddens, making his freckles stand out even more. ".. When um.. you leave.. can you..?" Izuku stumbles through his words, his lower lip pursed when Katsuki flops down, hands still intertwined.

"Yeah?" Katsuki spoke softly.

"Can you.. visit?"

The response was immediate. "Of fucking course. My mom knows about you, by the way. She knows how you kept my shit together even if you didn't have to."

It was quiet, for a few moments, before-

"Come here."

And Izuku does, curling up next to Katsuki, face buried in his chest. ".. I'm gonna miss you, Kacchan." Bakugou's eyes widen slightly, surprised, as tear stains start forming on his clothes. ".. Izuku-"

"Ah, geez, I'm such a crybaby," he whines, sniffling. His ears are red and his face is hot, nose scrunching up cutely. "It's just-"

A kiss on his brow makes him freeze.

"K-Kacchan-"

"Shit, sorry. Was that too forward?" He runs a hand down his face, groaning. "Got caught in the moment. My bad."

But Izuku giggles, leaning in to plant a peck on his cheek.

"It's okay, Kacchan."

————

The week was over, quicker than Katsuki had expected.

"Congrats, Katsuki." Toshinori pats his back, a wide grin on his face that vaguely reminds him of Izuku.

There's a nonstop ringing in his ears, a wide smile on his face- and shit, his cheeks hurt, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He passed the facility's classes, no need to repeat a grade- so he'll resume school sooner than expected. Shit, shit- he fucking hates school but goddamn does he miss it. He wants to go back to fucking U.A., back to Mina and Sero and even annoying ass Aoyama.

Back home, with his shitty books and fucking squeaky bed that slightly tilted because his mattress was worn, back to his room that permanently smelled like burnt sugar and caramel, back to his old hag and father.

He was in a state of bliss.

"You're gonna set yourself straight now, you fucking idiot?"

Mitsuki growls, though, she's tightly holding onto him, afraid that if she lets go then..

"Yeah, yeah, old hag. Fuck." He snorts, before giving her the tightest hug that makes her eyes practically pop in surprise. "Huh.. guess your time in the corner really changed you."

————

"You're fucking alive!?"

Kobayashi stood before him, an awkward look on his face. He was his senior- the one who-

"You got your fuckin' face smashed in!"

Katsuki doesn't even feel the slightest tinge of guilt when he flinches. He was right- one side of his face was slightly mushed, stapled up- but otherwise, it was fucking fixed.

"I got, uh, surgery. It won't.. fix everything."

"Goddamn- I fucking spent my whole time in shitty juvie thinking I killed someone!-"

"Katsuki- hey, chill, man." He holds up his hands as the universal gesture to placate someone, already looking small being cornered at the back of U.A. "Look. I shouldn't.. have let your drive. Or given you your pills. That shit was my fault."

Katsuki calms down, still fuming, hands clenched. Shit, shit- that.. fuck-

"This is so fucked." The laugh he lets out is humorless. ".. How much time you doin' after your operations?"

"A year, more or less. I'm older now, so I'm on thin ice, get it? A slip up and I'm gonna get my ass shipped to prison."

Prison.

Hell on earth.

"Fuuuck." Katsuki groans, massaging his temples. ".. And the rest? Camie? Yoka?" They were Katsuki's shit friends- they may have been bad influences, but fuck it if he hadn't considered them family.

"They're gonna go to the facility on the south. It's safer. Their rich-ass parents covered for them so they're serving fuckin' four months."

That's.. good.

Still, he can't help but feel the twinge of jealousy.

Four months..

"Look, Katsuki-"

"I'm not gon' hang with you lot anymore."

Kobayashi mirrors his surprise, because his lips had moved on their own. It melts into understanding when he sees Katsuki slightly shaking.

".. Yeah," he breathes. "I think that's for the best."

————

"Smack me."

And Mitsuki does.

"The hell- old hag! Coulda given me a warning!" Katsuki snaps, rubbing the back of his head and making the woman snicker at his frustration.

"You asked me to," she makes a turn on the steering wheel, stepping on the gas. "What, nervous about meetin' your friend?"

It's been two weeks since he'd been released, two weeks since he'd seen Izuku.

Two weeks since Izuku cried his ass off, and maybe, MAYBE Katsuki did too. He won't fucking admit it though.

".. Yeah."

The softness in his voice surprises Mitsuki, who keeps quiet. Cars pass by as Katsuki stares out the window.

What will he even say?

'Hi, Deku.'

Shit, he groans, messing with his hair. Even the voice in his head sounds fucking lame.

————

"Kacchan!"

Izuku's body slams into Katsuki, who immediately gets winded, wheezing for air as Izuku straight up crushes him. Still. It wasn't a bad way to die. He takes a deep breath when Deku pinches his cheek. "You've been eating well! I'm glad- hey hey, how's your probation going? I hope you're staying away from-"

Mitsuki clears her throat, the damn old hag.

Izuku's cheeks glow a bright pink as he lets go of Katsuki, making Katsuki give his smirking mother the stink eye.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! You must be his mom!" He bows deeply, making Mitsuki laugh brightly as she ruffles Izuku's hair. "Oh, you're a pleasant boy. With manners too- unlike this little demon."

Katsuki makes a sound of protest that it immediately quieted by his mom with a glare. "Now, Izuku, Katsuki here would like to talk. I'll see you both later."

————

"Kirishima and Kaminari got released," Izuku's smile was so full, so happy. "I'm so glad."

"You mean charge bolt and riot?"

"Well, yes. Those are just nicknames. Riot caused a, well, riot in accident after his manly speech and Kaminari got quite.. misinformed? that a little spark from a socket can get him a decent high without the drugs."

Katsuki chuckles, and when Izuku's eyes soften, he feels his heart yearn.

"I'm happy," Izuku murmurs, gingerly twirling Katsuki's hoodie strings around his finger. "You're in civilian clothes. Refreshing from the grey uniform."

"Lighten up, stupid; you'll get outta here soon." It was supposed to be comforting, but Izuku's face falls as he withdraws from Katsuki's touch. "That's.. what I'm worried about. I don't have nowhere to go.

"My old.. big brothers visited me. Offered me a way back and I think I have to- you know? I just- I-" he bows his head.

Katsuki murmurs a quiet, sharp 'shit'. Izuku was right- he grew up in the streets. Izuku, despite his bravery and usual mature and calm attitude- was still a child, a kid who's lost in a system that's failed him so many times.

"Look, fuck.. uh.." Katsuki stutters, trying to think of a way he could help. The foster car system? Shit, no. It was already all kinds of screwed up.

Adoption?

God, fuck- Bakugou hates to say it but couples were keen on getting kids who're still in their cute stage, and Izuku had been in juvie and he was a teen, for fucks sake, so he wouldn't really be fought over.

A light, breezy chuckle interrupts him, and Izuku jumps at the hand that squeezes his shoulder. The both of them look up to see Toshinori himself. "T-Toshinori?" Izuku murmurs at the old man, neck craning to get a better look at him. "Visiting hours are over." At the sight of both of their crest-fallen faces, he sighs gently. "I'm sorry, young Bakugou."

"Look, shit- give us five more minutes-?"

But the man was firm, shaking his head. "It's the rules."

.. Fuck. At least he has a genuine look of sadness for the both of them.

"Fine. Deku?" Katsuki stands up, and Izuku does, a bit awkwardly, peering at Katsuki through his thick lashes. "Ah.. Okay. Bye, um, Kacchan."

Bakugou turns to leave, but he hesitates, balls up his fists, turns around and gives Izuku a peck on his forehead, mussing up his soft green curls. "I'll see you."

"Y-Yeah," Izuku splutters, twiddling his fingers with a smile on his face. "I'll see you too, Kacchan."

Toshinori's shock simply melts away into an amused grin at the sight.

'Ah yes, young, dysfunctional love.'

————

"You're quite worried for Izuku, hm?"

Toshinori muses, chatting up Bakugou as they wait for Izuku. This visit was his fourth, already.

The young teen tenses, but huffs, arms crossed and nosing at the scarf around his neck. "Yeah," he whispers, but quickly retorts a "what about it?"

"Well. I'm here to say that you shouldn't be worried."

"Hah?"

But the man laughs, deep and cheery. "Oh. He's always been like a son to me. I'm not quite as old as you think. I can still legally take care of him."

Katsuki's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, you mean-?"

"Kacchan, you're here!" Izuku practically shrieks, no doubt spooking the other visitors around him. Toshinori chuckles at his display. "Now, I know you're enthusiastic, boy, but there are others here." He reminds Izuku gently, making the teen flush and sheepishly rub the back of his head. "Oh.. Sorry, Toshinori."

"Oi. You forgettin' bout me, nerd?" Katsuki playfully pokes Deku's side, making him squeak and throw an accusatory glare. "Kacchan! I'm ticklish, you know that!"

They settle down and Toshinori slipped away before Katsuki could ask any further.