Crossing Fates : Book 1 - Escape (BakuDeku)

36 - Undefined

"I know how much you hated it in there," Katsuki said.

"Oh. My. Gosh," he looked at Katsuki, teary. "I think this is one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me. Aside from the fact you saved my life I don't know how many times."

"You saved me too, you know," Katsuki said. He sounded thoughtful.

The need to wash became a crisis. "I've got to get clean."

"Izuku, you're weaving where you sit. Why don't you wait until you've slept a little? We're going to rest here while I keep watch."

His hands started to shake. "You don't get it. I can't stand another minute stinking like them. It makes my skin crawl."

"Okay," Katsuki said, frowning. "If you need to get clean, you need to get clean. It's going to be cold. I'll gather some wood while you wash and we'll have a fire."

Izuku paused. "We're not going to worry about the firelight being visible?"

Katsuki shook his head and uncoiled from the ground. "I'll hear anyone long before they get near enough to be a problem."

Izuku turned his back to Katsuki and knelt at the stream, already consumed with the thought of scouring the Goblin stink off his body. Self-consciousness tried to take over as he stripped off his ruined T-shirt, but he squashed it. At least it wasn't broad daylight, besides they were both men... though his physique was nowhere near perfect as Katsuki's.

Maybe the dragon was right. He was indeed scrawny. Next to him anyway. So what if he was smaller than Katsuki? His fluffy hair could make up for the height difference anyway, he could always work out to gain muscles... or not.

Izuku shook his head. He was going crazy. He had never been this self conscious before. Thinking about it, Katsuki had no doubt seen thousands of naked people before.

Thousands?

No, definitely not the time to go there. Nothing mattered more than getting that stink off of him.

The soap was Elven made too and heaven sent. It softened fast, lathered well in the cold stream, was gentle on his healing cuts and had a delicate fragrance that had him sighing with pleasure.

He washed and rinsed his torso and pulled on the clean shirt. He stripped out of his pants and red high top boots. He had bled into one of his shoes. They joined the pile of clothing that was going into the fire as soon as Katsuki lit it.

Izuku finished washing the rest of his body. His body was racked with violent shivering by the time he yanked the pants on, but nothing was going to stop him from dunking his head in the water and lathering and rinsing his grimy hair at least once.

He dunked his head underwater, gasping at the sharp chill. He was bent over the stream, struggling with shaking hands to work the soap through his wet hair when Katsuki's hands came over his.

"Let me," the man said.

Izuku leaned on his hands and gave himself over to Katsuki's ministrations. The dragon's hard fingers massaged his scalp and worked the soap with patience through the wet rope of his hair that trailed in the stream.

His teeth were chattering by the time Katsuki finished scooping enough water to rinse through the tresses.

Katsuki wrung out the ends that he could and slipped an arm underneath Izuku's waist to lift him to his feet. Izuku scooped up the dirty clothes.

"Over here," Katsuki said. He had laid campfire kindling, which was waiting to be lit.

As soon as Izuku threw the clothes on top of the woodpile, the Lord of the Nyr flicked a few fingers at the woodpile and it blazed alight.

"Cool trick," his teeth clicked together.

"Comes in handy."

Katsuki wrapped the blanket around Izuku. The man had him sit with his back to him, then he brushed out Izuku's hair.

With the fire in front, wrapped by the blanket and Katsuki's heat enveloping him from behind, Izuku was toasty warm in no time.

"I'm crashing and burning fast," he told Katsuki.

"I'm surprised you held up as long as you did," the dragon replied, setting the brush aside.

Katsuki pulled Izuku onto his lap, wrapped his arms around him and coaxed his head onto his shoulder.

His eyelids felt cased in cement. He couldn't hold them open.

A great big pile of questions, doubts, thoughts and issues had piled up, but they were being held at bay by the oncoming coma that came toward him like a black train.

He made a huge effort and opened his eyes one last time to stare up at Katsuki.

The man's face was always going to be hard, always have an edge of blade and coldness to it, but as the Lord of the Nyr watched the fire, he looked as peaceful as Izuku had ever seen him.

Katsuki was wicked bad, by far the scariest creature he had ever met, yet as he rested in the circle of the man's arms, Izuku felt safer than he ever had in his life.

Katsuki's body was as strong and stable as the earth. Izuku's eyelids drifted closed.

"You're right. I am a stupid boy," Izuku mumbled. "I don't understand you."

*****

"Maybe you will someday," Katsuki said even though he could sense Izuku had already plunged into sleep.

He traced the elegant curve of the boy's brow with a finger, followed the delicate arch of his ear. His still-damp hair, an extravagant waterfall of green moonlit fire.

Maybe you will someday, just as soon as I understand myself first, Katsuki told himself.

The dragon held Izuku's sleeping figure closer.

Katsuki lowered his cheek to his thief's head and looked around the clearing in bafflement, as if the quiet, peaceful scene could tell him who this fascinating boy was.