Drowning in You

Know My Boundaries

Izuku listened and listened some more until he was back to blushing and fiddling with his fingers below the table. Katsuki's words were twisted, weird, but he knew exactly what the other was thinking — what he was meaning by his odd confessions.

"I didn't know all that about you — obviously." His lips ticked up slightly and he huffed a short laugh. "It sounds like growing up wasn't an easy thing for you while coping with all that," Izuku commented, noticing the way his mate's expression darkened while reliving his past. Brutally attacking your best friend during the presentation of your sub-gender didn't sound like something one person would forget easily. Putting them in the hospital was another level that Izuku knew had stuck with Katsuki in a significant way. It made sense now, to a degree at least.

"I've never been good at listening to my instincts — at least, not when it matters. My instincts have no problem telling me to run from my fears or hide away in my room when things are overwhelming. I've lived that way ever since I presented. Things got scary — people treated me differently. I didn't know how to cope, so I stuck to the books. It took my mind off how anxious real life made me. The more I lost out on, the more I was denying myself the ability to grow and build some confidence." Izuku knew he made himself into this. It didn't help that his sub-gender was literally the most in-tune of the species. He felt everything around him — it was intense and frightening.

"I've never been afraid of you though. When I ran in the cafeteria that first day, I ran because of how strongly my instincts were drawing me to you. See, I would have normally preferred dying over approaching someone to return something like a phone. But when I saw you, and finally put together that it was your scent I had been picking up on all day, my body just moved on its own — and then you growled and it pushed me over my limit for social interaction for the day. I had to leave before I made a fool of myself even more after stuttering like an idiot the whole time I spoke to you. Then, you asked me out and I thought about rejecting the offer — I really did. But I couldn't. Once again my instincts were pushing me forward and I just went along with it. During the date, I realized how right my instincts have been about you, Kacchan. Everything I have felt when dealing with you has been instinctual, and I think it's my body's way of ensuring I don't lose the one thing that I really am meant to have in my life. You've pulled me out of my books, taken me on my first date, courted me, been my first kiss, and so much more in a span of three days. I'm not the only one drowning, Katsuki — I've just always known that I was drowning in you."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

"Then, it seems we've found our problem," Katsuki murmured. "It sounds like we both have crushes. What to do, what to do ~"

He let his taunt die down while he stood and carried his plate to the sink. He thought for a moment as he picked up the mess left behind during their dinner. It was still early in the night, but he was tired already.

"I won't take the pills anymore, and I'll listen to my instincts, but if it's too much you have to promise to tell me, and try not to run away. I won't get mad at you or upset just because you need me to slow down. I get why you've been running. This is fucking confusing and I was running in my own way, too." He walked back over until he was standing behind Izuku and wrapped his arms around the greenette's shoulders. 

"They wear off in twenty-four hours, so about five to six or so and I'll be able to smell you again. So, stay by me and let me show you more of the world, kitten. Let's figure this shit out together. For now, though, I'm fucking exhausted and I haven't been feeling right for a while now. As much as I want to stay up, I need to rest or I just might pass out."

Katsuki nuzzled on the top of Izuku's head and groaned at the lack of pheromones. Fuck suppressants. He hated every last one of them. "Join me in bed?"