#heat regulating is for nerds and squares

[queerasflux]

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[datninjalyfe]

Stay, Part 1: Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Talk

Their kiss broke apart after a few seconds.  It was their first kiss—their first real kiss.  It was so soft like kissing a cloud.  He felt that kiss through his whole body and when it was released, Katsuki finally let out a breath against Izuku’s cheek where his nose rested.  He had tasted Izuku at long last, the lingering flavor of citrus still upon Izuku’s lips.  He licked his lips, trying to decide what tasted better, Izuku’s lips or being able to say the words, “I love you” to him freely.  He did so once more, saying it through his lips that were still against Izuku’s skin.  They stood quietly, their foreheads leaning together.  “Say something, Deku.” 

“Kacchan.” Izuku pulled away from him.  “I—I don’t know how to feel right now.” Katsuki’s heart sank.  He straightened himself up slightly, crossing his arms.  “You don’t—know.” Katsuki repeated back to him.  He had let his mind wander so far into fantasy that when this reality hit him, it was almost unbearable.  Izuku didn’t know how he felt?  Of course, how could he?  You’ve been such a dick this whole time.  But it still stung.  The fact that he had confessed to him, gave his heart to Izuku, allowing him to play with it for a tender moment only to have it crushed within his grasp.  

“Kacchan.” Izuku said, but Katsuki wanted to hear no more.  He moved to leave, but Izuku pushed him back.  Katsuki could feel a tint of One-For-All and heat blazed within his chest.  He wondered if this was going to turn into another fight, but Izuku yelled, “No, stay!”  

He…wants me to stay?  But why?  Hadn’t he said enough?   Izuku placed a hand on Katsuki’s chest and he heard a small, little fluted cry from the amount of heat.  Katsuki couldn’t turn it off—not now.  Not in this moment.  The fire burned within him, but Izuku didn’t move his hand.  “Please, Kacchan.  Stay.” 

Anger still raged within him, though.  With Izuku’s hand plastered against his chest, he found it difficult to focus, shaking from the anxiety.  “I won’t stay just so you can get off on rejecting me.  Just spit out what you want to say and get it over with.”

“Dammit, Kacchan, I’m not rejecting you!  I just don’t understand.”  Izuku placed a hand on his cheek.  The anxiety didn’t go away, but allowed him a few moments to take in a deep breath.  “We share a lot of things, a lot of secrets, Kacchan, but I can’t figure out is if that means I love you back or not.  With the way school has been going: you sneaking out to see Camie, and now the whole Kirishima thing, not to mention you just woke up from the infirmary—,” 

With every word, it seemed like he was trying to find reasons not to love Katsuki back.  “I get it, nerd.” he growled.  His quirk moved in waves through his body, pulsating through him at an outrageous heat.  Get ahold of it, he told himself.

“No, Kacchan, let’s talk through this.  You got to say how you feel, and now so do I, but we have to talk or else it won’t work.” Izuku said.  

“It.” A tiny glimmer of hope.  Katsuki wanted to just get up and leave, wanted to move, but that word, that little, insignificant word forced him to stay.  Izuku moved his hand off of Katsuki’s chest and took a few steps back.  Katsuki’s breathing started to regulate and he rubbed his wrist where most of the heat had stored itself, allowing it to dissipate through his arm and his hand to keep his sweat from igniting.  His eyes tore away from Izuku’s gaze, but he gestured for Izuku to continue once he regained control of his quirk, crossing his arms across his chest.  

“I know I’ve had strong feelings for you because we shared everything growing up.  But you really seemed to hate me.  You treated me like you did at least.”  He was quiet, inhaling deeply.  “I don’t know if you actually love me because of the things we share or if you are just confused and are lashing out.  I don’t know, Kacchan…” 

Katsuki uncrossed his arms and leaned back.  “Guess that’s it, then, right?  You don’t want me.” 

“I didn’t say that.  Just fucking LISTEN to me.”  Izuku said.  “I said our relationship is already complicated.  Even without a label.” 

“So, what?  Do you expect me to chase you until you decide that I’m what you want?” Katsuki could feel the temperature from the heat in his chest rise.  No, no, no, no.  He tried to suppress it, but a spark came flying out of his hands.  “Fuck.” Izuku squared his feet, a glimmer of One-For-All running across his face.  He’s in a fighting stance, Katsuki thought, and he threw his head back in a maniacal laugh.  “What?  You’re going to fight me?”  

“I’d like to try and talk this out before that happens.” Izuku said.  

“No fighting.” They heard Aizawa’s voice outside the door.  “But please, continue.”  

They both exchanged looks.  Izuku laughed a little.  “Never get any privacy around here.”  He face grew serious and he whispered, “How?” 

Katsuki was quiet, remembering back to what Yoyo had said to him weeks prior, spouting the similar few lines at Izuku: “You’ll have to be more specific. You’re either referring to how I knew the answer to number 3 of my math homework or—,” but he couldn’t push out the words.   

Izuku asked it for him, reading his mind.  “Why do you love me, Kacchan?” he asked quietly.

“Fishing for compliments now?” Katsuki asked annoyed.  He opened his mouth to speak, but immediately shut it, his throat completely dry.  He nervously swallowed, thinking to himself, Now or never, asshole.  He pushed himself off the desk and took a few steps towards Izuku, stopping in front of him, looking down into Izuku’s eyes.  He wanted nothing more than to grab him, throw him against the wall,—STOP!  No more fantasizing.  But Katsuki couldn’t help his mind.  Imagination overtook him again, allowing his eyes to wander down Izuku’s bare chest.  Katsuki wanted to touch his glistening pale skin, tracing over his scars lightly.  The scars that Katsuki had memorized each, where they were placed and how they got there.  The dark ones that clasped his skin together on his arms; the lighter ones that sprawled out onto his stomach.  Izuku’s feet were still squared off in a boxer’s stance, but Katsuki knew unless he made the first move that Izuku had no intention of fighting.  Katsuki shut his eyes, but could still see Izuku’s shape outlined perfectly in the darkness behind his eyelids.  Katsuki cursed under his breath, trying to be free from the tension in this moment. Sweat dripped down from his hairline and he was unsure if it was from his quirk or the intensity at which Izuku stared back at him.  

Katsuki ran his fingers across Izuku’s cheekbones and knotted into his hair.  He grabbed it, hard enough that Izuku made a sort of squeal.  “Do I really need a reason?”  He released Izuku’s hair from his grasp and covered Izuku’s mouth, placing his index finger over his own, indicating for him to be quiet.  Katsuki whispered into Izuku’s ear, “I’ve always loved your eyes.  Sometimes when we lock eyes like this,” he stared directly into Izuku’s bright, light green iris’.  Chills shivered down his spine, but his body flared from his quirk.  He grabbed Izuku’s hand and held it, containing just enough heat that Izuku would understand.  Can’t you feel what you do to me?  Izuku cursed at the amount of heat Katsuki produced.  “My quirk can’t control itself.  It’s like there’s a fire through my entire body.  When you held me that night—,”

“You’re not supposed to be in each other’s rooms after 9.” Aizawa yelled.  

“You have got to be fucking kidding me, it’s only like 7:30!” Katsuki took a step towards the door, ready to blast it open, but Izuku stopped him, placing a hand lightly on Katsuki’s cheek.

“Have you ever looked at your eyes, Kacchan?”  Izuku placed a hand on Katsuki’s cheek, peeling his gaze away from the door. 

Katsuki could bear it no more: he bent down, smashing his lips into Izuku’s, this time with more certainty.  Katsuki was cognizant of his hands, careful to not touch Izuku anywhere inappropriate in case Aizawa decided to break through the door.  But he did push his body against Izuku’s, a hand tangled itself into Izuku’s hair once again, a little moan escaping Izuku’s lips.  Izuku’s head cocked back, exposing a pale jawline that Katsuki started to kiss.  “I love you, Deku.” Katsuki said, trying to pull him in closer.  He bit down on Izuku’s neckline, once again covering Izuku’s mouth in case he squealed again.  He paused, gazing deep into Izuku.  He clamped his teeth together in a sinister smile—Izuku’s eyes were wide with surprise, his face red, turning his freckles darker.  Izuku pressed his head against Katsuki’s chest.  He must’ve gotten used to the heat. Katsuki wrapped his arms around Izuku’s shoulders, but his hands needed more.  He ran light fingers down Izuku’s back, circling around his waist and up his back.  Izuku let out another small moan as Katsuki continued to kiss the nape of his neck, his shoulders, his jaw.  

But Izuku took a step back, putting his own index finger on Katsuki’s lips.  Is he really stopping this?  But Izuku gestured at the door and Katsuki understood.  It didn’t stop him from being slightly annoyed.  “Okay, Kacchan.  Here’s my deal: we’ll try it for a month.  If we decide we like it, then we’ll keep it going.  If not, then we tried.  In that time, we don’t break up for anything, but we also give it 100%.  Agreed?”  Katsuki watched him bite down on his bottom lip.  “Agree or not Kacchan!”  

Katsuki nodded.  “Yeah, nerd, I agree.”  He reached in for another kiss before a loud cheer came from behind the door.  “That’s it.” Katsuki said, heading for the door, but before he reached it, the door burst open and Aizawa entered, his hair stood straight up.  Katsuki shivered from the cold as the internal inferno was suddenly put out.

“WHERE THE HELL ARE YOUR SHIRTS?!” Aizawa said, pointing at the two of them. “Um, well, he didn’t have one on when he got here and neither did I, so—,” 

But Aizawa wasn’t listening.  “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DESK, MIDORIYA?!”  There was a burnt stain on the front of one of the drawers. 

“It’s my fault, I—,” Katsuki started, but Aizawa wasn’t finished.  

“NOW THAT YOU TWO ARE A COUPLE, YOU ARE TO OBEY ALL THE RULES THAT OTHER COUPLES DO!!!  NO BEING IN EACH OTHERS’ ROOMS, NO PARTNERING FOR EXAMS AND CERTAINLY—,” he looked at Katsuki.  “—NO HOLDING EACH OTHER.  WHATEVER THAT MEANS.” 

“Yes, sir.” they both said.  Some of their classmates peered in the room.  Faces were staring at them, some terrified, some incredibly happy.  

“Ohmigod, I can’t wait to plan dates!” Mina Ashido chimed in. 

���GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” Aizawa said, raising his voice to Katsuki. “JUST BECAUSE I TOOK OFF YOUR ANKLE BRACELET DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE OFF THE HOOK!” 

He and Izuku just smiled at each other.  One month.  He had to prove himself for one month.  He winked at Midoriya on his way out before yelling at everyone else, “Why the hell can’t any of you shitheads mind your own business?!”

(previous)(next)

[astraldragons]

“In which Shiro shrinks on an unfamiliar planet AKA I’m not clever enough to come up with a title for this”; part 2 commissioned by the lovely @acetrainerhope!

Part 1

Commission Info HERE!

Warnings: Some peril, and spoilers for Voltron: Legendary Defender season 4.

~

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Good. Hold for four, exhale for four.

Shiro sighs and runs a hand over his face. Although he can’t tell for certain, he thinks it’s been about five minutes since contacting the other paladins— so Pidge would likely arrive at any minute now.

He’ll appreciate the help, but… he’s still bracing himself for the inevitable shock, both on his end and on Pidge’s. It’s not exactly every day that your leader gets shrunken down to about the size of… what, exactly? A mouse? Judging from his helmet, the only thing he’s even familiar with on this godforsaken planet, he’s probably about the size of one of the space mice.

...Ugh. Deep… deep breaths. Stay calm. It’s fine, it’s going to be fine—

Shiro’s shoulders stiffen up as a faint rustling sound draws his attention.

“...Pidge?” He calls tentatively. “Pidge, is that you?”

No response.

Shiro grimaces and quickly leans towards the speaker of his helmet, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings. “Are any of you nearby? I’m hearing noises.”

There’s an agonizingly long moment of silence.

“I’m still the closest to you, but I’m still at least a couple minutes away,” Pidge’s voice chirps over the intercom. “Whatever that noise is, stay on guard. We don’t have much information on this planet’s flora and fauna.”

The rustling returns, louder this time. Shiro’s breaths quicken, his Galra prosthetic lighting up with its familiar, eerie purple glow.

“Alright,” Shiro breathes. “Pidge… I’m gonna need you to hurry. I’m not… gonna be able to fend off anything major. Not like this.”

“Wait, Shiro? Not like what—?”

Shiro pulls away from the helmet, arm at the ready as glowing eyes peer from the bushes before him. He can vaguely hear Pidge’s frantic calling behind him, but his focus is trained on the claws emerging from the undergrowth.

A long, thin, scaly snout, incredibly large, pointed ears, needle-sharp claws, and flickering, sky-blue eyes all greet Shiro at once, the creature letting out a rattling hiss as its three tails lash behind it.

“I’m assuming you’re not friendly,” Shiro mutters.

The creature lets out another vicious hiss before running towards Shiro, its ferret-like body moving impossibly fast. The black paladin growls and holds his ground, his arms up in a defensive stance. At the last second, as the creature lunges at him with its jaws wide open, Shiro jumps out of the way with his right arm outstretched.

A grim smirk tugs at the corners of his lips as the creature howls and the scent of burnt fur wafts to Shiro’s nose.

But he doesn’t have time to celebrate. No, he quickly turns on his heel, facing the creature head-on—

“SCRRREEEE!”

Shiro grunts in pain as his body is knocked flying by a vicious swipe of the creature’s paw, hitting the ground roughly. He instinctively rolls to the side, narrowly avoiding getting a claw pierced through his armor’s chest plate. With another half-roll, Shiro is back on his feet and running like hell towards his helmet. He makes it within a few inches— to him, a few feet— before something snags on his jetpack and knocks him to the ground.

“PIDGE!” Shiro yells, clawing for purchase on the planet’s marshy ground. “Backup! Backup now!”

And then he’s roughly dragged backwards.

He sharply turns his head, noting one of the claws hooked on his jetpack, dragging him back towards the creature’s waiting maw.

“Not today,” Shiro snarls, his hand flaring to life. With a fierce lunge, his hand grabs onto the creature’s claw, the searing heat easily slicing through the light, sharp material. The creature lets out a piercing wail, nearly causing Shiro to go down from the sheer, splitting noise alone— but he hauls himself back to his feet, darts forward, but he’s not fast enough, the teeth are coming at him and—

The beast lets out another hideous scream as a sharp-edged, very familiar green edge slices into its side, leaving a sizable gash before the blade retreats, snaking back into the bushes— and then the bayard’s owner steps out from the shadows, weapon still drawn and aimed at the creature.

Pidge’s eyes narrow. “Pick on someone your own size,” she growls, continuing to step closer towards the creature and Shiro.

The creature’s hackles rise, but it’s clearly not stupid— as soon as Pidge draws closer, it beats a hasty retreat back into the bushes, presumably to lick its wounds and find a less dangerous meal for the night.

Pidge stops to rest a hand on her knee, panting quietly. And then her gaze shifts down, down… a little further down… until it rests on Shiro. Her amber-brown eyes widen ever-so-slightly.

“So I didn’t, uh… realize this was what you meant.”

Shiro keeps an eye on the creature’s escape path even when it’s gone, wary of a surprise attack. But he soon meets Pidge’s gaze with a slightly anxious look on his face.

“...Yes. I’m… kind of having a predicament.”

The two stare at each other awkwardly before Pidge clears her throat and speaks into the comm system. “Hey guys, I found Shiro and got rid of the danger-- yeah, I mean. He’s… He’s, uh. Alright. But we have a slight problem-- no, he didn’t get poisoned. I don’t think so, anyways. He’s a little on the tiny side-- Lance, shut up-- no, no, not like that, I just…”

Pidge pauses to huff in frustration. “It’s hard to explain. Look, we’ll meet you back at the castle, okay?”

She pauses again in what Shiro can only assume as relief-- the others must have agreed-- before she bites her lip and focuses on Shiro.

“Okay, so I’m pretty sure you know this already, but, uh. I’m gonna have to carry you, otherwise we won’t be able to get back to the castle before nightfall.”

Shiro grimaces. Of course he’d realized that while he’d been waiting for Pidge, but it didn’t make things any easier.

Pidge quietly coughs before kneeling down. “So… how are we gonna do this?”

Shiro runs a hand over his face. And then he tentatively approaches Pidge. “Give me your hand,” he sighs, making a beckoning gesture. He nearly flinches when Pidge’s hand comes down and rests palm-up in front of him, but he manages to hold his ground.

Deep breaths, Shiro. You fought huge monsters in the Arena, and even bigger ones in Voltron.

Regardless, he can’t help but feel a touch unnerved as he clumsily climbs up into Pidge’s hand-- as much as he trusts the green paladin, there’s something… wrong about being so tiny in comparison to the smallest paladin, someone he was so used to towering over on a daily basis for the past few months, at least.

Pidge carefully lifts Shiro up once he’s steadied himself, her eyes wide with what can only be described as pure awe.

“This really shouldn’t be possible,” she mumbles as she straightens up. “It completely violates the square-cube law, although… your suit is likely regulating your body temperature so you’re not too cold, so maybe—“

Shiro crosses his arms and sighs. “Pidge, we can discuss the science of how this works when we get back to the castle, alright?”

Pidge clears her throat and adjusts her glasses with her free hand. “Sorry, sorry, you’re right.”

As she starts walking back towards the direction of the castle, Shiro grips onto her thumb to maintain his balance, still looking to be quite unnerved by the whole situation.

“Matt’s gonna freak,” Pidge eventually mumbles to herself, unable to resist a little gleam in her eyes. “It defies the known laws of physics, and… say, Shiro? What happened to… uh. Make you shrink, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Shiro opens his mouth to respond before clicking his tongue and frowning. “I… I don’t remember. I think-- no, I know I was unconscious for at least a few minutes. There was a light, before I blacked out, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary when I came to.”

“And you feel alright?” Pidge questions, looking all the more intrigued by the minute.

“Aside from being extremely weirded out by this entire situation,” Shiro grumbles, “Yeah, I’m doing well enough, all things considered.”

Pidge pauses. She’s never been the best at comforting-- that was more Lance’s forte than anything-- but she shoots him a small smile. “If it makes you feel any better, you have three of the smartest nerds in the galaxy here to help you, plus Allura and Coran might know something. I’m sure we’ll figure out some kind of cure soon, okay?”

As the castle comes into view, Shiro appears to shrink in on himself a little more, his shoulders automatically tensing. “...That would be highly appreciated, yes.”

Pidge winces sympathetically. Of course this entire situation was hard on him-- and, judging from the rustling of foliage nearby, it was about to get even harder. As Hunk and Lance come out into the clearing at about the same time, Pidge instinctively holds Shiro closer to her chest.

“Hey, Pidge!” Lance calls as he quickens his step. “Where’s Shiro?”

Shiro, still looking to be quite agitated, straightens up as much as he can in some instinctive reflex to make himself taller. And then he waves, raising his voice. “Right here, Lance.”

Both the blue paladin and the yellow paladin stop dead in their tracks, jaws all but dropping. And then they both immediately crowd closer, a clamor of questions and wide-eyed stares.

“Whoa, Pidge, really? That… that shouldn’t be possible, according to--”

“Holy crow, Shiro, how’d you get so small--?”

Pidge backs up a step, lifting up her other hand to shield Shiro from the overwhelming onslaught of voices. “Guys, c’mon! Take it easy, one question at a time.”

Shiro shudders and nearly cracks right then and there, a paralyzing sense of anxiety bubbling up in his chest as the three teens loom over him. At least they’ve quieted down and Pidge has lowered her hand, but he can’t tell what’s worse: the clamor of loud noises or the sudden shift to sympathetic looks the three are all shooting down at him.

“Shiro?”

Shiro blinks at the sound of Pidge’s voice, tilting his head in order to look up at the green paladin’s face. “...Mm?”

The look in her eyes is… surprisingly gentle. He’s seen that look before, seen it in the eyes of Sam and Matt alike. His shoulders lower slightly.

“Shiro, it’s gonna be okay,” Pidge murmurs encouragingly. “We’re not gonna make you do anything you don’t want to do. I can put you down, if you want, or… anything. Anything you want. I know this isn’t an ideal situation, but we’re a team. You can trust us-- we’re gonna do our best to find a cure for you, and in the meantime, we’ll do our best to make this whole… thing a little more comfortable for you.”

His focus briefly darts to Lance and Hunk-- both nodding in affirmation and backing up to give Pidge and himself a little more space. Shiro swallows thickly before glancing back up at Pidge.

“...Thank you. All of you.” He does his best to pull a tired smile. “For now, you can… keep carrying me. I’m good.”

Pidge frowns, lifting her hand closer to eye-level. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

And, surprisingly enough… he is.

Pidge was right. They’re all a team-- they’re his family. Of course he trusts them with his life.

Shiro straightens up, a determined glint in his eyes. “I don’t want to fall too far behind all of you, after all. We need to get going right away if we’re going to make this work. Pidge, I need you to bring me to Allura and Coran. We’re going to have to contact Keith so that he can serve as my stand-in while we get this fixed-- we don’t need any sneak attacks from the Galra catching us off-guard because I can’t pilot the Black Lion. Lance, Hunk? I need you two to get Matt. I’m sure if we all put our heads together, we can find out how and why this happened to me… and how to reverse it.”

A noticeable sense of relief lingers in the air, the three paladins at attention as they’re given orders; that’s their Shiro, alright, and it almost brings a sense of normalcy to this entire strange predicament.

As Pidge marches up to the entrance of the castle-- making sure to keep her hand steady for Shiro’s sake-- the black paladin sighs under his breath.

This was going to be a hassle to deal with, for sure, but at least he had his team by his side.

His family.