Fantasy AU where Prince Katsuki and Prince Izuku are in an arranged marriage and while Izuku has loved Katsuki since childhood, he knows that the blonde only has eyes for his dragon shifter friend. Izuku loves him despite it all.

Loves him even when he knows that Katsuki refuses to share a room so that he can sneak into Kiri’s room every night, loves him even when he knows that Katsuki is going behind his back with another man, loves him even when Katsuki does nothing but shun him and act cold toward him.

That’s why Izuku would do anything In order for Katsuki to be happy. He works day and night to outlaw arranged marriages and allow divorces. He fights with the council and spends hours at night in the libraries to research and come up with arguments.

He fights and fights and fights, screams his voice hoarse to be heard. And in the end? He is heard. But it comes at a price. Chisaki Kai, part of the council, wants his hand in marriage and if the law should pass to ban arranged marriages and allow divorces, then it would apply-

to everyone /except/ Izuku. Chisaki was one of the most influential and powerful people of the court, so if he agreed, then Chisaki could sway everyone else’s opinion to agree with him. Izuku accepts.

He wants Kacchan to be happy.

He does it all without Katsuki knowing so that on his birthday, he can give him the greatest gift of all. In the early morning on Kacchan's birthday, Izuku leaves a letter.

"Happy Birthday, Kacchan." It reads.

"From today onward, we are no longer married! I've passed a law, one that forbids arranged marriages and allows divorce. I have always loved you and wanted to stand by your side, but above that,-

I want Kacchan to be endlessly happy, even if it's not with me. That's why, I fought to get this law passed! I hope you like my birthday present to you. I wish you and Kirishima lifelong happiness!

Sincerely,
Deku"

lmk if i should continue :-)

Katsuki reads the letter with Kirishima looking over his shoulder.

The redhead gasps, “Seriously?! Man, Izuku is so nice!”

He… is. Always has been. Too nice for his own damn good.

“Isn’t that great, Kats?” Kirishima beams.

It… should be.

Katsuki should be happy, should be grateful, should be glad, but instead, he feels betrayed, angry, /hurt/.

He storms to Deku’s room and slams the door open, only to find nothing. Nothing except for an empty bed and empty wardrobe.

A servant informs him that Izuku left early in the morning back to his own kingdom.

“What’s wrong?” Kirishima asks, looking at him worriedly.

That’s… a good question.

There’s no reason for Katsuki to be feeling this way.

While Deku and he had been childhood friends, Katsuki treated him horribly after their arranged marriage. Katsuki was the one who rejected Deku, the one who pushed him away, the one who went behind his back, so…

What was with this sense of loss?

He’s happy, he can be with Kirishima, he got what he always wanted…

So why can’t he act like it?

Two weeks passed without Deku’s presence and Katsuki feels restless. He wants to see Deku.

Deku who called him Kacchan despite being ignored, Deku who greeted him every morning and wished him a good night every day without fail even when he never say it back, Deku who had been with him since childhood, Deku who loved him more than anyone, Deku who never gave up on him.

He stares at the stars, thinking of Deku’s freckles.
He wants to count them like he did when they were kids.

He stares at the garden below, thinking of Deku’s hair.
He wants to run his finger through them.

He stares at the emerald ring on his finger that he hasn’t taken off since Deku left, thinking of Deku’s eyes.
He wants to stare into them forever.

He should’ve done that when Deku was still here. How could he only realize how important Deku was after he lost him? He had taken him for granted.

“Katsuki.” Kirishima wraps his arms around Katsuki’s waist from behind, “Come to bed.”

When did Kirishima’s touch become uncomfortable?

He grunts and shrugs him off.

Kirishima sighs, taking his hand in his, “What’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird since Midoriya left…”

Katsuki couldn’t hide it anymore. Kirishima deserved to know.

“... I love him.” He confesses, eyes still trained on the bright stars, “I think I always did.”

It’s silent for a moment before Katsuki hears a disbelieving chuckle with no humor behind it.

“If you love Midoriya, why did you do all this? Why bring /me/ into this, Katsuki?” Kirishima whispers, voice cracking and eyes teary, “Why make it harder for everyone? Why make it harder for /you/?”

"I- I'm sorry..." He apologizes for the first time in his life.

When the arranged marriage was announced, Katsuki was angry. He used Kirishima, his best friend, to spite his parents, to spite Deku who he had also faulted for a marriage he had no say in either. He cursed his parents for not giving him a choice in the matter, for not thinking-

about what he wanted. But really, /Katsuki/ was the one who didn't think about what he wanted. He was so stubborn, so caught up with shunning Deku to try and spite his parents that he didn't realize that /he/ was the one who didn't think about how he felt.

If he had just opened his eyes, then he would've realized that it didn't matter if the marriage was arranged, he loved Deku regardless.

Kirishima sighed, "... Well, we received this today."

He shoved an envelope into Katsuki's hand before storming out.

"Your presence is requested at the Midoriya Castle to celebrate the wedding of Chisaki Kai and... Midoriya Izuku..."

tbc ;)

Tw: Abuse

“Chi-”

“Kai.” The golden eyed male corrected, “And what did I tell you about speaking before spoken to?”

Izuku bit his tongue and kept his head down.

“It wasn’t a rhetorical question, Izuku. Answer me.”

“... Wives don’t speak unless their husbands ask them to.”

Izuku was miserable. It’s been three weeks since he’s been with Chisaki. They went back to Izuku’s kingdom where one of Chisaki’s mansions resided. His parents, the current rulers of the kingdom, approved the marriage without knowing any better. Izuku didn’t tell them. He was-

stuck with the older man and there was no good in making his parents worry over something they couldn’t change.

“Good.” Chisaki tilted his head up and kissed him.

It felt wrong, gross, but… worth it. Worth it because at least, Kacchan was finally happy… and that mattered the-

most to Izuku. Ever since he was a child, he had cherished Kacchan’s smile the most. He only wished he could be there to see Kacchan smiling.

“Are you happy? Our wedding is in two days.” Kai caressed his cheek.

There was only one way Izuku /could/ answer that. He had figured out early on that Chisaki was a violent man. Izuku had first thought that maybe he could act unbearable enough for Chisaki to be the one to get a divorce, but instead, Izuku had been… disciplined.

Chisaki expected obedience from him and if Izuku ever went against him, he was beaten and chained in the cellar for the night.

The grip on his jaw tightens and Kai repeats the question, this time with an underlying threat, “Aren’t you happy, Izuku?”

Izuku whimpers and instinctually shuts his eyes, “Yes… I’m ecstatic, Kai.”

“Good.” Chisaki lets go and Izuku’s jaw throbs, “Ask the servants to get you some ice. That’s going to bruise.”

Just as Kai was walking away, a frantic servant came rushing in.

“M- Master Kai! I- It’s K- King Katsuki! He’s h-here and d- demanding to see you and Master Izuku!”

Izuku whirled around and gasped. Kacchan? What was /Kacchan/ doing here?

Chisaki clicks his tongue in annoyance and Izuku flinches on reflex.

“Let’s go see him, shall we?” Kai relaxes his expression back into a calm one as he grasps Izuku’s hand a little too tightly, leading him down to the courtyard.

“Your highness.” Chisaki bows, “To what do we owe the pleasure? I’m afraid you arrived early, the wedding is two days-

from now.”

Izuku curtsies in his stiff gown, “Your majesty.”

“Deku.” Katsuki ignores Chisaki, much to the Duke’s irritation.

The greenette continues to keep his head bowed, trying and failing at keeping his voice from faltering, “Y- Yes, your highness?”

“Deku, look at me.” He urges.

If Izuku didn’t know any better, he’d think Katsuki was begging. He figured that Katsuki wanted to know if their kingdoms’ alliance was still intact since their marriage had ended. Still, he lifted his head, careful to keep his expression neutral.

Katsuki’s anger flared as soon as he saw Izuku’s face. There were finger shaped fucking /bruises/ on his face. His hand reached out and Izuku /flinched/.

Chisaki puts his hand up, stopping Katsuki, “King or not, your highness, I’m going to have to ask you to not so casually-

touch my betrothed.”

“Fuck you, in case you forgot, /I’m/ in charge of you.” Katsuki spat, “Deku is coming back with me. Ain’t that right, Deku?”

He looked at Deku but his heart dropped as he watched Deku look to Chisaki, as if asking for permission to speak.

“In charge of me or not, you cannot barge into my mansion and take my betrothed. Izuku isn’t going anywhere with you, we’re getting married.” Chisaki held up Deku’s left hand and placed a kiss on top of the diamond ring that replaced his previous ruby one, eyes challengingly-

trained on Katsuki the entire time, “Izuku plans to spend the rest of his life with me. Right, /Dear/?”

“Yes, Kai.” Izuku lowered his eyes, his voice strained, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at Kai, suppressing a growl. This…This-

wasn’t Izuku. Izuku didn’t keep his head down or bend to someone else’s whims. Izuku was headstrong and too damn stubborn for his own good. His eyes weren’t dull or hollow, they were always gleaming in determination. He didn’t flinch or cower or need permission to speak his mind.

TBC!