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Chapter Text

Izuku isn’t quite sure how he landed himself in his current situation. It was so overdone that he was almost tired of the predicament. When he imagined his college years, he hadn’t quite predicted that he would be slinging across the city and praying that his least favorite - but definitely the most interesting - vigilante wasn’t the cause of another large explosion. Saving innocent people and stopping drug rings was what he had signed up for whenever a biochemistry field trip turned into his vigilante origin story, not babysitting someone with loose morals and seemingly never-ending humor.

When he wasn’t encountering the villainous vigilante - the adjective dubbed by the public - during his own patrols through the city, he was checking the local news station every hour between his lectures and homework. The latest information? Deadpool was rummaging through a popular bar frequented by gangs. The police wouldn’t acknowledge it, but everyone without a badge knew that it was riddled with drugs (namely strength enhancers), tax fraud, and illegal gun shipments. Izuku was fairly certain that the city had underlying corruption, but after being on the scene since the start of summer he still hadn’t gathered the evidence for conviction.

So, instead of fighting the secret but not so hidden corruption of the elites, he was walking into the front doors of a bar, and it wasn’t to get a drink. Izuku was still underaged. It was actually because he needed to stop a murder. Nowadays it seemed that he was working more frequently to stop Deadpool from killing another person instead of actually investigating the death of his father. The signs pointed to something larger than he had previously expected, but the constant additional work proved difficult in the balance of his separate lives.

The sight he was introduced to was not unlike many before: Deadpool with a gun steadily trained on the owner of the bar and a few scratches of his own to display. The disturbing thing is that Izuku was never certain if the other vigilante would decide to pull the trigger or not. It was not unsimilar to a coin toss, the only difference being that it usually depended on how good of a mood Deadpool was in. Out of all the times he had encountered the other, there were only a few occasions that he was actually pissed.

Izuku would be afraid if he didn’t understand Deadpool’s motivations. He hadn’t the slightest clue as to why, but he knew that the vigilante wasn’t a villain despite how awful his actions were. He had a reason for everything, even if it included a warped sense of morals. Deadpool had yet to attack Izuku and only seemed to be focused on those who had wronged him.

“I’m only going to ask you once more,” Deadpool said, pushing the gun further towards the manager’s head. “Where is Dabi?”

And there was the familiar name. Izuku wasn’t sure how Dabi fit into the story, and he surely didn’t know who they were. He just knew they were important if Deadpool was inquiring every possible suspect about their location.

“Spiderman!” The civilian cried and Izuku cursed, rolling his eyes. So much for his stealthy entrance.

“Deadpool, honey, what have I said about threatening civilians?” He quickly webbed Deadpool's hand to the bar counter and pulled the gun towards him with his webs. It was almost routine at this point. Izuku wondered how long it would take for the vigilante to get angry about his missing guns. He wasn’t sure how many more he could hide under the bed of his dorm room.

He watched Deadpool pull at the webs with difficulty. They were strong, Izuku would know. He spent multiple hours after being bit by the spider with a notebook stuck to his hands. No matter what knives he used to cut them, there was never enough tension to break through. He woke up in the middle of the night afterward, passed out on his floor. He was lucky that Shoto, his roommate, was pulling an all-nighter at their 24/7 library or his secret identity would have been revealed.

“You should use a condom more often, Bugboy,” Deadpool remarked, “it makes less of a mess.”

Izuku could add that to the list of sexual jokes he's heard come from the vigilante's mouth within the last few months. He sighed. “Don’t you have anything better to do, Deadpool? Do you know how exhausting it is to prepare your milk and clean your diapers?”

“Very funny.” Izuku was sure he rolled his eyes under the mask. “I see you’ve been scrolling through the twitter hashtags.”

He webbed the vigilante further to the counter and offered a hand to the owner. “There's great fanart as well.”

There was the nod of a head and then a moment of silence, “Do you know all the shit that mans done? Prison isn’t nearly enough for him.”

Despite his concurrence, there was nothing Izuku could legally do. “Did you even have an English education, Deadpool? Everyone knows you need evidence and reasoning to back up your claim. How do you think the police will respond to ‘Hey this guy that you’re protecting because you’re corrupt as fuck should be in jail!’? Without proper evidence and public opinion to protect us, there's nothing we can do.”

Izuku was quick to web his mouth. He was certain that it didn’t do much with a mask in the way, but it got the message across. He knew that the response would’ve been some comment on how his way of justice was supreme, even though they both knew that was incorrect. It may have seemed better in comparison to the police, but Deadpool himself had stated multiple times that he wasn’t a hero. Neither were going to act as though he was, especially because it was the main reason, he continued to reject Izuku’s attempts of a team up. Deadpool liked to work alone, but he couldn’t help but feel that they were investigating the same issue. Izuku figured that if he wanted to convince the other, he would have to do so whenever the two were completely alone and unfocused on fighting. It would set the mood to make him listen instead of being brushed off every time.

“Spiderman, thank you so much.” It took everything in Izuku not to frown in disgust. He would probably spend the remaining time searching for whatever evidence was in their files before the police showed. One word to the press and there’d be no protection from the police.

“Let's make one thing clear,” he looked at the thankful man who had his hands together in a prayer. “I know that your business is corrupt so trust me when I say that the moment I obtain any evidence to put you behind bars, that's the first thing I’ll do.” It seemed to sober the owner up because he hurriedly ran from the bar. If they wanted to get some information, they’d have to be quick.

He began applying an anti-web serum, coconut and vinegar, to release Deadpool.

“I bet you’re into bondage,” the vigilante stated. “Have you ever roleplayed as a spider?”

His dead-pan stare seemed enough of an answer. “As much as I wish I could leave you here, I worry for the police that try to detain you.”

As unrealistic as that seemed, Deadpool was no joke when it came to evading the police. During the first month that he had interacted with the vigilante, Izuku had never been successful in catching him. It came as quite the shock to him whenever Deadpool sliced out his knife and cut through his wrist to escape the web that stuck it to an alley wall. He realized then that it was probably easier if he worked towards convincing the other from his deadly ways. It could even become beneficial to have someone else working alongside him.

“I’m starting to think you enjoy my presence. In love with my manly charms, Spiderman?”

“I’m rolling my eyes right now,” he explained. "And you’re the one who keeps rejecting my proposal.”

Izuku hoped this wasn’t a bad idea, but he had no time to go through any evidence all by himself. He had way too many classes and papers waiting in his dorm for him to investigate even with Shoto’s help. Maybe it would keep Deadpool preoccupied as well. “I’ll let you steal some of the papers from the office if you’re quick. It might be enough to get him convicted.”

“Really?” He seemed surprised, though Izuku could understand why. Any of their past encounters usually ended with Izuku lecturing him of his violent ways and gathering any documents to investigate before leaving Deadpool to fend for himself. “What's the catch?”

“If you find anything interesting, you let me know,” he watched for any show of emotion beneath the red mask, but there was none. “And you refrain from murdering for a week.”

“Going on vacation?” He could almost hear the smirk.

Izuku shook his head, “My duties aren’t just babysitting, Deadpool. I don’t know what you’re after, but I know there’s corruption deep within this city and someone needs to put gas into the weed wacker.”

“Are you an English major?” He asks, as if that has anything to do with their current conversation. “A plus for your use of imagery and your reminder of evidence to support a claim.”

“Who says I’m in college?” He questioned. His senses tingled at the sound of sirens. “You’ve better get started; the police are coming.”

“You and you’re fucking spidey sense,” the vigilante laughed. Izuku supposed that it would be weird to get warned without actually hearing the sirens for oneself. “You’re really leaving me here to do this myself?”

Izuku saluted, turning to make his escape, “No killing for a week!”

The vigilante agreed reluctantly, but instead of turning back and nodding, Izuku focused on the city as the sun set behind it. It was his place to protect, an agreement he made to himself and the genetically altered spider that bit him. He was going to rid it of its corruption one weed at a time and make it a safe place for civilians even if it killed him.

All of that would have to wait, however. He had a chemistry test due at the end of the week and some leads to investigate first.

“You haven't moved in six hours,” Shoto said as if his neck weren’t screaming the same thing. He had about four used packages of ramen brushed towards the edge of his desk in a stack to show for his hours of homework. “You shouldn’t have procrastinated.”

Izuku sighed, “It wouldn’t be this bad if I didn’t have to randomly suit up everyday to stop Deadpool from killing another person.”

Shoto nodded and Izuku was grateful that he wasn’t as put off with the fact that his roommate was Spiderman than he imagined. He hadn’t wanted to expose himself, but it had only taken a month of their sophomore year for Shoto to realize that his friend had gained spider abilities. Izuku was actually surprised that it had taken that long considering he was always coming through their window in the late hours of the morning.

“Maybe you should try asking him politely,” he suggested. “What are you going to do when it's exam season? There's no way you can protect the city, babysit Deadpool, and investigate your father’s death while cramming information for the end of semester.”

“I know.” Izuku fought the urge to hit his head against the table. “That's why I’m trying to team up. I just have this feeling that we’re after the same corruption but instead of working together and combining information, we’re effectively stalling the other from getting anything done.”

Shoto offered a small smile. “How about I start looking into a few things while you focus on getting caught up with classes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, what else is a computer science major good for?” He sat at the desk beside Izuku and started observing the documents. “I can probably get more information than you when it comes to investigating anyways.”

“Thanks.” He really did appreciate it. He would have to treat Shoto to lunch. “Now onto Spanish.”

“I still don’t understand why you chose to take upper-intermediate Spanish. Everyone dreaded the required credits for their majors last year.”

“It's in case Spiderman goes international,” he laughed. “Imagine all the people I could save if there wasn’t a language barrier.”

Shoto only chuckled.

Izuku was currently sitting in the middle row of his biology lecture hating that he was convinced to take a biochemistry major instead of just chemistry whenever his ears had started to ring. It was what caught his attention before his mind started to hyperfocus on his surroundings and fuzz the unimportant details out.

He subtly looked towards the door and tensed his jaw. Izuku wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to protect his classmates if there was an intruder on campus. He was sure that the sound of the door opening wouldn’t have drawn his attention if not for his concentration.

He was surprised whenever instead of an armed attacker, it was only Katsuki Bakugou, another biochemistry major. The blond man was fairly popular around campus for being the sophomore heart throb. He was great at sports, average in school, and spoke an almost impressive number of profanities. Despite his status, he usually refrained from having a large social life and stuck to only a few close friends.

He was going to chalk up his senses to a fluke until it started to get more intense. It was as if his senses were upset that he was considering ignoring them and they repeatedly focused in and out similar to a camera lens. It was at that moment he knew that Katsuki was somehow involved with his investigations or at the very least, he would be important for leading them in the right direction.

He plagued his mind for more information. He usually saw the blond working out whenever he went to the campus gym, and he could vaguely remember last year when Ochako made a group chat with all of the chemistry majors. That was probably the best way to become closer to Katsuki without being suspicious and he assumed that Ochako would be more than happy to establish a chemistry group this year as well.

He watched Katsuki make his way over to his seat five minutes late to the lecture and observed as he opened his book and started taking notes. He looked away quickly whenever his senses warned him of incoming eye contact and remained his cover as a student incredibly focused on the lecture.

Despite his plans to engage with Katsuki in the future, his spider sense wouldn't stop bothering him. It was like a constant bell in the back of his mind that prohibited him from focusing. Izuku wondered if the universe was trying to make his life harder. To make things worse, Fridays were one of his stacked STEM class days which gave no breaks to the routine. It consisted of fifteen-minute interval breaks between lectures and a three-hour biology lab with only a thirty-minute lunch period. It was a struggle to get the right things to eat.

The ringing brightened as he heard the shuffling of pages and pencils dragging against paper. As much as he knew he would come to regret his decision, Izuku started to pack up his belongings and made his way towards the exit. It was all too loud and if he didn’t escape, he’d probably end up with a headache before noon.

Izuku was sure that it looked weird that the kid with perfect attendance and a great GPA had left so abruptly, but he found that he didn’t really care. He was always reminded that while his abilities saved thousands, at the end of the day it wasn’t something he had signed up for even if he was willing to use it for the better. The city was his to defend, but he was still just a sophomore in college that wanted to learn more and make friends. He dialed Shoto’s number and waited for the voice that always answered when he wasn’t in classes.

“Izuku? Why aren't you in your biology lecture right now?”

His spider senses seemed to dull down as he made his way into the bathrooms and checked for anyone. When the room was clear, he was finally able to freely speak. “My senses are going crazy."

“Your spider tingles?” He chuckled and Izuku was seriously regretting every decision he had ever made. “Sorry, it’s probably bad if it forced you to leave class.”

“You’re not even concerned that there’s an incoming attack?” He rolled his eyes, “Some friend you are.”

“Well, I’m assuming there isn’t if you’re calling me right now,” Shoto explained. “I’ll meet you at the cafe and we can go on a walk before your chemistry class.”

“You’re not too busy?”

Shoto sighed. “Even if I am, who cares? You protect so many people all the time and you fail to realize that someone needs to take care of you.” Izuku could hear conversations through the call that signaled that Shoto was already on his way to the cafeteria.

“Okay,” he accepted it and started walking towards the student center. “I’m on my way.”

He could only dwell on a lingering question: why was Katsuki activating his spider senses? It wasn’t the first time that he had activated them, but it was the most intense of them all. Normally it would be a quick switch, easy enough to ignore down to Izuku being stressed or simply anxious, but his senses going haywire weren’t normal in the slightest.

It didn’t take long for him to get to the cafeteria. It had the occasional student there who regularly ordered breakfast but was relatively clear which allowed him to easily spot his roommate.

“I got you a Poptart,” his friend said while offering the food. “I figured that it wouldn’t be too filling since you already ate.”

‘Thanks, what’d you get?” He asked as they made their way out of the building and started walking around campus.

He raised his hands to show a breakfast sandwich encased in tin foil. He wasn’t sure what the other saw in the sandwich, but it must have been something great if he was always buying them for breakfast.

“Do you want to talk about your spider issues?” Shoto questioned, his voice becoming quieter at the mention of a spider. There weren’t many people walking around campus, but he would hate to expose his identity from careless actions.

“What do you know about Katsuki?”

“Bakugou? He's popular, right?” Shoto took a bite of his sandwich. “He never acts like it though. He never really goes on social outings, and I’ve heard he has a foul tongue, though when I’ve interacted with him in the past, I haven’t gained much evidence of that.”

Izuku hummed. “I think he's connected to whatever we’re investigating because my senses wouldn’t stop.”

“Do you think it’s bad?”

“I’m not sure. I have a gut feeling it isn’t too dangerous,” he answered. “It feels different from an enemy. If anything changes though, I’ll take a more direct route.”

“I can dig a bit to try and find out more about him,” Shoto offered and Izuku nodded. “What’s your plan?”

“I think I’m going to ask Ochako to set up a group study or a weekend hangout of the chemistry majors.” He finished his Poptart. “I might be able to talk to him at the gym. If I can get closer to him, I may be able to get more information.”

But when he thought about it, Izuku figured it wouldn’t be bad to become friends with another biochemistry major.

“Are you going to be able to go to chemistry?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling a bit better now. Even if it returns when Katsuki enters the lecture, at least I’m prepared now.” He answered and popped some good old ibuprofen. “Thanks for helping me clear my thoughts.”

Shoto shrugged his shoulders. “I hope you can get through the rest of your classes. There's a reason why I never take Friday classes.”

Izuku groaned. He hated being a biochemistry major.

By some miracle Izuku was able to get through the rest of his day without much trouble. His spider senses had died down enough to let him focus through the lecture and the lab, allowing him to relax before deciding to go on patrol.

“Do you need me as your guy in the chair tonight?” Shoto asked as he scanned over the police station. It had been a relatively easy night by the sound of it.

He shook his head. “I should be alright.”

Closing the door behind him he kept his bag close to him. As much as he wished he could sling through his window and into the city, that could draw too many unwanted eyes and prove the theories of Spiderman being a college student correct. It was already bad enough that people were able to guess based on his student schedule.

Instead, he made his way into an alley by the college, checking beforehand with his senses to make sure he wasn’t being followed or observed. From there he quickly changed into his viridian suit, the fabric noticeably better in comparison to his rookie suit when he first started. If he had taken some pointers from Deadpool, well, nobody would know.

He jumped across the rooftop of apartments, now making his way into the streets of New York. Unlike the police radio suggested, crime was about and his attention pulled away at the sound of a scream. That was often the case during his duties, hundreds of criminal actions occurred under the police's radar, leaving them for the vigilantes of the city. He wasn’t surprised to see that it was a mugging, but he was caught off guard at the tall woman that stood over a much shorter man. It reminded him of a time where he himself had been in that exact situation before the spider bite made his muscles more defined and his senses heightened. He brushed that aside however, as the man started to struggle against her strength, stepping into action.

“As much as I am for equal rights and girl bossing, I’d rather this mugging wasn’t happening at all,” he remarked, his hands held out in front of him. He was hoping to deescalate the situation and persuade the woman from theft in the future. “How about you leave the guy alone. I can treat you to dinner or buy you some clothing.”

Izuku knew that most muggings were caused over financial issues and despite being a broke college student, he was willing to spend some spare cash if he needed to stop someone from theft. He never had time for a job, but he was lucky his mom always deposited money so he could buy food. He only needed to eat cheap to have enough left for his Spiderman duties.

His senses blared before the woman even moved, but he was too slow to prevent her from slicking out a syringe and taking the man as hostage. He cried in her grasp and Izuku noticed that her hands were squished tight against his arm. She laughed. “You think this is a mugging?”

Izuku stilled and suddenly it all made sense. He hadn’t heard her asking for money and she wouldn’t have hesitated to accept his offer of dinner if it was a mugging. Somehow, he had walked right into the very thing he was investigating: a drug that enhances an individual’s strength. Over the past few months, he was forced to watch it progress while he was off stopping Deadpool from murdering people and focusing on his career.

He’d seen the first prototype in action, a black liquid that turned the infected crazed with strength. The organization used innocent civilians as test rats instead of their own members and the only sign of their existence was the acronym AFO that marked some documents he was able to investigate before college had started.

The woman smirked, “Let's see how the amazing Spiderman, clad in green and armed with webs, deals against our improved enhancers.”

If Izuku could pause their interaction, he would remind her that green and viridian were very different and that he preferred the latter. It was as if the woman wanted to watch his world burn.

His webs weren’t fast enough to snatch the syringe because the moment they stuck, the gentleman from before was growing larger in size as the black liquid outlined his otherwise blue veins, leading him to chuck it towards the mouth of the alley.

He focused on trying to trap the enhanced man first because he had no clue whether his actions would impact the man after. As cool as it was to compare his life to a video game, it was far from it. He couldn’t just kill the man like a monster because he didn’t know what repercussions it would have on him once the strength enhancers wore off. He also didn’t know the duration of them. Before, they had lasted only a couple of minutes.

He webbed the man's face and pulled. If he could knock him unconscious, he could then take care of the woman and investigate.

“Nomu, snap his webs,” the woman called. His mouth dropped, surprised that the man successfully ripped his webs apart. Izuku balled his fists. Not only was the man coherent enough to follow her orders, but the serum had also become much stronger than before. How could he let this progress enough to where the drug could now completely take control of its injectee? “You see Spiderman, we've been making some adjustments inspired just for you! How does it feel to see that you’ve failed in stopping us while it was in the early stages?”

He scowled before his body was slammed into the wall, falling off of it like a sticky hand dropping from a ceiling. He groaned, his arms straining against his weight as he lifted himself up, and his head pounding. That was the fifth time he has ever been thrown into a wall and he was surprised that he didn’t find himself against one more often.

“Nomu, squash the disgusting spider,” she commanded and Izuku was quick to web her mouth. If she couldn’t speak, then the man wouldn’t have any directions to take.

He ducked as the man threw debris at him but stalled after his command was unfulfilled. It seemed to be his lucky day because despite his senses becoming crazed earlier, he noticed that the man was hesitating. Sure, the enhancers had grown to control the minds of those affected, but they no longer contained the uncontrollable rage that pushed them to fight. What was left now? Just a confused man who happened to have a bit more strength.

He webbed the man's hands as a precaution despite his strength wearing off. It seemed that the serum now lasted five minutes. He turned towards the woman only to find that she was already gone. Cursing himself for not securing her first, he dialed the local police so that the man could be checked for any medical issue with the new enhancers and file his report of the situation.

“I just called the police for you and I’d like to apologize for not being able to stop the woman from injecting you,” he told the man who seemed grateful. “Are you okay to wait for them yourself?”

If a civilian stated that they weren’t okay waiting alone, he would gladly stand by them until the police came, but he liked to ask on the off chance that the person didn’t mind as a way to avoid police interaction. Not only did they want to arrest Spiderman, but Izuku also wasn’t sure how corrupt they really were.

The man nodded, “Don’t worry about it, Spiderman. No harm done and I’m sure you’re a busy person so it’s no big deal.”

It wasn’t difficult to find the syringe at the mouth of the alley once he was finished and he pocketed it next to his phone. From there Izuku found himself once again slinging through the city. It was his way to cool off after an important fight. He felt so much pressure to take down the organization behind the serum that the stress was starting to build. He had failed, hadn’t he? Izuku wasn’t one to listen to the words of complete strangers, no less villains, but he couldn’t help but agree. He had wasted the summer months and now the colder days were approaching, and he had no knowledge to show for his time.

He noticed that he had somehow gone south towards the One World Trade Center. It was the tallest structure in New York and the building he frequented most when he needed to collect his thoughts. The sun was just setting as he allowed his feet to dangle over the edge of the building. He knew that the strength enhancers were somehow connected to his father's death. It was the same technology that he had been pursuing alongside a suit that could heal and repair injuries.

His body tensed as his senses tingled at the back of his mind and he looked over his shoulder to see a man in a red suit outlined in black. He wasn’t allowed a moment alone, was he? If he was babysitting a grown man he wished he was getting paid for it. “You can’t sneak up on me, Deadpool.”

“Fuck you and your spider senses,” he mumbled and sat down next to Izuku, his own legs dangling off of the building. He could agree, he really wasn’t appreciative of them after today.

“You’re the one who interrupted my time alone,” he said and noticed a folder in the vigilante's hand that contained a stack of papers inside. “What's that?”

“Printouts of the digital documents from the bar,” he answered and Izuku almost forgot the bar incident that had happened two days prior. “I was investigating a bit and followed some leads but I couldn’t search anything because it had a secure firewall. I was wondering if you knew how to bypass it?”

Izuku hummed, “I know someone who might be able to help us out.”

“So you don’t work alone!” He gasped. Izuku chuckled, knowing that it was a topic that many people tried to speculate on. “I bet they’re some computer science nerd learning to ethically hack.”

He tensed, afraid that he had messed up by mentioning Shoto at all. He didn’t want to drag his roommate into his hero business more than he already had. He failed to realize that even the slightest sign was enough to give it away.

“You wound me when you tense, darling,” he teased. He had foolishly fallen into his trap. Izuku really couldn’t lie for shit.

“I do not have a friend that's a computer science major and I’m not in college either,” he declared. He was slightly flustered, but he chalked that up to his horrible day and the cold wind that brushed against them. Their conversation seemed fairly domestic, and he wondered what had made Deadpool warm up to him like this. “Don’t make me web another person’s mouth today.”

Deadpool laughed. “Trouble in vigilantism?”

“Strength enhancers,” he responded with disgust. “I haven't been able to investigate them because I keep getting distracted.” He glared at Deadpool, hoping that he would catch his drift.

“I’m not going to apologize.”

“You’re a dick.”

They sat there for what must have been five minutes admiring the city before Izuku gained the confidence to speak up. “My father was a biologist focused on creating a suit to repair any damage to the human body.” He was sure that it was somehow related to Deadpool because his super abilities were regeneration. The vigilante was practically indestructible. The other seemed to tense at his statement and Izuku knew he was correct. “It wasn’t long until he was killed, and his work stolen by an unknown organization.”

Izuku could remember a couple days after his father's funeral when a man in all black had walked into their home and asked if he could stay for dinner. At the time, he couldn’t stop trembling as the man asked him questions his mom had prepared him not to answer. They both knew that his father's death involved foul play. He was lucky that the man didn’t seem to care much because it didn’t take many questions to have him finished with dinner and out of their apartment.

“I know that it’s somehow involved with the strength enhancers. Other than my senses warning me of it, the organization has the same acronym that they engraved into my fathers hand.” He focused on the facts to push away the tears. “I don’t know what you’re after, but I know it must be related.”

Deadpool was silent as if his humor was ripped away by Izuku’s story. “What was the acronym?”

“AFO.”

The other just stared off into the distance, probably processing the information.

“If we’re going to team up, we’ll need to decide a few things first,” he stared to slightly nod. “Our meeting place can be here, and we’ll have to decide the time based on our hours.”

“Okay, we can communicate through Twitter,” he said. “That way we both stay anonymous for now.”

“Our followers might be excited,” Deadpool chuckled, “but public opinion is going to crash if you’re teaming with me.”

“That's why I’m establishing a killing ban.”

“I’m not a hero,” Deadpool glared.

“I never said you were,” he said simply, staring into the white eyes of the red mask, “but if we’re going to work together, I can’t be focused on stopping you from murdering someone while we’re fighting against strength enhanced enemies. Even fighting without much of a distraction caused my body to be slammed against a wall. These people are dangerous, and we have to work together, not against each other.”

Deadpool seemed reluctant but agreed anyway, offering the folder of documents to Izuku.

“I’ll let you know what I find on this,” he waved the folder in his hand and tucked it against his chest. Then, he fished through his pocket and displayed the syringe between his index finger and thumb. “I also found this. I’m going to run it through a few labs and see if I can figure out how it works.”

“You’re definitely a chemistry major then.” There was complete silence until Deadpool laughed at the look on Spiderman’s face. He didn’t need to see his expressions to know that his eyebrows were creased, and his eyes deadpanned. “You really need to stop exposing things about your life so easily.”

“Oh fuck off.”

“Tell your guy in the chair I said hi,” he waved.

Izuku flipped him off.

Spiderman 🕷 @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
@isurvivedthedeadpool Let's get pizza next
time.
12:47 AM • 29 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
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1,058 Retweets 3,963 Quote Tweets 27k Likes
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Deadpool 🔫 @isurvivedthedeadpool
Replying to @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
It's a date.
1:32 AM • 29 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
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279 Retweets 5,392 Quote Tweets 19k Likes
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Chapter Text

"If we’re going to team up, we’ll need to secure a few things first. Our meeting place can be here, and we’ll have to debate the time based on our hours.” Deadpool decides as his legs dangle beside Spiderman's. As much as he hated to admit it, Katsuki had predicted a future where he would decide to work with Spiderman. How long could he really invade the beloved vigilante before Spiderman either convinced him or cracked?

If Spiderman’s friend was able to crack the code hiding information from the documents, Katsuki wasn’t one to decline. He really couldn’t do everything on his own. He may have loosely agreed to patrol with Spiderman, but he never clarified that he’d be doing any work. Katsuki thought it would be quite funny to watch Spiderman do all the work, at least for a bit. That, and making him flustered. Katsuki enjoyed teasing him too. It was the least he deserved with the no killing rule Spiderman had ensured.

That's what led him to be laying on top of the One World Trade Center building at one thirty in the morning replying to Spiderman on Twitter. If there was anyone, he liked to mess with more than Spiderman, it was his stans on Twitter.

Katsuki was eighteen when he was diagnosed with stage four cancer. It had come at a time in his life where he couldn’t have been happier. His high school life was at a constant climax. He was in advanced classes, had a good circle of what he thought were life-long friends, and was the top pick in his basketball team.

He reached his peak that spring before everything started to come crashing down. He’d been playing the most important game of his high school basketball career when he randomly passed out on the court and was driven to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. After a simple CT scan, it revealed that he had roughly four months to live.

His parents had been restless. They wouldn’t accept the idea of him wasting away without treatment, so he was enrolled into whatever clinical trial the hospital offered. It just so happened that they chose the shitstest one.

The deception started the moment they walked into the office to discuss it with the coordinator. They claimed that the patient outcome was positive and that the symptoms were fairly desirable compared to other trials.

Dabi waited a week before he killed Katsuki’s parents and started the real trial: genetic mutation. They weren’t hesitant to subject him to multiple forms of torture while he was strapped to his dirty hospital bed, and it had taken more than a few to awake his abilities.

When he had escaped from the fire unharmed due to his regeneration abilities, he screamed at the sky. Then he got his shit together. He learnt that the world thought his parents had died in a car accident and that he was living with his grandparents abroad after rejecting his inheritance of his parent’s fashion company.

After he slept in homeless shelters and visited food banks to get himself back on his feet and out of the mid-summer temperature, he was able to apply to the college he had dreamt of before his diagnosis: Yuuei.

From there, it was as if his months in the laboratory didn’t exist. He was accepted to Yuuei as a biochemistry major on a scholarship, something he assumed was purely because of his essay’s cancer sob story, and he didn’t have to worry about his graduation certificate because he had taken his GED in May so that he could focus on the clinical trial. Nobody questioned much about his cancer diagnosis because it was apparent that Dabi had erased everything he could down to the essential information, stating that his cancer wasn’t nearly towards stage four and that a simple surgery and chemo was all they needed to cure him.

The only difference was his investigations on the sidelines and his notes app detailing everyone who had been in contact with Dabi within the last six months. It hadn’t taken long for him to realize that if he wanted to keep his identity a secret from Dabi and refrain from the public finding out that the Bakugou’s son was a murderer, he’d need a suit. He would’ve laughed at how heroic it seemed if he hadn’t killed people whenever they had no information on Dabi.

His suit was fairly easy to make. His mom had always talked him through the steps of how to design clothing when he was a kid because of her fashion business. Despite the family clothing line, Katsuki was the type of person to go thrifting just to find clothing to modify and repurpose. He chose the color red because his mom had always complimented his complexion when he wore it. The memory made the decision for the color choice extremely easy.

The only con of having a suit was that the public had finally caught onto the culprit behind the frequent pattern of murders. Katsuki knew that it was immoral, but whenever his gun was planted against the head of an equally terrible man, his anger controlled him. Perhaps he was just upset at himself and projecting, but if that was the case, nobody needed to know.

Then he found himself on New York’s tallest building having a civil conversation with Spiderman, the vigilante who had overworked himself to make sure that Deadpool wasn’t adding to the tally he’s killed.

He would never admit it, but Katsuki admired the superhero (because that's what he was even if the public hadn’t dubbed him as it yet). Spiderman was so much better than him. He was able to look in the face of injustice and not pull the trigger and that was the difference between them. So, despite seeming reluctant about the “no killing ban” as Spiderman had put it, Katsuki didn’t truly mind it.

What troubled him more was the strength enhancers he spoke about because they were both in agreement that it had something to do with his regeneration. Of course, Spiderman didn’t really know how correct he was, but it wasn’t Katsuki’s fault that the man couldn't conceal his identity as well as him.

He already knew that he was a college student and that his friend was a computer science major. It wasn’t much, but Katsuki could probably narrow the suspects down quite a bit already. He decided there on that rooftop that he didn’t want to unless it was necessary. He preferred if they kept their lives separate and he respected Spiderman’s want for something similar as well.

What concerned him the most was the acronym AFO. He wouldn’t be surprised if the technology Spiderman’s dad made was the same prototype that caused him to mutate. He’d never heard anything about the meaning behind the acronym, but he’d watched from his strapped bed as the “doctors'' rolled carts of boxes with the same label on them.

His phone rang and the contact labeled ‘Eijirou’ popped up. Katsuki lifted his mask over his mouth so his voice wouldn’t be muffled.

“Hey Bakubro, where’re you at?” His roommate asked.

“None of your business.” Katsuki wasn’t deaf to the chatter that sounded through his phone. “Are you at a party right now, Shittyhair?”

Eijirou groaned, “You know as much as I get ‘Shittyhair’ is a term of affection you use and that you aren’t comfortable in your emotions to show affection otherwise, you don’t have to call me ‘Shittyhair’ all the time.”

Eijirou was the type of drunk to have heartfelt conversations over the phone and then forget all about it the next morning. However, it seemed to be his friend's lucky day because Spiderman had inspired him to turn over a new leaf.

“Do you need a ride back to campus, Eijirou?” Katsuki asked because if he couldn’t resort to affectionate name calling to show his love, he’d have to resort to acts of service.

“Yeah,” he said shyly, and Katsuki chuckled.

“This biology reading is so long,” Eijirou complained, his arms and back curved around the back of the chair and his eyes focused on Katsuki. He was sitting on his bed opposite the desk reading from the very same biology book. In his freshman year he had been relieved to have a friend in the same class. “My head is killing me.”

“That's what you get for getting wasted, dumbass.” He rolled his eyes, “You do this every week and are still surprised when you’re hungover the next morning.”

“You’re supposed to pity me.”

Katsuki shook his head and turned his attention to the news as they droned on about the recent tweets between Deadpool and Spiderman. He would pity Spiderman if they hadn’t already known this would happen. Plus, the green vigilante was the one to tweet him first. Katsuki wasn’t sure how Spiderman was a chemistry major when he was so fucking dense.

“-and you know, you have to question whether Spiderman will be a good influence for Deadpool or vice versa,” one of the news reporters said and as much as Katsuki despised the public in the present moment, he wasn’t surprised. He just hoped that Spiderman was prepared for his tank with public approval.

“Yeah, I agree, Monoma.” The other reporter concurred, “It begs the question as to whether the public can really trust Spiderman. To work with a man that's known for murdering multiple innocent people and having a temper? He’d have to have a pretty good reason for doing so.”

Katsuki scowled. As if the people he killed were innocent. Many were involved with Dabi and illegal actions. He had always hated the news for being fake. One moment the public preached that Spiderman was their hero and the next they were ready to gather the pitchforks and stakes.

Eijirou groaned, “Turn that shit off, that news channel is always so annoying.”

Katsuki had to agree. “Yeah, one moment they’re sucking Spiderman’s cock and the next they’re shitting on him.”

“I thought you hated Spiderman,” Eijirou raised his eyebrows. “You’re always calling me a nerd for being a fan.”

“I do, his webs are fucking stupid,” Katsuki argued. “I just hate fake news more.”

“Okay, man,” Eijirou said, but there was a certain disbelief to his voice. “How about we go to the gym?”

“Isn’t it a little early,” Katsuki shook his head. “Is this your way of procrastinating?”

“Maybe,” his friend grinned, “but I learnt a bit ago that exercising is supposed to help hangovers.”

“Is that what you learn in your kinesiology classes?”

“Mhm,” Eijirou answered and grabbed their dorm key. “The professor likes to give some tips.” Katsuki followed. There wasn't much to do besides homework, and he was bored.

"You know who I always see when you’re too tired to go this early in the morning?" He asked as they strolled through the hallway and passed through doors. Some were open, usually the social butterflies of the year. It wasn't unheard of for Katsuki to come back from his Deadpool investigations to their room door wide open and their friend group accompanied by a few randoms from their major. "Midoriya."

"Izuku?" He asked. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Are you kidding me? He’s jacked!" Eijirou whispered, "And he's in our biology class.”

“I thought he was a nerd?” Katsuki questioned because he didn’t really know much about the guy. He knew that they were both biochemistry majors and he had even interacted with Izuku a few times before, but nothing had ever caught his attention. That was, until yesterday when he abruptly left biology class after Katsuki had walked in late. He thought that the boy was staring at him too, but when he glanced over the nerd was focused on the lecture.

He also knew that everyone in his year thought Izuku was pretty no matter the way they swung, Katsuki included.

Eijirou shook his head, “Yeah that's what I thought at first too, but I’ve watched him bench four hundred pounds without a sweat. It reminds me of you and your crazy strength.”

Katsuki couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It wasn’t weird for someone to lift four hundred pounds, but it was weird that such a small nerd was able to as if it was nothing. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. He’s insanely smart too. He tutored me before exams last year."

"Is that why you suddenly understood everything?" Katsuki scowled. He had wondered why his roommate had done surprisingly well on their final exams.

Eijirou nodded sheepishly. "He's actually kind of popular, though he was definitely a lot more present last year. This year it feels like I never see him outside of classes or the gym."

Katsuki hummed. "He must be busy."

By the time they made it to the gym, Katsuki was able to see for himself that the nerd was lifting more than four hundred pounds without a spotter. It was rare that a college student was even able to lift that much so there weren't many people that could spot him.

Eijirou noticed him staring and added, "Dangerous, isn't it? I've heard he's been looking for someone to spot him, but nobody is able to lift that much so easily."

“Are you suggesting that I spot him?” Katsuki rolled his eyes.

“I would but you know I can’t lift that much,” Eijirou complained. “I owe him for helping me last year.”

Katsuki stared into his friend’s face.

“I’ll pay for your food for a week.”

His roommate nudged his elbow into his stomach.

“Fine.” Katsuki decided reluctantly despite having no real issue with spotting someone in need. It was pretty much his brand at this point to be a bit of an ass before agreeing.

He strolled over towards Izuku and when he looked at the boy's green eyes and hair, all he could think about was how perfectly they matched the green of Spiderman's suit. He scolded himself. He needed to distinguish his vigilante life and Katsuki's life better. If anything, however, the similarity made him confident enough to look into those pretty, determined green eyes with amusement. He knew that Izuku was what his year considered underrated in popularity, and they were correct. He had all the features to make a popular college sophomore.

Izuku squeaked in surprise that Katsuki could only assume was seeing his face randomly towering above the others, causing him to almost drop his four-hundred-pound bar onto his chest.

If not for his quick Deadpool reflexes, Katsuki was sure that Izuku would've been heavily injured if not killed. That was, until he noticed Izuku’s hand positioned over his own, somehow matching his own quick instincts. The other man was quick to move his hand as if Katsuki’s had burnt his own. "Oi, watch what you're doing. It's dangerous enough that you don't have a spotter."

Katsuki wasn't sure if it was because of the workout, the embarrassment, or their hands touching that caused Izuku's freckled cheeks to become flushed. "Ah sorry, Katsuki." He said before collecting his thoughts and scolding him. "You're the dumbass for sneaking up on me like that!"

"Guilty," Katsuki chuckled and observed Izuku’s face. He was quite enjoying the blush that spread across it. Katsuki was one to always take the bait, so it wasn't his fault that Izuku was so easy to tease. God, he was such a dick. "What's the highest you've benched?"

"Probably six hundred," Izuku answered, but sounded a little unsure. Katsuki could be wrong, but Izuku seemed a little dazed. He pushed it aside. It could have been from a variety of different things, whether that meant he was simply hungover or stressed. "I refrain from lifting that much when I don't have a spotter."

"Well now you do," he said as if Eijirou hadn't pushed him into doing it. Aside from the amusement he gained, he figured the least he could do was pay Izuku back for helping Eijirou out with exams. If not for his roommate, then for the peace he gained from not having to educate his friend himself. “And I want to see where your limits are.”

“He was lifting six fifty at one point.” Katsuki was still amazed hours later as they were frequenting their local corner grocery store near campus. It wasn’t surprising considering that the world record was somewhere around six thousand pounds for a back lift, but it was pretty shocking.

“I told you dude,” Eijirou said as he grabbed a carton of eggs. “You should ask him to spot you too.”

He was about to hum in agreement when his phone received a twitter notification. Eijirou sent him a confused glance. “Fucking Mina and her Twitter memes,” he lied. Katsuki opened the message to see that it wasn't another meme but was rather a message from a certain vigilante.

Spiderman 🕷 @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-man.
10 Following 2.2M Followers
_______________________________________________
Let's meet up tonight. I’ve got some information
on the enhancers.
10/29/22, 2:49 PM

Did you seriously break into a lab already?
10/29/22, 2:51 PM ✓

…
Villains work fast but I work faster.
10/29/22, 2:52 PM
_______________________________________________

Katsuki rolled his eyes. Of course, Spiderman would break into a lab in less than twenty-four hours. It was a reminder that he couldn’t underestimate the vigilante. There was a reason that the public usually adored him. He was fast, efficient, and had saved hundreds of people in a season’s time.

“I’m going out tonight, Eijirou,” he said as he pocketed his phone and lifted a case of water into the hand basket. Grocery shopping was the one aspect that made him regret going to Yuuei. The isles were drastically narrower, and the prices were much higher than outside the urban city.

“Have a date or something?” His roommate looked confused despite how often he would stay out late as Deadpool. Eijirou grinned sinisterly, “Did you ask Izuku out?”

“What?” His face felt hot.

“Oh, come on!” Eijirou sling his arm around his shoulder. “I saw you too together this morning. You had your award-winning charismatic smile that you always wear when you’re trying to woo someone. You two definitely hit it off.”

“Get off me,” Katsuki groaned. “I was trying to make a good first impression.”

Eijirou narrowed his eyes, “He was your partner for the biology project last year. You’ve already made your first impression.”

“Sue me for thinking he looks pretty.”

Katsuki was sure his face was as red as a tomato. He wasn’t good with emotions. He figured that being tortured for multiple months without any therapy did that to people. Katsuki was trying his best.

His roommate didn’t laugh, he fucking giggled. “I’m telling Mina and Denki.”

“Fuck off, Shittyhair.”

“No!” His friend panicked and started to apologize. “You made so much progress on my name!”

Katsuki was just glad his friend wasn’t a step closer to finding out he was Deadpool. Who knows what reaction would be produced?

“My friend thinks I have the hots for a classmate because of you,” Katsuki glared at Spiderman, not really caring for admitting he was also a college student.

If the vigilante caught on, which he was always observant enough to in the past, he didn’t draw any attention to it. Even with the mask covering his face, Katsuki knew that Spiderman was grinning and that his eyebrows were pulled in a teasing manner. “Well, do you?”

“If I wasn’t able to instantly regenerate, I’d jump off this building right now,” Katsuki glared.

“Too bad it's within my duties as your friendly neighborhood spider to save you,” Spiderman spoke a little louder against the wind. As the October nights were approaching November, he realized that both Spiderman and him would probably need jackets to brave the harsher winter weather. They were lucky that the weather was only dipping a bit under fifty so far.

Katsuki made his way towards Spiderman and allowed his legs to dangle off of the side of the building. He wasn’t sure why he subjected himself to a situation that caused his fear of heights to become so extreme. It was irrational considering he was sure that he’d regenerate, but Katsuki also wasn’t sure if there would be anything left for his body to regenerate if it was splattered against the ground after falling from the tallest building in New York.

His fears were only lessened knowing that if he did fall, Spiderman would surely catch him with his webs before letting his body fall to a possible demise.

Instead of allowing himself to zone out to the view of the city, he focused back on their conversation. “What did you find out about the enhancers?”

“Do you know what Epinephrine is?” Spiderman asked and passed the syringe to Katsuki.

“Yeah.” He observed the black liquid that remained at the bottom of the glass. “It's the scientific name for adrenaline.”

Spiderman seemed impressed. “As you probably know then, it's a stress hormone that triggers a fight or flight response otherwise known as an acute stress response. I found traces of it in the enhancers. I’ll need to run further tests, but I think it's safe to assume that Epinephrine is the leading hormone of the enhancers.”

“Shit.” Katsuki cursed. He was quick to pass the syringe back to the other vigilante. “High exposure to Epinephrine can cause serious health issues. Anxiety, depression, breathing problems, high blood pressure, seizures, excessive sweating. The list goes on. The side effects are a fucking bitch.”

“You say that as if you’ve had the experience yourself,” Spiderman says, and Katsuki can identify the concern in his tone.

And really, it's because Katsuki has. It was one of the first experiences Dabi had subjected him to. He was told that this method had normally worked for many of his previous patients. The acute stress response it provided did wonders to awake mutant abilities. Like all of the other torture methods up until the last one, it hadn’t proved to work on Katsuki.

He could still remember the long nights he would lay strapped against the bed struggling to fall asleep. He would excessively sweat, his heart racing in his chest. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he had gotten Pheochromocytoma to add to the total number of tumors in his body from the high doses he was given.

“It's not like I gained insane regeneration by myself,” he huffed, each breath reliving the long days of drowning and nights with limited oxygen. His eyes met the whites of Spiderman’s mask. “Don’t you have some horror story behind the spider powers.”

Spiderman shrugged, “I was bit by a radioactive spider. Thought I was going to die and didn’t.” The vigilante paused before looking up into his crimson mask. Katsuki had never wanted to know the color of his eyes more, to make eye contact with someone that could finally know a bit more about Deadpool. “Why were you subjected to high doses of Epinephrine?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it fully,” Katsuki said because he didn’t want to talk about the cancer that was still affecting him (which was truthfully shit at keeping up with his regeneration, because really, he thought it would have mutated enough by now) or speak about the torture he endured. Instead, he settled for, “but my regeneration stemmed from a stress-induced mutation. You can probably imagine what happened from there.”

“That's horrific,” Spiderman spat, his hands clenched into tight balls and Katsuki was sure that the force had embedded nail marks into his palms. Katsuki wasn’t sure of what to say, he wasn’t great with expressing his feelings. Instead, he found that his own hand moved on its own and brushed up against Spiderman’s. He was quick to break apart the stress. Then he let it go, reminding himself of the way Izuku was quick to move his hand earlier that day. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

He nodded, then decided that the atmosphere was too somber for his liking. “Did your computer science guy find anything?”

“He's not into computer science!” Spiderman laughed; Katsuki imagined that he was smiling. “And the situation has already been dealt with. I submitted the documents to Detective Tsukachi. The owner is probably on his way to being arrested for tax fraud and the lethal selling of strength enhancement drugs. They estimate he’ll be sentenced for at least fifteen years.”

“That's good,” Katsuki said. “And Detective Tsukachi?”

“Tsukachi’s like the only not corrupt detective. He does good work and has been very appreciative of my investigations into the strength enhancers.”

“So, he's one of the good ones. I’m sure if he wasn’t vouching for you the station would have disowned you for teaming with me.”

Spiderman groaned. “Everyone is at my throat because of it! I don’t understand why people can’t see that sometimes good people do bad things. It doesn’t mean that they aren't still good.”

“I’ve killed people before.”

“Yeah, but from my perspective it seems as though they instigated it. If the organization is willing to torture individuals into mutating, I can see how you got to that point even if it is bad.”

Katsuki stilled because Spiderman, Spiderman, thought that he was a good person. Despite everything he’d done wrong, the other was still willing to see the best in him; he was still willing to give him another chance.

“You know,” Katsuki smiled, “I was planning to sit around on patrols while I watched you do all the work.”

Katsuki didn’t need to see beneath the mask to know that Spiderman’s face had morphed from happiness to feigned anger. “I take back anything good I’ve ever said about you.”

“Does it make you feel better knowing that I’m going to try and raise public opinion of myself?”

“Really?” his head tilted. “How are you going to do that?”

Katsuki stood and offered his hand to Spiderman, “You wanted to get pizza, right?”

“Yeah, but I was really just trying to rial up Twitter,” he stood and hesitated before grabbing Katsuki’s hand. “How do you even get up here?”

Katsuki swallowed roughly. It wasn’t as if he was braving his fear of heights and scaling up the side of the building at midnight or anything. He wasn’t going to admit that part to Spiderman. “I have my ways.”

The vigilante furthered their contact, wrapping his green arms around Katsuki’s waist. “What are you-”

“You might want to hold on tight!” Spiderman yelled. If Katsuki had suspicions that the vigilante was secretly more sadistic than the public knew, he wouldn’t have wrapped his arms around him.

There were only a few seconds between Spiderman’s warning and the moment they were slinging off of the tallest building of New York. Katsuki was sure that they were plummeting to their death despite the strand of web that connected them to the next building. He honestly wasn’t sure how such a thin string didn’t snap under the stress of their combined weight.

“Relax, Deadpool, I’ve got you!” Spiderman yelled over the wind, his arms pressingly tighter against his waist. Katsuki realized that he was basically strangling Spiderman’s neck and released slightly.

“I’m afraid of heights,” Katsuki whispered into his neck, Spiderman’s enhanced senses allowing him to hear it. He wasn’t sure if he was trembling from the cold or his fear.

“Shit, really?” Spiderman tightened his hold even more if that was possible, his thumb rubbing in a constant vertical motion. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”

Katsuki would almost feel embarrassed if he wasn’t so afraid. He wasn’t even sure why, it's not as if he could actually die with his regeneration. Instead of focusing on the chant inside his head, he looked over Spiderman’s shoulder and zeroed in on the lights strung across the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance or the distant sound of sirens in between the frequent sound of honking from the traffic below them.

He looked nearby as Central Park was lit with streetlamps and flourished with green; watched as taxis moved through the roads looking for people that waved on the sidewalks; noticed that in the distance the dorms at Yuuei still had lights in the windows while others were dark; passed through Times Square where civilians gawked at the two vigilantes together. Throughout it all, Katsuki could only really find it beautiful. There was a specific beauty in fear.

When the two had finally made their way to the ground, Katsuki couldn’t be more relieved despite the beauty of the city. He was quick to catch his breath.

“Are you okay-”

Katsuki weakly punched him in the arm, “Y’know when I realized you were gonna get us to the ground, I thought maybe you’d just lower us slowly!”

Spiderman had the audacity to chuckle, “Sorry, Pool.”

Any anger he felt dissipated at the nickname, “Pool?”

“Y-yeah, it's easier because it's only one syllable,” Spiderman mumbled, flustered.

Katsuki felt the smile crawl onto his face, “Okay, Web-head.”

“Hey!” Spiderman grumbled. “You couldn’t have come up with anything else?”

“How about Wall-crawler?”

“Arachnid?’

“Oh, I’ve got it!” Spiderman was definitely scowling beneath the mask and Katsuki loved it. “How about Spidey?”

“Let's just get some pizza before the cart closes,” Spiderman grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a patio decorated with string lights, tables, and trees. Really, it was less of a cart and more of a small shop in an alley between street stores.

“What would you like to order-” The front waitress asked before stopping once she realized that instead of regular customers, Spiderman and Deadpool were ordering pizza in the middle of the night. “Holy shit you guys weren’t joking on Twitter?”

Spiderman chuckled, then leaned in as if Katsuki couldn’t hear him, “Deadpool is really taking me on a date.”

He rolled his eyes as the girl squealed before stopping halfway through to regain her composure. “What toppings would you like to get?”

“Whatever you think is best,” Spiderman encouraged. Katsuki was regretting his promise to win over public approval. He wasn’t sure how the other did it. Bystanders were snapping photos of the two and he could already see the trending page: SpiderPool.

When their pizza was done and the waitress was done gawking at them, Spiderman approached a table before Katsuki stopped him.

“We should eat somewhere else. Twitter already has enough to obsess over for now,” he grunted because he knew that meant going somewhere high and far away which meant heights.

“Are you camera shy, Pool?” Spiderman teased but obliged. “I know a rooftop we can go to, it's close and the owner let me decorate a bit of the top as thanks for saving her wife.”

“I’ll hold the pizza,” he grumbled and allowed himself to be held tight against Spiderman. This time Katsuki noticed how muscular they were for how his build looked. Spiderman wasn’t small for any reason, but well, he was objectively small relative to Katsuki. He guessed that Spiderman was around five eight in comparison to his six three height.

Spiderman was less chaotic this time, probably after realizing he had a fear of heights, so Katsuki couldn’t really complain on the way to the rooftop balcony that was indeed decorated with warm lighting, plants, and couches. A few things hung from the railing, including a lesbian, a bisexual, and a Black Lives Matter flag. Katsuki decided then that this was a pretty cozy place to eat.

“What toppings did the waitress add?” Spiderman asked as they sat comfortably on the couches. One moment he was looking down at the pizza and noticing sausage and pepperoni when the next he looked back up to see the bottom of Spiderman’s mask lifted above his nose.

The first thing he noticed wasn’t Spiderman’s perfect nose or his lips that seemed to naturally curve into a resting smile. Instead, his eyes dialed in on the hundreds of freckles that littered his face.

“What?”

“You just have so many freckles,” he said before playing it nonchalantly and offering Spiderman a slice of the pizza. He was only slightly surprised at the vigilante willingness to uncover the lower half of his face. Of course, he had expected it whenever they agreed to have pizza together, but it was still a bit of a shocker.

“I don’t really have any interesting features,” he said and hesitantly raised his own mask. Katsuki didn’t have the freckles that complimented his skin or a welcoming smile. It was quite the opposite really. He had a nasty resting bitch face which was definitely not welcoming.

“It’s memorable though,” Spiderman said through bites of pizza. Katsuki’s face felt a little flustered. “Your jawline is sharp; it fits your personality.”

Katsuki wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult, so he just hummed in acceptance. “So, what's the plan from here on out?”

“Our first step is protecting the city. The people come first,” Spiderman empathized that last point. “You don’t need to patrol by yourself, but if you have time text me or something and we can meet up.”

“What about the strength enhancers?” He asked and ate another bite of the pizza. He wasn’t sure what made it taste so much better in New York, but it was an undeniable fact.

“It's really just a waiting game until they attack again. I don’t have any idea where they’re located so we have to wait for them to come for us.”

“Okay, I’ll investigate a bit too, maybe find a few people connected to Dabi.”

Spiderman gave him a look.

“I won’t kill anyone, you have my word,” he said reluctantly. Spiderman smiled.

“Do you want to take the remaining pizza with you?” The green vigilante questioned and Katsuki was quick to decline.

“I think your computer science guy deserves a reward for their quick work.”

“Pool!” Katsuki was compensated with a slice of pizza to the face, but instead of being mad, he could only chuckle. “Now I have to sneak into my college laundry room and get this stain out.”

“You’re a college student too?” Spiderman seemed intrigued and Katsuki didn’t blame him. It was probably the first major information he knew aside from how his jaw looked, which wasn’t much. “I mean I assumed before because of your comment but this is direct information!”

He nodded. “And before you ask, no, I’m not going to tell you my major. I’m not that stupid.”

“Fine,” Spiderman groaned. “You’re lucky I haven’t made my computer science guy find out more about you. He even wanted to, but I think you deserve your privacy.”

Katsuki decided to ignore the warming bit at the end in favor of a little chaos. “So now you admit you have a computer science guy?!”

Spiderman’s lips curled into a smile, one he could see without the mask covering it up, “Fuck off.”

“Your wish is my command,” Katsuki said, free falling two stories down with a dramatic exit. He was afraid of heights, but two floors wasn’t enough to create too much. It hadn’t taken more than a couple of seconds to regenerate enough that the pain was already gone and he was walking down shadowed streets back to Yuuei. The entire way back, he schemed ways to tease Spiderman and how to improve his public image. He was happy to say he’d done just that.

Deadpool 🔫 @isurvivedthedeadpool
Can I win public approval by giving Spiderman
crumbs?
3:56 PM • 30 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
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176 Retweets 2,986 Quote Tweets 14k Likes
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|
Deadpool 🔫 @isurvivedthedeadpool
Replying to @isurvivedthedeadpool
Spiderman is a chemistry major.
4:11 PM • 30 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
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697 Retweets 6,122 Quote Tweets 24k Likes
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|
Spiderman 🕷 @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
Replying to @isurvivedthedeadpool
You are the worst.
5:25 PM • 30 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
—--------------------------------------------
932 Retweets 4,783 Quote Tweets 26k Likes
—--------------------------------------------

Chapter Text

The rest of that weekend was relatively boring for Spiderman as far as vigilante things go. For Izuku, however, it was far from lackluster. He went to the gym that Sunday to find Katsuki there for the second day in a row, waiting for him by the bench press. He tried not to blush when their hands would brush up against each other or when Katsuki’s deep amber eyes stared into his.

Izuku wasn’t sure why the blond heartthrob had randomly decided to spot him, but he would accept whatever the gods gave him because it was a blessing. This time he watched as Katsuki’s arms contracted, his muscle shirt exposing his arms. Even if Izuku wanted to flex his own, he was always forced to wear shirts with long sleeves to cover up his scars from being Spiderman.

It was later that day that Deadpool exposed his major to the world. Izuku hadn’t known until Shoto hurriedly ran into their dorm to show him. Honestly, he thought it was kind of funny. It fit in with Deadpool's sense of humor. Shoto seemed to disagree.

“Are you sure he's trustworthy?” Izuku couldn’t blame him. He’d act in a similar way if the roles were reversed. “How does he even know that?”

“It may have slipped,” he said sheepishly.

“Izuku…”

He turned in his wheely chair, eyes catching Shoto’s famous deadpan. “I know, but you know me. How do you think you found out?”

His friend's hand dragged down his face. “The world chose the worst Spiderman.”

“Deadpool’s fine,” Izuku said, focusing back on his schoolwork. “It's really my fault.”

“If you say so,” Shoto sighed and sat at the desk beside his own, clicking on a few documents. "I did some digging into Katsuki."

Izuku brightened, rolling his chair next to Shoto. Displayed were fragments of his information. "Katsuki Bakugou, age nineteen and born in Manhattan. I’m not sure what you know about fashion, but his parents were popular in the business. They died in a car crash a little over a year ago.”

“What happened to the business?” Izuku questioned. He had known that Katsuki was part of the Bakugou line, it was all that anyone ever mentioned when it came to the blond, but as a kid he never got the chance to escape Goodwill. His family wasn't poor, but living with city rent was enough to make them stick to thrifting. Honestly, he knew nothing about fashion.

"He declined the inheritance," Shoto squinted with surprise. "Apparently it went to the Toga family. The mother was an advisor of the company and became the CEO after Katsuki rejected it. Then, it seems as if Katsuki just disappeared for a few months. It looks as though there's been some tampering with his record, but I couldn’t find anything as to how.”

“Interesting,” Izuku clicked his pen repeatedly. There wasn’t much he could do to rationalize Katsuki’s disappearance. Was it possible that he was more involved than Izuku originally thought? It was sketchy for Katsuki to abandon his parent’s fashion line, especially if they meant anything to him. He needed more information. “Can you look into the Toga family next?

“Yeah,” Shoto nodded, “it might take a while though. I’ve got a couple of exams coming up.”

“Same,” Izuku groaned. “Don’t worry about having it done immediately. There might be some information I can find as Spiderman.”

“Let me know anything, it might make the process faster.”

Izuku nodded and turned to Twitter. His fans were still raving about him being a chemistry major and congratulating him for balancing his college life and superhero life. Others were questioning if Deadpool knew his real identity and vice versa. A select few mentioned Halloween, pinging him through tweets or direct messages and asking if he was going to be patrolling that night or if he was going to be joining the trick-or-treating fun.

He investigated one fan account with roughly forty thousand followers and liked the tweet. When Izuku was Spiderman, he was nothing if not chaotic. It was always amusing to watch the fans gawk over interactions.

Alien Queen 👽👑 @luvspidey_webs
SPIDEYPOOL HALLOWEEN?
6:13 AM • 31 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
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29 Retweets 12 Quote Tweets 4k Likes
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Deadpool 🔫 @isurvivedthedeadpool
Two fists, two swords, and a total badass.
34 Following 299k Followers
_____________________________________________________
Villains work fast but I work faster.
🕷 10/29/22, 2:52 PM ✓

I have an idea to help public opinion.
🕷 10/31/22, 7:36 AM ✓

What's it Spidey?
10/31/22, 7:49 AM 🔫

You. Me. Halloween.
🕷 10/31/22, 7:50 AM ✓

If you wanted to see me, you
could’ve just asked.
10/31/22, 7:50 AM 🔫

(Θ︹Θ)ს
🕷10/31/22, 7:51 AM ✓

Relax, I’m in. See you tonight.
10/31/22, 7:51 AM 🔫
_____________________________________________________

Spiderman 🕷 @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
Replying to @luvspidey_web
...
7:57 AM • 31 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
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115 Retweets 345 Quote Tweets 13k Likes
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|
Uravity @och_spidertingle
Replying to @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
@luvspidey_web MINA??
8:01 AM • 31 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
—-------------------------------------------
|
Alien Queen 👽👑 @luvspidey_webs
Replying to @och_spidertingle
OMG??
8:01 AM • 31 Oct 22 • Twitter for Iphone
—-------------------------------------------

Izuku couldn’t wait to see all the children trick-or-treating within the next few hours and was maybe even excited to see how many of them would dress up as Spiderman and even Deadpool. He remembered how special the occasion was to him as a child or how emotional he would get in years that he couldn’t go out to collect the candy from everyone in his smaller town. Not only was it a way to create a sense of community, but it was also a night for creativity. Children were able to dress up as their favorite superheroes and some were even allowed to dig into their mother’s makeup bags just for the occasion.

Overall, it was a magical night for every kid that participated, and he wanted to carry that tradition for New York City. He wanted to be there to protect it, and who was he to deny a little costume fun with Deadpool? It was another perfect opportunity to create more of a bond between the two to ensure their partnership, and he’d be able to lecture him about revealing his college major to the whole of Twitter.

Izuku couldn’t believe how time was flying, almost already closer to their third round of exams before the finals in early December. He couldn’t wait for the month break between semesters to completely focus his time into Spiderman, although he wasn’t sure if the villain activity would increase considering they knew he was a college student, or if it would decrease all together.

His college dorm was somewhat still now, with Shoto interested in his computer hacking and himself concentrated with planning for Halloween and nostalgia. He flopped on his bed; his side of their room completely covered in green decorations. The color had always been his favorite seeing as it matched so perfectly with his eyes and hair. There wasn't a better one.

Looking over his room allowed him the first sense of peace he had since being bit by the mutated spider. Izuku had keepsakes from everywhere he and his mom had traveled. Everything from popular beaches to random camping sites that are unique because of their attached lakes. It had only been a couple days since he texted his mom, but he realized that he really missed her.

There was clicking from Shoto's pencil: a sign he was deep in thought, "What is your plan with Deadpool?"

"Hm?" Izuku asked.

"I mean," he started, spinning in his desk chair, "I know he's probably connected to your father's death, but why are you actively going out of your way to befriend him more than necessary?"

Izuku paused for a moment. He assumed Shoto was bringing this up because of his Halloween plan. He thought hard and long for a couple of seconds, “Shoto, there is always a motive behind someone’s actions. Even the worst bullies only act that way because they’re insecure of themselves, right? There is always a reason, and I’m curious to know more about Deadpool’s reason. I mean, I know some of his backstory, but I want to know more.”

He knew Deadpool wanted revenge, but was that really it? Sure, there were probably hundreds of other reasons, but part of Izuku figured it was to save other patients from experiencing the same torture he went through.

“You’re too good for this world,” Shoto sighed, “No wonder you’re such a successful spiderman.”

Izuku smirked, which his friend saw from the corner of his eye.

Then, a pillow was chucked at him, though his spider senses didn’t alert him to the threat. Traitor.

“Isn’t it about time for you to go for your daily gym spotting with Katsuki?”

Izuku jerked up and rushed to find his shoes. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to go there just to see those amber, red eyes again.

“Katsuki, that's dangerous!” He yelled from across the gym and strode over to the bench press as quickly as he could. There, the blond was benching five hundred pounds without a spotter and looked attractive doing it too. Sweat made its way to his blonde locks and slicked most of it back to reveal all of his facial features. It drew Izuku’s eyes down to his neck which strained against the weight, and he could only imagine hickeys all along his perfect skin-

His spider sense drew him away from his incredibly out of control fantasies and back into the current presence. They were more desperate this time, instead of the gentle sensation that distracted him the first time Katsuki came to spot him. This time there were sharp points of his vision which became distorted.

He was quick to grab the bar, not caring that his hands were embraced around Katsuki’s or that he was now overlooking the blonde with very evident worry and concern. If he hadn’t, there was a chance the other would have been crushed by the bar. “What the hell are you thinking?”

There was a smirk along the other’s face despite his lifting error, and then a small wink that sent butterflies to his chest, “If you wanted to hold my hand, you could have simply asked, Izuku.”

There was that flirting again, the words that made his stomach uneasy and his cheeks flustered. It had only been a couple days since they started spotting each other, but he was already attached. He knew it was all part of his Spiderman mission to get closer to the blonde, but couldn’t he bask in Katsuki’s attractiveness while he was at it?

“Maybe I do want to hold your hand, I think you’re all bark and no bite, Katsuki,” Izuku smirked. He thinks his Spiderman persona is rubbing off on him, he was never this bold. There's just something about Katsuki that reminds him of the banter he has with Deadpool.

This time, he was able to see a faint pink course make its way to Katsuki’s cheeks as he became flustered.

“I am not all bark and no bite,” he scowled lightheartedly despite both of them knowing that was the truth. As much as he liked to curse and act all tough, Izuku was beginning to see what he hadn’t during their few assignments as partners last year. Behind every joke was something genuine.

Katsuki stood, abusing his power of height against Izuku and sending a wave of anxiousness down his spine. The blonde leaned in closer, to a point their lips were almost touching, “With the way you were blushing the other day when I simply brushed my fingers against yours, I doubt you’d be able to handle that.”

He was a little stunned, and incredibly flustered. If he was alone right now, he would probably squeal. Katsuki raised his hand towards Izuku’s cheek and rubbed it gently. “You’re already so warm, are you sure you’d want to hold my hand? I don’t think you can take it.”

Izuku’s breath hitched. This was the furthest Katsuki had ever taken his teasing. Between that and his spider senses blaring loudly in his ear from their close proximity, he felt as though he was going to faint.

“Stop that,” he stuttered as he felt himself becoming overwhelmed with butterflies, and in all honesty, he didn’t want the blonde to stop.

“Stop what, Izuku?” The blonde smirked. He wanted to hear his name repeated from Katsuki’s lips over and over again like a mantra. And to him, this was all probably some joking way of teasing Izuku. Katsuki had no idea how it was actually affecting him.

“Being so goddamn charming and flirty!” He groaned to allow some of his emotions out of their bottle and face planted into Katsuki’s chest.

Katsuki chuckled at the other’s embrace, “How about you start with my number? That way we can let each other know when we’re at the gym and share notes between classes.”

“I think I might like that,” he agreed, and part of him tried to make some fantasy out of it. He thought of Katsuki giving it to him out of romantic intentions instead of purely friendship. Maybe he had been developing a crush on the sophomore heart throb. Maybe it was a bad idea. For the moment he would justify his crush as acting in order to get closer to Katsuki to get information about why his spider senses went off around him. Truely, only time would tell which situation was true.

He was also starting to worry about when he’d have the time to ever do his homework or study before their third exam rounds. None of that seemed to matter as he took in Katsuki’s cologne which had both notes of caramel and wood that lured him into a prolonged embrace.

“I got Katsuki’s number!” Izuku yelled as he entered his dorm room in a rushed state, his cheeks still flustered from the overwhelming attack of Katsuki’s flirting.

Shoto looked slightly concerned, “Aren’t you supposed to be focused on your mission of gathering his information?”

“Well, I’m starting to think that maybe my Spidey senses are just ringing so loudly because he's actually my true love,” Izuku said, but he wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. Man, he really got swooned, didn’t he?

“Izuku, that is the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Shoto sighed, but watched as Izuku bounced off the walls having received Katsuki’s number, “but if it really makes you that happy then I’m sure it’s fine.”

Izuku cheered, “Best friend approval, best friend approval,” and he jumped onto his bed as excited as his five-year-old self was whenever a new All Might comic collection came out.

Shoto rolled his eyes, “I think you need to go back to the gym, why do you have all this energy?”

Izuku shrugged and embraced the slip of paper with groups of digits that were Katsuki’s before his mind became more focused, “What will I do about all the scars on my arms? How am I supposed to conceal them forever if I end up going on dates with Katsuki?”

At first, there had only been a few here and there. His worst one was when he was taking down a street thug twice his size when he originally became spiderman in the spring. The day after he was bit by the spider that gave him his powers, he gained instant strength, and his body became more fit than he had ever dreamed of. Though without his trips to the gym, he wasn’t able to home in on that strength like he has now. During that fight he overestimated his ability and took a gash of the thug’s knife, leaving his first ever scar placed just above his bicep. After that, there were plenty more and he was certain there would always be more to come in the future.

“Well at least it’s fall, and you’ll have a justifiable reason to wear long sleeves until spring next year,” Shoto reminded.

“But what if we have sex!” Izuku whispered, as if the word was dangerous despite his fantasies earlier.

“I don’t know,” Shoto groaned for what felt like the one hundredth time that day, “Just don’t have sex, abstinence you know?”

“But what if I want to have sex?”

An eye roll.

“I feel like this isn’t a conversation you’d have with me, talk to Ochaco about this.”

“But you’re my best friend, Shoto! Ochaco doesn’t know I’m Spiderman.”

“Just wear lingerie overtop and turn the lights off.”

Izuku was genuinely considering this, “But what if I want to see him with lights on?”

“This is one of the many reasons superheroes shouldn’t have relationships.”

“No, Shoto, don’t put your headphones on!” He cried, but it was already too late, and his roommate seemed done with his questions. He realized then and there that maybe this was something he’d have to ask Deadpool about. He was sure that the other superhero would know considering all of his sexual jokes and he was really the only other person that knew he was spiderman.

He’d have to give Shoto a pop tart for breakfast tomorrow morning for putting up with his shenanigans.

“Nucleophilic substitution reactions have mechanisms where a leaving group leaves and is replaced by the nucleophile. In the concerted reaction, the nucleophile attacks the back of the molecule, resulting in an inverted structure and the leaving group to leave.”

Izuku squinted at his textbook. Man, after class he needed to start reading this week's chapter. It was only Monday, so he figured he should give himself a break, but the professor's words started to mesh in his mind. He was quick to add to his notes, including a picture of what the inverted structure would look like. Organic chemistry and Spiderman at the same time was a rare hell he wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

“For the multistep reaction, the leaving group is first to leave as the slow step and the nucleophile attacks during the fast step.”

He watched his teacher put the line angle mechanism on the board and surveyed the room. He spotted Ochaco and reminded himself to ask about a study group after the class. She was only a biology major, but she had chosen to take organic chemistry instead of physics. Any biochemistry major had to take both.

After what felt like an eternity and a few spider tingles towards Katsuki, they were finally dismissed by their professor with a reminder to complete the practice problems at the end of the textbook’s chapter as their homework for this week, as well as a quiz that was due before their third exam next week.

They all thanked the professor for the lesson, and Izuku made his way to Ochaco. They were both lab partners for the chemistry class, so approaching her wasn’t too difficult despite his usual anxiety.

“Hey! I was wondering if you planned on making a study group before the exam.”

Izuku was definitely doing this because he needed to study and because he needed more information on Katsuki, not for any other crush-like reason. Nope, definitely not.

“Oh yeah!” She smiled, Ochaco was always kind. “I completely forgot to organize one before the exam, thanks for reminding me, Izuku! Is there a specific time that works best for you? You’re like a god when it comes to organic chemistry and I’m sure your presence would help a lot of us out who are struggling a little.”

Despite Izuku’s humble personality, part of his ego did rise a bit whenever he thought about how well he had been doing in organic chemistry. To be fair, his entire class had been killing it with a test average around 80% percent in comparison to the professor's other class that had a failing average. He himself had yet to receive a horrible exam grade. He just hoped that this study group would buff the limited time he had to study recently, preoccupied with his Spiderman duties.

“Maybe we could do this upcoming Thursday and the Tuesday after it before the exam on Wednesday? I don’t mind whatever time, probably just after classes.”

“Sure, that sounds great! I’ll message everyone to invite them!”

“Okay! I’ll see you then!”

"What should I do if I want to have sex with someone, but I have battle wounds from being Spiderman?" He asked, his bunny ears peeking over his Spiderman suit.

"Shit," Deadpool sighed, "No 'Hey! Happy Halloween' first?"

"Sorry it's just that my computer science guy won't help me, and you make sexual jokes all the time, so I figured you were that kind of friend."

"Friend?" Deadpool smirked. The closest thing to a Halloween costume he could find were werewolf ears that seemed to be the perfect expression of him actually perking up at the mention of their supposed friendship. "Does this person know you're Spiderman?"

"No of course not!"

He chuckled, "Well it's hard to know considering I've found out a lot of shit in only a couple of days."

"Shut up," Izuku rolled his eyes. "They haven’t even asked me on a date yet, but I have to think of the logistics before I offer. Are you going to help me out or not?"

"You know you should just have sex with me," Deadpool teased, "then it wouldn't matter, and you could use your webs in bed all you want."

"I'm starting to think you have a bondage kink," Izuku groaned.

"So what if I do, are you kink shaming?"

"Can you just get to the point?" He cried.

Deadpool sighed and looked towards the horizon, "Well if this is someone you genuinely care about, or even see yourself loving in the future, maybe you shouldn't have a deep relationship involving sex with them until you've told them about your vigilante persona."

"You're right," he sighed. He had no idea how he was going to realistically date Katsuki with such a huge secret weighing down on him. There would be guilt, secrets that he could not include Katsuki in. He was pretty sure that the boy was innocent despite his spider senses, but he also wasn’t sure he could fully trust him yet. What if he was involved in AFO somehow? There was so much to think about and barely any time between his stacked schedules. "How about we focus on Halloween?"

"It starts soon, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t we start patrolling or something?” Deadpool asked as if he didn’t know what time Halloween started.

Izuku gasped, “When was the last time you went trick-or-treating?”

“Not since I was a young teen, I probably stopped when I was fourteen or fifteen,” he said, nonchalantly as if it wasn’t the biggest news to Izuku ever.

“Are you serious?!” There was an intimidated nod, “Fuck patrolling, we’re going trick-or-treating.”

“Yeah?” Deadpool chuckled, “I didn’t know you were this passionate about Halloween.”

“It’s a time where every kid can dress up however, they want and be whoever they want to be! They can dress like a superhero, a princess, someone from their favorite book, you name it,” he poked Deadpool in the arm, “And someone hasn’t been slacking on their gym days, so you might as well indulge in a little treat.”

He pulled out his phone and wrapped an arm around Deadpool, drawing him closer into the camera frame of his phone. Despite not planning their costume ears, the bunny and wolf that they wore went perfectly together as a duo costume dynamic.

“Is this going on Twitter?” Deadpool asked, “This is the perfect scheme for raising my public approval.”

Izuku paused, then remembered Deadpool’s degree revealing shenanigans, “About that, when I said ‘Hey Deadpool, try to raise public opinion’ that didn’t mean tell the entire world that I’m a chemistry major in college! Do you know how many villains are going to try and do their crime during my college lectures? I already have limited time for exam studying and homework, and now I have to deal with leaving in the middle of lectures too?”

Deadpool simply chuckled, and from their proximity, his hand reached to gently grasp his chin, his fingers gently rubbing in a slow back-and-forth motion, “I think you can handle it.”

Izuku panicked internally, swatting Deadpool’s hand away. It was simply a scheme to get him less frustrated by the bad public approval move. Either way, he was so incredibly conflicted between the flirting of Katsuki versus Deadpool. Izuku assumed Deadpool was simply more comfortable around Spiderman as they became partners, leading him to be more comfortable flirting in increasing ways.

Spiderman went to his only form of non-violent defenses: webbing Deadpool’s mouth shut.

“Listen, you need to cool it on the flirtatious remarks or actions until I figure out if I’m pursuing a relationship with this boy.”

Spiderman reluctantly posted their selfie to Twitter so everyone would get a sense of what they looked like so they could be easily identifiable in case other teenagers tried to dress up as Spiderman and Deadpool as a way of impersonation.

Deadpool groaned, then teased, “Alright, fine, sue me for trying to get that web bondage kink sorted out.”

Izuku sighed, he was seriously starting to regret being so tolerable.

“Spiderman! Look Dad, it’s Spiderman!!” A boy called, running over himself just to stop at the feet of Izuku before hugging his legs.

Izuku was melting, an image of himself dressed as All Might during one Halloween seemed to flash back in his mind. It was probably halfway through the night, their bags almost entirely full of candy from multiple parents providing buckets full of candy for their service. While he expected a few kids to dress as Spiderman for Halloween, he didn’t think it would have been so many, some even sporting a Deadpool costume.

“Hey bud!” He crouched down to be on the kids' level, “Are you enjoying Halloween?”

“Yup!” he started excitedly, showing off his collection of candy. Izuku noticed he seemed to be weary of Deadpool and gently ushered the man towards him.

“We’re giving out candy of our own!” Izuku enthused. It was another pay cut he would have to make from his grocery shopping, but it was well worth it. Deadpool crouched beside him, offering candy to the child.

This wasn’t just a show of peace to the boy, but the entire public as a whole. What better way to increase public opinion than to show kindness to society’s youngest? This image was crucial, and he wouldn’t be surprised if it appeared in newspapers, tv, and social media. Deadpool's behavior was extremely important, down to even the micro actions.

“My father warns that you're a scary man.” The kid announced, and he watched the father hesitate behind him, probably hoping that Deadpool wouldn’t shoot them both from that statement.

The vigilante made direct eye contact with the boy, then the father, “I know there will never be enough apologies to give, but I hope there will be a day people come to realize that I’m trying to be better as I work with Spiderman.”

Izuku actually felt his heart warm a little. He had done this. Brought a violent vigilante towards someone willing to be better. Sure, Deadpool still had his loose morals, and he couldn’t do much to change that, but this was a step towards the right solution. Working together instead of in opposition.

“Okay!” The boy understood, grabbing a handful of candy from their bucket.

The rest of their night had been relatively successful, with Deadpool rephrasing his statement towards anyone who had second guessed his involvement with spiderman. When they made it back to their common meeting place atop the tower, Izuku couldn’t help but feel as though something was wrong.

“That felt too easy.”

“I’m just naturally charming, I can convince anyone.” Deadpool confidently stated.

Izuku rolled his eyes, “Not the public stunt, that was bound to work whether you were charming or not.”

“Then what?”

“There were no attacks. Sure, we were trick-or-treating, but I was still keeping my eye and senses out for any other villain attacks,” Izuku pondered. “Doesn’t it feel too quiet?”

Deadpool brushed it off, “I think you’re paranoid. We should take this as a win.”

He stared off into the horizon, stars littering the night sky. Deadpool's reassurance did nothing to keep his anxiety at bay. Something was happening, even if he couldn’t tell what.

The day after Halloween had been relatively okay. He had a physics lecture and lab, had waved to Katsuki at some point during both, and had gotten dinner before turning towards his Spiderman obligations.

The only downside to his day was the thin fabric of his suit as the weather was starting to become noticeably colder. He wasn’t sure if it was the early November temperature or his lackluster sleep, but he felt as though he was a bit more sluggish. Luckily there were a few hours before the sun set that would allow for a bit of warmth.

Izuku sat atop an apartment building and focused on his surroundings. He didn’t hear any screams, but he did notice the sounds of sirens in East Manhattan. The wind that pushed against him as he swung through the city muffled his senses, but he was able to follow police cars towards their destination: First Republic Bank.

As Spiderman, he had encountered robbers a few times in the past. Usually, it was only a small group of thieves with hopes of paying their loans or putting food on the table, but as he lowered himself to the ground, he realized that there were never as many cops as there were now. A row of cars lined the front of the bank, and a pair of snipers were in the windows of neighboring buildings.

He jogged towards detective Tsukachi. Ever since making his presence known in the city, the police had been fairly cooperative with his efforts. Despite their corruption, there was nothing they could do when public opinion was in his favor and Tsukachi was one of his main advocators.

“Detective Tsukachi,” he greeted, “what's the status?”

“We’ve got a hostage situation. We’ve tried to negotiate, but the robber doesn’t want to speak with us,” he sighed. “He's asking for you, Spiderman.”

He stilled, his senses tingling at the back of his skull. Izuku was really starting to regret becoming Spiderman. Never in a million years did he think becoming a helpful vigilante would put such a target on his back. Reluctantly, he wondered if crime was ever this bad or if he was the one encouraging it. It felt as if the villains took it as more of a challenge than a threat.

“-you aren’t some police negotiators, you’re a kid,” Detective Tsukachi proclaimed, half of it cut off by the rampant stream of his thoughts. “No one's forcing you to do this.”

He thought about his mother. What would she say if she knew he was purposefully walking into a hostage situation?

“Spiderman!”

It was a yell from the crowd, trembling in distress. He turned to look at the faces of mothers who were pleading and groups of friends who had recklessly gathered around the site because they knew someone who had been taken hostage. The voices echoed in tune with his senses.

“Officer Kaniyashiki, you’ll be the negotiator for this situat-”

On the contrary, there was a different thought echoing throughout his mind. What would his mother say if he looked into the faces of those in need and declined their call for help?

“Actively listen, be empathetic, create rapport, influence,” Izuku said as if dealing with hostage situations were as easy as that. It wasn’t as if he looked hostage situations up in advance knowing a day like this would come. “I’ll do it. The chance of success is higher if I come as requested.”

“You’re sure?”

Izuku was honestly starting to believe that this situation was a lot more fucked because everyone looked at him in pity. He simply nodded. He promised to protect the city and some good could come from investigating someone dedicated enough to take hostages just to speak to him.

“I’ll get down to the bottom of this!” He yelled before swinging over the barricade of cop cars and jumping onto the roof to look for vents. Upon finding one, he was quick to crawl into it, his spider senses guiding him towards the peaks of a whistle throughout the dark vents.

Down below, he could hear the whimpers of small children, the chattering of teeth in fear, and the quiet steps of the robber. They weren't careless like many of the new criminals before, another indicator that this robber was much different than the ones he had fought in the past. These steps were practiced, purposely quiet in comparison to the rest.

He crawled his way towards the grate and peeked inside, ducking as some pedestrians praying to the ceiling noticed his red costume through the seams. Izuku was quick to put a single finger to his mouth in a quieting motion.

"I know you're up there, Spiderman!"

Izuku was fast to remove the grate, "And here I crawled the entire way through the ventilation system as a surprise only to have it spoiled."

As if he had only just escaped a gruesome fire, the criminal's face was covered in what could be considered third or even fourth-degree burns. Izuku knew these to actually be skin graft scars, proving how horribly he was burnt.

Izuku dropped down to the floor, causing the few hostages that didn't see him prior to gasp.

"Perhaps you should consider being more empathetic when you continue to spoil all of our plans," the man turns further to face Izuku, his smile menacing. "It's only fair, right?"

Izuku shivered. He finally understood that this was more than a simple robbery. No, this was connected to the web of AFO based on the symbol on the robber’s jacket. He briefly questioned if being empathetic would work in a hostage situation like this when there were ulterior motives.

"Why did you specifically call me here?"

The criminal chuckled, his hands reaching towards his pocket. His spider senses were never ending as they often were in similar situations. His hand remained in his coat. "We need to have a chat, Spiderman."

"That can be arranged if you let these hostages leave unharmed," Izuku stood his ground, interpreting the emotions on the criminal's face.

He contemplated, tapping the side of his jeans before looking to the victims, "Half of you who Spiderman chooses may leave." He turned towards Izuku, "Any more than that and I won't hesitate to shoot."

Spiderman was quick to nod and turned towards the hostages, counting thirty-one in total. There were a few children, a couple of teenagers, and an overwhelming number of mothers. He realized how sick and twisted it was to make him choose those free to leave by the monstrous smile on the criminal's face. It was daring him to send out sixteen people instead of fifteen to start.

He counted out fifteen people: three children, two teenagers, and ten women. The rest were a variety of women and men in their late thirties to early fifty if Izuku had to assume. His mother would have been a part of that stationary group had she been a part of the situation. He tried not to cry thinking about that. This situation was fucked.

"As you know, we’ve been working on drug enhancers-” The villain started, and Izuku didn’t really understand what the topic of this conversation was going to be.

He interrupted, perhaps a bit overconfident with sixteen hostages still being left behind as collateral. He reminded himself that he had to be careful. If he was the only one in danger, he could handle that predicament, but with hostages it was risky business.

“Enhancers that use adrenaline to activate emotional reactions in harmless civilians you drug without permission,” he accused.

Dabi laughed dangerously, almost in a manic way, “So smart spiderman, yet so clueless to the magnitude of our advancements the enhancers could give to society. You could join us, you know. You’ve probably already taken organic chemistry by now, I’m sure you’d be an asset to our company, especially with your spider abilities. Imagine all the experiments we could run!”

Izuku chewed his cheek to prevent himself from seeing red. To hell with the “magnitude” of their advancements, they were ruining the lives of innocent people all in the name of engineering mutated humans to create an advanced society. There were hostages present, he had to remind himself. He couldn’t lose his cool despite so desperately wanting to. Some parts of it did slip inevitably though. He inwardly cursed at Deadpool for revealing his major. Fuck. “You really believe I would team up with you? You’re laughable. You hurt innocent people and justify it by bragging about advancing society. What is so advanced about your drug when it leaves the victim with a long list of incurable symptoms? You know nothing of what it means to truly be an engineer for society’s greatness.”

The robber became noticeably aggravated by his statement and Izuku wanted to bite his tongue. He stepped closer to Spiderman, who took a step back in response. “You know, I prepared for a scenario like this. It was far-fetched to think that you would understand our purpose. But still Shigaraki wanted to try.” Shigaraki, he would have to remember that name. That was the frustrating part of his spider senses. Izuku’s senses tingled, but he wasn’t sure from what yet. They may warn him, but in a hostile situation like the one he was currently in, it wasn’t much help when he already knew danger was present but not how it would occur. “What a shame, but it does allow me to experiment with something I’ve been interested in for a while.”

“And what’s that?” Spiderman asked, putting himself further in front of the hostages.

He expected some sort of drug enhancer once again, maybe some new version of it or another modern advanced machine to fight him. Instead, he was surprised whenever he started to feel vibrations swell from underneath him, shallow at first but increasing in strength. To the normal person, it felt like a low-grade earthquake, jostling the hostages as they all attempted to leave once the villain approached Spiderman more directly. To Izuku, it felt like a million knives were stabbing him in the ears, overloading his senses and making him vulnerable to his surrounding environment. He collapsed to the ground, his knees buckling from the pressure.

He felt like he was dying. Like the pressure of the sky was on him similarly to Atlas in Greek mythology. He felt himself cry out, his hands quick to cover his ears in an attempt to silence the noise, only to realize that his ears were not the only components. It seemed to be less of an audio complication, and more of a consequence that affected his entire body.

“You see,” He started, closing in on Spiderman to the point they were face to face. “Spiders are extremely sensitive to vibrations. It’s how they catch pests in their webs, or in your case, how they evade any threat of harm, your spider senses. But studies have shown that there can be an overload of the senses. Too much vibration and they are reduced to blind bats with sensory issues.”

Izuku grit his teeth, baring his teeth beneath the mask.

“In your case, it seems to have stopped your disrespectful, smart mouth as well,” He rolled his eyes, seemingly tired of Izuku’s persona. “We have no intention of stopping you currently. You’re just another bug we’ll have to squash when the time comes, but for the time being you’ve been indirectly helpful in helping us modify the enhancing drug so there isn’t a need to dispose of you just yet.”

Izuku tried to steel himself, but he felt tears start to weld up in his helplessness. This villain could damask him, kidnapped him for experiments, or even killed him during his helplessness. Izuku was weak, defenseless, and ignorant. How could he have miscalculated sensory overload as a potential weakness during his spider investigations? Now he was endangering entire lives because of it.

He thought of his mother. How would she have reacted if police had shown up to her doorstep explaining that her son had died at the result of a bank robbery? How could he threaten to leave his mother alone as the only standing Midoriya? The thought was too much to bear with the vibration.

His biggest advantage right now was understanding that the man wasn’t planning on doing any further hard damage to him, but he couldn’t say the same for the fewer elderly hostages that could not escape as easily as the other ones. His spider senses only added to the overwhelming sensation as he realized a gun was registered on one of the hostages, his finger only a moment away from pulling the trigger.

He analyzed the situation through his sluggish thoughts. He wouldn’t be able to make it on time in order to save the hostage by himself, instead leading him to use his webs in order to hoist him there as a faster method. It would be tight, but he believed at the very least he could keep the hostage unharmed.

Izuku moved without thinking much else. It didn’t matter if he was harmed in the process or if the vibrations were still inhibiting his thoughts and actions, he leapt forward without a second thought.

Ringing interrupted his eardrums as he assumed the gun had fired off. He was really in sensory hell right now.

His arms carried the hostage to safety as he heard recoil of the gun cause the villain to grunt.

As he looked towards the front of the bank to ensure the hostages safety, he watched as a swarm of police ran towards the building. When he looked behind his shoulder, he noticed the robber moving to escape and was torn between being upset he couldn’t capture him and being relieved that the vibrations seemed to die down with his departure. It alleviated the threat of the hostages being harmed as well.

As his adrenaline started to die, Izuku felt the world collapse on top of him. Anyone would believe he had successfully stopped that robbery. That’s what any news outlet would display later tonight with no hostage deaths. But he knew, and so did AFO, that he had royally fucked up. He was too cocky, too confident in his abilities and it had backfired. This was the first time he had ever felt so defeated. He had failed. He thought himself invincible.

He had to remind himself that he wasn’t Deadpool.

He fled, letting his webs string him across the city skyline despite the protest from the police and confused reporters. He had to get away from the acknowledgement of his failure. Maybe he was being too hard on himself, but he was supposed to be prepared. He was supposed to be knowledgeable about his own fucking superpower, about his strengths and weaknesses. He was a fool.

He was tired.

Izuku made it halfway across the city towards Yuuei when the tiredness turned towards exhaustion. Something was wrong, and it wasn’t just the vibrations from earlier. Sure, he had felt tired after, but he hadn’t felt like he was about to drop dead any minute after the vibrations had started to die down.

He reached to shoot another web, desperately trying to make it home to his bed when he felt stinging in his side. It was enough to make him miss his web and roll crudely onto the roof of a random apartment building. Izuku inspected the area to find a glass syringe with a sharp needle intruding from his suit. Intruding from his skin. In the dramatics of his focus on the hostages and adrenaline, he hadn’t actually inspected where the bullet had truly gone, and he realized it was actually lodged in himself.

“Shit,” Izuku cursed to the sky, and started dialing Shoto’s number in a panicked attempt while he ran the ramification of being injected with an enhancement drug. “Fuck.”

He had no idea what to expect, but his body must have been expelling the drug in an attempt to regenerate considering he hadn’t had any enhancing effects yet. His phone continued to dial. He tore part of his suit to inspect the wound further, watching as a rash started to form around the area he had been injected with the drug. He thought back to his microbiology class and realized he was having an immune system response to the drug, his body’s method of trying to expel it.

On the bright side, he wouldn’t turn into a manic killer. On the negative side of things, there's a chance he could die from anaphylaxis.

“You’ve reached the voice mail of Shoto Todoroki. You can leave a message if you care to.” Izuku cursed once more when the beep indicated he had reached voicemail territory.

He felt himself becoming lightheaded, surely a result of low blood pressure from the allergic reaction. He started to record his message, so Shoto knew he was about to die upon some rooftop. “Ran into someone affiliated with AFO during a hostage situation, vibrations are a new weakness, got shot with a drug enhancer, might die, on some rooftop halfway to Yeuui.” He used his strength to end the voice message and turned towards twitter for his one last chance at survival.

Izuku always thought the call button on Twitter was dumb. I mean, that’s what any other messaging based social media was for. But now, he didn’t hesitate to call Deadpool.

It rang for a beat or two, before being picked up. He heard chatter in the background, which he assumed was a college environment, before he must have stepped away for privacy. If his brain wasn’t experiencing one hell of an allergic reaction, he would have pieced together that the only private room - private enough to speak about superhero identities - in any dorm would be one that had its own separate bathroom. Similar to his own.

“Spiderman?” He heard Deadpool's voice, similar to their pizza date because his mask wasn’t in the way to muffle its noise. “You know you could have just texted, but I guess you just missed me that badly, huh? What’s up?”

Izuku chuckled, “I ran into someone affiliated with AFO,” Deadpool noticeably drew a breath before exhaling a curse, “Might die from anaphylaxis.”

Deadpool turned sincere, “Where are you?”

“Probably in heaven already. Or hell?”

Deadpool’s voice raised a little, and Izuku couldn’t tell if it was frustration that he was being a burden, or if it was worry actually coating his voice. “I’m serious, where the fuck are you?”

“Sorry,” he apologized between huffed breaths, “I’m on some rooftop in central city, next to the park.”

He heard chatter once more as Deadpool seemed to emerge from his privacy.

“Where are you going?” he heard someone ask from the other end. The voice was further away, or maybe it was his subconscious becoming further away.

“None of your business.”

This time it was fainter, and someone else’s voice said, “Do you have some secret date?”

Izuku found himself laughing, and it seemed that Deadpool hadn’t responded to the girl, deciding to focus his energy on Spiderman.

“What are your symptoms so far?” He seemed concerned and had left the room due to the silent background.

“I feel lightheaded, probably due to reduced blood pressure. A nasty rash and hives spread over my body. I think my vision is starting to blur.” He tested that theory and realized he definitely couldn’t see as well.

Izuku’s vision wasn't the best to begin with. His entire childhood he had always had perfect vision. Like a common theme in his life, that too changed when he was bit by the spider last spring. Spiders have worse vision which is made up for by their sensitivity to vibrations. Much like his spider sense, he practically more than makes up for it by being able to essentially see and hear through the vibrations. A simple fix of contacts was enough to restore his vision, so he ended up relatively unbothered by it.

This, however? He could definitely tell it was dwindling. “Yup, definitely blurring.”

Izuku felt his eyes start to droop and he allowed himself to be taken by the sweet relief of anaphylaxis shock. His entire body was rejecting the serum, and he wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted to laugh or cry at the shit show of a day it was turning out to be.

“Whatever you do, just stay with me, okay?” Deadpool demanded, “Do you have any family, something you can talk about while I try to find you?”

“My mom,” he nodded, and felt his tears form, “she’s always done her best for me, even when we didn’t have much. She still doesn’t know that I’m risking my life out here as Spiderman. Every time I’m in a harmful situation, I always think about her. What would she think about me? Would she push me to work harder, involving myself in every attack? Or would she scold me for being so reckless?”

“I think she would be proud,” Deadpool reassured, “It’s more than my parents could say about me.”

He let his eyes close completely shut and prayed that they would open another time. His chest was becoming tight, and he felt a sense of nausea wave over him. He had never been hungover, but he imagined he would feel similar.

“Stay with me Spiderman, I’m almost to you, okay?”

He thought about his mom again, allowing himself to drift further away. He could almost make out her face in his mind. God, he should really see her sometime soon.

He sensed footsteps coming towards him a few minutes after, felt the embrace of someone else lift him in strong arms, and prayed that it was Deadpool and not some villain as he let himself finally rest.

Chapter Text

When Katsuki was first diagnosed with cancer, he had taken it in a stride of denial. He had high hopes, imagining himself one day ringing a bell of freedom. He would be able to continue his basketball career, go to the college of his dreams, and become one of the world’s best aspiring biochemists. He would take on his parents' fashion company while inspiring new designs with cutting edge technology.

It had only taken about a week for him to come to terms with reality. No matter how many clinical trials his parents enrolled him in, he was going to die. That was it. A lifetime of memories, aspirations, and dreams, wasted. The only thing he aspired for after coming to this realization was one of those nature burials that foster a tree.

When Dabi killed his parents, kidnapping him into the shit show of an attempt to mutate him into some higher being, he felt his hope completely shatter. Although his body was left to remain in the clutches of torture, his mind died that day with his parents.

He was just a kid.

Every session broke another part of his subconscious. Drowned in water, placed in chambers without air, dehydrated to exhaustion. Katsuki started to become numb. Every broken part of himself began to become filled with a quiet, but unbearable rage. Dabi wasn’t simply forcing some panicked reaction to create a mutation; he was replacing a once kindhearted kid with someone capable of something far worse.

Thoughts of revenge blossomed. He wanted to hurt something, someone, anyone. He wanted to hurt himself. Because Dabi was worse than succumbing to cancer. At least with the disease, he came to terms with it. When it came to the torture he had endured, he wanted to die.

He started taunting Dabi with the idea of it, practically begging for it. “Don’t use too much chemical serum. We wouldn’t want my vitals to start crashing, would we?”

It was one particular day that his “nurses” were experimenting with different ways to paint scars on his body when they had made a critical mistake: leaving a small boxcutter on a side table too close to Katsuki. Despite the straps on his wrists, his pinky was close enough to tempt fate, grabbing the box cutter and gripping it close.

Dabi had been shocked to know that Katsuki, upon receiving the power to cut someone, had decided to stab himself instead of the people torturing him.

To say the least, Katsuki, or Deadpool, knew death closely. They were old friends, really. He so desperately despised him, became lovers with him, and then was separated similar to the sun and the moon: passing by each other daily, but never truly connecting. Once he had gained his mutated regeneration, they two were bound to never be in relations again, only so often they would touch each other before departing once again, similar to an eclipse.

Just when he had accepted death, practically begged for it, he was once again being tortured without it.

After everything he endured, Katsuki wasn’t afraid of death. He had embraced it, and now he was practically untouchable.

When he received that vital phone call, he realized how mistakenly wrong he was.

He was quick to rush out of the room, ignoring Mina's question entirely. At first, he had thought Spiderman was simply calling to tease him about his public image becoming positive as the news reported of their Halloween activities. Maybe, the viridian vigilante wanted to patrol together. Or there was a chance he even had more information about AFO.

What he did not expect was to hear such a breathless voice. Katsuki could almost hear Spiderman quivering. “I ran into someone affiliated with AFO.”

Fuck.

“Might die from anaphylaxis.”

Katsuki had seen the horrors of a severe allergic reaction firsthand. As a child, Katsuki was prone to frequent ear infections. When given Bactrim, a sulfa antibiotic, it hadn’t taken long for him to start to develop an unpleasant rash and difficulty breathing.

Bactrim was the first allergic interaction Dabi had tried in order to push his body into anaphylaxis shock. If his body wouldn’t evolve during any other session, this was the scientist’s master plan. Not only would he low-grade overdose on antibiotics, but he would also be subjected to the allergic reaction it conquered.

It wasn’t pretty, to say the least.

“Where are you?”

“Probably in heaven already. Or hell?”

Katsuki would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t so worried. “I’m serious, where the fuck are you?”

“Sorry,” he apologized between huffed breaths, “I’m on some rooftop in central city, next to the park.”

Katsuki envisioned it in his mind and raced out of his dorm in order to make it on time. In most cases, fifteen minutes was all it took for anaphylaxis to take a life. With Spiderman’s moderate regeneration, only pushing his immune system to further react towards the allergen, Katsuki was more than sure he barely had ten minutes to spare.

He was quick to get on his motorcycle, deserting his costume due to a lack of time.

“What are your symptoms so far?”

“I feel lightheaded, probably due to reduced blood pressure. A nasty rash and hives spread over my body. I think my vision is starting to blur.”

Spiderman seemed to turn away from the phone, a concentrated hum spilling from his lips.

“Yup, definitely blurring.”

Driving late at night meant that less cars were around, and Katsuki was able to excel in his specialty: speeding. If he was a normal citizen with a motorcycle, he never would have been speeding for fear of his life. He jokingly thanked Dabi in that moment for making himself into a freak capable of speeding in semi-unsafe condition.

A small whimper sounded from the other side of the phone. Katsuki felt his heart breaking.

“Whatever you do, just stay with me, okay?” He demanded. Katsuki needed something to keep Spiderman preoccupied and awake long enough for him to find the vigilante. “Do you have any family, something you can talk about while I try to find you?”

Within record time, he was near central park and had to act quick. His plan was to scale the tallest building around and then scour the rooftop areas surrounding the park until he found Spiderman.

“My mom,” he nodded, and felt his tears form, “she’s always done her best for me, even when we didn’t have much. She still doesn’t know that I’m risking my life out here as Spiderman. Every time I’m in a harmful situation; I always think about her. What would she think about me? Would she push me to work harder, involving myself in every attack? Or would she scold me for being so reckless?”

“I think she would be proud,” Deadpool reassured, “It’s more than my parents could say about me.”

Katsuki’s parents were probably cursing him for continuing down the horrid path he started down, definitely mourning the loss of their happier son. He made it to the top of one building whenever he heard Spiderman go quiet and he started to look more frantically.

“Stay with me Spiderman, I’m almost to you, okay?”

He was two rooftops away whenever he noticed a ball of green cocooned in the corner. Taking a couple steps back, he sprinted towards the edge, jumping for the next rooftop and ignoring the panicked voice in the back of his mind from his fear of heights. He then examined the next one, slightly further away and foot taller. He looked back over to ensure Spiderman was still okay, and jumped without a second thought.

Flakes of brick crumbled away as he dangled from the edge of the roof, his fingers being his only saving grace from falling. He hoisted himself up, remembering a fond memory he shared with his neighbors and their pool as a kid, lifting up was a similar motion.

When he was finally on the same rooftop as Spiderman, he ran towards the frail, fragile figure. The heroic, witty vigilante he was used to seeing was nothing more than a matted alley cat in front of him. Katsuki was careful to lift up and cherish Spiderman within his arms.

Katsuki watched from his desk chair as Spiderman rested on his lounge couch, his breathing still slightly uneasy. The vigilante was quick to transport the hero back to his sanctum where he conducted most of his work. This ensured that Eijiro never found out about his otherly occupation. He did all of his outfit changes here away from prying eyes.

Upon their return, Katsuki was quick to administer an Epipen as the only way to treat the symptoms. Despite this, he had no idea if it would work given that Spiderman wasn’t the average person. The response, he suspected, was probably due to his increased regeneration. It had only taken a few minutes to realize that he had made the right decision, with the other’s body calming down in response.

He covered the boy with a blanket and was now watching over diligently in order to ensure his improving condition. He kept refreshing their local news outlet to gain any further information, but was met with silence. An hour or two passed when he heard the sound of vibrations coming from his desk. He turned towards his monitor and noticed that Spiderman’s phone was the source of the disturbance.

The contact's name, ‘guy in the chair,’ was displayed with an incoming call and Katsuki chuckled. Spiderman really was a dork. He was quick to answer it, if not to tease the computer science major, then to see if he had any information on the situation. Or if he had wanted custody of his friend during the recovery phase.

“Oh my god, are you okay!? Why would you ever do something so reckless without my help? For someone so smart, you’re incredibly dumb. I was so worried-”

“You can stop scolding, chair guy. You’ve got the wrong vigilante answering right now.”

There was a pause, as if recalculating his response, “Is this Deadpool?”

“Yes, and what might your name be?” Deadpool teased.

“Like I’d tell you that,” the guy huffed, he was much more composed now, “Is Spiderman, okay?”

“He’s recovering well right now. I used an Epipen and that seemed to calm his regeneration.”

“Thank you,” he pulled in a breath of relief, then muttered, “he’s so reckless. I wasn’t able to answer, but Spiderman left a message detailing what happened. It seems he ran into someone from AFO and was shot with their strength enhancement drugs, which I’m assuming caused his allergic reaction.”

“Fuck,” Katsuki sighed. He should have been there helping to patrol. They needed to work like the team they had proposed. “I don’t even want to know how my body would respond to getting shot with one of those.”

“Well, according to Spiderman, he believes your regeneration is much better than you may even know. His instincts about his dad's research with regeneration and the notes he has found over the years show that your ability may be able to out-power allergic reactions and even potentially instantaneously fatal falls,” God, both Spiderman and his computer guy were nerds. If anything, Katsuki was surprised at how close the two seemed to be, especially if they strategize about Deadpool’s own abilities.

“He really is obsessed with me, isn’t he?” Deadpool teased, resulting in a scoff Computer Guy. Katsuki decided that was his name if he wasn’t going to be given one. “He must have been distracted if he missed a warning from his senses, Spiderman is usually responsive to them.”

“Right,” Computer Guy agreed, “In his voicemail, he mentioned that vibrations were a new weakness. I can only imagine what he went through to find that out.”

Katsuki sighed and there was silence as they both processed this information. Of course, it made sense. Sure, it was a blessing during hazardous situations that Spiderman was able to detect threats due to his senses, however, an overload of them would result in an uncomfortable, unbearable pain. Spiderman would have to rely on his own abilities of observation if his senses were drowned from stimulation everywhere around him.

“What do you want me to do about this?” Deadpool asked, “I can keep Spiderman here and watch to make sure his condition doesn’t worsen. Or, we can meet somewhere and exchange him for your care.”

Computer Guy sounded frustrated and sighed, “So turns out my sister decided to visit and was going to stay in the dorm overnight. I know this sucks, but I can’t really take care of him in this setting.”

“Don’t worry about it, he’ll be alright with me.”

“Are you sure?” The Computer Guy was hesitant, “Deadpool you have to promise me that you won’t do anything to harm him. Don’t even think about de-masking him either!”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Deadpool argued, interrupting him despite the other man continuously arguing in the background, “We have a strict confidentiality agreement.”

“-because God so help me if anything happens to Spiderman in your care, I will not hesitate to find every little thing about your entire existence. I will then hunt you down myself and kick your ass, do I make myself clear?”

“Holy shit, yes.”

“Good. If he’s not awake and back by tomorrow, I’ll call his phone again. By then, hopefully my sister will be out of town and traveling again.”

“Okay.” Katsuki affirmed. “I’ll update you if anything happens.”

“Thank you, Deadpool.”

Three monotonous hums signaled the end of their call. Katsuki breathed in deeply, relaxing from the full out assault that was launched towards him. It seemed Spiderman’s Computer Guy really cared about him and his safety. He seemed to have a motherly, mature role in the vigilante’s life. He was probably the one making sure Spiderman didn’t do anything too reckless.

The new weakness concerned him. If it had been strong enough to completely disassemble Spiderman’s composure, he wasn’t sure how they could combat that. He thought of two ways currently: amplifying his suit material to one that dampens the absorbance of vibrations, or a machine to counteract the vibrations altogether.

Deadpool refreshed his news page and noticed an updated article with video of the incident. This would have to do for his understanding of the situation until Spiderman woke. The news outlet source was from Yuuei’s in field news reporting class. It seemed unreal to have college students in charge of one of the most popular outlets in New York, and yet, they always had the best coverage. Whether it was because they were the quickest to update their feeds, their neutral unbiased host opinions, or their courage to go deeper into the scene of many stories to better understand the situation, Yuuei’s News Network (YNN) was the best in the business despite being ran by college students. It had the professional sense all while being relatable in its telling of each news story.

“Breaking News: After an increase of crime since the start of the year, many look towards the trusty NYPD officers and our friendly neighborhood Spiderman after his debut this Spring.”

Katsuki watched as the reporter, with eyebags only a college student would have, went through the insane record Spiderman held so far. With an all-time high in the summer, he effectively stopped hundreds of crimes from impacting the people, led to many corrupt corporations being unsurfaced and jailed, and had an increase in the overall knowledge of the drug enhancers since their emergence in the late summer.

“Let's take you all into the horrific events that transpired just a few hours ago. Police were first called to the scene when employees of a First Republic Bank in East Manhattan notified the police of their robber when held at gunpoint. As hostages, they informed the NYPD that their abductor wanted to speak only to Spiderman. Now, we would show you video footage of this transpiring, however camera access inside the bank was cut off by a device utilized by the robber.”

Katsuki watched as they showed footage of the surrounding area, a large handful of cop cars littering the entrance with barricades to prevent bystanders from being injured. Many of them were relatives of hostages inside the building, waiting for any information to be relayed to them.

“It wasn’t long before Spiderman showed up on the scene. Our photographers gathered evidence of his conversation with the officers, deciding he was willing to investigate the suspect as requested. Within a few minutes, half of the hostages were allowed to leave. We were later informed by some we interviewed that the suspect had Spiderman pick which ones were allowed to leave.”

“There were reports of vibrations not long after, here we can show video footage of this occurring, before a gunshot was heard and the police rushed the bank. Although the suspect was not found and arrested, hostages rely their gratitude to Spiderman for keeping them safe.”

Katsuki watched as the footage of the vibrations were shown. He watched as the police stumbled as the ground shook before them and as their cars rumbled about almost like popcorn in a pan. And, although faint, he could hear cries in the background belonging to Spiderman. His heart clenched. Then, yelling continued before a gunshot rang throughout the air and the recording cut as police ran into the building.

“I’m here with Corina Blackburn, one of the hostages that dodged a bullet from the robber due to Spiderman’s interjection. Mrs. Blackburn, I know this situation was very stressful, but can you offer a few words?”

“The older woman nodded, ‘I cannot express my gratitude to Spiderman enough. I don’t know if I would have seen my grandkids ever again unless he was there to save me. Bless his heart. I know he took off in a rush, but I hope he is resting okay wherever he is. And if you’re listening Spiderman,’” the lady looked directly into the camera with tears welling in her eyes, “‘Thank you.’”

The news cut back to the reporter, “Spiderman’s departure was sudden. In the beginning of his career, he was quick to flee any scene in fear of being arrested for his vigilante actions. However, as his benefit to our society has outweighed the disadvantages, and the police have allowed him slowly over time to help alongside them without too much strife, his sudden departure from the scene is of concern.”

A video showed across the screen of Spiderman running, dodging the police and web slinging away from the scene before giving his official statement. He was off in a hurry away from the cameras and into the never-ending city, no doubt to only fall due to the allergic reaction where Katsuki had found him.

“Our editors have zoomed into this video and clearly here,” the reporter pointed towards the side of Spiderman’s suit, “displays a wound profusely bleeding from his side.”

“Whether his departure had to do with the content Spiderman discussed with the suspect, his fear of being operated on medically due to his secret identity, or any other unknown reason, the police announced that any medical help would be administered without harm or arrest if Spiderman found himself needing it. With no harm done to any of the hostages, the city salutes Spiderman for his courageous abilities once again and extends their appreciation. It will be enlightening within the coming days to see if this wound affects the vigilante’s physical prowess or mental spirit. ”

“And with that, I’m Shinsou from Yeuui, and onto our next story-”

Since he heard Spiderman’s cries within the background of the footage, Katsuki started investigating any other spider-related weaknesses. A few were quick to pop up. Vibrations, strong smells like alcohol or perfumes, and a weakness to extreme temperatures.

He spent the next couple hours trying to understand the thermal stability of spiders.

Katsuki had already missed his organic chemistry lecture the next day by the time Spiderman woke from his anaphylactic slumber. He figured the long sleep was a combination of the allergic reaction, healing from the wound, and his irregular college sleep schedule. The blonde had been sure to check that the wound had healed on its own due to Spiderman’s regeneration hours earlier.

The entire time, he wore his mask to ensure his identity would be kept secret but had since changed into a cargo pants and a band tee for comfortability.

The vigilante rose in a panic, gasping for air despite breathing perfectly fine beforehand. He checked his surroundings, quickly rose from the couch and strived towards his phone which was sitting on the end of Katsuki’s desk.

He was quick to react, running to Spiderman and stabilizing him before his wobbliness caused him to fall, “Relax, it's just me. You're safe.”

“Deadpool?” Spiderman asked, seemingly confused. Katsuki led him back towards the couch, offering his phone. “Holy shit I have to call Sh- my computer guy, he’s probably so worried and pissed.”

“Don’t worry, I spoke with him already. He had me watch over you because his sister is in town. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to make sure you were alright and he didn’t know if he would be able to explain it to his sister.”

Spiderman took a second to process everything. He looked crossed between confused, still recovering from the allergic reaction, and worried about his friend all at the same time. Katsuki felt bad for him. He honestly wouldn’t know how to feel if he woke up to Spiderman being his caretaker for the past day. He figured it would be best to offer some clarification.

“Once I found you, I brought you here. It’s my own sanctuary for conducting analysis of crime, creating my suit, or simply chilling here whenever life at college seems too overbearing. I administered an Epipen and that seemed to calm your reaction really well. Your wound from the infection also healed up shortly after. You’ve pretty much been sleeping here ever since,” Katsuki pointed towards the couch, “I spoke with Computer Guy when he called, and he explained the voice message you left. I watched the news too so I could understand what happened. I investigated some of your other potential weaknesses too so we could strategize around them together.”

“You did all that?” Spiderman seemed stunned. Katsuki didn’t understand why. They were a team. The vigilante had basically given him a better chance at being a good person by offering to work together. He had helped Deadpool’s name to not be cursed completely in the public eye. Katsuki, even if he never admitted it to the other, looked up to Spiderman. He truly was his role model. He was practically venerated as a hero.

He nodded.

Then a flash of panic seemed overwhelming to Spiderman, “Wha- what about the news? What are they saying? I’m a total failure oh my god. I let him get so close to hurting others, why was I so cocky?” The vigilante continued to mumble the portion of being a failure repeatedly.

“Hey, what are you even talking about? Are you crazy?” It seemed to pull his attention out of the potential panic attack. Katsuki sat beside him and gently rubbed his back. He wasn’t great at physical forms of affection, but he needed to calm the vigilante down. “Look, everyone thinks you're a hero, I promise you. Wait a second, just let me-”

Katsuki fished for the remote before turning the news on, it was the same reporter from earlier giving a similar version of the report, with more information shown of the suspect from the alley he had disappeared into. Shinsou gave the same recap from before, showing the video of the interview with the older lady Spiderman had saved.

Once it was finished, he could hear a slight sniffle from beneath Spiderman’s mask. His anxious patterns seemed to slowly diminish.

“What made you believe you’re a failure? Is that why you left so abruptly?”

“Well, I just,” Spiderman sighed, “It’s so stupid I didn’t even know my own weaknesses? I’ve been at this for more than half a year, living everyday with these abilities, and you’re telling me I never knew I was sensitive to vibrations, or how my body would react to an allergen?”

“You act like half a year is a long time,” Katsuki scoffed, “I still don’t know the parameters of my abilities and I’ve had them for longer than a year and a half. This stuff takes time.”

“Plus,” Katsuki added, a smirk already building on his face, “It’s not your fault you’ve never tried vibrating toys.”

“Deadpool so god help me!” Spiderman jokingly yelled and hit him in the chest.

“What?” Katsuki exclaimed. “Seriously, I’ll recommend my favorite ones, then you can try them out on your own time. Oh, I’m sure with your sensitivity to them you’ll probably get off really well-”

“Oh my god,” the vigilante burst into laughter.

Katsuki leaned closer, continuing the bit, “I mean honestly, I’m sure I have a few laying around here, we could try them out together.”

“Deadpool!” Spiderman tittered.

There was a pause of silence after their laughter finished before, “What did the suspect look like?”

“He looked abnormal, and he had skin grafts all over his face.”

Katsuki became still. The fucker who had ruined his entire life was the person that hurt Spiderman this roughly. Oh, he was seriously going to kill Dabi the first opportunity he had. It didn’t matter if Spiderman wished otherwise.

“That's Dabi,” he couldn’t help his teeth grinding. “What did he want with you?”

Spiderman shivered, “He wanted me to join them. I guess they figured after my dad's track record, and knowing I was taking chemistry classes, that I could be of use to them. When I declined, he said it didn’t matter, and he didn’t kill me because we were ‘useful for testing their new prototypes out.’”

Katsuki was pissed. Dabi was simply playing with both of them. He took a deep breath. He didn’t want to make Spiderman anxious or upset again

“We should go over your other weaknesses.”

Spiderman sighed, “What's the damage?”

“Other than vibrations, which I think we could revise the material of your suit in order to dampen or build a machine to have a similar effect, have you ever had alcohol before?”

“Not since being bit by the spider. I guess that's probably a good thing then?” Spiderman inquired.

“Well apparently it is highly toxic to their respiratory and nervous system. I’m not sure if it would affect you as much considering you’re still human, however I also read that different drugs or alcohol can affect the formation of your webs.”

“Seriously?” Spiderman seemed a bit surprised, “It’s insane someone actually tested that.”

“Yeah, there were full studies on this. So, I guess don’t go drinking before your Spiderman shift,” Katsuki continued, “The smell of rubbing alcohol and certain perfumes might overwhelm you. Have you noticed that in your day-to-day life already?”

The boy thought for a moment, “I’m definitely able to pick up scents better. You smell like caramel. I noticed it during our first interactions.”

“Hopefully our villain counterpart doesn’t smell like ass,” Spiderman gave him a deadpanned look. Katsuki chuckled. “There's also your inability to experience extreme temperatures.”

“Well, what dictates extreme?”

“I think it said like one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit for heat and below freezing for cold temperatures.”

“Wait really?” Spiderman seemed enlightened, “That makes sense! A lot of summer I was alright, but there was one week in August it reached a high of 95 and I was really unproductive. I felt like I was super sluggish too. I figured it was just a normal temperature reaction.”

“It had me thinking,” Katsuki clicked a pen several times while writing thoughts onto his notebook. “Last winter it got pretty cold, we have to change your suit in order to prevent your diapause.”

“What's that?”

“It’s similar to hibernation, except a lot of insects encounter it during extreme temperatures, not just winter. Spiders go into a state of dormancy with minimal to no activity so more energy can be used towards enduring the weather. You may also experience a reduced metabolism which has side effects of its own.”

Spiderman started googling the side effects, “Holy shit, fatigue, weight gain, weaknesses, dry skin, thinning hair, mood swings, and an inability to concentrate?! Deadpool, I'm cooked.”

“I’m sure it won’t be too bad; remember you have human genetics too.”

“I’m doomed.”

“Apparently your internal temperature will also reflect the ambient temperature of your environment. So, you’ll be like ice cold.”

“I did sweat a lot more during summer.”

“However, I should be able to create a winter version of your suit that should do better to keep you warm. But we don’t know the effects on your physical ability with constant exposure to a cold environment, so you should probably layer clothing at all times so you can be at peak function.”

“Okay, so how about this weekend we meet somewhere to work on the suit together?” Spiderman offered.

“Sounds good, we can just meet here if you want.”

“Okay,” The vigilante nodded. “So, I see you’re a Pierce the Veil fan?”

Katsuki looked down towards his shirt and laughed. “I should tell Twitter, I’m sure they’ll be happy.”

“I’m going to tell them I think you’re an environmental major,” Spiderman deduced, then added specifics, “minoring in fashion design.”

Katsuki laughed. He could not be further, but also so incredibly close at the same time.

“Sure.”

Spiderman 🕷 @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
Payback time: Deadpool is an environmental major
with a minor in fashion design.
7:39 PM • 2 Nov 22 • Twitter for Iphone
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,973 Retweets 8,259 Quote Tweets 49k Likes
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Deadpool 🔫 @isurvivedthedeadpool
Replying to @thefriendlyneighbourhoodspider
Whatever you say, sweetheart.
7:43 PM • 2 Nov 22 • Twitter for Iphone
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
787 Retweets 7,546 Quote Tweets 18k Likes
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Text

Izuku had a problem. He tended to overthink everything. Whether it was his everyday movements, or overanalyzing his vigilante battle decisions, it was hard to come to terms with failure. At least he was self-aware. He really could not believe that he hadn’t caught onto some of his weaknesses by now. I mean, seriously, that was probably the reason why the stiff smell of alcohol or strong men’s cologne always made his migraines worse. It explained why as temperatures took extremes his body reflected it. As the month of October rolled into November, crisping leaves left a chill to his skin. It was so incredibly cold outside, and so was he.

Music blared in his ears, an assortment of indie pop and rock. It helped to steel his mind as he lifted hundreds of pounds just to feel an ache in his biceps. It had only been a couple hours since he had left Deadpool's place and a couple minutes after tweeting his guess at the vigilante’s major.

Working out often cleared his mind, similar to how swinging throughout the city did. He could focus on the individual muscles or his breathing techniques to get the most out of each lift.

His mind started to drift, however, wondering what Katsuki was doing. Izuku realized, as he added more weight, that the blonde was becoming a common occurrence in his thoughts. He wanted to pursue something more, he thinks. He wanted to learn more about Katsuki. And that included understanding why his spidey senses tingle at the thought of him. He was a bit worried that it would uncover something horrible, like an association with AFO, but who better to deal with that than Spiderman himself?

His spidey senses tingle in the background, and he propped one side of his headphones off his ear in order to hear.

“Keep your feet hip-width apart, Izuku.”

He quickly readjusted himself, and smiled at Katsuki. “Thanks for correcting my posture.”

“Don’t mention it,” Izuku finished his set and placed the weight down, now viewing Katsuki with a water bottle in hand and a singular air pod that Izuku could hear was playing heavy metal music thanks to his enhanced hearing. He wore a compression shirt that fit him in all the right ways. “Do you have time to spot me?”

“Of course!”

Katsuki added a few extra weights while making eye contact with him and Izuku jokingly rolled his eyes. He was just trying to take it easier today after almost dying from anaphylaxis shock, but of course the blonde had no indication of that.

After a few reps, Katsuki questioned, “I missed O-chem lecture today and I was wondering if you had any notes from it that you’d be willing to share.”

“Oh uh-” Izuku anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. Think. Think. He didn’t pre-plan an excuse in his head. “I had a doctor's appointment today so I missed it too, but I’m sure we can ask Ochaco tomorrow at the exam study group!”

“I didn’t know there was a study group for tomorrow, what time is it?”

“I think it’s after our physics lecture. There's also one Tuesday before the exam. I’m surprised that Ochaco didn’t text the chemistry group chat, I’ll have to send a message after this. I have to study some textbook notes tonight before going to bed,” Izuku realized he was rambling a bit, “You should totally come! It would be nice to have you there with everyone else.”

“Are you personally inviting me, Izuku Midoriya?” Katsuki asked grandly.

“M-maybe, but what's that got to do with anything?!” Izuku was becoming flustered again. “Study groups are always beneficial and it’s best to have many people there for different opinions!”

“Well only because you’re asking, darling,” the wider his smirk became, the larger the butterflies infested Izuku’s chest.

“Whatever, just get back to bench pressing,” he deflected.

Izuku wouldn’t admit that he was much more motivated to go tomorrow knowing that Katsuki would be there. I mean, he could play it off as simple friendship. But he knew it was more than that. He just had to accept that fact.

After ensuring that weights didn’t come down to crush Katsuki, the two of them made their way towards the exit, down a flight of stairs and through a turnstile before heading to a vending machine packed with various hydration drinks and snacks.

Izuku started to punch in the number for his favorite protein bar when Katsuki leaned against the wall nearby and stared intently at him.

“What?”

The blonde looked sheepish after being caught but made direct eye contact after. “Why do you only wear long sleeves?”

“W-what?” Izuku swallowed dryly. Shit. “It’s getting cold outside, and my temperature regulation is horrible.”

“But didn’t you wear long sleeves in the beginning of the semester whenever it was still pretty hot outside?” He asked, taking a step closer with his arms crossed.

Izuku felt his heart racing, his face flushing, and his hands becoming clammy. He hated lying. Sweat started to accumulate under his armpits, a sure sign of his impending anxiety at the thought. He had to say something, Katsuki's red eyes were piercing through his partial lie. Fuck. Izuku did what he does best: panicked.

“I have scars,” he whispered. A beat of silence. Seeming regret on Katsuki’s face. “I don’t like how they look, and most remind me of times I’ve failed. So, I hide them.”

Katsuki approached him softly, then with implied consent, rubbed Izuku’s back reassuringly.

“I’m sorry I pushed you to tell me. Nobody should ever feel pressured to expose that. God, I’m a dick.”

Izuku became still because holy shit, that worked! I mean, he hadn’t said anything untrue. He didn’t like how they looked. And when he looked in the mirror after a particularly awful night, he was reminded of his poor actions. It was a reminder of his inability to protect and save everyone with success. He was just glad Katsuki bought it as self-harm scars. That wasn’t necessarily untrue either, he had a few of those from middle school, but after recovering from it, he wasn’t ashamed of them. If anything, it simply showed how far he had come.

“No! It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about them, per say. I just prefer to avoid showing them if I’m able,” Izuku reassured, then noticed he still looked distant, as if overthinking everything. Izuku gently placed his arm on his shoulder, “I promise, Katsuki. It’s okay.”

They met eyes once again, and he saw determination. “I'll make up for it tomorrow!”

Izuku shivered, goosebumps trailing his skin as he made his way across campus to the library where their study session was to be held. Nobody warned him that the temperature outside would be forty degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill that made it feel colder than ice. He would know considering his body temperature reflected it.

The venture to the library fatigued him more than usual, and his climb up the stairs after entering the building did nothing to help his state.

He always appreciated how welcoming the campus was as he made his way towards the help desk. Yeuui University had a decently modern vibe, with warm lighting adding to the comfort of the environment. The library, massively filled with tall bookshelves and a grand staircase to the floor above, was decorated with plush lounge chairs and posters that proved their inclusivity. Directly outside the library was a cafe where students could grab a warm drink or a soft muffin to fuel their studying.

After checking in, he made his way towards the room number the staff provided and through the glass windows he saw his classmates with large smiles on their faces as he rounded the corner to enter the room. He pushed the door open and was immediately met with rambunctious noise. Their library spaces truly were as soundproof as possible.

“-so then I went to sit at my desk, and that's when I realized there was a huge ass wasp crawling on it! In my dorm room! I literally almost shit my pants,” it came from Mina, Ochaco’s girlfriend and roommate. She was also a biology major stuck with organic chemistry. Classmates around the room laughed as they followed her story. “And Ochaco wasn’t there because she was at a Tribeta meeting! So I had to muster the courage to kill the fucker.”

“I’m sorry!” Ochaco defended, then turned towards the door after hearing him enter. “Izuku! Hey, how was your physics lab and lecture?”

“Hey! It was super interesting. I’m honestly thinking of becoming a physics minor because I’m really enjoying the equations and theory!”

“A biochemistry major with a physics minor, are you trying to collect the STEM infinity stones or something,” Denki jokes, “I would not wish that combo on anyone.”

Denki was an inorganic chemistry major minoring in biology, hence his attendance in their study group. Izuku had a lot of respect for him considering lots of that content included the transition metals that many avoided in chemistry. Many biochemical related achievements over history are also actually considered under the umbrella of bioinorganic chemistry. An example is the structure of DNA containing phosphate polymers typically considered inorganic “discovered” by Watson-Crick.

The real biochemists all know that Rosalind Franklin was largely involved but was never credited for her involvement after being cheated of the Nobel Prize. Izuku was always obsessed with biochemistry as a young teenager and spent much of his free time learning all the trivia history involved with it.

“Yeah. I’ve heard Dr. Yagi is really great at biochemistry from upperclassmen. They say his teaching style is really informative and easy to comprehend. It also seems difficult, but hard to fail,” Mina provided, “but over the years Dr. Aizawa’s teaching method has rubbed off on Dr. Yamada, so his physics lectures and exams have gotten much more difficult over the years.”

Ochaco nodded, “Yeah. Organic is already bad enough with Dr. Aizawa always trying to push us harder. I know he believes in us and everything, but sometimes it’s exhausting.”

“I don’t know, I quite appreciate Dr. Aizawa,” Tenya defended. Izuku took a seat next to Ochaco. “Him pushing us harder only makes us grow.”

Tenya was working towards a pre-med biology major minoring in chemistry. Some majors required minors while others were simply suggested. Biochemistry had no requirement, and as Spiderman, Izuku wasn’t sure he would have time for a physics minor, but it really interested him. He was pretty sure that inorganic chemistry and pre-med biology didn’t require minors, but knowing Denki and Tenya, they both enjoyed chemistry too much to not pursue it in some form.

Izuku acknowledged. “I understand how everyone feels, but I agree with Tenya. I’d rather have a professor that allows us to grow than one that doesn’t have great organization and provides easy exams.”

“Well, we have his hard ass to thank for our anxiety over the hard exams,” Denki sighed.

“We should probably get started-”

Ochaco was interrupted by the subtle creak of the door, followed by the boisterous blonde Izuku was starting to become closer friends with.

“Hey losers, I’ve brought snacks and refreshments.”

“Katsuki! I didn’t know you were coming today man!” Denki excitedly rummaged through the paper bags and claimed a bag of sour cream and onion chips.

“Well, Izuku invited me yesterday so I was pretty obligated to come,” he walked past Izuku, ruffling his hair in the process and sat beside him. “And for his invitation, I’ve brought Katsudon as appreciation.”

“Wait, seriously! That’s my favorite food, Katsuki! How did you know?” Izuku felt his face flush.

All the while, their classmates continued to pillage the snack bags, bringing less attention to the two.

Katsuki lowered his voice a bit, “well after yesterday I wanted to do something for you. I know you’re roommates with Shoto, so I got his number from Momo and asked him what your favorite food was. I brought you coffee too, he said you like the sweet shit, so I made sure to get cold foam and liquid cane sugar.”

Izuku looked like a kid in a candy store after taking a sip of some good old, sweet caffeine. His heart was so incredibly warm despite the cold of his skin and the chill from the iced coffee. “Thank you so much Katsuki, this means the world to me!”

“Don’t mention it,” he offered with a humble smile.

Izuku ignored the gawking from his classmates at the interaction he was having with Katsuki, “Alright let's get started for real this time guys or this exam really will kick our asses.”

Their study session continued with talking about the different reaction mechanisms, building physical models to help understand Newman Projections, attempts at comprehending Fischer Projections, and quizzing each other on vocabulary or functional groups.

After everyone felt satisfied enough to study on their own until next Tuesday and said their goodbyes, Katsuki and Izuku remained the only two stragglers behind. For a large portion towards the end of the session, Izuku leaned against Katsuki’s shoulder for support.

“Are you okay?” Katsuki questioned, his eyes filled with slight concern. Izuku was still interacting with everyone, but throughout the evening he slowly became less enthusiastic. He was kind of enjoying this softer side to Katsuki although he still enjoyed the flirtatious version too.

“Yeah, I just feel a little tired.”

“Did you stay up too late studying for organic?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Izuku had spent hours beating himself up that he had gotten so far behind on their lecture content. He really needed to be better at multitasking his vigilante persona and his college student responsibilities. So, he made sure after hours that he reviewed every last piece of material from the lecture and textbook, making detailed notes as well.

“It’s definitely paid off. You're leading a lot of us through some of these. You’re very smart and dedicated, Izuku.”

“I think you’re going soft on me, Katsuki Bakugou.”

“Guilty.”

“To be honest, I don’t really mind.” He whispered, a joking tint to his voice.

“Oh really?”

That beautiful smirk returned.

“Do you like sushi?” Izuku asked.

“Hell yeah, I can fuck up some sushi.”

“Would you like to accompany me to this all-you-can-eat sushi place next weekend? If we eat more than two rolls it's worth our money and they make some killer specialty rolls.”

“Are you asking me out on a date Izuku Midoriya?”

“Maybe,” he said sheepishly, then stood up and started to secure his winter coat over his shoulders.

“Then of course. I would love to eat sushi until I feel sick if it means spending the night with you.”

“Good. Are you coming Tuesday to study?” Izuku asked.

“Are you?”

He nodded.

“Then I’ll be there.”

By the time Izuku arrived at his dorm room, he spent a minute talking to Shoto before crashing out on his bed and taking a coma-nap until the early hours of the morning. He made his way to their mini fridge, attempting to make as little noise as possible. Shoto was a heavy sleeper, that's how he got away with his late night Spiderman trips for so long, but he didn’t want to be inconsiderate. He grabbed the Katsudon and gently placed it in the microwave for a couple minutes.

When he checked his phone, he noticed a few messages in the chem study group and a twitter notification from his Spiderman account.

Deadpool 🔫 @isurvivedthedeadpool
Two fists, two swords, and a total badass.
34 Following 387k Followers
___________________________________________________
Relax, I’m in. See you tonight.
10/31/22, 7:51 AM 🔫

Hey, I wanted to check in. How are you doing?
11/3/22, 10:58 PM 🔫

I feel pretty okay. I’ve definitely
been pretty fatigued lately though.
🕷11/3/22, 4:23 AM ✓

I should be able to patrol soon.
We can meet up tomorrow if you want.
🕷11/3/22, 4:24 AM ✓

No, don’t worry about it, I’ll patrol for now.
We’ll meet on Saturday to make your suit.
I’ll get all the materials we’ll need.
11/3/22, 4:26 PM 🔫

Are you sure?
I can help with the costs.
🕷11/3/22, 4:26 AM ✓

I’ve got it, Spidey.
And go to bed, no wonder you’re fatigued.
11/3/22, 4:27 PM 🔫

Don’t make me (Θ︹Θ)ს again!
And thank you, Pool.
🕷11/3/22, 4:27 AM ✓

No! Not the (Θ︹Θ)ს.
Goodnight, sleep well.
11/3/22, 4:27 PM 🔫
___________________________________________________

Izuku grabbed his Katsudon and sat at his desk, looking through the news for any new information on villain activity. Fortunately, it seemed there was only petty crime since his absence. He’d have to thank Katsuki for the thoughtful meal, and Deadpool for his charity and kindness.

He noticed a piece of notebook paper next to his computer screen, no doubt from Shoto, which read, “I wanted to let you sleep, but was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner tomorrow and chat about anything you’ve learned related to Spiderman. After everything that has happened, and your busy schedule, we haven’t really been able to speak about it. Just leave me a note before you leave early tomorrow! Hope you’ve slept well.”

A small smile stretched across his face. He could always rely on Shoto too.

His notebook slid across the desk as he pulled out his pencil pouch and titled the date with the organic chemistry lecture name when his spider senses alerted him of Katsuki’s presence. It was honestly hilarious that he didn’t even need to check to know that Katsuki was walking behind him. After a week of their existence, he could tell subtle differences between normal instances of attack and Katsuki’s presence. The former was abrupt and rash while the latter had a softer appearance.

He was startled when a backpack was placed atop the desk to the seat directly beside him, one that was typically empty. There was an unspoken college social rule that students would space one seat of emptiness beside them unless sitting with a very close friend. Izuku didn’t make the rules, he knows because he took an online sociology class last semester.

“It is okay if I sit here, darling?”

It was Katsuki. Izuku felt his cheeks flush for the hundredth time within the past week.

“Are you going to distract me?”

Of course the answer was yes. If it wasn’t for his spider senses distracting him, it would be the sweet but musky smell of caramel and wood that preoccupied his every thought. Now that Izuku was thinking about it, Katsuki and Deadpool smelt similar. He wondered if they both used the same cologne and was curious what the chances of that coincidence was.

“That answer is yes, Izuku,” Dr. Aizawa answered, walking over to stand at their desk in front of them. Often before their lectures he would do the rounds to speak to different students and make joking conversation. “Katsuki will definitely distract you.”

“No, I’ll be very responsible Dr. Aizawa!” Katsuki defended, hurriedly sitting down before Izuku could change his mind. Not that he would to be completely honest. “We’ll share notes which will be important for developing differing views and creating collaborative conversation!”

“Alright then, we’ll see if this improves your grades Katsuki.”

“Why didn’t you say the same for Izuku?” he jokingly groaned.

“Because Izuku got an A on the last exam and you got a B minus.”

“That's still higher than the class average.”

“That's true,” Dr. Aizawa agreed, then pressed, “but it’s lower than Izuku’s test averages.”

“Nerd,” Katsuki teased, but it wasn’t offensive. Izuku always saw that as an accomplishment. “I’ll do better next exam, you’ll see.”

“Yeah, he even showed up to our study group yesterday,” Izuku defended, and watched as Katsuki had a proud look in his eyes.

Dr. Aizawa hummed, “I hope you two are okay after missing Wednesday's lecture. Before going over the worksheet today, I’d suggest briefly overlooking my slide deck and the textbook on the elimination mechanism.”

They both nodded and Dr. Aizawa returned to his desktop computer so he could pull up the in class worksheet they were going through class today as other classmates filed in. Ochaco and a few others smiled and waved before finding their own seat around the classroom.

“So elimination is essentially a base that takes a proton on the carbon next to the leaving group, creating a double bond as the leaving group leaves?” Katsuki interpreted.

“Yeah,” Izuku thought, taking a second to digest the diagram, “but that's just the concerted reaction. The multistep is similar, but the leaving group leaves first, then the base abstracts the proton after, allowing the carbocation to be utilized in a hydride shift if necessary to gain stability before the leaving group leaves.”

“We should make a diagram for the next study group session to show the differences between substitution and elimination before the exam.”

Izuku nodded, then, “I have one question, Katsuki.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to sit next to me in biology lecture too now?”

“Oh? Do you want me to Izuku?”

“What- I- Who said that?”

Katsuki simply laughed. “Sure.”

True to his word, Katsuki did find his seat next to Izuku in their biology lecture. In the lab portion, he still worked with Ochaco despite Katsuki teasing him to become his partner instead. Despite his interest, he would never abandon a friend who was his predetermined lab partner simply to be with Katsuki. Even if it was tempting.

When he got back to the dorm, he was greeted with Shoto working at his computer intently. He scrolled through Twitter and the news at his own desk for about thirty minutes. When he did, he saw a news clip of Deadpool apparently patrolling within the area. The reporter asked him about Spiderman’s well being:

“After the bank incident that took place Tuesday evening, we have yet to see Spiderman back in action or his interactions on social media. The last we saw, he was badly wounded. Do you have any confirmation of his status Deadpool? His fans have gotten a bit antsy on Twitter in his absence and silence.”

“Listen, Spidey fans. Your vigilante is alright. He's taking a much-deserved break to rest physically and mentally from the events that took place that day. Hell, he even tried to resume his patrols as of a text I received from him yesterday, but I told him I would handle anything that the police needed assistance on. You all can rest easily, that fucker is resilient.”

“Thank you, Deadpool. I’m sure they appreciate that much needed update. We will stay tooned for his much-awaited arrival back onto the scene. I’m Shinsou Hitoshi with your Yeuui news. Now onto our next story-”

Of course, when Izuku checked the trending page, he noticed their spideypool ship name with many fans talking about how soft Deadpool was for him, and how supportive of a partner they both were. To most, the fact that Deadpool was allowing him to rest more by taking his place in patrolling showed most of his caring character.

When he noticed that Shoto had finished his activities, he closed the tab and swiveled in his desk chair.

“Where did you want to grab dinner?” Izuku asked, jumping on his bed simply happy that he was done for the week. Of course, he still had to study over the weekend for his organic chemistry exam and create his suit for Spiderman while testing it out, but let the man have one small win for now.

“I was thinking of Olive Garden,” Shoto suggested.

Izuku’s eyes brightened, “All you can eat chicken and gnocchi soup?!”

“Are you going to make us do a competition again?” Shoto cried out.

“I don’t know…I ate like three bowls last time thinking I could eat so much more. The bread sticks did me in.”

“It is decently cheap though…”

“Olive Garden it is!” Izuku cheered.

The two made their way out of the dorm and called for a taxicab because the closest Olive Garden was too far to walk to. If he was Spiderman, he could just sling through the city in under five minutes, but he couldn’t exactly explain bringing Shoto with him throughout Manhattan. They gave the instructions to the driver and Shoto spoke about his own activities in Izuku’s absence. He talked about weird interactions with classmates, assignments he had done, and explained context for when his sister was in town.

Once they arrived, they were seated with ease. As a kid, Olive Garden was always his favorite place to eat. It was a fond memory. When he achieved perfect attendance, or excellent grades each marking period, he found himself in front of a bowl of chicken and gnocchi soup alongside his parents. It was always his treat. He remembered his dad, oh how he missed him dearly. He would assure Izuku that he could ask for more cheese, promising to tip the waitress in compensation for the ridiculous request.

He remembered waiting longer for a seat, or maybe it was always just a busy night. They’d give his parents a little beeper that would ring whenever their spot was next. But now, they both easily got their seats. They placed their order for water and food, already knowing what they wanted.

Izuku always appreciated the decor of the restaurant. The warm lighting and Italian features always worked so well together.

“So what happened when you talked with Deadpool?”

“Well I got your voice message and called because I was concerned. I almost spilled your name, but he quickly let me know that it was him and not you which I appreciated. Then he basically gave whatever details about you that he could and offered to look after you.”

“Yeah that pretty much checks out with what he told me,” Izuku nodded, “Did you know that he researched any other weaknesses I had while I was unconscious so that when I woke up I knew all of them already?”

“No, that's incredibly helpful,” Shoto thought. “Well, what are your other weaknesses besides vibration?”

They received their first bowl of soup by the time that Izuku listed everything and Shoto intently listened the entire time.

“We should catalogue how every substance influences your webs. That could literally be your research project if you wanted,” he offered.

“I know right, like think about it. Caffeine, alcohol, tea, any other substance that has properties other than water basically.”

“Do you think anything would make them stronger instead of inhibiting them?”

“That's a really good question actually,” Izuku believed. He hadn’t thought of that himself. “This is just an assumption, but I feel like protein would probably strengthen it. I’ll have to look into that because if ingesting certain things can change the entire properties of my webs, then that also suggests that properties such as their stickiness or size can be impacted by different combinations of proteins or carbohydrates.”

“That sounds so biochemistry related,” Shoto said, jokingly stunned.

Izuku laughed, “No seriously. So many things impact everything involved in the human body. That doesn’t even mention everything spider related. Maybe I should talk to some environmental majors that may have more information on insects specifically.”

Izuku ate more of the dumplings, dipping the bread sticks into the broth.

“How was the study group you went to?” Shoto inquired, sipping his own soup. Izuku was proud that he was able to get his best friend interested in his favorite soup. “You went crazy studying for it so I was curious if it paid off.”

“Oh yeah, I’d say it did. But I was so tired afterwards. Oh my god, that reminds me,” Izuku remembered, putting his spoon down because he probably wasn’t going to be taking bites anytime soon. “I was working out at the gym the night before the study group and Katsuki was there so we both spotted each other, right? Then after he asked why I always only wore long sleeves, even during summer.”

Shoto’s eyes widened, “That's crazy, what did you say?”

“I kind of just told the truth,” Izuku watched Shoto panic, then drew back his statement a bit, “Not that truth! I basically just explained the same way I feel about my scars now. He interpreted them as self-harm scars and felt really bad. So when he showed up to the study group, he brought snacks for everyone and Katsudon with coffee for me.”

“Wait, that's actually super nice. He messaged me wondering what your favoriate food was. I thought it was weird, but told him anyways because I didn’t see the harm in it. I didn't realize he actually bought it for you. He definitely didn’t have to do all that.”

“I know,” Izuku agreed, “And he remained nice the entire time. He was super soft, I didn’t know what to think.”

“Is this going where I think it’s going,” Shoto asked. Izuku knew the answer was yes and his face betrayed him. “Really Izuku, aren’t you supposed to be investigating why your senses tingled?”

“Yes,” Izuku provided, then sheepishly stated, “but who better to investigate that than Spiderman. I really like him, Shoto. And, I think that this gives me a good opportunity to get closer so I can maybe find out more information. Not for that purpose alone, but still. And if it ends up being nothing, a great problem solved, I can date him in peace. If it is an issue I find out about, I think it’s still completely normal for me to be upset, and I can end our relationship and deal with the consequences of that reality if it happens.”

Shoto sighed, “I guess that’s alright. I still think you should be more mentally prepared for the off chance that something does go bad.”

“I will, Sho,” He stated, deflated. “Why don’t you tell me about Momo?”

Izuku sipped his soup. This was going to be good.

“W-what?” He asked. “What does Momo have to do with anything?”

“Oh you know what I mean Shoto!”

Izuku got all the juicy details he wanted from interrogating Shoto. Once they paid the bill and made their way out of the restaurant, he called a cab once again so they could commute back to their dorm. He’d definitely spend some time relaxing, but only a little before studying for the organic chem exam.

They were about ten minutes from the dorm when the ground began to shake.

“Is that an earthquake?” Shoto worriedly questioned.

His senses tingle in an awfully painful way, one he knew only meant extreme danger was involved. As the shaking came closer and more violent, his senses amplified to a ringing in his ears. He only had a few seconds to prepare, and he spent that time ensuring Shoto’s safety in place of his own. Without thinking, his arm reached out towards his best friend, effectively creating a human seatbelt similar to a mom that protects their child before a car accident.

At the point of impact, their cab flipped repeatedly over itself. As he flinched, his vision became a bad stop-motion of images as the horrors occurred. Dust kicked up into the sky, airbags deployed as a chemical burn filled the air, and metal shrapnel littered the ground. The body of the car became disoriented and bent, trapping Izuku’s body by lodging him between the seats. After the toppling came to an end, his body hung upside down, so trapped that not even gravity could un-wedge him.

There was broken glass, blood dripping from his seat, and screaming from civilians around him. Screams coming from within his own chest.

“Izuku!? Oh my god, oh my god!”

The voice came from Shoto. He was able to unbuckle his seatbelt and climb down from his hanging position with little grace. Izuku watched upside down as his friend was cut with glass in the process of finding freedom. He saw the panic on Shoto’s face, and looked down at his own body.

The blood dripping onto his seat and finding purchase on the ground below in a pool was coming from his side. The one opposite from where he was shot just a few days prior. The same metal shrapnel that littered the ground also seemed to litter his body as multiple wounds spewed blood from his side.

His friend had tears streaming down his face as he desperately clawed at the seat in an attempt to dislodge Izuku to no avail. There was a frustrated groan of helplessness.

“Izuku, I promise I will be right back, I’m going to find you help. Please for the love of god, out of all the times you’ve survived your dangerous stunts, you cannot die here due to metal.”

Izuku chuckled painfully, that would be ironic, wouldn’t it? He was afraid to use his voice. If he tried, he thought he would only be able to scream. He couldn’t fully breathe, felt the extra weight of his body affecting his lung’s ability to function. He felt his vision become dizzy watching civilians running past the cab towards safety. Then, with repeated looping of black circles and blood rushing to his head, his vision faded to darkness, and he succumbed to what he only imagined was the sweet embrace of death.

Chapter Text

After successful lectures of flirting by sitting next to Izuku, Katuski was pretty ecstatic to say the least. And after their organic chemistry exam, he would be rewarded by his two favorite things: sushi and Izuku. His demeanor seemed to change overall, too. Eijiro was quick to catch on.

“I heard from Denki that you and Izuku looked pretty close at your study group yesterday,” Eijiro teased.

Katsuki was bound to be poked fun at for the rest of his life if a relationship with Izuku lasted. He knew what his year thought about him: he was charismatic, outgoing, and handsome. And despite it all, he was never seen romantically interested in anyone. He was honestly starting to wonder if he was aromantic before Izuku because this was a common occurrence throughout his life.

He had multiple masculine and feminine classmates ask him out or attempt at flirting throughout the year and a half he spent at Yeuui. Each one was turned down, politely too. They were a variety: pretty, talented, already successful, but none of them ever intrigued Katsuki. Not in the way Izuku did.

Beauty couldn’t escape Izuku, it was woven into his nucleic acids, embedded in the very core of who he was. Katsuki would become lost in his wide, bright green eyes, bouncing between each individual freckle before imagining his hands raking through those voluminous curls. He was patient in a way not many were. Never quick to anger, always understanding of any situation, but passionate about important beliefs. He was intelligent, and willing to put in the long strenuous hours to gain his education. Katsuki had so much respect for him, it was almost too overwhelming. Or maybe that was just his bad emotional management. His defense for such intense emotions over a short period of time tended to be flirting. With Spiderman, he found it entertaining. With Izuku, it was all he could say to prevent that rush of emotion.

“Whatever.” Another deflection of emotion.

“Come on, man! I want some details. I’d tell you if I was interested in anyone! We’d be gossiping so hard dude. I want to hear yours!” He practically begged, bribing Katsuki with his favorite protein drink.

He groaned, then sat crisscrossed in the spot next to Eijiro on his bed and begrudgingly took his protein drink.

Eijiro looked expectantly, waiting for crumbs.

“I’ve never done this shit before, I don’t know where to start.”

“How about you start from the first time you had a potential romantic thought about him?”

“I guess it was last semester when we randomly partnered up together. I had this little feeling of interest, but I kind of acted more brash with my personality than genuine because I wasn’t sure how to interact with someone when I felt that way.”

“Oh so this crush has some hidden history.”

“I guess you could say that. Then during the biochemistry field trip late spring with Dr. Yagi, he kept spewing related facts with him and I found it really interesting. He seemed so genuinely excited, as all of us were too, and it brought this brightness to his complexion that was so…beautiful.”

“Oh you’ve slow-burned so hard, man.”

“There were so many other instances too, just times in class I thought his curls were mesmerizing, and I focused on how they curved instead of the lecture, but he never seemed to really see me. He would never look at me during lectures, would only briefly speak to me during labs if Denki and I happened to be cracking jokes around him. Ever since the trip I wouldn’t have those interactions anymore, so I figured he definitely didn’t feel anything, and that I shouldn’t either.”

“I don’t think that was specifically about you. God knows Izuku would never purposely distance himself from anyone, he’s too sweet. Remember I told you he’s been busy this semester. He used to be more involved in the stem club Dr. Yamada hosted, and last year he was even part of the student government on campus. Well, Denki goes to the same club and he hasn’t seen Izuku there since the semester started, and Tenya worked in student government with him and said the same about his involvement. I think he genuinely is more withdrawn this year.”

“Do you have any clue why? He still seems to be holding strongly onto academics, pursuing a relationship with me, and involved in slightly social opportunities like the study group. He helped to organize that with Ochaco.” Katsuki was honestly confused. He thought that maybe it was disinterest of him as a person that created some distance originally. But, honestly, if Izuku was now working to pursue a relationship with him, that obviously wouldn’t be the case.

“I don’t know. Maybe he's involved in something else that we don’t know about. Maybe he’s focusing more on studying like crazy? An internship? It could really be anything.”

Katsuki knew it was none of his business, but could Izuku’s scars be new? He hoped not, but withdrawing from different involvements could mean a number of things, and that possibility was one of them.

Eijiro changed the topic back to the original one, “Everything you’ve said has been from the past, what about your current situation?”

Katsuki checked his watch, saw the time, and was quick to leave his friend hanging.

“I’ve got to go, Eijiro. You’re digging into my scheduled library time.”

Library time was his excuse to be Deadpool. When he was around Eijiro from the very beginning, he made sure to paint the picture that he took studying very seriously. Then, once he was sure his roommate believed him, he started his own vigilante investigation. He could argue it was related to studying, really.

“What? It was just getting to the good part!” He groaned.

Katsuki snickered, “I’ll see you later tonight, want to grab dinner together?”

“Sounds good!”

Patrol was going so well, Katsuki was becoming bored without his favorite spidey friend. After being interviewed by Shinsou, all he had left to do was investigate Twitter's response to it. They had a variety of reactions: gratitude to Deadpool for revealing Spiderman was okay, obsession with his attentive response to ensure the vigilante was recovering, and their ship name spideypool trending with 200k tweets about it. It seemed the longer they were partners, the more people started to ship them together.

He watched the hussle of everyday civilians. He understood why Spiderman took his job so seriously. It was a big responsibility, ensuring the lives of people from all ages were safe. He hoped that Spiderman could appreciate him patrolling alone.

Katsuki obtained his portable blade sharpener from his sleeve pocket. It was only a little one, small enough to be concealed. It wasn’t as nice as the one he had back in his sanctum, but it did well on patrols. He began running the blade of his knife at an angle along the stone, his ears bracing for the impact. His eyes hardened, and his mind raced remembering various occasions he sharpened the same two knives.

After his attempt at his own life in the facility, Dabi was so pissed he enrolled Katsuki into arena fights every week with other patients who were there for differing reasons. Most were people who had yet to mutate after months of work, leading them to be punished through life-or-death fights. It made the process of getting rid of the rejects much easier. Others were trouble-makers, patients that resisted their treatments and were generally a pain in the ass.

Katsuki was a special case happening to fit into both unique categories.

He was given four weeks to train. Hand-to-hand combat with Goto, sword-play with Shichi, poison and gunfighting with Mustard, and traps with Atsuhiro. Kenji taught him tactical intelligence to use his environment to his advantage.

Take it from Katsuki, when you’re tortured for weeks to no end, and you’re finally given the chance to distract your mind from that, you take it. He put himself full force into combat. His frustrations, his pain, and his grief. He refused to die after everything they had done to him. He would harvest his training, reap every single benefit, and then get revenge whenever he had the chance.

Katsuki developed his horrible sense of justice within the run-down halls of that warehouse.

Dabi put him against someone much more advanced than him, a previous veteran of the country and a patient who fought his way up the combat ladder. He was experienced, and knew how to utilize all forms of weapons they offered. Katsuki knew Dabi wanted him dead the moment he found his assignment.

Their arena had low visibility, dimly lit, with obstacles to dodge and hide between. It looked like the rest of the shitshow of a “hospital,” but the most run-down part. A mixture of mold and cobwebs decorated the halls.

He wished he was home with his parents, playing one of their biweekly game nights or watching a movie swaddled in a blanket on a couch. He missed living.

“You’re Katsuki, huh?” The veteran called, echoing against the walls . “The pipsqueak they just started training? Must’ve pissed them off pretty bad if you’re fighting me right now. I’ll try to be gentle.”

It was Mirio, he knew. His tactic teachers warned him of his first match-up. He wasn’t sure if that meant they cared for him, but he took the information in good stride. He’d have to assess the situation, find his weakness, and then use it against him.

“You’re gonna be gentle? Let me guess, you also help little old ladies cross the street right before shanking ‘em?”

He heard a chuckle slightly closer, and started rummaging through the boxes of potential weapons. He was fighting someone experienced, meaning it would be necessary to use his environment of low visibility to his advantage. Maybe he could lean into his newbie status, make Mirio underestimate him and then, well he’d figure that out when the time came.

He examined the equipment he had so far, three explosives, some form of toxic gas with a filtration mask, and a small knife. He could play into the visibility of the arena with the gas and set a trap along the way.

Katsuki began placing the explosives towards the top corner of the arena, still hidden in various areas of rubble that the warehouse contained. He simply needed Mirio’s position to know where to throw the gas.

“I hear you over there, little Katsuki. Do you plan on hiding forever?”

Bingo.

He ripped the tab and tossed the toxic grenade in the direction of his voice, then took cover by a ridden-down wall to prevent his own exposure to the gas despite still wearing the filtration mask. He learnt he could never be too careful. Smoke employed in the arena, covering it like lint attaches to clothing.

“A simple smoke bomb? Is that the best you’ve got?”

He sounded close. Katsuki needed to move towards a different section of cover.

“Just a smoke bomb, you say?” Katsuki questioned. He had to draw Mirio closer so he could approach his explosive trap. “Soon you’ll start to feel slower reaction times, a struggle to breathe as hypoxia is induced, and eventually your vision will start to blur. I just have to wait.”

“Bullshit!” He cursed. Displayed before him was a slow descent from confidence to uncertainty.

Katsuki ran towards another form of cover, a smaller column that barely concealed his body as shots were fired across the arena from Mirio’s growing desperation at his threat. Glass fell to his right, some embedding itself in Katsuki’s side.

“Missed,” Katsuki taunted.

“You little shit!”

More shots tore into his cover, making Katsuki flinch. Mirio seemed less precise now, frantic as the realization set in. Katsuki wasn’t lying. He carefully reached for the glass, reflective enough that he watched Mirio behind his column. His hands were shaky around the heavy gun.

“Any minute now, Mirio!”

A raw, desperate shout tore from the veteran’s throat, echoing off the walls. Katsuki flinched. Mirio charged at him in sheer desperation, a final burst of adrenaline in his fight or flight state. There was nowhere to run, so he was forced to attack.

“I’ll kill you first!”

Katsuki was pinned beneath the veteran, the assault cracking his mask. A sluggish onslaught hammered his diaphragm, every hit forcing more toxic gas into his burning lungs. His tongue was a desert, every swallow scraping like sandpaper as he desperately rammed his elbow into the veteran’s ribs. Every hit ingrained the glass in Katsuki’s side further, blood gushing out like a stream. He just needed more time, needed to get away so he could lead towards his set traps.

Screw filtering the glass, it was already cracked. He slammed his mask into the bastard’s face, headbutting him with everything he had. It was enough to distract for a moment so he could reach his pocket knife. As he flipped the blade, it was knocked out of his grasp, and an arm began to strangle him.

The human body and mind was truly resilient. Katsuki would say it was a stubborn bastard. How the hell was this fucker still alive? “We’ll escape this place together, Katsuki, in death. It’ll truly be merciful.”

He gasped for air, his vision beginning to blur as his oxygen became limited and the gas started to lay itself into every crevice of his body. For a split second, he hesitated. Four weeks ago, he wanted this. He could finally find peace in death. His ears started to ring, and his vision danced with black spots.

It wasn’t his time. Death wouldn’t take him just yet. The memory of his attempt haunted him, bleeding into the present like a sickness, reminding him why he had to survive. He promised he would get revenge against AFO. For the patients that had to endure the torture, his parents, and himself. He had to stop them in whatever way possible. It would become his life’s mission. Even if he escaped, he’d never forget the painful experience.

“Tch. Romantic. You think dying’s gonna fix shit? I’ve got unfinished business, and it sure as hell isn’t with you.”

He fought back like an animal, desperate to break the chokehold around his throat. He turned savage, sinking his teeth into the veteran’s arm. Within the same limited breath, he peeled at the fingers against his neck, hearing a satisfying snap followed by a horrendous scream.

Katsuki wasted no time. He hooked Mirio’s elbow and violently twisted, ripping himself free. He stumbled, barely finding his feet before collapsing onto his hands in defeat. His arm shot out, desperate to crawl forward, dragging his body one inch at a time. He was going to live. He had to. He wanted to.

A bloodcurdling scream tore from the veteran’s throat, their pursuit relentless behind him. Katsuki didn’t look back, focusing on the structure in front of him, ensuring to avoid his own trap. He wouldn’t look back. He couldn’t look back.

His ears rang from the explosion, and warmth exploded behind him, his legs burning. Forever after his opponents deemed his code-name Dynamite.

Three months in that arena. Three months of survival, of killing. He was an experienced killer.

But Spiderman? He saw the potential for something more in him. Something worth saving. And now? Well, Katsuki was starting to see it too.

His mind was still racing when a blaring wail of multiple car sirens snapped him back to the present. His heart skipped a beat, his senses suddenly alert, as if the noise itself was a threat.

Katsuki jumped off his perched ledge, pushing off the ground to run towards his motorcycle. He remembered a conversation with Dr. Yamada after their physics lecture once where they discussed that time travel theoretically was possible, but that technology wasn’t advanced enough to create it. He wondered if the same rules applied to teleportation, because if he was partnered with Spiderman, he needed a way to get across town quicker. He could imagine Spiderman teasing him about getting stuck in traffic while he threatened that one day he’d discover access to teleportation.

As he approached built up traffic, he heard fleeting cries weaving between abandoned, desolate cars. His ears tickled with ringing vibrations. He slowed his motorcycle, stopping short with desolation.

Katsuki realized this was only the origin of the villains’ rampage. Piles of rubbage preoccupied the sidewalks, cars were flipped upside down and discarded as though they were toys, and the entire street was backed up for blocks with hundreds of cars.

And for those same blocks, civilians wailed in distress, their blood seeping into the asphalt as medics attempted to save them from death.

“Deadpool!” A man in navy adorned with a badge labeled New York Police Department called, distracting from the crime scene. It drew his attention. “I’m Detective Tsukauchi. It’s good to finally meet you, though disappointing it happened in this context.”

Katsuki was hesitant, given his murderous track record, but remembered Spiderman had mentioned Tsukauchi was a good man. He had defended Spiderman even after starting to work with Deadpool and the man fought against corruption in the police department. He applauded both of them for their work, understanding their unique abilities were better suited for drug enhancements. If Spiderman trusted him, well then Deadpool did too.

Katsuki nodded, “What’s the situation, Detective?”

If the police were already involved, he didn’t want to intrude. Sure Detective Tsukauchi may have been chill, but he knew the rest of the station cursed his name. He didn’t want to ruin his or Spiderman’s reputation.

“A felon from Rikers Island escaped a few weeks ago. His name is Yuga Aoyama. He was convicted for first-degree murder after killing his former best friend turned bully. It seems since he escaped, he either consensually wanted the strength enhancement, or was scouted out by AFO for the same purpose.”

Katsuki was quick to potentially take off, “Okay, I'll lure him away from civilians and keep him occupied until the effect wears off-”

“Wait! There's something else you should know, Deadpool.” Detective Tsukauchi looked hesitant, “during his trial, Aoyama said that he took inspiration from you.”

Oh. Oh. His world stopped. Inspiration? From him?

“He told his parents, even contacted the principal about being bullied, but was ignored. He thought that your justice was the only real justice.”

Actions had consequences, Katsuki knew that. It didn’t matter if Spiderman understood him, if twitter stans thought he was cool, or that he had convinced the press to spin his redemption arc like a comeback story. He was still a killer. He was still after revenge, prevention of a continuous cycle.

How different was that from a victim killing their bully? Stopping a similar continuous cycle. He understood all too well how that felt.

Katsuki wanted to kill Dabi, and the organization’s leader. He never claimed to be a hero. On the contrary, he knew he was a villain for craving his revenge. That was the difference. Katsuki waged a constant battle in his mind, struggling against the magnetic pull of revenge and the promise of a better life. He wanted them to endure the same, drawn out torment he was forced to. He wanted to find some sick, twisted way to break them for trying to break Spiderman.

But when he heard his laugh, stared at his beautiful freckles and his brilliant forest eyes, he found peace. After his record, he wasn’t sure he was deserving of such tranquility. He had to be better for Izuku. Katsuki had a bright future ahead, if only he could ignore his past. For now, all he could do was bathe in the light Spiderman provided, keep civilians safe, and put an end to the strength enhancements. Become someone Izuku could look up to. Afterwards, then maybe, just maybe, he could finally put his revenge, his soul, to rest.

And Aoyama’s soul? Well maybe he could inspire him to escape his own prison of grief. To break the chains confining his future. Maybe they both could.

“I’ll stop him. It’s my responsibility,” he assured, silencing the small voice whispering that peace was a betrayal.

“I’m sure you understand his sentiment, coming from the same ideology. Show Aoyama that there's a way out; That you’ve found something worth fighting for besides revenge.”

Katsuki nodded, and then he was gone, sprinting towards the chaos in his city. He wasn’t a hero. Not yet. But today, he’d fight like one.

Distant destruction was his guide, drawing him closer towards the mayhem. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of the world always increases. Katsuki always imagined a clean room easily turned dirty with little thought, while energy was required to return it to its ordered state. The same could be said for the entropy of the destructive zone.

It was horrific. Blood splattered on the streets, screams echoing against the buildings, turning corners as Aoyama continued in an enraged rampage through the streets. He was only a couple hundred meters away when a guttural scream caught his attention, followed by a deafening, inelastic collision.

Glass shrapnel fractured in every direction, and he flinched as one slashed against his mask. His stomach filled with dread, the tragic view of smoke puffed out of the destroyed taxi, a discarded tin can. The front window was painted in splatters of blood.

Shivers were sent down his spine, but he remained focused. Everyone had a role, and Katsuki was the bloody tip of a spear. He’d leave the civilian saving to Spiderman’s better equipped slinging webs. Or in this case, without Spiderman, the police. He continued running on, certain to reach his target. He could prevent more casualties if he put an end to the attacks.

Then, a despairing wail resounded through the smoke of chaos.

“Izuku!”

Katsuki’s head snapped, urgently searching for the source through the frenzied catastrophe displayed before him. He pinpointed a head of multi-colored hair, Shoto, running towards him from the destroyed taxi, shouting.

See, the thing about spears? They don’t just pierce, they parry, or block. Between offense or protection, the decision falls into the hands that hold it, and the reason behind the choice. As for Katsuki? He didn’t stop to choose. His body had already decided.

He knew not too far behind him, a team of medics would soon be arriving.

But Katsuki was already here, and Izuku was trapped inside.

“Deadpool!” Shoto was shaking, his own face scratched with glass and clothes stained with blood. His voice cracked as he begged, “please, I know you have other priorities, but my best friend he’s- he’s dying.”

A damned creature writhed in his stomach, wings grinding, screaming against its walls.

Dying? He tried not to imagine the light escaping Izuku’s eyes, replaced with watery tears or his curls being contaminated with dust and shrapnel. He willed for his lips to be soft and nurtured again, not cut and scabbing.

His heart crumbled at the limp version of his Izuku dangling upside down. He almost looked ethereal, in a sickening way. Crimson blood that didn’t belong on his body fled from it. It covered everything. His clothes, his hair, his once vibrant freckles.

The side Izuku had been sitting on was contorted, the back seat crushed towards the front, lodging him in between. His ribs were likely destroyed from the pressure, jagged edges of bone ripping through his tissues and vessels. With every breath increasing the pressure, more would be forced to shed and stain his pale, colorless skin.

“Shit,” he dug his fingers into the felt fabric of the car seat, his back against the contorted trunk, pushing to separate the two seats. “You don’t get to die today, nerd.”

His hand slipped, slick with Izuku’s blood as it attempted to seep into his gloves. He groaned, then allowed his foot to find purchase as he repositioned himself. His tendons screamed, and a mix of metal and plastic flaked against the pressure, the grinding of the front seat being forced away.

“You know who should be here? Spiderman. Yeah, the guy who’s good at keeping people safe. Too bad I told him to take a damn break, huh? Should’ve figured I’d only be good for taking lives.”

Halfway there through his struggle, a voice rasped, eyelids blinking sluggishly. “Deadpool?”

Katsuki stumbled, "You’ve gotta be kidding me," he choked out, a shaky laugh slipping past his lips, surprised Izuku was capable of speaking. "You really just decided to come back from the dead, huh?"

“-what’s happening?” It was breathy and scarce. At least Katsuki knew that Izuku could breathe okay despite his crushed ribs.

“Yeah, how about we save the talking for when your ribs aren’t trying to stab your lungs, huh kid?” He scolded gently.

Izuku was a civilian, he had to play the part unless he wanted to ruin months of hiding his secret identity. And he didn’t want Izuku knowing he was Deadpool, knowing that his past was filled with murder.

Katsuki swallowed hard, forcing himself back into character. “Alright, buddy, bad news first: you’re kinda wrecked. Like, “I’m gonna have to call out of class” for this kind of wreckage. But the good news? I’m getting you out.”

Katsuki willed his body to push harder, and the plastic crunched in response to his force, with Izuku’s body starting to slide slowly out until it was met with resistance, the seatbelt holstering his body in place.

He drew his freshly sharpened knife, the blade sliding like butter against the belt. Katsuki eased Izuku’s body down gently, every inch a battle against his tormenting injuries. His fingers trembled as he brushed against Izuku’s waist, his safety almost too much to handle, watching his bangs fall back into their rightful place.

Outside the taxi, Shoto was a mess of tears trying to cling to his composure. It felt uncanny seeing a classmate this way. He stepped up beside Shoto, voice low but firm. “Hey, you can fall apart when he’s safe, alright? Right now, you keep your head on straight.”

As the medics tended to Izuku, he couldn’t help but reflect as he ran towards his target.

Ayoama, the consequence of his own actions and influence, hurt Izuku.

He swallowed roughly, his heart aching in a way he couldn't quite describe.

Katsuki had hurt Izuku.

Chapter Text

Izuku recalled a faint feeling of deja vu, like he had already woken up from being unconscious various times before his heavy eyelids would close once again. He doesn’t move, hoping the world will stop. He hopes he’ll wake up in his dorm room, the AC cranked to a cool sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit, smothered in blankets as Shoto’s alarm blares in the background. Instead, rays of light hit the back of his retina, and his world opened to see Deadpool covered in his own blood, masterfully hidden by his red suit. He wondered whether he should curse his Spiderman healing or not. Izuku wanted to be alive; he simply wished he could have slept a little longer before having to fight another drug enhanced villain.

“You know who should be here? Spiderman. Yeah, the guy who’s good at keeping people safe. Too bad I told him to take a damn break, huh? Should’ve figured I’d only be good for taking lives.”

If Izuku had enough strength or coherence, and it didn’t reveal his secret identity, he’d argue that Deadpool is great at a lot of things other than murder. Sure, as Spiderman, he could save a lot more people from preventing destruction in the first place, but Deadpool was much more skilled in offensive techniques. And Izuku had more weaknesses in comparison. Together they could practically be unstoppable working together.

Izuku knew how persistent Deadpool was. He could remember countless times before they teamed up together where he was forced to babysit Deadpool.

He scolded himself for his past thoughts of longing rest. How could Deadpool be in the city saving people, saving him, while Izuku laid silent in their weeping world? With destruction like today, Deadpool needed him. He had to get free and away from civilians so he could get his suit on no matter the cost of his injuries.

Deadpool struggled to free him, and Izuku rasped. “Deadpool?”

The vigilante stumbled, "You’ve gotta be kidding me," he choked out, a shaky laugh slipping past his lips, surprised Izuku was capable of speaking. "You really just decided to come back from the dead, huh?"

“-what’s happening?” Izuku knew his lungs were fucked when his words were scarce and his breathing fleeting.

“Yeah, how about we save the talking for when your ribs aren’t trying to stab your lungs, huh kid?” He scolded gently.

In his drowsiness, Deadpool's ‘kid’ pet name reminded Izuku that he wasn’t Spiderman right now. He was just an ordinary civilian forced to conceal any hint of his vigilante double-life. Izuku didn’t know if his heart ached because he couldn’t reach out, or because he was internally bleeding to hell.

“Alright, buddy, bad news first: you’re kinda wrecked. Like, “I’m gonna have to call out of class” for this kind of wreckage. But the good news? I’m getting you out.”

If Izuku had more energy, he’d roll his eyes. Maybe he needed to brief Deadpool on proper public media prepping or customer service because honestly? He sucked. Izuku would have laughed if the movement didn’t threaten to puncture his lungs. He was totally going to find a way to tease Deadpool about this. I mean, who starts with the bad news when someone is actively dying?

He had little time for thoughts though, as Deadpool crushed the plastic seat, and Izuku felt his body gently slide from its position. He was useless in this ordeal, unable to help in any way when his seatbelt prevented him from freedom.

Izuku admired Deadpool’s knife as it glided through like butter against the belt. He heard every fabric strand rip from its other half. His head nestled itself against the crimson suit, caramel wafting to his senses. It proved to comfort him, reminding him of Katsuki. The embrace was cut short as he was lifted by medics into a truck they had rushed towards him.

“Can you take a deep breath for me kid?” One medic asked. Izuku tried and was met with the same sharp pain and his lack of air. “No? Okay just keep it slow then.”

They gently lifted his head and applied an oxygen mask.

“You’ll feel a small prick now, honey, we need to administer some fluids to prevent shock,” with the adrenaline, he hardly felt it. “Do you know what blood type you are? We need to start a blood transfusion.”

Speaking wasn’t nearly as hard with the oxygen mask, but his answer still sounded hoarse, “O positive.”

“Okay, you’re doing great sweetie.” He watched as the bag was leveraged on its hook, the liquid slowly crawling down the tube. It almost distracted from the two medics starting to bicker back and forth.

“There are too many injured civilians in the aftermath, how are we supposed to support every one?”

“We’ll leave the kid here for now and start a search and rescue until the Fire Department can arrive. We can administer treatment on site.”

“We can’t leave him here! Protocol states he must remain under supervision until hospitalized.”

“Yeah, and that protocol was created twenty years ago before villain attacks were as frequent as the flu in February. Do you want to save a life?” The other medic nodded. “Then we’ll start a search and rescue check.”

He could feel his heartrate quicken with every word. Is this how the medical profession changed after continuous villain attacks? It only lit a fire in Izuku more, this city needed him.

Once they both agreed, they turned to Izuku. “You’re stable enough for now. We’re understaffed with every injured civilian. If you need anything, have your friend get us urgently.”

Izuku nodded, just realizing Shoto was by his side, their bags obtained from the wrecked car. He let his eyelids drift closed for a moment, maybe a few before his adrenaline picked up again. He almost allowed himself to rest. Sadly, a couple minutes was all he could take. His stabilized condition was a sign to depart. It would be bizarre to the nurses, but he had to help Deadpool.

He slowly sat up accompanied by a soaring pain as if his crushed ribs were scraping every nook internally, his breathing labored. The paramedics were further away focused on other patients, and the crisis of ambulance sirens and screams provided the perfect cover to escape.

“What’re you doing, Izuku?” Shoto inquired, a worrying expression accompanying his question.

He willed his voice to strengthen, praying for something better than a frayed tone, “I need to help Deadpool.” He reached to remove his mask.

“Like hell you do! Your oxygen saturation is shit. You can hardly breathe without puncturing a lung. You need to rest.”

“Shoto, I-”

“No.” He was firm, his voice unwavering. “How many times have you sacrificed your own well-being without a single thought? I was there, Izuku, for all of it! Have you ever stopped to think about the consequences of that?” Tears welled in his eyes now. “Do you know how many nauseous nights I’ve had waiting for you to return safely?! Or the days you’ve patrolled, and I’ve desperately searched the news for any information on your wellbeing?”

There was an absent silence, then softly, “I understand, but I have no other choice. Without my interference the drug enhancers, robbery, political corruption would be uncontained.” His heart monitor spiked, an already high 133 bpm reaching 147 bpm. “What am I supposed to do!”

Shoto's face darkened with anger, a glare he had never witnessed before. It made Izuku’s heart ache.

“Be selfish for once! Just once. I can’t keep watching you break yourself without an ounce of self-preservation! Every time you try to save this city it’s just a reminder of how fucked it is, a reminder of how it doesn’t want to be saved. I won’t watch you kill yourself for a lost cause. I refuse to, Izuku!”

He ripped the IVs from his arm, his blood staining like crimson tears. His monitor crashed the moment he pulled the sensors from his chest. It didn’t matter if Shoto thought his city wasn’t worth saving. He had to try. All he could do was try, damnit.

Because children dawn Spiderman masks for Halloween, hoping to be half as brave as their favorite vigilante.

Because in Central Park he stopped a crooked man from abducting a little girl wondering a bit too far from her parents.

Because a neighborhood pharmacy near Stuyvesant Town Fountain was frequently robbed due to narcotic substance abuse and he responded instantly, saving the workers.

Because AFO was still out there, threatening any civilians they could experiment with. Or killing medical researchers for a darker purpose.

Because without vigilantes, more civilians would be injured. The unassuming taxi he was just in, and tens of other vehicles, were now disheveled in the road. No one was there to save them like Deadpool had saved him.

Because without a vigilante to stop the rampant crime rate in New York, the medical system would be bound with tens of thousands of wounded patients.

Because the police were corrupt, and if Spiderman didn’t fight for his people, nobody would. How many children were waiting at home for their parents? How many were about to turn on the TV to see news of their parents' potential death? His injury could be easily cured with time, but the same wasn’t true for civilians. For them, it meant taking months of medical leave to recover. How could that jeopardize their finances? Their chronic health? No one would care for the abducted children or the pharmacy employees, or the civilians drugged without consent. Someone had to get up, even with crushed ribs and fleeting breath, and save them. Someone had to try.

The city wants to be saved. It just needs his help.

“Then don’t watch me.” Izuku said, grabbing the bag containing his suit. His enhanced hearing heard the broken breath and his senses noticed the shake in Shoto’s hands. His chest hurt, but it wasn’t due to his ribs. His heart throbbed. Shoto said he needed to be selfish. In some sick, twisted way, Izuku would say he has been all along. His convictions always came first.

“Don’t turn on the news. Don’t wait by the door. Don’t look for updates. Just-” he coughed for air and felt a thousand fingernails scratching down his lungs, “close your eyes when I go.”

The weight of silence fell upon them. What a shame such responsibility fell to someone who wasn’t ready to bear it, but had too big a heart to object.

He stepped down from the ambulance, watching smoke fill the skyline as it turned into a muddy sunset. He ignored his pain, pushing it down and replacing it with adrenaline. Izuku buried it under his responsibilities and spider senses. He could rest when he was dead. But now? He needed to find coverage to change into his suit.

In his absence, only Shoto remained, eyes closed and welling with tears.

His hand trembled as he fired a web towards the next building, nursing his bleeding side in the process. On his way over, he stopped a few times to save civilians from positions the firefighters couldn’t. He could see Deadpool fighting ahead, surrounded by fire that had erupted from the drug enhanced man.

One thing in particular worried Izuku. It wasn’t his crushed ribs or even the destruction that had occurred. It had probably been ten minutes since his conversation with Shoto, and another ten since the accident. And still, the drug’s effect was ongoing. Was it a higher dose? Could they have developed an extended release version utilizing liposomes or vesicles?

It was possible.

Or, perhaps, the injection was provided deeper into the muscle for a gradual absorption. For that to be successful, however, it would be unlikely for the victim to be a random civilian due to the difficulties of the injection. This was an associate, a willing participant. That was dangerous.

Through the fire Izuku saw them. The assailant was unrecognizable, his body distorted to an unhuman appearance. There was a night and day difference. Like the difference between looking at healthy, beautiful clear cells under a microscope, and deformed cancer cells. Key characteristics were divergent, like cancer cells growing on plastic versus the delicate conditions that human cells require to sustain life.

Despite the wounds Deadpool seemed to inflict, the attacker was still evidently imbued with strength and an unhuman agility for his build. And his vigilante grew exhausted after minutes of continuous battle.

“Deadpool, oh how I’ve admired you! Your skills don’t disappoint" He heard through the sizzling of the flames. He watched as they were dueling sword to sword. “You gave me the courage to free myself. To live another day over their graves! And now? I want the entire world to see what I can do. To see me, just like you!”

“It should never have been that way, Aoyama.” Deadpool huffed as the sound of clanging metal rang through, he was on the defensive. “I still want revenge, the urge to is crushing. I still remember everything they did to me, I still want to see their blood spill from my hands. To find comfort in all the pain they’ve caused me. But the whole world, the civilians? They don’t have to die from my selfishness. They don’t have to feel the same suffering I do.”

He could tell that Deadpool was only trying to delay the effects of the drug, but these efforts seemed fleeting. It had already been so long since this rampage began. His energy seemed unending too, every counterattack meeting Deadpool's with accuracy.

As Spiderman, Izuku knew the strength Deadpool held. His tactical brilliance and unpredictable actions were unique to him alone. He could easily defeat an enhanced villain if he pleased. He was holding back, taking his emotions by the reins and not allowing them to dictate his actions; to trap him. But he wasn’t used to this style of fighting, to holding back. It was evident he was trying to stall for as long as he could, but he didn’t have endless energy.

Izuku was waiting, observing to find the perfect moment to interject into the battle.

“What’s wrong with you Deadpool?! Don’t you see, all of society failed us!” Aoyama’s blade cut an impression into Deadpool’s shoulder. “You were the only person supporting me! Everyone watched me suffer and now that I have the power, I want to watch them suffer too.”

“Only the guilty should be persecuted!” Deadpool yelled with a grunt during the exchange. The pressure of attacks forced blood to pour slowly from his wound.

“You’re abandoning ideals that made you untouchable!” Aoyama bellowed, knocking Deadpool back from a forceful ram. He swung his sword high, then forcefully drove it down,“If these are your beliefs, die from them-”

Now. Izuku slung into the ring of fire, a thin web circling Aoyama’s sword and staining to redirect it away from the vigilante. “Sorry to interrupt your monologue, but it looks like your new babysitter just arrived, Aoyama!”

“Who the hell are you?!” He tried to whip the webs off, but it was a useless pursuit. Deadpool darted away quickly, seemingly tense from the attempt on his life.

He continued to tether the webs to his beck and call, strengthening his hold by reinforcing another sling of webs. “Oh, just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman tasked to clean up after revengeful vigilantes! Ask Deadpool!”

His distraction gave enough time for Deadpool to find his footing and regain control of his swords, and the vigilante scoffed at his joke. Spiderman met beside him, using the momentum of his movement to force the blade from Aoyama’s grasp. It went flying into the adjacent destroyed building far from his reach.

“You’re supposed to be on bedrest,” then Deadpool quickly gazed over Izuku’s wounds before Aoyama regained his perspective. “What the hell happened to you?”

“It’s a long story,” he sighed jokingly, “if you need a bedtime story I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Don’t get this shit trending on twitter-”

He was cut off by their approaching assassin beckoning for a fist fight with immense rage.

“All you, Deadpool!” Izuku yelled, propelling his webs away to higher ground. Fist fights were not Izuku’s strong suit, especially in his current state.

From above, he applied compression to his still hemorrhaging side and watched as the vigilante fought with fury, agilely dodging heavy-handed fists. Izuku sniped him from above, slinging objects at opportune moments to catch Aoyama off-guard and promote an advantage to Deadpool. His muscles strained against the weight, but he persevered. It was allowing Deadpool to get a few cuts with his switchblade.

“I understand your anger, Aoyama! Society is flawed, blemished, it doesn’t always protect those who need it most. I know what it’s like to be bullied. I too felt so small, like I was nothing while everyone watched me shrink. But there are other ways to change the broken system! Hurting people only constructs the same world you hate.” Izuku called out. He wanted to try a potentially hopeless pursuit to convince Aoyama to peacefully stop. As influential as violence is when standing up to oppressors, it would only continue the same loop of brutality. There was always another way, despite the struggle it takes.

It was like a non-spontaneous reaction that required the coupling of hundreds of ATP to occur. It takes a huge amount of energy to sponsor societal change. How much energy would be expended and used before change occurred? There was a doubtful voice inside of him; The part of him that felt small. The part that felt used. The part embodying ADP. But even ADP could be phosphorylated again. Even a strained effort could be renewed again.

Eventually it would occur. Izuku would make sure of it, one way or another.

“Will you be able to hold back when I snap Spiderman’s neck in two?”

There was absolutely no reasoning with Aoyama.

“Like hell I’d let you!” His once encouraging moral message was slipping as Aoyama seemed further away from change. “Don’t you fucking touch him.”

His analysis from earlier allowed him to notice a few technical errors on Aoyama’s part. He had a strong right swing from his dominant hand, an attack sure to put anyone out of commission for a while, but it had a weakness too. He was over-compensating, an opening left in its wake.

“Deadpool his dominant hand overextends! Strike his blind spot!”

His body was giving out, exhaustion creeping in. But his mind? That was still sharp.

Deadpool adjusted to his demands with ease, focusing on the tactful information provided. It gave him an advantage temporarily until Aoyama adjusted. With his convictions set, they could pivot towards apprehending him in any form necessary, a strategy not typically used when fighting the enhanced civilians.

They never consented to being exploited by AFO. Aoyama did. Experimentally, Izuku webbed his leg, stopping him in place as he flailed. If they could detain him, maybe the effects would eventually wear off.

Webs sprung to contain Aoyama’s arms and suddenly he was flying, launched from his own creation into the side of a disheveled car. Air escaped his lungs; wheezing breaths not purchasing enough oxygen. He's coughing involuntarily, every shutter burning his lungs. His vision blurs as he suffocates. Izuku was really tired of automobiles today.

“Spiderman!”

It was all too shallow, his breathing and vision fading in and out. Adrenaline could only take him so far, like a sugar rush burnt out after a singular task. He couldn’t offer much verbal objection as a fist yanked his hair, dangling him from the scalp. His teeth clenched from the pain erupting throughout his entire body. He felt like he was dying for the second time today. Maybe he was.

“Not so vocal now,” he conceited. His blade raised in his other hand and attention turned to Deadpool. Through exhausted eyelids Izuku met Deadpool's gaze. It was full of rage. “Your precious Spiderman here in the flesh! It looks like he took quite a beating today for all these civilians. If you want to keep him alive, you’ll have to persecute the guilty!”

“Aoyama-”

“Persecute me, Deadpool! Take revenge for his suffering! Let it fuel you. Show me your disregarded restraint! Show me the person I used to admire!”

Deadpool approached with his blade, hands shaking, “You’re right, maybe I haven’t changed. Maybe I want to slowly watch you bleed out by my blades, just like everyone else related to AFO…”

Izuku felt silent tears stain his mask, too tired to sob, too ragged to fight. Scared to witness the death of their opponent, but too scared to close his eyes in case he’d never open them again. Aoyama needed psychological counseling, not death. He needed a hero, not a vigilante.

Deadpool raised his sword, the length hovering near Aoyama’s neck, the point beginning to embed itself in his throat, “...but you’re not guilty enough to earn that fate. Not when he's watching.”

Deadpool’s blade is sharp enough to slice his arm off clean, blood profusely spilling from the appendage with a spine-chilling scream. Izuku felt his embrace as gentle as before in the taxi.

“Web him, Spiderman, now!”

His fear took control, and he relentlessly continued until his shaking anxiety wore off. It wasn’t until he felt safe again. A trapped Aoyama danced with the stars filling Izuku’s vision. They just had to wait for the police to show up and arrest him.

“It’s okay Spidey, we got him.” He comforted after carrying Izuku further from the villain.

Deadpool looked at him completely this time, his body language and tone portraying his alarm. Izuku’s suit hid most of it, but not from Deadpool. He knew. It wasn’t something you could hide from someone who also knew what broken ribs felt like. Then, softer, “You’re bleeding through your suit, Spidey.”

“I’m fine,” He whispered out, his breathing almost non-existent. He was lying and Deadpool knew it. He felt ashamed for trying to dismiss himself, but he still wasn’t comfortable going to the hospital unconscious. If anyone knew his secret identity, his life was over. He’d put any close friends and family at risk and possibly ruin any chance of future education or a career.

He could be murdered in his sleep, and never wake up. It was already something he had nightmares about. That or finding his loved ones brutally murdered over the news.

“You’re full of shit,” Deadpool cursed. “You don’t get to die for this city,” he muttered, something raw leaking through. I guess he thinks I’m dying too. He grasped Izuku’s face, “not when you’re the only thing in it that still feels human.”

“Then don’t let me.”

Deadpool sighed, “You need immediate medical attention.”

Izuku flinched, panic flooding his body as he gasped for air to protest, “No! I’m fine, I can heal from this! I can-” he coughed to replenish his breath, “-already feel myself recovering!”

He was so full of shit.

“This isn’t something you can regenerate from-”

“I won’t! Not unless you come with me,” he's shaking. Izuku wonders if it’s due to his spider metabolism that he feels so cold. He can hardly keep his eyes open. He struggles to explain himself with borrowed time. “If they take my mask off, I’m done. AFO will target me until I’m dead or used for their unethical experiments. At least if you’re there, you’ll stop them.”

Deadpool sighed after contemplation. “Calm down, I understand. I’ll go with you if it keeps you from bleeding out on my couch.”

Izuku rolled his eyes with what little spirit he could muster.. His spider senses notified him of the incoming law enforcement and ambulances.

“I won’t let a single person lay a hand on your mask.”

For now, Izuku could rest. Really rest.

But his organic chemistry exam was next week so he wouldn’t be resting much at all.

Beep

Something soft seemed to rub his arm in slow motions. Izuku felt warm, a gentle weight resting atop his body.

Beep

His chest felt light, a hacking wet cough no longer present with every inhale.

Beep

He remembered fading in and out of consciousness. An alarming blare of noise and dismayed yelling seemed like a nightmare at the time. He recalled Deadpool arguing, threatening to fight someone. Door after door passing by his vision.

Beep

Izuku jolted in a panic, quickly reaching towards his face. He felt skin where fabric should have been. Tubes lodged in his nose that gave the false impression of easy breathing. Then, he was hyperventilating.

“Woah, breathe Spide-”

Deadpool was beside his bed illustrated in the early morning light.

“My mask-”

“Man that anesthesia must’ve been strong,” he muttered under his breath, “It was only pulled over your nose Spiderman.”

He reached up further and felt his familiar textile. He took a deep breath. “Anesthesia? What happened?”

“You needed surgery to correct your fractured ribs. Fragments of your bone caused lesions resulting in internal bleeding.” Deadpool sat back in his chair. “They weren’t sure how your regeneration would impact the process…if they’d cut you open and race against premature repair before they got to the root of your bleeding. They had to give you a massive dose of anesthesia in order for it to work properly, and it seemed your regeneration slowed under its effect, allowing them to continue.”

Anesthesia impaired his regeneration? That was good to know but also frightening. Could these healthcare providers keep this secret, a huge weakness of his?

“I- I remember you arguing with someone, was that real or?”

“Yeah,” he huffed. “When we first arrived here from the ambulance they weren’t comfortable working with your regeneration. They kept claiming that no doctor has ever worked with something like that before. They waited to see if you’d naturally recover while supporting your body with blood transfusions and fluids. I really thought you were going to pull it off.”

Izuku was suddenly hyper aware of the IV in his arm and felt the transfer of a cold liquid in his veins.

“I didn’t even know what was happening at the time. Your heart monitor just started going to shit and nurses were running around trying to collect doctors. They needed to transfer you for surgery and I gave them hell to stay with you like I promised.”

No longer distracted from all his panic, Izuku ascertained Deadpool’s appearance. His outfit was similar to the day of the bank incident, a band shirt and black barrel jeans replacing his suit all except for the mask. Izuku thought he had a similar fashion-style to Katsuki. As if in solidarity, his was also lifted above the nose.

His nook had various books piled onto an end table next to his bedside chair. It looked like the nurses had brought lunch for the day as well. Based on the disordered entropy of Deadpool’s corner, Izuku assumed it had been a while since he was first admitted. He was afraid to know how long.

Somewhere within that stack was a spine that read the same edition organic chemistry book as his. On top was an identical review worksheet half completed. Of course, Izuku was too drugged and unaware to notice.

“Thank you,” Izuku held his gaze. He hoped Deadpool understood his appreciation. He would have died otherwise. He let that thought sink in. He hated that Shoto was right.

In the end it didn’t matter. Izuku never had a choice.

“What time is it?” Then, he asked sheepishly. “Did my guy in the chair call?”

“It’s Sunday afternoon. We’ve been here since Friday night,” then he gestured to Izuku’s phone beside his bed, “and nobody has called you since then. I didn’t look at your text messages for privacy but maybe he did there?”

Izuku sighed. Were his convictions worth it? Worth losing a best friend over? Worth dying for?

Many would argue no. With his spiderman mask still covering half of his identity, he couldn’t possibly answer those questions.

“I’m assuming radio silence is abnormal?”

“We got into a disagreement before I came to help Friday.”

“Sounds like more than a little disagreement if you’re being ghosted while in the hospital,” Deadpool offered him a pack of crackers from lunch. “Is that why you were injured already when you showed up? Your computer nerd beat you up before?”

Izuku chuckled at Deadpool’s attempt to cheer him up. “When Aoyama first attacked, I was one of the civilians damaged in the aftermath. Once I was stabilized by medics, I knew I needed to help you-”

“But you were seriously wounded and your friend was worried about you and your sacrificial tendencies?”

“Sacrificial tendencies?!”

“Spidey, this is the second time within the past week I’ve been involved in resuscitating you from death, I’d call that sacrificial tendencies.” He sat further back in his seat. Izuku noticed his calloused hands were still resting on his arm.

“Pft, whatever.” He grumbled, reluctant. He couldn’t tell Deadpool what he actually said to Shoto, or he’d probably be lectured worse. This wasn’t something Deadpool could understand, but he tried explaining it anyway. “I can’t sit by and watch as the world burns.”

“Even if it means jumping into it unprepared and getting singed?”

Izuku nodded.

“You’re making my job of keeping you alive so difficult,” he groaned.

Later that evening Izuku was discharged from the hospital with a handful of prescriptions they cautioned might not even work with his regeneration. Deadpool stayed the entire time, his chaotic nature adored, before they split. He continued his pursuit to Yuuei, his heart heavier than usual.

He wanted to find Shoto. He wanted to apologize, to compromise and ensure his ability to serve while retaining his survival. As he scaled up the side of his dorm and crawled through the window, he halted cold by the emptiness of the room.

His chest tightened, his throat embodying a bittersweet scratchiness as he felt a small wavering cry escape. Shoto’s bed was as bare as it was before he moved in after summer, a stiff navy mattress and a frame as the only remains. His PC was absent and his coding notes no longer sprawled across his abandoned desk.

While Izuku was fighting and healing over the weekend, Shoto had moved out.

Tears welled in his eyes. He scrambled for his phone and checked for some form of a goodbye. Nothing. He contemplated messaging Shoto before doubling back and deleting the draft. Could he ever really compromise in a way that would satisfy Shoto? Would it ever really protect his peace? His want to bridge the distance gnawed at him, but that layer of protection was the only solace he could offer Shoto.

He’d trade proximity for restraint.

He stared at the vacant space as he leaned against his bed, the consequences of his convictions making themselves known.

He glanced at other notifications, shocked at the magnitude of messages he had received since Friday. He opened Katsuki’s which stated, “Holy shit, I saw the news, are you okay?! Please respond as soon as you can.” Or Ochaco’s, “I’m so scared, I seriously hope you’re doing okay! Text me when you can please!!”

The news? He opened his computer and went to Yuuei’s News Network to see a report about the attack over the weekend. On the front cover were images of them fighting Aoyama, destruction caused by the villain, and Izuku being cradled out of a disheveled taxi by Deadpool.

Holy shit.

He went to Twitter and saw Deadpool trending with commentary praising how he handled the situation. Almost every tweet featured his withered body curled up in the vigilante’s arms.

Izuku was not taking that organic chemistry exam Wednesday. Not when the entire world thought he was dead.