All Might's bento boxes made his stomach hurt. It wasn't that they were bad, but Izuku had been feeling sicker by the day. He couldn't tell anyone about this. One wrong move and the assassins would know.

    Then they would kill everyone. Izuku didn't want this. No more people could die because of him. The image of Sir Nighteye in his hospital bed made Izuku want to bend over and throw up the food Mako had made.

    Mako.

    Good God.

    Izuku had been attached to him for the last week. He couldn't spend more than a few hours away before he wanted to tear his teeth out of his mouth. It was gross. It was embarrassing. It actually made him want to die a little bit. Why did he like this boy so much?

    Mako had helped him track another assassin down. Using Echolocation, Mako was able to get three kids from under the rubble. The kids were now his biggest fans. Izuku admired that about Mako. He had always struggled with talking to victims. They made him anxious and he wasn't always sure about what to say. He had literally gotten points taken off during his License exam for not being able to relate to victims.

    He should really ask Mako how he does it. He made it seem so easy.

    "Do you think that assassin knows the layout of the city?" Mako asked, fixing his bat-shaped mask. He was hard at work nowadays. Mako didn't laugh as much, which made Izuku feel like actual shit. He wasn't sure if it was the circumstances or if it was Izuku himself. "This guy knows the layout of the streets. He knows which buildings aren't stable. He lived here." He glanced at Izuku with these dark pure black eyes for a second before they softened a bit. "What's the plan, Deku?"

    Izuku's hero name on Mako's tongue made him feel warm inside. Izuku looked around the area, taking in the civilians around them. "We get the innocents out. Then I get any information about All for One or Shigaraki outta him." Mako nodded.

    He went to jump from the roof onto the next one. Izuku grabbed his arm, looking up at him. Mako titled his head. "What's wrong?"

    Izuku swallowed. "Stay safe." He felt his hands
shake in his gloves. "I'll see you after."

    Mako smiled, his sharp teeth shining in the moonlight. "Of course you will. I've got to get an Izuku kiss before I go to bed, baby." He interlocked their fingers. Izuku sucked in a breath. "You better be safe out there, or I'll be the next assassin you fight."

    "I'll be safe."

    So.

    About that.

    Listen, it wasn't exactly his fault. This assassin had a teleportation quirk. Izuku could predict his moves, but he was working himself to death. He needed to get Mako out of the area. Which was a lot harder to do than get the assassin to give up. Mako had been watching them from afar. He was making sure there were no casualties. Izuku was hellbent on making sure that Mako wasn't one of them.

    "Hunter, get out of here," Izuku yelled over his quirk. He had kicked the assassin into another building. This guy just wouldn't give up. It was really pissing him off. "Now."

    Mako flipped him off, running toward him. "I've got a plan. I know this guy. He's got that whole Catholic guilt thing going for him." Mako looked around before the site of the church filled up the scenery.

    Izuku was going to kiss Mako senseless.

    "I can lure him into the church," Mako said, looking around to make sure the assassin couldn't hear them. "Then you do your magical hero boy stuff. Simple." He raised his mask a little. His black hair clung to his forehead. He was exhausted. Izuku could tell. Izuku knew that Mako was overwhelmed. If he used his quirk too long, Mako became hyper aware of every sound in the area. It was scary. Izuku had only ever seen Mako overwhelmed once. It reminded him of Fiona, his classmate from America. She had the same sort of issue.

    "Are you sure you have that under control?"
    Mako grinned, raising his hand in a thumbs up. "Don't worry. I've got this." Izuku groaned but let Mako believe that. He fixed his mask and watched Mako disappear into the night. Like a bat.

    Get it. Like a bat. Because his quirk was echolocation?

    Fiona would've found that hilarious.

    Izuku ran toward the church, ready to overwhelm the assassin. He was sure that guy knew something. A teleportation quirk was deadly. He hadn't gotten the chance to really figure out how they work, but he needed to focus. Mako was running, and fighting. For Izuku. That made Izuku feel sick.

    Or maybe he was just getting sick.

    He hid in one of the confession stalls, which smelled like Catholic guilt and also blood. Had someone died here? Then he looked down, only to see his knee bleeding. He must've pierced it before. Or was it during the fight? God, Izuku needed to drink something.

    He heard a loud thud. He took a deep breath, moving the door a bit. Through The space he made, Izuku watched Mako and the assassin. He jumped around the assassin's attacks, though it was clearly tiring him out. Mako was laughing. That's what made Izuku crack a soft smile. He loved the sound of Mako's laugh.

    "Whenever you're ready, Deku."

    Then he heard a gunshot.

    When the actual fuck did Mako start carrying a gun?

    Izuku sprinted out from behind the confessional door. He extended his hand, willing Black Whip to escape his body. It wrapped the assassin in its black energy. The assassin screamed, convulsing in the hot heat of Black Whip.

    Mako scratched his head. "I didn't know Black Whip was that hot."

    The assassin screamed again. It reminded Izuku of those possessed people in movies that get thrown holy water. Was that sick in the head to say? Probably.

    "You will burn in hell," the assassin threatened. Mako snorted, leaning over to pat the man's cheek. The assassin hissed in Mako's touch. "Do not touch me in this holy place."

    Mako placed the gun under the assassin's chin. "No thanks. I'll touch whatever I want." His voice lowered as he spoke.

    Izuku shivered at the implication.

    He tightened Black Whip until the assassin's eyes popped from his sockets. Mako turned away to stop himself from throwing up. Izuku had gotten used to killing these guys. He was a hero. This is what he had to do. The body began to burn a bit before Izuku let him fall to the ground. He took some rope out of his backpack and tied him up. He sighed. He grabbed the boy and placed it on one of the pews.

    "When did you get a gun?" he asked, looking back at Mako.

    "Black Cat handed me one. Told me to go crazy."

    Izuku hadn't had the chance to really speak with any of the vigilantes. They were a rare sighting near UA. They avoided the Pros like the plague. It made sense, seeing how being a vigilante in Japan could quite literally ruin your life.

    Izuku sat in one of the pews. The big statues were destroyed. They were missing limbs and even had vulgar signs all over their faces. He was never a religious person. The only idol he really had growing up was All Might. Mako sat beside him, looking up at the descrustion the looters had done.

    "Last time I was in a church was for my dad's funeral," Mako noted. Izuku stared at him, which only made Mako shrug. "It's still pretty cool. How they made all this for some guy."

    Izuku nodded, unsure how to respond. "Yeah, it is pretty cool."

    He watched Mako take off his mask. Blood soaked through the material. His ears bled a bit, a side effect from his quirk. Izuku went to wipe it away, but Mako stopped him. They met eyes for a moment. The intimate feeling in his stomach was back. They were domestic. They were practically lovers.

    Without any love.

    (Izuku was in love with him.)

    Izuku didn't love Mako.

    (He did.)

    "Izuku," Mako said finally. They were shoulder to shoulder now. "If we could spend every day like this, would you take that chance?" He was staring straight ahead.

    Izuku thought about it for a moment. If he could spend every day with Mako, he would take that chance. He had no one else anymore. In every possible future, it was him and Mako. Mako and Izuku. They were one person. One future.

    "I can't tell where you stop and I begin," Izuku admitted.

    Mako sighed, smiling as he didn't look at Izuku. His voice shook a bit. "I can't remember a dream where you weren't a part of it. You're always there, Izuku." He wiped his face. His hands were stained with tears, blood, and sweat. "You fade into me. You blurred lines I didn't know could be blurred."

    Izuku shook. "That sounds like a confession." Please don't say you love me.

    Mako sighed. He glanced at the broken pews. He took in the broken Bibles and the charred pages. "It's more of a promise. I'm promising myself to you."

    "You could die."

    Mako finally looked directly at him. Black eyes filled with tears met green ones in just the same condition. "Everyone's gonna die one day, Izuku Midoriya."

    Then Izuku kissed him. This boy was too sweet for him. No one deserved this kind of adoration. Was kissing in a church against the rules? Well, technically, murder and kidnapping was also against the rules so here they were.

    Mako's hands rested on his cheeks. His thumbs rubbed circles on Izuku's rough skin. He felt like crying.

    The sound of high heeled boots filled the space. Mako froze. He looked up from Izuku, though his hands didn't leave his face. "Black Cat?" Mako said with wide eyes. Izuku froze, slowly turning around slowly. "Why the fuck are you here?"

    Black Cat shrugged. Her suit glistened in the dim light of the church. "You have my gun, Mako. Just making sure you didn't like kill your boyfriend by mistake."

    Mako blinked. His grip on Izuku's face didn't stop. In fact, Izuku was stressed at the idea of Mako letting go. "We aren't dating, Mai."

    Black Cat tilted her head, resting her palms on her upper thigh. She leaned forward to get a closer look. Izuku felt slightly uncomfortable under her gaze. "Really? You seem like two little gay bugs snug in a fucking rug."

    Izuku would love to be snug in something else right now. And away from the comfortable gaze of the Black Cat.

    "Please never say that again, thanks." The Black Cat only shrugged her shoulders. She turned to leave before stopping.

    "Keigo said to return his calls, gay All Might fanboy. Seriously. He's been whining like a dog." She had a devilish sort of glint in her eyes as she said this. Izuku felt a bit uncomfortable as he pieced together what she implied. She jumped out of their line of sight, taking with her nothing but some giggles.

    Izuku turned back to Mako, who was smiling at him like a madman. He watched as Mako's eyes widened ten fold. People's iris always expanded when they saw things they loved. Did Mako love him?

    That didn't matter right now.

They went back to kissing. Mako's lips pressed against his, eating away at any guilt and worry he had.  The world around them was collapsing, but at least Izuku had him. And that boy was all his.

hello welcome back to another episode of izumako brain rot. i genuinely love these two FREAKS. also this was inspired by that one hannibal scene in the church. i love hannibal lecter and will graham so much.

if youre wondering who fiona is, shes another oc from a fic of mine that isnt posted on here yet. its posted on ao3 though (lovergirlrots!) ill post it on here one day have no fear

whose black cat/mai?
shes my friends oc and i love her so much. genuinely. shes literally my girlfriend (dont tell my actual girlfriend this) and yeah, she has her own fic!! its called 'id move so fast id outpace the dawn!!!