He remembered the last time he had seen Izuku Midoirya. Three days ago, Mako laid eyes on that precious boy for the last time. Izuku had run away in the dead of night, leaving him alone in bed. Well, on the floor of an apartment they had broken into.

Mako had a sickening feeling in his stomach as he stalked the dead streets. He had seen some heroes around the area, looking for someone. He had heard their whispers. They were looking for Izuku.

Mako knew that Izuku had attended UA through brief conversations with All Might. Look, Mako wasn't a big hero guy. He couldn't stand these guys. He wasn't going around parading his wealth and complex for the world to see. The only real hero he liked was Izuku.

And he didn't know where he was.

Mako tugged on his mask, feeling the material brush against his skin. It smelled like Izuku. He took a deep breath. Mako had plans on finding Izuku. He just needed to focus.

Izuku and his soft lips. His hips that fit right on his. Mako missed him. He didn't just miss the body of the boy. He missed his beautiful personality. He missed Izuku Midoriya so much. The boy had promised. They were to die together or not at all. This relationship was sickeningly co dependent, but Mako didn't care. Just so long as Iuzku was on his side, he didn't care what they were to each other.

He had spoken to Hawks recently. He wasn't too sure why Hawks willingly spoke to him, but Mai had insisted he speak to him. Whatever that crazy girl wanted, Mako supposed. Hawks had sat him down on a rooftop with this solemn expression. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a sex talk or something.

"You care about him so much," Hawks said finally after a long awkward silence. "But you can't protect him. It's his job and all that." Mako wasn't too knowledgeable in this hero nonsense. He hated them, sure, but he was also pretty damn clueless. Hawks let out a sigh. He sounded like a father scolding his child. Mako wasn't someone who was actively looking for parental figures. He didn't need them. He was content with his dead mother (allegedly) and his cremated father. It gave him a great time at night. (Lie.) "You can't save that kid, Hunter."

Mako shook his head. "I can, though. I can keep him safe. I don't care about any of this hero shit. I care about him."

"Habiki, you can love him all you want." There it was again. The l word. Love. All Might used it when talking about his relationship with Izuku. Mako and Izuku weren't lovers. Lovers were something Mako wanted, but he couldn't have it with Izuku. They were doomed. "You can't protect someone like Deku."

Mako thought for a second. Izuku was a self destructive asshole sometimes. He threw himself in danger for the safety of others. Izuku had thrown himself in danger for Mako once. They don't ever mention it, but Mako remembered the gun wound scarred on Izuku's thigh. That was because Izuku had jumped in to protect Mako. He was going to get killed. Everything Izuku did was borderline suicide. Mako couldn't save that boy, Hawks did have a point.

"I can try."

Mako wasn't going to let Izuku die. His quirk may be useless sometimes, and he didn't get the whole hero complex thing; but Mako wanted to love Izuku in a way that wouldn't get that beautiful boy murdered. He glanced at Hawks, who was smirking at the boy.

"You have cojones, kid. I admire that." Hawks ruffled his hair, nudging him with his shoulder. Mako felt like he was in the presence of an older brother. He couldn't relate, since he was an only child.

Mako had just spilled his guts to the Number Two hero. He didn't feel as shitty as he had before though. Hawks made valuable points, and had given him stuff to think about. He stood up, which seemed to confuse Hawks.
"I'm going to find him."

Hawks grinned. "You better get on that, Habiki. Plus, my boyfriend wants to have dinner or something." Mako did a double take.

"Huh? I thought you were dating Mai."

Hawks watched Mako's eye twitch as he tried to piece things together. "I am. Don't worry about it."

Mako couldn't worry about more than one thing at a time anyway. Plus, he didn't care. He had a friend to find.

(He wasn't just a friend.)

(He was the love of his life.)

It took Mako twenty minutes to pinpoint Izuku's exact location. Izuku's voice bounced off the walls of every building in a five mile radius. He heard the sound of an explosion nearby. It rang through his head, piercing his eardrums. Mako's hearing had always been spotty, since his quirk couldn't handle loud noises. He yelped, covering his ears with his palms. He pressed his eyes shut. Too many sounds filled the air, which made it so much harder to pinpoint Izuku's voice.

He needed to find Izuku. He had to find him.
This wasn't just about his love for the boy, or their relationship. This was also about Izuku's future. He couldn't let All for One and his fucking assassins have his body. No one could have Izuku like that. He was a person, and this fucked up society had forgotten that he was also just a kid.
Mako lowered his hands from his head, taking in the blood dripping from his ears. It hurt. It hurt more than anyone could imagine. He had to get to Izuku, no matter if he was bleeding. No death was going to keep him from getting to Izuku.

He meant this with his entire being.

Mako lept from rooftop to rooftop, hunting down the sound of Izuku's heartbeat. Izuku's voice had stopped. That freaked the fuck out of Mako. Izuku's heartbeat was slower than normal. He shook as he ran toward the sound. It grew louder as he approached the scene of a huge mob. Izuku was in the middle of the mob.

The mob was going to kill Izuku.

Izuku's heartbeat sped up. He was exhausted. He was going to die if Mako didn't do something. He went to touch the gun resting in his waistband, knowing there were no bullets in it. He should've asked for more bullets. He couldn't move. The boy who knew him better than anyone was currently dying as people tore at his clothes.

He rocked back and forth, hands frozen at this side. Mako's quirk wouldn't be able to do anything. Echolocation only detected sounds. He was useless. What kind of vigilante even was he? Mako couldn't even save the one person he really cared about.

Another loud explosion made him scream. The sound overtook his senses. He clawed at his ears, hoping the ringing would stop. Mako's eyes widened as he spotted a blond boy with grenade things on his arms jumped toward the mob.
"You idiot!" The blond shouted. He kind of freaked Mako out. He also kind of reminded him of an angry dog. Mako was half convinced this kid was related to that Muscular dude.

Mako watched as a swarm of teenagers in hero suits swarmed the mob. They took down the assassin in charge with ease. Mako didn't know what to do. He jumped down from the ledge he was on, creeping up behind one of the heroes. He was silent. He was pretty good with moving around undetected.

"What's happening?" a red haired girl with wide eyes asked. Mako noticed she was missing a hand. It was replaced by a metal material that freaked him out. "What are we going to do to him?"

Mako shifted his gaze to the blob of green in the middle of the entire area. Izuku. His Izuku. He couldn't breathe. He was going to look incredibly stupid right now. But he didn't know these kids.

He climbed back up the statue, glancing down at Izuku. The green haired boy met his gaze. His eyes were dim, almost lifeless. He hadn't seen this boy in three days. In those three days, had something happened that made Izuku lose the last of his light? Mako chewed on his bottom lip, feeling helpless. How could he even get Izuku out of this situation?

Turns out, he didn't have to do anything. Izuku was already jumping away. He was running. He jumped on the statue beside Mako. For a split second, it was just them.

"Run."

When a pretty boy who kisses like his life depended on it tells you to run, you run.
Mako watched him leap away, but he heard Izuku's voice. It was barely a whisper, but Mako could hear it just fine. "I'll meet you at the place."

He grinned, though it hurt to even try that. He watched the rest of the heroes stare up at him. The blonde one blasted up to meet him, though he looked like he was going to kill Mako. He was fucking scary looking. Mako kinda dug that.

"Who the actual fuck are you?" Mako made sure Izuku was out of an ear shot before giggling. "What's so fucking funny?"

"I dunno." Mako backed up on the arm of the statue, making sure there was enough room to fall back. He took in the amount of kids, and the amount of time Izuku had already used to get away. "Nice meeting you. Bye!"

He fucking chased Izuku all over the god damn city. He was tired. He learned a couple names of these kids. They seemed nice enough, even if they didn't trust him. Mako watched them shout meaningful things at Izuku. Damn. They must really care about him. Mako felt his gut twist around. They loved him. They cared about the boy they knew before all of this. Mako only knew one part of Izuku, while they knew all of him.

As they all stood in the street, Mako knew it was only a matter of time before Izuku collapsed onto the ground. He was tired. His body was fucking shaking and he could barely say anything that sounded remotally coherent. It made Mako want to cry. He stepped forward, which only made him feel worse. He could hear Izuku's heartbeat. It was speeding up. He was crying.

The blond boy, who he had overheard his name was Bakugo, was inching closer to Izuku. "I hoped you'd disappear. I didn't want to accept you. So I bullied you to make sure you'd stay away. I had to reject you so that I could feel superior." Mako hadn't known about this. He had entrusted Izuku with his mother, but Izuku couldn't share this part of himself with him. They had sex for fucking crying out loud. This wasn't the biggest thing he could've known. "I needed to win, to beat you. Then we both got into UA, where not a single thing played out the way I wanted it to."

Mako's tears burned through his eyes. He wasn't supposed to be crying anymore.

"Every day, I was forced to see how strong you were and how weak I was.Saying this out loud doesn't change a thing. But it's how I feel, Izuku."

Izuku's heart rate sped up. He was shaking. Mako couldn't move. This wasn't his place anymore, was it? This was Bakugo's chance to say some words.

"I'm sorry for everything."

Was he caught in the middle of some messy breakup apology or something? Mako couldn't listen anymore. It hurt his heart. He tuned out the words, feeling the vibrations of everyone's heart in the area. They were all on edge. Izuku stepped forward, collapsing into the blond dude's arms. Izuku's lips moved one last time, and Mako definitely heard it. "Mako."

He ran.

He knelt next to Bakugo, who was just surprised to have Izuku in his arms. Bakugo glanced up. "You're Mako, right?" His red eyes were wide but on guard. All Mako managed was a weak nod. "Take him."

Mako felt the weight of Izuku in his arms. The boy nestled closer, though he was really out of it. Mako knew they were staring at him. He couldn't do anything about that though.

"Katsuki," the red haired girl from before said, looking at the boy with these heart eyes that were undeniable. Mako pieced it together, sort of. They were together. Him and Izuku were maybe ex-friends at most. He watched the red haired girl press her lips to the boy's forehead. "I'm proud of you."

Izuku was finally in his arms, and he shook as he brushed the grime from his cheeks. Three days were the longest of his life. Izuku was alive. There were people who cared about him. His heart sped up in his own chest. He knew Izuku couldn't hear him, and that made him feel worse than before.

Mako pressed his lips to Izuku's forehead. "I love you, Izuku." And Izuku couldn't hear him, and that was fine. Just so long as he put that out into the universe, Mako was okay with loving the boy he trusted with more than his life.

okay hi my bad for not updating this...ive been working on another fic of mine that will totally get posted soon (never). ive been busy with school and stuff too! anyway here is that long awaited chapter!!!

who is the girl with red hair?
thats my other oc, fiona. shes got her own fic but for now, its not being posted on here until i finish this fic! i dont want to multitask on too much stuff.

whose mai/black cat?
shes my friend's oc who i literally have the biggest crush on. i LOVE her so much and okay. my friends oc is in a poly relationship with tomura, dabi, and hawks. its actually so fire u should all read this on ao3. its called 'id move so fast id outpace the dawn.' and its literally ao good and amazing please tune in (i say this shaking)