Set You Free [Angst!] - Chapter 6 [FINAL]

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It took a few minutes for Katsuki to find the right place, searching through long rows of stones that were almost identical. He’d had to make a dozen phone calls to even find the right address, anything more specific than that had been out of the question. He was still a little bitter that he hadn’t gotten to be there, that they’d had no ceremony, no memorial, nothing. It was like he hadn’t existed, or at least, no one cared that he had.

No one except Katsuki.

Eventually he managed to find the freshly moved earth with the clean new stone at the head, stopping for a moment to just stare at it. He still didn’t feel like it had really set in yet, or it hadn’t until that moment, at least. Seeing that stone etched with his name seemed to finally make something click inside of him, like his last shred of hope had finally given up. A small part of him had still thought maybe he was dreaming, maybe he would wake up in a cold sweat and realise it was time to drive down to the prison and see Izuku again. Or he’d one day get a phone call, sheepishly informing him that they’d had the wrong name, they’d made a mistake, and Izuku was still sitting in his cell wondering why Katsuki hadn’t shown.

“Hey,” he said softly, his voice a little choked. “Sorry it took me so long to come see you.”

He could practically hear the familiar voice laughing at him, assuring him that it was fine, that he would wait as long as it took. Before he could think about it too hard, he busied himself with his bag, digging out a hard-backed book and holding it up with a sheepish smile.

“I finally did it, Deku. This thing is on shelves in every book store in the country, I’m sorry I couldn’t have done it a little sooner. I thought you’d like to have the first copy, though. Autographed, because I know your nerd ass would have asked.”

He sat down beside the stone, setting the book in his lap, and took a deep breath to compose himself a little.

“It’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?” he asked, chuckling weakly. “You were so upset that you didn’t get to see how the All Might comics ended, but then you up and left me before you could see how my book ended. You couldn’t have held out just a little longer, huh?”

He took a moment to gather himself, running his hands down his face slowly as he swallowed the lump in his throat. He’d practiced so many words in the car, had tried to come up with things to say, but in the end, once he got there, things just spilled out unhindered.

“I’m sorry, I know it isn’t your fault. There are so many things I wish I’d done differently, things I wish I’d asked, or told you. But I guess you were right after all, huh? This isn’t the one for us. It wasn’t meant to be, not this time, not in this life.”

The cemetery around them was surprisingly pleasant, all green grass and colourful flowers, a peaceful breeze and a scattering of birds chirping in the treetops. As far as places to spend the rest of eternity went, it was a pretty good one, he supposed. Plenty of sun, just like the nerd wanted, and while the ocean was a long way away, there was a nice stream nearby that he figured was at least close.

His book deal hadn’t earned him a fortune, by any means, but it was enough that he could live on it for a while without having to frantically search for articles to write, and he intended to make the most of that. Even if he couldn’t take Izuku with him, he was still going to go swim in the ocean, and build a snowman, and all the other things he’d taken for granted for so long while other people yearned for them.

Part of him wanted to tell Izuku his plans, to regale him with everything he was going to do in Izuku’s honour, but in the moment it didn’t want to come out. Even if Izuku couldn’t be with him physically, he knew he’d be there all the same – he’d see all the things Katsuki did, and would experience them with him, at least in some small way.

“I’ll tell you how it ends again, but this is the last time, nerd.” Katsuki whispered, spreading his hand over anemerald green cover he’d insisted on picking out himself. “Next time you have to wait for me. Got it?”

He flipped open the cover, pausing for a moment on the dedications page and running his thumb across the words. He’d spent a long time figuring out what he wanted to say there, eventually settling on a single, simple sentence. He didn’t need the whole world to know all his business, after all.

To a nerd I could never forget.

He flipped past a photo that made his chest ache, of a smiling face in a formal uniform that he’d managed to dig up in some old police archives, to reach the page where their story together began, and took one more deep breath in hopes of calming his tight lungs.

“The truth won’t always set you free...”