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Katsuki was sitting at the table when Deku walked into his dining room. He could hear the man’s hesitant footsteps against the stone floor. Shoto must have let him in…Shoto must have as strong a death wish as Deku at the moment.
“Kacchan…” Deku started softly, letting the nickname hang in the air.
Katsuki pushed his chair back from the table abruptly, the wood skittering across the floor and the chair nearly tipping with his force. He stalked over to the window without looking at Deku, no, Midoriya. Katsuki had no use for nicknames now. Especially not nicknames for people who lied to him. For people who pretended to be his friend while lying to his face.
“I didn’t mean to lie to you, Kacchan. It was not my intent to hurt you.” He spoke in a measured voice.
Katsuki gripped the window frame he was now standing in front of. He hated the way the man was in his head. He couldn’t bring himself to look at him though.
“Stay out of my head,” he spat. His voice was full of the rising resentment he had for Deku.
“I want to, I promise,” Deku sounded tired. “But you know now that I cannot, not when you are thinking of me.”
“What, so I have to kill you to keep my own thoughts in my head?”
Deku sighed, “That’s one option, certainly. But, Kacchan, I don’t think you want to do that.”
“Oh! Of course you would know! You know exactly how I feel about you. And all I know about you is that you’re a liar.” Katsuki gripped the wooden frame so hard it started to soften under his fingers.
“Please, Kacchan--”
“Stop calling me that!” The wood splintered. Still, Katsuki refused to let go or face the other man.
“Just, for a moment, think about it from my perspective. What would people think of a grace that allows someone to hear the thoughts that others think about him? Now, what if that man was the son of a powerful king? He would be turned into a weapon, a spy, unable to live his own life.”
Katsuki barked out a hollow laugh. “I would loath to know how that feels.”
“Oh-oh, Kacchan. I didn’t mean it to--” Deku tried to backpedal, but the crux of the matter was that Katsuki knew how it felt to be someone's guard dog.
Katsuki rolled a bit of splintered wood between his fingers. “Are you done, Deku?”
“I’m leaving, actually. For good.”
A thousand thoughts rushed through Katsuki’s head, all of them about Deku. And Deku knew all of them too in that instant. And he must also know how Katsuki hated that his thoughts revolved around Deku. So Katsuki cleared his mind and thought of nothing. Still, anger, hurt, and confusion bubbled in his chest. What did Deku mean he was leaving?
“I found my grandfather, but I still don’t know why or by who he was kidnapped. I need to figure it out. And I would be grateful to the Council for any help they can offer.”
“Why don’t you just read their minds?”
“Kacchan, I can’t do that. I can only know someone’s thoughts when they are thinking about me.” Deku stated. “Would you please turn around? This is killing me.”
Katsuki turned to look at him, his mind blank and his face expressionless.
“I think it has something to do with King Zen, I don’t know how, but…”
Deku’s voice faded away. Katsuki wished this wasn’t happening. Everything with Deku had felt so easy, but now it was gone. Disappeared in a puff of smoke. Everything they had was gone. He felt empty.
“It doesn’t need to be gone, Katsuki,” Midoriya said, softly. “Please.”
Katsuki was appalled, after everything Midoriya was still sifting through his head. He locked eyes with the other man who was now slumped over, his hands resting on the table to hold him up. “Please.”
“You lied to me. Friends don’t lie!”
“Friends try to understand!” he countered.
Katsuki couldn’t bear it, wouldn’t. If Deku was leaving that was for the best. Rage had filled the space of the emptiness. And Katsuki knew how to deal with rage.