Chapter Text
It was summer when the cicadas buzzed a good morning, and the curtains above the bed flowed ever so slightly in the morning breeze. Their first year after graduating from U.A. was coming to a close, and Izuku sat kneeling by a sleeping Katsuki in nothing but boxers, trembling hands holding his cell as he stared down at the screen with excitement. He was practically vibrating, whipping his head to the side as he leaned down to his boyfriend's face, beaming as he placed his hand on the blondes neck.
Katsuki was woken gracefully by a gentle kiss on his cheek as nimble fingers tentatively mussed through his hair. He pursed his lips, brows furrowing as his eyes cracked open, and stared up at the dark haired boy hovering above him.
He was no longer laying over Izuku, their limbs entangled, heavy breaths mingling as Katsuki struggled to keep their mouths connected. The room was bright instead of bathed in darkness, faces only illuminated by the soft light they’d left on in the hallway, the air crisp and fresh instead of heavy with the smell of sex. Blinking up at the not-so-flushed face of his boyfriend, Katsuki’s thoughts scrambled to hold on to the fleeting images of his dreams.
Katsuki frowned, a slurred “huh?” escaping him.
“Good morning.” Izuku whispered, mouth curling into a gentle smile as his hand came down to pat Katsuki’s cheek playfully. Izuku usually woke up before him, letting Katsuki sleep in for an hour more… two… sometimes all the way into the afternoon, but today was different.
Today was special.
Why? The phone in his hand had the answer, Izuku shuffling closer to Katsuki with a tad more urgency now that his boyfriend had his eyes open and on him.
Katsuki frowned, mumbling a groggy, “...’morning...” in response, before trying to roll over and fall back asleep, groaning out a low, “five more minutes...”
“I have great news, Kacchan!” Izuku didn’t relent, grabbing Katsuki’s shoulder, yanking him back to hold the phone up and in front of Katsuki’s face.
“We have a job!”
Katsuki blinked, reaching up to hurriedly rub the sleep out of his eyes before snatching the phone from Izukus hand, squinting as he attempted to will the bleary haze of sleep out of his vision. A job? A legitimate capture… as in, REAL hero work? Their first chance at being something other than someone’s stupid fucking sidekick?!
“Seriously?” Katsuki’s voice was hoarse, still half asleep, missing his target quota of ten or more hours under the covers… with his eyes closed, and off in dreamland of course. If he just so happened to be in bed while doing some sort of other activity, that simply didn’t count.
Izuku noded excitedly, because this was it! This was their first break!
He’s shaking his head so hard it looked like his neck would snap, and he straddled Katsuki to sit on his stomach. Izuku grabbed the phone back to read him the text message, reciting the details on the villain hunt currently going down in the heart of the city. It looked like it was being narrowed down to two possible apartment buildings and a shopping mall in the same district.
Katsuki touched his chin, gaze shifting to the side, muttering under his breath. “I don’t think it’s some shitty D lister. Could be a C, or even a B.” His reasoning for the villain being a bit more upscale being the slightly urgent, ‘GET HERE NOW’ tagged on to the end of the message in big bold letters. Izuku spread his arms out and used a mockingly stern voice to loudly exclaim the last words of the text with a tone disturbingly similar to Tenya’s.
This was something that many other of their fellow hero graduates were more than likely called for.
“Iida, and Uraraka might even be there, too! Hurry up, we’ll make it just in time!”
“When was that sent?” Katsuki asked, pushing himself up with a grunt, blanket falling down to expose his bare chest. His forehead bumped into Izukus’ as he tried to see the message for himself.
The timestamp on the text was seven minutes ago.
Katsuki could imagine his stupid nerd of a boyfriend jumping with joy before rushing in and waking him up, only to get excited all over again about the message after he’d managed to rouse him. Izuku had probably been making breakfast or something when he got the message, and he could clearly picture him rushing in to disturb him from his sleep. Maybe Izuku had been sitting in bed, memorizing the counters of his face as he usually did before starting his day, fingers playing with his bright hair, and dark eyes drinking in the peaceful expression Katsuki always wore when he was knocked out.
Izuku didn’t know Katsuki knew he did that, but he did. Sometimes he woke up to those gentle fingers tracing the ridge of his nose, soft chuckles sounding beside him when he purposely scrunched his face, and a warm feeling would swell in his gut when the smaller boy did it again to try and get the same response. Fucking dork.
He hadn’t been lulled out of sleep this morning however. Unbeknownst to him, Izuku had been in the living room, working on a special project he’d been occupied with for almost a month now.
With this hero work, Katsuki supposed the rude interruption of a particularly pleasant dream he was having, was justified.
It took a minute or two for Katsuki to properly wake up, stumbling over himself as he launched out of the bed, Izuku falling over with a laugh, but they both managed to suit up in record time. They’d been waiting for this for forever. Days, weeks, and even a few months passed by with the two heroes wondering when they’d be called to the front lines instead of asked to do clean up control.
Pressed and primed, they both hurried out the door, and with Izuku’s All For One, Katsuki begrudgingly grabbed on to the smaller boy for a sort of piggyback, as they shot into the sky.
They were both able to arrive at the scene with ample time to spare..
Smaller ranked heroes were already rushing in, trying to track the villain down. Izuku hurried over to one of the support heroes, getting whatever details were known since he had yet to see any of their friends around..
“We don’t even know if the villain is a he or a she, but they’re insanely strong. Nothing like your strength, Deku, but I think they may have the quirk that changes their limbs into like, stronger objects..” The support hero says, gesturing vaguely with her hands, voice skeptical of her own theory. She went on to relay the information she’d been getting through her feed, and handed the two of them earpieces so they could remain informed on any new intel while scouting the mall in front of them.
“Thanks for your help!” Izuku thanked her,offering a quick and kind smile before both him and Katsuki rushed into the mall. Their eyes went wide and alert as they peered around them, ready for anything that came their way. It was pitch black, but they could vaguely make out the outlines of other heroes, quietly scrambling about, trying to locate the villain.
Izuku swallowed a lump in his throat, giddy, but nervously cautious as he moved to stand just behind the explosive hero. Looking over his shoulder he whispered, “Kacchan, we should try...-”
“No, we have to beat these other fucking lame heroes to him!” Katsuki interrupted him, a gauntlet clad hand held up to stop Izuku from continuing, “...this is our first break, Deku, we can’t let these other idiots get it before us!”
Katsuki snapped his teeth and made that the end of it, rushing off in a direction where heroes weren’t searching yet.
It was a no-brainer really... the villain must be somewhere over there.
Izuku extended his hand out for Katsuki, brows furrowing.
“Wait, Kacchan!”
“Move it or lose it!” Katsuki snarled over his shoulder, the dark haired hero sighing before hurrying after him.
They both knew nothing of the enemy, other than the few brief and questionable details that support hero had given, so perhaps teaming up with the other heroes would have been a good idea… at least that’s what Izuku was going to say before Katsuki took off.
As usual.
Honestly, Izuku wasn’t even surprised anymore, completely used to trailing after the hot head by now.
It only took a couple minutes before Katsuki grew impatient though, aggressively making his way through retail stores, throwing clothing racks left and right as angry red eyes searched the darkness for any sign of movement. So far Izuku witnessed the total and complete obliteration of three clothing stores, a toy store, one place that sold knicknacks, and now they were making their way to a carpet shop on it’s last legs, a big ‘GOING OUT OF BUSINESS BLOWOUT SALE’ sign hanging in it’s windows.
The store was visibly still stocked with innocent rugs, Izuku hoping this wouldn’t be the place that set the mall ablaze, and that maybe his boyfriend could show a little restraint before burning everything in there to a crisp.
Izuku raised his hand, about to stop the other when he noticed Katsuki turn his head sharply, little explosions going off in his hand as he held up the dim light in a direction towards another clothing store beside the rug dealer. Izuku blinked, slowing down to squint at the shop, not even getting a second to try and see what Katsuki had seen before the hero was in motion again.
Katsuki practically stomped his way up to the establishment and began to kick down the boarded up shop doors, sending explosions through the metal reinforcement grates behind them. The place looked to still be under renovation, probably only a few days away from opening to the public. Inside, there was actual movement behind the cash register, Katsuki sneering as he tore through the newly arranged store.
“Haha, there you are, you fucker!” Katsuki ran full force to the counter, explosions from his hands only moving his feet faster, lunging over the marble surface with a carnal smile plastered on his face.Katsuki expected someone to be there, huddled in fear from his awesome power, or maybe ready to spring a counter attack, but it was empty. No one was there.
“The shit?”
Izuku frowned, stepping over a searing mass of T-shirts just at the foot of the threshold, shaking his head at the destruction leading to the door. Izuku didn’t bother to voice that the grates were used to keep intruders out from the closed up shop for the night. Izuku had been standing at the door the entire time as Katsuki angrily yelled, looking into the small office behind the counter, thinking that there was no way the villain had got out.
Katsuki had obviously seen something… but what?
Izuku sighed as Katsuki immediately bolted out of what Izuku assumed to be the manager's office, and towards a door at the other end that probably lead to stock. It was good thinking. It would have been easy for the villain to slink out from behind the counter as racks flew left and right from Katsuki’s explosions.
As Katsuki ripped the door to the storage room open, Izuku pressed his gloved fingers to his earpiece and began to speak. If the villain was here, they’d need everyone else in the area, as well as to give away the location. “I think we’ve located the -”
His voice cut off suddenly, a sickening ‘CRACK’ effectively ending what Izuku had been saying. The line went dead, but not before the beginnings of a painful, agonizing scream could be heard.
Katsuki hears it twice, like an echo. the continued noise that carried on past the gut wrenching cry was one that churned his stomach, even as it cut off in his earpiece. His head shot in Izuku’s direction, and the world began to move in slow motion, his eyes widening as his lips now trembled with fear and anguish instead of unbridled rage.
“No…” Katsuki mouthed, his voice barely audible against the nauseating sound of Izuku’s pained cries.
On the floor lay Deku, arms outstretched, legs clumsily kicking out behind him as he tried to crawl away. From above hung a large and steely girder, the man attached to it dropping down from the light fixtures as his other arm and legs returned to normal from the cables he’d obviously used to hoist himself up during Katsuki’s confusion to escape his grasp.
Katsuki narrowed his eyes, fists clenching at his sides. He hadn’t seen him get up there. How did he escape?! Sure it was dark in here, but Katsuki wasn’t blind… he wasn’t…
A disgusting truth settled in the pits of his stomach.
He let this happen…
Katsuki gritted his teeth, focusing on the man lifting his arm again, trying to grasp the flickering hope sounding somewhere in his scrambling thoughts. He tried to reassure himself that Izuku would turn around and punch that guy in to the next millennia. Izuku would use one for all, and he’d be just fine. But when he looked down, Katsuki’s breath hitched.
Izukus face was split, eye socket black and blue and concave, eyes a bright crimson from burst vessels. On the side of his head, Izuku’s costume had blooming red splotches, blood more than likely spilling out from his ear due to the impact he’d just suffered. Katsuki’s heart jumped up in his throat and his legs felt like lead, pupils narrowing as Izukus eyes, filled with startled terror, stared back at him. They were pleading, unfocused, but still filled with dread for what he knew was coming next, only visible for a second before his head was smashed a second time.
Izuku didn’t move after that.
Katsuki shook, filled with a blinding rage as his Deku was hit a third time without remorse, fists quivering as he watched the tile crack under him from the force.
Izuku was smarter than this. The nerd was brilliant. He should have been able to come up with something to avoid the fucker in front of him. Anything. He would have gotten out of the way even if it seemed impossible, because that’s what heroes did.That’s what the idiot Deku preached. They beat all odds, no matter what, right!? So why…
Katsuki grinded his teeth together. Why didn’t he?! Why hadn’t Izuku turned his ass around, and hit that guy so hard that his mother could feel it? Why was he laying on the damn ground, motionless, and making Katsuki freeze up… making him fear for Izukus life.
If there was any time he wished his relationship with Izuku didn’t exist, it would have been in that moment, not because he didn’t want to feel this horrible pain in his chest, but because that pain had rendered him useless for a moment too long. He could have rushed forward and stopped that asshole from hitting Deku a second time, but he didn’t. He was floored by Izuku’s baffled and anxious expression, the dark haired boy just as bewildered as Katsuki that he’d gotten blind sided so suddenly.
They should have been more careful.
Izuku followed him wherever he went without question, falling into the usual routine of a wild goose chase lead by a long line of fiery blasts, going along without whatever rash decision Katsuki seemed to make..
Katsuki should have been more careful.
Seeing Izuku being pummeled to the ground, a villainous man decked in full armor on top of him, lifting his transformed arm into the air again to strike…
Katsuki fucking snapped.
He didn’t even think about touching the earpiece to alert the others, his focus solely on Izuku, throwing his arms behind him before launching himself forward, an enraged scream ripping from his throat.
The whole world around him almost slowed to a dead stop. Katsuki savored the milliseconds that passed as he came an inch from the man beating Izuku down, their eyes meeting as Katsuki saw red. He was like a demon unleashed. Time caught up with him as he bent his knees, legs spread in preparation, and he collided with the man, tackling him to the ground. Katsuki aggressively straddled him, his heart drumming wildly in his ears, as they skidded across the floor and out of the shop. They were out in the open now, but Katsuki was oblivious to his surroundings, yelling as he pulled his fist back and sent it smacking into the villain's face with furious speed.
“You fucking bastard! DIIIEEE-!!!”
One after another, the punches kept coming. Gloves were coated in blood that spewed forth from the man's mouth and nose. Katsuki felt unsatisfied with the damage, so he focused on hitting harder. Faster. He needed to keep punching until the flesh melted off his bones. He needed to pulverize this fuckers face until he was virtually unrecognizable as a human being.
His palms were smoking, the guy obviously passed out by now, but Katsuki still didn't stop, continuing to ream on the guy as a mantra of ‘DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE’ echoed in his thoughts.
He didn’t stop for a few minutes, distant yelling from other heroes indicating they were getting closer, his entire body seizing as his mental death chanting came to a stop.
It wasn’t enough.
Katsuki grit his teeth, leaning back as he planted a sparking hand against the man’s chest, smearing his metal armor with blood, his other hand grabbing the pin on his gauntlet. The explosion that went off was huge, his stored sweat doing its job as smoke plumed around him, the ear piercing ‘BOOM’ vibrating the large building they were in.
Katsuki’s chest was heaving, panting as he stared down with absolute seething anger, waiting for the black smoke to clear so he could see his handy work.
Before he got a look at the damage he’d dealt with that blast, he was hoisted off of the villain by two strong hands, an older hero spinning him around to look at him with hard eyes and a set jaw. Katsuki could see him looking over his head, muscles in his neck flexing as he surveyed the villain he so wanted to turn around and look at just to bask in the glory of his mangled and wrecked body, and revel in that sweet aftertaste of revenge.
His crazed animosity was dying now though, the urge to let his fists hammer down on to the villain in a frenzy fading.
He swallowed and shrugged off the large hands on his shoulders, pushing passed the hero to sprint his way back to Deku, missing the awed and disgusted look directed his way afterward.
Katsuki would more than likely get a lecture… or maybe something worse regarding how he’d beaten that man with no remorse... but… It was justified, even if only a little.
He slowed down as he reached Izuku, wobbling slightly, tripping right before him, quickly crawling to hunch over the other. Katsuki reached out, scooping up the broken boy to hold him in his arms, fighting the sting in his eyes as the hero from before approached them from behind.
“Deku... Deku, come on nerd…” He feigned arrogance, voice impatient as he rested a contradictory gentle hand against his cheek, thumb running over the eye turning a nasty shade of purple.
There was no response.
He could feel the tears going down his face as he looked down at his beaten boyfriend, the shadow of the hero from before looming over them. Katsuki took the hand from Dekus cheek to aggressively wipe at his own, ridding his face of tears, and effectively leaving his mask and skin streaked with the villains blood.
Blood.
It was everywhere, and there was almost no movement from Deku. His chest was barely moving, stuttering and pausing after each breath. Katsuki feared that he may not draw another. He wasn’t laughing about how good they did, or smiling stupidly through blood, saying he was fine... there was nothing.
He refused to believe Izuku could die in the next few moments... there was no way.
“Deku!” Katsuki shouted, trembling. “Izuku…”
He raised Izuku’s body closer to his chest, his whole being filled with mixed turmoil of anger and grief, uncaring to the eyes that watched his momentary show of weakness.
“He’ll be okay son, help’s on the way…” a hand was placed on his head, the hero behind him talking in a deep and careful tone. Katsuki did not bother to shake the hand off, sucking air through clenched teeth as his stomach twisted into knots, “though I told them we’d only need one stretcher… I now see why you lost it on him.”
It only takes a few moments for more heroes to show up, a medical squad close behind.
Katsuki was left alone, the hero who was providing ‘comfort’ retreating out of the store to give the medics an overview on what he’d stumbled in on, and to tell them that there was unfortunately a second patient that needed immediate attention. The head medic took his hand away from the villain's neck, having been checking for a pulse.
“Holy… that kid really did a number on this guy. Barely a heartbeat!” The medic gave a low whistle, eyes scanning over the damage. Two other medics moved in to take the villain off his hands as he jumped to his feet in a peppy manner “Wouldn’t wanna get on his bad side! That explosion hero really is something!”
“With all due respect, we have someone who needs a bit more medical attention.” The hero who’d physically prevented Katsuki from outright killing the villain said anxiously, clearing his throat as his voice dropped an octave “Urgently…” his eyes darted back to the shop, face grim, the medic heading there without another word, squinting at the faint outline of a huddled figure, a mess of limbs gathered in his arms.
Katsuki didn’t see or hear anything, staring ahead of him, eyes focused on the counter as if he were re-watching himself dart through the store, trying to figure out just when he’d missed that asshole slip away. He squeezed Izuku tighter, numb to the fingers that pried at his crushing embrace, and deaf to the persuasive voice in his ear, urging him to release his lover.
He held on, head slowly craning to the side to set a burning glare on the head medic, taking in the sharp and angular features of his worried face, watching his mouth move, words warbling in his ears like he’d been submerged under water.
How could he have let this happen?
It wasn’t suppose to go down like this.
He was suppose to capture the villain with ease, and make his big, flashy entrance into the hero world. He was supposed to make a name for himself, laying his claim. To haughtily grin at an exasperated Izuku as he held the bastard they were after by the scruff of his neck, boasting about how good he was.
It was supposed to be him, soaking in the atmosphere of victory, and not Deku, soaking in his own blood.
Katsuki’s victory and praise from the other heroes would have surrounded them before he’d whisk Izuku away for a much deserved reward.
It all went so, so wrong.
What could he have done differently.
What could he do now?
“Bakugou, give them Midoriya!”
Katsuki blinked, looking beside the medic to the familiar masked face of Tenya, his friends hand clapping heavily on his shoulder.
Katsuki’s arms felt weightless suddenly, weak as he let Izuku slip from his grasp, the hurried hands of the medic straightening the small boys head and reaching up to his earpiece to call for a gurney.
Katsuki watched as they strapped Iuzku down to the padded metal cart, putting him in a neckbrace and hooking him up to portable machines attached to their hips.The faintest of ‘blips’ indicated his heart was still beating, though just barely. Tenya stood by his side, a few familiar voices sounding from outside the destroyed outlet, a sneer forming on Katsuki’s face as he imagined their worried expressions.
Tenya moved to grab Katsuki’s shoulder again, a sign of comfort, but the narrowed and dangerous eyes that shifted to the speedy hero halted him in the action, hand hovering just an inch away from him.
“Don’t fuckin’ touch me”
It was the first time he’d talked since he’d abused his vocal chords, screaming at the top of his lungs as he beat the shit out of that villain, voice raspy as a result and raw with emotion.
“He’ll be okay.” Tenya assured, nodding his head.
Katsuki scrunched his nose, glowering at the other, a disgusting feeling bubbling up in his gut as something in the back of his mind told him that Tenya was pitying him.
“I know that!” Katsuki barked, snapping his teeth as he shouldered past Tenya. He followed the medics as they finally carted Izuku off, gaze trained on the way his boyfriends shallow breaths would puff and condense on the inside of his oxygen mask. He didn’t look up to see Ochaco, Shouto, and Eijriou looking over at him and Izuku with varying emotions--fear from the brunette, worry from his closest friend, and apathy from a rival. He ignored them as Ochaco opened her mouth, calling out to Katsuki, asking what happened.
He couldn't look at them.
Katsuki clambered into the ambulance without invitation, sitting down in the corner by Izuku’s head, shoving his clunky geared arms on his lap and resisting the urge to reach out and brush the hair out of the boy’s face. He wanted to be connected somehow, but denied himself that comfort. He simply watched as the the two paramedics jammed in here with him tended to Izuku. Speechless.
“I guess you’re the plus one,” The man beside him spared him a glance, pressing gauze to the side of Izuku’s head, “...but y’don’t look like family.”
A lopsided grin was offered. The paramedic was trying to lighten the mood, or perhaps get some information. Whatever it was, Katsuki didn’t respond or even look at him, jaw clenching as everything drowned into white noise...into nothingness. He didn’t remember most of the ride, only the faint beeping of the heart monitor, and the screeching of the siren as they sped their way through the streets, heart hammering in his chest as they tried to keep Izuku stabilized.
He sat in the waiting room, gauntlets pulled off and sitting on the seat next to him, hands hanging loosely between his knees.
A mass of support showed up all at once, some stragglers only taking a few more minutes to arrive, crowding the waiting room along side Katsuki. Uraraka had attempted to ask the blonde just what happened, Ochaco and Eijirou on either side of her, Tsuyu echoing her question. Katsuki stayed silent, slumping back in his seat, glaring at the face void of any expression directly across from him. Shouto sat with his legs crossed and arms folded.
Eijirou occupied the empty seat to Katsuki’s other side, eyeing his friend nervously as Uraraka sat forward in her seat, nervously wringing her wrists between her legs.
“So, Bakugou… umm, you think… Deku will be okay?”
“How should I fuckin’ know?” Katsuki snapped, glaring at her as a warning.
“You’re the last one who saw hi-...”
From beside Katsuki, Eijirou made eye contact with Ochaco, shaking his head rapidly. “Let’s just drop it for now! He’ll be out when he’s out! Uh, hey! Has anyone called Midoriya’s mom?”
“I did,” Katsuki spoke up for that, tone harsh and matter of fact, fingers gripping the armrests of his chair like a vice, “...fifteen minutes ago.”
Silence fell over them, most with their heads hung and eyes to the floor, while a few looked longingly at the front doors to the emergency room, waiting for Mrs. Midoriya to come bustling through any minute now.
When she did arrive, not even four minutes after they all ceased talking, Katsuki wasn’t surprised at all when Izuku’s mother bent over and pulled him into a tight embrace.
He was stiff from the contact, gaze shifting as he felt her tears on his shoulder, awkwardly pushing himself up, a hand pressing on her arm in an indication that she should move back. She kept him in a loose embrace, looking up at him with familiar watery eyes, Izuku having inherited that feature from his kind faced mother.
“H-how is Izuku?” She was trying to hold back sobs, her arms falling from the hug she held Katsuki in, instead keeping one hand on his elbow as she turned to the mass of newbie-heroes and used the other to wipe at her plump cheek. “Have any of you heard anything?”
Ochaco had already been fighting back the mist in her eyes, but now had tears on her face as she watched Izuku’s mom cry, Tenya’s true emotions were hidden behind glared lenses. No one else looked like they were going to speak up, lacking the nerve to come out with it and tell the woman her son was in critical condition upon arriving and no one had heard anything since.
“They won’t let any of us through.” Shouto stood to bow his head to Inko, jabbing his thumb as he motioned behind him at the doors that lead further into the hospital. The hallway past the blinding blue entryway, more than likely leading to operation rooms, looked almost intimidating against the backdrop of morose, white walls, and muffled sobs. “We haven’t gotten any news yet.”
Inko hung her head, nails digging into Katsuki’s skin, but he didn’t say anything, her fingers shaking as she clung to his arm.
“He’ll be okay.” Katsuki mutters awkwardly. Inko hummed in agreement because she probably didn’t trust herself to try and speak anymore.
It was almost hitting the two hour mark before anyone came out to speak to them.
A nurse with a high bun shuffled out, clipboard in hand, calling out, “Midoriya?” as she stared at the waiting room jam-packed with heroes.
Izuku’s mother, who had taken the other seat beside Katsuki after he’d removed his gauntlets, jumped to her feet.
“Me! Me, I-I’m his mother!” She briskly walked to stand in front of the nurse, the hope in her eyes clouded by fear. “He’s my baby boy!”
Katsuki leaned forward in his seat, picking up the gauntlets he’d tucked between his feet, everyone else turning anxiously in their seats to gauge Inko’s reaction to whatever the nurse was telling her. Emotions were running high, and anyone who wasn’t crying or displaying their blatant uneasiness were trying to show a brave face for those who couldn’t.
“Hey man,” it was a whisper in his ear, a firm hand on his shoulder as Eijirou leaned forward, “what the hell happened out there?” His voice was filled with worry and concern, low as to try and see if Katsuki would be okay with just telling him.
The blonde turned his head, glazed eyes flashing in a warning, his spiky haired friend raising his hands in defense, backing off immediately. Eijirou didn’t miss the faint swollen redness around his friends eyes, biting the inside of his cheek as the explosive hero went back to moving his gauntlets to the seat Inko had sat in.
“Everything is fine,” The nurse assured, smiling at Inko, voice calm and steady, “we called in a bit of help, and Midoriya is on the road to recovery. Which, speaking of recovery, recovery girl was called, and thankfully she was able to aid in his healing process!”
She was too cheery given what had just happened, or at least that’s what Katsuki would have thought if he’d been near, but Inko nodded her head and clasped her hands over her heart. The nurse was doing her best to keep the patient's family calm, and show sympathy, but he could tell that years of shoving your feelings down in order to stay professional took it’s toll, and all that was left was an achingly fake smile.
“I’m so relieved.”
The nurse looked over Inko’s shoulder at the waiting heroes, brows scrunched together as a small and timid laugh escaped her. “Unfortunately not everyone can come in to see him, but we will allow family members. The rest will have to wait out here while he recovers.”
The nurse was visibly thankful she hadn’t been trampled by the horde of people here when she’d first called out Izuku’s last name.
Izuku’s mother nodded her head, turning slightly to look back at all of her sons friends, gaze focusing on one in particular. Through tears and a shaky breath she called out to Katsuki, lifting a hand to motion him over. “Bakugou. We can go in to see him now!” She raised her voice, only slightly, just enough to be heard through the chatter of the waiting room and break through the strange trance the young adult seemed to be in.
Slowly, Katsuki raised his head, swallowing as he met Inko’s eyes.
Eijirou sighed beside him, hoisting his friend up to his feet. He grinned as Katsuki yanked his arm free from the redhead.
“I can walk fine on my own!” Katsuki sneered, shoving his hands in his pockets as he tagged a half-hearted “-shithead,” on to the end.
Ochaco stood up, following after Katsuki as he approached Inko, the blonde looking back over his shoulder as the girl spoke up.
“Can we come, too?”
“Just family.” Inko tried to stay strong, sucking in her bottom lip as the borderline blubbering Uraraka stared at her with pleading eyes.
No one said a word about Katsuki not actually being “family”, knowing well enough that the two were practically joined at the hip, or rather, Izuku was stuck to Katsuki like glue.
Katsuki felt guilt beginning to well in his gut to the point where it was almost causing physical pain, walking side by side with Izuku’s mom, the two of them following the nurse to the room where the one for all hero resided.
Finally, they came to Izuku’s room, the nurse opening the door and stepping inside. She beckoned Inko and him to do the same. Once they came to stand inside, Katsuki letting Izuku’s mother go first, they were met with a tall doctor with slicked black hair and a familiar old woman standing by Izuku’s bed side.
“Mrs. Midoriya, hello…” The retired support hero nodded her head towards them, the doctor raising his gaze from the charts to mumble a soft ‘hello’ as well. Recovery girl had been off the scene for a while, and Katsuki was surprised to even see her here, especially since it was Izuku who had gotten hurt. Katsuki would have guessed upon being asked for help, she would have said no, considering how bad Izuku used to get injured and how frustrated it had made her.
“Ah, and Bakugou… All Might phoned me, and asked that I come in as a personal favor, from one friend to another. I’m glad I did, or Midoriya could have lost his life today...” Her expression was grim, looking back at Izuku as she gripped her cane. The doctor a few feet away had paused in his writing, looking to the elderly woman. “I did the most I could without killing him. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any healing for something this extreme, even for Midoriya. Before it was all to do with his arms and legs, but this time is a bit different. It’s up to him now... we’ll have to wait and see.”
Katsuki froze, Izuku’s mother stifling a whimper, stepping forward to voice exactly what Katsuki was thinking.
“What do you mean?”
The elderly woman cast them a sad look, sighing as she shook her head, hobbling forward to approach the two. “I’ll leave you to talk to the doctor.” Recovery Girl made to leave, but before doing so she reached up to pat Inkos arm, and gave Katsuki a weary smile.
When the older woman had gone, Inko looked after her with wide horrified eyes, Katsuki repeated the question, only a little angrily.
“What the hell did she mean?”
Inko rushed to Izuku’s bedside, shaking hands flitting over her son's form, afraid to touch him.
“One moment, please.” The doctor held up his pen, not even addressing them before continuing to write the rest of whatever he was taking note of.
Izuku’s face was bruised, though not as bad as it had looked back in that outlet store, and Katsuki knew recovery girl probably had something to do with that. Still though, his face was splotched purple and black, remnant globs of dried blood crusted into the hair stuck to his face and the crease by his eye. The majority of his head was wrapped in bandages and gauze. Stitches just barely peeked out from discoloured white padding over his ear, a neck brace firmly secured to ensure his head stayed in place.
The rest of his body, for once, seemed virtually untouched.
For Inko, seeing her son like this only made her fears bloom, sending her spiraling down a deep dark hole of fear; that horrible gut wrenching feeling that her son would never return to her because of this… this stupid hero occupation, consuming her.
“He would have been better off just being Izuku… just being his normal quirkless self.” her voice wavered, cracking as her shoulders shook with a small hiccup, Katsuki’s eyes widening a fraction at hearing her whispered words.
He almost agreed with her… only then… he would have never grown close to Izuku.
After being shoved in the dorms, forced to face each other day after day, he’d gotten used to living with Deku. All the times they’d worked together made him swallow the reality of the fact that they would have to rely on teamwork once again, even if he’d initially despised the nerd. Hell, even now, maybe those sentiments hadn’t really changed. But imagining a world without the idiot, vying for something greater than his stupid, quirkless self, was nauseating.
Sure, Katsuki would have moved on with his life, striving to become the best hero there ever was, but...
He was still doing that. His plan would have been exactly the same, only it felt wrong to think about doing it without Izuku.
Katsuki grit his teeth, walking up beside Inko as she practically draped herself over Izuku’s chest, the woman still being careful as to not disturb his position. Katsuki’s mouth felt dry, tongue curling against the back of his teeth as he tried to calm himself, fingers itching to reach out and touch Izuku’s hand. Before Katsuki could act on instinct, the doctor lifted his head, clearing his throat.
“That Recovery Girl, she’s really something!” The doctors blank expression shifted into a cheerful one, the same one that the nurse from earlier wore, trying to lighten the mood before delivering the extent of Izuku’s injuries. “For someone at her age to get that riled up! She worked wonders!”
Inko raised her head, wiping tears from her face. Katsuki passively looked at him, waiting for him to finally answer their question.
Right into business, the doctor tucked Izuku’s charts in the crook of his arm before speaking.
“Mr. Midoriya has one laceration carrying over from his left ear down to his jaw. His skin was split, and his eardrum ruptured due to the impact of one of the many blows to his head. The eardrum was repaired, and most of his wounds were as well, but we have still given him stitches as recovery girl focused most of his healing on more important things. His skull was fractured, and as a result there was both bleeding and swelling on the brain. It wasn’t enough to leave him brain dead, and the monitor shows ample activity, so we have faith he will wake up, but for now we’ve put him under an induced coma so he can recover, and to keep him still...” The doctor paused, fingers running back through his black gelled hair, rubbing the side of his neck as Inko covered her mouth, and Katsuki’s nostrils flared. “...besides that, he’s sustained two broken ribs, and a broken jaw which we have wired shut.”
Hearing this, everything that Izuku was suffering through, cut Katsuki like a knife. His hands balled into fists at his side, sneering as he looked to Izuku, a strangled sob escaping Inko.
“He’ll be okay though, right?!”
Katsuki winced at the panicked tone in her voice, listening to her sniffle as he bit down on his bottom lip. Even if it was something minor, the woman lost her head. At least this time her fretting was warranted.
“Well,” the doctor sounded cautious. Katsuki suppressed a growl deep in his chest, eyes drifting to watch Izuku’s mother shake, “...as I said, we have faith he will wake up, but there is always a chance he may not. That’s unlikely from what I’ve seen by his vitals, as he’s breathing on his own, but a brain injury is a serious thing. We have no idea how this will affect him mentally, if at all. He could be perfectly fine, but it’s best to prepare yourselves just in case something happens.”
The doctor calmly walked to the back of the room, holding up Izuku’s radio-graphs. He stacked them against the fluorescent screen across from them. Inko was full on crying now, seeing the images of the damaged bones and injuries to Izuku rendering her unable to hold it in any longer.
“What do you mean,” Katsuki swallowed, enunciating each word carefully, “...when you say, you don’t know how this will affect him mentally?”
The doctor was still calm, his ‘caring smile’ still in place.
“When a person has a brain injury, there can be long, or short term damages. Without him being awake we can’t really tell, but it could range from anything to severe brain damage resulting in physical and mental disabilities, to something as simple as memory loss.” He walked back to them, slipping the clipboard in front of the bed with the rest of the medical records. “Again, it's not for sure, but it’s a chance you should prepare for.”
His smile stretched, cracking his face in a way that made Katsuki want to punch his lights out.
“I wish you you all the best of luck.”
Katsuki gnashed his teeth, glancing over at Inko as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to console her sadness and turmoil, back to Izuku as she tried to get a hold of herself. Katsuki, for the first time since he’d met the woman, wanted to pull her into his arms and try to give her support… even though he knew he’d be pretty shit at it.
The doctor left without another word.
Instead of reaching for Inko, Katsuki turned to Izuku, fighting any negative thoughts from his mind, gently taking the boy’s hand now in his own.
He didn’t know medical shit like this, he wasn’t a fucking doctor! How would he know, when Izuku opened his eyes, if something was wrong? He knew if the heart monitor started to jump, that was bad… or suddenly screeched in that one high buzz, that meant he’d flat-lined. Any of these other things though, these machines that he didn’t know the function of, how would he be able to tell…
When Izuku woke up and stared back at him with unfocused eyes… how would he know…?
How would he know if the loser staring up at him was still Deku?
“What fucking bullshit!” Katsuki hissed, squeezing Izuku’s fingers only slightly. It was like he was caught in some damn nightmare, and he couldn’t wake up. “Fuck!”
His heart was aching, and he was holding his breath. Izuku’s sniveling mother shuffled over to stand beside him and gazed down at her son.
He couldn’t help but think, for a brief moment, that it should have been him in that bed.
Katsuki began to run through scenarios in his head, thinking about how it could’ve gone differently.
What if he waited with Izuku and heard him out before rushing head first to the villain? What if he hadn’t dashed forward to the first movement he saw? What if he’d stayed with Izuku, stood beside him, ready for anything, and near enough to save the idiot when danger threatened them?
He should have stayed.
Stayed by his side like he’d promised once before… though it was more him telling Deku to keep up with him. If he could keep up, and walk in stride, they’d be beside each other always. Always. Though it was the stupidest, and sappiest thing he’d ever said to Izuku, besides his confession at graduation… and granted it could have been a bit more delicate and heartfelt, but Katsuki being… him, knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Admitting that to Deku was probably one of the most humiliatingly wonderful days of his life.
The bright afternoon sun beat down on them, and Katsuki had dragged Izuku away from their large crowd of friends, the smaller boy confused and begging to be released so they didn’t miss the celebration.
Once out of earshot, Katsuki spun around, grinding his teeth, and mentally kicked his own ass for what he was about to spit out. Izuku was a bit concerned, eyes wide, and lips puckered in to worry as he leaned forward. Katsuki remembered how his heart jumped in his throat when Izuku breathed a panicked, “Are you breaking up with me?”
He felt like he would burst out laughing, because what he was going to say was on the complete opposite end of the relationship wheel.
Katsuki shook his head, lips pulling back in something caught between a grimace and a sneer, and he could understand how Izuku would have gotten the wrong impression by his sheer inability to really express what he felt. To Deku, and everyone else, it looked like he was perpetually pissed, after all.
“Look here, Deku!” He shouted unintentionally, originally wanting to confess calmly, and make his proposal with an equally level voice. “I….Shit, I love you! So obviously, after this, we should just fucking move in together! Okay?!”
Not exactly what he’d planned to say, and a little more direct… and angry, but nonetheless Izuku’s expression brightened, a stupid goofy smile spreading on his face. The shorter boy didn't even give an audible answer, grabbing Katsuki’s face, and for once, kissing him in public. Despite Izuku’s shyness and the prying eyes of their friends not to far off, he’d pressed their mouths together, Katsuki instinctively leaning to turn things a little more passionate.
Izuku was teary eyed, and crushing him in an embarrassingly long hug.
That was so like Deku.
One would think Katsuki had proposed to him or something, the idiot was so fucking happy.
Katsuki was happy too.
“He’ll wake up.”
His fond recollection was interrupted by the firm voice of Inko, turning his head to look at the woman determinedly staring at her son, blinking away the sting in his eyes.
“He’ll be just fine.”
Katsuki felt his bottom lip quiver, biting down on the flesh as he took a deep breath, thumb brushing over Izuku’s knuckles.
“Yeah, he will be,” Katsuki swallowed, tone equally as firm as Inkos, voice regaining that growled confidence, “'cause he’s Deku.”