Chapter Text
6 pm – Hop Skip Jump Agency, Offices
September 2 20X2
It was supposed to be a normal day of patrol.
It was a normal day of patrol.
“Let’s get this shit over with, Shitty Hair.” Bakugo groaned, rolling his shoulder and his neck at the same time. The crack that ensued wasn’t surprising–sitting in the same horrible posture for the first 2 hours of their shift would do that to him. He hovered over Kirishima’s desk, looking at him expectantly.
Kirishima looked up, surprised. Not at Bakugo’s bad attitude–he was used to sleeping from 8 to 5, but now that the senior heroes had been assigned to the night shift, he’d been struggling to stay awake through his shift–but surprised at the time. His winter hero costume had made its appearance early this year, a combination of cold weather in September as well as the chill of the night.
“Oh, is it 6 pm already?” He asked, glancing over at the clock above the elevator. “Wow, I didn’t even notice.”
“‘Cause paperwork is so interesting.” Bakugo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Kirishima glanced back at his monitor, then at Bakugo, then back at his monitor.
“Yeah, paperwork! Totally! I was doing paper—paperwork.” He clicked blindly while keeping Bakugo’s eye contact, desperately trying to X out of the tab he was on. Bakugo raised a suspicious eyebrow, leaning down to take a look, despite Kirishima’s protests.
“‘5 things to include in your vows–’ fucking hell, Shitty Hair, you can’t write your own vows?” Kirishima groaned, closing the tab.
“I can ! I mean, I did! But I wanted to make sure it was up to par, dude, so I was just looking.” He defended himself, turning off his monitor and standing up. “What if my vows sound stupid next to Shouto’s?”
Bakugo snorted, handing Kirishima his mask from his desk before crossing his arms. “You think your stone-faced, emotionless fiancé's vows are going to be better than yours?”
Kirishima took the mask, frowning. “Hey, he’s made a lot of progress! He has emotions, he just doesn’t express them as often.”
“I stand uncorrected.”
“Well, at least he isn’t angry 90% of the time.” Kirishima responded, clicking the mask into place. “Unlike some people I know.”
Bakugo smirked, walking towards the elevators, Kirishima following him. “You’re just asking to get beat up, aren’t you?”
“Bakugo, you haven’t been able to beat me up since we were in highschool.” Kirishima laughed as Bakugo pushed him hard enough to make him lose his balance, pushing him forward towards the elevator. He ignored the protests behind him as he pressed the button.
Once the elevator arrived, they squeezed in with 2 other senior heroes stuck on the night shift (who Kirishima greeted, but Bakugo didn’t, as usual). They were older than the two of them, and they looked equally, if not more, tired. Kirishima didn’t mind working late, but even he admits that he’s getting a little sick of it. He likes the newbies and all, but instead of shielding these fresh graduates from the reality of working as a hero, shouldn’t they get a taste of staying up all night?
“On patrol?” One of them asked politely, smiling at the pair.
“Yup! Everything seems so quiet nowadays, doesn’t it?” Kirishima replied. The two heroes snuck a glance at the other, before nodding.
“We’re investigating a new rising anti-hero group. It’s the worst so far–a dozen escaped Tartarus villains collaborating with the yakuza that may have had connections to the League of Villains and their associates. That's why everything else has been quiet.” The other whispered, as if there was anybody else in the elevator. “The Hero Commission is genuinely concerned about this group, so we’re trying to shut it down before it even debuts.”
“Holy shit, really?” Kirishima gasped. “So this is the calm before the storm.”
“Let’s hope not. The group is specifically anti-hero–”
“So we take them down before they even touch us.” Bakugo grinned.
“You got that right, Dynamight. It’s probably a matter of time before they get you two involved.”
They reached the ground floor and parted ways, leaving to their respective halves of the city. Kirishima grabbed some comms and two location watches from the front desk, handing one of each to Bakugo, who put on both as they left the building. Kirishima did the same, doing a quick check that they could hear each other and see each other’s location. Once they checked their patrol route, they were off.
Bakugo yawned. “God, another shift of doing fucking nothing . Why the hell did we get stuck on the night shift?”
“You picked the job, man. We all knew that some days– nights , would be slow.” Kirishima chuckled. “I mean, isn't it a good thing we don’t see many villains nowadays?”
“No villains means I can’t maintain my spot in the rankings, and fucking Deku’s catching up now that Cheeks is staying home with Toshi this week and he’s going to work. And he has day shift.” He growled, beginning their patrol down the neighborhood.
“The rankings are shit, anyways, man.” Kirishima smiled politely at a couple of highschool girls, who squealed as he passed them. “You’re not at a bad spot right now anyways.”
“Duh. I worked my ass off after I broke up with–” He paused, coughing. Kirishima sent him a worried glance, to which he glared at him. “I work my ass off. I better be in the top 10.”
This was Bakugo’s first slip up of the night, but Kirishima wasn’t going to let it slide. The redhead put a hand on Bakugo’s shoulder, effectively stopping the two of them. He looked him in the eyes, eyebrows furrowed together. “Bro, you know I’m serious. If you ever wanna talk–”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Kirishima. It’s been months. I’m over him. It’s fine.”
“Bullshit.”
“Shut the fuck up, okay? Focus on patrol, not on my currently non-existent love life.”
“But you haven’t even gotten rid of the stuff he left at your place–don’t think I didn’t noti–”
“Because I’m going to burn it– it’s none of your fucking business, dickwad!” Bakugo snapped. “It’s my apartment, he never came back to get his stuff, so it doesn’t fucking matter what I do with his things!”
“You’re not convincing at all , ma–”
A sudden blast interrupted their conversation, forcing their gaze to the large explosion that had just broken out a block or two down. Screams echoed around the neighborhood as buildings crumbled around the explosion, fire erupting and smoke billowing into the air.
“That’s the bank.” Kirishima said, already running towards the bright light. Bakugo followed him, and they arrived at the scene of the crime just in time to see the criminal fly above the bright flames.
“You evacuate everyone, I’m going after the fucker.” Bakugo growled, blasting a few explosions to kickstart him into the air. Kirishima nodded, activating his quirk and running into the burning building.
As it turns out, most people had already evacuated as soon as the explosion went off, which made his job infinitely easier. Other heroes and the authorities had arrived a couple minutes after Kirishima, who kept the crowd at bay as the qualified heroes for evacuation ran into the building, slinging 3 people over their shoulders, and then depositing them outside the building. Only a few were seriously injured–the teller and a couple bystanders near the bank when it had exploded, as well as a couple of people who inhaled too much smoke–and once Kirishima had double checked there was nobody left to rescue, he pressed his comm.
“Dynamight, check in.” He said, passing out a couple of bottles of water to the civilians as the firefighters put out the fire.
The comm crackled on the other side–he wasn’t surprised, since their comms didn’t work too well past 10 feet off the ground–but he didn’t think Bakugo would still be flying after the villain.
“Dynamight?” He said again, eyebrows furrowing. “Are you in danger?”
“ Here.” He finally responded, a little out of breath. “ I got the little twerp.”
Kirishima tapped his watch, seeing the little dot that was Bakugo a couple blocks away. “Alright, I’ll send the police over to your location. Does he have the money?”
“ No, he ditched it somewhere. We’ll get it later.”
“Okay, good to know. Are you oka–”
“What the fuck?!” Bakugo yelled, startling Kirishima entirely. He only caught the sound of a loud rumbling before his comm went completely silent. Bakugo sounded panicked–he doesn’t get scared during patrol, especially against one tied up robber. Something must have changed.
“Dynamight?” Kirishima tapped his comm repeatedly, trying to connect with his partner again. “Dynamight, check in!”
Silence.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Kirishima muttered as he began to run towards Bakugo’s location. The little dot kept blinking , as if Bakugo was appearing and disappearing, and was it the signal or was it some villain with a quirk that was able to transport Bakugo anywhere in the world through a thick purple fog–
No, it wasn’t him. Not again.
He smacked the side of his watch, finally able to pinpoint Bakugo’s location as the dot stabilized. He finally arrived at the scene, just in time to watch Bakugo be thrown into the ground by a huge villain, 15 feet tall at least . His head bounced off the sidewalk with a sickening crack that made Kirishima wince and he had so many questions–mainly how someone was able to grab Bakugo like that in the first place, he’d never let it happen–but also, how was Bakugo losing to one guy?
“Hey, pick on someone your own fucking size, coward!” Kirishima yelled, charging into the fight. The villain finally turned around, and–
Kirishima almost threw up.
This villain looked like something out of a disturbed child’s imagination. He didn’t know where to look–each angle of this villain made him want to puke. It looked like a radiation experiment gone wrong, and he wasn’t even sure this villain was human . It didn’t even look like a Nomu.
Eyes bulged from every other inch of this villain’s body, all looking in different directions, before they all snapped to focus on him. The villain had arms protruding everywhere –from its face, neck, torso. Not just human arms, either. He caught sight of mutant arms; lizards, claws, slime.
Where did he even come from?
“ Take him.” The singular mouth on this villain’s torso rasped. Kirishima didn’t know if that meant him or Bakugo, but he sure wasn’t going to let it happen.
He charged forward, activating Unbreakable. The sooner he took down this guy, the sooner he could see if Bakugo was okay, and what the fuck happened while he was gone.
Just as he was about to punch the guy’s face–if it counted as his face, since it was on his torso–in, he was suddenly blinded by a bright green light emitted from a large green eye on the villain’s neck. All of a sudden, he couldn’t breathe, move, or even think . He could feel Unbreakable forcibly being released, his skin aching at stretching and reforming at such a quick rate. He felt like his heart was being tugged out of his chest, threatening to break out of his rib cage, and he was powerless to stop it. He didn’t know how, but it felt like the air was being sucked out of his lungs. Yellow smoke began billowing around the villain–from where, Kirishima didn’t know, but he wasn’t interested in inhaling a lot of it.
“ No! He’s useless–get the blond one!” Another voice snapped, an arm coming up to slap the eye. The bright light cut out and the smoke dissipated, and Kirishima dropped to the ground, panting, only cringing slightly as he landed on his foot weirdly. He grasped his chest, eyes wide, as he tried to catch his breath.
The blond one.
He couldn’t let them get to Bakugo. Not when he hadn’t even gotten up yet.
He punched his hardened fist into the ground, creating a rippling effect as the ground broke. It tripped up the villain, who didn’t seem to have the best coordination with so many limbs. A tentacle shot out to stop the body from falling over completely, while another arm whipped out towards Kirishima and tried to grab him. Kirishima dodged easily, running forward while hardening his entire upper body before punching the villain’s back, forcing him into the ground. The gas finally stopped emitting from the villain, which only reassured Kirishima a little. They’d have to get a checkup done after the fight.
He spared a quick glance at Bakugo, who had finally staggered up, blood dripping from his head.
“Dynamight! You goo-”
A knee slammed into his rock-hard ribs (quite literally, rock hard) which didn’t make much of a dent in his skin, but the impact traveled through and pushed the air out of his lungs. He hunched over, trying to gasp in as much breath as safely possible considering there was still neon yellow gas in the air, as the person beneath him threw him off with his extra arms, immediately running after Bakugo again.
Kirishima crashed into the side of the building, automatically deactivating his hardening. He took a moment to fill his lungs as his vision began getting blurry (from lack of oxygen or head trauma, he didn’t know), but he knew he needed to get up as soon as possible. He saw another bright green light before his eyes fell shut involuntarily. He heard blast after blast; and then, sickening crunches and groans.
“Fucking hell!” Dynamight yelled in the distance. “Fucking poison?”
Poison?
Kirishima’s body moved immediately, just in time to see a claw retract from Dynamight’s arm, which not only begins to bleed sluggishly, but begins to ooze some kind of purple liquid. Shit.
Dynamight staggered back, continuously blasting weakening explosions from his good arm (though good is a stretch, but it’s always been the better one considering the one currently poisoned was mangled in the war), as the villain advanced toward him. It seemed somewhat immune to his smaller explosions, the bright green light shining from the eye on his neck, freezing Dynamight in place. Arms surrounded Dynamight and grabbed him from every angle, yellow smoke seeping out of the body again as the blond hero was picked up and slammed into another building.
Dynamight didn’t even flinch.
Kirishima leapt forward without a second thought, hardening his body as quickly as possible again despite his skin screaming at him to slow down as it stretched and hardened in half a second. There’s no more playing it safe; Dynamight has gotten inordinately injured in less than 2 minutes, and he just needed to take this guy down.
His sharp eyes snapped to the green eye he previously saw on the neck; it was clearly the most dangerous part of the body with its ability to immobilize them. So as long as he targeted the eye, he should be able to get a knockout punch in.
He yelled out in anger and frustration, winding his arm back and sharpening his arm into a deadly blade. The villain turned around to face the new threat; luckily, it’s just what Kirishima anticipated and required for his plan. He jumped up, grabbed the villain’s neck with one hand, and drove his other arm into the eye without hesitation.
Exactly how Kirishima planned, a scream erupted from the villain as multiple arms attempted to scratch up Kirishima to get him off, but he wouldn’t quit. To drive the point home, he twisted his arm further into his neck-eye with a sickening squelching noise.
Instead of surrendering like he’d expected, the villain disappeared in a poof of smoke. Kirishima dropped to the ground, feeling a phantom slime sensation on his arm which he flung off with a quick flick of his arm. He de-hardened his whole body at the same time, eyes scanning the entire area in confusion. The villain had really just…pulled a magician’s trick and disappeared. At least, from what Kirishima could see, through the smoke.
Kirishima coughed, waving the smoke out of his face before he turned back to where Bakugo had been thrown into a building again . By now, he would have picked himself up and yelled at Kirishima to go run after the villain(s?) (but they had literally disappeared into thin air, so Kirishima didn’t really know what he was supposed to do), but he hadn’t heard a peep from him since. To be fair, the enemies had been more focused on keeping Dynamight down than himself.
“ Dynamight!” He yelled, jogging towards him. He coughed as fresh dust kicked up from under his feet, making his eyes water. “ You good? ”
Bakugo looked up at him, peering through his mask, when the blond’s eyes suddenly rolled back and he collapsed.
Time seemed to slow down as Kirishima lunged for the blond before his head could collide with any hard surfaces again , each millisecond bringing Bakugo closer to brain damage. Kirishima got a hand between Bakugo's head and the floor just in the nick of time, softening the blow.
The adrenaline never stopped pumping through Kirishima’s body as he picked up Bakugo gingerly, and oh God he was so limp, calling for backup at the same time he was trying to figure out why Bakugo had suddenly passed out. He knew how to pack wounds, he knew how to detect strokes, he knew how to find a pulse, but sudden unconsciousness is not something he knew how to investigate. His pulse was steady, and he was breathing. He’d gotten up after getting his head slammed into the ground, and he’d fought . So why?
As he ran as fast as he could to the hospital (the backup was taking too long, and he couldn’t sit around cradling Bakugo’s bleeding head any longer,) he couldn’t help but think, I wish he were here for him.
Bakugo wouldn’t have liked for his ex to be there, though, so Kirishima discarded that thought quickly.
3 am – Musutafu General Hospital, Bakugo’s Room
Kirishima left him in the care of the doctors for the first 7 hours that Bakugo was in surgery. God, surgery . He himself made it out with a couple scratches and a sore ankle, which he got healed fairly quickly with one of the hospital’s on-site quirk healers. After a quick check-up, they couldn’t find any traces of the neon yellow gas in his system, so at least he didn’t have to worry about that. At some point, a sympathetic nurse brought him some spare hospital robes so he could at least change out of his hero outfit while he waited, but Kirishima had been so tired and worried that he didn’t even bother washing up; he just pulled the borrowed clothes over his head and went right back to waiting for Bakugo. Bakugo, who was in too bad of shape to be healed by a quirk.
From what he could remember, he had an MCL tear, broken ribs, a concussion (or three), and right rotator cuff injury. Also, unknown poison rendering his already mangled arm very, very, slow to recovery.
He didn’t even know if the arm was going to make it out of this one.
Kirishima watched as the doctors finished medicating Bakugo, though of course the blond didn’t notice. The sleeping pill the doctors had given him 2 hours ago was still going strong, and Kirishima was glad to see he wasn’t thrashing in his sleep again. Of course he hadn’t liked the oxygen mask placed over his mouth and nose while he was fresh off surgery, but it’d been necessary. The damage done to his chest was severe enough that the doctor’s didn’t know if he’d be able to get enough oxygen by himself.
And of course he didn’t like it when it took 6 nurses and Kirishima to hold him down when he awoke from surgery and didn’t recognize anybody in the room, so the only option they had was to administer a painkiller and a sleeping pill (being very careful with the doses so that he wouldn’t crash).
Now, he fiddled with his hands, watching Bakugo’s chest rise and fall steady, just in case it stopped suddenly. He’d probably have to break his gaze and close the curtains soon enough, because he could see the sun begin to rise outside the window, and he didn’t want Bakugo to get too hot in his sleep. Bakugo’s gauntlets were stashed away in the corner, disabled but still cracked to bits from when Bakugo was attempting to defend himself and fight at the same time. He’d need to take those to the agency’s support team, so it’d be a couple weeks before he could use them again.
Well, not like it mattered. Judging by what the doctors told him, Bakugo would be out of commission for at least 3 months.
“Damn it.” He growled, punching his hand softly into his thigh in frustration. His head completely swam with the information he’d received after Bakugo’s brain scan, finally having time to process it.
2 hours ago - 1 AM, Musutafu General Hospital, Waiting Room
“Red Riot-san.” a nurse called after she stepped out of the room. Kirishima stood up quickly, having waited for his best friend to be tended to after that hell of a fight. What time was it, anyways? It had to be some time in the early morning–Kirishima couldn’t bother to look at the clock. “Has Dynamight’s family arrived?”
He shook his head. “They’re out of the country. I’m his hospital contact, anyways.”
She nodded, tapping at the clipboard. “Yes, I see that here. Well–”
“Is he okay?” He asked, excessively impatient. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she scanned her clipboard.
“Physically, he will be okay. He will recover from the multiple injuries well and relatively quickly, if he follows a proper recovery plan. Though we do believe his rotator cuff injury will be more complicated to heal, considering his quirk and previous injuries to that arm.”
“You have a recovery plan for him?”
She nodded, passing him a piece of paper. “We consulted his agency’s health department and put something together that’ll work for him. It’ll take about 3 months, and he’ll need some consistent help, but he should be back on the job by then.”
He skimmed over it, before folding it and putting it in his pocket.
“And mentally? Like, why did he suddenly pass out? Is his brain okay?” he finally pressed. She sighed, stopping her browsing and looking at him. She hugged the clipboard to her chest, shaking her head.
“We don’t know why he suddenly became unconscious.” She admitted. “It’s an unusual case that we will further investigate and let you know.”
“But there’s no…lasting damage? He can still walk and talk and stuff, right?” He clarified.
“His brain is in a fragile state and will be for the next month or so, but we believe there won’t be any lasting damage to his motor abilities. Unfortunately–” She flipped through her clipboard again, “–the concussion triggered one of the rarest consequences, which is memory loss. After a short interrogation after the surgery, we determined he can barely remember significant events from the past six months.”
“Six months?” Kirishima repeated, a little louder than he intended.
“Yes. Which brings me to my next point–his brain is in such a fragile state right now, that any stress on the brain might cause it to relapse and cause brain damage. He should avoid bright and flashing lights and sounds. This is also why our suggestion is to hold off on telling him any big news that might have happened in the past half year, such as a death in the family, or a big change in his life, if possible.”
Kirishima put a hand to his mouth, brows furrowed in worry.
It’s not like anything super significant or shocking happened in Bakugo’s life from the past half year. 9 months ago, Uraraka and Midoriya had their kid, so he’d remember that. 6 months ago Kirishima got engaged to Todoroki, but it’d probably be 50/50 on whether he remembered that based on the exact dates. Also debatable whether Bakugo would consider that big news. 5 months ago, Bakugo broke up with–
Oh. Never mind, then. Fuck, that was going to be hard to cover up.
“Can I see him?” He asked after a silence.
She considered his question for a few seconds, before nodding. “He’s sleeping right now. After surgery, he was under extreme distress, to the point where he was dangerous to the staff, so we put him under. If you’d like, you can sit in the room, and maybe it’ll help him calm down after waking up.” She offered an unsure smile. Kirishima nodded. “Please put on a mask before you enter to ensure sanitation, as he’s fresh off surgery.”
“Thanks, Nurse Tetsumura.” She let him walk past, taking a mask from the box next to the door before stepping in.
Bakugo lay in his bed, looking almost too peaceful, if it wasn’t for the bandages and casts wrapping him in every angle. At least he’d gotten the sleep he wanted–fuck, that was morbid. Kirishima often wondered if Bakugo slept so peacefully because he was so angry all the time.
“You idiot.” Kirishima muttered, pulling up a chair and sitting down in front of Bakugo’s bed. “I’m the shield. I can take a concussion. I can take poison.”
He watched Bakugo as time ticked by, silence a constant presence in the air as the only noise came from the steady beeping of his heart monitor, which was strangely soothing. It was a reminder that he was still alive. Kirishima should probably text his fiancé that he’s missing dinner tonight, even though it was probably hours late at this point. He didn’t want to worry him.
Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, the stress of the day finally catching up to him. His dream wasn’t vivid, but a hazy scene of himself and his fiance enjoying a sunset picnic amongst the clouds. Just as Todoroki smiled at him, his scar glowing in the warmth of the sun–
“Who the fuck are you?” a gravelly voice hissed. Kirishima jumped at the sudden intrusion from previous peace, rubbing his eyes and shooting up out of his chair.
“Bakugo! I-”
“You’re not a fuckin’ nurse.” He shifted uncomfortably in his bed, unable to get up easily.
“No, I–” Kirishima stopped walking towards him, hands falling to his side from the previous hug he was planning. Honestly, that would have been ill-advised anyway. Kirishima gave bone-crushing hugs. “You don’t remember me?”
“Tell me what the fuck you’re doing in here.” Bakugo’s hands sparked dangerously, his voice a low rasp. His mask started fogging up as he began breathing heavier, his pupils contracted.
“Bakugo, I know it might be hard to remember, but I’m your–” He took a step closer.
“Get the fuck away from me!” He threw a blast Kirishima’s way, wincing as his injured arm recoiled from the explosion. Kirishima lowered his hardened arms as nurses came rushing in from the sound. He looked around frantically, clearly trying to get out of bed. “Where’s Tenya?”
“Red Riot-san, you’re distressing him.” Dr. Hayashi, Bakugo’s surgeon, said, checking Bakugo’s vitals. He hadn’t let up on trying to explode Kirishima, his heart monitor beeping rapidly. “He’s having a panic attack. Give him a relaxant and a temporary quirk canceler–what, we already used one? How long ago?”
“Should I…should I go?” Kirishima asked. He’d never seen Bakugo so panicked to see him. Bakugo’s memory was only affected from a few months ago, and they’d been best friends for years.
“It won’t work, then. We need somebody familiar with him to calm him down. Unless we can risk another round of anesthetics.” The doctor muttered to her nurses, who were flinching at the sparks still flashing from Bakugo’s hands. They hesitated to get anywhere near him, watching Bakugo burn blankets and curtains alike.
“His family isn’t in the country.” Nurse Tetsumura said, glancing at Kirishima, who blinked stupidly. He really didn’t know what to do. Dr. Hayashi sighed.
She finally turned to Kirishima, as if only noticing him now. “You have access to Dynamight-san’s phone, correct?”
He nodded, pulling it out of his pocket to show him. The screen cracked during the fight, but it still worked. It was one of the things Kirishima checked once he heard Bakugo’s surgery was successful, because Bakugo had just replaced his phone a week ago. If it was broken already, and that meant Bakugo had to re-transfer all his photos and contact numbers and settings, he’d probably blow something up. He turned it on, expecting it to be fully charged, since Bakugo always kept his phone charged. He was right, if being greeted with a lock screen of Bakugo and his godchild/nephew meant anything.
“Why?”
“Call his emergency contact and get them here as soon as you can. That has to be the person he is bound to remember.” Kirishima nodded, grabbing Bakugo’s phone out of his pocket, vaguely hearing the doctor tell the nurse to authorize whoever Kirishima called and let them just as he pushed the door open, calling Bakugo’s emergency contact. He realized he actually didn’t know who his emergency contact was, but he half-expected it to be himself, because he was Bakugo’s hospital contact. That guess was immediately vanquished when his own phone didn’t immediately vibrate in his pocket. It also made him feel relieved, because that meant there was someone out there that could probably help Bakugo.
It rang once, twice, thrice-
“Hello?” a familiar sleepy voice mumbled. Holy shit, it was 1 am. How had Kirishima not realized? He felt kind of bad for waking Bakugo’s emergency contact up at 1 am, but if he’d answered, it must have been okay. Wait–
Kirishima paused, taking in the voice, before gasping. “Iida?!”
“Kirishima? Why are you calling me so early?”
“I–oh my god, we need to unpack this later, but right now I need you to get to Musutafu General Hospital.”
“Wh–the hospital?” He heard shuffling, which he assumed was his former class president, Bakugo’s emergency contact, Iida Tenya, getting out of bed. “What happened? Are you alright?”
“It’s Bakugo. I’ll explain once you get here.” Kirishima hung up as he saw a nurse rush out and wave him over quickly.
“Red Riot-san, is it possible for you to help hold down your partner? He’s still using his quirk and none of us can get close.” He sighed, pushing the door open and following her in. Bakugo had indeed continued using his quirk uncontrollably, so Kirishima hardened up and went in.
This was going to be a long night.
—
6:22 am – Musutafu General Hospital, Bakugo’s Room
“Kirishima?” Iida knocked on the door, peeking in. Kirishima startled, breaking out of his thought-trance about what the nurse had told him 3 hours ago, when Bakugo woke up from surgery. “The nurse told me you were in this room.”
He glanced at the sleeping Bakugo, stepping in quietly when Kirishima gestured for him to. Iida took a few steps in before he paused, taking in a deep shaky breath and walking in further.
“Hey, man. He’s been asleep awhile. Second time they had to put him out.” Iida nodded, pushing a luggage Kirishima hadn’t even noticed before to the side of the door before pulling a chair from the corner of the room.
“I see. And, I apologize for taking so long to arrive. I was out of town when you called.” Kirishima groaned, remembering their very revealing call at 1 am.
“I’m sorry about that, man. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything important.”
“No, don’t worry. I had just finished visiting my parents, so I was coming back anyway.”
Kirishima fiddled with his hands, wondering what to say next. He didn’t talk to Iida all that much, especially in the last 5 months. Well, explaining why he called would be a good first step.
“It’s just…they told me to call Bakugo’s emergency contact, but I didn’t expect it to be... you .”
They both stared forward at Bakugo, still breathing steadily.
“It’s been 5 months.” Iida said quietly, his voice almost pitiful. Kirishima cursed under his breath, thankful Bakugo wasn’t awake to hear this.
“Yeah. I should probably talk to him about that. Sorry, again.”
He shook his head, pushing his glasses up his nose. “No need to apologize. I’d come if any of my former classmates called.”
They both sat in silence, especially if it was him lingering unsaid in the air between them.
“Do you mind if I-” Kirishima gestured to the door after a while, grabbing Iida’s attention. “Been sitting here awhile, just wanna wake myself up. Maybe get all this blood and gunk off me.”
“Oh, of course. Go ahead.”
The redhead stood and stretched, groaning as his bones crackled. “If he wakes up, just call the nurse with the yellow button on the screen. Oh, and make sure he doesn’t try to pull off his oxygen mask if he wakes up.” Kirishima said before he left.
Iida took a few seconds to just look at Bakugo, sighing softly.
“What am I going to do with you, Katsuki?” He muttered, scooting closer to watch the heart monitor.
The sun rose and the world woke up, and Iida Tenya was alone in a room with his unconscious ex-boyfriend.
—
Kirishima splashed water onto his face, taking in his tired appearance. He supposed he didn’t care, since most people in the hospital were tired, but he raked his hair with his fingers and washed off any remaining blood or dirt from the fight regardless. He knew he was freaking some people out with his bloodstained face and arms, and he didn’t want to freak out Bakugo again whenever he woke up. He also just didn’t like the feeling of dried blood on his skin, even though it came with the job, and he was itching to get it off as soon as possible.
Iida probably wasn’t surprised, though. He was a hero too, after all. Speaking of, Kirishima can’t believe that stray thought he had about Bakugo’s ex being with Bakugo right now was actually coming true.
“Memory loss, huh?” he muttered, drying his face with their rough paper towels. “Can’t even remember who I am.”
He felt a little hurt, but he guessed he couldn’t fault Bakugo. He’d dyed his hair back to black 2 months ago for the wedding, and the nurse said he couldn’t remember the past half-year. They also hadn’t hung out as much outside of work since Kirishima had proposed to Todoroki. Wedding planning, and all that.
Oh shit, he had to text his fiancé.
He whipped out his phone, which was previously silent, and saw precisely 4 missed calls and 7 texts. Most people would feel hurt if their fiancé didn’t try harder to reach their MIA partner, but he knew Todoroki preferred to wait for him than worry more.
bby <3: Eijirou, your agency called me. 6:57
bby <3: Are you coming home tonight? 7:00
bby <3: I’ll refrigerate your food. 7:45
bby <3: Text me when you see this, please. 7:52
bby <3: I’m staying at Midoriya’s tonight. 10:11
bby <3: How’s Bakugo? 11:23
bby <3: Stay safe. 2:31
He smiled tiredly, blessing the stars for his patient fiancé. He’d buy him some cold soba on the way home as an apology.
Me: hi!! still at the hospital :( 5:31
The reply was almost immediate.
bby <3: Are you alright? 5:31
Me: yup! just a few scratches 5:32
bby <3: Good. How’s bkg? 5:32
Me: yeesh,,,bad news. 5:32
Me: memory loss of some kind 5:32
Me: and a ton of physical injuries 5:32
bby <3: That sounds bad. 5:32
Me: yeahh,,,,and plot twist, iida is still his emergency contact 5:33
bby <3: Oh...that is certainly telling. 5:33
Me: ur telling me 5:33
bby <3: I am telling you. 5:33
Me: babeeee ur too funny >w< 5:33
bby <3: Thank you. 5:34
Me: your welcome 5:34
bby <3: In other news, I am still at Midoriya’s. However, Ochako has banned me from holding Toshinori. 5:35
Me: oh shit, why? 5:35
bby <3: He’s gotten much more squirrely since I last saw him. Ochako says it’s because he’s learning how to walk, but he is becoming harder and harder to hold. 5:35
Me: aw man, sorry abt that sho. i know how much you love holding him. 5:35
bby <3: I’m not that upset. He was kicking me, anyways. 5:35
Me: that’s my sho, always looking on the bright side 5:36
Me: i should get back to him. you doing good too? 5:36
bby <3: Of course, why wouldn’t I be? I’m not the one with brain damage 5:37
Me: im glad 5:37
Me: ill try to make it home as early as i can. love you <3 5:37
bby <3: I love you too. See you later. 5:37
Kirishima pocketed his phone and washed his hands one last time before heading back to the room. When he opened the door, he realized his fatal mistake.
Iida was kneeled at the edge of Bakugo’s bed, face just inches away from the blonde, his eyes wide. Bakugo had quite obviously pulled off his oxygen mask as it hung around his neck, and his hands gripped the back of Iida’s head. Kirishima’s brain went into overdrive as he realized what must’ve happened.
“Kat–Bakugo, I–” Iida breathed out, his eyes flickering between Bakugo’s dazed eyes and his lips.
“Iida! Can I see you outside for a second?” Kirishima burst in.
“Yes, please.” Iida snapped out of his gaze and removed himself from Bakugo’s grip quickly, pausing for a quick moment to snap the oxygen mask back onto his face.
“Don’t you dare.” Bakugo’s words slurred sleepily, his hand limply nipping the hem of Iida’s sleeve. “Get back here.”
“Don’t worry, Bakugo, we’ll be back soon!” Kirishima exclaimed, pushing the yellow button before ushering Iida out of the room, startling when they almost ran into Bakugo’s nurse, who bowed her head and walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.
He suffered one panicked look from Iida before he sucked air in between his gritted teeth and nodded. “So, I forgot to tell you.” He breathed out.
“Cl–Ahem, clearly.” Iida coughed, and Kirishima only then realized how red his face was. “Was he affected by some sort of quirk? I heard there was a subtle memory loss villain in the news recently.”
Kirishima shook his head. “Well, no, actually. Just regular old human consequences. Man got a concussion, and then lost his memory of the past few months.” He looked at the ground, almost ashamed to have forgotten the most important information.
“Few?”
“So, like, maybe 6, I think?”
It was almost like Kirishima could see the gears turning in Iida’s head as he did the math. He wondered if he looked like that when he came to that realization, too, because in any other situation, it would be kind of funny to see the moment of epiphany.
“He is under the impression we are still dating, then.” Kirishima winced at the harshness of Iida’s tone, which he hadn’t completely expected. Maybe something a little more pitiful, since Iida was a nice guy.
“...Yes.”
“Kirishima-kun, I don’t think I should be here.” His eyes snapped up.
“What? No! You can’t leave!”
Iida crossed his arms, shaking his head. “All due respect, I’m sure Bakugo-san would be more pleased to see someone he actually likes as he recovers.”
Oh, if only he’d been there for the first 3 months of Bakugo’s breakup recovery. Bakugo’s impression of Iida was more than like . It probably still was.
“No, look, so far you’re the only one he remembers!” Kirishima said desperately, grabbing on to Iida’s crossed ones. “He had a panic attack because he didn’t recognize me, and that can’t happen again! Please, Iida, he needs you.”
Kirishima could just see Iida relenting; his eyebrows unfurrowed, and his lips were pursed, like he was actually thinking about it. His hopes were quickly dashed when Iida shook his head softly, taking a short breath as if to compose himself.
“I’m sure there’s someone else...another one of his friends...” Iida mumbled, looking away hesitantly.
“You know how explosive Bakugo is, pun completely intended. It’d be stupid to experiment with who he gets along with the best when you’re here, aka, the obvious answer.”
“On the contrary, I think I’m the worst person to be with Bakugo right now.”
“You came when I called you, knowing it had something to do with Bakugo.” Kirishima accused.
“You barely provided any information! Of course I was concerned–like I said, I’d be concerned if any of my former classmates called me to tell me they’re in the hospital with no other context!”
“But it’s Bakugo. He’s not just a former classmate or a friend to you.”
Iida fidgeted uncomfortably, glancing away from Kirishima. He took a deep breath before responding. “That is precisely why I am not the person to care for him. It would feel like lying to someone very close to me, and I despise lying.”
Kirishima growled, furrowing his eyebrows. “What, you can’t lie when it’s necessary? Don’t bullshit me, Iida.”
Iida shook his head, glancing around nervously as people in the waiting room began to take notice of their conversation. They weren’t exactly being quiet, but Kirishima couldn’t calm down.
“Why can’t we just tell him the truth? How could lying possibly be necessary?”
“His brain is so fucking fragile right now, coping with memory loss, a concussion, and who knows what else?! No way it can take all that!”
“That?”
Kirishima wanted to scream and rip out his hair, but he promised his fiancé he’d keep it long and healthy for the wedding. “Your breakup! You might not have been there, but I had to watch him hurt for so long . I don’t want him to have to do that again, not when he’s recovering from fucking brain damage . The doctor specifically told us not to tell him about any shocking changes in his life right now–and I can assure you, if he learned you broke up again , it’s not gonna be any prettier than it was the first time.”
“I-”
“Iida, he kissed you. He clearly remembers you and you’re our only hope for keeping him alive and sane until he recovers!”
“Why do I have to suffer when he doesn’t even remember? Why should I have to relive the best days of my life only to realize it’s all fake . How is that fair? Fair to me, or fair to him?” Iida yelled, his anger finally shining through.
“Oh my god, he hasn’t changed his emergency contact from you! What does that fucking say about him? It’s not fake , it’s just...different.” Kirishima put his face in his hands, and groaned, taking a few breaths to calm himself down. When he spoke again, his voice came out meek. “Please, Iida. I can’t watch him live like this again. It’s painful. He’s so lost without you.”
The silence in the bustling hospital was so very loud.
“How long?”
“Hm?”
“How long…do I have to play along?” Iida breathed out, shutting his eyes.
“Uh, well, I think the nurse said maybe 3 months? 3 for his brain to stabilize, and that includes physical recovery estimates too. His memory might not fully return but it’s better than having memory problems in the future.” He noticed Iida hesitating again, and scrambled to continue. To grasp onto the thread of hope he’d unraveled. “Look, you won’t even need to help him with the memory stuff, he’ll get a therapist for that, he just needs you to be there. Just be a part of his life again.”
“I see.”
Iida pushed his glasses up, sighing.
“Very well. I’m not sure I’ll be able to go the entire 3 months, but as I care about Bakugo-san as a person, then I will do my best to aid him in his recovery. It’ll be just like…an undercover mission. Acting. Yes, I can do those.”
Kirishima let out a sigh of relief. “Exactly like that. Thank you. So much, man. This is gonna make recovery so much easier.”
“Is there anything he needs help with in particular?” Iida asked, glancing back at the door.
“Oh!” He grabbed the paper from out of his pocket, handing it to Iida. “Got a recovery plan here for him.”
“You made this?” He asked curiously, unfolding it.
“Oh, no, definitely not!” He laughed. “The nurse gave it to me after talking with a couple professionals about the…unique circumstance.”
“I see.” Iida nodded in approval. “Okay, this appears to be possible for me.”
Kirishima clapped a hand on his back, grinning. “We should probably get back in there. Thanks, again, man.”
When they opened the door, they found Bakugo propped up, staring at them. The nurse had just finished working the bed controls, but his ribs probably hurt too much to sit fully upright, so he was still laying down at a 120 degree angle. She looked between all 3 men before bowing again and leaving quietly.
“What were you talking about?” He demanded, staring at Iida. The two looked at each other.
“Uh, just wondering how long Iida can stay, since I should probably go shower and see Shoto.” Kirishima lied, pressing the yellow button to call the nurse. “He can stay. Right?”
Iida nodded.
Kirishima turned back to Bakugo, giving him a smile and a shrug. “You good?”
“I’ll fucking live, Kirishima.” He brightened, hearing his name.
“You remember me?” Bakugo scoffed.
“Duh. You just caught me off guard earlier. What happened to your fucking hair? And who the fuck wears a mask around someone who isn’t contagious? Of course I didn’t know who you were.”
“Bro!” Kirishima clenched his fist over his heart. “I seriously thought you forgot me!”
“Why would I do something fucking stupid like that?” He asked, almost offended. Probably more insulted, actually.
Iida grimaced, taking a seat. “Yes, Katsuki, the thing is–”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and all 3 pairs of eyes turned to look at the door.
“Come in.” Kirishima called, after a bout of silence. Dr. Hayashi walked in, holding a clipboard and a pen. She startled once she saw Iida in the room, then raised an eyebrow at Bakugo sitting up.
“Ah, it appears you have guests. Would you like me to come and debrief you later?” She asked, taking a step back.
“It’s fine. Faster you do this, the faster I get discharged, right?” Bakugo attempted to shrug, but cringed at the movement, hissing in pain. Kirishima, closest to the bed, patted his hand in pity. Dr. Hayashi nodded, stepping into the room and setting her clipboard down at the foot of Bakugo’s bed.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Bakugo? Do you need more painkillers?” She asked, taking a quick glance at his heart monitor.
“Fucking tired. And sore. And floaty. But it doesn’t hurt much.” He answered, frowning. “I don’t usually feel like this after surgery.”
“Well, it was quite a long surgery, and we had to use special anesthesia to account for your quirk.” She informed him, looking at the two men sitting at Bakugo’s bedside. “May I?”
She gestured to her stethoscope, and then Bakugo, and the two men scrambled to stand up, pushing their chairs away from Bakugo’s bedside. She stood in place of Kirishima, placing it over his heart and listening for a few seconds. She nodded affirmatively, and glanced at the monitor to the side of Bakugo.
“Good news. You don’t need your mask anymore.” She informed him. Bakugo immediately reached up to yank it off his face, taking a deep breath of air as if he hadn’t breathed for a thousand years. Dr. Hayashi chuckled, reaching into her coat pocket.
“Look forward for me, please.” She instructed, shining the light into his eyes. He flinched at the bright light, but she nodded again. “Your concussion seems to be healing at the normal pace. I assume you’re experiencing some headaches and vision issues at the moment, and they should subside within 2 weeks.”
“A fucking concussion? This is going to set me back.” Bakugo grumbled. She nodded sympathetically.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the only issue. You’ve got a right rotator cuff injury and a torn MCL, as well as broken ribs. There was also poison injected into your arm that is significantly hindering the speed of your recovery; though I’m glad to tell you won’t lose function of your arm completely. You will need physical therapy, though.” She began, causing all of them to glance at his arm in the cast.
“That was a possibility?” Iida whispered to himself, sounding horrified. Dr. Hayashi nodded.
“Lastly, post-traumatic retrogade amnesia, which is the loss of past memories due to an injury. You might have ascertained for yourself after we interrogated you when you first woke up after your surgery.”
Bakugo shook his head, frowning. “I don’t remember that.”
Kirishima and Iida looked between the two anxiously as Dr. Hayashi frowned as well. “You don’t remember when you told us the last thing you remember was coming home from an event that happened 6 months ago?”
“No. I remember that event, though. The fuckin’...recognition for disabled heroes? Yeah, we went with Tensei.”
Dr. Hayashi pursed her lips. “I’d like to test something. Do you recall the first time we had to administer a relaxant to you after your surgery?”
Bakugo considered. “The time with the oxygen mask?”
She shook her head. “No, after that.”
“No.”
“I see. How about when you blew up that curtain?” She held out a hand to the blackened curtain drawn up near Bakugo’s head, meant for privacy but clearly not in use anymore.
“No.” He said, a little more frustrated this time.
“Well, then. It appears in addition to memory loss of the past half-year, you’ll be experiencing anterograde amnesia, which is the inability to retain memories of recent events as well. I’ll add it to your sheet.” She concluded, reaching for her clipboard.
“What, you didn’t already know that?” Bakugo exclaimed. “I thought you were a doctor–”
“Bakugo, be nice.” Kirishima warned. “Memory loss isn’t as common as you’d think.”
Dr. Hayashi didn’t seem offended by Bakugo’s comment, and she nodded at Kirishima. “He’s right. This is the very first case of memory loss in this hospital, and the only case of retrograde and anterograde amnesia happening simultaneously in this prefecture, if I recall correctly. Memory loss caused by a concussion is extremely rare, and we are learning new things about it every time.”
“And how much of my own memories have disappeared?”
She tilted her head slightly, considering. “I wouldn’t say they disappeared, but it’s more akin to your brain being unable to access them. To answer your question, you should have little to no memory of the past 6 months, and as we have just discovered, the present as well.”
Kirishima jumped in, holding up a hand, excited to contribute to the conversation. “Which is probably why you don’t remember me dyeing my hair or Iida–”
Iida poked Kirishima’s side discreetly, shutting him up just in time. For someone who was so intent on not revealing sensitive information to Bakugo, he was doing a bad job at it.
Bakugo’s eyebrows furrowed, suddenly suspicious. “Iida what?”
“My trip to visit my parents. That is the reason I was not present when you first woke up from your surgery.” Iida lied quickly, hands only slightly giving him away with the way he kept fidgeting with them.
“These recent events may not have been significant enough to remain in your short-term memory, and paired with the loss of your long-term memory from 6 months ago, it supports my theory that both durations have been affected and will continue to be affected.” Dr. Hayashi cut in, gaining control of the conversation again.
He huffed again, but seemed to accept her answer this time. “So, what? I’m just not going to be able to remember shit for the rest of my life?”
She seemed to take a moment to think, but shook her head. “Based on logic, your capacity to retain memory should return to normal once your concussion heals, but I can’t promise that your past memories will return. This appears to be a case of temporary memory loss, if unusual.”
“How long is that?” He asked. She nodded, checking her papers.
“Provided you follow your medical team’s recovery plan, you should be fully recovered in 3 months. We suggest you have someone available at home to help you during recovery, as your brain is in an incredibly fragile state and anything could happen. Do you have any close family that could do that?”
Kirishima glanced at Bakugo, who made a disgusted face at the prospect of having his father–or worse, even, his mother living in his house and in his business for 3 months. The next closest option would be Midoriya or himself–but Midoriya had an infant and a wife, and Kirishima had a fiance at home and a job to do. It seemed impossible. Bakugo didn’t have such a wide circle of friends.
“I’ll do it.” Iida blurted out, raising a hand. Everybody turned to look at him, though only Kirishima was holding in an immense amount of surprise. He’d almost forgotten Iida was an option right now. “I’m…the closest family.”
Dr. Hayashi nodded, then checked her clipboard. “I believe that is all, then. Here is your prescription, which you can pick up when you are discharged, and the pharmacist will explain how to use the ointments I’ve prescribed for healing your scars.”
She handed Bakugo a piece of paper, and he put it aside. “Thanks, Doctor.”
“If you need anything else, let Nurse Tetsumura know and I’ll be with you as soon as possible. I wish you the best in your recovery, Bakugo-san.” She stood up, bowing, before leaving the room quietly.
There was a moment of silence between the three men, before Iida piped up, asking to see the prescription. Kirishima watched as they conversed quietly, hunched together to look over the prescription. He suddenly felt like he was out of place, in the wrong place at the wrong time, like he was witnessing something he wasn’t supposed to see, but something was still bugging him, and he had to address it before leaving.
“Iida, are you really okay with, uh– living with Bakugo for 3 whole months? You’ve…never done that, before.” Kirishima blurted out, raising his eyebrows urgently once he caught the attention of the couple. Bakugo frowned, grabbing an empty water bottle from the bedside table with his good arm and throwing it at his best friend. Kirishima let it thunk off the side of his head, continuing to stare at Iida.
“Stop talking like I’m not here.” He grumbled, looking displeased at having nothing else nearby to throw.
“I think it’ll be okay. After all, we have been–er, together, for the past…15 months? Is it 15?” He looked at Bakugo as if to confirm, who shrugged and nodded at the same time. A little useless to ask the guy with memory loss. “The point being, for a reasonable amount of time. And, er, it’s simply the most logical option.”
Kirishima thought it sounded a lot more like he was trying to convince himself than the former redhead.
Bakugo nodded. “Duh. Not going to live with my parents again.”
“But, like–” Kirishima struggled to find the words, especially since the secret topic was sitting a foot away. “Won’t it be hard? You’re a hero, too.”
Iida seemed to consider that for a moment, before nodding determinedly. “I’ll take a temporary leave from work to care for Katsuki.”
The other two men were startled at his sudden decision. Bakugo looked around his hospital bed again, seemingly even more frustrated that he had nothing left to throw at Iida.
“Are you serious?” Kirishima exclaimed, at the exact same time Bakugo growled, “No, you’re fucking not.”
Iida shook his head, crossing his arms. “It’s the only feasible option. Besides, I am confident in Team Idaten’s ability to cover my work. And–I want to be there, for Katsuki.”
“I guess it makes sense…” Kirishima agreed out loud, finally relenting to the situation. He pretended not to notice Bakugo’s rapidly blushing face, either. “But it’s gonna be difficult.”
“Shut the fuck up, I’m gonna recover faster than you’ve ever seen and then we’ll both be back to work and be kicking your ass in the rankings again .” Bakugo hissed, deciding to use his only pillow as his last bit of ammunition, grabbing it from behind him and throwing it at Kirishima’s head yet again. It didn’t quite reach, as Bakugo’s left-handed throw was very lethargic, but he dodged dramatically, as if Bakugo had thrown a grenade at him instead of a pillow.
“Bet you will, Bakugo!” Kirishima laughed. “Glad to see you’re feeling a little bit more assholey this morning, like usual.”
Iida chuckled too, stepping over to pick up the pillow and brush the dust off. He walked back to Bakugo, using one arm to lean Bakugo’s body weight on him and putting the pillow back under his head.
“I think it’s about time for you to get some rest, Katsuki.” Iida said softly, letting him rest against the bed softly and completely ignoring Bakugo’s half-hearted attempts at protesting. He reached below the bed, cranking the bed lever to lay horizontally again. Bakugo glared at Kirishima as he went down, who just grinned in return.
“I’ll leave him in your care, then. And thanks again, man.”
They shared an unspoken understanding through their gazes– I’m entrusting him to you, Iida, and I’ll do my best in this role .
Iida cleared his throat. “I’ll walk you to the entrance. Is Shouto picking you up?”
“Nah, I’m taking a taxi. Or a bus. We’ll find out who lets me on looking this scraggly.”
Bakugo grabbed Iida’s sleeve again, just as he was about to leave his side. “Fuck that. Kirishima can walk himself, you’re staying here and taking a nap with me.”
Iida chuckled softly, though he made no move to take Bakugo’s hand off his arm. “It’s nearly 7 am, Katsuki.”
“I don’t care.” Bakugo closed his eyes, as if the matter was over.
Iida looked at Kirishima, who just shrugged and handed Iida the chair closest to him. Once Iida sat down next to Bakugo, they both noticed a small smile grace his face as he grabbed Iida’s arm more forcefully and held it over his heart.
“I’m sorry, Kirishima.” Iida whispered.
“It’s alright, man. See you two later, okay?”
“Too loud.” Bakugo snapped, opening one eye to glare at Kirishima. He took the opportunity to wave, and Bakugo flipped him off with the hand not holding Iida to him. Kirishima couldn’t miss the fond look Iida was giving Bakugo, even when he was being an ass.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Iida interrupted, using his un-trapped hand to close Bakugo’s hand and bring it down. His hand lingered on Bakugo’s before he let it go. “Thank you for all your help, Kirishima.”
“No problem.” He waved at Iida this time, before making his way to the door. He took one more look at Bakugo, who’d shuffled closer to Iida, as if the two were unaware he was still in the room.
“D’you–wanna talk? We have some…stuff…to talk about.” Bakugo mumbled, though his eyelids were drooping. Kirishima had a suspicion the aforementioned nap was more for himself than Iida. Iida smiled softly, leaning his head on the bed.
“We have all the time in the world to talk,” Iida assured him quietly. “For now, get some rest, my–” his breath hitched, “–my love.”
Kirishima left the room quietly, shutting the door behind him silently and praying for the best.