Chapter Text
I gotta… gotta get up… gotta win this… Right, Izuku?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
What…?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
What the fuck is going on?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Where am I?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Katsuki tried to take a deep breath. He only managed to fill half his lungs before the pressure on his chest threatened to expand even more. He quickly exhaled again to get rid of that feeling and tried to figure out what exactly his situation was.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
What’s the last thing I can remember?
He tried to think back but attempting to spark his memories felt like wading through molasses. Snippets of different scenes flashed through his mind. He saw brief images of a place that looked like an arena surrounded by a protective shield… the earth being ripped up… multiple figures flying in and out of view but he couldn’t make out who the fuck they were… he heard someone talking but couldn’t make out where it came from until he focused on some white-haired fucker without a shirt and a satisfied grin on his face… He saw his lips move but could not take in the words that were spoken to him. It felt like he should remember those words, like they were something important but they did not come to him. He saw and felt his explosions going off, stronger and hotter than ever before.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
He felt his body fly through the air. Felt it land harshly on the cold ground. Heard an ugly, cackling laugh and panicked shouting. Felt the rain hitting his face.
He fucking hated the rain. Hated feeling cold. He couldn’t feel his limbs. He tried to will his legs or arms to move but nothing was working. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t think.
He remembered darkness. A feeling of nothingness.
Then: pain shooting through his whole body. Letting off a gigantic explosion that shook his entire body and shocked him into an upright position. A shiny card laying on the ground, covered in blood (Whose blood?). Without really thinking about it, he picked it up and forced himself onto his feet.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Something tugged at him. He couldn’t describe the feeling that made his body move without him even thinking about it. Whatever it was, it compelled his eyes to focus on a point in the distance. Through hazy eyes, his gaze connected with something green.
At first he was met with utter despair. Despair then turned into denial. Denial turned into fragile hope. And this hope turned into determination.
Katsuki remembered seeing All Might being held over someone’s head, looking like he was about to bleed out. Looking close to death. Remembered that one more look back into those green eyes was enough for him to understand what had to be fucking done.
He remembered his body moving without him even thinking about it, catapulting himself towards those green eyes, The eyes that had always been on him for as long as he could remember. Whether they were filled with admiration, joy, fear, heartbreak, pride or friendship. Eyes that never left him. Big fucking eyes that had always triggered some sort of feeling inside him that he couldn’t place… Eyes he had to protect. Eyes he wanted to keep on him forever.
Izuku. Izuku needs me. Gotta catch up to him. Gotta help Izuku. Gotta help him win. Izuku. Izuku…
BeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeep.
Katsuki’s breath came in quick and shallow and he felt his chest constrict even more, the pressure building and building.
“-suki? Can you hear me? You gotta calm down, baby.”
He felt hands on his face and running through his hair. Trying to soothe him. His brain struggled to register who was talking to him. The voice sounded familiar and he should know who it was but he was still too focused on those memories that had just assaulted his brain to try and make sense of it.
“You are alright, Kats. It’s over now. You’re safe. You don’t have to fight anymore.” Another voice he should recognise.
Not fight anymore? But he had to help Izuku. They had to finish this fight. Had to defeat that All For One bastard and Shigaraki. Save the world.
Katsuki still struggled to get enough oxygen into his lungs but he had to make those voices understand that he needed to get up, that he had to keep going. He focused all his energy on making his lips move. His throat felt like someone had scrubbed it with sandpaper and his lips felt like they were about to crack and bleed from how dry they were but he managed to let out a few words that would hopefully get his point across.
“Gotta…fight…Help…Izuku… Can’t rest…”
There was a brief silence before the second voice spoke again, even softer than before.
“The fight is over, Katsuki. There are no more villains to fight right now. Izuku defeated them. You defeated them. We’re all safe now. You just need to recover now.”
The fight was over? They won?
Flashes of more of his explosions flashed through his mind. He swore he could hear his own maniacal laughter in his ears. He saw a weird demon-looking baby crawling towards him. Felt himself fly across the sky, felt his hand push into a warm body…
His breathing slowed down enough for him to take in enough oxygen and calm down his heart. The weird beeping sound he kept hearing also seemed to even out again.
“Can you open your eyes for us, honey?”
Katsuki’s eyes felt like they were glued shut but he tried his best to focus on them and blinking them open. It took a few tries for him to be able to crack one of them open enough to see the light that was surrounding him and he instinctively closed it again to protect himself from the damn brightness. A second later he tried again and felt a little less assaulted by the light and took in his surroundings through blurry eyes.
He was surrounded by white walls, white lights, white sheets. Everything was goddamn white and too bright.
When he moved his head slightly to the right though, he managed to make out a figure hovering over him. He flinched for a second before his eyes focused on that person and could make out the familiar face of his mother.
“Mom?”
His mom’s lips curled up slightly and were those tears in her eyes? “Hey honey, it’s so good to see you awake.”
He felt her hand caress the left side of his face carefully as if he was going to crack if she applied any more pressure. His brows furrowed. She never treated him so carefully. They both weren’t gentle like that. Especially not with each other.
“‘M not gonna break," he mumbled.
“Honey, your body is in a very fragile state at the moment. While I know nothing is ever going to really break you, it got very close. We were very close to losing you so you will just have to live with your mother being a bit careful with you for a change.”
Close to losing me?
Katsuki moved his eyes away from his mother and down to his own body. His breath hitched when he noticed his bandaged arm that was laying uselessly to his side and the many bandages covering his chest and parts of his left arm as well. He couldn’t see the state of his body below his chest as it was covered by the duvet but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what the rest of him looked like.
Thinking back on the memories that had flashed before him, it must have truly been a close call. But he could not focus on that right now.
“Izuku? Is Izuku okay?," he frantically asked. If this was the state of his body, he did not want to imagine what self-sacrificial Izuku fucking looked like. He started panicking again at the thought.
“Don’t worry, Kats. He is doing alright. He is also recovering at the moment. He sustained injuries and completely exhausted his body but he is alive and doing better.”
His panic subsided and his eyes moved to his dad who had spoken and whom he had not noticed standing beside his mom until now. He spoke in his familiar soft and quiet tone. Always the calmest out of the three of them.
He looked weary and tired. So did his mom, now that he took another look at her. Both looked like they hadn’t slept in a week. But there was also a glint of hope and pride in both their eyes. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
“Is he here?”
“He’s in the same hospital, yes. We spoke to Inko earlier. He is still asleep but should hopefully wake up soon as well," his dad said.
Katsuki tried to move his legs but they would not cooperate. He only managed to lift his chest a few inches off the bed, before his mother pushed him back down gently.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing you brat?!”
“Gotta see him.” Katsuki tried lifting himself again but before his mother could even do anything about it, his chest constricted and he fell back into the cushions himself, groaning at the pain.
“You are not moving from this damn bed, you idiot. You only just woke up after being asleep for days and after multiple surgeries! Inko said she’ll let us know when he’s awake, but there is no way in hell you are moving out of this bed anytime soon!”
His dad spoke before Katsuki could retort anything. “Please be reasonable, Kats. There is nothing you could do for him right now anyway. The most important thing for you to focus on is to get more rest. ‘Suki, maybe give him some water? I’m going to let the nurse know that he woke up.”
His dad gave him a small smile and pet his ankle before turning around and walking out of the room. His mom walked over to his nightstand, poured some water into a cup and lifted it up to his lips. His first instinct was to take the cup out of her hands to do it himself. Katsuki didn’t want to feel useless but his right arm would not move at all and his left was shaking as soon as he lifted it towards his face. Begrudgingly he accepted his mom’s help.
Kaysuki had not realised how thirsty he was. The water helped his throat feel slightly less raw and he reluctantly asked his mom for a second cup. Just holding his head up to be able to drink took a lot of energy out of him though. As soon as he finished the last sip, his head fell back onto the pillow and his eyes closed again.
He felt more exhausted than ever in his life. Opening his eyes back up felt almost as difficult as the first time around. His mom’s hand was back in his hair again, trying to touch the parts that weren’t covered by bandages.
“It’s alright, honey. You can rest some more now. We’re still going to be here when you wake up again. Just focus on resting up and getting better," she whispered.
Katsuki did not want to go back to sleep. He had so many more questions he wanted to ask. Questions about the war, about his injuries and the surgeries his parents mentioned, how the rest of the heroes and his classmates were doing, whether All Might was alright, when he would get to see Izuku…
But he lost the fight and slowly slid back into nothingness.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The next few times Katsuki woke up were a blur. Though he managed to stay awake longer and longer each time he woke up, at least one of his parents was always there as soon as he opened his eyes. It turned out they had both been sleeping in his hospital room. He tried to tell them that wasn’t necessary but they didn’t listen. Katsuki felt guilty that they had put themselves through uncomfortable sleeping arrangements but a part of him was also grateful that he never woke up alone. He was very disoriented the first few times he woke and wasn’t sure how he would have reacted if no one else had been around to explain anything to him.
The day after he initially woke up, he managed to stay awake longer and got to ask more of the questions that he desperately needed answers to. Thankfully his parents could provide most of them.
They told him a shortened version of what went down during the fight, especially the bits he wasn’t a part of. Katsuki learned of the amazing feats of his classmates in their respective fights. His parents described the live feed that was playing to show the different fights as they were happening and how they had stood with Inko Midoriya and other parents to watch their children save the day.
His parents did not go into too much detail about his own fight with Shigaraki and All For One. More and more memories came back to him each time he woke up though. The way he was transported to the Coffin in the Sky without Izuku. Trying to fight Shigaraki anyway in the hopes of defeating him for Izuku or at least dealing enough damage so Izuku would have an easier time fighting him once he made it there. Shigaraki’s taunting words. Best Jeanist trying to hold him back from fighting more. Katsuki not listening and receiving Shigaraki’s fatal blow.
What happened during the short time Katsuki had been out had to be filled in by his parents. The livestream apparently had not caught the moment of Katsuki’s death (or it was focused on a different fight at the same time at least). He was thankful for that. Having the entire nation, including your parents, watch you get offed was not a way he wanted to be remembered. His parents only received a very minimal amount of information of what went down after and most of it he kind of remembered, even if it was kinda fuzzy.
Katsuki remembered that Edgeshot had done everything to try to save him and had almost died in the process himself. Apparently Izuku had appeared in the meantime and started engaging Shigaraki in the fight while Best Jeanist stayed with him and Edgeshot, and Mirio was looking after Tamaki and Nejire. Katsuki tried to get his parents to tell him what happened when Izuku arrived but they did not go into any more detail.
He recalled realising that he managed to resuscitate himself using his quirk, getting up and finding Izuku immediately. Flying down towards him after he realised that All Might was close to being killed and Izuku using some kind of move to aid Katsuki in gaining enough speed to reach All Might in time to save him. He still couldn’t quite reconcile the fact that he saved his biggest hero and that he shared his last piece of armour with him.
The fight with All For One was still a bit of a blur for him but he remembered the thrill he felt during that fight and how he kind of lost himself in the feeling of using his explosions to an extent that he himself could have never imagined. While he had been in immense pain, it had also felt very liberating and he had felt kind of high the entire time.
Following the defeat of All For One, his memories definitely couldn’t keep up anymore. His parents told him how he had initially collapsed before he got up, kept mumbling something that could not be picked up by the livestream before he shoved the paramedics trying to help him away and suddenly took to the air and flew across a part of Japan to get to the final fight between Izuku and All For One. Almost all of class 1-A had been present to help Izuku, in addition to many other heroes from other classes and the Pro Heroes that were still left standing. Once again, his parents only gave a brief description of Izuku’s fight. Katsuki felt like they were leaving out details that could be important but he decided to ask about those later. He felt they would not answer his questions in more detail if he asked them now.
His parents briefly described how Katsuki had arrived at the last second to help Izuku and how All For One was defeated. Apparently Katsuki and Izuku were one of the first people to be picked up to be brought to the hospital. Katsuki’s heart had almost stopped again while in transit. He was immediately brought into surgery upon arrival.
He had to have extensive surgery on his right arm and on his heart. Thankfully the surgeries went well. The doctor who had overseen his surgeries came in to talk to him and his parents and explained that Katsuki would have to take it slow and remain as calm as possible to give his heart time to heal. That also meant minimal exercise for the time being. Katsuki didn't react well to those news but tried to reign in his frustration. He was lucky to be alive at all. Maybe this could be a good practice in anger management?
The doctor also went into detail on what had to be done to piece his arm back together. Hearing all that explained why he could not move it at all. All he could do was move his shoulder while his arm hung limply to the side. He was told that he might never regain movement in that arm and the doctor suggested that maybe a prosthesis like Mirko’s could be a solution.
I could only use my quirk with my left hand though. How the fuck am I going to become the Number 1 Hero if I can only use one arm?
He studied his arm and tried to think of the best course of action. But there was really only one option for him.
“Nah, I’m good. My quirk comes from the palm of my hand," Katsuki explained. Besides, he didn’t have a quirk to begin with… “So I’ll kick this rehab's ass, no matter how hard it is!”
His parents and the doctor tried to calm him down and remind him to focus on his heart. They told him he didn’t need to decide what to do with his arm right now but his mind was made up. Katsuki would do everything he could to make rehab work for him. He would regain movement and the use of his quirk in that arm. He could overcome this and the stupid heart issues. How else would he be able to stay by his side?
All the information dump from his parents and then the updates on his body’s extensive injuries took it out of Katsuki and he ended up falling back asleep for a couple of hours. He was still being pumped full of strong painkillers which also made him extremely sleepy and seemed to help keep any memories haunting him in his dreams at bay.
The next time he woke up, Katsuki could hear hushed voices talking to each other on the other side of his hospital room. He could make out his mom’s voice but it took him a bit longer to place who she was talking to. At first he thought it might be another doctor but then he heard his name being mentioned and his ears perked up.
“Katsuki’s doing a bit better. The doctor was here earlier talking about all of the brat’s issues. The most concerning ones are his heart and his right arm. He refuses to get a prosthesis and wants to go the rehab route. While I think the prosthesis might have been the easier route, I am happy to still see that defiant look in his eyes and the determination to not give up on his arm and deciding to do rehab instead," he heard his mom say.
“I’m glad to hear he is doing a bit better. And I am sure if anyone can overcome an injury like that, then it’s your Katsuki. He has always been so headstrong.” That familiar voice sounded exhausted but also relieved. “I hope hearing this will also help Izuku calm down a bit. He only woke up for a few minutes this morning but he’s already tried to bombard me with questions in that short amount of time. The first person he asked about was Katsuki and he didn’t seem satisfied with the information I could give him. Thankfully All Might is in the same room as him, at least there is one less person he will ask me about.”
Izuku was awake? He asked about me?
Katsuki’s chest ached a bit at the thought. He wasn’t sure if it was triggered by what he just overheard or if the painkillers were wearing off.
Hearing that Izuku had woken up and that All Might was staying in the same room as him, also recovering, made him feel restless.
I gotta go see them. Gotta see for myself…
It’s not like Katsuki didn’t believe what his parents told him whenever he had asked after Izuku. But every time he thought about the green-haired boy, he felt uneasy and he was sure he could only get rid of that feeling once he saw him with his own eyes and could confirm that he was alive and well. Or at least as well as one could be after all the shit they went through.
“How about we grab a quick coffee in the cafeteria? Masuru is down there and trying to get a little bit of work done while he can. And Katsuki should probably still be asleep for a couple more hours. I don’t really like leaving him alone for too long but I also feel like I need to see something other than this hospital room for a few minutes," his mom said.
“That's a great idea. It shouldn’t take too long to grab one and I still need to make a couple of phone calls after that as well. Could you maybe just poke your head in Izuku’s room when you come back up and text me, if he’s awake? He’s in room number 307, just down the corridor on the left.” He finally recognised that the voice belonged to Inko Midoriya.
HIs mother agreed to Inko’s request. Katsuki kept his eyes closed until he heard both women leaving his room and the door closing behind them,
It’s now or never.
He opened his eyes and gripped the IV stand next to his bed to use as a type of crutch. He had only managed to get up once briefly this morning to go to the bathroom. His legs had barely any strength in them and it was embarrassing how slowly he had walked, only taking one tiny step at a time.
Katsuki hoisted himself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the pressure on his chest and the weight of his arm pulling him down. He took a deep breath in preparation and pulled himself to his feet. Once standing, he needed a minute to get used to the feeling of being upright again, his ears ringing with the sudden movement. His legs still felt shaky but not quite as bad as that morning. He slowly inched his way towards the door, trying to conserve his energy as much as he could. He wasn’t sure how far he would have to walk exactly and did not want to tire himself out too much before getting there.
Katsuki opened his hospital room door a few inches and tried to see if any nurses were around that could stop him from venturing out of his room. He had not received clearance to be walking around yet. Not that he gave a shit. This was something he had to do.
When he could not see anyone around, he opened the door wider and stepped out, still holding on tightly to the IV pole with his left hand. One last glance around the hallway and he forced his legs to move again as quickly as possible.
Shuffling down the hallway, taking tiny steps at the time, as that was all he could manage at the moment, Katsuki was overcome by a weird sense of deja vu. He had been in a similar situation only about a month ago, after fighting Shigaraki and pushing Izuku out of the way of the spikes that would have certainly killed him. Back then he had also woken up in the hospital, though slightly less messed up than he was now, despite being impaled by multiple spikes, and had tried to make it to Izuku’s room to check that the damn nerd was still alive. That time others had tried to stop him though.
This time around, no one seemed to notice him walking down the hallway though. Despite it being the afternoon, not many people were around. He could hear some noises coming from the rooms that he passed. Some snoring, groaning, coughing. Katsuki briefly wondered if any of his other classmates were in any of these rooms but he didn’t have time to dwell on that now. He needed to keep moving.
As he reached the corner of the hallway, Katsuki had to lean against the wall though. His breathing came in shallow from the way he was pushing his body forward. He could feel his heart beating like it was trying to jump out of his chest. There was a tremor going through his legs and he heard a faint ringing in his ears.
Katsuki wasn’t sure how long he stayed in that spot. A nurse walked past him and gave him a worried glance. He just glared at her and tried to look like nothing was amiss in the hopes of her just ignoring him. She quickly looked away and walked past him, probably too busy with another patient to be able to deal with him right now.
Once he felt able to move again, he turned the corner of the corridor and started looking for Izuku’s room. Inko had mentioned the number 307.
301… 302… 303… 304…
“Katsuki?! What the hell are you doing out of bed?! Are you insane?!" he heard his mom screeching behind him. Dammit.
He tried to pick up the pace as he heard the footsteps behind him coming closer. It sounded like more than one set of them was coming towards him. He didn’t dare turn around.
Ah, fucking finally. Room 307.
Katsuki braced himself to open the door in front of him. As his hand found the handle, he could hear a voice through the door.
“I can still feel some of the embers inside me.”
Katsuki did not even register that his parents had caught up to him. Did not take in any of the words that his mother was yelling into his ear. Without even thinking, he yanked open the door.
Katsuki’s eyes immediately found that familiar shade of green that had been plaguing his mind since he first woke up. Hell, it had been plaguing him even when he was unconscious. The eye that was not covered by the bandage that covered half his face was focused on him. He could see it light up with joy before some other emotion took over, one that he could not quite make sense of.
“Kacchan?! I’m glad you’re safe!" Izuku exclaimed.
Katsuki should be happy to see him. See him looking at him, awake and smiling. That’s all he had wanted since regaining consciousness. But his chest constricted when the words he heard before that registered in his mind. All he could do for a second was stare at him, taking in the way he was just lying flat on his back, with both of his arms and half of his face bandaged up. Even the side that wasn’t covered up was littered with scratches across his cheeks and neck.
“The embers? So that means… you’ll be quirkless again…?” He barely managed more than a whisper.
Izuku’s words, meant to calm him, did not really register. All he could think of was how he had treated Izuku all of his life. He had always pushed him around. Laughed at him. Ridiculed him. Called him useless. Called him Deku. Threatened him with his explosions. Trampled his dream of becoming a hero. Made him feel so small. Told him to take a swan dive off the roof…
Katsuki’s heartbeat was so fast and so loud in his ears. His throat felt like it was closing up. His vision was blurring. All he could make out were streaks of white and green.
This… this can’t be happening… The last thing I said to you, was to not let me surpass you… You wanted to keep aiming higher and higher…
“Wha-cchan?! You’re crying?!”
Katsuki hadn't even noticed the fat tears that were rolling down his face until Izuku pointed them out. Katsuki desperately tried to get them off of his face. He hated crying. Hated it even more when other people were around. He rarely ever cried and the last few times he did, it always seemed to either be in front of Izuku or somehow related to him. Of course Izuku was the one person who would cause him to lose the grip on his emotions.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not stop though. Katsuki kept trying to wipe at his face. His left hand alone was not enough though. He attempted to lift his right arm again but it still hung uselessly to the side. The best he could manage was to try to hide his face in his shoulder. Try to hide his shame and guilt at how he treated his former childhood best friend.
“I guess I thought… we’d be competing… and I’d be on your heels… for the rest of our lives…" he managed to get out in between sobs.
Not that he thought he deserved to want that after he treated Izuku like literal fucking dirt under his boots for the past decade. But he had hoped… that at least through competing with him he would have enough of a reason to stay close to him.
But now? Without his quirk… Izuku would not really have a reason to be around him anymore. No more training together. No more analysing his multiple quirks with him to come up with new moves. No late night sparring sessions. No chasing each other. No competing to be the Number 1 Hero.
When Izuku started speaking, Katsuki finally managed to focus his eyes back on him. He heard Izuku’s tears before he saw them. His big fucking eyes looking so sad, so devastated as they roamed Katsuki’s face, as if he couldn’t believe what he saw. Couldn’t believe that Katsuki cared enough to cry for him. Which hurt even more.
“Stop! That’s not like you! I’ve still got the embers!” Izuku’s voice was shaking as he spoke. Despite that, he tried to smile at Katsuki, reassure him that everything was okay. Even though Izuku was the one who had lost something fundamental, he still tried to console Katsuki. Always putting others first and putting on a brave face. Always trying to be the hero.
Before Katsuki could even think of a response, another voice piped up. His head twisted towards All Might, who was laying in the bed behind Izuku’s. Katsuki hadn’t even registered his presence until he started talking.
Despite seemingly being bandaged from head to toe and barely being able to move his head, his voice still rang out strong as he addressed the two boys that were still quietly crying.
“You got stronger. Both of you. Both of you have changed a lot since the day I met you. Young Midoriya, that day, when you ran off… You became my greatest hero. But now you’re the one who makes people stand back up again. That means you’re the greatest hero to everyone else too. And young Bakugo… it’s thanks to you that I got the opportunity to tell you both all of this. You are also the greatest hero… Thank you so much.” Adoration and gratitude laced All Might;s voice in a way that Katsuki had never heard before.
Hearing his favourite hero, the one he had always looked up to and aspired to be like, telling him this felt like an out-of-body experience. He knew he had saved him from certain death. Still, never in his wildest dreams would he have ever thought that those words would ever be directed at him.
Katsuki’s eyes connected with Izuku’s again. Both boys seemed to have been shocked out of their crying by All Might’s sentimental speech.
At the same time both of them started laughing. This whole situation felt entirely too surreal. Katsuki didn’t know what he was supposed to feel right now, so many warring emotions floating through him. But for the moment he would push his guilt aside and simply enjoy the words aimed at him by his idol and bask in the knowledge that he had saved him and that they were all alive to even have this conversation.
Once their laughter had died down again, Izuku’s eye fixed back onto him again and he noticed his gaze traveling along the bandages that were wrapped across his head, his arm, his chest… It looked like Izuku was about to speak but then he was interrupted by Inko’s frantic voice coming from the corridor.
“Mitsuki, Masaru, what are you doing outside of Izuku’s room, is he alright…? Oh Katsuki, you are up? I didn’t realise you were allowed to walk yet, honey. And Izuku, you are awake again? How are you feeling, baby? Are you in pain? Do you need more painkillers? How about some water? What about you All Might? Is there anything I can get you?...”
Inko’s flurry of questions didn’t seem to be taking an end any time soon. It was easy to see where the nerd picked up his rambling tendencies. If no one interrupted her, Katsuki was sure she would probably pepper everyone with more questions for at least another hour. Or at least until she ran out of oxygen.
Thankfully his mother managed to stop Inko. “Katsuki’s not been cleared to move whatsoever. “ She glared at him as she spoke. Or tried to at least. Seeing him laugh for the first time since waking up still had her a bit shaken up it seemed. “We’re gonna go back to his room now, he needs the rest and I’m sure Izuku and All Might could also use some more quiet. Sorry again for intruding. I’m happy to see you both awake though.”
Katsuki tried to protest and it looked like Izuku wanted to as well but Mitsuki already had wrapped her arm around his good one and took the IV stand from him so he had to lean on her for support. She turned them around and Katsuki could only manage one last quick glance at Izuku before she closed the door. His face looked worried again and he was digging his teeth into his bottom lip as Inko smoothed down his duvet, trying to make sure he was comfortable and patted the uncovered side of his face.
“I can’t believe that I leave you alone for 5 goddamn minutes and you sneak out of your room like that. The doctor told you to rest, you brat. You better listen to him," his mother growled.
“Your mom and I just want what’s best for you, Kats. There is no need to keep pushing yourself right now, you’ll only delay your recovery more. We’re here to support you so just tell us if you need anything, okay?" his dad tried to reason with him.
Katsuki just grunted in reply, not able to focus fully on what they were saying to him. They didn’t, couldn’t, understand. They didn’t fight in the war. They hadn’t seen what he saw, hadn’t experienced what he lived through. Sure, they knew most of the details surrounding the fights he was involved in and knew the injuries he was left with. But they could never grasp what was going on inside his head. Not that he would ever tell them to make them understand. He could barely make sense of them himself.
He vaguely registered his parents debating if they should really go home that night or if one of them should stay in the hospital. They had both been staying in Katsuki’s room for days, waiting for him to wake up. That morning he had finally managed to convince them to at least spend the night at home before coming back in the morning. He assured them again that he would be fine and that he would not go anywhere, end of discussion.
Not like I can really go far anyway.
They slowly walked back to his room. As he had more pressing issues to deal with while in Izuku’s room, he had not noticed how exhausted he was. The short walk back felt like it took twice the amount of time. Katsuki was back to feeling breathless again, his shoulders sagging more and more and his eyes felt heavy.
Masaru helped him get back into bed and into as comfortable a position as he could manage. The pain he was experiencing must have been evident on his face, despite his best efforts to hide it. His mom got a nurse to administer some more painkillers. Usually he would have argued against that, insisting he was fine and not so weak that he had to be pumped full of stupid mediation but he was too exhausted to fight them on it.
A part of him was glad for it though. He really did not want to deal with the thoughts and feelings that were sure to assault him as soon as his mind wandered back to the conversation in Izuku’s room. Just thinking of the last look at Izuku he had managed to get increased the pressure he felt in his chest and he didn’t want his thoughts spiralling even more than they did previously. The only thing he could do to keep everything within him at bay was to sleep.
He felt his mom press a kiss to his forehead as his eyes slid shut again. The painkillers combined with the exhaustion lulled him to sleep within seconds and he welcomed the darkness he was sinking into.
The next time Katsuki regained consciousness, it took him a while to get his bearings again, similarly to the first time he woke up. He felt extremely groggy, one of the side effects of the high dosage of painkillers. Opening his eyes took some effort, he was happy to see that only the small lamp next on his nightstand was on though, only slightly illuminating his dreary hospital room in a warm glow. He noticed that the space to his right was not occupied. His parents must have actually listened to him and decided to sleep at home.
Good, at least I don’t have to deal with the old hag and the old man giving me worrying looks every second I’m awake now.
As he moved his head slightly to check the time on the alarm clock (it was 2:37 am) to his right, he felt something tighten around his left wrist. And was that the sound of someone breathing?
He twisted his head to the left, fully expecting his parents to not have left after all or a nurse to be checking on him. What he saw instead made his heart stutter for a second.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, with his wrist clutched in his left hand and a look on his face like he was caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to, was…
“Izuku?!”