Saving a Hero

by Askora

Summary:

Midoriya’s causal day at the office soon becomes what might be his last, as there’s a villain attack and he gets into more trouble than he hoped.

Pro Hero Red Riot ends up on the scene, making an effort to save the civilians’ lives. Only, he ends up being the one saved by a very brave civilian.

Chapter 1: Name: (Unknown)

It was a casual Thursday afternoon. Midoriya would go through the motions, greeting people, making small talk, and heading to his work space in order to start on his things, and then head home to use his free time. Some nights he would spend it cleaning or getting groceries or something, but he usually tried to reserve one day in the week where he could go home and catch up on hero news and fights.

Even what he went through during school couldn’t demolish his love for heroes. He would still analyze anything he could, and he considered applying for some kind of quirk analysis position, but…no one wanted to hire him. He even had a quirk now! Yet, no one seemed to look his way twice. He didn’t have any of the qualifications that the agencies were looking for. He wasn’t from UA or any of those fancy schools, he was just some geek with a business major from some plain old college.

So he just opted to take a job in the city, where all the villains are attracted to, and where all of the heroes are abundant. It was sometimes great to be there, sometimes catching a villain fighting with a hero up close and in person.

Though other times it was a curse.

Midoriya looked around as he heard screaming. The previously calm office building was now in chaos, broken glass near the windows and people crying and running in different directions.

“What’s happening?” Midoriya finally had the chance to ask someone when he stopped them.

“Villain. He- Mt. Lady was fighting him or something and he was a bigger villain or something. Rammed right into the building,” a man told him, frantic and panicked.

“Well how much damage was there to the building?” Midoriya had to ask.

“Dunno,” the man replied, “Heard the villain had some kind of…outward thingy quirks. Don’t remember what they’re called.”

“An emitter type?” Midoriya mumbled. If that was the case, then there’s a possibility that whatever quirk the villain had, then they could possibly hit the building again with either their quirk or themself. If that’s the case and there was an unknown amount of damage to the building then…. Midoriya looked up and pointed to the fire exit stairwell, gathering all of his voice so he could be as loud as he could, “Everyone! Please make your way down the stairs and out of the building! If the villain hit the building once then there’s a chance they’ll do it again! It’s better for everyone to be safe and out of the building than to wait and do nothing!”

Thankfully, people began to file out, only a few double guessing Midoriya’s orders. The freckled man was busy helping people down the stairs when someone came over the intercom, ordering everyone to evacuate the building. Just then, the whole building shook, causing people to scream more.

Midoriya kept quiet, too focused on the task of getting everyone to safety. And he did make sure that his whole floor exited the building as he followed them down to the first floor.

Something in him told him to head back in the building. He’s helped these people, but he can help so much more. He knows he’s no hero but he can’t just stand by and do nothing. He can’t just be satisfied knowing that he’s safe, he has to have the knowledge that everyone makes it out safely.

So despite protests, he went back in.

Once he went back in, he could feel the building rumble. His body led him to the stairs, scaling them all of the way up to the top of the building, intending to go from the top to the bottom. He knew that the upper part of the building had some older folks and some newbies, so he wanted to make sure that they got to safety. Especially the younger people.

They still had a lot of life left. And Midoriya, though only twenty-six, didn’t have much problem with living or dying. He was just kind of there. He didn’t have family or friends, just work. So there was really nothing to worry about if he died. These people though, they probably had someone waiting for them at home.

Like one woman he ran into after searching the top floor. He recalled her talking to someone while he was sitting in the break room. The woman was talking so animatedly about her partner and kids. The woman talked about what they did together, and how nice and sweet her partner was. Midoriya was quick to take her and guide her, helping her keep calm when the building rumbled again.

“Just stay low and watch the smoke. I believe the heroes are arriving soon. If you head down these stairs then you’ll be fine,” Midoriya told the woman. All she did was nod and head down the stairs while Midoriya headed to the floor under the one he just cleared. It was clear that their office likely just had a surge of new hires, as a lot of the people Midoriya helped barely knew their way around the office.

The building continued to rumble and Midoriya saw more smoke filling the building. He didn’t worry about it too much since he was adamant on getting down to the next floor, shouting for anyone on the floor. There was no one on that one, he checked, so he turned to the stairs. He was in the middle, about to scale another flight of stairs when he heard it. A crash about as loud as the one he heard the first time.

Ignoring the warning signals going off in his head, Midoriya makes it his mission to check two more floors before he started heading down. He was about to head into the office part of the building. He was so exhausted and the smoke was suffocating.

He almost didn’t hear a hero calling after him from below, telling him that they don’t have much time before the building collapses. Midoriya reluctantly said that he’ll head down, but he found one more person when he double checked a floor that he thought he heard someone in. And he was right. He hurried and led them to the fire escape, but soon enough, she’s unfit to walk and Midoriya had to carry her in his arms.

The building rumbled dangerously when they finally made it to the first floor. Midoriya spotted Pro Hero Red Riot and he’s relieved, and the hero seems relieved too, somehow. With the exit in sight though, they never seem to make it. The woman shrieks and gasps, doing something with her hands before she glows and poof, she’s gone. Midoriya looks up, confused, just to meet the eyes of Red Riot, who is just as equally confused.

They don’t have time to ponder anymore, though. Things began to fall, and the building began to crumble, blocking their exit route. Midoriya watched a piece of rubble falling overhead Red Riot and Midoriya rushed to tackle him out of the way. They were on the floor but adrenaline kept Midoriya going. He picked Red Riot up and headed to the stairwell with him, scaling the stairs and heading up.

“What are you doing?” the pro hurriedly asked, “The building is coming down!”

“If it’s coming down, we go up. The exits are blocked off. The further down we are, the more stuff that can fall on us,” Midoriya managed to say before coughing.

They don’t get up too high before it happens, but all Midoriya can think about doing is shielding the pro hero when the hero eventually asked to be put down so they can head up the stairs faster. Midoriya didn't think when he saw the window that usually popped up in the stairwell after every 3rd floor. He asked the pro to break it with his hardening, quick. The hero does so, and he was about to ask what they should do next, but Midoriya had already made up his mind. Or, more so, he moves without thinking and jumps through the window, wincing at the cuts but he thinks it’s worth it if he’s able to help this hero.

All he can think about is saving the hero. Because if the hero is gone, people’s lives will be lost, right? If Red Riot is gone, who is gonna save more people, Midoriya or him? If Midoriya died, nothing would happen. The world would keep spinning. If Red Riot died, the world would be devastated. People will lose their family, their friend, their co-worker, their role model, and their hero. Red Riot had so much to lose and Midoriya had so little.

Midoriya screamed a mantra in his head, “Keep him still. Head against your chest. Protect his head. Help him live, help him live.” He could feel himself fall into bushes and hit the ground hard, but it didn't stop him as he tried to stand up.

He could barely hear it. Red Riot yelling at him. Midoriya could tell his vision was getting worse around the edges. He felt how hard it was to breathe and the way blood dripped down his body. He just managed to get the hero down on the ground before he could hear the building collapse. The debris fell, and Midoriya looked up to spot the debris as he was on his knees.

(Shelter, shelter.) something in his brain repeated and Midoriya held out his hands, struggling to keep air in his lungs as he overworked his body to use the telekinesis he got from his mother. The objects glowed a nice green hue, but soon started to sizzle and the glow became green flames as Midoriya controlled it more. The fire. Fire he inherited from his father. Fire that physically hurt him, made his lungs burn. He didn’t know when Red Riot got up to knock away the rubble with his quirk, but he did.

“Ground,” Midoriya rasped out.

“What?” The hero asked.

“Get down on the ground…flat.”

Midoriya made a small shelter out of the rubble by propping it against each other. A puff of green fire came from Midoriya’s mouth when he was done, one of the side effects of overuse.

He felt Red Riot pull him down but Midoriya was left propping himself on his elbows to avoid crushing the pro. Midoriya knows he’s heavy. He knew that if he laid down on the pro, then it might hurt him, so Midoriya kept himself propped up even though every muscle in his body was screaming for rest. After a few minutes, the dust seemed to settle and the loud noises of the building crashing down were no more.

Midoriya could feel that there wasn’t all that much left in him to stay awake. Well, at least Red Riot would fulfill his last wish.

Midoriya never wanted to die alone.

 

Kirishima was reduced to almost-tears when the noise of the building crashing down ceased. Not because he was hurt, but rather the complete opposite.

He wasn’t hurt at all, if not a couple of scratches and a broken bone somewhere because of the impact of the fall. This civilian that was hovering over him looked like he was trying so hard to stay upright, so hard to stay awake. Kirishima could feel the tears and blood of the guy dripping down on him and the green haired male has the strength to tell Kirishima, “I’m sorry, H-Hero Red Riot. I got blo…blood on you.”

“Kirishima,” He told the civilian. He didn’t know why he did, but the words left his mouth, “Call me Kirishima.”

“Well…Kirishima…I…”

“Don’t,” He quickly stopped. It obviously pained the other man to speak. Kirishima delicately patted the man on the shoulder, “Stop holding yourself up, just lay down on me and rest.”

“‘M heavy…” the man voiced out.

And yeah, Kirishima might have noticed that the civilian was taller than him and really chubby, but Kirishima didn’t care nor see that as an issue. “Can you please stop worrying about me for a second? Just rest,” Kirishima teared up. He didn’t think that he ever cried on the job. He usually tried to put on a brave face for the civilians when something devastating happened.

He had to guide the civilian’s head to lay on him, and took note that his eyes closed after a few seconds. “Thank you…” is all the man huffed out. Everything went silent for a minute or two, but Kirishima started to sob after the man went limp. He’s not sure if the guy just passed out or if he just heard someone’s dying words, but he didn’t want to find out right now.

The redhead quickly goes to grab his phone and call whoever he can. The first person he saw in his contacts was Katsuki. The phone barely rang once before he heard Katsuki’s frantic calls.

“You’re crying? Shit shit shit what the fuck happened? Are you fine? Are you safe? Where the fuck are you, Red? Which part of the building do you remember being in? Stay with me, stay awake.”

“I’m- I’m not hurt,” Kirishima managed to warble out, “Probably just my arm.”

“Fuck,” Katsuki seemed to sigh in relief. “Just hang in tight. We’ll find you.”

“Kats…” Kirishima sobbed, “I couldn’t…I couldn’t do anything.”

“You did all you could, don’t worry about it,” Katsuki hushed lightly, “When we get home, we can put on a movie and cuddle on the couch.”

“I…Kats…He saved me. I could barely do anything…” Kirishima hiccuped, having one arm tossed over the civilian’s back to hold him close.

“….who..?” Katsuki replied in a hushed voice.

It made Kirishima sob harder. He might have a dead man in his arms and he didn’t even ask for his name. He would never get the name of the person that saved his life from their own lips.

“I- He- H-His na-a-ame…. I- don’t kn-know…” Kirishima wailed into the phone.

Katsuki hadn’t replied until after a minute, only softly telling him to hang in there.

The rescue team didn’t find them until an hour or two later.

Kirishima watched with a heavy heart as the civilian was lifted up from him, being placed and strapped down to be airlifted to the nearest hospital. The medics reasoned that it was better safe than sorry, as they had a feeling the civilian could’ve had a spinal injury.

 

“We need to see him,” Kirishima pleaded.

“I’m not sure who this ‘him’ is, sir. We cannot just let you roam the halls looking for this person,” the man at the front desk seemed a little irritated, “Most cases require you to be a family member or friend, and it sounds as if you’re neither of those.”

Kirishima felt Katsuki’s grip on his hand tighten, as if he were angry, but Kirishima gave it a little squeeze back, telling him that it was fine. He hasn’t been able to get a real day of rest until today, three or four days after the incident. With his friends and doctors alike babying him, Kirishima hadn’t gotten any spare time.

His arm ended up in a small sling, but it was nothing nearly as bad as what the other guy went through. Kirishima got a lot of credit and praise for helping the people out of the building, but it all felt wrong. He didn’t deserve it. He wanted to tell everyone that the civilian earned all the credit…but he never got his name. Not even when Kirishima went and asked the last lady the guy helped when she disappeared in thin air.

At first the lady tried to flirt with him but her mood soured when Kirishima was asking for something else and ignored her advances. The lady claimed she didn’t know the guy or his name. “He’s just some nobody,” she claimed. It made Kirishima snap as he snarled in her face, talking about how she didn’t do anything. She was the nobody that, probably, used her quirk to escape the building safety, the building that that “nobody” risked his life to help her out of.

He made the woman tear up, with her being startled by “Hero Red Riot’s” aggressive demeanor.

Some broadcaster caught it on video and Kirishima saw the clip floating around. His agency told him to take a break before heading back to work, especially with his messed up arm, so Kirishima decided to visit the hospital that he was told the civilian was in. At least he got that much information.

Katsuki decided to come with since it was his day off.

“He…” Kirishima began as he closed his eyes, trying to remember the man’s face, “He had curly green hair. Big green eyes and…freckles.”

The guy at the desk didn’t move an inch, like he was waiting for Kirishima to give up and leave, but Kirishima was planted to the ground by Katsuki, who’s breath hitched. “Deku…” he heard him murmur. Katsuki let Kirishima’s hand go as the blond went up to steady his hands on the front desk, “Midoriya Izuku. We’re here to see Midoriya Izuku.”

The guy rolled his eyes and repeated that they won’t let non-family in. Kirishima watched Katsuki’s fists curl up tightly. “Can you check under emergency contacts? I might be under there. Bakugo Katsuki. If not, my mother Bakugo Mitsuki may be there.”

Kirishima wasn’t sure what kind of stunt Katsuki was trying to pull, or if it was even a stunt. But hope filled him when the guy at the desk started to go through some papers and went to type away on his computer.

“He’s not here,” the man finally replied.

Kirishima felt a pit in his stomach. Did the civilian not make it out alive? Or did Kirishima get the wrong hospital?

He hoped it was the wrong hospital.

“The file says he was here a couple days ago but…” the man paused to read the information and Kirishima felt a lump in his throat. The man flipped through some things before he looked up to them, “He was transferred to another hospital that could offer him what he needed.”

“What he needed was to stay here!” Katsuki barked, “This hospital has the best surgeons and a damn good care unit for people with spinal related injuries!”

“Yes, but your friend didn’t have the means to stay here. We have other people that need help, sir. He went somewhere more affordable, anyways,” the guy said, unbothered.

“Other people need help?” Kirishima decided to get into the conversation. The implication that the- that Midoriya wasn’t as important as the other patients here made his blood boil. “A whole fucking building collapsed on him and you’re prioritizing some of these people with sprained ankles over him? Someone who’s life is in actual danger over some person with weak knees? Some kind of hospital you are.”

Soon enough, they got security called on them and they had to leave. They didn’t even get to know which hospital Midoriya was staying in. How had Kirishima grown such an attachment to a guy that he didn’t even know the name of until today?

Kirishima almost told Katsuki that they could go home and try again later. Kirishima knew he was tired and the redhead didn’t want to drag Katsuki along. Though all Katsuki did was grip the steering wheel when they got into the car.

“Fuck fuck fuck,” the blond cussed as he hit his head against his seat.

“Kats…” Kirishima reached his good arm over to comfort him, but what Katsuki said made the redhead stop moving.

“I know him. I…I knew him,” Katsuki murmured, “I’d know that description from anywhere.” Kirishima wanted to say something, maybe something to comfort him. All Katsuki did was take a deep breath before ordering Kirishima to look up the nearest hospital.

“Nearest one…? Kats we just got kicked out of-”

“Closest one other than this one! We’re gonna find De- that nerd,” Katsuki barked out, “And I don’t fucking care if it takes all day or all week.”

Chapter 2: Re-Meets and Reunions

Summary:

Kirishima and Bakugo manage to find Midoriya, causing a lot of emotions to stir up within all three of them.

It took some time, but they eventually found the hospital that this ‘Midoriya Izuku’ was in. Kirishima never felt so relieved to hear a stranger’s name, more or less being in a hospital.

They met up with a nurse before they were able to see Midoriya, and Kirishima was barely listening to her. He was itching to see and make sure that he was alright, but the nurse’s words caught his attention.

“-because of the fall. I was informed that he had fallen from a few stories up. He just had surgery maybe two days ago, and he’s woken up a couple times since then. Burst fractures do take a bit longer to heal. If he wakes up he will likely be in some pain. If it’s too much, then call out for a nurse or someone so that we can get him pain medication. He had some stitching on his arms from the broken glass and some quirk-related injuries as well,” the nurse explained with a grim face.

“Quirk related injuries…?” Katsuki questioned at his side.

The nurse hummed, “I’m afraid he suffered a little damage to his throat. Speaking is straining but the doctor believes he’ll be able to speak properly soon. It’s like a sore throat, and it will heal in time.”

Kirishima felt his heart ache with sympathy for the poor civilian. He needed to see him, and now that he knows he’s here, he’s surely not going to leave anytime soon.

“Would you like to see him?”

“Yes,” Kirishima found himself and Katsuki saying at the same time.

The nurse smiled softly at the word being said in unison before she opened the room door and gestured to the inside of the room.

Kirishima walked in with Katsuki and their eyes both glanced around the room for the hospital bed. Kirishima set his eyes on green hair he remembered from a couple days ago. A pit of guilt settled in Kirishima’s stomach upon seeing the state that Midoriya was in. Seeing the familiar setup of the hospital setting wasn’t unsettling to Kirishima, but rather the thought that this man was a civilian- a civilian who had a life that was not made for sacrificing his own- it made Kirishima feel so bad. Like he had failed as a hero.

He felt the way Katsuki tensed up next to him, his boyfriend’s body going rigid and how the redhead felt the blond’s hand shake in his own. He figured Katsuki was having a hard time processing all of it too.

Katsuki had told him on the ride to some of the other hospitals how he had known Midoriya, or ‘Deku’ as he called him. Katsuki described Midoriya as an eager, bright eyed little kid who would follow him till the ends of the earth. Midoriya was described so highly by Katsuki that Kirishima felt that much worse about not being able to protect
him like a hero should. Midoriya was described by Katsuki as someone who was kind and caring, someone who radiated a soft and welcoming energy just like his mother.

Kirishima took in what he could about Katsuki’s childhood, the topic being one the blond always avoided. And Kirishima knew why. He remembered once in their UA days where Katsuki admitted having a small crush on some guy he used to know. And from the way Katsuki was describing him, Kirishima knew it couldn’t be anyone other than Midoriya.

It never bothered Kirishima. But now that he knew who Midoriya was…well he wondered if Katsuki would want him instead. This natural-born hero with the natural urge and willingness to help people in need. That’s what Katsuki liked in heroes, didn’t he?

“Deku…”

Katsuki’s voice sounded muffled by something, something other than a mask that Katsuki used to help conceal his identity. There was also something else in his voice that Kirishima could only describe as pain and sadness. One look told him how much seeing Midoriya in that state took a toll on Katsuki.

Katsuki let go of his hand to walk over to the bed that Midoriya was on and Kirishima turned to the nurse and nodded at her. She seemed to understand and excused herself, closing the door and leaving them be.

Kirishima saw how Katsuki took the green haired male’s hand in his own, but he didn’t say a word. He knew how important this was for Katsuki. How important it was for him to be reunited with his childhood friend he thought he would never see again.

It was fine. Kirishima just wanted to make sure Midoriya was alive. He wanted to make sure he was doing well, or as well as he could be right now. Kirishima took a minute or so to watch them, with Katsuki speaking to the sleeping man, softer than he had ever heard his voice.

Well, maybe he could find himself more useful getting some food for them and Midoriya if he woke up. So, he took his leave and headed to the hospital’s cafeteria.

 

Midoriya felt himself wake up with a start, the embers of a nightmare slowly fleeting from his mind, as if his mind didn’t want to remember what he was so scared of, or what he had been crying about in his dream. He only remembered the color green.

Pain soon found its way into the forefront of his mind, sharp tingling sensations and harsh pains felt as if they were weaved deep down throughout his body, to the point that it felt like the pain lie in his bones.

He thought he would be met with the white tile of the hospital ceiling again, given he was mostly left alone and the fact that he couldn’t sit up properly. His back was the major reason for that, but the temporary paralysis of his arms and upper body contributed to that as well; they were weak is all. That’s what the doctor told him.

But the man who hovered over him currently was no doctor. He was no nurse either from what Midoriya could tell. Red eyes, staring at him with relief along with a soft smile caught Midoriya off guard. Spiky red hair peeking from a baseball cap gave it all away.

He remembered now, and how he was able to talk to the hero. How Red Riot helped him out of the building and couldn’t be bothered to leave Midoriya alone in the building, even if it might mean both of their deaths. Midoriya was just grateful that the hero even stuck behind with him. Midoriya was sure that some heroes would leave him for dead in hopes of escaping themself.

It happened before. Midoriya knew.

But here Red Riot was, visiting him in the hospital when he had no need to. He really came all this way to check up on him. Hero Red Riot. No no- that’s not what he asked Midoriya to call him. He said his name was-

“Ki-…sh-…aa..Kirishima,” Midoriya forced himself to say with watery eyes. He was just so happy. He was so glad that the hero made it, and that he was kind enough to make a visit.

“Don’t. One of the nurses told us you had difficulty talking,” Kirishima murmured. He watched the hero go out of his line of sight as he spoke again, “I can get you a paper and pen. It’s nice to meet you though, Midoriya.”

“N- No…” Midoriya choked out, his voice hoarse and his throat screaming at his mind in complaint about talking. He kept going anyways, “Arms…they’re too weak. I can’t-….I can’t hold anything.”

The shuffling stopped and he heard Kirishima getting closer. The sound of something hitting the cushion of one of the chairs made Midoriya aware that Kirishima had sat down.

He heard Kirishima hum and noticed that the redhead was in his vision again. Though the hero’s gaze seemed to be on the rest of Midoriya’s body, making him self conscious about that fact. Especially when the hero’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at one spot on the opposite side from where Kirishima was sitting.

“Are you…okay?” Midoriya managed to ask. Kirishima gave him a quizzical look, so Midoriya elaborated, “You…weren’t injured?” The pain that his throat produced made Midoriya feel like lava had been poured down his throat, but he still had to know if Kirishima was okay.

The smile that came across Kirishima’s face was sad, contradicting the words that came from his mouth, “No, I wasn’t injured. Just a few scrapes and a sling on my arm.” The redhead shifted himself in his seat, “Which is what I came here for. You really scared me there. Before you passed out, you said the words that I’ve been wanting to say to you. Thank you. Thank you for saving me, Midoriya.”

Midoriya knew that by then, tears started to fall down his face at the hero’s genuine thank you. All this time he was scolded by doctors and nurses alike from the moment he was put in their care. They berated him for “doing a hero’s job” and talked endlessly about how he was the last one that was qualified to “play hero”. Instead of comfort, he was brought harsh words and mistreatment among the staff.

He was glad to hear he was being transported to a different hospital, but eventually the rumors from the other hospital started to spread. All these people were faking kindness, changing so quickly from happy and gentle to harsh and rude. They didn’t care about him, they cared about his status and looks. He saw it when he was on his way to the operating room. He watched the nurses and staff getting all buddy buddy with a guy that looked well put together, smiling with straight white teeth and well kept hair. He looked like he had a lot of money, standing near his wife who had been cradling a baby in her arms.

And all Midoriya was brought was some horrible looking soup he couldn’t even eat. The nurses hadn’t even thought to consider that he needed help when they knew of his burst fracture and how it had messed with the nerves in his arms. They knew that his arms were weak and that he couldn’t lift a thing. But Midoriya couldn’t call for them anyways, so he was just left to lay in the hospital bed, waiting for his three days to be up. That way he could just go home and sort some things out.

But here he was, the day before he was supposed to be let out of the hospital, just to find Red Riot thanking him.

He couldn’t help when his cries turned to sobs, letting emotions get the best of him despite the pain that breathing deeply from sobs brought him. Kirishima looked panicked and Midoriya wanted to reassure him that he was alright, but a new presence that he failed to notice made themself present.

Midoriya’s gaze turned to a voice that was all too familiar to his ears. Blond hair was tousled about, sticking out in every which way, albeit shorter than Midoriya remembered. Red eyes scanned the environment before landing on him.

“What the hell, Shitty Hair? I go to sleep for like fifteen fucking minutes and you make him cry?”

“I didn’t! Not intentionally- he just kinda- I was thanking him and stuff when he-”

A short quick huff was audible as it left the blond. Soon enough, Midoriya’s eyes were meeting red. Though they weren’t Kirishima’s this time. “Of course you still get worked up over some little thank you,” the blond smirked.

“Ka- Kacchan…” Midoriya sputtered out while his tears still fell.

“Hi Deku, how’re you feeling?” Kacchan asked him. Midoriya closed his eyes when he forced himself to try and stop crying, because his body moving when it struggled for air as he cried was not a good feeling.

He hissed a little when he had to take a particular sharp breath that jostled his torso. His eyebrows pinched together and he knew his teeth were grinding against each other.

“I’ll go get the nurse,” Midoriya heard Kirishima announce. Midoriya’s vision was shot shortly after he heard the chair scraping against the floor.

Soon enough, his body felt heavier than it did, and he felt his consciousness slip away completely.

Notes:

Another update! This one came faster than I planned; someone donated to my Ko-Fi and asked for a continuation of this story so ❤️

Chapter 3: A Place to Stay

Summary:

Bakugo and Kirishima make an offer Midoriya can’t(really, there’s no escape) refuse.

“Deku Deku Deku!”

Bakugo felt his throat burn a little from how loud and urgent his cries were. He tried nudging him awake but to no avail. Deku just laid there limp with his eyes shut. The blond could guess only a minute passed by before he was being pulled up and away from the bed.

He watched a nurse approach the bed. Slow as hell might he add. In fact, he could just barely see how her attention was actually on him and Eijiro, who was holding him, and not Deku. He was about to scream at the lady but Eijiro beat him to it.

“Are you going to do your job or are you just gonna try and miserably fail at trying to charm us?” Eijiro deadpanned.

The nurse’s jaw dropped in shock and she changed her body language from flirtatious to irritated. She huffed a little before turning to Deku. “He’s just a little overwhelmed by the pain. I just have to up the dosage,” she grumbled, quickly getting to work before leaving them in the room alone again once more.

Bakugo had since relaxed in Eijiro’s hold, even more so when the nurse had left them alone.

“Eiji…” he began. He wasn’t sure if he should offer up the option or not, but this was the perfect chance to make up for the lost time between him and Deku.

“What?” Eijiro asked softly, guiding him with his good arm over to a place where they could sit. It was a little further from the hospital bed than Bakugo would’ve liked, but he was content when Eijiro pulled him in. The blond leaned on his chest and allowed the redhead to pet his hair for once while they were in public.

“…Do you think-…” Bakugo trailed off, “He’s gonna need help. He can’t deal with this shit by himself.”

There was a gap in the conversation, and Bakugo wasn’t sure if it was because Eijiro was trying to come up with stuff to say or he was trying to figure out what Bakugo was implying.

“You want to help him,” Eijiro stated more than questioned, as if he knew what the blond was thinking. “…I wanna help him too,” the redhead admitted, “Why don’t we see if he wants to come home with us? That way we can get him what he needs.”

Bakugo craned his head up to look at his boyfriend, “We can?”

“Mmhm,” Eijiro hummed, “Why don’t we get a room at home ready for him? And maybe get a little bit of sleep now too. I know you’re tired. We can sleep better knowing he’s alright and safe, hm?”

“…yeah,” Bakugo answered as he focused his gaze back on Deku. It was only a moment longer before he had gotten up and turned to Eijiro to do the same. The faster they got home and slept, the faster they would be able to get Deku there and be comfortable. In a place where he wouldn’t be bothered by this annoying hospital staff.

 

Pain is what made him jolt awake this time.

Or maybe, if was just what woke him up all together, because as he looked around, he no longer saw Kirishima and Kacchan.

…maybe it was all just part of some weird, messed up dream to get his hopes up.

His short term hope of meeting Kirishima again and his long term one of being able to finally meet Kacchan again. Though he had to admit, the dream felt a bit too real. Maybe they both realized how bad it would be if someone were to find people like them even seen associating with someone like Midoriya.

It’s fine. He understood. Everyone had to leave eventually. Thankfully they were able to leave before they built something up. Before they made this cathedral of a building in his heart and tore it all down. But it looked like they wouldn’t have the time to build something as grand as that, and Midoriya was glad, because he’s not sure if he could deny them from building anything if they wanted to.

He could never say no to people. And maybe that was his problem as much as it was everyone’s solution. Dumping all their problems was all they needed to do and Midoriya was just the idiot that couldn’t say no. The idiot that put everyone else’s lives above his own. That’s why he was in this situation too, wasn’t he? Because he couldn’t refuse an opportunity to help someone even when it jeopardized his own wants and needs. And I’m this case, his life.

A hand gently combing through his curls made his head turn as he let out a hiccup. He didn’t realize he started crying, but when he saw Kacchan standing there leaning over the bed, Midoriya lost whatever composure he had left.

He openly sobbed, “Kacchan…”

“I know, I know. You’re getting another dose now before we leave,” the blond haired man mentioned softly.

“W-We…?” Was all Midoriya could manage to get out. There was motion in the corner of his blurry eyes and he blinked tears away so that he could see Kirishima coming into his line of vision.

“Hey Midoriya,” the redhead murmured, “I’m not sure how much you were out of it but we came here yesterday. I thanked you- and I would thank you again properly if you didn’t remember- for saving me.”

“You guys came back…” Midoriya stated in disbelief, tearing up all over again at the thought. “You came back,” he repeated. His voice was still hoarse, but he was just so happy that someone came back for once.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Kacchan’s voice sounded, followed by another hand brushing through his curls. Midoriya closed his eyes at the feeling, his breath stuttering with the intensity of his sobbing.

“Hey, shhh you’re alright,” Kirishima’s voice came next, and Midoriya felt the ghost of a touch near his face, Kirishima’s knuckles barely grazing his face. “Your voice is sounding better,” Kirishima idly pointed out.

“Mm,” Midoriya shakily hummed in agreement.

“Did you eat anything?” Kacchan’s question came next.

Midoriya opened his eyes at that, tilting his head away from the blond’s touch in lieu of an answer. How was he supposed to? And it’s not like he should, anyways. He overheard some of the nurses saying it themselves.

“Why the fuck not?” The anger was evident in the blond, though it was obvious he was trying to reel it in and keep his voice on the softer side still. “You know how that’s gonna fuck up your shit. Especially if you have all that medication without food or anything.”

“I…” Midoriya tried to begin his argument, but found himself lost for words. “I’m sorry Kacchan…”

“Don’t apologi- fuck just fucking- forget it. What do you want from the cafeteria? Or better yet, we can get something on the way home from this shitty hospital. Unless you want me to make you some of the katsudon you always drool over when we get home.”

“Home..?” Midoriya rasped out, “My apartment is too dirty! I haven’t had the chance to clean it and-”

“Our home,” Kirishima clarified, making Midoriya stop talking. “We wanted to know if you wanted to stay with us for a while until you’re better enough and not as dependent on others. You don’t have to, but we wanted to offer. With you saving my life and all and Katsuki being a bit excited to see you again,” Kirishima chuckled at the last bit.

It resulted in Kacchan reaching over and clasping his hands over the redhead’s mouth, “Shut the fuck up you liar! I didn’t say any of that!” The blond offered a small bit of tiny explosions that led to Kirishima using his quirk, “You just don’t know what you’re talking about!” Midoriya couldn’t help but notice the embarrassed blush on Kacchan’s face.

The playful nature of it made a small chuckle slip through Midoriya’s mouth. His laughing drew both hero’s attention and Midoriya stiffened in his spot as his smile fell. “Mmh,” Midoriya hummed out awkwardly, not being able to wipe off his tears that had stopped fleeting from his eyes but stayed on his cheeks.

He took a moment to process what the two had offered him. While he didn’t want to get in the way and be a bother to them, he felt like it would likely be more convenient for him to go with them than not. He’s sure, knowing Kacchan’s stubborn attitude, that the blond would make a point to visit Midoriya often. As often as he could judging by how much he’s grown since they last saw each other. Midoriya would rather not have the hero waste time and energy going to his apartment whereas Kacchan’s house was likely closer and less of a haste to get to in relevance to his patrol routes and agency.

Plus, it was likely that the house was more secure and safe than Midoriya’s apartment at the moment. If he were to have heroes visiting his apartment every so often, then it would raise flags and suspicion. Additionally unwanted villains. Something Midoriya definitely didn’t want to deal with.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Midoriya answered, “I would be glad to stay at your place for the time being.” It would likely help Midoriya as well if he needed any help getting up or doing something important.

“Really?” Kirishima sounded excited, “That’s great! We probably just need to get the doctor and stuff to get you checked out. We already have your room ready and-”

“Room…?” Midoriya asked with a frown, “I thought I would just sleep on the couch or something…”

“Who the fuck do you think we are? We could buy you a damn house if you needed it. ‘Course we made space for you,” Kacchan rolled his eyes. He said it as if he didn’t basically say that he would get Midoriya whatever he needed to be comfortable in his recovery. And knowing Kacchan, he most likely wasn’t being sarcastic, but entirely serious. Midoriya was a bit scared and had to know if the blond hadn’t already bought a house.

“Yeah! We can pay for your medication and stuff, too! Anything you need, we got it covered,” Kirishima beamed. The offer made Midoriya dizzy, and if he wasn’t already laying down, that sentence would’ve made him.

Oh…well this was going to be a very interesting recovery.

Chapter 4: Exhaustion Takes Over

Summary:

Midoriya starts to get settled into his new temporary(?) home.

“Kirishima it’s fine, really,” Midoriya pleaded with an embarrassed whine.

“Well technically it wasn’t my idea. Kats brought it up first. Actually he’s the one getting the van over here,” Kirishima gave a bright smile.

Midoriya groaned, wishing he were able to hold his hands over his face to cover the blush on his face. “I told him I would be fine in the back seat…” Midoriya mumbled.

“Well I’m glad we’re doing it this way. I would rather you be on a flat surface instead of the back seats. That way you won’t do any more damage to your back,” the redhead explained.

Midoriya didn’t have much else to say as a counter argument so he just huffed a little.

Kacchan had rented a van purely for the purpose of transporting Midoriya to the house. The blond argued and said that it was better they do it with the van, because he was not happy with the idea of Midoriya laying in the backseat of their car. He claimed that it would damage the freckled man’s back more.

With that, he ended up laying down in the huge back part of the van(with a LOT of cushioning), and being partially strapped down so that he wouldn’t be moved or jostled around during the trip. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure that was necessary judging by how careful and slow Kacchan was driving.

The first stop was actually his apartment, where he had to just tell the both of them what stuff he needed and where it was located.

Only one of them went up to the apartment at a time while the other stayed with him, constantly asking if he was fine and comfortable. It was relatively fine for the most part. Though there was one time where he had to ask for help with drinking water.

Drinking water. He really needed help with that. The thought almost made him burst out in tears which made Kirishima panic. He must’ve noticed his eyes watering because the redhead was quick to ask if the water hurt his throat or anything.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” Midoriya choked out, “I’m being such a bother.”

“Bother? You saved my life! The least I can do is make sure you have a good recovery. Please don’t cry,” Kirishima begged.

Though the tears forced their way out, Midoriya found himself looking up at Kacchan when the blond came back from getting the last of the things from inside. “Deku. Look at me.” He locked eyes with the blond, “Were you the one that suggested we take care of you?”

The freckled male sniffled before he spoke, “No but-”

“Ah-” Kacchan was quick to cut him off with the noise, “No. The answer is no you didn’t. We offered. We agreed and are taking responsibility for taking care of everything you need. I don’t care what the fuck it is if you need it done we’re getting it done, got it?”

Midoriya could only make a hum in agreement when was using his hand to hold his chin in place. When Kacchan got the answer he wanted, Midoriya felt the hand let go of his face to wipe away his tears. He closed his eyes at the action, keeping them like that for only a minute or so, he was sure of it.

Soon he realized that he woke up from a short nap when he opened his eyes to see the sunlight peeking into the window was more of a radish orange hue than blue, indicating the sun was setting. He felt the cold wind outside hit him and he wished that he had a blanket somewhere near him. He tried to move his arms up to get himself to sit up, just for the things to stay put at his sides. Panic flooded him and he was about to freak out when he noticed the ceiling he was staring at was not his own.

All of a sudden large eyes peeked into his line of sight, a curious look on the person’s face as they stuck their tongue out a little. Their index finger rested on their chin in an inquisitive manner as well.

He heard murmuring from outside and heard a loud, frustrated shout, “Okay! Damn fine. I’ll throw in a twelve thousand yen limit on that one sweet shop you’re so fucking obsessed about.”

“Fifteen thousand! I still have patrols after this!”

“FUCKING- Are you gonna do it or not, Cheeks?”

Midoriya’s attention was back on the person hovering above him when she finally spoke. “You can’t move at all,” she observed, “Is it from helping Kirishima-kun? Ribbit.”

Everything clicked back together in that instant. He knew that voice and now pieced together why she looked so familiar. His eyes widened, “You’re-”

“CUTEEEE!” A squeal cut him off. He watched a shadow get cast on him from someone blocking the opening part of the van he was in. A bubbly woman spoke again, “Oh forget the sweet shop! Can I have him instead?”

The voice got closer after Midoriya heard a very defiant “NO!” from someone nearby. His eyes looked to meet another pair of large eyes, this time they were a light brown. The woman smiled down at him and Midoriya could only stare as she started to talk.

“Hi! I’m friends with Kirishima and Bakugo! Pretty sure it’s safe to tell you my name too since I have to use my quirk and all. And that Bakugo is telling me to, so you’re probably reliable,” she began to babble and soon enough Midoriya was being tapped by her as her fingers glowed. He was floating in the air as she continued to talk, “I’m Uraraka! And that’s Tsu.”

Midoriya was being floated over carefully to where he was out of the van. Uravity, he realized, was floating him towards a building- a house. “Cheeks stop talking his ear off and just bring him inside,” a voice snapped, who he could only pinpoint as Kacchan.

“But I wanna make a good impression.” Midoriya could practically hear the pout in her voice, “He’d fit right into our old class group.”

“Cheeks.” Kacchan said the word in somewhat of a warning tone.

“Okayyy,” a voice relented as Midoriya found himself being floated into the house. The huge house might he add. It goes to show how huge it was when all he could look at was the ceiling of the thing. “But you know Mina is gonna find out somehow. And Kaminari. The moment those two find out-” Midoriya heard a kkrrrch! noise come from the gravity hero’s throat, like she was motioning her neck being sliced, “-you sir, are a dead man.”

“We’ll tell them later, but not now,” Kirishima’s voice finally pitched in and Midoriya heard how he was further ahead and the way that a door was being opened after. They went into that room(Midoriya’s pretty sure) as the redhead finished, “I want them to meet the guy that saved my life, but not until he’s healed up a bit.”

“I didn’t do anything, really,” Midoriya mumbled before he felt gravity gradually fall into effect again until he was lowered down to something soft underneath him. When he was eased into the bed enough, he looked to see that Uravity’s fingers were put together like they usually were after she was done using her quirk.

“Your spine is messed up from saving me and your arms and stuff are temporarily paralyzed. That’s more than saving my life, dude,” Kirishima announced.

“Well I don’t-” Midoriya stopped mid-sentence, wanting to curl up from the pain that he felt starting to bloom almost everywhere imaginable on his body. He would’ve wanted the other heroes to stay longer so he could ask them questions, but Kacchan shooed them out the moment Midoriya showed that sign of pain. He had Kirishima and Kacchan pestering him in an instant, getting him his pain medication and settling him into their house.

It all felt like it was too good to be true.

Kirishima stayed behind and talked to him about anything he could while Kacchan went and made dinner. The redhead started to read aloud the do’s and don’ts of what Midoriya could and couldn’t do when the freckled man started to feel panicked when he realized that there was a building pressure inside of him. He must’ve shown it on his face at one point because Kirishima stopped what he was saying as a frown showed up on his face.

“Midoriya? You alright, dude?”

“I-...” Midoriya hesitated, the words getting stuck in his throat from a mix of embarrassment and being downright petrified. “I…” he tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he looked anywhere but at Kirishima. “Can you…get Kacchan?”

The redhead was obedient and was back with Kacchan in an instant, but Kirishima seemed like he wasn’t going to leave anytime soon. Great. Now he would have an audience to listen to him admitting the fact that-

“I…might need help…getting up. I need to- uhm… bathroom…”

The reaction wasn’t instant, but soon enough Kacchan was trying to plan out what was going to happen out loud without further injuring or hurting Midoriya. Honestly, he hadn’t really considered how his height and weight would play into everything. In order to get him upright as gently as possible, he would need both of their help.

It was a bit difficult to get up, even with their help. The movement had Midoriya holding his breath, even when he did manage to sit up on the bed. He had to rely on them heavily for support. Thankfully, even though his arms were rendered useless for a little while, his legs were relatively intact. Well, he thought they would be. Kacchan started to talk about how it wasn’t safe for him to be walking so soon, as he read that it would be better to consult a physical therapist first.

For some reason, Kacchan bought a wheelchair specifically because he knew about this before Midoriya got home with them. He wanted to ask why that wasn’t used in the first place until he remembered that stairs weren’t exactly wheelchair friendly.

The real problem got to when they actually made it into the bathroom.

His fear of relying on these two and basically exposing himself out into the open overrode the need to relieve himself and he wanted to say such, but his throat closed up and his body felt heavy. He’s always been so independent after his mom died. She was all he had and after she was gone, well, he had to face the world himself. He was too scared to let anyone in after she left, too scared to make relationships and connections with other people in fear that they would be ripped apart from him just as tragically as his mother had been.

And to think he would have to rely on these two for as long as he has to recover? For him to have to rely on them for even doing things like going to the bathroom? It didn’t sit right with him at all. Not even in the slightest bit.

“Midoriya? It’s okay. You’re good. Don’t worry, we can help.”

“N-No! I- I got it,” Midoriya managed as he sat in the wheelchair. Thankfully their door frame was large enough for it.

Kacchan looked like he wanted to doubt his words, but he gave in and mentioned that they would be outside the door if he needed help or anything. Kacchan’s only request was that he leave the door cracked open a little incase they needed to help him right away.

 

It took a lot out of him, frustrating tears escaping him about how pathetic he felt for how long it took him to even get seated on the damn toilet. He took so long that Kirishima knocked on the door to ask if he was alright. Midoriya said he was okay with the bravest voice he could muster, but he broke down when he realized that he couldn’t even use the toilet paper with his arms being unmovable. The doctors didn’t say when it would go away, but they said minor motion might help with it. So Midoriya took his time, frustrated tears falling as he tried to get his arms to work again. He hoped that it would be like flicking a switch for everything to come back normally to him, only to barely get enough muscle movement to even lift his arm.

To make things worse, it felt like all the energy he had in him was drained from him by trying to complete such a basic task. Something that he had done so naturally before- the ability to do it just slipped through his fingers within an instant and now he didn’t know what to do with himself.

So he cried.

How pathetic and embarrassing was it that he had to ask for help to use the bathroom? Even more so for the fact that it took him so long to figure it out so now he would look like a bigger idiot now. They’re going to think he’s disgusting, aren’t they? He would honestly rather wait until he got movement back in his arms than to ask if Kirishima and Kacchan could help. It was bad enough that he had to shimmy his clothing off but now that he realized it, they would see him in this pathetic state either way because he probably wouldn’t be able to get his clothes back on by himself.

He just wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

When Kacchan knocked on the door and announced that he was walking in, Midoriya wanted to sob. Because whether he liked it or not, Kacchan walked in to help, though he only then realized he didn’t have the energy to open his mouth for protest, to fight, or to sob. The blond expressed a lot of concern before the door was open, because apparently he took so long that dinner was ready. Midoriya hadn’t even realized it was that long. Somewhere along the way exhaustion crept in and made him lose track of time somehow.

Kacchan walked in with Kirishima in tow, and somehow Midoriya’s mind got all fogged up from exhaustion. And maybe the pain medicine had to do with it too? He wasn’t sure…He didn’t know what was going on anymore. He wasn’t even sure if he was awake anymore. Everything felt like it was in stop motion and he wasn’t in control of his body.

He wanted to sleep.

Notes:

I know the end part may be a little uncomfortable to read but I wanted to really highlight the situation and how horrible it is for Midoriya. And how difficult recovery is.

It also kind of stems from my experiences. I actually wanted to write a whole serious story relating what happened to me when I got injured and had surgery. I should have, because it would've helped me get a lot of feelings out, but I wasn't quite sure about writing about moments like these, where it's so difficult and infuriating to realize you need help doing simple tasks.

Though I guess I can do it with this story too

Chapter 5: Slow Progress

Summary:

Midoriya starts to get better little by little with the help of Kirishima and Bakugo. While he works on getting better, another problem starts to bloom.

Bakugo felt something in his chest twist when he saw Deku in the state he was in.

Deku didn’t even look like himself. Whenever he thought of him, he thought of this bright-eyed, happy go lucky guy. …But this Deku was the complete opposite. It made something in Bakugo’s heart twist painfully.

After they got Deku cleaned up, they did manage to get him back to the bed. It was a bit of a struggle, sure, but Bakugo just wanted Deku to get better. When he walked in with the food, Deku seemed like he was barely there. He had tears that were now dry on his chubby freckled face and puffy eyes that looked like they were struggling to stay open. Bakugo didn’t want to admit it, but he got a little scared a couple of times seeing the way Deku’s head would lull and his eyes would start to roll back, only to be startled back awake by a noise.

Eijiro fixed that when he was out of the room though. He saw the redhead take the spot on the bed next to Deku, still being cautious of his injuries but letting the other lean his head against Eijiro. Deku looked about half awake when Bakugo had to speak up and get him back up.

“Oi, nerd. I know you’re tired but you gotta eat,” he watched the nerd’s eyes open a little bit more and they were partly focused on him. When his eyes somewhat met Deku’s, he continued, “You can’t take all that medicine and not eat.”

“But…” Deku’s words came out slurred and there was a reasonable pause, like the nerd was fighting to stay awake. “I….I don’t...can’t do anything by myself,” Deku mumbled.

“That’s why we’re here, to help you,” Eijiro replied. His voice had gone soft, like Bakugo was listening to how he spoke to him when he had a bad dream or got too caught up in the moment. “We can be your arms while you’re getting your movement back! Do you care who helps you?”

 

Bakugo saw that Deku was more awake now, but he had a look of protest on his face. “Well ya gotta pick one. We’re not eating till you do,” he snuffed out any sort of protest before Deku could speak.

“Ka-..” Deku sighed. Bakugo was ready to argue back, but Deku just looked the other way in something like shame. “Can you help me then, Kacchan?” He gave in so easily. He didn’t fight back or argue. Deku wasn’t acting like himself at all.

“I-...yeah.” A horrible feeling crept in at the back of Bakugo’s mind. Everything was just so unsettling. Meeting Deku again was such a huge moment for Bakugo, but he never thought it would go like this, with the spark in Deku’s eyes gone without a trace. He remembered being one of the people that put it out before, but now he had a chance to help be the one to bring it back.

 

“Oh! I think that it’s healing up good!”

Kirishima was currently helping him ice his back and the hero asked if it would be okay to look at how everything was healing up on his back. While Midoriya knew that ran the risk of the other being disgusted by his back rolls, he knew that it would be better to get it over now then when they went to the doctor to get the stitches out tomorrow. It had already been a couple days with them, and so far, the two had been nothing but nice to him.

They gave him space when he needed it and helped where they could. They actually gave him his own separate room in the house since they had the extra space. Usually they put on the shows that he liked to watch so that he would have something to do while they were at work or busy with other stuff.

Kirishima had just gotten back from the store and went straight to Midoriya. Midoriya greeted him as normal and noticed that Kirishima had some water, medicine, and some ice. He even took the time to go back into the kitchen after Midoriya said hello to get a bowl of fruit for him. Kirishima said it was so that it could be a little distraction when he was icing his back. And honestly, it was one of the worst parts of the day for Midoriya.

Getting rolled onto his stomach was really difficult and a little humiliating. Kirishima had to touch him a lot in order to properly assist him, and while Midoriya appreciated the respectful way he was touched and handled, it didn’t make the experience any less horrible. But Kirishima was always so kind and never once made a face or comment about Midoriya’s body. And Midoriya thought that maybe that was because the hero didn’t see all of him, so he took a leap of faith and ripped the bandaid off today.

But it didn’t go how he expected.

“Oh..?” Midoriya hesitantly asked. He didn’t expect for Kirishima to sound so…excited?

“Yeah! Still swollen but there are a lot of yellow spots where the bruising is healing! Especially where the stitches are. Well there are some spots where there’s heavier bruising like right here,” Midoriya wanted to jump at the sensation of fingers ghosting over his back, but he kept in mind that doing so would be too painful. Kirishima was being so careful and delicate… “I’m sorry,” Kirishima said right away, “Did I irritate the bruises? Saw you jump a bit.”

“Ah..no. Just got a little cold from the ice.”

“Oh- well just wait a couple more minutes and I can pull a blanket over you and help you flip over. Unless you want to try laying on your side? I heard that’s also a good way to sleep after a surgery like yours.”

“Laying on my back is fine,” Midoriya murmured. He knew that if he were to lay on his side, then he would want to try and curl up in his sleep, which would obviously not be good for his back. But something in his chest warmed at the implication that Kirishima had taken the time to research a bit about the surgery that he had.

“Alright, let me fix up the pillows and blankets then,” Kirishima went around the bed and started to rearrange the empty spot on the bed where Midoriya was before. The pillows and blankets helped him be more comfortable when he was laying down; Kacchan read somewhere that they were good for support so he insisted on putting them there for Midoriya to lay on.

Midoriya gave one look to Kirishima, “Um. How’s your arm?” It was the reason that the hero hadn’t been at work. Kirishima would have to wait another week before it got fixed; Midoriya found out that all the heroes with healing quirks weren’t in the area at the moment and one of them won’t be back until a week from now. That’s why Kirishima had been home with him most of the time, and Midoriya formed a bit of a bond with him. It was really easy to talk to Kirishima and he found that he really liked the redhead’s company.

They had gotten closer day by day, especially since Kirishima usually decided to stay with him and watch TV shows or try to keep him entertained. He even went through exercises for Midoriya to do for his arms and hands to get movement back. They made a little progress with that, and Midoriya could even feel how his arms were coming back to life. Even yesterday Kirishima came back with a little stress ball to help him work on flexion in his hands.

“Fine, really! Just aches a bit but you know, I’ll be fine. Hey- maybe when I get healed we can ask Eri if she could help you out a bit! She’s still training with her quirk but she’s really good at what she does! She goes to UA. Eraserhead is gonna bring her by.”

Midoriya felt himself ramble in panic, “No no! I couldn’t! You’re the one that needs it! I’ll be fine, she shouldn’t waste her energy on me. It’s not worth it, especially with the potential drawbacks she might have if she uses her quirk too much.” Midoriya’s eyes followed Kirishima as much as they could before the redhead was out of sight. The pillows and blankets were fixed up and Midoriya felt the cold ice pack leave his back. “And I don’t think I would be able to handle talking to Pro Hero Eraserhead! I might embarrass myself and he might-”

Midoriya’s rant was interrupted by someone. Though it wasn’t Kirishima. They both held their breaths when they heard a thump from down the hallway. Kirishima’s voice dropped in pitch and volume when he muttered, “Stay quiet. I’ll go see what- Katsuki..?”

“‘M back,” he heard Kacchan’s voice, “and I heard the nerd blabbing from a mile away.”

“Kacchan what are you doing here? I thought you said you wouldn’t be back till later?” Midoriya watched the blond get ready to help Midoriya on his back again and he got the message and compiled, “You didn’t- aaghmm-” he had to cut his sentence short when he felt a sharp pain in his back. He closed his eyes and forced himself to go through with laying back down on his back, exhaling the breath that he had been holding when he was settled down and the pain went away. Another hiss of pain came with his exhale of breath as well.

“I know,” he heard Kacchan say, “My agency sent me home early because I couldn’t concentrate.”

Midoriya looked at the ceiling with a confused look, “But you always seem so focused so what made you lose focus?”

“I- how do you know that? You watch every fight of me beating villains’ asses?” He looked to see Kacchan crossing his arms and looking the other way, “You still are a nerd.”

“Hey!” Midoriya felt a bit of embarrassment stir up inside him, “They’re just-!...Really interesting.” He really couldn’t find any more words to defend himself and why he knew about Kacchan’s fighting habits. He still kept up with his childhood friend’s achievements and accomplishments. Because maybe he did still care for him, even after all that he did.

“Whatever. Now eat your fucking fruit and drink your water. Eijiro, help him while I go see what we have to eat.”

He would’ve been fine with his life before, but he doesn’t think he can go back to not feeling anything for Kacchan when he found that the blond cared about him as much as he did him. And to Midoriya’s horror and surprise, he soon realized that that adoration and care he felt for the blond was starting to manifest into something else. Something that made his heart stutter and his breath catch. Something that he couldn’t place yet, but he knew it was more complicated than he wanted it to be.

 

Midoriya was still up. It was probably late in the night, but the pain medicine had yet to kick in. He took his sleeping pills too but for some reason they weren’t working. He tried to go to sleep, but he almost cried in frustration at not being able to when his back was bothering him so much. He didn’t want to bother the other two, though. They were in another room and probably asleep already. Midoriya could probably wait it out. The TV that was still on in the room served as a nice little distraction, thankfully.

He rolled his head to the side towards the door when he heard something, only to see a groggy Kacchan pop up in the doorway a few seconds afterward.

“U’re still up?” he slurred and wiped his eyes, “Oh thank fuck I can finally do something about it.” Midoriya didn’t get any context for what that meant, but the words made him more alert. He wanted to ask what Kacchan meant, but the blond walked off to another room.

Midoriya was just about to sweep the interaction under the rug and silently hoped Kacchan would at least come back so he could get Midoriya’s medicine, but it didn’t seem likely. He turned his attention to the TV again. He could feel his eyes become heavy again, the TV in the background working as white noise. Though he wanted to sleep, his body still wasn’t able to relax with the pain in his back.

So he laid there, eyes blurry from how close they were to being completely closed. It’s like his body didn’t want him to go to sleep.

His mind was muddled with exhaustion. So much that he almost didn’t catch how Kirishima and Kacchan were now in the doorway. The only reason he knew that they were there was because of the sniffle he heard. It took a little longer than it should’ve taken to register the sound, but soon enough he realized that the sniffle was because of someone crying.

His eyes opened more and he was more alert than before. He watched both of them walk into the room, a blanket wrapped around Kirishima as Kacchan led him in.

“Kirishima?” He called carefully, “What’s wrong?”

Another sniffle came from the redhead before a cry left him when he met eyes with him. Red eyes were watery and looked so hurt and sad. Kirishima didn’t answer him, but Kacchan spoke, his arms holding Kirishima’s good one, “See? Told ya, he’s fine. He’s with us, remember?”

Midoriya watched on in worry and confusion as the bigger hero just nodded and tried to keep in his crying.

“Kirishima…” Midoriya tried to call again. When he figured he wouldn’t be able to get a word out of him, he looked to Kacchan. “What happened?”

Kacchan huffed a sigh and looked to the side, “He’s been…” he paused and started over, “Sometimes when traumatizing shit happens to heroes we have nightmares about it. Eijiro over here keeps having them about you getting hurt. He always sends me in to see if you’re okay when he gets them.” Midoriya’s gaze turned to Kirishima after the explanation, feeling bad for the red haired hero.

“I can’t help it,” Kirishima explained, “Seeing you like that…I couldn’t handle it.”

“It’s okay,” Midoriya responded, “Is there anything that can help? Sleeping pills? Do you want to lay down next to me? I know that sometimes seeing the person hurt in your nightmare can help relieve the aftershock of waking up but…you can come here.” He just wanted to help Kirishima. He knew that what he was saying was probably stupid but he knew what those nightmares were like. And they were definitely not great to wake up with.

“Yeah, can I?” Kirishima’s tears seemed to slow down since he came into the room, but they still hadn’t completely stopped, “It would help.”

So Midoriya complied. It wouldn’t really be any different from them watching TV together in the day. Or so he thought. Kirishima usually kept a respectable distance, but this time he got close enough to feel Kirishima laying on his side next to him. The redhead was facing him and he got as comfortable as he could with the sling on his arm. He had to grab a pillow or two to prop his arm up properly just like he always did, and Midoriya didn’t want to comment about being closer than normal.

Kirishima relaxed and closed his eyes, which is around the time Kacchan cleared his throat and Midoriya looked to him.

“Need anything before bed, nerd?” Kacchan yawned.

“Um more pain pills if that’s fine. They wore off,” Midoriya murmured, “Before?” He finally processed, “Do you want to sleep in here, Kirishima?”

Kirishima’s voice sounded slurred, as if he had just woken up from a nap, “Mm oh. I’m so s’rry. I don’t think I gave you your pills after dinner.” Midoriya looked as much as he could to his side, seeing the way Kirishima’s head was leaned towards him as he spoke, yet his eyes were closed like he was already nodding off. The question directed to him must’ve processed in his mind a couple of seconds later. His eyes lazily opened when he looked at Midoriya, “If I can…”

“If it helps you sleep better,” Midoriya yawned through his words, “Then it’s okay.”

Kirishima only gave a small tired smile before he closed his eyes. Midoriya watched him lift his legs up before pushing his body closer to Midoriya to where they were barely touching. He was about to comment on it until Kacchan came back with his medicine and water. He took it and thanked Kacchan, expecting the other to take the finished glass back to the kitchen like he always had since he didn’t like leaving the dishes in the rooms, but he instead just placed the cup on the nightstand nearby.

A yawn came from the other as he got on the bed on all fours, giving Midoriya a tired look that kind of told him something like ‘Don’t say a word’ before Kacchan had lowered himself on the bed as well. Midoriya thanked the fact that the bed was huge, otherwise they all wouldn’t have fit. Kacchan occupied the side Kirishima wasn’t on and simply flopped down and put his back to Midoriya’s side.

Midoriya, too tired to argue, gave into sleep. Somewhere in his mind he thought that the medicine didn’t work that fast. And it didn’t. His mind probably tricked him into thinking it worked as fast as it did. But something else told him that maybe his mind didn’t trick him about the medicine working, but the presence of these two made all the hurt go away.

Sleep came easier to him than it had in a while.

Chapter 6: Decisions, Decisions

Summary:

Midoriya tries to sort out his feelings. And when he thinks they’re…somewhat sorted, a bombshell gets dropped on him that makes everything worse all over again.

So he ends up making a hasty decision.

“…ey…Baby-…shit……Mido- hey…ake up…”

Muddled voices and noises filled his ears while he stirred awake. He knew from the vibration in his throat that he let out a little whine from not wanting to wake up. It was just so comfortable and warm where he was that it made him just wanna give in when sleep was trying to coax him back.

When something tapping his arm continued, he reluctantly opened his eyes and squinted. His eyes shut immediately after, and his distaste of the bright light hitting his eyes was vocalized in the form of him pressing his lips together with a groan.

“Hey, hey, I know,” Kirishima, Midoriya assumed, spoke to him softly. If anything, it sounded like what someone coddling a baby animal would sound like. “-but we gotta get you to the hospital so they can take some of your stitches out.”

Midoriya internally cringed at the thought of going back to the hospital. He didn’t know if he could mentally handle the type of treatment he’d previously gotten at the hospital.

Before he could go down that rabbit hole, he looked down at the feeling of something holding his hand.

He was more alert now, which he shouldn’t have been when he saw it was Kacchan sitting at the edge of the bed, but Midoriya couldn’t help feeling a little…jumpy…? Kacchan sat there, flipping Midoriya’s hand back and forth in his. It wasn’t until the blond started working his fingers into the hand that Midoriya understood that Kacchan was only trying to get his hand used to feeling again.

They were at least able to get some movement back in his arms with some minimal physical therapy. For the past…week, Midoriya thought, they have been going through exercises to get movement back. Well, he and Kirishima have; he remembered almost having a breakdown when he first tried to move his arms and they didn’t respond. There was just something so terrifying about not being able to do something you know how to do, something uncanny about losing the ability to do something that was so natural beforehand. He expressed those concerns to Kirishima, and Midoriya was thankful that the redhead was so kind and understanding.

He never shared those thoughts or feelings with Kacchan, seeing as the blond was usually at work, but maybe he picked up on the fact something was wrong or that Kirishima told him.

Midoriya wasn’t completely dumb. There had to be a reason Kirishima was here, why he lived in the same house as Kacchan. There had to be a reason, when, the other two thought he couldn’t hear, they would whisper gently to each other, or when they thought he couldn’t see, they would give each other fond looks. He was smart enough to know Kacchan well enough to know he wouldn’t willingly share a house with a friend if he and Kirishima were both well off enough to have their own places.

Like he said, he wasn’t dumb…but he still didn’t quite want to believe it. For some reason, thinking about it too much made him angry? Sad? He’s not quite sure. He told himself that there was some happiness in there, but he knew a majority of it was quite the opposite.

He just- he’s happy, really. He’s so happy for Kacchan. Finding someone to care for and love, joke with, tolerate…. Midoriya just couldn’t wrap his head around everything. Why wasn’t he in that place? Kacchan, just one day, started ignoring him. Looking at him like he was less than dirt beneath his shoes. He would avoid eye contact and didn’t bat an eye when the bullying started. He even became a part of the bullying, eventually.

Midoriya just didn’t understand why he wasn’t good enough. Why he wasn’t good enough for Kacchan to stay by his side. All those years of being friends were just thrown away, but now, the blond had no qualms in letting Kirishima do the things Kacchan wouldn’t let Midoriya do.

So why? Why wasn’t Midoriya good enough? Good enough for anyone, really?

Midoriya felt his arm spasm and Kacchan’s normally narrow eyes went wide.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Midoriya replied, “just feels weird.” He could see why it would be alarming to most, especially if the spasming wasn’t voluntary on his part and the fact his arms were still healing with the rest of his body, but that was the least of Midoriya’s concerns.

“We should still ask about it,” Kirishima mentioned. “Here, I have your back brace. I can help you get it on if you want…? Or Kats can help.”

The morning routine after that was fairly similar to what Midoriya was slowly getting used to by now. It wasn’t necessarily ideal and it was really humiliating and frustrating because of the fact he had to be so dependent on Kacchan and Kirishima. Not only them, but also Uravity, who tagged along on the doctor's visit because her quirk helped transport Midoriya without many issues.

Oh, yeah. That fact made Midoriya all jittery.

For one, he got to talk to her as a friend, so to speak, instead of a pro hero. Her name was Uraraka and she was just as kind as she was in interviews. She was really bubbly and was really interested in what Midoriya had to say. But that wasn’t the main reason he was all jittery. The hospital wasn’t the reason either; the hospital didn’t compare to this.

Well, with Kacchan driving and Uraraka tagging along, the backseat was available. And while Midoriya could sit up, it proved to be uncomfortable for long periods of time. So he had to lay down in the back…leaving him to rest his legs across Kirishima’s lap. Originally the redhead offered for Midoriya to lay his head on his lap, but with Midoriya being unsure if it was safe(for his back and heart), he decided it would be best to use a flat pillow for his head and to rest his legs on Kirishima.

Then they would arrive at the hospital, with Kacchan going inside to get a wheelchair because he was still hesitant about Midoriya walking all that much. Neither of them wouldn’t let him unless they were sure he could walk.

The appointment went…fairly well. It was just a bit awkward for him to go to a doctor's appointment with three other adults with him. Usually he would be there by himself but with three other people, who were pro heroes mind you, it was an experience to say the least.

Especially when the three of them were so encouraging and happy for him and getting his stitches out. It was odd, getting that type of support. He was so used to doing things on his own and setting up these high expectations for himself that he never got to step back and even pat himself on the back. And here his..friends(?) were, celebrating even the smallest things. The realization only hit him when the doctor left the room to grab some papers with information about Midoriya’s surgery.

One more phrase about how exciting getting the stitches out was made the dam break.

“Oh- hey…” Uraraka had a sad tone to her voice mixed with worry; she was the first to notice, “Don’t cry. What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry,” Midoriya sniffled when he looked down at his arms. The doctor had him sit up so he could see how the stitches on his back were healing up. Apparently it was too early to take them out, but the stitches he had from the deep cuts on his arms were able to be taken out. Midoriya had to look away when they were being removed. He felt sick to his stomach and gagged when he looked or thought about this foreign object being attached to his skin and embedded in it. And to think they were pulling it out?

Kacchan must’ve noticed and Midoriya was thankful that the blond kept him distracted by talking to him while Kirishima talked to the doctor.

“Why’re you sorry for, dude? There’s nothing to be sorry for. Don’t be sorry for having feelings,” Kirishima’s voice was softened.

“It’s a lot, I guess,” Midoriya explained, “If it weren’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have anyone to help me.” His breath hitched when he sniffled. He tried to open his eyes wider and look off to the side to try and keep his tears at bay. His throat felt like it was going to close from trying to stop himself from crying. Unfortunately that just made him cough and his throat hurt.

“No one?” Uraraka echoed. Midoriya didn’t miss the look Kacchan gave her. He didn’t miss the way that Kirishima tried to reach out for him either or how Kacchan was subtly moving over to stand in front of the door. Midoriya only waved off Kirishima, trying to make his next few words at least make it sound like he was okay.

“Yeah,” Midoriya went with it, partly to show Kacchan he was fine with her asking, “I would’ve just had me, but I don’t think that’s enough.” Seemed like he failed at making his voice sound okay; Midoriya forgot about his previous quirk overuse and failed to remember how much it impacted his throat and ability to breathe.

Either Uraraka was unaware or she decided to wave away her concern. “Well we should probably introduce you to everyone else! Our class, I mean, you would fit right in with all of them-!”

“Cheeks-” Kacchan tried to warn harshly through gritted teeth. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the door.

“I mean I’d imagine everyone would love you!-”

“Oi-!” Kacchan gave a look and raised his voice to try and gather Uraraka’s attention again. “We need a minute!” Kacchan yelled back at the door, likely because the doctor was back. Kirishima looked like he wanted to help Kacchan but didn’t know why he should or what danger there was in her speaking.

“I mean, if anything it would be good if we were all able to help! Especially with these two working next week! One of us can help you, whoever is off of course!”

And there it was. The bombshell.

Painfully, Midoriya swallowed his cough and looked at Kirishima and Kacchan with what he knew was sadness and disappointment. “You…Kirishima is going back to work next week?” His voice sounded so small, even more so because of how his heart ached.

“Oh-!” Uraraka gasped as her eyes went wide. Her hands clamped over her mouth while she looked between all of them, “Was I not supposed to say that?”

“No fucking shit,” Kacchan hissed.

“Hey, we didn’t-…” Kirishima started and then stopped himself from speaking, like he was trying to think of what to say.

“Can we just hurry up and go?” Midoriya asked, his voice barely a whisper. He didn’t bother to make eye contact with Kirishima or Kacchan despite feeling their gazes burning into him.

He didn’t want to unpack all of these feelings he had in his head about the situation. Not right now, not in the room with them. He knew if he did, then he would just be a mess, so he forced himself to shut down and go through the motions when Kacchan finally let the doctor back in. Midoriya didn’t dare look at any of the three as the checkup came to a close.

Midoriya was thankful the doctor sensed the tension, and politely asked the other three to wait outside. As soon as the door shut, the doctor continued the rest of the checkup.

“So on your file it says you sustained quirk-related injuries. Damage to your throat. Can you elaborate a little on that?”

“Oh-” Midoriya had to cough and clear his throat when his voice came out wrong and scratchy, “It’s getting better…when the rubble was falling, I had to use my quirk to avoid larger objects from crushing us. My quirk allows me to move objects, like telekinesis, but I also have the option to set fire to the objects I control as well. It’s really janky- The fire burns my throat and stuff. Doesn’t feel good. My dad had fire breath as his quirk,” he cut off his summary when he noticed the growing boredom on the doctor’s face. Though, this doctor was better than most people. At least he didn’t interrupt or tell him to shut up and that ‘I didn’t need to hear your entire life story’.

“Okay…” the doctor scribbled something down, “Can you let me check that really quick?”

When Midoriya opened his mouth, the doctor probed and checked things before humming and going to write more things on his clipboard. “Okay. I’m going to prescribe you some more pain medication in addition to sleep medicine since you’re running low. If that irritates your throat to swallow, crush them in applesauce. Keep drinking fluids and get plenty of sleep, even including naps in the day. With injuries like yours, your body will be working harder to heal itself, so don’t be alarmed if you sleep a lot.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you so much,” Midoriya replied. He watched the doctor rewrap his arms with bandages, looking at the little pieces of tape in certain spots before they were covered with the bandages. He assumed the pieces of tape were where the stitches were. He mentally blanched at the sight and thought of them.

“Of course. Do you have any questions?” The doctor asked.

“Ah- no I’m alright. Thank you again.” He did have questions, but he’d rather not waste anymore of this doctor’s time. He could’ve asked if it was normal to black out at random times when he was trying to do some sort of physical activity, but Midoriya would rather just sweep that under the rug.

The doctor only nodded before opening the door, saying that Midoriya would just have to go to the front and schedule another checkup for his other stitch removal and plan out when he would start physical therapy.

Though when he was in his wheelchair, with the other three behind him, he didn’t schedule his physical therapy, only his next appointment. He could schedule physical therapy next time. When he was by himself.

He can- he should just go back to how things were. With no one to help him or support him. Yeah. He’s pretty sure it was best for everyone’s sake if he just shut his mouth and disappeared out of everyone’s lives as fast as he rushed into them. 

Notes:

I’ve been meaning to update this book, and I didn’t think it was that long ago that I haven’t updated till I checked.

Chapter 7: Distance

Summary:

Kirishima and Bakugo try to figure out how to repair the growing divide between them and Midoriya. But maybe they were too late to find a solution.

“We have to tell him something.”

“Well what the fuck do you think we should tell him? That we ‘forgot’ to fucking tell him?!” Katsuki whisper-shouted.

Kirishima was just as upset as he was over the whole thing. They wanted to be the ones to tell Midoriya about them going back to work, but they hadn’t had the time or it just wasn’t right. And for Uraraka to blurt it out didn’t exactly make things easy.

They wanted to explain that they would still be there as much as they could for him, and that they already thought about bringing in a stay-in nurse, but Katsuki felt uncomfortable about the idea. And for the record, Kirishima did too. To allow someone into their home, somewhere so private, felt so uncomfortable to think about.

But with Midoriya, well, Kirishima thought it would be uncomfortable at first, but it turned out to be just the opposite. Kirishima loved to wake up and head over to Midoriya’s room. (He and Katsuki started subconsciously referring to the guest room as being Midoriya’s room). Kirishima just loved to be able to see him safe and cared for while he stayed at their house. How they were able to get to know this kind and sweet person that was so brave and caring and selfless.

Kirishima loved his laughs, his little muttering when they watched something like a crime documentary or something about heroes in the news, loved his smile, his little sassy comments, the way his cheeks puffed out when he ate, the way his hands would sometimes move and twitch like they were writing down notes…

Midoriya was just so pretty. He was so cute and sweet and kind that one day…well, Kirishima might have subconsciously given him a kiss on the forehead goodnight.

It was a pure accident! He was a little too lost in the moment when he was watching a more lighthearted show with Midoriya, and he realized Midoriya didn’t react to a very shocking development like he usually did.

Sure enough, Kirishima looked over to see Midoriya’s head tilted to the side and his eyes shut. Kirishima saw hair covering his face and eyes, so the redhead used his good arm and started combing through green curls. And oh, it was something else Kirishima loved about Midoriya, he realized in that moment.

His curly hair was so cute, even despite it being a little greasy from Midoriya not being able to wash it properly in his condition. Mid-brush, Kirishima paused to look at Midoriya’s forehead, which was now exposed to him. It reminded Kirishima of when he would wipe away Katsuki’s bangs, and Kirishima couldn’t resist the urge to lean forward and press his lips to Midoriya’s forehead.

Kirishima felt satisfied, butterflies fluttering in his stomach before they died, their weight being replaced with a dumbbell instead of a light feather within a second. Mainly because he looked in the mirror on the nightstand to see Katsuki waiting and watching from the doorway.

As terrified as Kirishima was, he knew he had to turn and actually face Katsuki. It wouldn’t be manly for him to try to avoid his faults, and that he and Katsuki should talk it out-

“You like him that much?” Katsuki’s voice came out as a gentle whisper. They both knew that Midoriya had taken his sleep and pain meds and was knocked out for the night, yet Katsuki was still being cautious and…calm. If Kirishima didn’t know any better, he would think that Katsuki actually looked fond.

Wait a minute.

“You…I mean- he’s a really good friend-” Kirishima tried. There was no way Katsuki figured out that Kirishima liked Midoriya in less of a platonic way and more of a romantic way before Kirishima himself figured it out, right? But at the same time, Katsuki was very observant of his surroundings.

Did Kirishima really like Midoriya like that? Could he really picture himself being with Midoriya the same way he was with Katsuki? He really wasn’t sure, and he was scared to find out, because what would Katsuki think?

“Eijiro.” Katsuki gave a sharper look now, “Would someone who didn’t at least love him in some way go this far? We made a room for him in our house, Ei. Took him to doctors appointments and looked for the best Physical Therapists out there to help him and get him better. Got all this fancy equipment to make him more comfortable, and you’re still trying to…” Katsuki paused for a moment and huffed out a breath of air, like he was calming himself. “I get if you’re not comfortable. But at least man up and at least be a little aware of how you feel.”

Kirishima took a moment to pause, looking from Midoriya to Katsuki and decided to put some distance between himself and Midoriya first. “Well…what do you think? Do you like him? Are you going to…leave me for him?” Kirishima couldn’t help his eyes when they started to water.

“Ei, you dumb idiot,” Katsuki sighed and made his way to him faster than Kirishima could make an attempt to blink his tears away. “Of course not. I can’t leave you.”

“Then why did you-…” Kirishima felt the words get caught in his throat. Why would Katsuki phrase it like that’s what he was suggesting? Because Kirishima saw it. He thought he was being insecure and overthinking, but it made so much sense. Midoriya was such a natural-born hero, a hard worker, and so smart, all things Kirishima knew Katsuki loved in a person. And Midoriya was just better in all those aspects than Kirishima, so why wouldn’t Katsuki?

“Look. I knew…there’s this whole other thing with Deku. Liked the nerd since I could remember, but my younger self didn’t know how to handle it. Had all these feelings when I was around him for so long and then I just-…snapped. Tried to fix it, but by then it was too late. He moved to go to a different high school, and I never got to say I was sorry or how I felt. I was such an idiot…but then I found you, so I guess something went right.”

Kirishima was confused. So Katsuki…still had a crush on Midoriya…?

Katsuki shifted awkwardly, rubbing his hands together. Kirishima knew it was something he did when he was gathering his thoughts and readying himself to talk about a subject he didn’t know how to talk about. “But you’re not as emotionally constipated as me, so don’t make the same fucking mistake I did. Be your ‘manly’ self or whatever and at least try to man up to your feelings,” Katsuki explained, and Kirishima’s heart felt warm and only grew warmer when Katsuki smiled at Kirishima’s wet laugh.

“Okay. I think I do…I do like him. I like Midoriya a lot, Katsuki. Is that fine? If I like both of you guys?”

“Yeah. Cause I think I like the nerd, too. And you. You both aren’t…terrible to be around.”

Excited and relieved, Kirishima leapt forward into his boyfriend’s arms to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“No, that would make us sound like we didn’t prioritize it…” Kirishima mumbled as he brought himself back.

“But so would not saying shit! I-“

The sound of the doorbell ringing cut their conversation short, and soon Kirishima realized that it was already five o’ clock, the time they agreed Eri and Aizawa should visit.

“Ugh. Let’s get this shit show over with,” Katsuki must’ve realized the time as well when Kirishima went to get the door. Katsuki made his way to the kitchen, likely to get drinks and snacks for their guests.

Opening the door with his good arm, Kirishima was greeted with an over-enthusiastic Eri and an exhausted Aizawa, as if Eri had drained all of his energy and taken it for herself.

“Kiri-chan!” Eri greeted before he was given a hug. “Is Bakugo-kun here, too? I want to ask him something!”

“Hello to you, too, Eri.” Kirishima gave a small chuckle, “And yeah, he should be in the kitchen or our room! Just make sure you-…and she’s gone.”

“As usual…” Aizawa grumbled, stepping in when Kirishima moved out of the doorway. “She’s asking about drumming, by the way, so I hope you don’t mind if she comes over to use his drum set…if he allows it.”

“Aw, come on! Katsuki isn’t that harsh. You know he has a soft spot for Eri,” Kirishima gave a toothy smile down to his former teacher. But before he could leave the conversation as is when they headed to the living room, he had an idea. “Actually…if she can do us a favorrrr…” Kirishima began.

“Favor?” Aizawa didn’t seem interested.

“Well, we have this..friend. The building I got stuck under, the civilian that saved me is actually here…with us. He’s not a stranger, though! He’s a really nice guy,” Kirishima explained.

“Sounds like it. What kind of selfish person would risk his life to save someone else?”

“Right. But- if she does end up coming here after school, then maybe she could help him out a little? Keep him company? I know it’s not ideal, but he saved my life, and I want to make sure his recovery is as good as we can make it.”

“We? I’m surprised Bakugo even agreed to let him in the house with him being a stranger, even if he did save your life like you said he has..”

“Well, about that…he’s not a stranger…”

 

Midoriya had been aware of it. Kacchan and Kirishima’s whispered argument that more than likely had to do with him. Midoriya didn’t hear the details, but he didn’t think he could bear to, so he just turned the volume up on the tv more until he drifted off to it.

“Bakugo-kun..?”

Midoriya startled awake at the new voice. Barely awake, he tried to get up to look around the room. Only, he might have forgotten that most of his body was still in major recovery. So a hiss of pain might have slipped out.

“Oh-! I’m so sorry, mister. I keep forgetting which one is Kiri-chan and Bakugo-kun’s room,” the voice of a girl was what Midoriya was greeted with when he semi-recovered. It still didn’t help that his arms ached and his headache was back.

“It’s okay…” Midoriya tried to sound chipper to match the declaration, but his sorry state fell through in his weary voice.

A young girl with round red eyes popped into his vision, and Midoriya didn’t want to be rude by staring, but he found the horn on her forehead to be quite the spectacle. Maybe it had something to do with her quirk? Maybe her quirk was an emitter type? Was she able to shoot things from it?

“Eri!” A harsh whisper came from the doorway before it entered. “You can’t be in- shit. Deku, sorry she woke you up. This brat has a problem with getting in trouble.” It was Kacchan, and he seemed mad that Eri had come in to see him. Why? Did Kacchan and Kirishima not want people to know about him? That they were affiliated with him? Maybe they wanted to control who would see him, like Uraraka because she was likely to talk of Kacchan and Kirishima highly and talk about Midoriya like the charity case he was for them.

“She’s fine, Kacchan,” Midoriya mentioned. Though, he regretted speaking without drinking water first. He kept forgetting that his throat was still really sensitive because of his quirk overuse, so he ended up coughing to relieve the discomfort. “Um- Eri-chan, you can stay if you want? I don’t mind the company.”

“Sure- but what are you doing here? I know Bakugo-kun doesn’t really like a lot of visitors. Not even Ochako-chan, Mina-Chan, Kami-kun or the others like Nejire-chan and Lemillion!” Eri mentioned.

“Well, he’s very important.”

Midoriya didn’t usually feel irritated or upset when hearing his voice, but hearing Kacchan now made him feel that way.

“Ooh! Is he a hero, too?” Eri asked. Midoriya could see her when she started to vibrate in her spot, taking a seat on the stool Kirishima left by the bed.

“The best kind of hero,” Kacchan replied. “A hero that saves other heroes.”

“I didn’t do anything like that…” Midoriya mumbled. He felt his throat get tight with the anticipation of tears trying to pierce through. “I probably did more harm. If I wasn’t there, then Kirishima probably could’ve made it out before it collapsed.”

“Collapsed?” Eri sounded intrigued.

“Eijiro would’ve been there, anyway! He wouldn’t have known to go up to higher ground before the shit collapsed! You almost died, De-Izuku! Eijiro could’ve, too! His hardening wouldn’t have lasted, but you saved him,” Kacchan sounded so sure of himself, it was confusing. Why did it hurt and feel good being called a hero? Because it’s what Midoriya wanted to be, but he knew he wasn’t. All the hospital staff knew it, the media knew it, Midoriya knew it. It seemed like everyone knew but Kacchan and Kirishima.

Midoriya could only sit in his spot, unable to get up and walk away without help. Even as he was fighting back tears, he couldn’t run away.

Just as his ears started to feel stuffy, they cleared when a hand grazed his arm. “Is that why you’re all bandaged, Mister Deku? You got hurt?”

“Yeah…” Midoriya replied. He swallowed his saliva and with it, pushed back his tears, “But Kirishima is fine! And hopefully when he gets better, he can save more people!”

“But what about you?” Eri turned her head towards Kacchan. “Can I help him?”

“Help?” Midoriya mumbled.

“My quirk is re-wind! Kind of like a healing quirk but it rewinds time on your body before the injury happens. Your most-recent injuries will heal first, but my quirk developed more so other injuries around that time will heal faster!” Eri chirped out.

“Um- I’m thankful for the offer, Eri, but I’m just worried it might have drawbacks. For you and I. What if it doesn’t work because of my surgery?” Midoriya explained. He wouldn’t want to cause any more trouble.

“It doesn’t,” Kacchan was quick to say. Even when the blond was talking, Midoriya still refused to look at him. “It doesn’t hurt, and you’re just gonna need more sleep.”

“Yeah! I can help, Mister Deku!”

“I’m not sure-” thankfully they were interrupted by Aizawa and Kirishima coming in. Some words were exchanged before Eri made a point to show Midoriya how her quirk worked by using Kirishima’s arm as an example. Fascinated, he watched her touch his arm before her horn started to glow and grow. It wasn’t too long, and soon enough Kirishima was unwrapping his bad arm and moving it like normal.

Despite the show, Midoriya politely refused. He didn’t want her to waste her quirk.

 

When Eri and Aizawa left, Bakugo was mad yet…relieved. He thought he wanted Deku to take the offer to get healed by Eri, but some selfish part of him panicked and dreaded ever mentioning it. Because if Deku were healed, then he wouldn’t need them. He wouldn’t have to rely on them, and he wouldn’t be there with them.

He realized when Eijiro finally got back to going on patrol and not doing office work, they both took time during their lunch breaks to go visit Deku to see if he was alright. For the past couple days, Eri had been visiting after school with Aizawa to help keep Deku company. It was a relief, knowing someone was watching Deku. Hell, they even let some of the extras meet him earlier in the week so they could drop by.

All of them had gotten a rundown of Deku, and they all fuckin loved him. Of course they would, why wouldn’t they? And Deku seemed fine enough around them, laughing and making conversation. The only problem was that he hadn’t talked to them. It was making both him and Eijiro upset and anxious. They knew they needed to talk to him, and they really planned to, but-

“What do you mean,” Bakugo never strained his voice, but the noise came out when he heard what Todoroki said on the other side of the phone. “No- you’re fucking lying! Tell me the truth!”

“Bakugo…Midoriya is gone. He’s not here.”

Notes:

I’ve been meaning to update this but comms and such have been keeping me busy.

Chapter 8: Location

Summary:

Everyone finds out where exactly Midoriya disappeared off to.

Midoriya himself tried to navigate his life alone, once more.

Notes:

4586 words

“What do you mean he’s fucking gone?”

While Bakugo was a storm about to blow over, he was scared to imagine Eijiro’s reaction to the information. His boyfriend was happy-go-lucky most of the time, but if he knew that there was something wrong with any of his friends, he would be very upset, and given the circumstances- Eijiro would probably be pissed because it was Deku.

Bakugo remembered Kaminari and Ashido’s reciting of back in UA when he had been kidnapped, and how absolutely livid Eijiro had been. And that was before they started dating. Bakugo could only imagine how much worse it might be given it was Deku, especially with the state he was in.

“The door was wide open. Almost like forced entry, an intruder. None of his essentials were taken,” Icyhot was giving him information as he walked through the house, “Whoever did this is an ametur. That, or maybe they want to get caught.”

“They didn’t even take his fucking meds??? He needs those! He had fucking spinal surgery for fucks sake!” Bakugo hissed through the phone, questioning the details of the intrusion.

“Well, Bakugo, I don’t think villains really care about the well-being of…oh.”

“What???” Bakugo barked out. He was already pacing around his office. Thank the universe he wasn’t on his patrol route, otherwise he would’ve lost it completely.

“Maybe they did. I didn’t notice before, but his pills look like they were the only things taken. Other than Midoriya himself, but…”

“Stop trailing off, Icyhot Idiot! You’re gettin on my damn nerves so just tell me what it is so we can send out people to look for Deku! He can’t defend himself at fucking all right now, and he’s quirkless, now-“

“I’m looking at the door. It wasn’t kicked in, so it wasn’t brute force. It looks more so like the lock had been picked given the absence of markings. Or…someone found the key. Though that leaves the question of how they got into the gated community in the first place. I’ll head over to security for now to look at the cameras. But if anything is to go by, we’re looking more at brains than brute. Or maybe a mix of both. Two people, perhaps, one to come up with the plan, and one to somehow carry Midoriya out without a struggle.”

Yeah, that was no easy feat. Deku was fucking huge like Eijiro. Bigger, actually. Taller and wider than even his boyfriend. Not to mention how plush Deku was on top of that. So how they got Deku to get out of the house was a completely different mystery.

“The motive behind it might be what’s trickier. If they had the brains, they could’ve covered up their tracks and made it seem like they weren’t even here, and you wouldn’t have known Midoriya was gone until you got to the guest room. But they didn’t…like they wanted to strike fear into you or something…”

Despite the situation, Bakugo still somehow found it in himself to be able to poke fun at Half-and-Half, “Man. When the fuck did you get so analytical? Endeavors agency somehow got that pile of mush you call a brain to solidify a little, huh?”

“Actually, I think studying and working alongside Tenya did that just fine,” Todoroki hummed, which soon shifted to something like concern, “But you should tell Kirishima, soon. I’m sure he would want to kno-.”

“WHAT HAPPENED???”

Shit. It sounded like Eijiro got there. Likely to check on Deku because shit was probably slow in his patrol area.

Bakugo could only wince at the way Eijiro yelled, anger and sadness rolling off Eijiro through even the phone. “Fuck. I’ll let my assistant know- IcyHot, I’ll be there in a bit,” Bakugo only managed to get that much out before he was clicking the end call button.

He and Eijiro didn’t care what it took, he’s sure his boyfriend wouldn’t mind tearing the city apart to find Deku.

 

Midoriya had no idea what he was doing here.

One minute he was laying in the bed in the guest bedroom, and the next, he was being whisked away into a van. Now, he’s laying down on a table, weird gadgets and tubes filling his vision.

“Uh…” he murmured unintelligently, trying to lightly interrupt the rambling of the woman bumbling around the table he was lying on. Was this what people felt like when he muttered? If he lives, he promised he would try his best to never mutter again.

“-your file mentioned a fire quirk, but I did some digging. Of course I would wanna know more about the guy that saved Red Riot! Especially with your quirk. Very interesting! It’s like fire breath and telekinesis, like pyrokinesis but not. I only got the gist of it from Riot’s verbal statement, but there was no video. I wanna make some babies for you to see if it would help it! Fire quirks are so fun, but Hero Shoto won’t let me near him. Or- his boyfriend won’t. Bummer. So does it have to have a huge vessel for it to work? You’ve got a big, soft gut to work with, here! You’re a giant! How tall are you? You’re not even standing up and I feel like you’re big! And the rest of your body has some padding too, huh?”

Midoriya wanted to drown in embarrassment when he was touched so freely, especially with this woman he didn’t know. He couldn’t see much since he couldn’t sit up with his back being how it was but his arms had most of their feeling back. Still, he could feel her larger chest push against his belly as she felt him.

She had pink hair, and he could barely note her yellow eyes from how much she was moving.

“It just- runs in the family…?” Midoriya replied hesitantly, thrown a little off guard by her bluntness- and kind of rude comment, “I’m not made to be a hero, so I gave up. I wanted to, but if I use it, the doctor said I could end up with lasting damage to my throat. Plus, other complications...”

“Well you sure do have the heart of a hero, diving in there to save Riot! I saw all your injuries, so I took the time to make a baby that could lift and move you without hurting your back.”

Midoriya sputtered, “You…planned out kidnapping me?”

“Duh! Riot and Dynamight would hang me if I tried testing out some of my babies on you at their house- they wouldn’t even let me in- so I figured I would do it in my lab!”

“So…you know them?” Midoriya wanted to clarify. He would at least feel a little less on edge if he knew this lady wasn’t going to hurt him. From the way she was talking, it seemed like she knew Kirishima and Kacchan, but he couldn’t really be sure.

“Oh- yeah! I thought I was forgetting something. I’m Hatsume! Your kidnapper! I knew like all of their class since UA- I was in school around the same time!”

Ignoring the kidnapping part, Midoriya gasped, “Like- Hatsume as in the inventor? The one who works on all different kinds of support gear and costumes for current heroes? Oh my gosh- I love the support items you make!”

“The one and only! Now, tell me more about your quirk so I can get some babies for ya!”

Despite his wariness before, he learned that Hatsume was a very loud and vocal person, and her bluntness was only part of her personality. Though, it also meant that she was very honest, and Midoriya was grateful when hearing the praises she had about his quirk.

He silently preened at her compliments, soaking it in and allowing it to try and patch up the gaping holes left in his heart from doctors and nurses who had done just the opposite. Sneers and eye rolls, snarks and backhanded talks when he was at either hospital. Soured comments about how he shouldn’t have tried to be hero, and how maybe it would’ve been better if he had died instead, maybe in his next life he would be a hero- and even have the body of one.

‘Take a swan dive…’

Ka- Bakugo…

Regardless of their help, Midoriya decided that maybe his way of thanking them for their help would be to just- leave their lives as quickly as he came. It was obvious that the two of them were together, and they probably only wanted to help out of obligation since they have it in their heads that Midoriya saved Kirishima.

‘All you did was get in the way.’

“-so your quirk allows you to-”

‘If you weren’t there, Red Riot wouldn’t be out of commission!’

“-and the items you set on fire-“ He wasn’t listening to her.

‘My daughter wanted to go to his merchandise signing this weekend! How is he supposed to sign anything, now?’

“-You’re able to control those like telekinesis-“

‘Useless.’

“-At the risk of-“

‘Waste of space.’

“-and the activation of the quirk was from a quirk awakening meaning-…”

‘Pathetic.’

“Hatsume,” he cut in. He waited a moment before the inventor’s babbles cut off. He turned to her as best as he could in his condition, “Would you be able to make some…babies…that help with mobility and injuries like mine?”

If they weren’t going to do it, then Midoriya would make the decision for them. Maybe they were too kind, stubborn, or felt to guilty to do so, but Midoriya shouldn’t have much trouble cutting himself from their lives.

He could go back to being alone. Even if it killed him.

 

Kirishima had the question at the back of his mind for a while, but lately, no time ever seemed to be ‘right’.

Between hero work, press interviews, paperwork, and getting updates from their (very worried) friends about where Midoriya might be, they never actually…sat down and talked about it. And it had been almost a week and a half.

But now, watching Katsuki pace back and forth waiting on a phone call, for some reason in Kirishima’s mind was the perfect time.

“Why do you think he left?” Kirishima mumbled, his head in his palm while the other fiddled with a snack he had yet to eat. The silence that followed was suffocating, and Kirishima half regretted asking. But he knew Katsuki, and knew he needed to give his boyfriend time to choose his words. Yet, Kirishima became too antsy with the silence, and asked another question, “Do you think he found out? About us liking him?”

The response wasn’t instant in the least, but Kirishima at least knew Katsuki intended on answering it. Just not right away. His slowed pace and quick flicker of his eyes told Kirishima he at least heard what he said.

Then, a sigh finally came.

“Deku is an overthinker. He gets overwhelmed by his thoughts, surroundings, people’s words. He’ll take everything to heart. It’s what makes him a good friend, but also a terrible one. Because he’s selfless, but never knows when to stop. He’ll pull himself apart just so someone could smile. And if he somehow thought that getting away from us would make us happy, then he must’ve done so.”

It took a moment to flip the words around in his mind, but once he processed everything, Kirishima frowned. “So…you’re saying that he thought we were upset about him being here? Why would he think that? Didn’t he notice that whenever we would watch a movie I would try to get as close to him as I could without making him uncomfortable? How we took care of him? How we would’ve given him whatever he asked for?”

Katsuki finally put an end to Kirishima’s rambling with a scoff of disbelief. “The nerd probably thought he was being a burden. It was probably eating away at him so much that it blinded him. Made him unable to see any of the signs.”

And in a way, they were blind themselves for not being able to see that Midoriya was suffering in silence. That he was struggling with something other than his injuries.

He was hurting in a different way and neither of them realized until then.

“We’re horrible, Katsuki,” Kirishima finally cried out, hands coming up to his hair when his emotions finally spilled over. “We have to- we need to find him, again. We need him to know—“ Kirishima choked on his words, but all he could think about was Midoriya. How he must be in so much pain, physically and emotionally, how he must feel so lost and confused. And oh, Kirishima knew that the moment that they had him again, they wouldn’t let him go until he knew that they cared for him more than he could know.

Katsuki never got a reply, because soon, the phone call he was waiting on had come in. And he had wasted no time with pleasantries.

“So what did the hospital say? Are they gonna let us access his files to see if another hospital admitted him?”

Kirishima, despite his tears, listened in on the conversation, watching Katsuki put the phone on speaker as Todoroki’s voice filtered through.

“Well, Uraraka got us kicked out after she demanded the staff let us. She claimed it was for an investigation, but they didn’t appreciate the fact we didn’t have a warrant. So then-”

Katsuki groaned in agitation, “What? So why the fuck are you calling me then, IcyHot?”

“You told me to,” came Todoroki’s infamous monotonous reply.

“I didn’t say to call me when you want to tell me about how your day went. I said to call when you have a lead or some shit on—”

“They recovered the security footage!” Uraraka piped in.

Kirishima’s head shot up. They had been waiting for it to be released to them. There has somehow been a glitch in the filming at the time that Midoriya had been taken, so they had absolutely no leads. They never figured out how Midoriya was taken, or even if someone had taken him, but hearing that they had gotten the footage was huge news.

“What did it show?” Kirishima now urged.

“Well…”

 

“WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT PINKIE HAIRED PONYTAIL BITCH?”

Kirishima normally wouldn’t condone that type of behavior from Katsuki. He was usually the calmer one, down-to-earth guy.

But he was willing to forgo that.

The footage had shown Hatsume of all people using some devices to transport Midoriya to a van she had. A plumbing van, meaning she must’ve planned everything, thought of how to get past their gated community and wire the cameras.

And she didn’t even tell them. Kirishima wanted to scream, because how could she do that? They’d been worried sick all week, and there she was, sitting with the answer to their problems the whole time.

The receptionist at the desk of the Invention Center Hatsume worked at didn’t seem too phased or amused. “Hatsume is currently busy, Mr. Dyna-”

Kirishima turned and walked to the table. He gave a forced smile while he gritted out, “Where the fuck. Is she?”

They got their answer right away, and soon enough, they were face to face with Hatsume.

She didn’t even looked surprised to see them was the worst part. All she had to say for herself was, “Oh! I almost forgot about you guys. I was wondering when you were gonna come looking for— or if you were going to come looking for-”

“Shut your fucking mouth and tell us where the HELL he is!” Katsuki seemed more out of patience than Kirishima.

“Sure!” Despite the threat, Hatsume was still smiling as he pulled up a small device.

“You put— WHAT THE FUCK? That’s one of your fucking tracking devices you put on some of the shit you make. And I sure as HELL know you would only put one if you sent someone off with your shit,” Katsuki hissed.

At the realization of what that meant Kirishima got into Hatsume’s space, “YOU LET HIM GO? Don’t you know how much pain he’s probably in?!!? He’s probably half dead now because of you! If you let him—”

“I gave him some babies to help with mobility,” Hatsume cut in, “He insisted, and besides, it’s not like I couldn’t. I owed him for helping me out with some of my babies!”

Suddenly all anger in him was snuffed out.

Kirishima’s throat went dry, but he still croaked out a weak, “What…?”

Did Midoriya want to leave them that badly? That he would risk himself getting hurt just so he wouldn’t have to be around him? And to think that he let someone he barely knew know this kind of stuff.

“He just asked if I could whip up some things to help with injuries like his! He actually helped with the design and functions— he’s not bad, actually! I could see him—…”

For the first time ever, it seemed Hatsume was at a loss for words. She stared at her screen, and Kirishima wanted to ask, but the pink haired inventor shook her head in disbelief. Somehow, despite the shock, a smile came onto her face.

“I like this guy! He was able to mod those babies of mine and rewire them,” Hatsume grinned.

“Okay, yeah. Whatever. Deku’s smart as shit. Now fucking tell us where to find him,” Katsuki was obviously likely impacted by the implication that Midoriya had gone to such lengths to get away from them. And honestly? They would cross that bridge when they get there. All Kirishima wanted was to see and hear from Midoriya to make sure he was all right.

Hatsume turned around to look at them while she fiddled with the screen, “Well, that’s the thing. He modified them and took out the tracking device.”

 

“Mister…Midoriya…?”

Midoriya was almost ready to stand up, but quickly realized his issue when the remembered the wheelchair he was sitting in.

It made him feel horrible. He was so…useless.

He had half the mind to seek out comfort from someone— anyone. He had gone through a fairly traumatic event, after all, and he had yet to actually voice out his feelings and experiences about the matter.

He didn’t want to make Kirishima feel bad, after all.

Midoriya held everything in, his heart bleeding for the red haired hero when he had looked so sad at the mention of anything relating to the incident. Instead, he tried to put on this happy persona.

But after hearing that Kirishima was going back to work, well, he realized that he couldn’t keep going on without that persona. Not if he didn’t want all of his walls to crumble down in front of them.

Because he knew he would let his walls down for them. The pair had grown so close to his heart so quickly that—…Midoriya was sure that what he was feeling towards them was more than what they probably felt for him.

He had to put a stop to those thoughts once he was led to the doctor’s office. The doctor talked about his progress, and talked about physical therapy. Since it had been so long since he was supposed to be on track, the doctor had called up the physical therapist that would help him regain movement and strength in his legs and back.

Midoriya only nodded along, laying on the table in the middle of the room as a kind woman entered the room.

He thought it would be an easy little session, and that it was just going to be small exercises before they did the real thing during his first session tomorrow.

He didn’t expect to be gripping the table under him and shouting in pain. His whole body stiffened up, and he urged himself not to pull away from her as he cried out, feeling her bend his leg in a way that felt like she would crack it in half.

During the fall, he had torn some ligaments in his legs that needed fixing, which was also partially why he hadn’t been able to walk around all too much by himself. He really didn’t think it was a big deal, especially since they had repaired it, but he was severely wrong.

At the end of it, he was panting for breath, looking at the woman when all she had done was give him a weak smile.

“It’ll be painful for a while, but it’ll get easier soon enough. Now we’re going to do a couple exercises for your spine, and you’ll be good to go! You would just need a schedule made, and then the front desk should help with paperwork for an at-home machine to use every day for fixing your range of motion,” she at least looked sympathetic. A small plus from the doctors Midoriya had worked with before.

She didn’t offer any comfort, though, and Midoriya almost cried at how much he craved it at that moment.

It had been why he had ordered some groceries to be delivered to his house. Hopefully, a movie and some snacks would give him some sort of solace, just like it always had. Because it was really all that he had, and it looked like it was going to stay that way.

What he least expected was for something to happen while he was asking the guy who delivered the groceries for some assistance.

He was nice, at least. Or, it was more like he had been trying to get his job done for the most part, but he did show some compassion.

In the aspect that he freaked out when Midoriya let out a yell of pain and dropped the bag he had been holding.

“Uh- shit! What’s— hello? Sir, do I need to do something?” And it’s no wonder the guy was freaking out, Midoriya’s arm started spasming. Normally, it wasn’t an issue, but the fact that he was in his wheelchair made it an issue, because he didn’t have good support for his back.

Pain shot up his spine from the sudden jerking around, and Midoriya felt every last bit of it since his meds were out of his system.

“What do I do? Should I call an ambulance?” The guy was talking, but no longer to Midoriya, as one of his nearby neighbors must’ve heard the commotion.

“Please no ambulance!” Midoriya was able to grit out. He couldn’t afford another hospital trip. “I’m fine,” he managed.

His version of fine wasn’t good enough in the end.

Soon, he was laying on his couch, glum while he watched his groceries being put away.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could say. “You shouldn’t have to do this.”

The guy that wanted to help and his neighbor ended up agreeing that they needed help, but given that Midoriya didn’t want an ambulance, they decided on something different.

“It’s not a big deal. And it shouldn’t be,” a low, monotone voice sounded out before the hero was coming up to Midoriya on the pull-out couch and crouching down. “It’s a good thing, anyways. We were all worried,” Hero Shoto put a hand on his arm, making Midoriya’s breath hitch a little.

“Yeah! What were you thinking about that? Everyone was going crazy trying to find you, you know,” Chargebolt was next, still putting the last few things in the fridge.

“Sorry…” was all Midoriya could mumble, “I just— didn’t want to be a bother anymore…”

There. He said what everyone was thinking. It was out in the open.

On his side, Hero Shoto only tilted his head and frowned, like someone told him something so confusing. “To who? Everyone wanted to help you. You were never a bother. Kirishima and Bakugo were especially worried. They do seem rather—”

Chargebolt had coughed abruptly, making Hero Shoto stop talking.

“Ah. Right.” And then they both nodded to each other. …what?

“They would be more than happy to have you back at their place, I’m sure,” Chargebolt smiled. “Come on, I’m sure they’re dying to know where you are. They’ve been worried sick. I’ll—”

“No!” Midoriya couldn’t stop the tears once they started. “You can’t— I don’t want to have to rely on them anymore. I know they made room for me, and they’re really nice, but…I just feel like I’m intruding. And I don’t think that’s fair to them if they have to accommodate me.”

Midoriya wasn’t oblivious to the stolen kisses, love filled looks, or flirty comments behind closed doors. He’s known about the couple, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.

“Ah…I see,” Hero Shoto hummed.

“You could stay at my place!” Chargebolt gave a giddy reply, “And all we would have to do is just let everyone know you’re staying with a friend.”

Midoriya didn’t even get a chance to argue his case. “But Kirishima visits you. He could stay at mine. It’s closer to the hospital Uraraka mentioned him going to for appointments. Or, I can arrange the doctor to come in himself,” Hero Shoto opted.

“Ah. Right. Him and Bakugo would barge right in and probably find him. Your house it is!” Chargebolt confirmed, “But can I visit? I wanna see Midoriya— we didn’t ever finish that episode we were watching.”

“Sure. I’ll—”

“I can just stay here,” Midoriya interrupted. Both heroes had turned to him in an instant. “I shouldn’t have to rely on any of you so much. I don’t want to be a liability, and I don’t want to be like—some sort of house pet you come home to and have to take care of.” It’s really how he felt, with the way he just sat around all day. It had been driving him mad, so he was actually more than happy to be at his apartment, despite its beat-down state. He was finally able to start looking for other employers that would hire him.

And if he were honest, that hadn’t been going well— not that he would let anyone know that.

So maybe money had been tighter, and maybe he was dipping into his savings, but Midoriya didn’t want to beg for help, even if he was struggling. He didn’t want to make anyone feel obligated to help him, nor did he want to feel like he had to owe someone for helping him like they did.

He would surely have to send a thank you basket to Kirishima and Ka- Bakugo sooner or later.

With a bit of hesitation, Chargebolt sighed, “Alright. We’re not gonna force you or anything.”

“We’re going to stop by every so often,” Hero Shoto made sure to remind him, saying it like there was no room for argument. “And we’re at least going to tell everyone and Kirishima and Bakugo that you’re alright.”

Chargebolt winced at the mention of them. “Oh. Yeah. They were freaking out. Not to mention how hard they’ve been going at sparring matches lately.”

Midoriya deflated at the mention of them. “I’ll…give them a call. Or text them myself,” Midoriya replied. It wasn’t really fair to them with how abruptly he left, especially with how much they had taken care of him. He at least owed them an apology and explanation first hand rather than from himself.

Which, maybe, wasn't a good idea, after all.

As soon as he unblocked them, he found heaps upon heaps of missed calls, texts, and voicemails.

Oh boy.

Notes:

Sorry u was falling asleep updating this

Chapter 9: Isolation

Summary:

Midoriya has some guests visit.

Unfortunately for him, things don’t turn out as planned.

“Midoriya, please.”

Midoriya stayed silent behind the door.

He just— he was frustrated. Mostly with himself. Either way, he didn’t want the heroes behind the door in his house.

He knew he said he would let them visit, but now, thinking of the mess of the apartment and the state he himself was in, well…he regretted it.

Midoriya didn’t want anyone to see him like this. So weak, useless, pathetic. He didn’t want them to take pity on him or act like they cared just because he was the poor, broken civilian. He didn’t want them to make a big deal out of his injuries. Because that’s all anyone saw when they looked at him, now. All they saw were his injuries. Which wasn't too different from before, when all anyone saw was his weight, but this was bad in a different sense.

It’s like everyone was treating him like delicate glass.

At least when he got looks of disgust and pointed looks for his weight, he didn’t have to face it head-on. He could ignore that and try to drown himself in work, busying himself to the point of not being able to acknowledge any of that. But with this new…being injured thing, it was making him feel good.

And it was so horrible because of that.

He was being cared for. Midoriya finally felt like he mattered, and that people actually wanted him around. But what was the point of letting them in when he knew he was only building up to break his own heart?

The happiness was temporary. He was only getting a taste of a life he knew he would never have… People caring for him the same way he cared for others. He just— he knew it was all fabricated. He knew it was all just because he was injured, and that all the heroes involved felt bad.

He knew all of this, so why did it hurt so much when he heard Kirishima was going back to hero work?

Midoriya sat and thought about it. He picked through his feelings, his thoughts. Wondering why he had been so hurt and angry that not only was Kirishima going back to work, but they didn’t tell him. Kirishima and Ka- Bakugo said they would have people helping him when they were gone, so there was no way that the hurt he felt could be chalked up to loneliness. He got his answer in a devastating realization.

He was only hurting because he felt like they were leaving him behind. He only felt like he was being torn up from the inside because they didn’t feel like it was a big deal to tell him, because, in their minds, they were already letting go of him. Leaving him behind because he was getting better.

And if Midoriya was better, they would forget about him completely. Because if he was better, then their guilt would disappear.

It’s why Midoriya just decided to take matters into his own hands. He would rip the bandaid off himself and leave. He wouldn’t mind getting out of their way so they can go back to their normal lives, guilt-free.

And Midoriya texted them, explaining that he was fine. That he was well on his way to recovery.

Physically, at least.

Midoriya: Sorry for not responding! I know you two are busy, but I’m okay. I should’ve sent something sooner, but I got caught up with some stuff. I really do appreciate your hospitality, but I found a way to do things myself! Hatsume helped out.

Midoriya: So I’m fine! Thank you for all your help!

Midoriya groaned and chucked his phone away after that, regretting the overly-cheery message that would hopefully ease their minds and leave him alone.

Yet, another selfish part of him didn’t want them to forget him. Midoriya didn’t want to be just another thing that happened, just another grain in the sand…he wanted to be something bigger than that.

He wanted to think that they cared enough for him not to just be a small thing that happened.

It’s why, during the days he put them on silent, scared to find that they never even replied to his message, he sent them a thank-you basket. And he made sure to include a thank-you note, just so they knew it was him.

And he knew they probably dismissed it. Those two probably got thank-you gifts all the time, or even fan mail of all kinds daily.

It was just another reason for Midoriya to distance himself. They were in two separate worlds.

“Midoriya… come on, we know you’re in there.”

And Midoriya didn’t want to get used to being somewhere he didn’t belong, because he knew he was an alien. It was better just to stay on his own planet where he belonged.

So when Hero Shoto and Chargebolt tried to visit, Midoriya stayed silent and tried to pretend he wasn’t home. He knew it likely wasn’t the most believable idea given his limited mobility, and he knew the other two didn’t buy it either.

Because even with their goodbye, Midoriya saw a paper get slipped under his door, leading him to get the bags of takeout left outside of his apartment door when he was sure they left.

And Midoriya had cried as he ate the takeout, feeling so terrible and angry at himself for doing what he did.

Why did he have such a hard time letting people in? He knew Chargebolt and Hero Shoto were good and nice, and that they had no ill-intentions, so why couldn’t Midoriya just accept that? Just because he was scared that if he started to build up a relationship of any kind, then it would just crumble like—

“You’re such a useless Deku.”

He felt sick to his stomach.

One look at the takeout he had been eating while crying just broke him.

Here he was, eating his feelings away. Maybe he really was useless. There were these heroes who had such busy, successful lives, yet still found the time to try and talk to someone as small and insignificant as him.

And all he could do was ignore them and then indulge himself, stuff his face like a pig.

Midoriya’s heartbeat grew frantic as he stared at the food, feeling like his heart was partially in his throat and partially trying to claw its way out of his chest.

Soon enough, he was popping his sleep and pain meds into him, hoping they would calm him down and make him sleep away his worries.

 

Unknown number: You’re fucking dead.

It was one of the last of the million replies that were sent after Midoriya sent his message to Bakugo and Kirishima a couple days ago.

When Midoriya finally unblocked it today, he was hoping for at least one message, fearing he would be left on read in a worst-case scenario. What he wasn’t expecting, however, were dozens of messages, with the last one being the most recent.

He only unsilenced the chat he made with Kirishima and Bakugo because he was looking for something to do as he waited for his next physical therapy session. And what better idea was it to distract himself from a stressful situation than to making him face another?

The most recent had to be from Bakugo. He couldn’t see Kirishima saying that to someone. Not even someone he hated.

Before Midoriya could even linger on the message longer, he had been called out as his physical therapist entered the office with a smile. All Midoriya could do was smile back while he used his wheelchair despite the ache in his arms.

Yet, he knew that after he was done, his arms wouldn’t be the only thing aching. Because his physical therapist said they were going to try some different exercises to get the ball rolling.

Midoriya internally groaned at the thought of the pain, but something within him lit up at the challenge, thinking of ways he could go further so he could get better faster. After all, he did have use of his arms back. The sooner he could get better, the sooner he wouldn’t have anyone worried about him.

The sooner his life would be back to normal.

So despite the pain, Midoriya pushed through with gritted teeth.

 

After what felt like an eternity, he was out of the hospital and on his way back home.

He had been working from home given the collapsed building and all, but he had also been looking for new places to work just because with the company’s loss, they announced that there would likely be some cuts.

Midoriya was anticipating one of them to be him, so he had been on the hunt.

Calls came and went, but none of them were successful. Applications upon applications, yet, nothing.

The thought made him feel anxious. A lingering thought in the back of his mind that weighed on him heavily throughout the day. What would happen if they fired him and he didn’t have another job backed up? At the rate he was going, he wasn’t going to be employed again. If he didn’t have a job…well, he wouldn’t have anyone to turn to for support. And that thought scared him.

It was bad enough as it was, dealing with everything himself. And he supposed it was partially his fault for that since he pushed everyone away, but he also didn’t want to burden them. He could manage. Just like he always had.

Exhausted from the day once he used the rest of the mobility support to help him, Midoriya was ready to go to bed despite it only being 8:30.

Yet—

Knocking on his door interrupted his nightly routine.

What do they want? Midoriya had to wonder as he went to the door. “I already told you two—” Midoriya began, ready to try and get Chargebolt and Hero Shoto to leave. He hesitated, thinking of just two days ago when they left him food and other things at his front step. Guilt started to form within him, guilt for treating them like he had when they were only trying to help. “Alright,” Midoriya sighed and clicked the locks open. “I’m sorry for how I-…”

Midoriya hesitated when the door pushed open itself right when he let the locks up. That wasn’t like Chargebolt and Hero Shoto to barge in. They normally waited.

From his wheelchair, Midoriya looked up to meet two pairs of red eyes.

Ah. Shit.

 

Bakugo wanted to do a lot of things at that moment.

While they were heading here, the ride was silent while they were both collecting their thoughts of what they wanted to say when they finally saw Deku again.

But now? All Bakugo could do was sit and take in Deku’s appearance while his own eyes started watering. Because they were worried sick about the nerd. They were stressed, high-strung, and anxious about all the things that could go wrong with him. Seeing him now was just a relief, seeing that he was doing okay.

So why did Bakugo’s heart feel like it was breaking instead of being elated with relief?

Seeing Deku how he looked just made Bakugo upset, and obviously Eijiro too, since his boyfriend let out a sob before he crouched down to give Deku the tightest hug he could manage without hurting Deku.

Yet, Deku looked apprehensive, like he wasn’t anticipating that they would be there. Of fucking course they would be there. They’d been on their friends asses asking if they saw Deku anywhere. They’d been searching and trying to find him, but nothing helped. The only way they got a lead was when they got a basket from Deku himself. Then before that was Denki and Shoto say that Deku was alright and that they ‘saw him at the hospital’. Bullshit. Because sure enough, Bakugo worked with Hatsume in order to check their locations. Guess she was somewhat of good use, since the tracking devices she used for heroes’ support equipment could be used to see where Denki and Shoto had been going to for their breaks.

Bakugo could only gauge a general location from the devices, so Hatsume could only help so much.

The other half came from Izuku himself. Because Bakugo was able to figure out what mailer Izuku used by using up some favors, and eventually got the return address.

It wasn’t a surprise that when Bakugo found out nearly an hour prior, that Eijiro was insisting that they leave work to deal with it. Jeanist gave Bakugo a bit of a headache about it, but Eijiro said Fatgum was all for it.

Bakugo guessed he just felt a little… betrayed by the fact that Izuku seemed just fine without them.

Not wanting to dwell on those feelings, Bakugo shut the door behind him and invited himself and Eijiro in. Like hell they were going to let Izuku kick them out. They weren’t leaving without a fight. No, they were fucking pissed, and judging by how Eijiro was already fussing and clinging to Izuku, it was safe to say that they were going to take care of the nerd like they should’ve been doing.

And they weren’t gonna take no as an answer. They sure as hell weren’t going to do it subtly, either. No. They were gonna smother the nerd with more affection than he could handle or know what to do with whether he wanted it or not. 

If the stubborn asshole would let them. 

Chapter 10: Reunion

Summary:

Midoriya faces Bakugo and Kirishima again.

Despite the warmth of a bone-crushing hug, Midoriya felt as if his whole world was crumbling right before his eyes.

Seeing these two, noticing the state they were in…it was Midoriya’s fault, wasn’t it?

It wasn’t like he planned on it, or that he thought they would care that he wasn’t in their care or in contact with them anymore, but seeing them both? Crying over him, seemingly worried sick about his health, dragging themselves across town this late at night just to check up on him— it was absurd. He didn’t think anyone cared about him like that anymore. Why should they? He wasn’t anyone special, he was quite the opposite! He couldn’t give them any sort of benefit— not with friendship or money, so why did they care so much?

Midoriya fully believed that he was going to be dropped. It was the reason he wanted to do something about it first, so it would hurt a little less if he were the one that cut things off. He was so used to it, and Kacchan had even done it himself before. Midoriya knew what it was like to give up everything, to make a fool of himself and to do whatever it took to make himself fit in, to be accepted, but nothing he did was good enough.

Not for his friends, who cut him out at such a young age, and even further down the line when he made a friend in middle school on a class trip, just for them to turn him down when they heard of his ‘nonexistent’ quirk. (As his classmates ruined it for him despite his late development of one; he never bothered correcting anyone on his ‘quirklessness’ because there was no point. They wouldn’t believe him, especially if he couldn’t show it because it would cause harm to himself and others.)

He didn’t even feel good enough for his mother when she was around. For her to doubt him, for her to treat him like he was something fragile after the announcement of his original quirklessness. She would always tip-toe around anything hero related, and obviously had no sort of belief in him that he could do it. Not even when he developed it late in middle school, she didn’t show any sort of encouragement or enthusiasm for him and hero work. It was only a dream he had, one that he would eventually lock away because it wasn’t one he could share with her.

Though, business was one he could; she was overjoyed when he announced the high school he would be attending, and afterwards, what college. She was there every step of the way, giving him any sort of tool he would need, even working extra shifts to contribute to his business endeavors. All while his hero analysis notebooks rotted away, collecting cobwebs and dust, drifting away with his passion and dreams he once had.

His drive vanished after his mother passed.

Day by day, he was going through the motions. When his mother passed, he felt like something in him had died with her.

Or maybe he did.

She was the reason he went into business. Without her, he didn’t really amount to anything. Him going into business felt like it was something she planned, something she knew for sure would happen, or at least wanted to happen. It was no fault of his mother’s that he chose business, no, it was his choice, but he only chose it to make her happy. To see her smile and look relieved now that he stopped talking about hero work.

And now? There wasn't really a point in it, anymore. Not in business, not working, not even really living. He was just stuck. Stuck in an office job that he didn't like, and with nothing to really show for. He had no talent, no drive, no motivation to do anything. Because what was he to do if the only thing that kept him going was his mother's constant approval? That the only thing that he could really find happiness in was making her proud of him?

These thoughts consumed him whole, filling his mind and festering— he couldn't take it. It was exactly the reason why he tried to get back into focusing on hero things. He kept up with news and such, sure, but despite what he dreamed of and loved, he couldn't bring himself to touch a notebook— to even go near analyzing quirks in fear it would somehow upset his dead mother.

So with his lack of drive and passion, he almost died. Twice. The first with Kirishima. He didn’t really care if he lived or died at that point in time. All he was really worried about was getting the redhead safe, getting him out of there alive. Really, he could've died then and not have cared. It would have been great, actually. Perfect, even.

His life had already been terrible enough. But after surgery? A whole other nightmare.

The only good part of it was not having to stress about paying for surgery, since for some reason Kacchan and Eijiro covered those expenses without a thought.

The rest?

Midoriya had always been independent. Prided himself on it, even. It was really the only thing he really had going for him, especially when he was encouraged to keep that sort of behavior ingrained into him by adults. When he was younger, the only thing he was really praised on was that he was so mature for his age, so responsible, so independent, going out for groceries for his mother, taking on extra side jobs.

It had been why living with Kirishima and Kacchan was such a struggle for him.

He never liked to show weakness, or rather, to be perceived as weak. He was always a crybaby, but he never wanted that to be known when it was all his bullies would point fun at beside his quirklessness. (Or his weight when he got older.) So it was difficult not to look like a fool in front of the heroes.

Heroes. People who actually made a difference, people who went out there everyday to risk their lives, someone that people relied on. And there Midoriya was, having to waste their day, make them worry after a long day of helping others, just to come home and have to deal with Midoriya. They should be able to live their lives and have fun! They should be able to relax when they come home, and be, well, a couple!

It was unbearable. Especially with how sweet the two were— Midoriya just couldn't take it anymore. He felt so useless and helpless, beating himself up about how horrible it was, how he should've died saving Kirishima. It would've been better that way. At least then the two heroes wouldn't have to be stuck with someone as hopeless as Midoriya in their lives.

Since they were too kind and couldn't kick him out, Midoriya wanted to make the choice for them. He would much rather try and struggle by himself in the comfort of his apartment than make people help him that shouldn't have to take care of him. They shouldn't feel obligated to, and Midoriya only knew that their concern only came from a feeling of obligation and guilt.

But it was okay! Midoriya understood…

So he left.

He left their house and chose to fend for himself, despite the struggles.

Midoriya didn't care about the full body aches when he used Hatsume's equipment for longer than he was supposed to. As long as he didn't have to make Kirishima or Kacchan do it after everything else they've done.

He didn't care about the head splitting migraines he got because he pushed himself to sit in front of his computer screen for hours and do remote work to have some money in his account. As long as he didn't have to waste any more of their money.

He didn't care if on some days, he would get sharp, stabbing pains in his body because he couldn't find it in himself to get up and make food to take his medicine. It would save Kacchan time.

He didn't care if sometimes he would be sobbing on the ground in so much pain and frustration because he couldn't make much progress with his physical therapy stretches. It would save Kirishima the effort of having to be his personal cheerleader and stop the redhead from fretting over him.

He didn't care anymore.

It had gotten so out of hand that Midoriya began to think of ways to kill himself. Good, safe, easy, and fast ways to do it. He'd even went and started writing his letter, planning, thinking, obsessing over it. Of course, there were days he beat himself up about how pathetic he was, but there were other times where he would dream of what it would be like to just get it done with.

Among those times, Midoriya thought of what it would be like if he wasn't so afraid.

Afraid of living, afraid of being himself, chasing his dreams— what it would be like to actually reach out and take what was offered to him. He was so alone, alone for so long, and it was really hitting him at full force when he got a taste of what it was like to feel like he belonged. Now, it was running rampant in his mind: the longing, the wanting, the craving, the need to be comforted and cared for yet too scared to take the leap and reach out.

He really was pathetic, wasn't he?

Kacchan finally mustered out a question in the silence, his voice sounding oddly low and raw, “You’re okay?” Almost too preoccupied with Kirishima burying his head into his shoulder, Midoriya almost didn't catch Kacchan trying to move his hair out of his face.

Trying to shoo him away with the tilt of his head, Midoriya addressed, “I’m fine.” He just hoped the other two didn't notice how his voice cracked slightly when he forced the words out.

There he was, so close to comfort, yet he pushed it away.

 

Bakugo snapped with a small explosion of anger as he flicked the nerd’s forehead, “You better be! Why the hell would you disappear like that?” Bakugo had to stop talking, his voice choked up from the tears that sprung to his eyes. Why was this idiot being so difficult? Why couldn't he see how worried sick he and Eijiro were about him? How the fuck wasn't he able to notice all they had done for him, all they would do for him if he so much asked? How were they going to get through to his thick skull that he and Eijiro would do anything for him— that they wanted him to stay at their house, that they loved waking up and seeing him, that they loved taking care of him?

Deku kept his eyes focused away from them and towards the ground. "You two had so much on your plates. Besides, I'm too old to have to depend on someone for everything."

Just as Bakugo was about to snap again with his anger and feelings boiling over, but Eijiro took the reins and let go of Deku to cup his chubby face. And fuck did Bakugo want to do the same when he saw just how round his face was; Bakugo wanted to bite down on his face— everywhere, actually—like some sort of wild animal. How was the nerd so damn cute? Ugh. The things they would do if they were his boyfriends.

"There's no age limit on letting people help! Everyone needs help— why do you think we have heroes if people didn't need saving?" Eijiro was crying now, tears falling out of his eyes, and it was obvious that the redhead's tears caused Deku to start the waterworks. Bakugo watched while his breath hitched when Eijiro moved closer to Deku so their foreheads could be touching. "Even heroes need saving, and right now, my hero needs saving."

And then, a sob ripped out of Deku, almost sounding pained in a way.

It made both of them panic from the intensity of it, but to their surprise, Deku pulled both of them down to his level to give them the tightest hug he could in his weakened state. Bakugo's brain short circuited for a moment or two while his head laid against the nerd's plush shoulder. It wasn't even a full body hug with the way he and Eijiro were awkwardly bent at their waists to be level with the wheelchair, but it felt…warm. Safe.

Bakugo wanted to be closer.

He leaned in more and chanced wrapping one of his arms around the nerd's shoulder, "We care about you, dumbass." He murmured quietly. Cautiously. Said it like it was a secret, said it with the care of handling something delicate. He squeezed around the nerd for emphasis, holding on when his own tears started to fall, "So don't push us away and decide how we feel about you."

Bakugo could feel Eijiro on the other side, wrapping his arm around the nerd as well. They were both careful not to squeeze too hard, especially when they didn't know how the nerd's progress was. Fuck. How was Deku even managing? Physical therapy, getting around, getting up, going grocery shopping… was he doing it all by himself? Why was he being such a stubborn idiot? They could've been helping him, not—not damn Sparky and Half and Half! That was his and Eijiro's job!

"We want to help," Eijiro added, "And we're going to. We're not going to let you say no, not this time. Not while you need the help, okay?"

Deku choked out an "Okay," before Eijiro stood up, Bakugo reluctantly following as he let go of the nerd.

"Now, did you have anything to eat? Did you take your medicine?"

Falling back into their old routine with Deku was easy, almost natural in a way. They moved around his apartment like they owned the place, eventually herding him into the bedroom when they could see how tired the nerd was getting after they badgered him with questions here and there. Though, they also partially stopped and got Deku to bed when they could see on his face that he would have to take his pain and sleeping meds.

Once they had him sat on the bed, Bakugo got him his water and medicine, and Eijiro went over to turn on the TV, babbling on with a grin. Eijiro was sat down next to Deku, since the nerd needed to be sitting up for the pills. Though, Bakugo could see the redhead moving about, slipping his inside slippers off clumsily over the side of the bed when he moved to hold Deku up from behind.

"Are you sure nothing else hurts? Can I take a look at your back? Maybe we should ice it? Kats and I can keep track! Er- I can. Kats might fall asleep. The cold might make you tired, but I don't mind! Wouldn't be the first time. How did you ice it, anyway?"

"You should let us look," Bakugo agreed, "You can't see shit when it's on your back, so let us see." Bakugo sat on Deku's side, handing the water and medicine over and reaching back to swat at Eijiro's hand when he was about to get a little too handsy with Deku. Bakugo could just tell. He didn't blame him, and Bakugo guessed he was somewhat of a hypocrite when he took one of the nerd's arms and started digging into his hands and working his way up his arms. He tried to massage it, though not too much to hurt since the nerd cut up a good bit of his arms. Bakugo had to be cautious. "Did you ever figure out what those spasms were from?"

"No," Deku answered after swallowing the pills, not even getting a chance to pull away from Bakugo to put them on the nightstand because Eijiro intercepted them.

Bakugo clicked his tongue in disapproval, but Eijiro easily moved on.

"Well at least let us check everything else! We can get you laid down and look at everything-"

"You guys can sleep on here," Deku interjected quickly, "You're the guests. I can sleep on the couch."

"You have a fucked up back!" Bakugo interjected, "Like hell we're gonna let you sleep on there. This bed isn't even good enough for your back, so who the fuck knows how your couch is gonna be."

"Then I can take a futon in the living roo-"

"NO!" Bakugo and Eijiro simultaneously interrupted.

"Don't think for a fucking second that we're going to let you out of our sight," Bakugo hissed, "We're not gonna let you sleep in the other damn room and kick you out."

"We can all sleep together?" Eijiro suggested in a question, "If we push together the futon and mattress-…"

"I don't think- you guys can take the full futon, then," Deku gave in. Ugh- why couldn't the nerd just take the bait? They were going to pretend to magically end up by Deku in the middle of the night, but now the nerd was ruining their plan.

Decidedly over the bullshit, Bakugo blurted, "We can all fit on your bed if you wanna make sure your guests are comfortable."

"You won't be comfortable," Deku huffed, "I'm too big. It would already be a struggle getting all three of us on there without space. You two are small-…-er… and you'll save up some room right next to each other, but adding space for a pillow barrier and me? It's fine. Just take the bed or futon if you want. Both are full size."

"A barrier? For what?" Eijiro pouted, decidedly focused on the same 'sharing a bed' aspect Bakugo was.

"For space…?" Deku answered, "I don't want you guys to be uncomfortable…"

"This idiot has been dying to see you again. And you should know by now that he's a clingy, needy bastard, so the last thing he would want is space between you of all people," Bakugo jammed his thumb toward Eijiro for emphasis while he got up to grab extra blankets he knew Deku had to have in some sort of closet.

He heard a faint, defiant, "Katsuki's clingy, too!" From Eijiro while he opened a closet door. Bingo.

Grabbing the extra blankets, pillows, and futon he found (which wasn't much…maybe they can use being cold as an excuse to get closer to the nerd), he made his way back to the bedroom. Bakugo was expecting for Eijiro to be defending himself or something similar, but Bakugo almost dropped the bedding he had when he saw what was happening.

"'Ts the matter?" Bakugo slurred out quickly, depositing the materials on Deku's desk without looking. Eijiro had been helping Deku lay down on his back while the nerd hissed in pain.

"I- just-…" Deku was gritting his words out while he tried to breathe with slow, exaggerated breaths, "Just- happens…"

Eijiro was fixing up Deku's pillows and helping him as Bakugo picked up the medicine bottle. They should've given it to him earlier-

Wait.

"Deku. Where's your actual medication?"

Eijiro whipped his head around while his face dropped, "What do you mean?" His boyfriend asked and snatched up the bottle.

"It's some over-the-counter pain killers- Deku you need a higher dose than this shit," Bakugo insisted.

Deku chanced a look to him while he was calming himself down, "They're cheaper. I'll manage."

Eijiro let out an agitated noise, and Bakugo threw his hands up, letting them hit his legs harshly when he let them down with an exasperated sigh, "Deku this is fuckin serious! Tell me where your prescription papers are."

"Kats. What are you-" Eijiro didn't have time to react while Bakugo snatched up his jacket.

Bakugo tugged it on, "The store. I hope there's a decent pharmacy that's running this late…"

"Kacchan- please don't… the medicine is fine. It just needs to kick in," Deku whined. This. Fucking. Idiot. And then he wonders why he and Eijiro are always worried about him. They have a damn right to be when Freckles was being this stupid and stubborn!

"When or if it kicks in, it doesn't matter because you're still gonna be in pain, asshole!" Bakugo argued, going up to the bed ready to grab the paperwork that was likely in there so he could leave.

Eijiro hissed out a, "Katsuki." And Bakugo's gaze went to his boyfriend before the redhead nodded his head to Deku.

Deku's big green eyes were watering. Whether it was because of pain or sadness, Bakugo couldn't tell because Deku's eyes were riddled with all sorts of complex feelings, but somehow Bakugo picked up the look of loneliness laying in the mess of it all.

"Don't. Please? That would be too much. You're already here checking up on me. That's more than enough," Deku explained with a watery voice.

Despite wanting the nerd to feel better physically, Bakugo knew the idiot was probably already beating himself up about something. Bakugo wasn't sure if it was because he felt bad that Bakugo and Eijiro were worrying so much over him or if it was because he felt like a burden for needing the help, but whatever it was, Bakugo knew somewhere in his mind that Deku would go into a downwards spiral if Bakugo did something as over-the-top as going out so late for something as 'trivial' as medicine.

So, with a heavy sigh, Bakugo peeled off his jacket. Another moment passed before he looked to the nerd, who's face lost its tension from relief. Bakugo could see tiredness seeping out of Deku now, and Bakugo felt the same way. "Alright. But you've gotta share the bed. Like hell I'm laying on some futon."

(He would lay on a futon, really. They were comfortable and it wasn't uncommon for him to do so on certain missions where they were away from home, but Bakugo wasn't going to let Deku know that.)

Eijiro's face broke out into a large smile. Even more so when Deku gave in with a tired hum, "If you can find room." Which, yeah. Okay. The nerd was a bit on the bigger side, but he and Eijiro definitely didn't mind. Especially not when it gave them an excuse to get up close and personal. They were also bigger than average given they were built for hero work, but Deku was bigger than both of them, so they really had to squeeze on the bed to fit.

Perfect.

Bakugo made a point to climb over Deku and shimmy his way between Deku and the wall he tried to press himself against in order to make himself smaller. Bakugo gave a shit-eating grin to Deku when the nerd visibly rolled his eyes at him with a tired, irritated whine of "Kacchan…" came out.

"What? I'm making room," Bakugo murmured, heart thumping in his chest from the proximity of both of them. Deku was now laying on his side, which was a good thing to note in his healing progress since the nerd was afraid to do so before. Eijiro already triple checked and assured Deku it was okay to sleep on his side when the nerd complained about it. Though, it kind of irked Bakugo to think that maybe Freckles was only sleeping on his side to take up less space.

"You could've just asked if you two wanted the wall," Deku grumbled, tensing up his arms and shoulders as an obvious attempt to scoot back and away from Bakugo on the bed, but Deku soon jerked in place.

"Sorry!" Eijiro immediately sounded from the other side of Deku, "I didn't mean to scare you. I like the outside part."

Deku let out a breath, and it was obvious that the sudden scare hurt something in Deku, but the idiot didn't mention it. Deku only shifted uncomfortably in his spot, "Are you sure? I thought you two—"

"We said we're not letting you out of our sight, and we mean it," Eijiro interrupted, and soon enough Bakugo could see a visible shiver go up Deku's spine at the comment. "Now go to sleep," Eijiro finished while he grabbed a blanket big enough to fit over all three of them. Bakugo was ready to give in and suggest he and Deku switch so the nerd wouldn't be so awkward and uncomfortable, but he was surprised when the nerd relaxed into the bed and shut his eyes.

Bakugo couldn't wait until a time where nights like this were more common, more natural, but for now, he would have to wait.

Oh how Bakugo hated waiting…maybe he and Eijiro would have to find a way to speed things up.

Notes:

Sorry for not updating in a while! I haven't had much time for writing any of these stories since I'm flooded with other things like comms, but I managed to get this done!
I just hope it's okay-ish...?

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 5 of Oneshots/Short Stories