Chapter Text
Izuku had arrived at his clinic early today to finish filing the remaining notes from his patients over the past week that had been piling up on him. He yawned as he checked the time. The clinic wouldn’t open for walk-ins until 7:30 am, and it was currently only 6:45. He had plenty of time. The greenette decided he needed a break and humoured himself with some Wordle.
Then the ceiling caved in.
Rubble fell to the ground, and Izuku watched as chunks of his clinic roof crashed to the floor. The waiting area was completely demolished; chairs nowhere to be seen, floor covered in dust and rocks, front desks lost under the whole mess. Ears ringing, Izuku saw a glimpse of blond hair heading towards him before he felt something impact the back of his head, hard.
***
“...should go home, honey. You’ve been here for hours. You need to eat, rest, and take a shower. Don’t worry, I’ll be here, and I’ll send you a text when he gets up.”
When he woke up, Izuku heard voices speaking beside him. Why was it so bright? Could they please turn down the volume? And for the love of All Might, the lights down as well, while they're at it?
“I appreciate it, Auntie, but I need to stay. I need to see him wake up,” Izuku heard their voice crack, “it my fault he’s here, anyways.”
“Oh, sweetie. It’s not your fault. It was the villain who brought the neighbouring building down, and Izuku just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Izuku identified voice number one as his mother. It was definitely her soft but strong words being spoken. Izuku also identified voice number two—Bakugou Katsuki, hero Dynamight. He’d recognise that voice anywhere. With his eyes still not cooperating, he lay there, assumingly on a hospital bed, listening to the conversation, his eyes glued shut.
“I just wish I could’ve saved him. He was right there, but then the giant hunk of rubble fell onto his head, and he was knocked out cold. If I’d just been a second faster…”
Izuku's eyes opened. A groan left his lips, and suddenly his mom and Katsuki came into view. A clock behind them read 5:20. They immediately shuffled to his side, asking if he could hear them, and if he remembered anything. All the greenette could do was let out another groan and mumble something about turning the lights down.
A nurse walked into the room, and said something unintelligible to Inko and Katsuki. They left the room, with the latter catching Izuku’s eye as the door closed. The nurse smiled, and turned to Izuku, preparing a medicine to inject into Izuku’s right arm. Pain medicine, his throbbing head hoped.
***
The next time he came to, Izuku’s body wasn’t hurting as much as it did the last time. He opened his eyes, and seemed to be on the same bed he was before. Inko and Katsuki, who apparently hadn’t gone home, were resting on the chair beside him; his mother taking a nap, and the hero on his phone. The greenette grunted as he sat up to turn his neck towards the clock which read 7:35, catching the blond’s attention.
“De—Izuku! You’re awake. How’re you feeling? Anything hurt?” Katsuki rushed over to the bed, examining Izuku. Now that he could move around with minimal pain, Izuku noticed the blond looked nervous. Tired, too. How long had he been here? Izuku recalled from the last conversation, that his mother had said the hero had been here for hours. Katsuki was still in his hero uniform: scuffed black boots on his feet, his signature ‘X’ tank supporting new scratches and fraying, mask pushed up against his hairline, grenade-like gauntlets set to the side. The boy’s scarlet eyes, missing their usual oomph, grazed over Izuku’s body attentively, making Izuku shiver. At Katsuki’s words, Inko had woken up and rushed to her son’s side.
“Izuku! Darling, I’m so happy you’re okay! I was so worried—I almost had a heart attack when the hospital called to tell me you’d gotten hurt!” Her wide eyes mellowed, and she slowed her pace down, “Luckily, Katsuki-kun here was close by. He took you to the medics, rushing over to the hospital as soon as he defeated the villain.” Inko looked at Katsuki with adoration, and the blond looked away with a slight blush on the tips of his ears.
Izuku nodded, turning to the blond.
“Um, thank you for saving me.” He gave a small smile to the hero.
“Oh! I’d better go get a nurse—they told us to let them know when you’d wake up.” Inko rushed out of the room, leaving the two boys alone.
Katsuki looked at the ground, shuffling his feet. Izuku spoke up,
“...Why are you here?” He blushed, realizing how that probably sounded, “I- I mean, why…did you come to the hospital to check on me?” The last time the greenette had seen the blond in person was during middle school, which was around 10 years ago, and they hadn’t been close. At all. It was strange to see his childhood-friend-turned-bully-turned-stranger come visit Izuku in the hospital.
Like Katsuki actually cared.
“I’ve…wanted to apologize. For everything that I did. I was a shitty person, and you didn’t deserve any of what I, or anybody else, did,” the hero’s eyes glanced back up at him. “I was an egocentric idiot, and I understand what we did to you is unforgivable,” to Izuku’s surprise, he thought he saw some tears well up in the scarlet eyes. “I always admired your perseverance, your ability to never give up. I thought,” he faltered, “I thought if I pushed you down hard enough, eventually you’d give up, and you’d never become a hero. That way, atleast, you’d be safe. Safe from all the danger that being a hero puts you in everyday, as a job. I never realized that the only threat against you was me.”
Katsuki took a shallow breath.
“This morning, there was a villain attack at a bank beside your clinic. Some guys planted a bomb. Luckily the bank hadn’t opened so early, and there wasn’t anybody inside. We caught the villains, but…the building fell sideways on impact of the bomb. Your clinic is…gone.” There was a bank next to Izuku’s clinic, and it towered over the rest of the shops on the street. Izuku’s clinic was located in the part of the city where villain attacks weren’t as common, but he guessed that didn’t mean the chances were zero. Some small voice at the back of Izuku’s head wondered why his mom was taking so long to grab a nurse, but he ignored it.
“I saw you inside through your window—your hair is still very much green—so I ran inside. By then, though, you were unconscious,” Katsuki spoke softly now. “You know…I still think of you from time to time. UA did change me. They helped me become a better person, I think. I’ve wanted to apologize to you, I really have. The only thing that kept me away was the fact that you probably never wanted to see my face ever again,” the blond gave an empty laugh. “So when I saw you in the area, I realized that this could be the way I finally find enough courage to talk to you and apologize for my actions and words. I’m sorry, Izuku.”
Scarlet eyes looked up to find green ones staring back, similarly almost overflowing with tears. Izuku held out his arms, and Katsuki stepped forward to wrap his arms around Izuku’s torso. Izuku noticed how the blond was careful not to put pressure on him where he was injured.
“I’ve forgiven you a long time ago, Kacchan, but I do appreciate you telling me this. We were only kids, and kids make mistakes. Heck, it’s been a decade.”
“That’s not an excuse for all the harm that I inflicted.”
“I’m just happy to be here talking with you,” the greenette smiled.
Katsuki smiled back.
***
The nurse read Izuku’s medical reports. Most of it was identifying his injuries, how that affected him and the rest of his body, medications, and safety precautions. She had informed Inko and Katsuki that Izuku had to stay in the hospital for three more days before he was discharged, to be monitored, and to make sure he was stabilized and ready to head home.
“We will have nurses and medical professionals here to assist you during your stay. We just need to make sure that everything is stable, and you’ll be set on your way! You will, however, need to take it easy for a couple weeks once at home. You need to take some time off work to help your body heal, and will require someone to watch over you.”
Fortunately, Izuku had gotten away from the accident with no fatal head, neck, or spine injuries. He had a broken leg, sprained wrist, a concussion, and multiple scratches and scrapes. And with the help of some healing quirks from the hospital, the pain had lessened tenfold. His scrapes were gone, stitches healed, wrist no longer hurting as much. The only inconvenience was his broken leg and mild concussion, both of which he was glad weren’t as horrible as before. So when Izuku heard the kind nurse say that he was going to have to be watched over, like a toddler having to be babysat, he was not as nearly as excited to be discharged.
“What? I am a grown man. I’m a doctor, and I’m 24. Surely I can handle a few injuries by myself?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Midoriya, but we can’t take any risks. Despite the healing we’ve done at the hospital, there is still a possibility of the concussion flaring up due to sensitivity, and we can’t have you hurting yourself while you’re alone,” the nurse assured him, “I know this isn’t the nicest, but it’s the best situation we’ve got, when taking account of your recent injuries. You’re very lucky to have escaped without any major damage to your body.”
Izuku did agree with that.
“Oh, Izuku,” Inko anxiously sat up from behind the nurse. “I have to go to Nagasaki for work next week, remember? I won’t be back for a month! I won’t be able to look after you—actually, I can cancel my flight! I’m sure the office won’t mind, it is an emergency—”
“No! You can’t cancel. I know how important it is to you, and how important it is for your workplace as well. It’s only a month, I can handle myself—”
“Mr. Midoriya, as I’ve told you, it is not safe for you to be alone for the next few weeks. It is strongly advised that you have someone to take care of you. It’s not that we don’t trust you; you are a medical professional yourself. You know what they say, doctors are the worst patients. This is just the safest option, and I’m sure you know that as well.” She offered a warm smile.
What was he going to do, then? He couldn’t let his mom stay in Musutafu. Ever since Izuku had left for Medical school, Inko had taken up a job offered to her by one of her old friends. Izuku was very glad that his mother now had something to focus on. Living as a full time mother of a quirkless child, did take its emotional toll. But if his mom wasn’t available, who would be on such a short notice? They sat there for a few moments, all thinking of alternative options.
“Izuku can stay with me for a few weeks. I’ll take care of him.”
Katsuki’s gruff voice yanked Izuku back from his thoughts.