Word Count: 4,116
Warnings: Villain fight
Information:

Four years ago, Izuku was rushed to the hospital for one of his ribs puncturing his lung. He was fine hours later after hours of surgery. Katsuki had been sitting next to Izuku. The lights were out; there was one light on keeping the room dim. The sky was filled with the darkness of shadows, and the blue curtains were closed. The room smelled like rubbing alcohol. The heart monitor beeped and it became a white noise as Katsuki was still in his hero costume. Dirt and cold sweat covered his body. His hair damp with sweat and his body chilled. His heart was racing, even after hours of calmness. It was sickening. He hated it. The quietness was too loud. The monitor beeping was too loud. Visiting hours were over, but he didn't leave. Izuku left the ICU and was now stable enough to breathe on his own, but Katsuki couldn't leave. The nurses told him to leave earlier but he couldn't say anything. They felt bad and let him stay in the room a bit longer. Later, Izuku's eyes opened as a tube was still in his mouth. They were crusty and he tried to lift his hand but felt too much pain. He wheezed and Katsuki quickly looked to his side. He got up and sat carefully beside Izuku. Izuku opened his mouth but Katsuki talked first. "Don't talk. Damn idiot."
Izuku's lips were dry and cracked. They hurt. Izuku lifted his hand and his eyes became watery. His throat hurt and he was so scared of losing Katsuki that he didn't even care about losing himself sometimes. He saw Izuku's hand inching towards him and reached out so he wouldn't push himself.
"I can't belive you're so smart but so fucking stupid. I thought you were going to die, Deku," Katsuki whispered the last part. It was so silent in the room, except for the monitor beeping. You could hear every creek in the walls and the occasional person walking outside. Izuku tried to speak but couldn't. Katsuki looked into Izuku's tearful eyes as one slipped past his cheek. Katsuki's face lowered and he closed his eyes. He could feel how sorry Izuku was and he forgave him. His lips pressed together as he looked at Izuku once more and he squeezed Izuku's hand as he told him he was going to get a doctor. Katsuki got up, knees slightly cracking and his clothes sticking to him. He walked out of the room and allowed his eyes to water. He was tired.
In the present, he was breathing heavily as he was pacing in the waiting room. It was mostly empty except for a mother and her baby. A doctor came out and called his name. Katsuki walked over and talked with the doctor. "Midoriya should be okay. Surprisingly, he sustained mostly minor injuries. He has a stress fracture in his humerus. That's in the forearm," he pointed where it was. "He has a gash on his head, but it was stitched. He's very lucky he didn't have anything worse. He doesn't have a concussion but he should still take it easy."
"Can I see him?" Katsuki asked lightly.
"Yes. He's awake. A little bit on painkillers." The doctor stated as he led Katsuki to the room. Katsuki thanked the doctor and walked in. Izuku looked in his direction and was dazed and happy to see him.
" I thought you were going to die, Deku..." Katsuki whispered. Izuku's heart cracked. "I know, you're sorry. I understand... but do you understand?" Izuku looked at him, not knowing what to say. Katsuki sighed, "You blocked me."
"What?" Izuku asked, confused.
"You blocked my number."
"Oh... I forgot about that. I just–" Izuku sighed, "I just thought it would be easier. For both of us."
"It was. At the time," Katsuki's voice was raw. There was this giant dull wall between them. It felt boring and congested. "Did you even think about yourself when you caught that building?"
"No. People needed help," Izuku shot back confidently. Katsukis clenched his teeth, grinding them together.
"You could have died!" Katsuki exclaimed.
Izuku's mouth opened and his expression was frustrated. "But I didn't! People were still in that building and they would have died if I didn't stop it! We're heroes. We're supposed to help those in need. How could I just sit back and watch?"
"What the hell? I never said to sit back and watch!" Katsuki was offended. More hurt than he should have been. "I know the line of hero work. I know what contract we signed when we decided to be heroes. It's harsh and definitely not pretty. It's not a red Christmas present with a stupid fucking sparkly bow on top. I'm not asking you to let people die. I'm asking you to let yourself live! Dumbass."
"You care all of a sudden?" Izuku asked and Katsuki almost lunged at him. Instead he felt his hands getting hot and his neck warming.
"ME!? What about you?"
"What about me?" Izuku scoffed.
"You acted like you didn't care, and yet my name is still on your emergency contact list," Katsuki shot back. Izuku looked down to his lap. He felt ashamed. Not because he was still on the contact list, but because he pretended that he wasn't. He hadn't forgotten about it. Katsuki took a deep breath and rubbed his face. "This is just like last time. Except you're not in the ICU having a plastic tube stuck down your throat." Katsuki sighed and looked Izuku in his eyes. "I'm staying at your place,"
Izuku practically jumped, "E-excuse me?"
"Lets go," Katsuki said, not giving Izuku enough time to reply. Izuku followed as they got everything situated. They got into Katsuki's car and drove.
"What's wrong with your place?" Izuku asked.
"What? Nothing," Katsuki replied.
"So why are we going to mine?"
"You ask too many damn questions. My place is a hotel. I said I had a mission and that it wouldn't take long. I finished it. Now I'm going to help you because I don't trust you to take care of yourself," Katsuki explained.
Izuku laughed and said, "You never did." They arrived at Izuku's place and when they walked in, there was this nice warmth that enveloped them. Katsuki already had bags packed and kept them in his car as he walked around.
"Wow, Deku. You've got a nice place here. Didn't know you actually had good taste," Katsuki said looked at the Christmas tree. He then saw the bowl of noodles.
"That's so insulting, Kacchan," Izuku said looking at him like he said something offensive. Which... he did.
"What's insulting is that bowl of noodles. What the hell is wrong with you? I know I'm a better cook than you but you should at least be able to make something simple and healthy," Katsuki walked slowly and peaked his head towards Izuku. He was scowling and Katsuki bursted out laughing. "Calm down. I'm going to make you something and you're going to like it,"
"Am I?" Izuku retorted and Katsuki's smile dropped before sticking up his middle finger and walking towards Izuku's kitchen. He looked through the fridge and drawers.
"You have all these ingredients and still haven't used them? What the hell are you doing with your life?"
"I've been..." Izuku tried to answer honestly but the words caught in his throat. He didn't really know. He felt fine usually, but recently everything feels like it has been piling up. Katsuki looked towards him curiously. He caught the faraway look in his eyes and really thought about how he might have been doing. "I've been okay. I'm tired. Lots of stress, especially with my mom."
"She's in the hospital, yeah?" He grabbed ingredients to make udon.
"Yeah. Wait– how did you–"
Katsuki cut in, "Our moms still talk ya' know. My mom talks to me too. Since we haven't spoken in three years, I've gotten updates from my mom."
"About my mom?"
"Yeah. And sometimes she talked about you, but... it was hard to hear so I would usually change the subject. But now that we're actually talking again, we might as well catch up." The pot of water he put on the stove started to simmer. "So, dating anyone?"
Izuku almost choked on his saliva. "Are you serious? That's the first thing you want to know?"
"Naturally."
They both laughed and the air felt better. The tangible tension they had earlier was lifting and helping with the holiday spirit. "When are you heading back to Japan?"
Katsuki put salt in the water to help the noodles boil faster. "I was going to go before Christmas but my flight got canceled because of that damn villain. So now I'm getting one after. Which fucking sucks. I was supposed to spend time with my dad but whatever. He'll be fine. I wasn't ready to see those ugly baby pictures." Izuku smiled.
"I'm sorry," Izuku said suddenly.
"What for?" Katsuki asked.
"Blocking you. Cutting you off like I didn't care. I did. I do care."
Katsuki sighed and he groaned, "Stop dwelling on it. I forgive you or whatever."
Izuku wondered if that was true, and feared that maybe he didn't forgive him. Their dinner was ready and they sat at the dining room table. After they were done eating they put on a movie. It was kind of boring, but being in each other's presence felt just like it used to. Izuku started to fall asleep and Katsuki pinched his cheek. Izuku yelped in pain and slapped Katsuki's hand away. "Okay, I'm tired. I have a spare room you can use," Izuku said and led him to the room.
The room was simple. Cyan colored walls and a comfortable queen sized bed that looked very lonely. No one had slept in this room. Although it was cozy and pleasant to look at, it was cold in the room, and somewhat somber. "Damn, this is sad"
"Really?" Izuku rolled his eyes.
"It's nice though. Thanks, Deku."
Izuku smiled softly, "You're welcome. I think I'm going to head to bed. There's a bathroom in this room. There is also another in the hallway to the left. I have one in my room as well."
"Damn. This really is a big place for just one person. Ya' sure you're not dating anyone?" Katsuki said with a smirk, setting down his suitcases.
Izuku groaned, "Goodnight, Kacchan."
Katsuki laughed and Izuku chuckled as he walked away. Izuku brushed his teeth, being careful of his arm. His head hurt and his stomach felt sore. He finished brushing his teeth, and washing his face. Careful of the stitches. He stared at himself in the mirror. He didn't look as good as he did this morning. His eyes were tired. His heart was tired. He sighed heavily as he walked out of the bathroom and towards his bed. He flopped down and tucked himself under the covers. Not as many All Might posters covered his room, but there were still a few. Especially some limited edition ones. He sometimes had dreams of the past users of One for All. He at one point believed his quirk would disappear after defeating Shigaraki with some life altering damage. His arms wouldn't be the same. His legs sometimes hurt. He closed his eyes and drifted off to a restless sleep.

<>

The ground shook with fury. A villain that could control dirt and rocks. She could create earthquakes as high as an 8.0+ on the Mercalli Scale. It took her a lot of energy, but usually gave her the best results in casualties. Her smile was horrific. Her teeth were perfectly aligned but dusted with black dirt. Her tan skin shone like porcelain. She was quite beautiful in her anger. She would have been a great hero if she used her powers for good. Izuku ran towards her. She threw big chunks of dirt from the ground at him. He jumped on each one to get closer to her flying figure. She shook the ground once more; Izuku fell off the boulder. Katsuki caught him as he used his explosions to fly. He threw Izuku towards her and she dodged on her little floating rock. Izuku suddenly couldn't remember how she was able to float things. That shouldn't have been possible unless she had another quirk, which was possible. Izuku caught the edge of the floating boulder but it crumbled. The woman smiled venomously. At this moment, Izuku couldn't tell where her mind was. She was so far gone. She was angry. Maybe not at him specifically, but all heroes. Her eyes bore the same anguish Shigaraki did. It unnerved him, but his spirit didn't waver. Izuku grabbed a boulder with black whip and flung himself up. Nausea overcame him, but he still didn't waver. Katsuki was fighting the woman. Other heroes were starting to join. Shōto Todoroki showed up some time later. He used his ice to block up the ravines in the ground, created by the earthquakes. Izuku rushed towards the woman, but she flung Katsuki in his direction. Katsuki's back slammed into Izuku's chest and they both fell to the ground. It knocked the wind out of both of them. Izuku tried to catch his breath but it was hard. Uravity, Uraraka Ochako, showed up as well. She had full control over her quirk. She could throw boulders as fast as she made them fall. She threw them at the earthquake villain as Todoroki made Ice wall barriers to block incoming attacks. Izuku's vision swam and his boy felt suddenly heavy. His eyes dropped and they felt like the rocks that were being thrown in their direction.
He could hear distant yells. "D..u. ..ku. DEKU!" Izuku's eyes snapped open. Katsuki yelled at him. "Dammit, are you alright? Can you stand?" Katsuki asked urgently, always breaking eye contact to check everyone else's positions. He looked back at Izuku who nodded his head. Katsuki offered a hand and Izuku took it. He hoisted him up and a striking pain made his leg throb. But he could bear it. He was strong. They both looked at each other, then smirked. "Let's go kick her ass!"
The two leapt forward and joined the rest of the heroes, including their friends. Uraraka got as close as hand to hand combat. Izuku smiled. She was such a badass. She had grown so much, and her fighting was phenomenal. Izuku would even say her hand-to-hand combat was better than his.
Izuku used a blast from his finger to send a big wave of air the villain's way. She flew off the boulder. The boulder and the woman started to fall simultaneously. That's when the ground shook again. Everyone started to fall. Their heads hurt and their eyes felt like they were vibrating. The world looked shaky and they couldn't focus. Todroki's Ice wall broke when the largest boulder they've seen so far fell. It slid down and Todroki moved out of the way just barely. The boulder started to chip away. The woman was on the ground wrestling Uraraka, when suddenly she smiled and a sharp sting hit Uaraka's arm. She screamed. Izuku looked at the boulder which was now a large sharp spike. They each pointed at a hero. More than one. They looked up, only to see more. Izuku's mouth dropped. It dawned on him that this was her plan. She had distracted them. The cracks in the ground went miles long. And now, the rocky dirt spears were large and not only pointing at them horizontally, but vertically too. Izuku was scared. He couldn't think fast enough. Maybe a flash of wind? Would that be strong enough? It would, but it wouldn't be nearly as wide enough to blast them all away. Even if he did that, he could hurt others in the process. He couldn't use Black Whip. There were too many of these things.
Izuku bumped into Todoroki. "Shit..." Izuku said.
"Yeah..." Todoroki agreed. The two scanned the area. "These are going to fall any sec–" they fell. Todoroki made a flash freeze ice wall. It was unbelievably fast. The ice was strong enough, but it clearly took a strain on Todoroki. Izuku watched as his Ice covered a massive amount of ground. Uraraka moved out of the way but made her way back to the villain. Izuku and Todoroki were stuck under the ice.
"We need to get out..."
"Yeah. This isn't good. I can't think of a way to stop her."
Izuku thought for a moment. "We have to get close. Her advantage is keeping us away from her. A good distance so she can use her quirk and make earthquakes. Uraraka is the only one who has come to hand-to-hand combat. She might be able to stop her. Their zero gravity quirks are similar. Uraraka might be able to cancel out the villain's quirk with her own. And then someone would need to find a way to immobilize her. Maybe you could freeze her hands together? It seems like she needs to touch something like dirt or rock to activate it."
"Good idea. We just need to get out without anything falling on top of us. Or create an opening somewhere. I could use my fire but we'd have to move quickly. This villain is going to take every chance to attack us," Todoroki explained.
"Do you think it's possible to create two openings?"
"Yeah. What's your plan?"
"I could use a smoke screen and she'd have to assume we come out of one area. But we sneak out the other way. And then you catch her off guard. Seems simple put into words, but we have to move quickly for it to work."
Todoroki smiled and put the plan into action. They followed the steps and were able to get out unseen. Uraraka punched the girl and a rock fell between them. Uraraka barely dodged in time. The plan was working. Todoroki took the opportunity to freeze the woman's hands. Izuku ran up to use black whip to keep her still when she kicked her shoe off and touched the ground. Izuku's eyes widened, realizing that she could use her toes as well as the tips of her fingers to leverage. He sprinted, flinging black whip when he finally caught her and Uraraka levitated her. But then it was raining boulders again and they broke as they fell. "WATCH OUT!" someone yelled and Izuku jumped in front of Uraraka. Everything then went black. Sirens wailed but they were fading in and out like red and blue lights. He felt warm, but not the good fuzzy kind. The sick nauseous kind that made your skin feel sticky and hot.

<>

Izuku's eyes flicked open. They were wide and watery. His heart was beating fast and his body was hot. He took a few deep breaths. His room was warm, and he felt too warm. He touched his feet to his smooth wooden floor and almost sighed as the cool wood coated his skin. He stood up and his vision started to grow dark. He grabbed his bed frame and steadied himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He carded a hand through his gentle curls and walked out of his room and towards the kitchen. When he got to the entrance he stopped short. Katsuki was leaning on the island in the middle of the kitchen. He held a glass of water, swishing it around. He drank from it and looked up to see a tired Izuku Midoriya. He stopped sipping and just looked at him. They held their gaze. Katuski's heart was beating steadily, while Izuku's still beat erratically. Katsuki set his glass down and tilted his head a bit. He studied Izuku. Izuku looked like a deer caught in headlights. His eyes were tired, with visible purplish bags under his eyes. "Come here," Katsuki says. Blazing red eyes bore into green and Izuku walked closer.
Izuku pulled a stool and sat down, as he placed his arms on the counter and let his head rest in his hands.. Katsuki turned around and set a mug of peppermint tea in front of him. When Katsuki turned to look at Izuku, his eyes relaxed, but his face fell crestfallen. Katsuki couldn't stop his hand from gently moving some curls from Izuku's face. Izuku's body went slightly rigid, but let himself relax as he looked up.
"You still have those nightmares, huh?" Katsuki's voice just above a whisper. Izuku's eyes glistened with buried tears.
Izuku took a shaky breath, "Yeah... was it that obvious?"
Katsuki scoffed slightly with a smirk on his face
"Not to anyone who doesn't know you like I do."
"No one knows me like you do." Izuku smiled.
"Exactly," Katsuki smirked and flicked Izuku's nose. Izuku whined a bit and rubbed his reddish nose. However, he smiled anyway and took a sip of his peppermint tea. "Do you dream of the same things?" Katsuki finished his water and started to make himself a cup of tea.
Izuku thought for a moment, "Tonight I dreamt about what happened. I only dreamt of certain parts. Being trapped in the ice and the rock crushing me." Katsuki's brows furrowed slightly. He was there. Sometimes he wished he wasn't just so he wouldn't have to remember watching it happen. Izuku took another deep breath. "Sometimes," Izuku started but stopped short, and he took a longer moment. His breath was short and his voice a careful whisper, "Sometimes I dream about other things. Instead of the rock crushing me, it crushed my friends. Other civilians. You."
Katsuki looked closely at Izuku. "Damn. Detailed?"
"Very."
Katsuki poured his hot water into the mug and swirled around the tea. "I'm sorry."
Izuku was bewildered for a moment. "For what?! You didn't do anything wrong."
Katsuki let his tongue push against his teeth. "I did. I– dammit! When you were recovering... I was such a dick. I was horrible. We fought all the time until I decided to leave. Things didn't end well between us."
"Feels pretty similar right now, except we aren't fighting."
Katsuki smiled bitterly. "Yeah," the clock ticking on the wall rhyming with the vibrato of Katsuki's voice. The two were quiet for a moment.
It suddenly dawned upon Izuku that Katsuki was up before him. "What about you?" Katsuki looked at Izuku once more. "What are you doing up so late?"
Dreaming of you. "Couldn't really sleep. Seeing you get hurt again kind of brought up some things." Izuku nodded his head as he bit the inside of his cheek.
"I'm sorry," Izuku offered. Katsuki smiled again, but this time a sweeter one.
"Okay, let's just call it even or whatever. We've been apologizing nonstop. I'm getting tired anyway."
"You're going back to bed now?" Izuku said, his anxiety returning.
"Yeah. I've been up for a while." Katsuki grabbed his cup and washed it in Izuku's sink. Later placing it on a rack to dry. He turned around and found Izuku staring at him intently. "Are you dying or something? What's with the face?"
"Can you– or, umm..." Izuku wanted him to stay awake. Or at least until he could fall asleep. He knew it was selfish, but now that Katsuki was in his presence, he couldn't stop remembering what it was like to have him sit by his side while he experienced turmoil in the night.
However, Izuku didn't need to always voice his thoughts, as Katuki could often read them in his own meticulous way. "We can watch something at a low volume on the couch." Izuku smiled and rushed to grab blankets. Katsuki chuckled as he rearranged the pillows. The two settled on the couch and started looking for movies to watch. "Damn, nothing here looks good."
"What about a Christmas movie?"
Katsuki frowned a bit and groaned in annoyance,
"Why those? Please don't make it one of those annoying ones."
"Of course not! Just something that we can fall asleep to."
"So... a boring one,"
"Really, Kacchan?"
Katsuki looked at him and the two bursted out laughing. "Okay okay, find the stupid ass movie, nerd. I'll let you pick." The two eventually found a movie and turned all the lights off. They ended up leaning into each other, and Izuku fell asleep. Katsuki looked to his side to see Izuku's soft face, no longer contorting in distress. Katsuki smiled and once again moved Izuku's curls on his forehead. "Goodnight, Izuku."