Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It felt like there was a thick low hanging mist clouding his mind, keeping him from being able to think or remember. All he could do was lay there and simply… exist until the fog cleared out. He didn’t know how he got there, or where he was for that matter. All he knew was that he was confused. It took ages for the mist to thin out, or at least it felt like ages, but after some time he was able to open his eyes. 

He woke up to a silent empty room. It was painted in plain tones of white and dull grey, the only spark of colour coming from the bouquet of flowers by the window. They were a vibrant orange, instantly catching the eye. They were nice… Katsuki groaned, trying to sit up, only to fail. His body felt so heavy! He couldn’t remember ever feeling like this… So…numb… Cold, in a way, even though he was pretty sure he was laying underneath a blanket. But most of all, his body felt heavy. His arms, more specifically. They felt…weird.

“Oh, you’re awake!”

He tilted his head to see a nurse enter, a smile on her face. Was he in a hospital..? He must be…
“How are you feeling, Katsuki-kun?”
“…Tired” he mumbled. He didn’t know how long he was out, but he was about ready to fall back asleep. Being awake was exhausting.
“Mhm, anything else? Any pain?” she asked, checking something on a tablet. Katsuki shook his head. No, if anything this feeling was the opposite of pain…

“Seems like the sedative should be wearing off about now… You might feel a bit fuzzy for a while, like your mind is clouded. It’s a side effect of the quirk-based sedative we used so please don’t feel alarmed if you’re feeling a bit foggy” she explained. Quirk-based… Wait, that stuff wasn’t supposed to work on him, right? That shit messed him up before, didn’t it? But that would explain why he felt like his head was full of cotton…

“How are your arms feeling?” she asked, looking up from his tablet.
“Fine, I guess” Katsuki muttered, trying to wiggle his fingers but without success.
“They’re weird… Heavy”
“Hmm, yes, they said that would probably be the case at the start… Just a matter of breaking them in!” she smiled, putting the tablet away again. Break them in? What the hell was she talking about? Before he could ask about it, she spoke up again.

“Now rest up, okay? I’ll be back later to check up on you” she told him. He wanted to ask her more questions. About his condition, about what he was doing here, how he got here. But she was gone before he could even open his mouth. Katsuki frowned, groaning as he tried and failed to lift his arms. Damnit! He hated being stuck in bed! He didn’t even know why! 

He couldn’t sit up to look at himself so he wasn’t sure what was wrong with his arms. I mean, there has to be something wrong, right? Otherwise the nurse wouldn’t have asked about that specifically. He sighed, his eyes closing despite his struggle to stay away. He really was exhausted… And she did say he should rest… Hm, a little extra sleep couldn’t hurt… 

The next time he woke up, he was startled awake, gasping and sweating. A nightmare… He didn’t remember what it was about, the images fading more and more as he tried to recall them. With a few deep breaths, he managed to calm down. His room was noticeably darker than the previous time he woke up. The orange flowers were looking a little less vibrant, some of them already withered. How long had he been asleep for..? 

He tried to sit up, this time with more success than the previous times he tried. His arms were still heavy, the odd feeling still lingering. He frowned, seeing both his arms were wrapped up in some kind of cast. Maybe that’s why he could barely move them… And why they were so damn heavy! But that didn’t explain the coldness that tingled under his skin… At least the rest of his body felt normal… 

It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep again, the effort it took to sit up depleted all his energy. Katsuki hated feeling this sluggish, but he was too tired to fight it. When he woke up again, it was due to a sharp pain in his right arm. He hissed, trying to flinch away but something was holding him in place.

“Ah! I’m so sorry!”

His eyes flew up, quickly facing whoever was in the room with him. This was the first time someone was there with him when he woke up. He wasn’t letting this chance slip away from him, it was time for some answers! He vaguely recognized the young woman sitting at his side. It wasn’t the nurse that spoke to him before… Had he met her somewhere before..?
“I didn’t mean to wake you, Bakugou. I’m so sorry” she apologized. 

Katsuki rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to speak up, only to get distracted by the tool in her hand. Was that some kind of screwdriver..? Why was she holding that? Was she even allowed to have that thing in here?
“Did I hurt you? I swear it was an accident!” she exclaimed. Katsuki frowned. What the hell was she talking about? He felt a small shock go through his right arm again, making him flinch and look down. 

What

The

Fuck

His arm was opened up, like someone made a cut in his flesh and pried it open. But instead of a mess of blood and bones, there was metal and wires. Okay, that was not something he’d been expecting. A small spark twitched up, making his breath hitch. He could feel the machinery malfunction. Like it was a part of him . What the actual fuck?! The woman noticed he was freaking out, her eyes widening as she quickly tried to cover up the arm with her hands.

“Sorry! I suppose you haven’t really seen your arms yet… I-I didn’t mean to scare you-” she said.
“Tell me what the hell is going on with my arm!” Katsuki roared, not caring whether or not he was screaming inside a hospital.
“Oh! Right! I guess nobody has explained it to you yet” she sighed, forcing a smile.

“Let’s restart, okay? I’m Melissa Shield, we met on I-island during the summer, remember? There was this attack before the expo and all that? Anyway, that’s not important right now! Your arms, they uh… They were severely injured. The doctors tried everything they could but they couldn’t be saved, at least not fully… So they called my dad!” she rambled.

“You see, on I-island there is someone who’s quirk is able to fuse living tissue and technology! They were able to connect your nerve endings to these high end prosthetics we build for you, so in time you should be able to use them like you would use your regular arms! Fine movement with your hands and fingers could require some extra physical therapy though… But this way you’ll have functioning arms again! We even made sure the shell has a skin like feeling and appearance. You won’t be able to tell they’re fake just by looking at them!”

Katsuki simply blinked at her, watching her mouth move but not hearing the things she was saying. Memories came back to him, flooding his mind all at once. They were bits and pieces, small moments in time that didn’t seem to connect at all. UA was attacked… There were Nomu there… Dabi appeared somewhere along the line as well, but he couldn’t pinpoint when exactly. There was yelling and static screens and panic and pain… Not necessarily in that order.

Then he remembered ground beta. He used his taser on someone there, but he couldn’t make out the face of the person who fell to the ground. He remembered feeling powerful, energetic. Remembered feeling excruciating pain… Remembered the feeling of Izuku’s lips on his… They were dry with dust, but at the same time they tasted metallic from the blood that was smeared all over due to his injuries. Yeah, Izuku had been injured… He was injured too, wasn’t he..?

Yeah, it was all coming back to him now. One For All. All For One. The explosion. Katsuki didn't realize he was breathing so erratically until a mask was placed over his face, forcing air into his lungs at a steady pace. Tears stung in his eyes as his trembling body calmed down. Did he do it? Did he defeat All For One? Was that bastard finally gone now? Where was Izuku? What happened to him? Was he okay? Did he make it out of the blast zone in time?

“Hey, it’s okay, calm down” Melissa said, her tone soothing as she rubbed his shoulders.
“You’re safe, okay? It’s all over now. You saved everyone”
“I-Izuku..?” Katsuki sniffled, a few tears escaping against his will.
“Midoriya is fine” Melissa smiled, and Katsuki believed her. He let out a shaky sigh as she removed the mask, allowing him to breath on his own again.

“Your injuries were the worst out of everyone’s… It’s a miracle you survived, honestly. You had to go through multiple long surgeries and then there was the risk of your body rejecting your prosthetic arms and you got a nasty fever too, which slowed your recovery time tremendously. At one point the doctors weren’t even sure you’d wake up from your coma… But then you started improving! You’re even fully conscious now!”

“What do you mean? Fully conscious?” Katsuki frowned, trying to ignore the fact he could’ve died ten times over just by trying to save him.
“The first few times you woke up, you just babbled nonsense and couldn’t retain information” Melissa explained.
“You probably don’t remember, but I’ve been coming in regularly to make sure your arms are fully functional and your body isn’t rejecting the foreign technology”

Huh… Katsuki didn’t remember seeing her before… Maybe that’s why the nurse didn’t bother explaining shit to him the first time he woke up, because she thought he wouldn’t remember anyway? Maybe he woke up more times then he actually remembered...
“...And I was in a coma..? How long have I been in here?” he asked, watching how she quickly screwed a panel shut before closing the outer shell of his arm. His fake arm. That would need some getting used to…

“I think it’s a bit over a month now” she hummed, making his eyes widen. A month?! He’d been out cold for a whole fucking month?!
“I met your parents while they were visiting, they’re very nice people”
She was redirecting the subject, not wanting to freak him out.
“Your dad always steps out of the room when I get to work though. He gets uncomfortable seeing someone peel open his son’s arm”

“Wuss” Katsuki mumbled, even though he flipped when seeing it the first time. If anyone asked, he’d completely deny it.
“Your mom says the same thing” Melissa chuckled, putting her screwdriver away in a tool box. Katsuki hadn’t noticed it standing on the ground until she bent down to reach it, but then again, his movements were pretty restricted while he was bound to this bed.

“I hear your friends come by pretty often too. I saw that redhead you were with on I-island the other day, actually. Oh, and I had some interesting discussions with some of your classmates! I didn’t know you were following the support course! It’ll make the maintenance of your arm mechanics easier for you to understand, so you’ve got that going for you”

“What about Izuku?” he asked, not meeting her eyes as he stared at the white hospital sheets.
“Has he… Has he come to visit..?”
“Oh yeah, he was here every day the first week after the battle. Security had to drag him away from your room so he’d take care of himself!” she laughed. How typical… Katsuki mentally noted to scold the nerd for ruining his own health while he was in a coma.

“He’s banned from visiting since he attacked a doctor somewhere around week two, though” she added, making his eyes widen.

“He did what ?!”

“It’s a long story” she shrugged, as if that was a valid excuse.
“I wasn’t there to see it myself so I don’t feel like it’s my place to tell you about the details. Anyway, I’m done here for today!”
With that she got up from her seat, giving him one last smile.
“I’ll be stopping by again when you start your physical therapy to make sure everything is in order. Don’t try to strain yourself too much until then, alright?”

“It’s not like I can go anywhere” Katsuki grunted, a bit pissed she didn’t explain how Deku got kicked out of the hospital. That nerd was a fucking regular at places like this! If health care offered stamp cards, Izuku would’ve filled out at least ten by now!
“I’ll tell the doctors you’re up on my way out, okay? See you next time, Bakugou. Bye!”
“Bye…” he sighed.

The rest of the day was filled with tests and examinations, people prodding and poking him everywhere to see if everything was alright. His parents came to visit the day after, which was an emotionally exhausting experience. His dad cried, of course, and his mom scolded him less than he expected her to. They were all just happy he was alive, really. And as his sleeping schedule slowly returned to normal over the following days, the doctors allowed some of his friends in to see him.

He was only allowed 4 visitors at a time, he was still recovering after all. That didn’t stop his friends from being obnoxiously loud though…
“Bakubro!” Kirishima cried out when he saw Katsuki was awake.
“Dude, you scared us so much! Never do something like that again!” Kaminari whined, instantly going in for the hug. Katsuki couldn’t hug back, but he sighed and put his chin on his shoulder.

“You have no idea how happy we are that you woke up!” Mina sobbed, clinging to his arm. He could feel her touch but tried not to think about it too much, still getting used to the feeling of his prosthetics.
“Yeah, you gave us quite the scare there man” Sero sighed, a somber look in his eyes.
“Tch, you’re not getting rid of me that easily” Katsuki mumbled, turning his head to Denki.
“Oi Pikachu, off”

“Right, sorry!” Kaminari yelped, quickly backing off.
“You okay man? You’re not in pain, right?” Kirishima asked, worry laced in his tone of voice.
“I’m fine, Kirishima” Katsuki sighed.
“It’s just...the arms”
“Right…”

It was silent for a moment after that and Katsuki mentally cursed himself for bringing up his new disability. They were probably still processing all this shit too.
“So… Can you move them?” Denki asked, curiosity taking over.
“I can make a fist” Katsuki shrugged, demonstrating it as he spoke.
“Can’t lift them up really high yet, but I’ve got some basic movements down. They’re heavier than I’m used to and my brain needs to make some new connections so it’s a pain in the ass”

“Must be weird, having robot arms all of the sudden” Sero sighed.
“I’m just glad I have fucking arms at all. Apparently they were really messed up” Katsuki said.
“Yeah, we uh, we saw” Ashido said, looking away.
“We were there when they found you. You looked… You looked really bad, Bakugou”

“Makes me kinda wonder how Midoriya managed to just fuck up his bones” Kaminari chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood a little.
“I mean, Kat basically blew up his arms and he only used it for like-”
“Wait, hold on” Katsuki interrupted.
“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh uh…” Denki stammered, looking kinda lost.
“We know about One For All” Mina stated, making sure to look Katsuki in the eye when she did so. W-what..? No… No, no, no, no, how the fuck did that happen?! How did they-?!
“We know Midoriya gave it to you in your fight against All For One. That you used it to power up your own quirk and create a huge explosion… It’s how you messed up your arms”

“Who-” Katsuki wanted to ask, only to get interrupted.
“Midoriya told us everything, Bakugou” Kirishima breathed.
“When he finally started explaining what happened there… He told us he handed over his quirk to you, told us about how you guys beat All For One together… How you returned it to him while you...y-you…”

Tears welled up in his eyes as he trailed off, unable to keep a straight face anymore. Katsuki couldn’t recall what happened after the explosion. He thought he’d been unconscious the whole time, but if he managed to give One For All back to Izuku… The quirk activated by just thinking about it, as if it was a reflex, and Katsuki gasped as orange sparks danced in front of his eyes. It’s like he thought… The embers were still burning inside him, like what happened to All Might.

“Dude! You can still use it?!” Denki exclaimed when he let the power dissipate again.
“Yeah, I guess so…” Katsuki mumbled, looking down at his hands as he slowly wiggled his fingers. It tingled a little… It was a funny feeling.
“One For All is a quirk that’s passed down from person to person, leaving a trail of its essence behind just like it takes part of its users with it… What’s left inside me are just...embers”

“Still, that’s super cool” Sero grinned, making Katsuki huff.
“Probably shouldn’t use it too much or I’ll mess up my brand new arms” he said, amusement evident in his voice.
“Maybe Midoriya can teach you how to use it?” Kirishima suggested, making him shrug. Yeah, maybe… It’s not like Katsuki wanted to use it though. This wasn’t his power to wield…

“Wait, hear me out right now-” Mina gasped, earning their attention.
“Midoriya can use the quirks of the previous users, right? Cause the quirk takes part of their essence with it or whatever Blasty just said. Does that mean Midoriya has your quirk now?”
Katsuki simply stared at her, a blank expression on his face. He...hadn’t thought about that up until now…

“I don’t know… It could be..?” Katsuki whispered, in shock at the revelation. If Izuku was able to use his quirk, would that mean he’d start sweating nitroglycerin as well? Did that mean he would face all the drawbacks of his quirk too? It was a lot to think about…
“Guys, I think we broke him” Kaminari snorted, earning a glare from Katsuki.
“Let’s just change the topic” Kirishima suggested.

“What happened to All For One? After the explosion?” Katsuki asked, seeing his friends tense up.
“They locked him back up, right? Don’t tell me that fucking bastard escaped after I-”
“He didn’t escape!” Kirishima intervened, wanting to make that abundantly clear.
“So he’s back in Tartarus then?” Katsuki continued, because that was the only logical follow up, right?

“Nah… You, uhm, kinda... killed him..?” Sero said slowly, his voice rising a little at the end of his sentence. He did what?! Was he serious right now? Was that bastard really dead?!
“It was self defence, obviously, so you’re not getting in trouble for it or anything!” Denki quickly added as Katsuki started crying. Fucking moron! He wasn’t crying because he was freaking out! These tears were from the pure relief that washed over him!

Finally… It was finally over . That asshole was dead. He could never suddenly appear and ruin his life again. He couldn’t pop up out of nowhere with every turn, couldn’t make him miserable anymore because he was dead . Deceased. Gone. And Katsuki was so happy ! He was relieved and overwhelmed and so damn happy! He never thought he could be this glad to have killed a man, yet here he was.

“H-how-” he choked out, taking a shaky breath to calm himself down.
“How did Izuku take it..?”
“He was...conflicted, at first” Mina explained.
“You know, it was his dad and all that and Midoriya beat himself up for not feeling bad about him dying even though he was a total jerk”
“It didn’t take very long for him to accept it though” Sero shrugged.

“Your life was much more important”

Katsuki couldn’t help but blush, trying to hide it by looking away but being caught anyway. They all thought it was super cute! And after they teased him about it, they started telling him about all the things that happened while he was sleeping. The dormitory system was basically destroyed so students were asked to return home if possible. There was emergency housing set up for those who couldn’t but the repairs were almost done by now.

Ground beta was a disaster zone. They would have to break all remaining buildings down and start building it back up from scratch if they wanted to have a structurally safe urban training ground again. Whoops. But other than that, things were returning to normal. Classes had started back up three weeks ago and students had access to free counseling and therapy in order to get over their new trauma.

And yeah, the world now knew about One For All too. About All Might’s legacy and Izuku’s destiny. Everything was over now, wasn’t it? All For One was defeated, Shigaraki was apparently captured as well, and peace was restored. Only some members of the League escaped, but Katsuki doubted they’d stir up much trouble in the future. It was only a matter of time before they were caught.

In the days that followed, his physical therapy started. He was also visited by his teachers, his classmates, his friends and family in general. Everyone but the one person he so desperately wanted to see… Not until two weeks later, when he was finally allowed to leave. The media had caught wind of his release so they were crowding the entrance, but Katsuki found them easy to ignore when his eyes fell upon a beautiful freckled face.

The world around them seemed to stop moving as their eyes met, his legs moving before his mind could think. They were reunited with a hug, spinning around for a moment due to the momentum. Katsuki was overly careful, not holding onto Izuku as hard as he wanted to, afraid he might hurt him. He broke enough things in physical therapy to know his grip strength needed serious focus to control. At least, for now. He’ll get the hang of it, for sure.

The flashes of the cameras around them were almost blinding when they kissed, so it was a good thing their eyes were closed. It really shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did when those pictures were plastered all over the news the day after. Headlines such as ‘Wonder Duo reunited!’ and ‘Love conquers all!’ plastered above it. Katsuki didn’t mind it all that much, not as much as the damn interview requests anyway.

Izuku explained they’d been rolling in since day one and he had done a few just to get the story out there and satisfy the public. Katsuki didn’t want to go through that bullshit and he wasn’t obliged to either. No, he just wanted things to go back to normal. To wake up at home with King barking up at his feet and a homemade breakfast with his parents. To take the train to school with Izuku while UA was still rebuilding the dorms, holding hands the entire way. To tinker away in the workshop and bicker with his classmates.

To be young, to be in love, to enjoy his life.

And screw everyone who stood in the way of his happiness!

//\\
\\//

Katsuki was humming the familiar tune that played on the radio as he doodled a new design on his tablet. He was laying on the couch, wearing one of his favourite hoodies. It was a piece of Deku merch he designed himself, the only one in existence. Green with bunny ears attached to the hood, the characteristic black lines at his sides and the pattern of his gloves running down his sleeves.

He blindly grabbed his mug, sipping from the hot choco as he glanced outside. The snow was really coming down. Hopefully it wouldn’t cause any traffic accidents, but he doubted it. Because if everything had gone smoothly today, his boyfriend would’ve been home by now… He sighed, putting his things down and getting up, stretching his arms with a groan. It’s not like there was any real muscle in there that needed stretching but he could still feel the gears turning. Hmm, he should apply some oil soon, judging by the small sounds they were making.

Yeah, living with Izuku definitely had its ups and downs, but it was something he’d always wanted. They graduated high school almost three years ago now and they sure as hell made a name for themselves out there. The hero Deku was known as the symbol of Hope, shining light on a new generation, saving and helping people whenever he could. Katsuki, on the other hand, was a successful support engineer.

He represented M2B but worked independently most of the time. He did everything one could think of when hearing the words Hero Fashion. Designing and making custom hero outfits and support items for a few high end hero agencies, but also designing merch in general and sometimes logos for new upcoming heroes. He flew over to I-island at least three times a year for some major projects, just like Deku sometimes went abroad on long missions. They tried to time it right so neither would have to come home to an empty house.

But work wasn’t everything. No, they still made time to see their friends and go on dates or just cuddle up together on the couch and watch movies. They discovered that, yes, Izuku can use Explosion now, but not to the extent Katsuki could in the past. It’s a quirk that requires the user to stock up on nitroglycerin, which combined with another stockpiling quirk like One For All didn’t seem to work all that well in practice. Katsuki was glad about that though. It was better this way.

He yawned, grabbing his mug and moving towards the kitchen. It was Izuku’s turn to cook, but since he was running late it’ll probably be take-out tonight. Ah well, Katsuki was kinda craving some greasy food right now anyways. He barely noticed the song on the radio was interrupted for a news broadcast as he picked up his phone. There was a single text greeting him as he tapped on the screen.

Izuku💚: Running late today sorry!!

Tch… Like he hadn’t noticed already. Katsuki sighed, quickly texting him to stop by their usual take-out place on his way home before putting his phone down again. Meanwhile the radio droned on about the weather and some crazy accident on the highway. Huh, looks like Deku saved everyone by the sound of it. Accidents with so many civilians involved caused a massive pile of paperwork though. No wonder he was running late…

Well, that did give him some extra time to work on his secret project. He grabbed the tablet again, opening the right file with a tap of his pen. A small smile rose to his lips as the picture popped up. He’d been working on it for a while now, he’d never designed anything quite like it before, after all. And it needed to be absolutely perfect. Yes, sturdy yet sleek and elegant and so them … It was harder than he thought it would be. Then again, he was only planning on designing a wedding ring once in his life so it was worth the temporary struggle.

Soon he’ll be able to see Izuku wear it, to wake up and see his own design on both their hands, officially tying them together for the rest of their lives. Majutsu and Mina had been helping him find a romantic way to propose, seeing it wasn’t really his thing, and Kirishima had almost spilled everything to Izuku at least trice by now. Yeah, Katsuki should’ve known better than to tell him ahead of time. He knew that guy couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Katsuki was so lost in thought as he digitally perfected his creation that he didn’t hear Izuku until the front door slammed shut.
“I’m home!” he called out while Katsuki frantically closed the file and put his tablet down, shooting up from the couch to greet his soon to be fiance home.
“Welcome home” Katsuki answered, giving Izuku a quick kiss on the lips.
“You got the food?”

“Yep! I got you the super spicy one, like always” he smiled, his face flushed from the cold outside. A part of Katsuki thought it was adorable, another part wanted to scold him for being out in the cold so long and risk getting sick.
“Great, let’s eat” Katsuki grinned, taking the bag from Izuku as he pulled off his coat and untied his shoes to leave them at the front door.

They chatted about their day to each other while they ate, cuddling up in a large blanket on the couch afterwards. Katsuki sighed, leaning closer to the broccoli boy. His eyes were glued to the hero documentary playing on the tv, but it was all background noise to the ash blonde. Izuku looked so handsome when he was focussed like this… He didn’t know what he ever did to deserve this man in his life…

He closed his eyes, slowly drifting off in his boyfriend’s arms. As a kid, he never imagined his life would turn out this way… He always thought he would become a hero, and in a way, he was. He wasn’t actively fighting villains or saving people, but he was helping from the sideline. Katsuki always thought he should be the one in the spotlight and for a support engineer, he’d gotten pretty famous. 

His path wasn’t flawless, he wasn’t perfect. If some people had bumps in the road to success, he might as well have climbed mountains to get where he was right now! His life was a total mess at the start of high school, incidents and memories that still follow him up until this day… But he had come to accept what happened. It shaped him into the man he is today, pushed him into the life he now lives.

Yeah, his life turned out totally different than what he imagined as a kid, but at the same time it’s everything he’d always envisioned and more. He had friends, a successful career, a nice house to come home to, a person he loved so much he wanted to share the rest of his life with them… If this wasn’t happiness, then what is?