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The air was thick with smoke. Their respiratory systems wouldn’t hold up for much longer, that was definite.
Izuku and Katsuki were stuck deep beneath a collapsed building, on the 10th underground floor, or, the basement. All the other stairwells were on fire or collapsed. The elevator had obviously been compromised. Most of the civilians and heroes alike had been rescued from the above-ground floors and the basement floors that were closer to the surface. Those that could still be saved, at least. The hero commission was very efficient. But the 8th basement floor and below were barricaded and unable to be recovered beneath the rubble.
They were trapped in hell. The fire was concentrated in the cramped, dark area. They couldn’t see anything around them besides the bright orange glow of the fire and what it lit up. Izuku clung to Katsuki desperately, as it was the only thing familiar to him in the confusion around them.
Many people have a misunderstanding about fire. Without enough space and oxygen to roam, it’ll be put out. Maybe that’s true, but in the condensed pressure beneath the earth that is the bottommost floor, what with the pressurized air, the fire would only grow more quickly. The cement walls were practically melting.
They were burning alive, and if not the heat, then the concentrated smoke with little proper oxygen would surely do them in.
“Kacchan…” Izuku rasped, holding him tightly.
Katsuki would have rolled his eyes or told Deku to shut up, but he had half a mind to understand that Izuku was probably the last person he was going to see and hear, and well, he wasn’t going to waste time on his ego.
They couldn’t escape. Quirks are useless when Izuku’s been impaled through the stomach by debris and Katsuki’s arms were bubbled up with sweltering blisters from fire burns.
“Shhh, I know.” Katsuki rasped, his voice crackly and dry. It was the kind of voice that you hear and get annoyed because you think, god just drink water! And it starts making you feel thirsty too.
He didn’t want Izuku to talk. He didn’t want him to waste what little strength he might still have have that could last him until they were saved. Maybe.
“They’re gonna come for us. It’ll be okay.” Katsuki promised, though he wasn’t very sure of it himself.
“No, they won’t.” Izuku said, coughing. Katsuki could barely see, but he could sure as hell feel the wet blood that splattered onto his neck. Jesus Christ. His stomach plummeted, and he held Izuku even tighter in his arms, perfectly in his lap, as if it would keep him safe and present.
“Yes, nerd, they fucking will. Can’t you hear the sirens?” He asked, because the one thing he could hear besides the crumbling building and crackling of fire was the loud, blaring sirens from several floors above. But he’s not sure those sirens would ever actually reach them.
Izuku squinted, and straitened his ears. All he could hear was a dull ringing that made him want to pass out, and the sound of Katsuki’s strong voice, though it was like he was speaking to Izuku from underwater.
“No, I-I can’t.” Izuku said, his voice cracking with worry, and Katsuki could imagine his eyes watering.
He ran his hands through Izuku’s hair, tucking some behind his ear. It was soft, but also dusty from debris, and there were a few blood clumps.
He had never been so vulnerable with Izuku, because, well, he didn’t want to be hurt. Who the fuck would want Katsuki? No one, people wanted to be Katsuki, and be in his spot light, and be his friend. But no one wanted him; wanted to spend their life with him.
Of course, Izuku had already spent his life with him, at a distance somewhat, but still. It was different.
In the heat of this fire, all of that anxiety and all of his reservations melted away with it. He didn’t care. He would spend what was probably his last moments being as real as he can in the depths of his heart to Izuku
“You can’t hear those loud ass sirens?” Katsuki asked, his eyebrows furrowing with even more concern. They were so fucked.
“No.. no I can’t hear anything. My ears are ringing.” Izuku said before coughing again.
Katsuki nodded, his lip trembling in worry. He hated crying. It was weak. But his body hurt so bad, he was sure he was about to die, he was watching his childhood best friend die in his arms, his head hurt, he couldn’t breathe, and he didn’t know how to say everything he wanted to in the time he had left. It all sucked.
“It’s okay. We’ll get help soon, okay? They’re coming.” Katsuki repeated. He was trying to convince himself. He didn’t want Izuku to die in fear.
The floodgates opened, and he sobbed. It was ugly. He hated it; he didn’t want to worry Izuku.
“Kacchan?” Izuku asked, concerned. His trembling hand felt around and found Katsuki’s face, cupping his cheek. He could tell Katsuki had burns all over. He did too. But the pain had become so great that he could hardly feel it anymore.
“I’m fine.” Katsuki said quickly.
There was a deep pause.
“Kacchan?
“What?” He answered immediately, because who was he to waste time?
Izuku reached up a trembling hand, tugging at his own hair.
Katsuki immediately clasped his hand over Izuku’s, stopping him because he knew the nerd all too well, and he wasn’t about to let him do that:
“I’m gonna die.” Izuku said shakily, like he knew it for a fact as well as he knows 2+2.
“No you’re fucking not.” Katsuki said back quickly.
“I am.” Izuku said, effectively tugging out some of his hair, because Katsuki’s arms were in worse shape than his, and not strong enough to stop Izuku.
“Take it.”
“No.”
“Take it Kacchan.” Izuku demanded.
“Fucking no! Eat your own shitty hair!” Katsuki yelled, almost sobbing.
“If one for all dies with me because you didn’t take it, I’ll never forgive either of us.”
“You’re such a fuckin wimp, one for all isn’t going anywhere! You’re staying right fucking here with me until the heroes come.”
“We’re heroes, and we can’t even save ourselves.”
“Are you calling me weak?” Katsuki demanded, because he didn’t know what else to do but to start a fight.
Izuku gave him a sad look that said ‘you know very well I’m not.’
They fell silent for a couple moments.
Katsuki couldn’t help himself, he stroked Izuku’s face because he could. Because he couldn’t do anything else. “You still with me nerd?” He asked out of habit. He’s done that probably 20 times since they’ve been stuck down there.
Izuku didn’t respond but Katsuki felt him move, and that was good enough.
It was burning even hotter.
Katsuki was acclimated to intense heat because of his quirk, and he still felt like his skin was melting off the bone. He couldn’t imagine what Izuku was feeling.
He felt Izuku’s hand wander, trembling as it reached up. He pushed two pinched fingers against Katsuki’s lips. He had a hair wedged between them. Katsuki rolled his eyes. He batted Izuku’s hand away.
“Do it again and you’ll regret it. I don’t want your stupid quirk asshole!” Katsuki yelled, his throat burning. He knew he should probably conserve his energy, but he couldn’t help himself.
Around them, there was a dangerous creek and snap, and some more rubble fell down quite near them. These didn’t have a lot of time left. A few minutes, maybe.
Katsuki wasn’t a very hopeful individual.
Izuku coughed again. Another splatter of blood seeped into the fabric of Katsuki’s hero uniform and dampened his skin. There was more this time. It made him feel sick.
Of course Izuku was coughing up blood. He was impaled through the stomach, or, at least somewhere near it. Probably not his stomach, since the acid would be burning him alive and would have killed him already.
Katsuki tried not to show how much he was panicking, but his hands involuntarily shook.
“Sorry. I’m sorry…” he rasped, his voice coming out in a whisper no matter how hard he tried. It was now or never, he supposed.
“I’m such a shitty person. I can’t… my body is always destroying itself, so I snap at other people. You’re… you’re the last person I want to hurt. I know… Jesus…” he coughed, his voice dying out, but he forced it to work. This was too important.
“I know the shit I did in middle school probably makes you hate me. I’m sorry Izuku. I’m sorry… I’ve tried to be better lately but no matter what I do, I’m sill a shitty jerk, and I keep hurting you. I’m so fucking bad for you.” He paused, thinking Izuku would reply in some way, but when he didn’t, he just kept going. It’s all he knew.
“Izuku… I wish I wasn’t admitting this to you while we’re about to fucking die but I’m a coward. I…” he coughed again and sniffed. The smoke was thick. He saw in the dim light Izuku blink, and it was enough to keep going.
“I wish was enough for you. I can’t ever be enough; I’ll never catch up to you. You’re too good…” he waited, his lip trembling.
“I love you.”
Izuku clearly tried to make a sound but coughed instead. Looks like that wasn’t possible.
Katsuki frowned, shaking his head. “Stop, don’t do that.” He said urgently
Izuku let out a sound of need. He wanted to speak. The words were failing them.
In one great motion, Izuku latched on to Katsuki’s shoulders, using all of his strength to sit himself up on Katsuki’s lap. He cried in pain for just a moment but persisted.
Katsuki tried to stop him; tried to get him to relax and lay back down, but of course you can’t win against a stubborn nerd that was apparently determined to worsen his wounds.
“The fuck are you-“ he began, before he felt both of Izuku’s hands clasp to the sides of his face.
Izuku’s breath was warm, but fickle and weak. He understood it all. He leaned in, feeling Izuku’s chapped, but wet lips. He tasted the blood on them.
He felt greedy. His hands held the back of Izuku’s head,
Pulling him in to kiss him more.
He didn’t know why this was happening; why Izuku wanted him; why they were about to die. But he wanted to cherish every second of this moment as if everything was normal.
He pulled back, gasping for the smoky air, which wasn’t very helpful.
He realized quickly that he had just sort of assumed.
“Izuku?” He asked. “I know this is a shitty situation. Do you love me? Like, actually? You don’t have to. You really don’t have to.” He said, feeling like an insecure teenage girl.
Izuku didn’t answer. Katsuki didn’t expect him to, but he didn’t even feel Izuku move. His heart dropped.
He squinted his eyes to see better, bringing Izuku’s face very near his to get a better look. His emerald eyes had faded of life, his mouth was open, blood pouring out and dripping down his chin.
Katsuki’s heart skipped several lethal beats. His lip trembled. “Izuku…?” He whispered, his voice already scratchy, but it cracked with emotion.
“Izuku? Izuku? Breathe. Just breathe, okay? That’s all I need.” He said quickly. He brought Izuku’s face close to his and turned his head so that his ear was near Izuku’s lips.
Nothing.
His teeth clenched, and he closed his eyes, feeling angry and hopeless.
“It’s okay…” he sniffed. Fuck, he was such a weak idiot. “I’m gonna stay here, okay? I’m not leaving. I’m here…” he promised to Izuku, who couldn’t hear him.
He wished he could make it right. But it was over. He couldn’t save Izuku who was dying before his eyes. He couldn’t even save himself, and he knew even if the building somehow lasted, he wouldn’t have much longer, either.
He neared his face to Izuku, brushing aside his wild curls and pressing their foreheads together as he just cried.
He didn’t want to survive. He wanted to go to wherever Izuku went. What was the point of living, or becoming a hero, or doing something ‘great’? He didn’t want to be great without Izuku. He’d rather be terrible with him.
He felt empty. He felt like a piece of him had been burned before his eyes, and there was nothing he could do to heal it.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” he whispered, kissing Izuku softly.
He sobbed.
He started to see spots. The heat licked up at his neck. He couldn’t breathe anymore. He didn’t know if it was the smoke getting thicker or his tears, or maybe something else entirely, but everything was too blurry. He couldn’t see. He tugged Izuku closer and laid down, unable to sit up anymore. It took too much of him to do even that. He made sure that Izuku was on top of him so that his skin wouldn’t be burned by the concrete beneath him. He could feel it bubble up his skin. He already knew Izuku was as good as gone, but it was like Katsuki didn’t want him to hurt any more than he already has.
Everything started to fade away.
“Iz.. uku… goodbye…” he muttered, though it was barely audible. His lungs were wheezy and filled with smoke.
In the darkness of his half-conscious mind, he held Izuku tight. The sirens grew louder and louder. He felt hands pry his body from the floor, holding him up. He was limp. Maybe this was his ascend to whatever there was or wasn’t after life.
“He’s alive.” Said a voice. It was very far away.
He felt cold as something washed over him. Cold, and it stung, but it was good. His burns ached. Water, he thought. He was laid upon a surface. A stretcher?
There was a sizzling of fire being put out around him.
“What about the other one?”
“His name is Izuku Midoriya. They’re friends.” Answered Aizawa, he recognized.
“He’s not breathing. Unresponsive. Recovery girl?” Called in a panicked voice, shuffling around amongst the gravel.
“Oxygen mask. Check for brain waves. We can still save him.” Answered a frail voice.
“The building is collapsing. The support team can’t hold for much longer!”
From a static radio, a voice called for backup.
“Let’s get out of here.” Said a man. Katsuki felt the sensation of being moved as he laid down upon the stretcher.
“Izuku…” He whispered. No one heard him.
His brain clicked on and off, picking up pieces of understanding and discarding them just as quickly.
He was ascending several floors, he figured. The walk was very bumpy.
“Bakugo, can you hear me?” Aizawa.
Katsuki couldn’t move. His voice was dead. All he could manage was a flutter of his eyelids just barely.
He tried all he could to make a noise, and managed a hum, which burned like all hell.
“It’s okay, I know it hurts. Recovery girl is working on you.” He hadn’t noticed until it was said, but he felt a soft radiation being subjected to his body. A soothing glow, and little wrinkly hands occasionally brushing against his skin. It should have burned unbearably, but every place those hands touched felt a million times better.
He felt the sun beat down on him as they emerged out of the building, a soft glow behind his eyelids.
He licked his lips, very thirsty. He found, as time progressed and he was healed more and more, he was able to open his eyes.
“Water.” He demanded.
Someone pressed a bottle to his lips. It was gone just as quickly as it was given.
“Izuku.” He demanded again, searching for him or Aizawa. Izuku was what mattered.
There was an uncomfortable pause. “He’ll be okay.” Said Aizawa, and Katsuki quickly found his teacher, squinting to get a better look. “Where is he?” He quickly asked, interrogating his the man.
“He’s in the ambulance.” Aizawa gestured to an obnoxious vehicle.
Katsuki stared, imploring Aizawa for further information.
“Look,” said Aizawa, his voice depressed of emotion. He looked like he was hurting as he spoke.
“Izuku… is in very bad condition, he-“
“He’s dead.” Katsuki interrupted. His face was plain. He didn’t have any tears left to cry.
Aizawa stared, a little stunned by his bluntness.
“He… yes. Yes, Izuku has passed. I don’t think there’s anything we can do. He’s gone, Bakugo.” Aizawa looked like he was trying to stay professional.
He knew that Izuku wasn’t really in the ambulance. They would reserve it for cases that weren’t entirely hopeless. It took incredible effort to crane his neck and look around.
They were in the parking lot of the building he was just trapped in. It was colored in a high flame, and several water heroes and fire fighters were working to put it out. Around were countless ambulance and medical staff, 3 to a stretcher. Over a hundred strewn across the parking lot. So many were injured.
Katsuki felt useless. He was a hero and he was taking up space.
He saw a stretcher, crowded by 3 people like every other, but buried beneath their business was pretty forest-colored curls. The kind he loves.
He had to see Izuku. Katsuki felt a stroke of determination, and that was enough to shove off the people working on him and sit up. It hurt like hell. His arms hurt. They were a mixed color of red and black charcoal, covered in dust and blisters. First degree burns. He didn’t care. He didn’t matter as much as Izuku did.
He couldn’t be so selfish as to give up the one thing that gave meaning to his sorry life.
Katsuki made a pained sound as he got up on shaky legs. The nurses tried to sit him back down, but he really just wouldn’t let them.
“Bakugo, lay back down.” Aizawa ordered.
“Fuck off.” He growled, running to Izuku on unstable legs that would give out in a moment's notice. His determination was purely miraculous.
“Get off of him!” He shouted at the nurses that surrounded Izuku. They looked up at Katsuki, confused, and that was enough of a distraction to shove his way through. He was only able to get himself on top of Izuku, one knee on either side of his waist. It wasn’t ideal but it worked.
His hands dug into the front of Izuku’s hero costume. His forever emerald eyes were now forced closed, unlike how they were before; perpetually open. He hated the vivid image in his head. It was gut-wrenching.
Of course, he was crying again, he noticed as he sniffed.
“Fuck, why couldn’t you just wait a few more seconds you little shit? I know you’re still there! I know you fucking are, idiot! Why did you do this to me!? To your mom- to all might!? You let one for all die you selfish bastard! How could you do this Izuku! I… I was just starting to figure it out. I had just learned to set aside being a dick and figured out I love you, and you let me wait all this time feeling the same!? We could have… we could have had so much more time together! Fuck! I hate you! I hate you, you stupid piece of shit!” Katsuki screamed as he sobbed, his voice cracking every other word with how weak his voice was. He was straining it just for this. Several hands tried to pry him away. He was desperately clinging on to Izuku, crying his eyes out. Izuku laid dead, uncaring.
How could the sun die?
He lowered his forehead to Izuku’s chest, crying violently. “I love you…” he whispered. He gasped for air, his lungs not working the way they should.
He leaned forward, kissing Izuku’s dry, cracked lips with his own wet ones that were covered in tears and spit. It was soft and quick.
“Sorry. They’re gonna make me leave you now. I have to go…” he mumbled against them, before sitting up.
“Goodbye Izuku.” He said, trying not to cry more as he let the arms grabbing him and the voices shouting at him pull him away. He knew he was in big trouble, but it didn’t matter to him.
He went limp in their arms, being dragged up from the floor.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flicker of light, and then another. It came from the center of Izuku’s chest. It was a pretty, soft green glow. One that looked nothing like one for all.
He stared in awe, before wriggling himself out of the arms pulling at him. He fell on the ground, and it was painful as fuck, but he ignored his body and crawled to Izuku, leaning close to him. He stared at his chest, praying for that light to come back. His ruby eyes were reflected with another glow.
He waited and waited. “Please…” he muttered. was this some kind of one for all bullshit? Was he delirious?
He felt himself tremble in anticipation. Perhaps some of the nurses noticed the same thing he did, and everyone around him stopped shouting at him, standing back and watching just as curiously as he was.
Izuku’s face flinched ever so slightly.
“Fuck…” Katsuki whispered, leaning in even closer, watching.
Izuku’s chest rose, and he felt his stop.
“Izuku?” He asked, his eyes watering again and his voice wavering with all the emotions he was feeling.
Izuku whimpered; his nose wrinkling with discomfort, and his eyes fluttered open. “Kacchan?” He asked.
Katsuki stared at him like he was a fucking angel sent from heaven
“Izuku…” he breathed, grabbing the sides of his face. Izuku’s scarred and burned hands shook with effort as they grabbed Katsuki’s wrists in return, and he smiled weakly.
“What… happened? I thought I… I mean I was…” he started, confused
“You fucking died.” Katsuki said; his eyes furrowed with what could have been anger.
“I know.” Izuku whispered, ashamed.
“Now you’re here.”
“I guess…”
They were both confused.
“So, when were you gonna tell me you could come back to life?” Katsuki laughed wetly, a tear falling down his cheek.
“well, I definitely would have if I knew, Kacchan.” Izuku pointed out, laughing all the same. The moment was so intimate
They felt like, even in the midst of the dangerous chaos in their lives, they had gained something very valuable that day that no one could ever really take away from then on; each other. They were closer than ever before.
Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s face, kissing him just because he could.
“I love you.” he whispered.
Izuku smiled back, his voice crackling as he managed out, “I love you too.”
The end.