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“And so, the hero falls”
Fall he did. He wasn’t entirely sure for how long he fell but it clearly had something to do with someone's quirk as when his body did hit the ground with a loud, uncomfortable thud, he wasn’t dead. He was in pain, but he wasn’t dead.
He didn’t know where he was either, the tall walls of whatever hole he had fallen into giving no indication of his whereabouts. Not that he would be able to think clearly with the throbbing pain in his head acting as a distraction enough either, but the comfort of at least some information being there would have been nice.
“Theatrical mother fucker” he whispered to himself, gritting his teeth the next second as he shifted in place, sitting and staring up at the light barely reaching him where he was. Or at least he thought it did, though couldn’t tell as the more he looked at the light, the more he felt himself spin.
Shutting his eyes for a moment, he tried to calm himself down. The spinning feeling didn’t stop, though the more relaxed he became, the slower it got. It was still there when he slowly moved his arm to open his pants pocket in order to fish out the painkillers he usually kept on his person for situations like this and while it wouldn’t exactly help with the spinning, it would with the pain.
What's next, he forced himself to think the second he popped the pills out of their individual packages, popping them into his mouth and swallowing them with more discomfort as he currently didn’t have the luxury of water.
What’s next?
He could feel the blood running down his head from when he hit it fighting the masked villain moments before he fell and realized that the pain wasn’t exactly his greatest threat at the moment.
He would have to stop the bleeding. How would he stop the bleeding? He didn’t have anything on him, Shouto usually carried that around. Shouto was smart enough to carry that around. Why didn’t he have any bandages?
Forcing his eyes open he stared at his own limp body for a moment before moving. The pain shot through his chest faster and fiercer than any other pain he had felt in his entire career. Or been awake enough to feel at least. Gritting his teeth again he reached for the bottom of his pants. While not the most hygienic, it was the only thing he had at the time and so, with whatever strength he could muster, he ripped a part off.
The dizziness got worse the second the fabric made contact with the wound though that wasn’t entirely unexpected as the additional pressure was both new and awful. Necessary though. It was necessary, he would remind himself.
What’s next? Somewhere in his head, a voice that suspiciously sounded enough like Shouto for him to momentarily doubt whether he really was alone or not, said. Demanded really, just like how he got when Katsuki was injured. It was like watching the wrath of God himself come to life when he got angry with him for getting a scratch or two.
This didn’t seem like a scratch or two so he knew he’d hear it when he got back.
If he got back.
He wouldn’t if he sat there with his back against the cold dirt and thinking of the scolding he’d get when he got home. Home to Shouto. Home to him and their dumb aggressive cat that fucking hated him for some reason.
What’s next?
Help. He needed to get help.
He reached a hand up, once again biting back the pain though this time it came from his shoulder. Either way, he touched his earpiece once a loud buzz came from it.
“Can anyone hear me?” he tried. If he was going to die down there-
No. Shouto hated it when he talked like that. He hated it when he himself talked like that. Like he was giving up before he even tried to do anything. He was Katsuki Bakugou. He didn’t just give up.
“Shouto? You out there?” he tried instead only to be met by silence. He wasn't entirely sure what he had expected and maybe the dizziness was really getting to him but any sign of anyone being out there had been nice.
What’s next?
Try again, he decided.
“This is Dynamight, requesting assistance,” he said, trying to speak as clearly as possible though with how he was breathing he knew he sounded like he had punctured a lung. He wasn’t sure if that was off the list either, to be honest. Breathing hurt and he couldn’t really do it right so it could be.
Again though, it wasn't as big of a problem as dying either.
“Can anyone hear me?”
Silence.
“This is Dynamight, is anyone there?”
Silence.
“Is anyone out there?”
Silence.
“This is Dynamight, requesting assistance. I am in a fucking hole or something and I-I can’t breathe right and-...the room-... the- the hole is spinning and- God fuck will someone just answer!”
Silence.
What’s next?
It was definitely Shouto's voice he was hearing. No one else sounded like that and no one else could bring him to a calm like that. Or at least as calm as he could feel then and there.
The spinning feeling was getting worse now. He could feel exhaustion sneaking up on him, slowly getting closer and closer like it knew he could do nothing to stop it. It was playing with him, he figured. Like a cat, toying with a mouse before consuming it.
It was then he realized that all he could do was sit and wait. Sit and wait while he knew the time would go on and on. Maybe no one would come. Maybe someone would. Either way, he couldn’t do much other than sit and wait.
He knew using his quirk now would lead to consequences. He wasn’t even entirely sure he could blast himself out of the place. It was too narrow. The surrounding was dirt on top of that. Regular dirt. It wouldn’t handle a blast and it could all come crashing down too.
“Can anyone hear me?” he tried one more time.
It didn’t do anything. He hadn’t exactly expected it to but at least he was trying.
What’s next?
They were recorded, he remembered. The messages. Regardless of whether or not they could hear anything on the other end, his piece would pick up his words and keep them safe. Or as safe as they could be.
It was designed as such for a whole list of reasons. At the moment though, he felt an enormous amount of gratitude for at least being able to word his goodbyes if he did end up not making it out.
It wasn’t giving up.
It was making sure Shouto got to hear from him at least. The closure he would need to move on. He wasn’t entirely sure if he would get enough time to get to anyone else though at the moment the only one in his head was that dumb dual-haired man who he had come to love so much.
If he couldn’t do anything, and if time was running out, he was going to spend his last moment talking to him. Or…talking to something like him. The closest thing he could get.
Reaching up to his earpiece again he switched to the private channel of Shouto and him.
“Uh-” he started, taking a moment to regain his breath. He forced the air to move in and out of his lungs. Shouto deserved a good goodbye. It was the least he could do. If they ever found him, it was the least he could do for failing him. “I don’t know if you’ll hear this or not, Sho…I-...God, I’m hoping you get this if I’m…gone” he said, taking in a deep breath.
There was so much to say. Where would he start though?
When he had worlds of things he wanted to tell him, what was he supposed to pick?
“I’m missing you a shit ton right now though- uh- I’d rather you weren’t with me exactly,” he said. At least the other hadn’t gotten dragged along with him. “I don’t even know if you’re safe,” he said next, it getting a bitter laugh out of him. He hadn’t even questioned whether or not he was safe or not. It was Shouto though. He was far greater than anyone he had ever met. It seemed almost obvious that he was fine. But then again, he was down here and he didn’t know shit it seemed. “I hope you’re safe, Sho,” he whispered. “Please-...be safe”
A plea. One he hoped the universe would grant him.
“Listen. If you are hearing this- and…well then I obviously didn’t make it and you won’t…-” he cut himself off for a moment.
This wasn’t a good goodbye. This wasn't even remotely close to good.
“I’m sorry” he whispered instead, letting his eyes close again as he let his head rest on the wall behind him. “Tell Rice cooker that even if I said I hated her, I do miss her right now too-...and remember to not feed her too much. And-...and don’t spoil her either, you hear me? You got a habit of doing that” he said, sighing to himself again. “Don’t eat soba more than twice a week, you’ll die” he added to the list.
He didn’t know what exactly a good goodbye was, but he was pretty sure he was far off.
“I’m-...sorry for coming home late from work all the time. I wish I got to spend more time with you. I didn’t really think this was it. I mean…I-I knew the chances of something like this happening were pretty high but…I thought I had more time” he said. “I’d have watched all those shitty anime movies you wanted to watch all the time. Maybe…we could have even gotten pizza or something once and just binge-watched them on the couch and be unhealthy as fuck and-...and I would have held you.” he paused to gather his breath again “I wish I could hold you again. Just once”
“Katsuki”
“Just once,” he said again. “I love you so much. I always felt like I didn’t say that enough. I know you know and I know you said it was fine that I didn’t tell you until I was ready but…I might have spent too much time” he said. “I regret taking so long,” he admitted. “I’m really fucking tired right now. Or…or I’m dizzy. I can’t really tell anymore” he mumbled.
“Katsuki?”
“I miss you”
“Stay awake, Katsuki. We’re coming to get you”
It took him a moment to realize.
Regardless of how similar the voice in his head echoing the voice of the man he had dedicated half his life to was, it was never as soothing and nice as the real one
“Sho” he whispered and he could hear the relief in his own voice. “This better be fucking real or I swear to god I’m going to kill whoever is making me dream this” he then muttered bitterly, not liking the thought at all. While the comfort of getting to see his depiction of Shouto before he fell unconscious was somewhat comforting, he wanted the real one there. He wanted the real one talking to him. He wanted his Shouto.
“It’s real” came the response.
“That uh-...that sounds suspicious”
He heard a laugh. The laugh that in his personal opinion, could cure even the worst of diseases and illnesses. Shouto’s laugh. Weak and tired and full of worry but still a laugh.
“Stay awake for me, Kats,” he said.
“I’m trying. But it’s getting hard” he replied. It was, he realized. Even with his heart hammering in his chest and beating like loud drums in his ears, he realized he couldn’t keep his eyes open for long. Whether it was the pain getting to him, the blood loss, or the dizziness. He wasn’t even sure if the dizziness even had any effect on the matter but it sure felt like it. “I’m glad I’m getting to talk to you again,” he said.
The more he talked, the more he’d stay awake, he figured.
“You’re going to talk to me when you come back,” Shouto said in that voice he used when he was trying to talk not only himself but the whole team into a fit of optimism when things were dire. He had actually never imagined it to have come from him of all people when he was in high school, but the mix of blunt truth and the look in his eyes was surprisingly good at changing people's hearts.
“Yeah? You-...not gonna yell at me for ending up in a hole?” he asked, it meant to be teasing though he wasn’t entirely sure how the other perceived it with the silence that followed. It was a shitty joke anyway but, oh well.
“How hurt are you?” he asked eventually.
“I hit my head badly. Probably got a concussion or some shit. Uh-I’m bleeding but I bandaged it up” he replied after a moment of analyzing himself again. He did already know what was wrong with him but with the state he was in, double-checking really couldn’t harm him all that much. “I think I’ve busted some ribs and something wrong with my leg but I can’t tell if anything is broken or if it's just…anything else”
There was silence on the other end again.
“I’m alive though”
“And your breathing?”
“Not great” he wasn’t entirely sure if telling him all these things was good or bad but Shouto was currently the one who could actually get someone to fix him up the second they figured out where he was so telling him didn’t seem all that bad. “Might be the ribs. Might be the lungs” he replied. “I’m real dizzy though. And…kinda feels like when you had to drag me home from the office-? I-I think I’m more tired than I was then.”
“Stay awake,” Shouto said, sounding even more worried than earlier and he…honestly had no idea it was possible. Had it been any other moment, he probably would have laughed at it, however, because of some masked mother fucker who had severe issues with either themselves or with the world around them and wanted some sort of revenge for some unknown reason, he couldn’t. He physically could not. Technically he could but it was not desirable. Because…it was painful. If that wasn’t fucking obvious already.
“Any closer to finding me?” he asked instead, letting his eyes shut again to get rid of the dizziness again. The more his eyes were kept open, the dizzier he got, unfortunately. The only downside to this plan, however, was that this also got him one step closer to falling unconscious.
The silence on the other end really wasn’t all that promising.
“You’re….gone,” Shouto said after a moment again. “We’re trying to use the earpiece to track you down but it doesn’t make any sense. It’s like you’ve been entirely erased even if I can hear you”
“Well that fucking sucks,” he said, unable to help himself from letting out a huff of a laugh that took so much more out of him than he originally thought it would. He couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t used to showing fear so it usually came out like that.
“Katsuki”
“I didn’t think I’d go like this”
“You’re going home. You’re not going anywhere else” Shouto replied quicker than he needed to though he appreciated it nonetheless. “You said we’d get pizza, and watch my movies” he added as if there was any hope for that now that he was officially missing. “They’re trying again” he then said though it sounded more like an order than anything.
“So you did hear it?” he decided to ask, ignoring the demand or threat he was giving to someone.
“I heard parts of it. You were cutting out”
“Oh,” he said because he had nothing else to say. He let out another sigh. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was but something about the thought of Shouto being able to hear at least part of what he wanted to tell him was comforting.
“You still with me, Kats?” he heard from the other side.
“Barley” he whispered. “I meant…I meant every word I said to you, you know” he said slowly.
“I know. You never say anything you don’t mean”. He was actually quite glad Shouto seemed to be picking up on that, even if he did tell him every week or so. “I can’t believe you thought of me when you should have been focusing on you though” he then sighed out. He sounded disappointed but not in a particularly bad way. It was more of a worried disappointment than anything which he could definitely live with.
“What can I say? You’ve got a chokehold on me” he replied, huffing another laugh regardless of how it killed him a bit on the inside.
That got another laugh out of the dual-haired male though. God , he was going to miss that laugh.
“When you get home… when not if -...I’m not ever going to let you leave me again, you hear?” Shouto then said, humming softly to himself. He was glad he could make him feel better at least. “You even think about leaving our bed and I’ll have RC keep her eye on you” he threatened.
“She would kill me and you know it” he scoffed though smiled a bit to himself. He would give anything for that right now. “How she can see better than me when she only has one eye is unexplainable by science”
“She has a certain rage in her. Like you, Kats and it turns into determination” came the explanation.
“Can’t deny that” he hummed back, letting out another sigh. “Still a little shit though” he declared, wanting the last word regardless of the cat not actually being there.
There was a silence following once more. A comfortable one. One that couldn’t have been too good considering he was almost falling asleep again though luckily, Shouto did break it.
“I’m getting you back, Katsuki. I don’t care if I have to search every corner of the world. I’m getting you back” he said and he sounded like he was lowering his voice. Like it was only for him to hear.
“You can’t even find your keys in the morning” he countered, coughing now though he hoped it sounded enough like a laugh for the other to not be too concerned about him. “You know…” he then said in a final attempt to keep himself from slipping. “It’s not even fucking funny how much I want to say to you right now. How much I have to say” he muttered, sounding bitter enough to hopefully let time know just how much of a bitch it was.
If he had a few moments, he thought, he would get back at the masked man for putting him there, and then he’d find his way back to Shouto. He’d climb somehow.
“You say them when you get back to me,” Shouto said again with that same determination from earlier. “When you hold me just like you said. You tell me then”
“You’ll remember me, right? When I go?”
He remembered a night when the two of them had stayed up a little too late. Stayed up and talked to one another like they were teenagers at a sleepover again. They had wine though, so that was different. They had talked and talked and talked and somehow ended up speaking about their fears. Shouto’s had been abandonment. Spending so much time hearing about how he was to be the best and having all these expectations on his shoulders for so long made the feeling of having nothing, not even that , scary, he had said. Having someone like Katsuki and all of his other friends introduce him to a world where he didn’t have to be anyone but himself also made that scary.
Katsukis had been being forgotten. A childhood full of being told how amazing he was and how he was destined for great things messed with him enough for him to be terrified of the thought that no one would remember him. That he would die in a dark hole without a soul caring. That was terrifying.
“I told you already, you’re not going anywhere but home”
“Shouto”
“I mean it. I won’t let you”
“Stubborn bastard,” he laughed again. “Just tell me?” he asked.
“I-” he started, then there was silence again. “I won’t forget you. I won’t let anyone forget you for as long as I live.”
“That’s good,” he said, letting out a sigh of relief and then let his body relax again. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up, Sho” he then said. The feeling from earlier was already getting worse.
Not that it ever stopped getting worse. It was just once he thought about it every five minutes that he realized the significant difference between then and now.
“Katsuki?”
“I’m sorry,” he said because he needed to. “I Uh-” he took a deep breath, ignoring the pain again. “I love you,” he said again. He felt like he needed to say it many more times before the other actually understood how much he loved him
Whatever it was Shouto said next he didn’t catch. He was pretty sure that even if he tried to hear and also understand, he wouldn’t. He most likely tried anyway though his brain was foggy now so he couldn’t even recall as he watched his vision go black. Everything was too foggy. Foggy in the way where he wasn’t able to think or do anything at all.
He let out a final breath before he let himself go, head falling as his body went limp once more.
* * * * *
He was met with a bright and uncomfortable light when his eyes opened and for a moment, he wasn’t entirely sure why his eyes had been closed in the first place. Then the pain hit him again and the memories came back as he let out a groan.
It wasn’t as bad as before but it certainly didn’t feel any good about it either.
He reached a hand up to his head to feel for the damage then realized that it had been fixed given the patch of missing hair on the back of his head. He let out another groan and lowered his hand again, only to realize it had bandages on it as well.
“God fucking-” he muttered then jumped a bit at the sudden movement from next to him. Someone was waking, he understood.
How it was he was missing all these things was both a mystery and also incredibly concerning.
“Kacchan! Oh my god! You’re awake!” the unmistakable voice of Deku was heard, his volume loud enough for him to cringe at it and lift his hand again to tell him to shut up. “Oh shit - I’m sorry” he whispered after.
“What the hell happened?”
“Uh- well how much do you remember?”
He stared at him for a while in somewhat disbelief before closing his eyes and letting his head hit the pillow again. He realized almost immediately what a mistake that was as the pain sent shivers through his entire body though he remained still.
“I was in the air,” he started. “I was…fighting this guy with one of those happy face, sad face masks on. The ones you see in the theater” he said, trying to search through his memory for a moment. “Then...I somehow hit my head and I fell…or some shit” he replied. “Didn’t know his deal. Uh- his quirk” he mumbled, frowning a bit. In hindsight, it was definitely his fault for not looking into it.
“Yeah! Or- okay well it wasn’t super accurate but that’s basically what happened,” he said then paused before nearly leaping into action though he was only talking more now. “Okay so- he has this quirk he calls spotlight, which is really a stupid name for his quirk and that’s coming from me because it really was more of a hole you know but I guess in hindsight a spotlight can resemble a hole since there’s nothing but darkness around you except for that one beam you know?” The guy rambled and it took all his willpower to not open his eyes and glare at him to shut up. He would have done it if he had the energy for it but he didn’t. “Anyway, this spotlight teleports you to a realm that’s his? I don’t actually know how it works but he referred to it as backstage-”
“Wait- he told you?’’ he asked, opening his eyes again to look at him. He figured the guy would have kept his trap shut to play difficult to potentially get out of the total amount of time he would have to spend locked away using that information the more desperate the people around him got.
He probably did do exactly that though, given he wasn’t in the hole anymore.
Deku looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment though it faded quickly as he let out a quiet yet very awkward laugh.
“Todoroki kind of…went at him” he offered after a moment. “Apparently he couldn’t help himself from bragging about trapping you when he saw how everyone was trying to locate you- and uh- he kind of popped out of nowhere after you stopped responding and when we thought it was all over and he- well he was actually talking to Todoroki which was his first mistake because we hadn’t really caught him yet? So he could, you know, throw a lot…uh- at him. And then he was about to use his quirk and uh-…well you know how Todoroki gets when anyone is hurt? It was like that but much worse,” he informed him. “I had to step in actually. I’ve never seen him so ready to…” he paused and grimaced again. “Anyway, the guy started talking really quickly after that. I think the very many colorful threats that Todoroki threw at him kind of affected his decision to help” he said.
“Oh,” he said, shutting his eyes again. “Yeah that sounds like him,” he said because he could actually very well imagine that.
“He apologized to him after though!” the nerd added quickly which wasn’t really all that important but that also somehow seemed entirely in character for the man as well.
“Deku?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up”
“Of course!”
The door opened suddenly then like the universe was telling him that with one headache gone, another would come and that was just how it was.
“They didn’t have any watermelon-flavored-” Kirishima’s voice cut out the moment he stepped into the room and Katsuki opened an eye to look at him. “Bro!” he yelled, then winced when he cringed again at the volume. “Right- sorry!” he whispered. “You’re awake though! Finally!”
“Kiri,” he replied, giving him a quick nod. “Shut up” he muttered at him.
“I made that mistake too if it makes you feel better,” Deku offered.
“It…actually kind of does. Thanks, Midoriya!” the dumb redhead replied, very much not shutting up, and for not the first time, he realized what a great pair the two of them would make. One stupid, the other not so much. “Have you told Todoroki yet?”
“No- I think he’s going to be here any second so-...”
“Right. Right. Got you” he replied. He then didn’t say anything again which was very suspicious on its own though he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he looked back at the green-haired man.
“How long was I out?” he asked.
“Four days ish. You woke up when you got out of the realm but uh- I don’t think you remember that. You didn’t really do anything. You were just kind of…staring at Todoroki, and we were like ‘Kacchan!’ but you didn’t really respond and then you went back to sleep” he hummed.
He did not remember that at all.
“Todoroki says he’s running,” Kirishima said with a wide smile, waving his phone in the air before walking over and plopping down onto the stool next to the bed he was currently laying on. He then grabbed the remote and pressed a button only for Katsukis very uncomfortable laying position to be shifted to a less uncomfortable sitting position. He didn’t know how that was, but it was.
From his black plastic bag, he fished out ice cream, handing it to Deku first with a toothy grin then eyed the blonde for a moment.
“I don’t want any if that’s what that look of yours means” he muttered in response with a huff. It hurt, but once again, not as bad as before.
“I was tryna remember if you could actually have any” the redhead replied, still looking curious though got one for himself once it seemed like he was giving up on the thought process. He looked tired. They both did.
“Did you stay here for four days?” he asked after a moment.
“Yeah- well…we took shifts actually. Todoroki’s been here day and night except for when he’s called down to the police station to help sort things out with the guys they caught” Kirishima explained then grinned at the green-haired guy again. “Did ya tell him about what he did?” he asked, sounding way too pleased about it as Deku nodded. “It’s good that he did. I wanted to join too but I was preoccupied” he then sighed.
“What the-”
The door opened with a loud slam again, once again making him grimace at the sound though there was no apology followed this time.
“Katsuki” Shouto panted as he marched into the room. He was almost convinced that if Kirishima hadn’t moved, he would have shoved him off the stool.
“Oh well shucks-...I forgot my coffee outside. Midobro, wanna come to get some coffee with me? I mean uh-I get mine and uh- you- you get yours and-”
“Yeah- we should really-”
“Just go” he groaned at the two of them and their foolish excuses that didn’t even need to be made.
“Right! Uh- we’ll be back in a little bit okay? Don’t get too worked up and uh…please remember your heartbeats getting monitored right now. By- by innocent, poor nurses, Kacchan. I’m serious. Please ”
Instead of answering, he flipped him off and returned his attention to the dual-haired gorgeous man, looking like he had just run a mile for him. He looked….like something though he couldn’t really tell what emotion it was.
“I heard you almost committed murder for me, Sho,” he said, breaking the quiet that followed the shutting of the door again.
Upon hearing his words, Shouto burst right into tears, and okay , maybe his jokes were just bad as they seemed to only distress the man further, and Katsuki should have just shut the hell up from the first moment. Or maybe it was the situation itself. He really hoped it was the situation itself since he personally found himself hilarious.
“You do that to me one more time, Katsuki and so help me god-” he sobbed and Katsuki wasn’t entirely sure what to do. He stared for a moment because he couldn’t think of anything then slowly decided to spread his arms a bit.
Shouto, that genius, seemed to understand right away though how he even saw him through his tears made him feel slightly threatened by his great vision and seeing skills.
“I won’t,” he said, wrapping his arms around him, squeezing as tight as he could even if it hurt like a bitch. He had just been in a huge realm hole apparently, he could handle anything. “I swear I won’t,” he said, holding him close.
He realized that it was just like he had wanted to. Whatever higher being out there or….or science or whatever had heard his plea it seemed. He took in a deep breath and just enjoyed the moment for a while.
“So…” he then said when he felt that Shouto had both calmed himself and was now still. “Is it true? Did you go all murder on him?” he asked again and this time, the other did laugh.
Hearing it in person was so much better.
“Whatever they said was an exaggeration…I simply caught him”
“Yeah, and nearly killed him in the process I heard” he replied with a snort. “I could see it”
“He was taunting me. It was only fair that I got to do it in return” he said.
“Dunno if murder is-” he started though couldn’t keep with the bit for long as he laughed to himself again. It was weird. It wasn’t what they said that made him feel so happy, it was just… this . It was them.
“What?” Shouto asked though he was laughing too. That just made him want to laugh even harder and he did though he paid the price seconds later. It was worth it though as he leaned his head on the top of the others, basically hiding him in his chest.
“Nothing. I just-” he started then froze for a moment at the look of a very familiar carrier and a single bright yellow eye surrounded by the whitest fur imaginable looking back at him. “You brought RC here??” he asked, having to pull back for a moment in slight amazement at how he even was allowed to do that.
“Mhm? Oh- yes. She wanted to come” he said and that was the extent of the explanation he got.
“This is what I mean with you spoiling her-” he said though was laughing once more.
“So you’ve made very clear. Even on your deathbed, you would scold me, who knew?”
“Oh shut up. I bet you cried”
“I did”
He stared at him for a while again then snorted to himself once more before letting himself lean back in the bed again, holding onto the man he loved oh so much and being watched by the cat he had a love-hate relationship with, deciding that from that very moment, he wouldn’t take any of it for granted.
“I love you” he whispered, releasing his grip a bit, very set on expressing it now that he had the other laying there next to him on that very small, definitely not two people-sized hospital bed.
“I love you too”
Shouto then shifted, only a bit, looking up at him as if he was about to say something very important. Or at least he looked like it.
“You also need a shower”
“Oh my god-”