This was bad.

Bakugo's hand was gripping hers so tightly she thought it might break, her lungs were aching as she struggled for breath, her legs were on fire as her muscles strained. Her hair had fallen lose of it's ponytail and was wildly flying around her head. Her other hand was holding tightly to the bag of spoilers they'd gathered, her fingers feeling stiff and crap from being in the same position for so long. She needed to flex her fingers, but there wasn't time. Part of her wanted to drop the bag, but they'd gone through so much trouble, it would be a waist to leave it behind now.

Bakugo was swearing under his breath, clutching at his own bag of stolen goods. He looked more angry than tired, but she could see the strain on his face.

They'd had a plan. For days, weeks, they's carefully created a plot to get in and out with whatever they wanted. They'd been at this for a while and they'd always gotten away smooth as they pleased. Not this time. This time they made a mistake. It wasn't their first mistake by far, but it was probably the one that would get them caught.

"Katsuki," she panted.

"Not now, Momo," he replied gruffly.

If she looked back she could see the police chasing them. They didn't have enough of a lead or a good place to go. Bakugo was smart, but she considered herself the strategist between them and she could see where this was going.

"Katsuki, we're not going to make it. There's no where to go," she told him.

"No!" he yelled. "I refuse to believe that."

Her voice was quiet when she replied, on the edge of breathless. "You have to."

"I'm not letting them take you to jail!" he told her. "I'd kill every single one of those cops before I let them take you away, you hear me!"

Momo gasped, nearly tripping over her own feet in surprise. Her eyes widened, but she couldn't see his face well enough to study it. "You... you can't mean that."

He gripped her hand tighter. "I do." He looked back at her, his eyes determined and hard. "If you don't think we can get away, fine. I'll hold them off while you get away if I have to, but I'm not letting you go to prison. Not for anything."

"You're not a murderer, Katsuki!"

He didn't say anything to that. He pulled her into a shard turn, pulled her down behind a dumpster so they could try to catch their breaths. She took his face his her hands and stared into his eyes. Neither of them could quite catch their breaths. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her head.

"You are everything to me," he told her. "I'll destroy anything, everything, to keep you safe. Even myself."

Momo shook her head. "No, no." she said softly. "I can't... I can't let you."

"It isn't up to you," he told her. "I can do what I damn well please."

"We have you surrounded!" The police called out. "Come out with your hand up!"

Bakugo took a deep breath and went to stand, but Momo grabbed him and pulled him back down. "No, no!" she insisted im a whisper. "I won't let you do this to yourself. You're not a murderer, Katsuki. Not for me, not for anyone."

He met her gaze calmly for a long moment.

"You have until the count of three!" The police yelled in the background.

"Just run for me, Mo," he said to her.

He stood.

Momo could see what would happen in a flash of intuition that had her standing too. He moved his hands to attack, to use the sweat he had gathered during their attempted escape. The police raised their guns.

Just in time she was able to throw herself in front of him, screaming as she was punctuated with bullets.

"Momo!"

The force had her tossed backwards into his body and his arms wrapped around her immediately. He cradled her, shielding her from more fire as he lowered her to the ground, but they had already stopped firing. She couldn't tell where she was hit. Her entire body was on fire, the pain so loud that she could hardly assess the rest of her body. But she coughed and blood poured from her lips and she knew enough to know that that wasn't a good sign.

"Why?" He was trembling, his tears falling onto her face as he looked at her with more heartbreak than she'd ever seen. "Why would you?"

She raised her hand on his cheek and he held it there before it could slip away, knowing she was too weak to keep it in place herself. "Not for anyone, Katsuki. And not for me."

He was openly sobbing now. There was a loud sound in her ears. She couldn't tell if it was her heartbeat or the cops or... something else. She didn't know if she would live. She had something important to say either way.

"Katsuki... I love you..."

"I love you!" he told her immediately, his words rushed as if he didn't think he'd ever get the chance to say them again. Was he just afraid? Or did he know something she didn't? He could see her wounds, but he wasn't a doctor. He couldn't know whether this was the end or not, could he? "I love you so much! More than anyone! More than anything! You're the only one for me, Momo. Nothing else... nothing else matters."

"You matter," she forced herself to say. It was getting harder to breath. Harder to keep her eyes open. "Katsuki? Live for me... please."

He pressed his lips to her and in that moment, she felt at peace. She closed her eyes.