Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia. I am not making a profit off of this.
A/N: Okay, I think this is done… Maybe? I have no idea…
It reminded her of floating.
She would know.
Her body felt fuzzy and weightless. The sensation had once made her dizzy and nauseous, but with practice and understanding she'd quickly found herself used to the feeling of it.
Uraraka had a feeling that she'd never get used to this.
Though feeling hadn't returned to her body, neon dots burst brightly behind her closed eyes and beeping filled her ears. Slow, steady, and accompanied by the soft hum of electricity.
If she had to guess, Uraraka would bet she was in the hospital.
In the handful of times she'd been sent to Recovery Girl's office, she'd never been hooked up to a monitor. She'd woken up on the way to the med room after she fainted during her match with Bakugo at Sports Festival their first year. Aside from normal bumps, bruises, and broken bones, Uraraka could only think of one other time she'd sustained a serious injury.
She'd taken a knee to the head while sparring and was unconscious for a few hours.
Uraraka couldn't quite remember what had happened this time, but…
"Any change?"
Who was that?
To her right, the shifting of stiff fabric scratched against her eardrums. "No." There was a heavy sigh followed by partially muffled words, "They said she'd be awake by now." Bakugo? How long had she been unconscious? "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I'm off duty until Sunday morning." Boots clicked across the floor moving closer to her. "Figured I would check in on you guys since Iida had to go back."
Okay, so it wasn't Iida. She would say it was Deku, but it didn't quite sound like him. Kirishima had mentioned something about being on duty, so she had to assume something had happened. Knowing Deku, he wouldn't stop working until he couldn't move.
Whatever incident it was, Uraraka had to believe it was the cause of her injuries.
She was okay.
Even if she couldn't feel her limbs yet.
She heard Bakugo huff as he moved again, "I don't need a babysitter."
"Just making sure, man." Kirishima. She should have known.
"Hey man," she could hear the smirk on his face. "Someone needs to make sure you're eating-"
The sound of paper crinkling and a whiff of something salty filled her nose. Smelled like teriyaki?
"And that you haven't been arrested."
If that statement didn't wake her up, Uraraka wasn't sure she'd ever regain consciousness.
The last thing she remembered was Bakugo scowling as she shoved pink and white frosted cookies in her mouth. He'd grumbled something about her "shitty eating habits" when he stole a cookie from her, refusing to admit how good the cookies were.
What exactly had happened to her…? Where did they go after breakfast? And how had her boyfriend nearly ended up in jail?
"Well-" Why did Bakugo sound so tired? His voice was raspy and weak, not evening trying to but his normal amount of bite in his voice. "I've managed to stay out of trouble for the last day and a half."
What day was it? Kirishima mentioned something about going back on duty Sunday, but she couldn't remember what day she'd been rendered unconscious.
"I'm just making sure that you don't punch anyone else out." Had there been a fight? Had she gone out on patrol with him and gotten injured? Uraraka couldn't recall being scheduled for a patrol or being teamed with Bakugo. As weird as it was, teachers at UA were aware of their relationship and made sure not to partner them up for patrol or projects.
There may have been one instance when he'd been assigned to be her partner randomly, but teachers had been sure to split them up for patrol practicals.
Kirishima's voice was light as it faded toward the other side of the room. "You need to eat. Iida told me you didn't eat last night-"
"I'm not hungry."
"Kaminari told me you skipped lunch yesterday-"
"Not true. The nurse brought me a coffee and cookie-" A small part of her hoped that she could remember this conversation when she finally awakened. Bakugo had always been critical of making sure that she was eating regularly, especially with her training regimen.
"Mina told me you didn't eat anything this morning-" It sounded like he was standing in front of Bakugo. "And I am not above telling Uraraka. She's gonna be pissed."
He wasn't wrong. Uraraka was sure if she could move her body she'd sit up and knock some sense into her boyfriend. Warmth was finally beginning to tingle in toes and fingers, but her body felt like lead.
"She has to wake up first." She'd witnessed her boyfriend fight against impossible odds without batting an eyelash at the odds. Why did he sound so hopeless? His soft sinking tone sent a jolt of fear down her spine as she heard the heart monitor play her nerves.
How bad was she hurt?
"Katsuki-" Kirishima resorting to calling him by his first name without Bakugo's protest only confirmed the seriousness of this situation. "The doctor said that Uraraka's surgery went better than they could have asked for. Brain scans are good-"
"She has a brain bleed-"
"Minor, non-surgical-" Personally, Uraraka would never think to associate the term brain bleed and minor, but if the doctor wasn't concerned she could relax a bit.
"Her hair was soaked with blood and dust when I found her." A head injury and the sedatives would explain her lack of memory. "I should have gotten her to a medic immediately when I-"
"Stop." Kirishima's voice was firm.
Uraraka could feel the pull of stitches against her side and at her scalp as she focused on trying to move.
"I should've noticed that she had a concussion."
"Ka-"
"Like I should have seen that fucking gash in her side." Had she been stabbed in an ambush?
"Don't do this to yourself," Kirishima sighed. "You're going to have to forgive yourself eventually."
"When she wakes up," Bakugo insisted, stubbornly.
The sound of plastic and styrofoam rattling sounded louder in her ears.
"If you don't eat something, you're going to be in a bed next to her." Kirishima's hand came down lightly on something solid. She imagined there was a little table in her hospital room. "Eat the damn noodles and stop thinking about worst case scenarios. The doctor said she's doing good."
The black behind her closed eyes become lighter as she felt awareness returning to her body.
"Eat or I tell your mother."
"You'll be back on duty when she comes to the hospital." Uraraka couldn't ignore the small smirk in his voice.
"Actually," Kirishima started with a smirk of his own. "She said she'll be here this evening with dinner, so I can join you all."
"Tch." It was nice to hear the tension ease out of his voice.
Her eyelids painfully peeled apart, the fluorescent light above her head burning her eyes.
"I can't believe you have my mother's number."
Kirishima laughed, pulling a chair of his own next to him, "How are you surprised?"
Uraraka would've laughed if her throat hadn't felt like it was full of sandpaper and cactus needles. With a little inhale and eyes barely open, she watched as Kirishima unboxed the food and placed a covered bowl in front of Bakugo.
"Fair enough," Bakugo sighed, leaning back in his hair as he shook his head. The skin around his eyes was dark and drawn tight.
When was the last time he'd slept?
He was dressed what looked to be a wrinkled pair of navy hospital scrubs, hair more unruly than usual.
"Stop pouting," Kirishima said, holding a pair of chopsticks out in front of the blonde. "Eat your noodles."
Uraraka licked her lips as the corners of her lips twitched with amusement. She inhaled deeply, opening her mouth. "Yeah-" That small word tearing at her throat. "Eat your noodles," she rasped breathlessly, words slurred together.
Bakugo gasped, lurching forward as he pushed the small table out of the way. He jumped to her beside carefully cradling her head as he looked into her hazy eyes. "You're awake?"
"Suppose so," Uraraka breathed softly as she smiled at him.
His hands trembled as cool relief washed over him, hands gently pushing her hair back. "Shit," Bakugo panicked. "We need a doctor!" He roared, turning toward the door.
"Ow," Uraraka winced as her head throbbed.
"Shit," he muttered, gingerly patting her face as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Sorry, sorry, sorry…"
"I'll go get a doctor," Kirishima offered as he made his way out of the room.
The doctors swarmed her bedside and pushed him into the hallway. Bakugo had quickly called Uraraka father, then followed up with his own mother.
"Katsuki!"
"She's awake." Bakugo peeked back into Uraraka's hospital room making sure what his eyes and ears had seen were real. Red eyes glanced at Kirishima, confirming his witness was still there.
They'd carefully propped Uraraka up against the fluffy hospital pillows. Her usually bright brown eyes were hazy, but she was awake and responding to whatever questions they asked her.
"Thank goodness," his mother breathed with relief. "What'd the doctor say?"
"I don't know yet," Bakugo look another look into the room. "But, I figure she still has a couple days here."
"Did you still want me to come by tonight?"
"I guess," he shrugged, phone clutched against his ear. "Ochako probably won't mind the visit."
"Well, if she's too tired," Mitsuki started sternly. "I can just bring you kids some food tomorrow."
"Yeah."
"You called her father, right?"
"I talked to him before I called you." he peeked back into the room again. They were removing the blood pressure from her arm. Her eyes were still open, drowsy but alert.
"Good. Don't forget to keep me posted."
"I won't."
"You take care of her, Katsuki."
"I am, mom."
"You must have been worried if you called your mother," Kirishima commented, a little smirk on his face as he watched his friend hang up the phone. He bit his tongue, forcing himself not to comment on how normal their conversation was.
Bakugo narrowed his eyes, placing his phone in his pants pocket, "Shut up, shitty hair."
"Will do," Kirishima smirked with a satisfied nod as he leaned against the wall across from his friend. "I'm glad Uraraka's okay too."
Bakugo nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. He sighed loudly, looking up to the ceiling as he frowned awkwardly, "I owe you." The words weren't quite right to express how good of a friend he'd been to him, but Bakugo wasn't quite sure how to say it.
"No, " Kirishima patted his shoulder before stretching his back. "That's what bros do, man." He understood.
The doctor exited the room, stepping in front of Bakugo with a smile. "She looks great."
Bakugo felt his body relax on a loud and long exhale.
"We're still keeping an eye on that head injury, but hopefully on Monday we can have the specialist come and heal her. And," the doctor flipped through the chart. "If everything goes according to plan, she should be able to go home on Tuesday. Do you have any questions for me?"
"No, sir."
"Alright," the doctor nodded. "I suggest you get some rest yourself now, hmm?" He suggested as he stepped away.
Bakugo ignored the glare and Kirishima's chuckling. "Don't you start."
"What?" Kirishima raised his hands in surrender, unable to contain his grin. He pushed himself off the wall as he started down the hall. "I can't agree that you need to get some rest?"
"No," Bakugo frowned watching him walk away. "Where you going?"
"Figured you crazy kids could use some alone time." Kirishima gave a small salute as he kept moving. "I'll let the others know."
Bakugo had forgotten about telling their friends. Kirishima hadn't even disappeared down the hall, and he was already standing in the doorway. With slow breaths, Bakugo kept his eyes on her sleepy face as she watched the TV mounted in the corner of the wall.
The footage of the building dominated the screen.
Rubble and concrete slabs filled the screen as a reporter recounted the accident.
No villains.
No bombs.
Just a minor earthquake and an unstable building causing the death toll to approach two hundred.
Bakugo couldn't help but think that it had could have easily been two hundred and one.
"Did I fall?" Uraraka whispered, eyes glued to the screen.
He took slow steps into the room as he cleared his throat. "No," he replied softly stepped into the room. "You um," he stopped at the foot of her bed, gently placing his hands on her blanket covered ankles. "You, I think-"
Uraraka slowly turned to face him, eyes widening a bit with worry.
"You and Deku-" Bakugo still hadn't decided how much of the blame the green haired boy needed to shoulder. "Were helping to evacuate people inside, and when Deku came out-"
He wondered if she could hear how loudly his heart thudded.
"You weren't with him. I," he paused, looking at her. "I found you with a kid. You had blood in your hair-"
Uraraka inhaled sharply, trying to recall what he was saying.
"When I took the kid, you collapsed." Bakugo's gaze left her eyes as he stared past her. "You had some metal lodged in your side, and you were bleeding really bad."
That explained the long row of stitches on her side. "Is," Uraraka cleared her throat. "The kid okay?"
Bakugo nodded, "Yeah, he's fine. They found his mom."
She felt herself relax into the bed a bit, ignoring the burn in her body. "Good," she sighed with a small smile. Her eyes drifted close as she breathed slowly.
"You know I love you right?"
Uraraka felt her head snap up faster than she should've. Her jaw clenched, feeling her head throb. "What?"
"You-" He wanted to blame this on the stress of the last few days. "You know I love you right?"
"Of course." Why would he doubt that?
His hands tightened a little around her ankles. "I thought you were going to die."
Uraraka felt her breath catch as she saw tears catch on his eyelashes. "I'm sor-"
"You don't get to die on me, Ochako." Bakugo's head dropped between his shoulders as he panted. "You don't get to bleed out on me, say 'I love you', and die in my arms."
"I-" She wasn't sure what to say to him. Even without the morphine flooding her veins, the right words seemed impossible to find.
"The last thing I told you was you could have as many those stupid frosted animal cookies you wanted." His eyes squeezed tightly trying to will away his tears. This was supposed to be a happy moment, and he couldn't erase the memory of the life fading from her eyes.
Uraraka chuckled, tears spilling on her cheeks, "Come here."
Bakugo's head slowly raised, red eyes tired and grief filled.
"Come here." Her hands padded against the bed, motioning for him to get in.
"I can't-"
"It's not like we haven't shared a bed before."
True, but- "I don't wanna hurt you." The bed was small, and it wouldn't be comfortable for her to lay on her side.
"Get over here, Katsuki."
Bakugo smirked carefully crawling into the small bed with her. He pulled her against his chest as her toes tickled against his ankle. Cradling a gentle hand against her scalp, he placed a kiss to the crown of her head.
"Of course you love me," she whispered, digging her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. "You said I could have as many of those cookies you hate." A smile broke through her tears.
"Dork," he murmured affectionately against her forehead. "Don't scare me like that again."
She tilted her head up, meeting his eyes. "I won't," Uraraka promised softly.
"You need some rest," Bakugo whispered pressing their lips together. Pulling away, his hands gently held her face as his thumbs stroked her pale cheeks.
"So do you." Snuggling against his chest, Uraraka closed her eyes relaxing into him.
A nap sounded nice. "My mom is gonna come see you this evening." His arms carefully looped around her as he held her.
"You called her?"
"Yeah," he sighed sleepily, finally able to relax.
"Hm," she chuckled lightly as she felt herself drifting back to sleep. "You do love me," she teased.
"Don't you forget it."
