Katsuki sat in the hospital waiting room for what seemed like forever. He tapped his fingers, his hands on his knees as he waited. As normal a pout was on his face.
They only allowed two people at a time in the hospital rooms and he had been waiting for over an hour now. He watched the clock quietly as he began to tap his foot.
God what was taking so long.
Over and over Awako's face flashed in his mind. The last time he had seen her was when they were taking her away in an ambulance.
He slipped out his phone, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. He tapped the icon to his photo album and scrolled through the photos he had. Most were of Awako taking selfies of herself making stupid face when he wasn't looking. Most of those pictures had him in the background of them, not paying any attention.
He felt a flicker of something in his chest.
Cardiac arrest. She had gone into cardiac arrest. Then she was in a coma for two days.
He gritted his teeth, his grip on his phone tightening so hard he thought he would break it. God, why did she even hang around him? He was always nothing but mean to her before they went to U.A. He was so fucking cruel to her and she still stuck by his side. He remembered all the times he teased her and the snark comments he would make about her. Even the times he made comments about her brother. Yet she never seemed to hate him. He deserved every single bit of attitude she gave him the past year. He deserved the way she ignored him. He couldn't even say how he felt. He always felt like she depended on him.
But how did he feel?
He felt…
He felt like maybe…
He depended on her.
He scrolled through his pictures before starting back to the most recent one. It was when she fell asleep on the train ride home. One of the bumps had caused her to fall into him. She stayed sound asleep as she rested against him and he couldn't help but snap a selfie with both of them in it.
His hand shook as he stared down at the picture.
"Ah, Bakugou-san," he heard suddenly. He looked up and saw Tsuyu standing before him dressed in regular clothes. It was weird seeing her out of uniform.
He fumbled with his phone, nearly dropping it as he shoved it back into his pocket, his ears red.
"It about time. I've been waiting all damn day," he snipped at her. She ignored the comment, her gaze wandering to a plastic bag on the floor beside his leg. He stared at her as he scooted it underneath the chair with his leg, his arms crossed.
Poking her chin she asked "Are you here to see Awako?"
"Yes," he simply replied.
"She was asleep, but she should be up by now. I have to go babysit my brother and sister. See you at school," she said, waving to him before leaving.
He watched her go before looking down at the direction of Awako's room. After a solid five minutes of pacing back and forth he grabbed the bag from beneath the chair and headed to her room.
The walk was long and he passed her father on the way there.
"Ah, Katsuki," he said, running a hand through his hair. He seemed jittery and his face was pale. His dress shirt sleeves were rolled up and his glasses were missing.
He looked like a wreck.
"She's, uh, she's sleeping again for now. They said it was really close. To think her brother...after all these years? And Miwako's death...now Awako…" he fumbled with his words before wiping his eyes. A few steady moments passed and her let out a breath.
"But she's okay. After all that she had in her system...she's okay," he said, placing a hand on Katsuki's shoulder. "Thank you for toughening her up."
Katsuki could only stare at his feet.
"Any...Anyway I have to make a phone call," he said before moving past Katsuki.
Awako was laying with her back to him, the steady beeping of the heart moniter the only sound in the room. He could see that her right arm was bandaged up completely and her hair was tied up, revealing bandages around her neck. He cleared his throat before making his way to the seat beside the bed.
"Sorry Tsu," she said, "I don't really feel like talking much anymore." He jumped in his seat a little, not expecting her to be awake.
"It's, uh, not Frog Face," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "You really should be sleeping," he added as she turned to look at him, her eyes wide.
"Kacchan!" she nearly shouted as she said up. She winced slightly from the sudden movement, touching her neck before bringing her hand to her hair, trying to smooth down some of the curls.
"You look fine," he snapped before turning pink. She did the same as she stopped her preening and put her hand down. They sat in silence, not looking at eachother. After a few long moments Awako turned to look over at Katsuki, her lip trembling.
"Well," she said, her voice shaking, "They said I should be back in school in a few days! If my tests check out right I should be good to go!"
He looked over at her as she tightened her grip on her bedsheets.
"I...I mean I might have a little trouble walking for awhile, but the limp should be gone fairly soon! They even said I could stay in the hero course! Can you believe that Aizawa-sensei came to visit me? He looked like a mummy!"
She squeezed out a laugh as she held her arms out. He heard her voice crack and he face was red.
"Wanko," he began.
"It-It really was a close one! They said I went into cardiac...cardiac arrest! I just felt like I was sleeping the whole time! Papa was so scared. You-You should have seen his face!"
"Wanko," he repeated, leaning closer to her.
"They said it was a m-miracle that I survived with so much poison in my system," she prattled on, her arms shaking.
"Awako," he said, his voice louder.
She looked at him, sniffling softly. His hands balled into fists as he saw globs of tears begin to roll down her cheeks.
"They...They said Naota got away. I couldn't even stop him," she said to him, her voice barely a whisper.
It was so sudden. It happened so fast that Awako flinched back in surprise at hands were wiping away her tears as gently as they had the first time they met. More tears fell and she couldn't help but let out a tiny wail as he gently wiped her tears from her face.
"My brother tried to kill me," she whispered. "I almost died."
"I know," he whispered back to her, holding her face in his hands.
He held her in silence, letting her cry into his chest.
Inside of the bag was a small shiba inu plush.
"My, uh, mom said to get it for you," he lied, scratching the back of his head. "I also have to homework from the days you missed class," he said, digging in his back and pulling out a notebook and folder.
"Homework? But I'm in the hospital!" she whined, pushing it away.
"And you still have shit to do stupid!" he flared, his hair bristling. She bristled back, puckering her lips in a pout.
He held it out towards her again and she pushed it back. They went back and forth a few more times before she dejectedly took it from him, flipping it open.
She had fallen asleep once again and Katsuki wasn't surprised in the least bit. Her father had stopped in but went back out on another business phone call. The sun had begun to set and he checked his phone one last time.
Once again he had to go home.
He sighed, collecting his things and taking one long look at Awako. She looked a lot more peaceful now than she had before.
He looked over her answers, stalling for some time before slipping the notebook back into his bag. He told her to take a break, her arm beginning to hurt again. That when she ended up falling asleep to the sound of him reading over his notes from class.
"You really are fucking incredible, Wanko," he muttered.
"Kacchan," she mumbled in her sleep, rolling over and hugging the plush close. His face turned red.
He moved closer to her bed, leaning over her for a moment his face hovering over hers. Very softly he brushed his lips against her cheek.
He really did depend on her.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"For the millionth time, yes," Awako said, exasperated. She patted down her hair, puffing out her cheeks as he dad pulled her into another gentle hug before letting her go.
"The doctor said you could rest another few days before going," he said, his brows scrunched up.
"Papa, please," she whined, "I don't want to miss school anymore! I have to go to class. How else am I gonna become a hero?"
He sighed, letting her go and petting her head.
"I'm just worried. But if you want to go, I can't stop you."
She kissed his cheek before turning to the door.
"I'm off then!" she cheered, waving a bandaged fist in the air.
Outside Katsuki waited for her, listening to her babble excitedly while they made their way to the station. She seemed overly excited to be back to class, almost skipping down the hallway.
She beamed when she was greeted by Tsuyu and Eijirou. Momo, Denki, Izuku, and Ochako rushed over as well, pelting her with questions. Even the other classmates that she never even spoken to rushed over to see her.
The attention was overwhelming and she stepped closer to Katsuki as she tried her best to keep up.
It was Aizawa entering the room that settled everyone down.
"Ah, Kurage-san, good to see you back," he said, his voice muffled by all the bandages. "I have a question for you," he said, turning in her direction.
"Will you be joining in the U.A. sports festival this year?"