A/n: Happy New Year! May the Year 2020 be a year of clear vision and truth ;p

This isn't a chapter. More of an interlude. I hope you like it. Very angsty but there's light at the end of the tunnel!

…

Interlude: Resolutions

They were all silent and grim as they staggered toward the police station. Through dull, bloodshot eyes, Katsuki glared around at the chaos. Fire lit the horizon with an ominous orange glow. On the main street, they found two dozen cars abandoned and completely blocking the road. Presumably, the drivers had run to emergency shelters. Windows were broken from looters, so as they made their way to the police station, their boots crunched on glass. Half a block up, Katsuki could see a teenager throw a public trashcan through a glass door. Three more leapt inside with him.

"Keep moving," Aizawa said grimly. "We have too many injured to stop."

Katsuki looked back to see that Iida was barely on his feet. He swayed, his face pale. Blood had soaked through the makeshift bandages at both of his shoulders and dripped down his armor. Native was sweating like a pig. The blood stain on his side was spreading as he helped pull the nomu down the street with Aizawa. Every limping step Izuku took, a tiny squirt of blood came from his ankle, and between them, Todoroki looked dazed and disheveled. Katsuki grit his teeth and pushed on.

It took almost twenty minutes to reach the police station. His relief fled however when they found the fucking place was practically empty! There was only a skeleton crew of retired officers as every able-bodied man and woman was out on the street. Even now, the reception desk phone was ringing nonstop, the noise grating along Katsuki's ears.

The nomu was dragged away to be put in a cell as two older men and an older woman got them seated and brought first aid kits.

"A lot of the calls are about children missing, separated from their parents in the madness," the older man tending to Native said conversationally. He shook his head. "We're our own worst enemies."

"We've caught over a dozen small time criminals who were looting stores in the neighborhoods where the attacks were centered," agreed the man pulling off Iida's armor. "Can you believe those punks? At a time like this?" He shook his head.

Katsuki glared at the woman who crouched before Izuku. "I got it," he said tightly and took the bandages from her. He knelt and rolled Izuku's green costume leg up. The cut was bad, but he wasn't going to die from it.

"He's going to need stitches," the woman said unhelpfully.

"No shit," Katsuki growled and put temporary flesh glue into the wound and began to wrap gauze around his boyfriend's ankle.

"Thank god for All Might!" the woman watching Katsuki's work said wholeheartedly. "Last report was the villains were captured. Now we can focus on getting the fires out and the situation back under control."

"Do you have a police car?" Aizawa asked, speaking up for the first time. He was hovering by Iida. The teen drifting in and out of consciousness. "I have to get them to a hospital."

There was a mad scramble as the retired officers tried to figure out what to do. None of them had the authority to make decisions or give out a car, but Aizawa and Native were pro-heroes. Eventually Aizawa convinced them that he'd fill out the necessary paperwork later, but he was taking the car.

Katsuki ended up in the backseat with Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida. Native was up front and Aizawa climbed behind the wheel. The car was old and beat up. The officers had to jump them before it would even start. Aizawa put on the siren and drove mostly on the sidewalk, the streets blocked by abandoned cars and sometimes debris.

When they did get to the hospital, they had to leave the cop car half a block down from the entrance. If the streets were chaos, the hospital was madness. The ER waiting room was filled to capacity with people of all ages from babies to the elderly covered in dust or moaning with burns. Dozens sported broken arms and legs. Many had bloodied faces.

They stuck together, Katsuki and Todoroki doing their best to shield the more injured members of their party from the restless and distressed crowd. Aizawa flashed his hero license and they were shuffled out of the waiting room and past curtained off sections of the ER with dozens of crying, anxious people.

"We're flooded," the nurse said as Iida was shoved into a wheelchair. Native refused one. "A few of these were actually hurt by the villains, but the majority were hurt in the panic. Most were trampled by those fleeing or hit by debris."

They were taken to a small room with no window. It was a room, though, which was impressive considering the situtation. Iida was transferred to the single hospital bed, Izuku was ordered into the wheelchair, and Native sat at the edge of the hospital bed. They waited half an hour before the nurse came back with three more chairs and a doctor.

The doctor took one look at Iida and Izuku was shuffled to the bed while the idiot was placed back in the wheelchair and whisked off for some kind of examination - something about nerve and tendon damage. Aizawa went with him, giving Katsuki the order to stay together.

An MA came to take care of Native and Izuku. They were diagnosed with surface wounds. The treatment: stitches. As the nurse cleaned the wound on Izuku's ankle and prepared the stitches, Izu suddenly said, "No anesthesia." Katsuki's head whipped around to stare at his boyfriend. His eyes narrowed when he saw the determined look in Izuku's eyes.

"Ignore his ass," Katsuki growled.

"No anesthesia," Izuku said again. "We don't know what we're doing next. I'll need to be alert."

Katsuki glared at him, but Izuku wasn't backing down. "Fine," he spat furioulsy. "Have it your way, Deku."

He watched with crossed arms as Izuku sweated and clutched at the hospital sheet as eleven stitches were put into his ankle. By the time it was done, Izuku was panting and gasping, but he never made a sound other than that. The nurse left, shaking their head.

Pro-hero Native was drugged unconscious, sleeping in one of the chairs. The top of his costume had been removed. He'd gotten fifteen stitches in his side, but it was only a flesh wound. No real damage had been done. Todoroki sat in the other chair, his eyes on the hands folded in his lap. He looked disheveled. The cut on his face had been butterflied with medical tape. His hero costume was singed and cut in a dozen places. It was clear he'd been through a fight.

Katsuki pushed off the wall and sat on the edge of Izuku's hospital bed. His leg was propped up on a pillow. The row of thick, dark stitches curved around Izuku's ankle, wrapping around to his shin. The skin around the cut was red-purple and swollen. Katsuki covered Izuku's balled up first with his hand.

Izu was getting his breathing back under control, but it was clear he was still in pain. Katsuki wanted to growl or scream or shake Izuku until he was unconscious. Izuku slipped his hand out from under Katsuki's, but with fast reflexes, Katsuki grabbed his wrist before Izuku's hand had moved more than an inch.

"Izuku…" he said lowly. Tears filled Izu's eyes immediately in response to his angry tone. "What the fuck's going on with you? What the hell are you thinking?" he demanded, staring at his boyfriend's miserable, pale face. God, Katsuki hated this so fucking much.

Izuku's breathing grew faster, but he didn't say anything, which just pissed Katsuki off more.

"I know you don't want to fucking talk about it," he practically growled. His hand tightened around Izuku's wrist, to the point where Katsuki knew there might be bruises. "But you promised me we were in this together. So I'm asking you to honor that promise. I'm asking you to fucking trust me. I deserve that much, don't I? So let me fucking in!"

Izuku shuddered. His eyes closed and he turned his face away, tears spilling down his cheeks, but before Katsuki could lose it completely and hit the nerd, Izuku began to talk. His voice was a painful rasp, grief and fear and anguish ringing in every syllable, making Katsuki's heart clench. He wanted to interrupt, to argue, but he knew if he did that Izuku would shut down. Izu needed to get this toxic shit out! So Katsuki bit his tongue and listened.

"Mom said I should give up on being a hero…" he whispered, still looking away. He gasped in air, tears streaking his face. "That I was never meant to be out there fighting, that I'm just going to get myself killed…" A harsh, shuddering breath as Izuku twisted the blankets in his hands. "That if I really wanted to do good, I'd give it up to someone more capable, more skilled…" He choked on a sob. "I could give it up to you or someone stronger…

"And she's right, isn't she?" he said on a gasp. "I couldn't save him. I couldn't get free when that nomu grabbed me, and it distracted everyone. No one noticed Stain, and Endeavor…" Izuku shuddered. "He died. Because of me. Not just because I wasn't strong enough to save myself, wasn't strong enough to save him, but because I was a liability. My weakness distracted everyone, and Endeavor got killed." His voice stuttered on a sob. "J-just like Aizawa t-told me would h-happen!"

The hand Katsuki wasn't holding fisted and slammed down onto the thin mattress. "I just don't know what to do," he whispered, crying freely now. "All I wanted was to help people, but the harder I try the more I put everyone in danger. I hate it so much, Kacchan! All I wanted was to fight at your side and help people! Why?" he sobbed brokenly, wet green eyes finally looking up at him. The despair in them felt like a physical weight pressing down Katsuki's shoulders. "Why aren't I allowed? Why is it so wrong for me to try?"

"The world is fucked up, people are fucked up, and that has nothing to do with you," Katsuki said lowly, throat tight with angry tears. "This world was trash before you were even born. Since you were four goddamn years old, you've seen for yourself how messed up people are. That's why you wanted to be a hero. To help. To fix things. But you can't fucking fix the whole goddamn world, Deku. There's a billion people on the planet and you're just one insignificant person."

Grabbing Izuku's face by the jaw when his boyfriend looked away, Katsuki snapped, "Listen to me! You have to set your sights on reality. What's All Might say? You can't save everyone, but save everyone you can? That's fucking true for all of us! It's not your responsibility to makes sure everyone pays attention! Native and Glasses let themselves be distracted. Stain got free. That's not your fucking fault, Izuku! Even if you had busted free of that Nomu right away, Stain was fucking fast. He was going to do what he was going to do. That's on him."

Face pale and damp with sweat and tears, dark freckles standing out starkly on his cheeks, Izuku cried out a desperate, "But Kacchan!"

"No buts, Izu," Katsuki said firmly, unrelenting, but he gentled his hand on Izuku's face. "And if Native and that idiot had noticed Stain had gotten free, maybe the bastard would have had to kill them to get to Endeavor. We don't know what could have been. We can't say you getting free faster or them noticing Stain was free would be better, because it could also have been worse!"

Katsuki released Izuku face and leaned forward to press a firm kiss to Izuku's chapped lips. It was hard and fast, but it was enough to shut the nerd up. Pulling his mouth away, he said roughly, "Even All Might needs help sometimes, and you know it. You're not some fucking loser because you couldn't do it all alone."

Sighing, Katsuki leaned down to press his forehead to Izuku's. "You can't save the whole fucking world right away. Be patient. Work fucking hard like you have been. And keep saving everyone you can. You didn't ask to be given the chance you have. It was offered to you, and you took it. And thank fucking god you did. Because Iida and Todoroki and I would be dead, Izu. Do you understand that? Endeavor's dead, but we're not. You saved us. You did that."

The tension began to drain from Izu's shoulders as he actually started to listen. Katsuki sat up and rewarded him with a smile.

"I'm sorry your mom said that to you, Izu, but you know she's not on board with you being a hero. She doesn't understand, and she honestly has no fucking idea what you're capable of. I love her, too, but she's in no position to know whether you having this chance is right or wrong, and you know it." His eyes and tone sharped as he glared. "And Aizawa said you'd be a liability after knowing you for all of ten minutes. He doesn't think that anymore."

Crying quietly, Izuku wrapped his arms around Katsuki in a desperate hug. He pressed his face hard against Katsuki's chest. "I hear you, Kacchan," he rasped hoarsely through his tears. "I do, but I'm just so scared I'm going to mess up. That I'm doing something horribly wrong by trying."

Katsuki closed his eyes as Izuku confessed his deepest fear. "Do you remember what you said? About your hero name?" He gently cradled Izuku's face and lifted it so he could look into Izu's anguished eyes. "You said you chose Deku because that's the hero you wanted to be. A hero who never gives up and reaches into the dark to help those lost in it." His thumbs caressed Izuku's pale cheek. "I've already seen you be that hero, Izuku. I've seen you stand when no once else, not even me, would have been able to get back up. I've seen you touch the lives of everyone around you."

Izuku shook his head in denial, but Katsuki tightened his hold.

"I know you can't see it, but I've never lied to you, and I'm asking you to believe me, even if you can't believe in yourself." He glared into Izuku's teary eyes. "You can be that hero. You can! You have this core of strength that pushes you forward. I need you to find that strength again." Voice breaking, he promised, "You're not alone, Izu. We're going to do this together, right? So please don't give up on me."

"Kacchan…" Izuku pulled him into a fierce kiss.

Katsuki kissed him back just as hard. Their hands slid into each other's hair, gripping tight. Izuku licked into his mouth almost desperately, fresh tears falling. Katsuki sucked furiously on his tongue before slashing his own forward, determined to erase the taste of tears from Izuku's lips.

Todoroki cleared his throat loudly. Katsuki pulled away from Izu, both of their lips red and swollen. Izuku had forgotten they had a witness, and he covered his bright red face with his hands. Katsuki couldn't help laughing a little. Then Aizawa walked through the doorway. Katsuki shot Todoroki a grateful look, the teen nodded, his own cheeks red.

"Midoriya," their teacher said, distracted and exhausted. He was completely oblivious to the fact that not a minute before they'd been making out as if they needed each others lips to survive. "Iida is denying an operation that would correct the damage to his shoulders. He will lose feeling and partial function of his left hand should he persist in this. For whatever reason, his mother is deferring to his wishes. Would you speak to him, please? He will not be able to correct the damage later should he change his mind."

Katsuki smirked as Izuku's eyes lit up with purpose.

"Yes, sensei! Of course!"

Aizawa nodded and handed Izuku some crutches.

Izuku accepted them and climbed off the bed. Before he left, he turned back and gave Katsuki a look so full of gratitude and love that Katsuki actually blushed. And then his boyfriend was gone, off to save that fucking idiot from himself again.

"Thank you."

Katsuki turned curiously to Todoroki.

The teen gave him a sincere smile. "I didn't know how to help him."

Katsuki shrugged. "He's not usually so unsure, but the moon was only two days ago. He's not at his best."

Cheeks pink, Todoroki looked away as he said, "It's nice. Seeing how much you love each other. For a long time, I didn't think love like that was real, but I'm really glad I was wrong."

Scowling, Katsuki threw the pillow at his head. "Jesus, IcyHot, it was just a fucking kiss!"

Todoroki laughed.

…

Izuku's heart pumped hard and strong in his chest. Kacchan's words burned deep inside him. Izuku's love for the amazing blond was so strong it nearly brought him to his knees. He had no idea how he would ever repay Kacchan for always being there for him. Truth was, he already knew the answer. He would never be able to repay Kacchan, not equally.

It was just like his goal of being a hero, actually. He'd never be good enough, but Kacchan kept reminding him again and again that he wasn't alone in either endeavor. Kacchan was reaching out to him just as the world was. It was the least he could do to reach out in return and hold on as tightly as he could, and right now he had to focus on the mission. Izuku rubbed his tears away with the sleeve of his hero costume and lifted his chin, facing forward.

Aizawa led him to an operation prep room. The smell of sterile sheets and cleaners assailed this nose. The light was bright here, allowing for no shadows. Four beds were lined up. All of the patients were hooked up to machines that beeped and hummed rhythmically. Two of the four were unconscious. The other was rigid with pain, a nurse hovering nearby.

Iida was sitting on the edge of his bed. He wore hospital pants and that's it. The bandages had been removed from his chest. What looked liked clear, square pressure bandages had been placed on both shoulders. His left was worse than his right. It had three tiny gaping mouths that bled as well as the larger sword puncture right at the joint. In his bicep and forearm, were two holes larger than sword had made. His right shoulder only had the one sword puncture.

Iida's face was pale. Dark circles sat under his eyes, and his glasses were still missing. Even still, Izuku knew that stubborn look. Slowly swinging over on his crutches, he gave his friend a worried look. "Hey."

Iida's eyes fastened on Izuku's ankle. "Are you well?"

"Yeah." Izuku sat next to him on the bed, doing his best to catch his breath. "I'll make a full recovery. It just hurts a bit from getting stitches."

Iida looked down at his lap. His right hand was curled into a fist, which made the plastic wrap on that shoulder fill with more blood. His left could only curl halfway into a fist. "I am so sorry you got hurt, Midoriya," he said roughly.

"I'm fine," Izuku repeated. He put his hand over Iida's fisted right hand. "Aizawa said you're refusing treatment?"

Iida sat straighter, but he still refused to look into Izuku's eyes. "I earned this injury by giving in to my selfishness and reckless anger," he explained, voice low "I need the reminder of where such a path will take me. Because, even now, even after all it cost, I keep thinking about the fact Stain got away. That I let him get away."

Alarmed, Izuku opened his mouth, but Iida stopped him. He turned sideways and finally met his eyes. There was true pain in them.

"You don't have to say it," he said tearfully. "I know now revenge and hatred is not the answer, but I have this anger inside me that will not go away. Even though you, Todoroki, and even Stain made it very clear what it means to be a hero and how far I fall short. That is why I need these wounds as a reminder. For myself as well as my brother. Tensei was everything to me, and he taught me better than vengeance and hatred. He taught me being a hero is a protector, and if I am going to honor him, then that's the kind of hero I want to be."

"But…" Izuku protested.

Iida shook his head hard. "You don't understand, Midoriya. The anger and hate is still there. That's why I don't want the operation. I need to remember what it will cost me and everyone around me if I lose sight of that again."

"Iida…" Izuku took a deep breath. His mind racing as he thought of what he could say to change this. "I hear you. I do, and I think you have the right idea, but you're going about it in the wrong way."

Iida opened his mouth, his thick eyebrows slashing down in a frown, but this time it was Izuku who stopped him.

"Please listen," he asked softly, staring imploringly into Iida's eyes. "Ever since I've known you, you've made decisions fast and hard. It's not always easy to get you to see a different perspective, but once you do, you always seem grateful, and you accept the new ideas boldly. I've always respected that. I'm asking you now to hear me out, to at least hear my perspective."

Iida searched Izuku's eyes for a minute before nodding his head.

Izuku tightened his hand on Iida's. "I think you're absolutely right. We all have darkness inside us and it's important we remember the cost of that darkness. People wouldn't become villains if the dark wasn't tempting in the first place. And tonight you gave in to your darkness. People got hurt…" Izuku felt his throat tighten, but he forced the words out. "Endeavor died."

Tears streaked Iida's face. "Yes, exactly," he said, believing Izuku agreed with him. He moved as if to stand and leave the bed and the operation prep room entirely.

Izuku grabbed his arm, holding him still. "But!" he said sharply. "Maiming yourself isn't the way to remember, Iida! That's giving in to your darkness still! Hurting yourself as penance is not heroic! A hero is selfless and penance is only for yourself. Can you say with perfect certainty that there won't be someone in the future who won't get hurt or even killed because you did not have full function of your arms to save them? Can you say with perfect certainty that you won't get killed by a villain who takes advantage of your weakness? You can't save people if you're dead, Iida," he said roughly, quoting Kacchan. "And if you're going to use Tensei as your measure for what's heroic, then why aren't doing it now? Would he approve of you crippling yourself? What would he give to get full function of his body back? How would he feel about you throwing this opportunity away?"

Iida's expression crumpled. He looked so lost. He was so desperate to do the right thing, but he couldn't seem to come to the right conclusions. It was a horrible feeling to realize that. One Izuku knew all too well, and his heart broke as he realized just how alike he and Iida were.

Izuku held tightly to Iida, tears falling down his own cheeks. "You need to remember this lesson, Iida. I agree. It's an easy one to lose sight of, but denying the operation isn't what a hero would do. It's selfish and feeds your own ego. When we get back, we can get tattoos, or a piercing, or something to help us remember. I'll go with you. I need to remember this lesson, too. Hurting ourselves, limiting our options, it's never the right thing to do."

"Don't pity me!" Iida said with a sudden flare of anger. "You don't need anything of the kind! You're always selfless!"

Izuku actually laughed. It was bitter and his eyes were haunted as he shook his head. "No, Iida. I'm just different. Your darkness is anger. Mine is fear." His hand tightened around Iida's. "The truth is I'm terrified of falling short. That someone will get hurt or killed because I was just that little bit too slow or weak. That fear drives me, but I see now that it's also holding me back. Just a few minutes ago I was ready to quit being a hero completely, almost convinced it would be better. Just like you, I forgot all the people who would suffer because of that decision. I need the reminder of what it means to be a hero just as much as you." He met Iida's eyes perfectly serious. "I would be very grateful if you let me come with you."

Iida lifted his right arm and curled it around Izuku's shoulders. Izuku wrapped his arms around Iida's waist gratefully. "I would be honored to have you go with me," Iida said tearfully. Clearing his throat, he looked up and said, "Aizawa-sensei. I apologize for not listening to you earlier. I am ready to have the operation."

Izuku looked up at his teacher who stood a few paces away from the bed, his arms crossed. Aizawa looked greatly relieved.

"I'll go fetch the doctor," he said and strode away.

Izuku closed his eyes and just leaned against Iida for a minute, knowing without a doubt that he'd done something good. For the first time in what seemed an eternity, his heart was filled with peace.

Chapter end.

A/n: I hope you liked the interlude! :D I'm hoping it wasn't too boring or anticlimactic, but Katsuki demanded to be heard and Iida needed a resolution, so *jazz hands*…

OH YEAH! Almost forgot to ask you for tattoo/piercing ideas so the boys don't forget this very hard learned lesson? :D Can't wait to hear your ideas.