The smell of sizzling eggs was what woke Izuku up.

It started with a twitch of his nose, picking up the familiar scent of a type of breakfast that he hadn't had the luxury of eating for years now. It's been convenient-store boxes and protein drinks for so long, that being acquainted again with something as simple as eggs was a heaven-sent. Accompanying it was the tantalizing aroma of some kind of cooked meat, all congregated into one place and teasing his senses.

Sure enough, when green eyes slowly pried open, he was greeted with that exact sight. A plate of scrambled eggs and a side of sausages sliced into bunny-shapes greeted him on the coffee table. The only thing that could've made the arrangement cuter was if a message was written on the eggs, but Izuku figured even that was too adorable for Katsuki-

Finally realizing where he was, Izuku shot up from his spot with wide eyes.

That was a mistake. He didn't notice the thick blankets wrapped over his form until they forced him back onto the plush couch, head colliding with the armrest hard enough to rattle him. Izuku groaned. The sound caused the bundle of fur curled up against his stomach to curiously poke his head and regard him. The sight of Lord Murder the Second blinking at him with large black eyes and fluffy tail brought the memories flooding back into Izuku's mind much faster than he would've liked.

"Atsuko almost died when I was thirteen."

"IZUKU, STOP THE CAR!"

"Deku, you were raped."

"Lie down."

"He's a good listener too."

Then a feeling of utter weightlessness, floating in a white abyss as it overflooded his mind.

The sunlight around him suddenly felt overwhelming. Izuku groaned again, bringing the covers over his head to block it out. Unfortunately, the puppy was having none of that, misinterpreting his actions as a new game and pouncing on the bundle of blankets right around the same time the green-haired hero admitted defeat with a light glare.

Exposing his upper half to the air, Izuku rested the plate on his stomach. Using the fork left aside to stab at a poor bunny, he brought it to his salivating mouth.

Only to sigh in pleasure at the taste. It was delicious, unfairly so. Contrary to its appearance as a water-boiled sausage mutilated by a knife, there were hints of spices and other seasonings that Izuku couldn't hope to list off. Add that to the fact that it was perfectly cooked, and he was , it was completely unexpected that Katsuki Bakugou was a good cook, of all things.

The familiar buzz of fluttering took off in his chest and Izuku allowed himself to drown in that feeling once more. He finished off the rest of his meal a lot more quickly that he would've liked. With each bite, his previous anxiety vanished more and more, replacing it with a languid haze. By the time the metal fork hit an empty plate, he yawned.

Curling back onto the couch, tummy full, Izuku let sleep take over again.

The next time he woke, it wasn't quite as pleasant. But stuck in the crutches of deep sleep, it took a while for the hero to gather up the will to leave his warm burrito. It started with an incessant knocking on the door which sounded more like the perpetrator was trying to break it down. Yells joined then, their volume reaching him in his slumbered state.

"BAKUGOU!" A voice, female, excitedly assaulted the wood. "Get in the car, loser! Eijirou snagged these free tickets to a monster truck rally!"

Angry stomps from somewhere else in the apartment went to cross swords with the noise pollution, sneering in its wake. "I was sleeping, asshole!"

That didn't deter the one on the other side. "Aw, come on. You know you want to see some destruction. Plus, you're not working today." A pause and a more suspicious tone took over. "You better not be working right now."

"I JUST said I was sleeping. What part of that do you not understand?!"

"Ahh, I see. Poor Baku has to get his beauty sleep." The knocking stopped, but all that accomplished was to make a pool of dread sink into Katsuki's stomach. Sure enough, his fears were confirmed. "Oh hey! That's a nice dragon garden gnome you have here. It'd be quite a shame if I spilled some acid on it."

Katsuki slammed the door open, sending the dirtiest look to the occupant on the other side. "Fuck you."

Ashido laughed, carefree. "I missed you too!"

"You just saw me yesterday." He lets her in anyway to save his precious Doctor Explosion the Dragon from her grimy wrath, and only for that reason. She quickly settles in a chair by the entryway, demeanor much too cheerful for being before ten o'clock in the morning on his day off. He crossed his arms, not bothering to offer any drink. That only applies when he invites someone else over, not if that someone else forces their way in through threats. "You have five minutes."

"Like I was saying, a co-worker of Eijirou at the construction site gave him these free tickets after he saved him from a falling beam. I guess the old hero instincts aren't easy to forget." She prattles on, stealing a candy from the bowl Mitsuki filled when she was last here. "Kaminari is coming too. Who can pass up the chance of seeing giant metal things crushing each other for free?"

Katsuki couldn't really disagree with that. Grunting, he made to turn back into his room. "Fucking fine. Just give me a minute to brush my teeth-" But was stopped by a pink hand latched to his tank-top.

"Wait a second," Ashido narrowed her eyes. "Spill. You still haven't told me how you know Quirkless."

The blond narrowed his eyes back. "There's nothing to tell."

"Oh, really now? He specifically stated that he arranged an appointment with you from knowing you personally. That sounds pretty juicy to me."

Knocking the other's grip on his shirt off, Katsuki shrugged. "We just met by chance. I'm paying him back for something, that's all."

She leaned back, eyeing him. "So you're absolutely, one-hundred-percent, cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die sure that nothing is going on?"

"For fuck's sake," he rolled his eyes, "yes."

Of course, Izuku being a huge fucking Deku with a horrible luck streak, chose that moment to stick his head into the room towards the chatter in his half-coherent state. With blanket still wrapped around tired limbs, hair puffing up on one side, and eyes unfocused, he marched out with a drunk sway to his stupid steps. "Kacchan?"

Silence.

Ashido gaped. "Oh. My god."

Katsuki whirled onthe pink woman, shaking her collar threateningly. "WHATEVER TWO-BIT GUTTER YOUR MIND JUST DIVED INTO, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK, ACID FREAK!"

The woman very artfully ignored her friend, opting to shoot out of her seat in an excited skip and engulf Izuku in the biggest hug that he's ever been in. Despite being shorter, she managed to reach over and give his bed-head an affectionate ruffle. "Who knew the number five hero was actually such a cute little teddy bear! Ah, Baku is so lucky!"

Seeing Ashido enter what Katsuki officially dubbed the insane mode, the doctor grumbled under his breath. Knowing that anything he said would fall on deaf ears for the next few minutes, he sauntered his way into the bathroom to get ready for the day. The slam of the door was what jolted Izuku from his sleep-induced state.

Checking that the blond was indeed out of the room, Ashido leaned in with a sly smile. "He's an angry dick most days, but he's actually a delicate kitty. I'm counting on you not to break his heart."

And although the buzz of butterflies in his stomach had long passed, although what Ashido was implying wasn't even true, although Izuku knew that, he still gathered up every feeling he's had in the past few hours to look her straight in the eye and whisper. "I promise."

The responding grin made him smile back.

Katsuki was done getting ready not too long after, dressed in a cap, sunglasses, and a jacket that didn't cover his arms. He returned to the sight of Izuku folding up the blankets in a neat rectangle while Ashido was helping herself to his fridge like a jackass. It was amazing how different his two guests were in virtue. Snatching the pitcher of milk from her before she could pour it, he shot her an unimpressed gaze. "How long is this rally thing going to last?"

She pouted. "Until the afternoon, maybe three o'clock."

Nodding to himself, he addressed the hero taking conspicuous glances at them when he thought they weren't looking. "Deku, the results for your MRI should've been faxed to our office by now. We can take a look at it later today."

In the middle of bringing the dirty plates to the sink, Izuku took a moment to stare at a cup hanging off the dish rack. "I-I'll text you if I can make it."

Seeing the other's hesitation, Katsuki relaxed. Right, this nerd was a hero. He already missed who-knows-how-many shifts planning his dumb wedding and possibly became a no-show for another one after his breakdown last night. The business was enough of a hassle without throwing absences in the mix. He shrugged, ushering the hungry girl out the door. "Let yourself out whenever. Take a shower if you want. You look like a fucking mess."

It was only after the door was locked, the two friends had made their way to the parking lot, and Katsuki inserted the key into the ignition that Ashido started looking at him funny. The woman was jittering in her seat, almost as if she had too much energy for her body to handle and would soon explode into the interior of his car. She was holding something in and it was torturing her. He growled. "If you have something to say, say it."

Taking the opportunity, her words burst out of the gate. "Why didn't you tell me, Baku?! You withIzuku Midoriya, the symbol of hope and the nicest most committed guy you could ever meet. I'm so happy for you, really!"

Was that really how the public saw him?

Katsuki sighed. Now that she was willing to listen to reason, he told the truth. "You're misunderstanding, pink brain. I'm helping to plan his wedding to someone else so you can cut the fantasies."

She deflated, a difficult look crossing her face at the memory of the unwavering spark Izuku held in his eyes as he spoke those words. A spark which was still weak, but only came to life when the blond entered his peripheral vision. She sat back, thinking. "Really? I could've sworn…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

The monster truck rally was decent, but not the best that any of them had been to. Kirishima was ecstatic at getting front row seats where all the action would be, but Kaminari simply abridged it as the place where all the mud would fly in their faces. It was a shame that his three friends didn't agree on the sentiment, his screeches each time a vehicle got too close and kicked up dust going ignored. The announcer was shitty though, commentary sounding more like he was watching a golf match rather than witnessing trucks being smashed into the ground.

All in all, for a free show, Katsuki couldn't complain. He left during intermission to buy himself a soda. Ashido and Kirishima went ham in the gift shop, the two still being stuck in that sickening decorating stage for their new apartment. Kaminari considered asking some assistants what brand of device they used to make the smoking effects. And throughout all of this, Katsuki's phone remained silent.

It didn't affect him too much, the fact that Izuku was busy. Some small, and he means small, part of his brain didn't approve of the idea of Quirkless jumping into gunfire right after suffering such an emotional panic attack, but Katsuki wasn't one to tell him what to do with his life. He'd heard rumors of the work ethic of the symbol of peace being the highest in the entire hero association, but after hearing what Ashido said, Katsuki took it with a giant-ass grain of salt.

Still, when he returned back to his small apartment, clothes dirtied from the rally and take-out clutched in his hands, and saw a messy head of green hair lounging on his couch, he was a little surprised. "Deku, you're still here?"

Hearing him come in, Izuku jumped up the slightest. He was still in the same clothes from this morning, but his face was clear of tear stains and green curls appeared less tangled. The towel resting on his shoulders confirmed that he had showered. "Kacchan! Ah, sorry but I helped myself to a towel from the rack."

"Don't apologize, nerd. I said you could." Shrugging off his jacket, he tossed it into the laundry basket with a disgusted look. From where he was standing, he could spot Lord Murder napping by the bed. "I'm counting by the fact that you're sitting on my couch like you fucking own the place means that you're staying for the appointment after all?"

Izuku nodded his head, hands fidgeting like he had committed some vital sin. "I called my agency and took the day off. I figured after what… happened last night, it was for the best."

So the groom was avoiding the topic, subsequently also not addressing the state of the wedding. Stuck in this limbo, Katsuki hadn't a clue what the mess on his couch had decided on that matter. He'd play his little game, for now. "I'm guessing they didn't exactly ship a life-size get-well-soon card to your front door when they heard that."

"They told me to have fun." A blond brow rose at that. He knew stories from Kirishima that agencies usually weren't so understanding of last-minute calls like that, especially if the hero in question skipped one without notice right before then. The one that Quirkless worked at was especially known for being ruthless in that department. "Are you lying to me again, you little shit?"

Green eyes shot up, reassurance escaping his muttering lips. "No, of course not! Not this time, I mean. This is just the first day off I've had since I became a hero. My boss has kind of been encouraging me to take one."

Well, damn. Taking your first day off in ten years seemed reasonable enough to soften up the toughest of bosses. Rounding past the kitchenette, Katsuki peered up at the television the other was watching when he noticed that it was on. A pixelated All Might flew across the screen, bounding between buildings with his trademark smile as citizens cheered for him in the backdrop.

Having his companion join him, Izuku beamed at him. "You didn't tell me you like All Might too, Kacchan!"

The three-hundred-episode television series and its DVDs were from when he was a preteen. "He's all right."

"That doesn't sound like an appropriate response from someone who alphabetized his shelf." The freckled man grinned cheekily.

"I like being organized. Fuck off." It was pathetic. Despite swearing off of heroes so long ago, Katsuki couldn't bring himself to throwing out the entirety of his All Might collection. A few objects that weren't as valuable to him, like All Might lipstick or All Might trading cards were in the trash by the next day. But this cartoon series, the one he spent every night watching with both of his parents as a kid, was too close to him to get rid of. Especially when he still regarded the retired hero as an inspiration to winning. Taking a seat next to Izuku, he recognized the episode right away as one of his favourites. Before settling down, he shot him a sneer. "You better not have messed up my system."

"Your system is great, don't worry." A lone right elbow went to lean on a content knee, Izuku resting his head on top of a clenched fist. "Though personally, I would've arranged them by animation director or product manufacturer. Alphabetizing stops being effective when everything is titled too similarly."

"Damn, how much nerd stuff do you have of this guy?"

At Katsuki shoving the take-out onto the table, Izuku smiled sheepishly. "Half of it is with my mom because it couldn't fit in my penthouse."

"Holy shit. Looks like calling you a nerd was a brilliant move on my part." Second-guessing himself, Katsuki reached into the bag and passed the hero a bundle of wrapping paper. "It's a taco, spicy as hell itself. Eat it and let's go."

One nearly fire-breathing hero and a glass of milk later, the two decide to walk to the clinic. Katsuki had grabbed his shoulder-bag from his office that housed supplies after washing his hands and changing into his doctor jacket. Izuku was still whining about his burning tongue by the time they left. That earned absolutely zero pity points from the blond, however.

"Suck it up. Be grateful the breakfast I made wasn't like that." Izuku shut up after that.

Despite the sun still being up, approaching the building was like approaching a haunted mansion. With the lights shut off, no one in sight for an entire block, and taking the unrepaired state of the actual building into consideration, it was no wonder. Unlocking the entrance, Katsuki leisurely made his way to the fax machine to split the pile up into shit Ashido had to deal with, and stuff he actually needed.

Not bothering to venture further, Izuku sat himself in one of the chairs in the waiting area. A silence settled over them as he watched the doctor scan through the file. He lightly swung his legs back and forth as a page flipped, played with his thumbs as the pacing stopped and those crimson eyes grew wider and wider. Finally, a tinge of ugly worry took grasp of him when Katsuki's complexion grew pale.

Feigning off the fear, Izuku left his seat to take tentative steps towards the blond. "Kacchan…?"

Hearing the noise, Katsuki jolted and knocked over a cup of pens. The sound was much sharper than it had any business being when it came and popped whatever bubble of tension was between them. It caused both to startle and stare at the mess on the floor in silent shock.

It was looking into those eyes, twin red orbs a mix of horror and-…and some other emotion Izuku couldn't describe as anything other than lost, that the hero snapped. "I…The injury is really bad, isn't it?"

"It's curable." This caused him to look up, bewildered. Katsuki chuckled, but Izuku didn't like that sound. It felt wrong. "So easy to fix, I could do it in my dead-ass sleep."

He didn't like how despite his friend showing obvious distress, the hero felt the smallest light of hope that lit his chest in a thriving flame. "That's good, isn't it?"

Instead of replying, the blond turned away. It wasn't until footsteps faded from his ears that Izuku registered that the other had left the room to another corner of the clinic that he'd never been to. Lips drawn tight in a confusing mix of excitement and dread, he could do no more than satisfy his basic instinct to clean up the mess on the floor. Wiping up the spilled ink bottle, capping lids back onto pens that flew across the room, and organizing stamps back on the counter, it was all Izuku could do not to chase after him.

Eventually, Katsuki returned with a paper cup filled to the brim with cold water. It was likely just for the motion of it all instead of the actual pay-off, as the water was piled so high that Izuku could spot the surface-tension if he stared long enough. Seeing those familiar spikes, he shot back into a seat by the magazines with a desperate haste. Katsuki, in contrast, took his time, took a few breaths, before lowering himself across from him.

Placing the cup in front of him, Izuku tried not to notice how the water swayed a tad, almost breaking. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure that you have a severe case of Lateral Epicondylitis. It's a common condition for athletes and those in professions with great physical strain, and will usually go away on its own with proper care and physical therapy."

Izuku nodded. He didn't comment on how the blond seemed to resort to his professional façade all of a sudden. Instead, he tried to listen and absorb what was being told to him. "However, if the pain persists even under such a schedule for more than four months to a year, that means the patient has to go into surgery. It's a quick one that is nonlethal and has a high success rate."

Freckled cheeks stretched, gapping like a fish. Hundreds- maybe even close to a thousand visits, baring gifts and exchanging pleasant greetings with a man in a white coat who gave him reassuring words with every subscription flashed across his mind. "But my doctor said-"

"They lied to you, Deku." Normally rough voice remained unreadable to him.

Izuku shut his mouth, a hard tone overtaking his demeanor. "You don't know that. Maybe they just misdiagnosed."

"THEY DID NO SUCH THING!" At the sudden spike in volume, it felt like the entire room and its shelves shook under the wrath. He blinked rapidly, words dying in his throat at the same time Katsuki sat back down, avoiding eye contact. "Six years, Deku. The care treatment you've been given is perfect. Your doctor, your therapist, your pharmacist, they all know exactly what they're fucking doing. Every medication you've been given doesn't exist; they're just goddamn sugar pills. They knew how to discharge you but kept your high-paying ass around as a client to split the revenue amongst themselves."

The jittery limbs, the broken sound of the blond's voice now entered Izuku's head as nothing but white noise. His hero careerstagnating, his slowly degrading confidence as villains became harder to bring down, why millions had to die as his arm failed to help stop a train, it was all for… "What."

"GOD." Izuku jumped out of his skin when Katsuki abruptly turned around and punched the pot behind him as hard as he could. It cracked on contact, suspended in air the shortest time before crashing to the floor with a smash that nearly shattered both of their eardrums. "FUCKING." He made quick work of his chair next, lifting it up to toss across the room where it collided with the opposite wall. "DAMMIT! I can't believe- SHIT!" He kicked the reception desk. Those pens that Izuku had so meticulously fixed jerked up.

The surface of the water broke, spilling onto the table. "K-Kacchan…?"

"I became a doctor to punch this kind of NONSENSE in the face but these fucking bitches are- THEY'RE JUST THE SAME AS HEROES!" Katsuki remained deaf to the other's efforts, making to tug at his own hair with the rage needed to stab an intangible force. "CHEATING LIKE COWARDS WHO CAN'T EVEN MAKE IT TO THE TOP THE PROPER WAY!"

Another chair toppled over, a shattered picture frame, and the blond finally turned his attention to Izuku. His rampage froze. Taking in rigid posture, Katsuki stared at shaky eyes long enough to process that he wasn't alone. Deep breaths, just like his anger management therapist said, focus on mundane tasks like counting the number of steps it takes to get to the chair and take a seat next to Izuku. There, he breathed again.

"Pretend that didn't happen, it was unprofessional as shit." His voice sounded weird, strangely strained and on the cusp of falling into death. "There's a doctor that I met in graduate school who can get you real medical help. I'll text you the address later. Have a nice fucking day." Not bothering to straighten out the room or even lock the door on his way out, Katsuki swiped his bag from beside the printer and left.

Hearing the click of the door, Izuku jumped to his feet and without hesitation, ran after him.

"Kacchan!"

No response. The blond only picked up the pace slightly in a dance that was familiar to the one from the aquarium. But this was different. There were no complex hallways or objects to spin around and throw the chaser off. Izuku himself was different too, speeding up and taking his place by the blond's side with a fiery determination that he hadn't owned before.

Before Izuku could say anything, Katsuki kicked a rock aside. "What? If you need physical therapy, that isn't necessary until after the surgery-"

"Where are you going?" Izuku cut him off, something that he wouldn't have had the courage to do before.

"Somewhere, I don't care, so leave me the fuck alone." His voice dipped in temper, sounding tired.

Green eyes harden. "No."

Katsuki spun round, anger flaring once more. "And why the hell NOT?"

"I don't want to."

"Oh." Pft, isn't that a funny thought? "Oh." Laughable, even hilarious enough for Katsuki to devolve into mocking chuckles. His tone raised an octave, the beginnings of rage taking control over his mouth. "Now what you want matters!"

"It does!" Izuku's own pride flared. He wasn't about to let this go on a misunderstanding. "It matters a lot! I realized that because of you- that listening to the voice in my head that puts my desires first isn't bad. It's-" Here, his voice turned smaller. "It's what makes you so amazing in the first place."

Collecting all his courage into one moment, the symbol of hope continued more loudly. "And I'm happy. I'm so happy that the you who thinks of himself first is helping me with the wedding. What you did with the budget I had on the ring, figuring out what's wrong with my arm… doesn't helping people make you happy too?"

It seems Katsuki was mistaken for telling Todoroki that Izuku knew he wasn't doing this for him. The doctor seethed, glare dark. "Get your head out of your ass. In case you forgot, Deku, I did that for my own pride. Not out of some savior complex."

And an epiphany hit him then, one that Izuku wished he kept to himself and took more time to think over. But instead, the next sentences spilled out as his desperation to get through to the blond took over. "That's why you're so upset now! Your selfish reasons for becoming a doctor backfired!"

Katsuki was much in the same state, self-restraint long discarded in exchange for the short-lived pleasure of getting out what he's wanted to say for a long time now. "You mean like how your relationship with your bitch of a bride 'BACKFIRED'? Enlighten me, WOULD YOU?"

Izuku flinched, a deep stab to his everything shaking his , he stood his guard. His voice dropped. "That was low, Katsuki."

"So you're not going to cry buckets when I call you out on GODDAMN ANYTHING ANYMORE?!" The blond taunted the other, a smirk building on his face, booming steps bringing him into Izuku's face to scream. "LOOK WHO FINALLY STOPPED BEING PATHETIC AND GREW SOME BALLS!"

The hero went silent at this. The doctor also went silent at this. They reached a stalemate, their breaths and the feeling of falling initiated by coming down from a high of adrenaline the only things occupying both of their heads in the next minute. Inevitably, the beginnings of guilt tickled Izuku's consciousness almost immediately. The crevice of his mouth opened, prepared for the slew of apologies that would spill out, but Katsuki interrupted him.

"See, Deku? This is who I am."

Izuku looked up, but Katsuki didn't look back. The feelings of pain, of hurt that crossed through him in the past hour or so nipped in his mind. A sinking sensation dropped his heart to his stomach. "That's not…"

At seeing the symbol of hope at a loss for words, Katsuki snorted. Figures. He turned away. "I'm telling you straight up from what I've oh so painstakingly concluded after only knowing you for less than a month: your wedding is all bullshit."

Here, he made some fantastical hand-gesture that brought green eyes focusing on them helplessly. "So use those balls you gained to do what you should've done a decade ago and tell your friends that your relationship with Atsuko-whatever-the-fuck is a lost cause and the two of you would rather stab your eyeballs out than talk to each other through a megameter bendy straw. Knowing them, they'd throw a fucking party in celebration of freeing themselves from your stupid excuses."

Taking another breath, Katsuki spat the next sentence out bitterly. "Meanwhile, run to the hills far the fuck away from me while you still have some dignity."

And he was but nothing but a silhouette in the distance. Izuku panicked, voice loud enough to cover the entire lot. "I never said the wedding was cancelled."

Katsuki glanced at him from over his shoulder, face unamused. "Whatever. I'm not helping you with it anymore either way."

The sinking sensation intensified. "Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

And just like that, he was gone.

Or at least, if it were anyone else, someone a little saner who would've known to leave the blond alone at that point, he would've been. But Izuku Midoriya felt the flashes of green lightning engulf his legs, propelling him forward until Katsuki was in sight. "Wait! I said I wouldn't leave you alone. I never go back on my word."

Katsuki looked to the side, unresponsive.

"I-I'll walk you home. You are going home, right?"

At his companion's lack of refusal, Izuku took that as approval for his company. But the entire way back, no matter how much he muttered or did the normal things that would make the blond explode, Katsuki remained ignorant. He didn't say a single word to Izuku, not even after the door was slammed and the hero found himself in an empty hallway.

Izuku knew something was horribly wrong. And just like was becoming more frequent, he failed to save anyone. But this wasn't a hero and a civilian; this was him and Katsuki. And he wasn't about to give up on him.