Before Izuku could catch his breath, Shigaraki was already fastening the shackles to his wrists. The familiar weight brought him no comfort. He was unceremoniously yanked upright, chest almost close enough to touch Katsuki's. Shigaraki tossed the chain up and over the rafter, then locked him into place. For once, his legs remained free and he marveled at the prospect of stretching them. Then he remembered the only reason he had that privilege was because Katsuki had taken his place. He immediately felt horrible.
Katsuki bit viciously at the gag and stared stubbornly at the floor.
Shigaraki grabbed the blond's chin, lifting till their eyes met. If looks could kill there'd be nothing left of the villain but a pile of ash.
"Don't worry, you'll learn your place." He carded his fingers through Katsuki's hair. He ripped his face away from Shigaraki's grasp, glaring daggers up at him. "It's just a matter of breaking down those pesky walls." A few patronizing pats to the cheek later and Shigaraki was headed to the door, chuckling to himself as he left. He gave a little wave then yelled, "Toga! Don't let them get too comfortable."
Izuku grimaced then froze. The thoughts of what she could do with Katsuki's blood left him feeling like he was submerged in ice.
Silence fell, heavy and awkward once they were left alone.
The moment they could no longer hear Shigaraki's retreating footsteps, Katsuki let himself slouch forward slightly and groaned. An instant later, he'd righted himself, frustrated cursing muffled by the gag. There was no way to relax without increasing his discomfort.
Izuku winced, remembering his first few days here. It's not like it stopped hurting, you just got used to it.
He glanced up at Katsuki's wrists, taking in the extensive damage. It looked horrible; blood dripping down his arms, skin ripped and peeled back toward his hands. He felt the echoes of Katsuki's pain, wrists aching in sympathy.
But Katsuki hated sympathy, so he didn't bring it up. Instead, Izuku did what he knew best. "I know you don't want to hear this…but…Kacchan….I'm so sorry." His voice was raspy and weak, but he felt it needed to be said. Izuku knew the face Katsuki would be making if he'd been brave enough to look, but he wasn't. Instead he spoke into his friend's chest.
Katsuki grunted in response, reminding Izuku that he couldn't reply even if he wanted to. "Hey Kacchan, I want to try something…" Izuku said, fighting the incessant prickling in his throat and how it felt like he was breathing through a straw. "Lean down just a bit, gonna try to get that off you."
Katsuki eyed him for a moment then hunched forward, his usual grumpy expression tinged with uncertainty. Blood had traveled down and around the gag, dripping off his chin onto his chest. The bridge of his nose was bent and swollen, a dark bruise spreading beneath his eyes.
Izuku shifted closer to him and higher on his knees. It was embarrassing, trying to hook the strap of the gag with his teeth, his lips and nose nudging into Kacchan's cheek as he worked. It was hard to avoid touching Katsuki's nose, but when he did, Katsuki didn't flinch away. "Almos goddit…" Izuku mumbled as he pulled the strap away from Katsuki's skin far enough for him to spit out the ball. It slipped down his chin and came to rest around his neck.
It wasn't much, but Katsuki looked relieved. "Thanks…" he muttered, avoiding Izuku's eyes.
'It's the little things…' Izuku thought, listening to Katsuki breathe through his mouth. "Your nose…" he asked tentatively.
" 's fine nerd." Katsuki was quiet for a moment, letting his head fall back and savoring a few deep breaths. At this proximity, his scent, reminiscent of salted caramel and smoke, overpowered the more unpleasant aromas in the cell. It was a welcome change.
Izuku tried to ignore the intense heat radiating off Katsuki's body. He felt beyond feverish, not that that was particularly odd. His body typically sustained a fever of 41C or higher, enough to kill most people. It was part of Katsuki's quirk but something about it kicked Izuku's brain into high gear.
"Kacchan…" Izuku whispered urgently. "You feel hot…" He regretted his phrasing immediately.
Katsuki's head snapped up, eyes wide and incredulous. "Thats a sick fucking joke Dek…"
"No! Thats-" Izuku shouted, but the force ignited a fire in his throat. His harsh, rattling cough reverberated around the room. Katsuki grimaced at the force of it. After a few gasping breaths, he continued. "Sor-Sorry Kacchan. I didnt…I meant your temperature."
"Oh." Katsuki almost seemed sheepish. "Well yeah, it's my…"
"...quirk I know, but think about it…" Izuku waited, hoping Katsuki would come to the same realization he had. He cleared his throat and tasted blood. 'That's new…' he thought then focused back on the conversation. Katsuki just stared at him. Maybe he'd been too vague. "The suppressants, Kacchan. Your body might…" As he started speaking again, he saw understanding dawn on him.
"...burn off the medication quicker." His brow drew together.
'Bingo…'
"Theoretically. Depends on the med. Do you know what…"
Izuku shook his head, already speaking,"...all I know is it's an injection and the fluid is black. The bottle they draw from isn't labeled."
Even though talking hurt his throat, this back and forth with Kacchan felt good. The subject matter sucked, sure, but for the first time since training camp, he felt warmth in his core.
Katsuki didn't share the sentiment. "Fuck…" he breathed. His skin crawled at the idea of having an unknown, black substance flowing through his veins. It turned his stomach. But he couldn't think about that now. He peered into the depths of the cell. "It's a good idea, Deku but I can't test it here. My quirk's too…loud…we wouldn't know until the moment we needed it and by then…"
"...by then it would at least give us the element of surprise."
Deku, ever the optimist.
They spoke in conspiratorial whispers, not wanting their one chance at escape to be discovered, no matter how slim of a chance it might be.
Izuku cleared his throat again, trying to stop the tickling so he could take a deep breath. Strange, frothy blood bubbled across his tongue. He swallowed thickly and hoped it wasn't serious.
"How long do you think it's been," Katsuki asked, breaking the brief silence.
"Depends on how long I was out. Do you remember…being brought in here?"
Katsuki thought back to his capture but his memories were foggy and distorted. "Nah, when I woke up, we were already here. Everythings all fucky after the thrift store magician got me."
Izuku nodded , more to himself than Katsuki. "Our best guess…is a couple hours. To be honest, the only way to track time here…is to count…" Izuku frowned, it was getting hard to take a deep breath. It was making him uneasy but he internally shrugged. It's not like they could do anything about it.
"Count?"
"30 days…is a long time when this is all you have…the mind finds weird things to do… to keep itself sane."
"You mean literal counting?"
Izuku almost laughed, "hours of it. Highest I could get to was…28,000. Got really good at factorials too."
"Such a fucking nerd…"
After a short chuckle, they fell into companionable silence.
As much as Izuku hated to admit it, having Katsuki this close, their bodies grazing against each other, hearing his voice and his breathing, actually talking to him, it was grounding. At this moment he was thankful for the company. Today probably marked the longest conversation they'd had in years. Hell, this is the longest conversation he'd had in 30 days. A part of him couldn't even believe that Katsuki was here.
Katsuki shifted and stretched his arms higher above his head, releasing some of the pressure from his wrists. His vertebrae popped audibly into place as he moved. He glanced down at Izuku, something in his posture and breathing seemed off.
"You doin ok, nerd?"
"Do I look ok?" He didn't mean to sound terse, but the flavor of blood, tickle in his throat, and shortness of breath was grating on him. Katsuki didn't seem to take offense.
"Ya look kinda grey, it's gross."
"Thanks Kacchan," Izuku scoffed then paused, debating honesty. "I feel more like black and blue, but yeah… I'm ok. Everything just…hurts."
"Hmph, you look like you belong in a cheesy-ass, b-rate zombie flick."
"Like the ones Denki makes us watch?"
"Yep, the eyes are wrong though. Yours are fuckin creepy."
"My eyes?"
"You got choked out, yeah?"
Izuku nodded vaguely, he was starting to feel tired and kinda dizzy.
"It burst some blood vessels, they're red…"
"Sounds disgusting…" Izuku tried to visualize it then shook his head. He couldn't concentrate with the room spinning like this. He leaned back and stretched in an effort to wake himself up. Pain exploded in his chest, white-hot and sharp like he'd been stabbed between the ribs.
The noise that tore from Izuku's throat was lost in a disgusting gurgle. He doubled over, body convulsing as he coughed. Bright, red blood flew from his lips and splattered across Katsuki's stomach.
"What the-!" Katsuki was stunned. He couldn't see the blood when he looked down, but he could smell it. "Deku wha…"
"Kacchan…~" Izuku whimpered, "I don't feel good…" He slumped against Katsuki's chest.
"Oi! Oi! Deku!"
He whimpered an unintelligible response. The sound of his breathing was wet. "OI! Izuku! I need you to look at me, ok?!" Katsuki could feel the cold sweat prickling at his nerves as Deku moved. Something was very wrong and there was jack-shit that Katsuki could do.
Izuku hung limply from his wrists but raised his head. Katsuki blanched at the sight of him. Good news, he was conscious, but that was about all that Izuku had going for him. His skin was ashen and covered with a thin sheen of sweat. His jaw hung slack and Katsuki could hear the rasping gurgle as he panted shallowly. Blood bubbled from the corner of his mouth, lips and chin stained red.
Izuku closed his eyes.
"OI! Don't you go to sleep!" Katsuki jolted, trying to jostle Izuku.
"It's a little…hard to breathe…" his vision was tunneling.
Katsuki could hear the fear in his voice.
Izuku's head dropped against Katsuki's shoulder. "Shit! Don't you fucking do it!"
Katsuki used his chin and shoulder to adjust Izuku's head but only succeeded in shoving him away. "Fuck!" He screamed.
Izuku was fucking dieing.