Katsuki chewed at the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. He hated himself like he never had before. If anyone had looked his way during his trek home from the hospital he didn't care. A taxi ride from the hospital would have been less than ten minutes but instead he opted for a walk – although at his pace it was more like a march – stretching the journey out. But Katsuki didn't care. He needed the fresh air to help wash away at least some of the rage and self-loathing swirling up inside him because he couldn't stop thinking about how it was his fault. How because of him Deku was dying – or at least dying faster – and all because they wanted to be heroes.

Yes, it had been their life long dream. And yes, sometimes heroes died in the line of work but that was usually from a run in with a villain, from an accident on the job or a lack of judgment. Not from slowly withering away due to ill health. Even All Might had retired when he knew his body couldn't handle it anymore. Katsuki wondered what Deku had planned to do exactly, just keep working till something killed him on the job because his body gave out on him?

Idiot.

Idiot. Idiot. IDIOT!

Underneath the calmness of Deku's features, Katsuki could see more there now that he wasn't face to face with his aggressor to recall the interaction. Deku knew him well but that went both ways and beneath it all Katsuki could see it, the burning determination in those green eyes to not give up on his dream despite his apparent declining health and the more Katsuki thought on it the more he could see it. The days of sparring where Deku just seemed to get exhausted faster than usual or when his mind seemed elsewhere at times. More than once catching his staring off at a wall rather than focusing on a report. He wondered if there had been signs even before that.

Selling off his oh-so-precious All Might collection that he had been collecting over his lifetime.

Throwing away money like it was nothing to gift his mother a house, mortgage fully paid and all, while he stayed in a small basic apartment.

The money he had been pouring into them being heroes. Sure Katsuki paid his half but Deku had already commissioned and paid for their smart watches well before Katsuki had ever agreed to it. Then there was the doorbell, the shock band, the holiday accommodation. Deku had been throwing money around like it meant nothing because well, when you're dying it probably didn't.

Katsuki even wondered if those pills he took for that reoccurring headache during their trip and since were really for that because until then Deku hadn't shown any signs of a headache – not that he had too – but still Katsuki wondered how long it had been going on for, how long the nerd had known, whether All Might had, who else knew and why no one had told him sooner? Sure, they had gone years without talking to one another but they had history and that should have counted for something. He wondered if Deku's own mother knew. If she had, surely she would have confided in Mitsuki and Katsuki would have heard it from her, unless of course, Deku had asked his mother to keep it a secret or worse yet, if she herself didn't even know. Katsuki bared his teeth as he kept walking. Figures, the nerd wouldn't want to worry his mother so knowing him, he wouldn't have told her anything.

Selfish Idiot.

Finally Katsuki was home, in his much smaller apartment than he once had to save money, though the way they were going he could easily afford an upgrade again soon. He slammed the door closed behind him before he found he couldn't take another step and leaned back against it, an arm crossing over his face as he bared his teeth and frustrations at the empty place.

How could the nerd not have told him.

How did he not pick up that something was off with him before.

All of it was beyond frustrating and Katsuki had been so angered he hadn't even stopped on his way out of the hospital to demand answers because he still wanted to believe it was all some sick joke, but then again, Deku had never been one to lie – until now he supposed – and his face had been so sad and honest that there was no way for Katsuki to deny it.

Suddenly Katsuki was filled with more questions than answers, but he couldn't go back to face Deku, not after walking out on him. Katsuki had severed their partnership so Deku didn't owe him any answers. They weren't going to be partners anymore so of all things Katsuki should just let it go. It wasn't his problem, not anymore, if Deku had just told him the truth from the beginning then…..

Then Katsuki would have refused to work with him.

And Deku wanted to work together. For fucks sake its all they had talked about during their playdates when they were small brats. Playing out battle scenarios, taking turns being All Might, scribbling down their future hero costumes and choosing names. Its all they had talked about for years, before they grew apart and after they had come back together. So of course Deku wouldn't have told him. Of course he would have kept it to himself so he and Katsuki could finally live out their shared childhood dream of being heroes. Together.

That bloody, freckle faced, doe eyed idiot. Always too optimistic for his own good.

Katsuki wasn't the sort to turn around now that he knew and tell the world about Deku's secret despite his anger, he was never that spiteful and low sinking and after all, Deku had kept Katsuki's health topic a secret for him and the truth was, Deku was confiding in him….now. Too little too late. But if the nerd really hadn't told anyone else….

Katsuki bared his teeth, clutched at his hair with fists and let a strong rumble out of his throat.

Despite his better judgement, he just couldn't let things go.

Katsuki had lost count how many times over the last week he had told himself to drop it, to let it and Deku go. His ex-partner was dying which meant there was no future for them as a hero duo. Every fight from now on was a losing one because even when they won – which they would – they were losing because every battle, every civilian saved, fuck, every patrol and sparring match was shortening Deku's life. But Katsuki just couldn't sit idle and with his 'partner' in the hospital still, there was little Katsuki could do aside from sitting on his ass unable to work alone.

That was something he would have to fix seeing as he was going to end up being alone sooner rather than later apparently.

That first day after the news Katsuki had felt utterly useless, recounting all of their interactions and going through them with a fine-toothed comb to see what other signs he could have picked apart but that became tiresome and self-harming so the following day he got off his ass and did something about it.

Now Katsuki was back at the hospital after a week, walking through the halls with a don't-fucking-get-in-my-way-scowl which worked beautifully and marching straight towards Deku's room for one final confrontation. But when Katsuki slid the door open with enough force to make the poor nurse inside jump and drop the sheet she had been folding they both stood there in silent confusion. The bed was empty, the room vacant of anything that would suggest someone was staying there and a sudden spike of ice stabbed at Katsuki's heart that he had fucked shit up yet again. That maybe Deku was already….

The nurse's mouth moved with concern, clearly asking a question that couldn't reach Katsuki and as much as he wanted to turn away so he wouldn't have to deal with how her face was currently scrunching up with confusion, Katsuki opened his mouth, unaware of his volume to ask what had happened to the man in the room. The nurse seemed to relax a bit, even if her initial reaction to Katsuki's voice suggested that it was on the loud side. She moved her lips to reply before Katsuki – closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to muster his patience because it wasn't the nurse's fault that she didn't know he was deaf – raised a hand to stop her, hopefully lowering his voice a fraction as he told her very bluntly that he was deaf. Her mouth formed the shape of an O at her surprise before she glanced about the room, scooping up a clipboard containing notes with an attached pen by a cord to scribble at it, coming a step closer and turning it Katsuki's way to read.

I've heard of you. You must be Mr. Midoriya's teammate.

Katsuki gave a small nod with a frown, even while deaf he hated dealing with stupid, wasteful pleasantries. She brought the clipboard back to herself to scribble some more and Katsuki, unhappy about waiting, shoved his hands on his pockets to conceal that he was flexing his fingers with annoyance.

He is getting some final tests before leaving today. Would you like me to take you to visit him?

No shit Sherlock. Katsuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes and simply gave a grunt along with a second nod and the nurse smiled his way, bobbing her head herself before bundling the unfolded sheet back atop the bare bed, tucked the clipboard under her arm and raised an arm to indicate that she would lead the way from the room.

They travelled back to the first floor of the building – Deku having been staying on the third – that contained most of the rooms dedicated to rehabilitation and gym equipment, complete with enclosed gardens in the centre so patients and staff would feel more relaxed or something while they slowly got their bodies to work again. Katsuki had never had to go through any physical therapy himself but he knew others that had and had heard that it was slow and painful at times. But Deku wasn't to be seen and he followed the nurse onwards to a hallway that branched off into many closed rooms compared to the far more open space they had come from. She stopped before a door, giving a knock and seemingly waiting for a reply. A male nurse came to open to door, looked to them both and then exchanged some words with the woman. Finally she stepped aside and gestured with a smile for Katsuki to go on inside and the male nurse opened the door fully for him. The first nurse handed the second her clipboard and pen probably accompanied with a quick explanation that Katsuki was deaf before she turned to leave and the male nurse closed the door behind them.

The room he had stepped into was darker than the outside hallway and was setup as more of an observation room than anything else, complete with a viewing window set into one wall and an assortment of computers taking down numbers and heart rates on the far wall. A doctor - a different one to the one Katsuki had originally seen speaking to Deku a week prior - watched on through the window with a frown, turning his head every now and again to glance over the many figures on the screens before looking back Deku's way who was currently shirtless, jogging on a treadmill with multiple wires attached to his body and an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose on the opposite side of the glass. Katsuki stepped forward to see what was going on better and the doctor looked his way with a brief nod in greeting before going back to what he was doing. Being a hospital Katsuki doubted that the window was a one way mirror but Deku was so exhausted from whatever it was he was doing that his head hung low, eyes half closed as he ran on the spot and his skin was slick with sweat. He had clearly been going at it for a while.

Several more minutes passed, no one paying Katsuki any attention, until finally the doctor pushed on a button beside the glass and spoke into it, ending Deku's run who slowed his pace in response, panting heavily and finally looking the doctor's way. If Deku spotted Katsuki in the darkness of the observing room, he didn't react to his presence. The nurse exited the room into the hallway, moving to enter the room next door and disconnected the sensors and wires from Deku whilst he caught his breath. He offered Deku a towel and exchanged some words before Deku gave a nod in what Katsuki assumed was a thanks and headed out, dabbing at his face and body with the towel.

Finally the doctor turned Katsuki's way, picking up the same clipboard the nurse had discarded in the room to write some words down before offering it to Katsuki. Seemed that the doctor had been paying enough attention to overhear or be told of Katsuki's condition.

He will be back shortly after showering and changing. Feel free to wait in the visitors lounge on this floor for him. We will let him know you're there.

Trust a doctor's hand writing to be atrocious. Katsuki had to squint his eyes and lean in just to read the damn thing, resisting the urge to snatch it away from the man. Katsuki stood straighter, the doctor taking it to mean he had finished reading it and turned it away, silently dismissing Katsuki from the room when he turned his back on the blonde to focus on his many computer screens before him. Katsuki withdrew from the room back to the hallway and after some gazing and wandering about he located the lounge on the floor, furnished with matching deep blue sofas, tables, chairs and a kitchenette area where several staff, patients, friends and family hung about in, seemingly the place being less of a formal waiting room and more of a joint chill area for everyone on the floor. Katsuki didn't mind though as no one seemed to bat an eye at him as he sat himself down uncomfortably on one side of a sofa in the corner of the room, the items stuffed into his back pockets poking at him as he did.

He hadn't exactly been counting the minutes ticking by but it was at least a solid twenty before Deku appeared and just in time as Katsuki was getting bored of staring at the same three apps on his phone on rotation. He glimpsed feet stop before him and lifted a glare to find the nerd, now dressed in clean casual clothes rather than horrible scrubs and looking much fresher. In fact, he looked like nothing had ever been wrong with him in the first place. Their eyes locked and Deku tilted his head to one side like a puppy, waiting for Katsuki to say something. Rather than do that though, Katsuki put his phone down on his lap, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into the sofa with a long exhale before continuing to glare at the nerd who broke first.

I hadn't expected to see you here, he signed and Katsuki rolled his eyes having heard – read – that before. In reply Katsuki withdrew a single hand, held it out and pointed a finger to the floor once before bringing it back to cross over his chest again. Deku blinked at him for a moment before turning away to grab a chair from an empty table and placed it in front of Katsuki, sitting down on it as he was told.

There was a moment of stillness between them before Deku lifted his hands to sign again.

Why are you here Kacchan? From Deku's curious yet somewhat apprehensive expression alone, Katsuki knew that there was no malice to Deku's question, which is good because if Deku had so much as rolled his eyes or flicked his wrist in a sarcastic way Katsuki doubted he wouldn't have snapped at the other man who had a thin layer of stubble starting to show across his usually shaven jawline.

Katsuki had some questions of his own and unfolded his arms, leaning forward slightly to get answers to them.

How long have you known? His eyes remained hard as he stared down the greenette who blinked in mild surprise before lifting his own hands to reply.

I found out half a year after graduation, he signed in response calmly and Katsuki's lips twisted into a lopsided frown at that for it meant that Deku had known of his weakening heart for the better part of three years. All that time that Katsuki had been waiting for Deku to reach out to him, Deku had been dealing with his own shit.

Who knows? Katsuki decided to dive right into his next question rather than sitting and stewing on it.

Other than you, my doctor. All Might and the head of my old agency knew but – they were both dead now so Deku didn't need to finish that and the greenette almost mirrored Katsuki's twisted frown as he recalled those sad facts.

You're mum? Katsuki pushed to know even though the nerd hadn't listed her. Deku simply closed his eyes and shook his head lightly.

I don't want her to know, he signed when he opened his eyes again, not meeting Katsuki's, I don't want her to worry over something she can't do anything about.

Katsuki lifted his head to the ceiling and let out a long breath to calm himself. He could see the idiot's logic but he still hated it. He had known Inko his entire existence almost. Growing up she had always been kind to him, treating him like her own son whenever he was left under her care as a child and even after his bullying had turned aggressive towards Deku, she had never confronted him on it, never shown any malice or anger towards him whenever they happened to come across one another. Katsuki had always seen that as a strength. How despite the animosity she must have felt towards her son's bully, she never let it show or lashed out at Katsuki, something his own mother wouldn't be able to do.

And you're not going to give up being a hero? Katsuki narrowed his eyes on the nerd who finally met his eyes again and with a determined look the greenette shook his head in reply and if an irritated grumble left Katsuki's throat, he didn't care.

You're a fucking idiot, Katsuki threw back his way but it felt more in defeat than in anger.

I'm aware, Deku signed back with a smile, the first Katsuki had seen in a week and something inside him gave way at that, letting out a sigh of defeat. Deku blinked with curiosity at Katsuki's long exhale and slouching shoulders, leaning down far enough to rest his elbows atop his knees.

No other secrets I should know about? Katsuki signed lazily, letting his hands drop down between his knees once he was done and lifted his head to look to Deku who shook his head, still smiling with a warmth that reached his eyes. Katsuki sat back up straight, huffing a 'fine' as he did and reached into his back pockets, withdrawing the uncomfortable item he had been sitting on. He brought his hand back before him, nodding his chin to get Deku to hold out his hand and there he deposited a new black smartwatch. This one sporting a rounded square screen rather than their old circular ones. Deku's eyes opened wide and his lips parted like he was at a loss of words, green eyes simply lifting from the device in his outstretched hand to look to Katsuki for answers.

Wear it, Katsuki signed at him with a frown. Deku closed his lips and moved to put the watch on, never an easy task one handed. It wasn't that Deku was completely useless at it but he was too slow so Katsuki leaned forward from his seat, taking the watch in his hand and fastening it to the nerds wrist. Pressed firmly against his skin, Deku could feel that the band was thicker on the underside of his wrist and lifted it to look at. While he did, Katsuki withdrew his own matching smartwatch from his other pocket and fastened it onto his wrist, wearing it the same way he had his last. His movement caught Deku's attention again.

This, Katsuki reached forward, tapping a finger to the thicker underside of Deku's watch, monitors your heart, Katsuki explained, if it becomes irregular, it will tell me, he lifted his own watch screen to show what he meant before letting his hands fall back to rest between his knees while Deku still absorbed this information.

You went and got new ones made?

Katsuki gave a curt nod.

You went back there just for this? Deku asked and Katsuki knew he meant the seaside town they had spent a week at. Katsuki gave another nod accompanied by a simple grunt.

Kacchan, Katsuki frowned at the nerd, does this mean you still want to be partners? The nerd's forest eyes lit up like it was Christmas but he held it in, lips pressed together thinly as he waited for some kind of confirmation. Katsuki on the other hand thought he had made that all pretty damn clear when he had handed him the bloody thing. So instead he rolled his eyes, lifted the corner of his lip in a small snarl and felt his throat rumble with annoyance before he spat a yes the nerd's way and instantly Deku's lips grew into a warm smile and his eyes melted into something more affectionate that Katsuki simply couldn't look directly at or he was sure he would go blind too. Out of the corner of his eye though, he saw Deku's hands reach across the space between them. Deku was a hugger, he knew that, he had seen it enough as he would casually wrap his arms around his friends throughout high school, but Katsuki was not – something Deku was aware of and had respected in high school – and he was about to snarl at the greenette when he paused, Deku's hands instead coming to grasp his own. Katsuki turned his gaze back to face the nerd who had tears in his eyes.

He didn't have to sign for Katsuki to know the words that were leaving his lips.

Thank you, Kacchan.

Getting back into hero work was slow. Over the next week Deku had to return to the hospital another two times for more tests and to talk over his results and this time Katsuki was part of that information loop. He didn't so much attend the appointments with the nerd as he did hear about them later because Katsuki was a part of this now, he had signed himself up for the long haul….however long or short that may end up being, so Deku kept him informed, including disclosing to Katsuki his related medical history to this point.

Shortly after their graduation Deku had begun to notice the feeling of heart palpitations. He had visited a doctor, who had thought that the feeling was a result of stress, anxiety or over exercising. Things not hard to come by in the job of a pro hero. So he had been sent away and told to alter his lifestyle and work to avoid triggering it and hopefully, with management, it would go away. It wasn't long after that, when things hadn't gotten better, that the hero Deku was working under noticed and recommended him to a different doctor who ran some tests to look into it further. That doctor had regular check-ups with Deku over a period of six months and monitored any and all changes, noticed the deterioration and gave Deku his final diagnosis that he then disclosed with the pro he worked under and All Might, who – from Deku's account – had taken the news poorly and only given Deku more reason to not confide in his own mother.

Because Deku wanted to still be a hero and many heart medications carried risks and side effects, Deku's doctor had agreed to start with some light medications and go from there as needed. So up until Deku's most recent hospital trip, he had only been receiving medication to manage symptoms when they arose. But after discussions between that doctor who had been looking after him in the city and his previous doctor down south, they had come to the conclusion that Deku should be taking something stronger and wanted to begin treatment for a heart condition called arrhythmia. Deku annoyingly had very little information to give on that subject outside of what the doctors had called it so it had been up to Katsuki to do his own research.

All it meant was that Deku had an irregular heartbeat at times which irritatingly could range from harmless to an emergency with little way to tell which outside of how Deku was feeling at the time it happened and worse still was that sometimes it could be 'silent' in the sense that Deku may not even feel it. At least in the case of those, they wouldn't be emergency level or Deku WOULD be feeling it. His previous palpitations had just been a symptom of the arrythmia. Overall, heart arrythmia had a fairly low mortality rate.

Deku made a point that he didn't actually have arrythmia itself but as his symptoms most closely resembled that, it is what the doctors referred to it as for ease of conversation, understanding and control.

They had already performed a stress test - Deku exercising on the treadmill while they gathered information - an echocardiogram – a fancy word for heart ultrasound – and a cardiac catheterization that meant injecting a special dye into Deku's bloodstream and viewing it through an x-ray to see how it passed through his heart. Outside of hospital tests, Deku was also given an event monitor, a newer design without the collection of wires that sat against the skin of Izuku's chest over his heart that he could tap anytime he felt an irregular heart beat for the device to record for the next few weeks while he slowly got back into the swing of things – not that he wanted to take it that slow and it was more Katsuki snarling warnings his way that he wouldn't be his partner if he kept on wanting to act recklessly. So for the meantime they limited it to three days of hero work and two at the gym for some light sparring, all with Katsuki so he could keep an eye on things. And what Katsuki learnt was that it was strenuous exercise putting a strain on Deku's body that seemed to make his heart beat irregular and the couple of times that did happen Deku hardly batted an eye, it was Katsuki's smart watch that vibrated with a silent alarm to alert him to the fact that Deku's heart was acting up and they would take a break for a bit. Deku had irritatingly fawned over the accuracy of the new watches so Katsuki could at least take that as a success.

On top of it all, Deku was prescribed Amiodarone, a little pill he would take twice a day to prevent his heart acting up in the first place, and it worked once it had finally had a fortnight to fully kick in and Katsuki's wrist had barely buzzed with a warning since. But medications carried their own risks and Deku wasn't immune to those.

After a month of being back to being heroes five days a week again, picking up patrolling, helping out civilians and assisting other heroes in takedowns, for the first time since becoming a team Deku called in sick. Or more so he texted it. Or even more so, Katsuki woke up to find that Deku had texted him that he wasn't feeling well enough to patrol that day at two in the morning.

And although Katsuki grumbled about it to himself, it was fine. They were human, they got unwell sometimes with more simple bullshit like colds or sick from eating something that didn't sit well with them. That was the norm. And unable to go out on patrol without Deku, it gave Katsuki some extra time to finalize some reports their admin wanted checked over and turn down more emailed offers to be the poster boy for some damn companies or photo shoots for magazines that were only interested in them because they were chasing the hype train that was the Wonder Duo; A deaf hero and a dying one – not that the media knew about the second part, but Deku collapsing had the media hovering outside the hospital like a bunch of damn vultures. Luckily once Deku had finally been released he was all smiles and confidence and with the pair of them agreeing to put it down to nothing more than fatigue, the media soon lost interest and buzzed off before Katsuki lost his cool.

After making himself dinner that evening Katsuki had sent Deku a text, having left him in silence most of the day to rest up, asking if he would be right for tomorrow, but what he received left a frown on his face.

Shitty Nerd: Sorry Kacchan, I don't think I'll be able to patrol tomorrow either.

Usually that wouldn't faze Katsuki beyond mild annoyance at the holdup but considering what he now knew, he couldn't focus on anything else. The TV was useless as a distraction, his eyes un-focusing till it was all a blur. Reading was just as bad, his eyes skimming over the same lines without absorbing any of the words and Katsuki was about to resort to putting himself to bed, but he didn't even manage to change and crawl into it before he felt his throat rumble with a deep growl and turned on his heel for the door with a jacket. Despite it being early April already, it wasn't yet warm enough once the sun had set to warrant leaving without it.

Katsuki found himself knocking on the nerd's damn door just after eight in the evening and he stood there grouchily with arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the door to open, which it did ten seconds or so later. Behind it Deku tiredly blinked back at him, his mind visibly being slow to process that Katsuki was standing before him. The greenette's lips moved with a silent 'Kacchan' at the surprise visit rather than lifting a hand to sign.

The nerd looked tired as fuck with bags under his eyes and his eyelids heavy. Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him with a frown before hissing a 'what the hell' his way. Deku blanched a little at the harsh tone and blinked several more times before lifting his hands to sign.

Sorry Kacchan, I haven't been sleeping well, Deku signed with a self-conscious frown of his own, you didn't have to come check on me though.

Katsuki took a firm step forward, encroaching into Deku's space, the nerd stepping back as he did. He did it again until he was across the threshold and could push the door closed behind him, inviting himself in with a stern look that kept Deku silent.

What the hell's wrong with you? Katsuki threw his hands up whilst his eyes scoured the living space. A habit that never seemed to change. Deku averted his gaze to the side with a lopsided frown as though he was tossing up mentally whether to tell Katsuki something he probably felt he wouldn't like to hear. Katsuki's red eyes came back to Deku and homed in on him with enough intensity that even without looking the blonde's way, Deku seemed to shrink beneath it.

It's not a big deal, Deku decided to bite the bullet and lifted his head with a weak attempt at a reassuring smile, I've already spoken to my doctor, so it will be better in a day or two.

Katsuki let his words roll off his tongue vibrating with a deep growl for the nerd to tell him what the hell he was on about. Deku's smile wavered at that.

My arm, he let his green eyes rest on his left to indicate the one he meant as he signed on, the blood hasn't been reaching it properly which has been making it uncomfortable and it's been keeping me up. He pressed his lips into a thing line as he looked at his own arm.

But it's alright, he suddenly perked up with a smile, the doctor said it's just a side effect of the medication and told me to change to just one a day so it will clear up soon and then I'll just rest to catch up on sleep and then –

Just one?, Katsuki signed with a snarl, what about your damn heart? He could see Deku's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

It's fine Kacchan, he tried to smile off, I was only on two to begin with so my body adjusted faster. The doctor says going back to one a day is enough as a maintenance dose.He continued to point that uncertain smile Katsuki's way, not uncertain in the sense of what the doctor had told him, but more so in the sense that he was uncertain of how Katsuki was going to take it. The blonde continued to study the nerd's freckled face with narrowed eyes before he finally conceded, blinking slowly and letting out a long breath. He was no doctor so who was he to say. Deku visibly relaxed his shoulders at Katsuki's minor movement. It wasn't uncommon for the nerd to still wear his compression sleeves under his hero costume whenever they worked, in fact he always did because that right arm had been so damaged and scarred from their UA years that it was already known to have some minor circulation trouble. But to have it even worse on his left kept Katsuki's brows creased.

Instead, Katsuki raised a hand in offering to Deku who blinked with confusion until he barked for the nerd to give him his hand which only made the greenette press his lips together tightly and offered up his right hand. Katsuki growled out for the other hand and Deku was quick to switch it out, placing his left hand atop Katsuki's right. The nerd's back straightened when Katsuki brought his other hand to it. Deku's hand was cold, unnaturally so and paler. The circulation wasn't so bad to the point of his fingers turning blue but it was noticeable, accompanied by a light trembling. From there, his deafness allowing him to ignore whatever sound of discomfort or panic Deku could possible be making as he glided his hands up Deku's wrist, along his forearm and up to his elbow. It was there that he could feel a noticeable temperature difference and Katsuki lifted his stern gaze to look to Deku for confirmation that that was the site of the tightness; the point wear the blood begun to struggle to flow properly. Deku, with a wobbly frown, gave a small nod.

Katsuki clicked his tongue before lifting his left hand to meet his right at the elbow, wrapping around it with both hands and letting the warmth of his quirk seep into it. At Katsuki's movement Deku had gone rigid again at the close contact before he seemed to relax moments later at the relief of Katsuki's warmth. The relief Katsuki brought was evident as Deku seemed to melt in his hands. Head lowering, eye lids growing heavier, shoulders relaxing. All of the exhaustion the greenette had been feeling was seeping into him along with the warmth as the blood began to flow properly again and what ever discomfort the nerd had been feeling was being washed away. As it was, Katsuki was suddenly wondering if the nerd's legs were about to give way under him so he let go, just for a moment. As the warmth left Deku's joint, he lifted his head, suddenly more awake only for Katsuki to jerk his head and step forward again, using his body to usher Deku the few steps further in to reach his two seater sofa. He caught on and went for it, Katsuki only a step behind. There Deku paused, suddenly not knowing where to sit and Katsuki pushed past him to drop down to sit on one side, leaving Deku to sit on the other.

Katsuki spat out that this was a one time favour and that he wasn't going to be someone's personal hot water bottle. To which Deku gave him a lopsided smile and small nod before Katsuki turned to his side ever so slightly so he could resume wrapping his hands around Deku's elbow and igniting his quirk just enough to produce heat without burning or smoking. It wasn't that hard for Katsuki really, his hands had always been naturally warm. Unfortunately that also meant that they were often damp with sweat, more so then a normal persons', but that was something Katsuki had just come to accept over the years, – something that had made him the tiniest bit self-conscious during high school when a lot of their year level seemed to be pairing up, but then again, Katsuki hadn't the time for mundane shit like dating, so it was soon forgotten – smelling like caramel was just a bonus, because imagining if his hands smelt like a normal persons' sweat…. Fuck no.

He had seen around the room when he had first entered Deku's attempts to free himself from his discomfort. A hot water bottle pushed into the far corner of the sofa, empty packaging of adhesive heat patches and even a wheat bag on the coffee table. All of which had seemingly failed to bring enough relief to allow the nerd to fall asleep. Katsuki could only imagine how frustrating that must be.

With his hands encircling part of Deku's arm, the nerd couldn't sign to him and so they sat in the most complete form of silence there could ever be between them. Deku relaxed beside him whilst Katsuki watched his own hands with a narrowed gaze. It wasn't like he had to concentrate or anything, but rather he didn't want to be looking at anything else. There was no tv on to stare at, he didn't have a free hand to scroll through his phone and he wasn't going to stare at the nerd which would have been unavoidable since he had turned his body that way. So Katsuki leaned back into the sofa cushions as much as he could with one arm across his own body and thought about other things. Things he didn't really want to think about.

His thoughts were thankfully interrupted by a weight against his shoulder from – not so thankfully – Deku's head which had lolled to the side to rest there. Katsuki's gaze lifted to see what it was only to frown into the face of the sleeping nerd, his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. He looked at peace, his tiredness having won out the moment he was relieved of his discomfort. Unfortunately that also put Katsuki in an uncomfortable position. He had no intention of staying. He had merely come to check on the nerd because he couldn't relax after learning about his condition – that had been irritating enough – and he had thoughtlessly offered help where he could and now he was stuck.

He could leave, but that would wake the shitty nerd and if he didn't sleep then Katsuki couldn't work, seeing as how he had to rely on the greenette. But if he stayed, for how long? No doubt the idiot would need more than just a damn nap but sleeping sitting up on the sofa wouldn't be good either. He could carry the nerd and dump him in his bed but that would mean Katsuki would have to stay even longer to get the nerd back to sleep after moving him. What if the moment Katsuki let go though, the discomfort would return and wake Deku anyway?

Katsuki clenched his jaw and tipped his head back, stifling any growl that wanted to crawl its way up his throat with annoyance for the damn predicament he had put himself in. But he supposed that's just what he got for agreeing to stay partnered with the green haired disaster that was Deku.

He released his hold of Deku's elbow, slipping out of his seat on the couch and leaving the greenette to fall to the side, startling himself awake and blinking about tiredly as though he had forgotten where he was.

Katsuki barked out a 'buckle up freckles', Deku's head turning Katsuki's way in tired confusion before Katsuki bent down and scooped the greenette up, who suddenly seemed to waken and panic in his grip before the blonde growled out a warning to stop flailing and then suddenly Deku was limp as he threw him over his shoulder ungracefully and marched to the bedroom. There, Katsuki tossed Deku onto his bed with enough force for the greenette to bounce a bit and well, if he wasn't awake already, he was now with wide green eyes staring Katsuki's way with surprise. Maybe with some concern and a touch of annoyance there too.

Deku rose his hands before him, sitting up on the made bed to sign Katsuki's way but the blonde turned away before explaining, very bluntly, that Deku would feel like shit if he slept on the couch and Katsuki couldn't stay all damn night. It wasn't that Katsuki had anything he had to do outside of maybe some weights at home. He just didn't want to be staying in Deku's bed anymore than necessary. He didn't have to voice that part. When Katsuki turned back around to glare at the greenette who had yet to move from where he had been dumped, he saw that Deku had at least lowered his hands with nothing to say. Katsuki barked at him to hurry up and get into bed like he intended to sleep and he must have been extra loud about it judging from how Deku flinched a little but then got about getting up and pulling back the covers to get in on one side, already dressed in clothes comfortable enough to sleep. Katsuki lacked that luxury but he didn't intend to stay so he could manage in his jeans for a while.

With an irritated rumble to himself Katsuki made his way to the opposite side of the bed, making a point of laying himself down on top of the covers, his weight pulling the blanket tight against the greenette who rearranged himself under the covers with a frown. Katsuki barked at the nerd again to give him his arm and Deku obediently withdrew his troublesome arm from beneath the covers and laid it on top where Katsuki could wrap his hands around it and return to radiating his heat into it. Within seconds Deku's body relaxed like he was letting out a long sigh as his eyes began to drift closed already and after a minute had passed, the nerd was asleep already. But Katsuki remained a while longer, keeping his gentle warm hold on Deku's arm until fifteen minutes had passed and he was confident the nerd would have fallen into a deeper sleep. Katsuki removed his hold and waited a few more minutes, when Deku didn't stir from the lack of warmth, he removed himself from the bed, pausing again to ensure that his movement hadn't disturbed the nerd. And for good measure, he reheated the wheat bag before draping it over the greenette's exposed arm to keep it warm and leaving Katsuki free to leave.

Deku must have spent the better half of a day sleeping to catch up on what he had lost because Katsuki didn't hear from him again until the late afternoon the following day when the nerd had sent him a text filled with his thanks that Katsuki rolled his eyes at and did nothing more than reply with a simple thumbs up and left it at that after confirming that Deku was up for returning to work the next day, which he was, and things could go back to normal.

A/N: As someone who suffers from poor circulation - especially in my arms - I can totally vouch for the light level of discomfort and sleeplessness it can bring with it. I use a wheat bag or sometimes one of my cats even to warm up the site of the tightness and get the blood flowing again. But sometimes it's just not enough some nights and I end up unable to sleep so I can totally relate to poor Izuku in the chapter.