Has anyone else on here seen 'The Good Doctor'? I really like it and personally find the actor that plays Dr. Shaun Murphy super freaking hot... Ugh... I think I'm probably leeching into that permanent state of #ForeverAlone XD
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A Day In Your Life
Chapter 6
Bakugo wasn't sure what was worse, knowing that Kirishima and Todoroki were gravely—potentially fatally—injured while on patrol that morning or watching Midoriya pace around on the verge of absolutely losing his shit over the news. There wasn't any good way for them to get to the hospital right then; any friends Izuku had in the area were likely assisting with search and rescue from the attack earlier that day and other transportation were out of the question.
The young hero's fingers twitched while he paced, his breathing so heavy that it soon sounded like he wasn't getting any air at all. Bakugo felt a bead of nervous sweat trickle down his temple when Izuku finally lost the battle to stay calm and collapsed to his knees, almost clawing at his chest with one hand while fisting his sweats in the other. There was no question what was happening, but that didn't mean he knew what to do.
"Damn it," Katsuki breathed, completely at a loss for how to handle this situation. He didn't think he was qualified to help anyone suffering like this but especially not someone he'd repeatedly hurt. "Deku, you've got to calm down, hey, fucking listen to me."
It didn't help at all, Midoriya's panicked gasps even becoming worse. Bakugo was going to backtrack and try something else when he saw smoke starting to rise from his palms, knowing that his quirk was about to go off.
"Deku no!" he shouted, grabbing his hands and twisting them away from them just as the loud bang of an explosion resounded. There was a hole torn straight through Midoriya's living room wall when Bakugo reopened his eyes, a streak of burnt wood floor and toppled furniture leading up to it.
An even more desperate choking sound drew his attention away from the room and back towards Izuku, finding that he looked terrified of what he'd done in addition to everything else. Bakugo wanted so badly to help in some significant way, but couldn't find any words or actions that seemed like they'd do anything but make it worse.
He grit his teeth and practically yanked Izuku to his feet, maneuvering him outside through the hole and onto the grass of the back yard. Bakugo got behind him and wrapped his arms around Midoriya's, keeping a firm grip on his wrists just in case another explosion occurred. But he was now smaller and leaner than Deku was with their bodies switched and his constant thrashing was too difficult to control. It was completely against everything Recovery Girl had said, but he activated One For All, using the superior strength to keep Midoriya from budging even a little.
He didn't know how long panic attacks lasted or if he was doing the right thing, but he did know that they would eventually end on their own… They just had to wait it out.
"I-I'm so s-s-sorry, K-Kacchan…" Izuku whimpered pitifully once he'd regained the ability to speak, shaking like a leaf while his breath slowed and returned to him. He curled in on himself in humiliation once he was let go, hiding his tear-soaked face in his knees.
Midoriya fully expected Katsuki to taunt him like he'd done so many times before during his weakest moments—to twist the knife in his heart just a little further. Part of him felt like he'd deserve it too; all he could think about was how ridiculous it was that he was a hero who was supposed to do for others what he couldn't even do for himself.
"You're a fucking idiot, Deku."
Midoriya deflated further at the grumbled remark, but soon tensed back up when he felt his own crooked fingers touching his back softly, almost petting him. He didn't understand… The actions and words didn't match and Bakugo's tone didn't hint either way.
"This shit isn't your fault at all so don't you dare apologize."
He lifted his eyes up hesitantly at the declaration, turning to look at Bakugo wearily. Everything had always been his fault and now that he'd just blown a hole through his own wall and forced Bakugo to literally restrain him for who knew how long suddenly it wasn't?
"I caused this. All of it… I'm the one that's sorry, Deku." Katsuki whispered, his voice somber and almost quivering with regret.
Bakugo was surprised when the near exhausted look Midoriya was giving him warped into frustration, tumbling back when he was roughly shoved. He blinked up in confusion as Midoriya got to his feet and wiped his eyes, wondering what in the world was happening.
"Now it's not my fault?" Izuku snapped. "I've done everything I possibly could to show you that I'm your equal so that you'd forgive me for being born a quirkless 'Deku' and now it's not my fucking fault that I'm weak?"
"What the hell are you even talking about?" Bakugo grunted while he too stood, his own short temper starting to stir. "I'm admitting that it was my stupid ass mouth and actions that pushed you into—"
"Don't! Don't you dare do this to me, Kacchan!" Izuku interrupted. "You're doing this because you don't want to feel responsible for those scars on my legs but you should be apologizing because you're actually sorry for making me think I'm worthless, not because you pity how weak I am!
Bakugo shouted angrily, huffing in deep breaths as he rubbed his face. He absolutely could not let himself say something stupid this time but fuck, he was actually trying to make shit right after nearly two decades and was getting slammed for it.
"I'm not pitying you, damn it. I'm in your body, remember?" He seethed, his teeth grit together to prevent something insulting from slipping out from habit. "No fucking weakling could deal with their body fucking murdering them every damn day."
"That's physical pain, Kacchan!" Midoriya argued. "It doesn't matter how tough I am if I can't even make it through the day without Shoto's constant reassurance that I'm doing well. Don't you get it? I'm the failure you always said I was and All Might was wrong to pick me to succeed him!"
Bakugo was taken aback, his throat clenching tightly; It was like he could actually see Izuku's spirit finally breaking apart in those watering red eyes. He simply froze there, mind stalling even as he desperately tried to get it to come up with something worth saying. The anger that had seared in his chest went cold, all sense of self-assurance dying out with it. He was the failure, the one unworthy of being called a hero, not Deku.
"I'm tired, Kacchan. So. Fucking. Tired. I'm never going to be enough for you to think I'm worth coming back to and if Shoto dies I won't hold it together long enough to keep pointlessly trying. As soon as I'm back in my own body I'll give you all of my quirks and you can be Number 1 since you want it so badly!"
With that, Midoriya shoved past Bakugo and stomped back through the gaping opening, kicking debris out of his way as he went to his room. The blonde didn't even react until the finalizing slam of a door jolted him out of his absolute shock.
There had been sporadic times when Izuku had truly gotten angry at him before and called him out on his bullshit, even fought with him. But he'd never given up—not once. Bakugo looked back over his shoulder with his own panic rising; the world couldn't lose its Symbol of Peace and he couldn't lose Izuku… not when he'd finally begun to accept how he felt about him.
His legs felt like jelly as he maneuvered his way after Midoriya, stopping just short of his door. Every mistake he'd made in his life was materialized on the other side and crying from the sound of it. Bakugo had to almost force himself to stay put instead of running away, but he wouldn't let himself ignore the repercussions of his actions anymore even if he had no idea how to fix them.
Katsuki simply sat down on the hard floor and waited.
Bakugo blinked and realized that he must have fallen asleep the house dark. He grit his teeth as he pressed himself up straighter, stiff from the body he was in as well as the stupid position he'd slept in for at least a few hours.
To his annoyance and panic, the door to Izuku's room was open and upon closer inspection, empty. He scrambled to his feet and called out for him, not hearing any sound to suggest that someone was home. "Shit. He probably figured out a way to get to the hospital…"
Unlike Midoriya, who'd probably found a friend to take him, Bakugo had no one other than Kirishima that even remotely wanted to put up with him now that Izuku seemed to have finally gotten fed up as well. He licked his lips nervously, weighing the danger of attempting to use One For All again; it was one thing to lightly restrain someone and another to jump across cities to get to the hospital they'd been taken to.
Bakugo painfully remembered watching Izuku break his legs when he jumped to help All Might during the USJ attack and was truly worried about doing that himself. Firstly, that would hurt like a bitch and he'd have no way to land so he'd probably die. Secondly, if he somehow managed to survive a fall like that, he'd have just done something to further fuck up Izuku's already fucked body.
After pacing around in the front yard for a good ten minutes, he decided to just do it. Maybe one of the other quirks Izuku had would help him if something went terribly wrong. Bakugo crouched and felt energy surge through his muscles, the power far greater than anything he'd ever felt before. "Please don't fucking break… SHIT!"
The blonde slightly panicked as he took off, though not because of pain. His knees hurt from the spring, but otherwise, nothing seemed horribly damaged… the force and speed of the act were intense though and startled him before he realized how cool it was; he was passing over a city in one go, the buildings racing by below making it seem like he was truly flying.
"Okay… now how do I land this shit?" he murmured to himself as his speed and height began dipping. It stood to reason that it was just like landing from any kind of jump, but that little jolt he'd had the night before when he'd fallen to his knees to vomit suggested otherwise. "Fuuuuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!"
Bakugo half crashed as he landed in a field, somewhat rolling and skidding through the rough grass. He had to take a hot minute to catch his breath while he looked back at the slight crater he'd created from the impact. "Can't do that again…"
The next two jumps were far more graceful and he thanked the heavens that he was a quick learner. But even the elation of somewhat handling Izuku's most powerful quirk couldn't outweigh the nervous thrum in his veins as he did his best to sneak through the hospital.
Though everyone who didn't live under a rock in the middle of nowhere knew that he and Midoriya were currently body-swapped, it would suck to have the press catch him or even worse, some poor little kid to come up and not understand that he wasn't actually the lovable Deku… He was awful with children.
Bakugo heard the sound of his own voice as he finally got to the rooms the policeman had said Shoto and Eijiro would be in. Midoriya was sniffling, but his tone was flat and worn out like he couldn't even bring himself to cry anymore. It felt wrong to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help himself and peered in, listening intently.
"I know what you'd say… that I'm just upset and that it will pass… But I don't think it will this time, Shoto. Kacchan finally apologized to me and I just—I couldn't accept it! Without you keeping me sane, I'm too unstable to keep being a hero… honestly, I don't even think I want to be one anymore…"
Bakugo's eyes went wide, his heart-stopping as he watched Midoriya's head continue to hang low while he talked to a clearly comatose Todoroki, the breathing tube stuck down his throat the only thing keeping him alive at that point.
"I was just angry when I told Kacchan I'd give him my quirks and let him be Number 1, but now that I've calmed down, I think it's the right thing to do." Midoriya continued, a stifled, shuddering sob breaking his words. "He's stronger than me psychologically and can handle the pressure of being the next Symbol of Peace and I can't—I can't even handle just being me…"
Though he still hadn't spoken, Bakugo was shaking his head almost panickily. "No, Deku, don't say that!"
"And I know you know I've been lying to you… Being in Kacchan's body makes me feel so, so, guilty. I don't hurt anymore and I swore to you that it wasn't that bad, but it is, Shoto. There were times I didn't think I could stand it anymore and when I wake up now, I feel so rested and there isn't even a twinge anywhere… I should be grateful for the pain because it means I got to be a hero, but the longer I go without it, the less I want to feel it again!"
That was the last straw, Bakugo couldn't listen to another word of Midoriya absolutely resigning himself to giving up. He pushed the door open and stomped over, raising his hand to rain a harsh slap across his own body's cheek just as Midoriya turned around.
"Snap out of it!" he hissed, quickly grabbing the boy's shirt and yanking him up to his feet to shake him. "I don't want these damn quirks Deku and I don't give a fuck if you're actually losing your damn nerdy mind. The world needs YOU and you don't get to just give them the middle finger because you're 'tired'!"
But there wasn't any fight in Midoriya's posture, nor was there his usual frantic word vomit or awkward fidgeting. He just stood there and let Bakugo nearly shout in his face, red eyes twisted away and towards the ground like he wasn't listening at all.
"Alright, you little punk. You don't want to be a hero anymore? Fine. The moment you drag your depressed ass on camera and retire, villains all over the world are going to think it's fucking Christmas. You think this shit's bad? Just imagine how many more Pro's are going to get killed if you're out of commission for good."
That got Midoriya's attention, but not in a good way. His face darkened and Bakugo saw first hand just how cruel his scowl could get.
"Fuck off, Bakugo." Izuku seethed, wrapping his hands around the wrists at his collar while letting them crackle with small explosions.
Katsuki had to jump back and suppress the urge to scream from the burning pulse that zipped all the way up his arms. Though he wasn't completely thinking about it right then, somewhere in his subconscious he was reeling from how badly that warning blast had hurt even if pain seemed to be amplified in Izuku's body; had he really gotten pleasure from doing that to people?
"What did you just call me?" he asked instead, everything else falling into the background.
"Ba-ku-go. Your name." Midoriya responded hotly while he dropped back into his chair. "Now fuck off. I don't want anything to do with you right now."
"Dek—Izuku you—" he tried, even stopping himself to use Midoriya's given name rather than the nickname that he'd started using to hurt him. But when those hurt and hatred filled eyes flickered back over to him, he had the most unnerving urge to back away; it really looked like Izuku would attack him if he didn't.
Bakugo retreated to the hallway and shut the door quietly, leaning back against it as he tried to comprehend the drastic character shift in Izuku.
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I'm still a sucker for your reviews and comments! XD It is one of my few sources of happiness!