Changing | Tododeku

Chapter 18: I'll Hold Your Hand

i cant believe i finished this in like 2.5 days omg it normally takes years 💃🏻

Todoroki paced back and forth, anxiously glancing at the hospital door for the past 30 minutes.
Uraraka, Mina, and Sero were fast asleep in the lobby chairs. Bakugo sat in the corner with his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on his shoes, staying unusually quiet. Kirishima sat next to him like always and occasionally patted his back. Kaminari absentmindedly played on his phone, while Tsu watched on the side.

A heavy sigh seeped through Todoroki's clenched teeth as he glimpsed at Midoriya's hospital room door for the thousandth time.
They had been waiting all night for any news on the situation. The others were drained and already sleeping, but Todoroki was completely restless. Cold air had been following him wherever he went. His fingernails dug into his palm to prevent him from freezing the entire hospital.

The door suddenly clicked at the doorknob turned, and Todoroki immediately whipped around. A tall girl with long, shiny black hair draped over her shoulders slipped out the room and quietly closed the door behind her. She wiped sweat from her forehead and brushed off her scrubs. Todoroki quickly approached her.
"Is he alright? Is he awake yet? How are his wounds? And- and his chest, the scrape on it?" he asked abruptly.

"Slow down," she said, smiling a little. "The good news is that guy's one tough cookie. Despite his wounds and the condition he was in when we found him, he's still holding up better than expected. His health should be somewhat stable by at least tomorrow morning, although he should refrain from straining his body for the next week or two."

Todoroki nodded, glad to hear that Midoriya's at least alive and breathing. He took in a deep breath.
"Is... is there bad news?" he asked tentatively. The nurse bit her lip.
"Unfortunately, yes."
Todoroki swallowed.

"This is a given, but his psychological state also needs time to stabilize. I'm not going to pry into what happened, but whatever did, it really shook him up quite a bit," she explained, her voice softening. "It will take time for him to get back on his feet for a while. Physically, he's also in a critical state. Losing that much blood in such a short amount of time affected the function of his body, but thankfully not too drastically."

Todoroki deeply exhaled and closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again.
She continued.
"If he's feeling more fatigued than normal, don't panic. It's completely normal. As for his wounds, it'll also take time to heal. That was really some accident for him to have all those gashes and bruises... but it will get better. He's on anesthetics for now."

Todoroki nodded once more, his brows furrowing in a frown.
"Can I see him?" he asked, voice soft and worried. His heart sank to the floor when she shook her head 'no'.
"We're letting visitors in tomorrow, though. 9AM should be fine," she said, glancing at her watch. "Only a few hours from now, it looks like."

He tried- and failed- to hide his disappointment. She gave him a reassuring smile and patted his shoulder.
"Get some rest. He'll be alright." With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Todoroki behind. He licked his lips and took a deep breath in.
"Boss," a voice came from behind. Todoroki turned around. The three were awake, and everyone else was standing and stretching their arms out. "Let's head back, man. It's almost midnight."
"You've been pacing around for almost an hour, dude. It's time we all clock out for today," Kaminari added.

Todoroki hesitated, taking one last glance at Midoriya's room. Mina nudged his shoulder.
"Just like that nurse said, he'll be alright. We'll see him tomorrow when he's fully awake," she smiled.
"... Okay," he sighed.

time skip to when they get home i'm so lazy

——
Todoroki could barely sleep. It took him long enough to actually be able to close his eyes, but each time he did, he was faced with another nightmare.