Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sulence of the ICU was punctuated only by the rhythmic sound of Y/N heart monitor. Bakugo hasn't moved from the plastic chair beside her bed for six hours. His hero costume is gone, replaced by a black hoodie, but his hands are still smelled like the faint, metallic railing of the pier.
Recovery Girl walked in, her cane clicking sharply on the floor. She doesn't scold him for being there. She just sighed, looking at her mentee on the bed.
"She's stable. But don't expect her to wake up just yet," the old woman said, her voice unusually heavy.
Bakugo's head snaped up, his eyes bloodshot. "Why the hell did she crash like that? She's a healer. Her quirk is supposed to fix things, not turn her into a damn corpse."
"Because for her entire life, that girl was a vessel," Recovery Girl explained, moving to check the girl's IV. "Her quirk doesn't just make pain vanish. It stores a blueprint of the trauma as it passes through her to be neutralized. When she touched that man with the intent to harm, she didn't just transfer any current wounds. She dumped years of residual, stored agony back into a single point."
She turned to Bakugo, her expression grim. "The human mind isn't meant to channel that much suffering at once. Her body went into a total systemic shutdown to prevent her brain from literally short-circuiting. She didn't just hurt him, Katsuki. She felt every second of every injury she's ever healed, all at once."
Bakugo's hands clenched into fists on his knees. "So she's...she's still feeling it?"
"No," Recovery Girl shook her head. "She's empty now. For the first time in her life, she isn't carrying anyone else's pain. But the cost of that emptiness was her entire reserve of energy. Now, she just needs to learn how to live for herself."
Bakugo stared at the floor, the silence of the room feeling heavier than the explosions he carries. Empty. For years, she was a walking graveyard of other people's pain and suffering, and he'd been shouting at her to be selfish without realizing she was carrying a mountain on her back.
"Tch. Took her long enough to dump the trash," he muttered.
He stood up, his joints popping from hours of stillness. He moved to the side of the bed, looking down at her pale, still face. Without the constant weight of the syndicate's "family" or the ghosts of a thousand wounds, she looks small.
Fragile.
He reached out, his hand hovering over hers before he finally lets his fingers brush against her knuckles.
"You hear that, healer?" he whispered, "You're empty. No more excuses. No more servitude. You gotta wake up, you're gonna start filling that space with whatever the hell you want."
He sank back into the chair, his hand not leaving hers.
"And I'm gonna make sure nobody puts a single drop of pain back in you. Ever again."
After a few hours, Bakugo's phone buzzed incessantly on the bedside table. Annoying as fuck. He ignored the first ten, until he couldn't ignore it anymore. Gritting his teeth, he swiped open the group chat.
AIZAWA'S PROBLEM CHILDREN
Kirishima [01:14 AM]: How is she, man???? We're all at the dorms waiting. Tell her we've got her back.
Kaminari [01:22 AM]: is she awake yet?? I found this limited edition ice cream shop online. Tell her it's on me when she's out! (Pls don't blast me kacchan hehe)
Mina [01:45 AM]: @katsuki, make sure she has enough blankets. Hospitals are cold! We're coming by tomorrow with snacks. Don't you dare block the door!
Izuku [02:10 AM]: @katsuki, I talked to Recovery Girl. She said the quirk feedback was intense. If you need anything, food, or a change of clothes, just text. We're all here.
Todoroki [03:05 AM]: how to get friend to reply
Momo [03:07 AM]: is that meant for google, @shoto? @katsuki, please let us know if you need anything.
Bakugo stared at the messages, his thumb hovering over the keyboard. His usual response would be a string of "DIE" or "SHUT UP," but his gaze flicked back to Y/N's hand in his.
They were all worried. Like him.
Bakugo [03:30 AM]: She's alive. She's empty. If any of you agitate her with your yelling tomorrow, I'm blowing up the whole wing.
He tossed the phone back down. His eyes felt like lead, but he didn't close them. He just watched the steady rise and fall of her chest, waiting for the moment those eyes would finally open to a world that didn't want anything from her.
YOU ARE READING
selfish | bakugo x reader
FanfictionUA becomes a home to Y/N, a healer who has been locked up in her house all her life. She has been so used to her father controlling her every move and now, she's free. Eventually, Y/N meets Bakugo who teaches her to let no one hold the reins in her...
