Chapter Text
It was dark and cold–the frigid breeze nipping at Katsuki’s skin as he made his way down the dimly lit road. He was shaking despite himself, but he begrudgingly kept pace with the rolling tides of the trees. “Fucking cold as fuck,” he huffed, breath visible as he began puffing warm air into his palms. The light sweater he’d stormed out of the house in was barely providing any warmth against the chill of the night. No gloves, no hat–just him against the harsh elements.
But it didn’t matter.
He was wandering, aimless, too angry to return to his house despite the dropping temperature. He’d fucking freeze to death before he let himself be talked down to by a bunch of extras. His phone continued to vibrate in his pocket, which he ignored knowing damn well who was on the other end. Too late for their stupid, unwanted apologies.
The further he went, the more the abyss seemed to welcome him. Silence fell around him. Moonlight cascaded through the trees and left abstract shapes along the nearly-destroyed path he followed. He knew vaguely where it would lead him, but he was in no rush to get there. His anger was at a boiling point. He knew he wouldn’t be able to think rationally if he went back– not that he was the one who needed to think rationally. He left because he knew if he didn’t, he would’ve punched all of them in their stupid, smug faces.
“Tch. Assholes.” He scoffed.
The large metal structure he’d slowly been making his way towards finally came into view, rusted and worn away by time, but recognizable as always. A bridge that no longer served the purpose it was meant to; forgotten by the people who built it. It connected two sides of a large river, but it was overstepped when a far better–bigger–bridge was built on the other end. Now, it sat abandoned. The only visitor in the form of an angry man ready to punch a hole through it’s shitty, rusted beams. Every time he felt the need to murder one of his good-for-nothing friends, he came here. He’d walk away from the inevitable fight.
Yes, maybe in high school he’d let his anger grow until he blew up on them–screaming and cursing in their faces when they did shit that pissed him off. It cost him a lot of time with the dumbasses (though he’d never admit how much he actually liked having them around), so he tried to manage his responses. If not for them, for himself. Having to apologize was a hundred times worse than just keeping it to himself. He’d still argue, and curse, and call them stupid names that they had gotten used to–but he never screamed at them like he used to. He’d take off out the door–something they’d all come to expect–and return when he no longer felt his chest tightening with impending anger.
That's how he found himself more often than he cared to admit–screaming out over the bridge, letting his anger fade away with every rip of his vocal cords.
The anger he’d been suppressing from that night’s spat bubbled in his gut, ready to be released by a mangled scream into the void, when his eyes found a figure sitting amongst the framework of the bridge. Any noise was caught in his throat as he eyed the silhouette.
High above him, encompassed by the glowing light of the moon, was a man with his feet dangling over the edge as if there wasn’t at least a thirty meter drop into the icy water below. The blond scrunched his brows. Nobody is ever out here, he thought, why the fuck is this idiot up there anyway? Something felt off. He was never one to give a shit about other people’s safety– do whatever the hell you want– but surely no one was dumb enough to sit at the top of a rickety old bridge without them being out of their damn minds. And now he was out here wondering what the hell was wrong with this person. Interest overcame irritation.
He grunted a bit under his breath as he grabbed a hold of the lowest beam. With a push, he climbed onto the top of the first support, the treads of his boots barely having any grip as he pressed against the metal. Is this moron trying to die? The climb would be difficult if it weren’t for the moisture clinging to every surface. He made sure to keep his grip dispersed on different beams, lest his fingers slip away, as he climbed higher and higher on the structure. When he was nearly even with the stranger, he placed his arm around one of the skinnier beams, and spoke: “The hell are you doing up here?”
The man beside him yelped, flailing his arms around in surprise, trying to find a place to hold. His heavy breathing could be heard as he regained his composure. The blond still couldn’t see his face, as it was obscured by the darkness, but with his proximity–and the light of the moon–he could now see the green curls poking out from the stranger's head.
“W-What’s the matter with you!?” The stranger asked, exasperated.
“What’s the matter with me? You’re the one sitting on the top of this shitty bridge in the middle of the night!” The blond climbed the rest of the way up until he was on the same piece of metal as the other man. He positioned himself over the beam, legs dangling on either side as he faced the green-haired man. “I came to see why the hell that is, cause surely you must be out of your damn mind.”
He was never one to get caught up in other people’s bullshit, but after the night he’d had, other people’s bullshit seemed a lot more interesting. He’d already forgotten why he was out there to begin with–if only for a moment.
The stranger leaned forward, face suddenly becoming visible as he moved from the shadows. Much like his hair, his eyes were a vibrant green–dulled slightly by the reddened rims around them. Freckles dusted his cheeks along with thin lines of wetness; his nose red by the cold.
Or perhaps–
“Are you fucking crying?”
His tone was harsh, as usual, but a hint of disgust settled within it. He hated dealing with other people’s emotions. How can other people be okay with showing such weakness? He’d never understood it. He would much rather yell through his anger–punch through whatever got in his way. There had never been a time where he felt crying would benefit him.
So, seeing this random stranger leaking like a faucet baffled him to no end. He didn’t understand–and that pissed him off.
Those piercing green eyes bore into him, leveled slightly by his word. “Why do you want to know?”
“Seems like a dumbass idea to sit on a bridge in the middle of winter crying your goddamn eyes out.” The blond retorted. “But, hey, if you want to freeze your damn eyes closed, be my guest.”
The stranger was taken aback once more. He scoffed, “what’s your problem?”
“ My problem?” A sardonic laugh left his lips. “I think we established you're the one with a problem.”
“Whatever. Why does it matter why I’m up here, or why I’m crying? Do you own this bridge or something?” The stranger bit back.
The blond grit his teeth. “The hell did you say?”
“Did you just come up here to argue with me? Cause I’m clearly not in the mood.” The stranger turned away, staring out over the river. It was calm, nearly still, only small ripples disturbing the surface.
Katsuki paused, a scowl still evident on his face. He hadn’t climbed the bridge for any reason other than to figure out why this idiot was up there–and he was not getting a straight answer. How fucking hard is it to just spit it out?
Before he could reply, the other man was speaking again. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be out here so late.” A small sigh. “And you clearly weren’t expecting to be out here either. It’s freezing and all you’re wearing is a sweater?”
“Oh, so now you’re gonna talk to me about practicality? Look where you are, genius.”
To the blond’s surprise, the stranger let out a chuckle.
“At least I have a coat on.”
“And what’s that doing for you? Keeping you from plummeting into the water?”
The stranger’s eyes finally recaptured Katsuki’s. “Not at all.”
Katsuki watched a grimace wash over the man’s face for just a second, before it was gone. The blond rolled his eyes, before spitting, “so are you gonna tell me why you’re up here or not?”
A pause. A sniffle from the stranger.
“I like the view.”
A scoff from Katsuki. “That’s dumb as hell,” he said, “you could fall into the damn river and nobody would be the wiser. Why not go to the actual functioning bridge with the same view?” And people around to see you if you lose your damn balance? He thought.
“Don’t you ever just want to get away from it all?” The stranger asked.
A shiver ran down Katsuki's spine as the cold crept in through the holes in his sweater. The moisture on the bridge had already soaked its way through and chilled him significantly–but he ignored it. “What, like running away from my damn problems? Tch. No way.”
But wasn’t that what he was doing in the first place? Running away? He didn’t want to hear what his friends had to say, so he left. But I wasn’t running away, he thought, I didn’t want to hear what those shitty extras had to say. It’s not my fault they can’t control their goddamn emotions–
–”So why are you out here?”
The stranger's words cut through his inner thoughts like a knife.
He sneered, wanting to give this stranger his usual angry, dismissive tone–but he didn’t. Instead, words began to fall from his mouth in an unstoppable flood. “Shitty assholes thinking they know how the fuck I feel.” He grumbled. “If I didn’t leave I might say some shit they would whine about later–just easier to get the fuck out before it happens.”
A pause.
“That kind of sounds like running away to me.”
Katsuki whipped his head to the side to catch a glimpse of the stranger, who was now turned to face him fully. “Yeah? And what do you know, asshole?”
“Why do you think I’m out here?” He replied. “I know a lot about running away from my issues.”
How dare this asshole pretend he knows anything about my life? Katsuki thought. I’m not running away from anything! I’ll go back and have to talk to those idiots one way or another. “You’ve got some nerve–”
“How do you feel?”
“What?” Katsuki said, caught off guard by the sudden interruption.
“You said they think they know how you feel.” The stranger said plainly. “How do you feel?”
Katsuki couldn’t get a read on this man. He wasn’t put off by Katsuki’s harshness like most new people he met were. If anything, he matched his energy in a way that he had yet to experience. Snappy–to the point. Most of the people who called themselves his friends tried to make up for his harshness by being overly nice. This man wasn’t like that. He was blunt. It made Katsuki feel…weird.
“Who the fuck cares? We’re sitting on a bridge in the middle of the night, and you want to talk about my goddamn feelings?”
The stranger tilted his head, a small smile on his face. “Why not?” Was all he gave as a reply.
And, well, there were a million reasons not to talk about his stupid feelings. They didn’t matter–they would’ve settled just fine if he had just screamed his lungs out and got back. Talking about how he felt was pointless to him, because he’d eventually just calm down and that would be it. He wasn’t a touchy feely baby who needed other people to tell him which words meant which feelings. He’d gone twenty-five years of his life without doing so.
He scoffed. “Because it’s dumb.”
The stranger settled back. “Okay.”
There was silence once again as the two strangers looked out over the slowly moving water. From this high, the wind was a bit more intense, and it was beginning to chill Katsuki to the bone. What the hell is up with this guy? Katsuki wondered. He usually felt confident in his ability to read others, and that’s usually how he determined the level of shits he gave about talking to them, but this man was all over the place. He seemed like a fucking crybaby (much like his other friends were) but he had an attitude that matched his own. He didn’t care to engage in Katsuki’s angry questions. He didn’t shy away at the way he raised his voice–however unintentional.
He argued with Katsuki.
The blond peered at the stranger from his peripherals, noticing the way he was wiping his face with the sleeve of his coat. Katsuki rolled his eyes at the display of emotion, but didn’t say anything. For whatever reason, he felt his chest tighten slightly. It was uncomfortable, and the silence between them was growing longer. The blond took a deep breath, and without really thinking asked, “you live around here?”
Why do I care? Not like I’ll ever see this idiot again. He wondered why he was there; why he was still sitting next to this stranger asking him questions. When has he ever been the type to give a crap?
“Yeah, I live down the road.” The stranger offered. “Come here sometimes when I need a break.”
“I’ve never seen you before,” Katsuki replied.
“You come out here a lot?”
“Every time those morons piss me off.”
The stranger huffed out a laugh. “Must be often–you seem like a pretty angry guy.”
And there was the anger again–raging inside of him. He’d just prove this idiot right if he began yelling, so instead he just closed his eyes and took a breath (something his dumb friends had taught him to “manage his anger” or whatever). Don’t let your anger control you? As if. The fury slowly dissipated because he wanted it to. Because he was definitely in control of his emotions. Not the other way around.
“And so what if I am?” He asked through gritted teeth.
The man swung his legs mindlessly, letting his heels clank against the beam below him. “Just an observation.” He said, not even looking in Katsuki’s direction.
This was stupid. Why was he sitting here letting this asshole insult him? He was freezing cold, and the extras were probably wondering where the hell he was anyways—not that he cared—but his fingers were starting to ache with every passing moment. He grabbed a hold of the beam above him for leverage as he hoisted himself to his feet. The stranger leaned forward to watch as Katsuki brushed off the thin layer of moisture from his jeans.
“I’m out of here, asshole. Enjoy your stupid view.”
He placed his foot on the beam just below him, leaning his weight backward to begin climbing down, when the hold he had slipped–his fingers too numb to feel his grip loosen.
There was no chance for recovery. He was already plummeting towards the bitterly cold water below.
It only took a matter of seconds; arms flailing around him as the bridge grew further away. He tried to right himself so he wouldn’t land on his back, but there was no time. He didn’t scream, or yell, or make any noise at all beside the splash of his body impacting the water. Pain seared across his back. The surge of water in his ears was deafening as it rushed in to fill the gap he’d created. It was so cold that every inch of his body felt like it was being stabbed with little needles, and he gasped involuntarily, allowing water to invade his lungs and choke him. Everything was on fire; a burning pain that could only be created by the harshness of the freezing cold pressing against him. His vision was impaired along with his cognitive thinking that would normally be telling him to get the fuck out of there. He couldn’t tell up from down as his body went into shock.
After the moment of pure paralysis wore off, he began to swim, desperately trying to find the surface. But it was no use. He felt himself losing consciousness. His arms and legs were failing him–refusing to do what he asked. On top of the useless state of his body, he couldn’t stop hyperventilating as the chill reached to his core. Every gasp adding fuel to the fire in his lungs. He was drowning; sinking deeper without any control.
If he had enough energy to think, he might’ve cursed himself for being dumb enough to fall to his death. How could he be so goddamn incompetent? Why wasn’t his body listening to him? Why couldn’t he just swim?
The darkness of the moonlit night and murky water faded to one that was much more resolute. One that he knew he wasn’t coming back from. A darkness that he floated in for god knows how long. He thought nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing . His mind too far gone to send signals, collect input or otherwise.
Until he felt his ribs crack, and a shooting pain spread throughout his entire body. Gritty, dirt-filled water expelled itself through his teeth, spilling down his cheeks and chin onto the ground below. He sputtered, eyes flying open as all his senses returned. The feel of the ground below him, the chill of his skin, the taste of metal in his mouth, and green eyes staring worriedly back at him.
“Oh my god, thank god!” The stranger from before exclaimed. His hair was matted to his head with water, and from what little Katsuki could see, the man was soaking wet. Tiny beads of water dripped down onto his face as he clutched his chest. “I-I thought you–and I–” he stuttered, choking on a sob. “I thought you–” the man’s inability to finish a damn sentence was pissing him off. Katsuki was panting, chest still burning from liquid left behind, disorientated and now angry because this moron was crying. Again. The blond watched as the stranger pulled out his phone and wiped at his face. “Shit. My phone is ruined, I-I can’t call for an ambulance!” He looked at the blond.
“Don’t need–” Katsuki’s words were cut off with a retch as he expelled more water from his stomach.
The man sniffled, looking at him with a mix of concern and irritation. “Listen, I get you’re probably this macho tough guy or whatever, but you just drowned, and I could’ve punctured your lungs with CPR. You don’t need to be a genius to know that if you don’t go to a hospital, you probably won’t make it very far.”
The blond lay there, limbs splayed uselessly around him and lips parted slightly as he looked up at the stranger. He didn’t have the energy to give a rebuttal. He was barely clinging to consciousness as is, let alone enough to argue. Arguing is what got me here in the first fucking place.
“Fine.” He replied weakly.
The stranger’s eyebrows raised, but he didn’t acknowledge the ease at which the other agreed. He simply nodded, “okay, if I get you back to my place I can drive you to the hospital. It’s only a few minutes away.” Katsuki began to try to lift himself off the ground, but his whole body felt as if it was weighed down by metal.
The stranger held a hand to his chest. “No, stay down. I got you.”
Maybe it was the lack of oxygen making him delirious, but Katsuki could’ve sworn the man before him was taller than he’d looked on the bridge. He stooped down and tucked his arms behind Katsuki’s back and the crease of his legs as he lifted him with seemingly no difficulty. And Katsuki wasn’t small–he’d worked out for so long that he was muscular and his height only added to his weight. Yet, here he was, being carried bridal style by a crybaby ass stranger. In any other situation, he’d be fuming. Right now, however, he was just trying to stay awake. The edges of his vision were blurry and his whole body was tingling like nothing he’d felt before. He could barely breathe as ragged, wet coughs rattled his lungs. Each inhale was crisp and colder by the minute. He felt sick; his stomach turning with every movement of the stranger as he ran towards, what Katsuki assumed was, his house.
“Fuck,” Katsuki grunted under his breath. The fiery pain from before never really subsided, and now it was crawling its way up his throat. He groaned.
The stranger glanced down at him between strides. “Sorry, I’m trying to be quick. Try to stay awake, okay?”
Katsuki closed his eyes, swallowing down another groan. Couldn’t he see he was trying to stay awake? It was taking every ounce of focus he had left to not puke his guts up and pass the fuck out. The chilled water was freezing his hair into rigid clumps, eyelashes forming little crystals as the breeze whipped against his face. Katsuki managed to open his eyes one more time, seeing the stranger's lips moving, but hearing nothing.
His ears were ringing. He felt faint.
He muttered something incomprehensible; what little energy he’d been using to hold his head up dissipated, and everything went dark once again.
—
“I-I actually don’t know his name.” A vaguely familiar voice filled his ears as he felt himself coming to. “We kind of just met tonight.”
A machine was beeping beside him, punctuating the pounding pain in his head. His entire body ached, but the majority of his pain was radiating from his chest and head. He could barely even open his eyes without the light sending a piercing pain through his skull.
He groaned.
“You’re awake!” The stranger said, a bit too enthusiastically for Katsuki’s liking.
“Shut th’ h’llup, idi’t.” He slurred. His usual bite was gone, replaced by drowsiness. Through the tiniest slits of his eyelids he watched the stranger’s face twist up.
“Did you really just call me an idiot?”
“Sur’ did.”
The stranger scoffed. “You know most people would’ve said ‘thank you’ after someone saves their life, right?”
Katsuki scoffed as best as he could. “Wha’ever.”
The doctor, who’d been speaking to the stranger moments before, cleared his throat. He stepped forward, clipboard in hand, stern expression painting his face. “You’re lucky you got here when you did. You had fluid in both lungs, multiple rib fractures and a concussion.” He read down his chart. “You’re very lucky to be alive.”
The blond grunted in acknowledgment.
“Is there anyone you would like to contact in regards to your stay at the hospital?”
Katsuki furrowed his brow. “M’stay?”
“Well, with the extent of your injuries you need to be observed for at least twenty-four hours before we can release you. If there is anyone you’d like contacted–”
“Need to call m’ dumbass friends,” he winced, “prob’ly think I fuck’n died.”
The doctor nodded. “Of course.”
Katsuki gave him a number, to which the doctor left promptly to give them a call. That left the two alone, the stranger staring down at him with those stupid green eyes.
“What?” He snapped, noticing the way the other’s face was twisted up in a grimace.
The man looked down, biting his lip. “I really thought you died out there. When I saw you fall…” he trailed off.
God, why was this man so emotional? Why was he sitting here acting like Katsuki owed him some kind of thank you or some shit? Not like he meant to fall–he wouldn’t have even been up on that bridge if not for this idiot. It made Katsuki’s chest hurt more.
But he was curious about one thing:
Why had he jumped in after him?
Katsuki was his usual rude self–and no, that didn’t warrant his death from falling–but the stranger must’ve hesitated. Must’ve been scared for his own safety, right? Why would he risk himself for a guy who’d basically degraded him the whole time?
Was it some kind of weird power move? Did he think he could hold this over Katsuki’s head forever?
The blond scowled.
“I’m not thanking you for shit.” He said after a long stretch of rage-filled silence.
The stranger snapped out of his downward trance, scrunching his face up in anger. “Why are you such an asshole?”
“I don’t owe you anything, I fell and you chose to save me.”
The stranger looked offended by this. He shook his head, standing from the chair beside Katsuki’s bed. “I never said you owed me anything–not even an apology. Just thought maybe a brush with death would make you less of a dick.”
“Tch. No way.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to say it, you know? Why don’t you try it?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Go to hell.”
“Maybe if you said it you’d feel better.”
“Who the hell said I needed to feel better!?”
The man laughed contemptfully. “There’s only one reason you go wandering around in the middle of the night–you said it yourself! You were angry at your friends!” He crossed his arms. “If this is how you act it’s no wonder you are always fighting. Maybe they don’t feel appreciated!”
The man said it with so much conviction, it was really starting to get to Katsuki. His heart rate was increasing, chest throbbing with pain. “What are you my fucking therapist!?” A stab of pain made him clutch his chest. He groaned.
The stranger's face dropped, and he surged forward, hand outstretched towards the blond. “Hey, are you okay?” His voice sounded devoid of the irritation from just moments before. It was confusing. This guy was fucking confusing.
Katsuki slapped his hand away. “Stop that!”
“Stop what!?”
“This shit! You acting like you care about a random stranger you just met! What the hell is wrong with you!?”
The stranger recoiled, stepping away from the bed. He cleared his throat. “Well, clearly I have no more business here. Sorry for…caring? I guess? I’ll be going now–”
“--BAKUBRO!” A loud, wet sob filled the room, cutting off the stranger’s sentence.
Eijiro, Denki, and Mina all filed into the room, smothering Katsuki in hugs he heavily protested. They cried over his bandaged body as he tried to push them away.
“Oh my god, we were so worried!”
“When you didn’t come back we thought you just went to stay somewhere else–”
“We didn’t know you almost died, my dude!”
“What happened!?”
“They said you drowned, right?”
Katsuki scowled, batting away the affection of his friends. “Get off me, losers!”
The three backed up, faces full of tears. “Sorry, bro,” Eijiro said sadly.
Katsuki coughed, readjusting on his bed. “I’m fucking fine. I fell into the river under that shitty old bridge behind the house.”
“What!?” They all replied in unison.
“How’d you get out?” Mina asked, stepping forward and placing her hand on the edge of the bed.
Katsuki rolled his eyes, before focusing on the green-haired man behind them. They all simultaneously turned to find the man in question, who’d backed away in the chaos, face flushing redder each second. The stranger reached up into his ragged green hair and smiled unconvincingly. He was still soaking wet, because unlike Katsuki, he hadn’t been given a shitty thin hospital gown to change into. His hair was plastered over his face, dirt caking pieces together, looking miserable as he became the center of attention.
“This idiot jumped in after me.” Katsuki said from the bed, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. All three of the blond’s friends stood motionless for a moment, before surging forward to engulf the man in a hug. Mina was first, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling him in for a bone-crushing hug. Denki and Eijiro patted his back, thanking him profusely for saving Katsuki from his inevitable doom. The blond watched as the man’s awkward smile turned to an uncomfortable cringe. Katsuki rolled his eyes again. “Stop smothering him, can’t you tell he’s uncomfortable?”
His friends backed up, apologizing. “Sorry, my dude. We’re just so glad you were there when he fell.” Kaminari said enthusiastically.
“You’re seriously like a hero or something!” Kirishima echoed.
Mina nodded. Katsuki sighed.
I wouldn’t have even been up there if it weren’t for him.
“I-I guess.” The stranger scratched the back of his head.
Mina turned from the stranger, dark eyes finding Katsuki again. “You shouldn’t have even been out there, dumb dumb.”
“Not my fault you all wanted to piss me off again.”
And suddenly all eyes were back on him.
“We were just trying to talk to you, you jerk!” Mina crossed her arms.
“Come on bro, don’t be like this.”
“We’re not trying to kick you when you’re down, but you were kind of being an asshole.”
“I’m always an asshole!” He shouted. A pang of agony washed over him radiating from his chest. He grabbed at the thin fabric there as the wind was knocked from him. All three of his friends stepped forward to comfort him (against his will).
The absence of green eyes didn’t dawn on him until it was too late.
The stranger was gone.