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katsuki likes to sit in that courtyard because less people = more peace of mind.
students also rarely go there bc this lone statue just gives them the creeps. like, imagine, a lone statue of an angel sitting in the middle of the courtyard on one of its benches, looking to its side as if its waiting for someone to sit beside them.
bakugo katsuki; an architecture student. he doesnt give af about rumors and whispers he hears about the eerie courtyard. in fact, he might also be the only student in the whole campus that enjo-- prefers to sit there. no extras to nag him while he does his schoolwork.
he doesnt mind the statue while he's there. as soon as he arrives, he sits down on the other benches and begins to focus his mind on his projects. he could sit there for hours and finish assignments because no one would dare stroll in there and bother him.
in one occasion, he looks up to the statue which was sitting on the bench to his right. the angel is facing him, cold, empty eyes looking down towards the empty spot next to it. sometimes, katsuki wonders why this statue was made this way.
and if he remembers correctly, it mightve been the only angel statue on this big ass campus to look the way it is..
short curly hair, big sad empty eyes, round cheeks dotted with which seems like freckles-- or maybe it was just the materials in the stone it was made off-- and lastly, one if its arm is full of scar-like marks.
katsuki would eye the statue dutifully. it was too detailed, too unique. very different from the other angel statues in the campus-- might even be the only one that sits on a bench. any other angel hes seen is either standing in the other courtyards with props, like vases, instruments, even weapons like arrows or swords, or high up on the sides of the buildings, looking down, as if guarding the campus. but this one next to him? it had nothing but its robes, hands empty, feet even absent of sandals.
katsuki scoffs. "deku," he would say, as he continues to work on his projects.
one time when he's got nothing else to do, he still sits on the empty courtyard, taking his spot on the bench next to the lonely angel. he looks towards it, offering his iced coffee and says, "want some?" as if it would answer him. he shrugs after a second and continues to sip his coffee. he fishes out his sketchbook from his bag and starts doodling.
one thing about being an architecture student, katsuki loves to draw. he would sketch out mostly structures around him, occasionally humans studying body anatomy but this time, hes in the big empty courtyard with trees in front of him, and the school building on the opposite side (hes grown tired of drawing it multiple times alrdy). there were also no people around him obviously, so the only subject he could try drawing this time, is the lonely angel statue next to him. katsuki eyes the ever still statue and sighs.
***
katsuki isnt the type to casually hang out in the middle of a school week with friends in a club. he isnt the type to leave his table with his laptop open and unfinished plans unattended, but he just feels so stressed lately, and his design proposals were all rejected by their design prof just a few hours ago. katsuki used up most of his free time brainstorming designs for this semester's plate, but it all just went down the drain.
so, his best friend, kirishima eijirou, decided to pull katsuki out of his dorm room for a "refreshment" and, for some reason, katsuki didnt complain and just let his best friend take him wherever he was planning to.
and thats why he is in the club, in the middle of the dance floor, dancing his stress away while chugging his 5th bottle of beer. he doesnt care about the half-concerned looks he gets from his friends. he thinks he deserves this too, after working non-stop for those proposals only to be rejected.
"man, if hes this way bc his designs are rejected, i wonder how worse he gets when hes rejected by someome he likes," denki, an electronics engineering student, whispers to kirishima.
the redhead just laughs and replies, "give him a break. he hasnt had one for sometime now."
***
"idiot," katsuki sighs as he wobbly tries to get back to his dorm on his own at half past 2 in the morning. whether he meant that to himself, or to kirishima for passing out thus making him incapable of accompanying him back to his dorm, he wasnt sure either.
its not like katsuki cant go on his own, at least kirishima should accompany him back since he was the one to 'force him into drinking his guts out until he cant see straight anymore'. the walk back to the dorms shouldnt take him more than 20 mins, but for some reason-- other than him not rlly being able to see and walk straight-- its already 3 am and hes still not in his dorm building. he looked up and scoffed at the realization that hes in his favorite place in the campus.
"fuck," he laughed breathily, dragging his feet towards the bench in front of him. "hi there, deku." katsuki flops himself down beside the still statue, both elbows perching at the backrest of the bench. he throws his head back and sighs as he lazily glances towards the angel as if it would answer him back.
"what, never seen a drunk, heartbroken college before?" he grumbled. he rolls his eyes as he receives only silence from the still angel. his head starts to pound in pain.
"aizawa's really got his standards too high-- everything i proposed got rejected." he shuts his eyes as he feels the pain in his head. "can u believe it-- u saw me brainstorm those shit, u should know how much i put on those designs." katsuki feels angry and annoyed yet he couldnt muster himself to do act like it. hes tired and the realization that he's beginning to rant to a fucking statue at dawn in the quietest part of the campus also isnt helping.
he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and running his hands on his face. "goddamnit, im losing it am i?" he takes another glance at the angel and still, he only got silence as an answer.
katsuki starts to notice the tiny details on the statue. he leans back on the bench and slightly shifts his seat to better look at the still angel. he notices the tiny cracks on the surface-- an obvious sign of age and wear from all the rain and overall exposure to nature. the discolored marks on the face that he initially thought were just the materials from the stone it was made of starts to really look like constellations of freckles on its cheeks.
katsuki lifts his hand to touch and feel those specifically odd details on the statue. the cheeks are smooth under his touch and only when his fingers come across the line of cracks he realize that those freckles... just look so natural.
he doesnt think he's seen an angel statue this detailed-- to have freckles and a number of angry scars on its right hand. its doesnt look like the typical angel statue he usually sees on and off campus. this statue feels like its own character, its own person, and it only amplifies the growing curiosity inside katsuki. questions run wild in his head, drowning the throbbing headache.
katsuki doesnt realize hes come too close to the statue until his thumb reached the angel's cold hard lips. his eyes shifts to it, thumb feeling the thin crack that runs on from the lower lip of the angel to its soft curved jaw. for some reason, katsuki wants to blurt out a question he finds so ridiculous, yet he still does it anyway: "does it hurt?" he whispers, still eyeing the thin crack.
katski this time doesnt seem to mind the silence he receives from the statue. his mind is running in record speed, gears spinning, trying to come up reasons why he's talking to a goddamn statue at the crack of dawn while drunk, and why this specific, cold, odd, lonely statue interests him so much. he questions why hes so drawn to it, why it seems like he's being called by it. katsuki's just probably losing it, right? its probably the alcohol thats talking nonsense to his head right?
but no matter how much he tries to fight his inner monologue, katsuki still allows himself to move closer to the statue. 'why does it sound like its calling my name?' he would want to say, but isnt able to since his soft, warm lips met the cold, hard one of the angel.
katsuki doesnt notice the single tear that fell from the eye of the statue.
***
***
katsuki never felt a sudden change of temperature around him that fast. confused, he opened his eyes and the realization that he's kissing a statue while drunk prompted him to quickly pull himself out of the ridiculous situation.
he almost lost his balance as he quickly stood on his feet. he swore he could feel his face heat up even more on top of the alcohol. 'what the fuck was i doing?!' he cursed at himself as he brought the back of his hand on his lips.
he also cursed kirishima in his head. he actually blamed the redhead for the bullshitry he was just doing. it was his damn fault for making him drink so much! and now he was kissing a damn statue like hes got some loose nut in the head.
katsuki sighed deeply, feeling his head throbbing in pain. he should really be heading back to the dorms now. its still a weekday and hes got classes in the morning.
but just as he was about to turn away to leave, he noticed something at the corner of his eye.
he glanced towards the statue and noticed that cracks started to run across the face of the angel. his eyes widened in shock and stepped closer to it. he wasnt sure what to do, or how it happened. he didnt think a kiss like that would destroy the stone statue. he didnt think he leaned on it too much either for it to actually get destroyed! what the fuck!!
"fuck, fuck, shit!" the blond starting panicking. should he just leave and pretend it wasnt him that destroyed this statue? but for all he knew, A LOT of extras know that hes the only one brave enough to hangout around here. people could just easily point at him and he couldnt actually say no because he /did/ cause its destruction!
he pulled out his phone and started to dial kirishima. he trusted the redhead more than anyone. he should know how to help him deal with this situation, but a few rings passed and the redhead wasnt picking up.
"fuckers still passed out?!" he growled at his phone.
katsuki eyes snapped towards the statue when he heard a loud crack. his breath hitched, and beads of sweat started to form on his forehead despite the chilly dawn air. cracks started running all around the statue, creating a low rumbling noise.
katsuki stepped closer to the statue, hands reaching out towards it hoping he could do something to stop the destruction, but as soon as his hand reached the statues' shoulders, for a split second, a blinding light emitted out of the statue.
katsuki shut it eyes for a bit, rubbing the back of his hand on it. "what the actual fuck.." he hissed. the light made his headache worse. when he was able to open and focus his eyes, he felt his heart jump.
in front of him, sitting on the place where the statue should be was a person-- or was it really a person? katsuki eyed the pale skin, the robe, the scars, the mop of... curly green hair and the pair of huge angel wings at the back of the person.
he could feel himself sober up in an instant. he was too shocked, too confused to actually comprehend what was happening. despite wanting to turn away to get of there, he felt his feet glued to the ground. voice unable to come out of his throat, hands too shaky to move.
"w-what the fuck?" was all he managed to speak, but it sounded more like a whisper. the person-- angel-- in front of him looked up towards katsuki, big round eyes meeting his, blinking, squinting, maybe still trying to focus his vision. and when it felt like he angel finally got his vision cleared, his eyes got even rounder which katsuki didnt think would get that much.
"ka.."
katsuki took a step back.
the newly animated angel tried to stand up, eyes still locking to katsuki's. "ka..." he tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse and weak.
the angel took a step and his knees shook. he reached out to katsuki who was once again glued to his spot, still shocked from what he was witnessing.
"ka...cchan.." the angel finally said.
katsuki never saw something so, so beautiful yet puzzling in his entire life. the angel in front of him slowly took little steps towards him, eyes never leaving his. the angel's wings expanded, the faint blue light of the moon that hit the pearly white feathers created a beautiful glow around the angel. his big round eyes started to water, and little drops of tears rolled down his round, freckled cheeks.
katsuki felt like he was dreaming.
"kacchan," the angel breathed heavily. his wings started to flap behind him, lifted him off the ground and slammed onto katsuki, breaking the blond's trance. they both hit the ground.
katsuki felt arms around his neck. small, shaking body pinned against his. his eyes still glued on the still flapping wings in front of him. his mind was now clear and sobered up from the alcohol, yet he was still trying to comprehend what just happened.
the wings stopped flapping and dropped on the ground, and the arms around his neck loosened. at this very moment, when he finally felt the weight of the person and wings leaning against him, he concluded that this was indeed real.
he looked down on the person in front of him. he lifted his hand and carefully tapped the shoulder of the... angel. when he received no response, he gently shook the angel and still got no response.
"holy fucking shit.." he shakily whispered.
for some reason, katsuki felt the urgent need to bring this person with him back to his dorm. he couldnt just leave him here in the courtyard. everyone would freak out. the creepy statue in the courtyard became an actual angel! who knows what they would do it him, who knows what they would do to katsuki when they find out it was him who "brought the angel to life"!
before his mind started to come up with ridiculous what ifs and possible future scenarios, he carefully lifted the angel on his back and started brisk-walking to his dorm.
it felt like a record. he never thought he'd actually be able to get to his dorm that fast. he was thankful for once, that his room was in the second floor and that he didnt have to climb all the way to the tenth--the topmost.
he felt for his keys in his pocket, and cursed when his shaking hands prevented him from pushing the key in the keyhole in one try. when the was successful, he pushed the door open all the way and quickly stepped in, slamming the door shut. he checked the angel if that waked him up but the angel was still unconscious. he sighed in relief, and proceeded towards his bed.
katsuki carefully set the angel on his bed. he stepped back and eyed the unconscious being in front of him.
okay, he definitely wasnt dreaming. this was real. a real angel sleeping on his bed. the fucking statue on that courtyard became real and was sleeping so soundly on his bed.
katsuki aggressively ran his fingers on his spiky hair. what the fuck did he just get himself into.
he quickly walked towards his desk and rummaged his drawer for ibuprofen, popped one in his mouth, got his water bottle and emptied the whole thing in just seconds. he took a moment to calm his breathing and his racing heart.
he glanced towards his bed again. the light from his study lamp made the angel look warm and comfy. from that moment, he wasn;t sure what to do. its almost sunrise, and he's still up. he checked his schedule for later and sighed.
he could skip aizawa's class for now.
***
that morning, katsuki was woken up by a call from kirishima. the redhead apologized for passing out on katsuki that night and he had just woken up and called as soon as he remembered he was supposed to accompany katsuki the whole night.
the blond, grumpy for having been woken up with little hours of sleep plus the hangover, just told his best friend he was fine and that he got back to the dorm on his own. but kirishima insisted there must be something because there were almost 20 missed calls from katsuki at dawn, and this worried kirishima.
katsuki was puzzled himself, not really remembering the reason why he did that. he silently cursed at himself for chugging down more than 5 bottles of beer the night before.
"you sure ur okay man? i can drop by in an hour to bring you something to eat. im tryna be responsible here man since im the one who brought u to drink with us last night and knowing u, ure not the type to drink--"
"i can manage, shitty hair, im not a child," katsuki barked.
"dude, u dont sound--"
"kacchan?" katsuki jumped as he heard a soft, yet kind of hoarse voice to his left. he whipped his head fast to the direction of the sound and his eyes met another pair of beautiful green orbs.
green curls, freckled face, green round eyes. green curls, freckled face, green round eyes. green curls, freckled face, green round eyes--
"DUDE, WHO WAS THAT?!" for a moment, he forgot he was on call with kirishima.
in a split second, katsuki remembered everything that happened a few hours prior. the time he was alone in the dark, empty courtyard from when he was talking to the lonely statue to the moment he could feel the weight of the animated angel on his arms.
katsuki was frozen in his place. he forgot he brought the angel back to his dorm room. so, thats why he was sleeping on the floor.
"were... y-you... talking... with someone?" asked the angel, face coming closer to his.
"HOLY SHIT, DUDE. IM COMING OVER IN 10 MINS!" katsuki was pulled from his trance when he heard the announcement from his friend. before he could protest, kirishima dropped the call.
his gaze was pulled away once again from his phone when he could feel two warm hands cupping his face, forcing him to look up once again to the angel in front of him. for some reason, his heart felt warm, and strangely, he felt fulfilled.
he couldnt exactly figure out why he suddenly felt like wrapping his arms around the angel; why he felt like... he's been longing for this moment to finally happen; why looking at this beauty in front of him somewhat made him feel happy, and sad, and regretful at the same time.
he couldnt exactly tell why, after seeing the first roll of tear drop from the eyes of the angel, he found himself wiping it away with his thumb. it pained him to see the ethereal being in front of him cry. it didn't suit him at all.
the angel cupped the hand that lingered on his cheek, leaned onto it and closed his eyes. katsuki found the scene endearing. he felt his heart pounding against his chest.
"i-i... never tho-ught.. id.. ever.. see you.. again," whispered the angel.
katsuki didnt understand one bit what the angel meant, but deep in his heart, he was surprised he felt the same way.
"were you waiting for me?" katsuki whispered back, shocking himself as well. what the hell did he just say?!
the angel opened his eyes, green orbs meeting red ones. he smiled, the top of his cheeks dotted with dimples.
"i did.." he replied. "and n-now... i.. am here.. with you... we f-found.. each other again."
katsuki didnt notice he was crying as well until the angel brought his hands up to his cheek and wiped the tears away. his mind was racing, questions popping up one after another. he still couldnt figure out what the hell was going on and despite that, he couldnt bring himself to pull away. the intimacy of the moment felt real, and familiar. his body wanted to move away, but his heart was telling him the opposite.
"im tired... of the curse.. kacchan.." whispered the angel. "i cant... bear.. watching u... leave me again."
the angel started crying, big, fat, tears falling from his eyes. he fisted his white robe, pushing his knuckles against his chest.
this time, katsuki felt like he was in control of his tongue again. "i dont understand," was all he could say.
the angel sobbed even more which made katsuki feel like he was punched in the gut. he could only imagine the pain the angel mustve felt.
the angel reached for katsuki's hand and squeezed it tight. of course.. this katsuki wouldnt know. the katsuki in this timeline wouldnt understand yet, and it only fueled the sadness in the heart of the angel.
but despite that.. it wasnt like he's not used to this. he's done it again and again already. he'll just have to help katsuki remember again, and maybe this time... in this lifetime.. they may be able to break the curse once and for all.
"its okay," the angel assured katsuki, but it felt like it was more directly for himself. "we'll get through this."
there were loud knocks on the door.