No.7 - Tumblr Posts

(Whumptober Day Seven) THE WAY YOU SHAKE AND SHIVER

TW: Small Panic Attack

It’s almost time. You can feel fear taking over your body. You hesitantly stand up. You can feel eyes staring at it. Burning into your body. You quickly walk up into the front. The teacher is writing something down and they look up at you, “Go ahead.” You breathe heavily as you look down at your paper. You start to speak, you stutter and pause a lot. Suddenly you feel pain in your chest. Directly on top of your heart. It was small, but it was noticeable. You start to breathe more heavily, you shake more. You're almost done. Your presentation is almost over. The pain in your chest starts to hurt more. Your voice starts to shake. It feels like hours, but you finally finish. People clap, most likely they feel like they need to. You quickly sat down in your seat. “Thank you.” The teacher says and they finish writing down something.

Despite the presentation being over, the pain is still there.

🎃Whumptober Day 7: “Can you hear me?” (Minato Arisato x Reader)🎃

You sit quietly in a chair next to Minato’s bed as you hold his hand. It has been a couple of days since the fight of Nyx and Minato falling into a coma. You don’t know why he fell into this state. You did heard something similar happen to him once he awakened his Persona, so hopefully this is something similar.

You often talk to him. About your day, you interests or random topics. Sometimes your friends join you, even Koromaru. You have heard people who were in comas can hear some conversations, so you thought you will talk to him so he won’t feel lonely.

You hope he wakes up soon.

"I have died everyday, waiting for you.

Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years,

I'll love you for a thousand more.

And all along I believed, I would find you.

Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years,

I'll love you for a thousand more."

-

-A Thousand Years, Christina Perri

Whumptober No.7

She wanted so badly to give in... And the moment she finally did, he welcomed her with open arms.

(Click for better quality)

Whumptober Prompt #7 Isolation and #9 Shackled

@winedark-whump So here’s a bit more about a certain Hero who needs some more character development.  I hope you enjoy it.  Dammit all, I hope you see it.  I have no idea how long this unflagged status will last me.

Line

Fayelin tested out the restraints she was locked in for what must’ve been the millionth time.  She knew she had been strapped down for her own safety, but getting out of these restraints was her top priority these past few days.  At least, she thought so.  The days blurred together without sunlight, she wasn’t sure how long she had left, but it couldn’t be too much longer.  They were already at the torture bit, and the torture bit was always last, according to her friends.

She kept her breathing as controlled as she could.  She could do this.  Killian wouldn’t have recommended her for the higher level courses if she couldn’t handle it.  Sure, minor Heroes-in-training weren’t allowed to take these courses because they were too young, but Killian knew her limits.  He had pulled a few strings to get her into this test.  He believed in her, she couldn’t let him down.

The cacophony of sounds was awful, but bearable, at least at first.  She knew it would get worse.  But this exercise was about being able to withstand unbearable torture, and to be able to escape when the time came.  She hadn’t been given permission to escape yet, but she was allowed to figure a way out beforehand.  A Hero should always be able to escape any situation, with as few injuries as possible.  That’s what the whole test was, you had to escape capture, with off duty Heroes pretending to be villains, after being able to withstand torture.

The sounds were growing louder.  There were newly added screams, screams she could’ve sworn she recognized.  She could’ve sworn she heard one of her best friends, Wonder, it sounded just like her.  They were definitely pulling from her personal background, that was definitely Gold, followed closely by Glitter.  She was rather close with the twins.  She supposed it was be able to withstand others getting tortured as well, more than one Villain tortured two heroes at once by torturing only one and making the other watch.  She could withstand that easily.  As much as she loved her friends, just hearing them scream was nothing.  Villains tortured, that was a fact of their lifestyle. Screams were just a way she could tell they were still alive.  Killian had told her several times to listen to how he screamed, as he would communicate to her through them.

Speak of the devil, Soldier’s screams were coming through now.  She wondered how they had gotten his screams because he wasn’t communicating, that was simply pain.  Fayelin blocked out the noise, after all, it was just noise, and went back to the restraints.  Thick iron wrapped solidly around her wrists with a thick chain wrapping around the legs of the bed.  It was made to withstand those with super strength but her strength was not her greatest ally here.  Her mind was.

“Remember little one, a Hero’s power can be their strength and weakness, only a Hero’s mind is their true strength.”

Killian was right after all.  Some Villains could take or copy abilities, but no one could take someone’s mind.  She just had to focus.  Killian had taught her to pick locks without her gift.  She simply needed something long and sharp, like one of the pins in her hair.  Problem was getting it.  She couldn’t lift her arms very high, her legs had weights on them, her hips were tied down with rope, and she wasn’t allowed to get off the bed until release was granted.  Her biggest advantage was how tiny she was, no matter how much she hated being so small.  If she played her cards right, she could slip between the ropes and slid herself into a position where she could grab a hairpin.  So she flexed some of her leg muscles, pulling on the ropes tautness.  When she felt her opening, she went for it.  She slid through the ropes, and got her hand to her left wrist, pulling a nonessential hairpin from her hair.  She always kept a few extra that didn’t keep up her ridiculous hairdo.  Logically, she knew her hairdo marked her status as a Sidekick, and Killian had spent a lot of time designing it, but the minute she became her own Hero, she was changing it.  She looked more like a sci-fi character than a Sidekick.

She hid the hairpin in her hand, just in case.  Then she drowned out the screams, she drowned out the crashing, the screeching, the breaking glass, the breaking of bones and focused.  Killian was trusting her to prove that he hadn’t made a mistake taking her on so early.  Other Heroes has whispered she wasn’t ready, that Killian was mad for taking a sidekick so young, that she couldn’t compete with her peers.  She couldn’t wait until she wiped those smirks off their faces.

“Heroes are now allowed to fight their way out of Caina.”  A loudspeaker spoke.  “If medical assistance is needed, then please contact Heroes before the rendezvous point is reached.”

She easily picked the lock of the left chain, then the right.  She kept the weights on her feet, to further her impact if she ran into anyone with invulnerability or super strength.  She was small, so she needed every advantage.  Once she broke out of the cell, a simple task with her gift pinpointing the systems weaknesses, she easily ran down the corridors.  She had all but grown up in Caina, where she was allowed to go anyway.  No one except a few Heroes were allowed to the lower levels (as that was where they kept unredeemable Villains, those with high body counts and usually personal vendettas against Heroes.  The two Killian had put down there had killed more than one Hero).  So working her way through was easier, she had no problems finding wherever she wanted to go.

Her first problem was Jerry.  That wasn’t his name, but she couldn’t pronounce his very Russian Hero name, but she thought he looked like a Jerry so Jerry it was.  Jerry had gravitational density manipulation, so he could give himself super strength when he wanted to, which was often his main weapon.

“I’m glad to see you out, little one, but I’m afraid this is the end of the line.”  Jerry cooed.

She growled. She hated when they treated her like a little kid.  But it did give her one great advantage.  They treated her like a little kid in fights as well.  She was often underestimated.

So when Jerry made an obvious feint to her right, she used his own momentum against him, flipping herself up using his arm and bringing her legs down  on the back of his neck.  She didn’t need to knock him fully unconscious, she just needed to run fast enough away that he couldn’t catch her.  So after making contact, she used the movement to propel herself forward and she made it past him.

Two more corridors to get through.  She could hear and feel the last Hero she would see inside Caina.  She snickered.  She’d nicknamed him Marshmallow because he was so soft and gooey on the inside, especially with children, and had the intelligence of a sugar molecule.  He used to give all the little Sidekicks or minor Heroes-in-training rides on his back when their Heroes were busy.  He was a solid mass of blue skin, muscles, and a mouth he couldn’t quite close.  She always thought of that old comic book series, back when those with unnatural abilities were considered fantasy.  Grundy, she believed he was called.  He would be easy enough, as she wouldn’t make the mistake everyone else makes when facing him.  Fighting him was unneccessary and stupid, it just wore you out and that’s how he caught his criminals.  He simply outlasted them in strength.  All she had to do was keep moving forward.

“Stop little one.”  He grumbled, raising his fists above his head.

She slid underneath his feet, unable to watch the confusion on his face.  Once through, she scrambled to her feet and kept running.  She was almost through to the end of the test, dodging explosions.  There were no mines in Caina, just in case some random civilian came wandering in, as this base wasn’t on a map to protect the people living here.  So that meant that other Heroes with gifts similar to hers would be launching projectiles ranging from cannonball size to actual missiles.  So once she made it to the open clearing that they used to hide the base, she turned around to see the five projectiles heading toward her.  Those were easy enough to dodge with her gift, after all, she never missed a step.  Dodging an explosion was simply a matter of jumping off debris at the right time and only putting a certain amount of weight down at a time.  That had been one of the first ways Killian had tested out the extent of her powers.

She made it to the end of the clearing, and found the rendezvous point.  Killian, and three other Heroes were waiting for their Sidekicks, with The Administrator.  She didn’t see any other Sidekicks but that didn’t mean she was first.  Once The Administrator said you passed, Heroes were allowed to leave to celebrate.  She skidded on her knees until she reached Killian, and stuck her leg out to stop herself, arresting momentum in a kneeling stance, arms crossed over her chest.

“Sir!  I have escaped Caina as ordered in the fastest manner I could, sir!”  She said.

“Well done.”  Killian said.

She fought the smile threatening to burst out.  Killian rarely praised her in front of other Heroes as to not seem unprofessional.

“You do continue to surprise young one.”  The Administrator said, his voice sounding as old as he was.  He was the oldest of their program, for this country at least.  He had once been a great Hero until he had finally gotten too old to keep up with the growing threat of Villains and now trained other Heroes to take his place.   “You are the youngest to ever complete this test, let alone unscathed.”

“Screams are just noise, sir.”  Fayelin said, bowing her head.  “Screams and begs for mercy will not interfere with how I do my job.  I cannot always trust what I am seeing or hearing so I cannot allow it to influence my work.”

“Good answer.”  The Administrator said.  “Villains will look for any excuse and will go to every new low you can think of to trick Heroes.  You must have the ultimate strength of will if you are to resist them.”

“I shall always endeavor for that strength.”  She replied.

“She has answered well, Soldier.”  The Administrator said.  “However, there is the matter of her age.”

She cursed silently.

“Heroes her age are not to be in this test.”  The Administrator said.  “While she has proven she is ready, we must abide by our own laws or we are no better than the criminals we hunt.”

“Sir, she turns sixteen in two months.”  Killian said.  “What is the difference between her being ready now and her being ready in two months?”

“I have not finished, Soldier, you would do well to not interrupt me.”  The Administrator snapped and even Fayelin saw the other Heroes flinch at his tone.  No one pissed off the Administrator.

“I’m sorry, sir, it won’t happen again.”  Killian said, bowing his head.

“I assure you, it won’t.”  The Administrator said. “As I was saying, we must abide by our own laws.  And our laws state that a Hero-in-training cannot become a Sidekick until they are sixteen.  However, due to this unparalleled show of bravery, control, and skill, I am allowing this passing grade to transfer over in two months.  She will become your Sidekick on the day of her sixteenth birthday.”

She couldn’t fight that smile from spreading across her face, and it seemed neither could Killian.

“You may rise, Arrow.”  The Administrator said, and she slowly stood.

“Sir, isn’t it my job to choose her Sidekick name?”  KIllian whispered.

“Do not test your limits further, Soldier.”  The Administrator said coldly.  “You should feel lucky that I will not put you on probation for those two months of waiting.  If she hadn’t performed as admirably as she did, I assure you, you would’ve been suspended for putting her in this test.  Now, you will take Arrow as a Sidekick in two months.”

“Yes, sir.”  Killian said, saluting.  She very quickly followed suit.

“And Miss Arrow?”  The Administrator said. “I expect great things of you, young one.”

“I won’t let you down, sir!”

Day 1, 2, 3, 7 13, 15-Bakugou "doesn't get sick"

Trying another whumptober whoo hoo! I got a new job, a great one for the first time in my life lol, and I've got a lot of time to be able to sit down and just write. So I'm gonna try my hardest to finish this whumptober, I've been writing as much as I physically can haha

prompts- swooning, thermometer/delurium, "make it stop", "can you hear me", cold compress, "I'm fine"- fever, passing out, sick Katsuki, todobaku pre, shower scene ;)

Feel free to find this on AO3- https://archiveofourown.org/works/50196034/chapters/126773227

This is a long one, so I'm gonna put it under a cut.

Katsuki had been hot and sweaty all day, which is normally something he encouraged for his quirk to work at its highest potential, but today it just felt wrong. He wasn’t sure why, he always took very good care of his body, but something just wasn’t adding up. It was spring, and the weather was supposed to be very nice, but it felt like he couldn’t cool off no matter what he did. He felt like the sun was projecting pure heat through the window as he sat uncomfortably in class, trying his best to pay attention through one of the worst headaches he’d ever had in his life.

To make matters worse, Katsuki had been assigned fucking Todoroki as a partner for an upcoming hero research paper. He hated group work in the first place, but assigning him goddamn Todoroki (even if Aizawa claimed it was random, he never believed that bullshit, Aizawa lied to them all the time) was just adding insult to injury at this point. But he never shirked from his academic responsibilities, he was going to graduate top of his class, so he still had to actually try on this stupid assignment even though he didn’t want to work with the half-n-half bastard. His headache would just have to wait. The sooner they were done, the less he had to talk to IcyHot.

“We’re finishing this as fast as we fucking can,” Katsuki had hissed at Todoroki, who only stared back blankly. Bastard. “I don’t care if you have plans tonight, I’m coming over to your fucking room and we’re finishing this tonight.”

“Aizawa distinctly said we should not do this in one night.” God, even his voice irritated Katsuki. Everything about the bastard irritated Katsuki, from his stupid hair to his stupid muscles to his stupid blank face that never showed any thought Katsuki could pick up on. Kaminari had teased him over ‘how obsessed you are over Todoroki’ and how it ‘sounds like you liiiike him’ but he shut up when Katsuki pushed him off his chair.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “He was talking to the idiots who wait until the last minute to do the work.”

Like the idiots he couldn’t help but call friends because… well, he didn’t know what else to call them. They wouldn’t leave him alone, always forced him to participate in their activities, and every time he tried to leave the group chat they’d set up, he’d just be added right back in and chastised lightly as if he’d just made a small mistake. It had been hard to admit, but sometimes, only sometimes, Katsuki enjoyed their company, and even had fun once or twice. He would never admit to it, especially since he didn’t know how to feel about it, and he refused to be laughed at because he was unsure of these new feelings.

“I suppose we’ll find out when we attempt the assignment.” Todoroki said, which only infuriated Katsuki more, which caused his headache to spike. He wanted to argue some more, but having done it in the past proved its inefficiency. Todoroki never fucking reacted to anything he did, even when he was purposefully antagonizing the bastard just to see him make some kind of facial expression.

“Whatever. I’m coming over right after dinner,” and didn’t that sound disgusting, “so be ready.”

Todoroki nodded, and Katsuki almost felt cheated since Todoroki never reacted to anything he said. He’d seen Todoroki make facial expressions for fucking pathetic Deku, Katsuki was way better than him, why didn’t he get those reactions? Katsuki was ridiculously past good enough to get one of those stupid ass smiles or little puffs of laughter. Katsuki deserved that more than Deku ever would.

Getting through the rest of the day had been difficult, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He just had a headache from dealing with everyone’s bullshit, and the day was a fluke of being too hot, and he just had to get through it. Katsuki was the strongest person in this entire class, he could handle anything. It got easier after school when he took off his uniform and could put on a simple tank and shorts. At dinner, he forced himself to have some congee rather than his normal, nutritionally balanced meal, but the thought of food was so unappealing that forcing himself to cook and eat his routine foods almost outweighed his knowledge that he had to eat dinner in the first place.

When he went to put the half he couldn’t finish in the fridge, Kirishima was in the kitchen, burning whatever he was trying to make. Usually Katsuki could tell by smell alone, but this time he couldn’t smell anything but it was obviously burning. Even worse, Katsuki knew how to salvage his dinner and he didn’t have a reason not to tell him.

“Your heat is too high. Take it out now and it’ll only be slightly burnt.” Katsuki grumbled, rolling his eyes both at himself and his idiot best friend. He couldn’t believe he was best friends with someone who could barely function like an independent human being.

“Thanks, bro!” Katsuki had given up on Kirishima calling him ‘bro’, it seemed to be a core aspect of the redhead’s personality. The chipper smile directed at him as Kirishima did as he said kinda made up for it. Making his friends happy wasn’t the worst thing he’s ever done. “Are you done already? Usually you’re in here cooking up a storm, I was surprised not to see you.”

Kirishima then saw the congee in his hands as he put it in his tupperware, and he frowned. “Dude, is that all you had? Aren’t you the one always yelling at us to ‘make better dinners’? Are you okay?”

Katsuki bristled at the question, his pride flaring up in defense. “I have to work with fucking IcyHot on a dumb fucking project I don’t need a partner for, and apparently I can’t have a simple dinner for once without everyone jumping down my throat! The fuck do you think?”

“Okay, okay, sorry, bro.” Kirishima held up his hands in defense. “Just wanted to check in. You haven’t seemed yourself today.”

Katsuki glared at him. “I don’t need you to ‘check in’. Leave me the fuck alone.”

“If you say so, bro.” Kirishima shrugged. “We’re gonna have a smash brothers tournament at Denki’s tonight, you wanna join in?”

“You shits are lucky I can’t destroy you tonight.” Katsuki rolled his eyes. “I’m doing my fucking report, which is what you should be doing. When it’s two nights before it’s due, and you still haven’t done it, don’t come crying to me. I won’t help you.”

He would help them. His friends struggled with schoolwork, and if he was going to be seen with them then they had to live up to his reputation. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do that without his help, and he didn’t like watching his friends struggle and seeing them upset over their grades. That stupid feeling he hated outweighed his annoyance at helping them, so, he didn’t really have a choice if he didn’t want that stupid feeling he got when he saw his friends get upset. He didn’t know how, but somehow his idiots had figured that out, and they still came to him every time, and every time, despite him telling himself that he wouldn’t help them this time, he helped them regardless. They were all the worst and he hated them.

But for now, Katsuki was too busy hating the elevator’s stupidly bright lights to hate his friends anymore. Katsuki leaned against the metal, the coolness of the metal a balm on his overly hot skin. He’d never been so glad that the entirety of Heights Alliance had air conditioning. The day had been way too hot today, Katsuki had always been sensitive to hotter temperatures since he couldn’t cool his body through his sweat like other people did, which is probably why he hadn’t heard anyone else complain about it. But he could take anything, any temperature, any obstacle, because no hero worth their salt would let a thing like a hot day stop them so he refused to let it stop him.

Even though he really didn’t want to be doing this, he’d much prefer to just take a cold shower and go to bed early so the day would finally be over, he still pushed forward and went to Todoroki’s room. He went to just walk in, not like the bastard didn’t know he was coming, but the door was locked. He jiggled the door handle a little violently, clearly seeing the light was on under the door, but it still didn’t open. Katsuki’s eye twitched.

knock. knock.

It was the stiffest knock of his life, but apparently that was enough for Todoroki, who finally opened the door. “You knew I was coming, that was a dick move.”

“So is barging in unannounced.” Todoroki replied, raising an eyebrow. Katsuki’s eye twitched again.

“We should get started since you want to finish tonight.” Todoroki said, and Katsuki just growled, and then just set his stuff down on the tiny ass table Todoroki had. Sometimes, Katsuki had to choose his battles. Most of the time, he chose all battles, but this one he had to let go since he didn’t want his grade to suffer.

“I’m taking this pathetic excuse for a chair since you’re apparently so fine with being on the floor.” Katsuki said, referring to the mat Todoroki slept on. Todoroki didn’t protest, he merely just set the mat next to the thing that couldn’t even be called a desk really since it was too damn small. The room didn’t seem to have much in terms of temperature control, as the elevator had been much cooler. It was probably because Todoroki could regulate his own temperature, so he didn’t need the ac unit to do it for him. That was annoying as fuck.

The headache that Katsuki had been working very hard to ignore was becoming more and more of a problem as they worked. Katsuki could at least appreciate the monotone right now since it was quiet, and he spoke slowly enough that Katsuki could hear him despite the pounding in his head. A hammer was slamming into his head with every beat of his heart, and it just got worse as they kept going, the material not interesting enough to get past the pain. He would’ve given up and gone to sleep if he didn’t have to do this damn paper with Todoroki. The bastard couldn’t keep a secret for his life so in order to keep his reputation, he had to keep going, even through the worst headache he’d had in a long time. But with every beat of the hammer, he was losing his resolve. It was only his drive not to be weak that kept him going.

“Bakugou? Did you hear what I said?” Todoroki said, startling Katsuki a little.

“Of course I did. I was just thinking.” Katsuki snapped, trying to brush it off, ignoring the fact that he actually hadn’t heard what Todoroki had said. He hoped it wasn’t important.

“Thinking.” Todoroki echoed, but it wasn’t a question or a challenge. It was just a statement.

“That’s what I fucking said.”

“Are you alright, Bakugou?” Todoroki asked, and Katsuki could almost hear a touch of concern in the monotone. It pissed him off, though he wasn’t sure exactly why. “You’ve been strangely quiet today.”

“I’m fine.” Katsuki sneered, a violent threat in his voice.

Todoroki pursed his lips at him, but only continued on with what he was saying. Katsuki struggled to keep focusing on it, Todoroki’s voice was soothing in its quiet volume, but he couldn’t process the words the bastard was actually saying.

Dammit. He couldn’t keep doing this. If he actually turned in the report they were working on now, Katsuki would get the worst grade he’d ever gotten in his life, even though he very much understood the topic. His headache was just too bad, and the room had only gotten steadily hotter as they’d worked, and Katsuki couldn’t take it anymore, his reputation be damned. He’d just blame it on Todoroki not properly cooling his room and sweating him out of it.

“I’m done, I’m going to bed.” Katsuki said, gathering up his stuff as quickly as he could. He was a little uncoordinated in his haste, but he blamed it on the heat. “We’ll just do this tomorrow.”

Todoroki didn’t even show his surprise beyond a raised eyebrow. “I thought you wanted to do this in one night.”

“It’s not my fault your room is like a sauna and your voice is like a fucking icepick in my head!” Katsuki snapped, absolutely done with today. The room was so hot he was starting to get a little dizzy, and standing just made his vision swim for a moment. “How the fuck am I supposed to focus on court cases and legalities when the room is a million degrees and you won’t fucking shut up?”

That seemed to actually surprise Shouto, though it still only showed in his eyes. “Bakugou, my room isn’t hot. And I was only talking since you wouldn’t. You’ve barely said anything tonight.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, and then had to pinch his nose and shut his eyes when the room blurred, playing it off as annoyance. Dammit, he was so fucking hot. “You wouldn’t notice, you have that stupid temperature thing because of your quirk.”

“I turn on the ac when I have guests, Bakugou.” Todoroki said, and Katsuki scoffed. He was sweating far too much for that to be true. He didn’t doubt that Todoroki was lying, but there was no way the ac was actually on right now. The bastard must’ve just set it to the wrong setting, he wouldn’t be the first in their class to struggle with the thermostat, to his perpetual annoyance.

“Bakugou, I may not be an expert, but you do not look well.” Todoroki said, which only infuriated him more. If he was suddenly going to care about Katsuki, the least he could do was fucking show it. Katsuki knew not everyone wore their emotions on their sleeve, but Todoroki never seemed to have any emotion at all, not even when dealing with Katsuki.

“I’m fine.” Katsuki hissed, parroting what he said earlier, with the same vitriol.

“You clearly are not.” Todoroki said firmly. “I can regulate my own temperature, you’re correct, but I can still feel the temperature around me. My room isn’t hot, and you’re sweating like it’s summer. I think you should see Recovery Girl.”

Katsuki growled an incoherent shout. “I don’t need that old bat, there’s nothing wrong with me beyond suffering from dealing with all you idiots. Fuck off!”

Katsuki turned to leave, but his vision swam so quickly that he had to stop mid-step. His hand came to his eyes, trying to steady himself, forcing himself to push through the heat. But before he could get his body to work, his backpack slipped through his fingers as his vision went black.

“-ugou. Bakugou. Bakugou.” Someone was shaking him, insistence in their voice. He groaned lightly, his eyes fluttering, his head pounding even harder than before. He squinted, and Todoroki then came into focus. He was wearing a look Katsuki had never seen before. It looked almost like worry, but Katsuki couldn’t tell.

He groaned again, and then he felt something blissfully cool against his forehead, easing his headache and the unbearable heat he was trapped in. He sighed, his eyes managing to stay open now. He was in Todoroki’s arms, with Todoroki’s right hand pressed against his forehead. He remembered that Todoroki’s right side was cool, and Katsuki wanted to just sink into him.

“Wha- happen?” Katsuki said, the act of speaking a struggle it had never been before.

“You passed out.” Todoroki said, a frown tugging at his lips. “You have a fever. I’m going to take you to Recovery Girl.”

Todoroki began to push them both upwards, but Katsuki shook his head. “No! No. ‘M fine. Just… just need to sleep it off. ‘M fine.”

“You are not fine, Bakugou.” Todoroki groaned, and Katsuki could’ve sworn he heard concern and frustration in Todoroki’s voice. But that was impossible, Katsuki never got emotion from Todoroki, no matter how hard he tried. “You literally just passed out. You’re sick, Bakugou.”

“I don’t get sick.” Katsuki said, and that was completely true. Katsuki got sick so rarely that he couldn’t even remember the last time. “Be fine. Just need sleep. Don’t need help.”

“You can’t stand on your own.” Todoroki said, deadpan. Katsuki frowned at that, and he opened his mouth again, but Todoroki cut him off. “If you say you’re fine one more time, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and drag you to Recovery Girl.”

Katsuki pouted at that, and stayed silent for a moment, knowing Todoroki was just as serious with his threats as he was.

“I don’t get sick.” He repeated. “Just need to sleep this off.”

Todoroki pursed his lips again, clearly torn between what to do, before he sighed, obviously coming to a decision. “Fine. I’ll take you to your room, but only for now. I can’t tell if this is just your pride or if this is actually how your body works. If you get worse, I’m taking you to Recovery Girl no matter what you say.”

Katsuki nodded, and went to get up, pushing himself up on noodly arms. He immediately fell back into Todoroki. Thankfully, Todoroki didn’t comment on his weakness, he just wrapped Katsuki’s arm around his shoulder and pushed them both up. With Todoroki’s support, Katsuki could mostly walk, his feet dragging a little as he couldn’t raise his feet off the ground very high.

The elevator ride down to the fourth floor was silent, almost awkward. Katsuki couldn’t find the strength to say anything, but Todoroki didn’t seem to mind the silence. Right now, he just wanted his bed more than anything in the world.

Their next obstacle was Katsuki’s door, as he always locked it when he wasn’t in his room. He couldn’t remember where he put his keys at first, patting down his pockets. Suddenly a hand reached into his back pocket and he yelped a little at the surprise, his reaction was too slow, but he still hated being startled with touch. Had for a long time. Todoroki then handed him his keys, with a sheepish look on his face. “I saw them in your pocket. Thought I’d save you the trouble.”

Katsuki took the keys and opened his door, using the door handle to keep himself up, trying to keep himself upright on his own. Todoroki went to follow him in and Katsuki growled again.

“No one goes in my room.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” Todoroki said, a little snippy, uncaring that he was stepping into Katsuki’s space.

Todoroki turned on the lights, and Katsuki hissed as his headache spiked, unconsciously pressing himself into the nape of Todoroki’s neck. Todoroki immediately turned the light off with a quiet “sorry.” before he started walking again.

Katsuki flopped into bed with all the grace of a newborn giraffe, but his bed was cool (he had special sheets so he wouldn’t overheat as he slept, his parents had designed them for him) and that was all that mattered to him. He rolled onto his side, felt something lift his legs into the bed, and he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow, just barely feeling a cool hand brush his sweaty bangs out of his face.

“- been asleep for a little while… nothing’s changed…”

“- not sure, Todoroki. He really doesn’t get sick that often. I think the last time was over five years ago. Even I don’t really remember.”

He knew that voice. Goddammit, he knew that voice and he went to glare at fucking useless Deku, but he was still squinting in the darkness he’d woken up in, lessening its effect. Todoroki had left the door open a little, the hall lights shining in his room far too brightly for his headache. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep, but his mind wasn’t as fuzzy as before. Still way too fucking hot though.

“You got fucking Deku?” Katsuki growled, refusing to admit that it sounded more like a whine.

“I didn’t know anyone else who would know how your body works when it’s sick.” Todoroki said matter-of-factly, coming back over to Katsuki’s bed. He was mostly forgiven when he put his cool hand back on Katsuki’s burning forehead, getting a soft noise Katsuki didn’t even know he made.

“Well, his parents will know, for sure.” Deku said to Todoroki. Katsuki glared harder. “I can call them, figure out where to go from here.”

Todoroki nodded.

Deku then handed Todoroki a rather big box that Katsuki surprisingly recognized. Auntie Inko knew how injured they got in training, especially since Deku wouldn’t fucking stop constantly breaking all of his bones, and had gifted him the same first aid kit that Deku held in his hands. Actually, it really wasn’t a first aid kit but a mini hospital, with so many things Katsuki didn’t know when he’d ever use some of them. (Seriously, Auntie, when was he gonna need a goddamn stethoscope?) He’d only taken it because his mother would’ve been mad if he made Auntie cry, not that he could handle her tears anyways, and, well… secretly he could appreciate the gesture. He never understood why Auntie continued to try and take care of him even though he really wanted nothing to do with her son, but he supposed that’s just how she was. Deku too, but he was way more annoying about it.

“You should take his temperature, if he’ll let you.” Deku said, still talking to Todoroki and not him. “You’ll have a way better chance with him than I will.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!” Katsuki shouted, immediately regretting the loudness when he made his own headache worse.

“Sorry, Kacchan.” Katsuki just glared at him, fighting off the wince he’d just given himself. “I- I’ll just go call Uncle Masaru now.”

Deku stepped out of the room, and Todoroki set the kit down onto his nightstand, digging through it with one hand, keeping his right hand on Katsuki’s forehead.

“There are three thermometers in here.” Todoroki stated, seemingly a little overwhelmed by Auntie’s overprotective nature. “And they’re all different.”

Katsuki made a noncommittal noise. Something then pushed gently at his mouth, and he turned his glare to Todoroki.

“I can’t use the other ones, I’ve been cooling you off too much.” Todoroki said, poking him again. “They won’t give accurate results. This is the only one left.”

“I can do it myself.” Katsuki said, trying to move his mouth as little as possible.

Todoroki sighed, definitely sounding frustrated. “Bakugou, will you please just put your damn pride aside for two minutes? I just want to help you. You’re my friend. Let me help you.”

This was the first he’d heard about them being friends, though he supposed he had started paying more attention to Todoroki after their supplemental classes. He hadn’t thought it had been reciprocated though. But even if they were friends now, this was something he couldn’t allow. He wasn’t weak, he didn’t need help, not even Todoroki’s.

Not even if a dark part of him wanted to accept it.

Moving his body was like trying to move through molasses, but he did eventually get his arm out from under the blanket (when did he get a blanket?) and he reached for the thermometer. Todoroki sighed, but gave it to him. This time, the silence was awkward as they waited for the thermometer to beep. He wasn’t sure why this time was so different.

Deku was the one who broke it when he came back in. He still didn’t like anyone in his room, but he didn’t have the strength to blast the fucker out, even if he did have the sweat.

“Uncle said that there’s not much we can do except keep him cool, the illness just has to run its course.” Deku frowned, trying not to talk directly to Todoroki and failing. “And. um. Auntie Mitsuki said, um, not to take any of his, uh, ‘bullshit’. Her words, not mine.”

Todoroki just nodded. Katsuki didn’t know what that meant.

Once the thermometer finally beeped, Todoroki withdrew it without asking permission. Oh, that’s what that meant. Damn hag, and damn Deku. Todoroki took everything too literally, Deku should’ve fucking translated his mother’s stupid words.

“39.27 (102.7)” The monotone was back. Katsuki felt an emotion he didn’t know how to describe, but it wasn’t pleasant. “That’s higher than I was expecting, though unsurprising.”

“Yeah, Uncle said when Kacchan gets sick, he really gets sick.”

Katsuki growled at him again, wanting to yell and blow him up but trying not to be stupid and repeat past mistakes. His head was still throbbing from the earlier shout.

“I-I-I should go, Todoroki.” Deku said, shrinking away from him. “I think I’m just making it worse. He doesn’t want me here.” No. No he didn’t. Especially since he wouldn’t stop talking about him like he wasn’t there in his own fucking room. “Do you want to come with me? I’m sure Kirishima wouldn’t mind looking after him.”

The beat in between Deku’s question and Todoroki’s answer made the emotion he had worse.

“No. I’ll keep him cool for now. It’s no trouble.” Katsuki didn’t know whether that made him happy or annoyed. God, he hated emotions, they were literally the worst. It was so much easier to just be angry all the time.

“Don’t forget to not overuse your quirk, Todoroki. Just let one of us know if you get too cold. We’ll figure something out.”

Todoroki just nodded and Deku very quickly left the room. If Katsuki was more childish like his friends, he would’ve flipped him off as he left. But Deku didn’t deserve what little energy he had, and closing the door until very little light was left was at least the decent thing to do.

“You can leave, IcyHot.” Katsuki grumbled. “I’m-mmph.” Suddenly Todoroki’s cool hand was over his mouth. Katsuki did not like that, he didn’t like anyone touching his face and it had only gotten worse since the-incident-that-shall-not-be-named. He nipped at Todoroki’s hand, and it quickly returned to his forehead, but the message to shut up was loud and clear.

“Stop saying you’re fine.” Todoroki snapped, and Katsuki thought he almost sounded angry. Katsuki didn’t know that Todoroki could even get angry. “Stop lying to me. I don’t care about your stupid pride, and I cannot understand why you won’t let it go for two seconds for your friends. I want to help you but I can’t if you won’t let me. Why won’t you let me? Do you… do you hate me?”

Grand displays of emotion were hard for him. Grand displays of emotion coming from Todoroki were another beast entirely. Katsuki had no idea how to respond to this, and if he wasn’t sick, he wouldn’t have responded to it beyond anger. But right now, with a fever he could no longer deny, his mind didn’t immediately go to the rage he used to shield him from emotions he didn’t like. It just took much energy that he didn’t have, and he hated himself for his weakness.

“No.” Was Katsuki’s response, and it was a lot more awkward than he’d wanted it to be.

“Then why won’t you stop lying to me?” Todoroki said, looking just as uncomfortable as Katsuki was. But apparently, not uncomfortable enough to shut up and let this go. “I thought you respected me, at least a little.”

Shit. Katsuki did not like letting people know when he respected them. They never responded in  a way that Katsuki liked or could handle, either acting all smug about it or like it was obvious that they deserved it. Both reactions drove Katsuki up the wall.

Thinking about this was too hard, even with the soothing coolness Todoroki was projecting. He didn’t do emotions, and everything he was feeling right now just made him even uncomfortable in his skin. He’d take the fever and headache over this any day.

“I didn’t lie to you, I’m fine by myself.” Katsuki said. “I can take care of myself.”

“Except you won’t.” Todoroki snapped again and Katsuki internally cursed at his mother for putting this idea into Todoroki’s stupid head. “Taking care of yourself would’ve been canceling our plans, or going to see Recovery Girl. You refused to do either. That’s not taking care of yourself. You couldn’t even admit to me that you weren’t feeling well after you literally passed out in my arms. You’re lucky I was there to catch you, what if you weren’t with me? What if it happened when you’d stepped into the hall and I hadn’t followed you? You might’ve gotten a concussion or worse. If you don’t hate me, then why can’t you let me care about you?”

Katsuki unconsciously curled a little into himself, his quills puffing up, ready to lash out at any moment. His head hurt, and even with the frosty air Todoroki was creating he was on fire, he just couldn’t deal with this right now. Being sick for the first time in years was already way too much for him, he’d never felt so shitty in his life, and having fucking Todoroki of all people see him this weak made him so uncomfortable he didn’t have a word for it. Katsuki didn’t understand why Todoroki was so upset, and thinking about it hurt his head too much. He didn’t even have an answer for Todoroki. He didn’t have an answer when his friends asked him the same question after they were fed up with his insistence on independence and refusing to accept their help. He’d learned the hard way that sometimes he had to depend on other people, but that hadn’t made it any easier to deal with. So he’d rather just not deal with it at all.

After a fair amount of silence, Todoroki just sighed, sounding resigned. This was the most emotion Katsuki had seen out of Todoroki since he’d met the bastard. Katsuki thought that was very rude, and he should’ve gotten this a lot earlier. Though, he could do without the annoyance and anger. “You should get some sleep, Bakugou.”

Well, now he was purposefully not gonna do that, even though he was exhausted. Once spite was activated there was no stopping it. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Then stop being an idiot.” Todoroki hissed.

Katsuki glared at Todoroki but it didn’t matter since Todoroki still wasn’t looking at him, only straight ahead.

“Don’t fucking insult me.”

“I’ll do whatever I want, thanks.” Todoroki said, matching his energy. “Since that’s all you do, I get to do it too.”

“Oh fuck you!” Katsuki snapped, absolutely done with this stupid bastard, throwing his own words in his face was the last straw. “Get the fuck out of my room! Leave me the fuck alone!”

It was quiet for a minute.

“Fine.”

Todoroki ripped his hand away from Katsuki’s forehead and stood sharply. He walked out without another word, and Katsuki expected the door to slam and prepared himself for it. But Todoroki caught it just before it did, and he closed the door quietly behind him.

Katsuki stared at the door for a moment, almost in disbelief. Todoroki never got angry, let alone to this extreme. He thought even Deku hadn’t seen that before, the damn nerd would’ve said something. Even though Katsuki liked antagonizing Todoroki, liked seeing if he could get the bastard to show emotion, even if it was negative emotions, this didn’t… this didn’t make him feel good. The emotion he hadn’t been able to describe twisted in his gut, making his chest hurt in a way that it never had before. He wanted to get Todoroki riled up, it’s why he talked to him the way he did, the way he purposely tried to push the bastard’s buttons, that was his end goal. He wanted to see Todoroki show some sort of emotion, any sort of emotion.

So why did that make him feel so shitty?

Getting what he wanted never made him feel bad in the past. It was a point of pride for him that he basically always got what he wanted, that he’d earned what he’d wanted. Katsuki was always so sure of himself, he always knew what he wanted, and he did everything he could to get it.

Was this… actually what he wanted? Somehow, he didn’t think so. Which never happened, Katsuki always knew what he wanted, and he never regretted anything. (Well, he regretted a few things but he never let himself think about them so that was basically the same thing.) But the more the silence of the room echoed in his ears, the more he regretted saying any of those things, and not just because he’d lost the hand that had been keeping his headache at a somewhat manageable level. The icepick in his head only seemed to make his actions seem worse, and Katsuki did not like that. Even though he knew he was an asshole with no filter, and no intent on getting one, this felt like he’d gone too far. He’d gone too far a couple of times in his life, and this felt worse than all of them.

With the door closed, heat was starting to build up in his room, and the blanket that he still didn’t know how he got was kicked around to his legs. His hand flopped around to his nightstand, opening the drawer and grabbing the remote for his ac unit. He turned it down several degrees, and didn’t have the energy to put it back. His hand just fell to his bed, and his eyes closed on their own accord. Even though he’d wanted to stay up to spite Todoroki, despite the fact that he couldn’t remember why anymore, his body just started to shut down on its own. At least sleep would be a reprieve from the overwhelming pain in his chest and his head, so he surrendered to the thick haze of sleep and hoped he’d wake up without this agony.

Blood. Blood and screams and death and fear. Katsuki spun around, lost and scared, wanting to run but unsure of where he could run to. Screams rang in his ears from all directions, each one different yet full of the same agony. Each one echoed their pain into his heart, overwhelming him with emotions he couldn’t handle. Unable to take anymore, his legs took off running without thinking, his chest heaving as the torturous screams pierced his chest.

He skidded to a stop as an image flashed in his mind, his own scream blending into the background. Deku’s body was still crackling with energy, his green lightning dying as Deku lay still. His arms and legs were both black, bent in horrific ways, and Katsuki’s stomach lurched as his gaze finally landed on Deku’s chest. His ribs had pierced through his skin, his chest cavity a mess of blood and bone, surprise still written on Deku’s lax face, his green eyes dull and lifeless. Again, Katsuki’s legs took off without his consent, tears streaming down Katsuki’s face as nausea built in his stomach.

His arms flailed as he slipped on something wet and sticky, crashing into some sort of small building. Looking up, Katsuki screamed again, seeing Kirishima spread eagle across the top, his head hanging down, his neck brutally slit open, dripping blood into the fiery red hair he was so famous for. Katsuki slipped again in his haste to get up, realizing with a sickening jolt that he was slipping on Kirishima’s blood.

“Make it stop.” Katsuki sobbed. “Make it stop.”

He finally got up again, only to freeze in place. In front of him was Ashido, lying in a heap, her neck bone protruding from her skin as her head twisted the other way. As more and more tears spilled down his cheeks, he turned and turned and turned. Jirou, her own earphones wrapped around her red, raw neck. Sero hanging from his own tape, his limp hands still stuck from trying to free himself. Kaminari’s head soaked, water still dripping from his motionless mouth. His world began to spin, and he crashed to the ground, curling into a ball.

“Make it stop.” Katsuki covered his ears and shut his eyes, trying to block it all out. “Please, make it stop.”

The world went silent.

Katsuki warily opened his eyes. Vast ground filled only with empty space. He was too scared to try and speak, terrified that the death and screams and blood would come back. No matter where he looked, all he found was emptiness until he came across Todoroki, laying on the ground too, facing away from him.

He crawled over hesitantly, his mouth moving to speak Todoroki’s name but his vocal cords refused to make any noise. Katsuki’s hand hovered over Todoroki’s body for a moment, not seeing anything on his red side. Maybe he was just unconscious? His hand finally landed on Todoroki’s arm, frowning as it was cool. No, no, his red was his fire side, he should’ve been warm. His hand jerked as he pulled it back, causing Todoroki to roll over.

Katsuki screamed again, his voice laden with agony as Todoroki’s head lolled to the side. His white side had completely disappeared, charred to ash, his skin covered in burns matching the scar on his face. He cowered away, his hands dragging him away from Todoroki’s dead body. He slipped again, curling back into a ball, sobbing.

Everyone he had ever cared about was gone, and Katsuki was alone. Emptiness beat in his ears, the silence louder than any of the screams had been. His sobs echoed across the vastness, his breath the only other sound. He longed for his friends, wanted someone to still be with him, to tell him that everything was going to be okay. That he would have more than himself to keep him company, to make him smile just a little, to make him let out a breathy laugh. To watch with amusement as they did something stupid, being far too noticeable when he was socially awkward with his stupid confused face, silently sitting with him when they knew he wanted company but couldn’t take any more noise. Grabbing him in one arm hugs, ruffling his hair and dodging when he swatted at them, squishing him when they were all crammed together in too small of a space to fit all of them. He wanted that back, he wanted them back so badly, he’d do anything.

“Anything, huh?” The back of his neck burned, and he was lifted off the ground. He writhed in the grip, sludge rising from the ground to latch onto his body, forcing him into submission.

“No, no, please, stop!” Katsuki wailed, the sludge only growing stronger, binding his body in muck. The heat on the back of his neck increased, and another hand forced his head forward, his eyes only able to focus on Todoroki’s lifeless body. “Not like this, not like this!”

“Aw, I thought you said ‘anything’.” The voice taunted. “Don’t you love them? Wouldn’t you do anything for them? You know we have an offer for you, you remember our last one.”

“Can’t.” Katsuki wanted to shake his head, but the grip was too strong. “Won’t betray them.”

“Then die with them.”

Katsuki couldn’t move, his entire body now encased in the sludge, could barely talk as the goo began to tease at going in his mouth and down his throat. 

“Not again.” Katsuki gasped, feeling the horrid taste of the sludge as it crept slowly, maliciously, into his mouth. “Please not again.”

A mocking laugh, and then the sludge forced itself down his throat, cutting off his air. Katsuki panicked, writhing with great strength, but useless, so uselessly. The world spun one last time as he grew dizzy from hypoxia, and he fell into darkness with taunting laughter echoing around him.

Katsuki jolted up in bed, a silent scream on his lips. His eyes rolled at the heat of his room, just as dizzy as he was in his fever induced nightmare, practically seeing the waves of heat energy radiating from his furniture, his walls. He had to cool down. If he didn’t cool down, he thought he was going to die, his body melting into his bed.

His room had a shower. The door was right there. He just had to get there, the water could cool him down. He pushed himself up, his arms too shaky to hold him for long. Maneuvering his body was like trying to walk straight in a gyroscope. He stepped forward with his left foot, shaking as he stood, desperately trying to go forward. His right foot was next, but it was still tangled up in the blanket of unknown origin. He tried to pull it free, but another strong bout of dizziness sent him tumbling to the floor.

The world faded in and out as he lay on the floor, his arms trying to push himself up, but he crashed back down every time. He just didn’t have the strength to get up, the attempts draining what little he had until he just gave up. His vision flickered in and out, his sweat soaking into his carpet, his heart carrying agony all over his body, igniting each nerve with a bonfire, his head pounding like a thunderstorm’s rage.

“Sorry to disturb you…”

“Eh, no worries, Todoroki. If Bakubro needs me, then I’m there, no matter what.”

Even though the door was closed, Katsuki could still hear the voices through it. The dorm walls carried sound better than any speaker.

His door quietly creaked open, driving another spike of pain into his head. “Bakugou? Hey man, are you- oh shit!”

Light blinded him for a moment, before he felt a cold arm heave him up, cradling him in iciness. He whimpered, the sudden shock of frigidity making him wince. A warmer hand came to his forehead before jerking back with a hiss.

“He’s burning up.” Kirishima gasped, cursing again.

“Kirishima, get Recovery Girl.” Todoroki ordered, taking charge of the situation. “I’m gonna try to cool him down.”

Kirishima nodded, his face set in his ‘serious mode’. His best friend should’ve been a comfort, but seeing Kirishima’s frown and furrowed brow just made him a little scared. Kirishima was one of the smiliest people he’d ever met, and Katsuki always told him that his face would get stuck like that. It was always laughed off, bringing out that same smile, which always made Katsuki roll his eyes. But he still liked seeing it, and when it was missing, Katsuki didn’t like it, not one bit.

“Don’t use your quirk, use his shower.” Kirishima said, standing. “Anything lower than room temperature is too cold, you’ll send him into shock.”

Todoroki just nodded, and Katsuki wondered if he’d already known that, or if his temperature regulation thing kept him from getting fevers. Kirishima bolted out the door, his steps thudding down the hall then the stairs.

Another arm came to his knees, and he was lifted into the air. His vision swirled again, able to tell he was moving but unable to process anything else. His legs were gently placed on the ground, but then the sound of a massive waterfall assaulted him and he turned back into the soft, wintry physique. But then he was pulled away from it, and he didn’t know whether that felt good or bad. The waterfall then disappeared, and he saw that Todoroki had switched the tap to shower.

The arm came back to his knees, and another dizzying bit of motion finished with water pelting at him, as he was pressed against something that didn’t feel hot or cold. Even though the water droplets were needle-sharp, they were cool, and Katsuki sank into it, feeling the water soothe the bonfire under his skin. He wasn’t sure how long he was under the spray before his mind finally cleared enough to focus on his surroundings. Katsuki was laying against Todoroki, who was holding him up by his waist, in Katsuki’s shower. Katsuki decided to be embarrassed about this later, when he didn’t feel so shitty and when Todoroki wasn’t keeping him from drowning in his own shower.

“‘roki?” Katsuki groaned, his voice weak and quiet. But thankfully Todoroki still heard him.

“Yes, Bakugou?”

“I don’ feel so good.” Katsuki said, looking up at Todoroki. He must’ve looked like a drowned cat, his hair soaked and stuck to his forehead, his clothes soaked to the skin, his skin showing through his white tank top, Katsuki didn’t think he’d ever looked so pathetic in his life.

“No shit.” Todoroki muttered grumpily. “You couldn’t have said that a few hours ago?”

Katsuki ducked his head a little, his cheeks were already flushed but the pink got a little stronger. “Couldn’t. Can’t be weak. Specially not in front of you.”

That made Todoroki pause, and then meet his eye again. “Me?”

Katsuki nodded shakily.

“Why?” Todoroki breathed, the shower louder than both of their voices.

“Because… you’re so strong.” Katsuki mumbled, the fever that still raged within him loosening his tongue. If he were coherent, he’d rather be caught dead than saying shit like this, but he was still so hot and the water felt so good and his mind felt so worn thin that he just kept talking. “Noticed the first day I saw you. Never met anyone like you. Stronger than me. Pissed me off.”

Todoroki scoffed. “Of course it would.” a sigh. “But why would that mean you can’t be ‘weak’ around me?”

“Weakness doesn’t get notice. ‘N like that. Wanted notice.”

There was another beat of silence. Katsuki turned his head into Todoroki’s cooler side, using him as an ice pack for his still aching head.

“Are you saying that you thought I wouldn’t notice you if I thought you were weak?” Todoroki murmured, his voice low and uncertain.

His body was starting to get wracked with tremors, but he managed a nod through it. He couldn’t tell if he was shivering or shaking, just feeling his body vibrate, and the bonfire inside him was starting to win the battle against the water. His body went limp as the fire began to consume him, his eyes rolling around in his head.

“I, I… Bakugou? Bakugou, what’s wrong? Bakugou!” Todoroki’s voice jumped in emotion, in worry, but Katsuki could no longer differentiate the emotions. Todoroki was little more than a red and white blur now, Katsuki’s world spinning faster than a top, black spots dotting his vision, growing larger with each rotation. His mind lost all sense of reality, darkness swirling around him like a maelstrom. Voices again rang in his ears, but he couldn’t distinguish one from another.

“-hear me? Bakugou, can you hear me?”

“He was talking a minute ago, but…”

“-unresponsive -get him to the infirmary- covery girl can- hurry…”

Someone grabbed his arms, hauling him into the air, and the sudden movement had him blacking out entirely, falling into the black hole the maelstrom had created.

~~

Consciousness was murky, muddying his perception into something unintelligible as he slipped in and out of the darkness always on the edge of his mind. He wasn’t sure how long it took for his mind to clear, but the longer time went on, he sluggishly began to become more aware of his surroundings. He discovered new pain in his hand, but the agony in his head had subsided a great deal, though it wasn’t entirely gone. He was laying on something familiar but uncomfortable, his body propped up against it. To his immense relief, he found that he wasn’t on fire for the first time in what felt like days. 

Dazedly, he opened his eyes, immediately squinting at the bright overhead lights. It took him a minute to adjust, but the light didn’t increase his headache much, so he managed easily enough. White walls came into focus, along with cool, white sheets on the bed he couldn’t remember getting in, with a light blue canvas on his chest. He pulled lightly at it, confused, and pulled his hand up to his vision. No wonder it hurt, there was an IV stabbed through his hand, drawing out a noise of discomfort. He felt like he hadn’t slept in years, his mind struggling to keep up with the world around him.

Footsteps had his head immediately turning, his instincts sharper than any discombobulation, and he made another discovery, movement didn’t make him dizzy anymore. But that didn’t answer the question of what had happened, but the old woman walking towards him at least contributed to it. He knew this room, this was the infirmary, but he couldn’t remember how he got here.

“Ah, young Bakugou, I was wondering when you’d come back to us.” The old bat said, sounding far too cheerful.

He frowned at her, trying and failing to process her words in time as Recovery Girl walked up to his bed. His head still swam in uncertainty, cognizance lagging out like one of his friends’ video games. She stood on one of her little step-stools, coming up to his level, patting his hand gently before putting something uncomfortable in his ear. He groaned, attempting to turn away, but she cupped his cheek, gently but firmly keeping him in place.

“Keep still, it’s alright.” Her voice was as gentle as her hand, but that didn’t soothe him much. “Just a few seconds more.”

A quiet beeping and she kept her word. “38.44 (101.2). Much better, considering you came in at 40.5 (104.9). Any higher and you might’ve had permanent brain damage.”

Oh shit. That was bad. That was very bad. A brief flash of fear ran up his spine, a spike of anxiety panging in his stomach.

“Wha’ happ’n?” Katsuki asked, his voice hoarse from disuse.

“A stress fever.” She replied, handing him a little paper cup of water. His hand was shaking a little as he took it, but he kept her help to a minimum. “Unsurprising, considering the amount of stress you all are under, you especially. Normally, they’re not an issue, and they fade rather quickly, but you’re a special case. As you know, your sweat can’t cool you down like most people so you’re easily affected by fevers. Since you didn’t come to me, or do anything to reduce it, your fever just worsened and worsened until your body couldn’t take it anymore. You’re very lucky that Todoroki and Kirishima found you when they did.”

Jumbled memories came to the forefront of his mind, of Kirishima’s voice in his room, a hand on his forehead, of Todoroki carrying him, holding him as they lay in the shower. Fuck, that was embarrassing, and the chastising Recovery Girl was giving just made him feel even worse.

“Didn’t notice.” He said, needing to defend himself, his pride leaving him unable to do anything less. After all, it wasn’t like he’d done this on purpose. He may hate being in this damn room, but he wasn’t stupid enough to not seek medical help when he was seriously sick. He just honestly hadn’t noticed something was wrong until it was too late. He’d dealt with plenty of hot and uncomfortable days before so he thought yesterday had been no different. “Not til af’r dinner. Don’t get sick.”

“Yes, young Midoriya said that.” Recovery Girl sighed. “As did your parents when I called them. They said since they’re currently in Madrid, they’d do their best, but the flight home is rather long, even without layovers. Hopefully, by the time they do get here, you’ll be fever free.”

Well, his day just got a lot worse. Katsuki hated it when his parents had to pick him up from school. He didn’t need his parents to come and fuss over him, he wasn’t a baby.

His unhappiness must’ve shown on his face, since Recovery Girl just tutted at him. “Give them a break, you gave them quite a scare. You’ve gotten very good at that.”

Katsuki huffed, definitely not pouting.

“Really, I should’ve expected something like this to happen.” She muttered. He cocked his head in confusion. “It’s been a week since I’ve had one of you in here, and if someone from 1A isn’t in here, something is very wrong.”

He had to admit, that seemed like solid logic. He was classmates with the biggest dumbasses he’d ever met, and they were all klutzy and accident prone, and that was off the battlefield.

“Speaking of your classmates,” ah hell, what do those idiots want now? “when you’re feeling up to it, you’ll have plenty of visitors.”

Oh fuck no, he was not doing that. His classmates were so emotional, crying and pitying and all sorts of terrible shit he hated being around. He got uncomfortable when one of his friends was upset, he couldn’t take the whole class. Leaving before Recovery Girl said he could sounded like a much better option. He’d rather get yelled at than deal with all of his dumbasses.

“Try to get out of this bed and I’ll sedate you.” Recovery Girl said bluntly. Katsuki deflated, miserably becoming resigned to his fate. Obviously, this was just going to be one of the shittiest days of his life and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“I’ll keep them from overwhelming you.” She said sympathetically, patting his hand again, and that was at least something. Normally, he would’ve snapped that he didn’t need her pity, but he could tell it wasn’t pity. He didn’t quite know what it was, but anything was better than pity. “But for right now, you should get some sleep. Let your body’s natural processes heal you. I’d much rather have your body heal itself, I don’t like how high a dosage of fever reducer I have to give you to help you fight this. I want to take you off that as soon as I can.”

Ah, that explained the IV, and why his mind wasn’t working right. He’d seen his idiot friends on too much cold medicine before, he’d just never experienced it himself until now. It was a lot more disconcerting than he would’ve thought. Next time, he’d have to watch more closely when one of his idiots got sick, this fucking sucked.

Sleep did sound like a fantastic idea, though. Keeping up with this conversation was taking far too much energy than it should’ve, and Katsuki was just fucking done. Even better, if he slept the rest of the day away, he could avoid all of the extras and idiots who wanted to ‘visit’ him and annoy him with their presence. The medication was no doubt keeping his spite under control, as when Recovery Girl stepped down to do other shit he didn’t give a fuck about, he could just close his eyes and let the exhaustion that been on the edge of his mind since he woke up take him without much resistance.

No. 7: ONLY FOR EMERGENCIESUnconventional Weapon | Magic with a Cost | “It’s us or them.”

OC Whump

Hi, here is my contribution no.7 for Whumptober !

This one doesn’t need that much lore to be understood, but if you have any questions, I'd obviously be more than happy to answer! Also, English isn't my first language, so i apologize for any mistake. Check the tags for TW and enjoy !

Brian was normally very good at saving his strength. For any lightning magician, this was absolutely vital, and a large part of the training of the members of his guild, mostly made up of lightning mages, consisted of learning to carefully control the flow of energy and determine the minimum level necessary.

There was a blur of movement to his right and he let his magic enhance his reflexes, the shortened nerve impulses enabling him to move in time to dodge the hammer that smashed the ground where he stood just in time. A splinter of rock cut into his cheek without him even feeling it, completely focused on his opponent's next moves. There was an opening !

Brian threw himself forward in a burst of white light, aiming for the vital points.

The man he was up against straightened up, too quickly for it to be natural, and ploughed through the air with his weapon.

Brian leapt back with a cry of rage, forced to retreat again, skidding on the wet ground. He barely recovered and put a few more steps between himself and the enemy.

The latter, instead of continuing his attacks, watched him with a hallucinatory gaze, a euphoric sparkle in his eyes.

For God's sake, a guy of his build wasn't even supposed to be wielding a war hammer ! He was skinny, weak and obviously barely trained to fight ! Not even a challenge for a certified guild leader !

Brian gritted his teeth as the faint metallic taste in his mouth became more noticeable. In theory, the guy should have been on the ground by now, yes. If he wasn't the worst kind of opponent for a lightning mage.

A Berserker. Or at least, a pale imitation of one. Completely drugged with black henbane, insensitive to pain, endowed with enhanced strength and, worst of all, delirious stamina.

Brian's grip on his sword had been trembling for a good two minutes. He tightened it as best he could and tried to think above the panic that was beginning to mount. They were in the sewers, narrow and shifting spaces, in which using his increased speed was difficult and dangerous, especially when relying only on his imperfect night vision. Running away was not an option, and the very thought of it stirred a deep revolt within him.

But so was continuing to fight against such a resilient man.

Mages with an affinity for lightning essentially fought in two ways : by using their ultra-speed in a refined way to beat the enemy in a matter of seconds, or by unleashing huge discharges of power in just a few bursts. Brian couldn't count on the latter after putting his powers to work all the day, especially given the state he'd been in the week before, right after another seizure. As for the first...part of the problem stemmed from the Berserker's own reflexes.

The other came from Brian's deep-seated fear of what would happen if he missed. Or if the Berserker got up as if nothing had happened.

If the guild leader went all out, he could certainly give him one hell of a beating. But the price to be paid for this success...

The madman rushed at him with a scream, and Brian felt his power roar through his veins, tingling in his fingertips, in his legs, vibrating in every muscle. He barely dodged, swollen with adrenalin mixed with indecision. He pivoted and in a second of quick thinking lacerated the assailant's flank. He was rewarded with a satisfying spurt of blood. The man didn't scream or even slow down : he stretched out his leg to trip Brian. The lightning magician moved to dodge it too...

...And a sudden muscle contraction in his calf caused him to stumble anyway. He barely recovered, compensating with his good leg to transform his fall into a roll that allowed him to get up hastily and unleash a bolt of lightning from his fingertips that kept his opponent at bay. His outstretched fingers twitched spasmodically, as did his right leg. He'd dropped his sword in his fall, his strained muscles unable to keep a firm grip on the movement.

Oh shit, he was absolutely losing this duel, wasn't he ?

The gunman stared at his fingers for a second, then a delighted smile stretched across his face. He raised his eyes, staring at Brian.

-You're dead, you bastard.

The voice was hoarse and the words garbled, painfully extracted from the depths of a brain clearly not at its best when it comes to word.

The guild leader didn't reply, his heart in his throat, unable to think of an answer at the same time as his survival.

This wasn't the first time he'd found himself in this situation, and each time it felt like the last. And maybe it was the last, Brian mused, his leg and arms twitching spasmodically and unceasingly. A dull terror gripped his throat, soaking his palms with a sweat that had nothing to do with the effort. How many times had this same terror pressed against him in recent years?

Saving his strength, planning every necessary move, retreating as soon as possible at the slightest doubt. The daily routine of a lightning mage, the precepts that all those who employed these particular spells had to follow. He knew this. He knew exactly what consequences he was exposing himself to by neglecting these basic precautions.

And yet, he continued to end up in this position, always.

Brian exhaled slowly, the breath trapped in his lungs.

This wasn't the first time.

The Berserker launched a final charge to finish off his enemy.

Barely had he completed his first step when a flash of white blinded him. Then, a detonation, so powerful that he screamed in pain as his eardrums exploded, the destruction of delicate organs enough to briefly overcome even the insensitivity of the Berserker trance. In the confusion of the moment, he felt something going through his neck.

The afterimage on his retina finally dissipated. He wobbled, blinking wide-eyed to take stock, warm liquid dripping onto his shoulders from the two points of pain on either side of his head and on his chest.

The magician had disappeared.

For a second, he just stared at the last place he had stood. Gone...gone...a flash...

He turned around.

Crouched in the dust and leaning his shoulder against the wall to keep from collapsing, the man was staring at him with something that could only be terror on his blood-spattered face. And a kind of disbelief. Clearly, he hadn't expected to lose to a guy with almost no experience. His little escape attempt had failed.

The Berserker stepped forward to finish him off. Then the world turned, his legs gave up and he collapsed. He grunted in bewilderment, tried to lean on his arms to get up, but they gave way too, and he found himself flat on his back. His extremities were strangely numb, and for some reason his top was soaked through. He couldn't move enough to see, though. All he could do was growl at the mage, because the bastard had done something... !

He growled, struggling as he rapidly weakened, and as he flailed his gaze landed on an object on the ground beside the guildmaster. A small, blood-stained dagger.

His mind was no longer clear enough to make the connection, and he bled to death in a matter of seconds.

Brian could have fainted with relief. He had sincerely believed that this madman would manage to get up and kill him. But apparently, even Berserkers needed blood to live.

He'd managed to use what little stamina he had left in a final, full-speed thrust, pulling out his dagger to slit the man's throat. He'd finally won.

But he wasn't out of the woods yet.

Another violent muscle spasm painfully contracted his leg for a few seconds. Teeth clenched, Brian managed to tear his cape from around his neck quickly. Fortunately, the pin had been specially designed to detach easily. Better to lose a cape than a man. He threw the pin on the side, then maneuvered his body shaking with tiny uncontrollable tremors to the side as fast as he could, clumsily putting the cape under his head. He only had a few seconds left before the worst of the crisis struck. He lay on his side as comfortably as he could, his vision devoured by dazzling white flashes.

Reinforcements were on their way. A location enchantment was bound to the cape pin and he'd gone deep into the tunnels hours before. They were probably looking for him now. This wasn't the first crisis he'd suffered after overusing his powers.

He was still repeating these thoughts over and over to himself when a sudden wave of muscular contractions seized him.

one call away whenever you need

Part 2 of a new RWRB Hitman AU series by bananzie for Whumptober 2024

Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Series: Part 31 of stars, stripes, and union jacks, Part 2 of hit me(n) baby one more time

summary: “I told you this number was for emergencies only.”

“If it helps, this is an emergency,” Henry said. It was to him, anyway. “I’m cornered and being shot at.”

“Shoot back,” Alex quipped and Henry suddenly wished he could wring the man’s neck.

(whumptober 2024 prompt: only for emergencies)

Read now on AO3

Whumptober day 7 - Isolation

My seventh fill for @whumptober2019​, also available on Ao3.

----- ----- -----

Taking another sip from his beer, Tony listened to the party raging inside. He knew no one would come looking for him, not unless they wanted something from him.

Despite the amount of people around, he felt utterly and completely alone.

He knew he'd been lucky - being born to the Stark family came with a lot of wealth and privilege, and he had been aware of that from a very young age on. He had opportunities that most others would only ever be able to dream of, even more so because he was white, male, and highly intelligent.

And yet...

There were days he hated it. There were days it was particularly bad and he wished he could have traded it all for one person who would love him. Just one.

His father was disgusted with him, his mother did not know how to handle him, and while he knew Jarvis cared about him, Tony also knew that his job had to come first. And he'd learned very early on that the people who would like to claim to be his 'friends' only did so until they'd gotten what they wanted from him. Whether it was money, or fame...

Tony knew he should feel lucky with everything he had - it was a lot, he was aware. And it felt stupid, almost childish, to want love. If his father heard him think it, Tony knew he wouldn't like Howard's reaction.

But he couldn't help it. Although he was old enough by now that he should have grown out of this kind of infantile dreaming, he'd still hoped that, perhaps, he could find someone at MIT who would care. Someone who would be there for him without him having to pay them for it somehow. Someone who would love him without him having to change himself so much he didn’t even recognize himself. Someone to be himself with, to feel comfortable with, to hug without there being expectations of more.

Bitterly, he took another sip.

Stupid dreams. He was sixteen now, and far too old for this. He wasn’t six anymore, was almost an adult, and the days of talking to his Captain America poster and wishing for a friend of his own should have been in the distant past. But no, here he was, staying away from the party just to look at the stars and feel sad for himself.

No one cared. So what? He’d dealt with it for sixteen years, he’d deal with it for the rest of his life. He should be happy with all the things he did have, all of the advantages life had given him, instead of mourning the one thing he couldn’t have.

His father had been right - he was pathetic.

Just as he raised his beer for another sip, considering perhaps going back inside and finding someone to at least help him feel a little less lonely tonight, there was a voice from behind him. “Hey, aren’t you a bit young to be drinking?”

Turning, he saw an African-American guy perhaps a few years older than he was.

Unbeknownst to him, the falling star above him faded away, its job done.

Whumptober: My Spidey-Sense Is Tingling

A/N: !!!TW FOR THIS CHAPTER: Medication/Drug use and accidental overdosing!!! Also, today’s chapter was inspired by Careful by tiredRobin, check it out! https://archiveofourown.org/works/26849536

----------------------------------

In the lab, Donatello was hard at work.

Over the past couple of weeks, none of them had been sleeping right. Either it was nightmares or just downright fear, but they could never get a full night’s rest from terrorized dreams. Medications didn’t always work for them, not being entirely human, so he was working on something for that. He hoped that when he was finished, he would have something that would finally bury nightmares and cause dreamless sleep.

Of course, he was trying not to keep his hopes up. After all, it may end in failure.

But over the past week, he had been working so hard, it had to work. He had been messing with the dosages of ingredients for a while, and finally found something he thought would work.

Just in time, it was ready. A full bottle of the pills he hoped would work. Was it excessive to make a whole bottle, knowing full well that they might not even be the right dosage? Maybe, but, it wouldn’t hurt to have it on hand, right?

He set the bottle down before going to clean off his desk, just in case they worked a little too well. He wasn’t stupid, he didn’t plan on taking experimental medication with sharp or hard items nearby that could risk injury. On top of that, it was late and he was tired. 

Donatello paused before taking the pill, then moved to his room. It was safer there, anyway. And softer. And easier to sleep in, at that.

After his short trek to his bedroom, he sat on the bed, opened up a water bottle, took the pill, then got comfortable and waited.

Really, it should have been more alarming how fast he fell asleep.

%%%

Donatello blinked a few times, swallowing. His head was swimming, why did he feel so sick?

His body screamed that it was wrong, something was wrong and it was bad. Bad, bad bad bad bad-

There was light coming from underneath the shoji, but- He could barely see it, everything was blurry and the colors and lights were muted in the haze. Why did he feel like this? Why did his head hurt? He felt sick, so he should stop moving. Right, not moving, resting, that was good when one was sick.

Could he even move in the first place? He didn't feel like he could, he felt frozen to the spot. He felt scared. Why couldn't he think? He was fairly certain he had been fine before, what was-

Oh, was that his name? It sounded like his name. Who was calling him though? He didn't recognize the voice. He felt sick. Maybe he should stay laying there.

...His breathing shouldn't be that slow, he realized. His chest moved up and down sluggishly, taking in air far too slow to be normal. He needed help, he needed help, maybe that was why he was sick. 

Sitting up was a struggle all on it's own, but trying to stand was worse. Donatello's legs buckled out from underneath him, his body refusing to keep him even sitting up, and all he could do was gasp, completely and utterly helpless.

The panic was cutting through the fog, his struggles growing by the second but only taking his breath away. He didn't know how long it had been since this started, didn't know how long he had left at this rate, why was this-

The medication. He took that before bed, but it should've helped, what happened to make him like this? What had-

You put too much, said the little voice in his head, before unhelpfully supplying: It's an overdose.

If it was an overdose, he would die without assistance. His own work would kill him, he'd be found dead in-

Somebody called his name, sounding concerned and growing closer. Hadn't they called earlier? There might still be hope for him.

But breathing was hard, leaving him gasping like a fish out of water, he could barely see anything, and he couldn't even move, he was helpless, he was helpless-

The murk got brighter, as if the door was ripped open to allow more light in. Somebody swore rather loudly, followed by a gasp, and his world kept flashing in and out of darkness before he realized that there was the same person who swore beside him, giving out orders. When did they get there?

They sighed and said something he couldn't hear before sitting him up and leaning him against them. Something was pushed against his lips and poured into his mouth as his head was tipped back, and, by reflex, he swallowed, flinching at its bitter taste and the fact that it just kept coming. When it was done, his head got pushed back forward, a bucket pushed under his beak, why-?

Before he knew what was going on, he was throwing up, heaving and coughing, unable to breathe for a long moment before he finished.

The person beside him rubbed his shell, waiting until he was finished to move it away, tilt his head back again, and poured something else into his mouth. He was sure it was water, but it still tasted a little odd to him.

Slowly, his sight and sense returned to him, but not without a splitting headache and-

His whole family was in his room.

Leonardo was the one holding him, Michelangelo taking dishes and the bucket out of the room and Raphael sitting on his bed, looking the pill bottle over as if it held all the answers to every question in the world.

Donatello blinked a few times as he realized what had happened. Shoot.

"Oh-" he began, speaking softly, "Oh, I'm so sorry, this was-"

Leonardo nudged him to be quiet and started talking, voice low to avoid hurting Donatello's ears, but definitely concerned. There was no way he hadn't seen the bottle.

"What were you thinking, Don? You could've died. If we had been any later, you probably would’ve!"

Donatello's cheeks burned with shame as he lowered his head, going to explain.

"I'm so sorry, really- I was just testing a sleep medication for us, I must have messed up the dosages-"

"'Must have'? You overdosed, Donnie. You got really sick, so sick we had to pull out the ipecac. Why in the world did you think it was a good idea to test it on yourself?"

"I- I just couldn't think of anything else, and I thought it would be alright. I- Sorry…"

Leonardo heaved a sigh. Not one of his exasperated sighs, though. It was his worried "I'm-Going-To-Have-A-Heart-Attack-At-This-Rate" sighs.

"Just-" Leonardo said after a long moment of consideration, "Just don't try it again, okay? You really scared us, and I'm sure you can find some other way to test it without risking death. Just head to bed for now, without the help of some pills."

Necessary Barriers|T|1196 Words

Read on AO3

Fandom: 9-1-1

Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Firehouse 118 Crew

Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley, Eddie Diaz, Bobby Nash, Original Characters

Tags: Whumptober 2024, Only For Emergencies, Magic with a cost, Alternate Universe - Magic, Magic, Magic-Users, Witch Evan "Buck" Buckley, Witch Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, post-well collapse, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Magic Depletion, Pre-Relationship Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz

Summary: Buck collapses after Eddie is transported.

Whumptober 2024 Day 7: Only for emergencies/Magic with a cost

*Offers you a Dark Matter Airlock Scene fanfiction* Summary:

“You can’t do this!” Daz screams, fighting and writhing in the man’s grip.

It’s no use, the man is strong. Powerful. Even on a good day, when she isn’t exhausted from sneaking around and playing stowaway to save her and TJ, she’d still be nearly half his size, probably weighs even less. It’s almost too easy for him to pull her up by her arm, dragging her forward roughly against her will.

“Sure, I can!” The man with the scars laughs, as though this is some kind of sick little playdate. Daz’s stomach drops. “I’m barely breaking a sweat here!”

-

Alternatively; The airlock scene, except Kal follows through on protecting the little girl.

(Made for Whumptober day 7 "The Way You Shake And Shiver" and the Prompt "Panic Attack")

Whumptober - 7. Isolation

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

(Flash back, cont’d from last)

Tony’s been captured before, this isn’t his first rodeo.

In hindsight, it’s actually easier this time. Probably because he’s less of a civilian and has been working with the Avengers for some time now.

And probably also because he’s technically been captured twice at this point.

His biggest concern is for Peter.

Last he saw him, the kid was out cold on the floor and didn’t show any sign of waking up. Did they capture him too? Or did they leave him there?

If it was the latter, Tony tried to assure himself that Peter would be fine.

Peter’s strong and smart and resourceful. If he woke up alone, he would find his way out and he would survive. He didn’t need Tony to make sure of that. He would be fine on his own.

But if he was captured as well…

Best not to think about that.

They leave him alone most of the day, letting him spend his time slowly going mad with all the ‘what if’ scenarios he can think of.

He spends the time pacing the cell they’ve put him in, checking the walls, checking the floor, checking the bed in the corner and anything else he can get his hands on.

The problem always comes down to this.

Without the housing unit, he’s not much. He’s just a human that is too smart for his own good.

If he doesn’t have his armor, even if he still had the arc reactor in his chest, he would not be able to do much at all with it.

He needs the armor.

Meanwhile, Peter without his suit is /everything/ he is in the suit and more.

So all he can do is wait. Wait, and hope. And maybe plot some kind of escape, if they ever let him out of this damn cage.

Whumptober - 8. Stab Wound

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

(Flash back, cont’d from last)

The questioning comes, and then being shoved into ice-cold water when he doesn’t comply. See? It’s just like the first time.

The fourth time they shove him down, they don’t pull him back up.

Instead, he feels the hand let go of him and he’s tentative to come back up on his own, but he can only hold his breath so long.

Something sharp digs in at his back and he tries to fight the person off, but they back away and out of his reach.

His fingers slip back to the edge of the tub to push himself up out of the water.

Just as he starts to, he feels hands return to his neck and shoulder and he turns to shove them away as well, to attack, to do something. Maybe to make his escape, he hasn’t exactly planned it out just yet, but now seems like the best time to try something.

He throws out his fist, but his hand hits the shadowed figure as though he’s made of rock and the man doesn’t even have the decency to back away.

Tony reels in pain, still spluttering and coughing as he blinks to clear his eyes.

He first looks at his hand, then back up and he smiles in disbelief, “Peter?”

Peter’s arms wrap around him and Tony collapses against him, clutching at his skintight suit and still trying to catch his breath.

“Oh god, kid, you had me there for a moment.”

“I’m so sorry, sir, I came as fast as I could.”

“Nah, you did great,” Tony assures him, leaning on Peter as his vision starts to go black, his legs giving out under him.

Peter catches him, and Tony barely hears his panicked voice when he realizes that Tony’s been stabbed.

Whumptober day 7 : Only for emergencies

Magic with a cost

Of course I was going to do this one

Whumpee always held back when they fought against their opponents, but when the life of someone they care is put in danger, there is no other choice…

This is set in a fantasy world, Whumpee is a half-dragon and Caretaker is a human. Also it’s ambiguous on the characters age but Whumpee looks round 25 (their apparence is human-like but they have dragon traits still) and Caretaker is 23.

In a way, both characters are Whumpee and Caretaker to each other

TW : Burns, Suicide, Character death

❆

Whumpee never really cared about others. Simple humans died easily, they were just so fragile. Whumpee had seen countless wars before too. It’s always the same mistakes, humans killing each others. Whumpee wished for the day humans would all just disappear. Which makes them wonder : « Why am I protecting this one’s life ? ». That human is Caretaker, they both met at [Town]’s inn where Caretaker’s parents worked, and had gotten along pretty well. More than Whumpee expected.

And in that moment right now, they wished they had just listened to their brain instead of their heart. Because Caretaker’s town was the scene of a violent battle and their enemies were winning. Caretaker of course wanted to defend the town, but it was no use in trying to. The whole place was already in flames, so was the inn. The smell of smoke grew heavier and Whumpee had to do something before Caretaker would get seriously hurt.

So instead they will be the one to get hurt.

They turned to Caretaker and said,

« I have an idea, which you might not like… »

Caretaker looked at them, confused and worried.

« It’s gonna be okay though, for you at least. You’ll be fine. »

Whumpee extended their left arm toward the flames and they started being drawn into a little ball. The palm of Whumpee’s hand was already starting to get burnt but they didn’t mind it too much, focusing on Caretaker. At the sight, Caretaker looked more scared than just worried.

« W-wait what are you doing ? »

The half-dragon smiled at them and answered,

« Just a little trick I learned to do with my dragon magic. »

The ball of fire grew bigger as the flames kept being absorbed by it and slowly, Whumpee’s whole arm was getting burnt. And the heat was so strong that no one could get close to the two of them. Yet Caretaker remained fine.

« I put a seal on you, against my magic, unfortunately I can’t do the same for myself. And my human side is too weak to handle this kind of magic. » Whumpee explained.

Their entire arm was now completely burnt, and it started extending on the rest of their body. Caretaker grabbed them and tried to pull them away from the ball, to no avail.

« I don’t want you to die ! Please just… » Caretaker pulled harder, « Don’t do it ! »

Tears fell, from both of their eyes. There was no other choice. If Whumpee didn’t use their magic and Caretaker and them left, they would be tracked down and killed. With their good hand, they cupped Caretaker’s face and kissed them. One quick kiss.

« Live for me please. »

And in a second, the flames were thrown into every directions. Caretaker’s closed their eyes, and one they reopened them, they saw that what they were holding was now Whumpee’s body. Their entire left side was burnt, extending a bit to the right side. Everything was silent. Even Caretaker’s cries for Whumpee to come back were silent.

They laid down on the ground next to the body of their almost lover. Live for them, but they had lost everything. They had no reason to live without them.

❆

This technically open ended. Since it’s a fantasy world, you can imagine Caretaker finding a way to revive Whumpee. Or not, maybe they are led into a fake lead, or it’s just straight up not possible. Whichever you prefer

alleyway / radio silence / can you hear me? (I paced around for hours on empty, I jumped at the slightest of sounds)

part one of three (second part is prompt 10, third part is an alternate prompt set as chapter 32)

Spike paced the alleyway like a cat stalking angrily along the fence that edged its territory. He felt as skittish as a nervous feline as well. Pacing around for hours, jumping at the slightest of sounds. He never did well with this part of bounty hunts - or, well, he used to be better… more chill, more aloof… but since hooking up with Faye he now worried when her life was on the line. 

Granted, he'd always been concerned before when his partners were in the picture, but he'd been able to play it off so much easier. Having admitted to feelings, having revealed his hand… it made the reality of the danger of their job so much more present. 

Radio silence was such a shit way to play things. It had been Jet's idea of course, he was always keen to do things by the book and as carefully as possible. Spike would have preferred being in constant communication and able to storm in at a moment's notice, not wait for word from Faye that the situation was ripe. What if things spiraled beyond her control before he could get there? What if Jet wasn't able to reach her in time either? 

It made sense for Faye to be the one handling the contact with the suspect. The company wasn't entirely certain who the mole was and, suit aside, Spike himself didn't exactly blend into the business world. Meanwhile, Faye had the benefit of having regained all the memories of her former life, which included countless boring business meetings she'd sat through beside her father, and endless hobnobbing at social events at her mother's side. She knew how to talk the talk and walk the walk so the company had decided to use her as an embassy of a rival company to set up a blind meeting, piggybacking on a suspicious email they'd discovered.  It seemed far too suspicious to Spike but he wasn't a high level business man constantly dabbling his fingers into other ways to make even more money. Perhaps it just seemed like opportunity had landed in his lap. Or perhaps he realized he'd been found out and wanted the chance to eliminate the envoy in the hope of dissuading further investigation. 

He had to get control of himself, this was ridiculous. The anxiety in his belly was making it difficult to think. It wasn't even that tricky of a bounty really… just a well-off executive wanted for corporate espionage by people even higher up than himself. People who had wanted this assignment handled quietly and with care.  Spike had scoffed at that. Neither of those words were how he or Faye operated. What had Jet been thinking by agreeing to those terms? 

But the payout would be sweet. And they'd been broke for a while now - since Big Shot was off the air, bounty work was getting harder and harder to find.  Irritably, Spike turned as he reached the end of the alley and made his way back towards the opposite end where the skyscraper Faye was in rose up ominously from the streets of the town.  A gut intuition told him he should be trying to reach her, Jet's orders be damned. 

Flicking his comm on, ignoring the half dozen missed calls from Jet, he dialed in Faye's line, hearing it make a strange click instead of the ringing or her voice answering that he expected.  "Faye? Can you hear me?"