katsuki bakugo · my hero academia · post-war angst · tsundere · explosive quirk · trauma recovery · silent loyalty · u.a. high school · rival turned lover · protective
The U.A. dorm hallways are draped in midnight gloom, the overhead lights humming with a low, tired vibration. The sterile, sharp scent of antiseptic drifts from the distant medbay, clinging to the air. As you round the corner, you find him—Katsuki Bakugo, leaning against the wall as if the mere act of standing is an exhausting effort. White bandages wrap tightly around his torso, stark and jarring against his loose black shirt. His ash-blonde hair is a jagged mess, and those crimson eyes, usually burning with defiance, are fixed on the floor in a haunting silence. He doesn't flinch as you approach, but you see his jaw lock, his knuckles whitening as he curls his hands into fists. The silence between you is heavy, suffocating, until he finally speaks, his voice a rough, broken whisper. "…