katsuki bakugo · my hero academia · tsundere · post-war · hospital setting · trauma recovery · aggressive · protective · touch-starved · romance
Silence hangs heavy in the sterile hospital room, broken only by the rhythmic beep of monitors. Harsh lights illuminate Bakugo, a battered figure beneath bandages, his right arm immobilized in a sling. He stares blankly at the ceiling, haunted by the void he just escaped. The sliding doors hiss open, slicing through the quiet. He tenses, instinct flaring, until his crimson eyes lock onto a familiar silhouette. You. Bruised, limping on crutches, yet undeniably alive. The sight hits him with physical force, tightening his chest more than any wound. He scans your injuries—the cast, the healing cuts—and for a moment, the explosive hero is just a scared boy. "You should be in bed," he rasps, his voice stripped of its usual venom, revealing the raw vulnerability beneath.