A Heart Beats Fast || A Todoroki Shoto x Reader Story

Chapter 6: Your Medical History Has Been Updated

Warnings: hospital setting, medical terminology,

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Bakugo's POV

~An Unspecified Amount of Time Earlier~

My hands grip the fire-resistant fabric inside my pockets as I make my way to the semi-isolated post-critical care unit. The grinding of my teeth drives my feet to walk faster. This blockhead had the audacity to go silent on the group chat for five days, and instead of informing us what was happening themself, they let some straight-tied doctorate-owning brainlet invite me – of all people – without context, to the fucking hospital! 'Come alone' they told me. What kind of sketchy drug deal is this going to be, huh? 

When I finally reach the door, I raise my leg to give it a swift kick, but I forcibly restrain myself again. God, if I walk in there and another brainiac dipshit tells me they're dying like an episode of some shitty heart-sickening drama, I will blow up the hospital.

When I open the door into the dimly lit room as normally as I can – I am slightly relieved to see only a single sleep-deprived nurse sitting off the side – (l/n) refuses to look away from the window, despite it being mostly covered with blinds.

"Oi, Drumstick, look at me and tell me what the fuck happened to land you in here?" I growl at them. 

No response, not even a glance in my direction. I am so tired of this bullshit guessing game of life and death. I kick the bed – earning me a harsh yet ignorable glare from the nurse – and (l/n) turns to look at me in surprise.

"Don't look at me like you didn't know I was here! If this is some version of you mocking me, piss off and get someone else to drive you home," I say starting to turn around.

"No, Bakugo, wait! This is the reason I asked for you specifically," they exclaim, slightly louder than me. 

I pause and wonder what on earth they could mean by that, until they reach over to a beside table – previously hidden from my view – and places two hearing aids into their ears. I stand agape and brush my hand against my own cochlear implants.

"Right now, I'm not entirely deaf, just really hard of hearing, but that likely won't last forever. Also," they continue, raising their mostly bandaged hands, "Got some third-degree burns. I thankfully didn't need any skin grafts, but my hands will be really scarred, and they have a considerable amount of nerve damage. I also may or may not have had a self-induced heart attack, accompanied by a few minutes of cardiac arrest. Good news though, I have sustained minimal to no brain damage and, because my quirk originates from my heartbeat, my heart is still in perfect condition."

Regardless of all the physical trauma they just relayed to me, this dipstick ends their tangent with some wacky grin and the closest their hands can get to finger guns. I continue looking at them in shock, but that stupid face they're making knocks my sense back into me.

"Baka! I asked what happened to put you here, not for a detailed explanation of your recently updated medical history. At least tell me who I need to kill," I grumble, signing along to introduce them to the language. 

Thankfully, they wipes that ridiculous fake grin off their face and replaces it with a smaller one of genuine gratitude. They sign a quick 'thank you' before moving on.

"While I appreciate the sentiment, I don't think you need to kill anyone," (l/n) explains hesitantly while attempting to use a few broken-up signs.

"What did you do?" I ask, almost afraid of the answer. Almost.

"Well, you know how heat is just a measurement of how much a group of molecules is moving?"

"I don't need another chemistry lesson, Drumstick. What did you do?"

"I sent some super condensed, and therefore really hot, vibrations through the villain's arms, effectively cutting his hands off and cauterizing the stumps."

"..."

"That villain also may have been that handsy guy from the attack on the USJ, and the authorities have informed me that I also collapsed a building."

"..."

"No one was inside, but with the destabilization of the neighboring buildings' structures, the fractured pavement, and broken underground pipes, that's a lot of property damage to help pay for."

"..."

"Which is fine. My aunt is absolutely loaded, so we can easily finance any repairs and medical bills required of me ... but can you please either say or sign something. Your silence is making me nervous."

"It should," I quip. (l/n) looks down and starts fiddling with their fingers before I continue, "You're telling me that you were holding back on me at the sports festival too!? Now I need to fight both you and that icy-hot bastard a second time. So, I do not care how you end up getting out of this medical hellhole, you are now required to feel better and to give your all. You got that?"

They snort and a small laugh escapes their lips. I smirk at the sight, glad to see my verbal deviation worked, otherwise I would have no idea how to navigate this kind of situation. 

We continue chatting for a while, letting them know that our companionship has not changed with this unfortunate update, and we set up a time for when I can start properly teaching them sign language. Eventually, I check the time and notice that I have to leave soon.

"Hey, Katsuki, would you mind doing me a small favor?" (l/n) asks as I stand up, catching me off-guard for a moment.

"Only because I need you in peak physical condition before I destroy you," I answer with a grin.

"Could you check in on Todoroki-kun for me? I overheard that he got caught up in the Hosu incident as well and I want to be sure he is doing okay," they say, growing slightly softer. 

I notice something hidden behind their eyes, and chuckle.

"You're crushing on him, aren't you," I jest. 

Caught and embarrassed, (l/n)'s face becomes bright red and they start fidgeting again.

"Maybe I am, so what?" They stutter out.

"Then you should know that he's strong enough to have gotten through that fight alive. He's stubborn in that way." 

They smile as I close the door behind me. Hanging on the door, I see their chart. I wouldn't have cared, but a few words catch my eye that concern me. Reluctantly following a stupid gut feeling, I head back down to the front desk rather than heading straight to the agency and ask for that stupid half-n-half's location. Internally berating myself simultaneously for both being ignorant and caring too much, I make my way to the room and shove open the door.

"Yo, Icy-Hot. You've been dying to see the Drumstick, yeah?" I grunt in the direct of the dual-haired kid at the window. He nods.

"Follow me then."

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A/N: Gee, I wonder what Bakugo might have found on (y/n)'s chart. 

Aside from that, we find in (y/n)'s dialogue another unhealthy coping mechanism (which developed from their childhood which you don't know that yet). It's repression: the unconscious act of not acknowledging or acting upon one's feelings, thoughts, and wants. Even though (y/n) understands what happened and the consequences of their actions, they are pushing aside any negativity to put on that sarcastic yet happy face they feel they must maintain. 

Back to Bakugo though, I am in love with the headcanon/AU of Bakugo being deaf as a side effect of his quirk. That along with my personal love of sign language, I felt the desire to include this in here. 

Word Count: 1295