| Running Out Of Time | 172732014

Night Terrors & Fever Dreams | Hunger Pains

You opened your eyes at the mass of legs that closed in on you. Crowds of people surrounded you in an ever-expanding crossroads, their legs soon drowning your line of sight. A familiar pair walking away, lit as if they had a halo. You made your way through the crowd, following after the light but losing it through the masses.

"Come back!" You yelled again, pushed against the wave of the crowd before the light was snuffed out, leaving you alone within the sea of faceless people. You felt small and alone while the sound of their footsteps became a deafening noise. You held your hands to your ears, unable to rid them despite your efforts, eyes shut while your teeth gritted against each other.

"Shut up!" You yelled, finding your voice drowned in the cacophony of noise and clatter. Tears streamed from your eyes, soon clutching onto your stomach in a hug, hoping it would stave the pain that pierced your insides. You huddled on the ground, kneeling for some relief until the footsteps disappeared, leaving one pair standing before you, staring at their feet. They knelt along with you, your vision still hazy from the tears that continued to flow from the hunger that ate away inside. You could make out a familiar coat, off-white by the shade before your glistened eyes turned towards their eyes, staring into violet ones with a docile smile.

"Don't fear child," she whispered with a soothing voice while her fingers delicately tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear.

A violent grip followed after the same hand pressed into your nose and mouth, pushing you into a bed, its firm mattress familiar against your back. The pressure grew immensely, crushing your ability to breathe. You scratched at the woman's arms, attempting to reach for her face but to no avail. Your fingers were shy from stopping her, staring up at that smile now with intent.

"Hush child," she continued. "Pain is part of the process. You will be like everybody else."

The look in her eye was unforgettable. The feeling made you crawl seeing her again before the burning started, searing into your skin. Still muffled from your cries of pain, you continued to bear the torture that overrode the hunger you suffered. White hot and excruciating pain flowed from your insides, spreading like wildfire within your very veins. All you could do was stare into those violet eyes that built and abandoned you. You waited for the moment, swimming in the prickling heat that coursed through every fibre of your being. Eyes wide with anger and fear, you watched the slight motion in the Doctor's shoulders, ready to pierce you once more into your ribcage.

The jolt from bed woke you violently from your sleep, immediately feeling the cold prick of the chilly air along your skin. An empty ceiling met your gaze, soon followed by the distant beeping of machines, and the sound of trolleys from the corridors around you. Soft voices that hushed themselves in those very corridors caught your ear, aware of the immediate danger you felt. Your heart sank at the thought of being in her clutches once more, trapped for further observation and testing, strapped in the bed and held under control. Another catch and release, perhaps. Still in a daze you pulled yourself up from the pillows to find that there were no restraints. The linen that draped over you did very little to keep the warmth underneath, but it had kept you decent, now finding you in a loose robe instead of your own clothes.

It was slow to process where you were, still in a daze, until fingers tightened around yours, their warmth washing over the cold you felt in such a clinical place. The feel of them snapped you out of the daze, careful to stay silent in your movements now realising that you weren't alone in this room. Your eyes trailed onto the hand that held yours, finding a familiar face dozing atop the bed, serene in his own sleep.

There laid Hanta Sero, out of uniform, his head atop the crinkled linen of the hospital bed that you realised you occupied. It wasn't restraints of any kind, but his hand felt like a small weight in yours, holding you in place. You sighed, eyeing the room and the long corridor nearby in hopes that you could make out an escape route. It wasn't the Doctor's premises, but the stark walls and the echoes of machines and people alike unnerved you.

You hated hospitals.

Still consumed by yourself consulting on your next course of action, your free hand haphazardly found a loose piece of paper atop the linen, laid on your lap. Lined as if it were from a random notebook and torn from the spine, you opened its fold to find recognisable handwriting. You pouted while staring at the words. After Sero had taken to reaching out to you the same way you did, it grew to be a slight annoyance that he was practically stealing your MO. One thief to another, you thought, casting your eyes on the man that still slept soundly next to you. Returning to the note, you began to engage with the words this time. What you found was surprising.

In case you wake before I do, you're safe here. Fujiya Hospital has the greatest security and medical care. Deku— Midoriya vouched for both of us. For you. He's given you amnesty while you're recovering. Call it returning the favour for helping us.

Did you read right? Were you appraised by the Number One? After all that animosity you felt inside about one robbery, you chuckled at the thought, twinging from the shot of pain you felt in your ribs. Your guard should never be dropped again, you thought further, careful to not wake the sleeping man beside you.

Doctors say that you need time to recover considering the internal injuries you suffered. You'll need to stay here for a while, and before you think about it, you have fractured ribs.

Well, at least he was straight to the point.

Promise me that you won't run away.

"Make up your mind, Bucky," you whispered with a sigh. Over the course of this venture with all the madness running rampant in the city, your mind wandered to every moment you held dear, good and bad. From your first house visit, to your first kiss. A rush warmed your ears, attempting to shake away the feeling only to feel the flinch in Sero's fingers curl around yours. He was still asleep, curious that you had not woken him in any slight disturbances you may have caused now awake.

Watching him made your mind forget what had caused you anxiety moments ago. There was no recollection anymore. Only this calm that welcomed you back, still with the warmth of his palm surrounding your hand.

"Love you too," you whispered with a light breath, closing your fingers around him.