STUTTER | KIRISHIMA EIJIROU.

chapter eight.

     You twirled the vermilion rose in your fingers, cautious to not poke yourself with any its sharp, earthy green thorns. You raised from head from the flower when the door to your hospital room opened. To say that you were surprised to see the crystal clear face of your ashy blond classmate was an understatement.

     "Katsuki?" you called out in a perplexed tone. "What're you doing here? Actually, never mind that⁠— how're you feeling?" you asked softly with a small grin.

     "Me?" he echoed with a scowl and scrunched up eyebrows. "What about you, shithead? Do you know how much you had m— those idiots worried?" his narrowed down cardinal eyes bored into yours.

     Your smile went downwards into a puzzled frown. "I'm fine, obviously, since you're back with us." you claimed easily, but your response didn't calm him down at all.

     "That doesn't fucking matter!" he burst out suddenly with anguish. "What matters is how you almost died, dumbass!" his breathing grew ragged and erratic, so he took in huff of oxygen. "Listen here, [Name], because I'm only saying this once⁠..." the male's shoulders started to shake and his eyes were staring at the floor.

      "...don't you ever think that you can get away with throwing yourself out there like that again!" Katsuki declared anguishedly, shouting down to his feet. You stayed quiet, letting him continue his words. "Especially if it's because of me."

     You were silent for a few moments before speaking, "I'm sorry, Katsuki, but I can't do that knowing that you'd do the same thing—" you bit the bottom of your lip, conflicted to the core with what you were about to ask. "—and why did you specifically say yourself?"

     Katsuki's shoulders quivered more violently, and his eyes suddenly tore themselves away from the ground to meet your [e/c] ones. You had a hunch about what he was reflecting upon, but didn't voice out your thoughts until he did.

     "I told you that you were weighing me down and that I never loved you," he began quietly. Your mind flashed back to the memory that replayed in your head just minutes ago. "And don't say that that it was true because it wasn't. [Name]..." Katsuki struggled and stuttered with his next words. "...I-I loved you with all of my fucking heart, but then I got scared. I was terrified about what would happen to us since we weren't going to the same high schools, so I ended it prematurely, and I realized on that night that I was wr... wrong." when he said "that night", you concluded that he was referring to when he was rescued from the villains.

     "Even though I said all of those things to you, you still helped those morons, you still cried for me, and you still nearly died," he choked out the last part while rubbing his eyes harshly. "Even though I made you move away, you still wanted to help those shitheads. [Name], I don't need— no, I don't deserve that kind of treatment." his carmine hues gazed into yours with so many woes and so much distress.

     You raised a hand to beckon him closer to you. When he didn't budge, you rolled your eyes, only silently persisting further. After another few seconds of staring, Katsuki gave in and shuffled closer to your hospital bed. You took his fingers into yours, causing the blond to tense up immediately. His hand was calloused, big, and rough to your touch, something that you grew to become unfamiliar with as the months flew by, but the memories of early morning walks, thrilling mountain climbs, and innocent dates came rushing back.

     "Katsuki, what you said to me that day did hurt me... hurt me a lot actually," you let out a weak laugh in spite of yourself. "And even though I don't want you to be, you're still one of the people I value the most. I can't just shake off what we were for years, and naturally, that sentiment stayed for high school.

     "At first, I wanted to attend U.A.'s hero course not with the intent of becoming a hero, but to seek some sort of closure from you," you confessed, the grip of your hand tightening around Katsuki's. "I didn't understand what I did wrong because I essentially did nothing wrong, and at the time, I was still heartbroken... but then I met Eijirou." your ex-boyfriend showed no surprise at your statement, as if he was expecting it.

     You continued absentmindedly, rolling your thumb over the hand in yours, "I met him before I enrolled into a school. His eyes— they reminded me so much of yours that they just dragged me in. He looked so lost and conflicted the first day I saw him, so I approached him, and we ended up becoming really good friends. In the end, instead of going to U.A. to seek solace from you, I ended up attending for Eijirou."

     Katsuki frowned, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "So you don't even want to become a hero?" he asked with a tight tone with hints of betrayal.

     You shook your head, dismissing his accusation. "No, I definitely want to become one. You especially should know that," you pointed out, quirking an eyebrow up questioningly. "I meant that the person behind that type of motivation changed. I still want to become a hero to prove that I'm different." you stressed out seriously.

     Silence elapsed over you two, crimson clashing with [e/c]. His rough hand was still in yours; your thumb running over the back of it. You blinked occasionally, staring up at his tall figure. Your orbs widened when you saw his own glistening with moisture. "Hey, Katsuki—" you started, but got quickly cut off.

     "Shut up!" he barked out, tears slowly streaming out of his eyes. "Fuck..." he cursed under his breath, and used his free hand to violently rub at them, causing the skin around them to redden slightly.

     You wordlessly tugged on his fingers, bringing him closer to the hospital bed you were sitting in. You let go of him to wrap your arms around his waist securely, while bringing his head to your shoulder. You felt him shudder and shake with every breath he took in and the growing dampness on your shirt.

     "I'm sorry, Kacchan."

     He didn't reply verbally, but you knew that he shared your apology when he nodded his head before letting out a quiet and dry sob.