Chapter Text
“C’mon Icy Hot, time to take your meds.”
The phoenix didn’t budge from his nest as Katsuki entered the enclosure, the slightest ruffle of bicolored wings the only clue that he had noticed Katsuki’s presence as he continued to doze.
Katsuki just rolled his eyes as he approached the tree, keeping his steps audible across the sand and dry grass but not hurried so as not to startle the bird as he made his way over. The artificial heat and sunlight programmed for the enclosure were already starting to prickle at Katsuki’s shoulders and back, and sweat beaded across his forehead. The heat and loose sand of the Sahel made this one of the less pleasant enclosures to work in, but it could be worse in Katsuki’s opinion. Anything was better than the biting chill of the tundra enclosure. He wasn’t above bribery to give any assignments there to somebody else.
The slight dryness in the air here was at least tolerable, and Katsuki honestly enjoyed working with the phoenix in the facility’s care, even if he was a special case. The fucked-up selective breeding Shouto had been a result of to mix ice with the normal abilities of a phoenix left him chronically sick, the ice combatting the fire inside of him and making him less spry and active than he should be; if he wasn’t interacting with Katsuki or any of the other vets and rehabilitators in the facility, he was usually curled up in his nest, soaking up the artificial sun rays that peeked between the branches of his tree, basking in the warmth like he was now.
Weaker didn’t mean completely weak, however. Shouto wasn’t a creature to take lightly. Both his ice and his fire could do some nasty damage—Katsuki himself was almost the recipient of his attacks on multiple occasions when he was learning to care for him. A couple years have passed since he was brought to Yuuei Rehab, a permanent resident by this point, so Katsuki knew all of his quirks by now. Including how he slept to avoid his medicine doses that helped to regulate his vitals so the ice wouldn’t take over. Or pretended to, anyway.
Knowing his quirks meant he also knew how to combat them as needed. Case in point, the food storage bowl he produced from the bag hanging from his shoulder. The crack of the lid opening had Shouto’s head shooting up, heterochromatic eyes locked onto Katsuki where he stood near the base of the tree. Or more specifically, at the bowl of noodles in his hands.
Katsuki smirked, waving the bowl a bit. “Don’tcha want some soba, Icy Hot? We made ‘em fresh just for you.”
Shouto was swooping down from his nest before Katsuki could blink, a blur of red and white trailing flames and ice crystals that landed at Katsuki’s feet, the flap of long wings kicking up a cloud of dust.
Usually less active except when it came to getting soba noodles.
His head immediately went for the noodles, but Katsuki snapped the bowl closed and held it out of reach of the greedy beak, even as he tried not to choke on the dust he was fanning away from his face. “Ah ah, meds and check-up first. You know the drill.”
A sullen trill and drooping wings showed that yeah, Shouto did know, but he wasn’t happy about it. Katsuki snorted as he kneeled in the crunchy grass, setting the bowl of noodles aside so he could grab his stethoscope from the bag. “You’re acting like a peacock, you overdramatic bastard. It won’t take that long.”
He checked Shouto’s heart rate and other vitals (all relatively normal given usual phoenix characteristics and his condition) before moving to his feathers; some were still smooth and glossy, catching the sunlight that mimicked the late afternoon lighting outside the facility, but others were starting to look faded, dull, the feathers around his neck and head looking ruffled and fuzzy.
He was probably close to regenerating. Not too soon, but given that he was already fully grown when they took him in, Katuski would guess that Shouto had a few more weeks before he was reborn. They’d have to keep an eye on him, make sure it goes smoothly.
Katsuki fed Shouto his medicine, the phoenix taking it easily enough without a fuss, and Katsuki finally let him have the soba noodles, chopped up into bite-sized pieces, which he dug into with gusto. “Looks like you’re good to go until you’re next check-up.” He smoothed down some of the more unruly feathers around his head as a smirk grew on his lips. “You’re turning into an old geezer though.”
“Aw, c’mon Kacchan, he doesn’t look that bad.”
Katsuki glanced back as Deku came into the enclosure. He wasn’t in his uniform yet, the ratty yellow backpack that he’s had for ages on his back. “Shouldn’t you be at the front desk?” Katsuki asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
Deku smiled sheepishly. “I still have a few minutes until my shift starts. And can’t I come see my favorite phoenix?”
“You definitely can’t play favorites, shitty nerd.” Ignoring the fact that Shouto was one of Katsuki’s favorite creatures that he’s worked with during his time at Yuuei. “And he’s the only phoenix you’ve seen.” He still backed off as Deku approached, taking the now-empty bowl and packing it and his other tools back into his bag and ignoring the coos and baby talking coming from Deku as he cupped downy cheeks. Shouto’s always had a soft spot for the nerd, and Deku was always willing to indulge in whatever the bird wanted. Katsuki was lucky he was the one assigned to Shouto’s check-ups; no doubt Deku would give him way more soba than he should eat.
“He doesn’t look that old yet, but he’s getting there.” Katsuki pointed out the problem areas in Shouto’s feathers, which Deku took in with a frown.
“Was he okay otherwise?”
“Still kinda lethargic, but otherwise didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”
Deku hummed, nodded. “Tell Aizawa before you head out?”
“Already planned to.” Katsuki grabbed his bag as he stood. “We’ll probably have to move his nest to the ground at some point if he starts have trouble flying.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call if anything happens.”
With a nod and a parting wave, Katsuki left, walking the circular path past the other creature enclosures to go back into the main building of the facility. Ashido waved from where she was with the two unicorns in the grassland enclosure next door; no doubt she was giving them extra attention like Deku was.
From there it was routine; he entered Shouto’s latest vitals into the facility’s system with his other data, and he updated Aizawa on the phoenix’s condition, the co-director agreeing to increase monitoring for him. The soba bowl was washed in the break room, Katsuki changed out of his uniform in the locker room and stored his medical tools in his locker, and by the time he pulled out of Yuuei’s parking lot to drive home, the sun had already sank behind the trees surrounding the valley the facility was situated in, and he was exhausted.
It was a good exhausted though, Katsuki satisfied with the work he’d completed that day. He’d wanted to be a rehabilitator for magical creatures ever since he saw one in action as a kid, and now, after years of school and training, he had another day of that dream under his belt and was eager to see what challenges the next day would bring.
The drive home wasn’t long. His house wasn’t far from Yuuei and just outside of Musutafu city limits, the sprawling business center giving way to more space between houses, sparse as they were, the gaps full of oaks and maples that were beautiful reds and oranges that blended into the evening sky as autumn fully set in. A home fully rooted in nature, just how Katsuki liked it.
The sun was mostly set by the time he pulled into his driveway, streaks of orange and pink mixing into dusky blue. It was quiet as he made himself dinner, the long day weighing down on him. He wouldn’t stay up much later after this. He kinda wanted to sleep now, but he had to get something in his stomach, and he felt too gross to go to bed without a shower-
A sudden tremor through the house rattled Katsuki out of this thoughts, as well as the dishes in the dish rack and cabinets. He was wide awake now, freezing in cutting up the pork he was going to cook for dinner. Was that an earthquake? The tremor was brief, instantaneous, but Katsuki was still, watching the dishes settle, waiting for an aftershock, but it never came. Definitely the shortest earthquake he’s ever experienced if that’s what it was. The lights didn’t even flicker.
Several minutes of silence passed before he slowly went back to slicing meat, only to stop again when he heard a noise. Faint but nonetheless heard in the quiet of the house, and from somewhere outside if he could guess. A beat passed, then he heard it again. It almost sounded like…a growl?
Most people wouldn’t dare set foot outside. It could be a wild animal out there, maybe even a magical one, there was a chance that it could lash out and hurt somebody if they made the wrong move.
Katsuki on the other hand?
He flicked off the stove, grabbed the industrial flashlight that he usually took when he went camping, pulled on his jacket and boots, and stepped out the back door. He hadn’t spent years learning how to handle animals for nothing.
It was dark outside now, the trees outside the range of the back porch light indistinguishable from each other and the inky sky. In the spread of light, Katsuki didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the space between his house and the treeline. He heard more noises though, soft and coming from deeper in the woods. The flashlight guided his path between the trees, his steps careful so he wouldn’t trip or startle whatever animal was out here. It wasn’t as loud as that first growl, Katsuki having to strain his ears to hear it now.
The rustle and crunch of leaves that have already fallen from the dropping temperatures.
The shuffle of a body, possibly large, maybe with wings. A pegasus?
The shuffles cutting off with a sharp hiss, the subsequent growl sounding pained.
An injured animal.
Katsuki picked up the pace, dodging raised roots and fallen limbs until he reached a small opening in the trees, the beam of his flashlight illuminating something big, red, and scaly a few feet ahead of him. It was curled up on itself among the underbrush, its large form rising and falling with shaky, rattling breaths.
Definitely injured. Shit.
Even with the decent gap already naturally there that let in the light of the first stars of the night, some of the branches above Katsuki’s head were bent or nearly broken off the trees. Others had been snapped off completely, limbs scattered around the clearing or trapped under the creature’s body from what Katsuki could tell. A crash landing? That would explain how it got here and the thud he had felt earlier. What even was this?
His eyes stayed on the creature as he stepped into the clearing. The wrong move, as his first step landed him on one of the fallen limbs, the crunch of brittle wood underfoot echoing in the silence.
The creature flinched, another pained hiss escaping it, but then it started to move. A long red tail came out of the mass of scales first, sweeping up leaves and twigs as it dragged across the ground. Large red wings flared out from its back, a long tear visible through the membrane of one of them. Scaled feet with sharp claws that dug into the dirt raised the body off the ground, and Katsuki’s heart lurched when he saw an open gash along its stomach, blood dripping from it to the ground, the grass already slick with red from where it had been laying there.
He wasn’t able to keep looking at the injury as the creature’s head turned toward him. Dark horns curved back at the top of its head, and smoke puffed from flared nostrils. Sharp teeth bared in a snarl, and slitted red eyes that reflected the beam of the flashlight locked onto Katsuki, triggering his fight or flight but keeping him pinned in place, too shocked to move.
Holy shit. It was a dragon.
In a world where mythical creatures coexisted with people and regular animals, where Katsuki had been caring for said creatures for the last two years and training to care for them for even longer, dragons were considered to be true myths. They were unknown, never seen, any knowledge of their existence culminating into half-baked deductions on backwater internet forums that were plausible at best and the equivalent of a faked photo of Bigfoot for clout at worst. Katsuki’s textbooks from vet school didn’t even mention them, as extensive as they were when it came to detailing the creatures of the planet, magical or otherwise. A peek at Yuuei’s records once he’d officially signed on as a rehabilitator there showed they had never taken on a dragon in all the years they’ve been operational, even though Yuuei was the best magical creature rehab facility in all of Japan, maybe even the world. So Katsuki had assumed he’d never get to care for one, would never see if the sketchy internet rumors were true.
Fate had other plans as it literally dropped a dragon into his backyard.
A dragon that was now growling at Katsuki, the sound rattling within his chest, completely disregarding its injuries as it took lumbering steps toward him, an orange glow rising up its throat.
Other myths from the forums said that dragons could breathe fire. Katsuki could prove that one true too, assuming he didn’t get fucking roasted to death.
He finally got his body to listen to him as he scrambled back to put distance between him and the dragon, his back hitting a tree at the edge of the clearing. He clenched his eyes shut, bracing himself for the heat of the flames, but they never came. Instead the growls cut into a pained whine, and Katsuki opened his eyes in time to see the dragon collapse back onto the ground with a heavy thud, its snarl looking more like a grimace as it curled itself around the wound in its stomach. It still kept its eyes on Katsuki, unblinking, the misery in its glare hinting at just how bad a state it was in. The steady glow deep in its throat a constant warning that it could attack even if it was down.
Katsuki took a deep breath to steady his racing heart, and he ducked his head to avoid catching the dragon’s eye. He couldn’t freak out, not now, not when he had a patient to save.
Follow the book. Stick to training.
Keeping the dragon in his peripheral, he slowly crouched down to the ground, making himself smaller. He choreographed his movements as he set the flashlight by his feet, keeping the beam aimed at the dragon, and he raised his hands, palms out. “I’m not gonna hurt you,” Katsuki said calmly, slowly, hoping his voice wasn’t shaking from nerves. “You’re injured, right? I can help.”
Katsuki had no clue if the dragon could understand him. Some creatures, like Shouto, were able to get the gist of what was being said while talked to, while others didn’t comprehend human speech at all. He chanced a glance at the dragon’s face; it was still watching him, its eyes squinted almost in suspicion, but the glow in its throat grew dimmer until it was completely gone. Good. Maybe it could understand him, at least a little bit.
“You’re probably hungry, yeah? My house is close by, I can bring you something to eat, then I can take care of that cut.”
As if in response, the dragon’s stomach rumbled loudly. It huffed, one last cloud of smoke blowing out of its nose before it fully slumped against the ground as the fight left it.
Katsuki snorted, and he grabbed the flashlight as he stood back up fully. “Sit tight, I’ll be back soon.” He turned to head back home, only making it a few seconds walking before he was nearly running, doing his best not to trip as he hurried as fast as he could through the dark. As he broke past the trees into his yard and reached his back door, he pulled out his phone to dial the facility front desk.
Deku answered fast, Katsuki ignoring the cheery greeting he always gave to outside callers to interrupt him in a rush. “There’s an injured dragon near my house.”
“Kacchan? What- wait, a dragon? Those don’t exist, what-”
“They apparently fucking do, Deku, now focus.” Katsuki grabbed the first aid bag he kept in his bathroom and an armload of towels, dumping it all on the dining table. He tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear as he rooted through the fridge. Dragons would be fine with raw meat, right? He grabbed it, dropping it onto the table too. “It crashed a little ways from my house, I dunno. Laceration across its stomach, torn wing, and I didn’t get a chance to look it over for any other injuries yet. I need a truck to bring it to the facility, the biggest one we got, and call in Cheeks for surgery.”
“I’m on it.” Katsuki could hear the clacking of keys through the line as Deku entered the new patient information into the system. “Things are slow here so I can be there with the truck soon. I’ll call Uraraka as soon as I get off with you.”
“Thanks.” Katsuki hung up, stuffing his phone into his pocket.
Minutes later he was trudging back through the trees, his medical bag slung over one shoulder, a tote bag with all the not-frozen meat he had hanging from the other arm, and the towels bundled in an old blanket in his grasp. The flashlight was tucked tight under his armpit to light his path.
The dragon was laying where he’d left it when he got back to the clearing. It didn’t try to attack this time, just turned its head in Katsuki’s direction when it noticed the light from his flashlight, but the movement was sluggish, its eyes half-lidded.
Definitely not a good sign.
Its nostrils flared as Katsuki got closer, then it raised its head, glowing red eyes locked onto the bag with the meat.
Katsuki snorted, leaving the blanket bundle next to his medical bag on the ground. “Yeah, I got your food. Hope you like pork, that’s all I-”
A flash of red cut him off before he could finish, the dragon lunging for the wrapped bundle of meat Katsuki had pulled from the bag. His heart lurched up to his throat, and he dropped the bundle and the bag as he stumbled back. Sharp teeth snapped up the pork before it hit the ground, paper and all, swallowing it down in one bite, and a claw dragged the tote bag closer so it could stick its snout inside to get the rest.
Katsuki just stood there, stunned, staring down at his empty hands that he’d been sure were about to be eaten along with the pork, before he glared at the dragon. “You can’t just eat it with the paper, you’ll get sick!”
The dragon didn’t seem to be listening at all as it continued to eat, its tail kicking up leaves as it wagged. It wasn’t eating the other packaging at least.
Water was poured into a bowl he’d brought and left near the dragon. He gathered up the rest of the supplies and made his way around to its stomach, keeping a wide berth just in case. It still noticed, pausing its meal to watch Katsuki, the glow of its eyes slightly unnerving without the flashlight on its face. But it was more out of curiosity than wariness.
“I just wanna check your wound.” He hefted the items in his arms to emphasize. “Can I come closer?”
It didn’t take long to decide, staring at Katsuki for only a few seconds before scarfing down the rest of the meat and rolling to expose its stomach, visibly wincing from the movement.
Grass, dirt, and leaves clung to the edges of the cut from the blood that was caked to red scales. From the crash landing and how long the dragon had been laying here, there was probably even more stuff inside the cut as well. Katsuki would have to clean it all out just so he could see the full extent of the injury.
He poured more water over the cut to flush out the dirt, and it earned a flinch from the dragon, along with a low pained hiss.
“I know, I know,” Katsuki murmured, doing his best to sound soothing. It wasn’t his strong suit, but he would try now. “Just bare with me for a bit, I’ll be fast.”
The next several minutes went like that: Katsuki cleaning the cut, comforting words falling from his lips at every hiss or growl of pain, the dragon’s claws sinking into the soil each time to brace itself. Once the wound was cleaned out as much as he could, he wet the towels to wipe away the blood and dirt from the edge of the cut and the scales around it, making sure to get in the grooves between each one.
Katsuki brushed his fingers along the scales as he went; they were smooth, with an underlying warmth, even warmer than Shouto usually felt from his fire abilities. This dragon’s fire must burn a lot hotter. The scales across its stomach were softer and lighter in color than the ones toward its back, those almost feeling like a durable metal with sharp edges. He’d have to be careful not to cut his fingers on them.
He was relieved when he finally finished putting a temporary bandage over the cut, just to keep it clean and blot the blood still leaking from it until they got to the facility. It didn’t look infected; hopefully the bandage would prevent that as well. The tear in its wing didn’t look terrible, and Katsuki didn’t notice any other injuries on the dragon’s body, so it was stable for now.
He was snapping off his gloves just as his phone buzzed with a text from Deku: here, drove around back
Good. That would keep them from having to bring the dragon out to the main road. Katsuki sent an affirmative text back and packed his things before turning to the dragon. “Alright, big guy- or girl. Are you a girl or a guy?”
The dragon’s tail thumped against the ground twice.
“A guy?”
It- he hummed, nodding his head.
“Okay. Think you can walk?”
The dragon didn’t budge an inch, only squinting at Katsuki.
He huffed. “You don’t wanna stay out here, do you? I told you I can help. I work at a rehab center, I help creatures like you all the time. Those bandages aren’t gonna hold forever, and I don’t have the tools right now for the treatment you need. We need to go to the facility for that.”
The dragon didn’t look suspicious anymore, but he still didn’t move, an uncertain rumble vibrating through the ground.
More bribery then. Katsuki pulled a pack of beef jerky from his bag, holding it up for the dragon to see. “I’ll give you this and every other pack in the break room vending machine if you let me help you.”
The dragon’s eyes rounded out, the black almost eclipsing the piercing red. He shifted then, moving to stand back up, carefully this time to mind his newly-bandaged injury. He was as tall as an elephant at full height, maybe taller, his horns brushing against the branches near his head. The gap between him and Katsuki was closed in a couple steps, and he bent down for the jerky, hot breath even without him actively summoning fire breezing across his skin and fighting back the mid-autumn chill that was settling in Katsuki’s bones. It made him shudder, and he jerked back a step. “Hey now, you’re not eating the packaging this time.” He tore open the pack, tossing a handful to the dragon, who snapped up the strips in one bite. A forked tongue licked across scaled lips, his tail wagging again.
Katsuki bit back a smile as he turned to lead the way out of the clearing. “C’mon, truck’s already waiting.”
As they started walking, Katsuki had been worried if he’d even be able to get the dragon back to his house this way; the trees behind his home weren’t super dense, but they still left very few gaps for a creature as big as the dragon to walk through without trouble. But the dragon maneuvered between them with ease, his side or good wing brushing a trunk but otherwise not having any issues at all. Katsuki could tell he was exhausted, his gate slow, sometimes stumbling, but the jerky Katsuki kept tossing him from where he was a few paces ahead incentivized him to keep going until they broke through the trees into his backyard.
Like Deku said, the transport truck the facility used to bring new creatures in and take them back to their natural habitats once healed was backed into the backyard, swing doors open and Deku standing next to the truck as he waited for them. His eyes went wide as the dragon emerged from the treeline. He was practically vibrating in place, his hands twitching for the notebooks he always carried with him to scribble down any new creature fact he learned. Katsuki could imagine him writing away at the front desk once this was over, and he suppressed a snort.
“Oh my gosh it’s actually a dragon,” Deku breathed as he stared up at him. The dragon stopped, shuffling uncomfortably under his gaze, and Katsuki raised an eyebrow. Was the dragon actually intimidated by the nerd? Unbelievable.
“Yeah Deku, it’s actually a dragon that’s currently bleeding out and needs medical attention ASAP,” Katsuki reminded him, and that got him to snap out of his revere.
“Oh! Right, sorry. Uraraka was on her way by the time I left so we can probably begin surgery as soon as we get there.”
“Great.” Katsuki tossed the last of the jerky to the dragon. “Alright big guy, into the truck.”
The dragon eyed said truck—it was big, just like Katsuki asked, but it was still barely taller than the dragon and slightly wider. He’d fit, but it’d be a tight one. He looked back at Katsuki with uncertainty.
“It’ll be a short ride,” Katsuki reassured. “Ten minutes, tops.”
The dragon huffed, but he still lumbered over, being mindful of his injuries as he climbed into the trailer, the entire truck rocking as he got settled. The truck stilled, then a low rumble echoed from inside the metal box.
Deku blinked at the truck, staring in disbelief, but he still followed Katsuki’s lead and shut the doors behind the dragon. “Usually there’s at least a little bit of fuss with loading creatures, but we didn’t have to help it at all, and it seems to understand you perfectly. I didn’t think dragons would be so smart.”
“Only reason he didn’t need any coaxing is because I promised him a shit ton of beef jerky.” Katsuki knocked his shoulder into Deku’s on his way to the cab. “Now c’mon, you can nerd out later, we got a dragon to save.”
“Right!”
The evening rush had already waned on the roads heading back into the city, so it was sooner than expected when they were backing the truck up to the gate of the biggest enclosure in Yuuei, fortunately not occupied at the moment. It was modeled after the base of a mountain, rocky cliffs and outcroppings transitioning into a lush forest, the artificial lights switched on so they could see rather than being flipped to their usual nighttime settings. Katsuki would often forget he was inside Yuuei’s walls when he was in here; it was so big it felt like he was in the mountains where he would hike on his days off.
It took a bit to get the dragon out of the truck—the cramped size made it hard for him to move, especially going backwards—but soon they led him into the enclosure. Uraraka was waiting for them on a white tarp laid out on an open spot of grass since there was no way the dragon would be able to fit inside the main building, let alone in their usual operating room. She was sorting through the supplies they’d need to treat the dragon’s wounds, but she looked up as they approached, an amazed smile growing on her face when her eyes landed on the dragon.
“I honestly thought Deku was joking when he told me you found a dragon, Bakugou,” she said, watching the dragon settle on the tarp with a tired huff. “But this is so exciting, our first dragon! Now let’s see what we’re working with here.” She pulled on gloves as she stepped forward, but the dragon curled in on himself before she could get close, shielding his stomach and pinning his torn wing tightly to his back. Uraraka stopped in her tracks, raising her hands in a placating gesture. “It’s okay, I just want to help! I won’t hurt you.”
The dragon didn’t move, but his eyes went to Katsuki. Looking for his opinion, he realized.
“Cheeks isn’t gonna hurt you, lizard brain, she’s the most harmless person you’ll meet,” he said, hiding his shock at the fact that the dragon trusted him so much already, when the beast had almost burned Katsuki alive not even an hour ago. Jerky bribes must really carry a lot of weight. “I’m not going anywhere either.”
The dragon’s eyes darted across his face, searching, before he slowly uncurled, exposing his stomach and wing for Uraraka.
She smiled, satisfied, before looking at Katsuki. “Wanna help? It’d probably feel calmer with you nearby.”
“Sure.” As if he’d turn down the offer.
Katsuki really didn’t help that much, just passed Uraraka tools and supplies when she asked as she properly cleaned the wounds and sutured them. He just stayed by her side, a hand stroking across warm scales throughout the entire procedure. The dragon fortunately stayed calm, only flinching when Uraraka injected the local anesthetic around the tears.
Katsuki glanced over at one point to find the dragon’s head resting on his front feet, his eyes drooping with exhaustion, but he was watching Katsuki, even if he wasn’t the one currently threading a needle through the delicate membrane of his wing. He wasn’t looking for anything this time, just looking, observing. His gaze met Katsuki’s, and the smallest rumble vibrated under his hand. It was gentle, almost like the purr of a cat.
The stories always depicted dragons as fierce, terrifying. Katsuki didn’t think they’d be able to purr.
By the time Uraraka finished bandaging the wounds, the dragon was passed out, his body rising and falling with rumbling snores. His breathing didn’t sound labored anymore, though. That was good. He needed the rest.
Katsuki did too. Now that the adrenaline and worry from the rescue were seeping out of his system, he was dead on his feet as he followed Deku and Uraraka back into the main building, intent to enter the rest of the dragon’s information into the system before he left.
Deku had other plans, herding Katsuki away from the office spaces and guiding him toward the main entrance. “Oi, what-”
“I can finish entering everything, don’t worry about it,” Deku cut him off, and Katsuki scowled. Stupid nerd always being able to read his thoughts. “I’ll drive you home so you can get some rest.”
Rest definitely sounded nice. Katsuki didn’t fight against Deku like he usually did, letting himself be guided out the door. “I’m checking your shit to make sure you didn’t fuck up.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. There won’t be anything to fix, promise.”
“Better not be.”
The ride was silent, Katsuki slumped against the passenger side window. He felt like he’d only blinked before Deku was nudging him awake, his car parked behind Katsuki’s in his driveway. “Need help getting inside?”
Katsuki shook his head, rubbing a hand down his face to wake himself up as he opened the car door.
“Don’t worry about coming in at the normal time, I’ll find somebody to cover the start of your shift.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled. He climbed out of the car, and with a lazy wave he headed inside, the flash of Deku’s headlights as he backed out of the driveway signaling his departure.
Katsuki felt like crashing immediately, but he forced himself to shower and eat something before grabbing his laptop. The dragon was the first one Yuuei’s ever cared for. If he was gonna be helping it recover, he’d have to do more research beyond sketchy forum posts to make sure he wasn’t gonna go in blind.
He had been eager for a challenge.