Chapter Text
The musk of smoke has made its home in Katsuki’s hair and clothes, the crackle of fire and whirl of alarms rings in his head constantly, even long after his shift ends and he washes away the day down the shower drain. His body aches with the weight of his uniform and the exhaustion of the shift.
Still, everyday he drags himself out of bed and to the fire station. And everyday, he’d do it again, no matter the outcome.
He’s lucky, really. The fire station got a whole upgrade a few years ago - plethora of showers with water pressure strong enough to relax his tense muscles, a new kitchen with two stoves, stacked ovens which makes cooking ten times easier for Katsuki, a sink large enough for the rest of the team to stack their dishes in and leave for ‘later’ (Katsuki always ends up doing all the cooking and cleaning). There’s two rooms of twin beds with mattresses soft and easy to sink into, as opposed to the cardboard, shitty bunk beds they used to have.
It makes it easier. What would be better however, if his team wasn’t full of a bunch of idiots.
“Hey, Katsuki! Good morning! Did you see the group thread?” Eijiro is on his heels the moment Katsuki is walking in the station, his red-headed friend hopping around excitedly.
Groaning, Katsuki makes his way to the stairs leading up to the locker room. “I haven’t looked at my phone all morning, Shitty Hair.” He replies, taking two steps at a time in attempt to get away from the man’s eagerness. It’s too early in the morning for this - five am to be exact.
“Ah dude! Station 118 is getting an upgrade and we get their massage chair. Awesome, right?” Kirishima cheers, following the man into the locker room and leaning against one of the black lockers.
That actually perks Katsuki interest and he raises a brow as he sets his bag down on the long bench, “Fuckin’ seriously?” He asks, pulling out the dark blue pants and matching button up with a patch on the side reading Station 119 and Bakugo on the left chest.
The red haired boy nods eagerly, already dressed for the day. “Seriously, man! I’m gonna be gettin’ all these knots out.” He rubs his shoulder, grinning excitedly. “No more back cramps for me.” He adds.
Katuski rolls his eyes, “You know Dunce Face is probably gonna hog it anyway.” He points out, peeling off his black t-shirt and sweatpants and pulling on the navy blue uniform, fingers working quickly to button it up.
As if called upon, a head of electric blonde hair peeks in, “Hey! Katsuki, did you hear?” Denki basically skips into the locker room, throwing his bag messily onto the bench and grinning wildly.
“I already told him, we’re pumped!” Ejirio gives the excited man a fist bump.
“Hell yeah, I’m gonna sleep on that thing!” Denki throws his shirt and pants into his locker, not bothering to fold them and pulls his uniform on.
With a scoff, Katsuki slips on his shoes. “You’d better not be a fuckin’ hog, we’re all sore as hell.” He grumbles, threateningly and folds his clothes carefully back into his duffel bag.
“Fine. Fine.” Denki frowns, though his eyes still shine with the intent to take advantage of the massage chair. “By the way, Captain Aizawa is gonna be late today. Somethin’ about his daughter being sick.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that! To be fair, he should’ve waited to tell us about the massage chair. Now it’s all anyone is talking about.” Kirishima goes to follow Katsuki as he heads out of the locker room, seeking out a cup of coffee to wash away the exhaustion still lingering.
He ignores the greetings from the rest of the team in the kitchen and lingering around the common room, letting Kirishima holler ‘Goodmornings’ and chat about the incoming massage chair. Which, seriously, it felt a little pathetic that a damn massage chair has the entire station buzzing.
He barely has time to pour out a cup of coffee before the alarms are ringing and a yellow light flashes across the station, making everyone jump up immediately. There’s a pounding of feet, hush of mutters as everyone rushes to pull on their gear. Katsuki gives a last, longing look at his cup of coffee before leaving it and following the crowd to the bunker gear.
Katsuki pulls on his thick, black pants, the red suspenders snapping against his shoulders and the heavy, black jacket over his shoulders. He grabs the keys from their hanger and swings them in his fingers as everyone loads onto the rig. He does one last sweep before hopping into the drivers seat, hitting the garage door button and flipping on the sirens.
“House fire at block186 Saitama.” Dispatch speaks through the radio, “Two adults, two kids and a dog inside.”
•
Katsuki takes small breaths as they rush into the house, his eyes scanning for the dog. They’d got the family out already and they were already on their way to the hospital for mild burns and smoke inhalation. It’s hard to see, thick smoke fills the house and black ash settles against the walls. Katsuki’s boots step carefully over fallen picture frames and he slams open the door to a room.
“Come on. Diago! Come here, boy!” He calls the dogs name (courtesy of the owners) and claps his gloved hands. It’s hot, a bead of sweat rolls down his temple and his voice comes out slightly muffled from the mask feeding him oxygen.
It won’t be long before smoke inhalation for a dog is fatal, not to mention the scorching heat and burns that are also a threat. Finally, he hears a small whimper from the back of the house and his pace picks up, boots thudding against the ground as his eyes land on the small dog, ash coating it and a fallen beam trapping it in the corner.
He moves the couch out of his path with an easy push and then carefully leans down. “Alright, Diago. We’re gonna do this slow.” He mutters, mostly to himself. He lifts the beam up slowly, taking note of the dogs labored wheezing and squinted eyes. Some ash falls from the beam and the dog whimpers smally. “Shit, I know. Sorry.” Katsuki holds up the beam with one hand while the other reaches down, carefully scooping up the mid-sized dog and as soon as the dog is in his arms, he drops the beam and turns to head for the door.
The rest of the team is already working on extinguishing the fire, thick hoses in their hands. “Gotta get the dog to a vet!” He calls out, “You got this under control?” He asks Kirishima who’s directing the crew.
“Yeah, go!” The red haired man replies hastily.
So, Katsuki loads up in the back of one of the extra ambulances, ordering the paramedics to head to the nearest vet. He watches the dog carefully, listening to its shallow breaths and the few burns on its tail and back. There’s not much he can do, protocol says to wait for a vet before administering anything, incase it makes the symptoms worse. Katsuki shrugs off his massive coat, puts his helmet on beside it and as soon as the paramedic inform him they’re at the vet, he scoops the dog back up and jumps out of the ambulance.
The vet is small, quaint and placed just on the edge of downtown. Large lettering on the front spells out ‘Emergency Vet’ and several cars sit in the parking lot. He pushes into the clinic quickly, prepared to open his mouth to bark out orders.
Instead, the moment he enters, the brunette girl with round cheeks sifting through papers halts behind a counter halts. Eyes wide and she jumps forward.
“Izuku!” She calls and races toward Katsuki. A badge hangs off the pocket of her scrub top, ‘Ochako Uraraka - Vet Tech’. “Smoke inhalation? How long was he subjected to inhalation?” She asks, a firm hand beginning to tug Katsuki forward and through the large swinging doors.
He thinks for a moment, “About ten minutes, maybe more.” He answers, thrown slightly off guard as the small girl pulls him through the back halls and into a room. A metal table sits in the center, a rolling cart of first aid supplies sits on the edge and a counter with treats, water, blankets, a sink and more runs along the back wall.
Before he can even fully take in the room, someone else is entering the room with hurried footsteps, nearly slamming right into Katsuki.
“Sorry!” A slightly shorter man, a head of green curls and bright pine colored eyes meet his. “You can put him on the table,” He orders, his voice shockingly more firm than the small apology he’d squeaked out. His emerald eyes burn with determination and he quickly moves around Katsuki to turn on the sink and wash his hands.
With a nod Katsuki places the dog down carefully. “He was wheezing when I first got him.” He says, for some odd reason nervous due to the fact he’s not the one in charge at the moment and is wildly out of his element.
The green haired man hums, drying his hands off. He takes a stethoscope, placing it on the dogs chest and back as he listens, his eyebrows knit together in focus. “Get his temp.” He tells the brunette girl -Uraraka, who immediately moves to grab a thermometer. The man then pulls up the dogs lips, inspecting his gums and then opens his mouth and shines a small light into his mouth. “I’m starting fluids, need to get his hydration up.” He mutters, reaching into the rolling cart and fishing out a needle and then whisking over to open a drawer from the counter and pulls out an IV type bag. He hangs the bag on a small hook on the wall, gently takes Diago’s paw and sinks the needle in. Then, he connects the IV to the injection port and steps back as the fluid begins working through the tubing.
“Temp is at 106.2” The vet tech hums and Katsuki was so focused on watching the green eyed man that he hadn’t even realized the round cheeked girl had administered a rectal temperature.
“Ok, put cooling pads on his stomach and armpits. We need to start oxygen therapy.” The man replies, pulling out a large mask and opens a cabinet to get a tank of oxygen. He connects them swiftly, as though he’d done it a thousand times - Which Katsuki can imagine he has. Then, he gently tucks the mask on the dogs snout and nods. “Ok, check his temp again in two minutes.” He orders and the girl nods quickly, lifting the dogs limbs placing the cooling rags down.
Now that the room as slowed down, Katsuki feels sort of awkward standing in a corner while they both work. He’s supposed to stay anyway, in order to give a report and give the vet information to the owners but still, he can’t help but feel in the way. He clears his throat and it gains the attention of the veterinarian.
“Thanks for getting him here so quickly!” The man is suddenly much more cheery, his voice smooth and he gives Katsuki a broad smile. Katsuki feels his heart thump when he noticed the freckles dotted across the man’s cheeks and nose. “He’ll be alright, we just need to get some of those burns patched up and for the oxygen therapy to kick in. I suppose you need a report?” He asks, titling his head to the side and his green tresses bounce slightly.
Get it together, Katsuki. He can’t take his eyes off the veterinarian in front of him until he realizes he is in fact supposed to speak now. “Yeah. Whenever you’ve got time.” He mutters out, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I can write it up now! Are you ok in here, Ochako?” He turns back to the vet tech, giving her a kind smile.
“Yep! I’ll report back if there’s any issues. His burns aren’t bad, looks like first degree but the one on his back is second degree.” Uraraka replies, giving a thumbs up as she picks up some supplies. “Thank, doc!” She hums.
With that, the man nods and heads for the door, holding it open for Katsuki to walk through. “I just need some details from you.” He says, heading to a computer sitting on a small countertop in the hallway. He pulls up a report form and gives Katsuki a grin. “What’s your name and station?” He asks, casually.
“Katsuki Bakugo. Station 119.” He answers swiftly, eyes searching for a badge on the vet in the hopes he could find out his name - he’s unsuccessful.
He types into the computer quickly, “Just a brief explanation of how he was found? Just like his condition and how it progressed on the way over.” The vet asks again and turns his attention back to Katsuki.
“He was wrapped under a beam. When I first found him, he was whimpering and wheezing. By the time we were in the ambulance his breathing was pretty shallow and labored.” Katsuki explains, his fingers bruising into his bicep as the vet nods along, watching him before turning back to type the information in.
“Sweet. I think that’s all I need from you! I’ll write up the rest and hand it over! You can wait in the waiting room if you’d like!”
Katsuki nods, clenching his jaw. “Cool.” He murmurs, giving one last look at the frankly fucking hot veterinarian and stalks off last the swinging door and into the waiting room. When he gets out there, a few people have trickled in, some of them standing at the counter as a receptionist checks them in, others sit in some chairs, legs bouncing anxiously. Katsuki plops himself into a chair furthest from the rest of the people and slumps down.
It’s no more than three minutes later when the familiar man steps out, his green eyes setting on Katsuki and he walks over. Dark blue scrubs cling to his body, accentuating the curve of his hips and the thick biceps peeking out from the sleeves. Katsuki feels like he may break his jaw from how hard his teeth clench together.
“All set!” The man hands over a piece of paper, “You can tell the owners to call anytime and I’ll update them on their dogs status. Oh! I forgot to ask, do you know the dogs name?”
Katsuki takes the paper, “Diago.” He replies, standing slowly and the vet takes a small step back to give him space. “Thanks for your swiftness.” He adds, feeling the need to speak more than just a few words at a time to the freckled man.
“No problem! You saved the dogs life so least I could do was make sure it stayed that way.” He shrugs, a small blush crossing over the freckles. “Well, I hope you have a good one, Kacchan!”
“Yeah you too.” Katsuki replies, almost too distracted by the way the vet turns away and the sway of his hips to realize, who the fuck is Kacchan. He opens his mouth to question the vet but shit. He’d said it so confidently and who was he to make the green haired vet feel bad?
•
“Hey man, how was the vet?” Kirishima asks as Katsuki enters the station, the report papers in hand. The damn paramedics had left him at the clinic cause they got another call which meant Katsuki had to get a taxi back to the station - which ended up being extremely annoying. Not to mention he has no fucking clue where his helmet and jacket are since he’d left them in the ambulance in a rush.
Katsuki grumbles a few curses, “Fuckin’ fine. Dogs gonna be fine. Is the Captain in yet? I need him to log this.” He asks, waving the paper and glancing around the bustling station.
Tsu pokes her head around her ambulance, working on buffing out the small scrapes along the side. “He got in an hour ago. He’s in his office.” She answers, her black hair tied back in a long braid.
“Great. Thanks.” Katsuki mutters, brushing past Kirishima as he ascends up the stairs and to the left, toward the glass office the Captain resided in.
Unsurprisingly, the dark haired man is writing something on a paper, an exhausted look in his eye and a fresh pot of coffee behind him. The Captain is a coffee addict so he got himself his own personal brewer and is constantly downing cup after cup. Katsuki pretty sure he lives off the drink.
“Cap?” He knocks gently on the door and Aizawa looks up, motioning for him to enter. “I’ve got the report from the vet, for the dog we rescued.” Katsuki places the paper onto the messy desk.
Aizawa sighs, taking the paper and scanning over it. “Oh, Downtown Emergency Vet. My daughter works there.” He mumbles and although Katsuki knows it’s mostly to himself but he takes the opportunity.
“It seems like a decent place.” He replies and the Captain's eyes flicker up and he nods. “She work there long?”
“Since last year. Some brats own it but they’re good bosses to Eri. She never shuts up about the stories she gets from there.” Aizawa shakes his head but a fondness for his daughter is obvious in his deep eyes.
Katsuki raises an eyebrow, “Oh, who-“
“Bakugo, I’ve got a lot of work to do and I don’t feel like answering twenty one questions.” Aizawa cuts him off, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Plus, we’ve gotta set up for that damn massage chair. Dunno where we’re gonna put it. Figure it out, yeah?”
“Yessir.” Katsuki nods, backing out of the room and sighing. Why does he even care about that damn clinic? He was there for thirty damn minutes and now, he can’t get that stupid green hair and freckles out of his head. Pathetic. He shakes his head and pushes into the showers, searching to get the scent of smoke off of him.
Still, even as the hot water pounds down his back, he can’t get that damn veterinarian out of his head.
•
They get two more calls, one to put out a small grill fire in some idiots backyard and the other to an accident on the freeway. Katsuki gets an earful from the Captain for forgetting his helmet and jacket in an ambulance and how now, Aizawa has to track it down. By the time Katsuki gets back to the station, it’s nearly eight pm and he wants nothing more than to have some dinner and crawl into one of those beds. He’s still got nine hours left of his shift and while the calls distracted him for a few hours, he’s back to thinking about the vet.
He’s not even sure why, it was a brief meeting and he doesn’t even know the guys damn name. He sulks toward the kitchen, tossing his borrowed jacket onto a hangar and moves to pull open the fridge when Kirishima calls for him.
“Katsuki! Got someone here for you!” His voice echoes and Katsuki groans, cursing as he slams the fridge coach a little too hard.
He stomps over, cursing whoever dared to interrupt his dinner making time but when his eyes land on Kirishima who is talking to a certain green haired man, his eyes widen.
“Ah, vets are so cool!” He can faintly hear Kirishima say to the man, “You must get to see a lot of cool animals, right?” He leans against the wall as he talks to the veterinarian.
“Quite a few! I stitched up a Monitor a few days ago.” The vet replies, sheepishly grinning at Kirishima and annoyance builds in Katsuki’s stomach. Damn that red haired man and his natural charisma.
His friend tilts his head, “One of those massive lizards?” He asks, clearly iffy about the idea.
“Yeah! They’re really friendly and- Oh!” As the vet’s eyes land on Katsuki who’s walking over, he emerges from behind Kirishima fully and Katsuki notices his jacket and helmet on the man’s arm. “The paramedics dropped these off inside while you were at the clinic, I didn’t realize until our receptionist told me and I wasn’t able to drop them off until now! Sorry if it caused some trouble.” The man explains and holds out the items to Katsuki.
“Damn paramedics.” Katsuki huffs, taking them easily and his comment earns a ‘Heard that!’ From Tsu down the hall somewhere. “Thanks, I was wondering where the hell these went.” He gave the vet a thankful nod.
Kirishima places a hand on Katsuki. “Hey, now the Captain doesn’t have to go crazy looking for them! You saved Katsuki a lot of trouble, dude!” He chuckles and Katsuki shrugs his hand off. “I’m Kirishima Eijiro, by the way!” He introduces and Katsuki makes a silent thank god that his friend was opening the opportunity to learn the vets name.
“Nice to meet you I’m Midoriya-“ Katsuki can’t hear the last bit of the vets name because suddenly, the annoying ass alarms are blaring again and the lights are flashing yellow. Fuck.
“Shoot, we’ve gotta run but it was nice to meet you, man!” Eijiro is jumping to pull on his jacket and slings his helmet over his head quickly.
“Yeah, you too!” Midoriya shuffles out of the way and gives Katsuki a shy grin, “Nice to see you, Kacchan!” He waves and once again, Katsuki doesn’t have the gull to correct him, or unfortunately to ask him to repeat his name.
Veku? No. Shit. Deku? Yeah, that sounds right, he hopes. He could barely hear him over the blaring alarms but he settles on Deku. Deku Midoriya