partially deaf!pro hero katsuki
a/n: i love katsuki so much guys i don't think you understand.
constantly thinking about pro hero katsuki who, due to his quirk and the fighting he had to do during his UA days, now has to wear hearing aids. they’re nothing flashy, but they do match his hero costume somewhat. he never thought he’d needed them and tried to ignore the ringing in his ears for as long as he could, until he realized he could no longer hear the people he loved like he used to—their voices that were once so close now so far away.
and yeah, it takes some getting used to; it took a lot to convince him to even seek help, and going from hearing fine for most of your life to struggling to hear anything at all was terrifying at first. it felt like the silence was closing in on him, haunting him. but now, after some time—and many, many, frustrating sign language classes and lip reading attempts—he's managed to adapt.
and it's not like he's incapable of hearing anything at all. he can still hear the faint laughter of his friends when they meet up for dinner amidst their busy schedules, hoping to squeeze in one more drink before having to go their separate ways again. he can still hear the children yelling his name in excitement as he speeds through the sky, sending him encouragement for all of his upcoming fights. he smiles faintly at them, his way of thanking them for the support.
at first, he didn't want the public to know about it. it was partially in fear of being underestimated (by civilians and villains alike) and partially because he didn't want his image to be reduced down to his partial hearing loss. and while he does deal with the occasional 'off' interaction (his poor pr team had quite the mess to clean up, but that news reporter talking about katsuki when he thought he couldn't hear him had it coming.) he still carries himself with pride, hearing aids and all. he has no reason not to.
he's still gonna yell all he wants, though, partially deaf or not, just for the hell of it—he is katsuki bakugou. old habits die hard, i guess.
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