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His phone alarm blared loudly on the bedside table, screaming at him to wake up.
Fuck. Fuck. He had to go to school.
He flinched mentally. The past week of school had been a living hell. Students in the halls were making snide remarks left and right, saying how he wasn’t cut for heroism, how he was much more suited for the role of the villain.
Just thinking about it all made his stomach churn even more. Damn it, he felt so sick.
He turned off his alarm and sat upright. But he moved too quickly, making the nausea even worse.
He grunted. Shit, he felt awful.
he eyed his uniform, laying hazardously on the floor. It was like it was taunting him, but also warning him of the horrible day that most likely awaited him.
No.
Katsuki couldn’t deal with that. He couldn’t take another day. Not another day of that torture.
He stood up and kicked his uniform underneath the bed, he couldn’t even bear to look at it.
Pathetic, he thought.
His stomach lurched.
Not wasting a second, Katsuki ran to the bathroom, flipped open the toilet seat, gagged, and threw up at least five times.
Hell, it could have been six, by the third time, he was too panicky and nervous to count or care.
He fell onto the ground and curled up into a ball after he flushed, shaking and hyperventilating. Tears had started falling down his face, and he had to practically drag himself back to his dorm.
He still felt like shit as he threw himself down onto the bed, regretting it immediately as he felt his stomach roll again.
A small sob escaped his lips. He couldn’t deal with any of this anymore. It was too much, too. Fucking. Much.
***
”Asui?”
”Here!”
“Bakugo?”
No response.
”.... Bakugo..?”
Still no response.
Aizawa looked up from his desk and peered around the room.
Bakugo definitely wasn’t in class.
“...... Hagakure..?”
”Here!”
Aizawa marked Bakugo as absent and then Hagakure as present.
Bakugo was never absent.
What was this about?!
A feeling of deep anxiety stalked its way up into his mind.
Aizawa had always had a talent for telling when something was wrong with his students, both emotionally and physically. Something, he could tell, was definitely very wrong with Bakugo. After all, he was the same kid who had passed out during hero training with a fever, and had still wanted to keep going when he woke up, refusing to rest for anything.
Aizawa himself, hated it when Bakugo pulled stuff like that. But he knew it meant that Bakugo wouldn’t just miss a day of school because of a cold or a slight cough. He wasn’t that type of person.
Aizawa grabbed a notepad from off his table, flipped to a page filled with stuff he needed to do later today, and added something to it.
”Check on Bakugo at his dorm after school, 16:30.”
***
He felt so weak. Bakugo was laying on his bed in a fetal position, his eyes closed and his breathing still shaky and messed up.
He still felt so sick. So, so sick. He was suffering. He needed help. He needed someone, or something, anything to help him, as much as he despised to admit it or believe it.
Fuck, why did he have to be so damn weak?! Why couldn’t he be the strong, achieving hero he and everyone else wanted him to be?! Needed him to be?!
A picture of the students that had whispered about him in the hallways at school popped into his mind.
”He can never be a hero. Have you seen the way he acts! He’s like a wild animal!”
Nods of agreement came from the rest of the group. “He’s been kidnapped by the league before because they wanted to recruit him. Maybe he should have listened.”
A real, genuine scream came up his throat.
Katsuki hated it, hated it, hated it when people said he should have joined the league. No, he fucking detested it. He found himself trembling and panting with rage as he rolled out of bed, landing on the floor like earlier.
All of a sudden, there was soft knocking on his door. Shit. Katsuki had forgotten school was over.
”Bakugo? Bakugo!? It’s Mister Aizawa.”
His eyes shot wide open. FUCK. FUCK HE WAS IN TROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROIBLEHEWAINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROIBLEHEWAINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROIBLEHEWAINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROIBLEHEWAINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLEHEWASINTROUBLE-
The door opened.
Mister Aizawa stood in the entryway, taking in the sight in front of him. Katsuki was laying down on his floor in a ball, shaking, crying and struggling for breath.
”Bakugo?!” Aizawa’s tone was so soft and gentle, yet concerned and anxious at the same time. He sat down beside his student, and for a second, Katsuki thought he was going to try to touch him.
”D-Don’t-! Don’t touch- me!” He managed to utter.
”Ssh... I’m not gonna try and physically do anything unless you give me permission, don’t worry..” Aizawa held up his hands, as if proving his point. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Hearing this, Katsuki relaxed a little bit. But only a little.
”.... Iskippedschool.. I.... I.... I couldn’t- bring- myself to- to go.. I-I’m a damnweakling!” He whimpered loudly.
Aizawa frowned at him. But it wasn’t the kind of frown Katsuki was expecting. It looked worried, and a little sad as well.
“Katsuki... can I call you that?”
Katsuki fought to find it in him to nod.
”... I know there’s been a lot of... stuff going around about you lately. And I know what kind of things they’re saying.”
Aizawa got a little bit closer to him, but neither of them made any physical contact, thankfully for Katsuki.
”I just want you to know, I don’t believe anything they say, and neither do any of your classmates either, I promise.” The way Mister Aizawa spoke was like listening to a remix of a song you had memorised and known for years. He sounded so sincere and considerate, like every word coming out of his mouth was to be cherished and used with great care.
“And if you need anyone to talk to about it, or just someone to talk to in general..” Aizawa let out a noiseless breath he must have been holding in. “You can come and see me. It doesn’t make you weak or “not fit to be a hero. Trust me.”
Katsuki stared at his homeroom teacher. “.... I’ve felt like shit all day.. I got sick because of how fucking worried about school I am.. hell, I even threw up this morning because I couldn’t fucking handle it!” His voice was wobbly and fragile sounding, he was on the verge of tears. “.... I.. I can’t deal with this shit anymore.. it’s pissing me off..”
”Katsuki, is it alright if I touch you now?”
Katsuki’s eyes opened. He hasn’t realised he had closed them. “... Yeah..” He murmured.
Aizawa took his hand and held it tenderly. There was something about it that made Katsuki feel safe and protected. It felt like he was a small child being comforted by a parent after they had had a bad day at school. But somehow, it didn’t feel condescending or weak to Katsuki.
***
Aizawa held Katsuki’s hand in his, rubbing circles with his fingers into the palm.
Bags sat underneath his eyes, his face was as white as a sheet, and his body was shaking like a leaf.
Why had nobody realised?! Katsuki needed help.
”I’m in trouble, huh..?” He managed to smile, but it was clearly forced.
”.... No.” Aizawa was telling the truth. Katsuki was not in trouble. He needed a mental-health break, and that was okay. He was human, after all.
”... What...?” The boy sounded bewildered. “... But.. But I skipped class for fucks sake! I- I should be expelled or some shit! UA doesn’t take this kinda-!”
”Katsuki, like you basically said, you needed a break. You were going to freak out if you didn’t. It’s not your fault, kid. Stop acting like it is.”
”.... But it is my fault. All my damn fault! Just because I had a few shitty days at school-!”
“Katsuki, I’ve had reports from your classmates that they’re worried because they’ve barely seen you in common-areas, or that they haven’t been able to see or talk to you. Kiddo, this isn’t just a few, and I quote: “Bad days.” It’s clearly getting to you.”
”..... Why do you have to be so damn good at this?! Why are you so good with your students?!”
Aizawa didn’t answer. He instead just pulled Katsuki to his feet, who stared at the ground awkwardly.
”Do you want a hug?”
Katsuki looked back up, shock clear in his eyes. “Are you actually fucking serious?!”
Aizawa closed his eyes and pinched his nose. “Yes, I am serious.”
Katsuki kept staring at him. Then he took a step closer, and another, and another.
Aizawa opened his arms.
Katsuki flung himself into him, burying his face into his shirt.
Aizawa closed his arms around him.
Katsuki whined and cried out.
He was crying.
Katsuki Bakugo, was crying in the arms of Shota Aizawa.
His crying made Aizawa’s icy heart shatter and turn into a steaming hot puddle. It sounded so... lost. Like it belonged to someone who had lost all sense of life and feelings of happiness.
Aizawa used one hand to rub his back and the other to hold Katsuki. “It’s okay. Cry. Let it all out.” He said softly. “You can miss the next couple of days of school if you want. If you can, come back on.... Thursday.... next week. But if you want to, feel free to come back earlier.”
Katsuki nodded. “Thank you... Mister Aizawa... Thank you so much..” He sobbed as he said it.
Aizawa had never heard Katsuki say thank you, or any other form of manner for that matter. He reassuringly pat the teen’s head with the hand he was using to rub his back. “No problem, kid. Remember what I said. I know I don’t act like it a lot, but I care about you and all of your classmates. If you ever need anything like this again, please let me know.” His voice sounded a little pleading. But with Katsuki, that may have been necessary.
Katsuki relaxed a little more and let himself fall into Mister Aizawa’s arm. He looked so much calmer and peaceful..
A few minutes later, he could hear snoring. Katsuki was sleeping. Sleeping in his arm.
For the second time in a short time span, his heart melted.
He picked up Katsuki as carefully as he could and carried him over to his bed, taking great caution in making sure he didn’t wake him as he tucked him into his bed.
He didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t leave a student alone when things were this bad. He just couldn’t bring himself to.
So he pulled out the chair from Katsuki’s desk and pulled it over next to the bed, and sat beside the sleeping teen, making sure nothing bad happened to him. Because god forbid what he would do to the next person to call him a villain, or upset him in any other ways.
Katsuki looked like an Angel when he slept. It was so ironic Aizawa almost laughed. But it was true. Katsuki was a mostly silent sleeper, with an occasional breath or movement.
Aizawa swore, he was going to protect him with his life, no matter what. Mark his words.
And with that, he went back to watching over his student, the way a carer or parent looked at their child who had just fallen asleep after their bedtime story.
Needless to say, Katsuki definitely wasn’t sick or upset anymore. At least not now. And even if he was, he knew Mister Aizawa would be there to help him, to console him.
“And if you need anyone to talk to about it, or just someone to talk to in general..”
“You can come and see me. It doesn’t make you weak or “not fit to be a hero. Trust me.”
Everything felt so much better.