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After enduring weeks of rigorous training, Izuku finds solace in the simple joy of spending his weekend at home. Despite the early hour, he eagerly joins his mother for breakfast before she heads off to work.
"Izuku dear, Mitsuki has asked if you could check up on Katsuki once in a while, as long as her and Masaru are at work." It is no question, yet her tone heightens towards the end of her sentence as if it was one. Izuku just nods, already mentally preparing himself for what's inevitably about to happen. His mother gives him a small smile, seemingly pleased with his response. After kissing his forehead in a swift motion she rushes towards the door, yelling a quick "Goodbye!" as she rushes towards her work.
Left alone Izuku just sighs, pondering whether he would get away with just staying home. He didn't mean to be selfish, but this was his time to relax too. It wasn't really fair to force him to spend his weekend getting yelled at by Bakugo, not when he can't escape him at school either. Bakugo won't take his help anyway, he knows that. He would rather starve to death than admit he needs help, especially if that help goes by the name of Izuku Midoriya. Five minutes, he tells himself, and then he will head over and deal with him. He slumps into the couch, trying to relax for just a bit.
Rousing from yet another nightmare, he blinks. Truely, he didn't intend to fall asleep, it just happened. All that training has made him exhausted, even he couldn't deny that. A look at the time made him freeze, it had already been a couple of hours. His mother wouldn’t be back until another 3 hours, so he quickly grabbed his keys and phone and made his way towards Bakugo's house.
Taking a deep breath, he knocks. Seconds pass, to no avail. He knocks again. It must have been two whole minutes by now, yet there's still no sign of an angry blonde. He didn't exactly expect to be greeted with welcoming arms, but getting ignored when he was just trying to help was just... well it was Bakugo. Crouching down he searched for the spare key under the doormat, a small smile appearing on his face as he finally finds it. Not wanting to waste anymore time,he hurriedly opens the door.
"Bakugo? Your mom told me to give you a little assistance. I know it's not ideal but I will make it quick, I promise." The living room is awfully quiet, an uncommon occurrence in the Bakugo house. "Bakugo? You can’t just ignore me the entire time, I know you don’t want help but right now you clearly ne-" He stops as he enters the kitchen, promptly greeted with an unusual sight. The scene right in front of him wasn't something he ever expected to be seeing.
The entire kitchen was a mess, broken bowls on the floor amongst fallen down noodles equally covering it. Amidst all of this was Bakugo, sitting down in a small puddle of water. His head was resting on his knees as his entire body shook from uncontrollable sobs. Izuke froze, not sure how to react to seeing him in such a vulnerable place. If he left now, he could save them both from this uncomfortable situation. He didn't want to deal with his anger anymore, not after he finally managed to stand up to the bullying.
Making a decision he made his way towards the front door, but guilt gnawed at him. He was supposed to help him, so Bakugo being in that position was at least partially his fault. With that, he abruptly turned around, making his way toward this bundle of sadness. He crouched down to his level, lightly tapping his shoulder. "Bakugo? Are you okay? What happened?" Izuku knows those are stupid questions, but he was lost as how to comfort his life long bully. Upon not receiving any reaction, he tapped his shoulders again, this time letting his hands stay there. He could feel his entire body shiver and somehow, he pitied him. "Bakugo, can you hear me?" One hand reaching towards his kin, raising his head so he can look into his reddened eyes.
They widen upon making eye contact with Izuku and he quickly slaps his hand away. This causes another wail to leave his mouth, his broken arm hurting even more after such a reckless action. "Fuck off! Go away! Leave Deku!" His once powerful voice now only a faint memory and not at all comparable with the strained quiet noises coming out of Bakugos mouth, occasionally getting interrupted by another sob or sniffle. Izuku backs off a little, not wanting to cause anymore distress. "What happened?" He tries his best to stay calm, wanting to deescalate the situation as soon as possible.
"None of your fucking business! Just fucking leave! I don’t need your help!" With all his might the blonde tries to stand up, yet fails halfway. A loud thud can be heard as he hits the floor for the second time, followed by a pained scream. Panic arises in Izuku as he can make out a new blood stain on his clothing. He isn’t sure what wound reopened, but god does he hope it's nothing fatal. "Bakugo please calm down. Your wound reopened, you need to go to the hospital, you need to get this treated. What if-"
Yet again he gets interrupted by Bakugo. "I said I don’t need your shitty help! Just leave already." The last part is even quieter, almost a faint whisper but Izuku still catches it. "Please."
Something breaks inside of him, seeing his biggest rival in such a pathetic state. "I know you don’t need my help, but I should have been here. I'm sorry, but you’re bleeding, please Bakugo" His voice cuts off, the feeling of a rope being tied around his neck. He bends down again, searching for eye contact. "You don’t need me, but I should have been here to make sure this doesn’t happen."
"I just wanted to make ramen." He chokes out. "Just some stupid instant ramen. They are simple! Every little kid is able to make themself some noodles! Its so fucking simple, just put some noodles in a bowl and pour hot water over it so why-" his voice cracks. "Why can't I fucking do it?"
Silence stretches as both of them don’t know what to say.
"You have burns all over your body, a broken arm and leg and multiple broken rips, no one is expecting you to be able to do everything-"
"But I can't do shit! I can't do anything! Nothing! I can't shower, can't walk, can't cook, can't train, can't fight, hell I can't even stand right now! I'm Bakugo Katsuki for fucks sake!"
Izuku puts a comforting hand on his shoulder "Bakugo, it hasn't been like this for long. You just need to let your body rest for a bit and you will be back to your old self." He puts on an encouraging smile, but it instantly met with a look of anger.
"I'm not like you Deku! I don’t need to rely on people! I'm strong unlike you, I'm not weak! I can't be weak! I should be able to do simple tasks" He tries to stand up again, but that attempt is quickly shut down. "I'm not weak, I don’t need your help. I'm not weak, I don’t need your help. I'm not weak, I'm not weak, I'm not weak, I'm not weak, I'm not-" His voice breaks off as tears start streaming down his face again.
Without thinking, Izuku goes in for a hug. He tries to protest, but doesn’t have the strength to fight it. "Shh, it's okay. You're not weak, I know that. But it's okay to need help."
Its quiet for a few seconds. "I don’t need your shitty help." His voice is weak, not half as angry as it was supposed to sound. "You're right, you don’t need help. But I do. I need some practice with bandaging up wounds. Can you help me?" The obvious lie hangs in the air as Izuku patiently waits for his answer. "Yes, I guess I can help a weak nerd like you."
He scops him up, carrying Bakugo towards his room. There he makes sure to take care of each and every wound, expertly bandaging them. By the time he's done, Bakugo is already asleep, passed out due to the excessive crying and pain. Izuku makes sure to leave the kitchen spotless, before returning to his own home.
The next time they see each other in school, Bakugo is fully recovered and almost back to his usual self. If their classmates notice that he suddenly seems less hostile toward Izuku, they don’t mention it. The same way that Bakugo doesn’t mention the note Izuku left at his bedside table that day.
"Thank you for helping me."
Maybe one day he will be able to admit that it's okay to need help, but until then Izuku will be there, regardless if he says he needs him or not.