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Aizawa woke up to an alert on his phone. Again. Turns out being the homeroom teacher for a class of war-veteran, traumatised, super-powered teenagers seldom provides him with a peaceful night. No matter how much he was comforted about the war, he couldn't help but feel that it was partially his fault for getting a bunch of children involved. That’s why he gave all his students his number for whenever or whoever needed him. He’d rather be called by some traumatised 16 year old when they had a bad nightmare or anxiety attack rather than wake up to find one of his students had hurt themselves or gotten hurt. Especially because of how out of control quirks could get with emotions.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, already running through the possibilities. Usually it was Todoroki almost setting his room on fire, which became so frequent that the support course had to install a separate fire alarm system in his room as to not wake the others up. Sometimes Uraraka woke up screaming and they needed to call him because Tsu wasn’t able to calm her down. Sometimes it was Shoji or Tokoyami, sometimes half strangled by their own quirk. Occasionally, it would be Midoriya. Not to say the green-haired teen didn’t get nightmares, but he rarely reached out unless they were extremely bad. What Aizawa did not expect to see was no phone call or alert from Todoroki’s room. It was an alert from Bakugou’s room.
He installed a separate fire system in the young man’s room as well due to his quirk, but it had never gone off. It made sense an incident would happen, the kid did literally die and fight the greatest evil the world has ever faced. He also got impaled. The thing that surprised him was it got so bad that he had to be alerted. Usually, Bakugou gave it his all not to seem weak, especially when it came to controlling his quirk. He had grown so much over the year, and even learned how to show vulnerability, but that didn’t mean he was going to start calling Aizawa to tuck him back into bed after a nightmare (as willing as Aizawa is to do that for any of his kids). Needless to say, Aizawa jumped out of bed, pressing a kiss to his husband’s forehead before heading out.
“Sho?” Hizashi mumbled.
“It’s Bakugou, i’ll be back soon,” Aizawa signed in JSL (Hizashi wasn’t wearing his hearing aids). He then reached for his prosthetic leg, not wanting to hobble up the dorm stairs.
“Mmh,” Hizashi mumbled, going back to sleep.
Aizawa aggressively speed-walked to the heights alliance building. When he got in the vicinity he could hear the popping of explosions. Shit. He ran up the stairs to the fourth floor and saw the entirety of class 2A outside of Bakugou’s dorm. Iida and Kirishima were standing in front of his door, facing the class. Todoroki was holding Midoriya back from breaking down the locked door.
“We need to wait until Mr. Aizawa gets here, bursting in on Bakugou could make things worse!” Iida announced to the class, whisper screaming.
“And he wouldn’t want the whole class here! We should all go back to our rooms-Mr. Aizawa!” Kirishima noticed him first, the whole class then turning to face him.
“Let me in,” Aizawa demanded, calmly.
“Mr. Aizawa,” Midoriya burst forward, “I can help.”
“Iida, get everyone back to bed. Kirishima, keep an eye on Midoriya.” Aizawa turned to Midoriya, “Midoriya, seeing you could make things worse.”
Midoriya broke out of Todoroki’s hold, “I can calm him down, he’ll feel more safe if I’m there.”
“Fine, you may stay out here because I know I’m not getting you back in your room. But don’t come inside.” He turned back to the class, “What is everyone still doing here? Go back to bed.”
Aizawa gestured Todoroki to help Kirishima keep an eye on Midoriya.
“You heard Mr. Aizawa, back to bed!” Iida herded the class away as Aizawa unlocked Bakugou’s door.
Miraculously, Bakugou was still asleep. Granted, the whole room was practically charred and he was laying on what was left on his bed (which wasn’t much). Sweat was dripping off him and immediately exploding into violent bursts of fire. He was shaking and almost fighting in his sleep.
Aizawa activated his quirk, stopping the violent explosions that were being produced from Bakugou. Bakugou was squirming against his bed, shifting and rolling over. He was muttering things like, “Gotta stay up”, “Let me go”, and mostly: “Izuku”.
Suddenly he shot up, letting out a guttural scream of “IZUKU!” He then looked around, hardly recognising his homeroom teacher and started sobbing and hyperventilating. Aizawa kneeled next to the bed.
“Shhh, Bakugou, you’re safe. You’re at UA. He’s safe. You’re okay,” Aizawa whispered in calming voice usually only reserved for Eri or nightmares. He didn’t reach out to touch the boy, despite how much he wanted to pull him into his arms.
His hunch was right because just then Bakugou said, “D-Don’t touch me,” and curled up on himself.
“I won’t. But I’ll stay here until you calm down.”
Bakugou didn’t calm down. He just got more and more worked up and would occasionally just start screaming or pulling at his hair. His body was shaking with the force of his sobs and tears were running down his flushed face.
“Bakugou, I need you to stop pulling on your hair. If you don’t, I’ll have to restrain you,” Aizawa explained calmly. Bakugou moved his hands to his shirt, where he continued pulling. He was now clawing at his chest.
“Can you take a deep breath for me?” Aizawa asked.
“No, Fuck, I can’t--I can’t breathe,” Bakugou gasped, panic rising in his voice.
“Shhh, it’s okay. You can. Try holding your breath,” Aizawa suggested. Bakugou tried, then immediately choked out a loud sob. His lungs felt like they were collapsing. He needed to get to Izuku—needed to save him. Needed to catch up to him.
“I can’t. Need to get to Izuku,” Bakugou squeaked out.
“Hey, it’s okay. Easy. He’s alright. He’s just outside, and he’s worried about you. What you need to do now is focus on breathing, can you focus on my breaths?” Aizawa asked. His eye was starting to water from using his quirk for such a long period, but he didn’t want to risk Bakugou hurting him, which would only further agitate the poor kid.
“Fuck. No,” He was beginning to feel lightheaded, his ears were ringing and he didn’t know if it was from whatever was happening or his partial deafness but he couldn’t hear breaths. “Izuku…” he sobbed out.
“I can’t--I can’t, sir you need to leave. I can’t control my quirk,” He was full on shaking and sobbing, it took everything in Aizawa not to reach out and wrap the shaking boy in his arms.
“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here. I won’t let you get out of hand. You are so strong and capable, kid. You’re going to be fine. I shut off your quirk for now, just focus on calming down.”
He let out another sob, collapsing into his own arms and burying his head on his knees. He continued to shake with the force of his sobs.
“‘m nauseous,” Bakugou warned Aizawa, who promptly brought the trashcan by Bakugou’s desk to his bed. Bakugou took it in shaky hands and dry heaved before going back to sobbing.
“Where’s Izuku? I need Izuku,” Bakugou finally told Aizawa, looking up at him with defeated eyes.
Aizawa sighed, he hadn’t played all his cards yet but Midoriya was already outside and he didn’t want Bakugou passing out or actually throwing up. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t get violent if he saw Midoriya, which was what he was mainly concerned about. He also didn’t want the boy to feel obligated to help, but knowing Midoriya, that wouldn’t be a problem.
“Okay, are you going to be okay if I leave for a second? I’m going to go get him, okay?” Aizawa calmly explained. Making sure Bakugou was stable enough to deactivate his quirk.
Bakugou nodded, his tears still flowing freely from his red eyes. Aizawa got up and walked to the door. Kirishima, Todoroki and Iida were holding Midoriya back.
“Sensei, please, Kacchan needs me—” Midoriya struggled against the hold.
“Midoriya, you can go in. Just don’t overwhelm him,” Aizawa carefully explained as the other boys let him go. Aizawa thanked them and let Midoriya in.
“Kacchan?” Izuku asked, walking into the room.
Bakugou’s eyes finally focused, “Izuku?”
“Hey, you’re alright. It’s okay, Kacchan. The war’s over, I’m okay. I even still have some of One for All left so we’ll still be chasing each other. Everything’s fine,” Izuku softly explained, sitting on the bed and placing a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder. Aizawa expected him to get blasted for that, he even activated his quirk to ensure that didn’t happen, but instead of flinching away, Bakugou leaned into the touch. He seemed a bit more calmer now that he could see Izuku.
“What do you need?” Izuku softly asked, now rubbing Bakugou’s shoulder. Bakugou’s face was still flushed, mostly from embarrassment, but the tears had stopped. He turned away from Izuku. Izuku grabbed his cheek with his other hand, “Kacchan, what do you need?”
Bakugou quickly looked at Mr. Aizawa, who turned away and walked to the edge of the room to give them some privacy.
“Just you, just need you here with me,” Bakugou explained, looking so lost and out of it. He put his hand on the hand that was cupping his face, leaning into it and nuzzling it like a cat.
Tentatively, Midoriya pulled Bakugou into his chest so his face was buried in his neck. He ran his fingers through Bakugou’s hair, and rubbed the muscles on his back. Bakugou’s body was still convulsing with tearless sobs and panting. In spite of himself, this was remarkably calming Bakugou down. The feeling of being held and being safe and being warm was incredible alone. But it being Izuku who was holding him made everything better. The smell of home radiated off the boy and calmed him down immensely. The feeling of Izuku’s strong and scarred arms against his skin settled him back into his own body.
“You’re okay. You’re doing so well, just breathe. Kacchan, you’re okay. Both of us are okay. Just focus on my breath,” Izuku whispered into his ear.
“Hold me against your chest?” He asked, his voice completely hoarse and his face flushed. Izuku was surprised but he quickly laid against the charred headboard and pulled Katsuki into his arms. He pressed the boy’s head against his chest and rested his head on the boy’s hair. He grabbed Kacchan’s hand and held it tight over his own chest so he could feel his heart beat. His other arm snaked protectively around his waist. Katsuki’s other hand grabbed Izuku’s arm, tightly holding onto it and pushing himself further into the boy’s chest.
Katsuki immediately relaxed a bit. He could feel Izuku’s steady heartbeat against his back. His breath in his hair. His cold hands on him, cooling him down. He nuzzled into Izuku’s neck, finally able to breathe. The steady pressure around his waist grounded him and the warmth of another body against him filled him with comfortable warmth rather than uncomfortable heat that had been rising in him. Katsuki’s body was regulating itself to Izuku’s heartbeat and breathing, which significantly calmed him down. He finally sighed against Izuku’s neck, calm. Izuku was okay, he could feel Izuku breathing and his heart beating. He was alive and he was here and he was okay.
“Better?” Izuku whispered into his ear. Katsuki nodded before his face flushed with embarrassment and he broke away from the embrace.
“I’m okay, Sensei. You can go back to bed.” He then turned to Izuku, “And so can you.”
“Bakugou, your room is in shambles, you should sleep downstairs in the common room or in the teacher dorm in a spare room.”
“I’ll be fine,” Bakugou asserts, stubbornly.
“Bakugou, I legally can’t let you sleep here. Either you get your ass up or me and Midoriya drag you out of here.”
“He can stay in my room,” Midoriya offered.
“No,” Aizawa immediately answered.
“But I could keep an eye on him and help him if he has another nightmare,” Midoriya argued.
Aizawa sighed, technically two students of the same gender bunking together wasn’t against regulations but that was due to Japans outdated stance on homosexuality. He didn’t want to assume anything of Midoriya and Bakugou but he also didn’t want any inappropriate conduct to happen. Well, neither of them are going to get pregnant so at least he wouldn’t have to think or hear about it.
“Fine. Bakugou, stay where you wish. Just not here,” Aizawa stated firmly.
“Okay, I’ll stay with Izuku,” Bakugou begrudgingly agreed.
“Very well, let me know if anything else happens and you need me,” Aizawa told them, before opening the door. He then turned back to the boys, “Seriously, if either of you needs anything, I’m here.”
And with that, he left the charred room.
. . .
Izuku took Katsuki’s hand and gently guided him to his room.
“What do you usually sleep in, Kacchan?” Izuku asked, opening his dresser.
“My own room,” Katsuki grumbled.
“I meant clothes.”
“The support course made me a cooling tank top to prevent me sweating too much in my sleep but I must’ve fallen asleep without it tonight. Hatsume is gonna be pissed that it exploded,” Katsuki explained.
“Uhm, I don’t have a cooling tank top,” Izuku sadly admitted.
It just then clicked that Izuku was trying to give him new, non burnt clothes to sleep in.
“Uh, usually I just slept in boxers before that to not get too hot but ill take shorts and a t shirt.”
“I don’t mind if you sleep in just boxers,” Izuku said. He then immediately blushed and covered his face, “I mean, I don’t think it’d be weird or anything because the last thing I want is for you to blow up my room too! Also your quirk is probably easier to control when you aren’t too warm, not to mention—“
Katsuki also blushed a bit, “I wouldn’t have taken it that way, damn nerd.” He sighed. “At least hand me a t-shirt, I have enough control over my quirk.”
Izuku nodded, throwing him a white shirt. The one that says “t-shirt”. If Katsuki was any less of a man he would’ve started a fight.
Katsuki stripped off his own shirt, throwing it to the floor and sliding on Izuku’s.
Izuku turned away and blushed.
“Eh?” Katsuki asked, “what now?”
“Well, I thought I’d give you some privacy-“
“YOU’VE SEEN ME CHANGE BEFORE, IDIOT!” Katsuki yelled. Leave it to Deku to bring him back to his usual self. He threw his old shirt at Deku, who awkwardly laughed and turned back around.
Izuku wrung his hands, “Well, I didn’t know if you wanted me to just watch or like-“
“You’re making this weird, Deku,” Katsuki sighed, “Also can I have some boxers, mine have holes in them in places there shouldn’t be holes.”
Izuku nodded, throwing him a pair of boxer briefs. At least they weren’t Allmight themed like the rest of his room.
“Okay well now you made it weird, turn around,” Katsuki grunted.
“Uh? Oh, right, yes. Will do. Turning around now.”
Katsuki changed, Izuku’s clothes were actually loose around him, if not a tiny bit short. And they smelled like him. It was actually comforting in a weird way. It was sort of like being held if he thought about it.
“Okay, I’m decent.”
Izuku turned back around.
Oh my god he’s so cute. He’s in my clothes. Shit. I’m gay. I’m so gay.
“So, do you want me to just sleep on the floor?” Katsuki asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He set his clothes in a pile on the floor.
“No, just sleep in my bed.”
Katsuki hesitated, “Are you sure that’s okay? I can always just go downstairs, I wouldn’t want to disturb your sleep.”
“Sorry Kacchan! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I can sleep on the floor if you want the bed,” Izuku offered with a small laugh.
“EH? I’m not uncomfortable, idiot. I was just making sure you weren’t gonna be weird about it. Besides, neither of us should sacrifice the quality of our sleep by sleeping on the floor so it’s fine. Just don’t touch me.”
“Of course not!” Izuku crawled into bed, scooting to the side of the bed that was up against the wall. Katuski crawled in next to him, turning on his side and facing Izuku.
Izuku turned on his side and faced Katsuki. Neither closed their eyes and they held each other’s gaze in the silence of the dorm room.
“You wanna talk about it?” Izuku asked into the darkness.
“No,” Katuski answered.
He wanted to be held so bad. He wanted, just once, to fall asleep in Izuku’s arms. He wanted to hear that everything was okay and he was safe and loved and needed the way he needed Izuku. He didn’t exactly know if it was romantic or platonic, as Katsuki didn’t have much experience with either, but he knew it was something so deep he wouldn’t be able to be separated from Izuku. He needed him by his side, whether they were chasing after each other or simply lying in silence.
His dream, well it was one of the many dreams he had since the end of the war, was of course about Izuku. In his dream, he couldn’t stop All for One. He got to Shigaraki and they formed into this giant monster. He could feel the blood seeping out of his chest like when he died and as he faded into that peaceful white space, he thought of Izuku. But rather than knowing Izuku’s future was bright and he would be happy, even without his Kacchan, he saw Izuku being torn apart. Peice by painful piece. Each ugly and broken part of him discarded in front of a helpless expression. Before he could succumb to the same feeling of death he had once felt before, Izuku turned to him. And despite being at least 80 kilometres away from him in real life, he could hear Izuku’s words as clear as day.
“Why can’t you keep up with me?”
And it all faded to white. Izuku died. And it was Katsuki who let it happen. Who made it happen.
“Kacchan?” The Izuku in front of him, the real Izuku, asked.
“Hm?” Katsuki responded, pulled out of his dreamlike trance.
“You just suddenly tensed.”
“’S nothing.”
“Okay! Let me know if you need anything,” Izuku spared him one more look and then closed his eyes.
Katsuki stared at Izuku. He could feel the other boy’s warmth against his skin despite them not being touching. Even in the dim light, he could just barely make out each individual freckle on Izuku’s face. Or maybe he knew where they were by heart and his brain filled it in. Dark green hair fell over his eyebrows, which were furrowed in slight worry. His mouth was open as he inhaled the sweet and cold air of the night. With moonlight shining on his face and only his head peaking out from Allmight themed covers, he looked so calm.
He looked beautiful.
“‘Zuku?” Katsuki finally asked.
“Hm?” Izuku responded, mirroring Katsuki’s response from earlier. Though he answered and gave Katsuki his full attention, his eyes were still blissfully closed.
Katsuki ran his hand through his hair, a nervous tic he’d picked up recently. Softly, he said, “I’m sorry you lost your quirk.”
Izuku opened his eyes, frowning, “Why?”
“Cause, I mean, it’s your dream and-“
“No. I mean why are you telling me this now?”
Katsuki shrugged.
“Kacchan,” Izuku started, looking into his eyes, “I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”
“It was supposed to be us. I know you have One for all and everything but still. I should’ve been there. Maybe if I didn’t let that damn brat beat me, I could’ve helped. We could’ve had complete victory. You could still have your quirk.”
Izuku’s gaze softened, his green eyes reflecting more moonlight and the tension in his eyebrows releasing, he smiled.
“Kacchan, it’s not my quirk. It never was. It was only a tool for defeating All for One, which we did. I couldn’t have done it without you but that last punch wasn’t your battle. Since the moment Allmight handed over his quirk, it was always mine ,alone. You couldn’t have carried that with me but you still helped me. You died for me, taking on Shigaraki when I couldn’t and finishing All for One off. And after coming back from the dead and being fatally injured, you didn’t hesitate to be there, pushing me forward. And Kacchan, you’ve always been my symbol of victory. So when I saw you there I knew we would win.”
Katsuki felt another round of tears building up. Somewhere deep down, he knew that was true. But hearing Izuku saying it was something completely different. It was something tangible and real. His eyes burned with the tension of it, the pure emotion. Katsuki Bakugou had never been one to doubt himself and would never do anything less than his 100%. Even when it left him mangled and broken, he couldn’t let himself believe he had done everything he could. Not when he got to go on living his dream but Izuku couldn’t.
Izuku looked up at him, placing a gently hand on the shoulder that wasn’t pressed against the pillow of the bed. He looked at him with a smile. Not his hero smile, the one he put on to assure people in danger that everything was okay. It wasn’t Allmight’s smile, it was Izuku’s. It was that little kid who Katsuki had befriended so long ago. It was his smile. His smile when he looked at his hero. When he looked at his Kacchan.
That was all the permission Katsuki needed to let go. He burst out sobbing. Ugly, broken sounds that overtook his body and left him shaking with adrenaline. Izuku gently held Katsuki, rubbing his hand on Katsuki’s back and holding his neck. He tilted Katsuki’s head to the side so he could breathe while still being pressed up against Izuku’s chest.
“Let it out. You’re so strong, Kacchan. You don’t need to be strong here. I’ve got you,” Izuku whispered into Katsuki’s hair which only made him cry harder. He cried until he couldn’t breathe anymore, until he felt it not only in his eyes and cheeks and throat and chest but in his very bones. He let out months of guilt and blame and frustration and self-hatred and pity. He let out years of love that could never be returned. He let out years of hatred he projected onto young Izuku. He cried until Izuku’s shirt was soaked.
And Izuku. Izuku, sweet Izuku held him through it. Whispered reassurance in his ear, played with his hair and rubbed his back. Hummed a little tune as Katsuki cried. He just let him break in his arms. Eventually, the sobs mellowed out and Katsuki began breathing a bit more normally.
“There you go, that’s it. Breathe. In. Out. That’s it,” Izuku reassured him. He was a snotty mess and half his face was red from how much he cried. Izuku reached around Katsuki and grabbed his box of tissues, handing it to Katsuki. Katsuki sat up, hurriedly wiping his face and blowing his nose. Izuku sat up so he was sitting with his legs crossed on his side of the bed, looking at Katsuki.
Once his sobs calmed completely, all that remained was exhaustion. Katsuki didn’t know if he didn’t have the energy to be embarrassed or if Izuku had truly quelled his fears about looking weak. Probably the former. His eyes were weighed down with the weight of his tears and he let himself collapse against Izuku, his forehead pressed to the boy’s chest.
“Feel better?” Izuku whispered. Katsuki nodded into his chest.
“You want to try going back to sleep?” Izuku asked, sparing a glance at his digital Allmight clock that read 2:47am. Katsuki nodded again. Izuku shifted them so they were laying against the pillow on Izuku’s bed. Izuku had one arm around Katsuki’s chest and the other hand behind his pillow. Katsuki had both hands curled up in Izuku’s shirt, with his head pressed right above them in the crook of his neck. Their legs were entangled under the covers and the warmth of each other’s body created a cozy and safe atmosphere.
“Comfy?” Izuku asked, his voice low and soft.
“Mhm,” Katsuki responded, snuggling even closer into Izuku’s chest.
Cute.
Izuku wanted so badly to press a kiss to the blonde’s forehead, but he settled for burying his face in Katsuki’s spikey hair.
“Goodnight, Kacchan,” Izuku said.
“‘Night, nerd.”
They fell asleep holding each other like that, their breaths synchronising.
. . .
Izuku woke up before Katsuki. He was very well rested and had a warm feeling in his chest from being able to hold his Kacchan all night. He smiled into the boy’s hair. Katsuki was still pressed up against Izuku’s side, which couldn’t have been an easy feat considering how much Izuku moved around in his sleep. He was spread out on his back and Katsuki was clinging to him like a koala, with his head resting in the crook of Izuku’s neck. He checked the clock, which said 7:06am. Class started in about an hour. He should probably get ready. But Katsuki must’ve not gotten much sleep and he looked so comfy. The morning sun made his blonde hair practically glow. It was shining off his face in the most angelic way, and hitting his light eyelashes so perfectly. He looked so cozy and warm and alive.
Katsuki always reminded Izuku of the sun, not in the way he was a bright and friendly light to everyone or in the way he brought happiness in a room but through sheer intensity. He burned so loudly and aggressively that it was hard to notice anything else. He shined so bright and burned so hot that his pure passion propelled him to succeed in whatever he did. It was incredible. Like a star.
Izuku shook that thought out of his head and debated on how he would wake Katsuki up. Maybe shake him awake? He didn’t know which method would result in the least nitroglycerin sweat being thrown directly onto his face and immediately exploded.
Finally, he just decided to tap Katsuki and not move him. He gently pushed down firmly on Katsuki’s shoulder. Then moving to tap him.
“Kacchan, it’s morning. We don’t want to be late for class.”
“Hmm?” Katsuki groaned, moving one of his arms to cover his eyes and block the blinding sun that shone through the window.
“It’s seven, let’s get up.”
“‘M comfy,” Kstsuki protested, letting his eyes drift close and resting against Izuku’s neck again.
“Kacchan, we need to get up,” Izuku tried.
Katsuki groaned into his chest, “Five more minutes, I’m so fucking tired.”
“Fine. Five more minutes.”