Work Text:
Meal skipping becomes habitual before you realise you're meal skipping.
At least, that's what Shouto experienced.
It wasn't like he was trying not to eat. Eating was just a lot of effort. Effort, that on most days, he didn't have in him. Training got in the way of his homework and homework got in the way of dinner, so on those days he just wouldn't eat.
It wasn't like it was hurting him.
Sure, he'd get irritable and snap a lot quicker but still-
It wasn't hurting him.
It was just a fact.
If there wasn't enough hours in the day, something had to go. It just so happened that on most days he went to bed hungry. That's all.
That's all it was.
Right?
Shouto's head was swimming with these thoughts as he sat down next to Midoriya and Iida at their usual lunch table. Lunch Rush had made something delicious looking, he had to admit. Midoriya was shovelling it into his face like he'd been starved his whole life, so it had to be good right? And Iida didn't seem to be complaining either, so...
Maybe he was the problem?
The food on his tray looked like katsudon, just vaguely different, if he was guessing. Something with rice and curry that to anyone else looked like it was straight from a Michelin Star. Except, Shouto couldn't bring himself to do much more than fiddle with the chopsticks in his hand, pushing food around his plate.
"And that's why Kamui Woods and Mount Lady work so well together! Honestly, with their different types of quirks who'd have thought, right? Then again, Mount Lady's size combined with Kamui's Lacquered Chain Prison is such a great ultimate move if you put them together- " Midoriya rambled on, stuffing his face with whatever was on his plate.
"Midoriya! It is unbecoming of a hero to be talking with your mouth full! Please refrain from doing so." Iida cut him off quickly, straightening his glasses as he spoke.
Shouto watched in silence as Midoriya ducked his head down and apologised profusely, used to the noise of his friends and the overall atmosphere of the cafeteria by now. He didn't mind their little trio, really. The others were neutrals and he was a little but they didn't treat him any differently, so he supposed everything was okay. The occasional sideways glances at his food and then him that Shouto would receive did irritate him slightly, but hey, nothing he couldn't handle.
Shouto funneled a scoop of rice onto his chopsticks and moved it towards his mouth, listening as Midoriya continued on his hero rant.
He was gonna put it in his mouth this time, he swore that he was.
However, a giggle coming closer towards them froze his hand in place. He glanced at the round faced girl coming towards them, brown hair bouncing in the air as she greeted them with a smile.
"Hi guys!" Uraraka beamed, sliding onto the bench next to Midoriya. Shouto didn't miss the slight blush on Midoriya's freckled face.
Shouto was partially sure they had dated briefly and just not told anyone. Or, maybe they were just super awkward. Oh, well. Not his business, anyways.
"I was wondering if any of you had the notes from earlier. I wasn't paying that much attention." the girl smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I can give them to you if you want!" Midoriya piped up, albeit a little awkwardly, not that anyone paid it any mind.
"Thanks, Deku! You're awesome!" Uraraka sighed with relief, almost continuing before pausing and staring right at Shouto. "Todoroki? Are you okay?"
Shouto glanced around, a little out of it. He only opened his mouth when his vision cleared a bit and he could feel Iida's hand on his thigh.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm good." he spoke, slightly dazed, "What's up?"
"Nothing, nothing..." she brushed it off, "You just don't seem to be eating, that's all. Are you feeling little? I can help you out or call Bakugou if you want."
Staring at her with as much bewilderment as he could muster, the two-toned boy laughed nervously, swallowing thickly before he spoke. He had forgotten she was a caregiver too.
"No, no..." he trailed off, "I'm not little. It's okay. And you don't need to call Ki over, it's okay."
"Are you sure? I could go and get him. I was gonna give something back to Mina anyway."
Shouto nodded quickly. A little too quick.
The girl only sighed with a laugh before taking her leave. The pair of boys beside him stared down at his plate.
Food pushed around and mixed together. Pieces of meat cut smaller. Chopsticks idly moving about.
"Todoroki, are you sure you're okay?" Iida asked, keeping his tone gentle, as if any loud noise could shatter Shouto like glass.
"Mhm." the boy replied with practiced nonchalance, returning his gaze to his untouched food.
"Okay." Iida's reply was distant as everything faded together.
Shouto didn't really hear much else; only vague comments about All Might and the homework due in tomorrow. Words swam around his head, never really forming any meaning. He thinks he heard Midoriya mutter something about 'telling Kacchan', not that he typically cared.
The bell saved him from any further questioning as he made his way to his next lesson.
•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•
Shouto's day ended with three homework assignments and Katsuki holding his hand as they walked back to the dorms together. Their afternoon lessons went by with Shouto retaining nothing. His eyes had glazed over around five minutes in and nothing had stuck after that.
Katsuki interlocked their fingers before leaving for the day, bringing him back to the present. They ended up on the floor in Katsuki's room sooner or later. (Maybe both? Shouto wasn't really sure about how much time had passed. His head was so... floaty...)
Katsuki pressed his hands onto Shouto's cheeks, heating them up slowly until the far away look in his eyes disappeared into nothing.
"Hi, Shou-Shou. You okay?"
"Hi, Ki." Shouto's lashes fluttered, feigning innocence. "M'good."
"That's good. Do you need anything?"
Katsuki's palms felt warm as Shouto leaned into his touch, shaking his head. The boy found that Katsuki was always very good at bringing him back from the floaty state.
Who was he kidding? Ki was good at everything.
Shouto adored the way Ki's hands felt against his scar, soft and gentle despite the callouses and scars.
"Shou-Shou, did you eat today?" Katsuki asked, a lilt in his voice.
Nervousness? No, Ki doesn't get nervous.
Ki was brave and strong and so much bigger than Shouto. How could someone like that get nervous?
"Mhm." Shouto crawled closer into Katsuki, now sitting on his knee and leaning his head on his shoulder.
"Are you sure? Deku said you barely touched your food at lunch. And I didn't see you at breakfast, either. Wanna tell me what's going on?"
Shouto yawned in response, slowly moving his hand to cover Katsuki's mouth. "Ki. M'sleepy. Shh..."
The boy wrapped his arms around Katsuki's neck, his breathing evening out before Katsuki could get another word in.
•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•
It had been three days since Katsuki spoke to Shouto about his eating. Three days of minimum conversation and an absurd amount of meal replacement protein shake packets left in Shouto's room. Three days of nothing.
Katsuki was sick of it.
There was only so much you could do when a person just didn't seem to want help.
Katsuki tried reaching out.
'Accidentally' bumping into the boy in the hallways. 'Not realising' that he had made extra food and was now leaving it on Shouto's desk, only for it to remain untouched. Sending Shouto tiktoks about new recipes he wanted to try 'just because', only for him to be left on delivered for hours.
Katsuki would be around the kitchen during breakfasts, serving up whatever the class had decided on the night before. He'd listen half-heartedly to the group of extras that started clinging to him at the beginning of the year, mainly putting his attention on scanning the room for Shouto (who, of course, was never there).
Not once in three days did he see Shouto down at breakfast or dinner.
Katsuki was really and truly sick of his bullshit.
Katsuki saw how it was affecting him. Of course, he did. Watching him get crankier, sloppier, slower was pure agony.
But, you can't help someone who doesn't want help.
Unless...
"Mr Aizawa. I need to talk to you."
"Bakugou?" Aizawa glanced up from a stack of test papers, raising his brow in suspicion. "Is everything okay?"
"I..." Katsuki trailed off. Admitting you needed help was just embarrassing. But it wasn't for him this time, so he supposed he could make an exception. "I- Shouto... Shouto won't eat. He hasn't eaten properly in, like, maybe three or four days? It could be longer. I've tried to talk to him about it but he was like... dissociated? I think he was, at least. I brought him back but he ended up regressed after a minute and we haven't spoken about it since. And I'm pretty sure he's been avoiding me. I... I'm worried about him, Sensei. Can you, like, talk to him, or something?"
"I see." Aizawa hummed, picking at the stubble on his chin. "I'm doing dorm checks later, around seven, just after you guys eat. Try and get him to eat something and I'll speak to him after."
Katsuki nodded, letting himself out of the room.
When dinner came, Shouto was miraculously (to noone's surprise), nowhere to be found. Katsuki grumbled to himself as he trudged up to the boy's room, barging in and staring at Shouto like he had killed someone.
"Downstairs. Now." Katsuki proclaimed, firm and unwilling to take any excuses.
Shouto side-eyed him, barely sparing him a glance, as he returned to the textbook open on his desk.
'Oh, this shit won't fucking stand.'
"Now. Shouto."
Shouto spun to face him, unamusement spread across his face. "No, I'm busy. I'll come later."
Katsuki's face twisted into a mix of confusion and frustration, before ultimately glaring at Shouto and stepping towards him.
'Not. Fucking. Today.'
Without a second thought, he scooped the boy up into his arms and began making his way back to the dining room.
"Hey! Put me down!" Shouto yelled, thumping at Katsuki's back with balled up fists.
"Not until you eat something. You haven't eaten in what, three days now? You're fuckin' starvin' yourself and you're crankier and sloppier and- "
"Fuck you!" Shouto writhed within Katsuki's grip, forcing himself to the ground.
With a final push to Katsuki's chest, and a lot more force than necessary, Shouto slumped to the floor, dragging the blonde down with him. Katsuki looked into his mismatched eyes as they darted to the floor. He stared, shocked, as the boy hammered his fists into the carpet.
'A tantrum? He's throwing a fucking tantrum now?'
Katsuki glared with vengeance, until he saw the scene unfold in front of him. His eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the boy's shoulders start shaking. A person crumbling into ash in real time. Suddenly, Katsuki had the weight of another person on his chest, sobbing messily into his shirt.
Katsuki felt his shoulders being gripped with full force as a wail escaped the boy on top of him. The blonde slowly wrapped his arms around Shouto, steadying the two as they turned into a mess of snot and tears.
'Oh. Fuck, okay. Caregive. Do that.'
"K- Ki! I can't!" Shouto choked out between sobs, breath hitching as he whined in pain.
"Oh... baby..." Katsuki whispered, regretting the tone he had used before. "Um... it's okay... What can't you do?"
The cries just came louder now, getting closer to screams as people walked past and stared, continuing as to not draw attention to themselves. Katsuki began counting under his breath again, the slow, rhythmic sounds bringing Shouto down from his meltdown.
"Baby? What can't you do?"
"Eatin'. S'too hard." the boy whimpered, sniffling as his tear tracks dried.
'Eating is hard? What the fuck? Uh. Okay, then.'
"We can try and make it easier, right? Um... I think someone's making onigiri, but I can make you soba? Cold. And you don't have to eat a lot. Just a little." Katsuki seemed a little more sure of himself.
Shouto glanced up at him again, only to nod and bury his face back into his shoulder.
"Okay. Okay, I can do that. C'mon, you can sit on the beanbags in the common room while I cook." Katsuki said, standing them both up and preparing to walk over.
"No!" Shouto got bleary-eyed again, clinging to Katsuki's shirt like a lifeline.
"Alright, alright... You can stay with me. But, I can't carry you in the kitchen. You'll have to sit on the floor again. Is that okay?"
The boy hummed into his neck, before quickly demanding to go back into his room to collect his stuffed elephant, Yumi. They made their way down to the kitchen, noting that most of the class was already sitting down and chatting idly amongst themselves. Katsuki made quick work of the noodles, serving them up in a bowl and grabbing a fork, heading towards the table to sit with everyone.
"No!" Shouto yelled quickly, panic rising in his voice, "Ki, stay. Yumi eat here."
Katsuki raised a brow, "Yumi wants to eat on the kitchen floor?"
"Mmm." the boy confirmed, flexing his fingers towards Katsuki and the bowl he was carrying, motioning them down to the floor.
Katsuki was way too damn tired to be arguing with him right now, and thus they sat on the floor and slowly ate the cold soba.
Aizawa waltzed into the dorms not a moment later, searching for a particular pair of red eyes and blonde hair. Once Katsuki popped up from behind the kitchen counters, he shot Aizawa a thumbs up and a smile, mouthing 'It's all good.', before resuming his position on the floor. Aizawa only proceeded to continue to make his way through the dorms, the routine inspection now on the forefront of his mind.
Katsuki took it as a win as he watched Shouto slurp his noodles down and begin to fiddle with Yumi's ears. The fork was moving slower as Shouto swirled the noodles around his bowl, playing with them absent-mindedly.
"You done, Shou-Shou?"
"Mhm." he replied quietly, handing his bowl over, "M'sorry Ki."
"S'fine. You don't have to eat it all. But, eat just a little bit every time, and I'll help you if you need it. Promise?"
"Mmm. P'omise Ki." Shouto went back to flopping Yumi's ears back and forth.
Realistically, Katsuki knew Shouto would probably do this again tomorrow. Then again, he'd take the small wins. He'd take them whenever he could.