Drowning (BakuDeku)

Ch. 5

The next few days went by in a similar fashion. Bakugou would give Izuku an apple in the mornings, he'd only take a few bites before throwing it, and then he'd sit with the bakusquad at lunch and eat a little bit of soup.

His relationship with food wasn't necessarily getting better, but he was still eating, however unwilling.

His sleep schedule, on the other hand, had only gotten worse. He was now too worried about his new friends, how his old friends must be feeling, and the fact he was eating more and more, to sleep successfully.

It was getting harder and harder to function throughout the days. His mind always felt muddy and his body seemed to way a million pounds.

That day when he sat down at lunch, Ashido immediately frowned at him. "You haven't been sleeping."

Izuku just stared blankly at her, too tired to be surprised.

She looked over at Bakugou, who had just placed a tray with soup on it in front of the tired teen. "You're stressing him out."

"He's always stressed out, that's not my fault." The blond grunted back as he sat next to Izuku.

Izuku just quietly took a bite of soup.

Ashido frowned at her friend, clearly not agreeing with him. "Your mom mode is doing more harm than good."

"My what?"

She ignored the outburst. "You need to back off a little, you're overbearing."

"He wasn't eating, what did you want me to do?" Bakugou snapped at her.

Kaminari, who had just been pushing his food around distractedly, said, "Maybe not talk about him like he isn't sitting right there."

Ashido and Bakugou both looked over at Izuku, who was almost passed out in his bowl of soup. The blond managed to catch his head just before it made content with the food.

Izuku sat up in surprise. "That's never happened before." He mumbled just before he let out a loud yawn.

Kaminari yawned right after him. "C'mon dude!" He whined.

"Sorry," Izuku said with a small laugh.

Bakugou just pulled Izuku's head towards him, making the younger boy rest against his shoulder. "You looked like you were about to fall backwards."

"Thanks, Kacchan." Izuku sleepily mumbled.

"I'll be right back." Sero said before getting up and walking into the crowd of hungry students.

Ashido watched his retreating figure before looking back at Izuku. "Why haven't you been sleeping, hun?" She asked in a gentle voice.

"Too many thoughts, not enough room." Izuku slurred, letting his eyes droop.

"Does that happen often? Like even before Bakugou decided to adopt you?" She said, laughing slightly at the noise the blond made.

Izuku just nodded his head to the best of his ability while still leaning on Bakugou's shoulder.

The girl hummed as she tried to think of a possible solution. "Have you ever tried melatonin?" She asked after a few beats.

Izuku opened his eyes so he could look at her. "Mm, no. What's that?"

"A blessing from God." Kaminari stated.

Ashido nodded. "It can help you sleep."

"Weed can also help you sleep, but no one ever wants to listen to me." Sero said as he sat back down and handed Izuku a bottle of what appeared to be coffee. "So you can make it through hero training next hour."

Izuku took it with a grateful nod, unscrewing the cap and taking a few sips.

Ashido rolled her eyes at Sero. "Melatonin is legal."

The boy just shrugged.

"You're ridiculous."

"You love it."

"Debatable." Ashido said while turning her nose up at him.

Sero held a hand to his heart. "You wound me."

"Good, suffer."

Kaminari laughed loudly at the display while Kirishima patted Sero's back saying, "Harsh, Mina, Harsh."

While they were distracted, Bakugou turned his head slightly so he could whisper to Izuku. "You're taking melatonin tonight to see if it helps."

Izuku frowned. "But Kacchan, I don't have any."

The blond made a noise that sounded vaguely like a laugh. "Literally everyone at this table takes it, we'll get you some."

Izuku nodded, letting his head fall back onto Bakugou's shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay for training?"

Izuku shrugged, which didn't work very well in his current position.

Bakugou frowned at the answer. "Sit out today."

The whole table jumped when Izuku suddenly sat straight up, looking at Bakugou with wide eyes.

"No."

"You can barely sit up, let alone train." The blond pointed out.

Izuku quickly shook his head. "I've trained in worse conditions, I'll be fine."

"Oh, that was the wrong thing to say Midobro." Kirishima mumbled.

"You've what?" Bakugou asked, the smell of burnt caramel suddenly assaulting everyone's noses.

Izuku kept his mouth shut, knowing that was a mistake.

"Katsuki Bakugou, leave the poor boy alone." Ashido snapped. "You're just as bad as him, so stop being a hypocrite."

Bakugou looked over at her like he was about to argue, but she just raised a brow as if to say 'am I wrong?' and he stayed quiet.

The table fell into an awkward silence, no one knowing what to do about the tension.

"I know you're just trying to help, Kacchan, so thank you for that." Izuku mumbled to the blond, leaning back into his side. "But I don't need another parent. I promise I'll be okay." He said as he rested his head on Bakugou's shoulder.

The blond grunted and placed his cheek on the top of Izuku's head, resting on him in return. "You better be, fucking nerd."

"Anyways," Kaminari said, looking at the two childhood friends weirdly. "Someone want to help me with the English assignment?" He asked, successfully changing the subject.

"I need help with that too." Kirishima said with a frown.

"Same." said Ashido.

"Yeah, me too." Sero said with a nod.

They all looked at Bakugou with hopeful smiles.

The blond rolled his eyes. "My dorm, six o'clock."

"You're the best, bro!" Kirishima said.

Kaminari nodded in agreement. "An absolute god sent."

Once lunch was over and Bakugou and Izuku had started heading back to the classroom, Kaminari pulled the rest of the squad aside.

"Those two are totally in love with each other, right? I'm not just imagining things?"

Ashido nodded. "Completely head over heels."

"It's a little painful to watch actually." Kirishima said with a frown.

Sero shrugged at his friends. "They'll figure it out eventually."

hey guys!!

so remember when i said this was going to be a short story? well there's only a couple more chapters left, four max?? probably? i'm not completely sure yet.

anyways, i hope you guys are having a good day!💚