27 And Counting (Adult Katsuki Bakugou MHA)

9. Lesson Of The Day: Treat Yourself With Love

- Fuck... You better catch him before he does something stupid, like visiting your pals or some crazy shit. - the bike owner said, looking nervously around. He hated his quirk and its consequences, probably got beaten more than once for casually re-creating others. At least he didn't decompose them on the spot. 

- You don't have to tell me that. - Katsuki mumbled, standing up on his shaky legs and preparing to leave. - Is there something else I need to know about this goddamn quirk?

- Not really... Treat yourself with love, that's all I can say.

Kat frowned at the last words. Treating himself with love... No one in this world seemed to treat him with love. Why should he do so? 

Then, a brilliant question came to his mind.

- Wait a second ... Why am I 15? Why didn't you re-create a 10-years-old me or something closer to my age? What the fuck, you old...

But as he turned back, the bike owner was nowhere to be found. 

--------

The rain stopped pouring, right about time. Kat went downhill, and it didn't take long to find his younger self sitting on a bench. Kat, for all he remembered, used to feel or super angry, or super grumpy at that age and, for his own sake, hoped that the young self was currently going through the grumpy part of the day. 

- You, Bakugou. Come on. - he touched Bakugou's shoulder, just to be met with an angry shake and deadly stare. 'Damn, I WAS a problem child!' - he thought, remembering Aizawa's words. Of course, he knew he was difficult. But it was because he was also special. Everyone kept telling him that and he had no reason to doubt them. At least, until the moment when he understood he wasn't that special at all. But this moment would come years after graduation from the U.A. and Bakugou hasn't arrived there yet. 

- Stay away from me, loser!!!

- Don't call me loser, call me Katsuki. - Kat said quietly. Only now, without anyone around, did he notice he was talking with a different tone and pace compared to his younger self. - Now, come. We're both soaking wet. The last thing I need right now is to catch a cold. Besides, where do you think you're gonna live, with mum? Listening how sweet of you to drop by for a family dinner? Tch. What a joke.

Bakugou looked suspiciously. Of course he wanted to live with mum and dad, why wouldn't he?! Was this piece of a loser too weak to tell them he got hit by a bike? Did he do something stupid and parents got mad at his sorry of an ass?

 Somehow, the teen felt in the air that this was not a good moment for bickering. Something in the closed posture and tired eyes of Katsuki told him to keep this thought to himself. Only now did he realise the age gap between the two. Could have something happened during this time? Could have something happened to his parents?

- How old are you, exactly? 

- I'm 27. It's 2021. No further questions, at least not now. I still wanna puke my guts out.

'Fucking alcoholic... fucking degenerate... fucking... adult...me...' Bakugou clenched his fists. 

-----

- Since when do heroes live like fucking street rats?! - Bakugou yelled, looking around a tiny, half empty flat. Katsuki took off his shoes and jacket, put a coffee machine on a stove and went to the bathroom, totally disregarding Bakugou's presence. He was still a little bit hungover and being hit by a bike in this state didn't help. - And take the damn shower, you stinky hobo! Damn you! 

An hour later both men were sitting in front of each other, looking around, everywhere but at each other's faces. It was probably the cringiest moment  in their lives but, if they wanted to make this work, they had to confront each other. They just didn't know which one was suffering more.

- So... Are you going to work or are you going to sit like that and stare at the walls? - the younger one broke the silence. He took his time to check out the apartment: it was a two room flat with white walls, cheap furniture and some tech gadgets here and there. Nothing fancy, nothing close to a big house with a garden Bakugou had dreamt of. But it wasn't a total shithouse, and the teen found a hero's costume in the closet. It was a little bit dusty but he recognised the orange and black design, just a little bit larger than his own. He couldn't find gauntlets but maybe they were stashed in the Pro Hero Agency, the one he'd always wanted to join. He couldn't picture himself working at any other agency, so he just assumed the best for himself. If this stinky hobo did something for a living, it must be pro hero work. No way someone as great as himself would go to waste! 

- How long are you going to be here, don't you feel like dissolving already? - Katsuki asked. 

He dreaded this moment from the very beginning. Despite years passing by, he remembered vividly his life from the high school years. He didn't know it back then but it was one of the best moments of his life, excluding the encounter with the villains and its repercussions, of course. He was young and full of hope and plans, young enough to dream big but old enough to get a good control of his quirk, to make friends, to have a crush. If only could have learnt how to control his emotions, his anger, his fists...

- Fuck you, old man. I'm not going anywhere. 

- Shit. Look, I think it's better if we stay low for a couple of days, just go to sleep or something, why don't you...

- Stay low?! Excuse you, stinky loser, but what is this supposed to mean? You're not going to work because of me? Cut your crap, I don't need babysitting. - the teen pouted, making Katsuki smile. That involuntary smile costed him deadly glare from the boy. - You better explain yourself. If you won't tell me, I'm gonna ask old hag, she's gonna tell me everything! 

- She's not gonna tell you shit. Not a word. Actually... you know what? - Katsuki chuckled, his voice breaking in a split second. If someone wanted to depict a moment right before a breakdown, that would be it, a mix of all emotions appeared at Kat's face at once - You know what?! Hahahaha you know what, Ba-ku-gou-saaaan?! Go there, knock that damn door, I want to see her face! She hasn't talked to me for years, maybe she'll talk to you, her little special baby you fucking are!!! 

If Katsuki was feeling anxious earlier, now he was on verge of crying, hands shaking. He'd never been overly emotional but under the weight of the last experiences, he became more prone to breaking down, mentally unstable, tired. 

- Why?! Why would mum not talk to you? What have you done?! 

'Of fucking course, you just put a blame on me. You didn't even blink, saying that! You're just like everybody else!' - Katsuki thought frantically, feeling a big gulp growing in his throat. Fuck the young me. It's not my fault. It is my fault. It's not. It is. It's not. It is... 

Or... Was it his fault? Is it his fault he is who he is? Should he feel ashamed of that?

- Answer me, you fucker! Why would mum not talk to you?! 

Mum. What a sweet word. Mum. My mum. 

- Don't you know it yet? Don't you know who you're jerking off to? Don't you know who you have crush on? 

- ...

- ... 

- Don't you know you're a f*ggot?