Saving the Game

A Past Glimpse

(S2 E15 - Roaring Sports Festival)
[TW: eating disorder, domestic abuse]

I look over at Bakugo, still shaking, but not as bad as earlier. I poke his shoulder.
"Hey."
"What." He answers gruffly.
"You look like someone just told you a puppy died, that's what."
"No I don't." He scoffs, turning to look at me. He studies me for a second. "Are you.. better?"
"I'm okay."
"Okay."
Back to silence. A few moments later, I unsteadily get up and glitch over to the kitchen. I'm glad I kept my armor on.
"What are you doing?"
"Making tea. Want any?"
"..Sure."
I hear him get up and walk behind me, watching over my shoulder as I put the kettle on the stove.
"Why does your quirk do that to you?"
"The.. shaking and stuff? The vibrations are just a little too powerful for my body."
"Yeah, but.." Bakugo sighs, trying to find the right words. "Aren't people's bodies supposed to adapt to their quirk?"
"To an extent, yeah.."
"So then, why do you reach your limit so fast?"
I stay quiet for a moment, looking down at my hands. My gloves.
"..I didn't grow at the rate I was supposed to. I think that's why."
I hear him step back and lean against the counter, and I make my way towards the tea bags.
"Why didn't you?"
"Because.. A couple reasons."
He watches me from a short distance.
"You don't have to tell me anything, but I can handle it, you know. I'm not some weakling. And I won't.. get mad, or whatever."
I pause, hands on a box of chamomile tea.
"..Okay."

I set the box on the counter and wait, Bakugo still in the same spot.
The kettle whistles and he snaps to attention.
I go to try and pick it up, but I get intercepted.
"Let me do it. I don't want you to spill it and burn yourself like an idiot." Bakugo grumbles, brushing my shaking hands aside and setting it on a burner that's cold, turning the dial to switch off the current burner.
"Thanks."
He looks at me for a second, before going back to his spot against the counter.
"I didn't get a lot of food. When I was younger. I didn't eat much." I say quietly, out of the blue.
Bakugo's attention turns to me, although his eyes stay on the floor.
"My sister took care of me while my brother worked, and one of my punishments was not having dinner. And after I got used to that, and it didn't bother me anymore, she'd take away lunch too. And lock the pantry."
He seems at a loss for words, and I go silent again, stirring the tea bag in the kettle with a spoon.
"That's not right." He says finally, looking away.
"You eat now, don't you?"
"I mean, yeah, but sometimes it's hard to eat certain things, and I'm usually not very hungry.. but it works out since I'm usually the one fixing food."
"I'll cook." Bakugo interjects. "If I cook, will you eat more?"
I look up and stare at him, meeting his eyes. His gaze is intense, his eyes a brilliant red.
"..Yeah. If you want to, I will." I agree, turning back to the tea. He seems satisfied enough, coming beside me again to help steady my hand as I pour us both a cup of tea.
The softer side of him, it's definitely there. He's sweet, although intense, and caring, even if he is a little self-absorbed. He pays a lot more attention then you'd think.
"We have homework, so I expect you to be ready to do that once we're done with this." He takes his cup and goes to sit on the couch.
"Yes, sir." I roll my eyes and go to sit by him. My legs are a little steadier. We enjoy the noiselessness for a while.

After a horrible homework session full of yelling and (almost) fisticuffs, me and Bakugo lay side-by-side on my bed. I'm exhausted, and it looks like he is too. I glitch over and shut off the lights, before quietly slipping out of my body armor and mask in the dark. I get back into bed and lay back down, looking at Katsuki's face. He looks calm, snoring lightly.
I close my eyes.
Moments later, I feel myself get pulled into his chest. My hearbeat speeds up, but I don't open my eyes or move. He must be used to grabbing a blanket or something. Very carefully, I slip an arm around his waist. He's warm, and it doesn't take me very long to fall asleep with him.

The next day, I wake up by myself, stretching out with sore arms. I sit up.
Wait, it smells like.. bacon?
I rub my eyes and slip out of bed, trudging downstairs.
Bakugo is in my kitchen, making breakfast. Incredible.
"Morning." I say, wandering over to steal his spot against the counter.
"Morning." He grunts halfheartedly.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Better then normal." I remark, remembering how, exactly, I fell asleep last night. I wonder if he knows.
"Hurry up and get dressed so we're not late for school, dumbass."
"Oh yeah. Okay, be right back."
I run upstairs and change, finding that Bakugo had returned my hoodie in exchange for a different one. I pick it up, inquisitively holding it to my face like my mask. It smelled like him. Was that weird? Maybe. In a spur of the moment decision, I threw it onto my bed, before grabbing my actual mask.
I went back downstairs, hauling both of our backpacks with me.
I take a moment to do what I'd forgotten last night, make lunch for Hawe. I throw a sandwich and some fruit into a lunchbag and put it in the fridge.
"Who's that for?" Bakugo asks, watching me as he fixes our plates.
"My big brother."
He nods. "Right. I remember you mentioning him."
"I fix lunch for him most of the time, to help him out."

After we eat, we head out the door and start walking to school. Halfway there, Kirishima and Denki catch up to us. We all make small talk (well, all excluding Bakugo) until we reach school grounds.