Nomu

Part 36

Inko was the first to fall asleep. Once it started getting late, she made her way off of the hardwood floor and over to Deku's bed.

Deku was really tired at this point, but he had no intention of going to sleep. He felt uncomfortable sleeping, being vulnerable, when there were people with him.
But at the same time, he didn't want to be alone.

He jumped when Bakugou shifted slightly next to him.

He glanced up at him, but quickly looked away when he saw Bakugou was already looking in his direction.
He buried his head in his arms and stared at the floor. His eyes felt heavy but he kept fighting sleep off.

What if something happened while he was asleep? He had been conditioned to always be on edge, like any minute he could do something wrong and be punished for it. He heard Bakugou sigh and he peeked through his arms up at him.
He could tell Bakugou was tired as well. But it seemed like he was trying to stay awake as well.

We doesn't he just go to sleep? He thought if Bakugou fell asleep, maybe he could to.

What he didn't know was that Bakugou was trying to stay awake in order to 'keep watch.' He was terrified that something would happen to Deku. He couldn't protect him last time, so he swore he would do everything in his power to keep him safe now.

Deku shifted slightly on the hardwood floor. He was beginning to become really uncomfortable, but he didn't want to bring attention to himself by moving.

"Deku, you can go to sleep. I promise no one's going to hurt you." He jumped slightly when he heard Bakugou.

He didn't say anything and just kept staring at the floor.
He didn't think his friends were going to hurt him, really he didn't. He'd just spent so long in a situation where that wasn't the case. It's like he'd been conditioned to expect to be hurt. To be obedient and to not have an opinion of his own.
It was a hard adjustment to make.

"Deku?"

"I-I know." He said quietly, keeping his head down. "I'm sorry."

He heard Bakugou sigh deeply.

Is he disappointed? Sad? Mad?! Deku thought anxiously. He peeked up at him again and saw he had his head leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling with a worried expression.
He felt a twinge of guilt. Bakugou wasn't mad or disappointed. He was worried, worried about him.

Deku hyped himself up a bit, telling himself no one would hurt him and that he'd be ok before he slowly leaned against Bakugou. He laid his head on his shoulder.
Bakugou lifted his head abruptly when he felt Deku leaning into him.

"I'm sorry." Deku said quietly.

"Don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong." He cautiously wrapped his arm around Deku's shoulder.
If anyone should be apologizing it's me. Bakugou thought. I should've protected you. You never should've gone through that to start with.
———

An hour later, he was surprised to look down and see Deku asleep against him, his head resting on Bakugou's shoulder.
He smiled, relieved he was finally able to sleep.

Bakugou rubbed his eyes, trying to keep from falling asleep. He felt obligated to keep watch, to protect him.
He could hear the steady breathing of both Inko and Deku and he wrapped his arm a little tighter and pulled Deku a little closer to himself.
It felt surreal to him that just that morning, Deku had still been in his trance.

If it wasn't for Eri, who knows if he'd ever had come out of it.

He glanced up at the clock. 2 am. From what he knew, Deku usually had his night terrors at 3. He hoped he wouldn't have them anymore, but he was prepared for the possibility that he would still.
He glanced down at Deku who was asleep on his shoulder.

He smiled and brushed some stray hair away from his face. His hair was still white, but he hoped it would begin to grow green again. He missed the green.

He yawned.

Maybe it'll be fine if I sleep. Just for a second. He closed his eyes and laid his head on top of Deku's.

Just for a second. He thought as he drifted off to sleep.

———

Next thing he knew, he was waking up to the sound of screaming and crying.

He sat up abruptly and saw Deku was having another one of his night terrors.

"Shit shit!" He yelled. He saw Inko was crouched on the floor in front of her son, also panicking.
He gently grabbed Deku by the shoulders and pulled him up off the floor and towards himself.

"Hey, hey Deku. It's ok, you're ok." He said to him, trying to wake him up.

Deku's eyes flew open as soon as he heard Bakugou talking.

"No! Wait!" He screamed before getting his bearings and remembering where he was. He looked between his mom and Bakugou before suddenly breaking down.
He doubled over and sobbed. Inko moved forward like she was going to hug him, but stopped herself.

"Oh Izuku." She whispered sadly.

(Honestly, I don't have an excuse for why I haven't updated in so long lol. Bully me as much as you want. But also, I'm just gonna leave this here