Swan Dive

Chapter 15: Reconnection

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm alive! I'm so sorry it's been so long since the last update. I actually need to re-write the next chapter of this story before posting it, because I sorta skipped ahead, and I feel like you all deserve to see some good ol' bonding and repentance from Bakugo. Besides! I'm sure you all want to see Shouta give him what's for. :)
So please be patient, I promise you this story is NOT being discontinued.

Chapter 15: Reconnection

Katsuki woke up warm. There was something next to him that made him feel safe and he reached out an arm to pull it closer. It stiffened, and he realized with a start that it was alive. He opened his eyes and locked on familiar green hair.

Zukkun.

And like someone flipped a switch, everything from yesterday (or was it today?) came crashing back. Zukkun snuggled closer to Katsuki in his sleep. He was grateful his brother decided to sleep a little longer. Katsuki needed some time to process everything.

Auntie Inko was gone. That was a very hard pill to swallow. She was so happy and kind and always knew how to give the best hugs. She always seemed to know what he wanted even when he, himself, didn't know how to express it. And it made him angry that not only did someone kill her, but that he didn't even know.

And on that note, his brother had been kidnapped, probably tortured, and definitely traumatized. Again, Katsuki hadn't known. It made him feel sick, to realize that he'd been twiddling his thumbs at home playing videogames while Zukkun had been fighting for his life, the life of his mother, and the life of his adoptive father.

Wasn't that a concept, though? That he'd been adopted by two pro heroes. Katsuki eyed the Present Mic figurine that stood quietly on his dresser. He didn't have nearly as much hero stuff as Zukkun did—last he checked, at least—but he did have a little something for some of his favorites. And Mic's radio show always managed to help calm him down after a bad day.

The idea that Zukkun knew the man on a personal level made his head hurt. Though, now that he thought about it, there was that week long stretch not too long ago where Present Mic abruptly vanished from his radio show. He'd gotten a stand-in for a few days before just resorting to playing music. Said he had some urgent hero work to do. It wasn't too unusual—it'd happened several times before—so Katsuki didn't think much about it.

But now he realized that that had been because Zukkun had gotten kidnapped. When Mic came back to his show, he'd sounded a little off. More tired, a little less obnoxious. He'd figured that the mission had gone south or something. Apparently it had, if Auntie Inko was...

Another thing that made him mad was himself. He'd almost killed Izuku. The image of his brother stepping off that rooftop with a smile on his face, thanking Katsuki for his stupid advice that he'd given in the heat of the moment—without fucking thinking... It made him physically ill.

Years of bullying... Katsuki had thought that his actions were obvious. He just wanted to get him to show some backbone. Stand up for himself so he could become the world's first Quirkless Hero and prove everyone wrong. So they could become heroes together like they'd always planned.

So why had things become so twisted? Why had Zukkun not noticed? Why had Katsuki not noticed? Now Katsuki felt like a villain. He'd nearly pushed his own brother to suicide, and left him alone for a fucking decade. Why was this little ball of innocence even tolerating him right now? Katsuki felt dirty. Like he was a stain or disease that would dirty and infect anyone he touched.

He stiffened a little when Zukkun snuggled closer to him. He found himself relaxing against his will into the comforting warmth. Zukkun could always calm him down, and he wrapped an arm around the smaller boy to pull him closer. His brother was willing to give him a second chance. He was not going to waste it. Katsuki was going to do some serious soul-searching and repent. Somehow. He wasn't entirely sure how to go about it, but he'd figure it out somehow!