Implosion

11

Gripping at his bedsheets like some sort of shield, Deku shivered behind the white cotton. His eyes darted over Bakugōu's face in the dim morning light, searching frantically for any sign of hostility or anger.

Slowly, as if approaching a terrorized animal, Bakugōu outstretched his arms and surrounded Deku in them. While Deku's shivers died down in his arms, Bakugōu tried to think back to the last time they'd hugged. He supposed it had been back when they were kids.

Damn. This must be strange for him, Bakugōu panicked. He looked down at the boy in his arms, and to his surprise, Deku had warped his arms around him and had his cheek pressed to his chest. He had stopped shaking but was still tense.

"You're afraid," Deku said suddenly, his voice muffled by Bakugōu's shirt. He'd changed into it after Deku fell asleep.

"What?" Bakugōu met green eyes as Deku lifted his head.

"Your heart is racing," he corrected, a blush crawling over his freckled cheeks. "It was so loud, I couldn't help but hear it."

Deku's hands had moved to his chest. They felt hot. Almost as hot as Bakugōu's cheeks. Was he fucking blushing?

Deku laughed at the flustered Bakugōu, his hand reaching up to cover his traitorous smile.

"You little..." Bakugōu trailed off. His arms retreated from around Deku and, instead, took to tickling his sides. He writhed under the onslaught, swatting at Bakugōu's hands in an attempt to stop them. To no avail.

But eventually, Bakugōu ceased his attack, and Deku was left a giggling, panting mess. He could help but crack a smile in front of the smiling boy.

Deku calmed himself. He let out a ragged breath, met Bakugōu's eyes, and, with a now solemn face, spoke.

"Embarrassing moments aside, I still owe you an explanation." He paused, as if to collect his troubled thoughts. "The building you found me at, the warehouse, is owned by the League of Villains. They use it as a storage facility for people they plan to make into Nomus or quirkless people they sell at weekly auctions. That's what the parlor room was for."

Bakugōu was started by the sudden confession but quickly regained his voice. "Were you ever sold in an auction, Deku?" He wasn't sure if he was ready to hear the response, but he knew he had to.

"I was," he said coolly. He didn't look Bakugōu in the eyes, but his face was set, firm, "I was sold twice, both to some rich sleazebags. One used me as a servant, and the last one used me as..."

"As what, Deku?" Panic scraped at the insides of Bakugōu's stomach, a sudden wave of nausea.

Deku hesitated, tears once again threatened to spill, then with a shaky voice said, "As a sex slave." His voice caught in his throat, making the words come out choked and gargled.

Now the floodgates opened. Deku spilled as many apologies as he did tears, all while Bakugōu sat calmly stroking the hair out of his face. He pulled the crying boy onto his lap and commenced in softly rocking back and forth, whispering words of calming all the while.

Bakugōu knew how stupid he must have looked, cradling the boy he used to bully in his arms, drying his tears instead of causing them. But in that very moment, he couldn't give a flying fuck. All his worries for the time slowly edged away as Deku's breathing became more even and deeper as he fell back asleep in Bakugōu's embrace.

———

After a while, Bakugōu carefully moved Deku's head off his lap, and moved to his closet. As he picked through what to wear, he recalled what he read earlier that morning. If he told anyone at his agency about Deku and the League of Villains, he could put Deku back in danger.

So, with a new outfit of loose-fitting jeans and a black tank top, a raging fury, and a plan forming in his mind, Bakugōu set out to his agency for some under-the-radar backup.