Chapter 6 – a rock to a boulder

When the weight on your shoulders
Grows from a rock to a boulder
I am one man but I'll stand like an army of soldiers
I'll be the gun in your holster
Raine Wilder – Rescue

Katsuki makes sure to very carefully hide his sketchbook. He puts it in his underwear drawer, piles his neatly folded undershirts, All Might boxers, and socks over it. It's not very full yet, but he's only been drawing for three weeks, and he doesn't spend all of his time drawing. Katsuki still dedicates quite a bit of time to practicing with his quirk, and he's made a few discoveries about it.

He can now heat his hand up with only the very occasional explosion. It's decent progress, but until he can do it without any explosions, he won't be fully comfortable using it to help Deku. Still, it's thrilling to use his quirk in this way. Deku prefers Katsuki's hand to the heating pad, which makes Katsuki feel warm and giddy. "It doesn't help as much," Deku likes to insist as Katsuki lays behind him and rubs his belly in soothing circles.

Katsuki also discovered a way to make him faster. He had been playing in the backyard when he'd been startled, not that he'd ever admit it, by the neighbor's dog suddenly snarling and barking at something. Katsuki had been stretching, his hands behind him, and the noise had startled him into letting off explosions that sent him rocketing forward. He's been practicing ever since, yelling gleefully at his progress. It's a rush that sends adrenaline in his veins; he loves the wind flying through his hair, loves how weightless he feels.

When his explosions get bigger, Katsuki knows he'll be even faster.

"Katsuki, are you ready?" his father calls.

Katsuki hastily shuts his dresser drawer. "Yes!" he shouts. He hurries out of his room and runs down the stairs, jumping over the last three. His father is waiting for him by the door, jacket in hand. "Let's go!"

His father laughs. "You need to put your jacket on," he says patiently, smiles at Katsuki's scowl.

"It's not that cold outside," Katsuki insists, grabs the jacket anyway and jabs his arms into the sleeves. As soon as the door opens, Katsuki tries to nonchalantly put his hands into his pockets. The air is cold enough that his cheeks redden immediately, but he refuses to admit any weakness.

His father smiles knowingly, but allows Katsuki as much dignity as a nearly five year old can handle, and together they walk to Deku's house. Auntie Inko has errands to run, so Katsuki's parents arranged for Deku to spend the entire weekend at their house. Katsuki nearly exploded his television with excitement when he found out. He ran around his room tidying it up (or, rather, hiding his mess in his closet and under his bed) and then hid his sketchbook because he doesn't want Deku to see it quite yet. He doesn't know what her errands are, exactly; he just knows it has something to do with Midoriya, and Katsuki promptly stopped caring.

Auntie Inko was worried at first, nervous and not wanting to be away from Deku for two whole days, but in the end, she decided to let it happen. In Katsuki's totally not biased opinion, it was the best option. He doesn't think Deku's parents are going to get back together; he feels, personally, that Midoriya is a worthless coward and Deku and Auntie Inko are better off without him. But he also knows that if Midoriya came back into the picture, Deku would be happy, and that's all Katsuki wants.

That doesn't mean he has to accept Midoriya, though.

When they get to Deku's house, Katsuki lets himself in. He throws the door open, shouts "WE'RE HERE!" and makes a run for Deku's room. Deku is looking at his backpack, muttering over a list of things he'll need. Katsuki rolls his eyes, grabs the list from Deku.

"Kacchan!" Deku admonishes, but there's a smile on his face as he reaches for his list.

Katsuki grins, holds the list up. Deku's still shorter than him, giggles as he tries to grab his paper. "It's only for two days," Katsuki says. "You don't even need that much."

Deku pouts, and Katsuki didn't think it was possible but those green eyes got even bigger. "But," Deku whines, "what if I forget something important?"

Oh, for the love of All Might. Katsuki sighs, squints at the list in his hand. "I'll read it out loud, you check your bag," he demands, stomps over to Deku's bed and throws himself on it. They go through the list together, Katsuki critiquing Deku's packing of what he considers non-essentials and Deku pouting as he puts some of his things back in their proper places. They don't notice their parents in the doorway, Deku's mother recording their interaction with a small but mirthful smile on her face.

"Pajamas? Underwear?"

"Check!" Deku chirps, patting the aforementioned items.

"Toothbrush? You don't need toothpaste, Deku, put that back. What do you think we brush our teeth with?"

"Sorry," Deku mumbles, puts it back in the bathroom.

"And you won't need your uh-nah-luh-sis book, either. We're going to play games all weekend!"

Deku adamantly refuses to put back his stuffed bunny that Katsuki gave to him last Christmas. "He'll get lonely," Deku insists, firmly hugging it to his chest.

Katsuki flushes a deep red. He remembers insisting that his parents buy Deku the gift. The bunny is blood red, not dissimilar to Katsuki's scarlet eyes, and that's why he had wanted Deku to have it; so he could look at the rabbit and think of Katsuki. The rabbit is now worn out, obviously well loved. The stitching had to be repaired a few times because of Deku's enthusiastic hugs, and it has survived many trips to the washing machine.

"You don't need him!" Katsuki replies, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Deku gasps, horrified, and covers the rabbit's floppy ears. "King Explosion Murder will hear you!" he scolds.

Katsuki's cheeks burn fiercely. He'd been joking when he told Deku the rabbit's name, his hero name whenever they play Bakugou's Hero Agency, but Deku had accepted it (of course he did) and refuses to re-christen it.

"I…just…fine!" Katsuki splutters, turns away and just barely stopping himself from pouting. "Keep him for all I care."

Deku cheers, smiles widely at his victory. King Explosion Murder stays in the backpack.

Katsuki risks a glance at Deku's face, subconsciously smiles because Deku looks like he used to—happy.

"Are you both ready to leave?" his father asks from the doorway.

Katsuki whirls around to find him and Auntie Inko smiling at them. His ears burn. "You…how long were you standing there?" he demands, his voice shrill as he points at them accusingly.

Auntie Inko giggles. "Long enough," she says, and Katsuki scowls.

"We're ready," Deku chirps happily. His mother hands him a sweater, his coat, a scarf, hat, and gloves, and Deku puts on the numerous layers without complaint. It is rather cold outside, Katsuki can privately admit that to himself, but he doesn't want to think of wearing that many clothes. Even if the gloves would be kind of nice.

Auntie Inko hands his father something that Katsuki recognizes as Deku's medicine bag. It has everything he needs, and it's frequently handed to their teachers at pre-school. She bends down, gives Deku a hug and kisses his cheek. "Be good, okay? I am just one phone call away if you need me."

Deku endures all of this with a calm smile, which is amazing because Katsuki hates it when his mother hovers like this. "I know, mama," Deku says serenely. "But I'll be fine. Kacchan and I are going to have tons of fun this weekend!"

"Y-Yeah," Katsuki echoes quietly. He glances at Deku, feels inexplicably warm. It humbles him, Deku's simple and unwavering faith in him.

Auntie Inko stands up, ruffles Katsuki's hair. He allows it with a small scowl. He actually likes having his hair played with, but that doesn't mean he wants just anyone running their hands through it. It's okay if Auntie Inko does it, though; her hands are soft, and she doesn't accidentally tug out a few strands like his mother did that one time. He winces at the memory, still recalls the stinging in his scalp. His mother had later remarked how high-pitched his screeching had been.

There's a taxi waiting outside for Auntie, and she gets in it with one last kiss to Deku and waves them all goodbye. Deku grabs his hand, curls his gloved hands around Katsuki's bare one to warm it up. Katsuki likes holding Deku's hand; it's a little smaller than his, feels nice in his palm.

As soon as they get to Katsuki's house, he's shedding his jacket as fast as he can. Deku has more layers to take off, and Katsuki gets impatient waiting, so he tugs off Deku's hat, unwraps the scarf from his neck, and starts putting his stuff in a semi-neat pile. Deku shrugs off his coat, and he actually goes to the coat closet to hang it up, unlike Katsuki who promptly tossed his own jacket on the back of the couch.

Katsuki sighs, rolls his eyes as he grabs his coat to hang it up as well. He knows his mom will do it, which is why he typically just leaves it lying haphazardly somewhere, but Deku is always neat and polite, and Katsuki refuses to be shown up in his own house even if that's not Deku's intention.

"Let's go play," he says, leads Deku up to his bedroom.

For a couple of hours, they play their favorite video game. Katsuki normally trounces Deku, but Deku is a crazy fast learner, and soon they're both losing and winning in equal measure. It doesn't upset him like it normally would. Instead, Katsuki's grin becomes sharper, he cackles maniacally, and tries even harder to win. Deku is his rival in this game, his equal, and then Deku lets out his own cackle that sounds surprisingly like All Might.

"Are you both alright?"

Katsuki turns to see his mother at the doorway, arms crossed, eyebrow cocked, and her lips tugged into an amused smile. He scowls, opens his mouth to tell her to get out of his room when Deku says, "Don't underestimate me Kacchan!"

Katsuki's attention snaps back to where Deku uses Ms. Joke's special move to finish Katsuki's character. "Hag! You made me lose the game!" Katsuki huffs.

Deku giggles. "Thank you for the help, Auntie!"

His mother lets out a bark of laughter, then clucks her tongue and shakes her head. "Well, then, I guess if you don't want lunch…and it's such a shame, too…we were going to have your favorite spicy duck from that Thai place… Oh, well. I guess Izuku here can ea—"

"Deku doesn't like spicy food!" Katsuki retorts, already standing up and running out of his room.

Deku is still giggling furiously.

Katsuki stands on his chair, licks his lips eagerly as his father takes the food out of the plastic bag. Soon they are all seated at the table, and Katsuki quite happily digs into his food. Deku eats fried rice and dumplings at a much slower rate. The green-haired boy starts yawning into his food, blinking sleepily and slowing down even more. He can't finish his entire bowl of rice, ate only four of the six dumplings. Katsuki eyes him contemplatively; Deku is going to need a nap.

"Let's go lay down," Katsuki suggests as he devours his last bite.

"Wash your hands and face," his mother says.

Katsuki rolls his eyes. "I know," he says sullenly.

Deku stands up, rubs his eyes and yawns again. There's a few grains of rice stuck to his cheek, and Katsuki doesn't even know how he accomplished it but there's dumpling sauce in his hair. "Thank you for the meal," Deku says quietly with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks," Katsuki adds. He's about to lead them to his room when his father stops him.

"Izuku needs to take his medicine first," his father says.

Deku tries to put on a brave face, but he can't help but wince. Katsuki watches silently as his father prepares the medicine cup, watches as Deku drinks every drop even though he looks a little sick afterward. His mother hands Deku a cup of water, and Deku drains it in an attempt to get the taste out of his mouth.

Katsuki grabs Deku's hand and they walk up the stairs. They quietly wash their hands, Katsuki helps Deku get the sauce out of his hair, and then they're laying on their backs side by side on Katsuki's bed. Katsuki isn't particularly tired, but Deku's eyes are already half-closed.

"Kacchan?" Deku whispers, turns onto his side.

"Hm?" Katsuki also turns, faces Deku. "What's wrong?"

Deku looks at him, eyes sad, his earlier happiness and smiles gone. "Mama…she says that her and Papa are getting dih-vors-d."

Katsuki's brows furrow in confusion. He doesn't know that word. "They're what?"

"They won't be married anymore," Deku says quietly. He tears up a little, but then he fights the tears, his lips uncharacteristically twisted into a snarl. "I heard them on the phone. Papa says that he'll help pay for my medicine and the doctors, but you know what?"

Katsuki looks at Deku in slight surprise, not used to seeing this behavior in his gentler, crybaby friend. "What?"

"All I wanted was my Papa. I didn't want his money, I wanted him." Deku struggles to not cry, but he manages to blink away the tears. His voice is wrecked, but it is more angry than sad, which isn't what Katsuki was expecting.

Katsuki is the angry one, not Deku.

"I'm sorry," Katsuki murmurs.

Deku shuffles forward, buries his face in Katsuki's neck. Katsuki awkwardly pats Deku's back, still doesn't really know how to comfort someone. He thinks he does a good job of it, though, when Deku relaxes, tension disappearing from his back and shoulders. Deku's breathing slows down, and Katsuki is sure that the green-haired boy is asleep, but then Deku slurs, "You were right, Kacchan."

"I normally am," Katsuki says. "But which time are you talking about?"

Deku huffs a little laugh. His hair tickles Katsuki's chin a little. "Midoriya can go f-fuck himself," Deku whispers. His eyes close, and then he's asleep as if he didn't just drop such a huge bomb on Katsuki.

Katsuki's eyes are practically bulged out of his head, and he bites down on his lip to stop the hysterical laughter that wants to leave his mouth. He muffles the snorts that do manage to leave, his body trembles a little in mirth. Deku stays asleep, his breath hitching in small, light snores.

Deku cursing is, perhaps, the funniest thing Katsuki's heard. It's also evidence that Katsuki has corrupted the green-haired boy, something that his mother told Auntie Inko would happen, and Katsuki beams at the sleeping boy, pleased beyond measure. His own eyes have started drooping, and Katsuki thinks that, maybe, a nap would not be a bad idea at all.

Katsuki pulls Deku closer, falls asleep to the apple scent of the smaller boy's shampoo.

Katsuki wakes up from his nap feeling refreshed. Deku's still sleeping at his side, and he takes a second to marvel at how many freckles Deku has. Then he carefully extracts himself, uses his own pillow to give Deku to cuddle, and then wanders down the stairs. His nap was longer than he thought it would be, probably because he was so comfortable.

His father is in the kitchen, preparing ingredients to get dinner ready. Katsuki's really thankful because his mother's cooking tends to be hit-and-miss, and he doesn't want to eat a miss when Deku's spending the weekend. "Did you have a good nap?" his father asks.

Katsuki nods. His hair is even messier than usual, and he's got a drool spot on his shoulder from Deku. "What's for dinner?" he asks, grabbing his stool from underneath the kitchen sink and setting it up so that he's standing right next to his father.

"We thought that since Izuku is over, we could make his favorite—katsudon."

Katsuki smiles a little in approval. Deku loves katsudon; he knows that, if given the option, that's all the other boy would eat. Katsuki's not nearly as picky, just needs a bottle of some good, spicy hot sauce to fix anything to his liking. He eyes the ingredients laid out on the kitchen island. There's chicken, panko, eggs, onion, mirin, sake, and packets of bonito flakes and kombu.

"Can I help?" Katsuki asks.

His father blinks in surprise, but then smiles and pats his head. "Of course," he says pleasantly. "I already have the rice in the cooker, and I made the dashi stock earlier."

His father explains the recipe to him, shows him how to properly crack eggs. His father even lets Katsuki, very carefully under his watchful eye, slice the onion. Katsuki hadn't realized cooking could be fun, and he finds himself enjoying the time with his father. He gets to bread the chicken for frying, gets his fingers coated in egg and panko, and then he's helping his father carefully place the breaded chicken in the hot oil. It cracks and pops, sizzling, and the chicken is golden brown when they're finished cooking. Katsuki's chest puffs out in pride, nods to himself in satisfaction.

His father measures out the other ingredients they need and lets Katsuki pour them all into the pan. "It smells good," Katsuki comments, looks at the cooking food with his tummy grumbling.

His father laughs. "It sure does," he says. "It'll be ready soon. Do you want to go wake Izuku up?"

Katsuki nods, puts his stool back under the sink, and then races to his room. Deku is still sleeping where he left him, hugging the pillow and drooling on it. Katsuki jumps onto his bed, grins when Deku startles awake. "Dinner's almost done. I helped make it," he boasts.

Deku blinks sleepily at him, one hand rubbing his tummy. "I'm not really hungry," he whispers.

Katsuki frowns, disappointed. "Does your tummy hurt?"

Deku nods, closes his eyes. "Can you help me?"

Katsuki scoffs. "Are you really asking me that?" he grumbles. He crawls back onto the bed, already heating up his hand. It takes some maneuvering to get comfortable, but in the end Deku's back is against Katsuki's chest, and Katsuki rests his hand on Deku's tummy, making the green-haired boy sigh in relief. "Maybe you can try eating?"

Deku shrugs. "Maybe," he says. "I'm just…not super hungry…"

"It's katsudon," Katsuki bribes. "And I helped make it, so it's extra yummy."

"…well, maybe I could try it…"

Katsuki grins victoriously. "I thought you'd see it my way," he crows. He keeps rubbing Deku's tummy, says softly, "We'll go eat when you're ready, though. I don't need you barfing up my masterpiece."

Deku lets out a tired giggle. "Thanks, Kacchan."