Shoto carefully placed the teapot and cups on the tray, then turned his attention to the sleeping teen. Even as he slept, Izuku remained curled up on his side, hugging his abdomen.
"At least you're getting some sleep." He thought out loud. "Hopefully the tea's enough to at least settle your stomach for a while. The rest will be good for you too." Shoto pulled out the chair and sat down at the desk, deciding that he would have to come up with a new plan in case Izuku's stomach continued to cause trouble when he woke. He pulled his phone from his pocket and began searching through various resources in the hope of gaining some understand of Izuku's condition and ideas for helping him through it. The search, however, provided no help.
It wasn't long before the dark-haired teen was once again awake and showing signs of discomfort. Shoto made his way back over to the bed, laying down beside Izuku.
"Try to rest." Deku shook his head, tears began to fall from his emerald eyes.
"I can't." Izuku sniffled. "It's too much." Todoroki frowned.
"I have an idea, do you want to watch a movie with me, maybe it'll take your mind off of the pain."
"I-I don't know if it'll help, but I'll try." Shoto pulled Izuku into his arms, pulling the blanket over his shoulder, and began to scroll through his phone, allowing the ill teen to view the screen.
"You can pick the movie. Do you need anything?"
"No. Not right now." Before Izuku could choose, a loud knock at the door caught their attention. Shoto sighed heavily as Izuku forced himself to sit up.
"I'll go-" Shoto kissed Deku's head.
"Lie back down, I'll see who it is. You need your rest." Shoto insisted. He slid out of bed, putting his pillow behind Izuku, and gently pressed him back onto the bed. "I'll be right back." Deku groaned painfully.
Shoto pulled open the door, surprised by the sight that greeted him.
"Bakugo?"He said. "What are you-" the blond handed him a plastic bag from the local convenient store.
"That damn nerd's gonna want this," Bakugo replied. Izuku cried out in pain, resulting in Katsuki rolling his eyes. "Quit whining, Deku," he demanded.
"Give him a break, he's not feeling well today," Todoroki said sternly.
"Yeah, no shit. I know what's wrong with him. He stresses out about every damn thing and makes himself sick. You owe me, Nerd!"
"That's right, you've known him longer than I have. It sounds like you've seen it before. What can I do to stop this?"
"Not a damn thing. It'll stop in a few days, he might get a break here and there. Used to scare the shit out of his mom." Shoto turned to look at Izuku.
"You must know what to do to at least ease it. I've tried peppermint tea, he slept for almost a half-hour. I tried getting him to rest but that hasn't been helpful. Bakugo-" He hesitated. "I need you to tell me how to help Izuku. You know I don't ask for-"Bakugo had been surprised by his classmate's request.
"I figured your dumbass wouldn't know what to do. Not really my problem." Bakugo suddenly caught sight of the figure displayed on Deku's desk. He turned his attention to the teen lying in the bed. After a moment, he shook his head.
"Get your ass in here." He pushed past Shoto, who closed the door behind him. "Pay attention, Icy Hot, I'm only gonna do this once." He took out his phone and began to scroll, grabbing the bag back and pulling out the contents. He stood near the desk. opened the bottle of pills and removed two, twisting the cap off of the red sports drink. He walked over to Izuku.
"Get up, Deku." He said, this time in a slightly softer tone. Izuku propped himself up on his elbow. Bakugo handed him the pills and then the bottle of red liquid. "Slow sips, Nerd. This is gonna help you stay hydrated." When Izuku had settled back into his pillows, Bakugo scoffed.
"You still have that damn doll?"
"Y-yeah. i-it's my favorite one." Izuku admitted through tears. "OW!" He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment burying his face in the pillow.
"Hey, did you see this one?" Katsuki asked, handing his phone to Izuku. The ill boy took the phone and became silent, captivated by the video. Katsuki replaced the cap on the bottle, setting it down on the desk. "That should keep him distracted for a bit. Make sure he drinks these, sports things and a lot of water. Before I leave, I'll send you some videos. Deku stresses out about the pain which only makes it worse. He stresses out about people seeing him go through this crap and then about being so stressed out. Deku's a freakin' mess." By the time the video had ended, Izuku was beginning to fall asleep as the medicine took effect.
"Kacchan?" He called sleepily, handing the phone back.
"What do you want, Deku?"
"Thank you. I do have some money in the-"
"We'll talk about that later, get some rest."Izuku shifted uncomfortably in his bed, prompting Bakugo to take hold of the doll. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hey, Deku..." He pressed the button on the back of the figure.
"I am here!" it exclaimed confidently. Izuku smiled, taking the object, holding it to his chest. He allowed his eyes to close and was soon asleep. Bakugo remained still, looking down at the boy.
"It doesn't take much, you just have to know how to use what you have. Next time this happens and he won't let you leave, call someone. especially when he's out of medicine. Anything All Might related helps calm him down. If it gets really bad, use your quirk. Did you-"
"How did you know he wasn't letting me leave?"
"I've seen this a thousand times, dumb ass. You leave him and his mind turns to other shit."
"What about my quirk? what could -"
"You idiot. Haven't you ever had a stomachache?" He narrowed his eyes at Shoto.
"Not that I can recall."Bakugo shook his head.
"Heat. You're gonna use your quirk to generate some heat. Depending on how he's feeling you can either rub his stomach or go a little deeper. Just remember, if you add the pressure, he's got organs in there and if you do it too hard you'll mess him up." Shoto looked down at his left hand apprehensively.
"I don't want to hurt him," Shoto said softly.
"So don't. You have that choice, it's your own damn hand."
"I know. Izuku's told me that. I just don't want to end up like...him."
"Stop trying to make excuses. You made a choice to be with Deku, that means you look after the nerd the best you can." He stood up, fixing the cover around Deku, and moved toward the door.
"Bakugo," Shoto called out.
"What?"
"You know more about this than I do. I love Izuku and I want to help him, but he won't tell me-"
"He won't tell anyone. You have to figure this shit out. I told you what to do. You decide what to do from here. I have to get back to-"
"Do you know how to use the pressure you're talking about? Can you show me?" Katsuki paused.
"It's pretty pathetic, you two are so useless. If you don't even know how to-"
"Please? I didn't grow up with much affection as you can imagine. For Izuku's sake, teach me these methods. You know I'm not one to ask for this kind of thing. Izuku's precious to me and I-"
"Shut up," Bakugo growled. "This is only happening once, I meant what I said. If you screw this up, I'm not-"
"Thank you, "Shoto said sincerely. "You have my word that I'll give it my best effort. I can't just stand by while the person I love most in the world is in pain. It would mean a lot to both of us."Bakugo scoffed.
"Whatever. Let's just get through this."