"It's not that complicated, Icy Hot. Remember what I showed you and it should be fine. The best thing to do is to learn what it looks like when he's starting to stress out and cut it off. That doesn't always work, but if you can stop him from freaking out early enough, you'll both be better off." Bakugo said, glancing over at Izuku. The dark-haired teen continued to sleep peacefully in his bed. Shoto nodded.
Anytime we have a big test or a ton of homework, step in. You know he's not gonna talk about it, but if you ask to study with him or do the homework together, you can keep an eye on him."Bakugo continued. "Small stuff like that."
"Thank you. I don't know what made you give up your break, but I'm grateful." Shoto reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. "If you want to tell me-"
"Just hold onto it. Deku might need something later." The blond replied, glancing over at the teen.
"You're sure?"Shoto asked.
"Yeah. Just make sure you look after him. He needs that sometimes."
"Everyone does once in a while." Shoto agreed. "Especially the ones who go out of their way to take care of someone else."A moment of silence passed between them. Shoto couldn't help wondering what made Bakugo give up his lunch break for Izuku. He ran through the interactions he saw in class and the change in the blond's behavior when he realized Izuku was ill. He wondered if perhaps, there was something more. The silence was broken when Bakugo's stomach began to growl loudly.
"If you're not going to take the money for the medicine, at least let me get you something to eat. You did skip lunch and our afternoon classes to be here for Izuku. If you want to stay with him, I can go get some food. Is there anything specific you want?"
"Doesn't matter," Bakugo replied. Shoto nodded.
"I have some menus in my dorm if you don't mind staying here."
"Just make it quick." Shoto took one more glance at his love before exiting and pulling the door closed behind him. Bakugo pulled out his phone and began to watch a movie, careful to keep the volume low on the device.
"Kacchan?"Izuku called sleepily. "What are you doing here? I thought you would've left by now. Not that you have to go, I just-"
"I was going to. Figured I'd hang around a while since Icy Hot doesn't know what the hell he's doing."Izuku sat up in bed, allowing his feet to touch the floor. He rested a hand on his belly as a soft groan escaped him.
"Where's Shoto?"
"He'll be back in a minute. He's in his room."Deku turned his gaze to the floor. "He's just grabbing something, he isn't-"
"It's not that." Izuku interrupted. "I feel...guilty. Shoto says he doesn't mind, but he's missing so much, and I never wanted him to-' Bakugo put his phone down on the desk.
"Look Nerd," He began calmly. "The choice was his. You can ask someone to do something or tell them not to, but at the end of the day, people are gonna do what they want. I happen to know that Icy Hot...loves you, a lot. If he wants to deal with your dumb ass, he's going to no matter what you say. Maybe you should let him and stop this. You don't get to blame yourself for some else's decisions. You'll only make yourself worse."
"I can't help thinking about-"
"Stop it. That's your problem. You overthink and over analyze and before you know what hit you, you're exactly where you are now. You feeling better?"
"A little. I-I do appreciate what you've done for me. It's been a while since you used to sit with me. I didn't think you'd remember."
"How could I forget all those times the hag dragged me over to your place so your mom could run out to the store? Or those days She dropped me off and I ended up having to sit in the doctor's office with you?"
"Y-yeah. I guess you were there for me a lot. You always seemed to know how to make me feel so much better. I know you don't really want to hear this, but I don't think you understand just how much you've actually done for me. You..meant a lot to me. I guess that's what made it so hard for me when things changed." Bakugo found it difficult to meet Izuku's gaze.
"That's life, Deku. Things change and so do people."
"Yeah." Izuku sighed. "I guess so." When Shoto returned, he made his way over to Izuku, kneeling in front of him.
"Hey. Did you sleep well? How are you feeling?"Izuku gave a reassuring smile.
"Starting to feel better." He said. Shoto softly kissed his head.
"Good. I was going to get something to eat. Do you feel like trying?" Deku shook his head.
"I'm not hurting as much, but I'm still feeling sick. I appreciate the offer."
"Can I get you something for later, in case you change your mind?"
"Remember what I said, Deku," Bakugo said.
"If you want to." Deku replied. " maybe something that won't be too much for my stomach." Shoto stood up, offering the papers to Bakugo.
"These are the closest ones." He said. He sat down on the edge of the bed, allowing Izuku to rest his head on his shoulder. "Will you be okay while I'm out? Bakugo said he'll wait with you."
"Yeah. I'll be fine. I don't expect you guys to-"
"I know," Shoto said. "I asked him to stay in case you need something while I'm out. I'd feel better knowing you have someone with you and Bakugo knows what to do for you. I won't be out long." After deciding on a restaurant and placing the order, Shoto kissed Izuku and with a promise to return quickly, he left. Once again leaving Bakugo and Izuku alone.
Izuku took hold of the sports drink and took a small sip, the boys remaining silent. He placed it back on the desk, quickly grabbing the wastebasket, and retched. Bakugo turned his attention to his former friend.
"Stop thinking about it." He demanded.
"I can't help it," Izuku replied. "I-I don't think I have anything left."
"Then stop it." Izuku glared at Bakugo.
"Do you really think I'd be doing this if I could stop it? I can think of a million other things I'd rather be doing right now." The retching continued for several minutes with Bakugo keeping watch over him. When at last Deku finished, his body shook and he seemed to sway a bit unsteadily as he reached down to put the wastebasket back. He was stopped, however, when Bakugo rose from his seat, placing a hand on his shoulder and using his other to take the object.
"Lay down before you fall over," Bakugo instructed, placing the wastebasket on the floor at Izuku's bedside. "You're gonna have to stop with this anxiety stuff, Deku. That was pretty hard, wasn't it?" Again the teen's tone had changed, it was softer now. Deku allowed Bakugo to help him lie back. Katsuki further surprised Deku when he lowered himself to the floor beside the bed.
"That really didn't feel good."Deku winced in pain.
"No shit. You're really going to hurt yourself one day, Nerd. Take it easy." He raised a hand, slipping it under Izuku's shirt and resting it on his belly, rubbing in gentle circles.
"K-Kacchan-"
This doesn't hurt does it?" the blond inquired.
"No. I'm sorry K-"
"Don't. Just shut up and relax. What was that stupid thing we used to do when we were kids, do you remember?"
"You think everything I do is stupid, can you be more specific?" Bakugo smirked.
"That's cause-"He stopped, he couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. "Hey, you wanna watch this movie with me until he gets back? I can give you more medicine in a little while. A short time later, Shoto returned, setting the bags on the desk.
"What's-" He began upon seeing the teens.
"Come over here," Bakugo instructed. "Start generating some heat. You wanted to see how to do this. Deku made himself sick while you were gone." Shoto joined the blond, doing as he was told. Bakugo moved out of the way. "There's a couple of ways to do this. You can have him lay down like this, and put your hand on his stomach. It works best if you're directly touching him." Shoto hesitated. but kept his eyes on Izuku who was shifting uncomfortably in bed.
"Would a heating pad be better for him? I don't know if-"
"Heating pad would be fine. Might be nice for him if you took the time to-"Bakugo began only to be cut off by Izuku.
"It's okay, Shoto. You don't have to do it. I'll be feeling better soon. I deal with this a lot and I can do other things to-"
"You're gonna have to get over this, Icy Hot."Bakugo pressed.
"I don't want to cause any more pain."
"Then do it right. Make sure you ask about the pain when you start. If it hurts him, you're either using too much pressure or he messed himself up and needs a doctor." Shoto drew in a breath and let it out slowly before slipping his left hand onto Izuku's stomach. Almost instantly, Deku became still.
"Is this...okay?"He asked.
"That's perfect, "Izuku confirmed. Relieved that he wasn't adding to the suffering as he feared, Shoto used his right hand to stroke Izuku's dark hair longingly. Deku shifted closer to his love, finding comfort in the affection.
"Good," Shoto said softly. Bakugo scoffed.
"Told you it wasn't hard. You know how to handle this now. He can have more medicine in a couple hours. I'm gonna take my stuff and-"
"Could you stay?" Shoto asked.
"For what?"
"I thought we should have a little talk."
"Nothing to talk about. I already-"
"I have a few more questions. I think we should talk about what was going on when I arrived. I think there's a little more to it than you're letting on."