Katsuki had remained quiet for the duration of the car ride. He kept his eyes on the window, mindlessly watching the trees pass and doing his best not to let his mind wander. He very much appreciated that Izuku's mother hadn't asked him any questions during the trip, but found far less love for her son's eyes constantly flicking his way in the rearview mirror. Katsuki did his best to ignore the near constant, worried looks that his friend gave him, but he knew that they were still coming. Fed up with the situation, he finally shifted his own eyes to the mirror with an annoyed glare. Izuku looked away immediately and occupied himself with wringing his hands for the rest of the ride.
Minutes passed before the vehicle turned into a small driveway that ran parallel to several other identical ones in front of other identical, crème-colored houses. A small lawn was in front of the building, and the garage and window frames were painted white.
"Well, we're here," Inko Midoriya chimed as the car pulled to a stop.
The woman popped open the driver's side door and quickly exited the vehicle before hurrying around to the trunk. Katsuki was a little slower with his seatbelt and door but made an effort to meet the woman at the back of the car, where he found her bent over and rummaging through the trunk. Inko was a short, portly woman with long, dark green hair that seemed to be a perfect replica of Izuku's shade. She wore a simple blue cardigan, white shirt, and long pink skirt with comfortable-looking flat shoes. As she pulled Katuski's suitcase out from the trunk and lowered it to an upright position upon the pavement, she looked up at the boy and showed him his least favorite feature of hers- her genuine smile full of warmth.
"…I'll take it, Mrs. Midoriya," Katsuki offered quietly. "You don't need to wait on me."
"Nonsense!" Inko denied as she popped the handle of the luggage upward and began to drag the suitcase along the pavement, its wheels rattling merrily. "You were just in the hospital, and I'm sure you're still not at a hundred percent. Really, it's no trouble at all."
Katsuki's face twisted into a scowl as he watched Inko hurry toward the front door. Though he had been incredibly polite since he had met her earlier in the day, he found that her upbeat and motherly nature angered him to no end. The knowledge that his reaction to common courtesy from what was essentially still a stranger was totally irrational only made his feelings intensify, while also redirecting them. A dull, aching sensation in his back didn't help matters, and he found himself hoping that Izuku had a punching bag set up in his room.
"…hey," Izuku called from his position at the side of the car. It was the first word that he had said to Katsuki since the boys had gotten into the vehicle, and enough to make the blond look up from his clenched fist. "Uh… ready to head inside?"
No, Katsuki replied mentally as he looked over to his friend. No, I'm not.
"Yeah," he said weakly. Katsuki stole a quick glance toward the front door to make sure that Inko was out of earshot before returning his eyes to Izuku and narrowing them. "Can you get her to stop obsessing over me? I'm not her responsibility."
"…no, probably not," Izuku admitted with a guilty grin as he scratched at the back of his hair. "Mom's just… like that, with everybody. What's wrong with being nice to people?"
"It isn't about being nice," Katsuki seethed as he moved to pass Izuku on the driveway. After only a few steps, he paused and turned to face the boy again. "…you have no idea what happened, do you?"
Izuku raised a brow, his confusion obvious.
"With the fight, you mean?" Izuku asked. "I remember all of it, actually. It w-"
"No," Katsuki snapped. "Not the fight, what happened… before. When I texted you. You don't actually know what's going on."
Izuku tensed up and swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Uh… about that, Mom refused to tell me anything. I did meet your mom, though. Once. She seemed kinda… like you…?"
Katsuki held his gaze for a moment, before turning and saying nothing as he walked into the house. A little bit of his hatred for Inko began to subside as he walked into the foyer, trying his best to focus on the home itself rather than the people within it. Compared to his own home, the Midoriya residence was quite plain- all of the walls were painted in a soft, inoffensive pastel yellow, while the ceiling was an off-white. Very few decorations in the form of family photos were present upon the walls, and a simple vase of flowers in the center of the living room coffee table was more or less the only standout. Katsuki took a few steps into the main hall, from which the majority of the rooms on the downstairs floor were visible. Inko had already busied herself in the kitchen, and Izuku walked inside and closed the front door behind himself.
"Sweetie, why don't you take your friend's suitcase upstairs for him?" Inko asked as she looked over her shoulder at her son. "And set up the mattress while you're there."
"Of course!" Izuku replied immediately before hefting Katsuki's suitcase from its place against the wall. "I'll meet you upstairs, Kacchan!"
"Sure," Katsuki replied unenthusiastically as he watched his friend disappear toward the staircase.
After several moments of staring, he found himself totally unable to follow and turned to watch Inko as she began chopping vegetables upon a cutting board. Katsuki clenched his teeth and made a small noise of frustration before taking a step forward, causing his back to twinge in protest.
"…Mrs. Midoriya, let me help with that…"
"Hm?" Inko asked while sparing the boy a quick glance. "Oh, absolutely not. You're our guest, a-"
"I can't just stand around, freeload off of you, and do nothing," Katsuki interrupted, his annoyance spilling into his tone. "If not that, then let me do something to help you."
Inko stopped preparing food and set the knife down before turning to face Katsuki completely. She looked up at the boy and gave him another infuriatingly soft smile before placing a gentle hand upon his shoulder.
"…you're very sweet, Bakugo, but really- you need to rest, at least for a few days. We don't really know what you can and can't handle, yet, and even then… I do most of the housework myself," Inko explained.
Another quick, stinging lance of rage pierced Katsuki's chest as he listened, and he couldn't help but growl softly as Inko removed her hand from his shoulder.
"…not anymore, you don't. I'll settle for now, but by the end of the week, I want to be contributing."
Inko let out a wistful sigh and blew a long strand of hair from in front of her face.
"If you're sure. The help would be very much appreciated, but I'm mostly worried about your recovery and comfort, here. We'll figure out a system that works, I'm sure."
Katsuki watched as Inko stared at him silently. Her eyes were entirely free of judgement, expectation, or derision. Instead, there was something there that he didn't quite understand. Something he loathed.
"…why didn't you tell De-… Izuku about what happened at my house?" Katsuki said suddenly, unable to stop himself.
"Because it's none of his business," Inko answered immediately as she shook her head. "That, and… I know my son. I know he cares, and I know he's going to ask… but I also know that sometimes, he gets too caught up in his emotions. He says things that get him into trouble, and he rushes into situations without a plan based purely on feelings. That kind of thing could end badly in a situation like this… and I don't know you, Bakugo. I'd like to, especially after hearing what Izuku has told me about you, but I don't want to put you in an awkward situation with him. Times like these are when you need your friends. I don't want the two of you at odds."
Katsuki listened intently, trying to find some small phrase or reason to stay angry with her. Instead, he found that he could only think of a single word.
"…thanks…"
"Of course," Inko offered with a small bow. "Why don't you head upstairs, and get familiar with the house? I'm sure Izuku wants to talk to you, as well… but don't feel pressured to say anything you're uncomfortable with."
"I won't," Katsuki assured as he turned to leave the kitchen. "And… yeah. Thanks, Mrs. Midoriya. This is… I need to be away for a while."
"I know the feeling," Inko offered as she returned her attention to cutting celery. "We'll talk more as you feel up to it."
Katsuki lingered in the doorway for a moment before shaking his head and beginning to walk toward the staircase.
"Damn it…" he whispered to himself as he began to climb, his back twinging with every step. "Damn it, damn it, damn it…"
"Kacchan?" Izuku called from behind a half-open door on the right at the top of the steps, his voice slightly garbled by an odd grinding sound. "Is that you?"
Instead of answering, Katsuki continued to climb before taking a small break at the top of the stairs. After a few controlled breaths, he pushed his way into Izuku's bedroom, and was immediately assaulted by the sight of the most All Might merchandise he had ever seen. Posters, a quilt, action figures, framed photos and magazines, books, a wall calendar, and even Izuku's desktop background were all All Might themed, and several other pieces of various hero paraphernalia were all around the room. Izuku himself was crouched next to an inflating air mattress, a small motorized pump and hose attached to one side.
"…please tell me you already had that," Katsuki said uneasily as he watched the smaller boy flatten out some wrinkles upon the surface of the inflatable bed.
"No," Izuku replied. "We got it to make sleeping arrangements easier. We have a guest bedroom, but it's been used for storage for the past few years, and it's easier for me to just sleep on this while you take my b-"
"No," Katsuki interrupted as he turned and pulled the door to the bedroom closed. "I'm not sleeping in your bed while you sleep on that."
"Kacchan, your back…" Izuku began, only to trail off.
"…will be fine," Katsuki growled. "I'm already making a mess of things. I'll take the air mattress."
"You're not… making a mess of anything," Izuku protested as he turned off the pump and sealed the port on the mattress. "But you're also not going to budge, are you?"
"No," Katsuki agreed. "And don't ask questions. Just be grateful."
"…okay," Izuku replied as he wrapped the hose of the motorized pump around the main unit. "But… I don't understand you, sometimes."
"And I don't understand you," Katsuki shot back, his tone full of venom. "Why did you jump into that fight, Deku?"
Izuku sighed heavily and moved to place the pump in his closet.
"…so, we're back to Deku…"
"What?" Katsuki asked, his eyes narrowed.
"…nothing," Izuku said as he moved to sit upon his bed. "And what do you mean? You would've done the same thing for me, right?"
"Yeah. Because I have a Quirk. I know what I'm doing in a fight. I've trained specifically to handle villains," Katsuki explained as he leaned against the door.
"And that training wasn't enough when you got jumped," Izuku said simply. "So I jumped in to buy you time."
"You jumped in and almost got yourself killed," Katsuki reminded. "If All Might hadn't randomly come by…"
"I was hoping I could hold the villain off long enough for you to get back up!" Izuku explained with exasperation. "I thought all you would need was a second to breathe, and then you could waste him!"
"And you gambled your life on that?" Katsuki snarled, his lip twitching. "What are you, fucking stupid!?"
"Yeah, maybe!" Izuku nearly yelled. "But if I am, I'd rather be stupid and actually care about my friends than be smart and just watch them get suffocated!"
"One death is better than two," Katsuki fumed.
Neither boy said anything for a moment, until Izuku shook his head before holding it in his hands.
"…so, what, you wanted me to just let you potentially die out there?"
"If it was anyone else, I would say they should have taken a chance," Katsuki replied as he looked away. "But y-"
"You have that little faith in me?" Izuku interrupted, suddenly furious. "Because I don't have a Quirk? Because I don't belong in a fight?"
"Did you accomplish anything!?" Katsuki snapped back. "Think about it, Deku, did showing up actually make a difference? Did a new target suddenly cause that slime villain to lose all interest in me? How long were you fighting with him before All Might saved us both? Tell me, because I don't remember!"
"I…" Izuku began, before daring to look up at Katsuki. "…I held him for at least three minutes…"
"Three minutes?" Katsuki balked. "That's probably longer than I was fighting him. There's no way you managed t-"
"I took out his eye!" Izuku interrupted. "Literally! I clawed it out to make myself a threat! I did what I had to do in order to protect you!"
Katsuki merely stared as Izuku began to tear up.
"I'm not weak, Kacchan! You've been training me for years now! If you really didn't believe I could do anything, then why bother? So I could be your punching bag? Then why have you been giving me tips, and helping me improve? Why are you still sparring with me when you've got other people with Quirks around that could give you a better fight?"
The answer came to Katsuki immediately, but he knew that saving it would be catastrophic not just to their friendship, but likely, his living situation.
"I… have my reasons," Katsuki said evasively. "And if you really did hold that villain off that long, then…"
"Boys! Dinner!" Inko called from downstairs.
"…we can settle this later," Katsuki offered as he opened the bedroom door. "Maybe."
"Maybe," Izuku repeated as he wiped his face on his sleeve. "Go ahead. I'll… I'm gonna go wash my face."
Katsuki took one last look at Izuku before exiting into the hallway, full of conflicting thoughts.
Author's Note:
Last Sunday's update was supposed to be for the week of the 27th, so this will be the only update this week. Also, on the off chance that anyone is reading this and Arboretum, that story's Volume 2 has been delayed until October 23rd. See my profile for details.
-RD