Grieving brings people Together / Bakugo x Izuku QUIRKLESS Au

[honeybee]

He doesn't get it. This wasn't supposed to happen, she wasn't supposed to die like this.

It was difficult for Izuku to process it until he was already in the black car on the way to his new home, with his bags packed and the rest of his belongings already having been packed and sent over. It hit him like a ton of bricks that he wasn't prepared for, and as the large, Bakugo household came into view, his heart was hammering in his chest and blood running anxiously through his veins.

This wasn't going to end well, at least, not for him. For one thing, he was moving in with an old friend that bullied him relentlessly in middle school, and he wasn't even sure of the cause! It felt like, one day, Katsuki just... turned his back on him. It tore him apart, and now, with the only person who could turn his bad days into good ones gone... He felt like he might be trapped. Like Kacchan would make his life a living hell. But all he wanted was to be friends with him again, to hug him and cry about his mom. He's already cried a lot in the hospital room, and the hearing of her will...

But he was alone, and he didn't know what to do.

He's already wiping tears from his eyes as the car pulls to a stop in front of the walkway leading up, and he can already see the three Bakugo's on the front step, with Kacchan looking... less than pleased to see him.

Quietly, the sixteen-year-old climbs out of the car and shrugs his bag on, picking up one of the duffle bags before the agent sent to escort him grabs the other two bags and follows him up the walkway. Mitsuki doesn't say much other than a gentle welcome, and Marasu offers a squeeze to his shoulder, but Izuku doesn't say anything other than a small, timid,

"Thanks, Auntie... for letting me stay."

After that, after lead to his new room, Izuku shuts himself inside it and starts to slowly unpack his things, folding them carefully or slowly putting them on hangers to hang up eventually. His hands are shaking, and his eyes were watery. What was he supposed to do? He felt so lost, and while trapped in a house with someone who hated him for... a reason he couldn't understand, he felt like he was going to have to walk on eggshells to avoid anything happening. He doesn't want either of them to get kicked out... He's tempted to offer a peace offering, but he doesn't even know if Katsuki still liked the same things as when they were younger.

They barely even talked in school, despite having the same class.

That night, Izuku doesn't even bother to come down for dinner when he's called, instead opting to finish unpacking and then climb into his bed and hug one of his pillows. But... sleep is impossible. All he can think about while lying there is about his mother, how he'll never see her smile, or hear her laugh, her feel her hugs and kisses, or taste her cooking...

His head buries into the pillow, and he can't stop the way the sobs fall out of him.

He was completely, utterly, alone.

[CRYBABY]

Karma really was a bitch. Katsuki had been warned of this by the old hag and his dad as they became more aware of his wrong doings but he didn't actually believe it. He was Bakugou fucking Katsuki, the greatest, the best, nothing would dare bring him down. Nothing. Except that delusion was completely debunked when Mitsuki informed her son that Deku was going to come stay with them. Katsuki's first instinct was to be angry, frustrated. Deku the little nerd that looked down on him their entire childhood, the stupid, freckled idiot that Katsuki had tried so hard to get out of his thoughts. That Deku was going to be invading his home. And for how long? How long must Katsuki be subjected to this bullshit? He hadn't actually talked to Deku since middle school, hell he barely acknowledged the freckled boys existence even though they were in the same class. But when Mitsuki informed Katsuki the reason behind all of this his heart sank.

His mind refused to wrap around the news, there was no way, no way that Auntie was gone. And yet... why else would his childhood friend turned rival be coming to stay with them? All he could think about was Deku. How was Deku? What was Deku feeling? Where was Deku? Had he eaten? Of course the guilty feeling came next, slamming into Katsuki like a freight train. Fuck, he really was a piece of shit. Not only did he bully the poor green-haired boy relentlessly, he proceeded to completely cut him off and ignore him in high school. This wasn't something Katsuki typically thought about, for the most part he kept his feelings locked away in his mind vault but that was going to be a challenge with the freckled loser coming to live with them.

Katsuki's mind was somewhere else when Deku arrived, showing as a scowl on his soft features. The blond wasn't mad, not really, the emotion he felt was more akin to sympathy but of course he couldn't show that, that was his whole fucking problem, every emotion was expressed as anger, annoyance, frustration, impatience, all of the emotions you shouldn't show to someone grieving the loss of their mother. Deku had no one, not like his worthless dad was going to show up out of no where and offer to take care of him. No, no it was just him. Vermillion eyes shifted to watch his childhood friend speak lowly to Mitsuki. A battle between mind and body to offer Deku condolences that ended up silent.

When Izuku didn't show up for dinner when the hag called for him Katsuki was tempted to march up to his room and force feed the idiot. Didn't he know he has to eat to stay well? Deku was always bad at taking care of himself.. maybe after I'll bring him up something, he thought but eventually decided against it not wanting to invade the other's privacy. Who was he anyway? Just some bully from the kid's childhood, probably the last person Deku wanted to see let alone accept favors from. So Katsuki went about his evening, completing his homework in a timely manner as he always did, then settling in bed to read a book.

On the way to the bathroom to get ready for bed Katsuki could have sworn he heard something coming from Deku's room. He took a step toward the other's room before deciding once again to leave it be. 'Remember Katsuki, you're the last person he wants to have to deal with' he reminded himself, before continuing to the bathroom to complete his routine, though he couldn't get what he heard out of his head. It sounded like Deku was crying. Of course he'd be fuckign cry, his mother just--
"Yeah, of course he'd be crying," Katsuki whispered to himself before approaching the boy's door on the way back to his own room. He was just going to check on him, place his ear against the door and make sure he was asleep, or whatever.. but when the blond did just that he could hear clearly Deku's whimpering sobs. Fuck. He knocked gently without even thinking about it, as if his body moved on its own. "Deku." he paused, not knowing at all what to say next. Be fuckin' stupid to ask if he were okay, of course he's not. "It's me." is what he settled on, having zero idea if that was encouraging or more detrimental to the boys current state. Guess he'd find out.

[honeybee]

He felt empty, like there wasn't really anyone he could lean on. Sure, he had friends at school, but they weren't close like that. They didn't know how amazing his mom was, how supportive and sweet she was not only to him, but all of those around her. He knew he would have to be strong for her, but it was hard. He wouldn't be able to hear her advice or seek her hugs when he felt upset. He wouldn't be able to taste her cooking, or hear her voice-

The knocking on the door made him freeze, how long had he been crying? He doesn't know, so when he sits up and looks toward the door to hear Katsuki was on the other side, he felt his stomach churn. What did he need? Was the bullying going to start already? Had he been crying too loud and woke him up? Fear riddles his body as he carefully gets up. He uses the sleeve of the long-sleeved black shirt he wore to wipe at his face, but his eyes were puffy and still watery, his nose red. He looked like a mess, the usual happy shine in his eyes gone.

Quietly, he shuffles over to the door and unlocks it, opening it a little. He can't look Katsuki in the eyes, too anxious he was going to upset him.

"S-Sorry, Kacchan... I didn't mean to wake you." His voice is quiet, and he's refusing to look up. He felt pathetic, even more so with the other looking at him. He knew he looked weak, knew he looked shitty. Guess he really did fit the nickname, huh? "I-I'll go to sleep soon... Good night." It would probably be better to keep the interactions between them as few and far between as possible. As long as he managed to avoid Katsuki and keep him somewhat content, he would be able to have a peaceful time there until he would eventually use the inheritance from his mom to find a place of his own.

As awful as it sounded. He wanted to use the money she left towards school, towards getting a good career, but... it seemed pointless now. Would he even be able to study in peace with Katsuki around? Maybe his room would be his home. He'd try and be the least amount of a burden as possible.

"I'm sorry... um. For this happening. I... I didn't think she'd want me to... to come here. I'll stay out of your way. Please just... l-leave me al-one." Saying that last bit had tears welling up in his eyes again as he chokes up, and he can't stop the sob that leaves him. He forces out a small apology before shutting the door, backing up and burying his face into his hands as he sinks to his knees. It hurt. He wanted to be friends with him, to be able to talk to Kacchan again, and hang out with him like they were kids again. But it was impossible, Kacchan made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with him. Especially with the way he treated him during school.

He missed his Kacchan, as much as he missed his mom.

[CRYBABY]

Katsuki didn't know what he expected to see when Deku finally opened the door, but it definitely wasn't this, this shell of the kid he'd known his entire life that Katsuki would always regard as his rival. It was almost pathetic how small and unhealthy Deku looked, ripping pity--no, not pity, sympathy--from the deepest part of Katsuki's soul. He noted the way Deku refused to look up at him, apologizing in hopes of defusing a fire that wasn't even ignited. It pissed Katsuki off how Deku always leapt to people pleasing even when it was someone who didn't deserve it. Like the blond.

"That's not why I'm fucking here." he scowled, but it was too late, Deku was already apologizing once more, making himself out to be a burden when Katsuki had done nothing to make him feel that way, or so the blond thought. Before he could block Deku from shutting the door, the freckled boy made it very clear what he wanted from Katsuki. To be left alone. To not be bothered, to not be attacked, or hurt. Deku wanted nothing from the other and it was very clear.

As Katsuki stomped back to his room, blood boiling at the audacity Deku had to turn him away like that, his mind turned back to all the ways Katsuki had made Deku feel worthless and small, starting with the stupid nickname he had given him when they were kids. Fuck. He slumped on his bed, tapping his foot against the floor in frustration. Deku had always been the self sacrificing type, he had always done whatever would be best for the other person, so when Deku asked Katsuki to leave him alone was this finally the green-haired boy standing up for himself or once again taking Katsuki's feelings into consideration in not wanting to bother the blond?

Fuck this was hard, too hard for the blond to deal with when he had school tomorrow. He'd sleep, he'd go to sleep and deal with the ache in his chest tomorrow. He laid in bed with the lights out, staring up at the ceiling. All he could think about was if Deku had been able to go to sleep. Fuck. He hates the nerd. Katsuki didn't sleep well that night.

Katsuki was an early riser naturally but he was ready for school even earlier than normal, standing in the kitchen with an apron on fixing breakfast for the stupid nerd that probably hadn't eaten a decent meal in weeks. Tch. Two bentos sat on the counter next to each other, Katsuki had already made and packed lunch for them both. While taking a shower that morning he had decided that if Deku wanted to be left alone, fine, but Katsuki wasn't going to sit around and watch him become a living corpse.

He plated the meal they'd share together before school and took a seat at the table. His eyes glanced up at the stairs, then down to his watch. If the nerd didn't wake up soon there would be no time for breakfast before they had to leave. He was amidst the decision of stalking up there to wake him up himself when he heard a door creak open.