Therapy that week had been hell.

He tells his mom as much.

"That stupid list. I told you about it last time, and guess what, I didn't change anything. It was still as pathetic. Of course, Hound Dog made the points feel important, but then he made me look like an idiot like I said he would."

He knows his mom would have laughed at that. Not in a mean way.

Bakugo misses her laugh.

"He really helps, you know? I didn't believe it would, but that shit is legit."

Then he scoffs, remembering Yaoyorozu's comment yesterday.

"You won't believe what Ponytail said yesterday," he says, shaking his head, wrapping himself tighter in the blanket he brought, "She said I'm happier when Halfie is around."

"As if that could be true. That idiot causes me nothing but stress. He's so pushy and questions everything. I feel like he knows."

He shakes his head, "Anyway, I lost my shit when Hound Dog read the first point on my list."

At the memory of the first day, he cringes, rubbing at the spot where the burn used to be before Recovery Girl healed it. He looks down at his forearm and sighs.

There's no trace of the burn at all. He's not sure how he feels about that.

On one side, he's glad that no one will see it and question how it got there, but on the other, there's no proof of what he did. That his pain is no where to be found. When he was at the nurse's office the next day before therapy, he'd almost reeled back when Recovery Girl went to kiss his hand.

He didn't really want it gone.

"I hurt myself for the first time," he tells his mom, embarrassed by his actions.

How could he hurt himself and be alive when his mom was buried underground? They couldn't even have an open casket because her body was crushed.

He forces himself to take a breath, calming himself down before he freaks out again. He'd hate to do that in front of his mom.

In a moment of childish weakness- which he's been having a lot of lately- he moves to sit right beside his mom's grave and puts his blanket over her gravestone, sharing the warmth with her and hugging it tightly.

After the tight hug, he rests his head on the gravestone, almost as he did when they'd have those Wednesday movie nights.

"I'm sorry I hurt myself. You would've been really sad. It was a one time thing. I promise to try not to do it again. I didn't even mean to that time. It's just that-" he stops himself to take a breath, "I just pictured Kirishima dying in-"

He loses his breath, holding the gravestone tighter again, wishing it was his mom and not some piece of marble.

It feels like an eternity before he gets his breath back, eyes dry from staring at the ground without blinking.

There's still light out, so he knows he wasn't gone for long.

Hound Dog's breathing techniques helped tremendously this week. He's till working just how to come back to himself when he spaces out and how to get rid of the intrusive thoughts Hound Dog was talking about.

Turns out, Bakugo's intrusive thoughts are more tame than other cases- not that Hound Dog said that to him. Some people have intrusive thoughts about harming people they care about.

Bakugo is thankful his mind is supplying those thoughts because he'd probably never come back from that.

It's bad enough he has images of people he cares about dying in his head, he'd hate to have images of himself killing those people.

"It was bad that first day. I ended up meeting with him all week except today. God I'm fucking tired."

The sun is starting to set now, just barely.

"I'm going to see Dad soon."

The small sentence is heavy, but it's something he's been talking about with Hound Dog. He thinks in two weeks, he'll go home and spend some time with his dad. Maybe talk to clear the air.

"I'm nervous, but I still have time before I go. I want to go in two weeks. After exams. I just- he- I don't know if he gets that he hurt me. It sounds fucking stupid," he laughs at himself, "but him telling me that was a lot. It was shitty."

Mitsuki would've cussed Masaru out if she were here. She was a great mom. The best and he hates that all that he has left is memories. He wants her here now.

With the time he has left, he tells her about everything else that happened in the rest of the week and his plans for finals.

When his alarm rings to get going to meet up with Todoroki, he gets up, feeling bad about taking the blanket, but knowing it's irrational since she can't actually feel cold. Not anymore.

"I love you. I'll see you next week."

He takes the blanket and old flowers and heads to the meeting spot.

~~~~~

Bakugo is beyond tired and after visiting his mom today, he was entirely talked out. He had never talked this much in his entire life, and this whole week was full of talking.

Looking at the ingredients on the shelf, Bakugo can see Todoroki looking at him with a worried look on his face.

It's getting kind of annoying, but yesterday the taller teen had taken him some spicy chips that he said he'd gotten from someone who confessed to him. Apparently he didn't want them, so he gave them to Bakugo. It's obvious he only did it because he's been looking out for him a lot recently.

Usually it's annoying because Todoroki just wants to talk, but yesterday it was just him giving Bakugo some really good spicy chips.

The blond could probably enjoy the doting, but the only issue with that was that the other teen might find out.

Todoroki knew something was up, and Bakugo could tell he knew. Todoroki wasn't a very subtle person. Well, not about showing he cared and that he was worried.

"You haven't been in class recently," he brings up halfway through the shopping trip.

Therapy that week had been bad. He didn't know how to open up and it was just awkward for him to try. He was trying, though.

It helped to talk to his mom for a little, but it's so hard when he knows he has very little time to talk to her.

"Yeah, and?"

Todoroki shrugs, "I just hope you're doing okay. It's good that you're taking time off from school. You've been different for months and it hasn't been the same."

The energy is tense, different than their usual care free energy, but that's only because Todoroki has a hard time talking about things and Bakugo doesn't want to talk about himself.

"Been the same?"

Todoroki nods. "I hate that you seem sad."

Bakugo feels a tug in his chest at the words. Todoroki cares and it feels nice to have someone care for him that isn't a legal guardian.

"Fuck off. I'm not sad."

He is, though. He's so painfully sad and he doesn't know how to expel all the emotion.

The blond scoffs, looking through a ton of spices because Jiro accidentally knocked a few of them off the counter the other day, so now they need new ones.

"I know you are, but it's okay. Whatever it is, you'll end up okay. At least, I really hope you do."

Bakugo's eyes stay frozen on a particular spice, caught off guard by Todoroki's words. It's almost annoying how much Todoroki makes Bakugo feel seen.

Almost.

So Bakugo faces Todoroki head on, "What do you think you know?"

He doesn't mean to, but he sounds kind of defensive. Maybe it's the feeling of being exposed? Todoroki seems to see right through him and it's scary.

The other teen just shrugs. "I don't think I know anything. I just know you've been sad and I don't like it. That's all."

It sucks being so seen. Although it's something he wanted, being called out like this sucks because he's never expressed his sadness or any weaknesses like this. Not before therapy.

Basically, he doesn't know how to act so getting defensive is all he can think of doing.

That wouldn't be fair to Todoroki, though, so he just quickly grabs the spices when he sees them and walks away slowly enough for Todoroki to follow him.

"Leave it alone."

Todoroki does.

He leaves it alone all the way back until they reach the gates at UA.

He stops, forcing Bakugo to stop and turn around to look at him, wondering what's holding him up.

"Where do you go?"

What?

"Huh?"

Todoroki looks him in the eye and says, "You're not allowed to make these trips alone, but you still go off and you said you stay around a family member's house but I don't believe it. I know I don't usually ask questions, but I want to know. Where do you go?

The blond is overwhelmed.

Lying on the spot is getting so tiring.

"None of your business."

So Bakugo just refuses to answer.

With that, Bakugo turns back around and walks toward the dorms. He's trying not to shake with all the emotion bubbling under his skin.

It's cold out, so maybe he can just blame it on that.

"I know you asked me to come with you because I usually don't ask questions. I'm sorry for asking anything, but you can talk to me, Bakugo."

"Okay. Just leave it, Halfie."

But Bakugo can't stop the build of emotions in him and now he's really shaking. He just keeps walking, though. He can break down or whatever the fuck when he gets to the confines of his own room in his own privacy.

He's had an audience present way too often, recently. It's pissed him off just like it's pissing him off now. Even though he hasn't cried this week when he's been feeling so much, he can't start back up with crying in front of every single person in class.

If he doesn't pull his shit together, he's going to freak out in front of stupid Halfie, and knowing the idiot, he probably doesn't know how to handle someone who's freaking out.

So it bubbles.

It builds and bubbles under his skin like crazy and he tries to shake it off. He tries to pretend he's fine.

But as the other emotions build, so does the fear that he's not going to make it to his room on time to fall apart. The dorm building mocks him just a couple of yards away.

Then the sadness hits tenfold in his chest and he has to stop himself from reaching up and grabbing at his chest that's overflowing with emotions he doesn't want to deal with in public.

Shit never goes his way.

His breath hitches as he holds back tears and a sob. He forces his mouth shut and blinks back any tear that tries to form.

The problem is that the tears are forming too fast and now his lip is wobbling, so blinking just makes the tears fall and now he's trying to hide his face from Todoroki. He successfully holds back the sobs, but they're a bit far from the dorms for him to hide it from the other.

They're walking side by side, so when he exhales sharply, sounding sort of like a sob, he knows he got Todoroki's attention.

Shit.

So he walks faster. He can't even wipe away his tears without any commotion because he has bags of groceries in both hands, so if he lifts up an arm, it'll be all noisy and he'd probably smack his face.

"Bakugo, are you okay?"

He's worried.

He's keeping up pace with the blond which is so fucking annoying because he needs to get away.

Todoroki can't see his face.

So he starts walking even faster, trying to get Todoroki to understand that he needs to back off immediately.

"I'm serious, Bakugo. What's wrong?"

But unsure of how to make Todoroki understand, he just shakes his head, not wanting to talk because once he does, it's over and he won't be able to stop sobbing.

His nose is starting to run, too, so this whole fucking thing sucks.

"Are you crying?"

No shit.

Bakugo just walks faster, up the steps of the dorm, and pulls the door open. Todoroki is right on his tail, but he doesn't care. He just doesn't want anyone to see his face right now, so he tosses the stuff on tbe kitchen floor before running upstairs to his room, sobs breaking free as he goes up.

They're quiet, but the sniffling along with the tears make it so obvious.

Just as he's passing Kirishima's room, the door opens, so Bakugo turns his head away from whoever it was and struggles to unlock his door.

"Bakugo?"

It's Kaminari.

Bakugo hasn't talked to him, yet.

"Bakugo," Todoroki calls right as Bakugo unlocks his door and runs in, slamming his door behind him and making sure to lock it.

Then he walks into his restroom, small sobs escaping his lips as he grabs his towel, closes the door behind him, turns on the shower, and sits on the floor.

Once he's buried his face into his towel and lets
himself cry freely in the dark restroom, he feels the weight of everything fall off his shoulders. As each sob leaves his mouth and each tear escapes his eye, the pressure lessens.

The blond can hear knocking on his room door, but he just continues sobbing, not stopping unless it's to catch his breath.

It's really fucking humiliating if he's being honest. How is it that he keeps embarrassing himself? At this rate, his whole class would have seen him break down because he's so weak. How could he let himself be so vulnerable in front of so many people?

It makes him want to kill himself, really. That's kind of alarming to him, but he can't really find the motivation to care enough.

Then there's a buzzing in his pocket and the tears fall faster as dread creeps up in his chest. It's probably Mr. Aizawa calling because someone told him something was wrong.

He's surprised to see that it's not his sensei, but Todoroki.

For some reason, the relief that it's not the man, leads him to answer the call immediately. He curses and before he can get himself to hang up, Todoroki is talking.

Bakugo has him on speaker, so he can bury his face back in the towel as he hears the other talk.

"Bakugo? I sent Kaminari away, but him and everyone who was in Kirishima's room is worried about you. No one is out here. Could you open the door?"

Catching his breath as quietly as he can, he pulls his face away from the towel. His shower is running, he realizes, so Todoroki can definitely hear that.

"Leave me alone. I'll be down in a bit to make dinner."

Todoroki sighs lightly on the other end, but then he's talking again.

"I'll leave this alone, but only if you can tell me you're okay."

Before he can even think about it, Bakugo is telling him what he wants to hear. "I'm okay."

"Okay. I'm really sorry that you're sad by the way," he says, voice quieter than before, "I hope everything is okay. I'll see you in a bit."

Then he hangs up and Bakugo curls forward, putting the towel back on his face as the sobs wrack through his body. He wants his mom here.

He misses her so bad. Lifting his head from the towel, he looks up at the ceiling. "I miss you mom."

~~~~~

It takes him a while to get himself together. Every time he thinks he's fine, the tears form and the sobs start back up.

He's blown his nose at least ten times so it's all irritated and he's upset at that now.

It'll be so obvious that he was sobbing his heart out. Especially paired with his irritated eyes since he'd rubbed them too hard trying to get the tears to stop.

This shit sucks.

It's already been half an hour since he told Todoroki he'd be down to make dinner and he's still not presentable enough. He needs to stop this shit right now. So he takes five deep breaths as he turns off the shower, rinses his face with cold water, and leaves his restroom to distract himself.

He needs ten minutes for his face to cool and become less red, so as he does that. He pulls out his phone.

_______________
IcyHot

Do you just want to forget dinner?

I can have takeout delivered.

It'll be just this once. I also want to talk.

_______________

"Fucking IcyHot."

Bakugo's eyes well up with tears yet again, so he gives up trying to pull himself together and tells Todoroki to order the takeout.

He falls into bed, sighing heavily before a new wave of texts come in from the dual haired guy.

_______________
IcyHot

Take out is taking over an hour to get here.

Can I go up to your room?

Please

Okay but the lights will be off

You have to leave after. I'm tired

_______________

He sees that Todoroki read the messages almost instantly and got no response. He's probably on his way here, so Bakugo turns off his room light and turns on the lamp before getting under his covers, back against the wall. He faces the door, bringing up the blanket to cover his face except his eyes.

A minute later, there's a knock on his door and dread fills up his chest again.

At least the tears stopped.

"Come in," he calls.

Todoroki then walks in, noticing that the lamp is on, which he probably didn't expect.

"Bakugo, I wanted to talk about how you've been."

Thankfully the door has already been shut and Todoroki is sitting on the floor right by the bed, looking at Bakugo's eyes.

Bakugo knows that Todoroki can tell he's been crying.

"I'm fine, Halfie. Is that all?"

The other sighs.

"I care about you a lot, which is hard for me to say because I'm not used to caring. I just know that you've been really sad and it makes me sad. Especially because you're beyond just sad. I think you're depressed."

The words hit the blond like a truck. They leave him scrambling for something to say.

To come up with an excuse. A lie?

He doesn't know what he wants to tell Todoroki, just that he doesn't want him to worry about him. That nothing is wrong and he's fine.

"I-"

"Don't say you're okay. Bakugo, you're doing really bad. What's wrong? I'm not used to talking so deeply like this, but it was time I got myself together and said something to you. Especially now. After today when you just-"

Bakugo's eyes widen as he sees the tears forming in Todoroki's eyes.

Bakugo has never seen him cry. It makes him sad as he watches Todoroki bite his lip to try and keep his composure.

"After you just started crying. I'm sorry I didn't reach out sooner. You've been pushing away your friends, sneaking off somewhere when we're supposed to be shopping, and then last week you just disappeared. Just tell me. I'll be here."

As he finds his eyes welling up, Bakugo covers his face with his blanket, completely.

"I can't," Bakugo says, not finishing his thought because if he speaks any more, he'll start sobbing. Again.

"Can't what? Is it villains? Did they use their quirk on you and you're in pain?"

Bakugo shakes his head under his blanket, but he realizes Todoroki probably can't tell he said no. "No."

And then he's sobbing quietly, shaking as he sniffles, feeling the tears streaming down the side of his face.

As soon as he feels an arm on his shoulder, he sits up, throwing himself into Todoroki's arms.

The other teen wasn't expecting it. His arms hover over Bakugo as the blond sobs into his chest. Luckily for him, the blanket is in the way so his tears and snot don't get all over his shirt.

Bakugo wasn't expecting to throw himself at Todoroki either, but over the past few weeks, he found himself trusting Todoroki with a lot even though he tried his best to stay neutral about everyone around him.

For some reason, Todoroki got through that.

"She's dead," he wails, finally admitting the truth, and clutches into the other tighter, sobbing even louder as everything rushes to the top.

The overwhelming grief and loneliness he's been feeling is at the forefront of it all.

It's so hard. He's spent months doing this shit alone and he has no one. He's had no one to talk to or confide in. No one he could just throw himself at and cry on like he's doing now with Todoroki.

His cries get louder and breaths get choppier as Todoroki's arms finally wrap around Bakugo.

"Who's dead?" Todoroki whispers, voice giving away his sadness and how he probably already knows who based on how hard Bakugo is crying.

Something inside Bakugo breaks even more, it absolutely shatters as he finds himself crying out, "Mom."

The blond grasps at Todoroki's back, and it would hurt because he's scratching, trying to get a hold on something, but the blanket acts as a barrier so he's unharmed.

Todoroki just holds Bakugo tighter, clearly unsure of how to comfort him, but trying his best nonetheless.

"Oh god," Bakugo's voice breaks on the word 'god' as he cries, "she's gone forever. I can't hug her anymore."

And each wail seems to make Todoroki hold on to him evens tighter, but Bakugo can't find it in himself to be embarrassed. He's so focused on the despair in his chest to worry about anything other than how his mom is gone.

He misses her so much. Misses her like nothing he's missed before. Especially knowing that he'll never get her back.

"I'll never see her again," he cries, breaths choppy and broken.

Through his loud sobs and wails, he can hear Todoroki sniffle, and it kind of shocks him out of the overwhelming pain in his chest. Just enough to get some awareness back.

He tries to stop the sobbing to at least try to see what's wrong with Todoroki, but he can't. The tears keep coming, too, so he's stuck trying to finish crying it out even though he's beyond embarrassed now.

Todoroki's hold around him tightens and he pulls Bakugo impossibly closer to him.

"You're okay, Bakugo. Just let it all out," Todoroki whispers, voice shaky.

He's crying, too.

Bakugo tries to stop, and although he succeeds in getting the sobs under control, the tears don't stop and now he has hiccups.

At least he's not wailing like a kid anymore.

After taking the blanket off of his face and successfully wiping away any excess snot, he pulls away from Todoroki enough to see his face. Looking back at him is Halfie with red rimmed eyes and puffy under eyes and nose.

"Why are you crying?" Bakugo asks, voice shot. His words tremble and he hiccups as he waits for the taller idiot to answer.

As he watches Todoroki trying to get his shit together, he notices how Todoroki follows the tears that fall down the blond's face.

He doesn't know why he stays hugging Todoroki, but they're both clearly in need of the hug. He doesn't pull away, but he does avert his head down so that Todoroki can't stare at him anymore.

It's embarrassing enough that the tears and hiccups won't stop but more snot is starting run down and his face is probably so red.

The way his breathing shakes and breaks every now and then makes it sound like he's still sobbing.

After clearing his throat, Todoroki finally answers, "I just couldn't stand how sad you were. It made me emotional."

Maybe it's all the emotion in the room and the intimacy of how close they are right now, but Bakugo finds himself apologizing. He's not embarrassed by it either.

"I'm sorry-"

Todoroki just pulls him back in for a tighter hug, not letting him continue.

~~~~~

Bakugo feels different after that. He doesn't want to say it, but he cares about Todoroki.

It's so fucking scary and now there are so many eyes on him when Todoroki was supposed to be his escape from all that and he ruined it for himself because now Todoroki knows.

Because Bakugo had a fucking meltdown over his mom being dead. Okay, it was a valid reason to have a meltdown, but it's beyond embarrassing.

How many people has it been now?

Whatever the number is, it's too many and he can't keep doing this shit.

Thankfully, yesterday probably got that shit out of his system, but he cried for hours after that. He still hasn't gotten up from bed and it's already eight at night. He hasn't gotten up and he honestly doesn't want to.

Yesterday the class had take out thanks to Todoroki.

He had left a little after Bakugo stopped sobbing because the food had gotten delivered, but came back immediately after he got them both something to eat.

Iida apparently put away the groceries they'd brought in last night and just left there.

Bakugo had already laid down in bed and couldn't bring himself to eat when Todoroki brought both of them some food. He just watched Todoroki sit down on the desk chair he had pulled up closer to the bed.

It might sound weird, but he just stared blankly at Todoroki as he ate. It was oddly comforting, but his tears would not stop falling as he just stayed there quietly wrapped in his blanket, hiccups gone at that point and breathing back to normal.

Todoroki hadn't found it weird and stayed for a couple hours more. Bakugo didn't know he left until he woke up today and saw a couple of messages saying he left after he had gone to sleep.

Bakugo feels bad that he's not making dinner tonight either. He has to text Iida, but he's so embarrassed about everything. Fucking hell.

Todoroki had texted a couple of times asking if he was okay.

Each time, Bakugo told him to leave him alone.

He just stares at the darkness in his room, dreading even turning on his phone to text the damn class president.

The problem is, he cares too much. He apologized to Kirishima, but he wishes he hadn't because now they're supposed to be on good terms but Bakugo doesn't know how to prove himself.

He hasn't apologized to anyone in the squad other than Kirishima, and he didn't even want to apologize to the red head, it just slipped out because he had felt like shit for mistreating them all.

And now he's stuck with caring about Todoroki, too. The idiot had followed along with his plans to separate on Fridays when he visits his mom when Todoroki had no reason to trust Bakugo.

He also severely lacks social skills, tends to be blunt, has the worst sense of humor, and worst of all, he comforted Bakugo last night and didn't make it weird after Bakugo had stopped. He just sat in his room, eating, which is very Todoroki if you ask Bakugo.

The blond sighs, turning over into his back.

He needs to text Iida.

Once he absentmindedly reaches around for his phone and grabs it, he sighs heavily once again before texting the president that he won't be cooking dinner.

Instead of just the usual 'Okay' that Iida sends, he gets an 'Are you okay?' which he really didn't feel like dealing with.

Just like he did with Todoroki, though, he tells him to leave him alone and turns off his phone, pulling the blanket up.

He should shower. Hell, he hasn't even gone to the restroom or brushed his fucking teeth.

Mom would think that's disgusting.

The tears fall as he stares at the light peeking through the bottom of his door. He needs to get his shit together by Monday. He's scared that Iida or Todoroki blabbed about how bad he's doing. Aizawa would even talk to him if Kirishima just felt worried.

Annoying ass people.

Cursing in anger, he switches positions to lay on his back and aggressively rubs away the tears.

Crying is so fucking exhausting.

Sure, he was always an emotional person, crying if he got too mad or if too many emotions built up overtime, but this is completely different. He's never sobbed like a baby for hours on end. He even fucking scream sobbed yesterday. He's never cried that hard in his life.

He never cried that often and now here he was, crying every other day because he can't get over his mom's death. He knows he never will, but isn't this shit supposed to get easier over time? It's been almost six months and he still feels his heart absolutely drop when he thinks about his mom's death.

The same heart drop feeling he felt when he first found out.

A soft whine-like cry escapes his lips at the thought.

She was probably so scared and horrified when she realized she had no chance. That it was over for her.

He found out about her death over the god damn phone for fucks sake. He had twelve missed calls from his dad when he got back to his dorm and he was annoyed.

Can you believe that?

His dad was calling him to tell him about his mom dying while he was out having fun, and he had the audacity to be annoyed at all the calls from him.

What a joke. A cruel, sick joke made at his expense. God he could just fall apart thinking about that again.

After that crying episode with Todoroki, though, he feels like he's all cried out for a year. Okay, that's a little much. Maybe for the rest of the week at the rate he's going.

He's just a crier.

It doesn't happen too often, but when he's overwhelmed with any emotion other than happiness, he cries.

It's a few minutes after the text he sent off that he gets a knock on his door and he forces the crying to stop, a few tears still falling.

Fucking Iida.

He's been chill since finding out. Sure, there was that one time in the kitchen real late at night, but other than that, he's very good at giving Bakugo his space.

Ignoring the knocking doesn't make them go away.

"Bakugo."

Bakugo's attention is caught when he hears that it's not Iida. It's Mina.

Weird, but he's not going to answer.

The banging gets louder.

"Bakugo!"

He rolls his eyes, turning away from the door and pulling the blanket over his head, sniffling and wiping away his tears.

Why is she even at his door? Doesn't she hate him?

"You were supposed to make my pick tonight," she yells through the door.

Who gives a fuck?

Not Bakugo, that's for sure, his mood turns to anger and he sniffles again, noting that he probably needs to blow his nose.

He almost tells her as much, but he doesn't feel like it, so he listens to her loud banging and annoyed yells for a couple of minutes before he hears her stomp away, Kirishima's door being opened wildly, and loud yelling from in there.

"Why does he act like he's better than us? Aren't you sick of it? You're just letting him treat you like shit without explanation? Kirishima, you're stupid," she screams, throwing a huge fucking tantrum for a stupid fucking reason.

Oh boo hoo Bakugo didn't make her pick of dinner this month.

It's really not that deep.

Why is she insulting Kirishima anyway? It's not like he did anything.

"Ugh, you'll never be a hero when you let villains like Bakugo walk all over-"

"Shut up," he hears through the wall.

Kirishima is pissed.

"Why do you think it's okay to call him a villain? He's nothing like them," Kirishima hisses.

Guilt builds in Bakugo's chest.

Mina was insulting both him and Kirishima, and Kirishima didn't even try to defend himself before he defended Bakugo. Kirishima didn't even get offended until Mina called him a villain.

"Why do you think it's okay for him to treat us like shit?" Mina bites back.

Bakugo just wants to go back to sleep. He doesn't want Kirishima to get bashed for defending him, but it's not like he's going in there and stopping Mina. Not unless she takes it too far.

She just seems petty right now. Maybe it's justified, but Bakugo can't tell. He's not sure about exactly what he did to piss her and Sero off, but it's not like he meant to. Was it right after his mom's death? He remembers being fine before.

Even that day when they were playing games while his mom was dying, they were fine.

Maybe he said something he doesn't remember?

He doesn't know. All he knows is that Kirishima is getting insulted for defending him when Bakugo doesn't even deserve it.

The red head is too kind for his own good and look at where that got him. He's stuck in his own room listening to the whining of a peer who is just throwing a tantrum because Bakugo didn't get around to making her pick for dinner this month.

Wow.

"Mina, not everything is about you," Kirishima accuses, "He doesn't owe us anything. He didn't have to spend all his time with us like you wanted. It's not an attack on you or us, he's just not as social."

Bakugo had to strain his ears to hear the end since Kirishima's voice started getting lower.

They were both being really fucking loud, though.

"It's not about me. It's about you."

What?

Not being able to hear anything anymore, Bakugo gets up and runs over to the wall they share, pressing his ear to hear what the fuck Mina is on about.

It's muffled, but Bakugo can hear them talking.

"-the way he treated you, specifically. You were closer to him than any of us and when he started ignoring all of us, it hurt you the most."

He feels stupid. He thought he didn't care, but now he's here, ear pressed up against the cold wall to listen in on a fight that his two classmates are having because of him.

"Don't act like that's what you cared about, Mina. You're not some perfect girl who only hates people on behalf of her friends. You were hurt by Bakugo's actions and now you're acting childish."

He hears a scoff, definitely from Mina.

"I never thought I was acting so great, but that is the reason I'm so mad at him," she tries.

Bakugo can't tell if she's telling the truth.

"No it's not. If you want to stay on your high horse, go ahead, but I can't stay friends with you now. Not after how you've been acting, even before this. Being petty and attacking Bakugo? It's not even like he did anything to us. He just started pulling away. Probably because he needed space, Mina."

Kirishima is really pissed.

Yeah, he was pissed before, but it's obvious in his tone of voice that he's getting more worked up, voice rising by the second.

"I get that you're hurt, I was hurt, too, but I didn't go and try hurting him for wanting space. I don't know why, but Sero was able to get his shit together. Seems like you're still falling behind in that aspect," he hears footsteps and then Kirishima's door opening, "Leave me alone, but most importantly, leave Bakugo alone."

Mina doesn't say anything, and it's silent other than the door shutting a little harder than Kirishima usually closes it.

Bakugo is left with his ear pressed against the wall as the silence makes his ears ring.

The guilt intensifies when he hears sobs on the other side.

Shit. It's his fault that Kirishima and Mina's friendship is fucked how. They used to be so close and Bakugo, the asshole, decided to put a wedge between them.

He didn't actually mean to, but he's angry at himself for ruining a good friendship that Kirishima had.

The need to apologize to Kirishima hits him like a truck, but he doesn't want to face him. His face is probably still red and he has to blow his nose which will also make that even redder.

Apologizing through the phone also feels cowardly, but it's probably the best he can do without letting the red head see him at this point. He's already had too many people see him crying. There's no way he's letting it happen now. Fuck that.

So he goes back to bed, laying down and texting Kirishima an apology about putting a wrench in his friendship with Mina.

He just hopes Kirishima is okay and does whatever he does is best for him, even if that means cutting Bakugo out of his life to have literally any relationship he wants without the shitty presence of the blond.

Bakugo just wants Kirishima to be happy.

Even if he does feel embarrassed about the apology, that's the least Kirishima deserves.

***
Word Count: 6276
Yall the stress is fucking up my stomach bad 😃 I can barely eat anything without my stomach starting to hurt. Smh anyway I hope y'all liked this chapter. Todoroki knows now yippee. There will be more tdbk interactions coming up🗣️‼️. The next chapter will go up on Sunday at 11:30 pm central time. I love you all and tysm for reading<3