"Bakugo, can you stay after class today?"

Already, Bakugo didn't want to hear it.

But he nods at Aizawa's request anyway, not wanting to be difficult and waste more time.

After everyone leaves, Todoroki giving him a little nod letting him know he'd be waiting outside, Bakugo grabs his bag and walks up to the man, wondering what the fuck this is about.

He's just hoping it has nothing to do with his mom.

"Yes, Sensei?"

Aizawa looks up from the papers in his hand and sighs.

"Care to explain what happened at your internship?"

Ah. So Endeavor did end up writing horrible shit about him. It's not surprising, but he does need to get that cleared up because theres no way he's letting this man ruin the start of his hero career. It's not fair.

A scowl rests on his face as he explains what exactly happened at Endeavor's agency.

"I did great. I listened to Endeavor on the field, followed instructions at the agency, and kept up. As far as I'm concerned, I did excellent during internships."

Aizawa sighs yet again.

Not surprising for a man who looks like he's about to pass out if the wind blows too hard.

"Then why are Endeavor's reports all about how you disregarded his every command and caused extensive damage when working on small missions?"

The man isn't accusatory, but genuinely curious.

Bakugo scoffs at the words. "He's just pissy cause I asked for a day off one time. He'd been on our asses nonstop since the first day, barely giving us time so sleep, even when he wasn't working. Since he hadn't given us any of our days off, I asked for a day, and he got all pissed that I said he was required to give us time off. After he agreed, only because he would get into trouble if he didn't, he threatened to write a bad report if I did that again."

Aizawa frowns, deep in thought.

"So you asked for more time off after that?"

Bakugo shakes his head. He honestly didn't. He didn't want to risk Halfie suffering any consequences for his actions if he did. It was one thing for Bakugo to be the only one getting a bad report back, but it was a completely different thing to have Halfie pay for it, too.

"No. I just asked for one day and since I didn't want to fuck around and find out, I didn't ask for our other two days. Guess you can figure that we weren't given those other two days at all."

The internships they were going to had to give them at least three days of break in that month. It was a requirement. Of course, Endeavor didn't give a fuck about that requirement.

Aizawa hums, nodding with an angry glint in his eye. It wasn't directed at Bakugo, thank fuck.

"I'm guessing you antagonized him on multiple occasions?"

The blond shrugged and looked off to the side, "Yeah, I did. Asshole deserved it. It's not like I ever went against him outright. If he said I should do something a certain way and not the way that works for me, I still did it his way. I complained a hell of a lot, but I did it anyway."

He won't go into detail how a lot of the back talk he gave Endeavor was solely because he was standing up for Halfie, but he will give him the basic facts of it.

Shoto was scared of his dad, so he never said anything, but Bakugo wasn't scared of him, so whenever Endeavor insulted Shoto in some way, Bakugo would jab back.

The remarks the man made about Shoto were plain mean. The look on Halfie's face was devastating each time.

It was obvious that the words meant something to him and constantly being berated and criticized was getting to his boyfriend. He wasn't just going to sit back and let that happen. Shoto deserved more than that and Bakugo was going to be the one to prove that.

Even if that meant he got a failing grade for this shit. He'd take all the failing grades if it meant Halfie understood that he didn't deserved to be talked down to.

Tightening the grip on his bag, Bakugo tells the man some more.

"Don't get me started on how he talked to Halfie. I bet that's the reason he actually wrote bad about me in those reports. I didn't let him say wherever he wanted."

Aizawa's annoyed look turned into one of curiosity at the last part.

"And you decided to risk your grade because of Todoroki?"

Was that amusement in his tone?

Fucker.

"I wasn't just going to sit back and let him shit on Halfie for no fucking reason. That tall idiot did better than me out there and I already did fucking phenomenal. Endeavor had no right. It wasn't even constructive. That asshole was straight up insulting Halfie. Not very heroic to just stand by and watch that happen."

Okay, he did go into detail.

There's this glint of something positive in Aizawa's eye now.

At least, Bakugo hopes it's positive.

As he relaxes, he loosens his grip on the handle of his bag and lets his suddenly tense shoulders sag.

"I'll call Endeavor and get this fixed, thank you for being honest with me," his sensei says, before letting him know that he's free to go. Not having to be told twice, Bakugo leaves immediately, heading straight for his boyfriend.

"Oh, and congratulations," Aizawa calls.

Bakugou freezes.

Then he realizes that he probably knows about him and Todoroki as his face heats up. This is embarrassing. Not because he's embarrassed of dating Halfie, because he's not. He's embarrassed because it feels like the man is saying this shit to tease him.

"For what?" He asks, trying his absolute best to remain unbothered and calm.

It's probably a dead giveaway how much he isn't calm by how he hasn't turned around to face Aizawa.

And although he doesn't turn around, Aizawa answers him anyway, "You and Todoroki. The whole staff knows. Your class isn't exactly quiet about it."

Bakugo cringes and turns even more red, scoffing at the man and stomping out. What a jerk, making Bakugo all flustered like that. He did that just to get him riled up. And it fucking worked, too.

Wouldn't you know it, the devil himself is standing outside waiting for him. He kind of forgot when Aizawa started teasing him, so now Halfie gets to see him all red and embarrassed.

Stupid idiots.

All of them.

"Hi, Katsuki."

Oh god, his smile.

Bakugo flushes even more and feels his face heat up ten fold.

Of course, that only makes Halfie smile wider, giddy about the effect that he has on the blond. How is it fair to have his smile and use it against Bakugo? It's not. He uses it wisely, too, not just for the hell of it. No, he uses that beaming smile to trip him up during training or to get him distracted about his problems.

"Fuck you," Bakugo curses, and walks right past him so that he can follow.

"Wait," he calls and frowns.

Bakugo listens. He can't not listen. So he turns, face red as shit and melts when he sees the idiot's hand sticking out.

"Hold my hand?" Shoto asks.

He asks as if Bakugo can say no. The blond wouldn't ever say no to him. Not in a million years. God, if his heart beats out of his chest at any point in time, it'll be because of this guy.

So Bakugo grabs it, angrily threading their fingers and pulling him along, huffing in annoyance at how Todoroki knows his power. He's not some clueless idiot. Shoto knows he's pretty. He knows that no one can ever say no to him because he's so amazing and kind.

"What are you making for dinner?"

Bakugo sighs.

"Soba."

~~~~~

The idiot gets sick.

He's sick, and Bakugo is terrified.

What if he gets too sick? What if he doesn't get better? What if it's the kind of sick that can't get better?

It has Bakugo extremely on edge and praying every night that Todoroki will be okay. He googles good luck totems and rituals and does every single one he can, hoping for Todoroki to get better.

It's been a couple of days, and every day that Halfie is still stuck in bed with a cough is even harder for Bakugo than the day before.

He's giving Todoroki his medicine every time he needs, checking his temperature that he can't seem to regulate, making sure he's getting all the fluids he needs, cooking every kind of healthy soup under the sun, and staying with him at night in case anything happens.

On the fifth day, Bakugo has an anxiety attack, crumpled in his restroom just before going back to his boyfriend, he lets himself think too much and suddenly, he's unable to catch his breath.

Shoto is going to die.

There's nothing Bakugo can do about it. He's going to die and Bakugo is useless once again.

He starts crying, unable to get himself together because this will be the second person he loves that he won't be able to save. It's not fair. He's been trying so hard to get stronger and become a better hero, and here he is, once again, doing nothing.

Recovery Girl said it was 'just bronchitis', but what if Bakugo missed his dose of medicine by a little or completely forgot about one? It can turn into pneumonia and kill him.

He's grabbing the floor, trying to get himself together because what if Shoto is coughing up a lung or something? While he's here focused on himself, Todoroki could be dying and Bakugo can't breathe.

All he's been doing is doing work in Todoroki's dorm, watching over him and making sure he's okay.

But he has accidentally fallen asleep a few times. How selfish of him. What if something had happened while he was asleep?

Any time his phone buzzes in class, he pulls it out in a hurry, hoping it's not Todoroki telling him that something is wrong. Every time he sees Todoroki's contact pop up on his phone, his heart drops in fear, which only goes away when he sees that it's a post he saw or just that he saw a white bird and thought it looked like Bakugo.

The thought that Halfie might be dying at this very moment snaps him out of his current panic and quickly running out of his room and to Todoroki's.

On the way up the stairs, he wipes his eyes, and when he enters his boyfriend's room, he immediately kneels down next to him, knees hitting the floor harshly as he immediately checks for breathing.

At the feeling of air hitting his face, Bakugo relaxes and sits back, practically collapsing on the floor in relief.

Todoroki is usually a light sleeper, but this whole time he's been sick, it's basically impossible to wake him up. Sometimes that freaks him out.

Bakugo takes a deep breath. It comes out shaky, but the more he breathes, the more rational he gets. He's not dying. Recovery Girl has been here every day during school hours to make sure he's okay.

He cleans his face up a bit more, fanning himself in case Halfie wakes up in the next few minutes.

Knowing that he's okay now, Bakugo leaves quickly to get his studying materials, not wanting to be away longer than he has to.

It's probably pathetic. He knows that, but his mind doesn't let him relax about it. It just runs at a million miles a second and has him on edge all damn day. It's not his fault his mind is so against complying. He knows that Recovery Girl knows what she's doing, but Halfie can get pneumonia.

To make sure he's still being productive, he studies here. Finally getting a few weeks ahead on the lectures and homework assignments that are coming up.

Whenever Halfie is awake, Bakugo will teach him whatever he's missed so far. It's not that hard to teach him if he's being honest. Which reminds him that he hasn't tutored his idiots lately. This week he's been so focused on Todoroki that he hasn't had time to worry about his friends.

It's an asshole thing to admit, but his friends aren't risking dying if he doesn't tutor them. He'll go all out when Halfie is better and on his feet again.

For now, he just sends them his notes.

He's about half a paper in when Halfie starts coughing. Bakugo is at his side immediately, helping him sit up when his eyes open and he struggles to do so on his own.

The sound of each cough leaves Bakugo's fear to increase. He knows that that's how coughs sound when someone has bronchitis, but what if it's getting worse?

His mind won't shut up, but he forces himself not to outwardly react.

When his coughs finally calm, Halfie is lying back down and trying to bury himself deeper in the blankets he has on him.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything? Should I get Recovery Girl?" The blond asks, rushing back to the table he was sitting at to grab his phone and immediately pulling up Recovery Girl's contact. She was at the top of his contacts right now solely because of this.

"No," Halfie shakes his head, voice raspy, "I just need water."

Bakugo throws his phone to the side and grabs the cup of water near the side of the bed, fixing the straw to point towards Todoroki as the other teen sits up and slowly drinks the rest of the water in the cup.

When he's done, he falls back onto his bed and clears his throat, grimacing when all it does is get the phlegm out of his throat and into his mouth. Shoto just leans towards the edge of his bed and spits out the mucus in the trashcan on the side of his bed.

Bakugo had turned away to give him some privacy and let him spit out the phlegm in peace.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate being sick?" He asks, voice becoming thick once more from the phlegm in his throat for talking.

The blond reaches his hand out and grabs Todoroki's.

"A couple of times," he jokes, knowing his boyfriend complains about it at least ten times a day.

His tone lacks the amusement he means to add, but he's too on edge to fake anything. He's so fucking weak and pathetic for being like this right now. But it feels impossible to be anything but worried for Todoroki.

If anything happened to him, he doesn't know what he'd do.

"Hey," Shoto calls, making Bakugo draw his eyes up from their intertwined hands to his eyes, "What's wrong?"

Immediately, Bakugo's eyes well up and he can't stop himself from getting choked up, so he looks down, hiding his face from his partner.

"I need you to be okay," he whispers.

If he spoke any louder, he's sure his voice would have broken in a million places and there's no way he could have stopped himself from immediately sobbing.

Todoroki shifts and starts sitting up, causing Bakugo took look up in worry.

When he does, he sees the concerned look on Halfie's face, shaking his head once in confusion, not really understanding what he means by that, but looking like he has some sort of idea.

"Katsuki, what do you mean? I'm going to be fine."

But what if he doesn't end up fine? What if he doesn't get better?

What if Bakugo is left all alone again?

With a gasp of air, Bakugo grabs his hands tighter, beyond scared, "I just need you to get better. You have to get better, okay?"

Todoroki nods, still confused as to why Bakugo is crying all of a sudden.

"Hey, come here," Shoto says and pulls Bakugo onto the bed with him. He's not contagious anymore since he started taking antibiotics a few days ago, so Bakugo should be fine anyway.

"Why are you crying?"

Because I don't want you to die.

Bakugo can't tell him that. He physically can't get the words out when he opens his mouth. Instead, he sobs, holding Todoroki tight as if that'll keep him from potentially dying.

So Bakugo shakes his head, letting him know he can't say why.

"Bakugo, I'm going to be fine. I'm already feeling better than before, okay? Look," he tries to push Bakugo off of him so that the blond could physically see how much better he's doing, but Bakugo wouldn't budge, "Katsuki, hey. Look."

Reluctantly, he pulls back, noticing that Shoto does look a little less pale and the circles under his eyes have gotten much lighter.

"See? You helped me get better so now I can even sit up without feeling like I'm gonna d-"

Bakugo can see the moment Shoto puts things together.

"Oh," Halfie whispers, sounding absolutely devastated, "Katsuki, I'm not gonna die. Okay?"

That just makes all the emotion pour out of him through tears and sobs. He's going to be okay. Shoto isn't going to die and Bakugo helped him get better.

So he throws himself at Todoroki again, full body shaking as sobs rip through him, finally breaking down like he needed to. That quick anxiety attack wasn't exactly what he needed.

This, though.

These deep rooted cries and sobs of relief were exactly what he needed after these last few days of absolute dread.

"It's okay, just breathe," Halfie reminded, making Bakugo gasp in choppy breaths in between muffled sobs, "I'm just a little sick now. I'm way better."

Thank god.

All those good luck charms and rituals he did worked. Halfie would be okay and it was because Bakugo helped him get better.

"I'm not dying. It was never going to come to that."

And now Bakugo can breathe.

***
Word Count: 3017
Mb y'all i completely forgot. This chapter is so short too oml im so sorry. Erm some news. I failed my acc class so now I gotta take it at a community college in the summer. Also my gpa took a hit. But at least I might be done with college in a year instead of a year in a half. Anyway I meant to get this out before 12 but now it's 12:03. Oops. I hope y'all liked this chapter. I know it was short, but I filled it with angst for all of you angst lovers. (If you read my fics you HAVE to enjoy angst cause that's my favorite shit to write). The next chapter goes up next Thursday at 11:30 pm central time and will be around 3000-6000 words. I love you all and tysm for reading <3