Tics and Scratches

Chapter 18

Aizawa had a mini heart attack when his phone displayed the name Kirishima when it rang a day later. Taking one look at the time had caused his breath to hitch, his screen clearly displayed 4am which even he barely considered morning. Instantaneously he had ripped through his memories, he hadn't noticed anything off about the red-head recently but then again he had been so wrapped up with Bakugo's situation. What if he'd missed something important?

Immediately he was thinking of solutions, they would have to buy a new house for starters. Now they had Katsuki, their home was housing four people, two of which were troubled teens. The small building definitely wasn't big enough to take another. On the thought track of kids, Hitoshi was supposed to get home today which would probably add another layer to Bakugo's insecurities. Both boys had been made aware of the situation but Shouta couldn't help but worry about if they would get along. Bakugo was incredibly delicate at the moment and Hitoshi had never been the most emotionally gifted of people. He knew that would have to wait though as he pulled the phone up to his ear.

"Kirishima? What's wrong?" He quickly said, sitting up even straighter when the boy sounded mildly panicked. 

"Mr Aizawa! It's about Bakugo." Aizawa let out a small sigh of relief before slumping back into the bed and flashing a quick thumbs up to the groggy Hizashi who promptly fell back asleep. If there was one thing he knew, it was that Bakugo was safely sleeping just a few walls over. "I'm just gonna come out and say it. I think his mum is doing some really horrible things to him, right? And, and I sent him a message like 2 days ago! Just asking him if he was alright and he hasn't responded. And like I know it's Bakugo but that's not normal for him...and I was just wondering if you could go and check on him? I think you'd be better suited to the situation-." Shouta was astonished as the words just kept coming through the phone. Clearly the boy had been stressed about this for a long time. Looks like he'll be putting another one of his kids into therapy, in fact the whole class would probably benefit at this point.

"It's alright, Kirishima. There was a bit of an altercation and I'm currently housing Bakugo. He's fine, just a bit shaken." He responded, trying to be formal and not give anything away. This was a sensitive situation and he wanted to give Bakugo as much control as possible.

"What happened?" Kirishima had blurted again before Aizawa could even begin to carry on.

"I don't think it's really my place to say, kiddo. I'm sure Bakugo will contact you soon, if he doesn't, I'll pester him for you."

"Oh." Aizawa couldn't help but feel guilty at how dejected the kid sounded. "That's fine! Sorry for bothering you."

"You did the right thing, Kirishima. I'm always here if you're worried about something. Although, I think I'm obligated to ask why you're up so early." He reassured, if there was anything he wanted the class to learn, it's that they should speak up if they think something is going on, preferably a bit quicker than Kirishima had. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

"Oh! I always get up this early to go running!" Kirishima said enthusiastically. He seemed to be getting back his usual cheer which definitely encouraged Shouta. 

"Tha-" A sudden crash resonating throughout the house interrupted Aizawa just as he was about to reply. He turned his head, wide eyed, to look at Hizashi who had bolted upright in the bed.

"Mr Aizawa? Is everything okay?" Clearly the noise had been loud enough to be picked up by the phone. Not good.

"Got to go, Kirishima.  Ring me if you need." He hurried before shooting out of bed along with his husband. As he staggered through the door he hoped that it was only Jelly knocking over a plant pot as usual.