Tumbling Into Fascination

Chapter 3

Now that he looked at the signs, Bakugo knew that Midoriya was right, he had absolutely fallen for this clumsy, carefree boy. It was puppy love honestly, he caught himself pouting when Kaminari couldn't hang out and when they were, he was always following the other around. If Bakugo wasn't at school or training, you could find him with Kaminari at Lavender's or the local park. He could confidently say he considered the other his best friend, after Midoriya of course.

It was now January, and Bakugo was on his way to Kaminari's apartment to do one of their favorite pastimes, watch trashy movies they find on youtube. Bakugo had only been over there a few times, the other always making excuses to avoid having him over. He knew that Kaminari lived with his grandmother but other than that he knew little to nothing of his home life.

Bakugo walked up to the apartment door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again and still no one answered. Concern taking over his actions, he tested the doorknob and found it to be unlocked, opening the door and letting himself in.

"Sparks?" He said cautiously, walking further into the apartment. "Kaminari, are you here?" It was so dark in the apartment that Bakugo couldn't see down the hallway, so he turned to flip the lights on. When he turned back around he found his answer to why no one answered the door, Kaminari was passed out on the floor.

Bakugo rushed to his side, shaking the other slightly before picking him up and setting him down on the couch. "Kaminari wake up!" He tried again, the other still being unresponsive. As Bakugo looked him over he discovered that Kaminari had a small cut on his forehead, 'probably from when he passed out,' he guessed. Quickly looking through the cabinets in the kitchen and then the bathroom, he found a first aid kit and made fast work of addressing the wound.

After he looked over Kaminari one more time, Bakugo stood up and leaned against the kitchen island. It was an extremely uncanny situation, the fact that the door was unlocked, how the other was passed out and bleeding, as well as Kaminari's grandma being gone. Something was going on and he didn't like it. He paced as he was thinking, the quiet and cold environment not helping him feel any better. Kaminari's grandma was almost always there, and as far as he knew she only left for doctor appointments and to occasionally see friends.

Bakugo looked up when he heard movement, his friend beginning to wake up, and he hastily moved to his side. "Bakugo?" Kaminari groaned as he touched his head, feeling the bandages there. "What happened?"

"That's what I want to know," he responded, getting up to make him a glass of water. "When I came in I found you passed out on the floor, bleeding."

"Oh," Kaminari was quiet, immediately accepting the glass of water and sipping from it. "I, uh, all I remember is being really dizzy and then feeling fuzzy."

"Have you been sleeping? Drinking water?" Bakugo asked, taking note of the heavy eye bags under Kaminari's eyes. The other stayed silent, looking down with guilt all over his face. He sat down next to his friend, trying not to get upset, "Kaminari,"

"No, okay?" He said, tearing up a little. "I haven't! I don't have time! Between school, and working, and taking care of my grandma, and spending time with you, I... it's just not a priority..."

"You should prioritize yourself over anything," Bakugo said sternly. "Forget about me if it means you'll be better healthwise!"

"I can't just forget about you though!" Kaminari raised his voice, "You're my only friend..."

"Oh," he was stunned, how could this loving, careless, goofball have no other friends? "Well then, if you're having trouble with school you could have asked me for help, and ask for fewer shifts at work?"

"I can't," Kaminari looked down with a melancholic look on his face.

"Why, I don't understand-

"Because, my grandma is in the hospital and she's the only family I have, okay?" He was crying now. "She barely gets any money and so I'm the main source of income, I'm the one who pays the rent, I'm the one who buys the groceries!"

Once again, Bakugo was stunned. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you! It hurts me that you're keeping your problems to yourself Kaminari!"

"God, you are such a hypocrite!"

"What, how?"

"You don't think I notice? The way you overwork yourself, the way you have cuts and bruises everywhere, the way you're always stressed over something!" Kaminari raised his voice. "Do you ever think to tell me about your problems? No! How do you think that makes me feel, hm?"

"That's different, I take care of myself,"

"Bullshit!" Kaminari fumed, tears still streaming down his face, though this time they were from anger. "Get out."

"What, but you're hurt," Bakugo started.

"I said get out goddammit!"

"Fine, if you don't want me here then I'm never coming back!" He retorted, quickly standing up and stomping towards the door. He didn't look back, knowing if he did he'd just blow up even more at Kaminari. He slammed the door, though he didn't mean to, and slid down to the ground.

"Fuck."

--

It was late when Bakugo knocked on Midoriya's door but he knew the latter would still be up, the guy got less rest than he did. It only took a few seconds for the door to be opened and for him to be pulled inside. "Kacchan, what are you doing here so late? You're usually asleep by now,"

"I think," Bakugo took a long, deep breath. "I think I screwed up, really bad,"

"Did something happen at Kaminari's?" Midoriya inquired, getting his answer when the other didn't say anything. "Hmm, sit down on the bed and tell me what happened,"

And that's what he did, having to stop every now and then to ground himself. He was upset, at Kaminari and himself. At some point during his explanation, Midoriya had taken one of his hands, squeezing it encouragingly as he continued.

"And you just left?" Midoriya asked.

"Yeah. I was mad, still am, and I knew if I stayed any longer I would just make things worse," he ran his free hand through his hair. "Fuck Izuku, I didn't even ask if he was okay or try to comfort him at all, god I'm such a dick,"

"He's right, you know," Midoriya cocked his head to the side. "You're really good at overworking yourself, stressing out until you have an anxiety attack and training till your hands are bleeding," Bakugo let himself be pulled into a hug, knowing that everything his friend was saying was true. "The most important thing to take out of this is that he cares for you as much as you care for him. You guys fought because you care for each other, not out of hate, and that's a good thing,"

Midoriya let him go and went back to working at his desk, leaving Bakugo to think about what he said. He laid back and hugged a pillow, closing his eyes as he mentally berated himself. He felt so selfish and rude, he was definitely going to beat his next opponent in hero training to a pulp. He turned to face Midoriya, "what should I do?"

"You need to apologize," he put his pencil down and spun his chair around. "Then, you need to ask about his grandma and see if there's anything you can do to help."

"Okay, but when?"

"Honestly, I'd say give it at least until tomorrow. It's late and the wounds are still fresh, he probably needs time to think things over too," Midoriya suggested, sighing and spinning his chair back around. "Are you sleeping over tonight?"

"Definitely,"