(This is in Shoutos POV)
It felt like he was watching Izuku give up, and that was not a feeling Shouto was familiar with. He knew about the accident, the scars, the sleep terrors, all of it. He'd seen the horrors inside of Izuku's brain, and he had never once seen him give up.
Until now.
He knew that he was afraid he would never get Bakugou back, that the other boy was gone forever. To be honest, Shouto wasn't certain he was wrong. Even as a total stranger, his early observations of Bakugou before he'd opened up more had been that there was something deeply wrong with him, that something had changed him forever. He was carrying a weight of guilt and trauma that was too large for him to handle. Honestly, with the few glimpses Shouto had seen of how his brain worked, he'd been surprised Bakugou could handle it at all. While he'd wanted to be angry at him for how he'd treated Izuku when they were younger, he'd been able to look at the situation from Bakugou's perspective and see just how guided by guilt and terror he had been.
Even now, he couldn't be angry with him. Not even as he watched Izuku tearing at the seams. All he could be angry at was Bakugou's mother and the drunk driver that had ruined his and Izuku's lives. He'd never hated people he had never met before. Not like this.
He just wanted to fix it. He wanted to make it all better, for both Izuku and for Bakugou. Under Bakugou's tough exterior, Shouto had found one of the kindest, most selfless people he had ever met; someone who didn't deserve any of this.
Shouto just wanted to punch the most recent driver who had triggered this so badly. The man hadn't even been hurt, he'd just been texting and driving and run a red light. He had no idea what damage he'd caused other than a couple of concussions and a busted up car. How could one mistake cause so much pain? God, it was hard to watch.
Izuku stirred in his sleep beside him and Shouto glanced over to check on him. He was no stranger to the other boy's sleep terrors becoming vocal or violent. That was why he always made excuses to stay with him. No other reason- he was past that. They'd talked about it, he understood, and he'd moved on.
Izuku whimpered in his sleep and Shouto felt that awful tug in his chest. He'd never had the urge to wrap someone in his arms and protect them before he'd met Izuku. Now, it was a daily experience. All of this trauma and struggle with mental health, that was supposed to be his area of interest. That was what he wanted to put his time and energy into in college and beyond, but he was just lost. He had no idea what to do other than wait for Izuku to seek out comfort and to pray that Bakugou would come around. That stubborn asshole.
No, he wasn't an asshole. Shouto had been very unsure about him at first, had stayed as aloof as possible, but- Bakugou had stumbled upon him that night when he felt like he was losing his mind in the gym, and he'd helped him. Bakugou didn't try to stifle the anger Shoto felt, he gave him a safe space to feel it. Izuku helped him feel more stable and he could never thank him enough for it, but Bakugou had helped him realize that he wasn't crazy, he was just angry about being mistreated. He was mourning his lost childhood.
"Kacchan-" Izuku's eyebrows were drawn together in pain and his voice cracked even though he was asleep. Shouto flipped through his memories of being comforted and selected one, reaching out to gently stroke Izuku's wild hair. He had asked Izuku once if touch was good or bad, and Izuku had said it was good and that he would let him know if it changed. He tried to ease into it anyway, always gentle.
Izuku whimpered again before the sounds went from quiet to more urgent, crying out in his sleep and thrashing around. Shouto flipped back through his memories and then carefully pushed himself down the bed to lie next to Izuku before wrapping tentative arms around him.
