You Are My Heroes

Night Terror

It was the second night that the boys were going to spend at Aizawa's house. The man had made certain that there were no exits unlocked, even latching the top chain of the front door. Aizawa wasn't sure which of the two boys instigated the first escape but he was sure that the boys wouldn't be able to get out now.

Even so, Aizawa couldn't help but toss and turn throughout the night. Over the past couple of years, these two were the only ones to cause a major problem, he fostered only one girl before but he also had multiple temporary fosters, equally difficult to deal with but not to the extent of going missing.

Then of course there was the case with his husband. Hizashi is a reasonable man, cheer and all that but the man was still human. Aizawa felt a hole in the pit of his stomach because his husband could be really angry or worse really sad. Sure the tour had started today and maybe he's on stage right now but he was still expecting a call from Aizawa. The fact that Hizashi didn't send any text after the call abruptly ended,  plagued the man's mind.

Aizawa spent hours tossing and turning in his bed trying to desperately sleep, to have energy for tomorrow, but he felt wide awake. When he finally felt his mind drifting peacefully away to a nice peaceful rest there was a sudden scream in the next room.

The sound was ear-piercing even from a room away and it made Aizawa's blood turn to ice in an instant. The man was out of his room and in theirs before he even realized he was on his feet. 

Flipping the switch on, Aizawa saw that it was Bakugou who was screaming, sitting up with eyes closed, tears streaming down his face, and straining his mouth as he opened it wide to scream out. The boy's screaming was one of deep fear.

"Bakugou what's wrong?" Aizawa asked his eyes flickering to Midoryia who was squeezing Bakugou in a hug with all his might. Izuku was also crying but his eyes held more worry for his friend than fear.

Bakugou's body shuddered as the boy's breath hitched fiercely for air. Another scream erupted from Katsuki's mouth but this time it was interrupted by his own sharp cough. The blonde's eyes shot open and immediately started darting around the room landing on Aizawa. The boy's breath hitched again as he let out another scream, louder than before, his face turning red.

Aizawa's heart sank at the thought that maybe he was scaring Bakugou even more just by being in the same room. Aizawa's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to comfort him, as a stranger Bakugou wouldn't want comfort from the man. Instead, he needed something familiar to ground himself and make him realize he was okay. Thankfully Aizawa's thought process resulted in one possible solution. 

The man left the room and just as quickly returned, his hand holding something that would hopefully help. Izuku was still holding on to Bakugou as he screamed and the green-haired boy looked like he was on the edge of a meltdown himself.

"Here you go," Aizawa said loudly, making sure Katsuki could hear him. The man waved the All Might plush in front of Bakugou's sight and the boy's eyes flickered with recognition.

Izuku's arms loosened around Katsuki, just for a second as the blonde reached out for the plush. Bakugou's hands wrapped around the plush as he held it against his chest like he was trying to push it right through his heart.  Katsuki's breath kept shuddering as he tried to breathe between cries. A loud cry would escape his lips every now and then but the worst of it was over.

"You okay sweetheart?" Aizawa asked after a couple minutes went by, Bakugou's breathing had slowed down and he wasn't screaming anymore. Still, tears kept rolling down his cheek and into Izuku's shirt as the green boy held tightly onto Katsuki.

The blonde let out a whimper at the question, his eyes meeting Aizawa's with a look that screamed desperately for help. The man was kneeling on the floor next to the bed mentally wishing that he could transfer some of Bakugou's fear into himself, so he could carry at least some of the burden.

"N n nou, no no no No NO?" Katsuki tried to talk but got stuck repeating the word no, his breathing beginning to hitch again. To Aizawa's understanding the blonde was trying to ask a question.

"No one here Kacchan," Izuku spoke up as he felt Katsuki's panicked breathing restarting. Aizawa didn't correct him, in whatever context those words meant it was true for them. No one was here.

The room went silent again as Bakugou calmed down, Izuku's hands loosened with time, his hands aching from applying pressure for a long while.

"Katsuki," Aizawa spoke up again, the blonde looked up to the man, his eyes still holding some fear. Aizawa felt like he could throw up from the worry in his stomach but kept a soft neutral face, a front to not scare Bakugou. The man held up Bakugou's hearing aids and with silent permission put them on for him. With Bakugou's attention on him, now fully lucid, Aizawa wanted to tell the boy a comforting truth.

"Katsuki, you are safe."

Bakugou eyes watered again as he let the words wash over him. Relief. The boy let out a deep breath as he collected himself, repeating the man's words in his head over and over again. You are safe.

"You are safe here," Aizawa said again, then he looked at Midoryia who was holding in tears of his own mostly from being overwhelmed, "You two are safe."

"Safe," Bakugou repeated the word out loud as if to satisfy his mind.

They sat in silence for a while as Bakugou took his time to process the emotion of relief that came from the man's words. Once he was calm he gave Izuku a soft shove, signaling that he didn't want to be held anymore.

"You okay now Kacchan?" Izuku asked as he let go of the blonde, his eyes begging Katsuki for the truth. Bakugou only nodded to answer, slowly uncurling his arms from his chest to reveal the All Might plush. Bakugou looked up at Aizawa, his eyes showing mostly shame but also new fear.

"What is it sweetheart?" Aizawa questioned softly, hoping to seem less threatening to the small kid in front of him.

Bakugou lifted the sheets off himself to reveal a wet spot on his pajama pants. Thankfully it was mostly contained on himself rather than the bed around him. Izuku scrunched up his nose in understandable disgust but didn't seem surprised by the sight. Bakugou huffed at Midoryia's face but the blonde looked like he was mostly angry at himself. A blush appeared on the blonde's face as he began to get embarrassed.

"It's okay, I'm not mad. Let's go get cleaned and changed."