My Savior

Chapter 15

After two long hours of therapy, Bakugo plopped onto the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't say anything, but his therapist was prepared for that. He spent two hours asking yes or no questions to get a better diagnosis and determine what they needed to do moving forward and how often they had to meet. They decided on three sessions a week, each only an hour long.

Today was two hours since it was their first session. Bakugo wasn't expecting it to be as draining as it was, and now, he needed a nap. He texted Midoriya and told him he was heading upstairs while he talked to his therapist. He gave him the all-clear to tell Midoriya about anything they needed to discuss. As much as he wanted to suffer in silence, it wouldn't do any good, and he knew it. He wanted to be better.

After Bakugo was upstairs and the door clicked shut, Midoriya returned his attention back to Bakugo's psychiatrist/therapist. "You were worried about his drinking," Ichiro mumbled while flipping through the pages from the psych evaluation Bakugo had done at the hospital almost three weeks ago.

"I was during that time, but I'm not anymore. I haven't seen him even try to look for alcohol since he got here. He isn't a drunk."

Ichiro nodded. "I agree. Him and I talked about it a little bit. I don't want him drinking after a nightmare or when he's upset or angry. However, if you two go out and he's in a good mood, he can get a drink or two. He can have a beer while watching whatever sport you two prefer. As long as he doesn't start to use it as a coping mechanism, I believe he will be fine."

"Is there anything else we can do about the nightmares? Anything to help ground him?" Midoriya asked. His being there helped, but it still took a while for Bakugo to come around.

"Not right this second. To help those, he and I must sort through everything in his head. What do you do when he wakes up with a nightmare?" Ichiro asked.

"It depends. Sometimes, he wants to come to the living room and watch movies; sometimes, he wants to be alone; other times, I sit on the corner of his bed until he falls asleep again. Really, it depends on the mood that he's in." Usually, it was the living room. But there were times the dreams weren't so bad, and other times they were so bad that Bakugo couldn't leave the bed.

"I told him to list the things he used to do that now scare him. I want it done by Wednesday when I come back. Can you make sure he gets it done?" Midoriya nodded. "And any behavior you want me to talk to him about or anything he does, write that down for me. I'll be here on Wednesday at nine."

Midoriya nodded. "Sounds good. Thank you."

They said their goodbyes before Ichiro was out the door, and Midoriya was left alone in his quiet home. Well, almost alone. Bakugo was upstairs, but Midoriya had the downstairs to himself, which he decided to take advantage of.

He filled the sink with hot water and soap while gathering the dishes downstairs. It's been a busy few days since Christmas was on Friday. He had been working overtime at the agency and worked on the parade float for Endeavors agency. He was exhausted and had quickly fallen behind in housework. Bakugo tried to help when he could, but he got too distracted by the gym and spent more time there than he should be. And when he wasn't in the gym, he was so far in his head that he struggled to tell reality from fantasy.

Midoriya sighed as he put the last of the dishes in the hot water. He then looked through the fridge and freezer, making a shopping list. Since Christmas was on Friday, he wanted to have a good week with Bakugo. He wasn't the best cook in the world, but he wasn't terrible. The least he could do was try.

After making his list, he washed the dishes before leaving them to dry in the strainer. With his least favorite task out of the way, he grabbed the blankets from the couch and tossed them to the hallway to be washed. He usually tried to wash his blankets every other week, if not every week. While his favorite ones were waiting to be washed, he grabbed the spare ones from the ottoman. That was one of his favorite things about the set. The top of the ottoman lifted and turned into storage.