𝐃𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐘 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏⁱ

IV

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"They're too attached to each other. Aeri's going insane over the fact that he almost died and Bakugou is dependent on her to function. They need time apart and when they've gained their independence back, they'll be allowed to see each other again." Jinyoung hissed. "It's not healthy, especially not for two 17-year-olds. Their relationship is way too adult for my liking, and you let them sleep in the same room every night unsupervised? Who knows what they're getting up to."

"Okay let's not act like you weren't having sex at that age, at least she's in a committed relationship with someone she trusts." Hyunjin rolled his eyes. "I don't think it's a good idea, dad, sending her to Korea won't do her any good. I say we just homeschool her for a month or two, keep her home."

"No she needs to remain in a classroom, else she'll have another nervous breakdown when she goes back." Aizawa sighed, massaging his temples as he felt a headache come on.

"As much as I don't want to send her away, It's best for her if she lives with Jinyoung and Hyoseop until she's cleared by her therapist. She can attend Seoul Hero Academy in the meantime."

"Oh my god, has anyone given Aeri the safe-sex talk? If they really are having sex, someone needs to give her the talk," Hyoseop said, suddenly panicking.

"She's smart enough to know," Hyunjin replied. "You'll just embarrass her if you start talking to her about that stuff. We're all men, she doesn't have a sister or a mother to talk about this stuff with."

"You're right. I'll ask the cousins to talk to her." Hyoseop slapped his fist onto his palm.

"Can we get back on track here? We have bigger problems than horny teenagers," Jinyoung scowled.

"She's not gonna take the news well..." Hyoseop bit his lip.

"She's gonna hate us." Hyunjin added.

"She'll have to get over it. This is for her own good," Jinyoung said, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Be quiet, she's waking up." Aizawa cleared his throat and hobbled over to Aeri's bedside. "Hey honey, you okay?" Aeri nodded, still half-asleep. She sat up groggily and took the glass of water Hyunjin handed her, sipping slowly.

"I'll get the doctor in here," Jinyoung said quietly.

"For what? I'm not injured," Aeri asked her dad, watching as her eldest brother exited the room.

"For a psych evaluation, Aeri. You had a nervous breakdown." Aizawa frowned.

Aeri sighed but didn't try deny it or pretend she was okay, though she was very embarrassed. So embarrassed, in fact, that she would willingly go back to sleep just to avoid this conversation.

The psychiatrist smiled warmly as she entered, greeting everyone softly as she took a seat by Aeri's bedside. "Hello, Aeri, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," she said awkwardly.

"Would you all mind leaving the room? I think Aeri would be more comfortable if you weren't staring at her," the psychiatrist said, looking to her dad and then her brother. They all grumbled a bit but made their way out to the door to wait outside.

"My name is Dr. Hamada," she started, crossing one leg over the other. "I'll be asking you a few questions to get a sense of your current mental state, is that okay?"

Aeri cleared her throat. "Yeah, that's okay."

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Aeri was diagnosed with complex PTSD, acute stress disorder, Paranoia and Anxiety by the end of they day, and after hearing the list, her family made their decision. They agreed that they'd have to put up Aeri hating them for a while, for the sake of her recovery, and packed her bags to Korea.

But they did allow her to spend the day with Bakugou before she had to leave, permitting them to skip school just this once.

Aeri walked slowly up to Bakugou, smiling sadly as her red-bottom heels clicked against the concrete. "Hey gorgeous," she said, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," he replied, sounding disheartened. He'd watched Aeri's brothers almost fully pack up her dorm room earlier than morning, taking her clothes, her makeup, jewellery, all of Nari's things. The room felt bare without them, and he knew it would only get worse once she was shipped off to Korea.

"What do you want to do?" Aeri asked, lacing her fingers with his.

"Gonna take you to the movies, like our first date." Bakugou raised their linked hands and pressed a kiss to hers.

Aeri smiled happily this time, "what are we watching?"

Bakugou flushed. He'd chosen something that wouldn't freak out either of them. They couldn't watch any movies with heroes and villains out of fear that either of them would be triggered by the violence— though violence seemed to be all that was in theatres these days— and there was no way he could sit through a musical, so he'd bought tickets to Kung Fu Panda, and he was embarrassed to say it. It was a movie for children after all.

"Babe? You okay?" Aeri asked.

"Kung Fu Panda..." he whispered, refusing to meet her eye. He tugged on her hand and pulled her away from the train station, in the direction of the movie theatre.

Aeri chuckled. "I like Kung Fu Panda, I didn't know there was a new one out."

Bakugou hummed, pulling Aeri to the side when a skateboarder came speeding down the sidewalk. He sent a nasty glare after the guy, who didn't so much as apologise for almost running her over.

"This is where we became official," Aeri said fondly. Bakugou smiled too, gazing towards the half-full parking lot where miscommunication led to the beginning of their relationship.

"You're coming back aren't you? They aren't gonna keep you there for fucking ever, right?" Bakugou blurted. His grip tightened on her hand.

"I don't want to go in the first place, I'll make sure to be on my best behaviour so I can come back to you as soon as I can."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Aeri let go of his hand and instead wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his neck. Bakugou held her tightly, wanting to soak up as much as he could from her before she disappeared for god knows how long.

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don't hate me y'all, it's for the plot. love youuuuu