mha sick fics (angst)

the fourth day of sickmas: grief

When Tensei died, Iida was a mess.

Their entire family was, but Tenya especially. He'd been so angry. So emotionally imbalanced. He'd run off to try and kill Stain himself and been pitifully reminded that all he was was a first year in highschool. Just a weak freshman. So much less than he ever believed.

Everyone thought that was the end of it, that Iida's emotional outburst was over. And they were right about the outburst part, but Iida was still very very much emotional.

Tenya had never felt like this before in his life.

His upbringing was nothing short of privileged. A family quirk, a lineage of pro heroes supporting him, money, connections, opportunity. He had it all, he never needed for anything. And of course, his family was very kind. They did not raise entitled brats. They didn't let their money get to their head. Iida was always incredibly thankful for everything that was provided to him, and highly aware of his privilege.

But now all of that seemed to fade down the drain. Once his older brother, his rock through so many storms, died, the entire watercolor world seemed to fade into charcoal gray, all smudged together and always greying away, lifting and leaving with every mark, blowing away with every slight breeze.

He was truly devoid of emotion. Everything seems pointless without his big brother. Before he'd had a map, this goal in life, a clear path to his destination, but now? He'd never felt more lost.

They used to call every week. Text everyday. They shared a bond so special, not even found among all siblings.

Tensei was Tenya's best friend and biggest supporter, and just like that, he was gone. How is that fair? Iida couldn't figure it out.

His head was a mess. He was getting sloppy in school. He kept insisting he was fine, but he knew the truth behind refusing to talk more deeply about what happened was because he couldn't accept that it was real.

He kept texting his brother's number. Kept waiting for a response, like he would magically come back, despite seeing the body and being there when the heart monitor let out its persistent deathly cry.

He cried every night, but no one saw. He stayed put together on the outside, but slowly he was unraveling. Unraveling from the inside out.

Now the holidays were approaching, and Iida was struggling more than he ever had before.

Truth was, he'd become quite a mess. He stopped ironing his clothes every morning and sometimes even let himself wear a wrinkled mess to school. He stopped being so on top of his duties as class president. He was letting his grades slip. Turning in homeworks late. All that and his room was a disaster. He'd never let it get this horrific before in a bedroom he'd stayed in. Not even chaotic hotel rooms shared on field trips.

Now, he had clothes all over the floor, garbage overflowing from his trashcan. His toilet needed to be cleaned and there were toothpaste stains in the porcelain of his sink, but he couldn't bring himself to fix it. He couldn't find the will.

The disaster his room was only made him feel worse. It was a whirlpool. A neverending spiral sucking him in. He couldn't escape, he couldn't claw his way out. He wanted everything to be over. He wanted to be with his brother again.

He couldn't imagine celebrating the holidays without him. Without Tensei.

Then, things went and got a whole lot worse.

The one thing keeping Iida going was getting to spend break with his family. With his actual blood family who knew what he was feeling and might be able to provide him some guidance and comfort, the kind his brother might have given him if he were still here, after all they were raised under the same loving parents.