Caged Bird - BNHA Band AU

[9]

-feel free to listen to the music while you read-

Izuku's eyes fluttered open, he looked around at the others. They had fallen asleep while watching the 6th movie, meaning Kaminari had stayed overnight, the greenette hoped that Denki wouldn't get in trouble with his parents. The winged boy gently sat up, grabbing shinso's arm that was wrapped around his waist and it moving around Kaminari's. He crawled out of the pillow fort on his hands and knees, holding his breath and trying not to make a sound, everyone stayed up late, so he knew they'd need more sleep if they wanted to function for the whole day. 'I could make some breakfast for them,' he thought, Izuku had made meals for his father when he was in a slightly ok mood, at least a mood where Hisashi could stand to see Izuku's face.

He knew the basics of cooking, like how to make bacon and eggs, pancakes and how to make a decent spaghetti bolongese. He quickly gathered the ingredients to make a simple bacon, eggs and mushrooms with gravy dish, hoping to make it in time for him to eat it before the others woke up. After a few moments of thought, Izuku decided he wouldn't want to risk it, so he made a mental note to bring his plate into his room to eat.

He finished the meal quickly, making barely any sound as he divided even portions onto each plate. He sat them on the table and rushed to his room, his own plate in hand. A few minutes later, the bustling of his roommates could be heard, a few good mornings were exchanged before they had sat down at the table to eat. He wished at the bottom of his heart that he'd be able to sit with them soon, but right now, he was in no mindset to eat in front of people.

Sometimes, memories would replay themselves, making it impossible for him to do anything without keeping his guard up, people would see him as a tense and anxious individual, but in reality, he's scarred. Not just physically, but mentally, he wasn't ok, nor did he trust anyone enough to talk to them about it. So he kept it inside, using objects and sounds to cope with the pain. He wasn't religious, or believed in god what so ever, but after his mother made him pray with her every night, he'd secretly wish that someone out there would notice his hurting, notice the facade he put up in front of others, notice the begging he would do each night before he went to bed. He hoped that someone would take note of his jumpiness and how he only said the bare minimum, he wanted someone to save him, wisk him away from his fears and into a whole new perspective of life. But somewhere in his mind rested the fear of being used, betrayed, abused, just as he'd always been.

It started with his childhood friend Lucy, she'd spread rumours around school until every single person was against him. That's when it led to his father, he used to be a kind man, but grew a lot more violent as the years passed. Now his mother, she hadn't completely betrayed him, but knowing how bad Hisashi was, yet still not doing anything to solve the problem, it was heartbreaking to think about. If she'd just called the cops, if she'd gotten a restraining order on the man, maybe Izuku's life would be that much nicer. But she didn't, and his life wasn't anything like the others kids at school, they all sounded so happy, so greedy. But that wasn't what concerned the boy, what he hated most about it all, was Hisashi. How that bastard thought he could use his own family to release his own problems, using them like a punching bad. It made Izuku sick to his stomach.

He felt a soft hand rub his cheek, looking up into the stoic eyes of Todoroki. "D-do you need anything Todoroki?" Izuku asked, oblivious to the drops of water running down his cheeks. "Midoriya, are you ok?" Todoroki sat beside the small male, giving Izuku his full attention, "yeah, w-why wouldn't I be?" He asked, not missing the small stutter in the middle of his sentence. Todoroki sighed, wiping a tear off his face, gently pulling the now shaking boy into his chest, rubbing his back comfortingly. "It's alright, you don't need to tell me, but just know that I'm here if you need to talk," Todoroki started rubbing small circles on the greenette's back as the boy started to calm down. "I-I'm so sorry you h-had to see me like that," he hiccuped softly, avoiding the gaze of the taller male, "it's ok for people to cry sometimes, it's not natural to hold emotions in," Todoroki replied. He looked up at the doorway, where a concerned Kaminari stood, eyeing the boy on his chest. Todoroki brought a finger to his lips, indicating for the yellow haired teen to be quiet, Denki nodded, slowly walking back down the hall.

"It's alright, you're safe," he mimicked what Fuyumi used to say to him, stroking the slightly calmer boys hair. "Thank you Todoroki," Izuku whispered, drowsiness dripped from his voice as he grew limper in the usually stoic boys arms, delighted that he had support from his roommate, maybe even his friend. They've talked to each other enough to call each other friends, that thought alone made the boy smile, taking a calming breath before drifting into, for once, a comforting sleep. He knew he didn't have to worry about his father again, so he pushed away every thought to do with the man, he knew he shouldn't stress himself over someone so insignificant. He had people that cared for him now, and that's something Izuku will grasp and cling onto for as long as he can.