To Stand by Your Side (DekuBaku)

Chapter 36: To Stand by Your Side

What did I—shit, shit, what did I just—!

"Izuku!?"

"Midoriya, are you okay?"

The overhead lights flickered on in an instant, and Izuku was left to squint and blink as he tried to adjust to the shift. At his feet lie shards of broken glass—he'd knocked over a bowl, by the look of it—and just in front of him, the all-too worried faces of his friends.

"M'sorry," he said, voice cracking like the bowl on the floor. "I-It was an accident, I didn't mean to, I was just looking for the cups a-and I—"

"It's okay! It's okay, promise" Ochako assured him, hands flying out in front of her. "Shit, I'm just glad you're alright—you're not bleeding, are you? Did you get cut at all?"

He managed to shake his head, frazzled mind keeping him frozen in place as Ochako and Kirishima swarmed to clean around him. All he'd wanted was a glass of water, just a fucking glass of water, but apparently even that was too much to ask for right now. If his hands were trembling before, they were almost violently shaking now; tremors wracked his body, and stress-induced nausea had flooded back into his stomach. Izuku was doing everything he could not to break, but even something as inconsequential as breaking a goddamn bowl?

I can't take anything more right now, nothing at all...!

After Kirishima and Ochako managed to brush the majority of the glass bits from the floor, he was led back to sit at their tiny bar counter, an actual cup of water set in front of him as he tried to recover what little midnight sanity he had left. Half-melted ice cubes clinked against the glass as he brought it to his lips, cold water splashing over his them and dribbling down his chin, barely even making it into his mouth.

I'm a mess, he thought, cocking back his head in an attempt to suck down what little of the drink was left. Can't even get a glass of water for myself, much less drink it.

Someone sat down on the stool to his left, then another to his right. Familiar hands crept over his shoulders, doing their best to keep him grounded. And set firm in his ears were his headphones, the low, barely audible sound of Katsuki's half-snores still trickling through them. Izuku had never been more glad to have muted himself—the crash of that bowl would've woken Katsuki up in an instant, and then they'd have been back at square one.

"S-Sorry," he croaked, "didn't mean to do it. I-I didn't."

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It was an accident, I'm sorry.

"Hey dude, remember to breathe. You're okay! It's not a big deal, I promise!" Kirishima shrugged, and patting him a little harder than he would've liked. "Mistakes happen, it's all good!"

"Eijirou's right," Ochako echoed him. "We probably just left it in a bad spot, so don't worry!"

They're right. They're both right.

He set the cup down, fingers shifting to tangle in the wire of the headphones instead.

Mistakes happen. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.

Izuku had wanted water so he could relax. Now, the chances of him actually going back to sleep were slim to none.

"I—I, y-yeah, you're right," he swallowed, shutting his eyes and forcing himself to nod. "Should've turned on the light myself. I'll buy you guys a new bowl if you want."

"That thing? Nah, man. It's cool," Kirishima assured him. "We probably needed a new one anyways."

Ochako hummed her agreement. "Trust me, that's the least of our worries. I'm just glad you're okay, Izuku—when I heard that sound, my first thought was that someone had broken through the window or something."