14. Healing

Shouta doesn't bother asking the kid whether he wants to go back to his own dorm room or not. Upon arriving on U.A. grounds, he walks the teen all the way to the building housing the teachers' apartments. The whole walk there, the boy is entirely silent. He's not crying, but his shoulders are tensed and he's visibly clenching his jaw rhythmically.

He looks subdued. Emotionally drained. Shouta doesn't blame him. Hearing the truth out of his own mother's mouth has to hit much more deeply home than when it did when the detective broke down to news to him a week ago.

There's no denying it anymore, after all.

As soon as they're back in his apartment, he guides the sullen teen to the couch where he slept last night, still cluttered with blankets and pillows, and orders him to stay put as he goes to get him an icepack from his freezer.

His limping didn't go unnoticed by the pro hero. Even though Midoriya said he was much better this morning, that sprain is far from being fully healed, and it must have been aggravated from moving around, even if they didn't walk an awful lot today.

He's quick to text Shuzenji to let her know they came back earlier than expected and, after some thoughts, he gives a call to a fellow underground hero to ask his patrol route to be taken off his hands for tonight.

He's not leaving that kid alone if he can help it.

When Shouta shuffles back to his living room, he finds Midoriya sitting ramrod straight on the edge of the sofa. He's clasping both hands between his knees tightly, and Shouta suspects he's hiding their trembling. The boy sends a glance his way, green eyes there and gone almost in the same moment, before he stares pointedly at his lap with a frown pulling his lips down.

He barely reacts at all as Shouta crouches in front of him to secure the icepack around his wounded ankle. If it weren't for the way he gives a small nod in thanks, the hero would have thought the teen was dissociating. Still, Shouta treats him with just as much softness and care he would do with a victim in shock. He ignores the way his small frame hunches further when he gently drapes a blanket around the boy's shoulders.

"Water or tea?" He asks as he picks himself up, dusting his knees absentmindedly. Midoriya bites his lips and doesn't answer, so Shouta reformulates. "Do you want water, kid?" The teen shakes his head, dark green curls bouncing slightly with the movement. "Tea, then?" A very small nod, quick and subtly, has Shouta heading towards his kitchen.

He's waiting on the almost boiling water when three knocks sounds at his apartment door. He leaves the kettle behind to go greet Shuzenji. He doesn't let her in yet, though, and he hurriedly joins her in the empty hall and pulls the door closed behind him.

There's a worried tilt to the old woman's lips as she not-so-subtly tries to steal a look inside his apartment before her view is obstructed. She frowns at him for a bit when she realizes he doesn't intend to let her in immediately, so she lifts an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Well, where's the boy?"

"Inside," Shouta answers curtly, before adding an underrated explanation. "He's had a rough morning."

"Is he fit for a round of healing or not? I swear to god, young man, if you called me all the way here for nothing…" It's an empty threat, they both know it, so Shouta isn't offended in slightest.

"No, I think it's fine, just… Stick to yes-no questions if you can. He's not exactly verbal at the moment." At this, Shuzenji's frown deepens. She opens her mouth, surely to ask more questions about the kid's emotional state, but it's not his to share, so he refuses her inquiries with a shake of the head before she can get a single word out.

He leads her inside all the way to the living room and watches confusedly as Midoriya's shoulders lift up almost all the way to his ears at Recovery Girl's greeting. The old woman chides the child mildly for hurting himself again and it causes the boy to look away to the side guiltily while he tries to make himself smaller.

"Shuzenji," he warns in a low voice. The nurse snaps her head towards him, brow lowered in confusion. He can't say exactly, what makes Midoriya so uncomfortable around Recovery Girl. It might not be her specifically, it could be the tone she used, the words she said, or even just the fact she's a nurse. He doesn't know what he's warning her about, but he sends a pointed stare toward the kid, who seems content to just blend into the background while the adults are having a silent conversation.

Shuzenji looks back at the kid, searching him with her gaze, but when she turns back to Shouta she still looks puzzled, as though she's not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

In the end, Shouta frowns, shrugs, and heads to the kitchen to finish fixing the tea. When he comes back, two ceramic mugs in hand, Recovery Girl is giving instructions to stay off his injured foot for another day to make sure to not worsen it, even if it doesn't hurt anymore. Midoriya gives a singly short nod, and Shuzenji takes that as her cue to bid the both of them goodbye. Shouta doesn't bother showing her out ; she knows the place enough to find the exit on her own.

When Shouta hands the second cup to him, Midoriya hesitates a few seconds before releasing the blanket's corners to accept the offering. The usually polite boy doesn't ever stutter out a word in thanks, instead dropping his eyes back to his lap.

It's worrisome, but not overly so. He's still alert, he's clearly aware of what's going on around him. The kid only had a really rough day and probably needs some time to work through things.

Shouta goes to sit in the armchair adjacent to the sofa. "Want to watch tv, kid?" He proposes. Midoriya only shrugs indifferently, so Shouta turns it on and sets it on a discovery show he doesn't know and reaches to the coffee table to continue his book.

He can't focus on it, though, not when he shoots his Problem Child a look every ten seconds to make sure he's holding up okay. Midoriya is staring blankly at the screen, teacup long forgotten between trembling fingers. His jaw is visibly clenched, lips pinched, and shoulders raised defensively. Upon closer observation, Shouta notices the boy's chest stuttering every few exhale and realizes he's been holding his feelings inside all along.

Carefully, with slow, telegraphed movements, Shouta abandons his book back on the coffee table, the bookmark stuck between the same pages, then silents stands from his spot.

He moves deliberately gentle, giving his student enough time to show reticence or signs of being uncomfortable, but he finds none. He sits delicately on the couch just beside the kid, and he barely lifts an arm to wrap it around his shoulders before Midoriya let himself fall sideways into him, willingly hiding his face in his shoulder.

With great care, he wraps both arms around the kid and holds him close as the boy starts to cry into the embrace.

When Hizashi comes back home, it's fairly late. He keeps silent, because he doesn't know if the little listener stayed another night or not even though Shouta is supposed to be on patrol. He gets rid of his shoes and coat (oh, that's Shou's combat boots!) then carefully pads into the hallway towards the bathroom to get changed and brush his gelled up hair lose, but he backtracks suddenly.

In his living room, his grumpy partner is cuddled up with the lil' listener on the couch, both of them sound asleep.