Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first thing Bakugou realized was that it was really, very bright. The next thing was that wherever he was, it wasn’t his bed from the stiff sheets and small pillow.

Shifting ever so slightly, Bakugou felt something on his arm. Squinting his eyes open, Bakugou tried to look past the sudden eruption of light that distorted him so as to see a pale hand placed on his forearm.

“Hey Kacchan,” a soft voice purred out to him.

“Deku?” Katsuki mumbled, sitting up in what he now knew was a hospital bed. “What happened? Why am I…” a whiff of sterilized everything hit Bakugou suddenly. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in bed before peaking out over his heavy eyelids to see his boyfriend.

Izuku was smiling warmly at him, his hand still on Katsuki’s arm. He wore black ripped skinny jeans with a white shirt that read ‘table’ A dark green bomber jacket was on the arm of his chair. Green and black ringlets framed his face, emerald eyes staring warmly towards Bakugou.

“You gave your friends quite a scare. Being hit with a quirk like that…”

“Wait...what?” Bakugou shook his head, blinking rather quickly, trying to remember what happened. He was with the bakusquad, as they dubbed it, getting ice cream before Kirishima accidentally gave him a friendly shove too hard and he tripped into a small girl. Then he… blacked out.

“You were out with the uh… bakusquad?” Izuku gave Katsuki an amused smile as he muttered “fuck off.”

“And well a child accidentally hit you with her quirk called Sleeping Beauty. Basically, it casts the person it's used on to fall asleep unless they're 10 feet on the one they love the most.” Midoriya licked his lips, his eyes crinkling because of the small smile that played on his pink lips. “I’m flattered really.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, contemplated hitting his boyfriend with his pillow, before a daunting realization dawned on him. “Wait… what about--?”

“--Your friends? Well your mom came here because, well ya,” Midoriya gestured loosely towards Bakugou, “and she called me after she heard. I, like the amazing boyfriend I am, dropped all my tasks and rushed over here. Long story short, your friends have no idea we’re dating.”

Bakugou let out a sigh. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the ‘bakusquad’ but he just… wasn’t ready to come out. Plus, having Midoriya be his, and only his, meant he didn’t have to share his already limited time with those stupid extras.

“But Kacchan…” Izuku glanced down. His hand shifted from his arm to his hand where Midoriya gave him a tight squeeze. “The quirk’ll last for a week.”

---------------------------------------------------

“Midoriya?” Aizawa questioned once he entered the room. He was informed of Bakugou getting hit with a quirk and that it meant that they would need to make some changes for the next week, but it didn’t mention the young informant anywhere.

“Hey Aizawa!” Midoriya beamed back at him. Aizawa looked at Midoriya and Bakugou before glancing down and-- ah, so they were holding hands.

“Hello Aizawa, can you please join us?” Nedzu asked, resting his paws in front of his tea cup. “Due to a mishap, a child’s quirk had gotten out of control and affected Bakugou here. The quirk is called Sleeping beauty. It puts whoever’s infected in a comatose state unless they are within roughly 3 meters of the one they love most. That would be Midoriya here.”

Aizawa once again glanced between the couple. Bakugou was slouching in his seat, no doubt upset that his relationship was revealed to his teacher, while Midoriya sat straight with a small smile on his face causing just one word to come to mind: pleasant.

“Due to this, Midoriya and Bakugou will have to stay together for the next week, which is how long the quirk lasts. I offered to allow Bakugou to miss classes as long as he finishes his work, but Midoriya has been adamant that he still attends. As such, Midoriya will be spending the week at UA and bunking with Bakugou in the dorms.”

“Midoriya,” This time Aizawa spoke. He turned towards the teenage boy, his naturally bored expression on his face like always. “I know from working with you that you have a busy schedule. Are you sure you can do this?”

Midoriya gave Aizawa a quick smile before nodding. “As you know, I attend Shiketsu. Due to the way the hero course is designed, with the students creating the activities and the heroes advising and helping, the curriculum is a lot more…” Midoriya waved his head side to side a little as he looked for the right word, “open ended. This allows a lot more internship options. I am currently working with an underground agency on a multitude of cases, however I believe that if I request to transfer my internship to be under you, Eraserhead, for a week then I’ll be able to attend UA classes.”

Aizawa thought over the proposed solution. It wasn’t… horrible.
...

“Alright, but you still will have to work on your hero analysis.”

Midoriya gave another smile. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Also,” Midoriya quickly moved his hands into the middle of his lap as he shifted towards Nedzu. Bakugou grunted as his arm was pulled over the chair but didn’t protest. “Since I will technically be working while here, I, as a Shiketsu student, must wear my uniform. Will that be a problem?”

Nedzu, in all his chaotic mind set blinks quickly twice. “No that will not be a problem.”

Midoriya gave both adults in the room a smile once more before standing up, “Thank you for your time, Kacchan and I will be moving some of my stuff into his dorm for the week stay.” Izuku gave a little tug on Bakugou’s hand before the two walked out of the room together.

“Well then,” Nedzu glanced towards Aizawa, “Please inform the rest of Bakugou’s teachers about Midoriya.” Aizawa gave Nedzu a nod before he too stood up and left.

---------------------------------------------------

Bakugou and Midoriya walked towards the dorms, a suitcase trailing behind Midoriya.

“Why are you bringing all that crap anyway? You’re just going to steal my clothes in the end?” Bakugou grunted as Izuku began to swing their hands back and forth.

“They’re my school uniforms and papers for work Kacchan!” Bakugou rolled his eyes and the two continued to the dorms. Once they opened the door they expected to be able to just go to Katsuki’s room and relax, but when the bakusquad was all in the commons they realized that wasn’t going to happen.

“Bakugou!” Mina shouted, jumping up from her chair. Kirishima, Kaminari,and Sero followed after her. “I’m so glad you’re okay! What happened? Who’s this?” Quickly Ashido glanced towards the greenette.

Bakugou, instead of answering his friends' questions, just tsked.

“Hi! I’m Midoriya Izuku. You are… Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero, right?” Izuku pointed to each person as he spoke. His knowledge of knowing their names only amplified Mina’s excitement.

“Who are you? How do you know our names?” She bounced slightly, anticipating answers.

“Ah well, Kacchan talks about you guys a lot. ‘Course he uses his nicknames but…”

Mina froze, as did the rest of the bakusquad. “Kacchan?” She squeaked. “Oh my god he calls you Kacchan?” Her voice grew louder, but before she had time to do another shout Katsuki raised a fist. “Repeat that one more time and I’ll blow you to bits Pinky.”

Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero just stood frozen as Bakugou pulled on Izuku’s hand. “Come on shitty Deku, lets go.”

Izuku let himself be pulled by his significant other, but turned around all the same. “Nice meeting you!” he shouted as the two disappeared upstairs.

When the duo arrived in Bakugou’s dorm Izuku immediately kicked his dark green suitcase forward, colliding it with the end of the bed, before hopping onto the bed itself. He rolled over, glancing at Katsuki.

“Mhm, cuddles?”

“Really Zuku, don’t you have to unpack?” Bakugou raised an unimpressed eyebrow at his boyfriend. He liked to keep his room as organized as possible, while Midoriya basically made a mess wherever he was staying. If he couldn’t get Izuku to put his clothes away neatly now, they were never getting put away.

“I guess your right,” Midoriya sighed. He shoved his legs off the end of the bed before standing up. Walking up to Bakugou, Izuku wrapped his arms around his neck, “but I just wanted to spend time with you.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, “We’ll be spending a week together dumbass.”

“I know,” Izuku pulled away sightly, letting Katsuki catch the pout on his lips, “But I haven’t seen you in so long and…” he let one of his hands travel down Bakugou’s torso before going right back up, “I missed you.” Izuku nuzzled his head into the crook of Bakugou’s neck. Reluctantly Katsuki wrapped his arms around Izuku’s waist.

“You missed me?” he murmured, reveling in the feeling of holding his boyfriend. While they texted all the time and did a phone call or face time as often as possible, with Bakugou going to UA in the East and Midoriya going to Shiketsu in the West, they didn’t actually get to see each other than often.

Izuku pulled his head away, “Of course I missed you Kacchan,” a soft smile spread across Izuku’s face. Leaning in, he let his eyes flutter close, “I’ll always miss you.” The two shared a soft kiss before Izuku pulled away. Resting his head against Katsuki’s, he let a small smirk slip onto his features. “Now come on,” he unwrapped one arm from around his boyfriend's neck while sliding the other down onto his waist, “Cuddle time.”

Bakugou didn’t have the heart to tell his everything no right now, so he let himself be led to the slightly-larger-than-a-twin-bed bed. The two situated themselves, Izuku acting as the small spoon as he curled up into Bakugou’s chest. All thoughts of the havoc his room would become later in the week disappeared as Katsuki rested his head against Izuku’s, breathing in the smell of his floral shampoo before he fell asleep.

Chapter Text

A beeping filled the dorm. Izuku unwrapped his arm from Bakugou and sent it flailing all over the side table until it latched onto the rectangular block. Picking it up, Midoriya squinted his eyes at the bleary red numbers.

6:00 a.m.

No. Izuku threw the clock backwards. He re-wrapped his arm around his boyfriend, snuggling into his chest. The clock hit the floor with a loud crash, but Izuku only buried his head further.

Bakugou eyes fluttered open from the sound. He groggily glanced down towards the smaller boy wrapped around him, not that he was complaining. He lifted his head slightly out of Izuku’s hair, prompting the greenete to nuzzle his face against Bakugou’s chest. A small smile spread on the explosive blonde’s face. His boyfriend was just so cute in the morning.

“Come on Izuku,” Bakugou whispered, “We need to get up.”

Midoriya wrapped his arm tighter around Bakugou.

The blonde chuckled lightly before lowering his mouth next to his lover’s ear. In a husky voice he stated, “if you don’t get up now then no kisses for the rest of the week.”

Izuku’s eyes shot wide open. He growled and mumbled something about needing coffee before he rolled out of the bed, landing in a heap on the floor.

“Izuku?” Bakugou leaned over the edge of his bed, worry written all over his face. “You okay?”

“No.” was the dignified response. Katsuki rolled his eyes, threw a pillow towards Izuku, and then stepped out of bed. He went towards his draws that are on the opposite side of the wall before pulling out a sweatshirt that he threw towards Midoriya.

“What’s this for?” The younger teen titled their head to the side like a confused puppy, the sweatshirt clutched in his hands.

“You’re always cold in the morning,” came Bakugou’s reply before he swiftly changed into his UA uniform.

Midoriya hid his smirk as he hauled his suitcase up onto the messy bed. He actually wasn’t cold in the morning (despite for when it was naturally freezing out) he just liked the excuse to be able to sit closer to Kacchan and wear his sweatshirts.

Pulling off his shirt, Izuku quickly put on one of the white button ups before dropping his pants to the floor. Thinking back now, cuddling really wasn’t the best idea because the duo hadn’t changed, so Izuku slept in skinny jeans and they did not want to come off. After the initial struggle of individually pulling each leg out of the stubborn fabric, Izuku slid on the dark pants of the Shiketsu uniform. Midoriya glanced down towards the sweatshirt laying on the bed and his uniform jacket on top of his suitcase before opting to bring the jacket with him but wear Kacchan’s sweatshirt now. He turned around to see Bakugou with his tie hanging around his neck loosely.

“Allow me.” Stepping closer to Katsuki, Izuku’s hands curled around the fabric as he did a quick Windsor knot. He smoothed out the red fabric, glancing up towards the taller teen. Izuku leaned in closely, the two embracing in a good morning kiss.

“I missed this…” Izuku sighed after the two pulled away.

“Me too nerd,” Bakugou watched as Midoriya turned away to grab his journal, a rare smile spreading on the explosive blonde’s face. Their hectic schedules didn’t allow for them to do such mundane things like good morning kisses or waking up together. It didn’t allow for Izuku to tie Bakugou’s ties, or for them to just hang out. It allowed for planned dates that more often than not got interrupted.

So hey, maybe this week wouldn’t be that bad.

The couple walked to Bakugou’s dorm door, school bags in hand. Izuku made sure to put his hat in his bag to wear later (technically he wasn’t working now so he doesn’t have to wear it yet) Izuku’s lean fingers wrapped around the door knob before he paused. “Are you...are you going to tell them about us?”

Bakugou huffed, the sudden realization that he’d probably come out to at least some if not all of his classmates hit him. Trying to keep his anxiety away, he wrapped his arm around Izuku’s waist. “Damn extra’s don’t deserve to know a thing.”

“Okay. But just know that I’m okay with that if you want to. But only if you want to… um,ya.” Katsuki grinned at his boyfriend looking down red faced.

“I love you, you know,” Izuku blurted out.

“And I love you too.” Bakugou leaned in, placing a kiss to Izuku’s cheek before they opened the door. Instantly Katsuki dropped his arm around Izuku’s waist as the two went downstairs.

Due to the early time, not a lot of people were downstairs. Iida was sitting at a table with a cup of tea and a bowl of miso soup as he ate breakfast. Yaoyorozu was also up, but she was on an armchair scrolling through her phone.

“Good morning Bakugou,” she said before looking up.

Katsuki huffed in her direction before heading over to the kitchen to make food for the two of them. Yaoyorozu looked up to watch him leave, only for her eyes to land on a mop of green hair.

“Oh, hello,” she said politely, “Who are you?”

Iida glanced upwards at Yaoyorozu's question as he too spotted Midoriya. “You!” He stood up abruptly. With long strides, Iida quickly walked over to the stranger, arm chopping through the air like a knife. “Only UA students have the authority to be in these dormitories. I am going to have to call security! How did a random civilian get in here?”

Midoriya’s eyes looked Iida up and down. “Wait a minute…” he muttered. “Are you related to Ingenium?”

Iida faltered. His eyes hardened as he cast a dubious look towards the greenette. “How do you know that?” he asked darkly.

Midoriya gave a bright smile, “I’ll take that as a yes! My, I didn’t know your brother raised you to be so stiff and jump to conclusions Iida. And he was so relaxed when I met him!” Midoriya shook his head as if to say ‘silly me’ Stepping away from a frozen Iida, his eyes landed on Yaoyorozu who was eyeing him as a possible threat.

“Oh my god, you must be Yaoyorozu! Wow, your quirk is so cool,” Midoriya approached quickly. Hopping over the back of the coach, he landed on the cushion Leaning forward he took out a notebook, flipped to an empty page, and got his pen ready. “Would you mind telling me about Creation Class President?”

Yaoyorozu opened her mouth to speak but Bakugou stepped away from the kitchen. Glancing into the commons he grumbled.

“Oi, Deku! Get over here!”

Midoriya turned around almost immediately, “sorry, maybe we can discuss your quirk another time?”

Yaoyorozu furrowed her eyebrows. Pressing her lips together she began to think. Clearly this… what did Bakugou call him? Deku? Well he seems to not be here for any criminal purposes if Bakugou knows him. It’ll likely be explained to us later, so…

“Of course, we can discuss my quirk later.” She gave Izuku a small smile which he brightly returned before turning around and going to Bakugou.

Katsuki set down two plates onto the table. The couple began to eat as more and more people came downstairs to eventually everyone was there.

“So is no one going to point out the elephant in the room?” Asked Hagaruke.

“What do you mean Hagaruke?” Sero glanced towards the floating school uniform who was nursing a cup of tea.

“I mean the cute green guy next to Bakugou.”

Simultaneously everyone’s head turned towards the duo.

“Oh, I saw him when I came downstairs, *ribbit*” commented Tsuyu.

Midoriya glanced upwards from his plate. Seeing everybody’s eyes on him, he gave a blinding smile and a small wave. “Hi everyone! It’s so nice to meet you all!”

“Why is someone so nice with Bakugou?” questioned Uraraka.

“Shut up round cheeks!” Bakugou barked. Midoriya rolled his eyes. Resisting the urge to place a comforting hand on Bakugou's arm, he addressed the crowd.

“I’ll be spending a week here for reasons Aizawa will explain.” he answered shortly.

“And what are these reasons?” Iida narrowed his eyes, his gaze never once leaving the stranger. He didn’t trust him, not after everything that has happened to his class.

“Formally? I’m on an internship here. The real reason though is Kacchan got hit by a quirk and I’m needed unless we want him to fall asleep for a week.”

Uraraka turned towards Tsuyu wide eyed. ‘Kacchan?’ she mouthed. The frog girl shrugged her shoulders in response.

“Well then!” Midoriya stood up. Looping his bag around his shoulder, his eyes brightened as he looked at the gallery of quirks before him. “Does anyone want to talk about their quirks?”

Iida didn’t like this. He didn’t like this one bit. This stranger has consistently asked if they would like to talk about their quirks. And that… that notebook of his. Perhaps he is working for villains and is here to get more in-depth information on his class. Whatever his true reason, Iida was determined to stop it.

Opening his mouth to reject Izuku’s offer, Iida began “I-“

“Oi, Zuku stop that shit now.” Bakugou reached up and pulled Izuku by the collar of the boy's sweatshirt— Bakugou’s sweatshirt, Mina mused— down so he sat back in his seat. “You can hound them for answers after. We need to get to class to talk to Aizawa”

Midoriya pouted but still put his notebook away. “You’re so mean Kacchan.”

“Tell me what I don’t know.”

The class decided then that they would get their questions answered later. They diverted their attention from Midoriya back to whatever they were doing before leaving for class.

---------------------------------------------------

Walking into the classroom Iida was surprised to see Midoriya chatting friendly with Aizawa-sensei. He saw Bakugou leaning against Aizawa’s desk, arms crossed, seemingly disgruntled. Iida also realized that Midoriya’s sweatshirt was gone, in place was an eerily familiar jacket.

Iida sat himself in his seat, taking notice of the extra chair next to Bakugou's desk. He checked his bag making sure everything was there as the rest of the class trickled in. Soon the bell rang and everyone went to their seats.

“Class,” Aizawa gazed around the room, rolling his eyes at the two empty desks. “As some of you have noticed, there is a new human here today.” Midoriya stood up from his seat and waved to everyone once more. “He will be here for a week under an internship for me.” Aizawa gave Midoriya a nod so the student sat down once more.

“Aizawa-sensei?” Iida raised his hand quickly. Aizawa gave him a small nod of recognition. Standing up, Iida chopped his arm up and down. “Midoriya has stated that he was here due to Bakugou. So what is it, the internship or Bakugou?” Iida gave a respectful bow before dropping down into his seat.

Aizawa glared at Midoriya who shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. “Problem child…” he muttered. “Well then,” turning back to the class, Aizawa began, “yesterday Bakugou was hit by a quirk that requires him to be within roughly 3 meters of Midoriya or else he’ll fall into a coma like state. Midoriya was going to be on an internship for his school this week and got it moved so he would do an internship under me for the week allowing him to stay with Bakugou. I will take 2 questions.”

Multiple hands flew up. Aizawa decided to pick on Kirishima, “Why Midoriya? He wasn’t there when Bakugou was hit.”

Bakugou tensed at the question. “Personal reasons,” Aizawa replies shortly. He gazed around the room before picking on Yaoyorozu “What school does Midoriya attend?”

“Ah, that reminds me.” Izuku dug into his bag before taking out his Shiketsu hat. Placing it on his head, the other students gasped.

“A Shiketsu student?”

“No way…”

“How does Bakugou know him?”

“Quiet,” Aizawa growled. His dues flashed red, hair leveraging, before turning his quirk off. “If you have any more questions you can ask Midoriya and Bakugou after class. Now-“

“Sorry we're late!”

Chapter Text

Shinsou was not having a great day. First off, they awoke much later than they should have because Kaminari thought it’d be a good idea to hang out the night before. And while that was fun, in the end they didn’t want to leave because it was so late. So, Shinsou and his datemate climbed into his bed. They probably would’ve fallen asleep if not for the fact they were raging insomniacs, so the two gays opted to scroll through memes, huddled together under the blankets. Eventually it hit 3 am and Kaminari fell asleep on Shinsou’s chest, prompting the purple haired teen to lie down and do the same. 

Then they missed their alarm. 

Apparently Kaminari accidentally short circuited it in their sleep. Without the constant blaring noise that made Shinsou want to tear his brain out until it stopped, there was nothing stopping him from rolling over, closer to Kaminari, and not waking up. Only after when sunshine had the audacity to shine through Shinsou’s blinds did he truly realize how late he was going to be to his dad’s class. 

Jumping out of bed, he quickly woke Kaminari with a combination of kisses and shaking. The little electric jolt he got from the embrace only woke him up further. The couple quickly got dressed before running downstairs. Grabbing a to-go coffee mug, Shinsou poured as much coffee as possible into it before handing another cup to Kaminari.

“Babe, since we're already late why don’t we take our time?” Denki came up from behind Shinsou and wrapped their arms around his waist, placing their head on Hitoshi’s shoulder.

“Denki,” Shinsou spoke carefully. He turned around slowly, lips pressed together. “You do realize we have my dad first period. Right?”

Denki blinked once, twice, then jumped backwards. “Shit! I’m too young to die!” They latched back onto Shinsou, giving their boyfriend pleading eyes. “Please ‘Oshi, I’m too beautiful!”

Shinsou rolled his eyes. Leaning down they placed a kiss on their datemates nose. “I know stupid, so let’s go!” He grabbed Denki’s arm before the two ran out of the dorm.

They arrived at the door slightly out of breath, uniforms ruffled from the wind. Shinsou stopped in the dorm frame, Denki next to them. “Sorry we’re late da—“ his eyes caught sight of the familiar blue cap standing out like a fish out of water. Narrowing his eyes, Hitoshi leaned forward only to jerk their head back once they caught sight of the familiar emerald eyes. “Mido?”

Midoriya looked up from his notebook to be greeted by the gravity defying hair of his friend. “Hitoshi!”

Class 1-A looked back and forth between the two acquaintances. 

“You two… know each other?” questioned Uraraka.

“Of course they do…” Aizawa muttered, burying his face into his capture scarf. 

“Of course!” Midoriya stood up to walk over to Shinsou, conscious of the distance between him and Bakugou. “We met at an internship a year ago. Is this the boyfriend?”

“Datemate actually, Denki’s non-binary.” Kaminari squared their shoulders as Izuku turned to them.

“Cool, my bad sorry. Judging by how you look I say you’re Chargebolt right?”

Taken off guard by the mention of their hero name, Kaminari unconsciously stepped backwards.“Uh… ya actually…”

“Great! Your quirk’s so cool. Do you still have a problem with overloading your brain. Cause I’ve been thinking of some ways to help, as well as other versatile uses of your quirk that I’m sure haven’t been worked on as All Might—“ Eraserhead was caught off guard at the slight scoff Izuku gave to Yagi-sans name. As far as he knew, Izuku dotted over every hero he met before becoming professional. What could lead to the cinnamon roll hating the past number 1 hero? “—works here and teaches the hero course so of course everything’s going to be oriented around brute strength and direct attacks which is just plain stupid because-“

“Problem child,” Aizawa cut off Izuku before his offer became a full on rant, “You’re rambling.”

Izuku gave Aizawa sheepish green. He rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry ‘Raser.”

Aizawa just shook his head. “To your seats, all three of you.” Izuku nodded before waking back to Kacchan. Slipping into his chair, he subtly rested his hand on Kacchan’s leg under the table. As Kaminari and Shinsou walked back to their seats, Denki leaned over and whispered to their boyfriend, “Who was that?”

“That was Midoriya…” he hesitated before glancing towards Bakugou, “I'll explain later.”

Denki nodded before the two of them took their seats. Aizawa, seeing as everyone in his class was here now, briefed them all on the day. 

“Today, after your main classes, we’ll be having a training exercise. So, after lunch I expect all of you to immediately get into your costumes and meet at Ground Beta.” With that Aizawa walked out to the room as their first period teacher walked in.

---------------------------------------------------

When Izuku and Katsuki walked into the cafeteria Izuku walked directly next to Bakugou, wary of the stares. They were dignified, as a Shiketsu student walking in UA wasn’t a common occurrence.

“Kacchan?” Midoriya whispered to his partner.

“Hm?” Bakugou replied as he picked out his lunch. 

“Are we sitting with your friends?” Izuku asked. He eyed a plate of katsudon, snatching it as they passed.

“Ya, we’ll sit with those shitty extras.”

“Does Shinsou sit there?” Izuku was itching to catch up with Hitoshi, but he couldn’t leave Bakugou's side. 

“Purple should be sitting there, dunce face sits there so it’s a given.”

“Okay…” Midoriya nodded as the two walked to a table in the back. Ashido, Kirishima, and Sero were already there so Midoriya and Bakugou slid into seats opposite them.

“Bakugou! Now you have to give us a proper introduction to your friend.” Mins leaned towards causing Bakugou to push her back. “Fuck off racoon eyes.”

“Be nice Kacchan!” Izuku narrowed his eyes to Bakugou who grunted before turning back to Ashido. He opened his mouth to speak but then Shinsou and Kaminari took seats.

“Hey guys!” Kaminari smiled before turning back to Midoriya. “What’re we talking about?”

“Just Midoriya!” Ashido replied.

Shinsou raised his eyebrows at the group. “You’re going to have to be more specific about that.”

“What do you mean?” Mina gave the brainwashed a puzzled smile. Shinsou snorted, “Midoriya’s an enigma inside of an enigma. I’ve known him for a year and am still scratching the surface.”

Shinsou’s eyes met Midoriya as a realization dawned upon the ladder. A pink blush formed on his pale cheeks. Leaning back he wrung his hands around themselves. “Ah— yes… we should probably talk lat-“

Once again the conversation at the table was interrupted, this time by Todoroki surprisingly. The dual colored teenager stood stiffly in front of the table, eyes zoomed in on Izuku and only Izuku.

“Midoriya,” he voice was one tone as he spoke.

“What the fuck do you want half and half bastard?” Bakugou glared at Todoroki, yet Shouto completely ignored him. “I wanted to thank you for two years ago. Helping me with Stain I mean. I was unable to talk to you that night, so I thought it'd be appropriate to do it now.” 

Midoriya gave a bashful smile, “Oh that was no problem! I was just happy I got there in time!” Todoroki gave a small nod before disappearing back to his table.

“Wait—“ Kaminari starred at Deku wide eyed, but Kirishima beat him to the question. “You fought Stain? That’s so manly!”

The bakusquad started agreeing, leaning closer over the table much to Midoriya’s discomfort.

“Hey extras, back the fuck up!” Bakugou barked, “he’s clearly uncomfortable! Give him space!” 

The 4 of them stopped, noticing how Midoriya seemed to curl up into himself. “Oh… sorry Midoriya,” Sero apologized.

“It’s fine,” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, “I just got overwhelmed. But um… ya the Hero Killer. I was the hero student mentioned, they just didn’t use my name.”

Before anyone could ask more questions yet another person showed up to their table (Midoriya was starting to sense a theme here…)

“Bakugou—“ a girl started out. She was wearing the school uniform but her skirt was hiked up noticeably so. Her fingers played with the hem of her blazer. Her face was fully covered in makeup, with bright blonde hair pulled with a high pony.

“No.” The girl blinked slowly, tears forming in her eyes. “I-I understand. Better luck next time, am I right?” she chuckled to herself. Izuku couldn’t help but think she looked as if she wished she could be anywhere else.

“Leave. Right the fuck now.” The girl gave a small nod before scurrying away to her friend group. Midoriya titled his head in confusion. Glancing down he noticed Katsuki’s hands wrapped around the table, knuckles turning white from pressure. If he squeezed any tighter it looked as if the piece of the table might break away. 

“What was that?” Midoriya titled his head to the side — “ Oh my god he looks like a puppy,” Kaminari whispered under their breath— “Just another confession,” Kirishima answered nonchalantly.

“Confession?”

“Ya, a bunch of girls, and the occasional guy, keep on coming up to Bakugou and confessing their love for him…” Shinsou watched Midoriya’s expression carefully as he spoke. 

“What’s funny though is he’s still single!” Mina stirred her drink with her straw before taking a sip. Sero nodded in agreement, “Ya, I mean if I had girls coming to me left and right…” He shook his head dreamily, “I would not be single right now.”

“Guys you're missing the whole thing though!” Kirishima gave a large grin, “Bakubro’s too good for that! He wouldn’t just date someone because they're hot, ‘cause that’s not manly and Bakubro’s super manly!” the bakusquad nodded along, yet Shinsou couldn’t help but notice that Midoriya stayed eerily quiet the whole time. Maybe his theory was right.

---------------------------------------------------

“Izuku?” Bakugou questioned when his boyfriend pulled him into an empty classroom after lunch. The roars of feet slapping the floor and overlapping voices disappeared into background noise as Midoriya shut the door.

“What’s wro-“ Izuku spun around and kissed Kacchan. It was nothing like their morning kiss: soft and sedated; it was fierce and fiery. Filled with passion, their lips locked and tongues danced. Bakugou could clearly make out the distinct taste of Izuku's cherry chap stick he used everyday. 

Izuku looped his arms around Katsuki’s neck as King Explosion Murder Ground Zero wrapped his around Midoriya’s waist. The two stumbled until they hit the wall, a piece of chalk fell off the lean board ledge at the impact.

“What’s— what’s wrong?” Bakugou asked between breaths of air. Izuku didn’t answer immediately. One of his hands unwrapped from Katsuki’s neck to trail up and down his torso. “Do— does that happen often?”

Ah. Bakugou was experiencing a jealous Izuku. 

“I,” a kiss cut off Bakugou until he pulled away once more, “I guess.” 

The greenette pulled away fully. His eyes were a little dilated, lips swollen. Bakugou has no doubt he looked the same. “Hm,” the short response had Bakugou sweating bullets. He watched, back still against the wall, as Izuku walked to the door, hips swaying to and fro. The greenette opened the door into the hallway before he paused. Hand on the handle, he looked backwards. “We’ll finish this later.”

Then the bell rang.

Chapter Text

The couple walked out into Gym Gamma 10 minutes after the bell. Everyone else had already arrived and was being prompted by the teacher, All Might.

“Oh Midoriya! Nice costume!” Ochaco commented once seeing the outfit. Iida narrowed his eyes towards the couple, still untrusting of Izuku.

“It is unbecoming to be late for class. What held you up?”

“Ah, sorry!” Midoriya gave a bashful smile, “We had to go to Eraser to get my costume from his office so it took some time.”

Shinsou glanced over at the sound of Midoriya’s voice. His eyes landed on the pile of green and black curls before lowering and… he had to stifle a snort. Was his class so full of idiots to not realize the two were a couple and were just sucking each other's face off?

“And that is another thing! You should address Aizawa-sensei as such. No more of this Eraser nonsense.” Iida scrunched his face up in disgust.

“Iida,” Uraraka stared at her friend's intensity, trying to get him to knock it off.

Midoriya blinked twice before giving a slight chuckle. “Ya… no. I’ve already gotten into a habit from the job. Plus it would just be dangerous if I slipped up and said his name on patrol.”

At this point Eraserhead walked out into the gym. He held an iPad in his hand that no doubt had the debriefing for the exercise. “Midoriya,” he said without looking up. “Stop socializing.”

Izuku rolled his eyes at his elder. He turned away from Iida though, only to see the rest of the students.

“Hold on…” emerald eyes fluttered around the batch of hero students. “I...why?” he turned towards Kacchan, horror in his eyes. His lower lip jutted outwards and it took all of Bakugou's self control to not kiss him right then and there.

“Why what?” 

“Have you seen some of these costumes, Kacchan?” Izuku’s hissed out. 

“Do I look like I care about some shitty extras?” Bakugou countered. Midoriya stared at him before glancing back. “Kacchan… Yaoyorozu’s basically naked, I’m pretty sure Hagaruke actually is!” 

Bakugou couldn’t help but glance his head in their directions and— yep. Hm, why didn’t he notice it before? Oh right, probably because he’s very extremely gay and doesn’t have eyes for anyone else but Izuku— anyway.

“I’m going to talk to them!” Midoriya announced brightly. He spun on his heals, hand raised in anticipation of waving, before Bakugou grabbed onto the back of his shirt.

“You can do that after class Zuku.” Midoriya poured but didn’t disagree. 

All Might and Eraserhead finished their conversation leaving a very disgruntled Aizawa. They called the third years over to explain the activity.

Midoriya placed himself next to Bakugou, arms wrapped around his body. He kept his gaze down or to the side, never looking at All Might.

“Today we are doing a battle simulation!” All Might boasted, “You will be split in half, one group being heroes and the other villains. Each team will find a base to set up operations. The heroes job is to capture as many villains as possible while not injuring the bystanders which will be represented by small robots. The villain's job is to capture as many hero’s before time runs out. A hero can save a fellow hero from capture however.”

All Might gave a proud smile after finishing the explanation, but Izuku wasn’t satisfied. He raised his hand into the air, garnering the attention of his two teachers.

“Yes Midoriya?” asked Aizawa-sensei in his monotone voice.

“Can villains, hypothetically, kill the heroes?” The question caught everyone off guard as they stared at the cinnamon roll.

“I beg your pardon?” All Might asked, astounded at the notion.

“Then beg,” Izuku said without missing a beat. Kaminari leaned into Shinsou, gripping the fabric of his costume as they attempted to stifle their laughter. Shinsou raised his hand that wasn’t playing with Denki’s hair to his mouth, the hand muting his silent chuckles.

“I’m a real life scenario a team of villains wouldn’t care about the heroes, so it’s much more logical that they’d just kill them instead of keeping them captured unless they have an ulterior motive to use them as a hostage to get a ransom. So, can a villain kill a hero in the scenario?”

Before All Might could deny the request, Eraserhead jumped in. “Yes they can. To do that you have to get them in a position that would kill them then wrap red capture tape around them.”

“We have red capture tape?” questioned Kirishima.

“We do now. Yaoyorozu,” Aizawa turned to his student who nodded their head before shooting capture tape out of her arm. It landed in a pile on the floor and kept going. 

“Now we’ll pick teams.” All Might announced with a small nod. He pressed a button in the pad that Eraserhead brought out, splitting the class in half. After everyone split, they prepared for the exercise to start before Aizawa raised his voice.

“Midoriya,” the boy in question raised his head from where he was jotting notes about his teams and the other team's capabilities. “You need to dull your knives and turn down the taser voltage in your gloves.” The teen gave a small nod before removing knives from all over his body. The class stared in horror as the small boy handed blade after blade to Bakugou who just put them on the ground. “Oh,” Aizawa spoke up with a sense of urgency, “give me your gun.” This prompted the boy to pout. “I’ll only use tranquilizers Eraser.” He gave the biggest puppy eyes he could, successfully melting everyone’s heart that was within eyesight of him. Aizawa buried his head deeper into his scarf. “Fine,” he drawled out.

“Aizawa?” All Might turned to him, shook written on his face. “You can not allow this boy to have lethal weaponry!”

“It’s not lethal!” Izuku called out from where he was fixing his weapons.

Aizawa pointed towards Izuku, “What he said.”

“This is supposed to be a quirk exercise!” All Might retaliated.

“Support weapons are allowed,” Izuku countered once more. He was sitting on the floor criss-cross-applesauce with a bunch of weapons surrounding him. He pulled out all of his real bullets from his utility belt, making sure to put the tranquilizers in their place. His blades had been dulled with a piece of sandpaper and his boyfriend help. With his weapons within the safety requirements, he put them back into his costume. 

“Alright! Let’s do this thing!” He have a wild smile before turning back to Kacchan. “Isn’t this so excited Kacchan! I can’t believe I get to do a training simulation with you!” Bakugou did his best to stifle his smile that spread from the warm feeling Izuku's smile gave Bakugou's heart. Those nosy extras would eat this up,  Katsuki scowled in his mind.

“3...2...1...” All Might counted down, “Go!” The hero and villain teams took off in opposite directions. Suddenly a thought came to Eraserhead. “No breaking bones Midoriya!” He shouted out in desperation that the problem child heard him. Thankfully he got a response. Though the response was “No promises!” so that didn’t really ease Aizawa’s worry.

---------------------------------------------------

“All right!” Izuku swung his arms back and forth as he stared out at his team. They decided to pick a base towards the end of the city limits, but still surrounded by buildings to limit the amount of power the hero’s could use so they wouldn’t get civilian casualties. Overall, their team was pretty balanced. They had Koda, Tsuyu, Tokoyami, Uraraka, Jirou, Sato, Hagaruke, Bakugou, and Shinsou. 

“Do you guys mind if I take over for a second?” Midoriya asked. Normally they would disagree but the sight of the greenette bouncing on his feet, wide grin on his face, prompted them to say no (also Bakugou was whipped)

“Great! So the heroes have Todoroki, Kirishima, Aoyama, and Kaminari who’ll probably lead with offense which means we need to have a strong defense. Sero, Iida, Ashido, and Ojiro all have means of mobility, so they’ll probably try to capture us when we’re busy dealing with their direct attack. That leads Yaoyorozu and Shouji but they’ll probably run recon.” Half of class 1-A stared at Izuku in wonder, the only two exceptions were Shinsou who was used to the greenettes breakdowns, and Bakugou who gazed at him with a soft smile no one else got to see. Ever. 

“What we should do is make sure to counteract everything they’re doing. Jirou and Koda, can you two run recon making sure we have eyes and ears everywhere? It’ll be best if we know when the heroes are coming.” Jirou and Koda both gave a short nod. “Great,” Izuku smiles innocently like they weren’t planning a way to defeat their friends in battle. “To counteract their offense we’ll need a strong defense. I’m thinking Tokoyami, Sato, and Tsuyu.”

“Wait—“ Uraraka raised her hand. “Wouldn’t Bakugou be better than Tsuyu for offense? He’s a heavy hitter after all.” 

Midoriya gave a bright smile, “Exactly! That’s why they’ll think that Bakugou would be on offense. They’re preparing to go against him. But, Tsuyu is the perfect option. Not just to confuse their offense, but also she’s mobile. A lot of the heroes' offense team fight more stationary, though that can be fixed if All Might wasn’t their teacher…”  Midoriya muttered the last part before looking back up and smiling at everyone. “That leaves Uraraka, Hagaruke, Shinsou, and me to take down the rest of the heroes. I’m thinking that they’ll try to come through the windows or some other method like that as most of the fight will be downstairs. If each of us can take a floor we should be good, as long as we can easily access each other if backup is needed. I was also thinking that patrolling outside yet out of sight might be best though…” the students stared as Midoriya dissolved into a muttering mess. His hand would occasionally wave to and fro as he wrote in a notebook that magically appeared in his hand. “Yes!” Izuku shouted, slamming the boom shut, “That's it! Okay everyone here’s the game plan…”

---------------------------------------------------

A chill crawled up Aizawa's spine. What has the problem child done now?

Chapter Text

Izuku leaned over the edge of the building, eyes narrowed like a hawk as he stared at his prey. His green hair ruffled in the wind.

“Shinsou, you see them right?”

The brainwashed peered over the ledge to where Yaoyorozu was stationed with Shouji. The duo had run across the rooftops of the city, looking for the base. The short building was exactly where Koda said it would be.

“What do you want to do now?”

Izuku sat down on the edge, eyes never once leaving their targets. “Their team will be on the way to our base. Their mobile fleet will get there first but they’ll probably wait for their offense to initiate the attack. We need to cut off their communications and information.”

“So we attack Yaoyorozu and Shouji, right. Are we aiming to…”

“kill.” Izuku finished. Shinsou raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment, they were playing the villains after all.

“And then after that we’ll-“ Shinsou stopped when Midoriya held up a hand. “I think Shouji spotted us, let’s move.”

The two ran off the roof, jumping to another. Shinsou went to a fire escape, parkouring it down to the ground. “ I go down, you go up? ” Shinsou signed to Midoriya. Izuku gave a small nod. “ Approach from front. Draw their attention.” Shinsou gave a thumbs up before jogging back towards Yaoyorozu and Shouji.

“Here we go…” Izuku muttered before taking off.

His feet hit the ground hard, though there was no sound. Wind rushed through his hair, and pulled his thin dark green coat backwards. Rushing over the rooftops, Midoriya caught sight of Shinsou’s bright hair. He crouched down, ready to jump and role.

“Hey~” Shinsou approached languidly. He had hands stuffed into his pockets as he strode clears. He stopped 15 feet away from his opponents.

Yaoyorozu frowned. She created a staff at the side of her arm before gripping it and getting ready to fight. Shouji turned his extra limbs into hands. Yaoyorozu ran forward and attacked Shinsou, but Midoriya wasn’t worried about that. His eyes clicked onto a Shouji who looked ready to run in and help his teammate.

“Nope!” Izuku whispered. He swung his hands back and forth to gain momentum before leaping off the roof. Midoriya broke into a roll before popping back up, a dull knife in his hand. He jumped onto Shoji's back. As soon as his weight transferred, the student tried to throw him off. Izuku stuck to him though, before placing his knife against Shoji's throat.

At the feeling of the blade against his skin, Shoji relented. He wanted to continue to fight, but he couldn’t figure out a way that would throw Midoriya off his back without slitting his throat.

Relaxing his extra limbs, Midoriya hopped off his back. He got out the red capture tape, wrapping it around Shoji. Midoriya gave the student an angelic smile before turning around.

Shinsou and Yaoyorozu were going at it all right, Yaoyorozu was trying to hit him with her staff as he ducked and blocked it. The two continued their dance as they crossed the room. Yaoyorozu has cornered Shinsou against a wall. She held out her staff towards Shinsous neck as she reached for the capture tape. Hitoshi didn't give her the chance though. He jumped up slightly, bracing himself against the wall and giving a kick forward, dislodging the staff from Yaoyorozu’s grasp. Before she had the chance to create something else, Izuku shot her with a tranquilizer.

“Good job,” Midoriya slipped towards Yaoyorozu’s body.

“Thanks,” Shinsou dusted off his costume, taking the com from Midoriya that he took out of Shoji’s ear. Izuku leaned down, plucking the com from Creati, then popped it into his own ear.

The sounds of battle crackled into his ear. Both villains could hear the sound of Todoroki’s and Tokoyami’s quirk going at it.

“ Make sure you're on mute,” Shinsou signed. Midoriya touched his com, making sure to press the mute button.

“I’m good.”

“Great,” Shinsou glanced around the room, “What now?”

A manic grin spread on Izuku’s face, “Now it’s time to get a hostage.”

---------------------------------------------------

Shinsou and Midoriya approached their base from the rooftops, a robot tied in Shinsou’s capture scarf. The duo had a good idea what was happening because of the coms but it was still interesting to see what was happening in person.

Todoroki had created an ice barrier, blocking civilian robots from entering and the villains from exiting. Though, some of the ice was smashed from Sato and Kirishima going at it. Midoriya could catch the occasional sweep of darkness from behind the glass, followed by a streak of yellow. Huh, Tokoyami vs. Kaminari and Aoyama. Well that’s not good.

That meant that Tsuyu and Todoroki were fighting. That didn’t particularly seem bad for any side. Tsuyu was quick and mobile, and while Todoroki had his ice to slide around, the small space and teammates made it difficult for him to do anything of the sort.

“Come on,” Midoriya nudged Shinsou’s shoulder, “I see an open window.”

“You- wait..” Shinsou deflated as Izuku already started running, “Why am I not surprised?”

The two ran to gain momentum before Izuku kept off the roof. The 5th floor window was big and fully open, still Midoriya made his body as long and skinny as possible, making sure to protect his face.

After he entered the room he quickly did two front rolls before popping up. He saw Ojiro fighting the air, his tail moving side to side.

“Oh, this is Hagakure’s floor”

Izuku would normally throw a knife or tranquilizer at such an open target, but he didn’t know where Hagakure was and he didn’t want to hit her. “Welp… here goes nothing”

Just as our resident cinnamon roll was about to pounce on Ojiro, Shinsou came tumbling through the window. He popped back up, the robot hostage coming behind him as the capture scarf lowered back into his general vicinity.

“‘ Oshi, brainwash Ojiro! ” Midoriya signed urgently. Shinsou nodded. Using his voice modulator to sound like Yaoyorozu he spoke up.

“Ojiro, we have a proble-“

“What is it?” Ojiro stopped but still looked alert, ready to take instructions from his commander. Sadly, his awareness didn’t do him any good as he fell victim to Shinsou. “Knock yourself out.” Shinsou commanded.

Ojiro raised his hand before hitting himself on the head. He crumpled to the ground. Midoriya threw red capture tape over the unconscious boy.

“Hagakure?” he questioned to the air.

“Here!” the girl came back with her gloves and boots on. Midoriya gave her a bright smile, “I need you to get Kaminari away from Tokoyami and to Shinsou.” Hagakure gave a thumbs up before running down the stairs.

“Why do you want Denki to fight me?” Shinsou raised an eyebrow at Midoriya who was already on his way, moving to the next floor.

“You’ll get them to talk.”

“They know my quirk.”

Izuku turned around, “Just like… kiss them or something? Use your status as their boyfriend to your advantage?”

“You want me to take advantage of our relationship?” Shinsou dead panned.

Midoriya winced, “Well I mean…” he bit his lip, looking at Hitoshi before glancing back up at the staircase. “I want to win! Now throw me that hostage!”

The next level was havoc. Somehow the rest of the heroes had ended up here.

Jirou and Sero were fighting. With Sero slinging tape towards Earphone Jack, she was left to defend herself. Her plugs kept on combatting the tape, hitting them out of the way. Midoriya supposed she would plug them into her legs if it didn’t leave her face exposed.

Uraraka was using her anti-gravity on herself. Floating around the room, she kicked off walls and ceilings to avoid the acid Mina was shooting at her. While the two looked okay for the time being, sweat was forming on her forehead.

Finally Bakugou and Iida were at it. Iida kept on running around Katsuki, who was trying to hit him with his explosions. Midoriya spotted white tape in Iidas hand. That wasn’t good.

“What do you want to do?” Shinsou’s deep voice erupted from next to him. Resisting the urge to jump in surprise, Izuku scanned the group that was yet to notice him.

“You need to go fight Kaminari. It’s only a matter of time before their offense breaks in and comes to find us, you need to stall them.”

Shinsou nodded before running back down the stairs.

Catching an opening in Bakugou’s fight (Iida was in a side lunge, panting. If Midoriya had to guess, his engines were overheating) Izuku took his chance. “Kacchan!” he shouted, drawing the attention of the room. Before any hero could question what was happening, Izuku threw the hostage towards Bakugou who caught it.

“Now,” Izuku’s voice was iced cold despite the internalized meltdown he was having— this is so cool! — “You’ll stop and drop to the floor, hands behind your head, unless you want the hostage to get it.” Katsuki raised a sparkling hand to the robot’s head. Realization seemed to dawn on the hero’s at what was happening. Reluctantly Ashido kneeled one the floor, followed by Sero.

“Y-you… vill-villa-villains,” Iida panted, eyes locked on Izuku. With the last of his fuel, he kicked off, hoping to tackle Midoriya. Izuku saw the attack. He froze for a second before moving to the side, watching as Iida tumbled to the top of the stairs.

“Tut tut tut,” Izuku shook his head. Waking over to Iida, he bent down, giving a harsh jab to the sciatic nerve, between the crotch and the knee on the midline of the inner thigh. “There!” Midoriya gave Iida a pat on the back as he shuddered from pain. “Sorry about that, but your legs immobile now. Human pressure points and all that!”

Izuku turned around to see wide eyed hero’s. Bakugou was staring at him in admiration.

“What do you think guys?” Izuku asked his teammates, “Do we ‘murder’ them, or just capture?”

“Well…” Uraraka bit her lip, hand still outstretched to Mina in warning, “it’d be safer for us if we killed them…”

“Cool, we’ll do that then!”

“Wait!” Mina gasped out, “You don’t have to kill us-“

She was cut off by falling unconscious, followed by Sero. Izuku glanced back towards Iida before shooting him too.

“Dude!” Jirou exclaimed, stepping away from Sero’s unconscious body. “What was that?”

“Relax, it's only tranquilizers. Wrap the red tape around them,” Izuku commanded. Jirou and Ochaco did as said. “Okay, but why Iida? He was already immobilized?”

Midoriya grabbed Iida by his legs and started pulling him across the room, motioning with his head for Uraraka and Jirou to do the same with Sero and Ashido.

“I hit his sciatic nerve. It causes intense pain, shock, and dizziness, as well as rendering his legs immobile. I wanted to put him out of his misery. It should hurt less when he wakes up.”

The three heroes were draped over each other in red tape in a corner. Midoriya dusted his hands on his pants before walking over to Katsuki.

“That’s nice of you!” Uraraka commented. “What now, although?”

Midoriya planted himself next to Bakugou. “Shinsou’s distracting the frontal group with our defense. Hopefully he rendered Kaminari immoble. Tokoyami is probably weaker, he was fighting Kaminari and Aoyama. Sato is probably exhausted too, he was going against Kirishima. Hold up-“ Izuku our a finger on his earpiece and turned on his mic, “Now.” He turned it back off, leaving the hero team clueless but cautious.

“Shinsou should be leading everyone up now. I’m not sure if Tsuyu or Hagakure are ready to fight… but we need to be ready.” Midoriya glanced around the rooms “Everyone flank the stairs.” Everyone went but Izuku put his hand on Bakugou’s chest. “Kacchan stay in the middle with the hostage to deter them.”

“What should we do when they come?” Uraraka asked as she braced herself against the wall.

“Knock them out if we can.” Midoriya replied.

The four of them quieted down. Jirou has stuck her earphone jack into the floor. “They’re coming,” she whispered.

20 seconds later they heard feet pounding on the floor. Todoroki emerged, eyes wide at Bakugou. Kirishima was behind him, and Aoyoma behind him, but there was no Kaminari.

“Oh mon Dieu…” Aoyma whispered once his eyes landed on his unconscious companions.

Todoroki breathes deeply, “Bakugou, what are you doing?”

“This is a hostage. Line up against the wall unless you want them to get it,” Bakugou threatened.

“Bakug-“ Todoroki took a step forward but it was a step too far. Midoriya flipped the knife he had out, hitting the hilt against Todoroki’s head. “Uraraka!”

Uravity leaped out, tumbling down the stairs through Aoyama and Kirishima. Right as she was about to hit the floor, her fingers pressed together.

“Gotcha!” she gritted her teeth in concentration, pushing against the wall to wrap Aoyama and Kirishima in the capture tape.

After the rest of the hero’s were captured, a loud voice boomed overhead. “Villains Won!”

Chapter Text

The villains walked into the room victorious while the heroes could not say the same. Due to the sheer amount of them knocked unconscious, All Might and Eraserhead decided not to have a full blown evolution of the battle today and instead do it tomorrow. 

“Good job with eliminating all but one of your opponents permanently, Midoriya.” Aizawa nodded towards the boy who beamed back at him. 

“Thanks Eraser! Though, it wasn’t the best having Kacchan have to be unconscious in the beginning…” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. 

“Yes, why did that happen?” questioned Jirou.

“Quirk,” Izuku replies with raised shoulder as if to say 'what’re you going to do.'

If Iida was conscious and not passed out in the nurse's office, he would’ve found that highly suspicious because in his professional opinion, green is sus.

“Well young Midoriya I think—“

“I don’t act what you think.” Midoriya cut All Might off. He gave him a tight smile, “I don’t actually care about your opinion about me at all. So you can save it for yourself.” Izuku raised an eyebrow as to challenge the elder, but All Might was just left gaping.

Shinsou raised an eyebrow, letting out a descending whistle. “That was harsh Midoriya. Shots fired.”

Besides them, Kaminari (the only still conscious hero) nodded in agreement. “Ya man… I don’t know you that well but, damn.” They stared at the still stammering form of Yagi-san. “Shots fired.”

“Alright," Eraserhead stated, completely ignoring Izuku's down-right rejection of All Might, "Midoriya, how long do those tranqs last?” Aizawa turned towards his intern.

“Not long?” Midoriya mused. He titled his head, thinking about the exact ones he used. “They’re designed for training so they’re not that powerful. I think Yaoyorozu and Shouji should be waking up a round now…”

Eraser nodded. “Good. I’ll check with them, the rest of you are dismissed for the rest of the day. Go back to the dorms.” 

With a dismissal from their teacher the still standing students exited the room. That included Kaminari and Shinsou, who walked side by side, swinging their hands too and fro (Kaminari was swinging their hand, Shinsou’s arm was pulled along) Uraraka, Jirou, and Koda were walking together, though not really talking. Midoriya and Bakugou were also walking side by side, but both parties were conscious of how close they were and the presence of other people. The rest of the students were in the nurse’s office. While Sato, Tsuyu, and Tokoyami weren't unconscious, they still experienced major drawbacks that required them to see Recovery Girl. Dark Shadow was incredibly weak against Kaminari and Aoyama. He was incredibly stronger than they were in the beginning of UA, but light still was their biggest weakness. Tsuyu was freezing from Todoroki’s ice, her instincts telling her to hibernate got her buried in blankets in the infirmary. Finally Sato had a case of quirk overuse in the form of a sugar crash.

Midoriya entered Bakugou's dorm and couldn't help but feel guilty. If he just planned better, evaluated their quirks better, took more notice of their weakness’ instead of just their strengths… maybe less people would be with Recovery Girl.

Bakugou frowned at his boyfriend. He had sluggishly removed his top, leaving himself only in his Shiketsu dress pants. Soon those were gone too, replaced by a pair of basketball shorts. Izuku left his clothes on the floor as he stumbled over to Bakugou’s draw, pulling out another hoodie and slipping it over his head.

“You okay?” Bakugou questioned as he removed his jacket. Izuku shrugged before rolling onto Bakugou’s bed. “Cuddle me?”

Bakugou wanted to say no. He had to do his homework, clean up Izuku’s clothes, and overall not lie in bed. Still, as he stared at the cinnamon rolls face, he could help but agree.

“Tsk,” Katsuki rolled his eyes, haphazardly pulling his tie off. He hung his blazer in the small closet provided, but threw his t-shirt and pants into a hamper before getting into shorts.

Katsuki approached his bed, rolling his eyes as Midoriya made grabby hands towards him. 

He relented into the gesture, hugging Izuku before rolling over him so he was laying on his back, Midoriya’s head on his chest. As if on instinct, Bakugou's hand found its way to the head of green and black curls.

“I’m sorry,” Midoriya whispered.

“For what you damn nerd?” Bakugou shot his boyfriend in the most caring glare imaginable. “You did nothing wrong!”

“Kacchan,” Izuku mumbled, nudging his face into Katsuki’s chest. “I messed up the exercise. You were basically unconscious in the beginning and I didn’t take into consideration the technicalities of our defense fighting their offense. I didn’t think of quirk match-up… only power.” 

Bakugou’s hand stopped playing with Izuku’s hair. “You… Izuku,” Midoriya’s emerald eyes shot up to meet Bakugou’s velvet ones. “You has no idea of the limit and effect my classmates' quirks had on each other. And it was fine in the end, right? We won.”

“But-but,” Izuku let out a sharp exhale, “but I messed up here. And if I do that on the job then actual real heroes could lose their lives. I-... I was—“

Midoriya went back to burying his head into Katsuki’s chest. “It’s okay time make mistakes, dumb Deku,” Bakugou shook his head before leaning down, planting a firm kiss on Izuku’s head. “None of those shitty extras are gonna care, and if they do then I’ll—“

“Kacchan,” Izuku interrupted Katsuki. “Whatever, point is: people make mistakes and that’s fucking okay. You don’t need to be perfect all the goddamn time. Besides, we're still in school. The entire point is to learn how to not make mistakes. You had a lapse of judgment today, that's all.”

“You’re right…” Midoriya said slowly. “People do make mistakes.” Suddenly toxic green eyes were glaring at Bakugou. “Like how you didn’t tell me that girls were hitting on you everyday!”

Oh shit.

---------------------------------------------------

Izuku grabbed his phone, the screen turning on at the slight touch. Bright light flooded the dark room, making Midoriya squint. He and Kacchan had stayed in his room for the rest of the afternoon, only to grab dinner to eat back in his bed. The couple fell asleep shortly after that, but Izuku still had to message Shinsou.

GreenBeanKillingMachine logged on

GreenBeanKillingMachine- Shinsou, you up?

Eye bags logged on

Eye bags- what type of question is that

GreenBeanKillingMachine- sry! didn’t know if the datemate got you a responsible sleeping schedule!

Eye bags- despite willing to chop my arm off for Denki, there is nothing, nothing, they could do to get me to sleep at a normal time

GreenBeanKillingMachine- do you have like an addiction to insomnia? 

Eye bags- first off: that’s rich coming from a workaholic

GreenBeanKillingMachine- :((((

Eye bags- second of all my insomnia is like half my personality

GreenBeanKillingMachine- that’s-

GreenBeanKillingMachine- totally true, nvm

Eye bags- why’d you message me anyway

GreenBeanKillingMachine- to catch up????

Eye bags- you want to see how much i know about your relationship, that right

GreenBeanKillingMachine- how’d you know????

Eye bags- is that rhetorical

Eye bags- please tell me that’s rhetorical

Eye bags- first off i caught those swollen lips after lunch

GreenBeanKillingMachine- 😳

Eye bags- also you literally mentioned a boyfriend when we originally met and like i’m not dumb bitch

Eye bags- “people see him as scary but he’s actually really sweet, he just wants to do his best… plus he’s super hot”

Eye bags- like bitch who else could that be????

GreenBeanKillingMachine- …

GreenBeanKillingMachine- ok well i don’t know what else I was expecting. just please don’t tell anyone! Kacchan isn’t ready for that…

Eye bags- Izuku you can chill, i’d never out someone

GreenBeanKillingMachine- thx!!! also what do you think did a double sat on saturday?

Eye bags- no.

GreenBeenKillingMachine- aw that’s too bad

GreenBeanKillingMachine- i’ll just ask kaminari later

Eye bags- wAIT-

GreenBeanKillingMachine has logged off

Eye bags- guess it’s time to die

Eye bags has logged off

Shinsou clicked off his phone, placing it back onto the side table.

“Who was that?” Kaminari asked, leaning to the side as they tried to get their car in Mario Cart to turn more. Shinsou couldn’t help but notice with a faint smile that Denki stuck the tip of their tongue out to the side of their mouth as they concentrated.

“Just Izuku, he wanted to catch up.”

“Oh?” Denki set down the controller as the scoreboard loaded, “do I have to be jealous?”

“Nah, you’re the only idiot for me.” Shinsou leaned toward, lips meeting their datemates' as their eyes closed.

“Good,” Kaminari said softly after the embrace. They turned on their side, leaning their head into Shinsou’s lap. The insomniac's finger threaded into Kaminari’s hair as the joyfriend let out a sigh of content.

“I love you,” they gazed up at Shinsou’s face. Those lilac eyes peered down, crinkling at the end as they received one of Shinsou’s rare smiles. “I love you too,” he responded, “but if you reply yes to what Midoriya is going to ask you, we’re breaking up.”

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up cold, which was weird because he distinctly remembered falling asleep, curled up next to Bakugou who’s basically his own personal heater at this point . 

Bracing themselves on their forearm, Midoriya leaned up a little. He gazed around the room with dazed eyes until the emerald orbs landed on his familiar blonde.

Once his eyes locked onto Bakugou, Izuku was about to complain for him to come back to his bed. But, when Izuku focused on Kacchan, he could find himself smiling softly.

“Kacchan,” Izuku mumbled. Bakugou looked up startled, his left hand still gripping his right. “Kacchan it’s okay,” Midoriya slung his legs off the end of the bed. He lazily walked up to Bakugou before wrapping his arms around Bakugou's neck. Izuku lowered his head into Katsuki’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” he murmured once more, pressing a gentle kiss to Bakugou’s neck.

“I…” Bakugou's eyes were torn from his hands when Midoriya forcefully redirected his gaze.

“It’s okay,” this time Izuku’s voice was firmer, a stark contrast to his normal lovey-dovey morning whispers.

“Izuku it’s… it’s not. My quirk is--“

“--beautiful,” Izuku finished with a soft smile. He walked around Katsuki before plopping down in his lap. Midoriya’s hands grasped onto Bakugou’s. He interlaced their fingers before holding them up.

“You’re quirk is beautiful Kacchan. Yes it’s powerful, yes it’s destructive but… you use it to save people. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world. You’re like my own personal fireworks show.” Bakugou softened at Izuku’s words. Every once in a while regret, guilt, shame, they all piled onto Bakugou leaving him feeling numb and depressed. Unworthy. But Izuku, Izuku always knew how to cheer him up. How to convince him that he’s not horrible. That he’s kinder. And that being stronger doesn’t mean being mean.

“It’s so pretty Kacchan,” Izuku murmured as he leaned in, “so so pretty.”

---------------------------------------------------

Izuku felt absolutely dead to the world (despite his previous heart-to-heart with Kacchan earlier that morning) before he had his coffee. Taking the pot, he poured the black coffee into a mug before straight up drinking it. No sugar, no creamer, no nothing. Just black coffee.

Uraraka blinked at Midoriya in surprise. “Am I the only one shocked that the cinnamon roll drinks black coffee?”

Shinsou snorted before raising an eyebrow at the anti-gravity hero. “He literally pulled out a bucket of knives from his body yesterday and it’s the coffee that shocked you?”

“Well I mean…” Uraraka opened her mouth before shrugging her shoulders and walking away.

“Why are you in pajamas Midoriya?” Hagaruke questioned, glancing at his over-sized hoodie that seemed to make his small figure even tinier, basketball shorts, and big light pink slippers with pineapple socks peeking out to the middle of his shin. 

“Yes, that is rather unbecoming of a hero student. You should be ready at the start of the day, instead of wearing lounge-wear.” Iida stated.

Completely ignoring Iida, Midoriya shut the drawer he was getting a spoon out of with his hip. He walked over to the table, plopping down into the seat he occupied the other day. 

“Well I mean at Shiketsu we also got dorms, later than you guys obviously but the staff thought it was a good layer of protection just in case and also a way to force us to bond more. I mean they were right on that though, we've been a lot more unified since the dorms. So, no one really wears their uniforms until after breakfast. We all eat in our pajamas. Only a few students are in their uniforms in the morning.” Izuku shrugged at the end of his sentence before taking another satisfying gulp of coffee.

“I...guess that makes sense,” Yaoyorozu pondered over the information. “Do none of you find it invasive?”

“I mean you guys are a class, it’s like a family right? None of us really mind.” Many students started murmur agreements to Izuku. 

“Also! I’m so so sorry for training yesterday. I should’ve planned better for how each quirk would work on the other and—“ before Midoriya could finish his (not needed) apology, Katsuki elbowed him in the ribs. “Shut up your damn nerd, you don’t need to fucking apologize to these extras.”

Izuku whispered a ‘sorry’ to Kacchan before eating his breakfast. He passed the spoon he grabbed to his boyfriend so he could finish stirring the sugar and creamer into his coffee. For such a bitter boy, Bakugou has a sweet tooth.

Midoriya glanced around the room, taking it all in. His eyes stopped once they landed on a particular couple though. Shinsou was leaning against the back of an armchair, nursing his own cup of black coffee. Kaminari was curled up in his lap, resting their head against Shinsou’s chest. They scrolled through their phone, nibbling on a piece of toast.

“Kaminari!” Izuku shot out of his seat, his face lighting up. He crossed the room quickly, Bakugou begrudgingly following him. Shinsou looked up in alarm, eyes wide as shook his head ‘no’ at Izuku.

The boy didn’t stop though until he sat down in front of the couple. Bakugou sat next to him, resisting the urge to wrap his arm around Izuku’s waist and pull him close into his lap.

“Are you going to ask them what I think you are?” Shinsou’s eyes of steal bored into Izuku. 

“Nope!” the greenette replied happily. Hitoshi seemed to relax, his shoulders slumping a little as he let out a breath of air. “I’ll ask them that later!” Immediately the brain-washer sat back up, worry filling his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hang out with Izuku, but having a double date with Bakugou Katsuki. No. Just… that was a disaster waiting to happen.

“Kaminari! So, you’re quirk allows you to discharge electrical currents as well as absorb other electrical attacks, right?” Izuku barely looked for a nod before continuing on. “Okay, so my first question is: do you yourself make electricity, is something in your body allowing you to create electricity, or can you simply conduct electricity.”

“um… what?” Kaminari stared blankly at Izuku as he glanced down at his notebook. 

“I mean do you absorb electrical currents in the air and then direct them back out or do you create electrical currents?” Midoriya glanced back upwards. He stared at Denki with wide eyes. The enby shifted so they sat more upright in Shinsou’s lap. 

“I uh, don’t know…”

Midoriya nodded, “We need to fix that then.” Izuku glanced around the room until he pointed at an electrical outlet. “Can you sense anything from that outlet? Maybe like a pulse or something?”

Denki narrowed their eyes at the outlet. Like Midoriya said they could sense something. It felt like a slight pull, a pulse constantly beating. “Ya,” they nodded slightly, directing their eyes back to Izuku.

“So cool!” he squealed before writing down a plethora of notes that Kaminari isn’t sure how he got just from that small action.

“Alright. Are you able to pull energy from the socket?” Midoriya turned back towards the spot in question. 

“Let me try.” Lifting their manicured hand up, Denki focused on the pulse in the outlet. The beating increased as their brow creased. They managed to grab a small electrical current. Trying to pull it, a few sparks danced towards them, but ultimately they collapsed back into Shinsou in defeat. “That was really hard…” they breathed heavily.

“Understandable. You haven’t worked on precise attacks of manipulating electricity that doesn’t come from you, so it takes a lot more effort. However, I was proven correct that you can sense and control electricity from around you! Taking into consideration how much of a toll it took, it’s likely that you actually do generate your own electricity, or else you wouldn’t’ve been able to make those large attacks as…” Izuku dissolved into a fit of mumbled words, his pen scratching at the paper in his lap at an intense pace.

“Izuku,” Bakugou stated. “Izuku, Zuku, Oi! Deku,” Midoriya shot up at the familiar nickname. “Yes Kacchan?” They answered innocently.

“You were mumbling again.”

“Oh, sorry Kacchan,” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as Bakugou muttered: “‘s fine…”

“Okay so Kaminari!” Midoriya clapped his hands, a chaotic grin spreading on his face. “Based upon what I’ve gathered, the reason you short circuit is because you absorb some of the electrical current you discharge. Now because you just discharged a great deal of energy, your brain probably already a little sluggish. However, the amount you absorb wakes it back up quickly, which is partially why after smaller attacks you aren’t slower or anything. But, because of the large voltages, too much energy is sent back into your body and essentially, it overloads your brain.”

“Okay,” Denki nodded slowly, “But we’re aware of that? I mean, not to sound rude or anything dude, but we know my quirk overloads my brain.”

Midoriya’s grin seemed to spread even further. “Yes, but now we know why. Which means we can prevent it from happening again, which means—“

“—no more overloads…” Kaminari whispered the sentence, as if speaking it too loud would jinx it.

“Exactly! Also, now there are a ton of more ways we can apply your quirk because we know how it works!”

“What do you mean?” Kaminari titles their head ever so slightly. Shinsou sighed as he re-opened his phone. Clicking on the ‘notes’ app, he prepared to write down the million ideas Izuku had for later. 

“Okay, so you control electricity but you also make it. Essentially, you can create a magnetic field around yourself because when electrons move through a conductor they create a magnetic current. You, in this scenario, are the conductor.” Izuku’s gaze never leaves his notebook. He took a small breath before diving back into his analysis and theories. “This in itself has so many ways to be used. You could probably manipulate your magnetic field to stick metal which could be useful for recon. If I’m right—“ Shinsou and Bakugou had to resist an eye roll, the nerd was always right, “—this means you could climb up metal buildings without having to worry about falling because the magnetic pull will keep you secure. I’m not so sure about this, but you might even be able to amplify your magnetic field to attract metals to you. If you got yourself a metal weapon this would be useful in a fight to bring it back to you. Now back to you being able to control electrical currents. Once you get a handle on this aspect of your quirk, you could direct the electricity in various ways. You could absorb it to recharge you if need be, use it to short circuit lighting, enemy coms, etc. etc. You could use it to do the opposite and charge things too, but that’d probably take a lot more effort…” Once more Izuku dissolves into a heap load of muttering. Bakugou pinched his wrist slightly, which broke the boy out of it.

Midoriya closed his notebook before giving Denki a smile. “I think we should focus on getting what I mentioned down before going onto any other capabilities your quirk might have, ya?”

Kaminari, paralyzed with the amount of information about their quirk and the possibility they won’t have to overload anymore barely managed to nod their head or give an audible yes in confirmation before Midoriya stood up, Bakugou following him.

“Great! Well I have to go change now! See you in class, oh also! Nice skirt and choker Kaminari!” With that Izuku turned on his heels, heading up stairs with the class’ resident explosion boy following behind. 

Denki’s hand trailed to the edge of their skirt before going back upwards, placing a delicate touch to the black choker surrounding their neck. Last time they heard those words from someone other than Hitoshi, it had been in such a mocking way. But Izuku…

They shook their head, ridding the bad memories out of their brain. 

“Izuku really is something,” Shinsou commented. Kaminari couldn’t help but find themselves nodding in agreement. Not only did the green bean give Kaminari a breakdown of their quirk and multiple ways to apply it, not just brute attacks and solved the problem that had always made them feel inferior their entire life, but, he also managed to freeze the rest of Class 1-A. It wasn’t until Midoriya was upstairs that everyone seemed to come to their senses, whispering to each other about Izuku’s ability. 

Tokoyami could only shake his head, muttering about “What a mad banquet of darkness,” Izuku is. Uraraka was fawning over how impressive Midoriya’s skill was, while Tsuyu found herself in agreement. Kirishima was talking about how manly it was to Mina, Sero, and just the class in general. Iida has fixed himself with a scowl, while Todoroki seemed as impassive as ever despite the glint in his eyes that betrayed his stoic expression.

Yaoyorozu was the only one who really seemed to draw a conclusion from the encounter. “It is highly likely that Midoriya has an analyst quirk from what we just witness,” she stated in high confidence. “I doubt that any regular human would be able to gather that much information from just a small action.”

“That seems right kero,” Tsuyu put a finger to the corner of her mouth as she spoke. “But speculating will only hurt in the end. We should ask Midoriya in class.”

Everyone nodded their head in agreement before going back to their group conversations. Only Shinsou seemed to have a scowl on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Kaminari asked softly. They turned around in the seat so their head could face their boyfriend more comfortably.

“Nothing,” Shinsou shook his head lightly, “it’s just… you’ll find out soon.” While Kaminari wasn’t satisfied with that answer, they trusted their partner to tell them anything important. Kaminari rested their head against Shinsou's chest once more, thinking over the information Izuku had given him. Shinsou only had one though on his mind besides for how good his datemate looked in a skirt and that was:

How the hell was Class 1-A going to react when they find out Izuku’s quirkless?

Chapter Text

Midoriya walked into the room, fully aware of the stares that followed him. He shifted his bag on his shoulder in discomfort, feeling self-conscious about the oncoming looks. Izuku’s emerald eyes darted around the room, landing just short of everyone else’s. Finally Asui couldn’t take it. She was one to say what was one her mind, so she was going to say what was on her damn mind.

“Hey Midoriya, what’s your quirk kero?” 

The small greenette’s eyes widened as he stumbled to a stop. Accidently, he backed up into Bakugou’s chest, who grunted but didn’t yell. 

“Uhm-“ Midoriya’s mouth hung open as he stammered. Bakugou was shooting a fierce glare over the broccoli boys hair. “I ah…. my quirk is- uhm-“

“Shut up and sit down,” Aizawa commanded as he walked into the room. He had a large thermos of coffee in his hand, probably double the amount he normally did. With brisk steps he made his way to his desk.

“I said sit down,” His glare fell upon Bakugou and Midoriya who quickly scrambled to their seats. Izuku breathed out a breath of relief once he reached his chair. Thank god, he did not want to see how Katsuki’s classmates reacted to him and his quirk status.

“Today we’ll be going over yesterday’s exercise so be prepared to critique. Also, Midoriya,” the boy looked up at his mentor, a pleasant smile on his face. “Here’s the file. Read and get a report ready,” Aizawa plopped a stack of paper onto Bakugou’s desk, though Izuku immediately reached and grabbed it. “Logins for the databases are in there too,” Eraserhead added. “Now, behave yourself problem children or else I will expel another one of you.” With that Aizawa turned sharp on his heels and to the back of the room, where, miraculously, his sleeping bag laid.

“Hey what’s that Midoriya?” Kaminari reached over their desk to grab a look at Izuku’s packet. Suddenly, the topic of quirks was long since forgotten.

“Ah,” Midoriya’s cheeks flushed slightly, “it’s just a case.”

“A case?” Uraraka asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Oi! Back off nosy extras!” Katsuki shouted, annoyed at the attention his boyfriend was getting. Call him possessive, but Izuku was his and everyone else was getting too close to comfort. Especially since he could see tiny hearts forming in round cheeks eyes whenever Midoriya opened his mouth to say something intelligent, and by association, cute.

“Kacchan,” Izuku whined. He turned slightly to look at the blonde boy, “It’s okay, they can ask.” He resisted the urge to lay a comforting hand on Bakogou’s bicep, and kiss the irked look off of his face.

Turning back to the eager faces that awaited him, Izuku shifted his gaze to the front of his packet. “I’m here under an internship with Aizawa, so this is my internship.” His gaze went back up to meet the prying eyes. “Underground agencies run very differently from spotlight heroes. They go case by case and work with the police a lot. The type of cases are also more of the nasty kind, drug trafficking, human trafficking, etc. etc. we have patrols but they’re modified to be specific  for every case.” Izuku once again stared at the thick packet. His thumb brushed against the black lettering, sticking boldly out against the white paper. “This is the case I’m assigned to. I, essentially, have to figure it out.”

“Wow Midoriya-kun! That’s so cool!” Katsuki narrowed his eyes at Uraraka, but the girl pretended to not notice.

“I guess it is,” Izuku replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Will you tell us how it’s going?” Mina leaned towards in her seat, big eyes trained into what greenette, “Do we get any details? Are you going to take breaks? How long does it usually take? Can we help you? Oh!” An idea popped into Mina’s head, “What if we have a study group where we help you with the case and make sure you don’t get overwhelmed and take breaks?”

Shinsou snorted, “ya good luck with that,” he commented sarcastically.

“Shinsou? What do you mean?” Mina’s gaze snapped to the lilac colored boy. 

“ I mean Izuku is the worst of the worst when it comes to self-care. He won’t stop working until he finishes the damn thing. Which, in case you haven’t noticed,” Shinsou gestured towards Midoriya who was hunched over Bakugou’s desk, eyes quickly flying over the pages beneath him, “means he is preoccupied indefinitely. Don’t try talking to him, it won’t work.” 

Mina pouted, “He didn’t even answer our question about his quirk!” Shinsou shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know man,” Kirishima spoke up, “I think it’s kinda manly how dedicated Midoriya is to his cases. Plus, we get a chance to guess his quirk now! Maybe we’ll figure it out by the time he’s done!”

That seemed to perk Mina up. She went to continue the conversation, but the bell rang and first period began.

---------------------------------------------------

The Bakusquad sat at their lunch table, chatting as quiet as possible because of the busy greenette. Their eyes all momentarily flied over to Izuku who was deep into his research. He had a laptop to the right side of him, and the file to the left. In between the table and his lap was a notebook that he kept jotting notes down in. Every now and then Bakugou would tap his shoulder, Midoriya would open his mouth, and Bakogou would give him a spoonful of something so the nerd was eating. 

Everyone realized that Shinsous prediction was correct, there was nothing going to distract the boy from his case.

That’s why it was so jarring when Izuku snapped his notebook shut and his head up. “Kaminari, can we talk for a moment privately?” Everyone was too surprised to say anything, least of all Kaminari. They quickly bounced back though, nodded their head, gave a bright smile, and held two thumbs up. Izuku grinned in responded before hopping over the edge of the seat. As he would tell Kacchan later, it was easier than asking everyone to move.

Denki and Izuku stopped outside the hallway of the cafeteria. Midoriya quickly got to business.

“First off, we need to plan a training day to work on what I theorized and stuff. I can ask Aizawa but it’ll have to wait until my case is done, that okay?” The boy was talking so fast that Kaminari could hardly keep up, but they did nod their head.

“Good, also what I’m about to tell you you can’t tell anyone else. Can I trust you?”

Kaminari gave a bright smile, “You can trust me dude! Now what’s the tea?”

Izuku took a deep breath in, “Kacchan and I are actually dating and I was wondering if you and Shinsou would want to go on a double date on Saturday?”

Kaminari raised their eyebrows. They were not expecting that. For a split second, their brain seemed to short circuit. Bakugou, King Exsplosion Murder, I-will-rip-and-exsplode-your-face-of-if-you-talk-to-me-you-shitty-extras-who-will-always-be-behind-me, Katsuki was dating this literal cinnamon roll. But… then again the boy had shown he was proficient with knives and a gun, and knew how to immobilize people by using pressure points and-

No ya, the more Kaminari thought about it the more it made sense.

“Uhm.. sure?” They answered like the intelligent human they are. “Where do you wanna go? Does Hitoshi know?”

Izuku chuckled slightly. “I did mention it to Hitoshi but… he was against the idea. Good thing I asked you though!”

Oh. Oh. Now Kaminari remembered what their boyfriend told them last night. Oh shit. They were screwed.

“Now we should get back,” as soon as he said it Izuku was off again. He hit the table and hopped over the back of the seats, right back into his original place. His notebook opened on instance as he began to dive right back into his work. 

Kaminari slipped right next to Shinsou, smiling as their boyfriends arm wrapped around their shoulder holding them tight. Shinsou’s thumb rubbed circles around their shoulder. They snuggled into the side of their datemate slightly, the bottom of their left leg crossed over with his right.

“Midoriya,” Sero asked, “what got you to step away? You’ve been like immersed in that all day.”

Izuku blinked at the group. “Ah,” he said shortly, “ya Aizawa said that if I don’t take at least one break a day he’ll take the case away from me for a day, so I needed to quickly go away and then come back but I needed witnesses or else he’d say it wouldn’t happen.”

Shinsou stifled a laugh, once a work-a-holic always a work-a-holic.

“Also Hitoshi,” Izuku’s emerald eyes met him, a straight up sadistic grin spreading in his face. “I’m excited for Saturday.” 

Suddenly the rubbing motion of his finger stopped. Kaminari froze slightly, fear of looking up to see their boyfriend. Shinsou took a deep breath as Izuku got right back to work, but one thought lay prominent in his mind.

Mother fucker. 

Chapter Text

Mina sat down on the comfortable rug in Sero’s room, grinning at the occupants. Chips and other snacks were strewn across the floor as the bakusquad (bar bakugou and midoriya) sat in a loose circle. It was evening, and all participants were tired from class. They had reviewed their battles from the day before where Aizawa brutally pointed out each and every mistake, which: fair , but it still wounded their pride.

“Alright!” Mina cackled slightly, rubbing her hands together. “Time to get down to business!”

“Uhm, what is the business we’ll be getting down to?” Kaminari raised a finger from where they were laying in Shinsou’s lap. Hitoshi was braced against Sero’s bed, with their legs parted. Kaminari has seated themselves between their boyfriends legs, curling their own up to their chest. Hitoshi’s hand was dangled in Denki’s hair, playing with the bright yellow strands and only slightly jolting at the shock they sometimes gave off.

“Well, obviously Midoriya!”

“What about Izuku? I thought we already established he’s an enigma that could never be solved?” Shinsou raised an eyebrow at the pink girl, but she didn’t relent. Popping a chip into her mouth, Mina chewed quickly before answering.

“Well duh, but we all heard him say he’s here because Bakugou got hit by a quirk. So what was the quirk?” Mina looked around the room with wide eyes, waiting for someone to agree with her.

“Actually...ya,” Kirishima spoke up. He fiddled with the bottom of the loose pale bluish gray shirt he wore. In his lap he hogged a bowl filled with strawberry hello panda cookie treats. 

“Really? I didn’t take you for one to snoop Kirishima,” Shinsou commented iidly to which he received a slap on the leg courtesy of his datemate.

Kirishima looked up, face flushed. “We-well just Bakugou never mentioned him before and well-well I just thought we were, uhm… close so it was a supri-“

“Ah,” Shinsou spoke intelligently, “so you’re jealous?”

Kirishima gasped at Shinsou, his jaw hung limply with his mouth open.

“Aw, Kiri!” Kaminari smiles towards the sunshine boy, “you don’t have anything to worry about. Bakugou’s still your best friend!”

“Well I, I know that but,” Kirishima stuffed a handful of hello panda into his light, chewing quickly before swallowing. “I just… want to know more about my best bro’s best…bro.” A frown etched its face on the hardening hero. Mina nodded in sympathy before giving Kirishima a pat to his spiky hair. She pulled her hand back after the initial contact though, his rock red hair scraping her hands.

“It’s OK to want to know more Kirishima, after all… that’s why we’re here,” Mina rubbed her hands together manically. Sero subconsciously shifted farther down his hammock, away from the pink gremlin. Kirishima scooted back to, a protective hand over his bowl of snacks.

 “Now,” Ashido’s gaze danced around the room, “gimme some theories.”

“Uhm, I don’t know Mina…” Kaminari shifted uncomfortably in Shinsou’s lap. They pulled at the edge of their skirt, biting their lip. “Doesn’t this seem a bit… wrong?” 

“Oh hush, it’s all fun and games.”

“Until it’s not,” Kaminari added. “I mean what if something like bad happens or something dude, then what?” 

Mina let out a sigh before shoving a handful of chips into her mouth. “I won’t let it get to that, now chop chop, open those notebooks and give me some theories!”

Before Shinsou could question what notebooks Ashido was mentioning, Kirishima and Sero were already talking about the event where Bakugou got hit. Mina started rolling theories off the tip of her tongue, and eventually Kaminari followed suit. Theirs were much more outlandish, but they were an enjoyable mix to the more realistic guesses.

——————

Izuku shifted uncomfortably at Katsuki’s desk. His hand wrung through his hair, detangling the ever present knots. Midoriya let out a small sigh before chucking his pen into a waste basket behind him, a new one finding its way in between his fingers. 

The rhythmic tap tap of the writing tool hitting the desk kept Izuku grounded as his eyes scoured the pages. Police reports, witness’ statements, maps, and evidence danced through his brain. Izuku lifted the string of Bakugou’s hoodie to his mouth, chewing anxiously against the soft rope.

The door swung open, revealing a still wet Bakugou. The duo had gone to the showers earlier before heading up. Midoriya had quickly hopped right back onto the case, but Katsuki took his time changing.

The hero-in-training approached his boyfriend with a gait in his steps. He wrapped his arms around Izuku before forcefully pulling the chair away from his desk. Maybe if he was Izuku, he would’ve leaned down and given him a soft, tender, kiss on his jaw. But Bakugou was not Izuku, so he did not do that.

Midoriya let out a strangled cry as he was pulled away from his work. His arms reached outward, trying to grapple onto the desk. Yet, his effort was futile as Bakugou picked him up by his armpits like a kitten, before throwing his boyfriend into his bed.

Izuku landed with a “humph.” The sweatshirt rode up, revealing a lean and toned body. Midoriya frowned at being separated from his work as Katsuki approached him.

“You need to take more god damn breaks.” Bakugou barked before raising his eyebrow, waiting for Izuku to fight him. The greenette only crossed his arms over his torso, letting out a small huff. 

Katsuki shook his head before waking toward Izuku. He kneeled in between Midoriya’s boxers, leaning down to give him a kiss. The boy preened at the affection, deeping the kiss ever so slightly. Bakugou pulled back with a soft chuckle, “I thought you wanted to do your work.”

“You’re a big jerk,” Izuku shot back, his arms crossed against his chest defiantly.

“You know it baby,” Katsuki shot Midoriya a wink and a wicked smirk, making the boy scowl. He reached behind him, grabbing the pillow before hitting his boyfriend with the fluffy object. “Hey!” Bakugou objected as Izuku got up. He walked back to the chair, sitting down before scooting forward so he laid over the desk once more.

“You are not going to fucking labor over your work right now,” Kacchan threatened.

“I think I will actually,” Izuku, the little shit he is, shot back. Bakugou berated himself, annoyed at how endearing he found a cheeky Izuku.

“And why do you think I’ll let you and not drag you back to bed?” This got Midoriya to swivel around in his chair, pen poised in his hand between two fingers, his arm propped up against the chair rest. “Because I’ll get Eraser to allow us to go on a date tomorrow if you let me finish, also cuddles.”

Bakugou cursed for how Izuku knew exactly how to get him to do what he wanted. It wasn’t often Midoriya used it, as Bakugou was pretty whipped for Izuku anyway, but when he did it always ensured success.

That night Bakugou fell asleep alone in his bed, a night light shining over his desk as Izuku worked away. The sky darkened from blue to purple until it hit black, only the occasional star giving extra light to the room. When the clock read 2 am, Izuku finally shut the file close, a sense of foreboding excitement and satisfaction of completing his task shot through him. He sluggishly took off Katsuki’s sweatshirt, throwing it somewhere in the dark room, before crawling into bed. He squirmed his way next to Kacchan, carefully lifting the other boys muscular arm before letting it rest around his back. That night, Bakugou fell asleep alone, but he sure as hell didn’t wake up as it. 

Chapter Text

Midoriya fixed his shoe-lace before standing back up. His hand found its place back into Bakugou’s. He gave his boyfriend a small smile as the duo walked down the streets towards a café Izuku liked. The breeze pushed softly against Midoriya, tossing his green hair slightly. His army green windbreaker ruffled from the wind as their footsteps echoed down the quiet street.  

Izuku had been able to convince Aizawa to let the two go out in the afternoon. He had finished his report so Eraserhead decided he could have the afternoon off. After all, the night would be much busier. Better to let the teen enjoy some free time while he can. 

Midoriya settled into a seat in the café, Katsuki sitting across from him. He had noticed the tail on them, but decided to wait it out. Worst comes to worst, he’s always armed. 

On the other side of the street, Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Shinsou were gathered. Hitoshi looked done with everything. His arm was wrapped around Kaminari’s waist, pulling the enby close as he observed the two snooping students. 

“There they are!” Mina jumped slightly, pushing on Kirishima’s arm light-heartedly. Kirishima gave a small chuckle, eyes keyed on the duo.

Kaminari bit their lip, tugging their denim jacket closer to themselves. They had tagged along with Hitoshi to make sure that Ashido and Kirishima didn’t go too far in their quest for answers, but the longer they stayed the more uncomfortable they felt. All Kaminari wanted to do right now was snuggle up to Shinsou in his room and reread “One of Us is Lying,” by Karen McManus. (Don’t tell their classmates, but Denki’s fluent in 5 languages) Yet, here they were, stalking their friend and his secret boyfriend who is also sorta-maybe their friend. 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Hitoshi muttered close to their datemate’s ear. Kaminari nodded, blonde hair bouncing slightly. Back at the table a waitress had come by, taking their order. Izuku was talking, his hand gesturing widely. Bakugou was leaning back, eyebrow quirked, a small smirk tugging on his lips. His whole face said he was amused, though his eyes shined with endearment. 

“I’ve never seen Bakubro look at someone like that….” Kirishima voiced, head filling with insecurity.

“I know right!” Mina said eagerly. She turned on her heels to face the group, a wide grin spreading on her face. “Bakugou’s being super nice and stuff to Midoriya, and remember the battle training? When Midoriya’s plan put Bakugou out of commission for the beginning, he was 100% okay with it! Bakugou was okay with it! I never, never, have seen him put himself aside so his team could win!”

Kirishima’s face turned to shock, eyes becoming wider as his jaw became unhinged. HIs shoulders sagged down with the realization, horror dawning upon him as he realized just how different Bakugou was acting. 

“It is out of character of him,” Kaminari muttered, pushing themselves against Shinsou’s side lightly. 

“I can’t imagine what Midoriya has over Bakugou to get him to act like that!” Mina exploded. She twirled lightly, hands coming up to her face. “Just imagine! ”

“Oh I could imagine,” Shinsou muttered next to Denki’s ear. They snorted, rolling their eyes. Shinsou gave Kaminari a loopy grin before pulling the enby completely in front of them. His arms wrapped around Kaminari’s waist, head resting on their shoulder, completely trapping his joyfriend. 

“Hey look,” Kirishima nodded his head in the direction of Izuku and Bakugou. Katsuki had moved closer to Izuku, his hand reached out onto the table and his face steeled with determination and a tad bit of concern. Izuku however, was leaning backwards, eyes not meeting that of his boyfriends. 

“Looks like they’re talking about something serious…” Kirishima muttered. 

“Ya,” Mina agreed. “Should we try to get a closer look?”

“Are you crazy?” Kaminari hissed. Their sentence grabbed the attention of their two friends. 

“What do you mean Kaminari?” Mina asked, titling her head innocently. 

“I mean that’s a really bad thing to do! It’s bad enough we’re stalking-”

“We’re not stalking them,” Kirishima commented. Kaminari fixed them with a gaze, his words never wavering. 

“-we’re stalking them, but trying to get closer to their clearly intimate conversation is just another level of wrong!”

“But we’re Bakugou’s friends!” Mina whined. “We deserve to know if something serious is happening with him!”

Shinsou sighed, inhaling the scent of Kaminari’s hair before letting his eyes bore into Mina and Kirishima’s heads. They squirmed nervously under his annoyed gaze. “Did you ever think that maybe they’re not talking about Bakugou, and maybe they’re talking about Izuku? He’s a hero-in-training too. Something could be happening with his school or something else, and since the quirk that hit Bakugou means they need to be within 3 meters of each other, it’s relevant to both of them.”

Ashido opened her mouth to argue, but Kirishima’s arm stopped her. “They’re...right,” he sighed. The red head’s shoulders slumped forward, eyes clear with frustration and exhaustion. “We don’t have the right to interfere, despite...how much we want to….” The sentences seemed to pain Kaminari, the frown on his imminent. 

“Glad you see logically,” Shinsou commented. He turned around, his hand connecting to Denki’s to make it easier to walk. “Now come on, we could grab food before he heads back to the dorms.”

Mina perked up at the idea of grabbing something instead of having to deal with one of their classmates cooking. She grabbed onto Kirishima’s hand, pulling the boy forward so they were in step with the couple. “We didn’t even get much out of that,” Ashido commented sadly. 

“At least Sero won’t feel like he’d miss out,” Kaminari added. Mina shrugged, “Guess you’re right. Now come on! I know this great place but it closes in like an hour,” with that the pink girl tugged Kirishima forward, causing Shinsou and Kaminari to have to keep up.

Back at the table, Izuku sighed a breath of relief. The gaze that was constantly on them had disappeared. That didn't, however, mean that the conversation he was having would just disappear. 

“What do you mean All Might told you you can’t be a hero cause you’re quirkless?” Katsuki growled. Izuku sighed internally. He didn’t want this to come up, in fact he had some other difficult discussion planned to come up, but Katsuki had questioned why he seemed so hostile towards All Might and the conversation just sprouted from there. 

“Kacchan, it’s okay! That happened years ago! Besides, it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Midoriya added quietly at the end, rubbing his arm self-consciously. 

“ Not a big deal? ” Bakugou growled, “Izuku! You became depressed for months, wouldn’t work on any analysis, you didn’t even try to apply to a high school!” Katsuki’s red eyes finally caught onto green. Midoriya seemed to shrink in on himself, both arms now wrapped around himself.

“Kacchan-”

“No!” Katsuki interrupted his beloved, “No. You need to accept that what he said was a big deal right now.” Bakugou quirked his eyebrows momentarily, his gaze withering Midoriya. Izuku sighed, biting the front of his lip before moving his mouth. “What All Might said was wrong,” he commented before swallowing harshly. Izuku’s hand reached for a glass of water. The cup rested on his lips for a moment, before his eyes flew back to Bakugou's. 

“That’s all?” he asked before taking a sip. 

"No. You’re going to tell me why you didn’t tell me earlier.” Midoriya sighed once more. There wasn’t a way to get out of this conversation so he’d just have to tough through it.

“Because well, because… because you looked up to him so much, ya know?” Izuku gave a small smile, his fingers tugging on his jacket sleeve. “He was your inspiration to be a hero, and I… I didn’t want to taint that image. Cause’ then I'm just… I’m just ruining your idle. Only one of us should have to deal with that…”

“Izuku,” Bakugou’s uncharacteristically voice spoke. “You should’ve told me. I don’t wanna be like that piece of quirkist shit, I wanna be better. I’ve always wanted to be better! Now I just gotta find a new standard because All Might is clearly too low.”

Izuku let out a breathless laugh, the tears in his eyes subsiding. 

“Now,” Katsuki popped a piece of sushi into his mouth. “You said you wanted to talk about something on our way here and I’m guessing that fucking awful conversation wasn’t it?”

“Ah… ya,” Izuku’s brief smile fell from his face. His hand reached out, wrapping itself around Bakugou's before giving a tight squeeze. “So uhm, as you know I finished that report and uhm I’m on an internship.” 

“Ya, so what about it?” Katsuki commented. 

“Ah well…” Izuku pursed his lips before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I’m uhm… me and uh Eraser are, well we’re, we uhm-”

“Zuku,” Kacchan squeezed Midoriya’s hand. “Spit it out already will you, you’ll choke on all those words.”

“Ah well, EraserandIaregoingonadrugbusttonightsoIneedtomakesureyou’llbeokaywithbeingunconsciousforthenightcauseyoucan’tcomeandIknowit’sdangerousbutI’vedonethesebeforesopleasedon’tbeworried-” Midoriya sputtered out. He gave an awkward smile, eyes filled with concern tracing Bakugou’s face, looking for any emotion. 

“You’re...going on a drug bust tonight?” Katsuki asked cautiously. 

"Yes?” Midoriya replied nervously. 

Katsuki swallowed, his tongue darting out of his mouth to coat his lips. “I suppose I can’t...stop you if you’re going with Aizawa…” he said slowly. 

“Wait really?” Midoriya leaned forward in his seat, emerald eyes gazing up widely at his boyfriend. “You’re okay with this?”

“‘Course I’m fucking not. I hate when you put yourself in danger. But you’re going to be a hero and well… you need to do this so… ya, you can go,” Bakugou huffed as Izuku darted forward, giving his boyfriend a brief kiss on the lips.  

“Thank you thank you thank you!” He chanted. Izuku bit his bottom lip, eyes filling with admiration as he stared at Bakugou. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“Uh ya, every night nerd,” Bakugou rolled his eyes though his chest filled with warmth. “Now come on, eat your damn food. I’m not letting you go on a fucking mission without proper nutrition.” Izuku smiled and compiled. When both boys were done they got the check before heading out. Midoriya wrapped his arm around Katsuki, pulling himself closer to his boyfriend. He let his head rest on Bakugou’s shoulder as they walked. Eventually, UA approached and the couple separated (much to their disappointment) They went back to Bakugou’s room, letting the boy change for bed as Izuku changed for his mission. At the end, Midoriya gave Bakugou a long kiss on his mouth (they were borderline making-out. Izuku had tried to lift Bakugou’s shirt over his head, but the boy told him to be responsible which resulted in a pout before they kissed again) and a soft forehead kiss before Izuku disappeared down the hallway. As he stepped farther and farther away from his love, Bakugou’s breathing evened out, his eyes grew heavy, and his heart-rate slowed down. Katsuki was out for the night, and Izuku’s was just beginning. 

Chapter Text

Midoriya bent over, lacing up his boots. He patted down various spots across his uniform, checking that his weapons were in place. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Midoriya bit his lips, hands shaking excitedly at his side. He glanced around at the various underground heroes gathered before realizing one vital thing. Grabbing the metal mask, Midoriya secured the equipment over his mouth. He adjusted it into place, moving his jaw back and forth ever so slightly to make sure it was tight enough, before bouncing over to the group. 

“Dekiru,” Aizawa stated shortly. The pro-hero's arms were crossed against his chest, face resting ever so slightly into his capture weapon, “you know you’re part of this right?”

“Yup,” Midoriya resisted the urge to pop the ‘p’, reminding himself to keep it professional. “I help perimeter the facility and then assist in the retrieval of the drugs after the bad guys are taken out. Though,” Midoriya added, eyes poised on Aizawa, who promptly sighed and pinched his nose. “I’d rather help you with your part.”

“Kid,” Eraserhead sounded exasperated, “we’ve been over this. It’s too dangerous for you.”

“I’m a third-year!” Izuku’s hands flew out before he quickly drew them back in. Crossing the clothed arms over his chest, Midoriya pouted under his mask. “I can handle myself just fine.”

“I know you can kid,” Aizawa agreed, “but we’ve got enough pro-heroes already on the infiltration team. You’re needed elsewhere.”

Izuku knew when to cut his losses, and he knew it would be fruitless to try and continue to argue. Although Eraserhead has given him bigger responsibilities in the past, the hero never liked putting too much on him, or any kid really. Izuku can’t really blame him, Aizawa wanted him to be safe. It still was a little infuriating though, how he always had a reason that made sense. 

“Well then,” Eraserhead started, “let’s get this going.” 

The warehouse was in the dark part of town, where no heroes go. Izuku found that quiet common for busts on criminal activity really. No heroes went to the darker, dangerous, unruly places of Japan cause they weren’t profitable. No cameras would trail after the sparkly heroes, so no sparkly heroes came. Underground was a little better, but years of neglect made the darker districts crawling with criminals. Like moths to a flame, if you needed to disappear from the world, from the police, just come here. 

It was crooked in a way; how the disgusting area only existed because of heroes own impudence. If only they paid more attention to the poorer areas in the start, if only they cared more for the people than the money, then none of this would've happened. Villains never just popped up randomly, they were made. They were made out of people who had their dreams, their lives tarnished by society.

The area may have been dark, and gross, and dangerous, but it filled Midoriya with determination. He wanted to become a hero because of places like this. He wanted to become a hero for the people who were told they never could be, for the people who were beaten and bruised because of society deeming them ‘unworthy’ of their dream. And ya, he wanted to become a hero for him. For all the little kids like him. For everyone. 

“Dekiru?” Eraserhead shot him a concerned glance over his shoulder. The duo were approaching the facility from the rooftops now, a group of heroes trailing after them and surrounding the premises. “Is anything wrong kid? You got that… look in your eye.”

Midoriya gave a nervous chuckle, his hand coming up to the back of his neck. “Not really,” he commented, eyes flying over the area once more. “Just...thinking.”

Eraserhead huffed at the insufficient answer but didn’t prod forward. A voice crackled in Izuku’s ear, courtesy of the coms that were distributed to everyone before the raid. 

“Eraserhead,” a female voice spoke up. Midoriya couldn’t put the name to the hero, but this raid was composed of a lot of people he didn’t know. Of course, that said a lot as Izuku had many many connections, but Aizawa had mentioned the group was assembled by what underground heroes they had at hand. It was well known that the underground was always understaffed, with the majority of hero-students going into spotlight, so with raids it was difficult to gather groups together at the same time. Still, Aizawa had managed, and here they were. “Prepare to drop in in three,” Aizawa readied himself, “two,” his eyes narrowed, scarf floating, “one,” and slipped through the window. Multiple heroes followed him through various openings and Midoriya began his job.

He took note of the people around him. A group of 4, including him, were held back to make sure no one escaped. Izuku carefully paced the building top, eyes keen on his area. He tapped the device on his other ear, an amplifier and noise-canceler Midoriya had gotten made after a particular battle with a voice-oriented villain. 

Noise filtered through Midoriya’s ear, letting him here the sound of the fight. His gloved hand rested on his waist, where a gun was loaded with tranqs, as he prepared to shoot any person trying to escape. 

It stayed like that for a couple of minutes. The grunts coming through his ear at the fight carried on, the footsteps falling heavy across the floor and the occasional body dropping down. The other three heroes were diligent as ever, each one watching their end with keen eyes. Eventually though, everything went wrong as it always does. 

Four criminals came barreling out in Izuku’s sector, followed by what Midoriya assumed was the fight. They were carrying a large crate, no doubt the drugs this raid was based upon, as they stumbled and scurried towards an alleyway. Midoriya wasted no time in shooting the first two in the legs. They dropped like flies, the tranqs quickly taking effect.

“We have a situation,” Midoriya spoke into the coms as he loaded his gun and began to run closer to the criminals who looked more panicked and viscous after the knocking out of their comrades. “Four perps, expected more--” the door burst open again, eight more guys coming through but were followed by a hero, “eight more arrived. They got a crate, we’re at eastern wing.” Midoriya shut off the com before anything else could be added and lined up a shot. He pulled the trigger, only for the tranq to not shoot. 

“Motherfucker,” the cinnamon roll cursed, slamming his palm into the side of his gun. He tried to shoot again, and the tranq refused to leave again. “Shit,” he cursed quietly before shoving the weapon back into his holster. “Welp, time for some hands on experience.” With a running leap, Midoriya jumped off the edge of the building. He arms reached out, wrapping around a dimly lit light pull. Midoriya slid down, swinging around the poll at the same time, and kicked one of the guys in the back. He grunted but didn’t go down. The duo dropped the crate, turning their attention towards the hero-in-training. 

“Hiya boys,” Midoriya greeted cheekily before ducking under a fist. The first guy had swung hard, following through with all his body weight which Izuku used against him. He grabbed the arm and tried to flip the guy, only for the man to use his quirk, making him weigh more than Midoriya could lift. Grunting in effort, Izuku realized the flip wouldn’t work so he quickly kneed the man in the stomach. The man grunted, trying to grab Midoriya, but he sidestepped. 

The second one came running towards him, hands smoking.

“Well,” Midoriya stated, “I don’t know what that does but I don’t wanna find out,” he said more to himself than anyone else. 

 A wild grin was on the second guy’s face as he attempted to strike Midoriya’s side. Izuku sidestepped before pivoting, aiming to kick the man in the back before man number one grabbed him from the back. Two went to hit Izuku’s stomach, but Izuku kicked him away. Then Midoriya slipped a knife into his hand from his sleeve and proceeded to stab number one in the side. He was released from the hold, and made quick work of turning and kicking number one down. The man groaned, no doubt in pain from the stab wound but that was the least of Midoriya’s worries. With the butt end of his knife, Midoriya hits the guy's head, knocking him unconscious. 

He turned around once more only to duck haphazardly as smoke hands came back at him. This time the guy's hand connected with Midoriya’s arm, causing him to hiss in pain. A part of his dark green shirt had disappeared, a small burn coloring his pale skin red in its place.

 ‘ Huh,’ Midoriya couldn’t help but think. ‘ So that’s what his quirk does. It seems to be a fire quirk, though the lack of flames means it’s probably more of a heat quirk. That would explain the smoke. But his attacks are very much lunging with his hands forward: can he only channel his quirk in his hands then?’

Shaken out of his quirk analysis as heat guy comes barreling towards him once more, Midoriya drops down and sweeps the guys legs out. He goes down with an off, his palm laying flat on the pavement causing a sizzling sound to be heard but Midoriya pays it no attention. He efficiently knocked guy number two out just like he had done with number one before turning his attention to the other fight. 

One of the underground heroes had knocked out 2 of the 8, with another 3 incapacitated, but the remaining three seemed diligent as ever. The hero, which Midoriya soon recognized as Magna-- her quirk allowed her to alter the magnetic field around her; she normally used it to attract metals (i.e knives, quirk-cancelling cuffs, parts of villains costumes) to her-- looked like she was tiring out. It didn’t help that the criminals she was fighting seemed to be more than able to sustain a fight for a while.

The first villain, which Midoriya dubbed Orange, was completely covered in Orange. Their hair, eyes, outfit, heck even their skin tone was tinted orange. It seemed they had some sort of light quirk. They kept on drawing light from the dull, dull streetlamps, and were firing shots at Magna, no doubt trying to blind her.

The second villain, which Izuku decided to call Tackle, was going hand to hand with Magna. She dived in and out of attacks, probably had some small agility quirk if Izuku had to guess, and kept trying to dislocate or Magna’s bones and pin Magna down. Midoriya would bet Tackle was used to working with weapons, as her hands seemed to reach for something that wasn’t there when Magna got the upper hand. ‘ Tackle probably used knives, based upon the short-range attacks, but Magna’s quirk would’ve allowed her to take away that variable, meaning tackle had to fight like she is now-- hand to hand’ Midoriya concluded. 

The third and final villain, which would have to be referred to as Doll simply for his appearance-- porcelain skin, glassy eyes, perfectly combed hair, skinny stomach and arm, long legs, and knobby joints that resembled itself of a doll-- seemed to be more of a watch and wait villain. He hung back, sparkling green eyes tracing the fight between Tackle and Magna, but never resting on Orange as they shot balls of light at the dancing duo. Izuku decided that, while the guy either had a strong doll or maybe puppet-oriented quirk, or simply the mutation, he wasn’t the one to worry about right now. Orange was distracting Magna from her hand-to-hand combat with Tackle, making her dodge and keep on eye on them instead of giving Tackle their full focus. No matter how good Magna was, she wouldn’t be able to take down Tackle without her focus. 

So, Izuku leaned down and grabbed the knife slotted into his boot. It was thinner than the one in his hand, the blade designed to be more aerodynamic, yet the hilt stayed the same-- black entwined with a metallic green. Katsuki had gifted Midoriya the knives for his first birthday after they officially started dating. The duo had both been training together to go to UA, and Bakugou knew Midoriya was trying to get more and more weapons training to compensate for his lack of quirk.

(“You have nothing to compensate for,” Katsuki had commented after a spar. He was sweating through his tank-top, a water bottle leaning on his lips.

"But Kacchan!” Midoriya whined, trying to ignore the maddening blush on his cheeks, “I don’t have a quirk. Learning weapons are the only way I’ll be able to even be able to compete with the hero students.”

“Ha, those losers won’t be able to fucking keep up with you Zuku,” Bakugou replied, “their quirks are gonna be rendered useless in some situation, and even if they’re not you could take them. As I was saying though, you don’t have to learn weapons to fucking compensate for your lack of quirk, you learn weapons so you can fucking beat everyone’s asses. Quirk or no quirk, it has nothing to do with it.”)

Lining up the shot, Midoriya flicked his wrist and sent the blade flying. It landed in Orange’s thigh, nothing lethal but it still hurt like a bitch. The criminal cursed and their light attacks stopped. Taking the opportunity, Midoriya ran to the monotone criminal and attempted to tackle them. Orange put their hands out, sending a weak blast of light towards Midoriya, but the effort was fruitless. Izuku rolled forwards, swiped the feet of Orange out, and knocked the guy unconscious with the black of his blade. 

With the lack of light aimed at Magna, she was able to quickly flip Tackle over her shoulder after another attack. Tackle went into a roll but Magna didn’t go back for a strike like anticipated. Instead, she called the metals near her to trap Tackle. Magna then turned, giving a short nod to Izuku, before going around to cuff the unconscious and incapacitated villains. 

‘ Oh. Wait,’ Midoriya momentarily paused, eyes narrowing as they flied across the area, ‘ Where’s Doll…’ the villain seemed to have disappeared from sight. Izuku frowned, but turned back to the drug crate he was supposed to fetch. Opening it up, his eyes widened. This… this wasn’t what they thought it was going to be. This wasn’t what it was supposed to be. 

Instead of cases of heroin it was--

A strangled cry came from a kid, who was running out of the faculty. They were clutching their arm, tripping over their feet. Long hair hung in front of their eyes and too big clothing was on their body. Magna went to go to the child, but before she could manage one of the incapacitated criminals managed enough energy for the use of their quirk. They shot a beam at Magna, trapping them to the ground by a bunch of undead hands, grasping up at the hero. 

Without fully realizing what was happening (all he knew was that there was a child, a child, at this drug bust and a case full of trigger which hasn’t been on the street in years, and the last time the two were together [ a child, how could a child be here] there was experimentation and--)

Midoriya jumped in front of the kid. 

He didn’t know why he jumped in front of the kid, and did not go to hug them. Maybe it was the part of his mind that screamed traumatized kids don’t like to be touched, or maybe it was the louder voice yelling DANGER DANGER DANGER, but he jumped in front and saw all too late what the child was running from. 

A woman. A skinny, blonde woman. In heels. And a fur sweater. And blood. And red, red lips that smiled too cruelly. And a gun. Clutched in her hand. A wild look in her eyes that did not forebode too well. 

But well, well Midoriya didn’t have to worry about that. Because flying out of the corner was Eraserhead, eyes a daring red, hair floating upward, and capture weapon out. He kicked the women in the stomach, his scarf wrapping around her and he disarmed her. A pair of quirk-canceling cuffs snapped onto her wrists. 

Midoriya exhaled, the woman wasn’t a threat. The woman was captured. The woman couldn’t shoot her gun, couldn’t harm the child most importantly, but also couldn’t harm him.

The bullet still tore through his green Kevlar shirt miraculously and went into his stomach though.

Chapter Text

Doll grinned wickedly, the stretch of his smile seemingly unnatural against his kind, innocent painted face. He let his strikingly dough green eyes rest on the duo below him before putting the gun away in the case with the special bullets. He meant to hit the kid, but well… a hero-in-training wasn’t too bad. Of course he could shoot again, attempt to hit the kid once more, but then he’d be caught and Doll knew that in the end this was a game of keep away. Do as much damage as you can, but keep away. 

He picked up the case, letting it hang loosely in the grip of his lean fingers. Long legs strode across the roof as Doll went to meet his employer. Maybe he would be allowed a free-night after the drug bust. His boss wouldn’t be happy about the outcome: losing a large stash of trigger, the kid, and Ms.Jaakuno; but one less hero-in-training without powers wasn’t horrible. The more Doll thought about it though, he wasn’t likely to be allowed a free night. In fact… he’d probably be tied down even tighter. Heroes had found trigger. This wasn’t going to be brushed off. 

Doll shuttered. He never liked being roped in, kept tight in a cage, obeying orders like a compliant dog. Call it past trauma, a life full of sexual abuse would do that to you (‘ Such a pretty doll’ the voice purred, hand stroking his cheek leisurely, [ he was 9 for christ's sake, 9 ] ) but being stuck in one place was never something Doll could do. He’d get familiar with the people and they’d want his trust, and then they’d want--

Doll shook his head. His boss may not be a good man, and by no means were they a trustable man, but they weren’t like that. They wouldn’t do that. So, Doll sighed and continued down the dark alleyway that reeked of piss and garbage. Maybe, maybe if he was lucky the boss would let him play with his… toys. Yes, that’d be fun. A way to unload from the day. Playing around with the doll-turned humans, at the mercy of his quirk. It always made Doll feel in control, feel like he was the one with power, the one controlling the situation. So yes. With a resounded sigh, Doll walked through the alleyway with a grin on his face. That’d sound fun. 

Blood seeped out of the wood, a gurgled laugh tore through Izuku’s lips. Of course. Of fucking course. His eyes made contact with Aizawa, who stared in shock at the seeping red wound and quickly went to go to Izuku, but the hero-in-training paid him no mind. He turned around slowly, trying to not jostle the wound more than necessary and bent down to be eye level with the terrified child. 

A shaky hand made its way up, pulling down the metal mask languidly. “Hi,” Midoriya gave a small smile, offering his hand out. The child flinched slightly so Midoriya didn’t touch them. “My name’s De-Dekiru,” he managed to get out. 

“You’re hurt,” the kid bit their lip, small hand hovering a few inches from the wound.

“I’m okay,” Midoriya reassured, but the child didn’t buy it. 

“I did this,” the kid whispered quietly. Their fingers curled together in their hand as they bit their lip harder. 

“No,” Midoriya shook his head, “No you didn’t do this because you didn’t ask to be in this situation. None of this is your fault.”

Before the pair could continue talking though, Eraserhead was next to Midoriya. The next thing Izuku knew the criminals were rounded up and given to police custody, the drugs were taken into hero custody (it was originally going to be police custody but after just what they were, well…) and Midoriya was ushered off to an ambulance. He was the only one majorly hurt. Some heroes had a few lacerations but nothing as bad as a bullet wound in the stomach (which really didn’t help Izuku’s ‘let me do more on cases’ argument with Aizawa but well-)

Midoriya must’ve dissociated through the ride because he heard Recovery Girl making a comment about ‘the poor dear’ and his ‘unfortunate state’ before a small kiss was placed on his cheek and his eyes fluttered close. There wasn’t really much after that. He didn’t dream and if he did, Izuku was sure it would’ve been unpleasant. Probably images of the child in oversized clothes, blood strewn across their body ( too young, too young, they shouldn’t have to see violence at such a young age. What is wrong with the world?) or maybe it would be Kacchan getting hit with the bullet instead. Or Magna being defeated. Or the bullet going through Eraserhead’s chest. Or Aizawa failing to stop the woman and she shoots Izuku. And the boy. And then they get shot again because if Midoriya knows one thing it’s that that bullet didn’t come from her--

But no. Izuku didn’t dream about any of this. Instead, unconsciousness took him with mercy, casting him into hours of darkness that would get wiped from his mind as soon as he’s seen the light. 

When Izuku comes to consciousness once more the first thing he sees is the face of an angel he thinks. Pale skin but not pale pale like him, there was a faint tan, ruby red eyes that Midoriya thought were worth a thousand jewles, and spiky ash-blonde hair. With that a single word crosses his mind, casting aside his worry and pain and guilt and worry because holy fuck there was a child and--

And Bakugou smiled, albeit a tight smile, as his thumb rubs circles into Midoriya’s hand. Izuku blinks languidly, letting his eyelashes fan across his cheek before his emerald green eyes settled upon his boyfriend. “Hi,” he speaks breathlessly and groggily, never more aware of his need for a glass of water. 

“Hi,” Katsuki echoed back. The spark of conversation is all Midoriya needs to try to sit up, despite the hands and voices telling him to stay down, but he doesn’t listen. As he shifts, he recognizes the feel of bandages fluctuating against his stomach, though no pain. The wound’s probably healed already, due to Recovery Girl’s amazing quirk, but he can’t quite find it in himself to care about the bullet right now. 

“The, the kid,” Izuku stutters. He blinks harshly, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the ever growing amount of light and people. “Where’s,, where’s the kid?” Midoriya swallows hard and Recovery Girl passes him a pouch of gummies and a glass of water. He graciously accepts the two, taking a sip before popping a gummy in and chewing slowly. 

“His name is Aoki Kikotei,” Aizawa answers. Izuku’s a little surprised to see him, he thought he would be with the kid, but he guesses his mentor would want to see him when he woke up. “He was taken for his quirk: fysisythesis. Essentially, Aoki can take energy from things related to plants like light, water, and plants themselves, and put it somewhere else.”

Midoriya furrowed his brow, his chewing  of a gummy coming to a stop as he bit his lip. “Was he forced to put the energy into some criminals? Like a boost of power? Or was it used for more of a generator, to keep their projects going? I guess there’s a lot of applications for the quirk.... Of course if trigger was… was used on him there’s probably more he can do with it, even if it’s only on a high. But that still lets us know it’s capabilities. Is he scared of his quirk like Eri? Are you adopting him? How is-” Midoriya dissolved into a fit of mutters, the words carrying too fast for anyone to understand. Katsuki sighed, placing a hand on Midoriya’s arm and that seemed to snap the boy out of his fit. 

“Shut the fuck up Izuku. You just got fucking shot, you can do all your quirk-ranting later,” Katsuki imposed. Izuku sulked but relented, turning his attention towards the adults in the room. 

“Right,” Recovery Girl started, “well the bullet wound wasn’t too bad. It didn’t hit any organs so it was a rather simple removal. You being dosed on pain meds should’ve made that bad painless as possible.” Midoriya nodded along, that sounded right. “Overall, you need to take it easy young man. The bullet wound was minor but you still got shot. No training today at all, and maybe tomorrow depending on how you're doing.”

“But,” All Might cut in. ‘All Might?’ Midoriya thought, ‘ when did All Might get here. Why is he here?’ Besides him Katsuki’s grip tightened. 

All Might sighed before grabbing a plastic bag labeled EVIDENCE with a file tag. Inside the baggie was the bullet, the taint of blood still on it. “After running some tests we found this was laced with the serum Kai Chisaki created. We don’t know how this criminal organization got a hold of it, as Eri was used to create it, but I’m sorry to say young man, you have lost you’re quirk. I know this will be difficult for you and you will have to give up-“

Izuku couldn’t hold it back anymore. He burst into laughter, the sound echoing throughout the room and surprising the stoic hero. The laughter died down to chuckling as Izuku felt discomfort in his stomach, but soon it stopped entirely. 

“That’s,” Izuku bit back a smile, “That’s… okay. But the people we fought probably had ties with the Yakuza. We know they originally planned on distributing their serum to villain organizations for money and then the serum to heroes so they can control the market and grow rich. This organization probably bought from them earlier on, meaning they had a part before the first raid,” Izuku stated thoughtfully. 

“Right well, we’ll leave you be. Class is worried about you so you might have some visitors.” Aizawa turned to leave, but Toshinori stuttered out “But-but what about his quirk!”

“Oh All Might,” Midoriya shook his head slightly, “I don’t have a quirk.”

Realization dawned on Yagi. The hair color, the eyes, the analysis. He made eye contact with Midoriya, only confirming what he finally found out. All Might went to talk to Midoriya but Bakugou glared at him and Eraserhead grabbed his arm. Then, it was just Midoriya and Bakugou left.

“Izuku,” Bakugou all but growled at his boyfriend, “don’t you ever do that dumb shit again. You here me nerd?”

Midoriya gave the blonde a small nod, his lips tugging upward, “I’m so happy you care Kacchan.”

“Don’t be sassy with me,” Bakugou snapped before his face became mellow. He scooted closer to Midoriya, his hand squeezing the other’s tighter. “I- I woke up as I was brought here. Whole shitty quirk unconscious thing and they just told me you were shot and I didn’t-” Katsuki let out a huff before his red eyes connected with Midoriya. “I didn’t know how bad it was. Izuku, I could’ve lost you.”

Midoriya mustered a small smile, “but you didn’t.” He pulled Katsuki’s hand closer to him as he leaned in. “You didn’t and I’m right here and I’m safe. Okay?” Their foreheads rested together, their breaths were felt on each other's lips. 

“Okay.” Bakugou echoed. A real smile spread on Midoriya’s face before he leaned in closer, nourishing the soft and gentle dance of the kiss.

When the duo pulled apart, green eyes searched red before Bakugou huffed. “Just to warn you Zuku, those shitty extras are gonna be here any minute.”

“Wait-”

The door opened. 

Chapter Text

“Alright Kaminari!” Deku rubbed his hands together, a maniacal grin spreading over his face. After the busy mornings of visits from the class and eating lunch with Katsuki, Recovery Girl had let him leave the infirmary. Still, he wasn’t allowed to train or anything, bandages were still wrapped around his torso, but that was okay because he had another idea in mind. 

Izuku perched himself on a chair in one of the school’s many gyms. Denki grinned back at them, the enby swinging their arms back and forth in anticipation. Despite the enthusiasm they portrayed, a tiny voice nagged at them in the back of their head. “You sure you’re good to do this Midoriya? I wouldn’t want you to get hurt…”

“Don’t be silly,” Izuku waved off Denki’s concerns with one hand before his eyes went back down to his ipad. He still used his notebooks, if not for the nostalgia they bring then for the ability to display them on a shelf, but recently he’s been transferring his notes to a digital file, just in case. “Now, as I stated before you overload because you absorb too much energy and it shocks your brain. If you were an electrical circuit then you’d have a circuit breaker to stop the over-loading, but I don’t think you have a built in one. Unless…” Izuku looked up, a gleam in his eyes that sent shivers down Kaminari’s spine. 

“Izuku, no.” Hitoshi commented from where they were in the gym. He was wearing gray sweats and a purple sweatshirt, just chilling in the back on his phone, but he glanced up from his cat memes to make sure Midoriya understood. “My joyfriend is not someone you can take apart for the sake of science.”

Izuku pouted but understood. After all, in order to see if Kaminari had an internal circuit breaker he’d have to take him apart. And that’d most likely be with the electric user being strapped to a metal table as Midoriya poked and prodded at his organs and brain. But that’s not well… humane.

Midoriya shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts. Conjuring up images of torturing his friend (‘ Friend?’ is that really what Denki is? Midoriya still couldn’t wrap his head around the thought that people wanted to be his friend. After all he’s just a quirkless useless waste of space--youshouldgodie,takeaswandiveofftheroof’ )

Izuku’s mouth tasted sour. His lip twitched downward at the memories. But he gave a small yet sharp exhale out of his nose and mustered a smile. 

“Moving on, because you don’t have a circuit breaker or fuse, the next best thing would be to get some sort of insulator around your head. That would definitely be a support item, so I’ll visit UA’s department to help draft some blueprints for you later. Now let’s get onto the actual training though.” Kaminari gave a nod, excited to explore their power more in depth. 

“So, what’s your limit right now?” Midoriya asked nonchalantly, stylus raised to write. 

“Well 1.3 million volts makes my brain short-circuit for an hour, but 2 million volts makes it short circuit faster.”

Midoriya let out a low whistle at the number, before jotting down a few calculations. “That’s a...lot. That’s a lot. Alright well we should definitely work with smaller voltages right now.” Izuku shook his head before glancing back up at Kaminari. “So, what do you know about electrical circuits and stuff?”

“Huh, well…” Denki gave an awkward laugh before scratching the back of their head. “I’ve read into it, obviously, but science isn’t my strongest and it’s all a little...confusing.”

Izuku gave them a sympathetic smile. “I’ll admit I’m not expert in electricity, but I’ve done some reading. I believe there are a few key things to note for your quirk. The first of which is what voltage actually is. It’s not the flow of electricity through a circuit, but rather the pushing of electricity through the circuit. So when you say that you discharge 1.3 millions volts, that means you’re pushing the electricity through the air, rather than controlling the flow. Amps, however, are the measurement of the flow of electricity. Paired with amps is resistance which consumes/reduces energy. These three factors work together in Ohm’s law that states a steady current of material is proportional to the voltage across the material.”

Denki blinked as Midoriya rambled on. His stylus wrote furiously, Izuku’s brow furrowed as he tried to keep his writing pace up with his talking one. 

“Essentially, this must mean you can control volts. amps. and resistance. Because in order for you to create attacks you need a steady current to move electricity. So the volts is the pushing force which you discharge, but then you can direct your electricity which is controlling the flow, hence amps. I’d say you need to work on resistance more though, because in instances like the USJ Yaoyorozu had to create an insulation blanket to protect her and Jirou from your electrical discharge. Of course, that was three years ago so you might’ve gotten better control. But since All Might is your teacher and like I said everything is big and flashy attacks at UA I doubt-”

“Izuku,” Shinsou interrupted once more. The green head flew upward, dough eyes staring at Hitoshi in innocence. “You’re malignant is showing.”

Midoriya gave the boy a benign grin, “Oops. Sorry Hitoshi I’ll try to reel it in,” with a shrug of the shoulders that read ‘what-are-you-gonna-do?’ Midoriya turned his focus back to Kaminari. 

“Right, well we should probably work on resistance but also the…” Midoriya scrolled for a moment before his eyes caught onto the colorful rewritten notes, “harnessing of energy from around you?” Izuku bit his lip as he stared up at Denki. “Well… I think, this is just a theory, that if you work on fluctuating the resistance of the air around you then-” Izuku stopped mid-sentence before shaking his head. He hunched back over, stylus scrawling all over the digital page as he attempted to draw diagrams to get his thought process out. 

“Okay,” Izuku said definitely after a minute. He set his ipad down before walking over to Denki. Green eyes traced the enbies frame before he circled the hero-in-training. “You’re quirk’s electrification which means you can generate electricity, emit electricity, and absorb electricity.”

“Right,” Denki nodded along, “We know this.”

“Precisely,” Midoriya agreed, a cheshire grin spreading on his face. “I just always find it helpful to restate everything I know to draw a conclusion. Moving on, I think it’s best to think of the world like a circuit for you.”

Denki blinked thrice before squinting at the rotating Midoriya. “...what?”

“I mean,” Izuku paused to face Kaminari. “You are a conductor. The world is your circuit. It’s an open circuit, but there’s atoms everywhere. There’s potential energy everywhere. And you are able to harness it.” Izuku paused once more before continuing. “As you might know, electricity is made when valence electrons are transferred from one atom to another. This is why atoms with lower valence electrons have a higher probability of participating in this change reaction.

I think that with the right training you’ll be able to make more precise attacks by limiting the atoms catalyzed. If you can get a hand on resistance then you should be able to fluctuate it to your need, making you able to control both large and small attacks.”

Izuku shared a small smile with Kaminari before going back to his notes. “Another thing to mention is that I don’t believe you're a generator of electricity.”

Denki titled their head, almost like a confused puppy, “but that’s what I do?” They stated confused, “I generate electricity. How could that be wrong?”

Midoriya shrugged his shoulders, “call it a theory but it just doesn’t make sense. Generators have key components like the turbines, what turns the turbines which is usually wind or water, etc. something to convert the mechanical energy made from the turbines into electricity, and magnets. Your blood would stand in place for the water/wind thing, and we could probably right off the conversion part as what your quirk does but there’s no turbine that’s generating mechanical energy within you and no magnets to. That might be false of course, I’d probably have to open you up to see; but this whole thought process got me thinking because I can’t just open you up and I don’t like not knowing so I searched for an alternative and anyway--” Izuku cut off that thought process before he could truly divulge in his muttering habit. “I’m pretty sure you’re more of a battery than a generator. And as much as I’d like to go deeper into this conversation I just checked the clock and we should get training. So.” Izuku let his ipad hang loosely in his hand. He perched himself on a seat, eyes trained on Denki not un-predator like. 

“I’ve heard you want to make a lighting sword.” Izuku’s eyebrows flickered upward, slight amusement leaking into his voice. Kaminari nodded, biting their bottom lit in excitement. 

“Totally. Wouldn’t that just be so cool?”

Midoriya chuckled. “Ya I’d bet. It’d sell a lot too, give you more appeal because kids usually like more visible powerful weapons. Marketing teams would probably model toys after it.” A memory crossed Izuku’s mind of him as a child, tugging on his mother’s signature skirt to get him the newest hero toy.

“Huh, I didn’t think of that.” Once again Denki titled their head, blonde hair falling in their eyes. They righted themselves up, sweeping the golden locks back into place.

“Any who,” Izuku snapped himself out of his reminiscing. “I think trying to form a lighting sword would be great for practicing resistance.”

“You do?”

“Ya I mean, you have to keep the electricity in one uniformed location so yup. Now...let’s see how to do this…” Izuku bit their lip, glancing up at Kaminari before glancing back down at their notebook. He wrote a couple lines before walking up to the enby. Scarred hands grasped onto Denki’s shoulders, pushing them back and making his posture as straight as possible. From their Izuku titled their head. His tongue was wedged between his two rows of teeth, getting bitten down as he thought. 

Once more he bulleted ideas down in the digital file, drawing upon his electrical knowledge. 

“Alright. So I think the first thing we should do is get you in the mindspace. Kaminari, I want you to clear your head of any thoughts or noises and just...listen. Try to feel the magnetic pull. The electricity running around you. Connect with it, complete the circuit.”

Kaminari took a deep breath, trying to rid their thoughts like Midoriya said. They closed their eyes, not bothering to swipe a strand of blonde hair out of their face once more. Slowly breathing in, they let their arms go limp, shoulders dropping down with the release of tension. Kaminari found themselves having a hard time quieting their mind though. Thoughts ran back and forth. Different trains of thoughts (mainly trains full of anxieties regarding failures) filled their head. No coherently could be seen throughout the station that was their mind. Each trains was coded in a different language, holding memes and homework answers, and more translations but it was just so much -

‘Breathe’ Denki reminded themselves. So, once more they took a deep breath in. Letting themselves slowly exhale, Denki turned their attention to what was outside them as opposed to inside. Blocking out their thoughts, they tried to listen for that distinctive hum. After a few moments they found it and then they couldn’t stop. The buzzing filled up their ears, getting louder and louder and louder. Soon it was too much. Denki’s eyes snapped open, confused by the pale yellow auras they saw surrounding the lights and the outlets.

They swerved their head to Midoriya, who was looking at them with stars in their eyes. Izuku bounced slightly, smile broadened, and they started to ferociously write. Kaminari glanced around, confused as to what had gotten Izuku so excited before they saw it.

Lightning crackled around their hands. And ya, it’s not like that never happened before, but it didn’t just crackle, it danced. The bright light seemed to weave itself around Kaminari, entrancing their body in the golden aura. Denki couldn’t help but find themselves fascinated. Lifting up their arm, they flexed their fingers, watching as the light weaved through them.

“Okay that was cool.” Kaminari couldn’t help but give a breathless laugh. Midoriya sounded moments away from a fanboy attack.

“I think you went through some sort of quirk awakening maybe. The lighting around you now is different than it was before. More...alive. Also your eyes are glowing which is pretty awesome. Anyway, I’m assuming this is the energy you summoned inside yourself. Can you sense the electricity around you?”

Denki’s eyes danced around the room, capturing the pale yellow and goldens. “Ya… you could say that.”

“Oh good!” Izuku jumped slightly. His hands flew across his ipad, stylus sketching letters quickly as he recorded his findings. “Now I have two method ideas. First, I want you to try to take the energy you sprouted around you and focus it only on your hands, like you’re going to shock someone.”

Kaminari gave a decisive nod before tunneling the power. The lighting disappeared from his legs and torso, instead increasing in quantity around his hands and forearms.

“Good, now this parts going to be tricky. I need you to focus on bringing the lighting outward, almost like you’re going to shoot an attack. But, then you need to...well sort of cut off the volts. Stop pushing the electricity through the air and focus on the amps, keeping it in it’s definite place which’ll also work with resistance. Got that?”

“Uh…..” Denki stared down at their hands. Did they get that? Not really, no. Were they going to tell Midoriya that? Not really, no.

“Yup,” They gave a nod before concentrating on their hands. Slowly they breathed in before letting the familiar power rush through them, like they would any other attack. Aiming their arm outward, but hand pointed more straight down as opposed to open and out like they would for zapping someone. Denki concentrated on controlling the electricity. They felt the thrill run through their fingers, the familiar hum dancing in the palm of their hand. It slowly outstretched before--

The lighting zapped off, leaving a fried mark in the wall. Izuku jumped back, and Kaminari’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. 

“Hm.” Izuku stated. “Well that was a good first try. I could tell you had a little control in the beginning, so let’s try again. Try to harness the feeling you had before, when the electricity was just limited in your hand.”

Denki pressed their lips together and gave a nod. Once more they focused on pushing the energy out from their hands. Though this time they tried to feel the electricity around them too. Slowly the buzz began, as the energy left their hands and began to spread. A bead of sweat dripped down Denki’s forehead as they focused on containing the bolt. 

They felt the electricity spread throughout the air. Electrons exchanged atoms and the process continued. Kaminari tried their best to limit the reaction, work on controlling the force ( Work on amps and resistance, not volts) but it was no use. Once again the electricity shot off.

Still, Izuku wouldn’t be deterred that easily. “That was better, I could tell you had more control. Again!”

So they went again. And again. And again. Each time was a little better than the other, and after a solid 30 minutes of just this, Denki could hold an electrical bolt about the size of a small dagger in their hand for about 30 seconds. 

“See!” Izuku stated positively. “That’s progress! If you keep on working on the skill, it’ll come easier and easier to you and the blade will grow. Plus, now that you have a feel for controlling amps and resistance--” ‘ barely’ Denki wanted to cut in. But, they knew their pessimistic comment would not fly with optimistic Izuku and supportive boyfriend Shinsou, so they kept quiet. “--anything else regarding that will be easier. Speaking of anything else,” Midoriya followed Kaminari as they went to get a drink of water. He trailed behind the enby, writing on his ipad as Kaminari threw themselves on top of Shinsou before being handed a water bottle which they graciously took.

“I have two more ideas in addition to the sword thing you’re working on and the insulation hat thing.”

“Shoot.”

“Alright, so the first is a technique that works with drawing electricity from around you. It’ll be great I think, but it requires a lot of control over the electricity with amps and volts and stuff. Plus, you’d need training as it’s a new type of weapon. Probably by Midnight. It’s, it’s an electrical whip.”

Denki titled their head as the image crossed their mind. The lighting traced in a thin line, dashing back and forth the air to strike on coming villains. Wait...wait…

“Dude that’s a great idea!” Denki commented, the image still aired in their head. 

Midoriya smiled brightly. “Glad you like it! The other idea is a support item, and while the electrical whip could also be considered a support item if we made it more of an actual whip with a conductive metal that you channel electricity through rather than just you controlling the atoms in the air then-” Midoriya took a large breath, breaking the train of thought.

“Anyway, so capacitor’s store the potential energy of accumulated electrons in the form of an electrical field and I was thinking it’d be cool if we could work a way for you to have them on your costume and create electrical bombs. So, if a group of villains is too far out of reach for one of your electrical attacks, you can, I don’t know the exact workings yet, but essentially charge the capacitor, yeet it towards the villains like a grenade and let out an electrical storm on them. It’d be good to use during raids to incapacitate villains too I think.”

Denki couldn’t help the grin that spread on their face. “Hitoshi!” They glanced towards their insomniac boyfriend who was very blandly staring down at Kaminari with an eyebrow raised. “Hitoshi, did you hear what Midoriya said? I’m going to become so much cooler once I finish training with him!” 

Shinsou rolled his eyes but gave a found smile. “That’s if you can figure out how to do what he’s saying.” Denki’s mouth dropped open in offense causing the brainwasher to chuckle. He pulled Kaminari into his lap, wrapping his arm around their stomach.

“You guys are so cute,” Midoriya stated fondly. A soft smile spread on his face as he viewed the couple. His mind filtered in the image of him and Katsuki being able to do that: physically show affection to each other without having to worry about what others would think or find out. It made Izuku a little sad to have to hide his relationship. He wanted everyone to know that Katsuki’s was his, just as he was Katsuki’s. Alas, Bakugou had said he wasn’t ready for everyone to know that and Midoriya...Midoriya got that. He would never push his boyfriend to come out if he wasn’t ready. Besides, they were each other's secret. Their relationship was out of the eye of scrutiny from the public and peers alike. They never had to worry about disapproving friends or fans. Still…

A soft sigh left Midoriya’s lips. He gave another small smile, eyes filled with melancholy and longing. 

“Anyway Kaminari,” he spoke just to get his mind to transition topics, “I still want to look into you manipulating the magnetic field. We could do that by seeing if you can attract different metals but-” A sheepish smile spread on Izuku’s face. His left arm came up to his neck, only to cause a pang of pain in his side. “I'm sure you’re spent and Katsuki wanted me back for the majority of the afternoon to ya know,” hsi hand gestured to his stomach, “rest. Hope that’s okay?”

“Totally Midoriya!” Denki attempted to move forward but Shinsou held them firm in his grip. They shot their boyfriend the stink eye before turning back to Midoriya, “I think that’s a good idea too. Toshi’s getting clingy.”

Immediately the hands flew off of Kaminari’s waist. “Am not!” Shinsou protested. 

“Uh huh,” Denki replied cheekily. They twisted around and leaned over, giving the taller teen a peck on their lips. Pulling back Denki bit their lip, a smirk spreading as a blush increased on Shinsou’s face. “Sure you aren’t,” they teased.

“Izuku!” Shinsou cried out, turning towards their friend. “Bakugou probably wants you back right? Let’s get you back then.”  Izuku had to muffle a snort as Shinsou lifted Denki up off his lap to stand up before briskly walking next to Midoriya and not stopping. Izuku followed, a smile on his face as he watched Kaminari get offended. With a squak the electric user shot off, running after Shinsou who was now speed-walking. Though, Denki got up and time and decided to jump on Hitoshi’s back, resulting in the teen carrying their datemate. Only then did Shinsou stop, wait for Izuku to catch up, and continue with Denki still on his back, lovingly resting their face on Hitoshi’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

Mina was by no means a relationship expert. Despite her current crush on one invisible girl, her only real relationship was in middle school with a boy named Gyakutai Heikin. They weren’t in the same class, but they did meet through school.

Mina knew that she wanted to go to UA. It was her dream. But, she also knew that in order to get in she’d have to pass a written exam. That meant she had to increase her grades. Hence, she needed to study more which lead to The Library.

At first trips to the library were full of anticipation; eagerness to get a grasp on her education. After one or two though, they became such a chore to the pink girl. Sitting down for hours at ends, eyes scouring over textbooks and notes alike only became mind-numbing instead of educational. She found herself having to drag herself to the library. It wasn’t enjoyable at all and made her want to quit.

Then, he came. He was a year her senior and was happy to help out a lower classman. Gyakutai became her tutor and suddenly her study sessions were full of vigor. Ashido remembers how good it felt to get a question right, and how Heikin would tilt his head slightly, eyes crinkling as he smiled softly at her. 

“Good job,” he’d praised, “you’re really getting the hang of it.”

But, despite how honorable Gyakutai seemed, Ashido eventually learned his true colors.

Mina doesn’t recall how they started dating, just that he asked and she said yes. At first she didn’t notice anything weird with their relationship. They still went to the library to study together, even if the amount of studying had decreased. Instead Heikan would play footsie with her and ignore her pleas to get back to the books, instead sparking conversation. But, Mina didn’t think anything of it. They didn’t get to see each other often (that’s a lie, they had plenty of time to see each other) so maybe Gyakutai just wanted to spend time together and talk.

But then he became...overbearing. He started showing up to Ashido’s classes. Wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her close as he gave a wide grin. If Mina asked him to hold her looser, for his grip felt as if it was bruising her skin, he wouldn’t adjust it. And when Heikan introduced Mina to his friends he made sure she was by his side the entire time. His am was wrapped around her waist, keeping her close. He answered every and all questions for her, never letting her answer some herself. 

‘ Fine,’ Mina had thought one night, ‘ He’s just protective of me. It’s...cute.’ It was very much not cute, and Ashido didn’t think it was cute at all, but it’s easier to lie to yourself than tell the truth.

But harsh grips soon turned to harsh words and Mina eventually couldn’t say it was fine anymore. Daily she would get texts on what to wear and how to do her makeup. How to minimize her alien appearance so she could look more human for her charming boyfriend. How, her being how she is would only negatively affect him so she must change. And Mina had always known there were people who didn’t like mutation quirks and discriminated against them. Still, to hear it from someone she thought cared about her… it hurt.

(‘I do care’ Gyakutai told her one night. She was standing in front of a mirror, uncomfortable with how different she looked. Gyakutai was behind her, one hand on her shoulder. ‘I’m doing this for your own good Mina,’ he stroked her cheek with his other hand, making her look upwards and meet his gaze in the mirror. ‘It’ll do you no good looking like a monster. I’m only trying to protect you.’)

Suffice to say, Ashido dumped his ass.

It was a hard conclusion to come to, harder than Mina would like to say it was. But, she realized after a while, that she shouldn’t have to put up with this behavior. She shouldn’t lower herself to accept such degrading comments from anybody, especially not her boyfriend. If he wanted her to change so bad, then he should find someone who’s more fitting for his image of a perfect girl because Mina would not let herself be putty in his hands anymore. She knew as much self-respect as that.

So ya, Ashido Mina was by no means a relationship expert. Her only real one had crashed and burned. Yet, despite her inexperience in healthy relationships, she did know a thing or two about love. More specifically, the six aspects of love that came from the Greeks. What? She did a bit of reading in her free time too.

(In actuality she had learned about it from Kaminari. The enby was a thing of culture, despite not seeming it. To them, language was religion. They were fluent in so many that Mina couldn’t keep count. Denki also loved reading books in different languages and often came across topics from different cultures. They had gotten into Greek books around the time of their initial infatuation with Shinsou. Mina recalls getting pulled from her dorm into Kaminari’s as they ranted over the six types of love, trying to identify which one they held for the purple haired insomniac. Ashido thought it was very cute and hilarious, so the memory stayed ingrained in her mind.)

The six types were Eros, Philia, Ludus, Agape, Pragma, and Philautia. In other words, sexual passion, deep friendship, playful love, love for everyone, long-standing love, and love of the self. And while Mina didn’t know which of the six applied to the resident angry Pomeranian and his mysterious green cinnamon roll of a friend that was really too good for the normally angry blonde, though Midoriya did make Bakugou less angry--

Ashido was determined to find out.

She immediately ruled out Eros, Agape, and Philautia. Eros, because while it may be true, Mina just couldn’t in a good state of mind say that Midoriya's, the angel Midoriya, only relation to Bakugou was a sexual one. The two of them both seemed so emotionally invested in each other that it’d be impossible to just be a no-strings-attached kind of thing. Since they were childhood best friends there had to be at least some sort of Philia level of love and endearment, but Ashido was getting ahead of herself.

She also ruled out Agape because, while Midoriya certainly seemed to hold Agape for everyone; he was friendly and selfless from what she had seen and heard, it wasn’t applicable. Mina only wanted to focus on Bakugou’s and Midoriya’s relationship.

Then Philautia was gone from her list. While the Greek’s stated that Philautia was very important on the basis of that if you feel secure in yourself and love yourself, then you will be able to extend that love to others, it also wasn’t applicable. Mina guessed she could have stretched it to fit Bakugou and Midoriya’s relationship. But, just like with Agape, it felt too broad to describe their connectedness. 

So, there was Philia, Ludus, and Pragma.

Mina bit her lip hard. She wanted to rule out Ludus. It was more of an...innocent flirty type of love, she guessed? But it could be described as playful affection from children, or playful affection from casual lovers. From what Ashido could guess, it just seemed like...well innocent love and affection. Laughing together at an inside joke; getting up to dance in the middle of doing homework because your favorite song began to play; messing around when there’s nothing else to do. And well, that…

It didn’t fit but it didn’t not fit. It seemed like something the two boys would do when they were alone. But, it still didn’t feel right to Ashido. 

Philia and Pragma. Deep friendship and long-standing love. Best friends to almost a brother’s standpoint, or long-established couple? Mina just couldn't figure it out. Ashido thinks she can recall something about Pragma being about making compromises to help a relationship work overtime? How patience and tolerance are key components? Well if that’s true then Ashido’s leaning towards Pragma. The amount of times Bakugou listened and let Midoriya continue on with his plans, even if it put Bakugou at a disadvantage? Ashido had never seen Bakugou act like that. Not even if it was coming from Kirishima. 

Still, despite how much Mina wanted to say it was definitely Pragma, there were still a few problems. Number one, that could all easily be explained by the two being as close as brothers. Mina knows that if Bakugou respects someone, as hard as that may be to earn, he might listen to them. She would assume the same could be said about someone he considers a brother. The second problem though, is that by all means, Bakugou is straight. He hasn’t come out. Hasn’t said ‘I like girls not dudes’ even when it could’ve gotten all those girls to drop their confessions. Even if boys would just replace them. 

So that currently left Mina with two statements. 1) She was not a relationship expert, but god damn she would figure this one out. And 2) Kaminari Denki knows how to hack.

A satisfied smile spread on Kaminari’s face as they wrapped themselves up in one of Hitoshi’s sweatshirts. The material was soft against Denki’s skin, and the scent of their boyfriend overpowering the smell of ozone left over from their shower. The sweatshirt practically drowned Kaminari. The sleeves went well past their wrists and the bottom went to the middle of their thighs. Shinsou wasn’t extremely taller than Kaminari, but his love for oversized sweatshirts and and his taller height made the articles of clothing Denki stole engulf them.

Denki loved it.

Kaminari traveled through the dorms up to their room. The fluffy socks they had on though made it hard to stay walking correctly. Instead, they ran and slid up the hallways until getting to their door.

They entered their room, a soft smile spreading on Denki’s face when they noticed their boyfriend already on their bed. Shinsou had carried Kaminari all the way to the dorms on his back. They had greeted Mina in the common room, though she looked oddly deep in thought so they didn’t bother her much. Instead, they went up to Kaminari’s room where Shinsou dropped them on their bed. Denki had bopped Hitoshi’s nose, told him to stay there, and set off to take a shower. 

Kaminari was happy he was still there.

They approached Shinsou before pouncing onto him, pinning him to Kaminari’s bed.

“Babe?” Shinsou glanced upward to Denki who replied with a mischievous smile. They leaned in slowly, making Hitoshi roll his eyes before closing them, preparing for the kiss Denki was sure to give them. Instead though, Shinsou’s eyes flew open at the feeling of Kaminari biting his cheek.

“Babe?” Hitoshi questioned once more. Kaminari gave them another mischievous smirk before sitting up. Straddling Shinsou’s stomach, Kaminari reached across the bed and grabbed their phone. They opened it, scrolling to Spotify quickly. Picking the song they had stuck in their head, Kaminari placed their phone back onto the nightstand before the music started playing. 

A groan escaped Hitoshi’s mouth as he recognized the opening. “This again?” He questioned. 

Denki nodded eagerly before beginning to sing the lyrics:

“ Candy~ he’s sweet like candy in my veins,” They sang in English. Hitoshi rolled their eyes as Kaminari got up off their stomach.

“ Baby~ I’m dying for another taste,” Kaminari bit their bottom lip and gave Hitoshi a smile that was all too inviting. Hitoshi shook his head before sitting up. He twisted his body, planting his feet on the floor and watched Denki.

“ And every night my mind is running around him,

Thunder’s getting louder and louder,” Denki raised an eyebrow to Hitoshi and Shinsou knew his fate was determined.

“ Baby you’re like lightning in a bottle,” Shinsou sang back to Denki in English. He may not be fluent like Denki, but having Present Mic as his adoptive dad made him familiar with the language. Plus, Kaminari wouldn’t stop pestering him until he understood the lyrics. 

“ I can’t let you go now that I’ve got it,” Hitoshi smirked at Denki and gestured for them to come closer. Kaminari shared the smile and began to approach Shinsou.

“ And all~ I need” Hitoshi’s hands wrapped around Kaminari’s waist, pulling them close. He wrapped his ankles around Denki’s legs to secure the blonde. “ Is to be struck”  Kaminari's gaze fell down on him, eyes twinkling. Their hands wrapped around Shinsou’s neck. “By your electric--” Shinsou stopped singing, instead diving in and giving Kaminari a kiss. The enby reciprocated it, their two mouths moving in tandem as the song continued in the background. 

When the duo pulled apart for air, Kaminari barely gave a beat before swooping back in and capturing Shinsou’s lips once more. The enby melted in Hitoshi’s arms, leaning more and more onto the insomniac. When the couple pulled apart again, Shinsou gave a low chuckle. “I thought you said I was clingy today.”

Kaminari hummed, “you are.” 

Hitoshi huffed in amusement, “then what are you right now?”

Denki leaned their head to the side, exposing a strip of their neck. “Someone who wants you to be clingy,” they replied. 

Shinsou raised their eyebrows before his lips lunged forward and seized Denki. This time however, when Hitoshi pulled back he began to lower his lips, giving delicate kisses to Denki’s jaw. By the time he arrived at the part of Denki’s neck where the UA uniform collar would cover though, the duo got interrupted. 

“DENKI!” Mina's body burst through the door, a notebook in hand. Her eyes flew to the couple. She didn’t pause though and instead walked straight up the enby. Ashido pulled them back from Shinsou’s embrace, and spun them around. Once Kaminari’s blushing face was to Mina, she stated: “I need your help.”

“With what?” Denki gave a nervous laugh, their eyes flying over to Hitoshi who was looking at the pink girl unimpressed. 

“And can it wait?” Shinsou cut in.

“No!” Mina replied. “You know how to hack and stuff Denki, right?” Kaminari opened their mouth to speak before closing it.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” With that Mina steered Denki to their desk chair. She plopped them down and tapped on their closed computer twice.

With a resounding sigh, Kaminari reached across their desk to grab a pair of reading glasses. They situated the golden frames on their face and opened the laptop. When they got everything ready and loaded they glanced up at Mina. “How illegal is this?” they questioned.

Mina shook her head lightly, “Not very, I just need you to hack into a hospital.”

Chapter Text

Damp hair dripped down, down, down onto the slightly oversized gray t-shirt. Midoriya hummed a small tune as they made their way up to Bakugou’s dorm, refreshed from their shower. They had rewrapped their bandages and washed away the scent of ozone that seemed to linger even after Kaminari’s training had ended. 

Midoriya opened the door to Katsuki’s room, emerald eyes glancing in to see the blonde sitting at his desk. Izuku’s lips twitched downwards: while it was good his boyfriend was up and about how was his boyfriend up and about?

Bakugou inclined his head towards the open door, ready to shout at however disturbed him. When he saw it was only Izuku though, his scowl relaxed into a smile. 

“Hey Izuku.” Bakugou turned back towards the sheets in front of him, eyes narrowing at the extended homework Aizawa had assigned because when had that guy ever believed in making homework easy? 

Midoriya flashed his boyfriend a grin before entering the room. He shut the door behind him before plopping down onto the bed. The mattress bounced slightly and Izuku leaned back, eyes focused on Bakugou. “Hey yourself. So,” Midoriya looked around, trying to retain a sense of nonchalance, “how long have you been up?”

“Only about half an hour.” Bakugou shrugged.

“Oh.” Izuku’s eyes twitched. His lips were pulled downward once more for the briefest second. That means he was up when I was in the building. Which means that the area has been extended. Which means the quirk is weakening. 

Izuku couldn’t help but frown more at that. Then he berated himself for frowning. 

It is not bad that the quirk is weakening. It means that Kacchan won’t have to rely on being around us. It’ll be safer and easier when the quirk’s effects are gone. And I knew that the quirk would be done by the end of the week, this was never a permanent thing. So why do I feel so…

Melancholy washed over Midoriya. He decided though, that that wouldn’t do any good. Feeling sorry about the inevitable, feeling disappointed even, was useless in this circumstance. Besides, it’s not like he’d never see Kacchan again after this; they’d just go back to their normal amount of meetings.

“So,” Midoriya piped up, “what have you been doing?”

“Studying, nerd,” Bakugou answered promptly. Izuku’s lips flipped into a grin as he retorted. 

“I find that humorous.”

Bakugou spun around in his chair, eyebrows raised at Izuku. “Find what humorous?” he questioned.

Midoriya waved his hand; “The whole calling someone a nerd thing.”

Bakugou titled his head, eyes surveying Midoriya up and down, “and why would that be humorous?”

“Because you’re so studious Kacchan! And you have a regular, healthy, sleep schedule. Those are key components of being a nerd.” Izuku nodded intelligently at the end of his sentence to punctuate his thought. He chuckled at the bewildered look Bakugou gave him.

“No they’re fucking not!” Katsuki denied. 

“I mean, Kacchan, I don’t see the point in denying it! You’re an all A’s student, you go to freaking UA, a super prestigious school! You. Are. A. Nerd.” 

Bakugou tsked. “I’m not a nerd ‘Zuku,” he stated definitely.

Midoriya hummed in disagreement. 

Ruby red eyes narrowed. 

“Kacchan, the only person in this class that is on par with your levels of studious-ness from what I’ve seen is Iida. That’s saying something.” Midoriya titled his head, waiting for a retort that never came. Instead Bakugou growled and rolled his eyes. “Ya, whatever Izuku.” He placed his pencil back down on the desk. “Say I’m a nerd all you want, doesn’t make it true.”

“There’s no point in denying the truth Kacchan~” Izuku hummed but otherwise didn’t press. Instead, he switched the topic. “So, why didn’t you come training? We could’ve hung out.” Midoriya couldn’t stop the pout that formed on his lips. He didn’t mean to bring it up, really he was fine with Kacchan doing his thing, but he missed spending time with him and just him (even if they’d be with Shinsou and Kaminari). Sure, Midoriya had been here since Sunday, but the only real time they hung out-hung out was their date; and even that was short and a bit sour. And maybe seeing Kaminari and Shinsou be so openly them; being so free about their relationship and their affection, made Izuku slightly jealous. He wanted that. He couldn’t say how much he wanted that. He wanted to be able to brag and brag and brag about his boyfriend so freaking much that he’d drive Camie and Isana up a wall. He wanted to go out in public with Kacchan, show him off to his friends and be shown off to Bakugou’s. He wanted to be introduced as ‘ My boyfriend Izuku,’ and even ‘ My husband Izuku’ later in life.

But Bakugou wasn’t ready for that and Midoriya could never stress how much he didn’t want to force Kacchan to come out. So, he pushed those thoughts back into the tiny box in his brain where they belonged. There, he could fantasize about the future and being openly romantic with Bakugou. There, he could dream about being introduced as ‘ My boyfriend,’ and ‘ My husband’. Yet the fact of the matter still remained that those things weren’t happening right now. Wouldn’t happen right now. 

Bakugou snorted, “Because if I went with you and dunce face and eyebags, then the rest of the fucking ‘Bakusquad’ would’ve joined us.”

Izuku frowned, “What’s bad about hanging out with your friends?”

“My friends are nosey and loud fucks.”

“Aw Kacchan.” Midoriya broke into a grin. Bakugou looked confused at the sugary sweet look Izuku was giving him. “Izuku what is your face expression right now?”

“You called them your friends!” Midoriya answered, aw struck. “You never call people your friends unless you mean it. I’m so happy you found your people!” Bakugou tried to ignore the warm feeling in his chest that ignited as Midoriya walked over, wrapped his arms around Katsuki’s neck, and gave him a sweet kiss to the cheek. But let’s be honest, when wasn’t there a warm feeling in Bakugou’s chest whenever Midoriya was around? 

Midoriya was an angel to Bakugou. He was witty and never let people tell him how much he could amount to. He was unnaturally sweet, especially for all the crap that the world had thrown at him. Katsuki found himself wondering at night, when Izuku was tucked under his arm and his fingers played with dark green hair as Midoriya slumbered, how he hadn’t turned bitter. How Izuku had stayed so devoted to being a hero even after everyone had told him he couldn’t. But then again, it was that trait: the perseverance; that Bakugou adored. Because he knew that Izuku would always, always, be there. Through thick and through thin. He’d defied all odds and kept on defying them. Bakugou was surrounded by self-doubt, a need to prove himself at every challenge. After all, he was told his entire life that his quirk was perfect for being a hero. That he was perfect for being a hero. The constant affirmation fermented into a terrible insecurity because he was perfect for being a hero and if he couldn’t be a hero then wasn’t he just a failure? Wasn’t he letting down everyone, and forgoing his true potential? 

Izuku and Katsuki were opposites like that. Midoriya was told his whole life that he wouldn’t amount to anything, and Bakugou was told his whole life that he’d amount to everything. It was in that way the two boys balanced each other out; Midoriya humbling Bakugou and Bakugou boosting Izuku’s confidence. Their dynamic eventually changed, as Bakugou learned to not take the praise to his head and that he was just human, and no human was definitely perfect at anything ; and Midoriya developed a sense of self-worth. But, when each had their own moments: Midoriya falling into a patch of despair, the outside world being just a little too cruel for a little too long, causing the flood of insecurity to break through the dam that he had built to keep it out, Bakugou was there. 

And when Bakugou had his moments; being beaten in a quirk exercise that he would sure he was going to win, or simply the stress of accomplishing it all: keeping his grades up, making sure he improved the range and ability of his quirk while simultaneously not hurting anyone (he wouldn’t make that mistake again), and knowing that he was a gay hero and when he came out ( when not if, he promised Izuku that much) there would be controversy (it may be 2XXX, but homophobes were still a bitch) and that could affect everything. Everything he worked for could just be ignored because of his sexuality (or maybe because of his partner. Bakugou doubted that some people would look highly at a hero agency run by a gay couple that contained a quirkless person. But, that wasn’t anything Bakugou was willing to change. He couldn’t. Every atom in his body drew him to Izuku: his partner; his equal; his peace of mind. Midoriya was a drug he would never quit. He could never quit.) Everything would just go down the drain. His hard work would be for nothing and he’d be back to insecurity number one: disappointing everyone.

But, like Izuku, when Bakugou had these thoughts his partner was right there. Izuku was, and always will be, right there. 

Izuku broke Bakugou out of his thoughts as he peaked over Katsuki’s shoulder to glance at the worksheet on his desk. “Who assigned this?”

“Aizawa.”

Ah, ya, that checked out for Izuku. Despite caring deeply for his students, giving a sadistic amount of work-- or increasing the difficulty-- definitely seemed like something Eraserhead would do. 

“Do you want some help?” Midoriya offered. Bakugou shrugged him off. “No, I’d rather not stare at this fucking crap any longer.”

Izuku pulled back from his embrace and spun Katsuki’s chair around. “Then let’s do something.”

Bakugou cocked an eyebrow upward, “You got an idea nerd?”

Midoriya frowned, “Lately we’ve been doing stuff I like. We should do something you like instead right now.” 

“Well we can’t fucking blow up buildings or spar, not with that wound your sporting.” 

Midoriya pouted, “Recovery Girl said it should be fine soon!”

Bakugou raised an unimpressed eyebrow, “You got shot Izuku.” 

“Fine~” Izuku drawls out, slumping forward so he fell onto Katsuki. Kacchan rushes to make sure he doesn’t slip down further or aggravate his injury. As Midoriya snuggled his head into the crook of Bakugou’s neck, Katsuki’s hands wrapped around his waist and he pulled his boyfriend closer. 

“Fuckin’ idiot,” he mumbled fondly, “you could’ve gotten hurt.”

“I’m not a baby Kacchan,” Izuku retorted, but let Bakugou man-handle him anyway. Soon, both boys found a comfortable enough position on the chair, with Katsuki sitting on it and Izuku sitting on Bakugou. His head remained stuffed into the crook of Katsuki’s neck, where he could inhale the scent of caramel that just oozed out of his boyfriend, courtesy of his quirk. Midoriya’s legs were wrapped around Bakugou’s waist, poking out under the armrests and dangling there. Bakugou let his eyes close and just took in the serenity around them. Izuku was here, in his arms. They were together, they were safe, and everything was good. It was really, really good.

“You said we should do something?” Bakugou mumbled half-heartedly.

“Ya,” Izuku agreed. Still, his face remained in the crook of Bakugou’s neck and neither of them went to move.

When they eventually went downstairs, which wasn’t until 20 minutes later and they felt refreshed with their short cuddle time, Izuku led them both to the kitchen. 

“You want me to cook for you?” Bakugou raised his eyebrow, unimpressed, and yet already moving to get the ingredients for katsudon. 

Izuku reached out. He grabbed onto Katsuki’s shirt and pulled him in until their chest touched. “No silly.” Big green eyes stared up at Kacchan, glimmering admiration and love. “I wanna cook for you,” he boped Katsuki’s nose and Bakugou had to control the urge to laugh.

“Zuku I appreciate the offer,” the I love you was unspoken. Midoriya didn’t need it spoken to know it was true. “But you can’t cook.”

The pout Izuku gave his boyfriend was, in no more words, hilarious. He looked like a toddler that’s toy was taken away and replaced with a quadratic equation and told that unless he solved the equation he wouldn’t get his toy back. Not only was he sad, but also frustrated and slightly insulted. 

“But I wanna do something for you! You’re always there for me and I’m going to do something for you!” Izuku complained and traced his hands up Bakugou’s biceps. “Will you let me do something for you?”

And, well forgive Bakugou’s mind for going to dirty places; but his knees buckled and he melted under the gentle touch of his lover. “You don’t need to do anything for me baby,” the words were spoken quietly. Cautiously. They were still in the common room after all. Anyone could walk in at any moment. But, that would not stop Bakugou from having a tender moment with Izuku. He’d just roast whoever’s ass appeared. “You’re everything I want and more. Just having you is enough.” 

Izuku leaned upwards, eyes casting hopeful and innocent gazes towards Katsuki. The blonde softened, a smile spreading on his face. Maybe, it would be fine if he leaned in just a little more. No one could see it surely and-

And Izuku hit him on his forearm. “Stop with that sappy shit!”

“Oh what the fuck!” Katsuki roared, less with annoyance and more surprise. He took a step backwards as Izuku’s foot hit the ground and he glared at Bakugou. “I’m cooking you dinner and you’ll enjoy it!” He pouted again, though his face was full of ferocity. He was daring Katsuki to say otherwise.

Rolling his eyes Katsuki huffed. “And what if I want an edible dinner?”

“Oh you brat!” Izuku countered. “I can cook!”

“Says who?” Katsuki countered back. 

Midoriya stammered for a moment, “My mom!” He shouted.

“Auntie Inko is a kind, brilliant woman that lied straight to your face then,” Katsuki shrugged and couldn’t help the feeling of laughter bubbling up in his throat. This was what he missed most about Izuku being so far away at Shiketsu. They weren’t able to have witty banter or stupid fights over stupid things that would result in the best aftermath. They weren’t able to hold each other or create more inside jokes. They were- they were separated. 

Izuku recoiled back. “I am insulted! I can cook and Mom did not lie!” His face contorted in disgusts as he spoke, “I’m sure if I call up Auntie Mitsuki then she’ll agree with me!” 

Katsuki’s eyes widened because yes his mother would absolutely agree that Izuku could cook when she knew damn well he couldn’t. And, and, it would all be to just mess with him. So she could make Izuku smug and Katsuki lose their petty argument. In fact, if he wanted someone to give Izuku an honest answer then it would have to be his dad, which is simply a wild thought because he is so kind and nice? But, Bakugou knows he wouldn’t lie to Izuku- simply letting him down in the nicest way possible. Though-

As Katsuki figured out which of his parents would be better to call to tell Izuku that he can’t cook because Kacchan knows what cooking is and that boy can’t do it, Midoriya made his way over to the pantry. He glanced through the ingredients quickly before checking the freezer and yup. Grinning devilishly, he grabbed the bag of sweet rice flour from the pantry and set it on the counter. Grieving over his new clean clothes that would not be clean in a second, Izuku grabs a fistful of flour and flings it at Katsuki. 

Bakugou looked up as the white powder hit him square in the chest. He watches as it falls down, leaving a large white imprint on his shirt, before red eyes look over and see Izuku grinning unapologetic at him with the bag of flour next to him. 

“Food fight?” He offers the bag of flour out, his coated hands doing nothing to help the spread and Katsuki complies. He grabs a fistful of flour and just straight up dumps it on Izuku’s head, watching as green curls get covered and become white. Midoriya gasps and retaliates by grabbing another fistful of flour and shoving it down Bakugou’s shirt. Katsuki locks up as the flour goes straight down, some mixing with his sweat and forming a, frankly disgusting and definitely dangerous, concoction. But, that doesn’t stop Izuku from grabbing yet another handful and throwing it at Bakugou’s head, in hopes his hair would be subject to the same treatment. 

Katsuki mutters a “why you” before getting more flour from the bag that has now been sent on the counter, and throwing it at Izuku. By now their attacks get less and less targeted, more of simply chucking flour into the air in the direction that their boyfriend is in, and hoping for the best. When it ends up with Katsuki pushed against a counter, Izuku trapping him with a fistful of flour held threateningly, then, and only then, do they stop. Izuku drops the flour to the floor and Katsuki sighs because he knows he’s going to have to clean this whole mess up.

“So we're done then?” He questions his boyfriend. Izuku nods, a pleased smile on his face, and then just licks up Bakugou’s cheek, leaving a streak of plain skin with no flower. Kacchan recoils, “Did you really have to do that?” Izuku shrugs, “did you like it?” Katsuki stares at Izuku questioningly. “What made you think I liked it?” Midoriya shrugs. “I dunno, but I do like this-” he leans forwards and presses his lips against Bakugou, to which Katsuki complies. His worries about being caught had long since ceased, and right here right now he just wants to enjoy time with his boyfriend.

“So,” Izuku rocks back and forth on his heals once they pull away and as they survey the kitchen. There’s flour basically everywhere, and Bakugou has to remind himself that he loves Izuku so as to not strangle him. “What now?”

Kacchan snorts. “Now? Now we clean up. Vacuums in the closet over there lover boy-” he gestures vaguely to the common room, “I’ll get started on the, holy fuck these counters are covered Izuku-” 

“Vacuum, I’m on it!” Midoriya quickly leaves as Katsuki stares in shock at just how covered the counters of the kitchen are. God, forget being caught kissing, being caught in this kitchen will be the death of Bakugou. He’ll never be allowed in here again. He’ll have detention for a month at least. He’ll-

The vacuum turns on and Bakugou looks over. Midoriya smiles at him, twirls his hips, and continues to get rid of evidence on the floor. Katsuki chuckles fondly to himself and gets out cleaner and rags. Following Izuku’s lead he wipes down the counters, and the cabinets, and the refrigerator, and the pantry door, and the sink--

And soon they’re cleaning in silence together, but the atmosphere isn’t tense. It’s light and breezy, full of admiration and a sense of normalcy. This is the definition of being mundane. It’s having food fights and cleaning up together, and then later cuddling as you binge watch your favorite tv show together. It’s dancing together, although you’re on opposite sides of the room and not looking at each other you know you’re dancing together because you’ve forever memorized how the other sways. It’s just this. This is what Izuku strives for. This is what Katsuki craves.

When all’s done-- the vacuum and cleaners are put away and they’ve showered and gotten rid of the flour covered clothes-- Izuku holds up the bag of flour with pursed lips. “Now I know you said I can’t cook-” he started off and Katsuki levels him with the most unimpressed look ever, “but~ have you considered…. Microwave mochi?”

Katsuki’s gaze quickly turns from unimpressed to utterly dumbfounded. His mouth drops open and he stares at Midoriya as if he grew another head. “ Microwave mochi?” he repeats.

“Mh,” Izuku nods, “I found the recipe with one of my friends, Camie, from Shiketsu. It’s really easy and involves just sweet rice flour,” he holds up the bag, “sugar, water, cornstarch, and ice cream. All of which you have!” Izuku smiles brightly and Bakugou relents because, well frankly he still doesn’t trust whatever recipe Izuku is going by and not just because it’s a microwave recipe but also because it’s Izuku cooking, but Izuku just seems so happy and well- Katsuki would be damned to get in the way of that.

So he follows the nerds example as he begins the atrocity, which turns out to not be so atrocious. Maybe he even melts a little as Izuku fucks with the recipe and adds in chili flakes and hot sauce for him because he knows how much Katsuki likes hot things. And, when they have to set the mochi in the freezer for two goddamn hours because Izuku forgot about that part, Bakugou doesn’t even mind. Instead they go back up to his room, his boyfriend helps him with Aizawa’s hell homework, and then they climb into Bakugou’s bed and cuddle as they watch the newest episode of Katsuki’s favorite TV show. And that was it. And that was nice. 

In a room down the hall Kaminari exchanges glances with Shinsou. This can’t be good. 

Chapter Text

Dread. Absolute dread. An impending sense of doom. It curled around tightly, squeezing and squeezing, tilting and tilting Kaminari until they couldn’t help but shiver. This could not go well. There was no way. The overbearing sense of apprehension happened far too late for it to be useful. So, it simply sat in Denki’s gut, festering with faltering fingers and side glanced to Mina. The girl was so eager. She looked happy-- joyous even. Rocking back and forth slightly, her mouth twisted upwards into an exhilarating grin. Her hands were towards her chest, pumping with enthusiasm. Even Ashido’s hair shifted with an excited gait.

Kaminari tried to stop noticing the snake that was crawling around them, ready to suffocate them at a moment’s notice. They let their eyes focus on the screen as they bypassed the hospital’s mainframe. Hacking was easy, hacking was something they’ve done before. One might not call it heroic, but by now Class A’s morals were very loose. For the amount of times they’ve sought out vigilante justice (cough Iida, cough) or simply disobeyed the orders of the Pro Heroes because they knew that something had to be done by them, it was practically impossible to have strict moral codes. Besides, Aizawa-sensei had always said you can’t be a one trick pony as a Pro, and Kaminari intended to hold him to that. Although Denki was going to be focusing on being more Limelight- their quirk was on the flashier side after all- having skills that would work well with Underground heroes were also going to be useful. Very useful. Especially useful when their boyfriend's going to be an underground hero with whom they want to be in an agency with. But that’s a conversation for a different time.

Simply to say, Kaminari let their fingers type and rewrite the coding. They knew that Mina couldn’t be plotting anything too sinister, though why she wanted access to hospital records was questionable in the first place. Regardless, Kaminari let the familiar click clack of the keyboard guide them. They pushed past the pooling apprehension in their stomach and ignored the two pointed gazes placed on them. One, filled with excitement and mischief, and the other the same foreboding apprehension and anxiety. But-- Denki reasoned with themselves-- even if their class dabbled with the law, Mina was still a hero-in-training. She would never do anything too harsh or wrong, even if she had good reason. She probably just…. forgot something regarding her last hospital visit. Yup, that’s it. A totally reasonable explanation that doesn’t raise more questions and bright red warning signs that totally aren’t blaring in Denki’s head right now. Totally not. Why would you ever suggest that?

It didn’t really matter what her reason was, Denki guessed, because their fingers had already gotten into the records and she was pushing them out of their chair in record time. Mina squealed, dived into Denki’s plush chair and leaned over the computer so Kaminari and Shinsou could barely see what she was doing. Denki got that she was clicking around with the cursor, but besides for the occasional whispering of the Mission Impossible theme-- they didn’t know what was happening. 

Shinsou grabbed them by the forearm. He pulled Denki a step or two away from Mina and eyed the girl with guarded suspicion. “I don’t like this.” Shinsou’s voice rumbled in Kaminari’s ear and they were suddenly reminded of what they were doing before Mina barged in.

Face turning pink, Denki responded. “Ya I don’t either-” they gave a nervous laugh and wrung their hands. “I mean, I’m so full of apprehension I couldn’t even say ‘Hacker Voice: I'm In!’” Kaminari joked and Shinsou rolled his eyes fondly. 

“It wasn’t like you got the chance, Mina pushed you out of the chair as soon as she saw you’d stop typing.”

“Ya…” Kaminari rubbed the back of their neck before biting their lip in curiosity. What was really so important for Mina to act the way she was?

With a quick glance over to their boyfriend, Kaminari noted how Shinsou was still glaring at Mina. Well, glaring wouldn’t be quite the right word. The gaze wasn’t full of contempt and anger, or jealousy  and disgust. Rather-- it was with an intrigued curiosity that only lent itself to the worst of situations, suspicion if you will. 

“What do you think she wants?” Kaminari found themselves voicing. Part of them were concerned that Mina would hear them and be betrayed, aghast, offended- but the girl’s face was so close to their computer that they doubted she’d hear them even if Denki screamed.

“With hospital records? No clue,” Shinsou huffed and wound his arm around Denki’s waist. “You know blondie, you didn’t have to immediately comply with her.” Kaminari pouted. “I didn’t immediately comply with Mina!”

Hitoshi raised the enby an unimpressed look. “Really?”

Denki squeaked and frowned, “you’re so mean right now.”

Shinsou rolled his eyes and pulled Denki closer to him. “Tell me that when Mina leaves,” He replied. Kaminari snorted and pretended their blush didn’t brighten once more. Instead, they posed a question to the very occupied girl.

“Hey Mina?”

Ashido hummed in response, her eyes never leaving the computer screen. Her fingers pressed down on the mousepad, moving all over the place as she clicked onto different sections to find her desired result. Kaminari’s voice barely registered in the back of her brain-- she was a girl on a mission and nothing could deter her.

“What are you looking for anyway?”

Mina frowned, she clicked on the wrong thing. Going back she went to the one under the previous link and clicked on that one. A smile. Success! 

“Oh uhm, a hospital record.”

“We got that,” Shinsou’s snarky reply registered in Mina’s head, “but we’re asking what specifically. ‘A hospital record’ is pretty broad.”

“Ya what he said Mina!” Kaminari agreed with Shinsou and Mina had to resist the urge to faun. Those two were so cute together. Thank god they got together when they did last year, or else Mina was going to lose it. She could recall the countless days of Kaminari waxing poetry about Shinsou and his “voice oh my god Mina that voice is so deep and rough and ugh” or something about his attitude. For example: “and he’s so snarky and sarcastic and the disrespect but with those eyebags and the coffee and MINA STOP LAUGHING!” Ah, good times. When they finally did get together Mina could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing she wouldn’t have to deal with the side glances and blushes and fumbling, pinning fools. Now if only she could figure out if Bakugou’s and Midoriya’s situation was any similar….

“Mina? Earth to Mina?”

“You can’t say Earth to Mina if she’s an alien!”

“Yes I can?”

“No you can’t!”

“And why not?”

“It ugh, it doesn’t make sense! She’s an alien so why would you say Earth to Mina?”

“Because I’m trying to reach her in space, obviously!” 

Her eyes focused, the sound filtered out. This was, this was what she was looking for. The information was typed neatly-- organized and everything. It had taken her a hot minute but she finally had the information laid out before her, the final pieces of the puzzle. Now she would be able to unlock the secret of Midoriya and Bakugou’s relationship. God, she hoped it was romantic. The dynamic was interesting and Midoriya’s crazy paired nicely with Bakugou’s... surprisingly sane common sense? The guy was explosive no doubt, but he also knew when certain things were dumb ideas and wasn’t afraid to shoot them down. Mina could totally see Bakugou denying one of Midoriya’s plans and then the greenette would pout and Bakugou would soften up and--

Mina shook her head. She was getting distracted. Besides, it would do no good to imagine her best friend and his friend in a romantic situation when there was the possibility that they weren’t like that. And, although she had already decided that they would be a cute ship- she wouldn’t force her ideas if they actually weren’t. That was just a jerk move. Regardless, speculation was only a setback because right now she had the document in front of her to confirm or deny her hypothesis. The words written in this report would either lead to the discovery of-- Well not really a century. It was just a relationship. But, seeing as Bakugou’s a snappy pomeranian it would be a momentous occasion to realize he actually has a boyfriend. Still, Mina digresses. 

Enough with the pondering. Mina forced her mind to focus on the words and understand the blots of black pixels. She shut out Shinsou’s and Kaminari's voices-- which were already very much in the background, and just read.

Patient: Bakugou Katsuki Doctor: Dr. Eichi Ayame

Room: 182 Admission: Saturday at 2:30

Age: 18 DOB: April 20 2XXX Gender:  Male

Quirk: Explosion-- his sweat is nitroglycerin which allows him to set it alight and create explosions with his hands

Residents: Height’s Alliance- UA High

Symptoms (body): Unconscious with no signs of waking up. His pupils aren’t responding to light-- brain shows regular signs associated with a coma (re: low activity). There were no reactions to touch, sound, or any other environmental factors. There are no bumps on his head that could forcefully put him in this state. BPM, blood pressure, and temperature are all normal. His breathing is slightly more shallow and signs of distress can be spotted. There are irregular twitches with his fingers, as if he’s grabbing something.

Diagnosis: Bakugou appears to have been hit by a quirk. Re: Sleeping Beauty. Incident reported in case file 4267389 with the Musutafu Police Department. UA holds a copy as well. Sleeping Beauty is a newly formed quirk of Goku Kazue (six years old) It appears to hold victims in a coma-like state until they are within 10 meters of ‘the one they love most.’ Goku’s mother states it lasts for around a week- though it can vary because of the recentness of the quirk. 

Treatment: Bakugou Mitsuki has called in an acquaintance of Bakugou who she thinks will be qualified to wake Bakugou up. He will be released from the hospital once he is awake and a check-up is administered. Seeing as it’s a quirk related incident, no medicine will be administered. He’s advised to stay in the 10 meter boundaries with whoever wakes him up until the week is over. If no one is successful in waking him up he shall remain in here-- moved to Room 123-- until the quirk wares off. 

Mina’s eyes scanned the page. That was… very informative. So, Sleeping Beauty eh? The quirk sounded interesting, not going to lie. But, it still didn’t clarify anything for Mina. “The one they love most” is so general! It could very well be philia or pragma! It didn’t clarify if the love could only be romantic or if platonic was included as well. With a frustrated huff, Mina scoured the rest of the webpage, hoping for some additional information. She glanced over the report once more after finding nothing only to realize the case number was a link. Filled with newly ignited glee and anticipation, Mina clicked on the link.

Musutafu Police Department

Case 4267389

Copied to UA High Database

Summary: At 2:15 this Saturday Bakugou Katsuki was hit by the quirk Sleeping Beauty  while out with friends. Bakugou is a UA Student and was sent to the hero ward at the local hospital (File made available for them due to diagnosis). The quirk usage was unintentional by Goku Kazue, a six year old who doesn’t have much control. No charges are being pressed. 

Incident: Illegal Quirk Usage (unintentional-- code BA17)

Instigator(s): Goku Kazue

Contact Info: [email protected] (father) [email protected] (mother)

Age: 6 years old

Quirk: Sleeping Beauty- victim falls into a comatose like state unless they are within 10 meters of the one they love most. Usually romantic unless there are no romantic feelings involved. The quirk lasts around a week-- though incidents have been longer or shorter, factor unknown. Backlash unknown other than slight decrease in stamina. Little control over Quirk.

Residence: 12 Acanti Court Musutafu

Victim(s): Bakugou Katsuki

Contact Info: [email protected] (victim) [email protected] (mother) [email protected] (father)

Age: 18

Quirk: Explosions- Bakugou sweats nitroglycerin which he can set a light at his command, creating explosions in his palms. 

Residence: Heights Alliance UA High

Charges: None

Additional Follow-ups: None

Notes: None

Mina’s eyes gleamed. There it was. That nugget of information she needed. Sure, there was a slight chance that her hypothesis was wrong but the report said it! It was more likely to be romantic then not romantic! Plus, if it was platonic then Mina didn’t know why it would be Midoriya of all people. Not to discredit the guy, sure Bakugou and him are childhood friends-- but he goes to Shiketsu! They probably haven’t seen each other at all! While, here in the dorm Bakugou’s surrounded by a bunch of other friends he has strong platonic feelings towards. So it simply must be romantic feelings. Otherwise Mina doesn’t see why Sleeping Beauty wouldn’t work with Bakugou and Kirishima! The duo were the best of friends. 

With that resolve Mina grinned, shot up from her seat, and slammed the laptop shut.

“Wa- hey!” Denki protested. “Why’d you do that?” they pouted but Mina couldn’t find it in themselves to care.

 She turned around, her Cheshire cat grin still implemented on her face. Shinsou’s eyes narrowed at her expression. Kaminari just looked confused.

“Mina? You good? Did you find out what you wanted to?” 

The girl didn’t bother to reply. Instead she power walked out of the room, a pep in her step with her smile growing at every second. “Oh Bakugou~” she hollered once she neared the blonde’s exclusive room, “have I got a question for you!”

Behind her, two faces paled.

Chapter Text

The door slammed open. Bakugou rushed to sit-up, accidentally pushing Izuku off of the bed from their spooning positions. It was too late.

A pink blur ran in. She glanced between Bakugou and Izuku, eyes widening comically. “Oh my god,” her voice was breathless, full of mirth and amusement. “Oh my god,” she repeated once again. Shinsou and Kaminari came in behind her, frazzled. They glanced between her and Bakugou, then glanced again. Shinsou stepped forward, his face hardened. Kaminari opened their mouth to speak, but they didn’t get the chance.

“You’re dating!” Her voice was shrill, incredulous. Bakugou starred helplessly as she fell forward, clutching her stomach in laughter. Katsuki’s palms felt sweaty, his throat felt hoarse. His heart was beating away in his chest. It felt like it was breaking through his ribcage. Bakugou’s hands involuntarily flexed, giving off small, harmless explosions.

“You’re actually dating,” she cackled again. Mina stood up, wiping tears from her eyes. “Oh my god,” she grinned and glanced at Kaminari. “Can you believe this?” The pink alien turned back towards Bakugou. He was paralyzed, his mind running too fast, too afraid of the outcomes to even move. Besides him Izuku stiffened. He placed a comforting hand on Bakugou’s arm. His emerald green eyes, those beautiful emerald eyes that Katsuki loved so dearly, narrowed and turned into knives. He stood up, lip twitching into a downward line. 

Mina glanced at him and smirked. “Oh please,” she dismissed. Midoriya reached for something to throw, but his knives weren’t in their usual spot. 

Mina licked her lips. Her eyes turned predatory. “Poor poor Kacchan,” she coed, “so pathetic,” she sneered. Ashido smirked once more and turned around. Shinsou stepped forward to block her, but he fell short. Why did he fall short?

“Hey everyone!” Ashido yelled into the hallway, “come look at the cute couple.” 

Bakugou heard doors opening, feet stampeding. He recognized that people were coming, but he simply couldn’t process it. His mind turned to putty. Izuku squatted down in front of him, a pitiful look on his face. He leaned in close and spoke. His breath was hot against Katsuki’s ear. It sent a shrill up his fine. “It’ll be okay,” he said. Or was it “it’s time.” Or, maybe it was “good-bye.” Katsuki couldn’t remember. Katsuki couldn’t hear. Midoriya was gone, where had Midoriya gone? He wasn’t there— but there was Mina. In the center of it all. Her pink skin was bright, neon, acidic. It burned Katsuki. It taunted him. Behind her were his classmates- Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Asui, Uraraka, Iida, Sero, Kouda, Tokoyami, Jiro, Hagakure, Aoyoma, Satou, Shouji, Todoroki, and Ojiro. They were staring at Mina. The pink devil, and yes- that is what Katsuki will be referring to her as because it was an apt descriptor, pointed at him. She laughed again. 

“Look everyone!” Their eyes lit up with mirth at the image. Bakugou, on the bed, Midoriya beside him. “Look at the little couple,” another sneer. A jostle of laughs. Now Mina wasn't the only one pointing. “Just a couple of f*gs!” she continued. 

Bakugou’s heart was in his throat. His hands stretched and flexed again and again. Small explosions tried to pop off but he couldn’t- he couldn’t- he couldn’t-

More people were laughing, more people were pointing. Midoriya was next to him, his body pressed closed to Katsuki. He looked up at him through lidded eyes. “Don’t you hear them?” 

“That’s disgusting,” Yaoyorozu pointed out, “have you no dignity?” 

“I can’t believe I used the same changing room as you man!” Kiroshima recoiled in disgust. “What if you were-what if you thought-“ His jaw dropped open, face contorted in a mix of anger and disgust. “That’s so not manly.” He stated, “you pansy,” he added on.

Asui put her finger to her chin. “I don’t know how you think you’re ever going to be number 1 when you’re acting like this. What will families think? This doesn't support their traditional values,” she pressed her lips into a line and croaked. Her eyes surveyed Bakugou again. She turned her nose in the air and turned away.

Midoriya whispered to him again. “Don’t you hear them calling you a monster?” 

“Ugh, I should have been able to beat a f*ggot at the Sports Festival,” Uraraka complained. “What does that say about me? Losing to a sissy.” Uraraka scoffed. “I should have punched harder. Maybe then I’d knock the gay out of you.”

Besides her Tooru jumped in the air. “You’ve been with Midoroya this whole week. Sleeping together,” she gasped. Her tone turned angry. “I can’t believe you! Think about everyone else. We have precious Kouda here. What would happen if— imagine you corrupting— I can’t— and you’ve been cooking for us! You fucking housewife. You’re just a-“ a series of slurs were released through Hagakure’s mouth before she turned back to Kouda and pet him on the head. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

Everyone glared at him and Bakugou—Bakugou—

His throat was so so dry. He tried to croak out, “it’s not what you think!” He tried to scream “stop it!” Nothing came out. His voice was gone.

Ruby red eyes filled up with fear as the scene continued. He bowed his head. His hands flexed, then they found their way to his hair. They wrapped around golden locks and tugged. It hurt, his scalp hurt, his mind hurt. He still couldn’t scream.

“Pretty pretty Kacchan,” Izuku whispered into his ear. Hot and heavy again. It would’ve sounded nice, melodic, if not for the sharp and menacing undertones. “Can’t ever do anything right.” Izuku’s hand crept up and tugged on Katsuki’s hair, bringing his head up so he could see the scene again. Then Midoriya’s touch was gone and the mattress bounced back up. Izuku had stood up. He had joined the crowd. He grinned the grin that Bakugou had saw so many times when he was in the middle of a fight, taking down the enemy. It was full of conviction and contempt. Satisfaction. Passion. Malice. 

Katsuki had never seen it centered on him.

Bakugou breathed heavily. His heart rate picked up. Iida stepped forward. Iida,         Iida,        Iida was,         Iida was good. Yes,     Iida was— he was good. He was the-       the vice rep of the class and-            

Bakugou’s mind twisted and twirled. His thoughts couldn’t form, he couldn’t think. Everything is just so lost and he was so lost and they were laughing and-

“Bakugou.” Iida’s voice was rough and stern. It rumbled in his throat at an oddly soothing frequency. “I,” here was the part. He would apologize for the classes actions. Say everything was alright. It would be fine, it would all be fine. “Cannot believe you.” He finished and Bakugou’s heart stopped. “You really cannot be so selfish about these things. You are training to be a hero and yet you act in such a disgraceful and disgusting way. You’re supposed to be a role-model for children. Now how can you even be trusted with kids. You’re-“

There was a hand on his shoulder. Iida’s hand slammed down on his shoulder. He continued on with his speech. Mina laughed and pointed. Everyone laughed and pointed. Some gagged. But- but that didn’t matter because there was a hand on his shoulder. Too close, too close. There was sludge on his shoulder. On his neck. On his mouth. On his hands, on his body, all around his body, in his mouth. Water poured out his eyes. He was gagging, he couldn’t breath. His hands flexed. Sticky, sticky, sticky. There was slime. He was going to die. The heroes- the heroes they were there. They were watching. Why couldn’t they-

Bakugou sat up. He panted heavily, mind clouded with his nightmare. His eyes darted around the room. It was dark. No one was there. No one was making a mockery of him, no one was saying he was a disgrace. Midoriya wasn’t being cruel to him. There was no hand on his shoulder. There was no slime.

The room was dark. Everything was cast in a shadow. Bakugou’s eyes darted around the room again. He just had to be sure. Besides him, someone stirred.

Izuku looked up at Katsuki through lidded eyes. His confusion turned to realization and he sat up. “Hey,” he tilted his head, glancing down at Bakugou who was still supporting himself upward by leaning on his forearms. “Hey,” Izuku repeated when he saw Katsuki’s distant look. “Hey, it’s okay.” He shifted over, grabbing onto Bakugou’s hand. His thumb immediately started rubbing circles against it. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” he repeated. Katsuki’s eyes became present again. The fog disappeared.

“ Izuku,” he breathed, his voice full of relief. Midoriya smiled. “I’m here,” he responded, “I’m here.”

Izuku let Bakugou breath in silence for a minute. “You good?” he asked. He shifted downwards, so he was eye level with Katsuki. His body was turned towards the boy, his eyes full of concern.

“Ya I’m-“ images flashed from his nightmare. Mina’s pointing, Iida’s hand, Midoriya’s smile, that bright pink. “ Nightmare,” Katsuki said instead.

Izuku gave him a tight smile, “about today right?” A nod. “I was worried about that.” He sighed and moved closer to Katsuki. His hand rubbed Bakugou’s arm before tilting his chin upwards. “But it’s fine now. It’s going to be fine now. Because the worst part is over. The dog days are over now Kats.”

Against his best wishes, Bakugou snorted. “Will I ever be able to get you to stop quoting pre-quirk media? That shit is hundreds of years old. How do you even find it?”

Izuku smiled. “Nope,” he popped the p, “and I have my ways. A magician never reveals his secrets.” He winked at Bakugou.

“Alright nerd,” Katsuki snorted.

Midoriya smiles once more, though the mirth was gone. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Bakugou rolled onto his back. His hands clasped themselves over his stomach, his eyes roamed the ceiling. Izuku frowned down at him.

“We don’t have to talk about it- if... you don’t want to.” He laid his head on Katsuki’s chest and listened for the rhythmic butump butump of his heart. Izuku breathed in and let his eyes flash close for a minute. Then he opened them again. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. Be there for you,” he added. Izuku sat back up again. His hand found its way through Bakugou’s blonde locks. He began to twirl his fingers through the hair. 

“Got it nerd,” Bakugou responded dismissively. Izuku frowned. It wasn’t an odd occurrence for Katsuki to hide his feelings. But, it still hurt to watch him curl in on himself, blocking everyone that tried to help him. Izuku wonders if something had been different when they were younger, if he had tried more to be closer or if his mom wasn’t so tough, then maybe Bakugou would be less closed off. Midoriya sighed though, because that just wasn’t the reality. He still wished Katsuki would tell him about his troubles.

Izuku gave one more lingering glance towards Bakugou then swung his body around. His feet planted themselves on the floor and he surveyed the room. Everything always looks so different when it’s illuminated by moonlight instead of sunlight. It’s always peaceful, abandoned and untouched. Like a painting.

Izuku stood up and Bakugou turned around, eyes filled with panic. “Where are you going?” The question was rushed, but Bakugou couldn't help it. He can’t see Izuku leaving. Not after the dream— not after what had happened.

Midoriya turned around. “I was going to get the mochi we made. Then,” he swayed to the side, “I was thinking netflix and…” he paused, just long enough for Katsuki to fill in the gap and process it, before he added “cuddles.” Izuku grinned, his signature devilish grin that Bakugou found so smug that he wanted to wipe it off Izuku’s face, and yet so attractive that he felt the need to kiss him.

“I’m coming.” He was already throwing the blankets to the side and slipping on some house slippers. Izuku’s brow furrowed and he waved his hands. “I don’t want you to have to-“

“I’m coming,” Bakugou repeated more forcefully. Izuku took a moment before nodding and going to Bakugou’s door. Katsuki followed him and went to open the door when Midoriya interrupted. “One more thing,” he declared.

“Can’t we just get the damn mocchi, what is it-“

Izuku grabbed onto Bakugou’s hand, which was still fairly sweaty and gross in his opinion, and squeezed. “There,” he stated, “now we can go.”

Midoriya pulled Bakugou through the door and down the hallway. They tip-toed and tried to be quiet, but the floor still creaked and you could hear their shuffling a mile away. Midoriya led them down the staircase rather than the elevator due to the loud beeping that would accompany it. When they passed all the rooms and reached the moon-lit kitchen Bakugou pulled Izuku to the side and surveyed him. “Really nerd? You call that stealthy? And here I thought you were trying to be an underground hero.”

“Oh hush,” Izuku retorted. He bent down and riffled through the freezer for their mocchi. “It’s hard to be stealthy when I’m dragging you around.” The retort was good natured but Katsuki couldn’t find it in himself to continue the witty banter. He simply let Izuku pull him up the stairs and through the hallways again. This time they were much quieter.

When they got back to Bakugou’s room, Izuku slid off his slippers. He sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside him. Katsuki rolled his eyes but followed. Midoriya let out a content sigh and threw the covers over them. He wiggled in his seat, burying himself into Katsuki’s side. Briefly, he rested his head against Bakugou’s shoulder. 

“I love you Kats.”

“Love you too Izuku.”

Then Midoriya was pulling out his laptop and earbuds. He shared them with Katsuki and snuggled deeper into his boyfriend. With the box of mochi between them, Katsuki’s hand wrapped around Midoriya’s shoulder as a gentle reminder that he was there, the occasional kiss on his cheek or neck or forehead from Izuku, and their favorite TV show (that’s a lie. Their favorite TV show is a historical fiction series based around the first quirk war. It has enough violence and strategy for Bakugou and the political and, well, quirk aspect is what makes Izuku love it. They’re actually watching the Great British Bake Off. It’s the more relaxing than the former, so it’s perfect for post-nightmare cuddle time) qued up, the duo emerged themselves in the night and relaxed in each other’s arms. And well, if they were dearly exhausted during the morning then that’s no one’s business but their own. 

Chapter Text

Bakugou groans, rolls over, and plants his head into the crook of Izuku’s neck. The younger boy smiles sleepily, his lips giving way for a dopey grin. He sighs and let’s himself rest for a moment. Katsuki grumbles under his breath. His grip tightens on Izuku’s waist. Midoriya glances over from their spooning position to the still asleep Bakugou. Silently, he wiggles himself free from his boyfriend's grip. Once he’s out of bed, his feet slide into a pair of slippers. He readjusts the blanket on the bed, smoothing it out and wrapping it tightly around Bakugou. Midoriya leans downwards, gives a light peck to his boyfriends forehead, and murmurs into his ear. “Go back to sleep love.” He does.

Midoriya makes quick work of cleaning up Katsuki’s room. He knows how the other boy hates mess. He swipes the laptop and earbuds from the end of the bed, where they were pushed when the duo fell asleep, and leaves them  on Bakugou’s desk. After plugging in the electronics, Izuku quickly gets dressed in his Shiketsu uniform and secures the hat to his ever-growing bush of hair. He grabs the container of mochi that had been emptied, and leaves the room. The door shuts behind him with a soft click and then he’s off.

The kitchen is bustling with the early risers. Izuku gives them a small grin and a nod, but mainly keeps to himself. The others do the same, recalling the previous night's events. In the kitchen, Midoriya washes the container. He's so lost in thought, mind pounding over the students' reactions and the itinerary for the day, that he doesn’t notice Mina coming up to him. The girl taps his shoulder. In quick succession, Izuku whirls around. A knife goes from the counter to his hand to against Mina’s neck. Izuku’s eyes widen at the girls squeak. Everyone’s looking now. 

Silently, Midoriya releases the knife from Mina’s neck and sets it back down on the counter. It settles down with a soft clink. Everyone hears it. 

Ashido’s eyes are rimmed red. Her face is puffy, her hands are knotting themselves around each other. When she speaks her words are quiet and regretful. Izuku half expects her to be looking downwards and avoid his gaze. But no, she stares straightforward- meeting his eyes.

“I need to apologize again.” Midoriya doesn’t speak. “What I did was not okay. I took advantage of Kaminari and I forced Bakugou into doing something he didn’t want to do. My actions were atrocious and unprecedented. Not heroic at all.” She bows then. “I hope it is in your heart for you and Bakugou to forgive me, though I understand if you can’t.” She stands back up and glances at Midoriya. He doesn’t know if there’s hope in her eye, some sort of optimism twinkling away there. It doesn’t matter though. He doesn’t care.

Izuku’s eyebrow lifts upwards, he's unimpressed and it reflects greatly on his face. “We’ll be speaking with Aizawa about this.” His voice is monotone, not giving away the anger that truly relies on him. Mina may say she’s sorry but she didn’t have to deal with the outcome. She didn’t have to deal with the nightmare, and he knows that she won’t have to deal with them when they continue, because they will. Ashido won’t have to deal with the realization that any ounce, any bit of control that someone could have over a dire situation was ripped from them. She didn’t get to decide when Katsuki came out- friends or not. It was his decision. Something that would forever affect and ripple in his life. Not hers. So no, Izuku doesn’t care how sorry or regretful she may seem- it doesn’t matter in the end. All that matters is how Katsuki feels. 

Midoriya turns around. The dish is washed, he places it on a drying rack and walks over to the fridge. Mina turns around, her head towards the ground now, and walks out of the room. Izuku represses a scoff.

He gathers ingredients on the counter. Fish, rice, pickles, egg, and ingredients for miso soup. Izuku works efficiently as he prepares breakfast for Bakugou and him. He can feel the occasional glance from the common room but he ignores it. His jaw is set, his hand works quickly, and there’s a knife on his belt. Everything is okay. Everything is fine. 

When everything’s prepared, Izuku goes to bring it upstairs but hesitates. It’s still early. He doesn’t want to wake Katsuki up. He gives a fleeting glance at the staircase before glancing at the common room. Kaminari is sitting next to Shinsou on the couch. Their legs are in Shinsou’s lap and their hand is waving around, jingling the various bracelets that they have on. Shinsou is staring at them affectionately, a small smile that borders on a smirk occupying his face.

Izuku walks over briskly, quick to ignore everyone else. He settles himself on the table in front of them. “Hey Hitoshi, Kaminari.”

Denki turns towards them. “ Hey Midoriya!” They answer in English. Their voice becomes more subdued, “ is everything okay? What happened yesterday was...tough. I’m SO SORRY I let it get to that! If I had just refused Mina then….” they shook their head, “ I just hope Bakugou’s okay. It’s….rough being outed like that.” Hitoshi grimaces and squeezes Kaminari’s legs. Midoriya looks on, slightly confused. He could only catch bits and pieces of what Denki was saying.

“Babe,” Shinsou licks his lips and huffs in amusements, “you were speaking in English.”

“ Of course I was speaking in English, we were having a conversation in English to practice and talk shit about people!” Kaminari throws their arms out before a thought occurs to them. Turning to Midoriya they say: “ Not you Midoriya, don’t worry.” They wink and Shinsou sighs. He pinches the bridge of his nose. His head shakes and he glances upwards, a smile pulling on his lips though he attempts to keep it down. “Babe, Denki, babe. Izuku doesn't know English. He’s not fluent.”

Kaminari glances between Izuku, then Shinsou, then Izuku again. They laugh. “Ah sorry. Did you get anything I said?”

Bewildered, Izuku shakes his head.

“Okay so-” Denki takes a large breath before recapping, “Is everything okay? I’m so so sorry! I didn’t mean for everything to get like that! It’s rough being-” their sentence stops short and their brow furrows. Kaminari’s mouth forms various shapes, but nothing is spoken. 

“Denki?” Shinsou inquiries.

“I’m, I’m thinking,” they snap their fingers. “It’s the- the- how the fuck do you say outed in Japanese?” They glance upwards before turning back towards Shinsou. “The- the word. How do you say the word?”

“ Outed?” Shinsou asks in English. Kaminari nods their head frantically. “Yes! How do you say that in not English?”

“Outed.” Shinsou deadpans in Japanese. Kaminari nods enthusiastically and continues their previous sentence. “Yes! Anyway it’s tough being outed and I really hope Bakugou’s okay. Well like obviously he’s not okay but like I would hope he isn’t horrible and I’m rambling right aren’t I?”

Midoriya smiles. “It happens to the best of us.” He sighs quickly. “But let’s change the subject to something happier! Do any of you know what we’re doing today? I heard ‘Raser discussing some sort of training exercise.”

“No dip?” Kaminari asks, “That should be fun. Hopefully it ends up better than what happened last time.” Shinsou snorts. “What, you mean the opposite team getting knocked out and brutally beaten? That’s the textbook definition of fun.” Kaminari rolls their eyes, “I’d like to hear you say that when you lose!” Shinsou shakes his head and turns his attention back towards Midoriya.

“Anyway, hopefully a good fight will get Katsuki’s mind off of… this,” his hand gestures to the general area. “I also have plans to meet with Aoki. Or, I plan to try to see him. Eraser still hasn’t told me where exactly they're keeping him…” 

“Aoki?” Denki tilts their head.

“The kid I saved the night I got shot.” Kaminari’s mouth forms an ‘o’ and they refrain from asking more questions. 

Shinsou opens his mouth to say something, but then there’s the sound of footsteps from the staircase. Izuku glances over, catches sight of Iida and promptly stands upwards. “Nice talking to you!” He grins at them both and salutes. “I gotta jet.” He dashes back towards the kitchen, grabs the plate of prepared food for him and Katsuki, and goes to walk upstairs. He passes Iida, who’s eyes narrow once he sees him. Izuku tries not to but he hunches inwards on himself. His head ducks downwards and his pace increases. Once he passes Iida and rounds the corner he’s able to let himself breath, though a tinge of unease still lurks in his mind. He shoves that feeling down though- into the small compartments in his mind where he represses the urge to cry and scream and commit arson; and opens the door to Katsuki’s room. 

The blinds are drawn so it’s still moderately dark. He sets the food down on Bakugou’s desk and walks over to him. His Shiketsu hat finds its place on the seat of Bakugou’s desk chair. 

“Hey darling,” Izuku’s voice is light. He leans over Bakugou and presses a soft, long kiss to his forehead. "Time to wake up.”

Katsuki grumbles and rolls over. His eyes flutter before opening completely. Ruby red eyes peep upwards, staring at the ceiling for a solid moment. Then, he shifts, head glancing towards Izuku. “Hey,” he smiles at his boyfriend and shifts to sit-up. When he goes to stand-up, Izuku presses his hand to Katsuki’s chest and stops him. Bakugou frowns.

“Why can’t I get up ‘Zuku? I got shit to do.”

Midoriya tuts, “but I made you breakfast to have in bed. And you can’t have breakfast in bed if you’re not in bed. So-” he applies more pressure and pushes Bakugou back. The older boy scoffs but adjusts himself.

“Breakfast in bed is stupid, it’s just gonna get my sheets all dirty,” he grumbles yet doesn’t argue further when Midoriya sets down plates. Izuku plops himself down onto the other end of the bed. He sits criss-cross-apple-sauce with his plate between his legs.

Katsuki glance upwards at him. He rolls his eyes. “ Itadakimasu," Bakugou grumbles. Izuku shares a brief smile. “Itadakimasu,” he repeats.

Chapter Text

Izuku uncurled. His back cracked, his finger’s interlocked, and he stretched his arms upwards. A satisfying pop came from his chest. He slid off the bed with practiced ease, his footsteps not making a sound as he went to grab Bakugou’s empty dish. Katsuki swatted his hand away and tsked, going to grab Midoriya’s plate in turn.

Izuku smirked and rolled forwards onto the bed, swiping the dish away before his boyfriend could grab it. Katsuki narrowed his eyes in competition. He lunged forward, one arm aiming for the plate as the other went to grab Midoriya’s torso. Izuku flattened himself and tumble-rolled off the end of the bed. The plate was still in his grasps.

Bakugou huffed, amusement leaking through as he stood up. The covers to his bed were hastily thrown to the side. Izuku patted them down as he stood, mirroring Katsuki. Bakugou’s arms braced outwards, his palms facing Izuku. Midoriya smiled. He knew his Kacchan wouldn’t actually hurt him, and he knew that while some would view the act as a threat, to them it was the start of a game. 

Izuku tensed, the dish hidden under his arm. In one fluid moment that he had perfected during his knife training, he whipped the plate out and threw it like a frisbee under and through Bakugou’s legs. It landed on the pillow behind him with a soft thump.

Katsuki, not noticing that the object of the game was no longer in his lover’s grasp, rushed forwards. He threw a left hook, not a right one as Izuku had told him it was too predictable, towards Midoriya’s face. The boy dodged downwards and threw his own punch into Katsuki’s stomach. He wheezed, but quickly recovered. Midoriya swerved to the side and behind Bakugou. He made a move for the plastic plate, but Katsuki had already turned around. He grabbed Izuku’s stomach from behind and lifted him upwards. Izuku’s eyes widened but he didn’t screech. Instead, his lips pressed together and his eyes narrowed in sly amusement.

He pooled his weight forward and flipped, rolling onto the floor. Katsuki was forced to let go of him, or else his face would meet the floor, and not in a protected and practiced way like a roll. 

Bakugou braced, fully expecting Midoriya to spin around once he popped up and make a sweep for Katsuki’s legs in order to get a few more precious moments to flee. Instead, Midoriya bounced upwards immediately after his roll, lithe as ever, and began running. He smoothly leaned downwards, his hand grasping the dish and made a beeline straight for the door. Jumping upwards to avoid the desk chair that had rolled to the middle of the room amidst their fight, Izuku slammed to a stop in front of the wooden exit. His hand fumbled for the doorknob, letting loose a small curse when it wouldn’t bulge. When he finally got it open he let out an excited noise and pulled harshly. The door went flying inwards, and he was off again.

Bakugou let loose a set of curses that his Aunt Inko would be proud of, and went to run after Midoriya. His feet pounded down the hallway, eyes trained on Izuku darting down the steps. He followed quickly, taking a sharp turn when the corridor twisted, but didn’t stumble. Ahead of him, Izuku’s green hair bounced with each small movement. 

When they reached the common room, Izuku broke into a sprint for the kitchen. Bakugou increased his own speed, and went to tackle Midoriya. Somebody, he couldn’t tell who, shrieked and dived out of their path.

Izuku glanced backwards, eyes taking in the stance of his boyfriend. As Katsuki lunged, he let out a small gasp and went into a front handspring. Bakugou snarled and broke into a roll in order to avoid fall damage.

By now the whole common room was watching, but Izuku and Katsuki didn’t care. They were zoned into the game, and Midoriya had just reached the kitchen.

His hand went outwards, grasping onto the section of the wall separating the kitchen and living room, and used it to take a sharp turn. Bakugou followed the movement, but with the momentum from his roll he was able get around quicker. 

He leaped forward and, this time, was able to grasp Izuku around his stomach. They tumbled to the floor, struggling in each other's grasp. Izuku sent out a few useless punches, which Bakugou took. They rolled around, with Katsuki pinning Izuku until Izuku was able to flip them around and pin Bakugou. Then, rinse and repeat, it ended with Izuku on top. Barely. 

He pushed himself upwards and dodged Katsuki’s swinging hands. When his boyfriend perched himself on his forearms to stand up, Midoriya simply retaliated by shoving his shoulders so he went back down.

Izuku picked himself up daintily and grabbed the plate that was on Katsuki’s chest. His boyfriend’s arms closed around it, baring it in a cage. But, his a few good pulls and a foot on Bakugou’s chest, Midoriya was able to pull it free. Without wasting time he did back handspring, and spun around. The dish hit the bottom of the sink and rattled. Midoriya smirked at the satisfying sound and dusted his hands off. He turned around, an eyebrow raised and walked back towards Katsuki.

Izuku offered his hand. Bakugou scoffed but took it anyways and pulled himself upwards. His eyebrows were also raised and there was a smirk pulling on his lips.

Behind them, a slow clap emerged.

“W ow,” Shinsou stated in pure disbelief. He huffed in amusement, lilac eyes darting between the couple. In front of him a yellow mug that in blocky, all caps lettering stated: I AM A RAY OF FUCKING SUNSHINE was almost completely drained if it’s coffee. “I came over here for more coffee and you know what I got, a show!” His smirk pulled languidly at his lips. “Thanks for being quality entertainment.”

Izuku laughed, his grin bright and cheery. “Glad to be of service Hitoshi.” Then his gaze snapped to the other bystanders, who watched in anticipation. His eyes turned cold, his face hardened. All mirth was gone.

He smiled quick, a mere flash of lips too wide, pulled too high, and with way too much teeth. The gawkers distributed and Izuku turned back towards his boyfriend.

“You know what I realized, Kacchan?” He titled his head in innocence, his tone light and aloof. 

Bakugou smirked, not falling for the façade his boyfriend had just put up. He knew him too well for that.

“What?” He asked out of curiosity.

Midoriya’s grin turned devilish. “There’s another dish in the room.” Then he threw back his head and laughed. Bakugou’s face slackened before his eyes picked up their usual competitive gleam. “You want a round two nerd?”

Izuku hummed and began walking back towards the stairs. “Who knows, maybe you’ll win this time? But-“ He threw a glance over his shoulder, “you should probably get changed first.”

Katsuki glanced downwards. Of course. Of fucking course. He was still in his black tank top and gray shorts. He scoffed and tried to hide his amusement. The nerd always knew how to get him running, focused on one thing so he wouldn’t realize something else. With his friends it was annoying, with his enemies it was villainous, with Izuku it was endearing.

The duo climbed the stairs while throwing witty remarks and banter back and forth until they reached the door. Midoriya held it open, allowing Bakugou to enter first. He rolled his eyes but made way for the closet. While he pulled out his uniform and discarded his t-shirt he directed to Izuku. “Could you make-“

“Already on it.” Izuku tugged on the covers of the bed. His hand ran smoothly over the sheets, taking out the creases and wrinkles. He propped the pillows upwards on the mattress, but he left the other plate where it was. Once Bakugou had slid his pants on and completed his buckle, leaving his pajamas rumpled together in his wicker laundry basket, Midoriya picked up the plate. He spun it between his hands. “Round two?”

Bakugou smirked. His hand latched onto the plate, stopping it’s rotation. “You know it.”

Chapter Text

“No.”

“But-”

“No.”

“But if-”

“ No.” 

Izuku let out a small whine. “But- okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, Kacchan -” his hands stood straight up in front of his chest. Emerald eyes met ruby red and darted upwards to the ceiling vent. Bakugou stood in front of Midoriya, unamused. His eyebrow was perked upwards, his face thoroughly unimpressed. There was the soft tap-tap of his foot, insistent against the floor. His arms were crossed. “I said no Izuku,” he restated. “ No.”

Midoriya let out yet another small whine. It was low and pitiful, like a child being told they had to go to the dentist, or like Izuku when he got his knives taken away after being injured in an alley-way brawl. “But Kacchan, the vents,” Izuku insisted again like it was the most obvious thing ever. His hand flew from gesturing to his boyfriend to gesturing towards the vent covering. “It’s perfect.”

“No it’s-” Bakugou’s face convulsed. His lips drew downwards and his nose scrunched up in disgust. “- musty” he spat out.

“It’s not musty Kacchan!” 

“But it’s so dusty. There’s dirt and grime everywhere.” Bakugou shivered, the memories of the last time Izuku had gotten him to crawl through those dredged passage ways were still too fresh for him to be comfortable with. Dirt and dust had clung to his skin and clothes. Even after going over them with a lint roller, he could still see the remnants of the vents. The aluminum always seemed to shift and shake, wobble and echo. It reverberated every little sound Bakugou made- the shift of his body, the push of his legs, the dragging of his torso. Izuku was always stealthy when he crawled through the vents. He army crawled with grace, barely making a noise in the metal tin. He was able to travel them efficiently. There was never a pause, a moment of hesitation on which pathway to take. He’d simply know where to go, go there, and then drop out of the vents and either a) scare the shit out of people; or b) scare the shit out of people and start fighting them. Traveling in the vents required stealth and stealth was not Katsuki's forte; he was more of a go-in-guns-blazing kind of guy.

Izuku sighed and deflated. His shoulders slouched forwards, his head hung low. His red shoe scuffed against the floor as he kicked his leg. “But Kacchan, the vents are so much better then-” this time it was Izuku who’s face contorted into one of disgust. “- people,” he finished.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. Sure, people sucked. They were a bunch of nosy extras always trying to get up in his business. But they were better than the vents. Those death traps. 

“People aren’t that bad Izu-”

“Kacchan.” Midoriya glanced upwards. His eyes met Bakugou’s. They searched for a second, looking for something Katsuki couldn’t detect, before dropping to the side once more. “Kacchan the hallway is filled with people.” Midoriya put heavy emphasis on the word. It rolled off his tongue and hung heavy in the air. His eyes were narrowed, almost offended by the word itself. Bakugou went to refute Midoriya’s point once again. People weren’t that bad, his boyfriend was just an antisocial demon who preferred to not be seen nor noticed so he could develop the reputation of a cryptid and scare the crap out of everyone. But, then Katsuki’s brain caught up to what Izuku was trying to say.

“Oh.”

Midoriya grimaced. “Ya. Oh.” He pursed his lips, letting the sourness of it all sink in, before his face lit up once more. His eyebrows wiggled and his eyes darted over to the vent cover. “So?” He leaned forward, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His hand itched to unscrew the cover and hoist himself upwards. It’s always so dark in the vents. Nice, quiet, and dark. The perfect place to calm down, spend time alone, and eavesdrop on people. Every time there’s a place Izuku knows he’s going to be spending a decent amount of time in, he memorizes the building’s air ducts. Sometimes it’s difficult, with a building’s blueprints not always being available, but since when has the legality of something ever stopped Izuku?

Bakugou licks his lip. His mind runs over the options. Either he goes into the hallway with Izuku to walk to class- that would entail passing people. Passing people who know him and know Izuku. Passing people who know of him and Izuku. Passing people who know of the relation between Bakugou and Izuku. And- well then there’s the other option: Going into certain hell with Izuku.

Bakugou shrugs. “Sure, it can’t be that bad, right?”

It was that bad. 

Izuku had shed his signature grin before grappling onto Bakugou’s arm and taking him hostage. He unscrewed the vent grate with one hand, not giving his boyfriend the chance to run away. Then, he pulled himself upwards. He flipped upside down and stuck in his head back through the ceiling. Midoriya stuck his hands down to help Bakugou get up. The blonde tsked and muttered about not needing assistance, but took Izuku’s hands anyway and let himself be pulled upwards. From there Izuku somehow managed to re-secure the vent covering and turn around, leading the couple to class.

Bakugou hated it. He hated every second of it. Surely traveling the hallway with a bunch of nosy gossiping extras couldn’t be worse than this. The memories from his previous escapades in the vents were coming true again. There was dust sticking to his clothes. It got pulled from its place and traveled with his body. He swore that when he dropped downwards the bottom half of his uniform would be dusted gray- the clots of dust gathering thick. Speaking of his uniform, his UA blazer was getting tugged down uncomfortably from the army crawl position. It dug into his armpits and the buttons sent rattles down the vents. His feet squeaked and kicked at the metal, causing more ricocheting of sounds. Izuku turned around, his eyes glowing in the light-less air ducts.

“Be quiet Kacchan,” he sighed.

“Don’t you think I’m trying?” Bakugou retorted back.

“ Be more quiet babe,” Izuku’s icy words cut through. He stared into Katsuki’s eyes for a moment before turning around and silently crawling forwards. Bakugou paused, clearly not expecting that response. Izuku rarely pulled out pet-names. It was always nicknames like Kacchan or Kat. And, when he did pull out pet-names it was either because he was being super clingy and affectionate and wanted that behavior to be echoed on him, or because he was annoyed, distressed, or trying to threaten Bakugou. 

Katsuki had a pretty good guess as to what the answer was. 

The small rattle of the vents shook Bakugou back out of his thoughts. His eyes widened as he realized how much space Izuku was covering. He inched forward slowly at first, careful to not make a sound or risk being discovered, but that was quickly forgone as he realized just how far ahead his boyfriend was and how fast he could crawl. They hadn’t thought to bring any flashlights, or even use their phones as one, so Bakugou could only see so far ahead. And, Izuku was the only one who knew where he was going. Which meant Bakugou had to stay with him at all costs. But, his boyfriend was too far ahead and Katsuki was going too slow. And that, logically, meant he had to speed up.

The vents rattled again, but Katsuki was too far behind to try to lessen the sound. He crawled forward quickly, trying to keep his mind focused on Izuku’s red shoes in front of him instead of the dust clinging to his uniform and the increasing sound around him. Because, well- maybe if he did that then Izuku wouldn’t notice the sound either. 

Fat chance. His boyfriend sent another withering glare over his shoulder, only to realize how far Bakugou truly was. He stopped and let the older boy catch up.

“...Sorry,” Izuku apologized, still not moving. Bakugou shrugged. “It’s just--- it’s,” a low huff came out of Izuku’s lips. “It’s going to be...different now. They know. And that’s stressful and there’s judgement and-” he pressed his lips together again. His green eyes focused downwards, where the line connecting the sections of the air duct meant. “It’s frustrating and stressful and...scary,” Midoriya’s voice quieted down. “I don’t want them to hate you. And- well I don’t want your friends to hate me either.” Midoriya always liked the idea of being open with their relationship. He wanted to be able to cuddle and kiss and adore Katsuki in public. But now that their relationship was out in the open he...he didn't know what to think of it. 

Bakugou pressed his lips together. He glared at the dirty bottom of Izuku’s shoes. “I don’t want any of that,” he agreed. “But it happened. And we can’t change it. No matter how much we want to.” Bakugou hesitated before reaching his arm out. It grasped onto Izuku’s calf. It was, well awkward because grabbing someone’s leg isn’t the most reassuring nor romantic of things, but it was as much of physical reassurance that Bakugou could give in the small confines of the vent. 

“But,” Bakugou continued. “My friends don’t hate you. And they don’t hate me. Because if they did they wouldn’t be my friends.”

“Is-” Izuku hesitated. The words were on his lips, but he didn’t know if he should stay them. In the end, his curiosity always got the better of him. “Is Ashido still considered your friend?”

Izuku felt the grip on his leg tighten. Bakugou was quiet for a long time. His mind muddled over the question, yelling conflicting answers back and forth. Because she outed him. She took away the only choice he had about his identity. She took away an important part of his life because she wanted gossip. It was selfish and mean and cruel. She doesn’t deserve his forgiveness because what she did was unforgivable. The moments of fear, the tightness in his throat, the hammering in his chest, it all feels so fresh and real for Bakugou still. She gave him nightmares, she’ll give him nightmares. She’ll give Izuku nightmares too. Bakugou shouldn’t forgive her. He shouldn’t like her. 

But she was one of his first friends.

Mina was there in first year, bright and cheery. She bounced all over the place, talked loud and never apologized for who she was. Bakugou liked that. He liked the bravo, the energy, the spunk. She, and Kirishima, and Sero, and Kaminari, and sometimes Jirou, were a group. They planned outings together, had sleepovers together. They spilled their hearts feelings and the thoughts their minds muddled and turned to mush over with each other. They shared trauma, they shared nightmares, they shared each other. Ashido was one of Bakugou’s first friends that he reached out to when he wasn’t feeling mentally all there. He trusted her, almost as much as he trusted Kirishima. She was always there, supporting him. She cared about him.

But she outed him. 

“I…. don’t know.”

Izuku’s tongue darted out and over his lips. A sad smile spread on his face. “That’s okay. You don’t have to know. You don’t have to forgive her. What she did was cruel. Way more than cruel. It was harsh and uncalled for.” He frowned at the memory of the previous night. “But I know she was also one of your friends and that you have a lot of loyalty to them so I- I get that it might be hard. I’m not saying you should forgive her, but whatever you do I’ll support your choice.”

“...Have I told you I love you Izuku?” 

The witty retort was on his tongue. He could practically taste it, feel the way it would form and roll off and sound. How it would hang in the air, filling the vents with sass and overconfidence. It was right there. The signature of his underground personality. He could so easily say it. 

“I love you too Kacchan.” Sometimes it was better to preserve the precious moments. 

The rest of the crawl through the vents was silent. Simply filled with the shuffling of bodies and the occasional fluctuation of metal. Now that Izuku was directly in front of Bakugou and crawling a bit slower, Katsuki could keep up without causing tremendous amounts of noise.

Soon mindless chatter filled the air ducts. It was the low type of murmur that couldn't be heard outside the vents. It was also the kind of mindless babble that only Bakugou was subjected to. Izuku talked about how Nezu had such a complex vent system, and how it took him longer to memorize than other buildings but it was overall worth it. He spoke of how he shared his knowledge with Shinsou in order to let UA have a cryptid when he wasn’t there. Izuku also mentioned that Shinsou had built a nest in the air ducts. There was one section where it was much larger than the others. Easily enough room for two people to sit down and not have to hunch over. He had filled it with blankets, a couple books, a portable charger, and a very small minifridge stocked with snacks and drinks. Apparently, he and Denki had date nights there often. Also apparently, that was where they ate lunch when not with the Bakusquad. Also also, Shinsou took naps there when he wanted to. 

Bakugou knew it was all useless information he could never use. After all, what good would knowing that Eyebags had a secret hideout in the vents be without even knowing where in the vents it was, least of all how to operate in the vents. But, Bakugou digressed because- and call him a sap all you want, it was true- he enjoyed the sound of Izuku’s voice. The constant, soothing tone of his mumbling. How he could go on and on about one subject for hours with the most elated expression on his face- one that radiates pure joy and happiness. And even when he was talking about something as mundane as- say Shinsou’s vent habits, it was still amazing to listen to. His voice was even and low and soft. It filled Bakugou’s ears like a melody to his favorite song. It was something he never wanted to stop listening to. And, even better, he knew that it was exclusively for him. No one else got to hear Midoriya’s mindless stories. No one else got to hear Izuku’s hour long rants. No one else got to hear his stream of thoughts, turned into mindless rambles that only his boyfriend could decipher. It was for no one else, only Bakugou. And that is what really filled his head with dopamine. 

Midoriya’s ramblings came to a stop. He let out a small sigh as his fingers trailed upwards. They traced the small indents, ran over the grates. The sound of talking drafted upwards into the vent. “We’re here,” he announced. 

Bakugou took a deep breath. In, out. In, out. He let his shoulders relax and wished he could stretch his back. 

“Open the vent,” he finally stated.

Chapter Text

Izuku worked quickly. He unscrewed the vent with precision, his fingers grabbing onto the grate so it wouldn’t immediately fall. He spared a glance over his shoulders, a warm smile on his face. “Love you,” he called out to Bakugou.

“Love you too nerd.” Bakugou huffed and flexed his fingers. His class was right underneath them meaning he would have to face them any second now.

Midoriya turned back around. He pressed his lips together in concentration and slowly lowered the grate. When there was no squealing or screeching of metal, his hands moved quicker. Midoriya cautiously stuck his head out of the vents. His feet hooked onto the edge between metal plates, giving him some leeway. He glanced back and forth, and, when he realized no one was looking, his arms grabbed onto the top of the vents. He flipped himself out of them. His feet lowered onto Bakugou’s desk silently. Izuku let out a small sigh of relief and placed the vent cover down. He grabbed his Shiketsu hat and returned it to his head.

Bakugou popped his head out of the vent soon after. Midoriya glanced up at him, letting him know it was safe to come down. He huffed and lowered himself out. When Bakugou hit the desk he immediately moved to sit in his chair. Izuju shrugged and simply adjusted himself so he was sitting criss-cross applesauce on Bakugou’s desk. One of his knives had found their way out of his uniform sleeve and into his hand. He twirled it back and forth, weaving it skillfully in between his fingers. The blade caught the light streaming in from the windows. It captured the bright rays and reflected it backwards, painting pretty patterns on the opposing wall.

Midoriya kept himself alert. His eyes scanned the room, cataloguing everybody’s movements. Behind him, Bakugou stared at Midoriya. His eyes followed the rhythmic and entrancing knife movement. Every so often they peaked away to gaze at Izuku’s side profile. His nose was like a button, sloping downwards until it popped out in a cute, round shape. His freckles were constellations, adorning his cheeks as if he were the night sky. His lips were tweaked downwards, the pink flesh narrowed together in concentration. The sun hit Izuku’s face at the perfect angle, casting his skin and hair in a golden light; which made the dark bags under his eyes only slightly visible.

Izuku felt someone’s eyes on him. He twisted slightly. His lips tweaked upwards into a small grin, while his eyes crinkled in confusion. “What?” he asked, oblivious as ever.

“Nothing,” came Bakugou’s gruff reply. Midoriya gave him one long lasting look that read of disbelief before turning back around.

The door clicked open and in came Shinsou and Kaminari. Denki was backtracking in front of Shinsou, their skirt swishing with each step. Hitoshi was looking onwards, eyes twinkling with amusement and intrigue as he downed his cup of coffee. Midoriya couldn’t make out  their conversation, though he heard enough to know that it wasn’t in Japanese.

Shinsou shook his head bashfully in response to something Kaminari had said. He gently took the enby by the elbow and led them to their seats. While passing, his eyes met Midoriya’s. He gave a small nod, which Izuku returned, before turning back into his conversation with Denki. Midoriya thinks there’s something being spoken in Russian?

Before he could dwell on it more Iida rushed into the room. He looked rather frazzled for not being the first one to arrive. In his hands were a jumble of papers, all hastily thrown together. Midoriya rolled his eyes and leaned back on the desk. His head hit the edge, dipping downwards and giving him the perfect view of Katsuki’s face. His eyes trailed upwards, tracing the jawline of Katsuki. His gaze briefly flickered from Katsuki’s eyes to his mouth before he dropped it down once more. Izuku still toyed with the knife. The constant rhythm of throwing it upwards in the air until it completed a spiral, then catching it once again- the comforting weight of the grip fitting perfectly in his hand- was just what Izuku needed to stay relaxed yet alert.

He stayed like that for a minute- his back on the desk, his eyes tracing Katsuki’s face, his hand throwing the knife- before it was all ruined. Iida’s footfalls were heavy, Midoriya could hear him a mile away. They hit the ground rapidly. If it weren’t for Iida’s natural inclination to walk fast, Midoriya would’ve guessed the foot falls would hit farther apart due to Iida’s legs. But, no. He had to have long legs that would carry him farther, quicker. 

The vibrations the motion sent through the floor soon came to an abrupt stop. Midoriya sighed, rolled his eyes once again, and gave a quick mutter of “here we go.” His hand stretched outwards, catching the knife mid-flip. Then he sat up. His feet swung forward, off of the desk. He kicked them back and forth, rattling the uneven desk ever so slightly. Midoriya looked at Iida through unimpressed eyes. His Shiketsu hat had fallen off when he leaned backwards, so now his green strands of curly hair partially obscured his eyes. He shook his head to the side slightly, but, when the strands didn’t budge, he just decided to leave them where they were.

“You!” Iida shouted. His feet were planted firm, his eyes slightly glowering at Midoriya. Behind Izuku, Bakugou sent a look upwards.

“Me,” Midoriya parroted, furthering Iida’s scowl.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Iida demanded.

“Sitting.”

“No with that- that,” Iida’s hands fumbled, distaste clear on his face as he waved at the offensive object. Midoriya held it up, glancing at it languidly with a raised eyebrow.

“Knife?” He finished.

“Yes. Why do you have such a dangerous and unheroic object?”

Midoriya let out a low whistle. He leaned backwards, his hands grasping the front of the desk, before rocking forwards slowly. “Slow down. First off, this knife makes things go cut cut, chop chop, that’s the job of a knife.” Midoriya spoke slowly, as if he were speaking to an angry child. “Second of all, knives are only dangerous if you either don’t know how to use them or really know how to use them. And, unheroic? I think you’re just projecting there buddy.”

“Projecting?” Iida questioned.

Midoriya raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. Stain? Ring any bells? You think knives are unheroic because of your traumatic experience with a villain whose mainly used knives and swords. You’re projecting.”

Iida’s body froze. His muscles tightened, his jaw hinged together. His eyes couldn’t seem to decide from being cold and angry, to being glassy. 

Izuku tsked once before his lips pressed together. He surveyed Iida and shrugged. “You’re projecting,” he repeated in a painful whisper.

“Am I?” Iida said back. Midoriya scrunched his nose and nodded. “Well,” Iida took a deep breath in, “I hardly think that matters in this situation because you have a knife. You cannot be qualified to carry such a weapon and-“ This time it was Midoriya who froze. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing. His mouth squeezed shut as he resisted the urge to bite his tongue. He took a long, painful deep breath in. His hands clenched at his side; his knife twisting and turning in an attempt to calm him down. Behind him, Bakugou’s eyes narrowed. A low, quiet growl was elicited from his mouth. His hand reached towards Midoriya on instinct. “-I doubt a person of your stature should be allowed to hold such a dangerous weapon that you could hurt yourself wi-“ Iida couldn’t finish his statement- Midoriya lunged for him. He kicked himself up and off of the desk, his hands reaching out for the class representative. His knife was flipped backwards, the sharp edge away from Iida’s body, as Izuku sent a punch. Right before it could land the door swung open. 

Eraserhead sighed as he stepped into the classroom. Yet another day with the problem children. Not to mention the...problem that arose last night that he has to talk about. 

Aizawa’s eyes were drawn upwards from an oncoming comotion. He looked past the groups of gathered students to where the sound was coming from. His gaze flashed red as he saw Midoriya lung for Iida, Bakugou not far behind him. Iida and Bakugou froze under the familiar, yet still daunting feeling of losing their quirks, but Midoriya was left unchanged. 

Shouta acted quickly. He sent his capture weapon shooting outwards, binding Midoriya’s arms to his side. He struggled slightly- he attempted to flip the knife in his hand multiple times to try to cut the weapon- before giving up. Once he relaxed, his shoulders rolling forwards and his head shifting downwards, Aizawa released his scarf.

Midoriya shrugged his shoulders and stretched his arms. He rolled his wrist, throwing his knife back and forth before slipping it back into his holster. With a low growl at Iida, he turned around and plopped right back onto Bakugou’s desk. Katsuki raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. Midoriya responded with an eyebrow raise of his own and a shrug. Bakugou then leaned back and huffed. One eyebrow quirked upwards and he smirked. Izuku grinned back, though with too many teeth, and batted his eyes. Bakugou huffed once again, resisted the urge to ruffle Midoriya’s hair, and shook his head to the side. Izuku copied the movement and sent a quick flash of a smile towards his boyfriend.

“If you two are done-“ Aizawa interrupted the exchanges, “with your silent conversation, I’d like to start class.”

Midoriya flushed. “Sorry ‘Raser,” he mumbled. 

Eraserhead shook his head slightly and muttered out a “problem child” before continuing onwards. “Today’s agenda is slightly different. We’ll be having a joint-training session with 1-B.” Someone gasped and chatter started. Bakugou scrunched his nose up and picked a wad of dust off of his uniform. Midoriya turned towards him, an inquisitive look on his face, but the glance Katsuki sent him made him frown.

Aizawa’s eyes flashed red and he cleared his throat. The room instantly quieted. “But that’s in the afternoon. Right now, I will be stepping out to deal with what happened yesterday.” A heavy cloak of silence laid over the room, weighing down everyone’s shoulders. The mood soon turned awkward and tense. Glances were sent from Bakugou’s desk to Mina’s. “So, in the meantime Present Mic,” Aizawa sighed at the name, “will be subbing for me.” As if he was waiting for the introduction, Yamada slid into the room. His smile was blindly bright. “Can I get a ya?” He screamed. When no one responded he rolled his eyes playfully and dropped his finger guns. “Geeze Shouta, are your kids always so dreary?” Aizawa sighed again, something he had been doing a lot around Mic, and grumbled. “‘S not the time Zashi.” Eraserhead stepped to the side. His eyebrow raised. “Problem child and Bakugou, Mina, come with me.” Then he walked out of the room.

The scrape of chairs against the floor shook the class out of their stupor. Head turned towards the couple and Mina as they walked up to the front of the room before trailing afterwards Aizawa to the teacher’s lounge. Once the door shut with a resounding thud, everyone’s gaze once again returned to Present Mic. He grinned and flipped open a binder that was rested on the teacher’s podium. “Let’s see what Shouta has planned for today!” He commented more to himself than anyone else. The majority of people’s attention-span were already gone; it left with Bakugou and Mina. Various people sighed, and rested their heads on their hands. Todoroki face planted on the desk. 

In the teacher’s lounge, Midoriya’s gaze wandered. He glanced over the walls and shelves, the various trinkets that lay on the teacher's desks, and the fidgeting girl next to him. His eyes latched on the windows, and their accompanying locks. He wondered how quick he could pick them? They looked rather simple, but knowing Nezu that’s probably just for appearance. The mechanisms would most likely be the best of the best, but if they’re from a brand Izuku had picked before than...

Aizawa cleared his throat and Izuku blinked back into reality. He shifted his body to lean towards Bakugou. Their knees knocked together in reassurance. Izuku hesitantly went to reach for Bakugou’s hand, not knowing if he would want to hold hands in sem-public. Katsuki’s eyes darted towards the actions. He rolled his eyes and grabbed Midoriya’s. Izuku gave him a small smile and squeezed Bakugou’s hand. Katsuki huffed and reciprocated the action.

Aizawa cleared his throat once again, gathering the attention of the room. “Right,” he started. “Well we all know what happened last night, I believe the only thing to do is hear everyone’s story before I deal out punishments for Mina.” Eraserhead let out a small sigh and shifted his body to face Katsuki. “Would you like to start Bakugou?”

Katsuki huffed and slouched down in the chair. He wanted to cross his arms, but that would involve pulling away from Izuku’s grasp. Bakugou gulped sourly. His eyes found where the sharp edge of the desk ended, giving way to the pale colored wall. He focused on that divide, eyes glaring daggers at the edge.

“Pink shit ran into my room followed by Eyebags and Dunce face. Startin’ shouting shit about me and Izuku and grew a crowd. Zuku tried to throw off suspicion but shit backfired and now here we are. Happy?” Bakugou glanced back at Aizawa. Even the overly simplified version had his leg bouncing and hands itching to claw at his closing throat. Bakugou’s fingers pressed into the palm of his hand, creating red crescents.

Aizawa pursed his lips. “I’ll need a deeper explanation.”

Bakugou huffed. “Well I don’t have any fucking shit left to say.”

“Midoriya?” Aizawa nodded his head towards the green headed boy. “Could you?”

Izuku glanced down towards Bakugou and his linked hands. His eyes fluttered upwards, landing on the displeased expression his boyfriend wore. “Sure,” he stated softly.

His head turned back towards Aizawa. He squeezed Katsuki’s hands before starting.

“Last night-“

Chapter Text

“Oh Bakugou~” Mina hummed, her smile spreading wide on her lips. She crossed the hallway quickly, her legs taking long strides. “Have I got a question for you!” Ashido’s eyes gleamed. When she opened Bakugou’s bedroom door he was on his bed sitting up. In front of Bakugou, facing towards him, was Midoriya. There was a phone to the side of them, leaning up against the bedroom wall with an episode of something playing. Mina didn’t really know what it was. Between them, a deck of cards laid. Ashido could see the remnants of what must have been a poorly lost game scattered across the room. 

Bakugou glanced at Ashido, his eyebrow tweaked upwards in disinterest. “What is it Racoon Eyes? Can’t you see we’re in the middle of something?” He waved vaguely at the card game. With the sweep of his hand came Midoriya leaning forwards, his head twisting to catch a glance of Katsuki’s cards. Bakugou lurched his hand backwards, concealing the cards. He hissed and pushed Izuku’s face away. “Get back you cheating gremlin bastard.” Midoriya, simple simple Midoriya, had the gall to pull himself backwards, his hand coming to his chest, and faked a gasp. “Me, cheating? Kacchan I would never do such a thing!”

Bakugou huffed and rolled in his eyes in amusement, resisting the urge to snort. He leaned to the side, so his face wasn’t obscured from Mina’s vision by a large head of green hair. “You had something to say?” 

Mina bit her bottom lip as her face split into a grin. She rocked forwards on her heels, her hands coming clasped in front of each other. Behind her, Kaminari and Shinsou rushed in, looking frazzled. They glanced from Mina to Bakugou back to Mina. The seemingly civil conversation had them turning towards each other, sharing a bewildered and curious glance before falling into a neutral stance and standing off to the side. Which, by the way, contradicted their rushed and crazed looks in a comically ironic way.

Ashido, not noticing the new company rocked forwards once more. “So~” she started. Izuku twisted around, intrigued by what the pink girl might bring up. His eyes shifted towards the two new occupants of the room and narrowed in suspicion. Shinsou pressed his lips together and tweaked them into something resembling a tight-mouthed smile. Midoriya nodded slowly, his gaze slowly falling back upon Mina.

Ashido, unable to restrain her question to herself any longer, decided that the best method would be to blurt it straight out. “Are you dating?” A thump, a gasp, and a slice. Bakugou stumbled to the side, knocking Izuku’s phone off of his nightstand. Kaminari’s mouth dropped open. Their hand came upwards to cover their gaping mouth. Izuku’s hands reached down towards his side, slyly pulling out the blade he kept under his shirt for a last defense. 

Mina, not noticing or not caring about the surprise of the room, continued on her rant undeterred. “It’s just, you guys are so close and like- I could totally see it. And I mean like, that quirk you got hit with Bakugou, it just makes sense! I mean, how cool would that be if you were dating. Like, the childhood friends to lovers trope is so cute! And, like, again, you dating just makes sense! Like, for a hot minute I thought you and Kirishima had something going on Bakugou-”

“ What.” Midoriya, forgetting that he was supposed to be in shock or denying Mina’s allegations, threw a venomous glance at Bakugou. Katuski simply responded by quickly throwing his hands up in surrender before his gaze once again flew to the pacing pink girl. 

“-but clearly not! And you guys can trust me. Like, I get it’s a big deal, but you can trust me. I won’t tell anyone. Cross my heart.” Ashido stopped and turned towards the assembly. “So?” she teetered forwards. “Is it true? Did I get it right?”

Shinsou moved to step forwards. “Mina-” but Kaminari held out their hand, preventing him. He tilted his head to the side, motioning towards Bakugou and Midoriya. Izuku was tapping rapidly against his arm and Bakugou was responding with taps of his own against his thigh. The code was spoken in quick succession, barely even taking up a second of time before Bakugou was scoffing. “You’ve got it all wrong Ra-Racoon Eyes.” 

Bakugou’s words stumbled. He inhaled sharply, his teeth grinding together. His hand clenched, pressing crescents into his palm. He wished to tap out something again, not for the communication but rather to release some of his nervous energy. If Ashido figured out then everything would go to shit. Bakugou guessed it wasn’t horrible that Eyebags and Dunce Face knew, but he didn’t- he didn’t plan on it being this soon. Still, he inhaled and tried to clear the clouds of fog that swept over his mind, spreading the mantra of Run Run Retreat Danger Danger Get Out Get Out Get-Out GetOutGetOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT-

Mina visibly deflated. Her shoulders fell forwards, her feet stopped rocking. Her head angled downwards, a small pout on her lips. But, then she was back up and wringing her hands. “Ah ha,” she gave an awkward laugh. “Well sorry about that Bakugou! Must’ve been awkward.” Mina sent a brief glance towards the door, her thoughts echoing: how fast can I get to Todoroki’s room to make myself forget this awkwardness and give him a makeover? But then Izuku gave a short, stout laugh and commented. “Ya, I mean us dating would be like me being quirkless, which is totally absurd!” 

...That throw away comment did not work in the way it was designed to.

Kaminari gasped- again. Their hand once again sky-rocketed to their mouth, but before they could muffle their speech, their words rang clear. “ You’re quirkless?” The english was flawlessly executed and completely unwanted. Shinsou whipped his head towards his date-mate. Bakugou, who could somewhat understand what was being said, for once was quiet. Mina gaped, her jaw dropping down to the ground. She glanced at Kaminari to Bakugou to Denki to Midoriya. Her hand came up to her mouth before lowering down before she once again slammed it against her mouth. She pried it off her face with an incredulous look. Midoriya tensed. His internal monologue was just oh shit oh shit Oh Shit Oh SHIT repeating over and over again. Next to him, Bakugou felt his heart stop. He couldn’t even muster up the words to knock Izuku playfully to the side and grumble about how that was a stupid move of him. He merely sat still, eyes trained on the vague pink splotch in his vision. His ears were ringing, his heart was pounding. Bakugou’s hands felt gross and he felt the need to scrub scrub scrub. The nitroglycerin sweat built up and Katsuki clutched his hands to his chest. He didn’t want to blow anything up, he didn’t want to blow anything up, he didn’t want to blow anything up. 

Everything was distant. His ears were ringing. Or, perhaps that was simply an alarm clock. Yes, an alarm clock to wake him up for this terrible dream. His secret was out, Izuku’s secret was out, and everything was going to shit. It was all shit.

Next to him, Bakugou’s cards laid face up. Midoriya didn’t even try to glance at them. 

Mina smiled. “Wait so you are dating and, oh my god Midoriya you’re quirkless! That’s so cool!”

A smash. 

Outside, Yaoyorozu dropped her phone. She stopped, in front of the still-open door. Her eyes were trained on the tiny device, which portrayed the tiny faces of her classmates, all on a FaceTime call. 

“Holy Shit.”

“Not the time Denki.”

Before Bakugou’s vision could focus back in, Midoriya was off the bed. He flew out of the room and tackled Yaoyorozu, pinning her to the hallway wall. His knife was braced against her neck, his hand restraining hers. “You’re not going to tell anyone about this, okay?”

“I-” Yaoyorozu stammered. Her eyes darted past Izuku’s figure and to the lonely device. Green eyes followed her gaze. Midoriya dropped the knife, his eyes stuck on the image of Kacchan’s classmates all glancing out from the screen. He walked slowly towards the phone in an unusually calm way. Squatting down, Midoriya gingerly picked up the device and saw it was unmuted. He took a staggering breath and harshly pressed the disconnect button. Then, he placed the phone back on the floor and stood up. His shoulders unruled and he schooled his face. Izuku glanced at Yaoyorozu, who looked both stunned and confused, then towards Mina, who looked absolutely mortified, then towards Shinsou and Kaminari, with the latter looking guilty and the former looking helpless. Finally, Midoriya’s gaze found it’s way back to ruby red eyes, his primary concern. He felt his breath leave his lips at the hopeless look on Bakugou’s face. His eyes were glassy, far away, un-seeing. His hands twitched uselessly at his side. His face was slack, his mouth hanging open, his body completely vacant. He was a shadow, a ghost. Midoriya hated it. 

“Out.” It came out as a harsh whisper. He pressed his nails into his hand until he felt the prickle of blood. His eyes were trained on Bakugou. But it wasn’t his Bakugou. Where his eyes would hold ferociously and determination, now there was just emptiness. A blank look that extended throughout his whole face. Shallow. Gone. Midoriya couldn’t stand it. Emerald eyes flickered to the side. 

“What?” 

“I said out, ” Midoriya repeated, louder this time. His gaze snapped upwards. Acidic eyes burned at anyone who looked at him. “Do I have to repeat myself again?”

Everyone scattered. 

Izuku let out a small breath. His shoulders slouched forwards. He slid the knife back into its hilt. Midoriya closed his eyes before wrapping his hand against the doorknob. He pulled the door shut and just...stood there. Taking it all in for a second. Then, once he felt his breath return to him, he turned around. Bakugou was still frozen, but he looked more there. Seemed more present. Maybe it was because there were less people, or maybe it's because Izuku was right next to him. Midoriya didn’t entirely care; he just wanted his boyfriend to be okay.

“Kacchan?” He asked softly, as he crawled into their bed. He swept his hand, knocking the cards off the bed. They fluttered softly, before landing on the floor.

When there was no response, Izuku’s forehead tweaked in concern. He pursed his lips for a minute before sweeping a strand of Bakugou’s blonde hair to the side. Tucking it behind one ear, he leaned in close. “Kacchan, you there?” 

Bakugou didn’t respond, not exactly. There were no words exchanged. No gruff greeting of ‘get off me Zuku’ or ‘you can’t seduce me into letting you win the card game; that didn’t work last time and it won’t work now.’ But Midoriya could tell he was there. His eyes seemed brighter, more focused. His hand stopped twitching and instead made a fist. 

Izuku gave Bakugou a brief smile. “Hey,” he stated quietly. It was intimate, which was dearly needed. It felt as if they would hold no more intimate moments now that everyone knew. Now that they couldn’t have their relationship just to themselves. “Everything’s okay.”

“But they-”

“Everything’s okay. They know but, we can’t go back in time, so-” Midoriya’s lips tweaked upwards in pain. “There’s nothing we can do.” He bit his lip and joked. “Seems like it was only yesterday that the most concerning thing was that I got shot.” 

That got a reaction out of Bakugou.

He pulled back from Izuku’s grasp, his face contorting incredulously. “ It was yesterday.”

Izuku shrugged. “Ah well, time moves fast, ya? Can’t focus on the past.” 

Bakugou opened his mouth to retort before shaking his head. Midoriya simply sighed and shrugged. His eyes quickly diverged from Bakugou’s face and glanced out the window.

“It’s late,” he started, “and we’re tired and there’s school tomorrow. You should sleep.”

“I-”

“Shhhh.” Midoriya pressed a finger to Bakugou’s lips. “I’ll handle everything. Okay? Sleep.” Then Midoriya got up and out of bed. Bakugou turned towards him, his hand catching Izuku’s wrist. “Where are you going?” He questioned. 

Midoriya snorted, “someone has to clean up these cards before you go crazy and go on another one of your crazy cleaning frenzies.”

“I do not have crazy cleaning frenzies nerd!” Bakugou protested. 

Izuku huffed. “Sure, whatever you say love.” With a small click, the light’s turned off. “Night darling.” Bakugou rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the fluttering feeling that mixed with sludge in his stomach. “Night nerd,” he grumbled and leaned down. He shuffled under the covers, his eyes staring at the dark wall as he listened to Izuku scurry across the room, scraping up slips of paper. It was only when Midoriya climbed into bed himself, enveloping Katsuki in a hug that they both know would end up flipped come the morning, that Bakugou was finally able to let his eyes close and enter the realm of sleep. 

Midoriya finished his retelling. He licked his lips and shrugged his shoulders. “That’s what happened ‘Raser.” He sent a brief glance towards Bakugou. “Like Kacchan said, shit backfired.”

Aizawa’s mouth formed the words before he spoke. “Right.” He glanced towards Mina. “Well then, time for punishment.” Reaching down, Aizawa picked up a large binder. It fell down onto the desk with a loud slam. Mina grew smaller in her seat. “Is that all for me?”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. He glanced at the binder. “No this is simply Nedzu’s kill list.” He stated simply and didn’t explain further. Flipping open the binder, Aizawa scrolled through various passages before he got to the required one. “You're lucky that it wasn’t a purposeful outing, because otherwise you would’ve been expelled Mina. Instead though…” Aizawa flipped through a couple more pages. “Right. So, we have illegal hacking, the disrespect of privacy, demanding information that was unneeded by you, forcing your classmates to disclose personal information to you, snooping in their private life, and accidentally outing them.” Izuku was pretty sure there weren’t rules written for those exact scenarios, but with how Aizawa was scrolling through the binder he was second guessing himself. 

“So, Mina, here’s your toll.” He slammed the binder closed. “Detention until graduation, a 10 page paper on why privacy is important, a written apology to Bakugou, the promise to mind your own business, and you’ll be sitting out on the next 10 joint-training exercises and the next 5 training exercises. Instead, you’ll be going through my hellscape.”

Izuku shuddered. When Eraserhead had learned of his vigilante activities he put Izuku through his hellscape. The mere mention of it had him shivering. 

“Bakugou, Problem Child, I believe we’re done here. Leave and tell Present Mic I’ll be in with Mina in a minute. We need to have a private chat.” His gaze switched to the pink girl, who was quivering in her seat, and he flashed his quirk. “Also, if any of you need to see a therapist, you know where Hound Dog is.”

Midoriya nodded and grabbed Bakugou’s hand. He pulled the blonde out of the room. When the door shut, Izuku turned towards Katsuki.

“Are you okay?”

Bakugou shrugged. “I’m...fine.” A pause. ”I’m fine,” he repeated. “Let’s just get to class.” He started walking forwards, his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Oh! Can we-”

“No vents.”

“You’re no fun.” Midoriya pouted but didn’t bring it up again. He walked next to Bakugou. When they reached Class 1-A, the duo paused in front of the door. Midoriya hesitated for a moment before leaning over and whispered in Bakugou’s ear. “If anyone says anything, or you need me to do anything, well… knives out, fists punching, right?”

Katuski nodded. “Knives out, fists punching,” he agreed. 

“Then let’s do this.” Midoriya placed his hand on the door handle and pushed it open, only to immediately be blasted with the sound of Present Mic’s screaming voice.

“Or not.” Izuku commented.

“Or not.”

Chapter Text

Bakugou glared at the board. Present Mic had written all over it, blabbing on and on about whatever subject they were in. Normally, Katsuki would try to pay more attention- after all, he didn’t want his grades to fall, he didn't put so much effort into having a flawless school record to fail. But, he could feel the glances. The eyes, lingering on his back or flying over to Izuku. And frankly it was fucking annoying. 

Bakugou rolled his shoulders backwards and huff. He sent a quick glance over towards the clock. But, darn it, there was still 30 minutes left until lunch. Aizawa had returned once before, only to leave with Kaminari in tow. Bakugou didn’t really protest. He wasn’t angry at Kaminari, per say. They didn’t mean any harm. But, Denki had also illegally hacked into hospital records which means Aizawa had to talk to them. Anyways- it didn’t really matter why Aizawa left again because Present Mic was still teaching and he was loud. 

Katsuki pressed his lips together as Yamada belted out yet another answer. The urge to take his hearing aids off was strong. But, Bakugou also had a thing with his hearing aids. Not many people knew he wore them and, without them, Katsuki felt vulnerable. His hearing was really bad after years of being exposed to so many explosions. Without the devices he wouldn’t be able to hear anyone, let alone a threat. And Katsuki wouldn’t let himself be caught off guard. Not again. Not after all he had been through. So, the hearing aids stayed in and Present Mic’s loud teaching continued. Izuku and him had considered skipping class when they opened the door only to be assaulted with Yamada’s vocals but, again, Bakugou couldn’t miss a lesson.

Midoriya leaned over. He poked Bakugou in the arm with his pen. Katsuki shook his head and kept his eyes on the board. His pencil flickered between his fingers. Izuku poked him once again, a little harder this time. Bakugou rolled his eyes and huffed, his gaze shifting over to his boyfriend. Midoriya held up his paper- it was detailed with some criminal’s history, but Bakugou didn’t want to get involved with Izuku’s vigilante/informant stuff so he strayed his eyes away from the daunting letters and towards the small penciled words that laid in the upper left corner.

Lunch- can we visit Aoki?

Katsuki lets himself smile briefly. Of course Izuku would want to visit the brat he saved. Bakugou takes Midoriya’s pen out of his hand, even though he has his own pencil, leans over and jots down an answer.

Sure nerd. 

Then, Izuku grins at him- all bright and sunny- and Bakugou can’t help but melt. His heart squeezes tightly and for a second he forgets about the gazes, about the eyes focused on his body. His stomach simply flutters and his body is filled with serotonin. Izuku looks so pure, like a puppy. His eyes are blown wide, his smile stretching across his face. Katsuki loves the way his dimples form, disrupting the perfect pattern of his freckles into a splotchy mess. No longer are they perfect diamonds, but rather a splatter of constellations. Even Izuku’s eyes crease. The image just reminds Bakugou so much of before. Before they got into hero schools. Before Izuku moved half-way across the country. Before Midoriya decided that the best way to fight a world who hated him was to fight back- to put up defenses and be ruthless. Because, well- villains are ruthless, so he can’t spare any morality. Katsuki can say that he hasn’t seen this Midoriya, the one radiated with joy even though his eyes scream that he’s exhausted, in a while. In a long while. They’re always too wrapped up in their worlds now. Some foreign foe, or some school exam, to really be able to share that one bright smile. It’s the one that they had the summer before high school, before they realized that Izuku would be leaving. Their days were full of long walks and picnics. Of late nights and fun spars. Of innocent, childish things because that’s what they were. Children. That’s what they are. Children. And suddenly Bakugou becomes a lot sadder. They are children, there’s no other way to say it, but they have been risking their lives for the past three years. They could’ve died before they had the chance to get married. They could’ve died before they got to be full heroes. And, even then, they still might die. Izuku might die. He might die and Bakugou wouldn’t know because he wouldn’t have been there. Because nobody would know how much they meant to each other. 

A lump forms in Katsuki’s throat. His mouth goes dry and he closes his eyes because Izuku’s not dead. Neither of them are dead. And, for once, Midoriya’s smiling at him and there is no war at the end of that smile. No promise of victory, or of a deceiving plan. It’s simply a smile, one that radiates warmth and joy. It’s just a nice, innocent smile. 

So Bakugou swallows the lump. He blinks the tears out of his eyes and hands Izuku his pen back. Then, he slips his hand into Midoriya’s. Izuku grins at him again- more shy than sunny, and let’s their hands drop below the desks. Bakugou’s head turns towards the front again and he begins to read the notes on the board. The feeling of being watched returns and Katsuki tries his best to not squeeze Midoriya’s hand, but he doesn’t succeed. Izuku though, as reassuring as ever, squeezes back. 

Class ends with little fanfare. Aizawa returns eventually and dismisses Present Mic. He whines about ‘really connecting with the little listeners’ even though half the class looks dead. Eraserhead simply huffs and waves his hand. Yamada packs up and leaves soon after that. Aizawa sends one more glance out towards the sea of children before sighing. He buries his head into his capture weapons and murmurs a “free period problem children, you all look dead enough” before pulling out his sleeping bag and unceremoniously falling to the ground. The words get people up and going though. The classroom sprouts with new noise, conversations overlapping and getting louder, and suddenly Bakugou realizes that he might miss Present Mic’s loud teaching. Because, at least then, there was only one voice. Now there’s twenty. 

He presses his hand to his ears and sighs. There’s an oncoming headache about to happen, he can feel it. He can also feel the gazes on his back becoming a lot closer. There’s the sound of footsteps, hidden under the cloak of voices but still clearly there, and soon it’s not just the headache that’s pounding in Bakugou’s head. His hands grow sweaty and his throat clogs up. The people get closer and Bakugou’s reminded of slime, tugging on his legs and arms until he’s trapped trapped trapped- clawing and scrapping for a way out only for there to be more slime and-

Izuku taps on his desk. Katsuki’s eyes fly up to him. ‘You okay?’ he signs. His eyebrows are drawn together and his lips are pressed in concern. Bakugou closes his eyes and breaths in through his nose deeply. He tries to get the slime to recede and in a way it does, but it’s still there, clinging to his throat, and his head still roars. Katsuki nods no quickly and signs ‘nurse.’ Midoriya bobs his head in response and stands up. Bakugou stands up too and, with their hands still linked, they walk up to Aizawa. Midoriya kicks him in the stomach, causing him to open one eye. ‘Nurse.’ he signs shortly and then they’re walking again. When the door shuts all the noise is sucked away, echoing the hallway into a silent standstill.

Midoriya’s the one to break the silence first. As their footsteps echo through the empty halls, he asks “Are you okay Kacchan?” Bakugou pauses. “Headache,” he states shortly. But, then again, it isn’t just a headache, is it? “And the extras are-” he waves his hand vaguely to the side- “annoying. They’re fucking watching me the entire period.”

Midoriya knocks his shoulder against Katsuki’s. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Midoriya frowns. “I mean it. If I hadn’t made that dumb correlation then none of this would happen. I know this was important you and I-” he shrugs, “I feel like I took it away. I never wanted to do that to you. I’m sorry.”

Bakugou huffs. He keeps his eyes straight ahead of him, afraid of what he would do if he were to turn towards Izuku. “Izuku, I know. You’re a dumbass and I forgive you for that. Fucking Racoon Eyes took it away from me. She fucking snooped when she didn’t have the right.” Bakugou mutters a few more curse words and then they’re walking in silence. When they arrive at the nurse, Izuku lets go of Bakugou’s hand. He darts ahead and opens the door before dramatically bowing. “Please, walk in first.” Katsuki snorts and walks in. Midoriya files in after him and the door shuts with a loud bang. 

Recovery Girl glances over. Her forehead creases in confusion as she assesses the two boys. “No visible injuries, no burns, no bruises, no broken boys, no…” She drifts off until her mind snaps back into reality. “Why are you here?”

Midoriya cocks his thumb at Katsuki, “he has a headache.” Recovery Girl huffs and scurries over to the corner. Her fingers fly over various jars until they land on one. She reaches upwards and grabs it. Unscrewing it, she pours one aspirin into her hand. “Here,” she walks back over to Bakugou. “Take this and-” she glances around for a thing of water but Bakugou’s already swallowed pill. “Well then. That’ll take effect soon. Back to class!” Recovery Girl then shoos the duo out. 

When the door shuts behind them Izuku shuffles his feet. “You know,” he draws out, “we don’t have to go to class.”

“We can’t skip Izuku.”

“It’s a free period!” Midoriya’s hands fly out. “Come on Kacchan! Surely we could skip a free period?” He clasps his hands together and leans forwards. “Please?” 

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Fine.” And then they’re off.

They end up at a small garden Bakugou didn’t even know UA had. There are trees arching overhead and lunch tables spread out across the lush grass. But, Midoriya ends up pulling them over to the base of a large tree. He sits down, his legs stretching out in front of him. Once Bakugou follows his example, Midoriya shifts again. His head rests down on Bakugou’s lap and now he’s staring up at Katsuki's face. “I love you,” he states. “I love you too,” Bakugou responds. 

They stay like that for the rest of the period.

Chapter Text

Time had always been a weird thing for him. Sometimes weeks passed in mere moments. The days were quick, flying by in mere minutes. The sun rose and set and then rose again. He would go through the routine that the mean men had made him do robotically. He would wake up, against the cool concrete pavement, and wait to be collected. Then he would be plugged in and just push until his skin grew frail, sticking uncomfortably against his bones, and he looked dead enough to reflect how he felt. Then they would take the long needle and stick it into his arm. His complexion would go back to normality, his skin would fill out, and he would have to push more. Sometimes, the drug wouldn’t work and they’d throw him outside. He’d simply lay there, down on the ground. The grass would tickle his skin, the dirt would stick between his toes, and the sunlight would tan his face. But, then Aoki would be ripped back into the cruel factory filled with harsh lines and sterile grays and whites. No green, no blue, no colors that reminded him of nature- just the stern lines that donated man-made nightmare factories. 

Other times though, time passed-well it passed worse. Aoki wasn’t quite sure if that was worded correctly in his mind- time passed worse didn’t flow off the tongue like the other sentences he had overheard, but he wasn’t quite sure how else to iterate it. Time just passed...worse. It was slower, painful, heartfelt. Every minute was excruciating, stretching out for hours at a time. Time passed worse when the men would come and they wouldn’t take him to the room. Instead of being plugged into the large, grey tank that took his energy and put it elsewhere, he was pushed into the crowded room overfilled with men and body sweat. Time passed worse when he was forced to sit down, in the small rickety wooden seat, with Madame right behind him, hanging off to the side of him. Her sharp nails would dig harshly into his skin, her hand firmly planted on his shoulder. She would remain straight faced (unless Aoki squirmed of course, then her calm eyes would snap towards him, burning in hatred and promises of pain) as the men would come up. Often they were bulky- muscles filling up their arms and legs. The tattoo that Aoki had become far too familiar with stretched their entire forearm, filling it up with details of flowers and a dragon and complex line art that had to take hours. They’d stretch their arm out, with their devious grins that sent shivers down Aoki’s spine with the urge to run, and Aoki would be forced to touch their skin. It would always be prickly, rough and taut. Nothing like the soft feeling grass gave, and even though it was rough, it was nothing like the rough texture of bark. It was wrong, just plain and simple wrong. Nothing like nature, nothing at all like nature.

But still, Aoki would have to touch them and then his hand would grow green and he could feel himself shrivel slightly. They’d buff up, their exhausted eyes gaining another level of glimmer, and then they’d turn and leave- laughing in joy. Aoki could only watch helplessly as they left and another filled their space. Each exchange took more and more out of him until he couldn’t even feel the wrongness of their skin, until he couldn’t help but wish for some clean air or a shred of sunlight. And the worst part though, was the fact that it took forever. Time just passed slower on those days. Each second felt like minutes, each minute felt like hours, and each hour felt like days passing. 

So yes, time was always weird for Aoki. Sometimes it was nice to him, and sometimes it wasn’t. But, Aoki knew he no longer had to fear the days where time passed worse. After all, he was at UA now. Still though, time was still weird for him. Objectively he knew it hadn’t been weeks or months, but then again he wasn’t quite sure what those felt like. There was a small paper calendar hanging up in the corner of his room. It marked that it was Friday and that two days had passed but it also felt like an eternity. Maybe Aoki just wasn’t used to time feeling nice.

The people at UA let him go outside. Well, first they forced him into the infirmary and he had to get proper nutrition, but then they had let him go outside. He was never permitted to spend more than an hour outside before, but he got to spend all day. He got to feel the difference in the rays of sunlight as the sky grew dimmer until eventually the moon arose. He got to feel the grass through his fingertips forever, got to watch flowers and got to run his hand through a small stream. Best of all though, there was no Madame watching his every step. He didn’t have to worry about scrutiny or being forced to give up nature. He could just bathe in sunlight and feel.

His body filled with warmth, his mind with dopamine. Aoki wasn’t able to wipe away the small grin that spread across his face. His body had gone a whole day without shriveling inwards, even more- his skin actively got softer with a tanner complexion rather than ghastly. There were no dark bags under his eyes, and his skin was finally stretchy. Aoki could actually muster the strength to do a cartwheel, something he saw one of the students doing. Granted, he fell but he could still hold himself up; he could move in ways he had never before. Aoki felt like he had finally been given water after 10 years of thirst. It was amazing.

The two days felt like a haven. He was simply able to bask in the sunlight. His clothes were finally fitted, not drowning his body in cruel cloth that rubbed uncomfortably against his skin. The UA staff had encouraged him to go outside. They said it was good for him. But, then they’d interrupted his haven.

The tall lady who Aoki had to remember was not Madame, approached him with a momentum of caution. Her body language was open, and she portrayed her motions before she actually moved so Aoki wouldn’t be startled. Once she was close enough, Midnight squatted down next to where Aoki was buried in the grass.

“Hey kiddo,” her voice had lost it’s normal sultry undertone. Instead, it radiated warmth and comfort. Midnight smiled from where she was, though internally she was fighting over the fact that she was in her hero costume. Don’t get Kayama wrong, she loved being Midnight. She had chosen the mantle- the image- herself. She had no qualms over the way she presented. It was empowering. But, when talking to traumatized 10 year old's, she also wished that she could wear the clothes she wore at homes. You know, soft sweater dresses and tights. A t-shirt and jeans. More approachable outfits. But, Nemuri shook her head, no time to focus on that. UA had a policy on teachers having to wear hero costumes for a reason, and, even if they didn’t, she didn’t have anything else to change into.

Aoki glanced upwards, his golden eyes glancing at the lady’s soft features. He felt his eyebrows furrowed. They had never come to collect him this early. The sun hadn’t set yet or maybe it was going to set later today? Aoki didn’t really know. Again, time was weird. What was he to say about how early or late it was?

When the kid made eye contact Nemuri smiled again. “I know you’re enjoying your time outside, but some people want to see you, if that’s okay? It’s the boy who saved you- Dekiru?” Kayama’s eyes scanned Aoki’s face as he began to recognize the name. His eyes grew wider, his mouth opening slightly. Quickly, he sat up, elbows perched on the grass. “He wants to see me?” the words were slurred slightly. They felt wobbly in Aoki’s mouth and wrong in a sense. He had to remind his tongue how to move, how the words were supposed to feel. They still felt wrong but- well Midnight seemed to understand so maybe they weren’t as wrong as they felt.

Nemuri nodded. “He does! Do you want to see him kiddo?”

Aoki shook his head fiercely in agreement.

Nemuri grinned once more. She stood up, her legs cracking from the motion, and offered her hand. Aoki grabbed it with hesitance but still allowed himself to be pulled upwards. Then, they turned around and walked back into the building.

The inside was much cooler than outside. Aoki was hit by the sensation of air-conditioning. It sent his skin prickling, causing goosebumps to poke upwards and his hair to stand on ends. He instinctively tilted his head towards the nearest light source, a ceiling light. Nemuri huffed in amusement to herself and simply shook her head. Good to know the kid was more similar to plants than just his external quirk functions.

Nemuri led Aoki back down the long hallway he had gotten familiar with. It curved inwards until it broke out into separate sectors, each holding a door. Aoki wasn’t quite sure what was in the other rooms, but he hadn’t got the courage to ask yet either so it remained a mystery to him. Kayama opened his door for him and Aoki ducked his head gratefully. He rushed into the small room and Nemuri sent him a brief smile.

“The boys will be here soon. I’ll be just down the hall if you need me, okay?” Aoki nodded and Kayama left. 

Aoki glanced around his room. It still felt so new. In the corner was a bed- a real bed with a mattress and pillows. The sheets were a soft green and- even though he was old enough to not need children's toys- there was a variety of stuffed animals spread across the bed which he was grateful for. To the side there was a bookcase, barren except for a few issues he couldn’t read. Then, there was his favorite part. Under the window the teachers had installed a small bench. A plethora of plants, live plants, had been potted and placed. Aoki gingerly walked towards the plants. His fingers stretched outwards, thumbing the leaves of a flower. He hummed under his breath softly and his quirk responded. It reached up and out, pulsing in green energy, and the plant grew. The stem swirled upwards, the petals extended. Aoki grinned and pulled his hand away until he extended it too much and broke it. It was never good when that happened- after all, he never ever intended to kill a flower.

Aoki turned his attention towards the other plants. He loosely grabbed the watering-can that had been filled up when he was outside and poured a small dollop of water into each pot. The soil darkened and Aoki could feel the plants humming in appreciation. Again, a small grin etched itself onto his face. It was nice being able to take care of the plants. After all, they always take after him.

Suddenly, the door opened. Aoki stiffened, his body tensing upon instinct. He glanced behind him, eyes widening in fear before he even registered who it was. And- oh. 

Midoriya grinned at him. He walked into the room softly, his feet not making a sound against the hardwood floor. He waved and Aoki could barely give him the small movement of his hand before his eyes were drawn elsewhere. He traced the arm of Midoriya down to his interlocked fingers with somebody else. They were blonde and tall and buff. Aoki imagined that if the men who forced him to use his powers were pretty and youthful they’d look like this. He wasn’t sure if he liked that image.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Aoki did his best to grin at Midoriya. This was his hero, after all. The boy who saved him. The boy...who got shot for him. Dread filled up in his stomach and Aoki shuddered. He never wanted anybody to get hurt, that was never his intention that night. But, well he heard fighting. And Madame had come for him. By then he was already locked down in his cold, concrete room. But, Madame had come for him and gotten him out of there. Her grip was iron-tight on his wrists, dragging him down through the small hallways. The sounds got louder- of fighting and yelling and thuds- but Madame continued undeterred. It was only when they had to pass the main room, where there were no walls to hide away from the fight, that Aoki had gotten his opportunity. Madame’s attention was taken away from him by the dark haired man with the scarf. Her grip had loosened momentarily and then Aoki yanked and ran. He didn’t know what had gotten over him, only that Madame’s grip was loose and he had an opportunity. He half-stumbled, half-ran away from her and out, right into the body of Dekiru. Of Midoriya. Of course, Madame had followed after him but the scarf-man had taken her down. That didn’t stop Midoriya from being shot though. And- well Aoki couldn’t help but think that if he hadn’t run from Madame Midoriya wouldn’t have gotten shot. 

Glancing at him now though, Midoriya looked fine. Aoki's scanned his chest where he was shot but there was nothing. He felt his mind trying to wrap around the idea that maybe Midoriya was alright. Still though, it felt odd in his head. He was shot. But, there was a smile on his face though there were also prominent eye bags. He greeted Aoki happily, like an old friend. Aoki hesitated for a moment before deciding that Dekiru looked fine. And, even if he wasn't, well Aoki was there to help him. 

“Hey,” Midoriya spoke softly. “Mind if we have a seat? We brought food?” 

Aoki opened his mouth to say yes. Of course Dekiru could sit and eat. But, then Aoki’s gaze drew to the blonde. He was gruff looking, that’s for sure. Aoki wasn’t sure if he wanted to eat with him. But… Midoriya looked happy holding his hand and the plants hummed in encouragement behind him. If Midoriya was here Aoki was sure everything would be okay. So, with a small head nod, Midoriya grinned and shut the door. Thus began lunch.

Chapter Text

Midoriya grinned, his eyes flickering away from Aoki- who was happily invested in his sandwich- and towards Bakugou. The blonde raised an eyebrow towards Izuku's inquisitive look, and Midoriya just blushed. “It’s nice doing this,” he muttered quietly so only Bakugou could hear, “it’s...domestic.” Bakugou huffed, “Fuckin’ nerd,” he murmured back. Still, he squeezed Midoriya’s hand tightly. Izuku shed a small, private smile towards Katsuki and repeated the action.

“So,” he turned back towards Aoki who was busy eating a side of rice. “How are you settling in Aoki, everything at UA okay? Are you feeling comfortable, do you feel safe? Are you still scared?”

Aoki hummed, “I’m okay.” He rocked back and forth in his chair, his hand picking up the second slice of his sandwich, “‘m not scared, UA’s a prestigious hero school and you’re here. Besides, you took down Madame, right?”

“Right,” Midoriya nodded and smiled brightly despite his confusion. Aoki was acting...different then how other rescued children had acted in Izuku’s opinion. Perhaps it’s because he’s older? “Say, Aoki, how do you know UA’s a prestigious hero school?”

Aoki paused his chewing. He glanced at Midoriya then towards Bakugou. “Because it’s UA?” his words were muffled, “It’s in the news all the time…”

Izuku perked up. “You had news while you were-“ Midoriya hesitated. He didn’t want to say “captured” or “kidnapped” in case he triggered Aoki. Luckily though, the boy understood what he was trying to say.

Aoki titled his head, his eyebrows drew together and his face screwed up tight. Then, as if a light bulb had gone off, realization dawned on his face. He straightened his head and glanced towards Midoriya. “I wasn’t captured as a kid,” Aoki started hesitantly. “I got caught when I was 8. I-“ He bit his lip. His hands drew together in fists and Aoki stared down at the table. Behind him, the plants hummed. Aoki could feel his quirk under his skin, begging to be let out and run free but he breathed sharply and tried to ignore it. “I was out with my friends at the time. My parents are-were,” Aoki screwed his face together. Present or past tense? “are,” he decided; it would’ve been too painful to do the latter- “are divorced and I lived with my dad. He did his best to support me, but my mom didn’t have to pay a lot in child support so he was working pretty often. I was just out with my friends at the park and we were playing around with our quirks and…” Aoki’s voice died off again. Memories rushed to the surface. He bit his lip harder, drawing blood.

Izuku frowned. “Hey,” he reached out, “you don't have to share if you don’t want to. If it’s too painful we can switch topics.” But Aoki shook his head. “No, no I’m good.” Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and started again. 

“The plants started whispering to me, warning me but well- I didn’t really listen. We were just having harmless fun, I thought they were being too protective. But then when we were walking home there were these guys following us and- and one grabbed me. Arm over the mouth, half-strangulation and everything. One of them made a grab for my friend Wantanabe but I guess they missed. All I know is that when I woke up I was in that cold room and- well you know the rest from there.”

Izuku resisted the urge to say ‘well actually’ because they don’t know the rest from there. The drug bust was supposed to be breaking up a heroin deal, but instead they got cases of trigger and an apparent villain trading headquarters, complete with a captured child and group of tattooed lackeys. The questions played on Izuku’s tongue, begging to be shouted out. But, he could tell by Aoki’s posture and volume that he was done with the storytelling. Yet...something else jumped out from the story and latched onto Izuku’s brain.

“You said the plants ‘ warned you’? ” He asked, intrigued. Aoki’s quirk was called fysisynthesis and it was registered as being able to take energy from the sun, water, and even the soil like plants, and convert it into energy. However, if Aoki could also talk to plants then maybe his quirk needed a new description. 

Aoki hummed in response. “They talk to me sometimes.” What. “Well, it’s less of talking and more like a hum that I can understand. There’s no words.” Okay that was… well-

Midoriya bit his lip. Technically, even though Aoki was clearly communicating with plants he couldn’t speak to them. Not like other language related quirks worked. Izuku wasn't as well versed in that topic as others, but from his knowledge in order to be considered having a language quirk- whether that crosses species or simply other dialects- you need to be able to a) understand the words being spoken and b) speak the words back. There was also the third classification that the quirk needed to span either between species or different languages, but that was simply a technical thing added to differentiate language quirks with telepathic quirks, which fell under their own classification along with empaths. But that's besides the point, Midoriya’s mind was running off the track.

If Aoki could communicate with the plants but couldn’t speak to them- not in the sense with actual words- then technically he didn't have language quirk embedded in his fysisynthesis. However, his quirk still needed a new definition because how can he communicate with plants? Midoriya’s eyebrows drew together. His mouth began to silently move, forming different words in an attempt to explain his thought-process to himself. Next to him, Bakugou’s forehead wrinkle in concern. Gently, he rocked against his boyfriend, bumping their shoulders together. 

“Pst, nerd.” Katsuki’s gruff voice broke Izuku out of his trance. He blinked repetitively and pulled his head back from it’s hunched over position. Bakugou huffed and rolled his eyes. “It’s lunch Zuku, no need to think too hard. Take it easy,” Katsuki murmured at the end. He pressed his shoulder up against Midoriya again, as opposed to moving back in front of his placemat. 

Izuku ducked his head, a small blush spreading across his cheeks. Even after dating Katsuki for 3 years (though, really, the exact date could be argued because even before they officially got together they acted like a couple) his miniscule acts of appreciation and affection still got Midoriya off guard. Izuku bit his lip as they spread into a smile. “Thanks,” he pushed back against Bakugou’s side. Once again, Katsuki huffed in amusement. He rolled his eyes and threw his arm over Izuku’s shoulder. “Whatever nerd, you can tell me about whatever was going on in your head later.” Izuku couldn’t stop it- his shy smile broke out into a wide, toothy grin. It never stopped to amaze him how Bakugou was always so willing to listen to his rants. Normally, people would either shut him down or just nod along dismissively, but not Katsuki.

Izuku blinked and took a deep breath. He lifted his head upwards, sent a thankful glance towards his boyfriend, and then turned back towards Aoki. “Sorry about that,” he laughed- his cheeks still stained red- “I-”

“It’s fine,” Aoki shrugged, “We all get lost in our heads sometimes.” He munched on his food for a second before sending an inquisitive look behind him. The plants hummed again in approval. Aoki's lips broke into a small smile, it was always great when the plants approved of someone. 

The trio continued lunch without much more fanfare. The conversation shifted from less sensitive topics to more broad, general ones. Did Aoki have any hobbies he was interested in pursuing? Yes, gardening. Was he comfortable in the room, did he want anything else? Different clothes? Books? The mundane questions and topics fueled the conversation, allowing all participants to have a sense of normativity for once. They weren’t hero students and a traumatized kid- they were just acquaintances, trying to get to know each other better. And sure, there was a part that could never forget the different power positions in the room- not with Aoki staring up at Izuku with stars in his eyes, but that didn’t necessarily mean the conversations were tense. They just...were. 

Eventually, the period ended and Izuku and Katsuki had to pack up. They discarded the trash and placed their food containers back into the large recyclable bag Auntie Inko had given Katsuki when she discovered how much he enjoyed cooking. When it was actually time to leave though, meaning there was nothing left to do, Izuku bent down to Aoki. He gave him a broad smile, one that casted dimples on his face and radiated across the whole room. Behind him Bakugou sighed.

“Hey bud,” Izuku said, “just know that if you need anything you can always call on me or Kacchan. I’m-” Midoriya hesitated and his smile turned pained for a second. “I’m not gonna be here much longer. I’m actually a hero student at Shiketsu, across the country. On Sunday I should be going back there. So, I guess I’m saying I won’t be in your immediate vicinity. But-” Izuku moved closer. His eyes peered directly into Aoki’s golden ones. “I will always be here if you need me, okay? You can ask any of the heroes if you want to talk to me, they have my phone number. And- there’s also Kacchan. He’s a hero student here and we call each other all the time. And, if you need someone to physically be here for you, then you can always go to him. Okay?”

Aoki nodded his head slowly. Behind him, the plants seemed to wilt in disappointment. “So you’re...leaving.” He didn’t mean to, but a small sniffle escaped. There was the prickle of tears in his eyes, hot and begging to burst. Midoriya frowned. “Ya…” he sighed softly. “I have to. But, Aoki, if you need me, I’ll be here for you.”

Aoki nodded slowly, mulling over the words. “Okay,” he whispered. “This is goodbye then?”

“Ya, this is goodbye.” 

Aoki bit his lip before rushing forwards. He latched onto Midoriya’s torso. “Bye then,” he stated before pulling back. His hands wrung around each other. He felt an odd sort of charge, the begging of his quirk to be let out, pushed into the atmosphere. But, he managed to keep it to himself, though his fingers sparked green. 

Izuku nodded and stood up. He rested his hand on Aoki’s head and ruffled his hair. “Bye Aoki.”

“Bye.”

Midoriya turned back towards Bakugou. Katsuki reached out and Izuku firmly grabbed onto his hand. The duo exited the room and, once the door was closed, Katsuki turned towards Izuku. He lifted his free hand to wipe away Midoriya’s tears. 

Katsuki frowned. “Wanna take the vents Zuku?”

Midoriya couldn’t help the broken laugh that came out of his throat. He laughed until the sound died and his lips pulled back into a remorseful smile. “No,” he shook his head softly. “Thanks though, Kacchan.” 

Bakugou simply rolled his eyes and pulled Izuku closer. “I know you nerd. You don’t have to bottle up your emotions. You’ll miss the kid, but he’s not going anywhere.” 

Midoriya rested his head onto Katsuki’s shoulder. He glanced at the closed door leading to Aoki’s room. “You’re right Kacchan I just-” Midoriya’s head shifted inwards. He buried his face into the crook of Bakugou’s neck. Breathing deeply, he could practically taste the scent of caramel. Midoriya’s shoulders relaxed and he let himself lie limp in Katsuki’s arms. “It’s just hard to let them go. Especially when I barely got to talk to him.”

Bakugou wrapped his arms tighter around Izuku. “He’s safe here Izuku, and you can always visit him tomorrow or on Sunday or whenever you come to visit. Soon we’ll be out of school and we can visit him whenever we want.” 

Izuku felt a grin take over his face. Him and Katsuki as adults, full fledged pro heroes, going to visit Aoki. It makes him think of the future, the future they have together. And suddenly, the memories of last night rush back to him and remind him that they can have that future now. Of course, not the marrying part- they’re still teenagers after all, but they can be open with their relationship. It won’t be immediately, especially since it didn’t happen on Bakugou’s terms and Midoriya doesn’t and will never want to push him out of his comfort zone but it can happen. 

Izuku pulls back from their embrace, though their chests are still flush together. He gazes upwards, his eyes trailing Katsuki’s face until they stare into his ruby red eyes. Bakugou stares back with adoration. His hand travels slightly lower and grasps onto Izuku’s waist. In response, Midoriya’s hand travels upwards until one is wrapped around his neck and the other is cupping his cheek. “I love you Kacchan,” he murmurs. Their faces are so close that Bakugou can feel Izuku’s puffs of breath against his lips. “Love you too nerd,” he responds and then they’re kissing.  

It’s soft and gentle, moving in the rhythmic way that gets Midoriya enraptured. Bakugou pulls him closer and Midoriya lets him, wanting to become closer to Katsuki. He thinks there’s still the remnants of tears on his face but, here and now, there’s no sadness to be seen. He can and will visit Aoki, and Katsuki will look after him when Izuku can’t. ( The traitorous part of his mind whispers to Izuku ‘like Aoki’s their kid,’ which fills his mind with all types of thoughts that he’s not prepared for and frankly, would rather push away before he can start daydreaming about them. And maybe that’s part of the reason he’s trying to get lost, deeper and deeper, into Bakugou’s kiss- if only to forget about fantasizing about adoption and having a kid together. Even if the thought is pleasant and sends Izuku's heart beating faster, there's also the harsh reality that Katsuki might not want a kid- which is fine with Izuku- but there's the even harsher reality that they're both going to be Pro Heroes and maybe, possibly, will die on the job and Izuku doesn't want to leave a kid without a parent. Still though, the image of coming home to see a kid- to see their son- and to see Katsuki- his husband- is just...)

Izuku can’t help but feel the thrill of adrenaline when, after a few more moments, Bakugou doesn’t pull away. This is the longest they’ve ever kissed in public, even if the corridor they're in is deserted. Izuku supposes this is just another benefit of no longer being in hiding and well- he’s not arguing with it. Meanwhile, Bakugou’s heart is racing and his mind is running. It’s filled with thoughts of Izuku- of the way he feels, tastes, and just is- but it’s also bubbling over with the fact that somebody could see them. Somebody could see them. And yet, he isn’t pulling back- he isn’t worrying. He isn’t afraid of being caught, of being laughed at, of their relationship being exposed because it already is. And though his mind is still plagued with the what-ifs and the thoughts of how this will affect his image, affect his success, he also knows none of the Bakusquad hate him (even if he's on rough to non-existent terms with Mina). None of his close friends- of the people he needs to like him, hate him. He’s finally allowed to co-exist with his boyfriend, with the love of his life, and with his friends. He can have both worlds, not just one in private and one in public. The thought is exhilarating and sends Bakugou into deepening their kiss. He’s so filled with the feeling of Midoriya that the overwhelming doubt and negative thoughts that normally roam his mind simply don’t have handholds. At this moment, Bakugou is able to simply be with his lover in public.

“Well~” a sultry voice interrupts from behind them. Both Midoriya’s and Bakugou’s eyes fly open and they scramble apart. A blush is erupting across Izuku’s cheeks and even Katsuki isn’t able to escape the overwhelming feeling of embarrassment ( and fear ) that rushes over him. In front of them, Midnight stands with her hip cocked. Her hands are on her hips and an extreme look of amusement is washed over her face. “Hello lovebirds,” she hums, not able to hide the mirth that leaks into her voice, “I do hope you didn’t do that in front of poor, pure Aoki.” And then their faces are flaming up again. Izuku’s eyes widen like dinner saucers and he stutters to answer. “No! Of course not! We were just! I- uh-” his rambling of excuses prompts a short laugh out of the Rated-R heroine. Kayama sighs and shakes her head softly. “Oh kiddos,” she gazes upon the couple, “young love,” Nemuri sighs and shakes her head once again. 

Bakugou takes a deep breath, his Adam apple bobs up and down, and then he’s asking the question that’s been on the tip of his tongue. His normally tough exterior seems to have melted away and Midnight is almost shocked when she hears the innocent and- is that nervous- disposition the blonde’s tone takes as he asks, “are we in trouble?” Kayama has never seen Bakugou Katsuki act like that in all three years of knowing him. 

Normally, Midnight would have to say yes. After all, if she didn’t then what’s to stop other kids from making out in the hallways during lunch or break. However, when she glances between Bakugou literally twiddling his thumbs and Midoriya’s strawberry colored face and eyes that seem fixated on the floor, she can’t help but say no. The teens are simply so embarrassed that to say yes would physically make her throw-up. And, well, it’s not like they’ll get to do it again. Midoriya will be leaving on Sunday and Kayama doubts that he’ll be back before the school year’s over. 

So, Midnight simply shakes her head, sighs, and says no. The tension seems to leak out of the boys from that and Nemuri has to keep her hands firmly planted on her hips in order to stop herself from dialing up Shouta right then and there and tell him how adorable his ‘problem children’ are. But, Midnight regresses. She glances at the clock in the corner and quirks her eyebrow upwards. “At least, I won’t get you in trouble for your little make out session-” she teases, which just sends Izuku’s face aflame once more, “-but I do have to report you if you’re late to class. So, better hurry up~” And sure, it would’ve been better for Kayama to escort them to class herself so that she can a) make sure they don’t get distracted again and b) let Shouta know why their late- but teenage love doesn’t take away Nemuri’s sadistic side and she enjoys seeing their two heads whip up and glance at each other as they scramble to get to class in order to avoid Aizawa’s hell-punishment for being late. 

Ah, young love.

Chapter Text

Midoriya rushed down the hall, his sneakers squeaking behind him with each long stride. Behind him, Bakugou raced- a determined grin set on his face. Izuku glanced backwards, his eyes catching on Katsuki and then he smiled wider. A wave of competitiveness rushed over him. Midoriya grinned, full of anticipation and excitement. His eyes connected with Katsuki once more only for the other boy to give him a nod, equally charged with the idea of a challenge. Midoriya huffed and braced his legs. He gave a once over to Katsuki, noticing how the blonde braced his arms and feet and then- without wasting a moment- launched away.

His feet hit the walls and propelled him onwards, further into the long hallway. Izuku didn’t have time to think about whether he would scuff the pristine walls because Katsuki was right on his tail, sprinting forwards with small pops of explosions to get a lead. Izuku’s eyes narrowed as he heard Bakugou get closer. Still, he sprinted forward, trying not to let the blonde get to him. Midoriya knew he would win. 

However, when Bakugou used a particularly powerful explosion to knock himself forwards, Izuku couldn’t contain it anymore. His boyfriend had looked back at him with such smug energy, radiating off his very being and surrounding his body as if he had already won their small competition, that Midoriya couldn’t stop himself. Before he knew it, he had braced his foot against the wall once again only to kick forwards, sending himself hurtling towards Bakugou. Katsuki, who still had his face turned partially behind him to gloat silently at Izuku, reared his head back in surprise. His jaw dropped in protest and his forehead creased. “There is no attacking!” He yelled, picking up pace in hopes that his boyfriend wouldn’t land on him. 

“I never said that!” Izuku chided back. His arms reached out and, just when he thought he wasn’t going to make it, the hallway ended and Bakugou had to turn. The small delay where his feet had to shift allowed Midoriya to propel into him, sending the duo tumbling towards the wall. They hit it with a loud bang, their arms and legs tangled together as they tried to barge away from each other and get back in the race. The petty fighting lasted a minute- full of kicks and weak punches and insults that held no real fire to them. In the end, it was Izuku who had gotten away first. He wasn’t backed into the wall- although Bakugou had tried to flip their position multiple times- and with enough kicks he was able to scuttle backwards. He launched himself upwards immediately, stumbling slightly but still able to rocket down the hallway before Bakugou was standing. The blonde scowled then, his body already coming up, only for him to turn around. He walked towards the wall, oddly calm, before pivoting once more. His feet came up, mimicking Izuku’s earlier position, and then- with a moment of concentration- he pushed. His body was sent flying through the air, his explosions aiding him in covering ground. Izuku glanced backwards a moment too late then- his boyfriend had already knocked into him.

Again, the couple was sent skirting forwards due to the momentum in a tumble of limbs. However, this time they were not cornered into a wall, nor had they rolled to the floor. Bakugou simply tackled Midoriya in the stomach before spinning them around and letting go- sending Izuku twirling back down the hall while he was free to run forwards. However, Midoriya would not be bested. His feet dug into the ground. The sound of his shoes squeaking grated his ears but he paid it no mind. This time, when Izuku rushed forwards he did not tackle Bakugou’s stomach but rather planted his hands firmly on his back and sent himself launching over the blonde boy. He glanced back, the mischievous gleam in his eyes growing brighter, and continued to sprint.

Bakugou scowled and rushed forwards again. He tried to push Izuku to the side, hoping that it would disorient him enough to let Katsuki get to the end of the hall. After all, the boy could already see the looming red door of class 1-A, their race would have to end soon. So, Bakugou pushed, but he ultimately missed. His hand hit the air as Izuku ducked, weaving under his arm and then reaching upwards, attempting to grab it in order to flip Katsuki. Bakugou noticed though and shook his arm, trying to get away Midoriya’s grasping fingers.

“Let go, shitty nerd.”

“Never.” 

Midoriya didn’t end up flipping Katsuki, though not because he couldn’t grab Bakugou’s arm but rather that when he did Katsuki kicked his leg out and sent Izuku sprawling backwards. He quickly went into a backwards roll, flipping over his shoulder in order to pop back up as quickly as possible. Izuku went to launch himself forwards, maybe push or pull Bakugou some way in order to gain the distance, only for his eyes to flicker towards the oncoming door. There really wasn’t enough time to fully stop his boyfriend long enough for Izuku to get to the door so…

Without hesitation, Midoriya rushed forwards. Bakugou glanced backwards, his hand already going to shoo away the younger teen, but Izuku wasn’t aiming to push Bakugou. Instead, he jumped upwards, his arms wrapping around Katsuki’s neck and his legs grabbing hold around Bakugou’s waist. A victorious grin spread on Midoriya’s face as Bakugou continued running, automatically adjusting his hold on Izuku so his boyfriend wouldn’t fall.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He threw a glance over his shoulder. “This is a race nerd. I can’t win if you’re tagging along on me like I’m your personal taxi or some shit.”

“Silly Kacchan,” Izuku chided before chiding. He propped his chin on Bakugou’s head and blew a strand of hair out of his face. “You still think you’re winning?”

Before Bakugou could question the statement, they had reached the room. The door was left open, probably so it wouldn’t bang close every time a new student entered, and it allowed Midoriya to pull off his win. Bracing his leg, Midoriya quickly changed his arms from being wrapped around Katsuki’s neck to being on his shoulders. Then, in one fluid motion, he let go of Katsuki’s waist and brought his shoes to Bakugou’s back. He kicked upwards, his arms aiding in the arc before releasing and sending him tumbling to the ground in the classroom. Bakugou could barely blink in disbelief as Izuku grinned up at him, full of content and barely hidden smugness from his spot on the floor. 

“Emmh,” Aizawa cleared his throat and sent a pointed glare towards the duo of problem children. Bakugou’s head snapped upwards, his eyes zoning in on Aizawa before realizing that he was his teacher. His shoulders visibly relaxed and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. From the ground, Midoriya tilted his head backwards, letting his eyes rest on his mentor.

“Class started 1 minute ago. Get to your seats hell-spawns.” 

Bakugou huffed and walked forwards, his arm already reaching down for Midoriya to grab onto. Izuku grasped onto his sleeve with a small smile of gratitude before it turned back to smugness. He hoisted himself upwards and walked in tandem with Bakugou back to his desk. 

“Just so you know,” Katsuki whispered, “you didn’t win. That was a shitty move, Izuku.”

Midoriya hummed as if considering the statement. “No,” he stated slowly, “I do win. I got here first. If you don’t like it, just get better.” He spun around then, his finger bopping Bakugou on the nose before Midoriya slid into his seat. Bakugou blinked at him and then huffed again before lowering himself into his chair. He leaned forwards, his eyes dialing in on Aizawa as he began to explain the training exercise they would do with 1-B. Still though, his mind remained on Midoriya.

“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” Bakugou questioned quietly. “Didn’t jostle your fucking bullet wound idiot?”

“Relax,” Midoriya hissed back, “I’ll be fine. I’m fine.” 

Katsuki raised an eyebrow in disbelief but didn’t push for more. Instead, he let himself tune into Aizawa-sensei’s bored voice as he continued to go over what would be expected from the training exercise and what wasn’t allowed. When he finished speaking, Aizawa turned around. He walked towards the door before sending a brief glance back towards his class. “I expect you to be out there in 10 minutes.” Then he left.

The class became full of chairs scraping against the floor and voices, overlapping as everybody chattered excitedly about what’s to come. Bakugou stood up first, glazing down at Midoriya. “Ready to beat some knock-off extra’s asses?” Midoriya glanced at his extended hand before grasping it firmly. “It’s one of my favorite pastimes.”

Chapter Text

Aizawa sighs. It’s whole-hearted and hopelessly overdue. Tiredness leaks off his body like sweat after a good workout, or water from a broken tap that, even though you’ve turned the handle all the way, won’t shut off. His eyelids are heavy. His scar twitches and pulls at his skin. He wants to scratch it to get it to stop, but Chiyo would slap him for agitating it- even though it’s three years old. Aizawa’s once again reminded of how busy he is and how much he has to do and how utterly exhausted he is. A pile of ungraded essays lay heavy on his desk. Next to them, multiple police reports are yet to be filled out. His red pen is almost out of ink and Aizawa can’t muster up the energy to buy a new one- whether that’s by clicking three things and ordering it online or simply asking Hizashi to do it for him. He knows it’s not logical, he simply should be able to do it- he’s a grown man and a Pro Hero after all- but when his brain is ridden with sleep-deprivation there isn’t much room for logic.

Aizawa tears his eyes away from the foreboding paperwork. He refuses to think of that now, when there’s so many other things to be present on his mind. Like the latest job, or how there’s another child to take care of, or how apparently trigger is becoming popular again as if he didn’t just go through that shit three years ago, or how his class- his class- that he’s been through thick and thin with, fighting for their lives since the very beginning, will be graduating in a matter of months. Emotions bubble up inside of him and the only thing keeping Aizawa away from becoming sentimental is his lack of caffeine, sleep, and overwhelming responsibilities that pound on his brain infinitely.

The ticking of the clock in the background reminds Shouta that he’s on a time-crunch. His kids will be out on the field in a couple of minutes and if he rolls up tardy- though he knows they won’t mind- he’ll never be able to let it down. So, without wasting a matter more he crosses the room, directly to the coffee machine that he forced Nedzu to put in when he started teaching at UA, slid his cup under the machine, and pressed START.

While Shouta stared at the machine as it whirred and hissed, the door cracked open and stepped Present Mic. He bent to the side, cracking his back and exclaimed in relief, “That felt good! Hey, Shouta!” Yamada’s attention was drawn towards his husband. He walked over to Shouta, a smile playing on his lips, and leaned up against the counter. “Heard your kiddos ruff housing in the halls, almost got my class concerned!” Hizashi laughed and Aizawa couldn’t resist the urge to huff.

“Thank god Midoriya didn’t apply to UA too. I’d hate to see what Nedzu would have him do and how much worse Bakugou would be.”

Yamada stifled a laugh. “Come on now, Bakugou’s mellowed out lately- don’t you think?” 

Aizawa huffed. He glanced away from his cup to stare directly at Hizashi. “I’ve heard problem child saying he was worse before. Worse, Hizashi. We wouldn’t have survived.”

Yamada quiets at that. Aizawa shakes his head softly, the quirk of a smile pulling at his lips, before his face turns neutral once again. The coffee machine beeps, notifying Shouta that it’s done, and then he’s sweeping the mug out from under it and trying not to cringe as it burns his hand. “No time to waste. I’ve gotta get to class.” Yamada shouts out that he loves him and goes to lean in for a forehead kiss but Shouta’s ready walking away. Hizashi pulls back, a small frown on his face though it’s playful- not negative. They both know the rules regarding PDA at school, so there’s no harm-no foul with Shouta pulling away from the kiss.

Aizawa crosses the room again, this time with his mug of no-sleep juice secured in his grasp. He goes to leave the break-room but his eyes connect with the piles of paperwork once again only, this time, an idea flashes bright in his mind. Reserving the sinister smile that threatens to spread- he’ll need it for later after all- Aizawa grabs onto the stack of police work and slips it under his arm before pattering out of the room. Yes, that should get the workload to lighten up, he thinks to himself. 

-------------------------------

Midoriya huffs and bends over, going to tighten the laces on his shoes. Besides him, Bakugou is adjusting his gauntlets. The design was slimmed so it would be lighter and also not interfere with his movement as much. Midoriya glances upwards, a warm smile spreading on his face as he sees Bakugou’s puzzled look. His nose is scrunched together lightly, his eyebrows are drawn closer, causing small wrinkles to spread across his forehead; if he was any more puzzled, Izuku could practically see Katsuki sticking his tongue to the side of his mouth as his eyes narrowed in aggression. Midoriya sighs, adorable. 

Izuku stands up and cracks his neck. He glances around at the various boys still in the locker room and then lowers his voice. He slides closer to Bakugou, and murmurs “So do we have a plan?”

Katsuki huffs. He drops his arms to the side, loosely pulling at his hands to loosen them up. “Fuck 1-B up.”

Midoriya gives him a side-eyed glance. Mirth dances in his eyes. “Well obviously,” he smirks, “but I was thinking more of how we do that? We still have the distant requirement.”

“Right.” Bakugou frowns. His teeth pull at his lips as he mulls it over in his head. The distance was becoming longer as the days carried on, but having him-or Izuku for that matter- in a vulnerable situation during a battle situation again would not be good. Hopefully, it won’t have to come to that. If they can, they should opt to do due work during the day- that way Bakugou will still be awake for training. Then there’s also- “You still have a bullet wound to heal, Izuku. Don’t think I forgot.” Bakugou shoots a glare at Midoriya. “I’m not letting your stupid-ass get injured again.”

Midoriya squawks. “We literally already spared like...twice today!”

“Ya, but that was against me, nerd. I don’t need some 1-B stupid looking extra fucking you up only to brag about it.”

“You’re saying you were pulling your punches Katsuki?”

Bakugou freezes. His limbs lock together and he has to stop himself from glancing down at the ground. Instead, he turns to Midoriya and- with as much bravery as he can muster- states “No.”

“Are you saying that you think some 1-B extra is better than me?”

“No.”

Izuku pauses. He purses his lips, surveys Bakugou up and down, before nodding. “Good. Then we’re on the same page.” Midoriya stuffs the last of his knives back into his suit before turning around. “Come on, we should get out there.” 

Bakugou nods mutely and follows Midoriya out. They enter the battlefield and stick close together. Aizawa-sensei isn’t there already, but there is Vlad King and All Might. Midoriya walks over, away from the sickly yellow scare-crow, and plants himself at the edge of 1-A. Katsuki follows dutifully. He settles next to his boyfriend with a guarded expression on his face, over-aware of how close to 1-B they are. Hopefully, none of them come up to talk to him.

Speaking too soon, one Monoma Neito struts over. Izuku narrows his eyes, watching as the- most definitely less attractive blonde- walks over to them. The boy’s suit seems stuffy and stupid. How can he fight in such stiff fabric? Not to mention his quirk relies on skin-to-skin contact in order to activate. So why does he only have his hands and face visible for that skin to skin contact? There are plenty of times in fights where your forearms or legs- or even stomachs- meet as you block and par- having those areas covered seems like a major disadvantage. Then, there’s the various points of his costume where Monoma could be pulled back over even choked. Listen, Izuku’s all for ties for the business-formal-aesthetic, but wearing one with tuxedo tails? There’s just too many opportunities for an opponent to grab onto them and harm Monoma. The costume isn’t bad for say- a photoshoot, or even for a hero gala- but to actually fight in? Midoriya’s already convulsing at the thought.

“Bakugou, green haired teenager I know nothing about,” Monoma greets them frankly. He surveys Midoriya up and down, eyes locking on the various weapons before scrolling up the boy’s face. It’s round- almost to a point of looking childish- yet his eyes are stone cold. Monoma clears his throat, already feeling Kendo’s gaze lock onto his head. God, does that girl have some type of alarm that blares in her head whenever he strays away from her? “So , Bakugou-” the name rolls off his tongue easily. He can see the blonde already perk up, his features becoming irritated. There’s a tick in his eye, the locking of his jaw. Monoma gazes onwards in entertainment as the boy tries so hard to not blow up. “Are you going to introduce me to your little...companion?” It’s hauty- a bit flirtatious but not enough to seem like he’s actually interested- and just what Bakugou needed to blow up. His hands are already flying upwards, sparks radiating off of them, but then there’s the green head stepping forward. He grabs Bakugou’s hands, forces them down- all without looking- and smiles pleasingly at Monoma.

“I’m Midoriya,” Izuku blinks, his eyelashes fanning across his face, and smiles softly, “Midoriya Izuku. I’m going to become an underground hero.” The words are soft spoken. They’re barely said at all, simply breezing through Midoriya’s barely parted lips. 

Monoma blinks hard and forces himself to not take a step back. He wasn’t expecting the boy to play along so well into it and well- he didn’t really know what to do. So, he just shrugs his shoulders, straightens his posture, and reminds himself that as well as the green boy might present himself to be kind- he’s probably anything but. He’s hanging out with Bakugou Katsuki after all, there’s no way he’s as innocent as he’s projecting. 

Monoma lets himself rearrange, switch strategies, and then goes in for the kill. “What’s your quirk?” It’s a simple question, nothing anyone would really think twice about. Still, it’s instrumental in Monoma’s quirk working. He fully expects a sweet short answer, so he’s slyly smiling when he gets it.

“Oh?” Midoriya glances down bashfully. He forces his cheeks to light up pink. He can still sense Bakugou tapping his foot impatiently behind him. Guilt washes over him- he hates having to do this in front of Katsuki- but also fucking with 1-B, especially Monoma, who Bakugou had told him so much about, was too good of an opportunity to miss. “It’s simple really… It just admits a sort of gas that causes everyone in a 30 meter vicinity to follow my command. Think Midnight but slightly different.” Izuku glances up, his lips pulling together to smile and asks “Is that all you wanted to know? You seem like a nice guy.” But Monoma’s already backing up. His mind is running, a plan formulating, and he can practically see his victory. “Sorry, but I have to get back to my girlfriend.” He can already hear the slap he’s getting from Kendo for calling her his girlfriend but oh well. He must escape from Midoriya. 

“Oh,” Izuku’s face falls and he whispers, “all right.” Only when Monoma’s gone, back into the herd of 1-B, does Izuku spin around- a shit-eating grin on his face. “Oh boy~” he rubs his hands together manically. “I really wanna get paired up against Monoma to reveal the shit I just said. Kacchan-” Before Midoriya can finish the word Bakugou’s pulling him close. His hands are tight, gripping Midoriya’s arm, and his breath is hot against his ear. “Don’t fucking do that again nerd, you here me? I don’t care if it’s for a job- but not in front of me, not with fucking 1-B or any of these losers. Not. Here.” 

Maybe it makes him a bad boyfriend, but Izuku can’t stop the chill that runs up his spine. He slips his hand lower, grabbing onto Bakugou’s and squeezes tightly. “Of course,” it’s whispered, yet strong. “Of course Kacchan.” Izuku let’s a moment pass before yet another grin makes its way onto his face. “But also please don’t lose that attitude because it’s incredibly attractive and-”

“Midoriya.” Aizawa blinks languidly and stares down at his student. Izuku turns around slowly, an awkward smile on his face. “Yes ‘Raser?” Eraserhead doesn’t let another beat pass before holding out the load of paperwork and dropping it in front of Midoriya. The boy’s eyes widen and he drops down, grabbing onto the pieces before they can fly away or crash into a terrible heap. “What’s all this?” He asks, already fearing the answer. “You were shot.” Aizawa finds his face pulling into a sadistic smile, “and you’re still on internships. Time to do paper-work problem child. You can fight until it’s done.” Without waiting a beat he turns around and walks away, leaving Izuku crying in dismay as he glances up at his boyfriend, looking for support. Unsurprisingly, there is none.

Chapter Text

Without looking down, Bakugou can already see the determination streaking across Izuku’s face. It shows in his eyes- the bright sparkle that’s there is focused now on a target; it shows in his forehead with how it crinkles together and, it shows in his eyebrows- drawn closer through resolve. Finally, his lips split, an easy grin over-taking his face as he thinks of the challenge, thinks of the foe to beat. (Even if that foe is just paperwork). Bakugou doesn’t need to look down to know any of that there, just like how he doesn’t need to ask first before drawing out his phone. 

“I’m not getting out a stopwatch,” Katsuki warns, even though his fingers tap at his phone screen. Midoriya’s lips twitch downwards. Without looking up at his boyfriend from where he’s sitting on the floor, crisscross-apple-sauce, Izuku calls back: “get out the stopwatch, Kacchan.”

“No.” He’s scrolling through his home screen now, eyes barely focused on scanning for the familiar grey square marking the clock app.

“Yes,” Izuku shoots back. His fingers are already on the pieces of paper, flipping between them as fast as possible. His eyes scan them, gathering the basic details of what the forms are. “Could I also borrow a pen?” He asks. For this he does look up, though it’s barely a tilt of his chin. Katsuki glances down and raises his eyebrows at the expression. Midoriya’s eyes are glimmering in the sunlight, their green sheen lighter and brighter than Katsuki’s seen in a while. His hair seems softer too, though it’s probably just a trick of the light or air or whatever- Bakugou doesn’t really know the semantics of it all. Still, the curls seem tighter, bouncing down and framing Izuku’s face in an angelic show of beauty. Maybe, Bakugou muses, maybe they should go on picnic dates more often- if only for him to be able to capture the image before him once again. 

“I don’t have a pen fucking nerd,” Bakugou grumbles, contradicting the movement of his hand which reaches inside of his pocket. But, when there really is no pen he grumbles, half to himself, as his face takes up a perplexed expression. Midoriya merely watches on in mirth as Bakugou’s head snaps up. His mouth opens wide and he doesn’t even need to cup it with his hands for his voice to reach halfway across the field to where his friends are. “Hey, Shitty Hair! Give me a pen!” Izuku glances towards the blurb of red and skin in the distance. He squints his eyes as there’s a flash of a smile- too bright and too far away to be perceived as anything more than a dot of bright whiteness, and then there’s a pen hurtling towards them. It whips in the air and falls just short of the couple. Still, Izuku tilts his head and bites his lip, curious as to how they got it to go so far, so fast. Kirishima just has a hardening quirk- nothing about that should increase his strength- unless, of course, it increases his density in which case maybe it allows him to hit harder? Which, by proxy, means he’s stronger in a sense at least. But then… well maybe…

Katsuki bends down, picks up the pen, and throws it at Izuku. It hits it’s intended target, his shoulder, and bounces harmlessly to the ground. Midoriya stops his mumbling, his attention drawn towards the explosive blonde. “Dissect Shitty Hair later, okay nerd? You got other work to do.” His finger points sharply at the pen and the paperwork before his other hand brings up his phone. The clock app is open and a stopwatch is ready to be started. He shakes the phone screen- less with irritation and more with amusement- and Izuku’s face brightens before falling into seriousness. Still, he manages to shed a small smile at Bakugou. “Aw, you do listen Kacchan,” he teases. Before Bakugou can retort back, Izuku scrambles and starts writing away at the forms, his eyes reading each letter lightning fast. It takes all of Bakugou’s three years of heroics, training his reflexes to react to the smallest stimulus as quickly as possible, in order to hit the START button before Izuku gets half-down the worksheet page. God knows if he messed up the timing by even a minute, his boyfriend would focus less on fucking up Monoma and more on getting the jump on him during the exercise. 

---

It takes all of 15 minutes and 43 seconds for Izuku to finish the heap of papers. He stares down at the scrawled on forms contently. A pleased smile rests on his face and he walks lighter- almost like the challenge took something off his shoulders. God knows that if he were a cat, he’d be rubbing himself against Katsuki's leg and purring. Bakugou thanks the universe that he’s not a cat. 

The couple walk back towards Aizawa with their heads held high. Midoriya has the paperwork all piled up on top of his arms. It’s hard to see over the stack so he has to reach upwards, if only for his eyes to graze what’s in the distance before him. But, there’s also Bakugou there, literally steering him when he’s going to walk into something or someone. So, they manage.

When the duo sees Aizawa talking in front of the crowd of students, seemingly to go over the rules once more just so both classes have the same level of understanding, as well as rattling off the duo’s that will be fighting, they give him a moment before he notices them. Immediately, his bored expression drops to down miserable. Bakugou and Midoriya can merely smile back cheekily. 

Vlad King glances over, wanting to see what got his colleague so annoyed and if it was possible he could implore the tactics himself. However, when his eyes lay upon two kids- one the loud, blond Pomeranian and the other a kid that really doesn’t look like much, yet the knives strapped to his body and the unnerving smile spread across his face as he carries a load of finished paperwork says otherwise. Kan takes one look at the troublesome duo, glances at Aizawa’s expression once more, and decides he wants nothing to do with it. He heralds to the students, directing them away from Eraserhead and over a bit to finish up the pairings. He’ll leave whatever irksome words the duo have to say for Aizawa and All Might. There is no need for him to be involved. 

Midoriya and Bakugou stride forwards when the group departs. There’s a feeling overcoming Midoriya, bubbling up in his stomach and pressing down on his throat and chest at the sight of All Might, with his tall stature that towers over Midoriya’s lithe and short frame and his intimidating face but- Midoriya muses- at least the man cannot demean him any further. Not at UA. Not here. Not, at least, until later, he realizes. Not, at least, until everyone will. 

Still, the thought isn’t pleasant so he shakes it from his head. There’s still a smile on his lips and there’s still the amusement and enjoyment of crushing Aizawa’s hopes of getting him to not participate as well as the impending doom for Monoma that will surely spark a sense of happiness in Midoriya. And, even if those factors somehow fail, there’s the date he planned with Katsuki tomorrow that will bring him up and out of Friday.

Aizawa glances at the boys and the paperwork and then sighs and silently cries on the inside. “Boys,” he states blandly.

“Here’s your paperwork hobo,” Bakugou shoots back. Aizawa sends a glare at him. It’s tinted red and leaves Bakugou with the feeling of nothing, filling up his chest and drying out his skin- but he’s used to Aizawa-sensei’s quirk and it was totally worth it so he doesn’t mind. Aizawa breaks eye contact with Bakugou after a moment and there’s the rush of fire again in Katsuki’s veins. He shrugs his shoulders and flexes his hand, already feeling the familiar coating of nitroglycerin returning. 

“Don’t call me hobo Bakugou, I am your teacher,” Aizawa comments. Still, he peers over at the collection of papers Midoriya’s holding. “It’s all done?” It’s less of a question and more of a statement of dread. He doesn’t doubt Midoriya’s skills to get it all done within the time-frame, he just really wishes that it wasn’t done so he wouldn’t have to deal with the problem children.

“Yup!” Midoriya chirps and crushes all of Aizawa’s hope. He sighs, long and hard, and contemplates just sending Midoriya back over to Shiketsu. Surely nobody but Bakugou will mind if the ‘internship’ is cut short. And, does Bakugou really need to be coherent for two days when there’s no school? Aizawa doesn’t want to admit that he had to weigh the pro’s and con’s of that thought. Moving on though- All Might opens his mouth to speak. Aizawa doesn’t know why, he doesn’t really care either because All Might has no business with Aizawa’s quarry over Midoriya and his hellish tendencies, so instead of letting the yellow oaf speak his hands snap shut in a silencing gesture.

One more long sigh and then Aizawa’s speaking again. “I guess you can fight then but nothing too hard- bullet wound and everything yada yadda. You’re both fine with not separating during the exercise? Because what you did on Tuesday, while it worked, was unacceptable. None of you can fall asleep in the field- exercise or quirk be damned. Yes?”

Almost bashfully the couple lower their heads and murmur a “yes sensei” back in reply. Aizawa huffs: “Good then hellions. Go bother Vlad and win against his kids, ya?” Both nod and then they’re walking towards the group of students. Izuku’s face is brushed pink- the reminder of his oversight in his last plan brought up an overwhelming amount of embarrassment. Still, his fingers wrap around the hilt of one of his knives, there’s time to forget all of that. This is a new exercise with new rules and a new premise. Midoriya will make sure there won’t be some stupid oversight that ends up putting Bakugou- or him, (silently, Izuku applauds himself, maybe Katsuki’s talks on self-worth really are getting through his head. Kacchan will be so proud) in danger on the field. 

Meanwhile, Bakugou weaves through the hordes of students. It’s not hard exactly- after all, they’re not packed together like sardines- however some costumes poke out and cover otherwise clear pathways. Internally, Katsuki dissects each outfit with a sneer. They’re not ugly- well some are but most aren’t- but they definitely need improvement. Even without having fashion designers for parents he’d be able to name the problems. Setsuna’s is too boring. It’s literally just a purple suit and mask. Where’s the originality, the trademark item that will appear on her merch? She is going limelight, right? Then there’s Awase’s outfit which is just so bulky and brown. And, of course, Shiozaki’s. It’s pretty- Bakugou can admit that the wrapped around and draped white dress is pretty but it also seems so impractical. It’s going to stain like crazy and he doubts it will hold up well in a fight. There doesn’t seem to be any padding and the layers of fabric could easily get caught on things- even her own thorns. At least- Bakugou muses- they’re bad costumes will just make his and Midoriya’s look better.

There’s no more time to ponder over the technicalities of costumes any more. Bakugou comes to a stop near Kirishima. The boy smiles brightly, his teeth sharpen, and gives a friendly wave. Bakugou rolls his eyes but nods his head in a greeting of his own. Besides him, Midoriya bumps into his shoulder- too distracted by his own thoughts to realize they’ve stopped. He glances up at Katsuki then and bashfully rubs his neck before turning front. His thigh brushes against Bakugou’s and well, Katsuki wants to lean into the touch, especially because they’re public now and they can, but to be honest it’s less of Midoriya’s thigh touching his and more of his knife so Katsuki stays where he is. 

Vlad goes to announce the last pairing when Aizawa walks up to him. He doesn’t lean forwards or make an attempt to conceal his whisper, simply because that means he’d have to get closer to Vlad and that’s a horrible thought. So, instead, he simply murmurs: “Problem child is going with Bakugou and I know you discounted on Bakugou already having a partner so rearrange the pairings.” 

Vlad turns fully towards Aizawa. “Why does Bakugou already have a partner?” He questions.

“Quirk thing. Just- rearrange it. Will you?” Aizawa pauses before adding on, "Also, Ashido Mina will not be joining us today so you can use whoever was going to be partnered with Bakugou in replacement for her."

Kan sighs and mentally fixes the pairings. He ponders for a moment before- “Listen up,” he turns back towards the group, “Some plans have changed. Shinsou, you’re going with Kaminari-”

Shinsou smirks. He glances to the side and watches as Denki lights up. “-and you two will be against Rin and Kodia. Then, we’ll have Bakugou and ugh-” Vlad turns towards Aizawa “What’s the green haired kids name?” he questions. “Midoriya,” Aizawa replies. “Bakugou and Midoriya against-” Izuku leans forwards. This is the moment. Either, he gets to fuck with Monoma or he doesn’t and he flirted with him for nothing which is frankly disgusting and utterly disappointing. “-Kuriorio and-” Bakugou can practically feel the anticipation rolling of Izuku. Lightly, he grabs onto his boyfriend's wrist and pulls him back from knocking into the student in front of him. “-Monoma!” Vlad finishes.

Izuku glances across the room until he spots the head of blonde hair. Oh, this will be good.

Chapter Text

The bell rings, loudly, and echoes throughout the entirety of Ground Beta. Shinsou and Kaminari exit, both looking exhausted. Kaminari is leaning against Shinsou, whose capture weapon is looped loosely around his shoulders, but mostly is dragging downwards, fluttering in the wind as he walks. Next to him, Kaminari is littered with bruises and cuts from the scales Rin sent towards them and the inanimate objects Kodia enlarged that were dropped on them. They’re feel slightly woozy too, the aftermath of discharging so much electricity. Even after Midoriya’s help, it still is taking some getting used to in order to understand their quirk better. Kaminari’s just glad that they rarely fully blackout anymore. 

Behind the couple, Kodia and Rin exit, both looking equally messed up. There are bruises across Kodia’s body from where Shinsou landed punches and kicks as well as threw her into the various buildings with his capture scarf. Then there’s Rin; mild burns run up and down his arms, contrasting with the small scales still littering against his skin. He was mainly fighting Kaminari, who wasted no breath in sending electrical shock after electric shock; they knew that Recovery Girl was going to heal them all so they didn’t pull their punches. Both duos stumbled out of the testing area. Aizawa glanced down at them, a touch of appraisal in his eyes. Once Shinsou saw it, he huffed and rolled his eyes before dragging Kaminari to the line up for critique.

It went by relatively quickly. Vlad-King scolded Rin and Kodia for their mistakes as well as praised them for what they did correctly, even though they did lose. Mainly, it was focusing on how they lost to 1-A again however. Meanwhile, Aizawa glanced at the couple and rolled his eyes. 

“You two can’t stop flirting for the life of you when you fight,” He deadpanned. Shouta was sure that he would be having flashbacks and nightmares regarding the ‘witty’ one liners Shinsou and Kaminari had thrown at each other. 

Shinsou shrugged, “It gets a response out of people.” Denki merely gave a wordless hum of agreement; even though he didn’t black out his mind was still too overloaded to properly communicate. 

Aizawa groaned. He stuck his head deeper into his capture scarf. “Regardless, good fighting. You both have improved hand-to-hand and Kaminari, you have gotten better with strategic thinking.” 

Denki nods excitingly. Shinsou looks down, a sly smile on his face, “good for you Denks.” 

“However,” Aizawa cuts in, “both of you majorly lacked planning regarding the other team. You opted to just wing it and figure it out while it goes. And, while the ability to adapt and plan on the fly is useful in the field, it is always the better option to have a plan in order to cut back on unnecessary mistakes.” 

“Yes Sensei,” the duo choruses before bowing. Aizawa nods, “That’s it, return to your classmates.” 

A few seconds later, Rin and Kodis are also sent back to the large group. Aizawa turns around then, his eyes scanning the crowd of costumed children. “Right then, no wasting time.” His gaze lands on a green bush, “Midoriya, Bakugou, Monoma and Kuriorio, you’re up.” All four nod, determination crossing their features, and walk to the entrance of Ground Beta. Right before the duos separate however, Kuriorio turns towards Midoriya. 

“I look forward to seeing if you’ll be able to escape eternal darkness,” it’s an ominous statement and the unruly smile stretching across his features doesn’t help, but Midoriya is never one to back down from a challenge- “Me too.” It’s simple yet sends Kuriorio away. Though, when both duos are about to turn down separate streets, he turns around once more and sends one last creepy smile towards Midoriya.

Katsuki wraps his arm around Izuku’s shoulder and leads them further into the labyrinth that is the city scape. “Don’t listen to him, nerd,” he advises, “his whole schtick is about getting into your head. Even calls himself: The Scheming Hero; fucking loser.” 

Next to Bakugou, Midoriya hums. “It’s an interesting idea- all subterfuge and mental warfare; I like it.” Izuku nods to himself, fully looking forward to his fight with Kuriorio and Monoma, before turning back towards Katsuki. “Besides, it’s not like we’re not doing the same thing. I have that whole thing with Monoma going on.” An eerie grin crosses Izuku’s features, “I’m looking forwards to fucking him up.”

Bakugou grins then too, all full of determination and mirth, “Hell ya Izuku.” 

“So, what’s the plan?” Midoriya asks. He looks between the street split before heading left. The guise of the exercise is to capture the other team in its entirety since it’s just two people. There’s no separate jail cells though, just a communal one located in the middle of the city. It’s not hard to miss, even now when Izuku looks up he can see the large, animated head of Principle Nezu marking the jail. Midoriya suspects it’s like this so the teams can’t guard their own jail; it’s imperative in an exercise with a small number of participants per team to actually engage. 

The duo continue down the left street before Katsuki pulls Izuku into an alleyway. There’s a fire escape ladder hanging deeper into the alley and an empty dumpster. Bakugou reaches into his back pocket before pulling out five grenades. He hands them all to Izuku, who quickly puts them into his utility belt. “Nice,” Midoriya comments. Bakugou huffs, “we’re gonna use some fire-power on those guys.” 

Izuku leans against the alleyway just as another bell rings, signaling the official start of the exercise. Bakugou goes to leave the alley but Izuku leans forwards and grabs his forearm. He pulls Katsuki back into the shadows. Katsuki huffs and leans against the wall, mirroring Izuku, until he kicks his leg up.

“Kacchan we should plan a little more.”

“We don’t need a plan Izuku,” Bakugou counters, “We have me and we have grenades. We're basically guaranteed the win.”

Midoriya sighs, “of course, but we want this to hurt, yes? Reveal our subterfuge. Monoma’s going to try to copy my quirk, it’s perfect to win the exercise. And, of course we’d be able to take them out before that, but we want that idea.”

Bakugou has to smother his smile, “You’re making this a show Izuku.”

“I have a little pent up emotions, sue me.” Midoriya shrugs before biting his lip. “Even so, we don’t want to actually lose. In order for the reveal we’ll have to be in close quarters but- even so-” Midoriya starts to mumble before his eyes are drawn deeper into the alley. There’s a sort of static pattern moving across the walls. “Kacchan,” Izuku’s voice rings out. He reaches towards Bakugou before tapping his gauntlet, “Kacchan do you see that?”

Bakugou looks towards where Midoriya is pointing before his features screw together. His eye ticks. “Fucking Kuriorio.” Upon realizing he’s been made, two eyes and a smile peak out from the wall; “It seems you can recognize darkness well Midoriya; I wonder why?” Then he speeds away. Bakugou goes to run out of the alley once again, this time to chase Kuriorio hopefully back to Monoma, but Izuku stops him again. “Up,” he mentions before leaping deeper into the alley. It takes merely a moment before he’s jumping up and then scaling the fire escape. Katsuki huffs, rolls his neck, and follows.

Up on the roof tops, Midoriya at least waits until his boyfriend is with him before getting a running start and leaping across. He can still see a patch of darkness, shifting in static from building to building. “Hopefully he’s leading us to Monoma,” Midoriya comments in between breaths.

“Hopefully he didn’t overhear our plan,” Bakugou retorts. They leap across a few more roofs before the static disappears. “Where’d you think he went?” Katsuki asks. He leans over the roof, eyes scouring the ground. Midoriya hums, “I don’t know.” He gnaws at his lip for a moment, “he was leading us in this direction… but since we can’t see him anymore he likely took a dive off to one side…” Izuku’s brow furrows. His eyes trace the streets, cataloguing each building and inanimate object. “It doesn’t make sense for him to go right,” he finally says, “there’s too much light for his quirk to be useful which means…”

“He went left,” finishes Katsuki. He’s glancing up now, eyes glaring off into the distance, “Which is where the prison should be. Those fuckers are hoping to draw us out there, probably so copycat can copy your 'quirk' and then order us into the jail like fucking losers.” 

Midoriya sends a glance over his shoulder, “Then we know where to go.”

-

Kuriorio didn’t know what to do. Monoma had led them off to the right, but it was only a street or two away from the prison. If Bakugou and Midoriya had hoped to seek them out, and ended up capturing them, there wouldn’t be enough time to get out of their grasp. There’s also the fact that Monoma was acting weird. Instead of spouting his usual rhetoric, about the superiority of 1-B and laughing while making extorting hand gestures, he was pacing, talking to himself in a confined and sensible manner. Kuriorio didn’t know if he had ever seen such a thing. 

“M-Monoma,” he started, his voice meager compared to the confidence it held while speaking to Midoriya, “what are you thinking about?”

“We’re all side characters- did you know that Kuriorio?” Monoma looks up then, clarity clear in his eyes. His smile is the exact thing Kuriorio wanted to avoid; he knew what that smile led up to. Oh, how he wished he was paired with Kendo again. They were so much easier to work with. 

“Sure?” Kuriorio responded, not quite sure where Monoma was going with his speech.

“Yes, we’re all side characters to everybody else. To the other team, we’re nothing but opponents but- Kuriorio, we are our own protagonists.” Kuriorio nodded along, already stepping back into a shadow for comfort. His body melded into the wall then, till it was just his torso and head poking out. Kuriorio couldn’t tell if Monoma noticed or not. 

“And today, if we can win, if my plan can work- we’ll remind them that we are the protagonists. Today, because Midoriya  just gave me the perfect quirk to use…” Yes, it was all coming together in Monoma’s mind. “Kuriorio,” he snapped to attention, “We’ve seen that Bakugou has grown more as a person. He’ll help his friends more. He wouldn’t want Midoriya to be captured or put in the line of fire; we can use that against him. You need to do ruthless attacks towards Midoriya in order to draw the attention of Bakugou. Then, while Midoriya’s worried- you should land something on him too if possible- I'll swoop in and copy his quirk. I’ll use it and order them to all go into the prison and boom, we win.”

Kuriorio nods. It seems...reasonable. “But what if I can’t draw Bakugou away from Midoriya? What if, when you go to copy his quirk, Bakugou jumps back in.”

Monoma hums, “I’m sure I’ll be able to land some blow on Midoriya,” he reasons.

“And if he uses his quirk? It’s a communal jail; if he orders us into it then we’re done,” Kuriorio points out. Monoma just tuts and shakes his head, “He releases a gas that does the job so Kuriorio, if you melt into darkness again you should be able to grab me and get out of range. Then we’ll be able to recuperate. Good?”

Kuriorio hesitates before nodding. Monoma flashes a smile; “Good. Go try to find them in order to lead them to the jail, but disappear before you’re right there so we’ll have time to get in positions. I’ll be waiting in the middle.” Kuriorio nods again, “To be one with darkness then.” He finally sinks all the way into the wall and begins to run along the shadows in a staticky patch of darkness. Eventually, he finds the duo, leaning against two buildings in a dark alleyway. It’s a little hard to hear through the sound of his pounding heart and the feeling of darkness enveloping him, but he catches the end of their conversation: “we’ll have to be in close quarters but- even so-” Midoriya, the one Kuriorio tried to freak out before, pauses and calls out: “Kacchan, Kacchan do you see that?” Kuriorio stills and anticipation floods through him. His job is to lead them to jail. He can do that. He preps himself, his wide smile gains some more confidence and he tells himself in his head- today, we’re the protagonists. 

“Fucking Kuriorio,” Bakugou spits out as if on cue. Kuriorio pokes his head through the wall, making just his eyes and mouth visible. He knows it’s unsettling, a permanent smile that should be read as happy on a fixture of darkness; however, Midoriya doesn’t seem the least bit disturbed. 

“It seems you can recognize darkness well Midoriya; I wonder why?” Kuriorio speaks eloquently before disappearing again into the shadows. He swims, using darkness as his cover, and zooms over the landscape. He makes sure to keep an eye on Bakugou and Midoriya, he does need to be leading them, after all. 

Once they get to a particular intersection though, he dips to the left. It should be obvious enough by now where he’s going. Ditching Midoriya and Bakugou, Kuriorio zooms through the darkness until he meets the open area before the jail. He hops out, stretching his limbs as he walks to where Monoma awaits. 

“They’re on their way?” Monoma questions, a glint in his eye. Kuriorio nods, “perfect,” Monoma directs.

Chapter Text

Izuku presses himself up against the wall. He peaks around the corner, hoping that none of his hair can be seen, and glances at the barren field. The prison is large and located in between two buildings at the end of the park. It’s metal bars gleam, shimmering in the afternoon sunlight. There’s the cutout of Principle Nezu’s head, along with a paw at the end as a 'Welcome' sign is written. It’s overly bright, colored obnoxiously pink, and over all, something of a joke. But, that doesn’t stop it from having a heavy padlocked, iron tight bars, and no key. 

Next to Izuku, Bakugou sniffs. He shakes his hands out and bounces on his feet. “What do you see Izuku?” 

Midoriya takes another long glance at the area. “Nothing. Monoma and Kuriorio are nowhere to be seen. That being said…” It’s odd that Kuriorio would lead them there unless the other team has a plan. This particular part of the fake city-scape is a small park. There’s a couple of benches across the grass and smooth pavement running around in circles. The most notable feature though, is that there are only two trees and there’s barely any shadows. Even the buildings, standing tall and bordering the park, don’t have their shadows casted into the open area. It’s illogical for Kuriorio to pick this as a spot to fight, there’s no advantage for him. He’d have to stay in the outskirts of the arena in order to successfully use his quirk, and, while Izuku knows it’s not always about his quirk, judging by his previous interactions with Kuriorio, he seems to heavily rely on shadows. His mysterious and intimidating character is one that would want to sweep into the shadows, using his quirk to confuse and attack his opponent when they're not looking. Besides, Midoriya doesn’t know much about the opponents, but he’d hoped they had enough observation skills to recognize the knife hilts and gun strapped to him. It’s not like they're exactly hidden. 

With all that spinning in Izuku’s head, there’s only one logical conclusion. “Monoma’s planning something.” It makes perfect sense; if the arena doesn’t fit Kuriorio’s conditions at all then it’s obvious it’s not his plan. More likely, it’s Monoma’s. He’s planning to use Izuku’s ‘quirk’ just like Midoriya was banking on. 

“Good,” Bakugou’s voice is gruff and Midoriya can hear the hints of amusement filtering in, “that means when we kick his ass not only will he feel the pain of losing but also his weak ass plan falling apart.” Bakugou grins before slamming his hands together. There’s a thin layer of sweat building up, ready to be ignited. Midoriya turns his head towards Bakugou, his eyes glimmering in the light. They’re close together now, their noses almost touching. There’s a faint blush spreading on Izuku’s face, Bakugou realizes in endearment. 

“Ready to beat their asses?” Midoriya poses.

“You know I am,” Bakugou responds. 

Midoriya nods and Bakugou walks around him. He begins to walk into the empty park, radiating confidence. Midoriya walks alongside him, swinging his head back and forth. He changes his face from one of determination to one of nervousness. He gnaws at his lip, his eyes are ever so slightly narrowed, and his forehead has small wrinkles. His hands wrap around each other as he twiddles his thumbs, though he’s careful to keep them loose enough that in a moment’s notice he’ll be able to grab his knives. After all, he needs to appear weak and vulnerable for the plan, but he also needs to be able to defend himself. 

The duo gets to the middle of the park before they stop. “Still no sign of the cowards,” Bakugou mutters, his eyes roaming the landscape. Midoriya presses his back against Katsuki’s and glances out at the other side of the park, “they’ll come, they’ll come,” he murmurs in reassurance.

Silence. 

The swaying of leaves, the chirping of birds, the even breathing of both members as they ramp up for the fight.

Silence.

And then Sound.

Bakugou lets out a loud explosion as Kuriorio jumps out of an alleyway. He detaches himself fully from the darkness to run towards Bakugou, only to slide under him and disappear into his shadow. Bakugou growls and aims his hands towards his shadow but, per his movement, the shadow moves along with Kuriorio and he misses. Katsuki tries it again, only for Kuriorio to dodge once more. Besides him, Midoriya’s hand levitates on top of his knife, not quite grabbing it yet. He glances at Bakugou, eyes full of questions, to which Bakugou shakes his head. “Not yet, keep looking for copy-bitch; I’ll handle him.” Midoriya nods and then Bakugou's back to peering at his own shadow. “This is some peter-pan level shit,” he mutters as he gives off another explosion. But, it’s only when he realizes there’s no static in his shadow, that he swirls around. Kuriorio peers at him from the foot of a building, a little away from him. 

“Too slow,” he chides. Bakugou growls and runs towards him. There’s a tugging in his mind, reminding him to stay close enough to Midoriya, but then there’s also the memory of a previous night when Bakugou was able to stay awake with Midoriya just in the same building- the quirk is losing its hold. With that thought in mind, Bakugou doesn’t waste another second as he runs after Kuriorio who sinks into the shadows and trails up the building. He stands on top of it then, grinning down with his wide smile, his hands clasped in front of him. 

“Still too slow Bakugou,” he teases. Bakugou huffs, determination lighting up along with his explosions. “I’ll show you ‘ too slow’. " In one large explosion his feet leave the ground and he’s flying. He adjusts his hands, pushes out more explosions, and climbs until he’s a little higher than the building. Then, he drops down, cracks his neck, and stalks forwards towards Kuriorio. He reaches out and swings his arm in an attempt to punch Kuriorio in the head. Kuriorio dodges though, dipping under and to the side. He moves smoothly as Bakugou lets out hit after hit, only hissing in pain when explosions bite at his skin. They move in a dance, fluid fighting as they draw closer and closer to the roofs edge. 

Below on the ground, Monoma peers out from behind his building. Midoriya is still there, in the middle of the park, looking around wildly. His eyes are wide, he’s not in a fighting stance, and he’s left completely alone. Monoma can hear the sounds of Kuriorio’s fight with Bakugou, of the explosions popping and the scuffling as they fight on top of a building. There’s no way for Bakugou to reach him, or Midoriya, before he leaps out and copies Izuku’s quirk. It’s in a spur of confidence in his plan and opportunity that sends Monoma launching out of the alleyway. He runs, as fast as he can, and takes a leap at Midoriya, his hand outstretched. Izuku dodges to the side, like any good hero student, and Monoma has to rethink midfall. It’ll be difficult to get another opening now that he’s in hand-to-hand combat. Who knows, maybe Midoriya will use his quirk now that he knows where Monoma is. But, Monoma refuses to give up. He refuses to be the reason their plan falls apart. He refuses to be the reason they lose. It’s only in a split second decision that Monoma lowers his arm. While Midoriya had dodged, he really hadn’t moved all that much. He just swerved to the side. But, his feet were still in the same position on the ground, and his ankles were bare.  It’s in that moment, as he falls down, his hand slapping against the smallest amount of bare skin, that he’s able to see the panic spreading across Midoriya's body. A smile spreads across Monoma’s lips. They’ve basically won. 

On the roof, Kuriorio backs up more. Bakugou’s attacks are ruthless and his main enemy. Any explosion, any pop of nitroglycerin, takes away his shadows and leaves Kuriorio without any escape. He’d been hoping to melt into the shadows when Bakugou was distracted- maybe when he caught sight of Monoma and Izuku- or even in between attacks, but there was no such hope for that. His foot slips against the end of the roof, a piece of ruble falling down. Bakugou then notices where they are. He doesn’t want to allow Kuriorio to escape again, so, without thinking much, he pushes against Kuriorio’s shoulders and sends them into a free fall. 

The wind whips against his hair as he holds Kuriorio’s shoulders and keeps him underneath Bakugou. He feels his quirk itching at his skin, ready for a moment’s notice so he won’t hit the ground and die. Even though their falling throw the air, Bakugou can’t stop the crazed smile spreading across his lips. “How’s that for being too slow?”

Kuriorio smiles and says nothing more as they descend rapidly. 

They hit the ground hard. Bakugou used his propulsion so it wouldn’t be with the full impact of falling off a seven story building, but even falling down a few feet is painful. He thinks he has Kuriorio then, with the boy pinned under him, useless to dodge any more attacks. Bakugou just needs one hit to knock him out then he can drag him to jail. 

But, today, nobody's plans are going well.

Kuriorio slips into the shadows, disappearing from Bakugou’s grapes with a grin and a haughty laugh. He swims through the shadows lining the park, from the little cracks in the pavement to the large buildings, before he ends up at one of the trees. He slides onto one of the branches before halfway exiting the darkness, leaving his torso hanging upside down. From there, he is all the way on the opposite side of the park as Bakugou and in a perfect spot to view Monoma release Midoriya’s quirk. They’ve won, and it couldn’t feel any better.

Izuku looks down at Monoma, trying to stifle the excitement that’s bubbling in his chest. He wants to bounce on his toes, to flip his knives, to throw a punch and dodge and parkour between buildings. He wants to do it all. But he can’t, at least not right now, while Monoma scrambles to pick himself up off the ground. He’s eyeing Izuku, confidence oozing out of his body. Midoriya pretends like he’s going to use his quirk, he braces his arms and screws his eyes tight in ‘concentration’ but Monoma pushes him. 

“No, none of that.” He laughs. “Finally, a win against 1-A-” he goes to use Midoriya’s quirk, he looks inwards searching for it- for the familiar pull, the light that seems to float in his mind. He wants to hold it, to let the gas seep out of his body as he controls it, but it’s not there. His eyebrows draw together. “A blank?” He murmurs before reaching out in a punch towards Izuku. Midoriya doesn’t dodge, just lets the fist connect with his face. There’s no quirk though, nothing for Monoma to grab and use. “What?” he staggers backwards.

Midoriya glances down. He can’t help it now, a smile spreads, the grin taking over his features. He drops the nervous child and, when he glances up, it’s with the confidence of a winner. His eyes are bright, but there is no innocence. His face reads: cunning, satisfied, knowing. He looks a bit villainous, he’s sure, with his pleased smile and amused face so contradictory from the one he was wearing moments before. 

“What.” 

Midoriya quirks an eyebrow upwards, “you bought that? My quirk? It’s so perfect for the exercise and you thought it was real?” Monoma’s jaw drops. His legs slide back into a fighting position, his arms held up, reading to block or throw his own swings. “Why isn’t it there? What’s your quirk?”

“My quirk?” Midoriya questions back. He mirrors Monoma’s position, though there’s a difference to it; Monoma doesn’t know if it’s from the way he holds himself or from what he intends his first move to be, but it seems more relaxed, more informal. Midoriya grins once again. His hands drop down to his side and he reaches into his sheath and pulls out two dulled blades. He twirls them in his hand, makes sure to give a smile at the camera’s recording, before his eyes narrow back in on Monoma. 

“Simple, I don’t have one.” 

Chapter Text

There’s a certain air in the observation room, as Kuriorio hits the ground and slides away. Aizawa thinks it’s anticipation, waiting to see what happens next. Everyone here knows Bakugou; they’ve all grown together for three years. By now, everyone in both Class A and Class B knows each other's quirks inside out. So, it’s no surprise, the moves in Bakugou's and Kuriorio’s fight and everyone’s reactions to them. It’s less of picking apart how they use their quirks, and more how they’re fighting, where they brought the fight too, and how they're optimizing their chances at winning. It’s good to be looking past the quirk and into the more technical aspects of the fight, Aizawa thinks.

But, while everyone knows how Bakugou’s and Kuriorio’s fight is going and what to expect from them, there’s no way to know what’s going to happen with Midoriya and Monoma. Monoma’s character and quirk is well-known by everyone, along with the information that he needs to use one of the other three’s quirks in the arena in order to use an active quirk, not a passive one like he has. That means, everyone’s waiting to see what Midoriya- the unknown variable in all this- does. No one knows his quirk, except for 1-A who knows he has none. But, even then, Aizawa isn’t sure if everyone knows. It’s obvious some know; but, while Midoriya was retelling what happened last night, Aizawa can’t be sure of who exactly was on that call and- if someone wasn’t on that call- who told them and how much. It’s entirely possible the news of the duo dating was spread while the news of Midoriya’s quirk status was kept to just the ones who heard it first person. All this means though, is that the majority of people are in the dark about Izuku’s skillset. 

It’s why this match holds everyone’s attention. While the ones before had people semi-listening/watching to, this one is captivating everyone. Even Aizawa’s watching it more closely than the previous matches. But, he must admit, that’s more to see how the problem child’s gunshot wound is going than to see what dramatic fighting transpires. 

Everyone from 1-A grumbles when Kuriorio slips away after the fall while 1-B cheers. Aizawa can only roll his eyes. It’s with baited breath that everyone watches with now, as Izuku dodges and Monoma falls. No one quite knows what’s going to happen. Not only is Midoriya’s quirk a secret, but so is the rest of his skillset. Aizawa had hoped that the gun and knives attached to his costume would give some clue, but perhaps the students just weren’t thinking he’d actually use them in a training exercise. After all, weapons training is not common within UA- or other major hero schools, for that matter, that focus on limelight. There’s support weapons of course, and the occasional weapon-weapon, but those all work with the hero’s quirk. Take Snipe for instance. He uses a gun, but only because it’s the perfect weapon for his quirk. Without knowing what Midoriya’s quirk is, nobody is quite sure what he intends to do with the knives or guns so they just glaze over it. 

When Monoma stands up and tries to use Izuku’s quirk but fails, there’s an odd blanket of silence casted over everyone as they wait to see what happens next. There’s audio, so his words filter through, as well as the visual when he tries to grab Midoriya’s quirk once more but fails.

It’s unsettling, Shouta thinks, as Izuku drops the innocent act and becomes more of who he is. It’s more sinister, more cut-throat. It’s from years of being a vigilante that Izuku’s able to throw away the disguise of an innocent, weak kid and become the self-assured hero he’s grown up to be. Maybe, Shouta muses, if Izuku wins he should let the kid out on patrol; Kami knows what chaos he will get up to if he still has that aura, still has that drive and that power and that motivation, without anywhere to discharge it. 

It seems though that it isn’t just Aizawa unsettled by the change in character. As Midoriya starts speaking, his words full of venom and clarity, the students squirm on the ground. Their eyes are glued to the large screen projecting it all, though they wish to tear them away. It’s only Shinsou, who has a vague idea of what Izuku is doing, that looks on eagerly, all too familiar with the mind games the boy brings. He doesn’t like Monoma, he doesn’t hate him but there’s not necessarily a happy feeling the two share, but still, there’s a touch of pity going out towards the blonde for what he’s about to engage with. Moreover though, there’s adrenaline running through Shinsou. He’s always one to want to see how people react. His quirk works off of that, he needs to understand how people tick in order to get them going; even though that started as quirk training, a way for him to better himself in fights, it slowly outgrew to just a general fascination. How would people react to this? Would they be frightened? Angry? Maybe even confused? He can tell the reveals coming soon, something big- Izuku’s making it a show after all- and he can’t wait for the payoff. For the reactions.

“My quirk?” Midoriya’s voice filters into the viewing deck. Everyone perks up, especially those who know he’s quirkless; they’re wondering what he will say, what he will fess up to. It’s just another moment though, as he nonchalantly flips his knives before sending a smile towards the camera. It’s sharp and twisted and hits everyone the wrong way. Chills spill up spines, goosebumps run over skin, and lips tweak downwards into frowns. But then Izuku’s speaking again and everyone’s leaning forwards despite the offness of it all. 

“Simple. I don’t have one.” 

Chaos.

-

Monoma is dearly regretting his plan. He never considered the fact that he would be tricked, and now he’s paying for it. He ducks and rolls, trying to avoid the swipes of the knives Midoriya’s controlling. He doesn’t have any quirks to use, not unless he can engage with Bakugou’s; they're already in a disadvantaged area for Kuriorio so copying Dark wouldn’t do much. There’s no time though, to break away and formulate a new plan like Monoma had hoped. He’s too engaged in the battle with Midoriya, as they throw punches at one another and Monoma tries to avoid the strikes of his knife. He’s successful the majority of the time, but the small cuts on his body atone for the times he didn’t dodge quick enough. 

When Izuku kicks Monoma down and the boy tumbles into a roll, separating them for a good couple of feet, Izuku risks it and sends a glance back towards Kacchan. Kuriorio had already made his way back to him after seeing Monoma’s plan fail, and so the duo were now engaging in yet another fight. With each blast Bakugou would give off, Kuriorio would manage to slip away until he got to the alleyway and disappeared into darkness once again. Bakugou’s jaw ticked and he rushed over to Izuku.

“Kuriorio’s-” it happened in a moment. When the couple was talking, Izuku was keeping an eye on Monoma but it didn’t matter. Static shadow grabbed a hold of Monoma’s foot and dragged him off into a different alley. Bakugou scowled, “Should we go after them?” But Izuku shook his head.

“They’ll have to come back eventually. Besides,” Izuku reached into his pocket, a smile overtaking his lips, “it gives us time to prepare.” The 5 grenades shine in the sun. 

-

Kuriorio drops Monoma a few alley’s south of the park. Monoma is scowling, but there’s an odd look of calmness against his face. He’s not screaming, he’s not shouting, he’s not even boasting. It appears the Midoriya Revelation has left him in shock.

Kuriorio steps out of the shadows and flicks Monoma in the head. “N-now's not the time,” he murmurs. He stuffs his hands behind him and leans against the alley. He’s partially absorbed into the wall. “We need a new plan.”

Monoma’s face is set in a grim frown then. His hand grips his chin as he attempts to formulate a plan. “I need a quirk,” he decides to start with. “Midoriya has various knives and he’s well-equipped to use them,” Kuriorio’s gaze flickers away from Monoma’s eyes and towards the various shallow cuts littering his body. There’s streaks of red around them, from where fists connected or Monoma rolled away on the ground to dodge. Even his hero costume is looking a little worse for the wear, with the knives tearing through the sturdy fabric far too easily for Monoma’s liking. Shouldn’t there be a rule against sharp weaponry in training exercises for safety? Regardless, Monoma shakes his head. That’s not the point. The point is that Midoriya has knives and he does not. Picking up where his last sentence left off, Monoma concludes: “So I need a quirk.” 

Kuriorio sticks his arm out from the wall. Neito sends a quick glance towards the outstretched arm, shrouded in darkness, before shaking his hand, shoeing away Kuriorio’s gesture. “No, Dark already isn’t suitable for the park…” It’s with a big sigh that Monoma states: “I need Explosion.”

-

Midoriya’s surprised with how quick Monoma and Kuriorio come back. Kuriorio he’s only able to see by the patches of static as he swims through the shadows of the building until he’s in the middle of a wall, high up in the air and utterly out of Midoriya’s reach. That is, unless he climbs the building, but by the time he reached Kuriorio surely he would’ve moved… Regardless, it’s more for Bakugou to handle. The only downside though, is that Kuriorio is keeping Monoma next to him, also levitated in the middle of the wall. Having Monoma fight Bakugou is… unfortunate. But, there’s not much to do, so Midoriya nods and Bakugou activates his quirk.

It’s when he goes directly to the wall with an explosion that the duo dodge. Not even a moment after does the wall chip away, bricks falling to the ground in patches. Monoma grins at Bakugou from higher up on the wall, “Going to have to try harder than that to catch us,” he laughs. Bakugou grits his teeth and goes to them again, only for them to once again dodge. There’s a tick in his brow as he tries to get attack after attack, only for them to get away right before his explosion hits. But, it’s frustrating for Monoma too, who can’t seem to touch Bakugou and copy his quirk. There’s no window of opportunity. Either Kuriorio takes him away and he can’t touch Bakugou, or he gets hit by an explosion. And, with them being at point-blank range, Monoma’s sure it isn’t all that worth copying the quirk for. 

He thinks they have a good routine though. Bakugou must be getting tired, suspended in the air and having to keep up constant use of his quirk so he doesn’t fall. They don’t have that handicap. For Kuriorio, staying in the shadows- even on a wall- is as easy as breathing. Of course, he has to make sure his quirk is active at all times, but it usually is in fights. It’s only when a knife flies through the air and embeds itself right next to Monoma, pinning down a piece of his costume, does the duo realize they might have other problems than dodging Bakugou. 

On the ground, Izuku grins, victorious, as his knife stops Monoma. Bakugou takes the opportunity to launch another attack. They still manage to dodge, but there’s a strip of fabric ripped from Monoma’s costume and stuck in place on the wall thanks to Izuku’s knife. There’s also the fact that Monoma himself seems more singed, and Kuriorio’s static wavered. Izuku, much like Bakugou, likes those results. 

He begins to unleash as many throwing knives as he has. He doesn’t keep that many on him, as he generally tries to go for close-range combat as it allows for him to use his skillset the best as possible; after all, he doesn’t have a long-distance quirk to use, so he ends up embedding all of them into the brick walls. It’s worth it though, to see the 20 or so knives sticking up out of the brick, pinning pieces of fabric to its place only to have scorch marks right next to it. It’s also a little sad, when Izuku realizes how much he’ll have to re-sharpen the blades in order for them to stick to his next target but, oh well, it’s a sacrifice he must make. 

With the combination of Bakugou and Midoriya ruthless attacks, Kuriorio and Monoma have to slip lower on the wall. Clearly range is not something their opponents lack. But, it’s with great enthusiasm that Monoma’s able to leap from Kuriorio’s grasp and onto Bakugou, tackling him to the ground once they're close enough that the fall isn’t deadly. They wrestle for a moment and Midoriya sends a fleeting look towards Kuriorio before running over to his boyfriend and Monoma. By the time he’s there, Bakugou has thrown Monoma off of him and has stood up. The two stand then, in fighting positions, ready to attack. But, it’s in fact Izuku who makes the first move.

He dashes around Monoma before striking him in the back of the knee. It’s a dirty move, but it’s effective, and sends him sprawling as he folds himself into a roll. When he pops up though, it's Bakugou aiming an exploding fist at his face. He has to dodge once again, but that ends up getting Midoriya on his tail again. Monoma tries to block and match the couple’s blows as best as he can, but it’s hard. He lets loose an explosion and gains enough room to separate himself from the duo. Kuriorio drops down next to him in full human form. 

“Guess we’re doing this hand-to-hand,” Monoma sighs and spits blood out of his mouth. Kuriorio nods and gets into a fighting position. It’s with all the grace and motivation of hero students that the two duo’s launch at each other. Monoma and Bakugou meet in a mix of explosions and Kuriorio and Midoriya swing at each other, jumping and flipping over each other’s attacks. It’s sweaty and hard, Midoriya can hear his heart pounding and there’s a dull ringing in his ears from all of the explosions. His momentary lapse of action allows Kuriorio to bend, kicking him in the chest, and sends him scattering to the edge of the building. He’s forced to take a moment to breathe, the kick to his chest doing nothing to help the loud pounding of his heart, and watch the fight as Kuriorio joins Monoma in fighting Bakugou. But, it only lasts a minute, because Midoriya is up and launching himself back into the fray. He jumps over the bench, giving him some air, and lands on Monoma’s back. He kicks him down, Monoma’s face meets the floor, and Izuku jumps up, does a roll midair, and turns to face him once again. It’s back to their previous situation then, of Izuku slicing at Monoma only for Neito to dive away and come back with his own hits- or explosions now- of his own. Somehow though, both separate fights are kept in such close proximity to each other, that Midoriya ends up with his back flush against Katsuki’s as they whirl around their opponents in a storm of violence. They end up switching too, with quick movements of twisting around each other, until no one can really tell who’s fighting who. It’s when Midoriya is back with Monoma though, does Bakugou let out a strangled noise. Kuriorio has taken the darkness and is wrapping around Bakugou’s leg as he tries to pull and forcefully move him towards the jail. Midoriya isn’t able to help though, because Monoma is still coming at him with ruthless and persistent attacks.

“Not so high and mighty now!’ He screams as he lets off another explosion. Izuku coughs away the smoke and just sends back a kick of his own. 

Bakugou’s almost to the jail now. He’s sending explosion after explosion; the air is smoky, his ears are ringing, and his eyes are killing him. Somehow though, Kuriorio has managed to remain in the darkness with a firm grip as he drags Bakugou. There isn’t much he can do now, besides for letting off his quirk despite the pops not working. Still, Bakugou refuses to just get dragged into the jail without putting up a fight like some extra.

Monoma runs forwards to Izuku and, really, Midoriya’s getting sick of it. This fight has lasted far too long. He sniffs, blinks his eyes harshly, and when Monoma’s fist connects with his body, he grabs onto it, pulling with all his strength. He activates his gloves then, sending electrical shocks into Monoma as the boy spasms. Due to regulation though, he doesn’t pass out. Instead, he gives a woozy smile and huffs; “Some stupid gloves aren't enough to stop me,” he murmurs and throws a punch. Izuku catches that one two. He throws it away, sends Monoma spinning, and darts out. Dropping down, Izuku’s leg catches Monoma off balance. It sends him to the ground. Monoma glances up at the bright sky with spots in his vision and pain running across his body. Midoriya doesn’t waste another second before running towards Katsuki.

He’s still being dragged towards the jail and they're closer this time- too close, Bakugou thinks. Midoriya can only glance at his knives. He has no more throwing knives, they’re all stuck in the building, and even then- would his knives really keep Kuriorio captured? He’s not sure if he can pin down darkness. Maybe he can pin down the hand dragging Katsuki, but what’s to say Kuriorio won’t just use his other hand? There’s also the slight problem that it’s technically maiming and not allowed in the rules. Aizawa had looked specifically at Izuku when he said that.

Midoriya gnaws his lip before his hand runs against a grenade. They had originally planned on booby-trapping the area, so that the grenades would go off when Monoma and Kuriorio stepped into the park. The loud bangs would distort their hearing while the flashes temporarily blinded them. Then, through the smoke Midoriya and Bakugou would be able to sneak up on them, knock them out, and drag them over to the prison, guaranteeing their win. Unfortunately, Monoma and Kuriorio appeared too soon for Midoriya and Bakugou to actually have time to do that. So, that's why when Izuku remembers the botched plan and the still-here grenades, does he not waste a second before ripping the pin out and chucking it towards Kuriorio. At best, it will distort both his quirk and, when he has to pop out of the darkness, the grenade will still send his ears ringing and his eyes messed up. At worst, it doesn’t work at all and Midoriya and Bakugou are back to square one. But, Izuku’s planned to deal with that if he has to.

It’s only with the world deciding yet again that they hate Midoriya that the grenade doesn’t work. If anything, it only seems to disorient Bakugou as he stops fighting Kuriorio for a moment to wipe his eyes. It’s at that moment though, that Kuriorio zooms over towards the jail. He’s a foot away and Izuku’s too far- he’s too far and he doesn’t know what to do and-

Oh wait. 

He has a gun. 

Chapter Text

He has a gun; Yes, of course, why didn’t that hit Midoriya earlier?

He removes it from it’s holster quickly, checks off the safety, takes aim and then shoots. The tranquil dart goes whirring through the air before landing in the staticky patch of darkness. It bounces slightly before the static goes rigid. Midoriya waits for a second, his breath caught in his throat, and his eyes wander the static patch of Kuriorio for any hint that, like the grenade, the dart failed.

But no. The static wavers, spreads out and retracts in various movements until Kuriorio is spat up on the ground. He’s unconscious, the dart still in his arm, but it comes off with a soft plop. Kuriorio’s hand loosens its grip on Bakugou’s leg until it's just on the ground, vaguely in the shape of cupping something. 

Midoriya runs over. Bakugou looks down at the unconscious Kuriorio and huffs. He reaches down and throws Kuriorio over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Izuku falls in step with him as Katsuki walks the short distance to the jail, opens it, and throws Kuriorio. 

“Nice work Izuku,” Katsuki mutters, his eyes glancing around the arena.

“Thanks Kacchan,” Izuku chirps.

“So, what are we gonna do with copy-bitc-” Before Bakugou can finish, Monoma comes launching out of nowhere. He’s screaming, Bakugou’s quirk fueling his quick dissent on the couple. Katsuki slips into a battling position, his own quirk ready to be called upon at a moments notice, but Izuku acts first. Monoma comes flying specifically at him. He reaches out, explosions popping from his arms, but Izuku doesn’t shy away. Instead, he grabs onto Monoma’s forearms and whirls, twisting the two into a circle until Monoma’s facing the jail. Izuku lifts his leg up and hooks it around Monoma, bringing him into a standing position. His explosions are still going strong, but luckily Izuku’s costume is fire-proof and therefore he’s safe from the distance. Midoriya kicks Monoma in the stomach then, and, as he’s doubling over and goes out to swing a punch, Izuku catches the new punch. Only, it’s not a normal punch. There’s a large explosion rippling over it. Monoma laughs, loud and clear, he thinks he has victory.

He does not.

Izuku goes to the side, grabs the outstretched arm and wraps it around Monoma’s body. He lifts it upwards slightly and then there’s a crack, the can-tell sign of dislocation. Izuku drops Monoma’s arm then, scrunches his face up and resists the urge to plug his ears to stop Monoma’s screaming, and let’s Katsuki kick Monoma into the jail. 

The door swings closed with a resounding shut and the bell rings, announcing Midoriya and Bakugou the winners. 

When they walked back to the meeting deck they met with the sound of silence. Complete and utter silence. Everyone’s staring at them, the gazes from 1-B are notably more confused, angered, or they're simply gaping- their eyes wide as they try to see, try to understand, how those two boys- who are now standing innocently, rocking back and forth on their heels, their fingers twisting around each other with small smiles on their face (though Bakugou’s couldn’t really be described as small, his grin stretches from ear to ear as he reeks of victory)- could have dislocated Monoma’s arm and shot Kuriorio. There is no special answer for them though, no saying that in the heat of the moment adrenaline rushed upon him and Izuku acted out brashly, no claim that it was an accident- he didn’t mean to reach for the gun or to twist Monoma’s arm like so-- there is no apology. Izuku knows what he did, it’s what he’d always do in the situation, nothing changed. 

(Granted, in a real life situation like the ones he sees when he’s out on patrol, he wouldn’t have forgotten his gun for so long. It’s only by coincidence that Midoriya’s mind didn’t register the exercise as a real fight, something that Izuku needed to win lest he be knocked unconscious and vulnerable or, worst, killed.)

Aizawa is the first to move, everyone else is still frozen- even Kan. Eraserhead quietly snorts at that and stores it in his mind, already envisioning the boasting that he can do to Vlad King. “My students fucked up your students so bad that everyone was frozen- even you,” or, maybe he could go along the lines of: “Stuck from the actions of a child? I’d hate to see what you do in the face of villains then…”; Still, neither of those are quite right- whether because the burns themselves aren’t hot enough or the delivery just isn’t there yet Aizawa doesn’t know. What he does know is that he will be conferring with Yamada and Hizashi, possibly Kaminari if the little squirt manages to burrow their way into this family niche like they've done in the past, in order to create a simple nonchalant sentence that will bring Kan to tears.

Aizawa blinks, his smug smirk being wiped off of his face as he remembers what the source material for Vlad’s roast is. With an excruciating sigh, Aizawa lowers his head. His eyes flutter close, before squeezing tight. There’s an oncoming headache, Shouta can sense it, and it will probably be made worse due to that fact that Midoriya’s so carelessly flipping his knives up and down, performing little tricks for Kaminari who’s watching him with a keen eye from across the rest area. Shouta lets out another groan. He peaks upwards, catches sight of Bakugou’s expecting position- ( his arms are crossed over his chest but his hands are tucked under his arms and they’re flat, meaning he’s not holding any anger; he’s putting weight on one foot so he’s leaning backwards in order to project an air of nonchalance, and his eyebrows are raised, there’s an almost teasing facet to his face, with how his lips are slyly quirked upwards now- Aizawa catalogues immediately in his head)- and Izuku’s happy-go-lucky one (as if the bastard of a problem-child didn’t just announce his quirk status, possible break a child’s arm and shoot someone-- Kami, at least Aizawa knows his students were prepared and maybe even expecting that performance with how last night and their previous combat exercise went, but Vlad’s kids? It’s a mess and a half but it’s also providing Aizawa more roast material so he supposes there is at least a semi-decent thing to come out of this.) Aizawa’s eyes snap shut and he groans again. He pinches the bridge of his nose, takes a deep, calming breath and sends a hopeless look at the sky before he’s shrugging his shoulders back, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and leveling his students with the most deadpan look he can.

“Bakugou, Midoriya,” he nods to each problem child, “You won and did a decent job. You had a plan, recognized when you were going into a trap-although you still went along with it which is something both of you can work on, knowing your personalities and your self-sacrificing tendencies. You did lack the ability to put your plan together after Monoma and Kuriorio disappeared, however you recovered quick enough that only one or two side lessons should cover it.” Aizawa paused, silently noting how there was sound behind him again, a good signifier that everyone had snapped out of their stupor. There’s a breath of relief, because he didn’t want to have to deal with third year students acting like mindless children as they awkwardly shuffle out of Ground Beta, questions on their tongues that Aizawa doesn't have the mental capacity nor time to answer. But, then the relief disappears because it’s not that the students are knocked out of their surprise towards the chaotic duo, nor is their brains catching up to them, there’s just another stimulator causing them to react. Monoma and Kuriorio shuffle onto the ground. Monoma’s leaning on Kuriorio despite having two perfectly good working legs, and moaning in pain. Kuriorio doesn’t look well himself- with patches of darkness being lighter than others, no doubt the effect of Bakugou’s explosions so close to his skin. It vaguely reminds Aizawa of vitiligo, he notes in the back of his mind. The duo probably have a momentary case of vertigo too, with how they’re wobbling about. 

Aizawa turns away from the problem duo for a moment, glares at Kan and notes that- although the students have almost snapped out of it, he is still frozen, the addition of Kuriorio and Monoma doing no good to snap him out of his stupor (it’s even better material than before, because now he’s reacting slower then confused students; it may be a hell day after all, but at least when it rains over Shouta will be able to keep the cloud on Kan’s head). So, instead of asking the teacher in the situation to help the students, Aizawa’s eyes snap to the class presidents. 

“Kendo, Yaoyorozu, please help Monoma and Kuriorio here to Recovery Girl. Yaoyorozu, if you could make a quick sling for Monoma’s arm so he doesn’t jostle it that’d be great, but if you don’t have enough lipids please do not push yourself.”

Yaoyorozu shakes her head bashfully. “It’s no problem at all, Sensei.” She sticks her arm and white fabric sprouts from it along with a clip. Her and Kendo walk over to the two destroyed students. Momo hands Kendo the makeshift sling, recognizing that Monoma’s not in the right state of mind to deal with a 1-A kid close up (not that he’s ever in the right state of mind, but Yaoyorozu would like to avoid it when she can), and Kendo takes it with stride. They loop it around Monoma’s shoulder, settling the hurt arm in the sling before taking Monoma off of Kuriorio. Letting the blonde boy lean against them, she tilts her head towards Kuriorio and asks Yaoyorozu, “can you get him? I can pick him up with my fists if you can't, but I don’t want to risk squishing him.”

Yaoyorozu nods, “Of course.” She takes Kuriorio and Kendo and begins to walk the long track back to the main UA compass.

Aizawa watches them leave before turning back to the problem children. He shakes his head. “Did you really have to break Monoma’s arm problem child?”

Izuku has the gall to look offended. His jaw drops open, his eyebrows drawing together. He slides closer to Bakugou, grabs his boyfriend's arm for a sense of comfort and reassurance before pointing at Aizawa. “I would never break somebody’s arm ‘Raser,” Izuku shakes his head, disgust still clear on his face, “that is shameful and downright evil. Can you believe he asked me that Kacchan?” Izuku turns towards Katsuki, his eyes immediately softening into wide saucers as he stares at his loved one with happiness- yet there’s still a film of mischievous deep in his gaze. Bakugou snorts, his arm comes up and he ruffles his hair. “It’s criminal,” he responds gruffly. Izuku nods sharply, flashes Bakugou a smile and twists back to Aizawa, his grin reading as ' see?’ 

Aizawa has to try not to strangle the kid. They both know that before the duo had got with the group Wednesday night for the raid they crossed a small group of criminals and Midoriya had broken at least one of their arms without hesitation. But, he’ll let the kids have their fun, so he sucks it up, exhales sharply and shakes his head. “ Kid,” he groans. Midoriya hums innocently. 

“What?” He questions, “I didn’t break his arm ‘Raser, that’s just silly.” Izuku shrugs his shoulders, “I dislocated it.”

Aizawa’s eyes go wide. His hands clasped together in front of his face and he just has to… recognize Midoriya’s words, not strange him or Bakugou or just leave all together to go to his husband and work on insults for Kan. He just has to deal with it. This is all fine.

It’s not fine.

“You dislocated his arm?” He croaks. Izuku hums again and nods. Bakugou huffs, “pretty badass, right?” 

Aizawa rolls his eyes- “You know Bakugou, now is not the time to lorde having a ‘badass’” he uses quotation marks, “boyfriend.”

Katsuki’s face goes a surprising shade of pink. Red flushes across his cheeks until eventually his entire face is that of a strawberry. Bakugou goes to yell, his mouth dropping open and his hands popping with explosions. Izuku stifles a snort. 

Aizawa shakes his head. “I’d criticize you on such drastic measures for a training exercise but well,” Aizawa stuffs his hands into his pockets, “truth be told I really can’t. Everyone else has their quirks as weapons and you don’t, so good use immobilizing your opponent in a way that takes away his usage of a quirk. Besides,” he shrugs, “it’s not as if you’ll be here for another training exercise. Just, problem child, did you have to dislocate his arm? You couldn’t have- I don’t know- shoot him with a tranquil dart like Kuriorio or just… not dislocate his arm?”

Izuku nods, purses his lips, and leans into Bakugou’s embrace. “That is true,” he starts, “I could’ve done any of those things.” And here’s the headache- “But there was no fun in those options!”

“And dislocating Monoma’s arm is fun?”

“Yup!” Izuku chides. Bakugou huffs, rolls his eyes in amusement, and tugs his boyfriend closer. No ones staring at them (that’s a lie, everyone’s staring at them but they’re not staring at Bakugou, they’re staring at Izuku and Katsuki would never stand idle while those extras stare at Izuku) and so Katsuki doesn’t mind it when Izuku melts into his grasp. 

Aizawa lets out a sigh, sends one more glance over his shoulder and decides to wrap it up. “Dislocating arms aside, you did pretty well. That’s the end of the critique but- Midoriya?”

“Hm?”

“Tonight would you like to go on another patrol? Your… wound seems fine now. Unless it’s not, in which case you should go visit your victims and get your own medical attention.”

Izuku bites his lip. His gaze flickers up to Katsuki who returns it in kind. “Actually Aizawa,” Izuku starts off, “I’ll stay in tonight.” Both men tense, ready to rush Izuku to Recovery Girl if need-be, “Not because of the gunshot wound just… it’d be nice to have a night in.” The “ with Kacchan” went without being said. 

Aizawa nods, accepts the answer and turns around. “Come on problem children,” he huffs, “I want to go back to the dorms- have too many papers to grade, Yamada to see, and terrors to plan.” Turning his speech towards the classes as a whole now, Aizawa raises his voice- “To the locker-room then the dorms, we’re done for the day.” There’s a meager cheer as everyone hobles upwards and filters out, walking towards the school building in clumps. Aizawa himself goes over to Kan, takes one look at the lost and confused face he has on, before clapping him on the back. He doesn’t have to say anything for the true meaning to be iterated- it’s not a motion of kindness or understanding in any aspect, and Vlad gets that. Slowly his eyes peer away from where they were frozen, stuck on the image of Bakugou and Midoriya, to glare at Aizawa. Shouta takes it in kind, his head already brewing with the endless possibility of insults this day has created for him, and then he disappears. No words are spoken between the two Pro-Heroes for the deeper meaning to be recognized. 

Izuku and Katsuki themselves walk down the path back towards the locker room. Izuku leans his head against Katsuki’s shoulders, after gaining permission of course. Their hands are tight in each other's grasps. They swing to and fro as they walk, keeping in beat with the stride of their legs and stomp of their feet. 

“Today was great,” Izuku chides, grinning lazily up at Bakugou, “I love beating the shit out of people.” Katsuki huffs and rolls his eyes. Midoriya’s flickers close, exhaustion overcoming his body. He normally wouldn’t be so tired- but they both had a long night and plenty of rough-housing today that the added exercise from the training was enough to send him into a light haze. Katsuki takes one look at Midoriya’s peaceful face and, without restraint or hesitation, he quietly murmurs: “Kami, I love you.”

A while ago Bakugou thought that with the sun filtering in through Izuku’s curls he looked the most beautiful he had. His eyes were bright, in a way they hadn’t been for years-  just childlike wonder and innocence. There were no hardened lines, just blushing cheeks and a rosy nose with the splatter of his freckles painting his perfect, beautiful face. Katsuki thought then, that was the moment he wanted to remember for the rest of his life. The moment where Izuku was in pure, unadulterated bliss. It was beautiful and young and it sparked in Katsuki’s stomach and head, sending butterflies up his spine. He thought Izuku couldn’t get better than that. But, looking down now, at the head of ratted curls and the outfit full of sweat and ash, Bakugou’s starting to think his previous statement was false. Because of course Izuku looked gorgeous there, in the heavenly light with that giddiness about him (and of course he looks gorgeous everywhere else, you’d be blind to see it and Katsuki very much is not blind), but here- in this moment- with Izuku resting on his shoulder as they walk in public (another thing Katsuki never thought he could have- he was too scared, too paralyzed by the thought and, although he hates how it came to forwishen, he doesn’t hate the outcome- not yet at least), the weight of a battle well won resting on both of their shoulders, Katsuki can’t help but think that this is the prettiest Izuku has ever looked. He’s battle-worn and exhausted, yes, but he’s beautiful. 

Late at night when the couple stays perched on Bakugou’s bed, a bowl of chips in between them with other snacks spanning to the side of them, Katsuki will spill his thoughts during their unfinished card game. Izuku will smile then, cheeky and soft and all so knowing, and lean in to give him a kiss. His hand will hold the back of Katsuki’s head, he’ll push deeper into the embrace, and Katsuki will go to wrap his arms around Izuku, to hold him and love him- and then Izuku will pull back quickly, Katsuki’s deck in his hand as he looks through all his cards and Bakugou will yell- without any real anger of course- and lunge towards his boyfriend. Izuku will squeal and go to kick him away and maybe, if they hadn’t spared and fought so much that day, it would’ve developed into a real fight- with fists and feet flying. But, they’re both tired, so when Bakugou lunges and Izuku falls on his back it doesn’t end up with strategic dodges and victorious one ups, it ends with their cards on the floor, the bowls of food slightly spilling over, and Katsuki resting on top of Izuku as they cuddle, with soft exchanges of “I love you” between the two.

(And, later in the night, it ends up with the two cuddled together, Bakugou’s computer propt open once again as they continue to watch TV because god dammit they’re exhausted but that doesn’t mean they’ll miss out on their show, or the ability to consciously hold each other through the night- not when the end date of the quirk is drawing so close.)

Chapter Text

Bakugou wakes up first for once and he’s stiff as a board. Izuku is next to him, drooling, his eyes closed as he sleeps. One of his arms is lazily thrown over Katsuki and Bakugou has to stifle a snort at the complete mess Izuku is. His hair is knotted and just, overall, a disaster-- it’s spread across the pillows in a chaotic whirlwind of green curls. His shirt is rumpled, he’s twisted under the covers, and his finger keeps on twitching idly. Katsuki can’t help but wonder what Izuku’s dreaming about. Is it their fight from yesterday? The raid? Aoki? Maybe it’s just him and Katsuki, on a date? Or, it might be him sharpening his knives- the motions of his fingers would certainly make sense then. Midoriya hums low in his sleep before he murmurs through chapped lips- “Kacchan.” Katsuki can’t help but smile. So the nerd is dreaming about him.

There’s not little fawning over the unconscious vigilante then, because Katsuki’s getting up, sliding off the bed and padding across his room. He grabs a towel and a change of clothes- it’s Saturday so there’s supplementary classes for those who want them, but Izuku planned something so they’re going out instead. With that in mind, instead of taking his UA uniform off of the hanger, Katsuki picks up a black t-shirt and some sweatpants. He exits the room, but before the door shuts he sends a quick glance back towards his boyfriend to make sure he didn’t wake him, and heads downstairs. 

The showers and baths are located next to the common room in Heights Alliance. They’re on the opposite side of the kitchen, separated by the staircases leading upwards, and so Katsuki has to walk all the way around to get to them. It’s a little unnerving, having to put himself out in the open where his classmates can see him. He’d rather avoid it but well, he isn’t a coward and it has to happen eventually. He can't just ignore them forever, no matter what they know now. He can’t take that back. He can be angry and upset, he can scream and explode everything, but he can’t erase the knowledge from their brains. At least, he thinks to himself, his friends seem accepting. Even Acid-Bitch was accepting before she ruined it all. 

Bakugou scowls to himself and lets out a low growl. His hands squeeze together into fists and he has to take a grounding breath; You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay… the mantra repeats slowly in his head. With one last sharp huff, he continues down the stairs.

It’s early in the morning so, like always, there’s a decent amount of kids in the commons. But, who’s there is what Bakugou expected. It’s always the same people, really. The early risers. Iida and Yaoyorozu of course; There’s also Uraraka and Aoyoma, Ojirio, Tsuyu,  Kirishima, for some reason Sero, Shoji, Jiro, and Tokoyami. Bakugou doesn’t see Todoroki but that’s also no big surprise. The guy goes from being the first person downstairs to stumbling down at noon, some random conspiracy theory right on his tongue. Bakugou always thought the guy was stoic and kind of a bitch, but it turns out he was just socially inept and aloof.  

Bakugou stuffs his hands in his pocket. His towel is thrown over his shoulder, hanging limply. Katsuki sets his eyes ahead and then walks. He’s not here to make conversation, he’s not here to hang out. He’s here to shower and then get back to Izuku. 

...Maybe he’ll make some food too. 

But there’s definitely not going to be conversation. Katsuki just had his biggest secret aired to the class, no way does he need them to talk to him only to gossip about him behind his back. There won’t be any conversation.

One look around the common room and Bakugou’s hands are braced out, explosions popping off as he screams: “You got a problem with me or Izuku you extras? Speak now or shut up-” despite the fact that nobody was talking, nobody corrects Katsuki. They all blink at him, some faces neutral while others are sheepish. Only a few carried some reservation. Bakugou hated it. 

Katsuki’s eyes glance around in an arc. He snarls, his eyes narrow. “Well?” he barks. 

The first one to speak is Kirishima. “Nah Bakubro,” he rubs the back of his neck and glances up at him with a stupid smile. Kirishima shrugs his shoulders, “No complaints here.” 

“Yeah!” Sero perks up from where he was slouching on the couch, a bag of chips in his lap despite the early hours. “It’s kinda cool you’re dating someone, you know? With you being all-” Sero mimes Bakugou’s explosions. His hands stand out, fingers curled together as he makes explosions noises with his mouth- “Argh I’m Bakugou and I’m better than everyone,” Sero impersonates, his lips curled into a humorous grimace with his eyes narrowed. Then, Sero relaxes again, his arms dropping down to the side. His elbow clink against the edge of the bowl. “Honestly,” Sero shrugs, “kind of a relief too- god knows how upset you’d get from being the last person to have a boyfriend or something.”

Bakugou’s snarl drops into a vaguely confused look. His eyes are no less narrowed, but there’s less contempt in them. There’s not really any anger, even though he retains his glare since Sero basically insulted him, but it’s more of a disbelief swimming in his vision. 

Katsuki scowls briefly, crosses his arms over his chest, and tsks. “I wouldn’t be the last one to date someone without Izuku,” he denies.

“Eh,” Jiro tilts her head, “that’s debatable blasty,” she chides.

Bakugou’s mouth drops open. “Why you little-”

“Alright! Alright!” Kirishima stands up, his hands outstretched in the ‘ please stop fighting’ type of way and not the ‘ I’m about to throw hands and continue this’ type of way. His blanket falls off his lap, half of it landing on the couch and the other half sweeping down to the floor. Next to him, Sero grabs the blanket. He lifts up his bowl, covers himself with the fluffy cloth, and then sits back and watches the ongoing conversation with a lazily smile. Kirishima takes a millisecond to glance at Sero, see his blanket has been snatched, and sighs because he knows there is no way he will be getting it back this morning. 

“Stop fighting.” Jiro raises an eyebrow but concedes. Bakugou merely pops an explosion. “Bakubro,” Kirishima warns, “stand down. No one has any problems with you or Midoriya. It’s cool that you’re dating someone!”

“A little surprising,” Sero adds- to which Bakugou glares. He’s quick to clarify though, his hands coming up in defense, “I just mean because well- Midoriya looked so sweet and innocent when we first met him? Like he was really nice and inquisitive about our quirks which was just super opposite energy as you? But like- after seeing him during battle training,” Sero lets out a breath of air.  He shakes his head and his eyebrows are lifted. It’s incredulous how different Midoriya became. “Yeah, there’s no surprise why you’re dating. But it’s really cool! And like, prompts to you man!”

Bakugou huffs, his arms crossing against his chest. “Thanks.”

“I- ah, do have a question though-” Kirishima lowers his arms and bites his lip. “It’s- you don’t have to answer of course but-”

“Just spit it out Shitty Hair,” Bakugou rolls his eyes and taps his foot impatiently. Kirishima takes a grounding breath before- “Why didn’t you tell any of us? Or, tell me? Or Sero? We’re your friends. Right?”

“It’s not my place kero,” Asui says from her spot on the couch. Even though she’s glancing at Bakugou, her hands still twirl together, pulling the string from her lap into a beautiful bracelet. “But you can trust us.” Tsuyu blinks, ribbits, then continues: “We’re always there for each other and we’ll always be.”

Bakugou glances away quickly because he is very much not appreciating the sappiness in this room. So, he states so. “Cut the sappy shit already. I didn’t want you to know because it didn’t fucking matter and it was none of your fucking business. Still isn’t.” Bakugou pauses for a moment, inwardly scowling as he debates if he wants to continue, before adding on: “I’m only telling you this shit because if you have a problem with me or Izuku I want to fucking deal with it. Got it?” Bakugou glances up, glares, and then there’s murmurs of agreement. 

“Good,” Bakugou settles on. 

“Just-” Sero begins, “one more question?” Bakugou shakes his head no but then Kirishima’s pouting, “ please Bakugou. From best bro to best bro?” And well, how can Bakugou say no to that? 

He sighs, resigns himself to the class’s constant banter, and then answers. “Fine. But only one question. Any more and I’m done with you extras.”

Kirishima grins, bright and happy, and glances at Sero. Sero pops a chip into his mouth, chews for a second, swallows, and then tilts his head. “How’d you meet Midoriya and well- how long have you been dating?”

“We’ve known each other for fucking ever, our parents are friends-- started dating around Middle School,” Bakugou answers shortly.

“Aw,” Uraraka coos, “Childhood sweethearts,” she flops onto Tsuyu, “why can’t we be like that?” Asui just pokes her cheek and keros.

“Shut the up round-cheeks,” Bakugou demands, though his cheeks begin to turn a small shade of blush. 

“What a mad-banquet of darkness,” Tokoyami muses. 

“I think it’s sweet,” Yaoyorozu begins, “We only know the rough side of Bakugou- even now, after being his companions for so long, we’ve only gotten glimpses of his softer side.” She turns her head fully towards Bakugou then, her eyes making contact with ruby red ones, “So of course it makes sense for someone like Midoriya, who has known Bakugou forever, to be dating him. They’ve had ample time to get to know each other.”

Bakugou’s on the edge of full-on blushing now, but it doesn’t stop Jiro from adding: “Midoriya’s known Bakugou since he was a child- I wonder if we’ll be able to get some baby pictures…”

And then Bakugou’s gone, back to screaming with explosions popping. “You’re not getting fucking baby pictures of me Ears so shut the fuck up before I explode your ass and-”

Iida walks in then from the kitchen. He’s holding a cup of green tea, stirring it occasionally. He’s wearing his UA uniform, it’s crisp and proper like always- not a wrinkle to be seen. Tenya takes one look at the scene in the common room before sighing.

“What’s going on now?” he asks Aoyama, who’s sitting at the edge of the couch, a pillow in his lap. “Bakugou asked if any of us have a problem with him and Midoriya, we said non of course but it caused some teasing,” Aoyama winks, “seems like Bakugou could’ve used it though, oui ?”

“Regardless,” Iida shakes his head. He walks to the center of the room, somehow going unnoticed by Bakugou, and places his tea down to lower the risk of him spilling it. “Bakugou!” He yells, his voice projecting through the entire commons, “I must ask you to stop using your quirk in the common room! It is very unheroic behavior.” Iida nods then, pushes his glasses up, and waits. Bakugou tsks again, though there are no more explosions. He shoves his hands into his pockets and surveys the vice-president. 

“So what about you four-eyes? Got a problem?”

Iida opens his mouth to speak before hesitating. It isn’t good to anger Bakugou but well… he is taking criticism, isn’t he? 

“As a matter of fact,” Iida starts. Immediately, Bakugou’s rigid. His spine is straight, his eyes are calculating, and his hands itch in his pocket. “Well,” Iida licks his lip, “I don’t have a problem with your relationship Bakugou; I’d never. That’s simply wrong-people should be able to love whoever they want! Regardless of gender or sexuality or anything of the sorts.” There seems to be a collective sigh of relief throughout the room but Bakugou’s still on guard. “It’s just,” Iida starts again and, again, everyone’s on guard, “Midoriya.” He puts it simply. 

Bakugou raises an eyebrow. There’s a tick in his forehead- it’s small. “What about Izuku?” He questions, barely getting the words out through gritted teeth.

Iida presses his lips together. “It’s just- are you sure he’s okay to be a hero? He’s quirkless after all and it’d be horrible for you to lose him beca-”

“Listen four-eyes,” Bakugou snaps, “I don’t know what bullshit you’re about to spout but I sure as hell have heard it before. Izuku goes to Shiketsu dumbass, he’s top of his class,  of course he’s fit to be a hero. You’ve seen him during battle training. You think a bullet and some arm breaking won’t stop a villain? For Kami's sake, he’s a legal vigilante! He went on a raid with Aizawa!” Bakugou’s breathing heavy now- it’s just, it’s so frustrating. What did they know about good heroics, what when Izuku’s been doing them for years. Years! Even without a quirk, Bakugou’s sure Izuku’s accomplished more than anyone- and, for Kami’s sake- for Iida to say that he didn’t want Izuku to get hurt--. Iida, who almost died by seeking out vigilante revenge (Izuku told him one night over the phone all those years ago) meanwhile Izuku’s been an active and successful vigilante for years before Iida’s pitiful attempt--? It was just… it was just disappointing. And utterly enraging.

“Bakugou-” Iida tries to chide him but it won’t work. Katsuki reaches up, grabs the towel on his shoulder and flings it to Kirishima. The redhead grabs it and holds it, looking wide-eyed between the blonde and Iida. 

“Square the fuck up four-eyes,” Bakugou demands. He slides back into a fighting position, his feet firm on the ground but ready to pounce forwards at a moment's notice. His hands come up in brief fists, though there’s explosions popping off already. What can Katsuki say? He’s pissed. 

“Bakugou, I will not be fighting you in the dorms. It’s not heroic-”

“Alright pussy, I get it- you’re too much of a fucking coward. I don’t care though- it’s just worse for you in the end.” Bakugou goes forward, his left arm swinging a punch as he howls, explosions rocketing towards Iida and then-

Grey cloth wraps around him, pulling him back. He slides, almost falling to his feet due to the recoil of it all, and glares up at Aizawa. “What the fuck Sensei I-”

“Enough. Bakugou.” Aizawa sighs, his shoulders lean forwards and he glances at the group of students. “I’m not awake enough for this…” He murmurs. He releases Bakugou, “Go do whatever you were doing before attacking Iida-” Bakugou goes to protest but Aizawa silences him- “I’ll handle him.”

Katsuki tsks, snatches his towel from midair as Kirishima throws it to him and stalks off to the baths. At least the extras should be less fucking annoying now. 

Chapter Text

Midoriya yawns. There’s light filtering in through the window, he notices as he blinks, his eyes bleary and heavy from sleep. Midoriya groans lightly, his arms going to grasp at Katsuki, only for him to not be there. More awake now, Izuku lifts his head up and off the pillow. He glances around, noting the lack of Bakugou in the dorm. 

“That’s weird,” he hums before flipping onto his back. He prompts himself up on his elbows, his eyes careening around the dorm, “Usually I wake up first.” Izuku sighs then, another yawn breaks out, and he’s leaning back down into the bed. He’s sure whatever Katsuki’s doing it won’t start a fight.

Probably.

So. There’s not really a reason for him to leave the bed? Is there? He’s comfortable, and tired- his bones thrum with a familiar ache from too many days training and too many nights without sleep- and there’s not really a reason he can’t relax. He should enjoy it, the bit of calmness while he can. There’s also the added fact that he’s in Katsuki’s dorm, surrounded by his things and it’s allowing him to see the mundanity of it all. Get a glimpse at how Bakugou runs himself without Izuku there. Izuku takes it in, not for the first time, with the reminder that he’s leaving tomorrow heavy on his mind. He wants to absorb all he can, soak in the essence of Katsuki as much as possible until he’s practically brimming with new memories of the blonde. Then, there’s a pout on his lips because- Midoriya glances at the empty spot next to him- Katsuki woke up first- - meaning Izuku wasn’t able to wake up next to him again. 

He’s wallowing in his thoughts, the torrent of emotions flickering through his mind as he’s running through all things Kacchan- like the way his hair smells when Izuku’s able to rest against his head against his or how he has this system, so meticulously instilled in his room in order to keep it clean and organized, or even the decals on his computer, and his home screen and how it’s a photo of them on one of their first dates- but then Izuku’s also thinking back on the week and the fights and spars and work. It’s a dampener between the unadulterated joy and nostalgia Izuku has when thinking about Bakugou, and it’s also a reality check. He’s leaving tomorrow, to go across the country, back to Insana and Camie, to finish becoming an underground hero. There will be no more light-hearted days (Shiketsu has been buckling down on the limited amount of class time left. It’s tests upon tests upon training exercise upon training exercise, each one more rigorous and difficult then the rest. They’re preparing them for the real world, for real villains who won’t hold back and real people that need to be saved but aren’t conditioned to be- not like robots or hired help are- and that means there’s no time to slack-off. Izuku can already picture the pile of work he’ll have to turn in to be graded and the bruises that will litter his body from spars. He blanches at the idea of having to visit Support- or Kami above the Costume Department [they’re always judge and are more tough on the kids who ruin their gear, unlike Support students who practically scream at the ability to do upgrades and make their gear… well Izuku doesn’t know what they make his gear but it’s just- more] again.) No more days where he can lounge about with his boyfriend, or stay up late and watch TV. Midoriya sighs. He knows the week was technically an internship and he was working- he even got shot- but it felt like such a vacation. He’s going to miss it…

The door swings open. Katsuki walks in, two trays balancing in his arms. His gaze is immediately drawn to Midoriya, crimson eyes landing on emerald ones. Bakugou’s scowl softens slightly, confusion wrinkling his forehead. “What’re you so sad about?” He asks gruffly, already kicking the door close and crossing the room. Izuku huffs and crosses his arms against his chest. “Kacchan,” he chides, “this is the last full day.” Midoriya’s tone is softer, sadder, and it gets Bakugou to pause. He licks his lips before biting them, a soft form of contemplation crossing against his features.

“Yeah I… I know.” Katsuki’s unnaturally quiet as he passes Izuku his tray. Midoriya takes it with a smile. He slides back, further onto the bed and crosses his legs. Katsuki slides next to him, his own tray balanced in his lap like Izuku. 

Bakugou’s fingers wrap around his chopsticks. He blinks down at the food before his head swerves to Izuku. “I’m going to miss you nerd.”

“I’m gonna miss you too Kacchan,” Izuku smiles warmly- albeit with a touch of sadness- and tilts his head to the side. His hand creeps away from his lap and lands lightly on Bakugou’s knee. “But it’s… it’s only five more months,” Five more months to the three years we’ve been away in different schools, on different sides of the country, “and we can do video calls and text like we’ve always done,” But now it’s different. Now that I’ve seen you- now I’ve held you; Kami, now that I’ve woken up next to you, in the same bed, and fallen asleep next to you, cuddled up together- now how am I supposed to forget that closeness? Forget your face in the morning and forget the feeling of listening to your heartbeat lull me to sleep? How am I supposed to go back to before, when before we’ve never known such peace, never known such pleasantries? I’ll always be thinking of you now- in these situations we shared- and I won’t be able to experience it for five excruciating months. How am I supposed to live like that? “I’m not going anywhere Kacchan,” Izuku says fiercely before backpedaling, “well I mean- I am going somewhere, that’s the whole thing- I’m leaving; but I’m not leaving you- well I… I’m physically leaving you but I’ll always be there; I guess what I’m trying to say is-”

Katsuki chokes out a laugh. “I got it nerd,” he huffs, his lips pulling into a grin. Bakugou rolls his eyes and drops his chopsticks. His hand goes forwards, resting against Izuku’s. He squeezes it briefly. “I got it.”

There’s a moment of silence. Just them. The two of them. Looking at each other. Studying each other. Enjoying their company. 

“When we-” Bakugou’s voice breaks. He averts his gaze, coughs into his fists, and stares away from Izuku. It’s just… it’s just a little too much right now. “When we see each other again we’ll be out on the field. Full fledged heroes.” He pauses, unsure of how to continue for once. Bakugou thinks, for a fleeting moment, that he’ll have to leave it there. Let Izuku fill in the blanks, the words he couldn’t quite form, the sentences he couldn’t quite say. But, miraculously, something pops into his mind- slowly forming into an idea and then… oh yes. This captures it perfectly. “We’ll be putting ourselves in danger day after day, saving people. But we’ll, we’ll be together. Fighting together.” Bakugou squeezes Midoriya’s hand and turns to face him. Emerald eyes immediately capture him and then he’s lost in the gaze. “We’ll always be fighting together,” his voice is sturdier now, carrying more weight than it did before. “Until the very end. We’re a team and… and a few measly months won’t matter soon, because then we’ll never have to be separated again. We’ll move in together and we’ll… we’ll get to wake up next to each other everyday. So don’t. Don’t go fucking crying over five months when all it takes is five months for the rest of our lives to start. Together.”

“Kac chan.” Oh shit. Izuku’s voice breaks and the dam falls. Tears well out of his eyes, streaming down his face. He reaches forwards blindly, the waterfall blurring the majority of his vision, until he’s grabbing onto his boyfriend. “That was beautiful,” Izuku hiccups. Bakugou rolls his eyes and tries to push past the light feeling in his chest, fluttering around. “Yeah yeah,” he says, hugging Izuku back, “cry it out you baby. That was so out-of-character for me, you know that? Fuck you for getting me sentimental nerd. Better appreciate it.” Bakugou continues to grumble, but there’s no heat and there’s no scorn in his voice. He holds Izuku, let’s the younger boy clutch at his shirt and bury his head into Bakugou’s neck knowing full well that he just showered and now has fucking tears all over him and his new clothes, and makes sure to not ruin the food. He sits there, with his boyfriend in his arms and rubs comforting circles against his back. He draws designs with his fingers, until he’s trailed Izuku’s entire back. The boy has quieted down now, his eyes running out of fuel, and has since settled to just sniffle occasionally. Still, they don’t move from their position. Bakugou’s hands eventually find the knots in Izuku’s neck and back, and then he’s pressing in and rubbing them- trying to get rid of them and giving Izuku a massage. It gets to a point where they forget there’s food at all until Izuku yawns, stretches his arms out and accidentally hits a plate. Still, he doesn’t move from his position, just readjusts his arm and buries his head back into Katsuki’s shirt. 

“When we move in together this is becoming a morning ritual.”

“What? Baring our souls and crying our eyes out? Fuck no I’m  not doing that every morning. You have enough tears for both of us combined.”

“ Kacchan,” Izuku whines, “I’m talking about the massage. Though a little emotional vulnerability would be nice…” he grumbles, adding on.

Bakugou huffs, “Sure, nerd.”

-

They spend the morning like that, bundled up in each other’s arms simply enjoying their company. Breakfast is long gone by the time Izuku’s at Katsuki’s desk, hanging upside down in his chair. He’s staring at Bakugou, everything tilted 180 degrees, and watching as the boy simply scrolls through his phone. There’s a light headache, pounding on his skull from an unnatural angle, but Izuku ignores it. Suddenly, his own phone dings. Katsuki glances up from his and sends the nerd an inquisitive glance. Izuku shrugs his shoulders as much as he can while upside down, and reaches upwards. His hand fumbles blindingly along the top of the desk until he hits his phone. He’s quick to grab it and drag it down. The screen’s a-light with a text message.

“Just Kaminari,” Izuku calls out. Bakugou nods and returns back to whatever he was doing. 

PikaPikaBitch: hey Mido

GreenBeanKillingMachine:  yes?

PikaPikaBitch: what time are we leaving 2day?

Izuku’s eyes widened. How could he forget about the date? He sits up and spins the chair so he’s facing Bakugou. Katsuki glances up from his phone, an eyebrow raised. “Something wrong nerd?” Izuku shakes his head- “Kaminari wants to know what time we’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” Confusion rings clear through Bakugou’s voice. “Leaving for what?”

Izuku blushes, the redness covering his entire face and rubs his neck bashfully. “For our double date, remember?”

It’s as if all the air is sucked out of Katsuki.

There’s a beat, then another, and then Bakugou’s groaning. His hand drags down his face and he falls back, bouncing slightly on his mattress. His phone falls useless to the side. “I forgot about that.”

“I figured,” Izuku replies, snark seeping in despite his intention. “But- I know with what happened- we don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” He settles on the last statement, his eyes diving to the side. Midoriya twiddles his fingers, pulling them and cracking them in hopes to distract his whirring mind and just get the words out- something he has too much of a problem with. “We can just hang here. Together. Or, we can go out- but like, just us. I know that- maybe, I think; you might just not want to be around other people on a date, or like a double date since that’s what this would technically be and that’s fine! I’m fine with that! Whatever you want to do- it’s just my last full day here so I was thinking… but we can cancel with Hitoshi and Kaminari-!”

“Oh my god, Izuku-” Bakugou prompts himself up on his elbows, his face contorted in disbelief- “I’m fine, we can go.” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “It’s not a big deal anyways. Going on a double date or whatever with mindfuck and shit. Nothings gonna happen so it’ll be fine.”

Izuku tilts his head, his eyes absorbing the image in front of him, and then he gets up, crosses the room and sits down on the bed. Well, sits isn’t quite the right word. That would imply that he calmly and carefully lowered himself down to around a 90 degree position. Rather, what he did do was pause at the foot of the bed, his eyes racking over Bakugou’s body for a mere moment until Midoriya decided to allow gravity to get a bigger hold on him and collapsed on Katsuki. He landed with a soft exhale, his breath swept away from him as he landed wrong, with Katsuki’s elbow buried in his gut. Bakugou’s eyes widened but he didn't move away, so Izuku adjusted himself slightly- still keeping himself in starfish position, though- and nuzzled into Katsuki’s neck. “You’re right, it’ll be fine. So, what time do you think?” 

Bakugou pursed his lips and blindly reached for his phone. The screen blinked at the time: 11:47. He shrugged, as much as one can shrug with someone on top of them, and wrapped his arm around Izuku’s waist. “I don’t know- 15:00? It’s almost 12:00 now.” 

Izuku glanced up, his eyes narrowing at Katsuki slightly before he dipped his head down low again. “Okay,” he murmured, giving his boyfriend a light kiss on the neck, “I’ll tell Kaminari.” He fished his phone from his pocket and tapped at his screen. After sending the text, Izuku threw his phone to the side, sending it bouncing against Bakugou’s bed, and nuzzled more into his neck.

“Uh, Izuku.”

“Hm?” Midoriya hummed, his eyes fluttering close.

“Are you just going to… stay on top of me?”

“Yes.”

Katsuki huffs and wraps his arm tighter around Izuku’s waist. “Alright fucking sappy ass nerd, we ain’t got three hours for nothing.”

They ended up taking a nap and waking up 15 minutes before they had to leave. 

Chapter Text

There’s a café a little while away from UA. It’s located in a small shopping district, with independent businesses lining the streets. Pop up stands and vendors aren’t uncommon, usually working in collaboration with one of the permanent stores there to draw attention to the small businesses. The café itself is sandwiched between two family-owned stores, one a clothing shop, filled to the brim with recycled and sustainable fabrics, and the other a bookshop, it’s shelves spanning all the way to the ceiling, overloaded with reading material. The café shares the exterior common amongst this district- white wood with small windows, overhanging flower boxes and generally a soft atmosphere. Inside the café, however, it’s bustling with sound- clocks ticking, coffee machines whirring, patrons talking. The baristas behind the counter call drink orders to their coworkers, the cooks and bakers in the small kitchen bustle with meals needing to be finished and delivered. Located at a window booth, Midoriya listens in on the chaos, a small hum building up in his throat. It’s always nice to get wrapped up in the mundanity of organized chaos.

Next to him, Bakugou rolls his eyes, his fingers drumming against his glass. It’s just water, for now- everyone had decided to wait until lunch to actually get drinks, otherwise, they’d be gone by the time the food came. Across from Katsuki, Denki taps their fingers against the table, creating an unusual tune. They’re nodding to themselves, their eyes roaming across the café.

“Nice place you picked out Midoriya,” Kaminari comments, their focus drawn to a dish on a table a little while away. It looks delicious, the food fresh and the plate full. They can already hear their stomach growling. “How’d you know about it?” Denki follows up after managing to pull their gaze away from the plate of food. “You’re not exactly around here often.”

Izuku shrugs, picking at his napkin. “When I was in the area a year ago I found it on a work study; it’s nice right? They have amazing muffins.”

“You were here on a work study?” Shinsou asks, eyebrows drawing together, “Why?”

Bakugou sends a glance towards Midoriya: “Was it the-”

“Yup,” Izuku hums, already knowing what Katsuki was going to say. Turning towards the other couple, Midoriya shifts in his seat, his hands clasping together. “I was here for a stakeout; there was this one guy-”

“Yakuza, but pretty cut out of the whole thing, trying to make it back into the gang with bigger drug deals,” Katsuki fills in, mentally rolling his eyes at the use of ‘ one guy’ as if the man in question wasn’t a potentially dangerous and deadly connection.

“Mhm! Right, like Kacchan said- yakuza guy,” Izuku nods, his curls bouncing. He tilts his head towards Katsuki, a smile appearing as his eyes glimmer, rays of sunlight bouncing off the iris’, and then turns back towards the other two. “We noticed- My mentor and I, I mean- we noticed he was coming in here frequently. Kept on coming back for the muffins. Not that I blame him! Great muffins,” Izuku pauses, takes a large sip from his water, and then starts up again, the words rolling off his tongue at a freighting capacity. “So we noticed he kept on coming back so in order to stop him we decided to just catch him here! It was much easier than having to actually track down or arrange a fake deal with him, Kami knows how those normally go.” Kaminari, who in fact doesn’t know how fake drug deals go, glances towards Shinsou- only to see him nodding along, a considerate and understanding expression painted on his face. Whipping their head around, Denki shoots a hopeful glance towards Bakugou. However, Katsuki has to live with the menace that is Midoriya’s life-valuing tendencies (and the lack thereof) so, he too, is nodding along-- after all, Izuku tends to call him up after his missions and complain while he patches himself up. Bakugou has had far too many gone-south drug deals complained to him. 

“But it took a while to actually catch him; after all, we had to wait until the café wasn’t overrun with patrons in order to minimize damage. But yeah! That’s how I found the café.” Izuku drums his fingers against the table, the rhythmic bundump bump dundump bump in tune to the beat of his heart.

“That’s cool.” Shinsou shrugs. His eyes glance out the window, towards the street, bustling with teens and adults alike. “I wish I got assigned to café stakeouts, rather then-” Shinsou’s nose scrunches up ever so slightly, his mouth tweaking down in disgust. 

Midoriya nods, knowing the struggle Hitoshi goes through- “You get the alleyway stakeouts, right? I remember you coming back from one when we interned at the same agency.” The memories found, despite it being a sour interaction. It was the first time Izuku and Shinsou met. It happened in second year, Midoriya traveled down from Shiketsu in order to intern with Code-Mix: an underground hero that ran a small agency not unlike Sir Nighteyes. As Izuku was settling in, going back to the main dorms from the training room, Hitoshi was coming back from a mission, having gotten there a week prior. He looked dead on his feet, a far-too large to be healthy coffee mug clutched in his hand with eye bags to rival Midoriya’s and Bakugou’s mental baggage. He took one look at Izuku, with his cheerful smile and optimistic attitude and then groaned, rolled his eyes so hard Izuku was sure they would fall out of his head, and then turned around and walked away. 

Izuku shook the memory away at the same time it seemed to catch up with Shinsou. “Don’t remind me,” he groaned. Izuku chuckled and the conversation moved on.

Once their food arrived and everyone seemed to settle in, the topics shifted away from Kaminari splurging on meme culture and back to heroics. Denki swallowed a bite of their food before asking Bakugou and Midoriya: “So what do you two plan to do after school?”

“We’re going to open up a hero agency.” Bakugou portrayed full confidence, a smirk seeping onto his face. “Both limelight and underground heroes. We’ll split ownership with Izuku focusing on underground and me on limelight.”

Izuku hummed and nodded along eagerly. “We don’t want to be apart, and we both want to focus on different aspects and there’s no other agencies that do that. So, we thought- why the hell not? Limelight and underground are both so important, and I think having a hero agency blend and merge them will be so crudely important for the future of heroics. Especially as organized crime splurges up again- underground heroics tackles that alone with the nightly mugger, rapist, whatever- they’re so overworked and understaffed and that just leads to disaster with organized crime, so having underground heroes have connections with limelight heroes that will be able to assist with larger takedowns will just be-!” Izuku couldn’t find the right word, so instead his hands came together, shaking incredulously as he tried to portray the excitement and importance of it all. Bakugou nodded sharply. “Like the nerd said. Goes the other way too; limelight heroes have no fucking tact and having underground connections to work on information gathering with should already be the standard.” Katsuki huffed and rolled his eyes: “The industries too fucking behind and mixed up with labels.”

Shinsou and Kaminari glance between the couple in front of them. “Wow.” Shinsou huffs, his eyes widen and his mouth opens slightly. “You two-” his hand sways between the green-haired demon and the blonde, slightly less demon-like but still a demon. When he can’t find the right words to say he just shakes his hand harder- “I see where you align in politics,” he ends up settling on.

Next to Shinsou, Denki shakes their head in agreement; “That’s really cool, actually,” they comment, “Mixing the two- well mediums I guess- seems really smart; No idea how you’ll manage it though, contracting underground heroes is already hard enough- having to listen to Aizawa-sensei scream into his phone taught me that-” Shinsou shoots Denki a poorly concealed glare with more amusement than anything. Their datemate gives Shinsou a sly grin in response and continues onwards- “but in theory it’d be cool. Having underground and limelight heroes working together. Difficult, but really fucking cool.”

Bakugou huffs. “Well-” his hand reaches under the table, grasping at Izuku's. Next to him, the boy turns his head, a kind grin spreads for a moment. Izuku takes Bakugou’s hand and squeezes back, trying to convey everything he can in the simple embrace. “-We’re ready for a challenge. Those fuckers won’t know what hit them.”

“Ugh, can you imagine,” Kaminari leans forwards, halfway to draping themselves against the table entirely; “You’re going to be topping the charts and then you’ll have fucking Midoriya conquering the underground. Your web of connections will be so far out, you’ll be impossible to avoid.”

“What? You wanna get rid of me sparky?” Bakugou raises his eyebrows. His hand turns palm up on the table before it lets out a small pop. 

“NO,” Kaminari groans. They look towards Shinsou but their boyfriend offers no console. “Just- you guys are a power couple.” 

Bakugou pauses, glances towards Midoriya and notes his calm expression. Katsuki’s eyes slide back towards Denki. He leans back, “Yeah, what of it?” (He doesn’t- well he does; it’s just… it’s still new, still raw, having their relationship out in the open. And of course, he’s not going to fucking broadcast it- he’s not ready for that. He wasn’t ready for his classmates to know, no way in hell is he letting everyone know but… although he hates how it happens, despises it in his gut and the feeling of wrongness that spreads across his mind when he thinks about it, there is a small relief. His classmates are fine with it- although Iida’s an ass- and maybe that’s… telling of how others will react. There’s going to be haters; there’s going to be bitches and homophobes and people Katsuki wants to punch, but when has Katsuki let others tell him how to live his life? For the first time in- ever really- he’s not shaking at the fear of people finding out. So he doesn’t- he doesn’t explode, or yell at Kaminari to lower their voice when they call him and Izuku a power couple. Because he likes it- likes being able to joke and have his friends know. Sure, he squeezes Izuku’s hand tighter and there’s a pounding in his chest but he’s not- he’s not dying. So, he leans back in the booth and just… talks. It’s okay, for once. It’ll be all fine.)

Oblivious to the torrent of emotions in Bakugou’s head, Kaminari groans- “it’s not fair!” they chide, their voice border-line desperate. “You two will probably be the single most powerful couple to ever exist and I’m scared of both of you!”

Izuku chuckles. “Kaminari,” his voice starts soft- humbled even. But then he’s glancing up, his eyes flashing acidic green and there’s this feeling of horror washing over Denki. The face he’s making, the aura he’s showing, it’s not unlike the one Izuku used yesterday during the training session. Kaminari gulps, their hand flailing desperately under the table, tapping against Shinsou’s thigh until their boyfriend rolls his eyes and grabs onto their hand, fingers interlocking. “Don’t worry,” Izuku continues, voice still soft despite the terror rolling over Denki, “We like you. You shouldn’t fear anything.” Then, he’s switching back to his normal Midoriya charm, kind smile and cheery eyes back in place. “That’s foolish Kaminari,” Izuku rolls his eyes, “Right Hitoshi?”

“Mmh,” Shinsou agrees, lips pressed together. Lilac eyes slide to the side, and there's a tilt of his head- a miniscule thing but it sends shards of sunlight hitting off his nose differently, shading every part of Shinsou's face and yet, somehow, at the same time, highlighting his eyes, and his nose, and his damn smirk that sends Denki's stomach in a whirl- like how they felt when Sero made the whole Bakusquad do cartwheels across campus despite the fact that they didn't all know how to do cartwheels. And Shinsou just smirks, like a fox, like a shared-secret, like they've just escaped being caught making out, like one of Denki's friends just did the stupidest shit Shinsou's ever seen- and he smirks and his eyes glance into Denki's golden ones. “Totally foolish.”

Izuku huffs, “Oh relax you two!” He shifts his head, glancing towards Bakugou. “Right Kacchan? You tell them;” but Bakugou’s far too amused with the interaction. He’s leaning back, a smug grin splayed on his face. “Sure,” he twists towards Denki, “You have nothing to fear, Dunceface. Be scared all you want though, that’s not gonna change anything.”

“That’s. Not. Helping!” 

Shinsou opens his mouth, perhaps to ease Denki or shoot back a sly remark towards Bakugou, but then the table’s shaking, the glasses clinking together and everyone’s thrown to the side slightly, jostled in their seats. A loud boom rockets through the air and there’s the intense smell of smoke, wafting into everyone’s noses. All at the same time, the four hero students whip their head over to the windows, eyes taking in the chaotic scene. There’s some criminal on the loose, going crazy. Izuku sighs, his shoulders deflating. “Fucking again.”

Shinsou, sharing his sentiment, shakes his head- “I learn not to get my hopes up Izuku; If you’re traveling with 1-A, you’re going to get attacked.” He slides out of the booth and offers a hand to Denki. Kaminari takes it and smiles cheerfully at Izuku. “Yup! We’re trouble magnets alright,” they chuckle just as another boom explosion, shaking the café. Kaminari stumbles into Shinsou; luckily Hitoshi catches them. “Everyone got their provisional licenses?” A chorus of yes’.

“Great,” he nods, eyes straying back towards the glass panel, “then let’s go-”

“Kick some ass!” Izuku interrupts, eyes gleaming and knives shining. Kaminari doesn’t have the time nor mental capacity to ask where the fuck Midoriya got the knives and why he fucking had them on him the entire time, neverminded where, because then Bakugou’s wearing the same battle-crazy expression, his eyes lighting up and his palms letting off small explosions as he choruses Midoriya’s declaration. 

It hits them then, as Kaminari recalls their conversation. Bakugou and Midoriya are opening an all-powerful hero agency together. It’s going to be a modern advancement and they’ll probably lead to a new era of heroics with how it’s structured. 

And well- oh fuck. The world of heroics is going to be changed by these two crazy ass heroes. Kaminari lets out a dry laugh as they rush after Bakugou and Midoriya, Hitoshi at their side. Kami, have mercy on them all.

Chapter Text

There’s a streetlamp on the edge of the sidewalk. It’s teetering down, the metal bent and most likely to break under the pressure it’s being put on. The light is sparking dangerously, flickering on and off arbitrarily. A villain- lean and curvy, fitted in black jeans, battle-worn by the look of them with rips and loose threads, and an old band t-shirt- is leaning against the top of the streetlight. She’s pushing her back to it, her legs bracing themselves at the base. Katsuki would say she’s the one bending the light, only she’s not built like people with strength quirks are. There’s no bulging muscle, no larger stature-- all things considered, she’s actually pretty petite. And well, yes, it’s not unheard to have someone with a strength quirk not look like a muscle builder, but even then there’s little things that give hints. One thing is prevalent taut lines in the arms and legs that flex with every movement, or veiny hands, or even just generally fit bodies. There’s not a lot of flab, the shape of the legs and arms are very defined. Sometimes it can even be seen in the face (Katsuki remembers the article Izuku had sent him a little while back, then. It was interesting- a study based on two ideas. 1- someone’s quirk affects their personality, or vice versa; and 2- the general ‘looks’ of a quirk and how a body is physically changed to account for the superpowered addition. The second idea is obvious in some cases, like with mutants- however with emitter quirks or even just mental quirks it’s an interesting idea. The article went on to say how people with strength quirks generally had stronger features in the face--- sharp and square-ish jawlines, bigger and often bumpier noses, and they tended to have over-confidence and often haughty attitudes [though there has been a decrease in those personality types for strength quirks-- Izuku had sent him a follow up article to contest that point] all of which lead to brazen smirks and smug faces), but, looking at the villain leaning against the street light, there was no smug smirk or hard, square jawline. The villain was extremely feminine even, with a heart shaped face. So, something was telling Katsuki it wasn’t the woman who had bent the pole, but rather the beefy man with no shirt on tearing the other half of the street up. 

“Kacchan!” Izuku cried out, voice fire and steel, “2-2?” 

Bakugou nodded, “Sounds like a plan.” He laced his fingers together and flexed his arms out, cracking the joints before shaking his shoulders back. He shot a self-assured grin to the other extras (friends, they were friends now damnit), only for Kaminari to look at him helplessly, though lightning already danced up their skin. 

“Ugh, a whos-what’s now?” 

“2-2; It means we go two of us on them and then the other two on the other villain,” Izuku explained quickly. 

“Oh, okay.” Kaminari’s head bobbed up and down, a determined grin spreading on their face. They narrowed their eyes, mind briefly muddling over the fact they had to fight in their nice clothes (they picked this outfit out special for the date! Denki had been waiting to wear this shirt, it had taken a lot of self-restraint to put it aside and now they had to just let it get dirty and possibly ruined?!)(Though, maybe then they could convince Mina to take them to the thrift store with Todoroki. Yeah, she might say ye- oh wait.)(Maybe Sero would like to shop with them instead) before speaking up again. “So, me and Hito and you and Bakugou?”

Katsuki scrunched his nose. “I love you Izuku-” and oh wasn’t his heart beating harder and faster than a fight could ever make it because he was saying that in public and in front of other people. Katsuki loved Izuku and he hated what happened but maybe that irrational part of his mind was always just that, irrational- and maybe he’d be able to grow past it, to continue to grow past it because being out like this… it wasn’t horrible. It was pretty amazing (all villain fights aside [though, to be honest, what great date doesn’t have a villain fight involved?]) if Katsuki had to be honest. - “but I don’t think we’d fight best together right now.”

Midoriya nodded, his curls bouncing even as his hand weaved upwards, pulling the strands back and out of his face. He’d kept growing his hair out, letting it get long and the curls heavy. It allowed Katsuki to run his hands through Izuku’s head and detangle his curls, which was one of Midoriya’s favorite pastimes when they were together. It also allowed him to braid his hair and, over all, the amount of styles it led to… well, Izuku didn’t grow up around a pair of fashion designers for nothing. “I say Hitoshi and I fight streetlights’ over there and Kacchan and Kaminari take the brute on. You’re more powerhouses, it’ll work better.”

Shinsou nodded, “sounds like a plan.” He leaned in, Kaminari doing the same so Shinsou could land a brief kiss on top of their forehead. Nothing too big, just a good luck peck. Still, Bakugou’s heart clenched in an unfamiliar way. He wanted to… only- he wasn’t quite ready and-

Izuku leaned into him slightly, sliding his knife to his other hand before grabbing Katsuki’s. He gave a quick, reassuring squeeze. ‘ I’ll be here’, ‘I understand’, ‘We’ll get there’, before his hand slipped out of Bakugou’s grip and his knife returned. He gave it a quick twirl, the silver edges glittering against the sunlight and reflecting the fire that just started. Eyes narrowed and gleaming with barely conveyed excitement at the prospect of an afternoon fight, Izuku gives a once over to the group before turning his chin up, green shining and a smile sparking. “See you on the other end.” He mocks salutes with two fingers before turning on his heels and running towards the streetlamp lady, Hitoshi on his heels. He really hopes she doesn't actually have super strength, because then their strategic planning would just go up in the air. But, that’s generally how it is in battle so Izuku doesn’t have his hopes high. Here goes nothing... 

Bakugou grunts, bouncing back. His arms go to wrap around his torso where the brute just landed a strong hit, but then his mind remembers his years of training and he knows he can’t-- can’t give into a moment of weakness, can’t leave him self defenseless. His hands are how he wields his quirk; they’re the base of how he fights. So, regardless of the throbbing in his stomach, of the pounding in his chest and the dull, familiar ache slowly building up throughout his body, Katsuki’s arms stay braced out in front of him. 

His head whips up, eyes trailing in on Kaminari. The blonde’s across from him, the brute in the middle. Electricity is arcing up and down their arms, sparks bouncing off of the air. When they see Bakugou, Denki’s face splits into a grin. He holds a thumbs-up up, eyes questioning. Katsuki scoffs, standing back up from the lunge position he was thrust into, and rolls his eyes. Kaminari’s hand pushes forwards and they give another, more assertive thumbs-up. And, once again, Katsuki rolls his eyes, though he does return the gesture.

Denki's face lights up-- literally-- electricity arcing up more and more as they raise their hands up. Bakugou wants to coordinate another attack, maybe use one or two of the drills Aizawa makes them do everyday. But, the real world doesn’t have planning periods, and so when the brute lets out a raged cry, muscles flexing, and begins to run forwards towards Denki, Bakugou knows he won’t get the coordination he wants. 

Kaminari dodges to the side, body angling down as he rolls against the messed up concrete. There’s still fire on a storefront, much to everyone’s chagrin, but there’s no real way to put it out-- Not without a fireman, or someone with a water quirk. The heat sticks to Denki’s skin, embers pulling at their shirt. Denki bats them away quickly, legs pushing up as they turn back towards the brute. Electricity crackles, sparks and pops, and then they’re charging forwards- a yell breaking through their throat. The brute gets closer, engages in the attack too- his legs pound with each step, concrete cracking under him- and he reaches his arms out. Maybe to strangle Denki. Maybe to knock them back. Definitely to stop them though. 

And well, it’s not as if Denki hasn’t been rushed by angry brutes all the time. For kami’s sake, they’re friends with Bakugou. But, the villain is larger than Kaminari thought before, and even though a hero shouldn’t have fear, even though a hero can’t back down from a fight, Kaminari doesn’t want to die. So, when they’re within a few steps of the brute, instead of jumping on them like planned, Kaminari once again dodges to the side, swinging under the large arm already pushing forwards in a punch. Denki lifts their hand up and slaps it to bare skin, electricity flowing from one person to another, and once again rolls down to the ground in order to get rid of their extra momentum. 

They think, for a moment, it worked. So, with a proud grin Kaminari stands up. They turn towards the brute, expecting him to be knocked down-- unconscious even-- only for him to be staggering upwards, an insane gleam in his eyes.

“Little hero-” their voice is deep and uneven; i’s the first time the villain talked, besides for the screaming of course, and it hits Kaminari’s brain in all the wrong ways- the words, the tone, all of it, it’s just general unpleasantness- “A little frying won’t stop me.” And then the villain’s arm is rearing back and he goes to land another punch. Kaminari can’t move, can’t dodge because the fire’s now next to them and oh god- this is going to put them in a coma isn’t it? It totally is…

And then there’s an explosion, and Katsuki rolls his eyes. He steps over the villain's downed body, his own ears still ringing from the blast, and walks towards Denki. With hands shoved in his pocket, Bakugou slouches back, an eyebrow tweaked upwards. 

“Well? Aren’t you going to thank me dunceface?”

Kaminari gawks, slowly pulling their gaze away from the downed villain and over to Bakugou. “Have you… just been waiting to do that this whole time?”

Katsuki tsks and shoves his hands deeper into his pockets, as if anything was more obvious… “Obviously.”

Kaminari blinks, blinks again, refocuses their gaze on Katsuki, and shakes their head. Then, their eyebrows arch upwards, eyes widening as the corner of their lips tweak upwards. Without any restraint or, seemingly, personal-safety, Kaminari swings their arm over Bakugou’s shoulder, pulling the boy close. “Hell yeah dude! Charge Bolt and Dynamight! Victorious again!” 

Bakugou goes to open his mouth. Maybe to retort, maybe to tell Denki to ‘get the fuck off of me you stupid-ass bitch’ or, maybe, however unliklely it might be, to agree with Kaminari’s assessment. However, before the words can leave his mouth, something knocks into his legs. He staggers forwards before whipping around, eyes sharp, glare sharper. Katsuki glances down, to the groaning body of streetlight lady- now with cuts ripping through her outfit, and bruises blossoming against her skin. His eyes narrow, a tick forms in his forehead and he glances up. A while away, Izuku grins, bright and cheery. He waves to Bakugou, knives still in his hands. Shinsou waves next to him. Katsuki glances down again, notices the black boot marks stamped on the villain's stomach, and sighs. Fucking hell… his boyfriend and the weird-ass company he keeps…

And then he sighs again, because he’s weak, and glances right back up at his boyfriend-- right in time to see him get fucking bodied and for the building in front of the bent streetlamp to explode.

Chapter Text

Izuku blinks. The lamp-post lady jumps down, a small frown on her lips. She cracks her hands, her leg slips back, and then she’s lunging towards them. It’s a whirl of jumping out of the way, rolling down and popping back up, hands throwing hits, arms locking against each other, feet kicking and pushing back-- it’s punching and escaping and spinning, and sweat on Izuku’s neck and a grin on his face and curls bouncing into his peripheral. It’s palms getting scraped against the pavement, low stinging and the all-consuming pounding of his heart, in his chest, in his ears, as his adrenaline levels sky-rocket up. 

Izuku blinks. The fire’s storming now. Heat licks at Izuku’s clothes, sweat coats his face, his hair sticks down to his forehead. He swirls his knives, rolls to the side after lamp-post lady sends a kick towards him. She ends up stumbling and Hitoshi takes the chance to launch after her. His capture weapon is out, wrapping around a pole and then he’s swinging around it, feet braced forwards as he smashes into the lady. Izuku stumbles upwards, keeping his grip loose on his knives as he limps over to Shinsou. 

“Think we got her?” He asks, eyes surveying the still-struggling girl under Shinsou’s boot.

Hitoshi shrugs, he tilts his head. “Can never be too sure. Hey- ”

The girl snarls up at them before she’s somehow twisting around Hitoshi’s boot, breaking away from him and ending up 5 meters away. Hitoshi blinks, quickly, slightly put-off by his now-uneven footing. He stumbles, though keeps his gaze on the girl. Izuku huffs, a small smirk pulling at his lips: “This’ll be a little bit more difficult.” 

The girl’s lips spread into a sardonic smile.

Izuku blinks. Hitoshi has got the girl in a headlock, Izuku’s in front, ready to fight back if she somehow escapes again. She thrashes around, her eyes glaring daggers at both of them. Her hands scratch and pull at Shinsou’s arm, but his grip remains strong- determination is streaked on his face; his lips are pressed into a thin line, there’s a small tick in his brow, and his eyes are narrowed in on the struggling criminal.

Lamp-post lady snarls again, her hands clenching down onto Shinsou’s forearm. “You’re all the same,” she hisses, legs kicking out from under her, “Mindless dogs to the government; ready to take order at a moment's notice without ever worrying about who’s on the other side of them.”

“And you’re no better,” Shinsou responds, deep voice rumbling like a smooth motor- “take a look around at the chaos you created. Innocents could’ve been injured today. You’re ruining local, family-run businesses who likely won’t be able to recover from an attack at this scale.”

The girl scowls and her nails scratch at Hitoshi’s bare skin till they leave white streaks and red agitation. “At least-”

Her words go on and on and Izuku considers bashing his head into a wall. It’s always interesting to hear others' perspectives on the world, it gives Midoriya something to think about, reflect on, and a way to improve the crappy system. But right now his blood’s pumping and his fingers are wrapped around his blades. The fire’s still roaring and Izuku can hear the grunts and sound-effects from Katsuki’s fight. And, well, Izuku wants a fight too- wants an outlet, wants an experience. Sue him. His inner Kacchan’s coming out. 

And so, yes, what happens next is bad- and yes they should’ve cuffed the girl before she had the chance to do it, but Izuku didn’t lie when he said he wanted a fight. So.

He blinks. The girl’s hands somehow get between Shinsou’s arm and her head and then she’s pulling away and ducking down, feet already tucking in and rolling before sweeping Shinsou’s legs. He flails for a second, falls down and jumps back up, but it’s already Izuku’s turn. The girl runs forward, head turned back to make sure Hitoshi isn’t right back on her, capture weapon readied, and that makes her miss him. Izuku doesn’t wait for the girl to run into her, no. Instead, he runs up to meet her, a manic grin on his face. His knife sweeps up, barely nicking her cheek and the sting captures her attention. Lamp-post lady’s head swings toward him, eyes widening in alarm and before they can narrow, before her leg can slide back again and before her fists are up- punches rolling- Izuku grins. “Hi!” He waves, before his hand goes flat, wraps around her, and pushes her down just in time for him to kick her towards Bakugou- “Bye!” he shouts. She skids until hitting into Katsuki and, by then, she’s out-of-it enough that she can’t put up a fight. Izuku watches as Kacchan looks up and he waves, grin perky and-

Izuku blinks. 

There’s a terrible pounding on his back. The fires seem louder, the heat closer. Sweat clings at his shirt, makes him feel light-headed and disgusting. There’s a ringing in his ears and his heart beats, static in his chest. Izuku groans, pushes himself up, and-

Right. A fight. 

Kacchan has already launched himself towards the new foe-- who is, yet another, beefy dude. Muscles popping, threats rolling off the tongue, Izuku can only watch with blurred vision as orange and yellow pop around the blobs. He spots Shinsou’s purple hair, sees the man’s bulging biceps, and goes to stand up to help- but Izuku’s knee gives out, prompting a soft curse, and he can only watch on as the fight progresses. His hand is still wrapped around his knife and he wants to throw it, only, with his fucked up vision and lopsided gait, it’d be more a nuascene than a help. After all, Izuku doesn’t want to hit Kacchan by accident. 

It’s only when there’s the sound of sirens rolling in the distance, and the flashes of assaulting orange and sunshine yellow die down to an infrequent amount, that Izuku is able to hobble forwards. Katsuki sends a glance towards him once he’s up there-- it’s just a quick turn of the head, eyes flashing with a deep-rooted concern. Izuku smiles, though strained. He’s fine. He is. He’s gotten hurt before, but he’ll always get back up. Bakugou seems to take that for what it is- there’s a small nod, and then he’s turning back towards the villain. Shinsou has him restrained with his capture scarf, Kaminari’s posed next to his body, hand stretched out like he’s ready to release a couple more volts. And, with Katsuki in front of him- not to mention the various burns littering the guy's body- Izuku doesn’t second-guess why the villain seems to be calming down. It’s not like he has a choice anyway. Still though, it doesn’t stop Izuku from walking forwards, a slight limp in his left leg, and throwing a hard punch. It knocks the guy's face to the side, makes his jaw clench and his eyes flash with rage, but Izuku steps back as soon as it happens and leans softly into his boyfriend's arms. Katsuki snorts and resists the urge to wrap a hand around Midoriya’s waist.

“That’s for throwing me into a fucking building and making me miss the fight,” Izuku mumbles, getting another snort out of his friends. The heroes stay there for a moment, keeping an eye on the villains until police cars and firetrucks pull up. The local cops filter up, take their statements and officially take in the villains. It’s all a blur to Izuku, he can hardly remember recounting the events, and it’s only when he’s back at 1-A dorms, a cup of something warm in his hand and his indoor slippers snug and soft on his feet, like the stray cat that his doormates took in back at Shiketsu, and like his favorite sweatshirt of Kacchan’s- a deep navy blue with a faded yellow logo, something once showing a rock climbing competition program and a year- that Izuku fully comprehends what happened. And then his lips are turning down, a pout forming as he slumps in the common room of 1-A.

Katsuki sends a sideways glance as he steeps his own tea, curiosity peaking though it’s portrayed as annoyance. “What?”

“Our date got messed up,” Izuku whines and Bakugou snorts. “Yeah villains tend to do that.”

“Oh come on,” Izuku’s hand slaps good-naturally at Katsuki’s arm. “You know what I mean.”

And then Katsuki rolls his eyes and Izuku can’t help the sigh that escapes him as he collapses further into the brick wall that is his boyfriend's build. At least, that makes Katsuki grumble, shrugging his shoulders to try to shove Izuku off to no avail. “Fucking loiter,” he mumbles- eyes narrowed and extremely focused on not spilling boiling water all over his hand. 

“What was that Kacchan?” Izuku asks, smirk pulling at his lips.

“Fucking free-loader,” Katsuki says louder this time. “Can’t fucking stand on your own.” 

“I’m injured, Kacchan. That means you have to take care of me.”

And for all of Bakugou’s grumbles they both know that’s true. So, he shoves his cup of tea into Izuku’s hands, bends down and picks his boyfriend up in a princess hold. The walk upstairs is short and quick, and then he’s dumping Izuku down onto their bed. Midoriya bounces, carefully trying to not spill the tea all over the comforter. He places them on the nightstand, and then relaxes down-- tension seeping out and shoulders relaxing down. Katsuki stares at him, rakes his eyes up and down, and shakes his head good-naturedly. He huffs, amused, before his lips tweak upwards. Izuku looks like a cat, bathing in warmth and comfort. 

The green haired boy stretches again, arms slowly bending out, legs extending as far as they can go before pulling back in. His eyes flutter open, half-lidded and gemstone green. A pleased smile graces his lips and for all that he’s a little shit, right now he really just wants to be soft. So his hands extend upwards, fingers opening and closing with the whine of “Kacchan” on his lips. And who’s Bakugou to refuse then? Who’s Bakugou to say no to his boyfriend, no to the love of his life?

So he doesn’t. So he joins Izuku. His laptop gets opened and they’re settling in again. Not cuddling, but rather shoulder to shoulder, heels hooked together under the covers. Each holds their tea, delicately sipping the herbal ends as their show is queued up and starts. And when it’s dinner time, they leave the comfort of the bedsheets, bringing empty mugs and full-hearts.

Dinner’s a quiet affair, full of low conversations between the two-- nothing of much substance. There’s no fights, no snarky comebacks, no impossible challenges. It’s just them enjoying a meal together. And then they’re washing their dishes, loading their empty tea cups into the dishwasher, and heading back upstairs: a head on a shoulder, a hand in hand. And when they settle back under the covers, heartbeats slowing and breath's evening out, the couple lets their eyes flutter closed knowing that, while today isn’t the last day they’ll fall asleep together-- heart beats syncing up, body heat transferring throughout the night-- it is the last time they’ll do it until their full-fledged heroes. Until they own an apartment by themselves. Until they're all on their own. But that’s a thought for the morning, and for now they’re asleep. 

Chapter Text

Bakugou woke up first. He came to slowly, with his eyes fluttering open before snapping close as he readjusted, shoving his head back into his pillow or Izuku’s hair and falling back asleep. He didn’t want to wake up yet, didn’t want to have to deal with the realization that this was it, this was the last time he would wake up with Midoriya for months, the last time he would be able to eat breakfast with him, spar with him, go to bed with him or kiss or cuddle for months. He didn’t want to leave it behind. Not yet.

There was something different. He could feel it. Rooted in his heart, tangled in his bones and his brain. Something was different, some strings were cut. He couldn’t recognize them before, couldn’t put a name to the feeling he had no recollection of, but now that it was gone- now that the quirk was gone- he was able to sense it. There were strings, the entire week, woven between him and Izuku. Tied to Izuku’s fingers and legs and chest, connecting him to Bakugou’s body. Pulling them closer together. And when one strayed too far, when the strings couldn’t stretch that far enough, they still tried and they pulled Katsuki, pulled his consciousness out of his body so that they could follow Izuku. So that he could follow Izuku. Just, in his dreams. 

But there were no more strings. There was no more tugging, no more deep rooted desire, need, to be next to Izuku. There was nothing. There were no strings. ( And yet, Bakugou’s heart didn’t beat any slower, his mind obsess any less- and glancing down at Izuku, at his sleep-flushed face with those stupid freckles, stars and galaxies stretched and etched into his skin- even though there was no more necessity in being this close to Izuku, Katsuki found he never wanted to leave this safe, small bubble the two of them had. The quirk was a nuisance, no doubt about it, but the closeness it had brought is not something Katsuki wants to give up. Not now. Not ever.)

Bakugou can still feel them. Unwinding, falling loose. Hundreds upon thousands of pieces of thread slowly getting cut away, slowly falling down. They ghosted over Bakugou’s skin, like a taunt- here’s what kept you so close, now look at it dying. Bakugou hated it. The feeling of string sweeping against his skin. The emptiness that pulsed throughout his body, now that there wasn’t a constant tug, a constant need. He hated it. 

So, he fell back asleep.

When he woke up again, bleary eyed and yawning, he forgot about the thread and the unusual emptiness filling the crevices in his body, making his skin prickle with coldness, with loneliness. Instead, his eyes landed on the figure of Izuku, curled up under his covers. The sun was out, hitting against his window and fracturing into millions of different pieces. Little rainbows danced across Izuku’s skin, covering up his wholly freckles and tanned skin. Under the covers, Bakugou’s hand twitched, grasping at Izuku’s own. In his sleep, Midoriya rolled over, closer to his boyfriend, with the faint mutter of “ Kacchan.” before his head lolled back and his mouth traced mindless babble.

Bakugou sighed, the sight as endearing as it was sad, and tried to go back to sleep. He settled down, the blankets coming farther up his chest as he readjusted his grip on Izuku, holding him tight. But, there was no sleep, no haze draping itself over Katsuki’s mind. 

He resorted to sitting up in bed. Izuku ended up rolling again, his head landing in Bakugou’s lap, and so Katsuki took the time to run his fingers through the mop of tangled curls Izuku called his hair. He pulled gently, losing up the tight coils and smoothly tugging out the knots that Izuku never really cared to fix. Bakugou’s fingers scratched at Izuku’s scalp, drawing out pleased murmurs even in his sleep. He looked on, admiration clear in his sight, and continued the mindless task as he began to scroll through his phone.

When Izuku began to wake up, fewer words coming from his mouth and his forehead creasing, his eyes trying to stay closed, Katsuki lowered his face. His mouth became parallel with Izuku’s ear and, with a soft murmur, he whispered: “Go back to sleep, nerd.”

Izuku hummed, the sound low in his voice, and rolled over. His hands came up, clutched to his chest as he curled into a fetal position; “Yes Kacchan,” he responded, breathily and not all quite there. He nuzzled the pillow and his head fell heavy against it. 

Katsuki sighed and figured out he should do something before the nerd wakes up again. He loves Izuku, really, truly, deeply loves him, but sitting in bed couldn’t keep his attention for much longer and his clothes were starting to itch at his skin. Energy was building up in his body- he needed to do something. So, with one last kiss to Izuku’s forehead, Katsuki quietly swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He adjusted the blankets for Izuku after a moment, then changed into a different pair of shorts and a shirt. He grabbed some earbuds and, with one fleeting glance towards his stupid, adorable boyfriend, went for a run. 

The air is cold in the morning, and there’s a freshness to it that Katsuki’s missed. He hasn’t been able to go on his early morning runs since he got hit with the quirk. He’s sure he could’ve, if he asked Izuku to join- he knows the younger teen would readily agree, probably even turning it into a race truth be told- but Bakugou also knows that Izuku has enough of a fucked up sleep schedule, what with his late patrols and tendency to do homework as late as possible, so waking him up from either his two hour nap or a rare occasion of actual sleep to run wasn’t the best idea. Still though, there’s a somber note in the air as Katsuki’s feet take him down the winding path of UA’s campus, past the dorms and gardens, around the main school building. He loves his morning runs. Looks forward to them, even. Something about running in the morning, the sun new in the sky, music thrumming through his ears as his feet hit the pavement on beat, the birds chirping along as the world wakes up-- it just hits different. Feels different. There’s a completely different atmosphere than running in the afternoon, or night; it especially feels different then running on a treadmill in a gym. It’s just… nice.

Still doesn’t take away the sting that accompanies it, though, when Katsuki remembers he’s only here- only able to go on a run and let his body carry him across the expanse of UA twice, because his boyfriend will be leaving. For five months. And then he won’t be able to touch him, or kiss him, or cuddle him. Or wake up next to him, or even- heck, fuck what he said, go on a run with him. For five months. 

And there will be no more spars in the dorm, no more rushing to class or late night talks about homework and teachers piling on more than they should. No more conversations about their dumb school friends, and what work studies their picking up and thoughts about graduation parties. No more school uniforms, no more dorms. Ever. This is the last time they’ll be able to share that in person. Forever. Because, in five months, when they get to see each other again, get to be together, there will be no more school.

No more UA. No more Shiketsu.

The thought hits Bakugou harder than he considered it would. His feet slow down to a jogging pace, the music pumping through his earbuds fading to background noise. His brow furrows, his eyes stubbornly focused on the smooth pavement in front of him and the greenery poking out of his peripheral as his hands curl into fists. There will be no more UA. No more dumb jokes shouted over the dinner table, no more sleepovers with his classmates, with his friends. No more group study sessions, or shopping trips. No more homework. No more classes. Kami, no more fucking lunch time together. Or training exercises! No more hoping for specific teams and shouting in glee (Well, Katsuki never fucking did that, but Shitty Hair sure did and so did… Raccoon Eyes…) (Bakugou shakes the thought from his head. No need to think about that now.) when they got the team they wanted. There’s just- there’s just going to be no more of it. They’re moving on. Growing up.

Bakugou ends up at Heights Alliance sooner than he realized. He would’ve thought he only did one lap of the perimeter of the school, if not for the familiar and comforting burn of his calves and sweat, leaking from his skin. He’s so lost in thought, not even computing Kirishima’s wave or morning greeting, that Bakugou goes straight to the showers- never mind he doesn’t have a change of clothes. He just strips, scrubs and washes himself off, washing away the grime, mind whirring with realizations. He has to say goodbye to Izuku today. He has to say goodbye to UA soon. Goodbye to the three years he spent here. Goodbye to the good memories and- he has to say goodbye to Izuku today. There’s too much in his head, too many realizations that Bakugou just sinks into the sento, not even noticing the burn of the too hot water. 

He doesn’t want to leave. Doesn’t want Izuku to leave. Doesn’t want this to all change. Kami, though, he does want the rest of their lives- living together with Izuku and starting their hero agency; but he doesn’t want to move from this moment. From this week. (Though, there are things he’d rather not relive, things he’d rather move away from) It’s all too complicated, stirring in his head, and when Bakugou exits the bath, having to throw on his dirty clothes from before, much to his disgustion, he just barrels to his room- not noting any interactions from anyone in the commons.

He slides into his bedroom, already peeling off the dirty clothes and throwing them into his hamper before chucking on some simple shorts and one of his nice t-shirts. After a moment's consideration, he steals Izuku’s sweatshirt too. It’s a little small on him, and it clings tight to his figure, but it smells and feels like the green-haired boy so Katsuki can’t complain.

Speaking of his boyfriend, Bakugou walks up to his bed, the pitter-patter of his feet filling the otherwise silent room. Izuku rolls over, his eyes fluttering for a bit before opening completely, giving way to emerald iris’ and a sleepy haze, full of confusion and joy. Izuku grins at him, soft, and stretches his limbs wide. “Kacchan?” He asks, voice so innocent and carefree that Bakugou can only scoff. Izuku reaches out, his hand patting at Bakugou’s arm until Katsuki holds out his hand. Izuku’s own hand falls down the length of his arm until he grapples at the hand, eventually entwining their fingers loosely. Their hands fall down after that. “Kacchan, what’s wrong?”

And of course the damn nerd would know when somethings wrong. Because, even though Katsuki looks fine- with his firm set face and his normal, grouchy attitude, the nerd’s always able to read between the lines even when the page is fucking blank. Bakugou just blinks at his boyfriend before looking away, all too aware of the roaring river of emotions locked in his mind.

Izuku frowns and tugs Bakugou closer. The blonde ends up sitting at the end of the bed, Izuku’s hand in his lap. Midoriya sits up a little. He rests on one of his elbows, his eyes drawn together. “Kacchan,” he pleads, voice quiet in the early morning hours, “what's wrong?”

Bakugou licks his lips and huffs because it’s fucking stupid. It’s stupid that he’s sad about this all, stupid that he’s babying about Izuku leaving for five months and then UA ending for the rest of his life. Wishing to stay in high school is the most pathetic thing he thinks he’s ever felt, and it doesn’t make any fucking sense because his whole life all he’s ever wanted to do was be a hero and do field work and open his own agency- and now he’s finally able to fucking do that, now his time at UA is ending, and he’s sad?

“It’s just-” and he scoffs then, because what else can he do. His eyes dive to the side, staring out the balcony door, but Izuku doesn’t want that- he won’t have that. So, gently, ever so gently, because whenever they’re together Izuku’s always gentle-- even in their spars- and Kami, that’s just another thing Katsuki’s going to miss, but ever so gently Izuku grabs Katsuki’s chin and turns his face until emerald eyes stare into ruby-red. And Izuku keeps his hand there, keeps his eyes focused, and Bakugou’s entranced because has Izuku always been this pretty? 

(And the answer is of course; of course Midoriya’s looked like this forever, of course Bakugou knows how beautiful he is. It’s just- now, now that Izuku’s leaving, and now that Bakugou’s sentimental, and now that he’s realizing how fast everything’s moving, how he’ll never be able to relive this, to stay rooted in this spot- now, Katsuki’s staring straight at Izuku’s face, so close [and he could count his freckles, he should; he should, his fingers, rough and calloused, should try to count every freckle so then he can kiss them all-- and oh, isn’t that a lovely thought] and the knowledge of the now, and of the short future ahead of them-- just in this afternoon, even-- now Bakugou just wants to appreciate what he has, and the beauty that is Izuku, because it’s the last time he’ll see him like this-- see him so close, where the light visibly reflects off his eyes and his fingers are so soft against Katsuki’s skin-- in a while. So, yes. Izuku’s always been this pretty. But, in this moment, in the now, Katsuki is more aware than ever of the passing of time, so he wants to appreciate it. Appreciate the beauty of Izuku. Appreciate Izuku as a whole.)

“It’s just…” Midoriya’s voice trails off. He needs Katsuki to finish his sentence, and needs him to tell him what’s wrong. But he can’t force that, and he can’t brawl his way through this-- because, despite what everyone may say about him, Izuku is the fight-first, think-later type of guy-- so he needs Katsuki to tell him. So. He hopes he can convey that, with how he holds Bakugou’s chin, and how his knees press into Katsuki’s thighs, and how his eyes look- vibrant with emotion, vibrant with need. And, it works, because Katsuki and Izuku have this down by now. This invisible language. It only takes one glance, one look at Izuku’s emerald eyes, with his stern-set lips and little wisps of green curls, tickling at his forehead and messed up from sleep, for Bakugou to spill.

“It’s just everything's changing.” He settles on that, because that's easy and simple and it makes sense.

“Yeah,” Izuku says, “everything is changing.” He leaves it at that, for the moment, because they’re careful and gentle with each other but the realization is still harsh, despite how much they’ve talked about it, and despite how much it’s been eased into them. There’s more they could say after the beat, after the soft silence that fills Bakugou’s dorm. There’s plenty of sentences. Plenty of: ‘But we’ll change with it’; ‘But that’s a part of life’; ‘But we’ll always be together, so really it doesn’t matter’. But they don’t say that, because Katsuki’s never been one with words, and Izuku- much to his dilemma- has never been one with them either. So, instead of speaking, instead of mouths opening and closing again and again, as the words get stuck in their throat, stuck in their mind before real words can really form- only thoughts and ideas bubbling together trying to force themselves into the shapes of letters- instead of that all, Izuku leans in close. His shoulder bumps against Katsuki's, so the blonde boy turns to the side a little. Izuku continues to lean forwards, till his face is in Bakugou’s chest. Katsuki wraps his arms around Izuku, and holds him, because it’s the last time he’ll get to do it in 5 months and this whole day is a day of goodbye’s. He needs to make every action count. Every emotion bleeds from his mind into Izuku’s. 

Izuku’s shirt is rumpled and slides down his shoulder, the collar loose from years of use and stretching out. Bakugou glances at that patch of skin, with it’s menial scatter of freckles-- in no shape, with no connotation of any star-constellation, and yet no less meaningful. Katsuki stares at those freckles, for a moment, and then a moment more, and one hand unwraps against Izuku’s waist. He grumbles, and there’s a low noise of discontent, of some offense and protest, in his throat, but then Katsuki’s hand is placing itself on Izuku’s shoulder and he’s tracing those random freckles, and all protest dies in Izuku’s mouth. They sit like that, with the phrase: ‘everything’s changing’ hanging over them, and just let themselves take in the solace, take in the information, that- even though everything’s changing- they are a constant, and they will be a constant. 

Katsuki traces Izuku’s freckles, and everything else fades to background noise. 

Later, when the sun is still ripe in the sky and bleeding down onto them- casting shadows and highlights across Izuku’s face as he traces different patterns into Katsuki’s chest, the words resurface and settle again. Speaking gently through the air, an atmosphere so dream-like it doesn’t even quite seem real, Izuku says “Yeah we’re changing.” And there’s a beat and a pause, and then he’s pushing onwards, the words finding him and shaping in his mind in a way they wouldn’t before. “But we’re always going to be changing. And… well frankly if we weren’t I don’t know if I’d want that life. A life without change.” Emerald green eyes flicker upwards, catching onto Katsuki’s from where he’s staring in the distance, no real emotion showing despite the rapid river of feelings flooding his mind. “Kacchan…” And it’s oh-so-soft and oh-so-sad and oh-so-what Bakugou needs to hear. 

“Kacchan… Change is what’s going to let us grow. And there will be a mission where we’re apart. For weeks or months or years at a time. And I never want to be away from you, but there will be times that we’ll have to be. And that’s change. But change is also us, yes leaving school, but starting our agency and going up in the ranks. Change is you becoming Number One. Change is… change is how we know our jobs-- how we know heroes -- are working.” 

Izuku stills at that. Let’s the words fester for a moment. Then he’s looking back up, his hand leaving Katsuki’s shirt and instead cupping his jaw. “I don’t think you’re scared of change, Katsuki,” Izuku says- and it’s oh-so-powerful and oh-so-simple. “I think you’re waiting for it. And the anticipation is what’s making you like this. What’s making you think you’re sad and you’re scared but you’re not. Because the Kacchan I know isn’t scared of change. I think you’re ready for it. You just… don’t know how to act when it comes. But that’s okay. Because we have 5 months more. 5 months more to the rest of our lives. This isn't the end, Katsuki. It’s the beginning.”

And all Bakugou can do is give a wet laugh and lean closer, knocking his forehead against Izuku as green curls tickle his skin. “When’d you get so smart dumbass?” He asks, joyful and a little sad for reasons he couldn’t explain.

“When you got so strong, idiot,” Midoriya response-- equally if not more emotional. And they laugh and they let the tears streak out and down their cheeks, dripping onto their conjoined hands. And when Katsuki leans in for a kiss, it’s just a simple peck, but it holds more emotions than normal because it’s not a goodbye kiss. It’s not a kiss full of sorrow, full of ‘I wish you didn’t have to leave’. It’s not a kiss of regrets or mistakes. It’s a kiss of promises and festering joy of what’s to come. 

Aizawa’s the one who walks them to the train station. Says he needs to-- says it’s required for a mentor to lead their intern to transit and safely see them go. Bakugou knows that’s full of bull and that Aizawa just wants to say goodbye to Izuku. But, Katsuki doesn’t say anything because he wants the exact same thing. 

Izuku’s duffle is clutched loosely in his hand. They have 10 minutes until the train arrives, and Bakugou fully intends to take advantage of them. He let’s Aizawa say goodbye first though, partly because he’s not that much of an asshole, and partly because he wants the man to leave so he can have Izuku all to himself.

The hobo exchanges a few words which the blonde doesn’t hear. He clasps Izuku on the shoulder, nods his head solemnly, and says something that gets Midoriya to puff his chest out and tilt his chin up, a look of pride and determination painting his features. No doubt that he complimented Izuku as a hero, and said that he looks forward to working with him in the future. But then Aizawa stepped back. He nods to Bakugou when he passes him, and continues onwards to the end of the train station area. He glances at the benches, all neatly lined up, but decides to just lean against the wall, eyes peering at Bakugou and Midoriya.

The blonde shakes off the feeling of being watched. He knows it’s just Aizawa-sensei. 

Katsuki steps forwards and Izuku gives him a shaky smile, all wet and shit with tears. Bakugou tsks. 

“I thought we had this heart to heart in the morning,” he says, raising an eyebrow at Izuku’s small chuckle. Midoriya raises a hand to wipe away a tear. 

“What can I say?” he asks, “I’m emotional.”

Bakugou stares at him for a moment, eyes tracing and taking in all of Izuku’s features for the last time in 5 months before he looks away and scoffs. His hands squeeze together in his pant pockets, bunching up the fabric.

Midoriya steps closer, a comforting hand pulling Bakugou’s out of the pockets and into his own hand. “Hey,” he says, voice shaky like a baby, “this isn’t the end.”

“It’s just the beginning,” Bakugou mocks. “Yeah, I know nerd.” And it’s solemn and sweet and it’s what they need to hear.

“I still think you’re a nerd.”

“And I still think you’re a loser.”

The two let the banter stew. Izuku traces a star onto the back of Bakugou’s palm, a soft hum on his lips, and Katsuki just traces the sight of Izuku. When the announcers gargles out something resembling the words: “Train” and “1 minute”, the two let the handholding drop.

“I guess this is it, huh,” Izuku laughs mournfully as the train screeches into the station, doors opening as people flood in and out and yet here he still is, feet rooted to the ground. 

“Not the end,” Bakugou promises because it’s not the end. It can’t be the end. It won’t ever be the end. “Just a new beginning,” he finishes. 

“Yeah. A new beginning,” Izuku repeats. And then he’s leaning in and lips meet lips, all soft and sweet and it’s gone too soon, the taste disappears too soon and Bakugou’s left wanting to chase the rosy red pair but Izuku just pulls away. Shakes his head. 

“In 5 months.”

“5 months.”

Izuku’s eyes dart between Kacchan’s, searching for something. And it seems he finds it because he gives a tight squeeze to Bakugou’s biceps, leans in close with the murmur of “5 months, I love you”, and then the announcer’s saying the train’s leaving and Izuku pulls away and Bakugou can only watch, helpless and frozen, as Midoriya steps back and back into the crowd, green swept away in a sea of other colors. The train door’s close, and Midoriya’s gone. 

The strings were cut. The quirk’s over. The week’s reached an end.