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Language:
English
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Published:
2024-04-20
Completed:
2024-06-15
Words:
56,412
Chapters:
11/11
Kudos:
53
Bookmarks:
11
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2,112

❝ two swings ❞ | bakudeku, english version

Chapter 11: ☂ │ suspended in the air like two swings

Chapter Text

☂

 

Midoriya Izuku had always sought out his childhood friend Kacchan, wanting only for him to let him be by his side.

Bakugō Katsuki had always known about Deku's obsession with him, finding comfort in their strange bond but also great fear once he found himself alone, he and the thousand pieces of that promise they had made broken when he walked away for his own good.
He had searched for him in the storm of his remorse and the realizations that came to the surface as he drowned to the bottom.
He had believed that the thing in his chest and then in his bones and everywhere, which constantly changed shape, driving him mad, was something to fight... When the longing, the emptiness, the anger towards everything and everyone and most of all himself for doing stupid things, the despair, the jealousy, the fire and the cold, the fear of disappointing, the fear of daring were all the most destructive facets of the same coin. The same stupid, big feeling that he still didn't know how to call love, and words didn't matter.

Only gestures and moments mattered, when everything was canceled out and remained suspended, when they had the courage to hold each other's damaged bodies close and let their souls touch.

Katsuki was wrong: that their bond was inexplicable, an incomprehensible enigma, a continuous merry-go-round, like swings on rainy days shaken back and forth by the wind on paths that were now parallel and now alternating, was not their weakness... Being condemned to brush against each other, to remain stuck in those moments that together made them eternal and then perhaps start chasing each other again, was what made them special. Regardless of the challenges they would face, resisting time and tragedy, pushing each other to always give the worst and the best of themselves. Each time without anything ever being the same again, and that was fine.

Everything fluctuated, sometimes coming back if they were together, and then starting again stronger than before.

After all, which one of the two of them had ever loved simple things?

 

☂

Notes:

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Herewe are, at that moment, the usual final speech that I never thought I'd get to write and in which I, the author, basically ramble on. I know you were waiting for it.

As often happens to me, this story was born when it wasn't supposed to be born and as a secondary story. Back in February 2024, a dear friend of mine suggested I write a one-shot about the song, on which I wouldn't have bet a penny. The next day, I was already humming it and imagining the plot, which became longer and more detailed, until it turned into something slightly bigger. Because fun fact: the song is about a father and son, but I couldn't help but see BakuDeku / DekuBaku in the lyrics.
Yet with this story, I didn't want to talk only about them. I had been waiting a long time for the opportunity to write a long pov about Bakugō (the silly one-shots, alas, don't count) after the one about Deku in ❝ mercy ❞, since I can't say which of the two I love more at the moment. Choosing that particular moment in the anime gave me the opportunity to dig deeper: not only his relationship with Izuku but also with the friendly post-war atmosphere, his mother, his friends, his first experiences, even if they were wrong or strange, and accepting himself. Lighthearted things, in short, in which I tried to give space to a more psychological slant on his slightly twisted and slightly flawed mind and his beloved supporting characters.

I have to thank, apart from Horikoshi-sensei's work, which inspires me and others to pour out words and tears, some particular sources of inspiration. Some Italian friends — whom I talk about in more detail in the outro of my original profile — and some artists: the eye wants its share too, so fanarts is always a source — you can find them on my Pinterest, where, with great originality, I have the same name I have here (all links in bio). Plus, a mention must go to the Instagram profile @/nunkisketches: one strip inspired much of chapter 3 and, in general, they posts things that are too sweet. And so I've done the social media round too like a great influencer (of my boots).
Finally, I always feel a little silly, but I know it's shared, so perhaps I should thank the characters themselves for their unimaginable affection and everything that drives them to create.

I'm sure I've forgotten something. But that's also a constant in the end.

─ Melissa

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Thank you for coming this far. See you in other stories or elsewhere!

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