Chapter Text
#1. Kirishima is stupid and can’t pull his own weight in school.
From the very first test they took at U.A, Bakugou knew that Kirishima had to be behind his classmates. The sullen face and shoving of the test result gave him enough of a hint. Bakugou watched this pitiful pattern until Kirishima showed up at his dorm door with that night’s homework.
Kirishima came back for three weeks at 5:30 for extra help. Of course, getting Bakugou to agree to it wasn’t something that happened automatically. It was a lot of pleading, bribery, and finally a few tears. Bakugou was a cold guy, but he knew for whatever reason, Kirishima REALLY needed his help.
It was a week before their math final and Kirishima was bugged out more than Bakugou had ever seen him. It was true that with his help, he had been doing better and improving at a very quick rate. So it was hard to understand why he was so freaked out.
They were surrounded by lesson plans, pencils and matching calculators that Kirishima bought. “Oi, Kirishima, cool the fuck down.” Bakugou said after watching Kirishima scribble out wrong answers angrily.
“I just can’t get it!” He shouted frustrated with himself, “I can’t.”
Bakugou huffed and looked down at his classmates paper. Confused, he brought light to an obvious error, “Dumbass, where did you get the 6 from?”
“T-there’s no six in the problem?” Kirishima asked shocked.
With a roll of his eyes, Bakugou dramatically shook his head, “I wouldn’t have fucking asked if there was one idiot.” He paused thinking for a minute, “Do you need fucking glasses Shitty Hair?”
Kirishima looked away, “I’m sorry for wasting your time Bakugou, ah, I’ll try to do some more of the practice problems you wrote out. Thank you again-” He was cut off by Bakugou clearing his throat.
“No. Why did you think that there was a six?” Bakugou firmly asked.
With hesitation in his voice, Kirishima spoke, “I don’t need glasses.”
Bakugou lightened his demanding tone a touch, “Alright, then what’s your fucking problem?”
Knowing that there wasn’t a way out of this, Kirishima flopped back down on the floor, “Okay, okay, keep this between you and I? It’s super unmanly and I don’t want this to make people-”
“God Shitty Hair! I won’t tell anyone, just get on with it.” Bakugou grumbled.
A sigh left Kirishima, “I have Dyscalculia. Numbers and math really mess my mind up, and it acts out especially when I’m nervous.
“Is that just fucking dyslexia with numbers or some shit?”
“Um. No not exactly, they have different effects but yeah, they are similar.” Kirishima clarified.
Bakugou put the homework sheet in front of Kirishima, “Alright dumbass, you’re finishing this even if it keeps you up all night.”
And so; he did, he worked hard with help from Bakugou. The blonde boy kicked Kirishima out after the last problem, telling him that he’ll be a waste of time if he can’t get an A. With a new found confidence, Kirishima let a little bit of his test anxieties flutter away.
-
Of course his nerves went haywire on the day of the actual test. He did all the review sheets but he still felt like it just wasn’t enough. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he looked up from his desk and saw Bakugou.
“You said the numbers got all fucked when you freak out right?” Bakugou asked, Kirishima nodded, “Then you need to calm down dumbass, just chill, it’s a test but you’ll have a fuck ton more chances.” Feeling like his ‘good friend quota’ was filled, he began to walk away.
“Bakugou wait!” The taller boy stopped, “Thanks for helping me man, it was super cool of you.”
“Fuck off, dumbass.” He muttered while scratching the back of his head and making his way back to his own desk. All the while trying to ignore how the small compliment made his heart thump.
-
“Bakugou! You’ll never believe this!” Kirishima beamed after class. The dimmer of the two boys kept his gaze on the floor. “I got a B+, can you believe that? I know it’s not an A but this proves that I’m really not all that stupid…”
Bakugou tuned out the rest of Kirishima’s excitement with a realization. Kirishima was never stupid or bad at school, he just has a setback. One that he doesn’t have control over. Maybe Bakugou should stop calling him a dumbass.
#1. Kirishima is stupid and can’t pull his own weight in school.
#1 Kirishima tries his best and needs a little help and that’s okay.