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Honestly, for a society where everyone was gifted with the strangest of quirks, one would think there would be protections and precautions to not get hit by a flying or randomly activated one.
One would think.
Except, when Bakugou Katsuki, hero in training, provisional license just obtained, launched himself to avoid a kid being hit by a car, he was the one who got hit. By the child’s quirk, not by the car.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the boy said, looking all too mortified. “It will wear off soon.”
Pursing his lips, Bakugou let out a puff. At least it wasn’t anything lethal, he considered checking his body for any injuries.
“What the actual fu - frick!” he swore. Or tried to at least.
His body glowed blue for a second, then returned to normal. His ability to swear, however, did not.
“Fu - F - Frick!” He tried tentatively. “you son of a b - b - butler! Butler? Really?! That’s not even an insult!”
The boy, no older than eleven, looked at him a little scared. “I’m so so sorry."
“Kid, what does your quirk actually do?”
“Ehm,” he replied, fidgeting with his hand in a way that remembered Bakugou a little of Midoriya, always blushing and cringing, “well, it was registered as ‘wall breaker’ but it doesn’t actually break real walls. It’s more about the mental and psychological barriers people put between each other to protect themselves. Er… my quirk takes them down, or so the doctors said when mum had me tested.”
“You’re a nerd, aren’t you?” He was the exact copy of eleven years old Midoriya in his behavior.
“Yes, sir, a little.”
“Oh my, stop calling me sir, I’m not even eighteen.”
“Yes, sir. I mean, yes!” More and more alike, maybe he should tell Izuku.
Wait what?
Was it part of the mental barrier falling the kid was talking about? Because no fricking way Katsuki would have wanted to share a part of his day with stup - with idio - with Dek- Oh frick! Not even that? Not even in his thoughts? Ok, then. No way he would have wanted to share part of his day with Midoriya. Midoriya, not Izuku.
Slapping a hand across his face, Bakugou thought that would be a long -
“Say, kid, how long does your quirk last?”
Fidgeting again in a way Bakugou was starting to find endearing - endearing, really?! - the boy lowered his gaze. “I don’t know. I didn’t do it on purpose so it shouldn’t be very powerful, but mostly it depends on who I hit. It could go from a few hours to a few days or a week? But that just happened once. And that time I hit my parents with all my power because I didn’t want them to divorce - it didn’t work, but at least they don’t hate each other any more - so it should be less?”
“Oh, shi - shot!” Shi - No. Not even in his thoughts. Bakugou started to realize he hated his life.
* * *
Walking back to the dorms was a piece of cake. The problem was convincing himself to go in.
He wasn’t one to stall, but he didn’t want to face the rest of his class without knowing what could go out of his mouth. Oh, scre - fuc - whatever it! Bakugou Katsuki was not one to run away from his problems. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t just hope there wasn’t anyone in the common area.
And with his luck of course half of his classmates where there, watching a movie on the television.
“Oh, hey, Bakubro! You’re back! Do you wanna some pop corn?” Kirishima asked from the couch.
“No, thanks.”
That alone froze the entire room, the bowl of pop corn falling from Kirishima hands on the ground with a thud.
“Thanks?!” Sero was bewildered.
“No exploding things?” asked Kaminari, shocked.
“Are you feeling all right?” Inquired Kirishima.
“Yeah, I’m going to my room.”
But Kirishima wasn’t one to be easily convinced. “Are you sure you’re ok?”
“Just leave me alone.”
“What? Bakugou, why?”
Feeling already very tired, Bakugou couldn’t find in himself the will to put up an excuse. That or the quirk wouldn’t allow him. “Because I’ve been hit by a quirk and I’m gonna go lay in my room until it wears off.”
“Kacchan! You have been hit by a quirk? What? How? Have you gone to Recovery Girl to have a check-up? Are you sure you’re all right?”
“It’s nothing, Izuku, really, you don’t need to worry.”
The silence in the room was even more deafening than before. Kirishima pondered on picking up the bowl just to let it slip from his hands again. You know, for drama purposes.
“What - what did you call me?” Midoriya stuttered.
“Uhm, Izuku, I think…” Katsuki ran a hand in his hair, slightly blushing.
“Now, we are worried, Bakugou,” said Sero.
“I really think you should go to Recovery Girl” intervened Iida, pragmatically.
Meanwhile Midoriya was having a breakdown. “You called me Izuku” he repeated, numbly. “Not Deku. Izuku. You. Called. Me. Izuku. You hadn’t called me by my name since we were four.”
“Yes, I am aware of that. It’s just that stup - umph. It’s just the quirk that hit me. I can’t even swear anymore.”
“You can’t swear?!”
“You’re not helpful, Kaminari.”
“So you can say my surname, but you went with a first name base with Midoriya? Should I feel offended?”
“Oh my God, Kacchan!” Midoriya squealed.
“Could you please just stop, Kaminari? Izuku is becoming incredibly annoying.”
“Oh, ok, you’re all right them, if you still find Izuku annoying.”
Midoriya flinched, Kaminari’s reality check hurting him more than it should have. “Do you really find me that annoying?” It went out of his mouth before he could think better of it. Of course Kacchan would answer yes. “I mean I know I mumble a lot and I really should stop, but -”
“You’re cute when you mumble” Katsuki said, then proceeded to slap a hand across his mouth, eyes widening. He hadn’t mean to tell that.
“C - cute?”
Silence again, and holy shi - shot, if that wasn’t awkward. Even Midoriya seemed at loss and he was never shutting up.
“Ok, right, I’m gonna leave now before I can embarrass myself even more. See you in a week.” He made to leave, but Kirishima stopped him.
“A week? Bakugou, what quirk was it?”
“What?”
“The quirk that hit you, what does it do?”
“I’m just gonna go in my room. Please.”
“Oh, come on, Bakubro, isn’t there a little part of yourself that consider me your friend and that wants to make me a little happy?
Kirishima braced himself for the harsh ‘no, die’ that would surely come out of Bakugou’s mouth, but got a sigh instead.
“Fine. It - the guy said it destroys psychological barriers or whatever.”
“So, you being harsh and impolite is just a defensive mechanism?” asked Sero, and fu - flick, when had he become so perceptive?
“I can relate in wanting to feel nothing” And who did even allowed Todoroki in the conversation?
“So you don’t really hate me?” Izuku asked, and why couldn’t he just let it go?
“What -? No! I’ve never hated you.”
“Really? Not even when we were in middle school?”
“No.”
“Not even when you suggested I should kill myself?”
“You did what?!” Kirishima screeched.
“Guys, I know he didn’t really mean it, but still I thought you… well, you know, you hated me.”
“Dude!” Kaminari was as shocked as the others. “If that was a defensive mechanism, it was a hell of a defensive mechanism! What did the poor guy do to you to make you hate him like that?!”
“I didn’t hate him!” Bakugou screamed, a little overwhelmed. “I liked him, that was the fucking point!”
“You - you -” Izuku was having the second meltdown of the day, his brain not able to process all the information.
“You liked Midoriya?!” supplied Sero.
“You - you liked ME?!”
“Oh fu - frick!” Bakugou hid his face in his hands, pondering if he should just activate his quirk and blast himself into unconsciousness until the quirk didn’t wear off. Frick! This wasn’t happening to him. This was a nightmare and he would wake up very soon and anything of this would not have happened. This was a… a premonition! A premonition of a sliding door moment and he would wake up and start the day anew and he would so let the fricking car hit the fricking kid and everything would be normal again.
“Wait, how could it be that you swore like a second ago and now you can’t anymore?” asked Kirishima.
“I did?”
“Yes, that’s weird.”
“Unless he meant it in the biblical sense of fucking...” Todoroki, deadpan, provided an explanation.
With a noise that didn’t really sound human, Izuku almost melted on the floor, his cheeks turning a bright red.
“Oh my God!” Katsuki wanted to die.
“I didn’t need this mental image!” Kirishima said and Sero nodded a little disgusted.
“I need to bleach my brain”
“I think I’m just gonna electrocute myself.”
“Todoroki…” even Iida seemed a little disappointed in him.
Bakugou just wanted someone to end his misery. “I’m gonna go now. Please, let me.”
He didn’t add a “just pretend this afternoon never happened or I’m gonna kill you all”, mostly because he didn’t think the quirk will allow it. But, after all, there was time for that. Or so he hoped.
It didn’t help that while fleeing from the room - no point in denying it, he was almost running - he crushed against Ashido, who was entering, almost knocking her down.
He would have sworn if only he could.
“What has just happened here?” Mina asked baffled. “Why was Bakugou running away? And why is Midoriya lying on the floor surrounded by popcorns?”
The room looked at her in silence. Then all hell broke loose.
* * *
A slight knock on the door.
Bakugou would have loved to ignore it, but apparently the quirk was still active and refusing to answer the door to not have any contact with the outside world was a psychological barrier.
So Bakugou had to open the door, finding himself face to face with Izuku.
“I think we need to talk, Kacchan.”
“No, I don’t think so” he tried to close the door, forcing himself, but he couldn’t do it.
“Are you avoiding me?” Izuku asked and yes, yes, he was, thank you very much.
“Yes, so?”
“Don’t you wanna know what I think?”
‘No, I don’t and now just go die!’ Bakugou would have loved to reply. Instead, the truth came out of his mouth.
“No, I don’t. I’m scared I won’t like it. I know I won’t like it. After everything I did to you, you should hate me. I would do it if I were you.”
“I don’t hate you, Kacchan, I thought that at least that was pretty clear.”
“Why, though? I put you through shit and everything and you still haven’t realized how crappy I am?”
“Kacchan… can I come in at least? Or do you want to discuss this in the hallway?”
With a sigh, knowing he would regret it, Katsuki took a step back, letting him in.
“Let’s make this quick,” he said as he sat on his bed, motioning Izuku to do the same.
“Are you scared?”
Anger tried to flare through the quirk. No, Bakugou Katsuki wasn’t scared. Of anything. And the fact that Izuku was hinting he could be meant he didn’t had scared him enough.
“It’s fine if you are” Izuku added, softly.
“No, it’s not.”
“Are you gay?”
A sarcastic ‘what do you say?’ couldn’t find its way to his lips.
“Evidently.”
It wasn’t that in his family being homosexual was something frowned upon. No, there wasn’t really a reason to be ashamed of or to deny it. It was just stupid kids at middle school, calling each others faggots and so on as an insult, and Bakugou… Bakugou didn’t want to be seen as weak. It was stupid. So fucking stupid.
Wait. Fucking?
“I am too.”
“What -?”
“Gay. I’m gay too. For you actually. I think you should know, since, well, what happened today... I - I always had this… enormous crush on you and -“
Oh, shit, was this heading where Katsuki thought it was heading? But he wasn’t ready! He wasn’t prepared for this!
“Why would I fucking care?” Bakugou sneered as a reflex.
“Oh. I see. You’re back,” Izuku flinched as if Katsuki had hit him. “I thought, after this afternoon, we could - Never mind. I’ll leave you alone.”
“No!” Bakugou gripped him by his wrist, stopping him on his track. “I - I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I - Fuck! I’m not good with this things!”
“Feelings?” chuckled Izuku.
“Yeah.”
“It’s fine. I’m good enough at it for both of us” he said earning from Bakugou an arched eyebrow at his confidence. “If - if you still like me, of course.”
Katsuki nodded, his mouth suddenly dry, his heart beating so fast he could feel his temples pulse. “I don’t think you are much more good than me at feelings, but…”
“But?”
“Come here, nerd.”
As he pulled Izuku forward, Katsuki thought that maybe he should thank the kid and his quirk, sending him a ‘thank you’ card or -
Screw it.
Every other thought got erased by the warm sensation of Izuku lips against his own.
* * *
“Oi, Bakugou, how are you feeling today?”
“I’m fine, Pikachu.”
“Are you sure? Do you wanna confess your undying love for someone else today?”
“FUCK OFF AND DIE!”
“He’s fine.”
* * *
“Bakugou Katsuki, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”
“What the fuck do you want, Round Face?”
“Iida told me everything about what happened yesterday!”
“So?” Bakugou tried to suppress the embarrass. This wasn’t the right moment, Uraraka was too angry to be here to mock him.
“YOU!” She spatted, rage making her breath ragged. “You told Izuku to kill himself when you were kids, YOU BASTARD!”
It wasn’t even that much time ago, but Katsuki didn’t feel like correcting her would do him much good. She was terrifying in her fury.
So he just kept quiet.
“I don’t like it,” she said, “and I never will. I don't think you are good for him. I’m gonna pretend nothing had happened for Midoriya’s sake, BUT…” she held a finger in front of his eyes, “if I hear you’ve hurt him, no one is gonna find your body. I'll float you to the moon. Understand?”
Bakugou held her stare, as if searching for some trace of fear or retreat. When he didn’t find any, he nodded. “It’s only fair. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”
“Good. Now go make him happy or my terrible wrath will fell upon you!”