Work Text:
Bakugo taps his feet impatiently, hand gripping a safety bar as the train zips away. The cart is filled with working adults and students alike. He recalls Aizawa-sensei's warning of a new transfer student. One who'd apparently scored the entrance test with mostly rescue points; his quirk would probably be less suited for combat, then. Or maybe he just couldn't react fast enough to take battle credit? Bakugo remembered Kirishima mention that some people were fighting over targets, so it'd be pretty plausible for someone to miss out on points this way-
Bakugo feels a gaze at the back of his head. He glances around the area to meet viridescent eyes - from a boy about his age. The stranger donned a plain uniform with no school colours or tie. It was a little comedic, really. His hair quite reminded Bakugo of kelp. The blonde wonders if the slight mess was intentional - it's rather cute.
Had he been staring? Definitely. Otherwise the other boy wouldn't have looked so nervous. Kelp-hair sent him a weak, unsure smile. His green eyes dart around, seeking an explanation for Bakugo's attention.
The blonde adverts his gaze to the ground, hoping that the heat rising up his face doesn't reflect on his cheeks - this was bad. Bakugo isn't one to get flustered- red with anger, perhaps. But never out of embarrassment - is this embarrassment?
Whatever it was, the feeling is far from welcome.
“Crap,” Bakugo mutters. “What the hell?”
There's a warning bell as the train arrives at its destination. People swarm towards the exit, effectively cutting off their brief moment of contact. Bakugo stretches his neck to try and gleam a view of the other boy; but by then half of the compartment had already cleared out. He tries to dismiss the disappointment bubbling up his chest; it wasn’t as if they talked or communicated in anyway. There wasn’t much lost, right?
‘It was just a stranger.’
Yet Bakugo isn’t able to push away the anxious thoughts that begin to plague his mind as he walks the familiar path to U.A. He doesn’t even respond when a particular redhead greets him at his entrance to class. Sitting down and preparing for the day, Bakugo quietens his mind and stops himself from blowing up a classmate this early on; couldn't the idiot tell that he wasn't in the mood?
“Bakugo! What’s with that look?” Kirishima peers closer with the question. It undoubtedly reminds him of a puppy, but Bakugo wasn’t about to let his friend off the hook so easily.
“Bug off, Weird Hair. It’s none of your business. And shouldn’t you be off romancing Kaminari or something?”
The boy backs off with a jolt, “Denki? Why-”
“You text each other when you think I’m not looking.” He states. “Don’t think I’m that oblivious; your messages are so cringy that I almost went blind- ”
“They’re not that bad! And how did you even see my messages-”
Bakugo continues along with the banter, glad to have successfully shift the attention away from his uneven state before. The last thing he needs is a confrontation about that weird green kid. He didn’t even know the guy, for God’s sake.
It wasn't until the bell rang that he knew this day was cursed. Aizawa-sensei enters the room, and at his heel is a familiar, eager-eyed face.
Bakugo is almost glad that the boy seemed as surprised. He begins to tap his desk impatiently as the class sinks into a quiet buzz. Some were expectant, others scanning the green-head for god-knows-what. The likes of Todoroki, however, couldn't be more disinterested. That Icy-hot dumbass could ignore a fucking earthquake if he wanted, and his dry sarcasm didn't earn him any points either. Todoroki is an enigma that Bakugo wasn't interested in; not unless it stood in his path to become a pro.
"This is Midoriya Izuku; he's a transfer. Don't kill him with your weirdness or corrupt him into a delinquent either. I'll give you a few minutes to swarm him after attendance," Aizawa states. He retreats to his desk and calls out their names. Midoriya stands in the front, glancing uneasily towards Bakugo and the empty seat that sat in front of the blonde.
After a bit of deliberation Midoriya moves to his presumed spot. Bakugo glances and tilts his head in greeting before immediately looking out of the window. Izuku straightens a little and settles, trying not to look back at the other boy.
By the time classes have ended and Bakugo is getting home he still isn't able to dismiss a weird twinge in his chest. It'd started around the time All Might initiated combat exercises for the class. The new kid - Midoriya, had been unexpectedly impressive when against Shoji. Bakugo still wasn't sure of the guy's quirk, but seeing the green-head speed around and demolish obstacles definitely left an impression on him. It was more to how he calculated his steps and movements rather than the use of brute force alone -
"Hi!"
"What-?"
Bakugo snaps around to see Midoriya, bright and lively, making his way toward him. It was odd to see the guy act so friendly after he'd witnessed Bakugo's hostile behaviour in school. Maybe it was similar to how Kirishima had stubbornly clung to their self-declared friendship; either that or he was just plain stupid.
"What do you want, short-stack?"
"Um, I don't want anything in particular; it's just that I think we live near each other so maybe we'll see one another a lot -"
"I'm not interested in chaperoning you home."
"I- I never said that!"
"Midoriya, right? All I need you to know is that you'll never beat my rank in class. You'd probably have a hard time getting pass Icy-hot and Yaoyorozu anyways."
"Icy what - ?"
Bakugo speeds up and turns the corner. He's surprised to see that Midoriya still bothered to catch up, even matching his pace and strolling beside him. It would've been infuriating, normally.
"Call me Deku," Midoriya eventually says.
Bakugo scoffs. "Isn't that a bit insulting?"
He receives a small smile in return. "Well, someone once told me it sounded like an encouragement. Back home, I mean."
"Oh. Well," The blonde shoves his hands into his pockets, only to let out an annoyed groan afterwards at something in sight. "You've got to be kidding me."
At the side of the street is a basket of roses, torn and dismembered. The woven material was unscathed, but left rolling along the wind. Petals clung to the ground, trailing along dolefully.
Izuku opens his mouth to ask, but stops as he notices a cat grooming it's paw nearby. It was clearly the culprit, based on the petals that roamed its fur and stem at its feet. The calico looks up at the pair before haughtily lowering its paw and carrying a bright green stalk away - tail flicking as it went. He could almost feel the exasperation seeping out of Bakugo. Or was it irritation? He can't really tell.
He's surprised to see Bakugo pick up the basket. The blonde looks back at him expectantly. "You gonna help me return these or what?"
The two scavenge for what was left of the roses. Izuku fells oddly saddened at the sight of a lavender bud - its outer petals almost peeled off and stem slightly bent.
"What's that?" Bakugo queries, eyebrow raised. The other boy is been looking at the item in his palm.
"It's been through a lot." Izuku states dryly, "We should put it out of its misery."
Bakugo snorts, reaching for the flower. "Here, I'll fix it."
Handing it over, Izuku observes as Bakugo carefully removes the damaged leaves and secures the stalk with a strip of twine from the basket. Had his classmate done this before? The blonde's movements were precise and light, as if he was handling something fragile, precious. Not realising his entrancement, Izuku almost drops the rose when Bakugo passes it back to him. A light blush dusts his cheeks as he fumbles to catch it. "Oh, you'd make a good nurse."
"Not even a doctor, huh? Just the assistant?"
His eyes widen. "Nurses are heroic! They handle injured people too -"
"Whatever you say, Deku."
As they finally find the florist’s store, Bakugo can't forget how easily the name rolled off his tongue. It felt familiar, even. Which is kind of stupid since he'd only met Izuku today, but he was in high-school. Stupid things are the norm at this point.
The other boy also seemed pretty happy when Bakugo addressed him as 'Deku,' which is a plus.
"Hello, how can I help you boys today? Looking for something in particular?"
"We're just here to return this," Bakugo speaks up. "Looks like a cat got to it."
"Ah, I was wondering where those went!" The florist receives the basket, examining what is left inside. Her hair swishes around as she glances to the counter. "I'll be back in just a minute - feel free to browse in the meantime."
Izuku moves toward a large arrangement of blossoms. "These are huge! They’re almost like a tower, huh?"
They continue to make a trip around the flower shop. Bits of conversation fly by. Dry humor and exited speech bounces around the room, paired with the scent of flora and pollen. It's almost peaceful, in a way.
Bakugo can't remember the last time he’d felt so comfortable. He didn't feel the usual urge to prove himself around Deku or snap at dumb comments. It was the first time in a while since he's felt this light ebullience. Izuku exuded a pure glow, and Bakugo likes that. It was refreshing.
The florist emerges from the back of the store, carrying colorful bundles in her arms. "Thank you so much for returning that! Please, take a bouquet; on the house!"
"Oh, we don't need -"
"Yeah, we just wanted to return -"
"Just take it as a sign of goodwill. You could give it to a special someone as well, hmm?" The florist ushers them out, giving them no opening to refuse. "Enjoy your day, boys! Don't stay out too late!"
With a flourish, she pushes a bouquet into each of their arms and shuts the door with a click. The woman gives them a teasing smile as she retreats back into the store, sending them off with a triumphant wave.
"Did we just…" Izuku starts.
"A lady just kicked us out of the store with flowers in our hands. We're going to be such formidable heroes in the future."
Deku laughs. The sound is brilliant and slightly contagious. Bakugo feels a small smile stretch across his lips. He reverts his attention to the bouquets before him; the roses were mostly yellow, with some purple blooms dotted in as well. They vaguely remind him of something...
"Hey, look!" Deku picks one out. "It's the one you fixed!"
Sure enough, the rose was lacking petals with twine wrapped around its stem. The florist had probably put it there as a keepsake, seeing as it's the only survivor in that mess of a basket.
"You can throw it away if you want," Bakugo says. "That one's pretty crappy compared to the others."
Deku shakes his head, "I think I'll keep it. It can remind me of today!"
"It’s up to you, I guess," Bakugo feels a sense of pride rise up his chest. Was it a petty thing to be proud of? Yes. Did he care? Absolutely not.
He guesses that was why he said this next.
"Let's do this again sometime."