Chapter Text
Midoriya had been acting… odd.
It wasn’t anything super out of the ordinary. Basic subtle things, really. Things like spacing out in the middle of class while idly twirling his pen between his fingers or going a little slower during his workouts instead of that racing pace a lot of the other boys seemed to always go at.
Ordinarily that wouldn’t have raised any flags. Ordinarily Kirishima wouldn’t have thought twice about the way the omega acted. It wasn’t a secret that about a month or so before Midoriya’s heats (or pre-heats, depending on his stress levels), the omega would start to slow down so he could accommodate his body’s needs.
What really caught Kirishima’s attention was the little things that other boy didn’t do, which led Kirishima to realizing all the subtle things he was doing.
Like when the class had it’s monthly game night, Midoriya had fallen asleep on the couch before nine. Maybe it could have been chalked up to heroics training earlier in the day, but Kirishima knew for a fact that Midoriya had only really been at half power at most. His punches hadn’t stung the way they normally did, and he even seemed to have been moving a bit more sluggish.
Not that you could tell unless you regularly sparred with him. Midoriya was only trounced in speed by Iida and Bakugou.
There was also the way he just seemed to have relaxed in his borderline overbearing concern? Midoriya was one of the kindest souls Kirishima had ever met. He had made it his mission to know when members of the pack were feeling down and out of sorts so he could try and help them fix it.
When the pack had first formed in their first year, it had been a tough thing to get used to. The rest of the class was alphas and betas, and while they all cared for each other, they tended to show it in different ways.
In fact, the only one who didn’t seem the least bit surprised in Midoriya’s increase of concern post-pack formation, was Bakugou. (Who in Kirishima’s opinion had an unfair advantage of having grown up with all of Midoriya’s quirkiness.)
It wasn’t that those things had stopped, but it almost seemed like it was mellowing out into something more natural. Kirishima had once again found that the easiest explanation was that as the pack omega, Midoriya was starting to finally relax into his role instead of taking on too much.
To be honest it had been a nice change. One that had made Kirishima’s alpha purr in contentment to know that their omega was finally and truly settling. Even his scent had mellowed out around the edges.
Perhaps the most striking change, the one that had truly caught Kirishima off-guard and had alerted him to Midoriya’s behavior, was how he acted around Bakugou.
It wasn’t a secret that the relationship between the blonde alpha and the green haired omega was complex and twisted and practically indecipherable. During the first few months of their high school career, it was clear that there was history between them.
Even after becoming friends with Bakugou, (which Kirishima still prided himself on, if he were being honest) he still hadn’t managed to figure out all that had happened between the pair. They were childhood friends and they had grown up together, but from the sounds of it something had happened between them during their last year in middle school and the start of high school.
It had cleared up shortly after the formation of the pack. And while Kirishima wouldn’t necessarily label them as friendly most of the time, it was clear that they cared for each other. Deeply. Almost instinctively, even.
Through Kirishima’s eyes it appeared that they had gotten closer over the past year and half. Instead of that intense anger that Bakugou had worn like a second skin, they had calmed into something that was more neutral.
Kirishima had thought that things were going well between them. And then they had come down to breakfast that morning looking tense and deathly silent. Midoriya had looked like a wreck, despite the smile he was trying to plaster onto his face. He had immediately left Bakugou’s side and practically sprinted towards his friends who were across the room.
Bakugou had watched him go, a dark look spreading across his face, before his eyes had snapped to Kirishima’s. The blonde had growled at him to ‘stop fucking staring, shitty hair,’ and then had stormed out of the room, completely forgoing his usual breakfast in favor of one of those protein shakes he kept in the fridge.
It was an easy thing to write off at first. The pair got into arguments often enough that this one didn’t particularly stand out. At least, it didn’t stand out until about lunch time, when Kirishima finally noticed the way they were both gravitating towards each other, while also seemingly trying to ignore the other’s existence.
Or - maybe that wasn’t quite right.
Oddly enough, it seemed like Midoriya was the one who was doing the avoiding. Which was unthinkable to a certain degree. The longer he watched though, the clearer it became that whenever Bakugou got too close, the omega would dodge the other direction, not allowing the distance between them to close.
There was also the fact that whenever the blonde wasn’t looking, Midoriya’s gaze would sometimes slide over to him, and those green eyes looked so wounded that it made Kirishima’s heart ache.
But whenever Bakugou caught on with whatever weird Midoriya related sixth-sense he possessed, the omega would turn away quickly, pretending that he hadn’t been staring. The alpha would stare at him, expression flicking quickly into anger and something that almost seemed shy of hopeless, before it would settle back into a neutral scowl.
It never stopped his fingers from twitching, as if he was fighting the instinct to curl them into a fist.
Their weird behavior got so bad that the rest of the pack was starting to catch on. Even Mineta - who normally didn’t pay attention to much outside of how short the girl’s skirts were - could tell that something was wrong between the pair.
Kirishima had made a mental note to talk to at least one of them after their afternoon classes were done for the day. He had a feeling that Bakugou would be entirely less receptive than the omega would’ve been, but it also felt like the omega was brushing off everyone’s concerns in that subtle way that he usually did.
In the end Kirishima didn’t get a chance to talk to either of them. The tension that had been building between them all day finally snapped at the beginning of their heroics class.
Nothing had been out of the ordinary. Everyone had arrived to class with smiles and in their hero costumes. Midoriya had looked uncomfortable for a split second before he had once again pasted a smile across his face. It looked strained around the edges.
They’d all lined up to receive instructions from Aizawa-sensei. That was when it all went downhill.
Aizawa-sensei had started class by announcing that they would be partnering off into teams and pit against some of the teachers. Considering they were in their third year now, and most of them were actively participating in work studies, this was nothing new. Ever since they had received their provisional licences back in their first year, they had regularly started sparring against their teachers.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the omega pale. It was only because he was watching both Midoriya and Bakugou, that Kirishima saw the way the blonde was staring at the younger teen out of the corner of his eye. The green haired boy continued to ignore him and quickly shook himself out of whatever thoughts he was having before he set his shoulders and nodded.
That tiny motion - the simple nod of the omega’s head - had been what set off Bakugou’s rampage.
A snarl echoed through the room. More than just a few of their packmates jumped at the sound, and many of the teachers gathered looked a lot more tense than they had been moments before. Even Aizawa-sensei had a sharp gaze locked onto the blonde alpha.
“Deku is not fucking participating.”
The voice was low and gravely. Not that Bakugou’s voice wasn’t already low, but this felt more like his inner alpha was speaking rather than Bakugou himself.
Next to him, Midoriya jerked, before turning a glare onto the blonde. It was the first time they had made eye-contact all day. “Yes, I am, Kachhan.”
Another snarl was ripped out of Bakugou’s throat as he pushed people out of his way to approach the omega. Instincts had Kirishima moving in front of the omega just as Aizawa-sensei’s scarf wrapped around the enraged alpha.
To his credit, Bakugou didn’t try to fight the binds that wrapped around him. It did nothing to stop the dark look that was still being directed toward Midoriya. Behind him, he could feel the fine tremors that ran through Midoriya’s body.
Kirishima raised his hands in what he hoped was a placating gesture. “Bakubro. Hey. Calm down a little, okay? You’re scaring Mido.”
“Don’t fucking tell me what to do, shitty hair.”
The animosity in Bakugou’s voice gave him pause. It wasn’t that the anger threw him off. Because really, anger seemed to be Bakugou’s default state. What truly gave him pause was the levels of animosity that the alpha was pumping out. It was something abnormal that Kirishima didn’t really know how to deal with.
Especially with the way it seemed to be affecting the omega behind him. The other boy was letting out soft whimpers and was practically leaking distressed pheromones into the air. It had Kirishima’s alpha howling with the need to comfort his omega as well as defend from the angry blonde.
He didn’t seem to be the only one affected though. Behind Katsuki’s figure he could see Iida had a hand clamped down tightly on both Ochako and Todoroki’s arms. The two had looks so dark that they almost mirrored the one on Bakugou’s face.
Thankfully Tsuyu was also there and was trying to give out her own comforting pheromones. Despite the deep frown on her own face, it seemed to help take some of the edge out of the other’s postures.
“Bakugou. Is there a particular reason for you to believe Midoriya shouldn’t participate today?”
Midoriya answered before the blonde could open his mouth. “It’s nothing, sensei. I’m fine.”
Aizawa’s gaze sharpened when he looked at the omega. “That’s not what I asked, problem child. But if you would rather enlighten me as why Bakugou is throwing this particular tantrum, then I’m all ears.”
The omega had moved forward to look at their teacher, so Kirishima was able to see how his features curled into a wince. His gaze drifted to Bakugou, who’s read eyes were already set and trained on the omega’s own.
Something seemed to pass between them. A complicated and silent conversation that reminded Kirishima that once again, these two had a relationship that he didn’t think anyone would truly be able to define.
Because yeah, maybe Kirishima was adept at reading the emotions that crossed people’s faces, but this was different. This was the two reading the minute twitches in facial muscles, or a raised eyebrow, and knowing exactly what was being said.
It couldn’t have taken longer than a few heartbeats. Not even as long as it took Kirishima to draw a full breath. Whatever silent conversation they had, ended with Midoriya’s shoulder’s drooping and had him looking away in defeat.
“I haven’t been feeling well this morning. Kacchan was concerned that I haven’t been taking proper care of myself.”
Now, Kirishima had no proof of this, but he felt like Midoriya was only giving a half-truth. He couldn’t see the boy’s face anymore, because he’d dropped it too look at his shoes, but he could feel the fine trembles in the boy’s frame from where he stood close to red-headed alpha.
Aizawa-sensei stared between the pair for a few seconds before he pinched the bridge of his nose with a defeated sigh. “Does this have something to do with your heat cycle?”
Kirishima was positive he was the only one who noticed the omega flinch because of how close they were standing. He didn’t look up as he answered with a quiet, “Something like that, sensei.”
Their teacher only gave another sigh. The wraps around Bakugou loosened and then fell away. To the blonde’s credit, he didn’t resume his rampage. His face was still set in a scowl, but it also seemed more neutral than before. The rage lining his face had softened as he rolled his shoulders back now that he was once again free to move.
“Midoriya. You’re excused from training today. Go see Recovery Girl to get something to help with your heat. Bakugou. You can accompany him since you’re the one who noticed. If I hear that you two were fighting I will place you on house arrest for a week. Understood?”
The pair gave silent nods as they stepped away from the class and headed towards the door. Aizawa-sensei watched them as they fell into step next to each other, but then went back to giving directions to the class.
Kirishima’s attention stayed locked on the duo. They didn’t speak. Not even a whisper. Both of their postures were tense. A gnawing sensation settled in his gut as he watched Midoriya’s hand reach out and snag a part of Bakugou’s sleeve.
The older boy didn’t look at him, nor did he slow his pace, but his hands uncurled from their fists. It was probably another silent conversation between them. Which was worrying. Because that meant that something was happening. Probably something big.
He just didn’t know what.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After the duo left class, nobody thought twice about the scene in the training room. It wasn’t exactly common for Midoriya to need to sit out from class, but it did happen on occasion. Especially when it came to the omega’s pre-heats and heats. Normally he had suppressants that helped regulate that for him, but it wasn’t a secret that whenever he got too stressed his cycles tended to get screwy.
Bakugou noticing it first wasn’t even all that out of line either. Another oddity in their relationship was how the blonde always seemed to be aware of when the younger teen was having some sort of trouble. Whether that was mental or physical.
Sure, his reaction seemed a little more dramatic than normal, but if the blonde had tried to talk the other out of attending class and felt that his concern was being brushed off, things made a bit more sense.
By the time they all arrived back in the dorms, Midoriya was curled up on one of the couches, a fluffy looking blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and a cup of still steaming tea in his hands. He gave everyone a tired smile from where he was partially hidden into Bakugou’s side. The alpha himself had an arm draped behind Midoriya against the couch and didn’t bother to move it when Uraraka and Iida moved forward to check on their friend.
Midoriya had given a tired looking smile before he bowed his head, apologizing for having worried everyone. All of their gathered packmates had only laughed and gently reminded him that he needed to take care of himself too.
The rest of the night had gone smoothly. Everyone had gathered in the common area to study and Jirou had put on her new study playlist. If Midoriya had been slightly quieter and Bakugou slightly more temperamental, well Kirishima could overlook that. Especially now that the two seemed to be once again on speaking terms.
Kirishima tucked away his worries as he went to bed that night. In fact, he didn’t think about it again until the next day when Aizawa-sensei entered the room with a dark expression. In fact, he looked so angry that their class president didn’t need to say anything for everyone to quiet down.
“Trouble kids.”
Midoriya jumped at the sudden address. His shoulders tensed when their teacher’s gaze landed on him. Bakugou for his part looked annoyed on the surface. Kirishima could see the way he seemed to be on edge all of a sudden.
“S-Sensei?”
“Would either of you care to explain why Recovery Girl said she never saw either of you yesterday?”
Kirishima was convinced Midoriya was going to have a breakdown in the middle of the classroom. He was spluttering over his words, letting them jumble and twist, until he wasn’t even making comprehensible sounds. A low growl of warning rumbled out of Bakugou’s throat. Probably due to whatever distress their omega was putting out.
Aizawa’s look was getting increasingly dark, the long Midoriya tripped over his words.
Finally, Bakugou slapped a hand over the omega’s mouth. Or - maybe it wasn’t quite a slap? That implied that it was a harsh thing. And while the way his hand moved through the air looked like he had a lot of momentum behind it, when it actually made contact, it was a rather soft thing.
“We didn’t need to go see the old lady. Nerd forgot his fucking suppresants the last few days so we went back to the dorm so he could take them. Then we stayed there so we could handle his pre-heat symptoms. All that close contact, finding the softest blanket, and scenting shit. Right, nerd?”
Midoriya nodded eagerly behind the hand that was still clamped over his mouth. His eyes were wide and wet and it was clear how desperate he was to move on from the conversation now that Bakugou had given him an out.
Kirishima wasn’t sure if he believed them. Even Aizawa-sensei didn’t look particularly placated. He did give them a sharp nod though and moved on to making the morning announcements. Whether it was because he actually believed the pair, or if he just wasn’t willing to pick that particular battle was left up in the air. Kirishima’s money was on the latter, given how Bakugou’s glare seemed to be daring someone to contradict him.
The pair was staring at each other again, communicating once again in that silent way they had done yesterday.
Kirishima couldn’t help but find it weird. On the best of days the boys could barely seem to tolerate each other. They traded compliments disguised as insults or that were hidden underneath sharp tones. On the worst of days the two could barely manage to be in the same room as each other.
There was some unspoken agreement between them though. One that never stopped them from coming back to each other like magnets. Or gravity.
Kirishima decided to watch the pair throughout the rest of the day. The rest of the pack seemed content with the explanation. Midoriya sometimes acted strange around his heat. Sometimes he would get tense and fidgety. Sometimes he would dissolve into more mumbling rants than normal.
This was different.
For the most part Midoriya acted the same as usual. He’d smile and laugh with the rest of the pack. He’d accept everyone’s hugs and concerned scentings, usually rubbing the glands on their wrists together.
But then he would just… zone out. One moment he’d be paying attention to friends or teachers, and then the next he would just go silent and glassy eyed. He didn’t make a sound during these moments. Not even to mumble to himself.
It was late into the evening - well past the dorm’s lights out policy - that Kirishima came across the omega during one of his silent episodes. Kirishima had come downstairs for a drink of water and on his way to the kitchen he caught sight of Midoriya. He was standing by one of the windows staring out into that night. The look in his eye was distance, as if he was looking at something that only he could see.
Kirishima debated on if he should approach the other boy. His alpha was whining at him to do something. It was clear that whatever was going on in the omega’s mind was heavy and distressing. But there was a chance that if he startled the other, it would only cause more harm.
In the end he didn’t have to do anything.
Soft footsteps broke the silence. Kirishima’s eyes darted towards the end of the hallway just in time to see Bakugou round the corner. A flash of something almost soft crossed his face as he looked at the omega standing oblivious at the window. Then he schooled his features back to something neutral.
“Deku.”
Midoriya flinched slightly. He blinked a couple times, like he was bringing himself back into the present, before he turned towards the blonde alpha. “Kacchan.”
The smile he gave was so painfully fake that it made Kirishima’s heart ache. It was a fragile thing that wobbled along the corners of his lips. Bakugou also seemed to realize that because he raked a hand through his hair. Kirishima couldn’t tell if it was from aggravation or hopelessness. Maybe it was a bit of both. Maybe it was neither.
“How long have you been down here, nerd?”
“Oh. I don’t know.” Midoriya tugged at the hem of his shirt as he shrugged. “I think I came down to get something to drink? And then I just got lost in my head. Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you, Kacchan.”
“Oi. Don’t think you can pull that shit with me, Deku.” Bakugou’s eyebrow twitched a few times and his voice was low and rough when he spoke. “You may be able to fool all the extras with that excuse, but you know it won’t work on me. So why don’t you cut the shit and just talk to me, goddamnit.”
For a second Kirishima was positive that Midoriya would argue that. He was convinced that the omega would only try and force a wider smile and protest that his weird behavior had everything to do with a lack of sleep or with this heat being rougher than the others, like he had been doing with the rest of the pack.
But the Midoriya blinked. And then blinked again. And again. His smile fell into a thin line as he tried to keep his lips together, even as they wobbled dangerously. When they finally fell open it was to let out a cry that had Kirishima’s alpha howling at him to soothe whatever it was that was hurting the omega.
Midoriya reached his arms out towards Bakugou who was surprisingly quick at pulling the other boy into a tight hug.
“I don’t know what I did wrong, Kacchan. What did I do? What’s wrong with me?”
To Kirishima, those words were confusing. Sure, Midoriya was often forgetful, and sometimes that caused trouble for himself, but it wasn’t like he had caused any harm. And he certainly hadn’t done anything that wrong lately. In fact, Kirishima would say that it was quite the opposite. Midoriya had been on his best behavior the past few weeks.
But to Bakugou the words held an entirely different meaning. Judging by the way his arms tightened around Midoriya the words must have hit him hard. His face fell from angry concern to devastation.
I didn’t know Bakubro could make an expression like that.
It took a few moments before Bakugou seemed to gather his bearings. He pressed his cheek against Midoriya’s green curls, pulling him as tight against his chest as possible. His voice was thick with emotion when he spoke.
“Listen to me, Deku. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? It was out of your fucking control. There’s nothing wrong with you, okay? Nothing.”
“But, Kacchan!”
“But nothing. I know how you feel, nerd. So just listen to me on this. You did everything just right. Sometimes - sometimes things are just outside of our control. Nothing we can fucking do about that. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
Another sob left Midoriya, followed by more soft reassurances, but Kirishima didn’t stay long enough to continue listening. He had a horrible feeling that he’d just intruded on a moment that was not meant for anyone else’s eyes, let alone their ears.
Because underneath those words, there was an entirely different conversation happening.
He was just about to slip out of earshot when he heard Bakugou’s last whisper.
“I’m sorry, Izuku.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For the rest of the week and even a part of the weekend, Midoriya’s out of sorts behavior continued. It was at the beginning of the next week that whatever dark cloud was following him seemed to lift. At least a little bit.
He’d come to class on Monday morning looking tired, but in better spirits than he had been the previous week. He’d been laughing more, and looking less tense than he had been. And if he still strayed a little closer to Bakugou than normal, well most just chalked it up to his heat having lingering effects this time.
Only Kirishima knew it probably had something to do with that dark night nearly a week ago. The sight of Midoriya crying into Bakugou’s chest had haunted him. It was a source of many questions.
Questions like how had he not noticed how close they were before now?
So far this week Midoriya had been participating a lot more in classes. Sure, he wasn’t giving his all to it, and Kirishima was almost convinced that Bakugou was even pulling his punches when he went against the green haired teen.
He was fairly certain that their teacher had noticed, but Aizawa-sensei was choosing to stay quiet.
It was the end of the week, during a well needed break in classes, that things went from good, to weird, to awful.
Kirishima was in the middle of a heated debate with Kaminari over whether or not sour candy was better than sweet. In front of them, Bakugou was steadfastly trying to ignore them. Every now and then he’d let off mini-explosions whenever he felt that one of them got too close.
A few seats away Kirishima could see Midoriya sitting over near Uraraka. Todoroki, Iida, and Tsuyu were also there. The friend group seemed to be relieved that Midoriya was chatting again. They’d even managed to get a few genuine laughs out of him.
It didn’t escape his notice that Bakugou also had a small smile on his face when he heard the omega’s soft giggles. It was the most relaxed afternoon the pack had had in what felt like forever.
He turned his head when he heard Mina calling out to the friend groups. She was running back into the room with a magazine waving in her hand. He vaguely recognized it as the one she’d snagged from the convenience store last night. He remembered how excited she was to see it, but he knew she hadn’t had a chance to read it. Especially when Yaomomo had found them when they got back to the dorms and very kindly reminded them of the english test they had this morning.
“You’ll never guess what news there is. Quick. Somebody guess.”
“That pro-hero you’ve been crushing on is finally single?” Kaminari ventured.
“No.” For a second Mina’s smile twisted into a pout. But then it was immediately replaced by a grin. She flipped through the pages eagerly and then held it out for everyone to see. “Do you remember that pro-hero couple I was raving about a few months ago? The ones from America who had that dream mating ceremony?”
Kirishima scratched at his cheek. He could vaguely recall Mina ranting about some couple in America. Mostly he remembered the way she’d glowed as she talked about the subject, and how’d she’d gotten abnormally shy when someone asked if she’d already thought of her own mating ceremony.
Thankfully he didn’t have to answer. Because Uraraka was already squealing as she tore the magazine out of the other girl’s hands.
“Oh my god! They’re expecting!”
The girls all giggled as they read the article together. Kirishima could only really see a picture of the two pro-heroes in question. They stared at each other with love-struck expressions, and it was clear who the omega was. He had a small bump that the couple’s hands were laid over, as well as that otherworldly shine that most omega’s seemed to get whenever they got pregnant.
He didn’t notice how Midoriya’s quiet laughter had dried up.
Uraraka sighed in contentment. “They’ve already passed the first trimester and have a due date. I’m so happy for them. I hope it’s all smooth sailing from here!”
Sero scratched at the back of his neck as he let Mina hug his arm in her excitement. “I mean, it’s just a pregnancy, right? Don’t you think it’s weird that they didn’t mention it sooner? He had to have taken time off after he found out right?”
“Well he couldn’t just continue his hero work! That would jeopardize the entire thing. No omega is stupid enough to do something like that when the first trimester is so critical.”
“Eh? Really?”
Uraraka turned to look at him in offense, her mouth open as if to start lecturing him, but was cut off by the sound of popping. They all turned to look at Bakugou who’s eyes were narrowed in a surprisingly dark expression.
“I don’t want to fucking listen to this shit. Talk about something useful for once in your lives instead of gossiping over shitty heroes from America and their spawn.”
Mina stuck her tongue out at him. “Jesus, Blasty. You can call it a ‘pup,’ you know. You wouldn’t want anyone calling your pup a ‘spawn,’ right? Then again I can’t imagine you as a sire.”
The answering snarl had them all jumping. Bakugou’s face was twisted into something that was more than just hate. Kirishima thought it was almost a step away from despair.
Luckily, that’s when Aizawa-sensei opened the classroom, All Might tagging along behind him. He spared a tired glance at where Bakugou was trying to reign in his emotions again, but didn’t say anything.
Unluckily, Tsuyu took the chance to ask Sero’s question. “Sensei? Why is it that omegan pregnancies are so hard?”
Aizawa-sensei looked like he’d rather walk right back out the door. Even All Might had an awkward smile on his face as he watched the other teacher pinch the bridge of his nose.
“I don’t want to know why you’re all on the subject. If I had to guess, it’s because of the announcement Static Noise and Nightingale made.” Mina and Uraraka chirped in agreement, which only caused another weary sigh. “To answer your question, not all omegan pregnancies are hard. Female pregnancies are fairly normal across the board for every secondary sex. It’s with male pregnancies that the complications arise. Their bodies are not always ready to carry a litter, especially if their quirk or work life is physically demanding. Nearly three quarters of male pregnancies end in miscarriage. Which is why many wait until the second trimester to announce their litter, as that’s considered the ‘safe’ zone.”
Kirishima and a few others seemed to note that Bakugou’s explosions weren’t stopping. In fact, they almost seemed to get louder and more aggressive. Sero went to try and calm him down, but ended up jumping back from whatever expression was on the blonde’s face.
The girls were a different story. They all had smiles on their faces. Kirishima felt his stomach drop as a familiar look spread across Mina’s face.
“Don’t you think Deku-kun will look just as cute when he gets mated and starts a litter?”
All eyes turned to the omega, but instead of the bashful and blushing face they expected, Midoriya was oddly pale. His hands were curled so tight against the desk that it seemed to be warping the surface. His shoulders shook almost violently and his eyes were swimming with tears that were already falling down his face in silent streams.
A very loud and clear keen left Midoriya’s lips. It seemed to rip through everyone in the room with how heartbroken it was. Kirishima - as well as all the alpha’s in the room - all seemed to jerk at once as the pack omega sobbed.
Todoroki was closest, so he moved to pull their packmate into a hug, offering comfort the only way he knew how. He was quick to release the boy when it only resulted in distressing the omega more.
Tear-blinded eyes searched the room for something. His nose worked too, desperately trying to catch the scent of someone in particular. Everyone seemed to hold their breath when he finally opened his mouth.
“Alpha.”
It was barely a whisper. More like a croak, really.
But it was answered.
Nobody saw Bakugou move. Nobody saw when he rose from his seat, or when he vaulted over the desks that were in his way to get to Midoriya. He was suddenly there, arms wrapped around the struggling omega, a soft purr rumbling in his chest, as he held the omega tight enough to break.
It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. Not why Midoriya was breaking down like his entire world was shattering around him. Not why the green haired boy had used the title in such an intimate way. Especially not why Bakugou of all people was the one who answered the call.
Except, maybe it did make sense. Bakugou had always been protective of Midoriya, but his protectiveness had spiked to borderline overwhelming the past two weeks. He’d also been there for Midoriya last week, and had even called him by his name. Not Deku, or shitty nerd. But Izuku.
Kind of like he was doing now.
It was a quiet, mumbled thing. Kirishima knew it was only because of how deathly silent the class was that anyone was able to hear the soothing words.
“Shhh, Izuku. Hush, baby. It’s okay. You’re okay. I know it hurts, baby, but you’re okay. I’m sorry, Izuku. It’s gonna be okay.”
For his part, Midoriya only kept sobbing. There were stifled words interspersed between the cries. A mix of apologies, and questions, and ‘Kacchan,’ and ‘alpha.’ He kept tripping over his words, and then repeating them again, faster, and tripping some more. Kirishima was worried he’d hyperventilate at this point.
Bakugou tilted his head to the side to nose at the scent gland on Midoriya’s neck. He rubbed their glands together softly but firmly, scenting the omega until he started to calm. It was only once the whines and shaking stopped, and he sat there almost catatonically, that Bakugou finally pulled away to observe him.
Kirishima’s eyes caught on something else though. Something that punched the breath right out of him.
Time seemed to stop as he noticed the scar that adorned Midoriya’s neck. It was smudged over by make-up, but it didn’t make it any less noticeable. The mark looked old. None of the tell-tale signs of being fresh were there. It wasn’t vibrant red, or puffy around the edges. It wasn’t raised, like it would be if the claiming venom was still binding with Midoriya’s scent gland.
Pieces were starting to click together when Mina finally breathed the question that was on everyone’s mind.
“Is that a mating mark?”
Five words. Five simple words. Who’d have known they’d have such an impact?
Their teachers jumped into action once the words hit them. Kirishima had a feeling they were also coming to the same conclusion he was. He watched as they approached the pair - the mates - calmly.
Bakugou had been growling and snapping - some sort of instinctive alphan response to his distressed mate being approached by other alpha’s - but shuddered when he caught scent of the calming pheromones that All Might was projecting. Not only All Might, but Aizawa-sensei was also projecting them.
For a second Bakugou blinked at their senseis. It almost looked like he too had tears in his eyes. But then it was gone as the teachers gestured for him to bring Midoriya and follow along. Bakugou’s expression shuttered again as he lifted Midoriya to hold him against his chest.
The omega instinctively tucked his head closer to the alpha’s scent gland, even if he didn’t do anything but stare glassy-eyed ahead of him.
Kirishima vaguely heard his teacher dismiss the class for the day before the door was closing behind them and the pair was gone.
Nobody left the class for a long time after that.