Chapter Text
The alarm blares and you groan. You’d barely slept the night before because of how anxious you were about going to work today. You love your job as an interpreter, but today’s assignment would surely prove to be a challenge, in more ways than one.
Grumbling, you turn off the alarm coming from your phone. You slowly emerge from your bed and start to get ready for work. The sudden reminder of where you were going today sends warmth to your face, your cheeks burning red. You wonder if he’ll recognize you.
Hurrying through the rest of your morning routine, adding a little extra time to make sure you looked nice, you grab your things and rush out the door. Today’s destination surprisingly isn’t far from your apartment, and with every step you take towards it you felt the butterflies erupting in your stomach. When you finally approach the building, you could swear your heart was about to explode from how fast it was beating.
Taking a deep breath, you walk through the front door and find the reception area. A woman who appears to be around your age flashes you a bit smile as she greets you. “Good morning! Welcome to the Genius Agency, how can I help you?”
“Hi, good morning! I’m an interpreter, I’m here to work with DynaMight for a few meetings he has scheduled,” you say, showing your work ID badge.
“Oh, of course! It looks like his first meeting isn’t for about an hour, but he’ll be glad to have an interpreter who is early. DynaMight can take awhile to warm up to people,” she laughs gently. “His office is on the fourth floor, at the end of the hallway. There’s a Deaf-accessible doorbell outside, it will trigger flashing lights so he knows you’re there.” You nod and thank her for her help, then start making your way to the elevator.
Pressing the button for the fourth floor, you are certain you’ll collapse as soon as you see him. Your heart is pounding like you’ve never felt before, and it’s almost hard for you to catch your breath. Your feet feel heavy as you slowly start to walk down the hallway, trying to calm yourself so you don’t look like a complete disaster. Pausing before you reach his office, you stand for a moment to clear your head. Taking deep breaths, you tell yourself that this will be fine. It’s just another day at work, after all.
DynaMight’s office is hard to miss. The large doors are made of a dark wood, with ornate metal handles. You see the doorbell button and pressed it gently. Within a few seconds, the door was slowly opening.
Bakugou wears a red button-down shirt, covered by a dark grey vest. The shirt is tucked into black dress pants, and black Oxford shoes covered his feet. His sleeves are rolled up to the elbow, the suit jacket nowhere to be found. His eyes were looking down at first, but they slowly make their way to your face. He looks confused for a moment, but a moment of clarity makes his crimson eyes widen.
“Y/N?” He mumbles. “Wh-what are you doing here?” You’re surprised that he’s been able to vocalize so well, since it was common knowledge that he refused cochlear implants and had a history of breaking hearing aids. It’s also surprising that he had such control over his volume, since speaking quietly had never been something that came easily.
You smile, lifting your hands to sign while you speak. “Good morning, DynaMight! I’m glad you recognized me. I’m your interpreter today!” His eyes widen even more, but he motions for you to come inside, shutting the door behind you.
Bakugou’s office is simple in its design; his desk sat in the corner, several bookshelves surrounding it. There are two armchairs on the opposite side of the desk, presumably for consultations or personal guests. The room has several large windows, and you are surprised to find plants lining the window sills. He had never struck you as having a green thumb.
You follow Bakugou as he walks to his desk and sits down. He motions for you to sit in one of the chairs opposite him, which you do. His eyes watch you closely, but there is a softness to them. You set your things down on the floor, trying to shake your nerves while you did so. It was ineffective. Lifting your gaze to meet his, you start to speak.
“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other,” you begin, hands trembling, “I wasn’t sure if you’d even recognize me.” You hear a soft “tch” escape his lips. “That being said...if you’re uncomfortable having me as your interpreter, I completely understand. I had even asked a coworker to be on-call in case you didn’t want to work with me,” you finish, eyes falling to look at his desk. Your hands fall into your lap, waiting for him to respond.
“Oi,” he says softly. You look up at him. “Yeah, it’s been a long time. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you here. I just didn’t know you were an interpreter, that’s all.” His signs are slow and a little jerky, but deliberate. He was choosing his words carefully, which was something you seldom remembered him doing. You smile and nod. “Tell your coworker to stay put,” he says, hands signing more confidently now. “You’re stuck with me today.” A laugh escapes your lips and you nod once more.
“So, DynaMight, if you don’t mind my asking, what are today’s meetings for?” You inquire. Bakugou runs a hand through his ash blonde hair and chuckles.
“Hey, Y/N, you don’t have to call me that,” he says matter-of-factly. You freeze, the blush returning to your face.
“Oh, I just assumed that would be the expectation! Sorry, I don’t work with many pro heroes,” you say, “let alone pro heroes that I’ve known personally. I figured staying formal would be best.” Another “tch” comes from across the desk, but it’s accompanied by a smirk.
“Well, it’s definitely been awhile since either of us has really known the other one,” he says, “but I still don’t care. Normally it works out better if my interpreters are a little more casual with me. Makes me seem more approachable, I guess.”
You snort. “Since when does Bakugou Katsuki care about being approachable?!” He lets out a loud laugh, and it catches you off guard. His face turns red after watching your reaction.
“Sorry,” he says. “Usually I’m pretty good at controlling my volume.”
“No need to apologize,” you say with a shrug. “I know I’m just THAT funny!” A smile spreads across his face.
“You’ve come outta your shell quite a bit, huh?” He asks, seeming genuinely curious.
“I guess you could say that! Being an interpreter has helped a lot, honestly. Going through my classes and all of my training, getting to work with so many people, it definitely chipped away at my shyness.”
“It works for you,” he says. “Confidence, I mean.”
You smile. “Thanks, Bakugou.”
“You can call me Katsuki,” he says, quickly showing you a name sign. You copy the sign to ensure you’ve done it correctly, and he nods. He looks at the watch on his wrist and looks back up at you. “We should get to the meeting.” You nod and follow him out of his office, heading down the hall to a small conference room.
Katsuki opens the door for you, closing it gently after you’ve both entered the room. All of the anxiety and nervousness you had before coming face to face with him had subsided, and you were ready to do your job. Glancing around the table, you saw two familiar faces, the most notable of which belonged to none other than Best Jeanist. He smiles and waves to Katsuki, who returns the wave before taking a seat at the other end of the table. He pulls out the chair next to him and motions for you to sit. You briefly introduce yourself as DynaMight’s interpreter, making sure not to sound too familiar in this setting. The sharp-toothed hero Red Riot pipes up from across the table.
“Hey, you look kinda familiar! Bakugou, don’t you have pictures somewhere of you two?” While you interpret, Katsuki’s face flushes bright red, as does your own. He still has those pictures? After all these years?
“Yeah, Y/N is an old friend. We hadn’t seen each other in years before this morning,” he says, ready to move past this subject. You relay the message and watch Red Riot process Katsuki’s words. He knows his friend well enough to not push the issue...yet.
“Well,” Best Jeanist interjects, “I suppose we should start this meeting properly. We’re here today to discuss Red Riot and DynaMight coming together to rebrand the Genius Agency. DynaMight has been the face of the agency for quite some time while I oversee things behind the scenes, but I feel it’s time for me to fully hand over control to the both of you.”
Katsuki and Red Riot ponder the hero’s words carefully. “Does that mean...you’re officially retiring?” Katsuki asks. Best Jeanist gives a faint smile and nods. “It’s been quite a long and fulfilling career for me,” he says, “but I think it’s time for me to step back and try to enjoy my remaining years.”
You watch Red Riot and Katsuki both grasp this news. Katsuki’s eyes darken, realizing that the man who helped to shape his own career as a pro hero would no longer be a part of his team. Red Riot, however, has a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Raising his hands, he looks to Katsuki.
“Hey, man, this isn’t ALL bad,” he signs, unsure of his abilities. He glances to you and asks if he’s signing correctly. You nod and tell him that if he needs help, you’ll interpret. “This just means we get to follow in the footsteps of a great hero, Bakugou. And we have a huge blessing already with you being the face of the agency. We can make it our own now.” You smile at Red Riot, proud of the hero for learning sign language to speak with his friend. You also wonder why Katsuki doesn’t allow his mentor and close friend to refer to him by his first name, but after nearly a decade of not seeing or speaking to one another he still wanted you to do so.
“Good job,” you say quietly, and he lights up. Katsuki is deep in thought about his friend’s words. You turn to him and watch while he tries to find the right words.
“I know you’re right, Kirishima,” he starts. “It’s still hard to grasp that the man responsible for getting me this far is leaving...for real.” You can read the emotion on his face and it breaks your heart. Katsuki, who has always been so strong and independent...upset about losing someone. You wonder if he felt this way after...
“Bakugou,” Best Jeanist says, “the man responsible for getting you this far is YOU. Don’t sell yourself short. You are an incredible hero, you just needed some guidance when you were studying at UA. All I did was keep you on the right path.” You watched Katsuki’s eyes closely while you interpreted, noticing the tears building that he tried so hard to hide. When you finished, he lowered his head and wiped the tears away.
“This will always be your agency, Jeanist,” he says, “But Riot and I will do our best to make sure we uphold the legacy that you created. We won’t let you down.” He says the last sentence with added purpose, and you wonder if he’s trying to reassure Best Jeanist or himself.
The meeting ends shortly after this, Best Jeanist coming to shake Katsuki’s hand before leaving. On his way out, he thanks you for helping him and notes that Katsuki sometimes has trouble with his interpreters because of his normally brash personality. You smile and tell him you were glad to be of assistance. Red Riot then comes to sit closer to you and Katsuki.
“Hey, Y/N! This is probably a weird compliment, but...I’ve never seen someone work as well with Bakugou as you. You just get him, and I think he needs that. Whoever you are to him, he’s lucky to have you!” He flashes a toothy grin at you.
“Thank you, Red Riot,” you say softly. “Oh, geez, you don’t have to use my hero name! I’m Kirishima Eijirou!” He beams. You nod and correct yourself.
Katsuki looks at you and asks what you’re talking about. You giggle and summarize what Kirishima said, watching Katsuki’s face ignite in a blush once again, shooting a glare at Kirishima, who just laughs it off.
“Hey, so it’s about time for lunch! Y/N, do you want to get something to eat?” Kirishima suggests. He then turns to ask Katsuki if he’s hungry as well. You both say yes and Kirishima practically scoops the two of you up to take you to his new favorite place. It’s a tiny ramen shop not far from the agency, the kind of place that you might not notice if you weren’t seeking it out. The owners look happy to see Kirishima, and a little starstruck to see the pro hero DynaMight with him. The three of you sit, you in the middle so you can interpret if needed. Katsuki orders the spicy ramen, and you chuckle to yourself, remembering his affinity for spicy foods. You and Kirishima order as well, and the three of you then sit and talk while waiting for your food.
“All right, so spill it! How do you two know each other?” Kirishima prods. “I wasn’t gonna keep nagging during that meeting, but now that it’s over...I gotta know!” Katsuki’s eyes widen as you relay the message, the blush returning once again to both of your faces.
“Do you wanna tell him, or should I?” Katsuki asks you. You swallow, taking a deep breath to try and prepare yourself. Before you can open your mouth, Katsuki’s hands start moving.
“We were neighbors growing up, but she moved away before middle school,” he says. Kirishima looks like he wants to respond, but Katsuki keeps going. “Then, when we started at UA, and I found out about the damage to my hearing, I started doing sign language classes. She was in them, too. I guess the old hag told her parents about my issues and Y/N wanted to help me. It was like, an hour commute or something stupid for her to even get to those classes, but she showed up every damn time.”
You decide to cut in. “I knew how Katsuki would react to all of that - hearing loss, eventual deafness, learning a new language, and I knew he would need someone to help him. But I also knew he wouldn’t ever ask for help. So I got a job to help pay for the classes, and made sure they never scheduled me the same day. I was determined to be there for him,” you say.
“Well, shit!” Kirishima exclaims. “And here I thought I was Bakugou’s best bud. Clearly I’m outmatched! Unless...unless you guys are MORE than that?!” He looks so hopeful when he says it.
You giggle and Katsuki’s cheeks stay red. “We, uh...we might have dated briefly back then,” you say softly. “Up until Kamino, at least. After that...” you don’t have the heart to finish the sentence. Katsuki’s eyes widen with the realization, and so do Kirishima’s.
“Holy shit, Bakugou! This whole time I thought no one could ever put up with you!” He laughs, trying to ease the tension. You smile, and Katsuki just looks miserable. Thankfully, the food arrives, so the conversation ends and you all eat. Katsuki grunts in approval at the spice level of his ramen, and you and Kirishima agree that the food is delicious. When you’re ready to go, you reach into your bag to find your wallet, but Katsuki’s hand stops you.
“I’ve got this,” he says. You try to protest, but he stops you. “Y/N, don’t. I...shit. After hearing about how much you wanted to help me back then, and remembering how things ended...just please let me do this. It’s the very least I could do to make up for all of that.” You feel tears welling up in your eyes. Giving a weak smile, you nod and stop looking for your wallet. Katsuki doesn’t look any less distressed, but he returns the smile. Kirishima pretends to be looking for something so as to not interrupt.
Upon your return to the agency, Katsuki leads you and Kirishima back to his office. He sits at his desk and you and Kirishima sit opposite him. You ask about the rest of the meetings for the day, since the receptionist had mentioned there would be several. Katsuki sighs.
“I just had her say that when she scheduled the interpreter so that they got paid for a full day,” he says. “I didn’t want someone to have to deal with me for an hour and not be compensated properly.” A smirk appears on his face. You laugh, relieved that he seems to be feeling at least a little better. “Little did I know the person who’d be dealing with me knows me pretty damn well.” The last part takes you by surprise.
“Well, I used to know you pretty well,” you say, “but it’s been...shit, almost a decade since then!” You hoped your expression would be a cheerful one, but Katsuki saw through it.
“I know, and I’m...I’m sorry for that,” he says, eyes dark. Instinctively, you reach for his hands and take them into yours. Kirishima notices and quickly excuses himself to give you privacy. Katsuki looks confused, but doesn’t pull away from you. Quickly, you realize it’ll be tricky to communicate with him if your hands are holding his, so you let them go.
“Katsuki, it’s okay. We were kids, and you were severely traumatized. I don’t harbor any resentment toward you. If I did, I wouldn’t have come here today.”
“Sure you would have. You would’ve done it to rub in my face how successful you are and how great your life is,” he smirks.
“Oh, yeah, because the life of an interpreter is so much more glamorous and exciting than the life of a literal pro hero,” you laugh, and his smirk becomes a smile.
“Well, I think it would be pretty cool,” he says, eyes suddenly unable to meet yours. You are taken aback by this honest and somehow bashful Katsuki.
“We both get to help people,” you say, “and what’s better than that?” He nods in agreement.
“Hey...why didn’t you ever tell me you got a job to help pay for those classes?” You had hoped Katsuki hadn’t picked up on that part of your story, but it was foolish of you. You’ve always known Katsuki to be incredibly observant, and this was no different from any other time. “You must’ve been exhausted. Between school, work, and that long-ass commute for those classes every week...” he stops for a second, eyes growing dark again. “...and the thanks you got for it all was me shutting you out after Kamino.” His face falls, and you notice a single tear hit his desk while he clenches his hands into fists.
You gently lift his face so his gaze meets yours. Wiping the tears from his face, you don’t try to hide the ones filling your own eyes. “You know, I was nervous for weeks before coming here today,” you say. He tilts his head to the side, confused by your statement. You nod. “Yep. I got assigned to be here today the same day your receptionist called, about a month ago. And, shit, Katsuki, I was scared!”
“Why?” He asks. You take a deep breath before you respond, trying to mentally prepare yourself for this conversation. “Well, it’s not like I was afraid of you, but...shit, I dunno. I guess it was just the anticipation. I’ve been hearing about you doing so many amazing things since you became a pro, and it was just...intimidating, I guess. I kinda felt like back then, how things ended, was your way of telling me there wasn’t space in your life for me. And seeing you excel at being a pro for all these years has just confirmed that thought for me.”
Katsuki looks as though you’ve just knocked the wind out of him. His eyes wide, still brimming with tears, his mouth hanging open while he processes what you had just said. He quickly opens a drawer in his desk and rummages around for a moment before pulling out two hearing aids. You’re surprised by this, since you’ve never known him to rely on them. But nonetheless, he puts them on and faces you.
“I figured using my voice would be more helpful than my hands right now,” he says softly. “Plus, these help me with not getting too loud.” You nod. Hearing his voice sends a new swarm of butterflies to your stomach, but you try to suppress them for now. He stands and walks around the desk to meet you. You also stand and he pulls you into a tight hug, arms around your shoulders. You slowly wrap your arms around his waist, your head pressed against his chest. You can feel Katsuki’s heart pounding. He takes a deep breath before he speaks. “There has never been space in my life for anyone BUT you,” he says. “I knew it back then, but there was so much shit I was dealing with that I guess...I guess I told myself I didn’t deserve you. I mean, the League of Villains tried to recruit me because they thought I’d easily join them. I wasn’t doing anything to prove I was heroic.” You feel his breath hitch, so you pull away to see the tears spilling out of his eyes. “After that, I felt so damn helpless. I couldn’t even manage to save my own ass. And there you were, going so far out of your way for me on a daily basis without a second thought. I just...I just realized back then how shitty I was to everyone. And instead of trying to actually deal with it, I...I ran away from it.” He stops speaking when the sobs take over. You squeeze him with all your might, trying not to cry into his nice clothes. His fingers start running through your hair, and you remember that he used to do that to calm you down back then.
You start to scratch Katsuki’s back gently, hoping it would help to soothe him even a little bit. He laughs. “How is it possible that I’m the one in the wrong here and you’re the one trying to make me feel better? Shit. My therapist is gonna get a kick outta this.” You let out a laugh, not having expected that comment. Katsuki pulls away for a moment to look at your face. “Well, shit, look at the two of us,” he chuckles. “We look like we’re at a damn funeral.” He brings a hand to your face to wipe away the tears that snuck down your cheeks. His skin is rough, but his touch is gentle. You lift a hand to do the same to him, but when your hand touches his cheek, he turns into it, planting a soft kiss on your palm. “I...ah, shit. Sorry. I hope that was okay,” he mumbles into your hand, suddenly unable to meet your gaze.
Rather than telling him, you simply plant a kiss onto his palm in return and watch as a smile spreads across his face. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, pressing another gentle kiss to your palm. He watches the blush on your face deepen when he does. Katsuki looks at you for a moment before he speaks again.
“Hey, Y/N, I know this is kinda sudden, but...do you wanna get dinner or something? I just want a chance to try to make up for the past ten years. And...I’m not saying I can do that in one day, but I’d still like to try. I owe you that much.” Your heart soars. Secretly, you’ve been waiting for this moment since you were assigned to work here today. Since you last spoke to Katsuki a decade ago. You smile and nod, fearing that if you try to speak, the words will come out too fast and you’ll just be babbling.
Katsuki seems to sense your excitement, letting out a quiet laugh. “Well, whaddya say we go to the store and get ingredients, and then I can make you dinner back at my place?” Your face erupts in blush again, and he freezes. “I mean...we obviously don’t HAVE to do that, I just figured...it would be nice to talk and sort through all this shit without an audience. I wouldn’t ever try to take you to my place under false pretenses.”
You giggle listening to him ramble. “It’s okay, Katsuki. That sounds wonderful!” A look of relief washes over his face. “Thank fuck,” he says. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” He picks up your bag, grabs his keys, and leads you out of his office. On your way out, the receptionist notices you leaving together. A surprised expression takes over her face, but she chooses to say nothing. She’s just glad to see DynaMight looking excited to be around another person.