Work Text:
When class 1 A started their class challenge, Bakugou immediately new getting stickers from Midoriya would not be an easy feat. Not because Midoriya would refuse to give him some – the broccoli head was way to forgiving for that. The problem was, Bakugou had a very hard time approaching, let alone talking to Midoriya. Even training was a tense affair for the both of them and their teachers had given up making them work in the same group on school projects.
Bakugou had to start somewhere though because he hated how Midoriya was the only person who gave him stickers for chores or other impersonal favors. Doing something nice for Midoriya should not be this hard. They grew up together, so Midoriya was one of the people in class he knew best – at least at the beginning of their project. While thinking about something nice to do, Bakugou's mind circled back to one thing. It was no secret that Midoriya liked All Might. However, Bakugou could not just wrap All Might up and hand him to Midoriya. That not only sounded weird, but also felt wrong on several levels.
Hero merchandize had to be the next best thing to present Midoriya with instead of real heroes, so hero merch it was. Or not. Bakugou already spent money and he could not go over the agreed amount. Frustrated Bakugou gave up on getting stickers from Midoriya, until he flipped through a magazine at home. He was not very interested in the fashion magazine, but it lay on the couch table and he had nothing better to do.
While flipping through the pages, he stumbled upon an advertisement. He was about to turn to the next page, when a specific ad caught his eye. The magazine included a coupon for a store, specializing in hero merchandize. He ripped the coupon out, knowing no one in his family cared if he took it. He carefully tucked the coupon away in a small envelope and scribbled 'For Deku' on it.
As soon as he was back at the dorms he snuck away to Midoriya's room. He checked if no one else was around, before pulling the small envelope out and sticking it to the door. He would have slid it underneath, but luckily UA had provided them with decent dorm doors, that closed fully and did not allow people to slide things under. It also helped a lot with keeping noise inside or outside of the rooms.
When Bakugou walked past his poster later that day, Midoriya stood in front of it with one of his abhorrent Broccoli stickers. As terrible as the broccoli design was, he dared to say Aoyamas glittery stars were even worse.
"Hey Kacchan! Thanks for the coupon!" Midoriya called out, causing Bakugou to stop, turn around and stare at Midoriya.
"What?"
"You gave me a coupon right? I thought it was your handwriting and...well...no one else calls me Deku." Midoriya said, his bright smile faltering a little.
Bakugou could have slapped himself. Well, he didn't intend for it to be a surprise or secret anyway. "Whatever." He muttered before walking away.
-----.....-----.....-----
Bakugou made his first move, it went well, now he just had to push through and get the hard part over. Too much therapy time was spent talking about his childhood and problems with Midoriya for him to not finally move past their, mostly one-sided issues. Bakugou thought about how he would apologize to Midoriya for a long time.
There was the option of writing a letter. That would require a very thoughtful approach because once he handed the letter over he could not change anything. The letter also had to be very clear to avoid misunderstandings. It had to be honest and heartfelt but it still had to sound like him. Worst of all, someone else could find the letter, or Midoriya could show it to others. Bakugou decided then and there that he would not write a letter.
He could try a more modern approach to writing a letter and just send a text message but it came with the same risks a letter did and was even less personal. It also could be seen as something typed out randomly without much thought. A text message was not the way to go either.
A voice message or even a video might make things clearer and more personal, but it also seemed like a cowardly move. If he wanted to apologize per voice recording or video he could just apologize in person. However, that seemed very...personal. Too personal... Far too personal for Bakugou's liking at least. He would have to be careful about his expressions, the way he pronounced things, his gestures... He couldn't just yell a sloppy apology and expect Midoriya to acknowledge it as something sincere.
Bakugou rolled around in his bed, unable to sleep. He went over his apology speech over and over in his head. He thought about all the different things he could say, all the different things Midoriya might say. He thought about the different locations or what would happen if they were interrupted. He knew what he wanted to apologize about, just now how. He knew he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible but he kept pushing it back.
He ruled out the school or common room pretty fast as places to apologize at. He considered knocking at Midoriya's room and asking if he could come inside but he knew too many of their classmates could interrupt. Finally he came to the conclusion to text Midoriya while he was at home over the weekend. He knew Midoriya was also home and figured it couldn't hurt to ask if he had time.
When Midoriya noticed a new message flashing up on his phone and saw that it was from Bakugou he ignored it at first, thinking he texted in their class chat. Only later, when he wanted to check his different chats did he realize Bakugou had sent him a private message. He read over the message a few times, wondering if Bakugou might have gotten his number confused with someone else’s and was about to ask the blond about it, when a new message popped up.
"If you have time, can I come pick you up? Or do you want to meet at the playground between our houses?"
Now that was a lot more suspicious. Who else lived close to the blonde? There definitely was a playground between their houses. One they used to played at together no less. Why did Bakugou want to meet him? Maybe it had something to do with All Might and One for All. That thought alone was reason enough to agree to meet Bakugou.
Midoriya arrived first, since it was a little closer to his place and he jogged most of the way. He figured if Bakugou texted him, it had to be important. The blonde reached the playground a good ten minutes after him. By that time Midoriya was both thoroughly confused and curious.
"How long have you been waiting?" Was the first thing Bakugou asked in lieu of a greeting.
"Umm...a few minutes?" Midoriya decided to remain vague. "Is there anything important you wanted to see me for?" He asked remaining seated on one of the swings. No one else was at the playground right now.
"I wanted to apologize."
Midoriya must have misheard. "What?" He asked.
"I wanted to apologize...for how I treated you." Bakugou said honestly. Red eyes looked right into green ones. Now that Midoriya paid more attention to it, Bakugou was tense. Because he was nervous or uncomfortable was difficult to tell.
For a moment Midoriya's mind blanked. Was this really happening? What was Bakugou trying to apologize for? What happened recently?
"I'm sorry for what I said...and did in middle school." There. He said it. And Midoriya kept gaping at him like a fish. "I didn't even really mean what I said..." did he have to specify this more? "I'm glad you didn't jump." That had to be enough. Why couldn't Midoriya say anything? He wanted to yell at him, demand some kind of reaction, but Bakugou restrained himself.
"You don't have to forgive me or anything if you don't want to. I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I'll try to do better from now on." Oh fuck. He started to ramble. If he continued any longer he would sound like Midoriya. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Midoriya moved again. There were tears in his eyes. This hadn't been Bakugou's goal. He could go without the tear parade.
"It's okay." Midoriya said. "Or...not okay but... I don't think I've ever hated you for it, but I still appreciate your apology... so thank you." Midoriya looked at Bakugou, wiping the tears from his eyes. He searched for a tissue in his pocket and dabbed away the tears and blew his nose.
Bakugou looked thoroughly uncomfortable with Midoriya's display of emotions. He couldn't believe mere seconds ago he wished Midoriya would react in some way.
"D-don't cry!" Bakugou said a little exasperated. He couldn't stop himself when Midoriya continued to shed tears.
"But they are happy tears!" Midoriya argued.
"Ugh. Fucking...fine. Just...You got snot all over your face." Bakugou wildly gestured to Midoriya's face.
"It means a lot."
"Yeah... okay. Fine. Just. Whatever." Bakugou gave up. He dropped his shoulders with a sigh and sat down on the swing next to Midoriya's.
"I forgive you." Midoriya sniffed.
"Huh?" Bakugou's head shot up.
"I wasn't mad at you. Not really I mean... not that it didn't hurt... I just kind of knew you didn't really mean it – at least I hoped though!" Midoriya started rambling. "But anyways, I forgive you. That's what you wanted to hear right?"
"This isn't about me!" Bakugou protested. "I already told you, you don't have to forgive me."
"Well, I do. So deal with it." Midoriya said stubbornly.
Bakugou wanted to protest, but gave up with a huff. They sat on the swings for a while. Midoriya kept sniffling and Bakugou stared at the ground.
"Hey, remember the forest we used to play in when we were little?" Midoriya asked once he finally managed to stop crying.
"Of course." Bakugou still went for runs there from time to time.
"Want to go there now?"
Bakugou did not expect for things to take such a turn, so he thought his answer over first. "Yeah. Sure." He agreed, not able to come up with a decent excuse. He already felt drained, but he did like the forest and working on their relationship seemed easier while they where outside than inside. Midoriya remained silent the entire way to the forest. It was nice that neither of them felt the need to fill the peaceful and comfortable quiet. All that could be heard were their footsteps on different kinds of ground. Stones, gravel, roots, twigs cracking under their weight.
Midoriya walked behind Bakugou on a narrow path and his memories took him a few years back. The soft smile on his face turned into a smug grin and he couldn't help but chuckle, as a very specific memory came back to him.
"What?" Bakugou turned around immediately.
"Oh, nothing." The green haired teen quickly assured and waved his hands to emphasize his point.
Bakugou narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Really?" He challenged.
"Well... I just remembered something." Midoriya said.
"What?"
"It's just, remember when...no. No, I won't tell you." Midoriya suddenly decided.
"Huh? Why?"
"You want to be nice to me from now on, right?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Bakugou asked irritated.
"So you won't try to blow me up anymore, right?" Midoriya asked.
Bakugou took a deep breath. Why did he have a bad feeling about this? "Yes." He decided to answer, hoping Midoriya would answer him now. He had no such luck.
"Okay." Was all Midoriya said, brushing past him to walk ahead.
"So you are not going to tell me what you remembered?"
"Nope."
Bakugou grit his teeth in frustration. Midoriya could be a little shit and he started to regret everything.
"Hey, Kacchan? Do you want to come over to my house for dinner? I'm sure my mom would love to see you again." Midoriya tried to change the subject and distract Bakugou's from trying to figure out what Midoriya could have remembered. Bakugou was hesitant about the offer but agreed. "Does she still work late?" Bakugou asked.
"Yeah, but she still likes to make dinner. We have a few more hours. Unless you are very hungry."
"Let's head back now and get dinner ready for when she comes back." Bakugou suggested.
"Oh! Sure, that's a really nice idea." Midoriya said excitedly. He rarely cooked for his mother and if he did he made simple and easy things. He was sure with Bakugou he could make something much nicer.
Dinner was a success. Bakugou had instructed Midoriya well and told him what he could help with. They came up with a wonderful set meal that did not only taste good but also looked great. Inko was overjoyed when she was able to sit down at a set dinner table and although the atmosphere between Midoriya and Bakugou was still a little tense, it slowly started to fade. Inko didn't resent Bakugou despite him treating her son so terrible. Instead, she made him give her a hug and told him she was proud he came forward and apologized and tried to improve.
It made Bakugou so uncomfortable that he fled their apartment soon after. He felt exhausted, but also lighter upon leaving. He did not head home right away, instead opting to go for a walk to process everything that happened in the past few hours. He was incredibly lucky Inko and her son were too nice for their own good.
Bakugou regretted ever thinking of Midoriya as too nice or innocent upon arriving back at the dorms. The first thing he took notice of was a new broccoli sticker with All Might's face on his poster. Bakugou appreciated the reward for apologizing, or perhaps it was a reward for cooking. Maybe both. That was fine. What he did not appreciate, was hearing the words coming out of his friends mouths, as soon as he stepped away from the poster.
They all walked one behind the other, Midoriya in the front, and the rest following with a shit-eating grin. They were clearly trying – and partly failing to hold back their laughter as Midoriya called out "Forward march and here we go! Members of the agency of Bakugou!" Sero managed to repeat the song between laughs, while Kaminari was the first to succumb to laughing and falling on the ground, rolling from side to side.
Oh to hell with no more death threads and trying to stop blowing Midoriya up! Bakugou leaped for Midoriya who quickly raced away, while Mina stood in a corner recording the entire event.
-----.....-----.....-----
Bakugou grew very tired of hearing people singing or humming the Bakugou agency song in his presence. Very, very tired and very, very annoyed. Midoriya wisely kept his distance from him, or left the room entirely when someone started so much as humming. Kaminari, Sero and Mina especially loved the song and there was no stopping them. Kirishima joined in as well, but he couldn't really be as mad at the red head.
Due to Midoriya keeping his distance and Bakugou giving Midoriya the cold shoulder whenever the green haired teen was close enough, Bakugou did not care much about getting more stickers any time soon. However, the more stickers he gained from everyone else, the more obvious it became that Midoriya's row was obviously less full. The tipping point was Ochako though. Or rather the kind of promise Bakugou made to her. He did not plan on breaking his promise and he had a decent plan on how to help her. The only issue was he had to find an excuse to talk to Midoriya.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Bakugou tried to find a different way, but he had to act fast. Since he couldn't find a good reason to talk to Midoriya on his own, he texted Aizawa, letting him know he wanted to work on a group project with Midoriya, preferably within the next few days.
The first thing Aizawa did when he received the message was to read over it again. And again. And checking it over and over to make sure he hadn’t missed any words. The next thing he did was to show it to Mic and then his phone was reached around from person to person throughout the entire teacher's lounge.
"Maybe he's trying to kill him!" Mic suggested dramatically.
"Maybe someone took or hacked his phone?" Cementos thought aloud.
"Maybe someone is inside his body!" Midnight offered suggestively, to which All Might spewed blood upon hearing her tone.
"Hound dog, what do you think?" Aizawa turned to the only one he hoped to get decent advice from.
"Bakugou and Midoriya seem to be getting along better recently. I guess this has something to do with their challenge."
"So I should put them in the same group?"
"Yes, if Bakugou asked for this, it has to be important in some way. I think it would be good to give him this chance." Hound dog explained.
That was how Bakugou found himself in Midoriya's room working on a partner project after school hours. Throughout their time working together Bakugou always tried to find the right moment to bring up the hero exhibition Midoriya could take Ochako too. Midoriya had other plans to talk about though. As soon as they were done with their assignment, Midoriya pulled out one of his many blue notebooks.
"So..." Midoriya said looking at Bakugou hopefully. "Will you answer me a few questions?"
"I'm sure you know everything you need to know and more about people's quirks. Including mine." Bakugou said.
"I wouldn't have questions if I did." Midoriya pointed out.
"Are these questions concerning me?"
"Some of them."
Bakugou gave in. To his surprise some of the questions were actually quite interesting. It also gave him the perfect opportunity to bring up the exhibition.
"You know there is a hero exhibition in town starting this weekend, right?" Bakugou asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Really? I haven't heard. Do you know more about it?"
"It sounds pretty interesting. They seem to have some movies and audio tour thing. They have costumes of past and present heroes and stuff."
"Wow. That sounds cool. Is it at the convention center?"
"Yeah. You should ask Ochako to go with you. She told me she was interested in going too but didn't want to go alone." Bakugou hoped that was vague enough and yet got through to Midoriya.
"Sure! That sounds great! Why don't you come along too?" Midoriya asked excitedly.
Good thing Bakugou prepared for this possibility. "I don't have time this weekend, but as I said, Ochako wanted to go, so just ask her."
"Yeah, thanks for letting me know." Midoriya said and Bakugou swore he heard him mutter something about texting the others later about coming along.
As soon as Bakugou was out of Midoriya's room, he made an extra class chat- he never thought he'd make a group chat, yet here he was. He quickly let everyone know to decline all of Midoriya's offers about hanging out on the weekend or joining him on his trip to the exhibition. He also added that it was for Ochako's sake before Ida got on his nerves about being nicer to classmates, and stop bullying and excluding people.
Another thing done, another thing checked off his list and another ugly broccoli sticker with All Might's face earned to reward him for his cooperation with their schoolwork. This was not too bad. Life could be worse.