Work Text:
Today was the day. After months of worry and careful consideration, Midoriya had made a decision. He’d finally accepted himself and gained a bit of confidence (and the occasional misgendering was really starting to get to him, but that didn’t matter), and now he was ready. Today, he was going to come out as genderfluid.
Midoriya’s heart raced as he walked into school. His anxiety had been agonizing ever since he had woken up that morning, and as he prepared for the day, it only got worse. He looked down, reaching to play with the bracelet on his wrist before entering the classroom.
His mind became cloudier the moment he saw his classmates around him. There was no way he could tell everyone today; the fear would probably kill him. Besides, he hadn’t even told his closest friends yet. Maybe he should start there. Midoriya sunk deeper into thought, glancing around the room. Who would he start with? He needed to talk to someone he had known for a while, someone he was comfortable sharing secrets with. Someone who would accept him.
As soon as he located his person, a weight was lifted off of his shoulders.
The rest of the school day went by in a blur. Midoriya vaguely remembered taking notes and unintentionally ignoring Uraraka a few times, but he otherwise had no recollection of the day’s events. He had spent far more time trying not to worry about coming out, subsequently becoming even more nervous. Once or twice, he found himself talking out loud, but he always noticed before anyone else heard. That encounter definitely wouldn’t have helped him. Once the school day finally ended, Midoriya shot out of his seat and rushed to catch up with his confidant.
“Kacchan!” he called out, placing a hand on his shoulder. He tried to swallow back the fear creeping up his throat as Bakugou glared at him. “Can… Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Bakugou rolled his eyes. He was clearly annoyed, but at least he wasn’t angry yet. He let out a long sigh before moving to the side to stand next to Midoriya. “Fine, but make it quick.”
Midoriya’s anxiety seemed to both rise and fall as Bakugou spoke. He didn’t expect him to listen so easily, but maybe it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. He’d always gone to Bakugou whenever he had a serious problem. Despite their rivalry, they were both there for each other in their worst moments. So maybe Bakugou’s compliance wasn’t so unexpected.
That didn’t make the fact that Midoriya was about to tell someone the most important—well, second-most important—secret about his life any easier.
“I don’t have all day,” Bakugou sighed, snapping Midoriya out of his thoughts.
“R-right. Maybe we should head back to our dorms first?” He gave him a shaky smile and clasped his hands together.
Bakugou started walking before Midoriya could finish his sentence. “Sure, whatever.” They walked back to their dorms together, and Midoriya tried to take deep breaths as his heart rate escalated.
“So, what do you want?” Bakugou asked after he shut the door to Midoriya’s room.
Midoriya shifted, briefly glancing to the side. Maybe he didn’t want to do this after all. He still wasn’t feeling too confident, and why would Bakugou, out of all people, care about his gender identity? But if he didn’t say anything now, he never would. Besides, maybe Bakugou would care more than he thought. He needed to stay positive. Midoriya looked back over at Bakugou.
“Well, I’ve been thinking about this for a while…” He paused again and glanced to the side. “And I’ve been wanting to tell someone, so I decided to talk to you first.” He swallowed, feeling tears begin to form in his eyes. He wanted to stop talking and just pretend this had never happened (or maybe he just wanted it to be over), but it was too late. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “Kacchan, I… I think I’m genderfluid.”
Midoriya tried to choke back the tears, but his efforts were unsuccessful. He turned away from Bakugou as he started to cry. He wasn’t sure if it was out of fear, relief, or a mix of both, but at least he’d gotten the worst of it over with.
On that note, it didn’t even go as badly as he had been expecting. Bakugou hadn’t made fun of him or hurt him, and he hadn’t even left yet! Sure, this might not have been the love and acceptance that he wanted, but this was Bakugou. Midoriya knew that this was the best he was going to get, and he was more than satisfied with it.
Once he had calmed down enough to see through his tears, Midoriya turned back towards Bakugou. The glare on his face had been replaced with an indifferent, almost concerned look. When he noticed Midoriya’s gaze, he crossed his arms.
“So… why did you tell me?” he asked.
Just as he’d started to relax, Midoriya’s anxiety came crashing back down. He had prepared for all the remarks Bakugou could’ve made, but he hadn’t even considered this. Did Bakugou really not understand? Did their relationship mean nothing to him? “Well, I—we’ve been friends ever since we were children, and I know you might not think that, but I do.” A few tears spilled over his cheeks. “I know our friendship isn’t always the best, but we’re here for each other. I know I can come to you when I need help.” His voice faltered as he took a shaky breath. “I trust you, Kacchan. That’s why.”
When Midoriya started crying again, he didn’t even try to hide it. He knew that this wasn’t going to be the best experience, but it was so much harder than he had anticipated. Coming out was hard enough without being asked why you did it. It probably would have been easier if Bakugou had just made fun of him.
The sudden sound of Bakugou clearing his throat caught Midoriya’s attention. He hesitantly looked over to see Bakugou staring at him. The look in his eyes almost seemed sad. It was a rare expression—Midoriya hadn’t seen it since they were in elementary school. Bakugou bit his lip, then sighed.
“Do you… want to explain it to me, or something?” he asked in a soft voice.
Midoriya’s eyes widened. Sympathy was the last thing he was expecting from Bakugou, especially since he’d basically just said that he didn’t value their friendship (Midoriya already knew this, but he tried to forget it most of the time). It seemed like he was trying to fix his mistakes, though. After all, they knew everything about each other, and Midoriya loved to talk about technical things.
As he wiped away his tears, Midoriya broke into a smile. “You really want me to explain it?”
Bakugou laughed a bit, the edges of his lips curving up into something resembling a smile. “If you want to, Deku.”
Midoriya’s face lit up. Bakugou was reacting well after all, and it was rather reassuring. If the one person who he thought would ridicule him was actually being supportive, surely everyone else would be as well.
“Well, I-I’m genderfluid. I identify with all genders, and I use all pronouns, but the specific gender I’m feeling changes over time. So one day I might be a boy, and the next day I might be a girl, and the next I might be nonbinary, or all of them, or none at all, or something else.” He paused. “Does that make sense?”
“Keep going.”
Midoriya’s smile widened. “Okay! So, I’m eventually going to start telling people that I’m comfortable with any pronouns, except I don’t want people to only use one set all the time, it would be nice if people rotated through based on how I was feeling and—oh!” He looked down at the bracelet he was wearing and confidently held out his arm to show Bakugou. “I have different bracelets for each of my pronouns! Today’s is blue, which is he/him, but there’s a few others.” He blindly reached for the stack of bracelets behind him on the desk. “The pink one is she/her, and the yellow one is they/them. Purple is all or any, and I have a couple others—like black or green—that I use every now and then.” Upon noticing that he was rambling, Midoriya blushed. “...We can talk about those another time, though.”
Midoriya looked over at Bakugou. He wasn’t even sure if he would still be paying attention, but his eyes were narrowed in concentration. He… was genuinely interested in what Midoriya had to say. Midoriya couldn’t remember the last time he’d been the focus of Bakugou’s attention without it being negative. It was kind of nice.
“Is there anything else?” Bakugou asked, his gaze meeting Midoriya’s.
Midoriya shook his head. A silence settled between them, and he lowered his head. “If you want, you can… leave now. I know you said you were busy.” He sighed. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
Bakugou stood up, taking a deep breath. “You—you didn’t waste my time.” His voice had lost its usual hard edge, and Midoriya was reminded of when they used to be close friends so many years ago. “I know… I know how hard it can be, to say something like that.” Midoriya could sense the hesitance in Bakugou’s voice, but the statement melted his heart nonetheless. Bakugou bit his lip, turning towards the doorway. It was clear he wanted to say more, but he always let his pride get in the way. Midoriya knew; he understood.
“Well, I’ll see you later, Kacchan.” Midoriya opened the door to his dorm and stepped aside to let Bakugou out. “Thanks for coming.”
Bakugou strode to the exit. As he passed Midoriya, he knocked his shoulder against him. “I’m proud of you, Izuku.”