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1. Kirishima and Kaminari: An invite
“Hey, Bakugou!”
Bakugou turned to see Kirishima bounding towards him with all the excitement of a puppy.
“What the fuck do you want?” Bakugou asked, bracing himself for impact because Kirishima did not seem to be stopping any time soon. In fact, he seemed to be speeding up.
“Catch!”
That was the last warning Bakugou got before he ended up with his arms full of a red-haired idiot. Curse his stupid fast reflexes.
“See? Told you he’d catch m- ow!” Idiot #1 rubbed his shoulder in pain after being dropped on the floor. Idiot #2 jogged over, laughing at the redhead on the ground.
"I can't believe you actually tried that, man!" Kaminari huffed, out of breath.
Bakugou scoffed. “Is that all?” He gave Pikachu and Shitty Hair an unimpressed look with no hint of sympathy towards the latter.
Kirishima got up and brushed himself off. “Nope! Me, Kami, Mina and Sero are gonna play games in my room. You wanna join us?”
Kaminari slid up to him with a smirk. “We’ve got Mario Kart~!”
He dragged out the words “Mario Kart” like he knew that would hook Bakugou. How did Kaminari know he liked that game, anyway? And why would his preference matter? This sudden invitation, however appealing, made Bakugou uneasy.
“You want me to join you?” Bakugou asked, apprehensive.
It made sense that the idiot duo followed him on the field—he was a strong ally. But they had nothing to gain from inviting him to game night. In addition to his short fuse, he was annoyingly competitive. There was no benefit to his presence in this setting.
And yet, they had asked him anyway.
“Of course, it’ll be more fun with you!” Kirishima grinned.
“Yeah man,” Kaminari added. “And you’re one of us now, so you're legally obligated to say yes!”
“Please?”
They wanted him there. Being faced with such raw eagerness was like seeing a landscape from the peak of a new mountain. It was unfamiliar, but exhilarating all the same.
Bakugou glared at them for another moment, searching for any ulterior motive. Kirishima only smiled harder. “Tch, fine. But only for a little bit.”
Kirishima and Kaminari beamed at him like he had just said they’d won 10 billion yen.
Bakugou would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little excited too.
~~~
2. Sero: A meme
Bzzt bzzt.
Bakugou glared at his lockscreen, wondering who would message him at the ungodly hour of 5 PM.
He was studying, okay?
Bakugou unlocked his phone, and everything clicked into place when he read the notification.
Cello Fan🎻🌬️ sent a post.
Rolling his eyes at the terrible pun, Bakugou clicked on the notification. The shitpost looked like one of those old-ass posters that encouraged you not to do drugs. The gaudy text read "take away my legs, because I can't stand you idiots". Perplexed, Bakugou replied:
fuck._.off: Why did you send me this?
Tape-face's response was almost instantaneous.
Cello Fan🎻🌬️: bc its funny? why else lmao
Funny? Was Tape-face mocking him or something?
fuck._.off: Are you making fun of me?
Cello Fan🎻🌬️: what?? no!!! i just thought of you when i saw it so i hoped you'd find it funny too
Bakugou took a look at the meme again. If he hadn't been so focused on the motive behind it, he might've laughed a little.
A small smile creeped onto Bakugou’s face. Sero...thought of him.
fuck._.off: You’re an idiot.
In the common room, Sero smiled at the seemingly harsh message. By now, the whole squad had come to realize that "idiot" was an endearing term in Bakugou’s language.
Sero answered by sending another meme. After a moment, he too, got a notification.
fuck._.off liked a post you sent.
~~~
3. Shoji: An apology
Bakugou’s stomach politely reminded him that he hadn’t eaten in 6 hours, and he kindly told it to shut the fuck up. He took a swig from his water bottle to appease it while going to the kitchen. He planned on finishing off his leftover curry from yesterday, but when he looked in the fridge, it was missing.
Finishing off the rest of the bottle, he checked to see if his empty dish would be left in the sink, his meal stolen from him. His scowl deepened. It wasn’t there.
The whereabouts of his food were revealed when he opened the trash can to throw away his water bottle. There lay his broken dish and curry, abandoned. “What the fuck?”
“That was my fault, I apologize.” Bakugou tried his best not to jump at Shoji's silent appearance. “I had moved it to get something else but then it hooked on to my other hand. I didn’t realize it until it was too late.” Shoji said, bowing.
It was a little awkward to see Shoji bowing and still have to look up at him.
“You don’t have to bow and shit, I can just make more. It's not like it’s fucking hard."
Shoji stood up, but continued. "Regardless, I should have been more careful. I imagine you were looking forward to it, but I took that away from you. It’s only fair if I help you make it again. I can buy the ingredients you need?"
Shoji seemed to genuinely care. Bakugou didn’t think he would, honestly. Shoji was as stoic as the Half n’ Half bastard, and now that he thought of it, the latter would probably provoke him after.
(“I didn’t think it would be made of glass.” He would say. Ugh.)
Bakugou could respect Shoji’s will to make amends.
After some thought, Bakugou pulled out his phone and texted Shoji a short list. “You better get this specific brand of yogurt. It’s the only one that isn’t complete shit.”
Shoji gave a resolute nod before heading out.
A few hours later:
"Oi, Octo-bitch."
Shoji had a bowl of curry shoved in his face. 'I made too much’ was a flimsy excuse, but Shoji thanked him anyway.
~~~
4. Camie: A gift
Bakugou never understood the appeal of going shopping. He didn’t know why anybody would want to run errands with the people most likely to slow you down. But when Camie practically threatened him into going, he discovered that people just did this for fun.
After procuring a bag of some spicy snack, he met back up with Camie in some clothing store. There, she sauntered up to him and held something up so fast that it almost hit him in the face.
Bakugou stared down at the... shopping bag. “The fuck is that?” he demanded.
“Um, it’s called a present.”
Bakugou almost clocked her right then and there. "I know what a present is! But what—why? I didn’t get you anything.”
“That’s not the point, I just got it for you!”
“It's not my damn birthday." Bakugou countered. He wouldn't expect a present on his birthday either, but at least it would make more sense.
Camie lightly pushed his shoulder. “Babe, does there have to be a reason? I just saw them in the window and immediately knew you’d be so fine in them! Don't think too much about it, ‘kay?”
Between the compliment and the sudden gift, Bakugou was at a loss for words. How should he respond? Both called for a show of appreciation.
Gratitude, Katsuki. Say thank you.
He let the bag be placed in his arms, and… grunted in acknowledgement.
He’d get it next time.
“Bet!” Camie exclaimed, ever unfazed. “Now try it on, I wanna see if it fits!”
Camie practically threw him into the nearest dressing room, which was thankfully the men's one. He opened the bag to reveal a pair of admittedly comfortable looking cargo pants. They had straps hanging from the pockets and the belt had one of those clicking buckles. They looked pretty cool, were baggy enough to be comfortable, and the elastic around the ankles allowed him to walk without stepping on the hem.
He loved them.
Since the pants were comfortable, Bakugou didn’t mind standing for a bit while Camie took a million pictures. He couldn’t blame her, these were some nice-ass pants.
Grateful as he was, Bakugou was still a little bewildered by the sudden gift. Camie had said he was ‘giving’, though, so maybe just accepting it would be enough for her.
And if he stalked her Amazon wishlist after, that was nobody’s business but his.
~~~
Deku: A promise
It was a leisurely Saturday morning.
Well, the average person wouldn't find extra One-for-All training leisurely, but compared to their hero classes which involved grades and Aizawa, this was a relaxing morning workout.
After racing through the obstacle course for the fifth time, All Might changed the main objective. Instead of competing to be first to the finish line, they had to work together to complete the course.
Of course, the proposition got two incredulous looks in return. Nevertheless, the two boys got in their starting positions. Katsuki gave Deku a look that said you better keep up.
Using an entirely new method without any preparation seemed like a recipe for failure. To both Katsuki and Deku's surprise, however, their teamwork was nothing of the sort. Katsuki and Deku maneuvered around each other like an experienced duo that had already fought many battles as partners. Deku had Katsuki’s back, and Katsuki had Deku’s. They weaved through the obstacles as a cohesive unit and hit a new record time.
All Might congratulated them, but something in his demeanor made Katsuki suspect that All Might knew this would happen. But before he could ask about it, All Might made them take a break to reflect on their new achievement. The two boys sat down on the nearby bench, and Katsuki let his mind wander.
Two years ago, Katsuki never would’ve imagined he’d be here, with Deku of all people. Helping Deku of all people.
Sometimes, Bakugou wished he had done something differently in their past. But even if he could, he wouldn't know what exactly to do. It hurt his head just thinking about it, so he didn't do it often.
Their relationship was an orchestra of diverse emotions, but the musicians were naïve and inexperienced. It resulted in a cacophony of pain that was only externalized through harsh fists and even harsher words.
But Deku was still here. Through years of torment, Deku was still here. And he would still be here long after. As much as Bakugou didn’t want to build false hope, Deku had made that silent promise years ago, and he kept it. Katsuki owed it to him to keep his own promise to make amends. Katsuki would atone for his past actions, and one day, he'd build up enough courage to deliver a real apology. It was a goal he had worked towards ever since their second real fight.
That was for the future though. Now, he was just glad that he could finally see the value in their time together. The quality of their teamwork only added to its meaning.
Deku looked over at Katsuki, who had barely touched his water bottle.
“Are you alright?” Deku asked.
Bakugou gave the honest answer.
“Yeah.”
~~~
+1. Solace
Bakugou was feeling particularly antisocial today, so instead of humoring the idiot squad's antics, he opted to go on his phone before homeroom started. This began a series of unfortunate events.
waterlog89 tagged you in a post.
Overtaken by curiosity, Bakugou clicked on the notification, taking him to the post. On the left was a picture of him getting attacked by the sludge villain, and on the right was the worst possible picture of him at the Sports Festival. It was captioned, ‘Remember this kid? This is him now. Feel old yet?'
What a wonderful way to start the morning. Against his better judgement, he opened the comment section.
@grassh0pper: NOT YOU TAGGING HIM IN THE POST HAHAHAHA
@archjello74: Old? I’m younger than ever cause clearly nothing changed 😂
@boxpickle3: These spot the difference games are getting harder by the day
@xylo_ren: So we’re just making fun of children now? He’s literally being suffocated on the left guys
@yikes52 replied: he fucking deserved it lol
None of it was really new to him, but he still felt exposed from his revelation with Deku yesterday, so he put his phone on do not disturb and logged out of his main account. The rest of his morning went by relatively smoothly. The quiet wouldn’t last though, so Bakugou savored his morning classes before subjecting himself to the unforgiving hallway.
The sneers he got on the way to the cafeteria were expected, because shit traveled fast on the Internet. Fortunately, a more deliberate version of his trademark glare kept anybody from trying anything stupid. It worked until one of the Gen Ed kids stumbled into him. Literally.
"Watch where you're fucking going!" Bakugou said. He cursed again as his dessert cup fell off his tray. The other kid also dropped his cup, along with his drink, which spilled all over the bastard’s shoes. Serves him right.
Bakugou glared at the asshole's poor attempt to school his expression into something more apologetic as he picked up his dessert cup and scurried away, leaving the spilled drink. Bakugou could tell he was trying not to laugh, which meant that this whole encounter was planned. It pissed him off.
Narrowly dodging the robot that came to clean up the mess, Bakugou made it to his usual table without incident. His idiots greeted him, but they left him alone for the most part. He was grateful they could take a hint.
As he ate his lunch, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. It was different from the basic stares he got all the time. The one he felt now had intent. It was waiting for something. Bakugou wasn't sure where the asshole kid was, and it put him on even more of an edge. He angrily stabbed his spoon into the dessert and shoved it in his mouth.
His nose wrinkled in disgust as he realized he’d picked up the wrong dessert cup. He didn’t mind the taste of pudding. In fact, the ice cream he bought had the same flavor. No, he’d always made a point to avoid it because the texture felt too much like that bastard, and the fact that that day was thrown back in his face earlier didn’t help, either.
Bakugou picked up a napkin to spit the nauseating substance out, but to his literal horror, the pudding rapidly expanded before coagulating just as fast. It cut off his airway and thrashed out of his mouth. He was drowning.
He was drowning again.
Bakugou tried to cough, but it came out as a choked gurgle. His friends gasped as they saw him scramble out of his chair only to end up hunched over the floor, gagging on what should have been strawberry pudding.
Fortunately, his body caught up to his mind and he expelled all the contents of his mouth and stomach. He didn’t want his lunch anyway.
As if a switch was flipped, the assaulting dessert stopped writhing around on the floor and began to act like a normal colloid again.
Bakugou was unaware of this, however, because he couldn’t stop heaving. He felt a hand rub his back—probably Kirishima—and heard someone yell for Recovery Girl.
“Guys? You actually did it?!”
Mina turned to see two boys snickering a distance away from their table. After checking to see that Bakugou was taken care of, she stormed towards them, fists clenched.
“I don’t know what the hell possessed you to pull a stunt like that, but if you think you can just get away with it—”
Sero grabbed her shoulder. “It’s not worth the trouble," he advised. Even though he was holding Mina back, the coldness of his stare revealed that he was just as angry. “Aizawa-sensei can handle it.”
“He better! Y’all are fucked up!”
Frustrated tears slipped down Katsuki’s cheeks as Mina continued to yell. Several other people joined in the argument too, on his behalf. It was all muffled compared to the pounding in his chest and head.
How could he let this happen? All it took was one slip-up for everything to go to shit. It all happened so easily, maybe it was meant to happen. Maybe he deserved this.
“Stay with me, bro.” The hand gave a couple solid pats before continuing to soothe him. Katsuki opened his eyes, not knowing when they closed. It was too hard to focus on one sensation, but Katsuki stayed conscious, no matter how much it hurt.
The next few hours went by in a blur for Katsuki. He vaguely remembered being taken to Recovery Girl for a check-up, and then being taken to the dorms. He must not have had enough energy to go to his room, because when he woke up he was lying on the couch downstairs.
Katsuki sat up and readjusted his T-shirt (when did he change?) before looking around, vigilant. The common room was empty, but one glance at the clock showed that it wouldn’t be that way in about three minutes.
Aizawa emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water. Seeing that Bakugou was awake, he held it up as a silent offering, before setting it on the table in front of the couch.
“You don’t need to drink it now, but it’s there if you need it. Will you be okay without an adult?” Aizawa loosened his scarf as if he was gearing up for a battle. “I need to take care of the incident, but I can send Mic over.”
“I’ll be okay.” Bakugou huffed.
“Are you sure?” Aizawa asked, looking him directly in the eye. Bakugou knew he wasn’t just talking about the short term.
“Yes.” He would be okay, one way or another. He'd make sure of it.
Katsuki could tell Aizawa was still concerned, but it wasn't enough to override the fact that he had somewhere else to be. He reassured Katsuki that he could call him anytime, before walking out of the dorms.
Not even five seconds after, the rest of Class 1-A practically burst through the door. Bakugou doubted they even paid attention in their afternoon classes. So much for getting notes…
“Bakugou!”
“Are you okay?”
“What they did was completely messed up!”
Bakugou grimaced. Even though his headache hurt marginally less now, the volume did nothing to help with it.
“I’m fucking alive, aren’t I?” He interrupted all of them. “So there’s nothing to freak out about.”
Kirishima was the next one to speak. “I guess, but it was seriously terrifying. No one’ll give you shit for being shaken up about it. I know I still am.” He took a seat next to Bakugou.
Mina joined in on the other side. “Yeah, we just wanna be here with you. What they did was horrible. You didn’t deserve to be attacked like that.”
Katsuki wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to know what he did and didn't deserve.
“If someone messes with you, they mess with us.” Kaminari said. The room erupted with echoes of steadfast agreement.
That was unexpected.
Katsuki crossed his arms and looked away from Kirishima’s earnest-as-fuck eyes. When he saw Mina’s equally caring eyes, he looked in his lap instead, clenching his jaw. He gripped his crossed arms harder. Keep it together, Katsuki.
“Are hugs okay?” Kirishima asked.
Oh. That would be nice.
He hoped leaning into Kirishima counted as a yes, because he needed to hide his face as soon as possible and anything he said would turn into a sob. But when two arms wrapped around him, he couldn’t contain the small whimper that followed.
Two arms turned into four- six- twelve? He lost count. He was too focused on keeping his breathing from shaking too much. But then, Katsuki felt himself being gently rocked, side to side. “It’s okay, you can let go.”
Oh.
Oh.
Bakugou had faced the Internet, the League of Villains, and assholes too twisted for a normal mind to comprehend, and none of them had managed to even crack his tough exterior.
So how did the dam suddenly break from those six words?
His body wracked with a sob as he curled further in on himself. It unleashed a deep-seated pain that was rooted further back than the events of today. It wouldn’t be healed through just one hug, but damn, did it feel good.
It had been a shitty day filled with shitty feelings. But as Katsuki fell apart in their arms, another emotion bloomed that might as well have been a stranger to him. It was a feeling that Katsuki’s friends’ provided as they held him.
Relief.