Chapter Text
"Girl's night…? But I'm a guy."
Midoriya couldn't resist showing his confusion with a pout as he looked down at his blond friend.
He wanted to accompany Shinso and Kaminari on the way to class since they had different classes but in the same building, though Kaminari wanted to get into the details of what Yaomomo had invited him to over the weekend. Midoriya wasn't quite sure why Kaminari was so interested— wouldn't Yaomomo have invited him, too? Kaminari was her friend, too, after all.
Kaminari gave him a dumbfounded look back before sighing and throwing his head back dramatically, "No wonder why they invited you."
Further confused by Kaminari's response, Midoriya looked over to Shinso on the other side of Kaminari for an answer.
"You're like-…" Shinso paused to think for a second as he looked around, and his eyes landed on Kiko before continuing, "…a big puppy."
Without meaning to, Midoriya tilted his head and pouted, immediately wiping the look on his face when he saw Shinso give a smug look. "I—! But I still don't- why me?"
"Oh Midoriya…" Kaminari lamented, "Dude. You're like- it."
"It?" Midoriya echoed. He was beyond confused at this point, unease at being out and talking with his friends chipping away with his confusion.
"Yeah! You're superrr tall. You're sure to scare anyone away who tries to bother the girls if you go out somewhere. And-"
"Oh," Midoriya voiced, "So they want me to be their…bodyguard?"
"I think some of us want you to be a little more than that," Shinso mumbled under his breath. Kaminari agreed with a nod, but Midoriya didn't quite get what Shinso was trying to say.
He couldn't really ask since Kaminari clarified, "Yeah but no. You're also polite and sweet. You're shy but I guess for you it's a huge bonus because you're-…you know."
"I'm…?" Midoriya ventured, trying to pry the answer from Kaminari.
The blond's face was getting a little red before he looked away and blurted, "Midoriya. Stop, dude. It's too early for you to be this cute." Kaminari made an emphasis on his dramatic claim as he looked away and held a waving hand out to Midoriya.
"Wah- cute? No no- I'm too plain-faced," Midoriya attempted to dismiss. He even looked to Shinso to see if the purple haired male would agree, but Shinso shook his head in disagreement to Midoriya's surprise.
"You're either really oblivious or really stupid," Shinso decided to say, "And based on your GPA… you're horrifically oblivious. You're one of the…best-looking in our dorm— possibly the grade."
Midoriya sputtered, not knowing what to say. He wanted to say he was in fact very much the opposite, but decided to hold his tongue. All he could do was shake his head in denial before switching the topic all together with a grumble, "I just don't see why we can't just have a class night in the dorms. But an all-girl's night? I don't understand."
"Oh. Dude. The girls are going to have so much fun." Kaminari emphasized with a slight nudge, "Mina and Hagakure especially, I think. They've been wanting to hangout with you."
"But we have. Inside school, the dorms, outside when we used her car to go to the mall…" As he was listing things, he had a thought. He hadn't really…talked or hungout with anyone in a while. Especially not after the huge talk he had with his roommates. Now that he realized, he was really isolating himself and pushing people away. And he knew that everyone in the dorms at least tolerated him in some way, and now Shoto, Eijiro, and Kacchan were added back onto that list.
Did Yaomomo, Camie, and Toga know? Did they notice the other three's sudden tolerance for him? Did the rest of the class know? Midoriya wouldn't want to ruin their image in any way if people like them were seen with someone like him.
Student athletes and a fat art nerd. That surely wouldn't look well.
But at the same time, Midoriya had noticed that the other three were slowly getting themselves more…involved with him.
Shaking those thoughts away, Midoriya refocused on his original thought as he turned to Kaminari and Shinso. "I don't want to be…nosy, but- have you- I don't know-," He floundered over his words, unsure of how to bring the topic up, "Have Yaomomo and Jiro…?"
Midoriya was ultimately glad that Kaminari had a habit of interupting people, especially when the blond lit up at the mention of the two of them, "OH! Ohhh yeah," Kaminari confirmed with an excited nod, "They've been spending a lottt of time together. People are already starting to speculate, and I've seen them a couple of times walking around campus with each other, going to each other's dorm rooms… that stuff."
Midoriya couldn't help his smile, "Really?" Although, despite the news, he also couldn't help the ugly pit of jealousy that was starting to form in his stomach as Kaminari went on, explaining how people would see Jiro and Yaomomo studying together, going everywhere together, whispering, giggling in the dorms, cooking together… why was Midoriya feeling that way? He should be happy for Yaomomo, but all he could think about as Kaminari dove into talking about romantic date ideas was how those scenarios would play out with Shoto, Eijiro, and Kacchan.
He couldn't shake the thoughts either. Not during his lecture hall, not on the walk back to the bus stop that went by the dorms, and most certainly not when he walked in to see the other three cooking in almost the same exact scenario Midoriya had been imagining.
Walking in with Kiko, Midoriya paused, seeing how the other three in the kitchen stopped to look at him as well.
Eijiro was the first to say something, "I thought your class went until three?" It was more a question than a statement. Was it because they didn't want him there? Most likely. Who was Midoriya? To think that after everything, it would go back to normal? That what they said about him, that they wanted to be his boyfriends and for him to be theirs was true? They'd all been drinking that night so why— Why had Midoriya played into those delusions, knowing he would be hurt, that they were already at the point of no return? How stupid was he? No wonder he was an art major. It was all he would be good at, too dumb, too stupid, too naive to be anything else. Painting a reality that wasn't real. Lost in the world of make-believe to hide the atrocities of the life he had.
He hesitated before replying, he rebooted his brain and forced himself to walk towards his room, "We got out early. The professor had a meeting." Without much of a second glance, he turned his gaze away. He thought they had practice, meaning Midoriya would've had the kitchen to himself to make a meal without prying eyes, but now his plan was ruined. It's fine. Maybe he could take a nap in his room and when he woke up, they would either be done, or he could just leave without it looking like he left because of them. He could just go to the dining hall by himself.
Kiko seemed to notice his distress as he discarded his backpack and flopped down on his bed, as she didn't hesitate to join him. Without missing a beat, Kiko curled into him once he got comfortable, leading him to pet her fur as sleep slowly came to him.
The first thing Midoriya was met with when he woke up was a face full of fur…and a very insistent Kiko.
"Kiko…" he whined, "five more minutes please." Yet, the clarification that he was up only came to spur Kiko on more as she tried to wake him.
Knock knock.
"Oi!"
Oh. That's why she'd been trying to wake him. Sighing, Midoriya sat up and brushed Kiko away, standing off his bed shortly after. Halfway to the door, he stopped in his tracks to stretch out his arms and back before continuing to the door.
He opened it to see Kacchan standing there. The blond looked surprised for a second before speaking, "We- there are leftovers if you want them. Katsudon. Eijiro's got some brownies in the oven, too."
"Not leftovers," Shoto chimed in before Midoriya could string together a reply, "It's a bowl for you."
Clamping his mouth shut again, Midoriya paused and looked down to Kacchan for answers. They made eye contact for a split second before the blond tore his eyes away and stumbled, "I- well- er- yeah. That."
"We're watching a movie!" Eijiro chimed in, though Midoriya could hear the crackle of something else that he couldn't identify in the redhead's voice.
A little amused, Midoriya smiled awkwardly despite his growing anxiety. "Uh. Thanks. I'll probably grab some later." He didn't quite want to dive into doing something like that until he prepared himself. Because- well. He wasn't really sure what to make of the situation. Of course, his heart felt warm that these three were trying in some capacity to get closer to him— whether that had to do with their conversation or not, Midoriya wasn't sure. Regardless, Midoriya couldn't help the doubt and fear that ran through his head.
What if he said something stupid? What if he said the wrong thing? Did something stupid? What if he ate too much? Too little? What if they judged him on how much he ate? Would they call Aizawa if he didn't go out there in fear he was starving himself again? What if that's why they were being nice? Ever since that incident with Monoma and Midoriya throwing up in the bathroom afterwards, they'd been especially nice. Even more so after he told them everything.
Midoriya just wasn't sure how genuine they were being. What if they were just taking pity on him?
He wasn't sure anymore.
"Don't let it get cold," Shoto offered, "Katsuki always says it's better hot."
Midoriya was going to reply, wracking his brain for some sort of excuse of why he couldn't go out there just now, but Kacchan muttered, "You can eat in your room if you don't wanna join us."
Knowing he was caught, Midoriya scrambled for words, "N-No-! I…" He didn't want to go out there, but he also didn't want to make the other three feel bad if Midoriya didn't at least try to make an effort.
"What made you shut us out? Why- why haven’t you been answering us? We tried so- so damn hard…”
Midoriya remembered the crack in Kacchan's voice when he'd said that to him a couple weeks ago. It made his heart ache when Kacchan cried to him, talking like Midoriya just didn't want to see them anymore, like Midoriya hated them. How vulnerable Kacchan sounded when he said it with such emotion, like he was so hurt that Midoriya didn't want to be around them anymore. Like he held Midoriya's opinion of him just as high as he would Eijiro and Shoto.
"I…just want to grab my laptop so I can work on an assignment," Midoriya decided on.
While it would be rough and awkward, Midoriya really wanted this to work. If they were finally giving him an opening, then he should probably take it. No matter how bad it might turn out.
It wasn't…too bad.
They were all scared shitless when Deku walked in, not quite expecting the nerd so early. It was also partially because they wanted to have all of their shit set up before Deku walked in, just so they could ask him on his way to his room. Because lately, the nerd had been confining himself to his room. Only coming out for class or food, and as far as Bakugo knew, he wasn't hanging out that much with the other extras, either.
Bakugo also might've felt a little bad that when he opened the door, he could tell that the nerd had just been sleeping because of his smeared foundation and how his face was red on one side.
It was actually really endearing. Bakugo kind of wanted to pull the nerd down for a kiss in that moment, because he just looked too fucking cute. At the same time, Bakugo fumbled and tripped over his words, because he'd forgotten how deep and rich the nerd's voice was whenever he first woke up. It was disarming, to say the least, hearing the low timbre coming from Deku of all places, but part of Bakugo wondered if the deeper voice was Deku's more natural voice. Maybe he made his voice higher and more soft-spoken as a way to hide himself like he does with his glasses, contacts, and foundation.
It was really confusing how much his view on Deku was starting to shift all over again. How odd it was that he had so much love for Deku, then hate, and now it was a sort of mix of longing, love, and hate. The hate aspect was mostly reserved for himself and how much of an asshole he'd been towards Deku.
Now, though? Well it was sort of jealousy and fondness all in one.
He and Eijiro were cuddling on the couch while the movie played. Bakugo knew there was enough room for Shoto to join as well, but Half and Half seemed to have taken the floor next to Deku. Fuck, what Bakugo would do to be able to even pull Deku into a hug at that moment. Instead, he opted for small talk when there was a break in the movie for commercials.
"Fancy tablet," was all Bakugo could think to comment.
Deku seemed startled by the conversation starter, but the nerd cleared his throat, "Ah. It's just a laptop with a touch screen. Sort of outdated but…you know." Deku showed them how the tablet worked, flipping it side to side before attatching it to the keyboard it came with.
"What's wrong with that?" Eijiro pipped up.
"Just the programs. certain devices have certain programs, but my laptop doesn't have the capacity to download the bigger, better programs. I had to delete some apps for the one the school provides, but it's not really my style. The school technically pays for it, though, so I have to use it because it's the 'industry standard'."
"Oh," Eijiro seemed a little confused, but it was obvious that he wanted to keep the conversation going, "So what would be the best kinda thing to have?"
The nerd started to explain this and that, talking about the devices that they used in class and how he loved how big the screens were, and how they had it set up with a double-monitor…however the hell that worked with a gigantic tablet, Bakugo wasn't quite sure. But with the nerd nerding out so much, Bakugo didn't really care.
Not when he could see a little bit of the light coming back to his eyes.
"Well…if they have one for everyone in class, then they shouldn't be too expensive, right?" Shoto asked. And Bakugo knew why. The rich bastard was probably coming up with a way to spoil Deku with gifts already. Bakugo wondered if maybe they could all pitch in (despite knowing that they could each probably afford one on their own) and buy one for a Christmas present. It was already nearing that time of year with it being the beginning of November, but Bakugo considered the idea that maybe they might not be that close anymore to give Deku such a thoughtful gift.
Deku sputtered, "W-Well…it's pretty pricy. In America I've seen them go for 600 to 2,400 dollars. Which is to around 89,000 to 350,000 yen here."
"Oh dang," Kirishima let out a low whistle. The mention of Deku being in America made something in Bakugo want to yell and scream, but at the same time, made him want to curl up and try not to vomit. Because this whole time they were going to their dream school on a scholarship for sports, Deku was being beaten to hell and back, hurt, starved, ridiculed. All by his own damn father.
Bakugo was lucky Kirishima pulled him away from those thoughts with a simple squeeze to his leg.
He only just heard the tail-end of the conversation before the ad-break ended, and they were back to watching the movie.
Still, Bakugo couldn't push away the lingering thoughts of Deku. How it was so odd that a couple of months ago, they were begging for Deku to come back somehow. All of the plans that they had with him, just for those to be marred by the distance and their emotional selves. How odd was it for Deku to be right there, yet they couldn't do a thing about it?
He knew they needed to build Deku's trust back, and that it would take a while, but Bakugo was torn. He had the need to be closer to Deku, but also knew that they needed time to repair what they'd broken. Aside from that, Bakugo also knew that Deku had his own problems that he would have to wrap up with his shitty father. After finding out, he and his boyfriends finally scoured for news, if any, about Deku's case.
It seemed most wanted to keep it hush-hush, especially considering Deku's dad's status, but the three of them managed to find a couple of articles, and even some footage that was retrieved by some of the officers' bodycams. Most of it was censored for obvious reasons, but the blurred images were enough.
They were nauseating.
Bakugo could see why Deku wouldn't want to tell them about it right away, especially if they were being assholes to him and not even giving him a chance to tell his story. It was all so fucked up. How was it that people thougnt such horrible ways to torture people, and, further, actually went through with doing it?
Bakugo found himself staring at Deku's arm. The one he always had covered, the one that had the biggest scar, marring his skin from his shoulder to just above his elbow. Deku was wearing a hoodie, so it's not like Bakugo could see the injury, but it sure as hell was noticeable when Deku's scarred hand began to shake just before he dropped the pen he was using to write with.
Bakugo wanted to say something, but he chose to try and ignore it to focus on the movie. Yet, he couldn't help focusing on how Deku grabbed hold of his wrist with his other hand, like he was trying to strangle the pain out of his own hand.
It was bothering the shit out of Bakugo, but he wasn't sure how to approach the topic. Thankfully, Shoto seemed to notice the nerd struggling.
"Your hand is hurting?"
Midoriya was startled, eyes drifting away from his hand to look at Shoto, who now moved closer to where he was sitting on the floor.
"Just a cramp!" Midoriya attempted to laugh it off awkwardly, not wanting to bring up why he got the cramps. Most would assume it was from him drawing, but Midoriya knew it was from the damage his arms took from his father. It was painful, and the spurts of pain would always come without warning. "It'll go away," Midoriya reassured again.
Midoriya felt his chest tighten and his heartbeat jumpstart when slender, gentle hands came into view. Midoriya directed his gaze up, seeing Shoto's face sort of soft and hesitant. "I could help, if you'd like," Shoto offered. When Midoriya gave a sort of half-nod yes, Shoto's hands connected with his own, first prying away his hand from his wrist before grabbing the hurting hand itself.
Midoriya noticed, then. His large, scared, sort of chubby hands and how they contrasted with Shoto's pale, lanky, and also big hands. Though, Midoriya would note that his own hands were larger than Shoto's. Still, Shoto took Midoriya's hand into his own like it was something precious, like Midoriya was something meant to be handled with care rather than the recklessness he was used to.
Without word, Shoto began to slowly work his hands into Midoriya's, kneeding and rubbing them, handling them with care. It made Midoriya involuntarily shiver, and Shoto must've noticed.
"Is this okay?"
"Yeah…" Midoriya replied with a slightly strained voice, "I wasn't expecting it to feel nice…" He admitted, lowering his gaze to their linked hands. He couldn't find it in himself to keep staring Shoto in the eyes, not when the thought of "Shoto looks so pretty" rushed through his mind and hit him like a truck. Not when all he wanted to do was reach forward and squeeze Shoto in a hug, not when he had the thought of running his hands through Shoto's hair while he told him all that he liked about Shoto.
"We get them sometimes, so we asked our athletic trainer how to fix pains if they came by. Just let me know if I'm ever too rough."
"A-Ah…okay…" Midoriya's awkward reply came, especially after he made the realization that the moment was being watched by Shoto's boyfriends.
It was a wonder Midoriya survived that night, he thought to himself as he was brought back where he was currently.
After last night's events, Midoriya figured he would get out of his dorm room, with his head now swarming with mushy thoughts he felt a bit guilty for having.
Not when he was imagining what it would be like, a movie night with his former-bestfriends-turned-crushes-turned-strangers-turned-kinda-friends-again, and what it would be like to curl up next to Kirishima or Kacchan, who ended up falling asleep cuddled into each other on the couch. How it would feel to be in Shoto's spot, who carefully made the two of them comfortable while Midoriya excused himself to put away the food and do the dishes for the meal they made. And what it would be like to end up with them in the morning, slightly crammed on the couch despite Shoto pulling it out for them, yet they all seemed content when Midoriya rushed past the scene with burning ears and Kiko in tow.
"Midoriya-kun…"
Midoriya startled, jolting in place before he looked down at his much shorter friend, Tsu. He'd been standing next to her while they got a couple things at the dining hall, and it turned out that they both had the same idea of what food they wanted.
"Oh- yeah?" He squeaked out in return. He didn't know all too much about his class, but he knew enough to know that Tsu was a bit…reserved. She spoke her mind when needbe, but most times, she was quiet and kept to herself.
"Your waffle is going to burn," she helpfully pointed out, gesturing to the wafflemaker that Midoriya might have left on for far too long.
Scrambling to get it together, he thanked her and plated the waffle, casting her a side glance when the green haired girl redirected her attention to grabbing her own waffle and heading over to the toppings station once she saw Midoriya get a grip.
Thankfully, she didn't mention the incident to Uraraka and Iida once they met back up with them to sit at a table.
Turning to Kiko once he'd sat down, he gently ordered her to lay down, giving her a small treat from where he kept them on-hand after she complied.
"I've been meaning to ask," Uraraka pipped up, "How does the whole service-dog thing work? Does she get in the way for classes? Lecture halls? I mean, she is a really big dog."
Though nervous, Midoriya always tried his best when talking with the other three. Tsu about her marine biology major, Uraraka forensics, and Iida about pre-law. Regardless of what he was told, he didn't really want to highlight much of his experience as an art major. Definitely not when all of the people in his dorms had majors that were much more profound than his.
Though sometimes he couldn't escape it.
"Well," he said, finally getting around to the answer, "I don't have much of a problem since the only lecture I really have is art history. And even then, we use an auditorium, so everyone is pretty much spread out. My other classes are studio classes."
Uraraka made a noise of understanding, while Iida leaned forward with interest, "Your classes aren't big enough to fill out the auditorium? Most of the classes I attend would easily fill one." Iida didn't sound like he was talking down, but rather trying to relate with his own experience.
Tsu pipped in as well, "Sometimes it's hard to find a seat in mine."
Midoriya, meanwhile, was a little baffled to say the least, "What? How many people do you normally have in a class?"
Before his question could be answered, a voice interrupted, "Wayyy too many. Though, I wouldn't mind if they made an extra spot for you."
Midoriya didn't have much time to process before his curls were being ruffled.
"Sero…" Midoriya grumbled.
"Got room for…five more?" Kaminari asked.
Peeking past him, Midoriya could see not only Sero, but Shinso, Mina, and Jiro in tow. Some part of him wondered if it was because they wanted to chat with the others, and for that, Midoriya felt a little disappointed. With a larger group, he was sure to get lost and forgotten in the conversation. Despite that, he accepted the offer to be nice, and was prepared to be sidelined like he expected to be originally.
To his surprise (again), the conversation seemed to be buzzing. And whenever Midoriya started to shut himself in again, like when the group would talk about a memory the year before when Midoriya wasn't there, he was surprised at how easily they pulled him into the conversation to include him again. Feeling overwhelmed by their kindness, Midoriya knew that the waterworks were inevitable.
Staring at his food, he felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes, yet, unlike what he's gotten used to, these tears weren't out of anguish, sadness, or anger, they were tears of happiness.
Though, unfortunately, his friends didn't seem to know that.
Next to him, Iida sounded alarmed when calling attention to it, "Ah! Midoriya! Are you alright? What's wrong?" Before Midoriya could even answer, a handkerchief was thrust in his face.
From what Midoriya could hear, he was surprised that the conversation ceased when he sniffled.
"Ah…nothing. It's just-" he paused to wipe his tears with the palm of his hand, not thinking straight with the handkerchief still in the other hand. Overwhelmed with emotion, Midoriya sobbed, unable to hold in the way his heart swelled in his chest with grattitude. He could feel Kiko lay her head in his lap while he continued to wipe his tears. "I'm just so thankful to have you all," Midoriya managed to choke out.
It took only half a second before someone on his side was hugging him with a coo, "Awww, Midoriya! You're so sweet." Mina said with senserity, sounding like she had a little pout in her voice like she was going to tear up as well. "We're glad you're part of our dorm, now, and we wouldn't change a thing about it."
Sounds of agreeance were said, but not before Midoriya was engulfed in a group hug. Even Shinso, who was most wary of touch, had joined in to reassure Midoriya. It made his chest feel even warmer, if possible, and gave him a feeling of hope that maybe everything would be okay. That maybe things won't be so bad.
And that maybe, just maybe, hope that maybe he would be able to come out of the girls' night in one piece. Of course, only time would tell, especially with Toga and Camie involved, but with the group of friends that he seemed to have, Midoriya might have a chance of surviving.
Maybe he would be able to stand up to his father and testify against him once he goes on trial over the winter break.
And maybe he could survive one more heart-to-heart conversation with Kacchan, Todoroki, and Kirishima in order to completely sort things out as well.