Chapter Text
Fuck, Deku’s shitty friends were annoying as hell. And he couldn’t even complain or yell at them to get lost because it’d blow his cover. He was, allegedly, still asleep. What had possessed the old nurse to put him and Deku in the same room? He needed his rest and the nerd sounded like he was overdue on a week’s worth of sleep.
He was almost inclined to just drop his act and shop the nuisances off, despite holding out valiantly for so long. He’d woken in the infirmary of the school, some other poor fucks from their class swarming the nerd’s bed and screeching about how worried they were and wishing him and Bakugo a quick recovery. He’d decided to pretend to be asleep to avoid a similar fate but fuck, it wasn’t much better, he couldn’t explode at their asses.
His hands hurt significantly less than before he’d lost consciousness. Which was freaking amazing because that shit hurt like hell. He could feel something sticky across his palms, but he couldn’t investigate, the crazy nurse had wrapped his hands up to half of his forearm, the wads of fabric weighing his arms.
And the shithead was speaking now. He had the gall to tell his shitty friends he was fine, but Katsuki knew that he wasn't. Honestly, couldn’t the idiots see that the nerd needed to rest?
Katsuki would probably have gone to sleep himself, if not to recuperate than to escape the incessant screeching and robotic lecturing surrounding the other bed, but frankly, he didn’t fancy his dreams.
He’d awakened from yet another dream of Deku in that dark misty place, tears falling like rain, apologizing for fucking everything, his soulful eyes way too big and trusting, too earnest for Bakugo’s sanity. Memories of this past week and from the battle with Nine - the whole thing - swirled in his mind, sour and bitter. Sure, the fight had been badass, they had kicked the villain’s ass good, the sensation of his blood turning to lava, the air replaced by his explosions, that had been nice. But the way Izuku had just discarded his future, his place in the world of heroes, the fucking honor that was being chosen by AllMight just to put it all in Katsuki’s hands…
When he had awakened in the infirmary he eavesdropped on the Hobo-sensei talking to the nerd. From that he’d gathered what had happened when he had been out, the criminals had been apprehended by heroes who had come in the last second to save them, two students transported back to the campus and placed in the exasperated care of Recovery Girl. He had listened to Aizawa’s monotone voice as he had told the nerd to consider possible transfers to different courses within the school, the two discussing possible additional training paths if he decided to stay with the class. It was plain to see that the caterpillar was worried for the dumbass, wanting to make sure the fool was safe. Midoriya, for his part, had been oddly quiet when it came to talking about training, their teacher had noticed that and had left him, probably thinking the usually expressive brat was just tired.
What followed was torture. It didn’t last long, since soon the idiot squad came to pester the nerdiest nerd of the hill. Still, Katsuki was awake for all that, unable to say anything else he would have blown his cover. It was a well-known fact Deku cried like a tap, loud and obnoxious. It was far less well-known that when he was really sad, not just overwhelmed, he barely made a noise. Just soft, halting breaths, sobs muffled by his fucked up hands and occasional sniffs. And Katsuki heard all that up until the noises outside alerted them to the approaching classmates and Deku quickly put his face in order.
Bakugo reached deep within him, where an electric current seemed to coil and twist, foreign and potent. Sure, he wanted to be the best, the strongest, but he always prided himself on reaching the top on his merit, not by accepting handouts. Especially those that came at such a heavy price. Fuck, if he wanted Deku to get hurt more than he had already been, but the past few weeks the idiot had been actually doing so well, taming that lightning that now fucked up Bakugo’s hands every time he made explosions in his hands.
And now Midoriya was back to being quirkless, giving up one of the strongest quirks in existence, a gift from their hero. And he, Bakugo, had been a total ass for the entire week towards him, while the moron had tried to help him understand this power better. That self-sacrificing, earnest ass.
Katsuki almost tried to clap his swaddled hands when the dumb squad finally took their leave, promising to visit soon. Midoriya made a show of going to sleep, sounding almost normal as he bid them farewell. The illusion didn’t last longer than five seconds after the doors closed.
Deku took a few audible, shaking breaths, sounding like he wanted to cry, but did his best to keep the waterworks from starting. Bakugo appreciated that, he wasn’t sure he could ignore him crying, not now when he finally had the whole picture. The memory of the knife asshole cackling about him stealing Deku’s quirk came to mind, unwanted and way too heavy.
“You can stop pretending to be asleep, Kac-chan,” yup, that voice sounded like a Detroit Smash to the balls.
And of course, the creep somehow knew Katsuki had been awake all that time. He opened his eyes to glare at him and scowled when he saw the fucker making his way towards his bed and the shitty chair positioned next to it. His face was bruised, but obviously, the old lady had dealt her kiss of death on him, because the bruises looked days old and his nose appeared as cute as always. The green eyes looked too dull and dark without the spark of One For All in them.
“Can…” Izuku started, wobbling his way and grabbing on things as he went. “Can we talk?”
“Can’t it wait?” he grumbled. “You look like you’re about to keel over.”
He was worried about the dumbass, okay? Gods only knew what shit was spinning in his big brain.
Deku smiled and it was so wrong. It looked like a fucking insult to a real Midoriya smile and Katsuki hated how it made his insides squeeze.
The artificial light coming from the lamps in the ceiling made the shadows and discoloring on Deku’s skin starker. Behind his back, Katsuki could see the window where the last dregs of orange and purple were bleeding from the sky. The crappy infirmary room was too bright, too sterile, too stuffy.
The other boy sighed as he slid in the chair, as if his body barely made the two-meter-long journey. If he felt any like Bakugo he could definitely get the sentiment and he hated that the idiot had moved his ass from his bed, they could talk without him getting closer. Actually, Bakugo probably would have preferred that, it would have been easier to avoid that big-ass green eyes of his.
“What White Fang said,” Deku started as soon as he settled down. “It was all lies. You know. You didn’t steal my quirk.”
“I fucking know,” he growled. The idiot blinked those stupid peepers at him.
“Yeah, I remember the whole shitty fight with that asshole on the island,” he pointed his hand at the fool. It wasn’t as intimidating as he wanted it to be, with all the bandages. “You gave me One For All, you dickwad.”
Midoriya blinked, his eyes watering, but lucky for him no tears fell just yet.
“I did,” he agreed. “I’m sorry I kept that secret, but we thought it’d be better this way.”
We. Ah, yeah, there was the beanpole of a retired hero who needed his ass kicked for letting the fool go with that dimwitted plan.
“It was the only way,” the freckled fool continued, unaware that Bakugo was planning to pummel his skeletal mentor. “And, honestly, I’m glad Kac-chan has it now. You’re the best, so I’m sure you can…”
The echoes of the Deku from his dreams came to his mind, earnest and so fucking hopeful. Powerless and depressed, the idiot was still more of a hero than Katsuki was, with this additional power in his grasp.
Damn, would they be able to move in stride next to each other any day? Bakugo was fucking tired of chasing the nerd that should be far behind him.
His brooding was interrupted when the dumbass bowed his head.
“Thank you for saving me,” he said. “You know, on the beach.”
“I ain’t gonna let some lowlifes run free,” he wished he could cross his arms in front of his chest, but it would be awkward and uncomfortable. Deku gave him a wobbly smile.
“I’m still thankful,” he whispered and looked down to where Katsuki’s bandaged hands rested on the blanket. “And I’m sorry for this. It shouldn’t have happened. Not like that.”
Bakugo blinked a few times, sort of expecting the dark mist to surround them, the apology reminding him of his dreams and the forlorn look on the nerd’s face.
“I’m sure you can get a good handle on this in no time,” the dumbass stated, his usual praise of Bakugo’s awesomeness feeling flat in the infirmary room. It still didn’t cut quite as deep as his next words. “Maybe, one day, I will make gauntlets that can assist with the increased output.”
He felt hollow at that suggestion. There had been a whole fuckton of stuff wrong in his life in the last weeks, but this one little, innocent sentence, spoke with a shadow of a mockery of hope, it was the worst thing.
“The fuck?” he barked, reeling internally at the words that sounded familiar, and yet foreign.
“…after the fight and talking to Aizawa-sensei,” it sounded as if something was stuck in the nerd’s throat and he had to force every word out. Tears, silent and solemn, spilled down his cheeks that looked too pale and hollow as if the nerd hadn’t been eating right for a while. “I plan to transfer and with my grades, and all the analysis notes, I thought that maybe I could get support?” The ending of the sentence that should have been a plain announcement sounded more like a question, weak and shitty. Bakugo hated it, he hated the dull look in Deku’s eyes that refused to look up at him. He hated the limp fingers that didn’t even fiddle with the hem of his shirt. He fucking despised the voice that sounded all wrong.
Deku was supposed to be this resilient asshole that fucked up his arms just to talk some sense to a Candycane princess. Deku was supposed to challenge Katsuki, his stupid smile making idiots around him want to do better. Deku had been chosen by AllMight to inherit his power and make it his own. And he did that, with lots of pain and stupid actions, but he did that. Katsuki couldn’t imagine being quirkless for years only to receive a powerful quirk, train with it for months and lose it in a snap. And still, the idiot had been trying to follow his dream, up until today bent on adjusting to fighting quirkless, trying to implement gear that would assist him.
And sure, the nerd had the brains to go to the support and make the shit the heroes used, but it all would be so backwards.
The asshole’s destiny was to be this smiling idiot hero that charmed the public and did good deeds without thinking about it. He was supposed to go toe to toe with Bakugo and fight with him for first place. What would it be worth without Deku biting at his ankles to get to that spot?
As Bakugo reeled, the other boy paused and wiped his face with a sleeve, schooling his features to something almost vacant.
“I know I made people worry,” he said. “Especially with this attack. So, it’s for the best.”
This, this was the major problem with Deku. He had this disgustingly big heart and worried about everyone else without considering himself. He gave bits of himself away until there was nothing left, only tears and scars.
That thought lingered in Katsuki’s mind as he took in the boy sitting an arms length away from him, head lowered and words flat. It brought forth a thought he’d been entertaining for some time now, since he was aware of the whole story of the fight with Nine.
And, no one could say that Bakugo wasn’t a decisive man. He saw a path forward and examined it in a flash, then applied the best set of actions to reach his goals efficiently.
So, he shifted on the bed, wincing at his sore muscles, then leaned in to reach forward.
“Wha-?” Deku was startled when suddenly two wads of bandages were placed on both sides of his head, like weird earmuffs. Then he got yanked forward.
Katsuki was prepared for the taste of salt, and big eyes staring at him, to which he closed his own eyes so it wouldn’t be too weird.
He leaned in and pressed his lips against those salty ones, glad that the old lady healed his busted mug enough that his firm pressure wouldn’t cause pain. He wasn’t exactly sure how to do this well, not doing it before, but figured that it wasn’t a shitty exam and he wouldn’t get points for finesse. That stupid nose was sort of in the way so he tilted his head and stuck his tongue in as soon as the surprisingly soft lips parted.
This was the best idea of his life. Even if it felt weird, at least until the nerd relaxed some and actually, surprisingly, pressed back just a bit, his tongue not quite challenging the dominance of Katsuki’s but definitely being there.
All things considered and circumstances included, this wasn’t the shittiest first kiss Katsuki might have imagined for himself. It was fucking nice, okay? And it kept the dumbass from speaking, a definitive plus in this situation. He could think over the fact that he was kissing back later when he wasn’t cradling that empty head in his annoyingly aching hands. Whatever it all was it needed more time to ponder and preferably not right now.
He almost forgot the primal reason as to why he decided to suck the idiot’s tongue like a dumbass.
He remembered, luckily, and reminded himself to focus. He needed to do it right, just in case the nerd wouldn’t let him do it again.
He really hoped he’d let him do it again, no matter if his plan succeeded. Which it would, because he was that good with plans.
He felt that annoying spark, like an itch in his ribcage, rising and filling him with almost nervous energy. He made his choice, which wasn’t really that hard. It was the most reasonable thing to do, considering what outcome he wanted. He almost sighed in relief when he felt the power wash over him and out of his system, like a bad flu.
‘Good riddance, One For All,’ he thought, satisfied as he pulled back, admiring the floored, dazed look on the nerd’s face, his eyes closed, wet lashes resting on those stupid freckled cheeks. He sat back and got comfortable, observing the absolute fool in front of him.
Deku seemed to linger where Katsuki had let go of him, then he practically collapsed back in the chair, limp like a rag doll.
Then, without a warning, those eyes opened, big and green, sparkling like shitty glitter stuff the French asshole threw around. Those eyes locked onto Katsuki, full of wonder, disbelief and awe.
And, for the first time in forever, Katsuki felt as if maybe he actually deserved that look when Deku’s lips spread in a smile, a gasp escaping him as shitty green electricity sparked to life across his skin.
“Kac-chan,” Izuku breathed out.
“I don’t mind if it’s you. I fucking mind that stupid quirk fucking my groove. Keep that hand-me-down from shitty AllMight, bloody nerd. If you transfer out of class I swear I’ll kill your ass.”
And if that whole rant was spoken in a soft tone - fuck you all, Katsuki just had his first kiss and he had a moment, okay?
Crap, if it felt good to have these eyes back on him.