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Izuku Midoroya was not good at making jokes, like at all.
He's pretty much worse than Todoroki, who can at least, crack a joke and get one of their classmates to grin or snicker.
To where Izuku cracks one... and let's say, all he gets are horrified stares.
It's around that time where someone's birthday comes up and everyone decides to celebrate. Some cook and bake while others decorate and others distract the birthday person for the surprise in the dorm. It was July 30th, Ashido's birthday and officially turning sixteen.
Izuku was placed to helping out in dipping the apples into the warm melted caramel painted a soft pink. Izuku then realized the kitchen had gotten a little quiet, so he decided to speak up and crack the best joke he could think about!
"Hey, Sato, wanna hear a joke?" Already, Sato looked a little skeptical but he nodded and Izuku let out a small snicker before he went on with it.
"Dipping these apples is giving me deja vu," Izuku dipped an apple and Sato asked a simple, "Why?"
"Deku don't you-"
"Because it reminds me of getting my head forced underwater and coming out all soggy!" There was the most tense silence and Izuku's smile faltered as he glanced around and soon it turned into a frown when he saw Sato's horrified expression.
Izuku could hear the faintly disappointed muttering of Kacchan, something along the lines of, "That's the shittiest joke ever..."
"Was it not... good?" Izuku pulled the apple in the caramel out before placing it onto a metal pan. Sato gently shook his head, shocked speechless; and therefore not giving Izuku no real answer.
'Oh... I thought it was funny though...?'
Izuku didn't crack another joke that night.
The next time it happened was when it was hero training, specifically rescue-combat training. Three students would go out into a building, one would be the villain, one a hero, and the other a hostage.
When it came to Izuku's turn, he was the hostage and therefore not allowed to help or use his quirk. Not that he minded, he usually forgot he had a quirk now even though he could constantly feel them pulsing right on his chest. He's just been so used to living quirkless, he forgets.
"Hey, Kacchan, you think my jokes are good?" Kacchan, or his hero name; Dynamite, glanced over his shoulder and gave Izuku a pointed glare with no actual heat behind it. "No, nerd. They're weird and they sound like trauma dumping to me." Izuku hummed, letting his legs stretch out as he moved them left and right, watching them shift.
"Do you wanna hear a new joke I've got?" Kacchan groaned but nodded in annoyance.
"This situation sort of reminds me of when those old 'friends' of mine would tie me up and put me in a storage closet for hours, and here we are training!" There was the same tense silence before the door was slammed open and a fight began. The hero was Kirishim; Red Riot. And Izuku had enough time to think about his joke. It sounded less like a joke and more like a confession. So when the round ended with the time running out and both villain and hero were still standing up it was said as a tie.
"De-Izuku, work on your damn jokes. They suck ass." Kirishima helped Izuku out of the bindings.
The third time, Izuku didn't think Mr. Aizawa would have been around.
Izuku is cutting open cardboard boxes to help make their recycling a little more easier.
So when he goes on to the third box, he decides to butt into the conversation.
"Hey, this is giving me deja vu again," Izuku slices down the tape with the scissors, and he moves on to the next patch of tape.
He's got several eyes on him now. "I've been training for this moment," Izuku takes a deep breath before finishing. "I've been training for this moment," He slices down in one swift motion and nearly knicks himself in the process. "Get it? Because I cut myself-" He stops as soon as he looks up and sees horrified eyes and open-mouthed gazes. His smile genuinely fades this time and there are heavy footsteps he instantly recognizes as Mr. Aizawa's anddd-
"Oh, I fucked up." A hand on his shoulder and he glances up to see their teacher glaring at him.
"Problem Child, outside, now." Izuku places the scissors down and gets up, follows Aizawa to the door, and puts his actual shoes on. The dorm door slams shut and Izuku knows not to wince at the loud sound. It's a harsh thud and it echoes for a second.
"Kid we need to talk. I'm a mandated reporter, so when I hear something I think needs professional help I have to tell." Izuku looks away when Mr. Aizawa looks back at him.
"So tell me what that was about, kid. I've heard from the rest of your class that these jokes have been going on for a while now, right? I've heard even Bakugou talk about how stupid your jokes are, so tell me, so that I can help."
That was the last time Izuku decided that jokes weren't a good coping mechanism.
He was forced to go see a therapist, of course, he learned how to cope in other ways, a hobby, reading, any writing in his journals, or even hanging out with his friends turned into his hobbies that resulted in him breaking the bad habit of cracking those dark jokes.
Izuku doesn't really understand what was wrong at first, but he does end up learning that jokes like that are a genuine health concern.
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