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“I’ll kill her.”
Shinsou’s eyes burned with tiredness as he grabbed Bakugou by the wrist. “As if that would help anything.” He said, “I’m only telling you because you should know about it first.” Sooner or later, the wrong person would hear about what happened. It was only right that Bakugou would be the first to hear it straight from his partner.
He had just finished telling Bakugou about how he had been separated from his mother due to an episode she had earlier in the week.
She had shown up to the school with a shock collar, insisting they start using it on Shinsou once he moved back into the dorms his second year to make sure he didn’t use his quirk.
How she hadn’t seen the many flaws in that plan, Shinsou would never know. His mother was always crazy. Though it got worse when his father died in a train accident. Of course the school wouldn’t put a shock collar on him when they wanted his quirk to get stronger.
“So, what, she used a shock collar on you at home? Why the hell would she do that?” Bakugou’s eyes seared into him with anger. Of course it wasn’t directed at him, but Shinsou could tell he was seconds away from losing his temper completely.
“She was afraid I’d use my quirk on her. Just like everyone else.” Shinsou shrugged. “So I just wasn’t allowed to speak at all at home. It makes sense.”
Bakugou stood up from the bed they were sitting on. “Makes sense?!” He paced back and forth. “Do you hear yourself?”
“Yeah?” Shinsou furrowed his brow. “Didn’t your parents put gloves on you or something when your quirk manifested?”
Bakugou stared at him so intensely Shinsou swore he could see steam rising from him.
He took that as a no.
So either it was Bakugou who didn’t have a normal childhood… Or it was Shinsou.
The pieces started to fall in place in his head. Why the school went so far as to take official custody of him after the incident with his mother, why Bakugou was looking at him as if he was insane for thinking this kind of treatment was normal…
Because it wasn’t normal. And… it wasn’t okay.
“Shit…” Shinsou’s voice cracked. “I just thought… everyone with powerful quirks were treated this way. I thought it was normal.”
Bakugou’s expression dropped from angry, to something a little softer. His shoulders dropped and he took a few steps toward Shinsou. “Nope. She was fucked up.” He grabbed one of Shinsou’s hands. “If anyone ever does some shit like that to you again, I’ll blast them to pieces.”
Shinsou squeezed Bakugou’s hand. Yeah, the way he grew up wasn’t normal. He could accept that.
But what he found hard to accept was finding a new normal. Figuring out how to navigate what life would be like without the collar. A life free to speak his mind.
“Don’t you dare let that woman get to your head.” Bakugou glared at him. “Speak up for yourself, no matter the consequences. Fuck ‘em.”
Right. Bakugou knew how to speak up. And maybe… Shinsou could learn how, too. With a little time and determination, he’d figure it out.
He’d face this new normal with Bakugou at his side. And that’s all he ever really wanted in the first place.