Chapter Text
Izuku knew there was something wrong with him. Not that its something negatively wrong with him, but instead something that makes you slightly stand out in a crowd full of people that society deemed as "normal".
He knew he was different from the other kids, because no other kids went through the things he did, no other kids had to have labels attached to them like it was a public announcement saying they were different. Izuku, compared to other kids, was deemed an "unusual case" so nobody paid him much attention because most people didn't want to be associated with someone as weird as him.
Izuku doesn't talk. He doesn't talk to himself, He doesn't talk to his family, He doesn't talk to his friends, Izuku doesn't speak to anybody. He was happy being quiet. In his brain, he didn't feel the need to express himself through speech, and after a while people stopped expecting him to speak and mostly ignored him and acted as if he didn't exist.
Although, he wasn't always happy with how it made everyone else see him. They were always so nosey and rude, and all had the same look in their eyes, the kind of look that made him feel like a rare species that was thought to be extinct for years.
Izuku didn't like that.
When he was 2 years old it got worrying to his family, particularly to his mum, and the adults around him when he still hadn't uttered a single word. Even when he himself seemed content with not having to communicate via mouth.
His mum, Inko Midoriya, started taking him to see doctors and special people who tried to force him to speak, but to no avail. It made Izuku feel like a tortoise, shrinking into its shell to hide away from the outside world and to stop people from barging into his space uninvited. Quite frankly, Izuku was getting really annoyed with everyone bugging him constantly, He just wanted to be left alone and left to do what he wants, he was getting more and more agitated with the constant attention he was getting.
A month following his 3rd birthday, with Izuku still not communicating verbally, His mum took him to yet another regular appointment. Izuku, who was now used to the repeating process of going to them, dragged himself along not expecting much to happen as nothing usually does. Although to his mums surprise, the doctor had news that apparently they finally found out what exactly was wrong with him that made him so much more different from other regular, talking kids.
Izuku knew there was something wrong with him. He now knew it was nothing negative as the doctor kept repeating the same phrase over and over.
"It's nothing bad I promise."
Like he believed that. Ever since he was born he was seen as an outcast to the people surrounding him. Even if they never outrightly said it to his face, he knew the look they gave was never something that was welcoming or positive, instead it was judging and full of negativity.
He hated being seen that way. All he wanted to do was live as normally as he could, but people these days always felt the need to label things that didn't sit right in the normal way of the world. He just wanted to be himself, Izuku Midoriya, The green haired boy who loved All Might, The boy who liked to bring his comfort stuffed lamb wearing an All Might costume around with him because it gave him a sense of security and helped him to feel safe and calm.
But no, Izuku now has clarification that he's different and irregular, because while he's sat in the cold doctors chair at the age of only 3, clutching onto his comfort All Might lamb like its going to wriggle from his grasp and run out of the room at any minute, Izuku gets told that he's being assigned to the label of "autism".
While the doctor discusses the complications and further help surrounding this new discovery with Inko Midoriya, Izuku stared off into space trying to ignore the prickles on his neck he was getting from all the indirect attention. He feels like he's drowning in his own thoughts until they get ripped away when his mum pats him on shoulder gently and smiles while telling him they are going back to the car.
The car journey was quiet, the gentle hum of the engine filled the atmosphere like a soothing lullaby that ended up sending Izuku to sleep, still clutching his lamb to his chest all the while his soft snores commuted with the engines hum. Time went on and a sudden bump in the road startled the sleeping boy as he slowly opened his eyes and realises they are pulling into a drive way. One minute he's buckled in the car and the next he's standing in the entrance hallway of Mitsuki Bakugou's Household.
He trails slowly behind his mum while she and Mitsuki are conversating, most likely about him.
Izuku gets stuck in his own head, he thinks that somethings about this new discovery could be positive, like maybe now they knew for certain something was unique about him, he hoped people would stop bothering as much and would stop being so nosey. but he also hoped that maybe people would realise that just because he now knows he has autism, maybe people will start playing with him again and realise that there would be nothing wrong with being associated with him.
Izuku takes a seat in the living room, closes his eyes and continues to let his mind wander while the 2 adults carry on walking into the kitchen to make drinks and to endure their conversation.
He didn't understand why being given a word to associate with himself would change much in the overall picture, Izuku doesn't like change much but this time he was hoping that some changes would be made.
While he was stuck in a cycle of his own thoughts, he didn't realise that Mitsuki's son, Katsuki Bakugou, had snuck his way into the kitchen and was eavesdropping into his mums conversation and overheard what they were saying about the non-verbal boy.
Izuku jumped out of his skin when he opened his eyes and was met by the face of the boy he's taken upon himself to nickname as 'Kacchan'.
In Izuku's eyes, he saw Kacchan as his best friend even if he knew that Katsuki himself didn't see him that way. In fact he was pretty much certain that he looked down on him instead of seeing him in the same limelight Izuku did.
"You going to speak today or not?"
All Izuku could do was stare at Kacchan in slight confusion while a nervousness creeped up his spine. He really wished with his whole heart that he would change, he had hoped that now they figured out the reason Izuku is the way he is that Katsuki would be more understanding towards him.
A boy could dream all he wanted but it doesn't mean it would come true.
Katsuki isn't someone to change an opinion once he's made It known.
"I don't know why my mum would be friends with someone who has a son like you"
All he could do was squeeze him comfort item harder but not so hard he ripped the seams, he would never want to break something he loves so dearly.
Izuku knew there was something wrong with him. The people around him made that obvious to anyone with a brain, the mean comments, the glares, it was all too familiar and Katsuki never failed to make him feel like there was something majorly wrong with him.
The green haired boy hoped that maybe sometime in the future, things would change for the better and Katsuki would learn to be nicer to him and not treat him like a contagious disease.