Chapter Text
It was just another day for Izuku Midoriya. Well, not for the younger version of himself.
His past ‘ normal days ‘ would include walking to class with his head held low, trying to brush off the hateful words thrown at him everyday. He would hunch over his desk, trying to appear smaller to avoid the people constantly throwing balled-up paper and destroyed erasers. Avoid all contact possible with Kacchan, otherwise known as Bakugo Katsuki. Trying to push down the awe he felt whenever he gazed his way, even though his face scoured with hatred when it noticed him.
He shook his head, snapping himself out of the memory. While he was sad then, that just wasn’t him anymore. Now, he’s a second-year UA student, with a few scars but the best life he could’ve asked for. After fully recovering from the Final War about 8 months prior, he had to get used to not having a quirk anymore.
Although he was upset, he had to accept that he did what needed to be done to save Japan and the rest of the world. And to be frank, being quirkless again wasn’t that bad anyways, since he had been that way for 14 years anyway.
Everyone had fully recovered from the war, except Kacchan, but he was nearly there with his right arm! After all, he knew Kacchan wouldn’t let some shattered bones and support braces stop him from achieving his dream of becoming the number 1 hero.
Other than that, Class 2-A has mostly fallen back into their old routines! There was still monthly movie nights on the first Friday of each month, Denki still slacked off with the bakusquad, and Iida still had rows of glasses lined-up neatly on his wall.
But something was off.
He was healed, the remaining OFA embers had vanished months ago, the League of Villains had been dissolved, and everything was back to normal. So then why did he feel so different?
It wasn’t all the time, just when he crossed paths with Kacchan. It felt like there was a dull ache deep in his chest, nearly every time they interacted together. Sure, he had never felt this way before, but he was confused why he only felt this way with his childhood best friend and long-time rival.
After dwelling on the topic for far-too long, he decided to go to one of his best friends, Ochaco Uraraka. After a frantic text calling her to his dorm one Tuesday night, he found himself trying to explain what this weird sentiment meant.
“ Well, “ she started, after he had finished ranting off every time he felt that same way. “ Honestly, if you ask me, it’s giving me the impression that you might like Bakugo. Which wouldn’t be shocking, since half the class though you already did. “
“ WHAT?! N-NO, THERE HAS TO BE A MISUNDERSTANDING-“ He was cut off by her moving a hand in front of his own, beckoning him to quiet.
“ Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it like that!? Even though you’ve had a rough past, you're always by each other's side, and he’s actually really protective of you, when you think about it. “ She reasoned, giving me an incredulous look.
That made Izuku stop and think for a moment. Did he really have a crush on Kacchan? He bullied him for 9 years, since he was younger than 5. Yet, that’s never truly stopped him from chasing after him, desperate to catch up and stand equal to him.
“ I.. don’t know. Honestly. “ He admitted with a smaller voice than he had used before.
She faltered for a second, before clearing her throat and looking up with a sort of determination in her eyes.
“ Well then, let’s try to figure it out! I feel like I’d be good at this kinda stuff. “ She spoke, smiling a bit brighter.
“ Here, try this. What about Bakugo do you first notice when you run into him?”
“ Well, uhm, probably his eyes? I don’t know what else to say, but it’s the vermillion color of his eyes that leads me back to them every time I see him.”
He finishes, before quickly tacking on, “ But, not in a creepy way or whatever. “
“ Dude, did you just hear yourself?! That’s the way you only speak about the love of your life, and you just heard it live, talking about Bakugo! I think that’s enough evidence in itself to prove that you have a thing going for him. “ She says, with a proud smirk resting on her face.
“ Even if I did, he probably doesn’t even feel the same way. I mean, think about it! I don’t try to be negative but all he does is tease me, because that’s just sort of our dynamic together. “, He finished nervously.
“ Then let’s ask the rest of the group! I’m gonna call the rest of the squad over, Kay? “ She suggested, before grabbing her phone and sending a short text to the group chat mentioning meeting at Deku’s dorm ASAP.
Once they all arrived a few minutes later, Izuku looked around the room. Tsuyu and Uraraka sat on his bed, Iida and Shoto in the corner of his room on the singular green bean bag, and himself sat on the rug in the middle of the room.
“ So, what are we here for Uraraka-San, “ Tsuyu asks curiously, placing a finger to her mouth.
“ Yes! I’d also like to ask the matter of the reason we were so urgently called here today, Uraraka! “ Iida seconds from the beanbag he’s on.
“ Sooo… Deku might be in love with Bakugo! We obviously all knew that, right?-“ All 4 heads nod ceremoniously, some more sure than others.
“Well, we need to prove it to Deku because he doesn’t believe it! “ She concludes.
“ So Midoriya, you’ve known each other for over 13 years, right? And he did bully you during Middle School, but it was because he wanted to protect you, too. “ Shoto questioned.
“ If you put it like that, yeah. But that doesn’t mean he likes me romantically or anything. “
“ What if you just asked him? It would be the most logical solution to your problem, Midoriya! “ Iida suggested while adjusting his thin-rimmed glasses.
“ N-NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!! What if he doesn’t like me like that and it ruins our whole friendship, or whatever it’s called. We’ve come so far just for me to ruin it by confessing that I have some sort of crush on him. “ He exclaimed, putting crush in air quotes.
After lots of discussion between the 5 of them, Izuku had come to a heavy conclusion.
He liked Kacchan. And there was no way he’d ever get the courage to tell him. So there’s no way he would ever find out.
That was what he thought, before it happened.