Chapter Text
Morning came quietly to U.A.
For once, there were no alarms.
No emergency announcements.
No students shouting in the hallways.
No explosions coming from Bakugou's room.
The dorms were still wrapped in the soft silence of early morning when Izuku slowly opened his eyes.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling.
Then he became aware of the warmth beside him.
A familiar weight rested against his shoulder.
Izuku turned his head.
Bakugou was still asleep.
His blond hair was an absolute mess, several strands sticking up in every direction. One arm was stretched across the mattress, while the other rested loosely between them.
Izuku smiled.
It still felt strange.
Not bad strange.
Just...
new.
A week ago, he would never have imagined waking up like this.
Not beside Bakugou.
Not knowing that the person sleeping next to him actually returned his feelings.
They had spent years circling around each other.
Years of arguments.
Years of rivalry.
Years of feelings neither of them knew how to name.
And then, finally, they had talked.
Really talked.
No shouting.
No running away.
No pretending.
They had confessed.
And now...
They were together.
Izuku carefully pushed himself upright.
He glanced at Bakugou again.
Still asleep.
Izuku smiled.
Then he made the mistake of whispering,
"You're cute when you're asleep."
Bakugou's eyes opened immediately.
"I heard that."
Izuku nearly fell off the bed.
"K-Kacchan!"
Bakugou squinted at him.
"You think I'm deaf?"
"I thought you were sleeping!"
"I was."
"Then how did you hear me?"
"I have ears, dumbass."
Izuku laughed.
Bakugou groaned and pulled the blanket over his head.
"Go away."
"It's morning."
"I know."
"We promised to exercise."
"I promised nothing."
"You did."
"No."
"You literally said, 'Fine, I'll go with you tomorrow.'"
Bakugou lifted his head.
"I was half asleep."
Izuku grinned.
"You still agreed."
Bakugou stared at him.
Izuku stared back.
Finally, Bakugou sighed.
"Five minutes."
"Ten."
"Five."
"Eight."
"Six."
"Seven."
"Fine."
Izuku smiled triumphantly.
Bakugou immediately realized he'd been tricked.
"You're getting annoying."
"You like me."
"Unfortunately."
Izuku's face went pink.
Bakugou smirked.
It was still strange hearing him say things like that.
But neither of them wanted to give the feeling back.
---
By the time they made it outside, the sun had already climbed above the buildings.
The training field was mostly empty.
The cool morning air made it easier to breathe.
Izuku stretched his arms above his head.
Bakugou rolled his shoulders.
"You ready?"
Izuku nodded.
"Yep."
"Don't slow me down."
"I won't."
They started with running.
Neither of them treated it as an easy morning exercise.
That would have been too optimistic.
Within minutes, they were racing around the field.
Bakugou took the lead.
Izuku followed closely.
"You're cheating!"
Bakugou glanced over his shoulder.
"Using my quirk isn't cheating!"
"You accelerated!"
"That's called winning!"
Izuku laughed.
Bakugou grinned.
For several minutes, it was nothing more than that.
Two future heroes competing.
Teasing each other.
Pushing each other.
Laughing.
When they finally finished, both were breathing heavily.
Bakugou wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"You're getting faster."
Izuku smiled.
"So are you."
"I've always been faster."
"Sure."
Bakugou narrowed his eyes.
"You want another round?"
Izuku immediately shook his head.
"Nope."
"Thought so."
They headed back toward the dorms together.
Their shoulders brushed occasionally.
Neither moved away.
---
By the time they returned, the dorm had completely changed.
The quiet morning was gone.
Voices filled the halls.
Doors opened and closed.
Someone was laughing downstairs.
Someone else was complaining about being hungry.
And, most importantly—
the smell of breakfast filled the building.
Izuku stopped halfway down the stairs.
"That smells amazing."
Bakugou sniffed.
"Probably Kaminari burning something."
"I don't think that's what that is."
They entered the common room.
Several people had already arrived.
Classmates.
Teachers.
Their families.
It had become a casual weekend gathering.
Inko greeted Izuku immediately.
"Good morning, sweetheart."
"Morning, Mom."
Mitsuki looked over.
"Finally awake?"
Bakugou frowned.
"I've been awake for hours."
"You call that face awake?"
"Shut up."
Breakfast turned into chaos almost immediately.
Plates were passed around.
Someone stole Kaminari's toast.
Iida complained about table manners.
Mina started talking about relationships.
That was the beginning of the disaster.
"So," Mina said, leaning forward with a grin.
Bakugou immediately looked suspicious.
"No."
"I didn't even ask anything!"
"You were about to."
Kirishima laughed.
"She's definitely about to."
Mina pointed between Bakugou and Izuku.
"So when are you two going to stop acting embarrassed every time someone mentions that you're dating?"
Izuku nearly choked.
Bakugou's ears turned red.
"We're not embarrassed."
Jirou raised an eyebrow.
"You absolutely are."
"We aren't."
"You blushed."
"I did not!"
Mitsuki laughed.
"Oh, Katsuki."
"Don't start."
The room erupted in laughter.
Izuku couldn't help smiling.
Bakugou noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You keep smiling at me."
"I like looking at you."
Silence.
Izuku realized what he'd just said.
His face turned bright red.
Bakugou stared at him.
Then his ears became red too.
Kaminari slowly looked toward Kirishima.
"...They're hopeless."
Kirishima nodded solemnly.
"Completely."
Aizawa sighed from his seat.
"I already regret coming."
The conversation continued.
Relationships.
School.
Hero work.
Future plans.
Nothing important.
Nothing dangerous.
Nothing that suggested that the morning was about to become something none of them would ever forget.
Eventually, everyone settled into comfortable conversations.
Izuku sat beside Bakugou.
Their knees occasionally touched.
At one point, Bakugou quietly stole something from Izuku's plate.
Izuku noticed.
"Hey."
"What?"
"That's mine."
Bakugou ate it.
"It isn't anymore."
Izuku laughed.
"You could've asked."
"I don't ask."
"You could."
"I won't."
Izuku shook his head.
He was still smiling.
It was peaceful.
Warm.
Normal.
Then—
Knock.
The sound was quiet enough that nobody reacted immediately.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
Knock. Knock.
Aizawa glanced toward the entrance.
"Someone expecting a visitor?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Izuku looked toward the door.
"I'll get it."
Bakugou barely looked up from his food.
"Probably a delivery."
"Probably."
Izuku stood.
He walked across the common room.
The conversations continued behind him.
He reached the door.
Placed his hand on the handle.
Opened it.
And froze.
A little boy stood outside.
He was tiny.
Maybe five years old.
Messy green hair.
Freckles.
Bright green eyes.
A small backpack hung from his shoulders.
The child looked exhausted.
Like he'd been traveling for far longer than any five-year-old should have.
Izuku stared at him.
The boy stared back.
Neither spoke.
Then the child slowly looked up.
His eyes widened.
His lips trembled.
And with a voice barely louder than a whisper—
"Dad...?"
Izuku's blood ran cold.