Second Chance

The city was alive with screams and alarms. Buildings collapsed into rubble, taking their inhabitants with them, and Midoriya gasped for air as he watched a villain walking slowly toward him. Bodies littered the streets, and Midoriya had put his respirator on to filter out some of the ash and hopefully calm down the smell of decomposing flesh. It hadn't worked.

He hadn't slept in almost 30 hours, and the fatigue was destroying him both physically and mentally. He didn't know how much longer he could take it, but when he'd seen so many pro-heroes on the ground he hadn't been able to run. He was a part of the last line of defense, the last hope for their city.

An explosion wracked the street and Midoriya looked up, almost managing a stupid, tired smile when he saw Bakugou gritting his teeth and firing shots, downing another minor villain in his wake. He stopped and looked up, looking straight at Midoriya, his mouth opening as if to yell something at him – probably to quit standing around and be useful for once in his life.

He tried to move, but a sharp pain in his lower back halted him. His mouth fell open, his body flooded with warmth.

The world went still.

He could see Bakugou's eyes now, the dark rubies that normally glowed with anger, but now they were just... Tired. He was tired. Midoriya was tired.

He was so, so tired.

He felt like he was floating, his limbs numbing to the pain he'd endured so far, and it was pleasant.

The world was getting darker. Was it night time? Could Midoriya finally sleep?

He could see a little boy in the distance, a familiar face, falling into a river. He saw a shaking figure standing between two other young boys. He heard familiar voices yelling. Yelling at him?

It hit him all at once when he saw his mother's face floating above him, and a long sigh came out of his exhausted lungs. It was always going to end this way, right? Getting himself in too deep, with no one left to help him anymore. At least he got to watch it one more time, got to see all his childhood memories floating before him.

He guessed this was what it meant when they talked about life flashing before your eyes.

I didn't even get to graduate, let alone become the number one hero. Typical.

Then, his world went black.

Midoriya woke up to a familiar voice, calling his name in the distance, and slowly he cracked open his eyes.

There was no pain.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim sunlight filtering through brightly coloured curtains, he slowly began to recognise his surroundings. The blankets draped over him, worn by years of love. The figurines lined up carefully along his shelves.

Yeah, he knew this room.

“Izuku!” he heard again, “breakfast is getting cold!”

He climbed out of bed and pulled some clothes on in a hurry, smiling warmly as he walked out to sit down at the little table, his mother smiling back as she set down a plate.

“Eat up, Izuku, you've got to get to school.”

“Thanks Mom, it looks delicious.”

The more he thought about the situation, the less it made sense. His old Junior High school uniform hung waiting for him, so he pulled it on after breakfast, surprised to find it still fitted. As he walked toward the door he contemplated refusing, contemplated going back to bed and not moving, but the look on his mother's face when he even glanced back at her in contemplation sent that idea out the window.

“I'm going, Mom,” he said reluctantly.

“Come home safely.”

In a daze he began the walk to school, finding his feet still knew where to go even if he didn't focus. When he heard the telltale signs of a fight breaking out he didn't even bother to stop, his notebook burning a hole in his backpack but remaining untouched.

“I hear he tried to snatch someone's purse,” he caught on the wind. “When the authorities caught up he turned giant and started fighting back!”

Wait, that sounded familiar.

He glanced back over his shoulder but still didn't stop, brushing it off, until he saw a huge shadow pass overhead, a body dressed in purple diving into the mess, a dozen cameras flashing.

Mount Lady?

At that moment he realised, memories flooding back of a dark haze of fluid binding his body.

It's that day.

He paused a moment longer to watch, but it no longer held the same appeal. He wasn't excited to watch, he wasn't analysing every Quirk, he was just... there.

With a long sigh he stuffed his hands in his pockets, and continued heading for the school.

He knew the words were coming long before they got there, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

“Sensei, don't lump us all in the same group. I'm not gonna be stuck at the bottom with these rejects.”

Typical Bakugou.

He didn't even look up, ignored the celebrations and praise and arguments all around him, barely even lifting his eyes when he heard the words he was waiting for.

“Midoriya wants to go to U.A. too, right?”

The class turned on him just like last time, laughing and jeering, but still Midoriya just felt empty. He knew how this story went.

“You're below the rejects, you're Quirkless.”

“Yeah,” he found himself agreeing. “I'm worthless, Quirkless, useless Deku. I get it, you don't have to repeat yourself.”

The room fell silent and for a moment Midoriya half-expected to feel an explosion hit him in the face. But no, Bakugou had more self-control than that. He wouldn't tarnish his record so blatantly the year his application to U.A. went in.

Midoriya slumped against his desk, overwhelmed with exhaustion, and when the attention finally moved away from him he let his eyes fall closed.

When he opened them again it was half past three and everyone was heading out, making plans with friends or heading home to do homework and eat dinner. He glanced at the notebook sitting on his table as he packed up his bag, only to see a familiar hand tear it from his grasp.

“What's that, Katsuki?”

Oh. This again.

Midoriya watched blankly as Bakugou destroyed it between his hands, not even hearing the words that came with it as he tossed it out the window.

He didn't need it. He didn't need any of it.

“You listening to me?” Bakugou asked, gripping his shoulder with a smoking hand, a false smile planted on his lips. “Don't apply to U.A., nerd.”

“Yeah, I won't,” Midoriya agreed, shoving him off and picking up his backpack. “You don't need to worry about me, I'm not gonna be in your way.”

“You know, if you really want to be a hero, there's a quick way to do it.”

“Yeah, kill myself and be reborn with a Quirk. Thanks, Katsuki, I get it.”

This time it was Midoriya who walked out of the room, leaving three confused young teenagers in his wake, mumbling amongst themselves.

“Katsuki?” Bakugou asked in a mutter. “Since when the hell does he...?”

This time when he walked through the tunnel, he didn't put up a fight. He didn't resist the sludge that grabbed him, that poured into him. He just closed his eyes and let himself fall. It wouldn't matter anyway.

“Fear not, young man!”

God damn it.

“I am here!”

No. Not today.

He slumped to the ground and the world went black.

“Are you okay, young man?”

His eyes cracked open on that same familiar face, the big grin that Midoriya could see straight through. In his hand was a bottle of sludge, and he parroted the same old speech that Midoriya could have recited along with him.

“Anyway, with that, I must be going.”

Part of Midoriya wanted to tell him to wait, wanted to chase after him, wanted to set off the same chain of events as last time. The chain of events where he became a hero. The chain of events where people got hurt, where Bakugou almost died, all for his selfishness.

No, he couldn't do it. Not again.

Instead he watched as his hero took to the skies, off to find a place to rest and recover before he turned in the bottled villain. Bakugou wouldn't be attacked, the streets wouldn't burn, no one would be hurt. All would be well.

Bakugou was usually right, after all. He was useless, Quirkless. All his dreams of becoming a hero “despite” and in the end, he'd had to find himself a Quirk anyway.

Worthless.

When he blinked again he was in front of the station, his legs on auto-pilot, standing where just this morning there had been heroes causing excitement. Only this time it was quiet, just other school children nearby, and he slipped his way onto the platform with little effort.

No one looked at the useless kid with his head down.

No one watched him tiptoe to the edge, past the yellow lines.

No one saw until he felt himself falling, falling, a bright pair of lights haloing him in gold.

And then time stopped, and he saw himself as a child, sitting in a doctor's office. He saw himself at a computer screen, crying as he clutched at an All Might figure.

Then, darkness.

Then, nothing.

Midoriya woke up to a familiar voice, calling his na-

Shit.

He groaned as he sat up, contemplating for a moment while he swung his feet to the floor. He'd never stopped to consider the possiblity that it might happen again. Was he stuck in some stupid infinite loop? Where he couldn't even kill himself properly?

Why had he tried to do that, anyway? That might have been – no, definitely was – his stupidest idea ever. Damn it, Deku. Apparently poor-decision-making carried between timelines.

“Izuku! Breakfast is getting cold!”

“Coming, Mom.”

He got up and threw his uniform on, heading out to shove his breakfast down and brush his teeth, then snatch his bag up from the doorway.

“Heading off early today, I'll see you tonight. Have a good day, Mom.”

“You too, Izuku! Come home safely!”

“I will, I always do.”

He ran down to the familiar street near the station, looking around at the peaceful scene awaiting him. None of them had any idea what was about to go down.

Also he was out of breath from the run, that was a feeling he'd forgotten.

A familiar face caught his eye, a purse hanging from her shoulder, and he jogged over quickly with a big smile on his face.

“Ma'am! So sorry to bother you! Do you have a moment?”

The lady seemed stunned as Midoriya babbled some dumb stream of consciousness, rattling on about directions and landmarks and other nonsense he didn't even fully comprehend himself, constantly watching over their shoulders for someone to approach as he spoke. As time wore on he started to run out of steam, but when he glanced at the time he found himself smiling.

“That's all!” he said quickly, blushing a little as he quickly checked her purse was still on her arm. “I'd better get to school! Thanks for your time!”

For that brief moment, Midoriya was a hero again. Just by standing at her side, making her purse harder to see and to reach, he had made a difference. And damn if he wasn't gonna continue to do so.

When the bell rang, and Bakugou walked up to his desk, Midoriya grinned.

“Hi, Kacchan! How are you? You seemed like you had a good day!”

“What?”

“Everyone was really excited for you when you talked about U.A., it must have been a good feeling!”

“Y-Yeah, and you'll never know it, since-”

“Since I'm Quirkless? No, it's okay, I'll get there too.” He stood up, still grinning as he met Bakugou's eyes. “I can tell you my plan, if you want. How I'm gonna get there. It's a pretty great plan, do you want to hear it?”

“What?”

“Today I'm gonna go meet All Might. You see, if I leave now, I'm gonna get attacked by a villain. But if I wait a few more minutes I should get there just in time for it to be over. Then I'm gonna introduce myself and ask him to give me his Quirk. It's perfect, right? He'll give me his Quirk, then I can trial for U.A. just like you, and we can both become pro-heroes like we always wanted! Isn't that great, Kacchan?”

Bakugou didn't bother to answer him this time, just stared at him blankly as he offered the Hero Notebook happily.

“Did you want to destroy this? It's okay, I have more. I can still be the number one hero without all these notes I've taken, you know? It's gonna be great.”

Bakugou shook his head faintly, so Midoriya slid the notebook away, still beaming as he looked at the clock.

“Well, I think it's time to go! I wouldn't want to get held up on my way and miss meeting All Might! Nice chatting with you, Kacchan! I'll see you in the morning, bright and early and ready to go! But for now it's time for me to go fuck some shit up.”

As he left he heard the same confused mumbles as the day prior – or, the last time he did this day? It wasn't worth debating semantics in his head – and he grinned to himself as he threw his backpack on in the hall.

“Since when does he swear?”

When Midoriya ran through the tunnel he immediately knew something was wrong. There was smoke everywhere, people yelling, and Midoriya immediately cursed himself for his mistake. He should have been there watching.

“I am here!”

He whirled around at the sound of the voice in the distance, sprinting toward it. A young boy, much younger than himself even in his current body, sat shaking against a wall, watching as All Might showed off that too-fake smile and those illusionary muscles.

“With that I must go! Be careful, young man!”

“Wait!” Midoriya yelled, gasping for air as he ran. “All Might!”

He made his decision as All Might squatted down to prepare, diving at him as he took off and wrapping himself around a strong leg.

Yep, he'd been here before too.

“If you hit me I'll fall!” he said in a hurry, when All Might saw him. “Land somewhere that we can talk!”

He grabbed the bottle as it started to slide from the pocket in front of him, keeping it tight in his grasp, and finally the wind stopped, Midoriya finding himself on a sturdy rooftop.

“All Might, please, spare me just two minutes of your time!”

The smoke was starting already, and Midoriya grabbed his arm quickly before he could run off again, holding him with every ounce of strength he could muster in his stupid kid-body.

“Please! I'll do anything!”

All Might stopped, staring at the boy's desperation as his body deflated, and Midoriya smiled when he made no move to leave.

“I was hurt in a fight,” he began to explain, “I lost a bunch of my internal organs, and my entire stomach, and since then-”

“Oh, I know,” Midoriya nodded excitedly. “So now you can't fight for very long, right? You have to recover before you can do the muscle form thing again, let alone fight. It's cool, I won't tell anyone. Hey so I have a question for you.”

“I'm sorry, what?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, that was rude of me! I'm just so excited to see you again. See, in the future, you become kind of my mentor. You teach me and train me and prepare me to be the new symbol of hope and peace when you can't fight anymore. I already knew about the wound before you showed me, that was why I came to find you! I didn't want to miss my chance and be stuck Quirkless for the rest of my life!”

All Might paused for a moment, then burst out laughing, a strangely joyous sound that he didn't hear very often in his own time.

“So you understand, right?”

“Young man, you have a wonderful imagination, keep hold of that as you continue through life.”

“No, you don't understand!”

“I have to go get this villain turned in now, so-” he paused, patting at his pocket, and Midoriya held the bottle out quickly.

“I knew you would drop it so I caught it, see? Here!”

“Well... Thank you. Good work, young man. Now, I need to be heading off...”

“Wait! I need your Quirk!”

Too late he realised his grip had slacked, and suddenly All Might was gone, disappearing into the streets as people started to show up.

Where would he go? He would be at U.A. in ten months or so, but until then? How was Midoriya supposed to find him?

He was still debating the question as he went to bed that night, still wondering what he could do, until a little smirk twisted across his lips.

All he had to do was keep starting shit. Eventually All Might would come clean up his mess.

He'd woken up early to start making a list – writing down every incident he remembered from that period of his life, no matter how minor. He was gonna be at every single attack the moment it started, he was going to be in there doing everything he could to help, and no one could ever hope to stop him.

The first one was easy. He knew there was going to be an incident on the other side of town, right around the time he should be starting at school. All he had to do was get on a train going the other way, away from his classroom, and hunt down the street he'd seen on the news.

Easy.

He got dressed, ate breakfast, grabbed his bag and his notes, and he ran. He got on the train in the morning rush, and no one even looked at him twice as he scrambled out at the other end.

Yes, this was the place. There were a ton of people around, and he remembered hearing the injury-count on the news. No deaths, thank goodness, but plenty of wounds.

When he found the truck loaded with road-work signs it was like Christmas had come early – the universe was handing him his options on a silver platter. All he had to do was block off a couple of streets. When the villain came running out of the store to find police waiting, the area would be empty.

He hummed to himself happily as he coned off the end of the street, waiting for moments of quiet in the pedestrians and quickly blocking off the next alley.

It was so easy! Why didn't more people do this?

Right, the future knowledge.

How was he going to explain that one away if people started to ask questions? Intuition? He had a weird dream?

Oh, duh.

This was his Quirk, obviously. He could see the future and- No, he didn't know everything, that wouldn't work.

Of course. He got glimpses of the future at random times. He couldn't control them, but he could see them and react to them.

This was gonna be easier than he thought.

“Not again, kid! Come on!”

“I'm heeelpiiiing,” Midoriya sang, grinning as he contemplated a large wooden board on the back of a truck. “I'm taking this.”

“What? No! You can't steal random people's property while they're-”

Midoriya hauled the sheet off the trailer when the hero was quickly distracted, grunting as he carted it across the road, propping it up in the front of a store window.

“Damn it, kid! Get out of here before you get yourself hurt!”

“I'm fiiiiine!”

He took a large step to the side, contemplating for a moment before he took one more. With a loud crack he felt the footpath shake, cringing as he looked over to see the villain hit the ground, his body going limp.

“Didn't want him to break the glass,” Midoriya explained. “Would've hurt all the people inside. Unconscious is just a bonus.”

He grinned again when the Pros stormed over, folding their arms as they looked down at him, and after a moment he ran a hand through messy green curls.

“You're welcome.”

“Don't you dare. Who are you?”

“Oh! Sorry! My name is Midoriya Izuku, I'm a student.”

“Don't you know it's illegal to use your Quirk in public without a license?”

“Oh, it's okay, I don't have one!” Midoriya expected to feel a stab in his chest as he said it, but instead he felt relief. “The Quirkless Hero, that's what they're gonna call me one day.”

“You ran in here without even a way to defend yourself?!”

“Yeah! You guys are the ones fighting, right? I was just... Offering support!”

“You're insane, Midoriya-san. Stay out of it next time, you're gonna get yourself killed.”

“Not if I can help it!” he laughed, waving as he took a few steps back. “Gotta go! Villains await!”

“Midoriya-san!”

“Byeeeeee!”

He ran off into the nearest alleyway, climbing over a brick wall at the end and quickly rounding a corner. He'd gotten pretty good at disappearing, after a couple of tries. As long as he took them by enough surprise, didn't give them reason to chase him or hunt for him, it was pretty easy to blend back in with the crowd.

As he headed into the train station he looked up at the television screens, watching his own face, his own smile, light up the image.

He laughed.

“Not again, Izukkun! Get out of here!”

“No, I'm gonna stay,” he grinned, swinging his legs as he sat on the low concrete wall. “Want me to help? I can help.”

After three or four incidents he'd started to introduce himself to them. Someone had to pass his name on to All Might, after all.

They'd been polite at first – he'd been Midoriya-san for a whole twenty-four hours. Then it was Midoriya-kun. Then Izuku-kun. Then they'd finally given up and settled on Izukkun. He knew it was supposed to be diminutive, condescending, but he was kind of pleased that the heroes had collectively given him his own nickname.

"I mean it, Izukkun!"

“Are you sure? 'Cos there's about to be... Hmm, three more? Three more criminals. They're coming from that way, to help him out. Don't you think you might need an extra pair of hands?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Twenty seconds,” Midoriya said gleefully. “Nineteen. Eighteen.”

The hero paused, but held his wrist up near his lips. He had a radio built into his watch, Midoriya had learned. Not suspicious at all, in the event that he be captured or anything of the sort, but super useful when he needed to communicate with his agency. Most of the Pros seemed to have something of the sort on their person, designed to fit their own needs and stay out of the way of their Quirks, but they all had a few things in common. Inconspicuous, convenient, expensive. He'd made the mistake of asking a couple of the kinder heroes about their tech, the people less exhausted of him, and had actually yelped when he heard some of the numbers. He wanted one so bad but how was he ever going to be able to afford it?

If only he'd paid more attention to lottery numbers.

Then again, in this life he had no one to contact with it anyway. Bakugou still despised him, none of his classmates knew who he was, the Pros would just use it to tell him to leave over and over. Actually, that last one could be funny. He could become known as the child hero with a constant drone of “Izukkun, stop, go home,” coming from his wrist.

Maybe he would wait for U.A., then buy some walkie-talkies to share with his classmates.

“I'm gonna need back-up as soon as possible,” he spoke softly. “The damn kid is here again too.”

“Wow, rude,” Midoriya grinned, sliding off the wall and brushing dust off his trousers. “Here I am skipping school to help you, and you go and call me a damn kid, that's not very nice. Ten. Nine.”

“Sorry,” he said dryly. “Freakin' Izukkun is here.”

“Better!”

Midoriya had taken to carrying a knife around after a near miss, and he pulled it from his bag now, keeping it clutched in his fist just in case. He knew the back-up should arrive in less than a minute – they'd been quick on the scene last time, even though the Pros had called them in later – but it couldn't hurt to be prepared. Even if it had been difficult and super illegal to obtain the thing in the first place, and even if he could technically be arrested for having it.

Walkie-talkies might be a dumb idea. They got proper units to use during simulations, after all. Earpieces they could communicate with each other through, he'd used them countless times. He hated to think how much those ones must cost – although come to think of it, they might be cheaper than some of the custom gear he'd seen around. They were pretty obvious to anyone watching, and he wouldn't be surprised if they were easy to lose, too – not to mention the obvious issue of potentially interfering with them hearing their surroundings.

Why had he never considered any of this when he was wearing one? How much did he miss because of them? Could they be the difference between hearing someone sneak up on him and getting jumped? Would it affect his balance if he was mid-fight and a loud noise came through?

Back-up arrived right on cue, just as the three villains emerged from the dark alleyways, and Midoriya grinned as he took a step back, folding his hands behind himself.

“Just for the record,” he called, “there's gonna be another attack by the station, so you might wanna finish this quickly! See you there!”

He skipped off as the heroes started to fight, sliding his knife away again when he was out of the danger zone, and made his way toward the train station down the street.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Bakugou had spent half his life throwing and shoving and ordering Midoriya around, so the hand that slammed him against a stone wall was not at all surprising. A little hiss escaped him with the pain, though – between the hard impact and the burning hand, it wasn't the most comfortable place to be.

On the flip side, if Bakugou had intended to blow his face up, he was in the perfect position to have already done it. That meant he genuinely wanted an answer – wait, what had the question been again?

“What am I doing?” he asked stupidly. “What do you mean, Kacchan?”

“I see you on the television, asshole! I know I told you to kill yourself, but don't get in the fuckin' heroes' way doing it!”

“Oh!” Midoriya grinned, “you mean my hero work? Well, hero-assistance work I guess, if we're being pedantic about it. I haven't actually gotten to fight a villain yet – not properly, anyway. The Pros always handle it, you know? I'm just trying to get civilians out of the way and wait for my moment to arrive. Eventually they'll need an extra set of hands and then guess who's called in for help? This guy.”

“You don't even have a fucking Quirk, dumbass! What are you gonna do? Mumble them to death?”

“Kacchan,” Midoriya tsked, “heroes don't kill, you know that.”

“Are you trying to piss me off now?”

“Maybe,” Midoriya smirked, feeling Bakugou's grip loosen a little in his surprise. “I'm obviously bored, right? Why else would I be getting myself in shit with villains and heroes alike? They call me Izukkun, did you know? I was tempted to tell them they could just call me Deku if they wanted, it's just as demeaning either way, but it's also kind of cool, right? They know who I am, Kacchan. They know me by name. I can totally say I'm on a first-name-basis with all our local Pros!”

“You're gonna get someone killed,” Bakugou growled. “Yourself I'm fine with, but do not go getting the Pros killed trying to save you, you hear me? All you're gonna do is get in their way, you'll never be able to actually contribute to the fight. Just stay out of our fucking way and let us do the work!”

“You don't understand, Katsuki,” Midoriya smiled, and Bakugou backed off a little at the strange menacing in the look. “Watch me. Watch me prove just how wrong you are.”

It took over a month before the plan finally worked.

Midoriya had been getting in more and more trouble – taken a few spills, gotten himself a few injuries. Nothing major, he'd still been having fun with it all, but finally, finally he'd heard the words he needed.

“I am here!”

There was a pretty useless villain sitting at Midoriya's feet – he had some kind of binding Quirk, a little like Kamui Woods, but when Midoriya had run circles around him he'd been dumb enough to get himself tangled. Midoriya had taped him up with a roll of stolen capture tape – the proper stuff, stolen from one of the local Pros, not the useless toys they'd used in simulations – and had stood guard as the Pros worked on the tougher targets. He waved when All Might glanced his way, grinning, and for a moment he saw the Number One Hero freeze.

“You need to stop doing this, Izukkun,” one of the heroes reminded him, when the fight ended and he came to retrieve the villain. “I realise you want to help, but you're going to get yourself hurt doing this.”

“It's okay, I might be done after today!” he said brightly, skipping off after All Might. “All Might, Sir! It's been a while!”

“What do you think you're doing out here, young man?”

“I'm gonna be a hero, I'm getting some practice. And looking for you!” He dropped his voice as they drew away from the crowd a little. “I know what you are, and I need to be your successor so I can go to U.A. and be a hero for real.”

“Young man, I don't know where you got your information from-”

“My Quirk,” he grinned. “I can see stuff sometimes.”

“-but if you think I would ever pick a successor with such disregard for not only your own, but other people's safety, you are sorely mistaken.”

Midoriya froze, watching All Might's back as he walked away, and suddenly he was kicking himself. Of course All Might wasn't going to pick someone so stupid. He was endangering his life! Why had he ever thought this was a good idea?!

“All Might!” he called pathetically. “I'm sorry!”

“Get some rest, young man, and have a good long think about what kind of a person you want to be. Right now you are not acting like a hero.”

He was still standing there when all the Pros left, still in the middle of the street when the evening lights began to come up, every breath shuddering from his lungs.

“Kacchan was right again, huh?”

He felt strangely empty again as he walked back to the station, only pausing to watch a television screen blaring news of another attack high above him as he wandered off at the other end. He didn't recognise this one – was it so minor he'd never noticed it? Or had he been busy? Maybe he was with All Might when this one happened?

“Witnesses report that a young man has attempted to apprehend the criminal,” the reporter was explaining. “But back-up has not yet arrived, and he appears to be struggling to hold his own.”

Who on Earth would attempt to- Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. It couldn't be, could it? He wasn't that stupid, was he? No way, he was smart, he was maybe the most intelligent guy Midoriya knew, why the hell would he-

Sure enough he saw a telltale explosion in the background of the footage, and then his feet were moving on their own, sprinting from the building with a frustrating lack of co-ordination – he was still training his damn body to keep up – heading for the smoke in the distance.

Kacchan, Kacchan, what are you doing?! Wait for a Pro before you start shit, that's rule number one! You lay low, you let them engage! Why would you be so reckless?! Why did I not tell you I was being careful?!

He was too late.

God, oh God, he was too late.

The villain was gone, people were gathered, a panicked hum running through the crowd.

Someone was on the ground.

Blonde hair. Dark uniform. Blood everywhere.

No, no, no.

It was all his fault. Why did he give Kacchan such a stupid idea?!

This was wrong. This was so wrong!!

Soon the crowd was gone. The body was taken away. But the blood remained, staining the concrete, bouquets of colourful flowers already laying nearby, left by the businesses lining the street and shaking passers-by who saw it happen. They had to watch it, they had to see poor Bakugou – skinny little teenager in his Junior High uniform, his blond hair a shock of spikes, his eyes glowing with excitement over his stupid, stupid idea – fall to the street in a splash of blood and broken bones.

This was wrong.

Midoriya fell to his knees, the tears finally falling as his shaking hand touched drying, dusty, scarlet stains. He opened his mouth to sob, but instead he screamed.

He screamed at the top of his lungs with the pain coursing through him, like acid in his veins.

He was crying. He was vomitting. And still he couldn't stop screaming.

People were watching, people were whispering, but he couldn't stop.

His vision was white, blurry, spasming in front of his eyes.

And then there were voices, some unfamiliar, but one soft and comforting, pained, consoling. When his vision came back, with his throat hoarse and torn, the taste of copper filling his mouth, he was no longer in the streets. There was a hard bed beneath him, a warm hand clutching at his, and his face was in his knees as he continued to yell and sob.

Doctors were hovering around him, running tests, asking questions he couldn't even understand let alone answer.

“I need to go back,” he sobbed. “Just one more time, please! Take me back! I'll do anything, just let me wake up young again! I promise I won't be stupid! I promise, I promise! I'll be good! I'll do anything! Even if it means no Quirk! No U.A.! No All Might! Please! I need to bring Kacchan back!”

A sharp prick in his arm and he looked down to see a long metal needle, fluid quickly draining into him. The world went black, and he was floating.

“This is it,” he said softly, relaxing in the comfort of dark clouds. “Thank you God. I know this feeling, this is it. I'll fix it, Kacchan. I promise I'll fix it this time.”

Floating felt so good.

Floating was peaceful.

He didn't have to worry about scarred skin, torn ligaments, broken fingers and fragile arms. No, floating was effortless, endless.

If only he'd felt so at peace the first time it happened – the first time he floated. Maybe he wouldn't have been so stupid.

He'd been given another shot – he should have been honoured to be given another try. He'd watched his friends die for fuck's sake. Now they were alive again. Sure, none of them knew who he was, but that would change.

Yes, Bakugou had despised him, but he was used to that. That was like his default state. Why did he think antagonising the poor kid was such a good idea? He was fourteen years old, of course he was still a little rough around the edges! He would grow, just like last time!

He had the chance to fix things, and all he'd done was mess with the world! What kind of a hero was he?! Aizawa would have revoked his license if he'd seen any of this shit! He was a horrible person, a terrible person.

No, there were no terrible people. No one was beyond redemption – that was exactly why heroes didn't kill people, right? As long as he was still alive, he could still make things better.

Hah.

Alive.

That one was long gone.

It was okay, though. When he opened his eyes again, he'd be back in his nice warm bed, back in his All Might shrine, with the morning light shining in on him and his mother cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

Everything was gonna be okay.

Why?

Because Deku was here.

When Midoriya woke up, the first thing he noticed was the blinding white room, strangely sterile. Next was the hands in his, clutching at him desperately. His mother, sound asleep against the side of his bed, her hands pressing his knuckles to her face.

That wasn't it. That wasn't the feeling. That was the wrong floating.

“I'm so sorry, Mom,” he whispered, slipping his hand away and climbing out of bed.

His uniform sat folded on a chair, still stained with Bakugou's blood, and he changed quickly to make his escape.

He had to go, he had to see it. He had to know it was real.

No one stopped him on his way out, which Midoriya thought was odd in itself. They thought he was a visitor, he supposed, since he didn't look sick or injured.

The street was only a block away, and immediately he saw the spot where everything went wrong. There were memorials left behind – colourful flowers Bakugou would despise. He was tempted to throw them all away, to replace them with... He wasn't even sure. All Might figurines? T-shirts with skulls and rude slogans on them? Spicy noodles?

“I'm so sorry, Kacchan,” he began, as he knelt over the blood splatters and framed photographs. “I got you into this mess and now you're gone. Kacchan was right again. You always were, right? I can't do anything without a Quirk, you knew that.”

He rubbed tears on his sleeve, but thankfully the screaming didn't start this time.

He thought of all the friends at U.A. that he would never get to meet. All the fights they wouldn't get to go through. The stupid medal Bakugou had refused to accept, that would now be handed to some gracious winner.

“Maybe if I had Kacchan's Quirk I could have helped. Maybe if I had Kacchan's Quirk I could fix this.”

Somehow, he found himself smiling through the tears, sobbing and laughing all at once as he buried his face in his hands.

“We were supposed to be a team, weren't we? The Wonder Duo?” he said softly, the tears finally slowing. “I'm sorry, Kacchan. I promise I'm gonna fix this, okay? Just let me borrow your strength.”

He climbed to his feet, giving one more sad smile to the collection of photos, and then he started to run.

The school was empty this early in the morning, only a few teachers milling about in their classrooms, so it wasn't hard to sneak his way in. Besides, he was in his uniform – he could always just say he came in to do homework before class.

"If you wanna be a hero that badly, there's a quick way to do it.”

He made his way to the roof, shivering in the wind that struck him, and stumbled to the edge, staring down at the dim streetlights below.

“Believe that you'll be born with a Quirk in your next life, and take a last chance dive off the roof."

“This one is for you, Kacchan.”

Midoriya woke up to a familiar voice, calling his name.

He almost burst into tears, but instead he ran for the phone, still in his pyjamas, and dialled a familiar number. It rang three times. Five. Seven. Then finally a click.

“Kacchan,” he said softly, when he heard the tired, irritated voice on the other end.

“What do you want, nerd?”

Again he almost burst into tears, but he managed to swallow it down, smiling pathetically instead.

“I need to talk to you, Kacchan. Before school. It's important.”

Bakugou paused, grumbling quietly in his frustration.

“What do I get in return?”

“Anything. If you decide it was a waste of your time, I'll give you whatever you want. I'll do anything you choose.”

“Fine, shitnerd. Get ready to be my fuckin' slave.”

With a stupid laugh Midoriya hung up, scoffing his breakfast and throwing some clothes on, calling a quick thank you as he ran out the door. It wasn't far to the park, but as usual he was out of breath when he arrived, and he hated himself for not getting in shape younger.

When Bakugou arrived his eyes filled with tears, and for a moment he almost threw himself at the boy – he was so damn young, so innocent despite his hard demeanor, so full of dreams and ego. He looked annoyed at being called out so early, but his face was a little softer in his sleepy state despite the words that came out with their usual vitriol.

“What do you want, loser? Spit it out.”

“Hear me out, okay? Don't walk away.”

“Whatever.”

As he opened his mouth he suddenly remembered his conversation with All Might – remembered the way he laughed and praised his imagination. But this was Bakugou – this was Kacchan - wouldn't he listen?

No, not this Kacchan. His future Kacchan for sure, but this one wasn't there yet.

“I have a Quirk,” he blurted out. “I'm sorry I never told you, I wanted it to be kind of a secret. It's a silly Quirk anyway, nothing as amazing as yours, but I didn't like hiding it from you. I wanted you to be the one who knows.”

“No fuckin' way.”

“There was no point telling anyone, it wouldn't make a difference. I can't blow things up or... or make things float, or create objects from my body, or control fire and ice.”

“What are you babbling about?”

“Sorry! Anyway, um, I can kind of see the future. Sometimes. Just random flashes that I can't actually control. See? Lame, right? I can't fight with it. I was just tired of lying to you, that's all.”

Bakugou paused as he took the information in, surprisingly receptive as he contemplated.

“Is that why you take all those dumb notes?”

“What?”

“If you see a Quirk in your visions, you want to know who it belongs to, right? So you keep notes on what people can do so you can figure it out. Surprisingly smart, I guess. For a loser.”

His heart soared at the praise, butterflies flooding his stomach, and with the biggest grin in the world and tears filling his eyes, he nodded.

“Mm!”

“Are you gonna prove it or some shit?”

“Ah... Yeah, I can. Um, there's gonna be a villain attack today.”

“No kidding,” Bakugou snorted. “Villains attack every day, nerd.”

“They call him the Sludge Villain. He attacks this afternoon, but he escapes from the heroes and comes out of the tunnel on our way home from school. All Might shows up to capture him.”

“No way.”

“I'm serious, Kacchan! Come with me, you'll see.”

“Fine,” he scowled, “but don't fuckin' tell anyone I'm hanging out with you.”

“Okay! Thanks, Kacchan! Let's meet around the corner after school, okay? Out of sight.”

“Whatever. If you're wrong about this you're gonna be my slave for the rest of your life.”

“Deal!”

"Sensei, Don't lump us all in the same group. I'm not gonna be stuck at the bottom with these rejects."

Typical Bakugou.

Midoriya smiled.

“Midoriya wants to go to U.A. too, right?”

Bakugou snorted, but he didn't object, and Midoriya's body suddenly felt lighter, like Uraraka had been a little too enthusiastic with a high five. The conversation moved on, no one yelled at him or jeered, and Midoriya wondered why he hadn't just lied about a Quirk in the first place.

Oh right, proof.

When the bell rang, Bakugou left right away, not hanging around to burn the notebook or tell Midoriya not to apply. He gave it a few minutes then ran after him, finding his childhood friend waiting in an alleyway, his bag strung over one shoulder, scowling to himself.

“Let's go, Kacchan!”

“You better damn well be right about this.”

“If I'm not, you get a slave, right?”

“Yeah, a useless, Quirkless slave.”

“I told you Kacchan, I'm not actually-”

“If you're wrong,” Bakugou interrupted sharply, “your Quirk doesn't work. Which means you're just a fuckin' Quirkless loser with an imagination.”

“I... Yeah, I guess you're right. But it's true, Kacchan, I promise!”

Sure enough, not long after they made it to the tunnel, the manhole rattled. Immediately Midoriya was in front of Bakugou, his arms out in a stupid attempt at protecting him, and Bakugou was yelling.

“What are you doing, loser?! I don't need your help!”

“You can fight it, Kacchan!” Midoriya objected. “I can't fight it if it takes you, but you can. We're a team now.”

Bakugou took a step back as the Sludge Villain attacked, shrouding Midoriya in foul-smelling liquid, his thoughts already going hazy. He couldn't breathe, he was going to die, he-

He saw Bakugou, his eyebrows knitting together in a scowl, rubbing his hands together sharply to build up sweat.

“Over here, fucker!” he yelled, and the villain turned.

An explosion to the eye gave Midoriya just enough leeway to fight his mouth away, to take a gasp of air before it clamped down again, growling at Bakugou.

He'd forgotten how small Bakugou was. His arms were impressive for his age, sure, but he was so little.

“Fear not, young man!”

Bakugou whirled around to see the massive silhouette appear behind him, his eyes wide.

“I am here!”

With a smile, Midoriya closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, Bakugou was standing beside him, incomprehensible words coming from his lips. He held a familiar notebook in his hands, torn from Midoriya's backpack, and with a little smile Midoriya realised there would be an autograph waiting for him inside.

“You're awake, young man!”

Bakugou whirled around to follow All Might's gaze, and for a moment his expression softened when he saw Midoriya haul himself up to sit.

“All Might,” he said with a grin, cringing as he climbed to his feet. “Thanks.”

“How do you feel, young man?”

“I'm good. Kacchan kept it under control.”

“I applaud your efforts. You both did a fantastic job of fighting back and persisting in the face of danger. You could be great heroes one day.”

Bakugou was stunned, speechless for the first time in his life, but Midoriya just smiled and nodded.

As All Might left with the villain safely captured, Midoriya realised he had once again missed his chance – he wouldn't see All Might again until U.A. – if he could even get in to U.A. – but somehow knowing everyone was safe made it okay.

“We could make a good team, you know,” Midoriya told Bakugou with a grin. “I can see it coming and plan for it, you can fight them off.”

Bakugou grunted a non-committal answer, but it wasn't a no.

“You know, getting in to U.A. on recommendations is way more prestigious than sitting the exam.”

“Yeah,” Bakugou chuckled faintly. “It is.”

When Midoriya went to bed that night, it was with a smile on his face.

He'd made a difference this time.

Opening his eyes burned. There was smoke and ash all over, the smell of rotting flesh permeating his senses even through his respirator. The world around him was crumbling, was burning.

“Fucking hell, Deku! Watch your back next time!”

He turned around to see Bakugou wrestling with a villain right at his back, exploding a hand that clutched at a knife, and everything fell into place all at once.

“I can't believe you saved me.”

“Don't I always?” Bakugou scoffed.

It took him a moment to understand – yes, he was back in his own time, but it was different. There were people fighting who had been dead – and last time... Last time Bakugou hadn't saved him, he had just watched in shock.

The world changed, he realised. His alliance with Bakugou had helped them. Even if it was only a little.

“We have to fix all of this, Kacchan.”

“What do you propose, dipshit?”

He leaned his elbow on Midoriya's shoulder as they caught their breath, and Midoriya's eyes filled with tears as he turned.

“Do you remember the day I told you about my Quirk?”

“Obviously. It was the messiest day of my life until today.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I still don't get why you couldn't have just told me on the phone, though. Dragging me out of my house at an ungodly hour, didn't even get to have breakfast, asshole.”

The tears spilled over this time, and Midoriya smiled, nodding firmly.

“We can do this, Kacchan. You and me. Together. We're a team, right?”

“Obviously.”

“We're gonna fix this.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, bringing Bakugou's hand to his chest as he prayed.

“One more, God,” he whispered. “I'm gonna fix this, just watch.”

Bakugou froze with his hand on Midoriya's chest, feeling the calm rise and fall, the slow, steady heartbeat.

“Do you trust me, Kacchan?”

“Obviously.”

“Then I need you to let me try something. Please don't interfere.”

Calmly he pressed a kiss to the palm of Bakugou's hand, then he turned, running into the fray and straight in front of a beam of burning light.

“Izuku!!”

Please

The world went dark.

When Midoriya woke up, he could still hear the voice echoing through his brain – Bakugou's desperate voice, screaming, full of pain.

He would never hear that sound again – no fucking way.

Slowly he came to recognise the sounds of cooking, his mother in the little apartment kitchen, and he glanced at the time.

It was early.

“Morning Mom!” he called, grabbing the phone. “No time for breakfast, sorry! I'm late! Just gotta call Kacchan then I'm going!”

He took the phone into his room and closed the door, listening to it ring once, twice, three times.

“Hello?” the voice was groggy, irritated.

“Kacchan, I have a Quirk,” he blurted out. “I didn't realise it was a Quirk for ages, and I wanted you to be the first to know. I can see the future – but only sometimes, I'll explain later. You and I are gonna take a villain down this morning.”

“What the fuck are you on about?”

“If it doesn't work I'll be your slave forever. What better way to get into U.A. right? We're gonna show them what we can do, they're gonna beg us to go to their school.”

There was a pause, and then a short chuckle.

“Fuck it, why not.”

“Meet me now.”

He didn't bother with his uniform – it would only get in his way. Instead he grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, kicking on his bright red sneakers at the door.

“Bye Mom! See you later!”

“Come back safe!”

“I'll come back better than safe,” he grinned. “I'm gonna be a hero.”

Bakugou was waiting outside his house by the time Midoriya got there, in baggy pants and a black singlet, with heavy hiking boots laced up over his ankles. Midoriya couldn't resist a smile, thinking about the costume that would come down the line that would be so similar.

“We'll run and talk.”

Bakugou fell in line beside him as they jogged, keeping pace easily while Midoriya struggled to get enough air to speak. When he explained the purse snatcher Bakugou scoffed at him, rolling his eyes.

“Easy as fuck.”

“Yeah, but listen. I'm gonna wait down the street, so when he runs off I'll attempt to stop him and he'll turn into a giant. That's when you come in and attack him. You have to be fast though or other heroes are gonna show up. Don't let anyone else take our glory.”

“Who do you think I am?”

“You're Kacchan,” Midoriya grinned, stopping briefly to look at the tiny frame with thick arms, the stubborn eyes like precious rubies. “There's no one else I'd rather do this with.”

“Listen, you did some great work,” the policeman sighed, “but you can't put yourself in danger like that. You need a license to do this, I should be lecturing you both.”

“Sorry, Sir!” Midoriya grinned. “We were just here and wanted to help, that's all!”

“I understand. Thank you for your work, please be more careful in the future.”

“Of course!”

The moment he walked off, Bakugou scoffed, and Midoriya laughed openly.

“Like hell,” he grinned, before Bakugou got the chance to say it himself. “Waste of your time?”

“No, I could do another one.”

“Today?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Let's meet after school, then. I know a place. It'll be a rough one”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Deku and I are going to U.A., Sensei. Don't lump us in with these rejects.”

The words echoed in his mind the entire day, even as they walked toward the tunnel. Midoriya had wrapped their jackets around Bakugou's hands to warm them up, despite the growls and complaints and surprisingly cute blushing he got for it, and he babbled almost nonsensically as they walked.

“He's gonna grab me, okay?” Midoriya explained, when they reached the manhole. “You stay over there until he does, and when he's occupied, you blast the shit out of him.”

“Sounds like fun. Can I blast you too?”

“I'd rather you didn't.”

“Lame.”

This time when the sludge swirled around him, binding his movements and taking away his oxygen, Midoriya didn't feel fear. He knew it was a stupid reaction – no matter how many times he faced death, he was still facing it. At this rate he would go and get himself complacent, would lose all his work for a stupid move with his numbed fear reflex.

But then, Bakugou blasted the thing so well that Midoriya could actually struggle – could almost get himself free, could breathe. It was almost laughable, watching Bakugou's sneer as the villain turned to him, and Midoriya realised the villain was looking for a Quirk. He wanted to turn Midoriya's power on Bakugou, to fight back, but no – he'd managed to pick the one kid in town with nothing to offer.

Wonder Duo: 1, Sludge Villain: 0.

When All Might arrived he hardly had to do anything – just jammed the thing into his waiting bottles to secure it, then stopped to survey the boys with interest in his eyes.

“Can I have your autograph?” Midoriya asked with a grin, holding out his notebook. “I've been waiting to meet you for my whole life.”

“Of course you can, young man! You put up a valiant fight!”

All Might found his composure in a hurry, forgetting about finding the words to ask questions, instead occupied by taking the pen from Midoriya's hand.

“Me too,” Bakugou mumbled, blushing as he dug for a notebook in his bag.

When All Might started to leave, Midoriya considered following. Considered going through all of it again, getting his One for All back. Then he glanced at Bakugou, and instead he just smiled sadly.

“All Might,” he called, as the man started to take his leave. “My name is Midoriya Izuku, and this is Bakugou Katsuki. Remember us, okay? It's gonna matter.”

All Might didn't respond, but Midoriya knew he'd heard, and from the look on All Might's face he knew he would remember – he would have remembered their faces even without their names, saying it only solidified their presence in his mind. It was perfect, exactly what Midoriya needed right now. He hadn't gotten One for All until right before the entrance exam anyway, why was he stressing out about getting it now? He would have a thousand other shots. He only needed one good interaction to convince him, after all. With a grin, Midoriya clapped Bakugou on the shoulder, watching All Might launch himself into the sky.

“Not bad for a Quirkless loser, right?”

“Right,” Bakugou conceded a smile. “What's next on the agenda, shitty Deku?”

“I need to train. My body is kinda useless.”

“You can say that again.”

“There's a beach nearby that's covered in discarded waste. I'm gonna clear it out and clean it up by hand. That should build up some strength and stamina. Then I'm gonna kick up some shit.”

“I'm there.” Bakugou grinned, lacking the usual malice and intent that came with it. “Count me in, loser. There's no way you're getting ahead of me.”

“I wouldn't dream of it.”

It took them a little under six months to clean up the Municipal Park – leaving them over four months to prepare for the exam – he was gonna have to come up with some new training.

It took them six months to the day to meet All Might again.

A fight was raging, Bakugou at the helm while the Pros evacuated citizens and put out fires. A child was caught in the middle, crying, and Midoriya moved without thinking. He was barely a toddler, not even old enough to be there on his own, but Midoriya tried not to think about where his parents might be as he dove into the fray.

He scooped the kid into his arms and held him tight, cringing as he shielded the boy from falling rubble. The moment he saw Midoriya move, Bakugou drew the villain the other direction, not stopping to ask questions or yell at him, just keeping the villain's focus elsewhere.

And then, there he was.

As Midoriya ran out, the kid held in his deathgrip, he saw the massive shadow fall over them.

“Fear not, citizens! Why? Because I am here!”

Midoriya almost laughed at the words – so familiar, so strong, and yet somehow, right now, so laughable. Fear? No, they were fine. They were a team. No one could stop them.

A young woman ran toward him in tears, and Midoriya grinned when the boy reached for her, handing him over in a hurry.

“You're my hero!” she declared, sobbing. “I can't thank you enough!”

“It's okay,” Midoriya grinned. “We've got it under control.”

“Oi!” Bakugou yelled, when All Might swooped in with a smash. “Back off, old man! This one is mine!”

Midoriya envied him in that moment. He was so sure of himself, he was loving this. And he got to fight alongside All Might, of all people. Midoriya wished he could have that chance, but taking One for All kind of ruined that for him. Not to mention how damn stubborn All Might had always been about him keeping himself out of trouble, about him running away when there was a problem.

One time, he'd thrown himself to certain death to protect All Might, only saved by the skin of his teeth and some sheer, dumb luck. That was the closest he'd ever been to fighting together.

But no, this was Bakugou, and he could never just appreciate his damn fortune, could he? No, he had to complain instead, had to try and take all the glory. Thank God All Might wasn't the type to listen.

“Why did you run in like an asshole, shitty Deku?” Bakugou fumed the moment the fight was over, glaring down at him with explosions waiting on his fingertips. “I could have blasted you!”

“I knew you wouldn't.”

“By accident you shithead!”

“There was a kid, I couldn't just leave him. My legs moved on their own!”

Bakugou continued to berate him and he apologised sheepishly, neither of them really meaning any of it. While they talked, All Might went to see the Pros in the area, congratulating each of them on a job well done.

“Why do you not tell the kids off?” Midoriya heard him ask, and Bakugou fell silent mid-sentence as he turned to look. “Shall I do it myself?”

“Don't bother,” one of the regulars sighed. “We've tried, but they just keep showing up. They were taken in by police at one point and warned to stop using their Quirks in public, but still they were back the next day. And hey, I admit, they're actually pretty good at it.”

“They certainly seem to have a lot of potential. I'll talk to them.”

Bakugou grabbed Midoriya by the arm and dragged him away from the crowd, finding a slightly more isolated spot for All Might to corner them. He rounded a corner just in time, since All Might didn't seem to care about publicity, and Midoriya realised he really should have been the one seeking out a safe place to talk – he was the one who knew, after all. Bakugou just... Well, his Midoriya instincts were usually pretty spot on. He probably saw it in his face.

“I should congratulate you on a job well done, Young Bakugou, Young Midoriya. But I should also warn you to carefully consider your actions.”

“We have,” Bakugou scoffed. “We know what we're doing.”

“Do you now? That's excellent news. What are your aims?”

“We both want to go to U.A.,” Midoriya explained. “But I'm Quirkless, so...”

“We're going to U.A.,” Bakugou countered stubbornly. “Nothing is gonna stop us, not even you, All Might.”

“I like the determination,” All Might grinned back, “just be cautious, ego is a fragile thing. You wouldn't want to lose all your work or get yourself hurt because you couldn't back down, would you? Now, Young Midoriya, I'd like to speak to you in private for a moment.”

“We're a team, All Might. Anything you can say to me, you can say to him too. You don't think he's gonna figure it out anyway? He's gonna notice if anything changes in a hurry.”

All Might sighed, but nodded.

“The truth is, I've been injured. Badly. I fear I am losing my strength by the day, and before that final day comes, the world needs a new symbol of peace to look up to. Someone to carry on the torch when I can no longer bear it.”

It was working. He was going to fix things.

“And so, when I saw you run in to save that boy today, it made me think. You know, most heroes have stories told about them from their school days. Do you know what the most common link is?”

“They move without thinking,” Midoriya grinned. “Right?”

“Precisely.”

“Kacchan is a better hero than me, and he probably always will be,” Midoriya admitted. “But we're a team, we work together, and between the two of us I think we could carry on your legacy. He'll be the top student at U.A. by a mile, but like I said, I'm Quirkless, so I don't know how I'm supposed to join him or whatever. We'll figure something out, though, don't you worry. Thank you for sharing your secret with us.”

He crossed his fingers as he spoke, hoping for a tiny bit of luck to find its way to him, to bring out the words he needed to hear.

“The truth is, my Quirk is not like most Quirks.”

Yes!!!

“My Quirk is one that can be passed on, one that holds the power of generations, passed from hero to hero. As long as my health is fading, I need to choose who will be the next in line.”

Midoriya willed himself to stay still, clamped his mouth shut to keep from shouting.

“You may have been quite correct when you told me to remember you. You told me it was going to matter.”

Bakugou smirked to himself faintly, and Midoriya felt his heart pounding – was he smirking because of the unintended future-vision joke, or because he wanted the power for himself? Expected the power for himself?

“We could do amazing things with your power to help. Whatever you choose, I will support it.”

He trailed off, and Bakugou scoffed quietly.

“Not even All Might can top my Quirk,” he said stubbornly, a tiny hint of reluctance hidden beneath the words that only Midoriya would ever notice. “I don't need some fuckin' hand-me-down. Deku is... Deku is Quirkless. He needs it more than me.”

Midoriya was stunned, speechless, and Bakugou burned red when he caught him staring.

“Don't look at me like that, asshole! I don't want any shitty classmates thinking my Quirk isn't enough! Sure it would be cool to be picked by All Might, to be the one the top hero chose to be next in line, but fuck if I'm gonna do that to my reputation!”

“Thank you,” Midoriya grinned. “Really, Kacchan. Thank you.”

“Whatever. He wanted to give it to you anyway.”

As they parted ways, All Might gave them a time and a place to meet in the morning to start their training. It was early, which Bakugou grumbled about, but Midoriya knew he'd be there thirty minutes early – they both would.

Midoriya hugged Bakugou briefly as they parted ways, getting an explosion and a lot of yelling in return, but still he grinned and waved as he ran back toward his apartment.

This time, when he went to bed, he begged to stay.

Midoriya could see it in All Might's face as he watched them run and lift and throw. He was surprised – he hadn't expected two barely-teenagers to already be so prepared for his training. Yes, it was tough, but fuck if they were gonna let it beat them.

They'd started out with running, and that had almost made Midoriya laugh. After his first few days of being constantly out of breath, being so frustrated at having to walk everywhere, that had been the first thing on his agenda. Now it was easy – now even when All Might asked them to sprint, they still found the energy to laugh at each other and tease the whole way through.

Then it was weight training – Midoriya wondered if All Might had visited their old training spot in his search, had seen the lovely clear area that had since become a popular dating spot, wondered if he knew what it had looked like six months ago.

Weight training was easy, after hauling that shit around.

He'd quickly changed his plans mid-session, Midoriya had seen it in the way he set his notes aside, got rid of the plans and print outs he had produced. He'd found ways to make it harder – his favourite was when they did all their sprints again carrying each other piggyback. Every time Midoriya began to slow down, Bakugou yelled abuse again.

“What's gotten into you, loser? Forgotten how to lift my damn baby weight?”

Midoriya just grinned and threw him up over a shoulder, his legs shaking with the effort it took to keep running.

“Just wanted to give you a chance to catch up, Kacchan,” he laughed, as he set the blushing boy back down. “Wouldn't want you to shatter that ego.”

Despite himself, All Might found himself smiling at them. He knew from the moment they started that there wasn't a person in the world who could push these boys harder than they pushed each other. They just needed guidance – a watchful hand hovering above them, poised to stop them if they went too far.

“Look at you down there, Kacchan, you're so cute,” Midoriya laughed from high up in a tree. “Like a tiny baby bird trying to follow its Mommy into the nest.”

“Fuck you!”

An explosion burst in the trees, sending birds scattering into the clouds, and All Might sighed.

Maybe he should poise that hand a little closer.

“I want it before the exam,” Midoriya said stubbornly, folding his arms. “I need to make an impression if I want to get in, I can't do that if I'm Quirkless.”

He'd kept up the Quirkless cover story – although it was technically also the truth – and to his surprise, Bakugou had kept it up too. It kind of made sense, seeing as his fake-Quirk had no practical application in battle. Bakugou wouldn't risk losing him the chance to actually fight.

“We can do that,” All Might agreed. “But you need to be here at this time every morning to continue training. And make sure you're eating properly, too. Nutrition is the most important part of a pro-hero's routine.”

“We're already doing that,” Bakugou scoffed, pulling one of Midoriya's notebooks from his backpack. “See? We've been at it for like six months.”

All Might actually seemed impressed by the notes – the charts and reflections and macros all laid out so carefully – and he nodded as he handed it back.

“That's good news, I'm glad to hear it. Now, one final thing.”

“Here it comes,” Midoriya groaned. “Don't do it, All Might!”

“To borrow Young Bakugou's language, I need you both to cut the shit with villains.”

“Nooooo!” He groaned, “you said it! I said don't say it!”

“I mean it, Young Midoriya. You two cut the shit or I will personally ask U.A. to reject your applications.”

“You wouldn't!”

“Don't test me, young man.”

Bakugou and Midoriya exchanged a look, grumbling to themselves, but conceded a matching pair of nods.

“We'll cut the shit,” Bakugou agreed reluctantly. “You have our word.”

The news was a surprise to Midoriya, a strange feeling after being so prepared for so long. He hadn't expected new events to happen, although he supposed it made sense with the way they'd fucked with the timeline.

“I have good news!” their teacher announced, getting the entire class's attention. “I would like to congratulate two of your classmates today. We received word that Bakugou and Midoriya have both received recommendations to U.A. High School!”

The rest of the class cheered, but Midoriya and Bakugou went silent, staring at him like they weren't sure it was real.

“Instead of sitting the public entrance exam, the two will have a private interview with the school directors and are practically guaranteed a place next school year! Let's offer them our congratulations!”

Finally Midoriya tore his eyes away to look at Bakugou, frozen, but when their eyes met they both slowly softened into laughter – Midoriya's a disbelieving giggle, Bakugou's more of a cackle.

Life was starting to get interesting.

That night Midoriya dreamed of the friends waiting for him. He'd seen so many of their lifeless bodies end up on the battlefield, while others disappeared without a trace. They would never get a funeral, none of them would.

He dreamed of the laughs they'd shared over lunch, the training simulations they'd endured, the attacks they'd conquered. The rescues they'd staged.

Those people would be waiting for him, he knew. He couldn't wait to see them again, even though none of them would remember him.

He dreamed of Uraraka's face when they met at the exam, her beaming smile, the way she saved Midoriya from disaster.

He dreamed of Iida, acknowledging that Midoriya had made a good move in the test – even if he hadn't known he was doing it.

Those events would never happen, now, but damn if he wasn't gonna be their best friend anyway.

Todoroki would be waiting for him at the interview. He would jump on that friendship quickly, too. He hated to think how he must be feeling right now – maybe All Might could put him in touch through Endeavor? No, that was probably a dumb idea.

He even dreamed of Aizawa, showing up half asleep to their classes, but still looking out for each and every one of them.

He was ready.

The next morning, when Midoriya arrived at their training area, Bakugou was already quietly explaining. All Might smiled, nodding along, congratulating him repeatedly and commending him on his hard work, reminding him not to get complacent in the time still to come.

“So,” Bakugou said softly, “do you think you could give the power to Deku early? For the interview and everything?”

“That can be arranged.”

Bakugou smiled, nodding gratefully, and Midoriya waved as he got closer.

“Sorry, am I late?”

“No, I was early,” Bakugou stood up and stretched lightly, climbing off the rock he was perched on. “You ready to go?”

“Uh-huh!”

All Might was contemplative as they got warmed up and stretched, but Midoriya did his best to ignore it, to let the man think.

“Young Midoriya,” he said finally, “I think you're ready.”

“I'm sorry?”

“Your body is becoming strong, and your mind always was. If you want it, I will pass my power on to you now. You can learn some control before the interview.”

“Really?” Midoriya grinned, nodding. “Yes!”

“Alright, come here.”

He plucked a strand of hair from his head, holding it out, and Midoriya glanced at Bakugou to wait for the reaction.

“Eat this!”

Sure enough Bakugou didn't disappoint, his jaw dropping, some kind of annoyance passing through his expression.

“Are you telling me some random villain could eat your hair and get your powers?!”

“No! Of course not, the intent needs to be there too. Now, Midoriya, my boy?”

He shoved it in his mouth with a weird sense of nostalgia, pulling a face as he swallowed it down. Immediately he felt a surge of power that he didn't remember feeling last time, his limbs buzzing with the energy. Was this what All Might had meant about him becoming a suitable host for it? It had taken hours last time.

“Hey, Kacchan, watch this,” he grinned, holding his hands out to focus on them.

With a flicker of lights beneath his skin, he felt himself power up. One percent, to be safe, but a full cowl nonetheless. All Might was speechless as he watched, but Bakugou smirked at him, and Midoriya somehow knew that his friend was genuinely excited for him.

“Look,” he grinned, grabbing one of the boulders they'd been pushing around this week and crushing it under his hands. “How cool is this?”

“Hah! I can do better than that!”

He placed one hand on a boulder and blew it to pieces, the two of them laughing as they attempted to one-up each other. Midoriya had almost forgotten that All Might was there, watching them speechlessly, and somehow that thought amused him. Once upon a time he'd have done everything in his power to get the man's attention, but now even he could fade into the background if something else came up.

He adored All Might, of course. Admired him, even worshipped him. But Kacchan was his partner, they were a team.

“Alright, Wonder Duo, break it up,” All Might called, making Midoriya's heart soar all over again.

“Wonder Duo?” Bakugou scoffed. “Where's this coming from?”

“It seemed appropriate. Now, while I appreciate the energy, we need to get some real training done. Not to mention we need to talk about your interviews, too. Especially you, Young Bakugou.”

“Tch. I'll be fine, I know how to play their game. Let us spar already, I want to see what this One-For-All shit can really do.”

All Might sighed to himself as he watched them quickly lose focus again, arguing about sparring rules.

This could be the best or the worst thing he'd ever done.

When the day of the interviews came around, Midoriya found himself sitting in a little waiting room. Todoroki wasn't there, he quickly discovered, but a certain young lady with long hair sat in the chairs opposite them.

Midoriya hadn't had a chance to greet her yet, to introduce himself. He and Bakugou were too busy lecturing each other repeatedly.

“And fix your damn tie!” Bakugou bleated. “It's ridiculous!”

“Huh?” he looked down at his brand new shirt, and the short, dark-green tie hanging over it. “Why?”

“Idiot!” He practically tore the thing from Midoriya's neck, fixing it in a hurry.

“Thanks, Kacchan!” he grinned, “I don't know how you do that, I've never been good at it.”

“Whatever, it's no big deal.”

Bakugou also wore a clean, white shirt, and the tie he'd picked out was a darker shade of orange, a colour so familiar to Midoriya that it made his chest ache a little.

“Be nice,” Midoriya reminded him, when they called his name. “But also be you, they're gonna love you.”

“Whatever. Wish me luck, loser.”

“You don't need luck.”

“Obviously,” he growled, “but it's still nice, dickbag.”

“Good luck, Kacchan!”

The moment the door closed behind him, Midoriya dropped into the seat next to Yaoyorozu, grinning at her with maybe a little too much enthusiasm.

“Midoriya Izuku,” he introduced himself. “I can generate super-strength of sorts. You're Yaoyorozu, right? You can create objects from your body?”

“Yes, I am,” she answered, blinking with surprise. “It's nice to meet you.”

“Let's be friends, okay? I don't want to waste time with dumb rivalries and stuff with my classmates.”

“You seem pretty sure you'll get in.”

“Recommendations are practically a guarantee. It'll be fine!”

“Okay,” she smiled softly, nodding. “Let's be friends, then.”

“Awesome!”

The day they got their acceptances, Midoriya ran to the phone, dialling Bakugou's number as fast as he could. They'd known, really, that there was no question about getting in – whether it was fact or ego Midoriya couldn't be sure, but he still knew.

“We did it!” Midoriya squealed, hearing Bakugou laugh on the other end of the phone. “Kacchan!”

“Yeah, we did,” he said softly. “That means we can go back to starting shit now, right?”

“Oh! Yes! Wait, maybe. Can they revoke the acceptance?”

“I don't know. I just need to let out some energy.”

“Let's go tonight, after dinner. Wear dark clothes, maybe a hood or something. We'll try to be anonymous.”

“Yeah, it's a date.”

Midoriya paused for a moment, hesitating.

“...is it?”

“Not like that!” Bakugou barked, obviously flustered. “Shitty Deku! Like I would ask you on a date like that! Fuck off!”

“I was kidding!” Midoriya assured him, his heart pounding. “Relax, Kacchan! Okay I'm gonna eat breakfast then I'll come over, okay? We'll go to school together.”

“Whatever, nerd! Don't be late!”

He laughed breathlessly as he hung up the phone, heading to the kitchen as his mother cooked breakfast.

“Mom?” he asked nervously. “I have some big news.”

“What is it, Izuku?”

“I got accepted. Um, to U.A.”

She froze for a moment, then turned to stare at him, her eyes wide as saucers.

“When was the exam?”

“It hasn't been! Um, actually, Kacchan and I both got recommended, so we just did an interview and a little test and... Yeah, they said yes.”

He could see the concern in her eyes, but still she smiled, hugged him, congratulated him.

“I know you were worried for me,” he said quietly, as he hugged her close. “About being Quirkless. But I can do this, Mom. I can be a hero, and I can save people, and I'll do it all without getting hurt. I promise.”

“I love you, Izuku.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

The next few weeks became a tired blur.

When the teacher announced they had both been accepted, Midoriya had immediately turned to grin at Bakugou, accepting his fist bump. Their classmates weren't sure when the pair had become so friendly, but no one dared to question it.

After school they would head back to Midoriya's place and quickly scribble out their homework together – if they did a subject each then copied each other's answers, it went a lot faster than doing all of it themselves.

Bakugou would return home for dinner, and as soon as it got dark, the two would change their clothes and sneak out again. If incidents happened, they handled it. If it was a quiet night – rare as it may be – they settled for sparring instead.

Then it was a quick three hour nap, and out to training with All Might.

It became a familiar rhythm, tiring as it may be, and soon Bakugou was showing up to All Might's trainings with a cup of coffee in hand.

“It's not bad for you!” he insisted, when All Might raised an eyebrow at it. “It has almost no calories in it, and it gets me up for your shitty trainings! Shut up!”

All Might knew exactly what they were doing, but it wasn't worth starting the argument again.

“If you're not awake enough for training without coffee, then you shouldn't be here,” he warned them. “Take care of your bodies.”

Bakugou grumbled about it, but he threw his cup away, giving it a last long look like he was parting with his own child.

When they'd showered and changed for school, Midoriya found himself elbowing Bakugou playfully, grinning at the scowl he got in return.

“I want to try it too, let's get coffee.”

Just like that their rhythm had changed, and now it was their classmates whispering about them showing up with matching cardboard cups in hand, gulping down coffee before the bell rang for class to start.

And then, school was over. They were celebrating and commisserating with their old friends, eating the smallest slices of cake and debating how many calories were in it, then they were laughing, then they were crying – at least Midoriya was – and then it was over.

Junior High was over. Bring on High School.

One of the strongest memories Midoriya had of his first days at U.A. was feeling overshadowed. At the test he had been shaking in his boots – literally at times – and everyone had seen him as an easy target. Especially when he'd blown himself out with one attack. When he'd started at the school proper, he still felt overshadowed by the amazing Quirks of his classmates.

He felt like an imposter, thrown into the class without ever earning it, without deserving it.

With Bakugou at his side, sitting on the subway, he didn't feel that way anymore. It would take them over half an hour to get to the school, and having the companionship was pleasant, even if they didn't talk much.

His uniform was brand new, clean and ironed, and Bakugou had insisted on tying his tie for him again – one day he would learn, he swore. Wearing it while he sat in the rush of people made him feel genuinely special. He had earned his spot, worked hard for it. Sure, he had some help from a Quirk he inherited, but it was his Quirk now. No one else had had to earn their Quirks! This was his spot and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way.

The brakes on the train squealed and the carriage lurched, crashes coming from outside the windows. A few people screamed, some children cried, people were knocked to the ground. When Midoriya looked down he realised he was clutching at Bakugou's arm, but to his surprise, Bakugou didn't complain.

“Attention all passengers. We apologise for the disruption. It appears there is an incident up ahead that is blocking our path, we will be on our way as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.”

This hadn't happened last time, either.

When they heard more screams from outside, Midoriya and Bakugou exchanged a look, and a resolute nod.

“Excuse me!” he said hurriedly, shouldering his way through to the doors. “Sorry! Excuse me!”

Bakugou slammed the emergency-open with his fist, and then they were in the tunnel, their footsteps echoing as they ran. At the first glimpse of daylight Bakugou jumped, firing himself up through the wreckage, and Midoriya followed with a flash of light in his legs.

The part of the city above them was unfamiliar, not the least of which because buildings were crumbling around them. It was messy, smoky, destroyed, and wracked with the sounds of people crying and yelling.

“We need to get people out of the wreckage,” Midoriya said in a hurry. “Is there a clear area we can evacuate people to?”

“All the explosions are coming from the south, there's a clear patch to the north that should be out of their way.”

“North, then. And be nice Kacchan, these people are scared.”

“Tch. Whatever.”

He had plenty of experience at rescuing civilians, even if his body didn't recall doing it. It was easy to assess their health, to get them out of confined spaces, to get them away to a safer area and let the uninjured take care of the less fortunate. He wondered when the heroes would arrive – surely it should have happened by now?

No...

If the trains were out of commission, it was entirely possible that they couldn't get through - paths were probably blocked everywhere, not just underground. They'd have to wait for someone with the right Quirk to get to them. Until then...

He caught a glimpse of Bakugou, holding a little old man piggyback as they trudged toward a safe zone, a look of distaste on his features as he moved.

Kacchan, it's just us.

They were getting close to the sounds of fighting, of new wreckage, but no more screams began, no more cries for help. They'd reached a less populated area, it seemed, and were wreaking havoc on the infrastructure instead.

What was it they did here, anyway? Were those factories?

“Power plant,” Bakugou told him, before he could even notice the boy behind him. “They're trying to take out power to the city.”

“How many are there?”

“Looks like three.”

“We have to stop them, don't we?”

“Someone's gotta.”

He still remembered the feeling that coursed through him when he tried to save Bakugou's life that day. He remembered the way it felt when he ran to save Uraraka's life, too. Two things that had gotten him into the school.

This time, the acceptance hadn't come with the whirlwind of emotions it came with the first time. There was no doubt in his mind, no screw up that managed to work out in his favour.

Sure, he hadn't technically had his first class yet, but he was a U.A. Student dammit! Three villains, no civilians left to take care of? Piece of cake, right?

Right?

“What's the plan, shitnerd?”

“Plan,” he said dumbly. “Yeah, we need a plan.”

“No kidding, asshole.”

“We need to get them out of the facility,” he said softly. “Otherwise you can't attack them at full power. Oh! Can you try something for me, Kacchan?”

“Now?”

“Yeah! Go like this.”

He curled his fingers into a loose fist, bracing it with his other hand, and pointed one side toward the wreckage.

“Can you concentrate it? Focus it into that one spot?”

Bakugou seemed surprised, but he mimicked the gesture obediently, pulling a face before he adjusted it slightly. Yeah, that looked more like it. Kacchan was Kacchan, after all.

“Yeah,” he said finally. “I can do that.”

He fired a stream of little bullets down from their perch, then shot Midoriya a grin.

“Not bad for a nerd.”

“It was something I saw you do in the future!” he explained in a hurry, ruffling his hair awkwardly. “It wasn't me, you came up with it! I just thought maybe you should figure it out earlier instead.”

“Well alright, go me. That gives us some room to play with, right?”

“Right. If you can split them up using those shots, I'll grab one and drag him out of the building. I can tape him and come back for the next one, then we can take one each.”

“Take out the easiest looking one and make it quick, I'll keep them occupied.”

“Got it!”

With a quick little fist bump they split, heading around opposite sides of the building to get started.

This didn't happen last time. This one was new – which meant somehow he'd caused it. He wouldn't let them do any real harm.

He was a U.A. Student damn it!

By the time they got to class, Midoriya had almost forgotten about the apprehension test. He was covered in scorch marks, both from the villains and occasionally Bakugou, and his uniform was torn near to shreds. A gash on his cheek was still bleeding, even though he dabbed at it occasionally with a handkerchief – thank God his mother had reminded him to take it – and Bakugou beside him was no better off. He'd taken his shirt off completely, given up on the thing, and instead he just wore his grey blazer with his chest on display through the collar.

The classroom was empty, and that was the moment Midoriya had remembered.

“Ah! The training grounds! Kacchan let's go!”

He grabbed Bakugou's arm and ran, relieved to find the class gathered in their blue and white gym uniforms, listening to Aizawa-sensei give his lecture.

“Sensei! Hi! Sorry we're late!” he called, as they ran in breathlessly. “Sorry! Um, are there uniforms somewhere we can grab?”

“You must be Midoriya and Bakugou.”

“Yes, Sensei! I'm Midoriya Izuku, this is Bakugou Katsuki. There was an accident and our train got held up and-”

“The staff are well-informed of your... activities. There are two uniforms in the changing room, I suggest you be back here immediately.”

“Yes, Sensei!”

He dragged Bakugou away, realising too late that he probably should have asked where the changing rooms were, pretended he was unaware. Instead they just changed in a hurry, casting aside their ruined uniforms, and exchanged little smirks as they ran back out to the field.

The tests were just starting when they arrived, and Bakugou stretched out lightly, grinning in his typical menacing way while their fellow students whispered about him.

“Yaoyorozu!” he called excitedly, waving as he ran over to greet her. “I told you we'd all make it! How are you?”

“Midoriya,” she said with surprise. “When you didn't show up, I assumed...”

“No, no, we just had to deal with some stuff! It's all fine!”

“We're doing a test today. The person who comes last is getting expelled, Aizawa-sensei says.”

“Ouch! Well, do your best, okay? Don't get expelled!”

“You too.”

Bakugou got dragged up first for the softball pitch, with the pretense of being punished for being late, and Midoriya smiled to himself. He was pretty sure Bakugou had gone first last time, too. Must just be his face. He'd gotten some seven hundred metres last time, but with the training they'd gone through recently, Midoriya had no doubt he'd get it over a kilometre.

This was Bakugou's moment to shine, and Midoriya was a sucker for a shining Bakugou.

“Sensei,” Bakugou growled, as he stepped up and rolled the ball in his hand. “You said someone is gonna get expelled?”

“I suggest you try not to come last.”

In another life, that person in last would have been Midoriya – and he'd have done it with injuries to boot. So how was he supposed to keep someone from being expelled this time?”

“Oi, shitnerd,” Bakugou yelled from the pitcher's mound. “Don't even fuckin' think about it.”

Midoriya flooded red when everyone turned to look at him, grinning sheepishly.

“Kacchan, I'm hardly gonna get myself expelled to save someone else!”

“I know you, fuckmunch, don't pull that shit. I still have that card to pull, you know. If it turns out to be a waste of time, you have to be my fuckin' slave.”

“It wasn't a waste of time!”

“If you get expelled on day one it is! At least get expelled for something awesome!”

Midoriya could see Kirishima grinning, and immediately he knew the two were going to be friends again. Kirishima might have been the only one who ever found Bakugou's attitude endearing – himself included.

“Fine, asshole!” he fired back, when Aizawa began to look impatient. “Gonna beat your ass into next week, now throw the damn ball!”

With a grin Bakugou wound up, firing the ball off in an explosion, and for a brief moment Aizawa looked impressed.

“One thousand two.”

“Beat that, loser!”

“Damn right I will!”

He was a little sad that this Aizawa would never be able to give him the lecture that hit him so hard, would never be able to hear him say “look, Sensei, I can still move” - but this way was better, after all. As long as he could figure out how to keep everyone in class.

“One thousand four.”

“Fuck you, nerd!” Bakugou yelled from the sidelines, as Midoriya poked his tongue out childishly. “That one was a fluke!”

“Keep telling yourself that, asshole!”

Yeah, this way would be better.

Midoriya seemed to have a way of winning people over. Bakugou. All Might. Aizawa and Uraraka in another life – even Iida. This time it was Yaororozu he turned to first – she was intelligent, after all, and not as egotistical as some of the others.

“Surely the expulsion is just a ruse, it's only logical,” she protested.

“You'd think so, but this is Eraserhead we're talking about. He has a reputation, you know? He expelled an entire class once!”

“Hm... That is concerning,” she agreed. “What do you propose?”

“Result manipulation.”

She caught on quickly, smiling, and nodded along.

“Do you have a number in mind?”

“You can do math, right? Keep pace with Mineta.”

“Got it.”

He wasn't gonna lie: A part of him wanted to let the little pervert get expelled, for the sake of the girls in their class, but he'd proven useful one too many times in a previous life. No, he was worth keeping around – he just had to keep a sharp eye on him.

Hagakure was next on his list – he was pretty sure she'd been near the bottom too.

“Hi! I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's Hagakure, right? Your Quirk is so awesome.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah! Like, you can use it in so many ways! You can sneak up on villains or listen in to their discussions or run covert ops. You can probably bend light or something too, right? That would be amazing. I'm so jealous, I just have this weird strength enhancement thing.”

“Th-That's really nice of you! Your Quirk is amazing too!”

“Nah, it's not very flashy,” he grinned. “But I'm used to hanging around Kacchan – ah, Bakugou – so I guess I'm just bitter about never standing out.”

“Bakugou is certainly very... Uh...”

“Intense?”

“Enthusiastic,” she laughed. “Are you friends?”

“Yeah, we've been best friends since we were kids. I know he's an asshole but he's a cool guy, too. Anyway, you seemed kind of nervous, so I had a sort of proposal for you.”

“Yeah?”

“I thought if we could get a bunch of the class to tie, he won't expel everyone, right? So I'm gonna keep pace with Mineta, he's struggling a bit. If you want to join in, we can try to play some manipulation games here and keep everyone in class together!”

“I'll do my best, Midoriya,” she agreed. “Thank you for talking to me.”

“Of course! I hope we can be good friends!”

Two down.

Bakugou would be the easiest one, as soon as he got a chance to talk to him. Todoroki might be hard to convince right now. Iida too. Maybe Kaminari? Kaminari had always seemed super nice.

He wouldn't let anyone be expelled.

Aizawa was unimpressed, they could all see it. Midoriya smiled sheepishly when the intense eyes darted his way, trying to play innocent.

“You all disappoint me. Many of you could have done significantly better and we all know it. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”

No one spoke, but a few too many eyes went to Midoriya, and he cowered a little as Aizawa advanced on him.

“It was my idea, Sensei,” Bakugou spoke up, with a voice as bored as he could possibly make it. “Figured these tests were just to pit us against each other from the start, y'know? Thought that seemed like a shitty move on our first day as classmates.”

Aizawa seemed surprised, as did most of the class, but Midoriya shot him a smile.

“Nice way to find out who our allies are, too, y'know? See which ones play along and which ones care more about not being expelled.”

“Of twenty students, sixteen of you had a tie score,” Aizawa explained, through gritted teeth. “I'm in half a mind to expel all sixteen of you.”

“But you can't, right, Sensei? You're always trying to tell your classes to work as a team and use each other's strengths to their advantage,” Midoriya interjected. “You expelled a whole class once because you thought they had no chance at making it, right? But you saw the potential in our class, you know none of us are zeroes.”

“I'm in half a mind to expel you for the backtalk, Midoriya.”

“Eep,” he squeaked, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, Sensei, it wasn't supposed to come across that way.”

“You're lucky I'm in a good mood,” he scowled. “No one is expelled.”

As everyone celebrated, Midoriya found himself watching Aizawa walk away, studying his back. He wasn't happy about the decision, Midoriya could tell. But more than that... Was he disappointed? No, frustrated was more like it. He'd spent enough time around Aizawa to figure out some simple emotions.

“Sorry, excuse me,” he said in a hurry, squeezing his way through his classmates. “Sensei!”

He caught up easily, since Aizawa made no effort to ditch him, and saw the hard look in his eyes when he grinned up at the man.

“I just wanted to apologise,” he explained. “I was so caught up in keeping our class together that I didn't even think about your lesson. I ruined it, didn't I?”

“Maybe you did, Midoriya,” he sighed, “but you also set your class well on the way to being a team. It takes a whole school term for most classes to bond that way. Plus, frankly, it's a little impressive that you all managed to set your numbers so precisely - that might take more talent than a high number does, if we're being honest. If I didn't know better I would think your Quirk was something emotionally manipulative.”

“Nope, that's just me,” Midoriya grinned. “They don't call me Devious Deku for nothing. Actually they don't call me that at all, but it's a cool nickname, right?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Aww, that's mean, Sensei. How about Inventive Izuku?”

“How about Meddlesome Midoriya?”

“Perfect! Thanks, Super Sensei, I'll use that one for sure.”

Despite himself, Aizawa cracked a smile, waving Midoriya away.

“You and Bakugou should keep those gym uniforms on for today, I'll ask the school to get you some new ones for tomorrow,” he added as he walked away. “Right now you're Messy Midoriya.”

“Amazing Aizawa! Thank you!”

“Don't push your luck.”

“Exemplary Eraserhead!”

He paused for a moment, and Midoriya laughed.

“I know all about you, too, Sneaky Sensei! I do my research!”

“Get out of my sight before I erase your Quirk.”

“Joke's on you!” Midoriya called, as he jogged back to his classmates. “I know you have to keep looking at me for that! Good thing I have such a pretty face!”

The first time through, Midoriya would have died before having a conversation like that. But he knew his teacher, and he wasn't going to sacrifice the relationship he'd built up – he was gonna build it up again real fast this time.

It was their first official day of classes, and Midoriya knew what was to come. Battle simulations, indoors, him against Bakugou – wait, did drawing from a lottery still work in another timeline? Do luck based decisions still react the same? If he flipped a coin five times in the first timeline, would it come up the same if he flipped it five times here? Or was it still fifty-fifty each time? Could he actually test that theory, if he knew his coin flips from last time? Even if they came up the same, did that prove anything?

“You're muttering,” Bakugou informed him with a scowl, downing the last of his coffee. “Tired?”

“No! I'm okay! I was just thinking!”

Bakugou paused, contemplating him, and raised an eyebrow.

“Seen anything interesting?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, remembering the carnage of the USJ incident to come. “Wednesday.”

“And you're just telling me now?!”

“Wednesday to come,” he clarified. “I think something bad is gonna happen.”

“How bad are we talking?”

“I don't know, it could be really bad.”

“Talk to me.”

He spun his chair around, leaning across Midoriya's desk to listen, and Midoriya's heart pounded a little faster.

“I think someone is going to break into the school tomorrow. They don't really do anything, but they must get some information. On Wednesday we're gonna be off school grounds, and someone is going to attack the class. All Might won't be there to help – he wears himself out that morning and can't fight anymore.”

“Was this a proper flash or a dumb nightmare?”

“It was a real flash. If it doesn't happen tomorrow, for some reason, we're probably okay. But if it does, we need to be careful.”

“We'd better get some work done tonight, then.”

“Yeah, we'd better.”

When the time came for the simulations class, Midoriya was shivering. He hadn't realised how much USJ still messed with his head, still chilled him to the bone. Just thinking about it was destroying him from the inside out.

“Before I hand you off to All Might,” Aizawa began, in his typical monotone, “there's something we need to address.”

“As I'm sure you're all aware, it is not permitted for students with no license to use their Quirks outside of prescribed lessons!” All Might spoke up, looking straight at Bakugou and Midoriya. “Your focus should be on studying and improving, to be the best heroes you can be!”

“It should go without saying that if anyone is found playing hero, they will be expelled immediately. There will be no exceptions.”

As everyone headed off to get changed into their new costumes, All Might cornered the pair of them, impeding their path to keep them in the classroom.

“I just wanted to reiterate, very specifically, that a certain Wonder Duo are not above board, and will follow the rules like everyone else.”

“We ain't done shit, old man,” Bakugou sneered. “You got any proof?”

“It is not good for someone your age to be showing up to class with coffee in hand every day of his life.”

“Relax, we covered this, it's not that bad for me.”

“I'm not kidding here, boys. It's time to cut the shit.”

Midoriya burst into tears at that, making both their teachers jump with the sudden outburst, but Bakugou just sighed and put a hand on his shoulder in a pathetic attempt at comfort.

“Come on, shitty Deku, not here.”

“People could die Kacchan! I won't let it happen!”

All Might tried futiley to calm him down, and Bakugou groaned, pulling at a handful of curly green hair in an attempt to get his attention.

“Deku, come on! Oi, loser! Izuku.”

“I can't let them die, Kacchan! Not when I know! We have to do something!”

He trailed off into incomprehensible words through his sobs, and Bakugou glared at the confusion on All Might's face.

“Fuckin' close your eyes or something, will you?”

“What?”

“Come on,” Bakugou insisted, blushing. “For like thirty seconds!”

Somehow, All Might listened. He closed his eyes just as directed, and Bakugou pulled Midoriya into a firm, stubborn hug, all elbows and ribs.

“We're not gonna let it happen, Izuku. We never let it happen. So calm down, alright? Think. Think harder. He can help right? Talk to him.”

Still Midoriya continued his sobbing and whining, and Bakugou sighed as he patted the warm back lightly.

“It's okay, Deku. I'll talk to him. I'll even be fuckin' nice okay? So just stop trying to talk, then. Stop crying, be quiet.”

Finally the hysterics began to calm, and Bakugou sat him down on one of the desks for balance.

“Deku does this shitty thing where he sees stuff coming,” Bakugou sighed. “Like some weird intuition or sixth sense or whatever, he usually knows if there's about to be an attack or something. He's been saying something really bad is gonna happen.”

“You know, Midoriya my boy, stress and lack of sleep do a lot of harm to a person's psyche. Having these weird dreams or paranoid moments are classic signs of sleep deprivation. Just ask Aizawa.”

“It's not that, shi- All Might. He's never wrong okay? Never has been. Fucking... What did you tell me, idiot? Wednesday? Off school grounds?”

Aizawa tensed up at that, and Bakugou sighed.

“Someone is gonna break in, right? Into the school? And nothing happens, no one gets hurt, but they take something. See shitty nerd? I do listen. Then Wednesday we go off school grounds, and a bunch of villains attack, and people get hurt or die or something.”

“Now, Bakugou my boy, I assure you-”

“And you can't fight, because you spend your morning commute doing hero work,” Bakugou added sharply. “Sound familiar, Sensei?”

There was a pause, and then All Might crouched in front of Midoriya, still hiccuping little sobs sporadically, and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You two are serious, aren't you? Is this how you ended up in the middle of so many fights?”

Bakugou grunted his affirmation, and All Might sighed.

“USJ,” Midoriya mumbled, rubbing his eyes roughly. “USJ.”

Aizawa muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a curse, and finally All Might nodded.

“Okay, Midoriya my boy. I trust you. We'll fix it, okay? Just calm down.”

“You should go get changed, Bakugou,” Aizawa suggested. “You still have class to get to.”

“Like hell if I'm leaving him like this,” Bakugou fumed, surprising both the teachers. “Why don't you go get changed and start recruiting allies? Ideally someone to deal with a portal-prick who can get them into weird places like this USJ.”

“We will,” All Might assured him. “Every hero we can find.”

“Good. Come on, Deku.”

He held out a hand that Midoriya thankfully accepted, leading him toward the hallway.

“Fuckin know-it-alls,” he muttered as they walked, making All Might sigh. “Shitty teachers think your flashes are wrong.”

When they were out of sight, Aizawa and All Might exchanged a look of concern, before All Might puffed out his chest and threw a smile on his face.

“Well! I'm going to run some drills on working as a team and staying out of the way of pro-heroes!”

“I'm gonna go talk to every hero I know.”

“Good choice, Eraserhead!”

When Midoriya padded down the apartment stairwell that night he held a notebook in his hand, a detailed list of villains and their Quirks written inside – every face and ability he remembered from every event he'd encountered in his own time. Each and every one of them needed to be behind bars by the time that day came.

Tonight, their targets were the faces from USJ – most of them were inconsequential, he knew. Their class had taken them out with no damage to the students, but the more people he could free up to handle the Noumu, the better. If all went to plan, All Might wouldn't have to overexert himself. If all went to plan, All Might would still be fighting in the weeks to come, when they needed him most.

“We should hang out in this sort of area,” Midoriya suggested, showing Bakugou a map on his phone. “I have feeling if we're gonna run into any of them, it'll be around here.”

“A feeling or a flash?”

“A feeling.”

“Ugh, I hate your feelings.”

Midoriya grinned at him, and after a moment Bakugou nodded, pushing the phone away lightly.

“Fine, but we're not taking a train, too obvious.”

“Then we're gonna have to walk, because your Quirk is significantly more obvious.”

“Let's at least run.”

“Deal.”

To anyone out watching, they would just look like two teenagers out for their nightly exercise – they might question why they would choose to be out in the dark in gear that was all black, but their ensembles were carefully selected to look like workout gear at a glance. Midoriya doubted they would be able to convince their teachers, if the need arose, but civilians? Easy.

All up it took them about half an hour to make it to the neighborhood Midoriya selected, and then they slowed their pace considerably, keeping an eye out as they strolled down the streets. Bakugou had a dark beanie on, which he pulled down a little lower to cover his distinctive hair, while Midoriya just tugged at his hoodie and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wondered what it would be like once they got their licenses – or even after the sports festival, for that matter. Would they be too recognisable? Could they still get away with working the way they did? He supposed the licenses would give them a little more leeway to get involved, but there was so much advantage in not being recognised.

Both their costumes had masks, to be fair. He'd have to be more pushy about wearing them.

When he heard the voices he quickly pushed Bakugou around a corner, clamping a hand over his mouth before he could protest, keeping him pinned to a brick wall as the footsteps drew nearer.

“Such a stupid order,” one of them was cackling, “they think we need to save our energy for a bunch of children? Fuck that, tonight I'm gonna score while everyone else is hiding out preparing to raid a slumber party.”

Four sets of footsteps – two at the front, much heavier, two more at the back, barely audible.

“Who do they think we are, right? Think we can't handle a few little shits?”

Another man murmured his agreement, and Midoriya met Bakugou's eyes knowingly, holding his breath as they reached the mouth of the alleyway. Three steps. Two steps. One more step.

When the first pair passed, Midoriya released his grip, holding up the first finger of his right hand. Bakugou pulled a face, holding up two fingers on his left, but reluctantly put one down again when Midoriya glared at him.

The moment the second pair of villains came into sight, the boys moved. Midoriya darted out with as much speed as he could manage while still remaining silent, leaping onto a burly man's back and locking a powered-up arm around his neck, the other over his mouth to stifle any noise. It didn't take much to shift his weight and drag the man out of sight, following Bakugou back into the darkness of the alleyway. Bakugou's target passed out before he could even restrain him, the lack of oxygen already too much for his system, but Midoriya struggled to keep his own silent as they moved.

With a bit of effort and teamwork they got both villains bound and gagged, left in the back of the dirty alleyway with trashcans as their company, and Bakugou held his wrist up to his lips.

“Two villains have been restrained and left in an alleyway at the following location for retrieval,” he said quietly, holding down a button on one side. “Hero team are moving on in pursuit of another target.”

Midoriya stared at him, open-mouthed, with jealousy flooding through his veins.

“Understood, officers dispatched. Please identify yourself.”

A little red button silenced the transmission, and Bakugou rolled his eyes when he saw Midoriya's expression.

“I got you one as well, shitbag,” he grumbled, digging for it in his pocket. “Just don't be stupid and give yourself away.”

“Are you serious?! Kacchan!”

“Shut up. You can only contact me or the local authorities, they haven't been set up for any more channels. They have voice modifiers though, so neither of us will sound like ourselves. Be sensible, alright?”

“Kacchan please!”

“Okay, okay, here,” he sighed, shoving it into the outstretched hands. “Happy fuckin' birthday for the next ten years.”

“I'll make it twenty!”

He tightened it around his wrist, grinning as he examined the buttons, and Bakugou gave him a quiet rundown as they followed the two villains down the street. By now they would have noticed their friends were gone, and Bakugou kept an eye out for alleys and dark doorways to drag them into if they showed up in a hurry.

“So just keep it on the top setting all the time, alright?” he summarised. “If you need to contact police you can change it, so just keep it on mine to be safe.”

“Okay!”

Finally they heard the voices again, arguing this time, and Midoriya's eyes widened when the two men rounded a corner and stopped. For a moment they all just stared at each other, but then a sadistic smile crept across one face, and Midoriya held up his right hand, one finger extended.

“You don't need to fucking signal,” Bakugou grumbled. “Just grab him.”

They pounced almost in sync, one brief explosion going off as Bakugou destroyed the weaponry on the bigger man's hands, using the force to fly over his head and land behind him. A quick kick to the back of his knee and an elbow in the temple were all it took to drop him to the ground, and he pulled a face as he wiped his hands on his shirt.

“Fuckin' easy,” he scowled, binding limbs again and tossing him aside. “You done yet?”

“Yep!” Midoriya grinned, powering one arm up to throw the second man after the first. “Can I make the call?”

“Sure. Remember the white one submits co-ordinates.”

With a gleeful look on his face Midoriya switched his channel over, holding down the transmit button and lifting the device close to his lips.

“Two villains apprehended and captured at the following co-ordinates. Requesting dispatch.”

He hit the button and waited a moment for the voice to come back.

“Understood. Dispatch underway. Please identify yourself for-”

“Hit the red one”

Midoriya hit the button obediently, grinning as he reached for Bakugou's beanie and tucked away a loose strand of hair.

“Come on, our night has only just begun.”

Midoriya was a mess.

He'd finished his coffee before they got on the train – a record even Bakugou hadn't matched. Despite the caffeine he still seemed exhausted, and after a moment Bakugou handed him the half a cup he had left in his hand.

“I'll buy another when we get off,” he said gruffly, when Midoriya hesitated. “I'll get you another one too, if you want.”

“Thanks.”

He downed it in minutes, despite it scalding his mouth, and with a sigh Bakugou grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling the boy to his shoulder.

“Talk to me,” he said softly. “Either nap or talk.”

“I had nightmares,” Midoriya explained, letting his eyes sink closed. “About tomorrow.”

“You didn't need to clarify that, numb-nuts. So you didn't sleep at all, huh?”

“Not really.”

“Idiot. Take a nap, I'm here.”

With a contented little sigh Midoriya seemed to doze off, and Bakugou found himself stroking the green hair lightly, hoping he could get a solid half hour before they arrived.

It wasn't like Midoriya to be so exhausted – even on an hour of sleep he was usually full of energy, rearing to go by the time he finished his morning coffee. It was Bakugou who needed the second one, as they walked the rest of the way to class. It was Bakugou who took all the flack for his caffeine addiction – granted his was worse but come on!

That was how he knew it was bad. When Midoriya was shattered, the world shattered with him.

Stupid Deku.

“Are you sick, Midoriya?” Yaoyorozu asked kindly, “do you need the nurse?”

“He's just tired,” Bakugou explained. “He didn't sleep last night.”

“I'm okay,” Midoriya yawned. “I just need more coffee.”

“Like hell, nerd. You're already on two and a half today.”

Half the class looked up at the words, but Midoriya didn't seem to notice, flipping absent-mindedly at the pages of his notebook.

“You have two every day,” Midoriya argued. “You can't complain if I need more than one on occasion.”

“But three?!”

Midoriya poked his tongue out childishly, and Yaoyorozu laughed at him despite Bakugou's sigh.

“Let me know if you need anything, okay, Midoriya? I'll help out where I can.”

“You're friends with Jirou, right?”

“I am, why do you ask?”

“I want to be her friend too,” Midoriya said sleepily, resting his head on his arms. “Can you ask if she'll be friends with me? She doesn't talk to me.”

Yaoyorozu smiled, resisting the urge to laugh at him, and she nodded.

“I'll ask her for you, Midoriya.”

“Thank you.”

He closed his eyes to nap until Aizawa arrived, and with a little sigh Bakugou pulled off his blazer, draping it over the fragile frame at the desk behind him.

“Fuckin' idiot,” he growled, turning around again. “Take some damn care of yourself.”

Come lunchtime, Bakugou and Midoriya found their table being invaded. With the invasion, though, came a large mug thumped down on the table in Midoriya's face, his eyes snapping open to look.

“As my first act of vice-presidency, I got into the teachers' lounge and found this,” she explained proudly. “I hope it tastes okay, I wasn't sure if you took milk or anything, so I brought it plain and figured you could find sugar or milk if need be.”

“Black, bitter, and as strong as you can make it,” Bakugou clarified, as Midoriya gulped it down gratefully. “That's the Wonder Duo way.”

“Wonder Duo?”

He burned red as he realised the mistake, shrugging it off.

“Whatever, doesn't fuckin' matter.”

“You're cute around Midoriya, you know,” Jirou pointed out as she started on her lunch. “He's the only one who knows how to calm you down, huh?”

“We look out for each other,” Bakugou shrugged. “Isn't that what friends do?”

“It is,” she agreed. “Just weird seeing it from you.”

“Fuck off.”

“But I hear you have decent taste in music, so at least you've got that going for you.”

He lightened up a little at the words, digging out his phone and his current playlist, and as they started to talk, Midoriya found himself smiling a little.

“Feel any better?”

“Much,” he nodded. “Thanks, Yaoyorozu. I appreciate the help.”

“Not at all, I'm happy to. You didn't sleep well, huh?”

“No, I kept having nightmares and stuff. Stress dreams or whatever.”

“Oh no, that's awful. Is there something bothering you? Do you want to talk about it?”

Midoriya smiled. He'd forgotten how sweet Yaoyorozu was – they didn't spend enough time together in his old timeline.

“If nothing happens by the end of lunchtime, then it's fine. If an alarm goes off I'm gonna be miserable.”

“Are you expecting an alarm?”

“Yeah, kind of.” He hesitated with a warning on his lips. “Um, you saw the news people outside, right? I think they're gonna find a way through the barrier somehow. The alarm will go off and everyone will panic, you know? They're determined to see All Might.”

“Ah, that would be frustrating, yes.”

“You're vice-president now, do you think you could keep everyone calm if the alarm went off? Just ask them to stay in here where we can all keep an eye on each other or something?”

“I can certainly try.”

For a brief time, Midoriya thought they were in the clear. For a short window, he thought things had changed enough, that they were safe this time. Then, in the last stretch before the bell, the alarm sounded.

The first thing that happened was Yaoyorozu stared at Midoriya with wide eyes as people tried to work out what was going on, but then she climbed onto her chair, waving her arms to get attention.

“Everybody please listen!” she called over the racket. “Please, look this way!”

Slowly people began to pay attention, and she continued to wave her arms almost frantically.

“Everyone, we have reason to believe the breach was caused by news reporters trying to get information on All Might! Please remain calm!”

“We'll go check it out,” Bakugou informed her, yanking Midoriya from his seat. “Stay here until we get back.”

“The Wonder Duo has it under control, they will investigate and report back to us all soon!”

“Fuck off!” Bakugou yelled from the doorway, flipping them the middle finger. “You don't get to say that!”

Bakugou started to move toward the front doors, but Midoriya dragged him the other way, hurrying toward the teachers' offices. He didn't know exactly where he was going, or what he was looking for, but he had to at least try.

Out the corner of his eye, a swirling dark portal, and he ran for it. For a moment he was ready to dive in, but Bakugou yanked him back, and almost immediately the portal closed.

“Are you an idiot?” He accused, “even if they're in there, what are you gonna do to them alone and half asleep?! We'll handle it tomorrow, okay?!”

“Sorry, Kacchan, I got carried away,” he agreed. “Let's go tell them it's okay.”

“Yeah, come on, idiot.”

As they walked home in the dimming evening light, Bakugou found himself touching Midoriya's shoulder lightly, directing him toward his house.

“I'm just gonna grab some clothes and stuff,” he said softly, “then I'm coming to stay at yours.”

“W-What?”

“You need to sleep if you're gonna be any use. Maybe I can help you out with the nightmares or whatever. It's worth a shot, alright? Shut up.”

“Thank you, Kacchan.”

“I'm home,” he called as he pushed the front door open, “I'm gonna stay at Deku's place tonight, so I'm just gonna grab some stuff and we'll head out again.”

Immediately Bakugou's mother was there, beaming as she asked after Midoriya, and with a little smile Bakugou escaped to his bedroom to gather his stuff. Clean uniform – he threw his dirty stuff in a pile in the bathroom – pyjamas, toothbrush. Everything else, the Midoriyas would have.

“Alright, Mom, leave him alone,” he demanded, when he found her still rambling. “He's half asleep, can't you tell? Leave the nerd alone.”

“Katsuki! Be nice!”

“I was nice.”

“Don't call our lovely little Izuku a nerd!”

“But he is,” Bakugou said stubbornly. “It's not an insult, he just is. Come on, Deku.”

“Nice seeing you, Mrs. Bakugou,” he chimed quickly, letting Bakugou drag him away by the hand. “See you again soon! Take care!”

It wasn't until they were almost at the apartment that Midoriya realised they were still holding hands. The gesture was comforting.

Midoriya's mother scrambled to cook dinner for them both, as Bakugou apologised for showing up unannounced. She assured him it was no problem at all, and Midoriya found himself smiling faintly.

“We were gonna have frozen dinners,” he explained, leaning his head on Bakugou's shoulder. “She doesn't want to feed you frozen food.”

“Oh! It's okay, I don't mind, really.”

“No, no, don't be silly! My growing boys need a healthy dinner! You're heroes in training now!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Midoriya smiled softly. “I appreciate it.”

“I'll just put it on to cook and then-” she paused, glancing at the pair, Midoriya still leaning in happily, Bakugou still holding his hand. “Would you like me to get out the guest futon, or?”

“Nah,” Bakugou shrugged, “we're good, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Midoriya agreed with a yawn. “S'not like we've never shared a bed before.”

With a knowing little smile, Mrs. Midoriya returned to cooking, and Bakugou sat Midoriya down at the table in favour of helping. He had a good hand for it, useful with a knife, and she seemed surprised and oddly happy to have him beside her at the bench.

“You've gotten so tall, Katsuki,” she gushed, when she glanced over and up at him. “You're growing so fast.”

“You and Mom used to carry us around, soon we'll be the ones who can carry you guys instead.”

“I already can,” Midoriya yawned. “She's short.”

“Yeah, to be fair I could probably carry my mother around already too.”

“It's so sad seeing you all grown up, but it makes me happy too. Izuku, have you gotten changed yet?”

“No, Mom.”

“Go have a bath and change your clothes, you look exhausted.”

“It was a long day,” Bakugou explained awkwardly. “Lots of training and stuff.”

“You must be tired too.”

“I'll be okay. I went to bed super early last night.”

“I think that will be Izuku tonight.”

“Yeah, me too,” he grinned, reaching over to dump some vegetables in a pot. “Anything else?”

“No, I think that's everything. Thank you, Katsuki!”

“Any time.”

He took a seat at the table as things boiled and fried, accepting a mug of tea and relaxing a little as he waited for Midoriya's return. They chatted about school, about becoming a hero, about friends and classmates, and soon Bakugou realised: Midoriya hadn't told his mother about the Quirks. He quickly bit his tongue, keeping the cover story alive just like with All Might, and continued to force a smile.

Midoriya returned just as the food was being plated, rubbing at his hair with a towel, and Bakugou laughed at how ridiculously fluffy he'd become.

“Come get some food in you, Izuku. I think you boys could use an early night.”

“Yeah, we could,” Midoriya yawned, accepting a plate loaded with vegetables, a bowl of rice, and a huge piece of fish. “Thanks, Mom.”

Mealtime was peaceful, nothing like the Bakugou household where he and his mother argued and fought constantly, and he found himself oddly content with it all.

“Alright, bed,” Bakugou grinned, when Midoriya yawned for the third time in as many minutes. “Thanks again for the hospitality, we'd better get some rest.”

She nodded her agreement, smiling warmly, and waved him away when he tried to help with the dishes. With a last quick thanks he dragged Midoriya to the bathroom to brush their teeth, and threw him at the bed.

“I'm gonna take a quick shower, I expect you in bed asleep by the time I get back.”

Midoriya pouted, but climbed into the blankets obediently, tossing one layer aside after a moment of thought. Bakugou was warm.

It only took him five minutes to be in and out, coming back with wet hair and a towel around his waist, and Midoriya grinned at him as he ruffled his hair with a towel.

“You look like a puppy that just went swimming,” Midoriya laughed sleepily. “All floppy and soft.”

“Shut up, dickbag.”

He pulled on a pair of boxers and an old, faded All Might t-shirt, then crawled in under the sheets.

“Go to sleep, loser. Wake me up if you have a nightmare.”

“Mmhm.”

“Spit it out.”

“Can I hug you?” Midoriya blurted out with a blush. “Sorry, I know you're not really huggy.”

“It's fine,” he nodded, lifting his topmost arm for Midoriya to shuffle in close. “Get some sleep.”

He locked Midoriya in place with his arm, leaning his head against the fluffy hair, and for a moment Midoriya was surprised before he softened again.

“I just meant for a moment,” the words played on his lips. ”You didn't have to stay.”

Nah, this was better.

When the portal showed up, for just a moment, Midoriya froze. But then Bakugou was grabbing his arm, dragging him back to his senses, and he nodded as he took a long, deep breath.

“Found the fuckin' portal-prick,” he glowered. “Who's the twitchy-bastard? Boss or something?”

“Kind of.”

There seemed to be hundreds of them – he wasn't sure if he'd ever found out an actual number, he certainly couldn't count them right now, but it was overwhelming to say the least.

When the first shots came, people around him screamed. Not Bakugou, though. Never Bakugou.

Instead, Bakugou swore at the top of his lungs, firing a blast of his own to counter the attack, their classmates staggering backward with the shockwave that followed. Yeah, this was his Kacchan – his partner – always ready to swear and be violent when the situation called for it.

What would he ever do without him?

The villains seemed surprised when they looked around at the mob of heroes in the building. They hadn't been expecting this – score one for U.A.

Midoriya could see the telltale signs of irritation in their leaders – the way a gnarled hand scratched at a hunched neck, the way the portal-prick narrowed his eyes. Good signs.

“I am here!” All Might announced boldly from up above the students. “I hear you are looking for me!”

Bakugou dragged Midoriya aside in a hurry, out of earshot of their classmates.

“You know more than I do about this attack,” he hissed. “Are we cutting the shit or not?”

“No,” he answered easily, looking around at the heroes all poised to strike. “Gotta help the classmates stay safe. We'll... We'll cut some of the shit.”

“Got it.”

He turned around to glare at their classmates, gesturing toward the massive doors behind them, where not long ago they were filing in and marvelling at their surroundings.

“Do not get in the way of the heroes,” he yelled, and Midoriya almost smiled at the irony. “Stay together and get out before it's too late.”

A few of them muttered to each other, contemplative, but Yaoyorozu and Iida stepped up quickly to take over.

“I believe Bakugou is right in this instance!” Iida announced, “we should evacuate and let the heroes do their job! File calmly out of the building and assemble by class number to keep track!”

“Portal-prick is gonna try to split us up,” Midoriya hissed. “Wait until he's distracted before you move anyone.”

He shook his head before Bakugou could even ask, his fists clenched as he watched the chaos that was beginning to unfold before them. No, he didn't want to get in the way of the heroes, but he was... He was different, right? He'd done this before, even if his body didn't physically participate. He was a hero, dammit! He had a license and everything! Well, a provisional one.

“Make a decision, Deku,” Bakugou said quietly, his jaw clenched. “Are we fighting?”

Midoriya knew he was muttering to himself, even if he couldn't control it, but for once Bakugou didn't twitch or glare or yell at him. He waited patiently as their classmates filed out, his fists clenched against his shirt to keep them warm, waiting for Midoriya to figure it out.

“We're... We're back-up,” Midoriya said reluctantly. “If anyone... If anyone gets hurt, or... We stop them, right? We don't let anyone die.”

“Damn right we don't. You don't have to tell me, loser.”

The fight had begun for real, centred on All Might, who had quickly moved himself away from the doors as the students evacuated. The other Pros who had agreed to join them were fewer in number than Midoriya would have liked, but they still stacked the odds against a bunch of half-baked villains and Noumus. The villains knew this too, Midoriya could see it in their eyes, and he found himself staring down a familiar withered face, meeting an angered gaze between twitching fingers.

“I know him,” Midoriya said softly, when Bakugou caught the stare. “And now, he knows me.”

“Good,” Bakugou answered with no hesitation. “Maybe next time he'll think twice about messing with us.”

“No,” Midoriya shook his head, cracking a smile. “They're not that bright, Kacchan. Next time they'll be trying to win us over – trying to coerce us into joining them.”

“Like that's gonna happen. We're fuckin' heroes.”

“Damn right we are,” Midoriya grinned, tearing his gaze away to meet Bakugou's smirk. “You and I are gonna take that asshole down if it's the last thing we do.”

“He doesn't look so tough.”

Midoriya shook his head slowly, looking over again to find the eyes still drilling into him.

“He's not the one we need to worry about.”

He found himself walking forward, approaching the high platform where the twitchy-bastard and the portal-prick waited, Bakugou right at his side with his usual stubborn glare.

“I'm Midoriya Izuku,” he said loudly, making sure both of them were looking at him as he clenched his fists. “This is Bakugou Katsuki. And you are Shigaraki Tomura. All Might is not the one you should be worried about – mark my words.”

He half expected them to attack, but thankfully they both seemed to thrown by his knowledge, by the heroes filling the venue, by the lack of disorder they induced. Finally they opened another portal and backed away, disappearing into the ether, and soon all the villains were retreating.

When the venue was clear, All Might stood before the duo, his smile cracking the tiniest fraction as he looked down at them.

“You did a good thing, Midoriya my boy. You did us a great service. From now on, I will openly and willingly listen to all of your concerns.”

All Midoriya could do was nod awkwardly, but Bakugou scoffed quietly as he grabbed a green-clothed arm in both defense and comfort.

“'Bout time,” he scowled. “Are classes dismissed or some shit?”

“Ah... yes, that would be a good idea. Come, let's join your classmates.”

Midoriya could see hero eyes darting their way as they walked, a few recognising them from other incidents but thankfully keeping their mouths shut about their side-job, others surprised at the way a couple of kids seemed to rule the arena.

It occurred to him as they left that he still hadn't made friends with most of their classmates. He should have done that by now, he felt guilty.

Iida seemed mostly onboard since Midoriya supported him for class president, so that was one down. Yaoyorozu and Jirou were taken care of. Tomorrow, he decided, it would be Uraraka and Asui. He'd have to be gentle – they could think he was weird if he went in too familiar – but they were such good friends before, it shouldn't be a tough task.

Maybe he would get Bakugou to talk to Kirishima, Kaminari and Ashido. They should get along still, after all. Better yet, he could tackle it all at once.

“All Might,” he asked, as they drew closer to the class. “Tomorrow, do you think we could have our classroom after school? For a few hours?”

“What ever for, Young Midoriya?”

“I want to celebrate the victory today with my classmates. I was scared they would get hurt.”

All Might paused for a moment, but nodded, still smiling as always.

“That can be arranged, Midoriya my boy. It's good to have allies, isn't it? We saw that today.”

“Yeah,” Midoriya smiled tiredly. “It really is.”

The bus trip back was uneventful, although Midoriya suspected he'd fallen asleep for some of it which didn't help. All Might stood at the front and talked as they moved, but Midoriya hardly heard a word.

He found himself standing in front of Todoroki when they filed off at the school, and with a faint smile he held his hand up in a wave.

“Todoroki, right?” he asked quietly. “Your Quirk is amazing, I'm really jealous. You got in on recommendations too, right?”

“Yeah. Midoriya?”

“That's me,” he grinned, “that's Bakugou coming over, we live near each other.”

“That explains a lot.”

“He's a good guy, I swear,” Midoriya laughed. “Underneath it all. Your Quirk is really unique, right? I've never seen anything else like it. It must be really cool having a power like that all to yourself. Not someone else's fire or ice, your own unbeatable combination. Funny how things work out, isn't it? Ah, sorry, I'm rambling too much. I'd like to see you fight one day, I think it would be really interesting to watch.”

Todoroki was stunned for a moment, but he nodded regardless, and he seemed a little softer for it.

“I'd better go, All Might is about to talk to us. Or maybe Aizawa is about to talk at us. I hope we can hang out soon, though.”

It didn't take long for their teachers to get through their spiel – how calmly they moved and how intelligent their decisions were, how surprised and a little impressed they were that no one tried to play games and got themselves hurt – and Midoriya found himself wondering how his life had become so uneventful with just a few small changes.

“But it's been a long day, and you all deserve some rest after this turn of events. Change out of your costumes and head home, we'll reconvene as usual tomorrow morning for a much less eventful day of school.”

They thought that was eventful?

Numb, Midoriya managed to change out of his jumpsuit and get his uniform on in its place. He fumbled with buttons, his hands trembling, but when Bakugou stopped in front of him to fix his tie, he fell still for a moment.

“Time to go home?” he asked softly.

Midoriya nodded, but before he could take a step he found his eyes stinging, his stomach churning, hiccups escaping his lungs.

“What are you-? Oh come on, now? Really? Fuckin' loser, I don't want to comfort you, shit.”

He grabbed a shaky hand and dragged him out of the changing room, two bags slung over his shoulder, a dozen pairs of eyes following them out the door. Around a corner, where the school was quiet, Midoriya found himself leaning on a wall, a bottle of water being thrust into his hand.

“Don't cry, nerd, shit,” Bakugou groaned. “You know I don't know what to do when you act like this!”

“S-Sorry, K-Kacchan, I j-just... I th-thought...”

His stutters were cut off by warmth, by a pair of soft lips against his, and his eyes flew open wide as he recognised the spiky blond hair in his face.

“K-Kacchan,” he stumbled, when they parted for a moment.

“Got some composure now, nerd?”

Midoriya shook his head wildly, reaching out with both arms, and with a little smile Bakugou kissed him again.

“We're not hanging out tonight”

“The fuck?”

“We're supposed to be making friends, Kacchan! You need to talk to people who aren't me!”

“But they're all annoying as fuck.”

“They're not, I promise! Why don't you hang out with Kirishima? He's super cool and really strong, and his Quirk makes him the perfect sparring partner for you!”

“Why? What's his damn Quirk?”

“Why don't you talk to him and find out?”

“I swear I'm gonna explode your face one day.”

Midoriya pouted and Bakugou grabbed a fistful of his hair, sighing as he gave the boy a good shake.

“Fucking fine, if it'll shut you up.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, fuckin' really. I'll talk to people, see if any of them are... I don't know, less annoying than you?”

“At least half of them are!” Midoriya grinned. “Really, I think you and Kirishima would get along really well!”

“You trying to set me up?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Better not be.”

“Kaminari and Ashido too! Make friends with them!”

“Ugh.”

As soon as the teacher left for the day, people produced bags and boxes from under their desks. Satou had a mountain of baked goods to share, immediately making him the most popular kid in class, and while everyone was distracted Midoriya saw Bakugou sneak a few plates of his own onto the food table. Part of him wanted to run over and try it right away, but a quick glare from Bakugou told him to keep his hands off. Instead he made his way over to where Uraraka was sitting with Asui, grinning as he joined them, his heart pounding with the effort it took to not wait for an invitation.

“Hi! I'm Midoriya Izuku, we haven't had much opportunity to talk yet so I wanted to come say hi! Uraraka, right? And Asui?”

“Right!” Uraraka grinned, “it's nice to finally talk to you!”

He could hear whispers occasionally surface around them as they chatted, sharing stories he'd heard a thousand times and stories he didn't think he'd ever heard, but it took him at least an hour too long to understand. His cheeks burned red when he caught the words on the wind, and the girls both contemplated him with concern.

“S-Sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck as he avoided their gaze. “I just... I didn't come over here to hit on you, okay? I heard some of the guys...”

“What?”

“You seem like really cool people and I wanted to be friends! But I guess walking up to a couple of girls first off made it look weird? So now people are assuming stuff and think I'm being weird or whatever and I hope you don't think I'm a creep.”

“No!” Uraraka insisted, shaking her head. “I didn't think that at all! I'm really enjoying talking with you!”

“Really? Thank you, that's really nice of you to say.”

“We kind of thought... Well, you know... Getting in on recommendations and all...”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You guys always seemed like... Well... Like you were above us?”

“What?! No! I've seen your Quirk, there's no way!”

“But you and Bakugou are always together, and Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are never here, so...”

“Yaoyorozu had a family event tonight! Todoroki... I don't know, he doesn't talk much, he probably just wanted to get home and rest. He's not very social. But me and Kacchan have been friends since we were toddlers! That's the only reason we're together a lot, you can still talk to us!”

“We'll keep that in mind,” Asui smiled. “It's good to have friends.”

”It's good to have allies, isn't it?”

“Yeah,” Midoriya agreed, nodding firmly. “It really is.”

Somewhere in the evening, Midoriya's group had grown. He sat in a circle with half the class, leaning over when Uraraka pulled a picture up on her phone.

“Oh, I like that one!” Asui said brightly. “Get that one!”

“Ah, I'm not convinced,” she sighed, swiping to another image. “This one seems more appropriate, but less comfortable.”

“Ohhh, that's really pretty too,” Asui agreed. “What do you think, Midoriya?”

“Me? Oh, no, I'm terrible at choosing clothes,” he laughed awkwardly. “Don't ask me.”

“If you were going on a date with a girl, which one would you like better?” Uraraka asked.

“It isn't even for a date! And besides, I'm not... I wouldn't...” he trailed off, blushing. “Really, I'm so bad at fashion. You should ask Kacchan, he's way better.”

“Really? Bakugou is?”

“He's amazing! His parents are both in the fashion industry so he grew up around it. I can't even tie a tie properly!”

“He looks kind of scary though.”

“Scary?” Midoriya laughed, “yeah, I get that. Hold on.”

He turned around to look at the little group in the corner, admiring the little smirk on Bakugou's face as he talked to his new friends, taking a moment to let him finish talking.

“Kacchan, I need to borrow you!” he called, to the amazement of his immediate company.

“Haah? Right now? What for, shithead?”

“Uraraka is trying to choose an outfit for a party.”

“And?”

“They asked my opinion, so come tell me my opinion.”

Bakugou flooded red, glaring when every eye in the room went to him.

“What have I told you about getting me involved in shitty fashion stuff?”

“Not to do it, but I didn't listen. It'll take thirty seconds, Kacchan!”

“Ugh.”

Finally he slid off the desk, giving his friends a sarcastic look before he headed for the larger group across the class, and landed a swift elbow in Midoriya's side as he leaned over to look.

“Alright, hurry up, then.”

She held up the first photo and he immediately pulled a face, shaking his head.

“You forty years old or something? Next.”

Nervously she scrolled to the next image, and he grumbled something as she showed him.

“Marginally better, I guess. What's with the length? Is this a costume party?”

“N-No.”

“Next.”

“Oh. Um...”

She took the phone back again, hunting through her bookmarks, and offered him another suggestion nervously.

“There's this one, but I wasn't sure...”

“That one, yeah,” Bakugou agreed immediately. “Way better. Don't wear black shoes though, whoever dressed that model is an idiot.”

“W-What colour do you s-suggest, then?”

“Don't fuckin' ask me, I don't buy shoes,” he glared, burning red. “The black just looks stupid.”

“Oh. Um, okay. Thanks for your help, Bakugou!”

“Whatever,” he growled, storming back over to his friends with a handful of snacks.

The conversations went back to normal within minutes, and Midoriya pulled out his phone, typing a quick apology out and sending it Bakugou's way.

“It's whatever,” he got back quickly. “Not like I'm ashamed to dress nice or whatever.”

Midoriya smiled to himself, remembering the rush of pink that had come over him, but kept his back turned to keep from showing his amusement. Another message came through as he was contemplating a reply, and he moved his keyboard out of the way to read it, barely stifling a giggle.

“Tell her silver would probably be good, as long as it's not some tacky glittery shit.”

“Thanks, Kacchan!”

He turned the screen Uraraka's way, getting a surprised look as she read it, before a grin took over in a hurry and she reached for the phone.

“Thank you Bakugou, I appreciate the help! Come with us next time we go shopping!”

“Over my dead body.”

She giggled as she handed the device back, and with a little smile Midoriya put it away in his pocket for later. He shrugged when he saw the way she was looking at him, his eyes darting back toward the other group again for a brief moment.

“I told you he's useful,” he chuckled. “Even if he hates admitting it.”

“It must be nice when you have a date.”

“Wh-What? Why?”

“Because he must be even better at picking for guys, right? You can just ask him to go through your wardrobe and choose something. Ohhh, do his parents get discounts? He must have so many nice things in his wardrobe.”

“He does, but he refuses to wear them,” Midoriya laughed. “Doesn't want to look pretentious or something. I've never asked him for help, personally.”

“That explains his hair,” Aoyama contributed, always ready to be part of a fashion discussion. “He's intentionally trying to look unkempt.”

“No, it just does that. It goes down for maybe five minutes after it gets wet, then it just goes poof again.”

He reached for his phone when it buzzed, unsurprised to see Bakugou's name on the screen again, smiling sheepishly when he opened the message.

“Quit talking about me, asswipe. Don't you have anything better to talk about?”

“Better than you? Kacchan you've gotten modest!”

“Fuck off, you know what I mean.”

With a grin he put it away again once more, shaking his head when Asui gave him a questioning look.

“All good!” he assured her, “what did you think of the Pros who helped out yesterday? Wasn't the fight amazing?”

“Oh my gosh, have you tried these meatballs?”

“Are they good?”

“I think this is the best thing I've ever tasted.”

Midoriya tried his best not to laugh at the praise, glancing over to where Hagakure's hands waved excitedly before she reached for another. He'd seen the recipe many times before, one of Bakugou's favourites to bring in his school lunches, but it had been a while since he'd made any for other people.

“Where did they come from? Please tell me I can buy them somewhere.”

“They must be homemade,” Ojiro mused, as he swallowed one himself. “Wonder who made them. Kouda maybe?”

Kouda shook his head, catching the conversation on the wind, but reached for one himself to try. Soon half the class was gathered around the meatballs, and Midoriya repressed another giggle when Kirishima offered one to Bakugou.

“Apparently they're amazing,” he explained, as Bakugou waved it off. “You sure?”

“I'm stuffed, couldn't eat another bite.”

“Your loss, man! More for me!”

Midoriya shook his head too, when Iida caught his eye and pointed to the plate, smiling as he pulled his phone out again. He made a mental note to cut it out, to talk to the people right beside him instead of constantly messaging Bakugou, but he couldn't resist.

“You'll make me some for lunch some time, right? So I don't have to eat them now?”

“Says who, asshole?”

“I can eat them now instead, but then everyone will be disappointed that they've run out faster.”

“Whatever, next time I feel like cooking.”

“You're the best, Kacchan!”

He looked up when the others returned with their little plates of food, grinning when Uraraka took a bite and straight-up moaned.

“They're almost gone,” she lamented. “You're gonna miss out, Midoriya!”

“I had some earlier. Delicious, right? Did you try the cabbage rolls too?”

“Huh? No?”

“Oh. Um, they're on the same type of plate, so I assume the same person...”

He trailed off as Uraraka and Asui immediately jumped up with their plates, laughing as they took off back to the snack table. The meatballs were entirely gone, and soon people were grabbing for the cabbage rolls too, when they saw the matching grey plate holding them, while Midoriya just laughed to himself.

“Did you make them, Midoriya?” Iida asked bluntly.

“Me?” Midoriya snapped to attention, eyes wide. “Gosh no, I can't cook!”

“Do you know who made them?”

“No, of course not!” he grinned sheepishly. “Someone is being modest, it looks like. I wouldn't want to try and figure it out and embarrass them!”

“You raise a good point, that's very kind of you.”

“Whoever it was, though, has obviously seen that they're popular. Hopefully they'll cook for us again some time.”

“That would be wonderful.”

As their second week of school went by, the biggest factor that arose for Midoriya was Bakugou's temper. He'd kind of forgotten how bad it could get. He'd mellowed out over the years, and then they'd become close in this past year since his return, so the anger problem had slipped his mind. He could see it directed at other people, though. At their classmates especially.

“Kacchan,” he said softly, slipping a hand around his elbow and tensing up as he anticipated the pull away. “Come on, is it really such a big deal?”

“The hell you want, shitnerd?” Bakugou fumed, but didn't immediately tear away from his grip.

“Do you really care about this or are you just frustrated?”

The question seemed to do its job, and Bakugou softened a little, the angry creases in his forehead smoothing out.

“Whatever,” he scowled. “I'm hungry.”

“I'll come get food with you!”

“Whatever.”

He shot an apologetic look at Todoroki on Bakugou's behalf. He still hadn't found a chance to build that bridge again, but he would figure it out. If nothing else, he still had the sports festival to sort it out.

Only he was gonna win, this time.

As they walked toward the cafeteria, Bakugou seemed to be contemplating something, and Midoriya realised too late that he was still holding Bakugou's arm.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, as he slipped his hands away and shoved them in his pockets. “Something on your mind?”

“You ever see anything not combat-related in your... Whatevers. What do you call your damn Quirk, anyway?”

“Oh. I didn't actually have a name for it, since I never registered it.”

“Come up with something, then.”

“Why don't you name it for me?”

“Why would you want-? Ugh, whatever, fine. Uh... Flash... Future Flash... No that sounds stupid. Foresight? Future Sight?”

“Oh! I like that one.”

“Fine, Future Sight it is, then. You ever see anything mundane with it?”

“Sure! All the time! I don't bother telling you most stuff since it doesn't matter.”

“You dream it or some shit?”

“No, it just sort of appears in my head. Like... Like a memory that hasn't happened yet.”

“Hmm.”

Midoriya watched as he considered the information, still scowling when his scarlet eyes darted back over.

“That chick with the creation. You like her?”

“Yaoyorozu? Yeah! She's awesome, right? She can literally make anything and she was recommended for admission! How cool is that?”

“So were we, loser.”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I know! But it's still cool!”

“Surprises me. Didn't think she was your type, somehow.”

“Eh? My ty- Kacchan! No! I don't have a crush on her!”

“Haah? I literally just asked you if you liked her!”

“As a friend, Kacchan!”

Once upon a time he'd had a crush on Uraraka, after all they'd been through. She was cute, after all. And sweet. Plus she was the first girl he ever really talked to which kind of skewed the results a little, but Yaoyorozu?! No! He'd never even considered it!

They might have interesting Quirk-babies, though. Power stockpiling and item creation, that could make some interesting combinations. Creating power items, or some kind of stockpiled creation. Then again, anti-gravity and power stockpiles could produce some sweet results too, right? Stocking up gravity and adding or removing it from an object?

Lord, he was turning into Endeavor.

“You're muttering,” Bakugou pointed out. “What's going on in that dumb head of yours?”

“Todoroki.”

“Haah? That's why you were so unhinged about Yao-whats-her-face? You like the fuckin' halfling?”

“What? No! We're not talking about crushes, Kacchan! I was just thinking is all!”

“Whatever.”

Midoriya looked up to see Bakugou pouting at the thought, and for a moment he couldn't quite hide the grin that spread across his face.

“Hey, we're going out working tonight, right?” Bakugou grumbled. “After dinner?”

“Yeah! It's a date!”

Bakugou gave him a sarcastic look, but Midoriya only grinned, and after a moment Bakugou softened a little.

“Whatever,” he sighed. “Yeah, it's a date.”

Midoriya sat down heavily at his desk, reaching into his bag for a thermos that definitely, absolutely, couldn't possibly contain coffee. It was just water, obviously! He wanted to keep it cold, that was all! Why would he need caffeine in the middle of the afternoon, right?

“Are you and Bakugou dating?”

“Huh?! No!” Midoriya stumbled, almost spitting out his drink as his face burned red. “Me? Kacchan? No! We're just friends! What gave you that impression?!”

“Well you hold hands all the time,” Uraraka pointed out, counting on her fingers. “You're the only one he's even remotely nice to, the only one who can calm him down when he gets angry...”

“We're friends! Childhood friends! That's just what people do, right?”

“Even hold hands?”

“Yeah! We were just kids when we started! It's no big deal!”

He was still burning red, he knew, and Uraraka seemed sceptical, but she shrugged it off.

“Alright, that's kind of sweet I guess. Everyone thinks you're dating, though, for the record.”

“No! Of course not!”

“Okay, okay! I'll leave it alone!” she grinned, throwing her hands up. “Come get dinner with me and Tsuyu later?”

“S-Sure. Oh, uh, can...”

“Can you bring Bakugou?” she smirked. “Yeah, of course you can.”

“See you after class!”

The moment she turned around he let his head fall onto his desk with a thump, moaning to himself, his eyes darting over to where Bakugou sat on the edge of Kirishima's desk, waiting for the bell to ring.

Him and Bakugou? No way.

Sure, they'd kissed but that didn't mean anything, right? They were just messing around because Midoriya was upset! Bakugou wanted to shut him up!

So what if he had the most amazing arms under that blazer? So what if the way he smiled made Midoriya's stomach flip? So what if his heart had thumped at twice the usual pace when they shared a bed?

It was nothing.

It had to be nothing.

They wouldn't be friends anymore if it was something.

Midoriya slammed his fists down on the desk, tears already stinging at his eyes by the time Bakugou turned around to look at him sadly.

“I was so damn close,” he muttered, dropping his forehead to the table too. “So fucking close!”

“Deku,” Bakugou said softly, “it isn't your fault.”

“It is,” he insisted through gritted teeth. “This didn't happen last time!”

“Last time? What are you talking about?”

“I screwed it up, Kacchan! I'm such an idiot!”

Without a word Bakugou took his hand, dragging him out of the classroom, ignoring the mutters that followed them.

“Talk to me, nerd. What's going on with you?”

“I'm so sorry, Kacchan. I lied to you. I told you so many lies. And I was so happy and it was all working and it was amazing but now... Now it's all over, Kacchan, and I'm so sorry.”

“Talk to me,” he repeated sternly, shoving Midoriya up against a wall for balance. “The truth. The whole truth.”

“You won't believe me anyway!”

“Fuck you! Don't tell me what I will and won't believe! Fuckin' tell me what's going on!”

Sobbing pathetically, he nodded, sinking down the wall to sit on the cold wooden floor.

“I have a Quirk, Kacchan.”

“I fuckin' know, genius.”

“No, I'm not talking about One for All or Future Sight. Future Sight was a lie.”

“What are you on about?”

“I didn't know I had a Quirk, Kacchan. Everyone told me I didn't have one. So I followed All Might and I found out his secret, but then you got attacked because of me, and I ran in to try and help you, and All Might decided to give me his Quirk – to pass it on to me because I ran in to help you Kacchan, because how could I not when it's Kacchan? And I was so happy and I worked so hard, but I still didn't fit in, and All Might was losing his strength, and we were supposed to take over for him, but then everything went wrong, and everyone was dying – everyone, Kacchan. The city was destroyed. Half the country was destroyed. And I didn't find out I had a Quirk of my own until I died and suddenly it all got messed up.”

“Woah, woah, slow down. What do you mean you died?”

“We were fighting, you and me, but not together. You hated me, we weren't friends – I mean, maybe a little at the end, but you made my life hell Kacchan, it was awful and you tried to tell me to kill myself and... and...”

“I didn't say anything of the sort!”

“But you did! And so when I went back I wanted to be your friend so I thought if we could work together for U.A. then maybe... Maybe...”

“How much did you sleep last night?”

“I told you you wouldn't believe me!”

“Okay, okay! I'm sorry, alright? Start from the beginning. You died?”

“Someone stabbed me and everything went dark, and my life flashed before my eyes, and then I was fourteen years old again and I was waking up in bed and I still remembered it all, Kacchan! I remembered all the people, all the things we did, every word that was said, I remember it.”

“Okay.” Bakugou took a handful of green hair, dragging his gaze up to meet stern ruby eyes. “And then what, Deku?”

“Y-You... You mean...”

“I believe you. Talk to me.”

“The first time I was all messed up and depressed and empty.”

“The first time?”

“I... I killed myself.”

“Why the fuck?!”

“I know, I know! Not my best idea, I get it. I was just so screwed up, I'd just died Kacchan, and I was so alone, and none of my best friends knew who I was, and you hated me, and... and... And I'm stupid, so I killed myself and I woke up again on the same day and I realised I was stuck in a loop.”

“When?”

“The day I told you about my Quirk.”

“Fuckin' Christ. That actually makes sense.”

“I was stupid, Kacchan. I decided that the best way to get All Might's attention was to get involved in everything and make a mess for him to clean up. I kept jumping into Pro fights. They called me Izukkun and it was kind of nice even though it was meant to be condescending.”

“And you got yourself killed by a villain?”

“No, I got you killed,” Midoriya sobbed again, rubbing his sleeve over his eyes. “And I couldn't do it, Kacchan, I had to start over.”

Bakugou stared at him, speechless, and Midoriya sniffled.

“So I did what you told me, Kacchan.”

“What did I tell you to do?” he asked breathlessly.

“Have faith that in the next life I could be a hero,” Midoriya explained, gesturing stupidly with his hand as he spoke. “I took a last-ditch dive from the roof.”

“What? I didn't... No way.”

“I knew I needed your strength, Kacchan, so I called you and I asked you to meet me at the park, and I explained this whole Quirk thing, and we worked together, Kacchan. We tried to fix things. And then I went back to my own time and it was better. We were a team.”

“We didn't meet in the park.”

“Because I asked you, Kacchan. I asked you what you thought on that day, and you asked why I couldn't have just told you on the phone instead of making you go out so early. So I went back again and-”

“You killed yourself again.”

“I... I let a villain do it.”

He remembered the too-familiar voice screaming his name, cringing and curling into a ball, shaking his head.

“I'm sorry, Kacchan. I hurt you that time. I made you watch.”

“Deku...”

He sniffed again, wiping his eyes, a little more composed as he spoke.

“And then there was this one. Us. And we got so close Kacchan, I never dreamed... And I was so happy, Kacchan, so happy with you. But now... Now I've screwed it up again. So many people died this morning and I couldn't do anything to stop it.”

“But things could still work out better.”

“No! These people didn't die before! Not until... Not until the end. I need to stop that, Kacchan, that's why this is happening to me.”

“And you're gonna fucking kill yourself again in the hopes that maybe it'll work again?! You're insane!”

“I have to, Kacchan. I have to fix it.”

“You're sick, Deku. Just... Just wait, okay? One day you'll have to die, right? And then... And then maybe you'll go back. But right now you're meant to be with me, Deku. Don't leave me.”

“But you won't exist anymore when I go, you won't remember.”

“You don't know that! What if the me in that first life is lying lifeless beside your damn corpse?!”

“K-Kacchan...”

“You don't know what happens when you leave! Don't do this to me!”

“Don't you know how your Quirk works, Kacchan?”

“W-What? Of course I do!”

“You knew from the start, right? You could feel it?”

Bakugou fell silent at that, nodding faintly before he spoke again.

“Then let me do it. If you're so damn sure that's how it works, you can let me kill you, can't you? If you can't do it, if you're not that sure, then you can't do this.”

“You always did want to murder me,” Midoriya laughed weakly, shaking his head. “No. I'm sorry.”

“Why not?! If you're so determined I won't remember, then why?”

“Because I remember it, Kacchan. I can't live with the memory of you doing me in.”

“Deku...” he sighed, shaking his head slowly. “At least let me help, okay? We'll come up with a plan together before you go.”

“Really?”

“We're a team, aren't we?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we are.”

He didn't bother to walk back into the half-empty classroom, just grabbed Midoriya's hand again and led him down the hall to find a space in the library.

“How old were you? The first time?”

“Ah... Seventeen still, I think?”

“So still a child. I should have known.”

“What?” he laughed weakly, “what are you talking about, Kacchan?”

“You're a fucking child,” he repeated viciously. “Go to the fuckin' authorities Deku. Don't go to me, go to an adult.”

“They won't believe me, Kacchan.”

“You fuckin' make them believe you! We're gonna research every tiny little incident that has happened between that day and now, and you're gonna memorise the whole damn list, and you're gonna hand deliver it to... To someone, I don't fucking know! Everyone! Every Hero, every teacher, every fuckin' parent on the street!”

“I can't do it without you, Kacchan.”

“Then tell me the truth and let me help you!”

They fell silent for a moment, and Midoriya cracked a tiny smile.

“You really think fourteen-year-old kind-of-a-dick bully-Kacchan would believe this shit?”

“Make me believe.”

“How?!”

He paused, contemplating it, and Midoriya logged in to the computer while he waited.

“I'm gonna give you a fuckin' password,” Bakugou grumbled. “And you're not gonna ask me anything else about it.”

“A password?”

“If you say it to me- to him? He should at least hear you out.”

“What is it?”

Bakugou looked away, and Midoriya caught a glimpse of red in his cheeks as he muttered.

“Zuzu.”

“Zuzu?”

“I said don't fuckin' ask.”

“Okay. I'll remember, I promise.”

“Don't call me, don't ask me to meet you. My parents were out when you called anyway, just show up on my doorstep and make me listen. I know I'm an ass, but... But I still like you, okay? Even then, I still...”

“Really?”

“Really. And... And don't call me Kacchan, okay?”

“You don't like it?”

“I fuckin' do but he'll – I'll – fuck. Whatever. You'll sound more serious if you call me Katsuki, and besides that... Ugh. There's no way he'll believe that I let you call me Kacchan when I was eighteen.”

“Okay.”

“You and I will always end up together, Deku. I promise. So please, don't spend all those years on me. Fix things, make things right, and when you've done your job, we'll spend the rest of our days together.”

It wasn't until they stood on the cold rooftop in the rain, a list of dates and names in his head, that it all started to hit him, that the tears started to pour down his face with hiccuping sobs.

“I'm so sorry, Kacchan.”

“You don't have to do this.”

“I do. And because I know you won't remember, I don't have to be embarrassed now. So Kacchan, I love you. I love you so much, okay? And I will again, I swear.”

“I love you too, Deku. Izuku. I love you.”

“Can I kiss you one more time before I go?”

“Fuckin' of course, idiot.”

He threw his arms around Bakugou's neck, kissing him like it was the last thing he'd ever do – in a way, it was. And when they parted, with a last glance at the tears in Bakugou's eyes, he felt himself falling. Bakugou's hands reached for him, trying to pull him back, cursing himself for letting his guard down. But he was already falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Midoriya leapt out of bed, throwing things around the room as he hunted for a pen and a piece of paper, his eyelids still sticky with tears that hadn't yet dried. As soon as he found what he needed he began to write, scribbling down every word they'd discussed, every date and event they'd spent all night poring over.

It was going to work this time.

He barely stopped to pull on his pants, tucking the notebook under his arm and running. He didn't stop to say good morning to his mother, didn't explain himself, he just ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

Kacchan. I have to see Kacchan. I have to-

He was on the doorstep, pounding desperately at the front door and waiting for the footsteps.

Thump thump thump.

Nothing

Thump thump thump.

“Fuckin' shut it!” an angry voice called, and his heart soared. “I'm coming, for fuck's sake!”

He struggled to hold back his tears as Bakugou pulled the door open, his expression quickly softening.

“Hey, Deku. Didn't know you were coming.”

He fell still, fell silent, and Bakugou gave him a confused look.

“You coming in or what?”

“K-Kacchan...”

“Did you have nightmares again or something? You could have just called. Come in, let's go back to bed.”

“Kacchan... Um... What day is it?”

“What? Sunday, idiot. Did you think we had school?”

“Y-Yeah. Oops.” He laughed sheepishly, messing with his hair. “I can come in?”

“Obviously.”

“Can I borrow your phone, too?”

“Forgot yours, huh?”

“I was in a rush. I'd better let Mom know I'm okay.”

“Yeah, come on.”

He was dressed in a pair of dark boxers and a familiar faded t-shirt, one of his first All Might merch pieces, bought in secret when he was maybe thirteen years old.

“See anything interesting?”

“Your ass.”

“Other than that, perv.”

“I think people are going to get hurt. Um, tomorrow probably.”

“Bad?”

“Real bad.”

“Let's take a nap, and when we wake up, we'll sort it out together, okay?”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

He snuggled in happily between the cool sheets, Bakugou's arms warm around him, and he smiled to himself contentedly as he let his eyes sink closed.

When they woke up, Midoriya seemed to have pieced it all together in his mind finally. He'd expected to go all the way back, back to befriending Bakugou all over again, but by some stroke of luck he seemed to have hit some kind of checkpoint. The USJ incident, maybe. He had a second chance at the big events – or third or fourth – until he got it right, then it moved to the next one. Which meant tomorrow would be the next big event, right? How had they avoided it the first time?

USJ, of course. A ton of villains had been captured the first time, ones who retreated this time around. One of them must have caused the mayhem at the train station.

He tried to recall the words he'd hardly heard, the words that were drowned out by tears and sobbing. Bomb was in there somewhere. Bomb Quirk. Train station.

Right – he and Bakugou had been at school early. Earlier than usual. But others hadn't been so lucky. They had targetted the station during peak U.A. Hours – probably Shigaraki trying to get back at him and Bakugou for ruining his shot at All Might.

Again.

The first thing he did was write out everything he could remember – approximate times, the people he knew were involved, the death toll.

He wished he didn't remember the death toll.

“Deku, you're shaking.”

He leaned over the back of the chair, draping an arm around Midoriya's chest, and Midoriya leaned in to him to find comfort. Bakugou cringed when he read the piece of paper, squeezing a little tighter and planting a kiss on messy green curls.

“Do you think I should tell them what's going on?”

“It might make people panic. Do you think we could convince them to meet early? Before class?”

“I could get Iida or Yaoyorozu to do it.”

“Try it. Yaowhatsit will do it, right? Get her to say we've got stuff to plan for the sports day or whatever and ask everyone to meet an hour early.”

“I'll try.”

"We'll fix it, Deku. I promise. We always do."

They heard the explosion even from their classroom, and everyone ran to the windows to investigate. There was smoke rising from the train station, people screaming and yelling, and immediately Midoriya cursed himself. He'd thought the heroes could get the guy before he set his bomb off, but no, something must have gone wrong.

“It's our turn to act,” he barked. “Come on, people might need help.”

No one hesitated to follow him, activating various Quirks to speed ahead where possible.

Midoriya knew how this went, even if he had no knowledge of this event.

“First aid at this end,” he yelled, tying his blazer to a post where it could be seen at a distance. “Clearing rubble, heads up.”

He threw a spinning kick that cleared the area around them with a quick gust of wind, and already Bakugou was carrying the first person out, reassuring him with a surprisingly tender tone as he set the old man down near the flag.

“He's okay,” Bakugou informed them. “No actual injuries.”

Despite most of them only meeting two weeks ago, the way their class worked together was first-rate. With all they'd been through in such a short time, and with Midoriya's little party to help bring them together, everyone had quickly come to learn how their friends' Quirks could best be used. They split off into little groups, taking turns searching through the wreckage or providing first aid, and Midoriya had a feeling Aizawa would be proud of them.

The license exam was gonna be easy this time around.

“Three, two, one, blast off!”

He looked up to see Bakugou grinning above them, a kid clinging to each hip as he fired bursts from his hands, launching them toward the clearing amidst fits of giggles. Midoriya softened when he saw him set the kids down, tear stains a remnant of fear long forgotten in favour of their new rocket-ship-pal.

“I love you,” he whispered, as Bakugou headed back into the crumbling building. “So much.”

They'd been warned – so many times they'd been warned. Do not pursue. Let them go. It is not worth fighting this battle right now.

When Midoriya saw that one face, though, he froze solid. His shoes had turned to concrete, rooting him in place, and Bakugou stopped knowingly to look back at him.

“You know him, don't you?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck,” Bakugou spat, scowling as he glanced back to where teachers were herding students back toward the school as they showered them with praise. “Fucking come on.”

“Really?”

“Obviously, dickbag! He's important! Let's go start some shit.”

Somehow, Midoriya smiled.

Together they ran, following the course the familiar villain marked through the buildings, deflecting off rooftops and tall buildings to soar through the streets. They were young, sure, but they were fast and they were determined and there was no fucking way Midoriya was going to let the man who killed Aizawa get away.

He didn't hear anyone yell after them, but maybe they had just been gone too quickly. All Might and Aizawa would figure it out quickly, even if their classmates didn't. They'd be in deep shit when they got back.

Midoriya was pretty sure he didn't care anymore.

Finally the villain seemed to notice them coming, skidding to a halt in the street and turning to face them, his fingers sharpening to blades as a familiar crazed smile took over his features. He'd seen that look before. He'd seen it bearing down on his favourite teacher, he'd seen a long tongue licking blood off those same deadly fingers.

“Don't get near his hands,” Midoriya instructed. “You go left, I'll go right. Whoever he heads for needs to stay out of his reach while the other attacks and subdues him.”

“Does he have any other use for his Quirk?”

“I don't think so, not that I've seen.”

“So I should blow up his hands and you can restrain him?”

“That would be ideal.”

“On it.”

The moment they got close enough they dove in, not bothering to stop and chat with the maniac. His eyes were too wild to bother trying to reason with him or get information out of him. It wasn't worth their time.

“Look at this!” the villain screamed, throwing his hands in the air and laughing like he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Two little toys come to play! Lucky me, lucky me!”

Bakugou aimed a shot at his hands, but the lack of power behind it told Midoriya he'd never expected to hit – no, that shot was to get his attention, and to help him divert his momentum. That was one thing Bakugou had always been good at – he knew how to use even the smallest of explosions to correct his path, to destroy his inertia and turn on a dime when needed. Sure enough, though, the villain turned, giving Midoriya a chance to slam a foot into the back of his head.

With another wild scream he turned, lurching forward to slice at Midoriya with his fingers, but Bakugou was on it. He launched himself into the air, firing a blast straight down at the man, this time with a lot more force behind it.

The villain just barely got out of the way in time, rolling away with half his body burned, his clothes charred and crumbling. There was a gash in his ribs that poured blood to the ground, and when he instinctively grabbed at it a howl erupted from his lungs. His own fingers had managed to stab into the wound, and Bakugou sneered at him as he built up sweat in his gauntlet for the finishing blow.

“You'll pay for this!” he yowled, clutching at his head and hunching over, shaking with rage. “I'll fucking murder the both of you!”

“Try it, fuckfingers!”

Midoriya made to tackle him, just barely missing as the man saw him coming, but for a brief moment Bakugou was forgotten. And with that brief moment, that brief opportunity, Bakugou pulled the pin on a gauntlet.

Midoriya full-cowled in a hurry, scrambling for a foothold to launch himself away from the explosion, but still the force of the shockwave sent him tumbling along the concrete, hissing as he grazed his elbows and back.

“Sorry!” Bakugou yelled, as he jammed a foot down on the villains back and pressed him into the dust. He didn't move, and Midoriya suspected he was unconscious at best. “You alright?”

Midoriya shot him a thumbs up, coughing dust as he stumbled to his feet, and by the time he limped his way over Bakugou was already tying the villain up. The commotion had brought attention, had brought witnesses, and Midoriya was grateful to see a police van come careening up the street toward them.

“This guy was part of the group that attacked the station near U.A. this morning,” Bakugou explained, as two officers approached him. “Most of the others got away, but this one was a nutjob.”

“We'll take it from here. Good work, boys.”

Bakugou raised an eyebrow, questions waiting on his lips – why weren't they lecturing him? Why wasn't he already arguing about being allowed to fight? Where were the usual scathing comments?

Midoriya cracked a smile when he looked up and found the familiar gaze on him, waving awkwardly with a beat up arm.

“Long time no see,” he chuckled. “Thanks for all the help.”

“You know this one?” Bakugou growled.

“He's taken people for us before,” Midoriya laughed, “he was the first to stop arguing with me.”

“Thanks,” Bakugou grinned, tossing the knocked out villain to his feet. “Keep him locked up a long time, will you?”

“Of course.”

“Seriously,” Midoriya added, a lot more stern than his chuckles a moment ago. “Minimum three years. For me.”

“I'll see what I can do.”

As they turned to leave, Midoriya caught Bakugou eyeing him over, concerned and questioning all at once.

“Who did he kill?” he asked finally, when they were away from the crowd. “Someone important, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Me?”

“You?” Midoriya scoffed. “No one can kill you. I'll die before you do.”

“Like hell.”

Midoriya smiled faintly, shaking his head, and still Bakugou waited with a surprising amount of patience.

“Aizawa-sensei,” he answered finally. “And probably a few of our classmates. Not any time soon though.”

“Well... I guess that's a good thing.”

“Kind of, yeah.”

Midoriya squeaked when he felt Bakugou's strong arms around him, hauled onto his back without being allowed a word of protest. By the time he found the presence of mind to argue, Bakugou was already carrying him comfortably, and with a sigh he let himself sink into the young man's warm body.

“Sorry I hurt you.”

“It's okay. I would have been mad if you hadn't, probably.”

“I knew you'd cope. We'll take you to Recovery Girl and you'll be good as new in no time.”

“Yeah, she's not sick of me yet this time.”

“This time?”

“Ah... Yeah, I mean... I don't know, they were stupid words, I'm tired.”

“Idiot,” Bakugou chuckled. “Just close the mouth.”

“Mm, okay.”

He draped his arms loosely around Bakugou's neck to keep himself steady, letting himself be carted along with surprisingly light steps – apparently Midoriya's weight meant nothing to Bakugou anymore. That was good to know.

“Hey, Kacchan?”

“Mm?”

“When did we start dating?”

Bakugou contemplated for a moment, turning his head but not quite reaching Midoriya's gaze.

“Are we?”

“People keep saying we are.”

“But we're not, right? We've never been on a date.”

“That's what I said, too.”

“What makes people think we're dating?”

“You're nice to me.”

“We're partners, dumbass, of course I'm nice to you.”

“Apparently when you get angry at people only I can calm you down.”

“Because you know me.”

“We hold hands sometimes.”

“Girls hold hands with their friends all the time!”

“Do they?”

“I mean, that's what I'm told.”

“You let me hug you sometimes.”

“Well... Yeah, but shitty hair does that too. And I've seen you hug a ton of people.”

“You kissed me that time.”

Bakugou paused at that, falling silent for a moment.

“Yeah, I did do that.”

“Do you like me, Kacchan? Like a boyfriend?”

“Mm... Probably, yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up, it's not like you haven't had a crush on me since the day we met!”

“Yeah,” Midoriya grinned, leaning a cheek against messy blond hair. “I have.”

“So what, you told everyone we were dating to make me do it? What an ass.”

“I didn't!” Midoriya insisted, seeing Bakugou's cheek twitch as he smirked. “Shut up.”

“We're not dating,” Bakugou clarified. “But... Maybe we might be a couple.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Midoriya sighed contentedly, leaning over to kiss Bakugou's cheek. “I'd like that.”

“It wasn't a question, dickwad. We just are.”

“Okay! That means you won't see anyone else, right? You aren't gonna date somebody else?”

“Course I'm not. You better not either.”

“I wouldn't dream of it.”

Finally they got back to the school, interrupted en route to the infirmary by a very unhappy Aizawa.

“Why is it that when something goes wrong I always know exactly which students are at the center of it?”

“Sorry, Aizawa-sensei,” Midoriya mumbled reluctantly. “I had a flash and we just kind of reacted on instinct.”

“You're supposed to tell myself or All Might about those things, not act on your own.”

“I know! Really, I do, I know. It was like my chest got all twisted up and then I couldn't think, I just had to... I had to stop him before he got away. He was going to hurt someone, Sensei. Someone... Someone really important to me.”

“And you got yourself beat up in the process, I see. You deserved this one.”

“Oh, no, that was Kacchan!” he grinned sheepishly. “His gauntlet was a bit more full than I expected, I got too close.”

“I don't know what I'm going to do with either of you. I should just expel you and be done with it.”

Bakugou set him down lightly when he tapped at a shoulder, and with a deep breath he squared up, puffing out his chest.

“Expel me if you want,” he said firmly, his face dark. “It won't stop me getting involved.”

“I believe it,” Aizawa sighed. “Or else I would have done it by now. At least if you're here I can keep an eye on you some of the time.”

“Let's be honest, Sensei. You love us, don't you?”

He draped an arm across Bakugou's shoulders, pulling him into a little hug, and both of them grinned as Aizawa sighed at them.

“You're my damn troublemakers. My problem children. But you are, in fact, mine.”

“That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me,” Bakugou smirked. “Can I take Deku to Recovery Girl now?”

“I should say no. I should just make you live with the injuries.”

“I'll still keep training, Sensei. If you want me to train like this, I can.”

“That's the problem. Get out of my sight before I change my mind and have you both arrested.”

“Going, Sensei!” Midoriya laughed, not protesting when Bakugou hauled him up onto his back again. “See you tomorrow!”

“God help me.”

“I love you too!”

Midoriya leaned forward over Bakugou's shoulder to grin at him, getting an amused smirk in return before he shook his head faintly.

“Never thought I'd catch the little nerd snarking a teacher.”

“He likes me, Kacchan! It's okay!”

“No one likes you, dimwit.”

“He does!” Midoriya pouted. “And All Might too, now that he knows I'm telling the truth! Well, mostly the truth. Some of it, at least. He thinks I'm telling the truth and that's the main thing! And Uraraka likes me, and Yaoyorozu likes me, and Iida and Todoroki and Jirou and Tsuyu and...”

“And?”

“And you like me, right?” he asked quietly, running a hand through blond spikes. “Don't you?”

“Against my better judgment.”

“Mean.”

Midoriya found himself oddly twitchy as he sat in All Might's office, poking at his lunch absent-mindedly as the man talked.

“I don't have much time left to stand as the symbol of peace,” he explained soberly. “Which means this Sports Festival is a chance for the world to see that a new symbol has arisen, a new hero stands to take my place when I retire.”

“Yeah,” Midoriya agreed quietly. “I know.”

“So what are your plans?”

“To win.”

“Oi!” Bakugou interjected, punching him a little harder than really necessary. “You think you can beat me, loser?”

“Yeah,” Midoriya nodded, his expression not changing. “I think I can.”

“Excuse me?!”

He finally cracked a smile when he looked up, and it took a moment for Bakugou to catch on, for him to calm himself in favour of a frustrated huff.

“You're gonna get yourself blown up one day, nerd, I swear to God.”

“You won't do it.”

“Is that a challenge?!”

“No, it's the truth.”

Bakugou growled, but didn't argue with him.

“I can't promise you anything, All Might, except that I'll do my best to tell the world I've arrived.”

“We, asshole,” Bakugou muttered, blushing as he looked away. “We're a fuckin' team, aren't we?”

“We,” Midoriya repeated with a smile. “Yeah, we.”

When they left the room Bakugou quietly took his hand, and for the first time since... As long as he could remember, really, he felt at peace. He wasn't alone. Not in this, not in any of it. Bakugou would always be there to pick him up if he fell.

But this time he wasn't going to fall.

He'd done enough falling to last a lifetime.

The first time through, their response to the USJ incident had made class 1-A an object of interest. People had come from right across the school to scope them out, to see what they were made of. This time, with the heroes handling it themselves, all the students got were a few sidelong glances, a few extras on the sidelines at their sparring sessions.

It made no difference to Midoriya – watching his Quirk wouldn't help them with anything, after all. Bakugou should have been a little more concerned about that, but, well...

“Watch this one, extras!” he yelled, a menacing grin on his face as he aimed a hand at the crowd. “Hold still, assholes!”

Someone in the back of the group screamed when Bakugou shot off a collection of auto-cannon shots around them, but thankfully they all seemed to freeze – for all his various reputations in the school, “bad marksman” was not one of them. Nor was “genuinely willing to kill people for looking at him funny,” which Midoriya liked to jokingly take credit for.

“It's funny, you know,” he grinned when the class was dismissed. “They genuinely trusted you right there, even if they were terrified.”

“What, you don't?”

“I do! Well, mostly. It probably depends how much I've been provoking you that day.”

“Oh look the nerd actually has something useful in that brain.”

“You'll be grateful for my notes one day!” Midoriya grinned, linking arms as they headed for the changing room. “I've seen it!”

“Have you now?”

“Uh-huh! You'll also be super grateful for me mellowing you out. Promise.”

“Ugh. I should have blown those losers up.”

“Kacchan!”

“And will you quit calling me that?! I'm not five years old!”

“Nope!” Midoriya grinned, kissing him on the cheek lightly once they were out of sight. “You like it, I know you do!”

“Bullshit.”

“You told me, Kacchan!”

“I fuckin' did not!”

“You did! Just not yet.”

“Fuck you and your dumb Future Sight, now you're just making shit up.”

Midoriya paused, letting Bakugou's arm slip from his as he kept walking, and it took a few more steps for Bakugou to turn around. His face was a mixture of exasperation and confusion – tired of his shit, but still wanting to understand it.

“Do you really hate it?” he asked softly, his face falling. “I can stop.”

“Don't you dare, fucker,” Bakugou muttered, flooding red.

“K-Kacchan?”

“Fucking what, Deku?”

“So you do like it?”

“Shut the hell up.”

“You do!,” Midoriya grinned, tackling Bakugou only to be caught in his grasp easily. “You like it Kacchan!”

“I swear to God if you don't shut your mouth right now I'm gonna stick my entire fist inside it and AP shot your ass.”

“So now you want to fist me?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Midoriya grinned, tucking himself under Bakugou's arm happily and nuzzling into his side.

“I knew you two were dating!”

Midoriya jumped at the triumphant voice from down the hall, flooding red as he sprang away from Bakugou's grip, waving his hands wildly and shaking his head but not finding any words to go with it.

“Fuckin' aren't,” Bakugou scowled. “What is it to you anyway?”

“Kaminari owes me cash!”

“We're not fuckin' dating!”

Kirishima fell silent, glancing between their blushing faces a few times, his expression full of a mess of emotions mostly overridden by confusion.

“You're not?”

“No,” Midoriya confirmed sheepishly. “We're not.”

“I just saw you cuddling!”

“Do you want to cuddle too, Kirishima?” Midoriya asked, holding his arms out with a grin. “I don't mind cuddling my friends!”

“Don't you fuckin' dare,” Bakugou growled, hauling him back by the collar. “You're my boyfriend, fuckass.”

“So you are dating!”

“Fuck off! I told you a thousand times we're not!”

“So... He's your boyfriend, but you're not dating?”

“Yes!”

“...Bakugou that's not how it works.”

Midoriya tilted his head slightly in his contemplation, confusion driving his eyebrows together.

“He's kind of right, that doesn't sound like how it works,” Midoriya acknowledged. “You're gonna have to take me on a date, Kacchan.”

“Ugh, look what you've gotten me into now, shitty hair.”

“I don't understand!” Kirishima wailed, “are you together or not?!”

“Fucking yes!”

“Then why did you say no?!”

“Because we've never been on a fuckin' date!”

“...is that all?” Kirishima asked, immediately returning to his normal grinning exterior. “That doesn't matter, man! Dating is like, before boyfriend, so if you're going with boyfriend you're dating by default.”

“Is that true?” Midoriya asked, looking up at Bakugou in surprise. “I didn't know that, did you know that?”

“Of course I didn't know that! Ugh.”

“That's so cool, dudes. Manliest relationship ever, I'm so proud of you Bakugou.”

“Fuck off,” he scowled, wrapping Midoriya up in one arm and dragging him off down the hall. “I want to go home, fucker, hurry up.”

“I'll be cheering you both on!” Kirishima called with a grin. “Go get 'em Midoriya!”

Midoriya shot him a thumbs up where he hoped Bakugou wouldn't notice it, and Bakugou grumbled to himself as they walked.

“Oi, shitty hair!” he yelled, whirling around again in a hurry. “I hope you know I'm gonna fuckin' destroy you at the sports festival!”

“I'm sure you are, lover boy!”

“He's going down.”

Bakugou paused at his front door, contemplating, then pulled a face when Midoriya gave him a questioning look.

“Do you want to go get dinner or some shit?”

“Oh, yeah, okay.”

“I mean, like... Fuck, like a date.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We may as well just settle this shit.”

“Yes! Please!”

“Idiot,” Bakugou scoffed, softening a little. “Let me get changed, I don't really want to go in uniform.”

“Okay! I'll wait for you!”

“Come inside, idiot. I didn't mean you had to sit on the doorstep.”

“Okay!”

With a grin he followed Bakugou into the empty house, kicking his shoes off and following Bakugou up the stairs.

“Can I watch?”

“Watch what?”

“You change.”

Bakugou scoffed, but nodded anyway, opening his wardrobe to contemplate, then glancing back at Midoriya again.

“You want to pick for me too?”

“Can I?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Where are we going?”

“Wherever is open, I'm regretting this decision already.”

“Okay, okay!” He scurried to the wardrobe in a hurry, flipping through old faded t-shirts and baggy pants. “Where's the stuff your Mom picks out?”

“In the trash.”

“Yeah right.”

With a grumble he pulled open a drawer, letting Midoriya take free reign of piles of expensive-looking clothes. A pair of brand new black jeans came out first, and Midoriya stifled a laugh as he thought about the whole drama with Best Jeanist yet to come. Part of him wanted to let it happen for the sake of the humor, but most of him felt a little bad for even considering it.

“Hey, Kacchan,” he started slowly, as he carefully sorted through a stack of neatly folded shirts. “When the time comes to pick internships, maybe don't just pick the highest-ranked hero, okay?”

“Haah? You know something I don't?”

“Yeah,” Midoriya grinned to himself, not daring to look back. “I usually do.”

“Listen here you little shit-”

“Here!” he cut in quickly, holding out the jeans and a dark red dress shirt. “Okay, get changed.”

“Ugh.”

Despite a few grumbles, he didn't actually complain, and Midoriya watched happily as he ditched his school trousers, admiring the muscular thighs that peeked out from his underwear. Bakugou caught his eye with the jeans halfway up his legs, raising an eyebrow at him, but Midoriya only grinned back. With a sigh he stripped his shirt off next, and Midoriya almost choked on his own saliva when he saw the arms and abs that came out.

Just a year ago Midoriya had looked at him and been amazed by how small he was. No more.

“Kacchan, kiss me.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

Bakugou smirked, but reached for Midoriya obediently, taking a hand and setting it pointedly on his chest.

“Like what you see, huh, nerd?”

“Uh-huh.”

Midoriya's breath left him the moment Bakugou kissed him, letting his other hand move in too, until he was exploring Bakugou's upper body while their tongues mingled in his mouth.

“So hot,” he breathed, sending a rush of blood to Bakugou's face. “Kacchan I didn't know you were so hot.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, kissing Midoriya once more before he pulled away. “Come on, I assume you want to get changed too.”

“It's probably a good idea, otherwise I'll look like your dorky kid brother or something.”

“No you won't.”

It was all the words he got, but somehow they still made Midoriya's heart feel lighter.

“One more thing.”

“What is it now?”

With a grin Midoriya reached for a sleeve, carefully folding them back to Bakugou's elbows, leaving his impressive forearms exposed.

“Perfect,” he said fondly, planting a kiss on Bakugou's cheek. “Okay, let's go.”

The entire way to his apartment, Midoriya continued to steal glances at Bakugou. He'd officially found his favourite Kacchan Look – the faded All Might shirt and boxers that he slept in had been overtaken. He hadn't expected Hero Costume to sink so far down the list – although winter Hero Costume, on the other hand, that one was still pretty high. Something about the way that shirt clung to his arms, it was pure artistry.

“What's with all the horny mumbling?” Bakugou scowled. “Cut it out.”

“Sorry!”

“Idiot.”

Bakugou hardly bothered with formalities, showing himself in to the apartment and calling a hello to Mrs. Midoriya, then walking straight to Midoriya's closet. He hadn't thought this part through, he realised, when Bakugou immediately fixated on the splash of orange.

Midoriya tried to snatch it from his hand before he could catch on, but Bakugou held it out of his reach, raising an eyebrow at the boy stubbornly.

“Where the fuck did you get this?”

“I had it made,” he admitted sheepishly. “I wanted to have it.”

“Where do you even get something like this made?”

“It's just a t-shirt, Kacchan! They just printed it on, it's not weird! It's a little small though, so it's not like I could actually wear it even if that wouldn't be kinda weird.”

“It's super weird, and you're fuckin' wearing it.”

He threw it at Midoriya immediately, and despite his embarrassment Midoriya changed out of his uniform, pulling on the black t-shirt. Bakugou contemplated him for a moment, smirking as he licked his lips.

“Too small my ass. Fits fuckin' perfectly. Stop drowning yourself in your shirts.”

“B-But it doesn't hide anything,” he argued, running his fingertips over a bright orange cross. “It's all tight and clingy.”

“It's not tight, it's form fitting, like your clothes are supposed to be. Here, put these on.”

He threw over a pair of grey jeans, then returned to rummaging through the closet. With a triumphant smirk he produced a pair of plain black sneakers, holding them out pointedly.

“No freakin' red shoes today.”

“What's wrong with my shoes?”

“They're so damn bright.”

“Fine,” Midoriya pouted. “I should have thought this through.”

“Relax, you look way better than I do.”

“Kacchan!” Midoriya's jaw fell open, his eyes shining. “You really think so?”

“Because I look like a nerd, shitmunch!” He flooded red again, turning away in a hurry to put rejected items away. “Shut up.”

“You really think you can look like a nerd with those arms?”

Bakugou grinned, flexing pointedly, and Midoriya practically drooled at the sight.

“Too damn easy,” he sighed, a lot more fondly than usual. “Come on, idiot, I'm starving.”

“Coming!”

They stopped on the way out to explain to Mrs. Midoriya, and her eyes shone as she looked them over, practically bouncing with her glee.

“Have a great time, boys! Don't stay out too late, you have school tomorrow!”

“Yeah, thanks Mom,” Midoriya agreed, reaching for Bakugou's hand. “Come on, let's go get food.”

When the day of the sports festival rolled around, Midoriya could hardly stand still for his anticipation. Bakugou was right at his side, as always, smirking when they locked eyes for a moment, and Midoriya managed a little smile in return.

This time, he was going to win.

He was surprised when they called Kirishima up to deliver the speech, realising far too late that their recommendations had kept Bakugou out of the running – though maybe that was for the best.

“In the words of my esteemed classmate,” Kirishima began, perfectly innocent with his little smile, “I'm gonna place first, and there's nothing the rest of you can do about it.”

Well, shit. Maybe he shouldn't have introduced them so early.

“Fuck you!” Bakugou yelled above the complaints of the crowd. “I'll kick your ass into next week, shitty hair! That's my line!”

With a grin Kirishima sauntered off the stage, and Midoriya stifled a laugh in his hand at the genuine anger on Bakugou's face, the self-satisfied smile on Kirishima's.

Some things never changed.

The moment the race started, he was off. He didn't bother to look back at the mob of people behind him, he just threw his power into his legs and leapt over heads, throwing himself out into the front of the pack. He knew Bakugou and Todoroki would both be right beside him, and when the zero-point robots appeared he found himself smiling. Purely for the hell of it he held up his left hand, one finger pointing straight up, and when he glanced over he saw Bakugou grin, holding up two fingers on his right.

Laughing, Midoriya sprung up and plowed through the leftmost machine with a smash, watching mechanical parts scatter around them as Bakugou blew up two in quick succession, neither of them missing a step as they landed and kept running.

The last time he'd run this course, he hadn't smiled once. He'd been too focussed on keeping up, on finding ways to work around his lack of Quirk-control. This time it was just a game to him.

“Not bad, shitty Deku,” Bakugou laughed. “At least we've left that shitty-haired smart-ass behind!”

“What did you say to him, anyway?”

“I said if I were doing the speech, I would just go up there and vow to win! He stole my line!”

“Prove him wrong, then.”

“Damn right I will! See ya, loser!”

He jumped into the air and launched two streams of explosions from his hands, firing himself over vast canyons, and Midoriya swore under his breath when he saw Todoroki skating his way over on a trail of ice. Last time he'd gotten across the normal way – the slow way – but that wasn't going to work this time. Bakugou would get over that minefield in an instant, he wouldn't get the chance to catch up.

With a little growl, unhappy about the early use of his Quirk, he stocked power in his legs and took a run up, leaping over the first falls and scrabbling at rock to steady himself. His first leap got him halfway across, but with less room to run up, he settled for two smaller leaps to finish, barely stopping to balance himself before he was after his classmates once again.

For a brief moment he slowed, turning around, looking back for the first time as his fellow students began on the falls. They were catching up, he knew, but he still needed... Yes, that would do it.

With a grunt and a swift punch he chipped off the top of one of the rock pillars, grimacing as he hauled it along with him, his full cowl going to keep himself moving under the weight. It was gonna have to do the job – he should have grabbed something from the robots, honestly, but he hadn't been thinking so far ahead at that point.

He grinned as he reached the minefield, taking a deep breath and winding up, throwing the boulder as hard as possible toward the pair.

“Remember this game, Kacchan?!” he yelled, as the shadow fell over them.

The moment they looked up, Midoriya moved. He ran, he jumped, and he heard the pair of them yelling and swearing as his rock exploded, showering them in dust and rocks. With a scream of anger Bakugou threw an explosion of his own, blasting away the hazards, and Todoroki's ice-wall shattered with it.

They were too late, though. Midoriya knew how to time his damn jumps, he'd been practicing this for years!

He grinned back at them as his feet touched down, only stumbling a little as he began to run again, hearing explosions and cracking ice as they powered after him.

It was only a few more feet to go – right there, close enough to touch, and then...

He made it. He made it? Holy shit he made it.

For a moment he wasn't convinced, until he saw the looks on Bakugou's and Todoroki's faces, and shot them a tired little grin in return.

“Fuck you, shitty Deku!” Bakugou stormed over, glaring as Midoriya dropped into the dirt to rest. “You tryin' to fuckin' kill me with that shit?!”

“I've thrown bigger rocks at you than that,” he scoffed, “you're getting complacent, Kacchan.”

“Don't you fuckin' start with me!”

More people were beginning to cross the line now, and as Bakugou continued to fume, firing off explosions in his hands, Midoriya only grinned up at him.

“I did it, Kacchan,” he said softly, reaching up stupidly toward the cute scowl on his face. “I won.”

“Not so fucking fast,” he glowered, taking the hand and hauling him to his feet. “Got two more rounds of this shit to go, don't start counting your fuckin' chickens just yet.”

“No matter what happens next, right now I've still won.”

“Fuck you,” he sighed, with a lot less vitriol. “What's next, huh?”

“Hmm... Team game. Wanna be my teammate?”

“You've fuckin' seen this, haven't you?”

“Uh-huh, but when I saw it you refused to be my teammate, and neither of us won. If we team up, we can win.”

“Why would I do that, assface? Then I can't take your points from you.”

“Because if I get a lot of points then you do too, and together we're unstoppable. You know that, Kacchan.”

“Then you'll still be ahead of me, fucker”

“What, you think I can beat you in a head-to-head in round 3? I'm honoured Kacchan.”

“Fuck you! Fuckin' hate it when you're right.”

“So let's team up, and I'll be on the bottom, and you be on the top, okay?”

Bakugou stared at him for a moment, the tension palpable, and only when he saw his classmates staring did he start to understand.

“Not like that!” he amended quickly, shaking his head. “That's not what I meant!”

“You would be a fuckin' bottom,” Bakugou muttered, looking away for a moment to compose himself.

“That's nothing to be ashamed of!” Midoriya grinned back. “But look, we need a couple of teammates to help. We're going for speed and maneuverability, so I think-”

“You still haven't even told me what the fuck we're doing.”

“Oh!”

He looked up as the announcement began, pointing sheepishly.

“Well I guess they're about to tell you!”

“Fuck you.”

“We just had this conversation, Kacchan, there's no shame in being a bottom.”

“Sero, your job is to keep us stuck to you at all times,” Midoriya explained, as he hoisted Bakugou up on top of their unit. “If Kacchan becomes detached, or, God forbid, detaches himself stupidly – you heard me, Kacchan! - you need to reel him back in before he hits the ground.”

“Gotcha!”

“Uraraka, as much as you can without making yourself sick, make us weightless so we can move faster, okay?”

“On it!”

“If we get cornered at the end and don't have enough time to do anything else, your job is to make Kacchan weightless so he can launch himself. We'll only get one use out of it, but as long as he can stay in the air, no one can take our headbands. That gives us a chance to try and get free from the mob before Sero reels him in.”

“You know, that's on a stupid level of clever,” Sero pointed out. “I'm impressed, honestly.”

“Thanks! I've been working with Kacchan long enough to plan around his attitude.”

“Oi!” Bakugou scowled, “don't talk about me like I'm not here!”

“Then don't do stupid shit!”

“Horses don't fuckin' talk, Deku!”

Midoriya laughed, powering himself up again as he took Bakugou's weight, ready to start.

“Let's do this, assholes,” Bakugou smirked, eyeing Todoroki across the arena. “First target identified.”

“I thought we were goners when that copycat bastard showed up,” Bakugou sighed, pouring water on his face and licking stray droplets from his lips. “Can you imagine if he'd managed to copy round-face over here? Fuckin' pissed that we couldn't wipe them all to zero though.”

“Thank God he didn't notice her Quirk. Or mine.” Midoriya agreed, leaning against his shoulder as he sucked on a water bottle of his own. “Nice work, team.”

Bakugou threw the pile of headbands at Sero when the staff came to collect them, and for a moment he stopped to grin at them in his hand.

“You two are a formidable team.”

“Yeah, we know,” Bakugou scoffed, “try to keep up.”

“Kacchan, nice,” Midoriya warned him. “Thanks, Sero, that's really cool of you to say.”

“That's really cool of you,” Bakugou mimicked in the highest pitch he could muster. “He's not a fuckin' teacher or some shit, stop sucking up.”

“Don't mind him, he gets cranky when he's tired,” Midoriya grinned. “How are you guys feeling?”

Uraraka still looked a little queasy, but she shot him a thumbs up anyway, and for a brief moment Bakugou seemed to appreciate her attitude.

“Looks like they're serving lunch,” Sero pointed out. “You guys coming?”

“Yeah, right behind you.”

He hauled himself up, offering Bakugou a hand that was blatantly ignored, and as they headed for the back rooms he found himself hesitating, glancing over at Todoroki's watchful eye.

“I'll catch up with you in a minute,” Midoriya said quietly, nudging Bakugou and Uraraka on ahead. “I just need to talk to someone.”

“Hurry it up, I ain't saving you food.”

“Yeah, all good,” Midoriya grinned, “I'll just be a minute.”

Midoriya giggled as he watched All Might try to string the medal around Bakugou's neck, instead settling for wedging it between the sharp, bared teeth.

No matter how much things changed, Bakugou always remained the same.

Somehow it took the sting out of his loss.

He skipped off to follow when Bakugou was taken away from the public eye, grinning still when Bakugou met his eyes, full of so much unbridled anger.

“What's wrong, Kacchan?” he teased. “Are you busy? You seem a little tied up.”

Bakugou finally managed to spit the medal to the floor, his voice exploding from his lungs.

“Fuck you! Take this shitty thing and throw it in the trash! And let me at that fuckin' halfie!”

“I'll give it to your Mom,” Midoriya grinned, picking the medal up and wiping the spit on Bakugou's trousers. “When you calm down they'll let you go and we can talk to Todoroki. Together. But not before that.”

“Fuck off!”

“That's not the way to get what you want right now, Kacchan,” Midoriya pointed out.

Bakugou remained silent this time, his face still flooded with anger, until Midoriya reached up to stroke his jaw lightly and he softened by the tiniest amount.

“I know you're mad, I know it's not what you wanted, but it's over now. And you won, to be fair, even if you don't think you deserved it.”

“You saw this, didn't you?”

“Yeah.”

“And you didn't try to change it?”

“I tried as hard as I could, but in the end you were still better than me. I shouldn't be surprised, I've always said it: Kacchan is amazing.”

“And you didn't warn me about the indignity of my victory?”

“I thought you had more common sense than that,” he shrugged, taking a step back. “Guess I was wrong.”

“Oi! Get back here, fucker!”

Midoriya only laughed at him, and after a minute of thrashing Bakugou seemed to give up, sighing as he relaxed against his restraints.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he grumbled. “Just let me down, alright?”

With a hint of apprehension still in them, the staff began to release him, and he slumped tiredly as his feet touched the ground.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “Can I go home now?”

“Yes, you can.”

Midoriya nudged him ahead, pointing him toward a side entrance where no one would be hanging around to watch, stepping out into a gust of fresh air. Midoriya took a long breath, inhaling the sweet scent so unlike the concrete hallways they'd just left, and with a sharp pain in his side he found himself on the ground. With wide eyes he looked around, searched for a culprit, but when warm hands clamped down on his biceps and a menacing smirk appeared above him, he groaned at his stupidity.

“Not enough common sense, huh?” Bakugou parroted, dropping his weight onto Midoriya's mid-section to keep him still. “You just wanted to see me embarrass myself, didn't you?”

“No!” Midoriya insisted, “of course not!”

“Then why didn't you tell me?!”

“I thought I'd changed it! I thought you were better now!”

“Better, huh?! You think I'm broken?!”

With a grimace and a little flash of orange, Midoriya flipped Bakugou to his back, pinning him down in his place.

“I like you, Kacchan! You know that!”

“So what?!”

“So why would I want you to embarrass yourself?! I saw it a long time ago, and we changed a bunch, you changed a bunch! You made friends! You brought food to the class party! I thought you had grown out of this dumb pride shit!”

“Dumb pride shit?!”

“Yes!”

Bakugou managed to get one arm free, pushing back against him, and for a minute the two rolled back and forth, fighting for dominance, covering their gym uniforms in mud and grass.

“That's not fair!” Midoriya yelled, when Bakugou's shirt rode up. “Stop distracting me!”

“You like what you see, huh?!”

“Obviously, asshole! What are you, stupid?! You're fucking hot!”

“Yeah?! Well! Thank you!”

Midoriya paused, and for a moment they were still, silent, before a stupid laugh erupted from Midoriya's lips. Bakugou's face was burning red, and with Midoriya's outburst he slowly climbed to his feet, trying and failing to brush dirt off his shirt.

“Idiot,” he said fondly, holding out a hand. “Come on, shithead, I need a bath.”

Midoriya's body was still shuddering with laughter, almost convulsing in the grass, and when he tried to take Bakugou's hand and missed, Bakugou found himself smiling too.

“Seriously, idiot, what am I gonna do with you?” he asked fondly, grabbing Midoriya around the middle and throwing him over a shoulder. “Look at your hair. Gross. Looks like you dunked your head in a used toilet.”

“You should look in a mirror, Kacchan,” Midoriya stumbled out. “You're blond, dummy, it's so much worse.”

“Dummy?” he asked incredulously. “That the best you've got?”

“Fucking dummy?”

“Whatever.”

Midoriya tried to stifle his giggles as Bakugou carried him off down the street, letting the boy cart him for a while before dumping him on a chair outside the train station.

“You're seriously a mess.”

“So are you Kacchaaaaaan.”

“We should have showered before we left.”

“We weren't messy before we left!”

“Good point.”

With a little sigh, Bakugou finally cracked a smile, reaching for Midoriya's muddy hand.

“They're all gonna look at us like we're insane.”

“They saw us on tv, Kacchan, they know who we are. It's fine.”

“Somehow I doubt it's fine.”

Thankfully the train wasn't very crowded, so they found a corner out of the way of other passengers and did their best not to get mud on anything. Midoriya pulled out his phone to start sending messages, since they hadn't hung around to say goodbye, and Bakugou peered over his shoulder to spy.

“I was right, your Quirk is super cool when you use your fire as well. Thanks for showing me, can't wait for next time!"

Bakugou growled at him as he hit send, but Midoriya only grinned in return, leaning into his side a little to share his warmth.

“You fuckin' like him, don't you?” Bakugou muttered. “Got a crush on the damn half-and-half?”

“Nope, got a crush on you,” Midoriya told him flatly. “Don't want anyone else.”

Bakugou blushed at the blatancy of the words, looking away, and when his eyes were safely locked on the view out the window, Midoriya looked up at him and smiled.

“Kacchan?”

“What?”

“I'm sorry I didn't warn you. I thought if I told you, you'd stop me from trying to beat you.”

Bakugou grumbled something unintelligible, keeping his gaze firmly on the window.

“I thought I could make Todoroki use his fire against you, too, but it didn't work out. I did try though, I wanted you to be happy.”

“Anything else you wanna confess to while we're at it?”

“You're gonna get a lot of internship offers,” Midoriya added, “I don't think I'll get very many at all. When we get them, can we talk about it and compare and stuff? It would be cool if we could go together.”

“I'll think about it.”

“Because you're grumpy or because you don't want to work with me?”

“The first one,” he admitted.

“Okay.” Midoriya snuggled in a little more against his side, and Bakugou's hand dropped from the railing to Midoriya's back. “Even if we don't work together, will you at least consider my opinions?”

“Obviously.”

“Thank you.”

“Shut up, nerd.”

The Wonder Duo's day off began before daybreak. While others were sleeping in to recover from the Sports Festival, Bakugou was pulling on his dark gym gear and beanie, heading out to meet Midoriya.

The boy was already waiting for him, leaning against the fence outside his apartment block, a dark hood pulled up over his messy curls. He smiled faintly when he saw Bakugou coming, though, and straightened up to meet him.

“Morning,” he offered, chuckling when Bakugou looked up at the moon pointedly. “Sorry to call you out so early.”

“Like I'd say no to this,” Bakugou scoffed. “Fuckin' hero killer? Count me in.”

“Come on, then. We need to catch a train.”

They walked down to the station in silence, digging out transport cards and finding their way onto the platform by the time the first train of the morning came flying in. It was deserted, far too early for even the most dedicated of commuters, but still Bakugou and Midoriya climbed aboard.

“Cold?” Bakugou asked, when he saw Midoriya shiver. “C'mere.”

He shuffled in a little closer, letting Midoriya lean in to his body heat, and a contented sigh came from between the soft lips.

“I'm proud of you, Kacchan,” he murmured. “I know it wasn't how you wanted it to go, but I'm really proud of how you did yesterday.”

“Shut up.”

“I mean it!”

“I know you do.”

He muttered something incomprehensible to himself, then reached for Midoriya's head, pulling it lightly onto his shoulder.

“Rest, we've got a long trip.”

“Thanks Kacchan,” Midoriya smiled softly. “We should stop for coffee when we get off.”

“Yeah, we will. Think you know where to find this guy?”

“Not exactly. We're just gonna have to hope for the best or something.”

“We'll figure it out,” Bakugou agreed. “But for now, rest.”

Midoriya woke up to Bakugou rummaging through his bag, and rubbed his eyes sleepily as he sat up.

“Train is stopping soon,” Bakugou informed him. “Breakfast?”

“You brought breakfast?”

“Here.”

He handed over an omelette roll wrapped in a paper towel, and Midoriya smiled as he took a bite.

“You're the best, Kacchan.”

“Yeah, I know.”

They scoffed down their food and wiped their hands, heading to the door as the train started to slow down. The station was familiar to Midoriya, so he took Bakugou's hand to lead him through the commuter crowds starting to gather, grinning when he saw the pink tinge to Bakugou's skin.

“Still embarrassed to hold my hand?”

“Shut up.”

“Might make us stand out less,” Midoriya grinned, “if they think we're just a couple on a date instead of two illegal heroes.”

“Unless they want to make a fuss about us being gay.”

“I'm not gay,” Midoriya pouted.

“What do you call us, then?”

“I'm bi Kacchan, I have no problem with dating girls, they're just not you.”

“So you're Katsusexual.”

Midoriya snorted, clapping a hand over his mouth to stifle his giggles as people glanced at him in confusion, and Bakugou laughed at him openly.

“Idiot,” he grinned, “come on, where are we going? Up here?”

“Uh-huh,” Midoriya nodded, letting Bakugou drag him along. “Katsusexual.”

“It wasn't that funny, nerd. We need to get some caffeine in you.”

“What are you? Dekusexual? Izusexual?”

“Nah, I'm just super gay.”

“Nice.”

Bakugou scoffed a little at the stupid response, only getting a grin and more dumb giggles in return, finally dragging Midoriya into a coffee shop at the top of the station.

“Here, sit, I'll bring you a drink.”

“Do you know how I take it, Kacchan?”

“From behind, no doubt. Sit down and shut up.”

With a stifled laugh Midoriya dropped onto a stool, watching out the window as he waited for Bakugou to return. The sun was coming up, casting pink and orange lights over the buildings, and Midoriya smiled to himself as he watched the city wake up.

“Here, drink.”

“Thanks Kacchan!” He clutched the mug between both hands, humming contentedly at the warmth that spread through them, and glanced over at Bakugou's cup. “What's the red stuff?”

“Peppers apparently. They called it a Hot and Spicy Coffee, I had to try it.”

He took a long sip, and Midoriya watched curiously.

“Any good?”

“It's alright. It's spicy-ish, but it's kind of eh. Want to try?”

“Okay!”

He accepted the mug from Bakugou's hands, raising it to his lips and taking a tentative sip.

“Oh!” he said stupidly, licking his lips and taking another. “That's really good!”

“You think?”

“Yeah! Not super spicy like you said but it tastes amazing.”

“Let me try again.”

He handed it back, and Bakugou grimaced as he took a gulp, shaking his head.

“Nah. I'm good. You want it?”

“Can I?”

“Sure but I'm taking yours.”

“Deal!”

Midoriya happily sipped away at his drink as Bakugou adopted the other mug, watching a much more satisfied face as he drank from it. He seemed softer these days, the wrinkles in his forehead all but gone, his eyebrows no longer meeting in the middle.

“What?” he asked knowingly. “Changed your mind?”

“No, I want another on the way home. You're just really pretty.”

“Shut up, nerd.”

“You are! You have such a pretty face, especially when you smile. I'm so lucky.”

“Whatever,” Bakugou grumbled, blushing. “Shut up.”

“I'll stop, but the point stands.”

“Fine.”

There was silence for a moment, then Bakugou looked away pointedly as he started to speak.

“You're... Cute.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. The big dumb eyes and the messy hair and... Whatever. Yeah.”

“Thank you, Kacchan. That makes me really happy.”

“Shut up and drink your shitty coffee.”

“Oi, boom-boy!”

Bakugou scowled, but looked up all the same, checking his hands for sweat.

“Blow this wall up, will you? He's gonna get away behind all this rock.”

“If I do, that building is gonna come down,” he argued, glancing back to where Midoriya was fighting with another villain. “It's gonna collapse completely.”

“It's fine, it's empty!”

“Do you know how much property damage that is?! Swap out with Deku, we'll go after him.”

“You don't have time to go around, he's already making another wall.”

“We're going over. Tell him to follow me.”

Without another word he ran, firing himself up over the obstructions, to where – sure enough – he could see another wall of rocks forming between them. Midoriya caught up by the time he was blasting himself over, and Bakugou smirked when he saw the look of fear cross the villain's face.

“Cutting left,” Midoriya announced, pushing off a building to divert his course. “Going fast.”

Bakugou aimed two explosions at the rock-creator, watching him quickly throw a boulder in his way, cringing as it shattered. By the time he opened his eyes again Midoriya was tackling him to the ground, and Bakugou grabbed the tape from his belt to bind him.

“Reporting villain captured at following location,” Midoriya spoke into his wristband, hitting the button to submit their co-ordinates. “Bound and ready for pick up.”

“Understood, please identify responsible Hero.”

“Sorry, only irresponsible heroes on duty today.”

He switched it off quickly as Bakugou finished taping up a pair of hands, making sure they had no free space to create more rocks. The moment the police van pulled up they both moved, grinning at each other as the officers called after them in confusion, dragging the villain into their van.

“There you are, splodey! Did you get him?”

“It's Bakugou,” he hissed. “I told you.”

“Sorry, too long for me. What's your first name?”

“Katsuki.”

“Ahhh, just as long, huh? Nope, not gonna cut it.” He glanced at one of his sidekicks, grinning. “These two helped me out before you arrived, I've fought with them a few times now. They're not bad for their age.”

“For our age?” Bakugou protested, “what's that supposed to mean?!”

“Nothing, nothing! I didn't mean it like that, relax! Oh! How about Bakkun?”

Bakugou flooded red, his hands smoking, but already the heroes were grinning and nodding.

“Perfect, now I know for next time. Nice to properly meet you, Bakkun! And you are?”

“Oh, uh, Midoriya, Sir.” He blinked rapidly, trying to get his attention back to the conversation. “Sorry, I was just thinking about your Quirks. You have a really great team, between you.”

“Another long one,” the Hero groaned. “Alright, Mikkun then! Thanks, we really like our team build right now. Oh look, here come the officers, they must have come to pick up our subjects here.”

“We'd better get going, then!” Midoriya said in a hurry, grabbing Bakugou's arm. “Nice working with you! Watch your backs okay? Don't get hurt!”

“Huh? Wha-? Where are you-?” he stumbled, watching them blankly as they threw themselves onto a rooftop. “O-Okay then! Bye, Bakkun! Mikkun!”

Bakugou muttered to himself crankily as they headed back toward the station, and after a moment Midoriya took his arm comfortingly.

“Are you really upset and angry about it or are you just embarrassed and don't know how to respond?”

Bakugou didn't answer, but the grumbles stopped, and Midoriya smiled slightly as he leaned his cheek on Bakugou's shoulder.

“I think it's nice that they wanted to know our names, and sweet that he likes us enough to give us nicknames. It's not like it's gonna catch on.”

“Embarrassed,” Bakugou admitted quietly. “Not angry.”

“Thought so.” Midoriya kissed his cheek lightly, eyes shining. “Come on, one more loop down here and then we get coffee and hop on a train.”

“Fine.”

Midoriya spun around at the sound of the first scream, his eyes wide as he stared at the dust clouds in the distance. Bakugou didn't stop to speak, he was off running before Midoriya even recognised what was happening, but quickly he began to pound the pavement at Bakugou's back.

It was broad daylight, just after the beginning of office hours, and frankly Midoriya was surprised. He didn't often see attacks at this time of day – it was usually during commuter hours or after dark – so for so many people to be screaming it had to be bad.

Maybe they'd be lucky – maybe it was a fire, or a building collapse, or... Or anything other than a villain.

He had a feeling, though.

He recognised the Pros on scene from the night prior. One was a close-combat expert, the other had some kind of binding Quirk. They were chasing after something Midoriya couldn't quite see, but Bakugou was already dragging them the other way, pointing out a rapidly collapsing building down the block.

There were other buildings already down, people already trapped, but Bakugou was immediately blasting himself up the teetering tower, grabbing people from inside and launching himself back down.

Midoriya understood when he saw the smoke and sparks pouring out of the lower levels. While other buildings were already down, when this one came down they were goners.

Quickly he joined his boyfriend evacuating people, doing his best to jump and climb the neighboring buidings and make his way across, rather than disrupt what little integrity the structure had left. Level by level they managed to clear it out, and when everyone was safely on the ground Bakugou held an arm out to keep the citizens back.

“Stand clear!” he yelled over the hum of fear and tears. “Deku, keep them back!”

“Got it.”

He launched himself into the air again, aiming a massive explosion from one hand and sending the top of the building down into the clear space behind. As he dropped toward the street he blew one more blast to bring the rest down, safely demolishing the high-rise rather than let it fall on the nearby crowd.

“Next one!” Bakugou yelled as he hit the ground. “Come on!”

Midoriya followed him to the nearest collapsed tower, hauling pieces of rubble to let Bakugou hunt for survivors. Controlled blasts between his hands lit his way easily, and soon he was dragging more people over to the crowd, leaving them with the uninjured citizens for support.

“Bakkun, Mikkun, switch out!”

Midoriya looked up as the two heroes dropped from overhead, taking over the rescue efforts in their place.

“Didn't you hear me? Go! I'll take the fall for it later!”

With a firm nod, Midoriya ran, Bakugou right at his side. It didn't take him long to understand when they saw the villain in question. His Quirk was obviously speed related, far too quick for any binding Quirks to be useful, and given the way he was behaving, he suspected close-combat hadn't been much use either. Bakugou would be much better suited, with his quick explosions, and if Midoriya focussed on using his full cowl for speed he should be able to at least keep up enough to prevent him from hitting any more buildings.

“Right!” Bakugou called, as he fired up one hand to divert his momentum. “Pull!”

Midoriya dropped back a little bit, letting Bakugou move ahead, and sent orange lightning coursing through his veins as he powered up. The moment the villain passed him, and he caught a glimpse of a smirk on the twisted face, he intercepted. It didn't take much to predict his path, and with his cowl at just twenty percent he could get in the way easily enough. The villain froze for just a moment, but that one moment as he went to change course was enough for Bakugou to land a hit.

People were cheering somewhere in the distance, but Midoriya barely even noticed the crowd watching. He was too focused on predicting the next move, catching the next plans as they passed through the man's head.

“Swing!” Midoriya called, as the villain swerved in an S-shape to avoid the peppered explosions. “Going left!”

He shot off to his left and sure enough the villain responded, moving into a long, sweeping curve across the street that Bakugou followed easily, hitting him on the first attempt.

The fight was more like a video game, Midoriya thought. The villain only had one task in mind – avoid explosions while causing more damage. All he had to do was cause a minute disturbance in the path and he could make the man play right into their hands.

“Bakkun, barrier up!”

Midoriya looked back at the unfamiliar voice, grinning when he saw the shimmering lights form between them and the crowd, and Bakugou smirked as he fired both hands at the villain. The man hit the ground and immediately Midoriya dove, upping the level of his cowl again the moment the villain began to struggle. It was all he could do to keep him down, and he hissed when something sharp hit him in the ribs, but then Bakugou was there with a hand on his face, and the man was falling still.

“Mikkun!” the binding-hero was at his side immediately, fingers twisting and snaking around the villain's wrists, and slowly Midoriya climbed off. He clutched at his side with one hand as he watched a group of Pros manifest to take him into custody, and he winced when one of them clapped him on the back.

“Good work, Mikkun! Nice dive!”

“Th-Thank you.”

“Are you alright? Did he- Oh, shit, don't move.”

He sneaked a look down when the Pro's face paled, surprised for a moment to see the crimson stains spreading down one leg of his dark sweatpants. He maneuvered the opposite side of his hoodie off, bunching it over the wound and pressing it tight against his ribs, and soon there was another hero beside him who he didn't recognise.

“I need you to move your hands, Mikkun.”

“W-Wait, I'm still... I'm not...”

“It's okay. Trust me.”

“B-but K-Kacchan...”

“Kacchan?”

“Bakugou. Bakkun.”

“Okay, you do as she says and I'll go get him, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

Slowly he wrenched his fingers away, feeling the blood flow immediately start up again, and he squeezed his eyes shut as warm fingers pried away his hoodie.

“Deku, hey, come here.”

He softened a little at the familiar voice, his eyelids fluttering open as Bakugou wrapped him up in a hug, holding him steady.

“Stay with me, okay? It'll be fixed soon.”

“It hurts, Kacchan.”

“Yeah, I know. I'll take care of you, I promise.”

Midoriya leaned into his touch, closing his eyes again, a tiny whimper escaping him when he heard heavy metal clatter to the ground. Bakugou stroked his hair lightly, whispering reassurance in his ear, until finally he heard the important words:

“All done.”

“Look at it for me,” Midoriya mumbled. “Is it bad?”

Bakugou peeled himself away a little to look, ruffling Midoriya's hair lightly.

“It's fine, you big baby. All stitched up.”

He tore his head from Bakugou's chest, looking down at the dark stitches, and shot a watery smile at the Pro-heroes watching on.

“Thank you. I think he hit me with something while I was holding him down.”

“Something,” Bakugou scoffed. “He knifed you, dumbass, and you didn't even say anything.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. Come on, we're going home.”

“Wait! We can't!”

“What? Fuckin' why not?”

“Are all the local heroes here?”

He watched as everyone glanced around, exchanging a few quick nods.

“Yeah, it looks like it. Why? What's going on?”

“There's someone hunting heroes,” Bakugou explained quietly. “You should all be careful, try not to travel alone.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Midoriya nodded. “We've been keeping an eye out but haven't come across him yet.”

“Alright, thank you for the warning. You head home and get some rest, we'll be extra careful.”

“Okay,” Midoriya conceded. “Come on then, Kacchan.”

“Idiot,” Bakugou scoffed, throwing Midoriya over his shoulder. “You can barely stand, let alone walk.”

“I'm fine!”

“Yeah, now you are.”

With a sheepish smile he waved goodbye to the heroes, letting Bakugou cart him off toward the station. He froze when he saw a familiar car pulling up slowly behind them, groaning as Bakugou slowly turned around.

“Get in,” Aizawa demanded. “Now.”

Bakugou tenderly sat Midoriya in the backseat, checking his stitches quickly as he belted him in, then showed himself around to the other side.

“Fancy meeting you here, Sensei.”

“Don't start with me. What the hell do you think you're doing here?”

“We were out on a date,” Bakugou told him stubbornly. “Shitty villain started trouble and we had to help.”

“You are both unlicensed students, you do not have to help.”

“If you'd been standing there listening to people scream as their office buildings collapsed, would you really have told us not to intervene?”

“You were fighting the villain!”

“The Pros told us to! They couldn't handle it!”

“It's true,” Midoriya mumbled. “There were only two of them there, and they couldn't keep up with his speed. They said they'd take responsibility for it later. We did try, Sensei, I swear.”

“Part of me struggles to believe that, but it does sound like something that would happen to my problem children.” Aizawa sighed, glancing at them in the rear-view mirror. “I'm dropping you off at home, and you better stay at home, you hear me?”

“Until morning, you mean?”

“Until it's time for you to leave for school. Do not go sneaking off at four o clock claiming it's technically morning.”

“Relax, Sensei, I won't let him with that wound,” Bakugou assured him, glancing over at the torn, blood-stained t-shirt. “Not until it heals. They said probably two days of rest.”

“Yes, that's fairly standard with her Quirk. You're excused from any practical Heroics classes tomorrow, Midoriya.”

“Thank you.”

Bakugou reached over to stroke Midoriya's hair lightly, eyeing the sleepy look on his face.

“I'll stay with you tonight, okay?” he said softly. “Let me borrow some clothes for the night and I'll run home in the morning for my uniform.”

Aizawa glanced at them again in the mirror, sighing to himself, and when they got closer to home he turned into Bakugou's street.

“We'll wait,” he explained, when Bakugou looked at him in surprise. “Go grab anything you need for the night and the morning.”

“Thanks, Sensei. I won't be long.”

He dropped a kiss on Midoriya's cheek, grinning when Midoriya fumbled for him weakly and missed.

“Two minutes, Deku. Wait for me.”

“Okay, Kacchan.”

He almost sprinted into the house, throwing his clothes off as he climbed the stairs and pulling on something clean from the closet. He threw his uniform into his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder, and took the stairs two at a time on his way out.

“Staying at Deku's!” he called as he kicked his school shoes on. “Won't be home 'til tomorrow night!”

“Have a good time! Say hello to Inko and Izuku for me!”

“Yeah whatever!”

He threw himself back in the car in record time, leaning over to kiss Midoriya again as he belted himself in.

“Thanks, Sensei. Means a lot.”

“Whatever. Take care of the idiot.”

“Always.”

Midoriya grinned sheepishly as Aizawa began the class, pointing at the headline written on the board.

“Priorities,” he read sternly. “Before we get to internship information, let's talk priorities. You're first on the scene at an incident, what do you do?”

“Assess the situation!” Iida said firmly.

“Usually rescuing people will be the first priority!” Uraraka added. “Unless it's dire that you need to capture the villain first!”

“Not bad. And in a fight, what is your main priority?”

“Keeping yourself safe,” Bakugou grumbled, glancing at Midoriya for half a second. “You can't work another incident if you're dead.”

“Very astute, Bakugou. Anything else?”

“Keeping the people around you safe, too. Other heroes, civilians, whatever.”

“Good. And finally, when you have successfully gotten into a position where you can restrain the villain, what is your priority?”

“Keep them from running away!”

“Nullify their Quirk!”

“Call for pick up!”

The answers continued to flow, but Aizawa just waited for them to thin out, sighing at the myriad of different answers coming his way.

“Midoriya?” he asked pointedly.

“Their hands,” Midoriya answered sheepishly. “Restrain their hands so... So they can't pull a knife and stab you in the ribs.”

“A little more specific than necessary, but I'm glad you've learned your lesson. Now, on to internships.”

Every eye was on Midoriya as Aizawa pulled up the data, and awkwardly he pulled up the side of his shirt, showing off the row of dark stitches beginning to heal. The pain was almost gone, after the healing Quirk on site, but still he risked reopening the wound if he did anything stupid. He was dreading the thought of sitting out anything practical, though he couldn't seem to remember if they'd actually done anything practical on this day, the last time through.

“As you can see, we had three students who were very close together in their offers.”

Midoriya looked up, surprised, and his eyes widened when he saw his own name near the top of the list.

“Understandably, and unfortunately, you three managed to draw a lot of attention to yourselves. Bakugou, Midoriya, you each have three thousand and seven offers – I have reason to believe they came from almost identical agencies. Todoroki, you picked up three thousand, six hundred and twelve. I hate to admit it, but these numbers are relatively impressive for first years.”

Midoriya shot a grin at Bakugou, readying himself to read all the agency names.

“You can all choose from any offers you received, and if you received none, you can review the agencies who work with U.A. to provide you all with positions. These decisions are due by the end of the week. For now, it's time to choose your hero names.”

The class erupted into excitement, but Midoriya found himself contemplating, wondering what Bakugou would go with this time – would he still take a shot at a murder-name, or had he moved on since Midoriya had changed things?

Only time would tell.

Midoriya's phone buzzed on his dresser as he changed out of his uniform, surprised to see Bakugou's name light up the screen. Opening it he found a screenshot from Bakugou's phone, a message from his mother visible.

“We're gonna be working late tonight, so don't wait for us for dinner! <3”

Another message came through just as he finished reading, and he quickly tapped away the picture.

“Thinking about asking shitty-hair and dunce-face over too. Shark-ass caught me out on being the cook today, gotta bribe him to shut his trap.”

“That's great Kacchan, have a great time!”

“You're invited too, dumbass.”

“Yes please! I never turn down Kacchan's cooking. When?”

“Whenever. Just gonna do homework then cook. Maybe seven for food.”

He quickly changed his mind about his outfit, finding fresh clothes again and grabbing his backpack before he headed out to the kitchen. His mother wasn't yet home, so he scribbled out a note and left it for her to find when she returned.

On his way to the door he found himself reconsidering once more, sighing to himself as he dug out a pair of old black sneakers to wear instead of his red ones, smiling faintly as he tapped at his phone.

“On my way!”

Midoriya knew his lips were swollen when the doorbell rang, and he quickly did his best to compose himself, climbing off Bakugou's bed and looking at his flushed face in the mirror as Bakugou headed downstairs. He could hear Bakugou answering the door, letting his friends inside, so with one last quick check he headed down to join them with a grin plastered across his face.

“Hey!” Kirishima grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. “Good to see you!”

“I just saw you a few hours ago,” Midoriya laughed, “it hasn't been long!”

“Still! Always good!”

“Good to see you, too, then,” he grinned. “Hi, Kaminari!”

“Midoriya, hey! I should've known you'd be here, you live nearby, right? You must show up any time you smell Bakugou's cooking.”

“He locks me out most of the time,” Midoriya laughed. “He's been helping me out with my homework today, though. Did you guys have to travel far?”

“Nah, not far at all. Would have travelled way further for this dinner.”

“If you don't shut up about it there'll be no dinner,” Bakugou blushed. “Go sit down, I'm gonna start cooking.”

Midoriya waved the pair through to the dining room table, then hauled himself up to sit on the counter, watching as Bakugou opened the fridge. Without a word he started handing things across to Midoriya, who arranged them neatly on the bench beside him, letting Bakugou hum and ha about what else he wanted without having to walk back and forth.

“Chilli?” he suggested.

“Yeah, but those two are probably wimps.”

“Add it at the end, you can take theirs out first.”

“Probably a good move,” he agreed.

Midoriya liked to watch the process as Bakugou cooked, rare as it may be that he was allowed. Bakugou seemed to soften as he worked, more focussed on his hands than his attitude, and it tended to loosen the creases in the forehead that were usually so prominent with his stubborn scowl.

“I wish I had your genetics,” Midoriya found himself lamenting. “You've never had a skin problem in your life.”

Bakugou snorted a little, shrugging as he cut vegetables, and Midoriya smiled at him fondly.

“Don't act all modest, I see you lording it up every time someone shows up to class with a pimple.”

“Ain't like I'm the one doing it to them. Gotta be grateful for what I've got.”

“Like me?”

Bakugou snorted again, not bothering to deign it with a response, and Midoriya laughed.

“You're so kind, Kacchan.”

He leaned out over the counters to see the table where Kaminari and Kirishima were chatting happily, grinning to himself as he let them be, looking at Bakugou again.

“Who's crushing on who?”

“You think it's one-sided?” Bakugou scoffed, not looking up from his pot. “They're both fuckin' hot for each other and won't say it.”

“You're a good friend.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged, his cheeks flushed pink. “I know what it's like, you know? Liking someone and then getting to be with them. I'd be a dick not to try and help.”

“You've grown up so much, Kacchan.”'

“Shut up, nerd.”

Despite his words, he shot Midoriya a little smile, getting a grin back as Midoriya reached for him.

“I have onion on my hands,” Bakugou warned him.

“So don't touch my face, it's fine.”

He hooked his arms around Midoriya obediently, careful to not let his hands touch anything, and Midoriya hummed contentedly as he pressed their cheeks together.

“Trying to give me a break out?” Bakugou teased, wiping his cheek on a paper towel for effect. “Rude little shit, I see your ploy.”

“Kacchan!”

Bakugou only laughed at him, returning to his cooking, and Midoriya grinned as he watched quietly. He wasn't sure if this counted as a date or not, but if it did, it was his favourite so far.

Midoriya snuggled into Bakugou's side as the movie progressed, tucking his blanket up over them both, amused when Bakugou's face didn't change in the slightest. He shifted his leg over a little, reaching an arm around Midoriya's waist to pull him in, his back to Bakugou's chest. Still the boy's expression didn't change at all, his red eyes still focussed on the screen, but Midoriya sighed quietly as he leaned in to Bakugou's grip.

When Kirishima looked up he just smiled, didn't say a word, and Midoriya grinned back again from his cuddle spot, blanket tucked around his hips to warm his feet and legs, his upper body comforted by the heat that radiated from Bakugou's body. It took a moment, but Kirishima finally seemed to catch on when he glanced at Kaminari again, sprawled across the other end of their couch, his face burning red suddenly as he realised Bakugou's plan.

Kaminari looked up as the movie drew to a close, his jaw dropping when his eyes fell on Bakugou and Midoriya snuggled together opposite them, Midoriya's eyes half closed in his sleepy comfort.

“You gonna stay over?” Bakugou asked quietly. “We never looked at the internship stuff.”

“Mm-hm. We can look on the train in the morning.”

“Sounds good. Sleep if you want, you didn't get much last night.”

“Kay. Thanks Kacchan.”

“You guys can stay too, if you want. My parents are cool with it. You can just head to school with us in the morning.”

“I'd better get home, my parents will be expecting me,” Kirishima grinned nervously. “Thanks though. Kaminari?”

“Yeah, I should head off too. Want to walk to the station together?”

“Yeah man, sounds good. Thanks for having us, the food was amazing. Next time on a weekend, okay? Then you can make us breakfast too!”

Bakugou snorted, but nodded all the same.

“Yeah, alright. I'll let you know.”

“Thanks man. Night Midoriya!”

He waved his goodbyes and Bakugou slid away to show them out, returning before long to bundle Midoriya in his blanket and haul him up into his arms. He pulled a face when Midoriya beamed up at him, but continued to carry him tenderly.

“Clothes,” he instructed, pointing to Midoriya's jeans. “Off.”

He dug out a clean pair of boxers and an old t-shirt, throwing them to Midoriya to dress in as he changed under the covers, and Midoriya watched sneakily from under a blanket as Bakugou changed too.

“Perving again, huh?”

“Can't prove it.”

“Come here, idiot.”

He crawled into bed, opening his arms, and Midoriya snuggled into him again happily. He was always so warm and soft, so comfortable to lie on, and he sighed quietly as he got comfortable.

As he settled himself in place he felt a lump in his side, reaching for it and expecting to find a stray sock or something of the sort, surprised to instead pull out a little toy bunny, only about the size of his hand. He grinned when he found it, looking at Bakugou's already-closed eyes, then slowly hopped the bunny up his ribs.

“What are you-?” his eyes snapped open, flooding red immediately. “Give it here, fuckwad.”

“No!” Midoriya rolled away stubbornly, clutching the fluffy green creature to his chest. “I found her, she's mine now!”

“It's a boy, asshole, and like fuck it is!”

Midoriya grinned, rolling over further and hiding the bunny behind his back as he surveyed Bakugou's blushing, smoking skin.

“Sorry Mister Bunny, I didn't realise,” he apologised quickly, looking over his shoulder at it. “What's your name, Mister Bunny?”

“I swear to fuck if you don't hand him over-”

“Hand him over, huh?” Midoriya teased. “It was it a second ago.”

“Shut up!”

“I'll give him back if you tell me his name.”

“Fuck off.”

“I guess he's sleeping with me, then, tonight.”

“Fuck you. You're meant to be cuddling me, not a fucking...”

He trailed off, and Midoriya found himself repressing a smirk.

“Can't bring yourself to call it a 'fucking toy' huh?”

“I've had him since I was like four years old, okay? I just... Normally I hide him before people come over.”

“And you forgot today?”

“No, I stuck him in my pillow case when you came up earlier, but I guess he came out when you were wriggling around all over the place.”

“What's his name?”

“Don't you dare laugh.”

“I won't, I promise.”

“Zuzu.”

Midoriya grinned, planting a little kiss on the tip of the rabbit's nose.

“Nice to meet you, Zuzu. Here you go, Kacchan needs you back now.”

Still blushing right down his neck, Bakugou accepted when Midoriya offered the bunny back, squeezing it lightly before he set it on the bedside table. Midoriya couldn't stop beaming to himself, especially when he found out the flush spread to Bakugou's chest as well, his fair complexion giving away his emotions too readily.

“Thank you for dinner, I had a really good night.”

“I did too.”

“Goodnight, Kacchan. Goodnight Zuzu.”

“Fuck off,” Bakugou grumbled, burying his face in Midoriya's messy curls. “Goodnight.”

“Midoriya, Bakugou, see me before you go to lunch.”

Midoriya looked up, surprised, then nodded quickly as he continued shoving books in his bag. Had he gotten wind of their plans? No way, they'd been so careful this time! He slung his bag over one shoulder and headed up to the desk, Bakugou not far behind, then they waited silently for the rest of the class to disappear.

“Do you really expect me to believe these?” Aizawa asked stubbornly, holding up their internship forms.

“What on Earth do you mean, Sensational Sensei?”

“Don't play dumb with me, Manipulative Midoriya. You think I don't know what you're doing?”

“Suspicious Sensei,” Midoriya pouted. “You always look for the worst in me.”

“You expect me to believe that you, of all people, picked one of the tamest, least action-oriented Hero companies in the country?”

“Maybe I needed a break!” Midoriya thrust his lower lip out as far as he could make it go, shooting Aizawa his best puppy-dog eyes. “I thought it would be nice to see the administration side and the slow side instead of being in the action all the time!”

“Dishonest Deku.”

“Says who?!”

He looked at Bakugou next, holding up the other form pointedly, and Bakugou looked away in a hurry.

“Equally dull, but not even in the same part of the city as him. I suppose you want to see what the background is like, too?”

“Deku has a point, maybe we need a break.”

“Do you two really think that I have no idea what my problem children are up to?”

Neither of them bothered to respond, and Aizawa sighed, the entire room falling silent for a minute.

“You're going to intern with me.”

“What?” Bakugou asked, his jaw dropping. “Are you serious?”

“Tell me you're serious,” Midoriya leaned against the desk, eyes shining. “With you?!”

“Apparently it's the only way I'm going to be able to keep you under control, so yes. And if you step even one toe out of line, I'm authorised to do whatever I want – you're not my students in that week, you're just my interns.”

Midoriya swallowed hard, but still he couldn't help but grin as he looked back at Bakugou.

“We get to intern with Eraserhead, Kacchan!”

“Ain't a bad offer,” he grumbled, looking away to hide the blush in his cheeks. “Still think Best Jeanist would be interesting, he's way up the charts.”

“Kacchan, I told you, Best Jeanist would make you miserable.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do know that. I've seen it.”

“Hmph. Whatever, then. Aizawa-sensei it is.”

“Your week will be spent on stealth since you both seem to think you're so fantastic at it. Maybe you'll learn how to go on patrol without your homeroom teacher blatantly seeing you do it.”

“Do you think he's trying to tell us something?” Midoriya grinned.

“Seems like it. Dunno what he's on about.”

“I suggest you both get some sleep in the meantime,” Aizawa warned. “You won't be getting any once we start working.”

“A Hero after my own heart,” Midoriya grinned. “Thoughts, Kacchan?”

“We should be manipulative more often.”

Midoriya watched fondly as Bakugou loaded his bag up, smiling to himself as he argued with his mother.

“What about underwear?” she called from downstairs. “Did you pack enough underwear?”

“Fucking YES, Mom! I'm not a child!”

“Izuku, did he pack enough underwear?”

“Yeah, he did,” Midoriya laughed, as Bakugou fumed. “I checked!”

“Good! You keep him on a short leash for me, alright? Don't let him do anything stupid!”

“I'll do my best!”

Bakugou glanced around his room one more time with a little scowl, hunting down any left-behind necessities, and Midoriya smiled as he climbed to his feet. He reached into a pillowcase to retrieve a little green bunny, holding it up in front of his face and putting on a squeaky voice.

“Don't forget about me, Kacchan!”

“Shut up, he doesn't talk like that,” Bakugou growled, snatching the toy from his grip. “He doesn't need to come.”

“But he'll get lonely, Kacchan!”

“Stop being an ass.”

“I'm not! Bring Zuzu with us!”

“Why?!”

“Because if anything happens and you get upset or hurt I want you to have him for comfort.”

“I fuckin' have you don't I?”

“Yeah. You do.”

“Zuzu was a fuckin' substitute for your sorry ass when it wasn't available, so why would I need him this week?”

“Wait, really?”

“Fuckin' obviously. He's green and his name's fuckin' Zuzu.”

“Zuzu...? Wait. Wait. Like, I-zuzu-ku?”

“Obviously, dumbass.”

“Kacchan!” Midoriya threw himself across the room, hugging Bakugou as tightly as possible. “I didn't know!”

“Because you're a god damn dumbass nerd, obviously.”

“You said you were four!”

“Obviously!” Bakugou repeated. “I haven't called you by your name since we were toddlers, when else would I have named him?”

“Say it.”

“What?”

“My name. Say it.”

“No.”

“Kacchan!”

“Fuck off.”

“Please, Kacchan?”

“When was the last time you called me Katsuki?” he argued. “You don't have a fuckin' leg to stand on.”

“Say it, Katsuki.”

Bakugou flooded red, shoving him away, and Midoriya grinned as he grabbed the boy from behind.

“Katsuki,” he sang, “say it for me.”

“Fuckin' make me.”

“I will. You know I will.”

Bakugou glared at him and he only grinned in return, taking a step forward and pushing Bakugou with him.

“What are you doing now, nerd?” Bakugou scowled, turning to face him again. “Cut it out.”

“Make me,” Midoriya smirked, pushing him up against the wall lightly. “Say it, Kacchan.”

“Fuck you.”

“Not if you're gonna be a jerk about it.”

Bakugou blushed again, turning his head, but Midoriya quickly dragged it back to look at him.

“Come on, Kacchan, one little word and it's all done.”

“Like hell.”

He planted a tiny kiss on the corner of Bakugou's mouth, one hand roaming along a muscular thigh, and felt Bakugou tense up under his touch.

“Are you gonna say it for me, Kacchan?”

“No.”

Midoriya hummed to himself, letting his fingertips brush lightly over the inside of Bakugou's thigh, watching the rise and fall of Bakugou's chest get a little quicker.

“You sure?”

“Fuckin' sure.”

“That's a shame,” Midoriya mumbled, his hand brushing over Bakugou's crotch, smirking at the bulge waiting for him. “I thought maybe we could try something new, if you said it.”

“Fuck you.”

“Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking.”

Bakugou flooded red, and Midoriya grinned as he traced little pecks from Bakugou's lips, across his jaw, and down the side of his neck.

“Say it for me, Kacchan.”

“No.”

He nipped lightly at the crook of Bakugou's neck, getting a little grunt in return, then proceeded to lick and suck at the wound gently.

“Fff- Deku, come on,” he protested. “We're... You're... We're supposed to...”

With a stuttering moan he stopped protesting, burning red again, when Midoriya rubbed a hand pointedly between his legs. He could practically feel Bakugou breaking apart beneath his touch, and all he could do was smirk.

“Just once, Kacchan, that's all it takes.”

“I've- Ah- I've fuckin' said it- Fff- Asshole.”

“Hmmm?” Midoriya detached himself briefly, cupping a flushed cheek in his hand. “What was that, Kacchan?”

“I've said it,” he grumbled, his eyes darting to the side stubbornly. “You heard me.”

“When?”

“When you... Fuck. You broke down.”

“Hmm?”

“In front of fuckin' Aizawa and All Might. You were crying. I fuckin' said it so cut the shit.”

“You did,” Midoriya grinned, planting another kiss on his jaw. “That's right, you did.”

“So stop whatever it is you're doing.”

“Hmmm... Nope.”

“Asshole!”

“You want me to jerk you off, Kacchan? I'll do it, I don't mind.”

“Fffffuckin' obviously.”

“Then say it.”

“No”

“Stop being stubborn, Kacchan.”

“Never.”

“Fine,” Midoriya sighed, turning away and walking toward the bedroom door. “Come on then, I still need to pack too.”

“What the fuck, asshole?”

“You told me to cut it out. I did.”

“Fuckin' nerd get back here.”

“Nope.”

He stormed over to grab a handful of green hair, dragging him back from the door with a scowl.

“Don't fuckin' get me all hot then just walk off, asshole.”

“You know what I want from you.”

“Fuck you!”

“Not until you say it.”

Bakugou growled, the two of them locking eyes for a long minute as Bakugou contemplated.

“Better be the best fuckin' handjob in the world, Izuku.”

“Awww, now he wants to play along,” Midoriya teased, kissing him lightly. “Too late now, maybe later. Shouldn't have taken so long.”

“What the fuck?!”

“Come on! Mom is waiting, I gotta pack still! You took so looooooong, Kacchan.”

“Fuckin' tease.”

“Obviously.”

Midoriya was practically bouncing in his seat as the train sped through the tunnels, the landscape blurring around them. He hadn't expected to leave the area much, when Aizawa said he would be mentoring them, but here they were heading for a little hotel on the outskirts of town.

“Seen anything interesting?” Bakugou asked quietly.

“Yeah but it's... Um... Foggy.”

“Foggy? That's never happened before.”

“Okay not foggy but... I can't pinpoint exactly what was going on. It's still the Hero Killer, and I still think he's in Hosu – Aizawa-sensei seems to as well – but that's about all I can do. I don't know who he will attack or when or where or anything like that.”

“We'd better keep our guards up, then.”

“Yeah, we're gonna have to.”

Bakugou pulled out their schedule to read as Aizawa napped a few seats away, and after a moment Midoriya leaned in to look, resting his arm on Bakugou's shoulder.

“He said we're gonna be tired,” Midoriya reminded him. “Is it bad?”

“It's not great,” Bakugou acknowledged, pointing out the messed-up sleep schedule. “Three-hour blocks for sleep.”

“We've done worse.”

“Yeah, maybe. We'll see I guess. Do you think he'll let us buy coffee?”

“I really don't think he cares what we put in our bodies, that's more of an All Might thing.”

Soon enough they were pulling into a station, grabbing their bags as Aizawa climbed out of his chair. He didn't once stop to check directions, never seemed to glance at a signpost, just led them through a winding maze of streets and alleyways.

“Here we are,” he said boredly. “You have three hours to settle in, or take a nap, and then we're out on our first patrol. If you're a minute late to the lobby I will be leaving without you.”

“Understood, Sensei!”

He obtained a set of keys from the front desk and handed one to each of them, showing them up three flights of stairs to two adjacent rooms.

“I don't want to hear your nonsense, so keep the noise down.”

“Got it, Sensei!”

Midoriya stifled a laugh when he followed Bakugou in, his eyes immediately going to the lone bed in the middle of the room, and Bakugou snorted.

“Is this his way of telling us he knows?”

“We're not exactly subtle, I'd be worried if he didn't.”

As well as the double bed, their tired room held a mini kitchenette with a fridge and stove top, and a tiny bathroom – Midoriya could touch all four walls at the same time. Bakugou immediately opened the fridge, finding it empty, and sighed to himself as he pulled his jacket back on.

“We should grab some food and stock up for later.”

“Didn't Sensei say we'd buy stuff on patrol?”

“I'm not living off shitty snacks from the back of a rundown convenience store.”

“I know, I know, your body is a temple and all that.”

“Shut up. Are you coming or what?”

“Uh-huh!”

Midoriya expected to hunt down a supermarket, but before he knew it Bakugou was leading him through little stalls of fresh produce, inspecting vegetables like they held some kind of dark secret. He'd never seen Bakugou food shopping before, so it was a surprise to see how seriously he took it, where Midoriya would have just thrown some stuff in a basket.

“What do you think Aizawa-sensei like to eat?” Bakugou asked, as he handed over a few coins. “You know him better than me.”

“I honestly have no idea. I don't know if I've ever seen him eat.”

“Ugh, typical. See if they have any coffee beans over there, will you?”

“Sure!”

He headed over to the stall Bakugou pointed out, humming quietly as he scanned the contents and triumphantly purchased two large sacks of beans.

“I think we normally use these ones,” he explained, as he held them up to Bakugou. “But the other ones looked fancy and I wanted them.”

“Good work,” Bakugou said with a hint of fondness, ruffling Midoriya's curls. “I think we're good, let's head back.”

Midoriya took his hand as they walked and Bakugou didn't argue, locking their fingers together comfortably as he seeked out the right road to take them back to the hotel. It took them a few minutes longer than it really should have, after wandering down the wrong alleyway a few times, but finally Midoriya was collapsing on the bed, smiling to himself as Bakugou unpacked their purchases.

“Are you hungry?”

“Mm... Not really, not yet.”

“Okay. I'm gonna throw some stuff together for the next few meals, then.”

Midoriya sat up to watch as Bakugou produced a stack of disposable containers, chopping and divvying up salad and raw vegetables, sealing them and throwing them into the fridge as he moved.

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Talk to me, I don't have a TV or a radio for white noise.”

“You want me to be white noise?”

“That's pretty much all I ever hear from you, so yeah.”

“Mean,” Midoriya chuckled. “What are you making?”

“These ones are just quick grab-and-go snacks in case we're short on time. I want to do omelette too, with spinach and mushroom, and if we have time, a few rice and pasta things for dinners.”

“You're a genius, Kacchan.”

“I know. Cooking is easy though.”

“Do you want me to put the rice on? I know how to do rice.”

“Sure, go for it.”

He pulled a bag of it from Bakugou's backpack and started measuring out his cups, taking it through to the bathroom sink to rinse before putting it in the rice cooker.

“Is this how you eat at home, too?”

“Mostly, yeah. If one of my parents cooks I'll have dinner with them, but if I'm busy or if they're working I always have something prepared. Why?”

“It's different! Mom makes me breakfast every morning, and dinner almost every night, so I've never had to worry about it!”

“What about when you move out?”

“Won't I get Kacchan meals every day when we move out?”

“Planning on living with me, huh?” Bakugou scoffed. “Typical, always gotta freeload.”

“I can clean!”

“No you can't, you're useless.”

“Well... I can... I can... You're right I've got nothing. I can't even say I'll be eye candy if you're gonna be there.”

“Good choice,” Bakugou smirked, leaning over to kiss his hair lightly. “You can sing my praises and feed my ego.”

“I can do that!” Midoriya grinned, wiggling a little closer to watch Bakugou chop vegetables. “Wow! Look at you with that knife, Kacchan! You're so fast!”

“I was kidding, shitbag. You know how to crack eggs?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Cool. Finish the rice then start cracking all these eggs in a bowl. If you get any shell in it I'm gonna murder you.”

“Got it!”

Midoriya hummed and babbled as he worked, doing his best to fill the silence for Bakugou, and every time he finished a job Bakugou would give him another simple task to complete. He felt like he was contributing until he saw the final products going into the containers, realising he hadn't understood even half of the process that went into it.

“They look yummy, Kacchan.”

“Damn right they do.”

He scooped rice into the containers once it was cooked, carefully tucking it in around the meats Bakugou was grilling, and soon their fridge was stuffed to the brim with individual servings of food.

“Here, eat this,” Bakugou said firmly, sliding a bowl across the bench. “We've got about ten minutes.”

Midoriya looked up at the clock in surprise, and Bakugou smirked at him.

“Didn't realise how long we'd been cooking?”

“Time flies when I'm with you, Kacchan!”

“Shut up.”

They sat on two worn out stools as they ate, scoffing leftover fish, vegetables and rice, and Bakugou pulled a face as he looked at the clock again.

“Think he's awake now?”

“Should be! It must take him five minutes to get ready to go out on patrol!”

“I'll take him food, then.”

“You don't want me to do it?”

“Oh please, he's far less likely to punch me in the face than you.”

“Good point!”

Bakugou ditched his dirty bowl on the counter and headed next door with the rest of the food, knocking loudly. While he waited, Midoriya scoffed the last of his dinner and gave the dishes a quick wash, putting them away neatly so Bakugou would have nothing to complain about when they got back after midnight.

Bakugou returned with no food in hand, which Midoriya took as a good sign, and in a peaceful quiet they both set to work pulling their costumes on, the silence only broken by zips and belt buckles.

“Think he'll complain if I bring my gauntlets?” Bakugou asked, spinning one on the bedcovers. “You're expecting shit to go down, right?”

“It would be nice if it didn't, but I think we should be prepared.”

“Yeah, figured.” Bakugou sighed, setting his gauntlets beside his boots to carry out with him, and eyeing Midoriya over. “All sorted, creepy-bunny?”

“Says the one with a stuffed bunny waiting for him at home.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Kacchaaaaaaan,” Midoriya whined, throwing his arms around Bakugou's neck with a pout. “Be nice to me, you're my boyfriend.”

“If you wanted nice you should have dated the fuckin' ponytail chick.”

“I keep telling you Kacchan, I don't have a crush on Yaoyorozu!”

“Then don't complain about me not being nice enough!”

“But Kacchan,” Midoriya pouted, “when you're nice to me it's really cute.”

“Shut the fuck up before I blast you in the mouth.”

“I'm your boyfriend.”

“So fuckin' what?”

“So you could at least tell me I'm pretty or something.”

Bakugou growled at him, tugging at a handful of hair a little harder than necessary as he yanked the face from his shoulder.

“You make an alright cooking bitch. Put your shoes on or we'll be late.”

“That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me! Thank you Kacchan!”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Their first patrol turned out to be a quiet affair – three of them walking silently through dark streets, hands shoved in pockets to keep them warm, masks pulled down low to hide their faces from the people in the area who would more-than-likely recognise them. Midoriya half expected to hear a cheery “Mikkun!!” called from down the street, but so far they hadn't run in to any other hero teams, and he wasn't sure if that should make him happy or nervous.

“No one has been seriously injured,” Aizawa informed them, reading the silence. “They've been travelling in groups and taking extra precautions recently. Apparently someone warned them about a potential threat.”

“His flashes are never wrong,” Bakugou grumbled. “Trust us for once.”

“Do you really think I'd have brought you out here if I didn't trust you at all? This week I'm trusting you to follow directions and do as I tell you no matter what you might think of it.”

“But what if-”

“No, Midoriya. You do what I ask of you, is that clear?”

“Yes, Sensei.”

“You are right that there have been reports of heroes being attacked by someone who calls himself the 'hero killer' but so far there have not been any deaths, thanks to the increased vigilance our heroes have been working with. All Might decided to trust you on this one, and it appears it may have paid off.”

“Does that mean-”

“Yes, Bakugou, it means I believe these visions Messed-Up Midoriya is having. I do not have as much faith in them as you seem to, but I do believe they are worth heeding as warnings.”

“Sensei, have you heard anything about Iida's brother? Ingenium?”

“He has been one of the driving forces in keeping the heroes roaming in packs. He does not leave without at least two sidekicks with him.”

“That's good to hear. Thank you.”

“Now it's my turn to ask a question.”

“Of course, Sensei!”

“What were you hoping to achieve when you came out here unlicensed to try and hunt down a dangerous criminal?”

“We weren't actually trying to hunt him down,” Midoriya argued. “I thought maybe we could just get confirmation that he was here so the heroes would believe us. He doesn't act if too many people are around, so I hoped we could scare him off if he did attack someone, or call the Pros to help.”

“And yet you ended up in the middle of a fight instead.”

“We didn't mean to!”

“He's not lying about this one,” Bakugou mumbled, looking away stubbornly. “People were trapped in buildings and we couldn't stand by and listen to them scream. We were just trying to help them to safety, but then three-ring and punchy-mcgee couldn't handle it and they literally begged us to swap with them. They promised to take the fall for it.”

“Three-ring?” Aizawa asked warily.

“He binds people,” Midoriya sighed. “He's a binder.”

Aizawa shook his head faintly but didn't bother to start the argument, glancing at Bakugou's stubborn face.

“They did, in fact, show up to take the blame.”

“Good of them to keep their word! Wait, they showed up where?”

“At the school. They are well aware that you are my students at this point. You have rather a growing reputation in the Pro community right now – and no, that's not necessarily a good thing.”

“But it's not necessarily bad,” Midoriya grinned.

“I wasn't aware you'd chosen such cutesy Hero names.”

“We didn't,” Midoriya pulled a face. “Apparently our names are too long is all.”

“I think I might like them,” Aizawa said flatly, continuing his path through the streets. “Bakkun and Mikkun, it has a certain ring to it, don't you think? Good and unintimidating.”

“By my guest,” Bakugou snarled, to Midoriya's surprise. “You're the hero who keeps his identity quiet so he can get the jump on people, are you not? You think we care if a bunch of villains think we're pussies? All the better to beat their asses.”

“Yes, introducing yourselves to every villain you meet seems incredibly conducive to that effort.”

“Sorryyyyyy” Midoriya sang, when Bakugou glared at him. “I just wanted to intimidate them! Confidence is key!”

“If you dare introduce yourself to Stain I'm gonna have your ass on a silver platter.”

“Don't threaten me with a good time, Kacchan.”

He blushed the moment the words came out, looking up at Aizawa, but only a sigh came from his teacher in return.

“Keep it professional,” he said after a moment. “I know that's a stretch from you two, but keep it professional.”

“Got it, Sensei!”

Midoriya jumped out of bed ready to go, heading for the bathroom to relieve himself while Bakugou dragged himself up to switch off the alarm. They had ten minutes to be in the lobby ready to go, and already Bakugou was dreading it. Three hour breaks had sounded like plenty, until he realised an hour of that would be taken up with showering, changing, eating, and actually getting to sleep.

“Your turn, Kacchan!” Midoriya announced on his return, leaning over to kiss Bakugou's cheek as he reached for his cellphone. “I'll get breakfast.”

He had learned the night before that everything Bakugou had made, was made in sets of three. It was strangely cute, watching him heat meals and dump them on Aizawa next door, demanding that he eat an actual meal. In turn, he pulled three containers of omelette from the fridge, throwing them in the microwave to heat up and adding a scoop of the leftover rice from the cooker.

While they heated he got himself back in costume, making sure his mask was on hand for when they left the building, and filled his pockets with everything he would need for their morning patrol.

The clock read three fifty-six when he handed a container to Bakugou, kicking his shoes on to head out. The moment they got to the lobby he thrust another container into Aizawa's hand, along with a plastic fork, and to his surprise he got a tiny smile in return as the man accepted.

“Maybe you two aren't so bad to have on hand,” he muttered, as he threw the lid in a trashcan and took a scoop of food. “Should've told me you could cook a month ago.”

“It's all Kacchan, I was just carrying it.”

“You can leave, then, I'll just keep him.”

“Silly Sensei, you know I never leave his side,” Midoriya grinned. “You can try all you want but you can't get rid of me.”

“We'll see about that.”

He pulled his mask up as they walked, glancing over at Bakugou's tired eyes behind his own, and smiled softly as he nudged him in the shoulder.

“Time for some fun, Kacchan.”

“Yeah,” he yawned. “Should've brought coffee.”

“Oops, sorry, I didn't think of it when we left.”

Aizawa sighed, eyeing them over, then reluctantly stopped outside a convenience store.

“You have two minutes, so make it quick.”

“Really?” Midoriya beamed, digging his wallet from his belt. “Thank you, Sensei! I'll be right back!”

“We should ditch him while he's in there,” he heard Aizawa mutter behind his back.

“Fuck that, he's the one getting me caffeine.”

With their weird schedule, Midoriya was already starting to lose track of what day it was. He knew it was their third patrol, and it was starting to get dark, so he figured they must be coming up on day three. If things went the same as his first run-through, day three would be when Stain attacked. Except this time Ingenium was fine, and Iida was in a different part of the city, so would it still be the same?

He knew Endeavor was in town from Todoroki's messages – few and far between as they may be, he still responded when Midoriya tried to make conversation, and Midoriya took that as a good sign. If Endeavor was there, that meant something was still going on in the area, and Midoriya had his doubts that it was a coincidence.

“Sensei, why did you decide to bring us to Hosu?”

“Why don't you tell me, if you're such a strategic genius?”

“I'm really not,” Midoriya shrugged, looking around at the quiet streets. “You believe me about Stain, but there's no way you have that much faith in me, which means people have been attacked here. You told me the heroes were being extra careful, and I don't want to believe you lied to me, so no one has died but people are still being attacked. Is that pretty close so far?”

“Yes.”

“They've asked for any heroes with a decent shot against his Quirk to get involved with the search. And since his Quirk is technically useless on you, you volunteered to come work during internship week while your class was away.”

“Not all Quirks are useless against me,” Aizawa reminded him. “There are plenty of things that can stop me still.”

“Yeah, to be honest I would have thought you weren't the best match up for him. I mean, yeah, you can erase him at the right moment and stop him from paralysing you, but that relies heavily on timing, and the rest of the time you're in far too close to really be practical against him. Long range heroes would be the best bet, maybe some binding Quirks if they've got anyone fast enough to work with him, but-” he cut himself off when he noticed Aizawa staring, smiling sheepishly when Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Sorry, I got carried away there.”

“Paralyse?”

“Huh? Yeah?”

“Do you mean to tell me that you know what his Quirk is?”

“...Yes?” Midoriya nodded faintly. “Did I not...?”

“No, Maddening Midoriya, you did not.”

“Kacchan, didn't I tell you?!”

“You told me,” he shrugged, “I guess you didn't tell them.”

Aizawa muttered something under his breath, a familiar sound after spending so much time with Bakugou, and Midoriya hurried after him as he began to walk again.

“I'm sorry, Aizawa-sensei! I should have told you! I can't believe I never told you!”

“You still haven't”

“...Oh. You're right! Okay!”

He began his explanation, following blindly as Aizawa walked, occasionally pausing to listen to Bakugou's footsteps or breathing behind him to make sure he was still following. Aizawa held up a hand to stop him when he got to the finer details, leading him into a tall building, and Midoriya looked around at the lobby dumbly.

“Where are we?”

“You're going to tell the Pros what you were about to tell me.”

“Oh! Okay!”

He found himself sitting in a board room, at a long table surrounded by pro-heroes and sidekicks, and for a moment he felt nervous as they all stared at him.

“Mikkun! Bakkun! I should have known it was you guys!”

Midoriya looked up in surprise, cracking a smile when the familiar group of heroes joined them, and soon the room was filled with chatter and laughter like the whole thing was no big deal.

“Yeah, they're the kids I told you about!”

Bakugou scowled at him, getting another laugh in return.

“Sorry, sorry! They take offense to me calling them the kids apparently. These guys have helped me out a bunch, Ingenium, you would like them a lot!”

“I'm friends with your brother,” Midoriya blurted out, immediately feeling like an idiot for it. “He talks about you a lot, so it's nice to meet you finally.”

“Oh yeah? I'm glad the guy's making friends! You take care of him for me, alright?”

“Yes, Sir!”

A sinking feeling passed through Midoriya's stomach as he turned. It wasn't the same alleyway, wasn't even the same street, but somehow...

“Aizawa-sensei!” he called, pointing stupidly. “I think there's a problem.”

Bakugou was sprinting back his way immediately, even though Aizawa took a moment to understand, but when he started to move Aizawa cut them off.

“Stop,” he said firmly, not bothering to raise his voice. “Think about what you're doing.”

“I already have,” Midoriya answered stubbornly. “I'm saving a hero who needs help.”

He ran, not bothering to listen to Aizawa's annoyed mutters behind him, powering himself up as he skidded into the alleyway. Bakugou was right beside him, changing his course with a quick explosion that made the familiar, demented face look up from his blade.

“Fuck youuuu,” Bakugou yelled, aiming a blast straight at Stain's face. “Leave him the fuck alone!”

“I love you,” Midoriya found himself whispering, as he wound up for a smash. “Kacchan, move!”

He landed a powerful fist in Stain's gut, watching the smirk that came over the twisted face as a blade sliced into his arm, and as he pulled away he found himself grinning.

“Sensei!” he yelled, as Stain lifted the sword to his mouth. “Now!”

He didn't have to look back to know the man stood at his back, staring the Hero Killer down, and he saw surprise wash over the villain's face when Midoriya ran at him again.

“Nice try, asshole,” Midoriya laughed, launching himself into the air and bearing down on him. “That doesn't work on me!”

He saw the moment Stain changed tactics, the moment he started to swing at Midoriya, and he found himself laughing as he heard the familiar scrape of a metal pin being pulled.

With a deafening blast Midoriya's back smashed into the concrete wall, chipping away the stone with a little hiss of pain, but in the process he saw Stain go flying out into the street.

Stain wasn't going to toy with him this time, he knew that much already. His eyebrows knitted together as he glared at the man, stumbling a little as he dropped back to the ground and steadied himself, but already Bakugou was standing over the villain and aiming his second gauntlet down at his face.

“Try me, fucker,” he heard Bakugou growl. “Cut me, lick my blood, see if I care. Your Quirk is broken and you're done.”

Midoriya looked up when he felt a wave of heat, watching as Endeavor's crew dropped in to offer support, and he smiled faintly when he saw Todoroki watching on curiously.

“We got a radio call,” Endeavor explained, his eyes locked on Aizawa. “Heard you needed back up.”

“I thought we did, but it turns out my problem children aren't as incapable as I believed.”

“Encouraging Eraserhead!” Midoriya declared brightly, despite the sharp pain still coursing through his back. “This is a first!”

“Does someone want to grab this fucker?” Bakugou scowled, still locked in a tense stalemate. “We can do this shit later.”

Endeavor swooped in without another word, securing the man in his tight grip, and Aizawa quickly moved to get his eyes back on the villain. None of them were willing to take any risks at this point, after such a smooth capture, but Bakugou sighed as he finally let his gauntlet slump back to his side.

“Shit's heavy,” he explained, when Midoriya looked over. “You alright?”

“Just a bruise, I'm okay. Hey Shouto, how's the internship going?”

For a brief moment Endeavor looked up, but he wasn't the number two hero for no reason – Midoriya was pleased to see he didn't drop his guard even in his moment of curiosity.

“It's going fine,” Todoroki nodded. “Yours seems... Eventful.”

“You'd be surprised,” Midoriya laughed, “this is the only action we've seen so far.”

“Sensei,” Todoroki acknowledged, when Aizawa shot him a nod in greeting. “Good to see you.”

More people were arriving on scene, taking over to restrain and bind Stain, and as they hauled him to a police van Midoriya found himself hesitating.

“Wait!” he called, rushing over to follow them. “Let me talk to him.”

“Excuse me?” Endeavor scowled.

“Just for a minute! Stain!”

He ducked around the bulky man, locking eyes with the angry hero killer bound in chains and cuffs.

“Are you in contact with the league of villains?” he asked bluntly, following them toward the van. “Did Shigaraki contact you?”

“What makes you think I would give you that information?”

“Because you just fought against two kids and their teacher who fought purely to help each other and an injured hero – a hero you injured. You'll never admit it, no matter how long you're locked up, but now you're concerned that you miscalculated, aren't you? You're realising that there are more good heroes out there than you bargained for, and you know you're fighting a losing battle. So I'm going to ask you one more time, shithole. Did. Shigaraki. Contact. You.”

“I don't know who that is,” Stain admitted, and somehow Midoriya believed him. “I work alone, not with some asshole 'league' out to serve their own selfish interests.”

“Thank you for your time. Enjoy your stay in jail, I hear the food is great.”

He turned away, listening to them shut the van doors behind him, smiling at Bakugou and Todoroki as he returned to them. As the vehicle sped away, Midoriya felt a jolt run up his spine, and he froze in his tracks.

“Fucking asshole,” he cursed, as Bakugou dropped his gauntlets to catch him. “That one was just to be a dickbag!”

“Did he get you again?” Bakugou asked, concern and anger flashing through red eyes. “Did he cut you?”

“He must have still had it,” Midoriya cringed, unable to do anything but lean into Bakugou's grip. “It was probably on his hand or some shit.”

“Idiot,” Bakugou sighed fondly. “It'll wear off soon, at least.”

“Did someone help the hero in the alley?”

“Yeah, they've taken him to hospital. Come on, I'll carry you.”

He scooped Midoriya into his arms, glaring for a moment when he saw Todoroki examining one of the fallen gauntlets, but he only got an innocently empty look in return.

“Where are you staying?” Todoroki asked. “Endeavor, can I help them back?”

“I'm guessing these two are classmates of yours, Shouto?”

“Yeah. They're here on internships too.”

“They yours, Eraserhead?”

“Against my better judgment,” he sighed. “Yes, they are.”

“Let's go, then,” Endeavor agreed reluctantly. “Where are you staying, Eraserhead?”

They walked in an awkward silence, Midoriya limp in Bakugou's arms like an exhausted newlywed, and he found himself glad that they weren't far from the hotel. They'd been on their way back for their next break, when he'd heard the noise, and now he was more than ready for a well-deserved nap.

“Thanks,” Bakugou said reluctantly, when Shouto set the gauntlets down in their room.

“No problem. How do you feel, Midoriya?”

“I can move a little,” he said quietly, twitching his fingers as Bakugou dropped him on the bed. “I think it's wearing off. I'm tired though.”

“I'd better get going before Endeavor gets pissed off,” Todoroki sighed. “I'll see you guys back at school.”

“Hold on,” Midoriya grimaced, trying to sit up and failing. “Can you tell him something for me?”

“My fa- Endeavor?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

Bakugou grabbed him under the arms, hauling him up to lean against the wall, and Midoriya shot him a grateful smile.

“Do you remember the weird creature from USJ? With the exposed brain?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“It's called a Noumu, and there are more of them. Maybe a lot more. The one from USJ can rival All Might's strength, and they have at least three more that are ready to use at a moment's notice. They might release them in this area, so you need to be careful. All the local heroes know to travel in groups, to never be alone, but Endeavor won't have been told, so just let him know and ask him to be on guard for it, okay? We'll probably need him for the big one when it pops up.”

“I'll relay all of that to him,” Todoroki agreed. “How do you know this?”

“It's kind of a long story, sorry. We can talk about it at school next week.”

“Sure. Get some rest, then. You too, Bakugou.”

“I'm fine,” Bakugou scowled. “Whatever. Don't get your ass killed before I can beat you myself.”

“You already beat me. In front of everyone.”

“Properly,” Bakugou spat. “With your shitty fire, too.”

“Okay,” Todoroki nodded. “I won't die before you beat my whole Quirk, then. Make sure you don't die before you can beat me.”

“Fuckin' won't!”

Midoriya smiled at him one last time as he headed out, and Bakugou sighed as he fell onto the bed at Midoriya's feet.

“Need sleep,” he grumbled. “This is rougher than I expected.”

“Yeah,” Midoriya agreed, stripping off his costume now that his limbs were co-operating. “You should talk to Todoroki properly, you know. When we get back to school. Ask him why he didn't use his fire on you. You might be surprised.”

“Don't fuckin' care why, doesn't matter for shit now.”

“For me, Kacchan?”

“What-fuckin'-ever,” he growled, throwing his shirt aside and reaching for his belt. “Go to sleep.”

“I will when Kacchan is here,” he smiled warmly, reaching out with both hands to make grabbing motions at him. “Cuddles, Kacchan.”

“Coming, coming.”

He glanced at his phone as he plugged it in to charge, surprised to see a message from Aizawa pop up, then smiled faintly as he read it.

“We have a longer break,” Bakugou explained. “He wants us at one.”

“Can you change the alarm?”

“Yeah, I am,” he nodded, pulling it up on his phone. “Twelve-forty-five. Done. Right, fuckin' sleep.”

He collapsed back onto the mattress, letting Midoriya curl into his side happily, and reached for a blanket to cover them.

With any luck, they could get a solid four hours of sleep, uninterrupted.

“Kacchan?”

“What?”

“I'm really hungry.”

Bakugou groaned, sitting up as his stomach growled, and glared as he reached for his t-shirt from their last break.

“Fuck you,” he muttered, heading for their little fridge. “Fuck you and your shitty stomach.”

“Thank you, Kacchan.”

Midoriya eyed the bag of beans as the coffee brewed, contemplating the near-empty sack, before he plucked one out and offered it to Bakugou.

“Hey, I dare you to eat this.”

Bakugou raised an eyebrow at him, eyes lifting from his cooking purely for the sake of giving Midoriya a sarcastic look. Midoriya only beamed back, and Bakugou snatched it from his fingers stubbornly, biting down on the thing. It was actually surprisingly tasty, he thought, and he found himself eyeing the bag.

“Well that was lame,” Midoriya sighed. “I thought it would be gross.”

“Nah, just tastes like coffee.”

“Boring. I'm gonna go check if the suits are dry.”

“Okay, I'm almost done here.”

Midoriya kicked his shoes on and headed down to the little hotel laundry, and as the door swung closed, Bakugou found himself eyeing the beans again. After a moment of contemplation he grabbed a handful, wrapping them in a paper towel and shoving it with his patrol gear for later.

They only had two more patrols left before their internship would be over, and Bakugou was kind of surprised at how uneventful the whole thing had been. They'd had their one brief fight with the Hero Killer early on, which had turned out to be stupidly easy with Aizawa on their side to negate his Quirk, and since then the biggest event they'd witnessed was a roadside mugging. They'd stood back and watched as Aizawa walked up and smacked the knife from the man's hand, then waited patiently for police to show up and arrest him.

Far too much excitement for one patrol.

In their downtime, however, Aizawa had spoken far more than he did during classes. They'd heard talks on stealth, battle strategy, hand-to-hand combat, how to deal with villains if your Quirk didn't match up well. Over time the lectures became discussions, and a few of the discussions had gotten a little heated. Bakugou hated to admit that their debates had actually become interesting.

Midoriya had carried a notebook with him the entire time, scribbling notes every time Aizawa said something particularly interesting, then slotting the thing back inside his jumpsuit for safe keeping.

He was such a damn nerd for this shit. Honestly, Bakugou didn't know what he saw in the idiot.

Other than, well, everything.

He smiled briefly when Midoriya returned with his arms full of hero costume, setting it all down carefully on the bed to sort. Bakugou returned to boxing up their last few meals of the trip, counting boxes and double-checking their schedule for the last day, making sure he had enough to get some decent food into their teacher again too. For an adult, he sure was shitty at taking care of himself.

A long sigh escaped him when he heard the giggles behind him, turning around reluctantly to see what the fuss was about this time. Midoriya was sitting on the bed with the piles of clothes, and when he looked up, Bakugou burned red.

“Take it off, fucker,” he demanded with zero conviction, hiding his smile behind a hand stubbornly. “I never said you could touch my shit.”

“It makes my abs look so good, Kacchan!” he grinned, touching the dark fabric that clung to his body. “Did you ask them to make it emphasise your muscles?”

“Shut the fuck up, of course I didn't. Take that shit off.”

“It's comfy Kacchan.”

He finally gave up on demanding, instead storming over to the bed himself, grabbing the ends of an orange cross and yanking it over his head.

“Leave my shit alone,” he demanded, grabbing a handful of green hair to hold him still as he unfastened the mask. “You'll ruin it.”

“I won't! I was careful!”

“Fucker,” he grumbled, grabbing his clothes and moving them away from the boy pointedly. “How would you fuckin' feel if I stole your dumb red shoes or that bunny mask you wear?”

“I would think it was cute.”

Bakugou flooded red again, turning away stubbornly, and Midoriya laughed.

“I'm sorry Kacchan, I should have asked. I won't do it again, okay?”

“You have your own shirt anyway,” Bakugou reminded him. “I've seen it.”

“My own-? Oh!” Midoriya blushed. “That one. Yeah. I never wear it though, I told you!”

“You should.”

“I should?”

“Yes, dickbag, you should,” he repeated stubbornly. “Shut up.”

“Okay!” Midoriya grinned, draping himself over Bakugou's back and kissing him on the cheek. “I'll wear it lots, okay? For you.”

“Shut up.”

The explosion lit up the night sky, momentarily stunning Bakugou mid-sentence, and he looked up stupidly to stare as the sky darkened again. Midoriya was cringing, one hand over his ear, and it took a moment for Bakugou to understand. The sound had been loud, probably deafeningly, but Bakugou was used to that – Midoriya, on the other hand, and random citizens? Not so much.

He could see smoke in the distance, rising above the rooftops, and he pointed at it stupidly as he turned to Aizawa. All he got in return was a nod, but Bakugou was off, and after a moment he heard the familiar dumb sneakers pounding the footpath behind him. He didn't bother to weave through alleys, just found a tall building and blasted himself up the side, stopping for a minute on the roof to survey the scene.

An entire neighborhood was gone.

“Fuck, fuck, FUCK,” Bakugou bellowed, starting to run again and firing himself across the rooftops. “No, no, fucking no.”

They'd been walking through that exact neighborhood only a few hours ago, watching children make their way home from school, ready to settle in for the night. And now it was barely two in the morning – everyone would be there, they would all be sound asleep in their beds, and then...

What was it, anyway? Something blew up?

“Power station,” Midoriya explained, as if he could read Bakugou's mind. “We walked past it earlier.”

“What is it about power stations that people like to target?” Bakugou hissed.

“Aizawa-sensei thinks it was a fault in the plant itself. There were no signs of an attack, no reports or anything, it might not have been intentional.”

“There are kids in there, Deku!”

“Believe me, I know. Come on.”

The screams were getting louder, families huddled in the streets in tears, their houses destroyed around them.

“Is anyone trapped?!” Midoriya called, as they dropped in on the scene. “Do you know?!”

“The next street over!” someone called back, pointing. “There's a fire, I don't think they can get out!”

“Thank you! Be careful!”

They charged their way over with a vengeance, looking up at the charred, smoking building, enveloped by flames, and Midoriya scowled as he contemplated.

“I can do it, I can handle heat,” Bakugou insisted.

“Don't be an idiot. The top floor doesn't seem to be burning yet, we can get up there and find a way through, but the structural integrity won't be great.”

“I'll launch myself through the window. If anything collapses I can handle it. You find something that we can get them down with.”

“Got it.”

He scaled a pile of rubble to get some height, then fired himself neatly through a smashed window, only taking a couple of minor scratches from the broken glass. He was more than capable of handling the heat, as long as he didn't run into any actual fire, and he did his best to keep to the more stable parts of the building as he walked quickly.

“Hello?!” he yelled, “is anyone in here?!”

“Yes! Thank God!”

He followed the voice to find a couple in their bedroom, trapped behind fallen ceiling beams, a baby clutched in its father's arms.

“Okay, I'm gonna move these, you're gonna have to crawl under real quick in case anything falls, okay? Be careful.”

He wedged himself under the highest point, gritting his teeth as he pushed with his legs and his back, grunting as he created just enough space for them to make their way through. He let the weight back down gently, and sure enough the room creaked and clattered as he did, and he quickly hurried them out of the room in response.

“Shit,” he muttered, when he found the cave in blocking his earlier entry point. “Okay, this is gonna suck ass, but it's gonna work, alright? Stand back.”

They huddled behind him and he held out one hand, focussing all his energy into one small point.

“Deku!” he yelled.

“I know!”

With a shattering boom, his AP Shot made short work of the wall, blasting them a doorway, and he held his hands out for the baby.

“Trust me.”

With a moment of hesitation followed by a nod, she handed the baby to him and he held it tight to his chest.

“Go. They'll help you down.”

Outside he could see Deku waiting with someone's wrecked car in the front yard, waving to the couple from the roof. Bakugou had no idea how he manged to coax them, but one by one they jumped across, Midoriya steadying them on the roof and helping them safely to the ground. Bakugou kept a tight grip on the baby with one hand, jumping across easily and letting Midoriya steady him by the other arm. He handed the kid down to its parents then climbed down himself, looking around at the crowd watching and applauding.

Midoriya was grinning at him, but he shook his head in a hurry, looking around at the wrecked neighborhood.

“Where next?” Bakugou asked loudly. “Do you know of anyone else who needs help?”

Someone in the back pointed down the street and immediately they were gone, hunting down their next target.

“I hate to say it, but you two did some good work today,” Aizawa informed them reluctantly. “I realise all your practice was completely illegal, but you've actually learned some things, and that was... That was good to see.”

“He complimented us, Kacchan,” Midoriya grinned, elbowing his sleepy boyfriend in the side. “We must have been amazing.”

“Don't get ahead of yourself. You still have a lot to learn before you're going to be worthy of calling yourself a Hero, but I'm... not entirely unhappy that I did this. This week.”

“Thank you, Sensei. I think we learned a lot from you, too. I promise in future we'll be more careful about diving into things everywhere we go. Or at least better at improvising instead of having to plan before we jump in.”

“I don't believe that for a moment,” Aizawa sighed. “But if nothing else, you can know you made a difference this week. Most people can't say that about their internships. Now, grab your bags, the train leaves in half an hour.”

Midoriya scooped up his backpack obediently, watching Bakugou sling his duffel over his shoulder, and he smiled as he reached for the last three containers of food. Midoriya tore into it, his eyes watering when he found the pork cutlets and rice inside, and he grinned at his boyfriend happily as a pink flush spread across his cheeks.

“We won,” Bakugou explained quietly.

“Yeah, we won.”

They scoffed their food on the way to the train station, ignoring the weird looks they got for eating and walking at the same time, and by the time they sat down on the train Bakugou could barely keep his eyes open.

“Twenty-eight hours,” he grumbled. “Twenty-fuckin'-eight hours without even a nap.”

“You can sleep now, Kacchan. We've got a little while.”

“Fuckin' twenty-eight,” he repeated, as he dropped his head onto Midoriya's shoulder. “Never fuckin' working with Aizawa ever again.”

“It's only because of the explosion,” Midoriya pointed out. “Otherwise we'd have been sleeping when that happened.”

“What kind of asshole says 'you lost your break helping, it's time for the next patrol' instead of 'you missed your break, go take it now'?”

“Go to sleep, Kacchan,” Midoriya chuckled, stroking his hair lightly. “I'll wake you up if anything happens.”

“Don't you dare.”

He blew out a short sigh as he closed his eyes, exasperated, and Midoriya couldn't quite contain a little giggle. Bakugou didn't bother to open his eyes, just scowled in response, and Midoriya returned to petting him fondly as he snoozed.

Bakugou was cute when he was sleepy. Midoriya hadn't had the pleasure of seeing it until right then, but he was absolutely, definitely adorable.

He waited until Bakugou was asleep before he leaned over to kiss his pale forehead, nuzzling into his hair for a moment and closing his eyes.

“Love you, Kacchan,” he whispered. “Now, still, forever.”

“Kacchan, I have a favour to ask,” Midoriya mumbled, nuzzling into the crook of a warm neck. “Are you awake?”

“Mm, I'm up,” he yawned. “What's going on?”

“Some of our classmates have fallen behind, I think we should start a kind of a study group or something to help them.”

“Ugh. Why me?”

“Because you're friends with them, Kacchan. They might be offended if I just offer to teach them, but you could ask them to come over and study together or something.”

“Who are we talking about?”

“Mm... Kaminari and Ashido I think. Probably Kirishima a little too. And a bunch of them might want to practice for the practical exam.”

“Let me guess, you've seen the exam?”

“Uh-huh. As long as they haven't changed it because of me or anything. Um... They might have 'cos other stuff changed.”

“What did you see?”

Midoriya smiled to himself, snuggling in tighter when Bakugou's arm slipped around his waist.

“You got annoyed,” Midoriya chuckled. “Because I was moving like you in battle and you didn't like me copying you.”

“You're a big dumb nerd, of course you're gonna learn from the best.”

“Mm-hm, I did. And you told me you were gonna... Crush me, I think. Like... You were gonna beat me by so much it'd make me cry, or something. Me and Todoroki, you said.”

“That does sound fun. And what, you think everything is gonna change because you've told me?”

“No, you were full of hate when you said it, and I don't plan on pissing you off enough to hear that voice again. So you won't say it now, which means things have changed. I don't think they've changed enough for a new test, though.”

“Tell me about it, then.”

Trailing his fingers over Bakugou's chest, Midoriya slowly began to explain, running through all the details of the exam they'd sat together the first time. No matter what happened, the two of them wouldn't get paired together this time, and Midoriya already had his suspicions about how it would go instead.

“Can you do something for me? Today?”

“Other than start a study group?”

“You can do that whenever. This one is more important.”

“Okay, hit me.”

“I'd really like it if you talked to Todoroki. Like we talked about before, you know?”

“Ugh.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah, whatever, I'll try. It's your fault if I end up blasting him through a wall or some shit.”

“You won't,” Midoriya grinned, leaning over to kiss Bakugou's forehead. “I trust you, Kacchan, I know you'll be good.”

Bakugou leaned into his touch, his eyes still firmly shut, and Midoriya smiled at him fondly.

“Sorry for waking you,” he said softly. “Go back to sleep, Kacchan. We can get up a little later today.”

“Need to run.”

“We don't. You- We deserve a break. We're gonna stay here and we're gonna snuggle until the last possible moment before we have to get up for school.”

Bakugou grumbled a little but made no effort to move, and Midoriya stroked his hair lightly, his fingers caressing blond strands that seemed to be made of silk. His face was so soft in his sleepy state, long eyelashes lying lightly on his cheeks, only a tiny wrinkle gathered between his normally knitted eyebrows. Midoriya brought his thumb to it, smoothing out the skin gently, and smiled as Bakugou softened even further to become jelly in his arms.

“You're so cute, Kacchan,” Midoriya sighed fondly. “I don't know how you can be so strong and composed and threatening during the day, and then so sweet and lovely at night. I'm so lucky.”

“Shut up, sleeping,” Bakugou grumbled, his cheeks dusted with pink. “Not cute.”

“Super cute.”

“Stop it. M'not.”

Midoriya's fingers moved to a pale cheek, stroking with the lightest touch, and the sweet face contorted a little with the tickle.

“Want to sleep,” Bakugou whined, turning his head to hide his face in Midoriya's shoulder. “Quit poking.”

“I'm sorry, I'll stop,” Midoriya agreed, returning his hand to a surprisingly slim waist. “You get comfortable, tell me where to go.”

“M'already comfy,” he objected, “quit moving.”

“Okay, sorry.”

Despite his words, he continued to inspect Bakugou's muscles with his fingers, stroking firm, hard ridges beneath the pale skin of his back and smiling when Bakugou hummed contentedly.

“Mm... You think I'm gonna be paired with half-and-half don't you?”

“Probably,” Midoriya agreed. “Your reputation isn't the best for co-operation, least of all with him.”

“And against a teacher. Ugh.”

“You should talk to him, Kacchan. I know you want him to use his flames against you, but wouldn't it be kind of cool to fight at his side, too?”

“Fuck you,” Bakugou muttered. “Don't project your cheesy shit on me.”

“Okay, okay. I'm not gonna force you to do anything, Kacchan. Just think about it, okay?”

“Fuck you. Kiss me.”

“Now that I can do.”

He leaned in close, watching Bakugou's eyes crack open for a moment to find him, and when their lips met he found himself smiling. His teeth pulled lightly at Bakugou's lower lip, parting them enough to fit his tongue through, and Bakugou moaned into his mouth as they met.

“Deku,” he sighed, “God, Deku.”

“Mmm, Kacchan.”

Bakugou looked up at him with wide eyes when they parted, breathing hard, suddenly wide awake as Midoriya's hand cupped his cheek.

“Deku?”

“Hmmm?”

“I love you too.”

Midoriya gaped at him, watching Bakugou turn red and quickly roll over, hiding his face under the blankets.

“Kacchan!”

“You said it on the train,” Bakugou mumbled, curling into a ball of flushed skin.

“I love you, Kacchan,” Midoriya said breathlessly.

“I love you.”

“I love you!”

Bakugou cracked a smile finally, peeking up from under the blankets, and Midoriya threw himself across the little lump, enveloping him and showering him with kisses.

“Kacchan!”

“What?” he laughed, squirming as Midoriya kissed down the side of his neck. “Stop!”

“Never! Kacchan, you love me!”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I've never been so happy in my life!”

“Me too, when you said it.”

“Why didn't you tell me you were awake?!”

“I needed time to think about it and... and to find the courage, I guess, to say it back. Do you often say it when I'm not listening?”

“Mm... Yeah, kinda.”

“Seriously?”

“I didn't want to scare you off, Kacchan!”

“Idiot,” Bakugou muttered, kissing Midoriya's jaw lightly. “Fuckin' love you.”

“Kacchaaaaaaan.”

Bakugou scowled as he trudged over to where Todoroki sat with his lunch, shooting a quick glare back at Midoriya before he dropped his tray on the table and sat down angrily.

“Supposed to fuckin' talk to you,” he muttered, stabbing a piece of chicken with much more force than necessary. “Won't shut up about it.”

“Midoriya won't?”

“Who the fuck else would I be here for?”

“What are we supposed to talk about?”

“You throwing your fucking match.”

“Oh.”

He busied himself with a long sip from his glass, and Bakugou gritted his teeth.

“You gonna talk or what?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I want to know why,” Bakugou fumed. “Did you think I needed your pity? Thought I needed the medal more than you?”

“What? No.” Todoroki was strangely taken aback by the suggestion, his normally impassive face betraying a hint of surprise. “Why would I think that?”

“Why the fuck else would you use your flames on shitty Deku but not me?!”

“It was an accident.”

“Haah?!”

“I used them on him by accident. I didn't want to.”

“Why the fuck not?!”

For a moment the two just stared at each other, Todoroki back to his neutral expression while Bakugou wore his typical scowl. Neither of them was willing to break eye contact, nor willing to speak, so for that moment they just sat.

“I'll use them now,” Todoroki said finally. “If you want a rematch.”

“What?!”

“Some stuff happened with my father. I think I'm doing okay now.”

Something about the phrasing made Bakugou pause, considering all the fractions of information leaked into him.

“You and your father don't get along, right?”

“No, we don't.”

“And you thought using your flames would mean you were being like him or something? Fuck that, dude! You be who you want to be, shitty parents don't get a say!”

“That's... Surprisingly kind of you, Bakugou.”

“Don't get carried away, halfie. That power is yours and most of the world would kill to have it. Who cares where the fuck it came from or how you got it?! Just use it like any normal, sane person would!”

“That's surprisingly close to what Midoriya told me, too.”

“Fuckin' obviously. He's my boyfriend for a reason. He may be fuckin' stupid but he's not dumb.”

Todoroki cracked a smile, and briefly Bakugou wondered if it was the first time he'd seen it from the boy. Not that he was one to talk, with his perpetual annoyance.

“Look,” Bakugou sighed. “Whatever your deal is, I get it, you gotta do what you gotta do. But we're fuckin' classmates now, top students, and whatever shit goes down in the near future, we gotta handle it, you hear me? If... If something bad happened tomorrow, you're one of the few people I would... Fuck why am I saying this? You're one of the few people I would turn to, okay? You'd never catch me telling the perverted little shit to protect someone, or sending fuckin' tail-dude to get help, but if it was you then... You know.”

“Thank you.”

Bakugou snorted at the answer, so typically avoidant, and shoved another bite of food in his mouth.

“We look like we're on a fuckin' date,” he grumbled, as he swallowed and reached for more. “This is weird as fuck.”

“You sat here.”

“I told you, fuckin' Deku made me. We're done with the heart-to-heart shit, right? We're cool or whatever?”

“Yeah. If anything happens you can count on me to work with you. Both of you.”

“Good. Then I'm telling him to get his ass over here.”

He dug out his phone, tapping violently at the screen, and soon enough Midoriya was skipping over to join them with a grin.

“Todoroki! Kacchan! Hi!”

“Done what you fuckin' asked, now cut out the nagging.”

“Thank you, Kacchan!”

“Whatever.”

Midoriya cringed when Bakugou slung a leg across his lap, leaning in to press a firm kiss to his lips. He smirked as he ground his hips down, getting a little whine from Midoriya in return, and Midoriya shook his head when the hand toyed with his waistband.

"No, Kacchan," he said pathetically, knowing it sounded completely unconvincing. "We can't."

"Why can't we?" he asked, dead serious, leaning his forehead against Midoriya's.

"You're too young," he whined, as Bakugou rubbed at his hip bone. "I can't."

"I'm what?" Bakugou frowned, leaning back again. "I'm too young? I'm older than your sorry ass."

"It's complicated, I'm sorry. Kisses?"

"Fuck your kisses. What's complicated?"

"I can't, Kacchan. Please."

"Talk to me, shithead."

He opened his mouth to argue, immediately remembering a flash of stubbornness in deep red eyes, the angry voice that tore from his lips.

Don't tell me what I will and won't believe.

"Okay," Midoriya conceded. "Let's talk. But you need to keep an open mind."

"My mind is always open."

"I mean it, Kacchan!"

"Fine, fine. Go on."

"Can you maybe not sit in my lap while I talk?"

"Fuck off."

Midoriya groaned, shifting his hips a little, and thankfully Bakugou loosened up, pressing a gentle kiss to Midoriya's neck.

"Okay," he said softly. "Talk to me, Deku."

"My Quirk doesn't work how you think it does."

"Hmmm?"

"I don't see the future, I've lived it."

"How do you mean?"

"I was... Seventeen. Almost eighteen. And... And I came back."

"What do you mean?" Bakugou asked, a hint of apprehension sneaking into his voice. "You came back?"

"There was a big fight, Kacchan, and people were dying. The whole city was dying. We were fighting, and then someone hit me and I went down."

"You saw this?"

"I lived this. I died, Kacchan, and my life flashed before my eyes, and then I woke up in my bed at home and I was a kid again."

"I don't understand."

"I know, I know. I don't understand either. It's like... I got another shot, a chance to fix it. But I went back so many years, to before U.A. even, and that was when I needed to get you to help me. I've done this more than once, Kacchan."

"How many times is 'more than once'?"

"Close to ten?"

"You died ten times."

"Yeah. It's starting to get really old."

Despite his confusion, Bakugou snorted at the words, looking away before he crawled out of Midoriya's lap.

"So this is your Quirk? You go back in time if you die?"

"Pretty much. My life just resets and I do it over again. For a long time it was the morning of the Sludge Villain, but the last one was more recent. The last one was the day before the train bombing."

"That... That actually kind of makes sense. You were really weird that morning. Both those mornings."

"I told you, last time. I told you what was going on, and we came up with a plan to deal with it, so when I went back I thought it was the first day again and came running to your house, but it was... It wasn't."

"Yeah, I thought you seemed different."

Bakugou sighed, leaning into Midoriya's shoulder as he contemplated.

"Thank you for believing me, Kacchan. I know I sound insane."

"Yeah, you do," Bakugou agreed. "It makes sense though. More sense than the visions, honestly. You're always so unsure about if they're accurate or not, you keep talking about things changing. I guess because you've messed with the timeline so much? And sometimes you don't see things before they happen, which is weird, because surely a Quirk would show you all the big ones, right?"

"I'm glad I have a super smart boyfriend."

"Were we dating? In the first one?"

"No," Midoriya shook his head, squeezing lightly at a muscled thigh for comfort. "You hated me. You bullied me for being Quirkless, and then when All Might gave me One For All you were mad, you thought I'd been lying to you the whole time. That was the first thing I wanted to fix. You and me."

"I bullied you enough for you to say it outright like this. Was I really bad?"

"Yeah."

"Shit. I'm sorry."

"Wow, Kacchan. I don't think I've ever heard you say that before."

"Shut up," Bakugou smiled despite himself, elbowing Midoriya sharply. "Thanks for choosing me to help you fix things. I guess you were friends with the others, before. You could have picked half-and-half or ponytail, but you picked me."

"Of course I picked you, Kacchan. It was always meant to be you and me. That's why my checkpoint changed, because I fixed that part."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what your Quirk cares about," Bakugou scoffed. "Not the people dying."

Midoriya snuggled in to his side lightly, sighing, and Bakugou leaned his cheek against curly green hair.

"Were some of them really bad?"

"Yeah."

"Figured. Want to talk about it?"

Midoriya paused, then shook his head faintly, closing his eyes.

"No, this one is all that matters. I promise when you're older we can mess around, but right now it feels weird. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I can still kiss you, right?"

"Obviously."

Bakugou smirked, planting a light little peck on Midoriya's head before he leaned in again comfortably.

"Did I believe you last time?"

"Yeah, but it took some pushing. You got grumpy with me because I said you wouldn't believe me."

"You don't get to dictate what I do or don't believe."

"That's what you said before," Midoriya snickered. "You never change."

"So you're in to younger guys, huh?"

"I'm in to you," Midoriya grumbled. "We've had this discussion."

"Nope, must have been a different me."

"I know my own timelines, Kacchan! Don't try to mess with me!"

"You sure? Doesn't sound familiar."

"Katsusexual," Midoriya grinned to himself. "Dummy."

"You're the dummy."

He pulled Bakugou back into his lap, nuzzling at soft blond hair, and Bakugou hummed softly as he leaned back against Midoriya's chest.

"Fuckin' cradle robber."

"Kacchaaaaan," Midoriya whined, shoving his hand away. "We've been over this."

"I never agreed with you."

"I can't."

"Fine, but I can."

He played with Midoriya's waistband teasingly, enjoying the pain that ran through his expression.

"Kacchan, please."

"Fine," Bakugou sighed, letting him off the wall. "I thought having an older boyfriend was supposed to be fun. More experienced or whatever."

"I've only been with you, how would I be more experienced?"

"We never got it on in another timeline?"

"No! The same problem was still there!"

"Ever wondered if that's the problem you should be fixing, Senpai?"

"You're fucking in to this, aren't you?" Midoriya groaned, throwing his head back against the wall. "All I've done is doom myself to teasing and trying."

"What's wrong Senpai? Am I making this hard for you?"

He jammed his thigh pointedly between Midoriya's legs, rubbing against the prominent bulge.

"You know if we do this," Midoriya grumbled, covering his eyes with one arm. "You're gonna have to kill me afterward so I can fix it."

"Tempting offer," Bakugou grinned. "How many times? We could make my actual first time mind-blowing."

"Kacchaaaaan."

"What happens to the other mes anyway? They just cease to exist?"

"Uh-huh."

"That doesn't sound right. How do you know I'm not crying over your corpse in another world?"

"You don't cry."

"You know what I mean!"

"Hmm... It's my Quirk, I can feel it."

"It doesn't work that way."

"It does! Don't you know how your Quirk works?"

"Obviously."

"Didn't you understand from the start?"

"I knew I could blow shit up, I didn't know the damn chemical formula for nitroglycerin."

Midoriya froze, peeking out from under his arm at Bakugou's torn expression.

"I don't like it," he muttered after a moment. "I don't believe you on this one. You have no way of knowing."

"Kacchan..."

"Don't do it anymore, okay? Not intentionally. I fuckin' know you, I know you've done it on purpose before. No fuckin' suicide on my watch, got it?"

"Okay," Midoriya agreed quietly. "Promise."

"Good. Now, what's the next thing you know about that I should be wary of?"

"Mm... There's gonna be a training camp during the summer break."

"Is that why you were so worried about everyone passing? So they can go to camp?"

"Not exactly," Midoriya smiled softly. "But there's gonna be an attack. Um... this time... God I can't even say it."

"Tell me."

"They like you, Kacchan. They saw you at the sports festival, so angry and emotional, and they thought they could convert you."

"They think I'll join the fuckin' villains?"

"I know it's ridiculous, but they don't know you like I do. If nothing has changed they'll try to kidnap you during the camp. So can you promise to stay close to the Pros? There'll be a bunch of them there, if you just stay close they can't get to you."

"I'll fuckin' fight 'em."

"Kacchan."

"Fine! Fuck! You're such a piss baby. They're not gonna fuckin' take me, they- Wait. They succeeded last time? What the fuck?!"

"I knooooow," Midoriya whined. "I tried so hard and I couldn't stop them. But I'm better this time. I can help you!"

"Is this why you do so fuckin' good in class, too? You've sat the fuckin' exams before?"

"Uh-huh! But I did study hard the first time, it's not like I memorised an answer key."

"Fuck you."

"Hey! Come on! It isn't my fault!"

"And I guess I got paired with the fuckin' thermometer for the exam?"

"Nope, you got paired with me, because we didn't get along. We were really good though! But the teamwork thing was rough."

"Right. The bullying thing. God I sound like an asshole."

"Maybe sometimes," Midoriya grinned. "But I always liked you! I always forgave you."

"Now you sound about fifty. How many timelines did you say you'd done?"

"Shut up!" Midoriya laughed. "I love you, Kacchan."

"Whatever."

"Kacchaaaaan!"

"How many of me have you said that to?"

Midoriya paused, considering it, and Bakugou finally moved his leg away, giving Midoriya a moment of relief.

"Just one, really. I said it once before, but that was the time I only went back a day, so you aren't any different. That one was still you."

"Still fuckin' counts."

"Okay. Sorry. You're the second, then."

"Did he at least fuckin' say it back?"

"Yeah. He did. And he told me that no matter how many times I redo it, and how many different yous I meet, that you'll always love me still."

"Sounds like a fuckin' nerd."

"Kacchan!"

Bakugou smirked, sliding his hand up the front of Midoriya's shirt again and squeezing at his abs. Midoriya just groaned in response, shoving him away stubbornly.

"You're gonna be the death of me."

Bakugou snorted and it took Midoriya a moment too long to catch on, grimacing at his own dumb phrasing.

"You know what I mean!"

"Give in, Deku. You know you want to play."

"Fucking whore," Midoriya muttered. "Always knew you were a bottom."

"You told me there was nothing wrong with that."

"There's not. You just made this all the more tempting though."

"Play with me, Senpai."

"Fucking enough," Midoriya growled, shoving him off. "You aiming for a spanking or something?"

Bakugou froze, his breath hitching, and Midoriya raised an eyebrow at him.

"You fucking serious?"

"Shut up," Bakugou growled, quickly turning away to straighten his uniform. "You started it."

"I did not!"

"You started it when you ordered me to say your name!"

"That doesn't count!"

"Fuckin' does."

"I'm sorry, then. I didn't mean to set you down this path."

"You weren't even eighteen yet. You told me."

"Not quite."

"Why is it so wrong, then? One fuckin' year?"

"What?"

"I just turned sixteen, asshole. You know that."

"Oh," Midoriya said dumbly. "Right, you did."

"Just because your ass is fifteen in this body doesn't mean mine is."

"You're right," Midoriya acknowledged. "I'd kind of forgotten. It just still feels weird, you know? Like I'm doing something creepy."

Bakugou grumbled about it but didn't protest, and Midoriya gave him an apologetic look.

"Seventeen, okay? I promise."

"You're gonna rail me so hard on my next birthday," Bakugou growled. "I swear to God."

"You can suck me off on mine."

"You serious?"

"Yeah. if you want."

"Fuck yeah." Bakugou grinned, leaning in to kiss his neck once more. "You'll like it so much you won't wait until my birthday."

"Tall order. You better start practicing."

Bakugou froze mid-sentence, slowly turning to look at Midoriya as the rest of the class watched on nervously.

“Take over, half-and-half,” he demanded, dragging Midoriya aside. “Need to talk to you.”

“What's going on, Kacchan?”

“When they kidnapped me, how did you fix it?”

“What?”

“Someone had to get me back, right?”

“Y-Yeah, a bunch of us did.”

“So you know where their fucking hideout is?!”

Midoriya froze, staring at him with wide eyes, wondering how on Earth he had been so stupid.

“You told me to talk to an adult,” Midoriya laughed weakly, clinging to Bakugou's shirt. “I should have listened to you weeks ago.”

“Come on, we're going to see All Might, he listens to your shit.”

Midoriya garbled out some nonsense as Bakugou dragged him off, trying to reassure his classmates, but Bakugou clapped a hand over his mouth stubbornly.

“Keep going without us,” he called. “We're done.”

“What?! Baku-no!” Kirishima yelled after him, waving his hands frantically. “You promised to help me! Don't Baku-go!”

“Ask fuckin' build-a-bear, she's smart.”

Bakugou was pounding on All Might's office door before he could even think twice, yelling despite all the students watching and whispering around them. When the door finally opened and All Might ushered them inside in a hurry, Midoriya found himself blushing.

“Fuckin' nerd has been withholding information,” Bakugou glowered. “He knows where to find the fuckin' league of villains.”

“Is that true, Young Midoriya?”

“Sort of,” he nodded sheepishly. “I know where some of their hideouts are, but I can't guarantee they're there right now.”

“I would just like to take a moment to appreciate the fact that I didn't find out about this by rescuing you from their basement after you tried to rush in alone.”

“I'm not that good,” Midoriya admitted reluctantly. “I'm working on it, and I will be, but I'm not yet. If you want to wait for me to be capable, I will go and fight them. But if you want to avoid some big problems, back up would be appreciated.”

“Back up?” All Might asked, his face quickly contorting into a frown. “You are not going in there, Young Midoriya. Leave this to the Pros.”

“I can't do that. I can't sit back knowing that people might get hurt and I did nothing to help.”

“You are a student. You will have your time – years and years of it. Let the rest of us have ours, let the rest of us protect the future of the country.”

Midoriya felt himself tearing up, and Bakugou took his hand knowingly, giving it a little squeeze.

“On one condition,” he conceded, nodding faintly.

“I'll consider it.”

“I want to sit the Provisional License Exam. Me and Kacchan, together. This year.”

“So you have an excuse to go get into trouble?”

“No, so that next time I save somebody's ass I can be thanked for it instead of yelled at. I'm never gonna stop helping people, All Might. You know that.”

“I'll think about it.”

“Then I'll give you the information after you've thought about it,” Midoriya answered stubbornly, swallowing the sick feeling he still got from answering back to All Might. “Seems fair to me.”

“Give us a chance to show you,” Bakugou offered. “Instead of just saying yes, you can do the exam, give us a chance to show that we deserve to be there. He'll give you the information if you promise to seriously consider it.”

“Very well, I will consider it with an open mind when the time comes.”

“Okay,” Midoriya agreed, whipping out one of his notebooks. “It's all in here.”

“When did you write that?” Bakugou hissed. “We only just talked about this.”

“I wrote everything down! I just didn't think to pass it on.”

“You're a fucking moron.”

“I know!”

All Might accepted the notebook and began to flip through the pages, growing more and more surprised as he read further.

“Spoilers,” Midoriya warned him with a tiny smile. “You've been warned.”

“There's a lot of information here, Midoriya my boy. This all came from your flashes?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Alright. Thank you, I'll start planning it out with other heroes. You need to promise me you won't get involved unless I ask you to.”

“I promise.”

“Only me. Not another hero, me.”

“I promise.”

“Young Bakugou?”

“Yeah, I promise too,” he conceded. “Don't get yourself killed.”

“Of course not!” All Might said with zero conviction. “Not a chance, my boy.”

Considering how closely exams were looming, the school seemed strangely empty. Most of their teachers were gone within the day, replaced by retirees – and even half of those had fallen off the radar. Midoriya wanted nothing more than to get involved, to punch the door down and demand to help, but All Might had been so adamant.

Bakugou hoisted himself lightly up to sit on the desk, swinging his legs as he smirked at Midoriya. A little groan escaped Midoriya's lips, anticipating what was to come, and Bakugou's smirk only widened.

"What's wrong, I-zu-ku?"

“Don't start, Kacchan, I'm not in the mood for your teasing.”

“You need to stop stressing. They know what they're doing. You seriously think you're stronger than All Might?”

“I have been before.”

Bakugou gave him a sceptical look, and Midoriya waved it off lightly.

“He got worse after some big fights, forget it.”

“Sometimes you just have to have faith in someone else. Isn't that why you roped me in to all this shit in the first place?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “You can't do it all alone.”

“So stop moping and come play with me, Senpai.”

“Ugh.” Midoriya dropped his face to his desk, blushing. “I thought you'd moved on.”

“Never,” Bakugou grinned, leaning in close. “Might help take your mind off things.”

“Yeah, I'm sure it would.”

Surprisingly sweetly, considering all the classmates around them, Bakugou tangled his fingers in Midoriya's hair and dropped a kiss on his forehead.

“It's gonna be okay. You can't carry the whole world on your back.”

“Did you read that in a greeting card?”

“Nah, I bought a book.”

“A book?” Midoriya asked warily.

“Yeah. 'An idiot's guide to comforting your idiot boyfriend who has a massive hero complex', I think it was called.”

“Heroes can't have hero complexes.”

“You fuckin' do.”

“It's called doing my job!”

“It's called obsessing.”

Midoriya pulled a face, but didn't bother to object. Bakugou was kind of right, and he knew it, but that didn't mean he was going to admit it.

“I'm coming to your place after school,” Bakugou informed him. “You can't stop me.”

“Fine.”

“And we're gonna play.”

“Kacchan, no.”

“Kacchan yes.”

“No amount of grinding your ass into my crotch is going to make me turn off the television,” Midoriya informed him, reaching over to pull him into a hug. “I'm gonna watch for any news, you can't stop me.”

“Bet I can.”

“Kacchan, stop it,” Midoriya whined, pulling him in tighter in a vain attempt to keep him from wriggling. “Can't you just give me cuddles like a normal person?”

“Why don't you make me, Senpai?”

“That joke is getting old.”

“No one is joking here.”

Midoriya pouted, but accepted regardless when Bakugou leaned in for a kiss, pressing his crotch against Midoriya's abs pointedly. When the warm hand roamed down Midoriya's body he slapped it away lightly, sinking his teeth into Bakugou's neck. A tiny whine came out of the boy as Midoriya licked and sucked at the wound, marking him with a dark bruise in the crook of his neck.

“Fucking settle down,” Midoriya warned him. “I can still spank you without letting you get off from it.”

“Oh no, God forbid.”

Midoriya grabbed a fistful of blond hair, dragging his head back to expose more of the pale neck, watching his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard. He trailed little nips along the skin, watching a flush quickly spread over him, and hummed to himself as he reached sharp collarbones.

“Suddenly you're so well-behaved, Kacchan.”

“Fuckin' won.”

Midoriya's phone buzzed on the arm of the couch and Bakugou immediately made to kick it away from him, halted by two fingers stuffed into his mouth in a hurry, pressing at the back of his tongue.

“You said you wanted to suck me off,” Midoriya reminded him. “But you're so tense over a couple of fingers?”

He probed a little at Bakugou's mouth as he reached for his phone, grinning when Bakugou glared at him for checking it. The warm tongue swirled around his fingers, sucking at him crudely, and Midoriya made a few little thrusts in and out of pink lips as he read the message.

“Some of the others are going out soon, want to know if we're keen.”

He looked at Bakugou, smirking as he continued to move his fingers in and out, watching Bakugou's eyebrows knit together.

“No answer? I guess that's a yes.”

He typed out his response despite Bakugou's protests, setting the phone aside before he withdrew his fingers and wiped the spit on Bakugou's cheek.

“Fuck you,” Bakugou scowled, wiping his face with his sleeve. “We're busy.”

“Sorry, should have said so earlier, I already said we'd go.”

“Fuck you!”

“I already know you're horny, you don't have to keep bleating it. We're just getting dinner, it won't take long.”

“Thirty seconds is too long.”

“Don't be like that, Kirishima and Kaminari are coming.”

“Ugh.”

“If you're good, maybe I'll let you have some fun when we get back.”

Bakugou paused, finally softening a little as he gave Midoriya a curious look.

“Really? Or are you just saying it to make me go?”

“That depends how good you are for me.”

“Fuck,” Bakugou muttered. “Fine, but put on some decent fucking clothes.”

“You want to pick my outfit again?”

“Just don't want my boyfriend showing up dressed like a bitch.”

“Go on then, Kacchan. Be a good boy and pick me something to wear.”

“You want me to fucking dress you too?”

“Sure, that'd be nice.”

“Should've seen that coming. Whatever, come on, then.”

“You're gonna make me move? You can't dress me here?”

Bakugou didn't bother to argue, just picked Midoriya up like he weighed nothing and carried him into the bedroom, dumping him on the covers and doing his best not to smile at the giggles that came from him.

“You know what you're wearing, right?” Bakugou asked with a smirk, hunting for the familiar t-shirt. “It's fuckin' happening.”

“In public?”

“Only your friends will know, it's fine.”

“It's not fine!”

“Okay, I'll make you a deal,” Bakugou began, smirking as he leaned over the bed.

“Nope, fuck it, I'll wear the shirt.”

“You didn't even let me-”

“Not happening.”

Bakugou pouted, but obediently dragged Midoriya's t-shirt off, replacing it with the slightly-creepy boyfriend-merch. Despite himself he couldn't resist a smile when he saw it draped over Midoriya's chest, running two fingers over the orange cross lightly.

“Hot,” Bakugou mumbled, kissing Midoriya's cheek. “Perfect.”

“Kacchaaaan.”

“Legs up.”

He slid Midoriya's sweatpants off, tossing them aside, and smirked as his fingers caressed the smooth skin of an inner thigh.

“Shall I change your underwear too, Sir?”

“No, I'm good, thanks baby.”

Bakugou flooded red as he turned away, quickly occupying himself with rifling through Midoriya's jeans. He found the tightest pair the boy owned, just for the torture factor, and grinned at the face Midoriya pulled when he saw them.

“You said I could choose.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He tugged them up to Midoriya's hips with a little more effort than expected, then grinned as he straddled Midoriya's lap again, reaching out to comb through messy green locks with his fingers.

“What, now you need to fix my hair too?” Midoriya smirked.

“Nope, you're perfect.” Bakugou grinned, kissing him briefly as he climbed off. “Are we going?”

“Uh-huh. You're really trying hard at this good-boy thing aren't you?”

“I gotta if I want my reward.”

He nudged his way in under an arm, leaning sweetly into Midoriya's side as he pulled his shoes on at the door, and Midoriya smiled at him fondly.

“I know you're being manipulative, but you really are cute when you're being nice.”

Bakugou batted his eyelashes, grinning with a hint of a sneer underneath it, and Midoriya only laughed at him as he ruffled blond spikes.

“Come on baby, let's get going. See how long you can keep this up with other people around.”

“That sounds like a fuckin' bet to me.”

Midoriya smiled to himself when the discussion started to get heated, Bakugou leaning against the table and scowling despite the grin Kirishima returned the debate with.

“No fuckin' way!” Bakugou fumed, “don't you fuckin' dare!”

“Prove it!”

“Fine!”

Kaminari sighed when the pair disappeared to the buffet table, cracking a smile when Midoriya laughed at him.

“He's gonna whine all night about having a stomach ache.”

“Kacchan will whine about the calories, so I know the feeling.”

The boys returned with four plates each piled up their arms, setting them down and reaching for their chopsticks with determined looks on their faces.

“You're gonna be sick!” Kaminari protested. “Why do you need to do this?!”

“For my pride!”

Midoriya leaned over to survey the contents, getting a little smirk from Bakugou, almost daring him to say anything.

“I'm bulking,” he said stubbornly, the moment Midoriya opened his mouth. “It's fine, most of it's salad and shit.”

“By all means,” Midoriya grinned, “I just wondered how stuffed you're gonna be later tonight, that's all.”

Bakugou's cheeks flushed pink, and he paused for a moment as he contemplated his plates again, drumming his fingers on the tabletop as if it were the most difficult decision in the world.

“You win,” he announced, shocking everyone at the table. “Here, want some?”

Midoriya nodded and Bakugou shoved him a plate of rice and vegetables, settling in like a normal person rather than the monster of competitive eating he had been so close to turning in to.

“Are you serious?” Ashido demanded, her phone still poised at the ready. “I was so keen for this!”

“Deku's right,” Bakugou shrugged, shoving strips of beef in his face. “Gotta take care of my body.”

“You said that was why you were loading up on salad,” Kirishima objected. “Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with winning, but you're getting weirdly obsessive about your food right now. Are you alright dude?”

“We've gotta be prepared,” he answered through a mouthful, shrugging again. “Hard to be active on a stomach that's full to bursting.”

Midoriya glanced at his phone, reaching over to nab a chicken skewer from Bakugou's plate as he contemplated.

“Think we should cover three-ring's area?” he asked quietly. “They usually start patrol in about an hour.”

“You think he's gonna be fighting the league?” Bakugou scoffed, handing over a plate of salad as Midoriya finished off his rice. “No, their patrols will be fine. I'm sure they all sent their sidekicks and shit in their places anyway.”

“Are you two going out fighting tonight?” Sero demanded. “Where?! Why?!”

“Relax, we do it every night,” Bakugou snorted. “Think we got where we are by sitting on our asses?”

“Kacchan! No! He's exaggerating, you guys, just ignore him!”

Bakugou shot him a look that Midoriya couldn't quite decipher – some combination of confusion and annoyance.

“We keep ending up in the middle of stuff by chance, but we would never go seek out a fight! Three-ring has a super safe area that almost never gets targetted by anyone, but there are some kids there who like seeing the heroes around, that's all!”

“Fuckin' shitty liar,” Bakugou whispered, so only Midoriya would hear. “Fuckin' hot when you lie.”

“We've heard the rumors floating around,” Kirishima grinned. “About you guys always being at the center of every attack.”

“We've had some really bad luck,” Midoriya agreed with a laugh. “Even interning, Aizawa-sensei got us stuck in a dumb fight. It was no big deal, but yeah.”

“Didn't you show up in rags on the first day of school because of a fight?”

“Oh yeah! Some villains blocked off access to a whole area of power plants and stuff. We happened to be in a train right under the area, so we went to help out with people stuck in the wreckage. That one was kind of messy.”

The whole table was suddenly rapt by the discussion, and Midoriya's eyes widened when he saw them all staring, waiting for more.

“There were three of them,” Bakugou began, transferring more meat to Midoriya's plate as he finished the first one. “Eat your food, Deku. All three of them were pretty lame, we were worried about being outnumbered but it was a piece of cake.”

“Sure,” Midoriya scoffed. “That's why I had to bail your sorry ass out when one of them grabbed you.”

“How many fuckin' times have I saved you, shitty nerd?!”

“I didn't say you haven't!”

Midoriya picked up a dumpling from Bakugou's plate, contemplating it for a moment before he stuffed it in his mouth whole.

“Ah! Midoriya! No!” Kirishima cried. “They had like six warning labels on those for being spicy!”

“Okay?” Midoriya asked as he chewed. “So?”

“So you'll- Holy shit, you're fine.”

“Damn right he is,” Bakugou sneered, reaching out to ruffle Midoriya's hair. “I've trained the nerd well.”

“More,” Midoriya demanded, reaching for the plate and pouting when Bakugou pulled it away. “Kacchan!”

“Get your own!”

“Go get me some?”

“Fine,” Bakugou growled, setting his chopsticks down and glaring as Midoriya quickly nabbed the other dumpling. “Anything else, dickwad?”

“More rice!”

“Fine.”

“Thanks Kacchan!”

He grumbled to himself as he walked back to the buffet table, and Midoriya just grinned at the surprised expressions around him as he bit another chicken skewer.

“It's not like it's a big secret that we're dating,” he laughed, when he saw Ashido and Asui whispering together conspiratorially. “He's a good boyfriend.”

“That honestly surprises me,” Sero blinked at him. “I assumed you could only put up with him because you rolled over and let him have his way.”

“God no, have you seen them argue?” Kaminari laughed. “It's kind of scary when they get heated.”

Bakugou returned with a bowl of rice and a plate loaded with dumplings, keeping it out of reach when Midoriya immediately grabbed at it.

“Some of them are mine, fucker. No way am I letting you scoff them all.”

“Kacchaaaaaan,” he whined, pouting. “Gimme one.”

Bakugou picked one up with his chopsticks and stuffed it in Midoriya's mouth, blushing when he heard the giggles from the other end of the table.

“Fuck off, he's my fucking boyfriend!” Bakugou insisted stubbornly. “You fuckin' jealous?”

“A little,” Ashido grinned, “you make such a cute boyfriend, Bakugou. Midoriya is a lucky man.”

“Shut up!”

“Always taking care of him, waiting on him, cooking for him. Such a sweetie.”

“He's a good boy,” Midoriya grinned, messing up his hair fondly and planting a kiss on his cheek. “Aren't you, baby?”

“Stop screwing around, they'll take you seriously.”

“I am serious!” Midoriya insisted, shuffling in to lean against him. “Hugs, Kacchan?”

“You're the worst,” he scowled, winding an arm around Midoriya's waist regardless. “They're never gonna let this go.”

Midoriya blinked in surprise when he heard the shutter sound, looking up to see Ashido pointing her phone at them again, and when she smirked at him he only laughed.

“I've got way better photos than that, wanna see?”

“Yes!”

“No!” Bakugou insisted, snatching the phone from Midoriya's hand. “I told you to delete that shit!”

“He's really cute when he's sleepy,” Midoriya explained, watching Bakugou blush again. “Love you Kacchan.”

“Love you too, fuckass.”

“Awwwww!” Ashido cooed. “You two are so cute!”

“He called him 'fuckass',” Sero pointed out. “Is that really cute?”

“It's just an affectionate nickname! He still said he loves him!”

Midoriya sneaked another dumpling off the plate while he was close enough to reach, and Bakugou pinched at his cheek stubbornly.

“I told you to leave some for me.”

“There are heaps more! But you should probably eat them before I do.”

“Ass.”

Bakugou shoved him off, barricading the plate behind his arm as he began to eat, keeping Midoriya away with a knee every time he leaned over to try it. Midoriya whined at him again and Bakugou shoved one in his mouth to shut him up, before he returned to scoffing them himself.

Midoriya grinned when he saw the fond looks being shot their way, strangely pleased to see their friends messing around, but when he caught a glimpse of Kirishima quickly feeding Kaminari from his plate he understood the sentiment.

“It's all so good,” Midoriya moaned, as he returned to his own plate to shovel more food down. “Why have we never come here before? We need to eat here more often.”

He didn't hear the words that came from Asui's mouth when she started to answer, too busy jolting upright, staring out the huge windows at the dark street. Bakugou was on his feet immediately, tossing his jacket aside, and Midoriya quickly slid out of the booth after him.

“Bakugou?” He heard behind them. “Midoriya?”

“Did they plan this?” Midoriya hissed as they sped through the doors. “Are they attacking here while the Pros are occupied?”

“It's possible,” he agreed, looking around for the source of the sound. “More than one?”

“Oh no,” Midoriya mumbled, looking up at the dark sky. “It couldn't possibly be...”

“Deku? What's-? Ohh, shit, no.”

Even from the street, Midoriya recognised the deformed figure and exposed brain high above them, and immediately he was running after it. He could hear familiar voices, calling after them, but Bakugou and Midoriya were far too experienced to let a few concerned friends get in their way.

“Be careful!” he yelled back at them, not slowing his pace for an instant. “Kacchan, fall right!”

“Goin' up!”

Midoriya swerved to the left and leapt up the side of a building, making his way to the highest point he could find as he followed the flying artificial human. He flicked the channel over on his wristband, holding it to his lips as he moved.

“Requesting back up at the following location,” he announced, hitting the co-ordinates button. “The League of Villains' artificial humans are appearing, we're following one but there will be more nearby.”

“Message received. We will broadcast your distress signal shortly. Please identify the requesting hero.”

“Ah... Oh fuck it. Tell them Mikkun is requesting. Mikkun and Bakkun are requesting.”

“Understood.”

The line went quiet and Midoriya quickly turned it back to Bakugou's channel, freezing mid-sentence when he heard the footsteps. He started to turn too late, the hand already wrapping around his throat, and he cursed as he froze in his tracks.

“Midoriya Izuku,” the voice hissed. “We meet again.”

“You remembered my name.”

“You made it difficult not to, didn't you? But now you're mine.”

“I wouldn't if I were you, Handsy.”

Midoriya flicked his eyes sideways, catching a glimpse of Bakugou with his hand pointed straight at them, braced for a powerful explosion.

“If you fire now, you'll kill your friend,” Shigaraki pointed out with a sneer. “Is that how you treat your friends, Bakugou Katsuki?”

“Shows what you know,” Bakugou scoffed. “I've blasted him with far worse than my bare hands.”

“The moment I put this finger down, he dies.”

“The moment you put that finger down, you die. If he's dead anyway there's no harm in using all my force.”

Midoriya heard screams in the distance, the screeching of a Noumu getting to work, and he cringed.

“How can you do this?” he asked through gritted teeth. “How can you kill so many innocent people just for your damn cause? I know you think your cause is right, and just, but how can you possibly be willing to do this?!”

His fists were clenched at his sides, his jaw aching with how tightly he was gritting his teeth,

“Kacchan,” he croaked out. “It's okay. Just do it.”

“Deku...”

Tears were filling Midoriya's eyes, threatening to flood down his cheeks, but he did his best to hold them back for Bakugou's sake.

“You know my Quirk, Kacchan. You understand, don't you? So it's okay. It's okay, Kacchan.”

He couldn't bring himself to look over, but he could feel the cold blur of fear and anger and shaking limbs that surrounded them.

“I love you, Kacchan.”

His neck burned cold and a hand grabbed his arm, yanking him away, throwing him over the side of a building. A choked sob escaped his throat, but then he saw the massive explosion high above him, and with orange lightning coursing through his veins almost by sheer habit, he felt his body hit a cold, hard surface and start to slide.

It wasn't until he saw the stretch of shimmering blue and white above him that he started to understand, when he reached out and felt the ice slipping away beneath him, and then he was in someone's arms, an impact jolting him out of his stupor, back to chattering teeth and strong limbs around him.

“Midoriya!” Kirishima said far too loudly, right in his ear. “Are you okay?!”

“F-Fine,” he nodded, wide eyed. “What did you...?”

“Man, uh... Todoroki, anti-gravity, ice slide, hardening, and now we're on the ground. Does that cover it?”

The pieces fell together when he glanced over at Uraraka watching them nervously, when he saw the long slide of ice from the top of the building, and when he eyed the crater at the end where he must have smashed into Kirishima.

“These aren't just for show, huh?” he asked, waving Midoriya's wrist with the black band wrapped around it. “Bakugou took his off at dinner. Sheer luck we happened to hear a certain broadcast come through it.”

“Broadcast?”

“I called for back-up, Kacchan,” Kirishima mimicked. “And then that jerk's voice.”

“Oh my God.”

“It's your turn to talk, now. What can we do?”

“You can't Kirishima, you'll get hurt.”

“Like hell. Come on, dude.”

“Ah... Damn it, okay, I don't know if any Pros are coming so... Ugh.”

He saw a flash of fire up above them, grimacing for a moment as he watched.

“Kacchan and Todo- Shouto can handle him, as long as they stay at a distance. Somewhere in the city there are artificial humans wreaking havoc. Maybe four of them? Maybe even more, if their hideout wasn't- forget it. Assume there are probably four. We should split into a few groups and follow the screams. Keeping people safe is the priority, they won't be easy to take down without Pros around.”

“Did you guys catch that?” he asked, glancing back at Uraraka.

For the first time Midoriya noticed the phone in her hand, when he heard a pile of agreeable noises come from it.

“There's one nearby,” Yaoyorozu's voice spoke up above the rest. “It had green skin. I'm gonna-”

“Don't attack it directly,” Midoriya interrupted. “I remember that one. It can absorb your attack and release it back at you.”

“I'll go,” a soft voice said. “I'll meet you, Yaoyorozu.”

“Thank you Kouda!”

“Me too,” Mineta spoke up reluctantly. “We can try to disable it.”

“We'll drop out,” Yaoyorozu informed them. “We'll report in as soon as possible.”

“Good luck, you three,” Midoriya called. “Take charge, Creati, I trust your strategic skills!”

“Thank you, Midoriya!”

“There's a flying one near us,” Uraraka said next, glancing off in the direction of the screams. “Do we know anything about it?”

“Not much,” Midoriya shook his head. “The wings are the biggest problem. They're all incredibly strong, too.”

“We need height and distance, then,” Uraraka nodded. “I can do height, who else can help?”

“I can be there in a heartbeat, mademoiselle,” Aoyama announced brightly. “I'll shoot that nasty beast right out of the sky!”

“Ashido and Kaminari are following it too,” Kirishima pointed out.

“So with Uravity's Quirk, the three of them should be able to work from a distance. Good.” Midoriya nodded. “Any sign of the other two?”

“Still looking,” Sero told them, slightly out of breath. “The rest of you should split into groups and search.”

“Is everyone on the line?”

“Except for the ones who said they left,” Uraraka nodded.

“Okay. Jirou, Sato, head for Yaoyorozu's group. If anyone has a chance of landing an attack on him, it's probably one of you. The rest of you, split up and start looking for any signs of distress. Kirishima, call Tetsutetsu for me and get him to contact his classmates, then explain what's going on. We need every hand we can get.”

“Got it,” everyone chorused, a series of clicks following as everyone hung up their lines to get to work.

With a little nod Uraraka took off to follow the flying creature, and Kirishima looked at Midoriya nervously as he held his phone to his ear.

“What are you gonna do?”

“I'm going back up there to see what's going on,” he pointed at the roof, where things had grown oddly quiet. “Contact me with Kacchan's radio when you're done with 1-B.”

“Be careful.”

“Yeah right.”

He left Kirishima to do his job and began hopping up buildings, rubbing at the cold patch still remaining around his neck. The explosions seemed to have calmed down, if not ceased entirely, and Midoriya filled with relief when he made it to the top and found Shigaraki encased in ice.

“I'm telling you, shitbag, we're gonna find out no matter what,” Bakugou growled, jamming a hand in the withered face. “You can make this easy or you can make it hard.”

“Forget him, Kacchan,” Midoriya announced, as he brushed dust off his trousers. “The class has it under control, the artificial humans are being taken down as we speak. We don't need him.”

His phone lit up with alerts, and Midoriya almost swore as he pulled it out, instead cracking a smile.

“Eyeless creature with black skin found,” he read aloud. “Heroes converging.”

He quickly tapped out a reply warning them about significant power and potential regeneration, still keeping the little smirk on his face in the process.

“That's all four of them,” he said happily, “no problem at all.”

“Four?” Shigaraki scoffed. “Like I would only release four. And I'll get more. I'll get a thousand more like Noumu and take out you pathetic kids and that damn All Might once and for all.”

“Sure you will, buddy.”

Todoroki was on his own phone off to one side, frowning to himself as he listened, and Midoriya tapped out another message to his friends.

“Still more. The one from USJ and potentially others.”

“Dad,” Todoroki said quietly, making Midoriya's eyes widen. “Did you get the distress signal?”

The look on Todoroki's face told him the answer was clearly a no, and Todoroki's eyes shot to the iceblock that was Shigaraki Tomura.

“We have their leader, or one of their leaders, or whatever, sitting beside us. Our class are currently all out protecting people from the Noumus. We asked for your help.”

Midoriya heard the yell on the other end clear as day, and he couldn't help but grin to himself at the thought of them all leaping to attention.

“Class 1-B as well!” Midoriya called happily. “Everyone is working hard!”

“If you wouldn't mind, we could use some help getting this shitty villain in prison.”

“Stay right where you are!” Endeavor demanded, his voice loud enough for even Shigaraki to hear it. “Do not take your eyes off him!”

“Wasn't planning on it, old man.”

He hung up and began tapping at his screen instead, lighting up Midoriya's phone as well when he hit send.

“Send Noumu co-ordinates to police. Tell them Endeavor requested them.”

Midoriya switched to his police channel again, hitting his submit button, and raised the device toward his mouth.

“Co-ordinates requested by Endeavor. Please pass them on as soon as possible.”

“Understood, Mikkun.”

“Shit, they tracked my channel,” Midoriya grinned. “Gonna have to fix that little hiccup.”

It was mere minutes before Endeavor was on the roof in front of them, unable to quite hide his smile when he saw Shigaraki frozen and blue-skinned.

“We have co-ordinates for all ten of your abominations,” Endeavor informed him. “Where's your friend with the portals?”

“Not coming near the likes of you. We're here for All Might, not for second-best.”

Midoriya half expected Endeavor to snap at that, but all he did was take a step closer, his imposing figure looming over Shigaraki.

“And yet you were taken down by a group of children.”

He pressed his hand to the ice to melt it, three different binding Quirks immediately taking its place, and Todoroki sighed faintly as he thawed himself out to match.

“You can go, boys.”

“Go wh-”

Midoriya slapped a hand over Bakugou's mouth, stopping the question before it came out.

“Thank you, Endeavor! We appreciate the prompt help!” he grinned, nudging Bakugou toward the ice slide that still remained down toward Kirishima. “I'm sure I don't need to say it, but please make sure Portal-Bastard can't get in and grab him!”

“Portal-Prick,” Bakugou corrected him.

“Sorry, Portal-Prick! He's sneaky, that one. Right, bye!”

He jumped immediately down the slide, this time with enough control to steady himself at the end, Bakugou and Todoroki right behind him as he landed in the dark, narrow passageway.

“Where are we needed, Red Riot?”

The sun was just starting to rise when the group got off the train, trudging toward the school. Bakugou's t-shirt was charred and tattered, Todoroki's laced with burns, and no one bothered to speak as they headed toward the gates. It was Bakugou who heard the sound first, stopping and looking back over his shoulder, the groan he let loose attracting attention from the others.

“What are- Oh fucking hell,” Midoriya sighed. “Now?”

The dark purple swirls were a painfully familiar sight, and Bakugou raised his hands immediately, blasting him with an explosion without a moment of hesitation. Everything shifted all at once, Todoroki rushing around one side to throw attacks from the other end as Bakugou continued to pepper him with explosions, not giving him an inch of space to try and split them up. Midoriya watched them carefully, loading power into both legs and his right arm, carefully distributed to maximise his strength. The moment he saw the opening, he leapt, diving in from the side and slamming his fist into the solid part of the villain's body.

With a crunch and a crack, metal plating shattered, and he felt a solid connection beneath his fist. For a moment time seemed to slow before his eyes, and then a familiar stream of ice was forming around him, and he quickly yanked his hand back to save it.

“You little brats.”

Purple mist swirled, reaching for the group, and then... nothing.

Bakugou turned his head knowingly, while Todoroki froze the man before them, and Midoriya followed his gaze to see Aizawa and Kirishima standing nearby, both breathing hard. Aizawa's eyes were focussed solely on the man encased in ice, and Midoriya breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ever-on-time Eraserhead,” he smiled.

“That one was awful, Doomed Deku. Why are you always the center of trouble?”

“Just lucky I guess.”

Kirishima was muttering into Bakugou's wristband as they spoke, still strapped around his wrist, and Aizawa took a moment to blink when Kurogiri started to shiver.

“I should have thought to take those things away from you,” Aizawa sighed, when Kirishima lowered his transmitter. “I guess they've come in useful a few times, but honestly.”

It didn't take long for the police to arrive, binding Kurogiri in chains while Aizawa kept an eye on him, Todoroki only deigning to melt a small part of his ice at a time to let the officers restrain him before he froze over the metal again. When they loaded him into a van Aizawa went with them, pulling on his golden goggles to keep his blinking unseen, and gave the boys a brief nod.

“Your classmates are waiting to hear from you. Don't do anything stupid.”

“Understood, Sensei!”

As soon as the van moved out of sight the group of them fell to the ground almost in sync, letting out long sighs, and Midoriya cracked a tiny smile when he looked over at Bakugou.

“We did good, huh?”

“Yeah,” Bakugou nodded faintly. “We did good.”

“Go Team Air Defense!” Uraraka was exclaiming, when Kirishima slid the door open. “We totally- Oh! You made it!”

“Yeah,” Midoriya smiled faintly, allowing the hug she snatched him into. “We made it.”

“I was just telling them how we took down the Noumu!” she explained with a determined grin. “While Aoyama was going boom! Boom! with his laser, I levitated Ashido way up in the air, and swish! she burned a hole through its wings! It hit the ground and we were all fighting it, keeping it away but stuck in an area where it couldn't hurt anyone! Then the people from 1-B showed up to help, and-”

“Who?” Kirishima cut in, “who showed up to help?”

“Shiozaki! And Bondo and Juzo! So they show up to help, and woosh, all these vines come flying in and bind this thing in place, and then it starts sinking into the concrete, and gets glued there so it's totally still! Then Kaminari zapped it a bunch and it was awesome!”

“What happened to it?”

“Oh, uh...” she trailed off, glancing at Kaminari across the room. “It got knocked out by Kaminari's attack, and then we took Kaminari home for a nap because he volted out while 1-B kept it contained, and by the time we did that it was all over! We came here after maybe an hour of napping!”

“I'm glad you're okay,” Midoriya grinned, as Uraraka finally let him go. “You guys were amazing!”

“I know, right?! Go Team Air Defense!”

“Go Team Air Defense!” he repeated with a laugh. “How about the rest of you? Everything go okay? Did anyone get hurt?”

“We're all fine,” Yaoyorozu informed him with a smile. “Our group-”

“Team Self-Restraint,” Jirou cut in with a smirk.

“Team Self-Restraint,” Yaoyorozu agreed, giggling a little. “Managed to trap our Noumu too. Kouda's animals distracted it long enough for Mineta to stick it down, then I produced some chains to bind it up. Jirou and Sato kept it repressed until police arrived to take it away.”

“That's amazing, Yaoyorozu, you did it without even taking a hit? I'm super impressed.”

“We made a good team.”

“Go Team Self-Restraint!” Uraraka declared.

“Tetsutetsu ran into one too,” Kirishima informed them, checking his phone for updates. “He and Awase found one and managed to weld it to a building. Tetsutetsu took a few hits in the process but he's doing okay. Apparently Kamui Woods and Miruko both showed up to help, how cool is that?”

“Oh man I'm jealous!” Midoriya lamented. “We only had Endeavor and Aizawa-sensei on our side!”

“What did you guys do, anyway?”

“Oh! Bakugou and Todoroki captured two of their leaders! Portal-Asshole and Handsy-Man.”

“That's not- Oh whatever,” Bakugou scowled. “Close enough I guess.”

“I mostly just called for help,” Kirishima said sheepishly. “I didn't really fight.”

“But none of us thought to do it!” Midoriya interjected. “Where would we have been without you?!”

“Thanks, that's nice of you to say, Midoriya!”

“If you want Pros,” Tsuyu grinned, “you should hear what we did!”

“There was a big Noumu with arms covered in tools, we followed it while we waited for back-up,” Sero explained excitedly. “We found Best Jeanist in the streets and called him over, he brought Edgeshot, Ryukyu, and Snipe with him! We watched them fight it, it was amazing!”

“I'm so jealous!” Midoriya moaned. “You guys have to tell me everything you saw!”

“We will!” Tsuyu assured him. “I'm glad you're safe, gero.”

As they shared their stories, Midoriya heard footsteps coming down the hall and tensed up, only relaxing when he saw All Might's bulky form hit the doorway.

“I am here!” he declared. “Aizawa told us you were gathered!”

“The raids were a success,” Endeavor informed them, shoving past All Might into the room. “The league hideouts have all been emptied and destroyed. They released their artificial humans as a last ditch effort and have failed. Only one man managed to escape, we assume by the use of that portal Quirk.”

“That explains why he didn't save Shigaraki,” Midoriya mused. “He was busy with All For One.”

“And why he showed up so randomly,” Hagakure chimed in. “He appeared and we followed him for a bit, he watched the Noumu fight nearby, then disappeared suddenly! It was only a few hours ago!”

“Yes,” Ojiro nodded. “He seemed to be very distracted, to say the least.”

“Have any of you slept yet?” All Might asked, laced with concern as he looked around at faces running on adrenaline. “At all?”

“Some of us got a brief nap,” Uraraka grinned sheepishly. “Not much. We wanted to make sure everyone was okay!”

“You should all go home and rest, you deserve it.”

“What did you do, All Might?” Midoriya couldn't help but ask. “Did you fight one of them?”

“Yes, we spent some time taking out that Noumu fellow from USJ.”

“We?”

“Young Shouji and Young Tokoyami were kind enough to keep it contained until we arrived, with help from some 1-B students,” All Might shot them a quick thumbs-up. “Then I fought with Hawks and Gang Orca. They are formidable teammates!”

“Oh man,” Midoriya whined. “I wish I'd seen that!”

“I wish you had too,” Shouji nodded. “We could have used you.”

“We had Shishida in his beast form, Tsuburaba and Monoma with air prisons, and Kendou with her wind generation, along with Dark Shadow, and still barely managed to contain it until they arrived. It's lucky we had such formidable heroes arrive.”

“Wow, that must have been rough! I'm glad you're okay!”

Bakugou finally caved to his urges, draping his arms across Midoriya's shoulders from behind and leaning into him, sighing quietly as he rested his cheek against Midoriya's.

“We never got to play,” he mumbled.

“Kacchan! Priorities!”

“All Might is correct that you should go home and sleep,” Endeavor informed them. “The raids have finished, so the Pros are back on scene to take care of things.”

“That does sound like a good idea,” Midoriya admitted. “I could use some sleep. Or at least some coffee.”

“Before you all go,” All Might spoke up, turning every tired eye his way. “I have decided that your class, along with 1-B, will be invited to sit your Provisional Hero License exam later this year. You have all more than proven yourselves worthy of it.”

Midoriya's face lit up, and he felt the twitch of Bakugou smirking against his cheek, but as he opened his mouth to speak, All Might started again.

“Despite what you all did being entirely illegal. We will find a way to gloss over that in the police reports.”

“Thank you, All Might!” the class chorused.

As they headed for the door All Might spoke again, more quietly this time, leaning toward Bakugou and Midoriya in their entwined state.

“You have visitors waiting outside, you should be aware.”

“Visitors?”

“Yes,” Endeavor sighed, eyeing them with a mix of curiosity and frustration. “A sizeable group of them.”

They split apart for appearances and headed out of the building, Midoriya's face lighting up when he saw the group of waiting heroes.

“Mikkun! Bakkun!” Three-ring erupted, when he saw them coming. “How are you?! Where were you?!”

A group of familiar faces mobbed them, asking endless questions about the request for assistance, their beaten faces, their scarred classmates.

“We didn't see you in the field or hear your names anywhere! We were worried!”

“What happened to your neck, Mikkun?!”

His hand roamed to the bruises, marred first by Shigaraki's angry grip, then burned with Todoroki's icy blast – though Todoroki had apologised for that profusely as they sat on the train.

“You should go to the hospital and get checked out!” Punchy-McGee insisted. “Even if there's nothing wrong, it's better to be sure!”

“We're fine,” Bakugou snarled. “Forget it.”

“I'm serious, Bakkun! You wouldn't want to show up to school and find out there's an order to not participate in training until you've been checked out, would you?”

“You couldn't.”

“I could.”

“You wouldn't.”

“I would.”

Bakugou growled, looking away before he grunted out a little “fine.”

“I'll even escort you there myself!”

“Of course you will,” he sighed. “Whatever, I'm tired, let's go.”

“Can we stop for coffee?” Midoriya requested. “We could really use it.”

“Of course!”

Midoriya leaned against the doorway with a smile, his neck covered in sticky ointment and gauze bandages, watching Bakugou's sulky little pout as he waited on the hard bed.

“What's the prognosis, Kacchan?” he asked teasingly, already knowing full well from the x-rays on the screen. “What did you do?”

“Apparently I-” he cut himself off, burning red, and Midoriya glanced back to see a scowling Aizawa standing behind him.

“You broke your arm,” Aizawa continued for him. “With your own explosion.”

“Yeah, well, it's a minor break.”

“How on Earth did you manage that without your gauntlets?”

“One particularly ridiculous explosion.”

“You're ridiculous, Bakugou. I understand you were concerned, and I realise you were fighting to protect people, but you can't honestly believe that this is an accep-”

He stopped when Bakugou began to laugh, stunned, and Bakugou only shook his head faintly in answer. It took a moment for the splutters to cease, and finally he wiped tears from one eye and looked up again.

“Sensei,” he grinned, “my Quirk has gotten so powerful that I can literally break my own arm with it.”

“I give up,” Aizawa sighed. “You're not worth my time.”

“We love you too, Aizawa-sensei,” Midoriya grinned. “Thanks for coming to visit.”

“I was asked to come and make sure you actually attended your appointments,” Aizawa informed them flatly. “A significant number of people expressed concern that you would slap a band-aid on and run.”

“We're not that bad, Aizawa-sensei!” Midoriya pouted. “How rude!”

“You most certainly are that bad. I also thought I should let you know that there were four more Noumus apprehended during the night by some of our older U.A. Students.”

Three faces flashed through Midoriya's mind, and he found himself smiling.

“They were impressed by the strength of the things, and amazed to hear that a class of first years took them down too. You will likely come across them in the near future, so try to be respectful.”

“Of course, Sensei!”

“I'm going home. Get your cast and go to bed. I expect you in decent condition come Monday.”

“Looking forward to it, Sensei! Don't miss us too much!”

Aizawa muttered something inaudible, and Bakugou smirked.

“I think he just told us to fuck off, Deku.”

“Sounded like it,” Midoriya agreed with a grin. “We're rubbing off on you, Sensei!”

“Go to bed.”

Midoriya was surprised to hear the knock on the front door, but Bakugou just sighed, climbing off the couch to go answer it. Midoriya followed him at a distance, still slightly paranoid after their escapades, and found his jaw dropping when he saw the familiar faces.

“Tsukauchi!” Midoriya exclaimed brightly. “So good to see you!”

“Good evening, Midoriya. May we come in?”

“Sure,” Bakugou shrugged, stepping aside. “Whatever floats your boat.”

He set his shoes aside neatly and joined them in the hall, Midoriya taking charge to show Tsukauchi and All Might through to the dining room and offer them food and drinks. Tsukauchi pulled two little boxes from his bag as they sat down at the table, wrapped in pretty paper and wound with precise ribbons, and he slid them across the table toward the boys.

“These are a thank you gift from my office. I realise the things you've been doing are highly illegal and I should be lecturing you, but you have actually made a big impact on us, on the other heroes, and on the city. You've done some good work, and I look forward to working with you more in the future. For now, these are for you two.”

“Please use them responsibly,” All Might added.

“Oh! We couldn't possibly! We're just- Kacchan!”

“What?” he asked stubbornly, already tearing into his box. “We deserve a reward once in a while.”

Tsukauchi laughed, and despite himself, Midoriya smiled fondly.

“Thank you, it's really nice of you.”

“Oh hell yes!” Bakugou declared, and Midoriya finally opened his package out of curiosity.

“Oh my gosh,” Midoriya whispered, staring at the dark band with a tiny screen in the top. “Are you serious?”

“They hold up to twelve channels that you can program in. Channel twelve is already set to the police report line, and channel one is set to the same frequency you had on this one.”

All Might held out one of their old bands and Midoriya looked at his wrist in confusion, but Bakugou only smiled sheepishly.

“I guess I forgot to ask Kirishima for it back.”

“That is correct.”

Midoriya stretched it over his hand, pleased to find it looked just like some kind of activity tracker or sports watch, not overly conspicuous. He hit a button and a little flashing number one popped up.

“Testing,” he spoke, feeling like an idiot for it but pleased to hear his voice come from Bakugou's counterpart. “Heyyyy Kacchaaaaan.”

“Idiot,” Bakugou scoffed, smiling all the same. “This is great. Thank you.”

“Wow,” All Might blinked in surprise. “Bakugou is thanking you? You should be honoured.”

“It's fuckin' cool, alright?!” he blushed. “Shut up!”

“We'll leave you two to get some sleep,” All Might informed them, rising from his chair. “Make use of your time off, do not go out hunting. We have it under control.”

“We've already taken one nap, there'll be another soon,” Midoriya agreed. “We wouldn't dream of it.”

“Not until after the licensing exam,” Bakugou smirked. “Can't get ourselves barred from it this early.”

“Good move, Young Bakugou. Very good move.”

As they made their way out the door, All Might paused, looking back at them with a faint sigh.

“All For One may still pose us a threat,” he explained. “He's escaped our clutches for now, we don't know where to find him, but we are assuming he's too weak to act on his own now that we have removed all his Artificial Humans and captured his league.”

Midoriya reached into his pocket, refraining from letting a smirk come out, and Bakugou turned away a little to hide his own lack of self-control. He held up a small piece of paper, folded in half once, and smiled innocently as All Might eyed him.

“Can we help this time?”

All Might sighed, then nodded as he held his hand out.

“Yes, you can.”

Bakugou scowled as Aizawa spoke, his arm hanging uselessly in an annoying sling, bound with stiff plaster. He'd been working so damn hard for the exams, even been helping his shitty friends, and one stupid injury was gonna keep him out of it.

“Bakugou,” Aizawa spoke up, sensing the frustration. “You will be excused from the practical exam. Based on your previous performances we are willing to give you a pass-by-default just this once.”

“I'm a straight-A student,” Bakugou objected. “I don't want your shitty pass-by-default!”

“What else do you expect us to do, Bakugou?”

He scowled, ducking his head, and Midoriya raised a hand with a bright smile on his lips.

“He can be my partner, Sensei! I've always said Kacchan could beat a villain with one hand tied behind his back!”

“You don't need to do this,” Bakugou scowled. “Don't let me drag you down.”

“You wouldn't, Kacchan! You could never! Besides, we'll have odd numbers if you're out! I'd rather have injured-Kacchan than nobody!”

“Fine,” Aizawa sighed. “I doubt there's any point arguing this with you. The two of you will be together against All Might.”

Just like old times

Bakugou was concealed in the upper floors of a damaged building, keeping himself well out of sight, with his receiver to his lips.

“No sign of him,” he whispered. “Anything your way?”

“Not yet, he's probably- Wait.”

The sound cut away into footsteps, and Bakugou listened carefully when they stopped.

“Midoriya My Boy, do you really think I haven't noticed your presence?”

“Maybe you have,” Midoriya laughed. “But you haven't noticed Kacchan's, that's way more important.”

“Not bad, I admit. But now we're here, face to face, how do either of you plan to escape without me noticing?”

“A good hero never gives away their plans, All Might,” Midoriya said sweetly. “But the short answer is I don't.”

“I'm sorry?”

“Someone really important to me told me once that a good hero always fights to win. I'm not here to escape, I'm here to show you that I deserve this power.”

Bakugou smiled to himself faintly, risking a glance out the window at the pair of them down the street, and tapped a location button quickly. Midoriya never paused once, never missed a beat, but from his perch Bakugou saw him gesturing with his hands as he spoke, carefully sneaking a glance at his screen.

“You want to fight me, do you, my boy?” All Might let loose a booming, genuinely amused laugh. “While Young Bakugou sneaks around to the gate, no doubt.”

He started to move and Bakugou quickly ducked away into his corner, watching Midoriya fly at the man twice his size with orange lights flashing beneath his skin.

Three... Two... One...

Bakugou dropped a gauntlet out the window and ran, getting himself out the other side of the room before the thing even hit the ground, using his good hand to fire himself across to the next building.

The gauntlet landed straight in Midoriya's outstretched arms, and with zero hesitation he pulled the pin, firing a massive stock of explosion straight into All Might's face. He ditched the tool in a hurry to come back for later, cursing as All Might leapt up to the offending window, but a little flashing number on Midoriya's wrist told him that Bakugou was long gone.

“You should be looking at me, All Might!” he yelled, as he slammed a fist into All Might's side, feeling the man shift a little under his touch. “I'm just as much of a threat as Kacchan is, when he's injured!”

“Fuck off,” he heard quietly from his wrist. “When I'm injured?”

He could feel All Might leading him toward the gate as they fought, positioning himself to deal with Bakugou sneaking around, but he tried not to let on how misguided he was. All Might knew them so well, and yet he thought they'd sink that low? Never.

As they ran under the next relevant window, Midoriya saw another bracer start to fall, but All Might was snatching it out of the air before Midoriya could get close. He smirked to himself as he reached one arm inside, preparing himself to fire back, but when Midoriya saw the empty pin-slot he smiled.

With a sound that rattled the entire testing ground, an explosion came from inside the bracer, and Midoriya heard a familiar cackle above them.

“NOW WHO NEEDS TO SIT OUT OF THE EXAM?!”

Shrouded by dust, with a brand new pair of tinted goggles pulled hastily over his eyes, Midoriya ran in to trade blows with the hero, biding his time until the perfect moment arose. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt, clamping one on All Might's wrist, and laughed as All Might plucked him out of the air, dangling him by his jumpsuit. The moment the dust began to settle a blinding flash blew up around them, and Midoriya watched with squinted eyes as Bakugou clamped a second set of cuffs on All Might's other arm.

For a brief moment, All Might seemed confused, and Midoriya took the opportunity to hold out the cuffs on his side, letting Bakugou yank them together and lock them.

“Hah!” Bakugou announced triumphantly, trying and failing to throw his casted arm into the air. “Got you!”

It took a moment for All Might to understand, for him to reach for Bakugou and find his hands stuck, and when the dust began to settle he found a grinning Midoriya hanging from his grip, a proud smirk on Bakugou's face as he watched them.

“Where did those come from?” he sighed, gesturing toward the matching pairs of dark goggles on their faces.

“Oh please,” Midoriya laughed, “concealing goggles on your person is one of the first things I learned from Aizawa-sensei.”

“Well played, my boys. I never expected you to try to outwit me like this, you surprised me.”

“Isn't that what a hero should do? The opposite of what a villain expects?”

“You're not wrong.”

The message sounded loud and clear above them, announcing their victory, and Midoriya laughed when Bakugou grabbed him around the neck roughly, his grin a little too wide.

“Apparently all we need to beat All Might is three arms, we must be good.”

“I won't fall for it next time,” All Might assured them.

“I wasn't planning on having a next time,” Bakugou grinned. “We won, why fight again?”

As they walked out of the arena Midoriya heard a beep from his wrist, quickly switching the channel over.

“Hello?”

“Midoriya,” Todoroki's voice sounded loud and clear, making Bakugou twitch. “I heard you passed. How did it go?”

“Really good!”

“Even against All Might?”

“It's easy if you have a good teammate.”

“I'm happy to report,” Aizawa began, without an ounce of enthusiasm to back up his words, “that everyone has passed the exams. You will all be attending our summer camp.”

A cheer erupted through the room, and Midoriya smiled even knowing the victory was hollow, that there was no real threat of anyone being left out. As the excitement died down and they all began to pack up their things to leave the school, Aizawa spoke up again with a sigh.

“Bakugou, Midoriya, Todoroki, All Might wants to see you in his office before you go home. I trust you can find your own way there without getting involved in a bank heist.”

“No promises!” Midoriya chimed, slinging his bag onto his back and grabbing Bakugou's off his desk. “Let's go!”

“Gimme my bag.”

“Nope!”

He skipped off to the hall and waited for Bakugou and Todoroki to catch up, both of them still slightly awkward in each other's company, but when he linked his arm through Bakugou's good one he softened a little, and Todoroki seemed to relax in response.

When the door slid open, though, the relaxation immediately dissipated. All Might's office was crowded with various top heroes – Endeavor, Hawks, Gang Orca, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, a dozen more – and Midoriya froze, his breath hitching in his chest.

“There you are! Come on in.”

They sat down obediently, as far from Endeavor as possible, and when Hawks glanced their way Midoriya almost started hyperventilating. Bakugou pinched him on the thigh, getting a jump and a grimace in return, but it quickly snapped his attention away. There were more familiar faces across the room, sitting beside All Might, and Midoriya found himself smiling at them even though they hadn't technically met yet.

“I guess we're gonna be the next Big Three.”

“We're what?” Todoroki asked blankly.

“Nothing! Never mind!”

Somehow the three of them all managed to keep their mouths shut as the heroes discussed plans for All For One's capture - even Bakugou, despite his occasional shudder of frustration.

“We'll leave the last Friday of the break,” All Might confirmed. “And aim to be back by the time classes start again. If not, you six will be excused for your absence. Until then I expect you to be working overtime to be ready – preferably all of you, not just the students.”

With agreeable noises and chairs scraping, the room began to empty, and Midoriya watched solemnly as all the heroes passed him by. He saw a glance from Best Jeanist to Bakugou that he was glad the latter didn't notice, and he struggled not to glare back at him, knowing exactly the kind of thoughts running through the man's head.

“Hey!” a familiar voice sounded, and Midoriya turned to look. “Mikkun, Bakkun, good to see you again! Who's your friend?”

“Hi, Ingenium,” Midoriya grinned. “This is Todoroki, another of our classmates.”

“Ah, that's too long, no one will stand for that,” Ingenium warned him with a smile. “Hero name? First name?”

“...Shouto.”

“Oh! Better!”

Bakugou rolled his eyes stubbornly, pouting, until Ingenium leaned down to inspect his arm.

“Heard you had a rough moment, glad to see you looking okay. Does it hurt?”

“It's fine.”

“That's good! Alright, I'd better get going, I'll see you again soon! Take care of my little brother!”

“Will do!” Midoriya grinned. “Nice seeing you, Ingenium!”

“You too!”

Finally the room cleared, until only the students and All Might remained, and Midoriya smiled briefly at Bakugou as he nodded toward them.

“Come on,” he said quietly. “You'll want to meet these ones.”

When the bus pulled to a stop for a restroom break, Midoriya found himself giggling. Bakugou rolled his eyes, knowing full well that something stupid was about to arise, but still he followed along, adjusting the brace around his arm.
He had been lucky enough to get his cast off the day prior, moved on to what they called a “functional brace” when they were explaining – it would still limit his movement enough to not damage himself all over again, but he would at least be able to participate in the camp activities.

The whole time the heroes talked, introducing their stupid personas, Bakugou was eyeing Midoriya's cheesy smile, torn between annoyance and amusement at his giddy glee. This was a boy who had been here before, for sure, and even for Midoriya he was bubbling with an odd amount of enthusiasm.

He'd said there would be an attack, that they would try to kidnap Bakugou and convert him. The league raids must have shot that possibility down, for him to be this open and unconcerned. That was good news.

The ground shaking caught Bakugou by surprise, but Midoriya was already grabbing him, carefully protecting his injured arm as they slid down toward the trees, landing in a heap at the bottom with the rest of their classmates.

“If you don't make it by twelve-thirty you don't get lunch!” the heroes called from above, waving happily. “Good luck!”

When the beast rose out of dirt, Midoriya immediately turned to face his friends, beaming as Kirishima and Bakugou held out their fists. He joined them in a hurry, along with Ashido, Kaminari, and after a moment of pause, even Todoroki.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

“Noooo!” Kaminari cried, as Ashido kicked him and Todoroki out of the circle. “Betrayed!”

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

“Yes!” Kirishima yelled, throwing both arms in the air. “Dibs!”

Immediately he hardened his body, grinning as he rushed forward, and Midoriya just sighed in defeat as they watched him plow through the creature.

“One shot! That's fifty points!”

“What?!” Ashido demanded. “That's ten points! Fifty is only for Quirkless one shot!”

“Fine! Ten! Come on, let's go!”

“What are you guys waiting for?” Kaminari laughed, as he ran after Kirishima. “He's gonna have all the fun!”

The clock read 12:29 when the Pussycats heard the first noise, three different voices screaming the top of their lungs. Aizawa shook his head when they glanced at him, and soon enough there were three figures bursting through the treeline, covered in dirt, clothing torn.

“I was absolutely ahead of you!” the one with the arm brace argued. “No way did you fuckin' beat me!”

“I did! Todoroki, tell him!”

“Who cares? I beat both of you.”

“No way!”

“Ah!” the green haired boy turned his eyes on them, leaves falling out of his curls. “You guys! I got here first, right?!”

“I-It doesn't matter who got here first, the point is you all made it by twelve-thirty, and-”

“But who was first?”

“We don't give a shit about lunch!” the blond argued. “Who won?”

With a shaking hand, Ragdoll pointed at Todoroki, who threw an awkward fist-pump as the other two fell to the ground with groans that could have come from a hospital ward for the pain in them.

“I would've won by a mile with both arms,” Bakugou growled, picking leaves from his friend's hair. “Fuckin' rematch.”

“Yes, yes,” the boy hummed, leaning his head back to give him better reach. “I know you would have.”

“Quit with the sarcasm, asshole.”

“Make me, baby.”

Aizawa shook his head again when the Pussycats looked at him with concern, not even bothering to spare a glance their way. Soon the rest of the class was arriving, the stragglers stumbling in at twelve thirty-one, and the shock that ran through the Pussycats brought a smirk to Aizawa's face.

“You should probably get used to it now,” he advised them, “rather than later.”

Half the class lay exhausted around the lodge, gasping for air and drenched in sweat. Despite the clear path they must have had, following the smaller group in front who no doubt destroyed every beast even if it wasn't in their way, the distance alone had been rough for them.

“Go get your things from the bus,” Aizawa directed. “Lunch will be ready soon.”

“I fuckin' should've won,” Bakugou growled, as Midoriya hauled him to his feet.

“Keep dreaming.”

For the rest of the afternoon the class was free to do as they liked, which mostly consisted of chatting and naps. After an amazing dinner provided by the Pussycats, though, Midoriya twined his fingers through Bakugou's and led him toward the forest. It was a peaceful scene, calm and comfortable, as if it waited there just for the two of them to take a quiet walk through that night. It wasn't until they got to the rocky outcrop that Midoriya remembered Kouta's secret base, when they came across him sitting on the edge of the cliff, staring into the dark sky.

“Ah!”

Kouta jumped when he heard their footsteps, leaping backward and losing his hold on the rocks, and the moment he slipped Midoriya was diving after him. He wrapped his arms around the boy's middle, holding him tight as he yelped, and felt a sharp tug at his ankle as Bakugou grabbed him before he went toppling off right alongside the kid.

“Fuckin' idiots!” Bakugou scowled, grunting as he pulled back with all his weight, leaving the pair dangling precariously over the edge for a moment. “Don't fuckin' move!”

He held out his injured arm, flexing his fingers for a moment, then fired a blast off at the horizon that propelled them all backwards. He slammed into the caves with a hiss, grabbing Midoriya regardless to steady him, and soon Kouta's feet were back on solid ground.

“You made me fall!” Kouta insisted, shaking with a mixture of both anger and leftover fear. “I could have died!”

“Kid, shitty Deku just jumped off a fucking cliff to save your ass, the least you could do is say thank you!”

“I would have been fine if you hadn't shown up!”

“It's fine,” Midoriya said softly. “Leave it, Kacchan.”

Midoriya bent down slightly, smiling fondly at Kouta's pout, and for a moment he almost patted the kid on the shoulder affectionately. He caught himself just in time, leaving his hands on his own knees, and nodded instead.

“Sorry for disturbing you, Kouta. We're gonna head back, could you maybe sit a little further back for me next time? Just in case?”

“Whatever,” Kouta grumbled. “Leave.”

“Have a good night, Kouta!” Midoriya called back as they returned to the trees. “Call if you need anything!”

When they made it back to the cabins they found all their classmates hanging out in the boys' dorm, the night starting to grow dark around them. Midoriya turned to his bag to get fresh clothes, his shirt torn somewhere in his scuffle with the rocks, and as he began to unpack his things he handed a stack of clothing to Bakugou.

“Why are you carrying Bakugou's clothes?” Kirishima asked curiously. “What's in Bakugou's bag?”

Bakugou simply flipped the top open in answer, showing the mountains of bags of coffee beans, and immediately Kirishima was erupting with laughter.

“Oi Lego-set, make me a coffee machine would you?”

“Kacchan!”

“What? She doesn't care!”

“It's okay, Midoriya,” Yaoyorozu chuckled. “I can handle a coffee machine.”

“Thanks babe.”

Midoriya slapped him lightly, only getting a smirk in return, but sighed fondly at his boyfriend's idiocy.

Soon they were all heading for the hot spring to get clean and warm, to relax their aching muscles, but Bakugou held Midoriya at the back of the group, a grave look on his face as if they had something incredibly important to talk about. He hung back as the class split up and went to shower, glancing around nervously as they talked about nothing that seemed even remotely important, and finally he gave in.

“Kacchan, is something wrong?”

“No, it's fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, let's go shower.”

Midoriya caught on quickly when Bakugou slipped his hands up Midoriya's shirt in the empty room, smiling wryly as he tossed it into a basket.

“I get to see you naked now, huh?” Bakugou teased, nipping at a flushed neck. “Finally.”

“Kacchan, we're not playing this game with all our classmates through one door.”

“I'm not playing,” Bakugou assured him, stripping off Midoriya's pants, then reaching for his own fly. “We just gotta get clean, Deku.”

With a little whine Midoriya conceded, letting Bakugou drench them both in water and slowly lather him up with soap, cleaning him off tenderly as he dropped kisses on nervous lips. His hands roamed but didn't touch, careful to avoid any unnecessary stimulation, and as the warm hands tangled in Midoriya's hair a little sigh came from his lips.

“You really are a good boy, aren't you?”

“Damn right I am.”

By the time they made it into the water everyone else was settled in, chatting with each other and occasionally calling out to the girls across the way, including them in their various discussions. The moment he saw Mineta move, Midoriya called out sternly.

“Don't you dare, Mineta. I'm watching you.”

Immediately Mineta's feet were confined to ice prisons, and Todoroki waved one hand at him lightly before he dropped it back into the hot water.

“Unless you stay in,” Todoroki explained, “the ice won't go away.”

Reluctantly Mineta climbed back into the pool, teeth chattering, and Midoriya and Todoroki exchanged a conspiring smile. Soon his thoughts roamed to Kouta, sitting up in the division ready to strike, and as the conversation turned inevitably to the Noumus and the fights they'd been in, he wondered if the boy was still listening.

It was late at night when the girls showed up at their dorm door again, giggling as they knocked, and quickly the boys made sure they had enough clothes on. The moment Kirishima opened the door they invited themselves in, beginning the makings of a circle in the middle of the room, and Midoriya watched on curiously.

“Truth or dare!” Uraraka announced excitedly. “It'll be fun!”

“Nope,” Bakugou said flatly, rolling over on his futon. “No way.”

“Oh come on, Bakugou, you should be the most keen! You can dare people to do all sorts of embarrassing stuff!”

“Ugh, how old are you?”

“Come onnnnnn.”

With reluctance on a few parts, somehow they managed to gather the entire class into a circle, and Sero produced an empty water bottle from his backpack.

“Do the honours, good Sir!”

He spun the bottle, grinning when it landed on Aoyama, everyone waiting expectantly for the words.

“Dare me! I can take anything!” Aoyama announced triumphantly.

“I dare you to lick someone's foot.”

“Eh?!”

The room flooded with laughter, people wiggling their gross toes at him, and finally he stopped in front of Yaoyorozu.

“Excuse me, but you probably have by far the cleanest feet in this room.”

“O-Oh, um, I- I guess...”

Pulling a face, Aoyama licked a quick stripe up the side of her foot, and once again the room erupted with jeers and yelling. He pulled a face, shuddering, and Jirou immediately handed Yaoyorozu a wet wipe to clean her foot.

“Your turn, Aoyama!”

Aoyama spun the bottle, watching it whirl to a stop on Kaminari.

“Truth, you sick people!” he demanded. “I'm not insane!”

“Ahh, then tell us, who was your first kiss with?”

For a moment Kaminari looked disappointed, then more embarrassed, as he mumbled his answer.

“I, um, haven't yet.”

Before anyone even had time to react, Kirishima was in front of him, leaning in to give him a chaste peck on the lips as their classmates cheered excitedly. The girls were gushing immediately, but Kaminari didn't even seem to notice, a little smile curling up toward his pink cheeks as he and Kirishima stared into each other's eyes happily.

“Alright, break it up,” Sero said fondly, shoving Kirishima away. “Take your turn!”

“Okay, okay!” Kaminari grinned, sneaking another little glance at Kirishima as he returned to his spot. “Looks like... Ashido!”

“Dare me!”

“I dare you to sniff everybody's feet and decide who Aoyama should have licked!”

“What is it with this class and feet?!” Iida demanded, folding his arms. “I suppose you could pick worse dares though. Very well, sniff the feet.”

She made her away around the circle like it was no big deal, taking a big whiff of each pair of feet and pulling various faces.

“Bakugou!” she declared at the end, with zero hesitation.

“Seriously?!”

“Oh yeah,” Midoriya nodded, “his sweat smells like toffee apples.”

“That's oddly specific.”

“It's because of his Quirk!”

Bakugou looked away, blushing at the stupid comments, and Midoriya just grinned at him.

“Wouldn't that just be his hands?”

“No, it rubs off on the rest of him too! It's nice!”

“Shut up,” Bakugou muttered, elbowing him sharply. “Weird creep.”

“You're one to talk.”

Ashido spun the bottle, staring at it intently, and cheering when it landed dead on Bakugou's crotch.

“Bakugou! You're not a pussy, right? I dare you to show us your most embarrassing photo!”

Midoriya handed his phone to Bakugou without a word, watching fondly as Bakugou sorted through them and found the first one Midoriya took of him sleeping, dribbling a little as he snuggled in against Midoriya's shoulder.

“Aww! He's actually really cute!” Uraraka gushed. “You shouldn't be embarrassed by this, Bakugou!”

“Fuck off,” he scowled. “Are you done?”

“Hold on,” Ashido pulled out her own phone, and Bakugou quickly snatched the screen away when she moved to take a photo. “Spoil-sport.”

When Bakugou spun it landed on Iida, and much to everyone's surprise, the boy immediately asked for a dare.

“Oh man,” Bakugou grinned. “I dare you to open the door and swear as loud as you can.”

“What?!”

“No lazy curses either! Give us a good loud 'fuck' right out that door.”

Midoriya half expected Iida to refuse, but to his surprise, with Ashido filming it behind stifled giggles, Iida walked to the door. Midoriya expected him to back out at the last second, but sure enough their fearless leader leaned right out into the night, sending birds scattering with his yell while the rest of the class fell over in their fits of laughter.

When the familiar voices of the pussycats yelled back at them to go to sleep, Midoriya had to wipe tears from his eyes, glancing over at Bakugou's smug face and reaching for his hand lightly as Iida spun.

“Truth or dare, Uraraka?”

“Truth!”

“Have you ever cheated on a test?”

“No!”

A look of pride wove over Iida's face, and she laughed as she rebuffed the complaints about it from their classmates, while the bottle whirled again.

“Deku-kun!”

“H-Huh? Yes?”

“Truth or dare?”

“Uh...” he glanced at Bakugou, smiling faintly. “Dare I guess. Can't be called a pussy.”

“Oooooh. Okay. Um... Okay! I dare you to let us put lipstick on you for the rest of the night!”

“You... You brought make up with you?”

“No, but Yaoyorozu is good at making it!”

“I demand mascara too!” Ashido insisted. “No one wears lipstick without mascara!”

He got a few sympathetic looks from his classmates, but he conceded a nod, leaning back against his hands as the girls eagerly set to work. He shrugged it off as they giggled at him, batting his eyelashes at Bakugou lightly when they finished.

“How do I look, Kacchan?”

“Weird as shit. I'm not fuckin' kissing you until it's gone.”

“Aww, you meanie,” Midoriya pouted. “Aren't I pretty?”

“Fuckin' no.”

“Rude.”

He reached to spin the bottle when Uraraka handed it to him, a smirk coming out when it slowly came to land on Bakugou.

“Kiss me!” he demanded immediately.

“I was gonna fuckin' pick truth!”

“Pussy!”

“Shut up!”

“Fine! Truth! What's the deepest, darkest sexual fantasy you've ever had about me?”

The room fell silent and Bakugou paused. For a moment Midoriya could have sworn Bakugou was sweating more than usual.

“Fine, I'll fuckin' kiss you.”

“Yay!”

He climbed into Bakugou's lap immediately, his crotch pressed against Bakugou's abs, and took the flushed cheeks in his hands as he leaned in for a sweet little kiss.

“You're cute, Kacchan,” Midoriya teased, lightly brushing his fingertips down the warm cheeks to land on Bakugou's shoulders. “Thanks.”

“Get off me, nerd.”

The words came with zero conviction, but Midoriya climbed off anyway with a giggle, settling himself against a warm side instead. When Bakugou spun the bottle and landed on Todoroki he almost wanted to end the game there, to demand that they not go on anymore, but already Todoroki and Bakugou were shooting fiery gazes each other's way.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to wake Aizawa-sensei up.”

The room fell silent, but Todoroki rose to his feet, and suddenly everyone was arguing, flustered words changing hands as they tried to stop him.

“Too late,” Todoroki shrugged. “It's fine, I'll do it.”

Midoriya scrambled to follow as they all ran after Todoroki's long strides, just in time to hear Aizawa's strangely dark voice sound from the cabin.

“Todoroki, I swear to God if you don't all cut the shit right now, every single one of you is expelled.”

“Including Bakugou? Tempting offer, Sensei.”

“Just to spite you I will let Bakugou remain the lone student in my class.”

“Ah, that's no fun. Goodnight Sensei!”

Midoriya leaned over to elbow Uraraka lightly, eyeing her concerned expression and smiling slightly.

“I think Kacchan and I are rubbing off on him too much.”

“I think you're right.”

As they returned quietly to their dorm, contemplative, Kaminari seemed to be musing over an idea.

“Never have I ever,” he said simply, when they all sat down again. “It's quieter.”

“We don't have any alcohol,” Jirou pointed out. “What's the fun in it?”

“Water!” Iida declared. “Stay hydrated!”

“Booooo.”

“I have coffee,” Bakugou suggested, pointing toward his brand new machine. “Duplo over there can probably make us some shot glasses, right?”

There was a moment of hesitation, but smirks crept across a few faces, and then everyone was nodding.

“Yeah, let's do it.”

As the class trailed out to morning training, they formed two very distinctive groups. The front half were awake and ready to go, chatting with their friends, speculating on their first tasks. Meanwhile, the back half were hardly even alive, let alone awake.

“Would anyone care to explain this nonsense?” Aizawa frowned.

“It's nothing, Sensei,” Kirishima yawned, rubbing at his eyes roughly. “We just didn't sleep very well.”

“Probably because you were up playing ridiculous games all night.”

“We weren't!” Kaminari insisted. “We stopped early! But we didn't have any alcohol for never have I ever so we had to use coffee and it turns out that was a dumb idea.”

Aizawa immediately turned his glare on the Wonder Duo, getting a sheepish smile from Midoriya in return and a scowl from Bakugou.

“Can't blame me,” Bakugou muttered, gesturing toward the less zombie-like half of the class. “How was I meant to know those idiots couldn't handle it?”

“Todoroki and Uraraka barely drank any!” Midoriya pointed out, gesturing toward the pair. “They hadn't done any of the stuff. Jirou can sleep anywhere with the right music. And Yaoyorozu drinks tea a bunch so she's fine with caffeine!”

“Caffeine makes me sleepy,” Tsuyu added. “Frogs die if they have too much of it but I just need a nap.”

“Spending all my time on sugar highs makes me more tolerant to stimulants,” Sato explained. “Tokoyami is okay too, right?”

Tokoyami just shrugged it off, not bothering to offer an explanation.

“I guess the others just don't know how to drink coffee!” Midoriya grinned, “I might have to teach them!”

“Keep your grubby hands off my students.”

“You're no fun today, Sensei.”

“Speaking of no fun, it's time for our first drill. Split into two teams, Heroes and Villains.”

There was silence for a moment before people scrambled to huddle together, and Uraraka leapt into the air, grinning widely.

“Go Team Awake!”

After a long day of drills and Quirk training, Midoriya staggered over to the cooking stations, groaning when he remembered the next task. He was far too tired to try to cook – he couldn't even cook when he wasn't tired!

Kirishima and Kaminari were already shooting pathetic, pleading looks in Bakugou's direction, and Midoriya found himself smiling as he watched. With an annoyed little huff Bakugou conceded, settling in to chop vegetables with a few impressed glances from his passers-by.

It didn't take long for the curry to be finished, and Midoriya watched Bakugou scoop two bowls out of a pot, quickly stopping to add some extra curry powder before he headed Midoriya's way with them in hand.

“Hungry?” He asked, offering Midoriya the uninjured hand. “Spicy.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

They sat in a companionable silence as they ate, separated a little from the madness of the groups nearby, and Midoriya smiled softly as he rested his head on Bakugou's shoulder for a moment.

“I'm glad we're here together.”

“Shut up, nerd.”

“Be good, Kacchan.”

“No. Screw you.”

Despite his words, he grinned, and Midoriya found himself giggling as he took another spoonful of curry, blowing away the steam before he stuffed it in his mouth. The hard brace on Bakugou's arm still felt weird to him, just like the cast had, and he found himself avoiding it carefully no matter how careless Bakugou seemed to be.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, when Bakugou glanced at him knowingly.

“No, it's fine.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah. It did, the first few days, but it's been okay for a while now.”

“That's good. I cringe every time you use it for anything.”

“Don't, I'm being careful. I wouldn't get myself kicked off the team for such a huge fight because of a stupid arm injury.”

“I'm glad. I can't do it without you.”

“You'll have the fuckin' halfie there.”

“He's not you, Kacchan.”

Soon enough they were back to work, washing and drying dishes, and Midoriya quickly set aside a big bowl of curry to take to Kouta in the woods. He hadn't made an appearance all evening, which Midoriya suspected meant he was planning to go hungry, and he wouldn't stand for that.

“I'll be back,” he assured Bakugou, as he tucked the bowl into his grip and kissed a pale cheek lightly. “Wait for me for a bath, okay?”

“Obviously.”

The path was familiar this time when he made his way down to the caves, the bowl safely covered and nestled in the crook of his arm, and he smiled when he caught a glimpse of the boy up ahead. As promised, he sat far further back from the edge this time, and Midoriya made sure to approach gently to avoid scaring him.

“Hey,” Midoriya grinned, when Kouta looked his way. “I brought you food, since we didn't see you earlier. It's good!”

“Don't want it.”

“Okay, well, it's here if you change your mind,” Midoriya informed him, setting it down beside his knee. “Kacchan made a lot of it, he's a really good cook.”

He took a few steps back after leaving the offering, hesitating for a moment when he saw the lingering sadness in Kouta's eyes.

“I understand,” Midoriya told him quietly. “I understand why you would hate heroes and all that we stand for. Really, I get it, it makes sense. I just hope one day maybe you'll give me a chance to prove you wrong, to prove we aren't all bad.”

Kouta didn't say anything, and Midoriya didn't wait to force him. He just shot the boy a last smile and a wave, then headed back through the trees to where his friends were waiting. Bakugou sat near the baths, scrolling on his phone, a little collection of clean clothes and towels sitting beside him in wait. Midoriya grinned when he saw it, skipping over to pull him in for a kiss. He tried his best to be tender, to be sweet, but the little noise that escaped Bakugou's throat made him grabby.

“Inside,” he mumbled breathlessly. “Are the others gone?”

“Yeah.”

“Let's go make out before we shower.”

“Don't have to ask me twice, nerd. Fuckin' race you.”

When the lights went out and everyone began to settle in, weary from their long day of training and less-than-restful night prior, Midoriya clambered in beside Bakugou's form. He curled himself around every curve, wove himself through every limb, and with a little smirk Bakugou leaned his cheek on unruly green curls.

“Kacchan, it was tomorrow,” he said softly, clinging to the boy with every fibre of his being. “Promise me you'll be sensible, okay? Stay with me. Stay with the Pros. Don't get... You know. Carried away.”

“I promise.”

“I don't want anyone to get hurt. Especially you.”

“I know. If something happens, I'll make sure I come back to you safe and sound.”

“You better.”

He ran his fingertips over the stiff brace on Bakugou's arm, then gently raised it to where he could see it, running a line of kisses down the side as Bakugou watched intently.

“Kissing it better,” Midoriya explained with a grin. “Get better soon, Kacchan.”

“Dork.”

“Kiss you better?” he asked, leaning in close but still keeping Bakugou's arm cradled safely between them.

“I'm perfect thank you very much,” Bakugou smirked. “But yeah, nerd, you can kiss me.”

“Maybe you can kiss me better.”

“Now that I can do.”

He linked his fingers with Midoriya's protective hand, closing his eyes as their lips met, and when he felt Midoriya smiling against him he couldn't help but do the same.

“Shitty nerd,” he whispered into the soft, enticing lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, Kacchan.”

“Even if I'm an ass sometimes?”

“Especially when you're an ass sometimes. Kacchan wouldn't be Kacchan if he wasn't.”

“Mushy shit,” Bakugou muttered, blushing. “Shut up.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Somehow, inexplicably, the day went off without a hitch.

In fact, as they queued up to get on the bus back home, Midoriya realised the entire camp had gone off without a hitch.

Of all people, Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku had gotten a normal summer camp.

The moment they took their seats, Midoriya buried his face in Bakugou's shoulder to hide the stupid tears forming. Bakugou didn't say a word, understood inherently, and instead he just turned to lean against the wall, dragging Midoriya into his lap.

The class had slowly grown used to their affection, to where no one even turned a head anymore when the two cuddled up for the trip, with Bakugou stroking Midoriya's back and planting fond little kisses on his hair. It was a long trip back, he knew, so when the dumb nerd softened a little, when his breathing evened out into a steadier rhythm, he just let the boy sleep.

Shitty no-faith nerd had probably been up all week worrying about attacks.

"It's not like we couldn't have handled it."

With camp over, all time and attention turned to training for the upcoming raid. It was like old times, in a way, showing up bright and early to train with All Might in random places around the city, although now Todoroki joined them too. He hadn't quite hit the coffee-habit part yet, but boy were Bakugou and Midoriya trying it.

When training finished they all went home to shower and rest for a while, and right after lunch they were back out again – this time without All Might, who continually advocated some weird foreign concepts like “rest” and “over-training”.

Finally, when it started to get dark, Bakugou and Midoriya went out on their usual patrols to watch over the city. Occasionally they ran into pros with half-hearted messages about being careful and not over-doing it, but no one seemed to genuinely think it would make a difference anymore. They could spout whatever words they wanted, get all the smiles and nods and agreeable noises in the world, but no one was stupid enough to think they wouldn't run into the same Wonder Duo the next night like clockwork.

“I think you see my brother more than I do, these days,” Iida joked once, when they met up for lunch. “He talks about you, too.”

Midoriya laughed nervously, but Iida didn't seem to pick up on his nerves, and a crisis was thankfully averted.

The day Bakugou's brace came off was a relief to all of them – a quick trip to the hospital, a follow-up x-ray, and a few pointless reminders about self-control were all they needed to get clearance, and then Bakugou and Midoriya were grinning at each other outside a hospital door, buzzing with anticipation for the next morning to come.

Midoriya pressed against a concrete wall, listening carefully, then raised his transmitter to his ear to listen to that as well. Nothing came through the channel, which he assumed was a good sign, and he shot a quick thumbs up at Bakugou and Todoroki down the way.

With quiet footsteps they ran inside, searching long stone corridors for any sign of a disturbance, but everything remained quiet until a tiny beep sounded from his wristband.

“More artificial humans,” a vaguely familiar voice informed them. “They seem underdeveloped, but there are a number of them.”

A flashing set of numbers showed up on the screen and immediately the trio were heading that way, winding through twists and turns in the building. When a resounding crash and a shudder of the building erupted below them, Bakugou took aim instead, blasting a hole through the floor and jumping through it with no hesitation.

Midoriya and Todoroki followed with a little more care, landing in the middle of a war between two heroes and half a dozen Noumus. Each one looked almost the same, only small differences in their stature and colouring setting them apart, and immediately Bakugou and Midoriya had a hand each in the air, numbering their targets as they took off to split the group. Todoroki quickly followed suit, diverting one of the creatures into another room with him to fight away from the masses.

Their raid was quickly going from secret and sneaky to loud and obnoxious, but Midoriya didn't have time to lament their loss of advantage or worry about All For One escaping. All Might and Endeavor would handle that, like they'd agreed – all Midoriya had to do was get rid of the gross-looking artificial humans and continue hunting for any signs of life.

“Disturbance down our end too,” Togata's voice spoke. “We might need back up.”

“Bakkun, Mikkun!” Ingenium yelled from the next room. “Go help the others, we can handle it with Todoroki!”

“Got it!”

He ran the direction of the broadcast, hearing Bakugou's explosions as he caught up in a hurry, and soon they were skidding around a corner into a mess of charred stone. Two artificial humans loomed over the big three, one of them breathing bursts of fire at the group.

“Left!” Bakugou yelled, with no hesitation. “Split!”

He threw himself into the air and pulled the pin from his gauntlet, firing an explosion powerful enough to send the Noumu flying away from its partner. When Midoriya joined him, Bakugou fired one more shot, this time at the ceiling to seal them away from the other group. It would be easy enough for one of them to break through later, but for now it would provide them with an invaluable barrier to keep them from being attacked from behind.

The new guard was certainly nothing on its old counterparts. Between the two of them they made short work of knocking it unconscious, and Bakugou hesitated for a moment as he put a hand right in its face.

“It's not human,” he muttered to himself. “It doesn't matter.”

“We can just tie it up, Kacchan. It's fine.”

“What if someone frees it? What if it breaks out? I should... I should...”

“Leave it,” Midoriya said more firmly, building power into his leg and digging a quick ditch with his stomp, the Noumu falling into a little pit under more rubble. “Come on, they should be done with the fire-breather by now, let's get going.”

It was completely by chance that Midoriya happened to spot All Might out the corner of his eye, happened to see the gaunt face and dark shadows, the heaving chest, the pained look on his face that couldn't even begin to pass for a smile.

“Kacchan,” he said softly, taking a few steps back to look. “It's just him. He's fighting All For One.”

“What are you on about?”

“It's just All Might,” he explained. “Endeavor must have left to help the rest of us.”

Bakugou rushed over to look, but unlike Midoriya, when he saw the man he didn't hesitate. He was rushing in before Midoriya could say another word, and with his face set into a determined scowl, Midoriya followed.

“No!” All Might insisted, as Bakugou shot a barrage of explosions. “Stay away!”

Neither of the boys even bothered to answer them, cutting their way in front and standing between All Might and All For One, poised and ready to fight the moment the man made a move.

“Let me handle him,” All Might insisted. “Take care of the others.”

“The others are fine!” Bakugou snapped. “You think we're gonna let our hero risk being killed when we're right here?!”

“You told us to let you have your time,” Midoriya glared back at him. “And you've had it. I'm tired of being told to sit around doing nothing because we're too young! This is our future, All Might! Our world where our children will be raised! Now stand back and let us protect it!”

All For One was looking worse for wear – even more so than usual – after the fight that had raged long enough to drive All Might to the brink of collapse. Midoriya felt that between them they could take him head on, but with the kind of tricks All For One kept up his sleeve, they couldn't be too cautious.

All For One raised a hand and immediately the boys were moving, Midoriya tearing All Might out of the way, limbs barely keeping him upright without Midoriya's support.

“Stand clear of my X coordinate!” Bakugou yelled, and it took a moment for Midoriya to notice the red light flashing on his wrist. “Now!”

He braced himself and took aim at a wall, firing a powerful, pinpoint blast straight through to daylight. As he broke his way through, All For One watching him with discontent, Midoriya moved. He threw all his power into one leg, bracing himself for impact, gritting his teeth when All For One looked his way.

“One For All!” He yelled, as his leg began to glow. “One hundred percent!”

All For One moved, but his speed was brutally depleted from his match with All Might, and Midoriya felt a snap as his foot made contact with the weathered face. There was a pause for a brief moment, then All For One slammed into concrete, and Midoriya landed with a little limp. He didn't have time to check if All For One was still conscious, Bakugou was already pulling the pin on his bracer, firing a powerful blast that caved the building in atop the man in an instant, then he was shoving Midoriya toward the exit path.

Pros were crowding in, following the commotion, and Bakugou shoved All Might at a group of them the moment they were close enough. Despite the smile slapped back on his face no one believed for a moment that he was okay, and Midoriya could hardly bear to look at him.

“Midoriya, my boy,” he said softly, shooting him a thumbs up. “Well done, you kept yourself safe this time.”

“It's my turn,” Midoriya said firmly, his voice surprisingly level. “I'm next. We're next.”

He shot a glance at Bakugou, who stood back a few paces as heroes dug through the rubble to find the unconscious figure, praising his quick-thinking as they worked. He refused to drop his guard, refused to lower his hand, until the limp body came out of the pile with a scattering of rocks.

The look the heroes exchanged as they hauled him out gave away their every thought and emotion, and Bakugou was immediately scrabbling up the mound, swearing at them when they tried to turn him away.

“I fucking killed him?!” Bakugou asked, the glare still on his face, but a pain in his voice that only Midoriya could recognise. “With one shitty blast?!”

“W-Well... It could have been...”

They glanced back at Midoriya's pale, drained face, and Bakugou shook his head stubbornly.

“Like fuck it was,” he said a little softer. “It was obviously the rocks.”

“What's done is done, at any rate. He probably has regeneration Quirks, we shouldn't assume that dead means dead.”

Midoriya began to shake when he realised the risk he'd put them through. If All For One had managed to take his Quirk it would have caused disaster. They'd have had no chance. It was a haunting thought, horrifying, and a choked sob forced its way out when Bakugou wound an arm around his waist.

“We did it, everyone is okay,” Bakugou assured him. “It's okay.”

“W-Wh-What if... What if he'd...”

“What if he had...?”

“Taken mine,” Midoriya finished softly. “My Quirk.”

“Oh.” Bakugou's jaw dropped, and he shook his head. “I never thought of it. I just assumed...”

“Me too. I'm relieved.”

“Come here.”

Midoriya tripped a little as he turned into Bakugou's arms, trying to play it off but failing miserably.

“You hurt yourself?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Typical.”

He threw Midoriya over his shoulder with a sigh, getting complaints and giggles intermingling in response, and tucked his gauntlets under an arm to carry everything out.

“Put me down, Kacchan!” Midoriya insisted, thumping at his back lightly with tired fists. “Don't do this!”

“Quit moving or I'm gonna end up dropping you.”

“No! Just put me down!”

“Nope.”

He tossed his gauntlets to Todoroki when they made it outside, settling Midoriya in his grip a bit better when the hand became free. Most of the pros were giving them odd looks or sighs, but Todoroki immediately asked the big question.

“Is Midoriya injured?”

“Yep,” Bakugou agreed, hitching the squirming figure up a bit higher on his shoulder. “Cut it out, would you? You're gonna punch me in the face.”

“Put me down, then!”

“If I hurt my leg would you put me down?”

Midoriya paused, then nodded.

“Yes!”

“Bullshit. Shut it you shitty nerd.”

He didn't let go of the boy until he was in the back of a police car, Tsukauchi behind the wheel, All Might being loaded into the front seat. His muscle form had long since given up, leaving him an exhausted, gaunt, shell of a human, and Bakugou found it hard to look right at him.

“I'll come right to you, okay?” Bakugou promised, planting a kiss on Midoriya's forehead. “I'll go as fast as I can.”

“Come with me.”

“Other people are injured, they need a ride.”

“Then I'll stay with you, we'll go later.”

“Don't be dumb, Deku. I'll catch up, I promise.”

“Go with him,” Endeavor sighed, waving toward the car. “We have more on the way. You two are exhausting, get out of my face.”

Bakugou paused, glancing back at the other heroes with minor injuries, but they all smiled and waved him off happily. With a grateful nod he climbed in, waving briefly at Todoroki through the window, conveying his best attempt at apologetic for leaving him behind with his father. The boy was impassive as ever, though, and just waved back as if it were a totally normal interaction.

As they drove off, his wristband beeped, and Midoriya looked at his own one in surprise.

“Be careful,” Todoroki said with his typical flat tone. “You can entertain me like this if I get bored.”

“Sounds good,” Midoriya grinned, turning to lean into Bakugou's side, his hand resting on his shoulder to keep the receiver near his face. “Are you hurt?”

“Not at all. We took out about six of the artificial humans then made it outside just in time to see Bakugou blast through the wall.”

“Did anyone...?”

“Die?” Todoroki asked knowingly. “Only you would ask that, Midoriya. No, everyone is okay and accounted for. You would know if someone had died.”

“I guess so. Thanks, Todoroki.”

“Any time.”

Safely discharged from the hospital, Midoriya found himself lying across the Bakugous' couch, his leg propped up on pillows to keep it elevated. The scan had shown a bad tear in his calf muscle – irritating and painful, but nothing to be overly concerned about. Bakugou, though, had become his nurse – fetching food and water, fluffing his pillows, stroking his hair. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, Midoriya had to admit.

“I can help with that,” Todoroki said impassively, through the speaker on Midoriya's arm. “If you need me.”

Midoriya snickered to himself, but nodded.

“Thanks, Todoroki. Kacchan has a heat pack and a bunch of ice here for me, for now, but I'll give you a call if I need an emergency recovery tool.”

“You should get some rest, it's been a long day for us all.”

“Yeah, we should. I hope you sleep well tonight, Todoroki.”

“Thank you. Stay home, would you?”

“We are,” Bakugou said loudly, hoping Midoriya's transmitter would pick it up. “Until his leg is better.”

Midoriya pouted, but he knew better than to argue – they'd done it four times at the hospital and Bakugou had won each one.

“Hey, Bakugou!” Kirishima spoke from Bakugou's arm, and Bakugou cringed. “You there bro? How did it go?!”

“It was fine. It was good.”

“What even happened?!”

“Uh... We were out for a hike and some stuff happened. I'll tell you at school.”

“No way dude I'm coming over. Denki too. Start cooking bro!”

“Cock-sucker,” Bakugou muttered, silencing the receiver. “Hate you so much.”

“I wouldn't mind food and cuddles and hanging out with friends,” Midoriya offered.

“Course you wouldn't. Fuck. I'm too nice.”

Judging by how quickly they arrived, Midoriya suspected they'd been well on their way by the time they thought to ask. Kirishima dropped onto the second couch when they walked in, but Kaminari towered over Midoriya with his eyes glowing.

“Tell us everything!”

Midoriya felt like he'd gone to heaven when the words came from Kirishima's lips.

“I'm starting to really enjoy coming up with battle strategies!”

He turned around to reach for his backpack immediately, a bunch of notebooks inside that he'd studied in the car on their way to the raid. The pair pored over the tomes religiously, while Bakugou and Kaminari exchanged rolled eyes behind their backs.

“There's no Bakugou in here!” Kirishima said with surprise, flipping at pages. “Where is he?!”

“An older book. I've known Kacchan since...”

“Nursery school at least,” Bakugou finished for him. “Enough with the boring books.”

“Shush Kacchan, wait your turn.”

Bakugou straddled his lap immediately, running hungry fingers over the firm chest muscles beneath him, but Midoriya didn't even seem to notice. He continued chatting with Kirishima excitedly, comparing notes and plans, while Bakugou's lips roamed down the side of his neck, kissing and nipping and licking.

A long sigh came from Kaminari, watching his friends with a look torn between amusement and horror, a tiny smile playing at his lips.

“Look at my idiots,” he said fondly, nudging Kirishima with his toes. “You guys are the best.”

“Aww,” Kirishima laughed, “you're the best too, Denki. Hey Midoriya, what about if you meet someone faster than you? You and Bakugou rely on your combined speed a lot, right?”

“We've had it happen!” Midoriya answered excitedly. “The Pros couldn't keep up and asked us to switch with them!”

“Are you serious?! That's so cool!”

Bakugou let his hand trail downward, moving away from the warm chest and down across tight abs, his fingertips slipping through an elastic waistband.

“Bad Kacchan,” Midoriya warned, slapping his hand away. “No.”

He immediately turned back to Kirishima again, but when Bakugou began to growl at him he stopped, grabbing a handful of blond hair and yanking his head back to expose his throat. Bakugou fell still, his adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed roughly, and for a moment the room was silent.

“Did you just show us the Bakugou-off-switch?” Kaminari asked in awe.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, kinda. He's kind of a brat sometimes but he's a good boy really, aren't you Kacchan?”

“Fuck off”

“You're so cute when you pout.”

Bakugou grumbled again but stopped when Midoriya pulled his head over to one side, warning him with his eyes.

“Be good, Kacchan.”

“Fuck you.”

“Not with that attitude.”

Bakugou froze, his breath hitching, his eyes locked on Midoriya's teasing emeralds.

“You've got him well trained,” Kirishima laughed, reaching for Kaminari's hand. “You need to teach me your secrets!”

“Sorry, no can do,” Midoriya grinned, kissing Bakugou's flushed cheek. “That's between me and my Kacchan. Love you baby.”

“Fuckin' love you too,” Bakugou blushed. “Pay attention to me.”

“All you had to do was ask.”

12:01 and still Midoriya couldn't sleep. He snuggled into Bakugou's chest, humming at the comforting warmth, and after a moment Bakugou's hand lifted to his hair, petting him lightly.

“Are you awake too?” Midoriya whispered.

“Yeah. Can't sleep.”

“Me neither,” Midoriya tilted his head back to look, a little surprised by the softness in Bakugou's face as their eyes met. “I can't stop seeing it.”

“Yeah,” Bakugou acknowledged, resting his chin on Midoriya's head. “I know.”

“I always thought... It was something that wouldn't happen, you know? Not like that.”

“Part of me says it's fine, he deserved it, we're safer this way.”

“Yeah.”

“But the other part of me still feels sick thinking about it.”

“I felt it snap,” Midoriya said softly. “I felt it when my foot connected.”

“Bullshit,” Bakugou mumbled, letting his eyes fall closed again. “It was your leg that snapped. Your calf muscle. You didn't kill him.”

“I did.”

“I wouldn't have caved the roof in if he was already dead.”

“You didn't have time to check. You were being careful.”

“I saw. I knew.”

“You didn't.”

Bakugou grumbled a little as he contemplated, then pulled back to meet Midoriya's eyes.

“Okay,” he acknowledged. “I believe you, I believe that you felt it and that it was your fault.”

Midoriya swallowed hard, his stomach churning.

“But you have to believe me. I saw his face, I knew, and I acted. Believe me, it wasn't you.”

“So you'll believe it was me if I'll believe it was you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Midoriya smiled softly, leaning in close again and feeling Bakugou's arms immediately tighten in response. “If you say you saw him, I believe you.”

“And now we never speak of it again.”

“Deal.”

With his leg braced and taped, a little assistance from a few local heroes with healing quirks, and Todoroki on hand as an emergency ice pack, Midoriya walked off the bus with his head held high. After the news reports about their battle with the Noumus, Class 1-A turned even more heads than the last time Midoriya sat the exam. It was difficult to slap a smile on his face, though he did it anyway, and it was all he could do to avoid reaching for Bakugou's hand as they walked toward the building. When the familiar faces approached he found himself grinning, shooting Iida a nod.

“Shindou You!” Iida said loudly, catching the boy off-guard. “Good to meet you! My name is Iida Tenya, I am the 1-A Class president! We look forward to seeing your vibrations in action!”

This time, Midoriya understood what Bakugou had meant when he said the smile was too fake. This was a young man with tricks up his sleeve, no matter how he tried to cover it up.

“We're big fans of all of you!” Yaoyorozu added, with her typical elegance and sweetness. “That boomerang quirk is incredible, it must be so useful!”

At that moment Midoriya knew they had successfully shaken their competitors, and he smirked to himself in the back of the crowd.

His face wasn't recognisable, that was one thing he had come to learn. If people heard the names “Mikkun” and “Bakkun” they might understand, if they were well-enough connected to the hero world, but his face alone would do nothing. Bakugou was a little more well-known, since the Sports Festival, but he wasn't someone people generally opted to approach. Even Shindou, who had tried to shake his hand last time, stayed at a distance with this new development.

“We'll see you in there!” Kirishima grinned, giving him a thumbs-up as they moved off. “Do your best!”

The moment they were out of sight the snickers began, and Midoriya found himself laughing finally, a strange feeling after his stress over the last few days. It was a relief, honestly, to feel a little more normal again, and Bakugou patted his shoulder with a tiny smile of his own.

“Incoming,” Ashido said quietly, nodding off to one side.

“I have this one,” Midoriya grinned.

“Go for it.”

“Yoarashi!” he yelled, as the group got closer. “Hello!”

The young man hesitated for a moment, trying to place him, but Midoriya just grinned.

“I was sad that you didn't pick U.A.! I thought we could have been good friends! Oh well, oh well. Hey! You hate Endeavor, right?!”

Yoarashi looked surprised for a moment at Midoriya's blunt exclamation, but still Midoriya grinned innocently.

“You should meet Todoroki, then! You guys will be best friends! He can't stand the guy!”

A few of his classmates stifled their laughs poorly, and Yoarashi looked over to where Todoroki was looking typically impassive in the back of their cluster.

“Aren't you Endeavor's son?”

“Don't remind me,” Todoroki huffed.

“...Huh. Good to meet you! I hope we can all get along!”

Finally 1-A made it to the changing rooms to put their uniforms on, taking the chance to scan one last time through the handouts Iida had presented to them a few days prior.

It had been Kirishima's idea, in the end. As they explored Midoriya's mountains of notes, they had come across a name he didn't recognise, and held it up in question.

“Who's this Yoarashi guy?”

“Oh! He's really amazing! I met him at- Uh, at the entry exam! He had recommendations, you know?”

Bakugou had given him a slightly odd look, but as Midoriya continued, he'd mentioned the fateful words.

“We'll see him at the License Exam soon!”

“...You have notes on our competition?” Kirishima had asked in disbelief. “Why didn't you say so?”

“Oh!” Midoriya's jaw dropped, looking back to his pile of books. “A lot of them, yeah.”

“Oh my God, Midoriya. Send them to Iida!”

He'd spent the rest of the night editing, adding, scanning, copying, until all his documents had gone to Iida's inbox. Within an hour the diligent young man had summarised them into a handy little cheat sheet, and had passed it out to everyone in their class.

Last time Midoriya sat the test, the other schools had had the upper hand – all the U.A. Quirks were public knowledge, while the other schools had the element of surprise. This time, they were walking in with an even playing field – which meant U.A. had taken the advantage.

Time to see how they liked it.

When Gang Orca and his team busted through the wall of the building, Midoriya raised one hand to his lips.

“Villain attack proceeding at following location,” he announced, “continue with rescue efforts. Build walls. As many walls as you can find.”

There were ten of them now who wore the devices – three with fancier technology, seven with the simple transmitters Bakugou and Midoriya had used for so long. Everyone immediately began to pass on the message, spreading it quickly through the arena with their conveniently placed teams spread wide apart, and soon Midoriya was watching with a smirk as walls of stone, ice, rubble and metal alike went up behind them, blocking the villains from reaching the injured civilians.

“Long time no see,” Bakugou smirked, flexing his hand in the bulky gauntlet. “You ready to dance, villain?”

Shindou slammed his hands to the ground, sending a quake the way of their attackers, and briefly disrupting their pace. Midoriya took the opportunity to move, signaling to Bakugou and Todoroki as he dropped back a little toward the walls. It was too hard for him to use the speed he wanted with his leg strapped, so instead he would stand watch and give directions from the shadows.

“Let me know when everyone is clear,” he instructed into his wrist. “We'll keep the destruction down until then.”

“Contrast therapy, switch channels.”

“Contr- Is that what Midoriya was doing to his leg?”

“Fuckin' obviously. Switch lines.”

Midoriya hit a few buttons on his own wristband, keeping an eye on the scene unfolding as he hunted down the option. There – Tsukauchi had told him it was there, thank God – two channel numbers were on his screen now, along with the flashing red light, and he grinned to himself.

“You're gonna go left,” Bakugou was explaining quietly, his eyes never leaving Gang Orca as they continued their approach. “Biggest Fan over here can split them up with a whirlwind, scatter them around a bit, then you're in charge of freezing anyone on your side, got it?”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“You hear that, Blowing Smoke? We need you to do this with impeccable timing.” Bakugou called, and Yoarashi conceded a confused nod. “Can you handle that?”

Pandering to an ego, Bakugou knew how that one worked.

“Yeah,” Yoarashi grinned, preparing himself for the right moment. “You're smarter than you look, you know.”

“That's not hard. People as hot as me are meant to be dumb fucks.”

The moment Gang Orca stopped in his approach, Yoarashi moved. Even when the group began to move, to try to avoid it, the tornado whipped through them and sent people flying. Before they'd even hit the ground Todoroki and Bakugou were on them, Yoarashi providing continued support at keeping them occupied. Midoriya was surprised to see Shindou drop back to his side, his smile a little more genuine this time, but he just grinned in return.

“I get it,” Shindou informed him, as they watched the battle with discerning eyes. “I can see why you were all on the news.”

“You know as well as I do that everything is easier with a team at your back. I was lucky enough to find an entire classroom of teammates.”

Bakugou swore when Gang Orca broke away from his group, still occupied with shooting down and restraining the sidekicks, and immediately Shindou's vibrations were coursing through the earth again. This time Gang Orca was ready for it, adjusting his stride to suit, and then Bakugou and Todoroki were both yelling equally as loud through the air and his wristband.

“Handle him, Midoriya!” Todoroki burst, as a wave of flames coursed through his side of the arena.

“Fuckin' kill him, Deku!”

He didn't need to be told twice.

Leaving Shindou as their back up defense, Midoriya ran. He wasn't as limber or quick as he'd have liked, but still he sent power rushing through his veins, and still he exchanged blows with the hulking frame of a man with gritted teeth.

“Rescue operations are almost complete,” Yaoyorozu informed them through her transmitter. “Hold out for a few more minutes, team.”

More students were joining them now, Midoriya noticed when he risked a glance at the wall. A new barrier was erected further back, where the civilians must now be situated, and with it someone had shattered a hole in the front line for more help to pour in.

“Oi Wind Chime!” Bakugou yelled over his shoulder. “I've got them, do something about restraining Gang Orca!”

“Todoroki!” Midoriya yelled, hoping his wristband would pick it up. “Switch out! Do some teamwork!”

For a moment Todoroki almost protested, but when he saw Yoarashi moving toward Midoriya he clicked. He sent a burst of flame wide enough to distract Gang Orca as Midoriya moved away, and in a moment of understanding, Yoarashi fueled it. More flames, more wind, a swirling mass of energy, and suddenly Gang Orca stopped. He seemed oddly stunned by the combination, impossible to pass through without damaging himself significantly, and then the loudspeaker was chiming.

“Rescue efforts are complete. The test has concluded.”

Midoriya immediately fell to the ground, his leg aching, every other muscle in his body worn with fatigue. Whose dumb idea had it been to raid All For One's hideout two days before an exam?

“Come here, idiot,” Bakugou chuckled, heading toward the limp figure. “Need a hand?”

“Mine is probably more useful,” Todoroki interrupted, setting his ice-cold hand on the back of Midoriya's calf. “There?”

“There,” Midoriya agreed, smiling softly as he sighed at the relief. “You were right, you make a good recovery tool.”

For a moment they sat in the dust, waiting for Midoriya's leg to numb, and when he nodded faintly Bakugou hauled him up from the ground. He wound his arms around Bakugou's neck, letting himself be carried under the thighs like a child, and Bakugou shifted his grip a little to let Todoroki put his hand back. He could see a collection of their temporary teammates watching, and he waved tiredly as Bakugou marched toward the exit.

“I was injured last week!” he called in explanation. “I'm okay, I swear!”

As they drew further away, he missed the response that came from Shindou's lips, the agreeable nod that came from Yoarashi.

“He fought Gang Orca on level while he was injured. That kid is a monster.”

“Every hero on scene was laughing through the entire exam,” Ms. Joke told them fondly, “I thought I'd used my quirk by accident. It seems they all knew what to expect when they saw your class walk out.”

“You were all sufficient,” Aizawa informed them. “For now you can rest, we'll discuss it properly in class.”

“He thought you were great,” Ms. Joke stage-whispered, as Aizawa walked away. “He loves you all so much!”

Todoroki was talking to Yoarashi in one corner, leaning against the wall with a lot less discomfort on his face than usual, and the sight of it made him smile. His precious Todoroki was all grown up, out making his first friend. How sweet.

“Oi, Thermal Workout!” Bakugou called across the room. “They're giving out results, ditch your boyfriend.”

Scratch that, his second friend.

When the board lit up, Midoriya looked for Bakugou's name first, smiling softly when he found the familiar words and looking over at his boyfriend happily. Bakugou threw an arm around his shoulders, grinning his slightly sinister smile, and tousled Midoriya's hair roughly.

“Look at us, shitty nerd! No more illegal street work!”

“Woah, what?” Kirishima interjected. “You told me you didn't-”

“Doesn't matter, shitty-hair! We have licenses now!”

Midoriya hugged him tightly, sneaking a quick glance at his own name for confirmation before he buried his face in his boyfriend's neck, breathing in the sweet smell of his weird sweat.

“Good work out there, Gone With The Wind,” Bakugou was saying above him, and Midoriya teared up. “You weren't as shitty as I expected.”

“Kacchan, you're so nice, praising your new friends,” he whispered, tilting his head back and kissing Bakugou's jaw. “You're such a good boy.”

“Maybe you'll finally fuck me, then,” Bakugou smirked back. “Or shall I ask Under The Weather? He'd probably blow me.”

“I need you to quit with the wind puns.”

“Never.”

They found a spot to sit, off to one side to take a break from the accost of social interaction, and Midoriya leaned comfortably against Bakugou's side as they read their results sheets.

“Want to tell each other our scores on three?”

“Just tell me, idiot.”

“You tell me first.”

“Fine. Eighty-seven.”

“Really?”

“Really. Your turn, nerd.”

He held up his piece of paper with a grin, showing the identical number at the top of his page, and Bakugou cracked a smile as he ruffled Midoriya's hair again.

“Damn right,” he smirked. “We're in it together.”

“You know, if we were stern enough about it I bet we could get ranked jointly in the charts. Like the pussycats are.”

“But then I'd have no one to compete with.”

“Todoroki?”

“Like I can't beat him,” Bakugou scoffed.

“Yoarashi?”

“Who?”

Midoriya gave him a sceptical look, trying to discern if the confusion was genuine or not.

“Wind Beneath My Wings.”

Bakugou snorted as his laughter burst out in a hurry, and he hugged Midoriya a little tighter through his snickers.

“God I love you.”

“Love you too, Kacchan,” he grinned. “Even if you're gonna be stuck at Number Two your whole life.”

“Like hell.”

When they finally received their licenses, Midoriya found himself hiding it quickly, making sure Bakugou couldn't see it. His cheeks were flushed pink, his hand sweaty as he held it flat against his palm.

“Aizawa-sensei,” he had asked, after class one day when the room was empty. “We can put any name on the License Exam Entry, right? It doesn't have to be the one we've been using?”

“Within reason, of course. You'll be stuck with this one for the foreseeable future, though.”

“I know! But, well, we've built up kind of a reputation now, so...”

Midoriya looked over at Bakugou again, contemplating, and got a slightly awkward smile in return this time.

“Don't start!” Bakugou had declared, as he turned in his entry form. “It still pretty much has 'Baku' in it so who the hell cares?!”

Bakugou turned his license around first, blushing bright red, and Midoriya only laughed as he held his own up next to it, the pair of them lost for words as they giggled stupidly.

“Forever,” Bakugou smirked.

“Bakkun and Mikkun,” Midoriya mumbled back, smiling as he buried his face in Bakugou's neck once more. “We're both such idiots.”

“Idiots with reputations to claim.”

“Best idiots.”

“Best idiots,” Bakugou echoed with a smile. “Idiots gonna kick some legal ass.”

Being back at school was almost a surreal experience. They'd spent more than twenty-four hours on the raid, by the time they gathered together, made their plans, and actually fought, then they'd had one day of rest, then the license exam to deal with. Now suddenly they were back in uniform, back in class, back to the strange, mundane life of a student.

It felt so wrong.

“I said fuck off!” Bakugou yelled, at someone who didn't nearly deserve all the anger they received. “Fuckin' leave me alone before I smash your stupid face in and bury you in Ground fuckin' Beta just to rub it in that you're such a fuckin' background extra!”

Midoriya saw the mistake too late to stop it, wide-eyed as Kaminari grinned and pulled at a handful of Bakugou's hair. Immediately there was a hand in his face, sending him flying across the room, the building flooding with squawks of the entire spectrum of emotions.

“Don't fucking touch me!” Bakugou roared, as Kirishima rushed to Kaminari's aid. “Fucking brainless shitty spark-ass!”

“It works for Midoriya!” Kaminari whined, rubbing at his cheek as everyone demanded an explanation. “I thought it would work!”

“Everything works for Midoriya, you idiot!” Ashido exclaimed. “You're not the one he's trying to screw!”

Todoroki reached over calmly, ignoring the flinch Kaminari lost when he touched the wound, and soon the redness of the skin was softening, Kaminari relaxing into the touch.

“Cold...” he mumbled to himself, making Kirishima smile a little with the tone. “Thanks, Todoroki.”

“That wasn't something a good boy would do, was it, Kacchan?” Midoriya whispered right in his ear, making him blush. “I know you're tired and cranky, I get it, but that's not how a good boy treats his friends. Say you're sorry.”

Bakugou grumbled a little, but with hindsight on his side he seemed to get it, and he blushed as he looked away stubbornly.

“Sorry, Kaminari,” he spoke surprisingly loudly, shockingly genuine. “That was uncalled for, I know.”

The room was silent, but Kaminari's eyes flew open to look at him, marvelling at the pink tinge in the pouting cheeks.

“It's okay,” Kaminari told him with a smile. “I shouldn't have grabbed you. We're cool, right?”

“Yeah.”

After another moment of stunned silence, the bell rang for their next class to start, and quickly people scrambled to set the room right and get in their seats.

“I'm here!” the bright voice announced, surprisingly cheerful considering how Bakugou and Midoriya clearly felt about their experiences. “It's good to be back with you all, my chil- Bakugou! My Boy! That was a limited edition, where did you get it?!”

Bakugou burned red, slumping in his chair, as All Might's eyes honed in on the bag hanging from his desk. It was a familiar sight to Midoriya, his school bag for a brief few years before he got embarrassed, then his sleepover bag once he moved on to something more grown up. The side facing out was just blue with a couple of stripes, but Midoriya – and All Might apparently – knew all too well that the other side had a huge print of All Might's face on it.

“Got it when I was fuckin' four,” Bakugou muttered, looking away. “My bag broke while we were... While we were on break. It was my only spare.”

“It's amazing, Young Bakugou! It's in perfect condition!”

“Fuckin' obviously.”

Punctuated by a few giggles and snickers, All Might remembered why he had come to the room in the first place, and he cleared his throat pointedly.

“Class!” he announced, getting a few more laughs. “Time to start it!”

A sack of coffee beans sat in the outer pocket of Bakugou's bag, occasionally fed into his mouth as he worked, and between classes Ashido approached to point at it.

“Do they help?”

“A lot.”

“Gimme”

He waved toward the bag and she stuffed a couple in her mouth, crunching at them as she walked back to her desk. Midoriya smiled fondly at Bakugou's back. Slowly but surely he was opening up more to their classmates, letting them see a side of him that was less angsty. Sure, he had his moments, where he slipped and yelled at people, but people were slowly coming to terms with the fact that he wasn't a bad guy, no matter how he spoke.

“What's our next move?” Bakugou asked, sensing the eyes on his back. “We've got like two years left before your undoing, right?”

“Yeah,” Midoriya agreed. “I want to put out feelers for some of the Quirks I remember.”

“And now we're actually allowed to act.”

“Not that we didn't before,” Midoriya grinned. “But yeah, if we can thin the numbers a bit before the day arrives, that'd be amazing.”

“I want to get them all kitted out,” Bakugou added, nodding toward their classmates. “So we can all communicate easier when the time comes. The cheaper ones for now, but if they'll give Todoroki a pro one like ours they'll probably give anyone one.”

“Rude,” Midoriya grinned. “But yeah, I agree. Maybe even some of the other classes, if we can get that far.”

“We'd better get to work and start collecting some hero pay.”

“There are five potentially difficult villains still out there that I'm worried about. I want to find them first and see if they're causing trouble.”

Midoriya pulled the notes from his bag and immediately felt them pulled from his hand, looking up to see Todoroki flipping through the pages.

“Where's Bakugou's copy?” he asked, completely straight-faced.

“What, you want in suddenly, Contrast Therapy?”

“You've already used that one.”

“Yeah but it's fuckin' hilarious.”

“I'm keeping this,” Todoroki informed them. “Call me when you're going after them.”

“Will do,” Midoriya grinned, producing an identical set of papers from his bag. “Here, Kacchan.”

“You know me too well, I need to leave,” Todoroki deadpanned. “This is it for us, Midoriya, I'm sorry.”

“Don't leave me Todoroki, how will I survive without you?”

“I know it's difficult, but I must.”

He rolled up the pges and whacked Midoriya on the head lightly with it before he walked off to get lunch, and Midoriya found himself grinning after him.

“Oi, no fuckin' crushes on the classmates.”

“I don't!” Midoriya insisted. “He's just much more social this time, it's nice.”

“Whatever.”

“Don't be jealous,” Midoriya pouted. “Where did my sweet Kacchan go?”

“Shut up.”

Midoriya laughed, leaning across his table to share a brief kiss, and Bakugou smiled a little when they parted.

“Ain't like anyone could compare to me anyway.”

“Not even close, Kacchan. You'll always be my number one, even if you're number two in the charts.”

“Listen here, fucker.”

As they walked toward the school gates Midoriya stopped to look over his shoulder, tilting his head a little in confusion. When Bakugou looked back he saw All Might sprinting toward them, a package clutched between his hands.

“Bakugou, my boy!” he boomed, grinning as he stopped in front of them. “This is for you!”

He planted the plastic bag in Bakugou's hands, and Bakugou found himself burning red as he looked at it, every eye on the school grounds turning toward them.

“It's new!” he explained, still with the same self-satisfied grin. “They haven't come out yet! I want you to have the prototype!”

Wrapped in plastic was a blue backpack, red and white lines drawing out the same pattern as on All Might's hero costume, and across the white patch that would normally sit on his chest, a signature was scrawled in navy-blue marker, the pen matching the rest of the bag. Despite his embarrassment, his cheeks burning with heat, he held the package a little tighter, looking up at All Might but not quite meeting his eyes, reassuring himself that no one was close enough to listen in before he spoke.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“My pleasure, Young Bakugou!”

With a wave he headed back toward the school building, and Bakugou couldn't help but notice that even in his muscle form he seemed a little skinnier, a little less intimidating than he once was. He held the package to his chest lightly as he watched the man go, making a silent promise to himself.

“Can I have it?” Midoriya asked cheekily, elbowing him in the ribs.

“Fuck off.”

Eventually, Class 1-A fell back into a regular rhythm. Fights with artificial humans became a tired old story everyone had heard a thousand times, the raid on All For One faded into a thing of obscurity, just a rumor floating around, and people came to accept that All Might was retired for good. The moment he came off the charts and Endeavor rose into first, it had finally sunk in, had finally hit home to the people of the world – hero and civilian alike mourned his loss, even without a tombstone.

In his place, Midoriya and Bakugou held their heads high. It was easy enough to “slip”, to let the cameras get a little too close as they finished off their job, and soon there was footage on every news channel. People were working overtime digging out old footage and poring over it for glimpses of the Duo. They had to admit, it was kind of nice to finally get the recognition.

By the time they entered their second school year, their hero names were well known around the city – not just by heroes, but mentioned around the water cooler at work, role-played by children in their lunchbreaks, discussed on teen gossip blogs. People had eventually put two and two together, had looked at their quirks a little bit closer, and by the time Bakugou won his second sports festival in a row, turning to yell triumphantly at his friends, their identities were far from secret.

“How did you handle it?” Midoriya asked one day, as they sat down with All Might for coffee – strong coffee. “People following your every move and all that.”

“It's part of being a hero, my boy. You take the good with the bad, and you do your best to make the bad, good.”

“Make it good, huh?”

By his third year, Midoriya wore a much more high-tech device on his wrist than before. Midoriya had finally managed to make friends with Hatsume, and the Wonder Duo were endlessly grateful for it every time the creations saved their asses. Every time they got an upgrade, their friends did too, as they handed down the old devices.

Kirishima and Todoroki tended to be their first ports of call, with Yaoyorozu and Iida next in line, who would in turn reprogram their own prior model and hand it on. With devices changing hands frequently, by their first day of third-year every wrist in Class 3-A and 3-B, plus a few extras they particularly liked or made use of, wore a matching piece on their arm. The main channel belonged to the collective, programmed into every communicator in the school, but those of them higher up had their own private channels as well to chat with their best friends. Their cellphones had almost become obsolete.

“Midoriya! Refill complete!” Hagakure announced from the doorway triumphantly, making Midoriya smile.

Every day Bakugou ate his way through a bag of coffee beans, and every day, when the bell rang for lunch, Hagakure snatched a giant thermos from beside Midoriya's desk and ran to the teachers' lounge to fill it up. It had been a one-off request toward the end of their first year, on a particularly bad day, that had quickly developed into a habit that Hagakure enjoyed performing for him.

She would never tell Midoriya so, but a few of the teachers had noticed her, what with the floating thermos and all.

“It's for Midoriya,” she had explained. “He needs a boost.”

“Carry on, then.”

With a smile, today he took the thermos and took a swig straight from the mouth.

“Perfect, Hagakure! You know me so well.”

On each birthday over the years, the Duo's playtime had gotten progressively more intimate. For Bakugou's eighteenth birthday he had finally gotten what he wanted, and Midoriya wasn't sure if it was that or age that had mellowed him out so much. By the time he'd received his third gold medal at the Sports Festival, rather than make a scene like the first two, he had simply held out both arms and gestured for Todoroki and Midoriya to join him, grinning as he draped his arms around their shoulders and posed for the cameras. If Midoriya hadn't been in love before, that moment would certainly have done the job.

“It's getting close,” Midoriya warned him, as they walked home from school, hand-in-hand. “I think it's still gonna be really bad, even after all our work.”

“How bad?”

“I don't know if we can handle it.”

Bakugou squeezed a little tighter at his fingers, gripping him firmly, and didn't meet his eyes as they walked into the train station.

“We can handle anything,” Bakugou assured him. “This is why you've been working our classmates so hard for so long.”

He wasn't entirely wrong. Midoriya had definitely made a point of pushing his friends' limits, more so as time went on, and he'd become known as a bit of a sadist in heroics classes. Even though people dreaded being paired with him, they still gave it their all, and they still improved significantly every time they worked with him. He had maybe the most intimate knowledge of anyone about how their quirks worked, and when he threw what seemed like casual advice at people, they tended to listen.

“Mikkun,” Midoriya heard the whisper. “I swear it's them.”

He glanced over to see two little kids staring, whispering about them from a few feet away, and with a little smile he waved, watching both faces flood bright red.

“So what do you suggest?” Bakugou asked, oblivious to the prying eyes. “If you don't think we're ready.”

“As much help as we can get, I suppose. I can't do it myself, but maybe with a bunch of heroes to help we can make it work.”

“Okay, I'm sure that won't be hard.”

“Not for Mikkun and Bakkun,” Midoriya teased, bumping into him with his shoulder. “We're amazing!”

“Bakkun and Mikkun,” Bakugou shoved him right back. “Alphabetical.”

“That doesn't make sense, Kacchan. You can't put number two before number one.”

“Shut up fucker, you're never gonna beat me.”

Midoriya grinned, and soon the scowl faded from Bakugou's face, giving way to a faint sigh.

“I don't know how I've put up with you for so long.”

“Me neither!”

The day before the attack, Midoriya found himself listless at lunch time, toying with his food rather than eating it. Bakugou watched on knowingly, but a few of their classmates quickly grew concerned.

“You guys should get a good night's sleep tonight,” Midoriya answered, when people began to push for an explanation. “Tomorrow is gonna be a busy day, I think.”

The words hung heavy over the class when they headed out to change for training, and it didn't take a genius to read the mood among them.

“Is everything okay?” All Might asked, hands on his hips as he studied them. “What's gotten in to you all?”

“Tomorrow is gonna be rough,” Kirishima explained. “Midoriya told us.”

“Rough how?”

Midoriya didn't answer, and the rest of the class shrugged, but All Might knew his Wonder Duo far better than that by now.

“You know what, why don't you all take the afternoon off?” he suggested gently. “Classes are cancelled today, go home and get some rest instead.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah! You've all been working hard, you deserve a break.”

With that All Might turned and left, and Midoriya only stared after him with confusion. Ashido was already suggesting a party, laughing about the idea, but with the looks on Midoriya's and Bakugou's faces no one considered it for even a moment. They had a history of calling out big events before they happened, and even without a real explanation for it, they knew to listen.

Soberly they all parted ways, heading back home, and Bakugou followed Midoriya up to his apartment without question. His mother was out for the day, so the building was cold and silent, and Bakugou hummed quietly as he contemplated.

“You know, if it's tomorrow, that means we've caught up,” he pointed out. “You're back to your normal age and I'm back to being older than you.”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

“Good,” Bakugou smirked, shoving a hand down Midoriya's waistband and making him gasp. “Then we don't have to be limited to birthdays anymore.”

“Kacchan!” Midoriya gasped, squirming a little. “Way to set the mood first, asshole!”

“Don't you want to play with me?”

“Of course I fucking do,” Midoriya blushed. “But you'll be sore tomorrow if I do.”

“Then just be gentle with me, I trust you. We can just mess around, I'll survive without you inside me. Senpai.”

“I'm not,” Midoriya chuckled despite himself, leaning in to bite at Bakugou's neck. “You just said so.”

“Tonight you are.”

“Then you'll do whatever I tell you?”

“Of course.”

“Then you're making dinner.”

“Deeeekuuuuuu,” Bakugou whined, gripping a little tighter with the hand still down Midoriya's pants. “Not even a little? I've been so good for you.”

“I didn't say no,” Midoriya smirked, “but you're making dinner after. Deal?”

“Deal!”

Miraculously, after sharing a huge dinner with Bakugou and his mother, and curling into bed with the warm frame snuggled up beside him, Midoriya managed to sleep. He woke early, but refreshed, and smiled as Bakugou rubbed sleepy eyes beside him.

“I love you.”

“I know,” Bakugou yawned. “Time to get up?”

“Just about.”

“Gimme two minutes.”

“Okay.”

He lifted an arm to let Bakugou wiggle in closer, holding him tight. It had taken a long time for Bakugou to give in, to admit that he was a cuddly fuck, but Midoriya thought it was well worth that wait, when he saw that tiny smile nestling into his chest.

He wanted to be early to the area, but that wasn't difficult. It was just after the beginning of business hours when everything went down, right as they were getting to school. Conveniently, with classes cancelled the day prior, everyone had taken their costumes home with them rather than bother with changing and returning gear, which meant he should be able to get everyone there with less than an hour of warning.

Two minutes of snuggling was perfectly acceptable.

“I know I wasn't always the best boyfriend,” Bakugou mumbled, keeping his face hidden. “Or friend, for that matter. Especially in your other lives.”

“You're amazing, Kacchan.”

“I've tried to get better, and I think I'm doing okay now, but you still deserve more. I hope you don't realise how much better you could do than me.”

“I don't want better, I want my Kacchan.”

“Good. I want my Deku.”

The pale cheeks against him were flushed bright pink, but Midoriya pretended not to notice.

“Survive today, okay?” he requested quietly. “I don't want to go back, I don't want to start over, but if you die I won't have any other choice.”

“Like I'm gonna fuckin' die, who do you think I am?”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, no-faith nerd.”

Midoriya sat on a low fence behind one of the office buildings, swinging his legs lightly, and smiling at each face that popped up nearby.

“Is everything okay, Midoriya?”

“Not really,” he answered, just as he had for a dozen other people that morning. “There's gonna be an attack around here soon, a big one. There are a bunch of us hanging out ready for it. Be careful, okay?”

“Of course.”

There were plenty of heroes around too, hidden in the alleys between buildings or lying on rooftops in the morning sunlight. Midoriya's request had been too serious for anyone to ignore, too completely unlike his usual tone, and the city had responded accordingly. A safe zone was marked out, a perimeter bordered by police who turned away any citizens who came close, leaving the normally bustling part of town suddenly dead quiet.

Midoriya heard the noises before he saw anything happen, rushing out and pulling his goggles on just in time as the buildings came crashing down around them. By the time the group realised that there were no screams, no tumbling corpses, the hero contingent had them surrounded.

The villains still had inexplicably higher numbers, but Midoriya knew. The heroes had the upper hand this time.

Bakugou was right at his side as always when the fight began, when the silence of a waiting city turned into the crashing and yelling of a god forsaken war, and Midoriya shot him the tiniest smile in the world.

“Don't lose, Kacchan,” he said softly. “I'll see you on the other side.”

“You know it, nerd. Watch and learn.”

No.

No, no, no!

He'd been right there!

He was so close he could taste it!

All that work, all that effort, all those resets, and now here he was like a God-damned loser sinking to his knees, his vision black, his body bursting with the pain of a thousand exploding suns. All because he saw the shadowy figure and got too eager, because he ran in too carelessly to take out the heart of their operation, and didn't pay enough attention to his surroundings.

Why did it always end like this? Why did it end with a stupid mistake that brought with it the highest consequences? No matter how much work he did.

He needed a checkpoint. Just one more checkpoint. Ten minutes ago, when the madness began. Ten minutes, that was all he needed. He didn't need to fix everything with Bakugou, didn't need to save a bunch of pro-heroes, didn't need anything but those last ten minutes.

There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things he should have said and done. He should have spent more time with his friends. Should have told his mother he loved her more often. Should have let Bakugou have his fun while they had the chance.

So many things, so many mistakes, but they were all okay – he would accept every single one of them if he could just have another shot at that one moment.

Please. One more. That one moment, a second chance.

Something shifted in his chest, images flashing before his eyes, and a single choked sob came from his throat. He didn't remember death being so painful the last time. How had he done this to himself so many times?!

Zuzu, you take care of Kacchan for me.

His final moments and he was entrusting his best friend, the love of his life, his soulmate to a fucking stuffed bunny. Death didn't look good on him.

With one last shuddering noise, caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob, he hit the ground.

Midoriya opened his eyes to droning, repetitive beeps in a blindingly white room. He groaned, reaching for a pounding headache and finding bandages on his arm.

“What the hell?” he choked out, blinking to clear his vision.

“Deku?!”

He turned his head to see Bakugou launch himself forward, squeezing Midoriya so hard it hurt, and for a moment he just laughed weakly.

“What happened, Kacchan? I don't remember a thing.”

“We won, Deku,” Bakugou said softly, tears pouring down his face. “We won.”

“We won,” Midoriya repeated breathlessly. “We... Everyone is safe?”

“No deaths, Deku. No deaths.”

“Kacchan...”

“You did this.”

“We did this.”

Wiping away tears stubbornly, Bakugou leaned in to kiss his forehead, lingering for a moment to savour the touch.

“Something is missing, Kacchan,” he said softly, touching his chest. “Something is... Empty.”

“Empty?”

“Oh,” he said dumbly, wide-eyed. “Kacchan, my Quirk is gone.”

“What? How do you know?”

“I gave it up. I said if I could have one last shot, I wouldn't need it anymore. And I can feel it, now. It was there before, and now it's not. Second Ch- My Quirk, it's just gone.”

“I guess we'd better keep you alive,” Bakugou teased, nuzzling into his neck and sighing fondly. “I was worried about you.”

“What did I do?”

“You knocked out the guy in charge – you must have been exceeding a hundred percent, I've never seen you so bright, exuding that neon green electricity – and then you fell to your knees in hysterics and passed out. Everything was pretty much over at that point, so I dragged you away from the mess and they brought an ambulance for you. And now you're here, awake.”

Midoriya closed his eyes when Bakugou kissed his cheek lightly, dragging him in close to make him stay, and tried his best to focus. His memories were hazy. Some part of him vaguely recalled a familiar voice, warning him not to apply to U.A.; the same voice yelling at him for trying to help; his brain on overdrive as he rushed to clean a building full of classmates; a license that his two most admirable classmates didn't hold.

It was all fuzzy, like he'd lived it in a drunken state, but other memories were clear as crystal. Fights and arguments with Bakugou at his side, shared smiles and laughter, a thousand cups of coffee.

“I'm really glad you're here, Kacchan.”

“I'm really glad you're safe.”

“What are we gonna do next time? I don't know it's coming anymore.”

“We'll figure it out, Deku, just like every other Pro-Hero does.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. We kind of have to, right? It's not like we get a second chance.”

Midoriya smiled fondly when Bakugou grinned down at him, reaching up to ask for a hug that Bakugou happily granted.

“I love you, Kacchan. Marry me, okay?”

“You fuckin' proposing to me from a hospital bed without even a fucking ring?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Fuck you!” Bakugou spat, despite the smile on his face. “I was gonna do it on graduation day!”

“Beat you to it,” Midoriya teased. “You will, right?”

“Fuckin' obviously.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“We're gonna graduate,” he smiled, his eyes filling with tears. “I'm gonna be the number one Hero, Kacchan.”

“Not if I get there first.”

“Aren't we a team?”

“The Wonder Duo,” Bakugou reminded him fondly. “No one can push us harder than we push each other. We'll fight for that top spot until the day we die.”

An alarm sounded from Bakugou's phone, making them both jump, and he smiled apologetically as he pulled away.

“Visiting hours are over, they're gonna kick me out. I'll be back first thing in the morning, okay?”

“What about school?”

“They've given us some time off to recover. I'd be here either way.”

“I love you, Kacchan.”

“I love you too, Izuku. Here,” he set a familiar wristband down on the bedside table with a smile. “You can talk to me when they're not looking. I'm sure the others would be glad to hear from you, too. I'll even go visit your Mom, she can talk to you on our private channel.”

“Thank you. You're the best. I'll miss you.”

“I'll miss you too.” Bakugou hesitated, glancing at the door as the nurse's footsteps came closer, then reaching into his bag. “Take care of him, okay?”

Midoriya looked down to see a little green bunny tucked into the sheets beside him, a stupid grin on Bakugou's face.

“I will.”

“I was talking to Zuzu, idiot,” he scoffed, leaning down to kiss the bunny's nose, and then Midoriya's. “Zuzu, you look after my fiance. He's an idiot, he needs protecting.”

He nodded knowingly when the nurses knocked and enterred, straightening up and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“Get some sleep, shitty nerd. If I come back and find dark circles under your eyes you're gonna be in trouble!”

“Don't go on patrol alone, Kacchan.”

“I won't,” he winked. “I'm taking the halfie. Come back soon or I might adopt him. I seem to have a thing about annoying nerds with half-decent Quirks.”

“You wouldn't!” Midoriya pouted. “You're mine, Kacchan!”

“Yeah, all yours.”

As he wandered out, nodding briefly to the nurse, Midoriya plucked the bunny from the sheets and rubbed it against his cheek lightly, breathing in the deeply rooted smell of Bakugou that lingered on it.

“Thanks for looking after my boyfriend, Zuzu,” he smiled softly, touching their noses together. “We're gonna make it.”

It was a rainy evening, the streets almost empty, with the few straggling pedestrians all covered by hoods and umbrellas. A little boy walked by, pouting as his mother dragged him by the hand, freezing in front of the window. His mouth opened wide, pointing and yelling, his eyes filling with tears as they argued.

The lady sighed, then nodded faintly, letting go of the kid's hand to let him run inside. He ran straight to the shelf, tiny hands reaching up, a wide grin stretching across his face as he clutched at his prize.

“Please, Mom!” he begged, when his mother caught up with him in the store. “I need it!”

“Why do you need it? You have a thousand toys at home.”

“Look at him, Mom!” he stuffed the fluffy creature in his mother's face, pleading. “Please! He can be my birthday present!”

“Your birthday is still a month away.”

“I know but I promise I won't forget! Please Mommy!”

She finally caved, nodding faintly, and the boy beamed as he dragged her up to the counter.

“Aw, isn't it cute?” the store keeper commented, as she scanned the tag and handed the toy back to the boy. “Have you given it a name yet?”

“Zuzu!”

“What a good name! You take good care of Zuzu.”

“I will!”

He rubbed his cheek against dark green fur as they walked out, taking his mother's hand willingly this time as they headed off down the street.

For years, Zuzu lived in the pillows of his best friend's bed. Sometimes sitting on the top, waiting for him to come home, other times in the caves beneath the cotton, sneaking a peek at the group of friends hanging out nearby. He liked some of those friends, the ones who made his boy smile, but others just seemed to make him sad when they were no longer watching. Zuzu didn't like those ones.

There was one friend in particular who seemed special, one whose hair matched Zuzu's fur, and whose laugh never failed to make his boy smile.

“Kacchan is amazing!” he liked to exclaim, clapping his hands excitedly. “Wow, Kacchan!”

They played with all the special action figures that took pride of place in the room, racing around the room to make them fly, and some days Zuzu could have sworn the boys flew too.

As the years went by, though, the friend began to visit less and less, and Zuzu found himself snuggling with his boy more often, sopping up spilled tears as his boy berated himself. When people were looking, his boy was the most confident, most outgoing person in the world. When it was just him and Zuzu, the world seemed to be filled with pain.

Zuzu was glad he didn't have to experience the outside world for himself. He much prefered to wait at home for snuggles and comfort.

His boy's name was Katsuki, Zuzu eventually learned. He went by a lot of names as a child, but as he got older the nicknames trailed off, until parents and friends alike all called him by his real name. His schoolbooks came home with the same name written on the covers, stacked high on his desk, and Zuzu watched from a perch atop them as Katsuki studied long into the night. On really long ones, when the clock made it all the way around to the top again, sometimes he got to sit on Katsuki's shoulder, snuggling warm in the crook of his neck as they read together in comfort.

It was no wonder Katsuki got angry sometimes, his regrets confided to Zuzu long after everyone else was asleep, when he spent so many hours poring frustrated over the dull pages. Zuzu wished they could play, the way Katsuki had back when he was called Kacchan, laughing and full of unbridled joy as they watched the television shows and re-enacted the scenes.

“Don't worry, I'm here! I'll save you, Zuzu!”

With a lot of improvised sound effects and an imagination running wild, Katsuki swooped in to snatch him away from the evil toy dinosaurs, holding him up triumphantly as the dinosaurs fell off the chair and met their doom.

But now that chair was reserved for long hours of focus, for moments of squirming and contorting himself into weird poses to keep from going numb as he read and wrote and calculated.

His boy – his Katsuki – was nothing if he wasn't determined.

Zuzu was the first to hear the news, the day his Katsuki received the strange device in the mail. He was the only one who heard the words meant just for Katsuki, the encouragement and reproach alike, and the one word that was sweeter than any other word Zuzu had heard in his life.

“Accepted.”

Katsuki had grabbed him immediately, smushed their noses together with a grin as wide as his face, and had flopped back on his mattress as he laughed breathily.

“I did it, Zuzu! I made it!”

His Katsuki was growing up.

He'd gotten taller, much taller, and his arms had grown thick. His Katsuki worked hard, both inside and outside the bedroom, whether he was lifting weights the size of his head or burying his nose in a book.

Zuzu got to sit on his shoulder more often in those early days, as Katsuki struggled to keep his eyes open, determined to get ahead in the books so no one could ever accuse him of not being the best.

Katsuki was always the best, of course, as far as Zuzu was concerned.

One day, though, as he heard Katsuki through the window, there was a second voice that came with him.

“Do you want to get dinner or some shit?” Katsuki asked.

“Oh, yeah, okay.”

“I mean, like... Fuck, like a date.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We may as well just settle this shit.”

“Yes! Please!”

“Idiot. Let me get changed, I don't really want to go in uniform.”

“Okay! I'll wait for you!”

“Come inside, idiot. I didn't mean you had to sit on the doorstep.”

“Okay!”

Zuzu heard the footsteps on the stairs, and he snuggled into his pillow cave to watch, seeing a familiar shock of green hair come through the door.

The two of them argued, but in a more playful way than Katsuki's usual arguments, and Katsuki watched fondly as the boy rummaged through doors and cupboards.

“Kacchan, kiss me.”

Zuzu closed his eyes when it happened, let them have their privacy, but he still knew what was going on. The boy who had always made Katsuki smile, the one boy who still called him 'Kacchan' in such an admiring tone, the boy who Zuzu had always liked the best, was kissing his Katsuki.

Zuzu was happy.

Katsuki dressed up all pretty, in the clothes he normally tried on and discarded immediately, and with his fingers twined with the green boy's, they left again.

For the first time, Katsuki didn't look back.

It was a fateful night when the special moment happened. It might have been the most special moment of Zuzu's life, he thought. Even more special than the day Katsuki picked him out and breathed life into his name, was the day they were introduced.

He'd huddled inside a pillowcase while Katsuki played with his friend, full of giggles and teasing and genuine smiles as they lay together on the blankets. They seemed happy, truly happy, and that made Zuzu happy too.

There were more friends, more people coming to the door, people who called him 'Bakugou' and begged him to cook for them, people who seemed to genuinely enjoy his company regardless of the occasional insults thrown their way.

But late in the night, when their stomachs were full and their movie was over, Zuzu sneaked a peek at the boy who joined Katsuki in the blankets. The boy felt him, reached for him, and for a moment Zuzu was scared. He'd never met another person before, except occasionally the ones Katsuki called 'Mom' and 'Dad', who would poke their heads inside on their way to bed.

“Goodnight, Katsuki. Goodnight, Zuzu.”

That would be it, the end of the interaction.

This was the first time someone else had found Zuzu in his nest, and a face of big green eyes and scattered freckles held him up to look. A smile stretched across his lips, an expression Zuzu prayed for every time Katsuki came home, and then he was rolling over with the boy.

This was his favourite boy, he shouldn't be scared, right?

Hop, hop, hop. Zuzu moved up Katsuki's ribs, fur tickling him through the thin singlet, and suddenly Katsuki was rolling over, bright red as he grabbed for Zuzu.

“Give it here, fuckwad!

“I found her! She's mine now!”

“It's a boy, asshole!” Katsuki argued, his face flooding red. “and like fuck it is!”

The green-haired boy just smiled wider, holding Zuzu a little out of Katsuki's reach, his grip secure and comfortable despite holding Zuzu up so high.

“Sorry, Mister Bunny! I didn't realise! What's your name Mister Bunny?”

He saw those bright green eyes again, sneaking away from Katsuki for a moment, and wondered if the boy would understand if he tried to speak.

“I swear to fuck, if you don't hand him over...”

“Hand him over, huh? It was it a second ago.”

“Shut up!”

“I'll give him back if you tell me his name.”

Zuzu. Zuzu. My name is Zuzu. Please stop, don't upset my Katsuki.

“Fuck off.”

“I guess he's sleeping with me, then, tonight!”

The boy rolled over, snuggling Zuzu into his chest, and Zuzu had to admit it was a comfortable place to be. He felt strong, like his grown-up Katsuki did, though his hands were a little more gentle than Katsuki's frantic grip.

“Zuzu,” Katsuki said, snapping him out of the thoughts.

“Nice to meet you, Zuzu!” the boy planted a little kiss on Zuzu's nose, and with a smile he held him out toward Katsuki. “Here you go, Kacchan needs you back now.”

He was right. This was his favourite boy, after all. He didn't need to be scared.

He curled up happily on the edge of his Katsuki's pillow, a little amused by the pink tint still in his cheeks, but happy beyond belief at the way his Katsuki's lips curled into a tiny smile regardless.

“Goodnight Kacchan, goodnight Zuzu.”

Goodnight, favourite boy.

It was only a few days later that Zuzu sat in the pillow cave, watching his Katsuki fold clothes into a big backpack. He was laughing with Zuzu's favourite, whose name seemed to be 'Deku' if Katsuki was to be believed. Katsuki was arguing with his mother, Deku playing the mediator every so often, and the smile on Deku's face made Zuzu like him a little more.

Suddenly a hand was reaching for Zuzu, a kind grip that slid him from his hidey-hole, instead holding him up in front of the bright smile.

“Don't forget about me, Kacchan!”

“Shut up, he doesn't talk like that.”

True, Zuzu called him Katsuki, after all.

“He doesn't need to come.”

“But he'll get lonely, Kacchan!”

Zuzu watched on, surveying the way Katsuki's face changed as they continued to argue, going from embarrassed to awkward to annoyed and everything in between.

“Zuzu was a fuckin' substitute for your sorry ass when it wasn't available.”

Suddenly Zuzu understood. All those nights where they had snuggled in bed and he'd listened to Katsuki's feelings, all those fond pets as Katsuki left for school, all those slightly sad glances. They had all been because of Zuzu's favourite – because of Deku. Katsuki's love for Deku was the reason they'd met, the reason Katsuki had fallen in love with him through the store window.

He sat on the corner of the desk, staring at the boy his Katsuki loved so much, and he was happy.

The boys were kissing again, teasing each other, but Zuzu just closed his eyes.

They needed their privacy.

Zuzu was used to seeing Katsuki come home battered and bruised, but it normally didn't come with the same distraught look on his face, the tears welling in his eyes.

“He got hurt, Zuzu,” Katsuki mumbled, flopping face-first into his pillow. “He's in the hospital unconscious and they won't let me see him until the morning.”

Zuzu rubbed against Bakugou's hand, doing his best to comfort him with his usual fluffiness.

“I'm in love with him,” Katsuki sighed, holding the bunny up to meet his eyes. “I want to be with him forever, Zuzu. I'm so stupid.”

His Katsuki was anything but stupid, Zuzu knew that better than anyone. He was intelligent, he was diligent, he was stubborn and focussed and so determined. He was amazing, like his Deku always told him.

“Come with me in the morning, Zuzu. I need you.”

Of course he would. Zuzu would go anywhere if his Katsuki wanted him there.

Katsuki slept restlessly that night, Zuzu clutched tight in his hand, and the moment the first rays of sunlight shone through the window he was up, throwing his clothes on, settling Zuzu in his bag. He wasn't going to miss a moment of it, he would be there when his Deku woke up.

Katsuki ran to the hospital.

It was only six months after the graduation that Zuzu received the cushion that made him feel like a king. It was scarlet in colour, rimmed with gold, and held by a sweet little boy with dark hair and a stubborn face that reminded him a little of his Katsuki. He wore two gold rings that felt like a crown, one threaded over each ear, and when he saw his Katsuki in a dark suit and a green tie, standing on ruby carpet that almost matched his new bed, Zuzu smiled.

Katsuki laughed when he saw, clapping a hand over his mouth as his eyes welled up, his face burning almost as red as the decorations. He looked back to his Deku again, to the cheeky smile that Zuzu adored, and squeezed a little tighter at the scarred hands.

“I love you,” Katsuki said happily, loud enough for the entire room to hear it. “My Deku.”

His Deku. It was finally gonna be official.

Zuzu watched from his front row seat as they retrieved his crowns, whispering their thank yous, and threaded them onto each other's hands. They looked much better on them, Zuzu thought. A matching set, instead of a crown that weighed as much as he did.

“I do,” Katsuki said with a smile.

“I do,” Deku echoed, tears pouring down his cheeks.

Zuzu closed his eyes when they kissed, listening to cheers and yells and whistles flooding the room, and then Deku's Katsuki was laughing, a glorious, joyous sound that Zuzu didn't hear often enough.

“I love you,” he said again. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Kacchan.”

Zuzu sneaked a peek to see Deku nuzzled into his Katsuki's neck, smiling like it was the best day of his life.

“I love you. Forever.”

On top of a bookshelf, next to a big bed, Zuzu lived on his fancy cushion. It was a happy spot, where he got to see all the loving cuddles Deku and Katsuki shared, where he got to see the tender nursing and bandaging when one of them came home hurt, where he watched the sweet kisses and closed his eyes for the less sweet ones.

From his perch he watched over the tiny bundle of blankets that grew bigger every day.

Thery had brought it home one summer, settled it in a white wooden basket, and despite the shrieks that came from it every now and then, Zuzu could already tell they both loved it more than anything else in the world.

The bundle had been there only a few weeks when Zuzu felt the pull, finding himself held clumsily between tiny hands, showered with little kisses on his nose and ears.

“How did you get that?” Deku laughed, plucking Zuzu away gently. “Sorry sweetie, that one is Dada's. Look, how about the little chicken?”

He set Zuzu carefully back on his favourite cushion, where he could watch fondly as Deku played with the tiny person, but the moment Deku left the room, he found himself back between sleepy hands as the bundle cooed and drifted off to sleep.

“He's so cute!” Katsuki's mother cooed, accepting when Deku offered her the ball of noise. “Look at you, Daiki!”

As cute as he was, Zuzu was too old to put up with his nonsense.

“He's developed an obsession with Zuzu,” Deku was explaining with an awkward laugh. “Kacchan is too nice to say no, but I can see it in his face how anxious he is.”

“Would you like to hear a secret?”

“Sure!”

“When I saw how much Katsuki loved that rabbit, I went back and bought twelve more of them. He had such a habit of detroying his toys by accident when he got excited, I wanted to have another Zuzu at the ready if anything happened.”

“So which Zuzu is this?”

“Number one. He loved him so much that he was extra careful, so extra sweet, that nothing ever happened.”

“That's so cute,” Deku clapped his hands over his mouth, a tiny high-pitched noise leaving his lips. “So you still have twelve more?!”

“Yep! They're in my closet at home. I'll bring them by and see if Daiki will settle for his own bunny to love.”

And so, another tiny green bunny entered the household. Daiki was more than happy to snuggle and drool on his own one, so Zuzu returned to his happy life of being retired, watching comfortably from his throne.

“Iiiiiiit's NewZu!” Deku cooed, helping the bunny dance in front of Daiki's face. “Can you say NewZu?”

“Buh-buh!”

“That's right! Bunny! Buh-nee!”

“Noo!”

“Noo-Zoo!”

“Noo-Noo!”

Deku laughed fondly, showering bunny-kisses on Daiki's face as the little boy giggled along, making little grabbing motions with his fingers until Deku settled the bunny in his hands.

“Papa loves you,” Deku reminded him, kissing his cheek lightly. “Papa has to go out now, he'll be back real soon!”

“Buh!”

Katsuki stroked at Zuzu's ears lightly, Daiki held tight in his other arm, and for the first time, Zuzu didn't know what to do.

“Papa will be fine,” Katsuki said softly, kissing Daiki's forehead. “He's always fine.”

Zuzu could see the tears in Katsuki's eyes as he said it, and he was pretty sure Daiki could too.

“Katsuki!” The front door closed, and his mother rushed in. “I'm here, Katsuki! It's gonna be okay.”

The tears finally spilled over when his mother threw her arms around Katsuki, hugging him and the baby close, and when they parted Zuzu felt the familiar pull.

“Dah!” Daiki said loudly, his face screwed up in concentration. “Dah!”

Zuzu landed in his outstretched hand, and Daiki reached up to Katsuki's face, shoving Zuzu at his watery eyes with a look of concern.

“Dah! Zuzu!”

“What?”

“Zuzu!” Daiki repeated, wiping away tears with Zuzu's fur. “Dah, Zuzu!”

“Of course that would be your first word,” Katsuki laughed weakly, snuggling him close and accepting Zuzu gratefully for hugs. “How do you keep doing that, huh? How did you reach Zuzu from there?”

“Zuzu!”

Katsuki took both bunnies from Daiki's hand gently, holding them on his open palm, and with a little pout Daiki reached toward them.

“Nunu!” he demanded, and Zuzu watched as the much younger bunny flew into the hands. “Nunu!”

“Look at you, kid,” Katsuki laughed, wiping his tears on his sleeve and holding Zuzu a little tighter. “Is that your Grandma's Quirk? You get that from your Papa somehow?”

“Pah!”

“Yeah, Papa's Quirk, he just didn't get to use it.”

“Dah?”

“Dada blows things up.”

“Buh!”

“Boom,” Katsuki smiled softly, shifting Zuzu to his shoulder to demonstrate with a little spark. “Boom.”

“Boo!”

“Close enough. You go to Grammy for a bit, okay? Dada's gotta go check on Papa.”

“Buh!”

“That means yes,” Katsuki explained, as he handed the little boy to his mother. “Thank you for coming so fast.”

“Of course, Katsuki. You go take care of our Izuku, I'll stay here all night if I need to.”

“Thank you. I don't tell you often enough that I love you.”

“I love you too, Katsuki.”

With a last little kiss on Daiki's forehead, Katsuki grabbed his coat and left, tucking Zuzu into a warm pocket.

“Die!”

Deku burned red at the sound, stumbling for an explanation, but Katsuki and his friend only laughed.

“Die! Die!”

“His name is Daiki,” Deku explained awkwardly, “he only has the hang of one syllable.”

“Daidai!”

“You sound just like your Dada, don't you?” the man laughed, stroking at a fuzz of green hair. “Die?”

“Dai!”

“Don't encourage him!” Deku insisted, blushing.

“Did Katsuki pick his name?”

“We both did!”

“But he suggested it, right? He knew.”

Katsuki grinned at the horrified look Deku gave him, and immediately Deku turned away, holding Daiki up a little higher to meet his eyes.

“Dada is dead to us, sweetie. Your name is Toshinori now. Can you say Toshinori?”

“Daidai!”

“To-shi”

“Dai-Dai.”

“You are so much like your father,” Deku pouted. “You're To-Shi-No-Ri. What's your name?”

“Daidai!”

Katsuki and his friend were in hysterics behind him, and when Deku conceded a little smile it made Zuzu happy too.

“Okay, sweetie, Daidai it is.”

“Zuzu! Nunu! Daidai!”

“That's right baby,” Deku laughed, hugging him lightly. “Zuzu, Nunu and Daidai.”

“Papa.”

“What?!”

“Papa!”

Deku immediately started to cry, getting a shocked look from Daiki, and Katsuki leaned in to kiss his cheek.

“You beat me for once.”

“I win!” he declared through his sobs. “Papa?”

“Papa!”

“I love you, Daidai.”

“Buh!”

It was a rainy evening, the streets almost empty beyond the window, and Zuzu watched as Daiki settled in to study. It was a familiar sight, seeing him gather his pile of books at the table, each neatly labelled with his name and class number. He would be sitting those same exams soon, the ones that meant so much to Katsuki once upon a time, and he was making the most of every minute of the day to prepare.

Daiki tucked his feet under the table, beneath a heavy blanket where a tiny heater was running, and with Nunu perched on his shoulder he settled in to work.

It was completely dark out by the time Katsuki got home, yawning as he trudged his way through the door and stopped to pet Zuzu in the hallway.

“Evening Zuzu, where's your friend?”

These days, Nunu resided on the cushion at his side most of the time. Deku could usually tell how the day had gone from how many bunnies sat on the shelf. If it was two, everything was good. If it was one, someone was having a problem. If there were no bunnies to be seen, he knew things were real bad.

“Hey Dad,” Daiki mumbled around the pen in his mouth, as he flipped through pages of a textbook. “How was work?”

“Work was good. You're up late.”

“Entrance exams soon.”

“I know.”

He leaned over to kiss spiky green hair, pausing when he spied the little buddy on Daiki's shoulder. Tears welled in his eyes, and Daiki seemed shocked when he looked up, staring silently for a moment.

“Are you sure work was okay?”

“These are happy tears,” Katsuki assured him. “I'm such an idiot, ugh.”

“Don't cry, Dad.”

Daiki held up a hand, summoning Zuzu from across the room, and smiled as he bumped Katsuki's nose with Zuzu's little black nub.

“I love you, Daiki. I hope you know that.”

“I love you too, Dad. Are you sure they're happy tears?”

“I'm sure,” Katsuki assured him, perching Zuzu on his shoulder and sitting down at Daiki's side. “If you're gonna be up late, let me help.”

When Deku made it home a little before sunrise, he saw the empty cushion on the shelf and immediately braced for the worst. Instead, as he crept through the house, he found his two favourite boys lying on the living room floor, their legs tucked under the kotatsu, a pile of notebooks sitting abandoned on the surface. Katsuki's arm was outstretched, Daiki's head resting on his shoulder, and Deku smiled when he saw the twin bunnies sitting among the pencils.

“Long night, huh?” he asked, leaning over to kiss Daiki's forehead, and then Katsuki's. “Get some rest.”

As he straightened up, a scarred hand reached out to pet fluffy green ears, first one set, then the other.

“Thanks for taking care of my boys.”