Chapter Text
[First Time]
[UA, First Year]
That training session was harder than Bakugo would ever admit. Fuck, he’s still trying to come to terms with this idea that not only is Deku strong, he’s supposed to be this respectable person.
A peer.
Up to this point, that alone is a novel concept to Bakugo. Deku’s just supposed to be Deku. Weak, mutter-y, whiny…
Now, in the darkest corners of his mind, he’s started to note Deku’s performance during battle. But it goes beyond just basic observation. It’s the very stalker-talk he shamed Deku for. Stuff like “He’s leaning a little more to the left with that move like I told him, and now it has way more power.”
It’s like he got infected by the ‘nerd’ virus. Bakugo should be focused on his own strength, his own goddamned battle performance. Watching somebody else like this was just a stupid distraction.
Deku whines again, amidst the muttering Bakugo hadn’t even noticed was happening. At this point, he considers it white noise. Looking down, he finds the green-haired teen pouting like a little boy.
“Oi,” the blonde clicks his tongue, kicking Deku’s side. The bastard has the nerve to hide his face in his hands and groan louder. Is he stupid!? “OI! Get up or I’m beating you up again!”
Muffled by his own hands, Deku’s response comes: “I managed to dodge almost all of your attacks this time!” Seriously? This idiot considers that a win?!
Bakugo couldn’t deny, though, that he could at least respect this stubborn Deku a lot more than the weak-ass idiot he used to be. “Why’re you moping like a moron?”
See that? Asking like he cared? If he were in his right mind, he would never. Peeking through his fingers, Deku makes eye contact. “Kacchan, do you think… do you think I’m… attractive?”
The question sends Bakugo for a loop. His mind short circuits and, in his panic, he just resorts to angrily shoving his foot against Deku’s side. He tries to will away the warmth in his cheeks, “WHAT THE FUCK KINDA QUESTION IS THAT?!”
“I just wanna know!” Deku shrieks, rolling over to shield himself. “Stop! OW! OUCH! YOU’RE HURTING ME!”
The wimp acts like they didn’t draw blood while training ten minutes ago. Bakugo huffs and stops, though. “What the hell do you mean attractive?!”
Deku sighs, sitting up, eyes trained on his hands. “I dunno…” he shrugs. “Can I tell you something and you promise not to tell anyone?”
Rolling his eyes, Bakugo sits back. “I don’t waste my time gossiping with extras,” he states. Not that he wants to hear what Deku has to say, but it’s for the record.
“I think… I think I like a girl from our—“ Oh, that?
The blonde scoffs. “Pink Cheeks.” It was a statement, not a question. “It’s obvious.”
“It is?!” Maybe a little less obvious to someone that wasn’t as incredibly observant and intelligent as Bakugo, but to him it is.
And he’s not all that happy about it. “My life would be better if it wasn’t, believe me.” He has no idea why he even bothers cataloguing all this useless information. Who cares if a nerd dates another nerd?
Scratching his head, Deku sighs. “Well… I was just wondering if maybe she could like me too or not. Girls like hot guys, I guess, and I’m not sure I’m ‘hot’ like that, but—“
Bakugo huffs, “You’re the furthest thing from ‘hot’ there is. You’re FREEZING cold.”
“Oh…” His honest response gets Deku all pouty like when he was little and didn’t get to be All Might when they played. “You think?” the bastard asks, as if it matters.
“Yeah. So what? Being hot is stupid,” Bakugo declares with a shrug. Not once in his goddamned life has he been preoccupied about being attractive. Strong and disciplined should be the only parameters to determine if you’re an extra or not.
Deku has the goddamned gall to roll his eyes. “That’s not fair, you get to say that because you’re hot!” Bakugo’s not equipped to deal with that, so he starts kicking Deku again. “STOOOOP I’M SORRY!”
“Who even cares about this stuff?!” Bakugo kicks one last time before sitting back again.
Thinking about it, like a chump, Deku concludes: “Well, if I’m not hot then I’m never getting a girlfriend…”
What’s with that pathetic puppy face?! “If a girl won’t talk to you ‘cause she thinks you’re not ‘hot,’ then she’s shallow as fuck. She can trip and die,” Bakugo states.
Wide green eyes stare at him in awe.
Feeling bold, Bakugo keeps going. “Who cares what a stupid girl thinks, you idiot, you have so much to worry about right now! And if you ever wanna get married and all that bullshit, you gotta look for someone better than a shallow stupid girl!” This idiot never thinks ahead, seriously.
As if just now considering this, Deku’s brow furrows. “Better?”
“Yeah! Someone cool, strong, smart, that’s gonna put you in your stupid place, that’s gonna yell at you when you need it and that’s gonna organize the mess of a mind you have!” Now that would be someone worthwhile.
Deku narrows his eyes. “You’re describing yourself.”
Shit… Bakugo can feel his cheeks warming up again. He rips his eyes from Deku’s eyes and stares firmly at the opposite wall, bouncing his leg up and down. He didn’t even realize, but when he was picturing a future Deku partner, his mind was traitorously supplying images of him side by side with the bastard. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?!
Shrugging it off, Deku shakes his head. “I’m serious, Kacchan, that all sounds great. But I don’t know how to get someone to like me just like that! Let alone a girl as cool as you’re saying!”
Deku’s looking for a girl. What the fuck is he even thinking?!
“You know me through and through, and it’s not like you would go out with me if you were a girl, would you?” Green eyes peer up at him, a mix of hope and nervousness that make Bakugo’s heart pick up.
Shit… maybe he would. If Deku got his shit together and trained enough and got disciplined for once and stopped being a nerd… maybe…
“Uh…” he swallows, unsure of what to say. “Never in a million fucking years.” A lie. That was a lie.
Deku pouts harder. “You’re an asshole.”
Unable to keep up with the stupid conversation, Bakugo stands. “Stop thinking nonsense and get your head straight, Deku. We don’t have time to be wasting on stupid shit like that.”
He can only think of one word as he walks away: Goddammit.