Silent Suffering

Chapter 14 - Permission to Date

"Is this some kind of joke? Because the coffee machine in the teacher's room is broken and I'm not awake enough to act like it's amusing" Shinsou deadpanned after Izuku told him he and Kacchan were together over lunch the next day. The insomniac didn't always sit with them at lunch, but sometimes class 1-A just couldn't be avoided and he was forced to socialize, with the necessary complaints, of course. Their class was used to Bakugou though, so his whining had no effect on them.

"That explains why Aizawa sensei looked so pissed this morning" Uraraka hummed.
"Even so, you shouldn't drink coffee meant for our educators, Shinsou!" Iida added, making the purple head roll his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, it's not for me, coffee is bad, I should get more sleep, I know the drill" Shinsou sighed, looking back at Midoriya. Iida's lectures are getting repetitive.
"But seriously, Bakugou?"

I shouldn't be surprised, honestly. The way Midoriya always gushes about him already gave me crush vibes but I didn't expect emotionally constipated explodo to actually get over himself and confess. Didn't think he'd realize what his own feelings meant until Midoriya was dying in his arms or something equally tragic. Izuku ignored that trail of thought, surprised by how many people thought they would've gotten together in the heat of battle or in some tragic aftermath. To be fair, Izuku did want to kiss him on ground beta that night...

Kacchan looks hot when he fights, okay?

[I don't get why everyone asks me if I'm sure about this and not Kacchan] Izuku signed. Shinsou didn't know Kacchan's name sign, but he could deduct it from the context.
"That's because you're an absolute catch, Midoriya, and Bakugou is, well, Bakugou" Shinsou explained, almost making Izuku choke on his food.
"What can I say? You have a nice ass, but you're not really my type, so Bakugou can have you"
"Shinsou-kun! That's inappropriate!" Iida gasped as Izuku's face lit up.

[Kacchan is a catch too! Have you seen his abs?] Izuku signed once he recovered from the initial shock, making Shinsou snort. Yeah, he got his body going for him, not gonna lie.
"His personality is trash though"
[He can be really sweet if he wants to] Izuku stated, defending his boyfriend.
"If you say so" Shinsou shrugged. Bakugou being sweet? Yeah right, only in Midoriya's vision, I'm sure. I'd be freaked out if he was suddenly nice to me.

Kacchan really had a reputation going, didn't he? Ah well, Izuku knew better than that. Under that aggressive façade was an insecure boy who just wanted to be a hero. A goal they shared, something that had driven them apart before and was now driving them back together. It's funny how those things work, isn't it?
"You know, Deku-kun actually made Bakugou-kun apologize to me" Uraraka said, earning Shinsou's attention.

"He did what?"

Oh God, Bakugou is absolutely smitten for Midoriya, Shinsou thought as he listened to Uraraka's explanation. That guy really does go full out once he sets his mind to something huh? Plus Ultra and all that, I guess.
"I think he sees winning Deku-kun over as some sort of competition, with Deku-kun as the price" Uraraka told him. Sometimes I wonder whether Bakugou even has emotions or ambitions outside of competition. Seriously, why does everything have to be a battle?

Izuku tried to ignore that thought, knowing better than to react to things that weren't being said. She didn't know Kacchan had trouble regulating his emotions because of his quirk. She didn't know that by making it a competition, he could allow himself to go full out. Confrontation and competition, those are things that came easy to Kacchan. But being soft or kind wasn't compliant with the explosive personality his quirk forced upon him.

It wasn't an excuse, wasn't some free pass to allow him to be a bully and a jerk, Izuku knew that. But he also knew Kacchan was trying, and he wanted to support that.
"I can see that" Shinsou hummed as he listened to Uraraka.
"But then the real question is, who is he competing against? I mean, no offense, but you're obviously out of the running"
"None taken, I've been handling myself quite well" she smiled.