If I told you, would you cry?

1

"Bakugo, can I talk to you?" 

Katsuki wasn't the type to complain about the little things - well, he was, but not about things that actually bothered him. So when Midoriya walked up to him, casually calling him by his actual name, he didn't say a thing. Only grunted with a small sigh. 

"Yeah, what nerd?"

"I wanted to know if you could help me study? I don't really understand this topic well," Midoriya scratched the back of his head and laughed a little, then shifted his gaze down to see the sceptical look on his friend's face. 

"Why don't you ask Iida? or Todoroki - he's not as dumb as he looks." Bakugo smelt something suspicious, thinking it was some kind of prank that Kaminari or Kirishima had set up.

"Iida's busy helping Ochako and Todoroki likes to study alone because it's quieter and he gets distracted easily... please Bakugo, help me out," Midoriya started whining, the plea grating at Bakugo's patience. 

"Please? Pretty please...with a cherry on top?"

"Fine! Stop whining like a baby! Meet me in my dorm at 4. Don't be late." Katsuki got up to go to lunch, angered scowl plastered across his face. 

He couldn't believe that the nerd didn't actually understand what they were doing, so there had to be an alterior motive, but he was curious enough to play this out and somewhat hoped helping the nerd out would allow him to get a little closer. Plus, if this was a prank he would have a valid excuse to throw Kaminari out a window like he'd wanted to for a while now but just hadn't found the right moment. With that pleasing thought he sat down to lunch, his friends animatedly chatting around him which was registered as white noise. 

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The class wandered back to their dorm, Hagakure opening the door as her classmates thanked her passing though. Mina paused as she looked above the door, sighing heavily and pulling Sero aside. Without a word she ripped a small length of tape from him, turning around to again look at the door. 

"Boost me up?" she asked, a quiet 'yeah' coming from Koda as he held out his hands for her to stand on. She did, a few slower members of the class stopping to watch as she once again taped up their wonky '3-A' sign. 

"They should have fixed this by now. It makes the building look rundown." Iida commented, but received a huff of laughter followed by:

"I think they are just making us suffer; we did break it after all." Midoriya had appeared, and went inside with the rest following his example. In the corner of his eye he watched Iida frown. 

"No, you broke it. We shouldn't have to suffer because of that." 

"Relax Tenya, it's just a sign," Ochako squeezed his shoulder but turned back to Midoriya, "although you never did apologise for that. Maybe that's why the school didn't fix the sign."

"I'll apologise on my death bed, or Aizawa will be standing over my grave telling me he was wrong." Midoriya checked his watch then started towards the stairs. 

He knocked on Bakugo's room, 'come in nerd' resonating through the hollow wood. Opening the door the first thing he noticed was that the room was so clean, the bed neatly made and the books on the bookshelf all stacked away, carpet hoovered and not a speck of dust in sight. Exactly what he expected, a light smile ghosting his lips as he sat down on the opposite the blonde teen who'd already gotten his books out ready. 

"So, what are you stuck on? The new Maths or the Science?" Strait down to business, just like always. Izuku couldn't help but laugh, confusing Katsuki. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing - I don't get the Maths, I always was bad at it. Could you explain..." and their conversation went on like that for hours, them gracing over each and every topic, even delving deeper into future work just to get ahead. Katsuki found it easy to study with Izuku, they struggled on opposite things and could teach each other well. He though it was like Izuku was easier to talk to, like he understood what he meant even if he said it wrong. The experience reminded him why they were such close friends as children, reminded him that out of all the other kids he knew Deku was the only other person that he felt understood him. As they chatted about new villain capture techniques they'd learnt the day prior, he couldn't stop the ache bloom and throb in his chest at the memories resurfacing. 

"Are you okay Bakugo? You've... gone quiet" Midoriya desperately wanted to say 'look sad', but residual instinct from years prior pushed him to walk on egg shells around the other; even if he'd become a calmer individual. Bakugo looked away, growing silent. Then, almost as if sparked into action, he jumped to ask a question. 

"Why do you call me Bakugo?"

"Uhh, because that's your name?" Midoriya had a worried kink in his brow as he regarded his friend. 

"Why do you call me Bakugo?" Izuku listened to his question again, not failing to miss the quiet hurt and silent longing within the underlying message. There were a thousand thoughts and feelings buried within his quiet words and Izuku could hear them all, causing him to freeze and process what Bakugo was really asking.

"I thought you liked it better..." 

"I- No, not really." 

"... I don't hate you Kacchan - you know that, right?" Bakugo looked away again, eyes picking at the carpet with new muster. 

"How couldn't you? After what I did all those years?" He head a sigh from beside him yet still wouldn't dare look to the owner.

"Kacchan, we've been through this. You were young - stupid-"

"hey!" was the weak protest.

"But that's all you were. You aren't a bully anymore, you certainly weren't a villain and your not a bad person. I forgave you because I can see that, and I admire you for how much you have changed. So don't start thinking I don't like you; that's just silly." Bakugo laughed a little and sniffed. He heard a shuffling and come closer. His eyes grew wide when he felt arms wrap around him, pulling him into their source. He let it happen, and it only lasted a few seconds, but it helped.

"Hey, want to play some video games?"

"You know I'll beat you Kacchan, why even bother?"

"Try me!" 

So the two got closer, continuing to study every other evening. They enjoyed each others company, more than they'd remembered, starting to anticipate their 'study sessions' that by the week became more and more just hanging out as they caught up with school work. 

Aizawa looked on, impressed at their test scores at the end of the month, seeming to shoot past expectation. It looked like they actually learned together too, a bonus. 

It continued like this for about a month and a half, with the two teens meeting like clockwork to spend time in Bakugo's room, sometimes even going out to train against each other in hand to hand combat on the greenspace out the front of their class dorm. 

You could even call them good friends.