Darkside (BkDK)

~~** Baby steps. **~~

Time passed by and class 2A, less Bakugo, had begun looking forward to lunch break more than usual twice a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays the whole class would rush to the cafeteria and claim several tables so they could all sit together and catch up with their Broccoli Lord. The greenette would always sit next to Uraraka and unbeknownst to the rest usually held the brunette's hands under the table.

It was something that happened on the second visit with his friends almost by accident when he felt overwhelmed for a moment and had become an ongoing phenomenon. There was nothing romantic about the gesture, at least for Deku. It was a platonic act of kindness that reassured the readjusting successor of One for All that everything was okay, though his best friend might have misinterpreted the contact.

His emotions had been all over the place ever since returning to UA. The prescription regiment Midnight and Hound Dog started him on a while ago would help in the long run but he hadn't adjusted quite yet. The simple contact with one of the people closest to him did wonders for the boy's nerves. That's not to say the recovering teen wasn't making progress. He was, and a bit faster than his overseeing therapist expected. Thought the intimidating man believed the speed of the boy's recovery had a lot to do with Chief Tsuragamae.

In his second session with Mr. Inui Midoriya learned that he didn't actually kill any of the criminals he met with in the weeks he was on his own. The fear and regret that he might have ended a person's life was the core of his reasons for believing he could no longer be a Hero. It seemed he was far less over the top with his apprehension of those he brought to the police than he thought. Only one suspect even ended up needing any kind of medical treatment, the rest were no worse off than if they'd been in a bar fight. The gruff therapist suspected the Darkside quirk was responsible for the disproportional perception of Izuku's own actions and as the effects were beginning to fade, they left a kind of clarity in their wake.

At first Midoriya didn't believe the often muzzled man but the greenette received an in person visit from the Musutafu police chief an hour later that left him in near tears. The man was THANKING him for helping to catch several perpetrators that were too much for the police to successfully handle but not really bad enough to warrant calling in the Hero agencies. In light of that news Izuku was starting to realize it might be okay for him to still become a Hero one day. Even to possibly work beside Kacchan again if the blonde would have him.

As the days went on Deku's recovery and the chemical levels for both members of the one time 'Wonder Duo" had stabilized thanks to their respective medications. Each were making gains in their therapy sessions and had been granted permission for in person visitation in Midoriya's temporary dorm, with the door open, as well as phone privileges.

Currently, the pair sat on the floor of the jade-eyed youth's room watching an old All Might video clip reel they had seen literally thousands of times before. The room was a stark contrast to the younger teen's space in Height's Alliance. It was moderately decorated with a plain orange bed set and a few posters, not of the boy's childhood Idol but of his classmates. Red Riot, Dynamight, Chargebolt, Uravity, Froppy, and the New Ingenium had a spot on his wall. On the small desk were buttons, a mug, and some oversized high quality stickers representing the rest of the class minus himself. On top of the otherwise empty shelf at the foot of the bed sat a freshly cleaned Mr. Usagi keeping watch over everything.

The comfortable quiet between the boys was broken when the visiting teen cleared his throat and decided it was time they stopped avoiding the elephant in the room. "Did the Mutt tell you to stay out of private relationships too?"

"Yeah." Leaning over, a mop of green curls found a home on a strong shoulder.

"Probably for the best. Can't have you distracted by your wanton hormones when you're trying to heal your fucked up brain." The smug look on the blonde's face earned him an elbow to the ribs. "Any of your shitty extras come to visit you yet?"

"Uraraka and Todoroki came by earlier. They're meeting Yayarozu at that crêpe shop later. Remember that place?"

Cocking his head to the side, Katsuki tried to remember going to the aforementioned restaurant only to come up blank. "I don't remember going to any shitty crêpe place Nerd. Maybe you went on a date with Pink Cheeks there or something."

Turning on his companion, a certain fire that had been missing for months but was slowly returning lately flared in emerald eyes and brought an unknowing smile to the other's handsome features. "Ok one, that is NOT her name. You really need to call people by their names Kacchan."

"Kettle meet fire, dumbass."

"So preferred it when I called you Bakugo?" Grunting in annoyance at hearing his family name pass the lips he still longed for, the blonde conceded.

"Fuck no. We'll just say you're an exception."

"Thank you. And two, YOU are the only person I've ever been with in any capacity and you know it. WE never went to the shop. Momo, Ida, Tsu, and Ura did. They brought back one of those spicy special crêpes for you since I burnt your omelet that day." Arms crossed, and stern face activated, Izuku was the picture of a pouting five-year-old.

Without thinking, the visiting teen reached out and cupped the other's freckled face, rubbing his thumb along a hidden cheek bone. "How could you ever forgive me for all the shit I did to you?"

The sudden change in conversation was slightly jarring but knowing how much the explosive youth avoided any talk about emotions his ex decided to just roll with it. Placing his own slightly larger hand atop the one on his face, Deku smiled softly. "Honestly? I don't really know. It's just not who you are anymore, so how could I hold it against you? People change. You are excellent proof of that. You've never been good at expressing your emotions and while I love Auntie and Uncle they did you no favors there. You did what you thought was right and the way you thought was most effective. To be honest if I hadn't run into All Might that day it would have worked. I was already thinking of withdrawing my application to UA before that. Did you know? Mom was so scared I'd be hurt or even killed and the one person I always wanted to impress the most didn't want me to do it either. How could I NOT consider dropping the idea? After I got OFA and started here I was determined to show you most of all that I could do it. When you started to acknowledge me I spent a lot of time thinking about why you were so against it in the first place and I noticed a few things. I saw how much you hide how you really feel about your friends. How you make it look like you don't care but when nobody is paying attention you restring Jiro's bass. You help Kirishima with homework or fight stances. How you make Kaminari short circuit to increase his stamina and make everyone laugh. The way you make tea for Mina when she's down or watch cooking shows with Sero even though you hate them. You do so many little things for so many of our classmates but you do it secretly and never call attention to it, so nobody knows."

"You fucking noticed. Apparently."

"Not at the time I didn't, but it's easy to spot your softer side in hindsight. And no, that is not an insult or a declaration of weakness." Still staring into the ruby-red irises he long since memorized, Izuku continued. "I love you Kacchan. I know I do, and I know now that I have for a long time. But I know it's a bad idea to be together now. For both our sakes, just like you said in your letter when you returned Mr. Usagi to me. It took me a while but Hound Dog helped me realize that we depend a lot on each other in a lot of ways and that seems to have stopped us both from growing, at least personally. Being partners is great for us professionally. We DO make a very good pair. But we have so much history it's almost impossible for us to change. At least, that's what he told me. I don't know if I totally believe that though. I think we HAVE changed, just maybe not enough. I'm stronger mentally and physically and you have a far greater understanding of how to cope with how you feel. If people can never change then what's the point in even trying? So..." A change in the smaller boy's features shifted his smile from sweet and innocent to down right devilish. "...fuck that. I say they can and we'll be the ones to prove it."

"Damn right Nerd."