Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Every huge negative event that has ever happened in Bakugou Katsuki’s life can be directly tied to one Midoriya Izuku. The time he fell off of a bridge, and was embarrassed in front of his followers. Who ran down to his side even though he didn’t need any help? Midoriya. Who tried to rescue him from a slime monster before he could even handle it himself? Midoriya. Who managed to get into U.A. despite being a quirkless loser? Midoriya. Who inherited a quirk from their mutual hero, and after getting close to him like when they were children had the fucking audacity to just leave without talking to him? You guessed it. Fucking Midoriya Izuku. So it shouldn’t have come to a surprise that one of the worst mornings the Omegan pro hero had in years was tied to him. He woke up late, having slept through his 3 alarm clocks. He burnt his rice, despite using a rice cooker. He forgot his bento, and had to rely on onigiri that was somehow soggy from the shady konbini next to his agency for lunch. Hell, he even ended up bumbling on a villain call during morning patrol. Katsuki prided himself on being a successful hero despite being an Omega. In fact, as far as he was concerned, he was ten times better than all those Alpha or Beta extras out there. But that fact didn’t stop the media and villains alike looking down on him for his subgender. Though he never had confirmed it, sometime during his debut as Dynamight there was a leak that he was an Omega. As a result, all his interviews tended to lead towards those types of questions. And today was no different.
“Dynamight ! Dynamight ! Do you have any comment on the rumor about you being an Omega? And if so, do you think that being an unmated Omega has affected your hero performance and ability to think clearly when dealing with an Alpha villain? What about the thought that you're a hindrance to your Alpha fellow heroes?”
“You want to know what I really think? I think you can go fu-”
“Sorry!! We don’t have time for interviews at this time! We need to get back to our agency to fill out a report!”
His Alpha partner, and the closest thing Katsuki could begrudgingly call a best friend Kirishima interrupted him before he could finish his statement, throwing an arm around Katsuki and squeezing his shoulder tightly in warning. Katsuki scoffed, and openly sneered at the reporter who was too busy making goo goo eyes at the red headed hero to see it. As they strolled away Kirishima tried to release a little bit of his scent, even though he was wearing top grade A scent blockers like they all did. Katsuki was reluctantly comforted by it, allowing the faint metallic scent to calm him down. It wasn’t exactly what he needed, but he appreciated the thought of his ever patient packmate.
“You gotta’ get better with them dude! You know they’re just looking for gossip.”
“Fuck their gossip. Shouldn’t they be worried about the three fucking civilians who got hurt?”
He shrugged uneasily in response, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, bro. If they knew you like we did, your subgender wouldn’t even be a part of their questions. You’re one of the strongest heroes we have! There’s a reason you’re in the top 10.”
Katsuki snorted in response, his signature smirk twisting up his lips. Damn straight they wouldn’t be. Katsuki was hot shit, and knew it too. He didn’t need any childish reporter or even his partner telling him.
“Oh… How are you feeling about tomorrow?”, Kirishima asked with concern.
Katsuki looked at Kirishima in confusion. “The hell you talking about, shitty hair?” Kirishima rolled his eyes like Katsuki was an idiot, but Katsuki couldn’t think of anything. He knew that after tomorrow he and several other heroes had the following Saturday off, but Katsuki planned to do what he normally did: work out and relax at home. Maybe get some shopping and laundry done.
“It won’t go away if you ignore it bro. Midoriya’s finally coming back to Japan. I figured you would be… interested in that. I still remember how hard it was for you when he left. I mean it was for all of us, but not like you.”
Kirishima kept talking, but Katsuki couldn’t hear anything but static. He felt his heartbeat speed up, as delicate tendrils of some undefined feeling gripped his heart. What the fuck? What the absolute fuck?! That fucking nerd really had the balls to come back after 5 fucking years?? Shortly after he had left UA, Deku faced off in an epic battle against All for One and Shiragaki that had razed half the city, and left him damn near dead. In order to recuperate (and probably move on from the sole mission the damn idiot had), All Might had taken him to America. It was only supposed to be until he healed up, but it had been years. And now the piece of shit was coming back? And why didn’t he know? Ok, maybe he tended to cut off whomever was talking when that name came up, and he refused to be a part of the old class group chat. The text messages were incessant. Can you blame him for putting it on silent? But this is something he’s sure his friends would have shoved down his throat. Unless they purposely waited to catch him off guard? What the hell would be the point of that?
And why would he even care? And so what if he didn’t follow Deku on any social media like the rest of the fuckin’ extras? Did he go out of his way to ask him to? No. So fuck that. He could care less about what the fuck he had been up to. So what if he came back. That had nothing to do with him. And so what if his absence had thrown his Omega into one of the worst states he’d ever had since his first heat when he presented? It was something he still didn’t like to talk about. In fact, only Kirishima, Aizawa, and Recovery Girl had any knowledge of the “incident”. He shook his head angrily. Deku chose to leave, not him. He wasn’t about to go lick his boots like Kirishima seemed ready to do. He interrupted whatever Kirishima was saying with an excuse about taking the rooftops back to their agency, and blasted upwards without waiting for a response. As he scaled rooftop after rooftop, he allowed his mind to wander. He still remembered the day that shitty Deku presented as an Alpha. And not just an alpha at that. No, Deku went from a quirkless potentially Beta loser to the welder of One For All and one of the strongest Dominant Alphas in their school.
It had been right around the time he got his quirk. Recovery Girl handled his presentation personally, and believed that due to the quirk related changes in his body, his subgender was forced out. Before that, it was believed he was a Beta though he always seemed to have a faint scent of something he couldn’t quite place to Katsuki. Unfortunately, they all wore scent blockers during training, a future requirement of them as future heroes so it was a while before he was able to identify his scent. It was after the school festival.
All of them were in the locker rooms, changing. He had grown used to the Alpha scents of Kirishima, and Half and Half, the other two Alphas in their class besides Deku. The softer Omega smells of Kaminari, swirled in the air as well, and Katsuki’s inner Omega was content to bask in the scents of his pack, though he would choke on a knot before admitting that. Even the clean Beta scents of Iida and Sero were pleasant to him. Deku was still absent, probably off somewhere talking to All Might, not that he cared. So fucking what if he had been worried about him after his fight with Half and Half? So what if he had snuck away to check in on him, face burning with shame when he chickened out and went back to the stadium?
He had made his way to the showers, taking longer than was necessary to bathe. He was still pissed that Todoroki hadn’t gone all out on him during their final match. Did he think he wasn’t as strong as Deku?? If that nerd could handle it, then there was no way in Hell that he couldn’t have! He was twice as strong as that nerd was! Or was he going easy on him because he was a Omega? A part of him knew that couldn’t be it; Todoroki wasn’t the type. He was still trying to figure it out as the water began to run cold. Shutting off the shower, he grabbed a towel, taking his time since he knew the rest of his classmates were long gone. All of a sudden he was hit with a scent so strong he felt his knees shake. It was like someone had released the very essence of the forest in the air. Scents of pine, and wildflowers laced with sandalwood and something sharp like eucalyptus. It was so undeniably Alpha that his inner Omega was practically whining at him to track down the source and claim it for his own. He felt himself slicking up and his own pheromones began pumping out before he was able to make a conscious effort to rein them in. He bit the inside of his cheek as hard as he could and held his breath to try and clear his head. He practically ran out of the shower room, the smell getting stronger as he made his way to the locker room. Forcing himself to slow down, he turn the corner to see-
“Deku??” he couldn’t help shouting incredulously. The source of that mouth watering smell was this fucking nerd who couldn’t even use his quirk without destroying his body??
He was sitting on the bench, his emerald green eyes going wide at Katsuki’s outburst before he sheepishly smiled.
“Hi Kacchan. I, I see everyone’s already headed back. Probably for dinner. I was about to shower, but it’s kinda’ hard with two injured arms.”
He let out an awkward laugh here, but Katsuki didn’t respond. Instead, he felt his scowl deepen. Deku looked down at his feet before trying again.
“You were first place! Just like you said. Con-congrats on that.”
“Shut up,” he snarled out. “It was a shitty win. It doesn’t even count.” Deku just got that stupid, sympathetic look on his face, and it took all of Katsuki’s self control not to blast him on the spot. He must have sensed his rising anger because he stopped talking, and just resumed struggling to take off his shirt. Forcing himself to turn away, Katsuki went back to his own locker and dressed, ignoring the tension in the air. He heard the shower start, and turned to see that Deku had already left for the shower room, leaving the locker room full of his potent pheromones. The omega in Bakugou actually felt a little let down that Deku hadn’t responded to his scent. Fresh from the shower, Bakugou knew he would smell the strongest, but he hadn’t even batted an eye. He was a shitty Omega, unable to appeal to such a strong, virile Alpha. He growled, moreso at himself than Deku. He knew he was a prime Omega. That nerd just had bad taste. But his smell… Bakugou couldn’t help wondering how nice it would be to roll in a nest saturated with that scent. How his heats could be so much better with an Alpha that delicious. Spontaneously, and without stopping to allow himself to think, he ran over to Deku’s open locker and grabbed the sweaty sports uniform he had changed out of, throwing it into his bag underneath his own clothes before he left. For the next few days, he avoided Deku, praying that the nerd didn’t suspect him of stealing his uniform. If he had noticed, he never mentioned it to him or his friends.
Bakugou stormed through the front doors of Endeavor Agency, opting for the stairs instead of the elevator to avoid people. Shortly after they had graduated, Todoroki’s dad had made his plans about passing the agency into his son’s hands after he retired known, though he was still active in a lot of the decisions. At the moment, Hawks was pretty much in command, while Half and Half sat in on a lot of business negotiations. He wasn’t sure how he let that bastard convince him to join up, but he figured working at the agency of the current number 1 hero Endeavor couldn’t hurt his future career. And after they leveled out, Half and Half wasn’t all bad. At least when the Beta kept his mouth shut. Ever loyal, Kirishima followed him there even though Fat Gum had been after him since his internship. When he had told Bakugou his decision, sharp teeth bared in a huge grin, Bakugou had given him a quick one armed hug. Mina, unable to split from them, came too. The Beta and Kirishima had spent most of 3rd year playing an awkward flirting game until Bakugou had gotten fed up, and locked them in a room together. Mina was ecstatic with the idea that the “BakuSquad” would be coworkers. She had proposed matching uniforms,and it had taken Bakugou threatening to throw her entire makeup collection in a river to get her to drop the idea. Kaminari and Sero ended up at Fat Gum’s, with Iida and Uraraka at Nighteye’s. Though Lemillion was in charge after Nighteye’s death, they kept the name out of honor for him.
Thanking the powers that be that he was able to make it to his and Kirishima’s office without meeting any sidekicks or extras, he took off his gauntlets before he opened up the internet. Not to look for any mention of Deku returning to Japan he told himself. Of course since he immediately went to a Hero news website, it was hard to pretend. Sure enough, however, the main feature of the site was an article titled “The Beginning of a New Era? Hero Deku to Return and Debut in Japan After Epic Defeat of All for One, and Work in America.” The journalist had found an image from an American site of Deku midfight, his limbs alight with the green lightning that signaled the usage of his quirk. His face was set in fierce determination, eyes narrowed almost to slits. The picture didn’t do justice to the loser’s green eyes or freckles. He scrolled through the article, skimming for information. It mainly detailed his heroics in America, and compared them with what he had accomplished during the sports festival, and his various run-ins with villains before he disappeared with All Might overseas.
Bakugou scoffed at the article. Getting up, he made sure the door was locked before he made his way back to his desk. He hit print quickly before he changed his mind, and cleared his browser history before exiting the site. He grabbed the printed article from the machine, glaring at it as if it was its fault, before folding up the still warm paper and shoving it deep inside his duffel bag. He could feel his face burn in embarrassment while his Omega cooed, satisfied. Ever since Deku left for America, Bakugou had found himself collecting articles about his exploits. It had happened when he was in preheat the same year Deku had left. His Omega wasn’t satisfied with just the clothing he had stolen from Deku over the years that he kept in ziplock bags he kept locked in the bottom drawer of his desk. No, it had wanted to know about his life on top of that. And so what should have been a one time thing had become a bit of an obsession he hadn’t even told Kirishima about. He did know about the stolen clothing, but that had only been because he walked in on Bakugou rummaging through Deku’s locker. He had to shake his head at the irony. He felt like the nerd with his stupid hero analysis notebooks.
He unlocked the door before sitting back down and doing his best to look innocent. Grabbing his phone, he finally decided to delve into the warzone that was the group chat to see if there was anything about Deku’s return. Sighing at the 20 messages in the “Bakusquad” chat, and the 60 new messages from this morning alone in the UA group chat. And of course all 60 were about Deku’s arrival. Well, 58 if you minus’d the cat pictures sent by Dunce Face who swore they looked like Glasses. The main messengers were Iida, Half n Half, and Round Cheeks. They seemed to be in charge of planning the surprise party for Deku upon his arrival, a joint affair between their three agencies. Bakugou snorted. Of course Round Cheeks was trying. He knew she still held a candle for Deku and was hoping to rekindle their short lived flirtatious relationship from high school. He ignored the snarl his Omega wanted to let out at the thought. So what if Bakugou liked Deku’s smell? He didn’t want a mate like him, let alone a mate at all. Besides that, Deku was clearly not interested in him,nor was he in him. They were former friends and classmates. Nothing more, nothing less. He debated skipping the party. He knew better than any of these extras that Deku wouldn't be in the partying mood his first night back. Chances are he just wanted to quietly arrive, and go home to spend the night with Auntie Inko. Since his own mother and Inko were close friends, he had seen her a bit over the years. A small, nervous Omega, she had constantly stayed in a state of worry since Deku’s departure, and his mother being an Alpha herself, had taken it upon herself to take care of her. She was probably in the process of planning her own welcome home party. He felt a small wave of sympathy for her before forcing all thoughts of Deku’s return out of his head in exchange for opening his work emails.
It didn’t take long for him to slip into work mode. Bakugou was nothing short of a professional. Besides, it was easier to occupy his fingers with typing responses rather than trying to figure out what time any plans coming in from America would arrive. He almost didn’t hear Kirishima enter the office, which was a feat in itself given the loud clop of his boots. He heard him plop down in his squeaky office chair, and did his best not to grit his teeth at his silence. Normally a nonstop talker, the only times Kirishima was quiet was when he was stuffing his face, or trying to find a way to approach what he deemed an “incoming explosion causing topic”.
“Just spit it out, Shitty Hair”, Bakugou demanded without looking up from his screen. He was struggling with finding a way to respond to yet another HR email about his interviews that didn’t involve sentences with multiple f-bombs throughout. “I ain’t got all day for you to try and string together two words.”
Kirishima let out an awkward laugh. “It’s just, well I know the news from early on seemed to come as a shock.”
Bakugou snorted in response. Yeah, a fucking shock alright. He had felt like he had gotten hit with one of Dunce Faces’ zaps.
“Well it is on his social media…. And,…. I, I wanted to tell you, but Mina thought if we told you in advance, you’d find a way to come up with a good excuse not to go. And it wasn’t like I could tell her about, you know. Not that I ever would! She may be my girlfriend, but you’re my bro. Your secrets are my secrets. Well not maybe that. Pretty sure I told Mina all my secrets. Even the one about my two week crush on Aizawa. So maybe it’s better to just say your secrets are safe with me.”
Bakugou finally sat back in his seat with a sigh. He could already feel a headache forming behind his eyes. All he wanted to do was change out of his uniform, go for a jog, and pass out in his bed after a shower. He didn’t want to think about shitty Deku or his return, even if it was during a heat. Hell, he didn’t even want to think about him then either! It wasn’t like his stash even held the Alpha’s scent anymore. It had been too many years since it had been scented, and even the plastic bags hadn’t preserved it. However, his Omega was also so knot thirsty during his heats that it didn’t seem to care. It seemed that just having the clothing coupled with the heat aids were enough to keep most of his sanity and stronger symptoms calmed. That is, when he let himself have one. Usually at the first sign of preheat, Bakugou, much to his doctor’s disapproval, took strong suppressants. He’s a hero. He doesn’t have time for shitty heat cycles, especially with how strong his is.
Ever since he first presented, Bakugou’s heats were unusually long and unusually tough. Instead of just 4 days, he would be out of it for a minimum of 7, not including his preheat. His cramping and desire to breed would veer on the side of painful to the point where he would black out sometimes. His doctor thought having a steady Alpha would help with it, but the one time he tried to have someone spend his heat with him had ended in disaster. For some reason, the second the Alpha had touched his nest, a primal part of his Omega had interpreted as a threat. So instead of wanting to present and breed, he wanted to attack and maim. Luckily, for the Alpha, there was no lasting damage and he was able to leave the apartment only slightly mangled. After that, he tried with a Beta with much of the same results. Bakugou never sought help with his heat again. He had never gotten secure enough with anyone to allow them to spend a heat with him, and though he did have a handful of hook ups in the past, he never took anyone home again. It was usually just a quick hook up in a club bathroom, or a love hotel. None of his hook up’s were ever satisfying, and he soon became comfortable with just himself and a nice size dildo to get the job done. And if said dildo happened to be a custom made Hero Deku dildo, well that was no one else’s fucking business.
Bakugou let Kirishima’s voice filter to white noise in the background. He really didn’t want to go to this party. Given the fact that it was between 3 agencies who were all trying to get Deku to join coupled with the fact that it was his homecoming, there was no way this was going to be some casual bar affair. No, if he knew his fellow former classmates, he was sure they had rented out a hall. Possibly all on Endeavour’s dime even if he didn’t know it. He also knew that because of that, he would get an annoying lecture about being a “team player” and “being personal”. A large part of him was tempted to plead with Kirishima to come up with an excuse of why he couldn’t make it. He instantly shot down that idea. He wasn’t a coward who was afraid to see some shitty nerd. Sure, Deku was a good hero, he was willing to admit that. That didn’t mean he wasn’t the same useless nerd from his childhood. And when he saw him in person, he was sure this stupid little infatuation would be over. With that resolve, he waited until there was a lull in Kirishima’s rambling.
“Oi,” he said as if continuing a conversation. “There better be good whiskey there. None of that cheap stuff.”
Kirishima looked a bit confused before he got it. Breaking out into a wide (and annoyingly knowing) grin, he nodded his head.
“Only the finest for our Dynamight .”
Of course he was already irritated before he entered the hotel for stupid Deku’s return party. After a day of work that dragged on way too long,he had refused Kirishima’s offer to pregame and get ready at his apartment with the others. Instead, he stood in front of his closet for an hour, and questioned everything he had ever bought or worn. Yeah, he didn’t give a fuck about Deku’s return. But that didn’t mean he would show up looking less than perfect. Finally, he settled on a dark red silk dress shirt that had the barest hint of gray threading around the collar and sleeves. Tucked into form fitting gray dress pants, he forewent accessories, and any scent blockers. Most of them never really wore them outside of work, and intermingled so often that not only did they know each other’s subgenders, but scents as well.
They had managed to keep any paparazzi from getting wind of the get together by leaking false information, so it would be a few hours before they were found out. Parking his black SUV in the underground garage, he pulled up his pea coat a little tighter around his neck. It was hitting late October, and the nights had finally started to get the subtle bite of chill in the air. Bakugou fucking hated being cold. Well, with a sweat based quirk, he had to work harder in the winter and it pissed him off. Plus, being cold just blew for someone who always ran so hot. Making his way to the elevator, he tried to ignore the thumping in his heart when hit the lobby, and followed the signs that pointed to the ballroom where the party was being held. He could already hear the music through the door. Doing his best to school his features into a sneer, he opened the door. It was definitely as crowded as he thought it would be. There was no way Deku, Japan’s soon to be sweetheart could make a return to Japan and not have every extra in the fucking city there to try and ride his coattails. As he made his way to the coat room, he even saw some former students from their alma mater UA. After he hung up his jacket, he sent a quick text to Kirishima letting him know he was here. Almost as if on cue, he was enveloped in a sweaty hug from all sides.
“BAKUBRO!!!!! YOU MADE IT!!!!”
“Get the fuck off of me, you fuckin’ idiots!” Pushing his way out of the group hug, he glared at all of his friends, snorting when he realized they were all already drunk. Sero’s bangs looked sweaty and clung to his forehead, Kaminari had a tie that definitely wasn’t his tied around his forehead, Kirishima’s wrinkled shirt was wet with sweat, and Mina’s shoes were missing despite her seeming unable to walk properly. The group took his anger all in stride and laughed as they jostled him to the bar. It was sleek, and done up in complementary shades of black and grey. Next to it was an extensive sushi buffet set on crushed ice and a hot buffet with food kept fresh with lids and sternos. Bakugou was sure it all tasted great, but he couldn't even shake the taste of ash that kept lingering in the back of his throat.
“Bro! We thought for sure you would come up with an excuse and not show!” Kaminari practically yelled. “You get so weird when Midoriya’s involved. Still on that rivalry, eh?”
“Who the fuck gives a shit about Deku or some rivalry. There’s no way he’s gonna’ get to number one, regardless of where the fuck he was.”
Mina let out a condescending sigh, as she waved to the shaggy brown haired bartender attending a guest at the other side. “Sure. You care nothing about cute little Midoriya even though you wore one of your fancy shirts, and even showed up reeking of stress.”
“The fuck you know about my scent, Raccoon Face? Your shitty Beta nose couldn’t even pick up the rotting food in the fuckin’ breakroom fridge.” She just laughed.
“In my defense, that was because I had a bet going with Kirishima about how long we could leave it in there before Todoroki had a meeting about proper breakroom cleaning habits, and if Sero and me can pick up on it, then you must be smelling pretty rank, dude.”
Sero nodded hard in agreement. “Bakugou, I love and respect you and your feelings and all that, but I’m trying to get some female Alpha tail, and I won’t hesitate to tape you to the ceiling if you stop me from getting pegged tonight.”
The group all stopped talking to look at him.
“Hey, don’t kink shame me! I happen to know some of your dirty secrets too.” He turned to glare particularly hard at Kaminari who turned red, and held his hands up.
“No judgment here. And no need for threats.” Bakugou made a mental note to come back to that, but was more concerned with getting a drink from the bartender who had finally made his way over to them. He made a beeline for Bakugou’s sight, basically ignoring his friends.
“What can I get you, Mr. Dynamight , sir?” he asked, a wide suggestive smile on his face.
Bakugou barely had time to grunt out “double whiskey straight” before Mina’s screech shattered his ear drums.
“MIDORIYA’S HERE!!!!!!” She raced off, Kaminari and Sero hot on her tail. Kirishima was about to dart off, then stopped. He spared a glance at Bakugou, and gripped his shoulder.
“Hey. I can hang back here with you. I’m ok with waiting to say hi.” Bakugou forced himself to shrug nonchalantly.
“I’m fine, Shitty Hair. Go say hi to the stupid nerd.” Realizing that Bakugou wanted to handle it on his own, he nodded his head before letting out a quick burst of calming pheromones. Without another word, he made his way off, buzzing with excitement.
“Here’s your drink. Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be waiting over there,” the bartender said with a wink. Bakugou didn’t even spare him a glance or an answer. Deku had just come into his view.
And holy shit, what a view. The first thing Bakugou noticed was just how much taller he had gotten. He probably still had him by a few inches, but he seemed to have shot up while he was away. The second thing he noticed was his eyes. Never in his life had Bakugou ever been able to find a green to describe Deku’s wide eyes. Even from here, they seemed to glow with an unearthly light as if One For All was constantly humming through them. He couldn’t tell much about his body. He was wearing a puffy bright yellow jacket, and a thick plaid scarf. With a surge of irritation, he realized that from his distance he couldn't make out the freckles that had haunted his dreams. All of a sudden, he was hit with an intense urge to get closer. He wanted to smell Deku's all encompassing scent. He wanted to search his body to see if he had gotten any more scars. To see if his face and body had gained anymore of his beautiful freckles. Had his voice changed? What about his smile? Did he still think of him as ‘Kacchan’? A painful sensation shot through his chest, and he grabbed his whiskey. Downing it in one go, he relished the burning that shot down his throat. Setting down his glass with more force than necessary, he forced his feet to move, and went for the wide glass bay doors catty cornered behind the food. Telling himself he wasn’t running away, he escaped outside to the courtyard.
Surrounded by high concrete walls, the courtyard seemed to wrap around the sides of the hotel. Decorated with random flower bushes and tall oak trees, there was a cobblestone path lit by lowlights, and several benches scattered along the trail and in the foliage. The heady scent of jasmine and roses hung in the air. Despite the cold, Bakugou felt relieved. He hadn’t thought that merely being in the same room as Deku after all this time would have this effect on him. He had foolishly thought that he would have a glimpse of him and feel nothing. He snorted at himself, for once quite unsure of where to go from here. Shoving his hands into his pockets for warmth, he took his time strolling down the path until he found a bench that was off the trail. Placed behind a giant evergreen tree, it was actually quite hidden from the main trail. Bakugou sat down on it, ignoring the way the cold concrete bit through his thin pants. He would only stay here for about 10 minutes, he reasoned. Just long enough for the Deku arrival brigade to break apart, and his lack of greeting to not be a point of gossip. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone to scroll through a few games, periodically activating his quirk to hit up his hands. He wasn't sure how long he had been out there before he heard the sound of the doors sliding. Not in the mood for any of his friends, he shuffled backwards to conceal himself further behind the giant tree.
He made out the shape of Deku now jacketless, his dark blue dress shirt stretched tight over his broad shoulders, and a bubbly Uraraka smiling at him nervously. Bakugou felt a snarl creep over his face. Of course she couldn’t wait for the first chance to shoot her shot. Couldn’t even let the nerd enjoy his own freakin’ party before she pounced. They sat down on one of the benches closer to the door, their voices just a murmur. He was unable to make out what they were talking about, but he saw Uraraka’s hand on Deku’s knee. The two talked a bit longer, sharing a laugh or two before they both stood. Exchanging a long hug, Uraraka headed back inside while Deku stayed. He turned, and Bakugou could swear he was glancing towards his hiding spot. There’s no way he could see him, and he had been out here too long for his scent to still linger by the entryway, so why was Deku currently strolling down the path towards him? Suddenly Bakugou felt unable to look up, and in an effort to look unbothered, he focused on the space in front of his feet. He smelt Deku before he saw him, and he almost cried at how wonderful he smelled after all these years. Just as sharp and dominating as when he first felt him. He fought against his body to keep from releasing his own pleased pheromones, though his Omega was thrashing at the bit.
“Kacchan? What are you doing out here?” His voice sounded so good after all these years that he couldn’t stop the purr that split out. He tried to cover it with a cough, and hoped Deku was still oblivious to everything. God, his voice had become deeper, and hearing his nickname come from that mouth for the first time in forever was proving too much. He still refused to look up.
“ S’not like I can’t be, shitty Deku. Shouldn’t you be at your lame ass party? Or curled back up with Round Cheeks?” He instantly cursed himself in his head. So much for subtlety. Deku let out an awkward chuckle.
“You saw that, huh?” Bakugou grunted in response. He could hear Deku shuffling side to side. Impulsive, he scooted over on the bench. Deku murmured out a ‘thanks’ before taking a seat. Bakugou could feel his body heat, and flinched a bit when his knee brushed against his own. They sat in silence for a moment, neither knowing exactly what to say.
“I turned her down. She said she wanted to try and date, but…” Bakugou fought the urge to let his shoulders sag in relief. He didn’t give a fuck what went on with him and Round Cheeks, so why…
“Besides,” Deku continued as if there was a conversation going on. “Her scent is too… sweet for me. Not sure why, but I’ve always liked heavier scents.”
Bakugou felt his head snap up almost without his knowledge, finally making eye contact with Deku. His heart tugged painfully at just how handsome he looked. His face was narrower than it had been before, though his cheeks still stubbornly held on to their roundness. His freckles seemed to have multiplied, and Bakugou felt the urge to press his lips to the ones that scattered across his button nose. Even his hair was different. Sheared shorter on the side and the back, his signature forest green curls were still piled high on the top. His eyes shone brighter than the stars and seemed to pull him in. This is why he didn’t want to look at him; he knew that after all these years, he wouldn't be able to look away. Normally he would have felt a stirring of anger at this fact, but he felt none. Just the overwhelming urge to both look away and never take his eyes off of him again. He was quite sure that if he did, Deku would disappear again.
Deku searched his face for something, chewing on his bottom lip. He must have found it because he broke out in a hopeful smile.
“I’m glad to be back,” he muttered. Bakugou tch’d, dropping his eyes again to stare at Deku’s twisting hands in his lap.
“Took ya’ long enough. Thought you forgot all about us.” Deku let out a chuckle that went straight through Bakugou.
“As if I could forget any of you, Kacchan! Especially you. I still have to beat you, remember?” Bakugou felt more in control with the current direction of the conversation. He smirked at Deku.
“Yeah right. Like you’d ever beat me. Once a shitty nerd, always a shitty nerd. Especially with my new moves and updated gauntlets. You’ll be beggin’ for mercy before I’m done with ya’.”
“You’re on, Kacchan. I’ve gotten some new moves of my own, too. I was able to get new quirks with One For All. Maybe, maybe we can spar together sometime soon? Like old times?”
Bakugou made a noncommittal noise. “You figure out which agency you’re gonna’ join?” Deku’s face twisted up. “Honestly, no. It seems like everyone is asking me. Which is flattering, but confusing. Even Gang Orca’s asking. Todoroki’s the only one not putting much pressure on me. Speaking of which, you work with him now?”
Bakugou shrugged. “Made the most sense. Half n Half ain’t so bad lately. Plus his dad’s the number 1 hero still, even if he is full of shit and looks down on Omegas. Seemed the best route to get what I want.” Deku looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Bakugou needed to get out of there. Despite being outside, it seemed like Deku’s scent seemed to swirl around his head, and ensnare his senses. He felt almost drunk on it, and had to fight himself from shoving his nose against his scent gland to inhale more. He stood up abruptly, causing Deku to startle a bit before he let out an “oh” and jumped up too.
“Sorry, Kacchan! You must be cold. I didn’t mean to keep you.” Bakugou shrugged off his concern and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I’m fine, nerd. All Might come with you?” He started strolling back towards the doors, not bothering to look behind him to see if Deku followed.
“No, he’s actually at my mom’s, if you can believe it. I think something’s going on there, but I’m too afraid to ask.” Bakugou barked out a laugh. “ That’s something, alright.”
Deku let out a dramatic sigh ruined by his laughter. They walked in silence until they reached the door. Ready to be far away from this situation (and calm down his racing heart), Bakugou immediately reached for the handle only to be stopped by Deku’s scarred hand. He startled, and though he wasn’t completely sure of Deku’s hand on his, he couldn’t find it in himself to shake him off. It felt so good to have his hand touching his. And it would be so easy to just turn his hand over, and grip those fingers with his. He hated that thought, and even hated it more after looking into Deku’s wide, doe eyes, so green and so captivating.
“I… I really missed you, you know.” Deku seemed to take a deep breath, as if he was finding courage within himself.
“Kacchan…. I’m home, Kacchan.”
Deku bit his lip, uncertainty and tears shining through his beautiful green eyes. Bakugou’s lip turned up in a snarl, but there was no real heat behind it. After all these years, he was still such a damn crybaby. He wanted to bat his hand away. Wanted to scream at him for leaving him alone for 5 fucking years. Wanted to ask why. Why wasn’t he good enough to keep? Why was he the only one who seemed to be having their foundation shaken and rebuilt? Why hadn’t he reacted to his scent in the locker room? Instead, he was quiet for a beat before responding with a simple “Welcome home, nerd.” Deku squeezed his hand hard, and gave him such a hopeful smile that Bakugou was in a daze. That smile stayed in his head for the rest of the night. Through turning down an overly pushy bartender. Through Mina dancing on top of a table. Through the multiple rejections Sero faced. Even through seeing a very rumpled Kaminari with a shirt missing buttons exiting the bathroom shame faced with a Shinsou Hitoshi not far behind. It lasted until he made his goodbyes and hastily shoved a plaid scarf into the pocket of his coat before he left.