Chapter Text
Izuku is paused at the door, trying to decide if he wants to turn around and walk downstairs back to his room or open it and throw himself into a night of laughing and talking with his new friends.
The door belongs to Uraraka and Asui, this is their dorm room, and they apparently don't care that everyone invited to hang out has class tomorrow. There's no occasion, it's the first Thursday night of the semester. Just friends from class, friends from mandatory freshman meetups hanging out for the sake of getting to know each other. Everyone is new right now, and Izuku knows that attending gatherings like this one is a good way to make sure he doesn’t get left behind. It's not going to be wild, it'll be tasteful. Low-key. But still.
Izuku is absolutely not looking forward to his 6:00am wake-up alarm, or to his 8:00am biology lecture, but the fact that he’s standing here at all means he’s already subconsciously made his decision.
He takes a deep breath, smooths the hem of his t-shirt, and tries in vain to fix his hair. He can hear muffled voices through the door. He steadies himself, and he knocks.
Uraraka opens the door almost immediately, revealing a room that looks exactly like all the other freshman dorms do, with the exception of personal belongings. There are two desks, two beds, two standing closets, two dressers, and two sinks, split evenly down the middle of the room. The beds have been propped up on cinder blocks with the help of the desks and the dressers, creating the illusion of more space, which is good, because there are entirely too many people crammed into the small space.
“Hey! You made it!” Uraraka’s greeting is warm and sincere. Izuku almost balks. He’s not used to people being so pleased to see him.
“Yeah, uh, hi!” He replies. He smiles at her and she smiles right back. She opens the door wider and steps aside to let him in. He really hopes he was the last to arrive because the air is already stuffy and there aren’t very many places to sit.
He scans the faces of the other people in the room. He recognizes a few from around campus, and he’s pretty sure the boy with red hair is in his sociology class, and next to him…
Bakugou had said he was busy tonight, that he had studying to do. That was the only reason Izuku hadn’t been able to drag him along for support. But, there he is, sandwiched between the wall and the red-haired boy, who is talking about something to do with workout routines with all the enthusiasm and energy in the world. Izuku has no idea why he’s here, and his confusion must show on his face because Uraraka speaks up from beside him.
“Is everything alright?” she says, voice laced with concern. Izuku blinks.
“Oh! Oh yeah, I’m just-” he’s interrupted by Bakugou’s long-suffering sigh, but he continues. “-wondering why Kacchan lied to me. I mean, seriously.”
Bakugou looks like he’s about to murder him, but Izuku isn’t worried. If it was going to happen, it would have happened a long time ago. Uraraka looks confused by the display, but Asui, who is sitting up high on one of the beds, seems to have connected the dots.
“How do you two know each other?”
“We went to the same school. That’s all,” Bakugou snaps. Izuku rolls his eyes.
Dramatic as always.
“What Kacchan means to say is that we’re best friends. We’ve known each other since we were toddlers. We’re super close and he’s never been mad at me even a little bit and I pulled him out of a river one time so he’s indebted to me forever and-”
“Oh my god, shut up, you’re such a little fucking-”
“Finish that sentence and I’ll tell your mom how you actually broke her KitchenAid mixer,” Izuku threatens. Bakugou narrows his eyes.
“This is why I bullied you in middle school. You’re insufferable,” he retorts. Izuku has half a mind to be offended. He would be if he and Bakugou hadn’t sorted their baggage out in their second year of high school. They’ve spent the last year and a half getting back to the place they were when they were little, and Izuku is more than grateful for it.
“Ouch, I’m hurt,” he says drily. “I can’t believe you would say something so mean. No, really, I think I’d better just leave now-”
“Shut the fuck up and sit down,” Bakugou says. Izuku smirks before he realizes that the entire room has been watching their conversation with interest.
“Uh,” a boy with yellow hair with a black lightning bolt-shaped streak through it says. “What was that ?”
“I have no idea,” a girl with pink hair and dark eyes says. “But it was hilarious so I don’t care.”
“Mind your business,” Bakugou grumbles.
“Kacchan,” Izuku says weakly. “Don’t be rude.”
“I’ll be rude if I want to be, Deku.”
Izuku frowns, before replying, “I mean I know that, but still. Why are you here, anyway? I thought you were going to be busy studying and going to bed at 8 pm.”
“Shitty hair here,” Bakugou gestures toward the red-haired boy, who greets Izuku with an energetic wave, “wouldn’t stop knocking on my door until I said I’d come down. I texted you, but your phone is dead. Again.”
Izuku nods, satisfied with that answer, even if he is a little miffed that Bakugou acquiesced to a stranger and not him. He has the good sense to look slightly guilty about his phone, he knows it bothers Bakugou when he can’t get ahold of him via text. His hearing aids make phone calls difficult, and without being able to read lips to fill in the gaps, he much prefers texting.
“Are you two like… good? Bakugou looks like he’s about to set you on fire,” says the blonde boy from before. Izuku blinks.
“Oh yeah, we’re fine,” he assures. “We’re just like this.”
“If I was going to set him on fire, you’d know.” Izuku nods sagely at Bakugou's disclaimer.
“And even then- it’s not a big deal, it’s happened before,” Izuku says. “Twice, actually.”
The boy looks like he wants to say something, but Bakugou’s glare seems to deter it and he lets it go instead.
“Should we do introductions?” Uraraka says from beside Izuku.
“Sure! I’m Kaminari,” says the blonde boy. “What’s your name?”
“Oh, uh, I’m Midoriya,” Izuku says. “Nice to meet you!”
They go around the room like that, introducing themselves. It’s comfortable, but the air is charged and uncertain. Everyone is trying to find their place, and it’s clear that even the most confident among them has no idea where that might be.
“I’m Mina!”
“Call me ‘Tsu,’” says Tsu from above.
“I’m Kirishima!” says the boy Bakugou’s sitting with.
“Bakugou,” Bakugou says with a scowl after Kirishima nudges him.
Uraraka introduces herself again, and a boy with dark blue hair is introduced as Iida. After that’s done, Izuku finds himself on the floor between Iida and Kaminari as they start to explain their majors.
“I’m doing engineering and English,” Kaminari says. “Not super exciting, but I’m happy with it.”
“What kind of engineering?” Uraraka inquires. Kaminari pauses at that.
“You know, I’m not really sure. Still thinking about it.”
Bakugou scoffs from across the room.
“How are you still thinking about it? This is UA, we’re here to be the best, aren’t we?”
“Hey man,” Kaminari says defensively. “I’m not gonna put a ton of effort into something if I’m not sure it’s exactly what I wanna do. What about you, anyway?”
“I’m doing chemistry and physics,” Bakugou says as he sits up a little straighter. Kirishima whistles.
“Of course you are.” Bakugou’s scowl intensifies.
“What the fuck does that mean, Shitty Hair?”
“Nothing, I don’t-” Kirishima begins before Tsu cuts him off.
“What are you studying, Midoriya?”
“Oh, uh- I’m in the nursing program,” Izuku answers. “I also haven’t decided on a focus, yet, but you know, just. Something that helps people.”
“How the fuck are you friends with Bakugou,” Mina inquires. “You’re so nice, and he’s so-”
The night continues like that. They talk and trade stories and pleasantries and by the time Izuku grows tired and they say good night, he doesn’t feel like he’s sitting in a room of strangers at all.
Kirishima laughs, and Kaminari teases, Mina smiles, Bakugou scowls, and Izuku looks on and feels something warm behind his ribcage. Uraraka giggles, Iida shouts, Tsu observes with amusement, and Izuku looks on and feels something taking hold of his heart.
He’s in for a wild ride, he’s sure of it. He can’t wait for the things this year will bring.
Izuku’s 6:00am wake-up alarm and the other seven alarms he has set sequentially are just barely enough to get him up in time to meet Bakugou for breakfast at 7:00am. They walk together from the doors of the freshman dorm building to the campus center where the food service is located along with the campus store and the gift shop.
“Stop fucking doing that,” Bakugou says somewhere after the seventh time Izuku yawns.
“Kacchan,” he manages before he interrupts himself with another. “I can’t help it. I’m tired.”
“Get more sleep then, Deku.”
Izuku frowns in response.
“You were up just as late as I am, why aren’t you tired?”
“It’s called spite, try it some time,” Bakugou replies in a tone that leads Izuku to believe that he might actually think he’s being helpful. They walk a path lined with blooming cherry trees as they make their way toward the dining hall. By the time they reach the concrete steps, Izuku feels marginally more awake.
As they make their way through the first set of doors, someone shouts from behind them, causing them to pause.
“Hey!” Kirishima greets them from a little way down the path. He’s followed by Kaminari and a boy Izuku hasn’t seen before.
“Wait up!” he urges, jogging forward, leaving his companions behind. Kaminari lets out a sound that could only be described as betrayal, and Bakugou sighs heavily before turning to keep walking. Izuku holds out his arm to stop him.
Kirishima halts his run just before colliding with them, and his bright smile makes Izuku feel his fatigue a little less.
“Good morning,” Izuku says. “We’re on our way to breakfast, do you want to join us?”
Bakugou sighs heavily again but doesn’t protest Izuku’s invitation, which he takes as a good sign.
“Yeah, we’re headed that way too, so, we’d love to,” Kirishima replies. Kaminari and the other boy have caught up now, and are hovering behind him.
“Oh, this is Sero. He was asleep last night like a responsible person,” Kirishima says, gesturing to the dark-haired stranger.
“Nice to meet you,” Sero says, reaching forward to shake Izuku’s hand when it’s offered. “What are your names?”
“I’m Midoriya, and this is Bakugou,” Izuku replies.
“Are we going to go eat or what?” Bakugou huffs. Izuku laughs easily, he’s used to covering for Bakugou’s less than polite behavior. Sero doesn’t seem to take offense, though, he just cracks a smile.
“Yeah man, let’s go,” Kirishima says, and Izuku is beginning to realize that he really is just perpetually good-natured.
They make their way together into the dining hall, swipe their keycards at the door, and join various queues for different types of food after agreeing to sit at a large table near the drink station.
Izuku ends up bumping into Uraraka while contemplating the different cereals. She’s apparently not a morning person, because her greeting is a small wave that turns into stifling a yawn and a mangled attempt at “good morning.”
“Hi,” Izuku says in reply, trying not to laugh. “Good morning, do you want to sit with us?”
He gestures to the table where Bakugou and Kirishima have already found themselves with plates of food. Uraraka thinks for a moment before his words register, and she nods wordlessly before yawning again and wandering off towards them. He turns back to the cereal and ends up settling on something with way too much sugar before he joins them at the table.
Tsu and Iida have also found their way there, and Sero, Kaminari, and Mina wander over just as Izuku arrives. He sits next to Uraraka, who is attempting not to fall asleep into her cereal and is clutching a cup of coffee like it’s the only thing keeping her alive.
Two other girls wander over not long after and introduce themselves as Jirou and Momo, who Kaminari apparently met during small groups at orientation.
After he’s done with his breakfast, Izuku turns to face Uraraka, who looks considerably more awake now that she’s had her third cup of coffee.
“Uraraka-” Izuku begins before she cuts him off.
“You can call me Ochako,” she says earnestly.
“Are- are you sure?” he hesitates.
“Yeah, silly! Should I stick with Midoriya for you? Izuku? Deku?”
He thinks for a moment about Bakugou hearing another of their new friends calling him Deku and has to stifle his laughter. If anyone would be allowed to get away with it, it would definitely be Ura- Ochako.
“Whatever you feel like,” he says in reply. She smiles at him and flashes a thumbs up.
“Great. Anyway, what were you saying before?”
“Oh,” Izuku blinks as he tries to remember. “Oh! Right, I wanted to ask about your major. I really liked astronomy when I was a kid, so I thought we could-”
She squeals in obvious delight before he’s even finished talking.
“Yes! Yes I love astronomy, obviously, but still, I mean, I love talking about it with people,” she says with all the energy of a small sun. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Well, I mean-” he stutters over himself in the wake of such enthusiasm, especially in contrast to her disposition earlier. “What’s like… your favorite stuff about it?”
Her eyes light up.
“The things we know next to nothing about. Black holes. Dark matter, dark energy. Quasars. Things like that.”
Izuku nods, smiling.
“Tell me about it?” he prompts, and she does.
They talk all through the rest of breakfast, abandoned by their friends at the end of the table while the rest yell and trade insults and stories. They talk about space, and Ochako looks like she couldn’t be happier that she’s been given the opportunity to gush about her favorite thing in the universe. Izuku looks at her as she gestures wildly to explain the forces at play when black holes collide, and he thinks, not for the first time, that he really loves hearing people talk about their passions.
He’s always been good at asking questions to other people to make them feel involved, but asking people about their majors seems like a shortcut to the things they care about. Making other people happy makes him happy. It makes him feel like he’s doing something worth doing. He listens to Ochako talk about orbits, and gravity, and light, and time, and he resolves that he’s going to chase that feeling, hold it close to his chest, and never let it go.
Izuku and Bakugou have a handful of traditions, but none of them are as important to Izuku as going on long car drives for absolutely no reason. Bakugou is the one with a car, so he always drives, and Izuku is left in charge of the music. They drift listlessly through town and talk about everything and nothing.
Izuku had worried a bit that college would leave less time for that particular habit, but the first Saturday afternoon they have Bakugou shows up at Izuku’s dorm and bangs on his door demanding his presence in the common room in ten minutes so they can grab food and go everywhere and nowhere.
Izuku isn’t busy, he’s just been reviewing his Anatomy and Physiology syllabus, which is about a hundred times more complicated than necessary. He closes his laptop, stretches, waves goodbye to his roommate, Aoyama, and makes his way downstairs. Bakugou is sitting on one of the couches in the common area, scrolling on his phone when Izuku arrives.
“Hey,” he greets. “Ready to go?”
Bakugou nods wordlessly and leads the way out to the parking lot.
“So what’s up?” Izuku begins once they’re a few blocks from campus.
“I…” Bakugou hesitates. He looks like he wants to dodge the question but realizes that would be ridiculous because they’re on a drive, and drives are where conversations between them happen.
“Kirishima.” He says his name in a tone that has several underlying meanings, but Izuku is good enough at deciphering Bakugou’s less than helpful monologue, so he doesn’t have much trouble picking up on what he’s talking about. He hums lightly.
“Elaborate,” he says, although he’s sure he knows exactly where this is going.
“I don’t hate him,” Bakugou says with a huff. “I actually think I might like him, which doesn’t make any sense because he’s annoying and loud and way too nice, and I just…”
Pretty much exactly what Izuku had been expecting, then.
“And?” he prompts.
“I don’t know what to do about it!” Bakugou exclaims. “I don’t- I don’t do that.”
“Maybe you should,” Izuku suggests. “Maybe letting people get close to you wouldn’t actually be a terrible thing.”
Bakugou scowls as if he’s already written off the concept entirely.
“I can’t,” he pauses. “Well, I won’t. I don’t want to.”
“Are you sure?” Izuku asks. “Like, positive? ‘Cause if you are, why are we on a drive right now?”
Bakugou’s glare hardens, but he keeps his eyes on the road as they cruise around downtown. He’s gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles are white, a stark contrast to the black of his painted nails.
“Okay, well, here’s what I think,” Izuku begins. “You’re scared. You don’t like relying on people or asking for help. That’s alright, as long as you can realize that it’s dumb.”
Bakugou scoffs but doesn’t protest.
“That’s rich, coming from you.” Izuku reaches across the center console to swat him on the arm. Bakugou swats him back.
“This isn’t about me right now, this is about you,” Izuku reminds him. Bakugou grumbles something rude in response.
“Anyway- just keep talking to him, see where it goes. Don’t shut him out. And don’t ghost him, you absolute menace,” Izuku suggests, shuffling in his seat to find a more comfortable position. “It’ll work out like it’s supposed to, I’m sure of it.”