Chapter 4
“I’m going to go for it man. I’m going to ask her out. We spent the whole week together after she got hurt, then at the party, she talked to me and barely looked at Deku! In the past week since then, we’ve hung out like twice!” Kirishima was antsy.
He’d been waiting years for Uraraka, and now after having her attention for roughly three weeks he wanted to ask her out on a date already.
“You’re so easy.” He remarked
“That might be true but she’s worth it! I’m not going to waste my chance by waiting around longer. She’s finally seeing me so I want to show her I’m serious about her.”
He hummed in reply instead of disagreeing. He wanted Kirishima to be happy and he also felt like he owed Uraraka. But just a few weeks ago she was still after Deku. She could just be moving on now because she knew Bakugo was Deku’s soulmate.
He eyed her from across the room. She was sitting at her desk minding her business. Thus far she kept what she had discovered to herself. Since she was minding her business, he would mind his.
In the meantime, he had work to do. He still wasn’t convinced that the attacks were random. Going over the file again he still didn’t find any new evidence or leads to go off of. That was to be expected though. Trying a new tactic he checked in with those attacked.
Jiro said she couldn’t recall anything about the attack in particular. They got altered to the villain but before they could go to the location of the alert it started to rain. She wasn’t able to hear anything over the rain and visibility was extremely low. Before she could get her bearings her earphone jacks started to ache and had something corrosive on them. It burned her fingers when she tried to touch it. Overall, she said it happened quickly and Todoroki showed up before things could get too bad. She didn’t think the attack was that serious.
Shoji mimicked her sentiments as did Asui. They said since they looked for villains on patrol every day it’s not surprising they actually ran into some. They also felt the timing was a coincidence. Asui did find it a bit suspicious they didn’t try to attack her but froze her instantly. They went straight for her only weakness which would be trying to force her into a hibernation-like state.
She chalked it up to being a coincidence but he didn’t think so. It had to be a gamble… how would they know she was capable of going into hibernation? She was still part human, realistically there was about a 50/50 chance of her having cold as a weakness or not. Freezing her in a block of ice might be a weakness for anybody but forcing hibernation specifically was suspicious.
Out of everybody, only Tokoyami thought something was amiss. Since he was the only one who seemed especially bothered he said he kept it to himself. Upon being questioned though he answered Bakugo honestly.
“I don’t know if it was a coincidence or not. However, as I said in my report they appeared to be looking for something. It seems once they saw me, they stopped searching but they knew that bright electricity would weaken me.” Tokoyami informed him.
“You think they were looking for you?” Bakugo questioned.
“Yes. If they were searching for something else then would the weather user not have kept looking while the electricity user took me out?”
“Hmm, good point.” he put his hands in his pockets thinking. He’d have to look into the reports more. Was Jiro attacked first or Shoji? Did the villains plan to get caught? What would they have done if Todoroki hadn’t shown up the first time? Why did they wait until two hours into the shift? Was it a coincidence?
“Let me know if you remember anything else.” He said because he needed time to think and go over the reports.
“I will.”
He got a few steps away before Tokoyami called his name.
“Yeah?” he called over his shoulder.
“Thank you for looking into this.”
“No problem Birdbrain”
They shared a smile before he walked off. He might not have deep conversations with his coworkers but he did care about them. Ever since their U.A days they had survived multiple villain attacks. He knew if anything were to happen they would have his back. Even if these attacks turned out to not be related he wanted to be sure. He wasn’t some martyr-like Deku but he looked out for his own.
____
Something was up with Todoroki. Ever since that day when Deku lied about Bakugo being there, Todoroki had been giving him even more looks than before. Every time the three of them were in a room together the man would stare at them intensely. It was obvious it was about that day but if he wasn’t going to say it then neither would Bakugo.
Today they were supposed to be training but the man wasn’t even dressed in his gym gear. He was leaning against one of the lockers in the changing room when Bakugo walked in.
“Sup Icy Hot?” He asked not really caring but he wanted to know if they were training or not.
“So you were at Midoriya’s apartment last week?” Todoroki asked with a blank stare. No emotion, just a question but it still pissed Bakugo off.
“And what if I was?” He snapped back. It wasn’t any of this bastard’s business where he was.
“Well, then I’d be pretty upset since we’re dating.”
It was said so casually like he meant it. Bakugo felt gutted. Deku didn’t even like men… so there was no way. Even if he did, would he really tell you? His brain supplied.
“You’re… dating?” He questioned in disbelief.
“No, I lied but judging from the look on your face you’d be devastated if we were.” Todoroki gave him that same knowing look as before but he kept his mouth firmly shut.
Relief flooded his system. Despite deciding never to confess, the thought of Deku dating Todoroki made him sick. The other man was clearly baiting him though.
“Just admit it, you like Midoriya.” He said when Bakugo didn’t respond.
“I don’t” he snapped.
“Then you won’t mind if I ask him out? If we start dating then?”
He was seeing red. Blasting him in the face was still an option. He didn’t want to start fighting in the locker room though. He was clearly trying to bait him but he couldn’t have been serious.
“You wouldn't,” he challenged.
“Normally no but to prove a point? I’ll do it. Just admit you like him and I won’t do it.” Todoroki seemed the same as usual.
He wasn’t smiling, he wasn’t being deadly serious either. He sounded as monotone as ever. The thought that he might actually ask Deku out was concerning. The thought that Deku could even potentially say yes was even worse. But the other man wanted kids right? That implied that he was straight. Plus he turned down Uraraka because he was waiting for his soulmate. Yeah… there was no chance Todoroki would succeed. Praying he was right he dug his own grave.
“I don't like him so do whatever you want.”
Instead of a verbal reply, Todoroki just hit him with a blank stare before starting to get dressed for their training session. As a result of his anxiousness that Todoroki would actually attempt it he went harder during training than he should have. They both walked away with more aches and pains than they started with.
His lip was definitely busted in the corner. He dabbed at it with his tongue irritated at the soreness. Despite the few bruises he was better off than Todoroki. He had taken a hit to the nose and now it kept bleeding. With a frustrated sigh, he considered apologizing but that wasn’t like him.
Instead of an apology he walked over and forced the other man’s forward slightly while pinching his nose. Todoroki looked at him in confusion but didn’t fight it. After a few minutes it stopped so he let go. Even though he felt like this training session was out of anger the two of them had gone harder than this before. They always trained hard like they meant it. A villain would never hold back against them so they couldn’t afford to hold back against each other. The rest of their team understood this but didn’t practice as they should. They took their training too lightly sometimes.
The rest of the day Bakugo kept an eye on Todoroki and Deku but nothing happened. He guessed the bastard was just trying to test him. Bakugo figured he wasn’t serious about asking Deku out so he had nothing to worry about.
/ / / /
He looked in the mirror and straightened his tie. He looked silly, his hair was combed out and slicked back like Best Jeanist had taught him. He was wearing a suit but it didn’t feel like him. Huffing he took the tie off and paced his apartment some more, glancing at the mirror as he passed.
Today was the day. He was going to tell him. It took this long but he had finally decided to tell Deku everything. He was so wracked with nerves he couldn’t take it.
If he kept pacing, he’d remember all the reasons why he shouldn’t do this. No, no he had to do it now. They were already adults, if he waited too long then he’d have to see Deku be happy with someone else. Despite everything he’d done, he hoped the other man would give him a chance. That’s all he needed, a chance to prove he deserved to be his soulmate.
He left the house before he could chicken out again. It didn’t take him long to make it to Deku’s familiar apartment. He didn’t use his key though, he knocked instead nervously waiting.
When the door opened he could see that Deku was disheveled. His collar was unbuttoned, his lips were reddish and he had a red kiss mark on his neck. Bakugo felt sick, Deku was obviously just with someone. It was just because he didn’t know… he didn’t know how Bakugo felt or that they were soulmates. Once he told them they could move past whatever this was.
“I need to talk to you.” He said despite the nausea.
“Sure, what’s up Kacchan? I’m a little busy.”
He really would be sick. He had waited too long to tell him. It was now or never though.
“Sorry… I… fuck it. I like you Deku. I’ve always liked you. We’re soulmates. We have the same soulmark.” He rushed out. Just had to say it and rip the bandaid off.
Nervously he stared at the green-haired man. He didn’t appear shocked, he actually looked…disgusted. Dread filled him and his blood ran cold. He shouldn’t have done this… he started to panic but he tried not to let it show. He would just wait for Deku’s reaction then they would move on.
“Why would you even tell me that? You know I want to have kids. I’m obviously straight,” He told him angrily.
He knew it. He had thought about that a million times since Deku brought up what quirks his kids could have at that damn party. Still… he had hoped…
“You kept your mark a secret this whole time. Why would you tell me now? You should’ve kept it a secret. After everything you did, I would never want to be with you even if I was into men.” Deku said with venom in his voice.
He felt the words like a slap to the face.
Before he could process how devastated he was, he woke up. It was all a dream yet… reaching his hand up he felt tears streaming down his face. It felt real and could very well be his future.
If this was what was in store for him, he’d rather not know. Keeping his feelings and mark hidden forever would be better than the nightmare he just experienced. He could’ve gone his whole life without hearing that even if it was a dream. He never wanted Deku to look at him that way, with so much disgust it was palpable. Even with years of bullying Deku had never once looked at him in that way…
Thinking about it over and over again wasn't going to help or change anything. He just wanted to forget about the dream and go back to sleep. His mind and his body weren’t on the same page though. His heart ached and his eyes wouldn’t stop leaking.
In an effort to calm down, he hopped in the shower letting the heat and steam wash over him. It was obvious he wouldn’t be going back to sleep tonight. If he didn’t start getting rest soon he’d be a liability at work. Too many nights resulted in him staying up all night or waking up from a nightmare.
Since sleep obviously wasn’t happening he decided to head to the office early. He could train by himself for a few hours and then do some desk work. It was his least favorite part of work since he enjoyed actually being out on the streets but it was a part of hero work.
When he got to the office he was surprised to find Jiro, Kaminiari, and Deku already there. They were all talking when he showed up.
“Good morning Kacchan!”
“Sup Bakugo, whatcha doing here so early?” Kaminari asked, holding his fist out. He bumped his fist on his way past him to the coffee machine.
Jiro didn’t say anything but she wasn’t a morning person. She looked half dead. He popped his favorite coffee pod into the machine and waited while it heated up.
“Anyway, we were playing truth or dare before you got here. It’s automatically your turn so which one do you pick?” It was too early for this shit. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Kaminari.
“Neither. It’s too early for this bullshit and it’s only the two of you. I know she’s not participating.” He added pointing at Jiro.
The machine made a sound indicating his drink was finished. He grabbed the cup, turning to sit before he thought of something. He popped a second pod into the machine.
“She’ll participate eventually! You’re just scared I’ll ask you to do something crazy. You could pick truth if you’re not too chicken for a dare.” Kaminari tried yet again to rope him into the game.
The machine beeped again signaling that the second drink was done as well. After adding a bit of creamer to them he grabbed both cups and placed one in front of Jiro before taking a seat next to Kaminari. He rolled his eyes when she grabbed at the cup like a madman. She slurped on it aggressively.
“Bakugo, you’re a lifesaver,” she said between sips.
“Mhm, make it yourself next time.” he huffed out even though she didn’t ask him to make it.
“Now that everybody's awake and alert. TRUTH OR DAREEEE.”
He groaned at the same time they did. Unfortunately, Deku agreed to play which somehow automatically meant the other two were roped into the game.
“Truth,” Bakugo said giving in.
“Favorite hero?” Kaminari asked.
“All Might.”
“That was pretty easy and lame,” Jiro commented after he answered.
He agreed with her but he’d already voiced that he didn’t want to play many times. He was just lucky that Kaminari hadn’t brought up that soulmark shit again. He tuned out their bickering as he thought about this. Thus far he had avoided most mentions of soulmarks, but could he do it forever? His dream last night and talk with Todoroki made him really think on it. Even if he didn’t share the same mark as Deku, he liked him. He was in love with him. Could he seriously keep it a secret forever? The other man would start going on dates again eventually.
Back at UA, it would piss him off but he wasn’t too concerned. Just petty little high school dates and crushes nothing serious. At this age, though it would likely be serious if Deku decided to pursue something. Damn, yeah that really hurt him to think about. He couldn’t stop Deku from dating unless he planned to confess his feelings or show him the mark-
“Bisexual”
Somebody, it sounded like Deku said. He had to be hearing things though right?
“What?” He snapped in confusion.
“Geez Bakugo keep up man! Jiro asked me when I lost my virginity. I said 17. Deku asked Jiro what power she wished she had. Lame ass question by the way.” He pointed a the green-haired man who grimaced “She said a better sound quirk like Present Mic. Next was supposed to be your turn to ask something but you were zoned out so I asked Deku what his sexual orientation was and he said bisexual. Now you’re up to speed!”
Whaaaaat.
His heart sped up in his chest. Deku was bi? He just had that stupid nightmare for no reason. But how did he find that out? Had he experimented with another guy before? On one hand it wasn’t his business since he didn’t plan to ever confess but also as his soulmate, he was burning to know. It made him upset to think of somebody else experiencing that with him but he couldn’t blame anyone but himself.
“Oh, cool.” He answered lamely, unsure of what else to say since he could’ve voiced what he was really thinking.
He eyed Deku who was staring holes into him. His face was red as usual but other than that he had no idea why he’d be staring at him.
“Totally cool! I’m straight though. You hear me Jiro, I’m straightttttt.” He emphasized making a pass at her yet again.
Bakugo groaned. He obviously hadn’t learned from the other thousand times the woman turned him down. At least once a week he tried it and she declined each and every time. They started arguing immediately, forgetting the game entirely.
He wasn’t dealing with their nonsense, not today. The one cup of coffee wasn’t enough fuel for him to deal with today or the new information he found out. Getting up he went to make another while he thought about Deku saying he was bisexual. He said it so easily and the other two didn’t seem shocked… they probably already knew then. Why didn’t he know though? Did Deku not want him to know? Speak of the devil, Deku was in his peripheral muttering to himself.
“Spit it out,” he sighed.
“Are you okay? You usually drink coffee once or twice a week but it’s been like every day this week. This will be your second cup today. If you want to wake up Tea is a great alternative, healthier too. I could recommend some good teas you know like-“
“Deku, thanks but I like my coffee. I‘ve…” shit, he couldn’t tell him he had nightmares about him. In particular that the other man rejected him so badly that he woke up crying. Yeah, that wasn’t happening. Thinking quickly he said “I’ve just been going to bed super late. Why’d you get here so early?”
He added the question hoping that it would change the subject. Talking about himself was likely to get him to slip up. He’d been doing so good but with telling Uraraka his feelings, the nightmares, and now finding out Deku was bisexual the chances of a slip-up were high. His plan worked though and Deku replied to the question.
“I went to this place with Todoroki last night, you’d probably love it! Okay so it was like an arcade bar, and you can like drink and get food or play games. They had this one game, and Todoroki couldn’t score a single point. I did okay but I bet you would’ve dominated that game! It’s similar to-“
“You went out with Todoroki?” He asked hand tightening on his newly made coffee.
That bastard. He was fucking serious when he said he’d ask Deku out. Now here he was gushing about it!
“Yeah. W-well not like out out. He just asked if I had time to check out this new place with him and I didn’t have any plans. It was super fun though I think you would’ve liked it. We should go together sometime! Wait… not like t-together together just like… I think you’d-… Kacchan?”
His grip tightened around his cup causing hot liquid to spill over his hand. Deku freaked out, grabbing his hand and thrusting it into the sink where he turned on the water. He didn’t feel the hot coffee or the water. His brain was still going over Todoroki following through on what he said. He fucking went out with Deku last night? He was going to kill him.
It made it worse that he just found out Deku was bisexual. That meant if Todoroki got serious, he might actually have a chance. Unlike Bakugo, the other man had never bullied Deku. He’d never told him to kill himself. Todoroki had a chance that he wouldn’t have and it pissed him off.
Jiro and Kaminari had stopped bickering and were now trying to find the first aid kit for Deku who was still rambling about the burn. His brain tuned it all out. His focus now was finding Todoroki.
/ / / /
“I had fun last night, we should go somewhere again this weekend,” Todoroki said to Deku once he arrived.
Bakugo didn’t give Deku a chance to say anything. He grabbed the burned bastard and drug him out of the room. Todoroki didn’t put up a fight just let himself be dragged out of the room and up a couple flights of steps. When they reached the door to the roof Bakugo blew it off before tossing Todoroki through the newly created opening.
“You had to blow the door off?” He asked from his position on the ground.
“Shut up.” He snapped watching Todoroki move to stand up.
“You’re angry about me taking Deku out on a date huh?” He asked with a fucking smile.
He wanted to rage at him. Obviously, he was mad about that. He wanted him to stay the fuck away from Deku. The problem was they were all friends and coworkers. There was no way to keep the two apart. He had also insisted that he didn’t like Deku and didn’t care if Todoroki asked him out. If he said anything else now it would be obvious that he lied before. Todoroki didn’t even like Deku! This whole thing was just his way of calling Bakugo out. It was fucking working too.
“Nothing to say? You drag me up here for a reason or no?” when Bakugo still didn’t say anything Todoroki continued “Our date was pretty nice last night. This weekend I plan to take him somewhere nicer. Maybe we could go dancing together. What do you think?”
Dancing? He could just imagine how it would go. It would start out awkward, Todoroki would be stiff and Deku would be nervous. They would drink a bit and Deku would start to ease up. He’d start to dance like he always did at the parties when he got drunk. He’d probably dance up against Todoroki depending on the song. He’d seen Deku dance with Uraraka before, he always danced facing her. Would he do that? Just dance in front of Todoroki or would he get so drunk he’d back up against him? All of it, any scenario pissed him off. He didn’t want to see that half-n-half bastard dancing with Deku. He wanted to be the one asking him to dance, especially since he just found out Deku would consider dancing with a man in the first place.
Fuck, he didn’t want to see them going out again but he also couldn’t tell Deku how he felt. It would be just like his dream, devastating. He wouldn’t get rejected for being a man, which would suck but he could understand that. No, he’d be rejected for being Katsuki Bakugo. Deku’s childhood bully. He’d told him to dive off the roof, there was no coming back from that.
Even if he couldn’t have him… he didn’t want Todoroki to have him either. He’d already admitted he didn’t like Deku he was just doing this to mess with Bakugo. Maybe he could get the other man to back off.
“Fine, you got me. I like Deku,” he admitted.
“Took you long enough to admit it,” Todoroki didn’t look the slightest bit surprised “Now all you have to do is tell Midoriya.”
“No” he replied without hesitation. He had a million reasons not to tell Deku. He had to get Todoroki to understand why he wouldn’t say it.
“Why not? I know Midoriya said he was holding out for his soulmate but he might give you a chance. It’s been obvious since UA that you liked him. Not just to me.”
Damnit, more of them thought that? Had he been that obvious? It didn’t matter. As long as nobody else found out they were soulmates he could keep this up. Even if Todoroki knew how Bakugo felt there was nothing he could do if Bakugo said they weren’t soulmates. He just had to keep reminding anybody else who tried to play matchmaker.
“Cause I’m not his soulmate. Even if he gave me a chance, which he wouldn’t, what would happen to us once his soulmate showed up?”
Todoroki didn’t say anything. He stood there blank-faced with no reply. Just like Bakugo thought, what comeback could you have to that?
“Ah look at you, speechless. Come on Todoroki, you wanted to play matchmaker so bad. Tell me what would happen to our friendship if he rejected me. What about work? Neither of us would quit work either so shit would be awkward for everybody. Especially if he found his soulmate later on too.”
“But that’s a bunch of what if’s! I know you think he’s still upset about whatever happened in your childhood but I don't think he is. He could want you.” Todoroki tried again
“Shut the fuck up. You don’t know anything about what happened back then.”
That nosy bastard. He couldn’t just mind his business. He was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. He had no idea what they had been through. No idea what all Bakugo had done. He had no idea how fucking hard this was for Bakugo. He wanted to take it all back! He wanted to go back and treat Deku right. He wanted to be able to confess. He wanted them to be together but they fucking couldn’t all because of him. All because Bakugo messed everything up.
“You wanna know what I said? I told him ‘ if you really want to be a hero that badly there actually might be another way. Just pray that you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building” Todoroki flinched as soon as he said it.
Yeah, that reaction is why I won't ever tell him he thought to himself. This is why everybody should mind their business.
“So yeah I like Deku but I’m not his soulmate and I’m never telling him how I feel. Drop it okay?” He was tired. Too much had happened today.
“Fine. I still think you should tell him though. Everybody says things they don’t mean. I won't say anything though.”
He believed him. Todoroki wasn’t the type to lie. Unfortunately, now that was two people who knew how he felt. Damn all these years he’d done great and now in the span of a few weeks two people knew his secret. At least only one person knew about the mark. As long as that wasn’t discovered, things would be alright. Todoroki patted his shoulder as he walked closer to him and Bakugo swatted it away.
“Your secret is safe with me,” he promised.
“Yeah, I know.” He huffed out.
Next to Kirishima and Kaminari he actually did consider Todoroki one of his close friends. Their relationship was a bit strange because they fought so often but that’s just how they communicated.
With the matter at hand settled the two decided to head back into work.
“You going to replace that door, yeah?”
“Hell no,”
.
.
.
Before either of them could take notice of the presence hidden in the stairwell the boy raced away in a flash of green