Chapter Text
It was bad enough that the damn nerd also got into UA, but why did he insist on driving with Bakugo to move into their new dorms? One second Bakugo was standing in his driveway beside his parents and begrudgingly hugging his mother and the next he heard the sound of his car door open behind him and a familiar voice greeting his parents.
“What the hell are you doing?” Bakugo snarled and tore himself from his mother and stomped up to the car where Midoriya dropped his bags on the ground and was currently loading them into the car by pushing Bakugo’s organized and neatly packed luggage aside to make room for his own boxes.
Midoriya cast a sly glance over his shoulder before answering. “My mom’s working so I was going to ride the trains, but I figured you might want some company for the ride.” Midoriya crossed his arms over the roof of the car innocently laying his cheek against them looking towards Bakugo’s parents, “That is alright isn’t it?”
“Damn right it is!” Mitski beamed as she made her way around the car, Masaru following close behind, and gave Midoriya a tight hug. “Katsuki wouldn't let us go move him in but he can sure as hell use the company.”
Bakugo shoved himself between Midoriya and his mother putting his face a few inches from hers and a scowl spread across his face. Despite passing Mitski in height during his second year of high school and standing almost a whole head above her, she didn’t look the least bit intimidated with her hands resting on her hips and a challenge written on her face. “Deku is not riding with me to UA in my car.”
His mother swiftly raised a hand and smacked it lightly against Bakugo’s temple. “And who do you think bought you that car?” Sparks crackled around Bakugo’s clenched fists. “Izuku’s only trying to be a considerate friend,” Mitski insisted, casting Midoriya an affectionate smile.
Bakugo growled and stalked around to the drivers side and pulled open the car door too harshly. “Fucking using me as a free ride is what he’s doing,” he mumbled under his breath.
“I’m sorry, what was that, brat?”
Bakugo grumbled quiet curses in response, crossing his arms and slouching low in his seat. Mitski and Mararu quickly helped Midoriya finish loading the rest of his belongings as they chatted before also returning to the other side of the car. Bakugo heard the passenger door open then close but adamantly kept his chin tucked to his collar. Mitski knocked her fingers against the glass and Bakugo reluctantly rolled down the window without looking up, and she leaned her head and shoulders through as Masaru placed a careful hand beside her arm. They stayed like that for a few still seconds, Mitski and Masaru fondly looking over their grouchy son throwing one last tantrum before going away to college.
“Drive safe, Katsuki,” Masaru said. Bakugo finally lifted his eyes to meet his father’s and immediately regretted it.
His gaze was met with the teary eyes of his parents standing between him and his childhood home. As much as Bakugo dreamed of the moment he could finally get away from his hometown and begin his adult life, he’d never imagined that he might feel sad finally meeting that moment. His chest tightened and the threat of his own tears filled in his eyes. Bakugo hastily jerked his face forward, eyes trained on the steering wheel. “I will,” he said with a shaky voice.
Mitski reached out and ruffled a hand through his spiky blond hair. “Be careful, kid.” Bakugo jerkily nodded his head and a sniffle escaped as he tried his best to put on an annoyed scowl.
Bakugo sat upright then shifted the car into reverse. He looked up as his parents stepped away from the car and a single traitorous tear rolled down his cheek. “Don’t forget to call every once in a while, Katsuki,” his father said while his mother hummed in agreement, unable to do so verbally, holding back silent sobs as tears were already streaming down her face. Bakugo nodded once again as be bagan to pull out of the driveway.
“Bye Mitski-san! Bye Masaru-san! Don’t worry, I’ll keep Kacchan out of trouble!” Midoriya cherrily shouted out of his own open window, waving as the pair slowly grew out of sight of Bakugo’s house. Midoriya sat back in his seat and turned to Bakugo who was pressing his palm to his eyes in an attempt to erase any traces of tears. A few seconds passed before Midoriya broke the silence, “So, Kacchan, how long is the drive to UA?”
“About two hours, and I don’t want to hear a single fucking word out of you the whole way, got it, Deku?” Bakugo ordered gruffly as he turned on the radio.
“Fine by me,” Midoriya murmured, pulling a blanket over his shoulders and propping his head against the window. “Way too early anyway...”
Bakugo groaned and rolled his eyes. So he really is just using me for a free ride. Bakugo fixed his eyes on the road ahead and let himself fall into autopilot, having driven to UA many times for tours, a summer program, and most recently an entrance exam and interview. The drive passed fairly smoothly, Midoriya incomprehensibly muttering in his sleep being the only inconvenience Bakugo encountered.
Midoriya conveniently awoke as the car passed under the iconic blue and gold gate signalling they had entered onto UA property. “What dorms are you staying at?” Midoriya yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
“Heights Alliance,” Bakugo responded offhandedly as read the signs they passed trying to figure out where they were supposed to be headed.
Midoriya jolted up and twisted towards Bakugo,“Really? Me too!” An impish smile spread across his face before he added, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if we ended up being roommates?”
Bakugo jerked his head towards Midoriya, eyes full of rage, “Deku, I swear to god if I have to see your face everyday I’ll fucking kill-” he lunged sideways to grab Midoriya’s shoulder causing the car to swerve.
“I’m kidding, I’m kid- Kacchan!” Midoriya cut his laughing short as he pointed towards a person walking across the road, earbuds in and facing away from the car. Bakugo slammed his foot against the brake and turned the wheel just in time to stop a few feet from the oblivious pedestrian. As the car screeched to a halt, the man in the street jumped in surprise, yanking an earbud out and starting at the pair with a look of shock on his face. He looked back and forth between the pair, still frozen in place and unable to move. Bakugo stared back at him, noting his bright red crocs and spiky red hair to match and cracks that spread across his face. He was definitely just a student, probably the same age as he and Midoriya.
He scowled and slammed his hand against the car horn on the steering wheel. “Out of the way, fuckwad!” Bakugo cursed at the man on the street.
Midoriya glared at him as he rolled down his window, “Shut up, Bakugo, that was totally your fault.” He stuck his head out of the window and pressed his hands together gesturing an apology, “We’re so sorry about that. Are you alright?” The redhead opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Bakugo suddenly jolting the car forward, leaving the redhead staring in astonishment as the pair continued on their way.
“Dammit, Bakugo! What was that for?” Midoriya scolded, lightly jabbing his fist into Bakugo’s shoulder.
Bakugo shook Midoriya’s fist from his shoulder. “What? He was in the middle of the road,” Bakugo defended, hunching his shoulders and stretching out an arm towards the road for emphasis.
“You’re the one who wasn’t looking at the road and swerving out of the lane!” Midoriya pushed himself back into his seat and leaned over to roll his window back up and added under his breath, “I should’ve taken the trains.”
Bakugo groaned and shook his head, “Whatever, we’re here anyway.”
Midoriya looked out his window and up at the five story building with the large words ‘1-A Alliance’ printed in white across the face. Bakugo turned into the parking lot on the side of the building, finding an empty space not too far from the entrance. Bakugo quickly turned the car off and unbuckled his seatbelt, but Midoriya stayed still in his seat. “Uh actually, Kacchan, I’m staying in the 1-B building. Could you-?”
“Hell no,” Bakugo interrupted coldly as he opened his door and stepped out. He began stretching his arms up and over his head, the rest of his body leaning into the motion. The two hour drive had made him stiff and there was no way he’d be able to haul his boxes to his dorm without stretching a bit. “1-B is the next building over and I bet with that fancy quirk of yours you won’t have a problem getting your luggage there,” he sneered over his shoulder to Midoriya who had exited the car in defeat, red-white-and blue blanket in tow.
Midoriya opened the rear door and began lifting his belongings, a large backpack and only two large boxes, up and out of the car. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and hoisted the boxes into his arms with green lightning manifesting around them. “I’ll text you later so we can get something to eat after we’re all moved in!”
“Please don’t,” Bakugo answered as he pulled open the other door to retrieve his own luggage. He threw his own backpack over his shoulders, hoisted a suitcase out of the car, and placed a bag with his comforter and sheets on top of it. He had a few more boxes in the trunk of the car, but he could make another trip to get them. Bakugo closed the door glancing over the car to Midoriya who was already across the parking lot and engaged in a conversation with a tall guy with dark blue hair who was gesturing his arm at the elbow with a stiffly straightened hand. Bakugo grabbed the suitcase and bag in either hand and began the short trek to the building.
He entered the building and was greeted by a young woman with long purple hair waving him over to approach where she was sitting at the front desk. “Hi! Welcome to Heights Alliance!” She beamed as she leaned over the desk, arms extended at her sides in an enthusiastic greeting. “My name is Nejire Hado and I’m one of the RA’s for 1-A this year.” She sat back in her chair and turned to her computer on her desk. “What's your name?”
“My name’s Katsuki Bakugo.” He looked around the lobby as he waited for Hado to pull up his information, humming some happy tune as she typed.
“How far away do you live? Did it take you long to get here?” Bakugo opened his mouth to tell her that it was none of her damn business but she quickly began speaking again. “Alright,” she sang and turned towards him, “you’re gonna be in room 403 at the end of the hall and both of your roommates are already moved in.” Hado slid a card across the desk to Bakugo and put her elbows on her desk and held her face in her hands. “Here’s your room key and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions!”
Bakugo raised his eyebrows at her jarring shifts in topics and nodded in response. He made his way to the elevator and pressed the button to call for it. He tapped his foot waiting for the doors to open. Bakugo was not looking forward to having to living with his two roommates waiting in their dorm. He was even moving in the day before classes began so he could have a few less days of having to see those extras. He would’ve preferred to find a dorm that he wouldn't have any roommates, but also preferred to keep his schooling costs down. The elevator dinged as the doors opened, so Bakugo walked in and pressed the button for the fourth floor.
Just as the doors bagan closing, another student walked through. “Pardon me,” the stranger said, reaching across Bakugo to press the button for the fifth floor. He had red and white hair split down the middle and stood slightly taller than Bakugo. After he retreated his arm back, the student stepped back into the corner opposite of Bakugo, pulled out his phone, and leaned back against the gold railing. Bakugo sighed but leaned his own head behind him to lay against the wall and closed his eyes. After a few moments the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened once again. Bakugo exited the elevator without looking back at its other passenger and began making his way down the hall.
Bakugo stopped in front of the door labelled 403 and took in a long breath before exhaling and swiping his room key, opening the door. He was greeted with a blond starfished lazily across the couch on the right side of the room on his phone connected to a charger plugged into his mouth and the soft sound of metal music from the open room door beside him closest to the door. The blond looked up at Bakugp and smiled, charger between his teeth, “Hey! You must be Bakugo!” He sat up, spitting the charger from his mouth, and offered a roguish smile. “I’m Denki Kaminari.” He gestured with head and thumb to the open door, “Tokoyami’s in there. He moved in yesterday and ’s still fixing up his room.”
Bakugo turned his head and eyed the room Kaminari was pointing to for a moment, still standing awkwardly in the doorway, before looking around the rest of the room. Across the two couches sat a modest tv set and beyond the living room was their humble kitchen with a few old barstools sitting at a small table separating the two rooms. Tokoyami’s room was one of two on the right wall, closest to the door. To his left were two more doors across from the two on the right.
Kaminari stood up and pointed to the door across from Tokoyami’s. “That one’s mine,” he explained and gestured to the room beside his, “and that one’s yours. The other room is the bathroom.” Bakugo bagan walking to his room, Kaminari trailing close behind him. “Do you need help fixing up your room?”
“No,” Bakugo growled before walking into his room and slamming the door in Kaminari’s face.
“Damn okay,” Kaminari mumbled from the other side of the door.
Bakugo dropped his luggage and took off his backpack placing it on the floor beside him and examined his new room. It was pretty small, but had some drawers, a desk and chair, a decent sized bed, and large glass doors leading to a small balcony outside. Bakugo pulled his suitcase to the drawers and kneeled down to organize his clothes in them. Once he was finished, Bakugo began fixing the sheets on his bed. He arranged his empty bag and suitcase under his bed and opened the door of his room to return to his car and bring up the rest of his boxes. As he entered the room he saw Kaminari chatting with whom Bakugo assumed was Tokoyami, a shorter boy with a black bird head sitting cross-legged beside Kaminari. The pair looked up at him, Kaminari stopping mid sentence, mouth agape, to eye Bakugo.
Tokoyami nodded his greeting at Bakugo, “I’m Fumikage Tokoyami. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Bakugo grunted in response and opened the front door to leave and heard from the couch behind him, “Told ya he was kinda weird.” Bakugo closed the door behind him with a slam. The trip back to his car was uneventful, no extras tried to make talk to him, and he quickly returned to his room with two large boxes in tow. When he returned, the living area was abandoned and lively chatter came from Kaminari’s open door. Bakugo didn’t bother glancing in the room and made his way back into his bedroom. As he organized the few belongings he brought from home, he could hear the muffled exchange of his roommates through the he and Kaminari’s shared wall.
After he was satisfied with how his room was fixed, Bakugo fell backwards onto his bed and buried his face in his elbow. He dug his phone from his pocket to check the time. 6:47 pm. As he was about to return his phone, he felt it buzz and saw a new text message.
Deku: roommates and i are going to get dinner together. do u want to come with?
Bakugo considered his offer for a second. He was hungry, but no way in hell was he going to be forced to spend any more time with some damn extras.
Me: fuck off
Bakugo sighed and considered his options. It was probably too late to buy groceries to make something himself. He might as well find somewhere to get takeout from. Bakugo stood from his bed, grabbed his wallet, and walked to the door. He pulled open the door to reveal Kaminari with his fist raised, about to knock and Tokoyami standing a few feet behind him. “Oh,” Kaminari’s hand retreated and he took a step back as Bakugo glared at him. “My friend invited us to get some food and I was gonna ask if you wanted to come and hang out.”
“I don’t want to hang out with any of your shitty friends,” Bakugo bit back.
Kaminari turned to give a look at Tokoyami over his shoulder. “Alright. Me and Tokoyami will be back later.”
Bakugo pushed past Kaminari before he had the chance to move and began his way towards the elevators. The doors opened a moment after he pressed the button and he stepped into the empty elevator. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched as the elevator numbers dropped to the first floor and the doors opened once again. Bakugo wandered out of the building and down an adjoining road, taking in the neighborhood surrounding the university. It was a nice enough area, small restaurants and charming shops lined the narrow streets, making for a pleasant walk.
Bakugo turned into a ramen shop and stopped before the ordering counter to read over the menu. He hardly noticed the bell sounding that the door opened and someone else walked in the shop. “I’ll take the spiciest thing you got,” he told the young woman with green hair at the counter. She nodded as Bakugo handed his payment over when a voice he definitely did not want to hear spoke up.
“Kacchan? I thought you didn’t wanna come with us?” Bakugo’s blood ran cold as he slowly turned his head over his shoulder to see Midoriya smiling behind him with the blue-haired person from earlier along with another boy with flat black hair and big oddly shaped elbows.
“Kacchan, huh?” Another familiar voice sounded from the door as Kaminari and Tokoyami walked into the restaurant. Bakugo could only stare in disbelief as the five people he wanted to avoid most in the world slowly gathered around him. Kaminari stood to stand beside the black-haired guy who walked in with Midoriya and cocked his head to the side. “Can I call you that, too?”
Midoriya crossed over to throw his arm around Bakugo’s shoulders, giving him a slight shake. Bakugo growled and glared at the arm draped around him. “That’s probably not a good idea, I’ve been calling him that for years and he still gets pissed.” Bakugo jerked himself free from Midoriya and stalked to the edge of the counter, standing a few feet from the group.
Why did the universe hate him?
“It’s a small world I guess. Who would’ve thought we’d bump into you here?” Kaminari kidded. He turned to Midoriya explaining, “we’re his roommates.” Bakugo sulked as the group finished placing their orders and somehow was ushered to sit at an overcrowded table with the other five boys. The group talked amongst themselves, except for Bakugo, who was sandwiched between Midoriya and Kaminari too close for his comfort. When Kaminari and Sero (Bakugo begrudgingly learned the black haired kid’s name) got particularly rowdy, the blue haired boy with glasses (who Bakugo refused to learn the name of) would eagerly hush and berate them about proper restaurant etiquette.
The green haired girl who took their orders and a brunette with rosy cheeks came over to the table, bowls in hand to deliver the ramen to the group. As the brown haired girl reached over to set down Midoriya’s bowl, a few drops of broth spilled onto his lap.
“Oh gosh! I am so sorry,” she cried frantically placing the bowl down and turning around, “I’ll go get some more napkins and-”
Midoriya caught her by the wrist and gave her a confident smile, “It’s fine, really!” He made a show of dabbing a napkin over his pants. “See? I’m okay.” They gazed at each other for a few seconds.
The girl’s cheeks blushed a deep red and she nodded weakly. “I’m sorry,” she repeated quickly before running behind the counter and through the doors to the kitchen.
“Dude!” Kaminari exclaimed reaching in front of Bakugo and smacking the table next to Midoriya. “You should totally get her number!” Bakugo dramatically pointed to his mouth and made a gagging sound before reaching over and igniting a small spark on Kaminari’s exposed wrist still in front of him. He let out a small yelp and pulled his arm back into his own space.
“That is highly inappropriate,” the blue-haired kid proclaimed, “she is working and disturbing her would be very impolite.”
Midoriya chuckled breaking his chopsticks apart, “Maybe I’ll ask when we’re leaving.”
The dinner passed filled with friendly conversations and Bakugo almost blowing up the table only twice. Bakugo scarfed down his food quickly then jumped up declaring he was heading back to the dorm. To his dismay, Kaminari and Tokoyami both stood up along with him and followed him out of the shop and into the street. Despite his best efforts to lose them, they kept up with his pace and walked into the building right behind him.
Bakugo turned the corner to head towards the elevators and stopped in his tracks as he met eyes with a tall redhead disappearing behind closing doors. The young man’s eyes narrowed and he craned his neck to follow the motion of the doors to get a better look at Bakugo then left from sight.
“What the hell, man?” Kaminari complained as he bumped into Bakugo’s back. Kaminari maneuvered around Bakugo, holding his nose, and pushed the elevator button. They waited a moment for the doors to slide open and the three of them stepped in. Bakugo yawned and leaned against the wall, eyelids beginning to feel heavy. Kaminari turned to him snickering, “Are you tired already? It’s not even nine.”
“It’s fucking late,” Bakugo snapped. When the doors opened again, Bakugo moved to exit first and led the way down the hall and back into their room.
“I'll see you tomorrow,” Tokoyami directed to Bakugo and turned to retire into his own room.
“Night, Blasty,” Kaminari teased.
Bakugo growled but didn’t bother biting back, instead continuing to his room and shutting the door loudly behind him. He quickly changed clothes and climbed into the bed. He quickly turned on an alarm for the morning before setting down his phone and twisting in bed to find a comfortable position. His mind drifted back to the redhead from the elevator. He had to be the same person from earlier and he obviously remembered Bakugo. He supposed he did feel somewhat guilty for almost hitting the guy with his car, but Bakugo was certainly in no rush to apologize. Bakugo drifted to sleep with the image of a confused redhead staring into him.