Soft Bakugou x Reader (gender neutral)

Training

I still have little to no control over my quirk... What if I hurt someone really badly? What if I destroy something? What if I get in trouble? What if Mr. Aizawa gets mad at me? What if-

You feel someone's hand pat your head. [look up]

"Hey, idiot. You seem stressed. What's up?"

It's Bakugou! Oh thank god he's in my training group! I don't know what I'd do if we were separated!

"Uh- nothing! Nothing's up! Why? Are you worried or something?"

"Wh-?! I'm not worried! I just... wanted to make sure you were doin' okay. Y'know, since you told me that stuff about your quirk and your mom. I just wanted to..." [he takes his hand off your head and looks away]

"Just wanted to...?" [you tilt your head]

"I just wanted to tell you not to worry, okay? Don't get all caught up in all those shitty thoughts. Try to focus your energy on something else, something that doesn't stress you out or worry you. That's what I do, I just focus all my energy on the objective. I'm not thinking about anything else."

"Oh, okay. So like, focus my fire on the target, right? Only think about the target?" [you look at your hands]

"Yeah, block out everything else, take a deep breath. It's just you and that target." [he holds your hands in his] "Don't think too much about it." [he looks back towards your face and your eyes meet suddenly. Startled, he quickly pulls away.]

"Y/N, you're up next. Please get in line."

You get in line, staring at the feet of the person before you. You're only thinking about what can go wrong.

What if I accidently miss the target? That would be so embarrassing! Or what if I accidentally hit the teacher? What if my fire doesn't even reach the target? What if-

"Y/N. It's your turn. Please step up."

[you nod your head and step forward]

"And your quirk is...?"

"Ah-! It's uhm..." [you look around and see Bakugou]

He nods his head and gives you a look of reassurance.

"Fire. My quirk is Fire."

"Can you bring forth flames? Or is it only manipulating flames before and around you?"

"I can summon my own flames."

"Please proceed."

[you take a deep breath] Okay... I got this...! I just need to focus on the target. Focus all my energy on that target. [exhale] Okay. Here goes nothing!

You raise your hands and push out fire. Such a large, unwavering flame. So powerful. Even you are amazed with how powerful your fire is. You haven't used your quirk since you were in elementary school.

Bakugou is watching with bright eyes. He whispers, "now destroy that damn target!"

You shoot your fire toward the target and it becomes engulfed in flames. It's burnt to a crisp. You deactivate your quirk and look around. You're looking for him, where is he? Did he leave? A hand taps your shoulder, you turn around quickly. It's-

"That was awesome! You're pretty strong for a shortie haha!" He ruffles your hair.

"Hey I'm not even that short! I'm only a few inches under you!"

"Okay okay! But still, you did great. I'm proud of you."

You can't remember the last time anyone's ever been genuinely proud of you.

"Thanks, Bakugou. Thank for your advice before I went up."

The teacher asks you to speak with him. You and Bakugou bump fists and you walk over to the teacher.

"That was pretty impressive, y/n."

"Thank you."

"Do you use your quirk often?"

Your smile melts away with the thoughts of your mom.

"...no"

"When was the last time you used your quirk?"

"When I was younger. Probably eight years old."

"Why did you stop?"

"I... I accidentally burned my mother. She got angry with me and..." [you look down at the ground] "it left a scar on her hands too. I'm reminded of it every time I see her. I feel bad about it, so I stopped using my quirk because I was scared of hurting more people."

He takes a breath, "hey, look here. Don't worry too much about stuff like that. With careful training, you'll be able to control your quirk better and get used to it."

"But what if... what if I hurt someone here? What if I burn someone while training and it leaves a scar? What if I seriously hurt someone again? What if-" [tears start welling up in your eyes]

"It'll be okay. Sure some will get hurt along the way, but it's all part of the training process. Don't bring so much pressure down onto your shoulders, okay? Many people go through similar events with their quirks, but that's because they haven't had proper training. Here, we help everyone use their quirks. It doesn't matter what your quirk is, whether it's water, fire, creation or even brainwashing. Everyone's quirk has a purpose in this world, you just need to learn to use it correctly."

You nod and wipe away your tears as you walk back over to Bakugou.

"He told you it was amazing didn't he? If he didn't I'll beat him up for y-" He notices you wiping your tears. "Hey-! What's the matter? Did he say something to hurt you? Because if he did-"

"No! He said I did great! It's just..." [you hesitate telling him what you talked about]

"It's just what? Tell me!" He's worried.

"I told him about why I don't use my quirk. Why I'm afraid to use it. About how I..."

"Your mom?"

You nod, feeling the tears coming back.

"I'm sorry for crying. Gah I'm being such a baby, aren't I?" [you manage a forced laugh]

"It's okay." He wipes away a tear and lifts your face to meet eyes. "You're not a baby. It's okay."

You're done being emotional so you try to make a joke.

"You goin' soft on me, Katsuki?" [you look up at him with a smile and sniff]

"Tch, idiot." He laughs and covers your face with his hand. "You wish!"

After laughing and joking for the rest of the class period, after everyone is finished with the target test. You walk back to class with everyone else.

"Hey, my dorm after school?"

"For sure."

Throughout the rest of the day, you think about what Aizawa said to you. "It's all part of the training process," the more I train, the better I'll be with my quirk, "you'll be able to control your quirk better and get used to it." I'll be fine. I'll even ask Bakugou to help along the way. He seems to be in really good control of his quirk and... What he said to me too, "I just wanted to tell you not to worry, okay?" The way he said those things to me today... it felt so reassuring and... I'm glad we're friends. I'm glad he's not fed up with me... yet.