Suggestion

Chapter 13: No...

"Well, I needed to get his attention, so I said that to make him stop."

"Is that the only reason, Todoroki?" asked Uraraka.

The four classmates stood in silence, the only sounds being the fighting in the distance. Todoroki lowered his hand, his eyes gently closing and his jaw tensing. Bakugou couldn't take the silence, breaking the stalemate with an explosion from his palm.

"Spit it out, you Half n' Half Bastard!" Bakugou grabbed Todoroki by the collar, pulling him close to his face. "I could see how you looked at that nerd since a long time ago!"

"Bakubro! Calm down!" Kirishima tried to push the two apart. "This isn't the time or place!"

"I didn't want to say anything to anyone about this, because I never intended to tell him," Todoroki stated calmly.

"Why, Todoroki? Wouldn't you have just suffered keeping that to yourself?" asked Uraraka as she gently touched his arm, hoping to comfort her friend.

"I didn't want to ruin our friendship. Telling him would mean outright rejection. We couldn't be friends anymore."

"No! You're a catch, Todobro! Besides, Midobro isn't the type to be harsh or hold it against you. He would have accepted your friendship even if he couldn't reciprocate your romantic feelings."

"Regardless, out there I needed something shocking to keep him listening. That was the only thing I could think of." Todoroki sternly looked up to Bakugou. "What about you?"

"What about Bakugou?" asked Uraraka, confused.

"You seem really interested in how I feel towards Midoriya. Why does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't! I just thought it was irritating. The battlefield isn't the place to confess your love."

"I thought it was manly!" exclaimed Kirishima.

"Shut it!"

"Well, if that's the case, then I guess it's fine," said Todoroki, satisfied with Bakugou's answer.

Bakugou clicked his tongue and stomped away from the group. Todoroki and Kirishima watched as he left, unsure what had Bakugou so riled up. Uraraka, on the other hand, could sense the issue, and sat on the edge of Midoriya's bed, sighing.

"Deku, you've got a lot of problems when you wake up."

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An unease spread through the comfortable darkness, as Midoriya ears picked up muffled voices nearby. His nose scrunched up as he slowly peeked into the bright room, his eyes stinging as he had trouble adjusting to the light.

"Midoriya," whispered a gentle, familiar voice.

"Took ya long enough, nerd."

Midoriya turned his head to see Todoroki sitting at his bedside, while Bakugou lounged in a desk chair with his feet up on the desk. Midoriya slowly searched the room with his eyes, finding his All-Might merch in every corner. It took another moment before he realized he was in his room at the dorms.

"Why am I back here?" As he tried to sit up, his wrists tugged, forced together by large cuffs. "What the-"

"I'm sorry about those, but it was a requirement if we wanted to bring you back to UA."

"Just be happy you're not in a jail cell," grunted Bakugou.

"Now that you're awake, I'll go tell Mr. Aizawa. I'll be back soon."

Bakugou and Midoriya watched silently as Todoroki left the room, then Midoriya looked over to Bakugou. The rebellious man kept his eyes on the floor, his hands jammed into his packets, never bothering to turn around and face Midoriya.

"Kacchan, why are you here?"

"Tch! What kind of question is that?"

"I'd somewhat understand Todoroki after what he said... but... I thought you all hated me."

Bakugou dropped his feet from the desk, slamming them on the floor, startling Midoriya. The blonde man turned around, showing his bloodshot eyes and scowl. Midoriya couldn't do anything other than sink back into the bed, hoping to distance himself as best he could from the fire in Bakugou's eyes.

"K-kacchan, I-"

"Oi! Shut your mouth!" Bakugou rested his knee on the side of the bed, placing his hands on either side of Midoriya, leaning over the frightened boy. "Do you think you can get out of this by blaming it on other people? Even if they brainwashed you, I won't forgive you for giving up on being a hero!"

"Wh-what? Why? I thought you didn't want me to-"

"I'm not done! You know what I had to deal with every day while you were off with villains?! All those extras were moping around, whining about how worried they were about you! And you go off spouting nonsense about them treating you like crap?!"

The pounding in Midoriya's chest reached his ears until he couldn't hear much else. He squirmed underneath the ranting hothead, trying to get out, but Bakugou grabbed Midoriya's face, roughly pulling it towards him.

"Look at me while I'm speaking, shitty nerd!"

"Kacchan, you're too close. Can't you get off me?" whined Midoriya, only agitating Bakugou further.

Midoriya knew he made a mistake when he saw the vein in Bakugou's forehead buldge, and the next instant, Midoriya felt the chilly air hit his collarbone as Bakugou pulled the collar of Midoriya's shirt down. The back of his neck burned from the fabric rushing against his skin.

"So, you want me to get off you, but it sure as hell looks like you didn't mind if it were one of those villains. Is that right?!"

Midoriya felt himself blush, as he remembered the marks left by Dabi. The pale skin under his freckles seemed to glow as Midioriya's eyes widened, causing Bakugou's grip to tighten. Midoriya couldn't defend himself and found himself too embarrassed to look directly at Bakugou.

"Fuck you!" shouted Bakugou as he pushed himself off of Midoriya.

"Kacchan-" Midoriya tried to sit up as he spoke but halted as he heard Bakugou cut him off.

"Which one was it?"

"Does it matter?"

Before Bakugou could find an answer, the door opened. Mr. Aizawa and Todoroki entered, and Bakugou plopped back down into the desk chair, his back to Midoriya once again.

"So, Problem Child, how are you feeling?"

"O-oh! I feel fine. I mean I didn't really get hurt-" Midoriya cut himself off as he remembered Dabi burned him. Then he realized his arms were bandaged. "Wait, I got burned by..."

"Recovery Girl treated you yesterday, so you should mostly be fine physically. What I meant to say was how do you feel mentally? What can you remember?"

"I, uh- I don't know. I remember headquarters coming under attack, and my classmates... and-"

"That dork is still confused! Thinks everyone hates him."

"Seems whatever they did to you has lasting effects. How about your emotions? Todoroki and Bakugou said your emotions were extremely high when they met you in the warehouse and during the first rescue attempt."

"I feel pretty calm right now."

As Midoriya thought back, he realized they were right. He became overly emotional when he fought them. At the moment, he didn't feel any real hostility towards them even though he remembered the abuse. Even when all hell broke loose at the villain headquarters, he didn't really feel that hostile towards any of them. Why?

"I see. Well, unfortunately, we can't release you from this room or the cuffs until we have a better understanding of the quirk you're under. It's best to rest for now. Perhaps the quirk will wear off over time."

Midoriya nodded, easily accepting his situation. Then he glanced at Bakugou's back, confused on how the person who hated him most could seem to care so much. Unknown to him, another man in the room stared at him, just as focused on him as he was on Bakugou.