Knots in First Year | Bakugo x Deku

Chapter 2

*Time skip to the last day of Christmas break*

~ Midoriya's POV~

Most of us in Class 1-A didn't train over Christmas break, they just really wanted to enjoy the relaxation before they had to keep pushing forward for the last few months of our first year at UA. However, Kacchan and I trained with All Might for a few extra days in Gym Gamma to get a better grip on Blackwhip. Before, All Might didn't want it to come out. We both thought it was dangerous dark energy, but Kacchan always tried to get me to use it. After having a meeting in All Might's office to figure out what was going on with One for All, I started to think differently about myself, about One for All. Kacchan said I'm just like All for One, which scared me, to be honest. I don't think he meant it in a mean way, just a coincidental way... not like it mattered I mean Kacchan was typically mean anyway.
Since it manifested during the joint combat training versus Class 1-B, I've barely been able to sense it in my body. But recently, I've been able to let out a little wisp. Now's the time... I was scared of it at first, but after thinking it over I want to be able to use it the way I did against Shinso when I grabbed those metal pipes in mid-air. Now's the time... those words... I still wonder what they meant.

We trained to see if Blackwhip would come out again. I wanted to control it, All Might wanted to keep it from appearing, and Kacchan just wanted a punching bag. It was still- nice- that Kacchan wanted to help me train, but he's really hard to train with though considering he seems like he's constantly trying to kill me.

"I'M GONNA BLOW YOU TO PIECES YOU DAMN NERD!" Kacchan yelled from high above me in the air.

"WOAH KACCHAN PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" I yelled in a high voice, desperately trying to get Blackwhip to come out and capture him around the gym.

As Kacchan absolutely exploded my head and burnt my hair into a weird afro of singed fluff, All Might finally stepped in as Kacchan was charging up another attack to my side, "YOUNG BAKUGO THAT'S ENOUGH!" Usually, Kacchan would finish off his attack before backing down, but for some reason, he stopped in mid-air and small sparks crackled in his hands but didn't fully explode. He let out a weird struggled yelp as he fell to the ground, not breaking his own fall. Luckily he wasn't too far off the ground or else he would've gotten hurt.

Kacchan didn't say a word at first. He almost looked shocked at how he reacted to All Might. I went over to him and lowered my hand as a gesture to help him up. He looked up at me and... blushed? Why did he just blush? He ended up swatting my hand away and helped himself up. Kacchan has never been good at accepting help from others, but I always try.

~ Bakugo's POV ~

"YOUNG BAKUGO THAT'S ENOUGH!" I heard All Might yelling in stupid concern. Dammit, I was just about to beat him up badly too. Fuck I still might. FUCK DON'T- Tiny crackles of sparks left my palms as I fell to the ground. Fuck, what was this... hesitation? Why? Why did I hesitate? I've never done that before, not for Deku. I never actually hurt him that bad, so why was I suddenly worried about it? Ugh it was NOTHING! All Might just caught me off guard.

W-What? Deku? Why is he reaching his hand out at me? Like- like that time- in the river, when we were kids... 'Are you alright? Are you hurt?' My mind was blank from the flashback. I felt almost a sort of, appreciation, for the gesture. Fuck, why is my face so warm? Did I feel a tiny jolt in my legs? Almost like... nerves? Ugh I don't want to feel this 'appreciation' for Deku. This is stupid. I quickly snapped back out of my head and knocked his hand away. I didn't need Deku's help.

~ Third Person POV ~

Midoriya and Bakugo had just finished their last day of extra training during the break. Individual confusion ran through the heads of both of them as they walked silently together back to the dorms. As Midoriya walked into the dorms first, with Bakugo trailing a foot behind, Uraraka was sitting in the common room with the other girls. As she noticed Midoriya walk in, she jumped up with a smile.

"DEKU! Where were you guys?" Uraraka said in a cute excited tone.

"Oh, we were just at Gym Gamma getting some extra training in, heh." Midoriya said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, are you guys starting to get along better since the house arrest? I've noticed Bakugo isn't as mean to you lately." Ashido asked, almost teasing Bakugo with that last part.

"What was that, raccoon eyes?" Bakugo asked, obviously annoyed at the insinuation that he and Midoriya could ever 'get along.' Ashido giggled at his reaction, turning back to the other girls on the couches not really caring for a real response to her question. Bakugo wouldn't admit it, but he and Midoriya actually ARE getting along better, and it was obvious.

"Hey Deku, can I talk to you for a minute outside?" Uraraka politely asked Midoriya, slightly blushing but hardly noticeable.

"Sure, Uraraka!" Midoriya said in a calm, but excited and intrigued tone. She grabbed Midoriya's hand to guide him outside, and he blushed hard. He's never held hands with a girl before. He honestly thought it would feel even MORE butterfly-inducing than it did, but nonetheless, he was nervous. The strange thing was Bakugo... He noticed this encounter and was naturally curious, but something else inside him was causing him to NEED to eavesdrop. Not just a thirst for information, like at the sports festival when he followed Midoriya and Todoroki. It was more of a... territorial... feeling. He made his way to the stairs inconspicuously, but as soon as the front doors closed behind them, he used his explosions to race up the opening in the middle of the stairs and to his dorm room. The girls in the common room couldn't care less about the sound of explosions, funny enough. Once he got to his dorm, he opened the sliding door to his balcony to eavesdrop.

"Sooo, Deku," Uraraka started, looking at the ground while she digs the tip of her shoe into the dirt, twirling it awkwardly. One could obviously tell she was nervous, and Midoriya was even more curious after noticing that. "Would you, maybe, wanna go on-" She stopped for a second to breathe. She was having trouble getting it out, and Midoriya realized that and put a hand on her shoulder, giving her an endearing smile as to say 'take your time.' She let out one more breath with her eyes closed and continued, "Would you- want to go on a date- with me?"

Midoriya gasped. Froze. Anyone could probably guess what she was gonna ask by the nature of her behavior, but at this specific moment, Midoriya was so tired from training that he was being a little... dense. He quickly gained his composure though and responded with a chipper, "Sure! I'd love to!" Uraraka smiled as the nerves washed away peacefully. Though for Midoriya, it felt a little anti-climactic. He thought about all the stories he's overheard from people around him about confessions or feelings, and he was sort of eager to know what that felt like, not that it was on his mind a lot though. He thought Uraraka was cute, and he definitely got a weird feeling in his stomach around her, but it wasn't what he was expecting when he thought of 'feelings.' From his spy balcony, Bakugo's eyes widened for a moment. His stomach dropped and he didn't know why. Was it because Midoriya got a confession from someone before he did? ANOTHER thing Midoriya beat him at? He was unsure about the reason, he couldn't quite figure it out. It's not like Bakugo really cares about girls, he just wants to be the number one hero, to beat Deku. Because of this confusion, he mainly got frustrated and almost (discretely) stormed back into his room... that is, until he heard them start planning.