(Sin)namon Rolls

Chapter 14: Hoe Beyond

As the year drew to a close, the fanfare surrounding what had come to be widely known as "BakuDeku" reached new heights. Bakugo and I started making talk show appearances. The list of people who wanted to talk to us got longer everyday. We stopped going places in his car and hired a limo driver. Public outings became increasingly difficult.
Bakugo's willingness to fulfill the requests being made of us repeatedly surprised me. I assumed he would've hated the attention, but it seemed that, so long as I was with him, he could tolerate it. He refused to employ a bodyguard despite how badly we needed one, because, in his eyes, doing so meant he couldn't protect himself. Tired as I was of being fondled by strangers, I chose not to fight him on that. The last thing I needed was someone keeping a close eye on me.
The two of us were invited to come on a show called "The Morning Buzz with Asa Hoshi". It was a popular program. The shows started to blend together after awhile. They asked the same questions. We gave the same responses. Regardless, we agreed to appear on the show's 2021 premiere scheduled to be broadcasted live in early January.
So, there we were. Waiting backstage at yet another set for yet another cue.
"Nothing else today, right?" I asked Bakugo.
"Nope. Just this."
"Great."
"...Please give a warm welcome to Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya!"
A crew member gave us the signal to enter. The roaring applause and banshee screams that sounded in response to my name weren't any less intoxicating than they were the first time I'd heard them.
I smiled and waved as we walked across the stage and sat down on a couch across from Asa, the host. The three of us sat and waited for the audience's cheers to die down. I laughed like I hadn't seen this reaction five times before in the past week. Bakugo didn't make any effort to hide his impatience. I placed a hand over his knee.
"Does that just happen everywhere you go?" Asa asked once the uproar had diminished.
I chuckled. Bakugo grunted wryly.
"Tell me about it," he said.
"Oh, it's not that bad! I think it's sweet."
"Hard to get used to, though, I'd imagine. Especially for you, Midoriya. Has being thrust into the spotlight made getting back into the swing of everyday life more difficult for you?"
"I'm not really getting back into the swing of anything. This is all new for me. Being in the spotlight is as much a part of that as anything else is."
"Interesting. Interesting. Bakugo, you've been ranked at number one on the Hero Billboard Chart for quite some time now. Is this onslaught of publicity kind of same-ol-same-ol for you, or is being heralded as half of an iconic couple different from being praised as a top-notch hero?"
"People yell at me when I leave my house. What they're saying doesn't matter. I don't care if they're shouting at me about my boyfriend or my hero status, they're still shouting."
"Frankly, the fact that your status hasn't faltered since your coming out in December is unbelievable. To what do you attribute the preservation of your reputation?"
"Who I fuck doesn't have an impact on my ability to beat the shit out of villains."
Perhaps I should have been more embarrassed than I was excited by Bakugo talking about fucking me on national television.
"A-ah. Yes. You're absolutely right. Uh, Midoriya, you've previously commented on the online debate regarding—"
"Oh, the top or bottom thing?" I cut in.
"This shit again?" Bakugo grumbled. "Alright. If you were to look at the Billboard Chart right now, where would my name be? Physically, where on the chart would it be?"
"At the top...?"
"On top. That's right."
Bakugo threw his arm around me and slumped back in his seat with a shit-eating grin. Cheers of victory and exclamations of defeat rose from the audience. Asa shook her head and turned to face one of the cameras in the room.
"Stay tuned. We'll be right back," she said.
•••
Bakugo and I were getting our mics taken off after the show had ended. Asa was talking to production staff, no doubt avoiding speaking to us since Bakugo had managed to make her uncomfortable after just about every question she'd asked him.
"I gotta go to school tomorrow," he said.
"What?"
The crew member who'd removed Bakugo's mic finished doing so and headed offstage. I thanked the individual who did the same for me as they unclipped it from my shirt and walked away. Bakugo rose from the couch. I got up, too. I waved at Asa and the crew on our way off of set. She waved back at me.
"I'm giving a speech at UA's term kickoff thing tomorrow. You don't have to come if you don't want. If you'd rather take a day off from this chaotic bullshit, I get that. Believe me, I need a fucking break, too. But, I mean, it'd be nice to have you there," he said as we walked down the hall and into our dressing room.
I shut the door behind us and grabbed his hand. I pulled him to me and kissed him.
Wretched hero scum he may have been, but it couldn't be denied that his touch was therapeutic. Physical affection from him was my go-to stress relief on days when I had to deal with the press.
I pulled back with a deep inhale and smiled at him.
"I'd love to come," I said.
Bakugo smiled back. He smoothed my bangs away from my face and pressed his lips to my forehead.
"Thanks, baby."
"You got it, hot stuff."
He stepped away from me and walked across the room to pick up his things.
"Hot stuff, huh?"
"That's what you are."
I grabbed my phone and put on my coat and sunglasses.
"Hell yeah."
Bakugo straightened out his jacket as he walked over to me. He held out his hand for me to take. We interlaced our fingers and headed out of the studio.
As soon as we were out the doors at the front of the building, we were mobbed.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Bakugo groaned.
I held his hand tighter.
I kept my head down as we shoved our way through the crowd and into the back of a limo. We sat in silence for a moment to recover from the hectic couple hours we'd just had. We each put on our seatbelts. The car pulled away from the curb.
"You still don't regret it?" Bakugo asked.
"Regret what?"
"Being with me."
He turned from the window to me.
"Not one bit," I said.
Tension visibly left him, and resultantly left me as well.
Being able to make him relax so easily was a good sign. It meant putting him on edge could be accomplished with just as much ease.
•••
Bakugo and I sat at a small table in a coffee shop the next morning. Both of us in hats and sunglasses, sipping from cups of caffeinated beverages we'd likely benefit from greatly throughout the day.
"You nervous?" I asked.
"Why would I be nervous?"
"I don't know. You're going back to your old school. School brings back bad memories for some people."
"Not me. I fucking aced high school. Rocked that shit."
"I'm sure you did, honey."
Bakugo took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. He put it back and stood up, coffee in hand.
"Ride's here," he said.
I picked up my drink and followed him outside to the car.
•••
Bakugo and I were in the wings of UA's enormous indoor auditorium waiting for the function to begin.
"Well, if it isn't King Explosion Murder," a low voice uttered from behind us.
I turned around. A long-haired man dressed in all black with a large grey scarf around his neck approached us. All Might was with him.
"Eraser," Bakugo said as he shook the man's hand with a smile.
"Bakugo," he replied.
"All Might," Bakugo greeted.
"Good to see you again, kid. You, too, young Midoriya."
"Oh, yeah. Deku, this is Aizawa. He's an old teacher of mine."
"Nice to meet you, sir," I said.
"I like this kid. He's polite. Maybe you could learn something from him, Bakugo."
Before Bakugo could spout off, a... rat in a suit...? emerged from Aizawa's scarf. I jumped back and splayed my hand against the side of Bakugo's arm.
"My sincere apologies, Mr. Midoriya. I didn't mean to frighten you."
"I-it's okay."
I hesitantly moved away from Bakugo.
"Allow me to introduce myself: I'm the principal!"
Principal Rat held out his arms as he announced his title.
"Hi. I'm... I'm Midoriya. I guess you know that already. Um... I..."
I looked over at Bakugo in the hope that he could supply an explanation for the talking mouse perched on his teacher's shoulder.
"We don't know what Nezu is," he said.
"Nope! But what we do know is: it's time for the ceremony to begin! Let's go, Eraserhead!" Nezu proclaimed.
Aizawa, Nezu, and All Might walked onstage. All Might sat down in the row of chairs lined up behind the podium where Aizawa stood. Other teachers filed in and took their seats. The crowd in that room got quiet faster than any of the audiences I'd recently encountered.
"UA students, it is my pleasure to welcome you all back for your final term," Nezu began. "I look forward to seeing what you will accomplish in the next couple months and have no doubt that each and every one of you will continue to excel this semester. At this point in time, it is especially critical that you hold on to your motivation to succeed, which is why I've invited one of the most driven students I've ever had the honor of supervising to speak to you today. UA, please join me in welcoming Katsuki Bakugo to the stage!"
There went those screams again. Too much more of that and I'd have lost my mind and my hearing.
"Good luck," I said.
"Luck is for amateurs," Bakugo rebuffed.
I rolled my eyes after he'd left my side and I was out of his peripheral vision.
Aizawa clapped Bakugo on the shoulder before sitting down in an empty seat among the other teachers. Bakugo stepped up to the podium.
"Alright! Quiet down, rascals!"
The rascals quieted down.
"If this were some janky trash school, I'd be up here telling you guys to get your sh—stuff together. But this isn't a janky trash school, this is U-frickin-A. None of you would be here if you didn't have what it takes to be a hero. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't fu—uh, mess up. Don't act out. Trust me, I know better than anyone that being a pain in the, um... neck doesn't get you anywhere. Just don't be dumb. Don't be a moron and you'll be fine. You all got that?"
Bakugo paused.
"I said, you all got that?"
The students cheered wildly.
"There we go!"
Bakugo seemed to be caught off guard by something in the crowd.
"Are you raising your hand?" he inquired. "...Screw it. What? You, waving your arm in the air like a jacka— bad student, what do you want?"
"Where's Deku?!"
High-schoolers started shrieking. Children began to chant my name.
"Aye! Pipe down, runts! I'm not gonna bring him out if you don't shut the hell - I mean, heck - up!"
They simmered.
"Thank you!" Bakugo exclaimed angrily.
He sighed and looked off to me. I mouthed, "seriously?". He flailed his hands in bemusement. I shrugged and walked on.
The runts piped back up.
I stood next to Bakugo at the podium. I grinned at him in disbelief.
"Congrats, jerk kids. You won. Deku, say hi or something."
"Good morning, future heroes," I said.
They screeched in response to that for whatever reason.
"Okay, we're gonna say The Thing and then we're gonna go. When I point at you, you are allowed to scream. Only when I point at you! Okay? Okay."
I correctly assumed "The Thing" was UA's school motto.
"Go..."
Bakugo pointed at me.
"Beyond."
"Plus..."
He pointed at the crowd.
"Ultra!" they shouted in unison.
Once upon a time, UA was my dream school. I never could've gotten in being the quirkless weakling that I was, but...
Look at me now.