Beginning notes:

Agh I love these bois so much, I had to write this okok

So I used this website for the recipe: recipe/17981/one-bowl-chocolate-cake-iii/
Of course I altered it a bit, and know how to make icing anyways so, yeah. It's there if anybody was curious? Idk, I felt bad if I didn't give credit!

"Hurry up and fucking pick, Deku. It's not that fucking hard. If I have to stand here for another minute I'm leaving your ass alone right here, and I'm taking the money with me."

"You can't do that! C'mon, give me some slack, please? It's not fair! Why are the lemons and cocoa powder beside each other?! It's just making everything more complicated!" Midoriya whines, exchanging looks between the two items in his hand.

Bakugou huffs in return, pinching the bridge of his nose. This whole debacle is a flurry of pointlessness that could've been avoided if someone was less picky, but Midoriya isn't entirely unjustified. Why are the lemons and cocoa powder in the same aisle, and more specifically, right next to each other? It's not helpful for marketing, and it's certainly not helping the situation that's unfolding at the moment. For what it's worth, it's not that big of a deal, but the supermarket could end up in flames if Bakugou becomes angry enough. The greenette is really pushing him to his limits.

"Okay, fine, whatever. Just hurry the fuck up. What goes well with strawberries, or what do you want to eat? It's not that fucking hard," Bakugou spits venomously, but his actions are on the teasing side as he nudges Midoriya with his shoulder, who squawks indignantly in reply.

Midoriya soon returns to his internal argument, and after a couple more minutes of back and forth glances, he mumbles quietly, "I guess we'll be making a chocolate cake, then," he pauses for an instant, contemplating a while longer. "Yeah! I kind of like chocolate more than a citrus tasting lemon, anyways." Bakugou punches the other male harshly at this, frustrated beyond belief. That is not a satisfying answer for all of this—it's so simple it's aggravating.

They trudge to pay for the supplies—Midoriya rubbing the spot Bakugou had hit all the while— and head back to UA. Bakugou feels a headache coming over him when he realizes how long it took them to buy everything they needed. With no other indicator except for the sun painting the sky a dark orange, he knows it's around 6PM. They spent five hours shopping for ingredients.

Fucking fantastic.

"I hope our classmates won't mind us baking away…" Midoriya says, voicing the blonde's passing thoughts. He snorts because, in the end, they are only passing thoughts and he couldn't care less if they were bothered. They were going to fucking do this even if villains started attacking. He's got a plan to follow through with, and he isn't chickening out now.

"We wouldn't have to be doing this so late if you didn't take your fucking ass time," Bakugou throws back.

"K-Kacchan! That… that… nevermind," Midoriya says defeatedly, suddenly tuckered out and angles his head towards the ground. Bakugou grunts and keeps his eyes ahead, glimpsing the school from where they're located. The building is slightly obscured by trees, but the golden letters of "UA" are remarkably recognizable, standing out even more thanks to the setting sun. He quickens his pace, and ever diligent, Midoriya does the same to keep up.

Only yesterday was it Midoriya's birthday, and in addition to Bakugou attending and begrudgingly lending his aid during the set-up, the class threw Midoriya an extravagant party. He was all smiles and giggles, thrilled to have so many of his friends enjoying themselves alongside him. This made Bakugou feel both guilty and and content. Thanks to those emotions swirling in his gut, Bakugou received an idea and asked the freckled boy if he'd want to bake a cake with him the following day—just the two of them. Bakugou didn't think that Midoriya could display any more happiness than he already was, but he proved him wrong. His face lit up like never before, and he agreed vigorously.

Arriving at the 2-A Heights Alliance, the blonde lashes open the door and shoves a still-dejected Midoriya inside, who automatically brightens at the touch. He giggles at Bakugou's exasperated expression, which, as a reaction to Midoriya's laughter, immediately changes to pissed off and he punches him yet again. The explosive male is ruffled and twitching, ready to explode, but they make it to the common area in one piece.

On entering, a few heads turn in their direction before their classmates resume back to their original activities.

At one point in the past, the class would've been wary, skeptical, and astonished if they saw Midoriya and Bakugou wander in together—without any wounds or scratches littered on their skin to boot. Even Aizawa would've had to slap himself to see if it were real. But now, in their second year, many things have changed since their childhood.

Starting on the first day at UA and leading up till the present, they've been given many hours and occasions to amend for what they've lost and move forward from their misunderstandings.

Gradually adjusting to becoming proper rivals by the end of their first year, working and growing together, battling each other in friendly competition, all of this amiability is thanks to what happened at Ground Beta.

Bakugou wants to kick himself for how naive he'd been; shrouded by his own doubts and pride, not knowing how much pain he'd caused his childhood friend. After they fought that night, he slowly grew more comfortable around Midoriya, and Midoriya more comfortable around him. It was, well, comfortable. They had small talks that transformed into long discussions, and purposely tested and challenged the other in rivalry, utilizing fancy words left to be deciphered. It lit a wild, passionate, and endearing flame inside Bakugou that he couldn't extinguish, and nor does he want to.

Now, they're a duo that can properly call each other "childhood friends." They've come far, Bakugou admits as he strolls over to the kitchen, Midoriya tagging along not far behind. They toss all their bags on the table and begin to unpack in mutual silence. A few minutes later, a familiar female voice crashes in to transform the atmosphere, voice filled with curiosity and wonder.

"Deku-kun! Bakugou-kun! What're you two making? Most of us have already eaten, so, this must be just for the two of you, right?" Uraraka makes her appearance known and circles around the table, brown hair bouncing with each step. Bakugou almost chortles at the amount of interest she has with what they're doing. A cake isn't what you'd call a unique piece of art, after all.

Midoriya pipes up, enlightening her in their petit escapades, "That's right, Uraraka-san, it's only for the two of us. We're going to bake a cake!" He then adds in sheepishly, "It's kind of my fault that we're starting so late, though…"

"Kind of? It is your fault, nerd," Bakugou says, busying himself with taking out the milk.

Uraraka looks at them with owlish eyes as Midoriya smacks Bakugou on the shoulder. Bakugou lets it slide this once, instead focusing his attention on the girl before them. She looks like she's… analyzing—or something along those lines.

"What's on your mind, Round Face? You're not very good at hiding."

Uraraka smiles a sincere, teeth-baring smile, unafraid to supply him with her thoughts. "I guess… I'm just really happy, with you two, well..." she waves her hands in the air, searching for the right words, "being... friends," the tone of her voice ends in a quiet, light-hearted manner, her smile becoming smaller and more meaningful. Some may think that it came out sombre, as Uraraka Ochaco isn't exactly a person who's hushed (Bakugou calls bullshit on that though, having fought her at the Sports Festival in their first-year. She was pretty fucking silent and sneaky), but there's more to it than that.

Bakugou recalls the time that she asked him to stop being scared and become a proper friend of Midoriya's. Her expression had been soft and worried, alike Midoriya. This "getting closer" thing must mean a lot to her, and honestly, it means a lot to the whole class and most certainly to him and the nerd.

"I'm happy too, Uraraka-san!" Not catching on to the weight of the brunette's words, Midoriya says that nonchalantly, as if it were a situation to pass on by. At least he's smiling, meaning he has an inkling of an idea of what Bakugou and Uraraka are feeling. "I was actually really surprised when Kacchan asked me if I wanted to bake a cake, just the two of us, the other day. So you can't blame me for being happy, or taking my time, or anything else!" he sing-songs, aiming the last bit at Bakugou as he narrows his green eyes tauntingly.

This makes Uraraka raise her eyebrows. "Oh, really now?" she says suggestively, her voice tinged with slyness. Bakugou wants to punch her badly—she should think twice before she makes fun of him!

"Yep!" Midoriya answers.

Uraraka hums and drops her gaze, taking a few steps away from the counter and skips off to exit the kitchen. All the vibrant twinkles and glee are back on her features. They're exaggerated, but Bakugou can tell they're also genuine.

"I'll leave you two to it, then! Have fun! Don't stay up too late, even if we don't have classes tomorrow."

"Oh! Okay! thanks Uraraka-san!"

Bakugou is contemplating whether or not he should remain silent, but his thoughts are demolished when the girl flashes him a striking look. He notices all the stray emotions in her cedar eyes: euphoria, excitement, a tiny drop of anxiety, and the one that sticks out the most, gratitude.

This look of gratitude adorns the colours of her eyes, and it can't be described in a simple sentence, but in a lifetime of actions to come; to support the both of them and maybe, if he's thinking clearly enough, to cheer Bakugou on. He also recognizes pride in her gaze. Unyielding pride that comes with a pressure like never before, and he returns it with promises he hopes he can keep. He'll keep becoming a stronger hero, developing as a person, comrade, and maybe, somewhere down the road, a friend. Somebody who she can come to fully trust, whether that be to put her faith in him for herself, or for those she loves.

Nodding once, Bakugou sends over an unsaid "Bye," and she retracts her gaze, trotting out of the kitchen, leaving her best friend in Bakugou's hands.

Not many minutes pass after Uraraka leaves, and the kitchen island is decked out with ingredients and materials. To tally it up, there's about a dozen items, give or take. Sugar tightly sealed in a bag, all-purpose flour, baking soda, powdered sugar, the cocoa powder that Midoriya had trouble deciding whether to purchase or not—Bakugou grunts at the memory—a tiny container of salt they retrieved from the kitchen, an egg carton, a medium-sized jug of milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, a large, plain, white bowl, a whisk, and a kettle. They left the strawberries in the fridge, keeping them fresh and frosty.

"Hey, Deku, why do we need vanilla extract, anyways? Isn't this a chocolate cake? I swear to fucking god, if we bought something by accident... This shit ain't free," Bakugou grumbles. Sure, it wasn't that expensive, but being a hero in training doesn't come with money from thin air. In fact, he hadn't even used his own money! The blonde had to ask his parents for money, promising to pay them back sometime in the near future. Midoriya tossed in a few of his own coins, but Bakugou curtly shoved them back at him, mostly due to his pride. It was his idea after all. He didn't need help with paying!

"Oh! Don't worry about that, Kacchan, I put that in the cart on purpose. After you asked me yesterday, I went ahead and asked Sato-kun what went well with most cakes. He obviously gave me the idea for the strawberries, and then told me that vanilla extract helps enhance all the other flavours of a baked good! Plus, it smells fantastic."

That, at least, is a satisfying answer, and Bakugou nods in affirmation. He may tend to boast about his cooking skills, displaying them graciously at countless occasions, but he'd never doubt Sato's skills in baking—the same way nobody would doubt him with his explosions.

Now, time to get a move on. The hours aren't generous.

"What's the first step, nerd?"

Midoriya swiftly takes out a crumpled piece of paper from the pockets of his jeans, and Bakugou knows those are notes. He hadn't bothered searching up a recipe, trusting that Midoriya would be armed with one, and his hypothesis is now proven to be correct. The greenette is always up to date in his research, ever prepared.

"Mmm," Midoriya's eyes trace over his distorted kanji, "we have to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)"—Bakugou moves to follow that instruction—"and spray the pans. I'll do that then!"

"Do we even have fucking pans in this damn kitchen?"

"I think so! They should be rightttttttt here! Aha!" he reaches up on his tiptoes, feet wobbling slightly as his arms stretch upwards at one of the higher cupboards. Pulling open the hatch, he captures the cake pan and places it onto the table. Bakugou is finished with his task and snickers at Midoriya's struggles, who pouts.

"Hah, nerd, I didn't know that you're still short and wimpy. I could've gotten that pan in three seconds," he says, mischief glinting in his garnet orbs. The shit-stain asked for it, taunting him earlier.

Responding to that comment, Midoriya elbows Bakugou in the ribs, in which his action is returned with a bout of hollers and shouts, explosions crackling in the blonde's hands.

"Okay, okay, okay, be quiet, Kacchan! I'm sorry! We don't want to disturb the others, okay?"

"Tsk, who cares about the fucking extras, and you!" He jabs a finger sharply into the shorter male's chest. "Don't tell me what to do, fucking Deku. Now, what's the next step."

The addressed rolls his eyes playfully, before his emerald irises flicker back to the paper that's been dropped onto the table. "You just contradicted your own statement, Kacchan"—Bakugou takes a menacing step towards the freckled boy, but Midoriya stops him by raising his voice, distracting Bakugou with the instructions—"but, it's time to add in all our dry ingredients."

Shaking off his anger, Bakugou nods and moves for the bag of sugar, ribbing it open with his nails. He can see Midoriya twitching at this, a scissor held loosely in his hands.

"You don't have to be so aggressive…" Midoriya mumbles, placing the scissors delicately on the table and moving to open the box of baking soda.

"Shut up, Deku. Like I said, I'll do what I fucking want."

Midoriya huffs, now rolling his eyes in slight annoyance.

The one thing that Bakugou regrets with improving his bond with Midoriya is how the greenette learned to talk back to him, whether that be when he's clearly angry at Bakugou, or when he's merely teasing him. It makes Bakugou's temper flare, before he calms down, realizing with a pang of sadness that Midoriya should've always been comfortable to act this way. They're childhood friends, this behavior is expected. And yet, Bakugou had scared Midoriya to the point where he'd jolt at the sound of his voice. Thankfully, this changed overtime—of course, look at them now, in the kitchen, mingling freely— but it's another thing he'll have to make up for.

There's a lot he has to do to show he's sorry for their past, but Bakugou is a hero. He can take the challenge, and he most definitely won't back down. Midoriya has given him a chance. It's something that continuously perplexes Bakugou, something he can't wrap his head around—and he's sure he's not the only one who's confused. But despite whatever reasons the freckled boy has, he's still kind enough to have offered that chance. Whichever way somebody puts it, Midoriya didn't deny Bakugou, and is eagerly awaiting to see what he'll do. That's one thing Bakugou doesn't regret in improving his bond with Midoriya. He, himself, has discovered the many wonders Midoriya holds in his clumsy self. The pros much outway the cons—but the nerd still is clumsy, so he's still got some a ways to go.

Pouring the dry ingredients into the bowl—Bakugou insisted on sifting everything—Midoriya begins to read off the next step, "We now put in the other ingredients. Okay! That's pretty self explanatory! After we're done mixing everything, we then pour in the boiling water."

He reaches over the bowl to grab the carton of eggs. "Shall we start with the eggs, Kacchan?"

To show his agreement, Bakugou grabs an egg and tosses it into the air, skillfully catching it afterward. A smirk slips onto his lips at the sight of the colour draining from Midoriya's face, eyes glued unto the small object as if he's being hypnotized.

With the way Midoriya is transfixed on the egg—and in conclusion, him—Bakugou decides that he may as well give the other male a show. Throwing an egg in the air and capturing it is child's play. Midoriya should know better than anyone how strict Mitsuki is in the kitchen.

Well, even for him, a show is exaggerating. He'll just demonstrate how to crack an egg, but with one hand.

Hitting the egg on the table, he lifts it above the bowl (with one hand) and gently lets the yoke out. It lands with a tiny splash, but that's it. Really, that was highly anti-climatic.

Bakugou spins around to face Midoriya. "So, nerd, think you can crack an egg?"

Evidently taken off guard, Midoriya's head bends and twists stiffly in panic, and he rushingly grabs an egg, almost dropping it in his haste. Geez, this guy can seriously freak out easily, but he'll still pack a powerful punch when he fucking wants to, Bakugou thinks, amused.

Mouth twisted downwards in concentration, Midoriya hits the table to create a thin line of cracks on the egg. Though, because of his nerves getting to him, he hits it on the table much too hard and the egg excitedly explodes on the spot. Ruining the peaceful atmosphere, there's now yoke running down the side of the table and eggshells splayed on the ground.

Bakugou would have laughed if the yoke didn't splatter onto his hands. It's only a tiny speck, but Midoriya's complexion contorts to a pallid colour as a cold feeling crawls up his spine. The blonde turns to him impressively slowly.

Wildfires are unleashed.

"Why are you so scared, huh, nerd?! Fuckin' hell, I didn't show off my skills for you to get nervous! Chill the fuck out, Deku!" he yells, eyebrows furrowed.

Midoriya stutters fruitlessly, eyes flicking all around the room until they land on the broken egg, yoke still dripping and causing a mess. Halfway away from punching Midoriya, Bakugou regains his self control when Asui peeks into the kitchen, eyes betraying nix as always.

"Is everything okay in here, ribbit?" she questions, tilting her head to the side. Distantly are the voices of their other classmates. Bakugou can tell they're curious with all their chattering, and some voices have a tense lilt to them. He may have been a bit too loud, but what did their classmates expect? He isn't going to stay hushed just because they'd be bothered. Fuck that!

But thanks to Asui's interruption, Midoriya also regains his composure and is able to mutter a proper response, "Everything's good, thanks for checking in, Asui-san! I'll just… um, clean this up. No need to worry!" He flashes a sunny smile. It doesn't look to be forced, which Bakugou is grateful for. He really hadn't meant to scare Midoriya: just ruffle him up a bit.

Asui nods. "Okay. Don't explode the kitchen." She then darts casually out of the room.

As promised, Midoriya grabs a towel and wipes the dirtied area clean. This time around, when he cracks an egg into the bowl, his earlier jitters have vanished and his egg sits beside Bakugou's nicely. They pour in the milk and vegetable oil, and Midoriya takes it upon himself to add two teaspoons of vanilla extract. What Sato had previously told him is justified—the smell of vanilla can make a million mouths water.

"Now, we mix it all. But, you already knew that, didn't you, Kacchan?" Midoriya says.

"Of fucking course. Let's get this into the oven as soon as possible," he answers, whisk already in hand from the point when Midoriya was adding the vanilla extract. Bakugou mixes all the ingredients together until they transcend into a brown… concoction of sorts.

All the while, Midoriya hasn't been able to keep his mouth shut, constantly complaining about not getting a turn to mix. Even now he hasn't given up, proving to be a thorn in Bakugou's side once again.

Flailing his arms around like a child, he whines, "Kacchannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, this isn't fair! You invited me to join you, we should be doing this together!"

"No, Deku," he says harshly."I'm not letting you have a turn because you might mess up this batter. Maybe prove yourself worthy next time!"

"Come on! This isn't fair!"

"Well, too bad! I'm not letting you mix it," Bakugou states with an air of finality, hitting the whisk on the side of the bowl none too lightly.

Fate is never an entity to be meddled with, that's the view Bakugou has developed about it over time. From what Bakugou's heard and seen, it has a fickle way with things, turning many situations completely upside down and never being predictable.

Crick… Crick...

The bowl cracks and creates a hole thanks to all the pressure coming from holding the batter and the pounding of the whisk. This goes unnoticed until it's practically too late.

Mid argument, Midoriya stops talking and his green eyes flick to the bowl. He squeaks hoarsely, "Oh my good god, Kacchan, the batter is coming out! I knew it, you shouldn't have been so brash." Even at a time like this, Midoriya still finds a way to eat away at Bakugou's patience, crossing his scarred arms like a disappointed mother would.

"SHIT!" Bakugou screams, tilting the bowl in the opposite direction of the hole, not letting anymore of the precious batter escape. Except, by now, it's too late to continue with the amount that's left. Mimicking the yoke from before, the runaway batter teeters off the table, this time cascading onto floor.

"I told you, you shouldn't have been so aggressive. Now we have to start over," Midoriya pauses, smiling wickedly. "Well, at least it's not my fault!" he sing-songs and avoids a fist to the head by ducking.

"Stupid fucking shit asshole bitch!" Bakugou cusses, grabbing the towel Midoriya had used previously.

After cleaning up the catastrophe, the two boys get to work on their new batch, this time being extra cautious not to rile each other up. When the ingredients are whisked together and boiling water is added, they pour the batter into a round, aluminum cake container. Bakugou carefully places the soon-to-be-cake into the oven and slams the oven door closed with gusto. Midoriya begins to grudgingly mumble about the noise, but Bakugou shuts him up with a glare and grabs the bag of powdered sugar.

"This should keep us busy for a bit. Get me the milk, nerd. Icing is easy to make."

With narrowed eyes, Midoriya passes the container of milk to Bakugou, who pours in a well-calculated amount. To make icing, all somebody would need are a couple tablespoons of milk. If there's too much it'll just become a gooey disaster.

Grabbing the whisk, Bakugou sighs, feeling annoyance radiating off of the greenette. Well, it's a better time than never to work together.

He waves the kitchen utensil in front of Midoriya's face. "Here, Deku. You want to mix it, right?" At this, the addressed regains his sunny personality and nods his head fervently. Taking the whisk from Bakugou's hand, he mixes the powdered sugar until it transforms into glossy icing, humming contently and bouncing his head from side to side. Somewhere during the process, Bakugou adds two drops of vanilla extract.

Now finished, they scoop the icing into a transparent bag with help from a spatula. The bag is then shaped to a form fit for piping. It doesn't give off a professional vibe, with the bag crumpled in places, but it would do, as it still has the rounded shape they were going for.

30 minutes remain until the cake is to be ready, so the two spend that time conversing and recalling events from the past week. When the oven beeps, indicating the cake is finished, Bakugou removes it from the clutches of the steaming oven and puts it on the table. He grabs a long knife and shaves off the top layer of the cake, giving it a smooth surface. Both of the boys put their hands on their hips proudly.

Midoriya then briefly excuses himself to the washroom, and Bakugou has to hold back his shameful giddiness because wow, all of this is working in his favour. Vanishing from the Bakugou's view, he jumps towards the door and pokes his head out to survey the common area.

Spotting a certain redhead, Bakugou calls his name to gain his attention. When Kirishima looks his way, Bakugou nods at him meaningfully. Understanding—Bakugou confided in him with his plan—Kirishima gives him a thumbs up and skips off in pursuit of the washrooms. That Shitty-Hair better do a good job, this all counts on him.

Moving back into the kitchen, he pipes out gumdrop-sized, curled mountains on the surface of the cake, all around the border. There's still a plentiful amount of icing left, so he uses that to create spirals on the sides. Dark brown and luminous white dance together wonderfully.

Now taking a handful of candles, Bakugou takes a few minutes to organize them so that they create a smiley-face near the bottom right corner. The nerd likes that kind of shit, after all.

Only one last thing to do, Bakugou thinks, and gets to work.

When Midoriya re-enters the room, Bakugou is dutifully standing in front of the cake.

"Took you long enough, nerd."

"I'm sorry, Kacchan! I thought it'd just be a quick trip, but I bumped into Kirishima and we ended up talking about his quirk, and you know I can't help but talk about people's quirks!" he explains frantically. Bakugou smirks. Good job, Kirishima.

Movement catches Bakugou's eye, and he has to shoot his attention back to the freckled boy in front of him when he takes an alarming step forward, most likely to assist with the cake. Bakugou widens his stance in turn. Midoriya raises an eyebrow in question, and moves forward again.

"Deku."

"Yes, Kacchan?" Midoriya says with all the patience in the world.

"Could you please wait in the common area?"

The patience dissipates from Midoriya's entire being.

"What?! What's this about, Kacchan? C'mon, I can help! Don't leave me out of this again! Plus, everybody has left the common area, I'll be sitting alone and that'll make me even more lonely…" Bakugou, of course, already knows that nobody will be there. He'd taken it upon himself to politely tell the others to leave. Kirishima was a huge help, as many were skeptical with the sudden demand. He hadn't meant to make Midoriya misinterpret his plead in a bad way, though.

With a tired sigh, Bakugou musters all of his self-restraint and says quietly, "It's nothing like that. Just fuckin' trust me, alright?" Midoriya still looks doubtful so he includes a promise, "I'll let you add some stuff, don't worry, nerd."

Midoriya releases a breath and spins on his heel. "Fine, Kacchan… Don't be long though, because I wasn't kidding about being lonely." He grumbles and disappears out of the kitchen.

And Bakugou doesn't take long at all.

Not even a minute later, and the blonde is carrying their creation out into the common area, meeting Midoriya's curious gaze with a smirk. He hopes that his false demeanor conceals how nervous he is. Butterflies are coming to life in his stomach as he positions the cake between the two of them, and he takes a seat across from Midoriya. Bakugou witnesses the very moment when the nerd pieces everything together, tears awakening in his eyes.

On the top layer of the cake, in neat kanji, are the recognizable words "Happy Birthday" with an extra "nerd" at the end, written with the icing. It would've already been a joyous occasion if that was the end of the surprise, but Bakugou Katsuki doesn't do anything without giving it his all. Some simple "Happy Birthday" isn't going to do.

In equally big symbols, the next round of kanji form a sentence reading, "I'm sorry I was a dick." Bakugou never would've thought that adding that onto a cake would be so difficult and nerve wracking. Seeing that emerald stare pointed at him, he swallows thickly, realizing he's not out of deep waters yet. This could either be much, much worse, or much, much merrier.

"Did you… did you have to cuss on my birthday cake?" Midoriya inquires hesitantly, and Bakugou chokes, not expecting that response in the slightest.

"That's the first thing you say?!"

Midoriya chuckles, sniffling at the same time. He lowers his head after that, and Bakugou knows that it's now or never.

Clasping his hands together, the blonde watches Midoriya, who looks up as if he had detected Bakugou's eyes on him.

"I… I know this won't make up for what I've done, because I was a shitty person to you and you're, well, you're so much fucking more and didn't deserve any of my prissy shit. I had no right to restrict you from being happy, from not being able to smile as much as you do now, and I—fuck," he tries to keep his hands in his lap, forbidding them from moving to comb through his hair as a nervous reaction, "I realized that after many fucking annoying ass hours that I spent with you. And yes, I fucking know, okay? One little half-assed cake isn't going to make up for a bunch of years, but I think that you deserve to know that I'm sorry, like, sorry for real an' shit." He shrugs unconsciously, not really understanding why and uncomfortably shifts in his seat.

What am I so scared of? The nerd won't kill me or anything! And, I trust him, right?

The answer to that question is as clear as day, and Bakugou presses onwards. "I'm sorry. Sorry, for our fucked up childhood, and for fucking everything up back then and for treating you like shit. I'm sorry, Izuku."

Midoriya jolts at his given name, and Bakugou anxiously wonders if he'd crossed a line. This whole situation is hard on him, but that implies that it's also hard on Midoriya as well. What if he's just made him even more shaken? What if—

His thoughts are cut off when Midoriya tearfully says, "You haven't called me that since we were little kids." The greenette's voice is laced with quiet elation, which reassures Bakugou.

"I'm fucking sorry for that, too. I don't see you as a 'deku' anymore, as annoying as fuck as that is. I mean, you're my rival! I wouldn't have a weakling as rival, now would I?" Midoriya chuckles at that, rubbing away tears. "If I'm honest, Round Face's definition of a'deku' fits you."

All attempts of banishing his tears fail at this statement, and the dam keeping the waterworks contained breaks, tears streaming down Midoriya's freckled face freely. Sniffling, hiccuping, eyes puffy, nose red, All Might's successor is sobbing in front of Bakugou, and for once, he doesn't say anything about it. The nerd needs this moment to let years of conflict wash over him, and frankly, he's not alone with those sentiments. Bakugou's own tears are scarcely seen, but they're lingering in his ruby eyes.

Soon, after a few more minutes, Midoriya is able to utter, "It's okay." He inhales shakily. "Kacchan… you did so much, and I'm thankful. But you should know that I have forgiven you from the time in our first year. Just like how the name you gave me has grown, you and I have grown as well, and you've proven how you're sorry a million times over." Midoriya takes a moment to wipe his eyes, and when his hand moves away, his vermillion gaze is overflowing with adoration. "I know I say this a lot, but I'm constantly amazed by you, Kacchan. Your growth, your skills, the way you manage your quirk, everything—I admire everything about you. And you deserve to know that, as well. Thank you, really, I really appreciate this." He finishes and smiles softly. Bakugou returns the expression, feeling the world's weights lifting off his shoulders, an overwhelming guilt gone. A single tear flings down his face.

Years.

Years is what it will take to truly make up for everything. But for now, Bakugou has Midoriya and his unrelenting tenderness by his side, he always has. If years is what it will take, Bakugou will drag Midoriya along with him, astonishing him and making that smile grow in ways he—no, in ways that nobody could've imagine.

"Well, let's light the candles! You said I'd get to put something on the cake, right?"

Bakugou grabs a lighter from his pocket. "Duh, you'll be putting the strawberries on. I cut them up for you, you're welcome," Bakugou says, dropping the last bit teasingly. With the hand not holding the lighter, Bakugou grabs the bowl of strawberries from where he had placed them beside his chair. They're cut up in halves.

Smiling, Midoriya grabs the fruit and, adopting more concentration than necessary, adjusts them onto the cake, using the icing as glue. He makes sure to leave the messages Bakugou had written.

In the meantime, Bakugou occupies himself with lighting the candles, and thanks to a bit of coaxing, he sings a gruff "Happy Birthday." Midoriya puffs to blow out the candles, but one of them stays alight, burning feverishly.

Bakugou says mockingly, "Oh! Deku! Looks like you're going to have only one girlfriend or boyfriend! I fucking feel bad for whoever that'll be!" Midoriya stutters before punching Bakugou from across the table.

They share their respective pieces of cake, chattering about nothing and everything at the same time. Midoriya doesn't hide his pleasure at the taste of the cake, and gushes about how the texture is delicate and feels like a cloud, how the chocolate coats his tongue, and how the strawberries add an extra bang to it all, cold and tangy.

Once everything is cleaned up and the leftovers are moved to the fridge, the duo stays up playing games into the wee hours of the night. Soon, they end up crashing out on the couch. Controllers are thrown mindlessly to the side as Midoriya uses Bakugou as a makeshift bed, snuggling close to his neck. The blonde grunts and pushes the mop of green away from his face.

"You smell like shit."

"Mm, well you always smell like sweat, so that's okay!"

Explosions crackle in Bakugou's hands and Midoriya laughs.

"Okay, okay! I yield!"

"Good decision, Deku."

There's a good few seconds of the two of them being absorbed in the other's eyes before Midoriya ducks his head and lets it flop on Bakugou's chest.

"Goodnight, Kacchan," he whispers with a yawn.

"'Night, Deku." And both of their eyes close shut.

When morning comes and their classmates pile into the common area, it comes as astonishing to many to see Midoriya and Bakugou sound asleep on the couch, with the former on top of their resident angry pomeranian. Many theories circle around, trying to come up with a definite answer, but not finding one. An explanation would come for another time.

For now, they'll revolve around this serendipity. Uraraka walks in and smiles at the sight, Asui mutters contemplatively, piecing the puzzle together, and Kirishima beams.

Everything worked out.

Ending notes:

Ah, geez! This was really a joy to write! I hope people enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

If you can/want I'd love to see a comment/review! They brighten my day, and reactions are what I live for, haha!

I was inspired to write this by a Youtube video uploaded by "Morganne" of her baking a cake for the person they bullied! Check them out, it really warms my heart to see people doing this, haha!