"Thanks for helping me with this, Uraraka," Izuku said, grabbing the last couple of boxes from the back of the moving van and bumping the door closed with his hip.
"Of course, Deku. I'm so excited that you're moving into the same dorm as me." She smiled back at Izuku as he followed her up the stairwell.
Izuku had been looking forward to this for so long. UA University had been his dream for as long as he could remember and here he was. It was one of the most prestigious schools in the country and he'd barely managed to pass the entrance exam to get in. But he had, and now here he was at the school of his dreams.
Several of his friends were attending the same university. They'd made a pact in high school and they'd stuck to it. Uraraka and Todoroki lived in the same complex he was moving into, while Iida,Tokoyami, and Asui were all the way on the other side of the campus.
He'd been late moving in. His mom had insisted they go on one last vacation before Izuku went off to college and abandoned her - her words, not his. Their flight back had been delayed by storms and he'd barely made it back in time. He didn't blame her though. He was going to miss her as much as she was him.
Izuku and Uraraka were going up their third flight of stairs and honestly Izuku was getting a little winded. What was even in the boxes he was carrying? He should have labelled them. Everything is 20/20 in hindsight, he supposed.
His room was on the fourth floor directly above Todoroki's room. Uraraka lived on the same floor but on the other side of the building - the girls side. UA's attempt at keeping their students more focused on their studies than their libidos. It didn't really work, honestly, but no one was going to tell them that.
"How much further?" Izuku was starting to sweat as Uraraka bounced along ahead of him.
She laughed back at him, carrying her own box casually under her arm, propped up on her hip like it weighed nothing.
Really should have labeled them.
They emerged from the stairwell onto an open-air walkway with dorms lining one wall and railing along the otherside overlooking the courtyard between the two sections of the building. It was quite the view, the courtyard beautifully designed with ornate fountains and neatly kept walking paths. A groundskeeper shuffled about down below raking the freshly fallen leaves into neat piles only for them to be swept away by the chilly autumn breeze.
Izuku hoisted his boxes up a little further as they walked. He couldn't see anything in front of him, but he trusted Uraraka to make sure he didn't trip over anything and wind up in the courtyard four stories down. Unfortunately, she wasn't paying as much attention as she should have been to where Deku was going. She stopped in front of his door and Izuku walked right past her.
She saw him moving out of the corner of her eye and turned to tell him to stop about a second too late.
"What the fu-" Someone started to say in an angry tone, comment trailing off in a grunt as both them and Izuku hit the ground. The boxes Izuku had been carrying landed off to the side, comic books scattered across the floor.
So that's why they were so heavy.
Izuku rubbed his sore behind, eyes scrunched up in pain.
Ouch.
"I'm so sorry," Izuku said. His eyes landed on the person on the ground across from him and his whole body went stiff.
No way.
"Kacchan?"
X
Bakugou woke up with the headache to end all headaches. Why he'd let Kirishima talk him into going to that party last night was beyond him.
"It's the last day before classes," he'd said with that pleading look on his face.
"So what?" Bakugou couldn't have cared less. He wasn't interested in partying. People were annoying, especially when intoxicated and in large groups.
"I'll buy you lunch for a month."
Bakugou had paused at that. A tempting offer considering he was kind of broke.
He'd sighed and grudgingly agreed. It had, in fact, been a mistake.
He groaned as a beam of sunlight cut through his blinds, wincing. He emerged from his bedroom into the small living room. The dorm rooms were set up like small apartments with a bedroom, bathroom, and a combination living room/kitchen. Bakugou was just glad he didn't have to deal with roommates since everyone got their own dorm. The perks of going to a school with as much funding as UA.
He glanced at the clock hanging above his TV.
Shit.
It was already noon. No wonder he felt like crap - other than the epic hangover, that is. Bakugou was used to getting up early in the morning to go for a run. His friends thought he was insane, because who the hell gets up at five in the morning to exercise? Whatever.
He started up the coffee maker, in desperate need of a crap ton of caffeine if he was going to make it through the day. He heard noises outside, people talking and laughing. They were being particularly loud about it, and the walls around here might as well have been made of paper for how little soundproofing they provided.
He was in no mood to put up with overly loud and bubbly people. His eyes narrowed as the voices got loud, presumably getting closer. Bakugou stomped towards the door, intent on telling whatever idiots were blabbing about out there to shut the fuck up.
Bakugou slammed the door of his room open and marched outside, already beginning to tell the strangers off. He'd barely gotten out the door when he was knocked to the ground, boxes flying and scattering what looked like comic books all over the place.
He groaned, rubbing the back of his head where it had connected with the concrete.
Oh, I'm gonna kill whoever the hell did this.
"I'm so sorry," came an oddly familiar voice.
Bakugou sat up, prepared to strangle the guy. Then he saw who it was.
No. Fucking. Way.
Dark green eyes stared back at him, looking equally as shocked. Bakugou was at a loss for words.
"Kacchan?"
"Deku?"
Bakugou couldn't believe his eyes. What were the fucking odds? Deku of all people. He hadn't seen him since middle school.
Izuku got to his feet, brushing himself off and then strolled over to where Bakugou was still sprawled out on the ground. He offered him a hand, still a little awe-struck at having somehow wound up at the same university as his childhood friend. The same friend who, coincidentally, Izuku had had an epic crush on in middle school.
Bakugou stared at the hand being offered for a second longer than necessary, still processing the situation. He batted the hand away, getting to his feet on his own and crossing his arms over his chest defensively as he stared at the boy he'd grown up with.
He looked so different. He was taller, for one. Still not quite as tall as Bakugou, but much closer than he'd been the last time they'd seen each other. Bakugou had towered over Deku since they were little, but now there were only a few meager inches separating them.
Not only taller, but he'd filled out as well. He wasn't the same scrawny kid Bakugou had known as a child. He was fit, lean muscle running the length of his body. He was still thin, but scrawny he most certainly was not. He still had that pale skin, freckles spattered across his cheeks and nose, littering his shoulders and running down his arms.
Izuku flushed as Bakugou blatantly looked him up and down. He said nothing, expression blank, unreadable. Izuku didn't dare say anything as the man scrutinized him. Instead, he used the opportunity to check Bakugou out in return.
His platinum blond hair was as unkempt as always, though perhaps a little more mussed, like he'd just rolled out of bed. Bakugou had always been in good shape, but while he was well muscled in middle school, he looked near god-like now. He was dressed in a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and nothing else. No shoes, no shirt, and Izuku would be lying if he said he wasn't having a hard time keeping his eyes from lingering in places they shouldn't. Izuku had always thought he was attractive, but damn.
Uraraka watched the two look each other over in silence. It was an odd thing to witness and honestly she was incredibly confused by the whole ordeal. It was getting a little weird, actually.
She cleared her throat, making Deku jump. "Should I leave you two alone?"
Izuku flushed. "No, no, that's not necessary," he squeaked out, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Bakugou had yet to say anything.
"So, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Uraraka asked. It was pretty obvious they knew each other, though she wasn't clear on how.
"Oh! Right," Izuku scrambled. "Uraraka, this is Bakugou Katsuki. We grew up together. He was my next door neighbor before I moved to Hosu."
Ooh.
Uraraka's lips curled up into a wicked smile.
So it's that Kacchan.
Izuku did not like that look. Not one bit.
"Nice to meet you, Bakugou. I'm Uraraka Ochaco. I went to high school with Deku." She extended a hand as a greeting. Bakugou didn't even glance down at it, his eyes never leaving Deku.
Uraraka lowered her hand, eyes flitting from Bakugou to Deku and back again. What was with this atmosphere?
Izuku's gaze turned back to Bakugou. He was still on edge, and Bakugou's intense gaze was not helping things. "Long time no see, Kacchan," he tried nervously. Still, Bakugou said nothing.
The silence stretched on for a few more torturously long moments before Bakugou finally spoke.
"Watch where you're going, shitty nerd."
Izuku and Uraraka watched in shocked silence as Bakugou casually strolled back into his dorm and slammed the door behind him.
"...What on earth was that about?" Uraraka questioned, stunned.
"I honestly have no idea."
X
Bakugou slammed the door behind him, leaning up against it as he stared wide-eyed into the scarcely decorated space. He was breathing hard, pulse racing. He could hear his heartbeat pounding away in his ears as his gaze danced around the room, not actually looking at anything in particular.
He let his head fall back against the door, barely registering the sting from where he'd hit the ground a few minutes ago. The last thing he'd expected when he woke up this morning was to run into Deku of all people. He wasn't prepared for that, not after so long. Bakugou hadn't seen Deku since his mother had moved them to Hosu after middle school. The sudden departure had hit Bakugou pretty hard. He didn't have many friends, and while he didn't really treat Deku especially friendly, they'd always been close in a way.
They were inseparable when they were kids. Deku followed Bakugou around everywhere, practically worshipped him. Then puberty hit and something changed. Bakugou couldn't deal with Deku clinging to him all the time, couldn't deal with how close he would get. It took him awhile to figure out what in the hell was going on, but once he did, oh boy.
He started pushing Deku away, not sure what to do about what he was feeling. Deku tried so hard to be around him, but the closer he got the more freaked out Bakugou became. By the time Deku and his mother moved, they were barely speaking to each other. Bakugou had even started teasing him with the rest of the class, calling him names and poking fun. It helped him feel more detached.
And now here he was, five years later, sliding down the door of his dorm room, face flushed and heartbeat thrumming away in his chest because holy shit. Deku got hot.