Summary: Shinsou is in 1-A to become a hero, he's not here to make friends.
(Or Shinsou gets adopted by the bakusquad)
I'm just a Tired uni student you really expect me to be out here? fixing all the errors in this fic? no
Shinsou's been in class 1-A for 10 minutes.
Shinsou's been in class 1-A for 10 minutes and somehow manages to get into verbal fist fight with the blond bitch from the sports festival.
For a moment, Shinsou thinks he's finally found a verbal sparring partner worth his time, but Bakugou spews out the same insults over and over again with slight changes in intonation as though no one will notice and Shinsou is left bitterly disappointed.
He sighs, leaning back in his chair as Bakugou attempts to round on him again. Shinsou years the words "fucker" and tunes out. Well, at least Bakugou isn't so much of a bitch to call him villainous. Shinsou's had an entire life of that and this is supposed to be a fresh start. If it happens even in the hero course, Shinsou's not sure he'd really make it through okay.
Bakugou's hand slams on his desk, but Shinsou's reflexes have been well honed from years of bullying. Something like that is not going to make him startle.
"Hey," Bakugou barks out and now as some of the other students wander in are giving them worried looks which means Shinsou should really wrap this up instead of letting Bakugou yell at him until he runs out of energy.
"Are you fucking listening?" Bakugou says, leaning down to get in Shinsou's face as several options roll through Shinsou's mind, all equally embarrassing as the last.
"Hmm?" Shinsou settles with, sending Bakugou the blankest stare he can muster. It always unnerves people how Shinsou's face rarely deviates from his usual disinterested, bored gaze that no one can read and it's clear it works just as well here as Bakugou blinks as if taken back by Shinsou's complete lack of reaction.
Bakugou opens his mouth again and Shinsou holds up his hand and maybe Bakugou is just confused enough that the words never come out.
"I'm sure you have some thrilling words of advice for me, Bakugou," Shinsou drawls our slowly, fishing around in his pocket as he speaks.
"But I think I should be able to manage on my own, although I really do appreciate the thought."
"You son of a -" Bakugou starts but Shinsou hushes him again, standing up to his full height, a good few centimetres on Bakugou. Shinsou holds up a mint between his thumb and index finger and presses it into Bakugou's hand.
"If we're going to have a wonderful discussion like this again, I highly recommend taking one of these beforehand," Shinsou's face doesn't change and he knows that's one of the worst parts about this for Bakugou. Shinsou's not giving him the beauty of a reaction, but is also dishing it right back but with far more finesse.
That's the great part about being under ridicule his whole life, he's got some fantastic one-liners at the ready.
Aizawa shuffles in to the classroom and the situation diffuses.
"Bakugou," Aizawa says, his voice icy as ever and thankfully Bakugou seems smart enough to know challenging their teacher is not the next best cause of action.
He slinks off back to his seat, anger practically radiating from the very pores of his skin.
Shinsou sits back down, grunting as his awkwardly long legs knock the metal legs of the desk for the fifth time that day. Aizawa locks eyes with for a brief second, a quick are you okay that Shinsou never knows how to respond to even after all this time.
He sends back his best it's fine, don't worry look and knows he fails immediately as Aizawa lets out an almost unnoticeable huff.
Shinsou can deal with Bakugou, just like he's dealt with every other bully in his life. He'll get through it, but it was ridiculous to hope that maybe in the hero course, he could just be accepted. Why would be accepted here, when he was never accepted anywhere else.
Shinsou's been in class 1-A for a week.
Kaminari is full of energy, reminding Shinsou of an overwhelmingly excitable puppy who wants to play with you every second of every day. Shinsou immediately decides he's not going to try to keep up with his endless torrent of words.
Shinsou still can't quite understand why Kaminari thinks he's worth his time. Shinsou's quiet, can't keep up with Kaminari's enthusiasm and not to mention, Shinsou isn't exactly the nicest person out there.
"You alright?" Kaminari suddenly asks, placing a gentle hand on Shinsou's back and peering into Shinsou's face and yeah, Shinsou supposes that's a fair question. Shinsou got a full hour of sleep the night previous, and if he looks anything how he looked this morning then... that's entirely understandable. Still doesn't mean Shinsou knows how to respond though.
He settles with a nod, which seems to be a mistake as Kaminari frowns harder before he seems to nod to himself.
"Optimum nap time is about 20 minutes," Kaminari starts saying as he grabs Shinsou's hand and pulling him back in the direction they came.
"What about training?" Shinsou blurts out, and he winces internally at the distressed tone. Kaminari seems to make him near unable to keep his stoic mask up and it's more distressing then he'd like to admit.
Kaminari immediately stops walking, and Shinsou does not know what to say to the face he's pulling - eyebrows drawn in and lips pressed together in a thin line. He feels like he's ruining whatever sort of mutual likeness he and Kaminari have before it's even started to blossom.
"You've been working really hard, and I get it! You've gotta catch up but it's important to look after yourself too," Kaminari says.
Shinsou knows that in his heart, but he can't fall behind because falling behind means failing and failing means probably getting kicked out of the course he's worked so hard to get into. There's a gap between him and the rest of the class, and sure he's closing it pretty fast - even Aizawa said so - but he's got to keep pace.
"I know there's a lot more riding on this for you than for any of us and I know you said that you weren't looking to make friends but just this once?" Kaminari pats his back so gently that Shinsou almost wants to tell him to keep his hand there.
"Kirishima makes the best tea and I promise to wake you up after 20 minutes. You'll feel way better."
Kaminari's dragging him down the pathway before he's finished speaking so Shinsou doubts he has a choice anyway, but he does feel like death warmed over and he could seriously do with any and all the sleep he can get...
"20 minutes only," Shinsou settles with, immediately taken back by the dazzling smile Kaminari gives him in response.
"We'll train later!" Kaminari says.
Kirishima's tea does turn out to be one of the best things that Shinsou has ever consumed in his short 16 years. He can't say what it tastes like exactly, but he's too tired to care beyond the fact that it's fantastic.
He grips the cup - pink, specifically chosen by Ashido - as Sero busies himself with turning Shinsou into a human burrito, armed with a blanket that has no right being as soft as it is.
"Insomnia sucks," Sero says after he strategically tucks in the last corner of the blanket and sits down beside him on Bakugou's bed.
Shinsou raises an eyebrow as he sips at the tea clutches in his hands.
"It's my life goal to be able to fall asleep easily and like... not wake up until my alarm," Sero says. He lays his head down on Shinsou's shoulder, relaxing his weight onto him.
"Mood," Shinsou grunts out, igniting poorly hidden giggles from the room's other occupants.
Ashido snorts from her position on the floor, smiling up at them.
"You better not leave me out of this beautiful, budding friendship," she says, elbowing Kaminari in the ribs.
"I feel like I'm being left out."
Kirishima makes an exaggerated gasp from the door, followed by Bakugou who looks like he's trying very hard to be unhappy about the impromptu invasion of his room - which is surprisingly nice when compared to his attitude.
"We can all be friends with Shinsou, right?" Kirishima says, walking over to the bed and somehow managing to fit himself in between Shinsou and the wall, successfully sandwiching him between the two of them.
Bakugou grumbles something out that Shinsou doesn't catch, drowned out the unanimous agreement of the others, and Shinsou decides he doesn't care about it.
He doesn't really understand how this has come to be, and he should probably be a little more concerned with the ease in which he fits in, but the tea in his hands is warm, and he's barricaded between two people he's pretty sure don't mind presence.
Just 20 minutes.
Then, he'll get back to training.
Shinsou's one-man 20-minute power nap rapidly reforms into a three-hour group nap session.
Shinsou blinks, eyes heavy but he feels somewhat more human than before his nap.
Slowly, Shinsou realises that the weights on either side of him belong to Sero and Kirishima respectively, Sero's head on Shinsou's shoulder and Kirishima's face buried into Shinsou's side, somehow having curled himself into a tiny ball between Shinsou and the wall. Like a cat, Shinsou thinks.
Kaminari and Ashido are a tangle of limbs just beyond Sero, neither of them have even bothered to even take off even their shoes, let alone bothered to get into something a bit more comfortable for sleeping in.
The most surprising element of his entanglement, however, is Bakugou's head in Shinsou's lap.
It takes Shinsou a moment to understand the scene in front of him and then another second to consolidate that with the same person Shinsou got into a fight with that morning. Like a sleeping bear, Shinsou thinks as he cautiously reaches out a hand through Sero's impressive blanket burrito and gently pats Bakugou's head, grinning when he unconsciously leans into the touch.
Kaminari had said Bakugou had a soft side, and it's starting to make a lot of sense why the rest of them put up with someone like Bakugou.
He tucks his hand back into the blanket and looks at the door, but the idea of even getting up seems so heinous that the thought is shut down before he can properly consider it.
He slumps back down against Kirishima and Sero and lets himself relax.
He came into the hero course to become a hero, to accomplish his life-long dream and prove everyone wrong, that he'd never fall into villainy.
But, he supposes as sleep threatens to sweep him under again, surely it can't hurt to make a few friends along the way.
I feel like I need to redeem my status as a writer after that chatfic lmao
I actually have no idea what im doing but! I appreciate comments and kudos so damn much!
give me that sweet, sweet validation