Title: save the world (one kindness at the time)
Summary: One doesn't need to be a hero to be a hero. Midoriya never gets One for All, never enters UA, never becomes Hero Deku. It doesn't mean he did nothing worthwhile with his life.
Or: the roads Midoriya's life could have taken, from the eyes of the pro heros who would have been his comrades. A set of future AUs from Class 1-A POV. Soft Dekubowl.
Rated: T
Warning: none. Except Denki being A Failed Adult.
Note: the astonishing Kalied369 betad this chapter, kudos to her!
So this a set of AU where Midoriya doesn't become a hero, but gets another job. Each AU pictures a different member of class 1-A meeting Midoriya in a specific profession.
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I. Chargebolt
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Denki is a hero. In the course of his admittedly short career, he had to tell people that their money have very little chances of being retrieved, tell families that their homes have been destroyed, tell parents that their child will never come back from their walk. He's had to explain more often than he would have thought that, despite the fact he is indeed a licenced pro-hero, he can't do anything.
Therefore, he knows what the face of a bearer of bad news looks like. And that wrinkle above his new accountant and potential business saver's nose is a 'I don't want to make you panic but shit is about to get real' expression if Denki has ever seen one.
"It's terrible, isn't it?" Denki blanches. "Don't sugarcoat anything, man, tell me the raw truth."
From the other side of the desk, Midoriya Izuku blinks up questioningly. Bites his bottom lip. Clears his throat. Meanwhile, Denki is dying inside from anxious anticipation.
Eventually, the green-haired man puts an end to Denki's misery with a careful and devastating, "...Well."
Denki instantly bursts into tears. Because he certainly isn't a pretty crier, it looks ugly and pathetic and he can't help it dammit so fuck off already. He is allowed to drip snot and bitter tears in his own goddamn office if he feels like it.
Alright, to be fair, Denki can be the chillest person around in very specific scenarios. Put him inside a burning building two seconds away from collapsing, or in the middle of an impromptu street fight with ten enraged villains and he won't bat an eyelash. It's the little things of adulthood his nerves can't handle. The simplest paperwork is enough stress to make him hysterical. Banks terrify the shit out of him. Insurances are hell on earth, nothing less. Bills are a regular source of cyclic depression. Taxes...taxes. There is no word to portray how viscerally Denki loathes taxes.
Needless to say, for the sake of his own mental health, Denki avoids any form of adulting unrelated to heroics as he would the plague, an attitude that may or may not be directly responsible for his current problems.
Kaminari Denki, alias Chargebolt. Decent Hero, Failed Adult. He'll tell Mina to write that on his tombstone, with 'Mind Your Taxes, Kids' underneath. People need to know. Let his premature heart attack thanks to administration-induced stress be their warning.
To his credit, Midoriya handles the situation with perfect tact. Considering his profession, it might not be the first time a grown ass dude he met ten minutes ago has lost his shit in front of him.
"It's not that bad, Chargebolt-san," the man announces soothingly, before reaching for his satchel. "There."
Denki catches the offered handkerchief like a drowning man would a lifeline. A handkerchief. Who carries handkerchiefs in their time and age? Midoriya Izuku, unassuming accountant of his state, that's who. An All Might-themed handkerchief, mind you. This is simultaneously the best and worst thing to ever happen to him. Best because All Might-themed handkerchief, how cute is that? Worst because All Might-themed handkerchief. Denki is an ass, but not enough of an ass to blow his snot on the Symbol of Peace's blinding smile.
Tears are an acceptable compromise, Denki decides as he wipes his eyes, sending a mental apology to his former teacher for daring to soil All Might's sacro-sainted brand with his unworthy body fluids.
"Thanks," Denki says between two sniffs. Contrary to common belief, he does have some manners. "So. Are we bankrupt or something?"
Midoriya leans back in the chair, his expression politely neutral. "Not yet. I have to be honest with you, however; your agency's financial situation is by no means stellar."
Denki glares dejectedly at the piles of paperwork Midoriya has meticulously ordered on the desk. Fuck his accounts. Fuck his life. And fuck his so-called partners, who had the gall to leave him on his own to deal with The Real Problems while they had fun saving the world. "Yeah. Thought so."
Bakugou had taken one glance at their finances, and promptly burst out laughing. Bakugou. Laughing. Mockingly, but still. He even thanked them for being such irredeemable losers and making his fucking day. What an asshole.
But then he gave them Midoriya's number, 'a decent enough accountant.' Which, in Bakugou-speak, meant the dude had to be a math genius or something. Apparently, they're childhood friends. Denki had honestly expected a nerdier version of Bakugou, not a pleasantly plain-looking dude in bright red boots and casual jeans who has yet to insult Denki for being the most idiotic person on the planet, even though Denki really is the most idiotic person on the planet and clearly deserves to be called out for his stupid ways.
"If I may be so bold…" Midoriya adds, pointing at a specific pile of bills that probably should make sense to Denki, since it's his shit, but they really don't. "Did something happen four months ago? You were doing fine until then. Not brilliantly, per se, but...fine."
Ah. Well. How to explain without sounding even more of a moron than he already does.
In theory, the idea of a shared hero agency between Kirishima, Ashido and himself had seemed like a fantastic plan. And it is! They've been great friends for years now, they're on the same vibe from a professional and personal point of view, and they work perfectly well together. The 'idiot trio,' as Bakugou calls them, understands each other without having to speak, and their agency is plenty of fun. Not all the time, of course, like, let's say, right now. But Denki is usually happy, if not elated, to go to work with his bros.
And there might lay the core of their problems. Ashido, Kirishima and himself might be a little too in sync. Read: none of them can fill out paperwork for shit.
And that's where Sero comes in. Sero is not like the idiot trio. Sero is an endless pool of common sense and practicality. Unfortunately, Sero has been gone for four months now, since he accepted that offer in America for an internship. It's an amazing opportunity and Denki is very happy for him, but he misses his bro, and he also misses the guy who handled all the tedious adulting parts of the job.
It's only for a year, but at the pace they're going, there might not be an agency to come back to when he finally returns to the country.
"Oh, I remember now!" Midoriya keeps going before Denki gets a chance to speak. "Cellophane left for America right?"
"Uh yeah." Denk blinks, taken aback. "How do you know that?"
Red Riot, Alien Queen, Cellophane and Chargebolt cannot, by any means, be considered small fry, but Kaminari has no illusions of his own importance. They aren't known on a global scale like Ground Zero or Shoto are, so it's a bit surprising someone as unrelated to the hero industry as Midoriya would know about that. Maybe he did his homework before accepting their offer cough begging cough. He seems like the type. Or maybe Bakugou told him about Sero?
Ah. Bakugou talking about them to his friend. Not likely. Except to complain about their astonishing levels of stupidity.
"Aha, I'm kind of a hero nerd?" Midoriya confesses, grinning sheepishly. "I'm a huge fan of your work on the Osaka's underground drug cartel affair, by the way."
"Ehe, thanks!" He brightens, sincerely flattered. Not many people know about that. "You really are a hero nerd. Must be weird being Japan's top hero's friend!"
Midoriya's smile strains on his lips. Oops. Denki might have put his foot in his mouth again. In front of the person who may save his job, too. Before he gets the chance to apologize for his misconduct, the green-haired man flashes a very huge, very fake smile at him. "Sort of, I guess! Anyway. Let's see what I can do for you…"
Denki promptly forgets all Bakugou-related thoughts as he stares anxiously at Midoriya's pensive frown. "First of all, your office bills." Midoriya slides the incriminating folder to Denki's side. It's nice to try to make him involved in the process, but, unfortunately, he's still dumb as fuck. Denki makes a point to squint at the numbers and nods along as if he has any clue what is happening.
"Your electricity bills are simply outrageous," the accountant mumbles almost inaudibly. "Hm, it might be due to your Quirk. Can't be helped then. Maybe we can negotiate with the electricity company for a special tariff."
Well. A part of it can't be helped. Like, villain attacks and stuff. The other part, however...is just Denki getting into full-on fights with Mina for the last slice of cake or having Quirks contests with Kirishima. Or being bored out of his mind and electrifying himself for the fun of it. Incidentally short-circuiting the whole building, which might be the cause of their 'outrageous electricity expenses.'
Eh. Oops? He did say he's a Failed Adult, so. On the plus side, his partners are equally losers, so that's something.
Denki wisely chooses not to say anything while Midoriya goes through the list of reasons why they are nearly bankrupt. From taxes to bills passing through their 'ridiculously low wages,' nothing in their subpar lifestyle is spared. Calculations are made. Diagrams are drawn. Hypotheses and potential courses of action are listed by order of preference.
To be honest, Denki has never been so awed by maths and basic common sense in his entire life until now. Midoriya truly is something else. This man can tackle finance as fast as Bakugou can say fuck.
Denki might be slightly in love. Just a bit. In his defence, people who have never been subjected to the way Midoriya's eyes glint when he gets excited about tax returns don't get to judge him. Also, he has yet to get rid of that unfortunate tendency of his to offer his heart to whoever pays attention to him.
It's been a very long hour, okay? And Midoriya has just single-handedly saved his life project, all the while being adorably intense, saying words like price market or terms of reference as if they have personally offended him. He's unfairly pretty too. Denki bitterly regrets ever thinking the guy looked 'plain.' Joke's on him now.
So it's a perfectly normal emotional response. At least, that's his story and he's religiously sticking with it.
"Dude." He leans forward eagerly once his new best friend is done ranting about hero rates inflation or whatever. "Dude. You are my hero."
Midoriya's face instantly turns into a bright red color. It shouldn't look cute.
It looks really cute.
"I… I'm just an accountant." He laughs meekly. "It's… nothing special, really…"
"Hey, it's special to me," Denki interrupts the incoming self-deprecation. "You're really amazing, man!"
"Oh. Thank you. It was my pleasure to help!"
And then Midoriya smiles gently at him. It feels like hundreds of stars are glowing underneath that innocent stretch of lips, like angels are looking down at Denki and he's basking under their glory. That smile alone should come with its own fucking warning.
Denki isn't emotionally prepared for this. So he can't be blamed for short-circuiting. He really can't.
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Technically this should be in eighteen or nineteen parts, depending on my willingness to write on Mineta POV. Might be asking too much of me to be honest. Most chapters aren't planned at all yet, so I'm open to suggestion regarding what job I should do and with who. Convince me people ^^
My updating schedule goes like this: I'll update when I uptade. If I update. Fair warning XD.
Please leave a comment on your way out!