Author's Note: Hey guys! Long time now see! I'm so sorry for the almost month-long wait. I had an unexpected death in the family and now I'm dealing with college finals. Once finals are done, hopefully I can get a few chapters out pretty quick for you guys as a reward for being so patient!

Chapter Two

"Why did you say you'd need me here, Deku?"

Bakugo fell backwards onto Izuku's bed, letting out a sigh. Izuku glanced over at him from where he sat at his desk. He took in how relaxed Bakugo was, how his arms were folded behind his head as he laid facing the ceiling, his eyes closed. He was in similar attire from the day before, sweats and a tank top. Izuku couldn't help but to admire how in shape Bakugo was. He had always been fit, but he'd been training so consistently and with so much fire the last few years that his muscles were much more defined now.

Izuku smiled as he looked back to the notes they were almost done going over. "Sorry, Kaachan. I was really out of it during class yesterday and really didn't think notes would be enough. I didn't know your notes were so detailed."

"Tch."

Silence.

This is how most of the studying had gone in the hour that had passed. Izuku had hoped they would talk more, but it seemed that Kaachan was expecting him to just ask questions as he had them. Which, now that he thought about it, was exactly how Kaachan would act.

Izuku continued rewriting the notes as silence filled the room. It was the fifth time he'd copied down Bakugo's notes today, but every time he'd done so he'd learned something new that he had glazed over the time before that. Bakugo had arrived during one of his breaks, so he had asked if they could go over them as he rewrote the notes to make sure he didn't have any more questions. So far he really hadn't. They had spoked for maybe five minutes the entire time.

Bakugo let out a short sigh from the bed causing Izuku to glance over at him. He nodded to himself as he turned to face him.

"Kaachan?"

"What?"

Izuku shifted in his seat slightly, his face suddenly red as he watched the blonde. "Why did you agree to study with me?"

Bakugo's eyes opened slowly, glancing sideways to Izuku. His expression, however, remained relaxed. The room suddenly felt still as Izuku stared at him. He was refusing to back down from the question, whether the other boy wanted to answer him or not.

"Idiot." Bakugo looked towards the ceiling. "You asked me to."

Izuku raised a brow. "You could've said no."

"Does it matter?"

The pen that Izuku had been using to rewrite his notes rolled from the desk, landing on the floor with a small "click". The room seemed to regain its movement. Izuku smiled, the irony that a pen drop is what caused the tension to fade away. He shook his head and leaned down to grab his pen before starting on the notes again. His face dropped when he realized he was on the last page.

A few minutes later he sighed, mumbling. "Hey…Kaachan?"

Bakugo grunted from the bed in response. Izuku glanced at him again. How could he be so close yet so far away?

"I'm done with the notes."

The other boy didn't say anything, nor did he move. Izuku figured he would be making a quick get away once he said they were finished, but there he was still laying on the bed, not moving a muscle. Izuku turned the chair to take in the sight.

Kaachan still had his arms folded behind his head, one leg stretched out while the other was bent slightly. His breathing was slow, his eyes closed. Izuku smiled. He looked so peaceful laying there and it was a shame he was going to leave soon. Izuku really enjoyed spending time with Kaachan one-on-one. They didn't talk much but just having his company was enough.

Bakugo finally sat up, his leg that had been lying flat shifted off of the bed while he propped himself up on the other. His eyes met with Izuku's and they sat like that for what felt like minutes before he cleared his throat. He stood and walked over to the desk, looking over the two pairs of notes.

"If you're done, I'm leaving."

"Okay." Izuku rearranged Bakugo's notes and handed the papers to him. "Thank you for coming over Kaachan."

Bakugo nodded, taking his notebook and heading for the door. As his hand grabbed the handle, Izuku spoke up again.

"Maybe we can study together again?"

The blonde froze but did not say a word. Izuku scrunched up his face as he tried to study the other boy's body language, but it didn't look any different from normal. He was just standing there.

"We don't have to if you're not interested. I just figured we could help each other succeed. You take really good notes, and when I normally take notes I mostly write questions, so we could bounce ideas off each other."

Bakugo stayed silent, stayed frozen, for what felt like an eternity before he opened the door and left. Izuku stared at the door, confusion plastered across his face.

Had he said something to offend Kaachan? He didn't think that asking to study together was that big of a deal. Things had seemed to really be normal between them, especially while they studied. It wasn't like normal friends studying, he could admit that. When he studied with Uraraka or Iida there was a lot more talking, but he had enjoyed the silence between bouncing questions back and forth that came with studying with Kaachan. It was surprisingly…normal and domestic feeling.

Domestic.

Izuku chuckled as he walked over and laid on his bed. Kaachan being domestic was an interesting thought. Before tonight, Izuku never would've described him as tame or calm.

He hugged his pillow and smiled to himself. It smelled like Kaachan. He didn't know what exactly the scent was, but it made him think of sitting in a forest near a lake with a bonfire going. He continued to lay like that, wondering to himself if Kaachan would ever answer him about studying together again.

It wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep, face down in the pillow.

Izuku tapped his chin as he stared down at his notes. Studying had been hard the past few days. He was going through the motions, but it didn't feel right anymore. After Kaachan had sat with him and studied almost a week ago, he realized how empty his room felt when he tried to study alone. Well, it's not like he needed Kaachan to study. And he didn't need him there either. They had barely interacted since he was over Saturday night to study anyways.

He sighed and laid his head on his desk. This wasn't fair. Every time he'd tried to study his mind always went back to Kaachan. This never happened before, even when Kaachan had started talking to him openly in class last year. So why was it different now?

"Take my hand, Midoriya."

A groan escaped his lips. Why couldn't he get that out of his head? That's when this entire mess started. It had just been over a week and his entire focus had shifted from being the number one hero to-

A sharp knock at his door stopped his thoughts short. He glanced at his clock and furrowed his brows. It was just after 10 at night. Who could be here at this time? Another knock.

He made his way to the door, opening it hesitantly. He bit his tongue as he swung it open, staring at the boy on the other side.

"Kaachan? What are you doing here?"

Bakugo stared at him, frustration evident across his face. "Why don't you ever answer after I knock the first time?"

"Huh? You're the one that keeps coming over unannounced." Izuku fired back.

"Tch. Whatever."

Izuku watched the blonde with curiosity, trying to read his expression as the blonde glanced away and ran a hand through his hair. After a moment, Bakugo finally looked back towards Izuku.

"I brought my notes." He stated flatly, lifting his notebook so Izuku could see.

"I… You… What?" Izuku didn't know what to ask first, every thought in his mind jumbled together incoherently, and he could feel his cheeks heating up.

Bakugo lifted an eyebrow. "You said you wanted to study together."

Izuku nodded, biting his tongue lightly as he stepped out of the way and motioned for Bakugo to come in. Bakugo walked in and made his way to Izuku's bed. He stepped up on to the side and turned, plopping down with his back to the wall before opening his notebook, pulling a highlighter and pencil from his pocket. Izuku shut the door and watched Bakugo for a moment before he sat back at his desk and continued studying himself. He couldn't help but notice how relaxed Bakugo was and caught himself glancing at him occasionally. But Bakugo kept his eyes on his notebook, entirely focused on studying.

They sat in silence for nearly an hour before a yawn escaped Izuku's mouth. Bakugo glanced up at him, examining him quietly before going back to his notes. Almost immediately after he looked back down at his notes, Izuku looked up at him.

"Kaachan?" Bakugo glanced up at him but didn't say a word. "Studying is much better with you here."

They stared at each other for a moment before Izuku turned back to his notebooks and began writing more notes down. He could feel his face heating up; Kaachan had not looked away yet and it felt like he was burning holes into the side of Izuku's face. Why did he have to go and say something so embarrassing? Why couldn't he have just let it go? He was just so comfortable he had wanted Kaachan to know…but maybe that was too forward. If he wasn't careful Kaachan might figure out that he's been struggling with all these thoughts about being close and…and…having those dreams.

"You're such a nerd, Midoriya." Bakugo noted casually, looking back down at his notes and highlighting something.

Izuku felt his eyes get wide, his hand losing the ability to write. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears and he could feel his face getting even hotter than it was before. It took him a second to realize his chest was tight because all the air in his lungs had escaped him. He slowly inhaled, refusing to look away from his notebook. It felt like time had stopped.

He glanced over at his classmate. Bakugo was still focused on his own notebook, eyes following the words he had previously written on the pages. He didn't look any different from normal. He was still as focused on his work as always, unconcerned about the world around him.

So why was Izuku feeling this way? Why was his heart pounding against his chest so erratically? Why did hearing Kaachan say his name put his stomach into his throat and light his cheeks on fire? How was he supposed to focus on studying now?

He sighed, folded his arms on his desk, and laid his head down while biting his lip in frustration. This was unfair. Classmates should be able to say each other's names. Childhood friends or rivals or whatever they are should be able to say each other's names. Yet every time Kaachan said his name, he couldn't focus anymore. He was acting like an ordinary school girl over absolutely nothing.

"Tch. If you're tired say something." Bakugo growled.

Izuku propped his chin up on his arms and looked out the window in front of him. He knew if he looked at Bakugo now, he would know something was up.

"Sorry. It just hit me." He mumbled, finally glancing towards the other boy.

Bakugo was already looking at him and their eyes met for few seconds before Bakugo closed his notebook and scooted to the edge of the bed. He shoved his pencil and highlighter back into his pocket, laid the notebook down and stretched his arms above his head before stretching his neck to each side.

"It's getting late." He muttered, grabbing his notebook and walking to the door.

Izuku watched him, turning so Bakugo wouldn't leave his field of vision. Bakugo paused when he made it to the door but then continued out without saying anything. As the door shut behind him, Izuku leaned back in his chair and covered his face with his hands.

What in the world is going on between the two of them?

The next morning, Izuku jumped awake and sat up in a panic. He took a few deep breaths and grabbed at his shirt as if he pulled hard enough it would feel easier to breathe. He laid back down, putting an arm over his eyes.

"I can't take this anymore." He groaned.

He closed his eyes and lowered his arm to rub at his lip with his thumb. He hadn't had a dream about Kaachan since the night after he first said his name. This one was more or less the same; it started out with them training together. This time they were in the training room, sparring, when Kaachan tripped him. He had grabbed Kaachan by his shirt to drag him down too, but he wasn't able to catch himself like he planned. He landed hard on his back, Kaachan landing over top of him with hands on each side of Izuku's face. Then he repeated what he said during their studying the night before:

"You're such a nerd, Midoriya."

Then, unlike the previous dream, Izuku was the one that grabbed Kaachan by the collar and slammed their lips together as if he couldn't breathe without him.

And Kaachan hadn't even hesitated to kiss him back.

Izuku groaned again and rolled over to look at his clock. It was only eight in the morning on a Saturday. No one else would be up yet most likely. He sighed and sat back up. Maybe a run would clear his head.

As he made it down to the track, however, he realized someone else was already using it. He watched them switch between sprinting and jogging, with no particular pattern, as he got closer. It wasn't until he was warming up and the person got closer that he realized it was Bakugo. He swallowed hard and exhaled.

This wasn't going to ruin his run. If he just ignored him, it would be fine. They sat in silence for over an hour last night.

He nodded to himself as he started jogging across the track. A smile crept across his face as he finished his first lap; when he first got his quirk he would be winded by a simple jog of that distance. Now he had gained some endurance and was able to control his breathing so much better. It was refreshing to see his own progress.

He listened to his feet hit the ground rhythmically as he set his running pace. It was almost hypnotizing to hear everything so calmly fitting together. Breathe, step, step, step, breathe, step, step, step, breathe. Strength may be his quirk but running was when he was most calm.

Behind him he heard Bakugo's feet hitting the ground, catching up to him. He had avoided running beside him through the first lap, but it seems with Bakugo's sprinting he wasn't going to outrun him forever. It wasn't much longer before Bakugo was running in stride with Izuku. Neither boy said anything as their paces synchronized effortlessly.

Bakugo didn't start sprinting again.

Izuku glanced over towards him. Bakugo was looking forward, sweat running down his face and drenching his shirt. His breathing was labored, but his face didn't show any signs of struggle. Izuku looked back forward, his face feeling hot.

This was no time to get distracted by how Kaachan looked.

He shouldn't even be getting distracted by how Kaachan looked. The whole reason for coming down here was to get his mind off things.

As they rounded to finish the lap, Bakugo slowed down, leaving Izuku by himself. Izuku glanced to his side but refused to look back at him. He kept his face forward. He needed to make six laps to make this worth getting out of bed for. As he rounded the corner on the other side of the track, he saw Bakugo sitting on the grass, legs crossed and drinking from a water bottle.

He wondered how long Bakugo had been here to be sweating like that. Normally Izuku only runs six to ten laps on his morning runs, never enough to break a sweat but enough to get his muscles awake. It always helped him train later in the day if he warmed up his muscles with a morning run. The extra shower during the day wasn't the best because it took up some extra time, but he was always more limber when he trained against the dummies in the training hall.

Bakugo stayed seated where he was until Izuku finished his laps and sat down beside him, drinking some of his own water.

"Only eight laps, deku?" He snorted.

Izuku glanced over at him as he lowered his water bottle. "How many did you do?"

"Sixteen." Izuku nodded and silence fell over the two.

Izuku rested an arm on his knee and then propped his head up with his hand. He had done well to not think about Kaachan while he ran, but now that they were sitting next to each other he was failing miserably. It was weird, he felt so at ease sitting with Kaachan. They didn't normally interact like this. It was just passing comments in class or in the dorms. Maybe Izuku was just nervous he would say something and things would go back to the way they were years ago? That would make sense.

He sighed and laid back, watching some clouds floating by above them. This all felt so natural, being with Kaachan. It was like they never stopped being friends, it was like Kaachan had never been ten steps ahead of him and Izuku was staring at his back like he always believed he was. A smile pulled at the corners of his lips. Maybe this is what it was like to be friends with Kaachan. It was nice. No wonder Kirishima was always following him around.

Bakugo stretched his arms and stood up. He gathered his things before kicking Izuku's leg lightly.

"Oi, Deku."

Izuku looked over to him to acknowledge him, but Bakugo wasn't facing him. "Hm?"

"I'll be here tomorrow morning at seven thirty."

Izuku blinked as he processed what he was being told. What did it matter if Kaachan was here tomorrow morning? Why did he want to tell him? He could feel his brows furrow as he sat there confused.

"Do…do you want me to meet you here, Kaachan?"

Bakugo stood in the same place, not making a move to answer him or turn to face him. Izuku tried to study what he could see of his face, but it wasn't working. He normally struggled to read Kaachan's expressions anyways.

Finally, Bakugo grunted before starting to walk off.

Izuku stared after him, eyebrows raised in utter confusion. What did that mean? Was that a yes? Was it a no? Why couldn't he just speak like a normal person? Izuku groaned and laid back onto the grass. He could just try to show up tomorrow morning and see what he meant. It's probably the only way he was going to start figuring out what was going on inside Kaachan's head.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Why was becoming Kaachan's friend so much harder than being yelled at by him? There were just too many uncertainties. Granted, it didn't help that Izuku's mind was betraying him. He really did just want to be his friend, so why…why can't he stop thinking about Kaachan saying his name?

Why is he dreaming about kissing him?

"Take my hand, Midoriya!"

"Damn Midoriya…"

"You're such a nerd, Midoriya."

He sighed and grabbed at his shirt in an attempt to quell his erratic heart. This entire experience was going to be the death of him if he didn't get it figured out soon. He knew this. But for some reason….

He rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb.

For some reason, he really just wanted to know what it felt like to kiss Kaachan now.