Howdy, ya'll! I'm actually really enjoying writing this fic, so I wrote up a second chapter! Hope you enjoy!
TWs for Transphobia, Homophobia and Abusive Parents. Please put your comfort first before reading if any of these are triggering for you.
Chapter Text
One day. That was all she expected to last. She'd come in, stay for a night and enjoy the contrast of the soft bed to the harshness of a bus bench. And then she'd be gone. Midoriya would let his guard down after that act she put on and wouldn't think of Bakugou making another runner. It'd be easy. They were too kind. Too soft to think that anyone would rather the pain of the rough than a cozy and loving home. They underestimated Bakugou's pride.
And Bakugou underestimated something too. She underestimated the love of a kind home. The joy of a simple meal that you didn't have to make yourself. The casualness of a truly kind family. A life where you don't have to worry about a potential danger at any wrong word you may say. A life in that the people who say they care about you actually do. A kind life. And a kind life is hard to leave.
The bed was soft. Too soft. Enough to let yourself sleep in for days on end. Amazing how a pull-out sofa was practically a luxury compared to the piece of concrete that dared call itself a bed she had before. Midoriya's exaggerated when he said they had a spare room. Unless they never used the living room for other than housing strays, Bakugou bitterly noted to herself. Still, there was another type of kindness to that. Someone willing to lie in the grander goal of helping. And Bakugou hated it.
She hated how the soft bed let her sleep comfortably. She hated how amazing the food tasted. She hated how Family Board Game Night was literally the most calm she ever felt. She hated how kind they were. Bakugou grew up in a house where kindness was synonymous with weakness. And no matter how much she hated that home, Bakugou couldn't let its lessons leave her. She wouldn't become weak like them.
It took a month to build the nerve. It was remarkably similar to the night where Midoriya found her, bruised and scraped outside her home. Packing the bag. Deciding what was needed and wanted. Planning exactly how to break out of this perceived prison. In theory, it should be far easier. No-one will be there to stop her like Deku that night. No-one will care enough to look for her.
Then why was she spending so much time staring at that stupid Turtle Blouse in her hands? She couldn't even remember why she brought it from her home. It wasn't cos Deku got it for her. Definitely not. It wasn't cos it was the first gift someone ever got for her. The real her. Definitely not. It wasn't any of that. It was...It was...It-
Within those moments, Bakugou's mind was somewhere else.
5 Months Ago
Midoriya often spent his nights walking around the park. He loved walking. The calming rhythm of his feet on the cobblestones. The trees blowing in the wind, sending leaves flowing through the air. The shimmering lake. It was how he spent most of his lunchbreaks school. It was the only way to avoid people who didn't like him. The ones who would call him Quirkless. Useless. Less. That seemed to be the common theme with insults. Less. Even the ones that didn't include the word. You were less of a person. And not just because he was quirkless.
Grasping a low branch of a nearby tree, Midoriya's breathing kicked up its pace, causing him to keel over. No, he wouldn't do this. He wouldn't get lost in the pain. They were wrong. He wasn't useless. He wasn't less. But how many times rational thought was overcome by emotion. Oftentimes, you need something external to pull you out of yourself. And lucky for Deku but unlucky for Bakugou, there was that very thing.
The figure was crouched over, skipping stones across the park's lake. The pebbles hopped and threaded across the surface of the water, creating a trail that any could spot. Midoriya wasn't used to seeing others in the park. At least, not in the open. Midoriya was definitely not used to those people being Bakugou.
"Kacchan?" Slowly making his way over, Bakugou threw his voice. Not so loud to shock Bakugou, but enough to be heard. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect.
Bakugou leap upwards, head darting back and forth like a gazelle who had heard the growl of a lion. Midoriya had never seen Bakugou like this. He was almost...scared. Finally, Bakugou's eyes locked with Midoriya's own. Wide-eyed and shaking in terror, Midoriya felt there was something different about them tonight. It was only when he got closer could he pinpoint what.
A thin, purple line was surrounding the eyes. Eyeliner. And if Midoriya's deduction skills weren't as accurate as he believed, the tube grasped in Bakugou's hands held the final confirmation.
Slowly backing away, Bakugou did not break her eye contact with Deku. It was like one of those Weeping Angels in Doctor Who. As if Bakugou believed if she kept looking at Midoriya, he wouldn't move. Unluckily for Bakugou, life isn't Doctor Who.
"Kacchan, are you OK?"
"Fu-Fuck off, Deku!" Now, Bakugou had stopped and her eye-line finally broke contact with her would be outer to the tube of eyeliner in her hand. Tightening her grasp, it turned to ashes in the wind. "Not a fuckin' word! You didn't see anything! I'll-I'll kill you if you tell!" There was very little anger or threat in Bakugou's voice. Just fear. The fear of someone who felt their life was crumbling beneath them.
"It's..." Midoriya paused. He didn't know what to say. This could be a thousand things. A thousand different identities. A thousand different reasons. One wrong word. A simple mistake could caused this to come crashing down.
But, Midoriya knew something that might work. The look in Bakugou's eyes was someone who felt they were alone. And Midoriya wasn't about to let her keep thinking that.
"I'm gay."
The words sat in the air, like raindrops frozen in time. Midoriya had only told his mother before now. There were rumors at school. of course. But Midoriya never gave confirmation. But now. Now he had. And he couldn't help but mirror Bakugou's fear-filled stare.
"I'm not!" Bakugou screamed out, and Midoriya's heart sunk into a crevasse. He had misjudged this. This was wrong. Everything was done. His school. Any chance at him becoming a hero. Done.
"I-I mean.,...I'm not gay." The words from Bakugou finally unfroze the previous coming out. "I'm just a girl." And like that, Bakugou's legs finally gave out, falling down to the ground. She looked at the ashes that remained in her hand, almost solemnly. "That was...fuck. That was my only one."
In an instant, Midoriya joined her side.
"I could- I could get you another one?"
Bakugou gave a glare, like cat staring at those feathery pieces of string, unsure what to make of this.
"Always trying to be a hero, huh Deku?"
"No. I'm just trying to help a friend."
"Fuck it." Tossing the blouse on the unzipped bag, Bakugou fell backwards onto the fold out couches hastily messed up covers.
Maybe she could try this kind house thing. Maybe some lessons could be unlearned.
Maybe she could prove to her parents that she can be a girl. That the world isn't as hateful and disgusting as they showed it to be.
Maybe she could be happy.
No. There's no maybe about it.
She will be.