A/N: Hi! Thank you all so much for your patience and willingness to wait for a new chapter. I was finally able to get the last little bit of this one written! My life is still incredibly busy, but it looks like soon things will get back to being a bit more organized again, so I'll be able to schedule writing into my week. If you follow any of my other stories, I'm getting really close to another chapter for those as well.
Warnings for this chapter: References to abuse and being kicked out temporarily.
Bakugou doesn't text his dad back. He doesn't need anything, and even if he did, he's not going to beg for it. Please at least message me to let me know that you are safe. Fuck that. Let the old man worry. If you're going to throw your child out into the streets, you get to handle the consequences like worrying for their safety. He knows that it technically wasn't his father that threw him out, but if he was going to be that worried, then he should have stood up to Mitsuki.
The sun is setting, and he walks quickly to reach relative safety by nightfall. It takes him close to thirty minutes to reach his destination. His home away from home, if you will. The old warehouse looms over the darkened alley. To most people, it would look threatening. To Katsuki, it's like an old best friend. Once inside, he makes his way over to what used to be the office of the building. The door of the office has a broken lock that has been blasted into submission, making it easy for Katsuki to swing it open, and amble inside.
The first thing he does is check his stores. His case of water bottles is nearly full, and his box of protein bars is still sealed. That will be enough to last him a couple of days, maybe a week if he's careful. He unfolds a blanket that lays neatly on a rough bed made of pallets lain in a row, shaking it to clear any gathered dust. There are no holes in the blanket and it smells fine. It looks as though no one has found his hideout, or if they have, they've at least been respectful. He'll be sore in the morning, but at least he'll be hydrated, and won't freeze to death.
He's never had to walk to UA before, and ends up arriving just before class is set to start. Aizawa gives him a slightly raised eyebrow, but no other reaction. Four Eyes stands up on his arrival, and immediately begins to berate him both for showing up late, and for showing up out of uniform, something he had overlooked until that moment. Aizawa activates his quirk, and tells the overzealous teen to return to his seat.
"I can maintain discipline in my own classroom, thank you," Aizawa informs Iida firmly. Katsuki can feel the burning eyes of his classmates, their thinly veiled curiosity. A brave few make eye contact, and he glares at them, staring them down so that they have to be the ones to break contact. Most squirm uncomfortably before looking down. Dunce Face gives him a smile, and Shitty Hair waves like a dumbass. He doesn't return either gesture. He focuses on Aizawa's teaching as best he can which requires quite a bit of focus considering Hair-For-Brains is burning a hole in the back of his head all morning. When Aizawa gives them a ten minute break, he turns to address the issue.
"The fuck do you want, Shitty Hair?" he smacks the other boy's desk as he speaks. There's a pause that's just long enough to be uncomfortable, before Kirishima speaks up.
"Let's spar after school today," he suggests. Despite the fact that this is probably a trap, meant to ensnare Bakugou into some kind of friendship, he agrees.
"I guess we can," Bakugou crosses his arms. "As long as you don't cry after I beat your ass!"
"All right bro!" Kirishima exclaims. "That sounds like a challenge, and I am ready to rise to it!" He holds his fist up, but Bakugou turns and stalks back to his seat without completing the fist bump.
The rest of his classes are uneventful. Katsuki keeps his head down, does his work, and ignores everyone around him. Nobody brings up his lack of uniform again, or the bruise on his cheek. After class, however, Aizawa asks to speak to him.
"Why aren't you in uniform?" Aizawa questioned.
"I forgot," not technically a lie. His teacher raises an eyebrow in disbelief. Surprisingly, however, he doesn't push the matter.
"All right, well don't let it happen again. And if you and Kirishima are going to spar, make sure you do it in one of the permitted locations. The restrictions we have in place are for your protection, not because we're tyrants."
"Sure, yeah," Bakugou says, voice light with flippancy. Of course he's gonna make sure they're sparring somewhere they're allowed, he's not stupid. Shitty Hair? Well, he's not quite stupid, but Bakugou is planning to choose their battleground. The spiky-haired teen is waiting just outside of the classroom door for him, like the lost puppy he is.
"I didn't know where we were sparring," is his protest when Katsuki comments on it. They walk side-by-side to an indoor sparring room, and immediately settle into fighting stances.
"You better not hold back," Bakugou growls. "'Cuz I certainly won't." His words mark the start of their match. Bakugou is satisfied when the battle lasts for over five minutes before he is finally able to pin Kirishima down.
"Great match!" Kirishima beams after being let up. "Man, it's been awhile since I've been challenged like that in a head to head match! But then, I guess that's to be expected when you're in a class with some of the most promising future heroes." He raises his arm for a high-five, but he moves too fast and Bakugou flinches.
"Sorry," Kirishima apologizes.
"For what?" Bakugo snorts. "S'not your fault I have shitty overworking reflexes."
"I get it bro," Kirishima nods. "It's better now, but for a little while I used to flinch all the time. My dad was, well, kind of an asshole. He liked to hit my bio mom, and after I turned 12 or so, he started hitting me too. He bruised me pretty bad once. It wasn't long after that that mom dumped him and got a restraining order. It took me a solid year to get to where I didn't flinch every time someone tried to high-five me."
"It's not like that," Bakugou insists. "I'm not like, being abused or anything. I just have really tightly wound reflexes."
"Okay," Kirishima smiled brightly. "If you were though, you know it wouldn't make you uncool, right? I know I felt super wimpy because, like, my dad would hurt me, but I have this super manly hardening quirk so, like, he shouldn't have been able to hurt me, but I just let him. But when I started seeing a therapist, he told me that it's totally normal to not fight back against someone in a position of authority over you. Especially a family member, and super especially a parent." An uncomfortable silence hangs in the air for a moment as Bakugou takes in his words. Kirishima speaks up again to break the tension. "My mom remarried like six months ago, and her wife is like the best! You should totally come meet them, I know they would absolutely love you!"
"You're mom married a woman?" Bakugou clarified.
"Uh, yeah," Kirishima sounded unsure for the first time during the conversation. "My bio mom's bisexual, and uh her wife is a lesbian. You don't uh, I mean do you- does that kind of stuff bother you?"
"No. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm uh, gay." The moment the words leave his mouth Katsuki regrets saying them. "If you tell anyone about this conversation, I will literally kill you," he asserts aggressively.
"Of course bro! I would never out somebody! That's so unmanly." He nods his head vigorously. "I'm gay too. I don't really care if people find out about it, but I try not to make a point of talking about it." There's another moment of silence, but this time it's more comfortable.
"Hey, about yesterday," Katsuki takes a breath. "That was shitty of me. You were just making sure I was okay, and I was an asshole. If uh, if you ever wanna play some smash or something, I'd be down for that. As long as I don't have homework to do." As far as Bakugou is concerned, that's an apology. He would never admit it to anyone, but the giant grin Kirishima gives him in return as he tells him it's not a big deal, is probably bright enough to outshine the sun, and makes him want to smile in return.
