I'm a sucker for Bakugou and Midoriya having that brotherly I fucking hate you, but only I can hate you that kinda way relationship pared with Midoriya and the gang being the BIGGEST Kaccako shipper. So of course I had to write it. Rated T cause Bakugou's mouth.

"And now I'm seeing clearly and I'm growing up so free"

Not having a quirk for the better part of his life had made Midoriya observant.

With no quirk training to worry about he was able to watch those around him. Unconsciously forcing himself to come to terms with the fact that he'd at most be able to be a support for heroes. Learning about quirks even if he hadn't outwardly admitted that he wouldn't be accepted into the hero program.

So he never thought he'd be leaning back on the sun-soaked outdoor bleachers at UA watching his classmates run through the hero-course afternoon's drill. Most of the class, including Kacchan already making it through. And, well, old habits died hard. While he watched Uraraka dominate the almost five-mile-long obstacle course, he also watched the way Kacchan watched her.

While his friend (yes it was still weird to call him that) had watched all his classmates intently, the way his eyes followed Uraraka was different. Kacchan sat next to him in the front row of the bleachers while the rest of the class that had finished was goofing off towards the top of the section and the reaming left to run the course waited down below.

The war had ended and it was agreed the students would be given a month's break before entering their second year. Even though they technically should have started it while the fighting was coming to an end.

They had all changed. All grown in some way. But watching Kacchan's eyes spark at the way Uraraka moved through the obstacles was completely different. It wasn't his normal tactical look, dissecting his 'opponents' moves for weakness and ways to counter them.

Midoriya had watched him bite his bottom lip when she squatted or stretched a certain way. Hiding a laugh when Kacchan scrubbed his face with his hand when Uraraka removed her ripped jacket (revealing a tight sweat-soaked tank top) and used it to cover the barbed wire instead.

Midoriya knew he was probably going to end up with a blast to the face for the question he was about to ask, but he also knew that the only way to get a real answer out of Kacchan was to ask the question directly.

"Do you like Uraraka?"

"Of course I fucking like her, you see me put up with her and answer her dumb homework questions almost every day."

"You know what I mean Kacchan."

"What's it to you, nerd?"

"The happiness of my friends?"

"Tch."

"I just, I see the way you look at her." Kacchan hit his shoulder, hard. A year ago Midoriya would have flinched away. Today he laughed.

"I don't fucking look at her any sort of way."

"You haven't taken your eyes off that screen her whole run. Every other person you've been criticizing, even when they do the obstacle perfectly. But Uraraka you've just, well it's different."

"Don't make a deal out of this Izuku."

His name still sounded strange coming from his mouth. "You want to…"

"No, I do not want to talk about how she'll never give me a damn shot. I have a therapist for that now." Midoriya still wasn't used to him being so open about his therapy. For the first couple of months, Kacchan had disappeared into his room for telehealth sessions. But now he went in person, not caring who saw him leave campus for his appointments.

"You don't know that."

"I do. She's well, repeat any of this and I'll blast you into the fucking stratosphere." His tone left no doubt that he'd try.

"Yeah, yeah Kacchan same old threats. Noted."

"Uraraka is, I can't believe I'm going to tell you this. She's sunshine and joy. She fixes everything around her and makes everyone feel like their worth it. Worth her time and her energy. I'm not worth it. I'm still learning that it's not just me who matters and she doesn't deserve that. She deserves someone whole. Someone who doesn't have to sit on someone's couch once a week just so they spiral out of control…again. And I know therapy doesn't make me weak, okay crossed that bridge. But fuck she doesn't need my problems."

"But what if she wanted them?"

"I can't let myself know that. Cause I know I could never let her go if I got her. I'm too much, I'm a goddamn wreck Izuku. I know she'd let me go"

"She watches you too," Midoryia says the words like it's a fact like Bakugou should already know.

"Yeah, cause I'm loud and let off explosions every five minutes."

"Nah, Kacchan. Not just then. From across the room, she always notices when you come into a room. She's always making space for you at lunch. And don't get me started on last night."

"Tch. Don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, so you two didn't share a blanket and popcorn last night?" Kacchan had been sitting in one of the oversized armchairs and Uraraka had, instead of sitting in one of the empty seats, wedged herself in next to him. Pulling a blanket over the two of them while curling her feet under herself and saying something about how he'd bug her for her popcorn anyways.

Midoriya swear he saw a blush sweep across Kacchan's face before he looked away. "Fuck off Deku. She wouldn't want a guy like me."

"How do you know that?"

"Cause we all fucking watched her blush all first year anytime someone said Deku or if you so much as smiled at her. You're the kind of guy she likes. The good guy, the safe choice."

"Yeah, and I watch her watch, just like you are doing to her now. You do realize that you haven't looked at me this whole time."

"Die, nerd." Midoriya laughs at the venomless threat.

"She's a relationship girl. She's dates and flowers, meet the parents the whole thing. My hag of a mom would send her running. So yeah I like her. Damn it, Izuku I like her. I know icy-hot is the only thing that does it for you," this time it's a playful nudge to his shoulder.

"But have you seen her?" Kacchan groans as Uraraka effortlessly vaults over a ten-foot wall. Countering her gravity with a simple touch just before she jumps, using her foot to push off the side wall for extra force to push her over the edge. "Like come on, just look at that. Look at her ass."

"Gross Kacchan. Gross."

"What you don't want to hear about how fucking good-looking your friend is?"

"Forget I asked any of this."

"Tough shit. You asked and now you stuck with it. That's the stupid friendship you wanted. Now listen to be pine over your hot friend."

"So she's hot now?" Midoriya laughs.

"I let you whine and blubber about ugly ass Todoroki for a whole month before he finally picked up on your lame attempts at flirting. You asked, you started this so now you deal with it. But yeah, she's hot, drop-dead gorgeous, beautiful" he mumbles the last word. "Whatever you want to call it she's it."

Midoriya just nods, returning the nudge to Kacchan's shoulder.

"It's not just that alright. I'm not just into her cause of how she looks. She's cunning. No one notices it cause they think she's just fucking sweet, but that girl," he pauses, nodding towards her, "She's dangerous, and I'm so glad she's figured that out, cause watching her take down villains twice her size has got to be the best thing I've ever seen."

The silence settles between them. Comfortable and light. A direct difference from what had been a year ago.

"Sports festival?" Midoriya questions.

"You sound like my mother." Kacchan shoots him a sideways glance. "She fucking cracks jokes about it all the time. The girl who almost ended me. Yeah, I'm done for the girl who I would gladly let crush me to death in whatever way she saw fit. What's that say about me?"

"Nothing I didn't already know. Just ask her out."

"Just get out of my life."

"Ask her out and I'll leave you alone for a week."

"A year."

"Nine days."

"Two years."

"You'd miss me."

"I'd cry with happiness if I never had to see your ugly face again."

"She'll say yes. Just like she does anytime you ask her to spar or study or well anything else you guys do."

"I know you say that," Kacchan lets out a sigh. "I can't handle even the thought of her saying no."

"Kaccha."

"Izuku."

"Just so ya know, I support it. I'm completely in favor of it and so are your other friends."

"You extras talking about me now?".

"There may or may not be a betting pool about how you two will get together. Hypothetically if it exists and say someone wins I'll let you know."

"I hate you."

"Just think about it, okay? I think the two of you would be really good for each other," MIdoriya says as the buzzer for Uraraka time sounds. Her name flashed on the scoreboard, bumping classmates down as she took the fourth spot.

A few minutes pass before the sound of feet jogging up the stairs could be heard. Uraraka, sweat still dripping down her face, with a towel in one hand and a water bottle in the other rounds the corner to the bleachers. There was plenty of room on either side of the boys but she chose to shove herself between them. Midoriya shifted so their thighs didn't touch, noting that Kacchan didn't move.

"You smell like shit."

"Of course I do, did you see my time!"

"You could do better."

"Huh, that's a weird way to say 'good job cheeks'."

"Break the top three and I'll tell you that." He throws her a sideways grin.

"I bet Midoriya's proud of me."

"Bet he's fucking not, even that idiot knows you could do better." Uraraka turns to look at him.

"Nope, not getting into another one of your guy's arguments." Midoriya holds up his hands in mock surrender.

"We're going on a run tomorrow morning, your issue was you lost stamina at some points. And I know you've been slacking cardio in favor of weights. This is fine cause you've been making serious improvements in your lifting. But if you can't keep up the stamina with the muscle mass gain and that's where you lose it. If you would have been able to keep your pace from the beginning you would have hit the third spot maybe even second. You're made for shit like this and you should have dominated." Uraraka stares at him, mouth slightly open.

"What about the first spot?"

"You'd have to beat me, angel face." Midoriya leans forward at the nickname. Raising an eyebrow at Kacchan, he was used to him calling Uraraka cheeks or round face. But this almost term of endearment was new. Uraraka just kept going, so clearly it wasn't new to her.

"So what I'm hearing is that you've noticed my super impressive gains but I'm a snail?"

"Yeah, some gains. Gains to those round fucking cheeks." Midoriya stands, hiding his face from Uraraka. He just knows by the smirk on Kacchan's face he isn't talking about her face.

"You're the worst!"

"Nah."

"Say thank you for helping me have a balanced training Bakugou."

"Screw you Bakugou." Uraraka smiles sweetly at him before standing to go to Midoriya's side. "You're friend is mean, I'm going to go shower."

They watch her walk off, MIdoriya choosing not to mention the way Kacchan's eyes scan up and down her body. "What, and I would like to yell this but Cementoss would hear, the fuck, was that? Angel face?"

"She's got a face like one of the little cherub statues you know with the chubby cheek and she floats. They have wings right?"

"There are so many other things you could choose to compare her to and you are openly calling her an angel. I can't. I'm done. Goodbye."

There was a pool, Mina won and all the boys were pissed. She bet that Ochako would make the first move and she did by kissing him in the first part of this series.