Listen up, a**hole - Chapter 10

Bakugou found himself tearing up when the email arrived, scanning over the repeated gratitude and the “you made such a difference in these kids' lives”s, sniffing as he clicked on the link at the bottom.

It led to the school's website, a familiar sight after the research he'd done over the weekend prior. More specifically, it led to a long blog entry about his visit, complete with a few photos of him with the kids, and of the posters and autographs he'd left behind.

“Good morning!” Midoriya smiled, leaning over the back of the couch and planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. “Whatcha reading?”

“From the school I went to yesterday,” he explained, angling the screen for Midoriya to see. “They wrote about it online, looks like even the kids wrote some shit about me.”

“Aww, that's so cute!” he squeaked, climbing over the back of the couch to sit with him and read, still bundled in his fluffy pyjamas. “Kacchan looks so handsome!”

“Shut up, nerd.”

“Aww, they're so happy!” he fawned, when he saw the group shot of Bakugou with the soon-to-be graduates. “Look at you all!”

Beneath the photo was a short note by one of the students in the class, surprisingly well-written for a kid of only fourteen or fifteen years.

“Ground Zero encouraged us all to follow our dreams, and to not let anything stand in our way,” Midoriya read softly, snuggling into Bakugou's side a little tighter. “While we look down the barrel of the gun toward high school entrance exams, we know that the greatest hero in the world believes in each of us.”

“So damn cheesy,” Bakugou complained, blushing a little. “I told them I was gonna come back and punch them if they let being Deaf stop them from doing whatever they wanted.”

Midoriya giggled, wriggling a little until he could reach to kiss the pink cheek again.

“They're not stupid, they knew what you meant.”

He scrolled down a little more, not dignifying it with an answer, but he paused again when he came across a photo he didn't know had been taken, surprised by the little smile on his own face. He was holding one of his hearing aids, showing it to a kid like he'd done so many times, but the three kids around him were holding up their own, too, with the biggest smiles in the world.

“This one,” he mumbled, pointing at a familiar face. “He was bullied in a normal school, so they transferred him there. He can hear pretty well, but not well enough for society, I guess.”

“He must have been really happy to meet you.”

“Yeah. He, um, he was happy because we matched.”

“That's so cute!”

When they reached the end of the post, he clicked back to the email, opening the attached folder to take a look.

Inside, he found over a hundred photos of himself with the kids, standing in front of posters, pointing at autographs, holding his victory pose with some of the bigger fans. His eyes were immediately drawn, though, to a small set of photos taken outdoors, and the candid shots preceeding them.

When lunchtime had come, the middle school kids had insisted on coming to get him, on dragging him back to their side of the school to eat with them. They'd even managed to scrounge extra spices from the kitchen, proudly telling him that they knew his tastes from old interviews and that they hoped it would be spicy enough.

They'd dismissed the interpreter when she offered to stay, assured the teachers that they'd be fine, and to his surprise, the kids had taken up the job themselves. Between a few with varying levels of hearing, and a couple of good lip readers, they managed to keep an entire conversation going with him as they ate, interrogating him about his career and his home life – his partner, especially, after he'd made the mistake of reminding the kids he was taken, that morning. Not to mention the press conference they'd apparently all seen.

He'd spoken fondly of his Deku, although he'd never actually given them a name. He'd agreed that yes, his partner was a hero too, and had answered their questions about fearing for each other's safety with complete honesty.

“How did you meet?” one of the girls had asked, smiling that fond little 'Bakugou is being cute' smile he'd grown accustomed to. “At work?”

“We've been friends since we were kids,” he'd informed them, watching them all melt into puddles of adoration at the thought. “Went to every school together, were in the same classes every year, and fought our way into the industry together. I don't know where I'd be without him.”

“That's so romantic! Did you ask him out first?!”

“No, he asked me. Well, he didn't so much ask. He just kind of threw himself at me one day, hugging me and crying his eyes out about how he was gonna miss me after graduation. Wasn't even anywhere near graduation time, the dumb nerd. I told him to stop being an idiot because we'd still be together, and from then on, we were.”

“Awwwww!”

When they'd finished eating, and the kids began lamenting the club activities and meetings they had to get to, Bakugou had given them a last awkward smile and a wave.

“I'd better go spend some time with the kids, anyway,” he pointed out, stepping back from the table. “It was really nice to talk to you all. Um, thanks. For having me. Oh, uh... Thank you?”

He'd learned the sign right before lunch, and the kids lit up when he showed them, returning it with enthusiasm.

“Mister Zero, how do you feel, going through all this?” one of the girls asked, as they began to part ways. “Most of us have been there, learning we were losing our hearing, or that we didn't have it in the first place. We know it's hard, you don't have to lie to us.”

Bakugou smiled. A genuine, honest to God smile.

“It was hard,” he agreed. “It still is, a little, knowing it'll get worse. But you know, after being here today and talking with you guys, I think I'm okay with it.”

He'd meant it, too, even though none of his friends would have believed it. Seeing the way the kids interacted, how happy they were together and especially how happy they were whenever he attempted to mimic their signs, something about it just felt like... A family, he supposed.

They'd reminded him as they parted that he was always welcome, that he could always visit and talk to them, had even made him promise to visit their high schools next year, and he'd nodded along without hesitation.

“Did you play in the playground?” Midoriya giggled, breaking him out of his reverie when he reached over to click on an image and make it bigger. “Look at you!”

“The teachers invited me to the staffroom,” he huffed a little laugh. “I know I'm an adult, but I'm not an adult-adult. I'm still too damn young to sit in a stuffy little room sipping tea and sharing pleasantries with a bunch of old people. Besides, the kids had fun, and it made up for skipping the gym.”

It was getting light outside as they flicked through the collection, and Bakugou pulled the nerd in closer, kissing his messy bed-hair.

“Maybe we could have a kid, one day,” he mumbled. “They're not so bad, after all.”

“You don't have to decide right now,” Midoriya giggled. “We have years left to think about it!”

“Mm-hm. I just thought you might want to know I... Wasn't as opposed to the idea as I used to be.”

“I'll keep it in mind. Alright babe, I'm gonna go shower. Have you eaten?”

“No, I'll go make breakfast. Unless you want me to join you?”

Midoriya giggled, shoving him lightly as he stood up and planted one last kiss on his cheek.

“I won't be long,” he assured him. “Make me something yummy!”

“Okay.”

As Midoriya padded away in socked feet, Bakugou found himself looking through the photos again, picking out his favourite one from lunch and setting it as his wallpaper before he closed the laptop lid.

His phone was still riddled with unanswered messages – friends checking in on him, work asking if he wanted the night off, even his parents asking what he was up to. He swiped them all away, though, and just pulled up his boss's number again, listening to it ring twice.

“Bakugou,” she answered. “How are you?”

“I need you to schedule me a press conference.”

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