Listen up, a**hole - Chapter 3

For a week, Midoriya continued to push. He seemed to think he was being gentle, but every time he said the words, even hinted around the words, it just made Bakugou want to try them even less. Just the words “hearing aid” made him want to tear his ears off.

So, he waited.

He waited through all the shitty hints and pleading, waited through all the little nudges and sidelong glances at the case on his bedside table, where Midoriya had moved them on the off-chance he might wake up in a good mood and try it out.

He just waited.

“Sorry babe,” Midoriya sighed, on the other end of the call. “My usual relief is sick, so I'm stuck here a few more hours. Save me dinner?”

“Yeah, I will. Um, I'm... I'm really tired,” he admitted. “I might uh, might not be able to last.”

“It's okay, Kacchan,” Midoriya giggled. “You don't have to wait up for me. I can heat up my own food like a big boy!”

“Okay,” he agreed. “I'll leave it on the stove, you'll just need to turn it on for like five minutes.”

“Perfect. You're the best, Kacchan! I love you!”

“Yeah, love you too, nerd. Uh, wake me up, okay? When you get home.”

“Aww, Kacchan wants to know I got home safe?”

“I'm locking you out.”

“Rude!”

Despite his words, Bakugou smiled faintly, kicking his shoes off in the doorway and locking the front door behind him, but leaving the deadbolt free so Midoriya could get in all the same.

“Alright,” he said faintly. “Go be a hero, Deku.”

“Goodnight, Kacchan! Sweet dreams!”

He hung up and headed through to the bedroom, casting his sweaty, smelly hero costume into the laundry basket and walking straight through to the ensuite. It had a bigger shower than the main bathroom, with better water pressure, and the hot water beating down on him was heaven on Bakugou's tortured muscles.

At least he'd only had to do one shift, though. The poor nerd was gonna be exhausted when he got home, with a double-length patrol under his belt.

When he returned to get dressed, his eyes fell on the tiny plastic case, and for a moment he paused.

Stubborness washed through him, determined that he didn't need the damn things, didn't want them, but the purely scientific part of his brain couldn't help but be a little curious.

What would they feel like? What would they sound like?

Before he knew it, the tiny metal devices were in his hand, rolling back and forth under his thumb. He'd forgotten how tiny they were – could they get lost in his ears or some shit? No, he supposed if they were custom-shaped then that wasn't a thing. Besides, they had tiny plastic sticks poking out that he assumed were for him to pull them back out again later – he was pretty sure his ear canals weren't that long.

Taking a deep breath and stamping down on the well of emotions threatening to burst open, he slid one into his ear, pausing to pull a face as he got it positioned. He hated to admit it, but it didn't feel like much. He expected some sort of weird, clogged feeling, or an itch, or something, but as he slid the second one into place, he had to concede that they didn't feel like much.

He switched them on, waiting for some awful burst of static or a scream that would send him to the ground, but instead, he heard...

Silence.

For the first time in... Maybe his entire life, frankly, there was no whine or ring in his ears, no white noise that he'd just kind of grown accustomed to, and beneath the odd sense of quiet, there was something more subtle.

A clock ticking – the one on Midoriya's side of the bed, he supposed. He hadn't realised the damn thing ticked, and some part of him was ashamed of not knowing.

A low hum, the heater maybe? It was set to turn itself on just before they got home, so that would make sense.

It was almost overwhelming, the change, even though he knew on some level that it was still pretty subtle. He felt like an idiot when he opened his mouth, fumbling for a moment for words, but he had to know.

“Hello,” he said dumbly, cringing a little. “Fuck. Boom. Die. Uhh... Shit I feel so stupid.”

He groaned, falling back onto his mattress and staring at the roof, taking in the vast range of background noise that he'd forgotten existed.

The temptation to tear them out and forget it ever happened was strong, but Bakugou was nothing if he wasn't thorough. One hour, he told himself. One hour, while he cooked dinner, just to see how it felt.

He was Bakugou Katsuki – Ground Zero. He could last a damn hour.

─────

When Midoriya finally made it home, there was a pot sitting on the stove, just as Bakugou had promised. With a tired smile he turned on the element to heat up, stripping off his costume and picking up the warm pyjamas Bakugou had left on the table for him.

He was too damn tired to shower, he'd clean himself up in the morning – Bakugou could put up with him stinking in bed for one night. Instead he just scoffed his food and tiptoed into the bedroom, surprised and a little confused to find Bakugou sound asleep on his side of the bed. Bakugou was the one who had been picky about choosing his side in the first place – it was pretty common to find Midoriya sprawled down the middle or intruding on Bakugou's space, but the other way around?

“Hey,” he whispered, stroking blond hair back from the peaceful face. “I'm home, babe.”

Bakugou groaned, blinking his eyes open reluctantly, but when he saw Midoriya looking down at him he managed a faint smile.

“You eat?” he asked, rubbing at his eyes. “I left it for you.”

“I did! It was super yummy, thank you Kacchan!”

“You shower?”

“No.”

“Too tired?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Okay.”

He rolled over, letting Midoriya slip under his side of the sheets, then dragging him in to a warm chest.

“Warm enough?” Bakugou mumbled, holding him close. “Must have been freezing out there.”

“Mm-hm, it was pretty cold. I feel good now, though.”

“Good.”

There was silence for a moment, then Midoriya tipped his head back to see Bakugou's sleepy face, eyes already closed again, resting peacefully on his pillow.

“Were you warming up my side for me?”

Bakugou nodded, a faint tinge of pink spreading across his cheeks, and Midoriya hugged him tighter.

“Thank you, Kacchan. You're the best boyfriend ever.”

“Damn right,” he mumbled, shoving Midoriya's head back down to nuzzle into his hair. “You too. Thanks for caring about me.”

“Aww, thank you,” he grinned, snuggling in obediently. “You're so cute when you're sleepy. I'll always care! Now get some sleep, Kacchan. You'll sleep in with me in the morning, right?”

“Probably. Tired as fuck.”

“Okay.”

─────

The next thing Bakugou knew, their room was being bombarded with sunlight. Far from his normal routine of waking when the sun began to rise, instead it had already overtaken the sky and filled their room with light and heat.

And in his arms, a freckled figure in fluffy pyjamas slept soundly, drooling on Bakugou's tank top.

When Midoriya opened his eyes, blinking up at him stupidly before that wide, bright smile spread across his lips, Bakugou felt his heart pound.

“Stupid nerd,” he grumbled, hugging him a little tighter. “Stop being cute, asshole.”

Midoriya giggled, leaning in for a kiss, but Bakugou pulled a face when they parted.

“You smell,” he complained. “Go shower, I'll make breakfast.”

“But I want more cuddles!”

“We'll cuddle on the couch after breakfast.”

“Okay!”

Midoriya disappeared, and as Bakugou sat up, he found himself staring at the little plastic case again. He'd taken them out and cleaned them before bed, the night prior – had put them away safely as if they'd never been touched, but for some reason a little part of him was tempted.

Well, Midoriya didn't need to know.

While the shower was still running, he pulled the tiny contraptions out and pushed them deep into his ears, making sure they were settled comfortably and checking a dozen times with a mirror and his phone camera to be sure they weren't visible.

It had been a long time since Bakugou had felt self-conscious about anything. He wasn't even sure why he cared so much, honestly. It wasn't like Midoriya would judge him – if anything he'd be happy.

Maybe that was the problem, though. He couldn't stand the idea of Midoriya celebrating it and praising him. It was better if he just kept quiet, kept it to himself. He'd decide how to deal with Midoriya later.

If he decided to keep the things, that was. He wasn't sure when his brain had flipped the switch from “fuck off” to “yeah okay”, but he didn't particularly want to dwell on it and piss himself off even further.

He tried to push the thought aside, pulling a face as he trudged out to the kitchen to cook. He hated to admit how frustrated he'd been, the night prior, listening to the hum of the oven and the dishwasher, the boiling of the jug, the running of the taps in the sink. It wasn't that he couldn't hear the things normally, but they were so much more distinct with the damn things – he still refused to call them “hearing aids” – in his ears. Everything made him cringe a little, bracing himself for the sounds, although they were never actually as bad as he found himself mentally preparing for.

When Midoriya returned from the bathroom to find him splitting food up onto plates, arranging everything just right, he couldn't help but slip his arms around the slim waist and hold him close. He smiled as he pressed a kiss to Bakugou's cheek, feeling him tense a little in response.

“Everything okay, Kacchan?”

“Yeah. Eat your food.”

“Thanks Kacchan, it looks super good.”

When he stepped away to accept his plate, he didn't say a word. Didn't look twice, didn't pull a face – nothing.

Bakugou breathed a sigh of relief.

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