Speechless

All the blood drained from Midoriya's face, his normally beaming smile replaced with a shaky, tight-lipped smile that honestly couldn't even really be CALLED a smile. No one had ever seen him so pale before, and as soon as the bell rang, Uraraka had her hand on his forehead.

"Are you feeling okay, Deku?" she asked nervously. "Are you sick? You don't look well!"

"I-I'm fine, U-Uraraka," he assured her, completely unconvincing. "Don't worry about me!"

No one believed him for a second, but she nodded faintly all the same.

Later that night, as they gathered in the common room, he was the subject of all their gossip. The moment he left the room it became a myriad of hushed whispers, discussing how off-colour and WEIRD he'd seemed that day. What was going on?? Was he okay??

"Middle school kids are assholes," Bakugou shrugged, when Kirishima pushed him for clues while they studied in his dorm room. "He would geek out over stuff, do all that weird mumbling shit. People used to give him crap about stuttering and being a nerd or whatever."

The offense and horror that overcame him was palpable, and Bakugou paused for a moment as he contemplated.

"Don't tell those losers shit," he demanded, his voice oddly quiet. "He'll just be embarrassed if you do."

Kirishima nodded understandingly, but still the sad frown remained.

The topic was a free choice, as long as they spoke in English, so most of them didn't mind too much. As the week wore on, people presented one by one, some with topics they were passionate about and had researched thoroughly, others with entertaining comedic speeches.

Bakugou was a natural presenter – He had no qualms about standing up in front of a group to talk, no issue being up there on his own, and had a great memory to boot. He didn't even need a script or cue cards like his classmates, he just stood up and talked like it was no big deal

A few people were surprised when he got up and talked about bullying, of all things. He hadn't exactly been NICE to the rest of them, after all. But there he stood, talking about entire classes of kids ganging up on one student, others joining in to avoid the abuse themselves.

There was a hint of regret in his voice that only a few seemed to pick up on, mostly when he talked about youth suicide rates and how many kids just like them had taken their own lives because of stupid, preventable shit. Present Mic didn't even tell him off for saying "shit" in a speech.

As he wrapped up his presentation, he locked eyes with nervous green, staring right at him as he spoke.

"I know I made a lot of mistakes as a kid, I'm just lucky that I didn't end up with something like that hanging over my head for the rest of my life."

Immediately the arrogance returned, smug as people clapped and praised him, smirking as he fell into his seat.

"You were amazing, Kacchan," Midoriya smiled nervously. "Well done!"

"Damn right I was. You're gonna be too, right nerd?"

"I'll do my best!"

The next day, Midoriya's name was finally called. The volunteers had passed, even a few reluctant ones, and it came down to the last few reluctant people – to the last name, in fact, when Present Mic saw how pale he was – he didn't REALLY want a kid passing out in class.

"Th-Thank you for b-being here," he stumbled, hands shaking around his cards as he stared at them intently. "T-Today I want to t-teach you all about A-All Might's c-career in the United S-States of Am-merica."

The room held a silent respect, but still Midoriya trembled.

He was just waiting for it, for the moment someone would whisper to their neighbour and start a chain reaction of giggles. For the moment someone would call out a dumb name – "nerd", "loser", "quirkless". He KNEW his classmates weren't like that, but...

Present Mic nodded encouragingly, urging him to continue, but with his face pouring sweat and his hands struggling to keep a grip on his cards, he seemed frozen. His eyes filled with tears, and still the class waited patiently as he flipped to the next card to remind himself.

With a squeak of dismay, the cards fell. They scattered everywhere, one even sliding under Ojirou's desk, and he swatted it back lightly with his tail. It was all over, Midoriya was going to FAIL, and everyone was going to know what a stupid, nerdy, quirkless loser he-

A hand shot into the air, and Midoriya froze, staring at the narrowed crimson gaze pointed his way.

"What influenced him to go to America in the first place?" Bakugou asked, without waiting to be called on. "And why would he choose America, of all places?"

"O-Oh, um, th-that's a good question K-Kacchan," Midoriya squeaked. "Y-You see, he had a f-fascination with old c-comic book h-heroes, as a kid, and m-most of them were American! He e-even based his c-costume on traditional s-superheroes."

He sniffed a little, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, and nodded faintly.

"When he h-heard about a u-university that took inter-international students, and g-gave scholarships, and had a-amazing professors, it seemed perfect f-for him!"

He paused again, scrubbing at his damp cheek as he tried to think, tried to remember ANYTHING else he'd written and spent so long practicing, but his mind was just blank. He was such an idiot, such a loser, couldn't even remember three minutes of rehearsed words.

Bakugou's hand shot up again, and Midoriya stared at him, stunned.

"Y-Yes, Kacchan?"

"But don't you think after training his whole life at U.A. under Japanese instruction he owed it to the country to work HERE instead?"

"W-Well, that's a c-common criticism, but a-actually it w-was his teachers at U.A. who encouraged him to a-apply! U.A. is about b-being the best hero, r-right? So if going t-to another country w-would give him a chance to l-learn more, they were f-fully in support!"

He swallowed hard and continued, a few words finally coming back to him, and Bakugou sat back with a little smirk as he watched. He listened like it was the most fascinating subject in the world, even though Midoriya KNEW he knew it all already.

Again and again, every time Midoriya paused or stuttered or got stuck, Bakugou's hand was in the air prompting him. Present Mic let it happen, and none of their classmates even acknowledged it was going on – just listening quietly and smiling at Midoriya encouragingly.

"A-And that, in my opinion, is how All Might became the b-best hero in the world!" he finished with a sigh of relief, scuttling back to his seat without waiting to be dismissed. Everyone clapped, but Midoriya just dropped his head to the desk, hiding his face.

"Thank you," he whispered, peeking up to see Bakugou shrug in front of him,

"You okay?" Bakugou asked

"I am now!"

"Alright."

The moment the bell rang, Kirishima and Uraraka were both at his side, patting him on the back and shoulder as they told him how good he did, how proud of him they were. Other classmates shared the same sentiment, with little smiles, and Midoriya whined quietly.

"That was a super manly recovery!" Kirishima praised. "Good job, Midoriya! I'm impressed!"

"Th-Thank you," he squeaked, glancing up at Bakugou again. "I was so scared."

"It's a good thing we heard you practicing!"

Bakugou tensed up, shoulders shooting toward his ears, and Midoriya saw a hint of pink on the back of his neck.

"You heard me?"

"Yeah! We were in Kami's room and Bakubro heard you down below!"

"Shut up," Bakugou scowled, glaring back at Kirishima. "Not another word."

He closed his mouth obediently, and Midoriya followed suit, opting to wait until after dinner, when Bakugou had returned to his room. He knocked on the door quietly, ignoring the growls inside as he stomped over to open it, then froze when he saw Midoriya's face.

"I just wanted to come and thank you," Midoriya smiled shyly. "You really saved me out there, Kacchan."

"Whatever. It's no big deal."

"But it was!! I was so scared, and you saved me! You're my hero!"

Bakugou shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and with a little smile Midoriya leaned in close. He stood on his tiptoes, and with a little giggle, pecked Bakugou on the cheek, darting back immediately to avoid the sparking hands and flustered growls as Bakugou flooded red.

"What the fuck, nerd?!" Bakugou demanded, watching as Midoriya backed away toward the stairs, still giggling with his own little pink flush in his cheeks.

"Sorry," he grinned. "Really, Kacchan, thank you. It means a lot to me!"

As he began to leave, his hand touching the door, Bakugou grumbled something behind him and he glanced back.

"I'm not gonna fuck with you anymore, alright?" he muttered, face still burning, eyes downcast. "You're fine."

"Huh?" Midoriya blinked at him, and Bakugou rolled his eyes.

"I'm still gonna beat your ass!" he clarified. "But I'm not gonna... Y'know. Give you shit during presentations and stuff."

"Thanks, Kacchan!"

He stepped through the door with a smile, letting the door swing shut behind him, catching a last, faint little mumble from the hall.

"Call me if you need someone to practice with."