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and it's nice not to be so alone

Summary:

"I am concerned for your well-being. As your class representative, of course.” Tenya hesitates, “And as your friend, I am concerned that something is amiss.”

“Oh fuck off, four-eyes.”

Tenya is non-pulsed by the insult. “I have learned from Midoriya that it is not uncommon for you to use insults as nicknames, so I won’t take offense to that.”

Bakugou just gives him a blank stare. He seems to consider his classmate's face for a second, before he rolls his eyes. “Do whatever you want.”

(or: on one of class 1-A's anticipated movie nights, Bakugou is absent)

Notes:

this is a prompt fill for my friend from our discord server!!!! this pairing is SO underrated and deserves more love. it's rated T purely for the language used, otherwise, it's pretty G

their prompt: Tenya Finds Bakugo alone at night sitting in the rain on a park bench. He holds an umbrella over his head.

I hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

 

Tenya grabs his jacket and zips it up, stepping into his boots. It’s pouring outside of the dorms. It’s not just the sprinkles the weatherman said it would be -- it’s a torrential downpour, the rain coming down in buckets. He grabs two umbrellas.

 

“Iida? Is everything okay?” Midoriya asks. He’s in comfortable clothes, a tee-shirt and lounge pants, while most of 1-A plays a movie on the TV. Iida gives his friend a smile.

 

“Of course! I just have to drop this off to someone.” Tenya says. “I won’t be too long. Please, don’t wait to show the movie on my account!”

 

“Okay.” Midoriya says. Ashido is shouting something, as Yaoyorozu emerges from the kitchen with bowls of popcorn for everyone. Iida closes the door behind him and begins the trek outside. 

 

Fortunately, it’s not too windy out. Tenya finds Bakugou exactly where he expected to find him, although he’s not actually in the middle of running this time. He’s sitting on a bench, right beside the running track, his hair wet and sticking to his forehead. 

 

Tenya holds the umbrella he’s currently got open over Bakugou’s head. As a result the water is now splashing him, and making his hair stick to his forehead, but it doesn’t bother him much. 

 

Bakugou’s eyes flick over to Tenya, his expression dangerous. 

 

“What the fuck do you want?” He spits. 

 

Tenya knew that he couldn’t sneak up on Bakugou. He hadn’t expected to. Bakugou is observant, intelligent, and thinks things through. So, that’s why Tenya is so surprised Bakugou is out here in the middle of a monsoon. 

 

“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come back inside before the rain started.” Tenya says. The umbrella over Bakugou’s head isn’t doing too much to help him, as he was positively drenched before.

 

“Tch. What do you care?”

 

“I would think you’d care.” Tenya says. “If you catch a cold out here, your training will be pushed behind at least a week. It’s unlike you to carelessly risk something like that, Bakugou! So I am concerned for your well-being. As your class representative, of course.” he hesitates, before he eyes the spot beside Bakugou. It seems like Bakugou has no intention of getting up, so he may as well make himself comfortable. “And as your friend, I am concerned that something is amiss.”

 

“Oh fuck off, four-eyes.”

 

Tenya is non-pulsed by the insult. “I have learned from Midoriya that it is not uncommon for you to use insults as nicknames, so I won’t take offense to that.”

 

Bakugou just gives him a blank stare. He seems to consider his classmate's face for a second, before he rolls his eyes. “Do whatever you want.”

 

The rain is falling steadily around them. Tenya knows that he should coerce Bakugou to go back inside. But he feels if he does, the brief calm spell between him and Bakugou will be over. It’s calming to be out here on the grounds without being in a rush to get to class. The rain, too, is starting to lighten. 

 

“All right, I’m getting secondhand embarrassment from this fucking silence. What do you want?” Bakugou snaps. 

 

“I have noticed a newfound determination from you.” Tenya says, looking straight out, towards the trees. His heart has picked up and he’s not entirely sure why, but looking at Bakugou simply makes it worse. “I admire it! You have always been one of the most hardworking individuals in our class, and constant training and vigilance is what makes a proper hero. However, I am concerned.”

 

Tenya pauses. He thinks of his older brother, Tensei, still in the process of recovery from his battle with the hero killer Stain. Tenya recalls how determined he’d been to avenge him, and how he hadn’t stopped until he’d nearly gotten himself killed in turn. He knows what blind determination looks like. He knows the difference between recklessly rushing to become a hero and doing what is best for the people who are suffering. He learned that lesson with Midoriya and Todoroki. He recalls his friends telling him that they’d wished they’d stepped in sooner, after they’d been recovering in the hospital. 

 

Tenya finally looks over at Bakugou. The rain has stopped pouring and is now a sprinkle. Bakugou is looking at him and the clouds part. Tenya watches the water from the rain reflect on Bakugou’s skin. He’s mesmerized.

 

“Concerned about fucking what ?! There’s nothing to be concerned about.” Bakugou says. 

 

“Are you sure you aren’t pushing yourself too hard?”

 

“I know my own limits way better than you do!” Bakugou snaps. “I know my own limits better than fucking anybody does.” 

 

“Ever since your fight with Midoriya,” Tenya continues, as though Bakugou had not snapped at him. Bakugou’s mouth snaps shut. “You seem to be straining yourself to the point of exhaustion. I am just worried about you. As your classmate, and as your friend.”

 

Bakugou‘s fists clench at his sides. “I didn’t fucking ask for you to worry about me.”

 

“You didn’t have to. It comes free with friendship.” Tenya says. 

 

“Did I fucking ask for friendship, either?!”

 

Tenya offers Bakugou the umbrella. Bakugou stares at it, then looks at Tenya’s face like he’s grown another head. 

 

Tenya gives him a smile. Bakugou considers his face for a minute. 

 

“What about your umbrella?”

 

“I brought another one.” Tenya lets go of the umbrella he’s given Bakugou so he can open his second umbrella. It’s one of Midoriya’s umbrellas, it’s got All-Might’s face on it with DETROIT SMASH written in bright red English around the sides. 

 

Tenya notices Bakugou’s eyes flick to the umbrella. For a second he thinks that Bakugou will get angry that it’s Midoriya’s umbrella (this is why Tenya gave him the other umbrella, which was obviously not Midoriya’s) but he just regards the logo on it with an unreadable expression. Something in his throat quivers and he leaps up to his feet. 

 

Tenya follows suit. Bakugou shoves the hand not holding his umbrella deep into the pockets of his pants. Tenya walks beside him, glancing down at Bakugou’s side profile. Really, he walks in such an interesting way. 

 

“Aren't you missing spooky movie night to come find my ass?” Bakugou asks, turning to look over at Tenya. Lightning flashes in the sky. The sun is almost set now, not that many beams of light break through the clouds in the first place. 

 

“I figured you wouldn’t be missing it if you didn’t have a good reason.”

 

Bakugou scoffs. “You need to stop putting fucking thoughts in my head like you’re reading my mind. You can’t.” 

 

“But you have a good reason.” Tenya says. He watches as the lightning reflects in Bakugou’s eyes, which are focused on him. “You like our class, I know you do.”

 

Bakugou scoffs. He looks away, squeezing the stem of the umbrella. “Yeah fucking right I do.”

 

Tenya doesn’t respond to that and just keeps walking. The rain comes down in spits and waves. Bakugou looks up at the dorm building first, a frown on his face. “I didn’t know it was supposed to rain .”

 

“The weather did call for only clouds today. It’s a fair mistake to make.”

 

Bakugou storms inside the building first, closing the umbrella. The sounds of laughter and squealing and some film overtake the hallway. They can hear the rest of their class screaming about something. When Bakugou and Tenya enter the living room, all eyes flick over to them.

 

Tenya watches Bakugou’s face as it contorts from indifference to extreme annoyance as his friends all burst out laughing. 

 

“I can’t believe you were out in the rain?! What were you doing, man?” Kirishima asks.

 

“I bet he was brooding about Present Mic’s English test tomorrow!” Kaminari chimes in. 

 

“You idiot, Bakugou doesn’t need to stress out about tests, unlike you,” Mina teases, giving Kaminari a playful knock to the head. “Besides even if he was stressing about that you’d think he’d be, like, studying or something.”

 

“Ah! Kacchan! You were out in that storm?!” Midoriya asks. 

 

“Oh fuck off ALL of you!” Bakugou snaps, kicking the wall. Tenya isn’t sure what kicking the wall does for him, exactly, but perhaps it’s therapeutic. 

 

“And our class rep had to go out to find him in this weather - how embarrassing!” Mina cackles.

 

“No, no! You misunderstand the situation!” Tenya says, even though that was the situation entirely. He does not like the idea of lying to his classmates, but if the incident with the Hero Killer had taught him anything, it taught him that lying was sometimes the best case scenario to keep the peace. “I had forgotten something in the gymnasium, and I saw Bakugou on his way home and requested his assistance.”

 

“Is that true, Baku-bro? You’re actually helpful?” Kaminari sounds in awe.

 

“No fair! I want Bakugou to help me with menial tasks!” Mina complains.

 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, ALL OF YOU!” Bakugou growls. The others continue to laugh until Kaminari says they need enough snacks for their two newest arrivals and bounces off to the kitchen. Tenya makes brief eye contact with Midoriya. He is fairly certain from the look on Midoriya’s face that he doesn’t buy the lie he sold, and for some reason, that just makes Tenya flush. 

 

As the others lose direct interest in Tenya and Bakugou, he turns towards his seething classmate.

 

“I apologize if that was out of line, Bakugou. I just thought it would beg the less questions our wonderfully curious classmates might ask you about your training.” Tenya says. Bakugou frowns at him. Tenya feels the flush worsening for some reason, so he clears his throat. “I know that your reasons for training are deeply personal, and our friends can be relentless when unsatisfied with offered answers.” 

 

“Whatever, shitty glasses. Doesn’t make much of a difference to me.” Bakugou says, but there’s no heat behind his words. He walks further into the room, just as Kirishima comes back from the kitchen and throws his arms across Bakugou’s shoulders. Tenya smiles to himself and removes his glasses to dry them off. When he brings them back up to his face, he makes direct eye contact with Bakugou, who is simply staring at his face. It’s an intense look, that Tenya feels like he can’t be the first to break.

 

He’s not the first to look away. It’s Bakugou, turning to yell something at Kirishima. If Tenya’s not mistaken, there’s a faint flush to his cheeks.

Notes:

thanks for reading! pls know if you leave a kudos or a comment it abolsutely makes my day. feel free to follow me on the tumblr !!