Chapter Text
"Guys! Who over here plans on getting married?" Mina abruptly jumped excitedly as her classmates walked down the hall towards the gym.
"I do! One day I'll have a big family, with a huge yard! My parents will have their own suite, and I’ll have eight kids!" Ochako beamed, making Izuku blush for some strange reason.
"Th-That sounds nice..." He mumbled through his embarrassment.
"I wouldn't mind getting married!" Smiled Kirishima with sharp teeth and a thumbs up. "But I'm not focused on that. If it happens, it happens! I'll be happy either way!"
"Ooh! I'd love to get married!" Toru jumped, "But I'm not sure about the kids part- if they turned out to be invisible then that would be crazy!"
Gagging at his ridiculous classmates, Bakugou’s attempt to ignore them all proved futile.
"You all are making me sick. No way am I getting married! It'll only distract me from becoming the number one hero!" He jeered.
"But Bakugou," Sero started, "Don't you want kids? A family?"
"Kids? Family?! I don't want to have to take care of nobody other than myself! Too much work."
"Well, you might not think that forever..." Kirishima chuckled at his stubborn friend.
"Don't doubt me! I know what my future looks like- and I don't need no family!"
## Ten years later...
Bakugou Katsuki rose awake to the blaring of his phone. He often had dreams of the old times, memories he had forgotten. Sitting up with a stretch, he checked his phone that glared a sunbeam directly into his piss-tired eyes.
"Ten Fifteen? What the hell..." He sat off his futon and rolled the traditional bed up. “Damn I need a shower...” He had to take a shower this morning because he was actually seeing people tonight: his old classmates! He wasn't sure why he decided to go to these monthly UA meetings. Well, he secretly knew why. But he would never admit that he might, just *barely*, maybe enjoy their company. Meeting up every month was a thing Kirishima and Deku decided on, forever ago. After graduating they forced the entire class to hang out and catch up with each other, and they’ve stayed faithful to that promise so far. Not everyone could come every time, but that was alright by Bakugou. Mineta was not someone he missed at all...
Bakugou checked his phone. No hero calls this morning. Good. The scuffle last night was enough to keep him sore for a while. He had been working as a Pro Hero for almost seven years now. Maybe more? His name has gotten quite famous too, with “Ground Zero” always floating around some news station. However, he wasn't the most famous... yet. No! The goddamn number one hero *Deku* had the public wrapped around his finger! He got married to Uraraka— sorry —Ochako *Midoriya*, five years ago. Whoop-de-do. Now they are expecting a kid or something. The media has eaten their personal lives up like a wildfire. Bakugou didn't mind the vultures keeping their distance, but he was still falling behind Deku as number one hero. Infuriating.
Before Bakugou could clean himself up he heard a loud ringing from his phone. A Pro Hero emergency!
"Yeah? A mugging? Yep. Yeah yeah, I’m coming." Bakugou threw his hero gear on (he rarely took it off) and leapt out his apartment window, flying off with a bang! The scorch marks around his window outside was proof of him doing that quite a few times. He was there in an instant- knocking out the mugger in two seconds flat. It was too easy. He stood triumphant, almost forgetting about, you know, the guy who got mugged.
"Oh my God! It's Ground Zero!" The man exclaimed excitedly. Bakugou got this all the time, but it still felt nice. "Can I have an autograph? For my son? He's a huge fan of yours." The man trembled.
“Pfft. Really? Right now? How about I throw this bastard in jail and you call the police?”
“Oh. Yes. I suppose.” He accepted his fate. With Bakugou not feeling forced to do what he asked he rolled his neck and snatched the book in the victim’s hands.
"God. Fine. Whatever." Bakugou dropped the unconscious body and scribbled “Ground Zero” as big as possible in the notebook, doodling explosions off the side.
Handing it back to the ecstatic man, he noticed a whole crowd had gathered around the scene. Ugh...
"Oh wow! Can I get an autograph too?"
"Me too! I need an autograph!"
"Me too!" Bakugou ground his teeth. This. This is what he hated.
"Back off extras! I only give autographs to those I save- and even then it's a maybe! So get lost!" Everyone moaned sadly as they walked away dejected. “Don’t like it? Not my problem!” He growled as he dragged the mugger to the station. Giving autographs to only a few people was actually something Aizawa-Sensei taught him forever ago: it makes autographs a valuable commodity and then there’s a story behind each one. That did make some people pretty ticked. In the past there was one person in particular who got especially violent...
## Eleven months ago...
“Come on bro, one more one more!” Kaminari nudged his explosive friend for another drink, but Bakugou wasn’t feeling it. In fact, he felt almost sick.
“I’m going home.” He reached first his keys, only for the bartender to snatch them away with a shake of his head. Bakugou would have blown his precious bar to kingdom come if he could! But drinking and driving would be bad for his record…
“Shitty Hair! Take me home!” He screamed over the loud music. God the noise was throbbing his brain…
“What?! We just got here! The arm wrestling contest is about to start!” Pleaded his best friend. But Bakugou wasn’t sticking around to see that.
“You nerds are useless.” He sneered as he took the last sip of his beer. “...I’m leaving.”
“Huh?!”
“I said I’m leaving!” Bakugou shouted one last time before snatching his coat and stomping towards the doors. But slender hands stopped him as they brushed against his chest.
“Hey big guy. Looking for some company-“
“Get off!” Bakugou flicked her away. “I ain’t wasting my time with extras!”
“But don’t you wanna feel warm toni-“ He marched right out of the building without a second thought.
As soon as he exited the place of constant noise, the entire world felt far away, zooming in and out of focus. Walking was going to be interesting… But Bakugou was going to be fine. He’s a grown-ass 26 year old man with the build of an ox. No one with half a brain would dare approach him floundering down the sidewalk.
Or at least, that was his hope. But as he walked, a plain-looking woman stopped besides him, staring at him with her mouth agape.
"Ground Zero! You’re here!” She gasped. Ugh she recognized him… and her voice was so damn annoying...
"Hmph." He continued walking by.
"I'm your biggest fan! I've been a fan since your school days- back at the Sports Festival and everything! I always thought you were really cool! What are the chances of me just running into you?! Haha!” She said as she got into his personal space, her giggles throbbing his brain. All Bakugou wanted was to go home.
"Yup." He simply said in an attempt not to blow up and continued to walk away. But the plain-looking girl followed a little too close for comfort.
"I always wished and dreamed I could have gone to UA- but sadly you can't do that without a quirk, right?"
"Yeah, no." Ooh boy. She was bringing in her own story here, wasn’t she? But even still, Bakugou couldn't help but think of Deku, and how he got in and how they eventually became... friends. It was... alright having All Might give Deku One For All. Everything would've been different if Deku hadn’t got that quirk. God knows where the world would be without Deku...
"I was wondering... could I get an autograph? Or a photo!?" She begged annoyingly. Katsuki sighed,
"No. I only give autographs to people I save, and even then it's a maybe..."
"But, it'll only take a second of your time and it would mean the world to me!"
"Tired. Don’t want to."
"Come on- it'll only take a second!"
"I said no."
"But-"
"Geez! Can't you see that I'm drunk and tired?! I just wanna go home and throw up- is that too much to ask? Now get lost! I already said no!" He snapped, everything around him getting blurrier and blurrier. If he had a better mind, he wouldn't have said that. Now that fan of his was angry.
"I am your biggest fan... I longed to be at UA... to be in your class... we are even the same age! It would've been perfect except for my damn quirkless-ness!" She stomped her foot like a tantruming toddler, anger seeping out of her like a dark aura.
Then, with a cock of her head and a shiver in her skin, she whispered,
"We would've been perfect together..."
This caught Bakugou's attention. He turned back to her; the craziness was glowing from her eyes.
Her smile was crooked.
"Look- I don't know what you're going through, but leave me out of it. I'm just trying to live my life, okay lady?" The hero turned back towards his home, sighing to himself. This hero business had some downsides, eh?
It was painfully quiet as he walked away from her. So very quiet. But in the silence he could hear it. Could hear something from behind- like a brick being picked up.
“Ha?” He stopped. Faintly, he could almost feel the warmth of another body prickle the hairs of his neck. Turning around he found himself centimeters away from a terrifying set of pupils. “What the fuck-“
Before his drunken self could react he was hit over the head! She was surprisingly strong, and it caught him by surprise. He fell to the ground and felt his hair grow sticky, with an almost warm feeling where he had been hit. Everything was so dizzying...
“The FUCK ARE YOU-“
She lunged at him! The fucker lunged at him! She dug her fingers around his hair and started yanking it! She was ripping out a chunk of his hair! What the hell?!
“FUCK! FUCK! Let go!” Prying her off like a leech from the skin, Bakugou held his bleeding head. In between her fisted fingers was a clump of his hair- like a prize. “You crazy bitch! I’m throwing you in jail you maniac!” He stumbled towards her drunkenly.
Panic struck her crazed eyes.
“Wait! You can’t! I finally got-“
“Put the brick down or I’ll- hurk~” Katsuki was on the verge of tossing his dinner. Leaning on a wall, he held his dizzying head when…
Something changed in her eyes. And through the blurriness Katsuki could see her posture crack… And she ran after him! He held his hand out and let out a ridiculously weak explosion. Running right through the smoke she approached him and-
BAM!
She hit him once more. Directly on the same spot. Stumbling around, Bakugou sparked his quirk a few times, fell against a wall, and slumped onto the sidewalk ground.
And that’s how the famous Ground Zero was knocked out: by a brick. It was shameful. Two months prior he fought off forty men with a broken arm and a fractured jaw. And then some quirkless quack smacks him with a brick and he's out. Pathetic.
When Bakugou finally started to stir awake- the throbbing lump on his head caused him to vomit upon seeing the sunlight. How long was he out? Sitting up from the damp alleyway floor, he could barely remember what had happened.
"Ugg... that bitch- what the hell?" He growled, wiping the barf from his lips, “What did she look like? Agh!” Everything was screaming at him. His ears were ringing, his eyes were blurry, not to mention his tender head. Stumbling out of the alleyway, he supported himself against the wall.
All of his body felt... sticky.
"Oh my God! Sir- are you okay?" A random bystander rushed over to him. Yeah- he must've looked crappy from a distance.
"Yeah no. I think I got mugged last night." That was a bit of a lie. He didn't want to go into the details.
"Y-You got hit on the head! Oh my God there’s a lot of blood! Do you feel tired? Do you need me to call an ambulance?" He asked with visible worry for Katsuki. Before Bakugou told him off, he realized he actually could use help.
"Nope. No ambulance needed. Just... call my friend who lives around here somewhere.”
"Yes! Alright! Okay, what's his number?"
Not even ten minutes passed before Kirishima drove up to the alleyway.
"Bakubro! You look like shit!"
"No kidding, Shitty-Hair." He smiled. Boy, was he relieved to see his friend. Kirishima thanked the bystander a hundred times before leaving.
"I can't believe you were bleeding in an alley all night long! I should’ve driven you home! I feel like such an unmanly hero. And a terrible friend..." Red Riot let a single tear collect in the corner of his eye.
"Oh get over it. It was a quirkless bitch with a brick. You are not the least manly person in the car." Chuckled Bakugou before clutching his head in pain.
"Man- She must've really hit you hard to get you complimenting! And also to get you peeing your pants."
"What?!" The dizzy man screamed as he looked down, “How did I not notice that?" He gawked as he looked himself down. God, he was such a mess. Blood across his face? Vomit on his chest? Urine?! “We’ll never speak of this, you hear?!”
"Yeah- you might have a concussion... we're taking you to the ER."
"Fine... and not a word about this to the others! Or I'll blow your hair gel into kingdom come!"
"Ha! Don't worry- I got you bro."
And after that day, neither of them uttered one word about the brick incident. Slowly, Bakugou forgot it ever happened, which was for the best.
## Present day...
As the sun just began to set on the warm March day, Bakugou arrived at the restaurant his old classmates were meeting at. It was some stupid noodle restaurant. Seeing the faces of twelve of his classmates he tisked. They were all waving at him like idiots. Man he missed them.
"Nerds... Have you ordered yet?"
"Nah, dude! We were waiting for you!" Kaminari smiled with an arm around Jirou. Oh, Right- they're engaged.
"We saved you a seat, Kacchan!" Deku beamed while patting a seat between him and Kirishima, so the explosive hero didn't complain as he sat down.
As the food arrived they all laughed and joked and told stories. It was unimportant and pointless, but they were together; eating and doing nothing together. Katsuki needed this. He hated eating alone... and he did that every goddamn day.
"So Kirishima..." Mina started, a devilish look in her eyes. "Any new ladies or gents in your scopes yet?” She asked as she got in close.
“Hehe... Well...” Puffing out his cheeks with a shrug, he shook his head, “I um... think I’m happy with what I got here!”
“Aww. That’s a shame. One of these days, right?” She laughed.
“Yep. Right.” He tapped his fingers on the table and gave a painfully awkward smile. Watching it from the outside was even worse. Bakugou wanted to hit that Shitty-Hair. Whatever this ‘thing’ was between them, it had been going on for a looooong time.
“Oops!” Mina took out her ringing phone and jumped to her feet, “Evil never sleeps, does it?”
“A villain?! Need any help or-“ Mina interrupted Kirishima’s worried look with a giggle.
“I got this! You worry too much, Red Riot.” And with a playful wink she dashed out of the restaurant, leaving Kirishima there, stiff as a rock.
Rolling his eyes as he downed the last sip of his water, Bakugou groaned, “Happy with what ya got here?”
“Huh? What’s that?” Kirishima blushed as he decided to sit back down. Shaking and tisking, Sero sighed,
“Things haven’t changed a day... When are you going to ask her out?”
“Ha!? Ask Ashido out? Where did you get that idea from?!” Kirishima laughed as he stuffed his face full of food.
“She winked at you.” Bakugou rolled his eyes, “Ask anyone here and they’d say that’s flirting. Round-Face? Is winking flirting?”
“Yep!”
“Dunce-Face! Even you can tell, right?”
“Huh?”
“Guys! Stop, really!” Eijirou coughed away the blush forming on his face, “She winks at everyone! Plus... I dunno...”
“You dunno?” Midoriya raised a brow.
“...If she liked me, she wouldn’t be asking me about my love life and ‘new ladies or gents’, ya know?”
“Hmm...” Sero nodded in a seemingly wise manner with a finger stroking his chin, “Looks like you’re as dense as ever.”
“Hey! Rude!” Eijirou threw his napkin at him!
“Oi. Shitty-Hair...” Growled Bakugou darkly, “Did it cross your one brain cell that she might be asking if you’re still single?”
“...!” Yeah, it did not cross Kirishima’s mind. Not even once.
“So now that I shoved that thought into your rock for a brain, what are ya going to do about it?” Bakugou took a cocky bite of his food as he let Kirishima think.
“Umm... I’m going to ask Mina out?”
Sero and Kaminari jumped into the air and planted a solid high-five across the table.
“Finally!”
“When?” Katsuki sneered.
“Uhh... next Wednesday!”
“’Kay,” Bakugou stood and threw his money on the table, “If by next Wednesday you still haven’t said anything... then I’m gonna blow your hair gel-“
“Blow my hair gel to kingdom come, yeah yeah I get it...” Kirishima banged his forehead on the table. “You know it’s not THAT expensive, right bro?”
“Oh. It’ll add up.” Katsuki snickered as he slid on his leather jacket and waltzed towards the exit, “Wednesday, Shitty-Hair.”
“Wednesday, then...”