The Man Behind the Screen

Manly Advice

BAKUGO'S POV

OH MY GOD, SHUT THE FUCK UP. BOOM. Ugh, that's the third alarm clock to succumb to homicide this month. How the hell do they expect me to get up for early morning patrol after coming off late night the night before?

I sat up in bed for a minute and flipped on the TV before I let my feet hit the floor. Then I slowly dragged myself down the hall for a shower. Maybe that will help wake me up. The hot water feels great running down my back. After about fifteen minutes, I made my way back to my room to get dressed.

"It's going to be a bright sunny day." Came from the idiot on the weather channel. I really didn't care what he had to say, but at least I won't be patrolling in the rain today. Where the hell did I leave my phone? I hear it; I know it's Shitty Hair. That's his ringtone. I searched around my room under the jacket that I tossed on the armchair last night after getting home late. I looked at the corner of the sitting area, next to the fireplace and bookshelf. No, not there. Wait, that's right; I remember having it in bed with me last night. I threw the black and gray comforter back on my king-sized bed. There it is.

"Hello?"

"Hey, bro, let me in this fancy door of yours," Hair for brains said through the speaker.

"Fine." I hung up as I pushed the button that unlocked the door.

That red-haired idiot came through the door as I was coming down the stairs headed to the kitchen to grab a coffee. He followed me, "Man, I forget how big this place is." He said like he does almost every time he is over.

"Yeah, well, keep up and don't get lost. I am not hunting you down when it is time to go." In reality, we should have left five minutes ago. After another ten minutes, we are on our way. We check in on our phones and start our patrol.

Morning patrol was pretty boring. I couldn't go twenty minutes without Hair for Brains and his damn nosey ass wife butting in my personal life, wanting to know if I had been on a date lately. Which I haven't, but it's none of her damn business. She thinks she is a goddamn matchmaker.

It's mid-afternoon by now. "I'm starving. Can we get lunch?" Shitty Hair whined for the millionth time in the last thirty minutes.

"You have been saying that shit for the past half hour." He just looks at me pleadingly with his stupid red eyes. "Fine, I think we passed some food trucks back by the park."

The two of us made our way back to the food trucks. I knew what I wanted and got in line to grab some Gyoza. I had to wait for the redhead idiot to make up his mind. Just as I turned around, something ran into my legs, almost causing me to drop my food. "Damn it, what the hell!"

"Wow, watch out, little dude." I heard Hair for Brains. "You okay?" I looked down, and there right in front of me was... Deku? No, it couldn't be. There were big green eyes, curly green hair, and freckles, but they were on a little body.

There was crying first, and then a happy squeal. "RED RIOT, IT'S REALLY YOU!" This mini-looking nerd squeaked as he jumped up and down with tiny clenched fists.

"Yeah, it's me." Shitty hair laughed loudly as he squatted so he was at eye level with the kid. The kid continued jumping in excitement, although I'm not sure why. Shitty hair was barely in the top thirty heroes. He wasn't anything special.

"My favorite hero!" The little brat yelled excitedly as he took another step toward Shitty Hair. He reached his little hand up and touched the harness strapped across Shitty Hair's chest.

"Aww, thanks, little dude." He let the kid look over his costume for another minute before the crowd around the food trucks got louder. I scanned the area and tried to find the source, but it was too busy out here. Nobody was screaming, though, so I figured everything was fine.

"When I get my quirk, I be hero too!" The brat yelled excitedly. If he doesn't have his quirk yet, he's probably only three, maybe almost four.

"That's so manly!" The kid squealed again at the use of Shitty Hair's usual slogan. "Hey, little dude, what's your name?" He asked in a worried tone. This kid had been here for two minutes, but there wasn't an adult with him. Who the hell lets their kid wander around alone?

Before he could answer, somebody yelled loudly. My heart stopped in my chest before beating rapidly when I heard the one voice I never wanted to hear again.

"Daiki!" We all turned to the sound of a voice to see Deku frantically running over to us. "You can't just disappear on me like that! You gave daddy a heart attack!" The nerd fell to his knees by the brat and grabbed his hand.

"Daddy, look!" The kid, who I now assumed was Daiki, yelled while pointing at Shitty Hair. Deku pulled his eyes away from the brat for the first time since he got here.

Shitty Hair smiled his usual stupid grin. "Hey, Midoriya. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has," he sighed. "I'm sorry if he was a bother. He yelled your name and ran through the crowd. I chased him, but he's so small that I lost him almost immediately." He ran a hand through his unruly curls with a nervous smile.

"He was no bother at all!" Shitty Hair replied. "We were just grabbing a bite to eat."

Deku's eyes looked up and scanned around before settling on me. Did he really not notice I was standing here the entire time? Glad to see not much has changed, and he's still a fucking idiot.

"Sorry, Kacchan," he mumbled while standing up, still gripping his son's hand tightly. "You guys enjoy your lunch and the rest of your patrol."

"Listen, little dude," Shitty Hair said quickly. "It's not very manly to run off and scare your dad like that. Next time, tell him, and maybe he'll bring you over to talk, okay? Don't ever go anywhere without an adult."

That's something that Deku should have already taught his son.

Deku avoided my gaze while they said goodbye. It's been five years since we graduated, and this is the first time I've seen him. I've heard his name on the T.V. in the morning and sometimes even saw some of the fights he got into, but seeing him in person was different. It still sent the same rage through me that it always has.

"I didn't know Midoriya when he was a kid, but his son appears to be the spitting image of him." Shitty Hair chuckled.

He is. The brat looks almost just like Deku did when we were kids. His cheeks weren't as chubby as Deku's, and his nose was a little smaller but damn near close enough to the spitting image of him.

My eyes stayed focused on them as the brat climbed on Deku's back. I watched them walk away from the food trucks empty-handed. Whatever they were going to get probably got canceled when the brat ran away from him.

"Dude, it's been five years," Shitty Hair sighed. "You could have at least said hi, or have the common courtesy not to scowl and glare at them while they're leaving." I'm not glaring at the kid; he's just a kid. He can't help who he was born from. I'm glaring at his idiot father.

"I don't want the brat to run again and end our peaceful patrol," I scoffed.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," he mumbled. I shifted my food to my left hand and turned to punch his arm. He didn't even try to deflect me.

After Shitty Hair got his food, we found an empty table in the far corner of the closed-off street. He continued talking while we ate, but I wasn't listening to a damn word he said. The only thing on my mind was Deku. It took years to get the nerd out of my damn head when we graduated, and just like a worm, he wiggled his way back in.

It pisses me off.