Knots in First Year | Bakugo x Deku

Chapter 9

Todoroki's eyes widened at the mention of Midoriya. What the hell? Why would he need to talk about Midoriya? What is this about? His mind was racing as he kept a mostly monotone face, putting the washcloth in the sink. He made his way over to Bakugo, who was sitting on one of his zaisu chairs, and sat in the chair diagonal from the red-eyed boy so he could be a better listener.

    "Bakugo, I'm a little confused. What on earth about Midoriya do you need to talk about?"

    "Tch, I don't know! I was just going to spill what's on my mind and have you tell me what it means dammit!" Bakugo growled out. The red and white haired boy was even more confused.

    "Uh, okay then. I'm listening..."

    "For one, I need to get better at telling people the fucking truth on my mind..."

    "What do you mean by that? Do you lie a lot?" Todoroki seemed confused.

    "Well, yes and no, you idiot. I'm surprised you haven't noticed at least a few lies..." Bakugo was usually very truthful in specific ways, he didn't feel a need to hide his rage or act a specific way (ex: polite, collected, nice, etc.). He always just acted- like himself. Like who he was brought up around. But recently he's felt a habit of having to hide the way his mind wants him to act. It scares him to act differently than he's used to. He's also very good at lying, however, using rage to cover up certain emotions to prevent from feeling weak. He's also done a great job at keeping the secret of One for All from anyone, as he thinks it's actually vital to keep that one under wraps.

The reason Bakugo went to Todoroki for this was not just because Todoroki is a good listener (even though he can be a little too literal sometimes), but also because he was one of Midoriya's closest friends. He needed help to understand if this was a normal way to feel around Midoriya, if it was just his charm or something, considering Bakugo has never been close to Midoriya in the way Todoroki is (even though Bakugo is the closest to Midoriya, they still have their rivalry and specific behaviors towards each other, so he needed to understand Todoroki before he understood himself). He felt odd going to Iida or Uraraka as he wasn't even remotely at a casual speaking stage with either of them. Considering the time they spent together during their supplemental classes, Bakugo felt Todoroki was the best option.

    "Honestly I never really thought that much into it, but I wouldn't initially expect you to lie about a lot of things." Todoroki continued.

    "I don't expect you to understand you damn IcyHot! I'm just trying not to lie to you because I genuinely need help. I'm not used to opening up to people so this is weird for me, get it?" Bakugo yelled at first, but then softened down as he went on.

    "...I understand, it's hard for me too. I've only ever opened up to Midoriya before, so I know how hard it can be to trust someone you never thought you could." Todoroki said in monotone, but the red-eyed boy could tell he really cared. Bakugo chuckled at this which made Todoroki let out a 'hm?' under his breath.

    "You know, you never realized you told me that stuff too... about your dad. You weren't aware, but I listened in on you and Deku talking. I honestly just wanted a leg up in the sports festival, but I definitely wasn't expecting a trauma dump," Bakugo said looking down while smirking. Todoroki had a quick look of shock on his face, but it quickly turned into a small smirk. He didn't mind Bakugo knowing about what he told Midoriya that day, he was even relieved at how 'chill' Bakugo was about it. He was definitely comfortable with listening to what he had to say now.

    "So back to you, what's going on with Midoriya?" Todoroki asked.

    "I- I've been training extra with him recently. I also know- a super special secret about him, one I can't tell you about so don't ask. And don't be upset about it either, I know Deku. He respects you a ton, and it would help a lot if you knew so... he will tell you about it eventually. Tch, anyway, between all of this 'stuff', we've grown a lot closer..." Bakugo was being very serious in this moment. It was visibly hard for him to say a lot of this out loud, and Todoroki could see that, so he made sure he lent his full attention to the blonde boy to make him feel extra comfortable. He didn't mind the secret part, although he DID question why Midoriya wouldn't confide in him with a secret that big that even Bakugo couldn't tell him, but he tried to understand what Bakugo said. When he needs him to know, he'll tell him, so he put the secret aside in his mind to focus.