Bakudeku/Dekubaku OneShots

4- Braces

"Okay, guys. Bakubro's been acting weird for ages. It's been four days since he disappeared for three hours, then came back, and hasn't spoken to us since," Kirishima recounted, smacking the desk a bit. "We need to figure out what happened to him." I nodded worriedly.

"And most importantly, he hasn't yelled at any of us," I said. "Which means something really happened."

All of the class- except Kacchan, of course- had decided to have a quick meeting on The Bakugo Situation. Ever since that Monday, when Kacchan had disappeared for about three hours, he hadn't said a single word to anyone. Not the teachers, not the students, not even me.

Just then, Kacchan walked in. Kirishima shot me a look and nudged me towards him- he wanted me to break him down and figure out what was wrong. So I walked towards Kacchan, smiling softly- and hopefully comfortingly.

"Hey, Kacchan... wanna go for a walk?" I asked, gently nudging him. He nodded silently. I gently tugged on his arm and we began to walk out of the school. I skipped down the stairs and Kacchan followed more slowly.

"So, you're not really talking to any of us right now. Did we do something?" I wondered, moving back to his side. He shot me a silent glare, and that was all. "I'm gonna take that as a yes, we bother you." He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Yes we do."

He shook his head again.

"I'm so sorry that we bother you."

He shot me a frustrated look.

"We'll try to be better!"

"YOU GUYS DIDN'T BOTHER ME!" He yelled. I was about to ask why he hadn't been talking, but before I could, I noticed something.

Something slightly shiny on his teeth.

He had... braces?

He quickly realized that I'd seen and his mouth snapped shut. My eyes widened a little, and I felt my face grow warm. The braces... he looked... adorable. He looked away, blushing intensely.

"Don't tell the others..." he mumbled. "Please. They'll tease me forever..."

"But Kacchan... you're so freaking cute!" I squealed, throwing my arms around him. "I just wanna hug you right now! You look so cute!" He ducked his head, pulling out of the hug.

"I look like a dork," he muttered. "I hate them. No one's ever gonna take me seriously. I can't believe I have to have stupid, god damned braces!" He scrubbed what might've been tears from his eyes. "I'm never gonna live this down!"

"Oh, Kacchan..." I reached towards him, scooping him into my arms. "Hey, I think you look amazing and adorable. If anyone else says anything different, I'll fight them, okay?" He sniffled and buried his face into my shoulder. I rubbed his back- he was clearly upset over this. It did take away from his intimidating image... I guess that bothered him.

"What villain's gonna be afraid of a teenager with braces?" He wailed.

"I would be. I mean, those can look pretty scary, if you wanna think that..." I shrugged, not really sure how to comfort him. "Some villains might think it's some sort of advantage of your quirk or something and you can use them as dangerous weapons."

"Deku." He leaned back. "That, I am sorry to say, is the single most idiotic thing you could've said." I had to smile a bit. He may have been adorable, but he really was himself.

"I... didn't put them in today, but I also have to wear stupid rubber bands," he muttered. "Because apparently I have an overbite or something stupid like that." He huffed quietly and looked down. "It makes my speech all slurred. I can't even open my mouth too far, or they'll snap, and it hurts like hell."

"Ah. I see. But you have to put them in, right? Or else it won't help," I said, patting his head. "If you do what the dentist says, they'll be off sooner..." he sighed heavily in annoyance.

"I know, idiot. I just don't want to sound like a five year old talking!" He crossed his arms and glared at the ground. "It's stupid. My teeth weren't that crooked."

"Well... they sort of were," I admitted. "I've known you forever, Kacchan. Your teeth were never really straight... I'll stop talking now. I have a feeling I am not helping."

"You aren't," he grumbled. "You really, really aren't." I smiled sadly and squeezed his shoulder.

"Well, you look fine in your braces. If you want to tell the class any time soon, I'll help you, okay?" He rolled his eyes, but muttered, "Fine."

"Yay!" I cheered, smiling at him. "Now, let's finish our walk!"

——

"Deku." I glanced up. Kacchan was standing over my desk. It was thirty minutes before class- the only other person here was Iida. I'd gotten here early so I could write down some hero notes I'd gotten from training the day before. Kacchan had apparently just gotten here.

"I wanna tell them," was all he said. I smiled.

"Alright, we'll do it once everyone gets here, okay?" He huffed quietly, but looked nervous. "No one's gonna tease you." I promised quietly in his ear. "And remember, if they tease you, I'll beta them up. Or you can, if you want." He smiled and blushed a bit, which made my heart jump a bit. I don't know why. It just did.

After about twenty minutes, the whole class was there. I had a hard time pulling Kacchan up to the front- he seemed extremely reluctant now that everyone was actually here. I flashed him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand.

"Okay, guys, I figured out why he hasn't been talking to us! He was nervous about showing you guys this..." I gently nudged Kacchan, and he forced a smile to show the braces. Every jaw in the class dropped, and there was silence for a minute before Kirishima spoke.

"You look... adorable, Bakubro!" He cried. Kacchan's mouth snapped shut and he looked down, crossing his arms.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?" He huffed.

"No, I'm not, really, you're so cute!" Kirishima giggled.

"Kirishima's right, Bakubro, seriously." Sero said, smiling. "I think you look great." Everyone murmured in agreement. Kacchan looked extremely relieved. I smiled.

"Well, that's over with," he sighed, going back to his seat. "I still think I look like a nerd."

"I think you look cute, Kacchan." I smiled brightly. 

"I think you look cute too," he said softly, blushing.

I giggled. "You're sweet, Kacchan."

"Maybe these braces'll finally make one of you confess instead of both of you pining for each other and making the rest of us frustrated!" Mina suggested. "That would be cool!"

I blushed, and so did Kacchan.

Maybe it would.