Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 52

I woke to the sound of a door opening. Definitely not as abruptly or violently as it had been opened before, so I suspected that it wasn't Bakugo. I winced before I even opened my eyes as the familiar feeling of pain radiating throughout my body. A startled noise urged me to stop delaying the inevitable and open my eyes. Squinting as my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked towards the door and saw a flash of green.

Midoriya was moving to turn back towards the door but when he saw me he started waving his hands frantically. "I'm so sorry, did I wake you up?! I didn't mean to, I just wanted to see how you were doing! I can leave -"

"Midoriya, you're so sweet. Come in, come in!" I said, waving my arm to encourage him to take a seat by my cot.

He smiled shyly and the faintest blush spread across his cheeks as he moved closer and sat down. "I watched your match earlier. You were absolutely incredible, Nakano! You and Todoroki worked so well together! You must have come up with that strategy beforehand, huh?"

His eyes were shining brightly as he spoke and he animatedly moved his arms around. I couldn't help but grin as I shifted myself up on the cot to more of a sitting position. "Yeah, we talked about it beforehand. It fell apart pretty quickly though after Mr. Aizawa captured Todoroki. Ah!"

As I said his name, I quickly sat up straight, ignoring the immediate throbbing pain that enveloped my head. "Todoroki! I totally forgot about him!"

Embarrassed by this admission, I avoided eye contact with Midoriya as I said, "Is he okay?"

"Todoroki? Oh, yeah!" He smiled sweetly at me. "He came to visit you shortly after your exam but you were asleep at the time. He's doing just fine." The expression on his face changed before he looked away and he seemed to be deep in thought. 

"Midoriya? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, um," He fidgeted with his hands in his lap and his lips twisted to one side as he seemed to contemplate how to word what was on his mind. I began to feel a nervous ache in my stomach. "It's just, Kacchan -"

The nickname for his childhood friend made my heart begin to race. How could I have forgotten that Midoriya and Bakugo had been paired together for their final exam? As the realization hit me, I couldn't help the word vomit that began to spew forth. "Bakugo? Is he okay? Did you guys already do your exam? What happened?"

"He's okay, he's okay!" Midoriya nervously waved his arms around again and I felt myself relax after hearing him confirm this. "He fought really hard during our final exam against All Might and he was knocked unconscious before we finished. Seeing him like that...well, I couldn't leave him."

Confused, I asked, "Wait, so did you pass? What happened?"

"I ended up carrying him through the exit gate after he lost consciousness." Midoriya said and his eyes told me that he was reliving the memory of it. "He's probably going to be angry at me once he wakes up."

As he laughed nervously, I stared at him in wonder. "But only one of you needed to make it through the exit to pass the exam. Why did you go back for him?"

When he looked up at me his green eyes sparkled with determination. "I'm going to be the number one hero one day just like All Might. And a hero would never leave someone behind, especially a friend."

He seemed to rethink what he had just said so confidently and quickly began to backtrack. "That's not to say that what you did wasn't heroic, leaving Todoroki behind! I mean, not that you left him behind, you were completing the assignment, but I'm not saying -"

"Midoriya," I said with a chuckle as I laid my hand on his arm to silence him. "Has anyone told you you probably overthink things a bit too much? I know what you meant and I didn't take offense." His shoulders visibly relaxed at this and I added, "You seem to care a lot about Bakugo. You guys were friends growing up, right?"

"Yeah," He said with a smile that quickly turned sour. "Well, kind of...it's complicated. When Bakugo's quirk developed in grade school he became a lot more of a jerk. Everyone in our class was so in awe of him and I think it kind of got to his head, to be honest. But I knew he was strong and powerful even before his quirk developed. It felt like I was always chasing after him, trying to match him in his strength and abilities, but I could never catch up. He can be so mean sometimes, cruel even, but if I'm being honest his desire to win and always be the best has been something that I admire about him."

I listened intently and found myself nodding in agreement. Noticing this, his features softened as he smiled at me. "I've noticed that you kind of bring out a different side of Kacchan."

"Ah?" I choked out, completely caught off guard by his comment. "What do you mean?"

"He tries to hide it," He said quietly. "But I've noticed that his body language changes around you. It's almost as if..." He trailed off, a faraway look telling me he was getting lost in his thoughts.

"What?" I asked, desperately wanting him to continue.

"Oh!" He startled out of his reverie, shaking his head vigorously. "Never mind, I don't even know what I was saying! Anyways, don't tell Kacchan we talked about this, otherwise he'll probably threaten to kill me!"

Laughing nervously and scratching the back of his head, he was already beginning to stand up and walk towards the door. "I'm glad you're doing well, Nakano! You did amazing today!"

"Midoriya!" I called as his fingers curled around the doorknob. "Ummm, is he recovering somewhere...nearby?"

I resisted the urge to smack myself across the face because of how ridiculous that sounded and how desperate I felt to see him. However, Midoriya flashed me a smile that instantly melted my anxiety away. "He's just next door," He responded, nodding his head to one side and giving me a wave before the door closed behind him.

The silence closed in on me again and this time all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart. My eyes were locked on the door and every fiber of my being wanted to get up and walk to the adjacent room. Why was I suddenly so nervous? He had come to visit me after my exam, so it wouldn't be weird for me to visit him...right?

I swung my feet over the side of the cot and slowly stood up, bracing myself for the inevitable pain that would come shooting up my legs.

Yup, there it is. I thought, wincing as the familiar feeling flooded my body.

Taking a deep breath and pushing through the pain, I moved towards the door and peeked into the hallway. Thankfully, it was empty and I slowly made my way to the room next door in the direction Midoriya had nodded his head. My feet silently padded along the hallway until I reached the door, which had a tiny glass sliver running along the edge, allowing me to peer inside.

The room looked similar to mine and was fairly empty aside from the cot and some medical equipment. There was a window along the far wall and sunlight filtered into the room onto the boy lying on the cot. My breath hitched when I saw him and I was convinced that if someone was standing next to me they could hear the beating of my heart as I took a deep breath and tried to slow my pulse.

The doorknob was cool beneath my fingertips and I turned it cautiously. I wasn't sure how much it would take to wake Bakugo up, so I slowly opened the door and silently closed it behind me.

Is this creepy? I thought, suddenly overwhelmed with the fear that someone would burst in and find me staring at him like this. No, no, no, no, not creepy. I'm just a friend looking out for a friend. Right? Right. That's what's happening here.

As I came to stand next to the cot I watched the rise and fall of his chest. I was painfully aware of my desire to reach out and lay my hand there so that I could feel the rhythm of his breath and follow his lead to steady my own uneven breathing. But after a few moments, a sense of calm washed over me as I took in the sight of him, looking so peaceful. I felt a smile tug at my lips as I realized that Bakugo would probably only achieve this level of peace while unconscious.

I couldn't seem to control my hand reaching out to brush some of his ash blonde hair off of his forehead, surprised to find that his locks were softer than I would have imagined. I immediately regretted the action as he began to stir and I pulled my hand back as though it had just been scalded. Panicking, I wondered if I should make a run for it before he came to but before I could even take a step back, he groaned and his eyes cracked open, leaving me completely and utterly exposed.