Summary:Whispers start in Class 3-A. Deku and Bakugou try to keep their fire hidden—but in the heat of a real mission, the danger isn't just the villains they face. It's what happens when one of them gets hurt… and the other stops caring who's watching.
U.A. Cafeteria – The Day After the Fight
The table was unusually quiet.
Ochako sipped her drink, glancing between Izuku and Bakugou.
Todoroki chewed slowly, clearly bored, but watching.
Kaminari and Mina whispered something that made Jirou raise an eyebrow.
Finally, Kirishima spoke up.
"So…" he started, grinning wide. "You guys looked really intense out there yesterday. Midoriya, that was a clean hit, bro."
Izuku smiled modestly. "Thanks."
Bakugou just scowled into his rice.
"But like—" Kaminari leaned in. "Was that sexual tension, or am I crazy?"
Bakugou's chopsticks snapped in his hand.
The table went still.
Izuku cleared his throat, a bit of pink rising in his cheeks. "We're just sparring partners."
"Right," Mina said, raising her brow. "Just partners."
Jirou nodded slowly. "Totally normal for sparring partners to stare at each other like they want to either make out or murder each other."
"Can we not do this right now?" Bakugou growled.
Todoroki blinked. "So you are making out?"
"Shoto—!" Izuku choked.
Kirishima laughed. "You guys are terrible at hiding things."
Bakugou slammed his tray down. "I will kill every single one of you."
Izuku sighed.
This was going to get harder.
Later That Afternoon – Field Mission Briefing
Aizawa's voice cut through the room: "Group B will handle the warehouse sweep. Midoriya, Bakugou, Uraraka, and Todoroki — you're on point."
Bakugou's eye twitched. "I'm not working with—"
Aizawa cut him off. "You're working with Midoriya. Deal with it."
Izuku tried not to smirk.
Industrial District – That Night
The mission started clean. The intel had pointed to a black-market quirk-enhancement deal—illegal boosters, tech upgrades, maybe a few hired thugs.
But nobody expected real villains.
Or for Bakugou to take a blade to the side trying to protect Izuku from a sneak attack.
"Kacchan!" Izuku shouted as the explosion hero dropped to one knee, clutching his ribs.
Izuku moved without thinking. Time slowed. Air cracked around him as green lightning sparked from his limbs.
He tore through the enemy line like a storm.
By the time the dust settled, three were unconscious, and the last was webbed to a pipe by a borrowed trap wire.
Todoroki and Uraraka caught up moments later, wide-eyed.
Bakugou was on the ground, breathing hard, blood seeping through his shirt.
"I told you not to get sloppy," he muttered.
Izuku dropped beside him, hands hovering but not touching. "You need medical."
"You need to calm the hell down," Bakugou hissed, voice quieter. "I'm fine."
"You're not fine."
Their foreheads touched for a brief second, and Izuku's voice cracked.
"You can't get hurt again. Not because of me."
Bakugou's fingers caught his wrist. Tight. Warm.
"You're the one thing worth getting hurt for."
The words were too quiet for the others to hear.
But Todoroki saw the way Izuku looked at him.
And Uraraka saw the way Bakugou gripped Izuku's hand like he was anchoring himself to the ground.
Back at U.A. – Infirmary Hall
Later, after Recovery Girl patched him up and Bakugou was ordered to rest, Izuku stayed just outside the curtain.
Not inside.
But not far.
Bakugou cracked one eye open from his bed. "You still brooding out there, nerd?"
Izuku smiled softly. "Someone has to."
"I'm not gonna break," Bakugou said.
Izuku's voice was quiet. "I already did. When I thought I'd lose you."
Bakugou didn't respond.
But his hand appeared, lifting the curtain a few inches.
"Get in here, idiot."
And Izuku did.
Not as the number-one student.
Not as the symbol of peace.
Just as the boy who never stopped loving him.