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If Bakugou’s friends had to name one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in the world, they would all give the same answer in a heartbeat: Bakugou’s long-distance boyfriend, “Deku”. After much pestering from his crew, he reluctantly shared some details with them.
Bakugou and Deku are childhood friends and have known each other for their whole lives. They've been officially dating for almost a year now. Apparently, Bakugou wasn’t the nicest to Deku when they were children. His overblown ego, along with misunderstandings, caused a rift in their relationship. Despite their complex history, they managed to put their differences aside and rebuild their friendship.
As for how they started dating, Bakugou took the initiative and asked Deku out. Well, sort of. It was more of a demand, really, but whatever.
They were watching a psychological horror movie, picked by Deku, when Bakugou realized that he didn’t want to be just friends with him. The thought of Deku with some nameless, faceless extra made him sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to picture someone else being the reason behind Deku’s shy smiles, happy tears or contagious laughter. He wanted it to be him.
It hit Bakugou, hard, that scary movie aside, letting Deku slip through his fingers would be the real horror.
Deku, oblivious to Bakugou's internal dilemma, was in the middle of swallowing down a handful of popcorn when Bakugou snapped “be my boyfriend!” at him, almost making him choke.
After the potentially fatal incident, Deku accepted, and they’ve been together ever since. Bakugou hinted that he’s done a lot of growing up over the years and he’s become more humble since dating Deku.
It’s a sweet love story, except for one little thing.
Bakugou's friends are beginning to wonder if Deku is even real. They’ve never met the guy and they don’t even know what he looks like.
Although he wouldn't ever admit it out loud, his friends can read between the lines: Bakugou is protective of Deku. Maybe a little too protective. Bakugou absolutely refuses to show them a picture of Deku. He never posts any photos with him, either. Bakugou keeps their relationship so under wraps that the squad only recently found out his boyfriend’s name.
Bakugou rarely texts around them. If he does, he’s secretive about it. He does this weird thing where he angles his phone away from whoever’s near him and he flips it face down after every use without fail.
The one time Bakugou let his guard down, Kaminari glanced over and saw the name “Deku” flash on his screen. Honestly, if he had blinked, he would’ve missed it. He swore he saw some interesting and rather suggestive emojis beside the name. Bakugou vehemently denied this. After that, Bakugou took extra precautions to make sure it did not happen again.
Bakugou’s long-distance boyfriend, Deku, is an enigmatic mystery that the bakusquad has made it their mission to solve through amateur sleuthing.
Kaminari sinks down onto the couch, phone in hand. He tries searching for the target's name in the search bar but comes up empty. Kaminari scrolls through Bakugou’s seemingly endless friends list and sighs.
“Who knew Bakugou was so popular.” He shakes his head. “I’ve got nothing. Anyway, what do you guys think Deku’s like?”
“Eh. Probably a pushover.” Sero shrugs. "Who knows?”
Kirishima makes a pfft sound. “No way, man. I bet he calls the shots. Bakugou wouldn’t just settle for anyone. He only goes for the best, so he’s got to respect whoever he’s dating on some level.”
“Alright, but does Bakugou act like a totally different person around him or what?” Sero rubs his chin. “I get that they’re childhood friends and all, but how does the guy deal when he explodes?”
“The same way we do. Run and don’t look back," Kaminari replies, sounding deeply serious.
Ashido cackles with glee. “You’re onto something, Sero. Maybe Bakugou’s whipped for Deku and doesn’t want us to see.”
“I want to know why Bakugou’s going to such lengths to hide him from us...” Kaminari trails off. “It all seems suspicious.”
“He’s been in a better mood lately. Why don’t we ask him again if he’ll introduce us?” Kirishima suggests.
Ashido blinks. “Wow! That plan is so crazy, it just might work.”
The crew is in the middle of playing Mario Kart at Bakugou’s. He's super competitive, so it's always entertaining to see his reaction on the rare occasions where he doesn't end up in first place. After a few more rounds, Kaminari casually poses the idea.
“So...Bakugou. When do we get to meet Deku?”
“Never.” He shoots a red shell at Kaminari’s character, making his rank fall to last. Bakugou smirks when Kaminari gives him a look of betrayal. “Does your brain still work or is it completely fried, dunce face? I told you not to bring him up again.”
Bakugou finishes first place and throws his controller down to check his phone. He tries to suppress a smile as he types out his reply, but it’s breaking through.
“Come on, dude. Why not? We’re not gonna judge,” Kirishima says, dropping the controller into his lap.
He finishes in third place behind Sero.
Bakugou snorts. “Think what you want. I don't give a flying fuck. You’re not meeting him so stop asking. It’s starting to piss me off.”
Ashido eyes Bakugou critically. “Well, we all saw this coming. What did I tell you? Deku doesn’t exist. Who’d actually be able to date this guy without losing their marbles?”
“You morons think I made him up?”
Everyone slowly nods and a weak collective "yeah" circulates around the room.
Bakugou’s phone vibrates. He scans the text. After some silence, he scoffs.
“It’s your lucky day, extras. He’s coming to visit and wants to meet you guys. No idea why, though.” Bakugou doesn’t bother to hide the irritation in his voice. “You better not embarrass me in front of him or I’ll kill you.”
“You can count on us, Bakugou!” Sero says happily.
Bakugou turns his attention back to the screen. “Whatever. Just don’t make me regret it. Now let’s get back to me crushing you all."
There’s a young man standing in front of the mall entrance when Sero, Kaminari, Ashido and Kirishima arrive.
When he turns around, the group stares a little. The stranger has dark green hair, deep green eyes and sun-kissed freckles. He’s wearing a fitted white tee and dark jeans that are ripped at the knees. He’s also incredibly fit. He keeps looking around and back down at his phone.
“Um, guys. Do you think that’s Deku?” Sero whispers.
“Him?” Kaminari raises an eyebrow. “I have eyes and I’m not afraid to admit that this guy’s obviously smoking hot. If he's Deku, it doesn’t make sense for Bakugou to not show us a picture of him.”
“He looks lost. Let's use this opportunity to get his name.” Ashido approaches the stranger, while the others follow close behind. She waves a hand in front of his face to get his attention. “Excuse me! Do you need directions?”
The man removes one of his earbuds and smiles. It’s so bright that it belongs in a commercial for teeth whitening strips or something.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch what you said.”
“Do you need directions?” Ashido repeats, smiling back.
“Actually, sort of. I’m not from around here. I was told to wait at the mall entrance, but I just realized there are multiple entrances. I think I’m in the right place...” The man puts his earbuds away and extends a hand. “I’m Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you.”
The squad tries to hide their disappointment. Midoriya’s not Deku. They take turns introducing themselves to him.
“Hey, Midoriya. Has anyone ever told you that you look like you work out? Like, a lot.” Kaminari comments.
Midoriya nods. “Ah, thank you. I’m a personal trainer on the side.”
“That’s awesome, man! I can tell you’re a pro. Do you think you could give me some workout tips?” Kirishima asks brightly.
“Of course! Anytime. Here, I’ll give you my business card.”
Midoriya digs around his pockets. He finds one and holds it out. Kirishima reaches to take the card from him, but another hand swipes it out of Midoriya’s hand first.
Wow. Rude.
Kirishima is ready to call whoever it is out for being a major asshole, but his mouth opens in shock when he sees who it is.
It’s Bakugou.
He tucks the card into Midoriya's back pocket and pats his butt, making him flinch in surprise.
"Quit flirting with my boyfriend, shitty hair."
“Wah-cchan!" Midoriya sterns his face quickly, giving Bakugou a look. "Please don’t talk to a potential client, or anyone for that matter, like that...What took you so long?"
“What do you think, Deku? I waited in line for god knows how long to get that sugary, overpriced drink you're addicted to, damn it.” Bakugou shoves the cup under Midoriya’s nose and tsks. “How do you even drink this stuff?”
Midoriya’s green eyes sparkle, a slow smile crossing his face. He quietly thanks him and accepts it. The group watches in shock as the handsome stranger leans in and kisses Bakugou's cheek. This is “Deku”? No wonder they couldn’t find him. Deku is a nickname. Midoriya must have no idea the power he holds. As far as they’re concerned, he’s pretty much invincible since he’s casually calling Bakugou “Kacchan” in public and still standing somehow.
“You know me so well, Kacchan.” Midoriya shakes his head, expression turning serious. “Don’t think you’re off the hook yet.”
“Yeah, Kacchan.” Kaminari covers a hand over his mouth, clearly trying to hold back a laugh. “Where’s Kirishima’s apology?”
Bakugou's eyes flare. He picks Kaminari up by the front of his shirt collar and shakes him, once.
“One more word outta you and you’ll be six feet under. Got it?”
Kaminari puts his hands up and nods quickly. Once satisfied, Bakugou roughly shoves him away.
“Kacchan!”
Midoriya grabs onto one of Bakugou's arms with both of his hands. He stares, aghast. Bakugou uses his free hand to steady his drink for him, which is threatening to spill.
“Calm down, Deku. These are the losers you wanted to meet so bad.” Bakugou levels a look at his crew. “This is Izuku Midoriya, my boyfriend.”
Midoriya breathes a shaky sigh of relief, then recovers and beams.
"It’s so nice to finally meet Kacchan’s closest friends! I was starting to think he was ashamed of me. He never brings me around you all when I visit."
Bakugou rolls his eyes and lightly flicks Midoriya’s nose.
“Shut up with that talk, Deku. Look at you. You know that there’s nothing for me to be ashamed of, ya damn nerd.”
“I can see why Bakugou kept you a secret from us, Midoriya!" Ashido gives him a playful wink. "He wanted to keep you all to himself.”
Bakugou growls. “Do that again. I dare you.”
“Do you always threaten your friends?” Midoriya sips from his straw, amused. He turns towards the squad and smiles. “Kacchan can be a little overprotective sometimes.”
Kirishima shakes his head and laughs. “Bro, we can tell. He hid you from us so well that we thought you weren’t real."
Sero grins widely. “Seriously, who would have thought that Bakugou’s boyfriend would be the total opposite of him: nice, cool and charming, huh?”
Bakugou is clenching his teeth in annoyance. He’d usually explode by this point, but he’s handling being roasted by his crew quite well. The bakusquad note that Deku’s impact is on another level. He's like an anchor, keeping Bakugou rooted. They’re going to need Midoriya around more often for damage control.
Midoriya laughs, turning to his boyfriend. “Your friends are so funny, Kacchan. I wonder why their sense of humour didn’t rub off on you, though.”
Oh. Shit.
Midoriya really went there.
The squad holds their breath in anticipation. Bakugou is eerily quiet. Like a ticking time bomb, he's bound to blow up any moment now. Instead, Bakugou smiles. It's sharp and almost predatory. He tilts Midoriya’s chin up with his thumb.
“Keep yapping while you can, Deku. I’m gonna have fun making you lose your voice tonight.”
“W-what?” Midoriya slaps his hand away and his cheeks tint pink. “Don't say things like that in front of your friends, idiot.”
The crew watches the interaction in disbelief. Midoriya just cussed at Bakugou without any consequence. It's amazingly surreal.
"Hey!” Ashido claps her hands together, excitedly. “Now that Deku's no longer an unsolved mystery, let's take an official picture of you two together and post it!”
Bakugou frowns. "Why the fuck would I let you-"
"That sounds like a great idea! Please, Kacchan. Can we?"
Deku grabs his hand and gives him his best puppy dog eyes, wide and pleading. Bakugou lets out a heavy sigh. He eventually surrenders his phone.
"Fine. Do whatever the hell you want,” he says through gritted teeth. “Make it quick.”
“Smile, Bakugou!” his crew cheers, making faces at him from behind the camera.
Bakugou's scowling at them, but the minute Midoriya cups his face with his hand, and Bakugou looks at him, his expression visibly softens.
The camera clicks.
“Ah, too cute! You two are officially my new OTP!” Ashido exclaims, zooming into the picture.
"Let me see," Kaminari says, taking the phone from her.
Midoriya blinks, eyes widening. “OTP?”
The way Deku’s face twists in confusion is so cute that it makes Bakugou squish his cheeks. Deku weakly protests and tries to wriggle out of his grip. Whenever Bakugou teases him like this, Deku always puts up a fight. It never fails to excite him. Bakugou loves his defiance, along with his infuriatingly adorable laughter and blush, which usually follow. Bakugou flushes, looking away from Deku’s face.
“Look at those lovebirds, man. They’re gonna give me cavities if I keep watching them.” Kirishima rubs the back of his neck. "So, what should the caption be?"
"Something along the lines of 'he's real, you dumbass extras’?" Sero suggests.
Kaminari adjusts the sunglasses on his head and digs deep into his memories. He types out “case closed” in the caption followed by the following emojis: an eggplant, tongue, heart and ring. He grins to himself and posts the photo.