Chapter Text
Heights Alliance
Deku’s dorm room
Bakugo leaned against Deku's headboard as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's stomach. Deku held Bakugo's phone, watching the Hero Billboard Chart's Livestream.
Currently, on the screen, center stage was the number three (now Number Two) Pro hero Hawks. He'd grabbed the Mic from Edgeshot and flown several feet above everyone else. The winged hero's equivalent of standing on a soapbox.
" Isn't it about time the charts were overhauled? Don't you think we need to change how we do things? Our Great symbol is no more. At this critical juncture, why does it seem everyone's playing it so safe? Enough with these rehashed PR lines," he declared smugly into the mic. " Maybe we should stop pretending and start saying what's on our minds, huh? Well, that's all I've gotta say - "
" - I hate that Kentucky Fried bastard," Bakugo grumbled. "He thinks he's so great - "
" - Shhh!" Deku hushed him fervently, his eyes glued to the phone screen.
Bakugo pursed his mouth in annoyance but silenced. He could practically feel Deku's heart racing against him. He's always been such a dork about this stuff. He rested his chin on Deku's shoulder, watching along with him.
Endeavor's speech was short and to the point. Then, the Ceremony concluded.
"It's so weird to see a Chart without All Might," Deku mumbled sadly.
When he turned off Bakugo's phone, the blonde saw Deku's expression in the screen's reflection: equal measures depressed and overwhelmed.
I know what you're thinking. "Stop blaming yourself," Bakugo snapped. "All Might said himself he was bound to lose his power."
"It's not that," Deku mumbled quietly.
Bakugo raised an eyebrow. "Then what?"
Deku froze stiff in his arms. "It's my turn now."
Bakugo's eyes widened.
He remembered that night more vividly than anything else. They both stood in Yokohama City the night, watching All Might's fight footage. His arm, weakened from fighting, slowly moved towards the screen. His fingers closed into a fist. All but one.
" Now...it's your turn."
Everyone cheered, jumping up and yelling jubilant cries into the night air. But he turned to look at the boy beside him. He was shaking, streaming tears, having a full-on breakdown beside him.
That was the moment he'd started to piece it together.
Back then...you were the only one who knew what he meant.
Bakugo aspired to be the number one hero ever since he was a kid. He'd been preparing himself mentally for it all. For years. Millions of people looked to him for strength. The Media watched and documented his every move. The battles he'd fight. The Villains he'd face. From day one, he'd been ready to take up the mantle.
But Deku's dream had only been a real possibility two years ago. Not only did he need to be a hero…
He needed to be the next All Might.
Bakugo would never admit it, but even he couldn't fathom that kind of pressure.
The blonde ruffled Deku's hair and grinned. "You shouldn't be so confident you'll surpass me that easily. The last time we fought, I kicked your ass."
Deku turned to look at him, bewildered. "Huh?"
"I'm the best," Bakugo declared. "So if you wanna be the next All Might, I'm the only person you should be scared to fight. If you can beat me then those weak-ass villains won't even be a warm-up for you."
It worked. The fear on Deku's face dissolved, and he broke out into a wide smile.
"Not that you ever will," Bakugo challenged haughtily.
"Ha!" Deku pounced on him, pushing him down into the pillows. "It's only a matter of time, Kacchan. I'll be the greatest! I'll get stronger and - "
Bakugo quickly grabbed Deku by his shirt collar and rolled so he was on top of him, pinning him down. "You don't remember? I'm gonna be greater than the greatest," he retorted with a grin.
Deku struggled beneath him, but he was laughing. Bakugo snickered back, holding him down but not with any real force. This was a new kind of interaction developed over the past few months. Something they hadn't done since they were children.
Play fighting.
Bakugo's phone got knocked off the bed, but neither boy noticed or cared. They were too busy untying the drawstrings on each other's sweatpants.
~.~
Bakugo woke up first. A setting sun shone through Deku's window. When he looked beside him, his boyfriend was lying in his arms, still undressed but wrapped in the comforter, out like a light. The blonde rubbed his eyes and scratched his head. Dammit. How long did we sleep? Carefully, he lifted his arm off Deku and broke himself free of the embrace. He tried to be quiet as he put on his boxers and fumbled for his pants.
Despite trying not to jostle him, Deku stirred.
"Kacchan?" He mumbled as he sat up, his eyes still closed.
Bakugo was throwing on his black long-sleeved shirt when he heard it.
Someone talking in the hallway.
" Tokoyami! What's wrong, mon Ami?"
" My mentor's in trouble!"
Deku was already slipping back into his jeans.
" Whatever do you mean?"
Then, he threw on a random gray long-sleeved shirt from the floor and entered his closet for a bubble vest.
" Hawks is fighting a Nomu! They're broadcasting the fight right now!"
"They are?!" Deku asked frantically, suddenly wide awake. He threw the pillows and blankets off his bed and ran around the room. "Where's your phone?!"
Bakugo scoffed. "I dunno. Why can't you use yours?"
"It's still charging," he muttered as he tapped on his screen anxiously. "Dammit, it won't turn on."
Bakugo gasped. Deku rarely swears. But then he remembered. When they were kids, the green-haired boy wanted to see every hero fight he could. Even after all this time, that hadn't changed. Not that he'd been much better. He'd watched All Might's battles as much as they could. Even going so far as to stand outside the window of an electronics store to watch from one of the TVs on sale.
Deku had to see it no matter who was fighting or how long it went on. He was nothing if not obsessed.
" Endeavor's fighting too," they heard Mineta say. " This is bad. They're really taking a beating."
" Mon Dieu!"
"Come on!" Deku exclaimed at his phone, throwing it down in frustration and bolting for his bedroom door.
Bakugo stood in front of it. "Relax, I'll find my phone, and we can - "
"There's no time!" Deku exclaimed, fighting to get past him, but Bakugo was fixed in place like a concrete block. "There's a TV in the common area downstairs - "
" - It's gotta be around here somewhere, we just used it - "
" - LET ME GO!"
When Bakugo looked down into his eyes, there was a fire that matched his own. Every muscle in his body vibrated, like a car's engine when the driver gunned the gas pedal.
It was an intensity that used to scare him. But now…it quickened his blood.
Without looking away from Deku's face, Bakugo reached behind his back and turned the doorknob. Deku bolted out the door, brushing past the elevator and instead opting for the stairwell. Bakugo shook his head, locking up Deku's room and following behind leisurely. A furious blush rose to his face. That damn nerd…
~.~
Deku made it to the common area, not even out of breath.
"Midoriya," Kirishima said, looking pale.
"What did I miss?" he asked fervently.
Kirishima swallowed, moving his feet off the footrest. "You're gonna wanna sit down," he told him ruefully.
Deku sat beside him and listened as a newscaster's voice came from the television. His classmates were already sitting around it, with the news turned on and the volume at full blast.
" The villain who suddenly appeared is now destroying the city! I can't confirm this, but it looks as though many bio-engineered human Nomu are also on the ground! Heroes are currently attempting to suppress them and evacuate citizens. However, Endeavor appears to have been greatly wounded! IThis madness...I can't help but draw comparisons to the nightmare we witnessed three months ago...in Kamino Ward!"
" There's no symbol. This is what it looks like when people have no hope!" A woman on the street cried who was trapped in the mob of panicked citizens.
Deku and his classmates paled, gawking at the screen in horror. The reason I run to the fight is to see the hero win. But this...this is a nightmare.
Endeavor, their new number one, was already covered in blood. Citizens ran through the streets, frantic like ants. Buildings were crumbling and falling around them. Hawks, his sidekicks, Endeavor...they were giving it their all...but it wasn't enough.
Come on, Deku thought in a panic. It's not supposed to go down like this. This can't be happening!
"You've gotta be kidding," Todoroki muttered in shock.
It drew Deku's attention away from the TV. That's right. I know Todorki's relationship with Endeavor is complicated...but he's still his father. I can't imagine how he must be feeling right now.
"It's chaos," Tokoyami said. "Sheer panic."
Aizawa burst into the common area. "Todoroki!" But paused when he saw his expression. "So you know, then?"
"It's bad," Sero said, unable to look away from the screen.
" DON'T JUST SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT! " A voice called from the TV.
Everyone collectively gasped, returning their attention to the chaos unfolding before them.
" What, you think scaring people makes good TV?!"
" Okay, you gotta chill, dude!"
" Look over there! His flames are still burning! SEE?! You know what that means! Endeavor is still alive and fighting for us! Don't say there's no symbol just 'cause All Might's not here!"
" You're losin' it, man! We need to run! Let's hurry and get out of here!"
" Do you know what he's doing right now?! Endeavor is risking his life for our sake! LOOK AT HIIIIM!"
"So is Hawks," Tokoyami mumbled under his breath, trembling. "Mentor…"
"Wait, what's - "
"Endeavor has wings made of fire!" Kaminari exclaimed.
Deku breathed in sharply. But how? That's not one of Endeavor's moves. It must be...Hawks is giving Endeavor a boost of speed with his feathers...but won't those feathers be destroyed? Why would he make a sacrifice like that? He won't be able to fight if all his feathers burn up!
" It...It's Endeavor," the newscaster declared. " He's still going! Even as he suffers...and struggles...he's fighting!"
"Old man," Todoroki growled. "Come on. I'm watching you!"
On the screen, Endeavor soared straight into the flying Nomu, landing a flaming right hook to the creature's face. Then they were shooting up into the sky, so high that even the ground cameras couldn't reach them.
The footage switched to a drone's camera.
"I've always hated that school motto," Endeavor snarled as he shot up higher and higher. "But it seems appropriate! I'll go plus ultra! PROMINENCE…..BUUUUUUURRNNNN!"
Then, the sky filled with a giant, blinding burst of light and flame.
No one could look away. They were helpless to do anything but stare, open-mouthed, barely able to breathe, as Endeavor crashed back down to earth like a falling star. The impact sent cars flying down the street. A giant ball of flame swirled and danced where Endeavor was supposed to have landed.
There's no way he survived that, Deku thought with horror. Without thinking, Deku jumped up and ran to Todoroki, who crouched on the ground with his hands on his face. I'm so sorry, he thought. Sero, Momo, Kirishima, and Ururaka followed suit, getting up to join him. They surrounded him as if they could protect him from the horror he'd just witnessed.
Everyone waited, holding their breath, not daring to make a sound.
A voice broke the silence. "He did it," Bakugo whispered under his breath.
The smoke had cleared...and a fist was raised in the air.
" Endeavor is….still standing!" The newscaster announced. " HE DID IT! HE'S ON HIS FEET! WITH HIS FIST RAISED HIGH! A sign of victory! No...a symbol of a new beginning!"
Deku smiled at Todoroki's relieved expression. But it was brief. He straightened and turned to look behind him at the broadcast with a grave expression. Even though All Might has effectively retired...Heroes cannot stop moving forward. We must keep fighting.
Across the room, he could see Bakugo staring at the screen with that same determined gaze. His arms crossed as if bracing for what was to come.
We are the ones who must carry his symbol now. Deku tightened his fist, narrowing his brows with a tight jaw. And we will.
Bakugo's gaze shifted to Deku. They locked eyes.
Without uttering a word, he knew what Bakugo was saying.
It's up to us now.
Deku nodded solemnly and mouthed, I know.