If I had the courage to stand before you,

Would everything be different now?

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He shuffled along the hallway anxiously, hands tightly shoved into his pockets, as a certain blonde walked in front of him.

Being babied wasn't a very good thing to start off with, but being babied by Bakugou made it worse. Moreover, it felt like Midoriya was listlessly following him instead.

In an attempt to distract himself, Midoriya looked out of the windows, only to be met with the rustle of flowers in the garden. The raw beauty of the flowers swirled through his mind, bringing back more thoughts.

"One more thing, Midoriya."

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"The surgery is only available in the West of Japan, so you'll have to take a break from UA for quite awhile."

It felt like the petals were clouding his judgement, he didn't want to go, not like this.

Before he knew it, he found himself on the floor, petals pouring out of his mouth, as he hacked uncontrollably.

The constant hacking caught the attention of the students walking along the corridor. Soon, he was met with the countless stares, some with pity, some with disgust, they didn't hide it, the hate that they held for not just the disease, but the person too.

With an acceptance rate so low, a UA student with the Hana syndrome was basically throwing away the possibility of grooming a professional hero. Equivalent to a falling star.

How embarrassing. Was the only thing that ran through his mind.
As his hands snaked up his neck, clawing it, drawing ugly, angry, red marks.
While trying to drown his tears out with pain.
Which was probably why he only snapped out of it when a firm pair of hands grabbed his wrists, forcing them away from his neck. As he met the eyes of Bakugou kneeling in front of his pathetic self.

He didn't say anything, but merely pulled Midoriya up before dragging him to the school garden.

They sat under a great oak tree. Leaves rustling from the winds of spring, carrying the scent of faint dew.
Sighing, Midoriya sank down to the ground, eyes still red from just now. He was then greeted with Bakugou sitting beside him, under the shelter of the big oak tree.
It brought back so many memories, it felt like a safe haven from the world, from all his problems. But it all came shattering down the moment the first few petals flew out of his mouth.

His memories, like the great oak tree, will die soon.

"Hey Deku."

Midoriya glanced at Bakugou through his cloudy eyes. It was taking him all his might to control himself from breaking all over again. His hands clenched, nails digging tiny crescents into his palm.

"It's me. Isn't it?"

Midoriya's eyes widened as he stared at Bakugou, wide eyed. His mouth slightly agape, at a total loss for words.

"H-how did you know...?"

"I could tell, shitty nerd. I'm not blind." 
Ruby red eyes flashed with annoyance at him, and he felt blood rushing to his cheeks.

"Deku." He exhaled heavily.

"Do you want to know why I'm angry with you?"

Before he could reply, Bakugou opened his mouth, and that was when he noticed his cheeks were dusted with pink.

"You broke our promise.
I was supposed to be your hero, to save you and make you happy. Wasn't that what was supposed to happen?
But then suddenly you showed up here, with a magical quirk that causes a fuck ton of burden on your body.
Hey, tell me, Izuku. Why the hell are you here? Do you know how fucking painful it is to see you break yourself everyday?"

Midoriya was at a loss for words.

He remembers our promise?

Midoriya jumped when a fist slammed the tree trunk right next to his face. As Bakugou moved closer to him, slowly pressing his body on Midoriya's.

"Fucking damn it. I wanted you to be happy. This wasn't supposed to happen. Now I'm going to lose you, do you know what that fucking means?"

"I'm losing my will to be a hero. It was never about being fucking number one. I wanted to be a hero for you..."

"...I keep thinking, if I had the courage to stand in front of you. To tell you what I really felt before you threw yourself into this fucking mess."

Midoriya felt his hand caressed by Bakugou's again, but this time it wasn't firm.

It was trembling.

He watched as Bakugou placed his hand on his chest.

And finally understood what he meant through the rapid beating of his heart.

"Would everything be different now?"