Quirkless AU, mild bullying/pushing around, high school environment, minor math talk

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Murmurs of conversations filled the boy's ears who sat currently alone at his desk. His hand remained anxious and twitchy, subconsciously tapping the tip of his pen against the cold wooden surface of his desk while he stared absentmindedly at the view ahead of him which was his classmates that seemed to have gathered around a certain desk. For whatever reason, they've done that, Izuku wouldn't know.

It was a Monday afternoon and yet it already felt like a Friday. How excruciating. A sigh escaped the petite male as he blinked out of his trance, emerald eyes falling to the pen that his fingers still fiddled with. Izuku had arrived at his homeroom only twenty minutes ago and he was already bored with nothing better to do than people watch. Unfortunately, class didn't begin for another thirty minutes. It took every bit of will to keep himself from slamming his head against his desk.

Izuku eventually stopped messing with his pen and clenched his hand around it inside to keep his nerves from being apparent. Despite being one of the school loners, he was quite the nervous kid. He didn't know why, but usually, he was jumpy and anxious for no reason in particular. Maybe it was because he was lonely that he was also timid but he couldn't help his lack of popularity. His loneliness had always been a factor in his life, it was the cards he'd been dealt. So his usual was sitting each class through alone with no one but his thoughts as company. And today was no different.

Or so he thought.

"Hey."

Izuku looked up when a voice that sounded much more closer than the others spoke, his careful green eyes meeting dark and familiar ruby ones. Gems that never had made eye contact with him before.

"Hi." Izuku returned the greeting, taken aback by the interaction he was having with the one and only Katsuki Bakugou.

Midoriya knew Katsuki well. He didn't know him personally, but he'd been in school with the popular blonde since elementary. They'd never spoken before nor did they bother to; their paths didn't meet after all. A loner (and a nerd no less) didn't converse with a popular kid and vise versa. That was just the social norm. An unwritten rule. And yet, Katsuki was standing next to his desk. Talking to him. He must be dreaming.

"You're smart, right?" Bakugou asked. Izuku blinked. An odd question, one he didn't expect. Then again, he wasn't sure what exactly to expect when it came to Katsuki. Everyone knew how hotheaded and unpractical the ash-blonde was. Midoriya always prayed that he wouldn't fall victim to Bakugou's outrages. He didn't think he could stand being yelled at by a guy as scary as he was.

Izuku nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing with skepticism. "Yes. I would consider myself to be smart." He replied.

"Okay, but are you? What are your grades?" Katsuki inquired.

"My- grades? Well- isn't that- what are you even-" Izuku was stuttering. He always had a stuttering attack when he felt cornered or nervous. Much like how he felt right now.

Katsuki breathed out with exasperation. "Just answer the question, nerd."

Midoriya averted his eyes because staring into a sharp and intimidating vermilion gaze was becoming increasingly difficult. "I have all A's." He managed to say, a slight stutter fumbling his words. Katsuki nodded and eyed the freckled boy for a few seconds.

"You tutor?" The blonde then asked. The greenette tilted his head a bit and looked up at the other boy, feeling the tension in his shoulders relax a bit now that he knew what this was about. Tutoring. Of course, the Katsuki Bakugou would only come up to him and give him the light of day if he was in need of academic assistance.

"Yes. Every day after school." Izuku answered, feeling more confident in his words.

Katsuki wasn't quick to say anything, he only just stared at Izuku as if he was reading him. Izuku squirmed under his gaze, averting his eyes from time to time out of discomfort and lack of confidence. He couldn't tell if Bakugou was judging him or just thinking. Either way, the tension from before was definitely reforming in his tentative frame.

"Do you uh- want my help?" Izuku dared to ask, bracing himself when it seemed like his question pissed Katsuki off. But to his luck, the blonde didn't yell.

"Yes..." His answer was reluctant as if he was forced to do this. Which he probably was, considering that failing students were advised to find tutors within two weeks before their forcibly assigned one. It made Izuku wonder if he was Katsuki's first choice.

"Well, as I said before I tutor all five days of the week. If you want, you could—"

"Today." Katsuki abruptly asked. At least, Midoriya assumed he asked since it sounded more like a demand than a request. Izuku nodded anyway, lucky to have been free today. He wouldn't want to be the unlucky few that had to tell Katsuki no.

"Library then? After school?"

Bakugou nodded before leaving Izuku's side. The smaller male watched him go and continued to stare even when his handsome classmate regrouped with his friends. Izuku was in awe, even though Katsuki terrified him a bit he was definitely one of the hottest guys at their school. And now he'd be tutoring him. Midoriya didn't know if he should feel like the luckiest guy ever or the exact opposite. Regardless, he was excited, already urging the day to be over.

Whatever the afternoon would bring, it would certainly be interesting.

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As soon as the bell rang for dismissal, Izuku eagerly grabbed his backpack and hopped out of his seat. He knew he shouldn't be excited, that it was only a tutoring session, nothing more and nothing less, but he couldn't help himself. He was both ecstatic and nervous to reach the library. Was it because he had a crush on Katsuki since the fourth grade? Maybe. But that wasn't the point. The point was that he'd be tutoring one of the coolest guys in school, or at least in his eyes, Bakugou was cool.

As Izuku approached the library, he forced himself to calm down, breathing a bit before walking through the doors. He didn't expect Katsuki to be there yet, he was early after all, but to his pleasant surprise, the blonde was sitting at a table already, his eyes glued on his phone. Midoriya hummed to himself before making his way over and taking a seat in front of Katsuki, his backpack sliding off his shoulder and onto the ground beside his feet.

This got Bakugou's attention, his eyes flickering from the small device in his hands and landing on the freckled boy he asked to tutor him. "Hey." The blonde greeted.

"Hi." Izuku smiled.

There was a lapse of silence after that, the air becoming awkward between them the more they allowed the quiet to stretch on. Eventually, Izuku averted his eyes to break eye contact as a hand clasped the back of his neck.

"So... What did you need help with?" Midoriya asked, glancing back at the boy in front of him after. Now it was Katsuki's turn to look away, his glower falling to the assortment of faded etchings carved into the ancient wooden table.

Izuku tilted his head at the reaction. It didn't seem like Katsuki wanted help. Which was odd because he was the one who came to him. If the school had assigned Izuku to Katsuki as a tutor, the greenette would have been aware of the arrangement but such obligations weren't established. That meant Bakugou was doing this willingly. He was personally seeking the help that he seemed to be cognizant that he needed and yet he didn't seem too happy now that he had it. It made Izuku wonder if it was the enlarged ego he heard the blonde had or his pride that was to blame for Katsuki's acquiescence.

"Just Algebra... And Chemistry." Katsuki eventually answered, still avoiding Izuku's stare. Midoriya opened his mouth to speak but closed it when Katsuki mumbled. "And History..."

Izuku pursed his lips, eyeing the blonde for a short period of silence in case he had any other subjects he'd like to add. But when it was apparent that Katsuki was finished, he took a breath to try again.

"Okay... Which one are you having the most trouble with?" He asked. Finally, Katsuki looked up at him, his beautiful crimson eyes meeting his emerald ones.

"Algebra," Bakugou replied briefly. Izuku nodded.

"Okay. I do know we have homework for that class so we can start there. We can both work on our own papers and you can ask for my help on a problem or check your work." The greenette suggested, leaning down to unzip his bag and pull out his folder along with a pencil. He straightened himself and placed his folder on the desk, glancing at Katsuki. He had done the same, a pencil in hand and his worksheet placed in front of him.

Seeming as Katsuki had begun his work, Izuku opened his green folder and pulled out his. He wrote his name on the top right corner with a few swift strokes before looking down at the work. Midoriya was fairly smart, he knew exactly how to solve most if not all the questions that were presented before him. He'd always been a fast learner, a quality that surely helped him throughout his school years so far. Although even he had trouble with algebra sometimes. He only hoped he knew the correct answer for all the questions so he wouldn't get stuck with Katsuki on a particular problem. That would be embarrassing.

Izuku began the first problem, working it out and finding the solution with ease before moving on to the second. Katsuki appeared to have had little difficulty with the problems as well because he hadn't said a word yet. Midoriya guessed that the blonde planned to do the work himself and then ask for him to check it later. However, on the fourth question, a husky and rough voice broke Izuku's concentration.

"Hey uh..."

Izuku looked up, his eyes finding Katsuki's hesitant expression. He smiled lightly.

"Izuku Midoriya." He introduced himself. Bakugou nodded stiffly.

"Katsuki Bakugou." The ash-blonde returned as if it wasn't unnecessary, which it wasn't considering his popularity.

"I... Which question did you need help with?" Izuku asked. He almost said I know at first but he caught himself. He didn't want to seem weird or anything. Katsuki turned his paper to show to Midoriya, pointing at problem six.

"How do you solve that one?" Bakugou inquired.

It was a much more expanded equation of the ones they've been doing for the last fifteen minutes but still, it was asking for the same thing; solve for X. Katsuki hadn't bothered trying to attempt it and that alone told Izuku that the blonde must be intimidated by how complicated the problem looked. Although it wasn't complicated at all.

"Okay, so it's kinda like how we've been doing it this whole time. Do you know what to do first?" Izuku started, taking his usual approach to tutoring in hopes it'd work just as fine on someone like Katsuki.

Bakugou pulled his paper away and did the first step; setting one side to zero and adding what he'd taken away to the other side. He then showed it to Izuku with an expression that seemed to ask "like this?"

Izuku nodded encouragingly, a light smile on his lips. "Exactly. Then you follow simple math. What is there to solve first on that side of the equal sign?"

Katsuki looked down at his paper then pointed to a specific part of the equation. He then looked at Izuku for confirmation. The greenette nodded and watched the blonde get to work, solving what he knew rather easily.

They stayed at the library until it closed at seven, working on homework for different classes. It went better than expected and Katsuki was a bright learner. If anything, Izuku could see how smart he truly was. He just needed that extra help and even without it, the blonde got a lot of questions right without Izuku's assistance.

Throughout the whole tutoring session, Midoriya couldn't help but notice how much softer Katsuki was when asking for assistance. Every time he'd asked for Izuku's help, he had a look that was hesitant and unsure; completely opposite to the cockiness and pride that surrounded him throughout the day. His voice was quiet, soft even, and his blonde eyebrows would always crease in the most beautiful way, making his lack of certainty evident and obvious.

It was cute, seeing him like this. To Izuku it was anyway. The way Katsuki would glance at him for verification and how he'd diligently solve each problem. But those were only intrusive thoughts, thoughts Izuku should not be having.

When the librarian eventually kicked them out, they exited together through their school's front doors, the nighttime breeze ruffling their hair and brushing against their faces. Once they were outside, Katsuki came to a stop and faced Izuku.

"Need a ride?" The taller male asked him. Izuku shook his head in reply.

"No thank you,"

Katsuki nodded, his eyes faltering to the ground. He stayed put and continued to stand in front of Izuku as if he wasn't finished. The greenette tilted his head, staring at the boy in front of him as he tried to find the question he knew the blonde wanted to ask in his averted gaze but not a trace of it was found.

"Is there anything-" Midoriya began but was immediately interjected by Bakugou.

"Tomorrow." Katsuki managed to get out, sharpening his gaze to narrow it at Izuku as if daring him to object. Midoriya smiled nervously.

"Bakugou, you're not the only student I tutor..." The greenette murmured helplessly. Fear began to flutter in his chest like a hurricane causing his heart rate to spike when Katsuki took a step closer to him threateningly, the taller male looming over him like a tower with daggers for eyes. Izuku wanted to hide, feeling intimidated as he was pinned under Katsuki's glare.

"Then make me your only student," Bakugou growled and Izuku could feel his soul leave his body right then and there.

"Y-yeah... Oh-Okay..." Izuku stammered, giving the blonde an apologetic smile as he nodded vigorously.

Katsuki kept his hard glare on the freckled boy for a few seconds more before his gaze slowly softened, returning to a more idle look. He released a weary breath as he looked away before muttering "Thanks."

When the blond moved away and began to make his way to the student parking lot, Izuku let out a breath of relief. He watched his homeroom classmate leave, his heart still pounding in his chest, sounding loud in his ears. Nevertheless, even though Katsuki had startled him just now, he was excited for their next session.

He saw a lot of potential in Bakugou and with his help, that handsome egotistical ash-blonde could become something amazing.

Izuku was determined to help Katsuki get himself there; to his full potential. And hopefully, in return, he would get to see the blonde become something ambitious and amazing.

Izuku vowed to himself that night. He would do it, he'd help Katsuki. Even if it killed him.

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