Chapter Text
Bakugou was buzzing with energy. He woke up early to clean the apartment and make sure Uraraka’s room was tidy. It’s not like he was embarrassed about having slept in her bed every now and then.
Well, he wasn’t too embarrassed provided everything went well on her first day back.
He just wanted to make sure it was the safe and comfortable space that she could call home
He had spent the week leading up to this day perfecting his strawberry mochi. His family recipe required him to first make some anko bean paste. Since the plan was to make this mochi for Uraraka, he needed it to be perfectly sweet.
His palate wasn’t the greatest at assessing just how sweet something would actually end up.
As a result, Kirishima, Ashido, Todoroki, and Midoriya, along with his mother, had all tasted the various iterations of this bean paste.
Ultimately, he had decided to go a slightly non-traditional route by adding a small amount of maple syrup into the paste in lieu of the large amounts of sugar. He also set aside a small batch to mix in with his homemade chili paste.
After all, why couldn’t the abrasive, explosive, sharp young man like something as soft and beautiful as mochi.
To go with the silky texture of the glutinous rice, he made sure that his bean paste was extra smooth. Then, he picked out the freshest strawberries he could find. He experimented between wrapping a whole strawberry in the paste and shaping the mochi around it vs wrapping a half strawberry. He decided that he’d make multiple bite sized little mochi balls with the half strawberries but would leave one larger ball because he found an amusingly large strawberry at the store. Uraraka would have a field day with a ginormous mochi and there was no way he was going to miss the ridiculous laugh she’d throw up on her face when she saw it.
The first time he made the rice, he overstretched it. Of course, being someone who didn’t want to waste food - partly Uraraka’s influence on him - he ended up frying the overdone rice into little balls and taking them as his lunch for the next few days.
All his work had paid off, though. Last night, Bakugou had finally created the perfect, silky, smooth little mochi balls. The strawberries were the perfect balance between sweet and tart, and the bean balanced out the freshness of the fruit with a deep, rich, creaminess. The rice pulled apart and sprang back slowly when he bit into the mochi and the light cornstarch dusting puffed around his nose and lingered with the sweet strawberry scent.
Uraraka was going to love this.
She had to because way too much was riding on this one small but very heartfelt gesture.
Bakugou needed her to love this.
The nights had started to get colder so he made sure to set up the kotatsu that Uraraka loved so much. To save on heating costs, her family used to gather around a small kotatsu in winter months. Even though the two of them didn’t really need to scrimp that much on their heating bill with both of them earning a moderate amount of money and splitting all household costs, Uraraka bought a used kotatsu because it reminded her of home. Before she left, she would curl up underneath the blanket with a warm cup of tea and watch ridiculous reality dating shows. Eventually, Bakugou got roped into watching an episode with her under the guise of having a relaxing day.
Of course, Bakugou got too into it and started a fantasy league with Uraraka, Kirishima, Ashido, and Kaminari, all of whom were invested in the winners of these shows.
Bakugou had yet to win one of these leagues, but he was no quitter.
Uraraka’s flight landed at Narita in about 3 hours, so Bakugou ate breakfast and showered, putting in a little extra effort in making sure his hair was purposively explosive. Uraraka had once drunkenly marvelled at how soft his spikes were after he grabbed her off the ceiling from accidental quirk use.
He cut up some fruits and vegetables and packed them in a small box. Uraraka would have been flying for 30 hours including layovers, so he was sure that while she’d be hungry, it would be better to ease her back into food with things that were light and fresh. He’d make her some miso ramen for a meal and they’d have the mochi he perfected for dessert.
Bakugou borrowed his parents’ car for the long trip. Living in Tokyo and having a quirk he could use to fly meant that he really didn’t need a car. He’d only learned to drive because a mission had required it. Thankfully, that skill was finally coming in use again because no matter how nice the trains from the airport to the city were, it was much nicer to get driven from door to door after a long trip.
Since he’d been practicing his mochi making and had asked for the car, his mother had started pestering him about Uraraka. His parents had met her quite a few times now, having barged into their apartment unannounced and then invited her to Bakugou house family dinners, so his mother was perhaps more excited than Bakugou himself for Uraraka to come back.
Mitsuki loved that Uraraka kept Bakugou on his toes with her witty remarks and mildly embarrassing banter. Mitsuki also loved that Uraraka was a fantastic hero who could actually beat Bakugou in a spar. Most of all, though, Mitsuki loved who Bakugou was around the cheerful gravity hero.
She had seen her son through the years when he thought he was entitled to being the number one hero, trampling on anyone who got in the way. She had seen her son mess up and put himself and others in danger because of his anger. But, until Uraraka, she had never seen her son relax.
Despite what Bakugou had said about not wanting to come to these family + Uraraka dinners, Mitsuki always noticed the small smile on her son’s face and the way his shoulders finally untensed at the sound of Uraraka’s voice.
Bakugou waited at the arrivals area impatiently, glancing up at the flights board far too often. His knuckles were starting to go white from how tightly he was holding his phone. He had insisted that he’d be the one to pick up Uraraka from the airport so that she wouldn’t have to deal with any unnecessary lines of questioning on the way back to their apartment. She’d gladly accepted this and mentioned that she’d go visit her parents the weekend after she’d recovered from jet lag.
Bakugou wondered if that would be too early to accompany her to go meet her parents.
The flights board flickered and he saw that her flight had changed status to landed.
He jumped up and down a few times to get rid of his excess energy. He wanted nothing more than to have her jump in his arms and bury his head in her hair the second she came out of those arrival doors.
But he had to actually tell her how felt first.
He exhaled deeply, trying to calm himself.
Looking around, he noticed quite a few people who seemed to be in similar states as him. Multiple people holding flowers, waiting to be reunited with their loved ones.
Fruits were once flowers, sort of, and he had a box filled with those, so he basically brought flowers too. Finely aged flowers.
People started to trickle out of the doors and Bakugou’s eyes snapped to the opening.
He felt his breath hitch and his heart stutter when he finally made eye contact with Uraraka.
She was wearing a baggy sweatshirt that she had stolen from him and some sweatpants with baked in stains and rips from the gym. Her hair was frizzy, dry, and sticking up at all angles. Her eyes had dark circles around them and her skin seemed exactly like what you’d expect after sitting in an airplane full of recycled smells for 13 hours.
She turned to him and waved as she broke out in a wide smile.
She looked magnificent.
“You look like shit.” Bakugou blurted out and winced slightly at his own words.
Uraraka sputtered slightly before bursting out into a full and deep laugh that shook her body to the core.
Bakugou let the edges of his lips curl up.
She looked up at him as she composed herself again and wiped off a little tear from the corner of her eye. Her large eyes took in Bakugou’s form as if for the first time.
He felt so lost under her gaze.
She slowly reached out to him and put her arms around his waist, reading his body language before she curled into him.
He pulled her tight, giving into the hug she obviously needed.
“Thanks for pickin’ me up.” She sniffed into his shirt.
Bakugou scoffed. “Come on, I ain’t spendin’ my entire day in an airport.”
She nodded and tapped her floating bags so they’d follow their walking path. “I’m so tired, but god, it’s nice to be back.” She let out a deep sigh.
“Yeah? Your English get any better?” Bakugou raised an eyebrow as they walked to the parking lot.
“I can fluently order dessert!” She chuckled.
“Well worth the year abroad, then.” Bakugou teased.
“It was honestly great. Their hero agencies are set up totally differently and quirk use laws are all wild. It was nice to see how other places handled the same things that we do. I also got to use my quirk in garbage New York winter weather, so I’m basically ready for typhoon season here.” She yawned as she released her bags into the trunk of the car. “Your parents’ car?” She asked as she surveyed it, getting into the passenger seat.
Bakugou grunted affirmatively.
“I coulda just taken the train back.” She said softly, playing with her fingerpads.
Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You already thanked me for pickin’ you up. Can’t say that and say that you’d take the train back.”
She gave him a tired laugh.
“The bag by your feet has some fruits and shit for the drive.” Bakugou pointed and Uraraka’s eyes widened in understanding.
She happily nibbled on the snacks as they hit the road.
Bakugou watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye. They’d exchanged messages every single day and their video calls had increased in frequency as of late, but still, she’d been gone a whole year.
What if she had met someone?
He gripped the steering wheel harder. “You can sleep. I’ll wake you up when we’re back.”
She mumbled a quiet thanks and lay her head back, her eyes instantly fluttering shut.
He saw the midday sun reflect off her skin as she napped, and he briefly wondered what their future could be like.
Living in a high rise apartment in Tokyo had its obvious perks, but he also wanted the space to have a small garden someday. He had a dream of tending to bonsais and flitting off to climb mountains whenever he wasn’t working. Uraraka came from a rural area too and he knew that she wanted to live somewhere where it was easier to see the stars.
It was harder to rise to number 1 if you weren’t located in a big city. Villains didn’t exactly like to trudge through farm fields to cause havoc in a village with a population of 10.
But, harder didn’t mean impossible.
There were plenty of areas around Tokyo that could afford them the leisure of a slightly larger space, perhaps with an outdoor space. They could still be in the same vicinity for their work while being a bit farther away from the busy, hectic city life.
He wondered when it would be appropriate to ask her to move out with him.
Bakugou sighed as he turned into the parking lot of their building.
He still had to actually tell her how he felt.
He turned to look at her still sleeping face. She’d started to drool a little, getting it on his sweatshirt. Her hair was now overcompensating with its oiliness as it stuck to her forehead. She was snoring lightly, which fluttered a stray piece of hair around her lips.
He almost wanted to reach out and shake her awake, but, then again, she had been cooped up in a flying metal box for hours.
“Oi, Cheeks.” He said, just loud enough to reach her ears without startling her. When she didn’t stir, he gently patted her shoulder.
She blinked awake and rubbed her eyes.
“We’re home.”
It felt nice to call the apartment their home.
“You set up the kotatsu!” Uraraka clapped and hugged the table, laying a cheek flat on the surface.
“Oi, put your shit in your room and go shower first. The damn table ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
Uraraka crossed her arms across her chest. “Hey, don’t be rude to the kotatsu!”
Bakugou sighed. “Shower.” He pointed to the bathroom door as he moved her suitcases into her room.
Uraraka stuck her tongue out at him and dug through her bags to grab some clothes and hopped in the shower. Bakugou set out two bowls and started to cook the broth for their ramen.
With a towel around her neck, she plopped herself onto the floor, tucking herself into the kotatsu with a contented look on her face.
“Ramen for dinner.” Bakugou said loud enough for her to hear.
“Mmmm, sounds great.” She lay her arms on the table and put her face down on it, closing her eyes to the comfortable hum of the heater underneath.
Bakugou set down a cup of water beside her and went back to the kitchen to finish cooking.
Uraraka woke up a little while later to find Bakugou sitting beside her, sharing the kotatsu warmth. She turned her head slightly to watch him read.
One of the favourite things about living with Bakugou was watching him slowly put his walls down. Without this, she wouldn’t have known that he hummed and swayed slightly as he cooked things he loved, or that he wore reading glasses that made him look slightly older in the best way possible.
Still groggy from the trip and her intermittent napping, she reached up and wove her hand through his blond spikes. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her, but didn’t pull away.
With a dopey smile on her face, she ran her fingerpads across the base of his neck, and watched a small shiver run through him as he set his book down.
He let out a sigh and leaned into her touch as she kept moving her fingers along his scalp.
She breathed out a short laugh and sat up before leaning against him, her head on his shoulders and free arm wrapping around the front of his waist. He moved to wrap his arm around her and they melted into each other, home at last.
He forced his eyes open and took in the scene around him.
If you had told him at UA that he would find the solace he’s always craved in a cozy apartment, under a kotatsu, with Ochako Uraraka gently nuzzling into him, he would have thought you a liar.
Not that he didn’t want such a thing, but that he didn’t think it would be possible.
It was hard enough for him to let someone in, but expecting someone else to put up with his harsh behaviours long enough for it to occur lay beyond his dreams. Somehow, Uraraka had managed it and made it look like child’s play.
He didn’t want to imagine a future without more nights like these.
“Move in with me.” He blurted out, voice heavy with serenity..
Uraraka laughed lightly and softly. “We already live together.”
He tightened his grip on her. “Well, then, move out with me.”
This time, the hand in her hair paused and she looked up at him, confusion and a tinge of hope swirling through her brown eyes.
“City’s too busy to live here forever.” He met her eyes and gulped. “So, move out with me.”
Uraraka smiled. “My bags are already packed.”
He sputtered out a laugh and turned to see her grinning toothily. “I really fuckin’ like you.”
She pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek. “I’d hope so, or this move out thing is gonna be really weird. I really like you too, by the way.” She gave him a soft smile.
He turned to face her and moved his hand up to her face, running his thumb over her cheek. Their eyes met and he leaned down to take her lips between his. She sighed and just as he was about to move away, she dragged him back down, teasing his lips open with her tongue. His grip on her tightened and he picked her with ease to set her down on his lap.
Her stomach audibly grumbled and they came apart, panting for air.
He chuckled and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Food’s ready to go. Just gotta make the noodles.”
She hopped off him and pouted at the loss of contact, but then grinned wolfishly as she remembered the gift she had brought for him. He furrowed his brows in confusion as she darted into her room and started digging through her bags.
Uraraka came back out of her room, holding something behind her back as Bakugou served their meals.
With a teasing smirk, she held out a shirt in front of her until Bakugou grabbed it.
“Everything’s bigger in Texas.” Bakugou remembered her telling him about her trip to the Southern State just a few months after she had arrived in America last year. Just as the heatwave had run its course through Japan, Texas faced an odd blizzard. Her skills had been called out for the emergency efforts. He gave her a sly look and quickly ripped his shirt off to put the new one on. “You tryin’ to tell me somethin’?” He flexed a little to stretch the shirt over his corded muscles as he noticed her gaze tracing the lines of his body.
She popped her lips coyly and shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re plenty big enough for Tokyo.”
He rolled his eyes and pointed to the bowls in front of them. “Food first, then I’ll show ya that Texas ain’t got nothin’ on me.”
Uraraka breathed in the scent of the food in front of her. Sure, she could get Japanese food in America, really good Japanese food in fact, but she couldn’t get Bakugou’s cooking there. Bakugou chuckled as he watched her scarf down her food in record time.
Once they were done, he decided to finally unveil the mochi he’d perfected, and her reaction didn’t disappoint.
She inhaled sharply and her hands flew to her mouth as she looked between the mochi and Bakugou. A short squeal left her as she moved one of the mochi balls to her lips, and Bakugou gulped as a rising blush overtook his ears.
“That’s the best mochi I’ve ever had.” She moaned and reached for another piece.
Bakugou scoffed to hide his relief. “Obviously. I fuckin’ made it.”
He watched her cheeks puff up and nose scrunch up in delight with each bite and all the effort of the past week was rewarded.
“Why’s there a giant one?” Uraraka asked, pointing to the one mochi he had made with a whole strawberry.
Bakugou shrugged casually. “Resembles your cheeks.” He reached out to pinch her face lightly.
Uraraka groaned but eyed the large mochi with glee. “Maybe everything’s actually bigger in Tokyo. Mochi included.” She took a large bite out of it and grinned wide.
The two of them cleaned up, playfully teasing, touching, and kissing each other through their tasks.
For once in his life, Bakugou couldn’t wait to share more of himself with someone. He wanted to know everything about her and have her know everything about him.
“Why does my bed smell like you?” She asked after he plopped her down on her planet print sheets.
He crawled on top of her and kissed her jaw, moving down to her shoulders. “No idea.”
Scratch that. Some secrets he’ll take to his grave.