Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Soulmates are goddamn stupid,” he decided, one day, after training with Uraraka because she had basically dragged him to the training room. “I don’t have time for this shit.”

“How can you say that?” She asked him while finishing her bottle of water. “Have you ever met yours?” She looked really curious, he could tell, probably thinking that someone as… difficult as he wouldn’t have a soulmate.

Bakugou sighed, not really wanting to discuss the topic, but since she was the one who had brought it up, he was sure she wouldn’t just stop there. And if there was something he had learned the past month was that Uraraka Ochako usually got whatever she wanted.

“Bakugou-kun, have you ever experienced color?” She sat on her ankles, looking at him expectantly.

“No,” he lied, looking away to where his backpack was. He walked over there so he could get his phone. At least that’s what he wanted Uraraka to think because the truth was that if he looked at her one more time and saw that… blurred weird mix of… things, he would go crazy.

“I saw it once,” she told him when he sat in front of her.

“When?” he asked way too fast for his own liking.

“The first day of class,” she smiled shyly.

His heart started beating faster. No way. No fucking way. That was when he saw it too. But he would kill himself before admitting that to her. Especially since it happened one second after he told her to get down, or the notebook he had thrown at Denki would hit her.

Of course, like usual, she didn’t listen. And the object was smashed against her shoulder.

“When you threw that notebook at me, remember?” she laughed.

“I didn’t throw it at you, round face, I fucking told you that already!” His voice got a little higher, and that made Uraraka laugh more.

“Well, whatever, I forgave you long ago,” she smiled sweetly at him, and that made him see it again.

Bakugou immediately closed his eyes, not focusing on what that meant. Because it doesn’t mean shit, he told himself. When he opened his eyelids again, everything was back to normal.

He sighed in relief.

“Anyway,” she continued, “that’s when I saw…” She stopped, her smile gone and her brown orbs locked on his red ones.

“What?” he whispered, not really trusting his voice in that moment.

“I… I don’t think…” She bit her lip, looking away.

No, he thought. It can’t fucking be.

He cleared his throat, recomposing himself. “You fucking started it, so just tell me already.”

The truth is that he wasn’t ready for what she had to say. He knew he wasn’t. He knew the second the word left her lips he wouldn’t know what to do. It would be way too awkward and he would probably pretend she didn’t say anything. But he wanted to know anyway.

That’s why when she opened her mouth his heart started racing again. He should stop her. He should change the subject. He should get up and leave the training room.

But he didn’t.

And when she said that fucking word, his world seemed to stop.

“Deku.” She waited a few seconds before adding, “It happened when I saw Deku.”

His face must have been really weird because she quickly started apologizing.

“Sorry, I know I shouldn’t have said anything, but you wanted to know!” Her hands were hiding her face while she whined. “I know you don’t like him and all, but he’s my friend. And you’re my friend so I hope that’s not too weird for you.”

She separated her index and middle finger so she could see his face, and by now he was almost back to normal.

“I don’t fucking care about Deku,” he said, rolling his eyes, trying to act as normal as possible. “You shouldn’t either, he’s fucking garbage.”

“But he’s my soulmate!” she claimed.

“How do you know? There were more people in the classroom that day.” I was fucking there.

Uraraka seemed to think about it, and he told himself not to expect anything of that. Because he did it minutes ago and she fucking tore him apart with just one goddamn word.

“Now that you mentioned it… Yes, you’re right. But I’m sure I saw him first. He was right next to you when the notebook hit me.” She put her index on her chin, still thinking about it.

“Whatever, round face,” he said, not really into this shitty conversation anymore. “You need to wake up for reality. Soulmates suck. And they suck even more if they’re stupid Deku.” He crossed his arms. “You’re better off with someone else.”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t like him!” She crossed her arms as well, pretending to be angry.

“You’re fucking right I don’t like him, but I mean it.”

Uraraka let her arms fall to the sides of her body while sitting on the floor and crossing her legs.

“But if it’s not him, who would it be?” ME, he almost screamed. “I remember looking at him and his green hair.”

“How do you know his hair is green?”

“Because it’s almost the same color as our uniforms pants and skirts, and I asked my mom what color is that and she said it’s green,” she explained, looking too proud of herself because of that.

All he could think about was that what she was saying didn’t make any sense. How could her soulmate be fucking Deku if he kept seeing… no. Stop that. It’s not what it fucking seems.

“Whatever, round face,” he said, finally getting up. “I’m gonna get some sleep. You should do the same.”

Uraraka followed him to where their things were.

“You’re right! I have to get my strength back if I’m gonna kick your ass tomorrow.” She said, giving his left side a small nudge.

He scoffed, a devilish grin spreading all over his face.

“In your dreams, round face.”

“You say that now, but I almost defeated you today! You were kind of tipsy,” her face was worried for a second, but then she gave him a smirk. “What? My black and white fists are distracting you?”

She had no idea that it was the other way around. He was distracted, yes, but because of the exact opposite. All those unusual shades were driving him nuts. It was hard to concentrate when he was with her. All because of those stupid, irregular traces of pigmentation that tried to come to life whenever he looked at the radiant girl standing next to him.

He didn’t need to see color all the time to know that. It was fucking there for anyone to see it. Uraraka just had this… light. She fucking glowed, even when he was seeing her in black and white. And it fucking fascinated him.

But he wasn’t supposed to think about that. Not when they were good friends and not when she liked that fucking nerd.

So he just shrugged, “You wish.”

Uraraka just laughed, heading towards the door. He, like the dumb shit he was being at the moment, just followed her.

She started talking and making plans for their training session the next day, but he stopped listening. All he could think about was that whenever he glanced at her, pretending to pay attention, those damn flashes of color were slowly making their way into his vision. And he didn’t like it one fucking bit.

He had to find a way to fight that shit back. He couldn’t live like this. It was fucking torture. He couldn’t, shouldn’t, didn’t want to see it properly. And that pissed him off on a whole new level.

But apparently his brain didn’t fucking care about his decisions because he kept on looking at her and in every goddamn time he would see a bunch of black and white mixed with these different, weird colors.

He only got back to reality when she stopped at her dorm door and turned to face him directly.

“Good night, Bakugou-kun!” She gave him a small smile before yawning. “See you tomorrow.”

He just nodded, watching as she entered the room. When she closed the door, it finally stopped. He should be relieved that all that light was gone and he was back in the shadows. But, for some reason he couldn’t understand, he didn’t feel that way. It bothered him somehow. And it pissed him even more that he was bugged about that.

To say Bakugou Katsuki was screwed would be an understatement.

Chapter Text

It had happened too fast. For just a second, she could see color. And it was beautiful. But it was over as soon as it had started.

According to everyone she knew, you only see color when you meet your soulmate. But, contrary to the romance novels based on this phenomenon, you can only see the world as it really is for a moment, before it turns to black and white once again. And to be able to see it for good, you have to be in love with your soulmate.

Which she wasn’t, but falling for Deku wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Or at least that’s what Uraraka thought.

She saw him before she could hear him. He wasn’t even looking at her, he was watching his friend, and he was screaming at her for some reason. But she wasn’t paying attention. However, when the green haired boy finally glanced at her, the sight she knew too well was back.

Some people say that it happens too fast and, because of that, you may not know who your soulmate is at first. That’s probably Deku’s case since he didn’t seem as astonished as her.

“Are you hurt?” He’d asked, kneeling beside her.

That’s when she remembered what had happened. She entered the classroom and something had hit her shoulder. Looking down, she could see it was a notebook.

“I’m okay,” she answered, quickly getting up.

“Of course she’s fucking fine, it didn’t hit her that hard.” The blonde boy said, closing his arms and looking away.

“Why would you throw a notebook at me?” She asked, a little bit hurt.

“I wasn’t aiming at you.” He rolled his eyes. “Plus, I told you to fucking get down, but you just goddamn stood there.”

And that’s how she met her soulmate and his explosive friend.

(According to Deku, that is, because Bakugou didn’t consider him a friend.)

It’s been a while, she thought. Having that taste of seeing the world in color made her crave for more. But after spending time with Deku for the past months, nothing had really changed. Yes, they were friends. Yes, they were nice to each other. Yes, being with him was wonderful.

But Uraraka was starting to get worried. She should be seeing in color by now, right?

Maybe Deku should be in love with her for it to work? No, that’s not how it goes. She knew that because her dad had started seeing in color long before her mom.

The only logical explanation was that she wasn’t in love with Deku yet. But how?, she questioned herself. She absolutely adored him. Seeing him made her happy. Talking to him made her day better. Spending time with him was all she could ask for.

She was starting to feel left out because all her friends were no longer in black and white. Tsuyu wouldn’t tell her about her soulmate, but Uraraka knew it because she described things that only someone who’s able to see color would say. Yaomomo was secretive as well. She only told them she was finally able to see things as they truly were, but nothing more. Mina, however, suspected Yaomomo’s soulmate was Todoroki, but neither of them confirmed the rumors. Speaking about Mina, her soulmate was one of their classmates, Hagakure Tooru, and they seemed very happy together.

Uraraka was really happy for her friends, but not for herself. She was starting to feel anxious, and the thought of never falling in love was starting to haunt her.

It was a Saturday afternoon when got to the empty training room. That’s good. Everyone would be heading out that day, so that gave her more time to train. Since the Sports Festival, Uraraka’s goal was to become stronger and to be able to fight better. Everyone was very supportive of the ideal, always encouraging her, which was something she really appreciated.

But no one really seemed up for the challenge. She tried asking Deku, but he didn’t really have the time. He already had his own problems to deal with, so she left him alone. Iida once said he would be happy to train with her, but whenever she had the time, he didn’t, so she stopped asking. The girls always had something else to do, so that wasn’t very promising either.

The only reasonable choice — and calling it that was something really… peculiar — was Bakugou Katsuki, her crazy classmate.

She gave it a lot of thought, and when she finally decided, she went to talk to him during the break.

“Bakugou-kun?” Uraraka had stopped right next to him when everyone was either talking to each other or not in class at all. “May I speak with you?” She smiled, trying to seem as nice as possible.

“Aren’t you already?” He simply shot the question right back at her.

She froze.

“Well, yeah… But I wanted to ask you something.”

Bakugou’s look was a mix of curiosity, boredom, anger, and displeasure.

She waited for him to say something, and when he didn’t, she finally asked.

“I wanted to know if you’d like to train with whenever we’re not at school.” She gave him a nervous smile, not really sounding that convincing. “I mean, we’d be at school, because we’re staying here and stuff, but the training sessions would happen during our free time…”

“No.”

She was absolutely sure that if her face was made of glass, it would be shattered after that.

“Why?” She questioned, truly disappointed.

“Why would I?”

“To help a friend?” She tried again.

“Since when we’re fucking friends?” Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You’re spending too much time with that damn nerd. He goes around saying he’s my goddamn friend, that must be where you got this delusional idea.” He crossed his arms and gave her a defiant look.

“I’m sorry, I…” She sighed. “Forget it. I just…” Uraraka stopped, looking down, not sure if she should tell him that or not. “Since our fight at the Festival… The fact that you didn’t go easy on me… I…” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, her eyes were looking straight at his, and she was as determined as ever. “Look, you’re not my first option,” she said, being honest. “The truth is that you’re kind of scary. Not that I’m scared of you,” she cleared that up when he arched a brow. “I asked my friends first, but they all had their own things going own.” Bakugou opened his mouth to reply, but she held her index up, not giving him the chance. “I know what you’re gonna say: ‘and do I fucking look like I don’t have better things to do?’” she changed her voice and expression, trying to imitate him. “I know you do. And you already said no, so it’s fine. I just thought that if you would be that kind to train with me, you’d really train with me, you know?” She looked away. “My friends… they’re kind of soft.” She gave an exasperated laugh. “They wouldn’t really try. They probably think I can’t handle it, so they wouldn’t give their all.” She looked at his face again. He was looking at her incredulously. “But you… You would. You’re not that kind of person. You’re true to what you believe.”

Thirty seconds later, Bakugou finally talked.

“That was fucking weird,” he told her. “I don’t know how in hell you got that idea of me, and I don’t know if you thought that speech would change my mind. It fucking didn’t. I guess you’ll have to find someone else to fight you. I’m not doing it.”

And with that, he left.

Three days later, when she’d managed to find someone from another class and was actually winning the fight, Bakugou showed up.

“That’s fucking terrible,” he shouted, dropping his backpack next to the doors.

“What are you doing here?” Uraraka screamed back.

“I was going to train, but instead I find two fucking dummies trying to hit each other and not managing to do it well.” He said as he approached them. “You,” he pointed at the brown-haired boy next to Uraraka, “get lost.”

Bakugou didn’t have to repeat himself because, in the next second, it was like the boy had never been there in the first place.

“You,” he caught Uraraka’s attention. “It’s time to fight for real.”

She was stretching and not really paying attention to her surroundings, so she didn’t hear when someone entered the room. It was only when she heard a shout that she finally looked to where that loud voice stood.

“What are you doing here, Uraraka?” She smiled when he said her name.

It’s not every day Bakugou Katsuki decides to call you by name and not by some stupid nickname he came up with.

“What are you doing here, Bakugou-kun?” she asked, approaching him.

“I’m going to train.”

“I thought you’d be out with the guys.”

“Why would I do that?” He looked at her funny like she was crazy or something.

That made her laugh. And her laugh made his expression a little bit softer. She was staring at him, too happy that he decided to stay in school that day.

“Well,” he started, walking towards the center of the room where the mats were placed. “Since we’re both here, let’s get fucking started, shall we?”

He called her with his finger, and she gladly followed him.

When she positioned herself in front of him, she noticed he had a smirk on his face. But it wasn’t one of those smirks he gave her whenever he thought he was right. It was different. And when her eyes went up to watch his, she detected a rather pleasing vibe spreading around.

And in that moment, witnessing that rare instant of joy coming from him, she could swear she saw something else. A glimpse of a different kind of shade. It’s not what she was used to, no, it wasn’t as strong as the black she sees every day. But it was just as intense. She didn’t know how to explain it, but if she had to try, she’d say it was extremely blazing.

“Oi, round face,” Bakugou called. “You’re gonna just stand there or what?”

She quickly recovered, adopting a fighting position.

“I’m tired of always making the first move,” she teased.

Bakugou laughed.

“As if,” he snorted, not really giving her the change to prepare before he gave her the first blow.

As usual, she took it like a pro.

She was much better now, and with each training session, she seemed to get to know Bakugou more. It wasn’t like she could predict his every move, but she could certainly keep up with him. And yes, she gave him a fight.

It seemed like he was happy about it.

But then again, so was she.

Chapter Text

uraraka: i’m sorry bakugou-kun, but i don’t think we’ll be able to train tonight (7:24pm)

He wanted to ask why. In fact, he was dying to. He was so curious about what had happened that he typed ‘why the fuck not’ too many times. But he wasn’t going to. He shouldn’t. Uraraka would think he gave a damn, and he obviously didn’t. She could stop training with him for all he cared.

“You look like you’re going to explode your phone,” Kirishima, who was right in front of him, said.

He dropped his phone on the couch and stared at Kirishima. If looks could kill, the red-headed boy would be doomed.

“And what the hell do you have to do with it? It’s not your fucking phone. Mind your damn business, Kirishima.” Bakugou said, crossing his arms and looking away.

“Sorry, man, I was just saying.”

“I don’t care,” Bakugou replied, grabbing his phone again.

That damn message was still there.

“Is it Uraraka?” Kirishima suddenly asked and Bakugou pretended not to be surprised.

“Why would it be her?”

“Well,” Kirishima began. “You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with her, for starters.”

“Are you jealous?” Bakugou gave him a smirk.

“You wish, Bakugou, you wish.” Kirishima rolled his eyes, grinning as well.

“But how the hell do you know that?” Bakugou asked.

“Um, because of Uraraka?” Kirishima said like it was obvious. “She’s been telling everyone you guys are training together.”

“Fucking round face,” Bakugou cursed. “I’m gonna kill her.”

“Yeah,” Kirishima laughed. “Doubt that.”

“And why the fuck is that?” Bakugou wasn’t patient at all, and that bullshit Kirishima was giving him was starting to piss him off.

“Because you like her?” He tried.

“Where did you get that impression?”

“First of all, you agreed to train with her?”

“So what?”

Kirishima sighed, “Nevermind. I’m going out with Kaminari, Mina and Sero, wanna come?”

Bakugou thought about it.

He hated all of them.

“That’s gonna fucking suck,” he told Kirishima while giving a last glance at the message. “Let’s go.”

uraraka: baku (11:16pm)

sorry, bakugou-kun* (11:16pm)

are you okay? i’m worried (11:17pm)

you didn’t answer my message???? (11:18pm)

bakugou-kun??? (11:25pm)

aaaaa (11:30pm)

answer me (11:31pm)

you’re gonna regret this (11:32pm)

Bakugou heard a knock on his door. He had just come back from the night out with the idiots he calls friends. And now there was another idiot annoying him. He left his phone on his side-table and went to the door.

When he opened it, he was surprised to see a short brown ball storming into his room. She passed by him so fast he was kind of impressed. He didn’t think she would come all the way to his room.

Realizing she wouldn’t go away, he closed the door and turned to face her. Uraraka had her hands on her waist, her face was serious and kind of deadly. If she wasn’t mad at him, he would sure be proud of her posture.

“What is wrong with you?” She asked, walking up to him. “I was worried about you!”

“Why would you be worried about me, round face?”

“Stop calling me that!” She raised her voice a little. “I was worried because I thought something happened to you. You usually answer with an angry emoji or with offensive words and this time you didn’t say anything at all.”

“I’m fucking fine, as you can see,” he told her, opening his arms as an attempt at showing her nothing was wrong with him.

“Okay,” she nodded, a little calmer now. “Still, you’re an asshole. You should’ve answered.”

She sighed and sat on his bed.

Who the fuck let her do that?

“Anyway,” she started, checking his room. “What did you do this evening?”

Not that he had to give her any explanations, but…

“I went out with fucking Kirishima and his dumb friends.”

…he did it anyway.

“I thought they were your friends too?” She questioned, now looking straight at him.

He crossed his arms and sat on the end of the bed, with his back against the wall.

“That’s what they like to tell people,” he said.

Uraraka closed her eyes and laughed.

“Why are you laughing, Uraraka?”

“Because you don’t even realize that…” She just couldn’t shut it. “I think you consider them your friends. But you don’t like to admit it.” She told him with a smart smile.

“No,” he lied to her face. “You’re goddamn wrong. They’re not my friends. They’re just stupid.”

She scoffed.

“What about me?”

His eyes were immediately on her.

“What the fuck do you mean?”

She got a little closer and crossed her legs, resting her arms on her knees.

“Am I your friend?” He could notice the smile reaching her big brown eyes. And he knew that her eyes were brown because he fucking saw it again.

“What kind of dumb question is that?” He refused to give her a proper answer.

“You can say no,” she laughed. “Although if you do, I’ll know it’s a lie.”

Bakugou opened his mouth, horrified. “How can you be so sure? What if I actually hate you and just put up with you because…”

“Because of what? Because you’re secretly a good person that cares about others but doesn’t want anyone to know?” Her smile wouldn’t go away. It was so beautiful it was starting to piss him off.

“Fuck you. You think you know things but you don’t.” He got up. “You should fucking go. We have school tomorrow.”

Uraraka also got up and walked up to where he was standing, holding the door open for her. Instead of leaving, she stopped right in front of him.

“I get it. You don’t have to tell me anything.” She said with a small smile. Kind of sad, actually. “I just wanted to tell you that… you’re my friend. And I’m your friend too. Goodnight.

She left and he closed the door.

What the fuck just happened?

Yeah, she thought he was her friend. Which he was, but he wouldn’t say that out loud. Apparently, he didn’t need to, because she was already aware of that. Then, if she knew it, why did she want him to admit it? She knew he was fucking like that. Why would she be sad, then?

And why did he keep seeing those flashes of color? It was there for a second, and then it wasn’t.

It’s not like he enjoyed it. But then again, he didn’t hate it either. It kind of suited the whole thing. And by the whole thing, he meant seeing Uraraka. Seeing her like that, with a new perspective was… refreshing.

But it didn’t last that much. If he was having those colored visions, why would they suddenly change to the usual black and white?

It was almost like the universe was messing with him. Why would they appear like that if they didn’t stay that way?

Suddenly, he could hear Kirishima’s voice in his head.

Because you like her?

He didn’t say he did. But he didn’t deny it either.

That seemed to be related to the colors. To why he kept seeing them and why they kept disappearing.

The truth was that he’d been pretending he didn’t know what was going on. He knew it all too well. He just didn’t want it to be true. The reason why he wouldn’t allow himself to even think of that was because… Uraraka didn’t feel the same way. She told him herself. She liked stupid Deku.

So even if he admitted that he… that he… whatever. It wouldn’t make a fucking difference.

Bakugou was so caught up in thought that he didn’t notice that before he turned off the lights, the black and white world as he knew it no longer existed.

Chapter Text

To say Uraraka was upset would be an understatement. After she left Bakugou’s room, all she could think about was how much of an asshole he was. She knew he was difficult, but why did he have to be so difficult? All she wanted was to be his friend, and she was aware that he wanted to be her friend as well. Why did he have to be so stupid?

To make things even worse, he basically pretended she didn’t exist the following morning. Not that they talked that much when they were in class, but he hadn’t even looked at her.

Yes, she’d noticed he was a bit off, mostly because he hadn’t screamed at anyone and acted like the usual stuff didn’t bother him at all. And by that, she meant Deku.

She was having lunch with Deku, Iida, Todoroki and Momo, but she wasn’t really paying attention to their conversation. Her mind was worried about other things, such as Bakugou ignoring her, and, of course, the fact that her vision was still in black and white.

She glanced at Deku, and she realized she was extremely disappointed. How could he act so normal around her, like nothing was happening between them? Uraraka knew what she saw. She saw him, all colored. Why was he acting like none of that happened? She couldn’t come up with a plausible answer.

Maybe, her own voice started in her head, he doesn’t like you.

Uraraka closed her eyes, trying to clear her thoughts. That was very unlikely. Of course he liked her. If he didn’t, she wouldn’t have seen him in color the first time they met.

It was when she heard the word “soulmate” coming from one of her friends that she immediately started to pay attention.

“For that reason, we don’t want to tell the rest of our classmates yet,” Momo said, briefly looking at Todoroki, who nodded.

“I knew you guys were soulmates,” Deku squeaked.

“Deku, stop, everyone is going to notice,” Uraraka told him, and then turned to her friends. “I’m so happy for you guys, seriously.” She gave them her best smile, which seemed to cheer them up.

“Thanks, Uraraka-san.” Momo smiled. “What about you?”

“What?” Uraraka pretended to be confused, but she knew too well what Momo meant.

“Do you have a soulmate?”

Suddenly, not just one, but four pairs of eyes were staring intensely at her.

“Well,” she sighed. “I guess I do.”

“Who is it?” Iida asked.

“I can’t tell you guys. Not until I figure things out.” She explained.

“What happened?” Deku sounded concerned.

She looked at him, then at her friends, and sighed again. She never told anyone about what happened, but things were so confusing that maybe they could help her out.

“You see, the first day of class, I saw color. It was only for a moment, but I swear I saw it,” she told them. “I know who my soulmate is, but I don’t think… I don’t know what’s happening anymore.”

“Is your soulmate a boy or a girl?” Momo questioned.

“A boy,” Uraraka answered. “Unfortunately.”

She didn’t expect it to be funny, but they all laughed, and she laughed with them. She came to think that if her soulmate were a girl, things wouldn’t be as messed up as they were.

“I wish I could say I understand your worries, but things weren’t really complicated with Shouto,” Momo said, softly.

“But what’s really wrong?” Todoroki asked.

“I like him, but I don’t think he likes me back.”

“How is that possible?” Deku asked, and his eyes landed on Momo, probably thinking she would have the answer. Uraraka rolled hers, though.

And, in that moment, she could hear his voice in her head. Fucking Deku. She almost grunted, totally agreeing with Bakugou this time.

“Have you ever considered the possibility of you two not being soulmates?” Momo was looking at her, and she never felt more lost in her entire life.

“I didn’t want to think about that, because if it’s not him, then… I don’t know.” She rested her face in her hand, defeated.

“It was just the two of you when you saw him in color?” Momo’s words startled her.

“No…” Uraraka told her. “There were more people present. A lot of people, actually. But I remember him so clearly.”

“Well,” Momo gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sometimes we look at people, but we don’t really see them.”

Uraraka nodded, trying to understand what that meant.

Later that day, when she was done with all her school stuff, she decided she would train by herself before Bakugou showed up, if he showed up.

After stretching, she started to lift some things in the training room. She started with small things, but, like she did during her fight with Bakugou, she lifted a lot of them. Then, she moved on to bigger things. When she was ready to lift three benches, someone opened the door.

She knew who it was. She could feel his presence. But, of course, like every self-centered bastard, he had to be properly acknowledged.

“I leave you alone for two fucking seconds and next thing I know you’re trying to lift the damn training room.”

She turned to see him approaching her.

“Two seconds? Your perception of time is really something.” If he could tease her, she could tease him right back.

“Whatever,” he looked at the mats. “Let’s fight.”

Two hours later, they were sitting on the mats, completely worn out.

“You seem off today,” he stated.

“Same goes to you.” She didn’t even hesitate. “Why did you ignore me today?”

“I didn’t.”

“Yeah,” she rolled her eyes. “Like you’re going to admit you did something wrong.”

“I did nothing wrong,” his defensive tone made her look at him.

“Sure, whatever, I’m not arguing with you about that. I have a lot on my mind already.” She said, crossing her arms and resting them on her knees.

“What happened?” He seemed really concerned.

Should she tell him about what she discussed with her friends at lunch? She was aware he hated anything that had to do with Deku, but she wanted to talk to someone. Someone who could help her make sense of all this soulmate thing. He wasn’t her best option, obviously, but he was all she got.

“It’s about that stupid soulmate shit,” she told him.

He lifted a brow, not really surprised, but rather amused. She didn’t swear a lot, but when she did, she had a good reason. Not like him, though, because basically, every word that came out of his mouth was pretty much offensive.

“I told you I saw Deku in color when we started studying here, right?” He nodded. “Well, it seems that he doesn’t like me back. I mean, it’s been months. And he never said anything about it.” She closed her eyes, resting her head on her arms. “Now, I get that he might be embarrassed or something, I am too, that’s why I never said anything to him, but anyways… I show that I like him, but he doesn’t do the same. And that makes me so angry. I’m so exhausted.”

“Well, he’s an idiot, what did you expect?” He immediately said.

She opened an eye just to see his annoyed expression.

“I’m starting to think that you’re right,” she admitted.

“Fucking finally!”

She laughed.

“What?” He asked, his face frowned.

“It’s just…” she said between laughs. “You always make me laugh, even when things are shitty as hell.”

“Well, I’m that good.” He had a smug grin on his face and that made her smile widen.

She slapped him.

“Stop being arrogant, Bakugou-kun. It’s annoying.” She said, but she was still smiling.

“I’m not arrogant, I’m just aware of my qualities.”

“Yeah, sure.”

And then she lifted him.

“What the fuck?” He said when he started to float. “Uraraka, put me down. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”

“I doubt that!” She yelled when he was almost touching the ceiling.

“I’ll kill you for doubting me.” He screamed. “And then I’ll kill you again just because!”

Uraraka laughed and then started to bring him down, releasing him before his feet could touch the ground, which made him fall.

“Damn you, Uraraka.” Was all he said, getting up.

“Are you alright, though?” She went to him so she could check if he was okay.

“Yes, but don’t fucking do that again.”

“But it’s so fun!” She complained.

“But look at you now,” he pointed at her. “You’re a goddamn mess. You’re so fucking tired, why would you push yourself more?”

She wasn’t expecting that.

“Are you worried about me?”

“What do you think, dumb shit?” He said like it was obvious. “I’m also pissed. I hate when you do that and you know it.”

“What can I do if I like to piss you off?” She gave him a small smile and then approached him. “But it’s nice to know that you care about me, you know? Since you were all ‘I’m not your friend’ last night, but I knew you were lying.”

“Whatever.” He looked away.

“See, that’s how you show affection. You don’t really deny things when I point them out.”

By now, she was way too close to him to back away. She decided she didn’t care about the protests that would come, so she opened her arms and hugged him.

But the protests never came. And she told herself that it was way better when he didn’t complain about things.

She hid her face in his neck and sighed. “Thanks for worrying about me, Bakugou-kun. I’ll try not to lift you again.” She smiled. “No promises, though.”

When she let go of him, she saw him dumbly staring at her.

“What?”

“You’re not allowed to fucking hug me when you’re all sweaty.” He simply said, his expression back to normal.

He started to move towards the door, but she didn’t follow.

“Does that mean I can hug you when I’m not sweaty?” She yelled.

Before he left, he turned to see her.

In his lips, she could see a smile, not that usual smirk that made her furious, but an actual smile. And in that moment, she decided Bakugou Katsuki was absolutely beautiful when he smiled. It was a nice contrast to his fierce, crimson eyes, which were staring at her like she was something else entirely.

She smiled back, watching him leave.

She was alone, staring at the black doors of the training room when she realized something. They were too black. But not the faded black she was used to seeing so frequently. A new kind of black, sort of shiny, actually.

She knew what was happening, but she was too alarmed to confirm her thoughts, so she immediately closed her eyes. She kept telling herself that it would all be gone when she opened them again. And after five minutes of trying to convince herself of that, she finally peeked through her lashes.

She saw the black door again. Still too dark and shiny. She then moved her eyes to the side and saw the walls. Usually, they seemed like a faded gray. But now, they changed completely.

She tried to think of all the colors her mom had told her about, but she couldn’t remember any of them.

She tried to calm her mind, but all she could think about was that she was finally seeing the colors. She tried to remember when that started because she could swear that ten minutes ago, things were still in black and white.

When did all of this happen?

And then a different color popped up in her head.

She had seen that color only twice. And in the same place.

Bakugou’s eyes.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Momo’s words echoed through her thoughts.

“Sometimes we look at people, but we don’t really see them.”

She was completely shocked. She wanted something so bad she made herself forget about what really happened in the first place.

When she entered the classroom that day, she thought the first person she saw was Deku. He seemed so nice and cute and adorable. Of course she would want to be his soulmate. So that’s what she started to think. But the truth was, the first person she saw wasn’t him. It was Bakugou. And, thinking about it now, she remembered she briefly looked at him because he was talking to her. And at the same time, the notebook had hit her. She was too confused because she wasn’t expecting it to happen, so getting hit made her trip and she fell. And then she looked at Deku.

“I’m so stupid,” she told herself, and then she screamed.

Bakugou was her soulmate all along. She didn’t know what to do or say. She just wanted to hide forever. Not because she was disappointed with the new information, but because she had been so dumb, and she even told him about liking Deku. She told her soulmate she liked another person, when she didn’t, not really. She thought she liked Deku. But thinking about it now, she wanted to like him, because being his soulmate would be easier than being Bakugou’s soulmate.

She thought about all the moments she shared with Bakugou, and she realized he had been there for her when no one else had. Not in the same way, at least. He could be an asshole, but at least he was there.

She left the training room, hoping no one would bother her. She was also hoping she wouldn’t meet Bakugou until she was ready to face him.

When she got to her room, the first thing she did was take her clothes off and hop in the shower. She needed one so bad. Not only because she had just finished training, but because she could always clear her head while the cold water touched her skin.

She wondered if Bakugou was seeing things in color as well. If he did, it meant that he realized he liked her. But how would she know? She couldn’t just ask him. She wanted to, though. It would make things easier, but, if he was still in black and white, things would be awkward between them, and she didn’t want that.

Maybe she should wait for him to say something. But even if he was seeing in color now, he wouldn’t say anything. Not when he thought she liked Deku.

Dammit, she thought. Why do I have to be so stupid? Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut?

After the shower, she put on some pajamas and dried her hair. If she wanted to have a good night’s sleep — which she desperately needed after training so much — she should go to bed early.

It took her a while to finally sleep, but when she did, she could swear her last thought was about those damn eyes and that stunning smile Bakugou shot her after leaving the room.

Chapter Text

If he knew it would be like this, he wouldn’t have admitted that to himself. Hell, he was still surprised because he couldn’t even think about it. He just knew it. And, apparently knowing about it was enough to strike his black and white world with color. Which was fucking annoying.

He couldn’t stand seeing his classmates in color. He was now able to see how weird Kirishima’s hair really was, even though he liked red. Also, Deku’s stupid green hair had him wanting to punch him each time he was present. And don’t even get him started on Icy Hot; Bakugou knew about his powers, but he would never have guessed it matched his hair. Of course, he’s seen it in black and white, but he didn’t know it would be like that. Mina, however, seemed like she was thrown into a giant bucket filled with pink ink.

But when it came to Uraraka, he didn’t have any complaints. Her pretty, brown hair and her kind, brown eyes made him want to die. She just looked that good. Not that he didn’t find her beautiful before, he did. But now… it was a whole different level of beauty. And he guessed seeing her like that was worth seeing all his stupid classmates’ weirdness.

He’d almost freaked out when he realized he was seeing things in color. He was inside the classroom already and, to his surprise, it was only when Uraraka arrived. He then remembered what happened the night before and started to avoid her, just because he had absolutely no idea of what to do. No longer seeing in black and white meant Uraraka was his soulmate. Everything seemed okay, except for the fact that she liked someone else. Someone he fucking despised.

He’d decided he would meet her for training as usual and pretend that nothing had changed. It was the safest option. So that’s what he did. However, being near her and not being able to tell her the truth was killing him.

bakugou: do you think we can rain check? (6:32pm)

uraraka: sure (6:33pm)

uraraka: may i ask why? (6:33pm)

bakugou: the idiots want to go somewhere (6:34pm)

uraraka: oh that’s cool (6:34pm)

uraraka: you should go out more! (6:34pm)

bakugou: who the fuck said i don’t fucking go out? (6:34pm)

uraraka: for a second i thought it wasn’t you because you weren’t cursing (6:35pm)

bakugou: fuck you uraraka (6:36pm)

That was how he managed to skip training the next day. And after that, Uraraka claimed she had a girl’s night out or some shit, which he was totally cool about since he didn’t have any excuses for not seeing her that day.

Today was Saturday, which meant they had the entire day to themselves. So when Uraraka texted telling him to meet her for training at four, he’d said he’d be there.

When she only appeared at five, her cheeks as red as a tomato, out of breath and taking her hoodie off, he resisted the urge of picking up his stuff and leaving her alone.

“I am so sorry, Bakugou-kun!” she said, grabbing an elastic and pulling her hair up, making some kind of messy bun. “The girls wanted to go shopping. They dragged me. I didn’t want to go! In fact…” she opened a bottle of water, taking two quick gulps. “I was on my way here.” She pointed at her training clothes.

“I’m gonna fucking murder you for making me wait, and then I’m killing them!” He told her, which made her laugh as she walked towards to the mats.

“I know you won’t!” She sang. “You can’t possibly kill me and you know it. You may act all tough, but you’re way too soft when you’re with me.” She winked and he swore he would end her.

“I’mma fucking show you soft.”

And before she could answer, he was pinning her to the floor.

She laughed, “you have three seconds to get off or I’ll lift you.”

She didn’t need to tell him twice.

Uraraka was running. She needed to get to the training room before Bakugou, or her plan wouldn’t work at all. She wanted to change the scenery today, but if he arrived first, he’d complain that he was already inside and that they would only lose time going over to where she wanted to go.

That’s why when she was almost there and saw him reaching for the knob, she screamed.

“Stop!” He immediately looked at her. “Stop what you’re doing and get over here!”

He started walking with an arched brow, his annoyed expression telling her she’d probably be in trouble, but she didn’t really care.

“What the fuck?” He asked when he stopped in front of her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I have an idea!” She smiled proudly. “We should run by the beach. It’s so nice outside and we’ll be able to see the sunset!” When she saw his mouth forming a ‘fucking no’, she quickly continued. “Please, Bakugou-kun! It’s been ages since I went to the beach.”

She gave him what she thought it was her best smile.

He closed his eyes, and she could see that he was actually considering it — something he wouldn’t have done a couple months ago — and she really appreciated him for that. He then sighed, and she was already smiling when he gave her the news.

“Fine,” he said. “But you have to keep up, or I’ll leave you there.”

“Yeah,” she scoffed. “Of course you will. Let’s go!”

They left the building and headed to the beach.

She was really excited about that. Not just because she didn’t go there for a while now, but also because it was almost like a date. Yeah, sure, Bakugou wasn’t aware, and he probably would’ve said no if she asked differently — at least that’s what she thought, mostly because he didn’t know they were soulmates yet — but she was happy anyway.

It’s been almost two weeks since things changed. And she loved being able to see the world in color. It was so much better. She already knew it would be great when she got a glimpse, but, to be honest, it was beyond great. And she had Bakugou to thank for that.

There were only two things that were bugging her about this situation. The first was keeping it a secret from Bakugou. She wanted to tell him more than anything, but she also didn’t want to scare him off. She was sure he would do something stupid — like ignore her or pretend it wasn’t true — if she told him. The second was not telling her friends. She wanted to mention that a certain color looked good on them, or just talk about the colors in general.

When they arrived at the beach, they started to run near the shore. She brought her iPod and noticed Bakugou did the same. Before she turned the music on, she swore she heard some ‘bangs’ coming from his earbuds, but decided to not to mention that to him, because he’d probably deny listening to kpop anyway.

During the run, she noticed she’s made progress. She used to suck at running, mostly because she would get out of breath way to easily, but now, she could go farther without having to slow down, which was a big plus since she was with Bakugou, because he didn’t stop nor waited for her to catch up whenever she needed a moment. She thought he was doing that on purpose, just because she made him come to the beach. But she didn’t really mind, because a minute or two later she’d be running right next to him and, even though he tried to look away, she could see a proud grin on his face.

They’ve been running for over an hour when the sun started to set, and she thought it was good enough, because she stopped and sat by the shore, and waited for Bakugou to scream, telling her they needed to keep going. But that didn’t happen. Instead, he sat by her side and stared at the horizon.

It wasn’t her first time seeing the sunset, obviously, but it was her first time seeing it like that. The way the orange mixed with the yellow was absolutely mind-blowing. The blue was also deepening, and she found that it was her favorite shade of blue so far. It wasn’t until the violet and purples started to appear that she felt like she needed to say something.

“All these shades are honestly so beautiful,” she said, almost whispering. He quickly glanced at Bakugou, just to make sure he wasn’t with his earbuds on. “I never thought it would be this pretty.” She smiled. “It’s my first time here since I…” and then she stopped.

“Since when?” He asked, and she panicked.

She almost told him she was seeing in color. What could she possibly say now?

“Um,” she started, “since I… since we moved to the dorms, I guess.” She sighed in relief. “Like I said, I haven’t been here for a while, so…” She shrugged, looking at him.

“Right,” he answered. “Well, I don’t fucking see anything special with the sunset.”

And she only laughed.

Of course, Bakugou was lying. It was pretty fucking cool, seeing the sunset without those shades of gray making the sun look weird. But he would never tell her that. If he said anything, she would know. Just like he knew.

He knew it the moment she mentioned the word shades. Even though he knew it, he tried to think of another reason for her to say something like that, and when she started acting all weird, he just accepted the fact that Uraraka Ochako was also seeing in color and was aware that they were soulmates.

And that meant that if they both knew about it, this was probably a date. And the only thought that came to his mind was nice, because it kind of suited them. They were always training together, so doing this kind of thing somewhere else could become their thing. He was probably more excited about it than he should, but he didn’t give a fuck.

Now, his only concern was finding the perfect moment to tell her he was no longer in black and white.

He didn’t know when it happened, but Uraraka was already up and walking towards the street. He got up as well and started to follow her, not really sure what she had in that bubbly head of hers.

“The fuck you doing, Uraraka?” He asked when he got close enough for her to hear him.

“There’s an ice cream shop across the street, let’s go there!”

“What? Are you fucking getting ice cream right after you exercised?” To say Bakugou was shook would be an understatement. “That’s so not healthy.”

When she got in front of the shop, she stopped and looked at him. “You can either accompany me or you can stand there while I pick ice cream for us, it’s your choice.”

“For us?” He questioned, and she only nodded. “You don’t even know what goddamn flavor I like.”

“Okay, then you go inside and pick something for us, while I sit here by this nice table with this nice breeze on my face.” She sat on one of the chairs and simply waited for him to go.

He rolled his eyes, asking before he entered the place, “What flavor do you want?”

“Surprise me!” Was her joyful reply.

Five minutes later, he came back with two cones of chocolate ice cream.

“Happy?” He said while sitting in front of her.

“Very much, thank you.” She smiled at him and he decided it was worth it. “Okay, let’s go!” She got up and started walking. “Iida will probably make a scene if he sees us walking the corridors this late.”

“Uraraka, it’s not even 8 yet.” He said, not really in the mood to go back to school. “Plus, it’s Saturday. Doesn’t he have a fucking life?” Bakugou complained.

“You’re right, but let’s go anyway, I’m kind of tired, and we have a long way to go.”

“And whose fucking fault is that?”

“Shut up,” she laughed, punching his arm. “Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.”

He didn’t respond.

“See, you did!” She cheered. “I knew you would.”

“Well,” he began, “it didn’t suck.”

Uraraka held that smug little grin all the way to Yuuei.

When they got to the dorms, more precisely to Uraraka’s room, Bakugou tried to act cool. He wanted to say something to let her know that he was aware that she knew, but he didn’t know how to do it. He could just fucking say it, but it would be so lame. And he was better than that.

Without even realizing, before she could say goodbye, he pointed something out.

“You’ve got a brown stain on your shirt.” He told her, looking at the white shirt she was wearing.

“Oh.” She looked at it as well. “It’s nothing, I’ll just wash…”

Something must’ve happened because next thing he knew she was staring at him with big brown wide eyes.

And then he became aware of what he’s done.

“What did you just say?” She asked him.

“That you got a brown stain on your shirt?” He repeated, frowning a bit. He was gonna play dumb. “You should be more careful, you know.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She waved her hand like it didn’t matter. “You said the word ‘brown’”, she remarked.

“I did,” he agreed.

“So you can see color.”

It wasn’t a question, but he nodded anyway.

“Since when?” She looked suspicious.

“Probably that night you left my room and I realized you were my soulmate? I don’t know.” He looked away.

“Fuck.”

He looked at her.

“What about you?”

“How can you be so cool about it? I thought you’d be angry or something!”

She was clearly losing her mind, and Bakugou was actually enjoying the moment.

“Why would I be angry?” He asked, smirking. “I think this soulmate thing is fucking bullshit, but at least you don’t suck.”

“Wow, that’s really romantic.” She told him, crossing her arms.

“I try my best.”

“You’re ridiculous.” She rolled her eyes. “I need to shower.”

She turned to open her door.

“That’s it?” He just looked at her, not really believing that she would drop the subject like that.

“No.” She glanced at him one more time. “I'll meet you in the training room in thirty minutes.

Uraraka just couldn’t believe what just happened. They both knew they were soulmates and they could now see in color. She was just shocked. She knew she shouldn’t have reacted like that, but she just didn’t know what to say. She honestly thought it wouldn’t be that simple. And when she noticed she was starting to get stressed, she knew she should think before acting.

So she took a shower, dressed in her pajamas and went to the training room.

Bakugou was already there, of course. Just like hers, his hair was damp and he was wearing something comfortable, a Punisher t-shirt and sweatpants. Classic Bakugou.

She quietly sat next to him on one of the benches and sighed.

“I’m sorry for reacting like that,” she started. “I thought I would be the cool one when you figured it out.” She smiled a little, looking at him. His eyes were on her already.

“When did you start seeing it?” He simply asked.

“That day I lifted you after training... after you smiled at me,” she confessed, kind of embarrassed.

“That makes sense. You were staring at me like a fucking fool, I should’ve guessed.”

She slapped him and laughed.

He laughed too, and she wasn’t ready for that. So she just stared at him.

“You’re doing it again,” he said.

“What?” She didn’t give him a time to answer. “Staring at you like a fool? Sorry, I just can’t help being amazed when you do something I’m not really expecting.”

“Why?” His curiosity seemed so genuine it made her grin.

“It’s just… You’re like this,” she frowned and raised the left corner her lips, trying to mimic his usual expression, “all the time and when you do stuff that isn’t like that, I just… don’t know how to react?” He was frowning now, but in a different manner, so she quickly added, “it’s not something bad! It’s good to see you smiling and laughing.”

He looked away.

“I’m sorry for what I said, all those times I thought Deku was my soulmate.” He looked at her again. “It must have been difficult, not just because you don’t like him, but because you found out before me and I was still thinking it was him.”

He didn’t say anything.

“To be honest, when I figured I’d seen you first that day you hit me with the notebook…” He rolled his eyes. “I thought it made sense because you were the first to talk to me that day.”

“No shit Sherlock.”

She laughed a little.

“I knew that you were seeing color when you mentioned the sunset,” he said.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I didn’t know what the fuck to say,” he said like it was obvious.

“Thank god I’m not as dumb as you.” She closed her eyes, nodding to herself. “Can you imagine if I’d pretended I didn’t notice what you said? We would be in a goddamn loop.”

“I’m not dumb,” he complained. “But you’re right.”

After a few seconds, she asked, “So what now?”

“Well, we just keep doing what we do. And you keep thinking of excuses to take me on dates.” He gave her a smirk.

“I didn’t take you on a date!” She lied. When he arched a brow, she gave in. “Okay, fine. I thought it would be something different and not really suspicious.”

“I liked it,” he whispered.

She smiled like an idiot.

“Sorry, what? I didn’t hear you,” she teased.

“Fuck you.”

“Is that how you talk to your soulmate?” She got a little closer.

“I said,” he looked straight at her, taking her by surprise, “that I liked it. Are you happy now?”

“Because you admitted you enjoyed our first date? Yes, I am. A lot, actually.”

“This is weird.” He said after a while.

“I know,” she nodded. “But it was weird when we started our friendship as well, so… I’m not really worried about it.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not a regular person, Bakugou-kun.” He looked annoyed. “And I’m fine with it. If you weren’t like this, you wouldn’t be you. And I like you. Even though you’re an asshole.”

“You really suck at complimenting people, Round Face.” He gave her that smug grin.

“You should stop calling your girlfriend that.” Was all she said.

“My girlfriend?” He smirked.

“Yes, I’m your girlfriend. I just decided,” she said, really proud of that.

When she looked at him, he was staring at her. His eyes were soft and he was smiling. She smiled back.

“I love your smile,” she whispered.

“Yours is okay,” he answered.

Uraraka rolled her eyes and looked away, pretending to be mad.

“Uraraka,” he called.

“Wow, I thought it was too difficult to say my name.” She had her eyes literally on anything but him.

“Uraraka,” he tried again.

“What?” She finally turned to him.

She saw his face and she fucking lost it. The way he was gazing at her, almost like he wanted to say something but was too afraid to do it. She then realized she wanted to say something as well, but was kind of unsure if it would be too soon.

She didn’t have to say it because the next second she noticed his face was slowly getting closer, and she leaned in without thinking. When their noses touched, she couldn’t help but smile. She saw him closing his eyes and she did the same, taking the final step and touching his lips with hers.

Bakugou immediately opened his mouth, and when their tongues touched, she felt butterflies twisting in her stomach. She reached for the back of his head, losing her fingers in his hair at the same time she tried to pull him closer to her. His right hand rested on her cheek and the left on her waist, trying to minimize the space between them.

She didn’t expect him to be so… soft. But hey, she wasn’t complaining. She liked the way he was kissing her, it felt so right, like it was meant to be. And in a way, it was, because they were soulmates, for god’s sake.

When they were both out of breath, she pushed him a little, just so they would have room to breathe. She gave the corner of his mouth a quick kiss before resting her forehead on his.

“It wasn’t that bad,” she told him, her tone clearly showing that she was mocking him.

“I’ll fucking kill you, you know that?” He said, lightly stroking her cheek.

“You always say that,” she observed. “Like I said so many times, I doubt it. Especially now.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Because now you know I’m a really good kisser.” She smirked against his lips, giving him a kiss.

“You’re so sure of yourself,” he stated. “I like it.”

“Awwww!” She smiled and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face there and giving it a long kiss.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked when she pulled away, smiling brightly at him.

“Affection.”

“That’s disgusting.” He rolled his eyes, murmuring the next part. “Do it again.”