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In the dull yellow lights of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the chatter among the students of UA High School's 1-A class teeters on the line of being disruptive and too loud, however, the other diners don't seem to mind, and the waiters and hosts haven't said anything to them yet. They're all shoving food into their mouths, whether decently or indecently, or contributing to side conversations about class, or a pro-hero, or some joke Kaminari told the day before. It's nice. It's homey. It gives Uraraka a reason to feel like she's a part of something greater.
This was a good idea. Granted, it was Kirishima's, and Uraraka did all of the planning and reservations, it was good. Hanging out with her classmates in a way that wasn't inherently stressful let Uraraka relax her shoulders and talk about things that didn't matter. Let her think about things that didn't matter.
Like the way Bakugou's ruby-red eyes flicker gold with the reflection of the candle light. And the way the corner of his lips tilt up when a classmate says something dumb, and the way he sips his water so precariously and uncharacteristically. His hands are shoved into his pockets, already far finished with his meal, and he contributes to the conversation, but oftentimes stays quiet.
She's glad Kirishima convinced him to come. At first, when all of this was being planned out, her highest hope was that Bakugou would show up, and at least look like he was enjoying himself. Kirishima offered the idea that he'd convince him, but it unsettled Uraraka when he said he couldn't promise anything. In all honesty, had Bakugou not come, Uraraka probably wouldn't be enjoying herself as much as she is now.
Tonight, probably due to the nostalgic feel of the place and the low light (and the fact that Midoriya is on the opposite side of the table) Bakugou is strangely quiet and void of aggression. He laughs sometimes, and it's not the sadistic, "I'm going to kill you," laugh he always does, but rather a soft, almost barely noticeable chuckle that disappears too quickly. Uraraka is having a good time just watching his facial expressions, how they'll shift and how he'll smile. She thinks he must be tired of being so aggressive and vexed all the time. She also thinks that she's so lucky Kirishima convinced him to sit next to her.
Their eyes catch, and her breath hitches in her throat, before she instantly busies her gaze elsewhere, on the candle, then to Midoriya, then to Kirishima in a pleading gaze that can only scream, "Help me." He quirks an eyebrow and grins, nodding his head towards Bakugou, who's now engaging in a conversation with Tokoyami and Tsuyu about god knows what, and Uraraka is finally able to quell her racing heart. She shakes her head at Kirishima and he rolls his eyes, pulling out his phone. Soon enough, Uraraka's phone buzzes with a notification.
Kirishima: are you gonna tell him anytime soon?
Uraraka: Why would I do that?
Kirishima: oh, i dont know, probably because it's pretty obvious hes into you to?
Uraraka: Too* And I highly doubt he likes me back, dude.
Kirishima: U FOOL the only reason he agreed to come is because i told him you were going to be here.
Uraraka bites her lip to suppress her smile at that, and spares a glance in Bakugou's direction. He's abandoned his conversation with Tokoyami and Tsuyu, and is instead snatching food off of Kaminari and Mina's plates when they aren't looking. Uraraka finds herself enamored with the pleased look Bakugou has on his face. She's suddenly startled out of her trance when her phone buzzes.
Kirishima: you're hopeless, and whipped. just tell him.
Uraraka: No.
Kirishima: OB SHIT HES TRYING TO LOOM AT HOUR OGIENE
Uraraka: What?
"Why are you texting him when you're literally across the table from him?" Bakugou asks, raising a blonde eyebrow when Uraraka startles and presses her phone to her chest. Heat floods her cheeks and she averts her eyes.
"Why are you being so nosy?" she inquires, shoving her phone into her pocket. Bakugou shrugs and turns away from her, muttering something to Mina about the restaurant's food, which goes over her head, as well as the fact that he steals another thing from her plate. Uraraka falls into her thoughts again as Bakugou carries on a conversation with Kirishima this time, and Uraraka tries to grasp what it's about, but for some reason, the way Bakugou's lips move to form his words has her enamored and distracted, immediately causing her chest to tighten and her cheeks to flush. She sighs and moves her hand from the table onto the bench, feeling her fingers brush up against another set of finger. Realizing they're Bakugou's, she immediately goes to apologize, but Bakugou hasn't even acknowledged that it happened, so she thinks that maybe he didn't notice. She scoots her fingers away and pushes her food around on her plate.
She startles slightly when fingers brush against hers again. She looks down and realizes that, again, they're Bakugou's, but she hasn't moved her hand. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion, but she decides that maybe it's an accident (and the closest she'll ever get to holding Bakugou's hand) so she decides to keep her hand there. Plus, Bakugou's fingers are warm, and Uraraka has developed a slight chill due to the temperature in the restaurant. She takes a small bite, and almost chokes when the fingers move closer to hers, settling themselves slightly on top of hers. Heat instantly rises to her cheeks and she takes a sip of water, casting a glance to Bakugou. He's still engaged in a conversation with Kirishima, so maybe he doesn't realize he's doing it. She decides to pretend she doesn't realize either, on the off chance that he'll get angry she didn't say anything.
Her heart stops in her chest when his palm shifts to lay atop her hand, and by this point, it has to be on purpose. She notices he's scooted a bit close to her now, and their knees bump under the table.
When Bakugou laces his fingers between hers, the breath leaves her lungs, and she's sure she hasn't breathed in a solid minute.
What is going on?
She glances over at Bakugou, and he returns the gaze with fiery ruby eyes, an eyebrow quirked as if to say, "You have a problem with it?"
And Uraraka has absolutely no problem with it at all.
Except for the fact that Bakugou's being so uncharacteristic.
She suddenly feels as if this is all a joke, a prank, and she really doesn't think Bakugou or Kirishima is the kind of guy to play her like this, but Bakugou's just being...weird. Something weird's going on, and if there's a joke waiting to happen, she doesn't want to be the punch line. She debates pulling her hand away. After all, she's almost fifty percent sure that Bakugou doesn't actually return the adoration, and he's either doing this because he feels bad for her, or because there's some hysterical joke between him and Kirishima about her feelings.
However, the night carries on. Some of the classmates trickle out as they finish their food, others stay and chatter among the rest of the students. Iida and Uraraka discuss battle strategies with Midoriya, who has shifted to the other side of the table as other people have left, whereas Bakugou and Kirishima continue their conversation. Uraraka's fairly certain it's been over an hour, and Bakugou's fingers are still situated between hers, and it still feels as natural and comfortable as it did when he first laced their fingers together.
"We should head out, I think the restaurant's closing soon," Kirishima offers, placing cash on the table. "And I would offer to hang out a little longer, but I'm pretty tired."
"I am as well," Iida comments, following Kirishima with the money, and then standing. Midoriya stands as well. Uraraka goes to stand, but then remembers her and Bakugou's hands are still clasped. She doesn't think Bakugou would enjoy their classmates finding out about this, so she softly pulls her hand away, and a little bit of her heart breaks when Bakugou lets her. She stands and pays for her meal as well, and soon enough, they're all leaving the restaurant and heading towards the train station. She knows Midoriya, Kirishima, and Iida take the same train, and a little piece of her hopes her and Bakugou will be riding the same train as well.
"Thank you for planning all of this, Ochaco! We should all do this again sometime," Kirishima comments and everyone (short of Bakugou) agrees with nods or murmurs. Everyone says their good nights and good byes, and as they're parting ways, Uraraka realizes Bakugou heads in the same direction as her. She doesn't speak, thinking maybe he'll veer off into another direction; however, minutes pass and he's still walking alongside her.
"Are we taking the same train?" she asks curiously, glancing over at Bakugou. She could have sworn him and Midoriya grew up in the same neighborhood, though.
"Fuck if I know," he comments and leaves it at that. She goes to ask him about holding her hand, but stops herself. Maybe it's a figment of her imagination, maybe her admiration of Bakugou drove her crazy and she began to hallucinate. Maybe Bakugou doesn't realize he did it, maybe he doesn't want to mention it because he regrets it.
They do end up boarding the same train, and she takes the window seat and he sits next to her. She tries to ignore the way her heart flutters in her chest, and turns to her phone as guidance.
Uraraka: He's sitting next to me on the train. Help.
Kirishima: HOLD HIS HAND
Uraraka: ABSOLUTELY NOT YOU BUFFOON
Kirishima: i was the best wingman tonight, i deserve this more than anything
Uraraka: YOU deserve Bakugou and I holding hands?
Kirishima: yes.
Uraraka glances over at Bakugou to make sure he isn't being nosy like last time, and realizes that he's on his phone as well. She decides to flip the script and be nosy this time (after all, it's karma for Bakugou looking at her phone earlier) and is surprised to see that he's messaging Kirishima. She squints and realizes he's telling him that they held hands earlier, and when she looks to Bakugou's face, she realizes a soft blush has risen on his cheekbones. Her heart stammers in her chest and she immediately goes back to her phone.
Uraraka: He's so cute help me
Kirishima: TELL HIM U FOOL
Kirishima: (however u are a good fool)
Uraraka shoves her phone into her pocket when she realizes they've arrived at their destination, and follows Bakugou out of the train. She stands at the station, debating on how she should say her goodbyes, when Bakugo speaks.
"I'll walk you home," he grumbles, and a denial is on the tip of her tongue, but before she can say anything, he cuts her off. "It wasn't a question."
Okay then.
He walks alongside her as she leads the way down the quiet streets. It's never really busy around here, considering it's on the outskirts of the city, but she declares it homey and safe. After all, it's where she grew up.
A little twinge of fear settles in her stomach when she realizes that Bakugou's going to see where she lives: a worn-down apartment complex with chipping paint and creaky metal stairs. He'll probably think she's poor, or a slob, or something of the sort, either though neither she or her family is. She reaches the complex and stops, turning to Bakugou, who's got his hands shoved in his pockets and is looking seemingly everywhere but Uraraka, glancing around at the street and the apartments. She twirles the edge of her shirt in her hands, and a confession is on the tip of her tongue. Really, what was there to lose? Bakugou and her weren't really friends, they just hung out sometimes when their mutual friends were hanging out (which was rare, anyway, because Bakugou never really showed up to anything). If all else fails, he avoids her like he does everyone else and she moves on.
Could she really move on, though?
Hell, she moved on from Midoriya to Bakugou, who would she turn to if Bakugou denied her too? Maybe she'd forget about romance all together, save it for when she's older and everything is a bit more stable.
"You look constipated," Bakugou comments and Uraraka raises an eyebrow. In the soft, silver moonlight, Uraraka remembers a statue she saw a picture of when researching Greek gods for some project in middle school. It looked solid, yet soft at the same time, and seemed to be the embodiment of the most beautiful features of man.
And in the same soft, silver moonlight, Uraraka thinks that Bakugou looks more gorgeous than that statue. The light accentuates his eyes so well, and she can tell how defined his chest is through his t-shirt. The light frames his face with the perfect amount of shadow and highlight to make him look like a statue himself, bold and carved by the most delicate of hands, and beautiful.
"What're you looking at?" he demands, but it's more flustered than angry. His cheeks have acquired a rosy tone, and he averts his eyes. "Quit looking at me like that, Round Face," he jabs, but Uraraka can't stop looking at him like that. She can't even stop looking at him.
She opens her mouth to confess, to tell him everything that's going through her mind, when suddenly he steps forward and is in her personal space. He's only inches away from her, and if she wanted to (which she kind of does) she could reach forward and touch his face, his chest, his shoulders. She keeps her hands to herself and looks to his eyes, realizing she can't really tell what emotion is swimming behind them. Now he looks constipated, and she goes to point it out, when suddenly, he's closer and something is pressing to her lips.
She realizes it's his lips.
Bakugou is kissing her.
And honestly, she had imagined this many times, and each time she had thought it would feel like fireworks and bombshells. But it doesn't. Granted, her stomach swarms with butterflies, but it feels more real than that. Bakugou's lips are slightly chapped, and they press a little harder than what is necessary. Before she can kiss back, he pulls away, eyes looking down and to the left, avoiding eye contact. She giggles and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him down so she can connect their lips again, kissing him slow and cautious - the only way she knows how. Her heart flip in her chest as he kisses back and she feels his hands on her hips with a surprisingly light touch. She pulls away and notices his cheeks are cherry red, and the blush has spread to his neck. She grins widely and he presses his face to her shoulder in embarrassment.
"Don't laugh," he snaps. She giggles at this.
"You know, for a person that's so insistent on seeming like a hard-ass, you're actually a sweetheart."
"Don't push your luck," he warns, but Uraraka grins because she knows he knows she's right.
And the next morning, he brings her flowers and asks her to be his girlfriend. And when they share a chaste kiss on her doorstep, in the grey, clouded sunshine, it makes her heart flip just like the first.
She can get used to this.