Work Text:
Bakugo Katsuki had everything planned out just how he wanted. Nothing rarely went off from how he imagined it in his mind. Because once he set his mind to it, it became reality.
Even before he began school, he was in charge. He led the neighborhood kids around into hikes and trails that even the middle school kids wouldn't go on. Sure he fell off that bridge that one time, but every great warrior has at least one battle scar to show off as they told the tale. And sure, his one battle scar just happened to be emotionally tied to his insides because a certain someone couldn't let him save face alone. So not only did this incident rob him of his victory or allowed him to be forever known as the boy who never needed a hand, he could never speak of this incident again. No one could. If they did, people would realize what a weakling he was. And let's face it: People love to talk about other's short comings.
Bakugo refused to have any part of that.
So he did what he could to prevent it. Yeah, he got angry. Yeah, it lead to years of miscommunication to build up between him and someone he HAD considered his best friend, but he thought it was the right thing to do. All Might never needed help. Why should he? He was gonna be better than All Might and wanted to prove it when he fought his way to the top by himself.
Or so he thought, because fate seemed to have other plans.
Funny how people find different way to communicate. Most rational people do with words. Bakugo and a certain green haired idiot do with fists and tears. You'd think that first fight back in first year would have been the last time they clashed. But for some odd reason, neither was willing to agree to what the other was trying to say. And after a few back and forths, someone threw a fist,Bakugo, and all hell broke loose for a few minutes. Midoriya finally learn to say what he had to say while fighting and let it sink in once the ordeal was over. Bakugo would never admit it, but it did make it easier since Midoriya did all the talking and was able to offer a few choice words to state his peace. So even though he didn't exactly get his best friend back, things have gotten better. He made sure of it. Well, tried to anyway. The only problem being he hated talking about it, or talking about anything really.
Because as far as Bakugo is concerned, words are for extras. Yeah, some people care about that type of thing, but nice words never really got the job done. When people wanted results, what did they do? Got someone who could perform.
That's where Bakugo knows he will come in, kick ass, take names, and rise his way up to the top like no one has before. Nothing could get in his way.
Except a green eyed nerd with cute freckles, apparently.
That fate has other plans thing? Yeah, it planned on having Bakugo remained connected with a green eyed nerd named Midoriya Izuku. Because no matter what, Deku won't seem to go away. And somewhere down the line, Bakugo realized he really didn't want him to.
Because this green eyed nerd was always watching him to see what he does. And while it is flattering, Bakugo is too smart not to realize how the fucker is picking up his moves faster and then challenging him to counterattack within sparring matches.
Because this green eyed nerd was blessed with the power of All Might himself, and thinks he's got something to prove to Bakugo. Not that there's anything wrong with proving yourself, but he's trying to prove he can be the number one hero. And that's Bakugo's job. Now if he wanted to be number two, that would be a different story. Even Bakugo can see the perks of fu- I mean dating the number two hero. Yeah, dating... let's work our way up to that first.
But the most important thing would be because this green eyed nerd got him to realize just maybe it wouldn't be so bad to work with someone else. Especially if you could stare at their nice ass when they weren't looking.
With this being their last year in U.A., it's time to move on to the next step: Showing the fucker how important he is to him. But the problem is how?
Bakugo Katsuki is a man of action. Always has been.
His actions allowed him to impress a room full of people with his flashy quirk without even trying. Hell, he barely realized they were in the room sometimes.
His actions scored him into the best class U.A. could offer with the very best score. Recuse points be damned.
His actions allowed him to stay in the top rankings of the most challenging class U.A. could offer. Because if you had Aizawa as a teacher, you would say the same thing.
But Deku? He is a man of words, emotions, and all that other bullshit that ties the two of them together. Sickening really. One of these days, he should teach him how to bottle up all that unnecessary shit like a normal person. It would definitely make him a lot more tolerable. And while he is still at the top of the list, leaps and bounds ahead of Shitty Hair mind you, it still would be nice for him to go at least ONE day without muttering or crying.
Those two reasons are almost enough to have him reevaluate his life choices of trying to confess to the dumbass. ALMOST.
The real reason he decides to go through with his plan is because if he goes through with it, it will be like everything else he does: perfect. And well worth it in the payoff.
To begin, anyone who has a decent amount of brain cells knows that February means only one thing: If you asked Iida, he would say, "Foundation's Day. If you asked literally anyone else, they would say, "Valentine's Day."
While walking past the common room towards the door, gym bag in one hand and a bottle of water in another, Katsuki overheard the girls talking about the upcoming holiday.
"Sato has some, but we will still have to go to the store. We need enough ingredients for all of them to have some, though. I wouldn't feel right if I just gave out one." Uraraka stated. "Aw, you're just worried about Midoriya." Ashido stated bluntly.
If you asked Bakugo if he stopped outside the door to listen in, he would deny it til the day he died.
"But I've told you before! The underclassmen love him! I'm certain his desk will be filled with chocolates, just like last year!" she beamed.
"Last year?" Bakugo thought to himself. "That nerd didn't get any chocolate from underclassmen during 2nd year." Bakugo was sure he didn’t see the fucker get anything while they were second years. "Dumbass was in the hospital half a month. The fuck they talking ab-" he widens his eyes in realization when the timing suddenly clicked. Midoriya went and got himself fucked up on another internship mission trying to save a house cat. And while most gifts were sent to the hospital when he was in there, a few made it back to the classroom and dorms for him to see when he returned. After few days of the initial flowers and cards, mounds of chocolate were added to it in disgustingly shades of pink and red. "Fucking, hell." he cursed. Bakugo had thought those were "Get Well Soon" shit. Not life changing shit! Because if one of them had actually been able to give it to him...
"Remember all those hurt faces the first years had when they realize they couldn't give it to him in person? I betcha they will try again. One of them might even confess!" Hagakure said as her sleeves gestured wildly.
A sour feeling churns inside of Bakugo's stomach. He never had to deal with others giving the nerd chocolate before. Up until middle school, girls avoided him entirely unless it was a group assignment. And even if they gave him something, it was the common giris. Nothing to be worried about, even grape face would probably get some of those. Or at least one. He would almost be concerned about the girls giving him tomos if he didn't realize that class 3-A just cares SO much because they have been through SO much together. Round face giving him a tomo-choco was a given. So the others working together to make sure he had something special from them wasn't too far-fetched. But the possibility of getting a honmei? That is new. So mindboggling that he completely scratches his plans for working out and heads back up the way he came.
Bakugo Katsuki had a statement to make. And he was gonna make it on Valentine's Day.
The hot headed upcoming hero has come to terms with his growing feelings for the freckled face idiot months ago. If he fell for him, then surely others would have right? It's only logical. Just look at him! But that's not the problem. The problem is some weakling extra thinking they have a shot with Deku. Not only that, they thought they could confess before he got a chance to. Unacceptable. So now instead of easing the idea of moving past this complicated friendship with the cute fucker, he was gonna go all in. And he was gonna do it with chocolates. And it would be the best fucking chocolates he ever tasted!
Besides Auntie Inko's. No one could outdo her.
This lead Bakugo to choosing the perfect recipe to make, purchasing ingredients, taking them home to make them, because like fuck he was gonna make them at school with an audience, and give himself the day to make it. "Only 5 steps. This is gonna be a piece of cake." he thought to himself.
On this day, Sunday, February 13th, Bakugo Katsuki learned that baking was on another level.
He glares at the ingredients laid out in front of him like they personally called him out instead of the actual procedure of him purchasing them. The materials have been laid out before him for the fourth time. Yes, the FOURTH time. The carton of eggs laugh at him mockingly because of the extra empty spaces when only one egg should have been used. He had to place the liqueur on the other side of the room because he sparked his hands during batch number three and he was highly certain the shit was flammable.
Where did he go wrong? He followed the directions EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.
During the first batch, the shit wouldn't come out of the mold. So what did he do? Heated it back up. Of course that ruined the form of the chocolates. There went 3 hours.
On batch number two, he tried to freeze the shit instead of refrigerating it. That solved the first problem, but a whole new one came up for dipping to create the layers. Instead of the remarkable works of art like it should be, it came out looking like blobs of shit when the layer made itself too thick on the chocolate. Like hell Deku was getting these ugly things. Another 3 hours wasted.
For the third batch, he made it through the mold, the dipping, and even got to the trimming. But then there was the damn liqueur. He just had to go the extra mile. Just had to one up the others in every way possible. Because none of those bitches were gonna be creative enough to write on their chocolates like he did. The words looked amazing...
...at first.
When he left to put everything away, the characters were sparking and clean cut like All Might's brilliant smile. When he came back, they had sunken in like his damn eyes when he reverts to his civilian identity. And by no means is Bakugo Katsuki a quitter, but even the best of the best would think of stopping after wasting an entire day on unusable sweets.
He was sure the neighbors heard the shout of agony.
So here he was for the fourth time, apron and all, leaning on the counter with each and every ingredient back out on the counter. He could do this. He could. A deep breathe left his lungs as he relaxed his muscles and prepared for the upcoming war. This was going to be the last time. He was sure of it.
The next day had each and every person in a flurry of anticipation and could very well lead to several cases of anxiety attacks if nothing was done soon. Sure receiving the dojo was all find and dandy, but let's be honest: you wanted a honmei. So several individuals waited in suspense as girls and boys alike made their rounds in the school. Class 3-A was no different. The boys stood a nervous mess in one corner of the room speculating on what could transpire in the next few minutes. "Do you think Jirou will give me chocolates this year?" Kaminari asked. The worry was very evident on his face as he glanced from the door to the other boys who stood alongside him. Kirishima, Sero, Ojiro, and Mineta. Todoroki, Iida, Tokoyami, and Koda sits at their desks respectively but can hear the conversation easily with how loud Kaminari is talking. "Dude, you worry too much." Kirishima states. "Easy for you to say, Ashido gives you something every year." he responded sullenly. "My money is on Todoroki. It's not fair he gets all the goods and doesn't even have to work for it." Mineta said bitterly eyeing his classmate. "Work for the chocolates? I was not aware of this custom." he said honestly confused. "You would get more chocolates if you wouldn't make them so uncomfortable all the time." Ojriio commented. An excited shout from the door broke the conversation.
"Morning guys! Happy Valentine's Day!" Ashido exclaimed with an arm full of chocolates. The rest of the girls follow after her with similar items. "Oh shit. Here they come. Dude, act normal." Kamanari shouted while trying to make it seem like he was whispering. "Dude, your decibel awareness needs some work." Sero said shaking his head. "If I didn't know I could look back on this and laugh one day, I'd walk away." Jiro said approaching the group and stopping in front of Kamanari. After a dramatic pause, she hands over a clear plastic wrap bag. While most of the bags had a single white ribbon, the one Kamanari received had a red one with considerably more chocolates than the ones in the white one. He stands there speechless switching his gaze from the chocolate to Jiro's expectant stare. Expectant? What was she waiting for? "Well?" she asked after a few seconds. "Oh! You too!" he said. "What?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "I mean, uh. White Day!" he all but shouted. "Sure." she said turning to walk away. One would think she didn't care if it wasn't for that dark red on the tip of her ears. The rest of the girls past out the remainder of what they had. Time continues to drag on with only a few of the remaining students coming in until only two seats were not filled. "Anyone seen, Midoriya?" Iida asked touching the rim of his glasses. "As class president, if he is ill, it is my duty to check on the wellbeing of us all. Did someone see him within the facilities? Outside on his way here? The dorm, perhaps?" he asked chopping his arms with each example. "I heard Midoriya leave his room earlier than usual. Though I am unsure as to why he wouldn't be here now." Tokoyami informed.
"FUCK OFF EXTRAS! HE DOESN'T NEED YOUR INFIERIOR PASTRIES!"
"Seems like someone is getting started early. He usually at least makes it through the door." Kirishima chuckled as he leaves his spot from beside Ashido. "How do you not get jealous over that?" Jiro asked watching the red head practically run towards the door. "Just wait." she said placing her hands on her hips. "Hey! Bakubro? Did you get any-" Kirishima asked before a hand covered his face with sparks surrounding them. "Not today, Shitty hair." Bakugo said evenly. He halfway steps into the room leaning away from the door. Almost as if he wanted to protect something from Kirishima's approach. "Does this mean tomorrow will be better?" he asked. "Still don't see it." Jiro confirmed. "Kacchan, stop it. The flowers are gonna fall out of place." a voice said from behind him. "Midoriya? What flowers?" Kirishima asked removing Bakugo's hand completely off to slip past him. "OI! THE FUCK I JUST SAY?" Bakugo shouted and turns completely back outside the door. "Whoa! This is so cool! Bakugo did you do this? How manly!" he gushed. "Don't touch it, asshole." he shouted. "I just wanna see!" he protested.
"This level of noise and disruption is completely unacceptable!" Iida said walking towards the door himself. "Please come in the classroom in an orderly manner." When no one walks past Iida, everyone else within the room moves to see why. Kirishima stands in front of Bakugo who stands protectively in front of Midoriya. "The hell is up with the spectators? Get lost losers!" he said turning his attention to the students behind Kirishima. "Come on, you might as well just show us. If he brought it to class, we're gonna see it anyway." He reasoned. "It's ok. I don't mind." Midoriya said moving to walk past Bakugo. Before Bakugo could say anything else, Kirishima hauls his shoulder over him while stammering how proud he was. As Midoriya makes his way towards his desk, a small cube within his hands is revealed. "What's that?" Kamanari asked gesturing towards it. "Kacchan gave it to me. Isn't it amazing?" he asked looking down at it fondly. "Midoriya, as extraordinary as that gift is, do you think it is ok for it to remain here for the rest of the day? Wouldn't you like to take it back to the dorms?" Iida asked. "I didn't want to leave it there all day. It's really special." he said taking his seat. "Congratulations." Yaoyorozu said once she peered close enough. "Oh, uh. Thank you?" Midoriya stated. "AH! It's so pretty!" You sure Bakugo gave you THIS?" Hagakure asked with her uniform sleeves bending to show she was probably touching her face in most likely a shocked expression. "Is that why you were so late getting here?" Uraraka questioned as she turned her gaze towards Bakugo who had finally tore his way out of Kirishima's hold to stomp towards his seat. Sadly, that meant approaching all of the classmates who have decided to hoard around Midoriya's desk to gawk at his present.
The assortment was a sight to behold. A clear acrylic box held beautiful, full bloom roses inside the top layer. All along the side of each four corners, red roses create a box while nine white roses fell into the center. Underneath the flowers was a small compartment to be pulled out.
"Of course I was the one who gave it to him. You think just anyone could put this shit together and make it look this good?" he asked. "What did he say?" Hagakure asked "Where did he give it to you?" Ashido asked. "Is there something in that bottom compartment?" Uraraka asked. Midoriya looks to the expected faces before looking down at the gift in front of him. A small smile falls on his face.
*Twenty minutes earlier*
Midoriya walks outside the dorm of 1-A and glances at his phone for the millionth time for confirmation. When he does, the same message is staring back at him from Bakugo.
Kacchan
Gym 7:30. Be late and I'll kill you.
"What in the world could Kacchan want this early? Does he want to spar? Would we have enough time? That could be possible, but it could run over if we were to really go all out. Last time the match was well over 20 minutes and everyone got tired and made us stop. And besides that, we would have to shower. That would take up even more time. Maybe he wants to go over the skills we learned and then decide to spar afterwards! Unless he got impatient and decided he couldn't wait until after class. That must be it! There's no other reason he would...
"Shut the fuck up."
Midoriya glances over to the side and sees Bakugo approaching him as he was reaching for the door leading inside the gym. "Kacchan! Good morning!" he said smiling once Bakugo stops right beside him. Bakugo merely stares at him and then abruptly turns to face the opposite direction. "This way." he said walking towards the back of the building. Midoriya stares at the retreating form before eventually following him. "Kacchan, is something wrong? Did you not want to train? Why would you go behind the gym?" he asked. "Get over here and find the fuck out." he said disappearing around the corner. As soon as Midoriya turned to follow his childhood classmate, he froze. There stood Bakugo with a clear box giving off a red tint in his hands. "Kacchan, what...is that?" he asked approaching closer to the normally aggressive teen. Looking at Bakugo's face showed he was clearly trying to put up a brave front. It was clearly a brave front because his body language betrayed him. Once Midoriya got closer he began wiping his hands on the side of his pants and shuffling his feet from one side to the other. It seemed to be meaningless since the taller teen didn't seem to have done anything for sweat to appear on his hands and collect long enough for him to wipe it off. Not that it was going to matter. The box in his hands wasn't going to make it much longer if he kept pressing into it like that. What is it?
"I'm getting to it." Bakugo snapped. "Give me a God damn minute." Midoriya slapped his hands over his mouth with widen eyes at the realization he had started muttering again. "Listen, I'm not here to make some sappy speech about what this day means or even to fake like I care about it." he started. "But what I am here for is to prove something." Even though Midoriya had no clue what was going on, he realized the shift in Bakugo's tone for it to mean it was very important. "You...you took a lot of shit." Bakugo closed his eyes took a deep breath before he continued. "And a lot of it was from me." The pained expression on his face showed just how hard it was for him to admit that statement alone. Midoriya couldn't just stand here and let Bakugo put himself down like that. They had moved past this. They had come so far. "Kacchan, don't-" Midoriya started. Bakugo opened his eyes to glare at him. Midoriya quickly stopped talking. "I never cared for trying to understand people. I hated them too much. Thought they were just obstacles in the way. But, you always cared. No matter who it was or what they did. And even after everything, you never treated me any different and I hated it." he said gripping the box closer to himself. "Thought I could break you if I tried hard enough and it just kept backfiring in my face. Instead of trying to forget your ass, I ended up doing the opposite of all that stuff I usually do with people. “He spat. “What does that mean?" Midoriya asked confused. "You're so stupid." he huffed. "Here." he said handing the small box for Midoriya to take. "I spent a lot of effort thinking about what I wanted to do but they all seemed shitty. Nothing would be enough." Midoriya widens his eyes as he gazes at the roses sitting within the clear container. The red roses on the outside giving off the reddish tint he saw earlier. "These flowers are more than enough, Kacchan. But, you didn't have to do this. I had already forgiven you." he said looking from the roses to Bakugo's face. “I never do shit I don't want.” "But why did you do all this?" Midoriya asked. "Open the bottom and see for yourself."
Midoriya glances down and sees a small clear knob that had been overlooked. He briefly looks back up at Bakugo once more before slowly pulling the compartment open. Bakugo watches the younger teen closely for what he hopes for is a positive reaction. A sharp breath leaves the green eyed hero's lungs as he silently takes in the display. Inside laid small round pieces of chocolate truffles in neat rows just like the roses. A bright sheen catches Midoriya's eye and he looks closer and nearly tears up at the golden words on top of the chocolate treats. Internally trying to take it all in, Midoriya calms himself down so he can properly read each and every word.
Courageous
Genuine
Compassionate
Inspirational
Magnetic
Ambitious
Precious
Reliable
Sincere
Forgiving
Unique
Irreplaceable
The words were written on certain pieces of chocolate to create a golden star outline, except for one lone chocolate that sat in the middle. This particular chocolate read: Deku.
"K-Kacchan," Midoriya choked out. Tears leaking down his cheeks. All of these words were describing him! Bakugo had thought of all the different words he could to describe him and wrote them on the chocolates. Then wrote his name in the middle of it all to tie it all together. "Y-You really, think I'm all these t-things?" he asked in between tears. "When I said I don't do shit I don't want, I don't say shit I don't mean either." he said looking at him evenly. "This mushy stuff really isn't something I like doing, but I said I was here for a reason." Midoriya takes the time to stop wiping his face to look up at him. "I wanted to prove something. And that was I see you. I see all the shit you do and your stupid face with it." he gestures with waving his arms around nonchalantly, but the growing blush on his ears makes it less convincing. "What about my stupid face?" he asks smiling crookedly. "Can you shut the fuck up for once so I can finish? Damn it all, if I knew confessing was going to be this much trouble I-" he started. "Wait? Confess?!" Midoriya asked oblivious before he looked at the flowers, the chocolates, and then Bakugo once more. All the pieces clicking into place. A dark blush spreads from freckled cheeks down to his neck as he stands in place with his mouth open comically wide. "Yeah dumbass. Like I was gonna write all that shit for someone I wanted to be "just friends" with. The fuck you think this all was? I brought you here behind the gym so no nosey fucker would interrupt what I had to say when I gave you those shitty ass chocolates I spent hours to make." Bakugo said pointing at the box in his hands. Midoriya looks frantically from the chocolates to Bakugo multiple times. A look of pure disbelief as he squeaks, "Hours?" He takes a deep breath to calm himself down. "Kacchan, no! Seriously! You didn't have-" he tried to say again. "Don't say it." came a soft voice. The softness of his voice surprised the shorter teen enough to actually stop trying to finish his statement. Midoriya swallows a lump in his throat as Bakugo makes eye contact with him. He can see the softness in them that wasn't there before. Amazing. For years, he's looked into those red eyes and felt many things: admiration, nervousness, competitiveness, even fear. But never this. Today, these very same eyes makes him feel like he's won. Strange when he wasn't even competing in anything, but a smile big enough comes across his face when he hears the three words Bakugo mutters with fondness. "You're worth it."
Back to the classroom:
"Midoriya? Midoriya?" Uraraka asked concerned.
He doesn't answer and continues to gaze at the box in his hands with a loving smile.
"Looks like he forgot about us." Asui noted. "He's not gonna do this every time we ask about it is he?" Hagakure asked. "Aw man. How we suppose to cash in on the details if he does that?" Ashido asked holding up a finger against her face. "Hold on, you guys had a bet and didn't tell me?" Kaminari asked with his voice raising an entire octave. "Why not?" "Cause you can't keep a secret." Jiro answered. Kamanari looks so dramatically offended and ready to retort if Bakugo didn't interrupt. "Don't you losers have better things to do than to stick your nose in my business?" "Not when it can win me 5000 at the least." Ashido stated. "5000? We had 7500." Sero commented. "The fuck?" Bakugo questioned when he turned to glare at the taller boy. "We had a lot of little side bets to pile on top of the initial confession." Ashido admitted. "Really?" Sero asked intrigued. "Yeah, things like where it would happened, what he would say. If he just straight up cussed and said, 'I fucking like you'. Adding in all the factors could make someone rack up to 10000 yen." Ashido said. "Why didn't we think of that?" Kirishima said hitting his hand against his open palm. Bakugo turns his head around so fast to glare at him, it's amazing it didn't crack. "You were in on this too?" he questions. "No fucking wonder your ass was extra sappy today." "No, I swear! I'm genuinely happy for you." Kirishima says while waving his hands back and forth. "Hey, anything from Midoriya?" he said quickly. The others turn to face the boy in question. He's down in his seat still looking at the box with a barely audible sound leaving past his lips.
"He's out of it. I knew I should have added lovesick muttering to my ticket." Jiro said bitterly. "Lovesick muttering? Who thought of that?" Ojiro asked surprised. "Kero. That would be me." Asui responded while holding up her hand. "Something tells me, Tsuyu is going to win a lot of money." Tokoyami retorted. "Next bet, I'm siding with the girls." Sero states. "There isn't going to fucking be one." Bakugo threatens. "What's the next bet for?" Kirishima asks curiously. "First date!" Hagakure says excitedly. "Oh! The possibilities! I'm in!" Kaminari shouts jumping up and down excitedly. "Oi! Fuckers, you heard me." he snapped. "Let it go dude. This is happening." Ashido said.
The others continue to discuss the details of what could have happened before class and what could possibility happen later on during a potential first date between the two. Bakugo at first couldn't believe how invested the entire class was in his personal lives for about 5 seconds before he remember just who he was talking about and patted himself on the back for preparing all the shit at home. Even if they weren't around to see the exchange, they were able to see the results. No one could doubt the happiness on Midoriya's face when they approached him and he had been the one to put it there. A strong sense of pride spread through his body as he turned to the oblivious boy in the room as they now tried to weigh the pros and cons of trying to snap him out of it or just wait to see if he comes around.
Bakugo may not have planned to fall for Izuku, but he planned to do whatever it takes to keep that smile on his face.