Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Recently, he noticed that his classmates were starting to get excited over the upcoming Valentine's festival at U.A.

Bakugou thought that it was all bullshit.

He always believed that love was a waste of time and energy. Being the greatest hero came first and foremost; it was his dream ever since he was a little. His goal was the only thing that mattered to him and he fought any hindrance that tried to get in the way of it.

However, it seemed that he wasn't successful with it at all, because there was one particular roadblock that was threatening the road to his dream.

It all started when she came along. When he began to notice that she existed.

She was a classmate, a girl, and no one but another rival in his eyes. She held no fragility about her regardless of what everyone else seemed to believe, and there was a spark and potential inside her that he clearly saw and respected back when they fought against each other at the Sports Festival.

He didn't realize that calling her by her name and acknowledging her was only the beginning.

After the match, she seemed to slowly warm up to him. She spoke to him casually and had no fear in her eyes whenever he tried to threaten her. She had no qualms about touching him, even if it was unintentional.

One time, she accidentally bumped shoulders with him in the hallway. He had been ready to snap at her for it when she suddenly patted his arm and smiled brightly, telling her that she was sorry. He could only stare at her in shock as she made a run for it, expecting that he'd yell at her for being so audacious with him.

It was always known that Bakugou had never been fond of physical contact.

Because of his quirk, almost everything he touched (and everyone, in most cases), was for the intention of exploding them. He didn't do hugs, locking arms, holding hands, or any of that shit. It was just plain uncomfortable for him.

But with her, he found that he didn't feel the need to recoil from her touches at all. It was honestly alarming.

However, the person she liked was Midoriya.

Bakugou was not dense. Her crush on that nerd was too evident in her eyes whenever they interacted.

Bakugou did not like wasting time and energy for pointless things. He had no intentions of butting into their mutual pining for each other (what was the point, anyway?), so he held himself back and let himself not care.

(Because he was beginning to warm up to her as well, and he didn't want that kind of distraction.)

She was going to ruin him. He knew it.

So, calmly and quietly, Bakugou decided to give up on her without even doing anything. This was not love he was feeling, and nor was it infatuation. It was just interest, that's all. If he left this feeling alone, it would undoubtedly grow in time and prove to be a troublesome hindrance that he'd need to fight just so he could go back to focusing on his goals.

He had no choice. He had to pretend she didn't exist.

Now, if she would just never show up in front of him again… that would make it easier.

 •••

Uraraka Ochako had never seen it coming.

While training on her own with the others present and training as well, she was experimenting with a few sports equipment in the corner, trying to develop her ability to quickly pull multiple heavy things towards her. It took a lot of concentration and she was already starting to feel queasy from attempting this multiple times, but she wanted to grow her skills and work harder than ever. Every day was a challenge, and she wanted to fight each and every one head-on. She would not lag behind the others.

She was going to succeed and become a hero.

Filled with newfound determination, Uraraka lifted three huge basketballs and willed them to come to her, her hands poised and ready for catching. She would dispel her quirk at the exact moment that they'd make contact with her palms so that they wouldn't make a painful impact on her.

What she didn't expect was that two things were going to happen simultaneously.

One was that the balls were suddenly flying right at her, indicating her achievement at increasing her speed record.

The other was that she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to vomit, causing her hands to involuntarily move towards her mouth.

Uraraka's eyes widened in shock and realization.

Those things are going to hit me in the face if I don't—!

A loud explosion sounded from her right, and she felt something shove her painfully to the side.

"Get out of the way!" a familiar voice growled.

The uncomfortable sensation swirling in her stomach immediately disappeared, replaced by a mixture of awe, shock, and relief bubbling in her chest. She couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes as he stood there before her, his palms emitting smoke and crackling sounds as his activated quirk slowly receded. He was glaring at her with something intense in his eyes, his teeth gritted into a snarl.

Uraraka's throat went slightly dry, but she swallowed and managed an embarrassed smile on her face. "Ahaha ~ that was close!" she laughed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Thanks for saving me, Bakugou-kun!"

She didn't quite expect his eyes to narrow even more.

"The fuck… Don't thank me when I had no intention of helping you out, fucking dumbass!" Bakugou growled, already stalking off to test his flight capacity once more. "You were just in my way. Don't overuse your quirk or it'll blow up in your face! Stupid woman, you should know that already!"

Uraraka blinked several times even as Bakugou went back to his training. Well… he's usually cranky… but he seems more irritated today. I wonder what set him off?

Shrugging it off anyway, Uraraka took a deep breath and let the mild queasiness in her stomach fade gradually. He has a point, though. I'll have to rest for a while and try again. She suppressed a giggle. An unexpected advice coming from someone who uses his quirk to the maximum almost every day.

•••

That day had been the first hint.

The two of them never really talked much. She always hung out with Iida and Midoriya while he was with Kirishima and Kaminari. Their seats weren't close to each other, and they ate at different tables during lunch. They really had no reason to talk to each other, and there was no need for it.

But Uraraka noticed it nonetheless.

(Albeit it took her quite a while to realize it.)

He was ignoring her.

Of course, Bakugou never really talked to anybody except for his friends, and he also never greeted anyone whenever he passed by them.

But it was different somehow with her.

"Bakugou-kun!" Uraraka exclaimed as he went inside the kitchen. She had been searching for something in the fridge when she noticed him come in. "Deku-kun mentioned to me that you're amazing at baking cakes! Can you help me out in making one for my mom? It's her birth—"

"Go fucking make it yourself, you fuckstick!" Bakugou yelled angrily before storming out of the room.

Was it just her imagination or did Bakugou sound so flustered just now?

Uraraka immediately shook that thought away, internally laughing at herself. No way, that's impossible! Then she sighed, looking at the contents of the fridge before her forlornly. Aaww… I don't know how to bake… He's such a meanie.

When tomorrow came, she came across Bakugou. While walking to the classroom and seeing him in sight, she raised her hand and waved at him. "Bakugou-kun, good morning!"

Bakugou's gaze snapped towards her and his face turned slightly red. "What the fuck — leave me alone, dammit!" He stormed away from her, muttering angry, frustrated curses under his breath.

Uraraka blinked. What was wrong with him nowadays?

This kind of strange attitude went on for weeks. Whenever she tried to talk to him or ask him a question, he'd unexpectedly blow up in her face, get all skittish and angry, and deny or ignore her inquiries and greetings. When she began observing his actions after two or three weeks of this consistent behaviour, she discovered that his attitudes towards his classmates did not change at all, which made it even more odd that he was a little different when it came to her.

It can't be… Uraraka thought to herself, eyes wide in realization. Could he be salty about what I said to him about him and Deku-kun after the End of Term exams? That was so long ago, though… and I can't think of anything else I did that might have pissed him off…

All right then! Uraraka echoed in her mind determinedly, standing abruptly from her seat. I'll confront him about it after class!

There was a beat of silence.

"…Young Uraraka," All Might said, his lecture interrupted. "Would you please seat yourself?"

It took Uraraka a few seconds to realize what he was talking about. Her face flushed a brilliant red, she ignored the surprised and curious looks of her classmates and sat back down in her seat. Inadvertently, she took a peek at Bakugou who didn't even turn around.

I'll get to the bottom of this! she swore to herself passionately, trying to push her embarrassment down.

"Okay, everyone!" All Might said, his tone of voice suddenly laced with excitement. "I presume you have all heard that U.A. will be holding the Valentine's festival in a month's time?"

Almost immediately, there was an enthusiastic outburst from the class.

"Yeah!" Kirishima exclaimed with a wide grin. "What kind of program are we going to do, All Might?!"

"Maid Café… Maid Café…" muttered Mineta with a blush on his cheeks.

Suddenly, All Might's aura seemed to emit sparkles.

Midoriya shielded his eyes. So bright…!

"I have a very exciting activity planned for all of you!" All Might said jovially. "We… are going to do a romantic play!"

The whole class went silent for a moment.

Then chaos descended.

"WHAT?!"

"SIGN ME UP!" Mineta shouted, now standing ramrod straight in his seat with hearts in his eyes.

"Who's gonna be the lucky couple~?" Kaminari said teasingly.

"Watch out," Sero told him with a grin. "The main lead might turn out to be you!"

Kaminari blushed. "D—Don't jinx it!"

Tsuyu, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. "Are you really sure we can do a romance, sensei?"

All Might beamed proudly. "It was my idea! Since the festival is going to take place in the week of Valentine's, we must stick to the romance tradition!" Before any of his students could comment, he took out two small boxes from the drawer of the teacher's desk and placed it on the surface of the table. "Here, I have written all of your names — boys and girls separated — on small pieces of paper. I will draw the main leads, the supporting roles, and the other positions, so please take note of your responsibilities!"

Without further ado, All Might slipped his hand inside the boys' box and took out a piece of paper. "The name written on here will be the main lead actor of the play." He then opened the rolled-up paper and peered at the writing. "And the lucky young lad is… it's Bakugou Katsuki!"

There was a beat of silence before the loud screeching sound of a chair being forcibly pulled back against the floor was heard.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Bakugou yelled angrily, standing up from his seat in protest. "I ain't participating in this sappy lame-ass play!"

"Why not, Bakugou-kun?" All Might inquired calmly, his posture relaxed. "This will be a good opportunity for you!"

Bakugou stared at him disbelievingly. "What the fu—there's no way in hell it is! This is just a dumb waste of time—"

"Not only will you get extra credit because I will personally be watching and guiding you, but you will also learn how to do new things outside of the box as well as versatility which is one of the qualities of a pro-hero. A hero must be able to experience a lot of things and learn to adapt to different situations." All Might grinned. "Isn't that right, young Bakugou?"

Sweat dropped from Midoriya's brow. I can't seem to tell if All Might really does think that way or if he just made that up on the spot to get Kacchan to participate…

But to his surprise, Bakugou slowly sat back in his seat, now looking a bit calmer than before.

Kacchan's buying it so easily?! Midoriya thought, blinking in shock.

All Might looked extremely pleased at this sudden unexpected development. He's already changing… bit by bit. Not quite there yet, of course, but he's only yet at the beginning.

"The next one will be the female lead actress!" All Might announced happily, taking out a piece of paper from the girls' box and reading its contents. "And it looks like the lucky girl—" A few of the guys coughed as quietly as they could at that part, causing Bakugou to glare daggers at them. "—is Uraraka Ochako!"

Uraraka was instantly snapped out of her trance. "H—Huh?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Bakugou being any girl's partner is going to be a nightmare," Sero said sympathetically.

"What was that, you shitty tape?!" Bakugou growled menacingly.

Mina gave Uraraka an empathetic look. "You can do this, Ochako!" she cheered quietly.

"U—Um…" Inadvertently, Uraraka sent a glance towards Midoriya. He seemed to be frozen stiff, his gaze unseeing. It was as if he was in shock. "I…" She swallowed and turned to All Might, plastering a smile on her face. She did not know why she felt so disappointed and a little nervous at the same time.

"I'll do my best, sensei!" she said in her best confident and cheerful voice.

All Might looked pleased. "That is wonderful to hear, Uraraka-san! I am satisfied that you seem excited about this!"

Uraraka slowly drooped back into her seat, wishing that she could tune out the slightly uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Her heart was beating a little faster than usual and it was making her sort of nauseous.

All Might proceeded to choose the rest of the cast. Basically, the highlight was going to be the masquerade ball wherein the main couple would dance the night away without even knowing that they were each other's love interests.

This infuriated Bakugou. "The fuck?! I ain't gonna do that shit! No fucking way!" he snarled. "You must be out of your fucking mind—"

"Now, now, young Bakugou," All Might attempted to console. "This will be good for you. You won't be the best hero if you don't even know a simple dance, am I right?"

Bakugou gritted his teeth. "Fucking… agh, forget it!" He slumped back into his seat, still grumbling complaints under his breath. "Fuckin' hate touchin' anybody…" His eyes narrowed as his gaze rested upon the one girl who was slowly, bit by bit, occupying his mind each day despite his best efforts. Even if it is her…

Bakugou suddenly wanted to explode himself right here in the classroom. Fuck! Just when I was gonna forget about that damn round-face!

Meanwhile, Uraraka swallowed. A dance…? For her, it was no big deal, but it seemed that Bakugou held a strong hatred against anything even remotely intimate. Was she going to survive through those days of practice?

Inadvertently, she glanced at Midoriya once more. This time, he was hastily scribbling down notes on his notebook, muttering things under his breath. He had been chosen to be the coordinator and scriptwriter of the play, so he was already working hard. Uraraka had no doubt that he would be good at his role.

She let out a brief exhale. I guess… he doesn't actually care.

tbc

Chapter Text

Practice finally came. When Uraraka stepped into the stage, Midoriya and All Might were already talking to the rest of the cast, apparently informing them of their roles and giving out the scripts.

When Uraraka received hers, she read through its contents.

The story was about a princess who, on a rainy night, found an unconscious, injured man in the streets. Because her parents were very strict, she secretly hid him away in her room, cleaned his injuries, and kept him warm. When the person awoke, he thanked her curtly and went on his way, the princess never seeing him again for months.

Then, one day, the grand masquerade ball came, and the princess didn't want any attention so she secretly dressed not in flashy clothes but in normal, plain threads. During the ball, while stumbling in the crowd, she tripped and landed on someone's foot. That someone was actually the man she helped back then.

He took her hand, led her to the center, and started to dance with her. The princess was not good at dancing, but the man was, so he was the one leading them both. The princess was surprised when the man suddenly thanked her and told her that he was grateful. Then, after the song ended, the man disappeared again and she couldn't find him anywhere no matter how hard she tried.

A week passed, and the king arranged an important diplomatic marriage for the princess. It was an arrangement that he had been planning for a while but the prince he was seeking for constantly refused to be engaged to his daughter. However, it seemed that the prince suddenly changed his mind.

The princess, being a good daughter, agreed without complaints. The king told her that her future husband was going to be waiting for her in the gardens. When the princess went to the said location, she found the man with the mask. Then he took it off, revealing his face, making her realize that he was the same man she tended to in the past. The princess cried in delight and hugged him. The end.

Uraraka was blushing the whole time she read the entire script. The romantic vibes were practically oozing from the story. Because she was totally inexperienced when it came to actual romance, she had absolutely no idea how she could pull this off.

"What the hell?!" Bakugou's unmistakable voice sounded not too far away from her. "The fuck is this, Deku?! Are you tryin' to make me kill you?!"

Midoriya shivered in response. "I—I—It was All Might's idea," he squeaked. "Since the play is going to be held on Valentine's Day, he wanted the story to be… um…"

"Super romantic, plus ultra!" All Might finished with a thumbs up, his teeth sparkling under the lights.

"More like super sappy, plus ultra," Kirishima muttered to himself.

Bakugou exploded. "THE FLYING FUCK—"

"Never mind that, young Bakugou. Do you know how to dance?" All Might prodded. "Your character in this script is brilliant at the waltz."

"Fuck… Of course I do!" Bakugou hissed. "I learned a few things from tutorial videos!"

"Great! You are truly very diligent, one worthy to become a great hero!"

That seemed to calm Bakugou down somewhat.

Uraraka, on the other hand, was swallowing down her nervousness. Acting all romantic with Bakugou-kun… Aaaahhhh, I can't even imagine it! What am I going to do?!

"Excuse me!" Kirishima exclaimed, raising his arm into the air and waving it enthusiastically. "Plot hole alert! What was the prince from another kingdom doing in the streets in the first place? Why was he injured?"

"Ah! About that…" Midoriya gave a nervous chuckle. "I was actually about to include it in the narration. It's because the prince's father, the king—"

"That's me, by the way~" Aoyama announced, his whole body sparkling with fervor.

"—has a lot of enemies since he's very strict and ruthless—"

"Oh my~" Aoyama frowned, his enthusiasm gone in an instant. "I am not fit for that kind of role. Non, non!"

"Ahaha, don't worry about it, Aoyama-san," Midoriya assured with a chuckle. "You won't be committing any ruthless acts or anything like that. Just look angry all the time!"

"…I still do not think I fit that role."

All Might coughed loudly. "Moving on…"

Midoriya snapped into attention. "Ah, right!" He immediately continued on from where he left off. "Everyone! We'll be starting with the scene wherein the princess finds the injured prince in the streets!"

"If there are no more questions," All Might exclaimed, "we will be starting practice!"

• • •

The practice was a disaster.

"I—I can't lift him, All Might!" Uraraka wailed, currently attempting to carry Bakugou on her back. "H—He's too heavy!"

"WHAT?!" Bakugou roared, his eyes snapping open from feigned unconsciousness. "It's your own damn fault that you don't exercise, you freaking fuckstick!"

"EXCUSE YOU!" Uraraka huffed, dropping him unceremoniously to the ground. "I'm not the one who's too fat!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY TO ME, YOU B—"

"CUT, CUT!"

After the grueling practice, Uraraka panted while arranging her things. Tsuyu offered to accompany her to the dorms, something which Uraraka was grateful for.

Meanwhile, while nobody was looking, Bakugou slipped into the men's restroom, washing his face repeatedly with water. As he finished, he glared at his reflection in the mirror.

Was it just his own imagination or were his ears still looking a little pink?

Fuck… It had taken everything I had to keep my composure in front of her, he cursed inside his head. That damn Uraraka… a stupid distraction I don't need…!

• • •

The second day of practice was awkward.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU MEAN I SHOULD STRIP?!"

Uraraka blushed a furious red.

"A—All Might…" Midoriya stammered, looking both flustered and scared at the same time. "I—Is this really necessary…?"

"Nonsense!" All Might insisted, laughing. "Young Bakugou, are you telling me that you don't know how to be professional? Are you not taking this seriously, hmm?"

That silenced Bakugou in an instant. On the inside, however, he was boiling in indignation.

THE FUCK?! OF COURSE I CAN BE PROFESSIONAL! he fumed internally. I'll show you! I'm going to be first place in everything that I do!

The rest of Class 1-A stared at the debacle in front of them, sweatdropping comically. Th—They're really into this…

You guys… Midoriya thought to himself with anime tears rolling down his face. It seems that I still have a long way to go before I fully learn your humble principles, All Might!

Yaoyorozu looked at them nervously. "It's just a play, you guys… There's no need to be competitive—"

"We will give it our all from now on, everyone!" All Might announced cheerfully.

"YES, All Might, sir!" Midoriya saluted.

"I'M GONNA MAKE THIS PLAY THE BEST OUT THERE!" Bakugou roared, taking off his shirt in the process. "LET'S START PRACTICING!"

"KYAAA~!" Uraraka hastily covered her eyes.

"THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR, ROUND-FACE?! COME HERE AND TREAT MY WOUNDS ALREADY!"

"OKAY, OKAY! J—J—JUST PUT A SHIRT ON, P—PLEASE!"

"THE FUCK—THAT'S NOT IN THE SCRIPT!"

• • •

The days passed by, and practice was going smoothly, surprisingly. Because of Bakugou's renewed confidence and dedication, he and Uraraka enacted the scenes with few problems despite the latter being awkward as to what she should do in certain situations. That was, shockingly, remedied by Bakugou who taught her — albeit begrudgingly — how to act in particular scenes.

He's really passionate when it comes to being first in every area, Uraraka mused to herself, smiling a little. I've always known that he's amazing whenever he's completely serious about something. She clenched her hands into fists and grinned widely in determination. I can do it too if I try! We can do this!

However, in practice this time, there was a rather strong obstacle awaiting them both.

I may have practiced my ass off for this, Bakugou thought to himself, but the problem is… Slowly, his gaze lowered to his hands. Can I even touch someone… without hurting them? He then directed his eyes towards his partner for the play who was currently memorizing her lines. And that someone just has to be that fucking round-faced Uraraka…

Blood rushed to his face and he immediately muttered angry curses under his breath, shaking his head vehemently to cool off the heat on his cheeks. Fuck, fuck, fuck, I don't need this right now! That little… I gotta immunize myself from that witch's deadly charms!

Suddenly, Uraraka felt a chill down her spine. Sweating slightly, she swallowed. Why do I get the feeling that someone's glaring at me so much…? Very, very slowly, she turned her head around and almost yelped when she saw Bakugou's furious red eyes drilling into her own. Yikes… s-scary…!

"All right, everyone!" All Might announced a little excitedly. "Get into positions! We'll be starting practice for the masquerade ball dance! Bakugou-kun, Uraraka-san! Make it as romantic as possible!" He flashed them a shiny, sparkling thumbs-up sign.

Bakugou's death glare never left Uraraka's face. "You'd better not mess this up, round-face."

Uraraka frowned. "I won't!" she exclaimed determinedly. Two can play at this game! "You'll see!"

"Bring it on!"

"Those two…" their classmates muttered. "They're competing over everything possible…"

Mina chuckled. "I have to say that I've never seen Uraraka this way before! She isn't afraid of Bakugou at all!"

Hagakure giggled along with her. "It is a bit refreshing to watch."

"But you know…" Tsuyu spoke up as Bakugou and Uraraka stood before each other, dressed in their respective formal clothing for the masquerade scene. "…they do look kind of good together."

The others' comments about that were drowned out by the sound of All Might's voice.

"Okay!" he said. "Now put your hands around each other!"

Uraraka was about to do just that when she suddenly saw Bakugou flinch. "Bakugou-kun?" she spoke up, puzzled. His posture had seemed to turn rigid.

At the sound of her worried voice, Bakugou's eyes flared defensively. "What are you sounding so concerned for?!" he snapped, concealing his embarrassment. "Hurry it up! You're delaying practice!"

Uraraka pouted. "Okay, okay, grumpy pants…" she muttered under her breath, plopping her hands on his broad shoulders. Whoooah, he's so fit! she marveled a little. I bet I could gain these kind of muscles when I start working on a daily exercise routine…

While Uraraka was momentarily in her own little world, Bakugou was trying his absolute best to keep the blood from rushing to his face. Because Uraraka was preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't notice Bakugou's whole body stiffening into a rock.

Bakugou's head was spinning, a myriad of emotions rising up and bubbling in his chest. Normally, he's get extremely uncomfortable and sensitive whenever someone touched him physically. Granted, he had held it in as well as he could when Uraraka carried him on his back and when she dabbed at his "wounds" with a cloth…

But when the time came that he'd be the one to initiate physical contact…

Never before in his life had he touched someone gently and intimately before. Whenever he touched something, it was usually with the intent to explode.

But now, he had to control his quirk not to possibly hurt somebody.

It was rattling… and kind of terrifying in a way.

Swallowing, he, very slowly, placed his hand on her hip, and with his other hand, he grabbed the one which was gripping his left shoulder. The action startled Uraraka out of her thoughts, causing her eyes to widen in surprise.

He forced himself to glare at her despite being extremely uncomfortable and apprehensive at the same time.

"We're doing the waltz, aren't we?" he said, annoyed. "We have to hold hands."

"A—Ah..." Uraraka stammered, unsure as to why her cheeks were tingling. "Ahehe… sorry about that! Wow, you sure know a lot, Bakugou-kun!"

There it was again. His traitorous heart was skipping several beats. "Of course I do," he managed to say, barely containing the heat flowing into his ears. "I practiced like hell for this."

"That's great!" Uraraka laughed, her odd nervousness slowly disappearing. Why would she be nervous, anyway? It was just Bakugou. "Teach me a lot, Bakugou-sensei!" She gently squeezed his hand, an action that seemed to surprisingly quell the uncomfortable feeling in his veins.

"You fucking bet I will," he responded, and it somehow did not surprise him one bit when the tone that came out of his voice contained no annoyance.

Maybe, if it's her… he thought to himself grudgingly. I can get used to it.

His red eyes inadvertently peered at something behind Uraraka.

It was Midoriya. It seemed like he was trying his hardest not to stare at them. Bakugou should feel satisfied at least that he was currently, in a way, winning over Midoriya, but strangely, he felt nothing.

Perhaps it was because he felt that no matter what he did… Midoriya would always be the winner.

Because the girl that dumb idiot liked already liked him back.

And Bakugou felt that this was the only thing he'd ever let Midoriya win over him.

Because from the start, he already had no chance at all.

tbc

Chapter Text

Finally, the awaited week of the festival arrived.

"Yayy!" Sero cheered. "We get to have fun all week!"

"Don't count on it," Kaminari sighed dejectedly. "Aizawa-sensei's giving us heaps of assignments."

"Awww…" Sero, Mineta, and Kirishima bowed their heads in depression.

"Better to finish them all by tonight if you lazy asses want to enjoy the entire week," Bakugou said flatly as he rose from his seat, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Oh, Bakugou!" Kirishima exclaimed, grinning as he put an arm around the former's shoulder. "Hey, man, you ready for your romantic play?"

"Ooooh~" Sero and Kaminari teased.

"Get your fucking arm off me," Bakugou growled, shrugging off the unwanted touch.

Kirishima, too used to this kind of attitude, continued to grin at him. "So, how's it going with you and Uraraka?"

"Don't curse at her too much!" Kaminari said. "She's a girl, you know."

"So what if she's a fucking girl?" Bakugou snapped. "She ain't someone who'd cry at that sort of thing, stupids."

Kaminari pouted. "But you never know~ she might be crying alone at night because of all the mean things you say to her."

Bakugou frowned at him, severely unimpressed. "Your imagination sucks," he said flatly, shoving him aside in the process with his shoulder as he walked past.

Meanwhile, Uraraka, on the other hand, was practicing the lines in her head as she arranged the things on her desk.

"Wanna go exploring with us, Ochako-chan?" Tsuyu asked.

Uraraka was snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah!" She gave a light laugh. "Sure, let's go!"

"You've been working hard," Tsuyu praised as they strolled down the halls. Mina was chatting about something with Hagakure and Yaoyorozu, too engaged in the conversation to interject. "How has it been, practicing with Bakugou?"

"He's a good partner!" Uraraka responded. "He has helped me out a lot, especially in the ballroom scene! He knows a lot about the waltz."

Tsuyu stared at her for a moment. "Then, you don't think he's a jerk?" she said bluntly.

"Huh?" Uraraka blinked. "Um, not really… Well, to be honest, he is a little coarse on the outside…"

Tsuyu listened to her patiently, noting the small glimmer in her friend's eyes.

"Once you really get to understand him," Uraraka continued on, the words just spilling out of her mouth on their own, "you discover that there are more sides to him than you'd expect."

Tsuyu blinked slowly, nodding her head. "Are you saying, Ochako-chan, that you understand him?"

"Hmm, kinda?" Uraraka looked thoughtful for a moment. "He's actually not so bad, you know. He can be nice in his own way, too!"

"I see… Ochako-chan." Tsuyu looked at her in the eyes. "If you go in too deep, you might realize and lose something at the same time," she advised. "I won't tell you to be careful, but…" She smiled, almost mysteriously. "I truly think that if you follow your heart, you'll be fine."

Uraraka's expression was painted with confusion. "Tsuyu-chan…?"

"Come on, Ochako-chan," Tsuyu said, holding her by the arm. "Mina-chan and the others are already ahead."

"O—Okay…" Uraraka followed after her friend, still confused.

What did Tsuyu's words mean?

• • •

Bakugou Katsuki could not believe his ears.

"You want me to fucking do what?!"

Uraraka grinned at him sunnily.

"Do the spicy noodle challenge with me!"

"Fuck NO!" Bakugou shouted, his cheeks turning a furious red against his will. "I ain't doing shit with you! Go bother someone else—"

Uraraka obviously took his blush for a mixture of embarrassment and suppressed excitement at the thought of something spicy. Without further ado, she grabbed his arm and started dragging him away.

Bakugou instinctively flinched at the contact and the audacious invasion of his personal space.

"Leggo of me!" he protested, trying to wriggle his arm away from her weakly. Oddly, he felt a little sluggish all of a sudden.

Fuck, this was so unlike him! She was definitely casting a spell on him. That damned witch...

Uraraka tightened her grip on him, still smiling enthusiastically. "Come on, Bakugou-kun! I know you love spicy things. Kirishima told me so!" She laughed in triumph, already envisioning her victory. "Now let's go and win those free packs of meat!"

"You shitty — wait, you fucking mean to say that we're doing this for meat?!"

"Not just meat! There's free cake, too!"

"What the fuck is with you and cakes?!"

"Hey, it's because it's my dad's birthday next week, okay?!"

"ARGH, FUCK MY LIFE—"

"Don't worry, Bakugou-kun. I'll give you a pack of meat so that you can get something good out of this!"

"I DON'T FUCKING WANT IT, YOU BITCH!"

• • •

In the end, Uraraka managed to coerce Bakugou into entering the noodle restaurant booth with her. He was a bit calmer now, but he kept on muttering creative curses under his breath and turning various shades of red.

He must be secretly so excited for this challenge, Uraraka thought to herself happily. Don't worry, Bakugou-kun. We'll win this!

(In truth, even though she wanted to win the prizes, her stomach couldn't handle spicy food, hence why she chose Bakugou.)

"We're here to do the spicy noodle challenge!" Uraraka told the girl behind the register.

"Okay," the woman said cheerfully. She was probably a senior. "Are you two a couple?"

Bakugou's head was about to explode from shock.

"Ah, yes~" Uraraka said jovially, unceremoniously wrapping her arms around Bakugou's, her mind focused solely on getting the meat and free cake. Besides, they were romantic partners in the play. There was no problem.

"What the f—" Bakugou was about to go into an angry outburst when Uraraka suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth, giving him a brief stare.

"# $ #%$^#$^?!" Bakugou's irate voice was comically muffled against her palm. ("The fuck is with you, woman?!")

He would, however, never admit how soft her skin felt against his face.

"Um, is something wrong?" the woman asked, puzzled over their strange behaviour.

"I—It's nothing!" Uraraka laughed nervously, wasting no time in removing her hand from Bakugou's mouth and then effortlessly clasping his hand instead. "My boyfriend is just very excited to do this challenge! Ahahaha…"

"Oh, I see!" the woman said, grinning widely in understanding. "You two are so cute. Come, let's go to that table over there and set you up."

Bakugou was about to protest once more when he suddenly caught sight of Uraraka's expression and stopped short.

She was smiling. Not that it was anything new since she was generally pretty easy to get along with in the first place, but the grin she currently had on seemed a lot different from her usual ones. This time, she looked so enthusiastic and happy that Bakugou had to blink his eyes multiple times in mild surprise.

Something light and soft rose in his chest. He knew what this feeling was, having felt it a few times before, but he still couldn't admit it to himself.

How could she keep on making him feel this way?

...Maybe it won't be so bad… Bakugou thought to himself almost absently as he turned his gaze away from her.

First, they had to wait for the noodles to be served. Bakugou slumped himself into the seat across from Uraraka. The lady looked at him in mild confusion.

"Um, sir," she spoke a little hesitantly, "you're supposed to sit next to your girlfriend since there's only one pair of chopsticks…"

Bakugou choked on his spit. "What did you just f—"

"AHAHAHA!" Uraraka suddenly exclaimed, swooshing into the seat next to Bakugou which was facing the window. She clamped a hand on his open mouth once again, still laughing nervously. "Please don't mind him! He's a little too grumpy today. I'm really sorry…"

When the girl left them alone (but not without casting them one last odd look), Uraraka whisked her head towards Bakugou.

"Bakugou-kun, don't blow our cover!" she whined. "I'm paying for all this, you know! If we just pretend to be a couple until the end, I can get a 50% discount!"

"But why the fuck a couple of all things—"

"If you can act like I'm the only girl you see back in our practices for the play, then you can act like I'm your girlfriend just for this moment," Uraraka hissed, her mind set on the cake she'd be getting once she won. Bakugou could win it for her, no problem. She'd get her father the strawberry cake she knew he loved so much.

Bakugou suddenly, unexpectedly turned his head away from her, his cheeks and ears flaming red. He was slowly mumbling something that she couldn't hear.

She leaned closer to him immediately, trying to catch his words.

"…wasn't acting…"

"Bakugou-kun?" she inquired, not understanding.

As if only realizing just now that she was so near him, he jolted in his seat, growling obscenities in his shock.

" #% $%! Get the fuck away from me!" he snapped, scooting away from her quickly.

"Hey, don't move away or they'll think we're not—" Uraraka suddenly stopped short.

Bakugou raised an eyebrow at her unusual action. Then, realizing that she was staring at something, he followed her gaze and gritted his teeth at what he saw.

Of course. Of course it had to be that damn bastard Deku.

Uraraka suddenly stood up from her seat, her expression taking on something akin to panic.

"U—Um… since the noodles might take a while…" she told him a little nervously and hastily. "I need to go to the restroom for a bit. Bye!"

And just like that, she left.

Bakugou frowned. She walked away so fast. Was she that embarrassed to be seen around with him? He directed a glare towards Midoriya who was checking out the restaurant from the window.

She should've just went here with him and not me.

With that, Bakugou stood up from his seat, placing his hands inside his pockets.

tbc

Chapter Text

first part

 In the restroom, Uraraka splashed her face with water and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

What’s wrong with me…? she thought to herself dubiously. Why should I care if Deku-kun is there…?

Why…

She clenched her fists.

…do I not want him to get the wrong idea about me and Bakugou-kun?

After a few minutes of internally debating with herself, she took a deep breath, put on a wide smile, and walked out of the restroom.

Bakugou-kun must be waiting for me—

“Oof!”

Uraraka rubbed her forehead, her mouth already saying an apology as her head lifted to see the person she had bumped into.

“Bakugou-kun!” she exclaimed in surprise.

To her confusion, Bakugou didn’t say anything, only opting on giving her a steely stare.

"Wh—What are you doing here?" Uraraka said, blinking slowly as apprehension gripped her chest. She refrained from clenching her hands into fists; she didn't even know why she was acting like this. Her mind inadvertently wandered back towards Midoriya.

This shyness over Deku, this longing... is it really...?

Wait, stop thinking about him!

Bakugou stared at her for a long moment. Uraraka swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. Somehow, it became hard to keep his gaze. Had his eyes always looked that intense before? She never noticed. She hadn't really paid attention to that sort of thing.

Or maybe she had, because that look in his eyes seemed sort of familiar.

Was it when they were dancing? No... he hardly even gazed at her. He seemed to be too busy perfecting his movements.

Then was it while she cleaned his "wounds"? No... he barely looked at her even then...

Come to think of it, now that her brain was pondering over it deeply, she remembered that he only looked at her this way one time when she threw herself in his arms...

 During practice:

"And this is the part when the princess hugs the prince out of sheer joy!" All Might declared passionately. "Young Uraraka! Young Bakugou! Please do your best!"

Bakugou rubbed the back of his head, messing his already-unruly blond hair. "No need to tell me that!" he grumbled.

Meanwhile, Uraraka pouted as she pondered over the scene. She would give it her all, no doubt, but the problem was... would Bakugou really catch her? What if he suddenly decided to be all nasty and step back when she jumped into his arms? Uraraka's mind whirled with strategies. If worse comes to worse... I'll have no choice but to use my quirk!

"Round-face," Bakugou said impatiently, "get ready. You'd better not mess this up."

The warning tone in his voice made Uraraka bristle. "For the nth time, I'm always doing my best!" she remarked hotly. "Don't tell me what to do."

"I wouldn't have a problem with this if you weren't so heavy—"

"EXCUSE ME?! Why you — how can you say that to a girl?!"

"I could care less if you're a girl," Bakugou shot back, irritated. "If you're heavy, you're heavy. Deal with it!"

"Say WHAT—"

"Ahh, Uraraka-san!" Midoriya interjected quickly, coming between the two of them in an instant. "Kacchan, let's just focus on the play for a while, okay...?"

Bakugou seemed to be seething. "Don't interfere, Deku! You're always in the way!"

"Hiiiiiccckk—!" Midoriya cried out in horror.

"Bakugou, c'mon," Kirishima said with a sigh. "The festival's next week already, and we still gotta practice during that week as well. Let's do this quickly and go home."

"Where's Iida, anyway?" Ashido remarked, sighing. "He could've joined Kirishima with the scolding."

"He has council meetings during this time, remember?" Kaminari said beside her. "Besides, Iida doesn't have much of a role in this play. He's only a side character whose scenes are pretty few in between."

"They must be planning a lot of activities for the festival," Hagakure commented. "Iida's pretty busy these days. I heard that he even enlisted Todoroki and Yaoyorozu's help today."

"I wonder what for?" Asui pondered.

"I think it has something to do with both the decorations and the organizing as well as the funds," Jirou spoke up. "Yaomomo's willing to donate for the festival, and Todoroki is willing to help out with some of the highlights."

"Like what?" Ashido asked curiously.

Jirou smirked. "Like the ice skating rink."

The girls instantly squealed in delight. "How romantic!"

Sensing a disarray, All Might clapped his hands together. "All right, that's enough!" he declared. "We'll be starting the scene now!"

Uraraka took a deep breath, then stepped out the gardens.

Since this was the first time they were going to be enacting this scene, All Might knew that both of them needed to get a feel of the atmosphere. So Uraraka let herself look around and marvel at the garden, filled with beautiful-looking plastic and paper flowers. Their classmates really outdid themselves with the props. The lighting was good, too. It appeared ethereal, as if she were out under the hazy sunlight itself.

Then she spotted him. Bakugou was standing by the bushes a few feet away from her, his hands in his pockets. His back was facing her, and his spiky blond hair was flowing slightly with the artificial wind the fans were giving.

Uraraka gulped, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. There was just something different, something foreign in the air, about the idea of Bakugou standing there, waiting for her. The Bakugou she knew would never wait for anyone, unless it was something of importance. And she had never been anyone of significance to him; that just made it all seem so weird and tantalizing at the same time.

When she approached him tentatively, she saw his body stiffen as he sensed her light footsteps. Then, very slowly, he faced her slightly as if he were afraid to turn towards her completely.

Uraraka felt her chest constrict.

The mask hiding Bakugou's was the only barrier that kept their gazes from meeting. When he lifted his hand to take it off, All Might's voice suddenly shook the silent, eager atmosphere.

"Cut!!"

"Awwwww!" Class 1-A chorused. Bakugou's hand fell to his side limply, and Uraraka let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"But it was just getting to the good part!" Kaminari pouted.

"Why did you make them stop, sensei?" Asui inquired.

"Because," All Might reasoned, sending a furtive glance towards the pair on stage, "the two of them... were too tense."

"Huh? Really?" Ashido said in confusion. "They looked really into the scene to me!"

"What you did not notice, Young Ashido," All Might responded, shaking a finger, "was that Uraraka was approaching him like she already knew him, and that Bakugou's fingers were shaking, especially when he tried to take off his mask."

"Say WHAT now!!?" Bakugou exclaimed, forgetting that his mask still on place.

"Aw, Bakugou," Sero teased. "Were you nervous?"

"I understand, Bakugou," Kaminari said in agreement, nodding his head in satisfaction. "I would be nervous if I were about to be hugged by Uraraka, too!"

Uraraka's face bloomed into a shade of red.

Bakugou exploded. "Shut it, you two freaks!" he roared in anger, causing Sero and Kaminari to sweat profusely at his rage. "I ain't used to this yet, all right?! Bunch of mocking fuckers—"

"Language, young Bakugou," All Might admonished.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Bakugou muttered, slowly taking the mask off his face.

"We will start the scene once more!" All Might announced, clapping his hands.

Uraraka heard All Might's words, but it drifted into the air, not really registering inside her mind. She was too preoccupied in her thoughts.

I should do better this time...

Feeling a pair of eyes fixed on her from her peripheral vision, she sent a sideway glance towards Bakugou, who was still standing there, his hand that was holding the mask frozen down his chin.

Her breath caught in her throat as those red eyes of his seemed to be piercing through her soul.

He had never looked at her this way before...

And why... was her heart suddenly pounding like crazy?

 tbc