Work Text:
“Tomorrow at five, then?”
“Tch. That’s fine by me.”
His brows were furrowed with a glare and his arms were crossed defensively as he looked at you, but you were so happy that Bakugou didn’t just reject you, you hardly noticed.
“R-Really?” you asked, staring up at him as a bright smile threatened to take over your face. “We can meet at the park by the pond! I have the perfect set up.”
Earlier that day, Ashido had helped you plan out the perfect picnic date with Bakugou. You went out to buy a gingham blanket, a vintage picnic basket, and an assortment of meats and cheeses for the sandwiches.
It was going to be perfect.
“You have a whole set up for this?” Katsuki’s face was the mixture of confusion and anger you had grown to love.
“Of course! I’ve been planning this for a while,” you admitted shyly, toying with the hem of your shirt. “I honestly can’t wait to take you out.”
His eye twitched. “What?”
You peered at him through your lashes. “Huh?”
“What did you just say?”
“I said that I can’t wait to take you out.” You tilted your head slightly to the side as Bakugou furrowed his nose up. Scratching the back of your head, you laughed nervously, “Sorry– Was that too forward?”
“Take me out?” he repeated, voice growing louder as his expression became more and more incredulous. “Listen here, pipsqueak. I don’t know where you got that idea, but I’m going to be the one taking you out!”
You blinked.
Katsuki glowered.
“No, I don’t think so,” you said slowly. You heard a series of sparks coming from his hands, but you simply giggled. “I’m the one who asked you. And the one who set this whole thing up. Plus, I’ve been planning this for a while now! It’s definitely me who is taking you out, Bakugou.”
“Why, you little–!”
“But it’s okay,” you quickly amended, giving his cheek a small pat as his whole face turned a bright red. “If you really want to so badly, I’ll let you take me out the following time.”
“Let me?”
You nodded.
Gradually, Bakugou’s growl transformed into a challenging smile as he bared his teeth. His eyes were filled with something that looked like a combination of begrudging respect and outright annoyance.
“Tch. You have some nerve, Y/L/N,” he barked with a rough laugh. Katsuki shook his head. “Fine, I’ll humor you. Tomorrow at five, right? Don’t be late.”
You beamed, happy your biggest crush actually agreed to go on a date with you.
“I can’t wait!”
- - - - -
“Is my outfit okay?” you asked Mina, biting your bottom lip in worry as you smoothed out your shirt for the umpteenth time.
“Yes, you look hot, Y/N! Stop being so nervous,” she said, giving you a once over with a quick thumbs up. “It’s still only Bakugou after all.”
You huffed. “Easy for you to say! He might be ‘only Bakugou’ to you. But to me, he’s a long time crush I never thought I’d have an actual chance with.”
There was a little less than an hour before your first date with Katsuki and you couldn’t stop pacing around your room. You ran through your picnic checklist so many times, you were certain you could now recite it by heart.
“I just hope he likes me back,” you said, tugging at the dainty chain of your necklace.
“He’d be foolish not to.” Ashido propped herself up by her arms as she laid on your bed, staring thoughtfully at the wall behind you. “Plus, he did agree to go on this date with you, right? So he must like you at least a little bit.”
You felt yourself relax at her words, but still couldn’t stop yourself from wandering about.
“I guess you’re right,” you sighed. “Thanks, Mina.”
“I am right!” she agreed, jumping up from your bed and handing you the picnic basket. “Now, go leave already! You know how Bakugou always shows up early to everything. You don’t want him there before you.”
You checked the time and swore under your breath. Giving your outfit another glance in the mirror for the last time, you waved a nervous goodbye to Mina and headed out the door.
Dashing over to the nearby park with a picnic basket around your arm, you prayed to the stars above you wouldn’t screw anything up.
By the time you arrived there, it was a half hour before five. If you were lucky, you would have a good ten minutes to set up before Bakugou arrived. You quickly got to work, laying out the gingham blanket and preparing the sparkling cider and appetizers.
As you finished laying out the picnic, you smiled to yourself at the job well done.
Katsuki will love this! you hoped.
On cue, you spotted the angry-looking blond sauntering over to your spot next to the pond.
“Bakugou! Hi,” you called with a wave, smiling brightly despite the bundle of nerves in your stomach.
“Hmph.”
As he drew nearer, you noticed his casual attire. He had on gym shorts and a muscle tee. It was a stark contrast from your flowy, floral outfit, but Katsuki looked good in anything so you didn’t mind.
“Are you ready for this, pipsqueak?” he asked gruffly before giving you a once over. As he took in your dressed up attire, he narrowed his eyes. “That’s what you’re wearing?”
Your cheeks heated in embarrassment. So much for Ashido’s advice. “Is… Is it too much? I knew I should’ve gone with a less flowery outfit, but Mina said this one looked better. B-But maybe I did go a little overboard, especially considering how casual you look… I didn’t realize–”
As you voiced your dilemma, Katsuki’s face grew more and more confused. He looked around at the scenery of the park, then down to the food laid across the red woven blanket.
“The hell are you going off about?” he interrupted, the harshness of his voice not quite matching the uncertainty in his eyes, but still biting nevertheless. “What is all of this?”
You blinked, taken aback by his rudeness. Bakugou wasn’t exactly what you would call a politeperson, but you knew he was capable of manners at the very least.
And, yes, perhaps a small part of you thought he would be a little more speechless when he saw you dressed up like this. That maybe he would want to show you a softer, sweeter side of him no one else got to see.
But that didn’t seem to be the case.
Instead, he was cold and angry and looked like he couldn’t believe the sight around him.
You sniffed, throat feeling tight as you folded your arms defiantly and looked him straight in the eye despite the tremble in your lower lip.
“This was supposed to be a nice picnic with your favorite foods, you jerk!”
Katsuki turned to face you sharply, bewilderment evident as he furrowed his brows. “What?”
“If you didn’t want to come, you could’ve just said no, Bakugou,” you said, fighting back hurt tears. “You could’ve saved me from all this effort if you were just going to come and act like you’d rather be anywhere else.”
His eyes widened when he noticed the glassy sheen in yours. “I don’t–”
“I was so excited, you know? And not even because the mentaiko tastes amazing! I just wanted to get to know you a little more.” You dug the point of your shoe into the gravel beneath you. “But instead you show up looking like you’re ready for a fight and–”
You stopped yourself in your tracks, wiping away a stray tear as you eyed the gym bag by his feet.
“And… Why do you look like you’re ready to fight someone?”
He blinked at your stunned silence.
“What do you mean why!? You said you were going to take me out, baka,” Katsuki grumbled, running his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’m here to prove I’m the one who will take youout. But now you’re talking about your feelings and a picnic as if this was supposed to be a date or something–”
Realization dawned on his face as he abruptly cut himself off. Bakugou briefly shut his eyes, muttering a quiet swear.
“Fuck.” He shook his head. “Was this– Is this supposed to be a date?”
A flush of heat crept up your cheeks as your brain registered the hopeless misunderstanding. You cleared your throat, ignoring the complete humiliation you felt.
“What else did you think I meant when I said I want to take you out?” you cried in disbelief. “That I wanted to meet in you in the park at night for a fist fight?”
When you said it aloud, it sounded even more ridiculous. He thought you meant take him out– With your fists?
You weren’t sure whether you wanted to laugh at the audacity or cry at the embarrassment.
“What the fuck, Bakugou?” you barked, unable to hold in your laughter.
His face turned a bright red as he folded his arms at your chuckles. “How was I supposed to know when you never used the actual fucking word even once!?”
“I was nervous, you jerk!”
You both stared at each other stock-still before you burst out into giggles. Even Bakugou couldn’t stop the smirk on his face as he scoffed.
“Baka.” He rolled his eyes.
After your amusement died down, you turned to face him, fingers toying with the pendant on your necklace.
“Well, now that you know this was supposed to be a date… You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” you said nervously. “You probably wouldn’t have said yes if not for the confusion–” You bite your lower lip as you faltered at his intense gaze. “I won’t be offended, or anything! I’ll just pack this up.”
There was a deafening silence as you reached to place the container of fruit back in the woven basket. When you grabbed it, you felt a large hand covering yours to stop you from moving.
You almost jolted at the spark.
“Don’t be an idiot,” Bakugou mumbled, pulling his hand away so quickly that if it weren’t for the lingering heat, you would never have known it was there in the first place. “You prepared all this food. It’d be stupid to let it go to waste.”
Katsuki avoided your gaze as he took a seat on the picnic blanket.
You watched him, speechless.
“Well?” he said gruffly, offering you a bundle of grapes.
Almost cautiously, you took a seat next to him, taking a grape and plopping it into your mouth.
“You… You’re staying? Even if it’s a date?”
He grunted.
A small smile broke out on your face. “Thank you,” you said softly.
“Tch. Why are you saying thank you, baka? This is only because I don’t want to waste the food,” he lied through his teeth, cheeks pinkening as he looked away.
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
“Hmph.”
“Maybe after the food, I can show you how even dressed in this, I’ll still be the one to take you out.”
Katsuki glanced up at you in surprise, lips quirking into a challenging grin as his fiery eyes met the intense gaze in yours.
He barked out a laugh before shaking his head. “Fine. But don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because we’re on a date.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”