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“I never want to hear you complain about how long it takes me to get ready ever again,” Ochako snickered as she tapped her foot in mock impatience.
Deku was going to be ticked when they got there kind of late, but she’d say it would be worth it for what she was seeing. God, she wished she had a camera. Bakugo’s face of pure focus as he pasted on another silicone wound, eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinted, was just something to be savored. She was sure Deku would understand later.
Bakugo grunted at her and cut his eye to her for a minute in a sneer before focusing again on the fake gash and reaching for the face paint. “I’m not going with some half-assed costume like the rest of the losers did last year. Someone needs to fucking show them how hard you’re supposed to go on Halloween,” he griped as he checked his shading. He gave it an approving nod before grabbing the fake blood.
Their graduating class got together once a year for Halloween to catch up and have fun. They took turns hosting at each other’s houses, and last year it was her and Bakugo’s turn. Probably their final year as well with how into Halloween Bakugo got. He always complained about how no one ever did Halloween “right”, which apparently to Bakugo meant horrifically terrifying. Like those next level haunted houses that you had to sign legal waivers for.
Suffice to say, their names were quickly struck off the list, especially after Denki got so scared he shorted out the whole block.
This year was Deku and Todoroki’s turn and they’d expressly said to keep it PG. Bakugo hadn’t wanted to go, but it only took a few puppy-eyed please’s for him to cave and grumbling agree. It took way more to get him to agree to a couple’s costume though. He’d said it was sappy and lame but she had her ways to get him to agree to that, too.
With a bit of compromise at least.
“You remember they said PG right,” she hummed as she watched Bakugo give himself a once over to make sure every gruesome detail popped and oozed the way he wanted it to.
“Hm? Can’t hear you over your lameness. Also wondering when you became such a pansy. Been hanging around the nerd too much.”
“Some of our friends may bring their kids.”
“S’not my problem they’re gonna be wimps and babies about it,” Bakugo grunted. He gave himself a satisfied nod before grabbing his ragged, black tuxedo jacket.
“Bakugo, some of them are babies.” The only reply she got was a derisive snort.
They were going as a zombie bride and groom. It combined her want for a couple’s costume with his desire to be terrifying at all times. She’d only worn light make-up with a little face paint to give her a green-gray parlor and some fake blood painted around her neck and face. Bakugo may as well be actually rotting from the inside out. He’d bought a special effects makeup kit just so he looked as good, or as bad, as possible.
The tuxedo and wedding dress were simple outfits that she’d found at a thrift store. Bakugo used his quirk to rough the garments up and voíla. It also acted as a not-so-subtle hint to an upcoming announcement. The thought of it caused a soft smile to cross Ochako’s face. She looked down at her hand, admiring the very real ring on her finger.
It would be her first time wearing it out.
“Maybe we should add more blood to your dre-” Bakugo turned and felt his heart stutter in his chest at the look on Ochako’s face. Cheeks flushed sweet pink through the face paint and eyes sparkling down at her hand. She had her veil pulled back and the lace of it was framing her face and waving slightly from the air conditioning.
She blinked and snapped out of her thoughts at his voice, turning her brown doe eyes to him. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“Nothin’,” Bakugo coughed out, glancing away. He nervously adjusted his collar as he took brief looks back and forth at her. “You look decent enough is all.” Ochako couldn’t see the blush through all the faux gore on his face but the reddening tips of his ears always gave him away.
“You look horrific,” she chirped with a bright smile. Bakugo snorted out a laugh as they walked out of their house.
Since Deku and Todoroki’s house was just a block over, they didn’t see much point in driving the short distance. As soon as they were out the doorway, Bakugo slung his arm over Ochako’s shoulders and kept her on the side further away from the road. A few minutes later, they were knocking on Deku’s door.
She bounced in her heels excited to see her friend and his family and to finally catch up on so much that’s happened. Despite being neighbors, their lives were usually too hectic to see each other between their jobs and other personal obligations. She missed Deku so much but couldn’t begrudge him. After all Deku and Todoroki finally got a ch-
“Auntie Ocha!” An exuberant cry shouted from the other side of the door before it swung open as a frizzy-haired child launched straight into Ochako.
“Riku! Oh, you’ve gotten so big!” She cooed as the child giggled and began a tangent about how excited they were and about their costume. A vampire ghost apparently because it was cool and Riku wanted to match both of Deku and Todoroki’s costumes. Fake fangs hung loosely and lopsided in the giggling child's mouth and white, blotchy face paint covered their face while they wore a loose white sheet over the rest of their clothes for the ghostly effect.
“Riku! I told you to wait for me or your Dad before opening the door!” Deku scolded, rounding the corner after the child. Riku squealed and jumped away from clinging to Ochako and into Deku’s waiting arms instead.
Bakugo snorted at the antics. “If you’re gonna be such a worrywart shouldn’t you keep a better eye on your kid, Deku?”
And suddenly, like a spell breaking, the entire mood changed.
Now that Riku was in Deku’s arms, and Bakugo had opened his big mouth, Riku looked up at Bakugo and all his gory glory. After a brief moment of silence, they let out an ear-piercing scream, making Deku flinch, before breaking out into terrified sobs. Bakugo even jerked back at the reaction. Deku quickly turned and carried Riku away, shushing and whispering soothing words to calm them down, leaving the door open for Bakugo and Ochako.
“Told you.”
“Sh-Shut up.”
“Kaachan! We told everyone that kids would be here! Why would you dress like that!” Deku shouted from somewhere inside as the couple stepped inside and closed the door behind them.
“It’s not my fault your brat’s a coward,” Bakugo sneered. However, he didn’t go further into the house than the entryway. Ochako suspected he didn’t want to spook Riku, whose sniffles and sobs could still be heard, again.
“Riku is four, Bakugo,” another voice sighed tiredly as Todoroki poked his head out of the kitchen to try and figure out why his child was wailing. He peeked around the hallway corner at Deku and Riku before looking back at Bakugo, eyebrows furrowed. “There will be other kids here, kids younger than Riku. What the hell were you thinking?”
“How the fuck is it my fault that your wimpy kid can’t look at someone with some paint on their face without crying?”
Ochako sighed as Bakugo and Todoroki began arguing back and forth and chose to ignore Bakugo threatening to explode Todoroki’s face after Todoroki demanded Bakugo wash some of the paint off or have it burned or frozen off.
“Riku~” Ochako cooed as she walked into the living room where Deku cradled the child who was hiding their face in his chest. “It’s okay, Riku. Uncle Baka didn’t mean to scare you!” Deku gave Ochako a tired smile. Riku squirmed but otherwise ignored her. “I know his face is scary but Halloween is the one time a year his outside can match his inside!”
Deku snorted before raising a hand to cover his mouth and behind her, in the hall, she could hear Bakugo going “Hey!”. Riku, however, finally peeked up at Ochako with wide eyes. “Uncle Baka always looks like that?”
Ochako snickered. “Oh yes!” Served Bakugo right after all. “You know how hard it is to be a hero from your Dads, right? Well, a few too many lucky shots to the face and well…”
“Ochako,” Bakugo growled, closer to the living room now but still staying out of sight.
Riku flinched back a bit but their eyes stayed on Ochako.“So Uncle Baka’s always been a zombie? Is that what Papa means when he calls him brainless?” Deku’s shoulders began to shake and he failed to keep his laughter in check.
A small explosion went off behind them as Todoroki sped walked in with a smug look.“That’s right, Riku, so no need to be scared, he just takes his mask off for Halloween,” Todoroki reassured after taking a seat next to Deku to talk to their child.
Riku looked skeptically at Deku who was still snickering. Deku then nodded at Riku, confirming the ‘truth’ of Bakugo’s Zombie nature. “Yeah, he used to chase me around all the time saying he was gonna ‘beat my brains’ out, but he got over it in middle school. He’s a reformed undead hero now.”
“I hate all of you,” Bakugo grumbled as he inched into the room.
“Shh,” Ochako shushed.
Riku’s eyes darted to Bakugo immediately and it was dead silent again. Ochako thought it was endearing to see her gorey boyfriend look so nervous to be appraised by a four-year-old. Riku suddenly jumped out of Deku’s lap and squealed. They rushed and ran around Bakugo, exclaiming ‘how awesome’ he was and asked numerous questions about what brains tasted like and if Bakugo wanted to eat Deku’s brain ‘cause he was so smart. Bakugo played along, drinking up the praise like the vain boy he was.
“I told you we should have made Iida the godfather,” Todoroki sighed.
“Bakugo needs the practice more,” Deku reasoned, though it was a weak defense.
“God,” Ochako muttered dazedly, absorbed in the image of Bakugo and Riku playing now as if nothing happened. “I can’t believe I’m marrying that idiot.”
Deku and Todoroki’s heads snapped to her.
“You’re getting married!”
“My condolences.”