Chapter Text
February 15th, 2019
D-364 until Valentine’s Day
Bakugou Katsuki was many things - talented, smart, abrasive, the list goes on - but unprepared had never been one of them.
That was, until yesterday.
Yesterday, when his month-long boyfriend - shit that felt so embarrassing to say - Todoroki Shouto had taken them on the most stupidly romantic date Katsuki could have ever imagined. A Valentine’s date.
As Katsuki lies alone in his room at 1 AM, he’s thankful for the darkness that shadows the grin blooming on his face. Memories of the previous day run through his mind, each one making his heart warmer and warmer and his stupid smile wider and wider.
—————————————————
February 14th, 2019
Valentine’s Day
The evening of the 14th, Katsuki was greeted at his dorm door with a bouquet of roses and the sight of Shouto fully dressed in a royal blue tuxedo.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Bakugou. These are for you.” He’d said with a small smile, completely unaware of the mental overload he just caused Katsuki. The blonde gapes blankly at the roses, then at Todoroki’s tux, then back at the roses again.
“What- Why are you- Huh? What the fuck?” had been Katsuki’s far less eloquent reply. They had plans to go out for a date today, but why-
“Today is Valentine’s Day.” Shouto answers, with all the helpfulness of a baby fish.
So, this is a Valentine’s gift…? “But, we’re not-” He cuts himself short. Not what?
Not dating? But they were, even if it had only been a month.
Not a couple? …But they were.
Katsuki bites his lip in frustration as he looks at the bouquet. The roses were an assortment of red and white, but arranged so that all the white ones were on the right and red ones on the left.
To match his hair.
Fuck, it was all so cheesy and romantic and-
“We’re not into mushy shit like that…” He grumbles, hating how a flush creeps onto his neck at the thought of him and Todoroki doing what other couples do. They were both too emotionally repressed for that. It took them an entire year of pining and two separate near-death scenarios to finally confess and get together in the first place. And even after they started dating, the most they’d done up to this point was hug a few times.
So to go from that to this, a romantic gesture straight out of a romcom…
“Oh. Do you not like it?” Shouto’s voice is smaller, sadder this time as he looks down at the bouquet.
‘The magazine said roses were the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, though…’
Katsuki feels his heart sink at the dejected expression on the boy’s face. “Wait, fuck-” Before he knows it, he’s snatching the flowers from Shouto’s hands and bringing them to his chest. Up close, he can smell how the aroma of the roses carries the same mint scent Shouto always did.
“I never said I didn’t like them!” He barks, face heating up as Shouto beams back with a soft smile. Handsome jerk.
“That’s a relief.”
They stand there in silence for a moment like the flustered fools they are before Katsuki eventually speaks up. “... Are you wearing that thing on our date?”
Shouto blinks, glancing down at his neatly pressed tuxedo. “Yes. Is there something wrong?”
“It’s just dinner.”
You’re too dressed up, Katsuki wants to continue, but he spots how Shouto’s lips purse into a tiny pout and cuts himself off. Fuck. He hates how he doesn’t want to make Shouto sad, not now or ever.
Sighing, Katsuki flicks his boyfriend on the nose and lets out a sharp laugh at the startled, almost offended look on his face. “Stop moping, idiot. I’ll change into a suit too.” As he walks back into his room, he gives Shouto a teasing smirk over his shoulder. “Then we’ll look stupid together.”
As Katsuki changes into the black tux his father gifted him for his birthday, he doesn’t notice how Shouto’s face flushes bright red behind him.
‘Bakugou…’ Shouto murmurs, a small flame catching in his hair.
‘Your smile is so beautiful.’
—————————————————
Apparently, Shouto’s idea of a Valentine’s date involved three steps: dinner, entertainment, and a romantic walk.
Their first destination is a restaurant called the Empire Steak House in Roppongi. They take a taxi there because Katsuki would rather die than go on public transportation in a tuxedo. Besides, Shouto offers to use one of Endeavor’s many credit cards to pay and Katsuki still finds it hilarious whenever he does.
“So what the hell do you have planned for our date? Usually I’m the one who has to plan everything.”
“I know. But I wanted to do something for you this time.” Katsuki wants to punch his own heart for skipping a beat. “After dinner, I got us some tickets to see a concert. And after, we can take a nice walk around Roppongi Hills.”
“So cheesy…” He lets out a fond sigh. But if it’s with you, it might not be so bad.
When Katsuki asks him where he got these ideas from, Shouto proudly cites Seventeen magazine and the first article he found on the Internet when he searched ‘valentines date ideas’.
“You… got this from some lame magazine?” He sighs at the confused look on Shouto’s face. No wonder. The roses, the tuxedo, the three-step date… It made sense that all this came from the Internet and a womens’ magazine rather than his boyfriend’s own socially inept mind.
“Do you not like i-”
Katsuki flicks his nose again. “I like it, okay? At least you didn’t sign us up for a dance class or something.” He snickers at the image of Shouto awkwardly trying to tango.
“Ah. I’m glad, then.”
While Katsuki isn’t looking, Shouto presses a hand to his chest and breathes a sigh of relief. ‘ That was close. I’m glad I chose the concert instead…’
The rest of the drive is spent in comfortable silence, and they arrive at the restaurant with time to spare. While it looked modest on the outside, the interior was beautifully lit by a golden chandelier and smelled pleasantly of steak and champagne. Even in their tuxedos, both felt a little underdressed.
A staff member directed them to their table with a cordial smile. It was applaudable, considering how ridiculous it was for two high schoolers to be on a date at such an expensive restaurant. All of the other patrons were adult couples in their forties and an elderly pair.
Shouto orders the soup of the day while Katsuki opts for a salad, and they decide to share an Emperor’s Steak between them after much deliberation. As they wait for their food, the two chat about their hero course, recent events, and a plethora of other random topics.
The pleasant ambience of the restaurant coupled with the way Shouto gently looks at him from across the table makes Katsuki feel more relaxed and content than he has in a long time. Without knowing it, his own lips curl up into a soft smile as he listens to his boyfriend talk about what kind of tempura pairs best with soba.
By the time the food arrives, Shouto is still comparing pumpkin and lotus root before Katsuki kicks his leg under the table to get him to shut up. “Just order both next time, idiot. Now stop talking and eat.”
“Okay.” He nods obediently. They then spend the rest of the meal in a pleasant silence, appreciating the serene atmosphere of the restaurant, the tastiness of the food, and the comfort of each other’s company.
When they finish eating and wait for the check, Katsuki breaks the silence first. “That wasn’t too bad. Looks like you can do something right after all.”
“I’m glad.” Shouto takes his teasing in stride and smiles. “You have really good table manners, Bakugou. I’m a bit surprised.”
The blonde snarls, stepping on Shouto’s feet under the table. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean, half and half?!”
Shouto’s eyes soften as he looks directly at him. Katsuki hates how his heart flutters at the sight and all his anger dissipates.
“Well, I was nervous you would find this place too fancy. I went to a lot of dinner galas with my father as a child... I always found them too stifling. I didn’t want you to feel the same way on our date.”
Oh.
“...I’m used to it.” Katsuki’s voice is quiet, almost gentle, when he finally answers. “My parents work in the fashion business, so they were always taking me to stupid dinner parties with their clients. Learned to put up with it after a while.”
Shouto’s eyes widen. “Oh, really? I see…”
“What?”
“It’s just… I didn’t know that about you. And when I think about it, there’s a lot of things about you I don’t know.”
Katsuki shrugs. “I don’t go around talking about my personal life. It’s whatever.”
“No, but-” Shouto looks at him with a pained gaze, and the heartache in his eyes makes Katsuki’s own heart sink through his stomach. Without knowing it, he reaches for Shouto and clasps the other’s hand in his own. The contact makes him want to recoil in embarrassment, but the cool feeling of Shouto’s palm against his makes it hard to let go.
So he doesn’t.
The gesture is silent, but it’s enough for Shouto’s heart to soar out of his chest. He continues, voice steadier and eyes more determined.
“I want to know more about you, Bakugou. I want to know what makes you happy, what makes you upset or angry. I want to know everything about you...” He tightens his grip on Katsuki’s hand and smiles. “If you’ll have me.”
Katsuki chokes back a sob. Shouto’s gentle face starts to blur from the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Fuck, he was not going to cry here, dammit. Fuck. What did he ever do to deserve someone like Shouto in his life? To have someone like Shouto care about him?
As he blinks away his tears and looks into those sincere gray and blue eyes, Katsuki knows he’s too far gone.
I love you.
“Obviously, idiot!” He pinches Shouto’s palm and laughs at the affronted look on his face. “But you have to tell me what makes you happy and sad and all that shit in return. Got it?”
As he looks at Katsuki’s teasing grin and into those bright red eyes, Shouto realizes he’s too far gone.
‘I love you.’
With a fond smile, Shouto nods. “Got it.”
When the check arrives, Shouto readily charges 44,000 yen on Endeavor’s card, much to Katsuki’s amusement. They leave the restaurant and it’s only halfway through their walk to the concert that Shouto works up the courage to grab Katsuki’s hand again. The blonde glares at him with a mix of anger and adoration.
“We’re in public! You’re so embarrassing!” He hisses.
Shouto blinks in return. “Sorry.”
Still, neither of them let go.
—————————————————
When Shouto had said he got them tickets to a concert, Katsuki was not expecting it to be a rock concert. Based off the last restaurant, he had expected Shouto to take them to some kind of symphony orchestra or opera. Instead, they both stand in a crowd of hyped teenagers and young adults as they wait for the opening act. Still in their tuxedos.
Katsuki doesn’t know whether to laugh at Shouto’s oversight or choke him for it.
To his credit, Shouto does quickly notice how much they stand out. He immediately looks at Katsuki with those lost puppy eyes again. “Ah, sorry… I forgot-”
“Shut up.” The blonde resists the urge to flick him in the nose again as he smirks. “I can just take off the jacket. Stop worrying about everything, idiot.”
As if on cue, the lights dim and a presenter loud enough to give Present Mic a run for his money takes the stage. “Are you ready to party people?!” The audience cheers enthusiastically in response, and Shouto is soon forced to face the stage by his exasperated boyfriend.
Shouto is about to protest again because he definitely did not want Katsuki to catch a cold or get heat stroke because he forgot that people don’t wear suits to rock concerts-
But then, he feels a familiar warmth against his palm. The words catch in his throat as Shouto stares at Katsuki’s flushed face, then down at their linked hands, then back at Katsuki’s flushed face. “I told you to stop worrying, okay?”
‘Ah.’
“...Okay.”
The rest of the concert flashes by in a blur. Once the main act started, the power of the music sends adrenaline through their veins. By the end, even Shouto is cheering for an encore. Katsuki looks at him, secretly, and breaks into a smile at the sight of Shouto’s carefree grin. God, he wants to see that smile every day for the rest of his life.
When they walk out of the venue, hands still clasped together, both are dazed from the high of the concert. It takes a few minutes of walking aimlessly for them to finally recover.
“That concert was fucking awesome.”
Shouto nods. “Yes, their music was quite fun to listen to.”
“Quite fun my ass. What are you, an eighty year old grandma? Just call it dope.”
“It was... dope…” Shouto says, with all the youthfulness of an eighty year old grandma.
Katsuki lets out a bark of laughter. “Fuck, nevermind. Where to next?”
“Oh. Um…” After a few minutes of Shouto fumbling with the notecard in his pocket and the directions on his phone, they take another taxi to their last destination: Meguro River.
—————————————————
It takes a while to get there because of traffic, but any doubts they had were wiped the second they stepped out into the street.
It was mid-February, late into winter. Though the cherry blossoms weren’t yet in bloom, the pink illuminations lining the trees gave the gentle illusion of a spring night.
“Woah, the lights are very pretty here.”
“Yeah…” Even Katsuki can’t help but admit how nice it was.
“Hmn.” Shouto pauses for a moment, looking up at the sky, before staring at his boyfriend with a subtle smile. Irritated, Katsuki snatches his hand and bites it with medium force. “Ow- Bakugou…!”
“The hell are you smiling about?!”
“I…” He gives an exasperated but fond smile. “I just think the moon is beautiful tonight.”
Katsuki feels his face heat up. There was no way. No way that this clueless idiot would know-
Suddenly, Shouto laces their fingers together and leads a dazed Katsuki over to the river. The moonlight and illuminations ripple through the water, casting a night sky in its reflection. It’s quiet, save for the rustle of the wind along the trees.
“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Shouto whispers again, so faint that Katsuki barely hears it.
‘I like you.’
“...Yeah. I could die happy.” He whispers back, and Shouto’s smile is so tender that it hurts.
I like you too.
As they walk along the river, steadied by the feeling of each other’s hand and enamored by the dancing lights around them, Katsuki remembers just how lucky he was to have this person beside him. To have Shouto beside him.
The glow of the illuminations, coupled with the full moonlight, casts a soft halo on Shouto’s beautiful face. At that moment, he looked so ethereal, so untouchable, that Katsuki wonders if he might disappear.
Katsuki’s grip tightens, and he walks just a bit closer.
—————————————————
On the way back from the river, they pass by some quaint shops that sold a variety of knick knacks and goods. The two walk into a random shop and browse, ignoring the odd stares directed at them. Even in these tuxedos, most people still recognized them as the top two of UA’s first years. They’ve learned to ignore the attention by now.
Katsuki is in the middle of picking out a new multi-tool for his hiking trips when he feels a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he is met with the sight of his boyfriend holding up a tacky, red and white polka dot vase with sparkling eyes.
“Bakugou, it looks like me…”
He wants to combust. Why was his boyfriend so fucking cute-
They leave the store with some ceramic figures, a foot massager, two multi-tools, and a very ugly, polka dotted, Todoroki Shouto-esque vase. Their hands come together again, more naturally but with no less embarrassment, and Katsuki hates how Shouto’s small smile makes his lips curl up too.
At least I have somewhere to put the damn roses now.
—————————————————
It’s half past midnight when the two finally get back to the dorms. The common room is empty; the rest of the students are already sleeping in bed or in their rooms by this hour.
As they walk into the elevator, neither comment on how their hands are still interlaced. Still, the red rising on Katsuki’s cheeks matches the red staining the tips of Shouto’s ears.
The floors go up past one, two, three-
“Bakugou.” Shouto turns to him with a sad look. “Can… Can I hug you?”
A brief silence elapses, then Katsuki gives a slow nod. As Shouto pulls him into a soft embrace, he lets out a breath like he had been drowning and Katsuki was the air he needed. The blonde fits into his arms as if they were made for him, made to hold Katsuki.
The staccato of their hearts beat together, so loud, so frantic, that it nearly suffocates them.
Ding. The fourth floor. Neither of them move.
Shouto is the first to speak, his voice wistful. “I don’t want tonight to end yet.”
“...Me neither.” Katsuki mumbles into his shoulder.
Standing there in each other’s arms, it was as though they were their own little universe. The moon and its star, wandering around in space until they found one another.
When they finally pull back, mouths open to say their reluctant goodbyes, red meets gray and blue. Shouto feels his heart at his throat as he leans in, meeting Katsuki’s lips with his own.
The first time they kiss, it feels like coming home.
—————————————————
The first Katsuki does when he steps into his room is punch the fuck out of his pillow.
That lasts for a good ten minutes before he slumps into bed, a scowl and faint blush still on his face. Damn half and half… How dare you do this to me. Planning this whole fucking date. Taking us to nice places and shit-
It was so annoyingly thoughtful . He was so fucking touched , dammit.
Katsuki takes a deep breath. He vows to himself: everything Shouto did for him today, he would pay back tenfold next year. No one catches Bakugou Katsuki off guard and gets away with it. Even his own boyfriend.
Todoroki.
Fuck.
At the thought of him, the memories from today hit Katsuki with full force. He can’t help but smile like a lovestruck fool. It all plays back, too quickly yet too clearly in his mind, until the last thing he remembers is-
We kissed. In the elevator.
Our first kiss.
“Fuck!!!” Katsuki screams, throwing his pillow so hard into the ceiling that it nearly sticks. His face is completely red and his heart is doing that dumb thing where it beats out of his chest again. The memory of Shouto’s smooth lips against his own, of Shouto’s warm breath against his cheeks, of Shouto’s gentle smile that looked at him with so much adoration-
Ding.
A text from his phone.
half n half
Are you still awake, Bakugou?
bakugou katsuki
how the hell did you know that
and so what if I am?
Katsuki growls. How dare this guy ask him that when he’s the reason Katsuki couldn’t sleep in the first place? Stupid Todoroki with his stupid smile and pretty face and dumb fucking lips-
half n half
I heard a thump under my floor.
Can you not sleep?
bakugou katsuki
...yeah
half n half
Ah. Me neither.
Can I call you?
bakugou katsuki
...do whatever you want.
Katsuki can hear his heart echo through the empty bedroom as he sees an incoming call from Shouto. If not for the hilarious contact photo of Shouto making an uncharacteristically ugly face, Katsuki’s sure he would have exploded his bedroom out of nervousness.
“Hello?” Fuck.
Katsuki takes it back. The sound of Shouto’s soft, drowsy voice alone is enough to send his heart flying again.
“... Hey.”
“How are you?”
“The fuck kind of question is that? I just saw you ten minutes ago--” He pauses. In the elevator. Where they had their first kiss. Fuck fuck fuck-
“Hmmn.” Somehow, Katsuki can hear Shouto smile through the phone.
“Shut up!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re so annoying…”
“Ah.” He pauses, and Katsuki’s nearly worried he’s gone and accidentally made Shouto sad again, when-
“...Katsuki.”
His heart nearly stops. “Wh- what…”
“Katsuki.”
“W-What! Why are you suddenly-”
Shouto laughs softly on the other line, the bastard. “I just wanted to say your name. It’s nice.”
“...”
“Katsuki? Is something wrong?”
“...Shouto.”
The whisper is quiet, nearly drowned out by the static of the phone, but Shouto hears it loud as day.
When he finally answers, his voice is dripping with adoration. “Yes, Katsuki?”
“...Tell me about yourself. What you like, what you don’t like…” He sucks in a deep breath. “Everything.”
Shouto sighs, so fondly that it hurts, before smiling. “If you’ll have me.”
That night, Katsuki falls asleep to the soft murmurs of his boyfriend through the phone. That night, when he dreams, it’s not of cold metal and restraints on his wrists. Not of sludge sliding down his throat or a searing hand against his neck.
That night, he dreams of red and white and soft smiles under the moonlight.