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If anyone had told Momo that she would be capable of caring for Katsuki Bakugou a year ago, she would have scoffed at the mere suggestion. For someone so unrefined and feral, she would have thought that she wouldn’t get close to him or even bother with conversation with how rude he would be with everyone. The boy she had met all those months ago during their first battle trial was still the same, but now he had learned to be better prepared and accept criticism. She had been there to watch him grow and become a stronger student, someone worthy of being called a hero by earning it through his determination and hard work.
Momo didn’t stay far behind herself. As the top recommended student, she had entered UA with assurance that she would succeed in her endeavors. She, too, had grown and learned, but she had to face her doubts and weaknesses in order to overcome them. She learned to trust herself and believe that she was equipped with the right decisions to march into battle and win.
Winning was an important aspect of being a hero. Both Momo and Bakugou knew that all too well.
The days of their battle trials of first year were behind them. Class 2A dealt with far more advanced battles that required them to not only think outside the box, but also rely on their surroundings and accumulated knowledge and training.
For an exercise they had in All Might’s class, Momo had been paired up with Midoriya and they had been pitted against Bakugou and Sero, not unlike the very first exercise they had, but this time, they fought in a construction site instead of inside of a building. With Midoriya’s strategy and Momo’s quick thinking, they were able to devise a plan to overtake their opponents, but they couldn’t underestimate either of them since Bakugou was a fierce tactician himself as well as Sero, who could put together plans as fast as he could build snares.
Nevertheless, Midoriya and Momo prevailed, defeating the opposing team. They all took damage from the fight, though she was surprised at how Bakugou deliberately avoided hitting her with his explosions. She could not factor out the fact he always took advantage of bringing the fight to Midoriya, but her quick-witted partner could dodge the explosive boy’s attacks easily at this point. If he wanted to win the fight, Bakugou could have gone after Momo first, leaving Midoriya to Sero. Momo is capable of putting up a decent fight and she could blow away Bakugou with her own weapons that she could create, but when going up against someone like him, he would have been merciless in tiring her out. Having her out of the fight would have been easier to bring down Midoriya between Bakugou and Sero.
However, they did not go with this plan.
Bakugou is not stupid. Far from that, he is one of the smartest people Momo has ever met. So then, why would Bakugou risk a fight like that? Leaving Momo to fight against Sero was a challenge, but she was able to capture him after some time. Between her and Midoriya, they caught Bakugou as well, winning the exercise. She could hardly celebrate, though, since her volatile classmate would stare daggers at her throughout the rest of the class period. He’d do the same to Midoriya, but he was extra sharp with her.
She couldn’t lament his loss, though. If he hadn’t taken advantage of what he had laid out in front of him, then Momo would. The upside to 2A Bakugou versus 1A Bakugou was that he didn’t scream or throw a tantrum if he lost. He was disappointed and angry, and shook with fury, but that was as much as he’d do nowadays and Momo couldn’t help but feel relief for this development.
When he wasn’t being so explosive, he could be a decent companion. There had been several times when they had been caught by their classmates studying in the common area, throwing back and forward scenarios at each other for battle and ethics assignments. They’d test each other over difficult math problems. They’d hold conversations in English to practice for their class and she learned that Bakugou is capable of swearing in another language, which that was interesting, she supposed.
“You’re not as uptight as I thought,” he had said after they finished their homework one evening and drank some tea to relax.
“And you’re not as aggressive as you seem,” she countered, taking a sip from her mug.
“Whatever, Ponytail,” he rolled his eyes.
She had thought he would argue back, but that would just be proving her point on his behavior, so maybe Bakugou wasn’t as ignorant as she had assumed, either.
The quiet conversation of that night so long ago from their first year as well as many others were what Momo cherished the most. They were special in her heart, and dare she say that they made her smile.
However, that evening, after their latest battle training in which she had taken the victory with her partner, Momo noticed how losing still took a toll on Bakugou.
Their classmates had retired for the night, leaving Momo in the kitchen on her own. Seeing as how she still had some time to read before bed, she could make some tea and bring it up to her room to relax. She heard a noise coming from the living room as she decided on which tea to choose from, and out of curiosity she went to check. Perhaps her friends had left the television on….
Once she peeked her head into the common area to inspect the source of the noise, she found Bakugou sitting on the couch, shaking and...was he growling ? Oh dear, had she known how upset he’d be, then she would have made sure for their friends to look out for him. He had looked fine just moments before, so maybe he decided to show his real emotions when nobody was around?
She didn’t do it out of pity. She genuinely cared about his well-being and knew that too much stress would cause him to get a bad night’s sleep, and nothing was worse than a sleep-deprived Bakugou in the morning. Conversation was out of the question; she knew that if she attempted small talk or even asked if he was alright, he would yell. Momo was not scared of him. She had spent enough time with him to get used to his demeanor and realize he had his own kind of language. He wanted to deal with the stress on his own, but she couldn’t just leave him alone like that when she knew he was in desperate need of comfort and support. And yes , she knew what that looked like in Bakugou code.
He hadn’t seemed to notice her, but she didn’t want to startle him, being aware that if she did, he would more than likely produce an explosion. With as much gentleness as she would approach a stray cat, she walked towards him and made sure to walk in his line of sight before speaking up.
“The hell do you want?” he hissed through gritted teeth.
“I come with a peace offering,” she answered as she held up what she was producing from her arm.
“Tch, take your useless shit somewhere else, Ponytail,” he grumbled.
Yet he didn’t move when she came towards him and draped the weighted blanket over his shoulders. And he certainly didn’t make a fuss about her wrapping it around him, either.
Momo made her way to the kitchen, both to give him space and to continue with her tea prep that she had left undone, making her selection of the type she wanted. She took out her mug from the cupboard, as well as Bakugou’s, and filled them with tea and added honey for some extra flavor. When she returned to the living room, Bakugou was still sitting where she’d left him, except now he had calmed down and was no longer shaking, just pouting and resting against the couch, staring at the television as if he could make it explode with his mind.
She handed him the large All Might mug and, despite his mood, sat beside him, feeling the warmth of her own mug of tea in her hands. They remained quiet for a while, taking sips of their drinks as she heard Bakugou take deep breaths. She was glad he found a method to help him relax. Had she not been so tired, she wouldn’t have risked it, but given how stiff her shoulders felt, she let herself rest against his own shoulder, softened by the blanket. Maybe Midoriya’s lack of self-preservation was rubbing off on her.
He didn’t shove her off or push her away like she anticipated, though. Instead, he allowed her to stay that way until they finished drinking their tea. She collected their mugs and stood, and she was happy to see the tea and blanket had helped him out. When she returned from the kitchen after washing the mugs, he had stood up and waited for her, blanket still around him, before he gestured with his head for her to follow him.
“Get some sleep already,” he muttered as they started to walk. “It’s late.”
“You’re one to talk. Isn’t it past your bedtime?” she raised a fine eyebrow at him.
“Sure as hell is,” he sighed in frustration.
She had a million and one questions for him, most of them concerning why he was up so late if he had a curfew to follow for himself. However, she had a feeling she knew the answers already. Besides, she didn’t want to rile him up again. They waited for the elevator to take them up to their rooms and once inside, Bakugou pressed on the buttons for their respective floors.
“About today,” she heard him say. “I’m fully capable of kicking your ass.”
She gave him an amused smile. “I know you are,” she nodded. “But I know you wouldn’t.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he countered. “Next time, you’re going down.”
“I look forward to fighting you again.” How could she forget how competitive he was?
“Yeah, and when I beat you, you better tell me what kind of fucking tea you like, because I know it sure as hell isn’t chamomile,” he grinned, a hint of mania to it.
“It’s not my favorite,” Momo admitted. “But I know it’s yours.”
The door opened to her floor then, cutting their conversation short for the evening.
“Ponytail.”
Momo turned to face her companion, standing between the doors so they wouldn’t shut on them. “Yes?”
He hesitated for a moment, a pout resting on his lips before he made eye contact with her. “Thanks.”
She ran a hand through her hair, pushing away a loose lock behind her ear, before stepping out of the elevator. “Any time.”