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Stop looking at her. Just stop. She wasn't his to look at. Probably never would be. Just look away. Just...look…God, she looked his way. He turned his head, but...maybe not fast enough. He couldn't let her catch him looking at her. He leaned back in his chair, determined eyes set on the ink stain on his desk, and furrowed his brow, trying to block out the noise and chaos around him. White Day. He groaned internally. What a racket. Every year it was the same thing: March 14 rolled around and everyone turned into morons, twittering and chattering about who was going to get what and from whom. Valentine's Day had been bad enough—of course, what he'd gotten, he'd mostly scoffed at: trinkets and sickeningly sweet chocolates that he ended up just giving away. It wasn't like she had gotten him anything. No, she only had eyes for one person. Not that he was jealous or anything.
Fuck. Who was he kidding? He'd never been so fucking jealous in his entire life. It was everything he could do not to punch that stupid Deku in the face every time she flashed him one of her smiles, the smiles he so craved. He was looking at her now, that stupid, goofy grin on his face. His lip curled. God, he wanted to just punch the fuck outta—
"Bakugo? What's up with you, man?" Kirishima's face was suddenly looming in front of him, entirely obstructing his vision. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while but you were all zoned out."
"Eh?" Bakugo blinked himself out of his own mind and tried to contort his face into something that looked normal—normal for him, at least, which was a vaguely bored expression. "What?"
"I was trying to tell you that you're on your own for lunch today," Kirishima said, sitting on top of the desk across from him. "Ashido got me something last month, so I'm gonna return the favor." He flashed him a toothy grin, pulling a box out from behind his back: fancy chocolates in a shiny white box with a white ribbon.
Bakugo snorted. "You're all too wrapped up in this stupid holiday. It's all just a scam by the candy companies, anyway." His own small gift box seemed to be burning a hole in his pocket. He ignored the feeling and drawled, "Whatever. I'm fine on my own."
"Thanks, man." Kirishima leaned in closer so he could lower his voice and still be heard amongst the din and fervor. "Hey, it's okay to lower your guard every once in a while and just enjoy yourself. If there's a certain someone you want to get to know, you should just go for it."
For once, he didn't have any snarky comeback for his friend, who was now walking over to Ashido with an easy confidence that Bakugo had never experienced when dealing with the opposite sex. He'd never confided in anyone until he met Kirishima, and even so...he couldn't tell him this. Romance—if you could even call it that—was somehow too private. Yet he knew...he knew there was someone in Class 1-A that had caused Bakugo's heart to stutter and spit like an internal combustion engine that couldn’t turn over.
He clutched the box in his pocket, then stood up. Maybe Kirishima was right. Maybe he should just...go for it. He took one step, then another. His heart was pounding so hard and fast in his ears that he couldn't hear anything around him. There was a crowd around her, meaning she either had a lot of admirers or a lot of friends, of which he considered himself neither. He certainly wasn't her friend; they never spoke, unless it was related to school, and it's not like they ever hung out outside of class. And admiration didn't seem to capture what he felt for her: he respected her over anyone else in Class 1-A, and, though he didn't understand why, she made his knees weak and turned his legs to jelly.
Another step and he was closer still. “Uraraka,” he said, and the crowd around her parted, dissipated, just in time. She stared up at him, her expression a mix of surprise and utter confusion. "Hey, Uraraka,” he said again, “this is for you." He put the small box on her desk; simple, white, about the size of a cell phone, with a pink bow. She stared at it for a moment, a mixture of shock and confusion on her face, and then she looked up at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her. "It's not from me," he lied, loud enough so that the others could hear, and he wondered if she could see right through him.
"Okay, then who's it from?" she asked. No smile yet. Then, like a burst of sunshine in a rainstorm, her lips spread into a smile, and she looked down at the box. "Never mind! I wanna see what's inside!" His heart was thumping so loud that he wondered if she could hear it. She tore open the box, finding six miniature mochi, lined up neatly in rows of three. Each one had a pair of eyes and cat ears, and they were fucking adorable. She squealed and looked up at him with eyes shining. "These are so cute! Tell your friend I love them, and they can come cook for me anytime! Okay, Bakugo?"
"Yeah." His voice hitched in his throat and he knew it was time to get out. He skipped the long lunch lines in favor of the privacy of the rooftop. His face burned with embarrassment. What the fuck was he thinking, giving her a present on White Day?! And in front of everyone, too? God, he was an idiot! He clutched the chain link fence and stared down at the campus grounds. Couples were everywhere just...enjoying each other. His knuckles turned white as his grip tightened on the fence. Were Kirishima and Ashido down there? Or maybe Deku and Uraraka? His brain told him not to worry about it—he was at UA to become the best hero, nothing else mattered. But his heart...and other parts of his body disagreed. He always tried to push these feelings down deep inside, but somehow they kept surfacing. And that was why he found himself staying up late into the night, making tiny mochi for a girl who thought of him as nothing more than a rival.
The rest of the day dragged on, but eventually they were released back to the dorms. The class was still in a frenzy over the gifts and whispered rumors of confessions, so Bakugo went straight into his room and shut the door. He had some homework to do, anyway. He was just about done when he heard a knock at his door. "Go away, Kirishima, I don't want to hear about your date with Ashido," he yelled without looking up from his assignment.
"Uh, it's Uraraka...actually," came a hesitant voice. "But what about Kirishima and Mina?"
Bakugo suddenly threw open the door, breathless. He hadn't been convinced it was her until he saw her standing before him, already changed into her pajamas. "What are you doing here?" he said once he'd regained some composure.
She cinched her robe a little tighter and shifted her weight from one slippered foot to the other. Bunny slippers. Cute. "I guess I just wanted to thank you for the gift."
"I told you, that wasn't from me," he said, crossing his arms.
"Right, I know." She nodded and stepped inside, looking around. His room was pretty plain, not a lot of personal things; it was mostly school work, books, clothes hastily tossed onto the back of the chair or just outside the hamper. She closed the door quietly and he eyed her suspiciously. "I mean, I know you told me that, but you were lying, weren't you?"
His stoney expression faltered, but just for a moment. "No." He wanted to go on, but he suspected that would just make the lie more obvious.
"Are you sure?" she said, peering up at him, smirking. "You know I love mochi and I know you're a pretty good cook. And I know you're not exactly one to do favors." He swallowed, but didn't budge. "Who cares if you wanted to give me a present? I don't know why you're so embarrassed. It's not like it's a big deal for people to give gifts to their friends."
"We're not friends," he said quickly.
She frowned and continued as if he hadn't said anything. "But I didn't give you anything for Valentine's Day, so it's not like you're reciprocating or anything." She looked at him expectantly.
"What?" he grunted.
She dropped her arms, exasperated. "So, why did you get something for me, then?" He averted his eyes and pursed his lips. "This isn't some stupid ploy to bully Deku, is it?"
"As if I cared enough to do something like that," he scoffed.
She frowned and opened the door. "Okay, then, goodnight."
"Wait," he said against his better judgment. He couldn't let her just walk out that door, not after giving her a White Day gift, not after this whole conversation, not after that look of disappointment he had just seen on her face. "What if I did...give you that mochi? What then?"
She turned her head, hand still on the doorknob. "Then I could thank you personally," she said sweetly.
He stood up and walked to the door, placing his own hand on the doorknob. Her hand was warm and soft, her fingers delicate. "How're you gonna thank me?" Her eyes widened, but before she could speak, the doorknob turned under both their hands and pushed open a crack.
"Bakugo! You won't believe what happened!"
Kirishima. "I'm busy," he growled.
"Come on!" Kirishima said, shoving the door with each word. Uraraka jumped back as he managed to get it open.
"What the fuck?" Bakugo said. "I said I was busy!"
"Nah, you always give me that line," Kirishima said, sweeping inside. "I just ignore it now."
"I'll be going now," Uraraka said, hurrying out of the room.
"Oh?" Kirishima murmured, watching her go. "Oh!" He stared at Bakugo, eyes bulging. "What did I just walk in on?" he said, laughing.
"Nothing," he snapped. "What do you want?"
Kirishima grinned slyly. "That didn't look like nothing."
"And what did it look like exactly?" Bakugo was just about fuming. He had never expected White Day to end this way, with Uraraka in his room, and Kirishima had the balls to ruin it!
"It looked like you had a girl in your room on the second most romantic day of the year," he said, still grinning. Bakugo sat on the bed with a heavy sigh, rubbing his face. "You gotta tell me what's going on between you and Uraraka! Did you get her something?" Bakugo lowered his hands and gave him a fatigued look. "You did! Shit, I didn't think you had it in you!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he said, narrowing his eyes.
"Nothing, it's just...you're not really the romantic type," he said delicately. "Know what I mean?" Bakugo grunted in reply. "So, what happened?"
He didn't really want to talk about it, but he also figured the only way to get his friend out of his room was to tell him. "I made her mochi."
"Mochi?" Kirishima repeated.
"With little cat ears."
Kirishima laughed heartily, then stopped with a jerk at Bakugo's icy glare. "Mochi with cat ears—cute."
He continued, "When I gave them to her, I said it was from someone else."
Kirishima tapped his chin. "But why would you make her something, and then say it was from someone else? What's the point?"
"Well, she didn't believe me anyway, so who gives a damn?!" he fumed.
Kirishima smiled. "Hey, if you like her, you should tell her. Maybe you spend some time together, and you don't really hit it off. But...what if you do? She could be your wife someday," he said, pointing out the door.
Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
Kirishima ignored him. "The point is, if you don't take a chance, you'll never know."
He nodded, surprised at his own receptiveness, but more surprised at the wisdom in his words. His face softened slightly. "So, how was your day?"
Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, well, in the end, Ashido said she really didn't want to date anyone right now. But it's cool. I need to focus on my studies, and it's not like she'd be any help with that." Kirishima suddenly opened the door and looked out. "Sorry, I just realized something. I should probably go. Talk to you later!"
"Shut the damn door, you dumbass!" he yelled after him. When it became apparent that was not going to happen, he trudged over to the door himself. He froze. Uraraka was standing there, quiet as a mouse, her cheeks pinker than he'd probably ever seen them. "How much did you hear?"
"All of the important bits," she said sheepishly. "Look, you don't have to explain anything to me." He wanted to freak out right now, start throwing things, smash his fists through the wall—but she was just standing there—she was still standing there, even after she'd heard that whole conversation. So, she knew he'd given her the mochi, and she knew that he probably liked her quite a bit. "I think you're sweet and...I like seeing this other side of you."
He thought he was going to explode. What was going on right now? She liked this side of him? What side?! Did she think he was some...some wimp on the inside?! He blinked very rapidly for a few seconds, and then he looked down. There they were, those bunny slippers with floppy pink ears and two beady black eyes. "Your slippers are cute," he said, then closed the door. He heard a faint gasp from the other side, but it didn't sound like she was walking away. "And I think you're cute too," he muttered into the door. "And you like all that cute shit, so I made those fucking cute mochi because I knew you'd like it." He paused. "That's all I'm gonna say."
There was a painfully long silence. He knew she was still there. He wished he could see her face, but at the same time, he was glad he couldn't. Maybe she was horrified at the prospect of being with him, maybe she was angry. He pressed his ear to the door, straining to hear her on the other side.
"Bakugo," she began in something a little louder than a whisper, "I think you're cute too."
He immediately felt a burning sensation in his cheeks as he soaked up the words she'd just spoken through his door. The next thing he heard was the sound of her slippers padding down the hall. He slumped against the door, breathing heavily and clutching his chest. "Dammit." If this was what love felt like, he'd rather fight a villain.