Archive of Our Own

I.

The class finds out that Bakugou has a knack for cooking during the training camp. They’re all given different tasks–cleaning, cooking, chopping wood–and Bakugou dices vegetables with an ease that startles most of them. He’s tossing the ingredients into a pot when Ashido sees him, amazed by how methodological and effortless the task is for him.  

“Oh wow, Bakugou! I didn’t know you could cook!” Ashido exclaims. She has firewood in her arms and stands behind him. There are outdoor stoves in the camp and Bakugou’s manning one pot–Kaminari’s to his right, doing the same. 

Predictably, Bakugou bristles at her amazement. Ashido can practically see his hair stand on end, as if he really is an angry Pomeranian dog–as Kaminari likes to suggest. Bakugou growls out, “The fuck's that supposed to mean?!” 

“I just didn't know!”

Grumbling, Bakugou turns away from her and continues to stir the pot of curry he’s attending to. Unknown to Ashido, Ochako made the same observation about Bakugou earlier–which only added to his foul mood.

“He’s always so grouchy,” Ashido mumbles at Kaminari, who gives a slight laugh. He eyes her with a cocked eyebrow, as if saying, is that supposed to be surprising? With a giggle, Ashido agrees with him.

Bakugou’s an enigma, even to Ashido, who welcomes each type of person without any judgment. Still, she’s taken aback by this boy who appears to have no interest in making friends–who has a personality that’s every bit as explosive as his quirk, and Ashido takes it as a challenge.

“It smells so good, Bakugou!” Ashido looks over his shoulder and inhales the scent of what he’s cooking. It smells spicy, and she knows she’ll love it. 

Kaminari mouths at her, “What are you doing?”

Bakugou hunches his shoulders and seethes. His ears pink, a fact that doesn’t escape Ashido. He’s embarrassed and she can tell, and it’s a side of him that Ashido’s never seen before. 

“You should cook more for your friends,” Ashido giggles. She wonders when he’ll reach his boiling point, when he’ll tell her to leave. The class has only known each other for a few months; Ashido’s not proud to say that she’s still getting a hang of everyone, learning bit by bit about their boundaries and finding out the best way to get on their good side.

“Friends?” Bakugou repeats the word as if it’s venom on his lips. 

“Friends,” repeats Ashido. “We’re friends, right?”

“We are not friends, Pink-face.” Bakugou turns to glare at her, eyes narrowed and lips a thin line. Still, he’s blushing, and Ashido guesses he’s not actually furious–he’s testing the waters. Just like her, and just like everyone else in class.  

“Sure we are!” Ashido grins and knocks their shoulders together. She chuckles when he growls, taking that as her cue to leave.

Bakugou’s an enigma, and he refuses to regard his classmates as friends, but even Ashido knows that’ll change eventually.

She can’t wait.

II.

A week has passed since they moved into the dormitories. Sero’s not yet used to it–which is an understatement. There’s a certain surreality to living with others, to learning their peculiarities and habits. 

Yaoyorozu has no idea how to do her laundry, Todoroki has a massive manga collection, and Uraraka likes to sing a lot… but what surprises him the most, out of all of this, is that Bakugou is kind-of a caring friend.

Sero notices it the night that Kirishima treats the entire class to Yakiniku. It’s a Saturday night and he’s able to get their homeroom teacher’s permission for it. The Yakiniku place is only two blocks away from their campus, and it’s an entire adventure getting there. They’re twenty rowdy students, after all. 

The restaurant smells of cooked meat, of smoke that will probably stick to their clothes; nobody complains about that, of course. Instead, it’s a lot of laughter and excited conversations.

Sero finds himself squeezed between Kirishima and Ashido and across them are Bakugou and Kaminari. Somehow, the five of them often end up together–Kaminari calls their group the Bakusquad. Bakugou calls them idiots. 

Even if Bakugou’s here, he still wears his signature scowl. “I gave you that money to pay you back so you could actually find something useful to spend on ,” he grunts at Kirishima. “I didn’t give it to you so you could spend it on something dumb like meat.”

Despite his complaints and his cross attitude, he still hovers over the table with tongs in hand and flips the meat; he has a watchful eye on the entire grill, smacking Ashido’s hand away when she tries to reach for a chunk of meat that, in Bakugou’s words, is so raw you could still hear it moo. Sero coughs to hide his snort, because Bakugou sounds like that blond english guy he sometimes catches on tv. The one who owns a lot of restaurants and knows curses so colorful that he sees Bakugou Katsuki in him.

“Bakugou, let me help!” Sero calls out, reaching for a spare tong.

“Quit it, Soy Sauce face,” Bakugou rolls his eyes. “You’re all just going to fucking ruin it so I’ll do it myself.”

Smiling, Sero leans back against his chair. From across the table, Kaminari shoots him an amused look. 

“You like cooking, huh?” Ashido quips, eyes wide and trained on the food in front of them.

For a moment, it doesn’t seem like Bakugou will grace her with a response. He bites his cheek and his lips twitch a little. Finally, he says in a voice that can barely be heard amidst the noisy restaurant, “My dad likes to cook, and I always thought it was fun, so I spent a lot of time with him. It’s not a big deal.”

Ah. Sero blinks. A rare glimpse of what Bakugou Katsuki’s like. It’s only then that Sero realizes he doesn’t know a lot about Bakugou. He knows that aside from the ultimate goal of someday being the number one hero, Bakugou likes mountain climbing… and he likes to study. That’s all he knows about the guy, really. Today, he’s confirmed another trait: Bakugou likes to cook.

“I think it’s sweet,” Ashido grins. “Cooking is a wordless way of showing you care.” Wow, Ashido’s poetic today. “I bet it was your dad’s love language, Bakugou.”

“So what if it was.” Bakugou grumbles. There was no denial.

Ashido doesn’t say more about the topic, though she stares at Bakugou in a way that has meaning. It’s endearing how she blinks at him, lips quirked into a smile; and, just like Ashido, the realization hits Sero as well: Bakugou may berate and insult them all day, but he cares enough to make sure their meat is cooked correctly. In a way, this was probably how Bakugou showed he cared. It was his… well, Ashido called it his love language, as sappy as it sounded.

Of course, Sero would never voice out those thoughts.

“Cooking’s your love language too, dude,” Kaminari comments.

… Clearly, Kaminari didn’t have the same reservations as Ashido and Sero. Ashido looks startled, grin spreading even wider, and Kirishima seems baffled that Kaminari actually said it out loud. Sero expects Bakugou to lose his temper, to throw the tongs across the room because what the fuck, Kaminari.

Instead, Bakugou grits his teeth, and that’s definitely a blush that spreads across his cheeks and travels down his neck. “Shut the fuck up, Pikachu,” he hisses.

Again, there was no denial, and Sero believes they’ve cracked the code of Bakugou Katsuki just a little more.

III.

Midoriya and Bakugou are on house arrest.

Kaminari’s shocked by the news, especially when the class finds the two cleaning the common room when they’re supposed to be heading to class. Apparently, they got into a brawl on the night of the licensure exams–which Bakugou failed, to most everyone’s surprise.

Kaminari, though… he had a hunch that Bakugou wouldn’t make it. Had realized it in the final stage of the exams, when Bakugou’d yelled at the hostages. He spent the entirety of the exams with Bakugou and Kirishima–had front row seats to Bakugou’s lack of empathy, to how he had been much too brash and insensitive to those he was supposed to be rescuing.

The tension in class is high. Kaminari can tell that people are picking sides; there are hushed conversations about how it was probably Bakugou’s fault, how he’s always had a brash temper, and of course he had to take it out on Midoriya. Tsuyu makes an offhand comment about how Midoriya didn’t have to meet him, since a brawl needs two people, so what did he expect anyway–and that seems to get on Uraraka’s nerves, just a bit.

Kaminari decides it’s better to leave Bakugou alone. He has no idea what would set him off next.

What he didn’t expect, however, was to find Bakugou cooking up a storm at two in the morning. When Kaminari heads to the kitchen to get some water, he’s surprised to see the lights switched on and Bakugou hunched over a bowl mixing–batter? Is that batter? Is Bakugou baking?

“Shut up,” Bakugou grits as soon as he spots Kaminari. He scowls, stares at Kaminari for a split-second, and then returns his focus to whatever it is he’s doing. “Don’t… don’t fucking say anything.”

“Bro,” Kaminari says, anyway. “It’s two a.m.”  

“I know it’s two a.m., I can’t sleep!” Bakugou points a batter-covered spatula at him, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. 

“So you decided to… bake?”

“Pikachu, I fucking swear to god...”

Kaminari stands there, blinking. At a loss for words. It’s pitch-black outside and the dorm is completely silent. It takes him a moment more to remember that he’s here to get a drink, and he awkwardly twists the bottom of his shirt while stepping past Bakugou to get to the fridge. Bakugou hunches over the counter again, annoyed. It’s awkward and quiet, how Kaminari grabs an empty glass and fills it with water from a pitcher.

The tension can be cut with a knife, and it’s clear that Bakugou wants Kaminari out of here.

“We could talk, if you wanted to,” Kaminari suggests, slowly. 

Bakugou freezes, his shoulders tensing even more. He clenches the spatula and Kaminari thinks he might break it in half. Kaminari’s not an idiot, even if they like to poke fun at his grades; Bakugou’s in a bad state and he knows. Even if he didn’t find Bakugou in the kitchen, baking at two in the morning, he knows. He also knows that his question was a loaded one.

He thinks that Bakugou could turn around, right now, and lunge at him.

Instead, Bakugou gives a loud sigh; he visibly relaxes, loosens, but doesn’t turn to look at Kaminari. He says, in a low voice, “I know that, dumbass.”

Wow, okay. Kaminari actually feels a shiver that travels down his spine because Bakugou’s response was way kinder than he had expected. “But you don’t want to,” Kaminari concludes.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

There’s a loud clank as Bakugou throws the spatula into the bowl, causing some batter to fall to the floor and counter; Kaminari flinches at the sound of it. “If I wanted to talk, Kaminari, I’d talk–now leave me the fuck alone, asshole.” There it is–the brash Bakugou with no filter to his words, and Kaminari’s hit with the fact that Bakugou does not see him as a friend to confide in, not even close. 

There’s a pit in Kaminari’s stomach, a sour feeling that easily takes over everything else. Kaminari knows that’s his cue to leave. Shrugging, he takes the glass of water with him and heads out of the kitchen, catching one last glance at Bakugou–who’s clearly avoiding locking eyes with him. 

Kaminari’s unsure if he should mention the two a.m. story to his classmates. Bakugou and Midoriya are still on house arrest the next day, and it’s only then that Kaminari realizes that even if Bakugou often joins them on break, even if all he really does is sit in silence, his absence is noticeable.

“Something on your mind?” Sero asks when they’re on their way back to the dorms after classes. 

“Uh…” Kaminari pauses, thinks about it for a while–would it be alright to tell them? They’re probably just as worried as he is, right? “I don’t know, it’s just… Bakugou’s going through a tough time, isn’t he?”

“He failed the exams,” Sero says. “Are you worried about him?”

“I went to the kitchen reaaally late last night, and he was there… baking.”

“Baking,” repeats Sero, a hint of surprise in his voice.

“Baking,” Kaminari confirms. “Does he even talk to anyone? He’s stress baking. I told him he could talk to me if he needed to, and he told me to fuck off. Can’t say it didn’t hurt. Guess he doesn’t see me as a friend, yet. ”

“You’re worrying for nothing. He definitely sees you as a friend, c’mon.”

“Dude, he almost killed me for even just asking if he wanted to talk.”

Sero doesn’t have an answer to that. The expression he wears, though, tells Kaminari that he is just as concerned.

Finally, Sero says, “Maybe Kirishima can talk to him.”

Oh, right. Kirishima. He wasn’t with them because he had sped off right after the bell rang, saying he had something important to do. Kaminari does think that if anyone could talk to Bakugou, to check if he’s alright, it’d be Kirishima; even Kaminari had to admit that those two had a deeper type of friendship, and if rumours were right, it was Kirishima’s presence that had saved Bakugou when he was kidnapped… or something. Kaminari’s not aware of the details.

But where was the guy, even? Sero doesn’t know either.

When they arrive at the dorms, they get their answer. Midoriya’s vacuuming the common room carpet and glances up at Sero and Kaminari. They immediately ask him if he’s seen Kirishima, and there’s a strange kind of smile that graces Midoriya’s lips–one that he cannot hide. “He’s helping Kacchan cook,” Midoriya says, softly.

What? Kaminari exchanges looks with Sero. At that, Sero snorts in amusement.

They quietly take a peek at the kitchen; all the while, Midoriya stares at them but doesn’t say anything. There it is–the undeniable view of Kirishima and Bakugou, huddled together by a kitchen counter, peeling vegetables. Kirishima appears out of his element, utterly confused, going over a recipe he doesn’t seem to understand at all. Beside him, Bakugou’s scowling, but he’s also explaining.

“You were worried for nothing,” Sero grins.

“Yeah.” Kaminari nods. He doesn’t say that, still, he’s still hurt from how Bakugou brushed him off so rudely. Doesn’t matter, though–maybe he’s just not on that level with Bakugou Katsuki, yet.

So, imagine his surprise, when later that night Bakugou shoves a bowl at him. Kaminari’s sharing a table with Ashido and Sero, cups of instant noodles between them. They were too lazy to get real food that night, but now he’s got warm rice and heaping amounts of meat courtesy of Bakugou.

“What’s this?” Kaminari asks, obviously baffled. 

Bakugou grits his teeth. “Shut the fuck up and just take it,” he grumbles. “It’s not a fucking apology, if that’s what you think it is.”

Over his shoulder, Kirishima mouths, “It is.”

Of course, Sero and Ashido make an enormous deal out of it. “Where’s ours, Bakugou!?” Ashido exclaims immediately, and the redness that spreads across Bakugou’s face can’t be missed.

“Get your own! There’s more in the kitchen. I’m leaving.” Just like that, he leaves.  

Kirishima laughs when he’s finally out of sight, and he gestures for Ashido and Sero to come with him. “We cooked a lot,” he says.

Ashido and Sero follow Kirishima, and Kaminari’s left staring at the meal that Bakugou has so generously placed before him. Sero was right–he was worried for nothing. Bakugou has a funny way of showing it, but this peace offering meant they were friends–right? 

+I.

“Denki, you’re supposed to wash those first!” Kirishima complains.

They’re in the kitchen.Ashido’s washing the rice, Sero’s cooking meat, and Kaminari’s supposed to be slicing vegetables; finally, Kirishima is preparing the curry sauce. Once in a while, one of their classmates steps in to stare in awe, maybe offer their help if they can. Jirou helps Kirishima with the curry before she remembers she had a study date, and there is a tray of cookies from Satou. It’s not exactly a feast, but it’ll do. Midoriya and Uraraka are there, too, making soba because it’s Todoroki’s favorite.

The news had spread quite fast: Bakugou and Todoroki passed the licensure exams.

They had gone straight to work, preparing the favorite dishes of the duo.

“Oh, geez, that’s another one gone,” Sero laughs, depositing a cut of pork into a plate–one side is burnt.

“This is ridiculous.” Ashido switches on the rice cooker. It flashes red and beeps. “How the heck does Bakugou make this look all so easy? Oh, wow, Ochako! That soba looks great!”

“It’s the cheap kind, though,” Uraraka responds, head tilting to the side. “I bet Todoroki always has the expensive brand. I wonder if he’ll like this?”

“I’m sure he will!” Kaminari chimes in. The carrot he’s peeling escapes his grasps and falls to the ground. Oops. 

None of them are skilled at cooking. On most days, they grab food from the cafeteria or from the convenience store. Bakugou always yells at them for eating junk food–instant noodles, cheap sushi, potato chips–and Kirishima can’t blame him. 

Still, Bakugou passed the exams. It was a cause for celebration, and they were trying.

The curry sauce ends up not being spicy enough, most of the meat is burnt, and Kaminari slices the vegetables into uneven shapes. Their only consolation is that the rice Ashido made looks normal. Yay.  

“He will hate this,” Kaminari grins.

“He won’t hate this,” Kirishima says in a convincing tone, even if he’s unsure of it himself.

Bakugou’s gone a long way since the first day of classes and Kirishima’s seen it firsthand. Perhaps the old Bakugou would have voiced his annoyance at being served a half-assed dish, but the Bakugou he knows now is friendlier on his own terms. He replaces indifference with silence instead of scathing words, and Kirishima’s half-confident he won’t insult their cooking–at least, that’s what he wants to believe.

It doesn’t stop the nervousness that creeps down Kirishima’s spine when Bakugou and Todoroki walk arrive, clothes messy from a… villain fight? Apparently, they had run into villains. Their uniforms are crumpled, their hair in slight disarray, and there’s a burnt mark on Bakugou’s left sleeve cuff. While the class fusses over them, Bakugou simmers and grits his teeth, just wanting to get out of there.

“Get away from me, extras,” he seethes, “I’m hungry as hell and I haven’t made my dinner.”

“You don’t have to make dinner!” Kaminari chirps.

Bakugou raises an eyebrow, puzzled. At the same time, Kirishima examines the singeing of  his cuff, traces a finger over it. It looks like it came from Bakugou’s quirk, more than anything else. They probably didn’t have enough time to change into their hero costumes–probably fought in their school uniforms. 

“We made you curry.” Kirishima grins.

A frown graces Bakugou’s lips, as if he doesn’t know how to respond. 

On the other hand, Todoroki thanks Midoriya, a polite smile on his face. “You made soba?” Todoroki asks, slowly. “My favorite. I appreciate that.”

Kirishima’s unsure what he should have expected, because Bakugou’s not smiling, he doesn’t even thank them. He allows himself to be dragged to the dining table by Ashido, though, and soon they come out with the food.

It’s quite unnerving, actually. Bakugou doesn’t say anything at all even if he eats it, slowly. The rest of them eat, too. Kirishima sees Kaminari blanch when he realizes how the bigger pieces of vegetables weren’t cooked all the way through.

“Is it good, Bakugou?” Ashido asks, boldly. “The rice is great, isn’t it?”

Bakugou scoffs. Kirishima frowns, almost thinks he’s going to say something mean–going to undermine their efforts.

Instead, Bakugou mumbles, “...Yeah.”

Kirishima exchanges startled looks with everyone but Bakugou, sees Sero’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second. They know it’s not good. It’s not even close to good. The curry’s terrible in so many aspects–but Bakugou’s eating it without complaint, and there’s even a half-smile on his lips that he’s trying to hide.

“Oh my god,” Kaminari wheezes, unable to hold back.

“Shhh!” Ashido pinches him on the arm and glares at him, and Kaminari shuts up even if his eyes are still blown wide with awe and surprise.

Kirishima’s heart swells with affection. Bakugou’s changed, a lot. It’s undeniable and he knows it’s because each one of them has always been there for him in their own little ways.

“Stop staring at me, Shitty Hair,” Bakugou grumbles.

“Sorry!” Kirishima responds, laughing. He squeezes Bakugou’s arm and takes another bite of the curry–and, yup, it tastes awful. If anything, he realizes it’s a good idea that it’s always Bakugou who cooks for them.