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Katsuki had never thought that he would get this far when he haphazardly asked out Uraraka just over two months ago. He hadn’t been planning on doing anything with his stupid feelings toward her but Kirishima had practically coerced it out of him. He definitely hadn’t expected her to say yes. Their first date had gone extremely well, which Katsuki was proud of. All of their dates after that went just as smoothly and eventually Uraraka decided they should make things official.
Apparently, ‘official’ meant meeting her parents.
His hands had never felt this uncontrollable in his life. They were shaking as he rubbed them on the train ride to dinner.
“They’re going to like you,” Uraraka assured him. She set her hand on his knee and Katsuki inhaled slowly.
“No one likes me except you.”
“That’s not true,” Uraraka said and willed him to meet her eyes. “People like your tenacity, your determination, your strength.” Uraraka paused and then smiled. “Everyone thinks you’re amazing!”
“Tch, admiration and liking are two different things.”
Uraraka scrunched up her face while she thought of a way to calm his nerves.
“Just--talk about heroes or moves. You’re passionate about those and it makes your face light up,” she suggested. Katsuki glared at her.
“You’re worried I’m gonna fuck this up, aren’t you?”
“Of course not!” Uraraka flushed red.
Katsuki rolled his eyes and moved one of his unsteady hands to cover his face.
“You think I’m gonna blow it,” he muttered into his palm.
“No! I just know how you get when you’re in--uncomfortable situations. I mean what’s the worst that can happen?”
“I send an explosion through your parents house, injuring both of them, and leveling the apartment. They tell me to never see you again and I’m kicked out of U.A. for destruction of property.”
Uraraka stared at him with wide eyes.
“That’s--a lot.”
“That’s what's going on in here,” Katsuki said, knocking on his head with his knuckles.
“Ooh-kay,” Uraraka sighed and grabbed one of his hands. “You need to relax. My parents are nice and welcoming. I’m right there with you.”
“I’m good at fighting, Uraraka. I’m not good with people,” Katsuki mumbled and Uraraka squeezed his hand.
“Last you told me you were good at everything,” Uraraka smirked.
“Not now,” Katsuki said quietly. The train was coming up on their stop.
“Fine, fine. Just tap me three times on the shoulder if you need to leave.”
“I don’t need an emergency exit! I can handle this!”
“That’s my guy.”
Within minutes they were at her parents' door and Katsuki was a ball of nerves and stubbornness. He was gonna impress the fuck out of them. He wasn’t going to lose his temper and he wasn’t gonna ruin anything.
Uraraka knocked on the door and put on a smile.
“Just be yourself.”
There was no way in hell that was happening. He knew himself. Parents didn’t like that.
Uraraka’s mom answered the door and squealed in delight.
“Ochako! I’ve missed you!”
“Miss you too, Mom,” Uraraka said as she hugged her mother.
“And I’m guessing this is that boy you’ve told me so much about,” Uraraka’s mother smiled widely at him. What had Uraraka said to her parents about him? Abort mission-
“Yep, this is Bakugou. My--boyfriend.”
Katsuki gulped. He averted his eyes to the ground in habit before he remembered that people like being looked at when you meet them.
“I’m the boyfriend,” Katsuki said roughly as he thrust his hand toward Uraraka’s mother. She laughed and took his hand carefully.
“It’s nice to meet you. Dinner’s almost ready so let’s go inside.” Uraraka’s mother turned around and headed deeper into the apartment.
“Relax--please. You’re starting to get me wound up," Uraraka whispered.
“Why’d we even have to do this?!” Katsuki raged as he took off his shoes in the entryway.
“This is important to me,” Uraraka said quietly. He’d gone too far. Now she was doubting him or the situation or both.
“Shit-I-okay. I’ll be the best boyfriend. They’ll have to like me.”
Uraraka took a breath, forced a smile, and followed the path her mother took.
Katsuki shook out his hands and jumped up and down a few times.
“Are you coming?” Uraraka asked, peeking out from the archway she’d just entered and giggled. “Warming up for battle?”
“No!”
“Come on,” Uraraka waved him toward her and Katsuki cracked a couple knuckles nervously before heading toward the aroma of decent smelling food.
Uraraka was talking to her dad who was stirring something in a large pot.
“There he is! The man of the hour!” Uraraka’s dad said when he saw Katsuki. He handed off the stirring duty to Uraraka, who grinned at her dad’s excitement, and ran over to Katsuki. He shook his hand firmly. “Nice to finally meet you!”
“Yes sir,” Katsuki said. He grimaced in confusion. That wasn’t a proper response.
“Ha! Don’t be nervous. We don’t bite.”
“I do,” Katsuki deadpanned. Uraraka facepalmed but her father laughed heartily.
“Right, I saw you on the podium at the Sports Festival. I was kind of shocked by your reaction to winning.”
Katsuki grinded his teeth to hold back what he wanted to say. Uraraka’s eyes filled with unease as she watched him.
“Is dinner ready, Ochako?” Her mother asked.
“Yep! Time to eat!” Uraraka said too loudly.
Uraraka brought the pot to the table as her mother set out bowls and cups. Katsuki noticed scratches and chips in their dishes as he sat down. The table was nicked and had stains splattered across it. Uraraka handed Katsuki some chopsticks as she sat next to him and caught him staring at the table. She blushed with embarrassment before she poured tea for him.
“So, Bakugou, how has school been treating you?” Uraraka’s mother asked kindly.
“He’s at the top of our class in training and studies,” Uraraka answered. He raised an eyebrow at her. She pursed her lips but didn’t look at him while she dished up her own bowl of food.
“That’s great! Can’t say I’m surprised,” her father grinned. “What’s your favorite subject?”
“He really likes math for some reason, haha,” Uraraka laughed nervously. “I told him it’s crazy to like math but he says it’s objective.”
Katsuki scooped the takikomi gohan into his bowl, keeping an eye on Uraraka as she shoved a bite into her mouth.
“That’s a good way to look at it,” Uraraka’s mother nodded in approval. “I’m sure you talk enough about school together. What do you do outside of school?”
“Oh, he likes mountain climbing. We actually climbed a mountain together a couple weeks ago. It was beautiful. He’s also a really great cook and sometimes he makes me breakfast in the mornings.”
Katsuki blushed and slowly ate a bite of rice.
“Not to mention that he’s good at practically everything so really anything we do he picks it up right away. We went to the arcade the other day and he beat me at air hockey! You know how good I am at that,” Uraraka rambled.
Uraraka’s parents glanced at each other before her mother turned herself to face Katsuki.
“Do you answer anything on your own?” She asked him with a warm expression.
Uraraka paled and shoved a couple more bites of food into her mouth.
“I would if I was allowed to,” Katsuki said, a smile tugging on the right corner of his lips.
Uraraka chuckled nervously.
“Sorry,” she said quietly. “I just--really want you both to like him as much as I do.”
Katsuki’s stomach fluttered. He tried to make sure his face didn’t reflect that. His palms, however, he couldn’t control. They were sweaty to the point where Katsuki couldn’t stand it. He discreetly wiped them on his pants and hoped he didn’t run into a candle later.
“We’re working on it, sweetie,” Uraraka’s father chuckled. “She said you cooked. Do you have a favorite meal to make?”
“Uh--I like to experiment. Try different things. I don’t have a favorite.”
“That’s exciting! I bet Ochako is a good taste-tester. She’s always loved food,” her father commented.
“She’s great. The level of spice she can handle has increased too,” Katsuki replied.
“Oh, so spicy food is your forte,” Uraraka’s mom grinned with excitement.
“You and your lava mouth,” Uraraka’s dad laughed. “I’m the sweet tooth in the house. The hotter the better for my love.”
Uraraka’s mother nodded in agreement.
“Do you have any good hot sauce recommendations?” She asked Katsuki. He nodded enthusiastically and they talked about that for several minutes. Uraraka’s parents probably thought he was starting to relax but his palms betrayed him.
Uraraka noticed him wipe his hands on his pants again and she nudged his knee with hers. He quickly finished his bowl and glanced in her direction.
As her parents continued to talk about sauces, Uraraka weaved her hand into his and smiled softly. Katsuki savored the feeling of her fingers in between his for as long as he could. He didn’t want her parents to see it.
“So-,” Uraraka’s father turned back toward Katsuki and he pulled his hand away from her. Uraraka huffed and went back to eating her meal. “How long has this been going on?”
“Sorry?” Uraraka choked out.
“This whole boyfriend thing.”
“A couple months,” Katsuki answered. Uraraka froze.
“A couple months?” Her mom said, losing her kind demeanor.
“Shit,” Katsuki said under his breath. He didn’t know it was a secret.
“Uh-yeah. I wanted to make sure it was real before I...told...you,” Uraraka trailed off when she read her parents face. “It’s not like we had any rules on dating.”
“You’re supposed to tell us when you go on a date.”
“I tell my friends and it’s not like I’m dating a stranger.”
Katsuki felt out of place. He wanted to scream that this wasn’t dinner talk but, if he did, he was sure he’d ruin the night.
“So--the mountain climbing and the arcade; you two were alone then?" Uraraka's mother asked. Katsuki did not know if he was supposed to lie.
"Yes. I didn't think that would be a problem," Uraraka answered defensively.
"No, it isn't but we do want you to be safe,” Uraraka’s father said stoically. “In all aspects.”
Katsuki’s palms somehow started sweating harder.
“We’re safe,” Katsuki interjected and Uraraka closed her eyes like she had accepted her own demise.
“What Bakugou means-,” Uraraka said after a couple seconds, “-is that we don’t go out too late and we always tell people where we’re going.” Uraraka looked at him with eyes as hard as stone. He needed to watch his mouth and tread carefully.
“Right. Of course,” Uraraka’s father said but stared Katsuki down. “How was dinner?”
“Great,” Katsuki managed to say. It was a simple meal made from cheap ingredients. He wasn’t expecting perfection.
“The mushrooms were a nice touch,” Uraraka smiled and her mom started a conversation about the best things to put in takikomi gohan.
“Would you mind helping clean up?” Uraraka’s father asked Katsuki while the ladies talked. He nodded once, grabbing the empty bowls and chopsticks speedily. Katsuki took them to the kitchen, which was thankfully in view of the table. Uraraka’s father came up behind him and set the empty tea cups down on the counter.
“You survived the night, Bakugou,” he said.
“It’s not over yet, sir,” Katsuki muttered and Uraraka’s father laughed.
“That’s true. You almost got me at the table. You found quite the jokester, Ochako.”
“Yep!” Uraraka said quickly and brought in the pot of leftover food. “One of the many things that I like about him.”
“Well, I know you both have to get back to the dorms but it was lovely to have you over. I can’t believe Ochako hid you from us for so long!” Uraraka’s mother said.
“Me either,” Katsuki said and Uraraka took a deep breath beside him as she washed dishes.
“I’ve got these, sweetie. We don’t want you to have to take the later trains,” her father took the sponge from her and started scrubbing. “Don’t be strangers.”
“I just have something I’d like to show you, Ochako,” her mother said to her. “Something in the other room.”
“Oh, okay,” Uraraka gave Katsuki a confused look before leaving with her mother.
“I can wipe down the table,” Katsuki offered and took a towel lying nearby.
“You seem like a good kid. Even if you’re rough around the edges,” Uraraka’s father said as the sound of dishes clinking in the sink echoed throughout the room. Katsuki didn’t know what to say so he just continued cleaning. “Seems like you’ve mellowed out a little from what I’ve seen on T.V.”
Katsuki's body tingled with anxiety. What was he supposed to do? Tell him that he was wrong? That he was the same temperamental kid who had just fallen in love with a girl so he didn’t want to seem like an asshole in front of her parents. Wait--did he--love her?
Is that what love was? Did Katsuki love Uraraka? He must if he was willing to meet her parents. Shit--he wasn’t moving or talking.
Uraraka’s father watched him have this very important internal conflict with a worried look on his face.
“Everything alright?” He asked Katsuki.
“Yeah? Why wouldn’t it be!?” Katsuki said too aggressively. Her father raised his eyebrows and turned back to the dishes.
“Maybe I was wrong about the mellow part,” he chuckled. Katsuki sweating wasn’t limited to his palms anymore. He threw the towel on the counter and ran off to find the bathroom.
“Where the fuck is the room with the toilet!?” Katsuki raged to himself. He flew through the hallway. When he found it, he couldn’t move his body fast enough to lock the door behind him. With an intensity he couldn’t explain, he flipped the light switch and looked at himself in the mirror. Was this someone who was in love?
Katsuki turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on his face in a panic. He couldn’t be in love. They’d only been dating a little while. Didn’t it take longer than that?
He pulled out his phone and called his dad.
“Katsuki?” His father answered in shock.
“I need you to shut up and tell it to me straight. What does love feel like?”
“Whoa, is everything okay?”
“Dad!”
“Okay, okay. Um, it’s different for everyone, son.”
“Well, what is it for you!?”
He heard his dad chuckle on the phone.
“Don’t laugh at me!”
“Calm down, Katsuki, please.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down! I need to know!”
“Love is--putting someone else in front of your own wants or needs when they need it.”
“So you turn into a pushover?”
“No-no, that’s not what I meant,” his father laughed awkwardly. “You want to do things that make them happy. Even if you don’t want to do it.”
“Like meeting their parents?” Katsuki asked tentatively.
“Sure, sure. Does Uraraka want you to meet them?”
“I’m--at their house right now.”
“Oh. Then why are you calling me?”
Katsuki covered the receiver and cursed.
“I want to be sure.”
“Sure?”
“I already feel like an idiot around her. If I’m not sure, it’ll confirm that.”
“I don’t know Katsuki. I can’t tell you if you’re in love or not. Only you can decide. Wow, that’s something I’d never thought I’d say.”
“You’re no help at all!”
“Sorry, son. Good luck tonight! Meeting her parents is a big step. I can’t wait for you to bring her over.”
“No way. Not until the hag chills out about the whole thing.”
“You should probably respond to her texts soon.”
“Whatever,” Katsuki hung up and took a steadying breath as he put his phone away. He was getting worked up over nothing. It was just a fleeting thought. He wasn’t in love with her. They’d only been dating for a couple months. It didn’t work like that.
Katsuki shook out his hands and unlocked the bathroom door. He just had to get through the rest of the night and then he could dwell on this alone.
When he exited, he found Uraraka pressed up against the wall outside the door.
“What did you hear?” He asked immediately. Uraraka wouldn’t look at him.
“I didn’t hear anything. I was just waiting for you. Let’s leave. Right now.”
Something wasn’t right.
“Whatever you want.”
Uraraka grabbed his hand and kept her head down.
“Thanks for having us, Mom and Dad! Love you!”
“Love you too, Ochako!” Uraraka’s mom said and her dad waved. Uraraka dragged Katsuki to the train station without saying anything.
“I fucked up, didn’t I?” Katsuki asked angrily. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“No, no. It went okay. My mom just--” Uraraka’s face turned a deep red and she turned around.
“You can tell me shit.”
“It’s really embarrassing.”
“Try me.”
Uraraka’s hands were shaking and scrunched her face.
“My mom gave me the talk--again. Except it was way more directed about you and I kind of freaked out then she gave me these.”
Uraraka pulled a roll of condoms out of her pocket. Katsuki’s brain wasn’t working. Her mom had given her those?!
“I told her that what you meant by safe was that we weren’t doing anything but she didn’t believe me! She practically threw them at me!”
Uraraka put the condoms back in her pocket and held her head in her hands.
“Now she’s gonna think things about you and me that aren’t true and she’s gonna tell my dad and-”
“Uraraka,” Katsuki interrupted. “I love you but you need to chill the fuck out.”
Katsuki was taken aback at himself. He did not just say that.
“What?” Uraraka leaned away from him in shock. “What did you say?”
“I said you need to chill out.”
“You love me?”
Both of them were frozen in place. Katsuki had never been more embarrassed in his life. At least there wasn’t anyone else at the station.
“I--I don’t know!”
“Great!” Uraraka threw up her hands. “The first time anyone says that to me and you don’t know.”
“Fuck! How am I supposed to know? I’ve never been in love before. All I know is that I met your parents tonight when I dreaded it. I tried to be someone they’d like so that you would be happy. I could spend all day with you and not hate you at the end of it. There’s not a single other person in this world that I’d say that about.”
Uraraka hadn’t taken those big, brown eyes off him while he rambled.
“Say something,” Katsuki pleaded.
“I-I don’t know if I love you either. We haven’t been dating that long. I admire you so much. You respect me and it makes me feel special. The way you look at me makes me feel warm and safe. When you hug me, it fills me with pride because I know you don’t like physical contact with anyone but me. You tolerate it with other people,” Uraraka laughed and Katsuki rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. “I constantly want you when you’re not around and when you’re around all I can think about is how great you are. Even when you say stupid things in front of my parents.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“My mom gave me condoms, Bakugou.”
Katsuki couldn’t deny that.
“Maybe we could find out what love feels like together?” Uraraka suggested. “It'd be nice to know. If I was going to figure it out with anyone, I’d pick you.”
Katsuki chuckled awkwardly.
“I’d pick you too.”
“So--don’t throw away the condoms?” Uraraka joked and Katsuki blushed so hard that she giggled. “I didn’t realize you’d be so uncomfortable with that.”
“It’s not that I haven’t thought about it-”
“I’ve thought about it plenty,” Uraraka admitted then realized she’d blurted out something she hadn’t meant to. She covered her mouth and the pair were crimson-faced together.
“Don’t throw them away then,” Katsuki shrugged and they laughed awkwardly together. At that moment the train came and Katsuki took her hand. “They keep for a while right?”
“Yeah, we’ve got plenty of time. I can only handle so many ‘first times’ in a night!”
“So I was the first boyfriend you introduced them to?” Katsuki asked as they boarded the train. Uraraka nodded.
“You won,” she smiled at him sweetly. Katsuki smirked and wrapped his arm around her when they sat down. He didn’t care if she had brought anyone else over. As long as he was first in her heart, he’d count himself a winner.