Work Text:
“Oh puh-leasee. No way could ya win one of these polls.” Ochako slurs her words slightly, drink in hand as she leans into Katsuki’s space.
“Fuck you, I can win anything.” He slams his beer on the bar counter, some of it sloshing out.
“Nuh uh!” Ochako wiggles her index finger in front of Katsuki’s face, “You’re not even on social media! There’s no way!” She punctuates her point by booping his nose.
Katsuki huffs and takes in the woman in front of him. Her cheeks are flushed more than usual as they puff out in defiance. Her eyes are half lidded and they reflect the low flashing lights from the dance floor across the bar.
Katsuki knows a challenge when he sees one, and he knows that Ochako isn’t one to back out either. So, he juts out his hand in a handshake. They’re both pretty drunk, so instead of the intimidating challenge stance, his hand jabs Ochako’s side instead. She yelps slightly and frowns as she looks down.
“If I win, you’re eatin’ the spiciest ramen at the Spice Shack.” Katsuki growls out.
Ochako reaches to complete the handshake but stops at the last minute and looks back up at him. “Wait, who’s payin’?”
Katsuki scoffs. “Loser pays obviously.” He jabs her again, intentionally this time to signal that he’s waiting for her to accept.
At the thought of having to pay for a meal that there’s no way she’d enjoy - she’d finish it, of course, but she wouldn’t enjoy it because of the spice and because it would taste like losing - she rethinks the terms of the challenge.
“If I win, you have to make me mochi!” Ochako declares, remembering how stingy he is with sharing his delicious home cooked meals.
Katsuki narrows his eyes and draws his lips into a tight line for just a moment as he thinks about the terms. “Fine. Deal.” He grabs her hand and pulls her into the handshake so that no more changes could be made in their challenge.
She has to bring up her other hand and balance herself on his chest, both of them swaying a bit as the hum of the crowd falls away. Katsuki’s now looking down at her, noticing her slightly parted lips and deep chocolate eyes. He gulps as he takes in their closeness.
“Chaco taco! Come dance!” Mina’s voice cuts through whatever moment Katsuki hoped he was having, and his face instantly turns back into a deep scowl.
Ochako blinks a few times before finishing her drink and accompanying Mina to the dance floor. Katsuki pouts and slumps his elbows onto the bar counter while sipping on his beer.
“Sorry, I held her off as long as I could, but she really wanted to dance with Uraraka.” Eijirou takes a seat beside his scowling friend and orders a drink. “Just that time of the night now.”
“Whatever.” Katsuki grunts.
Eijirou sips on his colourful drink, “So, the two of you were gettin’ real cozy here.” The redhead turns toward Katsuki, one arm on the bar stirring his drink.
Katsuki sighs. “It’s that stupid ‘Who Wore it Best’ thing.”
Eijirou raises an eyebrow. “That TikTok trend? Where heroes dress up in each other’s costumes? Man, Mina does those sometimes and she’s shown me the account. Uraraka kills those.”
“Not anymore.” Katsuki chuckles lowly. “I’m gonna fuckin’ win one.”
“Uhh, bro, you don’t have any socials…”
“So? I’ll fuckin’ make one and I’m gonna win one.”
Eijirou blinks at his friend's words. He’s obviously approaching this with the same confidence with which he approaches everything, but Katsuki doesn’t really know much about how social media works. Or, really, about how social anything works.
“You do know that Uraraka wins those ‘cause she’s adorable and can pull off any of our costumes, right? She’s also got one of the biggest social media presences out of any of the heroes in our class. The public loves her.” Eijirou explains to Katsuki.
Katsuki furrows his brows and slouches over his beer even more. “I’m gonna fuckin’ win one.” He grips his beer tightly enough that Eijirou thinks the glass might break.
“What’s on the line for a win, Kat?” Eijirou asks, noting his friend’s demeanor. Katsuki always liked to win, of course, but his intensity also changed based on the stakes of the game. It’s why being the number one hero meant so much to him and why he was so focused about it.
Katsuki’s eyes flick over to Eijirou for a split second before they focus on the beer again. “Gonna make Round Face eat spicy ramen when I win.” He says in a low enough voice that Eijirou has to lean in to hear.
The redhead has been learning to understand and interpret his best friend for 5 years now. In their time at UA, he learned that Katsuki wasn’t actually an unfeeling bully. It was just that the blond felt a lot all at once, and didn’t really know how to express it all. After they graduated and worked as sidekicks for the first year, Eijirou learned that Katsuki deeply valued the relationships that he kept around.
Katsuki would often make sure that those he cared about took the time off when they needed it. Being new on the hero scene often meant working long hours, usually on unfruitful cases doing grunt work. Katsuki would be the one to nudge Bakusquad members who fell asleep at their desks and yell at them to go home and sleep. He’d also bring food to Eijirou if he noticed the redhead falling behind on his nutrition. Oddly enough, Katsuki also had incredibly thoughtful holiday and birthday gifts. He got Mina an appointment with his fashion designer dad and yards of acid proof fabric in different prints for her last birthday.
Over the years, Eijirou had also noticed his best friend’s lingering gazes on a certain cheerful gravity girl.
Ochako had taken a sidekick position in Hokkaido right after graduation, saying that she wanted to gain experience working in some more extreme weather conditions as quirk training. She’d come back to Tokyo and joined Best Jeanist’s agency with Katsuki, Eijirou, and Mina in the last year. The four of them had become a tight knit group with Hanta going to America and Denki and Kyouka working with Ryuku, who had just moved to set up shop in Kyoto.
The four of them worked together on cases with Katsuki and Ochako being regular patrol partners. Eijirou noticed how Katsuki didn’t shove off Ochako’s touchy-feely friendship, and that the blond would not-so-subtly keep an eye on Japan’s Sweetheart when she did squats at the gym.
So, of course, when Katsuki said that he’s going to make Ochako eat spicy ramen if he wins, Eijirou knew that the real stakes weren’t just about laughing at Ochako’s low spice tolerance.
“We’ll go through the old posts and see all of her old cosplays and poses. I know it’s mostly based on how many likes and comments each person gets, but that stuff’s all determined by your popularity and how hot you look in the other hero’s suit.” Eijirou pulls out his phone and quickly navigates to the account that ran the contest.
It was a popular contest among new heroes. They got to dress up and have some fun while the public got to know the heroes a bit better each time. The account was run by Hero Today, the popular tabloid magazine, and every time one of the heroes won this monthly ‘Who Wore it Best’ contest, the tabloid would feature that hero’s Hero Commission official website on their social media that month. Since rescue focused heroes rarely got the spotlight, it was a great opportunity for Ochako. In fact, since she had started entering these contests after her move to Tokyo, partly as a stress reliever, she jumped up 5 ranks and was now starting to get called into more high profile cases.
Hero work was just as much about managing the media as it was about actually dealing with villains.
Eijirou grabs Katsuki’s phone, which was sitting on the counter beside his beer. Katsuki protests, but Eijirou waves a hand to hush him. “I’m makin’ you an account. You’re gonna need it to look through this stuff.”
Katsuki grunts in acknowledgement and looks over his friend’s shoulder.
The two sit there, looking through some of the old videos and photos of the contest trying to form a plan. The only thing that they could decide upon was that Eijirou would plug Katsuki’s new presence on social media through his own.
They had about 3 weeks to cobble together some sort of a costume for the blond. The heroes could pick any other hero’s costume to wear every month and the tabloid would choose the bracket setup out of whoever they determined to be the top 16. Then, the public voting began with each level of a bracket being decided in a day. The whole thing took 4 days to play out. Katsuki could only hope that he and Ochako would be placed on opposite ends so that they’d just square off on the final day and he could win the whole thing.
----
Every couple days in those 3 weeks, Ochako messaged him a picture of one of her former cosplays with a teasing remark about how there was no way that Katsuki’s grumpy scowl would be able to win against her impeccable sewing skills and charming poses.
She was actually a terrible seamstress.
Katsuki had downloaded all the photos and videos she had sent because they were a higher resolution than the ones reuploaded by the tabloid.
He was, of course, just inspecting her costume construction work.
To say that he had noticed her at UA was an understatement. It was kind of hard to miss the girl who was herself a force of nature by controlling a force of nature. Of course, he noticed her round and pink cheeks, her large eyes, her smooth brown hair, and sunny disposition, but more than that, Katsuki noticed her ferocity, her stubbornness, her thighs in her hero costume, and her drive to win. He didn’t care what her motivations for becoming a hero were because he knew she’d be a great one no matter what.
Thanks to an assignment at the start of their third year, the two had gotten on friendly terms after training together. He had heard that she realized how her feelings toward Izuku were just platonic, so he tried to observe their interactions. Unwittingly, he observed all of Ochako’s behaviours. How she lit up when talking about the night sky, how her cheeks went even puffier when she even thought about mochi or dessert, how wide her eyes went when she learned something new, how she’d gotten much better at asserting herself and making confident decisions. Katsuki noticed it all.
At some point, he wanted to notice everything about her.
He found himself leaning in a bit more into her touches during training, taking in her yuzu scented shampoo, and leaving his hand on her a bit longer every time he caught her in the air. He agonized over himself for months, denying that he had any feelings for her. Unsurprisingly, it took him seeing someone flirt with her at a rescue scene for him to really admit any of this.
He didn’t just wanna notice everything about her, but he wanted her to do the same with him.
Katsuki finally got the nerves to demand that she go on a date with him near the end of their time at UA. He had it all planned out - they’d go to a make your own mochi class. That way, he’d be able to show off a bit while also challenging her to do a good job with mochi at the end of the line. Then, they’d come back to UA and hop on the roof for some stargazing. Katsuki hoped that he’d get to kiss her at some point, but he’d be happy just being able to be the one to make those cheeks puff up and eyes twinkle.
He waited until the end of all their exams so that neither of them would be distracted. He had built up his courage for months, and he was ready to tell her that day. The two of them were sitting around after their final daily training session when Ochako told him that she had taken a sidekick job at the other end of the country.
He knew that one of the biggest weaknesses of her quirk was dealing with heavy winds and since her hands were her weapon, cold weather would wear her out more. So, he knew that this job was the best thing for her career. He grit his teeth, swallowed the words that had been at the tip of his tongue for so long, and clenched his fists as he told her that she better come back with enough quirk control to move a whole city.
He brought her to the airport and held onto her as she hugged him goodbye, and he picked her up at the airport when she came back to Tokyo.
Their first day at work together brought back all the feelings he had almost hoped to be rid of in the year of her absence.
She came back as the confident and witty woman who challenged him to a cosplay contest, and he’d almost kissed her at the bar.
Well, once he won the contest, at least he’d finally have something of an excuse to take her out on a date under the guise of it just being a spicy ramen eating challenge.
It wasn’t exactly the mochi making date that he had planned, but he hoped that there would be time for future dates.
So, because of all that, he saved her cosplay pictures just to make sure his costume was more well made than hers.
She had dressed up as Deku, Froppy, Earphone Jack, Creati, and Pinky so far. He actually snarled out loud when he saw the comments from the post where her Creati outfit was featured. Still, that was definitely his favourite one.
Coming across a picture of her in her Uravity costume, though, gave him an idea. The two of them did share the same costume creator after all.
He immediately expedited a version of her suit in his size.
----
“Kat, this is the best thing you’ve ever worn.” Eijirou howls in laughter as he grips his knees after Katsuki starts pulling up his custom ordered Uravity costume.
“They fuckin’ got my sizing wrong.” Katsuki growls and crosses his muscled arms over his bare chest.
“Bro, I don’t think they did. Uraraka’s suit is skin tight . You went the authentic route so they obviously used the super detailed measurements they had of you.” Eijirou wipes some tears from his face and takes a deep breath between laughs.
“This shit barely goes over my ass. How the fuck does Cheeks get hers in?” Katsuki fights a growing smirk.
“Mina told me she has to, like, wiggle in, dude.”
Katsuki instinctively pictures her trying to shimmy herself into the suit and has to shimmy himself out to avoid a growing discomfort.
“The fuckin’ deadline for entry is tomorrow.” He yells as he puts his sweatpants back on.
“Ok, dude, don’t hate me but I have an idea.” Eijirou grins at his objectively very attractive friend.
Katsuki narrows his eyes. “If it helps me win, I’ll think about not hating you.”
The redhead smirks mischievously and hands Katsuki the Uravity suit back.
----
“Oh my god, Mina!” Ochako wails in part awe and in part annoyance at having just lost this month’s ‘Who Wore it Best’ contest.
She had dressed up as Dynamight, thinking that it would be genius to try her hand at sewing Katsuki’s costume when they shared a costume designer. She wore her own tight fitting black high neck tank top and constructed his grenadiers and neck piece from cardboard. She formed mini grenades out of styrofoam and spray painted it the perfect green colour. She even fashioned a face mask out of a sleeping mask. For the image setup, she floated the styrofoam grenades and struck up his power pose with legs apart and one arm out in front of her. She struck his signature feral grin and even growled a bit through the video.
Ochako was so sure she’d win again this month. In fact, people loved her costume and it turned out that the fans of Japan’s Sweetheart harboured the deep secret of wanting to see a bit of a feral side to Uravity.
She had this win in the bag and could almost taste Katsuki’s mochi.
That is, until she took a look at his entry for the contest and could finally see him for something beyond his usefulness in making her mochi.
Truly, she saw the whole package that was Katsuki Bakugou, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, dressed in an extremely tight Uravity costume. Her mouth watered as her gaze trailed up his legs. He wasn’t wearing a replica of her boots, opting instead for simple, branded, pink socks, leading seamlessly into the suit over his strong legs. The top half of the Uravity suit clearly couldn’t fit his massive shoulders, so he stood there with his bare chest and hand outstretched showing all five finger tips, to which he had glued on some felt pieces to imitate Ochako’s quirk pads.
The black and white paneling was straining over his legs, and the odd little white stripe that ran down her center led to a particularly tight view. Her belt hung on his hips, half hidden by the folded over sleeves that hung loose because he had to leave his chest uncovered. The zipper was just barely holding onto the outfit as he had a thumb on his other hand hooked through it, slightly pushing down on the already low costume. He’d also clearly been oiled up, his bare muscles reflecting the light as his piercing gaze tore through her. And, whatever was left of Ochako after drooling over all that was decimated by half smirk on his face, much softer than his usual sly grin.
His first real picture on social media, and he decided to make it one that left very little to Ochako’s imagination.
She can’t even stay that mad. She’s about to go to dinner with that man, and maybe now, she’d actually be able to tell him how she feels.
Mina snickers as she peers over Ochako’s shoulder to see Katsuki on screen. The pink hero had already known about the whole plan. Her boyfriend couldn’t exactly keep personal secrets like this and had blurted out his best friend’s plan to take Ochako out on a date just the day after the plan was made. Mina had pulled some strings with her connections at the tabloid to make sure that the two only went head to head in the final round.
In the year after Ochako came back to Tokyo, she had quickly become smitten with the grumpy blond. It turned out that Ochako thought his gruff nature was funny and she noticed his not so subtle genuine smiles around her. She liked how passionate and driven he was because it made her simultaneously proud of him and challenged her to be the same. Most of all, she saw just how loyal he was to his friends in his own deeply meaningful ways. He’d always talk to her when he noticed her having a bad day even though he hated small talk, and he covered up all his friends with blankets when they passed out on his couch after a night of partying. He’d remember everyone’s favourite foods and cook those for their birthdays, pretending that he just accidentally made extra. Ochako also knew about how Katsuki would stroke her hair every time she started to fall asleep on his shoulder during the monthly Bakusquad movie night.
Mostly, though, she knew what she felt around him was something she wanted to feel all the time.
[Blasty] 7 PM tonight. Don’t be late or I’m adding dessert onto your bill.
[Cheeks] You hate sweet things!
[Blasty] Nah, I just like one sweet thing.
[Cheeks] ???????
[Blasty] Dinner, Ochako.
[Blasty] 7 PM.
----
Every single day Katsuki saw Ochako, he felt his breath catch, but this was finally the night he got to take her out. It wasn’t quite like the mochi making date night that he had imagined years ago, but he knew he could bring out the fierce Ochako he had definitely come to love over a bowl of sanity testing spicy ramen. It was no surprise then, that as she panted over a ball of ramen spicy enough to even break him out into a sweat, he felt his breath catch again.
Her hair was starting to frizz up from the humid night and her frantic movements when fanning herself off. She had spilled a bit of the broth on her blue lace dress that Katsuki knew she’d borrowed from Mina. She was starting to tear up from the heat and tried to chug her water to cool herself down.
Katsuki chuckled and ordered her a glass of milk, which she instantly reached for.
“What. The. Hell.” She pants out between sips of milk after she wipes it off her face with the back of her hand.
“This is what’s called flavour.” Katsuki laughs and points at his bowl.
“Did you explode off your tastebuds?” Ochako reaches over the table and lightly smacks his arm.
“You just never had any to begin with, Round Face.” He grins at her. “Your face gets even rounder full of food.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yea, yea, I have a baby face, I get it.”
“Cheeks, you got round everything.” He lets his eyes dip below her face and snaps them back up.
Ochako flushes at his obvious attraction to her and she can’t help but preen at the comment.
“So… this is a date?” She asks after she recovers from the heat of the spice.
It’s Kastuki’s turn to feel the heat creep up his neck and face as he chances a look at her.
“Do you want it to be?” He gulps.
Ochako sighs. “Don’t gimmie that hiding behind your pride thing. I’m in Mina’s dress.” She tilts her head and gives him an exasperated look. “Of course I want it to be.”
He shrugs as if he hasn’t been waiting for this moment for all of his adult life. “Guess it is then. You should borrow that dress all the time.”
“Well, I know how you like skin tight outfits. You gonna wear this one too?” She raises an eyebrow at him and gives him a sly look.
His cheeks turn the colour of his eyes. “Shut the fuck up.” He mumbles and they finish the rest of their meal in lighthearted teases.
True to his word, Katsuki makes her pay.
“You know, you didn’t have to go through a whole contest thing just to get me out on a date, Cheeks.” He grins wolfishly at her.
Ochako looks up at him in confusion as they step outside into the now crisp night air.
“You paid, so you took me out on a date.” He towers over her and drops his head down closer to hers.
She brings her hands up to his shoulders. “Well, you can even the score with dessert.” She says, voice dripping with desire and expectation as she tugs on his shoulders.
He closes the distance and fits his lips onto hers. His hand goes around her waist and pulls her body flush against his. Her lips are soft and warm, and oh so receptive to his tongue as he traces them. She moans into him and her knees buckle slightly. Katsuki has never heard a sweeter sound.
He feels like he just had dessert with that kiss, and he’s ready for seconds.
“Fuck, Cheeks. I’ve been waitin’ to do that for years.” He parts them slightly before saying between light kisses against her neck. “Guess I won in more than one way.” He smirks up at her, head resting on her shoulder.
She pulls him back in for a deep kiss, biting his bottom lip slightly as her hands go into his hair.
“Katsuki,” she breathes heavily as she pulls away, “I’ve already seen all you have to offer.” She grins and her eyes flick downward before she starts leading him toward her apartment. “I think I’m gonna be the real winner tonight.”