Work Text:
"Bakugou?" Ochako asked. They sat next to each other on the floor, illuminated only by the light of the television. It was dark and bare in their new apartment with only boxes lining the walls.
"Hm?" he replied, wrapping his hand around hers while he kept his eyes on the movie.
"Are you nervous?" Ochako didn't feel like she had to specify. This was the first time either of them had lived with a significant other. It wouldn't be the same as living with roommates.
Bakugou took a moment, squeezing her hand to let her know that he wasn't ignoring her question.
"No."
"I am." Ochako looked at the ground, embarrassed that they had different answers. Bakugou grabbed the remote and paused the movie. He turned to face her and Ochako exhaled.
"It's scary, isn't it?" she started. "We think we know each other but we've only seen the surface. What if you don't like how I organize things or that I reuse tea leaves? You're stuck with me now."
Bakugou tilted his head and softly caressed her cheek.
"Stuck, huh?" he asked. "You think I'd get stuck anywhere I didn't want to be?" Ochako leaned forward to rest her head on his chest.
"No."
"As for the other shit, I don't know. I don't really care. You're more important than soggy tea leaves."
"I can't help but think that you're gonna get annoyed with me. I get annoyed with myself."
Bakugou rubbed her back and she wrapped her arms around him.
"We're gonna get annoyed with each other," he said. "That's part of the deal."
"Yeah, but how do I know?"
"I'm not exactly subtle," Bakugou joked. Ochako shook her head and Bakugou continued rubbing her back.
"How do I know if it's normal annoyed versus, like, bad annoyed?"
Bakugou kissed the top of her head and Ochako looked up at him.
"Because I'll tell you."
Ochako pouted. It wasn't a good enough answer. Bakugou leaned down so their noses touched.
"If you're worried, just tell me like you're doing right now," he said. "And I'll do your love language stuff to ease that brain of yours."
Ochako cocked an eyebrow.
"Love language?"
It was Bakugou's turn to be embarrassed.
"Yeah," he admitted. "When we started dating I couldn't figure out why you were so closed off so I read up on it. I tried everything. Turns out you feel the most loved when you're touched."
Ochako looked down at their connected bodies.
"Huh." Bakugou had silently done an experiment on her. "Now that you say that, I do remember the couple weeks that you bought me a gift every day."
"You hated it about as much as I did."
"It felt so forced. Like you were trying to bribe me."
"I kind of was."
Ochako laid her head against him and her brows furrowed in confusion.
"What's your love language?" she asked. "You don't like people touching you."
"That's not true."
"Besides me."
"I don't know but it's not gifts."
Ochako sat up straight to kiss him then leaned back to get a good look at his face.
"Here's what I know," she said. "You have people you like and respect but you don't want to feel like you owe them, which is why you don't like gifts."
"That feels deeper than surface level."
Ochako smiled and pulled him closer.
"You act like you don't care about others but I know you do because you keep them around. You wouldn't waste your time with them if you didn't."
Bakugou scowled at being known so well. Ochako pridefully shrugged and waited for a response.
"Quality time," he muttered. "The love language you're describing is quality time."
"That explains the movie after a long day of moving," Ochako said, then it dawned on her. "You feel loved when people want to spend time with you but sometimes that makes you uncomfortable."
Bakugou's scowl deepened.
"So you act like you don't want to be around them to balance things out," Ochako finished. "But I know better and so do you. You said it yourself. You don't get stuck in situations you don't want to be in."
A long pause followed her speech.
"You feel better?" he asked. Ochako nodded. "Good. I'm done being psychoanalyzed."
Bakugou resumed the movie and Ochako twisted around so she could sit between his legs. The nerves she felt before had disappeared. Now she was excited for them to learn more about each other.
"I love you," Ochako whispered. Bakugou tightly wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head.
"I love you too, now watch the damn movie."