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“It’ll make me thirsty! Just go already!” Katsuki yelled at the old woman. How she could be so naïve to think that would be a good snack for a hero in the middle of an evacuation was beyond him.
“She’s being nice. You should just take it.” A familiar voice came from over his shoulder. He didn’t know whether he was annoyed with Uraraka or impressed that even with the severity of what was currently happening she could keep that adorable smile on those round cheeks of hers. And still have the mental capacity to think of sweets.
“You just want a chocolate bun, don't you?!” His voice was no less harsh when he spoke to Uraraka. Unsurprisingly at this point she didn’t seem bothered by his tone; she just smiled and even let out a giggle in response confirming his assumption.
Bold of her to just assume he would give it to her. After all even if he wasn’t a fan of sweets that didn’t make any he got on missions automatically hers. He could save it for someone else if he wanted to. So what made her so sure he would just hand it over.
He found himself picturing himself giving it to her on the bus ride out of here. It could be an excuse for him to sit next to her. Katsuki could picture that stupidly adorable look she got when she bit into something sweet. She would poke those cheeks he always found himself thinking about then she would probably thank him after she hummed her approval. All because of some cheap chocolate treat.
Uraraka turned to talk to Tsu and he turned his attention back to the old woman. He held out his gloved hand for the chocolate, he tried to reason with himself that it was no big deal to get the chocolate bun for a classmate. He grumbled a quiet thanks to the old woman because he wasn’t a complete monster, the woman made him instantly regret it.
“How I miss being young and in love.” Her voice was as cheerful as could be.
The on look his face contorted instantly. First confusion.
It was quickly replaced with rage. Who the hell does she think she is? Throwing that word around, love.
He didn’t love Uraraka, he was just accepting the sweet treat because it would make her smile. Something he enjoyed seeing just as much as he enjoyed when she kicked ass at training. That didn’t mean love.
His snarled lips parted to yell at the old woman again but before he could respond she was ushered with the others into the safety vans.
Me, love her? Yeah right
…..
The chocolate bun had been forgotten in his hero pants, only now that he was healed in his dorm room looking over his gear did he remember it even existed. Nearly dying would do that.
His fingers moved over the crinkly wrapped treat. Looking at it Katsuki saw it was crushed completely. Crumbled in the plastic wrap, it was a wonder to him that the thing never popped in his pocket with how much it had been thrashed around in there.
Katsuki knew he should toss the thing, it was no good now anyway. Yet as he stared at it, the old woman’s words were on replay.
Holding a treat for a friend, no, a classmate, was not strange it was a courtesy nothing more.
“Old hag was just being stupid.”, he grumbled to himself, ready to toss the treat in his garbage bin.
The soft knock on his door almost went unnoticed by the blonde, it was soft as if the hand behind it had been unsure if it wanted to be noticed. It was nothing like when Kirishima barged in or Mina forcefully knocked.
“What the hell do you want?” he swung the door open before the other person had a chance to answer.
Red eyes fell on none other than Ochako Uraraka. She stood before his door with an unsure look on her face, her eyes not looking up at him, arms hidden behind her back but a sweet although nervous smile was on her lips. What the hell did she have to be nervous about?
“Round face?”
“Hey Bakugou, I just wanted to check on you. Mina said you were doing good, but I didn’t see you at dinner.” Brown eyes finally looking up at him, her initial nervous demeanor changing.
His eyebrows shot up for a moment, she had noticed he wasn’t there and wanted to check on him, instantly he felt the fluttering feeling in his abdomen. Damn her for causing this, he was still fucking sore as hell.
“I’m fucking fine, I was going over my hero costume so I could send it for repairs.” That and the fact the painkillers he was currently on caused him to lose his appetite.
He leaned against the door frame relaxing at the sight of her smile. How could she still be smiling after the hell they had been through? He had heard from Kirishima that she had been on countless rescue missions while he lay up in the hospital. Shitty hair had made a point to mention how she was constantly going, only taking breaks when some of their teachers demanded it of her. Just another thing for him to admire, her drive to help others. Looking her over now he could see the toll it had taken on her. While her cheeks were pink, it was a paler shade and they were less full. Her eyes had darker circles under them and she wasn’t doing the slight swaying motion that she did when they talked. It didn’t take much inspection to notice she was exhausted.
“Oh that’s good. I made sure to leave you a plate before the others ate it all. It’s in the fridge whenever you want it, I wrote your name on a sticky note and everything.” Hands finally moved from behind her back and fiddle with her finger pads.
“That fucking was pointless, I can just make something myself.”, the words fell from his lips before he even realized what he was saying. He was working on thinking before he spoke, but it seemed to be one of his few faults.
Uraraka just rolled her eyes at him, “I know that, but you should still be resting, not moving around a kitchen late at night to make something and...”
“Look Cheeks, I told you I’m fine. I’m completely healed up and ready to kick ass let alone cook for myself.”
He should just say thank you for thinking of him, but he found himself annoyed that she thought him to be weak. Sure he was still sore as hell and moving certain ways caused intense pain but that didn’t mean he needed her to look out for him, he could take care of himself just like any future number one hero would.
Her cheeks puffed puffed out, he assumed it was from frustration, something he didn’t often see expressed on her. “You’re getting better but I saw you this morning, you winced when Kirishima and you were messing around. So that means you should be taking it easy.”
Has she been paying that much attention to him?
Katsuki knew he had only let the wince stay on his face a brief moment before he had quickly replaced it with a scowl. He had done it so seamlessly that Kirishima hadn’t even noticed. Yet Uraraka was saying she had, she had been on the couches across the living space, but she still saw.
She had seen his brief second of weakness, that’s why she was here, she was pitying him not looking out for him. Disappointment mixed with anger, the warm feelings she had brought washed away in an instant. The smile he hadn’t realized was on his lips vanished with them.
Who the hell was she to pity him?
Moving from the doorway he went to slam the door in her face, attempting to focus on the anger he felt rather than any disappointment he felt. “I’m fine, fuck off.”
Just before he closed the door he felt her body block it. If he wasn’t so pissed off he would have been impressed by her reflexes. “Why are you trying to slam the door in my face?”, a confused look on her face.
“Cause I don’t need your fucking pity.”
“Pity? Bakugou, who said anything about pity?” Urakaka laughed at this and Bakugou ignored whatever strange feeling that caused him. “I noticed my friend was hurt and I wanted to check on him. That doesn’t mean I pity you. Honestly I admire you.”
Was this a trap? Was she setting up a punchline at his expense like the old Hag does?
Red eyes scanned hers trying to see what the hell she was doing. He saw… concern not pity. That couldn’t have been right. He must be misreading something. Yet her gaze didn’t waver at the direct eye contact; it was almost like she was challenging him to call her a liar.
Rationality came back to his mind finally and he allowed himself to calm down allowing that feeling of anger to fade to a dull annoyance . he should apologize, but he was still Bakugou and apologies were not something he said often so he chose to focus on the last thing she had said, “So you admire me?”
Pink cheeks turned a bright red as she answered, “Well yeah, I mean you are always working hard, improving in some new way, you’re brave and you're super smart. Sure you suck at the whole media interaction part of being a hero in training, but still anyone could see how great you will be.”
At first glance Bakugou Katsuki was someone you would never assume had any self doubt or any insecurities. He always boasted about being amazing and even called others extras. His quirk has been praised by others as long as he could remember. Upon further inspection you might notice the insecurities he had, but he hid it well. After the fight with Shigaraki, he had been having more of those thoughts. More negative self-talk came to his mind. He had felt useless almost as much as when All Might Battle All for One. That battle society as a whole had lost so much, yet he had been unable to stop it.
Yet Cheeks still said she admired him. Despite getting hit and nearly dying. Despite not being about to end this war.
Pride filled his chest. While the insecurities didn’t vanish, they did fade from his mind. It was like she had the power to turn down the volume on those negative thoughts.
A smirk back on his lips, “I am going to be number one, one day so it makes sense.”
“Hey don’t get even more of a big head, I think the class would kill me for feeding into it.”, she let out a small giggle. The blush in her cheeks fading, “Seriously though you need to take care of yourself and that does mean resting.”
“Yeah yeah.”, giving a playful roll of his eyes. If he was being honest he enjoyed the moments they shared like this. When others aren’t demanding attention or butting into their conversations Katsuki would always find himself smiling uncontrollably. “How about you take some of your own advice?”
“Is that the chocolate bun from that day?”, her words stopping Katsuki’s train of thought.
It was now Katsuki’s turn to change red, he could feel the back of his neck heating up and soon his ears. How the hell could he be so careless and forget he was still holding the crushed chocolate?
“You actually took it from that old lady, that’s so nice!”, she nearly squealed and she nearly was bouncing on her feet from the excitement she felt.
“She was being pushy and I figured I could pawn it off on you like you said. No need to make a big deal out of it, Cheeks.”
“Well I appreciate it, even if it’s totally crushed, it’s the thought that counts.”, she seemed to be calming down slightly, taking in the crushed treat he held.
The old woman's words echoed in his head. Love. No he was being a decent classmate, nothing more.
“You owe me a new one.”
“What? How the hell do you figure that?”, he stared at her in near shock.
“Well you got my hopes up, only to see a crushed chocolate bun. Not to mention nearly slamming the door in my face. So I think I’m being reasonable.” shrugging her shoulders, the smile never fading from her lips.
“It’s your own damn fault for assuming it was yours in the first place.”
“Nope, you were the one who brought it to the door.”
Katsuki was ready to argue about it, say he would not be getting her another chocolate bun, when he saw her start to step backwards. “Oi, where are you going? I’m not done telling you why I don’t owe you one!”
“I’m taking my own advice and getting rest.” Urakara was fully turned around waving as she walked towards her own dorm room, “You can save your reasons because you owe my now Bakugou. Good night!”
He stood dumbfounded as she skipped off to her own room, leaving him alone still holding the crushed chocolate bun.
That girl was something.
It wasn’t till later when he finally went to retrieve the plate she had left for him in the friend that he had a realization. He stared at the way she had written his name and heart after the P.S. that read ‘rest up’. The letters were so bubbly and bold just like her.
If there was one thing Katsuki hated was being wrong, but staring at the note and feeling the warmth spread through his chest he knew the old lady was right. Maybe it wasn’t love yet, but Katsuki was definitely starting to fall for Ochako Uraraka.