Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

11:38 AM

hi ☺️

Who the fuck are you?

oh im (y/n)! mei is a bit busy with other students so ill help her and fix up what you need on your costume

I don't need your help.

oh okay

2:20 PM

you're looking directly at me but you're not talking

what is it you need? use your words

I'm looking for the crazy one.

mei is busy with the green haired kid and the robot looking guy. it's me or whoever else with their hands free so pick

I need my gauntlets fixed.

what about them needs fixed?

Can't you just figure it out? I don't have all evening.

feisty

im trying to help but i can't because you're not helping

The crazy one knows.

news flash, i am not mei

so are you going to tell me or not?

i can just hand over the project to someone else that mei trusts less or i can do it and you can tell me.

You looked away from your phone briefly as you watched his eyes avert from your form, annoyed at him for acting so childish. Especially for a third year. You looked back down to your phone to send him a quick text.

oh, so you're just not gonna look at me now, ok. have fun with someone else

Something inside keeps malfunctioning.

like what? mei told me you use that to store your quirk's sweat.

I don't know. Something isn't pushing the sweat out like it used to.

ill look at the problem overnight, but you won't see them until at least tomorrow after school

just set them on my desk and ill text you updates if i got them

You looked away from your phone briefly as he set his gauntlets down on your desk with a grumble. You rolled you eyes and added to your text.

don't grumble at me

(bakugou disliked your text)

+++

Later that night, you worked in the workshop on his gauntlets, finding the problem after several hours. Before you could dive into it, you heard a text come from your phone. The bright light blinding you momentarily.

7:53 PM

Update?

some of your things in there are rusting, did you know that?

i can't fix it from the inside, i have to take it all apart and fix it like that

No way in hell.

bakugou, right?

the rust is all inside. you have to replace that every few months because of the moisture from your sweat.

The crazy one would be able to fix it.

im. not. mei.

get that through your thick skull.

mei gave me your information so that i could help you, and i could help her take off some of the slack.

she trusts me the most. do you fucking understand that?

i would be GLAD to hand you off to another student in the class.

mei didn't tell me you'd be a complete asshole but i should've known when i had seen you in the sports festival win for both first year's and second year's.

you're still so full of yourself, even after that big war

call me insensitive, but you can let someone else work on your gear and your costume just fine.

it's NOT that big of a deal.

Fine.

Do whatever you can to fix them.

Don't fucking break them.

why would i do that?

You took a moment to breath from the frustrated typing you just spent. Your breathing raged.

put more trust in me third year

(bakugou disliked your message)

You worked tirelessly all night. That's what you did, on all your projects, even student ones. You got no sleep what-so-ever and eventually, you watched the sun rise. It made your eyes and head hurt, but you were quite used to it.

6:04 AM

good morning 🌅

i completely tore everything apart last night and found more issues so it'll be longer until you get your gauntlets back.

on the bright side, i fixed a bunch of stuff mei did in a rush and made it more stable.

7:11 AM

your gauntlets are really heavy, do you really carry them around?

i thought you had bad wrists or something

there's a way to double the sweat storage without making it any heavier for your wrist you know

they just won't look so classic to your grenades or whatever

You decided to step away from your desk and head to the student's dorms to change and freshen up. Just since it'll be another day of school and you spent all night in at your desk in the classroom.

A little over an hour passed, and you were back at the classroom, the rest of the students working hard on their projects and gear for other students. You, however, stopped when you saw breakfast on your desk. You furrowed your brows, it was not from the cafeteria, rather bought from some fast food place. There wasn't a note or anything, but Mei saw you quickly and peered around the corner.

"Bakugou dropped that off for you by the way." She smiled and returned to her work area, busying herself once again. You couldn't ask her further what was up. Or if he had said anything when he dropped it off. You didn't want to bother her further.

8:26 AM

yo mei said you stopped by and left this shit on my desk

[image of food attached]

is this your way of paying for tearing apart your gauntlets?

either way, ill eat it ig

You didn't give him the satisfaction of a 'thank you'. He didn't deserve it, he treated you like shit.

12:03 PM

i got it mostly done. you can pick them up tomorrow morning.

(bakugou liked your message)

By the time evening rolled around, you fixed the gauntlets earlier than intended. It's evening and you haven't eaten since lunch (which was 6 hours ago). You can't decide whether to eat and just return the gauntlets after eating or to pay Bakugou back for the breakfast and return his gauntlets to him.

You ultimately decided.

5:07 PM

by the way, your gauntlets are heavy as fuck.

You switched to your dashdoor app and looked at options for food. No need to try and order food for anyone else, no one else was in here with you except for Yuka. Mei was out doing who knows what.

"Hey Yuka, Do you want anything? I'm ordering takeout." You decided to ultimately speak up. Yuka was a good classmate to you, and often covered for you, so you could pay her back with some food or something.

"If you're offering, sure." She smiled at you, her voice soft and gentle, compared to Mei's or Power Loader's.

"What would you like?" You asked, genuinely curious in her taste in foods. You'd assume soft and sweet, but when she opened to answer, you were a bit surprised.

"Spicy. The spiciest they have." She smiled and turned back to her workspace. You ordered food for the both of you and when it arrived, you ate quietly. She would occasionally ask a question about what you were working on currently, only for her to nod or hum in response.

When you finished eating, you bid goodbye to Yuka and she did the same. You headed down the hall and past the hero course hall, kind of curious as to if Bakugou was still hanging around. You could give him his gauntlets, but that would result on taking a detour and all you wanted to do was get home. You ultimately decided to just go home, shaking off every curiosity you had about Bakugou. He was not worth a thought. You headed home instead.

The next morning was pretty uneventful. You settled in to your workspace and started messing with a project of yours's that you started, some old junk that maybe could be some laser detection or something. You weren't sure. You tore apart other old projects of Mei's because she gave you permission to do so, and want to try your hand at something different. It was just regular free time morning stuff. The door opened and the ash blond walked in, in his school uniform. Hands in pockets and all. You rolled your eyes and pointed to the gauntlets on the other half of your workspace.

"My costume tore." He gruffly spoke up, pulling his bag around from his back and pulling out a folded hero costume.

"Okay?" You replied, not interested in fixing it, or at least fixing it right away. "Not my problem."You don't take bullshit from anyone, especially not Bakugou. He was notorious for that, or so you've heard.

He shook his head and replied with a 'tsk', inviting himself into a chair. "I don't care. Fix it."

"Is saying 'please' so difficult? Maybe saying it will have me care a little more." You replied, going back to messing with this item if yours's. He tapped his foot impatiently.

"I need it by this afternoon."

"Great." You snapped back quickly.

He let out an aggravated sigh. A moment later, a message notification.

8:20 AM

Why can't you just fucking do it? It'll only take a few minutes.

where's the "please"? hm?

i only do nice things for people if they're nice back

You piss me off.

Fix it.

you piss me off too!

im glad the feeling is mutual

and i won't do shit

you said you need it by the afternoon?

you'll come get it at lunch

you are not my priority today

i gave you priority yesterday

"You texted me just to get the same answer." You spoke up making him snap his head up from his phone. You were right, all he did was get the same answer, but in text form. You shook your head and set down the laser sensor. "I'll give it to you at lunch."

He stood from his chair and moved out of the room without another word. You'll work on this other student's thing and then his in time for lunch.

+++

By the time lunch rolled around, you finished the fix. It was a bit more difficult than you had hoped. You're not one to see costumes, that's usually Yuka's thing, but she was not in the classroom usually until afternoon so you had to take what she taught you and remember it the best you could. You were better with hardware over anything else. You got your lunch tray through the line and walked over to where you saw the ash blond poking out from the crowd. He was sitting with 4 others that looked like they invited themselves there.

"Here." You set down the bag in front of him and he looked up at you briefly before a loud voice gasped.

"Oh my gosh, you're so pretty! You know Bakugou? You should totally sit down and eat with us!!" You looked over and it was the pink alien one.

Chapter Text

You tentatively sat down, even though you didn't really want to. Bakugou was to your right and the lightning guy was to your left. Across from you was the alien, red spikey hair was across from Bakugou, and the other one across from the lightning guy. You didn't know names and it was already awkward to be sandwiched between students you barely knew and didn't know.

"You're so pretty, like a flower or something." The alien girl spoke. You didn't know how she did it, with the whole being the only girl in a group of guys.

"Do you even know our names?" The red spiked hair one said, tilting his eyes sideways and you shook your head.

They introduced themselves. Kaminari, who tried flirting with you immediately before he was forced to just give his name, Sero was the arm tape guy, Kirishima, he had sharp teeth with his sharp hair, and Ashido, who was the pink alien. and Bakugou whom you already knew.

Speaking of him, he wasn't even part of the conversation. He was faced away, eating with the bag on the ground. Was he in a bad mood? It wasn't your fault. Maybe he's having wrist problems. Those gauntlets are heavy. You'd still suggest he change them, but... you didn't wanna have to speak out loud. Everyone was back to having a conversation to themselves.

Excluding you and Bakugou of course. You cracked your head to your phone on your lap, hiding it from any onlookers. Such as the rest of your table. It was awkward being there, you really wanted to go back to the classroom, but something about the way Ashido smiled was inviting.

11:15 AM

You should leave if you’re not gonna talk.

sounds like you need to say that about yourself bozo

What? What’s that supposed to mean?

you don’t talk either

You don’t belong in this group

ouch much?

You looked up from your phone as Bakugou narrowed his eyes at you. You shook your head, mouthing, 'if I left, Ashido would probably fuss'. To which Bakugou mouthed, 'fuck, you're right'. He rolled his eyes and looked away, without his phone so you couldn't text him further.

You put your phone away too, and ate quietly, since no one was really directing their conversation to you, until Ashido said something about quirk training and your ears tuned them back in. Your quirk was small, simple, not fit for heroes. That's why you were in the support course, plus you're smart with gear and it was always a dream to make cool stuff for people.

"Do you have a quirk (Y/n)?" Kirishima asked, turning his head to look at you. You slowly nodded, squinting your eyes. You glanced at Bakugou quickly before looking away.

"It's kinda stupid." You grumbled and that seemed to pick up the ears of Bakugou, he wasn't looking, but looked like he was listening again. "It's called magnetize, but mine is pretty weak compared to my family. I can basically only bring small items to a generalized point, like my finger. Usually I use it to bring screws or bolts over to me so I don't have to reach over."

"That's so cool!" and "It's not stupid!" came from the students around you, but Bakugou grunted.

"It's stupid and weak." He grumbled. You rolled your eyes.

"Aren't you that green haired kid's friend, wasn't he the one that beat the bad guys during the war, isn't he quirkless again, or getting there?" You looked over at him, making him look up at you. "You're one to talk for a quirk being weak." You really struck a nerve. Probably. You only knew that about the friend because it is as broadcasted. And you kind of knew from when you worked on the coffin in the sky, underneath.

All he did was grunt. "Whatever." He turned back away and looked back down to his empty tray.

You excused yourself from the group and said you had to get back to work on projects again, trying to not look like you were running away. You felt so awkward and the situation got worse when you took a jab at his green haired classmate. You can't remember his name, it's been 3 years. You were pretty sure Mei was the one that took care of that classmate if you're not mistaken.

+++

Hours passed of working on student’s items, you realizing that your phone was on silent until the sun went down and you stretched.

1:07 PM

I need something fixed.

2:26 PM

Hello?

3:36 PM

Support course extra.

7:45 PM

I’m coming over with food.

You looked back up to only glance down at his hands. When did Bakugou make it over? And so fast? Or maybe he was quiet and you just didn’t notice. One was a suitcase and the other was a paper bag. You looked back up at him as he set down the suitcase on your desk beside you and the paper bag on Yuka's workspace, sifting through it. He didn't say anything, just pulled out some take out and moved over to put some on my table. He looked at me after he returned to his own bag.

"Support course extras need food too." He gruffly spoke, using my words against me from the other day.

"Yet, you refused my food." You shook your head and turned to the project at hand.

You're hungry but you already had enough socializing for the day, but also he gave you free food. Again. What do you do? He's about to make himself comfortable.

You stared at the food, sitting on your workspace in front of you. Bakugou, behind you, was already beginning to dig in as he sat down and made himself comfortable. He didn't talk further or make noise, just sat on his phone and ate his food.

You, on the other hand, wasn't sure if you were going to shoo him off, so you could eat the food he bought you, in peace, or just eat. But... it smelled good and it was still warm. You opened the takeout box and stared down at it, noodles.

You let out a quiet sigh and placed the object you were working on, away from the food, and scrolled through your own phone, hoping to distract you from the presence behind you.

7:55 PM

Are you eating.?

I don’t need to know you’re wasting food over there

Your back is faced towards me and you’re all hunched over.

Your* back.

im eating just fine, thanks

7:58 PM

pay no mind to me, bakugou

Do you not like when people are eating with you or something?

He lets out a loud huff. "You're an introvert or something."

"I just don't like people." You grumbled, while taking a bite and shutting off your phone to turn around and look at Bakugou.

"You're just a spec on this world, most people don't like you." Bakugou grumbles, seeing that you are now facing him as you eat. He turns his own phone off.

"Oh great." You rolled your eyes, annoyed that Bakugou had to start up the conversation in the first place.

You finished your food minutes before he did, even though he started first.

You picked up his bag and went through his little gear, stuff that seemed pointless to fix. "What do they do?"

"Store sweat." He mumbled and closed his box. You looked at them again. Handheld grenades, there were about 20 of them. "Anyone with a fire quirk or explosion quirk can pull the tab and set them off. Good for teammates."

"Didn't expect you to be a team player." You grumbled back, looking closer. They're old. Like old old. "These look old."

"They are. I haven't touched them since my first year." He approached you and leaned over from behind you, getting in your personal bubble. Shivers ran down your spine and you hated that.

"So you want new ones."

"No. I just want them fixed." He leans back and pulls the chair over to sit next to you.

"They're unfixable." You looked at him now beside you and set the grenades down. Only keeping one in your hand, you shook it around. Sweat sloshing around inside, a gross sound for sure. "Better to just have new ones that can clean themselves too."

He sat there for a moment, staring at the grenade and picking them up. after another few long minutes of silence, "Fine. You know best."

You stared at him. He agreed? You went through your desk quickly, kind of fumbling a little and one of the grenades dropped on the floor as you closed a drawer. You grabbed it before it rolled away and pulled out a blueprint Mei gave you of his structure of the hero costume.

You marked it with a red pencil instead of a black one. "We'll change the inside structure, and keep the look, if that's what you're still going for." You looked at him for some kind of approval.

When he nodded, you continued telling him what you were changing, jotting it down as you went. It's good for him to know this stuff if he's going to be a hero in the future. He'll have to have support people around him that can do his stuff, and not support course students.

Hours went by and it was late. You looked at your phone time. Midnight. He was sitting with his eyes on the blueprint. "These aren't my gauntlets."

"Oh." You moved to pull it away from him but he slammed his hand down. "They're.. the gauntlets I talked about, that would be lighter on your wrists but look better and store more sweat.”

You didn't wanna share those. At least not yet. He stared at it and the growing pit of dread in your stomach felt heavier as the minutes of silence passed. You let him look at all your notes, which felt embarrassing. They were mostly scribbles about how things are supposed to work. And look. But.. that was a back burner project that you'd probably never work on because it's out of the way. It's not an assignment and you'd have to get permission from both the teachers and the hero student they're for. Which.. Power Loader is intimidating and you'd rather not have to deal with him, if you don't have to.

"It looks like shit." He finally said. There goes you feeling like shit. You could make it look a little better maybe, it's still in its drafts. "But. It's not bad." You still felt like shit at his words.

You kept quiet as you heard his stand up.

"You don't go home this late, do you?" He asked, his voice holding some sort of.. softness. It was unnatural to the usual gruff attitude, but it caught you off guard.

"Uh. No. I will go to the dorms if I'm out this late." You stood and stretched, putting away the blueprints, except for the gauntlets. The gauntlets, you rolled up and put in your bag as you packed up.

"I'll walk you." His voice made your head snap up.

"No- it's okay. The campus is safe and all, and I do this all the time. It's not a big deal." You stammered and waved your hands in front as if to try and get him to stop.

"Don't be stupid. I'll walk you." His voice makes it hard to refuse, but you don't want to waste his time.

Chapter Text

On second thought, he was offering. As far as you were aware, he probably wouldn't do this to just anyone. Even though he seemed full of himself in past years, maybe he's being considerate now.

Maybe.

Or you're thinking too far into this and he's just doing what any hero course student would do. You packed up pretty quickly, shoving some projects in your bag and those blueprints you had planned, plus whatever it was that he needed fixed in your other hand.

His eyes darted to your own, your steps feeling lighter than usual. Was it because you agreed to let him walk you to the support course dorms? you don't have to be on edge as much.

He shoves his hands in his pockets and turns out the door, waiting for you to catch up.

"Those gauntlet blueprints don't look half bad, but the design is ugly." He grumbled out as the two of you began walking down the long hallway of the school before reaching the stairs.

"Well, one of the reasons your current ones are so heavy is because they look like real grenades." You scoffed back. You were reminded that a few moments or so ago, he saw your blueprints for your secret side project.

You both stayed quiet while descending the stairs. It was kind of awkward and Bakugou was continuously looking down at his phone, scrolling through it. You equally grabbed your phone to try and get rid of the awkwardness you feel.

Like you thought, it was awkward, not uncomfortable. If it was uncomfortable, either of you would try to force a conversation. You received a notification on your phone.

Today 1:02 AM

You're quiet.

riiight..

so are you

you're just looking at your phone and we're right next to each other.

So what?

My stupid group chat won't stop texting me.

what are they bothering you about?

It's late, or whatever.

awee so your friends are concerned about you

They aren't my friends.

sure sounds like it

"They aren't my friends." You heard him grumble. You looked up from your phone, over at the hero next to you.

"If they aren't your friends, why are you in a group chat with them?" You simply asked, tilting your head up at him. He looked beside him and down at you. You shoved your phone back into your pocket and just kept looking at him as if he'd answer right away or something. He just looked at you with his brows furrowed.

"Tch." Was all he answered, snapping his head to look the other way. You moved your own head, watching out the windows of the school and looking at the night sky as the two of you exited the school.

There was a chill in the air, a similar indicator to telling someone that the weather was going to get cold soon. Something you weren't too keen on. You didn't mind the cold, but fall weather was perfect, or even spring weather. Snowy weather wasn't fun to walk in, especially since your commute to school was usually a walk.

You shivered and Bakugou looked at you as if the "burr" motion you did was disgusting. Like being cold was for the weak. You assumed it was because of his quirk, constantly being warm, with his explosions.

You scoffed, looking at the clouds covering the moon. "They won't leave me alone." He grumbled, "I tried to push them away, but they somehow kept themselves attached to me. And a couple of them are so glued to me after the war, thinking I can't handle myself. I can handle myself just fine."

You glanced over at him and inhaled, taking in all his words. Didn't expect him to say all this. You've barely known each other for a week. And here he is, spouting all this stuff about how concerned his friends are for him. You'd wish you had friends like that, but you stay a loner and rely on Mei or Yuka. as classmates, not friends.

"You.. shouldn't be so guarded about it. People are concerned for your well-being, and that just means they care and want to keep you around. In their future and all that." You ended up breaking the small amount of silence as you both walked down the hill.

And it was silent again , but it wasn't awkward like before. Comfortable, with each other. With breathing the same outside air. You looked away from him.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" You broke the silence again. You didn't know what you were doing. or saying.

"Training." He grunted, his eyes were trained on the sidewalk ahead of the both of you.

"And after that?" You couldn't shut up, not now.

"Nothing."

"Since it's the weekend, let's go somewhere. my treat." You couldn't take it back now, you didn't know what came over you. Was it because you wanted to make up for those ugly ass blueprints he peaked at? Or the fact that he bought you and brought you food twice? You didn't know and you didn't really like it. You weren't desperate for his attention, you don't know what the fuck you were doing or why.

"Uh, sure, I guess." The both of you were close to the dorms at that point.

"I'll text you the details then." You blurted.

Today 1:50 AM

hey uh

there's this really neat indoor/outdoor rock climbing place about 20 minutes from campus

we could meet there

[insert address here]

at around 10 am?

and maybe hit ramen afterwards, my treat

Read 5:04 AM

You saw a text from Bakugou while you were on your train to the place.

Today 10:12 AM

Are you running late?

Dumbass

SORRY

IM ALMOST THERE

You were running late. Whoopsie. It's not your fault! Your alarm sounded for two seconds before it turned off. (it actually sounded for 20 minutes and you snoozed it three times). But because of that, you rushed to put on a shirt and shorts and tennis shoes, and went to meet him in front of the rock climbing building.

And there he was, standing facing the other way. You had the opportunity to slow down, compose yourself. You don't know why you suggested this, or hanging out in general. You don't hang out with people outside of school. Or class. or in normal life, too focused on your own support items.

When you caught your breath and walked up to him, you put a hand on your hip and tilted your head to see if he'd notice you before you had to shout at him. Why does he kind of look pretty? Though, his face still held that scowl. The morning glow of the sun made him sparkle. You shook your head, trying to rid of the weird silly thoughts. He did, however , turn around.

"You're just gonna keep standing there behind me? looking like a stalker." He grumbled, crossing his arms. He also wore shorts and a t-shirt.

"Uh, good morning." You said kind of awkwardly.

You and him started walking inside, there were so many walls, short and tall, medium, some with races and bells to ring, some with obstacle courses. you suddenly hated the idea, to rock climb. And your eyes followed out their back door where there were even more people.

Bakugou grabbed your arm and pulled you back and you started to protest but you quieted when you realized he stopped you from running into something. You sheepishly pulled away, as did he, suddenly embarrassed that you weren't even paying attention in the first place. What's wrong with you? You're walking around like an airhead.

You both got in line and the lady sitting at the ticket desk looked up and went on about her deals and prices. The sentence caught your ear though. "We have our ropes course open today so if you'd like a rock climbing and ropes course bundle, it will be 7,191.25¥ ($50 USD) each."

You looked at Bakugou and he was already looking at you. "I don't care." He grumbled. He did care by the way, he just wanted to pay for something and get it over with so he could go climbing.

"The ropes and rock climbing bundle. For two." You pulled out your wallet and he put his hand over it, handing her his card.

"What? I invited you out. You've been buying me meals." You protested quickly, closing your wallet and putting it back in your little bag.

"It's not a big deal. You said you were paying for food later." He shot back quickly as the two of you grabbed your entry wristbands and started walking further inside after scanning them to make sure they would work.

Every wall or activity, you have to scan the bracelet, so they know how many people are in one area. If it gets too populated, they have to send a supervisor. especially on the rope course and rock wall combo.

Bakugou scans through to a wall already and he hooks himself up, boasting about how he doesn't even need it, and climbs up the wall in no time. You were kind of impressed. This is more his zone, something you thought he would enjoy. He looked down at you and smirked triumphantly, relaxing against the ropes and letting himself fall and hit the ground.

"Your turn." He handed the stuff to you before letting it go in your hands (before you barely even gotta grab it). You put it on, with a little bit of struggle, and started climbing. Slowly. You weren't one that went out and was very active, you sat in your workshop all day, or your room, and made stuff, not come out and climb or run or swim.

Bakugou snapped at you, because you were talking too slow. You saw him look at the other walls, like he was tired of waiting up for you.

You let the ropes hang you in the air and you slid down them, standing back on solid ground. "You don't have to wait for me if you wanna climb, you know." You stated, thinking it was obvious but he crossed his arms as you unhooked and unbuckled yourself.

"You suck. Why'd you pick it if you can't even get up halfway?" He glared at you and you scratched your head.

You looked at him blankly, "because you're having fun."

"It ain't fun if you ain't having fun." He grumbled under his breath and looked away.

You blinked. What? Did you hear that right? "Huh?"

"Nothing. Next one." He grabbed your arm and yanked you towards another wall, without looking back. What you didn't know was that his ears were tinted pink and his cheeks were dusted.

"O-okay." You stuttered out. You're yelling at yourself in your head, why are you so out of it? This isn't you.

You don't stutter or get nervous, unless it's about one of your projects. You are strong minded, you bite back. Where is that bite? Why is it not present right now? What's wrong with you?

Bakugou let go of your arm and handed you the ropes to buckle up and strap in. He demanded that he was going to teach you how to rock climb.

and after a few hours, you were able to reach the top of the wall. He smirked wide and boasted about it, about being your teacher. Teaching from the best of the best. You rolled your eyes, but you were weirdly happy about it.

The day went on, and you ended up enjoying it all more than you thought, though treating him to the ramen shop down the street was another story. She was quiet and you both were sitting as he looked through the menu.

"Ain't there anything hotter here?" He grumbled, you guessed mostly to himself though. He sounded pissed off, maybe because he doesn't have hot enough food. You hid behind the menu, already knowing what you want.

It was low-key embarrassing being there, you thought. He was yelling at the staff about making ramen hotter for his tastes. You gripped the menu and snapped. "Just order the hottest ramen and add hot sauce."

He looked at you, hearing you speak up. "Hah?" He looked back at his menu as the waiter came over and asked for your orders. He ordered what you had said, which was extra hot sauce, and you ordered what you wanted.

It was quiet and awkward, and you didn't know what else to talk about other than school, so you just stayed quiet. "Those gauntlets." He spoke up, breaking the silence as they brought the food. You looked up at him. "Are you gonna build them?"

You didn't answer, or have the energy to, though as you ate, he was thinking, or maybe calculating, something in his head.

The rest of the evening was silent as he walked you both back to the campus. You both scanned your I.D.s to get inside and headed up the hill to the dorms. It felt too awkward after he asked. You both just ate silently, and you paid for both of you guys, all that extra hot sauce he requested was expensive.

You guessed it was fair because he did pay for your activity earlier, that he didn't need to pay for. You had enough money. Or maybe he had a feeling he'd do something like that. You fidgeted with a bolt and screw that you found in your pocket.

"I want to pay for it."

You looked up at him next to you. "What?"

"Your stupid project. Let me pay for the parts, and your time." He spoke up a bit louder and stopped to look at you. "I want to try them out."

"Okay. Wait. Huh?" You sounded confused because you were confused. You didn't know what to do with this information.

"Are you ignorant or something?" He barked and you just stared at him.

"No, I'm just, I thought you said it was stupid and ugly."

"Changing the outer design won't hinder the inner workings, right? Easy." He crossed his arms and started walking again, which you stumbled momentarily to catch up and walk beside him again.

"Okay, okay. Then, we can talk about it tomorrow. You can come by my workshop and you can get your stuff and we can talk about it. You can see how much it'll be and stuff." You knew you were going to pull an all-nighter.

To get his requested items done and fixed, and to figure out each part (a breakdown), and figure out their prices.

"I'll be over at 3 pm then." He stops as you stop too. You both made it to the dorms. "Get enough sleep, don't pull any all-nighters." He turns around, heading to the hero dormitories.

Chapter Text

You did stay up all night, reworking his disposable grenades and making extras as the caffeine in your system buzzed. It was your fourth energy drink of the night, and you worked with a small light in the school. You were unbothered in the school, unlike in the dorms, where your dorm neighbors blast music, and it's hard to focus.

You get more done in the quiet. You don't have loud mouths screaming in their dorm rooms or music blasting in your ears, disturbing the peace. Peace.

You worked on his old ones and found out you could make a new one pretty fast. Maybe you went a little above and beyond, but you got distracted. Once you're on one thing, it's hard to stop.

You'll be awake for a bit now. That's sad, you guess. You did want to get some sleep before Bakugou chatted about the parts. Parts? Oh shit, you got so distracted with his little grenades (and made like 20 of them), that you forgot to look at your blueprints for the prices of parts.

You went through your catalog and jotted everything down, matching up the blueprint part to your catalog of companies and parts. Some places were cheaper than others, just by a few thousand. You dove into your school fund, only allowed to spend a certain amount every month.

Support course-kids were spoiled, in terms of spending. Some things they had, were a room of parts in bins. It some something old and probably unusable, but Powerloader wouldn't dare to throw it out. He hoards parts like crazy. Others, like Mei, would use those parts because they'd either blow their spending all at the beginning of each month or try to widdle down the parts that come in every month to fill the storage pieces.

Creati, the hero student who helped during the war against AFO and Shigaraki, had produced a lot of parts that were unusable by the end of it.

Meaning the end of the war.

You started to feel sleepy, and when you checked your phone, 5 am started to roll around. You'd for sure get sore if you fell asleep, but then again, it'll only be a short nap. No more than a few hours. You had finished the pricing, and the total, and inwardly cringed.

No way he's going to pay for that. You should order some parts. You did save up a lot between when you first started going to school, and now. You could at least pay for a quarter of the stuff... but that's still so much money. You've never spent so much in your life, let alone owned that much. Even with your school spending.

Your eyes suddenly started to feel heavy as you stared at the bright laptop screen, ordering a large cart of parts that were to come in a few days or so, to the school. You didn't want to burden Bakugou with the price as much as possible.

You laid your head down once it turned 6 am, the sun finally visible through the windows of the school. Your eyes fluttered closed. Maybe just an hour. Of sleep. The caffeine wore off and you were finally knocked out.

One hour, turned into two, into three. And suddenly, it was 11 am, and Bakugou was opening the door to the support course room, after getting training done. He froze momentarily.

You were lying your head down on the desk, face slightly smudged with pencil and grease. He gripped the handle of the door and his eyes softened, only slightly, as he stepped inside and closed the door. He walked up to your sleeping form and was about to wake you up, only to stop himself. He didn't know why he stopped.

The look on your face was so quiet and peaceful, and he knew you'd be in pain after waking up, from that sleeping position. You were covering some blueprints with your sleeping face, and fingers on an asleep laptop keyboard. He wasn't wearing his usual scowl for once, though, there wasn't a need to. No one was in the support classroom, besides you and him.

He stood for a moment, figuring out what to do in his head. Obviously, you stayed up all night and ignored his wishes for you to sleep. His eyes glanced over your workspace a few times before they landed on a bag. The same bag he gave her a few days ago. He crouched and opened it, his eyes widening slightly.

There were so many of his disposable grenades in there. He wasn't sure to be weirded out or impressed. Why did you work on so many? "Idiot.." he grumbled quietly and picked up the bag, moving out of the support course room. Though, he stopped before leaving and looked back at you. What was holding him back? He walked towards you again, the bag in his hands, and he set it down back in its place.

He pulled up the chair near you and sat in it, staring at your face. The sun was just above the school at this time, but it made the classroom bright and lit up. He grimaced when you stirred in your sleep, but you didn't wake up. He kind of didn't want you to wake up, especially if you worked all night.

He slowly stood and let out a grumble, incoherent, and unheard, as he moved to close the windows. He and you were the only ones in there, the others wouldn't mind. The room started getting darker and you stirred again which made him freeze, but when you adjusted to leaning back in your chair over leaning on the desk, and going back to sleep, he let out the breath he was holding.

"Shitty girl,” he grumbled, moving back to sit on the chair he claimed next to you. But he stood, his hand reaching to move a piece of your hair out of your face. He drew back his hand and sat down once he realized his body was moving on its own. "Tch." He sat and scrolled through his phone, hopefully, you'll wake up in the next hour or so.

You were annoying, to him. Why did he want to go out of his way for you, and why did he agree to pay for these stupid gauntlets anyway? They were ugly, actually. He just thought it was weird to go from gauntlets that looked like grenades, to gauntlets that looked smooth.

That foreign country he went to where Deku was wanted as a criminal, with that hero costume that sits in his closet, all torn and destroyed, those gauntlets were cool but small. But his wrists.. could be happy with the gauntlets you have on your blueprints.

He's just stubborn and doesn't like change. Change is weird. To him, change is going to sabotage his number 1 hero goal. Change is what got him and Deku to win the war though. That's why he looks at you with some kind of interest.

You were weirdly important to him. You could change his life. Work for him in his agency maybe. Why was he thinking like that? Gods.. he's been poisoned. Something is seriously wrong with him.

His perspective has changed so much through the years. After Deku started losing his quirk and his own quirk has to be maintained.. that's the kind of change he hates. But, as he looked down at you, he softened. He doesn't know why. He will never ever admit it. But something about you.

He shook his head and returned to his phone. Gods, wake up shitty girl.

You stirred awake, the room was pretty dark except for the small light that illuminated the desk. You looked down at your phone, at 1 pm. 1 pm? You sharply inhaled and sat up.

"Sbout time, shitty girl." He grumbled, looking up from his phone. "Thought you were gonna sleep forever."

Oh! What? You looked over at the voice, Bakugou looked at you as you blinked. "Huh? When did you get here?"

"Not long ago." He lied. He hated lying, but he didn't want you to know.

"How long will it take you to make once all the parts are ordered?" He asked, his voice quieter than usual, still thumbing through his wallet.

"Uh. A couple months or so, roughly." You mumbled, watching him. He pulled out some cash, counted it, then handed it over.

"¥428,288. ($3k)" He put it on his desk. "That can get you a good amount of parts." He grumbled, standing up.

"H-huh? Hey- wait-" You stood up with him, storing the cash in a drawer.

He put a hand up and looked down at you. "If you don't take it and use it, I'll take your list and buy the parts for you." He barked back and you quickly went quiet. "Let's go to your dorm." He picked up his bag, and walked towards the door. "I'm gonna make sure you eat."

You were forced to change into something clean and freshen up. It's not exactly what you were expecting. He was already saying he would pay for most, if not, all of the parts. It felt insane to you. He just carries around so much cash too?? And what's this about dinner?

You felt nervous. Why did he want to spend so much time around you? He hated you doing his gear in the first place.. that was only a couple of months ago too. It made you feel weird.

When you exited your dorm building, he was waiting and in casual fresh clothes too. You looked at him and he looked down at you as you walked up.

"What are you in the mood to eat, shitty girl?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for your response.

You thought for a moment, looking at Bakugou as he waited impatiently for your answer. He made a 'tch' and snapped his head away, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yakiniku." You shrugged, and both of you began walking down the sidewalk of campus. He looked at you and watched as you stared at your phone.

"At least you didn't pick Wagyu." He grumbled, rolling his eyes slightly, only for them to land back on your figure. You walked at an even pace. It was slower than usual for Bakugou, but for some reason, he didn't mind it.

At least when it came to you, he didn't mind for some reason. You looked up from your phone and gave him some confused look. He looked away immediately. "Is there something on my face? I cleaned it all up, I thought." You mumbled quietly to not disturb the quiet.

"No. It's nothing," he grumbled back, that scowl returning to his face. You let out a sigh, you can't push him to tell you, he seems like he doesn't roll that way. The one to tell his feelings. But you don't either. You let it all get bottled up until you can't hold it in anymore.

That's unhealthy of you, but everything in the U.A. is pretty unhealthy with the way you work. Staying up late to finish projects, working until you're starving- which Bakugou is offering to pay for again which is fine, but also not. You have the money to pay. at least your part. But he already declared halfway through the taxi ride that he would pay.

You paid for the taxi ride which you deemed appropriate, even though it's way cheaper than what he is paying for food, but if you argued with him further about the food and paying, he probably would've tried to fight you physically and you don't have the training level he does for that.

He held the door for you, watching you enter the restaurant, and continuously keeping an eye on you to gauge your emotions. When you had snapped at him in the car about paying your part, he wasn't ideally fond of that idea. It seemed rude to make you or have you pay over something he invited you to.

He turned away as the door lady took the both of you to a booth. They took both of your orders for drinks and sides and brought over a grill and a bunch of meat minutes later.

"You didn't have to," you mumbled and he started grilling some of the meat, flipping it every now and again, only to place the first pieces on your plate.

"Wait-"

"Don't thank me, shitty girl." He only grumbled, "You're the one starving yourself." He started cooking more pieces and you just blinked at him. "Eat." He pointed at your plate and you moved some sides into your plate and started eating quietly.

Bakugou had started eating shortly after, cooking some of the meat for you first, and then himself. "I can cook-"

"No."

You didn't argue so neither of you would cause problems in the restaurant.

After moments of silence, you opened your mouth to speak up again, but the waiter came by and slid the receipt over to you. Bakugou side-eyed you, and you opened the receipt on the back to avoid seeing how much it was. You didn't want to see. Bakugou snatched it from your hands and turned it around. He saw that your half was paid for and that he was not.

On the back was a stupid note with a stupid number from that stupid waiter.

Bakugou's thoughts zoomed. He wanted to just pay and get out of there. He wanted to treat you, but this stupid waiter pretended like Bakugou didn't exist. Erased him from the picture.

Bakugou got up and moved to the register to pay which made you confused about why he got up so fast and looked angry. You took the time to eat the remaining food on your plate and get up as he grabbed your wrist and tugged you out of the restaurant.

"Let's get dessert somewhere else," he grumbled and you blinked at him.

"Explain what that just was? Why the fuck did you freak out?" You tugged back, and he let go of you, turning towards you.

"That- guy. He paid for you."

you dropped your arms to the side of you, staring at him. "What? No. Let me go back and tell him to-"

"Don't. I already yelled at his manager." He grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Let's get something you want."

"Huh?" You ran your hand through your hair and rubbed it down your face. "Bakugou. Stop being so cryptic and tell me what's up. Why are you doing all this?"

He looked away and covered the lower half of his face. "Can't I do something fucking nice for you once?"

"You do a lot of nice things, weirdly enough. You got me food multiple times," you mumbled, suddenly embarrassed to say such things out loud. He still didn't look at you and covered his face.

"Just. Where do you want to go?" He said it more like a demand than a question but you thought about it for a moment and he ended up distracting himself again with his phone, his face uncovered.

Chapter Text

"Mochi." You mumbled, though it was loud enough for just Bakugou's ears.

Though, it seemed he wasn't paying attention and loudly went "HUH?", turning to look at you with some ugly face. His lip pulled up to show some teeth and his brows knitted together as if confused.

"Mochi ice cream." You repeated and his face softened just a slight bit, but went back to the scowl he was wearing to pretend it didn't soften for you.

"Sounds like damn round face." He kicked his leg against the sidewalk and started walking without saying so which had you catching up after you noticed. Only a few minutes later. Yes, he was ahead of you by a bit. "I know a good location for that." He grumbled.

It wasn't a long walk and you bumped into Bakugou, but it seemed like he didn't even realize you bumped into him. He spoke up and ordered what he wanted, turning to look at you rubbing your forehead.

You blushed in embarrassment and looked at the menu quickly and ordered something as well. You finally stepped back and noticed, it was a good truck. An ice cream truck. Not just any ice cream truck though. This one specialized in specifically mochi.

It was red and green pastel decorated and sat on the edge of a street. Though, the street wasn't real and was surrounded by closed shopping spaces.

Other food trucks were around and most of them were closed.

"The.. lights remind me of a festival." You blurted, which made you snap your head towards the menu to look at the different kinds. Apple, peach, mango, matcha, kiwi, grape, orange, all the fruits you can think of. Blueberry and strawberry too. Then the more sweeter candy-like kinds. Toffee and coffee flavors, cookie dough, cookies and cream, maple.. it all sounded really good.

You couldn't remember what you ordered exactly though.

You looked at Bakugou who quickly looked away and waited at the counter as the guy up in the truck set down two cups. Your order and Bakugou's.

"I hate sweets so I requested their spicy add-on." Bakugou smirked, showing off his order, his cup. You looked and it was 3 big mochi balls drizzled in some red stuff. You were guessing that had to be hot sauce or something. You looked down at your cup.

It was drizzled in (flavor) syrup. With a fork, you stabbed one of the 3, and brought it to your mouth, the cold chill radiated from the ice cream ball and you bit down, immediately getting brain freeze and setting down the mochi back in the cup and struggling to have your mouth and head go back to normal.

You inhaled sharply and Bakugou belly laughed at you, it was hearty and warmed you, but it didn't help that you were suffering. Still.

Bakugou placed a hand on your head, the warmth from his quirk radiated through your body and he smirked, as if he was on top of the world and no one was catching up to him. His hand remained on your head as he spoke.

"What a display." He smirked and looked at you, slowly, hesitantly, removing his hand from the top of your head.

"You probably don't get brain freeze just because you're always warm." You grumbled, annoyed and flushed slightly red because he had used his quirk on you. Basically.

"I'm always warm?" He mumbled out as if he didn't believe it himself.

"Your quirk. You radiate heat." You set the cup down on a table after moving away from the truck. You grabbed his wrist, weirdly bold and lightly since you knew his wrists were probably still injured, and held up his hand. Bakugou started to protest but froze when you placed your palm against his. "Do you not notice?"

Your hand was noticeably colder, especially after holding a cup of ice cream, but he was still warm. He was exerting warmth, and he could tell. his face still the same scowl, but you saw it soften. A bit. Just a tad bit. He looked.. handsome. Pretty. You froze your body. You can't be thinking about these things. He definitely isn't interested in you anyways. Not like that.

"Yeah. You're right I guess." He mumbled quietly, moving to pull his hand away and finish the mochi. You ate it slowly and scrolled through your phone, which was very bare. You decided to look up the remaining festivals for the year before the new year's festival.

There was one left and it wasn't far from where you grew up. You remember, that's the one you used to go to when you were a kid, with your parents. You would dress up, and so would your parents. At the end was a gorgeous shrine and your parents would usually wish and pray for luck or warmth for the winter.

You looked up at Bakugou as he finished his last bite. You still had a whole mochi ball left.

"Go to a festival with me." You blurted and he snapped his eyes up to look at you. "Next weekend. They're holding one in my hometown. It's only a 39 minute drive and I'll look dumb if I go by myself." You reasoned, trying to sound casual while convincing.

You didn't expect the next words to come out of his mouth, you thought you'd have to beg him. "Sure." He said, getting up to throw away his cup and rubbing his hand down his face.

"What? No convincing you or nothing??" You couldn't believe it.

"I'm not doing anything next weekend." He walked back over to you and sat down, pulling out his phone. Why didn't he decline? Or let you at least fight for him to say yes?

"Let's go back." He didn't elaborate and instead grabbed your wrist as you quickly ate the rest of your mochi and tossed the cup. You slipped your hand out of his grasp but he held it tight and now it just looked like he was holding your hand.

"Bakugou, I'm coming, just let me walk. okay?" You said, and he let go. You both didn't speak until you walked by all the dorms. "Good night, Bakugou." He nodded and watched you turn into your dorm building, turning towards him once he deemed you safe.

You were kind of tired by the end of your week. Bakugou hasn't requested fixes or anything, but you were tied up with other students, and busy with working slowly on his gauntlets.. 2.0? You weren't sure, actually, how many different gauntlets he had. you only had access to the current ones.

You were looking at yourself in the mirror. A festival... You haven't been to one since you were a kid. A little kid that is. Your mom would always make you wear kimonos but now that you were in high school, with your strict path towards support gear, and the war being over, enjoying such activities were on the back of your mind.

You wanted so badly to just wear normal clothes.. but you told yourself that maybe you'll dress a little pretty. Maybe you were delusional. Maybe you thought.. This could be considered a date. secretly, that's what you told yourself. And you also told yourself to look for the kimono your mom gifted you after the war.

And now, you looked at yourself in the mirror, thankful for remembering how to wear one since it's been so long. It was as black as the night sky, adorned with a beautiful floral design in different areas of the kimono. The flowers that danced up the bottom and around the back and the sleeve are a mix of soft pinks and white, like cherry blossoms in full bloom.

The flowers and petals are scattered across the fabric as if the wind blew by and shook the branches just a little to scatter it all perfectly. The yellow and cream neckline brings out your face, since the rest of the kimono was so dark.

The obi (belt), cinched the waist. Its rich maroon color brings out the pinks and whites in the kimono. on your feet, a pair of soft pink sandals and wooden bases rested beneath your feet.

You only put on light makeup to match the kimono and some clips in your hair to tie it all together. So maybe.. you were a bit delusional in this. Maybe you dressed up too much. You took a deep breath and headed out to the train station, on your way to the festival meeting spot.

He would never let you live it down if you were late. you got into the train and rode it for 20 minutes until it was the right stop.

You knew he wouldn't have dressed up, and approaching the meeting spot, you knew you were the odd one out of the pair of you, seeing his casual t-shirt and jeans. You glanced around, luckily it wasn't just you all dressed up. It was also the crowd, in the same kimono attire as you. You took a deep breath.

"Bakugou.." you started and he turned around, making sure he didn't just hear his name. He stared once he did. His eyes trained on you. Your clothes. Your figure.

He was star struck. He didn't know what to say.

You looked gorgeous, but of course he wasn't going to say that. Why would he say anything? He'll just bottle up those feelings for now. Just as he always did. And what he will be continuing to do.

"Food or activities?" He asked, a grumble and a huff coming out of his mouth.

"Uh... activities. We can eat before the sun goes down and then I have the perfect spot to watch the fireworks. If you want to stay for that." You smiled and that smile made his heart skip a beat.

He didn't reply, just nodded shortly, shoving his hands in his pockets. He felt like he was underdressed. Even if you were in something pretty.

You dragged him to some of the games, but he didn't mind being dragged. As long as it was you. And the games brought out his competitive side. He was unsure why he agreed to go to this a week ago. He said, as long as it's you, in his head, but he found stuff like this a waste of time. It steered him off course for his hero work.

But as long as it was you.. as long as he got to see that pretty smile and those eyes that lit up and sparkled... He didn't mind the day. Or night. Or any event. As long as he spent it around you.

You fiddled with your sleeves, losing a lot of these games and Bakugou.. also lost most games. He yelled that they were rigged. Most were. But you laughed.

You both agreed to hit the food trucks before it got dark eating in the dark wouldn't be fun. Even if it was lit up, you wanted your full attention on the fireworks. You wanted to have enough energy to climb up to your old secret spot.

You both ate quickly, though you ate like you were starving. And Bakugou paid, which was becoming a thing. You didn't bother pulling out your wallet because he was going to push it down anyways.

You looked at him softly and stretched. "Ready to walk?"

He seemed confused, but nodded and the both of you started your journeys. You, on the other hand, removed your shoes because you forgot.

The spot was gorgeous. The view was amazing. And the both of you made it before the sun completely set. You could see the sunset perfectly, the hues and fading of the colors, the clouds, it all set a warm glow to the festival. One that felt like home. you were home, home was only a 10 minute walk from the festival.

The fireworks started. And you looked at Bakugou and he snapped his head to look the other way. Up in the sky. You softly smiled, embarrassed. Flustered. Something else unreadable too.

Chapter Text

The fireworks were gorgeous. Lighting up the sky in red, blues, yellows, greens.. oranges. You turned to look at Bakugou a lot, you couldn't help it. The lights and sparkles in the sky made him look ethereal. You wished you could tell that to him, but it would be weird and awkward. So you opted to look away.

Only for him to be doing and thinking the same thing. When you looked away, he would look at you. His gaze was soft for once and he watched the fireworks lights and colors dance on your face, in your eyes and the way you smiled and pointed at them while leaning on the old fence from way up there.

He was accidentally falling really hard, shaking his head and shoving his hands in his pockets. He seemed like a loser, dressed in jeans and a shirt. and you were.. gorgeous. All pretty in that black and cherry blossom-like kimono. He wishes he wasn't such an idiot sometimes.

Maybe if his ego wasn't so inflated, or he wasn't so prideful, he would ask for pictures. He would want to call this and every hang out session before this, a date. But he prevented himself.

It'll steer him away from the number one hero spot. He needs to focus. besides. You're just his gear repair-person. Not anything else. And his person that's making those gauntlets. Perhaps. He shook his head to himself and his eyes looked over at you again.

Then you both locked eyes. You wondered why he wasn't paying attention to the fireworks anymore. They were almost done and you didn't want him to miss them.

He could make cooler fireworks that sound prettier.

You pulled out your phone quickly and snapped a picture of him while he was distracted, then held it up like a selfie, towards the fireworks.

"Bakugou. C'mere." You shouted over the fireworks sound. He grumbled to see what you were doing and you snapped a pic before he grumbled, turned away, or yelled at you. You giggled lightly, putting your phone back in your bag. "That wasn't so bad."

"Dumbass." He grumbled, but there was no bite to it like usual.

The night ended and you stopped by a booth that was staying up late. You saw some cute keychains and decided to buy a couple for Mei and Yuka. You secretly bought one for Bakugou too. And an opposite color for yourself. As a matching. He didn't have to know.

You walked up to him excitedly and told him to open his hand.

"I don't trust you." He mumbled, but he, reluctantly, still opened his hand. You smiled and balled up your fist, set the keychain in his hand, and closed his hand before he could refuse.

His hand was so soft and comfortable, nice. But sweaty and a little calloused.

"Why?" He gruffly spoke, holding it up between his thumb and pointer. It was a cat. An orange cat. And your's was a black cat. Mei's was a calico, and Yuka's was a white and gray tabby.

"Suits you." You answered and smiled as he walked you home. He grumbled and shoved it into his pocket.

It was silent on your way home. You'd stay home until the weekend is over. Then going back to school come monday.

You opened the door and invited him in for water to which he didn't refuse. Your (mom/dad) approached him and gave a gentle smile.

"Is this the boy you keep rambling on about?" They said and you waved your hand in front of them, looking at bakugou as his brow raised.

"I'm so sorry, Bakugou. ignore them. My (mom/dad) is just nosey." You did your best to cover it up, but he blinked and looked at your (mom/dad).

"What's it to you?" He bit a little bit, his tone a little harsh.

"Bakugou-"

"My daughter is very fond of you." They smile and ruffle his hair. "Oh it's late. You don't have to travel back to the campus of your home. You can stay."

"Don't say, Bakugou." You tried to protest.

He swatted your parent's hand out of the way and grumbled. "It's not a big deal, I'll stay." You blinked, surprised he even agreed to staying. Though, he seemed totally fine with it. Like he wanted to or something. or he's lazy. Either way, now he's staying at your place for the night.

You texted Vlad King and let him know that Bakugou will be staying over for the night since it's too late. Your parents pulled out some sheets and told you to be a good host and make his bed in the guest room. You complied, knowing you don't have a choice and they won't make breakfast in the morning if you don't.

Today 8:58 PM

Good evening Powerloader Sensei, will you please inform Eraserhead that Bakugou Katsuki is staying overnight at my place and won't return to campus until tomorrow? Since it's too late, my parents invited him to stay over.

Will do, thank you for letting me know (Y/n).

I always gotta work for food around here. Your eyes lidded in annoyance, but you sucked it up and grabbed the sheets from them, taking them to the guest room next to your room. It was easy to put the sheets on the king bed, and all the blankets and pillows. simple, white and black reversible sheets. One side is white and the other side is black.

You opened the door after you were done and went to find where bakugou was. He was all grumpy listening to your parents talk about you, and you immediately spoke up.

"Okay! He's ready for bed." You said, your face flushed with embarrassment. You watched Bakugou get up reluctantly and follow you to the room he'll be staying in.

"Sorry for them. They're.. always looking to embarrass me." You mumbled, showing him the door to your room, and then the room he's staying in next door.

"My old hag does the same thing." He grumbled, but not sounding as pissed as he usually does.

You show him the bathroom across the hall and your parent's room. And then their office for if he needs anything. But you also let him know that you're next to him. Again. And to not really bother your parent(s) because they are busy people.

He shrugged and nodded, going into the guest room and closing the door. You went to your room to change into something comfortable and left out of the room to look in your parent's closet. There was a box of your dad's old stuff he couldn't fit anymore, so you dug through until you found pajamas.

Getting up, you knock on the guest door and bakugou answers with a 'come in' though annoyed and tired. You opened the door and held up the folded clothes.

"You can borrow these." You said and smiled warmly to not piss him off or make him think you were disturbing his peace and quiet.

He stood and grabbed the clothes. "Whatever. Thanks. I guess."

You could follow Bakugou and that Midoriya kid, and Bakugou's friends you ate with that one time, but would you even see them again? You're not even sure. Bakugou has been the only constant in your life recently compared to everyone else you met. Yuka too, of course. And Mei.

You heard a soft knock on your bedroom door and shouted out 'come in', loud enough for whoever it was on the other side. Bakugou stood very tired in the doorway. You tilted your head.

"What's up?" You questioned casually, stopping your scrolling on your laptop.

"I can't sleep," he grumbled.

"Is it 'cause it's so blank in the guest room?" You asked and he nodded.

You had to admit. The sleepy bakugou looked cute. You didn't want to admit it, but you couldn't help it at that point. You denied every thought of him before, you could just do it again, but he seemed to not care as much. Before you knew it, you were patting the spot next to you on your bed. You grabbed all your stuffed animals and threw them onto the floor between your bed and the desk.

He stalked over to the spot and sat down a bit awkwardly.

"Movie?" You suggested, thinking it might help him a little with falling asleep.

"It better not be something stupid." He grumbled once again, but with no bite. He scooted enough back and propped up the pillows so he could comfortably lean back on them.

They smelled like you.

And he hated that.

He didn't actually hate it, but he wanted to. Your bed was much comfier to him, than the guest bed. And warmer. And your room was cozy. With mechanical stuff on your desk and posters and albums littering the wall like some hippie. He didn't mind it though. The soft lights calmed his brain.

He watched you silently, scrolling for a movie on your laptop and finally picking one out, and sitting back with him. Next to him. You laid more down and yawned and he found it adorable. Though, he would never admit it out loud. That would ruin his ego.

"We should go see a movie tomorrow." You spoke and it took him out of his trance, his eyes fluttering down to look at you on your pillows, under your blankets.

"Maybe." He mumbled, unsure if he really wanted to. He should train. He could train in the evening though.

"I'll watch the movies that are showing in the morning." You mumbled under your breath, but he heard. You were tired, and so was he. Neither of you actually watched the movie, just ended up falling asleep.

He woke up somewhere in the middle of the night and moved to close the laptop and reached over to put it on your bedside table. He looked at you after doing so, how peaceful. His face softened, only for a little bit. You were pretty and cute, he thought. And you looked pretty too, while you slept. He tucked the covers over you and sharply turned his head to deny ever looking at you and taking care of you.

"Stupid girl." He whispered, crossing his arms but when he went to lay down again, he looked at her. "Good night, shitty girl." And fast asleep he was back to being.

You both slept until it was 9 in the morning, when breakfast was cooking and bacon and pancake smell was wafting in the air. You rose and rubbed your eyes, looking down beside you at the sleeping Bakugou, softly smiling.

Yeah. You thought he was cute. Look at him, he's not even grumpy looking. You got out and trudged to the bathroom. In that amount of time, Bakugou also woke up to the place smelling of breakfast and nodded to himself as he moved to the kitchen. You went there after the bathroom.

"Good morning kids." Your parents smiled and flipped another pancake. "You guys can grab breakfast whenever you want."

You both did, loading with pancakes, bacon, and eggs. You scrolled through your phone. "Action.. action comedy. Rom com. Horror. Those are what's showing in the cinemas currently." You yawned out and Bakugou nodded.

"You pick, I don't care." Bakugou grunted. He was playing with fire, you could easily pick romcom to piss him off but did you really? No. You studied your choices carefully as you ate.

Chapter Text

You looked over at him on the train and watched him scroll through social media, though he looked like he doesn't want to. You both agreed to watch Deadpool and wolverine movie, and he seemed to agree on it. Weirdly enough. You guessed it was because it was action, and the comedy just comes with Deadpool movies. You poked his side and he started to yell at you, but you looked away as if you didn't do anything.

"Seriously?" He managed to grumble out, seeing that you hadn't looked back at him yet and he poked your side which made you giggle a little. He looked away immediately feeling the pink rush his face.

You hadn't looked at him, feeling too embarrassed from the poke you received back that made you laugh. You were ticklish, you guess. It's been a long time since you've been tickled so of course you had to be reminded where today. You shook it off best you could, but stayed silent for the rest of the ride, as did he.

After buying tickets, both of you standing in line and looking at the snacks.

"Popcorn, sodas. Mhm, mhm." You nodded, looking at the menu, speaking out loud. Bakugou was looking at you weirdly.

"Anything else?" He said, flicking your forehead to which you hissed quietly at the sudden flick. You placed your hand on your forehead and rubbed it softly.

"That was mean." You whispered under your breath, looking around at the other candies and snacks, picking out a few and putting them on the counter as you both ordered popcorn and sodas. You pulled out your wallet and he placed his hand on it and your hand, stopping you from pulling out money.

He briefly looked at you before giving the girl his card to pay.

"Hey-" you tried to protest but the card was approved and he looked down at you again before giving you your snacks.

"Fatass." He said, grabbing the popcorns and you grabbed the sodas, both of you heading to the theater with the showing.

"Hey! Rude-ass." You grumbled.

After settling down, you turned to him and he was already munching down on the popcorn. "Look who's the fatass now." You smirked and he put his whole hand on your face, pushing you back.

"Shut up shitty girl." He glared and both of you saw the lights dim.

+++

As the lights turn on after the after-credits-scene, you immediately turned to Bakugou. "You laughed so much." You smirked and rubbed in his face.

"So what if I did?? Why's it matter so much? It was an action-comedy for a reason." He raised his voice to defend himself.

"You liked the movie." You didn't care about making fun of him too bad. You liked his laugh. You couldn't help but find it cute. As much as you wanted to deny it, you couldn't. You found yourself drifting to look at him, listen to his laugh, drown out every sound around him and listen to just him.

"It was okay." He looked away, but you swore you saw a blush creeping to his cheeks. "Bald ugly guy was annoying."

"Deadpool?"

"That dog scene was disgusting. Licking in the mouth." You saw him visibly have chills.

"Agree." You nodded.

On the whole train ride back to the U.A. campus stop, you both talked about the movie and he seemed to enjoy the chat rather than the awkward silence earlier. "This weekend was fun." You said quietly, the sun was beginning to set already. You looked and watched the clouds dance across the sky, shoving your hands in your pockets.

"Sure." He mumbled. He was watching you watch the sky. You looked at peace to him. And pretty. You looked pretty to him. He'd never admit that. With the few months you've gotten closer, he was weirdly attracted to you.

You were smart to him, knew your way around mechanics and machines a lot. But you were a little awkward and socially not available sometimes. He found that cute. Never once was he interested in people, girls, or a relationship. His thoughts were about being a hero only, but after the war, he didn't wanna take people close to him for granted.

"Bakugou? Hello? Earth to Bakugou?" You waved a hand in front of him and you knew then, he was blushing in embarrassment. "Blushing, are we?"

"Absolutely not." He yelled, looking away. He was caught staring at her.

"The sky is pretty, huh?" You said with a smile, pointing up.

He nodded and looked back at you, then to the sky as you both turned onto the campus, heading towards the dorms.

"I'll be working on your stuff tomorrow some. Do you wanna come hang out at lunch, after school? or are you sick of me already?" You asked him, leaning forward a little.

"Tired of seeing your ugly face." He grumbled.

You let out a light laugh, looking away from him and leaning back. "I get it. It's a lot of me in one weekend."

He looked over at you, and answered truthfully.

Chapter Text

"I'm busy. I can't tomorrow," he answered and looked away.

You blinked at his response, the bluntness and coldness in his tone catching you off guard. It wasn't like the last few days, where he'd been less of that, but you should've guessed considering you guys weren't friends or anything close. You both had just paid each other off for work and whatever else. He was paying for those gauntlets that you're taking so much time to make, and you have some other of his stuff to work on anyway. Bakugou rarely offered explanations when he brushed things off, and you wondered if he really did have plans or if he was just throwing up a wall again. Either way, you gave him a nod and tried to keep the disappointment off your face.

"Right, no worries. I'm sure you've got a lot on your plate." You attempted to shrug it off casually, going towards the support course dorms. He watched you carefully out of the corner of his eye.

"Oi. Just... don't break anything when you work on my stuff," he said, his tone gruff. He huffed and gave a half-hearted wave before you entered your dorms. He made sure you got in safe before heading over to the hero course dorms.

You lingered at the bottom of the stairs. This sudden change in dynamic felt strange—awkward after this weekend. You thought everything was fine, but of course, you had to sound too much. You should've just kept your distance and stayed with your people. Yuka and Mei always have your back.

As you finally went up the stairs and turned to go to your room, you wondered if he felt it too. The difference in the way his eyes lingered, or the way he'd gone silent watching you on the train, the faintest hint of something softer than what you'd expect from the Bakugou Katsuki.

A small smile crept onto your face, and you tried to shake it off. "Don't be stupid," you muttered to yourself, heading upstairs. "It's Bakugou, after all."

But even as you closed your door, you couldn't deny the little thrill that kept creeping up whenever you remembered his blush or the way he'd looked at you when you pointed out the sky. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to him than the rough exterior he kept so carefully guarded. You didn't want to linger too hard on the coldness in his tone about skipping out on hanging out. You should know by now.

The quiet of your room did little to stop the restless thoughts circling in your mind. You flopped onto your bed, kicking your shoes off with a sigh, and stared up at the ceiling. The day had been a rollercoaster: that spontaneous outing with Bakugou, the teasing, the warmth that settled somewhere in your chest each time he looked over at you with that gruff, annoyed expression. You noticed he kept catching himself looking at you. as if he wasn't even sure why he was doing it.

You picked up your phone, scrolling mindlessly through messages from Yuka, who texted you over the weekend. But even as you skimmed their words, your mind kept drifting back to Bakugou. It was strange; you'd known each other for so long now, but recently, everything had started feeling... different. Was it the way he seemed a little softer when it was just the two of you? The way he listened to you without interrupting every five seconds? Or maybe it was how you found yourself smiling at things he'd say, almost too easily.

It was all too confusing, you started admitting to it at the festival, but you still have trouble accepting it. Having a crush on him was about as likely as... him liking someone back. Which was, frankly, impossible. He wasn't the kind of guy who'd fall for anyone. He had bigger dreams, goals, and ambitions that he'd chase with everything he had. There was no room in his life for crushes, relationships, or any of that stuff. It was all nonsense to him—at least, that's what he always said. But then why did he blush today? Why did he laugh? Why did he offer to pay for the snacks?

You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts. "Don't overthink it," you whispered to yourself. He probably didn't mean anything by it." But even as you tried to convince yourself, a small, stubborn part of you refused to let it go, a part that hoped maybe there was something deeper there.

The next day at school, you went about your routine as usual. bakugou was busy, as he said. You worked more on some stuff Mei told you to help with, then his gauntlets some as his stuff started to arrive. You looked at your student account, and ordered some more parts, hopefully, to cut back on Bakugou's payment load, jotting down the new number total on the blueprints you had.

Yuka came in with another box of your parts and lunch for you as well as her own.

"Girl, take a break. You're gonna overwork yourself again." Yuka's soft voice rang in your ears but you didn't quite pay attention as you opened the box. You let out a sigh and went into the storage room to compare some parts between the ones you just got and the ones they already had, deeming the ones they already had, better. Of course, they were. They were Power Loader's top choice of brand, not the ideally cheapest ones on the internet.

"Sorry, Yuka. My mind has been a little messy," you said as you entered back into the workstation area, the main classroom. You picked up the small meal from Yuka and munched on it quietly.

"Messy? If this is about that hero student, it's gotta be worse than messy." Her soft-spoken voice cut through the moment of silence but before you could respond, the door opened and your head as well as Yuka's head looked at the sound.

Bakugou was there, behind his little redhead friend. Kirishima or whatever his name was? You couldn't remember. You met him during lunch one of the times with the others. He scratched the back of his neck, looking away. His gaze was focused somewhere on the ground as if he were deep in thought. You paused, wondering if you should say something, but before you could decide, he looked up and caught your eye.

Kirishima started talking to Yuka as she responded, pulling out some gear that seemed to be something for his hero costume. You weren't sure, it was small and fitted around his arms as it suddenly extended.

"Oi," he grumbled, uncrossing his arms and stuffing his hands into his pockets. You snapped your head up to look at him. Tossing the trash of your lunch. "You're working on my gauntlets, right?" He walked over to you and looked down at your table. And your cart on your laptop. Your tabs were open, which made you feel exposed.

You nodded, trying to keep your expression neutral despite the excitement bubbling up inside you. "Yup." You answered plainly and he stared at you. You turned back to jot down new pieces and then some, as well as bookmarking places, agencies, and companies, where those parts may be.

Neither of you spoke for a while, the quiet hanging in the air as you worked on the parts. Kirishima was listening to Yuka, watching Bakugou's and your interaction, finding it awkward. He wanted to help but knew better than to butt in.

Finally, Bakugou broke the silence. "That movie was...not bad." he shrugged, looking away as he spoke, and you couldn't help but smile secretly and down at your desk.

"I told you," you replied, turning around slowly as the smile began to fade. "You laughed a lot for someone who supposedly doesn't like comedy."

"Shut up," he grumbled, but there was no real bite in his words. Instead, he almost sounded embarrassed. "I just...didn't expect it to be that stupid."

"Right. Sure," you teased. "It's okay to admit you had fun, you know."

He shot you a glare, but you could see the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It was so rare to see him like this—so relaxed, so unguarded. And the more you thought about it, the more you realized how much you enjoyed this side of him, the side that let himself be a little softer, even if it was just with you.

Kirishima butt in. Finally. "Hey, I heard you were making Bakugou some new gauntlets! His wrists have been killing him lately. He complains about it a lot." Yuka had been finished with him during that, and gone from the picture as you looked around. You looked up at Kirishima and showed him a picture.

"They're kind of boring, but I can add some stripes in there that would help with the costume a bit. The classic look is good, but they're really heavy." You said, moving aside and wiping off some dust that collected from old parts. "Thought the slimmer look was better."

Kirishima seemed to nod, agreeing that the slimmer look was better. Especially if they're gonna be pros one day. Bakugou just seemed to brush it off and told off Kirishima for butting in. Kirishima conveniently got a text on his phone and dipped into the hallway.

"Listen... about tomorrow," he started, rubbing the back of his neck as if he were unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say. "I... uh... I might have some time after training if you're not doing anything. We can go over those gauntlets again."

You blinked, surprised. You opened your mouth to answer.

Chapter Text

"After training? It'll be late. Are you sure you wanna be out that late?" You said, fixing some of the design.

He blinked a few times and nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I don't care. About how late it is." He grumbled and looked away as Kirishima opened the door.

He looked like he interrupted something. He did. He closed the door back from embarrassment and waited against the wall for Bakugou to come out himself. "I'll be taking care of another student probably, so just keep in mind." You spoke, turning back around to your workspace. "You're not the only student I'm helping, as I've told you before."

You felt him stare at you and heard him scoff. "Whatever." He turned around and headed out of the classroom where Kirishima was waiting for him.

You worked further on the blueprint, making the look different, sleeker even, with two stripes closer to the hands. Can he only produce his quirk from his hands? What if he can do it on his feet? Legs? Arms? You sketched down a few other designs, just to maybe propose unless he doesn't wanna sweat from those places. You thought, as much as it would offend him, having that disadvantage would make him weak.

You knew from Mei, he didn't like being weak. That's why he had her make things for him. Why does he prefer Mei? She makes things and strong things at that. Reliable long track record. You barely had any of that, working with only a few students from class 3-B and other courses. Class 3-A seemed to have a name for themselves since the first year. You didn't work much with them, only during the war. Even after that, you didn't work with them.

Until Mei said she was overloaded, which never happens. If you are expected to work out of your own companies, or agencies, then you must be ready to take on a large workload, but you both are just students. Mei just needed extra help and she trusted you. You are the third best in the class.

Yuka is above you, in grades, but she's not great in terms of gear.

So you would be above her in that. She focuses on health and costumes. Her parents are support tech company owners so she got instant access to the opportunity to go to U.A. She peaked around the corner, holding a sewing needle.

"Kirishima leave already?" She spoke softly, kindly and you nodded.

"Both of them are gone. Went back to class." You pulled out the gear of another student's stuff, starting to work on it.

Yuka sighed and went back to her sewing, and you continued the work on the smallest tools you've worked on in a while.

The afternoon sped by, as well as the next day, and eventually, you were preparing for your gear checkup with the student. He'd gotten quite friendly with you over the week that you've been helping him, always coming in with broken gear. He opened the door with a smile and wave.

"Hey (Y/n)." Awase nodded, scratching the back of his head and you just looked at him, then turned in your chair and he stood awkwardly. "So... anything new lately?"

"Nah, not much. Working on Mei's projects." You answered flatly, not responding much to his friendliness. You didn't care for the obvious flirting and him wanting to spend time with you. Awase was nice and friendly, and that was cool. But you didn't care so much for the friendliness.

He moved to sit down as you pulled out the last gear you worked on for him. You handed him one and asked him to test it out which he did and approved it, causing him to start tossing it back. You, luckily, caught it and scolded him for that. It would make you have to redo it because it would be broken. "It's not a big deal, you're smart and can fix that." His cheeky grin made you cringe internally. You didn't want to say anything to that.

After a few hours, you handed him his stuff, and he set it down. He didn't need to stick around, but while he was here, you did want to take his measurements for Yuka so you had him stand up.

As you were measuring his waist and chest area, the door opened and Bakugou stood, frozen. A bag in one hand. He looked like he changed. You didn't even realize the time, and when you glanced at the clock on the wall, you looked out the window and noticed the sun setting.

"Sorry, Bakugou. I lost track of time." You pulled away from Awase and offered Bakugou a smile as you jotted down Awase's measurements. "All done."

Awase's smile faded and he didn't even acknowledge Bakugou's presence. "Let's go out to dinner tonight, yeah? I know of this great"

"Sorry, Awase. I'm busy tonight." You shut him down immediately and Bakugou seemed to release a breath, walking in and shutting the door behind him. He set the bag down on Yuka's workplace.

"Then tomorrow we can-"

"I'm not interested, Awase. You're just a client of mine." You said more sternly, not looking at him. Bakugou smirked and crossed his arms at Awase and Awase turned on his heel. He left without another word and Bakugou sat down, rolling himself over to Yuka's desk.

"Very bold." He sounded cocky. You nodded, putting away Awase's gear and blueprints, and pulling out his own.

"His friendliness is too suffocating. I don't get it." You mumbled, turning to look at him and he pulled out your order, to a tea, from the bag, handing it to you. "Oh?"

"Figured you haven't eaten, ran into plant face." He nodded to himself.

"Plant face?" You furrowed your brows thinking about who that could be. "Yuka?"

He nodded again and pulled out his food, eating away. You started eating too.

"Thanks." You smiled softly and tilted your head, fumbling a bit, but picking up the changed blueprints of his gauntlets and showing it to him. He seemed to hum.

"Those look good." He mumbled after eating some food.

It went on for a few hours and you showed him just how some of the pieces work, and even a prototype you made to demonstrate the sweat. He seemed to approve the new design and learn about the inner workings of his gauntlets.

There was a silence between the two of you, he was scrolling through social media and you were tightening a screw on the real design, marking on your paper and laptop just the pieces you used. Bakugou looked up at you. Admiring you. You were so focused on him and his gear.

"You wanna go out with me tomorrow?" The words blurted out faster than he could reverse them. He looked away immediately, holding his phone in his hand, screen down. You froze, setting down your tools to process his words. Did he just ask you out? You're not even sure what to do. What to answer... He didn't scoff or anything, seemingly to show he doesn't regret it.

"Uhm.." You choked out, unsure of how to react, or what to say. With the amount of "dates" you guys have been on, this should seem easy, sound easy, and be easy to answer, but those barely counted as dates. Would he call them dates? "As.. a date?" You spoke slowly, not looking back at him, waiting for his answer.

"Yeah. I'm asking you on a date." He silently cursed himself for this. He can't get out of this and blames Kirishima for putting such ideas in his head. She's gonna say no, she doesn't wanna go out with you, idiot.

"Sure. Yes." You said, quietly and Bakugou looked up, then away again.

"Wear something.. presentable then." He drummed his thumbs on his knees and stood slowly. "Have a good night." He wanted to escape the situation. And he also hoped you're alright for the rest of the night, considering he just ditched you at the school.

Chapter Text

You inhaled sharply and looked into the mirror. Yuka was with you, reassuring you the best she could, telling you that you looked great and she was surprisingly good at makeup. She went for subtle with a pop of eye color, sparkles on the lid, and a light blush and highlight.

The dress she picked out for you was a dress with a soft, pastel pink design. The dress has an off-the-shoulder style with semi-sheer sleeves that are ruffled, giving it a delicate and romantic look. The bodice is fitted to your body type, featuring a ruched detail at the center. The fabric appears to have a subtle floral and butterfly print, adding to its whimsical charm. The dress has an asymmetrical hemline with ruffled edges, enhancing its flowy and elegant silhouette. One side was a bit lower than your knee and the other side rose a bit higher than your knee.

You looked at Yuka and thanked her. "It was no problem. You looked like you were pretty panicked." Her soft voice carried melodically across your ears. You nodded and thanked her again, hugging her softly and she let out a sigh, wishing you luck as you put on a pair of white flats.

You didn't rush to the bottom of campus, but you kind of did, as you met him at the gate. He stood in a dark red button-up, sleeves were folded up to his elbows, and he wore black pants and black shoes. You both stared at each other, and he opened his mouth to speak. "Uh. You looked great." You knew from Mei and his friend Kirishima, that he didn't do compliments. So for him to compliment you was rare. He meant it though. You looked really good.

"Thanks. You're handsome.. tonight." You felt a little awkward too, but he called it your first official date the night before.

"Thanks." He spoke quietly, and weirdly calm. He wasn't wearing the scowl like usual. It was replaced with an almost hesitant warmth. You noticed the faint flush across his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Bakugou wasn't one to fidget, but tonight was different.

"So, uh, let's go," he muttered, gesturing for you to walk alongside him.

The moment felt strange and endearing. You saw a softer side of him tonight and you didn't mind it. "It's not super far, a few blocks away from Campus." He spoke quietly. As to not disturb the outside life, you thought.

The two of you walked through the softly lit streets, the orange glow of the setting sun casting long shadows.

It wasn't long before you reached your destination: a charming little restaurant tucked away from the bustling city streets. The place had an air of sophistication without being overly flashy, the kind of setting that felt intimate and personal. You stared at the cozy atmosphere and felt your heart flutter. He thought you would be perfect for this place.

He opened the door for you—something you didn't expect—and you couldn't help but smile at the gesture. Inside, it felt cozy like a warm hug, with dim lighting and soft instrumental music playing in the background. A waiter led you to a small table near the window, where you could see the last light of day fading into the night sky.

Bakugou pulled out the chair for you before sitting down himself, his movements a little stiff, as though he were overthinking every action. He was, he didn't know how proper dates were and had googled what to do prior. He was clueless. You bit back a chuckle, finding his effort endearing and cute.

The menu was already at the table, and you skimmed through it, though you couldn't help sneaking glances at him. His usual sharp demeanor was softened as he leaned back slightly in his chair, pretending to read the menu but sneaking his looks at you.

"What're you thinking of getting?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm not sure yet. What about you?"

He shrugged, glancing back at the menu. "Dunno. Everything's fancy as hell. Shitty hair said this place was good, though. Worth the money."

You smiled. Of course, Kirishima had helped him plan this. You learned through Yuka that Kirishima was his best friend, in one way or another.

Kirishima always had a way of pushing him out of his comfort zone.

After placing your orders, the conversation started a bit awkward but gradually eased into a comfortable rhythm. He told you about his latest training mishap—an explosion that sent his teacher into a lecture—and you shared a funny story about your day, the gadgets you made, and telling him about the few budget changes to his future gauntlets, which he seemed to appreciate. Slowly, the tension melted away, and you found yourselves laughing and talking like you'd done this a hundred times before.

As the night went on, you noticed little things about him that made your heart flutter. The way his eyes softened when he looked at you specifically, the subtle smirk that replaced his usual scowl when he was amused, and the rare chuckle that slipped out when he let his guard down for a mere second.

The food was amazing as well. Kirishima was right, the food was worth it for the price.

When dessert arrived, you couldn't help but notice the way he carefully pushed the plate of cake closer to you, muttering something about you needing to try it first. His actions, though small, spoke volumes about how much he cared, even if he couldn't always put it into words. You took a small bit of it off and tried it with your eyes lighting up. "That's good. Like.. good."

He smirked proudly at his choice of dessert but took a mental note that you liked it. He would come back and make a to-go order sometime for you. He enjoyed his time with you, his eyes creased and he softened when he watched you laugh and enjoy your own dessert. He was glad you enjoyed yourself just as much.

He paid and soon it was time to head back. He walked a little closer than before, his hand brushing against yours softly. He was awkward about it and thought you'd pull away, but your hand just kept bumping into his. With a burst of uncharacteristic courage, he was tired of your hands constantly bumping into each other, and he reached out and grabbed your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours.

"Don't make it weird," he grumbled, his ears burning red.

You looked at him and smirked softly. "If you say so, firecracker."

"Firecracker???" He sounded offended and started to pull his hand away, but you held it tighter.

"Nuh-uh. You can't pull away now." You grinned, smiling wide up at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever, gadget girl."

You laughed lightly and he narrowed his eyes at you as you calmed down. There wasn't much of an awkward silence since time, it was way more comfortable now. "We should. Do this again."

"Yeah. Actually. Stupid Shitty hair and dunce face wants to take the group to an arcade this weekend. I told them I wouldn't go unless I picked someone to invite." He grumbled, sounding slightly annoyed.

"So you wanted to invite me, is that it?" You grinned once again, looking at him as the both of you entered the campus again.

Chapter Text

"I'll have to check my calendar, but I should be free." You said, nodding mostly to yourself, pulling your hand away from his own as you turned towards the support course dorms. "Let's talk about your gauntlets more tomorrow after school." You turned on your heel and smiled at him softly. A genuine smile that took him off guard a little bit. He hadn't thought you'd smile at him.

You used to be so against being around people before, you wanted to avoid Bakugou the best you could before, but now it seems you want to be around him and he's not exactly complaining. He wants to be around you just as much. He wants to be closer to you, and get to know all of you, which sounds unheard of. Especially from Bakugou. "Yeah." He said aloud. Then under his breath, "I hope you can make it."

You almost wanted him to repeat it, because you didn't hear him, but you didn't want to at the same time because it might've been personal. Or something he didn't want to tell anyone, so you left it at that. "I'll let you know if I can make it, okay?" You saw him nod, and you opened your mouth once again. "Good night then, Bakugou." You turned to leave and you could've sworn you heard him say good night before a strong breeze went past. You looked back and he wasn't there so you brushed it off as just the wind.

The next few days went by quickly, you told Bakugou you were able to go to the arcade with his friends, although you were nervous. Large amounts of people make you nervous, and always have. And his friend group is kind of a chaotic bunch. When you met them the first week of helping Bakugou out, they insisted you sat with them for lunch, which you didn't want to do, but you felt like you had to.

Ashido was nice and complimented you. And the others were loud. And Bakugou was Bakugou. But as you got closer to Bakugou, you thought it made sense to also try being friends with his friends. Maybe. Or maybe it's all a lost cause in the first place. And you're just not meant to have a lot of people in your life. Just Bakugou. And Yuka. And sometimes Mei. You patted down your jeans and shirt, fixed your hair, and were out the door after tying your shoes.

He told you they were all going to meet at the train station, which was fine. The arcade was the one in the mall so you'd go to the arcade and then go to the food court, maybe buy some things. So you made sure to bring extra money. Hopefully. Or you'd save some for food, and waste the rest on arcade coins. You were glad the only one that seemed to not be here yet was the yellow-haired one, with the lightning bolt. Kaminari or something?

"Hey." You waved to Bakugou and he looked right at you.

"We're waiting on Dunce face. Always him to be late." He grumbled and his eyes traveled on your outfit, only to snap back up to your face. "Cute." He turned away with a faint blush on his face.

Someone comes running up into view and he waves, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry! Mineta was showing me something and-"

"Nope. Let's just go." Sero shakes his head and the group of you enter the train station and head into the red line train. You, Bakugou, and Kirishima stood, holding onto the railings, except.. there weren't any poles left, and you weren't tall enough to reach the ones on the roof.

Sero, Kaminari, and Ashido were sitting down and talking already and you seemed embarrassed to ask to switch with one of the guys, so you just moved closer to Bakugou instinctively, and grabbed onto his sleeve lightly, making him look down to see what was going on. "What is it, gadget girl?"

"I can't reach the... holders on the roof.. and there's no more poles to hold on to." You mumbled quietly so only he heard but he nodded and moved his arm out from flush against his body.

"Hold on to me before I change my mind." He grumbles and looks away to go back to his conversation with Kirishima. You quickly wrapped your arm around his own and held it tightly. Neither of you let go until you were close to the stop.

The arcade was packed. It made you anxious. You weren't used to going out to places in your free time. Your free time was preoccupied with playing with machines and gadgets, not going to arcades, and having fun. Normal fun. Your fun was making stuff, gear for people, for yourself. Ashido talked to you on the way and you just listened or answered her questions and now you were being dragged to the coins and cups. She started putting in cash to trade for tokens, and others around the machines did too. You just watched until they were done.

All that was left were you and Bakugou to get coins, but before you could insert your cash, Bakugou moved you over, almost pushing you, and shoved his cash into the machine you were at. "What the hell??" You grumbled, looking at Bakugou in disbelief. He looked at you and shoved a cup of coins towards you.

"Only pay to refill." He grumbled and walked away with Kirishima to some fighting or racing games. You stared at him and Ashido nudged you to go play some games. You looked down at your cup. It was at least 7,762.60¥ ($50) in coins and you felt bad. Maybe you'll spend the time to get some extra tickets so you can pick something from the gift shop. Or buy his food later, or even buy him something in the mall. If you run out of coins, you probably won't buy more to refill just so you can pay him back in some way.

Ashido dragged you along to multiple games she wanted to play, which you took part in a bit, but eventually, it became too much for you and she parted to join Sero, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Bakugou while you went off on your own to take a breather. You found a quieter area by the claw machines, seeing as only a couple of people were in the section.

You looked at your cup and saw you had about 25 tokens left, way less than before. A few machines were character brands and anime, but what took your interest was a machine with a bunch of dogs in it.

Different breeds like golden retrievers, huskies, Dalmatians, shiba inu, corgis, and pugs, but one that stood out was a Pomeranian. Blonde, full spiky hair, with red angry eyes that reminded you of a certain someone that you, admittedly, had a growing crush on.

"No way... Coincidence?" You mumbled, setting your cup down on the spot near the joystick and the buttons. You pulled a coin out and put it into the slot, trying, and missing the pup. That's your goal with the rest of the coins. Try and get that dog.

For the next, however long, you spent trying to get this dumb dog. You're down to your last few coins... "I better get this. I don't want to refill." You mumbled to yourself, failing another run. You were losing hope. Even if you didn't win it for him, you won it for you because of how damn long it was taking. But you weren't anywhere near getting it and you were running out of coins. Little did you know, Bakugou was looking for you because you were not with the rest of them.

Why weren't you with the rest of them? He wanted to flaunt you and show you off to his friends. He doesn't get to do it ever, and he wants to. But you were MIA. He missed you. He wouldn't exactly admit it, but he missed you. He found you sulking with an empty cup, crouched near the ground. "Why are you sulking, gadget girl?" He grumbled out, looking down at you and you slowly looked up at him. All you could see was the Pomeranian stuffie overlapping his face and it made you even more sad that you couldn't win the plushie.

"I can't win the cute puppy..." You let out a quiet whimper and stuck out your bottom lip in a pout. He looked at the claw machine.

"Which one?"

"The Pomeranian." You mumbled and he moved over to the front using his last coin on the machine. Moving the claw over, he pressed the button and immediately won the prize, reaching down and standing with it in his hand. It looked so much like him... You stood up and watched him hold it out to you, looking away with a soft pink dusting his cheeks.

"It was easy." He grumbled and you took it out of his hand, lightly brushing your fingers against his. "Anyways, the rest of the group is hungry and I wanted to come find you so you can eat too."

You nodded and held the plushie close, throwing away your empty cup and joining him with the rest of the group. "So we have three options for the best food court food that we can all contribute and buy..." Kaminari said, "Sushi, pizza, or ramen. All quick and easy." He proposed and looked to the group for suggestions on what to eat.

"I don't care where we eat, just pick something," Bakugou grumbled loudly.

Chapter Text

The group ambled toward the food court, the chatter of shoppers around you fading into the background as Kaminari continued debating the virtues of ramen versus pizza, despite the unanimous decision.

"Ramen is solid," Kirishima said with a grin. "It's quick, and something you can't mess up."

"I dunno, though," Kaminari countered. "Pizza is, like, universally loved. What if the ramen here sucks?"

Mina rolled her eyes, stepping ahead of the group. "Kami quit overthinking it. We're getting ramen. End of story." She threw an arm around you as she spoke. "Good call (Y/n), by the way. I could live off ramen if I had to."

"Same," you replied with a smile. "It's hard to beat."

Bakugou, who had been walking slightly ahead with his hands shoved into his pockets, turned his head to glare at Kaminari. "Just shut up and eat whatever we decide on Dunce's face. You've been whining for ten minutes."

Kaminari raised his hands defensively. "Fine, fine. Geez, you're grumpy today."

"When isn't he?" Sero joked, earning a short laugh from the group.

"I'm always grumpy when I have to babysit dumbasses like you," Bakugou shot back, though the corner of his mouth twitched upward for a split second, betraying his amusement.

By the time you all reached the ramen stand, the smell of savory broth and spices had your stomach growling. The group formed a loose line, squinting up at the menu.

"They've got tonkatsu, miso, and shoyu," Kirishima said, scanning the options. "And some add-ons like extra pork and soft-boiled eggs."

"I'm going all out," Mina declared. "Give me the deluxe bowl with everything on it."

"Same," Kaminari chimed in. "Might as well make this worth it."

"Just shoyu for me," Sero said. "Gotta save room for dessert later."

You debated your options, your mouth already watering. As you reached into your pocket to grab your wallet, Bakugou stepped forward. "What do you want?" he asked brusquely, not looking directly at you.

"Oh, uh... I can pay for mine," You said quickly, surprised by his offer.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask if you could pay. I asked what you want."

"Uh..." You hesitated, glancing at the menu again. "(Your ramen order)."

Without another word, Bakugou nodded and turned to the cashier, rattling off your order along with his own. "(Your ramen order)." Then said his own.

As the others started placing their orders, you leaned closer to Bakugou. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Tch, it's nothing," he said, still not looking at you. "Don't make it weird."

A warm feeling spread through your chest, and you couldn't help but smile up at him. "Thanks, Bakugou." He paid for your arcade tokens and now lunch. You were in debt with him once again.

"Whatever," he muttered, but the tips of his ears turned pink. Luckily for him, you didn't notice.

The group found a long table near the edge of the food court, settling into seats as they waited for the food. Mina was the first to pounce. "Okay, spill. What's with Bakugou paying for your food? Are you two, like... a thing?"

You nearly choked on your water. "What? No, we're not."

"Not yet," Kaminari teased, wagging his eyebrows. "But it's suspiciously cute behavior, don't you think? Bakugou never does this for anyone."

"Shut it," Bakugou snapped, glaring at Kaminari from across the table. "I'm not doing anything cute."

"Dude, you are," Sero added, smirking. "You don't even let us borrow five yen without a fight, but you're out here buying ramen for her? Suspicious." His words came out like a song.

"You guys are ridiculous," You said, trying to deflect. "It's just ramen."

"Sure it is," Mina said, giving you a knowing look. "But I'm onto you two."

Before the teasing could escalate, the food arrived, effectively silencing everyone as they dug in. You couldn't help but savor the rich, flavorful broth and perfectly cooked noodles. Your ramen provided a satisfying bite.

"This is so good," you said, glancing at Bakugou. "Good choice."

He shrugged, slurping up a mouthful of noodles. "Told you ramen's the way to go."

"Okay, yeah, I take back all my doubts," Kaminari said, his mouth half-full.

"This ramen slaps."

"It does," Mina agreed, already halfway through her bowl. "Good call, (Y/n)."

The table fell into a comfortable rhythm of eating and chatting, the earlier teasing forgotten as everyone enjoyed their meals. Bakugou remained relatively quiet, but you noticed the way he occasionally glanced your way as if checking to make sure you were enjoying yourself.

As you finished your bowl, you leaned back in your seat with a contented sigh. "I think I'm officially in a ramen coma."

"Same," Kirishima said, patting his stomach. "That hit the spot."

"Now what?" Sero asked, leaning his elbows on the table. "Arcade again? Or do we explore the shops?"

"Let's hit up that cool sneaker store," Mina suggested. "I've been eyeing a new pair of kicks."

"I'm down for that," Kaminari said. "But only if we swing by the candy store after. I need some sour gummies."

The group began debating their next move, but Bakugou stood abruptly, grabbing his tray. "You done?" he asked, looking at you.

"Yeah," you said, startled by the question.

"C'mon," he said, motioning for you to follow. "We'll ditch these idiots for a bit."

"Oi!" Kaminari protested. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Bakugou ignored him, striding toward the trash bins. You followed, your curiosity piqued. Once you were out of earshot of the others, you asked, "What's up?"

"Nothing," he said, tossing his tray onto the pile. "Just figured you'd want a break from their constant yapping."

You couldn't help but laugh, you did want to get away from the group, they weren't your cup of tea. "Fair enough. Where are we going?"

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "There's a bookstore upstairs. Thought you might like it."

Your heart skipped a beat at the thoughtfulness behind his words. "That sounds perfect."

Bakugou led the way to the escalators, his hands shoved into his pockets as he walked a step ahead of you. You couldn't help but smile at how his gruff exterior clashed with his surprisingly considerate actions. Despite his constant grumbling and sharp tongue, moments like these reminded you how much he paid attention.

As you reached the bookstore, your eyes lit up. The space was cozy and inviting, with rows upon rows of books that begged to be explored. Bakugou lingered near the entrance, clearly out of his element, but he gestured toward the shelves. "Go. Look around."

"You're not coming with me?" you teased, already scanning the nearest aisle.

"Tch, what would I even look at?" he muttered, but his gaze softened when he noticed your enthusiasm.

You wandered through the store, occasionally pointing out interesting books or covers you liked. To your surprise, Bakugou eventually joined you, flipping through a cookbook with a furrowed brow.

"Didn't know you liked cooking," you said, peering over his shoulder.

"I don't just like it," he replied. "I'm good at it. I'm good at everything."

"Except for making your gauntlets." You said with a laugh, the playful banter between you easing the usual tension he carried.

He growled at you almost. "I'll prove it. I'm a fantastic cook."

"Oh yeah? What about tonight then, hm? Prove your chef skills."

He was about to deny it, but then he considered it.

Chapter Text

"Wait, are you serious?" You asked, blinking at him in surprise. You'd been teasing, but Bakugou didn't seem to be backing down.

"Yeah, I'm serious," He shot back, crossing his arms. "What, scared I'll blow your mind with my cooking?"

You smirked, tilting your head just a bit. "More like scared you'll set the kitchen on fire."

"Like hell, I would!" He barked, but there was a faint flush creeping up his neck. "You're gonna eat your words—and my food."

"Alright, deal," You said, holding out your hand with a grin. "Show me what you've got, Chef Bakugou."

He hesitated for a second before gripping your hand briefly. "Damn right, I will."

+++

You guys ditched the group, with the excuse he gave. Something like "I'm tired of hanging with extras like you" he said to his friends and only Kirishima patted him on the back as Bakugou dragged you away.

The train ride back was filled with light banter, the kind that felt natural whenever you were alone with him. He didn't talk much in big groups, but when it was just the two of you, he seemed to loosen up. Even so, you couldn't ignore the flutter in your chest when his knee accidentally brushed against yours or the way he'd glance at you out of the corner of his eye.

"So," you said, breaking the comfortable silence, "what's on the menu tonight, Chef?"

"Depends," he said, leaning back in his seat. "What do you like?"

"(Food of any kind)," You replied quickly, making him snort.

"Damn, you're picky."

"Says the guy who threatened a waiter for getting his spice level wrong," You retorted with a soft grin.

He glared at you, but there was no real heat behind it. "Tch, whatever. I'll figure something out."

+++

When you arrived at his stop, Bakugou led the way to his house, his usual confidence faltering slightly as you approached the front door. He hesitated for a moment, hand on the handle, before glancing back at you. "My parents are probably home. Just... don't let them annoy you."

"I'm sure they're fine," You said, waving your hand in front of you to dismiss it. Though, his warning made you curious.

The door opened, and you were immediately greeted by the sound of his mom's voice. "Katsuki! You're late— oh." Mitsuki Bakugou appeared in the entryway, her sharp eyes narrowing when she noticed you. "And who's this?"

Before you could answer, Bakugou sighed, clearly bracing himself. "This is.." His brows furrowed, unsure of how to introduce you. "(Y/n). She's in the support course. I'm making dinner."

"You're making dinner?" Mitsuki's eyebrows shot up. "Since when do you cook for anyone other than yourself?"

"Shut up old hag," he snapped, his ears going red. "She's not just 'anyone.'" He grumbled quietly.

"Oh, I see how it is," Mitsuki said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Well, welcome, (Y/n). Don't let him boss you around too much."

"I'll try," You said with a laugh, already liking her energy.

As Mitsuki stepped aside, you caught sight of Bakugou's dad peeking out from the living room. "Katsuki brought a friend?" Masaru said, looking pleasantly surprised. "That's rare."

"Geez, why don't you all announce it to the whole damn neighborhood?" Bakugou muttered, ushering you toward the kitchen.

+++

The Bakugou family kitchen was surprisingly spacious, with sleek appliances and a well-stocked pantry. Bakugou rolled up his sleeves and began pulling out ingredients with practiced efficiency, his earlier embarrassment replaced by determination.

"So, what's the plan?" you asked, hopping onto a stool by the counter.

"Stir-fried soba," he said without looking up. "Quick, but it'll taste good."

You watched as he chopped vegetables with precision, his focus unshakable. "You're pretty good at this," you admitted. "Guess I underestimated you."

"Damn right you did, already eating your shitty words," he said, smirking slightly as he heated a pan. "You're lucky I'm feeling generous."

As he worked, you couldn't help but admire the way his hands moved so confidently, the tension in his shoulders easing as he fell into a rhythm. It was a side of him you rarely got to see, and it made your heart ache just a little.

"Need any help?" you offered, trying to distract yourself.

"Nope," he said firmly. "Just sit there and be patient."

"Bossy," you teased, but you stayed put, content to watch him in his element.

+++

By the time the food was ready, the kitchen was filled with the delicious aroma of savory noodles and vegetables. Bakugou plated the dishes carefully before sliding one in front of you.

"Well?" he asked, crossing his arms. "What do you think?"

"I just received my plate and you're rushing me? As if!" You placed a hand on your heart and smiled with a sarcastic attitude. You took a bite, your eyes widening as the flavors hit your tongue. "This is amazing, Bakugou."

"Damn right it is," He said, though you could see the hint of pride in his expression.

As the two of you ate, the atmosphere felt personal and weirdly comfortable. You found yourself laughing at his sarcastic remarks, the usual tension between you replaced by a warmth you didn't want to end.

When you finally set down your chopsticks, you leaned back with a satisfied sigh. "Okay, I admit it. You're a fantastic cook."

"Obviously," he said, but there was a softness in his gaze that made your heart skip a beat.

For a moment, neither of you spoke, the quiet hum of the kitchen filling the space. You wanted to say something—anything—to bridge the unspoken feelings hanging between you, but the words wouldn't come.

"Oi," he said finally, breaking the silence. "Next time, I'm making something even better. You'd better be ready."

"Next time?" you asked, your voice teasing but your heart racing.

"Yeah," he said, looking away as his ears turned pink again. "Don't make me regret it."

You smiled, your chest feeling lighter than it had in weeks. "I won't, don't worry."

"Katsuki! Walk your girlfriend home. It's late." Masaru smiled as he got up from the couch and took their dishes from them.

"She's not my-"

"Let's go, okay? I'll be headed back to the school, got some projects to finish." You smiled and tugged on Bakugou's jacket.

Once the two of you left, back into the chill of the night, Bakugou grumbled. "Old man and old hag dunno what they're thinking. You're not my girlfriend or anything."

You couldn't help but softly giggle. "Hey. Come back to campus with me and keep me company."

"HUH?"

"It'll be fun."

"Can't." He grumbled.

Chapter Text

"What do you mean you can't? Tired of me?" Your face fell into a frown.

Bakugou stopped mid-step, his expression caught between frustration and guilt. "Tch, no, it's not like that," he muttered, avoiding your gaze.

"Then what is it?" you pressed, crossing your arms. "You haven't said no yet, so why now all of a sudden? What's going on?"

"I'm busy, alright?" he snapped, though his tone lacked its usual bite. "I'm a hero. I don't have time to sit around on campus doing nothing. Stupid gear girl."

The words stung more than you wanted to admit. "We don't just sit around doing nothing," you said, your voice softer. "And you could just tell me why instead of brushing me off."

He looked at you then, his crimson eyes flickering with something unspoken-something you couldn't decipher. "I didn't wanna deal with you getting all..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know."

"All what?" You asked, narrowing your eyes. What does he mean 'you know'? "Annoying? Clingy?"

"No! Damn it." He exhaled sharply, his breath visible in the cold night air. "I didn't wanna make it a big deal, okay? I've got stuff to handle, and it's not like I'm ditching you on purpose."

"Could've fooled me." You mumbled, looking away. The ache in your chest grew heavier the longer the silence stretched between you. You started to walk away, you need to get back to the campus. Maybe make him half-assed gear for this.

Bakugou let out a frustrated growl and grabbed your wrist, stopping you from walking ahead. "Oi. Don't start with that."

"Start with what?" You asked, your voice tinged with hurt. "I just don't get why you can't tell me things. We're friends, aren't we?"

His grip on your wrist tightened for a second before he let go, his hand falling to his side. "We are," he said quietly, his tone uncharacteristically vulnerable. "I just... I don't wanna drag you into my crap, alright?"

"You're not dragging me into anything, Bakugou." You said, taking a step closer with your head slightly tilted to look up at him. "I'm here because I care. You know that, right?"

Bakugou stiffened at your words, his eyes narrowing as his walls shot back up. "You care, huh?" he said, his tone sharper than before. "That's the problem. You don't get it."

"What don't I get?" You asked, your voice softening, though his sudden shift sent a pang through your chest. He was vulnerable one moment and shot his walls back up the next. What is he so afraid of?

"You don't get what it's like to do what I do!" He snapped, taking a step back as if to create distance between you. "I don't have time to deal with this-" he gestured vaguely between the two of you-"or you acting like you can fix everything just by caring. I get it, you fix gear. You can't fix people."

Your breath hitched, the sting of his words sinking deeper than you expected. "I'm not trying to fix anything, Bakugou. I just want to be here for you."

"And I didn't ask for that!" he barked, his voice rising. The way he looked at you, frustrated and defensive, made your heart ache. "You think being here for me means hanging around when I don't want you to? Newsflash-it doesn't."

His words hung in the cold night air, cutting through you like shards of ice. You opened your mouth to respond, but nothing came out. What could you say to that?

Bakugou must have noticed the hurt flickering across your face because his scowl deepened, his hands clenching into fists. "Damn it," he muttered, looking away. "I'm just trying to focus on what matters right now. Hero work. Training. Not this... whatever this is."

"Whatever this is?" You repeated, your voice trembling slightly. You couldn't tell if it was from anger or sadness. "You mean our friendship? Is that what you're calling it now?"

He flinched at your words, but his expression hardened. "I don't have time for this kind of stuff, gear girl. You're just making things harder."

The weight of his words hit you like a punch to the gut. You took a step back, the space between you suddenly feeling vast and unbridgeable. "So that's it, then? You don't want me around anymore?"

"That's not-" He stopped himself, his jaw tightening as he let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know. Maybe."

You stared at him, the lump in your throat growing unbearable. His harsh tone, his guarded posture, the way he couldn't even look at you-it all felt like rejection, and it hurt more than you thought it would.

"I get it," you said finally, your voice quieter now. "You don't want me to be a part of your life right now, anymore. Fine."

His head snapped toward you, something like regret flickering in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. He just stood there, silent and immovable.

You forced a weak smile, though your heart was breaking. "Good luck with your hero work. Bakugou." His name sounded like venom on your tongue. Cold and heartless just like how he spoke to you tonight. Everything went so... downhill.

Without waiting for a response, you turned and walked away, your footsteps echoing against the sidewalk. You didn't look back, even though every part of you wanted to. If he wasn't going to let you in, you wouldn't force your way. But the weight of his words clung to you, and you couldn't shake the feeling that you'd just lost something important.

You kept walking, the cold night air biting at your skin, but it wasn't enough to distract you from the heaviness in your chest. The streetlights cast long shadows on the sidewalk, and you focused on the rhythmic sound of your footsteps, hoping it would drown out the whirlwind of thoughts racing through your mind.

His words replayed over and over, cutting deeper with every repetition. "You're just making things harder." The phrase echoed in your head, twisting into something sharper every time. Was that all you were to him? A complication? A burden?

You rubbed your arms, trying to ward off the chill, but it was no use. No amount of movement could shake the sinking feeling in your stomach. You had been so certain that you were helping him, even in the smallest ways. Every conversation, every shared moment-those had felt meaningful to you. But now you couldn't help but question if he had ever felt the same.

"I'm just making things harder," you muttered to yourself, the words bitter on your tongue. You hated how much they stung, hated how vulnerable you felt. You thought you'd built a bond strong enough to weather his temper and defenses, but maybe you'd been wrong.

Reaching campus, you slowed your steps, the towering gates feeling more imposing than usual. The familiar path back to your dorm seemed endless, the loneliness pressing down on you with every step. By the time you reached the dorms, the exhaustion from the emotional weight settled in your bones. You unlocked your door and stepped inside, leaning against it as it clicked shut behind you.

For a moment, you just stood there, staring at the floor. The silence of your room was deafening, the stillness wrapping around you like a suffocating blanket. You bit your lip, swallowing the lump in your throat, and let out a shaky breath.

Pulling out your phone, you stared at the screen, your finger hovering over Bakugou's contact. Part of you wanted to call him, text him, to demand an explanation, but the other part knew it would only lead to more hurt. With a heavy sigh, you set your phone down and sank onto your bed, burying your face in your hands. You couldn't get yourself to work on anything, so you just.. laid there.

You'd always known Bakugou was complicated. His walls, his temper, his inability to let people in-it was part of who he was. But for the first time, you wondered if you'd been naïve to think you could be the exception.

Chapter Text

The days following your argument with Bakugou passed in a haze. You threw yourself into your work again, losing hours in the workshop where the clinking of tools and hum of machinery drowned out your thoughts. It was easier this way, to immerse yourself in something productive rather than dwell on the sting of his words. You hated people, always have. You should've known to not get so close to people.

Your world shrank to what it had been before you met Bakugou: just you, Mei, and Yuka. Mei was as loud and excitable as ever, pulling you into her chaotic projects with relentless energy. Yuka was quieter, her gentle presence a balm to your frayed nerves. She would hum softly while stitching costumes, her hands working deftly as she repaired tears or reinforced seams.

"Looks like Kirishima's gone a little overboard again," Yuka murmured one afternoon, holding up the shredded remains of his hero costume. "This boy is way too enthusiastic."

You chuckled softly, the first genuine laugh you'd managed in days. "That's Kirishima for you. You'd think he was fighting dragons out there."

Yuka smiled, her soft white hair catching the light as she worked. "At least he's polite. Unlike some people."

The subtle jab wasn't lost on you, and your stomach tightened. Yuka knew about Bakugou—how could she not? She'd been there to pick up the pieces before you ever met him, when you were still too guarded to let anyone in.

"Yeah," you said, focusing on your own project. "At least he's polite."

+++

It wasn't long before Bakugou showed up at the workshop. The sound of the door swinging open and his heavy footsteps filled the space, making your stomach knot.

You kept your head down, refusing to look up from the gloves you were calibrating. Something that Midoriya kid needed. You met him earlier when he had come to see Mei and she wasn't around at the time. You took it upon yourself to busy yourself with it. Mei, oblivious as ever, was the first to greet him.

"Oh, it's you!" She exclaimed, goggles pushed up onto her forehead. "What do you need? Something's busted?"

"I'm looking for (Y/n)," he said, his voice gruff but lacking its usual edge.

Mei glanced at you, her eyebrows raising slightly when she noticed the way you stiffened. Before she could respond, you spoke up without looking his way.

"Talk to Mei. Or Yuka. I'm busy."

The words came out colder than you intended, but you didn't care. You weren't ready to face him—not after everything he'd said.

"Oi," Bakugou growled, clearly annoyed. "You're the one who worked on my gauntlets last time. Crazy's not—"

"Busy," Mei interrupted, cutting him off as she turned back to her own project. "Super busy. Try again later, maybe."

Bakugou's patience was visibly wearing thin. "You're seriously just gonna pass me off like that?"

"Yes," you said flatly, finally glancing up to meet his eyes. The hurt in his expression was fleeting, quickly replaced by frustration, but it was enough to make you drop your gaze again.

"You're being ridiculous," he muttered, his voice low. "Just talk to me, damn it." You didn't want to. At least until he apologized. Then you'd think about it.

"I don't have time," you said curtly, turning back to your work. "And I don't want to."

The silence that followed was suffocating. You could feel Yuka watching from her corner of the workshop, her needle pausing mid-stitch. Mei, for once, stayed quiet, sensing the tension in the air.

After a long pause, Bakugou let out a sharp exhale and turned on his heel. The door slammed shut behind him, the echo lingering in the room.

Yuka was the first to speak. "That was... rough."

You sighed, setting your tools down and rubbing your temples. "It's fine. He'll get over it."

"Will you?" Yuka asked gently, her voice probing but kind.

You didn't answer. Instead, you grabbed another glove and got back to work.

+++

The texts started coming in not long after. At first, you ignored them, thinking he'd give up eventually. But Bakugou was nothing if not persistent.

4:19 PM

Oi. We need to talk.

Don't be stupid.

Answer me.

I'm not gonna stop texting until you grow up and deal with this.

Each message made your chest tighten, but you refused to respond. If he thought he could brush you aside when it suited him and then demand your attention later, he was sorely mistaken.

"Still ghosting him?" Mei asked one day after school had ended, glancing at your phone as another text came through.

"Yep," you said, keeping your focus on the schematic in front of you.

"You sure that's the best idea?"

"Yes," you said firmly, cutting off any further discussion. Mei shrugged and went back to her work, but Yuka gave you a concerned look.

"You know, ignoring him won't make the hurt go away," Yuka said softly as she threaded her needle.

"I'm not ignoring him to hurt him," you replied, your voice tight. "I'm doing it because I need space."

Yuka didn't push further, but her silence spoke volumes. She knew you were ignoring him because he was harsh towards you.

+++

Two weeks went by in a blur, and the routine you'd built for yourself became your lifeline. You stopped thinking about Bakugou—or tried to, at least. The ache in your chest dulled, though it never fully went away.

You poured everything into your work, helping Mei with her experimental gadgets and assisting Yuka with her costume repairs. It was easier to be busy, to focus on other people's needs instead of your own.

"(Y/n), can you grab me the soldering iron?" Mei called out one afternoon, her hands full of wires.

"Got it," you replied, handing her the tool.

"Thanks! Oh, by the way, Kirishima's stopping by later, Yuka. Is his costume ready yet?"

"Almost," Yuka said, finishing a delicate stitch. "Just need to reinforce the shoulder seam."

"Perfect," Mei said with a grin. "You two are lifesavers, taking care of my list."

The door opened a moment later, and Kirishima walked in, his bright smile instantly lighting up the room.

"Hey, everyone!" He said cheerfully. "How's it going?"

"Busy as usual," Yuka replied, handing him his repaired costume. "Try not to shred this one too quickly, okay?"

"No promises," he said with a laugh. "But I'll do my best."

You smiled faintly at their exchange, grateful for the distraction. For now, this was enough—your work, your friends, and the steady rhythm of the workshop. It wasn't perfect, but it was safe. And after everything with Bakugou, safe was all you could handle.

As Kirishima stood in front of the large workshop mirror, Yuka worked diligently, adjusting the seams on his repaired hero costume. Her delicate fingers threaded and tightened stitches with precision, her usual hum accompanying the work. You were seated nearby, your tools abandoned on the table as you idly turned a small gear in your hand.

Kirishima caught your distracted expression in the mirror and tilted his head slightly. "You okay, (Y/n)?" he asked, his voice soft but concerned.

You hesitated, spinning the gear between your fingers. "Yeah, just... tired, I guess."

"Doesn't sound like just tired," he said gently, his red eyes meeting yours in the reflection. "Wanna talk about it?"

You glanced at Yuka, who was focused on pinning the last few adjustments. "It's nothing, really. Just... stuff with Bakugou."

Kirishima's brows furrowed slightly. "What happened? Did he say something stupid?" He didn't tell you? Your brows furrowed softly.

You gave a dry laugh. "More like a lot of stupid things. And I'm not dealing with it anymore."

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully, shifting his weight so Yuka could work on his shoulder seam. "You know, Bakugou's bad at expressing himself, but he usually doesn't push people away unless he's really struggling with something."

"Well, maybe he should've thought about that before he made me feel like I wasn't worth his time," you snapped, more bitterness in your voice than you intended.

Kirishima winced slightly but nodded. "That's fair. I'm not saying he was right, just... maybe he's not as good at handling things as you are. He sucks at saying sorry."

You sighed, letting the gear drop onto the table. "I don't want to keep giving him chances, Kirishima. I already let my guard down, and this is where it got me."

Yuka glanced up briefly but didn't interject, letting the conversation play out. Kirishima gave you a small, encouraging smile. "I get it. Just... don't shut out everyone who cares about you, okay? Not everyone's like him."

You nodded slowly, though your chest still felt heavy. "Yeah. I'll think about it."

Kirishima didn't press further, but his reassuring presence helped ease some of the weight you were carrying—even if only for a moment. "Are those gauntlets for him something you're still working on?"

You shook your head. "I stopped working on them."

"You should pick it up again." Kirishima nodded softly.

Chapter Text

The workshop was quiet except for the soft hum of the machinery that Mei had left and the occasional click of your own tools against metal. You had chosen the later hours to work, ensuring that no one, especially Bakugou, would interrupt you. His slim gauntlet project sat in pieces before you, the designs sprawled out on your desk.

Working on this in secret was risky, but you couldn't stop yourself. As much as you wanted to shut him out, a part of you knew how much he relied on his gear. You couldn't let his words or your wounded pride stop you from helping him, even if he'd never know.

"(Y/n)... are you sure about this?" Yuka's soft voice broke the silence as she leaned over the table, inspecting the schematics. "You're pouring so much into this. Your time, your money. He hasn't exactly been kind to you lately."

You sighed, wiping your hands on your grease-stained apron. "I know, Yuka. But this isn't about him. It's about making sure he has what he needs to be safe out there. He's a hero. That's what matters." Even if you don't understand the hardship that he's been through.

Yuka frowned but didn't argue further. Instead, she pulled out her small sewing kit, her delicate fingers already working on padding pieces for the gauntlet's straps. "Fine." She said softly. "But I'm contributing to this too. I can't let you shoulder it all."

"Yuka, you don't have to—"

She shot you a pointed look. "Don't even try to argue. You're my best friend, and I know how stubborn you are. You'd do the same for me if the situation was reversed. Besides, those parts are expensive, right? I don't do anything nearly as useful with my school money as you and Mei do."

You smiled faintly, the weight of her support easing some of the tension in your chest. "Thanks. Really."

She nodded and continued her work, her movements precise and practiced.

+++

The next few nights passed in a similar fashion. You'd stay after school and move from the classroom into the workshop, spreading out the current gauntlet components that you have and refining the design. His original schematics had been solid, but you couldn't resist when you found even better way of improving his gauntlets and your original blueprint. Sleeker materials, improved airflow, and a more efficient release system for his explosions.

"His current gauntlets are too bulky." You muttered one evening, soldering a connection. "He's fast, but these will make him faster."

"You sound like you're trying to make him unstoppable." Yuka teased, her soft voice carrying a hint of amusement as she worked on reinforcing the straps.

"So what if I am?" You replied, half-smiling. "Someone has to look out for him, even if he doesn't want me to."

Yuka glanced at you, her expression a mix of concern and admiration. "You're a better person than me. If someone treated me like that, I'd let them deal with their own mess."

"It's not about being better.." You said, tightening a screw. "It's just... I can't stop caring, no matter how much I want to."

+++

Not much passed in a week. You were certain this would have taken longer if you were still getting distracted by Bakugou. Going out with him and being around him. The prototype was nearly complete. You and Yuka sat side by side, putting the final touches on the gauntlets. Prototype. They would have to be tested.

"These adjustments should make them more comfortable," Yuka said, holding up one of the straps. "No chafing, even with extended use."

"Perfect." You said, inspecting the sleek design. It's not the color you wanted. They're black with green stripes but you thought it's just the prototype. The full will use more expensive stuff, stuff you've saved for this specifically. "I'll test the release mechanism tomorrow. If it works the way I think it will, he'll barely feel the recoil."

Yuka raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about this?"

You blinked and looked at her. "No. I'm very.. unsure. I don't want him thinking I'm sucking up to him. But... I can't stop thinking about him. He's.. always on my mind. Like.. I like him, but god. I think he wants nothing to do with me."

Yuka paused her stitching, setting the needle down to give you her full attention. Her soft gaze held concern as she leaned against the workbench. "That's a lot to carry, (Y/n). It's okay to feel unsure. But you shouldn't let him keep pulling at your heart like this if he's not giving anything back."

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. "I know. Believe me, I know. But it's not about getting something back. It's—" You hesitated, searching for the right words. "It's like, even if he doesn't care about me the way I care about him, I still want him to be okay. I want him to be safe." You were quiet, looking down at the prototypes.

Yuka nodded slowly, understanding in her expression. "That's... admirable. Painful, but admirable. Still, you've gotta think about yourself too. What happens if he never notices? Or if he just brushes it off again?"

Your chest tightened at the thought, but you forced a weak smile. "Then I guess I'll just have to live with it. At least I'll know I tried. I don't think I could forgive myself if I didn't."

Yuka's gaze softened further, and she reached out to squeeze your hand. "You're stronger than you think, you know that?"

"Maybe." You said quietly. "But it doesn't feel like it."

+++

The next day, you stayed behind after class to test the gauntlets in the empty training field. The release system worked flawlessly, the smaller design allowing for rapid, precise bursts of explosion without sacrificing power or pain to your own wrist.

"They're perfect." You murmured, a small sense of pride swelling in your chest.

But as you packed up the gauntlets to take back to the workshop, that pride was tempered by a familiar ache. You wouldn't get to see his reaction. Would he even realize how much effort had gone into these? Or would he dismiss them as just another tool in his arsenal?

Shaking the thought away, you carried the gauntlets back to the workshop, placing them carefully in a storage compartment.

+++

Bakugou had shown up at the workshop a few times over the past week, but each time, you brushed him off with a curt excuse.

"Busy."

"Ask Mei."

"Not my problem."

The dismissals were short, impersonal, and deliberate. You couldn't let him back in. Even if you wanted to. He was responsible with apologizing first.

Each time you dismissed him, you told yourself it was the right thing to do. If he really cared, he'd apologize first. He'd acknowledge the hurt he caused instead of showing up like nothing happened. But each time you caught a glimpse of him walking away, shoulders tense and jaw set, your resolve wavered just a little.

You hated how he lingered in your thoughts. The way he hesitated at the door before leaving, the fleeting looks he'd shoot your way, the clenching of his fists when you shut him out—it all stuck with you, no matter how hard you tried to ignore it.

"Hey, gear girl, can you—"

"Ask Mei." You cut him off without looking up from your project.

"She said she's busy." His voice was firm, but not angry.

"Yuka."

"Busy."

"Neither of them are my problem." You replied coldly, reaching for another tool. Ignoring him. Brushing it off. Pushing him away. Just like how he'd done with you that night a few weeks ago.

The silence stretched uncomfortably before you heard his footsteps retreating. When the door clicked shut, you let out a shaky breath, your hands tightening around the wrench in your grip.

This was the right thing to do, you reminded yourself again. If he wanted to fix things, he needed to meet you halfway. Until then, you couldn't keep letting him get to you.

Chapter Text

The workshop's normal machinery hum filled the air as you worked, each clink of metal and hiss of solder drowning out the thoughts swirling in your head. Bakugou's visits lingered in your mind—his firm voice, his frustrated expression, the weight of his presence—but you pushed it all aside. This wasn't about him. You couldn't let yourself get distracted. You had to focus.

The gauntlet's prototype were nearly finished. They lay on your workbench, sleek looking with black and green line accents near the hands spot. In the final design, you would probably flip the colors around. Now, the final adjustments were all that remained. You tightened a bolt and tested the locking mechanism for the fifth time, nodding to yourself when it clicked smoothly into place.

"Looks good," Yuka said from across the room, glancing up from her stitching. She was piecing together a new fabric prototype for Ashido's hero costume, but her watchful eyes didn't miss much.

"Yeah," You muttered, brushing stray bits of metal off the table. "Almost done."

Yuka set her work down and walked over, peering at the gauntlets. "These are for him to test, aren't they?"

You hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. I told Kirishima I'd let him deliver them, though. I'm not... I don't want to deal with him right now."

Yuka leaned against the workbench, her brow furrowed. "Still?"

"What other choice do I have?" You shot back, sharper than you intended, immediately feeling bad. Everyone's been pestering you about apologizing to Bakugou, but you weren't the one that needed to apologize. "He's the one who pushed me away, Yuka. Not the other way around."

Her expression softened, and she sighed. "If you're doing this for him, he deserves to know how much work you've put in."

"I'm not doing it for recognition." You replied, picking up the gauntlet again. "I'm doing it because he needs it. This is his future. Whether he cares or not isn't my problem."

Yuka watched you for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Alright. But don't let this eat you up, okay?"

You didn't answer, focusing instead on testing the release mechanism. Again. When it snapped into place with a satisfying click, you let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding.

"Perfect." You murmured, inspecting the design. It wasn't exactly how you'd envisioned it—this was just the prototype, after all—but it was functional and efficient.

Yuka raised an eyebrow. "And what happens when he asks if you worked on these?"

You shrugged. "He'll figure it out. I don't plan on talking to him, so it doesn't matter."

+++

Later that day, you found Kirishima in the training hall, where he was working through drills with Sero. He noticed you immediately, jogging over with a friendly grin.

"(Y/n)! What's up?"

You held up the box containing the gauntlets, your expression carefully neutral. "I need you to give these to Bakugou."

Kirishima blinked, taking the box from you. "Wait, are these the—"

"Prototypes. Yes, I was working on them." You confirmed with a curt nod, crossing your arms. "Tell him to test them out and let me know if anything needs adjusting."

He studied you for a moment, concern flickering across his face. "You're not gonna give them to him yourself?"

"No," you said firmly. "I'm not interested in that conversation. Just make sure he uses them."

Kirishima hesitated. "You know he's been acting weird lately, right? Like, ever since—"

"Kirishima," you interrupted, your voice quieter but no less resolute. "Please."

He sighed but nodded. "Alright. I'll handle it. But you should really think about-"

"Thanks," you said quickly, turning to leave before he could finish.

+++

Back in the workshop, you threw yourself into another project, trying to shake the lingering weight of your conversation with Kirishima. You didn't regret your decision, but the thought of Bakugou using the gauntlets made your chest tighten.

"They're just tools," you muttered to yourself, as if saying it aloud would make it true.

Yuka, who had been watching quietly from her station, finally spoke up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," you replied, though the tension in your shoulders said otherwise.

She walked over and placed a hand on your arm, her expression gentle. "You know it's okay to care, right? Even if you're mad at him."

"I'm not mad," you said quickly, though the words felt hollow. "I just... I don't want to deal with him."

Yuka nodded slowly, giving your arm a reassuring squeeze before stepping back. "Alright. But if you ever want to talk about it, you know where to find me."

You offered her a small, grateful smile before turning back to your work.

+++

When Kirishima handed the gauntlets to Bakugou later that day, the blonde's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What's this?" He demanded, though his hands were already reaching for the box.

"Prototypes," Kirishima explained with a grin. "For your new gauntlets. (Y/n) finished them."

Bakugou froze for a moment, his fingers hovering over the lid. "She did?" His voice was soft over the mention of you. He thought you wanted nothing to do with him, so you scrapped his gauntlet project.

"Yep. Said to test them and let me know if you need adjustments so I can tell her."

Bakugou opened the box, his eyes narrowing as he examined the sleek design. "She didn't want to give them to me herself?"

Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away. "She's been busy. You know how it is in the support course."

"Tch," Bakugou muttered, his gaze lingering on the gauntlets. "Fine."

He didn't say anything else, but the weight in his expression didn't go unnoticed. Maybe he really needs to apologize. He did push her away, so he's just getting it in return.

+++

Back in the workshop, you busied yourself with a new project, trying to distract yourself from the nagging thoughts swirling in your head. You didn't regret finishing the gauntlets, but the idea of Bakugou using them without knowing the full extent of your effort left a bitter taste in your mouth. You did that to yourself.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" Yuka's voice broke through your thoughts as she leaned against the doorway, arms crossed.

You sighed, setting down your tools. "I'm trying not to." You spoke through your teeth.

Yuka raised an eyebrow. "And how's that working out for you?"

"Terribly," You admitted, rubbing your temples. "But what else can I do? I'm not ready to face him."

She nodded, walking over to place a comforting hand on your shoulder. "Take your time. Just remember that you don't owe him anything—not your work, not your time, and definitely not your feelings."

"I know," you said softly. "But it's not that simple."

"It never is." Yuka agreed, her voice gentle. "But you're strong, (Y/N). You'll figure it out." She tapped her hand on the door and left the workshop for the night.

When you finally received a text from Kirishima a small bit later after Yuka left, a mixture of relief washed over you. But you were a little upset as well. You missed Bakugou.

"Good," You muttered to yourself, setting your phone aside. "That's all that matters."

Chapter Text

You stood in the middle of the classroom, Kirishima's text lingering on your phone screen.

You hesitated, biting your lip. Hanging out with Kirishima and the others wasn't the problem; they were great people, and they made you feel welcome into the social scene. But the thought of Bakugou showing up, even if Kirishima said he wouldn't be there, made your stomach churn.

7:31 PM

i might go

Alright!! If you decide to come, we're meeting at (mall address) at 11 am since some of us might be elsewhere before then!!

You spent the rest of the evening debating whether you should go. On one hand, you wanted to reconnect with the group. It wasn't their fault you'd pulled away, and you missed the laughter and the chaotic energy they brought. On the other hand, you didn't want to risk running into Bakugou. Kirishima swore he was busy, but what if he showed up anyway?

+++

The next morning, you decided to go. You figured you'd stay for a bit, browse a few stores, and leave early if things got uncomfortable. As you approached the mall, you spotted Kirishima, Mina, Kaminari, and Sero already gathered by the entrance, their cheerful chatter carrying over the hum of the weekend crowd.

"There's our support course girl!" Ashido called, waving enthusiastically.

"Glad you made it!" Kirishima added, his grin as bright as ever.

You smiled faintly as you approached, trying to shake off the nervous energy curling in your chest.

"Ready to blow some cash on useless stuff?" Kaminari joked, slinging an arm around Sero's shoulders.

"Always," Sero replied with a smirk.

Ashido grabbed your hand, too excited to bond with you, and tugged you toward the entrance. "Come on! There's this cute boutique I want to check out first."

As the group moved inside, you felt a bit more at ease. The energy was light, and for a while, you let yourself enjoy their company.

+++

An hour passed as you wandered from store to store, Ashido squealing over accessories, Kaminari trying on ridiculous hats, and Sero attempting to balance a stack of random knick-knacks on his head. Kirishima stayed close, occasionally glancing your way with a supportive smile, as if to remind you that everything was okay.

You were starting to feel likeyou'd made the right choice coming here.

That was, until you heard a familiar voice behind you.

"Tch. What the hell are you doing here?"

Your heart sank. You turned slowly, and there he was, hands shoved into his pockets, his piercing red eyes locked on you.

Ashido blinked in surprise. "Bakugou? What're you doing here? I thought you said you were busy!"

"I was," he replied, his gaze never leaving yours. "Changed my mind."

Your stomach twisted. You knew exactly why he "changed his mind".

Kaminari, oblivious as ever, laughed nervously. "Oh, uh... I might've mentioned to him (Y/n) was coming when we were training last night."

Bakugou shot him a glare, and Kaminari shrank back, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't know it was a secret!"

"Idiot." Sero muttered under his breath.

Ashido stepped in quickly, trying to defuse the tension. "Well, since you're here, why don't we all grab lunch? There's that new ramen place in the food court—"

"I'm not hungry," Bakugou snapped. "I need to talk to her."

Your heart raced as all eyes turned to you. Kirishima opened his mouth to say something, but you cut him off.

"No."

The single word was firm, and the group fell silent. You looked at Bakugou, your expression unreadable.

"I'm not doing this here." You said with a firm voice and decided it was time for you to leave.

His jaw tightened, but he didn't back down. "Then where? 'Cause you've been ignoring me for weeks, and I'm done waiting."

Ashido and Kaminari exchanged awkward glances, and even Sero seemed unsure of what to do. Kirishima cleared his throat. "Uh... maybe we should split up for a bit? You know, check out different stores?"

Ashido caught on quickly, grabbing Kaminari and Sero by their sleeves. "Yeah, good idea. Let's give them some space."

"No need," you said sharply. "I'm leaving."

You turned on your heel, heading for the exit. But Bakugou wasn't about to let you go that easily.

"Oi! Don't walk away from me!" He called, his voice echoing through the mall.

You ignored him, your footsteps quickening as you weaved through the crowd.

"Damn it, (Y/n)!"

Before you knew it, he was in front of you, cutting you off. People glanced your way, their curiosity palpable, but you didn't care.

"What do you want, Bakugou?" You asked, your voice cold.

"I want you to stop acting like a coward," he shot back. "You've got something to say? Say it to my face."

Your hands clenched into fists at your sides. "I don't owe you anything, remember? Least of all an explanation. You're the one who pushed me away, remember?"

He flinched, but his glare didn't waver. "And you just gave up? That's not the (Y/n) I know."

"The (Y/n) you know?" You laughed bitterly. "You don't know me, Bakugou. Not really. If you did, you wouldn't have treated me like I didn't matter."

The words hung in the air, heavy and raw. Bakugou's eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, he looked almost... lost.

"I-" he started, but you shook your head.

"I don't want to hear it." Your voice cracked despite your best efforts to keep it steady. "Whatever you're trying to say, it's too late."

You stepped around him, ignoring the way your chest ached. Your heart pounding in your chest, determined to leave before he could say anything else to unravel the walls you'd carefully rebuilt around yourself. The exit was in sight, but then you heard his hurried footsteps behind you.

"Oi, wait!"

You didn't stop. You made it out of the mall's doors.

"(Y/n), stop walking!"

Before you could make it another step into the parking lot, Bakugou grabbed your wrist. It wasn't harsh and it didn't hurt, but it was enough to halt you in your tracks. His grip was warm and steady, and for a moment, all you could hear was the thundering of your heartbeat.

"What now?" You snapped, yanking your arm back, but his hand didn't let go.

"I—" He struggled for a second, his face contorted in a way you rarely saw. His usual confidence and bite wavered, replaced by something uncertain. His mouth opened and closed, and then finally, he spat the words out. "I'm sorry, okay?"

You froze, blinking up at him in disbelief. "What?"

"I said I'm sorry!" He barked, but the usual sharpness in his tone was missing. "I—damn it—I screwed up. I shouldn't have said all that crap to you. I shouldn't have pushed you away."

His crimson eyes locked onto yours, intense and unwavering, and for the first time, they weren't filled with anger or frustration. They were filled with regret.

"You didn't deserve that," he continued, his voice quieter now, almost a mutter. "I was a coward, alright? I thought—hell, I don't even know what I thought. But I was wrong."

The air between you was heavy with the weight of his words. You couldn't remember the last time you'd seen Bakugou like this—raw, unguarded, vulnerable. You've never seen Bakugou like this.

"Why now?" You asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

"Because I couldn't stand it anymore," he admitted, his grip on your wrist loosening but not letting go. "You ignoring me, shutting me out—it drove me insane. And then Kirishima shows up with those gauntlets, the prototypes, and I knew you were still... you still cared enough to—"

"Don't," you cut him off, your voice trembling. "Don't say it."

"I care about you, alright?" He said anyway, the words rough and unpolished, but unmistakably sincere. "I'm sorry I didn't show it before. I'm sorry I screwed everything up." He practically bowed in front of you, staring at the ground as he lowered his pride. The pride that he carried himself with to keep his emotions in check, something you thought he would do in private, but here he was. He was doing this in a completely public place as people entered and exited the mall.

You stared at him, stunned, your mind a whirlwind of emotions. Anger, hurt, hope—all of it tangled together in a way that made it impossible to respond.

He let go of your wrist then, gentle with it, stepping back just enough to give you space and lifting his head, his body. His eyes locked on yours, waiting, hoping, bracing himself for your response.

You didn't know what to say. For the first time ever, you had no idea how to respond. You didn't know whether to forgive him or walk away. It seemed like Bakugou didn't have an answer either.

Chapter Text

Your heart raced, the sound of outside the mall started fading into the background as you stood there, face to face with Bakugou. He had apologized. Actually apologized. The words you'd never thought you'd hear from him still echoed in your mind, making it difficult to breathe steadily. You had imagined a thousand scenarios of what you would say if this moment ever came, but none of them felt right.

You swallowed hard, willing your voice not to break. "Do you really think a simple apology is enough?"

He clenched his jaw, clearly fighting an internal battle. "I don't think it's enough," he admitted, his voice low and raw. "But it's the truth. It's what you deserve to hear."

Your eyes softened just a bit, but you didn't let the emotion spill over yet. "Do you have any idea how it felt? To care about someone who seemed to suddenly pushed me away like I was nothing?"

"I know I made you feel like that," he said, looking down at his hands before meeting your gaze again. "And I hate that I did. It wasn't because I didn't care about you. It was because I didn't know how to care about you without screwing it up."

You both took a deep breath.

"That night, when I told you to stay out of my business, I was angry at myself. Angry because..." He let out a frustrated sigh, hands flexing by his sides. "Because you matter too much."

You took a deep breath, struggling to hold onto your resolve. "If I matter so much, why was it so easy for you to walk away that night?"

"It wasn't easy!" he snapped. You didn't mean to flinch slightly at the harsh tone he used, but you could see the regret and pain flash across his eyes. "You think I wanted to push you away? It was the only way I knew how to deal with... everything. My feelings, this stupid fear that you'd get hurt because of me."

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, obviously uncomfortable with letting so much raw emotion out at once. "You've always been so... good. Too good for someone like me. I thought if I kept you at a distance, you wouldn't get caught up in my mess."

"And yet, you still did." You said softly, tears stinging the corners of your eyes. "You still hurt me by pushing me away..."

His hands clenched into fists. "I know. I know I did, and I hate myself for it." He took a shaky breath, and for a moment, he seemed to struggle to continue. "You're the only person who makes me feel like I could actually be better. Like maybe I'm more than just my quirk, or my anger, or my damn pride. Like some flashy hero..."

You looked away, processing the vulnerability in his words. "And what about me? I- I put so much effort into those gauntlets because I thought it would remind you that... that I was on your side, even when you treated me like an outsider."

His eyes softened, replaced with an unfamiliar gentleness. "Those gauntlets... they're incredible, by the way. Even if they are just prototypes. No one else knows me well enough, besides the crazy one, that can create something that precise, slim and slender, and still function like my old gauntlets."

"That's not the point, Bakugou." You said, shaking your head, trying to steady your emotions once again. "I'm tired of having to prove myself to you. I'm tired of fighting for a place in your life when it feels like you're constantly trying to keep me out."

"I'm not keeping you out anymore," he said, the conviction in his voice making your heart clench. "I was wrong before. I was a coward, and I hurt you because I couldn't face my own damn feelings." He took a small step forward, the space between you shrinking. "I hate talking about this crap, you know that. But I'm saying it because you deserve to hear it. You deserve better from me."

You swallowed hard, your emotions swirling inside you like a storm. "And how do I know that you won't just push me away again when things get tough?"

"You don't," he said, and you could see how much it pained him to admit it. "I can't promise you that I'll never screw up again. But I can promise that I'm going to try. Because not having you around? It's worse than any fight I've been in. Worse than anything I've dealt with on patrol or in training. I don't want to lose you again. Not like that."

Your breath hitched as the raw sincerity in his voice broke down more of the walls you had put up. "Why now, Bakugou? Why decide to fix things now?"

He hesitated, looking down for a moment before meeting your gaze again. "Because I saw, experienced, what it was like to be without you. To walk into that workshop and not have you even look my way, deny me even an ear, to see you laugh with others and act like I didn't exist. It drove me insane. And then I realized... that's how I made you feel. I never want to make you feel like that again."

Tears threatened to spill over once again. Your voice cracked. "I just want you to let me back in. I don't want to feel like an afterthought."

"You're not," he said quickly. "You're not an afterthought, and you never were. I was just too damn stubborn to admit how much I need you in my life."

You took a deep breath, the weight of his words settling over you like a warm blanket. It made a few tears fall. "I'm not saying I forgive you completely. It's going to take time."

"I know," he said, a small, almost hopeful smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "And I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

For a moment, the world seemed to pause, the noise of the mall fading into nothingness. You felt the tension ease from your shoulders just a bit, a glimmer of hope sparking in your chest.

"Alright," you said softly, meeting his eyes.

He nodded, and for the first time in what felt like forever, you saw a genuine sense of peace in his expression.

The tension between you lingered, but there was a softness now, a fragile truce that hadn't been there before. You crossed your arms, trying to appear composed despite the emotional storm swirling inside you. Even though you shed a few years that you hastily wiped away.

"I'm serious." You said quietly, locking eyes with him. "If you pull the same crap again, if you shut me out... I'm not going to keep fighting to stay. I can't do that to myself anymore."

His lips pressed into a thin line, and he nodded. "You won't have to. I swear that."

It was rare to see him so open, so unguarded, and it made your chest ache. The Bakugou Katsuki everyone else knew was brash and guarded, was looking almost vulnerable. His crimson eyes held a sincerity that you couldn't deny, even if part of you was still hesitant to trust it.

You sighed, letting your arms drop to your sides. "Alright. But you're going to have to prove it. Words aren't enough, Bakugou."

"I know." His voice was steady, resolute.

For a moment, neither of you moved, the weight of the conversation settling over both of you. Then, as the noise of the mall began to filter back into focus, you stepped back. "One step at a time," you spoke softly.

He nodded. You thought you saw the faintest glimmer of relief in his expression. "That's... all I'm asking for."

The silence between you stretched, thick and heavy, but it wasn't suffocating like it had been before. You shifted your weight, still unsure what to do with your hands or your emotions, but you didn't feel the need to run anymore.

"I'm not going to forget how much that hurt. I need time to figure out if I can trust you again." You mumbled quietly.

Bakugou gave a sharp nod, his jaw set. "Take all the time you need. I'll prove it."

You narrowed your eyes slightly, studying him. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"By not being an idiot," he said simply, though the slight flush on his cheeks betrayed how serious he was. "And by not running from this... or from you."

That caught you off guard. You opened your mouth, but no words came out. Instead, you looked at him, really looked at him, and for the first time in a long time, you saw just how much this mattered to him.

"Alright," you murmured after a beat. "One step at a time, then."

A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "Damn right."

Chapter Text

The two of you walked back into the mall, the air between you still thick with the awkwardness of unresolved emotions, but that was enough. You preferred it over avoiding each other. You stuck close to Ashido, who immediately pulled you into conversation about some brightly colored accessories on display, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Bakugou, on the other hand, gravitated toward Kirishima, who greeted him with a knowing grin but didn't press for details. From the corner of your eye, you noticed Bakugou glance in your direction occasionally, though he didn't approach. That was enough.

10:17 AM

you still have those prototypes, right?

(bakugou reacted to your message with a thumbs up)

cool, so you can bring them by after school?

Sure

sweet , lemme know what needs to be changed then as well.

👍

You worked on projects that other hero students asked you to do, while you were busy avoiding Bakugou, and the door slid open. You looked up, forgetting what time it was.

"I've been using them," he said without preamble, setting them down next to me on the workbench. "They're good, but they can be better. What's next besides costs?"

His directness caught you off guard. After avoiding each other for a while, was he just waiting? Testing?

"I was going to do a full assessment before making adjustments, observe your use with them."

"Don't waste time. I've already got a list." He crossed his arms, looking down at you with his usual intensity. "The release mechanism's solid, but it could be smoother. Recoil's better, but not perfect. And the weight distribution—it shifts too much when I'm moving fast."

You blinked at him, surprised by how quickly he rattled off the feedback. "You actually used them?"

"Told you. They're good," he muttered, his tone softer now. "So, what's the plan to fix it?"

You hesitated, but his earnestness made it hard to resist. "Alright. Let's go over the details. Start from the top."

Bakugou's list was blunt, but it helped you the best.

"The release mechanism first. Though functional, it felt slightly stiff, which slowed down rapid-fire blasts. It was setting me back." Bakugou explained first and gave you time to jot it down. "The recoil management would be next. I noticed the recoil still strained my wrists during high-power bursts. I thought you were avoiding that." He gave you a smirk while leaning over your shoulder as you jotted it down.

You rolled you eyes, "Of course I'm trying to avoid it."

He continued. "The gauntlets shifted awkwardly during fast movements, throwing off my balance slightly. Get rid of the straps, they fit snug without them. Also, after prolonged use, they retained too much heat, making them uncomfortable. They should be able to withstand high amounts of heat, considering I make heat. And the inner lining felt too slick during intense combat, reducing my hold. The outer casing showed minor scuffing after rigorous use, hinting at material limitations."

"That last part is just because it's a mock up. I used cheap materials." You answered quickly and he slowly sat down.

"You hungry?" He mumbled, scrolling through his phone.

"Uh.. kinda. I'm fine though." You mumbled, tweaking some of the design.

Bakugou gave you a sidelong glance, his lips tugging into a faint scowl. "Didn't ask if you were fine. I asked if you're hungry."

You blinked, looking up from the new schematic you were sketching of his gauntlets. "I mean... yeah, I guess?"

"Tch." He stood abruptly, sliding his phone over to you. "I'm ordering something. What do you want?"

Your brows furrowed, taken aback by his sudden shift. "You don't have to—"

"Didn't ask that either." His sharp gaze flicked to yours, challenging you to argue.

With a sigh, you gave in. "Fine. Something light. I don't care what you order."

Bakugou pulled his phone muttering something under his breath about indecisive people as he placed the order. You returned to your work, trying to focus, but the weight of his presence was distracting. You didn't wanna work.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again, his voice softer this time. "You don't gotta kill yourself over this, you know."

Your hands paused, gripping the pencil tightly. "I'm not. I just.. want it to be perfect."

He huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the table. "It's already better than what you've got so far. Just don't overdo it."

The sincerity in his tone made your chest tighten, but you nodded, keeping your eyes on your work until the food came.

When the food arrived, you looked down at the spread in surprise. Instead of the light snack you'd asked for, there was a large meal complete with sides and a drink.

"Bakugou, this is way too much—"

"Shut up and eat." He sat across from you, digging into his own food without giving you a chance to protest further.

"I said I didn't want much," you muttered, picking at the fries.

"And I said you're starving yourself," he shot back, his eyes narrowing. "When's the last time you ate a real meal? Don't lie. I can tell it's been weeks."

You froze, his words cutting a little too close to the truth. The memory of your last proper meal flashed in your mind, and he wasn't wrong—it had been before everything between you fell apart.

He sighed, his tone softening. "Just eat, alright? You can't fix anything if you're running on empty."

You nodded slowly. When you started eating, it felt nice. You really were hungry. You hated to admit it, but the food—and his attention—felt comforting.

"What are you doing tomorrow? Since it's the weekend tomorrow and all.." You asked, unsure to Bakugou. He was probably busy, training or something.

Bakugou paused mid-bite, his sharp crimson eyes lifting to meet yours. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment before swallowing, clearly caught off guard by your question.

"Why?" he asked cautiously, leaning back in his chair.

You shrugged, fiddling with the edge of a napkin. "Just wondering. I mean, it's the weekend, so I figured you'd be.. busy. Training or something."

He raised an eyebrow, studying you like he was trying to decipher some hidden meaning. "Yeah, probably. Got patrol and some extra crap to deal with. Why?"

The hesitation in his tone didn't escape you, and it made you feel more self-conscious. "No reason," you mumbled, your gaze dropping to your half-eaten burger. "Just thought I'd ask."

"Tch." He clicked his tongue, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you wanna hang out or somethin', just say it."

Your head snapped up, eyes wide. "I wasn't—! I mean, I didn't—!"

He rolled his eyes, cutting you off. "You're so bad at this, it's embarrassing. If you wanna do something, then spit it out. Otherwise, stop beatin' around the bush."

You flushed, glancing away. "Forget it. You're busy anyway."

"Not all day," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for you to hear.

It felt awkward. "Then yeah." Your voice was quiet, almost whispered as you fidgeted with the corner of the burger paper. "I wanna hang out."

Bakugou's eyes flicked to you, his expression unreadable. For a moment, you thought he might mock you, but instead, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Fine," he said, his tone gruff but not unkind. "Where?"

You glanced up, surprised by how easily he agreed. "Uh... I don't know. Wherever?"

He smirked faintly. "You're useless at planning, huh?"

You rolled your eyes softly and moved up next to him in your chair, looking at places open tomorrow as the weather starts getting colder. "Aquarium. Or.. Movie. or.." You trailed off and he looked over your shoulder pointing at one.

Chapter Text

Bakugou had ordered a taxi on his phone, grumbling about how the ride is free because everyone uses his account so he has points saved up, or something.

After a while of riding in the car, Bakugou took you to a venison kaiseki. You both went into the building and were seated by the door greeter. The waiter came around to take your orders so he could send out a chef for those dishes to cook in front of you.

As the waiter stood by your table, his smile lingered just a little too long and his eyes gazed at you longer, his tone overly smooth as he explained the menu options. You, admittedly, were clueless about the intricacies of venison kaiseki, and his detailed explanations only made you more confused.

"So, miss, might I suggest this dish?" The waiter said, leaning slightly closer to you. "It's delicate, yet full of flavor, just like yourself."

Your eyebrows lifted in surprise, unsure how to respond. "Uh, sure. That sounds.. good?"

Bakugou's hand, which had been resting on the table, tightened into a fist. His crimson eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at the waiter. "We don't need your commentary. Just take the damn order already."

The waiter straightened, visibly startled by Bakugou's sharp tone. "O-of course, sir. And for you?"

"Same thing she's having. Now go." Bakugou snapped, his voice low and threatening.

The waiter quickly nodded and left, his previous confidence replaced by nervous energy.

You turned to Bakugou, a mix of amusement and curiosity on your face. "What was that about?" You rested your palm against your chin, leaning on the table.

He avoided your gaze, leaning back in his chair with a scowl. "Guy was annoying. Kept talking too much."

You couldn't help but smirk. "Seemed like he was just doing his job."

Bakugou shot you a look, his face slightly pink. "Yeah, well, he doesn't need to be all over you while he's at it."

Realization dawned on you, and your smirk widened just a tad. "Wait... are you jealous?"

"Shut up," he muttered, crossing his arms defensively. Though, he didn't deny it.

"You are!" You teased, leaning forward. "Bakugou, jealous of a mere waiter? Last time you were jealous was of that 3-B hero student."

His glare deepened, but there was no real anger behind it. "I'm not jealous. Just don't like people bein' weird around you."

Your teasing softened, and you leaned back with a small smile. "Thanks, I guess. But you know you don't have to worry about that, right?" Because I like you. Your thoughts said to yourself.

"Tch. Whatever," he grumbled, but his posture relaxed slightly.

+++

When the chef arrived to prepare your meal at the table, the atmosphere shifted. The sizzling of the grill and the precise movements of the chef captured your attention. You couldn't help but admire the artistry of it all.

"This is amazing," you said, your eyes wide as the chef expertly cooked the venison.

Bakugou glanced at you, his own expression softening. "Yeah, it's alright."

You nudged him playfully. "Don't act like you're not impressed. I saw you watching."

"Shut up and eat," he muttered, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

The meal was everything you hadn't expected—rich, flavorful, and completely worth the awkwardness of earlier. Bakugou seemed to enjoy it too, though he was much quieter than usual, his focus seemingly split between the food and something else.

+++

As the waiter placed the check on the table, you and Bakugou reached for it simultaneously.

"I've got this," he said firmly, his hand landing on the small leather folder.

"Not happening," you replied, snatching it before he could.

His eyes narrowed, and his tone grew sharper. "Hand it over, idiot. I brought you here, so I'm paying."

"Not a chance, Bakugou," you shot back, opening the folder to check the total. Your heart nearly stopped at the amount—it was significantly higher than you'd expected. But you refused to let him win this. You didn't show it, how much money it was, and quickly took out your card.

"You're not paying," he growled, his hand now reaching toward your side of the table.

You leaned back, clutching the check protectively. "I already decided I'd pay, so deal with it!"

"Are you seriously this stubborn?!"

"Look who's talking!"

Ignoring his glare, you handed the card and the folder back to the waiter, who stood nearby looking mildly terrified. Was he still scared of Bakugou earlier? Bakugou scowled as the transaction was processed, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

When the waiter returned with your receipt, Bakugou shook his head in disbelief. "You're an idiot."

You stuffed the receipt into your pocket. "But you're still not paying."

+++

After dinner, the two of you stepped outside into the crisp evening air. The city lights twinkled around you, casting a warm glow over the streets.

"Thanks for tonight," you said, hugging your arms to your chest. "It was really nice."

Bakugou stuffed his hands into his pockets, his gaze fixed on the ground. "Yeah. It was."

There was a pause, the kind that felt heavy with unspoken words. You glanced at him, noticing the way his jaw clenched, like he was wrestling with something.

"Look," he finally said, his voice low. "About the waiter."

You tilted your head, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm not good at this crap, alright?" he admitted, his eyes darting away. "But I don't want you thinkin' I don't care. 'Cause I do. Probably too much."

Your heart skipped a beat, the sincerity in his voice catching you off guard. "Bakugou.."

He finally looked at you, his crimson eyes filled with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. "I don't wanna mess this up again. So.. just tell me what you want, and I'll try not to screw it up."

The vulnerability in his words was disarming, and for a moment, you couldn't find the right response. Finally, you smiled. Your hand hovered slightly above his hand. Your finger brushed his palm.

"Just keep being honest with me," you said softly. "That's all I want for now."

A faint smirk crossed his lips. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Any plans next week?" You asked curiously.

"Nah. Those stupid extras wanna go roller skating." He grumbled.

"Extras? Oh. You mean your little friend group?" You tilted your head. "Awe, lemme come to!"

"Ask raccoon eyes." He shot you a look. "I don't care if you join or not." He did care.

"I'll ask her if I can invite Yuka and Mei too..." You smile.

Chapter Text

When you had called Ashido about it later in your dorm room, she had been so excited to have more people join. She did have a party group already booked but told you that she can add 3 more to the list. You felt like you were intruding but she reassured you immediately.

The weekend rolled around faster than you'd expected, and soon enough, you found yourself getting ready for the roller-skating outing with Ashido's group. You'd spent the better part of the morning debating your outfit with Yuka and Mei.

"Do you think I should go casual or cute?" You asked, holding up two options in front of the mirror.

Yuka raised an eyebrow from where she was sitting on your bed, her needle and thread in hand as she worked on repairing a torn sleeve. "Go casual. If you wear something too cute and fall on your face, you'll just feel worse. Especially in front of Bakugou."

Mei, sprawled out on the floor with blueprints scattered around her, didn't even look up. "Wear something durable. You might end up crashing into something—or someone." These girls.. always working.

You groaned, tossing both outfits onto the bed. "You guys are so helpful."

Eventually, you settled on a comfortable pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Just in case things got chaotic.

The three of you leave the support classroom and head on the way towards the train making small talk. Yuka is excited to meet everyone because she only hangs out around the support classmates and Kirishima since she repairs his costume the most.

When you arrived at the roller rink with Yuka and Mei, Ashido practically bounced over to greet you. "You made it!" She beamed, grabbing your hands. "And you actually brought your friends! This is gonna be so much fun!"

Yuka offered a polite smile, while Mei immediately began inspecting the skates displayed near the rental counter. "These look horribly inefficient," Mei muttered, and you quickly nudged her before she could start dismantling one.

"Chill out. They're used by thousands of people and kids." You muttered back to her and you were able to pry her away and lead her to the arcade area.

The rest of the group trickled in, and your heart skipped a beat when Bakugou arrived with Kirishima. He was wearing his usual scowl, but his gaze flicked to you briefly before he looked away.

"Oi, raccoon eyes," Bakugou grunted. "Why'd you invite so many people?"

"Because the more, the merrier!" She replied cheerfully, ignoring his glare. In the end, there were a large amount of you and the group had their own room with pizza and sodas. You were a bit overwhelmed, meeting new ones in their class. Midoriya, Todoroki, Uraraka, Tsuyu, then the main Bakugou group that you already knew, you, Yuka, and Mei. You were thankful Mei and Yuka were there so you weren't as overwhelmed.

+++

Once everyone had their skates on, chaos quickly ensued, as you thought. Kaminari wobbled unsteadily, grabbing onto Sero for balance, who only laughed and let him fall. Kirishima was surprisingly graceful, gliding around the rink with ease, while Ashido showed off her skills with a series of spins. Midoriya's friend group were mostly on their own, all of them being pretty good at skating.

You, on the other hand, were struggling. You hadn't skated since you were a kid so the moment you stepped onto the rink, your legs wobbled like a newborn deer. Yuka stayed close, steadying you with a hand on your arm.

"You're hopeless," she said with a soft, teasing smile.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," you muttered, clutching the railing for dear life.

Bakugou, who was skating nearby, snorted. "You're pathetic." He stopped near you, skating by you. Of course he was good at this. He was practically good at everything.

"Shut up!" You shot back, glaring at him.

"Don't worry," Kirishima said, skating up beside you on the other side as well, with an encouraging smile. "You'll get the hang of it. Just take it slow."

Despite your frustration, his advice did help, and you eventually managed to shuffle forward without clinging to the railing. Yuka had long abandoned you when Tsuyu had managed to grab her attention.

You were watching Tsuyu lightly grab Yuka's hand and Yuka was a blushing mess, which made you grin. Although, you were fully distracted and ran right into a warm body. "Watch it gear girl!" The harsh tone made you look up. Bakugou looked annoyed. "Skate better." He grabbed your shoulders and pushed you off of him almost immediately and skated off pretty quickly.

Kirishima said something to Bakugou about him blushing and Bakugou yelled at him as he skated off the rink.

During a break, you found yourself sitting at one of the benches in the room, drinking your soda. You were the only one in the room, finding comfort in the silence. That was until Bakugou plopped down beside you, his expression unreadable.

"You're not that bad," he said gruffly, avoiding your eyes as he drank his soda.

"Wow, was that.. a compliment?" You teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't push it," he muttered, but there was no real bite to his words.

It was quiet for a moment, then he broke it again.

"I'll teach you." He grumbled.

You blinked, caught off guard. "Teach me what?"

Bakugou gestured toward the rink with his soda cup. "How to skate. You're hopeless, but I guess I can fix that."

You stared at him for a moment, searching his face for any sign he was joking, but he looked completely serious.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," you said, laughing nervously. "What if I fall? Or worse—what if I take you down with me?"

"Tch, like you could," he scoffed, setting his soda aside and standing up. "C'mon. You wanna stay bad at this forever?"

You hesitated, looking back at Yuka and Mei, who were watching the exchange with poorly concealed amusement. Yuka gave you a thumbs-up, Tsuyu and Uraraka chatting beside her, and Mei simply shrugged, muttering something about "inevitable chaos" as if that's what she's been preaching this whole time.

"Fine," you relented, letting him pull you to your feet.

Back on the rink, Bakugou stood in front of you, arms crossed. "First, stop looking like you're gonna die every time you move. Relax your knees."

You frowned but obeyed, bending slightly. Though, you immediately started to wobble and Bakugou grabbed your hands softly which immediately kept you steady. You stared at your hands together, blushing hard. This was like one of those stupid tropes.

"Good. Now push off, one foot at a time. Keep your weight centered." He slowly skated backwards, watching you carefully. He let go slowly and it made you wobble just a little. His hands hovering near your arms in case you fell. You slowly tried to push off, but you ended up looking like a total loser as you walked on the rink instead of skated.

"We all start somewhere," he muttered grudgingly.

You groaned, frustrated with your awkward movements. "Somewhere embarrassing, apparently," you muttered under your breath.

Bakugou huffed a laugh, stepping closer. "Quit whining. You'll get it."

He grabbed your wrist gently, guiding you forward as he skated alongside you. "Stop walking like you're on land. Glide. One foot, then the other."

You followed his lead, trying to mimic his smooth movements. It wasn't perfect—you wobbled a few times—but you didn't fall. The steadiness of his grip gave you more confidence than you cared to admit.

"Not bad," he said after a moment, his tone begrudging.

You glanced at him, a small smile tugging at your lips. "Thanks. For, you know, not letting me faceplant in front of everyone."

He scoffed, but his ears turned faintly red. "Tch. Like I'd let you make me look bad."

"Sure, Bakugou. Whatever you say," you teased, finally starting to glide a little smoother.

By the time the rink was closed, it was late into the night time and everyone was mostly leaving. Mei left way earlier than the group and Yuka was leaving with Midoriya's group, apologizing for not accompanying you.

Kirishima, Sero, Ashido, and Kaminari were all gonna see a late movie and had invited you and Bakugou but you immediately declined and Bakugou declined as well, seeing that you did.

"You live around here, right? Is that why you wanted to come out here?" He grumbled as the two of you walked.

"I guess that's some of the reason. Why don't you stay again? I'm sure it'll be fine." You asked, tilting your head and smiling.

Chapter Text

The walk to your home wasn't very long, considering you both walked from the roller rink, but it was filled with light banter and playful grumbling from Bakugou. He acted annoyed, but there was a softness to him that hadn't been there before, especially as you guided him through familiar streets that you knew of.

When you reached the front door, you hesitated for a moment before opening it. "Mom? Dad? I'm home!" You called out, stepping inside.

Your parents appeared almost immediately, their faces lighting up when they spotted Bakugou.

"Katsuki!" Your mom exclaimed, her excitement making Bakugou stiffen slightly. "It's been months! Look at you—still so tall and strong!"

"Hi, Mrs. (L/N)," He mumbled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Your dad joined with a warm grin. "Good to see you again, kiddo. Keeping our kid out of trouble?"

"Trying to, sir," Bakugou replied, his tone more respectful than you'd ever heard before.

You laughed. "Oh, please. Like he's the responsible one."

Your mom nudged you playfully before ushering you both inside. "Come on, come on. It's freezing out there! Are you staying the night, Katsuki?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, shooting you a quick glare that said, This is your fault.

The evening passed with your parents doting on both of you, feeding Bakugou enough food to make him mutter about how they were worse than his mom. It was clear they adored him, and despite his gruff exterior, he didn't seem to mind the attention.

Later, when it was time to settle in for the night, you showed him to the guest room again.

"You're good here again, right?" You asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah. This works," he said, looking into the empty space.

"Alright, goodnight then," you said, but the words felt hollow.

As you headed to your own room, you couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. It wasn't long before you found yourself pacing. The missing noise in your own room was what you missed. You usually hate the noise, but Bakugou was different.

The guest room door was shut, but you knew Bakugou wasn't asleep yet. A space unfamiliar would be hard to sleep right away and it still felt early.

Finally, you knocked softly before opening the door. He was sitting on the bed, scrolling through his phone, his expression neutral until he saw you.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Come to my room," you said quickly, the words tumbling out before you could second-guess them.

"What the hell?" He muttered, staring at you like you'd lost your mind.

"It's more comfortable in there," you said, shrugging. "And it's not like we haven't hung out in my room before."

He gave you a look, clearly skeptical, but after a moment, he stood up. "Whatever. If it'll shut you up."

You led him to your room, feeling both nervous and excited. He plopped down on the floor next to your bed while you sat on the edge.

"You're seriously just gonna sit there?" You asked, frowning.

"Yeah. What else am I supposed to do?"

"You can sit on the bed, you know," you said, patting the space next to you.

He hesitated but eventually joined you, leaning back against the headboard. "Happy now?"

You smiled, nodding. "Yeah."

The bed dipped slightly under Bakugou's weight as he leaned back, arms crossing over his chest in that familiar, guarded posture. His eyes flitted around your room, taking in the small personal touches: a shelf lined with books and trinkets, a few photos pinned to a corkboard, and the faint scent of your favorite candle lingering in the air.

"Nothing changed since the last time I was here. Cleaner than usual though." He muttered, breaking the silence.

You laughed softly. "Are you saying you expected a mess?"

"Kinda," he admitted, smirking slightly.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you," you teased, tucking your legs underneath you as you sat sideways to face him. "I like my space neat. Helps me think. The support classroom is just always messy because of Mei."

He made a noncommittal grunt, but his eyes lingered on one of the photos on the corkboard—a snapshot of you and your parents, smiling brightly during some family outing.

"That's an old one," you said, following his gaze. "I think we were at the zoo. I was probably.. eleven?"

"Hmph," he replied, his tone neutral. "You look the same."

You gasped in mock offense. "Excuse me? I was a kid! Are you saying I haven't grown up at all?"

"You said it, not me," he shot back, though the faintest smirk tugged at his lips.

The banter felt easy, natural, and it filled you with a warmth you hadn't felt in weeks. Even after everything, this connection between you hadn't faded completely.

"Thanks for coming back here with me," you said after a beat, your tone softer.

"Tch. It's no big deal," he grumbled, looking away.

"No, really," you insisted. "I know I kind of guilted you into this tonight, but.. it means a lot to me. I'm glad we're hanging out again."

He didn't say anything at first, his gaze fixed on a spot on the floor. Finally, he shrugged. "I don't hate it."

You chuckled. "Coming from you, that's practically a glowing review."

The conversation drifted after that, settling into comfortable silence. You leaned back against the headboard, your shoulder brushing against his. Neither of you moved away.

"I missed this," you admitted quietly, almost to yourself.

His hand twitched slightly, but he didn't respond right away. Then, in a rare moment of vulnerability, he muttered, "Yeah. Me too."

Your chest tightened at his words, but you didn't press him. Instead, you let the moment linger, savoring the quiet truth in it.

As the night wore on, conversations drifted with easy conversation, your eyelids grew heavy, and you found yourself lying down on the bed, your head resting on the pillow. Bakugou stayed upright, scrolling through his phone, but his movements slowed as exhaustion crept in.

Eventually, his head dipped forward, and he dozed off where he sat. You smiled softly, grabbing a blanket and carefully draping it over his shoulders.

"Goodnight, Bakugou," you whispered, turning off the lamp beside your bed.

He managed to slide down with the little bit of effort he could and laid on the bed, drifted into a deep slumber.

Chapter Text

The past few months had been a steady process of rebuilding relationships. Bakugou wasn't one to shower anyone with attention or affection, but in his own gruff, quiet ways, he'd managed to show up consistently. Whether it was swinging by the support workshop with food, shooting you a quick text about some new technique he'd tried during training, or begrudgingly letting you drag him into the occasional late-night hangout, he was there. He wanted to try so try is what he'd do.

You tried not to read too much into it, though. After all, your plate was already overflowing with projects. Between tweaking Bakugou's slim gauntlets and working on costumes for other students, your schedule was packed. And it wasn't just about time management—it was about fairness. If you prioritized one student over others, Powerloader wouldn't hesitate to dock your grades.

Even so, Bakugou's gauntlets held a special place on your workbench.

"Oi, how's it coming along?" he asked one afternoon, leaning against the doorway to the workshop.

"Better," you replied without looking up, carefully adjusting one of the release mechanisms. "I think I've finally fixed that recoil issue you complained about. Want to test it tomorrow?"

He grunted his approval, stepping into the room. In his hands was a familiar takeout bag, the scent of fresh food wafting toward you.

"You didn't have to bring me food again," you said, though your stomach betrayed you with a quiet grumble.

"Yeah, well, you'd forget to eat otherwise," he shot back, setting the bag down next to you.

You rolled your eyes but couldn't suppress a small smile. "Thanks, a lot."

As you ate, he lingered nearby, occasionally throwing out questions about your progress or muttering about how the support course's deadlines were "stupidly strict." Despite his complaints, you noticed how his eyes flicked toward your notes and sketches. He showed just a little bit more interest in every visit.

After finishing your meal, you grabbed your notebook and tugged at his sleeve. "C'mon. Let's head to the training grounds. I want to see how you're handling those gauntlets in action." You smiled softly.

He sighed but followed you without argument.

+++

Out on the training field, Bakugou suited up while you set up a small monitoring device to track the gauntlets' performance. Watching him in action was always a mix of awe and fascination. He moved with such precision and power, his explosions lighting up the sky as he executed one maneuver after another.

But today, your focus was on the equipment. You scribbled notes furiously, tracking the output, recoil, and overall efficiency of the gauntlets.

"Still too much heat buildup," you muttered to yourself as he landed nearby.

"That's why I told you to fix the damn venting system," he snapped, yanking the gauntlets off.

"I am fixing it," you shot back, narrowing your eyes at him.

He smirked, clearly enjoying your irritation. "Good."

Despite his teasing, you could tell he appreciated the effort. You rolled your eyes and lightly nudged him. "I'll do it next. Okay? Tell me how the recoil was."

+++

Weekends had become your unofficial-official time to hang out. If he wasn't busy with hero work or group outings, he'd swing by your dorm or text you to see what you were up to. Sometimes, you joined him and the Bakusquad for late-night gaming sessions or impromptu food runs. Other times, it was just the two of you, whether is was when you worked on your projects and he scrolled through his phone or tinkered with his hero gear, or it was while you both went out together.

"You've been hanging out with us more," Kaminari pointed out one evening as the group gathered at a ramen shop.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Sero chimed in, smirking.

You shrugged, taking a sip of your drink. "I don't know?"

Ashido grinned. "Well, we're glad you do! And Bakugou's not complaining either."

"Shut up, Pinky," he growled, his face flushing slightly.

The others laughed, but you noticed how his gaze lingered on you for a moment before he turned away.

+++

Despite the progress you'd made, things still weren't perfect. There were still moments of awkwardness, still unspoken feelings and unresolved tension between you. But there was also a growing trust, a deeper understanding that hadn't been there before.

One evening, as you worked late in the workshop, Bakugou appeared in the doorway again.

"Still here?" He asked, stepping inside.

"Still here," you replied, glancing up at him.

He hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to you, his expression unusually serious. "You're working too hard."

You raised an eyebrow. "Coming from you?"

"I'm serious," he said, his tone softening. "You're always doing stuff for everyone else. When's the last time you did something for yourself?"

The question caught you off guard. You paused, fidgeting with the edge of your sleeve. "I don't know. I guess I just.. uh.. don't think about it."

"Well, start thinking about it," he muttered, looking away. "You can't keep running yourself into the ground."

His words hung in the air, heavier than you expected. You glanced at him, searching his face for any trace of teasing or judgment, but he wasn't looking at you. His eyes were fixed on the far corner of the workshop, his expression unreadable.

"Since when do you care about what I do?" You asked lightly, trying to break the unknowing tension.

He scoffed, his usual gruffness returning. "I don't. I just don't wanna deal with you passing out or something when you're supposed to be fixing my stuff."

You smirked faintly, though your chest tightened at his concern, however thinly veiled it was. "Uh-huh. Sure."

"Shut up," he muttered, glancing at you briefly before getting up and stretching. "You're annoying."

"Thanks. I try."

He shot you a glare, but it lacked his usual edge. Instead, he grabbed a nearby chair and spun it around, sitting with his arms resting on the backrest. "So, what would you do for yourself if you had the time?"

The question threw you. You blinked, trying to think of an answer.

Chapter Text

"Hmm... The park? Like a stroll or just laying in the grass." You muttered, tinkering with a different student's gear.

Bakugou's eyes narrowed as he processed your response. Then, without warning, he stood abruptly, grabbed your wrist, and yanked you out of your chair.

"Hey! What are you—" you yelped, nearly dropping the tool in your hand.

"We're going," he said firmly, already pulling you toward the door.

"What? No, I'm busy! I have so much to finish—"

"Shut it. You said the park. So, we're going to the park. Now," he snapped, not stopping or even looking back at you.

You tried to plant your feet, but his grip was firm, and his determination unyielding. "B-Bakugou, I have deadlines!"

"Don't care. You'll finish it later. You need a break."

His pace didn't falter, and before you knew it, you were outside, blinking in the sunlight. You were too stunned to argue further as he led you down the path toward the nearest park.

"Do you always drag people around like this?" You asked after a while, trying to keep up with his brisk pace.

"Only when they're too stupid to take care of themselves," he shot back, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye.

You sighed, giving up on protesting and letting him guide you. When you reached the park, the scent of fresh grass and blooming flowers hit you, and the gentle breeze immediately began to ease some of your tension.

"There," he said, releasing your wrist and gesturing to a shaded spot under a large tree. "Sit. Relax."

You folded your arms, raising an eyebrow. "Are you my mom now?"

"Do you want me to blow you up?"

"Hitting me? A poor defenseless girl that can't fight back??" You huffed but complied, settling down on the soft grass. He dropped down beside you, leaning back against the tree trunk and closing his eyes.

For a few moments, there was silence, save for the rustling leaves and distant sounds of laughter from children playing. It was... nice.

"You're weirdly pushy for someone who says he doesn't care," you said, leaning back on your elbows and watching the clouds.

"Tch. I care enough not to let you work yourself to death," he muttered, still not opening his eyes.

A small smile crept onto your lips. "Thanks, I guess."

"Don't make it a big deal," he grumbled, turning his head away slightly.

You watched him out of the corner of your eye, his usually hard edges softened in the warm afternoon light. He looked peaceful for once, his usual scowl replaced with something more neutral, almost calm.

"What about you?" You asked after a while. "When's the last time you took a break?"

"I don't need breaks," he said dismissively.

"Uh-huh. Sure, Mr. 'Train Until You Drop.'"

He cracked an eye open to glare at you, but there was no real malice behind it. "I'm not the one who skips meals and forgets to sleep."

"Touché."

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence again. For a while, you just watched the clouds drift lazily across the sky, feeling the tension in your shoulders slowly melt away.

"You're right," you said quietly after some time.

"About what?"

"Taking a break. I guess I needed it."

"Damn right you did," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're useless if you burn out."

You laughed softly. "You really know how to ruin a moment, don't you?"

"Not my job to make things sappy," he shot back, though his lips quirked up ever so slightly.

You let out a content sigh, leaning back fully and letting the sunlight warm your face. "Thanks for dragging me out here."

"Whatever."

For a moment, it felt like nothing else mattered—no projects, no deadlines, no unspoken feelings. Just the two of you, sitting under a tree, sharing a rare moment of peace.

After a while, Bakugou stretched and stood, dusting off his pants. "C'mon."

"Where now?" you asked, tilting your head up to look at him.

"There's a café near here. You're getting something to eat," he said matter-of-factly.

"I thought this was supposed to be about relaxing, not you bossing me around," you teased, but you couldn't hide the smile on your face as you got up to follow him.

"Shut up and move it," he grumbled, walking ahead of you.

You laughed, jogging to catch up with him.

As the two of you walked toward the café, you couldn't help but notice how Bakugou slowed his pace just enough for you to keep up comfortably. It was a small thing, but it felt oddly considerate for someone who was usually all sharp edges and fiery determination.

"Do you come to this café often?" you asked, glancing at him as you walked.

"Tch. Not really. It's just close. I saw it on the way over." He replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.

You smirked. "Wow, that sounded almost convincing. Do they know your order by heart?"

He shot you a glare that only made you laugh harder. "Shut up."

When you arrived at the café, the cozy atmosphere was immediately inviting. Warm light spilled from the windows, and the scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods filled the air. Bakugou held the door open for you without a word, and you stepped inside, marveling at the charming decor.

The cashier greeted you with a cheerful smile. "Welcome! What can I get for you today?"

You glanced at the menu, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the options. "Uh, I'll just get (your order), I guess."

Bakugou frowned. "That's it?"

You shrugged. "I'm not that hungry."

He rolled his eyes and ordered for himself, but when the cashier asked if that was all, he added a slice of cake to the order and slid a glare your way. "For her," he said gruffly.

Your eyes widened. "I didn't ask for—"

"Too bad," he interrupted, handing over his card to pay before you could stop him.

You sighed but didn't argue further. As the two of you found a seat by the window, you muttered, "You're so pushy, you know that?"

"Yeah. You'd starve without me," he shot back, leaning back in his chair with an air of confidence.

You couldn't help but smile as the food arrived. True to form, Bakugou had managed to pick out the most delicious-looking slice of cake, and though you didn't want to admit it, you were glad he'd ordered it for you.

"Try it," he said, nodding toward the cake.

You hesitated before taking a small bite. The rich, sweet flavor melted on your tongue, and your eyes lit up. "Okay, fine. You were right. This is amazing."

He smirked, leaning his chin on his hand as he watched you enjoy the dessert. "Told you."

The conversation flowed easily after that, much to your surprise. You talked about school, your projects, and even swapped a few lighthearted insults that had both of you laughing.

At some point, you caught him watching you with an expression that was softer than usual, almost contemplative. "What?" You asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," he said quickly, looking away. "You just... look less stressed."

You blinked, then smiled. "Well, I guess that's thanks to you. Maybe you're not as bad as you pretend to be."

He huffed, crossing his arms. "Don't push your luck."

"Hey.. uh.. can I tell you something? Since we're graduating soon and stuff.." You muttered quietly, the loudness of the space started to quiet quickly.

Chapter Text

He waited patiently, not daring to interrupt as you fidgeted with you drink and took a deep breath.

"Bakugou, I've been meaning to say this for a while, and I don't want to regret not saying it." You inhaled sharply, meeting his gaze head-on. "I like you. I've liked you for a while now, and I don't expect an answer right away, but I wanted you to know."

You glanced at Bakugou as he processed what you had just said, his expression unreadable. His usual sharp demeanor seemed muted, replaced by genuine surprise. He blinked a few times, his mouth opening slightly like he wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.

"You..." he finally muttered, the word barely audible as if he wasn't entirely sure he'd heard you correctly. "You like me?"

Your face burned, and you resisted the urge to bury your head in your hands. "Yeah," you admitted, your voice shaking despite your best efforts to keep it steady. "I do. And I've been holding it in for a while now because I didn't think it mattered or that you'd care, but... I couldn't keep it to myself anymore."

He leaned back in his chair, his arms crossing as he stared at the ground, his brows furrowed. It wasn't anger or annoyance—it was something else. Something thoughtful.

"You're serious," he said after a long pause, more to himself than to you. "You're not screwing with me."

"Of course I'm serious!" You said quickly, leaning forward. "I wouldn't say something like this as a joke. I—I don't expect anything from you, Bakugou. I just... I needed you to know."

He looked up at you then, his crimson eyes locking onto yours in a way that made your heart stutter. His lips parted, and he exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. "I didn't see this coming."

The raw honesty in his voice caught you off guard, and you tilted your head. "It's... okay if you don't feel the same," you said softly, already bracing yourself for the worst.

"Don't put words in my mouth," he snapped, but there was no heat in his tone. "Just... give me a second."

You nodded quickly, your stomach twisting as you watched him wrestle with whatever was going on in his head. He finally leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and letting out a frustrated groan. "You're not making this easy," he muttered.

"I'm not trying to make it hard," you said quietly.

He shot you a glare, but it lacked its usual intensity. "You're—look, I don't know how to deal with this shit, alright? Feelings. Talking about feelings. I'm not good at it."

You managed a small smile, despite the anxiety bubbling in your chest. "I didn't expect you to be."

He huffed, his cheeks tinged pink as he glanced away. "I don't hate you," he said after a moment, his voice low. "Far from it. Hell, you're one of the only people I can stand for more than five minutes without wanting to blow something up."

You blinked, the unexpected admission catching you off guard. "That's... something, I guess."

"Damn right it is," he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know what this is—what we are—but I don't hate the idea of figuring it out. If you're willing to deal with me, that is."

Your heart skipped a beat, and you felt a shy smile creep onto your face. "Yeah. I think I can deal with you. If I've dealt with you all this time up until now, that is."

He looked at you then, his expression softer than you'd ever seen it. "Good," he said gruffly, standing up abruptly. "Now, come on. We're not sitting here all night."

You raised an eyebrow, startled by the sudden shift. "What? Where are we going?"

"Back to the park," he said, already walking toward the door. "You said you liked it as a break, right? Let's go."

You stared after him, a mix of confusion and amusement bubbling up inside you. "You're... kind of weird, you know that?"

He shot you a smirk over his shoulder. "Takes one to know one."

You shook your head with a soft laugh, jogging a few steps to catch up with him. "Seriously, though. What's this sudden obsession with the park?"

"I'm not obsessed, idiot," he muttered, hands stuffed in his pockets. "You said you liked it, so we're going. End of story."

"You're full of surprises tonight," you teased, falling into step beside him. "First you admit you can stand me, then this? What's next, Bakugou~? You gonna start writing poetry?"

He stopped abruptly, turning to face you with a frown. "Stop calling me that," he grumbled, his crimson eyes locking onto yours.

You blinked, confused. "Calling you what?"

"Bakugou," he said, crossing his arms. "It's Katsuki. Use my damn first name already."

Your mouth fell open slightly, surprised by the request. "Oh. Uh, okay... Katsuki." The name felt foreign but oddly personal on your tongue, and you saw the faintest hint of pink dust his cheeks.

"Better," he muttered, starting to walk again, though his cheeks burned pink. His name from your lips felt really, really good to hear.

You followed, a small smile tugging at your lips. "Alright, Katsuki. But don't think this means you're off the hook for being grumpy all the time, okay?"

"Tch. Whatever." But his steps were lighter, and you could swear there was the smallest curve to his lips.

Chapter Text

The air was filled with the scent of blooming flowers and the soft hum of chatter as guests filled the venue, a charming garden lined with fairy lights and pale petals. The day was perfect—exactly what you had dreamed of. Your friends and family were all gathered, along with Bakugou's closest companions. Bakugou's friends that you had grew to love, had taken over one corner, loud and cheerful, while your family mingled with Bakugou's family.

You stood behind the curtain, heart pounding, dressed in a gown that Yuka had helped perfect down to every stitch. Yuka dared Mei not to get close in any way, her hands always trying to think practical when all you wanted was to be pretty on your wedding day.

Your fingers trembled slightly, but you were more excited than nervous. After years of growing together, of arguments, confessions, and quiet moments where words weren't needed, you were finally marrying Katsuki Bakugou—the man who had made you feel seen, understood, and deeply loved in his own gruff way.

After graduating, you couldn't imagine being without him and while it was a struggle while he focused a lot of energy on work, saving up for Midoriya's costume and gear, you managed. You helped so it'd be better affordable, worked alongside Mei, Yuka, and Melissa.

You didn't know Bakugou was saving some of that money on the side to buy you a ring, propose privately around family, and pop the most important question. Of course you said yes. You were able to finally call him yours forever.

+++

Bakugou stood at the altar, fidgeting ever so slightly in his suit. He was not usually nervous, but something sparked when he got down on one knee and asked you to marry him. He never thought he was great at romance and you made that very clear to him, but he was lucky to know someone as patient and kind as you were.

His tie was straight, thanks to Kirishima’s intervention, and his hair was tamed—though still spiky and perfectly him. He glanced up, his crimson eyes scanning the path you’d soon walk down. When the music began and the curtain shifted, revealing you and you father, his breath hitched.

You were stunning. He couldn’t take his eyes off you as you walked toward him, every step purposeful and radiant. Your father walked you down the aisle until you reached the front and he went to sit down.

You were walking up to stand in front of him when Kirishima elbowed him lightly, whispering, “Don’t forget to breathe, bro.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes but couldn’t argue. You reached the altar, and when your hands met his, the world seemed to shrink to just the two of you.

+++

The ceremony flew by in a blur of smiles, vows, and laughter. When it came time for speeches, Ashido practically leaped up to gush about how perfect you two were for each other. Kaminari cracked a few jokes that got groans from Sero and the crowd. Your best friend Yuka told an emotional story about the first time you confided in them about Bakugou, and how much he had changed for you—but in all the best ways. You too had said a small speech, one that told of crazy ups and downs, finally finding a perfect medium between the both of you.

Finally, it was Bakugou’s turn. He stood, hands stuffed in his pockets, and for a moment, you thought he might just grunt his way through a "thank-you" to everyone before sitting back down. But then he cleared his throat, his sharp gaze softening as he pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“I don’t do speeches,” he began, earning a laugh from the crowd. “But... this isn’t just a speech. It’s for her. And, well, it’s a poem. So shut up and listen.”

The room stilled, and your eyes widened. Katsuki Bakugou—poetry? You couldn’t believe it. You mentioned it once on the day you confessed, that maybe he'd dabble in poetry or poem writing. You weren't serious, but he had remembered that?

He unfolded the paper, and his voice was steady as he began.

"She walked into my life, all light and calm,
With steady hands that fixed, with words that disarmed.
I was rough, jagged, a mess of a man,
She saw through it all and held out her hand."

The crowd finally silenced, all whispers were no longer heard as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"I pushed, I shoved, I tried to keep space,
But she stood her ground, with a smile on her face.
Through every fight, every wall I built tall,
She climbed right over, she saw through it all."

Your gaze up at him softened. This reminded of you when you had your first big fight, months of ignoring and pushing him away just as he pushed you away.

"Her laughter’s a melody, her eyes held the stars,
She’s my reason, my anchor, my battle-worn heart.
When I fall, she’s my net, my calm in the storm,
She’s the fire that keeps this soul burning warm.

I’ve learned to be softer, to trust and to grow,
To let someone in, to let my walls go.
And it’s her—just her—who’s taught me to see,
That love isn’t weakness, but strength, endlessly."

You felt the emotions bubbling in your chest. The words he spoke were incredible warm. You never thought the man you met would become this one that stands beside you today.

"So here I stand, a man who once ran,
To say, with my heart, that I’m her biggest fan.
Today, I vow, no matter the fight,
To hold her close through the darkest of nights.

She’s the spark to my flame, the match to my fire,
My partner, my equal, my deepest desire.
And though words don’t come easy, I swear this is true,
I’ll spend my whole life loving you."

The room erupted into cheers and applause as he finished. Your eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and your hands trembled as you reached for him. He placed the paper aside and pulled you close, his forehead resting against yours as the noise around you faded.

“Katsuki...” you whispered, your voice thick with emotion.

“Told you not to push your luck,” he grumbled, but the soft look in his eyes betrayed his gruff tone.

“I love you,” you said, the words carrying more weight than ever. "I love you so much."

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice just above a whisper, “I love you, too.”

+++

The rest of the night was filled with joy and celebration. Bakugou's friendship dominated the dance floor, with Kaminari’s terrible moves and Ashido dragging Yuka into silly routines. Midoriya was there at the ceremony, dancing along his friends as well. Your parents were glowing with pride, and even Bakugou’s parents seemed to be holding back tears of joy.

When the night finally wound down, and it was just the two of you under the stars, you leaned against his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his presence.

“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” You teased. "I told you I'd be able to deal with you and your feelings."

“Tch. Whatever,” he replied, but the way his arm tightened around you told you he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

This was your forever, and it was perfect.

Chapter Text

The house smelled faintly of fresh wood and paint, a testament to how new everything was. The living room was cluttered with boxes, but the soft sunlight filtering through the half-drawn blinds made the chaos feel almost charming. Katsuki was on his knees near the TV stand, swearing under his breath as he fiddled with the cords, trying to connect the console to the wall-mounted screen.

“You need help?” You asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor as you pulled books out of a box.

“No,” he snapped, his voice rough but not unkind. “I’ve got it.”

You smirked. “Yeah, you’ve ‘got it.’ That’s why you’ve been messing with it for twenty minutes.”

He turned his head sharply, glaring at you. “I said I’ve got it, smartass.”

You held up your hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. Don’t blow a fuse in our brand new house.”

Satisfied that you’d stopped interfering, he turned back to the cords, muttering to himself. You turned your attention back to the books, stacking them neatly on the nearby coffee table for now.

“Where do you want these?” You asked, gesturing to the books. “Living room shelf or bedroom?”

“Living room,” he replied without looking up. “Bedroom’s for stuff we actually need.”

You hummed in agreement, standing and moving to the bookshelf by the wall. It felt surreal, setting up a space that was entirely yours—and his. The thought made your stomach flutter, and you glanced over at him, catching the slight furrow of his brow as he worked. His hair was messier than usual, a strand falling over his eyes.

“Stop staring and do something useful,” he grumbled, not looking up.

You rolled your eyes but smiled. “Yes, sir.”

+++

An hour later, the TV was set up, and most of the boxes in the living room had been unpacked. The coffee table had a small stack of magazines with Midoriya and friends on the front covers, the couch was adorned with throw pillows you picked out, and the small shelf near the wall now held books and a few framed photos of you and Katsuki on your honeymoon, with family, wedding day, and some silly picture with all the friends.

Katsuki leaned back on the couch, a bottle of water in his hand. He surveyed the room, his lips tugging into the faintest semblance of a smile. “Doesn’t look like total shit.”

“High praise coming from you,” you teased, sitting beside him.

He smirked, taking a sip of his water. “Don’t get used to it.”

You laughed, leaning back and resting your head against the couch. The house wasn’t perfect yet—there were still boxes in the hallway, the kitchen was a mess, and the bedroom was only half-organized—but it already felt like home.

“You hungry?” Katsuki asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

“Starving,” you admitted. “But there’s nothing in the fridge except water and some condiments.”

He clicked his tongue. “Tch. Let’s order something, dumbass.”

Fifteen minutes later, the two of you were sitting on the living room floor with a spread of takeout containers between you. Katsuki had insisted on ordering from a place he liked, and you had to admit, the food was incredible.

“Not bad,” you said around a mouthful of noodles.

He smirked, his eyes gleaming with a hint of pride. “Told you.”

The two of you ate in comfortable silence, the occasional clink of chopsticks the only sound. It was strange how natural it felt, sharing a meal on the floor of your new home, with half-unpacked boxes as your backdrop.

After dinner, you started cleaning up while Katsuki carried the trash out. When he returned, he found you in the kitchen, attempting to organize the cabinets.

“Leave that for tomorrow,” he said, leaning against the doorframe.

“But it’s a mess—”

“It’ll still be a mess tomorrow,” he cut in, his tone firm. “Come on. Let’s call it a night.”

You sighed but relented, closing the cabinet. “Fine. But if I trip over something in the morning, I’m blaming you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Come on.”

+++

The bedroom was still sparse, with only the essentials set up. The bedframe and mattress were in place, along with a pair of mismatched nightstands. A lamp sat on his side of the bed, while yours was still in a box somewhere.

You changed into your pajamas in the bathroom, emerging to find Katsuki already in bed, scrolling through his phone. He looked up as you entered, his eyes lingering for a moment before he quickly looked away.

“What?” You asked, climbing into bed.

“Nothing,” he muttered, locking his phone and setting it on the nightstand.

You slid under the covers, sighing as you sank into the mattress. It wasn’t long before the exhaustion of the day began to catch up with you, and your eyelids grew heavy.

“Hey,” Katsuki’s voice broke the silence, low and quiet.

“Hm?” You murmured, already half-asleep, facing him as he faces you.

“This... This isn’t bad.”

You smiled, your eyes still closed. “Yeah. It’s not.”

The last thing you heard before drifting off was the soft rustle of sheets as he turned off the lamp, moving closer to you to snuggle you, with the room falling into a comfortable darkness.

Chapter Text

The moment the email hit your inbox, you couldn't believe your eyes. You blinked a few times, rereading the subject line to make sure you weren't imagining things: "Gear Design Commission Approval for Pro Hero Team: Contract Details Enclosed."

Your heart leapt into your throat as you skimmed the body of the email, seeing the official logo of a high-profile hero agency. They wanted you—you!—to design and create gear for their top heroes. It was a massive commission, one that could cement your reputation as one of the best in the field.

You bolted up from your at-home desk, nearly knocking your chair over, and rushed out of your workspace. "Katsuki!" You called, practically tripping over yourself as you hurried down the hall to find him.

He was in the kitchen, drinking water after what looked like a recent workout. His shirt was slung over his shoulder, and his hair was damp with sweat. He turned toward you, eyebrows furrowing in concern at your frantic entrance. "What? What happened? You look like you just won the lottery or something."

"I did—well, not the lottery, but close, in the world of support!" You exclaimed, waving your phone in his direction. "A huge hero agency wants me to design gear for their entire team! It's massive, Katsuki, like... career-changing massive!"

He blinked, his expression softening as he set his glass down. "Seriously?"

"Yes! Look at this!" You shoved your phone toward him, and he took it, scrolling through the email with his usual intense focus.

A low whistle escaped him as he handed the phone back. "Damn. That's no small-time gig. They really want you to handle all this?"

"Yeah!" You said, barely able to contain your excitement. "I can't believe it either! It's going to be a ton of work, but this is huge, Katsuki. Like... my dream job huge!"

He crossed his arms, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "'Course it's you. You're the best at what you do. Besides crazy." You forgot Mei is pretty top tier, but she's got a kid now so she hasn't been completely on her A-Game lately.

His words made your cheeks warm, but his tone shifted slightly as he added, "You're also a damn workaholic. How much time is this gonna eat up?"

You faltered for a moment, glancing down at your phone. "Well... a lot, probably. But I'll manage. I mean, I've always managed before."

Katsuki clicked his tongue, his sharp red eyes narrowing. "Yeah, and every time, you work yourself into the ground. Remember what happened last time you took on a huge project? You barely slept, forgot to eat, and nearly passed out at your desk. When you did sleep, it was always in your office chair, or at your work desk."

"That was different," you said quickly, though you knew he was right. "This time I'll be more careful. I'll make a schedule or something."

His jaw tightened, and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're not convincing me, dumbass. You say that every time, and every time, you end up pushing yourself too hard."

You frowned, your excitement dimming slightly. "I'll be fine, Katsuki. I promise."

He stared at you for a long moment, his gaze unreadable. Then, to your surprise, he said, "What if I took more days off?"

"What?"

"Or got off earlier," he continued, his tone gruff but serious. "I've got the seniority to adjust my schedule. If you're gonna be buried in work, someone's gotta make sure you're eating and sleeping like a normal person."

Your mouth fell open, and for a moment, you were too stunned to respond. "Katsuki, you don't have to do that. I can take care of myself—"

"Bullshit," he interrupted, his voice firm but not unkind. "You're the kind of idiot who gets so into your work you forget the basics. Don't try to act like that's not true."

You opened your mouth to argue but stopped yourself. He wasn't wrong, and you both knew it.

"It's not just about that, either," he added, his voice softening slightly. "If you're swamped with this commission, when are we supposed to spend time together?"

Your heart ached at the vulnerability in his tone, even though he was trying to hide it. You reached out, placing a hand on his arm. "Katsuki... I don't want to neglect us. I swear I'll make time for you, no matter how busy I get."

He let out a quiet huff, his lips twitching into a small smirk. "You better."

A comfortable silence settled between you for a moment before he added, "Look, I'm proud of you, alright? This is huge, and you deserve it. But I don't want you burning yourself out, and I don't want you forgetting about me, either."

"I won't, of course I won't. You're my husband," you promised, squeezing his arm. "And... thank you. For being proud of me. It means a lot."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to the sappy shit," he muttered, though the faint blush on his cheeks betrayed him.

You smiled, leaning into him. "You're the best, you know that?"

"Damn right I am," he said, wrapping an arm around you.

As you stood there together, the excitement of the commission mixed with the warmth of his support, you couldn't help but feel like you could handle anything. With Katsuki by your side—grumbling, protective, and endlessly supportive—you knew you'd find a way to balance it all.

Chapter Text

You sat on the edge of the bathtub, staring at the small plastic stick in your trembling hands. The little screen was unforgiving, its message simple but life-changing: Pregnant.

Your chest felt tight, and your heart raced as you set the test down on the counter. This couldn't be happening. You and Katsuki had always been careful. How was this even possible?

Your mind spiraled.

You thought about your workshop, the endless commissions you had lined up, and the long hours you spent tinkering away at new designs. Would you have to give that up? Could you? You loved your work—it was your passion, your identity.

Then there was Katsuki. He was at the height of his career, a top-tier pro hero with a packed schedule and a reputation to maintain. He was so dedicated, so driven. Could he balance that with becoming a father? Could either of you?

Your hand instinctively went to your stomach. The thought of a life growing there—a life you and Katsuki created—was overwhelming. You didn't want to get rid of it; the idea alone made your heart ache. But the fear was paralyzing. Could you handle this? Could he?

You pressed your palms against your face, taking deep breaths to steady yourself. You didn't even realize you were crying until you felt the tears soaking into your hands.

The sound of the front door opening snapped you out of your thoughts. Katsuki was home.

Your stomach twisted with anxiety. How were you supposed to tell him? Would he be upset? Would he panic? You weren't even sure how you felt, let alone how he would react.

You quickly wiped your face, shoved the test into the drawer under the sink, and forced yourself to take a deep breath. You had to act normal, at least for now.

Katsuki walked into the living room, his sharp eyes immediately landing on you as you came out of the bathroom. He frowned, setting his bag down by the door.

"You look like shit," he said bluntly, crossing his arms.

"Thanks," you muttered, managing a weak smile. "I've just been feeling... off. Probably just a fever or something."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "You've been saying that all week. You should've called the damn doctor by now."

"I'll be fine," you said quickly, avoiding his gaze. "It's nothing serious."

He grunted but didn't press further. Instead, he headed toward the bathroom. "I'm gonna wash up. You want tea or something?"

Your blood ran cold. "Uh—no! I'm good!"

He shot you a suspicious look over his shoulder but didn't say anything as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Panic set in as you heard him moving around. The drawer. You'd put the test in the drawer. What if he—

There was a loud clatter, followed by a muttered curse.

"Katsuki?" You called, your voice strained.

"What the hell is this?"

Your heart sank as he reappeared in the doorway, the pregnancy test in his hand. His brows were furrowed in confusion, his eyes flicking between you and the stick.

You opened your mouth to explain, but no words came out. The tears started before you could stop them.

"Hey—what's wrong?" He asked, his voice softening as he stepped closer. "Is this...?"

You nodded, choking back a sob. "It's positive. I'm pregnant."

He stared at you, his expression unreadable. "How? We've been careful—"

"I don't know!" You cried, covering your face with your hands. "I don't know how it happened, but it did, and now I'm—"

You couldn't finish the sentence.

Katsuki set the test down on the counter and pulled you into his arms, holding you tightly. "Hey, stop crying," he said gruffly, but there was a gentleness in his tone. "It's gonna be okay."

"I don't know if it will," you admitted, your voice muffled against his chest. "I don't know how we're supposed to handle this. I love my work, and you love yours, and I don't even know if I can take care of a kid—"

"Stop," he interrupted, pulling back just enough to look you in the eye. "You're not doing this alone, got it? We'll figure it out."

"But—"

"No buts," he said firmly. "We'll make it work. I don't care what it takes."

You searched his face, looking for any sign of doubt or fear, but all you saw was determination.

"Do you mean that?" You asked quietly.

"Of course I do," he said, his hands resting on your shoulders. "You think I'm gonna bail on you now? Tch. Give me some credit."

A shaky laugh escaped you, and you wiped at your tears. "I'm sorry. I just... this is a lot."

"Yeah, no shit," he muttered, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "But we've handled worse, haven't we?"

You nodded, a small smile forming despite your lingering anxiety.

"Good," he said, pulling you back into his arms. "We'll take it one step at a time. No rush, no pressure. And if you need to slow down with work, do it. I'll pick up the slack if I have to."

"Thank you," you whispered, your voice thick with emotion.

"Don't thank me yet," he said, his tone teasing but affectionate. "I'm probably gonna suck at this dad shit."

You laughed softly, the sound easing some of the tension in your chest. "We'll figure it out together."

He pressed a kiss to the top of your head, holding you close. "Damn right we will."

You stayed wrapped in Katsuki's arms, the weight of his steady presence calming your racing thoughts. For a moment, the enormity of the situation didn't feel quite so crushing. It was just the two of you, figuring this out together.

"Hey, Katsuki?" You murmured, your cheek pressed against his chest.

"Yeah?" He replied, his voice low and soothing.

"I think... I think I'd like it to be a girl," you admitted, a small smile tugging at your lips.

He pulled back slightly, just enough to look down at you, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah? Why's that?"

You shrugged, fiddling with the fabric of his shirt. "I don't know. I just... I feel like you'd be such a good girl dad."

His eyebrows shot up, and for a second, he looked genuinely caught off guard. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

You laughed softly, leaning into him again. "I mean, you'd be the type to scare off every potential boyfriend, teach her how to stand up for herself, and spoil her even though you'd act like you wouldn't."

"Tch," he muttered, his ears turning pink. "Sounds like a pain in the ass."

"But you'd love every second of it," you countered quickly, grinning up at him.

He huffed, his lips quirking into a faint smirk. "Yeah, maybe. But don't think I'll go easy

just 'cause she'd be cute or whatever. She'd still get yelled at if she's being stupid."

"Of course," you teased. "Wouldn't expect anything less from you."

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but there was a warmth in his gaze as he looked at you. "Guess I'd better start practicing my scowl now, huh?"

You laughed, feeling lighter than you had all day. "I think you've already got that part down, Katsuki."

The two of you made your way to the couch after he changed out of his hero costume. He had moved his arm around you, and put on some movie just as background noise.

You shifted slightly in Katsuki's arms, resting your head against his shoulder as your mind wandered. "Do you think they'll get a quirk? And if they do... what would it even be?"

Katsuki leaned back against the couch, his arm still wrapped around you. "Dunno. Guess it depends on how this whole quirk thing mixes together."

You smiled faintly, tapping your fingers on your knee. "Magnetism and explosions, huh? What if they can control magnetic fields and blow stuff up at the same time? That sounds terrifying."

He snorted, shaking his head. "Sounds like a damn nightmare for us, but great for them. Imagine the destruction they could cause."

"Or they could just get one of ours," you continued, tilting your head thoughtfully. "Maybe your explosion quirk, or my magnetism—though if it's mine, I hope it's stronger than what I have. It'd be kind of cool to see them do something amazing with it."

Katsuki's eyes softened as he looked at you. "Doesn't matter what they get. Even if they don't have a quirk, they'll be fine. They'll be ours."

You smiled, leaning into him, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, they will. But if they get both, we might need to childproof the world."

"Damn right we will," he muttered, smirking.