WARNING:
In case the title wasn't enough of a hint, this fic will delve into and portray very adult situations.
If you are easily offended by the grey areas in life, emotions, sexual themes, or the concept of 'wavering faith,' this is NOT the premise for you.
This is a fun little preview of what I've been working on during the little hiatuses of my other ongoing work- Hero Analysis and Application. I wanted to experiment with Bakugou and Uraraka's chemistry at a later point in their young-adult lives from a more 'mature' perspective so just keep in mind that some personalities may be slightly tweaked to fit the plot. Since 'FFdotnet' does not permit explicitly written MA-rated works and I'd like to keep my account open and scathe-free (thank you) I will upload an 'uncensored' version of this fic to AO3. The title is "Mr. Brightside," rating: Explicit. So do check it out if you're interested in the uncut content!
Note that I'll update this fic regularly once I'm done with H.A.A; I just wanted to know how people would receive this first. Too much? Too little? Let me know! Constructive criticisms welcome!
If you haven't left after reading my little warning and disclaimer notes up to this point, I'm guessing it's because you really want to read this fic anyway so thank you for giving it and me a chance and enjoy!
Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak-tak!
Tik-tik tak!
Tak-tak-tak!
Between studying for an overhaul of written exams, being bombarded by project due dates, and gathering research materials for their Hero Study thesis paper, 'grueling' was a loose term to summarize the past two weeks at U.A.
Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak-tak!
Tak-tak-tak-ta-ta-tak-tak-tak-ta-ta-ta-tak!
A hollow-eyed Bakugou Katsuki refused to resign himself to the exhausting hour of 2 A.M. on a Friday, his fingers whizzing over his laptop letter keys with urgency dancing at their calloused tips. As far as he was concerned, sleep was just an excuse for someone who didn't have the balls to pull an all-nighter and finish all the assignments at whatever the cost.
He gave his black-rimmed reading glasses a hasty push of his middle finger, raising it slightly higher over the bridge of his nose. Ironically, his vision blurred for a split second but he quickly blinked away what he knew to be the creeping remnants of monotony. "Three pages…" he reminded himself while pinching the wrinkled skin between his eyebrows, "Three more damn pages of this shitty assignment and I'll be home free. Come on!" Why Present Mic had the brilliant idea to have everyone read up on, translate, then write a thorough thematic analysis paper on Homer's Odyssey was beyond him. Heck, it was downright cruel since this was Japan.
Heaving a languid sigh, Bakugou raised his mug to his lips to take a sip of what he expected to be rich and creamy coffee but was instead left disconcerted when he tasted...air. "Huh?" He peered inside and scowled. This wouldn't do. As any competent busybody knew, coffee was as precious as life. Without it, there would be no hope of victory in their eternal warfare against lethargy. He looked at his laptop, then the empty mug then closed his laptop and exited his dorm room with both items at hand.
…
To Bakugou's surprise, the lights in the common room were already fully lit. Having come from a dimly lit hallway in the dead of night (technically morning), it wasn't exactly something he welcomed with open arms. If anything, the glaring white lightbulbs only stung his bloodshot eyes. 'Did someone leave them on?' he wondered but immediately shook off the digression. 'Whatever.' He just needed to restock on his caffeine to carry him through the night. He needn't stay long.
Scowling, he wandered to the kitchen area and opened the fridge in an almost giddy search of his special stache that he had saved for such an occasion. More to his extreme vexation than dismay, he found an empty plastic pitcher instead with a yellow sticky note of what looked like a childish sketch of Kirishima's head with a lopsided written message that read, 'I'm sorry! Couldn't stop!' attached to it. He wrinkled the note in his palm and blew it into soot. "I'm gonna kill that guy!" he vowed as he slammed the fridge shut and hurriedly worked on making a new batch of coffee. The beans that sustained him weren't exactly cheap either. Oh, Kirishima would pay. Literally. Scoffing, he pushed the coffee maker's switch on and skulked back towards the common room entrance. If he was going to stay a while, he'd definitely need the lights off to keep his migraine at bay.
"Ahh..." a soft yawn came from the central rest area, "Oops, I must have drifted off again..."
Bakugou's back stiffened at the voice. "Uraraka…" he grumbled her name, mentally cursing his shitty luck for having her for a companion while he waited for his coffee to finish.
Uraraka paused in wiping off her drool from the center table to look up at the slouched figure standing by the doorway with his hand over the light switch. "Bakugou?!" she squeaked. He was nearly unrecognizable with his reading glasses on but his messy ash-blonde hairdo was a dead giveaway. "Wh-what are you doing here...a-at this time?"
"Hmph, I should be asking you that, round-face," he quipped, "But I don't give enough of a fuck."
Uraraka wasn't smiling to begin with so she wasted no effort trying to mask her displeasure at his brusque response. "Do you really need to be so mean?"
"I'm just saying it how it is." Bakugou followed through with what he was originally about to do and turned the lights off. He hadn't expected a startled cry to come out of Uraraka the instant he did so, nearly falling over himself in his own bewilderment. "What the hell are you screaming for?!"
"You suddenly turned the lights off!" Uraraka cried, "What was I supposed to do?!"
Bakugou rolled his eyes. "...Not scream? Like a goddamn lunatic."
"It's creepy though!" Uraraka wrapped her arms around her chest and crossed her legs. "Just what are you planning on doing with the lights off, huh?"
"Tch!" Bakugou couldn't help but smirk as he folded his arms over his chest. "In your wildest dreams, sweetheart. You're not my type at all. Far from it, actually."
Thank goodness it was dark because Uraraka could have sworn her face turned twenty shades of red at being called 'sweetheart' and having been bestowed the humility of Bakugou discovering where her mind had immediately flown to.
"Aw, did I hurt your little feelings? Never knew you thought that way about me."
'Wait a minute.' She frowned slightly. Was he...teasing her? "No!" Uraraka quickly refuted while shaking her head. "I'm glad I'm not your type. Besides, I don't think about you in any particular way outside that of a classmate."
"Hmph," was Bakugou's only response.
'Maybe I went too far?' was Uraraka's turn to wonder. Not wanting to say anything else potentially hurtful, she cleared her throat and relaxed her stance a little. "I'm actually working on an assignment right now so I'd appreciate it if you could turn the lights back on."
Bakugou twisted his face in annoyance. "Well the lights are hurting my eyes and I'm still waiting for my coffee."
"Keep the ones on my side on then," Uraraka grinned meekly, "Pretty please?"
Reluctance. Absolute and utter reluctance and abhorrence followed Bakugou's fingers as he flipped the center area's lights back on.
"Thank you!" Uraraka chirped and opened her mini laptop to resume her typing.
'She's working on a damn laptop and she still needs the lights on?' Bakugou threw Uraraka one last dirty look before setting his own laptop down on the bar counter and reopening his essay window. Since he could still hear the beans grinding, he figured his coffee had a long way to go before reaching its liquid form. He could get some work done until then.
…
Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak-tak!
Tik-tik tak!
Some minutes had already passed and, for whatever reason, Uraraka could not help but keep notice of the brooding boy seated at the bar area with his back to her. It wasn't as though his very existence bothered her, but his presence tonight made the air feel heavy. And the more she stared, the faster a…'we got off on the wrong foot' kind of guilt welled inside her and, as much as her conscience scolded her to just keep to herself and pay him no heed because she really couldn't afford to worry about anyone else other than herself right now, she couldn't resist extending a truce— a return to civility between two classmates. Yes! It was only the polite thing to do. "Err...u-um…"
Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak-tak!
Bakugou continued to keep his back to her.
"Umm, he-hey! Bakugou!"
Tik-tik-tak-
The furious typing stopped.
Uraraka swallowed her apprehension. "Say, uh, why don't you come and sit over here?" she offered with a smile and welcoming gesture of her hand towards the floor where she sat, "Working on your computer in the dark really isn't good for your eyes. There's plenty of room he-"
"And you care because?" Bakugou grouched, still not turning around to face her.
Uraraka's lower lip rose to a pout. "I was just...trying to be considerate…" she mumbled.
Bakugou peeked at her from over his shoulder, brows still held in a scrutinizing pinch.
"Err, n-never mind then!" Uraraka forced herself to still sound cheerful, "Sorry, I was just talking to myself for a minute there. Don't let me bother you." The next thing she knew, she was using her tiny laptop as a shield against Bakugou's hunched form. It was dark on his side so she really couldn't see, but she could definitely feel his serpentine stare on her. 'But why?!' her mind boggled, 'Oh no, he's probably really mad at me now. Darn it, why couldn't I have just stayed quiet?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!' She repeatedly smacked herself in the face. 'Just don't think about it. Don't think of him! Focus, Ochako! You have a report due in the morning and you're about…' She looked at the pathetic single paragraph on her computer screen and felt her stomach sink. 'Nowhere near done! Oh god, what am I doing? Stupid, stupid, stupid!'
Her hands fell to her stomach as she slumped over and landed her cheek on the cool table. She wanted to cry. Finishing a major assignment never proved so taxing until now. To top it off, she hadn't been sleeping much in the past few days so her mental capabilities could only decline from here. "I'm so tired…" she groaned as her eyes slowly began to close. The ground left her and she felt lighter than ever before, her mind devoid of any worries or awareness of where she really was...until something rigid and warm pressed up against her right shoulder. 'Deku…'
"You don't have the luxury to have sex dreams about that nerd right now so if I were you, I'd wake my ass up and get to work."
It felt as though a giant rock just crashed through Uraraka's dream window, striking her in the head, snapping her eyes wide open, and yanking her body back to upright position. "Huh?!" She looked to her right to discover Bakugou nonchalantly typing away at his own laptop, seated… Right. Next. To. Her. "Bakugou!"
"There you go fuckin' screaming again," he grumbled, "You gotta cut that out."
"But you're-"
"You offered," he quickly snuffed her, "The stool was starting to hurt my back anyway."
"So you decide to sit on the floor next to me..."
Bakugou's fingers stilled over the keyboard as his piercing red eyes darted to her. "You got a problem with that?"
Uraraka reeled in the witty response that sat on her tongue and instead replied with, "Not at all! Feel free." She looked up at the ceiling. "You turned the lights off, huh…"
"Eyes." Bakugou pointed at his. "Hurt." He pointed at the time on his phone. "Late." Then he continued to type.
"Pfft," Uraraka giggled softly, "Okay, Mr. Caveman, I get it. I guess that's what I get for falling asleep on the job anyway." She tilted her head towards him and wagged a finger. "That's what you're thinking, right?"
Bakugou rolled his eyes, opting to ignore the brunette's playful demeanor to prioritize his grade.
Having spent three years with the same classmates, it was no surprise that they had all grown accustomed to each other's personalities to some degree. What he hadn't exactly calculated was for Urarakato find a strange but casual comfort with him over those years. He could tell that he still intimidated her at times, but she more often forgot about them and continued to talk to him like he was just another classmate. Or as she put it— a friend. He didn't mind too much. She was more tolerable than most that tried to interact with him. Usually, they did so to achieve some form of social merit or to ride his success in being part of the Class A limelight but with her, she was at least genuine in her approach.
"If you're working on that assignment, there's no way you're going to make the deadline. Not at your pace." He pointed at her laptop. "And I've read your so-called progress. Good luck with that crappy thesis."
"Come on, Bakugou, help me out here!" Uraraka clasped her hands in a praying gesture. "I need to pass this class! Just keep me up and I'll do the rest! I promise!"
"Fat chance, round-face," he scoffed, "I'm just here until my coffee's done. Then I'm off to do my own shit. Unlike you, I don't like slacking off."
"I don't like it either, geez…" Uraraka whined.
"Besides…" Bakugou pressed an index finger on her forehead. "I doubt you even want to stay up since you're busy dirty-dreaming about Deku. You were moaning pretty loud there, y'know."
Uraraka held her blooming cheeks as her mouth hung wide open. "I...I was not moaning!" she defended. She was certain Midoriya's name crossed her thoughts as she unwittingly drifted to sleep but to have actually said it out loud?
"Tch, knowing you two love-nerds, you haven't even gotten to that point. That's why you're dreaming about it."
"Can we talk about something else, please?" Uraraka shifted her gaze to her laptop. "I hardly think this is an appropriate topic for even friends."
"Are you two even going out?" Bakugou persisted, smirking at Uraraka's clear discomfort. "I never heard from you again after you asked when was a good time to confess to him. Your ass got rejected, huh?"
"No," Uraraka huffed and blushed even more, "He...listened."
"...Listened."
"Yeah. Listened." Uraraka shrank under Bakugou's skeptical glare, now certain that neither the darkness nor the dim light of her laptop screen could hide the redness of her face. He wanted her to elaborate, that much she knew. But for what? Just so he could humiliate her again?
"Spill," Bakugou demanded, confirming her suspicions.
Uraraka heard him close his laptop and shift closer to her, most likely to lean an attentive ear to her lips. 'What the heck?!' her brain jolted, 'You're too close! Weirdo!' She scooted away slightly, her hand sweeping over the spot under her jaw where his breath had lingered. "He said he had some things to consider first," she explained, "And that he'd give me an answer when he got back."
Since the first half of their third year, Midoriya had mysteriously gone on a 'classified mission' assigned by some unknown party. At least, that was all Aizawa could offer for an explanation and sternly discouraged anyone from prying any further on it. Bakugou knew better than anyone that All Might's simultaneous disappearance was no coincidence and he'd been agitated at his own exclusion ever since.
'Sucks for Uraraka, though,' his nosy brain told him, 'She picked the day before the start of third-year classes to confess and now she's stuck waiting for him like some goddamn princess in a tower.' He frowned, suddenly reminded that he was partly responsible since he told her to pick that day. Just because he was Midoriya's 'childhood friend'— as Uraraka put it— didn't mean he was the best guy to ask about these kinds of things. They grew apart for Pete's sake! He only picked that day because it was literally the 'tomorrow' of when she asked him for advice. And heck, how was he supposed to know that Midoriya would suddenly just up and leave? His quirk was detonating chaos and destruction, not handy-dandy clairvoyance.
"So there!" Uraraka suddenly griped, pulling Bakugou out of his thoughts. "I told you! Happy now? Go ahead. Laugh at me. I feel no shame."
"I don't laugh at things I don't find funny."
Uraraka's eyes widened at his response, which was a complete one-eighty of what she had anticipated. "Wh-what?"
"That sucks," Bakugou empathized, though still maintaining his scowl, "That the nerd's kept you waiting for a simple 'yes or no' answer all this time." He noticed her softening stare on him and quickly followed with, "But you should've known what you were getting into with him."
The kindled hope in Uraraka's eyes immediately flickered out. "Don't talk down on me like you have nothing to do with the state I'm in. You're just as guilty!"
"I'm not a damn fortune teller!" Bakugou barked in retaliation, "I don't even know what you were thinking, asking me when's the right time to tell shitnerd your stupid girly feelings! I should be the last guy on your mind for that sort of crap!"
"Ahh...geez…" Uraraka sighed sadly as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "I don't know what I was thinking at the time either."
Bakugou's eyebrow twitched. That comment stung a bit, he'd admit.
"I guess...I've become a little...pushy, somewhat," Uraraka confessed with a sheepish smile, "Since we're so close to graduating and steadily making professional reputations of ourselves..."
"You're that desperate for a boyfriend, huh?" Bakugou half-snickered.
Uraraka frowned at the mention of 'desperate.' "The proper word is 'excited,' okay? Besides, they're fun things to think about— holding hands, hugging, sharing stories, and…"
Bakugou was midway of opening his laptop when he looked over at Uraraka. "And?"
"Ki-kiss…" Uraraka whispered shyly, her eyes darting from side to side. "Kissing...maybe more." She covered her face the second the last sentence left her.
Bakugou closed his laptop completely. "You sound like a fuckin' little girl! You've never been in a relationship before, have you?"
"I so, too, have had boyfriends! Just...I never...did certain things with any of them. I've been waiting for the right time. I mean person! I don't know!" Uraraka turned her back to him, crossing her arms over her chest in indignation. "So ex-cuuuuse me for not being as experienced as you!"
Bakugou had to suppress the heat that searched his cheeks, glaring at the brunette for having riled such a juvenile response from him. "Tch, it's not like I came on to the girls I've dated," he said almost too proudly, "They've all come onto me and I collected my experience points that way. With the right faces, of course. And I've only ever dated about four chicks thus far so don't make it sound like I'm some damn womanizer!"
"Well good for you then, Romeo," Uraraka replied, her usually angelic voice laced with sarcasm.
"...What made you suddenly think about those things?"
"...Excuse me?"
"The 'advanced level' of going out with someone or whatever."
"..."
"..."
Bakugou mentally kicked himself. What was he doing?! He had an assignment to work on and he was just here waiting for his coffee to finish (which was now steadily pouring its contents into the glass pitcher), so why was he prying into Uraraka's personal life like this? Now he'd look like a total ass once she shut his question down with a simple-
"Curiosity."
...Well, Bakugou hadn't expected that. "Really…" he muttered, unconvinced, "That's it? That's why you decided to tell Deku you like him— because you were curious."
"He-hey, if you put it like that, people will misunderstand," Uraraka stammered, turning to face Bakugou. "I mean, it'd be nice if I got to experience those things for the first time with Deku since I like-like him."
Bakugou nearly gagged.
"But I can't help but still wonder at times..." Uraraka leaned back against the leg of the couch and laid her head on one of its cushions. She shared a distant smile with the ceiling, a glimmer of wishful bliss evident in her eyes. "What it'd be like to be held by someone that way."
She failed to see a smirk twisting along Bakugou's lips. "So anyone will do, is that what you're saying?" he asked.
Uraraka hugged herself. "The way you word things to make them sound so scandalous, I swear."
"Am I wrong?" Bakugou only smirked wider.
Uraraka glanced to her side, lips hesitating to form a reply before muttering, "N-not completely… To be honest, I've considered giving other people a chance before Deku to gain a bit of experience and, as much as I hate myself for it, I still think about it now and again...while waiting for him to give me a response."
Bakugou hovered a hand over his mouth, shielding his disbelieving grin from view. "Are you serious? Wow. I would never have expected this from you."
Uraraka felt his elbow bump her lightly in the arm and blushed at the brief contact. "My aging mind hasn't been kind to me!" she wailed, covering her face with her hands again. "I'm a terrible person for even considering these things, aren't I?"
"That depends." Bakugou abandoned his laptop on the table and scooted closer to her. "Who did you consider before Deku?"
The steamy crawl of what could only be Bakugou's breath moved from her ear to her neck, making Uraraka swallow the fluster that she had no idea had settled in her throat for some time now. Her lips suddenly felt dry and the urge to lick it nipped insistently at her. Yet, another part of her fought against it, keenly cautious of the boy's proximity to her person. "Why do you want to know?" she challenged.
"Call it curiosity," Bakugou countered.
"Well…" Uraraka shuddered, "Aside from the guys I've dated before…" 'Who each only lasted about a month and a half because I've been all over the place with training to be a hero and never had the time to go on proper dates with them and they got tired of me for it,' her inner voice still had the decency to remind her, making her cringe a little. "I considered Kaminari at first since he'd asked me out a couple of times before." Her side grew warmer as Bakugou inched closer yet again, her shoulder locked in the crook between his upper arm and chest. "Th-then there was...Todoroki," she continued, trying her best to keep her voice steady despite her quickening heartbeat, "But I knew Yaomomo already had feelings for him since the first year so it wouldn't have been right of me to ask him."
"Of course little Ms. Rich Kid would go after pretty-boy Mr. Rich Kid," Bakugou mocked but more out of sarcasm than spite, "I'm surprised you didn't consider that naggy glasses guy first."
"Iida?" Uraraka nearly laughed at the descriptive nickname, "He's too serious and particular about everything! I love how funny he is because of that, but I don't think it's for me...to always be told what to do, that is."
"Hmph, at least you've got some standards."
"I think the last guy I considered was Kirishima."
Bakugou clenched the fibers of carpet under them. "...And they're gone."
Uraraka blinked under her palms. If she didn't know any better, he sounded kind of...angry? She tried to peek at his face from between her fingers but it was too dark to tell what kind of expression he was making. 'I knew I shouldn't have set my laptop's brightness to Auto-detect.' His warmth left her and she sighed softly. 'What is this deflated feeling I'm getting?'
Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak-tak!
Her palms slid down her face, revealing Bakugou with his laptop on top of crossed legs, hard at work on his assignment again. His eyes ran from right to left along the screen while his hurried fingers synced the words in his mental universe to the digital one. Her presence was already forgotten, it seemed, as though their whole conversation never happened. 'That's a shame,' she thought, 'Just when we were starting to bond more, t-' She put an abrupt stop to her musings. Was she actually...disappointed?! 'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get a hold of yourself, Ochako! This is Bakugou we're talking about! He's probably making fun of me in his head now for all I know.'
"I don't laugh at things I don't find funny."
Uraraka's doubts were put to rest. He had given her his word in that regard so, safe to say, yes— she was disappointed. In the mere few minutes she had opened up to him, something took root between them. She wasn't sure what, but she could still feel its vines growing, spreading— in her heated cheeks, her fluttering stomach, and heart-beaten chest.
Tik-tik tak!
Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak!
Tik!
Every stroke of Bakugou's keys only hastened the vines' growth until Uraraka could swear it surrounded a door long shut within the shrouded sanctum of her heart. It was held steadfast by a keyhole and various older vines that a select few before had tried desperately to cut away at then jam and lockpick at the keyhole to pry open and reveal whatever secrets the room held inside. Up to this point, she truly believed Midoriya would be the one to clear away the vines and open the mysterious door but the mere mention of his name only clamped the hinges tighter and made the vegetation grow thicker.
'So why?' She watched as Bakugou stifled a yawn and massaged his shoulder with a displeased grunt. 'Why does it feel as though this person is standing in front of that door now?' He wasn't straightforward like the others. The shadows hid most of him, sparing only the scarlet eyes that shone brilliantly in the darkness. Something glinted in his hand as he stood there, motionless, biding his time to make the most opportune strike.
Bakugou felt the back of his neck prickle and turned to find Uraraka gaping shamelessly at him, rousing his impatient anger. "You got a staring problem, chubs?" he barked, "Quit it! It's making me itch!"
Only then did Uraraka realize what she was doing and faced her own laptop, cheeks dusted bright pink. "S-sorry!" she squeaked, "I didn't realize. It's just…you went quiet all of a sudden."
"I have the right to keep my mouth shut, don't I?"
Uraraka flinched at the sudden coldness in his voice. Just a moment ago, it had been so warm and comforting, easing her insecurities and introducing a newfound hope in her heart. Normally, it would prove unwise to confront another person's troubles head-on, humiliating them to a complete shutout being a risk factor. But when dealing with an abrasive personality like Bakugou's, that was the perfect method to remedy the thorn in his side. "Are you mad that I said 'Kirishima'?" she blurted.
Bakugou slammed his fingers on the keyboard, rendering his once carefully constructed analytical essay to a jumbled mess of alphabetical vomit. "Why the hell would I be mad about something as stupid as that?!" he snarled, steam erupting from his scalp, "I'm just trying to focus on this damn essay so I can actually finish it! If you weren't so busy whining about your sorry excuse for a dusty-uterus love life and actually worked on the assignment, you'd been finished by now, too."
'Yep, he's mad about that,' Uraraka confirmed with herself, mentally facepalming at Bakugou's tantrum at having been found out. She expected nothing less.
"That meat-brain might be a good fighter but he doesn't know jack shit when it comes to women," Bakugou ranted on, "I made the mistake of asking him for advice on it once and paid the price. The damn bitch thought I was going to fuckin' propose to her and clung onto me like wet laundry for weeks!" Uraraka slapped a hand over her mouth in time to hold back the guffaws at imagining the scenario. The snickers didn't go unnoticed as he shot her a glare. "Hell, if you end up with him, good luck. Don't come cryin' to me when you go bald by the end of the month."
"And just why would I ever come crying to you?" Uraraka continued to laugh.
"Because I'm so goddamn reliable and you're a lost cause," Bakugou rebutted as he furiously tapped on the Delete button.
Though she knew he thought nothing of the things he said, Uraraka couldn't help but smile at the warm tickle in her stomach. Her hands and feet tingled with what felt like anticipation. Excitement. The reality was, she wanted something to happen and in order to have something happen, she needed a catalyst. "S-so…" she began.
"Hmph," Bakugou snorted, looking more miffed than interested.
"What if…" Uraraka tapped her index fingers together. "What if I told you...I also...considered you at one point?"
Bakugou's hands froze over the keyboard, his eyes widening as he met her pensive gaze. "Come again, round-face?" His voice came out raspy, much to his annoyance, but his grimace more than made up for the seriousness he intended on conveying.
The temptation to look away screamed at Uraraka, but she kept her eyes glued to his. "Well like you said, you're reliable. Honest to a fault. Dominant. You'd be a guy I could count on."
"What are you-" Bakugou started to ask.
"But you also just said I'm not your type, so…!" Uraraka's stomach flopped, her smile faltering to a constipated grin as she inevitably tore her gaze from Bakugou. In the end, she didn't have a strong enough resolve to confront him on even grounds. Actually, she had the advantage by initiating the topic but now she could mentally curse herself because all that power just popped and escaped her like an overblown balloon. The best thing to do at this point was to keep quiet and hope either he or she would disappear, but her mouth had other plans. "I mean between you and Kirishima, I would pick Kirishima anyway. He's nice, good in groups, easy to talk to… And judging from his physique, I'm sure he's more than capable of delivering certain 'requests' that might come along."
Bakugou closed his laptop and took off his reading glasses, placing both items back on the table.
"N-no-not that I'm saying I like him or anything!" Uraraka flailed, "Of course, that description would fall on Deku but I'm just saying if I were to date him first! Oh, gosh. Th-this is all hypothetical by the way so don't think too much about…" Bakugou loomed over her with one arm pinned at her side and the other set next to her waist, both to keep her from escaping. "...It."
"Are you trying to piss me off, round-face?"
Uraraka swallowed thickly at the huskiness that reverberated in her eardrums. "N-no…"
"Telling me things like that without reserve..." Bakugou's glare intensified. "You're not cut out for toying with people so don't even go there."
"What do you mean 'toying'?" Uraraka squeezed the carpet. "I'm just saying what's on my mind."
Bakugou moved his hand that was next to her hip to take her chin and tilt her face to him. "You're not saying what you mean is more like it and it's pissing me off."
It was Uraraka's turn to frown. "Okay, I think your coffee deprivation has officially gotten to you," she said, pushing her hand against what she could only guess was someplace between his pectorals and collarbone. Her chest ached and it was getting harder to breathe, but it wasn't that she felt threatened or endangered, no. In fact, the sensations felt akin to that of a child quivering gleefully in her hiding spot as her seeker investigated high and low for her, growing nearer with every step of his foot and every call of her name.
Bakugou's eyes darkened. "You sure about that?"
"Pretty sure," Uraraka bit back, adrenaline now coursing in her veins.
"Okay, say it again then. More clearly this time."
"Say what again?"
"That you want me."
Uraraka's breath stilled as her heart flew at what felt like a million miles per minute. She searched the blonde's face for any sign of a grin or a smirk or heck, even a smile. Anything to tell her 'just kidding!' and then he'd ridicule and criticize her procrastinating habits like before. Yet, when only his solemn glare looked back at her, she did something that not only surprised him but herself as well. She smiled. She smiled like the eager child who was finally found and caught, unwilling to run from her seeker's hold.
Bakugou ran a thumb over her lips and bit down gently on his own. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's honest to a fault. You're not even trying to deny it— smiling like an idiot."
"I just find it funny," Uraraka began to giggle, "You being so upfront with me like this after everything that's been said." She looked up at him and him back at her. "So what are you gonna do?"
"Be specific," Bakugou set his lure.
"Now that you know I've thought of you...that way."
Bakugou's lips twisted to a smirk. "To be blunt, I haven't gone out with anyone lately and I'm not looking for anything serious or long-term since it's the final year." Uraraka's brow furrowed at his implication, but he seemed to know what crossed her mind because he followed with, "Relax, I'm not proposing we do that."
While Uraraka's cheeks pinked again, her chocolate-brown eyes did indeed soften a tad.
Bakugou lifted her onto the couch and laid her on her back as he slowly climbed over her, his arms and knees the only support system keeping them a safe distance from each other. "The better question is, what do you want me to do?"
"...You said you collected some experience points, right?" Uraraka whispered, "More than Kaminari? Todoroki? Kirishima?"
Bakugou angled his head in interest. He didn't know about the first two but he was at least confident in the last one. "Yeah," he answered anyway.
Uraraka held a fisted hand over her chest. "Then share some with me."
Bakugou frowned at her soft yet bold order. "I'm not a boyfriend simulator."
"I'm not asking you to be," Uraraka corrected him, "I just want answers to the questions I asked earlier."
"Hm, your curiosities," Bakugou smirked again.
Uraraka blushed deeper in return. "Ye-yes. So…" Her eyes looked straight into his. "Teach me."
The coffee maker beeped from the kitchen area, alerting the two that the piping hot beverage was ready. However, Bakugou's attention laid someplace hotter at the moment and she had just greenlit one of the darkest fantasies that habituated his mind. "Fine," he snickered quietly, "But you can't complain about anything that happens from here on, got that?"
Uraraka fought back a tremble of her shoulders and replied with a small smirk of her own, "What's there to complain about?"
Bakugou peeled her hands from her chest and forced her palms open, intertwining their fingers over her head and entangling them in locks of honey brown. He lowered his head partway, stopping just high enough to hover over her nose and lips. "It's better if you quit acting tough," he advised, having noticed the startled widening of her chocolatey doe eyes, "You're learning these things for the first time so if it's easier, just…" He paused, obviously disliking what he was about to murmur next.
"Just…?" Uraraka tilted her head.
"...Pretend I'm Deku...doing them to you," Bakugou finished.
Uraraka moved to protest the lowbrow idea but abruptly found Bakugou's lips over her own. "Mmmm!" she cried in astonishment, muffled by his passionate caress.
"And don't worry," Bakugou assured her as he pulled away for a breath, "This will be a one-time thing between you and me."
Uraraka hesitantly nodded. "...O-Okay." The vines were torn and burnt asunder, a path of cinder and ashes serving as Bakugou's guide as he revealed what was in his hand. A key— the coveted item which he lifted and stuck into the keyhole and, with an effortless twist of his hand, clicked the door open.
...
Amidst the labored grunts and sighs that filled the common room, Bakugou managed to pull back again for air and panted, "Don't think too much." He planted a hasty kiss on her lips. "Let yourself go. Just feel." He left another and another, one for every end of his sentence, his teeth lightly catching her lower lip with each dip of his head to coax it into separating from its upper counterpart.
Uraraka hung her head on his hand, letting as much of her writhing body mold into Bakugou's solid form as she could, fingernails clawing at the front of his black muscle shirt to rip it clean off. Or so she secretly wished. She felt his knees push between her thighs and, to her own surprise, they granted access without a second thought. The too eager blonde nestled between her legs, one of his hands having left hers to wander the curve of her right side. "Mmm...hmm..ahh…!" Uraraka gasped as he pushed his pelvis into her, earning a visit from his tongue when her lips parted. As their mouths restarted their dance, his hips ground slowly with hers, teaching its steady rhythm so she, too, could participate in the sensuous tango. She opened her eyes slightly when he fumbled with her shorts next, impatiently tugging down on the cotton material to expand his explorations.
Her mind was in a haze, fractured, brewing a dangerous thunderstorm that was reeling her in with every prod and twist of his tongue and every burning press of his thumb which wandered under her pink sweatshirt. She cursed herself for being lazy and ditching her undershirt this particular night but then again, she hadn't expected to spend quality time with anyone while she worked on her report, much less participate in an offhand makeout-and-more session with Bakugou. Bakugou! The smoldering heat in her belly just about diminished at this realization, replaced by an icy chill of guilt that she could only deduce stemmed from having physically betrayed Midoriya. "Ah!" her breath thinned as her sweatshirt slid upwards.
On the Devil's side, Bakugou's instincts spun in a fiery frenzy, betraying his otherwise calm yet flushed expression as he moved from kissing Uraraka to trailing his tongue down her porcelain-smooth neck, stopping only to nip and suck at her clavicle.
"Hah...hnn…" she shuddered and craned her neck to provide him better access.
Her half-winded moans beguiled him to deliver only his best, to tattoo on her a first and lasting impression on people's darkest uninhibited pleasures. He would make it so when any other man touched her, she'd think back to this moment and derive her deepest lust from it, crying and writhing in spasms to his touch than any of the unfortunate souls who trailed in after him. Against his better judgment, he took the liberty of stepping over the line first and swept both his hands under her sweatshirt to expose the soft skin of her stomach, then smirking at the absence of an undershirt. "You were expecting this, huh?" he practically purred into her inner thigh and proceeded to plant a soft kiss on the succulent flesh. A couple more tugs and he succeeded in pulling her shorts below her knees, unveiling a pair of... "Oh."
"Wh-what…" Uraraka stammered, clamping her knees together in an attempt to hide.
Bakugou would have none of it, which was made clear to the flustered girl when he pried her legs apart with little to no effort and continued to ogle at her-
"Stop staring!" Uraraka cried and tried to smack the overly curious blonde with her hand but to no avail.
"I just didn't expect you to be the lace-wearing type," Bakugou shrugged as he held Uraraka's offensive hand in midair, "It's ribbony along the edges but still a more mature choice than what I'd expect from you."
Uraraka covered her now vibrant face with her other arm. "I-I was...just…" she tried to explain only to lose her reason when Bakugou pushed himself up, pinned both her arms over her head, and reconnected their lips. "Baku...gou…" she panted, "I don't…I-I don't think...we should..."
He slipped her sweatshirt over her breasts and wantonly traced circles around their center areas with his thumbs, her thin black bra remaining the lone obstacle he had to penetrate in order to make direct contact with two of her most intimate areas. Her back arched to him, as if begging him to caress and play with her how he pleased because he was sure, in turn, it would please her just as much if not more. He kissed and whispered salaciously into her reddened ear, "Seems like you already know what you want."
Uraraka wrapped her arms around him in an almost desperate embrace. Despite their closeness, she still felt...empty...and depravingly so. 'More,' her body pleaded, pulling him down for another heated kiss. 'I want more.' His knee pinned her shorts to the couch as her legs moved up to wrap around his waist, consequently abandoning the material and leaving just her black and pink lace panties to keep her somewhat modest.
Bakugou pressed up against her, secretly admiring how her too-honest warmth permeated his lower clothing and welcomed him with her shapely legs serving as dutiful wardens to keep him in place. "Fuck…" He took a second's respite to break from their lip lock to yank his half-raised shirt over his head and to the ground, doomed to be forgotten in the same darkness where he continued to press and grind his awakened desire against Uraraka's own. He could tell that she was on the verge of concupiscent madness, her hips already gyrating in tandem with his.
Hot. Dizzy. Tingly. Hungry. Though still unsure of what to make of the strange hodgepodge of bodily sensations arising within her, Uraraka hung her arms over Bakugou's shoulders to pull him closer and deepen their kiss. She learned at least one thing— she liked this kind of kissing. Loved it. Perhaps she was just dumbly fortunate to have Bakugou for a teacher to introduce the more intense version of it to her, but there was no denying that he left very little room for regret. It...he...felt good. She wanted all and more of him. "Ahhh…" she groaned and bit her bruised lip as his other hand freed one of her breasts and wasted no time kneading it between his fingers. It was a sick mix of violation and overdue favor to have a boy fondle parts of her that her mother always advised in protecting until marriage. But what were baseless morals when long-suppressed sexual curiosity came into play? Her body felt amazing, she felt amazing, the whole atmosphere felt amazing… There couldn't be anything too wrong with what they were doing, right? In her half-lidded state, she saw his head dip down and take the chosen breast into his mouth, making her buck her hips in surprise. "Ah…!" Two of his waiting fingers slipped a little of a way in, caught and stopped by the thin material of her lacey underwear but still not failing to remind her how soaked she was.
"I take it you enjoyed that," he grinned at her and teasingly pulled the garter to the side.
Uraraka, with eyes glazed and heavy with desire, gingerly nodded in response. What would it have felt like if Bakugou had pushed in the whole way? How far would she have taken him? Would it have alleviated the persistent aching she felt inside? Just when she thought he'd given her answers, he'd actually given her more questions instead. "Bakugou, I…" she whimpered.
"Shhh…" Bakugou chided as he uncovered the other breast. It fell into his hand without complaint, molding into his palm with a pleasant bounciness that he could only compare to a combined product of a ripened mango and a plush toy. No, that was wrong. Such menial things did her body no justice. This was Uraraka Ochako— sweet and innocent little Ochako, committing an adulterated sin as old as time...with him. He leaned back a moment to take in the marvelous view— his left hand was greedily kneading both of her breasts, trying not to let either one fall out of his hold and his right hand was entertaining the moisture between her legs. "Fuck, I want you, Ochako," he mindlessly mumbled aloud.
His usage of her first name flew over Uraraka's head as his eager advancement inched closer to the root of her lust. "I-I...you…" she mewled weakly. It was then her shaken conscience traveled to a curly-haired boy that sat in the recess of her mind, waving and smiling jubilantly at her, clearly oblivious to the perfidy she was committing in front of him with Bakugou splayed over her, his dexterous hands spreading flames of indulgence over every exposed surface of her body in an unrelenting display of carnal dominance. 'Deku!'
Bakugou felt her stiffen under him and immediately broke from his ministrations. Uraraka laid flushed and breathless before him, her eyes shimmering with the danger of tears that threatened to fall at any moment. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, feeling his testosterone wane at the girl's disgruntled state. 'Shit, did I go too far with her?' his mind panicked as he sat both of them up and hurriedly fixed her hair.
"Sorry," Uraraka sniffed and rubbed her eyes, "I just...I couldn't help but think about...Deku."
"Hah?" Bakugou raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Who the fuck else are you supposed to think about?"
"...E-eh?" Uraraka's blinked dumbfoundedly.
Bakugou heaved a long and tired sigh and ran a hand through his spikes. "I already told you before we started this, didn't I? If it makes it any easier for you, just pretend I'm Deku so you don't play moral tug o' war with yourself."
"But that still doesn't make it right!" Uraraka parried with a vigorous shake of her head, "You're Bakugou! I can't simply label you 'Deku' and decide that I'm being faithful that way! You're-"
"Look, I'm not going to argue or force you to do anything you don't wanna do," Bakugou clarified, raising a hand to Uraraka's face. "This was all your idea. You asked me to teach you the answers to your questions about being intimate or whatever sappy shit you wanted. I agreed with the simple notion that in return, I'd get some form of instant physical gratification. One time only. That's it."
Uraraka looked away, the cold truth of his words permeating her unsteady heart.
"There aren't any 'feelings' involved in...this," Bakugou further elucidated, pointing at himself then at her, "So it's up to you. We can finish up this 'lesson' or we can stop while we're ahead. Either way, we'll go through the rest of the year and graduate peacefully like nothing ever happened. We won't ever talk about it either."
'No!' Uraraka wanted to scream but refrained from doing so because, deep down, she knew. "I, um…" The right thing to do would be to put an end to whatever it was they had started. She'd confessed her feelings to Midoriya beforehand and promised she'd wait for an answer, dooming herself to an intangible commitment to him. That, in itself, was done entirely out of her own volition. On the other hand, she wanted to know what else Bakugou wanted to show her, to demonstrate on her overly cooperative body, to reach into and pull from the civil teachings instilled in her the primal desires of man.
She squeezed her own arm.
In the end, Bakugou had only inserted the key; the door still repelled his attempts at pushing it open all the way. And Midoriya still stood behind him, smiling cluelessly as he awaited his turn.
Bakugou scowled at Uraraka's silence. "Right, I get it," he huffed and stood from the couch. He bent down to retrieve his things but halted when he felt a tug on his wrist. As much as he hated it, a sense of hope radiated in his chest when he turned to find Uraraka's blushing face looking longingly at him. His features immediately softened, his hand enveloping hers as he— as a betrayal to his own nature— patiently waited for her answer.
