"Alright!" Bakugo shouted rudely over the crowded conference room, "Shut the fuck up and make room in your brains for this shit. I don't like to repeat myself."
Uraraka met his gaze for a brief second from where she sat and nodded encouragingly. He scowled at her and she resisted the urge to laugh. The scolding he'd give her in front of their subordinates would almost be worth it.
The room was full of heroes from the Edgeshot Agency. The best that the agency had to offer were all buzzing excitedly about their new participation in the Viper case. A stack of briefing binders were neatly displayed in the center of the table and Uraraka fondly remembered the previous night as she helped her boyfriend assemble them in his apartment.
"Oi!" Kirishima shot out of his chair beside hers, "Listen up!"
The room quieted down completely as the blonde took a long moment to sweep his scowl across the room, "Before any of you extras do something beyond stupid and mouth off to your girlfriend, your mother, or god forbid, a damn reporter, I will remind you that your attendance at this meeting means you've agreed to keep your damn mouths shut. This is top secret."
"Top secret," Kirishima echoed with an assertive nod.
Bakugo turned his glare onto his red-haired partner, "Sit the fuck down and shut up, Red Riot."
"Heard," Kirishima nodded, easily brushing off his embarrassment and lowering himself back into his chair.
Bakugo took a deep breath, allowing himself one last glance at brunette seated at the front before starting, "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that our target is Viper but because I can only assume that at least half of you can't even count as high as my IQ, I'll spell it out for you. Viper is a serious and dangerous villain that is responsible for the deaths of more than twenty heroes. He's the founder and sole leader of the Mamushi Group that floods streets all across Japan with quirking drugs called Venom. I'm sure we all remember the events from a few months ago and let me say this at the beginning, that shit will not happen again. Failure is not an option. It's time this guy gets brought in."
Uraraka caught the subtle nod from the blonde leading the briefing and she stood up, making a point to be the first one to grab a copy of the briefing binder. All the other heroes in the room, including Edgeshot, who was hovering in the back, watched as she motioned for them to follow suit.
"Viper's quirk is pretty self-explanatory but here are the details we've uncovered," Bakugo continued as everyone in the room took a turn to grab a binder. "We all know his bite is pretty much the kiss of fucking death but he's managed to pressurize it into gas. Clearly, it's effects are somewhat weakened in a less potent state but don't be the agency idiot and think you won't die if you so much as catch a whiff of it."
Uraraka felt all the eyes in the room on the back of her head as she propped open her binder on the top of the table and took her seat again. She refused to acknowledge them and turned her attention back to Bakugo.
Bakugo nodded to Kirishima and the red-head switched on the projector that had been set up on the table. It lit up the wall behind the blonde with a street map of downtown Tokyo and the blonde pointed to a heavily trafficked intersection, "We believe that the Mamushi Group's headquarters is located here. It's pretty fucking obvious that there is some sort of hideout here but intel we've gathered over the last few weeks seems to suggest that it's heavily protected and possibly where Viper has been hiding out to regroup after the loss of Constrictor, Cameo, and Teller."
"Hiding in plain sight," Edgeshot cut in from where he stood against the back wall.
Bakugo turned to look at the leader of the agency, "It's god damn smart too. This stretch of town has every white collar son of a bitch walking past every morning and evening. Midday is almost as bad. It's citizen-protected all day, every day so going in guns blazing is pretty much impossible without major collateral damage."
A snicker from the side of the room drew everyone's attention before Earthworm spoke up, "So the Ground Zero calling card of smash everything until you get what you want isn't going to be an option?"
Uraraka almost smiled when she saw the glint in the blonde man's eye, "Fuck that. I think Viper deserves a fucking explosive welcome. I plan to drag his ass in my way. We're going in during the morning rush. Broad fucking daylight… When he least expects us."
Uncomfortable murmurs broke out throughout the room and Kirishima shot out of his seat again, "Ground Zero hasn't even finished yet so why don't you all sit down and shut up?"
Bakugo slammed his hand against the wall illuminated by the projector, "I'm running this meeting, Red Riot. I don't need you lecturing the plebs on my behalf. It's the only fun part of this job so shut the hell up."
Uraraka released a hot breath from her nose as she resisted laughter. With Bakugo's face half-illuminated by the projection, the dark circles under his eyes stood out more to her. He was short on sleep and while a few months ago, she herself would have been shocked back into submission by his snappy tone, now she just found it humorous
The room quieted as they were met with a truly scornful glare from their new head of operations and the blonde held it for a few extra seconds just for good measure, "We'll hit them hard and fast. Our intelligence gathering has given us the likely floor that the Mamushi Group is using as their primary base. They're located on the forty-second floor so we'll have the advantage, trapping them high up and gaining fast control of their escape routes."
A visual of the building's layout flashed behind him and the blonde quickly began pointing as he spoke, "It's likely that this is not the complete building plan but a very close replica. We assume that there are at least two more escape routes hidden inside that were not divulged in the plans given to city hall. We need to raid the building and lock down every inch of the place before they have the opportunity to use them. It's priority number one at the start to locate those escape routes and make them impossible to use.
"Then, we can focus our energy on capturing Viper alive. Everyone will be issued a gas mask on site before the raid and obviously, wearing them is a requirement. I shouldn't have to say that shit but with you lot, you never fucking know. This will be close-quarters and we'll all probably be confined to small spaces. Your one fucking job is to not breath in poison gas or get bitten."
The room seemed to digest as Bakugo instructed them but it was Earthworm who spoke up again, "So you want to go in with a bang, huh? How do you plan to do that with all those civilians around?"
Bakugo smirked, "Uravity thought of just the thing."
"Come on," Uraraka muttered to herself as she tried to stitch together a rip in her costume's shoulder. She'd torn it while she tried to wiggle herself out of it earlier that day. There were perks to having a skin tight costume but mending it on her sofa on a time crunch wasn't one of them. She carefully balanced the needle through her teeth as she pulled the thread tight over her stitches with a slow but satisfying pull.
She was so focused that she almost didn't hear the gentle knock on her door before it popped open. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled despite the needle between her teeth, "Mina!"
"Hey!" The pinkette squealed excitedly and hurried into the apartment. "Oh my god, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"
Uraraka carefully set the needle down on the weathered coffee table before her friend plopped down beside her and pulled her into a warm hug, "How are you?"
"Oh, my lovely girl," Mina cooed as she held the brunette for a few extra seconds, "I am finally whole again now that I'm with you."
"Okay," Uraraka began to pry herself out of the pinkette's grip. "I have to finish sewing this before it's too late."
Mina snatched up the needle before Uraraka could claim it, "Allow me." She held out her hand for the costume and motioned to the brunette to hand it over.
The brunette flushed, "What? No, I should be the one to do it. You're my guest!"
"I'm your best friend, you sneaky bitch," Mina narrowed her eyes, "so hand it over and start talking. And I swear to god," Mina snatched away the costume and observed the half-finished patch job, "if you skimp on details, I'll find better uses for this needle."
Uraraka blushed, "W-well… I don't know what you really-"
"Explody-boy… Kacchan… Surprisingly well-suited boyfriend material? What are we calling him these days?" Mina used the needle to tap at her chin, "Oh! Katsuki. Yeah, tell me about him."
"Mina!" the brunette blushed madly, "You can't- You shouldn't call him that!"
"I don't see him anywhere," the pinkette gave her a smug look before her face soured. "He's not here, is he?"
Uraraka shook her head with a weary laugh, "No, he's at the agency. He had a meeting with Edgeshot and he doesn't know when it'll be over."
Mina nodded as she started to work on the patch, "Gosh, who taught you how to sew? Actually, on second thought, don't answer that. Just tell me all about what boyfriend Bakugo is like. I've been just dying to know."
The brunette gave her friend a small, hesitant smile, "He's… amazing."
A long silence drew out following her response. When she looked back up at Mina again, she found an unimpressed frown, "That's it? A steamy affair, a romantic getaway, a PR tour so shrouded in glam and glitz that you'd think you both were the only heroes in the world, and a high profile case coming to a dramatic head but all you have to say about it is 'He's amazing.' Give me more than a frickin' crumb over here!"
Uraraka's mouth fell wide open before she fumbled for a response, "W-well, I'm sorry! I just don't really know what to say!"
"Okay," Mina dropped the costume for a moment and gave her a teasing but understanding smil., "Start with the trip to Okinawa. You guys were totally secretly dating before it, right?"
"Actually, we weren't," Uraraka shrugged, "It was super weird but then he fought Teller and the entire country blew up with villains. Okinawa was just… a break from it all. I didn't think that we'd-"
"Bang?" Mina suggested as the brunette searched for words. She grinned when Uraraka blushed. "Yeah, you two have been all over each other, I know it. I could smell sex when I walked in here."
The brunette turned bright red, scrambling for something coherent to respond with but came up with nothing, "Tha-That's not- Wha… Mina!"
"What?" the pinkette shrugged innocently as she pulled the needle through the costume. "You can tell me these things, girl."
Uraraka dropped her face in her hands to hide her flushed face, "You're killing me here."
"When I saw those paparazzi photos of you guys totally macking it in the ocean, even I got turned on," Mina laughed aloud. "Eijirou and I totally want to try and replicate them."
There was a few seconds of silence before Uraraka popped her head up with a furrowed brow, "What?"
"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Mina cocked her head at her, a smug smile barely pulling on her lips.
Uraraka's mouth fell open before a suspicious look crossed her face, "Wait a minute."
Mina couldn't help but grin, "I've only been trying to tell you for weeks, Ocha."
Realization slowly began to creep through the air before the brunette squealed loudly, "What?"
"I know!" Mina squealed back, matching the hyper energy filling the room. She tossed the costume and needle down on the table and threw her arms out to either side, "Who knew that Eijirou and I would be such a fantastic match?"
Uraraka scoffed noisily, "Everybody in the frickin' world." She leaned forward on the sofa, an excited grin splitting her face, "When did it happen?"
Mina raised her eyebrows suggestively a few times, "A game of dare or double dare a few weeks ago. We had our first kiss right out there," she pointed to the window that looked over the street.
This caught the brunette off guard, "W-what?"
"We were spying," Mina at least had the grace to seem embarrassed by the omission. "We caught Bakugo sneaking up here after your guys' stakeout at the convenience store."
The brunette squeaked in surprise, "You guys spied on us?"
"We spy on you guys on the regular," Mina rolled her eyes. "It baffles me how much we can get away with, honestly. We have a running bet on when Bakugo will catch us and skin Eijirou alive. It's up to a few hundred bucks now."
"What the heck?" Uraraka couldn't help the sputter of laughter on her lips, "You guys are insane."
"Insanely in love," Mina waggled her eyebrows.
Uraraka shook her head, "I really can't believe it. Are you pulling my leg?"
Mina hummed negatively with a shake of her head before she picked the costume up and resumed her sewing, "Now that I finally got to tell you, we can change our relationship status online. Good god, woman, you are hard to come by these days. That boyfriend of yours tends to keep you busy."
"Well, we do have the Viper case and all those pressers that Edgeshot forced us to-"
The door to the apartment banged open and both girls looked up in surprise. A second passed before a blonde stepped through, dishevelled and irritable. He stopped inside the doorway as his gaze found the two women. He shifted between them for a few seconds before a grumble passed his lips, "Of course."
"Bakugo!" Mina sang with a boisterous smile, "So nice of you to join us for girls night."
He seemed to be fighting against his last nerve before he kicked the door shut behind him and dumped his duffel bag on Uraraka's countertop, "Why the fuck are you here?"
"I invited myself over to share my relationship status," the pinkette expertly spun the needle through the costume, turning away from the blonde with a shrug. "Ocha and I were just talking about your deepest darkest secrets. I pegged you for being a total kink in the sheets but Kacchan," she looked up to waggle her eyebrows suggestively, "even I'm a little embarrassed!"
"Mina!" Uraraka squeaked in shock as the blonde's fist came down on the countertop hard enough to nearly crack it.
The pinkette shrugged, "What? I'm just messing around."
Bakugo cracked his neck with a clenched jaw and turned around to face the two women, "How long until she leaves?"
Uraraka glanced at her friend, "Um."
"I just got here," Mina announced, "so it's going to be a while. Sorry boyfriend, it's girlfriend's turn to get some attention."
The blonde stood begrudgingly by the door for a few more seconds before stalking to her bedroom, "Don't fucking bother me and keep it down out here."
Uraraka was about to respond to him when the door slammed shut. Mina giggled beside her, "A total freak," she leaned in, "tell me everything."
Mina left long after the sun had gone down and Uraraka was left feeling socially drained. She breathed a sigh of relief as she finally locked her front door, taking a moment to revel in the silence of her apartment. Mina was a fantastic friend but she had a way of wearing the brunette out.
She stopped in her kitchen to drink a glass of water before silently pushing her way into the bedroom. Her eyes found Bakugo laying flat on her bed. His eyes were shut and his breath was slow, an arm draped over his forehead. She smiled, unashamedly watching him rest from the doorway.
"Did she leave?"
The brunette was a little more than surprised by the question, "Oh, I thought you were asleep."
"How can anybody sleep when she's around?" the blonde replied stiffly before dropping his arm down to his side. His eyes cracked open to a relaxed expression, "No wonder Kirishima's been dragging ass lately. She probably keeps him up all fucking night."
Uraraka slumped over and wandered tiredly over to the bed before flopping down face first, "They're perfect for each other."
"They're disgusting," Bakugo corrected as his gaze settled on the top of her head. "What the fuck are you doing? We have work to do."
She didn't move for a moment as his words sunk in. Then, she popped her head up with a frown, "What do you mean?"
"Training," he replied. "We're fighting Viper in a few days. You need to be on your A-game, Roundface. That means getting your quirk back to fighting strength."
She groaned, "It's late, Katsuki. I'm tired."
"That's shit losers say," he scolded and sat up, "now get the fuck up and put on some leggings or something. We're going for a run."
Her first instinct was to check the time, "It's almost eleven!"
"It's almost time for me to kick your ass if you don't get up," he responded harshly as he pulled himself off the bed. He went to the living room to grab his duffel and returned with a grouchy look, "If you'd kicked Pinky out of here earlier, then we would already be fucking done. Now get a move on, Roundface."
She mumbled to herself as she dragged herself off the bed and went to her closet. She changed into a sports bra and leggings, her tired body moving slowly with each movement. When she turned around, she found him frowning with arms crossed, "What?"
"The longer you take, the worse this workout is going to be," he replied.
"Fine," she rolled her eyes and slumped her way across the apartment to her door. She huffed defeatedly as she tied her shoes and watched as he did the same. He grabbed her apartment keys and led her outside, "You'll get these back," he held up the keys, "after you've run three miles."
"Three miles?" she balked.
"And you lift everything I find along the way."
She crossed her arms and pouted, "Now you're just being mean."
He scowled, "If you want Viper to kick your ass again, then be my guest." He twirled the keys around his finger before jamming them into his pocket, "But you'll be sleeping on the street until then."
"Screw you," she skewed her face at him.
He smirked, "That's our cooldown."
He didn't stay long enough to see her blush before he began jogging down the stairs to the street. She followed after him, sputtering about him being obscene, but he didn't pay her even a look before continuing his jog down the street. "Hurry your ass up, Roundface! I already see two park benches that need a good lift."
She picked up the pace to stay with him, ruefully placing her fingers on any object he pointed out and activating her quirk. Sometimes he'd make her run all the way to the end of the block before he'd allow her to release the items she'd accumulated. When they ran through a park, he'd challenged her to float every statue, bench, and garbage can he could find before making her activate it on herself. Her stomach rolled with each added item as she hovered in the air.
"You ain't shit yet, Roundface," he goaded as he stood in front of her with crossed arms. He glanced at the numerous items floating inches over the ground all over the park. He slowly walked a circle around her, "Viper's gonna eat you for breakfast if you don't step it up."
"I'm going to break up with you," she grumbled through haggard breaths.
He flashed her a devilish grin, "That's the kind of attitude you need more of."
"I'm serious," she rolled her eyes as her body slowly shifted upside down in the air.
He slowly walked up to her, the smirk on his lips turned menacing, "Oh yeah? Even when I do this?" He grabbed her wrist and flung her across the park. She squealed as she tumbled through the air, her stomach threatening to bring back her lunch.
"Come on," he scorned her before running up on her, "you have to be faster than that! You're about to have a showdown with one of the greatest fucking villains in all of Japan! Show me what you've got!"
She could feel the weight of everything she was balancing in her stomach but she knew that her boyfriend would make her run another mile if she relieved any of the pressure. Instead, she shifted her body so her foot touched down on the sidewalk before propelling herself upward again. She breezed over him, the bottom of her shoe barely tickling the hair on his head, before swivelling herself in the air.
"Sneaky," he teased before his hand shot up quickly to grab her ankle, "but not nearly good enough." He flung her back and she found herself hurtling toward the grass to his right. In a split moment decision, she pirouetted herself in the air and managed to land on one foot, skidding backward. The weight in her stomach made her stagger as she tried to focus on balance.
"Here I come," he shouted and before she could even react, he was in front of her. She read his attack the moment his right leg left the ground and she instinctively threw up her arms in a cross to block the kick. Her single foot dug into the grass to prevent her from flying away but once the force had left, she attacked. Her lightness from her quirk gave her speed, despite the feeling in her gut, and she dropped low at his side. His eyes followed her as he tried to slow his own momentum enough to turn on her and she knew that he saw what was coming.
Activating her quirk on him was easy enough. Hurling him down onto the grass was the hard part. He was more squirrely than she had anticipated so she simultaneously released her hold on everything, including both of them, so she could use her own weight to press his face into the grass. She expertly tangled his arms behind his back and settled her weight on his legs.
Then she didn't let him up.
"Roundface," the blonde growled after a full minute passed. He struggled against her grip.
Her chest was heaving from the strain of her quirk, "Not yet."
He was silent for a long moment and she could feel the tension building in his arms, "You just humiliated me and now you're going to gloat?"
"A little," she breathed but her hold on his wrists loosened a touch, "but mostly because I'm tired and need a break. You'll just put me back to work the second I let you up."
He shifted a little under her, "Fuck no. I'm going to make you pay for this."
She tightened her grip again before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "Then I guess we're staying like this."
"This was one-sided," he scowled at her as she pulled back. "And don't get cute with me. You're the only one using quirks here. We'll be paying the training gym a long ass visit tomorrow. I guarantee you won't find it so easy to pin me down there."
She yawned before she took her weight off him and sat on the ground beside him, "It would be fun to properly spar." She watched as he sat up, keeping his embarrassment out of her view. He rolled his shoulders and stood.
"Well don't just sit there," his voice wasn't quite as stern. "Start again."
In all, he made her lift every item in the park two more times. Then, he'd push her limits. Midnight came and went while she sweat and he yelled at her. She knew it was from a place of love, though. With the raid of the Mamushi headquarters looming in the near future, she wanted to be ready for it.
She'd been working on her quirk on her own time a lot but she hadn't pushed it quite so severely until tonight. It made her feel grateful to have someone like Bakugo in her life because she didn't realize she'd been going easy on herself until his constant barrage of insults mixed with inspiration helped her overcome the nervousness. She suspected that he knew it too.
He made her jog all the way back to the apartment, critiquing her form and speed the entire way. She couldn't help but wonder how he possibly had this much energy left in him considering the week they'd had She felt like she could fall asleep in motion.
"Fucking pick up the pace," the blonde scolded from behind her. "You better hustle your ass on the final stretch or we're doing it again."
"What?" she breathed in shock but bit back any other snarky words. She could see the stairs to her apartment now and she'd be damned if he made her turn around and run some more.
He clapped his hands from where he jogged behind her and quickened his pace to get by her side, "Feet up and out, Roundface. You look like a fucking ragdoll."
"I'm tired!" she whined between wheezing breaths.
"And I have all fucking night," he shot back, turning himself to jog backward. "See how fucking slow you're going?"
She gave him an irritated glare and picked up the pace as much as her body would allow. She agonizingly made it to the stairs, grabbing the railing and doubling over. She could barely lift her other arm enough to cling to the rail for balance.
"You're not done yet," he stopped beside her, jogging in place. When she turned a dismayed gaze at him, she found him looking up.
"I have to run up too?"
The frown he gave her answered that question. She groaned and stood upright, trying to hype herself up to take the stairs. She grabbed the railings on either side but before she could spend that last nugget of energy within herself, he spoke again.
"Two at a time, Roundface."
"I can't do that."
"Shut up and do it."
Somehow, she managed to do it. It was slow and painful, but her exhausted legs found the strength to carry her up both flights of stairs two at a time. When she reached her door, she nearly collapsed. The worst part about it all was his self-satisfied smirk.
She lamely lifted her arm to push him away, "You… you suck."
"At least I'm in shape," he teased and dug the keys out of his pocket, dangling them in the air. "Do you think you did enough to earn these back?"
She didn't even bother trying to grab for them, "I need water."
His smirk turned humorous, "Guilt-tripping isn't going to work on me, Ochaco. Answer the question."
She scoffed but it came out more like an exasperated wheeze, "If I didn't, I think I will have to make good on my threat to dump you."
His eyes glinted mischievously, "Well we still have a cooldown to do."
"We do?" her eyes widened in dismay before she remembered their conversation as they left. Despite how flushed her face was from the exercise, she still blushed, "K-Katsuki."
He twirled the keys, "After a shower, of course."
"We have work in the morning," she thought about their morning brief and dreaded the little sleep she would get.
"Cooldowns are important," he took a small step closer, pushing the key to her apartment into the lock. "It would be irresponsible to skip it. We'll be sore."
"I have a feeling I'm going to be sore no matter what," her voice dropped to a low tone as he slowly moved into her space, pushing her against her door frame. She could hear him turning the lock and the door popped open with a creak.
"I'm planning on it."
They stumbled into the apartment, leaving their sweaty clothes on the floor as they made their way to her shower in a mess of heated kisses and touching. He caught her as her knees knocked from exhaustion before using a blind hand to grapple with the shower handle. As the water warmed, he kissed down her neck and she ran her hands over his chest. She never tired of how firm his muscles felt under her fingers. She was entranced with the smooth skin and the subtle divisions between his abdomen. It never ceased to amaze her how healthy he was.
Just when she thought he'd push her into the shower, his mouth stopped its kisses and his breath hovered by her ear. There was a shift in his attitude and she tensed a little, unsure why he'd stopped.
"Ochaco…" he breathed as the bathroom filled with steam. "Fuck… I think I'm in love with you."
Her hands stopped their roaming and settled on his chest, "Hm?"
He pulled back from her neck to look down at her, his back pressed against the wall beside the shower, "I love you."
Her mouth dropped open a tiny bit as her gaze met his. Her fingers trembled against his skin as she took in the sober expression on his face. His hair had clearly been overworked that day, probably due to him running his hands through it repeatedly. His jaw was relaxed and the usual scrunch of his eyebrows had softened to something vulnerable. She found that one of her hands had slowly lifted to trace his cheekbone before sliding down the side of his face, "Katsuki…"
He leaned into her touch, angling his face down toward hers, "Ochaco."
"I think I love you too," she whispered before standing up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his tenderly.
The kiss lingered, neither of them eager to pull away or deepen it. The sound of the shower in the background kept the room from feeling silent as the gentle kiss ended and another began. It didn't feel rushed or urgent. It didn't feel painful or bittersweet. It wasn't like any of the other kisses that they'd ever had. It was just… wonderful.
His hands were careful on her hot skin as he slid them up her bare back and gently pulled her into him. She welcomed the embrace by tilting her head upward into the kiss. He held her like that for a while, softly and carefully capturing her lips.
"We should shower," he mumbled against her mouth. "You stink."
She laughed lightly before kissing him again. When she pulled back, she reached for his hand, "Well come on, then."
Ah sorry I'm late this week! I wasn't able to be at home last night to post it. My boyfriend and I are taking over my family's farm so we were busy with that yesterday.
Either way, it's a bit of a short chapter this week but it's only because next week, we'll be getting to the long-awaited parts! I'm soooo excited!
As always, you can find all my relevant info on twitter at onlycamefortaco. All my AO3 links are there and my Kofi link.
I'll see you all next Friday and I hope you're excited! I know I am :)
XOXO
