A/N: Chapter 13 is looking like it'll be the end-but we'll see how it goes.
Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA or any of its characters. Obviously.
Chapter Eleven: Closer
[Day Nineteen]
[Uraraka]
Uraraka wasn't sure if she'd been thrown into an alternate reality or if she was stuck in some everchanging, emotionally grueling dream. It felt like her life at UA had suddenly developed a dark sense of humor. She'd spent months practically pining after one of her best friends… but that anxious, almost nauseating euphoria that used to worm its way into her whole body whenever she was around Deku was gone. Completely absent. As if it had never existed in the first place. The admiration was still there, and she loved him—but not like that. It was the same way she loved Ilda or Tsu or her parents, for crying out loud! She wanted to comfort Deku when he was hurting but she didn't want to be his one and only shoulder to lean on, she didn't want to hug him to her chest or stroke his cheeks or pet his hair… she didn't want to hold him. Not like she'd wanted to hold Bakugou…
"I like you but not like… a friend, alright! I mean I fucking like you more than that!"
It had been… almost impossible to stop herself from tackling her explosive friend with the biggest bear hug she could manage. She'd wanted to. She'd really wanted to…
"But I didn't…" Uraraka placed her fingertips against her ceiling, cherishing the zero-gravity that consumed her. She'd woken up early to go for a morning run, but her racing thoughts had prevented her from getting out of bed. So, she resigned herself to floating around her dorm room instead.
Why didn't I?
Honestly, she didn't know. She didn't think there was one definitive answer. Overall though, she figured it came down to three key elements: embarrassment, fear, and disbelief.
Uraraka had never dealt with a confession before—she didn't know how to respond. He'd put her on the spot. Even if she'd been able to find her words before Aizawa had interrupted them, she had no idea what she might have said. She liked him too. She knew she did. But saying it out loud was… impossible. Right?
She shook her head. No. That was a terrible excuse. Bakugou had found the courage to say those words aloud. She'd seen it on his face: the indecision, the embarrassment, the red-tinted cheeks… He'd put it all out there. Loudly. Even if he'd been afraid, he didn't let it stop him.
And I didn't say anything…
She was torn between feeling like the biggest jerk who had ever lived and feeling like the worst friend to have ever walked the earth. Neither was preferable. Both would have been preventable if she hadn't run away…
In the moment, when he'd said it… there was a part of her that simply couldn't believe him. Because it was crazy enough that she liked him. The idea of him liking her back seemed impossible. That kind of thing didn't just happen. That stuff was reserved for adulthood or tv dramas or shoujo manga… not real life. Not her life. But… that wasn't fair to him. Bakugou could be mean and brash and even downright intolerable at times but he didn't often lie. And he wasn't the kind of person to lie about something like this. He didn't stand to gain anything from toying with her feelings. Unfortunately, this all made a lot more sense with hindsight. Uraraka had once again made the mistake she'd promised herself she wouldn't make again—she'd failed to see his vulnerability. Even when he shed his mask and laid it all out right in front of her. He'd shown her one of the most vulnerable pieces of himself and she had still failed to notice…
Uraraka frowned to herself.
That really raised an even more important question: why the heck did he like her, anyway? Bakugou didn't seem like the affectionate type… Because he wasn't. Not really. But he still told her how he felt…
Uraraka hid her face in her hands and groaned, wishing her quirk allowed her to rewind time. She wouldn't have to speculate or wonder or question a single thing if she had just said something—anything—when he'd confessed to her in the first place. Her cheeks burned under her palms. Confessed. Bakugou Katsuki had confessed to her. Her head was spinning. It still didn't feel real.
Focus, Ochako! She scolded herself, floating back down into her blankets before releasing her quirk. School was starting soon. She had to figure out what the heck was going on. She had to figure out what she was going to say. She wasn't sure if Bakugou would even be in class or not but if he was, she very well couldn't avoid him. Not that she wanted to… She just didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She didn't want him to think she wasn't interested, to a certain degree. At the very least, she owed it to him to be honest and to tell him she liked him back… like that. As… more than a friend. The way he liked her.
Oh my gosh… The heat in her cheeks spread through her entire body. This was no good. She couldn't keep herself focused or calm in the safety of her own room, how the heck was she supposed to go to school and act like everything was normal?
Uraraka knew she was dodging the most important part of all this. Beyond their mutual feelings… what was supposed to happen? They'd become friends during their short amount of time together, they were working on an assignment together as project partners, and they were going to take supplemental lessons together. What about… after? If they both liked each other did that mean they'd… date? She had no idea how all of this was supposed to work. She had never experienced any sort of romance that didn't revolve around fictional characters or blatantly one-sided feelings. According to tv dramas and the rules of anime, dating was required after confession… and it's not like she didn't like the idea. Of dating Bakugou…
Wait, would she still call him Bakugou? Or would he let her call him Katsuki?
Wide eyed and sufficiently embarrassed at her inner monologue, she decided to try it out and test the strength of her heart even further. Out loud.
It's just a name… She reminded herself, thumbing at the pads of her fingers, I can do this.
"… Katsuki."
Oh geez… if her faced burned any hotter, she'd set off the sprinkler system. Seriously. This was bad. There was no way, no possible way, she could bring herself to say it to his face. Nope. No, no, no. Using his first name without the Bakugou attached to it would be impossible. Bakugou would have to stay Bakugou. Although, now even that name sent her stupid heart into a frenzy… Better yet, maybe she should just call him Lord Explosion Murder. That moniker didn't inspire any butterflies or burning blush. Besides, she couldn't imagine him being jazzed about being called by his first name. Kirishima was arguably the closest one to him and he still used his last name…
She almost gasped—he wouldn't want to call her Ochako, would he? Some of her friends called her by her first name but… it would be different if someone else did—if Bakugou did. No, no, no, she shook her head at herself and finally made her way out of bed. She was getting way ahead of herself.
Eventually, Uraraka found herself downstairs in the common room with her friends, eating the hastily prepared breakfast she'd almost forgotten was her responsibility, still grossly underprepared for the school day. A quick glance around the room revealed that Bakugou was still absent. She wasn't sure if she was relieved that she had more time to mull over her thoughts or depressed that he was still hospitalized. Or both… definitely both.
She sighed—a huge mistake—and both Deku and Ilda looked up from their plates with concern obvious in their expressions. Damn her observant, intelligent friends…
"Uraraka, you need to finish your breakfast no matter how downtrodden you might feel!" Ilda's energy in the morning was always welcome and usually infectious. Today though, it made her feel worse. It reminded her that it was a new day and that meant it had been more than 24 hours since Bakugou had… confessed.
Uraraka wondered if thinking those words, strung together in that order, would ever not be bewildering.
"Ilda's right," Deku said, setting down his second bowl of rice, "Besides, now that Kacchan is back, your training is gonna be way more intense. You'll need the energy."
She choked. The concern on their faces heightened.
"Ahh—y-you're right!" Uraraka conceded, a little too loudly, shoveling the entirety of her eggs into her mouth in a few bites, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Now she was talking with her mouth full. Very inconspicuous. Kill me. Is it time to go yet?!
Her friends shared a glance but Deku spoke first, "I'm sure it'll be fine—ah, Kacchan, I mean. I've been worried about him too, but things will go back to normal with him pretty quick, I bet."
She blinked, annoyed at her obviousness. Of course, Deku immediately knew her demeanor was related to Bakugou. Time to deflect. She just nodded, "Oh, uh, sorry about breakfast, by the way! I woke up a little late, I didn't have time to make much."
This time Ilda spoke, one sharp eyebrow raised in curiosity, "Have you spoken to Bakugou yet? I assumed you went yesterday since he was allowed visitors."
"Hm? No! Oh… I mean, yeah, I did. H-he was all bandaged, but he seemed fine. I think? Um. We didn't talk though—well, I didn't. He talked. A bit… uh…"
"I like you but not like… a friend, alright! I mean I fucking like you more than that!"
Uraraka felt the heat on her face again. She was blowing it. She was beyond messing this up. It took all her restraint not to slap her hand over her mouth. So instead she moved onto her rice, barely bothering to chew as she shoved as much as she could manage into her mouth. She wasn't looking at them, but she saw their lingering looks in her periphery. Unfortunately for her, they weren't idiots. They knew something was going on and she wasn't sure if she had the energy to lie if either of them asked her outright. And she had to talk to Bakugou before she started spouting a whole bunch of stuff that he might not want everyone knowing.
Uraraka's only saving grace was the alarm that sounded on Ilda's phone, signaling that it was time for their departure. Thank goodness the class rep thrived on punctuality.
As the school day drew to a close, Uraraka's classmates made their way to the gym to work on their assignment. Aizawa had informed her that Bakugou was out of the hospital but he wouldn't be able to participate until tomorrow, which meant that she was down for the count too. According to her teacher, Bakugou had been escorted back to the dorms before class was dismissed. He suggested that she check on him once more and discuss their project before their classmates returned, which she had heartily agreed to in the moment.
Now though, she was walking as slowly as she could back to the dorms. Bakugou was there. Alone. And she had to talk to him—she wanted to talk to him. But her nerves were on fire and her she swore that she could barely feel her legs. Why on earth was this so difficult? He'd already said the words. He'd taken the first step, the harder step… which meant that all she had to do was repeat the words back to him, right? There shouldn't be any fear of rejection, so why was she so, so nauseatingly nervous?! If she knew that he liked her then it should be super easy to walk in and stroll right up to him and tell him that she liked him too!
Uraraka gulped and stared at the entrance to the dorms for a little too long. Her eyes were glued to the door, but her feet refused to move. Maybe she wasn't cut out for all of this? Maybe she'd somehow misunderstood Bakugou's words? What if he changed his mind when she'd run away yesterday? What if he hated her now? Or maybe he'd been tired and delirious, and he didn't remember? He had just woken up from a drug-induced slumber. Maybe he didn't mean to say anything at all or… or maybe she'd imagined the whole thing? Excuses swirled through her head, tangling themselves together until even she knew she was being ridiculous. She could only sigh and stare a hole through the door.
Any resolve she might have had crumbled as her brain searched for any reason to avoid going inside. She squeezed her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists. She had to do this… right? She couldn't just go inside and pretend like nothing had happened. That wasn't fair to Bakugou and it wasn't fair to her heart. Was this what romance was supposed to be? Hesitation, indecision, and embarrassment all rolled up into one frustrating emotion?
"That's your strength, Uraraka. Your selflessness. Your heart. That's what makes you a hero."
Right. She thought, clenching her fists tighter. I'm gonna be a hero! Heroes didn't back away from a challenge! This was not exactly the challenge she'd been expecting to face so early on in her life but running away wasn't an option. She murmured a silent thank you to All Might and opened her eyes with renewed determination—
But the door was already open. Bakugou was leaning on the door frame, arms crossed, cardinal eyes appraising her face under a quirked eyebrow and familiar glower. He looked different somehow—had his hair always framed his face like that? Barely covering his eyes, hovering just perfectly at his brow… her stomach flipped, and she cursed herself. Thinking Bakugou was cute was just asking to get blown up.
Uraraka wiped her suddenly sweaty hands along her skirt and tore her eyes away.
Romance is stupid.
"Baku—"
"I was worried I might have to take you to the hospital if you didn't move soon, Round-face."
Uraraka tried to laugh but it came out more like a squeak, "Sorry…" She murmured, tucking her hair behind her ears.
He didn't respond right away, just stepped out of the way to let her inside.
It was hard to look at him now.
Bakugou closed the door behind her as she stepped through the threshold and then stalked past her, toward the kitchen. He was still wearing the majority of the bandages. His forearms and hands were still wrapped neatly and the square bandage on his forehead was still there, peeking through his spiky hair that fell onto his forehead. Uraraka remembered the feeling of it under her thumb. She smiled as she watched him disappear around the corner. She was nervous as hell, sure, but it felt so nice having him back in the dorms. Things were different now, but somehow it felt better than normal.
She had to tell him…
Uraraka made her way through the common room more timidly than she'd intended and peered into the kitchen where her explosive friend was brewing tea. Two mugs were on the counter next to him. She felt her smile widen.
Before she could open her mouth to speak, Bakugou beat her to it.
"Sit down, Round-face. There's tea," He called over his shoulder. Uraraka swore his ears were as red as his eyes.
He emerged from the kitchen with both cups as Uraraka sat at the table. He was talking again before he even set the drinks down.
"You remember a while back?" He grumbled, sitting across from her, "When you came into my room? When you woke me up…"
Uraraka nodded, unsure where he was going with his questioning, "From the dream?" She asked carefully, wrapping her hands around the warm mug.
"Nightmare." He corrected her, glaring into his tea.
"I remember…"
Bakugou sighed and the furrow in his brow deepened, "I kept dreaming about the fucking League," His voice was strained, "Every god damn night. It was fucking stupid. You know, they wanted me to join them," His mouth twisted in disgust and Uraraka almost stopped breathing as realization dawned on her—
Bakugou wanted to share this with her. He'd brought it up, completely unwarranted. Uraraka had told herself that she would never ask because she knew he had a tendency to mistake concern for pity but… now he was telling her willingly, and her heart ached. At his actions and his words. He was choosing vulnerability with her again… It was hard not to feel overwhelmingly special as she watched him struggle to pick the right words and push them out, no matter how uncomfortable it made him. Bakugou only did the things he wanted to do—if he could help it—which meant that telling her this was important to him.
"Obviously I told them to eat shit and die," He said with a shrug, "But it just kept fucking with me—which is pathetic as fuck, because I'm gonna be the number one hero, not some shitty villain."
Uraraka smiled slightly and murmured, "Obviously."
He finally looked up at her, eyes wide for a split second, before that signature grin tugged at his face, "You're damn right."
She sipped at her tea and waited for him to continue.
"I don't fucking know if you just kept distracting me or what," He bristled, turning his narrowed gaze back to his drink, "But… they stopped. Mostly. The nightmares, the shitty fucking voices…"
She frowned. This was new. It was… serious. She'd known that he was going through something but what he was describing sounded like torment. It took more effort than she'd expected to find her own voice again, "Voices?"
Bakugou nodded, "That fucking hands-guy. It was his voice. I just kept fucking thinking that if those assholes thought I was like them, then… everyone would fucking think like that eventually," He scoffed and she wasn't sure if it was directed at the villains or at himself, "But you wouldn't fucking leave me alone. You kept talking to me and pissing me off and listening to all the shit I kept saying. Like I was your fucking coach or something… It was distracting and fucking fun and…" Somehow, Bakugou managed to furrow his brow even more. Blush bloomed on his cheeks, softening his expression as he jerked his head to the side, "… Thanks."
Uraraka wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. It didn't feel right to say "you're welcome" because she hadn't done anything on purpose—everything she'd done, she'd technically done for herself. She had tried forcing her friendship with Bakugou because she thought it was the only way they'd be able to cooperate on their project… at first, she'd only wanted a way for the two of them to see eye to eye. But saying that to him wasn't quite right either. Bakugou knew she hadn't befriended him with the intent to help him deal with trauma and guilt. But he'd still thanked her anyway, so… maybe it didn't matter why all of this had started in the first place. Maybe all that mattered was that it had worked out this way.
She smiled, "You don't have to thank me, dummy," She kept her voice as even as she could manage and ignored the tears that burned her eyes, threatening to overflow at any moment, "I'm… just happy I could help somehow."
Bakugou laughed, something akin to a smile on his bandaged face, and rolled his eyes, "Do you ever stop fucking crying, Round-face?"
"Hey!" She huffed, crossing her arms and shooting him a sharp look through blurry eyes, "You're ruining a beautiful moment, you know! I'm happy you're telling me this kind of stuff… Excuse me for being emotional about something special!"
He was quiet for a minute, like he was trying to think of what to say—she could see it in his face. He was remembering the last time they spoke. His confession. The way she had run away... He was hesitating. Bakugou didn't often hesitate. He was staring at his tea again, his embarrassment tinting his cheeks and ears, bottom lip protruding just enough to look like he was pouting. It set her heart racing and she had to wipe her clammy hands on her skirt again. Had… he always been cute? Or was this something new? If the situation wasn't sufficiently awkward enough already, she might have laughed.
Right… Uraraka smiled to herself, she had almost forgotten why she'd been so nervous to talk to him in the first place. Now she was supposed to tell him how she felt.
"Uraraka," His voice came out surprisingly stern before she could think of how to begin. She almost jumped at the sudden seriousness in his tone, "Tell me about Deku."
She blinked, "What? What about Deku?"
His eyes narrowed like his patience was already thin and realization hit her like a truck—
"Now, go running back to that damn nerd that you love so much, and get away from me!"
"Oh," Uraraka frowned. She wasn't sure whether or not she should feel annoyed that Bakugou was on that train of thought, or embarrassed that he might be jealous… She'd come to the conclusion that she did love Deku. But she wasn't in love with him. She looked up to him just like she looked up to all her favorite heroes, she admired him, and she hoped to be as strong as he was one day but… she couldn't bring herself to think about him beyond that friends sort of way. She wasn't sure what had changed, but she wasn't sure Bakugou would like that answer. She wasn't sure if he'd accept it. But that was the only explanation she had. She'd figured out how to untangle the Deku mess in her head; it was the knot Bakugou had tied under her chest that was causing her turmoil these days, "He's my friend, and I really admire him," She finally said carefully, unsure how she was supposed to explain it all, "I think everyone's gotten the wrong idea, actually…"
Bakugou was staring. Studying. His cardinal eyes unreadable. He leaned forward on the table, holding his chin in his palm, and gave her a smile that made her frown deepen—it was so fake. It was sad. Defeated. Her chest tightened. The look on his face and his silence suggested he accepted her words for what they were, but his stupid fake smile gave him away. He didn't believe her. That's not fair. He might not say it aloud, but she saw it and suddenly she was fuming. Bakugou acted all smart and mighty all the time but the truth of it was that he was a giant idiot! He actually was stupid!
Uraraka slammed both of her hands on the table between them, ignoring the rattling of the mugs and his annoyed expression, "I don't like Deku, idiot! Maybe I did before… I don't know! But you asked me today and my answer is no. Deku means a lot to me—but not like that!" She took a deep breath, hoping that her frustration might get through to him, but his expression suggested otherwise. "Don't give me that look!"
He wasn't smiling anymore— good. She didn't want to see any of those fake expressions on his face. She'd rather have a pissed off Bakugou any day of the week than whatever one had been looking at her a moment ago.
They were sitting eye to eye but his glower was intimidating enough to make her feel half his size, "You should see yourself around that shitty mop," He growled but his voice was missing the obvious anger he might have shown a few short weeks ago. The tone was different now—it was indecisive. Unsure. He was upset, but it wasn't rage right under the surface. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she had a few guesses.
This was getting stupid. She'd given him a straight answer about Deku but he was just sitting there all jealous and grumpy, "If you weren't gonna believe me, why'd you even ask?" Her voice was practically a shout as she stood from her chair, "It's like you don't want to believe me!"
"Because!" He shouted back, rising to his feet, "Because I-I fucking spilled my guts yesterday like an asshole and you ran away from me!" Bakugou's voice trailed off towards the end. He hadn't bothered to hide the hurt this time around, "I don't even know what the fuck I want you to say…"
Uraraka stared at him. Guilt swelled in her heart, weighing her shoulders down. Why was it so hard to just say what he had already said? There was no fear of rejection—so what the heck was she so afraid of?
"Alright listen up—" Bakugou growled above her, renewed resolve heavy in his voice, "I'm only gonna say this shit one more time. I really fucking like you, alright? Don't ask me why, because I don't fucking get any of this shit, but… If you're gonna reject me, then get it over with already," His cheeks might have been even redder than his eyes at this point but his voice never faltered, "Shit can just go back to whatever the hell it was before, if that's what you want."
Uraraka's whole body felt light, like she'd activated her quirk at some point, but her feet were still planted firmly on the ground. She could feel herself smiling like a fool. She wondered what he thought of that. Bakugou Katsuki was like a walking contradiction. He was practically demanding an answer out of her, but he was still being considerate. Or, at least, Bakugou's version of considerate. Even though she'd retreated from his first confession, he was still giving her an out if she wanted it… she didn't, but it was uncharacteristically… mature?
"You know," Uraraka wasn't sure why, but her words came to her easily now and she laughed once, mostly at herself, "I don't really want stuff to go back to how it was before…"
Bakugou's brow furrowed, like he was trying to decipher her words, and she pushed herself onward despite the shakiness of her hands and the heat in her chest.
"Because I… like you too, you know…" She gulped and cast her eyes downward, back to her untouched cup of tea. It felt silly, honestly. The nervousness. He'd gone and confessed first, opened himself up for rejection, and put every single one of his cards on the table. Returning his feelings should be easy in comparison to what he'd done… but she'd never told anyone that she'd liked them before. This was a first. And it was an absolutely mortifying first. But Bakugou had become someone she never had to hold her tongue around, someone who she could always be her genuine self around—and not only had he accepted it, albeit begrudgingly at first, but he liked it. He liked her. He'd said so.
"Oh."
Uraraka practically choked on her own laughter and lifted her gaze to look back at her project-partner. Bakugou was standing there, still as stone, fingers outstretched like he wasn't sure what to do with his hands. He was surprised—eyes wider than she'd ever seen them, frozen in unadulterated shock.
"You're… surprised?" She managed between undeserved fits of giggles, almost doubling over when he finally seemed to realize she was laughing at him, and his expression immediately morphed into a defensive scowl. She might have found it intimidating a few weeks ago—but the embarrassment on his cheeks was the furthest thing from. It made her laugh harder.
"Shut up, Round-face! You got a death wish or something?!"
Uraraka grinned wider than she thought possible, wondering if the weirdly light, almost nauseating feeling in her stomach would ever cease. It was distracting enough that she almost forgot about all the things that were supposed to come after this part.
Almost.
But once again, before she could even open her mouth, Bakugou beat her to the punch like he could read her mind.
"I, uh… don't really know what the hell we're supposed to do now…" He looked uncharacteristically bashful, so much so that she almost started laughing again. Bakugou didn't say it aloud, but the look on his face positively screamed: I didn't think I'd get this far.
Uraraka shifted on her heels; she had no idea either. The only reference she had was tv dramas, or cutesy manga—and they all led to the same outcome no matter what had happened on the route to get there… The characters starting dating. Which often opened up an entirely new set of problems before the characters either got their happy endings or ended up breaking it off.
Uraraka pursed her lips and glanced over at Bakugou, who was half-glowering at her, probably because of her stretching silence. The redness on his face had settled a bit, but his ears were still bright where they peeked out from under his unruly hair…
Would it be weird to date Bakugou? It would definitely be… different. But if neither of them had experience in that area, then couldn't they make up their own rules on the matter? Things wouldn't have to change if they didn't want them to… right? She certainly didn't want Bakugou to act any different just because he liked her. And she would bet the entirety of her meager savings account that he wouldn't want her to transform into some lovey-girlfriend-type.
Uraraka couldn't help but imagine the two of them, as they were now, just maybe a little bit… closer? That wouldn't be very different… just different enough. And it would be stupid to deny just how aware of him she'd become over the past few weeks, especially since the confession, especially today. She swallowed hard at the thought—that would be fine, right? Not weirdly different enough to throw Bakugou off or drive him away. She often flip-flopped on exactly what it was that she wanted out of her life but… If Uraraka knew anything about what she wanted right now, in this moment… it was Bakugou…
Uraraka cleared her throat. Bakugou had taken the hardest steps and told her how he felt first, so now it was her responsibility to take some initiative.
Sound confident, she reminded herself, "People usually, um, date… if they both like each other, you know? Uh, if they both want to… I guess…"
It took all her energy to resist slapping herself in the face. Very confident, she scolded.
The heat was back on her face in an instant—holy hell, this kind of thing was difficult… How did Bakugou ever find the strength to straight up confess? His lack of a response now though, felt like a kick to the gut. Was he thinking it over? Honestly, it felt kind of weird. Were there people out there who confessed to the person they liked without the intention of dating them afterward? Was… that what he had done? From his response to her reciprocation of feelings earlier, maybe he honestly hadn't thought that she might like him back. If that was the case, maybe he really had no intention of dating her…?
No. Uraraka scolded herself again. She was getting carried away by her own thoughts, overthinking things to the extreme without regard for whatever Bakugou was thinking. She'd been unfair enough to his feelings. There was no reason to be afraid—no, not just that, Uraraka refused to be afraid. This was the time to put all her cards on the table. She knew what she wanted. And he deserved her unfiltered, unchecked feelings, just like he'd given her.
Say it, Ochako!
Uraraka groaned and made her way to Bakugou's side of the table, slapping both of her burning cheeks before looking up to meet his wide eyes, and freshly reddened face. This was it. All the cards needed to get put onto the table—no more dancing around how she felt, no more hiding from rejection. Uraraka stood up as straight as she could manage and even though she was the one that closed the distance between them, it was hard not to stammer at their newfound proximity. "What I mean is… d-date me!" She practically shouted, only slightly louder than the frantic heartbeat hammering under her chest, "Date me, Bakugou… K-Katsuki!"
"W-what the fuck, Uraraka…"
She only caught a glimpse of the embarrassment on his face as it reached historic proportions before his bandaged hand snapped between them to cover her eyes and shield himself from her gaze. It was impossible to fight the grin she felt pulling at her lips—catching Bakugou off guard might be her new favorite pastime.
"You're so fucking weird." He let out a heavy sigh, like he was at his wit's end, but she could hear the smile in his voice—he had no intention of turning her down.
Uraraka shrugged but didn't shake his hand from her face. She grinned wider.
"Stop smiling like that. You're creeping me out."
She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see it, "Do you… need me to ask again?" She offered.
"When the hell did you get so fucking cheeky—"
"Ba-ku-gou—," She stretched out each syllable, wondering how annoying she could be before he finally acknowledged her proposal or got honestly irritated, "If you're gonna reject me, then get it over with already!"
"Fine," His voice was a growl, closer than it had been before, but he didn't remove his hand from her eyes, "Ask one more time."
Uraraka felt her resolve crack the tiniest bit at his tone and her blindness to the situation. A few days ago, she probably wouldn't have thought much of it, but now her imagination threatened to run wild. With a gulp, she tried steeling herself, but she knew she was going to sound exponentially less confident than the first time she'd said it, "D-date me, Bakugou Katsuki…?"
It had been a statement before, belted out in overwhelming false confidence, but this time she truly asked. Mostly because this time she could feel Bakugou's fingertips pressed gently against her face, and the explosive boy was somewhere in the darkness in front of her, with some weird, mischievous tone to his voice. What was he planning? Was he gonna try to kiss her or something—
Uraraka nearly slapped her project partner's hand away the instant the thought crossed her mind. But she couldn't feel her hands as the nervousness overtook her body. Moving would be impossible at the moment. There… there was no way, right? She had just been telling herself not too long ago that Bakugou wasn't the affectionate type, so… why on earth would she think he'd try to kiss her? He hadn't even told her outright if he wanted to date her yet—kissing was out of the question!
Still, it felt like every nerve ending in her body was on high alert as her blush pooled in her cheeks at her unruly imagination. She was acutely aware of his touch and of his weight shifting somewhere in the blackness, but she practically jumped out of her own skin when she felt the unmistakable sharpness of his spikey hair brush against her brow before he pressed his forehead squarely to hers, and finally spoke.
"You're fucking weird, Uraraka," Bakugou's voice was closer than it had ever been before; she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. She was certain the blood that had gathered in her face from this unforeseen turn of events would burn him any moment now.
"I-is that a yes, or…?" She breathed, wondering if it was possible to have a heart attack from sheer embarrassment, as his nose brushed against hers.
"O-obviously, it's a fucking yes, idiot," He seethed, albeit quietly, "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to interrupt people?"
Uraraka laughed, "That's rich coming from you, you know."
Some mixture of relief and joy flooded through her, heightening the warmth in her stomach—how very Bakugou of him. Uraraka found herself grinning again, and she leaned against his forehead. She wondered how close the rest of him was… if she reached out, would she catch him? This meant they were… dating now, right? Uraraka couldn't tell if she was giddy or absolutely mortified at the prospect, but she tried not to let the absurdity of that overwhelm her for now. There was still the matter of their closeness to tackle… it was nice. It was super freaking embarrassing, but something about it felt right… and she couldn't help but wonder what they might look like from the outside, or what someone might think if they walked into the common room right now. They were technically dating now so… maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he—
Bakugou cleared his throat and took one large step back so quickly that Uraraka really thought that he might have heard her thoughts—at least until she heard the front door clicking open, accompanied by the loud voices of their classmates as they began filing into the dorm.
Suddenly, panic overrode all the other emotions Uraraka had been floating on up until now and smothered her remaining euphoria. Bakugou was redder than a tomato—she assumed she didn't look much better either. They might have confessed to each other and agreed on the whole dating thing, but neither of them had set any ground rules. Perhaps the most important one being whether or not they were telling their classmates…
Oh my god… Uraraka's eyes widened as realization truly dawned on her. She glanced over at the profile of her project partner, turned friend, turned boyfriend, as he picked up their practically untouched cups of tea and stalked into the kitchen before their classmates could make their way to them.
It didn't feel real. If it weren't for the warmth on her forehead, and the tingling his fingertips had left behind on her face, she probably would have thought she was dreaming.
I'm dating Bakugou Katsuki…