Heyy almost in time for thanksgiving? I'm grateful I'm here lol.
Disclaimer in first chapter
Chapter 24
"Hey Natsuo~ check it out, how does it look? I'd say they suit me, dontcha think?" Touya splayed his hand out in front of him showing off his black painted nails.
Natsuo was taken aback, since as a guy he'd never considered nail polish, but Touya had a point. They really did suit him. "Yeah…they look good. Did Fuyumi do them?"
"Yeah." The ravenette told. They were still at home, staying the night after their mom returned from the hospital. "How's your fever?"
"Much better. I feel a little sluggish but nothing note-worthy."
"That's good." The elder watch Natsu sit beside him on the couch, very close, their fingers automatically finding each other. They sat in each other's comfort for a short minute before Fuyumi walked into the room. The brothers detached their hands immediately and began looking away.
"Hey, I put all of mom's meds in the lower cabinets if you ever need—huh, what are you guys doing?" Fuyumi posed as she found them awkwardly silently sitting on the couch not doing anything in particular.
"Nothing, just chilling. Okay, got it. Lower cabinet you said." Natsuo copied.
"Um…Kacchan…what's the meaning of this?" Deku quivered against the wall.
"Just answer the question." Bakugo loomed over, one hand on the wall.
"You're asking me…how to impress someone?" Deku reiterated. The blond dead serious gaze was enough answer. The green haired teen was puzzled in more ways than one. 'Impress? What exactly was the subtext? Who exactly—this is Bakugo they were talking about after all!' "Um…be yourself, maybe?"
"Don't gimme that bullshit! If that'd work, ya think I'd be asking your nerd-ass?!" The blond roared.
Deku flinched at the harsh tone. "Okay… then how do you want to impress them? Like as a role model? A crush? It could mean different things…"
Then Bakugo did something that Midoriya never thought he'd see his friend do in a million centuries. The blond averted his gaze, with a very mild blush dusting his cheeks. "The latter…" He mumbled. The green haired teen blinked in astonishment, taking a minute to believe this was really happening. He was seconds away from bombarding his spiteful loud-mouthed childhood friend all types of questions but barely stopped himself. Deku pursed his lips and took a deep breath in.
"Okay I understand. In that case, you have to be gentle. Maybe try doing something nice for them. Oh! Like cooking for them? Or buying them a gift?" Deku tried.
'Cook for him? But between the two of them, Shoto was probably better at that, if their previous trip was any indication.' The blond thought. 'But then again, what am I supposed to buy him? I dunno what he likes…' Bakugo grunted before another presence graced itself. The teens turned to find Shoto blatantly staring at them, in their compromised position. To any outsider, it would seem like Bakugo was cornering Deku in an aggressive manga-style kabe-don confession.
"Oh. Don't mind me." The dual haired held out a passive hand when he met eyes with them. The teen began to circle around them and walk away. 'Were those two like that? Since when? They are childhood friends after all, so they'd know each other more than anyone but Bakugo towards Midoriya-kun…?' Shoto inevitably thought, having a difficult time believing that.
Bakugo froze with a gawk. "H-Hold it! Shit—it's not what it looks like!" The blond swung around and grabbed Shoto's elbow tightly.
Shoto feigned ignorance as he looked back at him. "Like what?"
"Ughh, forget it! Anyways come to me house tomorrow!" The blond practically ordered.
"P-pardon?" Now that was abrupt even for Shoto. Why all of a sudden?
"Just be there!" It may not seem so, but even that invitation took a lot of effort out pf Bakugo as he stomped away, fighting any awkwardness he felt.
"But wait Bakugo—" The dual haired called out once but was cut off.
"I'm not taking no for an answer!"
"No, it's just that…I have no idea where you live." Shoto stated in matter of fact way.
"Ah." The blond calmed down. "I'll…text you later."
Meanwhile Deku, who was now fully forgotten, obtained answers to a lot of his questions just from that observation. It did explain Bakugo's unusual unpredictable attitude towards Shoto. That's when he noticed Shoto secretly smile, looking amused.
'He actually tried to explain himself and was so flustered that I'd misunderstand. How cute.' The dual haired mused. 'But what's with the invitation?'
Next morning, it was the weekend, Shoto dressed casually and stopped by Bakugo's home as promised—or as forced. He cleated his throat and made the effort to ring the bell.
'What was this? Why was he feeling nervous? It was just Bakugo.' But then again, things had been weird between them lately. 'And now it was going to be just the two of them. Why didn't he fabricate some excuse?' The teen dwelled until the door swung open.
"Yo—" The blond was right in his face as he opened the door. He dressed extra casually in a t-shirt and shorts but they looked new. "Come in," He guided.
"Pardon the intrusion." The dual haired entered and right off the bat noticed an empty house. "Your parents aren't home?"
"Dad's at work, mom went somewhere."
"I see…"
"Just sit down anywhere."
"Sure." Shoto carefully sat down on the couch, taking a look around the place. It looked like every household ever, a few things here and there out of place, clustered material on shelves, photo albums, the usual stuff. It certainly wasn't as ordered and pristine as their own place. Growing up, everything had to be perfectly aligned, no extra articles, no mess—cold spacious corners. Well, isn't he glad they moved and weren't under their dad's living conditions anymore.
CLANK!
"Aw fxck!" A loud exclaim from the kitchen snapped him out of his introspection.
'What was going on in there? Was he possibly cooking or fixing something for him? No way.' Bakugo never failed to surprise him. Suddenly there was also dark smoke coming from the kitchen door and Shoto immediately got up and walked towards it. "hey Bakugo, are you ok—er—what are you—?!" The dual haired entered into a crime scene. The frying pan the blond was holding was burnt to a crisp and the fire underneath was much stronger than needed to be. "The fire is too high, you need to turn it off or else the alarm is going to go off—" Too late. The smoke detector began beeping like crazy as the smoke pooled the ceilings.
"Fxck sake—shut up!" Bakugo yelled at the damn detector.
'As if that would shut it up.' The dual haired stepped in and used his right side quirk to ice the stove, including the fire and frying pan and whatever charcoal the teen was cooking. He then also turned the stove fully off to avoid gas from leaking. "What were you trying to do?" Shoto directed at him in a tone that was akin to questioning a child.
"Che, shut up. What does it look like?" Bakugo frowned, plan completely backfiring.
"Setting the house on fire."
"Ugh you're annoyi—" 'Be gentle. Try doing something nice for them.' Conveniently, Deku's words echoed in his head. "Nothing." Shoto only gazed at him with mild confusion. "I was just tryna make breakfast." The blond barely managed to croak out, scratching the back of his spiky hair.
Shoto stared at him following a blink. "For me?"
"Who else, genius?"
The dual haired teen felt his chest grow warmer, sinking into his soul. "I see…" he averted his gaze shyly, processing the gesture. "Then why don't I help you? Something tells me you still have a long way to go. I can show you like last time…" Truthfully the teen didn't even know how to react or what to say, he was just going with the flow. But it didn't seem that the other minded, who uncharacteristically agreed.
The next minute, the teens worked together and cleaned the kitchen up, before they opened up a new recipe on one of their phones and began splitting the work. "It says to keep it on medium heat, which makes sense if you want to cook it thoroughly." Shoto told as he moved the eggs around in the pan.
"Tsk."
"What?" The dual haired teen turned towards the other, not comprehending the small act of irritation.
"You're good at everything." The blond naturally let out. Shoto stared at him wide eyed before looking back at the pan with a mild blush.
"We all have room for improvement."
"That sounds like somethin' you'd say." The blond grinned, and for some reason Shoto couldn't look away.
"So what do you have planned for the day?" Shoto posed after they finished breakfast. It was quite satisfying and peaceful despite knowing the blond's nature, he was very well behaved as they ate. The dual haired was impressed to say the least.
"We're going."
"Going? where?"
"On water." Bakugo did some research, went through lists of activities to choose from and something he could tolerate but at the same time not be too overwhelming for the refined dual haired. Man. He would never put so much thought or effort into anything else—unless it was training. Heck, he didn't even know he had it in him.
"… what?" Shoto wasn't a huge fan of these riddles.
"Just trust me. Let's go. We gotta take the stupid bus for this."
"If you want, I can call my driver."
"Goddamn you." The blond enviously exuded. Some people were just dealt with a better hand. Despite his spite, he'd still prefer the personal driver over public transport and dealing with people. "Fine, call him up right now."
Shoto obliged and gave the driver a call. They got in when he arrived and Bakugo gave him the location. The chauffeur dropped them off at said location, by the sandy shore. They walked down the wooden plank to a speedboat waiting for them at the end. The dual haired felt like a toddler, curious and in wonder as every minute passed by and every step he took.
"Hey there! Wow, you guys are younger than I thought. First time?" The man who would be driving the speed boat was standing at the edge of it and waved towards them.
"Yeah, I'll go first." The blond claimed.
"Wait, what is going on?" Shoto looked back and forth between them. Man was Bakugo terrible at communication but when was that new?
"Well of course—" The man began.
"—Wakeboarding." Both the man and the blond said in unison.
"Huh?"
"Just watch me." Bakugo settled on the wake-board first, grabbing on to the ropes and prepared to jump in the moment that engine fired. He looked chipper, like he was ready to show off but it was his first time as well.
"Are you sure about this?" Shoto certainly wasn't.
"Hell yeah. Don't be chicken, half and half." He mocked. 'Fxck, gentle, gentle, gotta be nice.' The blond had to constantly remind himself.
Before Shoto could respond, the man chirped. "Alright ready? Taking off in 3, 2, 1—!" The engine roared loaded and water beneath them split in two while the blond hopped into the water, gripping the ropes that dragged him in straight line. The blond woo'ed once he stabilized himself. This was a lot more fun than he thought. Adrenaline was more his thing anyway.
Even from the docks, Shoto could tell the other was having a jolly time, he was all open mouthed smiles as he surfed across the lake. 'Yea seems like something he would be into.' Shoto scoffed a smile. Something came over him and he pulled out his phone to take some pictures of the blond. It would be fun to show him later or submit them to the yearbook. Though he'd probably be killed by the other if he executed the later.
Eventually it was Shoto's turn, who was skeptical initially but Bakugo was staring at him so intently, pretty much waiting to see him get on and surf. Shoto buckled on, trying to think of it as a change of scenery. As soon as Shoto was yanked onto the water and the speed spiked, he understood exactly why the blond was elated. The wind crashed around him without any breaks, it felt like he was flying, and at the same time the water splashed and sparkled beside him creating a beautiful serene visual. Across the horizon, the sun burned a hole in water, a glowing blinding ball of gold reflected on the rippling water as he soared through it all. The dual haired forgot all about his surroundings, the plank, the blond, his missions and everything that led up to that point, until he arrived back at the dock.
"How…did I do?" Shoto mouthed for the sake of saying something because Bakugo's transfixed stare was making him self-conscious.
Bakugo blinked out of his trance and looked back at the boat. "…I probably did better…"
"Hmph. Of course you'd think that." Shoto scoffed.
'Ah shit—did he mess up again? He really couldn't keep up with the whole 'be nice,' could he?' Bakugo wanted to facepalm.
"Are you sure that was your first time? You were practically flying out there." Shoto amused, not offended at all as they walked backwards towards the city. Relief washed over the blond's soul when Shoto didn't take it the wrong way.
"Hmph." The blond raised his chin with pride. "It was a piece o' cake. I was holdin' back."
The dual haired teen chuckled internally. 'He is so easy.' "I don't think I've ever been to this part of town. Should we explore some? Maybe we can even eat out for lunch."
"Mh." The blond concurred. The two walked around the brick streets, passing by the shopping district, arcades, silently walking side by side. Neither of them had anything to say, both of them polar opposites, yet they were able to feel comfortable in each other's company walking by themselves like this.
'I forgot we'd still have the whole day after that—like that one thing was gonna be enough. Dammit.' The blond mentally cursed himself. He couldn't come up with anything to say either. He groaned. 'What if he wants to go back home now?'
The dual haired glanced at the other when he noticed the sudden frustration. Shoto was dense sometimes, he couldn't decipher certain emotional cues so he was afraid Bakugo wasn't enjoying the time. He also noticed that Bakugo, who wouldn't hesitate to be blunt was actually holding himself back from complaining or ranting about whatever was irritating him.
"Uh…Bakugo?"
"What?!" The blond exclaimed frantically before the other could even finish as if he knew what Shoto would say.
Startled Shoto continued. "Is there…something going on?"
"What'd ya mean?"
"Well, you planned a day for us—only the two of us—and it seems you put a lot of effort too, if the cooking was any indication. There has to be a reason you're doing all this? Otherwise, its very uncharacteristic."
Bakugo looked guilty as charged. 'Dammit the half n half was socially dense but logically sharp at times like this.' "Mh…" 'But how should he answer?' "'s nothing." 'Of course he'd take the dumbass route.'
"Are you sure? Wait, it can't be—is this a bribe?"
"What the fxck! Who wants 't bribe ya?!" the blond was instinctively back in his usual loud mode.
"Then which is it?"
"Agh—fine! Maybe I got some ulterior motives."
'Ulterior motives?' Shoto could only wonder.
Bakugo's heart slowly began to hammer, nerves twisting his stomach the more he thought about his feelings. He couldn't hold himself back anymore and his impatience was getting the better of him. "We're going back home!" He declared.
"Okay…?" The dual haired could honestly only follow along when Bakugo demanded so eagerly like that. "I'll call the driver then." Bakugo was stomping away when he abruptly halted.
'Right. They had to wait for the car. Totally killed the vibe.'
Shoto's stomach did a mini-flip when Bakugo grabbed his wrist on his own accord as soon as they exited the car doors and entered the house. No one was still home and things appeared just as they left them but that hardly mattered when the blond was in a rush to get him to his room.
Bakugo slammed the door and gripped both the other's shoulders tightly. The dual haired stared at him in bewilderment unsure where this was going, but nonetheless an inevitable blush creeping on his face. It took the blond a good eternity before he could just spat something.
"I don't want you looking anywhere else!" Was what he settled with.
"What? I'm not…" Shoto meekly replied.
"No…I mean look at me! NO—shit why is this shit so hard?!"
"Bakugo—?"
However, before the teen could finish the blond smacked his lips on to the other teen's. Shoto mismatched eyes widened as all he could see where the blond's lashes and feel dry lips forcefully against his. His heart skipped a pulse as he stood there frozen in place. Bakugo detached himself and fiery passionate red eyes looked directly into his, a blush all the while matching his gaze.
"T-This…this is what I mean. I wanna continue…do that kinda stuff with you—for a while now." The blond confessed. Shoto let out a long slow breath that he didn't even know he was holding. "Say something—where's that smart mouth now?"
"I…I don't know what to say…"
"If you don't I'm not gonna stop." He looked dead serious.
"What?" Shoto barely mustered before he was flipped over and thrown right on the bed, Baku landing right on top of him. "W-wait—" This was all too fast for his currently lagging brain.
"Ya hate it?"
"It's not that…" 'What was he saying?'
"Then what's the problem? I waited for this for so damn long—I can't hold back anymore. So, you better resist harder icy hot." Bakugo made it very clear as he whipped his own shirt off over his head. Shoto's eyes glazed down from his collarbone to every way his abs moved and down to his belt. And that. An obvious tent forming in his pants.
Bakugo wasn't joking. That did explain his attitude. But like? Liked him? Shoto was sure the other had some grudge with him, being his rival and all but this was unexpected…yet not unappreciated… Shoto still didn't know how he felt about all this, but he truly didn't mind. In fact a small part of him was glad he wasn't hated or shunned.
To Be Continued…
Yay finally Shoto x Baku getting somewhere. Idk where I randomly came up with wakeboarding lol, but sounds fun and different. This was fun to write not gonna lie, I love their dynamic. Also sorry , I know stupid cliffy.
Anyways, Lord knows when the next time I'll be back. Hopefully soon because we're near the end and I really do want to conclude the series eventually. On another note, I think I should drink strong coffee more often lol. Just one cup and I managed to write 90% of the chapter from scratch. O_O. ah, the wonders. Ive just been trying to reduce my intake, its been almost a year or so, but damn didn't realize I was missing out and how detoxed my body was haha.
Lastly I posted a new sho baku on deviantart—check it out!
Happy Thanksgiving and thanks as always for reading~!
