AN: I'd like to apologize beforehand for this one... *evil smirk*

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. - Leo Tolstoy

Chapter 25

Patience and time.

Uraraka was finding that this combination was easier said than done.

Objectively, she understood that Bakugo would need time. She clearly had needed plenty of it to come to terms with her burgeoning feelings towards the blonde.

Had she not also been hesitant? Maybe not to the same extent as Bakugo seemed to be, but she had. It's not like crushing on yet another emotionally unavailable individual had been on her to-do list for second-year. It just kind of happened. He just kind of happened.

Still, she assumed it was probably a bit easier for her to accept whatever was happening between them. Unlike Short Fuse, she was not in the habit of denying feelings other than anger or annoyance. So yes, Uraraka was fully aware that Bakugo would need time.

Subjectively, however, she really did not have the patience to go through another year of awkward fumbling only to finally confess and have her feelings not be reciprocated. Not again.

But there was something different about this time that kept her from throwing in the towel.

Despite all odds, Bakugo was actually trying.

Uraraka had thought their very public exchange of words that first Sunday morning would be the last. Bakugo had listened to her, he had shown that he could acknowledge her when other people were around; he'd proven his point. Although she appreciated this, Uraraka was not under the delusion that people could change from one day to the next. Bakugo was not one for small talk, at least not that she had witnessed. His circle of friends was small and it looked to Uraraka that he was adamant about keeping it so. In every practical sense, Bakugo did not seem keen on making room for her and whatever this was and she was not in the habit of forcing her presence on others.

Turned out she didn't have to.

It had started as small, tiny acknowledgments of her presence. A slight nod whenever they passed each other in the school hallways. A quiet 'good morning' when they ran into each other in the kitchen. Uraraka noticed he approached their brief interactions with caution, just the slightest of hesitation before each nod or wave. She would have felt bad as if she had forced him into this, except she was well aware that nobody could force Bakugo to do something he didn't actually want to do. This fact gave her peace. He was trying because he wanted to.

She returned the gestures with guarded optimism.

As expected her friends hounded her for an explanation, but Uraraka would simply smile and say she didn't have one. Mina and Hagakure always looked like they were ready to pounce on her, a bombardment of questions at the tip of their tongues. It had been exhausting.

Thankfully, Deku, of all people, had come to her rescue.

"I think it's great that Kacchan is trying to make friends this year." He remarked warmly, a far-off look on his face. Uraraka was a little thrown by his expression but decided to pocket this for a later time. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tsu pull out her phone, once again feigning disinterest whenever the conversation circled to Uraraka and Bakugo. Uraraka realized that she had a couple of conversations pending.

"I suppose Uraraka is the easiest among us to befriend," Iida said thoughtfully, resting his chin between his thumb and index finger. The rest of the students present at her interrogation nodded in agreement. Uraraka smiled awkwardly, not too sure if she should take it as a compliment but nonetheless grateful for the out.

She was finding that despite her usually friendly demeanor, the rumors and constant pecking from her friends, and others were starting to grate on her patience. In contrast, Bakugo appeared completely unphased. In fact, it was like his mission was to flame them further, only interacting with her when they had an audience. Uraraka went from hardly seeing Bakugo outside of class to running into him everywhere.

She was aware that she had asked for this.

Sort of.

She just never expected him to actually deliver.

But he had. And it all happened so gradually.

The days bled into each other in such a way that Uraraka was left pondering how three weeks had already passed them by and how she once again found herself inside Bakugos room.

Uraraka sat on the floor beside him, both their backs resting on the bed behind them, shoulders centimeters apart.

Could he hear how loud her heart was thumping?

Or was his heart thundering against his ribcage as well?

The first shift had come two weeks ago.

It had been mid-January and already 2-A had kicked off with a mountain of assignments.

Uraraka had been studying in the common room with her usual crew when Bakugo had walked into the kitchen. He waved at her and ignored the rest. She waved back and pretended like her friends were not giving her pointed looks. Well, all except Deku, who looked practically elated at seeing his childhood friend acting like a semi-decent human. Uraraka was thankful that by this point Bakugo greeting her had lost some of its novelty. Her friends pointed looks lasted a couple of seconds before they all resumed work on their math assignments.

Pencils scratching across paper and cabinets opening and closing were the only sounds that surrounded the group for a while.

"I thought you can't square root a negative number?" Uraraka broke the silence, nibbling at her bottom lip. She hated math!

"For this assignment at least, you can't," Todoroki said dully, eyes focused on his paper.

"Then why do I need to square root negative sixty-eight to get the answer for number four." She said, resting her cheek on her fist and staring down at her work confused.

"Negative sixty-eight?" Iida questioned, sounding alarmed. Tsu looked up from her work equally perplexed. Uraraka really hated math!

"Oh I see what you did Uraraka," Deku leaned closer towards her and her assignment in an effort to see her paper. In a different time, Uraraka might have felt flustered by the proximity, but she found that this was no longer the case. Interesting.

"Tch, dumbass." Bakugo's voice cut across them loud and clear. All five heads turned towards the antagonizing aura that was coming from the kitchen. Bakugo was leaning against the counter, facing them, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The microwave hummed behind him as it warmed his pre-made meal.

"Bakugo please refrain from..." Iida began his near-daily lecture regarding Bakugo's vocabulary choices before he was cut off.

"Who are you calling a dumbass?" Uraraka said casually, like if she was asking for the time.

"You. Who else?" Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her in emphasis. To an outsider, he probably sounded like his usual self, a combination of angry and bored. But Uraraka was privy to the light inflections in his tone of voice, the ones that signaled he was lightly teasing. She smiled.

"Kachan that's not very…" Deku began defending Uraraka, unaware that there was no need for it.

"I wasn't talking to you nerd…" Bakugo dismissed him, "When you divide negatives the answer is positive, and when you add to a negative the number actually gets smaller." He finished as if he had just said something so glaringly obvious. The microwave beeped and he turned his back to them.

Deku rolled his eyes but sighed in resignation. Uraraka had noticed that Deku's relationship with Bakugo had shifted sometime between 1-A and 2-A. Something must have happened over the break. Whatever the cause, they both seemed to have come to some type of understanding. For his part, Deku was better at picking his battles with the blonde, and math problems apparently didn't make the cut.

"He's right," Deku whispered to Uraraka, pointing lightly at the mathematical errors on her paper.

"Bakugo, did you memorize our math homework?!" Uraraka questioned as she looked down at the spots that Deku had pointed to. The boy in question made no move to respond.

Uraraka turned towards the kitchen and watched as Bakugo opened the fridge to take out the jar of lemonade Momo-chan had made for the whole class earlier that week.

"You did, didn't you!" Uraraka could not help the humor that weaved in and out of her voice. It was clear to all that she was teasing him, in a way that no one other than his self proclaimed Bakusquad had dared try. And even they had not made it out without severe threats against their physical well-being. Uraraka felt her friends collectively hold their breaths, preparing for the cascade of curse words that were to follow.

But they never came.

"Why would anyone waste time memorizing math problems?" He said casually, pouring out the lemonade into a cup and completely disregarding their other four classmates.

"Then how do you know what I did wrong without looking at it?" She challenged him.

"I've spent the last hour trying to teach the same problem to Hair for Brains and Dunce Face." Bakugo groaned.

"Aw, poor you," Uraraka said with light sarcasm. It was unnerving how easy it was to fall into this light banter with him, how easy it was to forget there were other people around them. The common room faded away and she found herself back at her parents, whispering and giggling on the phone with him. Small snapshots of what could be, what she only allowed herself to imagine in the safety of her dreams. The air around them thick with anticipation.

Bakugo must have noticed it as well. He turned to face her, his eyes dancing with an emotion she couldn't quite pin down. A fierceness that, although familiar, felt different. It wasn't the same gaze he gave his opponents, no, this look felt exclusively for her. Uraraka felt like all the oxygen had escaped the room. How can one simple look cause such an electric rush to course through her, leaving goosebumps in its wake?

Bakugo smirked at her in a way that made her visibly shiver. Uraraka knew she was screwed. Internally, she felt as if she were combusting. A familiar heat pooled in her lower abdomen. For a brief second, she imagined she was kneeling in front of him as he thrust roughly in and it of her mouth, looking down with the same smirk painted on his face.

Heat rushed to her cheeks before she could stop it. What the hell is wrong with you! Uraraka tore her eyes away from his and back towards her assignment, slightly mortified.

"Chako-chan, you alright?" Tsu questioned softly.

"Mhmm," She nodded, trying desperately to calm down. The last thing she wanted was more questions from her friends.

She hadn't meant to react with such intensity, but ever since Bakugo had begun his attempts at politeness towards her, Uraraka couldn't help but fantasize about him. Her dreams were plagued with visions of him dominating her, grabbing her, and taking her, just how she had read in her book.

Uraraka had finished her book recently and in its place, she had turned towards the internet. It was almost daunting how much…information one could find at the click of a button. During one of her secret late-night activities, she had stumbled upon a video of a girl who was constantly brought to the edge but never allowed to tip over. Uraraka remembered the night before her birthday when she too approached the same cliff but had been continuously interrupted, never permitted to throw herself off it. She had been furious and frustrated, but the girl had looked blissful. Curious, Uraraka delved deeper into her "research."After some very interesting discoveries, she had decided to give it a try.

And now she whole-heartedly regretted that decision. She was so tightly wound that any slight friction between her thighs threatened to send her spiraling down. Still, there was no way Uraraka could have predicted that something as innocuous as a smirk from a relatively loud boy, albeit the current star of all her raunchy dreams, would have caused such a visceral reaction.

Bakugo chuckled, the sound of it reverberating deep within her, sending shock waves to places it shouldn't. She vaguely heard him make his leave from the kitchen but she was too busy boring a hole in her math homework with how intently she was staring at it.

"Uraraka-san…" Deku probed gently.

"Deku-kun, I really don't want to talk about it." Uraraka gave her friends pleading looks. She trusted them and she assumed at some point she'd have to tell them a little about what had been developing between her and Bakugo but now was definitely not the time. Not when she was too busy trying not to squeeze her thighs together, even though she knew how good it would feel.

Her friends nodded and returned to their assignments and she silently thanked them for their willingness to give her space.

Space.

Uraraka needed space.

She was sitting too close to him. Uraraka's butt throbbed slightly from the sudden impact with Bakugo's wooden floor. She could feel the static between their bodies, tickling her exposed arms and thighs. Their labored breathing mingled until she wasn't sure whose was whose.

"Cheeks? He panted.

She wanted to argue, to reiterate how much she disliked that nickname, but she was having a hard time breathing, let alone formulating a coherent sentence.

After what she had since dubbed "The Kitchen Incident," Uraraka hoped that all would return to normal or what passed as normal nowadays. She half expected Bakugo to revert back to his old ways. But he never did.

In fact, if Uraraka didn't know any better it was like he was more determined than ever before.

It started subtly.

Uraraka would voice a question aloud and he would answer it. She would ask for a pencil and he'd provide one. She'd ran into a wall walking out of the gym because she had been too busy ogling him without his shirt on and he'd smirk at her and mumble something that sounded vaguely like "get your head out of the gutter, Cheeks."

And, boy was Uraraka's head stuck deep in the gutter.

She was going on a full week of her little project and she could feel desperation bubbling beneath her usually calm and lively demeanor. Every day it took less and less to reach the peak that she craved needlessly to jump off from. Uraraka knew she was torturing herself but she couldn't stop. Going through her last week of school in a somewhat perpetual state of arousal had been its own kind of high. She had another dirty little secret and this time no one was the wiser.

The downside of this came in the shape of a 5 foot 8 inch, red-eyed, hard-headed classmate who was making a habit of working out without a damn shirt whenever she was in the gym too.

The depraved things she would do to him...would let him do to her.

Bakugo must have known, must have seen her reactions, and interpreted them exactly as they were. There was simply no other way to describe the smug, satisfied looks he shot at her when he caught her staring. Uraraka wanted to punch him...or kiss him, whichever worked quicker.

Thankfully, the novelty that was their unlikely and unexpected "friendship" subsided significantly without any new developments to egg people on. Although, the student population at U.A. remained invested in the mystery that had become Bakugo and Uraraka, their interest dulled with each passing day. Realistically, there was only so much people could dissect Bakugo holding the door open for Uraraka that one time or how he lent her his notes that other time.

With fewer eyes on the pair, Uraraka allowed herself to lean into Bakugo's gestures and even initiate some of her own. Sure, she still had to deal with the inquisitorial squad that had become Mina and Hagakure, and on occasion Kaminari and Sero, but they were becoming less passionate about their barrage of questions.

Uraraka was thankful that her usual group of close friends seemed to be more conscientious of boundaries and rarely, if ever, asked her about their loud-mouthed classmate. She knew she'd tell them whenever there was something to tell, and right now…

Surely, it was still too soon to tell if anything was going on. They were just being friendly...maybe even friends. They barely started texting.

Well...that's not entirely true. They have technically texted before, and they obviously have had some interesting phone calls in the past, but this was different.

They only texted to coordinate when they'd meet up to go on their runs together. Oh yea, did she forget to mention...they started jogging together in the evenings. She wasn't sure how or when that became a thing but she wasn't complaining. And neither was he.

Okay, maybe they texted a little about other stuff...but nothing serious!

It was simple stuff like…

Uraraka Ochako: can we skip our run tonight? Midnight-sensei left us so much homework and I barely understand any of it :(

Bakugo Katsuki: No.

Bakugo Katsuki: We can study together after the run.

Uraraka Ochako: rude...but okay :p

Or

Bakugo Katsuki: I'm going to kill Dunce Face and Soy Sauce Face

Uraraka Ochako: they have names and i know u know them

Uraraka Ochako: also why?

Bakugo Katsuki: They keep sticking their noses into places they don't belong

Uraraka Ochako: oh! theyre asking about me huh ;)

Bakugo Katsuki: You're not helping.

Or even

Uraraka Ochako: it looks like ur falling asleep :P

Bakugo Katsuki: Pay attention and stop texting me

…

...

Bakugo Katsuki: You can text me. I don't really mind.

Uraraka Ochako: ur so easy .

Bakugo Katsuki: WHAT DID YOU SAY!

Uraraka Ochako: hahahaha xD

Bakugo Katsuki: Just wait until we're out of class Cheeks

Uraraka Ochako: is that a threat? *smirk face*

Bakugo Katsuki: it might be...

Nothing serious.

Was it serious now? She thought to herself, trying desperately to will her heart into a steady beat. She could still feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, leaving a burning need in its wake.

Did he feel it too?

Is that why he was so quiet?

When Uraraka had approached Bakugo's room to give him his gift, she had never expected...never imagined...

"Cheeks?" He asked again, his voice wavering slightly but more under control than it previously was. She turned her face slightly towards his. His lips were swollen and bruised...did her lips look like that too?

No, she had not expected this to happen.

And she most definitely had not expected for Kirishima to walk in on them.

But it was fine.

It wasn't that big of a deal...right?

"If it's not a big deal then come sit with us for lunch." Mina challenged. Uraraka tried her best to ignore her pink friend as she rushed to change out of her gym clothes.

"Mina, leave her alone." Jiro drawled lazily as she lounged in her bra and underwear on a bench near Uraraka. She clearly was in no equal hurry to change back into their school uniform.

"I'm just saying. If there's nothing going on then eating lunch with us one time doesn't really mean anything." The acid-quirk user shot back.

Uraraka knew Mina meant well, despite how pushy she seemed to be recently. She knew that Mina had delusions of double dates. Triple, if her equally fervent nudging of Jiro and Kaminari counted. Still, Uraraka was getting just a tiny, tinsy bit annoyed.

"Then why are you pushing so hard if sitting with you all won't mean anything?" Tsu chimed in quietly, she had already changed and waited by the door for the rest of them.

"It's okay Tsu-chan," Uraraka murmured as she pulled up her school skirt.

"You don't have to lie Ochako, Mina has been on my ass too and it's getting A-NNOY-ING." Jiro emphasized as she stared pointedly at Mina.

"Well sorry for caring." Mina huffed.

"There's caring and then there's meddling," Jiro retorted, "And you have been meddling."

"Okay, okay girls, relax," Momo interjected, trying to keep the peace.

"Ugh, I'm sorry okay!" Mina exclaimed after a few tense seconds. "It's just I think you two would be so cute together," She looked at Uraraka and Jiro, "that was meant for both of you."

"I just, I don't know," she continued, "I've been there, where you don't really know if it's a thing or not, where you hope it is but are too scared to say it. It sucks and I just want you girls to skip all that." Mina sat down next to Jiro, looking a bit forlorn.

"Well, just because you and Kirishima are like a day away from being official doesn't mean you get to tell us how and when we do things with whoever we have a crush on," Jiro started still slightly put out by their friend, "and that's not me admitting I have a crush on Kaminari!" She added quickly, causing the girls to giggle.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'll back off, I promise!" Mina smiled apologetically. "And I'm sorry Chako-chan! I think I got carried away because well it's not just anyone that can make Baku-bro smile." She chuckled in disbelief.

"Yea, I didn't even know his face could do that." Hagakure giggled, washing away any lingering uneasiness.

Uraraka smiled at Mina. It was hard to be upset when her friend was coming from such a genuine place. It'd be different if she was pushing for details just for gossip's sake. But she wasn't and that mattered.

"You think we're cute together?" Uraraka asked sheepishly, as she finished buttoning her shirt.

Mina smiled and nodded but said nothing more. Uraraka turned to the rest of her friends. Momo looked at her with a patient smile and Jiro's expression mirrored Mina's. She tried to catch Tsu's eye but her friend was staring intently at her phone. Uraraka felt a small pang of disappointment but once again she added it to her list of conversations she needed to have soon.

"Oh yes! Yes! Definitely!" Hagakure bounced from her spot near the door.

"Mmm," Uraraka mused as she picked at her cuticles, "Okay, one lunch." She nodded. Mina beamed but again she remained quiet.

"Well if we don't get going none of us will make it to lunch," Tsu said lazily as she got up and began to head out of the locker room.

...

Lunch with the Baku-squad was...an experience, to say the least.

She approached their usual table, still apprehensive over the whole thing, but Mina and Jiro didn't really give her time to chicken out.

"Look who I persuaded to come sit with us today," Mina said triumphantly. Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari all had matching shit-eating grins. Bakugo nodded in their general direction and returned to unwrapping his bento box.

"You mean harassed but okay," Jiro goaded. Mina stuck her tongue out at Jiro but turned to Uraraka nonetheless.

"I didn't, right?" Mina asked with a concern-laced voice.

Uraraka smiled and shook her head, "Nop."

"Yay! Ura-cutie is finally joining us!" Sero smiled warmly at her.

"Maybe she can get Bakugo to stop being such an ass to us." Kaminari teased lightly, causing Bakugo to narrow his eyes at the electric-quirk user.

"Stop antagonizing him," Jiro said sluggishly as she slipped into the space next to him. Mina squeezed in between Kirishima and Bakugo much to Bakugo's chagrin, which left Uraraka in a very awkward position...where should she sit?

"You can sit next to me," Kirishima patted the empty space next to him and Uraraka was forever grateful.

Soon after they all fell into their usual loud conversations. Always a lively bunch, Uraraka noticed they're favorite pastime was teasing Bakugo until he exploded. She couldn't help but laugh along.

Uraraka had obviously seen them all interact with one another but this was a front-row seat. She had always wondered how someone as arrogant as Bakugo could have such a devout group of friends. It's not as if he actively tried to have friends. In fact, Uraraka would say he came determined to never need or rely on anybody. Yet, as abrasive as he had been, and at times still was, he had mellowed some. Deku had said once that being surrounded by people who were his equal in ability and intelligence was doing him a service. Maybe he was right. Maybe having friends, people who didn't fear him, who admired him but could also challenge him and hold their own, was creating the space for him to grow.

Through the spectacle that was lunch with this group of rowdy almost-heroes, she noticed that Bakugo's friends were his friends because they decided it would be so and had clearly ignored Bakugo's attempts at pushing them away. They didn't expect him to change or be something he was not, they had accepted his loud-mouthed, short-tempered self as is. Embraced him. They seemed to know what the limits of his patience were and pushed them just a little bit more each time. By the time Ururaka joined them for lunch, Bakugo had become fairly adept at ignoring most if not all of their lazy attempts at teasing.

He still cussed them out from time to time, but they always lacked any bite.

The bell rang signaling the end of their lunch hour and Uraraka was content that she had accepted Mina's invitation. It had been quite an informative lunch. She was positive people would talk about this new development but she discovered that she really didn't care.

Smiling, she joined hands with Mina and Jiro and allowed both girls to slightly drag her towards their class.

"Answer me Round face," Bakugo said, attempting to sound annoyed but sounding worried instead. Uraraka looked into his red eyes trying to decipher what he felt. Was he too affected by what had happened?

Or was it just her?

Her little experiment was running on three weeks now…she was on edge all the time, highly strung and wrung tight, and oh so sensitive.

It had felt so good to be touched.

"Mmmm," She managed to mumble, afraid that anything she said would come out as needy pants.

"You good?" He said with a smirk, but his eyes still showed concern.

That smirk. That stupid, God-forsaken smirk of his was threatening to throw three weeks of painstaking work down the drain.

Goodness, she needed to feel him on top of her again.

"Bakugo…" She sighed, a small smile forming on her lips, "Can you please do that again?"

Bakugo's smirk widened into an almost maniacal smile before he pounced her once more.