Uraraka didn't think much of the sharp gasp behind her until it was followed with a giddy "You must be round-face!"
She turned around to see a pink-haired woman clutching the arm of a solid, buff man with sharp canines showing in his widening grin. The woman had her hair piled in two messy buns, fly-away strands twisting messily at the nape of her neck. Her large eyes were framed by crazy long lashes and lined with a combination of purple and turquoise. In her patterned body-con dress, she looked otherworldly.
"Ex-excuse me?" Uraraka stammered out, unsure if she heard right. She nervously fiddled with the damp rag she was using to wipe down tables of their crumbs and sticky spills.
"You're round-face, right? Bakugo talks about you all the time! Doesn't he, Eiji?" The bubbly woman tugged on her partner's arm, the large red-headed man, who nodded enthusiastically. They were each holding a drink in their free hand.
"Is my face really that round?" It was no secret that she had a rounder face than most, her baby photos were 90% cheeks, it was ridiculous, but she liked to think her bone structure was prominent enough to give her face some sort of shape other than a perfect circle. She fought the urge to squish her face and check.
"Don't worry about that." The woman waved her hand reassuringly. "He still calls me racoon eyes because of my awful eyeliner in high school."
"You're old friends?
"Oh, yeah! Best buds with Eiji here!" She patted the stocky man's face affectionately.
Uraraka tried to picture their dynamic, Bakugo with this openly smiling couple, but she just simply couldn't imagine it. They seemed so... nice. It must've shown on her face, because the man started laughing. It was hearty and reverberating, spreading joy around him. Yep. Definitely not Bakugo's kind.
"I'm Eijiro Kirishima and this is Mina Ashido." He stuck out a hand for her to shake, nearly cutting off her circulation in the process. He was so sturdy, she could imagine him chopping bricks with his bare hands.
"Just call us Kirishima and Mina!" The bubbly woman piped up next to them.
"Hi, I'm Ochako Uraraka." She squeaked out.
"Nice to finally have an actual name! We've been friends with Bakugo since we were kids. Hope he hasn't been too rough on ya."
"I mean, I can't say he's been the perfect gentleman, but he's fine." More than fine, really. She still hasn't used her mug yet, unsure of how to explain to her parents why it would be off limits for anyone else to drink out of. And she couldn't count how many late hours she spent flipping through the pages of that book, marvelling at its contents.
"Well, that's better than a lot of people can say!" He let out another booming laugh.
"It's hard to find people who'll tolerate him, that's for sure." Mina giggled. "You should come to our New Year get-together this weekend! It'll be at our place, really chill."
"Oh, uhh, I can't possibly impose."
"Oh, no. Not at all! We would love to have you there! All of us." And although Uraraka hardly knew anything about this woman, she could swear her grin was too large for it to be completely innocent.
"Babe, we don't wanna scare her away." Kirishima gently reminded his overly-excited girlfriend.
"Here, girl. My number." Rummaging around her zebra patterned purse, Mina pulled out an old receipt and wrote her contact information on the back. "If you decide to come, let me know and I'll text you our address. It's up to you, but we really would love for you to come."
"Umm, ok. I-I think I can make that work." She couldn't really bring herself to say no. They were so nice and it wouldn't hurt to spend more time with Bakugo, especially in another setting.
"Yay!" Mina jumped a couple times while holding Uraraka's hands in hers. She probably would've lunged for a hug if Kirishima didn't softly pull her away from the overwhelmed brunette.
"Like she said, we'll text you the address whenever you're ready." She nodded mutely towards Kirishima, stuffing the phone number in her apron pocket. "We'll see you Friday night, Uraraka!" He dragged his girlfriend by the hand out of the cafe.
"Bye!" Mina waved right before the swinging glass door closed.
Uraraka stood there in the middle of the cafe, feeling like she had just been spit out by a tornado. Everything happened so fast and then there she was, suddenly in possession of a potential new acquaintance's phone number and struck with a new question.
What was Bakugo even like with his friends?
Uraraka rummaged around her dresser, trying to find appropriate clothes for the New Year's party. It had been so long since she had gone out, she had to dig through massive amounts of lounge wear and work attire before finally pulling out some cute pieces.
It wasn't the most fashionable stuff, she thrifted most of her clothes, but they would have to do. She shimmied into a pleated, sparkling skirt, hoping it would fit over her thick thermal leggings. To her surprise, they slipped on easily. Maybe it was all those skipped meals from being too busy to eat.
Well, whatever it was, it made her feel less self-conscious about pulling on a cropped, fuzzy sweater and ankle boots to complete the look. Considering that of all the things Bakugo could've noticed about her and he zoned in on her round-ness, she was relieved to know it didn't extend to the rest of her. Especially since he was so fit and she was so… average.
She knew he wasn't being malicious, just brutally straight-forward.
As she continued getting ready, choosing her accessories and packing her purse, she could tell her body was overly fidgety and anxious. She checked and rechecked the contents of her bag three times before leaving her room. It wasn't just because she was about to spend time with Bakugo, she had mostly come to terms with her newfound feelings, but because it had been so long since she had been in a social situation.
She couldn't remember the last time she went out for fun. Even meeting up with Tsuyu outside of work, it must've been at least a couple of months. Her frog-enthusiast friend invited her over to hang out and maybe even spend the night in celebration of her birthday belatedly, but she had yet to accept her offer.
"Stardust, did you want me to take the cupcakes out of the freezer?" Uraraka heard her dad call out from the couch, thinking she was still in her room.
"No, I got it, dad. Thanks!" She rushed over to take the freshly baked mini cakes out of their cooling chamber to start decorating them. Quickly frosting them with an already prepped bag and tip, she hastily sprinkled some edible glitter to try and imitate fireworks. She wasn't quite sure what the party would be like, but a sweet treat never hurt.
After arranging the majority of them in a container, she wrapped it up and checked her attire one more time. Trying to calm her fast beating heart, she took a deep breath before mentally revving herself up for the night.
"I left a couple of cupcakes on the counter for you and mom. And don't wait up for me tonight, you should get some rest!"
"Call us if you need anything."
"Don't worry, I won't be out too late. I do have a shift in the morning, after all." Uraraka quickly hugged her dad and made her way to the door. She would've said bye to her mom, if she weren't already sleeping.
It wasn't unusual for her to be asleep by 8pm. The chemo took a lot of energy out of her and left her weak for a few days, which was just long enough for her to go back for her next treatment. Uraraka honestly felt a bit guilty for going out and having fun when her mom was back at home, fighting for her life.
She didn't realize the New Year party would actually extend through midnight. When she learned that it would keep her from welcoming in the new year with her parents, she thought about cancelling, but her folks would have none of it. They practically threatened to drive her there and drop her off themselves like an elementary aged child until she relented and assured them she would go.
Still practicing her deep breathing, Uraraka walked up the stairs of the apartment complex, looking for the door labelled 3C. She took a moment to smooth out her hair and readjust her clothes before knocking on the door.
Mina opened the door almost immediately. "Hey! Welcome, girl!"
"Hi. Thank you for inviting me. I brought cupcakes." She lifted the baked goods in front of her like an offering.
"Aww, how sweet of you! Come in! Everyone's in the living room."
Uraraka trailed after the host, gulping back the nerves of meeting so many new people. Even though nothing had happened yet, she already felt so out of place, she worried the container might slip from her sweaty hands.
Clearing the entrance way, she could see Kirishima on the couch laughing at a fuming Bakugo, who was sitting on the floor. Several of the others gathered in the living room turned their heads and smiled at Uraraka as she came closer. One of them was, surprisingly, a familiar face.
"Uraraka, this is Jiro, Kaminari, Sero, and Deku." Mina pointed them out as she listed off their names. They all waved politely as she reciprocated with her free hand. "You already know Bakugo and Kirishima, so they're not important." She teased playfully. "A couple more are on their way, but we're mostly all here!"
"Hi, Uraraka! I didn't know you knew Mina." The green-haired, freckled man stood up from his seat on the couch and waved her over to sit down herself.
"Deku, you know Uraraka?" Mina asked incredulously.
"Yeah, we have some similar classes at the University." Uraraka nodded to confirm, setting the cupcakes on her lap and lowering onto the cushion next to Kirishima, who gave a good natured side hug. Though she had just met him, she couldn't find it in her to shrug him off. He was seriously a good guy and she was happy to embrace back.
She didn't know what she was expecting from Bakugo, but she pulled away from Kirishima and peered over at him, saying a quick "Hi."
"Didn't know you were gonna be here." Not bothering to greet her, he leaned back on his hands and looked away. His eyes seemed to roam everywhere but on her.
No wonder he looked so uncomfortable. His friends didn't even tell him she was coming. It didn't matter that she liked him, they weren't… friends. She really should've just stayed at home.
"Yeah, Mina invited me. I, uh, brought cupcakes." She tried powering through the awkwardness, but ended up just feeling silly. She peeled back the plastic wrap, unwrapping the container, and once again questioning her decision to bring them to an adult party.
"They look delicious!" Kirishima reached over and grabbed a green one at the corner.
"Don't go grabbing other people's shit like that!" Bakugo barked at him.
"What?" Kirishima said mid-bite. "She brought them to share, right?"
She couldn't help but laugh at the wide-eyed man in front of her. "Yeah, that's what they're here for."
"Super nice of you." He said enthusiastically before finishing his large bite of the yellow cake. "You're a real sweetheart. And adorable, too!" He said it so good-naturedly, she knew he wasn't trying to hit on her. And from what she knew about Mina so far, she wouldn't be surprised if the pink-haired woman popped up and agreed with him. At the moment, she seemed to be busy in the kitchen getting snacks ready for everyone.
"Ah, I wouldn't say that." She said shyly while offering the rest of the cupcakes to the others. Knowing he wasn't the type to just go for a cupcake, she picked out a red one and set it on the table in front of Bakugo.
"You really do look great, Uraraka." Deku sat down on her other side, making her blush from the compliment. She thought she might've heard a slight growl from Bakugo, but that might've just been her imagination.
"Thank you, Midoriya." Although she could point him out in a crowd, she definitely couldn't say they were more than classmates. He was brilliant, definitely one of the best notetakers, but she knew little else about him.
"Just call me Deku! Everyone calls me that."
"What an interesting nickname."
"Kacchan gave it to me, actually. When we were kids." Deku shared hesitantly. Uraraka was confused for a moment, wondering who Kacchan might be until she noticed Bakugo glaring at Deku from the other side of the table.
"Ah. So you all knew each other since little?"
"Kinda." Kirishima answered. "Most of us have kept in touch since high school and college. Deku and Bakugo are the only ones who have known each other since kids."
He gestured to the antisocial blonde, who was now silently eating his cupcake. It almost made her laugh, watching him trying to eat such a homely thing with a gruff look on his face. If only she wasn't so nervous about what he thought about her creation. As expected, he gave no outward indication that he enjoyed it at all.
"That's amazing. I only have a couple of old friends and hardly get to hang out with anyone anymore." The moment the words left her mouth, Uraraka wondered if maybe she shouldn't have said that. It might make her look pathetic, not having many friends.
Always the peacemaker, Deku stepped in smoothly. "Classes take up a lot of time, huh? I know the statistics professor is kinda kicking my butt."
"Oh, yeah." She was grateful to him for providing an excuse. "That accounting final was brutal. Not sure how I'll make it through next quarter."
"If you need help with that, I could tutor you. We could meet once a week or something?"
"Really? You would be saving my life, thank you!" Her enthusiasm was tampered down by a strangled cry that came from across the table. Kirishima sprung into action, pounding at Bakugo's back to keep him from choking on the last bite of cupcakes he strangely inhaled.
He coughed up the cake easily, leaving Kirishima smacking him a few too many times for Bakugo to appreciate it. "Would you cut that out?"
"I just saved your life, man!" The overly dramatic friend cradled Bakugo's head to his chest, petting his face like a loving mother.
"You did no such thing! Get off of me!" He shoved away the snickering man and stomped over to the kitchen to grab some water and leave the crowd. The other bystanders seemed to find this a regular occurrence, laughing in amusement and returning to their previous conversations without a second thought.
"Is he ok?" Uraraka tentatively asked Kirishima, who returned to the couch with Mina sitting on the arm rest next to him.
"He's fine." Kirishima began to reassure her before Mina cut in.
"But you should go check in on him, just in case!"
"Umm. Ok?" Uraraka wasn't sure she'd be the best to console him, considering she knew him the least out of everyone in the room, but she couldn't deny that she was concerned for him. She excused herself from the group and weaved through the people to get to the kitchen.
She found him standing in front of the refrigerador, leaning on its door with his head. His eyes were closed and a water bottle with a slight sheen of condensation was clutched in his hand. Honestly, she was impressed that the lid was holding on and refusing to pop off.
"Hey, are you alright?" Bakugo whirled around with a startled jerk before recomposing himself.
"Fucking peachy."
"I'm sorry about the cupcake." She fiddled with her fingers in front of her, a nervous tick since she was young.
"What?"
"Was it dry? I baked them right before I got here, and it's been a while since I last made them, so they weren't my best batch. I didn't mean for you to choke on it."
"Fucking hell, I know how to eat a damn cupcake, dry or not." He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply through his nostrils. "And it wasn't dry. I was just caught off guard."
"Oh. Oh, thank god." She closed her eyes as sweet relief flooded her body. "I thought I almost killed you."
"You're all dramatic as hell." He rolled his eyes, no doubt recalling how Kirishima wailed on about how he saved his life. "You're not gonna ask what caught me off guard?"
She shrugged in response. "If you wanted to tell me, you would've. Otherwise, you'd just tell me to back off and mind my own business. Right?" It didn't take a rocket scientist to know how well Bakugo would take to others prying.
But maybe his friends weren't so good at that kind of thing, backing off and giving him space, because he actually looked kind of impressed by her deduction.
"I guess you aren't as spacey as you look."
"Hey!"
The corner of his mouth twitched up in an almost smile. "That's a good thing."
She couldn't stop the full out grin from blooming on her face.
"Don't let that go to your head! God knows I don't need more of you people thinking you're all god's gift to mankind."
"You do have interesting friends." She laughed and leaned onto the island counter. "They seem like a lot of fun."
He scowled at her descriptor. "They're all irritating as fuck, that's what they are."
It didn't deter her, though. Just made her laugh even more. "To be honest, I am a bit surprised that you would hang out with them and celebrate something like this."
"They get a one-time-a-year, no questions asked card with me. Usually, they use it to annoy me on my birthday. I'm surprised they cashed it in so soon. Now they can't force me to show up for anything else all year."
There was a little seed of hope in her heart that thought maybe, just maybe, Bakugo's friends wanted him around for a social setting with her. But she didn't dare water it, chalking it all up to coincidence.
"Well, either way, I'm glad you're here."
"Why?" Right after asking, he shut his mouth hastily, like he hadn't meant to say anything. Like he didn't want her to know he was interested in the answer.
"Because I wouldn't know anyone else otherwise? I guess I know Midoriya- er, I mean Deku."
"Right." The water bottle once again crinkled in his hand, threatening to blow its pressure built top.
Figuring he was battling some weird feelings about Deku, he did give his childhood friend a strangely cruel nickname after all, she opted to move back into the living room and join the others. "Actually, I should go see when he'd be available to tutor me this week."
"Wait!" There was a hint of desperation in his voice that she had never heard before.
"Hmm?" She turned back around and saw that he actually had a hand outreached towards her, like he was ready to resort to pulling her back if she hadn't stopped on her own.
"I could… I mean…" He growled with frustration, yanking back his hand into a fist before turning around and walking out of the kitchen. "Nevermind. Go sort things out with Deku."
Pushing aside the uneasy feeling that she had somehow upset Bakugo, she resumed her seat on the couch and confirmed with Deku to meet on Sunday afternoon in preparation for the new quarter. Of course, this was all hanging on the assumption that she had passed accounting and statistics, which she honestly doubted at this point.
By the time Bakugo quietly re-entered the living room with a drink in hand, Uraraka was deep in conversation with Jirou and Kaminari, sharing what kind of music they liked and asking if she would be up to go out to a concert together in the future.
It surprised her, how welcoming all of his friends were and how quickly they jumped at the opportunity to see her again. It wasn't what she was used to and she could see why Bakugo would keep them in his life for so long despite his implications that they were a bother.
Smoothly hopping from one conversation to the next, she bonded with Sero over the difficulty of moving to the city at a young age, shared the best places to find second-hand clothes to Momo (who arrived later due to a previous engagement), and helped Mina keep the drinks flowing, although she herself didn't partake since she had to drive home soon.
"You sure you don't want anything stronger to drink?" Mina nudged her on her way to the fridge.
"No, thank you! Juice is just fine for me."
And although she was having the most fun she could remember in a long time, she couldn't help but feel disappointed at the lack of interaction with Bakugo. He mostly sat on his square of carpet and snapped at people who tried to put New Year-themed headbands on him. It turned into a game of who could get one on him for longer than 3 seconds.
Momo won and Kaminari somehow lost, despite there not being any guidelines for how one might do that, when he got punched in the stomach hard enough to have to go lie down in a dark room.
Outside of the initial greetings and the strange talk in the kitchen, the only time they connected again for the rest of the night was when Uraraka insisted on collecting the empty paper plates scattered around the room and almost tripped on the step that separated the living room from the rest of the apartment.
She stepped back onto the ledge and almost fell in front of everyone when Bakugo jumped up, faster than she thought humanly possible, and supported her back with a strong arm. Once she was upright again, he immediately let go and slipped away from the group to leave her to convince others that really, she was ok, just embarrassed.
Otherwise, she was enjoying herself so much that she hadn't realized that hours have already passed.
"Sorry, everyone! I didn't realize the time. I need to get going."
"Aww. We only have 20 more minutes until midnight. You sure you can't stay?" Kirishima asked with a disappointed pout.
"I have opening shift in the morning. It's best I get as much sleep as I can." She said amidst hugs from Momo and Mina.
"Go walk her out, Bakugo!" Kirishima practically pushed the already glaring man into her. It could've been the alcohol coursing through his veins, but Uraraka had a feeling that he honestly didn't know how strong he actually was.
"It's ok, you don't have to-"
"Shut up. It's the only way they'll stop bugging us. Let's go." Bakugo didn't give her a second look as he walked towards the door.
Heartbeat faltering at the idea of an "us", Uraraka trailed after him with a string of good-byes towards the throng of people clamoring to wish her a great New Year's.
Once outside, she could see that some parts of the city had started celebrating early with fireworks going off in the distance. Usually, she'd be asleep before any of them started. They really were beautiful.
"What, you've never seen fireworks before?"
"Huh?" She moved her gaze from the sky to Bakugo, who was watching her with amusement.
"You had a dopey look on your face."
"So I like fireworks, sue me. Don't you?"
"I explode things for a living. Of course I like 'em."
Happily adding that bit of information to the list of things she now knew about him, Uraraka unlocked her car and yanked the door free of the thin layer of frost that had developed.
"I had a lot of fun tonight. Would you let Kirishima and Mina know that I said thank you?"
"Right. Like I'd do that."
"Eh. Worth a try." She shrugged. "Happy New Year, Bakugo. I'm glad I got to spend it with you and your friends." She grinned up at him and when she opened her eyes, Bakugo had a wide-eyed look on his face like his breath had been sucker-punched out of him. "What?" a puff of cold air materialized and dissipated with her question.
He opened and shut his mouth, clenching his hands into fists at his sides as he searched for words.
"It's ok. You don't have to say it back." She quickly reassured him, understanding that he wasn't one to say holiday greetings out of surface politeness.
"... Happy New Year."
And even though she meant it when she said he didn't have to respond, it made her happy to think he made the effort anyway.
"Don't hug me again! I don't do that shit!" Bakugo lifted his arms up in an 'X' in front of him, like he was warding off evil.
In the midst of her laughter, with her heart feeling both light and heavy at the same time, a bigger, grander wave of fireworks lit up the sky to greet another year. The night shattered into a medley of gold, red, blue, and green and shimmered with a loud crackle.
It felt like a spectacular way to mark the beginning of something new.
