Part Three: He Doesn't Have Feelings
Bakugo slammed his locker shut with more force than was necessary, once again scaring some nearby girls. They scurried away, giggling like…well, girls. He paid them no mind, however as he stalked to class. He was in a sort of angry haze, noticing nothing around him. Until he ran into a rock.
"Hey Bakugo!" Kirishima punched him in the arm. Bakugo did nothing, just scowled. His cheek was still red. You couldn't see it, but he could feel it. And it pissed him off. "What's got you in an extra pissy mood this morning?" His friend joked, walking alongside him even though he was unwelcome. Why did people he wanted to avoid the most insist on following him around? He must have been cursed.
"Shut up." The words held no conviction and clever Kirishima picked up on the lack of fire immediately.
"Oooh, something happened! Come on, you can tell your best friend!" He urged him with an obnoxious gleam in his eye.
"You're not my friend, so go away!" He shoved him away but he didn't seem to take offense as he should have.
"Did you get into another fight with Midoriya?" He asked as they continued walking. "You shouldn't beat yourself up every time you lose, man."
"SHUT THE HELL UP, I NEVER LOSE TO THAT LOSER!"
"So you won?" Kirishima sounded puzzled. "Then what are you sulking about?"
"I DON'T SULK."
"Did you have bad pork?"
"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT! IT WASN'T BAD PORK I JUST HAD A SHITTY DAY WITH SOME ANNOYING ASS CLASSMATES!" His hands were balled into fists at his sides. He walked with hard steps.
"Was it Midoriya?" Kirishima pressed.
"IT WAS AISLA AND ICY HOT, OKAY?! IT'S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT THAT STUPID QUIRKLESS FREAK!" Bakugo was tired of hearing about Deku and how great he was and how inspiring he was and how damn cool he was. He was just a fake. He wasn't a real hero.
"Ooh," Kirishima grinned. "Aisla hung out with you, huh? She's pretty hot, man. Those long blonde locks and legs for days." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Not a bad choice as far as girlfriends go."
Before he even realized what he was doing, Bakugo's fist connected with the side of Kirishima's face, hard. He heard the loud crunching sound as his friend's body smacked against the lockers across from them and then landed on the floor, face full of shock.
"The hell was that for, man?!" He demanded.
"Don't ever say that shit again!" Bakugo's whole body was shaking with anger and students roaming the halls had stopped to stare. Aisla was somewhere among them, far down the hallway, eyes locked on his. "She's not my girlfriend." He spoke to Kirishima but his eyes stayed trained on Aisla. She gave a rueful smile and nodded before disappearing down the hall.
Suddenly, he was wrapped in cloth and held against the lockers. His whole body felt closed off in a way only Eraser Head could do. Blazing red eyes met his and a very annoying expression from his teacher.
"It's time for class," he informed everyone, eyes still locked on Bakugo's. "Playtime was over in kindergarten." He released his hold on him and let him fall to the ground.
Bakugo pushed to his feet and ignored anyone who tried to catch his eye as he stomped to class. He slumped in his seat and pouted for the whole class. A few times, he noticed Aisla turn and look his way but he refused to meet her gaze. He was being petty, but he was just so mad at her. Why had she done something so stupid? Weren't you supposed to ask permission before kissing someone? She really was stupid if she thought he'd ever let her do that again.
At the end of class, he raced out the door before Aisla could stop him to talk. He wasn't in the mood for her annoying chatter. She was too much like Deku: too chipper and happy-go-lucky and stupid. Maybe that was why he hated her so much.
No. You don't hate her.
Fine, whatever. I dislike her stupid face.
He found himself back in the woods where he'd first seen her quirk. It was empty today, thankfully. No sign of Aisla or anyone else. He plopped down on his back right there in the dirt, hands behind his head and eyes closing against the sun. He thought about Aisla telling him meditation helped her control her quirk. He didn't need any help controlling his quirk, but…
He thought he had been meditating correctly, but then he felt a hand shaking his shoulder and he sat bolt upright, surprised he had fallen asleep out here. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and glared at the culprit. He had to blink a few times to clear the sleepy haze from his eyes.
Aisla sat there next to him, expression unreadable. He noticed that she'd changed out of her uniform and now wore a red tank top and black skirt—a very short skirt that rode high on her long legs when she sat. Kirishima's comment rang in his mind once more, 'legs for days.'
He shook his head to clear it. "What do you want?" He forced as much anger into the words as he could, but he just couldn't get the image of her long bare legs out of his damn mind. She did this on purpose. She was trying to trick him into being nice or some dumb shit like that.
"I thought you might be here," she said by way of explanation. "I was looking for you."
"The hell for?" He demanded, not glancing down at the way her fingers sometimes gripped the edges of her skirt bottom, making it ride even higher. Women were evil, vindictive animals.
Aisla shrugged. "I don't know. You seemed upset in class and I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"That's fucking stupid," he muttered, eyes still on her curling fingers.
"Kacchan, do you hate me?"
His eyes shot upward, meeting hers. Her eyes were so blue in the fading sunlight and shimmered like a kaleidoscope, color shifting from dark to light to dark again.
Mesmerizing.
It's the fucking skirt playing tricks on my mind, he decided a moment later, again shaking his head and this time turning toward the sunset so he couldn't look at her damn skirt again.
"Never said I hated you, I just said you were stupid." He spoke quietly for once, eyes trained on the setting sun, even as his periphery picked up on Aisla's form settling in beside him.
"I like you, Katsuki Bakugo," she said outright. The tips of his ears went bright red.
"That's fucking stupid."
She gave one of her soft laughs. "Maybe, but I think you're a genuine person, and I had a lot of fun with you yesterday." She paused for a moment, perhaps waiting for him to respond. He didn't. "I think you're a really great hero, Kacchan." The words were a whisper on the wind. She thought he was a hero.
"Why?" He couldn't stop himself from asking.
She shrugged. "I've watched you since I came to UA, in the training exercises. And I've talked with our classmates. Everyone thinks you're going to be one of the best heroes we've ever seen. But then yesterday…" Again, she paused, but this time he was sure she wasn't expecting a response. "You made me feel special and important and worthy of your time. And when we went on that really scary ride, you put your arm out to save me. There's more to being a hero than just capturing villains, and I think you're the best one I know."
Had he really done all of those things? In his mind, he'd been a heartless ass while Todoroki did and said all the right things. He was a mess, an idiot, and mean. He wasn't a hero, not for her.
"Don't be stupid, I didn't do anything." He was dismissive, embarrassed. "Go ask Todo or whoever to be your hero."
"But I want you, Katsuki."
He breathed in slow and deep, wanting nothing more than to run away from this stupid conversation. "I don't have feelings," he said abruptly. "And that thing you did yesterday? That thing in the car? With your…uh, mouth?" He waited a moment, watching the smirk settle onto her lips, those lips that touched his cheek yesterday… "Don't think you can just do that again, alright?!"
"You don't want me to kiss you again?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. Her tone suggested she didn't believe him.
"DON'T DO IT AGAIN!" He shouted this time. He jumped to his feet and glared down at her, only to find his eyes land directly between her breasts… He forgot what he was saying instantly.
"Don't kiss your cheek again?" She specified, blinking up at him in that girl way, with fluttery lashes and shit. He hated it.
"And don't tell me stupid crap like I'm your hero! Go let someone else be your damn hero!"
"Oh, Kacchan!" She giggled and got to her feet as well. He thought she was going to either smack him or kiss his cheek again. She did neither, instead surprising him with a hug. Her small arms wrapped around his back. She felt so small and frail like she could wither away if he so much as touched her. "Thank you for being my friend," she whispered into his chest.
His heart beat wildly against her cheek but he was unable to move a muscle. This was his end. He would fall apart and die at the hands of a tiny girl with no offensive powers. How embarrassing.
"I never said I'd be your friend," he said when he was able to speak again.
She only hugged him tighter. "You're right," she agreed. "We'll be more than that!"
He shoved her away. "H-Hey! I didn't mean that either!"
She ignored him, already skipping off, back toward campus and the real world. He let her go because he had nothing to say to her. He didn't want another stupid girl hug. He didn't want to talk to her. He didn't care that she was one of the only people he knew that didn't care how brash he was.
He sighed and sat back down as the sun finally dipped below the horizon and the moon began to glow in its place. Aisla Haru thought he was a hero. He supposed that wasn't the worst thing someone could think about him.
Bakugo burst into the school the next morning with a mission in mind. He shoved anyone who got in his way, looking at each face until he found the one he wanted. There, standing next to the bathroom talking to Deku of all people.
"Hey, Kacchan!" Deku said and started to go off on one of his dumb nerd tangents. Bakugo grabbed Kirishima by the collar and yanked him into a nearby classroom he knew was empty at this time of day.
"Whoa, what's up, Bakugo?" Kirishima hopped onto a desk like they were about to have a long conversation. Bakugo didn't plan on being here long, though.
"I don't like Aisla Haru!" Bakugo told him in an angry whisper.
His friend blinked. Laughed. "Okay man, whatever you say!"
"It's not funny! She likes me. The hell do I do about it?!"
"Hmm." He thought about it for a minute, one finger tapping his chin in a dramatic way. "Have you thought about, I don't know, being nice to the girl?"
"Why would I do that?!" He snapped in annoyance. His friend was supposed to help him get rid of Aisla, not encourage her.
"So that she falls in love with you, duh." Kirishima rolled his eyes. "It can't be that hard to get a chick to like you. Just do something nice for her or tell her you like her outfit or her shoes or something dumb like that. Chicks like that."
"I don't care what chicks like!" Bakugo turned and slammed a fist into the wall behind him.
"You've got it bad, Bakugo." Kirishima's tone was sympathetic. "Did she actually say she likes you, or is it just instinct? Like a lion sizing up the perfect prey?"
"You're so stupid." Bakugo rolled his eyes but his back was still turned. His forehead rested on his arm as he leaned against the wall, too tired to move. "She just flat out told me, okay?" He left out the part about him being her hero because that was some embarrassing shit.
"Then what's the problem? Just seal the deal!" He said this like it was easy.
"What the hell does that mean?" He was kind of afraid to even ask. When it came to Kirishima, 'seal the deal' could mean any number of things.
"You know, like show her you like her too. Kiss her or something."
Bakugo turned on him. "You don't know anything about girls, do you?!"
He left. Kirishima was an idiot. He didn't even understand what Bakugo was asking! Fucking moron. Like Bakugo would just go around kissing girls. That was dumb as fuck. He didn't want to kiss anyone, especially—
"Hi, Kacchan." Aisla smiled up at him when he turned toward her, looking genuinely happy to see him.
"Why do you always show up wherever I am like some convenient plot device?!" He shouted, loud enough for pretty much anyone in the hallway to overhear.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at his outburst. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to upset you."
"You don't upset me, okay?!" He shouted.
Now she just looked confused. "But—"
He pressed a finger to her lips to stop her from using her annoying voice. This time he spoke quieter, ignoring the feeling of people staring at him from behind. "You don't upset me, okay?"
"Promise?" She murmured against his fingertip. He nodded. His eyes shifted between hers, unable to look away for some stupid reason. They were so nice to look at. Maybe she'd put a spell on him. That would explain the weird feeling he was having.
"Don't ever do that thing again," he said again, eyes trailing down to the lips that had touched his cheek a few days prior. The edges lifted into a smile.
"No promises."
Over the course of the next few weeks, Bakugo and Aisla didn't interact much inside of school. They were both busy with classes and training to be heroes. And Bakugo didn't want to be seen hanging out with some girl because people would get the wrong idea and think they were dating, which they definitely weren't. And they definitely never would.
Bakugo was currently heaving for breath on the ground, staring up into the milky light of dawn. Exhaustion was already starting to set in, which he found exciting. Not a lot of people could put up such a fight, especially a pathetic girl.
Aisla was curled up on her side near him, clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. He didn't think what he'd said was that funny, but she'd been laughing like this for five minutes already. She was on the ground because his quirk had put her there, but she'd stayed there because of his unintentional wit.
He thought about telling her to shut the hell up already, but he just let her be. Not because her laugh was adorable, but because telling Aisla Haru to be quiet helped no one. She could not be quiet. Bakugo had learned to deal with this for the most part—sometimes he just walked away in the middle of her tangents, or he simply tuned her out and did his own thing. Today, he did neither. He let her have her moment of joy amidst their battle. He'd call her stupid for it later.
"I'm sorry," she said when she finally calmed down. "I never knew how funny you could be, Kacchan." Her face was alight with so much joy. Was this what Kirishima had meant when he'd told him to 'seal the deal' and 'be nice to her'? He supposed he had been nice enough lately. But that was as good as she was going to get from him. He would come to the clearing before or after school and they'd fight until one of both of them was too exhausted. Usually her because he was too badass to get tired from a stupid fight.
"We should get to class," he told her, ignoring her comments.
She crawled over to him and laid her head on his chest. He stiffened but didn't move to push her away. "In a minute, okay?"
"Yeah, whatever." He didn't care that she moved a little closer to drape an arm across his chest. She was always doing dumb shit like that, touching his hand or hugging him or looking at him. No one could look at him the way Aisla Haru could.
"It's okay, you know." Her voice was muffled in his shirt.
"What?" He tried to make his tone sound bored but it came out more like a snap.
"It's okay if you touch me too. I won't fall apart. I'm not frail."
He stiffened. Frail. The exact words he'd thought that first time she'd hugged him, when her tiny arms had encircled him and he'd been paralyzed to do anything. Even now he was unable to move a muscle—like some force held him there against his will. Because he wanted to move, he did. He wanted to push her off of him and run off to be alone.
"I don't want to." The words sounded like a lie even to his ears.
Aisla laughed into his chest. She whispered, "I wish you would."
His whole body was already stiff and hot, but those words, for some stupid reason, made him feel ten times hotter. Why did she care if he held her stupid hand or whatever the hell she wanted? It wasn't going to make a difference. They would still be sitting there, not doing hero work, probably be late to class, and accomplish nothing.
The hand on the opposite side from Aisla twitched of its own accord. It wanted to move, to touch her, to feel. He didn't let it. He sat up, gently so, and got to his feet. Normally he would just leave and not care what she did, but he made the mistake of glancing down. Her face looked disappointed. In him? In what he'd done? Or what he hadn't done?
He thrust a hand out in her direction so fast it made her flinch back. This was a reaction he'd never gotten from her before. That start of fearful surprise, the widening of blue eyes. She thought he might hurt her. Because he'd been an ass to her. He deserved that look.
He realized a moment later that his fist was still clenched. That was why fear had flashed in her eyes. He loosened his hand and let it fall open—an invitation. "You can trust me," he muttered awkwardly, feeling embarrassed that he even had to say the words aloud. Even so, a smile lifted the edges of pale pink lips and a small soft hand slid into his own.
He pulled her up onto her feet but didn't let go when she steadied herself. Their eyes were locked in that way again, the one that froze Bakugo in place. He felt his breath deepen like he was falling into sleep, or falling into something else…
"I trust you, Kacchan," came her whispered reply. "Now trust me, too."
He swallowed hard, eyes shifting back and forth. He wondered when they'd gotten so close to one another. Her body was practically pressed against his own. He could feel her body heat radiating off of her, enveloping him.
"I don't trust anyone," he lied. She smiled in that way of hers. It told him she knew what he was thinking. He still swore she had some kind of mind-reading abilities. She seemed to know more than he'd ever admitted aloud. "I don't touch girls." He thought it was important to add this but he wasn't sure why.
Another knowing smile and a small step closer. He held his breath, not because of emotions but because he smelled something weird. Yeah, it had nothing to do with the way Aisla's free hand slid up his arm and then back down to his hand, giving it a squeeze. Or how she took his hand and placed it on the small of her back, or the way her eyes never looked away from his.
He didn't have feelings for this girl. He didn't like the way she looked at him. He didn't like the way she smelled or the way she looked in her tiny skirts, or how she was always a fun challenge for him, even if she had no real power. And he definitely never let her win to see the victorious gleam in her eyes. That would be stupid.
"I don't like you," he informed her, just so she was aware.
"But I like you."
Fuck it.
He pressed his lips to hers and waited for something to happen. He didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do next or what it was supposed to feel like. Was it supposed to feel like he'd been punched in the gut? Maybe that wasn't the right word… His stomach felt strange, twisted maybe.
Small, quivering hands fisted his shirt and he felt himself being pulled forward. He didn't stop it. A sharp intake of breath, followed by a long deep sigh. Something else deep in the back of the throat, like a moan. He wasn't sure who made the sound, but he liked the vibration it created.
Aisla's lips were soft and warm on his. He liked the way they felt when she moved them against his own and pressed down harder. A shudder ran down her small frame and his arm tightened around her back to pull her closer against him. She felt so right in his arms like she belonged there. Like she was made to be there.
That's the dumbest fucking thing you've ever thought, Bakugo.
He pulled back, breaking the kiss. He started to move away but her hands still gripped his shirt. Her eyes were wide as saucers, an almost frantic look about them. She held onto his shirt. "Don't, Katsuki." A broken plea.
He gripped her arms and pushed her back slightly. "I gotta go."
Coward, he thought later that day as he laid on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. I'm a fucking coward.
He'd never be able to take that back now. She was probably in her room crying about how terrible he was. Or throwing darts at a picture of his face. Actually probably not that last one, he'd witnessed her dart-throwing skills firsthand already.
A knock sounded on his door. It was Kirishima. Mr. Aizawa had asked him to look for Bakugo and 'drag his ass back to class.'
"I'M SICK, OKAY? GO AWAY!"
He heard his footsteps fading down the hall and turned onto his side, feeling sorry for himself. Bakugo was skipping classes. He was skipping classes because he was a coward. He couldn't show his face after what he'd just done. Besides that, he couldn't stop replaying back in his mind what had happened, every time he closed his eyes. Aisla's lips, her eyes, her smile. The way she gripped his shirt and pulled him close.
Why did it make him so angry to think about?! Why had he done something so stupid? And why had he just left her there afterward? He was such an idiot! What was she thinking right now? Should he go look for her? What if she was still out there, in the middle of the woods all alone? Because of him?
"Fuck me," he muttered to no one. He flung his legs off the bed and threw open the door. He stopped in his tracks before barreling through the open doorway because someone already occupied the space, standing there with a fist raised to knock, eyes surprised.
"Aisla—" He started but she cut him off.
"I'm sorry, Bakugo." She blurted, letting the hand drop. She held onto it with her other hand as if trying to hold herself back from using it. "I'm sorry I've been so pushy with you these last few weeks. I know you said you don't like me and that I'm stupid and you'll never—"
He grabbed her arm and yanked her into his room, slamming the door shut and pinning her against it. "Shut up, okay? I'm the one who's fucking stupid, not you so stop beating yourself up!" He practically shouted at her, his words coming out like accusations. He was mad, but not at her. "I kissed your dumbass, didn't I? So don't act like you're the only one who does anything!"
She arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you want some credit too?" Her tone was teasing.
His face took on some color and he glanced away. "No."
"Katsuki…" She whispered his name. He peered down at her. Her hands slid up his chest slowly, eyes watching his as if asking for permission. He didn't stop her, even as her hands traveled higher, up and around his neck and into his hair, playing with the spiky strands. He'd never had someone else's hands in his hair before. It felt… kind of nice.
Her eyes stayed locked on his as she pulled his lips down to meet hers, still allowing him to put a stop to it if he wanted. He didn't want that. He let her kiss him with those soft, sure lips. He let himself kiss her back. He allowed this one moment of peace and normality, where he wasn't pushing her away or pretending not to care. For just a moment, he let go.
A/N: Part three has arrived! A little steamier than the last two chapters *wink, wink* I really love this pairing, so I hope you guys do too. I feel like Aisla is the type of person Bakugo could potentially be with if she existed in the show. She's sweet and patient but she'd also got wit and cunning and she's pretty tenacious. Bakugo needs someone like her, someone persistent but also willing to let go and allow him to take control. What do you guys think? Do you ship it?
The fourth and final part will be coming out Friday! I have been working on a companion fic which is from Aisla's POV, if anyone is interested in reading that! I thought it was fun to get inside of her head and see her motivations. WHY is she interested in someone so mean and angry? Why is she so persistent? What happens between parts three and four? Hmmmmm… You'll have to read her side to find that out so let me know if you're ready for it!