All of the girls of Class 1-A were gathered around in the lounge, tuckered out from yet another day of intense training. They were all just relaxing on the couches when Hagakure brought up an interesting topic. "Hey! Hey! Have you guys noticed something…interesting lately?"
Tsuyu turned to her, asking, "Like what, Tooru-chan?" The invisible girl giggled, bouncing slightly in her seat. "You know! Like love in the air!"
The frog-like girl tilted her head and placed a finger on her lip. "You mean between Aya-chan and Bakugou?" Hagakure bounced even more in her seat, unable to contain her excitement. "Yes! Yes! Exactly!"
Jiro furrowed her brows. "I know we all saw them sleeping together on one of the couches, but they haven't really done anything with each other ever since, right? And they both acted like that didn't happen too."
Hagakure gasped. "What do you mean!? Them sleeping together is such a big deal! Besides, maybe they're trying to hide their relationship or something!" Jiro still looked skeptical. "Don't you think you might be looking into it too much? I mean, neither of them seem like the type to get all lovey-dovey or whatever."
Yaoyorozu hummed in thought, putting her chin in her hand. "You may be right about that, but perhaps that's exactly why they would hide it? It's only been a few days, but I feel something between them has changed."
Mina quickly pointed at Yaoyorozu, confirming her thoughts. "I was just thinking the same thing! It's the atmosphere between them! The atmosphere! It's totally different from before!"
Hagakure leaned forward, agreeing. "It definitely is! The aura around them feels so much warmer! And they're not arguing as much as they used to! They've even been getting more physical with each other!"
Jiro smirked, twirling one of her earphone jacks. "Maybe that's just them getting more aggressive." She joked. Mina furiously shook her head. "No way! It's definitely not hostile physicality." Jiro shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it's not like we have any way of knowing for sure. We're not really close with either of them."
Hagakure jumped out of her seat. "We can just ask Aya-chan! It can be an all-girls bonding time!" Mina jumped up with her. "Yeah! We'll go get her now!"
"Wait! I didn't mean—and they're gone…" Jiro's shoulders slumped as she sighed.
In no time at all, the two girls returned, pulling along a mildly puzzled Ayano. The two forced her down into an empty seat. They each eagerly took a seat beside her. "What is this all about?" The inventor asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Oh, nothing! We just thought it'd be nice to get all the girls together! You're not part of 1-A but you still live with us, and we wanted to get to know you better as friends!" Hagakure and Mina both leaned in towards Ayano. "Yeah! Like your hobbies, what you're interested, who you're interested in. Just girl talk, you know!"
The brown-haired girl quickly looked between them as they kept leaning closer to her. "I appreciate the sentiment, but is now really the best time for this?" The two excited girls tilted their heads. "What do you mean?" They asked.
"All of you are training for the Provisional Hero License Exam, yes? I would imagine that training is especially tiring during this period, and assumed that you all would rather be resting." She explained.
Hagakure hugged the girl's side. Perhaps a little too forcefully since they were now heavily leaning towards the other side. In this awkward position, Ayano raised a hand to pat the invisible girl's arm. "Aww, it's sweet of you to think about our health, but we are resting now! Hmm, but now that you mention it…They really weren't kidding when they said they'd compress all the training."
This launched a torrent of tired sighs and prompted a whole new conversation. Each girl inquired the others on their progress and shared their own troubles in the process. They talked about their quirks and ideas for new super moves.
During their conversation, Ayano quietly slipped on her wristband. Projecting a small holographic screen, she began one-handedly typing on the holographic keyboard that appeared on her arm. She wouldn't miss a chance to record valuable information and even joined the conversation when the other girls talked about possible changes to their costumes.
Hagakure and Mina had forgotten why they had even brought Ayano down here until Tsuyu tried getting Uraraka's attention. "Ochako-chan?" She repeated her name, poking her. The girl jumped, spitting out her drink in response. "Sorry. You must be tired." Tsuyu apologized.
Uraraka frantically recomposed herself. "No! No! No! I can't afford to be tired. I've still got more in me…is what I want to say, but I don't know. Lately, I've been feeling…disconcerted."
"It's a boy."
Uraraka immediately flailed her arms around, a massive blush staining her cheeks. "H-HUH—WHA—! A boy?! That's not it, I swear!"
Mina didn't relent in her attacks. "Is it Midoriya or Iida!? You're with them a lot!" She accused.
"Nooo! Noooooo!" The gravity girl shouted in mortification, her body floating into the air. Ayano stared at the floating girl, rapidly taking notes on her quirk.
Mina turned towards her, remembering her original objective. "How do you feel about that, Aya-chan?" Ayano answered without looking back at the pink-skinned girl. "I find her quirk fascinating, and I wonder about its full capabilities. For instance, what would occur if she were to—" "No! Not about her quirk! How do you feel about her liking one of the boys in our class?" Mina quickly interrupted before Ayano could go into one of her Midoriya-like mumblings.
The inventor raised an eyebrow. "Why would I have any particular feelings about that?" Hagakure leaned towards her, giggling. "Oh, you know! If she happens to like Midoriya, wouldn't you feel something about that? You two are super close, aren't you?"
Ayano blinked. "We are childhood friends and remain friends to this day. I suppose if Uraraka-san finds romantic interest in him, then that means she has good taste."
"Isn't that great! You have her blessings! Less competition for you!" The other girls teased. "Nooooo! I said it's not like that!" Uraraka moaned, her cheeks burning.
"But are you sure you don't like Midoriya in that way? Like you said, you guys are childhood friends! There's got to be something to that! It'd be like a shoujo manga where the main character realizes that she's been in love with her childhood friend all this time! And then it ends up that her childhood friend has liked her back the whole time too!" Mina and Hagakure squealed, hugging each other and bouncing up and down in their excitement.
"I have no such interest in Izuku." Ayano plainly said without hesitation, going back to fiddling with her projection wristband. The two bouncing girls froze in place.
Jiro cringed a bit. "That sounded a little harsh." She remarked. Ayano just blinked again. "My apologies. It was not my intention to sound harsh. I was simply answering their inquiries." Jiro was about to say that her apology wasn't needed when a loud, booming voice interrupted her.
"LIKE HELL SHE'D FALL IN LOVE WITH THAT WORTHLESS DEKU!"
The girls turned around in their seats to see some of the boys from their class. Bakugou was at the center with Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero following behind. Kirishima was nervously looking at him after his sudden outburst while Kaminari and Sero wiggled their eyebrows at each other.
The duo flanked him and each swung an arm around his shoulders, Kaminari on his left and Sero on his right. "Hey! Hey! What makes you so sure of that, huh? Just like the girls said, her and Midoriya are childhood friends and are still so close now. You never know!" Kaminari stated.
"He's right, you know?" Sero commented and then faked a gasp. "Could it be…you're jealous? That she might like him?"
Kaminari snickered. "Or maybe you're afraid? You're also her childhood friend, right? Maybe you're scared that she might reject you too! Just like she did to Midoriya just now!" The duo laughed, completely unaware of the hell that would soon be brought upon them.
With each question and comment that they made, Bakugou shook more in fury. The anger was bubbling up in him, not only because they were making fun of him, but also because they dared to even insinuate that Ayano had feelings for someone other than him – and with that good-for-nothing Deku, of all people!
Kaminari's and Sero's laughs were soon replaced with groans of pain as Bakugou grabbed the top of their heads and smashed their skulls together. The duo slid down onto the floor in front of him with red foreheads and swirling eyes. Everyone could almost see the flames of rage in the ash blond's eyes and the steam coming out of his ears.
"All of you can fuck off! She's mine!" To emphasize his declaration, he stomped towards the girl, coming up behind her on the couch. He bent down to her level, snatching her jaw in one hand and forcing her to look backwards. He swiftly took her lips in an open-mouthed kiss.
Releasing her, he stood up straight again. He was glaring at everyone else, but the ferocity was somewhat diminished because of the fierce blush growing on his cheeks. "You got that?!" He yelled as everyone stared at him in shock, mouths agape.
Uraraka and Jiro had the widest eyes and widest mouths. Yaoyoruzu sported her own small blush as she covered her mouth with both hands. Despite Tsuyu having relatively little expressions because of her frog-like features, even she was clearly surprised. Hagakure and Mina were shocked, even though they had suspected something was going on between them from the start. They were shocked that the two were so open about their relationship.
The boys were no different. Kirishima didn't know how to react while Kaminari and Sero wondered if Bakugou had hit them so hard that they were having a dream or a hallucination right now.
While everyone was silent, Ayano rubbed her jaw and slightly strained neck. "That was painful, you idiot. If you are going to kiss me, you could at least do it right." To prove her point, she sat up to stand on her knees and turned around on the couch to directly face him. Her hands grabbed each side of his face, pulling him in for another kiss.
Their classmates could handle one, but two!?
As she pulled away, she saw Bakugou's amazed face, still blushing. She quickly avoided his eyes in embarrassment, her own blush surfacing. Coughing awkwardly into her hand, Ayano stood up. "If you will excuse me, I would like to go back to my room now."
She shuffled out of the lounge, leaving everyone to process what just happened. Several screams and shrieks were heard as Ayano entered the elevator.
"Oh my god! It really is like a shoujo manga where the two childhood friends become a couple!"
"No way! So you guys really are together?! Since when?!"
"Is this our class' first couple?! Did we just witness the confession!?"
"SHUT UP!"
Ayano was working at her desk when, for the second time that night, her door was busted open. Instead of Hagakure and Mina, however, it was her boyfriend standing at her doorway.
The two of them stared at each other, Bakugou's blush returning as he thought about what just happened in the lounge. Ayano blinked at him. "You could learn to knock every once in a while."
Snapping out of it, Bakugou clicked his tongue. Ayano turned back to her work. "Is there something you need from me?" She asked. "…it…right…" He mumbled out, causing her to sigh as she worked. "You are going to have to speak more clearly for me to understand."
"…I came to do it right…" He muttered a little louder this time. Ayano paused her ministrations, realizing that he was talking about the kiss.
In the time that it took her to realize this, Bakugou had already made his way up to her. She shifted in her seat, facing him with a dusting of pink on her cheeks. He took her face in his hands, feeling the warmth and a bit of pride at that.
They kissed each other for a couple moments. Only pulling away slightly, Bakugou stared at her, as if expecting some sort of response. She obliged. "That was…nice." She breathed out.
"…Thank you…" She added as an afterthought, unsure of what else she should say.
Bakugou laughed, releasing her. "What are you thanking me for, idiot…" He walked around her to plop onto her bed. Ayano returned to what she was doing as he observed her. "That for me?" He asked, pointing to all the things littering her desk.
"That is correct." She nodded. "I am attempting to make adjustments to your gloves so that they will be better suited for your new super move, the AP Shot." She unscrewed a jar filled with liquid. It was a mixture laced with nitroglycerin to mimic the properties of Bakugou's sweat. Using a small pipette, she took a few drops of the liquid and placed it onto a surface similar to the material of the gloves. As each drop made contact, a tiny explosion occurred. She took notes with her other hand as she carefully examined the phenomenon.
Bakugou stared at her profile, mesmerized. She worked quickly and efficiently, not wasting a single movement. Everything was calculated and methodical.
He had seen her work before, but he had never noticed all the little things. Her face was just as impassive and serious as always, but sometimes there would be small changes in her expression.
Little twitches of her eyebrows when something unexpected happened. A small tilt of her head when she was figuring out a problem. The tiny smile when she solved it. The subtle, decisive nod when she moved on to the next task.
Everything about her was so beautiful.
Ayano glanced at him. "Oh. I will need to borrow your costume again, Katsuki."
He almost fell off the bed.
She stared at him, blinking a few times. "Is that a problem?"
Bakugou's face was completely red as he spluttered. "N-No! M-My name…!" She had used his first name without any honorific only a few times before. He could count the number of times on one hand. They had always had a purpose though. She only ever called his name like that for impact, to convey deep gratitude, or to express some other strong emotion. She had always returned to using his last name afterwards.
She had never used his name so casually before and without any significant meaning.
Ayano raised an eyebrow at him. "Is it so odd for me to use my boyfriend's first name?" "B-BOYFR—" "We are in a relationship, are we not?"
"I-I…You…!" Bakugou couldn't even contain himself or compose his thoughts. To hear her use his name like that and to be called her boyfriend!? "I-It's just weird to hear you call me that after so long!" He defended himself, hoping that his cheeks weren't too red.
Ayano hummed in thought. "I suppose. I had contemplated calling you 'Kacchan' like when we were children, but I believe using just your name would be more intimate. Which would you prefer?"
"J-Just my name is fine!" He said louder than he liked, his embarrassment getting the better of him. Ayano nodded. "Katsuki, then."
She returned to working and taking notes as if nothing happened. Using the pipette again, a few drops of the nitroglycerin liquid fell and made more small explosions.
Bakugou sighed in frustration, furiously rubbing his head. Damn it! How come he was the only one that was getting this embarrassed!? Staring at her profile again, he took a deep breath.
"Ayano."
In her surprise, she ended up squeezing the pipette far too hard. The nitroglycerin liquid gushed out, creating a much larger explosion.
The two of them coughed, waiting for the smoke to clear. Bakugou rushed toward her. "You idiot! What the hell are you doing!?" He paused when he saw her face.
She wasn't hurt, but there was that unmistakable scarlet hue coating her cheeks. She quickly put her arm up against her face, trying to hide it. "Sorry…I…When you said my name…I…."
A smile was slowly crawling onto Bakugou's face. "Is it so weird for me to use my girlfriend's first name?" He threw her words right back at her, making her blush even harder.
She was caught completely off guard. She hadn't expected him to call out to her so suddenly.
Unlike her, he had never used her name before. He had never used a nickname or anything of the sort. In fact, he had never even used her last name before. Even when they were children, he had never called her by any part of her name. For the longest time, it was always just 'idiot,' 'dumbass,' some other obscenity, or even just 'you.'
This was the first time.
She hoped it wouldn't be the last.
She knew that it was strange to act like this after doing the same to him and saying all of that. She knew, but she couldn't help feeling like this.
This incredible happiness.
She bit her lip, trying to use the pain to bring herself back to reality. "No…not weird, just…unexpected."
Bakugou smirked, finally able to get the upper hand. "There's nothing unexpected about a boyfriend calling his girlfriend by her first name, is there?"
Ayano shook her head. "No…that is not what is unexpected." He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "Then what's unexpected for you?"
"How immensely happy I am."
Ah. He lost the upper hand again.
How could she be this damn cute!?
What a sight they were. Such blushing fools.
"You…I'll say your name as many times as you want. So, say my name as many times as I want, alright?! Ayano!" He demanded. She shakily nodded. "Katsuki."
"Ayano." "Katsuki." "Ayano…" "Katsuki…"
As they leaned forward, her door was yet again busted open that night. "Aya-chan! I was training outside when I saw and heard a huge explosion coming from your room! Is everything oka—AH!"
That was how Midoriya Izuku learned that his two childhood friends were in a relationship.
"GET OUT, DEKU!" "S-S-SORRY!"
The day of the Provisional Hero License Exam came in the blink of an eye. Everyone awoke early to prepare.
Bakugou stifled a big yawn as he opened his door. He rubbed his eyes when he saw his costume suitcase on the floor. Attached to the handle was a note.
You said you would be my hero, but you better become everyone else's too.
Otherwise, I'm taking this back.
- Sasaki Ayano
Oh, what Ayano would do to see the smile on Bakugou's face right now.
He took the suitcase and went back into his room to pack everything up. Flopping onto his bed, he read the note over and over again. His smile growing bigger with each re-read.
While he was laying down, he lifted the note up above his head, as if to admire it from a different angle. Being held up to the light, he could somewhat see through the paper. There was some writing on the back that he hadn't noticed before. Turning it over, he blushed as he read it.
P.S. I love you. Do your best.