"No, just drink the damn thing in one go, you can't sip on it!"

Holding your breath, you stared down into the clear liquid in the small wooden cup you held between your fingers. You didn't hold your breath because you were scared. In fact, the sake was so pungent that you found you needed to keep from breathing it in if you wanted even the slightest chance of swallowing it all in one go. In truth, you were never much fond of alcohol and you very rarely found yourself getting drunk. But now, with Bakugou's warm company and persuasion, you had agreed to give it a try. Little did you know that it would smell so strongly or that it would already have Bakugou tipsy after just three shots of it.

After a couple more seconds of prepping yourself, you clenched your eyes shut and downed the liquid, forcing yourself to swallow before your entire body tensed up in disgust of the taste. The burn on the way down was the worst, feeling it through every inch of your esophagus before it hit your stomach. The warmth of the alcohol instantly made your body feel like it was on fire, and as you slammed the small cup back onto the table in front of you, Bakugou's chuckles finally reached your burning ears.

"That's it, Demon! How does that feel?"

"It tastes and feels awful!" Already feeling your head growing a bit dizzy, you glowered at the blonde man across from you, pout on your lips. He had gone on and on about how amazing and delicious this particular sake was, but now you were unsure if he had just been lying the entire time or if it really was that good to him.

"Tastes awful?! Are you kidding? This is the best damn sake in town, you can't get any better!" Bakugou poured another round in his own cup, taking the drink down like a champ. "You must be seriously spoiled wherever you're from."

With a huff, you adjusted your sitting position a bit, starting to feel your legs going numb from sitting on them so formally. "I'm not spoiled, I just don't drink. You should slow down, you're already kinda tipsy."

"Tipsy? What do you mean, what is that? Whatever it is, I'm fine." After another shot, Bakugou turned his full attention to his noodle soup before him, shoving a range of noodles and a slice of pork into his mouth. Having already gotten used to his bad eating manners, you ignored the way he slurped the noodles, taking a sip of your hot green tea to try and rid your mouth of the alcohol taste.

"It means drunk, that the alcohol is starting to affect you. But I suppose you may have a high tolerance if you drink regularly." Setting your teacup down, you timidly began to stir your soup and noodles with your chopsticks, starting to feel an odd heavy weight on your shoulders. You knew that this meal wasn't cheap, nor was the many containers of clothes and accessories that sat beside you. In the end, he had basically spoiled you rotten that day, and you just couldn't figure out why. Maybe now, with the influence of the sake, he would let his true intentions slip. "Bakugou–"

"Katsuki!" Bakugou corrected you with a scowl and a point of his finger, mouth half full of food. "I told you, call me Katsuki when we aren't around people!"

"R-Right, sorry." Feeling your cheeks flush from the mistake, you kept your head bowed to avoid looking at him. "I just had a question I hoped you would answer…"

"What?"

Placing both of your hands in your lap, you fiddled nervously with your nails, taking as inconspicuous of a deep breath as possible. "Why did you want to do all this for me? Taking me into town is one thing, but… All these clothes and food… I'm just wondering why."

After slurping more noodles into his mouth, Bakugou used the back of his hand to wipe his lips, placing his chopsticks down next to his bowl. "Because I felt like it. Does that bother you?"

"N-no… Well, a little. Not in a bad way!" You defended yourself quickly as his eyes narrowed, holding your hands out to try and keep him complacent. "It doesn't bother me! It just… I guess I just really want to know why."

"I told you, I felt like it."

"That isn't a good reason… And it isn't the truth."

You could see Bakugou bite his tongue, obviously shocked at how straight forward you were about this whole situation. That, and you could see right through that ridiculous lie. No one just spent all that money on someone just because they felt like it. But, it wasn't just the money that had tipped you off on there possibly being something deeper. You could admit, that in the past few years of your life, you had never had such fun in a single day. Bakugou was so easy for you to talk to, to joke with and just… have fun.

You didn't expect that kind of comfort out of a man like him, but it was there, and it was undeniable. He had shown you every inch of this town, talking your ear off about this and that, about how his Lord had built all this from the ground up and how proud he was to be a part of it. You kicked muddy water at each other one minute in a moment of agitation, while he placed a hairpin in your hair so gently the next. It was a whirlwind of excitement and emotion, but you didn't want to get the wrong impression and have your heart lifted just to have it crushed in the end.

With a heavy sigh, Bakugou leaned back on his arms, his crimson glare locked on the wall over your shoulder. "It's… because I trust you. And I want you to stay."

"Y-you do?" A heat rushed to your cheeks, hot enough to even make your ears burn. "Really?"

"Of course I do, you idiot." Bakugou glowered at you, the tips of his ears flushing red, just as yours were. "Do you think I'd tolerate you at all if I didn't? That I would share my strategies with you and trust you with so many secrets? Or drink sake with you? That makes me vulnerable!" Bakugou sat up straight, tapping his finger against the neck of the sake bottle. "So, yeah, I trust you, you stupid Demon. Even though half the time you make me feel like a fool."

The bubbling excitement you had felt at his confession turned sour in your stomach, a small frown crossing your lips. "What do you mean? How do I do that?"

Grumbling, Bakugou poured himself another shot before drinking it, as if to prep himself for what he was about to have to admit. "It's bad enough that I have to follow Deku's commands. That idiot came from nothing and rose to the highest station, faster than I ever could, even when I came from a warrior family! And then there's you, fixing and changing my strategies to fit whatever damn visions you're having. It's like I've become nothing but a useless title to yell at people."

"Aw Katsuki, that's not true at all. I don't want you to feel that way about me. I don't know anything about war and the planning that goes on behind it, all I can do is tell you what I see. Because I… I want to protect you. You and everyone else. If I can help you win, to help you survive, then I'll do whatever I can." You couldn't control the words that came rolling off your tongue, wanting to do anything and everything you could in that moment to comfort him. "You believe me, right?"

After a long moment of silence with nothing but a glare scanning your face, Bakugou picked up his chopsticks, tapping the end of them against the wooden table. "There are times that I don't know what to think of you. The way you talk, the things you say and how… comfortable I am around you. Sometimes it seems unnatural… and it bothers me. But, in the end, I believe you. And I trust you."

With a nod, you allowed a soft smile to cross your lips, happy to hear those words. "Thank you, Katsuki… Your trust means a lot to me."

Only giving a grunt in response, Bakugou went back to eating, though he did pause as you reached over and picked up the sake bottle. "Another one?"

Holding up your cup, the smile on your face grew as happiness and excitement swelled inside of you. "To our trust!"

After a moment of confusion, Bakugou poured himself another drink, bringing up his cup and allowing to bump lightly into yours.

"To our trust. Now… You had better tell me what 'fuck' means. I'm not going to let you forget."

After suffering through your shot of alcohol, you shook your head, giving him a sly smile. "Nope! You're drunk now! I was only going to tell you when you're sober. Otherwise you'll forget."

"Fuck… Fine!"

…

"Don't drop it, Demon! You'll wake the whole damn palace up!"

"Shh–! Katsuki, you're loud!"

As you fumbled with the door to your quarters, you tried to drunkenly hold two boxes of your newly purchased clothing, trying to slide the door open with elbow. Eventually, with a good push, you got the door to open just enough to slip your leg inside, then your hip, until you were opening the door with your back. Scoffing, Bakugou slid past you to get inside before you could even make the entrance wide enough, though you were too intoxicated to really care.

"I'm loud?! You should hear yourself." Having been carrying more boxes than you, Bakugou placed them down in a random corner of the room, before coming back to take yours. Glad to not have the heavy burden in your arms anymore, you gave a relieved sigh, sliding the door back into place with just a small crack to allow light in from the moon.

"I am not loud. I'm as dainty as a… butterfly." Hands on your hips, you smiled up at him, not at all perturbed by the scowl on his face. That look that had frightened you so much when you first met him was something so familiar now, with not even a hint of threat. It was so cute to you, in fact, that it was hard to resist the urge to just reach up and pinch his cheeks. You had a feeling he wouldn't like that, however, so you kept your hands to yourself. "A pretty little fluttering bug."

"A bug is right." Bakugou huffed as he fixed his robes that had gotten displaced while carrying the luggage. "An annoying one that I should squish." Approaching you, he stopped to stand in front of you, which was something you hadn't fully expected. In fact, you had thought that maybe he'd just up and leave after helping you. Instead, here he was, glowering down at you with that fierce crimson glare that you had come to adore. He was standing perfectly in the line of light coming from the door, which reflected off his eyes and framed his flawless face with attractive, soft shadows. How badly you wanted to touch him, to wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him was nearly suffocating. Yet, you kept control of your drunken mind the best you could, shifting from one foot to another nervously.

"You wouldn't do that. You like me too much."

"I tolerate you too much." Bakugou spoke with a corrective tone that you couldn't help but relate to the way a father corrected a child, which made you giggle in amusement.

"Okay, okay. But I think that for you, 'tolerate' is equivalent to 'like'. So, you like me too much to want to squish me."

"Shut up," Although his command was short and harsh, you saw a change in his expression, which grew almost… gentle. You had seen this soft expression before, so focused and intent. On what, you weren't sure, but you had no time to try and figure out what as he spoke again. "Demon… [F/N]… I, uhm…"

Your heart nearly leaping out of your chest at the sound of your name on his lips, you couldn't contain your excitement, which exploded freely within your intoxicated mind. Tenderly, you reached forward and took his hand, stepping in closer as you waited for him to continue. At first, his brow furrowed as his fingers wrapped tightly around yours, his lips parted with words dancing on his tongue.

Then, it was gone. All the softness, the closeness you had experienced in those few moments vanished as Bakugou ripped his hand from yours, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Don't touch me like that, woman. Who the hell do you think you are?"

The ice in his voice made you instinctively take a step back, clutching your own hand tightly to your chest. "I-I'm sorry, I just-"

"Just be quiet. If you think any of this was something more, then you're an idiot. Go to bed." Shoving himself past you to reach the door, it slid shut behind him with a loud click, leaving you alone in darkness. As it swallowed you, sadness followed suit, tears welling up in your eyes as you flopped to sit on your futon.

You were an idiot. How could you possibly even begin to believe that he would have wanted anything more to do with you? You were just something that he could use, and all of this was something to keep you complacent, like a tool that needed the rust removed so it wouldn't break.

"Is that really all I've come to be?" You whispered through hiccups, wiping away the tears that streamed down your cheeks. You could still feel the heat of his hand wrapped around yours, his hands so calloused and rough from his years of war. It perfectly matched the rest of him, and yet, he had looked at you like you were more than just a rusty tool. His gaze in the moonlight, so soft and full of wanting made you feel like you were a brilliant gem in his eyes. But you weren't. You were a nobody that came from nothing, from a world so far off and different from this one, where you didn't even know if anyone remembered you.

Not even bothering to remove your clothes from the day or undo your hair, you laid down and covered yourself with your thick blanket, sobbing into the fabric. So stupid! I'm so stupid! He could never care about me like that… Ow, that hurts…

Feeling something stabbing uncomfortably into your scalp, your sadness was temporarily interrupted as you reached up and pulled the object out of your hair, bringing it down into your teary field of vision. One of the hair ornaments Bakugou had gotten you gleamed against the dull light that filled the room, and for a moment, you thought the crimson jewels looked just like his gaze.

So beautiful and soft.

So loving.

Filled with everything you ever wanted, but would never have.