Yaoyorozu spent the morning after the mock-date creating several pieces of equipment that would help her spy on Bakugou and Uraraka.
She created two tracking devices to keep track of their movements; several spy cameras and listening devices placed in the common rooms; as well as a tiny drone in the shape of a fly for unexpected opportunities – the image and audio of which were sent to her phone. Yaoyorozu did not tell the other girls about her spy equipment for fear they would lecture her again.
Although she was the only one actively investigating the relationship between her two classmates, she made sure to keep the other girls abreast of her progress and get their occasional input. Mostly that input consisted of them warily cautioning Yaoyorozu about her obsession while still grasping at the sparse information Yaoyorozu imparted to them.
Her investigation was bearing some fruit, but she still could not tell whether the relationship between Bakugou and Uraraka was more romantic or platonic in nature.
Every piece of evidence she gathered could be interpreted ambiguously.
For instance, the day after the mock-date some of their classmates were having breakfast when Kirishima grabbed Uraraka's attention and beckoned her to follow him. As Kirishima was Bakugou's best friend, this instantly set off Yaoyorozu's detective instincts.
She excused herself from the table, plugged her earphones into her phone and tuned into the listening device in the lounge area.
"Yo Uraraka, Bakugou asked me to give you a message," Kirishima was saying.
"Oh. Okay," Uraraka sounded confused. "Couldn't he just text me like a normal person?"
"He says he hasn't saved the numbers of anyone in class because he doesn't feel like deleting them after we graduate," Kirishima laughed. "He barely uses his phone anyway, but I'm pretty sure he has all our numbers saved. He just doesn't want us thinking we're allowed to text him."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Uraraka sighed irritably, but there was a fondness to her tone. "So, what's the message?"
"Oh, right. He got called in for his internship for a few days. Said you two were supposed to spar today, but it's gotta be postponed until he comes back."
Yaoyorozu's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Not only did Bakugou take Uraraka's sparring challenge seriously, but he was also eager, was willing to postpone it, and even considerately let Uraraka know that he wouldn't be able to make it. It was almost as though he was cancelling a date.
Uraraka sighed. "Aw drat! I was looking forward to kicking his butt!"
"Hey, I'm free, if you're looking for a partner to spar with."
"It has to be him. We're using the match to settle an argument," Uraraka sounded passionately determined and then her voice turned sly. "But, you know, I would appreciate a practice session with you, Kirishima-kun. The two of you are always sparring so maybe you can give me a few pointers to help me beat him?"
"Say no more," The grin in Kirishima's voice was obvious even though Yaoyorozu could not see him.
Yaoyorozu sighed as they both returned to their respective breakfasts. Bakugou had been considerate, yes, but he generally was a stickler for punctuality, so his reaction had not been too surprising. Uraraka's reaction was also not very telling. Inconclusive.
The second piece of evidence came the next day while Yaoyorozu, Iida, Midoriya and Uraraka sat doing their homework. During the natural flow of conversation Uraraka asked Midoriya about the last time he went home for the weekend. After he replied that it had been a while, she asked, quite casually:
"You and Bakugou stay close to each other, don't you?"
Yaoyorozu nearly froze at the offhand question. She pretended to be reading, while extending her eyes and ears towards the two.
"Yeah, we do," Midoriya smiled.
"Huh. And neither of you have been home in ages," Uraraka continued, writing up her summary and seemingly not paying much attention to the conversation. "Don't your other friends miss you?"
Midoriya chuckled awkwardly and looked puzzled at the line of questioning.
"Not really. I was never really close with any of them, and Kacchan's relationship with those guys sort of fizzled out after we got into UA."
"Those guys? What, there aren't any girls near your building?" Uraraka teased mercilessly.
Midoriya blushed and started stuttering that of course there were girls, and he had definitely spoken to many girls before he came to UA.
"But there weren't any that I would call friends. I mean there were only two girls close to our age growing up. But the one moved away last year. And the other…well she's kind of…"
"Fussy?" Uraraka nodded along thoughtfully, trying to appear far less interested in this information than she surely was.
"Wow. Yeah! Good guess! She never wanted to play with us at all."
Yaoyorozu chewed on her thumbnail and tried to look like she was puzzling out a mathematical equation rather than her friend's social life.
Uraraka was subtly trying to find out more about the girl Bakugou had taken on a test-date. But was it out of jealousy? Or was she simply confirming Bakugou's story? Perhaps it was merely curiosity or perhaps she wanted to use the information to tease him. Or was Yaoyorozu completely off track and Uraraka was merely interested in finding out about other girls competing for Midoriya's attention?
Uraraka dramatically declared her brain fried for the evening and went to lie down on the couch. But when Uraraka took out her phone, Yaoyorozu broke out her fly-drone camera and sent it to spy over Uraraka's shoulder to see who she was texting.
Uraraka: Wow. Nice move faking a mission just to avoid getting your butt kicked. Sounds like…
But unfortunately, Yaoyorozu only got to see this small piece of the text before Uraraka decided to head up to her room. Yaoyorozu raised both her eyebrows in surprise. Uraraka was actually reaching out to Bakugou on her own. Also, to her surprise, she could have sworn she heard a ping from Uraraka's phone before she disappeared up the stairs.
Was he texting her back? A man who liked to pretend he didn't even own a phone? No. Perhaps someone else was texting her. Or perhaps the ping had come from someone else's phone. Inconclusive again.
It was impossible not to want to know what the rest of her text said! However, Yaoyorozu had some ground rules for her investigation – one of which was not to spy on Uraraka or Bakugou in their rooms. So, she had to grind her teeth in frustration and wait for Bakugou to come back. Unfortunately, that was not until Wednesday.
The third piece of evidence was that before Bakugou's return, Yaoyorozu occasionally spotted Uraraka texting on her phone and breaking into silent chuckles – thoroughly amused with the person on the other end.
"What's so funny, Ochako?" Ashido asked once, after a particularly violent belly-laugh from Uraraka.
"Oh nothing," Uraraka smiled, wiping tears of amusement from her eyes. "My friend just doesn't know how to use emojis properly."
"Anyone we know?" Hagakure fished.
Uraraka simply pretended that she was unable to text and talk at the same time, even though they all knew she was an expert at doing so.
Yaoyorozu pulled on her ponytail. Was Uraraka texting with Bakugou? It couldn't be, right? Bakugou never responded to texts, not even to Kirishima or the teachers. Yaoyorozu wished she had made a clone of Uraraka's phone, but she felt that would be too much an invasion of privacy. She would discard this piece of evidence because Uraraka could be chatting with anyone.
This theory seemed to be correct when Bakugou returned to class on Wednesday and neither of the two so much as acknowledged the other. Yet, at the same time, she did notice Bakugou checking his phone more than usual. It was all incredibly frustrating!
Yaoyorozu noticed plenty of other suspicious activity, but none of it could be counted as proof.
Once she finally placed trackers in their shoes she found an increase in interactions between Bakugou and Uraraka. Although they ignored one another on the walk to class, her tracking devices told her that the two had started jogging together in the mornings before school. But as they changed their routes often she had no way of bugging their runs, and no idea what they talked about during these interactions.
On Wednesday she noticed them heading to a training room to spar after class, and remarked upon Uraraka's irritation and Bakugou's smug confidence when they both returned to the dorms afterwards.
It was obvious that Uraraka had lost the sparring match.
The day after, Bakugou casually dropped a coffee cup on Uraraka's desk, making her pull her nose up in distaste. She dutifully drank the beverage, wincing at the taste. Bakugou guffawed as he walked back to his desk while Uraraka stuck out her tongue at his back.
As though he had eyes behind his head he turned and told her in a threatening voice: "I was nice enough to make you coffee. You better finish that shit."
Midoriya looked up at the words and looked between the two of them in confusion.
"Wow. Is Kacchan being nice to you?" he smiled at Uraraka.
"None of your goddamn business, nerd," Bakugou muttered as he took his seat.
Uraraka narrowed her eyes at Bakugou before turning back to Midoriya with a resigned smile.
"No, Deku-kun. He's not," she replied nervously, pulling a face as she took another sip. "In fact, he's being extra cruel to me today."
Midoriya looked confused, but Yaoyorozu noticed Bakugou chuckling to himself as he avoided Uraraka's pointed glaring.
Bakugou dropped a cup of coffee on Uraraka's desk every morning after that.
On Monday someone left a small chocolate bun on Bakugou's desk while everyone was on their lunch break. When Bakugou came in and saw it, Uraraka was extremely interested in studying her notes, while watching Bakugou out of the corner of her eye.
Bakugou picked up the offending item and examined it in disgust. He looked right at Uraraka then and raised his eyebrow at her, before tossing the chocolate into the trashcan. Instead of being upset, Yaoyorozu heard Uraraka let out a small chuckle.
The next day, there was a cola-flavoured sweet on Bakugou's desk, which received the same treatment. The following day Bakugou threw away a piece of liquorice. And the day after, it was a stick of gum.
Yaoyorozu wasn't the only one to notice this trend. The other guys jostled Bakugou about it, with Kaminari teasing that it was probably a love token from one of the girls in class B.
"Although any girl who would want to smooch up to you is probably a little crazy," Kaminari sighed, lamenting the loss of any girl from his pool of options.
"It's not a goddamn love token, you idiot," Bakugou snapped. "If anything, it's someone trying to poison me."
He glared at them all, but his eyes narrowed when they fell on Uraraka. The girl in question was staring at her nails, whistling under her breath and trying not to laugh.
When class was over, Yaoyorozu was preoccupied with thoughts of class on the way back to the norms. But she looked up when she heard Bakugou calling out aggressively to Uraraka from where she, Tsuyu and Ashido were walking ahead of him. Uraraka looked back with a frown and fell into step beside him curiously – the picture of innocence.
Yaoyorozu walked a little faster and strained her hearing as far as she could so she could eavesdrop on them. Midoriya was trailing behind her – the last in the train of students heading back to the dorms. He was obviously deep in thought and wouldn't notice her eavesdropping.
"You lost fair and square, Uraraka," Bakugou scolded with annoyance. "So stop trying to feed me shit. And stop trying to guess my guilty pleasures!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Uraraka's nose was in the air, but her smile ruined it. "So if it's nothing sweet then what is it? Savoury? Potato chips? Maybe alcohol?" she gasped. "Is it steroids? It's steroids, isn't it?"
Bakugou rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead.
"Ouch!" she pouted, rubbing her head.
"You sure have a lot of time to be playing around. Isn't there something you should be doing?" Bakugou raised his eyebrows at her suggestively.
"Like what?" she tilted her head and frowned in confusion.
"That loser's walking all alone back there, muttering to himself as usual. You talk to him yet?"
Uraraka looked back to where Midoriya was walking. Yaoyorozu quickly looked off to the side so that her friend wouldn't notice her eavesdropping.
"Nah. And I don't plan to," Uraraka replied brightly, and Yaoyorozu felt it was safe to observe her friend once more. "You said to make a move or move on. I chose the latter."
Bakugou looked at her with a perplexed frown. Then he grinned at her maliciously.
"Are you being a coward?"
"I am not!" Uraraka snapped, pouting. "I'm telling you I don't need to talk to him anymore."
Uraraka was frowning at Bakugou and clenching her fists. Her entire body was tense .She was more upset with him than she had been in a while.
"And I'm telling you that you need to get it out of your system," Bakugou countered dismissively.
His tone sounded only mildly annoyed, but his fists were clenched, and his jaw was taut.
The two of them glared at each other, tension in the air. But what was causing the tension, Yaoyorozu had no idea.
"Fine!" Uraraka retorted, throwing her hands up. "If it will make you stop nagging, I'll go ask him out."
"I don't fucking nag!" Bakugou yelled, before returning to his mildly irritated expression. "Tch."
Uraraka looked like she wanted to stomp on his toes. But instead, she turned around in a huff and headed back to where Midoriya was. Bakugou watched her go with a grim satisfaction and nodded to himself when he saw her approaching Midoriya.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Bakugou yelled when he noticed Yaoyorozu watching him.
Luckily, he didn't wait for an answer before turning around and stomping back on his way to the dorms.
Yaoyorozu wondered what that had all been about.
Her evidence and assumptions seemed to be all wrong! If Bakugou liked Uraraka then why would he push her so hard to confess to Midoriya? But if he was just being a good friend to her, why was he not accepting her decision to move on? Perhaps in his own way he was showing concern for Uraraka – and in a strange way, he was being considerate of Midoriya too. Could it be that Bakugou was trying to make up for how cruel he had been to his childhood friend by pushing Midoriya and Uraraka together?
And why would Uraraka choose to move on from Midoriya so suddenly? Did she actually like Bakugou? In that case, was Bakugou subtly rejecting her? Or was she really just pretending to move on and looking to Bakugou to give her the courage to ask out the boy she actually liked?
Yaoyorozu was chewing on her thumbnail before she even knew what she was doing. As soon as she reached the dorms she told the other girls what she had witnessed.
"So, she's asking Midoriya out right now?" Ashido asked, wide-eyed. "Wow."
The others were equally impressed. Many of them were resisting the urge to run to the window and look out at the two as they walked slowly back to the dorms. But they all decided to give Uraraka her privacy in case she and Midoriya started staring at each other with googly eyes. Or worse – if Uraraka returned humiliated.
However, after about twenty minutes, Midoriya returned looking hesitant and confused, while Uraraka entered behind him wearing a fake smile and waving him off as she made her way to where the girls were drinking tea.
Not wanting to alert their friend to all their spying, none of them asked Uraraka about it. They distracted each other with meaningless and meaningful conversation, all the while noticing that Uraraka was slightly distant and that her laughter was somewhat off.
The next day was the same. Uraraka was trying to act normal, while clearly stuck in her own mind. Meanwhile Midoriya kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye. But he didn't look awkward or guilty or disappointed, he merely looked a little perplexed.
Yaoyorozu did not know what to make of it. She did, however, remark that Bakugou also noticed and was similarly perplexed.
After tossing and turning all night trying to solve the mystery, and becoming thoroughly irritated with her lack of conclusive evidence, Yaoyorozu was up earlier than usual the next morning.
She sleepily checked her phone to track her suspects, which was her morning habit by now. However, she sat up wide awake when the trackers showed Bakugou and Uraraka coming in from their jog and remaining in the kitchen, rather than heading up to their respective rooms.
Now was her chance! It was a Saturday. Only the most dedicated students were up this early on the weekend, and everyone else would be sleeping in. This was the perfect opportunity for Yaoyorozu to spy.
Ugh! She facepalmed as she remembered that her kitchen camera had been accidentally removed by the cleaner, so she would need to plant the bug herself. Yaoyorozu jumped out of bed and hurried downstairs!
She heard their low voices coming from the kitchen but couldn't make them out. Silently, Yaoyorozu got as close as she dared before sneaking into a hallway closet to hide before they saw her. She took out her fly drone camera and used her controls to fly it quietly to the countertop, angling it for the perfect view. Then she created a pair of earphones and settled in to watch the two of them on her phone.
Bakugou was grabbing two bottles of water from the refrigerator while Uraraka was leaning with her back against one of the countertops watching him.
"Fine, I'll admit that your stamina's improving," Bakugou grunted reluctantly as he handed her a bottle.
"And I thank you," Uraraka hopped onto the countertop and gulped down nearly half her bottle, while Bakugou bustled about boiling water. "See? I told you I wouldn't slow you down."
"I never thought you would," Bakugou flicked her knee, making her kick her leg out reflexively and frown at him for it. "I just said keep up or stay home."
However, before Uraraka could retaliate, Midoriya came downstairs in his hero costume, pausing when he saw the two of them together in the kitchens. Both of them froze as they watched their green-haired classmate.
Just like before, Bakugou put his hands in his pockets and leaned away from Uraraka. However, Uraraka merely sat up straighter and greeted Midoriya politely.
"Uh. Morning guys," Midoriya smiled awkwardly. "I'm heading off to…I was just…going to grab…never mind."
With Uraraka twisting around to look at Midoriya, Yaoyorozu could not see her expression from this angle, but she saw Bakugou looking at Uraraka and frowning. It was clear from Bakugou's tightened eyes that he was worried about her reaction to Midoriya.
"If you're leaving then fuck off already, damn Deku," Bakugou growled more aggressively than usual.
He took up a surprisingly protective stance to block Uraraka from Midoriya's view. Uraraka turned to him and frowned at his tone and movement. But Midoriya, looking confused, and wanting to avoid an argument, awkwardly shuffled backwards, avoiding eye contact with Uraraka.
The girl in question sighed, but there was an amused smile on her face as she turned back to Bakugou. For his part, Bakugou was glaring after Midoriya as though they were back in first year.
"Down boy. You don't have to be so mean to him, Bakugou-kun," she patted his head gently, like he was a dog. "He didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I'm sorry you won't have an excuse to beat him up."
Bakugou swatted her hand away, and she patted him again, creating a flurry of light slapping that had Uraraka giggling and Bakugou hiding a smile.
"Dunno what you're talking about. I'm always mean to him. And I don't need an excuse to beat him up," Bakugou disagreed irritably, taking a swig of his water but giving her the side-eye nonetheless. "Isn't it about time you told me what the fuck happened?"
Even though it was still early, Uraraka looked around to check that no one else was near. Yaoyorozu, hidden in her closet, ducked down slightly before realising she was being ridiculous.
"I did what you nagged me to do," Uraraka started, talking over his noises of protest that he had not been nagging. "I was bein' real subtle about it. But I hinted that there was a new udon recipe at his favourite noodle shop that I've been meaning to try out, and I asked if he wanted to come with me tonight. He didn't get the hint, and he said he couldn't because he had plans to volunteer for a stealth mission. I assume it's the one he just left for."
"That guy's dense as shit," Bakugou shook his head and rolled his eyes. "And then what?"
He folded his arms and leaned his back against the counter she was sitting on, turning his head to face her. Yaoyorozu, irritated by the movement which blocked his face, resituated her fly-drone to get a better view of their expressions.
"I wasn't discouraged because I've been meaning to ask him to hang out anyway. The ice rink is having a show next weekend and I really don't want to go alone. I asked Iida-kun to go with me but he couldn't understand the appeal. Todoroki-kun offered to just make me an ice rink instead," Uraraka chuckled, and Bakugou returned her smile. "And since the cold puts Tsuyu to sleep, I thought Deku and I could go as friends. But he said he already had plans to ask Kamui Woods for extra training. And then I realised..." she paused, frowning.
Bakugou was hooked on her every word. He was a captivated audience, enthralled as she paused. For a second. Then his usual disposition came back as he grew irritated.
"Realised what?" he grunted impatiently.
Uraraka shrugged, with a scrunched-up expression. It was clear she hadn't really thought about how to express her realisation. She tried to explain for a few seconds before deciding how to frame it.
"It wasn't really a realisation. More like a confirmation that I was making the right decision by moving on," she shrugged. "There's always going to be something with him. There's no room for dating in his life. There's barely room for friendship. He was talking about possibly making plans that were still easily changeable, and that was enough for him to blow me off. I'll never be a priority in his life."
Bakugou nodded sympathetically and started making coffee for the both of them.
"Yeah, but that's the life we live," Bakugou defended gently. "We're heroes, Cheeks. The job is always going to come first."
All three of them, including Bakugou, were surprised to hear him making excuses for Midoriya. Uraraka chuckled at Bakugou's puzzled expression.
"Yeah, I get that," she nodded with a sigh. "I mean, I feel the same way. I don't expect to be the number one priority in a hero's life, but I would like to at least be in the top five. It's like what you were saying. Balance is important. And I guess I just looked at him and realised that I didn't want the scraps that he would be willing to give me."
Bakugou nodded in silent agreement, not teasing for once. Just kindly making two mugs of coffee.
"At least you got closure," he said quietly, placing a mug in front of her.
"Thanks," Uraraka smiled gratefully. "Yeah, I guess so."
Yaoyorozu was surprised by how kind and thoughtful he was being until Uraraka took a sip of her coffee and she nearly spat it out.
"What the hell Bakugou? You tricked me!" she complained as his body shook with amusement. "I thought you were actually being nice for once!"
Bakugou pointed at her disgruntled face and laughed boisterously. He ruffled her hair, making her swat his hand away, and causing them to dissolve into another slapping fight.
"Save your tears for the cayenne, Pink Cheeks! I don't care what emotional crisis you're going through. A deal's a deal."
Uraraka pulled a face and sniffed at the coffee once more, before sticking out her tongue in disgust and pushing it away.
"Bleurgh! I just remembered I don't even drink coffee after a run. I usually have juice. So, there's no need for me to drink this right now."
Bakugou threateningly narrowed his eyes at her, pushing the coffee mug closer to her.
"You fucking liar! I've seen you trying to sneak normal coffee every goddamn morning after our run. You're gonna drink this shit and you're gonna fucking like it!"
Uraraka stuck her tongue out at him, but rose to the challenge and drank the coffee. Tears were pooling in her eyes. Bakugou laughed, enjoying her expressions.
"You're a monster, Bakugou. You take way too much pleasure in my pain."
"Yep," He looked amused as he took a sip of his own coffee. "So, what now?"
"Huh?" her eyes were tearing up from the cayenne. "Ugh! Just a few more days and I can have normal coffee again! Sorry, what were you asking?"
Bakugou shook his head at her inability to handle the spiciness and passed her a paper towel to wipe her eyes.
"With Deku. What now? Are you going to be moping around all week? 'Coz if you are, I'm not sticking around for that," Bakugou folded his arms and glared down at her.
"But if you don't stick around, how will you know that I'm drinking your disgusting coffee every morning?" she blinked sweetly up at him, batting her eyelashes and laughing when he cracked his knuckles.
"You better fucking drink it! I swear, Uraraka! If you even think of backing out, I'll make you regret it," he glared at her.
However, since she was sitting on the countertop, his threat was slightly less intimidating now that he wasn't towering over her.
"Bring it! I think I can take you this time," she smiled widely, raising her fists mockingly.
"You wanna make another bet?" he grinned maliciously, opening one of her fists and handing her back the still-full mug of spicy coffee. "I'll have to think of more ways to torture you."
"I'm not scared of you, Bakugou Katsuki," she smirked at him, sipping at her coffee, and wrinkling her nose. "But anyway, I won't be moping around all week. I'm really fine."
"Then why were you two so awkward?" Bakugou frowned.
"I guess it's because he doesn't know what it was really about," Uraraka mused, staring at the ceiling with her hand on her chin. "I was being subtle and I don't think he knows I was asking him out. So, all he knows is he accidentally irritated me, but he doesn't know how to fix it. And I've got too much on my mind to cater to his feelings right now. So, I just need a little space before we can be friends again."
Bakugou frowned at the same time as Yaoyorozu, both of them wondering what was on her mind.
"So, the awkwardness wasn't coming from you?" Bakugou asked, sounding so overly nonchalant that it was clear he was dying to know her answer.
Immediately Yaoyorozu clicked and realised what was happening right in front of her. Bakugou was interested in Uraraka! She had been so uncertain for so long, but now she just knew it. Perhaps he had pushed her to talk to Midoriya so that he could be certain that he wasn't stepping on any toes in his pursuit of her!
"Nope. I told you, I've moved on," Uraraka watched him carefully over the rim of her mug. "I still admire him and everything, but that feeling of shyness and excitement, it just disappeared. A while ago actually. It was like waking up from a dream. Once I realised he wasn't what I wanted, I just got over it."
The fingers of Uraraka's right hand were rapping against the countertop as she snuck a peek at his expression. Bakugou was staring down at her in suspicious disbelief.
"Just like that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep. Just like that," she confirmed, staring at him seriously as she sipped unflinchingly at her spicy coffee.
There was something unspoken that passed between the two of them. A challenge in the air. Uraraka was as stiff as though she was getting ready for a fight as she stared Bakugou down. Bakugou returned her stare, looking slightly cautious.
She blinked up at him and swallowed with difficulty. Then, she reached for the honey.
"You know, I'm surprised by how much I've grown to like the burn," Uraraka's words were casual, but her voice was trembling slightly. "But I think it could match well with a bit of sweetness."
Her hand was shaking slightly as she poured a little honey into her mug and, without asking, did the same to his.
Bakugou looked down at his mug, reflecting her tense energy. He hesitated for a second, then decided to take a careful sip, which he seemed to like. They stared at each other as they both drank deeply, neither wanting to look away from the other.
Ah ha! Yaoyorozu clicked once more. Uraraka was interested in Bakugou too! She could feel it in the air.
"That's quite a good combo," Bakugou declared absently, getting lost in her eyes. "I guess there are some sweet things that I like, after all."
Uraraka's face lit up and a relieved smile graced her face. She hid her pink face behind her mug as she sipped on her improved coffee.
"I think we should both take our coffee like this from now on," Uraraka announced shyly, reaching her mug out to his.
Bakugou blankly nodded in agreement, clinking his mug against hers. He was clearly struggling to think of what to say. As the tension increased, he cleared his throat and looked away from Uraraka. Yaoyorozu could have sworn he was blushing!
There was silence for a few moments before a small smirk appeared on Bakugou's face. He caught himself quickly and took another sip of his coffee, trying to appear uninterested.
"Well, I guess if you really want to go to this stupid ice rink thing, we can make it part of another sparring bet. If you win, I'll take you to the damn show," Bakugou grumbled into his mug.
"But Bakugou-kun, you hate the cold!" Uraraka's eyes were sparkling. "You'd really do that?"
"Fuck no! Because I'm not going to lose," he scowled.
Uraraka laughed at him. She was much more at ease than she had been before. Yaoyorozu had not even noticed that Uraraka had been nervous, but with the dissipation of the anxious energy it became blindingly obvious.
"Okay, so what do you get if you win?" Uraraka leaned towards him and flirted shamelessly.
And Yaoyorozu was so pleased to recognise it as flirting that she almost slid to the floor of the cupboard in relief. These two had been so guarded and careful around each other that it had almost been impossible to tell how they had been feeling!
Now that Uraraka was certain of his interest, her confidence had increased. But Yaoyorozu could also sense that Bakugou was still slightly unsure and he needed to use excuses to hide his intentions.
"If I win, you're gonna be my guinea pig to teach me what to do on a second date. And no complaining!" Bakugou glared at her.
Yaoyorozu had sparkles in her eyes and couldn't wait to tell the other girls. These two really liked each other!
Bakugou was manoeuvring it so that no matter who won the sparring match, he would still get to spend more time with her. But Uraraka was not having it. She had let go of her caution and was determined to take Bakugou down the same path with her.
"But according to your logic, when I win, the ice rink is going to be our fourth date," Uraraka smirked and looked up at him from under her eyelashes.
Bakugou jumped away from the countertop in agitation and came to stand in front of her. He narrowed his eyes at her, but his face was slightly pink.
"How could it be the fourth date?!" Bakugou was more rattled than Yaoyorozu had ever seen him. "That first time wasn't a real date!"
"Yes. It was," Uraraka replied confidently, scooting forward and placing her hands on the edge of the countertop to gain leverage to lean further towards him. "You know it was. And this is our third."
Bakugou was spluttering, seeming unsure about whether this was real or was just more teasing. He decided to play along.
"Okay, I'll bite. How is this the third date?" he hesitantly approached a little closer to the countertop, his hands straining towards the edge on either side of her.
"Well, there was the movie date, the sparring date, and now the coffee and breakfast date..." Uraraka ticked off on her fingers, smiling at him coyly.
"What breakfast?" Bakugou raised an eyebrow at her, slightly amused.
"The breakfast you're about to make me," she replied confidently.
"You little shit! I'm not going to –"
"Bakugou, you know what you're supposed to do on the third date right?" Uraraka interrupted him with a giggle.
"Huh? What are you –?"
Uraraka reached for his hand, and he instinctively jerked it away. She rolled her eyes and insistently reached for his hand again, placing it on her cheek.
Bakugou was red-faced and frozen, staring at her like she was a mythical creature.
But then, after a moment, his body relaxed and he took a step closer. He started stroking her cheek softly, making her smile and lean into his touch. Her voice became quieter, gentler, like she was soothing a wild animal.
"At the end of the third date, you'll say: 'I really enjoy spending time with you, Cheeks'," she gave a poor imitation of his voice again, making him scoff in amusement, "And then she'll say: 'Yeah, me too. I really like you a lot, Bakugou-kun', and then you'll both awkwardly move closer to one other," she said, while leaning in and reaching for his shirt to pull him closer. "I think I've tutored you enough to know what happens next..."
Bakugou hesitantly leaned in, as though he suspected this was a joke. However, Uraraka's eyes were encouraging, and she was clearly serious.
Looking like someone who was about to jump off a cliff, he fully committed to his actions, leaning in suddenly and kissing her.
The moment their lips met, they both released so much tension that their shoulders sagged with relief. Pulling away quickly, they both grinned at each other before closing the tiny gap between them and fully giving in to the kiss.
Yaoyorozu's jaw dropped in amazement. She was almost too astounded to realise that they were trying to meld into one another.
Bakugou slid one hand into Uraraka's hair and wrapped the other around her waist. Uraraka's hand on Bakugou's chest slipped around his neck, pulling him towards her so firmly that he half-stumbled in his attempt to get closer.
Yaoyorozu was open-mouthed, wide-eyed, and staring. It took her a moment to look away and give the couple some privacy.
After she was able to process what she had seen, she smirked into the silence.
Although she herself was not a fan of Bakugou's mannerisms, she had to admit that she had been rooting for them as a couple. She had seen another side to Bakugou through her spying, and she was convinced that Uraraka could match well with him.
She could not wait to tell the other girls. She was already picturing Ashido smirking and Hagakure bouncing up and down trying not to squeal. Jirou would probably pretend to be disgusted while Tsuyu would be concerned, wondering if Uraraka was sure about what she was getting into.
After a minute of hugging herself with glee that she had finally cracked the case, Yaoyorozu started to think about how to sneak out of the closet without them noticing.
She snuck a peek at the camera, thinking that the couple should be almost done kissing about now, but she had to look away in shock when she saw that somehow their tongues had become involved.
They were glued together and some of the heated sounds coming from the two made Yaoyorozu blush for their parts! She couldn't believe they were still going at it! And by the way Bakugou had settled in between her legs, and Uraraka arched against him, they showed no signs of stopping.
Yaoyorozu looked away and considered her options. But the more she thought about it the more she realised she would probably have to stay here until the others came down for breakfast to distract the couple.
As she contemplated her next move, the sounds of kissing and rustling material faded and with a cautionary glance at the screen Yaoyorozu confirmed that they had finally pulled away from one another slightly. Although they were still quite pressed together and handsy.
Bakugou was leaning his forehead against Uraraka's, frowning, and breathing heavily.
"Look, if this is just some fucked up way of getting back at Deku –"
"It's not," Uraraka interrupted sternly. "My heart wasn't really in it when I asked him out in the first place."
"So, why'd you do it?" Bakugou accused teasingly, a rare smile on his face.
"Because you nagged me!" she complained, slapping him lightly on the shoulder and making him laugh. "I knew if I didn't do it, you would always be wondering if I only chose you because I was too cowardly to talk to him. I just wanted to prove to you that I got it all out of my system."
Oh! Yaoyorozu thought. So that's why Uraraka did it.
Bakugou looked at Uraraka with a raised eyebrow and shook his head at her.
"Dumbass! It makes no sense for you to choose me," he scolded and pulled away to scrutinise her. "Sure, I'm fucking amazing, but everyone knows I'm not the cuddly type. It's like Lightning-boy said: you're obviously crazy. What makes you think I would want a crazy girlfriend?"
"Because you get me," she simply said, flicking him on the nose as he scowled at her.
Bakugou looked cautiously optimistic, but he still looked suspicious. With a sigh and a giggle, Uraraka pulled him towards her and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Besides, I won't take no for an answer when I'm in the cuddling mood," she scooted closer towards him and he automatically wrapped his arms around her waist. She giggled at his guarded expression, and the eagerness he was trying to hide. "And there are other things to do besides cuddling."
She leaned in and kissed him so enthusiastically that his confusion disappeared. He was left in no doubt that she wanted him.
The two were pressed together so tightly that Yaoyorozu could feel the heat from the closet. She immediately wanted to leave her position and contemplated the risk of getting caught rather than stay and watch them go any further.
"Okay, okay. Fine, I get it. Fuck," Bakugou chuckled, sounding lighter than Yaoyorozu had ever heard him before. "Don't go around groping me in public, you pervert."
Yaoyorozu turned back to watch them and noticed Bakugou pushing Uraraka off him slightly and shyly, looking around to see that no one else was around. It was clear that he wished they could continue this conversation in a more private location.
Uraraka giggled and gave him another quick kiss before he could fend her off. He dodged her next kiss with a chuckle but hesitantly took hold of her hand as he stood next to her. He seemed to have a little more self-control than she did.
"So, what happens next on the dating trajectory, Senpai?" Bakugou asked.
His eyebrow was cocked, and he looked sarcastic, but there was a softness to his smirk. Yaoyorozu was amazed to realise that he was flirting!
"You know what happens next," Uraraka smirked happily, leaning into his face again. "The girl goes 'Oh Bakugou-kun, that was amazing! Now that we've kissed, I can tell you're more than just a grouchy pants. Now marry me and give me thirty children' or something like that."
Bakugou let out a bark of laughter, and placed his whole hand on her face pushing her away. She giggled as she swatted at him.
"As if! You're such a fucking idiot," but his cheeks were slightly pink as he separated from her and started preparing her breakfast.
"So are you," Uraraka was smiling gently at him, and the smile became wider as she realised he was making her blueberry pancakes.
Bakugou's back was to her, but even through the camera, Yaoyorozu could tell that he was calm and happy. Uraraka merely watched him with soft eyes, utterly relaxed. She hopped off the counter and plopped herself down on a barstool facing him so she could watch him work.
"So, are you going to be wearing every item of clothing you own next Saturday at the ice rink?" she teased curiously.
"Fuck you! I'm not going to the damn ice rink unless I'm forced!" he growled at her as he poured the batter into the pan. "You haven't earned the privilege yet."
"Then I'm just going to have to kick your cute butt and make you take me!" her eyebrow was raised cockily.
"Good luck with that!" Bakugou scoffed, but there was a pinkness to his cheeks that diminished his taunt.
Someone came trudging down the stairs letting out a huge yawn. Once they passed her closet, Yaoyorozu saw that it was Kirishima. He walked right by her and straight to the kitchen, where he did not seem surprised to see the two of them alone there.
"Morning guys. Damn, something smells good. I'm pretty sure you can't eat all that yourself, Bakubro. How about sliding some my way?"
Bakugou was in such a good mood that he didn't even argue or throw insults at his best friend.
"Just this once. But you gotta have it with my coffee," he agreed, deadpan, making Uraraka giggle at the hidden maliciousness.
Bakugou winked at her behind Kirishima's back.
"Sure, man. I'll do anything if it means I get free pancakes," Kirishima smiled, clapping Bakugou on the shoulder.
"What's this about free pancakes?" Kaminari's voice emerged. He and Mineta showed up with Ashido and Jirou in tow.
"Not for you, fuckwad!" Bakugou shouted.
The ensuing argument allowed Yaoyorozu to finally sneak out of the closet and make her way back to her room to freshen up before making her own appearance in the kitchen.
"Damn, that's hot!" she heard Kirishima gasping and spluttering. "This is what you've been drinking all week, Uraraka? And you're still willing to challenge him again? You're so manly!"
Yaoyorozu glanced at Uraraka, who was sharing a subtle smile with Bakugou. But Yaoyorozu quickly looked away. Now that she was sure about the nature of the relationship between Uraraka and Bakugou, her speculation could end, and she felt no need to continue spying on the couple.
Nevertheless, Yaoyorozu wasted no time telling the other girls exactly what she had seen and they all reacted the way she had imagined. All except Tsuyu who looked slightly relieved and only expressed happiness that Uraraka had finally gone after what she wanted.
However, none of them had confronted Uraraka about it, instead waiting for her to come to them by her own free will.
To their disappointment, Uraraka never mentioned a word. And since Yaoyorozu had removed all the spy equipment, none of them saw Bakugou and Uraraka interact at all. Well, except when they had another spar on Wednesday, which left Uraraka looking just as disgruntled as the first time.
But then, on Saturday evening Bakugou came down to where the girls were having tea, once again seeming completely out of his depth.
He was wearing a thick jacket and looking as grumpy as usual. His face was red and he was obviously reluctant. All the girls looked up at him in confusion, no one more so than Uraraka.
"Oi, Cheeks, hurry the fuck up. We're gonna be late for your stupid show," he grumbled quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
The girls were all astounded. After losing the spar to Bakugou, Uraraka had turned to all of them and begged them to accompany her, but they had all thought it was too lame. And here, Bakugou was volunteering. If they were uncertain of how he felt before, there was no question now.
Uraraka blinked in surprise, staring at everyone's shocked faces before looking back up at him.
"But I lost our spar. You don't have to take me," Uraraka was confused.
"Yeah, well," Bakugou groaned uncomfortably. "I just happened to decide on doing the experiment for the second assignment at the ice rink."
Uraraka's face brightened up with a wide smile and she sprung from her seat to hug him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Her arms wrapped around his midriff, and he unconsciously squeezed her back, before realising what he was doing.
"Fuck off! Don't just go around hugging people!"
Bakugou gently and awkwardly pushed her away from him, fighting the blush on his face. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable with public displays of affection.
"Sorry," she laughed, without sounding sorry at all. "I'll go get dressed."
"You have five minutes. Hurry the hell up or I'm leaving you behind!" He was as grumpy as he usually was when he was around everyone else.
"You can't do the second assignment by yourself," she called, halfway to the stairs.
"I fucking would, just to piss you off," Bakugou mumbled.
"You're so spiteful, Bakugou," she laughed nervously, as jumpy as she usually was with him when her friends were around.
The girls all smirked at each other. Did these two really think they were fooling anyone? As if they didn't all have the same classes and assignments. They all watched Bakugou knowingly and he turned red and irritated at their inspection.
"What the hell are you looking at?" he scolded the girls and then went to wait for Uraraka outside without waiting for an answer.
The girls poured themselves some more tea and huddled together to discuss what they had just seen.
"Why are they being so secretive?" Ashido complained. "It feels like I've been waiting forever to tease Ochako about this, but she just won't come out and admit it."
"Maybe that's exactly why they haven't told anyone," Jirou shrugged. "They know they'll have to deal with a lot of comments and questions. And so much teasing! Especially from Denki. That's exactly why Bakugou likes his life private."
"Let's wait for Ochako-chan to tell us, kero. We shouldn't know what we know anyway," Tsuyu added.
"Yeah. But maybe there's another reason why they won't tell anyone," Hagakure slyly stated. "What do you think, Momo?"
"Oh no. I've finished with speculating on the lives of my friends," Yaoyorozu sadly stared at her cup of tea and shook her head. "One should not eavesdrop, and yet I found myself trapped by my own curiosity watching my friends kissing like some sort of Peeping Tom. I was quite literally a closet pervert. I fear I may have a problem. I am heartily ashamed of myself."
Jirou patted her on her back, holding back a chuckle, while the other girls tried to make her feel better.
Just then Uraraka barrelled downstairs and gave them a passing wave as she rushed eagerly after her secret boyfriend. The girls instantly moved towards the window so they could see them.
Bakugou was scowling into the night with his arms crossed. However, Uraraka reached up and unfolded his arms, taking his hand. He glared down at her, but she smiled up at him until he relented.
Bakugou sighed and committed to holding her hand.
Uraraka giggled into her palm, and his lips twitched in response. Then they walked down the stairs, talking and swatting playfully at each other. Uraraka's laughter could be heard all the way back in the dorms. After some teasing, Uraraka leaned into Bakugou's side and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Hagakure sighed romantically as the two disappeared around the bend.
"I knew it from the beginning!" her dress swayed as she swooned.
The other girls all wore similar smiles and were unable to wipe them off even as footsteps approached.
"Knew what?" Kaminari interrupted once he saw them huddled near the doors. "What are we looking at?"
"Nothing," Jirou waved her hands, trying to distract him. "Come on, let's get started on that homework."
"Oh. Yeah," Kaminari was in a daze as Jirou grabbed his arm and led him away towards one of the tables.
The girls watched them go with narrowed eyes. They all thought Kaminari looked far too happy to be led away by Jirou, and that Jirou herself had grabbed his arm a little too eagerly.
"Hey," Hagakure started. "Is it just me or do those two spend a lot of time together?"
"I believe so, kero," Tsuyu added, with her finger on her chin as she contemplated the two of them.
"Oh no," Ashido shook her head and made an X with her arms. "No. We're not doing this again. I'm out."
The others all agreed as they followed Ashido back to the couch. However, Yaoyorozu watched Kaminari and Jirou speculatively.
The other girls groaned as they saw her unconsciously start to chew on her thumbnail once more.
The end