Bakugo was especially grouchy this morning as he entered the park. Even his hair was still sleepy and he stretched his tired limbs. He had not slept well last night, tossing and turning about the changes coming UA. Normally, these things did not keep him from a good night of rest, but for some reason this was weighing on him more than he had initially thought.

As he came up to the top of the hill, he checked his watch. He was here right on time, in his book at least. When he broke his eyes from the time, he noticed a mini pink backpack leaning up on a tree at the bottom of the hill. He squinted and realized that it had to belong to round face. Did she leave it here last night? He almost smirked at her stupidity.

As he descended toward it, he could not shake the feeling of being watched. It wasn't necessarily unsettling, but it was definitely unwanted. He glanced around the trees surrounding the clearing, watching for movement. His eyes searched but found nothing, however he didn't lose his awareness.

He approached the backpack and eyed it for a few moments. It was harmless, yet he couldn't help feeling like it was a bomb. He'd always wondered what women kept in those things. How much shit did they lug around with them that they really needed a bag to dedicate to it?

He resisted the urge to peek inside and decided to unzip his hoodie and sling it over a one of the tree's branches. If he really was being watched, then he didn't want to be hindered by the hoodie if he found them out.

He was about to begin his stretches when he finally heard something. "You're late, Bakugo!" The voice came from above, giving him no time to react.

A crushing weight on his shoulders knocked him back. He stumbled a little as he regained his posture and barely managed to dodge a kick.

"The fuck?!" He snarled as he recognized the brown hair of his attacker. He threw his hands up in front of him to block a second kick.

"What?" The girl's voice rang out sweetly, "Did I finally manage to get the drop on you?"

Bakugo was wide awake now and he jumped back to put space between himself and Uraraka. "Not even a little, round-face!" He squared up and felt the sweat beading in his palms. "Get ready to die!"

Before he could set off a single explosion, rocks began rain down on him. Before one could do any damage, he dropped and rolled out of the way. He pulled himself up onto one knee and fired off a blast in the direction she was last seen, but it only met empty air.

"I've got you now!" She sang as she came flying toward him from his right, propelling her weightless self off the side of a tree.

Bakugo could already feel the devilish grin on his lips as he turned sharply to meet her head-on. "You gave yourself away, dumbass!" However, he was not anticipating her to be moving so quickly. Once again, he was unable to explode that grin off her face because she had grabbed him on his right arm. Immediately he could feel the weightless feeling of her quirk as she flung him across the clearing. Damn, she was getting faster.

He could vaguely hear her shout "Release!" before he slammed into the trees and landed awkwardly on the ground. He turned and fired off another blind shot at her only to see that she had once again avoided his attack.

"Damn it!" He grumbled under his breath and glanced around to pinpoint her position. More rocks came hurtling toward him from his right and he blasted them to dust with an seamless explosion.

Just as the dust and smoke from this blast was beginning to clear, she came sprinting through it with a grin plastered across her stupid face. If he wasn't mistaken, it seemed like she was toying with him.

"This is what you get for being late!" She laughed with a teasing undertone. She smoothly dodged the blast from his right hand that was combined with a strong left hook and moved to touch him once more, this time aiming for his chest.

But Bakugo realized her plan a moment too soon and sent her careening back into the dust with a kick to the stomach. As expected, she took it like a champ and slid back, never losing her footing. This fight was just beginning to get good.

"Now to end this!" Bakugo no longer tried to hide his battle smile and rocketed a blast in her direction. Surely she could not dodge this one. "Die!"

The flames lit up the area in a way that the rising sun could not and the area immediately filled once more with black smoke.

"Release!" The command came from above and he glanced up. He could barely make out her falling figure in this smoke.

Uraraka was determined as she dropped toward him once again and she could smell the burnt fabric of her light jacket. Just as she expected, he was at the ready for her descent. The grin on his face was unmistakable. It was hardened and excited at the same time. It had intimidated her when she first saw it, but now it was an invitation to challenge.

She landed beside him and immediately moved to pin him, but he pivoted quickly and blocked her attack. He grabbed her wrist and tossed her back into the scorched dirt.

She rolled for a few feet and allowed the dusty smoke to cover her once again. Should she try to get above him again or attack from the ground? She didn't have the time to decide before he was moving to pin her himself.

She crossed her arms to attack his high kick and ducked to narrowly avoid the punch he followed through with. This was the opening she needed. She threw up an open palm to his chin and hoped it would connect as she threw a shoulder at his chest.

It didn't work out.

She felt a burning hand wrap around her wrist and her shoulder collided into something unmovable. She panted hard as she looked up. Her opponent was gripping her right wrist and had taken the hit from her shoulder without moving an inch. His expression was quite simply put, it was haughty.

Her eyes widened as she realized her defeat, but it wasn't until a few moments after that she noticed the heat coming from him. His hair jutted out in odd directions and his breath rolled over her face. Her wrist felt like it was on fire from his grip and his chest heaved with his panting.

Finally, her eyes fell on his red ones. Their intensity made her want to both shrink back and come closer, yet she did neither. She just remained there, wide-eyed under his scrutiny.

He was feeling the same confusion she was, yet he did not reveal it. He had cancelled her attack, but after she crashed into his chest, he did not move to end it. Her face was dusty and singed, twisted with a determined look. Yet her eyes were wide open with surprise as they peered into his.

He noted that her wrist felt small as his fingers wrapped around it with room to spare. The smell in the air between them was both sweet and salty. Her perfume smelled like flowers and the sweat between the two of them gave it a stark aftertaste. The moment only lasted a few seconds, but when it ended he had shoved her down into the dirt and took a beat to re-adjust.

"The fuck were you thinking?" He asked with a burst of annoyance, trying not to address the awkward tension in the air.

She blinked at him, confused by his suddenly rash tone. Another second went by before she shrugged, "I'm sorry… I didn't sleep at all last night, so I was here super early." She rebounded from the awkward moment before rising to her feet and dusting off her leggings.

He gave her a look that didn't question what she had said, but also didn't keep her from continuing.

"Yaomomo had all of us girls over for a sleepover," She started, hoping the sentence would be explanation enough.

"Tch," Bakugo grunted with irritation. "Isn't that shit a little juvenile? Who the fuck has sleepovers?"

Uraraka furrowed her eyebrows, "Do you ever have sleepovers? They're awesome and super fun." Her slight scowl turned into a sweet smile as she recalled her fun night.

"Hell no," Bakugo spat and crossed his arms. "While you were fuckin' around, braiding each other's hair and shit, I was getting sleep. Sleepovers are fuckin' stupid."

Uraraka rolled her eyes playfully, "Says you. I think they're fun. You can play games together, talk about anything you want, and hang out with your friends. It was pretty much the only thing I could do with my friends growing up, so I think they're especially awesome."

Bakugo scoffed and felt an insult coming on, "That shit is childish. I just fucked with the older kids when I was younger. That shit is the best fun."

"Sounds about right," She teased back. "I guess I could have seen that coming." She rolled her head on her shoulders and wandered over to her backpack to remove her crispy black jacket. Her tank-top underneath, a fittingly soft pink color, was unaffected by his blasts. She felt thankful that she wouldn't be stuck wearing a burnt shirt all day.

She reached for the small pack and retrieved two bottles of water and offered one up to him. "Want one?"

Bakugo resisted the urge to lick his dry lips and paused for a moment to consider her offer. He supposed it would be harmless to take her up on it. He begrudgingly stalked over and moved to snatch the bottle from her hands, his eyes intentionally refusing to meet hers.

Just as his fingertips grazed the bottle, he felt a firm grasp on his arm and a force yanking him to the ground. His first response was to look at her and what he saw was a regretfully vengeful grin. He felt himself fall down into the grass underneath the tree and immediately knew that she was intending to pin him.

He jutted his open hand out to intercept her as she tried to force him on his stomach. He rolled over on his back as she went for the pin, falling over top of him and landing on his chest. Both her hands still grasped his left arm as she wrestled to apprehend it.

His instinct was to try and free himself, so his open hand clapped over hers. They grappled hands for a moment, trying to rid themselves of the other before Bakugo threw his arm back into the grass, forcing her forward.

She lurched forward with the movement and found herself a breath away from his face. Her hands still gripped his arm tightly, but she froze up at the position. She was pretty much laying on him at this point and she could feel his chest rising and falling under her. He was also suddenly tense. His eyes holding their famous scowl, but also hinted like they had alarms going off behind them.

Her mouth fell open just slightly as she felt blood rush to her cheeks. What was going on? What should she do? The tension seemed to thicken even more as she hesitated on what to do next.

He watched her as her mind seemed to scramble behind her shocked gaze. Her expression changed so quickly from determined to surprised and now to completely confused. He wasn't comfortable like this at all. He had never had such proximity with a girl before and he was equally aware of the awkward tension. Again, the air was both sweet and salty, but this time it was overpowering.

He was frozen like this as he took in her features. It burst into his mind that he didn't really consider her to be ugly at all. He might even consider her to be above average. She definitely had a round face and obnoxiously large eyes, but they worked for her. From the hands around his arm, he judged that her skin was soft, but still tough enough to take a few explosions.

He watched her as she sorted through the situation in her mind. He wanted so badly to throw her off him, but he felt trapped under her uncertain gaze. Both of them were feeling the tension now.

A far away voice broke them from their thoughts. "I think I heard it over here, officer. I swear I saw an explosion."

Both of them registered the words and it didn't take more than another beat before both of them were scrambling to their feet.

"Shit!" Bakugo hissed as silently as his irritated attitude could provide. "Somebody called the cops on us about using our quirks!"

Uraraka was fumbling to shove her water bottle into her backpack and throw it over her shoulder. She barely managed to catch her jacket as he threw it at her, pulling his hoodie from it's perch. He glanced around to be sure they weren't missing anything before signalling that they should run.

They had barely made it into the treeline surrounding the clearing before two people appeared over top the hill. Both of them froze up to watch as they ducked into the trees.

The words that the two other people were saying were indiscernible, but both of them were pointing downhill. Bakugo glanced at what they were pointing at and saw the scorch marks he'd made in the earth. 'Shit… If they find us, my ass is grass.'

Both people slowly started to come down the hill as he and Uraraka silently inched away. As they reached the spot that the spar had taken place only a few short minutes ago, their voices became clear.

"Who the hell sets off explosions at six in the morning?" The civilian asked, his attitude was disgruntled and angry. This guy was still clad in his night clothes as he shook his head at the sight before him. "I swear, it was only a few minutes ago that this was going on."

The officer observed the scene for a moment before turning his attention to the woods around them. He carefully began to scan the area, searching for anything to give them away.

Both Bakugo and Uraraka scrunched up and leaned into each other, begging not to be caught. Uraraka could feel heat flooding from the boy next to her. He was tense and his eyes were centered on the officer a short distance away. Despite their predicament, Uraraka could not ignore their closeness. Was this how today was going to go? She was embarrassed at the thought of their earlier encounters.

Bakugo was equally aware of Uraraka huddling into his side. Her breath was tickling his right arm as she tried not to move a muscle. He didn't need to look at her to understand the fear in her expression. Did she really have to get this cozy with him right now? It was distracting and awkward. They had bigger things to worry about at the moment, but all he could seem to focus on was how she was pressing her left side into him and how one of her hands was clinging onto his shirt so tightly that he was sure she'd cramp it up.

"They must have just been here," The civilian rattled off again, distracting the officer.

Just as the policeman turned his attention back to the other man, Bakugo felt weightless. He looked over at Uraraka with questioning eyes, 'The hell are you doing?! Do you want us to get caught?!'

She noted his silent beratement, but she ignored it as she silently floated them up into the trees as quickly as she could. Just as they were hidden among the branches, the officer turned his attention back to the woods.

"It was probably just a few kids messing around. You can go back to your home now and I'll take a walk around the area to see if I can find them." The officer kicked at the ashen dirt absentmindedly.

The other man looked annoyed, "You're telling me that a couple of kids were having a fight like this? I doubt that. I don't know many kids that can make this much of a racket."

The officer ignored the comment and once again told the man to go home. After a few more complaints, the civilian left muttering about how annoyed he was to be woken by such a commotion.

Uraraka and Bakugo remained frozen together as the officer began sifting through the trees, scanning for something to give away the trouble causers. Both teenagers knew that if they were found out, they would suffer consequences for using their quirks in public. Both of them held their breath as the policeman passed underneath them. The officer paused for a moment, staring at something on the ground. Both of them strained their necks to see what it was, never daring to make a noise.

Uraraka looked horrified as the officer bent to pick the discovered item up. It was her train ticket stub into town from three days ago. She could feel Bakugo glaring at her from her left, and she chomped on her lip stressfully as she watched.

The officer held the ticket as he stood up again and glanced around once more. Both pleaded within themselves that he would not look up.

Finally, the policeman moved on. He wandered through the trees for a while longer before disappearing altogether, assuming that the ones who had made the mess in the clearing were long gone.

Both Uraraka and Bakugo breathed out sighs of relief as he disappeared through the trees.

"We need to get the hell out of here," Bakugo snarled and clenched his fist around his hoodie tighter.

"Agreed…" Uraraka breathed out, finally releasing her tight grip on his shirt and leaning away from him.

Bakugo stared at her for a few more moments before he grunted in exasperation, "Are you going to get us down or what?"

She blinked for a moment before looking down, "Oh… yeah I guess I have to."

Once they were on the ground, both of them were sprinting up the hill and hustling toward the market place just outside the park. If they could hide within the early morning shoppers, then they were sure to have gotten away. As they exited the park, Bakugo tossed her a dirty look, "That was some stupid as hell shit back here, round-face."

Uraraka rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment, "Yeah I guess… I'm sorry about that."

Bakugo sneered in reply, "Fuck! If he would have seen us, we'd be in deep shit right now. It's your damn fault for picking a fight!"

Uraraka rolled her eyes, "Yeah I know. But it definitely was fun. We'll have to find somewhere else if we want to use our quirks, I guess."

"Whatever," Bakugo ground his teeth in annoyance.

"What now?" Uraraka asked as they entered the market.

Bakugo glanced around at the shops opening up for the morning rush. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting something to eat." He immediately moved to leave her behind, but she followed suit.

"I'm hungry too, so I'll come with." She smiled sweetly at him as he ignored her.

Bakugo felt a rush of irritation, but he felt a lesser need to act on it than he normally would. "Whatever. Just keep your damn mouth shut." It was certainly going to be a long morning for him.

Author's Note:

Ahhh... I so enjoyed writing this chapter. I got a little carried away with it, so it's a longer one than I normally publish.

Please let me know what you think! I'll try to update soon.

Thanks for reading!

~NumberSixteen