Three Orchids

by HerHeartMadeFullmetal

A Winter Formal is announced for Class 3A. Yaoyorozu, Bakugo, Kirishima, and Shinso find themselves realizing, with only months left at UA and the prospect of their class being scattered all over the country after graduation, that time is short. With mid-terms looming and interference from their peers, can they gather up their resolve to let their true hearts be known?

1. Part 1 - Chapters 1 - 16

Three Orchids

A My Hero Academia Fan Fiction Novel in 3 Parts

Takes place during Midoriya and his fellow classmates 3rd year at UA

To understand the events leading up to story it is best to be current with the manga up to Chapter 298 (Finished with the Paranormal Liberation War Arc)

This also mean SPOILERS ABOUND if you are not current up to Chapter 298

Summary: It's the winter of Hero Class A's 3rd year. With the battle against All For One and Shigaraki finally over, class 3A can finally have a more 'normal' school experience. A Winter Formal is announced for all third years. Who would have thought the prospect of finding a date would be more terrifying than battling the League of Villains? Momo Yaoyorozu, Katsuki Bakugo, and Eijiro Kirishima find themselves realizing, with only months left at UA and the prospect of their class being scattered all over the country after graduation, that time is short. With mid-terms looming and interference from their peers, can they gather up their resolve to let their true hearts be known?

Part 1: Blow Up

Prologue

"Awwww come on man, how much farther is it? My feet hurt…." Kaminari said in a long whine. He was walking behind Bakugo, reluctantly dragging his feet.

"I didn't even invite you! You can go back to the dorms if you want!" Bakugo barked back at him. He quickened his pace leaving Kaminari to walk faster to keep up and unfortunately to whine more.

Bakugo spotted the sign of the shop he was looking for ahead. As they entered the Florist shop, Kaminari sighed. "This is the third shop, man. Please, just pick something…. Anything…."

Bakugo went straight to the counter and immediately started to bark orders at the poor elderly woman who looked like she had been taking a nap before they had entered.

"Do you have any orchids? Sub-genus Phalaenopsis. Species Aphrodite." Bakugo's tone was impatient but he waited for the little woman to answer. She seemed taken aback by his question and took her time to gather her thoughts and reply. "Well honey…. Let me think a moment. Ah yes, I do have some Phalaenopsis." She motioned for the two boys to follow her. "I have two different plants right over here."

Bakugo glanced at the plants and then turned back to the elderly, frail woman with a smug look on his face.

"No, these aren't what I asked for. These are Species Amabilis. Their petals are fatter and more rounded than Aphrodite. Look lady, don't waste my time, do you have them or not?"

"My, my. Aren't you a regular anthophile? Let me call my cousin. She has a shop out west and may have had better luck getting that species," The little woman waddled back to the counter.

"Dude, she called you an ant lover," Kaminari giggled under his breath.

"No, you idiot. An anthophile is someone who loves flower, not ants," Bakugo sneered. He walked up to the counter and leaned against it and sighed.

"I don't know why you're being so picky. I just told the lady back at the first shop Kyoka's favorite colors. Black and Purple. And then told the florist lady to make the wrist thingy however she wanted." Kaminari said matter-of-factly.

"So. You and Kyoka, then? Took you guys long enough," Bakugo said, a smile playing on his lips.

"Dude, Kyoka can't stand me half the time. We're just going as friends. Like we do to almost everything." Kaminari said as he fiddled with the fronds of a fern that was sitting on the counter by the register.

Bakugo chuckled under his breath, "You really are an idiot."

Before Kaminari could say anything back to Bakugo, the elderly florist had finished her call.

"So, my cousin does have some. She is going to send me 3 plants so you can choose which one you like the best. They will be here in 4 days. Does that work?"

Bakugo nodded.

"Lady, is that a 'for sure' time frame? Because this guy will likely burn your shop to the ground if he comes back and there are no phaliopsis afro thingies," Kaminari asked with real concern in his voice.

The elderly woman gave a knowing smile. "I don't think the hero Dynamight would ever do such a thing." Defying her tiny, frail frame, the woman reached over the counter and pinched Bakugo's right cheek. He immediately started to turn red and his cheeks began to puff out in anger.

Kaminari grabbed him by the elbow and immediately starting pulling him towards the front door.

"Thanks ma'am! Oh… do you do the flower wrist thingies?" Kaminari asked still pulling a fuming Bakugo behind him.

"Yes, hun, we make wrist corsages."

"Yeah, can you make the phalopis afro thing one of those?" Kaminari bellowed out as they exited.

"Of course! Anything for Dynamight!" the elderly woman said to the retreating boys as she waved goodbye.

1 WEEK PREVIOUS

Chapter 2 Yaoyorozu

"I can't believe you've already been asked to the Winter Formal Yao-momo! They only just announced it a couple of hours ago!" Mina Ashido was jumping up and down excitedly, a big grin on her face. Momo Yaoyorozu had a deep blush on her cheeks and a slight look of trepidation on her face.

"Well considering the last couple of years it makes sense the school would announce it with no warning and give very little preparation time for the event. Less likely any villains will be able to crash the party so to speak. Ribbit." Tsuyu Asui said thoughtfully.

"The third years have a winter formal every year, but honestly I'm surprised they are letting our year have one. We seem to be snake bit with every school event." Uraraka Ochaco added jumping on to Tsuyu's train of thought. Ochaco was sitting on the couch her legs drawn underneath her. She rested her head on Izuku Midoriya's shoulder watching him writing manically in a notebook on his lap. Tsuyu, who was seated next to Ochaco, gave her a questioning look. "Oh, Izuku is working on some ideas for security for the formal. He's … uh… a little worried about it happening now. He thinks the event will be a target for some of the lingering Paranormal Liberation Front groups that still haven't been caught." Momo, Mina, Ochaco, and Tsuyu all stared at him. Midoriya seemed to not notice anything Ochaco was saying. He must have felt the lull in the conversation or all the eyes upon him, however, because he suddenly looked up.

"Oh, sorry guys, Just a little preoccupied." He glanced down at Ochaco, leaned towards her, and kissed her on the cheek. He then retreated back to his notebook. Ochaco looked at Tsuyu and shrugged.

"So I guess you two will obviously be going to the formal together. Ribbit" Tsuyu said to Ochaco.

"Yeah, but I think Izuku will probably be spending most of it patrolling the school grounds it seems!"

Mina grabbed Momo by the hand and pulled her over to sit on the couch. "So spill! What did you say to Awase?! I can't believe he came over here to ask you so soon! On the porch in the moonlight! So romantic! I can just swoon!"

"Well, it was supposed to be a private conversation Mina. I can't believe you were eavesdropping. Pretty sure everyone in our class knows now," Momo started looking around at the different groups of teens in the living area. She was embarrassed.

There were a handful of students at the dining tables nearby. Across from the girls and Midoriya on the other side of the square mahogany coffee table was another large couch that had a group of kids half-heartedly listening to the present conversation. Denki Kaminari and Eijiro Kirishima were playing a game of cards and Katsuki Bakugo was seated at the end of the couch, his chin propped on his hand. He looked calm and passive. Momo had noticed him sitting there in that same position ever since she had returned from the porch after saying goodbye to Awase. It wasn't like Bakugo to be still and thoughtful for very long. He would usually be on his phone, reading a book, studying, or watching tv. He was even known to join in board games from time to time, much to the disappointment of most their classmates. He was very competitive even when it came to board games and almost always won.

"So Momo, what did you say to him?" Kirishima asked looking up from his hand of cards.

Momo sighed. "I told him I would think about it."

Kaminari flashed a mischievous grin, "And? What are you thinking?"

Momo looked down at her hands which held a hair tie she was absentmindedly tugging, "I don't know…."

"You guys need to quit bugging her," rang an annoyed, raspy voice. Everyone in the living area, including the distracted Midoriya, looked at Bakugo. He hadn't moved. He wasn't looking at anyone in particular when he spoke, his eyes were unfocused as if he was thinking about something else.

"We're not bugging her, Momo's always chill. We're not bugging you, are we Momo?" Kaminari asked, looking over at her. All eyes were on Momo. Normally she WAS very "chill." But she had not liked Mina blabbing about Awase. He obviously asked her in private for a reason. But she knew Mina cared for her and was just excited. So instead of being disagreeable, she just went along. Mina's intentions were good, however immature and boy-crazy she was.

"No, it's fine." Momo said giving Kaminari a reassuring smile.

"Well, if I were you, I'd make him wait a bit. You don't want to seem too eager!" Mina chimed in.

"Yeah, I think Awase's had a crush on you ever since the training camp our first year." Kaminari said bluntly. "It's kinda obvious…"

Bakugo suddenly stood up, his face neutral and his tone loud, but without its usual edge.

"Momo." He said looking at her.

"Yes, Bakugo?" she asked nervously.

He put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head slightly back. Midoriya winced. He had grown very accustomed to this stance of Bakugo's over the years and it usually didn't bode well. The pencil dropped out of his hand. No one had noticed, not even Ochaco, because all eyes were on Bakugo.

"I want to ask if you'll go to the Winter Formal with me. No pressure to answer. If you don't say anything to me I can take a hint. And if you want to, you can tell me in private later since these guys don't know how to respect people's privacy." Mina and Kaminari's jaws dropped. Midoriya gave a sigh of relief. Ochaco blinked a few times. A very weak sounding "Ribbit" was expressed. Momo was as still and silent as Aizawa-sensei which is an impressive feat. She stared at Bakugo. He nodded at her and turned away walking towards the stairway that lead to the dorm rooms.

Kirishima stood up and followed Bakugo barking at his retreating back. "Dude! You just don't ask a girl out like that in front of a group, it's embarrassing!" By this time Kirishima's loud voice had attracted the attention of Tenya Iida, Hanto Sero, and Kyoka Jiro who had been sitting at one of the large dining tables adjacent to the couch area.

Bakugo turned on Kirishima, "No, what's embarrassing is you guys continuing to harass her about Awase. Momo doesn't want to talk about it, but she's too nice to say so. And you guys are too dense to pick up on her feelings. I asked her out in front of everyone because I'm not afraid if she rejects me. I'm not ashamed to hide my intent because Momo deserves that respect. I'm not someone skulking around her fearful of what people might think." Bakugo walked away, heading to his room for the night. Kirishima sat on the couch next to Kaminari.

"He has a point. That proposal was pretty manly," Kirishima said wistfully.

"Dude, Bakugo wanting to go to a formal event? A dance? That's crazy! Our little boy is growing up!" Kaminari said punching Kirishima lightly on the shoulder. Kyoka walked towards the couches. "Wait…. What just happened? Did Bakugo just ask Momo to the Winter Formal?" she asked, her eyes locking with Mina. Mina let out a huge squeal and ran over to Kyoka to tell her exactly what had happened.

"Well, all this yelling isn't good for our circadian rhythms! Everyone needs to just calm down! We won't be able to fall asleep with all this excitement and it's past 9!" Iida expressed loudly, his right arm gesturing up and down frenetically.

"Iida, you're the only one yelling now, chill bro," Sero said patting Iida on the back. Most the teens were all talking excitedly now, but no yelling, Iida made sure of it. Deku's eyes were looking down the hall where Bakugo had retreated, "Kacchan…. That was a bit of a surprise." he said quietly under his breath. Ochaco and Tsuyu however were quietly looking at Momo who had suddenly been forgotten by most of the other teens because of Bakugo's outburst.

"Ribbit, I think now is a good time to escape Yao-momo."

Ochaco smiled at Momo. Momo nodded at Tsuyu and went to her dorm room. None of the other teens noticed her departure.

"Bakugo did that in front of everyone to get them off of Momo's back, too, ribbit."

"Yeah, that might have been the main reason he did it publicly in the first place," Midoriya replied.

Chapter 3 Yaoyorozu

Momo shut her door behind her and locked it. Her room had become the unofficial hangout for the class 3A girls over the last 2 years and normally she loved it. The girls would just open the door, come in, and make themselves at home, especially Kyoka, Toru Hagakure, and Mina. Tsu and Ochaco would always knock first at least. But she wanted privacy for a change. She laid on her four poster bed and let out a long breath. Her stomach was in knots with several different emotions wreaking havoc on her system. Exhilaration, at the moment, was overtaking fear, reluctance, hope, and embarrassment. After several minutes, she heard her door knob rattle. She heard a simply stated, "Momo?" through the door. It was Kyoka. Momo didn't answer. She grabbed a pillow above her head and wrapped her arms around it. She glanced at her clock on the nightstand. It was 9:30. Maybe Kyoka would assume she was in bed for the night. After about a minute she heard her retreating footsteps.

What do I do? What do I want to do? What do I want? her mind raced. Momo overthought things like this. With academics and decisions on the battle field, she had become a quick, rational decision maker. She no longer picked things apart and mulled over them like she had done in the past. But in daily, mundane life decisions she still would overthink. She left her bed and went to her chest of drawers. She opened the top drawer and ran her hand under her socks and stockings to the bottom left corner. She retrieved a small card. On the cover of the card was a drawing of an orchid. It had 5 white petals that were shaped to make the flower look like a star. The labellum, or center part, of the orchid had a white base with yellow sections and dark red stripes along the sides. There were faint red specks along the labellum as well. This orchid had been drawn with a charcoal pencil and then colored faintly with pastels. It was her favorite flower ever since she was a little girl. She must have mentioned it at school at some point during the first few months she had attended UA, but she didn't remember ever saying anything. She opened the card. In tiny writing were the words, "Thank you," written in black ink. She ran her fingers over the small black script. The card had been slipped under her door the very first night their class had moved to the dorms a little over 2 years ago. She had never shown or even spoke of this card to anyone. It was one of her most favored possessions.

Hours passed. Momo couldn't sleep. She had tossed and turned in her bed, her bottom fitted sheet had come loose and her sheets and blankets were now a mess. She sat up and took off her t—shirt revealing a bra underneath. She looked down at her chest, subtle sparks and lights appeared on the surface of the skin above her bra. Suddenly a small card appeared from her skin and she caught it carefully with her right hand; she didn't want it to get bent. On the front of the card was the orchid. Phalaenopsis Aphrodite. A fitting name Momo was an exact copy of the card hiding in her sock drawer, except the inside was blank. She went to her desk, grabbed a black pen, opened the card, and wrote one small word inside. She glanced at her clock and saw it was 2am. Everyone should still be asleep. Or had finally gone to bed depending on one's perspective. Her dorm room was directly by the stairs. She went down one flight quietly, her heart racing madly in her chest. She walked out onto the fourth floor and peaked to see if the hallway was empty. She tiptoed over to the third door on the right and slipped the card under the door. She made it back to her room and had not been seen. She took a deep breath and flopped on her bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.

Momo's alarm sounded at 6:00 am. She was exhausted from lack of sleep. She normally would sleep in another half hour since it was Sunday, but it was Kaminari's turn to make breakfast. He always forgot so she and Iida took turns covering him and some of the other class 3A loafers. Even though Lunch Rush served breakfast, many students preferred to eat earlier than the time Lunch Rush provided. And some students didn't want to walk all the way to the other side of campus for a bite to eat and then have to backtrack quite a ways back for homeroom or all the way back to the dorm. And Lunch Rush was closed on Sundays anyhow. Momo changed into casual clothes and then grabbed her small bag with her toiletries. When she made it to the bottom floor she found the kitchen and living and dining areas empty. She quickly went into the girl's bathroom, brushed her teeth and hair, and washed her face. As she looked into the mirror to check her appearance, her stomach started to twist in knots. Most mornings she, Iida, Shoto Todoroki, and Bakugo were the first ones up. The 4 of them sat together and ate breakfast, usually Iida and Momo would talk about school or other small talk and Bakugo and Todoroki would silently eat and study. Momo realized she was nervous to see Bakugo. And felt even more trepidation to have to put up with everyone's interrogations about her answer to his invitation to the Formal. She walked out of the bathroom and saw Bakugo sitting at the table in his usual spot. She froze. He had his English textbook open with a notebook next to it, and his Japanese/English dictionary. He looked up and their eyes met. Momo managed to get out a "Hi, Bakugo," but it sounded about an octave higher than her normal voice. She quickly walked over to the kitchen and tried to decide what she could make since she knew Kaminari had not picked up any supplies most likely.

"I already started rice in the large pressure cooker." Bakugo said not looking up from his books. "When I saw Kaminari's name on the board last night I figured he wouldn't do it this morning. Especially since it's Sunday. Figured you or Iida would come down. Miso soup leftover from yesterday is warming up on the stove top."

"Oh…well. Thanks. I'll get fruit out of the pantry then and maybe some yogurt," Momo was blushing. Bakugo had never made breakfast before in place of the usual loafers who shirked their duties. She tried not to read into it. After she set out some fruit, yogurt, and grabbed the milk, Momo took a banana from the fruit bowl and walked towards her usual spot at the table. Which happened to be next to Bakugo. In normal circumstances they would sit in silence. Sometimes they would ask each other a question related to their studies. And why would things not be normal, Momo, she thought to herself. She grabbed her bag she had placed at the end of the table previously and sat down. She pulled out a book from her bag since her appetite had now completely escaped her. "Good morning!" chimed a chipper, sing-songy voice. It was Iida. He joined the quiet duo after grabbing a huge bowl of rice, some soup, and an apple. "The second most important meal of the day!" Iida said brightly. He said this every morning. "Thanks, Momo!"

"Actually Bakugo made most of it."

"Oh. Well, thanks Bakugo!" Bakugo didn't respond.

Ida immediately started to talk to Momo about decorations for the dance. Ida had heard from Aizawa-sensei the previous evening that the class reps were in charge of planning the decorations and refreshments for the Formal. The first thing they had to decide was the theme. Each class rep President, who represented one of the 11 UA 3rd year classes, was to have 3 ideas for a theme to share at the class rep meeting Monday evening.

"I think sometime today we should have Class 3A gather in the living room and brainstorm ideas. Then we can vote. I'll let everyone know about it, you think 5 PM today sounds good?"

"Yeah, before dinner. That works." Momo replied.

"Well I'll get the word out." Iida said excitedly.

"I'll run the meeting then," Momo added.

"Great initiative Class rep Vice-President!" Iida beamed. Todoroki had joined them quietly during their impromptu class rep meeting.

"So Bakugo and Todoroki! 5 PM today we're to have a class meeting in the living quarters."

"Yeah, sure" Todoroki said evenly not looking up from his rice. Bakugo had given a noise which could be translated into an affirmative. After several minutes of Iida and Momo discussing a school project for history and their work study experience the previous week, Iida headed up to his room. He had not mentioned her Formal invitations the previous evening even though Momo knew he was present last night and heard about them. Momo smiled. Iida was such a great guy. Even with all of his idiosyncrasies he was caring, mature, and well-mannered. Things were starting to feel normal again for Momo. This morning had played out the same as so many previous mornings. Perhaps Bakugo had only asked her to the dance because he didn't like how the others were pressing her. Bakugo was a hot-head with a nasty tone and a crude way of talking. However, he had another side that all of Class 3A had seen emerge over the last 2 years. That what he lacked in manners and niceness, he made up for in honesty and loyalty. He would be the first to lay his life down for anyone in their class. For anyone period. Now, Momo felt quite foolish. The little spark in her heart that had started 2 years previous had become a torch now and perhaps it was silly for her to keep carrying it. Bakugo was just a good friend. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"Well, I'm gonna hit the gym before teaching my tutoring class at 10. See you guys later." Momo gathered her things and started walking away.

"Ponytail. What're you teaching today?" Bakugo asked gruffly, not looking up from his book.

He called me Ponytail. Momo's heart sank. She started to rethink the whole "good friend" inner soliloquy she had going earlier.

"I'll be tutoring English for the first 45 minutes, and then Calculus the last 45." She had been holding these little study sessions for her handful of friends in 3A that struggled academically since their very first mid-term. Over the last 2 years, it had grown to include a couple of students from Class B, a few general studies kids, and some business class students. It ended up being about 10 kids every Sunday. When it was mid-term and finals time, she had the sessions daily and that number doubled.

"I've been missing a lot of class due to my work study, I've gotten behind in English. You'll help me with English and to pay you back I'll help you with creating propulsive objects for mobility and how to use them. I saw you working on that during our practical hero training last week. We can do it after your study session. I'll get it approved by Aizawa-sensei. Gonna see if Gym Gamma is available."

"Sure," she said brightly. Bakugo had never attended a single study session she taught. He was one of the smartest and most studious in their class. Momo doubted he really needed the help. She tried to suppress this thought, however. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Good." Bakugo said. He slammed his books shut and threw them in his backpack. As Momo walked away, she couldn't resist to grin. She wasn't paying attention and bumped into Mina who was being closely followed by Sero and Kirishima. "Momo!" Mina squealed. Her eyes wandered over to Bakugo who was standing up from his seat, and then back to Momo. "So?" Mina mouthed to her. Momo sighed. Kirishima threw himself in the chair Bakugo had been sitting in. "Hey Bakugo! Hey Momo!" Kirishima said brightly.

"Yao-momo! You going to the Formal with Lord Explosion Murder?" Sero said with a laugh. Momo's face turned scarlet, even her ears were flush.

"No teasing Sero, you and Mina are relentless," Kirishima gave them both a disapproving look.

Before Momo could say anything, Bakugo's voice rang out. "Yeah. We're going to the formal together. You guys can quit pestering Momo now."

"No way!" Kirishima bellowed with a big smile on his face. "That's awesome!" Bakugo smacked him upside the head with his backpack purposefully, threw his backpack over his shoulder, and headed upstairs. Kirishima wasn't deterred in the slightest.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me! I need the deets!" Mina begged Momo.

"Sorry, Mina. I have to get to the gym now or I'll be late to my tutoring session. I assume I'll see you there?"

"Yeah…." Mina said weakly. "Math is killing me right now…"

"I'll see you at 10 then!" Momo said cheerfully. She headed out of the dorm.

"Are you guys completely weirded out by this? Those two are the last couple I could imagine in our class." Sero said.

"I think it's pretty cool. Opposites attract maybe?" Kirishima said.

"Actually Bakugo and Yaoyorozu as a couple isn't that weird." The trio all turned their heads to stare at Todoroki. They hadn't even noticed him sitting catty-corner from Kirishima. Todoroki continued, "Bakugo and Momo have always been in one of the top 3 spots in the written exams our whole time at UA. They both work really hard. They go to bed early and they rise early to get the most out of their day. They tend to be more serious and usually don't waste time on frivolous pursuits." Todoroki looked back down at his book and continued reading.

"No man, it's still weird. Can you imagine Bakugo going over to Momo's house? And meeting her parents?" Sero replied with a laugh.

"Well I'm gonna keep my eye on them, this will be interesting for sure. Oh my gawd I have to let everyone know!" Mina jumped up and headed upstairs.

Chapter 4 Yaoyorozu

Momo had to run in order to make it to her study session on time. She held her sessions in Aizawa-sensei's classroom. They originally held it at her house, but after the students and faculty moved into dorms on campus, they were held at the dining tables at class A's dorm. In the dorms, however, they found there were too many distractions. When Aizawa-sensei saw them one Saturday, he suggested to use his classroom on Saturdays and, when they needed it during the week, after classes ended for the day. This worked so much better. In this environment the kids tended to pay attention better and to take the lessons more seriously. She opened the door and saw her usual group: Mina, Kaminari, Kyoka, Mashirao Ojiro, and Sero from Class A. Kuroiro, Fukidashi, and Tsunotori from Class B, 2 business students Tanaka and Mori, and 1 general studies student Ueno. Bakugo was sitting in the front row with his English book and notebook on his desk going over notes. Just go about like you always do, Momo told herself. "Sorry I'm late guys!" She quickly proceeded to the lectern and got out her books from her bag. "So let's start with this week. If we have time, we'll look at past units."

The session went smoothly. She was pleased that Mina, or any of the other class A students for that matter, didn't bring up Bakugo's unusual presence. Perhaps they were too wrapped up in their own stresses over school studies that it wasn't on their minds presently. When she got to Calculus, Bakugo worked with a couple of students who needed some additional help. Momo heard him getting a bit irritated with Fukidashi who was really struggling with a specific concept. Bakugo took a deep breath and persevered. He had learned some patience over the last 2 years, but he could definitely benefit to gain a bit more Momo thought. At 11:30 Momo's watch sounded. Mina groaned. "I swear, I'm never going to get this! We have finals in less than 2 weeks! Ugh…"

"Your English is much better though. You just need to concentrate more on the math. Do you want to go over that last problem we didn't get to?"

Mina sighed. "No, my brain is so fried. Maybe later tonight? After dinner at the dorms can you show me?"

"Sure," Momo said.

"Hey Momo, a bunch of us are going down to the market for lunch. You wanna come?" Sero asked looking over at Bakugo and back at Momo.

"Actually I have some plans, thanks though," Momo replied with a smile. Bakugo still had his books out on the desk he had been working at. He was sitting and looking at something on his phone. Mina and Kaminari were leaving, both looking pretty dejected. They were both really struggling in Calculus. Sero looked as if he was going to talk to Bakugo, but thought better of it. All the students left the room leaving Momo and Bakugo alone. She started to erase the chalk board. Bakugo walked over to the far wall and pulled down on a lever. This mechanism caused the wall to lower into the floor and revealed 21 numbered cubbies behind it. This was where Class 3A's hero costumes were stored. Bakugo walked over to the large lockered cubby labeled, "17." He pressed a button which dispelled a loud release of air and pulled a large case from the cubby. "Should I get my hero costume, too?" Momo asked.

"No. Just grabbing the gauntlet. Gym clothes should work. You bring yours?" Bakugo asked. Momo nodded.

"Are we authorized for Gym Gamma?" Momo asked.

"Yeah."

The two walked quietly towards the Gym Gamma which was near the main campus building. Momo was a bit anxious and tended to default to small talk when she felt this way, but for some reason she chose to stay silent. The gym was empty and was still set by one of Cementoss' designs. Cementoss would control the abundant amounts of cement found in the gym to construct many shapes and settings like mountains, hills, tunnels, and buildings. Currently there were a few hills, a couple of buildings, and one large mountainous shape near the back of the gym.

"This will work," Bakugo stated looking at the gym setup.

He unzipped his over-sized backpack and pulled out a smaller version of his gauntlet. He handed it to Momo.

"Hatsume made this. It's similar to mine but it would use whatever standard fuel you prefer to make. It won't work as precise, but it's smaller and also a more simple design," He rifled through his backpack and pulled out several papers clipped together. "These are Hatsume's blue prints. I wasn't sure if that would be enough for you to replicate it with your quirk or if you needed to take it apart and see how it works. I had her make it as simple as possible so it would use up less of your reserves."

Momo took the gauntlet and blue prints from Bakugo. The gauntlet was surprising light. She recognized the metal and thought of a better choice of material for lightness and also keeping it cooler with use, but Hatsume or maybe Bakugo probably had their reasons for using this particular metal. She looked through the blue prints. "These prints are pretty detailed and the schematic is simple enough; I don't think I'll need any additional information." Bakugo nodded. He grabbed his gym clothes from his backpack and headed to the boy's locker room.

Momo changed in the girl's locker room. She luckily remembered to bring her specially made exercise bra. The middle section between the cups was very durable and could be stretched very far. Only the very largest items she could make would break the fabric. The gauntlet would not be an issue. She pulled on her gym top, leaving it open.

She walked out into the gym and found Bakugo in an open section with a building shaped cement edifice about 50 feet high at the end.

Bakugo had his gauntlet on. Momo joined him not sure what to expect. He turned to her looking her in the eyes, "So earlier this week you were using jet packs you created for mobility?" He asked.

Momo nodded and replied, "I wanted to improve my usefulness in rescue situations in large cities. Getting around on the ground isn't too difficult, lots of things I can create, but if I need to get to the top of a building or up to an overpass, I'm pretty limited to what I can make quickly. So I was trying out some options."

Bakugo nodded, "I think the gauntlet would give you more control and more boost than a jet pack. Probably easier to make?" Bakugo asked.

Momo nodded. "Probably. Let me see if I can create one." Momo looked down at her chest. Colorful sparks and bright lights appeared on her skin and then the top of the gauntlet appeared under her collarbone. She grabbed it and concentrated, trying to be sure she was thinking of all the mechanism and pieces inside. Bakugo out of habit, like most the Class A students, turned away from Momo while she created. Too many times Momo had lost clothing creating with her quirk and it could make for an awkward situation. But the undergarment held strong. She really wished she had thought of creating it much sooner than the end of her second year. She held the freshly created gauntlet in her hand. Without realizing, she had made the colors of the outside of the gauntlet match Bakugo's usual gauntlet instead of just the natural metal one he had brought for her to see and copy. "Oh sorry." Momo apologized, "Didn't really mean to paint it, just used to seeing your gauntlet I guess." Bakugo looked at the gauntlet and shrugged.

"Okay, you'll need fuel," Bakugo stated. He took Momo's gauntlet and twisted the top rim and it came off. This caused the gauntlet to be opened up in two separate pieces revealing it's inner workings. "Any idea what you'd want to make?"

"Hmmm, well you create a fluid similar to nitroglycerin? That's made by nitrating glycerol, if I had the chemical break down I could make it. I don't have my encyclopedia…."

"You can use my reserve. Hold on…" Bakugo went diving into his backpack and surfaced with 2 objects that looked like hand grenades. He opened these up and poured an oily looking, yellow substance into the reservoir of Momo's gauntlet. Momo started to get nervous. She was worried she would blow them both up. She trusted Bakugo would be able to teach her how to use this new equipment adequately. She just hoped he would start small, not have the "go big or go home" mentality he often times had.

"Okay, you're ready," he handed the gauntlet back to Momo. "Let's start at step one, just igniting the gauntlet." Momo exhaled a deep breath. This was going to be fine. Baby steps to start. After over an hour, with Bakugo modeling the steps to Momo with his own, she was able to ignite the gauntlet, to let out a small blast, and then to propel herself off the ground about 10 feet. She was still having issues with the landing, but she wasn't too badly bruised. She stood up and brushed herself off after her most recent attempt. She looked over at the 50 foot cement building.

"You wanna try it huh?" Bakugo asked, a slight smile on his face. Momo nodded. "Just remember, don't pull back on the lever too much. A little goes a long way. Try not to over correct with your body. The more force you use the less forgiving over-correcting is." Momo stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, and took a deep breath. She made a few large strides, leapt, maneuvered the blaster downward, and pulled the lever back. The force jerked her harder than the attempts before but she used the strength of her arms and her core to hold the gauntlet in the right direction. The top of the building was coming fast towards her. She worried she would come up short and hurtle into the cement. "Mid-air blast, Momo!" She heard Bakugo's voice behind her. She pulled the lever, but nothing came out the blaster port. Had she used up all the fuel? They had refilled it recently, that seemed unlikely. She looked up and saw she was about to slam herself into the cement wall of the building 5 feet short of the top. She suddenly felt herself jerked up by her right upper arm and swept away from the building. She was flying thru the air at immense speed. She felt rushes of air whip past her body. It was absolutely thrilling. She looked over at Bakugo beside her. His face was tense with concentration; he was looking below them and also letting out several mid -air blasts from his gauntlet. The blasts were in different directions and different burst lengths. Momo looked down and then started to feel some trepidation. Bakugo pulled her closer towards him and she dropped her gauntlet and reflexively lurched her arms around his neck and positioned herself behind him. She thought this would give him better maneuverability. She saw what his target was. Several floor mats had been laid out on the far end of the gym and they were quickly approaching it. "Shit…" Bakugo spat under his breath. He was trying to slow them down but also keep them airborne. Landing at this speed on the cement would probably have them both in Recovery Girl's office the rest of the day, if they were outside landing on grass it wouldn't have been an issue. They would crash land but it looked like now they would make it to the mats. Momo let go of Bakugo right before impact and tried to relax and let her body roll as much as possible. They had actually had training on how to survive falls and how to maneuver to lessen bodily harm. She hit the mat with immense force, but was able to roll and didn't believe she hurt herself too badly. She was laying on her back and seeing stars. "Momo?" She looked over and saw Bakugo laying a few feet away on his stomach, his arms propped below him. "You okay?"

"Yeah I think so. What about you?"

"Yeah."

"You guys are crazy!" they both looked up and saw Kirishima standing above them. Aizawa-sensei was running towards them several feet away. "What the heck were you guys doing?!" Kirishima bellowed offering his hand to Momo.

Chapter 5 Yaoyorozu

Aizawa-sensei made sure that both Momo and Bakugo were not injured. Except for a few cuts and scrapes and some bruises in Momo's case, they were unharmed. Apparently Kirishima had been trying to get ahold of Bakugo the last couple of hours. No one in Class 3A knew where he was. He ran into Aizawa-sensei at the dorm and he told Kirishima that Bakugo was going to be running drills at Gym Gamma. Due to the lack of communication, both of them worried that perhaps Bakugo had hurt himself badly and couldn't answer back.

Bakugo looked a little annoyed. "Just cause I don't answer a text right away doesn't mean I'm off dead somewhere…"

"Bro, you always answer my texts right away. Plus Sundays we usually study or train together. So excuse me for being a little concerned!" Kirishima grabbed Bakugo in a headlock playfully for a few moments. Bakugo growled. Momo was always surprised how far Kirishima could take things with Bakugo. Anyone else who physically messed with or teased Bakugo in the same manner would be on the floor. Or at least that is what everyone else assumed would happen so they never went there.

Bakugo surfaced from below Kirishima's arm red-faced, his hair mashed down a bit on one side. He ran his hands through his spiky blonde tufts looking a little peeved. "Didn't know Momo was with you," Kirishima replied. "If I had known that, I would've known she wouldn't let you do anything too crazy. Of course, seeing Momo trying to clear that building! You must have put her up to that."

"Actually, It was my idea," Momo answered. Kirishima grinned.

"Letting loose a little bit huh Momo? You gotta be the level headed one if we're both gonna be at Fat Gum's Agency in May! We can't both be the impulsive ones!" Momo smiled. She had signed a one year contract the previous week with Fat Gum's Agency. She had switched to his agency for her work study half-way through her second year. It had been a better fit than her 2 previous work studies. She constantly needed food when she created with her quirk, and Fat Gum's quirk also had him always patrolling with food in hand. It was a great match. Not to mention Fat Gum was more interested in fighting crime and going after villains than some of the other Pros. She didn't want to sit on her laurels. Her parents were not happy with the choice. Fat Gums Agency wasn't as prestigious as some of her other offers. But she knew what kind of hero she wanted to be. She also wanted to start her own agency in the next few years and felt with his guidance she could make that a reality.

Aizawa-sensei pointed over to a small pile of debris as they started to walk towards the Gym exit. "Looks like the gauntlet didn't make it." He said in a low even tone. The group walked over and assessed the damage. "I wonder why it malfunctioned…" Momo said as she picked through the wreckage. "Guess, I won't be able to find out now. I must not have built it as carefully as I had hoped."

"You made that? That's pretty cool Momo," Kirishima beamed.

"Yeah, I was working on adding some mobility to my repertoire. Bakugo suggested the gauntlet and it was going very well, until the gauntlet didn't fire."

"Mine have failed at times. You took a lot of spills while we were training so one of those falls could have knocked the reservoir out of place. I've had Hatsume reinforce the reservoir inside my gauntlets to prevent mine from failing. Guess I didn't think you'd be so rough on your gauntlet, Momo." Momo blushed.

Kirishima lightly punched Bakugo on the shoulder. "You're a bad influence man! Momo's gonna start cussing and barking at everyone and giving the glare of death." Bakugo rolled his eyes.

Aizawa interjected, "You guys done for the day?"

Momo nodded.

"Next time maybe run your drills closer to the mats?" Aizawa stated matter-of-factly. Bakugo and Momo both nodded at Aizawa-sensei. "Good. I'm going back to the faculty dorms. Don't forget about the meeting at 5. I'll be back up at 3A dorms at 6 tonight."

"Thanks sensei!" Kirishima bellowed. Aizawa-sensei left and Momo and Bakugo collected their things. As the trio left, Momo's stomach made a large gurgling noise. Kirishima laughed. "It's almost 2, guess you guys haven't had lunch?" Momo shook her head. "Bakugo and I usually go to this Ramen shop on Sundays for lunch. The one down the street before you hit the market. You want to join us Momo?"

"Sure," she answered. Kirishima wasn't making her feel anxious. She appreciated him not prying about the Formal.

"Kiri, order my usual. I'm gonna run up to the development studio for a bit," Bakugo said as he turned the other direction keeping a brisk pace.

Kirishima turned towards him, "No problem man, but you're gonna pay me back this time, right?!"

Chapter 6 Yaoyorozu

Kirishima and Momo made their way towards the front of the school. There was only one exit in and out of UA due to its heightened security. Although this school year had less restrictions than the previous 2 years, the school was still on high alert. Students could only leave the campus without faculty supervision on Sundays and that was only as far as the nearby market. Most students craved the freedom so the market with its many small, locally owned shops was a popular site for UA students on Sunday.

"So you and Bakugo are going to the formal, huh?" Momo's empty stomach was now doing back flips. She felt nauseous. Kirishima surprised her with his boldness. Especially since up to this point he had not alluded to anything between them since they met up at Gym Gamma. He glanced at her while they walked. "Sorry Momo. Didn't mean to put you on the spot. I think in some ways I'm relieved. Bakugo's been acting… off the last couple of weeks. Now I think I know why. Guess he was preoccupied with you," He grinned. Momo didn't know what to say. "Sorry, I'll drop the subject." Kirishima replied.

"Actually, I don't mind," Momo really meant this. Kirishima's interest seem to lie more on looking out for his best friend Bakugo than it did on just wanting the latest gossip. Also Kirishima and Momo had a much deeper friendship than most the class realized. They had both taken the death of one of their teachers, Nemuri Kayama, better known by her hero name Midnight, pretty badly the end of their first year. Even though Mina and Sato had also gone through similar trauma, it had effected Kirishima and Momo in a way that they had taken comfort in talking about it with each other. Even though Momo was much closer to the girls in class A, she felt Kirishima was her closest friend out of the boys. She often wondered if he valued their friendship as much as she did. He was close to many of the members of their class due to his overwhelmingly supportive and uplifting personality. He was very extroverted and always lead many of the group activities, even getting Bakugo and Todoroki involved.

"Really?" Kirishima turned to her with an expectant look on his face. "We can talk about it?! So then you guys training today? How was it? I have to admit, I'm super jealous because I've always wanted to try using one of his gauntlets! I mean, he's given me a lift in battle and training so I've flown about with him tons, and crash landed with him. But it'd be cool to do it solo with the gauntlet."

"It was pretty fun. Bakugo's surprisingly a good teacher. He was actually pretty patient with me."

"Yeah, that's an anomaly! He's constantly irritated with me when we train or study together! He must really like you."

Momo blushed.

"So Momo, you've been crushing on Bakugo a long time or is this a sorta sudden thing?" Kirishima asked.

Before she could stop herself she answered, "A long time." Momo was surprised by her own brazenness. It was because it was Kirishima alone that she answered this way.

They walked in silence for a bit. "You're full of surprises, Momo. Why didn't you ever say something to him sooner? Or to me, I would have been more than happy to play middle man! We got like, 5 months left of school. And you and I will be in Esuha City with Fat Gum and Hot Head will be in Tokyo with Best Jeanist 600 miles away."

"I guess because it wasn't something that was forefront in my mind the last couple of years. We've spent so much time fighting for our lives. Fighting for others' lives. Fighting for our country. It leaves very little time for thinking about love and romance. Midoriya and Ochaco have been an item for over a year and that shocked everyone as far as them even having time for that sort of thing. Especially Midoriya with everything he's gone through. And to still be going strong. They'll be opening up an agency along with Mirio Togata when they graduate. They have everything figured out."

"Well maybe that whole thing happened with Ochaco because Midoriya was in those situations. As hard as it's been on all of us, it's been the most rough for him. He was always the main target for Shigaraki," Kirishima replied thoughtfully.

Momo's eyes went wide and she turned towards Kirishima and grabbed his forearm. "Please, promise me you won't tell Bakugo!" She said with pleading eyes.

"Tell him what?"

"That I've…. cared for him a long time. I'm worried that might scare him off."

Kirishima laughed his rough cackle. "You're worried you might scare him off? That's hilarious."

"Come on Kirishima!" Momo pleaded.

"No worries! I won't tell him about it. Or our conversation."

"Okay good." Momo said relieved. Kirishima was still grinning, a laugh playing on his lips still.

"Bakugo's lucky to have you as a friend. You guys somehow hit it off from the very start. I can understand why he'd like being your friend, but why do you like him, Kirishima? Especially that first year. He was pretty rough around the edges then." Momo asked with a light laugh. He slowed his pace a bit and his face dropped the revelry it was relishing in moments before. His faced looked serious.

He stopped walking and looked at Momo. "Well there was a time in the past I probably liked him for the same reasons that you do now." He then looked down at his feet and after several moments started walking again.

"I'm sorry Kirishima, I didn't mean….." Momo said in a small voice.

"Don't be sorry. This is like confessional day or something. But no worries, I've hung up those feelings awhile back for Bakugo knowing they aren't realistic. And being a bestie is almost as good."

Now it was Kirishima's turn to look bewildered.

"Don't tell anyone what I just told you! About Bakugo and about, well, me. You're the only one at school that knows I'm gay. Shit… I just came out at school." Kirishima's face looked terrified. He looked at Momo. "I've almost told you so many times during our talks. Don't take this in a weird way but because of our talks after the battle with the League our first year…. you are the person I've confided in the most at school. Bakugo's my bestie but he isn't one for deep conversations."

Momo reached out and took Kirishima's hand and gave it a squeeze, trying not to get emotional while she replied. "I think what we went through that first year and how we helped each other through it…. I feel closer to you than most. I am glad you feel the same." Kirishima squeezed her hand back. "And I promise I won't tell anyone what you shared with me. But maybe you should come out to everyone anyway. It can't be good for you hiding something like that."

Kirishima sighed. It wasn't from sadness or anxiety. It was almost like a sigh of relief. "Well my parents know and they are super cool about it. My 'other dad' Fat Gum knows and Tamaki Amajiki since he is at Fat Gum's agency and has sorta become like a big brother to me. And that's it. I don't know why I've never told Bakugo, I don't think he'd care, but again we don't discuss deep stuff. And… there is someone I've kinda been flirting with the last few weeks…. Not sure if that's going anywhere. Too terrified to ask him to the dance because what if I'm reading things wrong… ugh… like you said this stuff we're all hopeless with because we haven't had the typical high school experience."

"Well, like you said earlier, we only have 5 months. You should ask this guy to the formal. Or at least let him know how you feel," Momo replied.

"Yeah…. I should," They arrived at the Ramen shop. They ordered and then sat down at a table outside so they could enjoy the weather.

"Ya know, most people would have asked me who." Kirishima said leaning back in his chair looking at Momo.

She looked at him confused, "Oh, you mean about the person you want to ask to the formal," Momo stated. Kirishima nodded.

"You're not going to ask?" He said flashing his sharp grin.

"No, that's personal. I honestly feel I pressured you into revealing stuff you wouldn't have normally because I was spilling so much myself."

"Wow. You're really cool, Momo. I have so much regret."

Momo smiled at him. "Why?"

"For not coming out to you sooner. Would have been nice to have had someone to talk to all this time."

"Well, I'm here now so fire away."

Bakugo suddenly pulled a chair out in between Momo and Kirishima and sat down.

"Oh hey! So what'cha working on at the lab?" Kirishima said still leaning back in his chair.

Bakugo opened his backpack and pulled more blueprints out and handed them to Momo. "Stuff for Momo. These are the blueprints for my gauntlet. Took Hatsume awhile to find it in all the mess. She doesn't have a real filing system. Anyway, reservoir reinforcements. So you won't have the gauntlet fail."

"Sounds good. I should be able to keep the design simple but make those changes. Thanks," Momo smiled.

The trio had their lunch, discussed different fuels for the gauntlet (Kirishima just listened, a smile on his face most the time), and Bakugo paid Kirishima back for lunch.

"Oh! What time is it?" Momo asked suddenly.

Bakugo glanced at his watch, "Almost 4."

Momo let out a breath of relief. "I was worried I missed the Class meeting, I'm running it so can't be late. I guess I just let time get away from me…"

Kirishima smiled, "That's so unlike you Momo! Shirking your duties. Guess we should get back."

Chapter 7 Kirishima

The trio arrived back at the dorm with plenty of time for Momo to change her clothes in her dorm room and get things ready for the meeting. She mainly needed the large whiteboard that was kept in the closet off the living area and to hunt down some dry eraser markers. She quickly went up the stairs to avoid any of the questioning faces as she walked through the living area. Bakugo had gone up to change as well not caring about any of the stares and grins he received. This left poor Kirishima to be accosted by Mina, Kyoka, Toru, and Kaminari. "Okay, since those two are obviously not going to say ANYTHING, will you please tell us what's going on!?" Mina pleaded.

"Wow, you guys don't know when to stop," Kirishima laughed, a large grin on his face. "There's nothing to tell. Bakugo asked Momo to the formal. Momo said yes. That's all I know. You guys found out about it this morning at breakfast so technically, Mina, you know as much as I do," Kirishima said backing away from the small mob.

"You've been with them the last couple of hours though, right?" Kaminari smirked.

"Yeah," Kirishima answered.

"So?" Mina chirped.

"So, we had lunch and before that Bakugo and Momo were at Gym Gamma training. You guys seriously need to get a life," Kirishima shook his head trying to suppress a smile on his face. He walked over to the couch and plopped down onto it.

"Training at the gym…. That's like the most boring date ever," Toru expressed sadly.

"Dang, who would have thought watching paint dry would be more entertaining than Bakugo getting a love life." Kaminari said as he sat next to Kirishima.

"Maybe you guys should worry less about Bakugo and Momo and more about who you'll be taking to the formal. If you wait too long, all the good options will be taken," Kirishima said coyly with a toothy grin.

"Oh, you're right! We're already 24 hours behind! Hey Kirishima, will you be my back up if I can't find anyone decent?" Mina gave him puppy-dog eyes.

"What, you're assuming I'm not going to ask someone or be asked!?"

"I thought maybe you would think the whole thing wasn't 'manly' so you wouldn't be that into it."

Kirishima gave her an exasperated look. "I guess that's a no….." Mina groaned. "I've already dated all the guys at the school I had any interest in…. Wait, do you think we can bring off campus dates?"

"Nope, has to be someone from UA due to security issues," Kyoka answered.

Over the next several minutes the couches started to fill will students. Kirishima sat quietly on the couch thinking about Bakugo and Momo. He was happy that Bakugo was thinking beyond what seemed like his one and only, all encompassing, goal of becoming a top hero. But he was a little jealous. Not towards Bakugo or Momo exactly, but just that his love life being gay was so much more complicated. And that the object of his affection may just be really friendly and not at all interested. He would make steps towards being more blunt. But what if his crush wasn't gay? "Hey, Kirishima, you okay?" Kaminari asked. "Oh, yeah man, just thinking about the novels test tomorrow." Kirishima joined in the conversation cheerfully. Hiding the truth was second nature to him now.

Chapter 8 Yaoyorozu

Momo finally came down with 2 dry eraser markers she ended up having to make herself. Perks of her quirk. She pulled out the large whiteboard and they were ready to start. Bakugo and Todoroki were the last ones to come down and join the meeting.

"Good afternoon Class 3A! Thanks for showing up! Looks like everyone is present. Momo will lead the meeting." Iida sat down.

"So we called you guys here to brainstorm ideas for the Winter Formal theme. Students will be in charge of decorations so a theme is needed so we can plan. I thought the best thing would be to write down any ideas you guys had and then we can vote. The three ideas with the most votes will be the ones Iida and I will present at the Class Rep Meeting tomorrow evening. So…. What do you guys think?"

"Oh! How about Christmas? Like Christmas decorations and maybe even a small gift exchange? It will be 3 weeks before actual Christmas so it could be fun," Toru blurted out.

Momo nodded and wrote it down. Momo was thankful Toru had given the first idea. Now they would start rolling in.

"Famous couples in History," Ochaco said.

"Or famous couples in Literature," Todoroki replied.

"What about just famous couples and keep it general and leave it up to people's perspective?" Kirishima added.

"Yeah, it could be fun, like someone can dress up like bacon and their date could be eggs!" Kaminari beamed.

"No!" Ochaco, Mina, and Toru said in unison.

"Winter Wonderland! We could have sparkling snowflakes and sparkling lights, just a lot of sparkle!" Aoyoma said enthusiastically.

"What about like a Runway theme? Since we don't get a chance to dress fancy this could really up the expectations to see some real couture. Hi-end fashion," Mina shared.

"That sounds expensive…." Ochaco said meakly.

"That sounds amazing!" Yuga Aoyoma beamed.

Momo feverishly wrote the ideas down on the board trying to keep up.

"Enchanted Forest, ribbit."

"Masquerade Ball" Tokoyami said quietly, Momo barely caught it.

"Safari," Koji Koda stated.

"Ooooo I like that, the girls can dress up as Furries…." Minoru Mineta said with a shudder.

Mineta was knocked back several feet by a swipe of Ojiro's tail.

"Fire and Ice," Ojiro said. "Todoroki could do most the décor, it'd be pretty easy."

"Candy Land? That would make the refreshments a no brainer and it'd be colorful," Rikido Sato shared

"This is a great list guys, keep the ideas coming!" Iida commented enthusiastically.

"Maybe a Rave theme? Lots of black lights and neon colors would make it fun on the dance floor," Kyoka commented.

The students' volume kept rising, they were chatting back and forth and fleshing out some of the ideas with more details. Momo watched her classmates with a smile on her face. As she glanced to the left her eyes met with Bakugo's. Had he been watching her? He sat at the very end of the couch, his right arm resting across him, propping up his left elbow. He rested the bottom part of his left cheek on his curled up left hand. The look on his face wasn't one she had ever seen him make before. It was serious and full of intent. It intimidated her and at the same time it lured her in. Bakugo had never intimidated Momo previously. His at times reckless behavior and his explosive words didn't make her cower or even blink. She felt he was all bravado and bark. Although his bite was severe, he saved that for villains and criminals. When they disagreed on the battlefield, she never hesitated on calling him out if needed and speaking her mind. But the last 24 hours she had become terrified of him in a different way. Yet she didn't want to run away. The mixture of emotions churned in her chest and stomach. Exhilaration, fear, vulnerability, and happiness. Bakugo's lips turned up slightly at the ends. She smiled back hesitantly giving him a quizzical look.

"Earth to Momo!" Kaminari snapped her back into place. She looked quickly at Kaminari. She heard Bakugo laugh.

"Yeah, what's up?" She answered.

Most the teens were still chatting excitedly but Kaminari, Kyoka, Ochaco, and Midoriya were all staring at Momo with funny looks on their faces. Oh no, how long had Kaminari been calling my name? she thought. Kyoka and Midoriya glanced over at Bakugo. He was now looking at Kirishima who was talking excitedly with Iida. Momo's face went scarlet. Kyoka looked back at Momo and had a sad expression. It dawned on her that she had been leaving her best friend out of the loop the last 24 hours. She felt like the world's worst friend. She would have to make this right. "Momo, add Black and White to the board," Kaminari bellowed. Momo nodded and added the idea.

After several more minutes and a few more additions, Iida stood up next to Momo by the board. "Attention class! I think we have enough ideas. It's time to vote." Iida and Momo grabbed several slips of blank paper and a bunch of pens and passed them around the room. Iida addressed the class, "Write the top 2 ideas you like. The idea on top will get 2 votes. The second written idea will get 1 vote. Momo and I will take the top three ideas with us. Place the slips in the blue basket on the coffee table when you're done."

After the votes were tallied by the two class reps, Momo announced the winners. "In third place is 'Famous Couples.' Second place is 'Rave Night." And first place is 'Masquerade Ball.' There were many cheers and jeers. "Great idea, Tokoyami, Ribbit!" The class seemed very excited about the formal. Afterwards they lounged around talking about the décor in case 'Masquerade Ball' got chosen at the Class Rep meeting. "Masks should be mandatory!" "The color scheme should be black and gold!" Sato and Midoriya were in charge of dinner and there was much anticipation for that evening since Sato was an excellent baker and cook. He was making a chiffon cake and macaroons and Midoriya was making a Hayashi rice stew under the guidance of Sato of course. Midoriya wasn't a very good cook so he was happy he got matched with someone as talented as Sato. The living area started to fill with delicious smells. Momo had been straightening up from the meeting, putting away the white board and basket, and the used and unused paper strips into the recycling bin. She had stepped into the kitchen to see if help was needed. She was shooed out by Midoriya. "You always help with dinner, go enjoy yourself for a change," He said giving her a sly grin as he glanced at Bakugo. She was starting to get tired of the sly "knowing" grins from people. She glanced over and saw the back of Bakugo's head. He was still sitting on the couch by Kirishima. She saw Kyoka sitting on the living area rug talking with Mezo Shoji. She realized now was as good a time as ever to talk with her. Since she was near the stairway she walked up to the fifth floor and texted Kyoka to meet her in her dorm room.

Chapter 9 Yaoyorozu

Momo sat crossed legged on her bed. 3 minutes later Kyoka came in, locking the door behind her. "Thanks for that. If Mina had been with you I would have escaped out the window." Momo said trying to lighten the mood. Kyoka didn't look happy.

"I'm sorry. I should have let you in my room last night. I was just really embarrassed and kinda overwhelmed."

"Well I would have been embarrassed, too, the way Bakugo asked you," Kyoka replied in an annoyed tone.

"Actually it wasn't that, it was everyone talking about me and Awase. Bakugo actually diverted the attention."

"Well maybe at the moment he asked you, but since then it's made you both a huge target. Everyone is talking about it. Even Class B and general studies." Momo groaned. "People are convinced you two have been secretly seeing each other for weeks or months." Momo now threw herself on her bed and buried her face in her comforter.

"Well? Have you guys?" Kyoka asked a little irritated.

Momo sat up, her face bright red and her black ponytail now disheveled. "No, we haven't, that's ridiculous."

"Okay. Well that's what I figured. I mean we spend a lot of time together so I thought I would have noticed a change in your personality or that you were missing from your normal activities."

Kyoka sat on Momo's bed and sighed.

"What's wrong? I promise, he asked me and I was completely surprised. There really hasn't been anything going on." Momo reassured her.

"But you like him. Downstairs the way you were staring at him…..." Momo cringed. Kyoka continued undeterred, "You aren't just going with him on a whim. You've liked him awhile haven't you?"

Momo hesitated. No, she had to be honest with Kyoka. She was her closest friend and had confided in her about many things. She felt so lost navigating this new territory on her own and a friend in the know would make this easier. Although now she realized Kirishima could be a great sounding board. Not just being Bakugo's best friend, but he seemed to know people better than they knew themselves. She had really enjoyed visiting with him earlier that day.

"Yes I have," Momo replied looking down at her hands.

"Why?! He's just so… Bakugo. He's arrogant and prideful and… crude! You're so different from him, it's so strange. If you're going just by looks, I mean honestly Awase is better looking!" Kyoka looked exasperated.

Momo sighed. "Honestly I don't know. It doesn't make sense but … wait that's not fair. Yeah Bakugo is all those things but he is also fiercely loyal and honest. He does the right thing even when it isn't easy. He's so focused, he's really smart, and a natural problem solver. And, he can be gracious…."

Kyoka looked at her doubtfully, "Well that is a side very few have seen."

"It's there," Momo replied softly.

"Bakugo being gracious….It's still all so weird. How long have you liked him this way?"

A few moments passed until Momo had the will to answer. "Since we moved into the dorms." Momo said it so low it was barely audible.

Kyoka's jaw dropped. "That's was like forever ago!"

"Listen, at first it was just small. I just started to see his good qualities over the negative, but it grew over time. And now… I'm just…. Crazy about him," Momo flopped backwards onto her bed looking up at the ivory canopy overhead. Kyoka laid down next to her.

Momo swallowed hard, trying to suppress her emotions. It was a strange sensation, she was normally so calm and collected. "I've had these feelings but just pushed them to the side. I thought nothing would come of it. Bakugo has shown zero interest in anyone except Kirishima and I thought, well, if he's gay then I really have zero chance. So it was easy to just talk myself into not saying anything to anyone and it would just eventually die away. Especially once we graduated UA. We'll all be scattered over the country. I was so convinced that nothing could happen, so now that's it's happening, I'm thrilled and kinda terrified at the same time."

Kyoka sat up and hovered over Momo, "Bakugo gay?" Kyoka grinned, "That's an interesting thought…. I would have thought maybe asexual, or is there maybe a sexuality that is attracted to explosions and death?" Kyoka started to laugh. Momo grabbed a pillow and smacked her with it. "Okay, okay jeez," Kyoka adjusted her skewed head phones laughing. "I can't believe you've been carrying this around for so long! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I'm an idiot. I'm sorry Kyoka."

"No, I just wasn't a good enough friend. I should have sensed it long before."

"No! This is all on me, I am good at hiding things. You've confided in me about things, I should have done the same."

"Yeah …. About my silly frivolous crushes, I had such a huge crush on Todoroki the first year…." Kyoka said the last part in an overly wistful voice trying to be funny.

"You and half the girls at this school…." Momo grinned.

"And now Kaminari. He's definitely not just a crush now, it's beyond that. But he's so clueless. Either that or he just isn't interested." Momo knew that Kyoka had like Kaminari for some time. She would talk about it when the two of them were alone. The other girls didn't know.

"You should tell him how you feel. You're running out of time. And it's Kaminari so you have to blatantly spell it out." Momo smiled.

"Maybe your right. Y'know you were super cute downstairs by the way."

Momo looked at her quizzically.

"You and Bakugo staring at each other, and Kaminari had called your name like 4 times until you turned away," Kyoka said with a smirk on her face.

Momo cringed.

"Have you guys held hands… or kissed! Omigawd, I bet he is an amazing kisser! You know the whole explosion thing and his aggressiveness!"

Momo's jaw dropped. "No! Nothing like that! We're not really anything other than just going to the dance together. Honestly I am still not convinced about his… intentions. Plus I thought you said you thought he was asexual…"

"Well yeah… until he proves he isn't now, so with that in mind, I'm thinking he could be pretty passionate….."

"No, I can't even think about it. It makes me almost physically ill from nerves." Momo said trying to not seem embarrassed. Kyoka shook her head.

"Well, anyway, I don't think Bakugo would just ask anyone to something like a dance."

Momo's dorm room doorknob rattled loudly. "Oh come on guys! I hear you both in there! No fair! I want to hear!" Mina's voice whined from the other side.

Chapter 10 Yaoyorozu

Mina had come up to let them know it was time for dinner and then was moping because she knew they had to have been talking about Bakugo and she missed it.

The three girls headed downstairs. Momo promising her that nothing other than their training session

at gym gamma had happened. Kyoka smirked. Momo felt some relief talking to Kyoka. She realized that she needed to perhaps play a little matchmaker herself with Kaminari and Kyoka. It was obvious Kaminari liked Kyoka, but Kyoka couldn't see it. And Kyoka's sarcasm and humor were probably being misconstrued by Kaminari sending him mixed signals. This had been going on since first year. It was time for that ship to sail so to speak. Everyone else in the class saw it. As they entered the living area they were met with wonderful smells and loud, happy conversation. Laughter and camaraderie. Class 3A needed this. The whole class was sitting at the dining tables enjoying food and company. Aizawa-sensei was in the kitchen with Sato helping him finish up the desserts. Although he had not been their home room teacher since 1st year, Aizawa-sensei was still heavily involved with their class. The last 2 school years he had taken on the position of Combat Coordinator. Instead of being class 1A's homeroom teacher, he now worked solely with all 6 hero classes twice a week concentrating on combat. This course was added after the Paranormal Liberation Front Battle near the end of their first year due to its need to expedite their hero training specifically in combat. It had been an invaluable addition. Although they did have Hero Class lessons three times a week, administration felt it wasn't enough due to the hard times they found themselves in as a society. Even though All For One and Shigaraki were no longer a threat, crime was still higher than it had been in years past. And Stain was still at large and his many followers. In Combat Training, a couple of times a month was spent in the class going over tactics but most days it was held in one of the school gyms for more hands-on training. Aizawa-sensei also was still Class 3A's residential advisor. He spent a lot of time at the dorm and this meant Eri, his adopted daughter, was also present. She would be 9 years old soon. She now was able to attend the local elementary school and was enjoying 3rd grade immensely. Momo saw Eri sitting between Midoriya and Ochaco having her dinner. The three late arrivers served themselves dinner and sat down together near Midoriya. "Hi Eri!" exclaimed Mina. "I haven't seen you in a couple of days!"

Eri looked over at Mina and smiled shyly. "Daddy's been busy with some school stuff. He says there is a dance soon and he has been working on things so that it is safe. He said I could go!"

"Oh! That will be fun, Eri!" beamed Ochaco. She nudged Midoriya. "See, it's gonna be fine. Aizawa-sensei is seeing to it. You don't need to stress about the dance so much."

Midoriya rolled his eyes and sighed. "Momo!" She turned her head towards the opposite end of the dining area. It was Kirishima who had called her. He looked at her, shrugging his shoulders and motioned to the empty chair beside him. Bakugo was on the other side. "Wow, Momo. Kirishima, too? You gonna leave us with any guys for the dance." Mina grumbled.

"I think it's a package deal. If you get a Bakugo, a side of Kirishima comes with it for free," laughed Kaminari who was sitting nearby. Mineta was about to say something but one of Shoji's appendages grabbed him in a headlock and the other covered his mouth. "Not giving you a chance, Mineta," Shoji chuckled.

Kyoka leaned in and called down the table, "Nice, Kaminari. You know Mineta has been behaving himself lately. You don't need to give him ideas." Oh Kyoka, Mixed Signals…. Momo thought.

Kaminari bellowed back down the table, "What? I was just being funny, there was nothing perverted about it. I think you're the one with the dirty mind."

Kyoka rolled her eyes and shook her head. After a few moments she nudged Momo and smiled. "Go sit. He obviously saved a spot for you."

With that physical and mental nudge Momo stood up and grabbed her bowl and water. "Excuse me, you guys," she said with a quick nod of her head. She walked around the tables and sat in the seat between Bakugo and Kirishima. Ojiro and Toru were sitting across from them. "Hey Momo! Ojiro asked me to the formal!" Momo grinned ear to ear. "Oh that's great! Congrats guys," Momo beamed. Ojiro couldn't help but grin. Kirishima offered his fist to Ojiro who swung his massive tail dexterously around to "tail" bump him back. "Awesome guys! Guess we're all gonna have to find time to either buy formal digs or rent. In the next 2 weeks, too. With finals….." Kirishima said. His statement had started out positive but then flattened out.

"Yeah, and then there's corsages and boutonnieres. Don't forget shoes. And jewelry. Also makeup and hair for the girls…. So much to think about! I hope they figure out the theme tomorrow so we have time to plan outfits and accessories. I'm glad it will be the day after finals! That way we can actually enjoy it!" Toru said.

The dinner conversation continued to center around the formal. Bakugo didn't say anything, but that wasn't too out of the ordinary. Sometimes if talk got tedious about something he wasn't interested in he would zone out. He seemed to be actively listening and was relaxed Momo observed.

"Ahhhh look who's late to the party!" Kirishima bellowed. Many eyes followed Kirishima's gaze. Shinso had walked in both hands in his pockets looking nonplussed by the attention. "Heya Shinso!"

"What's up Shinso?" "Good to see you, Shinso!"

"I heard Sato was cooking so I couldn't pass up the invitation," Shinso replied to his many greeters.

"Hey, you're welcome, man!" exclaimed Kaminari. Shinso nodded at Kaminari. "Grab a bowl and sit with us, bro!"

Shinso attended class with 3A, trained with them, and technically was on the books as being a member of the 3A Hero Class. However, he had chosen to stay in the General Study dorms. He had made friends and received so much support from the General Studies students the first year it made sense for him to ask for an exception to be made when he had been approved for the hero class his second year. But a couple times a week he would stop by to visit with 3A, usually for a game night or dinner. Kaminari, Kirishima, Ojiro, and Midoriya were the closest to him from the class so they would be the ones to extend invitations or he would just drop by. Aizawa-sensei also trained Shinso after school a couple of times a week and sometimes he would come back to the dorms with him.

Sato finally was done with the cake and macaroons. Most of Class 3A gathered in the kitchen gushing over Sato's handiwork. Iida already started to harp on the two students who had cleaning duty, "Sero and Mineta, don't forget, you have cleaning duty tonight! Don't forget to bring the trash bins around to the street since tomorrow morning is trash pickup!" Momo wondered how terribly disorganized their lives would be without Iida. He kept them in line. "I'm gonna see if they need any help cleaning up," Momo said as she stood up. She felt a hand grab her by the wrist. "No. You always offer to help every night," Bakugo said. She turned towards him, he quickly moved his hand off her wrist and then held her hand gently. "Hurry before anyone notices," He said quietly. Most of the teens were either engrossed in conversation or in the kitchen enjoying dessert. Kirishima and Ojiro were still talking at the table but they didn't notice Momo and Bakugo slip through the stairway door. Bakugo led Momo by the hand through the stairway exit and out onto the grounds. The night air was slightly chilly but Momo was wearing a sweater and Bakugo a hoodie so they were dressed for it. Momo was walking beside Bakugo. He had not let go of her hand.

Chapter 11 Yaoyorozu

After a few minutes walking in silence Momo was curious if they had a definite destination or if they were just going to wander. "So are we just going out for a walk or do you have a destination in mind?" Bakugo gave her a half-smile and replied, "Destination." Momo nodded. This made her nervous, but she was equally curious. "Where? On Campus I hope?" Bakugo nodded. They walked in silence for another minute. "So…." Bakugo said suddenly, "you gonna start having the daily study sessions?"

Momo nodded. "I think I'll start Wednesday. That will give a full week of sessions before the final."

"I can help,"

"Sure, I'd like that." Iida had helped her teach a few times, but normally she taught alone so this would be nice. As long as he didn't scare off the students Momo thought to herself and smiled.

"So…. You ready for the novels test tomorrow?"

"Yes. The ones we've read this block were pretty easy. Quick reads, too, which has been a nice break from the previous block."

"Yeah," Bakugo replied. "So….. " after several seconds Bakugo exhaled aggressively.

"You okay?" Momo asked becoming worried.

"Yeah… I just suck at this."

Momo was confused, "Suck at what?"

"Small talk. It's exhausting," Bakugo said under his breath.

Momo laughed lightly, "You don't have to make small talk with me. Honestly I think some people talk too much."
"Well in that case get used to a lot of quiet walks then." Bakugo answered. So this is one of many walks together then? She thought. She blushed in the twilight. Her head felt dizzy and her body flushed hot which made her shiver in the cold. Bakugo must have noticed because he stopped, let go of her hand, took off his hoodie and handed it to her. Momo started to shake her head, "Not taking 'No' for an answer. I run hot anyway. Part of my quirk," Bakugo said flatly. She gave him an exasperated look but pulled the sweatshirt over her shivering frame. "Pre-heated for you, too." The hoodie was a deep green color and had round orange reinforcements at the elbows. The hood was orange, too. It color coordinated with his hero costume. She had noticed him wearing the sweatshirt the Sunday before when he had returned to the dorm after visiting his family for the day. His mom maybe bought it for him? Momo had thought at the time. It was very warm and soft and smelled nice. He took her hand again and they continued on. They were no longer walking on sidewalks now but on grass. "We're headed towards Ground Omega," Momo stated. Bakugo nodded. They walked a little father until they made it to a large white observational building that towered over Ground Omega. It was a training ground their class had used a few times the last couple of years. It had hundreds of acres of dense forest surrounded by a fence. There were a few rocky outcroppings that towered above the tall, mature trees.

"Okay… hop on." Bakugo took a couple steps ahead of her and looked up towards the white building. It was several stories high.

"Um… what?" Momo asked confused.

"Hop on… like a piggy back ride."

Momo's heart raced and she became self-conscious. She couldn't move. Bakugo sighed and walked back to her. He grabbed one of her hands, turned away from her, and guided her arm to where it draped over his shoulder. He held her right forearm at the front of his neck. Momo now moved her other arm over his other shoulder. She wrapped both arms around his neck. Bakugo now extended his left arm out to his side. "Leg, Momo."

She hopped on his back and looped her left leg over the crook of his elbow. "Sorry, I'm really tall and a bigger girl. I'm probably heavy for you." He locked her leg tight against him with his arm. "Don't apologize. You think I'm too weak to hold you? That's ridiculous. You're fine. Hold on tight."

He lowered his right arm, palm facing the ground. A blast erupted from his hand and they shot into the sky. Momo couldn't help but let out a noise of apprehension. Bakugo cackled. For some reason out in the dark and not under the pretense of training, taking off with Bakugo now was a bit more fear-inducing than when he rescued her from barreling into the stone wall. Momo saw the top of the building was about 30 feet away now. They had shot up most of the distance in just a couple of seconds. He extinguished the fiery blaze from his hand and moved his right arm out in front of him. Why did he extinguish the blast? Just timing the landing just right? Is he okay? Before Momo could think another frenzied thought, they both slowed their speed immensely and Bakugo's feet nimbly met with solid ground. Momo immediately released her death grip around Bakugo's neck and lowered her slightly shaky legs to the ground. She ended up falling backwards onto her bottom. "Careful, you're still pretty close to the edge there," Bakugo said.

"You could have warned me we were going to take off like that. That was slightly terrifying." Bakugo grinned as he offered his hand to help Momo up. Momo took his hand and then fell immediately back down, her hand slipping off of his slick palm. He laughed. "Oh, sorry. Happens sometimes," he said trying to suppress more laughing. He wiped his hand on his pant leg and offered it to her again. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

He grinned at her mischievously. She dared to take his hand again. He pulled her up and they both stood on the roof of the Ground Omega observation building and looked out over the immense fenced in forest below.

"Okay so look…." Bakugo raised his arm and pointed his finger out in front of him, his face looking towards Ground Omega. He leaned his head really close to hers so that their gazes were similar. His right cheek almost touched her left cheek. A tuft of his blonde hair brushed against her ear. She swallowed nervously. "….right there." He was still, his arm outstretched, finger pointing. Momo tried her best to follow the line he had created out to the grounds to see what he wanted her to see. The full moon illuminated the forest enough for her to make out a large ornate gate at the fence line of the east side of the complex. The writing at the top of the gate she could not make out but she recognized the drawn figure of Principal Nezu. "That gate looks similar to the exit gates for our very first practical exam. When we fought against our teachers," Momo stated.

"Yep. It says 'Escape Gate,'" Bakugo answered a smile on his face.

"So, we'll be going up against the teachers again!" Momo exclaimed looking at Bakugo.

He had a large grin on his face, "Yeah, I can't wait. We've all come a long way so they'll need to increase the challenge a ton to make it worthwhile. I hope this time it's one student versus two teachers!" There was fire in his eyes, you could almost hear his battle-ready thoughts. Bakugo turned his head to look at Momo. They were still standing very close to each other. She felt his breath on her face. He suddenly dropped his grin and had a strange look on his face. Momo recognized that face because it mirrored how she had been feeling the last 24 hours. Excitement, trepidation, hopefulness, and terror, but terror seemed to be the overriding emotion playing on his face. This face wasn't one he often wore. His usual repertoire consisted of a furrowed brow framing intense, harsh eyes and a mouth that switched back and forth between a sneer and a smirk. But now his eyes were wide and vulnerable, and his brows worried. His mouth was neutral and slightly open as if he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. Momo thought of Kirishima's words from earlier in the day. Why didn't you ever say something to him sooner? We got, like, 5 months left of school. She wasn't going to waste any more time. She buried her fear, leaned towards him, and their lips met.

Chapter 12 Yaoyorozu

After a while, Momo pulled away smiling. "We should….we should probably get back before they send out a search party," she said breathlessly.

Bakugo had his arm wrapped around her, his hands resting on the small of her back. Momo's arms were wrapped around his neck. She ran one of her hands through the hair at the back of his head. It felt coarse and was surprisingly very thick. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back with a slight smile on his face as if the sensation was slightly ticklish but pleasing to him.

"I've always wanted to do that," Momo said sheepishly.

"You and a lot of other people."

"Did they all lose their nerve?" she asked with a laugh.

"Many have died for a lot less," he lowered his head and opened his eyes. In the moonlight his pupils didn't look red but a warm brown. It made him look less fierce Momo thought. She lowered her arms from around Bakugo. He immediately grabbed her in a bear hug, lifted her off the ground, and took several steps until placing her gently on the roof floor. Momo enjoyed the enthusiastic embrace. It had gotten much colder and he was so warm. "At this rate we'll never return," she said wistfully.

Bakugo peeked at his watch over Momo's shoulder. "It's only a few minutes after 8:00 PM… curfew for our class is 9:00…."

"Yeah but we've been gone close to 45 minutes. People may have noticed we're not there. And neither of us have our phones. Aizawa-sensei has the rule if we leave the dorms we have to have our phones. Plus, isn't 8:00 your usual bedtime? We should head back sleepy boy," Momo smiled.

"Nah, bedtime's 8:30, but I'd be willing to lose sleep for you."

"A sacrifice your willing to make?"

"Anytime," He squeezed her tightly. "Fine, we better head back." He said dejectedly.

A loud noise escaped from Bakugo's mouth that was somewhere between a whine and a yell. It made Momo jerk from surprise and then laugh. At times he seemed more animal than man. He let go of Momo and walked over to the edge of the roof facing back towards the dorm. Momo joined him.

"Oh wait… no way we're going down the way we came up in the dark. I can make something. Mini hang-gliders. A belay kit…. Or a really long rope ladder….."

Bakugo scooped up Momo in his arms and jumped off the roof laughing wildly. She frantically wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and suppressed the urge to scream. She shut her eyes tightly and braced herself for a crash landing. She heard and felt Bakugo's fiery blasts. She could feel the heat from the explosions on her legs and back. The force pushed them upwards at intervals in small bursts. She mustered up the bravery to peek. His left arm held her knees tightly against him and he used his right hand to send blasts down below. They were seconds away from the ground but they were coming in fast. "Don't let go this time, I'll protect you when we hit, just go limp," Bakugo bellowed. Before they made contact with the thick grass below, Bakugo changed his grip on Momo and wrapped his arms around her. They hit with a thud and rolled together across the damp grass. After many rolls they finally stopped. Momo was on her back and Bakugo was above her laughing.

"That was so reckless… "Momo managed to squeak out, her heart racing and feeling like it was in her throat.

"It was fine. I've practiced that too many times with Kirishima since my rescue repertoire sucks and I needed some different moves. He's still alive. You're a lot softer and lighter than Kiri so it was easier with you."

"Not sure if that's a compliment or an insult. You make me sound like a weakling," Momo said with a shaky laugh.

"You're not a weakling, Ponytail."

She lifted her hand up and touched his face. He suddenly dropped his puckish expression. His face became serious. Momo wrapped her arms around his neck lowering him towards her and they kissed.

"So…. Softer and lighter, huh?" came a voice several feet away. Bakugo sat up quickly looking alarmed and Momo followed suit. Kirishima was walking towards them a few feet away shaking his head. "For being the smartest students in class 3A you guys didn't really think about the aftermath of disappearing suddenly after dinner."

Bakugo sighed and stood up. He grabbed Momo's hand and helped her to her feet. "It's impossible to get a moment's peace!" Bakugo bellowed.

"I tried to distract them. Said you had gone to bed early Bakugo, which was believable. Once the girls found Momo's room empty and Kaminari dared to open your door, (Momo heard Bakugo mutter 'dead man' under his breath), well the ruse was up. Both of you left your phones on the kitchen table. I told them y'all probably just went for a run or walk. But Midoriya and Todoroki were worried that something bad might have happened since it was 'out of character' for you both (Bakugo muttered 'Idiots") to be gone so long at night. And the lack of phones you know is a big "no-no." You're supposed to be reachable at all times after class hours due to safety. So I said if I wasn't back with you both in 10 they could send out a search party. Mineta and Mina are completely ready to "find" you guys."

"Yeah, I bet they are," grumbled Bakugo.

"I heard blasts and Bakuyells from this direction so, you're welcome. You don't have to be 'found' by Mineta. I'm sure he would have done more watching and less finding if he had come across you 2 in the grass…."

Momo made an anguished sound of disgust.

"Thanks, Kiri," Bakugo said quietly.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch Kirishima," Momo agreed.

"Anytime guys. You'd do the same for me."

The trio talked about the discovered gate at Ground Omega on their walk back. Kirishima and Bakugo found it Saturday after school when they went for a run on campus and noticed some noise from the forest. Bakugo blasted them both to the top of the observation tower and they discovered workers putting up the large gate. They decided to keep it a secret for an advantage in case there was any kind of point system. "Well, guess Bakugo made an exception for you Momo," he chuckled under his breath. The 3 of them entered the dorm through the front entrance. Bakugo had taken Momo by the hand for their walk back. As they entered the dorm Momo knew what implications the hand holding would incite if everyone else saw it. They would no longer be two friends who were going to the Formal together. If Bakugo wasn't concerned, it was time for her to join him in his brazenness. It looked like most the class had headed to bed, thankfully. Shinso was on the couch on his phone. Eri was curled up next to him asleep. Mina, Kaminari, and Mineta were sitting around the coffee table on the floor. There was a board game on the coffee table, but it had been long forgotten. Todoroki, Ochaco, and Midoriya were sitting at one of the dining room tables. Iida was in the kitchen most likely going over the cleaning to make sure it was adequate and to do a better job if needed.

"Where have you two been?!" Mina blurted out as they entered the living area.

"None or your business, Pinky." Bakugo stated.

Mina gave him the stink-eye. Kirishima walked over and sat on the other side of Shinso on the couch. "They were just out for a walk, guys. No need to sound any alarms," Kirishima stated simply.

Bakugo leaned towards Momo and whispered, his voice more rough and sand-papery in it's hushed tone, "Not many people stayed up. I think we're starting to be yesterday's news. Nothing to worry about anymore." Todoroki walked up to them both, expressionless, and handed them their phones. "Goodnight," he said flatly and headed towards the dorms. He looked a little disappointed thought Momo. Perhaps he was secretly hoping that something had happened to them and that they could have taken action. Todoroki had seemed very restless of late. He seemed less focused, maybe these few months of peaceful times were making him feel he wasn't fulfilling his purpose. He had mentioned this at breakfast earlier in the week. His brother, Toya, was still at large. Todoroki very well would not feel a moments true peace until his brother was brought to justice. Midoriya nodded to them both and headed up after Todoroki. Bakugo shook his head and sighed. "I really wish he would stop looking after me all the time. It used to really piss me off but now it's just annoying." Momo squeezed Bakugo's hand. "I think that is a hard fact you're gonna have to put up with the rest of your life." Bakugo made an annoyed noise. Ochaco walked up to them and put her hand on Momo's upper arm. "Sorry guys. They were both pretty worried. I kinda figured, well… that you guys weren't in any danger. But you know how stubborn those two are. Well goodnight!" Ochaco said brightly and then headed towards the stairway. Momo turned to Bakugo, "I'm gonna check with Iida about the calendar, are you gonna head up to bed?"

"Yeah.. but I'll wait for you, we can walk up together." Momo let go of his hand and smiled. She went into the kitchen to see if Iida had made up the calendar for the next week.

"Yaoyorozu, Bakugo." Momo and Bakugo turned their heads towards the voice. Aizawa-sensei was standing near them. Eri was holding his left hand and rubbing her eyes sleepily with her other hand. "Not having your phones when you're away from the dorms after school hours is normally a mandatory 1 day suspension. Since this is the first time for you both, consider this a warning. Don't let it happen again."

"I'm sorry Aizawa-sensei. It won't be repeated," Momo replied.

Bakugo nodded, his face neutral. Aizawa-sensei's stern face softened for a second and he shook his head, a barely perceptible smile on his face. He turned to Eri, lifted her up into his arms, and walked out of the dorm, Shinso on his heels. Momo and Iida planned out the next week's calendar for breakfast, Saturday and Sunday dinners, and cleanup. They both leaned against the counter, Iida going through the planner to figure out whose turn it was and Momo writing on the large calendar they kept on the kitchen wall with a blue dry erase marker. Tomorrow morning Aoyama was on the list for breakfast. Momo smiled. That meant they would be having crepes for breakfast tomorrow because that was what Aoyama always prepared. It was her favorite breakfast made by a student in the dorm. She decided she would make something nice for Aoyama as a gift. Iida placed the planner in the kitchen drawer, said goodnight to Momo, and went upstairs. Momo walked over to the sink and adhered the large calendar to the bare wall, lining up the Velcro strips. As she lowered her arms she felt someone's arms wrap around her waist from behind and it caused her to jump. Bakugo rested his head on her shoulder, his face touching hers. Her heart began to race and she held her breath. "You're taking too long. I think you and Iida have done this class rep thing long enough. Let Midoriya and Todoroki do it," he said low and gruff. Her mouth twitched and she smiled, "Or maybe you should do it," Momo replied.

"That's funny. Sure. Imagine me running one of the class meetings," Bakugo said irritated. She felt eyes on them. Probably the few students that were in the living room when they arrived, although she heard more voices now, Sero's and Ojiro's. The cat was out of the bag now with all the PDA. The class got used to Midoriya and Ochaco and they would get used to them, too, Momo supposed. She turned and grabbed Bakugo's hand and they headed towards the stairway. They went up the 5 flights of stairs and he walked her to her dorm like he said he would. She opened her door and turned around leaning against the door jamb. He raised his arm above his head, resting his elbow on the door frame and leaned in close to Momo inches from her face. There was no longer any fear in his eye like there had been at the observational tower. His mouth, slightly smiling, was no longer uncertain. Momo blushed deeply and now with the sweater and hoodie, coupled with being indoors, and Bakugo's proximity, she was unbearably hot. He leaned in, kissed her gently on the cheek, spun around and walked away. She stood there watching him retreat and she realized that her daily life would no longer be the same now. So much had changed in 24 hours.

Chapter 13 – Yaoyorozu

The stairway door closed quietly behind him. She quickly closed her dorm door. She was so overheated she could barely breath. She took off her sweater and hoodie together at once. It dawned on her that she had Bakugo's hoodie. She would have to give it back to him in the morning. The black slacks she was wearing also came off and she tossed those on the floor. She checked her thermostat, changed it from heat to cooling, and lowered it until she heard the A/C click on and the air burst forth. She turned off the lights and plopped on her bed with nothing but her under clothing on. She took her hair tie out and let her long, black locks fan out around her. She inhaled and enjoyed the cool air on her hot skin. She closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind. She laid there in the dark and quiet for a few minutes and started to drift to sleep. Suddenly she heard a knock, but it wasn't coming from her dorm door. She opened her eyes and sat up lightning fast. She looked around in the darkness, thinking perhaps it was some other noise or maybe someone was knocking on Tsuyu's door down the hall, although that was highly unlikely. She waited. After several seconds she heard the faint knocking again and it was coming from her patio door. She had drapes that were drawn across the glass sliding door panels so she couldn't see who it was. But she had a pretty good idea. Her heart that had finally settled was now beating like hummingbird wings. She bounded off her bed and took a few steps toward the patio doors but then realized she was only in panties and a bra. "Oh no!" she whispered. She grabbed the hoodie/sweater bundle off the floor. The sweatshirt would cover more so she pulled the sweater out of the tangled mess and slipped the hoodie on. She walked over to the drapes and put her hand on the magenta colored brocade fabric. Her hand was trembling. She tried to steady her breathing and pulled the drape back. Bakugo was standing on the other side of the glass. He was illuminated by the full moon behind him. This caused a shadow to fall over his face making it look hard, unreadable. Or maybe this was the expression he was making. He was wearing the same baggy olive colored cargo pants he had on earlier, but now over his torso he only wore a white sleeveless undershirt. A thin silver chain hung around his neck. It threaded through something small and square shaped that rested on his chest over his heart. He wore this from time to time, she recognized seeing the silver chain around his neck, but he kept whatever hung on it tucked under his shirts hidden from anyone's view. She looked over at the handle of the sliding door. She unlocked the latch and opened it.

Neither of them moved. The night had become very windy and bursts of air suddenly whipped around Momo. A few long tendrils that framed her face lashed about her eyes and chin. A storm was coming in. He was standing so still amongst the backdrop of undulating tree tops and rolling dark clouds. It was strange to see him like this, the lack of movement. He was always in motion, if he wasn't walking, running, bounding, or flying through the air, he was tapping his foot, cracking his bones, or thumping a pencil on his desk. The physical manifestation of the thoughts that were surely racing through his head constantly. She reached out and pulled him into the room by his hand.

She closed the sliding door. The room was now freezing. She took a few steps and adjusted the thermostat so the ac shut off. The hum of the machine died and now she could hear the wind whipping around outside and the beating of her own heart. The trees rustled wildly, sounding animal-like. She grabbed his hands with hers and pulled him to where the moonlight lit up his face. His expression was still rigid.

"Couldn't sleep," he said quietly. His low rumble of a voice cracked slightly at its whispered volume. His vocal cords were not used to anything but bellowing most the time it seemed. Her eyes dropped to the object hanging on the silver chain. She reached out and took it in the palm of her hand. It was a small green printed circuit board. She looked at it quizzically wondering why he would ever wear this. Then, it hit her.

"I created this…. It's from the receiver for the tracker I made…. When you were kidnapped….." Her breath came out in ragged bursts. Her eyes filled with tears. Why had something so simple touched her so? She wrapped her hand gently around the small totem. She had so much she wanted to say to him. About her growing feelings the last 2 years, about the card she had saved and treasured that he had made for her. He had created something for her because she had created something for him. Or at least that was how she saw it now. This meant so much to her, but how to put all of those things into words? They were feelings she had collected, at times buried, to only excavate them when she couldn't bear to be without them anymore. They would be polished and made more vibrant than before. There were no words for this or at least none she could articulate. Bakugo clasped his hand around hers and laid it against his chest. His face had softened, his brow relaxed. He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her gently towards him into a tender embrace. Now that she wasn't facing him, it was a little easier to slow her irregular breathing and to stop her tears. She also decided it was easier to speak, so she would try her best. "There's so much I want to tell you…that's I've wanted to tell you for a long time."

"Same." He said hoarsely. She felt the word rumble in his chest as he spoke it. Her face pressed against his, her chin resting near the crook of his neck. She was barefoot but he had his shoes on and was now a few inches taller than her. His bare skin was very warm to the touch. They stood like that for awhile, Momo trying to organize the jumbled mess of thoughts in her head. She stepped away from him and let go of the circuit gingerly. She took him by his hand to the bed. "Sit," she said and then she went to her chest of drawers. He obeyed. She opened the top drawer and retrieved the card. She, then, sat next to him and handed him the card. He took it, flipped it over, and then opened it. He smiled.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Know what?"

"That this is my favorite flower."

"Phalaenopsis Aphrodite," Bakugo said matter-of-factly. They sat in silence for some time. She realized pulling things out of Bakugo if he wasn't ready to give it up was an exercise in futility. She had patience though. She pulled her legs up on the bed and wrapped her arms around them. Bakugo still had the card in his hand.

"The day after the sports festival our first year, you wore one in your hair."

Momo thought back to that time trying to recall the details. Her first Sports Festival. She had been so upset she had lost to Tokoyami. She had kept a brave face the rest of the day, cheering on her classmates. She remembered how disappointed she was that Todoroki had lost to Bakugo for first place. And embarrassed at the way he had behaved throughout the whole event. Well, not his performance. He had been brilliant. But in the words he had said when introducing their class. He was so arrogant. So self-centered. And his behavior when presented his medal was so dishonorable. She remembered her parents were so shocked that he was a student at UA. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. That night when she got home from the festival, finally free to let her emotions out, she had wept. Her mother had comforted her, reassuring her that she was capable of doing anything she set her mind to. That she would have more opportunities to shine. And Momo had. That night when she went to her room, there was a vase of her favorite flowers on her desk with a written note from her dad. "A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms." The next day she had worn one in her hair to school.

"When you walked by Jiro to get to your seat before class started, she said the orchid in your hair looked nice. You told her it was your favorite flower and your dad had gifted you a vase of them the day before."

"Did you know what kind of orchid it was then?"

"You're asking all the right questions, huh?" He sighed. "Fine. I'll give it up. No. I had no clue that day. But by the end of that night, I did. I read about orchids. I now know a ridiculous amount about orchids because of that morning more than two years ago. You could have made my life a lot easier if you had just mentioned the kind it was to Jiro."

"Why did you want to find out about it?"

"I don't know why. Well, I mean at the time I didn't. What about you, Momo? Why'd you keep the card?"

"What do you mean by 'at the time'?" Momo's heart was racing. He had slipped up and she wanted to know desperately. Could he have been longing for her all this time as well?

"Why do you have the card in such a hidden place, Momo? It's also worn at the seam and edges. It's been handled a lot. For a card with such a simple message…. Why?" His words that were playful before were now becoming a bit aggressive and his volume had increased.

Worried he was being too loud and they would be discovered, she shushed Bakugo. "Don't shush me." He said. She couldn't read his tone now. He always sounded a little belligerent, even when he was joking. Was he being playful or was he becoming angry? If he was angry, why? Was he embarrassed? Momo felt defensive suddenly and reached for the card in his hand. He lifted his arm to the right moving it out of her reach. Her mouth dropped open shocked by his actions. She tried to grab it again. He leapt off the bed. He started snapping the middle finger and thumb of his left hand creating sparks and brought it under the card. "No!" she exclaimed as she leapt off the bed and tried again without success to take it back.

"I'll burn it up if you don't answer my questions," Bakugo said steadily. His face was serious. He wasn't joking or teasing. It was a threat. She let her arms drop to her sides.

"You take things too far, y'know?" Momo replied. "I'm done. Just burn the damn thing." Momo felt ill. She turned away from him, climbed up on her bed and sat cross-legged, facing away from him.

Momo wanted to cry but she would not do it in front of him. She would wait for him to leave. She had been so foolish. He really was still that hot-headed boy from their first year. A ticking bomb that would inevitably run into a catalyst and blow-up affecting everyone in its wake. She thought back to the Sports Festival their first year. A mean-spirited bully bound to the pillar. First place medal forcibly placed around his neck. Fighting against his bonds like a crazed animal. All because he didn't win the way he wanted. Like a petulant child. She listened for his movements. She assumed he would leave. She waited.

"I'm….. sorry, Momo." She heard movement towards her and out of the corner of her eye saw him place the card on her nightstand. She didn't move.

"I'm an asshole. I got defensive because of your questions. I don't know why, well, no I do know why. Because I can't help but think these actions, these stupid feelings," he said the last 3 words in a nasty growl. He paused a bit before continuing in a normal tone "….. are a sign of weakness."

"They're not," Momo replied sharply not looking at him.

"I know that!" Bakugo spat back. He took a deep breath and sat on the bed, his back to her back. Minutes passed. 'I'll make this up to you. I'll tell you everything. After our very first week at UA, I realized you were the smartest, most capable student at school. You had called out all those bouts we had with our first lesson with All Might perfectly. I wanted to match you. Surpass you. I thought those feelings were just that, wanting to learn from and best a worthy opponent. But that started to change. The week before our first mid-term exams, I realized that you were in my thoughts all the damn time. When I woke up in the morning, before I fell asleep each night. I found myself looking for you during training sessions. At lunch. I mean I didn't say much to you, but…. then I realized I wasn't improving as quickly as Deku. I thought it was because I had developed these….. feelings….. for you. So I buried them. And then after the… camp training….." He paused for a bit before continuing.

"I've never said this to anyone, not even Kiri. But when I was kidnapped, that was literally…. The most scared I have ever been in my life." His voice had cracked at the end of his statement. Momo slowly and quietly shifted and turned her body around, still remaining cross-legged. She was looking at the back of his spiky head now. "I was putting on my usual show for the League of Villains and Shigaraki, but unlike most times that I truly didn't give any fucks, I was terrified. I knew I wouldn't give in to them. And that meant they would kill me when they figured that out. I was sacrificing myself for my principles and proud to do it. But that didn't mean I wasn't on the verge of shitting myself. So when you and the other idiots rescued me because you made that second receiver…. You saved my life Momo. No way All Might and Gran Torino would have gotten me before the warp gates took me away with the League. I would have been Nomu fodder a week later." He sighed. "I wanted to tell you how much what you did meant to me, but I was too chicken shit to say it to your face. So I drew the orchid, and wrote thank you. I thought you would think, "oh, that's nice," and toss it in a bin. But I put my heart into it anyway. And then come to find out, you're an idiot just like me. I was sus of you when you slipped a copy you made of that card under my door last night. All this wasted time. 2 years. And now because I'm an idiot trying to burn up something important to you because of hurt pride….. shit… I screwed this all up…. "

Momo didn't move. Bakugo stood up and walked to the door. He put his hand on the handle. "Forget about the last 24 hours. Go with Awase to the formal. Have a less screwed up life," Bakugo said in a low rumble. He opened the door letting the harsh winds outside blast their way in. Momo had to decide. If Bakugo left, if this ended their future relationship before it even had a chance to begin, her life would be easier. She could be with Awase or someone like him. Someone who was predictable, even-tempered, and respectable. Someone who wouldn't hurt her with harsh words and actions because of their lack of self-control. Someone she could marry and have a family with. Someone to spend the rest of her life with. Bakugo had matured since the Sports Festival their first year, but tonight showed her he still had a long way to go. He was still a wrecking ball. A bomb with a short-fuse constantly on the verge of blowing up. He stepped through the open patio door and closed it behind him. Momo threw herself on her bed and wept.

Chapter 14 Bakugo

Bakugo climbed over to the adjacent patio next to Yaoyorozu's. He then lowered himself down to the patio on the 4th floor. He walked through the empty dorm room and peeked down the girls wing. It was empty. He went to the stairway entry and walked down the boys wing to his room. He really hoped Kirishima wasn't there waiting for him. He was sure Kirishima had a million question for him about Momo and the last 24 hours. They had not spoken in private since Saturday afternoon. Now with everything going up in flames he really didn't want to talk about it or see anyone. He opened his door and it was empty. He quickly shut it locking it behind him. He dropped on his bed and stared at his ceiling. He started counting backwards from 10 quietly. His heart began to race, "10…9…" he felt his face grow hot "8…" he took a deep breath, "7….." he rolled on his stomach grabbed his pillow, buried his face into it and screamed for a couple of seconds. He rolled back on his back gasping. "6…." He took deep breaths. He didn't want to think. He was wound so tight and had no way to release his rage. "5…" He heard 3 knocks come from the wall his bed was pushed against. Kiri had heard him. His room was next door, they shared the wall between their beds. 3 knocks meant, "What's up? Should I come over?" He knocked back twice. That meant "no." Somehow this simple communication assuaged his anger. "4….." He was angry about what he had done. There was no one to blame but himself. He had held something fragile and sacred in his hands. Something he had been waiting to hold a very long time. And when it was placed in his hands he immediately crushed it mercilessly. It couldn't be fixed. He tried to say 3 but his throat had closed up. Tears were running down his face. The rage was finally quieting. Sadness was taking up its place. He heard 2 fast knocks on his dorm door. Anger inched back up.

He had told Kiri "no." He didn't want to talk. He rushed over to the door and opened it angrily. Big, alert, dark brown eyes stared into his. Momo was standing there, a strange pair of goggles in her hand. She was still in his hoodie and was now wearing black leggings. "Um…. Can I come in? Before someone sees me?" she whispered. Bakugo couldn't move or speak. Momo hesitated and then pushed past him into his room. She looked around his room appearing very uncomfortable. Bakugo closed his door. Momo looked at the floor and then moved away from the mound of parts taking up most of his rug. "Um… I was working on my gauntlet…." Other than the parts on his floor, his room was pretty basic and tidy. He immediately turned away from her and ran his hand over his face to wipe the tears away. He felt his face flush. He turned back towards her but couldn't meet her gaze.

"So you talked a lot before you left. Now it's my turn," She said quietly. She sat on the foot of his bed. "I need to apologize, too. I was goading you about the card. You completely overreacted, but I did press you and I know you don't like that."

"Momo…."

"No, let me finish. I need to say this all now or I won't be able to get through it." She fidgeted with the goggles in her hand. "I couldn't stand you when we started school our first year. You were crude and obnoxious. Honestly you still are. I remember the ride over to the USJ. I was actually nauseated with the blown up conversation between you and Kaminari. That's how out of control you were," She had pulled the strap out from the goggles by accident. She sighed. Bakugo put his hand out for the goggles. She gave them to him and he placed them on his desk. Momo took a deep breath, "Anyway, overtime I realized you were starting to be very aware of how your actions, your quirk on the battlefield especially, affected others. You actually were more mindful of it than Todoroki that first year. It made me realize you had a method to your madness. That you had more substance than we gave you credit for. Just like you looked at me as a contemporary to strive to beat, I felt the same towards you. But after the camp incident….. You were so brave. I know you said you were scared, but you still stood your ground with All for One and his villains. When you left me the card that first night in the dorms, it made me realize you had a side most of us don't ever see. And I wanted to see more of that. My feelings continued to grow for you. But I would bury them. I just didn't ever see that anything would be possible with us. With the last two years we have had, who has time to cultivate anything meaningful when we were always fighting for our lives and the lives of others? So I settled for our morning breakfasts. I mean, I know Iida and Todoroki are there, too, but you and I have sat next to each other the last 2 years almost every morning. It's been my favorite part of the day for as long as I can remember. And I thought that I could be happy with just that, but then yesterday you asked me to the dance. And then you kissed me."

"Nope."

"What?"

"I didn't kiss you."

"Yes, you did."

"You kissed me."

"Oh…. Yeah, I guess I did. I didn't think you had the nerve back at the observation tower. You looked terrified," Momo's face and tone didn't make her statement seem like she was teasing or being facetious. She was being blunt and speaking truths.

"I was." Someone seeing his vulnerability and then talking about it so freely would normally make his blood boil. But she wasn't doing it to get the upper hand. She was just right. He had been terrified. This was new territory for him and for her. He knew he had to tread lightly if he didn't want to wreck things again. He still wasn't sure if Momo would continue seeing him like this. Even if she had feelings for him it didn't necessarily mean she would act on them. She was a logical person and he was extremely difficult. "You could have rejected me up there. But you were 'sus.' Because of the replicated card," Keep it light Bakugo. Don't let things get too deep. That's where you get in trouble, he thought to himself.

"I was 'sus.' I see," Momo smiled, her eyes weren't sparkling though. She was still sad. His hope had ignited when she showed up at his door, but he didn't want to celebrate too soon. Maybe things did need to get heavy again. He owed her that. He was the catalyst, by asking her to the dance, then the study session, the training session, then the walk. But she had been the one that had been guiding this thing along the last couple of hours into deeper waters.

"You were more brave than me, Momo," he said quietly, all joking aside. "So what now? For us?"

"Let's continue doing.. whatever we were doing before you went all… 'precious object destroyer' earlier."

He walked over to his bed and sat next to Momo. He turned to her and met her gaze. "I'll try my best to not hurt you again."

"That's all you can do," she said in a small voice. She was right he thought. He would inevitably blow up again try as he may. She could either blow up back, which was highly unlikely with her personality, or develop a thicker-skin. He laid back on his bed and reached his hand out for her. She looked at him skeptically. Then she looked around his room again and blushed deeply. "Maybe I should go…. I'm in a boy's room after curfew."

"I'll behave. Come here." His hand was still extended. She placed her hand in his and he pulled her towards him. She laid next to him, her head resting on his shoulder his arm wrapped around her. He placed his other hand on his chest and he felt the cool chain against his skin. He ran his hand down the chain and grabbed the circuit in his hand. "It's like having you with me" That was why he wore it. It was something she had made. It was a part of her. Momo sat up and crossed her legs facing Bakugo. She grabbed his hand and opened it. She held the circuit in her hand. He had been so surprised by her reaction earlier when she saw it. He realized he had revealed a lot more than she had at that moment in her room. At first it made him feel good, that openness. But when she started to ask questions and he started to feel embarrassed to have exposed so much of himself, he had gotten defensive and angry. But now it didn't matter, it was out in the open now. "How did you even get this?" Momo asked bewildered.

Bakugo now sat up and positioned himself across from Momo so she could get a better look at the circuit. "At some point that night you had given the receiver to Kiri to hold in his pocket. During the rescue, maybe when he broke through the wall, he busted it. When we got back that night and we went to the police station he pulled the pieces out of his pocket realizing it had gotten broken. I told him I'd throw them away for him. By then, I knew about what had happened. Kiri had told be everything about what you guys had done to get me out of there. When I threw the parts away I felt… inclined… to save a piece." Saying it out loud made him feel foolish, but at this point his bare underbelly was exposed so why not go all the way. It was an odd feeling for him. He rarely shared any of his deeper inner thoughts. Just the aggressive, smart-ass ones. Momo let go of the circuit. She held her hand out in between them. Bright colorful lights emitted from her palm and then left a necklace and a pendant in their wake. Bakugo took the pendant. It fell apart in 2 pieces that lined up perfectly. The outer shape were familiar figures. They alternated between the harsh triangular lines of Bakugo's head piece from his hero costume and the petals of Momo's favorite orchid. One half had engraved in Romaji a large "K" and the other half a large "M." When connected together and flipped over it had the date 11/24/2179. Yesterday's date. Bakugo opened his mouth to say something, but was at a loss for words. This was an important moment. She had decided to continue to deal with his difficult ass. And she was making it official. His heart started to race. Momo's face blushed a deep red. "I'm sorry if it's kind of corny. You don't have to. I just made it on a whim. It's platinum so should stand up to a beating." Bakugo took off his chain and threaded the pendant through and reconnected the ends and looped it back over his head. Momo took the other half and threaded it through the newly crafted chain and then tried putting it on but she couldn't clasp it. It looked like her hands were trembling too much. "I'll get it." Bakugo said. He ran the chain behind her neck, she shivered at his touch. He tried not to grin. He brought the ends together in front of Momo. She had made the chain shorter than his so she couldn't pull it over her head. "Sorry, I just thought shorter for me would make more sense so when I create stuff it won't hurt my pendant." Her face went even more scarlet.

He attached the tiny clasp and gently let go of it. Their eyes met. Bakugo hands that were still near Momo's body now reached out and held both sides of her face. She gasped, her eyes were wide open and she looked afraid. He was beyond this fear at the moment, buttressed up by school boy pride. He "got the girl" so to speak. He tried not to feel too smug about it, but couldn't help the half-smile on his lips. He looked fixedly upon her face. Her soft dark brown eyes lined with thick black lashes. Her porcelain skin, her expressive brows. She was beautiful and intelligent. She was born to lead, yet she was kind. She was serious and sure of herself. And no-one could strategize like she could on the battlefield. She was amazing to him in every way. Yet now in his grasp she was vulnerable. He had to be careful or he would lose her. She would not put up with harsh words and mean-spirited actions. Suddenly, his thoughts changed from immature conceitedness to feeling humbled she had taken a risk by choosing him. His expression changed to one of seriousness. Momo exhaled, her breathing tremulous. He leaned in and kissed her forcefully.

Chapter 15 Yaoyorozu

About half an hour later Bakugo was laying on his back, Momo curled against him, her head resting on his chest. It was getting close to midnight. Her lips felt oddly numb and she had butterflies in her stomach. The act of kissing she thought, although seemingly repetitive, didn't become boring after a half hour. Bakugo also seemed to be very good at it, although she had nothing to compare it to. She was embarrassed to realize that the kiss on the observational building roof had been her first. She wondered if Bakugo had ever kissed anyone else like he had kissed her. She decided not to risk any questions just now. Whatever the case, she felt he would put in the effort to not be hurtful with his words and actions, but she realized she could help the process by not pushing him. Momo could be a bit forceful at times with her statements and questions, be it tutoring, leading a training session, or even on the battlefield.

"So… am I your first kiss?" Bakugo asked hoarsely, a smug smile on his face. She reached her hand out to his chin and pulled his face towards her, kissing him gently. "Yes. You were reading my mind because I was thinking about that very thing." She would ask him since he opened the door. "What about you?"

"No." He looked surprisingly disappointed. "I kissed a couple of girls in middle school." She had heard stories from Midoriya about how popular he was in middle school. Guess it made sense. "But it was nothing like this." He sat up and pulled her towards him and they kissed again. More time had passed and Momo's eyes glanced passed Bakugo and saw the green numbers on his clock. She disengaged mid-lip lock. "It's 12:30!" she exclaimed. Where did all the time go? "We have to be up in less than 6 hours. I should go…" She stepped off his bed. "Nooooo…" Bakugo groaned holding on to her arm. She slipped it out of his grip. She grabbed the googles off his desk and fixed the strap so she could wear it. "What are those?" Bakugo asked.

"Oh. They're infra-red goggles. I used them to see if anyone was standing in the hallways or on the stairs." She gave an apologetic smile. "Probably not the most considerate thing for the students on the 4th and 5th floors…."

He started to get off the bed. "Nope!" Momo said holding her hand out towards him. "If you walk over here, we'll make out again for another half hour."

He stayed seated on his bed. "Then I'll have to walk you to my door, so another half hour." Bakugo said grinning.

"Then you'll want to walk me to my door," Momo said simply.

"Then I'll have to go in your dorm room, so I can go back through the patios. The goggles aren't really my style. By then, I might as well just sleep over…." Bakugo gave an even more impish smile.

Momo's cheeks flushed. "Stay put. I'll see you in the morning then?"

Bakugo knew if he walked over to her, she wouldn't leave. And they had a long day tomorrow. It was a double training day as well with Cementoss and Aizawa. "Fine…."

"I'll see you later then," Momo walked to the door.

"Good night, Ponytail," Bakugo said sadly.

"Good night, Katsuki," Momo said with a smile. Bakugo grinned. She quickly put on the googles and opened his door closing it quickly, yet quietly behind her.

She made it back to her room with no incident. Everyone had been asleep except Kirishima. He was sitting at his desk she assumed and looked like he was reading a book. Poor thing she thought. He must have been trying to finish the novel they were having a test on later in the day. Momo opened her door and half expected to see Bakugo laying on her bed. It seemed like something he would do. But her room was empty. She pulled off his hoodie and tossed it on her chair. She climbed into bed exhausted but also brimming with excitement. She hoped she would be able to fall asleep.

Her alarm blared loudly at 6:30 am. She hit the off bottom and sat up. It took her a few seconds to fully awaken and a few more seconds longer to remember that the things that had happened yesterday actually really happened and weren't some strange dream. She sat up eager to start the day. She grabbed her bag of toiletries and her backpack and decided she would shower before breakfast. Breakfast! She thought. Aoyama would be making crepes and she had decided on the gift to make him. After crafting the items, she placed them in a decorative bag that she also constructed. She started to feel sick and slightly dizzy. She had made items on an empty stomach which wasn't the wisest choice. She searched in her desk for a granola bar and ate it on her way down the stairs.

After showering and changing into her school uniform, she went to the dining area. Aoyama was cooking in the kitchen. She placed her bag and backpack at her usual spot. Only Todoroki was up early, the book they were to be tested on in his hands, studying. He nodded to her as she pulled the decorative bag out of her backpack "Good morning Todoroki," she said brightly. She walked into the kitchen. "Do you need any help Aoyama?"

"No Ma che're! I am almost done!"

Momo looked at the counter and saw many thin crepes he had meticulously made in his own crepe pan. He had different fillings, one cheese based and savory, one cream based and sweet, and one chocolate spead. He had also cooked up sausage and had fruit cut up for toppings as well.

"This looks so great! Thanks so much. I made you this little gift. I just really love your breakfasts. You by far make the nicest one out of the whole class. It's my favorite."

She handed Aoyama the bag. He gasped and put his hand on his heart. "Merci beaucoup, Momo!" He took the bag from her and took out the items. She had made him two slim spatulas. She remembered him mentioning what a terrible state the dorm's spatulas were in. He used them to make his crepes. It was the best tool to lift the tiny thin sheets of deliciousness off the pan. The dorm's spatulas had all been slightly burned and warped by the other very novice cooks in their class so didn't do the best job. One of the spatulas she made him had a bejeweled handle of many sparkling gemstones. The rubber spatula piece was purple with a pinkish, glittery effect running through it. The other spatula had a handle that looked similar to Aoyoma's protective glasses he wore for his hero costume. It was red with an almost feathered design at the end of the handle. It had a shiny and reflective surface. "These are the most gorgeous spatulas I have ever seen! Magnifique!" Aoyama gave her a hug before returning to his pan. He was excited to immediately put his new toys to use. He told her he only had to make a few more crepes, but everything else was done and she could help herself. She made up 2, one chocolate and one savory, and got a couple of sausage links and fruit to top her chocolate crepe. She sat down saying hi to Iida who had just sat down.

"Morning Momo. Ah crepes! Come on Todoroki, we need to load up. Lots of protein in this breakfast for our double training today. It's the second most important meal of the day!" The two boys went to fix their plates. Momo ate her breakfast wondering where Bakugo was. Maybe he would sleep in due to staying up late last night. She kept watching the door waiting for him to arrive. Todoroki and Iida sat back down with their plates and Momo finishing up, decided to go over her lesson plan for Wednesday's study session. She got out her Calculus book and started flipping through the first section they had that semester. Most their class came down over the next 20 minutes. "So Momo, we're meeting in General Studies Class E Dorm for our Class Rep meeting today, same time as always 4:15 PM," Iida exclaimed before taking a gulp of water from his glass. As Momo looked up from her book and turned her head towards Iida to respond, Bakugo suddenly threw himself in his chair and locked lips with her. Iida's eyes bulged and he suddenly spit out his water. Todoroki and Momo took the brunt of the spray. Bakugo laughed raucously. Iida started to apologize profusely and offered up his unused napkins to his friends. Todoroki made a comment under his breath about it being too early in the day for any kind of PDA. Momo was flustered, took Iida's napkin and wiped her face and then the exposed pages of her text book. Todoroki shook his head and left the table. "I'm sorry Todoroki…" Iida called after him. He sighed and raised a disapproving eyebrow at Bakugo. Bakugo cleared his throat trying not to smile. Momo turned towards Bakugo. "You better get breakfast, most the class has come down. There is probably very little left." Bakugo nodded and went to get a plate. Momo looked at Iida. He looked a little peeved, but smiled. "Guess this will take some getting used to. If you are happy Momo, then I am happy for you." Momo smiled back. "I know Bakugo and I don't see eye to eye, but he is very serious when it comes to anything he puts his mind to. He has my respect as long as he has yours."

"Wow. Thanks Iida. That means a lot," Momo answered.

Iida nodded at her. He gathered his things and headed upstairs. Bakugo sat down with 2 plates that had 2 crepes each. He placed one in front of Momo.

"I already ate."

"You have combat training and PE today. Cementoss is doing endurance training this morning for PE. Which means you better eat a ton." Momo smiled and happily obliged him. The two quickly ate their breakfasts and cleaned up after themselves before heading to homeroom. The way they rushed one would think they were going to be late, but they would be some of the first students there and would be atleast 10 minutes early.

Chapter 16

Hero course students always had their Hero course teacher as their home room. The homeroom class was only 15 minutes long and was more of an announcements/ hero course bookkeeping/ scheduling class. School announcements and hero course information was relayed here. It was also a time to go over work study schedules with their hero course teacher so their teacher could communicate with the other teachers' whose classes they would be missing due to their work studies. This class was also important because they went over any changes made to how pro-heroes could operate. In the recent year, these changes were frequent, almost weekly, because of the shift in trust towards pro-heroes. They were being kept on a tighter leash at times, but then many pros would turn around and push back to get certain rights back. It was frustrating and involved a lot of paper work. The students of 3A were all licensed heroes and normally bookkeepers and secretaries in pro-hero Agencies would handle this mess, but since they were at school, it was left to their hero course teacher.

Class 3A's second year Hero course teacher, Gushiken-sensei, was a no nonsense, nose to the grindstone kind of man who had taught at UA for over 2 decades. He had a similar approach to leading and teaching that Aizawa-sensei had. He had a bit of a temper though which was something they weren't used to dealing with because Aizawa-sensei seldom raised his voice to their class and if he did so it was never out of anger. Their third year hero course teacher was a turn in the opposite direction from both Aizawa and Gushiken. Ayumu Ahane was warm, funny, and upbeat. She was around the same age as Aizawa-sensei, but seemed much younger due to her personality. She talked very fast and expressively, always was running late to class, and at times could get easily distracted. But she was very passionate about getting the third years ready for their future lives as pro-heroes. She was also known as the pro-hero Echo. Her quirk was the ability to copy another quirk if it was used within 50 feet from her. She had about a 2 minute window to activate the quirk once copied and then could use it for up to 5 minutes. This made her not only a powerful hero but made her even more valuable on a team. She had worked for many different hero agencies over the last decade and had even travelled to other countries to work abroad. She was a graduate of Shiketsu High which made her an interesting addition to the faculty seeing as Shiketsu was UA's biggest rival. Along with being 3A's homeroom teacher she also taught the hero course 3 times a week. Since all the hero classes now had training twice a week focusing on just combat via another teacher (Aizawa), the hero classes focused more on pro-hero laws, pro-hero history, rescue missions, and other pro-hero related concerns like media presence, handling themselves in public, and general hero etiquette. Twice a week the class was held in Ahane's classroom and once a week it was held in one of the gyms or the USJ for hands on training.

Hero Class 3A Schedule

Mon Tuesday Wed Thursday Fri Sat

Home 8:00 – 8:15 Homeroom Homeroom Homeroom Homeroom Homeroom Home

1 8:20-9:10 Japanese-novels Japanese Japanese Japanese Japanese Japa-novel

2 9:20-10:10 Math Hero Math Hero Science Japanese

3 10:20 – 11:10 Japanese English English English English English

4 11:20-12:10 Science History History History History History

Lunch 12:10 – 1:00

5 1:00 – 1:50 Combat Math Combat Math Hero Math

6 2:00-2:50 Combat Elective Combat Elective Hero Elective

7 3:00-3:50 PE Science PE Sciene PE Science