This was a stupid, stupid idea. Bakugo grumbled as they approached the hospital where Uraraka's parents were still recovering. They were close to being discharged, but Uraraka apparently had mentioned him and had insisted on meeting him.

"Come on!" Uraraka practically dragged him through the hospital's sliding doors.

This was all made exponentially worse, with Present Mic being their designated chaperone for this trip.

Since Uraraka's attack from the League of Villains two weeks ago, U.A. was practically on lockdown. Students were only allowed outside the grounds to attend their hero-in-training responsibilities, including their internships. Principal Nezu had implemented an even stricter set of rules for checking in and out of school, and any other reasons outside of attending their internships required a chaperone. Hardly anyone was granted a pass to leave campus, Uraraka being the rare exception, and that was only because both her parents were still in the hospital.

Bakugo glanced at their obnoxiously loud teacher walking next to them, and the gleeful look plastered on Present Mic's face made him want to riot.

But he wouldn't.

He would have to be on his absolute best behavior today.

It was already bad enough that he was meeting Uraraka's parents, who probably hated him for the Sports Festival; he didn't want to add disorderly conduct and assault to the mix.

"Stop being a baby, Bakugo," Uraraka teased mirthfully, "They're going to like you just fine."

"You don't know that." He complained but got into the elevator behind Uraraka and Present Mic all the same. She smiled at him with so much unbridled enthusiasm that it was hard not to soften. She was clearly excited about this and had been since she had asked him to join her this weekend.

To be fair, Uraraka had been on her knees in front of him, with his dick in her hands while she slowly licked the sides. Bakugo could not be held responsible for agreeing. He would've agreed to practically anything if it meant she would keep doing what she had been doing. The morning after, Uraraka had been a ball of sunshine, practically jumping off the walls and not failing to remind him of what he had agreed to. He remembered. He had just hoped she hadn't.

It's not that he didn't want to meet her parents. He just had no idea how to apologize to them. He didn't have a lot of experience in that department, and he knew he was going to fuck it up so bad they were going to tell Uraraka to dump his sorry ass and kick him to the curb.

When Uraraka had practically dragged him with her to the teacher's lounge to ask Aizawa if Bakugo could join her, he had a small glimmer of hope that Aizawa would say no. But their teacher had looked at both of them through tired eyes and said he'd add him to the list.

Bakugo tortured himself for days after that, trying to come up with ways out of it, but every time he was about to say whatever feeble excuse he had come up with, he would see just how excited she was, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything. His girl had been through a lot, and he hadn't been there to protect her. Every time he thought about this, it made him so angry his vision blurred. That night, when All-Might had called him, he had seen red. Bakugo had felt fear before but never like this. Deku, Half and Half, and even fucking Endeavor together had difficulty wrestling him down. It was fucking Burnin, of all people, who got him to calm down some, reminding him that Uraraka was probably going through a lot and she needed him to be there for her, and fighting everyone in arms distance was a fucking poor way to do that.

After that, Bakugo had sobered immediately, but he was no less angry. And scared. He was fucking terrified at the thought of something having happened to Uraraka. Endeavor personally drove all three U.A. students back to campus, and mercifully, they all remained silent. Bakugo had gone straight to Urarakas' room, and despite every fucking cell in his body urging him to explode and rage, he waited for her quietly. He felt so fucking frustrated; he had wanted to do more, do literally anything, but he had no idea where to start. All he could do was be here like Burnin had said, waiting for her to get home and hoping she wanted him there.

Uraraka hadn't noticed him sitting on her bed when she entered her room. Draped in shadows and the little moonlight that pierced through her blinds, Bakugo witnessed her slowly peel back the mask she had plastered on her face. The one that said she wasn't fine, but she would be, so it's okay. She had this, and everyone should stop worrying about her.

His girl was so fucking strong, and it hurt him. Uraraka was tired and afraid. And hurt. Bakugo inhaled sharply when he saw the purple bruises and scratches that littered her creamy skin as she removed her shirt.

That made her look. Visceral fear was in her pretty brown eyes as she searched for the maker of the noise. When their eyes finally met, it took her less than a second before she hurled herself at him, tears already streaming down her face. He still remembered how little she felt in his arms when she finally returned that night. She cried into his chest while he held her and tried to be comforting for the first time in his life. He didn't know what to say that wasn't fueled by anger or worry, so he said nothing. They slept in her room that night as he held her tight to him, too afraid to let her go.

So he would give her this. She hardly ever asked for anything, so he would fucking suck it up and do this. He knew he would have to own up to the Sports Festival and everything else, and he was damn positive that, despite what Uraraka said, her parents would want her to have nothing to do with him, but there was nothing he could do to change the past so at this point it was what it was.

They arrived at the hospital door; the low hum of the television mixed with what he assumed were her parents' voices could be heard past it. Uraraka knocked softly.

"Come in." A gruff voice said. Bakugo assumed it was her father's.

Uraraka turned to him with a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand before letting it go to open the door and lead the way in.

"Hi!" She said, cheerfully hopping toward her parents to kiss them on the cheek. Bakugo walked in slowly and closed the door behind him. Uraraka was busy kissing her mom on the cheek, but her father had already trained his eyes on him. Bakugo bowed as low as he could and greeted her parents, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Uraraka. Nice to meet you. My name is Bakugo Katsuki." Bakugo hoped his voice came across as respectful instead of tight and robotic as it sounded in his ears.

Uraraka's dad sat up straighter in his hospital bed and looked at Bakugo with serious eyes. He didn't seem pissed, which was good, but he also didn't seem welcoming. Uraraka had joined his side and started dragging him toward the center of the room. Bakugo let her, but the further he got away from the exit, the more nervous he became. Her mother looked at him with intrigue but remained quiet.

"We know who you are." Uraraka's dad said, sounding polite but businesslike.

"Dad," Uraraka chided him playfully and looked up at Bakugo calmly, "I, uhm," For the first time since she had brought this up, Uraraka finally looked as nervous as he felt. She picked at the skin around her nails but took a steeling breath before returning to her parent. "I wanted you to meet my boyfriend."

The look on both their faces made Bakugo realize that she had lied about them wanting to meet him and knowing who he was to their daughter. He was a little peeved, but he would deal with that later. Right now, he had bigger fish to fry.

No one said anything for what seemed way longer than was humanly possible but then her dad sighed, and her mom smiled at him.

"Ochako, sweetie, please ask the nurse to bring us some water." Her mother asked politely; her voice had a pleasant ring to it, but there was an underlying tone to it that only mothers seemed to possess, making him even more nervous. Uraraka looked at her mom, exchanging words silently before nodding and stepping out of the room, patting his shoulder and whispering a light-hearted "Good luck" before exiting the room. No one acknowledged that there was a literal water cooler in the room with a whole gallon of water because everyone knew what this was.

If possible, his nerves multiplied tenfold. He could feel the sweat dripping down his back. He was anxious and jittery and kept trying to remember that he couldn't afford to be anything short of the most upstanding gentleman at this moment.

"Please sit, Bakugo." Uraraka's mother motioned toward the group of chairs near the foot of their bed. Bakugo nodded and took a seat.

"Let's just get this over with," Her dad sighed, trying to sit up even straighter. "What makes you think we will let the boy who fought her so hard she passed out on national television date our little girl? The boy, who, if a recall, had to be restrained during the award ceremony." His tone was serious, but there was no animosity behind it. Uraraka's father was asking a genuine question and seemed to expect an answer.

Bakugo had thought about what to say all week, but sitting here in front of her parents, he was drawing up a blank. All he could do was speak his truth and let the pieces fall where they needed to fall.

"I can't change the past," Bakugo started, "But I'm trying to improve. In general, but also for her. But I won't apologize for the Sports Festival." As he said it, he knew this might not go over well, but he meant it. He wasn't sorry. "Ochako is tough. She was tough back then, and she is only getting stronger. I would have done her a disservice by not giving it my all. Besides," Bakugo chuckled, more to himself than anything, "She would have been pissed if I had gone easy on her."

When he looked up after what was probably the worst apology in the world, her parents seemed to have softened. Her mother's eyes, the same deep chocolate brown as her daughters, looked at him with laughter. "He's right, love." She said to her husband, who nodded, running his hand through his hair. "Stubborn child." He gruffed, making everyone in the room laugh, all three knowing first-hand how true that was.

"We worry, Bakugo." Her mother said, sobering everyone up, "She is strong. But she is still our child." Bakugo nodded in understanding.

There was another knock on the door. "I heard laughing. Is it safe to come in?" Uraraka's voice came from the other side of the closed door.

"Take care of her." Uraraka's dad said quietly before telling Uraraka she could come back inside. Uraraka strutted in, feeling so damn smug that Bakugo couldn't help but laugh internally. Oh, he would enjoy getting his payback for Uraraka tricking him.

The rest of the visit went by quickly. They talked briefly about their time in U.A., classes, and internships. Her parents were impressed he was working under the Number 1 Hero and congratulated him on his accomplishment. When they said their goodbyes, Uraraka's mom insisted he comes over for dinner when they returned home, and Bakugo had agreed he would. They left the hospital and headed toward the elevators and bench, where Present Mic played a game on his phone.

"Shut up, Cheeks." He didn't have to look at her to know she was staring up at him with the most self-satisfied look she could muster.

"I didn't even say anything." She said, pressing the call button on the elevator.

"I didn't hear yelling, so it must have been alright!" Present Mic screamed at them, and Bakugo gave him a withering stare but got in the elevator after them. Present Mic laughed, which made Uraraka laugh, so Bakugo said nothing else.

He loved her laugh. The way she seemed to put her whole body into it. And her smile. Her smile lit up the whole fucking room. She was a magnet. People were drawn to her, and as much as he could give two shits about many people around them, they made her happy.

He loved when she was happy.

Uraraka turned to him expectantly as she slid into the car and made room for him to get in next to her. "Earth to Katsuki." She waved her hands at him. He wasn't sure how long he had been staring at her inside the car like a fucking idiot, but Present Mic was laughing his ass off in the driver's seat by the time he slid in next to her.

Shit.

There was no denying it now.

He loved her.

He was so stupidly in love with her that it sometimes made him mad at himself when he thought of how much of a shit he had been to her at the beginning.

Now he just had to figure out a way to tell her.