It was the end of the school day on February 13th, the day before Valentine's Day, and Bakugo could care less. He hadn't been one to fret about getting gifts or candy because it never really mattered to him. For Bakugo, Valentine's Day was a day just like any other.
"Hey, Bakubro," Kirishima said, leaning against the back of Hagakure's empty chair. Bakugo looked up at him, annoyed. If the idiot talked for too long, then he'd be making Nakano wait for him.
The day after she ended up walking with Shinsou instead of him, Nakano had followed Bakugo back to the dorms. Then, she followed him home the next day. And the next. He had tried to outrun her at first, but her stupid jumping made it easy to catch up.
After two weeks, he gave up and just let her walk with him.
"Do you think you'll be getting any chocolate for Valentine's Day?" Kirishima asked.
Why is he asking such stupid questions…
"I don't care. And I don't like sweets anyway," he said, standing up and grabbing his bag.
"Oh, right. Do you think Kuri will give you anything?" Kirishima asked. Bakugo looked at him confusedly.
"Why the hell would she give me something?" he asked, walking away.
"Because she has a crush on you, duh- Oh, wait, crap!" Kirishima exclaimed, slapping a hand over his mouth. Bakugo's eyes widened in shock.
She has a crush on me?
She… has a crush… on me…?
She, Kuri Nakano, has a crush on me, Katsuki Bakugo.
"Don't tell her that I told you that," Kirishima begged. "In fact, let's pretend this never happened. See ya later, bro! Oh my god, what have I done..."
Kirishima walked away with his head in his hands, and Bakugo continued to stand there in bewilderment.
She has a crush on me.
He thought of all the times she'd suddenly come up to talk to him. The times when she'd look at him with that big, stupid grin on her face. The times he'd catch her staring at him, and her face would turn bright red. How had he not noticed before?
He snapped out of his daze for a second and remembered that she was probably still waiting for him at the building's entrance.
As he walked downstairs, Bakugo wondered what the fuck he was supposed to do now that he knew about her feelings. Kirishima had told him to pretend that their conversation had never happened, so he decided to do that.
Bakugo would just act as if he didn't know, even if it was now painfully obvious.
All he had to do was feign ignorance until she left. There was only a little more than a month left until the school year ended. Then, she'd go back to America, and he'd never have to see her again. Bakugo was surprised that he wasn't happier about a nuisance like her leaving.
As he made his way to the entrance, he noticed Nakano standing alone by the door, looking at her phone. The hood of her sweatshirt was up, and she held an umbrella in her free hand. It had rained a few days before, and she'd left it in the classroom and forgotten about it like an idiot.
As he approached, Nakano looked up and noticed him. Thanks to Kirishima's fuck-up, Bakugo now recognized the specific way that Nakano smiled when she saw him. It wasn't the smile of someone who thought of him as just a friend. She hopped over to him.
"You sure took a while, huh?" she said, poking him in the side with the umbrella. He smacked it away.
"Stop it, dumbass. And yeah, Shitty Hair was talking to me about... something," he replied.
I wonder what would happen if I just told her that I know...
"'Something'?" she asked, holding the door ajar. Bakugo decided against telling her. It'd just make her last couple of weeks at UA awkward for the both of them.
"It's none of your business," he said, holding the door open for her to walk ahead.
"Okay," she said, skipping all the stairs in one jump. She started waving her umbrella around as if it were a sword.
"What the hell are you doing?" She looked back at him and grinned.
"Haven't I ever told you? I know kenjutsu," Nakano said. She pretended to sheathe her umbrella. "My parents made me take a bunch of different extracurriculars to 'prepare for hero work.' Basically, my parents trained me to be a badass."
"Bunny, you're a dork," he said. She rolled her eyes, blushing slightly.
"You're one to talk King Explosion Murder. Anyway, I'm making rice crackers today. What flavoring do you think I should put?" she asked.
"Why are you asking me?"
"Uh, secret reasons," she said with an awkward grin.
"Whatever. Put something spicy."
"Okay, will do," she said. She opened her umbrella and spun it around over her head.
What the hell is she doing?
He smiled. It was too bad that Nakano had to leave so soon. He'd just begun to tolerate her.
"Hey," Nakano said, turning around. "Wanna race?" He grinned.
"You're on."
Nakano's umbrella put her at quite a disadvantage as they sprinted to the dorm. Bakugo was much further ahead when he suddenly saw her sailing over his head. She landed a few meters in front of him and continued running. She looked back with a smirk on her face.
"I thought we weren't using quirks," he shouted, then used an explosion to blast past her. In unison, they noticed how close the dorm entrance was and sped towards it. Nakano did one last hop and grabbed the door handle before he could.
"I win," she said.
"You cheated."
"I wasn't wearing running shoes, so it's okay," she said, opening the door. Bakugo sighed and watched as she walked away. She was annoying, but she was good company.
That night, Bakugo lay in bed, thinking about Nakano.
It was weird to know that she had a crush on him. What the hell was all that shit about thinking he was annoying then? She was so confusing.
What had even caused her to like him? He had many questions regarding her feelings towards him. But they were questions he would never get the answer to. Soon, she'd be saying goodbye, and he'd be left to wonder what had been going on in her head.
And he really didn't want to admit it, but he would miss her. He'd miss her stupid remarks and her stupid cute face.
Gah, no, fuck! She's not cute! Even if her smile makes my stomach flutter a bit, it doesn't mean anything.
He rolled over in his bed and drew the covers over his head.
I don't like her back. She's kind of attractive, but she's too annoying for me. That's right, I don't like her. If she confesses her love to me, then I'll just reject her.
The night passed, and it was February 14th: just another day for Katsuki Bakugo.
The day went like usual. Until it was time for Nakano to walk home with him. She fiddled with her jacket zipper as they walked, then suddenly moved her backpack so that she was wearing it backward. She unzipped it and pulled out a plastic bag, and handed it to him, blushing.
Bakugo looked at the contents of the bag: rice crackers.
Oh god, oh fuck, is she going to confess?
"Um, these are the rice crackers I was talking about. I made these since you said you don't like sweets. Oh, and don't worry, this is just a friend thing," she added.
Friend thing… right.
Bakugo looked at the bag and then back at her. She had turned her head away, probably to hide her blush. He opened the bag and popped one of the crackers in his mouth. It was good.
"Thanks, dumbass," he said. Nakano turned her head back to him and grinned.
"No problem."
