Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextBakugou's birthday had been a rollercoaster of emotions, some good and some bad and some simply confusing, and it was safe to say that Ochako's mind was a complete and utter mess. The moment she was back in her room after the Birthday Boy's figurative - and somewhat literal - explosion, she sent Deku a message.
Ochako 20:27
Are you guys done with the movie? I really need to talk to you if you're not too busy
The response was almost immediate.
Deku :) 20:28
Yeah, Asui and I are just getting a head start on some homework now. Is everything ok? Are you back at UA?
Tsu*
Ochako 20:29
I'm in my room, can you guys please come here?
Deku :) 20:29
Be right there
Ochako only had to wait another two minutes before there was a knock on her bedroom door. Mentally preparing herself for the bomb she was about to drop, she opened it to reveal identical looks of concern from her two closest friends.
"Hey guys," she said, waving sheepishly.
Tsu entered her room immediately, knowing she didn't have to wait for an invitation. "Ochako are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Did something happen while you were out with Kacchan and the others?" Deku asked from the doorway. Even though he'd been in there many times, he hesitated to enter the room until Ochako ushered him in and closed the door after them.
"Yeah, sort of. I don't really know what to think or feel right now and I just really wanted someone to talk to so that I could maybe figure things out. Kyoka and I talked earlier at the game center and I had thought that I'd sorted some things out, but now I'm more confused than ever." She flopped onto her bed, her strained groan reverberating off the walls of her dorm room. Tsu sat down next to her and calmly took her hand as Deku situated himself in her desk chair.
"Did Bakugou do something to you, Ochako?" Tsu asked.
"No, nothing like that. It's not… bad. Well, how should I start this?" She paused, her friends quietly letting her sort out her thoughts. It was probably best to just start from the beginning; it's not like she was trying to hide any of it from them.
With a deep breath she closed her eyes and allowed the wire that connected her brain and her mouth to do as it wished. "Today was actually amazing and I had so much fun. Bakugou and I played so many games together and he was really nice to me the entire day. He helped me win this bunny," she said, holding up Mini-Cheeks, "and surprised me with this keychain that I wasn't able to win," she showed them the charm on her phone, "and we talked and laughed a bunch and even walked home together. I wasn't sure at first but the longer the day went on I started to feel like maybe Bakugou might have feelings for me, which I have sort of thought for a while now but I was trying really hard to convince myself that I was only imagining things, but after today I just can't keep pretending that there isn't at least something there, and to be honest I think I have feelings for him too which I didn't realize until maybe 30 minutes ago, but now I'm not sure about his feelings anymore, because I asked if he liked me and he denied it, but he was also really embarrassed at the time because of something he said without really thinking about it - at least I think he wasn't really thinking about it because he was kind of going through one of his angry, shouty temper tantrums - but anyway, because of all that and what he said I got this stupid idea in my head that maybe he might just be using my feelings as a way for him to beat Deku or something, even though I don't think he's doing it on purpose - I don't even think he's aware of it or aware of his own feelings, honestly - and I know it's stupid and silly and not true because I don't think he would do that but I'm so confused and my heart feels really conflicted and I wish things could just go back to normal but I have no idea what to do now."
She grew quiet again, giving herself a chance to catch her breath, only realizing after the fact that she'd been talking so quickly without pause that if you were to write her words out as character dialogue there probably wouldn't even be periods between her thoughts. Her brain was moving even faster than the words could come out, so she decided to wait and let her friends try to digest her verbal vomit before she continued on endlessly. Leave it to Bakugou to get her so riled up that she'd started rambling like Deku after a particularly constructive critique from Aizawa sensei.
After a few seconds of silence, she finally opened her eyes to see both Tsu and Deku staring at her, matching looks of surprise on their faces. When they finally spoke it was simultaneously.
"You like Bakugou?"
"You like Kacchan?!"
Ochako's cheeks were on fire as she covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Out of everything I said, that's what you latched on to?"
"Ribbit," Tsu nodded. "It's an important detail."
Deku shifted in his chair. "I'm just excited for you and Kacchan! You don't have to tell us more if you're not-"
"No, she has to tell us more," said Tsu, flatly. "Do you really have feelings for Bakugou? I was sort of suspecting you might, ribbit, but I didn't think you'd actually admit to it. You were never completely honest about your last crush, Ochako. Is this one for real?"
Ochako peered through her fingers to see Deku staring at her intently. As their eyes met, her entire body felt like it was engulfed in flames - but not for the same reason it used to when she would make eye contact with him.
She liked Bakugou. She really liked Bakugou.
This wasn't just a crush. She didn't just admire him and want to be more like him. She really, genuinely liked him. More than she used to think she liked Deku, or anyone else for that matter. She'd spent the last few weeks constantly thinking of Bakugou and how she could get closer to him and it all finally made sense why. Today had been incredible and she hadn't wanted it to end. It was clear to her now why those girls at the game center thought that she and Bakugou were a couple; because deep down she wanted them to be. The second he gave her the keychain she knew. Bakugou was rough around the edges, loud, arrogant, and socially awkward at times. He could be rude and hard to get along with, and he was anything but personable. But, he was also confident, driven, and secretly kind. He saw people for who they really were, including her, and he didn't settle for anything less than what he felt he (or others) deserved. He was the first of their classmates to take her seriously as a hero and he had never stopped. He didn't accept second best and, because of him, she didn't want to either.
He made her better. The best Uravity she could be.
She buried her face further in her hands and groaned again, accidentally setting off her quirk on herself and floating a few feet above her bed. "Tsuuu, what am I gunna do? I like him a lot and now I don't know how to even face him properly! I never thought this was going to happen when I said I wanted us to become better friends."
Her friend grabbed her by the sleeve, dragging her back down to the bed before she could hit the ceiling. "It will be okay, Ochako. To be honest I think we all kinda saw this coming. Well, maybe not Todoroki, but he can be a bit dense."
Ochako giggled as she released her quirk and sat up, finally removing her hands from her face. "Did he and Iida like the movie?"
"Iida thought it wasn't educational enough but had a good message so he didn't complain. Todoroki has become obsessed with Catbus, I think," said Deku.
"Good, I'm glad I picked a good one," she said, relaxing a bit more.
"You're deflecting, Ochako."
Tsu was right, and Ochako could hear the whine coming out of her throat before she could stop herself. "I guess I'm just worried. I really like Bakugou and I wouldn't mind staying just friends if that was all he wanted. But I don't want to be a consideration for… more than that just because he has this weird idea that you and I like each other, Deku, and he always has to beat you in everything."
"Well, ribbit…" Tsu said, trailing off as she glanced between Ochako and Deku. "The entire class did think you two were going to date eventually."
"But we aren't," said Ochako. "Even if we used to feel that way about each other we don't anymore."
"We've talked about it and agreed that we are better as friends," said Deku, nodding.
"I know that, but that doesn't mean everyone else does - and everyone includes Bakugou. But anyway, you have that guy you met in Otheon, right Midoriya?" Tsu asked, her finger on her lips only adding to her innocent inquisitiveness.
"I-! We're not-!" Deku's face lit up and Ochako couldn't help but laugh to herself. She may not feel romantically towards him anymore, but she had to admit that Deku was still pretty cute when he got flustered. "Rody and I are just friends for now, Asui! He lives so far and we only get to talk sometimes because of the time difference and our busy schedules and-"
"For now," Ochako joked, grinning at him.
Deku groaned, his face in his hands, almost a mirror image of how she had looked just a minute before.
"We're just happy for you, Midoriya," said Tsu, a genuine smile on her face, "just like you and I are happy for Ochako."
Deku nodded, laughing a little awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head, his cheeks still stained red.
"Do you think Bakugou could really be using Ochako as a way to get back at you, though? He did hate you for a long time."
Deku looked between Tsu and Ochako, his expression growing more serious. "You're my best friend, Uraraka, but I know Kacchan better than I know anyone. He wouldn't do something like that. He wants to become the best, but he wants to do so genuinely. He would never use someone, especially not in such a petty way. He still holds that grudge against Todoroki for not giving him a fair fight last year, remember? Plus he and I are on better terms now."
"That's true," nodded Ochako, feeling a little more confident than before.
Deku smiled brightly, his entire aura radiating happiness. "Whatever it was that Kacchan said or did to make you worried was probably just because he doesn't know how to interact with someone he likes. And he probably denied his feelings because he doesn't even realize them himself, just like you said. Come to think of it," Deku said, resting his hand on his chin, "I don't think Kacchan's ever shown interest in anyone up until now. This is actually the first time I've ever even seen him get flustered and nervous around someone."
"Oh." Ochako could feel the heat returning to her cheeks and was thankful that it was just her two closest friends in the room with her. "Well what am I supposed to do then? I don't know if I can even face him without getting nervous now that I know I like him."
"Just act normal," said Deku. "And next time he acts unreasonably just stand up to him! That's what's worked for me. Though, I bet you've already told him off a bunch of times and I've always seen you stand up to him. If you were a pushover he wouldn't respect you so much. So yeah, be yourself and act how you would normally act with him. If he likes you, it's because of you, Uraraka."
Normal. She could do that, right? Training was normal for them, and he had told her not to be late, so she wouldn't be. Things would be like they always were and definitely not awkward and they could keep being friends. And maybe eventually they could be a little more than that.
She could do this.
She couldn't do this.
Ochako had spent every waking moment for the rest of the week trying to hype herself up and convince herself that she'd be fine - and that she wouldn't make a total fool out of herself simply by being in Bakugou's presence - but the second she'd see him all of her confidence would vanish. Everything she wanted to say that wasn't a response she could conjure up on autopilot turned to mush in her mind, so she ultimately avoided speaking to him altogether for fear that the sounds that would come out of her mouth would be nothing more than mindless gurgles. She was so nervous around him that it had gotten to the point where she couldn't even be in the same room with him most of the time - especially not if they were alone. She was so hyper-aware of every single thing he did or said, the feel of his hands on her the second the adrenaline from training died down, the way his voice was gentler and more attractive when they were alone, and the way the light sometimes caught his face just right making him look even more beautiful than normal. It was as if her perspective of him had changed - rose-colored glasses or whatever the American expression was - but it was accidentally on hyper-overload. Just being in the general vicinity of Bakugou Katsuki was too overstimulating. Her reaction to realizing she had a crush on Deku was nothing like this; it was as if her nerves were amplified tenfold and she couldn't control her own body anymore.
Training she could do. That required so much focus and so little talking that she was able to power through it. Plus, there was no way she would give that up; not after they had both been working so hard. When they were fighting she could put everything about her crush on Bakugou out of her mind. But, the second they were done sparring everything else would become completely nerve-wracking again; her body would automatically switch to autopilot and she'd lose all ability to think rationally.
But the worst part of the entire situation was the overwhelming guilt she felt every second of every day. Not just for the completely awful way she was handling her newfound feelings and treating Bakugou - as if he was some perfect and untouchable being - but mostly because this had all started from her thinking less of him to begin with. She should have never doubted him; never even entertained the thought that he would use her to get back at Deku. She knew he wasn't like that - she didn't need Deku to tell her - but she'd gotten into her own head again and assumed the worst of him and look at where it had landed her. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid! Kyoka had even warned her of this!
She'd wanted to get closer to him, solidify their friendship, and potentially even grow into more than friends in the future, but now she was so irrationally nervous that he'd toss her to the curb for even one tiny misstep that she was doing everything wrong. He didn't like hanging out with her just to get back at Deku, but she'd gotten so caught up in her own feelings and her new sparkly and shiny perfect image of him that she was having trouble figuring out any reason that he'd like her just for… her. Which was the exact kind of self-deprecating thinking that would ensure Bakugou would never like her.
Even her closest friends were judging her. Though they didn't say it outright, she could tell by the looks on Deku and Tsu's faces that she was messing up big time. Conversations with them that edged anywhere close to the topic of Bakugou or anything related to their explosive classmate were beyond awkward, especially when Iida, Todoroki, or anyone else in their class was involved.
She was ruining everything but her body didn't want to listen to reason anymore.
This was cruel and unfair, she knew it, and the hurt look almost permanently plastered on Bakugou's face broke her heart. But she just couldn't snap out of it. She had gotten herself into a wicked spiral that seemed never ending and she was trapped because of her own overthinking.
She suspected things were finally over between them when Bakugou had been waiting to talk to her after class on Friday and knew that it was what she deserved for treating him so poorly as a friend. This was her fault and she refused to keep running away. She'd face him, just like she should have done from the beginning.
But then… a miracle happened.
He apologized.
Bakugou Katsuki, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight himself, actually apologized. To her. As if he was the one in the wrong.
She'd made him think that she was mad at him, or that she didn't want to be friends anymore, which was honestly absurd! It almost made her feel even more guilty, but taking his genuine kindness and turning it into more fuel for her own self-victimization would be worse than slapping him in the face.
Because he'd fixed things for them. After weeks of claiming he wasn't helping her and they weren't friends, he was the one who finally took the step to ensure that they would be okay. She had messed up, but he had made things better in his own, special, Bakugou way.
And suddenly the spell was broken.
Obviously, Bakugou was still super handsome (almost unfairly handsome, actually), and things about him that had once flown right past Ochako's radar were now things she found attractive; his voice was deep and gravelly and drew her in, his exaggerated expressions brought a smile to her face, and his muscular arms and strong hands summoned butterflies to her stomach. However, instead of sending her into mental overdrive like it all had the past week, it was now almost as if it all calmed her down - it wasn't overwhelming anymore and being near him and talking together was actually comforting. Bakugou was still just loud, grumpy, 100%-all-or-nothing Bakugou. He hadn't changed, and her feelings hadn't changed either; she just finally understood what the creature in her gut had been trying to get her to understand all along. And everything was okay.
They talked and joked and laughed and made up and her heart was so full. She vowed to herself right then and there that she wouldn't continue acting like she had been. No matter how nervous she felt or how embarrassed she got, she would never avoid Bakugou like that again; she would face her feelings, and face him, head-on. If she ever felt like she was spiraling again she would take a step back and clear her head and then return with a rational mind; she wouldn't ruin the friendship they had worked so hard for no matter what her private feelings were.
He had been just as worried as she had been, and Deku was right; there was no way this genuinely honest boy who was secretly a little shy and very kind, who was actually incredibly cute when he was embarrassed, and who put her feelings above his own would use her to settle a childish rivalry or enjoy her friendship for any reason other than the mutual respect they held toward one another.
Maybe he did have feelings for her and maybe he didn't, but that didn't matter right now. She just knew that she wanted to preserve this friendship for as long as she could, and if 'friends' was all they were ever meant to be she would be happy. But she wouldn't run from her feelings anymore or hide them away like she had in the past. And she wouldn't let them distract her from what was really important and let them ruin the friendship that he had mended.
Because being without him was worse than anything she could imagine.
Before she knew it, Bakugou had grabbed both of their bags and was making his way back to Heights Alliance. She ran up to walk with him, and if she didn't know any better she would say that he slowed down just slightly to match her pace. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and she felt her insides do a jittery little dance. Sure, she wasn't going to run away anymore, but that didn't change the fact that Bakugou really was very good-looking when he wasn't making some obnoxious face or yelling for someone to die.
"I can carry my own bag, you know," she said, trying to grab it from him.
"I had an idea about how you can improve your speed, but it requires use of your quirk and potentially some extra gear," he said, ignoring her attempts to take her bag back. Back to business, as always.
"Okay, well, what were you thinking?"
"You still have to work on your speed and reaction time in close combat, but that's just somethin' you're gunna have to improve with more practice. We're gunna keep workin' on that obviously, because you're already better than you were a few weeks ago. You've gotten good at pullin' yourself around with your wires and you can actually be pretty fast that way, too. But it would also make you stronger if you could propel yourself instead of just pullin'. You could do somethin' obvious like add some type of propulsion gear to your costume, but your quirk is your biggest advantage. If you can build up enough momentum and then eliminate any friction you could essentially accelerate, activate your quirk, and then maintain that constant velocity forwards. With a support item you could propel yourself after activatin' your quirk and get the same effect, just like I was able to. If you needed to turn then you could use your wires like you've already been doing, but if you just wanted to go in a straight line you could keep your hands free for any combat you need to do once you reach whatever bastard villain you're facing. The added momentum would also serve to turn you into a tiny, little human projectile."
She stared at him, thinking on what he'd said. He had really thought this out, both for himself and for her. When he'd first asked her to try floating him it had seemed like he just wanted to try some new move without much thought behind it, but now she was finally getting a glimpse into how his mind worked and just how dedicated he was to improving his abilities as a hero. She'd noticed it before in their classes last year, but she hadn't fully realized just how much time he spent trying to get better in any way he could. And he cared about her potential too, apparently. While others might think there was no room for improvement, Bakugou was never fully satisfied. His drive really was immeasurable.
"Wow, so you're a real physicist now, huh?" she teased.
"Go to hell, Cheeks," he grumbled. "You should know about this shit, too, considering it relates to your damn quirk."
"I do know, I'm actually pretty good at physics theoretically until you give me a problem to solve; the numbers and variables are what usually mess me up." She shrugged. "It's just funny to me that you put so much thought into this. Also, I'm not 'tiny and little', for your information," she grumbled, a small pout on her face.
Bakugou smirked, his expression beyond smug as he uncharacteristically straightened his back, stretching to his full height, and literally looked down at her. "I dunno, Mochi Face, you're pretty fuckin' tiny."
She glared at his annoyingly cocky face and his stupidly tall self that she was definitely not super attracted to and snatched for her backpack again. He held it far above her head - just because he could - as she jumped to try and grab it. It would have been easy for her to float up to it, but somehow that felt like cheating, so she simply glared harder. Bakugou laughed before putting the bag on his shoulders, effectively preventing her from taking it back until he let her. Though, she filled away his newest nickname for her as her favorite so far; it was kinda cute, and mochi was the best thing ever, so she would take it as a compliment.
It was so unfair that, while she had stopped growing before she even started high school, boys were able to just keep getting taller. She was a good girl. She'd always done what the doctor said - always made sure she'd finished her milk and gotten enough calcium - so why was she cursed to be so short? There was only one thing that made her feel better. "Well, Tsu is shorter than me," she whined.
Bakugou snorted. "Course she is, she's a damn frog!"
"I'm still not the shortest, though! Kyoka's smaller than me, too! And Mineta!"
"So? Doesn't make you any taller, Tiny-ravity."
Ochako crossed her arms with a huff, both annoyed at how childish this argument was but also a little thrilled that she had gotten Bakugou to casually joke around about something so silly - even if he was teasing her. However, she might be short but she wasn't backing down; there was no way she'd let him win this! "You're not even the tallest one in our class, you know. Not even close!"
"Taller than you," he said, stretching tall again and locking eyes with her, his voice low and dripping with undeserved self-satisfaction.
Ochako's heart skipped a beat - maybe two - and she knew the furious blush creeping up her face was going to expose how attractive she thought Bakugou really was if she didn't control her emotions. He'd gotten taller since they first met, and though she still stood by the fact that it wasn't fair, she couldn't deny that it was also doing things to her that she wasn't totally prepared for. Forget winning; she needed to change the subject, and fast, before she did something stupid like tell him that she actually liked how tall he was and just fed into his already overinflated ego.
"So let me get this straight," she said, clearing her throat and awkwardly returning to their original conversation, "you basically want me to do the exact same thing you're trying to do but in reverse. You have the propulsion and need to become stable in zero gravity. I'm stable in zero gravity but I need the propulsion."
He shrugged and relaxed his shoulders back into their normal hunch, allowing her the chance to calm down - even though she sort of wished that he hadn't so she could enjoy the full extent of their height difference for just a bit longer. "Yeah, whatever."
"What if I become better at it than you since I've already mastered the hard part?" she teased. "It is my quirk and all, and you're only able to do it with my help."
He grinned back at her, genuinely, with no malice or sense of competition, as if he honestly thought she might be able to; as if he was encouraging her to make it a reality. "I'm better than you at literally everything else, so I guess I'll just have to eat that one."
Her eye roll could put Kyoka's to shame, but the pride she felt within herself more than made up for his snark. "Not everything," she mumbled, thinking of his quick temper and inability to talk to most people somewhat normally, despite the fact that he was actually kind of funny and charismatic when he wanted to be. "Anyway, I thought you weren't doing all of this to help me."
"Tch. I can do whatever I want, Cheeks." He ruffled her hair again just to prove his point, his hand warm and comforting despite the immense power he held.
She laughed, knocking his hand away before he did irreparable damage to her hairstyle, her heart much fuller and much happier than it had been since Sunday. Maybe they would just stay friends for now, but it couldn't hurt to hope that they would someday become more than that. Right?
The next morning Ochako woke up five minutes before her alarm feeling refreshed and excited for the first time in days.
She washed up, ate some actual healthy breakfast, and got ready to meet Bakugou at record speed. Her morning was going so perfectly, in fact, that she reached the PE grounds almost 15 minutes early (compared to her usual 5-10). Bakugou was usually never there before her when she arrived at her normal time, so she wasn't surprised to find the field deserted.
In the time she waited she was able to complete all of her regular stretches and then some. She even managed to warm up by jogging three laps around the track, but when she crossed the finish line Bakugou still hadn't shown up. He hadn't messaged her saying he couldn't make it, and it was almost unheard of for him to be late to anything, so the closer it grew to their meet-up time the more she began to worry. Had he changed his mind? Was everything that had happened yesterday just a part of her imagination?
The time ticked on and her dread increased with each passing second, the invisible weight on her chest growing heavier and heavier. When she allowed herself to check her phone for the 10th time it was a whole two minutes after 5:00 and Bakugou was officially late. Nervous worry filled her thoughts, but she didn't want to completely lose hope. Not yet. She'd wait a little longer before panicking.
Fortunately, it seemed as if her worry was for nothing, and it didn't take long for her patience to be rewarded. Just as she was about to start another lap around the track a series of loud explosions reverberated through the sill morning air; from the sound of it, they were headed right towards her. She whipped around just in time to see Bakugou hurtling through the sky, his quirk blasting him forward at top speed.
He landed hard next to her, his breathing heavy, his ears red, his hair tousled even more wildly than usual, and his shoes untied. It was rare to see Bakugou looking so disheveled, especially when he was getting ready to do his favorite activity - training - and she couldn't help but laugh to herself, her worries vanishing in an instant.
"You're late," she scolded, crossing her arms and feigning annoyance. His only response was a vicious glare, exacerbated by the wild trajectory of his hair and the heaving of his chest. "You know you could get in a lot of trouble for using your quirk like that."
"Tch. Who're you, Four-Eyes? It was faster. Lay off." He set his bag down and started rummaging through it, looking for something that he wasn't finding.
"Your shoes are untied."
"Hah?" He glanced down, cursing under his breath as he tied them and began rummaging again. "Dammit, I forgot my fuckin' water bottle, gimme yours quick."
She snorted but handed him her water regardless. He took a few gulps and handed it back to her. "You're a mess today, what's going on? Your look like you only woke up 10 minutes ago and it's really unlike you to be late," she said, putting her bottle back in her bag.
He scowled and ran his hand through his hair, mumbling under his breath as the red returned to his ears. It was very cute. "Stop askin' me questions. Mind your own damn business." Flustered Bakugou was Ochako's favorite Bakugou she decided.
"No," she said as he started stretching. She mirrored him even though she had already completed her stretches a while ago, his scowl deepening as she mimicked his every move. "Why are you late, Bakugou?"
"Piss off."
"Why are you a mess?"
"I said shaddap! I wasn't even late, you're outta your mind!"
"You so were. What happened?"
"Do you wanna fuckin' die this damn early in the morning, Uraraka?!"
"No, not really," she grinned, finally letting up on her teasing.
They finished up their last leg stretches and he smirked back at her, a glint of something like evil excitement shining in his eyes. "Then you better start running."
Training was amazing. Ochako tried out Bakugou's new idea of launching herself by jumping with as much force as she could muster and then activating her quirk in a way so that she would keep moving, but she didn't really make any progress. It was a lot harder than it sounded, and getting the timing just right was difficult. But that didn't matter. Things were back to normal - actually, they were better than ever - and she couldn't be happier. She was talking and teasing and they were joking around and they actually weren't fighting (more than their normal inconsequential bickering) and it was perfect. Ochako's heart was so light it felt like she could get hit with a quirk deleting bullet from the Shie Hassaikai and she'd still happily float away if she wasn't too careful.
And the best part was that Bakugou seemed like he was enjoying himself, too. They were both in better moods than they'd been in since his birthday and everything finally felt right.
They were friends - for real now - and it was better than she ever could have hoped.
She was feeling so good by the time they finished practice that she almost forgot something very important.
"So," Bakugou said, finishing up the last of Ochako's water and handing her bottle back to her as they walked back to the dorms, "are you gunna ask me questions today or do you have more made-up homework to do?"
"I- what?!"
"It's your game, Cheeks, I'm just tryna get some clarification," he said, smirking at her clear embarrassment. She liked flustered Bakugou, but it appeared that he liked flustered Ochako, too.
"Fine," she said, defensively. Two could play at that game. "First question; why were you late today?"
He had his answer ready as if he knew exactly what she was going to ask. "I had to do somethin' important and lost track of time."
Vague, but it was something. She decided to probe a bit more. "What was so important at 4:00am that it couldn't have waited till after training?"
"Needed to talk to someone."
"About what?"
He glared at her out of the corner of his eyes. "You really aren't gunna drop this, are you." It wasn't a question. "I had a suspicion about somethin' and needed to confirm it for myself. I was wrong."
She nodded, realizing she wasn't going to get much more out of him; he was already giving up more than she'd expected him to based on his reactions earlier. But, she decided it couldn't hurt to try one more time from a different angle. "Who did you need to talk to?"
He was quiet for a long time, his jaw clenched and his brow furrowed. "That was four questions."
"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry, you don't have to-"
"Isuku," he cut her off.
"Huh?"
"I had to talk to Izuku."
Now she was even more curious. What could he have needed to talk to Deku about? Could it have been about something to do with her? With them making up? Or with his outburst that had been the catalyst for the past week? And Bakugou had said that he had been wrong - not something he admitted to lightly. Deku proved his suspicions about something were incorrect, and she really wanted to know what.
But Bakugou and Deku's relationship was complex in a way that she would never fully understand. They had only recently been able to work together for the first time, according to Deku, and it was just last year that Bakugou was finally able to be in the same room as him without quite literally exploding. He'd only just started admitting his faults towards Deku and apologizing a few months ago…
It was better not to push it. Not if she wanted any chance at maintaining this friendship. She decided it was time to go back to teasing him to hopefully lighten the mood and make sure he didn't regret answering her questions honestly. "Well if you're gunna be late again at least remember to bring all your stuff. I can't believe you stole my water all morning! What if you're sick? Now I probably have Bakugou-cooties or something."
He turned to look at her, annoyed disbelief written all across his face. "Are you fuckin' five?!"
His expression was too much and she couldn't help bursting out into laughter which, very predictably, only added to his irritation.
"I'm not fuckin' sick, Round Face, I wouldn't be training if I was sick. I don't get sick." Ochako rolled her eyes but he ignored it. "And I told you, I forgot mine in my room. You were able to refill it in the P.E. building so why d'you even care?"
"I don't particularly, but the look on your face was definitely worth it," she said, shoving his arm lightly.
He glared at her again, his cheeks seeming to turn pink in the morning light. "Fine, you wanna play that shit? It's my turn - and I don't lose. If you weren't avoiding me because of what I said on Sunday then why were you avoiding me?"
Now it was her turn to be embarrassed, her cheeks turning hot as a strangled cry of protest came out of her mouth. "It wasn't-! I wasn't trying to! It's not-! Bakugou, that's not fair," she whined, clenching her pants in her fists.
"Bull fuckin' shit," he smarmed, clearly enjoying her suffering. "You started this. Your game, your rules, Cheeks. You gotta answer me."
She looked away, knowing he was right; she'd done this to herself. But she couldn't just tell him the honest truth, could she?
'Oh, Bakugou, I was avoiding you because I realized that I have a big fat crush on you which I had never in a million years expected to happen, and you're so hot that seeing you made me so flustered that I was unable to form human speech or think properly or even breathe!'
No. Never ever. And definitely not so soon after fixing things and risking potentially ruining them all over again. Especially because his ego was already way too big.
But, if he could get away with vague answers, so could she. "I told you already, I was just getting in my own head about something and needed to snap out of it, which you helped me with, so it's fine now."
"Not surprising," he said. "You're scatterbrained as shit."
"What?! No I'm not!"
"Sure, Cheeks, keep tellin' yourself that. But you're delusional sometimes."
She frowned; now he was actually getting her a little annoyed. "I am not! What's that even supposed to mean?"
He shrugged. "You keep claimin' we're friends and I can't seem to get it through your thick, mochi skull that we're not." His expression would have looked very serious to anyone who didn't know him well, but she did know him well and therefore could see the hint of a grin on his lips. He was teasing her again, and as if to accentuate his point he grabbed her head and squeezed - not hard, but enough that she could feel just how warm his hand was, even through her hair. Were his hands always so hot from his quirk, she wondered, or was it just around her?
"Whatever, Bakugou," she said casually, using one of his favorite phrases against him as she shooed his hand away and fixed her hair. "You've got two more questions to ask me, your amazing, wonderful, and super cute friend."
She was expecting another round of teasing or possibly some rage, maybe even a borderline insulting comment about how she wasn't very cute at all, but in true Bakugou fashion he was able to completely surprise her and change the tone of the entire conversation without hesitation.
"Did you mean what you said about not havin' feelings for Deku?"
As if on cue, they both stopped dead in their tracks. She was caught completely off guard again, not just by the question itself but by the sincerity in his voice. It almost sounded like he was… nervous. Or maybe even hopeful for her answer. That was new.
"Yes," she said seriously, their eyes meeting as she clenched her fists around the strap of her gym bag, directly over her heart. "I wouldn't lie about something like that."
He didn't respond, his expression unreadable as his eyes flicked back and forth between her own, searching for… something.
Suddenly a little nervous herself, Ochako felt the need to elaborate even though he hadn't asked. "I did used to have a crush on Deku, and I think he had a crush on me before, too. But we both realized that we weren't meant to be together like that. He's my best friend, and I love him, but all my feelings toward him are platonic. We're just friends."
"Hn," Bakugou nodded, seriously.
Her heart rate was increasing rapidly but she decided to take her chances. "Why do you ask?"
He shrugged and finally looked away, allowing her the chance to breathe normally again. "Just wanted to know. It's not your turn to be askin' questions."
"Fine then," she grumbled. "You have one more." She started walking again, hoping to calm herself down, and it was only a second before he matched her pace.
"What about Glasses an' Half n' Half? Or Frog Face? You're always hangin' around them, too."
She snorted at that because his questions were just as sincere as before, despite the fact that they were beyond silly to her. "No, Bakugou. It's called having friends, you should try it."
"Tch, whatever. I'm just askin'." He scowled and looked away, his cheeks flushed a bright pink.
"I didn't think you cared about stuff like that anyway," she said, watching her feet moving without really paying attention to where they were taking her.
He shrugged again but didn't offer her any more information.
"Okay, well what about you? Do you have feelings for Kirishima or Kaminari? Or Sero or Mina? Maybe even Kyoka? You hang out with them all the time."
"Fuck no, I'd rather be captured by those damn League fuckers again than put up with any of those idiots for more than absolutely necessary," he yelled, his lower jaw jutting out in annoyance. "They'd all be shitty partners!"
She knew he didn't mean it as truthfully as he'd said it but she laughed all the same. "I thought you weren't answering any more questions."
"Piss off. I gave you an extra question - extra two, now - so I get one more."
She hummed, indicating for him to continue.
"Walk with me to class later."
"Huh?" It wasn't actually a question, more like a command, but it had been just as unexpected as everything else Bakugou had asked her so far. "You want us to go together?"
"Shitty Hair said I should spend more time with you so I figured we could walk to class or I could help you with your homework again or some shit," he said, scratching the back of his head and looking away. Even with his head turned he was unable to hide the fact that his face had gone completely red. "But if you're gunna make a big fuckin' deal about it then nevermind-"
"I want to!" She grabbed his arm, careful to keep her pinky free to avoid activating her quirk. "I would love to do those things! I've been trying to spend more time with you from the beginning, silly, that was the whole point of any of this!"
Ochako almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Plan 'Befriend Bakugou Katsuki' had worked! Finally, her original goal that she had almost forgotten about was accomplished! Bakugou was really asking to spend more time with her just because he wanted to. She hadn't forced him, she hadn't initiated it; it was his choice. She was over the moon and could feel herself nearly vibrating with excitement.
The expression on her face must have been really dopey because Bakugou took one look at her and couldn't hide his own grin as he laughed easily, like it was something that came naturally to him. As if he momentarily forgot he was supposed to be grumpy at all times, simply because she was happy. "Okay, then we're walkin' to class together," he said.
Her enthusiastic nod suddenly slowed as she remembered something she'd forgotten about in her excitement. "Oh wait, I promised Tsu and Iida I would meet up with them today to finish something on Present Mic's homework. Is it okay if they come with us?"
Bakugou's frown returned, his lower jaw jutting out even further than before as he ground his teeth in annoyance. "Does Four-Eyes really have to fuckin' come?"
She nodded again. "Yes, he's my friend and I promised him. If you want to spend more time together that means spending more time with my friends, too, not just yours. That's not fair."
He growled, his eyes trained on the building ahead of them, but didn't argue.
"You don't mind Tsu coming?" she asked.
Even though he still hadn't protested, it has been an awkwardly long time since Ochako first grabbed on to Bakugou's arm - much too long for two people who were supposed to be new friends, she thought - so she let go before they got too close to the dorms. If she didn't know any better she'd think that his arm jerked almost imperceptibly when she released her grip, almost as if he was experiencing a chill, but she chalked it up to her overactive imagination.
"She's less awful than the rest of those losers you call friends," he said bluntly, still not acknowledging that she'd been touching him for much longer than was strictly necessary. "At least she ain't annoying as fuck... most of the time."
"Oh, I didn't realize you liked her! That's good! So we can definitely all walk together, then" she said, smiling at him.
"Fine," he said through gritted teeth.
"Yay! This is gunna be so fun. Meet us in the common area when you're ready?"
He nodded once, still looking like she was asking him to kiss his mortal enemy right on the mouth, but she didn't mind. It was overwhelmingly exciting that he was voluntarily spending more time with her and her friends! She knew that he wasn't a big fan of them, or people in general, but it meant a lot that he was willing to do it just for her.
She wanted to believe that it meant he liked her more than he was letting on, but she also didn't want to get her hopes up and be wrong, so she tried not to overthink it too much.
"We just have this last one left, and I know I've translated it wrong but I can't figure out why," Tsu said as Ochako and Iida read over her work.
"'The runner needed to dropping the race'," said Iida out loud in English. "It does sound off. Maybe it should be 'The runner needed to dropped the race'?"
Ochako shook her head. "No, it shouldn't be past tense. Plus he's not dropping something, like an object, he just doesn't want to run anymore so he's resigning, which makes this extra confusing. Phrasal verbs are so hard. English is so hard."
"Ribbit," Tsu said in confirmation, her tongue sticking out as she scratched her head with her pencil. "It's confusing me too."
"Isn't there supposed to be two or more words?" Ochako asked, looking through her notes for what felt like the 10th time. "We're only including the verb, so we're missing something I think. An adverb, maybe? Or am I mixing that up with a preposition?"
"It's 'drop out'," said a voice directly over Ochako's shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.
"'The runner needed to drop out of the race'. You're right, that sounds correct! Thanks, Bakugou." Tsu erased her answer and rewrote it correctly while Iida did the same. "I mixed things up."
"It's not that hard, you should've known," he said as if it was obvious. "Pink Cheeks even knew it was an adverb and she's way worse at English than you two."
Ochako turned to frown at him. "Don't be mean, Bakugou, she made a simple mistake, none of us knew the right answer."
"No, it's okay, Ochako, he's right. I even used 'fall apart' correctly in a previous question, and that's a similar phrasal verb, look. I'm just surprised you didn't catch it either, Iida."
Iida flushed slightly, his hand shooting out robotically. "I apologize. It's early, but that is no excuse for making a careless error. Thank you, Bakugou, for your assistance."
"And thank's for the compliment, too," Tsu added, a grin on her face.
"Hah?!" Bakugou grunted, looking as though Tsu had personally slapped him in the face.
"Well, it looks like we've finished with this assignment thanks to you, Bakugou," said Iida, changing the subject as he put his notebook and homework back into his meticulously organized bag. "Though it is rare for you to join us for a group study session like this."
"I can be wherever the fuck I wanna be. Got a problem with that, Class Rep?" Bakugou sheered.
"Bakugou!" Ochako hissed, reprimanding him again.
"Uraraka," he mocked in a high-pitched voice that sounded incredibly out of place and grating with his gravelly tone. He placed his hand on her head and gently turned her back towards her homework sheet on the table in front of them. "Focus. You're the only one who ain't finished."
"Oh, right." She scribbled down the final translation on her homework and put it back in her bag.
Tsu glanced between her and Bakugou, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as it quirked up in a smile. "So you two made up then?"
Bakugou shoved his hands in his pockets, looking exceptionally grumpy. "Mind your own business."
"Made up?" questioned Iida who had been visibly very confused since Bakugou's appearance. "Were you two fighting?"
Ochako could hear the concern in his voice so she rushed to quell his fears. "No, we weren't fighting, I was just going through something because of a misunderstanding is all. It was my fault for getting so worked up for no reason. But yeah, Tsu, everything's okay now. I forgot to tell you guys that Bakugou's going to walk to class with us today, I hope that's okay. He asked me and I told him you both wouldn't mind if we all went together."
Tsu nodded, unbothered, as Bakugou locked eyes with Iida, his expression beyond smug. Iida looked a bit worried for a second, but his expression calmed as he said "That is unusual for you, Bakugou, though I will never say no to a classmate who wants to form a stronger bond! After all, we in class 2-A are akin to a family and we should all strive to be better friends-"
"Nevermind, I'm leavin'," said Bakugou, turning around abruptly.
"No!" Ochako reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back towards her. "We're going to class now. Please stay."
He glared at her and she knew he was annoyed but she wasn't backing down. If he wanted to spend more time together that meant he'd have to suck it up and hang out with her friends sometimes, even if they weren't his favorite people. She glared back, a silent battle of wills being fought between them until, finally, Bakugou huffed out of his nose and she knew she'd won.
Ochako grabbed her bag, ready to leave, when a familiar voice approached them. "Hey guys, sorry I wasn't around earlier for the homework but I was up super early today so I finished it before and then I called my mom and we lost track of time talking," Deku said as he walked up to join them. "Oh, Kacchan, good morning," he added, more brightly than usual. Ochako followed Deku's eyes in the direction of her hand still grabbing onto Bakugou's arm and realized how it might be interpreted, especially by Deku and Tsu who knew about her feelings. She let go, her cheeks flushing slightly at the fact that Bakugou hadn't said anything about the fact that she'd held on to him for far too long. That was the second time today. Normally he would have told someone to stop touching him immediately. She made eye contact with Deku who smiled again, and she could tell he was excited about something.
"Good morning, Midoriya," said Iida, thankfully unaware of Ochako's building internal embarrassment. "We were just about to leave, are you joining us?"
"Yup, let's go!"
The five of them left Heights Alliance, Tsu and Iida taking the lead and still talking about English translations while Bakugou and Deku walked on either side of Ochako. She, of course, knew that the two of them had talked that morning but there was no way she could let Deku know that she knew - it would probably make things awkward for everyone. She wasn't sure what topic of conversation to bring up, nervous about several different things at once, but fortunately, Deku came to her rescue.
"So, Kacchan, I was talking to my mom this morning and she said that at around 5am the convenience store in town - the one we used to go to after school all the time as kids - was robbed just as they were switching shifts! Well, not successfully robbed, but there was an attempt. Luckily, Kamui Woods was patrolling nearby and took out the robber right away. My mom said he was so cool, as always. I wish I could have seen it. But I'm glad that the store owner was okay, he was always very kind to us."
"Ha!" Bakugou laughed. Well, it was more like a bark, but it was still a normal, non-aggressive outburst, so that was progress. "That old man? He coulda taken any idiot robber all on his own. Once saw him beat the shit outta a thug with his broom after the bastard tried to palm a soda. Fuckin' hilarious."
Deku grinned. "Still though, I'm glad he wasn't hurt. He's getting up there in years and I would feel bad if something happened to him. Do you remember how he used to only charge us half price for hero popsicles because we would go so often?"
"Whatever, those things were overpriced anyway. He was still rippin' us off."
"He was just trying to run his business, Kacchan. We got our All Might cards there too, remember?"
Bakugou huffed before quietly responding, "Course I remember. The stupid look on your face still annoys the crap outta me."
"You were just as excited as I was," Deku laughed.
The conversation was so light and normal that if Ochako didn't know any better she'd have assumed the two boys had always been this close. Even Bakugou's insults held no bite. She wondered if this was what their relationship was like before things went sour. "So you two used to hang out together a lot as kids, huh?"
They both turned to look at her, almost like they'd briefly forgotten she was there. "Yeah," Deku said, smiling a little sadly, as if he had both good and bad memories of his past.
She knew that he did and felt bad for dragging them up. An apology was at the tip of her tongue when Bakugou cut her off before the words could even make it out of her mouth.
"Tch, this nerd would just constantly follow me around. Practically worshiped the ground I walked on. It was annoying as hell," Bakugou said, looking away. Ochako could tell that he was probably too embarrassed to admit how he'd treated Deku when they were younger; even though he'd apologized, she was sure that he knew that didn't erase what he'd done or make it okay. And, though his words might have been considered unkind coming from someone else, she realized that he was just trying to lighten the mood in his own 'Bakugou' way.
Deku must have realized that too - he knew Bakugou best, after all - because a wide grin stretched across his freckled cheeks. "Of course I would, Kacchan! Even before you got your quirk I thought you were so cool. You've always been so confident and brave and strong - I wanted to be like you."
"Yeah, that's cause I'm amazing, Deku. At least you were smart enough to see it," Bakugou said with a smirk. "Everyone should look up to someone as badass as I am."
A glint of determination appeared in Deku's eyes as his grin turned competitive. "I still think you're amazing, but I'm pretty amazing too."
"Tch," Bakugou scoffed again, though more playfully than usual. "You wish."
Ochako couldn't help but laugh happily at her two friends. She'd always known Deku was amazing, even after finding out that he was born without a quirk, and that was no secret. But, a part of her wondered if he would be where he was today if it wasn't for the rivalry between the two boys. What had started as jealousy, hate, and low self-esteem had turned into something else entirely, something based in mutual respect and personal drive, pushing both of them to become the best heroes they could be. She was honestly a little jealous - she didn't have a friendly rival, at least not in the same sense - so she'd just have to take their motivation and make it her own.
"Amazing?" she asked, causing both boys to turn in her direction. "I don't know, Deku. You are for sure, but that's not quite the word I would use to describe Bakugou."
"Well, Round Face, what word would you fuckin' use then?" Bakugou sheered, daring her to tease him in front of everyone.
She took the bait.
"Loud."
She and Deku both burst out laughing and even Tsu started chuckling from up ahead.
"The fuck you tryna say?!" Bakugou yelled, proving her right immediately as he grabbed her head again and ruffled her hair, somehow both aggressively and gently at the same time - it was astounding how he was always able to treat her so carefully despite the fact that it definitely looked like he wasn't. She shrieked and pulled away, still unable to control her laughing. "You wanna say that shit again, Cheeks?" he asked quietly, leaning in close. She wouldn't have been surprised if no one besides her and Deku heard him. "That's the second time this morning you've proven you have a fuckin' death wish." Despite his words, his tone sounded slightly amused - almost as if he couldn't decide if he was genuinely angry or if he wanted to laugh along.
Unable to think of a witty retort, Ochako just stuck her tongue out at him. He recoiled slightly, his cheeks flushing a brilliant pink before his brow furrowed and his lower lip stuck out in a frustrated pout. He looked beyond flustered as he shoved his hands violently back into his pockets and hunched over more than usual, his feet stomping slightly as they continued their journey to the main class building. She's not sure what she did to turn the tables back on him, but if Deku's chuckle and slightly mischievous grin were any indication, he noticed as well.
Bakugou switched his emotional frustration back on Deku, one of his hands whipping up as intimidating sparks went off. "YOU WANNA DIE TOO, YA DAMN NERD?!"
"Bakugou, this is inappropriate, you are truly making a scene," Iida said, disapprovingly, completely unaware of most of what had just occurred. "Please refrain from using your quirk so willy-nilly on school grounds. I heard you using it early this morning too; you should be grateful to attend such a fine institution, and disgracing it by breaking rules is dishonorable."
"GO TO HELL, YOU FOUR-EYED BASTARD! DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"
Ochako apologized to Tsu as Bakugou went on his rampage yelling at Deku and Iida at the top of his register and sending sparks flying around them, seeing as she had instigated in the first place, but her friend wasn't phased; basically everyone was used to his outbursts and short temper by now.
Within a few minutes, Bakugou had finally calmed down enough that the small group was able to approach their classroom without fear of waking up Aizawa sensei who was more than likely asleep behind his desk, just waiting to scold someone for being too loud. Tsu and Iida entered right away, never ones to risk being tardy, but as Bakugou was about to pass the doorway Deku called him back. "Kacchan, wait, I want to ask you something."
Ochako wasn't sure what this was about, but she thought it might have to do with whatever they'd talked about that morning. She didn't want to intrude and tried to slip past them but Deku placed his hand on her shoulder, holding her back. "Wait Uraraka, you stay too, please."
"Whataya want, Izuku?" Bakugou asked. His tone wasn't as harsh as it often was when Deku was involved, but his question definitely had an edge to it. His eyes flicked rapidly between her, Deku, and the place where Deku had touched her shoulder.
"Well, I was just thinking," Deku said, looking between them excitedly as he quickly dropped his hand back to his side, "tomorrow night we're getting together to watch a movie; Uraraka, Iida, Asu-uh-Tsu, Todoroki, and I. It would be really nice if you hung out with us too!"
That hadn't been at all what Ochako had expected, but she did remember them joking about it last week; that already seemed like months ago after everything that had happened since. She personally would love it if Bakugou joined them but she didn't want everyone to be on edge for the whole movie. He was hard to get along with, and not everyone saw him in the way she did - especially not now that her perception was clouded by the sparkly pink bubbles and glittery filter of her crush. But, walking to class together had gone okay, she realized, and it's not like anyone talked much during movies anyway so it could be fine. And she just really, really wanted him to come. But before she could share her opinions on the idea, Bakugou responded.
"No," he said, glaring at Deku.
Deku sighed. "You don't have to decide right now, you can think about it first and-"
"I'm not wastin' my time watchin' some stupid movie in your eyesore of a room."
"Well, we don't have to do it in my room," Deku suggested. "If Uraraka's okay with it we can use her room." He turned towards her, silently asking permission.
"Yeah, that's fine with me," she nodded.
Deku smiled, radiating sunshine like always. "So, will you think about it, Kacchan?"
"I said no, I'd rather fuckin'-"
"I think Uraraka would like it a lot if you joined us."
He wasn't wrong, but Ochako was starting to get very embarrassed at Deku's insistence. She appreciated that he was trying to help her spend more time with Bakugou, but she also didn't want to force anything that made people uncomfortable. Plus, he was making things way too obvious; she didn't think she was ready for Bakugou to know about her feelings just yet, and Deku wasn't really being subtle at all.
Bakugou didn't answer, but it looked like he was thinking hard about something. His eyes landed on hers and he just stared, refusing to break eye contact. His piercing gaze was intense, as if he was boring into her soul. She'd never had anyone look at her the way Bakugou looked at her and it made her insides squirm; he really wanted to know her answer.
Heat crept into her cheeks as she said, "Well, yeah, it would be really fun if you came, Bakugou. But Deku we shouldn't push-"
"Fine."
"Huh?"
"I said fine. I'll watch the stupid movie."
Bakugou looked away, frowning, as Deku grinned a wide, toothy grin. "Great! I'll go tell the others."
Within seconds Ochako and Bakugou were alone in the hallway, Deku having run into the classroom on his own. It was quiet for a minute before Bakugou let out a small, "Tch."
He didn't look mad, despite the fact his brow was furrowed and his lips turned down. "Thank you Bakugou," she said, quietly, her insides feeling very warm and cozy.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, his frown turning into a pout as he crossed his arms. "Why're you thankin' me again? I told you to stop that."
"For hanging out with my friends," she said with a soft smile. "It really means a lot to me."
"Whatever, Cheeks. I'm hangin' out with you, not them."
"I know," she said, pushing her forefingers together in front of her. "But still. Thanks."
He blew air out through his nose in what she could only describe as an aggressive sigh and turned fully toward her. They were silent for a few moments, awkwardly looking anywhere but at each other, when he finally said, "Your hair's messed up."
"Gee, I wonder whose fault that is," she said as she reached up to try and fix the few strands that were still out of place from earlier, but Bakugou's hand appeared as if out of thin air, beating her to the punch. He gently straightened out her hair for her and she felt like her heart rate could probably rival Iida's Recipro. Hopefully he couldn't hear it, or see how bright red she knew her entire face was.
He was so close. Too close. He'd been this close to her in training but this was different - more intimate. His expression had finally relaxed, and she realized again just how pretty he was when he wasn't trying to be.
"It's soft," he said quietly as his hand lingered next to her face, a strand of hair between his fingers. He slowly let it fall, his crimson eyes scanning her face, seemingly memorizing every detail and analyzing her every reaction. A chill ran up her spine, slowly and quickly all at the same time, sending tendrils of heat through her entire nervous system and nearly exploding her nerve endings on impact; it felt like her entire body was on fire, combusting in on itself like a newly forming star.
Before she could form a coherent thought and respond he'd turned and entered the classroom, his fists shoved in his pockets as if everything was normal and nothing had happened between them.
She stood there for a few minutes, mouth agape like a fish out of water, trying to calm her heart. Within seconds she smacked her hands on her cheeks as reality came crashing down on her; that had really just happened. Things started to feel too overwhelming again, and she was worried that she'd actually begun to melt into a puddle on the floor, before a tap on her shoulder startled her. She shrieked and jumped nearly a foot in the air, only narrowly avoiding activating her quirk on herself, and turned to see Ashido looking worried.
"Ochako, is everything okay, girlie? You were totally spacing out just now."
"Y-yep," Ochako lied, patting her cheeks a few times to snap herself out of it, hoping her friend couldn't read through her nervous chuckle. "Clumsy old me, just lost in thought again! It's fine! I'm fine!"
But she wasn't fine.
She was most definitely fucked.
Realizing she liked Bakugou Katsuki had been hard for Ochako when they were barely talking.
But realizing she liked Bakugou Katsuki when they had made up and he had asked to spend more time together and was actually hanging out with her friends and when he was definitely flirting with her and when he might, possibly, potentially, just ever so slightly actually maybe like her back?
Impossible.
After the near emotional meltdown she'd had outside the classroom yesterday she'd somehow managed to calm down enough during first period to survive through the rest of their classes, distracted herself enough during the evening by going to the store with Todoroki to get snacks for movie night, and had forced herself to act normally during training in the morning, but as the hours ticked by her nerves only grew.
He was coming to hang out with her. They were going to watch a movie together. He was coming to hang out with her and watch a movie together, in the dark, in her room!
She made a mental note to thank Deku later for setting up an event where the rest of her friends would be there, too, because she wasn't sure she could do it on her own.
Since getting back from training she'd spent the entire day preparing for that night, even choosing to eat a quick lunch in her room rather than go meet her friends at Lunch Rush. She'd already cleaned her room, organized her desk, picked out a different outfit from what she'd originally put on after showering, decided that she hadn't really cleaned off all the sweat and dirt from training and taken a second shower, cleaned her room again, washed and folded all of her laundry, changed two more times, and tidied up her room a third time, but it still didn't feel like enough. Nothing she did succeed in calming her nerves, so she thought that the prospect of Bakugou coming for movie night might become less intimidatingly exciting if she left her room to clear her mind. It was getting close to the time that everyone was supposed to arrive anyway, so going down to the kitchen to gather together the snacks she and Todoroki had bought seemed like the best idea.
As she was getting everything from the cupboards, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero walked into the kitchen looking for a post-work-out snack. She sort of expected Bakugou to be with them but was simultaneously a little disappointed and a little relieved when he wasn't.
"Hey there, Uraraka! That's a lot of snacks you've got," Kirishima said, pulling his own food out of the fridge. "Doing something fun with Midoriya and the others?"
She nodded. "Yup, we're going to watch a movie in a little bit. Bakugou's coming too, I'm surprised he didn't tell you."
"Oh, is he?" asked Sero. "We actually haven't seen him in a while. He's been locked up in his room since we got back from lunch. Said he had to 'get ready for something'; I guess that's what he meant."
It was strange that Bakugou needed the whole day to prepare to watch a movie, but Ochako wasn't really one to talk considering she had just done the same thing. Maybe he had just been working on homework so that he would have the night off or something.
"Hey, that's a funny phone charm," Kaminari said, picking up her phone from where she had set it on the counter. "It looks kinda familiar."
"It's super cute, right?" she asked, distracted from her previous thoughts. "It's a little grenade, just like Bakugou's gauntlets! He won it for me at the game center last week."
"He did?" questioned all three boys at the same time.
"Yup, he actually has a matching one that I gave to him, too."
"Oh really?" smarmed Kaminari at the same time as Sero asked, "Does he, now?" The mischievous glint in both of their eyes made her worry that she'd just made a very big mistake.
So much for being worried about movie night - Bakugou was gunna kill her.
She took back her phone and gathered up the snacks she came to get, chuckling awkwardly. "Yeah… Maybe don't let him know I told you that?"
"Don't worry, Uraraka. It wouldn't be very manly of us to make fun of him too much," said Kirishima, not really doing much to reassure her. "But, legally as his friends we have to, just a little bit. It's basically the rules of friendship."
She groaned, mentally yelling at herself the entire way back up to her room, her nerves even more on edge than when she went downstairs in the first place.
Deku arrived earlier than everyone else to help set up, and Ochako was thankful for a few seconds alone with him before Bakugou arrived.
"Hi Deku," she said, opening her door to let him in. "Thank you for doing this. Inviting Bakugou, I mean."
"You're welcome, Uraraka," he said, smiling. "I know at first when Todoroki brought it up last week I was doubtful, but after thinking on it more I thought it could be fun! Hopefully. As long as he doesn't start yelling at everyone. But it seems like he's calmed down a lot recently, especially when you're around."
She let out a nervous giggle. "I wouldn't say a lot, but maybe a little bit. Besides that, though, I also wanted to thank you because I think I would be too anxious to do this with him by myself. I'm so hyper-aware of everything he does now, even things I didn't notice before, and I keep overthinking things. If we were alone like this I would probably just get too in my own head and start avoiding him again and then he would be scared off for good and never like me back and probably stop being friends with me altogether."
Deku grinned as if he knew something she didn't, but all he said was, "You'll be fine. Uravity never gets nervous, remember?"
"Right," she said with a nod and a smile. With just a few words Deku could always make her feel better, more confident; she was glad he was her best friend.
They finished setting up and within a few minutes Tsu, Iida, and Todoroki arrived. Tsu and Todoroki sat on the floor, their preferred spot, while Iida took her desk chair and Deku set up on her bed. "We're almost all here," Ochako said as she laid out the last bag of snacks she'd gotten. She was about to sit down as well when there was an overly aggressive knock on her door. "And that's Bakugou." She made her way over to the door to let him in.
"Hey," was all he gave in way of greeting. He looked normal, wearing what she had always assumed was his favorite black skull t-shirt, and definitely not like he had spent the entire day getting ready. She supposed she was probably just assuming things based on what Sero had said; there was no way he was nervous about this like she was. It was just a movie night. She was overthinking things again.
He may not look any fancier than usual but even just seeing him increased her excitement exponentially. "Hi, Bakugou," she said, her face breaking out into a massive grin as she moved over to let him in. "Todoroki and I got some snacks, I wasn't sure what you'd want so I picked some spicy stuff I think I've seen you eat before."
"Whatever. It's fine."
"Hello, Bakugou," said Tsu and Iida in unison, waving at him. He only grunted in response.
"I didn't think you'd actually come," said Todoroki casually, already eating some of the soba-flavored snack mix he'd gotten himself.
"Fuck off, Half n' Half," Bakugou responded half-heartedly.
"Okay," said Ochako, sitting down on her bed next to Deku, "you can sit wherever you feel most comfortable, Bakugou." He had thus far just been standing in the entrance to her room, not having taken more than 2 steps inside, and she could tell he felt awkward. She was hoping he'd sit next to her - there was more than enough space on her bed to fit the three of them - but she didn't want to suggest anything for fear he would be too uncomfortable and not want to stay.
Just as she'd hoped, he walked up to her bed to sit down. But, instead of choosing the seat to her right, Bakugou glared at Deku instead. "Move, nerd, I ain't sittin' on the damn floor."
Without protest, Deku stood up and switched spots, choosing to sit next to Tsu instead. "It's better down here anyway, Midoriya. We're closer to the snacks, ribbit," she said, offering him a package of cookies.
"Bakugou," Ochako scolded, as Deku grabbed a cookie from Tsu, "we could've all fit! That was rude."
"Tch," he grunted, aggressively plopping down next to her in the spot Deku had just vacated. "Doubt it. I ain't tryna cuddle with any of you extras today."
Despite what he said, he'd sat awfully close to her - much closer than she thought was strictly necessary with how big the dorm bed U.A. had provided for her was. His shoulder brushed against hers as he pulled out his phone and their arms remained touching while he scrolled through a hero news site. She felt herself stiffen on instinct but he didn't move away. This wasn't like at the game center; there was no hoodie sleeve separating them this time. She could feel his body heat radiating from his bare arm to hers, sending a tingly feeling throughout her entire body.
Was it getting hotter in her room? It was definitely getting hotter in her room.
"Okay, well we're all here now, are we ready to start?" Deku asked as he got up to turn off the lights and looked around at each of them, waiting for their responses. His eyes lingered just a little longer on her and Bakugou and, even through the dark, Ochako could tell he was grinning; she was very thankful he couldn't see the profuse, rosy blush she most definitely had splattered across her face.
"Yes, it seems as though everything is in place for us to have an enjoyable time. What movie will we be watching this week?" asked Iida.
"Todoroki requested another Studio Ghibli movie," Tsu said, her mouth full of gummy frog candies. "I vote for Ponyo."
"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but Ponyo is also for younger children, isn't it?" he asked. "Are there any other films we might enjoy? I feel like I have heard something about a fantastical world of spirits and a gentleman without a face?"
"Oh, do you mean Spirited Away? We could definitely watch that," suggested Deku.
Tsu nodded. "I like that one, ribbit, I don't mind."
"Is the Catbus in that one, too?" Todoroki asked, sounding very hopeful.
"Tch. Catbus is only in Totoro, moron."
Everyone in the room turned towards Bakugou, matching looks of shock on each of their faces.
"What?" he asked, offended. "I fuckin' went to kindergarten, you know. I've seen Totoro before, quit lookin' at me like that."
Ochako couldn't help but laugh out loud; the idea of a little Bakugou watching My Neighbor Totoro and laughing along with Mei as she meets the giant forest spirit was just too cute. Looking at the muscular, gruff, easy-to-anger, heavily scarred and battle-worn seventeen-year-old boy next to her, it was so hard to picture what an innocent, small, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed four-year-old Bakugou was like. Probably just the same arrogant leader he was now but in miniature, which was a hilarious thought all on its own. Maybe Deku had some pictures of the two of them together as kids; she'd have to ask him eventually.
"Shut it, Cheeks," he mumbled loud enough for only her to hear as he bumped her shoulder with his own.
Deku started the movie and within a minute or two they were all quietly watching, everyone entranced immediately. That is, everyone except for Bakugou who was mostly just scrolling on his phone, not paying much attention to the girl on the screen. But Ochako couldn't complain; he had come, after all, and was actually acting on his (almost) best behavior, which was more than she could have hoped for.
Ochako tried to focus on the movie, too, but it was really hard when Bakugou's very warm, very muscular arm was flush against hers. The contact did ground her a little bit, but it was also a constant reminder of all the thoughts cycling through her head. It was taking all of her self-control not to look at him, so it was a while before she noticed he had stopped scrolling, the phone in his hand having gone dark as his eyes locked on the movie. He was actually invested! She couldn't help but quietly giggle to herself, glad that he was enjoying the magical adventure taking place on the screen. Trying to move as little as possible she reached into her pocket and pulled out her own phone.
Ochako 18:17
Do you like the movie?
She could feel him turn towards her, but she kept her eyes forward on the screen and her expression as neutral as possible.
Bakugou :( 18:17
It's a dumb kids movie
Ochako 18:17
That's not a no (๑ ᴗ ๑)
Bakugou :( 18:18
Piss off, Cheeks
Some of the spirits are sorta cool
Ochako 18:18
Have you seen it before?
Bakugou :( 18:18
Yeah
Ochako 18:19
What's your favorite Studio Ghibli movie?
Bakugou :( 18:19
None of them
Ochako 18:19
Come on, I know you have a favorite (๑ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ๑)
It was a little while before his next message, and she had started to think he wasn't going to answer anymore, but her phone vibrated after a few minutes.
Bakugou :( 18:23
Don't send me that shit it's fucking terrifying
Princess Mononoke isn't completely stupid I guess
Ochako 18:24
What, you don't like my emoticons? (๑┳Д┳๑) Sorry I don't have any fancy emojis like you
I like Princess Mononoke too, it's very powerful
We could watch that one next time!
If you still wanna come I mean
Bakugou :( 18:25
(๑ ᴗ ๑) looks like you, Pink Cheeks
(๑ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ๑) looks like a fucking serial murderer
Next time we better watch something actually fucking good
Ochako 18:25
(๑ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ๑)(๑ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ๑)(๑ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ๑) So there will be a next time? Is THE Dynamight really admitting he likes hanging out with us?
Bakugou :( 18:26
If you really want to die keep sending that shit
Ochako 18:26
It's ok, my ghost can still haunt you if I'm dead (๑⊙ ᴗ ⊙๑)
Even though he tried to cover it with a cough, she definitely heard him snort next to her.
Bakugou :( 18:27
FUCKING STOP WITH THOSE
Same question
Ochako 18:27
Which question?
Bakugou :( 18:27
Do you have a favorite one of these dumb movies or whatever
Ochako 18:28
Oh, Totoro obviously! He's so soft and round and fluffy, I wish I could have a huge Totoro bed to just lay on all day! But everyone watched that when we were out for your birthday last weekend because Todoroki had never seen it before. I think he really liked it, or at least he really liked Catbus
Again, she had to wait a few minutes for his response, but when it came she could have sworn her heartbeat was louder than Present Mic himself.
Bakugou :( 18:31
We can watch it together, without these extras
She took a risk and glanced at him for just a second. He was making it a point to not look at her, his attention back on the movie, but with the very faint light coming from the screen she thought his face looked just as red as hers felt.
Ochako 18:32
Okay
Notes: I struggled a bit with the beginning of this chapter. I know how I think Ochako is feeling, but getting the words out was a little difficult.
We've seen her in the manga/anime get flustered about her crush on Deku and overthink small things (ie; when they all go shopping together and she's nervous to be alone with him, whenever she's confronted about it, etc.) so I wanted to take that aspect and amplify it while still trying to stay within her character. In this story, her crush on Deku was just a small crush, but she clearly has much stronger feelings for Bakugou. Therefore, her reaction should be a more intense version of how she reacted to realizing she liked Deku in canon. I hope that came across well and wasn't too confusing or too ooc. I did my best! There's a deleted scene from this chapter that I've posted as a separate one-shot, so check that if you want a short, silly, class-1A nonsense scene. Also, Deku is the #1 Kacchako fan. Fight me.