Chapter 40 - Promise

Classes were in full swing and you found yourself doing homework with the whole squad, bent on them not all being the worst in the class every single semester. You also picked up your old routine with Bakugou as if nothing had ever changed, except for the kissing and the touching and the extracurricular activities. Those were all new and you were enjoying them fully.

Life truly seemed to go back to normal, well as normal as it could be in a superhero school, constantly thinking about a secret technology takeover. You still found yourself squirreling away napkin scraps and post-its covered in sudden flashes of inspiration. You'd convinced yourself that Saito-san and Hermes were connected and that the communication technology was to blame.

Maybe it's the channel? Maybe there's a switch? How do they get emergency responders only?

But you still couldn't puzzle how the stone was triggered or how to reverse the effects. You sat on your bed after classes hunting through your old notebooks, trying to compile your thoughts.

If I can just see everything laid out in front of me, I'll be able to put the pieces together—

A tap at the door pulled you from your concentration. Bakugou stood in the doorway, an annoyed expression on his face. You looked down and continued shuffling your papers.

"What are you doing?" he said at last.

"Work. I think I'm really close to figuring something out..." your statement faded into jumbled mutterings.

"Take a break." He was in front of you, scooping some of the papers into his arms.

"Hey! No. Give those back. I really think I'm onto something."

"You've been saying that for two weeks. You're going to go blind from looking at these." You stared up at him pouting and held out your hand.

"Give me my papers back," you said sternly.

"Take a fucking break Ashtray!" He swiped a few more scraps off your comforter and you glared daggers at him. When he didn't hand the papers back you contemplated poking him in the eye with your smoke, but that would probably just result in him blowing up all your work.

You took a deep breath. "Fine..." you acquiesced in a huff, crossing your arms in front of you. "What did you have planned?"

"Oh, I don't want to hang out with you." This tone was snide. You scrunched your nose at his response.

"Well, fuck you then." You lobbed a weak kick at his kneecaps which he easily sidestepped.

"I mean go for a walk. Listen to music with Ears. Take a bath. I don't give a fuck but get out of this room. You're gonna go nuts." You looked around your room. It was still the boring box you'd moved into months ago. Other than a white bedding set you'd purchased a week after arriving you hadn't done much in terms of décor. The photographs of your family and friends from America were quickly becoming overrun with snapshots of you and your classmates, and now all these notes, but other than that, the room was plain. If you were being honest with yourself, to get out this room and out of your own head would be good for you.

"I guess a bath could be nice." You stood from the bed and Bakugou dropped the papers back onto the comforter. You appreciated that even with his rough snatch he hadn't seemed to have bent any of the pages. The boy stood with a victorious smirk on his face.

From your small bathroom you picked up your shower kit and slippers. Then digging in your closet, you pulled out a royal purple flowered yukata to walk back to your room in. You couldn't believe they weren't mainstream in America. They were the robe of real clothing, so comfortable, yet fashionable. Last, you opened the top drawer of your dresser and found a pair of black underwear, taking your time pulling them from the pile so Bakugou could see.

"You sure you don't want to join me?"

"You know I can't go in there you goddamn tease." He tried to grab your hips, but you pivoted out of his way. You swung the underwear around your index finger.

"Too bad. I'm just going to get all sudsy and wet." You could almost hear Bakugou's growl from across the room. You pocketed the panties and walked out the door.

***

You headed down the stairs toward the baths. As you approached the lounge, you heard a noisy scramble on the couches.

"Look natural!" Mina whisper shouted.

"I don't think Denki sitting on me looks natural," Sero hissed.

"Neither does the way Kiri's crossed his legs," Kaminari said louder than the rest.

You eyed the squad as you passed the trio of green couches.

"Hi [y/n]. Fancy seeing you here." Kirishima beamed at you, his voice too high and chipper. You furrowed your brow.

"Why do you all seem weird and guilty?"

"Weird? We're not weird. When have we ever been weird?" Mina awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of her neck. Your gaze bounced from her to Kaminari half sitting on Sero's lap and finally to Kirishima who kept switching which knee rested atop the other.

"Right..." you said suspiciously. "Just whatever you're doing, try not to break anything or set something on fire. Aizawa will get pissed again."

"HA! As if we would do something like that!" Sero joined in on the awkward laugh.

"You guys literally broke the refrigerator last week by trying to shove Denki inside."

"In my defense I didn't expect it to get dark when the door was closed. I got scared and just happened to short circuit it." Sero pushed Kaminari off his lap, trying to distance himself from the idiocy.

"I'm going to pretend like I didn't see you so I can't be an accomplice." You rolled your eyes at your friends and made your way to the baths.

***

You felt so refreshed. The tension that you'd unknowingly been holding in your neck and shoulders had ebbed away. You'd somehow found it almost easy to clear your mind and just enjoy the warm water. To pamper yourself a bit you'd added rose oil to the bath water and now smelled faintly of a wonderful bouquet.

Wrapping the yukata around yourself, you looked in the mirror. Your hair was piled in a high bun to keep it out of the water, and your cheeks had a rosy glow from the heat of the bath. The yukata hugged your curves nicely once tied in place. You shuffled into your slippers and grabbed the rest of your old clothes and toiletries to head back to your room.

As you made your way back upstairs, you noticed the squad was no longer in the lounge. At least whatever they'd been planning hadn't resulted in the fire alarm going off.

Approaching your door on the fifth floor, you saw it was slightly ajar. You quietly placed down your clothes and toiletries and slid off your slippers, just in case you'd need to use the smoke out of your feet. You tightened the sash around the yukata and slowly made your way to the room, wary.

I swear to God, if Monoma is stealing shit again...

You lit the fingers on your right hand as you pushed the door open gingerly with the left and froze.

Your room had been transformed in just the half hour you'd been away. Your bed was pushed below your window, billowy white curtains framing the headboard. Several candles were lit on each flat surface which flickered in the otherwise darkening room. Your dresser was pushed to the left corner closest to the door and your desk to the corner on the right. This left the entirely of your right wall open and visible, now covered floor to ceiling, wall to wall in a life-size image of the sunrise from the beach house.

You extinguished your fingers as you dropped your guard, speechless. Tentatively stepping into the room you scanned every surface but ultimately landed back on the sunrise. You thoughtfully touched the paper on the wall, your fingers floating over the yellows, oranges and blues, all flowing into each other as they danced between clouds and reflected off the shimmering waves.

You exhaled, not realizing you were holding your breath. You heard the faintest shuffle from the door and looked away from the wall. Bakugou stood with his hands in his pockets, a soft smile on his face.

"Katsuki..." you finally breathed out. "How did you?" You couldn't even finish your question as your attention was once again captured by the expansive sky. Bakugou closed the door behind him as he entered the room, coming to stand beside you.

"Well, your room always sucked-" you pouted up at him, playfully annoyed- "and it seemed this was your favorite thing to see. So, I figured you should see it every day." You looked into his crimson eyes, flickering with the candlelight dancing around the room.

"But how? How did you give me the sky?"

"You snore like a dinosaur and always woke me up. I started taking pictures every morning before your alarm went off. This one was my favorite."

"I DO NOT SNORE!" You ineffectually swatted at him.

"Oh, I assure you, you do. But it's cute so I'll allow it." He smiled down at you, a kind, open smile you seldom saw from the guarded, angry boy. It was one of those rare looks that only you were privy to. It made your heart swell.

"You surprise me. I didn't peg you for being able to pull off romance." You found yourself staring at the sunrise. Bakugou pulled back a bit, appearing affronted.

"I CAN BE FUCKING ROMANTIC!" You chuckled.

"Kitten, you can be impulsive and sexy and spontaneous, but romantic is not an adjective I would have given you."

"YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW!"

"Your screaming at me is definitely romantic," you teased.

"I hate you."

"You love me." Bakugou opened his mouth to say something but then quickly closed it, opting instead to simply pull you into a kiss. Your arms easily wrapped themselves around his neck.

The next moment you were literally swept off your feet as Bakugou lifted you from the floor and carried you to the bed, placing you down only to hover over you. The kiss that had started sweet and innocent quickly built in passion. You deepened the kiss, your hands travelling down his chest.

You smiled into his lips as you felt the sash of your yukata slowly coming undone. Before he could finish, your fingers found the hem of his shirt. Barely breaking the kiss, Bakugou ripped the garment from his torso. You ran your hands up and down his chest and along his back, wanting to feel him closer.

The sash came undone, now only the fabric of the robe covering you. Bakugou went to move the cloth but you blocked him. He pulled away, his eyes concerned at your refusal. With a mischievous smirk you hooked your thumbs on his belt, trailing closer and closer to the buckle. He didn't stop you as you undid the clasp and unzipped his jeans. You bit your lip coyly as you inched the pants down slowly, the top of his dark boxers coming into view. You traced the deep grooves of muscle from his hips to the top of his boxers and the boy shuddered. You could hear the anticipation in his ragged breathing. He wanted you to touch him.

"DID SHE LIKE IT?!" Kirishima burst through the door, quickly followed by the rest of the squad. Everyone froze. You dropped your hands and looked down, praying you weren't exposed at all.

"Bro, at least put a sock on the door," Sero broke the painful silence with an even more painful statement.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!!!" Bakugou's face was red. The vein in his neck was pulsing and his palms started to pop. You were sure your face was also flushed but you merely covered your mouth with your hand trying not to laugh.

"You can't tell us to go. It's [y/n]'s room. Oh, and cute undies Blasty," Mina said, too clueless to understand she'd just signed her own death warrant. Bakugou's eye started to twitch.

"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!" You pinched the bridge of your nose and helplessly motioned for your friends to back out of the room before Bakugou destroyed your lovely new décor.

"Fine. Fine! Carry on!" Kirishima winked, ushering the rest of the squad out of your room.

"Sorry to cockblock you [y/n]!" Kaminari called out as Sero closed the door. You were fairly certain you heard Kirishima scold Kaminari before their animated chatter bounced down the hall away from your room.

Bakugou still looked stunned and angry. But with your friends out of the room you couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS SO FUNNY?!" You tied the yukata sash back around your waist and guided your angry boyfriend to sit on the bed beside you.

"The squad really knows how to kill a mood, don't they?" You continued to chuckle to yourself. Your attitude seemed to sooth Bakugou's rage slightly. You rested your head on his shoulder, once again admiring the sunrise.

"Fucking idiots," he hissed under his breath.

"Fucking idiots who helped you do this amazingly sweet thing Kitten." Your voice was soft. You heard him 'tsk'.

"I didn't even say it before but thank you Katsuki." You looked up into his eyes. "I love..." I could say it. I've known for a while. And this is just the sweetest thing I could even imagine. "it."

You goddamn chicken! You can pull his pants down, but you can't say how you feel!? You disappoint me young lady.

"Good."

"But it's not my favorite thing to see every day." Bakugou's brows furrowed.

"But I thought..."

"You are. When I see you, my whole world gets a little brighter. I get butterflies and I can't help but smile. You are my favorite thing."

"You can't just say shit like that." Bakugou turned away, his cheeks growing rosy at your honesty.

"Of course I can." You kissed him gently and snuggled back into his shoulder to stare at your sky.

***

"Bakugou."

You and Bakugou glanced over your shoulders in unison. Aizawa was walking down the hall toward you as you returned to the classroom after lunch. Bakugou turned around fully to address his teacher, his bag slung over his back.

"I just got a call from the Endeavor hero agency. They want you back for another work study for the semester," Aizawa's bored voice drawled in the clearing hallway.

"Just me?" Bakugou questioned, taking a quick glance in your direction.

"They want a partner patrol unit." Aizawa followed Bakugou's gaze to you. "So, I guess you can go together. Patrols will be during the day. You'll have to make up any lost class time."

"Not a problem sensei," you chimed in, excited to do hero work again.

"Bakugou, head to class. I'd like to speak with [l/n] for a moment." Aizawa's dark eyes were quietly compelling. Bakugou furrowed his brow but turned and headed toward the room.

You stood innocently swaying your bag in front of you, wondering what more Aizawa would have to say. Your fire was under control. You'd gotten even better at your jumps...

"Don't let him hold you back."

Well, that's not what I was expecting.

"What?"

"That boy, while admittedly difficult, is strong and powerful and will one day make a great hero." Your brow creased, confused. "You don't need to follow in his stride. You're just as strong and talented and smart as he is, maybe more-so. So, don't let him hold you back."

It was almost laughable to think that Bakugou could hold you back. All he ever did was push you forward. The second you surpassed him in something he was overtaking you, forcing you to do even more, never stagnating. While your relationship had clearly started with Bakugou always out in front, with you tagging along behind trying to best him, ever since the Sports Festival the gap had closed. And now you walked side by side, partners in so many ways.

Yet you found yourself smiling at Aizawa's thoughtful words. Sometimes you'd almost taken for granted how much time and energy your teacher had put into making you better and stronger. All the afternoons in the training rooms, that he'd compiled the Festival footage to help you bring out your fire. You knew for a fact he didn't do that for everyone.

"I won't sensei. I promise."

_________

[A/N]: I apologize for depriving y'all of more citrus fruits. Hope no one developed scurvy. Please remember to vote and comment if you didn't die from the secondhand embarrassment!