Chapter 5 - Overnight

Bakugou was always first to arrive and last one to leave at UA.

In the mornings, he was able to have most of the gym to himself. Occasionally Kirishima would join him (without asking), and though he made a good workout buddy, he preferred to be on his own. All Might had installed fireproof top-quality punching bags that year.

He laid in hit after hit, sweat dripping down his chest and back. His knuckles screamed at him to take it easy, but he refused. With each smack of the bag, a tiny bit of his frustration faded. He went for longer today from the frustration of losing his gauntlets. It wasn't really Kirishima's fault. Maybe Y/N made a good point about the quality, but he would never admit that. Katsuki didn't like new people, but he acknowledged that Y/N may not be as horrible as some of the other losers. The tinker girl didn't take his shit, which was both infuriating and weirdly intriguing. Just a little.

An alarm from his phone beeped, which meant his workout was over. He took a step back from the punching back and tilted his head back, catching his breath. He sat down and cooled off, reading through the dozens of pointless texts from Kirishima.

Shitty Hair: hey bro u wanna get lunch today???? gang is meeting up later

Shitty Hair: will u check and see if Y/N is there?

Shitty Hair: don't have her number yet and mina says she didn't come home last night :/

Shitty Hair: get her number for me btw

Shitty Hair: if she's here

Shitty Hair: not like in a sex way lol just cause I have this funny vid she'd like

Bakugou rolled his eyes. Texts like this were constant, and not just with Bakugou; Kirishima loved being in constant contact with everyone around him. No wonder he made friends so easily.

Bakugou: I'll see if she's here. Not getting her number though. That's your fucking problem.

Shitty Hair: Pleeeeeaaaaaaase?????? :(((

Shitty Hair: I'll buy ur lunch later!!

Bakugou: God fine stop blowing up my phone

Shitty Hair: Hell yeah!!

After his shower, he dried off and checked the time. First period started in about 30 minutes, so he still had time to find Y/N for Eijirou. He made his way down to her workshop, scowling. Eijirou better fucking thank him for this.

When he reached the room, the door was open. He peeked inside and saw Y/N facedown on the workbench. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He sighed and stepped over to her. "Wake up."

Y/N's groaned, her head slowly rising. "What the hell..." she grumbled, obviously equally confused as Bakugou.

"Did you fucking sleep here?"

Reality seemed to hit and she shot up, processing her surroundings as she rubbed her eyes. "Shit, what time is it?"

"7:30."

"Oh my god," she croaked, burying her face in her hands. "Yeah. Yeah, I fucking slept here." She turned around to face him. "It was an accident. Don't tell anybody. God, this is embarrassing." Her face had marks all over from the table she slept on, and her hair was sporting was wild bedhead. She had oil (or grease, Bakugou couldn't tell the damn difference) on her cheeks.

"How the hell did you manage that?" He said, and a smile crept onto his face at her embarassment. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her. She was turning a deep shade of pink. Bakugou liked having the upper hand against her for once. "Your boyfriend was worried."

"Huh?"

"Kirishima," he grunted. "He's been bugging me all morning about how you didn't come home."

Y/N put her face into her hands again, groaning. "Fuck. He wanted me to work out with him. I didn't realize-- God, he's gonna to hate me."

Bakugou was thoroughly enjoying Y/N's misfortune. "Kirishima? He couldn't hold a grudge against anybody. Trust me. I've been pushing him away for years. That fucker wouldn't leave if you wanted him to."

Y/N didn't seem to be listening. She turned around to face the worktable again, looking around for something. "Where..." Bakugou rolled his eyes and plucked the pencil from behind her ear and set it on the table in front of her.

"Ah." Her cheeks flushed again. "Don't you dare fucking tell anyone about this," She said, jabbing an accusatory finger into his chest. "If anyone knew I slept here, it'd be over for me."

He swatted her hand away and snorted. "Don't tell me what to do. Why were you here so late?"

She sighed, pointing behind him at the corner of the room. Underneath a dim lamp light were his gauntlets, laid out in pieces and arranged perfectly. Next to them were several dozen sheets of crumpled up paper. Only a few sheets were still intact, and even then, the notes were a mess.

Bakugou walked over to get a better look. Seeing his gauntlets laid out like this was... weird. He'd never seen the insides of them before. It felt personal, and for a split second he didn't like that Y/N got to see it-- but then he glanced at the sheets of paper next to them.

There was a messy sketch of something that looked similar to his old gauntlets, but... different? The glove was thinner, and instead of grenades encompassing the outside, there were wires that lead to a thick metal band around his forearm. "Is this...?"

"The start of something, at least," she shrugged, joining him at the table. "The problem is I don't really know shit about you or your quirk, but you had already left before I could ask." She flicked his arm.

"What the hell else do you need to know about me?" He grunted.

"For starters, how your fucking quirk works! I only got here two days ago, dude. All I know is that you make explosions."

"What else is there to know?"

"I need to know how you make your explosions," Y/N said, throwing her arms up. "If you use oxygen, I need to allow for air flow. If it's skin contact, I need to create openings. If it's external, I can work on-- look, there's a hundred different reasons, I don't need to explain it. I just need to know what you know about it."

"Do you have to learn this much about everybody?" He didn't like being singled out like this.

"Depends on their quirk, honestly. I mean, Mina's is pretty straightforward. I just have to make her gear that's acid proof. Or Momo, she doesn't have any requirements other than aesthetic. You have one of the more complex quirks."

Bakugou was a little proud to hear that. "You mean the best quirk," he said smugly.

Y/N rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever."

"What, you doubt me? I could demolish you in a fight."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," she said, smiling down at her project. "I can't do shit without my equipment."

He was taken off guard at her lack of confidence. Where the hell did the snarky attitude go? "What's your quirk, anyway?"

Y/N paused. "It doesn't matter."

Bakugou scoffed. "The fuck kind of response is that? Just answer the damn question!"

"But--"

"Now, idiot!"

"I don't have one anymore! Fuck off."

Awkward silence. Anymore?

Y/N sighed and looked at her hands, defeated. She knew what he was thinking. "I lost it in a fight last year." When she made eye contact with him, she could see how uncomfortable he was. "It's not a big deal. I'm over it." It was an attempt to move on-- Clearly she didn't want to elaborate.

It was times like these when Bakugou wish he knew how to talk to people. Y/N was obviously upset, but he couldn't even begin to think of what to say. What do you say in a situation like that? Say something. Anything.

"Kirishima wants your number."

The fuck was that?

"Oh." She grabbed her pencil and wrote something down on one of the scribbled designs. Ripping it off, she handed it to Bakugou. "I need to get your measurements soon, by the way. I need to know how big your hands are."

"Big enough," he smirked, eyes connecting with hers, letting the joke set in.

Y/N looked confused for only a moment, then she gaped and punched his shoulder. "Fuck off! For the gauntlets!" Her face flushed again. He liked being able to make her do that.

"Get outta here before I clock you, dumbass," she mumbled.

"As if." He grabbed his back and left the room, trying to hide a smile.