Chapter 8 - Ashtray

You let Kirishima exaggerate and embellish as much as he liked over the next few days as he told the story of your battle to anyone who would listen. You often caught him glancing over at you as if to persuade you to jump in with your side as well, but you decided to give him his moment. What he had said about not thinking his quirk was 'cool' enough hit you in a special place in your heart.

How can he not see how great he is?

***

You only had a few more days of patrolling for Fat Gum before Zipper came back from leave when Kirishima said, "Would you help me with something this weekend?"

"Sure. What for?" you asked as you took a bite of jerky. You were always starving after class.

"Well, it's Bakugou's birthday on Saturday." Your eyes lit up. "We didn't celebrate last year since we were all new and he scared everyone, but I was hoping to do something. He's my best bro after all."

"Oh my God, yes!" You nearly bounced up and down. You loved planning things like this. "Is it a surprise? Will there be cake? Should I make a cake? What's his favorite food?"

Maybe I'm hungrier than I thought.

"Didn't know you'd be so excited to do something nice for Bakugou. He hasn't exactly brought out the welcome wagon..." Kirishima trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

Bakugou had been even more antisocial since the movie outing. Todoroki had apologized the next day, but Bakugou had only threatened to kill him (par for the course) before locking himself in his room for the rest of the evening.

"I just want that boy to smile for once, without looking like he'll murder someone in the process." You were already making a list of supplies and food you'd need in your head while grinning to yourself.

"I assure you, he'll still look like he wants to kill us if we do this. But I think he'll secretly appreciate it." Kirishima could see you were clearly lost in your own thoughts. He watched you smile.

***

"Hey Satou," you called from the kitchen, "do you think I need more frosting on these?" You pointed to the cupcakes you'd been decorating. They were iced with black, orange and green to match Bakugou's hero costume. You'd used a piping tip that made it look like little explosions were emanating from the cakes.

"I think they look good," the large boy answered as he took a second batch out of the oven. "Just let these cool completely before you ice them, and I think we'll have enough for everyone."

"Plus some extras. I'm sure Kaminari and Sero will try to sneak a few," you said buoyantly. "Could you bring the finished ones to your room? I know you have a bigger refrigerator than the rest of us." Satou nodded, took the finished platter, and moved toward the elevator.

Now to start the curry.

Kirishima had told you that whenever the squad went out to eat, Bakugou would get the hottest curry on the menu and still complain that it was bland.

Challenge accepted.

You made a large pot of normal curry which everyone in the dorm could enjoy and a special smaller batch just for the birthday boy to destroy with as much pepper and spice as he wanted.

"What is that smell?" Ochako practically (actually?) floated into the kitchen on the sweeping aroma of herbs and tender meat. Izuku followed her, peering around the space.

"Don't say anything, but tomorrow is Bakugou's birthday. So I'm making dinner and dessert. Kiri has some other stuff planned for entertainment," you half-whispered with a bright smile.

"Kacchan?" Izuku said. "Are you sure about this? He probably won't like it."

"It'll be all about him, and he can't get enough of himself with that giant ego. I'm sure it will be fine," you said, waving off Izuku's worries.

"Need any help?" Ochako chimed in. You handed her a spoon.

***

"Bakugou will be with his parents until dinner. I asked his mom to keep him busy so we could set up," Kirishima said while filling balloons in the lounge. The space needed a more festive attitude. Curry and cake weren't enough to satisfy your party planning craving.

"You know his mom?" you asked, almost laughing.

"Mitsuki is the best." You heard Kaminari come around the corner. He was holding streamers. Sero was the tape.

"And you're on a first name basis?"

"She tells everyone to call her that," Kirishima said, taking out a ladder from the hall closet. "She doesn't take any of Bakugou's crap. It's hilarious watching them interact. I usually just sit back with his dad and watch their spats."

"What's his dad like?" You handed Kirishima some finished balloons as he scaled the ladder. He pulled three together in a bundle and attached them to the rafters above, steadily making it look like the ceiling was made of warm-toned rubbery clouds. If it looked too sparse, you could always ask Yaoyorozu to make more.

"Oh, Bakugou-san is super chill. Not an angry bone in his body." You wondered how he could stand being in a house with so much screaming.

***

It took the better part of the afternoon to set up the ground floor with decorations, find games to play, and finish making the curry. You were fairly impressed at how it had all come together on such short notice. The bright orange balloons and streamers clashed horribly with the green carpet and walls of the lounge area, but you smiled nonetheless.

"Everyone hide! He's coming up the street!" Shouji was on lookout duty. All your classmates crouched behind couches, the kitchen peninsula, the dining tables and even a few curtains. You stayed tucked next to Kirishima, who was hidden by a large fake plant.

Bakugou pushed open the door to the dorm building. He was wearing dark jeans and his signature black skull T-shirt. His head was down as he stared, engrossed in something on his phone.

"SURPRISE!!!!" The exclamation echoed off the walls as everyone popped from their hiding places. On instinct, Bakugou sent an explosion toward the living space.

On second thought, I should have known that would happen.

Bakugou blinked his eyes and lowered his hand as he realized he didn't actually have to fight.

"Um, Happy Birthday Bakugou..." you said tentatively, as you extricated yourself from the plant, your hands held up in a 'please-don't-shoot' gesture. You quickly pulled in the smoke released from the explosion so the detector wouldn't go off.

"What the f-"

"We wanted to throw you a party man!" Kirishima perked up.

"No," Bakugou said as he started heading toward the stairs.

"C'mon bro. Just humor us. We decorated and everything. We have food and games." Kirishima grasped Bakugou's forearm before spinning him toward the party. He draped his arm across the explosive boy's shoulders. "And presents!" You heard a loud 'tsk' before Bakugou's fight seemed to dampen.

"Well fuckin' feed me first. I'm starving," was all he said as he shoved his phone into his back pocket and sat down at the table. Everyone started scampering around to find seats. Kirishima and Sero helped pass out bowls while Mina and Kaminari left to grab the presents. You went to the kitchen to pull the warm curry off the burner. You dished curry into all the bowls in front of your classmates from the large silver pot. The room began to fill with chatter.

"And a special curry just for the birthday boy," you said sweetly, putting the steaming bowl in front of Bakugou.

"Wait, you made this? Fuck that," he said looking at the food. It did smell good, even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Oh, c'mon. I know you ate the breakfast I left you. You can't hate my cooking that much." You placed a spoon smugly next to the bowl and heard the familiar 'tsk' before he reluctantly grabbed the spoon, dug in and brought the food to his lips.

"If this is shit, you'll have ruined my birthday, you know that right Ashtray?"

"Understood," you said with mock seriousness. The boy took a bite. You watched a small smile form on his lips before he returned to his comfortable scowl.

"It doesn't suck."

***

After dinner you broke into smaller groups to play games. Other than Bakugou blowing up the marker during Pictionary when Kaminari couldn't guess 'toaster oven' from his drawing, the blond boy actually appeared to be having a good time.

"Satou!" you chimed as you remembered the cupcakes were in his room.

"I grabbed them earlier. They're in the refrigerator." You gave a thumbs up and headed to the kitchen.

"Somebody hit the lights!" you shouted from over your shoulder. Tokoyami obliged. "And get Bakugou to sit down!" Kirishima directed the boy back to the head of the table.

You pulled up from behind the refrigerator door with a mass of cupcakes all piled onto a large silver tray. You had arranged the black and orange into the familiar 'X' of Bakugou's hero costume and kept the green cupcakes toward the edges to mimic his gauntlets. In the center of the 'X' was one thin, white candle.

You placed the tray in front of Bakugou before lighting one of your fingertips and holding it to the candle's wick. The candle's flame danced between both your faces, the light reflected in Bakugou's crimson eyes. Kirishima started to sing and as the rest of the class joined in to "Happy Birthday", Bakugou's wry expression softened.

The song ended. Kaminari immediately started chanting, "Are you 1, are you 2..." before Sero shot a piece of tape across his mouth.

"Make a wish," you said softly. Bakugou looked up at you, a small but genuine smile on his lips.

I guess that'll have to do for a smile without looking like you'll murder someone you aggressive punk.

He took a long pause before he pulled in a breath and blew the candle out.

***

The class had broken into smaller groups again, some playing games, others just talking at the tables. The cupcake supply was dwindling quickly. You snatched one up before you missed your chance and sat down on the couch to enjoy.

Just as you had removed the delicate paper around the base of the sweet Bakugou plopped down next to you and sighed. He threw his legs onto the coffee table, currently covered in bits of ripped wrapping paper and half opened boxes from his presents - a new black T-shirt, a pair of gloves for the weight room, and a set of drum pad covers (he had kept a drum kit in his room after the student carnival from the year before) among them.

"Are you enjoying your party?" you asked.

"There's too many extras here, but it's not horrible." You could tell he was being abrasive just to keep up appearances. "What did you put in the curry?" His question surprised you.

"Well, when Kiri mentioned you like it really spicy, I put in jalapenos, some sriracha, and a boatload of chili oil."

"It was good."

"Do my ears deceive me? A compliment from Mr. Bakugou Katsuki?" You clutched your chest playfully.

"Don't let it go to your head Ashtray." You chuckled and took a bite of the cupcake you were still holding.

"Tsk." You turned to face the blond boy. "Stay still, you idiot." With no hesitation, Bakugou leaned over and wiped your nose softly. A small blob of green was left on his finger. You looked up from the icing, suddenly so close to his face. You inhaled when his scarlet eyes didn't turn away. Warmth rose in your chest and you could tell your cheeks were getting flushed. Your gaze drifted down to his lips.

"[Y/n] what are you planning to do with the leftover curry?" Izuku's voice snapped you from the moment. He was holding the large pot awkwardly.

"Oh, I'll take care of it!" you said, your voice a bit too high to sound natural. You quickly stood from the couch. "Um...thanks for, um..." You found a napkin on the coffee table and handed it to Bakugou to wipe off his finger.

"No need." He stood up as well, sucking on the now clean finger. You bit your lip but kept your eyes down. You couldn't get caught in his stare again. Turning toward Izuku who held out the pot, you briskly made your way to the kitchen.

"Another game of Pictionary?" The blond boy wore a satisfied smirk as Kirishima clapped him on the back.

"Sure thing Shitty Hair." Bakugou grabbed an open bag of chips from Kirishima's other hand, tipping it vertically and swallowing all the crumbs before shoving the bag back into the redhead's chest and walking toward the flip chart in the center of the lounge. Kirishima crumpled the empty bag against his heart, hoping he had misjudged the interaction between the two of you.

***

The evening was filled with laughter. Sero had managed to find a karaoke machine, Mina was trying to teach everyone new dance moves, and Iida and Izuku were discussing the riveting strategy associated with playing sugoroku. At some point Kaminari had tried to convince everyone to play spin the bottle. Your gaze instinctively shot toward the birthday boy.

Not today Satan.

That's when you took your leave. You didn't need to think about Bakugou's lips more than once. You said goodnight to your friends before heading up the stairs.

"Hey Ashtray." You spun around on the third step at the sound of your unfortunate nickname. Bakugou had one hand on the banister, the other scratched the back of his neck. He looked almost uncomfortable. "Thanks."

You hummed your acknowledgement, trying not to make a big deal of it, or the boy was likely to get embarrassed and scream at you. He looked up at you and your small affirmation, his gaze locking onto your soft smile.

"Anytime." You walked up two more stairs before turning back. "Happy Birthday Bakugou."

***

Bakugou was exhausted. He was up way past his bedtime. He trudged up to the fourth floor toward his room and sleepily opened his door, only to hear a slight 'clunk'. Looking down, he noticed a small object wrapped in blue paper. He leaned down and picked it up, bringing it into his room as he closed the door behind him.

It was heavy for such a small package. He peeled off the paper and stared at the object. The basin was smooth and jet black with green veining running through the entirety of its surface, making it look like electricity spread through the dark background. The edges were crimped up with a thin band of gold on the rim.

"Shitty girl," he weakly laughed. "She got me an ashtray."