Chapter 34 - Hell Yeah

"Ashtray." Bakugou opened your door without knocking. You jumped, your homework scattered across your bed.

"Really you asshole? What if I was getting dressed!?"

"That would have been nice." He smirked, leaning against the doorframe. You threw a pillow at his head. He batted it away easily and laughed.

"What do you want?" You narrowed your eyes at him, trying to hide how much your cheeks flushed at the thought of him seeing you exposed.

"Dress like a girl on Saturday," he said. You raised your eyebrow quizzically.

"And why would I do that?" The explosive blond huffed in annoyance.

"There's a summer carnival a couple towns over and I don't want you looking like a homeless troll." He scratched the back of his neck and averted eye contact, looking much less suave than a moment ago.

"Bakugou Katsuki, are you asking me on a date?" you teased, rising from the bed.

"I JUST THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE RIDES! BUT IF YOU DON'T THEN JUST DON'T FUCKING COME OKAY!?" You could tell he wasn't comfortable putting himself out there and decided to put him out of his misery.

"I'd like to go to the carnival with you Katsuki." You saw his shoulders drop slightly, the tenseness ebbing away. "But I'm not wearing a skirt. I don't need some old perv looking up while I ride a rollercoaster."

"I'd kill them." His cocky smile was back.

"I know you would, and I don't need you going to jail." You closed the distance between you. "Now get out of here. I have work to do." You gave him a quick peck on the cheek and slowly closed the door.

***

Saturday quickly approached and you found yourself standing next to Bakugou in line at the ticket booth for the carnival. You'd opted to wear skinny jeans, a simple army green top, and white tennis shoes. You'd worn some light makeup and let your hair fall naturally down your back to ensure you looked like enough of a 'girl'.

Bakugou had chosen to wear black jeans and a light denim button down over a black tank. You imagined he must be melting in such dark colors in the middle of June but didn't comment aloud. 

The man in the ticket booth took your wrist and wrapped a neon orange band around it before doing the same to Bakugou. You reached for your wallet but Bakugou pushed your hand away, placing the bills into the man's till.

"Thanks," you said as you entered under the large archway.

"You thought I was going to make you pay for everything when I asked you on a date?" He 'tsk'ed.

"Technically, you didn't ask me on a date. You asked me to dress like a girl." You nudged into his shoulder with your own. He rolled his eyes.

"What do you wanna do first Ashtray?" You scanned around the open field. There were booths set up for games where you could win a prize. There were a dozen or so rides that had been brought in on trucks and set up the night before, making them super unsafe and therefore super fun. A roller coaster lined the back of the field - nothing to write home about, as it was mainly aimed at children. A large funhouse painted with contrasting colors and covered with mirrors was to your right and a line of food stalls dotted the grass to your left.

"I think it's usually smart to ride the rides before you eat. Just in case you're prone to throwing up," you said heading toward an especially vomit inducing ride called the Tilt-A-Whirl.

"I don't throw up." You raised an eyebrow.

"Sure you don't."

"Fuck you. I bet I can ride that thing ten times and not get sick."

"You're on."

"What do I get when I win?" Bakugou smirked down at you as the ride operator pointed you toward your car.

"I'll buy you a karaage plate." You stuck your tongue out.

"That's not a good enough prize." You pulled the safety bar in front of your stomach. Incoherent safety instructions were given over a speaker. The car began moving in a lazy circle.

"Two karaage plates?" you joked before the car jerked sharply to the left. You were immediately sandwiched between Bakugou and the wall of the car. The car spun faster and faster, his weight pressing against your side.

The ride ended a minute later, and you walked off a bit sore but laughing. Bakugou looked a little green.

"You don't have to ride it nine more times." You straighten his shirt, having been scrunched against your side.

"I said I would." He puffed up his chest, ready to take on the challenge.

"And I appreciate you want to win a bet, but you're not going to be a lot of fun if you get sick and can't walk in a straight line." You grabbed his hand. "Let's ride something else."

Bakugou looked at you. He couldn't believe he was giving in. You saw the fight leave his eyes and smiled brightly. You dragged him over toward the swinging pirate ship.

***

Two hours later you'd ridden every ride in the park, some several times. Bakugou seemed to love smashing into you on the bumper cars and you thoroughly loved watching him get jumpy in the haunted house, although he did almost blow the head off an animatronic vampire.

"Where to next?" you asked, taking a bite of a giant crepe filled with whipped cream.

"Fun house." Bakugou pointed at the wacky building before bending down and taking an equally large bite of your snack.

"Hey! If you'd wanted some you could have gotten your own!" you pouted and shoved him a few feet away.

"But it tastes better if you eat someone else's," he responded, pushing you back, but grabbing your hand as you pretended to dramatically walk off.

You got on the line for the fun house. A sign above the entrance read 'no food or drink allowed'. You quickly shoved the rest of the crepe into your mouth.

"God, you're just so fucking sexy," he deadpanned.

"Shud Ub," you said, your mouth full of dough. He scoffed. You managed to swallow after some aggressive chewing. "I don't like to waste food." The pair of you moved up the line.

"There are two routes through the fun house." You heard the operator mention to the couple ahead of you. You smirked up at Bakugou. He smirked back down at you.

"Do I sense a race?" you said wickedly.

"I'm going to crush you Ashtray."

"In your dreams."

The operator looked at you warily as you set your feet to run. "Ready?" Bakugou asked. You felt your pulse quicken. You nodded. "Go!"

You sprinted from the exterior starting point and into the right path of the Fun House. You zigzagged through the warping mirrors, crashing into your own reflection twice. The house became a series of warped floors and optical illusions, leading you to believe you should run to the right when the floor actually sloped down and to the left. You ducked under imaginary banisters and hit your head on ones painted to match the ceiling. The last section consisted of swings and ropes that appeared to drop into water or nothingness. Some ropes couldn't hold any weight and sagged at your touch. Others that appeared to have give were as firm as tent poles. You maneuvered your way as quickly as possible through the maze and down the stairs to the fresh night air outside.

You scanned around and didn't see Bakugou but heard a string of profanity emanating from the left door. You decided to add insult to injury and jogged directly in front of his exit and pretended that you'd been waiting there a long time, tapping your toe and staring at your watch. He appeared only a second later.

"Goddamn clown, fucking assholes..." he mumbled as he walked over to you pouting.

"I bet my side was just way easier." You patted his head patronizingly. He pulled away and scowled at you.

"WE'RE GONNA DO IT AGAIN!" Bakugou grabbed your wrist and started pulling you to the line once more. You dug your heels into the grass, bringing him to a stop.

"Can't we just experience it together? It actually looked pretty cool if I wasn't sprinting through." Your tone was warm and sweet. You swung the arm that he was still grabbing coyly. "Please?"

"Fine," Bakugou huffed.

"Thank you." You rose on your toes and pecked him on the cheek. A dusting of pink spread across his face.

"I told you to cut that cheek shit out," Bakugou grumbled.

"We are in public you kinky bastard. Be happy with what you get."

When you walked out of the right exit of the Fun House a few minutes later you were both laughing and discussing all the twists and turns. You went in again to repeat the left side.

***

The sun had set, and the lights of the carnival glittered around you. You held Bakugou's hand as you wandered the grounds and nibbled on more snacks. He kept releasing your hand and wiping his sweat on his pants, adorably not wanting to accidentally hurt you with his explosive quirk.

Stomachs full, you tried your luck at some of the booth games before the carnival closed. You had to smile and reassure passersby that everything was fine as Bakugou screamed 'DIE!' as he threw balls at milk cartons in order to win you a stuffed cat. You picked out a small orange one and decided to name it 'King Explosion Murder' much to the boy's chagrin.

"What do you think for a nickname? Just King? Just Murder?" You held the cuddly cat up to Bakugou's face. "Katsuki, what should [y/n] call me?" you cooed in a high-pitched baby voice. You heard the familiar 'tsk' and giggled. You tucked the cat behind your back as you neared the exit.

"You know we never agreed on my prize for winning the Fun House race," you said skipping in front of Bakugou so you could walk backwards to face him.

"I got you the fucking cat, whose nickname should definitely be Murder by the way." He pointed at the stuffed animal, a scowl still on his face, remembering his loss.

"I want a different prize," you said flirtatiously. Bakugou lifted an eyebrow. You stopped walking as the boy moved closer to you. You wrapped your arms around Bakugou's neck, the stuffed cat tickling his exposed skin, and pulled his face down to yours. The moment your lips touched your senses heightened. You heard every noise of the carnival, the calls of the ride operators, the dings of the booth games, the classical music emanating from the carousel. The multicolored lights seemed to create a bubble around only the two of you. You felt the pressure of his mouth, asking your lips to part. You could taste the mix of sweet and salty treats on his tongue as his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer until you finally broke the kiss.

"I thought you said you wouldn't do that in public." 

"You forget that I am a very complex creature." Bakugou leaned in again but you stopped him. A large group of children had just turned the corner. He growled at their tiny forms.

"Thank you for making me dress like a girl today Katsuki. I had a lot of fun," you said, grinning up at the explosive boy.

"Yeah. Well, you don't suck," Bakugou said, releasing your waist and scratching the back of his neck. You rolled your eyes but took his hand, heading away from the colorful lights.

***

You still held Bakugou's hand as you hopped off the train. At some point you'd convinced him to carry Murder. He looked adorable toting around a stuffed cat.

"So, if my calculations are correct, I believe we're even now," you said as you crossed back onto UA's campus.

"Even?"

"Our debts are settled. We had the high heel bet, and then the Fun House. The Tilt-A-Whirl was a wash." You counted on your fingers. "So, I think we're even now."

"Are you forgetting about the favor you owe me?" Bakugou's tone was full of cockiness.

"I think you ignoring me for six days is equal pay for that favor," you challenged.

"I ignored you because you kissed my best friend!" He crossed his arms over his chest as he walked, the cat dangling from his left hand.

"That was a misunderstanding and you know it! You just couldn't use your words!" You crossed your own arms over your chest and stood your ground.

"You're infuriating."

"You're impossible."

"You're a pain in the ass."

"You're just an ass."

"You're a mama's girl."

"And you're a giant nerd."

"Take that back."

"Oh, that's the one you have an issue with?! Absolutely not Mr. I go to bed at 8:30 and have some of the best grades in the class," you said with an air of superiority. He broke his composure and ran at you, picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder.

"What the fuck?! Let me down!" You pounded ineffectually on his back, giggling.

"Not until you say I'm not a nerd."

"Then I guess I live up here now," you teased, but your eyes widened when you saw where you were. Bakugou began walking up the stairs to the dorm. "Fuck. Katsuki put me down. Put me down now!" you hissed at his back.

"Why would I do that?" It was his turn to feel smug.

"People don't know about... you know..." Your voice was pleading, and a fresh dusting of pink covered your cheeks.

Bakugou kicked in the tall front door causing the large number of people in the common room to jump. All heads turned toward the door and a few mouths dropped at seeing you slung over Bakugou's shoulder. He strode confidently toward the stairs.

"What the fuck are all you shitty extras looking at?" You helplessly waved to your fellow classmates from over Bakugou's back.

"Do you need help [y/n]?" Izuku asked innocently, looking up from the checkers game he was playing with Iida.

"Fuck you Deku. Don't talk to my girlfriend." Eyes widened, including your own at his words. Your face burned red. You bit your lip. Bakugou only smirked as he carried you up the stairs.

"Hell yeah!" You heard Kirishima shout from the floor below before a hum of excitable chatter filled the space. You pinched the bridge your nose and laughed.