Dare To Love You (Bakugo X Reader)

Chapter 18

I found Bakugo in the 1-A break room absently scribbling on the table he sat at with a stubby pencil.

"Hey! Congrats on your win!" I surveyed the grim shadow cast over his face. "You did win, right? I missed the match, but I saw a forlorn-looking Uruaka on my way here, so I kind of assum-"

With extraordinary speed, he sprung out of his chair and lunged towards me, making me step back and bump into the wall.

"What were you doing with Shitty Hair?!" he asked, menacingly looming over me as though I should cower in fear.

I nonchalantly pushed him and escaped from under him and sat down at the table. "Nothing concerning you!"

"Tell me, dammit!"

"Why do you need to know?" I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, trying to act chill.

There was no way I was going spill Kiri's secret that easily.

Slamming his hands down, he craned over the table, peering into my eyes, looking for a lie. His crimson stare bore into me and my palms became sweatier for every second he inspected me.

Not able to stand the tense eye contact any longer, my gaze skirted to the side.

"I knew it!" he finally retracted to his side of the table. "He tried to hit on you!"

It took me a moment to register his preposterous claim. My small giggle quickly escalated to full-on howling.

I glanced up at Bakugo. The surprise, confusion, embarrassment, and flustered anger that tormented features made my lungs seize up completely.

I wheezed fitted breath and slapped my knees repeatedly in hysteria.

At last, I caught my breath and recomposed myself.

"Whew . . . Okay. Let's unpack that. First of all, he was crying! Do you really think he was trying to lure me in?" I said, stifling a laugh.

Bakugo slumped into the chair opposite me. "I guess not . . ." The shame of his foolishness reddened his face, and he hung his head.

I reached across the table and took his hands in mine. "Bakugo. I can promise you that he has no romantic intentions with me."

He looked up at me with sparkling puppy dog eyes. "Are you sure?" he whimpered.

"Very sure," I chuckled, blushing at his rare moment of childlike innocence. "But if someone does try hitting on me, I'm sure I'll be able to handle myself," I assured.

He tensed up and spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm not worried about you not being able to handle yourself, I'm worried about them not being able to handle me."

"Bakugo!"

". . . Sorry," he relaxed and unclenched his fists.

We sat in comfortable silence and I focused on the way our hands tangled together. It looked relaxed, casual even, but that's not how it felt.

Sparks flew through my fingers as we touched and a shiver ran up my spine every time his thumb brush across the back of my hand.

Glancing up at Baku, I saw that an unhappy shadow still darkened his features. He was still upset about something.

". . .Hey," I squeezed his hands gently, alerting him. "What's on your mind?"

"Huh? Oh, n-nothing," he replied.

I wondered why he was hiding his feelings.

"You sure?" I asked, trying to coax the truth out of him.

He took a breath and put on a forced cheeky grin. "Just thinking about how I'm going to beat your ass out there."

I could only chuckle unenthusiastically. I'll admit that it stung to be lied to, but I understood why he did it. He was an extremely guarded person and I hoped that he would let me in. One day.

"I'm gonna go watch the battles in the stands," I said, and not waiting for a response, I slipped into the hallway.

~*~

Well, that was quick.

"Bakugo wins!" Midnight declared, waving her horsetail whip about.

I looked over at the screen that displayed the duration of the battle from where I lay, half of me still in bounds and half of me on the grassy out-of-bounds area.

'1:38.54' flashed in red.

I knew I was no match for Bakugo, but I thought I would last longer than that!

I took my blonde-haired opponent's outstretched hand. He helped me up, which I greatly appreciated, as I was still winded from being tossed out-of-bounds.

Taking advantage of my initial unbalance, Bakugo yanked me towards him by the waist. I stumbled into his arms, my hands landing on his chest.

He pulled me closer and put his lips at my ears. "I . . . win," he breathed, dragging out each word.

I loved how his voice made every hair stand on end, but I was also aware that the world was watching.

I pushed him away and attempted to cool my reddened cheeks with a gust of wind.

I was certain the cameras had caught our moment. Great, now I'm gonna have to hear about that from my mom.

As we headed towards the exit, Bakugo lean to my ear and muttered, "I have to tell you something."

Bakugo took my hand and led me out of the arena and through the halls until we reached a small vacant hallway.

I leaned against the wall. "What's up?"

"I need to tell you that . . ." he diverted his gaze, "I lied to you. About not having anything else on my mind."

I let out a light chuckle. "I know, silly! It was kinda obvious . . . and don't look so upset about it. It's fine."

"But it's not!" He looked up at me, his eyes brimming with guilt.

It struck me that he had the same glimmer of determination in his eyes as Midoriya, and I wondered if they were more alike than they would like admit.

"Then make it fine. Tell me what's on your mind."

He slumped on the wall beside me, raising his chin and closing his eyes. I rolled my head so I faced him, ready to listen intently.

"When you ran after Kiri, you batted me away, like you didn't want to talk to me. Like you didn't want me."

I wanted to protest, but he spoke over me. "And I know! I know I'm probably over-thinking, but it got me wondering if this was something you wanted. Are you sure you want this?"

He turned to me. "Are you sure you want . . . me?"

My breath caught in my throat. I tried to speak, but I couldn't.

Seeing the panic in Bakugo's eyes I blurted out, "Yes! I do! Ugh, Katuski Bakugo, I want you."

He exlailed in relieve and clutched his chest.

"But," I added, "I want to spend more time with you. We need to get to know each other more."

His arms wrapped around my waist. "Fine then. Let's get to know each other," he smirked, his hands beginning to wander.

"Aak! Bakugo, I meant a date or something!" I exclaimed in surprise.

Practically leaping away from me, his face turned beet red and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Oh . . . sorry" he muttered, hanging his head.

~*~

I once heard buttcheeks described as 'fleshy globes'. -100/10 would not recommend that experience.

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