here we are

chapter 2, explosive propositions

It had been two weeks since the accidental kiss in the training room, and you were still trying to make sense of what happened. The kiss itself had been shocking, but what had truly left you spinning was Bakugou's reaction—or rather, the lack thereof. You'd expected him to explode, to yell, or at the very least, to make a big deal out of it. But he hadn't. He'd just... gone along with it. And now, he was acting as if nothing had happened, which only made things more confusing.

You were trying to push the whole incident out of your mind, focusing instead on your training and your classes. But every time you saw Bakugou, you couldn't help but replay that moment in your head, wondering what on earth he had been thinking.

It didn't help that you were starting to notice other things too—small, almost imperceptible things. Like the way Bakugou's eyes would occasionally linger on you during class, or how he seemed to be around more often than usual, even when you were sure you hadn't seen him walk in. You told yourself you were imagining it, that it was just your mind playing tricks on you, but deep down, you couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed between you.

Things came to a head one afternoon when you were in the common room, struggling with your homework. The problem wasn't the homework itself—no, it was your own thoughts that were betraying you. You were so caught up in your own head that you didn't notice when Bakugou sat down next to you until he spoke.

"Oi, [Y/N]."

You jumped, your pencil flying out of your hand as you turned to face him. "Bakugou! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

He rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by your outburst. "I wasn't sneaking. You were just too busy daydreaming to notice."

You frowned, not wanting to admit that he was right. "What do you want?"

Bakugou didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied you. It made you squirm a little, the intensity of his gaze making you feel exposed.

"I've been thinking," he said finally, his voice low and measured.

"About...?" you prompted, not sure where this was going.

"About that kiss," he said bluntly, making your heart skip a beat. "And about how people have been talking."

Your face heated up, and you quickly looked away, focusing on the stack of books in front of you. "I'm sorry about that. It was an accident, and I didn't mean to drag you into anything."

"Tch. I don't care about the kiss," he said, waving off your apology. "But it got me thinking. People already think something's going on between us, right?"

You hesitated, not sure what he was getting at. "Yeah... I guess?"

"So why not use it to our advantage?" he said, leaning forward slightly.

You blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Fake dating," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You've been trying to get those two idiots—Deku and Uraraka—to admit their feelings for each other, right? If we pretend to be dating, it might give them the push they need to finally do something about it."

You stared at him, your mind racing. The idea was so out of the blue, so completely unexpected, that you weren't sure how to respond. "But... why would you want to help with that?"

Bakugou shrugged, his expression carefully neutral. "I don't care about their love lives, but I'm sick of seeing them dance around each other like idiots. Besides, it's not like we're actually dating. It's just an act."