In Which Bakugou Makes an Ass Out of Himself

Chapter Eight

That night in the infirmary (because yes, Recovery Girl let them stay over since they were essentially passed the fuck out), was the best sleep Shouto'd had in a long time. But that was a few months ago. Since then, Shouto and Bakugou had.... kind of been getting closer. The blond was making lunches for him and he'd taken to sitting with him at lunch every so often (that had been quite the treat, seeing Bakugou's red face when Shouto sat down next to him and pulled out an identical lunch - really, the explosive teen was precious). They'd started sparring together occasionally, too.

But one thing hadn't happened yet.

And that was Bakugou asking him out. Which was mildly frustrating. Kirishima and Kaminari had said that Bakugou liked him, right? Were they may be wrong? Was he reading the situation wrong? Surely, after all they'd been through and were currently doing, that warranted a dropping of the pride to formally ask him out, right? Or... did Bakugou already think they were dating, and Shouto didn't know it? He wanted to actually tear his hair out somedays as he considered that before going to the gym and working out his frustrations.

Like today. He was nearing the end of his training, singing a fire-resistant dummy and trying to control the temperature of the flames. They were starting to look more evenly blue, but he still wasn't there yet. Sweat dripped down his face and torso, shirt laying discarded off to the side.

Bakugou tried not to think about that night in the infirmary, mostly because it did shit to his body and he couldn't take any more of it. He was trying alright? He was making an effort. He made the halfie bastard lunches and even spent time with him after school hours studying in the library or in his dorm, but his mind would continue to wander back to that day which made him want to scream. He allowed himself the one day to be selfish and hold Shouto close like he was his own, but the effects afterward weren't something he was prepared to face with. Without realizing it, he had caught himself staring more at the ice fire user and it was driving him up a fucking wall. How could someone, who he hated, now be the center of attention for him. The only thing his mind thought of when he laid in bed at night trying to fall asleep only to stay awake for hours doing indecent shit to himself that he chose to fucking ignore and pretend he never did or never happened.

He'd fallen into the routine of eating lunch with Todoroki that it felt natural. At first, he couldn't stop the blushing that crept up the back of his neck and dusted his cheeks with the infuriating hue. Not to mention the absolute annoyance of his shitbag friends and their constant use of an eggplant emoji in group messages. He was convinced they were out to ruin his fucking life. He got grilled by Kirishima and Kaminari almost daily about if he was going to finally ask out the heterochromia eyed boy which just made him punch them in the face or yell at them. Even Scotch Tape and Hubba Bubba Gum started harassing him, because at this point it was harassment in Bakugou's perspective.

Because of this annoying crap, he found himself in the gym more than usual just to avoid his idiotic friends. That's where he was tonight only there was a distraction in a separate room of the gym and that was his crush. The boy who he's been falling for even harder as the months passed since their rematch. God, why did he suck at this whole feelings bullshit? He had finished his own workout and decided to maybe catch a sneak peak of what the other was doing and almost immediately regretted his decision. He was shirtless and sweating , God there was so much sweat, and he was breathing hard, but what amazed him the most were those flames. How they'd flicker from an orangey yellow to a deep blue. Fuck he was perfection.

Bakugou knew he shouldn't stare, shouldn't let his eyes wander over the glistening muscles of Todoroki's body, but he couldn't help it. He stared and watched and God he wanted to lick the sweat off those biceps. Yeah. Okay. He needed to leave. He needed to go to his room and just- crap. In his haste to escape from the image before him, he ran into a shelf of weights which tumbled to the floor making the loudest of noises he's ever heard and he could feel those grey-blue eyes burning in his direction. Great . He slowly turned to face the other, regretting it immediately along with that choked whimper that left his lips.