(Sin)namon Rolls

Chapter 12: Mama Bomb-a

   After we'd had our Moment, Bakugo and I made our way back to the living room where our mothers were seated. Mitsuki straightened up to peer over at us when we walked in.
     "Katsuki," she said.
     "What?" Bakugo snarled.
     "Why does Izuku look like he's been crying?"
     "Because he was crying," he answered.
     "Why?"
     "I told him something."
    We sat down on the sofa opposite them.
     "Katsuki."
     "Bitch?"
      The unadulterated fury in Mitsuki's face drew emphasis to the resemblance she bore to her son.
    I glanced over at my mom. She looked to be angry with Bakugo herself.
     "Are you treating Izuku well?" Mitsuki asked, voice and expression both menacing.
     "What the hell? Are you fucking kidding me?" Bakugo rolled his eyes. "This is why I moved out."
     "You moved out because you made more money in three months than your father and I's annual salaries combined."
     Bakugo smiled proudly. "Damn right."
     "You better wipe that look off your face before I wipe it off for you!"
     "Try me, hag!"
     "Oh, that is it!"
     "Excuse me," I piped up.
     All eyes turned to me.
     "Can I answer that question for him?" I asked.
     "Please do," Mitsuki replied.
     I looked up at Bakugo and smiled affectionately.
     "Kacchan's a great boyfriend," I said. "Coming back would have been a thousand times more difficult without him. He's done more for me than he knows. Honestly, I can't thank him enough. He's wonderful. He really is."
     Mitsuki squinted at Bakugo.
     "What are you looking at me for?! You heard what he said! I'm fuckin' wonderful!"
     "Are you happy?" my mother asked softly.
     Her eyes were misty again.
     "I am," I said.
     She nodded. Mitsuki gave her shoulder a comforting shake.
     "I didn't think I'd ever see you again," she struggled to whisper. "You were gone for so long. It felt like- like an eternity."
     I got off the couch and waddled across the floor to sit on my knees in front of my mom. I took her hands in mine. She blinked down at me, tears falling when she did so.
     "I just want you to be happy, Izuku. That's all I've ever wanted. So, if you're happy with Katsuki... and if it's what you both want... if you choose to continue staying with him, I'll allow it. All I ask is that you come visit every once in a while, okay? I don't know if you have a- a phone or anything like that, but if you don't, I can figure something out. I just need a way to get in touch with you... make sure you're doing okay."
     I squeezed her hand and smiled a wobbly, teary-eyed smile.
    "Thank you," I said. "Of course I'll visit. I'll stop by anytime you like."
     With my hands occupied, I couldn't use the pinching trick to facilitate the waterworks like I had before. I resorted to biting my tongue. It hurt like a bitch, but it worked.
     My mother gave me a sad smile. She pulled her hands back to ruffle my hair. I returned to my spot beside Bakugo on the couch. He put his arm around me when I sat down. I swiped tears away from beneath my eyes.
    "Katsuki can get him a phone. Can't you, Katsuki?" Mitsuki said.
     "I already got him a phone."
     "You did, huh? What kind?"
     "Some high end shit. State of the art. Best on the market."
     Mitsuki looked over at me.
     "It's a flip phone," I said.
     Mitsuki leaned forward to smack Bakugo upside the head.
     "Dumbass!" she exclaimed.
     "You old bat! That fucking hurt!"
     "How can you expect to keep a man around when you're being stingy?!"
     "I'm not being fucking stingy! Shut the fuck up!"
     "Whose clothes are those?" Mitsuki asked, pointing at me.
     "Mine," Bakugo muttered.
     "What was that?!"
      "They're mine! They're my fucking clothes!"
      "They don't fit him, Katsuki! He needs his own damn clothes!"
     "No, he doesn't! Tell her, baby. You don't need clothes, do you?"
     My eyes went wide. My cheeks heated up from embarrassment. Bakugo realized what he'd said and turned away from me to gaze at the floor with furrowed eyebrows. My mom's face was in her hands. Exasperation radiated from Mitsuki's deadpan expression.
     "Take that boy shopping," she said after a few agonizing beats of silence.
     "Whatever."
•••
     Uraraka generally dealt with the League's finances and the administration of payments if and when they were due. I'd been promised a hefty sum in return for the successful completion of this particular mission. Though if I'd known the operation was going to come with a sugar daddy, I would have settled for a lower price.
     Thanks to the terror tactics of Bakugo's mother, I got to go on an all-expense-paid shopping trip with one of the richest men in the country. Bakugo was beside himself with indignation, but I was on top of the world.
     I dragged him around the indoor mall like a toddler on his first trip to Disney World. I ran into a shoe store, yanking Bakugo along by the hand.
     "Would you quit doing that? You're gonna fuck up my arm."
     I ignored him and trotted over to an area near the back. I picked up a red hightop sneaker that'd been on display and held it up. I beamed at Bakugo with a silent plea in my starry eyes.
     "No," he said.
     "No?"
     "No."
     I sighed and put the shoe down.
     "Have fun masturbating alone for the next month," I said.
     "You wouldn't."
     "Try me."
     He stared me down with narrowed eyes. I glared back. He admitted defeat with a heavy exhale and a cringing expression.
     "Baby, they're so ugly," he groaned.
     "You don't think I can pull them off?"
     "I'm not gonna be able to look at you in them without wanting to pull them off of you."
     "So, what you're saying is... if I wear these... you won't be able to stop yourself from ripping my clothes off?"
     "Could you not be a whore for one fucking minute?"
     I laughed and pulled him closer to me so I could kiss him on the cheek.
     "Sorry. It's hard to contain myself around you."
     "I can tell."
     "Oh, my god! Is that Ground Zero?!"
     I turned to see who was shouting at my fake boyfriend.
     "Holy crap! He brought his husband!"
     "Husband?!" Bakugo croaked. "Where the hell did you hear that?"
     A group of high school-age girls skittered up to us. I smiled at them purely to spite Bakugo.
     "C-Can we get a- a picture?"
     I glanced at Bakugo.
     "Whatever. Make it quick," he said.
     I happily posed for a selfie with teenagers.
     "You guys are so cute," one of the girls said after snapping a few photos.
     "Yeah. Duh," Bakugo grumbled.
     "My husband says thank you," I said.
     "Hey, I'm not your husband! You can't just say shit like that!"
     The high-schoolers had already left before Bakugo could inform them that we weren't actually married.
     Out of lack of motivation to fight me, he bought me the shoes.
     And an entire wardrobe of clothes to go with them.
•••
     We were in line at an Apple store. I was practically bouncing with glee. Bakugo was starting to have fun, hard as he tried to hide it.
     "Chill," he said.
     "I am chill."
     "No, you're not. You're fuckin' vibrating over there. Stop."
     "Just having a good time with you, sugar tits. That's all."
     "The fuck did you just call me?"
     A thunderous crash rang out in the distance. Screams followed afterwards.
     Bakugo shoved the box the phone was in in my hand and sprinted off in the direction of the commotion. I set the box down on a counter and picked our bags up off the floor. I started to chase after him.
     "Wait, Kacchan!"
    "Stay back, Deku! Don't you get yourself hurt, you hear me?"
    I stopped running. He turned over his shoulder to look back at me.
     "Go kick some ass, hot stuff!" I shouted.
     He grinned before turning back around.
     Whatever was going on had nothing to do with the League, which meant my safety wasn't guaranteed if I went after Bakugo.
     A few minutes went by. I wandered around the mall towards where he had run off. I reached the building's entrance. I looked out through the glass doors.
     Bakugo was flying around in the air. Bright bursts of light and smoke shot out around him. I couldn't see who he was aiming the explosions at.
     I pushed the doors open with the side of my arm since I had my hands full with the shopping bags we'd racked up throughout the day. I emerged into a crowd gathered outside to watch the fight. The face of the person Bakugo was up against was concealed by a mask. Otherwise, they were dressed like a regular civilian. Judging by the fact that they were currently zipping around in midair, they had some sort of flight Quirk.
     "What's happening?" I asked the stranger beside me.
     "I don't know. That guy just crashed in through the wall of IKEA and started yelling. Looks like Ground Zero's got it under control now."
     "You think so?"
     "Well, yeah. I mean, he's the top hero."
     The man glanced at me.
     "Hey, you're that guy from the press conference. Aren't you, like, his brother or something?"
     "I'm his boyfriend."
     "Oh. Cool."
     "Yup."
     My eyes were glued to Bakugo.
     Him getting hurt was nearly as bad as me getting hurt under the present circumstances. On that basis alone, I was worried about him. If someone else killed him other than myself, there was no telling what kind of punishment I'd receive as a consequence of my failure. Fortunately, Bakugo managed to pin the attacker to the ground. A small crater formed in the parking lot's asphalt from the force at which he slammed the villain down.
    I released the breath I'd been holding.
   Mall cops were on the scene within less than a minute to take the criminal into custody. Bakugo found me in the crowd and approached me, waving off talkative spectators on his way over.
     "You scared me," I said.
     He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him in a tight hug.
     "Kacchan? ...Is everything okay?"
     "It is now."
     Something wasn't right.
     "What happened?" I wondered aloud when he pulled back.
     "Let's talk in the car, okay? C'mon. Let's go."
     I followed him back to his vehicle.
    After stuffing the bags in the trunk, we sat down in the front seats. Bakugo hadn't turned the car on or buckled his seatbelt, so I waited to put mine on too.
     "You were awesome back there," I said.
     "I know."
     "What's the matter?"
     "One of the people in the League put out a video last night. Y'know, before they, uh, offed themself."
     Ah, yes. Toga's faux confession video.
    "Oh?"
    "Yeah. It blew up overnight. Villains are really into it. Bad people who've been in hiding for a long time are coming out. A lot of them want to take me down... and you."
    "Me? Why?"
     "Because you're connected to me."
     I frowned at my feet.
     "I'm so fucking stupid," Bakugo said. "I shouldn't have brought you to that conference. I wanted you to feel safe. I thought having the whole world on the lookout for the fuckers who hurt you would do that, but all I did is give you more people to run from."
     "Kacchan, that's not true."
     We met each other's eyes.
     "I always feel safe with you. There's no one else I'd feel safer with," I told him. "It doesn't matter if every criminal on earth is after us. I know you can stop them. There's not a doubt in my mind about that."
     "Yeah... I guess you're right."
     My only competition for Bakugo's attention was his own ego.
     "Of course I am. Aren't you the number one hero?"
     "Damn straight."
     "Well, you're not that."
     Bakugo chuckled. A bit of tension eased from my shoulders at the sound. He took a deep breath and put on his seatbelt. I clicked mine into place.
    "Thanks for doing this for me," I said.
    "Don't mention it."
    "No, really. I mean, thank you for everything, but specifically, thanks for buying me all that shit in the back."
     "I'm a good fucking boyfriend. That's just what I do. Bitch."
     "You are a good fucking boyfriend."
     "Yeah. Obviously."
     Bakugo turned on the car. He shifted gears.
     I gasped.
     "Are you blushing?!"
     "Am I—? No! I don't fucking blush! Shut the hell up! Damn nerd!"
    "You're blushing!"
     Bakugo put the car back in park and turned to me with a grave look in his eyes.
     "If you tell anyone what you just saw... I'll kill you."
     I smiled and kissed him chastely. He wanted to be mad at me so badly, but he just couldn't bring himself to it. I slouched back into my seat.
    "You could never," I said. "You can't even say no to buying me shoes."
     "I hate those shoes."
     "But you bought them anyway."
     Bakugo paused. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out of the parking space and started to drive away from the mall.
     ...Thank you, Mitsuki Bakugo.