The indelicacies of nitroglycerin (Todobaku/ Bakutodo)

Chapter 16.

(Credits to the artist)

They didn’t really tell anyone about it, and they hadn’t changed much at all in public. They weren’t purposefully keeping it a secret from their classmates, but neither of them were into PDA and it was just comfortable like this.

Midoriya had tentatively asked Todoroki if everything was alright again when Bakugou and Todoroki were on speaking terms again and went back to hanging out like before. Todoroki had only nodded and gave a little smile, but Midoriya seemed to immediately get it. He didn’t say anything, but gave Todoroki’s shoulder a supportive squeeze.

Not much had changed, he and Bakugou still studied together, talked late at night in the dorm kitchen, and sat together while Bakugou napped on the grass. Todoroki still found any opportunity to annoy him and Bakugou would still threaten him a violent death with creative and then not so creative insults every time.

But at the same time, everything had changed. Bakugou would speak to him sometimes in that soft, quiet voice when they were alone, his gaze would linger on him when he left the room and now Todoroki would look back at him and catch that stare. It was totally unexpected but Bakugou was completely fine with physical human contact (at least from Todoroki… he still saw him attempt to blow Kaminari’s arm off for resting it around his shoulders in class once etc). He never complained when Todoroki leant against his side and made himself comfortable, he would rest his head in Todoroki’s lap when they were studying sometimes, and he would sometimes randomly reach out and grab Todoroki’s hand, just to hold it.

It was amazing. Todoroki could just look and touch whenever he wanted to, now.

And Bakugou would stop and just give him that look so much more often now, more openly and with a tiny whisper of a happy, appreciative little smile resting on his lips. Todoroki couldn’t put into words what that look did to him, how much he loved the way it made him feel.

And Bakugou also really liked giving him those soft little kisses. He wouldn’t have expected it in a million years, he would’ve thought kissing Bakugou Katsuki was sure to be an aggressive, blood-drawing, messy affair, but Bakugou must’ve picked up that Todoroki wasn’t necessarily ready for much more right now. And so he would plant these little kisses on his lips, his cheek, his hair, the back of his neck, his shoulder, chaste and undemanding, just purely affectionate. God, it was just so strange associating the words affectionate and touchy with Bakugou, but he really was.

And he would give Todoroki things sometimes, just little things like snacks, or a new pair of socks because Todoroki’s were wearing through, and once he got him a simple black bracelet out of the blue, carelessly tossing it at him and saying he just bought it for no reason. But there was an identical one on his own wrist.

It took Todoroki a couple of hours after receiving it to realise it’d been exactly a month since they started dating, so he guessed that counted as the first and last anniversary gift he could expect to receive from him. He didn’t say anything to Bakugou because he clearly wanted to keep it lowkey and casual, but the sentiment was there. And he never took the bracelet off, from that day on. These little, thoughtful or romantic things Bakugou would do and pass off with a sneer or a scowl kept surprising him, and it was all Todoroki could do to keep himself from giving him a sweet kiss in thanks whenever they were in public and he was thrown something or another.

Verbally Bakugou still tore Todoroki a new one in every other sentence and offered to rearrange his facial features every day. Since his confession, he hadn’t said anything affectionate or intimate to him again. But it was fine, that wasn’t how they communicated anyway. And how could he not be reassured of Bakugou’s feelings when the guy would practically start petting him if they were alone and sitting beside each other?