Ten Days of Katsuki (Todobaku)

Day 3, Part 1

"Tch. No point," he replies, "I'm already sitting down."

I stare out the window as the bus takes off. Midoriya mutters to himself (or to Uraraka?) in the row behind us, the noise interrupting my quiet thoughts. But it's not a big deal as I'm used to Midoriya's rambling. Though it's because of his mumbling that I don't initially realize Bakugou is talking to me.

I look at him again. "Did you say something?"

He furrows his brows and pouts a little. There's still a slight tint of pink on his cheeks from earlier. He mumbles the words out. The only reason I'm able to understand him is because we're in close proximity.

"Your hair...doesn't look as flat as it normally does."

"Really?" I run my hand along the sides of my red and white locks. "Did I forget to brush out some of my bedhead?"

Bakugou purses his lips and lets out a loud huff. "No, you idiot. I just meant...fuck, just forget it."

As he slumps in his seat, Sero and Denki peer over the back of their row, leaning into ours.

"Are you two flirting?" Denki says.

Sero grins. "It's about time."

Bakugou scowls and turns away. This must be what he was talking about before, that people are always making comments to him about me and how we should get together. I know this is just a small taste of it, but if it happens as frequently as he implied before, I can see how it would get annoying very quickly.

I frown at Denki and Sero. "You shouldn't tease Bakugou like that," I say. "You're hurting his feelings."

They both stare at me, mouths open. Then they shift their gaze to the left of me as I hear a sound reminiscent of the kettle pot that my mother used to pour boiling water on my face as a child. Looking in that same direction, Bakugou has literal steam coming out of his ears. I didn't know his quirk allowed him to do that. I'd be more impressed by it if it weren't for the fact that this explosive anger is directed at me.

"I DON'T HAVE FEELINGS, YOU ICYHOT BASTARD!"

Denki and Sero howl with laughter before sinking back in their seats, leaving me to deal with an angry Bakugou by myself. He digs his nails into his thigh, knuckles turning white.

"I'm sorry," I say, quiet enough that only he can hear. "I was trying to help."

"Well stop helping," he snaps. "If someone says something that pisses me off, I'll handle it myself." He relaxes his body a bit, the color in his face returning to normal.

I scoot closer to the window, guessing he wants as much distance from me as possible. "I thought it did bother you when people made jokes about us. Isn't that what you said?"

He stares at the back of the seat ahead of him rather than at me. "If someone says something that pisses me off, I'll handle it myself," he repeats.

I puff my cheeks out as I ponder his remark. Using that logic, that means he wasn't bothered by Denki's and Sero's teasing. But given the conversation we had the first night, I find that hard to believe. Unless he's had a change of heart and no longer cares about what people say about us. Maybe he feels guilty about how he pushed me away and is focused on fixing our friendship.

I notice he's put his earbuds in. "What are you listening to?" I ask.

"Not you," he replies before closing his eyes.

Well, I guess I can scrap that theory.

*

Oh no.