Once Eri finishes her ice cream, Aizawa retrieves her to bring her to the kids camp. Bakugou and I, now alone, stroll along the upper deck of the pool. My hand glides on the ship railing as we walk.
When we reach the life size chess set, Bakugou grins at me.
"Up for a game?" he says. "I'll go easy on you."
My lip curls upward. "Somehow I don't believe that."
He snorts. "Yeah, that's true. I don't care how cute you are, I'm still gonna kick your ass."
Shielding my hand over my eyes, I groan. "Stop saying things like that."
"Like what?"
I spread my fingers apart so I can see him out of my right eye. I suck in my lower lip. "I'm not used to you being so sweet all the time. I don't think I've stopped blushing since last night."
Chuckling, Bakugou removes my hand from my face and holds it in his. "But making you blush is too much fun."
Sporting a huge smile, he leans forward and presses his lips to mine. My feet feel weightless at his gentle touch. The juxtaposition of Bakugou's usual abrasive nature and the tender way he kisses will probably always make my head spin. When he pulls away, he then kisses the tip of my nose, turning me into even more of a blushing mess than I already was.
He bites his lip into a smile. "Sorry, but I've been waiting to do that all day."
I offer a shy smile. "How do I know you're not just trying to distract me before our chess match?"
"Because." He kisses me once more. "I don't have to rely on cheap tricks to beat you. It's not like you're any good."
Sadly, he's right.
Bakugou and I play three rounds of chess and, to no one's surprise, I lose every single one. To be fair, I don't mind. I like that Bakugou is so good at a lot of things. If I'm going to date anybody, I prefer it to be someone with lots of life experience and various talents so I feel proud when standing beside them.
Wait, are we dating? We never really discussed it. Oh well, I'm fine with going with the flow.
Bakugou runs to me after putting all the pieces in their original places. He throws his arms around my waist and lifts me in the air, tilting his head up for me to kiss him. I do, because I can't get enough of his lips, and then he spins me around before setting me back on the ground.
"You're getting better," he says. "At chess, I mean. Not kissing. You're already good at that."
I turn my head away from him, seeing as I can only handle so much embarrassment in one afternoon. Bakugou, hands still on my hips, takes it upon himself to pepper as many kisses as he can into my cheek that's closest to him. He only stops when my smile can't grow any wider. He hugs me close and lowers his voice to just above a whisper.
"You're so beautiful."
I snap my head back to face him, a newfound vulnerability seeping into my heart. I study his face for any trace of insincerity, but I know I won't find any. Still, his words are hard to digest.
"Do you really mean that?" I ask.
Bakugou gives a small smile as he fixates on my lips, his eyes slowly moving upward to meet my gaze. "More than anything."
"Well, this is an interesting development."
Eyes widening, Bakugou and I turn our heads to see Denki and Shinsou smirking at us. My knees buckle at the realization we've been caught. If it weren't for Bakugou's arms firmly wrapped around my waist, I'd probably faint.
Denki beams. "Looking good, guys. Guess you finally made a move, huh Bakugou?"
Bakugou hugs me tighter. "Yeah, he's mine fuckers. What's your point?"
I wish he'd warn me before he does things like that. My heart has been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours and I don't think it can handle many more surprises. But damn, does it feel good for Bakugou to refer to me as his.
Shinsou holds his hands up. "Hey, don't let us stop you. Besides, we kinda already assumed something went down between the two of you."
I blink twice. "Huh? Why?"
"Call it gay intuition if you must," Denki says, one hand on his hip, "but Bakugou seemed a lot happier than usual this morning. Also the fact that both of you disappeared last night for hours." He pauses to wink at me. "Hope you were gentle with him, Shouto. Bakugou talks a big game, but something tells me he wouldn't be able to handle-"
"You're asking if he was gentle with me, Sparky?" Bakugou asks before laughing. "I'm starting to think you're just saying these things to fuck with me, because there's no way this one acts the way you-"
"Canwetalkaboutsomethingelseplease?" I blurt out.
Bakugou chuckles again then reaches for my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. "Nah, we're gonna get out of here." He sticks up the middle finger at Denki and Shinsou. "Fuck you very much. Don't follow us."
Shinsou gives a playful eyeroll. "Don't flatter yourself. Make sure you use protection."
Bakugou mumbles a string of curse words as he leads me back inside. The journey back to our room is mostly silent, but he never lets go of my hand until he has to fetch in his pocket for his room key.
Once inside, he sits down on the bed, pulling me into his lap. He connects our lips again, his hands sliding under my shirt. My body shivers as his fingers brush along my sides. In a swift motion, I pull away from his mouth, leaving him with a perplexed expression.
Frowning, I tilt my head downward. "I'm sorry," I mumble, "I don't really want to have sex right now. I'm sore from last night."
Bakugou grabs my chin and forces me to look into his eyes. When I do, I notice he's still looking at me the way I always hoped he would. There's not even a hint of disappointment in his face.
"I didn't bring you here to have sex," he says. "I just wanted some alone time with you, but we can do whatever you want. Or we can go find the others if that makes you more comfortable."
My eyes soften. "Really?"
His hands gingerly caress my legs as he smiles at me. "Yeah. I like you, Todoroki." Now is the first time he's blushed all day. He gives a nervous shrug. "I just want to spend time with you."
I hug Bakugou and he immediately reciprocates. "Can we just lay here and talk, then? Maybe cuddle a bit?"
Bakugou pulls away to kiss my cheek. "You got it."
*
Aside from Denki and Shinsou, no one else seems to have picked up on anything between Bakugou and me. At least, if they have they're pretending not to. But no one looks at us funny at dinner or makes any speculative comments (though I do catch Pino glancing over at us more than usual as Rody serves us our food).
Now out again on the pool deck, the sun has set and people gather into chairs as they wait for Luca to start. Naturally, Eri is the most excited to watch it out of anyone from our group. She's snuggling Aizawa on a lounge chair on the lower deck. Most of us, however, choose to sit further up.
I take a free seat next to Yaoyorozu and Jirou. There's another unoccupied chair next to mine, so hopefully Bakugou can sit there before anyone else takes it. I don't know if I should put my flip flops on it or something so people know not to sit there, but I also don't want it appearing like I'm saving him a seat.
Although, I need to learn to stop assuming Bakugou will do anything I expect him to do. In fact, chances are however I think he'll act, he'll end up doing the opposite.
This situation is no different.
Bakugou joins the upper deck with Kirishima and flashes the brightest smile when he sees me. And then, instead of taking the free seat beside me, he simply climbs into the lounge chair I'm already occupying, draping an arm over my waist and nuzzling into my neck.
"Wake me up when the movie's over," he mumbles.
It's not lost on me that a lot of our friends are staring at us now. Either Bakugou doesn't notice or he doesn't care. I, on the other hand, am slowly dying from embarrassment.
"You're not gonna watch?" I ask him.
He snorts. "I'm pretty sure every gay kid in the universe has seen this movie by now. I'd rather just cuddle you."
Since he's not acting weird about it, I guess I won't either. I slide one hand around his back, the other caressing his arm that's around my waist. A timid smile tugs at my lips at the level of public affection we're showing, especially when most of our friends sport looks of confusion.
"Bakugou," I whisper, "you know people can see us right?"
Bakugou lifts his head up and scans our audience with a smug expression before lying back down. "They were gonna find out anyway. Besides, didn't you ask me to be your date to this thing? Dates cuddle."
Kirishima, standing before us awkwardly, presses his lips together. "So are you guys like, together now?"
"Sure are, Shitty Hair," Bakugou huffs. "See what happens when you actually make a move? Stop being a pussy and go shoot your shot with Camie."
Kirishima's ears turn pink as he scurries away. Following him with my eyes, I watch him do exactly as Bakugou says and sit in the seat next to Camie. She offers him a sip of whatever the hell she's drinking, and he appears to ease up at the gesture.
Yaoyorozu taps my shoulder, beaming at me when I face her. "You two look cute together." She then leans close and lowers her voice. "You look happy."
"I heard that," Bakugou mutters into my neck.
I mouth my response to Yaoyorozu. "Thank you."
As the movie plays, Bakugou adjusts his position and rests his head against my chest. Sleeping soundly, he looks like an angel. So peaceful and content. There's even a wisp of a smile on his face. My heart clenches at the sight. I kiss his hair a few times throughout the movie, especially during the parts I figure he probably liked when he watched it the first time.
When the credits play, I gently shake him. "Wake up," I say. "The movie finished."
Bakugou groans and buries his face in my neck again. "Can't we just lay here a bit longer? You're so comfy."
I giggle while petting his hair. "I'm not your personal pillow. Let's go."
"I'm tired," he whines.
Bringing my mouth to his ear, I drop my voice to a whisper. "Too tired to head back to our room and mess around?"
Bakugou jerks his head up. "I'm awake."
Snickering, I roll my eyes. "So predictable."
Bakugou narrows his gaze. "Wait, were you being serious or not?"
I shrug. "Guess you'll have to get off me to find out."
Bakugou wiggles out of my grasp and leaps out of the chair like his clothes caught fire. When I stand up, he immediately takes my hand and guides us back inside.
Yaoyorozu calls out as we pass her. "Be safe, boys."
I gesture to her and Jirou. "You too."
Jirou winks. "Always."
The hunger in Bakugou's eyes sends electricity through my veins as we stand in the elevator, heading up to our floor. When we reach Deck Seven, Bakugou picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. The two of us laugh as he races down the hall to reach our room faster.
"Someone's desperate," I joke.
He slaps my ass. "It's not my fault you're so hot."
Bakugou switches from sexual to soft as he steps into the room, bending his knees so I won't hit my head on the doorframe. I expect him to immediately throw me on the bed, but he stops in the center of the room.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
He sets me down. Turning around, I understand what made him freeze so abruptly.
"Oh, they replaced the couch," I say.
"Fucking finally," he grunts. "Only took three days."
I step in front of Bakugou, standing between him and our new furniture piece. "I'm not opposed to breaking it in."
A slick smile graces Bakugou's face as he registers what I'm insinuating. He pushes me backward, the couch catching my fall. He sits in my lap and seals his lips over mine, rolling his hips as he presses our chests together.
"I like the way you think, Halfie."