Bakugo shifted on his feet, sighing for the hundredth time, standing with other boys in his class as they waited for the girls who seemed to be taking their sweet time getting ready. Their teachers were taking them to a recently opened amusement park. The owner of the park had given them an invitation and gave each student a credit of one hundred and fifty dollars to spend on the rides and games.
"God, they're finally here." Sero groaned when the girls came out of the hotel. Bakugo's eyes lazily shifted towards the girls, immediately finding Yoshiko. She wore a plaid skirt with a plain button-down shirt tucked into the skirt. She had a little white ribbon in her ponytail. Bakugo found it cute.
He looked away, putting his hands in his pockets and turning his back to her. He knew if he stared for any longer, he wouldn't be able to look away. Not after last night. After she excused herself, he knew she didn't go to sleep like she claimed. When he ran to the convenience store to get a few snacks, he found her wandering around with Bear. He made a point not to interrupt her walk and went to the hotel instead.
In the back of his head, he was worried if he pissed her off or made her hate him. It was funny because he was the last person to care about these things. Yet, here he was, gnawing his brains out, wondering if his crush was mad at him.
"Good morning, pomie." Her voice brought him back to the present. He looked to the side to see her looking up at him with her usual teasing smirk. His shoulders sagged with relief. She was okay. They were okay.
"What do you want?" He asked gruffly.
"Why are you always in a bad mood?" Yoshiko poked his sides, sporting a toothy grin to annoy him.
"Don't pretend like you're all rainbows and sunshine." He rolled his eyes.
Yoshiko shook her head at him and stood beside him as they waited for the bus to take them to the amusement park. Of course, her heart raced around him, especially today. After last night, all she could think about was- his sweet scent, half-lidded eyes, stupid lips, gentle touch, and annoying voice. The list went on. But she wanted things to be as they were between them. She didn't want them to be suddenly awkward around each other just because they almost kissed.
"Form a proper line, and please stick to your seating arrangements-" Iida began, making chopping motions with his arm. Yoshiko rolled her eyes, patting his arm as she went on the bus, telling him to chill since it was a holiday. The ride to the amusement park was chaotic, as usual. It was expected of class A.
Once outside the park, Aizawa shushed the students, counting them to make sure all twenty-two were present. He had them double-check their credits in the app that was specifically made for the amusement park. "All of you've got plenty of credits, but if you do run out of credits, you're playing for it. If you need to contact any of the teachers, All Might, Ectoplasm and Mic are just a call away because I'm going to sleep."
The other teachers sweatdropped as Aizawa entered the park, sleeping bag under his arm. "Erm," All Might started, "you may enter, I guess."
Groups were quickly formed, and Yoshiko was left with Mina, Kirishima, Sero and Bakugo while the rest had already decided what they wanted to do. Mina insisted everyone try some 'warm up' rides before they went on the bigger, scarier, gut-wrenching ones.
Yoshiko sighed when they arrived at the 'Crazy Tea Time' ride. They stood in a queue, QR codes on their phones open so they could get them scanned and pay for the ride. She glanced at her excited friend, her golden eyes gleaming as she swayed on her heels.
"I don't want to be on a damn kids ride!" Bakugo yelled behind Mina.
"You already paid for it, Bakugo." Kirishima pointed out.
"Yeah. Besides, the tea cups are spinning too fast for it to be a kid's ride." Sero said, hands behind his head.
"He's just scared he'll throw up." Yoshiko snickered, glancing back at Bakugo.
"Hah? Is that a challenge I smell, Solar Panel?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Sure." Yoshiko rolled her eyes.
"Wait, aren't you girls worried about your skirts flying up?" Sero asked, glancing at their bare legs.
"Someone's observant." Mina said sarcastically, "We're obviously wearing biker shorts."
"I was just saying." Sero shrugged.
Mina and Yoshiko got in one cup while Bakugo, Sero and Kirishima sat in another one. While the cup was still spinning slowly, Bakugo smirked at Yoshiko and dragged his thumb across his neck. Yoshiko stuck her tongue at him. She clutched the little table in front of her when the tea cup got faster, her hair slapping her face.
"YOSHIKO, I'M GOING TO FLY OFF," Mina screamed, her head on the table, fingers digging into Yoshiko's arms.
"You're going to break my arms..." Yoshiko managed to say, her head spinning. The speed only kept increasing, and at this point, Yoshiko was afraid her head would fly off if she sat straight, so she rested her head on the metallic table instead.
She wobbled when they got off the ride, landing into Sero's chest. She grumbled a sorry and stepped back, almost falling again when Sero held her, letting out a chuckle. He was feeling a little dizzy, too, but managed to give Bakugo a knowing smirk. Bakugo staggered over to Sero, kicking him in the shins.
Yoshiko paid no attention to Bakugo bickering with Sero and went to sit with Mina on the bench instead. They glanced at each other and laughed, pointing at each other's hair.
"Hey, guys, what do we try next?!" Kirishima chirped, the only one that wasn't woozy.
"Hmm, I wanna try out the games," Sero said.
"Heh, I'm going to win every game." Bakugo snickered.
"You don't have to say that every time." Mina gave him a pointed look as she redid Yoshiko's hair for her.
"You wanna fight, pinky?" Bakugo threatened.
"You are not laying a finger on my girlfriend," Yoshiko stated, throwing her newly made ponytail over her shoulder.
"Huh?" Kirishima and Bakugo let out in unison.
Mina gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth and batting her eyelashes at Yoshiko. "When are we getting married?"
"Right here and now," Yoshiko replied with a wink.
Kirishima and Bakugo looked like someone had just dropped a bucket of water over them as they stared at the girls. Sero patted their shoulders, sniffling.
"I'm sorry for you two."
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"This is a scam!" Bakugo yelled as he tried to get a hoop to land on a glass. He'd been going at it for ten minutes now, paying for the same game over and over again, refusing to leave till he won.
"I guess we should go try out something else..." Kirishima mutterd. "He's not going to leave till he wins."
"If you wanna say something, say it to my face, damn it!" He yelled, throwing the last hoop. It landed on a glass, and he let out a proud 'Hah!'
"You need to land at least five in order to win..." The worker behind the stall said.
"Fuck you."
Kirishima grabbed Bakugo's arm, dragging him away and apologising to the worker as he went. He dragged him to the stall where Yoshiko, Mina and Sero took turns playing a shooting game.
"So close!" Mina groaned when her five bullets were used.
"My turn." Yoshiko took the gun from Mina, paying for her turn.
"'Aint no way you're winning that. All these games are just here to waste your money." Bakugo grumbled.
"Just 'cause you kept wasting money on a boring game doesn't mean this one's a waste," Yoshiko smirked at him. She pointed at a stuffed black and white toy cat dangling with the rest of the prizes. "I'm gettin' you that one. Just watch."
She took aim, shooting down the first stationary target and then proceeding to shoot the second and third slow-moving targets. She hit the fourth target, and Sero cheered for her, encouraging her to go for the fifth target.
"Careful, that one's tricky." Mina reminded.
Bakugo's heart almost leapt out from his chest when he saw Yoshiko's tongue sticking out, touching her upper lip in concentration as she aimed for the fast-moving target. He put his now profusely sweating palms in his pockets, trying not to redden. She pulled the trigger and shot down the target.
"Let's go!" Mina and Kirishima cheered.
Yoshiko picked the cat from the hanging plush toys and handed it over to Bakugo with a grin. He scratched his cheek, silently taking it from her.
"Ya know, the guy is usually the one to give his lady the prize he earns." Sero teased Bakugo.
"She ain't my lady!" Bakugo yelled, pink dusting his cheeks.
Yoshiko pretended to ignore Sero outwardly teasing Bakugo about her and moved on to another stall with Mina and Kirishima. Everyone played a few more games before deciding they were a waste of money and went to the rides section again.
"Hey, that ride looks sick." Yoshiko pointed to a ride that had seats hanging around it in a circle. It went up and started spinning, eliciting screams from the people riding it.
"Yoshiko, are you sure you want to spin to your death?" Kirishima gulped.
"Shush, Kiri, you were the least dizzy one when we got off the tea cups." Yoshiko reminded.
"I'm in. That looks too good to pass." Sero said. With a little bit of convincing, Kirishima joined the rest of his friends.
As they sat, Yoshiko noticed Bakugo was still holding the stuffed cat she had given him. It was buckled to his chest with the belts. She tried not to smile and took a seat in her chair, which was behind Kirishima's.
The ride spun slowly when it started moving, picking speed as it was lifted up in the air. Yoshiko screamed along with Mina and Sero, eyes shut for dear life. She felt like her chair would fall off if the ride went any faster. She finally opened her eyes when the ride stopped, her breath hitching when she saw the breathtaking view of the city and the ocean behind it. It made the world seem small.
Her awe was short-lived as the ride started spinning again. Luckily, its pace wasn't as fast compared to when it went up. She felt like she was in space when she stepped off the ride. Mina giggled as she wobbled sideways, trying to walk to Yoshiko. Kirishima caught her when she almost slipped. Yoshiko smiled at the pair, looking away to see Bakugo.
His hair was swept back by the wind, exposing some of his forehead. Yoshiko hopped up to him with the intent to tease. "Why, hello there."
"What?" Bakugo frowned.
"I was talking to that fine forehead of yours."
Bakugo scowled at her, patting his hair. The group decided to take a few more rides, and before they knew it, evening was fast approaching. They got off the bumper cars after Yoshiko and Bakugo decided to have a full-on competition.
"Well, that's most of the rides off the list." Kirishima checked off on his fingers.
"Guys, we can't miss the ferris wheel!" Mina exclaimed.
"Man, after all those fast-paced rides, the ferris wheel sounds boring," Sero said.
"Oh, c'mon, it's gonna be so pretty! And the sun is setting, too. Doesn't that sound romantic?~" Mina cupped her cheeks, sighing dreamily.
"Yeah, no. I'm not fifth wheeling." Sero shot his hands up, turning on his heels, "I'm finding the others."
"Oh, well. Are you two in?" Mina turned to Yoshiko and Bakugo.
"Oh, uh..." It was obvious to Yoshiko that Mina and Kirishima would force her and Bakugo into one pod.
"No."
"No." Bakugo also replied.
"Who said you two had a choice?" Mina smiled smugly, approaching the two with Kirishima, who had the same expression as Mina.
"If you take a step closer, I'm blasting your heads off." Bakugo threatened.
"And I will give Bakugo my full support in blasting your heads off," Yoshiko said, taking a step back.
"Damp threats don't work on us."
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Yoshiko and Bakugo were forced into one pod.
Mina and Kirishima physically dragged them all the way to the ferris wheel and dumped them inside. Yoshiko's hands were folded in her lap as she stared outside, sitting across from Bakugo. The wheel had started moving slowly. She glanced at Bakugo, who was resting his head on the glass pane, looking outside. She admired his pouty and chubby cheeks and the way the sunset cast hues of orange and red on his hair and face.
He's beautiful, she thought.
When he caught her eye, she didn't bother breaking eye contact right away, even though her cheeks pinked at being caught staring. He stared back at her, red eyes piercing into her silver ones. She finally looked away outside the window, but he did not move his gaze.
They completed one rotation in silence and were ascending when Bakugo decided to say something.
"Yoshiko."
"Hm?" She looked at him, chin still in her palm.
"Last night... are you mad at me about it?" He asked, feeling his face heat up at the question. Yoshiko sat straight, shifting in her seat.
"Why'd I be mad at you for it?" She asked.
"I don't fucking know. Maybe I weirded you out or some shit."
She shook her head, letting out a soft chuckle. "No, Katsuki. I wasn't weirded out. I wouldn't have asked you to 'prove it' if I was weirded out. It was far from that." She smiled when Bakugo's cheeks bloomed red. She looked down at her knees, "I was just..."
Bakugo watched her as she searched for the right words. She sighed at last and looked up at him sheepishly. "I don't know, to be honest. I'm not good with my feelings even though I've sorted them out... it sounds weird, I know."
She leaned forward and took his hands in hers, feeling the warmth of his fingers seep into her skin. She brushed her thumb over his knuckles and looked up at him. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you, Katsuki."
Bakugo's heart raced as she held his hands and looked into his eyes. He knew what she wanted to say. It was obvious. He watched her avert her gaze down to their hands again with a soft smile.
"But I'm scared things will change if I do tell you. So I'll tell you when I've gained enough confidence. I'll tell you when I'm ready." She linked her little finger with his in a promise. She didn't care if the act was childish. She glanced up at him to see his lips slightly apart. He pulled the stuffed cat into him, his little finger tightening around hers.
"I'll wait for as long as you want, Yoshiko."
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Yes, the pinky promise on the cover is from this chapter :)