Author's Note:
*heavy breathing* I finally finished it!! I've had this request sitting in my inbox for literal months and I'm so sorry, anon, that you had to wait so long 😫. I hope you like what I came up with!
Have a nice day and enjoy!
-Sugar
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● Bakugou's never been much for physical affection
● Or, at least, so he'd convinced himself
● Even around his family, he found himself shrinking back from hugs
● And anytime one of his friends would try to put an arm around him or pat him on the back, he'd flinch and tense up (Kirishima and Kaminari had a few special privileges, but even they were on thin fucking ice)
● A part of him craved that touch, wished it could last longer
● But his ego always got in the way
● From a young age, he'd viewed acts like this as showing weakness and vulnerability. It's no surprise that by the time he arrives at UA, the longing is a mostly ignorable dull throb
● Until he got to know you
● You were one of the most sickeningly sweet people Bakugou had ever seen, and he despised you
● You were just as bad as that Shitty Hair, if not worse; always grinning and trying to include everyone, even him
● He hated how his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own around you, never letting you leave their gaze when you were around him. He hated how your laugh made his cheeks heat up and his heart pound in his chest. And most of all, he hated when the tips of your fingers would brush against his arm, or when you tried to lean on his shoulder. You truly were the most intolerable of beings
● And it seems like you're even worse today
● Class was about to start and you were talking with Ashido, Kirishima, and Kaminari
● He honestly wasn't even paying attention to the conversation, that is, until he heard his name mentioned
● His red eyes flicked to you, since it had been your voice he'd heard say his name
● You had definitely been trying to get his attention. Now your gaze was directed at him
● "I've never seen you hug anyone, Bakugou," you said, your head tilted slightly as you addressed him
● "The hell does that have to do with anything?" he grumbled, already getting annoyed at the topic of conversation
● "Well, I read the other day that hugs can make you happier! And you always seem so grumpy all the time, so I was wondering if you just needed more hugs."
● You seemed oblivious to the way your classmates were staring at you. Even Bakugou couldn't bring himself to speak, merely glaring at you with a confused, almost offended expression
● Panicking at his lack of response, you bent down and threw your arms around his shoulders. You thought you heard a gasp from one or two of your classmates behind you
● Bakugou seemed to have no reaction other than mild shock. He just froze there, neither pushing you off nor reciprocating
● The whole thing was over within a few seconds, but it felt as though it had actually lasted much, much longer. Seconds after you pulled away, the bell rang for class to start, and everyone had to go back to their seats
● There was an abnormal silence in the class after that. It was as if nearly every student was thinking, Holy crap, (L/N) just hugged Bakugou freaking Katsuki
● Bakugou was weirdly silent too. It seemed as if he hadn't had any reaction at all
● Sike—it was pure chaos inside his head
● He's just been pounded with a whole slew of new feelings and emotions—give the boy a break (and a minute to process)
● He can scarcely pay attention during class (which he can afford to do, it's not like he doesn't already know most of this stuff)
● Katsuki can't tell if he hated it or not
● His immediate instinct is to reject it and say it was awful . . . but he can't deny that there's a teeny tiny part of his brain that wants you to do it again
● No one can ever know this, of course. He has a reputation to maintain, after all
● But in the safety of his own mind, he replays it over and over, trying to remember every detail of how your arms had felt around him for that brief moment
● Boy was hooked on you even more than he had been before
● But it's not like anyone can tell. Bakugou's good at that. No one would ever be able to tell he had any feelings towards the incident at all, negative or positive
● Even after his friends bombard him with questions after class, he gruffly brushes them all off. He acts so uninterestingly about it, they don't even bother asking him about it again
● Bakugou hopes that this will all blow over within the next few days. He'd surely stop thinking about you all the time, right? Maybe somehow, if he ignored these thoughts, his eyes wouldn't trail after you on their own accord, and his mind wouldn't jump at every opportunity to think about you
● For weeks, he told himself this, and time passed to nearly two months. He avoided you at all costs, refusing to speak to you or even make eye contact
● You felt horrible, blaming it on the dumb mistake you'd made to hug him that morning. No matter how hard you tried to approach him to apologize, he'd turn you away, and soon enough, you'd given up
● Until one night, he couldn't take it anymore
● He had just been fantasizing about that moment again, and tentatively wondering how it would feel to put his arms around you while he was out in the dorm hallway
● Even through the haze of his thoughts, he was quick to notice your head of hair about to turn into the hallway to your room
● You. Bubbly, bright, overly touchy and friendly you. Fuck you.
● You were always hugging everyone, right? You didn't really mean anything by it, right? It was no big deal when you hugged other people. So, maybe if he were to just ask . . .
● "Oi."
● You froze in your tracks. You'd caught sight of him in the hall, but you knew better than to try to attract his attention. He was dead set on avoiding you, and you'd pretty much accepted that by now
● Turning, you met his fiery red eyes for the first time in weeks. "Yeah?"
● There was something . . . apprehensive in his expression. You weren't sure if you'd ever seen anything like it on his face before
● "Get over here, I want to ask you something." He shoved his hands in his pockets, shifting his glare to the carpet below him
● Uncertain of what might be going on, you cautiously made your way to him
● "What is it?" you asked, a little annoyed with how he'd been treating you lately
● "I, um, well—remember that thing you did a while ago?"
● You blinked at him, slowly. "I do a lot of things. You need to be more specific."
● You'd never seen him look so flustered. It was almost . . . cute
● "You—um, you hugged me. Remember?"
● Of course you remembered. That was what had made him hate you in the first place, right?
● You sighed and crossed your arms. "Look, I'm sorry I did that. I know it made you uncomfortable and I'm sorry it affected you so much. Really, I was just goofing around, and I'm sorry it got out of hand."
● He blinked at you. You were apologizing? Oh, maybe it did make sense, now that he thought about it. He had been being an ass to you
● "Is that what you wanted?" you asked. "I tried to apologize a long time ago but you wouldn't even look at me—"
● "Could you do it again?" he cut you off
● ". . . apologize?"
● "What?! No!" Bakugou's face reddened and he scanned the surroundings for a potential audience. He dropped his voice to a scarcely audible mumble. "I . . . —dammit, I want you to hug me again."
● You blinked at him, this time in surprise. You had, in fact, heard him, but you could barely believe it. You only knew that you'd understood him correctly by his posture, and how uncharacteristically flustered he was
● "You want another hug?"
● He scowled. "Don't make me say it twice."
● "So you liked it the first time?"
● "I never said that!"
● "Uh-huh."
● Even with your annoyed teasing, you felt as if you might be able to understand a little. Everything seemed to make more sense to you, and you were beginning to catch onto the bigger picture. He'd been embarrassed that he liked it, and that was why he'd been avoiding you
● "So do you want a hug now or—?"
● "Not where anyone could see!" Bakugou's eyes nervously darted around again. "We could . . . go in my room or something." His voice had dropped back to a mumble
● You snorted and rolled your eyes. "Secret hugs, huh? I didn't know I was in such high demand."
● "Shut up, dumbass. Just follow me."
● You do that, letting him lead you into his room. After he shuts the door behind you, you stand there awkwardly for a second
● "So . . . you just wanted a hug?"
● He shrugged. "Yeah."
● You closed the distance between you and took him into your arms
● He stiffened a little at the contact, heart pounding away in his chest. It was even better than he had remembered, and now he noticed even more things; like the way your chest felt pressed against his body, and how your hair smelled like shampoo, and—
● "Relax, idiot," you whispered beside his ear. Bakugou tried to let out some of the tension in his shoulders and even tried looping his own arms around you
● You snickered internally, until a thought struck you
● When you finally pulled away, you looked at him inquisitively. "When was the last time you hugged someone?" you asked. "Other than me."
● He frowned, still a little flustered. Then he shrugged. "I don't know. It's probably been a few years."
● You couldn't help but feel your heart pang a little bit for the boy. You knew how he felt about interacting with people. You'd seen how adverse he'd seemed towards physical interaction, even among his friends
●Touch starved, you thought. It was an awful thing to experience. Bakugou probably wasn't even aware of what he was missing
● You sighed. "We can do this again if you want," you offered, wondering if the proposition would set him off to ignore you again. "I won't tell anyone."
● "Better not," he muttered under his breath
● "Do you want me to come back or not?" you asked
● He shrugged. "S'whatever. Do whatever."
● You frowned right back at him. "Yes. Or no?"
● "Yes! Yes, come over here and hug me or whatever shit! Just—just leave now."
● You rolled your eyes at him, turning and twisting the doorknob. "Just ask when you're ready," you said before walking out of his room again
● Bakugou stared at the door for a long time after you'd left
● His chest felt like it had little explosions going off in it, and he couldn't help but feel ridiculously giddy
● What was he doing? But it had felt . . . amazing. And you'd offered to do it again, whenever he asked . . . .
● . . . You proved to stand by your word
● Sure enough, he'd catch you alone every few days and sneak off to his room for a quick hug. In return, he'd help you go over your notes for class
● Before long, you couldn't help but feel closer to Bakugou. Even with his harsh nature, you noticed how he could really be. Coupled with the moments of vulnerability he'd let you in on while you hugged in secret, your liking for the boy only grew
● And it did seem to have some effect on his mood. He wasn't so easily set off, and he yelled a bit less. Your fellow classmates didn't bring up the change, but they had certainly noticed it
● Even though no one was allowed to know about your shared moments together, Kirishima would often join you for a study session
● During those days, you'd wait until he left before going in to give Bakugou his hug
● Until the inevitable happened
● It was just you and Bakugou in his room. You'd gotten all your stuff packed up for the night and you were giving him one last hug
● He'd gotten better at it over the past couple of weeks, and he'd learned to relax more into your hold
● Of course, that was right when Kirishima came back in
● "Sorry, dude, I left my—" He froze at the sight before him
● Bakugou jumped back from you, trying to look as though it wasn't obvious what he'd just been doing
● "Sorry, guys!" he said, hovering in the doorway for a moment as he debated whether or not to grab whatever he'd forgotten before dashing back out. Ultimately he decided to go emptyhanded, slamming the door shut as he whisked back into his room
● You looked at Bakugou, trying to gauge how he'd taken this turn of events. He looked angry and flustered (a look on him you were starting to get used to), but he definitely could have looked more outraged
● You patted his back. "Are you okay?"
● The blond seemed speechless for once, unable to take his eyes off the door
● "It's just Kirishima," you assured him. "He'd get it. He's understanding."
● Bakugou wasn't so sure
● A few minutes after you left, there was another knock at Bakugou's door
● "What the hell do you want?"
● Kirishima poked his head in, making sure the coast was clear. "I just wanted my notebook back."
● Bakugou picked it up from his desk and launched it at Kirishima's head, which he barely managed to catch
● "Thanks, man." Even with his originally sought after item, the redhead proceeded to step into his friend's room. "So what's going on with you and (L/N)?"
● There it was, the question Bakugou knew was coming
● "Nothing." At least it wasn't a complete lie
● "No, you two were doing something," Kirishima smirked. "Are you dating in secret or something?"
● "What?! No! It's not like that! And besides, it's none of your fucking business."
● Kirishima shrugged. "That's fair. But if you're not dating, why was she hugging you?"
● Bakugou tched. "She hugs everyone, you know her."
● "Yeah, but you were hugging her back."
● "She just gives really nice hugs!"
● Kirishima pouted. "You never hug me."
● "That's because it's different!"
● "So does that mean you like her or something?"
● Bakugou froze for just a split second too long. "No."
● Kirishima gave him a look. "She might like you back. Just ask her out on a date."
● "I already said it wasn't like that—"
● Bakugou's friend shrugged. "Well, if it was . . . couldn't hurt to try."
● Once Kirishima was successfully kicked from Bakugou's room, he took a moment to think. Could he actually . . . like you? Maybe that would explain some of the things that he'd been feeling lately
● But what about you? Could you like him back?
● Bakugou rolled his shoulders. Of course you'd like him, what part of him wasn't perfect? But still . . . .
● One night a few days later, you were alone with Bakugou again in his room, doing homework together
● You couldn't help but notice that his vibe seemed off, and it looked like he was having trouble concentrating
● "Are you alright?" you finally asked him
● "Yeah," he snapped
● "You seem stressed," you commented.
● "I'm not fucking stressed," he said, refusing to meet your eyes as he glared at his notebook in front of him
● "Okay, then," you muttered, rolling your eyes to yourself and attempting to go back to your own notes
● You watched Bakugou fidget from the corner of your eye, but decided not to pay it any mind anymore. It wasn't long before you noticed that he hadn't turned a page in his book for the past several minutes
● Bakugou was, of course, internally raging
● Why couldn't he ask you a simple question? Did he even know what kind of question he wanted to ask, though?
●Go out on a date with me— too forward, it didn't sound right to him in his head
●For some reason, I think I might like you— no again, that wasn't right either
● His mind rolled over various phrasings, trying to figure out how to put his feelings to words. How was he supposed to do that?
● How could he iterate this weird burning mess he felt clawing in his chest every time he looked at you and touched you? How could he say that he wanted more than what you were doing? How was he supposed to get the reaction out of you that he wanted?
●Be fearless, he told himself. He'd faced worse than this before. He'd been through situations where his life had literally been on the line. How come you, of all people, made him feel more frightened than ever before? Why did he care about your opinion of him so goddamn much??
● He had to start somewhere. Maybe once he got going it would be easier
● "Oi," he said, straining to keep his voice steady and nonchalant as you looked up at his averted eyes
● "Yeah?"
● "I was . . . I was wondering if maybe you wanted to . . . study somewhere else sometime."
● You blinked at him. "Like . . . where?"
● He shrugged, just a bit too jerkily. "I don't know. There's this café a few blocks from campus."
● You squinted at him. "What's wrong with staying here?"
● He scowled, his eyes finally darting up to meet yours before dipping back down again. "I just wondered if we could maybe—do something together. Something a little different."
● A hint of realization dawned on you, causing a smile to alight on your lips and your eyebrow to quirk up. "Different like—a date? Are you asking me out on a date with you?"
● He shrugged again in the same manner, still scowling as he muttered, "Only if you want it to be."
● You considered for a moment. He was a decent enough guy. If you were being completely honest with yourself, you might say you'd developed a bit of a crush on him, actually. You'd never paid too much attention to it before, but now that he was asking . . . it couldn't hurt to try
● "Of course I'll go out with you," you said, breaking into an easy smile that Bakugou still wasn't certain if he adored or hated
● He immediately relaxed, a small smile of his own appearing on his face at your agreement
● He was glad it was you. You were the only person he felt comfortable being vulnerable around. He could already tell that he was growing to like you more and more with each passing day, and he could only hope that you felt the same
● You put up with him, and you were strong in your own way, and by goodness, he was beginning to fall for you so hard
● And maybe, if you agreed for him to be your boyfriend, you'd let him cuddle with you. It wouldn't be awkward, because that's what couples did. You'd be his and he'd be yours, and he wouldn't have to bottle up these annoying feelings anymore
● But that would be decided at some later time
● Even so, he couldn't wait for that day to come