As a lot of maddening things in her life begin, it started with misogynistic fanboys—offended in the name of all the boy heroes out there being shit on by the feminists and all of the female pro heroes collectively. And individually. Apparently.

Yeah, what a load of shit.

Ochako wasn't one to sift through YouTube comments, and she definitely wasn't one to sift through YouTube comments that were about her. But the temptation to look at what was being said, about her and emblematically about all female rescue-focused pros like her, was eating away at her brain. Kaminari had only mentioned it in passing at the end of the day when they were both logging in daily reports at the agency they both worked at.

"Are you pissed about all the heat you're getting right now?" He had asked as they each waited their turn at the copy machine.

Confused as to what she could have possibly done to be getting heat, she had answered honestly and told him that she hadn't had a clue what he was even talking about.

"That rescue last week?" He had continued, "The one where you teamed up with Bakugou? "Cause I'm a little pissed about it. You don't deserve any of the shit they're saying."

A villain had knocked down an entire building not too far from where she lived—and she also happened to live within the borders of Bakugou's patrol. When she had arrived onto the scene, Bakugou had already engaged the villain so as to hinder him from doing any more damage. He had yelled at her to focus on the building—an office space that had exploded into the streets. And it had thankfully been after quitting time so that everyone had left, making the casualty list small if there were any deaths to report at all.

Uraraka had cleared out all the debris that was blocking civilians from falling back, and once she finished up with that she jumped into the fight at Bakugou's side. He barked at her to get her hands on the villain so that she could activate her quirk on him, and once she did it was easy to get the finishing move.

Apparently, a buncha fuckboys were upset that she took the finishing move from Ground Zero when he obviously did all the work to weaken the villain. Forget about evacuating civilians, arguably one of the most important parts about being a goddamned hero.

Ochako growled, sitting up in bed and grabbing her phone from off her nightstand—she still couldn't afford to upgrade to a smartphone, and the soft sound of her clicking through her contacts filled the dark of her room.

She brought her phone to her ear, too irritated to feel bad to be calling so late. Knowing Deku, however, he was probably still awake.

"Hello?" Deku's voice answered, clear and awake despite it being close to two in the morning.

"Deku," Ochako greeted shortly, "You want to know what makes me mad?"

"What?" Izuku humored. As someone well-versed in Ochako's tendency to rant about the injustices in the world, Deku knew it would just be best to let her get it all out before offering any input.

"I'm smart," She started, glaring up at her ceiling, "I'm strong. I can kick anybody's ass."

"Uh huh."

"I focus on rescue not because I can't fight," She continued vehemently, "But because it makes more sense. Why let the dude with the explosion quirk pick up the rubble when you've got an anti-gravity quirk that will do that job a million times faster? It just makes sense."

A sigh. "What did Kacchan do now?"

"Nothing. If he wanted to make the final blow, he very well could have." She grunted in exasperation, "Can you—just look up that stupid fucking clip of me and him from last week and tell me the fuckboys in the comments are stupid, please? Validation would be awesome right about now."

"You're pissed," Izuku noted, "But yeah, I got you."

There was a moment of silence while Deku got to the clip and read through the comments. On occasion, Ochako would hear him scoff and snort.

"The fuckboys in the comments are stupid, Ochako," Izuku told her firmly, "Uravity is a trick bitch, Ground Zero totally deserved that victory. Whatever! That's not even the point of being a hero! Besides, Kacchan could have done the honors if he really felt like it was necessary—"

"Yes!" Ochako interrupted, "Exactly. Thank you."

Izuku hummed, presumably still scrolling through forbidden YouTube comments, "Hey listen to this one: Ground Zero's career is already set. Who even cares about som hoe stilling—wow, learn to spell people—his vilane? He obvs let her."

"Let—" Ochako screeched, "Let me?!"

Izuku snorted, "Kacchan hasn't ever let anyone do anything."

"Let me?"

"Oh my god," Izuku breathed, sounding a little like he couldn't believe his own eyes.

"What?" Ochako inquired, feeling pushy.

"Kacchan commented on the video," Izuku answered, "Holy fuck."

"What?" Ochako repeated, "What did he say?"

"I seriously can't believe my eyes."

"Izukuuuuu," She whined.

"Alright, alright," Izuku placated, "You want me to read it to you? It's kind of long?"

"Read it already!"

"Hookay, here goes," Izuku said, sucking in a long breath, "What the fuck is even wrong with you ignorant shits?" Izuku's impersonation of Bakugou was terrifyingly accurate. "Uravity didn't steal jack shit from me—what kind of backwards idea even is that, hah? We're not fucking with villains just to get views on the internet—we're risking our necks to save people's lives and Uravity is one of the best at doing that shit. She may focus on rescue, but she could kick anyone's ass. Step outside of your motherfucking caves, dipshits. Stop calling yourselves my biggest fans if you're just going to shit on rescue heroes all the motherfucking time."

"Ever so eloquent, Bakugou," Ochako hummed, the words Izuku read actually relaxing her tense muscles.

"Oh, but he sure does get his point across," Deku chuckled, "You still mad?"

"Not as much," Ochako admitted, sinking back into her pillows.

"You're only mad now because you wanted to be the one to put them in their place, huh?" Izuku sounded like he was smiling.

Ochako sighed, "You know me too well."

"You look like you need to shit," A voice announced from behind her, causing her to startle. Before she could react further, the chair directly in front of her at her table was scraping against the tiled floor and none other than Bakugou Katsuki was sitting in front of her with a burger and an order of fries. She glared down at his meal, at the way the muscles of his arms moved underneath his skin as he reached out to begin eating. She glared at his stupid tank top and how he seemed to keep his physique almost effortlessly and how he probably never felt self-conscious about his body.

She pouted angrily, pressing the lock button on her tablet—it had been a gift from Todoroki on her birthday. But right now it felt more like a curse helping her access stupid articles about the stupid imperfections about her body written by stupid people who have nothing better to do than criticize women.

"Oi, round face," Bakugou growled, irritated that she was ignoring him.

"Don't call me that," Ochako snapped, stabbing her salad angrily and successfully ignoring the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

Bakugou's eyebrows rose behind his hairline, "What crawled up your ass today?"

"What are you even doing here, Bakugou?" Ochako redirected.

"Getting dinner," He answered, "And then I saw your sorry ass glaring at a harmless bowl of salad like it personally offended you. Why're you eating that shit, anyways?"

"Like you're one to talk," Ochako scoffed, gesturing towards his burger.

"What?" Katsuki asked innocently, "I can eat junk every now and again."

"Lucky you."

Bakugou smirked, taking a bite out of his burger and leaning back slightly in his seat to regard her. She tried her best to ignore the intensity of his gaze, but something about the gleam in his red eyes made her think that he knew exactly what had her so pissy.

"You know," He drawled, pointing at her with a french fry, "I'm an asshole who usually deserves getting chewed out—but I can't think of a single thing I've done to set you off like this." He twirled the fry between them, a gesture towards the two of them sitting here together at this tiny little deli a couple of blocks away from her apartment, "One could say that you're the asshole in this scenario."

"Are you trying to piss me off?" Ochako inquired, glaring at him.

"I'm trying to get you out of your head, pink cheeks," Katsuki answered, adjusting his usual nickname for her shrewdly.

"Why?" She questioned.

"Want a fry?" He asked instead of answering her question, holding one out to her with a challenge in his eyes. She wacked his hand away and he lost his grip on the fry. It dropped onto the ground next to them and Katsuki's mouth stretched across his face in a wolfish smirk. "You know, you're hot when you're angry."

Ochako scoffed, but he didn't miss the blush spreading across her face.

"You think I'm lying?" He scoffed right back, "Don't insult me."

"Whatever," She said, stabbing her salad again and glaring down at the impaled greens, "I know that the tabloids are full of shit and that my body image isn't what defines me as a person, but it still stings."

"You could be the juiciest peach there is," Bakugou said as he munched on his fries, "But some bastard out there is still gonna hate peaches."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm still insecure about it!"

"Want me to show you why you should take those insecurities and shit on them?" Bakugou inquired, licking his lips before opening his mouth wide to bite into his burger. Ochako's eyes were glued onto the way his jaw worked as he chewed, and then her gaze trailed down to his throat when he swallowed. "You'll feel like a fuckin' queen when I'm done with you."

"What the hell are you even suggesting?" Ochako asked, flicking her eyes back to his red ones.

Bakugou grinned.

That's how she found herself pressed against her own front door, Bakugou's warm body grinding against hers as he worked on getting her off before they even had a chance to undress one another. He had one of her legs hiked up around his waist, his strong fingers digging into the flesh of her upper thigh while his other hand was busy sneaking under her shirt to grope at her chest. Their lips were connected, hot and wet as they breathed into each other. She tasted like balsamic vinegar, and he tasted like onions but neither one of them seemed to care.

"Damn, Uraraka," He breathed, breaking their kiss with a wet smacking sound at the same time he squeezed one of her breasts and jiggled it appreciatively. Ochako wasn't sure how he was focusing so well on that while also rubbing his hard on so deliciously against her core, but she certainly wasn't snuffing his multitasking capabilities.

His lips travelled to her neck, and all of the sensations he was raining down on her body were sending her reeling towards the edge. She whimpered, letting herself lean back against the wall as he worked her—the firm press of his body was the only thing keeping her upright.

"You gonna come for me?" Bakugou's voice whispered right in her ear, his breath fanning against her neck.

Ochako nodded, biting her lip in a vain attempt to silence her moans and quickened breathing.

"Look at you," He continued, pulling his head back and slowing down his grinding motions much to her chagrin. He grinned at the frustrated growl that escaped through her lips almost involuntarily, and pushed forward to capture her bottom lip between his teeth. He tugged on it before letting it go teasingly. "You're a fuckin' dream come true lookin' at me like that," He said, before returning to rutting against her with gusto.

"Shit," She gasped, as he set to a rhythm that had her going crazy. The friction was perfect, even between their layers of clothing. She threw her head back as she hit her climax, twitching in his hold and breathing out his name.

Before she could even blink, she was being hoisted up over his shoulder with a grunt from him and a squeak from her.

"Where's your bedroom?" He inquired gruffly, his hand patting her ass.

"Door on the left," She answered, dazed and tingly from her orgasm. His question reminded her how insane this was—letting him do what he wanted with her on a whim. It's not like they've been great at keeping in contact after graduating high school, and what little interaction they do have revolves around hero work. They weren't dating. He didn't even know where her bedroom was. She definitely shouldn't be doing this with him. Despite this train of thought, she didn't say a thing as he stomped his way into her room and flicked the light on.

The way he playfully tossed her onto her bed was not something she had anticipated, but she liked it. She's always thought she had to be a seductress in bed to make up for her imperfect body—be coy at times but confident at others so as to seem like she knew what she was doing even though she didn't always.

But Bakugou was so brazenly himself. It made her feel like she could be herself too and still be wanted.

He paused in front of the bed, hands crossed at the hem of his shirt. She watched with rapt attention as he lifted it above his head and tossed it away, revealing his muscled torso for her viewing pleasure. Ochako has always wanted to get her hands on those abs, but she never actually considered it something that could realistically happen.

As she was musing over his hipbones, he was crawling onto the bed with her. He forced himself between her legs and sat back on his calves, towering over her with heady eyes.

"Shirt off," He ordered, hands reaching out to grip her hips and give them a squeeze.

"You're bossy," She snapped, wanting to take attention away from how nervous she was. This was the part that always made her want to hide.

"I'm also really impatient," He retorted, slapping her upper thigh to emphasize his point.

She rolled her eyes but sat up enough to pull her shirt over her head. She resisted the urge to cross her arms over her stomach, knowing that Bakugou would have something to say about it. Instead, she avoided eye contact so that she wouldn't have to meet whatever judgment lay beyond his red gaze.

There was a long moment where neither one of them did anything, and it was long enough for her to second guess everything. But just as that thought crossed her mind, Bakugou's large hands were on both of her breasts. He kneaded them for a moment, pushing them together and away from each other intermittently and humming at the image she made. Then one of his hands crept behind her towards the clasp of her bra. The straps fell off her shoulders, and the only thing keeping her modest was her arms pressed against her sides, trapping each side of her bra and keeping it in place. Bakugou tugged on the article of clothing and then they were both sitting in front of each other half naked.

"Damn," Bakugou muttered over her tits for the second time that night, diving down to suck one of her nipples into his mouth without any fanfare. She moaned—he put his back into everything he ever did, but his passion in this regard was making desire burn hot within her. He kept his eyes on her as he lavished his attention on her nipple, alternating between flicking the nub with his tongue and wrapping his entire mouth around it. The image itself was making arousal pool at her groin, not to mention how good it felt.

When he felt satisfied with her hardened nipple, he turned to the other one to give it some attention. He swirled his tongue around it, smirking whenever she'd sigh as he did something particularly nice with his mouth. He popped off her breast when he got a loud moan out of her.

"You're sexy as hell, round face," He declared, his tongue sneaking out of his mouth to draw a long line down the middle of her chest. He trailed over to her neck, sucking on her skin to elicit more moans from her, "Fuck. Keep making those noises."

Ochako huffed, loving all of the attention but also wanting to make him feel good. She reached out, tentatively placing a hand over his abs and sighing at the way they tensed under her touch. Bakugou was pure muscle—he always had been ever since she first met him—and she's always thought that the blonde was attractive. But she never entertained the possibility of that being reciprocated.

She trailed her hand up his torso, biting her lip nervously before pinching a nipple. He twitched, pressing closer to her with a hot groan against her neck. Ochako could feel the hard length of his arousal pressing hot into her core so she snapped her hips up against him to see what he'd do in retaliation.

"Fuck," He said, stealing the word right from Ochako's mouth.

"What," She squealed, as Bakugou crawled down her body until his face was inches away from her clothed crotch, "What are you doing?!"

"Gonna eat you out," He stated like it was obvious. He undid the button on her shorts and tugged them down to her ankles, returning to admire the wet patch that was obvious on her panties. Ochako was mortified that he was staring at her so shamelessly—embarrassed that she was so obviously turned on.

Bakugou looked up at her and paused when he took in her wide eyes.

"Have you ever been eaten out before?" He asked gruffly.

Ochako shook her head, face red.

"What the fuck," He said, "You must've been with some real douchebags, then."

"I guess," Ochako shrugged, shutting her thighs as much as she could with him laying between her legs. Strong hands stopped her, prying her thighs apart.

"It'll feel real good, cheeks," He vowed, "And I did promise to make you feel like a fuckin' queen—can't believe anyone would pass up the opportunity to have their face between these thighs, ta be honest." Bakugou grinned, turning his head to the side to plant a kiss on her thigh in question and—shit, that did kind of make her feel like a queen and he hasn't even met his target.

"May I?" He asked politely, even if the smirk on his face kind of ruined it. He slid his fingers up until they were dipping into the sides of her panties on either side of her hips, and she figured why the hell not?

"Please," She said, lifting her hips so that he could yank her underwear off. She kicked them to the side along with her shorts and waited with bated breath as he took in her naked pussy. He drew a squeak out of her when he pulled his tongue up from her entrance all the way up her folds. He smiled and huffed against her, and then pressed forward until the entire bottom of his face was practically glued to her skin, lapping up her juices and bringing her closer and closer to the edge.

Her back arched, and her hands flew to his hair. The sensation of his tongue on her was more intense than anything she'd ever felt in her life, and her hips snapped up into his face before she could stop herself. She bit her lip, an apology on her tongue. She cut herself off before she could even say anything as he groaned at the action, pressing even harder into her core.

"Fucking use me, Uraraka," He demanded, shaking his head from side to side on her labia with his tongue sticking out and dragging a mewl out of her lips, "That's so fucking hot."

"You've got a—hah!" He zeroed in on her clit, swirling his tongue around it as her hips set into a rhythm against him, "—a dirty mouth."

He pulled back with a raised eyebrow, "Are you really surprised?"

"No, just—fuck," She panted, his mouth coming back to suck on her clit, "That's hot."

His hand replaced his mouth in an instant, keeping up that delicious friction so that he could open up his mouth to tell her all the dirty things on his mind.

"You like that, huh?" He inquired lazily, the hand not circling her mound creeping forward toward her entrance. A finger slid inside without resistance, pressing against her walls, "Bet you'd go crazy if I told you how long I've dreamt of this—of being between your beautiful thighs and getting you fucking dripping just so I can lap it up like I'm your hungry bitch." Then he ducked down to do just that, shoving his tongue into her hole along side his finger.

"Shit!" She gasped, bucking up into his mouth. The hand on her clit was relentless, taking her close to the edge for the second time. She was dripping, and it was getting all over Bakugou's face. He didn't seem to mind, eagerly eating up her juices as he shoved his tongue in and out of her. The stimulation was too much, the picture he made between her legs was too much, and she was tipping over her limit with a pleasured cry and his name on her lips. He worked her through it, not letting up on her swollen clit until she was knocking his hands away.

"Think you can get off one more time, cheeks?" He asked as he pulled away from her pussy, wiping her juices from his face with the back of his hand.

The back of her head hit her pillow.

"I think you might actually kill me, Bakugou," She sighed, reveling in her post-coital bliss.

"Uh huh," He murmured, climbing up her body, "And I think that if I don't get my dick inside of you fuckin' stat I might actually explode."

"Condoms are in the drawer of my nightstand." Ochako brought a hand up to the hairs on the back of his neck, sliding her hand down his back as he leaned forward to rummage through said drawer. He handed her the condom a second later. There was a moment where he fumbled with his pants, and Ochako had to stifle a giggle when he growled to himself as they got caught somewhere near his knees. He kicked them off aggressively as she tore through the wrapping on the condom, and then she handed it over to him.

She realized belatedly that Bakugou Katsuki was now as naked as she was, and that he was rolling on a condom so that he could fuck her senseless. She only had a second for her eyes to rake in his cock as he was lining it up to her entrance. Of course he had to have one of the biggest dicks she's ever seen, he had to be number one in everything, didn't he? She didn't have long to ponder over the irony before he was pushing forward and filling her up.

"Fuck," She gasped, squeezing around him as he bottomed out.

"Fuck," He echoed, hooking his hands on the underside of her knees and folding her legs up so that he could reach even further inside of her. She was so wet from his previous ministrations, and when he gave an experimental thrust into her it was accompanied with a lewd squelching sound that would have made her embarrassed had she been in her right mind.

"Your pussy is sucking me in," He growled, pulling out to the tip and thrusting forward with more purpose. His eyes were glued to their hips, watching with captivated eyes as his length kept disappearing in and out of her heat—she clenched around him, pulling a moan from his throat, "You feel so fuckin' amazing, Uraraka."

Ochako wasn't sure why those particular words had her blushing almost innocently, especially when his proclamation was followed by a steady rhythm that had her seeing stars. Maybe it was how honest he was being. Maybe it was because she's never actually felt wanted in bed before.

Whatever the reason, it had her on cloud nine and she was already approaching her third orgasm.

"Faster," She commanded, meeting his thrusts as best as she could while seeking out his lips. He met her halfway, shoving his tongue in her mouth as he picked up the pace—he was fucking her mouth with his tongue as he fucked her greedy hole with his dick. Ochako was seeing stars.

The pleasure was building for both of them, and they pulled away from each other's mouths as it became too hard to multitask. Bakugou's hand drew hers away from his chest, and he intertwined their fingers and pressed their joined hands into the sheets of her mattress. It was a sentimental action, one that Uraraka hadn't expected of him.

"Oh shit," He groaned, his other arm that was holding himself up reached up to entangle his fingers in her hair. He tugged hard enough to pull a high-pitched moan out of her and bit into the meat of her shoulder at the same time. His teeth sunk into her skin, and she scratched her nails down his back in retaliation.

"You're so wet for me," He growled into her skin, "Fuck. You—hah—close?"

She couldn't form words; she could only nod desperately.

That must have boosted his ego enough for him to speed up even more, sending her over the edge of the fucking mountain they had climbed together. Her body convulsed underneath his, and she clasped his poor hand to death as he rocked her through another orgasm. She squeezed around him, her body wanting to keep him inside of her, and that was what ended him. His thrusts stuttered as he climaxed, shooting his load into the condom and catching her mouth in a bruising kiss. He let go of her legs and they fell on either side of him.

They traded sloppy kisses as they both came down from their highs. Bakugou was pressed against her, trapping her between him and the bed, and it was a solid minute before he finally pulled out to dispose of the condom. Ochako let him go begrudgingly as he stood up to drop it in her waste basket.

She pouted, supposing that this was the part where he left and never spoke to her again unless it had something to do with work.

"Scoot over," He barked from the door, flicking the light off.

Ochako blinked, making room on her twin bed in a daze. He crossed the room in the dark, cursing when he knocked his knees into the side of her bed. She couldn't hold back her giggle at that, and a moment later his hair was smothering her as he smashed his face into her neck.

"What's so fuckin' funny?" He growled against her skin, his strong arms sneaking underneath and around her. She squeaked, because they were both still naked—but he paid her no mind and simply pulled the sheets over the both of them.

"Nothin'," She laughed.

"Whatever," Bakugou snorted.

Ochako threw a tentative arm around Bakugou, making sure to curl her fingers into a fist so as to not accidently activate her quirk on him in their sleep. She closed her eyes, finding comfort in the heat radiating from off his body.

"Hey, cheeks," Bakugou grumbled after a while.

"Hmm?" She hummed, feeling sleepy.

"Go out with me."

Ochako's eyes shot open.

"Eh?" Her cheeks were flaming, and he could probably feel it in the little space between them, "Aren't you doing things a little backwards!?"

"Just answer the question!" He growled, pushing his forehead against hers in irritation.

"You didn't ask me a question," She deadpanned.

He huffed, reminding her of a resigned dog, "Will you go out with me?"

Ochako rolled her eyes, digging her nails into his back, "Why should I, Bakugou? Yeah, we just fucked and it was great—but you spent the night admiring my body and not once did you tell me what you like about me."

"Fuck that," He barked, "I've done nothing but admire you since high school. Are you really telling me that you expect some grandiose confession from me? Me? Do you know me?"

"If I'm going to date you," She growled, a terrifying smile on her face that even had Bakugou gulping, although he would say later that the dark made it look more scary than it actually was, "Then a confession is exactly what I expect from you."

Katsuki groaned.

"This is what I like about you, cheeks," He growled reluctantly, "You're passionate about the shit you believe in and it makes you strong. What else could you want me to fuckin' say? That I've had a big ass crush on you since our second year at U.A.?"

"That's certainly a good place to start," She said, softening at his confession and knowing that it was probably hard for him to admit even that much, "You can tell me more when you make me dinner tomorrow night." Her sharp hold on his back trailed up to his hair so that she could softly rake her fingers through blonde hair, "…and just so we're on the same page…" She added shyly, "I really admire you, too."

"Great," He sighed, resting his hand on her ass like the gentleman he wasn't, "Now go to sleep."

"It's only nine," She grumbled, "Shouldn't we shower or something?"

"In th'morning," He slurred, already falling asleep.

"You're an old man," Ochako harrumphed to the darkness, although her heart was beating wildly at the idea of sharing her shower with Bakugou.

She woke to an empty space beside her and the distinct smell of eggs and bacon wafting into her room from the kitchen. She sat up, the sheets falling off her chest and exposing her to the air. She shivered and got up, picking up Bakugou's discarded shirt from last night and pulling it over her head. She glimpsed at her clock and pouted when she saw that it wasn't even seven o'clock and walked out of her room grumbling about going to bed way too early.

Bakugou was at her kitchen stove, flipping eggs with a flick of his wrist like it was nothing. He was wearing his boxers from yesterday and her obnoxious floral apron she never used herself and his hair was even more explosive than what she was used to seeing.

She stretched as she walked over to him, and then peeked over his shoulder to watch him work—she had always been amazed by his skills in the kitchen.

"Smells good," She said, trudging past him to the fridge, "Want orange juice?"

"Sure," He grunted.

She hummed, heading towards her small dining table with the OJ in hand. He stopped her as she was passing him with a large hand on her shoulder. He stooped down to steal a kiss from her shocked lips and pulled back with a smirk, turning back to the stove.

"You look damn good in my shirt," He observed with pride, and then much more casually: "Good morning."

"G-good morning!" She squealed, rushing over to the table with a flaming face, "I'll…set the table!" She's never set the table in her entire life.

She bustled around the kitchen, grabbing plates and utensils. Her only cups were her extensive collection of mismatching mugs—she pulled out the nicest ones she could find and put them on the table. By the time she was pulling out a stack of paper napkins from her pantry, he was placing the pans of eggs and bacon on her oven mitts on the table. There was a pop behind her as she made her way over to the table with the napkins, startling her.

"Toast," Bakugou offered as an explanation, shuffling over to where he'd seen her grab the plates and piling the toast onto it. Ochako walked to the fridge and pulled the jelly out of it and grabbed a butter knife out of the utensil drawer.

It was all very domestic.

When they both sat across from each other—he was still wearing that ridiculous apron—they were uncomfortably reserved. At least, that's how she felt about it all. Who knew what the fuck was going on in Bakugou's head?

After two solid minutes of them munching on their breakfast quietly, Ochako broke.

"Gah!" She exclaimed, pointing her fork at him, "How do you expect me to date you if you can't even make conversation, Bakugou!?"

Bakugou growled, hand tensing around a forkful of eggs, "Do we need to make conversation to make a relationship work?"

"Yes!" Ochako scoffed.

"No, I—fuck," Bakugou stuffed the eggs in his mouth and swallowed, "I meant—don't you like it when you don't need to make conversation? Like…you can just be and do it in someone else's company without talking about useless shit because your relationship is that secure that you don't need to talk about useless shit?"

Okay…that was profound.

And was he saying that he felt that way with her…already?

Uraraka sighed, "Yes, Bakugou. That does sound nice. But can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me we're at the point where we can do that?" She pushed her eggs around on her plate, "The useless shit isn't totally useless, you know."

"Do tell," He deadpanned, munching into a piece of bacon.

"Well," She said, "That's how you break the ice! You gotta ask people about their favorite color, their favorite shows, their favorite whatevers before getting to the deep stuff. Or even the funny stuff, sometimes—"

"You're favorite color is pink," He interrupted resolutely, "You don't watch a lot of television because it costs extra money, but you like action movies with a good plot twist and beefy dude protagonists. You consider Deku, Glasses and Frog chick to be your best friends, but you get along well with pretty much everyone as long as they're not complete assholes. You like martial arts and proving why people shouldn't underestimate you. You've got a sweet tooth the size of my ego, and—" He sent her a cheeky grin with half-lidded eyes, "—you lose the ability to form words when you're getting fucked just right."

Ochako shut her gaping mouth. She pushed away the pool of heat that last one brought to her stomach.

"I could go on, you know. We went to school together for three fucking years," Bakugou continued, rolling his eyes at her dumb expression, "I caught onto a thing or two about all of our shitty classmates, especially after we all moved into the dorms. So please don't make me suffer through any of that small talk bullshit."

Ochako leaned back in her seat as she realized she also already knew how Bakugou would answer those same questions, "Well then, what would you like to talk about?"

Bakugou chewed on his lip, eyebrows pulled down as he tried to think of something.

"See? So we're not going to bypass all of the small talk bullshit—"

"Why'd ya agree to taking me home with you?" Bakugou interrupted again, catching her off-guard again, "Yesterday, at the deli?"

"Geez," She said, dropping her fork and crossing her arms over her chest protectively, "Maybe because you've always taken me seriously from the first time we ever fought? Maybe because you keep showing me that you respect me through your actions and even your words on occasion? You challenge me, and I just can't say no? You're also really hot." She laughed to herself as something occurred to her, "All the girls from school would tell me I'm crazy for having sex with you if they knew—but that's the thing. I respect you too." She locked gazes with him, "You're aggressive and hot-tempered, but you know what it means to be a hero."

Bakugou's lips stretched into a considering expression, "It pisses me off when people undervalue you."

"Thanks," Ochako said lamely.

Katsuki shrugged, returning to his food in earnest. They ate the rest of the meal in comfortable silence.

Showering with Bakugou was all business—no hanky panky, much to her dismay. Although he did slap her ass as she was stepping out, and to retaliate she turned around to pinch his nipple and yank. But other than that, the only contact they had in the shower was washing each other's backs—and Bakugou insisted upon washing her hair.

It felt kind of surreal to have Bakugou staring her down from the open doorway of her apartment in yesterday's clothes, his red eyes as intense as ever but with a subtle softness that she was sure she wasn't imagining.

"You said dinner tonight?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe and dipping his head closer to hers, "I saw the contents of your fridge, so I'm just gonna assume we're doing this thing at my place—" He shoved his phone in her hand, "Give me your number, and I'll text you my address. What time do you get off patrol?"

"Six, usually," She answered, taking his phone and typing in her contact info.

"Let's say seven for tonight then," He took his phone back, looking over her name in his contacts. He smirked, clicking the edit button and typing something in with quick fingers.

Ochako shoved herself into his space to see what could possibly be making him smirk like that. She gasped when she saw what he changed her name to in his phone.

"One juicy peach!?"

Bakugou winked, "The fuckin' juiciest peach I ever did eat."

She slapped his arm, red faced, "Bakugou!"

He laughed without any malice, sliding his phone into his pocket and well out of her reach, "See you at seven, juicy fruit." He stooped down and pecked her on the cheek before turning his back to her and strolling towards the stairs. When she shut the door, she slid down it until her butt hit the ground. She pulled out her own phone and called Deku.

"Hey Ochako!" His chirpy voice answered after three rings.

"Deku!" She said frantically, "I had sex with Bakugou and he asked me out afterwards and he made me breakfast and he literally just left my apartment and we're having dinner tonight and I think he wants me to be his girlfriend but he's emotionally stunted and I'm a hot mess and I'm positive that this is all going to explode in our faces!"

"You had sex with Kacchan?" Deku squeaked.

"Yes, Deku. Keep up!"

Deku sputtered, "W-well excuse me for being a little surprised? You had actual sex? With Kacchan?"

"We dry humped, he ate me out like a fucking champ, and then, yes, he stuck his actual dick in me."

"Gyah!" Izuku exclaimed, scandalized, "It was a yes or no question! You didn't have to get anymore descriptive than just saying yes!"

"I did say yes!" She argued, hand slipping into her hair and clenching around the brown locks, "You weren't getting it! Will you just tell me what I should do!?"

"Shit," Deku murmured, "How about we grab lunch today? That way we can both think through your options and talk it out? I've gotta leave for patrol in like ten minutes anyways…"

"Please, please, please," Ochako chanted, "You're a lifesaver Deku!"

"S'all in the job description."

"Okay," Deku said, sipping on his milkshake happily as he pulled out a notepad and a pencil, "So I think you should make a list of pros and cons of dating Kacchan. Let's go ahead and get the cons out of the way first—"

"He's shit at communication," Ochako said, munching on the fries she's been dreaming about ever since Bakugou showed up yesterday at the deli she frequented, "He can't stand most of my friends, I kind of feel like he decided to ask me out on a whim and didn't really think any of this through, and both of us are busy as hell—"

"Okay, I'm going to knock that one off the list because that's likely to be a problem with anyone you decide to date. Anything else?"

Ochako chewed her lip.

Izuku rolled his eyes, "Spit it out, 'Chako."

"I feel like this one's petty and shallow," She sighed, sipping on her soda.

Izuku smiled fondly, "I'm sure you can find a pro that's just as petty and shallow to cancel it out."

"Bakugou's fuckboy fans," Ochako grunted, gazing out the window, "I feel like I'm going to be attacked if I'm dating Ground Zero—like the media will accuse me of sleeping with him to get attention and to raise my ranking as a hero."

Izuku set down his pencil and crossed his arms over his chest, his green eyes settling on her with a seriousness he usually reserved for hero work. "That's valid, Ochako," He said, "Kacchan's definitely got a large fan base, and they do kind of revere him because of his aggressive attitude—like somehow his foul mouth and all around image excuse their own misogynistic, racist, and homophobic mindsets even though Kacchan's none of those things himself." Deku's sighed, "No matter how much he yells at his own fans to stop doing that, the fuckboys still just want to be fuckboys. But the question here is…" He reached across the table to pat one of her hands sympathetically, "…can you handle that?"

"I guess it depends on the pros," Ochako garbled.

"Let me have 'em," He told her, picking up his pencil again.

"Well…" She started hesitantly, like it was insane to admit that there were any pros to dating Bakugou Katsuki, "He and I are compatible in bed. Like really compatible. Like really insanely compatible. He's a surprisingly attentive lover—and he did this thing with his tongue that—"

"Ochako," Deku interrupted, gripping tight to his pencil, "I am begging you not to go into further detail."

"Oh sorry, Deku!" She giggled, "I started daydreaming there. Hmm…another pro is that he's a good cook! And he treats me like an equal; he's an inspiration to me and would probably be willing to work with me to become a better hero. Despite how stubborn he is, he knows what it means to be a hero and will work harder than anyone to improve himself and change characteristics about himself that hinder that dream. He seemed really serious about wanting to date me, despite it all happening at once…and I bet he'd work on his communication skills if he knows how important that is to me. I guess I have kind of had a crush on him since high school—I mean, it's kind of cute how he goes to bed early, and how much of a goody-two shoes he is even though he tries to look like a bad boy—"

"Oh. Oh, honey," Deku stopped her before she could prattle on any further, "You've got it bad, and you didn't even know it."

Ochako's eyes widened, Deku's words putting it all into perspective.

"I'm fucked," She said simply.

"Fraid so."

Ochako groaned.

It was a month later—they had been officially exclusive since a week after their initial hook-up due to Bakugou's persistence, which was something she'd only ever seen him apply to hero work—and she had been taking a nap on Bakugou's chest after a long day of patrol and paper work. Bakugou had the news on, and it was trickling into her ears as she slowly gained consciousness.

She opened her sleep-heavy eyes, disoriented like she usually was when waking up from a nap. It took her a moment to remember that she was at Bakugou's place and not her own apartment and that her pillow was his hard chest and not the arm of her couch. After she finally got a hold of herself, she realized that Bakugou was scrolling through his phone over her shoulder rather than watching the television.

She stirred, and Katsuki threw his phone to the side so as to tighten his arms around her. She peeked up at him, brows furrowing as she saw the frown on his face—it wasn't his usual frown, it was a worried frown. She opened her mouth to ask about it when she tuned into the conversation on the news station and was successfully distracted.

Bakugou sighed, turning her face back towards his.

"Don't listen to them, 'Chako," He growled softly, running his long fingers through her bangs, "They don't know shit about you."

Just as she had predicted with Deku, the two news anchors were speculating over the nature of her and Bakugou's relationship—particularly her intentions behind dating the infamous, aggressive, loud-mouthed Ground Zero. Apparently, many believed she was only with him for the media attention.

Ochako didn't yank her head away from his grip, but her eyes did stubbornly flick over to the television.

In a move that was very un-Bakugou-like, or so she would have thought a month ago, he leant forward to press his lips on the crown of her head. He trailed down to her ear, and began whispering to her.

"They don't know how hard you work to show up all the jackasses that look down on you," He murmured, softly kissing behind her ear and slowly recapturing her attention away from the screen. "They don't know that you give up a large chunk of each paycheck to your parents like the selfless angel you are." He planted another kiss lower down on her neck, making her shiver. "They don't know that I practically had to get down on my knees and beg you to date me." He trailed upwards, kissing her cheek affectionately. He pulled back to look her in the eyes, serious, "And you don't even seem to know that I'm the luckiest bastard out there, having you here. In my arms." He kissed the corner of her mouth teasingly and turned away from her even as she chased his lips. She whined when he refused to kiss her again, pulling back with a pout.

"Listen," He chided with a smile, hand ruffling her hair.

"You're the one that started kissing me," She grumped, tapping her fingers on his collarbone.

Bakugou rolled his eyes, electing to ignore her accusation in favor of finishing his point, "You have the respect of the people that matter to you, don't you?"

Ochako sighed. She thought of Deku, Tenya, Tsuyu, Todoroki—all of their classmates from high school, really. They all respected her; they all saw the strength sitting inside of her even if it took a bit longer for some of them to see past her fragile-looking exterior.

And then there was Katsuki.

The man that has respected her from the beginning.

She nodded, melting a little into his arms.

"Then don't fuckin' worry about those extras thinking they know better than you," He demanded, resting his forehead against hers. Ochako smiled softly, leaning forward to finally steal that kiss from him.

"Thanks," She said against his lips. She giggled a moment later, pulling back from him with a teasing glint in her eyes, "You're really sweet, Katsuki."

He grinned flirtatiously, "Only on you, angel."

She blushed, still not so used to this affectionate, flirty side of him. Instead of teasing him—it'd probably just backfire on her because of his damned wit—she elected to pushing him back into the cushions of the couch and sliding their lips together, slow and wet, until it progressed into something else entirely.

Six months into their relationship, Ochako's media composure snapped in arguably one of the worst places she could have let it: while she was the key guest on Japan's Society of Heroes radio talk show. To make matters worse, not only was it broadcast live over the radio—it was also recorded on camera and put on their YouTube page later.

The interview had been going fine. Ochako had been nervous, but it wasn't anything she hasn't been able to handle before—she forgot the show host's name due to her nerves, and her biggest anxiety for most of the interview was simply making sure she didn't put herself in a position where she'd have to use his name she'd let slip.

She saw red at the end of the interview, shortly after the show host started asking her questions about her and Katsuki's relationship.

"Does Ground Zero treat you well, Uravity-san?" He'd asked harmlessly.

She had blinked, not sure she understood the sentiment behind the question. She probably shouldn't of pressed it, but it had literally pressed up against her ribcage—a righteous fury that had been dying to burst out of her lips.

"What do mean?" She asked sweetly, her eyes burning viciously.

He must not have seen the rage in her eyes.

"Many have questioned your decision to pursue a relationship with the aggressive hero," He continued, clearly rehearsing a script, "The public couldn't help but feel uneasy about you two considering his violent treatment towards you during your first year Sports Festival—"

"Violent treatment?" Ochako interrupted, incredulous, "We were competing in a hero tournament! Would you call his battle with goddamned Todoroki violent treatment? What about the other two boys he faced during the one on ones?"

"Analysts have judged each individual battle, and based on your quirk—"

"I know what the damned analysts have to say," She plowed on, "and I'm just going to stop you right there. So shut your mouth and listen."

His mouth snapped shut.

"Anyone who accuses Katsuki of being abusive can fuck off," She growled, this new feeling of being protective of someone she's never thought needed protection overwhelming her—she'd probably curse herself later for letting her emotions rule her, but she couldn't find a single care over it in the moment. "That particular battle between me and Ground Zero was one of my biggest turning points—he inspired me to greatness because he stood in that ring with me as a man facing an equal, and the fact that you and so many other people perceive that as violent treatment, despite it being contained in a competition where I also rained down about a ton of debris on his sorry ass, is both an insult to me and to all of the women in the hero industry you so obviously look down on."

She huffed, crossing her arms, "But most of all, it's an insult to my boyfriend and his goals and his respect for strength and his unwavering morals as a hero. He's treating me like a goddamned queen, and I love every second of it. If anyone wants to fight me on it, come find me. I'm sure Katsuki will be there to cheer me on considering he was the first person to understand that I can fight my own fucking battles."

And with those final words, she threw her headphones off onto the table in front of her and stormed off.

When Ochako stormed into her apartment that evening, she slammed the door and slid down the back of it—she let out a long sigh, trying to let all of her anger out of her system. She could feel tears prickling at the edge of her eyes out of anger, but she forced them back with a couple of calming breaths that Bakugou, of all people, had taught her to do when she got like this.

It was after her third long breath that she was tuned back into her senses enough that she could smell something flowery in the air.

She blinked, looked up and the first thing she noticed was a trail of rose petals that lead down the hallway towards her bedroom. Knowing that this could only be the work of one person and not really believing what that deduction entailed, she got up, anger forgotten, and followed the petals.

They led into her room, and upon entering she was hit with an even stronger aroma of flowers and a sticky humidity that always lingered after she had the shower going. The trail of rose petals continued past her bed and into her bathroom where the humidity was coming from—now tears were prickling at her eyes for a completely different reason.

When she opened the door to her bathroom, a wave of hot, sticky air hugged her like an old friend—the tub was full with steaming water and the rest of the rose petals, and the flowery smell was enough to make the last of her frustrations bleed out of her system. The lights were off, but there were several candles lit around the small bathroom that created the kind of relaxed ambiance that Ochako needed right now.

And at the other side of the bathroom was Katsuki, lighting the last of the candles with an outstretched lighter.

She rushed forward, throwing her arms around his waist and digging her nose into his back. He stiffened at the surprise attack, before relaxing back into her hold. He put down the lighter before turning in her arms and pulling her into the most heartfelt hug she's ever received from him.

"You're so cheesy," She told him with a watery laugh.

"You love it," He murmured back, pressing a kiss into her hair.

There was no denying that.

"C'mon," He said as he pulled back, tugging on her clothes, "You had a long day."

"Are you going to join me?" She inquired as she let him strip her down to her underwear. She stepped out of her jeans once he managed to pull them down to her ankles. He smiled at her question—the soft smile that she only saw on rare occasions, the one that could have her at his mercy if he used it too often.

"If you want me to," He said, brushing her hair over her shoulder and leaning down to lay a kiss on her skin.

"I do," Ochako said, moving her hands up to divest him of his own clothing. She paid special care to remove his shirt slowly, revealing inch after inch of his smooth skin and tickling his sides with the movement of her hands. She let him shimmy out of his pants and boxers on his own so that she could remove her bra and underwear. She climbed into the tub after him, sighing as the hot water relaxed her muscles.

His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.

"This media shit ain't ever gonna stop," He told her quietly, "It pisses me off too, ya know."

Ochako frowned—she actually didn't know.

"I try not to let it bother me," He kept going, massaging his thumb into her side, "But when all those shitheads started focusing on the both of us as a couple—I guess I agreed with them in a way. At least th'ones who say that you deserve better. Because you do."

"How long have you felt like this?" Ochako asked, pinching his thigh under the water for not telling her sooner.

Katsuki huffed and she could feel it against the back of her neck.

"Since I realized that I liked you, 'Chako," Katsuki said, "I didn't need those fuckers to tell me that I wasn't worthy of you. I already knew. I haven't brought it up, because I've been afraid that once I do you'll realize it too."

Ochako blew air into one side of her mouth, eyebrows furrowed.

"Stop that," She told him, tipping her head to the side so that she could glare at him, "I couldn't have asked for anyone better. You're always telling me not to pay any mind to the media, so take your own damned advice and listen to what I have to say." She poked his chest, glare intensifying.

"Hmm," He hummed near her ear, pressing a kiss on her neck, "Which is?"

She turned around, putting her weight on his shoulders for a moment as she moved to straddle him. The water sloshed around them, some of it spilling over the side of the tub.

"You're the best thing that's happened to me since we started school at U.A. all those years ago," She declared resolutely, staring into his carmine eyes.

"That's kind of what I gathered from your little meltdown on the radio today," He smirked.

Ochako blushed. Her actions and tone from earlier were catching up to her now, and the embarrassment she'd staved off was now hitting her full force.

"I meant every word of it," She said.

"I know," He replied.

She rolled her eyes, sliding down his body so that she could rest her head into the crook of his neck. His arms came up around her to hang loosely around her waist, laying a lazy hand on her ass.

"If we're gonna make this last," And, god, did she want it to last, "We're gonna have to deal with this kind of shit all the time. Talk to me about it next time, you jerk. That way I can talk you out of it like you do for me all the time."

"I'll try," He promised instead, which was good enough for her.

"Thank you for this, by the way," She mumbled tiredly, skating her fingers over the top of the water before resting her hand on his chest, "You're a really good boyfriend."

"Oi," He yanked on her hair lightly, "Don't fall asleep. We're gonna turn into fucking prunes."

"M'tired. I'll blow your pruned dick later to make up for it."

Katsuki sighed but made no further argument. Smart man.

What they had wasn't perfect—but it was moments like these that were perfect. As long as they kept having these stolen moments away from all the scrutiny and the expectations, then Ochako knew that they would be just fine no matter what the world threw at them.

*A/N: Honestly, I forgot how much I hated this damned website-but if you read this and thought that there was too many feminist conundrums being shoved in your face and that it detracted from the story, newsflash: that was the whole point of the story. There's a lot of shit wrong with media today, and you cannot tell me that it also wouldn't be a problem in the hero world. I wanted to focus on the negative effects it would have on my favorite characters, as well as how they decided to overcome it-which led to some smut and a get together because I'm Kacchako trash. Sorry if you didn't like reading it, but I don't really care because I do this for fun and I'm not paid and I don't need to cater to anyone because I write what I want to read because this is a hobby.

Sorry, guys. I got some reviews that kind of ticked me off because they were mad I didn't write things their way. To those of you who enjoyed this story: you're amazing and part of why I love to write. Please have a great day :)