sypnosis: bakugou has his own way of bullying the reader.
warning(s) &tag(s):dumbification, bimbofication, degradation, spitting, unprotected sex, breeding, dacryphillia, cursing, rough sex, airhead!reader, katsuki is so mean :(
pairing(s):bakugou katsuki x reader
word count: 2.6k
Katsuki has just about fucking had it with you today. Bopping around the entire campus like you owned the damn place in a sorry excuse for a skirt that was so short it blatantly was violating the dress code handbook given to all students at orientation. Surely if you bent over your panties would be on full display to every lucky soul standing behind you. But you didn’t give that much thought when you purchased it, you never give anything much thought, do you? You thought the piece of clothing would go perfectly in your wardrobe.
Katsuki was certain that there was not one thought of substance floating in that pretty little head of yours. He watched in spite as you mindlessly sucked on a cherry lollipop while you drew little doodles in the corner of your paper. You had an over the top pink and fuzzy pen that seemingly summed up your personality pretty well. The gloss on your lips still pristine as your plump lips continued to wrap around the candy.
Your eyes lifted from your notebook momentarily to examine the classroom briefly. The boredum was prominent on your facial features and reflected in your slightly slouched shoulder posture. That was until you locked eyes with a certain spiky haired redhead. A smile spread wide across your plump lips causing the redhead to return the gesture. You mindlessly set down your pen and your hand found its way to the ends of your hair twirling a few strands around your pointer finger. This isn’t a new thing for you either, you always seemed to have new arm candy every week.
Katsuki’s blood boiled as he watched you giggle and make googly-eyes at Kirishima so shamelessly in the middle of class. Come to think of it, you’ve been all over the redhead recently, and it didn’t sit right with Katsuki at all. To put it simply: he was jealous, but he’d never admit that. Maybe he does go about his interest a little unorthodox, but he does have feelings for you nonetheless.
synopsis:bakugo usually refrains from reading articles about him, since all they do is tick him off. the media never seems to paint him in a positive light. that is, until he reads an article that does. y/n is an up and coming journalist and avid hero fan, and is the first to interview the rising sidekick ground zero.
content: swearing, strangers to friends to lovers, bestie kirishima, hero geek y/n, bakugo is nice sometimes, speculation on the hero world bc the possibilities are endless
Bakugo had read his fair share of articles on other hero’s growing up, but ever since he actually became one he started to steer clear of them. At first he was glad people were writing about him. It was about time he was noticed for his actions.
And yes, he was acknowledged for whatever heroic act he’d done that week, but there was always a but, an although, a however. Journalists loved talking about how he scowled at photographers, refused to do any one on one interviews, and was never very warm with fans. In Bakugo’s defense, that was just the type of person he was. His coworkers assured him that his fans didn’t mind his “bitchy” demeanor (he hated this particular description of himself. He was anything but bitchy). And it was hard to not scowl at those annoying reporters, who always shoved aside any of his fans for the sake of taking a picture of him.
“They’re just doing their jobs,” Kirishima had said when Bakugo shared his frustrations with him. The two were at his apartment getting a drink, a once a month tradition that had begun when they both started working as sidekicks in the prohero world. Kirishima worked for a different agency, but Bakugo still ended up seeing him much more than he would’ve liked. Still, he was one of his best friends, and he couldn’t push him away, especially since he offered annoyingly good advice.
“I’ve met my fair share of annoying reporters, even though we’re still fairly new to all this,” Kirishima continued. “But there’s a handful of respectable ones. At least that’s what I’ve heard from some of the veterans at the agency.”
Bakugo scowled at the memory, drinking his morning coffee even faster than usual. He had yet to meet one of those more “respectable” reporters. He huffed to himself as he finished his coffee and quickly got ready for his shift, rushing out the door before the sun had even risen.
He was fond of the earlier shifts, the ones at odd hours. He didn’t get them often, and he wasn’t exactly able to request them, since his hours were odd enough as it was. But when they did happen he relished in the quiet of the city at midnight, at the peacefulness of the office when he went in for a bit to do paperwork. Sure, he missed out on action those days, but everyone in the agency had slow days at least once a month. Boss said it kept them sharp.
Bakugo popped into the agency to sign in for his shift, nodding idly at anyone just finishing their shifts. He changed into his costume and left once more, walking along the dark city streets. He was on high alert, especially since it was way too quiet. Usually he’d hear a car alarm, help out any police units with an odd cat burglar. But today it was eerily silent. As though the city were preparing for something big.
An hour passed; the silence remained. Bakugo kept checking his comms, ensuring they were still operational. He’d been checking them periodically for the past hour, but now he didn’t hear the familiar buzz when he checked it. Instead he heard static and a high pitched beep, so piercing he yanked his comms out of his ears.
He radioed in to the agency, and was met with more static. He was on his own.
It was almost 3AM, he was halfway across the city, much too far to run back to the agency for backup. Bakugo scowled at the thought. He didn’t need any help. And if anyone in the area was patrolling, they’d figure out what was about to happen, too.
The past few weeks the news had been filled with the story of two otherwise low-life villains who’d teamed up. One of them had an unconfirmed technology-based quirk, and the other one had a pyrokinetic quirk. Bakugo was up to date on their whereabouts thanks to the agency, and how close they were getting to their district. They’d gone silent a week ago, but now it looked like they were back.
They weren’t much of a threat, in Bakugo’s opinion. They mainly messed with the police and blew up an odd abandoned building or too, and no one had been hurt yet. It did cost a lot of damage to surrounding businesses and houses, though. More of a nuisance than dangerous attack.
But this particular part of the city was filled with apartment complexes. If they were close enough to mess with communication systems, then they were in the neighborhood. Miles away from the lone warehouses they’d been blowing up. Bakugo cursed under his breath as he jogged, scanning dark alleys for anything suspicious. He only encountered a few people as he ran, and told them to get inside, quick. They quickly obliged. He didn’t know how far these two villains were willing to escalate, but he couldn’t risk them taking an innocent hostage off the street. And he highly doubted they would blow up an apartment building. The entire hero and police force would be after them if they did.
He was nearing the shopping area of town when he heard whispering from an alley behind a cafe his coworkers often frequented. A few blocks from any residential areas. And every business on the street was closed—he was the only person around.
The whispering grew louder as he cautiously approached the alley to his right. His communications were still down, and he noticed the lights around the street were off as far as he could see.
“You need a doctor!” he heard a voice hiss, and another quickly shushed it.
“No,” the second voice replied, sounding a bit breathless. “I’m fine.”
Bakugo risked a peek over the cafe’s wall. Two people were sitting at the very end of the alley. The guy was sprawled out on the ground, a small puddle of blood near his leg. The girl was frantically applying pressure to the wound, but Bakugo figured that would do little to help. The guy did need a doctor.
He leaned back, hiding himself from view. It was safe to assume the guy was the pyro, and since he was injured it should be safe for Bakugo to use his quirk. The girl must’ve been controlling the tech around her, though he wasn’t sure how she’d messed with the lights. The only light source was the full moon above him and the odd star or too visible despite the light pollution. He could easily take them both in, though it’d be better to have someone else handle the arrest and containment. And they’d naturally try to attack him when they saw he wasn’t friendly.
He started hiding any visible weapons or obvious pro-hero things that were at his side behind him, shifting his belt. He slipped off his arm cannons and set them down carefully. His costume was the biggest issue, but thankfully he always had a spare t-shirt stuffed into a side pocket. He slipped it on over his costume, pulling it over his hidden support items, and stepped out into the alley.
“What’re you dumbasses doing?”
The guy immediately sat up, shooting out a feeble spray of fire that barely reached the ground in front of Bakugo’s feet. The girl scrambled to her feet, her hand in her hoodie pocket, gripping something. They were a few years older than him, by the looks of it. Hard looks of defiance in their eyes, ready to put up a fight. He almost snorted.
“Who’re you?” the girl snarled, bringing out a taser from her pocket. It was missing its outer casing, and she was holding it by the wires while pointing the front of it at him.
“I live here,” he answered, just as nasty. The two glanced around at that, eyeing the dumpster a few feet from them and the trash littered in the alley.
Okay, maybe not the best approach. Bakugo was suddenly very grateful for the courses he’d taken as a mandate to enter the hero agency he worked at now. One of them had been an undercover course, and at the time he thought it was a stupid waste of time. He wasn’t planning on being a spy, or infiltrating some villain gang anytime soon. But in a situation like the one he was in now, the tips he’d learned were coming in handy.
“Yeah, well, we’re a bit busy, so go find some other place to sleep,” the girl replied, still pointing the taser at him. The guy was still sitting up, though his face was quickly losing its color.
“Get back!” the girl screeched suddenly, the wires sparking with electricity. Bakugo felt someone else standing behind him. He half turned to see a somewhat familiar police officer, who was resting his hand on his gun at his side.
“Is there a problem here?” The officer was looking from Bakugo to the villains and back.
“No, officer there isn’t—”
But it was apparently too late. The girl shot a line of electricity straight at the cop, and it would’ve hit him in the face if Bakugo hadn’t intercepted it with his fire. It hissed as it went out.
He vaguely heard the officer calling for backup, shouting down the street, as Bakugo lurched forward, tackling the villains to the ground. The girl screamed and kicked at him, the taser whirring to life in her hands, but he quickly chucked it out of her grasp. The pyro was pinned beneath him, but he still somehow managed to wriggle an arm free and shoot a strong line of fire out blindly. Bakugo cursed and used his free hand to grab an anaesthetic shot he had in his array of “goodies” as Kirishima loved to call them. He jammed it into the guys arm and he went limp, and he used the other one on the girl. He climbed off of them, breathing hard. His t-shirt was full of holes from the near miss of both the taser and the fire, but he was otherwise fine.
He signaled for the police to come closer, and he got out of there way as they handcuffed them. The officer who’d found him bowed in apology, but Bakugo waved him off, finally walking out of the alley and into the street. He’d thought the pyro’s wild burst of fire had been random and a resort of his panic, but he’d been aiming, it seemed, for the only shop visible from the alley.
It was on fire, its windows shattered from the force of the pyro’s blast. The police were already keeping a crowd of concerned people away. Bakugo moved to radio in for firefighters when he heard someone screaming louder than anyone else in the crowd.
“The shop owners are still in there!” The man yelled, the crowd loudly agreeing. “They live up there!”
Bakugo dropped his radio and sprinted inside, ignoring the police’s shouts to wait for backup. He noticed this was the only shop that was two stories, one for the business and the other for residents. At first glance it just looked like a normal two-story business, and Bakugo hadn’t noticed it much when he was talking to the villains, but this must’ve been what they were going to sabotage next. The pyro had shot out a line of fire straight at it, and the alley was right in its line of view. How he’d gotten hurt before they could finish the plan, Bakugo didn’t know. That wasn’t his concern at the moment.
The heat was almost unbearable inside, but he didn’t stick around enough to feel it. He hurried up the stairs, which were barely beginning to catch fire. Upstairs the layout was like any apartment, and he saw the shop owners huddling as far away from the door as possible. They looked old, and the smoke was probably wearing them down too much for them to walk down the stairs on their own. Bakugo scooped them up easily, one over each shoulder, and was about to leave with them when the woman shouted for him to wait.
“Our cat!” she yelled. “He’s still here!”
Bakugo cursed and glanced around wildly for it, and spotted it trapped out on the fire escape, howling and scratching at the open crack of the window. Fire escape.
Bakugo slammed the door leading to the stairs closed and instead clambered out the fire escape, carefully setting down the wife and then her husband, then climbing out himself. He scooped them back up as best as he could and descended down, the cat resting on the woman’s back, its claws digging into Bakugo’s shoulder. Somehow he made it down fine and was able to lower them into the paramedics awaiting arms as the window they’d just made it out of exploded above. The crowd cheered when he clambered down from the fire escape, covered in soot and coughing from the smoke. He gave them a small smile before following a paramedic, desperate for an oxygen mask. He hated smoke.
Two ambulances sped away with the couple (and their cat—Bakugo had made sure to set the cat down on the woman’s gurney) and soon reporters were on the scene talking into mics and facing cameras. Bakugo was away from the fire and crowd, and his coworker found him easily.
He couldn’t remember getting back to the agency, or home for that matter. The paramedic must’ve cleared him, and then his coworker and deskmate, Affable, had to have dragged him back to the agency and then his apartment. Bakugo was grateful he wasn’t taken to the hospital—the press somehow always found him, and he hated being seen in those hideous hospital gowns. It made him look weak, small. He could sleep off sheer exhaustion and a smidge of smoke inhalation on his own.
And yet, what he couldn’t escape was Kirishima.
“Morning!” Bakugo groaned and stepped aside to let him in, still too tired to argue with anyone. It was the ass crack of dawn, and since he’d been given the day off to rest, Bakugo had planned to do just that. Kirishima had others plans, it seemed.
“I’m off work right now,” Kirishima said, sitting down on the couch and dropping the newspaper he was carrying onto Bakugo’s coffee table in front of the TV. “And look what I picked up on my way to check on you.”
Bakugo sat down on the other edge of the couch, snatching the newspaper off the table to examine it.
The front page was unimportant, something about a politician Bakugo didn’t care very much about, but Kirishima told him to flip to the next page. He did, not sure why he was listening to him, and saw what Kirishima must’ve been talking about.
Why this picture and its story that followed weren’t front page news, he didn’t know. It was a shot of Bakugo heading down the fire escape with the shop owners and their cat, the fire blazing around him. There was an article below it, taking up the top half of the page. Kirishima settled down for a short nap on the couch as Bakugo read it.
The newspaper was pretty well known—Bakugo himself read it online weekly. He even remembered seeing the journalist’s name a few times. Y/N.
They were damn good, whoever they were. Bakugo assumed they were on the scene from how well written the article was. But everything was taken directly from the eyewitnesses on the scene: the shop owners who’d been among the crowd in the street, and even the old couple themselves. We’ve written to the young man’s agency, and if he reads this article I hope he knows we are very grateful for all he did for us!
“It’s good right?” Kirishima was eyeing him from the other side of the couch, a small smile on his face. Bakugo just scoffed and tossed it back on the couch, reaching for the TV remote.
“I guess.”
It was better than good, if he was being honest. It reminded him of the articles he used to read when he was younger, the ones about his favorite heroes. There wasn’t an iota of bad mouthing directed at him, everything was simple and straight to the point, which would seem average to anyone else. But in the hero world where trivial things were always getting blown out of proportion or where a single second could make or break you, it was a great thing for his career. He hoped.
When he returned to work he found the newspaper clipping hung up on the bulletin board specialized for news articles on the agency’s heroes. Seeing it considerably brightened his mood to the point where he didn’t mind extra paperwork. He was to remain on desk duty for the whole day, and then return to his regular shifts. Normally he would’ve demanded to be on patrol, but he quietly took the desk duty with no complaints (which raised a few eyebrows) and sped through his tasks for the day. By lunch time he had some freedom to do as he pleased, so he sat with his lunch and read past news articles.
They were all from the newspaper that had published his fire rescue, and all by the same author. Y/N seemed to be an up and coming journalist from what Bakugo gathered. All of their pieces were great, with personal eye witness accounts and even some with the heroes themselves, which Bakugo knew was hard to get often. They’d even done some sit down interviews, although not as big as those hour-long sit downs they aired on TV sometimes. These were all through the newspaper and online. No video or anything, just a typed up transcript of their conversation with laid out background information on the hero being interviewed.
Bakugo had always refused one-on-one interviews, and his agency had let him avoid them. He was still pretty new to hero work, and Bakugo had figured such a personal interview was something he could do when he had his own agency or something (which he had planned out to happen in a little over a year from now). Right now he was focusing on his job.
But the fact that this Y/N person had made him actually want to read a one-on-one interview with Deku that they’d done a few months ago made him reconsider.
He abruptly stood, startling a few of his coworkers that were eating lunch around him. He stalked towards Boss’s office and opened the door after he knocked. Boss was eating her lunch, too, it seemed, and she waved Bakugo inside. He stood in front of her desk, waiting for her to finish chewing before he spoke.
“I saw that article the Daybreak wrote on you!” She beamed at him, momentarily forgetting about her sandwich. “Great job.”
He bowed stiffly, not wanting to get scolded (again) for being rude.
“So, what can I do for you?” She leaned back in her chair, eyeing him with sparkling eyes as though she already knew what he was going to ask.
“If they ask for an interview, I’ll accept.”
Boss smiled at him. “Okay, I’ll let PR know you’re willing. Y/N-san, right?”
He contained his surprise, nodding stiffly instead.
“Yeah, they’re great, best of the best right now. Good eye Bakugo! I’ll let the correct people know. Get out so I can eat!” She smiled and went back to her food, and Bakugo bowed again and left. As he closed the door behind him he saw heads turning away from him swiftly. Nosy ass coworkers. He went back to his desk, satisfied.
The weeks crawled by. Bakugo did a group interview with a few of the other sidekicks in the agency, and it went well in his eyes. He was told the agency was bombarded with more requests, but they’d declined them politely. There was a limit to how much time they could be off prancing in front of cameras in Boss’s eyes. But the times interviews and public things of the sort were presented to anyone in the agency, they were big opportunities that had big results. No one questioned Boss much, and Bakugo had learned not too either.
“Bakugo!” she barked, making him jump slightly in surprise. His deskmate snickered quietly and immediately went back to his paperwork when he glared at them, standing to walk to Boss’s office. Sometimes she’d call all of them in randomly, just to check on them, or ask how patrol went. He figured this would be one of those times.
He stepped into her office and immediately noticed someone sitting in the chair in front of her desk.
“Sit, sit,” Boss said from her seat. “Exciting news for you!”
He sat, eyeing the stranger warily. They offered him a tentative smile in greeting.
“This is Y/N from the Daybreak Times. They reached out wanting to interview with you, and PR accepted on your behalf.” Y/N was watching him closely, almost anxiously, as though expecting him to decline on the spot.
“Okay.”
“Splendid,” Boss smiled at them both. Y/N’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “I’ll let you guys work out the details, and if you need anything Y/N let me or anyone in PR know! This’ll be great for the agency and especially for Bakugo, we’re pleased you wanted to interview him.” She escorted them both out and then disappeared deeper into the building, leaving the two of them alone at Bakugo’s desk. His neighbor Affable had apparently left for patrol, and Bakugo realized he was supposed to leave soon, too.
He sat down and motioned for Y/N to do the same. They scrambled to sit down across from him, taking out a small notepad and pen.
“Thanks so much for accepting this interview offer, Ground Zero,” Y/N said, flipping to an empty page in their notepad. “I’ve interviewed two of UA’s top three, and with you that makes all three! It’s truly an honor.”
Bakugo raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t realized that until they’d mentioned it. Shit, was this a mistake?
But Y/N seemed perfectly fine. Not that Bakugo had anything to base this experience off of, since this was his first interview.
“I read that article you wrote about me,” he said. “That’s why I agreed.”
Y/N paused in their fidgeting, the pen falling onto the desk. “The fire rescue one?”
He nodded.
“Wow, I honestly didn’t think… Thank you.” Any nervousness they seemed to have had before faded away. Bakugo realized he must be tearing down every single misconception and assumption about him. He’d changed quite a lot since high school, and Y/N seemed to be an avid hero follower, so they must be figuring that out as they both talked, too.
“So this interview really goes anyway you’d like it to,” Y/N continued to fiddle with the pen. “I’ve done enough to know that every hero steers them in unique directions. Have you by any chance read or seen any recently?”
I’ve read all of the ones you’ve done.“Yes.”
“Great! Boss told me you have patrol and will be back in the evening, which gives me some time to work on the preface of the interview and do some more research. I’ll be here when you return.” They pulled out a laptop from their bag and set it down on the desk. Bakugo was already dressed to go, so he just strapped on any gear he needed before he left.
“Are we doing the interview when I get back?” He did have the rest of the night off, just to catch up on paperwork.
“If you’d like, sure. We can also go to a cafe or anywhere else you’d be comfortable. I’m fine doing it here, too,” Y/N glanced up from their laptop. “All up to you. I know you’re busy and I don’t want to take up a lot of your time.”
He nodded and left, raising his hand in goodbye when Y/N wished him a good patrol.
He spent the next few hours idly thinking of interview responses. From the ones he’d read, it was more of a conversation between them, excluding much of Y/N’s added commentary he was assuming. Deku’s had been a bit more personal, but Bakugo was sure it was because he’d been okay with that. Half and half’s had been strictly about his hero work and had no mention of his father. Y/N really meant it was up to the hero being interviewed, and that made Bakugo feel glad he’d agreed to this.
It was a surprisingly quiet afternoon. Bakugo only bullied a few old ladies into walking across the street with him and helped a kid look for their dog. Boring any other day, but just what he needed today. He wasn’t too tired to talk with Y/N.
Bakugo had been looking forward to this way too much. It was out of character for him—even he was aware of that. He wasn’t exactly sure why, either. It was ridiculous to assume he had a crush on Y/N. He hadn’t met them before today, and he wasn’t dumb enough to waste his time with a relationship right now.
Y/N was exactly where they’d been a few hours ago. There was a half eaten muffin beside them and a cup of coffee, and they were rapidly typing away on their laptop when Bakugo sat down across from them.
“Hello. Affable let me use his desk, he said he was done for the day anyway,” Y/N paused from their typing to greet him “This place is incredible, I can’t believe even your deskmate is so cool.”
Bakugo was briefly reminded of Deku because of the way Y/N was awed by something as small as his deskmate. Affable was nice, yeah. He put up with Bakugo, and he guessed that was precisely why Boss had sat them next to each other. It was sort of hard to hate the guy, as much as Bakugo had tried the first few days he worked here.
“Lemme just go change,” Bakugo finished signing his timecard on his phone and stood back up. “Be right back.”
Even the locker room was pretty quiet. Evenings were odd at the agency, since most people were out on patrol. But Bakugo had had his schedule adjusted today, probably by Boss herself so he could have time for the interview. He wouldn’t have to go out on patrol again until the next night. He changed into his civilian close, hung his costume back up in his locker, and went back to his desk.
“So,” Bakugo said, sitting down at his desk across from Y/N. They’d moved their laptop to the side and had a voice recorder set where the two desks met. They were fidgeting with their pen and notepad again. “Why’re you a hero nerd?”
Y/N cracked a smile at that. “How do you mean?”
“I read your articles,” Bakugo confessed. “Most of them are hero centered. Just wondering why.”
Y/N had that same look from earlier when he’d told them he’d read the fire rescue article. “You know, I didn’t expect you to do your research on me.” They smiled at him again, easily, like they hadn’t just met him today. “Anyway, I’m a ‘hero nerd’ because my parents were heroes.”
Bakugo raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it hadn’t been that.
“They retired when I was born, since they wanted to stick around and raise me. Now they teach other young heroes and stuff. I knew I never wanted to be like them, though. I loved learning about heroes more than pretending to be one as a kid, and that sort of stuck with me. What about you, are you what you’d consider a ‘hero nerd’?” Y/N tapped the voice recorder to let Bakugo know they were recording, and he realized that just like that, the interview had started.
Y/N was incredibly easy to talk to, he learned. They let him steer the conversation, asking questions they seemed to come up with then and there and only checking their laptop list occasionally. They took notes as they talked to him and nodded a lot in understanding to let him know they were still listening. They talked for well over an hour, until Y/N finally reached over to turn off the recorder.
“Thank you, Ground Zero,” Y/N beamed. “Wasn’t so bad was it?” They hesitated. “You know, the Daybreak reached out for an interview a while ago. Before I started doing them. Why’d you decline then?”
Bakugo didn’t even know they’d asked. The agency must’ve declined for him after he’d let them know he wasn’t up for any of them yet—at least not the longer, more intimate ones.
“I wasn’t willing to do them before,” he answered. “And reporters love to taint my name, I wasn’t about to give them even more chances to. But your writing is different, so I said that if you asked, I’d agree.”
“To me? Specifically to me?” Y/N looked as though they were on the verge of tears. Bakugo stared, unsure of what to do. He didn’t have any tissues at his desk, did he?
“Sorry!” Y/N sniffled, rubbing at their watery eyes. “It just… means a lot that you liked my writing so much. I’m still sort of new to this, like you are, and I’m really happy you were willing to sit down with me. Especially because of how the media treats you and how you feel about it. I’m really sorry about that.”
They smiled at him, and Bakugo knew he was fucked in that moment. What sort of lovesick moron finds someone they’ve just seen almost burst into tears at a nice comment attractive?
This moron, apparently.
“Why’re you bringing me along again?”
“Because. I don’t trust myself right now.”
Kirishima laughed, loudly at that. Thankfully they were both in “civilian disguises” of baseball hats and sunglasses, so no one recognized them.
It had been a few weeks since the interview. It was Bakugo’s day off, and Y/N was meeting with him to share the final interview that was to be published next week. They’d explained they usually did this with interviewees, a tradition they hoped would catch on between both fields of work.
Since Bakugo had shared why he wasn’t fond of interviews and the press in general, Y/N had been a whirlwind of text updates. (They’d exchanged numbers after the interview to set a date to meet before publication.)
I offered to proofread lots of hero articles this week >:) that means I can discourage the talk of meaningless shit like off duty outfits and attitude bc tbh its not relevant in journalism. We aren’t the fucking paparazzi
Bakugo cackled out loud whenever Y/N sent updates. He thought they wouldn’t react well to his profanity, but they swore as much as he did when they were talking about “reforming hero journalism.”
He occasionally sent back reactions, but mainly he just read the messages. A few days ago he had the brilliant idea to invite along Kirishima, thinking Y/N would love the chance to meet another hero and as an excuse to have someone to chaperone him, because that’s just where he was at right now.
Bakugo hadn’t had a crush in years, and he wasn’t about to fall for the only reporter that was nice to him and willing to go out of their way to change the constructs of journalism for him. When he’d shared this with Kirishima, his friend had wiped away an imaginary tear. “That’s so fucking romantic dude. If you don’t marry Y/N I will.” Bakugo had chased him around the apartment for a few minutes after that comment.
But Kirishima agreed to go to lunch with him. “You should be glad my schedule left me with lunch free today,” Kirishima grinned as they neared the restaurant. “This place is perfect! Secluded, not too much foot traffic. Y/N’s smart.” It was a small restaurant with outdoor dining, with trees all around.
Bakugo agreed—even the food smelled great. They both quickly spotted Y/N, who was sitting in the back, farthest from the entrance. Y/N waved them over, already smiling.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” they practically squealed at Kirishima after they were properly introduced and sat down. “Bakugo-san has the coolest friends.”
Kirishima was smiling as bright as Y/N, and he turned briefly to wiggle his eyebrows at Bakugo. He’d told Y/N they could call him Bakugo if they’d like, and Y/N had started to oblige.
The three sat down and ordered, then Y/N pulled out the article as soon as the waiter was out of earshot. “I printed it this morning! Everyone’s jealous since I’m the first to ever interview you.” Bakugo had never seen Y/N this happy. “Our editor loved it! Thank you so much for being willing to have the interview, Bakugo-san.”
Bakugo grinned. “Damn right they should be jealous.” Kirishima laughed and nudged him.
“Move it over here so I can read it too!”
Bakugo set it down between them, and they started to read. Y/N fiddled with their drink while they read, something he’d noticed they did when they were nervous.
They had no reason to be nervous. The article was beautifully written, and he was totally unbiased in his opinion.
By the end of it Kirishima was laughing so hard a few people glanced over, and Bakugo had to shush him with a swift kick to the shin. He slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes full of mirth.
“This was great Y/N,” he whispered, much quieter than necessary. “I never knew Bakugo had a sense of humor.”
Bakugo sat back in his seat, satisfied. Y/N had stopped fidgeting and was smiling again, wider than he’d ever seen. “I’m so happy you guys liked it! And also, there’ll be a picture of you online Bakugo-san, the one my coworker took last week.” Bakugo nodded. His mom had sent him makeup tips when he’d made the mistake to tell her what he’d been up to, but his skin was “perfectly-fucking-fine” and didn’t need any.
He was actually excited for it to be published.
Kirishima was asking for Y/N’s phone number, and Bakugo was pissed for about a second before he realized Kirishima would never do something like that, and his intentions were pure. “If you ever want to interview me just ask!” Y/N was nodding enthusiastically and saying they’d be sure to get back to him as soon as they asked their boss about it.
Their food came and they ate as they continued talking. Kirishima talked about his favorite heroes with Y/N, recent missions he’d been on, and his coworkers. Y/N practically fainted when Kirishima said he’d tell Kaminari, who was always enthusiastic about getting “some press attention,” that Y/N was searching for more heroes to interview to add to their portfolio and impress their boss.
Y/N asked how Deku and Shoto were doing. Bakugo wasn’t very close with them, but Kirishima had kept tabs on everyone they graduated with, so he was more than helpful in filling Y/N in one probably too much “gossip.” It made Bakugo happy, seeing them talk as though they were old friends. It must’ve shown on his face because when he wasn’t looking Kirishima snapped a picture of him and proceeded to gush about it with Y/N.
“Look, he’s practically smiling!” They both erupted into a fit of giggles similar to what is expected of grade schoolers. Bakugo glared at them without malice and finished up his food to hide his smile.
The next week the interview was published, and the second he walked into the agency for his shift everyone hurried back to their desks, failing to hide smiles. They’d been crowding around the bulletin board, where Bakugo’s interview picture had been pinned. He looked damn good in his picture, so he sat down without any complaints.
“Morning Bakugo!” Affable was as cheery as ever. “I read your interview, great stuff.”
“Thanks,” Bakugo answered. Boss waved at him from her office and went back to her phone call, amiably gesturing as though whoever was on the other line could see her. He turned back to his desk and saw that Affable had tears in his eyes.
“Woah what—”
“You’ve never said thank you to a compliment before!” Affable all but sobbed. Bakugo refrained from visibly cringing away from him.
“That’s not true,” he said defensively, wracking his brain for an example. “I’m nice to you aren’t I?”
Affable nodded and blew his nose with a tissue he’d summoned from somewhere. His quirk was heightened senses, and Bakugo had always assumed it also meant his feelings were heightened since he was a pretty emotioinally smart dude. Bakugo admired him quite a bit, and he was a good deskmate. Had he been that terrible to everyone? No. He would’ve been scolded thoroughly—Boss valued friendliness in the agency.
“Sorry,” Affable replied. “That interview just showed a side of you I’d never seen. I also watched way too many sad commercial compilations this morning so I guess that’s still affecting me.”
“Cheer up Saito!” someone called from far away. Affable raised a hand in thanks. “Y/N-san did a great job with your interview, can you pass that along?”
“Sure,” Bakugo said, already sitting down to text them. “They’ll be happy to hear that.”
Affable stopped mid nose-blow, realization on his face. “Oho!”
“Don’t.”
“Okay,” Affable, or Saito, as Bakugo figured he should be calling him, hid a smile behind his tissue. “I don’t need my enhanced hearing to know your heart rate spiked Bakugo. Have you told them?”
Bakugo was suddenly grateful he had warmed up to Saito the past year. He realized he had one or two friends in the agency and wasn’t the badass lone wolf he thought he’d been. Y/N’s interview had also opened his eyes to that.
“No, I haven’t,” he replied gruffly.
“Hmm. You should!” He stood suddenly. “Well, patrol time. See ya.” And with that he rushed out of the building, before Bakugo could harass him about what the hell that meant.
And then, almost on impulse, he reopened his texts and typed out a message for Y/N.
Hey wanna go out sometime?
He slammed his phone back onto his desk, along with his forehead. The buzz of a notification startled him into an upright sitting position again.
Ofc ;) i’ll pick u up after ur shift we can go out for late night tacos <3
He held back a scream when he realized he’d texted Kirishima instead of Y/N.
SHITTY HAIR I SWEAR TO GOD I AM GOING TO MARCH OVER THERE AND KICK YOUR ASS WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME THIS WAS THE WRONG NUMBER I FUCKING HATE YOUSIDJFLASDKJLASDJGSL
AHAHAHAHAHAH I’M SENDING THIS TO THE GROUP CHAT WE HAVE WITH Y/N
Needless to say, Y/N did end up picking him up after his shift, and they did go out for food. And the next day, and the next.
Bakugo hasn’t done a one-on-one interview since, because he feels like they’ve already served their purpose.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight” + falling asleep on them
Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader
Word Count: 720
A/N: it’s my first time participating in a BNHArem server collab! This month’s theme is all Bakugou Katsuki and everyone has put out some really wonderful work! It’s a Pro Hero AU and I hope you enjoy this lil drabble <3
“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” is what he desperately wants to tell you. Perhaps something along the lines of pleading for you to stay with him as the both of you stand at the entrance of the agency where you would normally each go your own way to your respective homes. Anything that could express that he doesn’t want to be separated from you ever, really, but tonight his resistance to that desire has all but vanished. However, as much as he’s made progress, he’s still the emotionally constipated Bakugou you know.
Thankfully, the feeling’s mutual and you can read him better than any telepath. You’re the one who ends up saying those words with your head hung as your battered hand pathetically latches onto the sleeve of his sweater. You thought you’d be too tired to feel ashamed and embarrassed to be a pro hero looking like a scared child.
You’re fully prepared for him to scoff at the sight and stubbornly refuse in spite of himself, but instead he lets out a grunt that’s somehow gentle, takes your hand in his larger one, and begins to lead the way to his apartment.
* * *
You’re sitting next to each other on the couch of his surprisingly really well decorated living room with the television playing a random sitcom that you’ve long tuned out. Neither of you has uttered a word since the agency and you’re okay with that. But despite being right next to him you still feel alone.
It’s a strange limbo to be stuck in; exhausted and completely drained, yet unable to fall asleep. You don’t know what you were expecting as you hadn’t thought past him even staying with you after the day you’ve both had. But you were hoping to at the very least be able to get some rest before having to head out to work in the morning and doing it all over again. Was it foolish of you to think that you might feel less lonely if he took pity on you and—
Your downward spiral is interrupted by Bakugou’s strong arm pulling you to his side. Eyes widening ever so slightly, you glance up to meet vermillion eyes framed by dark circles to match your own. As he sinks the both of you further into the couch, you realize how truly tense and absolutely beat up you are from your day.
Calloused fingertips push stray hairs away from your face and relief begins to outweigh the surprise you feel at his tender actions. Apparently that relief finds company with an overwhelming wave of emotions that have gone under months of repression. “I-I’m s-sorr— I don’t want to be alone—”
“You’re not going to be. I’m not leaving you tonight.” His hoarse voice is a half whisper as he wipes away ghost tears you wish would just fall. Bakugou figures his pride has already been checked at the door and now just isn’t the time to battle against his desire to convey to you that he never wants to leave your side. But he’s still him, so it’s with lightly flushed cheeks that he averts his eyes and says, “Y-You don’t have to be alone tomorrow night either.”
You use the last of your energy to offer a smile of affirmation before letting yourself collapse into him. The steady sound of his beating heart helps you exit the limbo as you find yourself in a more peaceful place. The irony of a hero finally being able to feel safe doesn’t escape you, but neither does the warmth of the person who allows you to feel it. Careful hands caress your face and hair in soothing movements as the motion of Bakugou’s rhythmic breathing provides you with more comfort than a mother rocking her child to sleep.
“Thank you, Katsuki,” you breathe out as you finally surrender yourself to slumber.
Bakugou finds solace in the fact that you’re blind to the heat that finds its way to the tips of his ears at the sound of your voice saying his given name. He leans down to press his lips to the crown of your head, a show of affection which he will swear up and down never happened when the two of you find yourselves in the same situation the next day.
