[ Before anything else, Bakugou would probably feel that it is extremely important to point out that he waited a long ass time before doing or saying anything about the weird trainwreck that the finals of the sports festival turned into. He stewed upon it. He thought and pondered extensively. For weeks. And for him, that is actually quite a show of commitment, and also indicates that he actually thought to himself that his kneejerk reaction might not be the most appropriate reaction. Character development is beautiful, basically, and okay — so maybe he thought it would make the whole "we're dating but we don't talk about it explicitly, ever, because honestly what the fuck" situation a bit awkward and reduce the amount of making out they do. So he has ulterior motives. Whatever, character development is still beautiful.
After weeks, though, he concludes that his kneejerk reaction was almost definitely the most appropriate reaction. His pride? It was offended, horrendously so, and it demands for justice. He wants vengeance, and also a proper victory, if he's going to keep the stupid medal and all.
He also doesn't want to cause property damage that he'd probably be held liable for if they went full-on fighting with their quirks in the streets, because (1) he is not rich, and (2) that seems like the kind of stuff that goes on your criminal record, which wouldn't look good for his future budding career. (Not that his future budding career is looking great in the first place, when his claims to fame include getting attacked by a sludge monster and then getting muzzled on TV, and hopefully too children weren't watching that because how would an appalled parent explain that, really?) As such, he's forced to wrack his brains over how he can get a rematch that appeases his ego without becoming a public nuisance.
Tl;dr: this was a disaster before it even began. But what else is new.
But the shorter recap of how they got to where they are goes something like Bakugou going full-on grade school bully and making sure that when he approached Todoroki with this brilliant plan, it was in front of the entire class. There was some weird egotistical and mildly Freudian grandstanding, the gauntlet was thrown down, and the phrase "come at me like you want to kill me" was unironically used. Kirishima commented about how manly it all is. Midoriya looked moderately concerned murder is going to be committed down the street from where he lives. Iida looked like he wants to somehow be the responsible guy and intervene, but didn't know how. And on the inside, Bakugou knew that Todoroki was probably regretting for the umpteenth time ever associating with him, but feelings are feelings and pride is pride. He is emotionally stunted, but has enough pride in his left pinky as most people do in their entire bodies.
It makes dragging Todoroki over to his house a somewhat more awkward affair than usual, because Bakugou has expressed a desire to casually kill or be killed at some point (literally dragging, as in he clamps onto the tail of Todoroki's blazer and refuses to let go of it in case he tries to stage an escape from his fate, which would be kinda cute except it's Bakugou). He gets the feeling that Todoroki only lets it happen because there's a part of him that wants to believe Bakugou is just kidding, or will be persuaded out of this really fucking bad idea.
He will not be moved by logic. As far as he is concerned, his home is merely a pit stop to drop off his school bag before they go attempt to beat the shit out of each other, only just letting go of his deathgrip to do just that before turning around and giving Todoroki an expectant look. ]
So.
[ A dramatic pause ensues, to build the suspense, or something. ]
You're not gonna half-ass it, right?
[ Please Bakugou, he probably hasn't even agreed to this stupid idea yet. In which case, Bakugou would be doing worse than property damage. He would be performing straight-up homicide with intent to kill. ]
[ To be fair, Bakugou's biggest blemish on his future career is that Bakugou is sadly himself, but this could also present some strange set-backs that he would rather not have to deal with. Feelings and stuff are really doing a number to him; sometimes he vaguely reflects that life was probably more enjoyable before high school and bullshit. But hey, he has a hot boyfriend who considers beating on each other in a kinda sexual way to not be an immediate dealbreaker, so there's a major life win right there!
And don't forget Katy Perry, she contributed some important parts to this dialogue as well, although maybe not at the same level as I knew you were trouble when you walked in so shame on me ... now I'm lying on the cold hard ground (okamoto nobuhiko screaming incoherently).
Approximately 0.3 seconds to Bakugou impressively managing to cause himself to pass out from some stupid combination of excitement and not breathing properly is when he decides to back off for a few moments, breathless, expression more like he's just run a half-marathon with the hounds of hell on his tail than a bit of tonsil hockey. His hands come to a temporary stop too, although the way he grasps at Todoroki's shoulders is more suggestive of holding somebody down while you punch their lights out than some tender caress.
That said, he's stupidly turned on and also horrifyingly happy with all his life choices right now. Also: Bakugou is aware that he's turning into a terrible cliche with the don't really know how to touch people gently because I'm a Tough Guy, but good god I'm trying for once shtick, but he can't help it, his brain isn't working right (is it ever working right) and he just sort of ????s through reaching to touch Todoroki's face like uh? Is this really okay??
He feels like an idiot. That said, it's a weirdly satisfying feeling to draw his palm against the curve of Todoroki's cheek. However, he still overwhelmingly feels like an idiot, for whatever that says about him. ]
( and we'll tell each other things, like i love you )
[ And to be honest while it's not quite the suburban home with three kids and a white picket fence he'd been hoping for, Todoroki's gotta admit they've got something good going on. An unreasonably attractive guy who cares about him in his own bizarre little way, an arrangement where they both benefit that isn't too demanding, and most important of all he actually has someone who makes him happy to... some small extent. The sort of extent where thinking about this for too long is intolerable and honestly, he'd rather dwell on how this is killing his career and see how hard he can kiss Bakugou back before his lips start to bleed.
That would probably be an improvement, actually. I am still forever thankful for how easy the Katy Perry joke is. Meanwhile I still associate Trouble with another fandom and I have been laughing for approximately a million years. (it's the OHHHHH)
You know, he'd probably take being decked in face however so many times over this, the attempt at tenderness, for this is unfamiliar territory and Todoroki has little idea of how to respond, can't stop the irritatingly pleased noises that work their way up his throat at that mangled caress, how easy it is to lean into the hand that cups his face.
Okay, so, that earlier assessment with regards to him craving affection might just have hit the mark, and sad as it is it's probably worth noting that between years of poor parenting it's been so long since someone touched him, and that is probably a factor in why it's so easy to adjust to the whole beating each other up thing. And why Todoroki has to bite back some scathing comment for fear it'll come out like this is really weird, holy shit, but also please keep paying attention to me because while you might not realise it I'm kind of a mess when you get to know me.
Also he started smiling at some point in this process and that, too, is just plain awful. Bury him now before things start getting mushy. ]
[ There are now three major things that bother me about KNB and here they are:
Nijimura merch when
Disappointing lack of OP/ED mash-ups with Space Jam
Nobody has overlaid Tswift's magnificent OHHHHing with Kiyoshi in pain. Maybe it's because Kiyoshi doesn't scream enough to make it worth it? But figuring out this mystery would involve needing to rewatch that match and I'm not emotionally prepared.
Step it up, KNB and associated fandom. Honestly, (akashi seijuurou voice) I still have further expectations from you.
Anyway.
Is it normal to feel like you like somebody so much that you want to smother them with a pillow to avoid feeling feelings? No, of course it's not, yet here Bakugou is nonetheless, suffering in adolescent hell. In some sense, the thing that bothered Bakugou about the Sports Festival tournament (among many other things, to be fair) was the sense that he wasn't being looked at properly, the Acknowledge and Respect Me Goddammit part of his astronomically large superiority-inferiority complex. Stupidly enough, it's the same cosmically immense superiority-inferiority complex that makes him kinda feel weird about being looked at too intently. Not bad, just... weird.
Thus the strange urge to shove a pillow over Todoroki's face and protect himself from Todoroki's dumb smile. Possibly also a manifestation of his latest choking kink, it's hard to say.
He wants to be punched in the face again. This atmosphere needs to be changed, stat, before he loses his shit and metaphorically throws up all his repressed emotions. Welcome to Bakugou's bedroom, current population: 2 hot messes.
Impressively, Bakugou makes a noise that can only be described with a keysmash of h, n, k, and g in any particular order or repetition, and then: ]
This makes me feel so fucking weird.
[ iiiii am in misery there ain't nobody who can comfort me is the background music as Bakugou verbally fucks up yet again. ]
... That didn't come out right.
[ He's still holding Todoroki's face and he may also be kinda smiling at Todoroki smiling and not realizing it, so clearly there's some sort of disconnect going on here between the part of his brain that controls his mouth and the part of his brain that controls his emotions. ]
[ This year for Christmas I want Basugays to give me
The sequel to that amazing fic where Aomine fucks a crawfish
Akashi getting mindbroken Yet Again so we can add yet another headmate named Watashi to his multiple system
Fujimaki finally biting the bullet and letting us see NBA-level play, wherein Michael Jordan triggers an earthquake to throw off the opposing team whenever he dribbles, Charles Barkley has wings and thisseriesofvideos at last comes true
But I guess Teppei and the meme scream will do for now.
So yeah, anyways.
For the first time in a long time the sight of Bakugou's smile does not set a shiver down his spine and alarm bells ringing, and that alone is probably a sign that something is very, very wrong here. Acknowledging that they have feelings for one another outside of the immediately licentious and carnal kind is a cardinal sin, goes against the foundation of their arrangement, but that was before Bakugou and his dumb grin could make it feel like his heart was about ready to explode, a sensation Todoroki welcomes as a reprieve from whatever doki doki bullshit is going on in his chest. Feelings with a capital F are a goddamned roller coaster and he wants to get off (not like that) (probably like that).
Have you ever just wanted to beat a person up, except with your mouth. That is a very good summary of the weird mash-up of urges welling up in Todoroki right now, urges he's uncertain of how to aim that all revolve around Bakugou Katsuki and how unreasonably eye-catching he is when he manages to smile without smirking.
Eye-catching not just in the sense of screwing around and tick boxes on a kink list - that he can deal with - but also wanting to hold hands and cuddle and uploading pictures of his face to social media with the tag #aesthetic and that is just weird.
It's only a little after V-day and so it's only appropriate to start touching Bakugou back, run fingers almost tenderly over his skin like he likes the guy or something. Real seasonal. ]
You're really bad at communicating.
[ Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, or something like that, even if the really awkward undertone of and I accept that is only half-unintentional. What matters is that two incredibly-attractive beat-up boys are staring at each other with smiles on their faces, shoujo bubbles in the air, and my inner fudanshit could not be more pleased. ]
[ Long live the Harem Which Kuroko Lays, may this fandom never truly die and continue on in some sort of weird sports perpetuity like the Prince of Tennis has. Fujimaki might just want to forget and move onto golfers and archers, but I'll never forget how fucking crazy this fandom is/was/probably will continue to be, never has the phrase shine on you crazy diamond been so apt.
But yes, Bakugou understands because he has this delirious sort of thought like I want to punch him in the mouth, but like, with my mouth. And then he has the positively terrifying thought of ohhhh my god this is like, a relationship. He knew that before, but he didn't really think too hard about what that meant (more like he tried very hard to not think about what that meant) and suddenly he's mom's spaghetti. ]
Well, you weren't saying anything.
[ Not that he should expect Todoroki to be up for long, protracted conversations when he earlier did his damn best to choke Todoroki out. He more feels the need to emphasize that he felt like he needed to fill the silence before things got critical level with feelings and sparkles in the air and he still wants to be punched in the face again.
This feels like the point where he's supposed to say that he, like, like Todoroki or something. And suddenly he feels the urge to make a running start at the nearest window and jump out of it because it would feel like a more rational thing to do. Let's just keep doing this touching and holding and staring thing, he supposes. Maybe ponder half a moderately terrifying thought at the fact that he thinks he'd be okay with everybody knowing he's dating Todoroki so they can all stop looking at him now, thanks, he is off-limits to the rest of the world.
Or he could just let gravity do its thing and kiss the boy in one of those things that just sort of happens at the spur of the moment with no conscious thought to it. Bakugou has a habit of making kissing into a sort of all-or-nothing deal, where he throws all his chips down and doesn't stop until lips are bruised or he is moderately winded, but relatively speaking — for him — it can almost be described as chaste. This is all very seasonally appropriate, it brings a tear to my eye...! ]
[ Years from now I will look back at homohoops, curious as to how it provided the optimal level of entertainment for the lowest value of drama, but also as to how the fuck they started milking musicals out of it. Fujo's first sports anime of our generation indeed.
Todoroki's still struggling with this whole feelings thing, mostly, feelings he's afraid to make his for how they differ from all he's known before, the need for revenge that's kept him driven through difficult times (a line could go here about smouldering rage and his ice-cold heart, but Tokoyami is the chuuni of the group so it doesn't really apply). Worse still is the implicit understanding, without words as it is, that Bakugou feels exactly these feelings too, because weird as finding himself wanting someone is, the feeling of being so genuinely wanted is even weirder.
Much like how the whole choking thing was a great deal easier to handle than whatever he's dealing with now, because at least that was kind of understandable; possessive behaviour sorta makes sense, so he can get Bakugou to wanting to mark him as his with a collar of bruises round his neck, maybe not so much wanting to do it himself, the whole I wanna kiss you in front of the whole class and I don't care who complains thing, a little less so.
The spaghetti is just pouring out of his pockets and there's nothing he can do to stop it. ]
What could I say.
[ Seriously, there are no words he could come up with that'd make this any better, the urges bouncing about the inside his skull any easier to explain, and silence almost seems to come naturally when he's like this, struggling to meet Bakugou's gaze, knowing the next punch he tries to throw will no doubt turn to cupping his cheek. Regardless of their reasons neither of them have any excess of social skills (or any at all, as the case may be) and so sometimes keeping their mouths shut is better.
He sees the kiss coming before it starts, lips already subtly parted by the time Bakugou is upon him, returning that chaste and unpleasantly-heartfelt kiss with all he has. Love and Valentine cheer is still in the air, all that lowkey tension Todoroki didn't even know he had is draining out of him, and he's not even going to ask how his arms ended up around his boyfriend to pull him into a hug. They're so fucked. ]
[ There is so much pasta occurring here that they may as well just open an Olive Garden out of Bakugou's bedroom at this point, capitalize on all of this spaghetti going everywhere like the enterprising young adults they are.
For all of Bakugou's transparently self-defensive, moderately wilted replies have been him insisting that he can't be held accountable for the dumb things he does to fill in the silence, the truth is settling in that he's pretty sure he would be really okay with doing something stupidly domestic like sitting on the same couch all afternoon, occasionally borrowing each other as extra cushions while they are quietly in each others' presences and focus on reading or gaming or whatever it is they do. It's so horrendously couple-y and Bakugou wants to punch himself in the stomach because about 95% of the time, he really just wants to be left and to his own devices. He's the personification of "i hate going to school because i always see people from school there", pretty much.
So yeah. Monumentally fucked to an absurd degree. Bakugou just wanted to avenge his pride and now they're having a heartfelt moment where did things go so wrong. In fact, he's even going to declare this in an unusually quiet tone. ]
Oh my god. I'm so fucked. [ He closes his eyes, reaches around to just segue right into hell and spooning. He sounds so genuinely full of feelings when he adds: ] This is not what I had in mind.
[ Strangely, he doesn't sound like he's complaining... ]
[ Was the joke meant to be the idea of Bakugou actually being able to make it in the world of business. I will never be able to buy the inevitable flood of coffee shop AUs once the anime hits because no cafe would ever hire or fail to bar him after he slugged one of the staff.
Kissing Bakugou isn't meant to make him actually feel things, not like this. There's desperation, yes, desiring one another, desperate kiss, emotions boiled over and uncaring if their teeth clack or they leave with bruised lips, tearing one another apart to yield whatever dark part of them has latched onto each other — it's not supposed to be nice. Nice in the way that has sap welling up in Todoroki's throat when he tries to speak, choking on hopes of swapping clothes and curling up in bed together, sharing meals and unawkward silences. How is one such as him, exactly, supposed to deal with actual emotions that don't involve regret or revenge when it took him so many chapters just to manage a smile. ]
Same.
[ Answer being: Not dealing with it at all. It's hard to regret when he's feeling pleasantly buzzed and Bakugou is so very, very welcome against his skin right now. Todoroki sighs, shuts his eyes and just curls up gingerly where he is, all warm and tender and ridiculously heartfelt as he speaks.
Everyone in class is going to be so confused when they don't come in with broken arms tomorrow. ]
[ At least everyone in class can't possibly be more confused about their state of being than they are at the moment, there's a silver lining to consider. Also: Bakugou would not only swap clothes, but probably just shamelessly take, and consider the moment that one of them forgets that they are wearing the other person's clothes until they're out in public to meet up with some of their classmates. These are the tropes I live and die for!!
Spooning, Bakugou has come to realize, is actually pretty great regardless of which spoon you happen to be at the moment and fundamentally less awkward than cuddling while actually facing each other. But there is a certain level of contentment that comes with being able to clasp his hands loosely over Todoroki's waist and settle in for the long haul. ]
Yeah, sure... if you want to. [ Bakugou is even weirded out he said that. What else do they do when they're not making out with each other? Besides convince each other to make questionable life decisions, that is. What are their other options. ] Not that you should get used to it, but I guess you can choose whatever you wanna do.
[ Seeing as Bakugou exhausted his privilege to make decisions with "let's go Battle Royale on each other, it'll be fun." ]
[ Do you ever feel so shameless as when you imagine boys sharing clothes and brushing their teeth together and lazily leaning on each other for support with how grossly domestic they are. Because I do. This also leads to other, equally unpleasant things, like Todoroki finally getting most of his wardrobe back and whining that they smell of his boyfriend — ever as he breathes the other boy in and finds it not all that unpleasant. Which is wrong of course, because Bakugou stinks of sweat and sex and Poor Life Decisions, but that's what they call cognitive bias.
Todoroki can't wait for when the glamour wears off and he can go back to acting like himself again, as opposed to some five year old with a crush. Most kids tend to work this stuff by the time that they're teens but alas, that's being emotionally-stunted for you. It's in remembering just how poorly prepared he was for feeling affection that Todoroki remembers he was made, not born, tailored by an unashamed eugenicist and given life for a purpose, and much as he's tried to deny it over the years he can't help but define himself through it, his father's expectations. The fear of failure and being found unworthy even of defiance forever hanging over him.
But with Bakugou that's lacking; a relationship built upon nothing but questionable company, sex and now, apparently, feelings. It feels natural, them being together, coming close to brushing their hands together, feeling safe in Bakugou's arms (safe from what, he wonders, never aware until now how hard he's been running). Something about heartbeats racing and murmuring sighs that lead Todoroki to one horrific conclusion:
Holy shit he's gay. ]
You're over-thinking it.
[ Pot, kettle, etcetera, but it sounds weird and extremely Not Right for Bakugou to be thinking so hard about things, ruining this blissful simplicity he's found, and so what he's really trying to say is something along the lines of shut up and go to sleep for the love of god. ]
( feelings being felt, fireworks in the background, flowers blooming metaphorically )
[ My greatest yaoi fantasy: guys who date and cohabitate and it's all so cute and domestic but they also are total freaks in the sheets. Sometimes I ponder stuff like what kind of pets they would have and that one "in what position do our characters sleep together in" meme or Bakugou giving Todoroki shit about not knowing how to do the chores that young master types don't learn how to do as a child and it's the absolute worst.
Bakugou's definitely overthinking it and he's practically confusing himself because of it, he's so reflexively used to taking the attitude of "yeah, it basically only matters what I think" that taking into consideration another person is almost painfully difficult to adjust to. He only relaxes again when Todoroki points this out, because he remembers that Todoroki has generally always accepted him for the shitlord that he is, so there's clearly no reason to change anything about how he is now. ]
Look who's talking.
[ He's obliged to go for the low-hanging fruit, he always is.
And instead of responding to that unspoken hey, go the fuck to sleep with words (Bakugou's fundamentally a bit "what the hell?" that he even recognizes that for what it is), he just makes a suitably unimpressed noise and then presses his lips to the back of Todoroki's neck and buries his nose into Todoroki's hair and — wow, he sure does smell nice.
For a brief moment, Bakugou also experiences the feeling of: wow I've become such a homo!! And he guesses he's okay with that, but wow. ]
[ So bold! So daring!! Does this come before or after boys who thrive in the bedroom struggling with holding hands and dishing out compliments, every misunderstanding that mars soap opera romance and fulfilling that old cliché of delinquents adopting stray cats. Maybe Todoroki can try to teach Bakugou proper etiquette, civilise him a little before he inevitably meets his father, show him which fork to use and when before he blows his top and they end up making out. Ideal.
But back to our regularly-scheduled regretting life choices, where Todoroki is learning to live with being the little spoon, wondering what he did to deserve the weird contented feeling welling up in his chest. Wondering where he might've ended up if this whole mess had never happened, whether he'd be better off if handling Bakugou's bullshit hadn't become second nature, if his presence hadn't somehow slipped under Todoroki's guard and started making him feel right at home.
Okay, so maybe he is over-thinking it a little, Bakugou is still a child and that's still a terrible comeback.
More importantly, those are lips being pressed to his skin and holy shit, he never knew Bakugou could do something so unabashedly gay. Acts of outright affection don't suit him, in Todoroki's opinion, much as the incessant pounding of doki doki in his eardrums might disagree, and he'll make that clear with some disgruntled noise, one that almost sounds like— ]
[ At least meeting Todoroki's mom would probably be less of a trainwreck than when Bakugou loses his shit in front of Endeavor, although he might suddenly be seized with this awful sensation of "Wow, look at this sweet and harmless lady. I've debased the hell out of your son and I'm not sorry, but I wish I didn't just have that thought right here and right now, it's... it's almost like I'm feeling shame?" ]
It's the back of your neck, how is the back of your neck ticklish.
[ So he says, breathing right up against the back of Todoroki's neck still. But if it makes Todoroki feel better, he supposes he can adjust a little so that he's nuzzling his nose behind Todoroki's earlobe instead, which... might or might not be an improvement and holy shit has Bakugou picked the best time to do some sort of weird teasing/flirting thing or what? ]
[ Honestly, having to bring Bakugou before his mother is one of those things Todoroki doesn't care to consider, too concerned to wonder just where it may go, whether he's even worthy of appearing before her and saying there's someone he loves, like he's normal or something. The problem with parental issues is how quickly it boils down to chasing approval, and in the here and now Bakugou manages to provide all the validation Todoroki will ever need, a thought disquieting in itself that still helps deal with his doubts.
The nape of the neck is one of those spots, you know, devilishly intimate to let another person see, nevermind breathe and cuddle up against. It's another reminder of how they've become a thing, as their classmates would probably put it if they knew, if they hadn't found out already, and he's not sure earlobes are any less familiar. ]
That's...
[ That's gay, for starters, before Todoroki stiffens, makes some vaguely pleased sound from the back of his throat, what those in the know would definitely call a giggle, opening his mouth and jesus christ you can hear the stupid smile in his voice. ]
[ Probably the best for now (and several years into the future), because Bakugou needs a long time to become emotionally ready for a conversation that goes something like "your mom's nice, Shouto" "this is weird, but I can't hear you?" "I SAID YOUR MOM IS NICE, SHOUTO. WHY'D SHE HAVE TO BE NICE NOW I FEEL STRANGE ABOUT IT AND FUCK THAT EMOTION."
Bakugou's put Todoroki through a lot in one afternoon, so he supposes he could spare giving Todoroki grief over that dumb giggle because he's a Tough GuyTM and doesn't get weird fluttering in his heart or stomach areas. That would be absolutely absurd.
Suddenly, he's having a realization of all the cool things he can do as the big spoon. This is a good position, he likes it here and hopes this will be a repeat situation, but just in case it isn't, he may as well get all his sudden weird impulse urges out of the way, like just kind of... laying his hand flat against Todoroki's stomach. Touching for the sake of touching seems somehow incredibly racy, he's not even checking out Todoroki's abs or anything (he has to admit that even through touch alone, they're really nice abs) and Bakugou's internally questioning everything, but especially his standards. Even he knows he should have no capacity for embarrassment after everything. ]
[ This has the potential to be a rather touching moment between the two of them, which probably means they'll still find some way to fuck it up. Assuming that neither of them have matured any by the time Todoroki sees fit to share his past (and Bakugou doesn't spoil it all early on), maybe enough that they can face his mother together and have her blessing. Then they can go punch his father in the face or something because this is clearly fucking dreamland where they can even pull that off.
Speaking of which, that is Bakugou's arm being thrown casually round him, slightly possessive and almost like it belongs there, and that is definitely not something he knows how to deal with. Nor can he explain the hand that comes up to splay fingers over Bakugou's wrist, hold him there, how he lets out a sigh that's disgustingly content and makes him sound so happy to be held. To call the sensation welling up in his chest fluttering would be putting it lightly, yet still Todoroki can't really bring himself to move. ]
Hey...
[ Or make his complaints sound anything close to sincere, when his breathing's starting to settle into some nice little rise and fall, pressed warm against the other boy's chest. Purely temporarily, of course, while he rests a little. Definitely not a thing he could see himself enjoying again in the future, not at all. ]
[ Realistically, Bakugou probably would get in a shouting match with best dad Endeavor at some point, but it would have nothing to do with being a supportive boyfriend or whatever. It'd be because he would have detected the presence of another major asshole in the room and the embedded asshole instinct to highlander and assert his alpha asshole status would emerge, and then Todoroki would have a situation on the level of an r/relationships trainwreck on his hands. So really, in dreamland, they should just skip meeting the parents and elope and run off to Fiji for some debauched honeymoon or something.
It's taking a lot of willpower right now to not sink his teeth into that nice stretch of flesh in between where the shoulder and neck meet up. Bakugou's making do with keeping his hold nice and firm against Todoroki's waist and just settling his mouth near the curve of Todoroki's neck so he can tempt himself and then pride himself on resisting temptation. ]
... What is it.
[ Bakugou Katsuki has more chill in him right now than he has probably in the entire last two years of his life combined, he doesn't even sound annoyed. Is Todoroki's ice half rubbing off on him? Probably not, but we can pretend. ]
[ Still, this doesn't take into account that any attitude or resistance shown towards his father is going to shoot Bakugou ever higher up in his estimation, not even touching upon how gratifying it would be to see someone challenge daddy dearest for a change. Then again, Endeavour's influence and instability is such that earning his ire could do much to damage one's future career as a hero, so it might be best to just head abroad somewhere. They could get married in some parts of the world, you know.
For whatever reason, somehow, Todoroki isn't all that relieved to have Bakugou's lips so close to being pressed against his skin, the tingling sensation that follows, sparks sent down his spine that have him shivering in the other boy's grip and surrendering to sensation. Limbs reduced to jelly and he's never felt quite so boneless. ]
Nothing.
[ Except that's not really a response at all, certainly not by Bakugou's standards, and he can only imagine how torturous it'll be if he decides to press the matter. He is in absolutely no condition for an interrogation right now, surprisingly enough, so before he has time to think, Todoroki-- ]
You smell nice.
[ Shows that Bakugou's ability to shove his foot in his mouth is probably rubbing off on him. ]
[ It could be interpreted as touching, if Bakugou said something like, "I could not give two shits if you somehow bar me from every goddamn hero institution in this entire country, I will still be a better hero than you, and while I'm at it, so will Shouto! So fuck you!!" But that actually seems like a terrible life decision, so yeah, best to screw off to a country where they can grab a marriage license and then travel to a nice tropical location to learn why beach sex is a bad idea.
They do say couples become more like each other over time, and quite frankly that prospect is a bit terrifying when it comes to this pair of emotional incompetents, but it's not like Bakugou even recognizes that for what it is, so. ]
... I think I smell normal.
[ One must wonder how Todoroki feels sometimes, dating somebody who sets him up for embarrassment without even willfully meaning to and genuinely sounds a bit confused. ]
[ All the more touching would be the tearful farewell, after Endeavour has the brat that talked back to him and risks taking away his pet project quietly bumped off in a back-alley somewhere. Because there's nothing like a little arbitrary angst and a broken Todoroki resigning himself to his father's wishes to help spice up shipping talk, no siree. How hard could it be for a couple enterprising heroes like themselves to set up shop somewhere abroad.
Not that he's exceptionally optimistic about the state of their relationship, given how objectively filthy of a person he's become these past few weeks/months and all, but Todoroki would like to think they can make each other better people instead of wallowing in codependency together forever. Cover one another's weaknesses and grow up a little as a couple, you know. Touching stuff. ]
Good for you.
[ He regrets this line of conversation, unsurprisingly. He lacks the tweeny pretentiousness required to say his boyfriend smells of sandalwood, or whatever's popular these days, anything other than sweat and sex and god only knows what, but it's uncomfortably pleasant all the same. ]
I think most people think they smell normal, actually?
[ What the fuck kind of pillow talk even is this. ]
[ I will sincerely hope and pray that some enterprising person taps into this wavelength and is suddenly struck with the desires to write a 50k fic about Bakugou and Todoroki's version of the movie Love Story, except with superheroes instead of lawyers and whatnot. But preferably minus the part where one of them gets a terminal illness and dies. Replace it with an extended R18 scene, maybe. Gimme the little death instead of the real death.
Also, to be fair to Todoroki's inability to mention sandalwood, Bakugou probably smells faintly but alarmingly of nitroglycerin and other such appealing substances, so perhaps we should all be grateful that Todoroki lacks the certain pretentiousness necessary for him to unironically make a statement like, "He smells like a fired handgun," for all the accurate but, quite frankly, unfortunate metaphorical value it has.
On that note, I can't wait for the day that I can just... douse myself in hero perfume, the way that they eventually made perfumes for the Kuroko no Basukes. ]
Well, yeah. It's not like you can really smell yourself.
[ No but really, what the fuck kind of pillow talk is this...
Anyway, since Todoroki's sniffing him (apparently), Bakugou is just gonna bury his nose into Todoroki's hair and give it a good whiff. Look, it's not weird, Todoroki brought it up first!! ]
... Huh.
[ He also lacks the tweeny pretense to describe what it is he's smelling, so he's just going to. Sniff again. It's cool. He's still not the one who brought it up in the first place. ]
[ Amazing an idea as that is aside, this is starting to sound like a fic one of us is already thinking of writing, possibly the one who still has snuff in the maybes on their kinklist, if we're talking about little deaths. Angst is always nice, anyways, maybe with a mix of the patently absurd for that comedic flair, Bakugou kicking the bucket against some backalley villain and Todoroki making an ice sculpture to keep him company.
Todoroki really rather lacks the mental energy to properly categorise whatever it is Bakugou smells like, beyond the now-familiar scents of sweat and sex, strangely comforting as they are, just the scent of Bakugou in general. The one he's many a time gone home totally coated in, more than a little gross upon reflection.
With the flood of merchandise it seriously might happen, you know. ]
... Is "huh" good in this case.
[ He can probably infer from the fact that he is, for some reason, still being sniffed that the answer is yes, but Todoroki is more than a little struck by how fucking weird it is that they're sitting here sniffing each other after a murder nearly occurred mere minutes ago. ]
Do you ever wonder how we end up in these situations?
[ I can theorize, not because of personal experience or anything, but through careful and very legitimate psychological analysis (I am certified to do so as I took an Intro to Psych class at one point in my life, thus qualifying me to make these kinds of statements on the internets), that somebody who is tentatively okay with snuff likes to cut things short as soon as possible, perhaps even cut things short prematurely so they probably don't have the stamina for 50k fics. Again, this is totally legit and detached third party psychological analysis.
I'll mentally revise this thread to incorporate any future perfume scents in retrospect. Considering you can already make like Dabi irl and put a small Kacchan in your mouth (and eat him), I'm like 75% sure it'll happen. ]
Well. Yeah, I guess it's good.
[ Bakugou thinks he probably wouldn't be sniffing Todoroki if he didn't like something he was smelling. He's not 100% sure on this point, though. ]
... And what do you mean by that.
[ Todoroki, are you saying it's abnormal to start developing a scent kink right after a near miss with manslaughter? ]
[ He is merely remarking on how utterly abnormal — and, dare he say it quirky — his life has become since Bakugou entered into it, words spoken like some sudden revelation and not a question that's gnawed away at him for a while. How did they end up here, anyway? When did whatever casual affair they had going on expand beyond the questionably-intimate into Bakugou sniffing his hair, the weird warmth in his chest that those words make him feel? It's... odd in a word, curious in ways Todoroki really doesn't care to examine, shunned out of his thoughts like countless other questions as to where his life is going or what goal he might be aiming for, a particular talent for self-distraction that seems to be failing him now.
Perhaps because cuddling, far less carnal an act of physical affection as it is, lacks the same logical conclusion as fucking each other senseless 'til one of them can't walk, banging the night away, far easier for Todoroki's mind to wander with no end in sight. Akin to a sense of existential dread in those precious seconds before one falls asleep, albeit minus the usual morbidity and on the whole far... fluffier.
Devouring tiny Kacchans also definitely sounds like someone's fetish. Probably someone who likes Mt. Lady just a little too much. ]
Like.
[ A non-committal answer to start with, gives the gears whirring away in Todoroki's head time to translate what the fuck are we doing into something Bakugou might comprehend, won't run the risk of ruining the moment or earning his ire (not that near anything will not set Bakugou off, but Todoroki takes some small pride in knowing how best to tiptoe around this particular minefield). ]
When did we start calling each other by our first names?
[ If there's one thing that being on the Internet has taught me, it's that anything is probably somebody's kink out there. Rpanons alone has taught me that dozens of times as well (where are scubanon and inert bodies anon now we might never know).
And perhaps what Todoroki is experiencing is some sort of delayed version of fapper's regret, or as some famous dead European guy put it, the devil's laughter. The moments after he has already done the deed and realized in the post-orgiastic clarity that oh boy, I stuck my dick in crazy but that's not as bad as cuddling with crazy.
Anyway, that question is enough to get Bakugou to stop discovering his brand new scent kink and attempt to turn his brain back on for a few moments and ponder it over. He doesn't have any particular reverence over the use of given names, to be honest, but he also doesn't call anybody else by their first name (Deku aside and does that even really count given everything surrounding that nickname). ]
I dunno, does that bother you or something?
[ Bakugou can revert to calling him Todoroki. Maybe. Okay, probably not, the habit is already pretty well ingrained; it's only a matter of time before he slips up and accidentally reveals they're on first name basis at school.
Also: The point
_______________ Bakugou's head
Unfortunately, Todoroki might have to clarify that this is a matter of feelings for Bakugou tonight, on top of everything else he has been subjected to. ]
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( what you're looking for has been here the whole time )
And don't forget Katy Perry, she contributed some important parts to this dialogue as well, although maybe not at the same level as I knew you were trouble when you walked in so shame on me ... now I'm lying on the cold hard ground (okamoto nobuhiko screaming incoherently).
Approximately 0.3 seconds to Bakugou impressively managing to cause himself to pass out from some stupid combination of excitement and not breathing properly is when he decides to back off for a few moments, breathless, expression more like he's just run a half-marathon with the hounds of hell on his tail than a bit of tonsil hockey. His hands come to a temporary stop too, although the way he grasps at Todoroki's shoulders is more suggestive of holding somebody down while you punch their lights out than some tender caress.
That said, he's stupidly turned on and also horrifyingly happy with all his life choices right now. Also: Bakugou is aware that he's turning into a terrible cliche with the don't really know how to touch people gently because I'm a Tough Guy, but good god I'm trying for once shtick, but he can't help it, his brain isn't working right (is it ever working right) and he just sort of ????s through reaching to touch Todoroki's face like uh? Is this really okay??
He feels like an idiot. That said, it's a weirdly satisfying feeling to draw his palm against the curve of Todoroki's cheek. However, he still overwhelmingly feels like an idiot, for whatever that says about him. ]
( and we'll tell each other things, like i love you )
That would probably be an improvement, actually. I am still forever thankful for how easy the Katy Perry joke is. Meanwhile I still associate Trouble with another fandom and I have been laughing for approximately a million years. (it's the OHHHHH)
You know, he'd probably take being decked in face however so many times over this, the attempt at tenderness, for this is unfamiliar territory and Todoroki has little idea of how to respond, can't stop the irritatingly pleased noises that work their way up his throat at that mangled caress, how easy it is to lean into the hand that cups his face.
Okay, so, that earlier assessment with regards to him craving affection might just have hit the mark, and sad as it is it's probably worth noting that between years of poor parenting it's been so long since someone touched him, and that is probably a factor in why it's so easy to adjust to the whole beating each other up thing. And why Todoroki has to bite back some scathing comment for fear it'll come out like this is really weird, holy shit, but also please keep paying attention to me because while you might not realise it I'm kind of a mess when you get to know me.
Also he started smiling at some point in this process and that, too, is just plain awful. Bury him now before things start getting mushy. ]
( and i never saw you coming )
Step it up, KNB and associated fandom. Honestly, (akashi seijuurou voice) I still have further expectations from you.
Anyway.
Is it normal to feel like you like somebody so much that you want to smother them with a pillow to avoid feeling feelings? No, of course it's not, yet here Bakugou is nonetheless, suffering in adolescent hell. In some sense, the thing that bothered Bakugou about the Sports Festival tournament (among many other things, to be fair) was the sense that he wasn't being looked at properly, the Acknowledge and Respect Me Goddammit part of his astronomically large superiority-inferiority complex. Stupidly enough, it's the same cosmically immense superiority-inferiority complex that makes him kinda feel weird about being looked at too intently. Not bad, just... weird.
Thus the strange urge to shove a pillow over Todoroki's face and protect himself from Todoroki's dumb smile. Possibly also a manifestation of his latest choking kink, it's hard to say.
He wants to be punched in the face again. This atmosphere needs to be changed, stat, before he loses his shit and metaphorically throws up all his repressed emotions. Welcome to Bakugou's bedroom, current population: 2 hot messes.
Impressively, Bakugou makes a noise that can only be described with a keysmash of h, n, k, and g in any particular order or repetition, and then: ]
This makes me feel so fucking weird.
[ iiiii am in misery there ain't nobody who can comfort me is the background music as Bakugou verbally fucks up yet again. ]
... That didn't come out right.
[ He's still holding Todoroki's face and he may also be kinda smiling at Todoroki smiling and not realizing it, so clearly there's some sort of disconnect going on here between the part of his brain that controls his mouth and the part of his brain that controls his emotions. ]
( love will find you one way or another )
But I guess Teppei and the meme scream will do for now.
So yeah, anyways.
For the first time in a long time the sight of Bakugou's smile does not set a shiver down his spine and alarm bells ringing, and that alone is probably a sign that something is very, very wrong here. Acknowledging that they have feelings for one another outside of the immediately licentious and carnal kind is a cardinal sin, goes against the foundation of their arrangement, but that was before Bakugou and his dumb grin could make it feel like his heart was about ready to explode, a sensation Todoroki welcomes as a reprieve from whatever doki doki bullshit is going on in his chest. Feelings with a capital F are a goddamned roller coaster and he wants to get off (not like that) (probably like that).
Have you ever just wanted to beat a person up, except with your mouth. That is a very good summary of the weird mash-up of urges welling up in Todoroki right now, urges he's uncertain of how to aim that all revolve around Bakugou Katsuki and how unreasonably eye-catching he is when he manages to smile without smirking.
Eye-catching not just in the sense of screwing around and tick boxes on a kink list - that he can deal with - but also wanting to hold hands and cuddle and uploading pictures of his face to social media with the tag #aesthetic and that is just weird.
It's only a little after V-day and so it's only appropriate to start touching Bakugou back, run fingers almost tenderly over his skin like he likes the guy or something. Real seasonal. ]
You're really bad at communicating.
[ Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, or something like that, even if the really awkward undertone of and I accept that is only half-unintentional. What matters is that two incredibly-attractive beat-up boys are staring at each other with smiles on their faces, shoujo bubbles in the air, and my inner fudanshit could not be more pleased. ]
It's weird for me too, if that helps.
( jump then fall into me )
But yes, Bakugou understands because he has this delirious sort of thought like I want to punch him in the mouth, but like, with my mouth. And then he has the positively terrifying thought of ohhhh my god this is like, a relationship. He knew that before, but he didn't really think too hard about what that meant (more like he tried very hard to not think about what that meant) and suddenly he's mom's spaghetti. ]
Well, you weren't saying anything.
[ Not that he should expect Todoroki to be up for long, protracted conversations when he earlier did his damn best to choke Todoroki out. He more feels the need to emphasize that he felt like he needed to fill the silence before things got critical level with feelings and sparkles in the air and he still wants to be punched in the face again.
This feels like the point where he's supposed to say that he, like, like Todoroki or something. And suddenly he feels the urge to make a running start at the nearest window and jump out of it because it would feel like a more rational thing to do. Let's just keep doing this touching and holding and staring thing, he supposes. Maybe ponder half a moderately terrifying thought at the fact that he thinks he'd be okay with everybody knowing he's dating Todoroki so they can all stop looking at him now, thanks, he is off-limits to the rest of the world.
Or he could just let gravity do its thing and kiss the boy in one of those things that just sort of happens at the spur of the moment with no conscious thought to it. Bakugou has a habit of making kissing into a sort of all-or-nothing deal, where he throws all his chips down and doesn't stop until lips are bruised or he is moderately winded, but relatively speaking — for him — it can almost be described as chaste. This is all very seasonally appropriate, it brings a tear to my eye...! ]
( and I can't breathe without you )
Todoroki's still struggling with this whole feelings thing, mostly, feelings he's afraid to make his for how they differ from all he's known before, the need for revenge that's kept him driven through difficult times (a line could go here about smouldering rage and his ice-cold heart, but Tokoyami is the chuuni of the group so it doesn't really apply). Worse still is the implicit understanding, without words as it is, that Bakugou feels exactly these feelings too, because weird as finding himself wanting someone is, the feeling of being so genuinely wanted is even weirder.
Much like how the whole choking thing was a great deal easier to handle than whatever he's dealing with now, because at least that was kind of understandable; possessive behaviour sorta makes sense, so he can get Bakugou to wanting to mark him as his with a collar of bruises round his neck, maybe not so much wanting to do it himself, the whole I wanna kiss you in front of the whole class and I don't care who complains thing, a little less so.
The spaghetti is just pouring out of his pockets and there's nothing he can do to stop it. ]
What could I say.
[ Seriously, there are no words he could come up with that'd make this any better, the urges bouncing about the inside his skull any easier to explain, and silence almost seems to come naturally when he's like this, struggling to meet Bakugou's gaze, knowing the next punch he tries to throw will no doubt turn to cupping his cheek. Regardless of their reasons neither of them have any excess of social skills (or any at all, as the case may be) and so sometimes keeping their mouths shut is better.
He sees the kiss coming before it starts, lips already subtly parted by the time Bakugou is upon him, returning that chaste and unpleasantly-heartfelt kiss with all he has. Love and Valentine cheer is still in the air, all that lowkey tension Todoroki didn't even know he had is draining out of him, and he's not even going to ask how his arms ended up around his boyfriend to pull him into a hug. They're so fucked. ]
( and this love came back to me )
For all of Bakugou's transparently self-defensive, moderately wilted replies have been him insisting that he can't be held accountable for the dumb things he does to fill in the silence, the truth is settling in that he's pretty sure he would be really okay with doing something stupidly domestic like sitting on the same couch all afternoon, occasionally borrowing each other as extra cushions while they are quietly in each others' presences and focus on reading or gaming or whatever it is they do. It's so horrendously couple-y and Bakugou wants to punch himself in the stomach because about 95% of the time, he really just wants to be left and to his own devices. He's the personification of "i hate going to school because i always see people from school there", pretty much.
So yeah. Monumentally fucked to an absurd degree. Bakugou just wanted to avenge his pride and now they're having a heartfelt moment where did things go so wrong. In fact, he's even going to declare this in an unusually quiet tone. ]
Oh my god. I'm so fucked. [ He closes his eyes, reaches around to just segue right into hell and spooning. He sounds so genuinely full of feelings when he adds: ] This is not what I had in mind.
[ Strangely, he doesn't sound like he's complaining... ]
( you are in love )
Kissing Bakugou isn't meant to make him actually feel things, not like this. There's desperation, yes, desiring one another, desperate kiss, emotions boiled over and uncaring if their teeth clack or they leave with bruised lips, tearing one another apart to yield whatever dark part of them has latched onto each other — it's not supposed to be nice. Nice in the way that has sap welling up in Todoroki's throat when he tries to speak, choking on hopes of swapping clothes and curling up in bed together, sharing meals and unawkward silences. How is one such as him, exactly, supposed to deal with actual emotions that don't involve regret or revenge when it took him so many chapters just to manage a smile. ]
Same.
[ Answer being: Not dealing with it at all. It's hard to regret when he's feeling pleasantly buzzed and Bakugou is so very, very welcome against his skin right now. Todoroki sighs, shuts his eyes and just curls up gingerly where he is, all warm and tender and ridiculously heartfelt as he speaks.
Everyone in class is going to be so confused when they don't come in with broken arms tomorrow. ]
... Can we make out some more later?
( so I cross my heart and hope for you )
Spooning, Bakugou has come to realize, is actually pretty great regardless of which spoon you happen to be at the moment and fundamentally less awkward than cuddling while actually facing each other. But there is a certain level of contentment that comes with being able to clasp his hands loosely over Todoroki's waist and settle in for the long haul. ]
Yeah, sure... if you want to. [ Bakugou is even weirded out he said that. What else do they do when they're not making out with each other? Besides convince each other to make questionable life decisions, that is. What are their other options. ] Not that you should get used to it, but I guess you can choose whatever you wanna do.
[ Seeing as Bakugou exhausted his privilege to make decisions with "let's go Battle Royale on each other, it'll be fun." ]
( this is really happening )
Todoroki can't wait for when the glamour wears off and he can go back to acting like himself again, as opposed to some five year old with a crush. Most kids tend to work this stuff by the time that they're teens but alas, that's being emotionally-stunted for you. It's in remembering just how poorly prepared he was for feeling affection that Todoroki remembers he was made, not born, tailored by an unashamed eugenicist and given life for a purpose, and much as he's tried to deny it over the years he can't help but define himself through it, his father's expectations. The fear of failure and being found unworthy even of defiance forever hanging over him.
But with Bakugou that's lacking; a relationship built upon nothing but questionable company, sex and now, apparently, feelings. It feels natural, them being together, coming close to brushing their hands together, feeling safe in Bakugou's arms (safe from what, he wonders, never aware until now how hard he's been running). Something about heartbeats racing and murmuring sighs that lead Todoroki to one horrific conclusion:
Holy shit he's gay. ]
You're over-thinking it.
[ Pot, kettle, etcetera, but it sounds weird and extremely Not Right for Bakugou to be thinking so hard about things, ruining this blissful simplicity he's found, and so what he's really trying to say is something along the lines of shut up and go to sleep for the love of god. ]
( feelings being felt, fireworks in the background, flowers blooming metaphorically )
Bakugou's definitely overthinking it and he's practically confusing himself because of it, he's so reflexively used to taking the attitude of "yeah, it basically only matters what I think" that taking into consideration another person is almost painfully difficult to adjust to. He only relaxes again when Todoroki points this out, because he remembers that Todoroki has generally always accepted him for the shitlord that he is, so there's clearly no reason to change anything about how he is now. ]
Look who's talking.
[ He's obliged to go for the low-hanging fruit, he always is.
And instead of responding to that unspoken hey, go the fuck to sleep with words (Bakugou's fundamentally a bit "what the hell?" that he even recognizes that for what it is), he just makes a suitably unimpressed noise and then presses his lips to the back of Todoroki's neck and buries his nose into Todoroki's hair and — wow, he sure does smell nice.
For a brief moment, Bakugou also experiences the feeling of: wow I've become such a homo!! And he guesses he's okay with that, but wow. ]
( all the right shades on the wrong page )
But back to our regularly-scheduled regretting life choices, where Todoroki is learning to live with being the little spoon, wondering what he did to deserve the weird contented feeling welling up in his chest. Wondering where he might've ended up if this whole mess had never happened, whether he'd be better off if handling Bakugou's bullshit hadn't become second nature, if his presence hadn't somehow slipped under Todoroki's guard and started making him feel right at home.
Okay, so maybe he is over-thinking it a little, Bakugou is still a child and that's still a terrible comeback.
More importantly, those are lips being pressed to his skin and holy shit, he never knew Bakugou could do something so unabashedly gay. Acts of outright affection don't suit him, in Todoroki's opinion, much as the incessant pounding of doki doki in his eardrums might disagree, and he'll make that clear with some disgruntled noise, one that almost sounds like— ]
... That tickles, quit it.
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It's the back of your neck, how is the back of your neck ticklish.
[ So he says, breathing right up against the back of Todoroki's neck still. But if it makes Todoroki feel better, he supposes he can adjust a little so that he's nuzzling his nose behind Todoroki's earlobe instead, which... might or might not be an improvement and holy shit has Bakugou picked the best time to do some sort of weird teasing/flirting thing or what? ]
There, happy now?
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The nape of the neck is one of those spots, you know, devilishly intimate to let another person see, nevermind breathe and cuddle up against. It's another reminder of how they've become a thing, as their classmates would probably put it if they knew, if they hadn't found out already, and he's not sure earlobes are any less familiar. ]
That's...
[ That's gay, for starters, before Todoroki stiffens, makes some vaguely pleased sound from the back of his throat, what those in the know would definitely call a giggle, opening his mouth and jesus christ you can hear the stupid smile in his voice. ]
Fine.
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Bakugou's put Todoroki through a lot in one afternoon, so he supposes he could spare giving Todoroki grief over that dumb giggle because he's a Tough GuyTM and doesn't get weird fluttering in his heart or stomach areas. That would be absolutely absurd.
Suddenly, he's having a realization of all the cool things he can do as the big spoon. This is a good position, he likes it here and hopes this will be a repeat situation, but just in case it isn't, he may as well get all his sudden weird impulse urges out of the way, like just kind of... laying his hand flat against Todoroki's stomach. Touching for the sake of touching seems somehow incredibly racy, he's not even checking out Todoroki's abs or anything (he has to admit that even through touch alone, they're really nice abs) and Bakugou's internally questioning everything, but especially his standards. Even he knows he should have no capacity for embarrassment after everything. ]
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Speaking of which, that is Bakugou's arm being thrown casually round him, slightly possessive and almost like it belongs there, and that is definitely not something he knows how to deal with. Nor can he explain the hand that comes up to splay fingers over Bakugou's wrist, hold him there, how he lets out a sigh that's disgustingly content and makes him sound so happy to be held. To call the sensation welling up in his chest fluttering would be putting it lightly, yet still Todoroki can't really bring himself to move. ]
Hey...
[ Or make his complaints sound anything close to sincere, when his breathing's starting to settle into some nice little rise and fall, pressed warm against the other boy's chest. Purely temporarily, of course, while he rests a little. Definitely not a thing he could see himself enjoying again in the future, not at all. ]
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It's taking a lot of willpower right now to not sink his teeth into that nice stretch of flesh in between where the shoulder and neck meet up. Bakugou's making do with keeping his hold nice and firm against Todoroki's waist and just settling his mouth near the curve of Todoroki's neck so he can tempt himself and then pride himself on resisting temptation. ]
... What is it.
[ Bakugou Katsuki has more chill in him right now than he has probably in the entire last two years of his life combined, he doesn't even sound annoyed. Is Todoroki's ice half rubbing off on him? Probably not, but we can pretend. ]
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For whatever reason, somehow, Todoroki isn't all that relieved to have Bakugou's lips so close to being pressed against his skin, the tingling sensation that follows, sparks sent down his spine that have him shivering in the other boy's grip and surrendering to sensation. Limbs reduced to jelly and he's never felt quite so boneless. ]
Nothing.
[ Except that's not really a response at all, certainly not by Bakugou's standards, and he can only imagine how torturous it'll be if he decides to press the matter. He is in absolutely no condition for an interrogation right now, surprisingly enough, so before he has time to think, Todoroki-- ]
You smell nice.
[ Shows that Bakugou's ability to shove his foot in his mouth is probably rubbing off on him. ]
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They do say couples become more like each other over time, and quite frankly that prospect is a bit terrifying when it comes to this pair of emotional incompetents, but it's not like Bakugou even recognizes that for what it is, so. ]
... I think I smell normal.
[ One must wonder how Todoroki feels sometimes, dating somebody who sets him up for embarrassment without even willfully meaning to and genuinely sounds a bit confused. ]
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Not that he's exceptionally optimistic about the state of their relationship, given how objectively filthy of a person he's become these past few weeks/months and all, but Todoroki would like to think they can make each other better people instead of wallowing in codependency together forever. Cover one another's weaknesses and grow up a little as a couple, you know. Touching stuff. ]
Good for you.
[ He regrets this line of conversation, unsurprisingly. He lacks the tweeny pretentiousness required to say his boyfriend smells of sandalwood, or whatever's popular these days, anything other than sweat and sex and god only knows what, but it's uncomfortably pleasant all the same. ]
I think most people think they smell normal, actually?
[ What the fuck kind of pillow talk even is this. ]
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Also, to be fair to Todoroki's inability to mention sandalwood, Bakugou probably smells faintly but alarmingly of nitroglycerin and other such appealing substances, so perhaps we should all be grateful that Todoroki lacks the certain pretentiousness necessary for him to unironically make a statement like, "He smells like a fired handgun," for all the accurate but, quite frankly, unfortunate metaphorical value it has.
On that note, I can't wait for the day that I can just... douse myself in hero perfume, the way that they eventually made perfumes for the Kuroko no Basukes. ]
Well, yeah. It's not like you can really smell yourself.
[ No but really, what the fuck kind of pillow talk is this...
Anyway, since Todoroki's sniffing him (apparently), Bakugou is just gonna bury his nose into Todoroki's hair and give it a good whiff. Look, it's not weird, Todoroki brought it up first!! ]
... Huh.
[ He also lacks the tweeny pretense to describe what it is he's smelling, so he's just going to. Sniff again. It's cool. He's still not the one who brought it up in the first place. ]
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Todoroki really rather lacks the mental energy to properly categorise whatever it is Bakugou smells like, beyond the now-familiar scents of sweat and sex, strangely comforting as they are, just the scent of Bakugou in general. The one he's many a time gone home totally coated in, more than a little gross upon reflection.
With the flood of merchandise it seriously might happen, you know. ]
... Is "huh" good in this case.
[ He can probably infer from the fact that he is, for some reason, still being sniffed that the answer is yes, but Todoroki is more than a little struck by how fucking weird it is that they're sitting here sniffing each other after a murder nearly occurred mere minutes ago. ]
Do you ever wonder how we end up in these situations?
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I'll mentally revise this thread to incorporate any future perfume scents in retrospect. Considering you can already make like Dabi irl and put a small Kacchan in your mouth (and eat him), I'm like 75% sure it'll happen. ]
Well. Yeah, I guess it's good.
[ Bakugou thinks he probably wouldn't be sniffing Todoroki if he didn't like something he was smelling. He's not 100% sure on this point, though. ]
... And what do you mean by that.
[ Todoroki, are you saying it's abnormal to start developing a scent kink right after a near miss with manslaughter? ]
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Perhaps because cuddling, far less carnal an act of physical affection as it is, lacks the same logical conclusion as fucking each other senseless 'til one of them can't walk, banging the night away, far easier for Todoroki's mind to wander with no end in sight. Akin to a sense of existential dread in those precious seconds before one falls asleep, albeit minus the usual morbidity and on the whole far... fluffier.
Devouring tiny Kacchans also definitely sounds like someone's fetish. Probably someone who likes Mt. Lady just a little too much. ]
Like.
[ A non-committal answer to start with, gives the gears whirring away in Todoroki's head time to translate what the fuck are we doing into something Bakugou might comprehend, won't run the risk of ruining the moment or earning his ire (not that near anything will not set Bakugou off, but Todoroki takes some small pride in knowing how best to tiptoe around this particular minefield). ]
When did we start calling each other by our first names?
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And perhaps what Todoroki is experiencing is some sort of delayed version of fapper's regret, or as some famous dead European guy put it, the devil's laughter. The moments after he has already done the deed and realized in the post-orgiastic clarity that oh boy, I stuck my dick in crazy but that's not as bad as cuddling with crazy.
Anyway, that question is enough to get Bakugou to stop discovering his brand new scent kink and attempt to turn his brain back on for a few moments and ponder it over. He doesn't have any particular reverence over the use of given names, to be honest, but he also doesn't call anybody else by their first name (Deku aside and does that even really count given everything surrounding that nickname). ]
I dunno, does that bother you or something?
[ Bakugou can revert to calling him Todoroki. Maybe. Okay, probably not, the habit is already pretty well ingrained; it's only a matter of time before he slips up and accidentally reveals they're on first name basis at school.
Also: The point
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Bakugou's head
Unfortunately, Todoroki might have to clarify that this is a matter of feelings for Bakugou tonight, on top of everything else he has been subjected to. ]
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