Following the attack at USJ, campus was closed the day after, both in order to allow the students to recuperate and to take the safety measures required. It was just as well, since the whole incident had been frightening enough—even now, the image of Aizawa's battered and bloodied body was distinctly imprinted into your memories. You'd been told that the teachers would be alright, but it still was very worrisome. On top of that, Izuku had been injured pretty gravely as well.

"He's always getting himself hurt," Uraraka sighed, slinging her head back on the couch. "I was worried sick when I found out. [Name]-chan, you really need to stay close to him at all times; at the very least, you could heal him a bit if he ever gets into a tough spot."

The two of you were currently lounging about at your house, taking advantage of the day off. You'd mostly just been killing time and watching goofy movies, but her words made you pause the TV and flash her a smile.

"Worried about your boyfriend?" you teased.

"Wha—?! N-no! Of course not!" Uraraka flailed her arms in protest, despite the fact that her rosy cheeks were even more flushed than usual. "Deku-kun's just a friend, seriously...aren't you the one with a soulmate? Shouldn't I be asking about him instead?"

You shrugged. "There's not really much to tell. At the very least, I don't think we dislike each other anymore, but we still don't really talk much. He seems really stubborn and closed-off, so it might take a bit of time for us to get comfortable around each other."

"But you're not upset about it anymore, right? I remember you told me you weren't very happy when you found out who it was..."

"Nah, it's fine." You reached over towards the coffee table to grab a cookie and crack it between your lips. "S'all good now," you replied, mouth half-stuffed. "I'm willing to be patient."

Uraraka smiled. "Well, if you say so, I'll take your word for it. Hey, you wanna maybe go out someplace? Like a café or an arcade? Just think it'd be nice if we left the house for a little bit."

"Oh, sure. That's a good idea—lemme just find my coat."

You bid a quick goodbye to your mother, who'd taken the day off to be with you since she was worried sick about the recent attack, and the two of you were on your way in no time. Uraraka happily interlocked her arm with yours while you bounded down the streets, giggling for no reason at all besides being happy to share in the other's company. Before long, you'd reached the shopping district you'd been headed for.

"Ooh!" Uraraka squealed, tugging you back to point off in the distance. "Lookie there, [Name]-chan. They finally opened up that new pastry shop! Wanna go??"

You grinned. "Like you even need to ask."

She beamed back at you and bounced off towards the store; mere moments before she halted in place. You frowned, trying to understand why she'd stopped, but then you caught sight of the spiky-haired blonde that you'd nearly bumped into.

You flushed without realizing it.

"Oh. Hey...Katsuki-kun. Fancy running into you here."

Katsuki probably hadn't taken note of the two of you until you actually called out to him, and he stopped mid-stride to find you gazing up at him with one arm wrapped around Uraraka's own. He glanced in the brunette's direction for a scarce second before he looked over at you.

"Hey," was all he said, in that nonchalant tone he always assumed whenever he wasn't angry. You felt a bit disappointed, since you were hoping for a somewhat more cheerful greeting, but just running into him was already lucky enough.

Er, wait...did I actually just consider myself lucky for seeing him...??

"Hello, Bakugou-kun." Uraraka waved her hand at the blonde, smiling a bit passive-agressively. "I'm here too, you know, in case you didn't notice."

He barely batted any eyelash. "Uh, yeah, who the fuck are you anyways?"

"Ugh...forget it."

Your friend rolled her eyes, probably deciding that introducing herself wasn't worth effort. You hurriedly forced a smile, wanting to strike up any topic of conversation in the hopes that it would keep him here longer.

"So what brings you by?" you prodded. "Trying to have some fun after everything that happened yesterday?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "I need to buy groceries 'cause that shitty old hag forget to do them. I swear, I'm always stuck doing shit because of her."

Shitty old hag...?

"Anyways, I'm in a hurry so I don't have time to waste with you. See ya." Katsuki waved his hand dismissively as he turned in the opposite direction. Your hand reached out in a hurry, but your words had caught in your throat. Even if you would've liked to stay and talk with him a bit more, it couldn't be helped if he had things to do.

That's why you were oh-so-lucky to have Uraraka as your best friend.

"In that case, [Name]-chan can come lend a helping hand!"

Without leaving you room to protest, Uraraka pushed you forward by the small of your back, making you stagger forward and collide against Katsuki's back as he was walking away. He glanced back, brows furrowed and a sour expression on his face, crimson eyes falling onto the image of your sheepish frame.

"S-sorry," you apologized. "I must've tripped..."

You glared back at Uraraka, but she was grinning cheekily as if to say "go for it!" and you knew you didn't have much choice in the matter. The brunette made an 'O' with her mouth, and then clasped her hands together as she let out a gasp.

"Oopsie!" she cried out. "I just remembered—I need to run home and take care of some things. Ah, but don't worry Bakugou-kun, [Name]-chan's an expert when it comes to shopping. You guys have a good time, alright?"

"Wait," you protested. "Uraraka—"

"Okay byeee!!"

She ran away before you had the chance to say anything else, her small frame disappearing among the crowd. You blinked slowly, still processing what the hell had just happened. And then you realized that you were still hovering by Katsuki, an all-too-familiar glower forming on his brow.

You chuckled awkwardly. "Umm...well, I guess I could definitely lend a helping hand. If you want me to..."

"I don't need your help to pick out fuckin' groceries," Katsuki scoffed.

Your smile faltered, realizing that he wasn't too keen on spending time with you, but he must've noticed this, because his expression softened just a tad.

"Ah, shit," he sighed, bringing a palm up against his forehead. "Stop giving me those fucking puppy dog eyes, already. I get it—your little friend's gone so you haven't got shit else to do. Fine. You can come with me."

"R-really??"

"Yeah, really. Just don't get in the way. I wanna hurry up and get this over with so I can go home."

Your expression lit up once more, and you hurriedly nodded your head in agreement. Katsuki let out another weary sigh, but didn't bother to protest any further as the two of you headed off towards the grocery store. You knew it wasn't a date or anything, but you wished that he'd seen you when you were a bit more put together than you were right now.

"Alright," Katsuki gruffed, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. "We got a ton of shit to get, and we'll cover it faster if we split up into different aisles and get it separately.

You blinked. "Eh? So...we're not going to be shopping together?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to help? It saves me time if we do it this way."

A sigh fell out your lips. Your cheeks were already burning at the thought that you were the only one who'd actually wanted to spend time together. Seriously, did the fact that you were soulmates even matter to him at all? He honestly seemed like he couldn't care less whether you were here or not.

I feel stupid. I guess I was the only one who wanted to get to know each other a bit better.

Your lips pressed together as you stepped in to take a look at the list, mentally jotting down the items.

"I guess...I can head over to the dairy section first," you deadpanned. "And you can stick around here for the produce."

"The fuck are you lookin' so damn depressed over?" Katsuki snapped. "Weren't you the one who wanted to come with me?"

"Yes. I don't know. I guess I just wanted to actually be with you instead of going off on my own."

Already, you could feel the embarrassment creeping up on you. You'd basically just admitted to the fact that you wanted to spend more time with him, to a guy who seemed like he couldn't give less of a shit.

"Nevermind," you added hurriedly. "I'll start getting the stuff now. Sorry for complaining, I'm just—"

"Shut the fuck up for a minute, god."

Katsuki had latched his hand across your wrist the second you'd turned to walk away. He was still scowling, but there were more moments when he didn't actually look as angry as usual. If anything, he looked to be struggling; as if he honestly didn't know how to act nice.

"Just...stay with me," he finally managed, timidly averting his gaze. "If you go off on your own, I'm worried you'll get the wrong shit."

His words were harsh, but his eyes were gentle. You smiled a bit. He really was horrible when it came to expressing himself.

"Alright, Katsuki-kun. I'll do my best not to slow you down."

"Good."

"You can let go of me, by the way."

"Huh...?" Katsuki blinked, eyes eventually darting down to where his fingers were gripping your wrist. His cheeks flushed for a moment, pulling his fingers away in a hurry. For someone who who was so head-strong and self-assured, he sure got embarrassed easily.

It was cute.

—

"The fuck are you doing, moron? That one's no good—put it down, already."

You frowned, eyes skimming the apple in your hands. "What's wrong with it? It doesn't have bruises or anything, and it looks pretty fresh."

"I don't like how it fucking looks," Katsuki snapped. "It's not evenly colored. Get that shit out of my face."

"I didn't strike you for the picky type," you giggled.

"Piss off. Look, get those ones," he pointed. "Load those four in the bag."

You readily complied, seeing as he was the self-appointed leader of this grocery mission. You'd only been in the store all of fifteen minutes, but he'd already barked out more orders than you'd ever heard in your life. The funniest thing was that in spite of all that, you were still having fun. What was it about this guy that you liked so much anyways?

I mean...he's definitely attractive, but as far as personalities go, we're pretty much opposites.

Maybe it was the sense of mystery that had you so drawn to him. Even though Katsuki was loud, brash, and a seemingly open book, that couldn't have been further from the truth. There was still so much you didn't know about him—you wanted him to tell you things that he'd never shared with anyone before. And you also...wanted to tell him things that you hadn't told your closest friends, Uraraka included.

It truly was a strange feeling.

"So Katsuki-kun, what kind of food do you like?" you asked, hoping to start small. You'd finished picking out most of the fruits and veggies, and were now heading towards the condiments aisle.

He merely shrugged. "I don't know. Anything spicy, I guess."

"Oh, you like spicy food?" You smiled inwardly. "Come to think of it, that really fits with your personality. Ah—I also happen to like some spices; in moderation, of course."

Katsuki didn't say anything, as he'd already begun throwing spices by the handful into his basket. You chuckled awkwardly, seeing way too many packages of cayenne pepper. You guessed that like with everything else, he didn't half-ass the way he made his food.

"Okay," you beamed. "What's next, boss?"

"Frozen foods. I also gotta get the meat and shit. And stop calling me dumb nicknames."

You smiled again, keeping close to his side. Despite saying that you wanted to "help", you really weren't doing much of it—Katsuki insisted on carrying everything on his own, and you knew you'd just get yelled at if you offered to hold it for him. It was all the better, really, since you could just stroll along peacefully and admire the tiny changes in his expression. You noticed small things, like the way he scrunched up his nose when he wasn't happy with one of the items, or how he nibbled on his bottom lip when he was searching for something in particular. The more time you spent with him, the more you picked up on; things that you surely wouldn't have even spared a glance to when you'd first met him. You wondered if he ever looked at you that way. If so, it made your chest swell at the thought.

"Hey, so I've been wondering," you piped up. "The whole soulmates thing...we came to agree on it, but we never actually showed each other our tattoos, right? Would it be too weird if I asked to see yours...?"

Katsuki scowled. "You really need to do this shit right now?"

"Well...I've just been curious, is all. I understand if you don't want to, though."

He sighed, taking a few more weary steps before placing his basket down. He glanced haphazardly across the aisle, as if to ensure that no one else was watching, and then crossed his arms.

"You first," he said simply.

"...Eh?"

"Show me yours first," Katsuki demanded. "And then I'll show you mine."

You flushed a bit, since your tattoo wasn't exactly in the most public of areas, but you nodded in agreement nevertheless. You'd shown other people before; why shouldn't your soulmate get to see?

Ever-so-carefully, you lifted up the edge of your shirt, cheeks flushing all the while. You had to pull down your pants just a smidge, to fully reveal the mark on your hip. Katsuki was watching carefully with those deep, red eyes.

"So...there it is," you chuckled sheepishly, pulling your clothes back down. You then smiled. "Okay, now your turn, Katsuki-kun. It's only fair, right?"

You'd expected for him to start lifting up the respective area of his clothing, but he merely stood still, arms still crossed.

"Mine's on my ass," he declared.

"Huh?"

"I said, mine's on my ass. You expect me to just pull my pants down in the middle of the goddamn supermarket??"

You didn't really know what to say, which is why you burst out into a fit of giggles. Your feet staggered forward, and you began lightly slapping his arm, laughing all the while.

"Pfft...come on, now," you chortled. "I'm serious. Where's your tattoo, Katsuki-kun?'

"I'M TELLING YOU IT'S ON MY FUCKING ASS!!"

You crumpled up against his chest, dying in a fit of laughter. If he was telling the truth, it was the best damn thing you'd ever heard, but you kind of got the sense that he was fucking with you.

"Then I guess I'll just have to wait before seeing it," you grinned, wiping away at your eyes. Katsuki blushed a bit, realizing how close the two of you were. He gently pushed you back, letting out a grunt of disapproval.

"God, you're annoying," he muttered, but he was already in the process of lifting up his shirt. You blinked slowly, eyes finally finding the mark you'd been searching for atop his hip. "Same place as yours," Katsuki shrugged. "Happy now?"

You smiled, nodding your head. "Yeah. I am. Thank you for showing me. Now that we've finally done this...it kind of feels more real."

The blonde frowned, but you didn't miss the way his eyes softened.

"Whatever," Katsuki dismissed, picking the basket back up. "C'mon—we still got more shit to grab. I need to hurry up and get home so I can cook some food."

"Eh? Katsuki-kun, you cook?"

"Why the fuck wouldn't I?!"

"I guess whenever I think of you in the kitchen, I just imagine you blowing up stoves and stuff..."

"HUH?!"