"Are you done with those damn donuts yet? You've been stuffing your face for the last ten minutes."

"Well excuse me but I'm not the one who left our pizza behind."

Katsuki scoffed, forcing his hands down his pockets as he rolled his crimson irises. The whole scuffle from earlier had been messy, to say the least—the blonde had been fuming as he dragged you along, and didn't even bother to pick up the food you'd left behind. Then again, it had pretty much become trashed from when he'd slammed the tray down onto the table, so maybe it was better off being discarded. He'd opted to buy you donuts to snack on; this was a much sweeter option anyways.

"Don't worry," you smiled, licking off the bits of frosted sugar on your fingertips. "I'm all done now. Are you sure you're okay? You haven't really eaten anything since we came here..."

"It's fine," he shrugged. "Don't worry about me. I don't like sugary crap like that anyways. If you're done then toss the bag out so we can head inside already."

You nodded slowly, shuffling off towards the nearest garbage can to dispose of your remains. When you were done, you looked back at Katsuki with a frown.

"I know you said you were gonna buy me a new dress and all...but is that really necessary? What happened earlier wasn't exactly fun, but I'm over it now. Besides, I wouldn't want you to waste your money for no reason. I have more than enough dresses."

"I'm getting you a new dress," Katsuki glowered. "Those shitheads got their germs all over this one, which means that it needs to be tossed away as soon as possible."

"I feel like you may be overreacting just a little bit."

"Shut up." He noticed your expression sink, and let out a hurried sigh before retracting his words. "I'm just—it's not a big deal, alright? Just let me do something nice for you."

You didn't exactly know what to say, but it was clear that he wasn't coming from a bad place, and you knew you hadn't imagined the worry and frustration plastered across his brow when those assholes had been harassing you.

He actually cared, and that was saying something.

"Okay then," you smiled. "I'll let you treat me this time around. But the next time we go out, I'll be getting you something, alright?"

Katsuki snorted. "As if. Stop saying dumb shit."

"But you're getting me something nice, so shouldn't I return the favor?"

"I don't need you to spend money on me, goddammit." He cast his gaze to the side, cheeks flushing red. "You're...here with me right, aren't you? That's good enough, so just relax."

You couldn't help the blush that formed on your own temples. As far as you could tell, Katsuki was by no means a flirty guy—or rather, he didn't even seem like he would know how to be. But even with his abrasive personality and harsh tongue, he could be somewhat smooth at times. Just a few words from him were enough to get you flustered. Seriously, what was happening to you?

"Here," Katsuki gestured, not taking note of how you'd pressed your palms up against your burning cheeks. "Let's try this store. Look—seems like they'd have a bunch of girly shit, right?"

You hurriedly pried your hands away, and had to blink twice when you saw what store you were looking at.

"T-this one? We're going in this store?"

"That's what I just said," Katsuki snapped. "What's with that dumb look on your face? C'mon, stop standing around and let's just go in and take a look around."

Katsuki grabbed you by the wrist, and you had to shuffle backwards to avoid being dragged along. "I—there's no way," you protested. "We can't go in there. Do you have any idea how expensive this brand is?"

The boy merely rolled his eyes. "So?"

"So?" you gaped. "I'm saying you could be dropping well over a hundred dollars here—easy. It's way out of either of our budgets. Let's just go somewhere else."

You moved to walk away, but Katsuki's ironclad grip held steadfast against your wrist. He narrowed his eyes in a way that was more so determined than anything else.

"You need to learn to relax, and stop worrying about other damn people all the time. Would it kill you to just think about yourself for once? I'm saying that I want to buy you this dress—I couldn't give less of a shit how expensive it is. If you find one you like, I'm getting it for you, end of story. Let's just go in and take a look. If you decide you wanna go to another place later, that's fine too, but stop worrying about me. I can afford to get you something nice every once in a while."

Your eyes widened. Yes, the two of you were soulmates, but he was already treating you as if you were his long-time girlfriend. Was Katsuki really the type to spoil someone like this? You definitely couldn't see it happening with anybody else.

He can actually be really, REALLY nice. I wouldn't have known...

Giving a slow bob of your head, you mumbled out a breathy "okay." Katsuki's brows unfolded just slightly, and he took to leading you along inside the store. His hand was still tightly clutched around your wrist, and honestly, you never wanted him to let go.

"Well, you're on your own from here," he muttered. "I don't know shit about fashion and all that crap, even though my damn mom won't shut the fuck up about it half the time."

"Oh. She's interested in fashion?"

"I guess. Both my shitty parents work in that industry."

You decided to gloss over the fact that he'd just called his parents "shitty" and smiled as you skimmed through the clothing racks. At some point, Katsuki had removed his hand from your skin; you were already missing the warmth of his fingertips, and actually had to hold back the urge to outright ask him to hold your hand again.

"Hmm," you hummed, eyes flickering up towards the blonde. "Well, since you're buying it for me, do you have any preference on what sort of dress you'd want to see me in? Like a favorite color or something...?"

"Didn't I just say that I don't know jack shit about any of this stuff?"

"Well yeah, but you must have a preference on what you think looks good."

Katsuki moved in turn with your frame, running his fingers over the fabric and clenching his jaw. He looked at a loss as to where even to begin.

He sighed. "I just don't know. Something tight, maybe? So then it shows your—" He stopped abruptly, a hand flying over his mouth at the realization of what he'd just been about to say. Not that it did much good, since you pretty much knew exactly where he was getting at.

"To show off what?" you smirked, in spite of how flustered you were. "My curves? My butt? My boo—"

"S-shut the fuck up already! This is why I didn't want to say shit!!"

Katsuki was steadily in the process of becoming the human embodiment of a tomato, and this just made you giggle even more. He really was, honest-to-god, adorable at times.

"It's fine," you chuckled. "I guess I could get a bit of a tighter fit. Hey—you say you don't really know or care much about fashion, but you could still grab things you think would look nice, right? I'll start my own pile, and you can just bring along whatever you find interesting. I'll tell you my size; we save time this way, too."

Katsuki muttered something under his breath, but decided to go along without much protest. It was actually kind of fun doing this together and imagining what sort of bold, or skimpy dresses he'd bring you back to try on. You'd long since lost track of time, since it seemed like it was going by in a flash. Before long, you regrouped back by the fitting rooms, each with your own pile in hand.

You hummed contentedly. "Nice," you appraised. "You actually brought me stuff back."

"The hell—? You thought I wouldn't be able to or some shit?!"

"No, but I know that this isn't really your idea of fun, so I was half-expecting you to not actually go through with it. I'm glad you did, though." You smiled gently. "Thanks, Katsuki-kun. You're a nice guy."

"Who the fuck are you calling nice?" he grumbled. "Here—" Katsuki extended his hand and dropped his mound of clothing flat on top of your own. "Now go try those on. And you better show me each and every damn one of 'em."

This seriously is as if we're dating...

"O-okay," you blushed. "I won't show you the ones that look bad, though. Just the nice ones."

"Stop being stupid. None of them are gonna look bad on you."

You turned away almost immediately, and veered straight for the nearest fitting room. If you'd stayed back any longer, Katsuki would've surely noticed the massive blush that ruptured across your cheeks, and you were already too embarrassed as was. From the chivalrous act of saving you from harassment earlier, and now having him throw out compliments too? Was he even the same person anymore??

A weary huff escaped your lips. Hoping to distract from the scalding heat on your temples, you began slipping into the first dress sitting at the very top of the messy pile. It was definitely your size, and you were able to slip into it easily enough, but it was very much on the petite side—as in, it scarcely draped down far enough to cover your butt. You were the type of person who generally liked to keep their undergarments to themselves, so this dress was a definite no, but Katsuki had said he'd wanted to see everything...

"Oi! You almost done in there??"

...And he'd meant it.

"S-sorry," you croaked out, patting the dress down in the hopes of lengthening it out even only a little. Aside from how short it was, it looked pretty good overall; the color might've been just a tad unflattering, though. But good god, the length. You had to suck in your breath as you stepped outside the fitting room to keep your heart from imploding.

"O-oh."

He'd only looked at you for all of two seconds before flushing beet red. It was clear that Katsuki was doing his very best to keep his eyes from staring at the thin fabric that barely veiled the bottom curvature of your buttock. You made sure to keep one hand firmly clamped down on your thighs, for fear that the dress would ride up and expose everything.

"Soo, what do you think?" you half-chuckled. In spite of your embarrassment, it felt like laughing about it was probably the best thing to do right now. At the very least, you weren't the only one who looked uncomfortable.

Katsuki cleared his throat—a few times, actually. His gaze was constantly averting your own, but when he looked back up at you, his cheeks were still just as red and puffy as before.

"It's...a bit short," he coughed. "I'm not saying it looks bad on you or anything. It actually looks hot as—nice as hell...but it might not be the best thing to wear around. It looked longer when I grabbed it off the racks, I swear. The fuck are they even making dresses this damn short for anyways? I swear this industry is run by fucking perverts."

"Yeah. I should just move onto the other ones, I guess..."

You managed a smile, appreciative of the fact that he wasn't undressing you with his eyes—something which was clearly taking a lot of self-restraint not to do. Still keeping the bottom of the dress glued to your thighs by use of your hands, you shuffled back into the fitting room and ripped the dress up and over your head in a matter of seconds. Relief couldn't even begin to describe the sense of liberation you felt once that skimpy thing was off.

From that point onward, you took a more methodical approach to trying on the dresses. Luckily, it seemed like that really was the only one that was alarmingly short, and the others didn't make you feel so ill-at-ease when clothed in them. As expected, Katsuki had thrown in a couple tighter dresses that hugged your curves and showed a bit of cleavage, but it was all pretty tasteful. You'd actually imagined him throwing you some much more racier designs your way.

He also made sure to give each and every one of the designs you tried on a thorough look-over, and he never once insulted you—not even if the particular dress wasn't the most flattering. He would simply shrug his shoulders if he didn't have much of an opinion, blush and nod his head wordlessly if he thought it looked pretty on you, and finally—

You found the dress.

It wasn't anything particularly outlandish or extravagant; you hadn't taken much note of it for that very reason. But when you got to that elegant red fabric, something told you that this was going to be one of the good ones. It was supposed to be a tighter fit, but nothing that suffocated you and practically glued your limbs together; there was just enough comfortable breathing space, and you tried walking around the fitting room with it as well. The length was perfect, the sizing was perfect—hell, you didn't think you'd ever worn a dress that looked any better than the one you had on right now. It just fit you like a glove.

I hope Katsuki-kun likes this one...!

Barely able to contain your excitement, you all but bounded out the fitting room to parade your new ensemble. Katsuki had been scrolling listlessly through his phone while he was waiting for you, and the patter of your feet made him slowly lift his head. And when he did, the reaction was immediate.

Up until now, he'd looked a bit flustered while you were showing off all your options, but the expression he wore right now had literally zero ambiguity. His eyes had widened into saucers, and even his lips seemed to have parted into a suppressed gasp. He was gaping at you openly, blushing a shade of red as deep as your dress, and then he...

Smiled.

It was the weirdest thing, honestly. You'd seen him smirk and stuff before, but it was the first time you were ever seeing a sincere display of happiness. It made your stomach feel queasy, but in a pleasant way, somehow. It was sort of like the "butterflies" sensation people always talked about; you felt warm inside, and choked up at the same time. You remembered the first words you'd spoken to him, about how he'd look so much better with a smile on his face.

You were definitely right in saying that.

"Um...Katsuki-kun?" you mumbled timidly. "So how does it look? Do you like—"

"That dress looks fucking amazing on you."

"Huh? O-oh..."

You couldn't even manage the right words; your palms came flying up to press at your scalding cheeks. Had you just imagined that, or did Katsuki seriously just give you such a direct compliment? Even if you were trapped in some sort of a dream right now, you were so flustered it was just unreal.

"I'm buying it for you," Katsuki declared, stepping in to place his hand on your shoulder. You shuddered a bit when you felt his warm fingers graze your exposed skin; both of you just blushed even deeper. "It's just too damn good to pass up," he murmured. "I can guarantee that wherever we go, we won't find another one that looks this perfect."

You looked up at him through your lashes. "But...what about the price tag? I think I caught a glimpse inside and it was definitely way too expensive."

"What'd I tell you about not worrying about all that shit?"

"But are you sure it's—"

"Don't. Say. Another. Word."

Katsuki had pressed his forefinger up against your lips to shush you. All you could do was swallow thickly, nod your head, and graciously accept a gift that you'd done utterly nothing to deserve. He was still holding true to his words from earlier—he wanted you out of your previous dress, and practically dragged you up towards the cashier so that he could pay for the new one and send you right back into the fitting room to change into it again. Your old(er) dress was chucked into the shopping bag with much distaste; he still wanted you to burn it.

"This is a little embarrassing, though," you murmured, flushing as the two of you walked side-by-side through the mall. "This dress is more for formal events, and I'm just out here wearing it to the mall..."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Who the fuck cares? If it looks good on you, why wouldn't you wear it?"

"You're sweet. Although you might be exaggerating a bit. Red is a color that looks good on pretty much anyone, so that's probably why it's so flattering."

"It's not the dress, dumbass. And I can't believe I have to explain this to you."

You frowned a bit, but Katsuki had already pulled you in by the waist and plastered you up against his side. You let out a small squeal and flushed ten shades deeper.

"It's you, alright?" Katsuki huffed. "You're fuckin' cute as hell, so just get that through your head. No soulmate of mine is gonna doubt themselves—in any way. So just believe me when I say this shit, 'cause it's embarrassing as fuck."

With cheeks still lit ablaze, you nodded wordlessly. Katsuki was still just as red as you were, and you didn't know how on earth he'd managed to say something like that so seamlessly. His hand was resting comfortably on your waist as you walked, and even though it was a bit of an awkward position, it didn't seem like he had any intention of moving it.

Not that you minded one bit.