#Ochako would be the ultimate wingman

[authormagrant]

Flash Fic 7: Ice Cream Explosions

Prompt by @eclair - This one definitely got away from the self-imposed word limit, but these two were way too much fun to write!

“Oh, my God, Round Face, are you seriously going to cry to me about this?” Bakugo groaned as he lifted more weights to return to the rack.

“You are the worst friend,” Ochako said. “Why do I put up with you?”

“Because I own a gym, am willing to train with your sorry ass, and you’re a masochist,” he replied, deadpan.

She made a face at him, but even his delivery did nothing to change her obvious pain. Her nose was pink from how much she’d rubbed it with tissues, her eyes were red rimmed and puffy, and every now and then when she stopped actively thinking about it, her lower lip would tremble from an imminent storm of tears.

He was going to fucking kill that asshole. He should have listened when stupid Deku warned him that he was worried Ochako was dating a player. Instead, he’d ignored the advice—which, to be honest, he did with anything that came out of the loser’s mouth—and now he was paying for it.

He sighed, but didn’t kick her off the bench. “Are you at least going to pretend to work out?”

“Katsuki, I just had my heart broken again, and you’re worried about my exercise regime?”

There was no winning. He ran a hand through his hair, and heard her giggle. The sound surprised him enough that he glanced up, only to grimace at the sight facing him in the mirrored wall. The sweat from his workout made his mussed hair stick up in strange points, like he’d survived some cartoon explosion.

“Why can’t that nice new guy you like walk in and see you now?” Ochako said around the hint of a tiny smile. “I’m pretty sure it might finally knock you off that pedestal he put you on.”

“Shut your face,” Bakugo growled. “And I’m pretty fucking sure there’s nothing I could do that would deter Shitty-Hair.”

It was kind of a relief to say that and feel like it was the truth. Not that he’d admit that, even to Ochako. He hated having his private life become the subject of speculation, but the sight of a genuine smile growing over Ochako’s face made him think that maybe it was worth it.

Until the brilliance vanished and she was back to staring at her hands. “All I want is to wallow in a swimming pool of ice cream.”

“No. Don’t you dare. We’ve been training for this tournament for months and I’ll be damned if you throw all that work away. You’re better than that.”

She gaped at him. “That ... almost sounded like encouragement.”

“It wasn’t.”

“No, no, I’m pretty sure it was.” She tilted her head and watched him stretch out. “Are you sick? Are you dying?”

“I can be encouraging.”

“Your positive statements involve an absurd amount of profanity and death threats.”

“You’re just jealous that I can get results from cock-thistles who have no self-motivation.”

“Right. Of course that’s it. You could start putting up a quote of the week on the walls.” For the first time since she’d walked in and burst into tears, Ochako actually looked happy. “What would it be this week?”

“Start sparring, for fuck’s sake.”

Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. “It’s missing something.”

“What? You expect me to throw it up there with some craptastic picture of a kitten attacking a puppy or something?” He snorted derisively and pointed for her to get up off the bench so they could start their workout in the newly emptied space, but she didn’t move.

Instead, she tilted her head back and laughed. “A picture! Of course! How could I forget that? I can see it now ... The Bakugo Katsuki line of inspirational posters.”

She probably teased him on purpose. She’d always known how to twist his competitive nature. “Hey, I’d inspire the fuck out of those posters,” he snapped.

“Of course you would. Let’s see, the waterfall print would read, If you don’t stop crying, I’ll kill you.”

Clearly, no sparring would commence until she felt better, so he gave up and sprawled on the mats, letting his own mind wander. “A stupid sunset one, too.”

“Yeah! It could say ... Start the damn workout before the fucking sun goes down!”

“Seriously, Round Face, are we doing this today or not?”

She didn’t even hear him, too lost in her own game. “You could have a post-break up line. How about one with a box of truffles and something like, They say chocolate is a cure of heartache, but don’t forget that calories are hard to burn, bitch.”

Bakugo groaned and threw an arm over his eyes. “Okay, get up.”

“I don’t want to spar today. If you hit me once, I’ll start crying and get snot all over you.”

“I know that. We’re not sparring today. I’m taking you to get some goddamn ice cream.” He lifted a hand and pointed at her. “And if you tell Shitty Hair I did something nice for you, I’ll make you regret it.”

Ochako held up her hands, but her smug grin did nothing to convince him that she’d obey. “Fine. I won’t dare to let him know that you can actually be a nice, kind, considerate human being who supports his friend when she’s miserable from a break-up and can’t figure out how to cope. I’d hate for him to learn that you’re quite the catch despite your horrible attitude and that he’d be lucky if you finally acted on your interest in him.”

“Damn right,” he grumbled as he climbed to his feet. Except, when he turned, Shitty Hair was standing there, mouth slightly open and a flush spreading high over his cheeks. Bakugo wanted to rip something apart with his hands. Violently. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose and refused to look at Ochako, who was snickering behind him. Fucking traitor. “How long have you been here?”

The guy’s hands tightened around the strap of his gym bag. “Dude, taking a break from a workout to help her deal is super manly!”

“Do you want to come with us?” Ochako asked before Bakugo could open his mouth to respond.

The flush on the other man’s cheeks intensified. “I don’t want to interrupt,” he started to say.

Started to say, because Bakugo gave up. His day had already gone to hell. It’s not like it could get worse. “Oi, Shitty Hair, you’re not interrupting. You like ice cream, right?”

“Yeah. I do.” He tilted his chin up and grinned, a sharp smile that made Bakugo’s heart beat far too fast. “And I’m pretty sure I could be convinced to like you, too.”

“If you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Ochako whispered. “This is going to be so much fun.”

Bakugo sincerely doubted it.