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Ochako had learned that staying still was part of the hero gig, but with Katsuki’s hand tenderly brushing up the inside of her arm, she was finding it to be the hardest task in the world.
“Can you tell me why I’m doing this again?” she huffed as Katsuki pushed the crown of his head up into her bicep again to coax it up, still staying put underneath her outstretched arm.
“Cause my stupid fucking parents want to measure teenage girls without it being weird. I don’t fucking know! They asked me to measure my girlfriend, so that’s what I’m fucking doing!” he spat, sitting up straighter on his stool as he inspected the measurement for the third time and made annotations on his notepad.
To say Bakugou Katsuki was a nice boyfriend was too vague a statement. He didn’t sing her praises to her face, but he made sure that everyone knew she was tough, beautiful, and his. With their final year of UA coming to a close, their graduation imminent, his fawning over her had become limited. Ochako didn’t mind - they were both studying hard, and training harder, it was the price they paid to become heroes. This closeness, however, was unusual for Katsuki. He was affectionate behind closed doors, and made her feel treasured; what he didn’t do was get her measurements for his parents. Something was up and Ochako couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Ok, so weirdness runs in the Bakugou genes. Got it,” she nodded as Katsuki shoved her arm away from his head and stood.
“Shut the fuck up, I’m trying to get this right,” he said, looking over his notebook, glancing at her with an inquisitive gaze. His stare was intense, and even though she’d been with him for nearly a year or so, it felt intimidating to be held under it.
“Are you parents coming up with a new line?” she asked, wrapping her arms around her midsection. The Bakugou matriarch was just as strong willed as her son, and the amount of times she’d tried to get a dress or skirt to Ochako was too many to count. The thing she didn’t like were people’s hands on her. Sure, she’d lost a bit of weight since training at UA, but it didn’t mean she liked having her body touched in unusual places. It was hard enough to have the perfectly sculpted Katsuki touch her - to have his parents want to, in a completely innocent way, was harder for some reason.
“Maybe? How should I know?” he replied, turning away and shutting his notebook, shoving it into his backpack. Ochako flopped down on his bed and played with the All Might figurine on his bedside table.
“I don’t know, maybe because they’re your parents and they talk to you,” she scoffed back at him. Katsuki moved to sit next to the bed, his head leaning on the side of the mattress as he looked up at her.
“Cheeks...do you think they tell me anything?” he asked with a defiant smirk on his face.
“I think your mother might have a few things she’d like to say to you,” Ochako reminded.
“Yeah, yeah,” he scoffed, leaning up and kissing her so profoundly, it was a miracle Ochako felt the strength to leave his room only a few minutes later. It was getting late, and she knew she’d get in trouble if she didn’t get out of there soon - still, she wished she’d stayed, lingered in Katsuki’s embrace longer and woken up in his arms.
How the pair came about was by pure chance. After their first year sports festival, the pair had gotten closer - having regular sparring sessions, some talks that lasted hours, and then one night, Katsuki surprised them both by closing the distance and kissing her. After he pulled back, they both stared at each other in shock before Ochako was thrown into a fit of giggles and dragged him back to kiss her more. After that, it was finding a rhythm, what worked for them and how they showed each other affection. Ochako liked open affection placed on her, whereas Katsuki preferred to be shown affection in private. Katsuki was still getting used to showing her how he felt in public. It wasn’t bad, but just holding his hand was a hard thing to do when he was afraid of his quirk hurting her. It didn’t matter, she even liked it when he leaned his weight into her; it was enough to show her he was trying.
~*~*~
Ochako sighed after a long day of studying, needing to recharge with her boyfriend’s loving devotion, and she waddled to his room with her books still hanging in her arms. Struggling to get his door open, Ochako managed to get it open with a quick twist of the knob and knocking the door back with a harsh thud. Katsuki shot up as he scrambled to get a few loose papers back into his grasp. Ochako dumped her things down by his door as he finished shoving things in a thick leather bound folder and pushed it underneath his bed.
“Katsuki, what are you doing?” she asked, knitting her brow.
“The old hag wanted me to finish something up, nothing important,” he waved it off as he sat back into the pillows of his bed, legs wide as he tapped the space between to greet her. “What’s with the look?” he asked, tilting his head as he looked her over.
“I’m tired,” she groaned, flopping down onto his bed and crawling the gap between his legs.
“Yeah, I heard you had a four hour study session with four eyes,” he teased, his hands kneading into her shoulders and she sighed, throwing her head back to his shoulder.
“I love Iida, but my god he talks so fast,” she huffed and Katsuki laughed, kissing her cheek.
“What did you get done, cheeks?” he asked.
“We did a mock up quiz and I did ok, but I want to do better,” she sighed, reclining back until her cheek fell onto his shoulder.
“What did ya get?”
“Seventy-five out of one hundred,” she grumbled, knowing she could do better.
“That ain’t that bad,” he said, almost as if he were praising her.
“Says the man that goes nuts when he doesn’t score a ninety,” she reminded and Katsuki laughed back at her.
“Yeah but I’m fucking nuts, so you don’t need to compare to me,” he said and Ochako pulled away, turning around and sitting in front of him.
“Why do you hold me to a different standard than you?” she snapped and watched Katsuki’s face drop, making her cheeks heat in shame.
“Oi, I don’t want to make this into some sort of argument, if you have something to say, I wanna work it out,” he said. Ochako bowed her head, embarrassed for what she was going to admit.
“Do you think I’m weaker than you, so I’m never going to reach your level as a hero?” she asked. Katsuki remained serious.
“No.”
“More words please,” she urged, knowing her brow was still knit tight. Raking his hand through his hair, Katsuki sighed as he looked back at her.
“I don’t see you as weak. I don’t see you on another level as me. I hold you to a different standard because you’re my fucking girlfriend and I know how much work you’re putting in. I’m not gonna say you’re pathetic when you don’t get a ninety. I’m not an asshole,” he explained and Ochako rolled her eyes.
“Sure,” she huffed just as Katsuki caught her chin between his fingers.
“Oi,” he snarled, “I’m proud of you and I like you a lot, so yes, I think the effort you put in is amazing. Fuck you for doubting me,” he snapped and Ochako wilted under his gaze. She tipped forward and snared a chaste kiss on his lips.
“Thank you, Katsuki,” she whispered to him.
“You’re fucking welcome,” he purred, leaning over her, planting kiss upon passionate kiss onto her lips. Each time their lips met, Ochako sank lower into the bed, his body pressed into hers.
“Katsuki,” she sighed. He jolted back, eyes searching with such concern, Ochako was scared it was no longer Katsuki on top of her.
“Is something wrong? Did I go too fast?” he asked.
“I was enjoying it,” she admitted, “I’m now wondering why you stopped!” Ochako giggled as she brushed his hair from his forehead.
“You…want to keep going?”
Ochako nodded back and with a devilish smirk, he pounced down onto her. When she was finally able to catch her breath, laying on her back, bare and curled in Katsuki’s arms, she had never felt more treasured in her life. He peered down at her, kissing at her brow as he sighed, making sure to lay with her as long as they could spare.
Their first time together was most probably clumsy and took them too long to calm down to enjoy it in the beginning, but it was the most exhilarating moment of Ochako’s life. She came undone by biting into Katsuki’s shoulder to stifle her moan and Katsuki wordlessly groaned into her ear, collapsing into each other with gasps of air. Katsuki was tender, smoothing hands over where his hands dug into her skin, kissed her cheek where his teeth had snared, and held her as close as two people could be.
When she finally dressed after curfew, Katsuki tugged on her wrist to beg her to stay without speaking a word. His pleading and soft crimson eyes were a torture to tear away from, but she had to - somehow managed to leave with only a few lingering kisses. Ochako felt strange afterwards, but knew it was for the better.
The following weeks they were studying and practicing for their final exams. Their practicals were only a week or so away, so they tended to train separately in case they needed to face each other at some point, and because Katsuki tutored Kirishima, the time they spent together was limited and strained. All Ochako wanted to do was curl up into his warmth and spend hours with him, but even the time they did spend together, Katsuki was always itching to get away, saying he needed to study or leave for whatever thing he had forgotten. Now, wandering the streets, it was the first time Ochako felt like they were back to normal.
As Ochako sipped on her boba tea, arm curled in Katsuki’s, he suddenly tugged her along with him.
“Hey, let’s go in here,” he said, pointing into a fabric shop. Ochako frowned at him.
“Why?”
“I pick out fabrics for the old hag and old man from time to time,” he said, and Ochako walked in after he did, he immediately gravitated towards lightweight fabrics, testing them between his fingers and sneering when they weren’t what he was looking for.
“They use you for so much product testing,” Ochako scoffed, taking in the wall to wall coverage of fabric - rolls, squares, scraps - everything that made up the heart and soul of the vibrant shop.
“Shut up,” he snapped back at her. Ochako found the bright pink fabrics that lay in their own nook in the wall. Amongst the rolls, she found a pale pink fabric that was so soft to the touch, she thought it may have been satin but it was definitely cotton of some kind.
“Oh, look at this! Isn’t this a beautiful fabric!” she beamed, trying to work out what sort of fabric it was when Katsuki tapped one of the signs above her head, labelling the assortment of fabrics in the nook. Pima cotton.
“You sure do like pink,” he said as he noticed her clinging to the pink fabrics, as well as the pink shirt she had decided to wear that day.
“Shut up!” she snapped, almost kicking at his ankle before deciding otherwise.
“Then what other fabric would go with it?” he asked. Ochako frowned back at him as she sipped the last remains of her tea.
“Isn’t that a question I should ask you?” she said, fluttering her lashes back at him.
“Just help me, dammit,” he urged and Ochako began tracing her fingers over different fabrics before she landed on a sheer pink that caught the light and shimmered purple.
“This one. The cotton can go as a pale underlay, while the sheer one brings more colour,” she suggested.
“Good choice,” Katsuki praised with a raise of his brow, “see, you do know what you’re doing,” he whispered, planting a kiss on her cheek. She beamed as Katsuki hauled the two rolls of fabric on either shoulder and took it to get a few yards of each.
“Did you need to buy all of this?”
“Yeah, I’ll give it to the old hag soon,” he shrugged as he was given the bag of fabric and hooked his arm over Ochako’s shoulder. Ochako had to admit, since that night together, Katsuki was far more comfortable showing her physical affection in public. It was getting addicting and it made her scared and greedy when she received it.
After their practical exam, with only one more written exam remaining, the end of their school life was beginning to feel so rushed. Most of Ochako’s friends were packing up their room, getting ready to leave, their graduation only a few weeks away. As Ochako was folding her minimal amount of clothes into her suitcase, she heard a rushed knock on her door. Placing her things down, she went to her door to see Katsuki. Without warning, he leaned into her, his hands behind his back as he hid something from her but kissed her without reason.
“Katsuki, what are you doing here?” she giggled as his lips planted kiss after kiss onto her mouth, his movements jutting her into her room and he kicked the door behind him.
“I came to give you something,” he said, still not wishing to stop kissing her. With her hands pressed to his chest, she nudged him away.
“You know you actually have to give it to me right?” she laughed.
“Just gimme a second,” he breathed, pushing himself forward, his hand reaching up to cup at her cheek as his lips descended upon her mouth. Ochako fell into his trap, lured in by lips that kept giving.
“Katsuki,” she urged, pulling away from him. “What’s the matter?” she asked, looking over him and noticing that he didn’t seem comfortable at all. She cupped his cheek as he pulled his left arm from behind his back. It had stayed there all the while they were kissing, and she finally understood his gift. She tentatively took the bag and grabbed what was inside.
Out she pulled a pink mini dress. It came in at her waist, with a decorative sash that tied into a bow and trailed two long ribbons down to her ankles. The bodice was a sweetheart neckline that would hug at her torso in a flattering way and the sleeves -sheer and flowing until they reached the cuff where they bound at her wrist - was the first addition to an already perfect dress.
“It’s for graduation,” Katsuki explained and Ochako frowned.
“Graduat-” she started only to notice the colour and fabric, the way Katsuki looked concerned as she took in the garment - everything fell into place. “Katsuki...you made this for me?” she asked. Katsuki nodded as he stared at the floor.
Ochako put the dress on her bed before she jumped at Katsuki and crashed her lips to his. She stayed in his arms as she kissed all over his face - excitement and adoration was overflowing her and she didn’t know how else to expel the feeling.
“I love you so much,” she confessed, her cheeks warm with joy and embarrassment. Having been the first time either of them said that to each other, she was feeling far more self conscious than she realised.
“I love you too, cheeks, what do you think the dress was meant to say?”
“Now that I think about it, you constantly blaming your parents was so stupid,” she said, shaking her head.
“I know. Had to get my old man on zoom calls every other night to help me through hand stitching some shit,” he said, gathering up the dress to show the embroidered details around the cuffs and hem of the skirt.
“How did you manage to get a sewing machine in here without anyone noticing?” she asked, knowing the only way he was going to get it finished was in the middle of the study period.
“Asked ponytail to come by, she’s kept her mouth shut tight for the last few weeks,” he answered with a shrug, and Ochako giggled, tugging him down to kiss him again.
“Katsuki. I love it, and I love you,” she said and Katsuki kissed her right back. “Can I try it on?” she asked and Katsuki chuckled, nodding back at her. When she had the dress on, it fit her just right, but even as she stood in front of Katsuki, he still found faults in his work. He wanted to take in her waist a fraction, and he wasn’t happy with the work at her sleeve but admitted there wasn’t much more he could do without completely redoing it. Ochako confessed she loved the faults and found nothing wrong with the dress. She felt like a princess in it, the way it fell in soft cascades of cotton, laying at her thighs and ready to expand if she twirled for him.
With the class graduating, Ochako stood in her dress and graduation gown, trying to fix it up as she had the girls rush over to her in a screaming mass. Ochako went wide eyed as the girls began turning her around and opening up her gown to look at her dress.
“Ochako! Where did you get the dress?” Mina squealed, spinning her around to take in the dress to its full extent. Ochako flashed a look to Momo, who hid a smile behind pursed lips.
“I guess you could say it was a personal tailor?” she hedged and Mina raised a brow.
“You could have just said Bakugou made it,” Kyoka whispered and Ochako blushed.
“You said it, not me,” she whispered back and the girls gasped at Ochako’s confession.
“So it was!?” Mina squealed again. “Man, does that boy love you or what!”
“I guess he does,” Ochako beamed, looking over to see Katsuki fiddling with the cuff of his shirt to slide the sleeve up only to catch her eye. As soon as he saw her, the tension lifted from his shoulders and he smiled. “God, I love him,” she sighed as she watched her boyfriend with so much love in her eyes, as he loved her right back.
