The Tinker

Chapter 12 - High Dive

SHITTY HAIR: Bakubro come out and swim with us, you're missing that party!!!

BAKUGOU: No.

SHITTY HAIR: C'monnnn Hanta brought that soda you like

SHITTY HAIR: I'm gonna drink it all if you don't come out

BAKUGOU: I don't care.

SHITTY HAIR: You owe me bro, get your ass out here

BAKUGOU: Like hell I do. for what?

SHITTY HAIR: You used my first aid kit :)))))

BAKUGOU: Fuck you.

SHITTY HAIR: See you in a bit!!!

Bakugou groaned. Kirishima knew that he hated not being even. He had only just gotten back to his dorm room. He was fully planning on getting his favorite spicy ramen for the weekend, but it seemed like Shitty Hair had other plans for him. Did he even have a swimsuit?

He dug through his drawers and closet until he finally found the black swim trunks Kirishima had given him years ago. Maybe he could show up for an hour or so and then leave. He had better things to do than waste time with those extras. After getting changed, he quickly sprayed on some expired sunscreen and grabbed his towel.

He could hear shrieking and laughing before he even walked through the gate. The sun was frustratingly hot, and the noise wasn't making him feel any better. He angrily threw his bag down next to a lounge chair and took off his shirt.

"Damn, Katsuki! Looking swole!" Kirishima crowed.

Bakugou felt a splash of cold water hit his back. He whipped around, chills sweeping through his body from the temperature. 

Y/N was on Kirishima's shoulders, laughing. Across from her, Jirou was on top of a blushing Denki, who looked too overwhelmed by her presence on his shoulders to function. The two pairs faced each other, clearly preparing for a round of chicken. They had splashed him without even noticing.

"GO!" Sero yelled, and the two towers moved towards each other, grasping hands and trying their hardest to push the other off their support.

"Kami, hold still!" Jirou yelled, jabbing him with her foot. Big mistake. Kaminari reeled at the contact and Y/N got the upper hand, pushing hard enough to ruin Jirou's balance. Their opponents splashed into the water.

Kirishima and Y/N whooped and cheered. Eijirou ducked under the water so she could climb off his shoulders. When he resurfaced, he put his arm around her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Bakugou's stomach tightened.

For the first time, Katsuki realized Y/N's body was riddled with scars. The faded red marks were scattered across her back and arms, and she even had a few on her neck and jaw. How had he not noticed that before? It made sense, considering she had been out in the field longer than he had-- but he felt weird noticing it.

The gash across her stomach from a few days ago was fully recovered now-- even the stitches were removed. Apparently Recovery Girl had been seeing her regularly.

"Bakugou!" Y/N called, shaking him out of his thoughts. "Can you put this on my chair for me please?" She tilted her head, eyes sparking up at him. She was acting odd.

Scowling, Bakugou made his way over to the girl. She had something in her fist, holding it out to him. He put his hand underneath hers, and before he could protest, her hand was wrapped around his wrist. "Wha--"

Too late.

Y/N yanked, hard, and Bakugou wasn't prepared enough to stop himself from being launched into the pool. The cold water engulfed him, making his body light up in shock. Once he found his footing, he shot back out of the water, absolutely seething with anger.

Y/N and Kirishima were laughing their asses off, and Bakugou connected the dots. That's what they had been whispering about. Kirishima saw Bakugou's fury and quickly pushed Y/N's shoulder. "You better get out of here," he rushed, trying to hoist her up out of the pool. Luckily she climbed out right before Bakugou's hand shot out to grab her.

"YOU FUCKER! YOU'RE DEAD!" He roared, climbing after her. Bakugou was storming towards her, and in that instant she realized she probably was going to die. Before she could get away, she yelped as he grabbed her around the waist with one arm and with the other set off a massive explosion that sent them hurdling towards the top of the building. Their peers gasped as they watched them rocket into the air.

Bakugou was holding her bridal style on top of the roof of the pool building, making an aggressive landing, both of them soaking wet. "Fuck, Bakugou, don't you dare--"

"You fucking asked for this," he snarled, holding her tighter as she tried to squirm out of his grip. "Apologize!"

"No," she spat back, which only added fuel to the flames.

"You realize we're 25 feet up, and I'm about to throw you in. You sure you don't want to rethink that, dipshit?" His voice was deep and threatening. They were both panting, but Bakugou was clearly the one in control.

For a moment, Bakugou realized the situation he had put himself in. Y/N was pressed against his bare chest with hardly any clothing. Was she wearing a bikini? She was surprisingly warm, and her wet skin was sparkling under the unrelenting sun. In a moment of confusion he almost set her down to avoid thinking about it longer, but snapped out of it and his anger rushed back, ignoring the pounding in his chest. "Trust me, Tinkerbell, this height will hurt," he challenged.

She peeked over the edge, and Bakugou watched her evaluating the situation as she bit her lip. He was pretty sure he was winning this, until she turned back to him with an evil look in her eye.

"25 feet won't kill me," She challenged. "High dives can reach 50 feet, dumbass. This is just a splash."

She wrapped her bare arms around his neck as he stared at her, trying to figure out what was happening. What the hell is she doing? Her face was getting closer to his and he started to panic at the lack of space between them. He could feel her breath on his face, and the distance was only getting smaller. His brain short circuited and he held his breath, but then she yanked him backwards off the building and it made sense again. She had been winding up to pull him over with her, not leaning in to--

They hit the water with a painful splash, the rest of their friends cackling at Y/N's victory. In that moment of silence under the water, Bakugou tried to process what had happened. He came up out of the water much later than Y/N, shaking the water from his hair and turning to glare at her.

"Your move dude," she said, that snarky attitude back in full force; but Bakugou was too light headed to argue.

He stared at her for a moment, mind still racing from what happened. Did he really think that she was going to kiss him?

Was he really going to be okay with it? 

Unable to make sense of the flurry in his chest, he climbed out of the pool and made his way to the showers without another word.

Kirishima looked at Y/N in bewilderment once Katsuki was out of earshot. "What happened? I've never seen him back down like that," he asked, watching as Bakugou toweled off and walked inside.

Y/N looked equally as confused. "I... I'm not sure. I thought we were having fun."

~~~

Bakugou tried to calm himself down in the warm water of the showers. What the fuck happened back there? Did Y/N do that to him intentionally? No. No, she hadn't. He could tell from the innocent look on her face when she resurfaced from the water. In his mind, Bakugou saw it again; her wrapping her arms around him, leaning in, their faces only inches apart--

No. she hadn't done it on purpose. She had only done it to get enough forward momentum to shoot them back... right?

His neck tingled where she had wrapped her arms around him. He could still feel her body against his chest, his hands burning from where he held her. He shook his head, trying to ignore the odd sensations, but felt a different sensation lower on his body.

Fuck.