#kss18

"No," he scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.

Of course, the look on her damn face almost broke his fucking heart.

Ochako's eyes went wide, disappointment flashing across her brown irises. "K-Katsuki! She's just a kitten! I found her in the debris and no one claimed her so I..." She bit her lip and frowned. "We're keeping her, at least until we can find her a better home!" she scoffed and hugged the small bean of a cat to her chest.

She stormed towards the living room, plopping down on the couch in a huff. "Don't listen to him," she cooed at the shivering cat, "Katsuki is angry all the time. It's not you."

Well, she wasn't fucking wrong.

The kitten snuggled under her chin, rubbing its face on hers, and Bakugou twisted his lips. Better home, his ass. First off, the thing was already way too attached to Ochako to have her let it go, and second off, their home would be the best goddamn home that little kitten could ever hope for!

Sitting in the chair next to their couch, he sighed. "And how exactly did you get stuck with this cat?"

"I didn't get stuck with her," Ochako said, rolling her eyes. "She was trapped between some large rocks. When were doing cleanup, I moved them and found her there, shaking. I tried to see if she belonged to anyone, but no one claimed her and the vet said she wasn't chipped."

"Mmm..." Bakugou grunted, looking at the way the kitten rested on Ochako's chest.

"Stop glaring at her! She's an innocent little baby," she said, looking at the cat lovingly. Her fingers gently stroked through her fluffy fur. Stupid cat, rolling all over his girlfriend. "You're probably just jealous she can sleep on my boobs," Ochako smirked.

"Oi!" Bakugou hissed. "I'm not jealous of the damn cat!" he yelled and pushed himself out of the chair to grab his keys.

"Where are you going!?" Ochako frowned, turning towards him as he made his way over to the door.

"The store!" he yelled out, slipping on his boots. "We're gonna need crap for the little shit."

Ochako's mouth curved up into a small smile, and damn was he fucking weak for her. The cat had only been in the apartment for two seconds and already he was doing everything for it just because it made his girlfriend happy.

~~

Bakugou collected the necessarily items—a litter box and some litter, some food and bowls, and a small toy—and threw them into the shopping cart. He'd stormed down the street to the pet store. The last thing he needed was the cat peeing on their new goddamn carpet they'd just bought, so best to buy it all now.

Fuck. He sounded like his old hag of a mother.

"Kacchan!?"

...

Fuck.

He knew that voice and he felt his entire body twitch. Maybe if he ducked down a different aisle he could avoid him.

No, it was far too fucking late for that.

Deku came bounding up, his green eyes wide as he peered into Bakugou's shopping cart. "Did you and Ochako get a cat?!" He smiled.

"What the hell are you doing here, nerd?" Bakugou snorted.

Okay, the sight of Deku no longer made Bakugou want to burn his fucking eyes out, but he still didn't feel like talking to him. Not about this cat bullshit.

"Oh! Melissa asked me to grab some food for Luna on my way home. She's stuck at the lab late tonight," Deku sighed. "But if you and Ochako got a cat, maybe we could have a cat play date!" he said cheerfully.

The idea of spending time with Deku with their cats made his skin crawl and he shook his head. "We didn't get a fucking cat. It's a stray Ochako found and is keeping until we find someone who wants her. You want her?"

"Uraraka found a cat?" Deku blinked. "Uhm... that's okay, Kacchan. I think Luna would feel sad if we brought another cat into the house."

As always, Deku was fucking useless. "Yeah, yeah. I gotta get back before this thing takes a shit on my new rug."

"You know, you might enjoy having a cat! They're very loving but usually only to the people they're close to. Kinda like you, Kacchan!" Deku laughed.

"Shut up, Deku. Don't ruin cats anymore than you already have," Bakugou snapped, storming towards the checkout counter.

"Okay," Deku shrugged, brushing him off like everything was normal. "See you later!"

After paying for the items, Bakugou walked past the cat window in the pet store. A few of them were rolling around playing together. They were... actually pretty cute. The shits.

~~

"I'm back," he called out, kicking off his shoes, and he was surprised when Ochako didn't answer.

Stepping into their living room, he saw her completely asleep on the couch, the tiny kitten curled up next to her. The cat was mostly golden brown, though she had little white paws; her body rising and falling with her breath.

She immediately sat up when Bakugou stepped into the room, her large green eyes staring at him intensely.

He let out a huff of air. "I'm not going to hurt you, idiot." He clicked his tongue and pulled a blanket over both the kitten and Ochako.

While she slept, he set up the litter box in the bathroom and the food in the kitchen, dumping the small can of wet food into the new pink bowl.

Suddenly, he heard the small pattering of feet as the tiny kitten trotted over to the kitchen, probably alerted by the smell of food. Her paws almost looked too big for her body as she flopped her way over to the bowl. Her green eyes turned towards him and then back to the bowl.

"It's for you, dumbass!" Bakugou said, nudging her butt forward. He took a seat on the floor, wanting to make sure she actually ate.

The little cat began to eat, her tail swishing back and forth. Good. At least the idiot figured that out.

He watched her for a moment, and she pulled away, purring as she brushed her head against his leg. "Oi..." he muttered and glanced towards the living room. The last thing he needed was Ochako teasing him about being soft on the damn kitten. He gently ran his hand down her back. She was so small, and he wondered how old she was. Maybe the vet said when Ochako asked about the chip.

She continued to purr, nuzzling his hand with her small head and Bakugou let out a long sigh. "I get the feeling you're going to be here a long damn time," he muttered.

~~

The next day, the damn cat wouldn't stop following him around. When he played video games she sat next to him on the couch, snuggling close. When he got up to get a soda, she followed him to the kitchen. Hell, she even fucking followed him to the bathroom.

"I think she likes you," Ochako said, pouting when the cat chose to sit next to Bakugou on the couch later that night.

"The damn thing has been following me around all day. I should've let you feed her!" he yelled.

"Maybe she just likes your scent!" she giggled. "You two look very cute together."

"Shut up."

"You know," Ochako hummed, "we really need to give her a name. It's sad to keep calling her kitten or cat."

"Murder Mittens," Bakugou said flatly.

Ochako immediately frowned. "Absolutely not."

"King Explosion Murder."

"She's a girl!"

"So?" he snapped. "Fine. Queen Explosion Murder."

"Oh my god, why did I ever think you could come up with a name?" Ochako scoffed.

"They're good names!" he retorted angrily.

"No! We're not naming our cat Queen Explosion Murder!" she sighed.

"Why not? The people who take her can change it to whatever they want!" he snapped.

Ochako bit her lip, her eyes falling on the tiny sleeping bundle next to him. "Right..." she sighed. "Why don't we just call her Mittens? A cute nickname could be Mimi," she said.

"Whatever," Bakugou muttered. Nothing was going to sound as cool as Queen Explosion Murder.

When Ochako got up to get a drink, Bakugou leaned down to rub his finger against the kitten's cheek. "You can be Mimi, but between you and me, your real name is Murder Mittens."

~~

It had been almost a week since Ochako found Mimi and by now, Bakugou was used to her. Of course, he didn't say that to Ochako, and he would constantly pretend he didn't care when Mimi chose to sit next to Ochako instead of him. (He never understood why, since he was normally warmer!)

Originally, they said they weren't going to let her sleep in their bedroom, but she'd cried outside their door the first few nights, so Bakugou caved finally and left the door cracked just a bit. Ever since then, she curled up in between them, snuggling in the bed. Bakugou thought it might be nice to get her a small bed to leave in theirs so she could be more comfortable.

When he bought more wet food, he bought a small string toy, and would often sit on the floor and tease her with it.

She was such an idiot, flopping around as she leaped for the string, Bakugou couldn't help but laugh. She never gave up trying to catch it. When she pounced on it, her small teeth would bite into the little stuffed bird on the end. For a tiny animal, she was shockingly badass.

Needless to say, he was attached.

"Katsuki, I'm home!" Ochako called out and Bakugou was far too comfortable on the damn couch to move. Mimi was tucked against his arm, snuggled close while he had on the T.V. "Aren't you two comfortable?" she teased, leaning over to kiss him.

More and more Ochako was catching him in the act of snuggling with the damn cat, and more and more, Bakugou didn't seem to care.

"Well, you'll be happy to know I found a new home for Mittens."

Bakugou felt the blood drain from his face. "What?" he said.

"I know we've been looking." Had they? "But turns out Shouto asked Momo to move in with her and they're looking to adopt a cat! They said they would take her. I told her we could give them all our stuff and Momo offered to pay us back-"

Ochako kept blabbering on and Bakugou looked down at the tiny fuzzball next to his arm. Her little body was warm next to his as her soft breathing made her little butt rise and fall slowly. What the hell!? Murder Mittens belonged to them. She was their cat! Like hell he was going to give her up to Half and Half and Ponytail! Knowing them, they'd be too prissy to let her sleep in their bed at night and she would be lonely, crying outside their door.

He couldn't subject her to that!

The truth was, it had only been a week and he already loved this damn cat. She was a part of this apartment they had together... a part of their family.

"No fucking way!" he hissed, sitting up. He grabbed Mimi and pulled her to his chest protectively. "Murder Mittens is our cat!" he snarled. Mimi wiggled against him, surprised by how tightly he held her

Ochako blinked, surprised when Bakugou cut her off. "W-What? I thought you didn't want to keep her!"

Bakugou's cheeks flushed. "Whatever. She's ours. She's... already comfortable and shit," he muttered.

Ochako began to giggle, unable to hold back her laughter. "Oh Katsuki... you love her, don't you?"

"No."

"You do~" Ochako teased, leaning up to poke his cheek.

"No I fucking don't! She's... fine, or whatever."

Ochako sat down on the couch next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. She gently pet the tiny golden kitten in his hand. "You're right... she's ours," she whispered.

"Yeah... a part of our... family or whatever," Bakugou muttered.

At that, Ochako's cheeks turned bright red and she pulled away, looking at the two of them.

"What?!" he yelled, completely flustered. "Stop making that face. We live together and... I fucking love you and... her... so... yeah. Family."

Ochako couldn't help but smile. She brushed her lips against Bakugou's, kissing him gently. "You're right! We're a family. But... her name isn't Murder Mittens," she whispered softly.

"Fuck off, that's her damn name! She's badass and she knows it!" he yelled.

"I'm still calling her Mimi," Ochako teased.

"Do what you want! Her name is Murder Mittens."

"Okay, okay," Ochako giggled and took his hand. "I love you and I love Murder Mittens."

Her gloved hand muffled her knocking a bit, but no other sound came from behind the door anyway. Ochako took a deep breath and rapped the wood again. His window still had a light on when she crossed the wall. A loud thud made her pause. The door was yanked open and Katsuki appeared wearing his boots and his nightshirt messily tucked inside his trousers. Red bleary eyes tried to focus on her form as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Ochako noticed it spiked in several more directions than usual.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

Hearing the low rumble of his voice, Ochako willed her knees to stay straight. There was no time to lose her composure. She had to catch his attention as soon as possible.

"I challenge you!" she said with her most authoritative tone. "Meet me at the courtyard before the next bell. And please put something warm on."

Before Katsuki could voice any objections, Ochako dashed away. She had imagined their first conversation after the Yule celebration a lot differently. Still, a ploy like this had been her best bet to finally get something out of him. Katsuki's pride was legendary to the point he wouldn't back down from anything—except talking to her for the last two days. But the one thing Ochako had learned since she arrived in the Capital was that sometimes you have to play dirty to win.

The night had laid out its dark veil over the castle grounds, casting obscure shadows on the courtyard. Ochako had crouched inside a pocket of moonlight. Cold nipped on her exposed face; each breath flowing like a frozen river into her throat. Despite that, she continued the task at hand with a joyful tune.

Soft crunching footsteps approached her until another shadow joined hers on the ground.

"So what do you think?" she asked, waving at her creation with a smile.

Katsuki adjusted his scarf, his nose featuring the same tone of red. "That's the ugliest snowman I've ever seen."

"It's not that bad!"

Truth be told, the snowman's body sprouted solid from the ground like the nightmare tree of fairytales. Ochako had placed splinters from a nearby torch as hands too. The pebbles for eyes and mouth were the final touch to its angry demeanor.

"It looks ready to cut-throat anyone that gets near it," he said.

He sneaked a hand behind his back for his trusty knives, no doubt. As per usual, Katsuki came prepared for anything and everything. It was no brainer, considering Ochako had left her declaration kind of vague. The scabbard of his sword was missing though.

"It's just snow." She placed some straw on the snowman's head. "Look! It kinda looks like you now, don't you think?"

"You brought me outside for this?"

"Don't be rude. I didn't think you go to bed as soon as the sun sets."

Katsuki scoffed. "That's what normal people do."

"People that don't get the night shift you mean."

"I'm not going to ask again, Uraraka. What do you want?"

Ochako reached behind the snowman for the pre-prepared snowball stash. "To spend some time with you is all."

The snowball whistled in the air and crashed right onto Katsuki's face with a thump. He had managed to shut his eyes on time. But as snow trickled down like pieces of pie, Ochako could help it and burst out laughing. Still, she wasn't naïve. Grabbing more snowballs from the pile, she ran off.

"That's how you wanna go, huh?" Katsuki shouted. "Come back here you sneaky weasel! You're getting murdered tonight!"

What followed was the most intense snowball fight Ochako had experienced in the fifteen years of her life. Frozen projectiles whizzed from one side of the courtyard to the other like arrows. Most of the icicles hanging from nearby windowsills didn't survive the process. Katsuki had applied into this the same mentality he used in all of his fights—take no prisoners. His shots always went for the most vital body parts, namely the head and knees, with deadly accuracy.

On the other hand, Ochako didn't manage to land another shot again. At some point, she even began to wonder if that first one had been a fluke. The thought of Katsuki letting anyone hit him on his own volition was ridiculous at best. But she managed to get her revenge the moment Katsuki lost her from his sight. He stood in front of the portico-lined outer hallway, scanning his surroundings. No doubt wondering where she had disappeared to. Ochako stifled a snicker as she scouted around the nearest supporting column. With deadly precision, she pulled at his scarf and sent a handful of snow down his back. Katsuki's screech was priceless. Jumping on the ground, she put a great distance between them.

"That's cheating!" he roared. "You were out of bounds."

"We didn't set any bounds or rules," she said. "Everything is fair in love and war!"

"Stop running and I'll show you how fair it is!"

They chased each other around for a while longer. The clock's ninth bell found them hunching over, exhausted and soaked from head to toe.

"I… win…" Katsuki's shoulders heaved as he panted, a milky cloud escaping his mouth with each breath.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Ochako brushed off the snow caught up in her hair. "It might end up true."

"You have a death wish today or what?"

Her laugh echoed joyfully in the calmness of the night. "I'd prefer to live a bit longer, thank you," she said, pushing her head back.

The moon was so bright. It washed out the sky to the point no stars were visible anymore. Ochako opened her arms as if she was ready to take off with the slightest gust of wind. Instead, she dropped backward. She had been shin-deep into the snow but the ground turned out a lot closer. Her shoulders hit on it at the same time her head did. The impact rattled her brain; pain rippling from the back to the front in waves. Because of the monotone tune in her ears, she didn't hear Katsuki approaching this time.

He leaned over her with a pinch of concern on his face. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ochako tested her limbs by moving them up and down, tracing shapes on the snow. "I'm a starfish."

"You're an idiot that will get sick. Get up." He offered his hand.

Grabbing him by the elbow in the regular Knight-greeting way, she returned back on her feet. As he was letting go though, Katsuki stopped at her wrist and observed her gloved hand from all angles.

"Do you feel anything?"

She freed her hand, cradling it close to her chest. Her fingers had become numb at this point and it hurt to curl them. "I'm fine. Why're you asking?"

"These are simple leather gloves," he said deadpan. "Good for show but not for this kind of weather."

Ochako had always been blunt about her intentions for enlisting. It surprised her when her fellow squires showed nothing but unconditional support for this decision. However, at this moment, it felt like something which shouldn't be meddled with. That didn't stop her from spilling her guts anyway.

"I sent most of my salary to my parents so by the time it got cold, I didn't have much to spend. The shoemaker in town gave me some leather at a good price so I made them myself. It's not that big of a deal."

"Give me your hands," he said.

"Eh?"

"You have to take care of them or you won't hold a sword again in your life. Just give them, okay?"

Instead of grabbing them, he waited patiently for her initiative. She offered them—not without some reservation though. His palms enveloped her own like they were meant to fit perfectly there. The same way they had fit on her waist during Yule. Ochako couldn't forget that night. The music and the crowd had faded while they slow-danced like there was no one else in the room.

After all these months of training together, Ochako thought she understood him better. Her first impression of him—aloof and courteous—changed very quickly when Katsuki revealed his brash personality. His snarky comments had only sharpened her blade and resolve to prove him wrong. Although their first fight during training had resulted in Ochako's loss, something changed again. Not in her though. Maybe she had been amazed by his splendid technique but she still didn't like him as a person. Until he showed up during her private practice and backhandedly admitted how close she had been into beating him. It was the first of many such meetings. As time went by, Ochako even started reconsidering her opinion enough to give him another chance.

The thought of them together crossed Ochako's mind. With both being knights-in-training, their standing was equal. It wouldn't bother anyone if something more came to bloom. Even Katsuki, himself, mostly bragged about his abilities than his family's status. Word went around though, and her soul couldn't stop wondering if it was meant to be something temporary after all.

"What are you doing here?" she asked out of the blue.

He scoffed. "Saving your daft ass from frostbite."

She shook her head. "I mean, why become a knight? Your family is a branch of the Dragons, right? You already have servants to do your bidding and guards to protect you. So why would you go through this sort of training, willingly?"

Katsuki stared back with an unreadable expression for a couple heartbeats. "My folks aren't that important. They have an estate inside the wall and maybe a handful of servants at best." A cynical smile spread across his face. "When I'm done with my service, they want me to go back and run things. Can you imagine that?"

"No." She chuckled. "Okay, maybe a little. You already have the shouting orders part down."

"Maybe. But doing that while sitting on a porch with a mug of ale? Nah… The quiet life of a lord isn't for me. That much I know."

"Then what?"

"I'm going to become a King."

Katsuki stated this declaration in the same tone one might talk about the weather. Ochako searched in his features for a hint that he was pulling her leg. When she found none, her jaw dropped slack.

"Seriously?"

"Huh? Of course!"

"Do you even have a right to the throne?"

"No," he admitted. "That's why I'm going to get stronger than that bastard. When I beat him in combat, he won't have any other choice but give me the crown and the kingdom."

She couldn't help the giggles shaking her whole. "I can't believe I just had a snowball fight with our future ruler. Excuse me, your Highness. That. Was. Childish. Of. Me."

"What's so amusing? Think I can't make it?"

There were many words Ochako associated with him. Regal usually wasn't one of them. As the silver glow of the moon spilled over his form though, Katsuki radiated authority, power, and a wild drive to make his dream a reality. Under all that, there was warmth too. So far she had gotten only glimpses of it but Ochako was willing to let it consume her whole.

"I didn't say that." Then as an afterthought, she added. "When you become the King, will you let me serve as your Knight?" Her heart struggled to leap out of her chest, drowning every other sound around her. "I mean, you obviously won't need someone. Your strength will be clear as day to everyone but ya know. Kings have to deal with finances and lots of other things than the battlefield. After de-throwing the previous ruler, some might conspire against you too. So it might help to have trusty subjects look after your back."

The silence dropped on her shoulders like deadweight. Ochako had crossed every line possible. If anyone heard them talking, they'd be hanged for treason. Their families or more precisely her parents could be killed too. This was no laughing matter to talk so casually about.

"I…" Katsuki said. "I won't stop you if that's what you want."

She looked up from their joined hands, her cheeks so warm she didn't feel the cold anymore. "For real?"

He broke eye-contact, coughing in his scarf. "It's going to be a tournament anyway. I'll only accept the strongest people in my court," he said. "The competition will be tough."

"You think I can't make it?" she joked.