They're just wusses! [if he's enough to make people nervous, they won't amount to much! lame bastards. he still prefers awesome and intimidating over making people nervous. as much as bakugou holds himself above others, to suddenly have denji showing him praise and adoration to that level would immediately slot under "fucking weird" and a scowl. there's a hard potential for confidence in denji as well, if the guy ever got over the issues that hold him back from it. confidence, however, takes a lot of work to build it and back it, so... it'll be a big effort if denji wants to reach that point. then again, there are plenty of people who would be completely envious of the half-devil's laid-back approach to life.
bakugou feels more than sees denji's confusion behind him in the kitchen. it's not a date, even though it has the trappings of one and could be logically assumed to be one. they're the ones who decide whether it's a date or just two guys hanging out. after all, neither of them mentioned it being a date during the initial texting, and denji had teased bakugou about even going on dates during the chat mingle. he'd argue it wasn't a misunderstanding, just clarifying what was already ongoing.
conversely, bakugou always had a positive male influence in his life. while his father was there, yeah, the man's kind of a wuss in bakugou's mind, compared to his mother who's as explosively tempered as her son. but it was all might, and other heroes, who bakugou really looked up to and let influence his young life. he saw their power, their success, their valor, and he wanted to be just like them! kicking villain ass, winning praise and adoration for his skill and power, becoming the hero who stood atop the world! ... a lot of that dream has changed definition rather than replaced itself. bakugou learned a lot about what made a hero a hero, saw heroes who were corrupt or heroes who only cared about fame or heroes who were forced to do things they didn't want to do and even heroes who certainly didn't act like heroes in private. and he saw villains who had a point, villains who were only labeled as such, villains who could've been so much better if one thing had gone differently for them. bakugou had to grow up over the year, acknowledge his own weakness and ill-informed childish thoughts about heroes, and reshape himself to become better than even the hero his childhood dreamed himself to be. a lot of that pride and attention is what carries through in this relationship with denji, wanting to watch over the guy and see where he can go if given that positive attention he never got for so long. it's not that he pities denji or even thinks the guy needs to be saved. really, he just wants to help him. all might would.
for denji, that meant being there. and staying there. for denji. because denji's a good guy under that crap. and bakugou kinda doesn't hate his guts and might tolerate being around him. which is one reason why he's sitting down on the couch and letting denji flop beside him with the cake. right, he did buy that thing. it's small, but impressive looking in simple yet impactful way. he really wanted to make this a special time between them, doesn't he. look, plastic isn't a big issue when they have rotting kaiju carcasses floating out in the bay...]
Huh?
[wait, what now? bakugou stares at denji with a weird expression. after ALL THAT, he starts up with a decision this is actually a date?! does he even know what a fucking "date" means?! ... okay, so a date can mean a few things, not all of them romantic, so denji can still escape the reality of dating a guy in THAT way. the half-devil's confidence is forced, but stubborn, and it's as amusing as it is kind of stupid. this is a plow forward with zero thought given to it's long-term results.]
You better not be using me as some damn "practice date" for a girl.
[he doesn't like the idea of being an experiment or a stepping stone. that pride's all bristly about it. especially if he's planning on having a karaoke competition with this guy in the shower. the same guy he's seen taking a bath right next to him. in the personal bath, not the communal one. they just... don't talk about that.]
Hmph. Fine, but you better remember this one as the fucking best.
no subject
bakugou feels more than sees denji's confusion behind him in the kitchen. it's not a date, even though it has the trappings of one and could be logically assumed to be one. they're the ones who decide whether it's a date or just two guys hanging out. after all, neither of them mentioned it being a date during the initial texting, and denji had teased bakugou about even going on dates during the chat mingle. he'd argue it wasn't a misunderstanding, just clarifying what was already ongoing.
conversely, bakugou always had a positive male influence in his life. while his father was there, yeah, the man's kind of a wuss in bakugou's mind, compared to his mother who's as explosively tempered as her son. but it was all might, and other heroes, who bakugou really looked up to and let influence his young life. he saw their power, their success, their valor, and he wanted to be just like them! kicking villain ass, winning praise and adoration for his skill and power, becoming the hero who stood atop the world! ... a lot of that dream has changed definition rather than replaced itself. bakugou learned a lot about what made a hero a hero, saw heroes who were corrupt or heroes who only cared about fame or heroes who were forced to do things they didn't want to do and even heroes who certainly didn't act like heroes in private. and he saw villains who had a point, villains who were only labeled as such, villains who could've been so much better if one thing had gone differently for them. bakugou had to grow up over the year, acknowledge his own weakness and ill-informed childish thoughts about heroes, and reshape himself to become better than even the hero his childhood dreamed himself to be. a lot of that pride and attention is what carries through in this relationship with denji, wanting to watch over the guy and see where he can go if given that positive attention he never got for so long. it's not that he pities denji or even thinks the guy needs to be saved. really, he just wants to help him. all might would.
for denji, that meant being there. and staying there. for denji. because denji's a good guy under that crap. and bakugou kinda doesn't hate his guts and might tolerate being around him. which is one reason why he's sitting down on the couch and letting denji flop beside him with the cake. right, he did buy that thing. it's small, but impressive looking in simple yet impactful way. he really wanted to make this a special time between them, doesn't he. look, plastic isn't a big issue when they have rotting kaiju carcasses floating out in the bay...]
Huh?
[wait, what now? bakugou stares at denji with a weird expression. after ALL THAT, he starts up with a decision this is actually a date?! does he even know what a fucking "date" means?! ... okay, so a date can mean a few things, not all of them romantic, so denji can still escape the reality of dating a guy in THAT way. the half-devil's confidence is forced, but stubborn, and it's as amusing as it is kind of stupid. this is a plow forward with zero thought given to it's long-term results.]
You better not be using me as some damn "practice date" for a girl.
[he doesn't like the idea of being an experiment or a stepping stone. that pride's all bristly about it. especially if he's planning on having a karaoke competition with this guy in the shower. the same guy he's seen taking a bath right next to him. in the personal bath, not the communal one. they just... don't talk about that.]
Hmph. Fine, but you better remember this one as the fucking best.