I don't own anything except any original characters (including the Reader's concept) and/or any original plot

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Bakugou Birthday Special

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A/n: It's Bakugou's Birthday (in my time zone at least), 4/20 baby! I've got a chapter in honor of it and I'm hoping to update again tonight! In terms of when this takes place in the timeline, I'd say after the Overhaul arc. I know the months don't match up, so we can call this a bit of an AU chapter that can be read on its own without spoiling anything.

~*~

He didn't tell you it was his birthday, which only pissed you off a little bit.

You were just scanning through the internet two days before the actual date, and had found your way to clips about the UA festival. One of them mentioned Katsuki's birthday, and that was when you panicked.

Of course, you shouldn't have panicked in the first place. You'd met him under the worst circumstances possible, and that scenario continued until you met him under slightly better circumstances that could have landed you in jail if he wasn't so - secretly - honorable.

Still, you felt a strange obligation to find a present. As if Fate itself was plucking the string that connected you to Katsuki. So, you made up the excuse of going out for supplies to Tomura, who honestly trusted you too much, and made your way into the town.

The League had received some money from the Shie Hassaikai as a show of good faith when Overhaul demanded I be handed over, but we'd need every bit of it now that we didn't have a stable course of income anymore. So I took to the streets and participated in some easy pickpocketing. Cash was always the best thing to get, but in modern society it was a rare thing for people to casually carry, so I'd gotten more creative.

People rarely noticed a watch missing from their wrist when someone bumped into them, or a hairpin from the hair when you made the excuse that someone had a leaf in their updo. In an age of heroes and villains, people were far too trusting and had lost the survival instincts that would have warned them something was off about the smiling teenager in front of them.

Stopping in a pawn shop, you set a small jewelry box on the counter. It was cheap from a convenience store, and made you seem less criminal.

"And what do we have here?" The appraiser gave a broad smile as you opened the box and set the items out.

Your favorite part was always the acting. You were foreign, but in a world of Quirks appearances didn't matter much unless it was drastic. The one thing that would attract attention was your accent, which was easily fixable with a fake one and an attitude, "My grandparents are super old and keep giving me stuff I don't want, so I figured I'd sell it and buy myself something."

Slowly looking over the items in front of him, the man nodded once, "No family heirlooms, I hope?"

"Nah, my parents got those. Super lame, right? I can't even wear half of that stuff."

The appraiser nodded, obviously only half listening to what you were saying. Finally, he told you that he'd take all of the items and gave you a fair price for it. If you acted like a good kid it'd probably be higher, but it'd be harder to come up with an excuse for all the random objects you were giving away.

Stepping out of the shop with a full wallet, you couldn't keep the smile off your face. It was already a good day, and for a moment you felt pity for the League members that were stuck in the warehouse. Some of them had an easier time blending in than others, but overall they were always at risk when out in the open. But you constantly covered your face in action and only those who'd seen you up close would recognize your voice. At this point, the fear of being recognized as: (Y/n) (L/n) Missing Child! Was little to none. You'd finally grown our of your childish frame and didn't match the posters anymore.

Shaking your head to get back on task, you realized you had no idea what to get Katsuki for his birthday. He liked heroes, so that was an option, but you'd be holding onto the present for two weeks and the likelihood of Toga "Privacy doesn't exist" Himiko finding it was high. So nothing related to heroes, then.

Well, besides heroes he liked... you weren't entirely sure. You'd never talked about your interests when you went to visit. It was always heroes and villains and asking about the others' current life, blah, blah, blah. You knew each other, but you were still strangers.

However, you'd been in his room. As you stepped into the supermarket to pick up some necessities that would keep the League alive for a while, you tried to picture it. Relatively speaking it was a bit plain, but there were personal touches here or there.

"Plain, okay, I can work with that. Don't focus on the personal stuff, focus on something new," you mumbled to yourself as you shoved non-perishables into your basket - paying close attention to the prices.

The store had a lot of room decorations in the home section, but none of them seemed right in the long run. They were too... happy, too bright or too dark with almost nothing in between.

Check in.

Tomura texted you almost two hours after you left the hideout. You sent him a text back confirming that you were fine, and that you should be back in another hour or two.

Meandering along the streets in search for a store with the potential to have what I was looking for, I stopped in front of a flower shop. Katsuki would destroy anything like that, but there was more than flowers in the shop window...

Going inside, you gave the cashier a smile as a greeting and walked toward the plant you saw in the window. It was a small thing, a Bunny Ears Cactus about the size of your hand. It wasn't blooming any flowers currently, but it had the potential for them. Even then, it was a cactus, which on all counts was a violent plant. Perfect for Katsuki.

Picking the pot up, you brought it up to the counter and were quick to buy it. Once it was safe in a box with a bow on it - you asked if they had gift wrap - you left the store with a smile. Mission accomplished. It was lively enough to brighten up Katsuki's dorm, yet tame enough to not be making a leap about a more personal present he may desire.

With all of your errands done for the day, you again went through the pain of going in a few circles around the hideout before you finally entered. All League members had to do it if they left as a security precaution. In other words, you and Dabi had to do it when you left.

"I'm back. I have some food. Toga I got you this, it was on discount so I don't know how good it'll work," you tossed Toga the knife sharpener you found in the clearance section.

"Thanks Mom!"

"Still younger than you," you called back.

She'd called you Mom at first as a joke, but eventually she called you that more than your actual name. On occasion, the other members either slipped or teased the name as well. To be fair, you were the only girl in the group that was super stable, and without Kurogiri there to parent everyone, you'd taken up the main parental role - riding the line between the baby of the group and the caretaker. Compress helped out often, but he was more of a Wine Aunt that anything. Being in a group filled with suppressed people with bad pasts often brought out maternal instincts that should have stayed buried for at least another five years. The title was a strange one, but none of the League members had good families, so you let it go for their comfort.

"Dabi didn't want anything, um, Atsuhiro they didn't have any Pinot Grigio but I found some sake that I could sneak out. Spinner, here's the snacks you wanted. Twice, I've got Clue for you. Try not to eat all the food at once. I can't visit the same pawn shops all the time."

Everyone hummed their agreement, and you set the final bags in the corner on the ground. You'd have to wait until later that night to leave and visit Katsuki, but you did just buy a new game for the League to enjoy.

"Oh! I almost forgot, Tomura, this is for you."

You pulled the last item out of the bag and tossed it to the man. He scowled when he saw it, but didn't destroy it.

"What did you get him, (Y/n)-chan?" Toga asked curiously, slowly running a knife through her new sharpener.

"Moisturizer."

"You're asking to be killed."

~*~

Later that night, when the entire League was sleeping save for Twice, who was patrolling the area, you made your way to the roof and travelled by the rooftops until you were sure you were out of Twice's line of sight. From there you guided yourself to the ground and continued your journey on foot. UA was around an hour away from your current location, so you were quick to take a train.

To say that you were nervous to go onto UA property again would be a lie. There'd always be an underlying paranoia that'd been drilled into you, but you'd taken this trip before and had never been caught. UA must not think anything of the systemic breaks in certain security cameras.

Boosting yourself up to the third floor, you noticed with mild amusement that Katsuki was still awake, sorting through a pile of cards and presents with a strange content look on his face.

Knocking twice on the window, he glanced over at you and rolled his eyes. Taking that as a "come in", you slid the window open and dropped down. Now that there was a witness, Katsuki was quick to back away from the presents and act disinterested, but it was too late.

"Looks like those classmates of yours really care, huh?" You asked with a small smirk, setting your own present among the others.

"You should have gotten me anything," Katsuki grumbled, already moving to open the box, "I could track you or some shit."

"With a box that I made sure to wear gloves when handling?" You held up your gloved hands. You always wore them when you went into town, "You're welcome."

"I never told you it was my birthday."

"I figured it out. Not that hard when you can Google anything about anyone nowadays," you held back a smile when Katsuki pulled out the cactus, a small smirk spreading across his lips, "It's not the deadliest plant out there, but it's still dangerous enough. Figured you'd like that."

"It fucking sucks," still, Katsuki set the plant on the edge of his desk, where the sun would hit it from the window, "I don't get why all the extras insisted on getting me shit. Most of it sucks anyway."

Chuckling, you perched yourself on his desk chair, "Maybe it's because they care about you."

"Yeah? Then why did you get me a shitty cactus?" Katsuki raised a brow, and you flushed, letting out a scoff as you looked away.

"To mock you, what else? You've got a prime member of the League of Villains in your room once a week and you've done nothing about it."

"How do you know I don't have hidden cameras, huh?"

"Not your style, besides, I'd be able to sense any tech in here if you did. I think you secretly enjoy my company and just don't want to admit it."

"Heh? You wanna say that again?" Katsuki's hands sparked in warning, "Let's go again, Battery. Last time you let me win and I've been wanting to fix that ever since."

"No, no, no. You already got your birthday present. Ask me nicely and you'll get a rematch for Christmas," you said, not realizing the implications behind it. It was April, and you just offered to "stay around" until December. As in what was happening between you and Katsuki wasn't extremely dangerous and would end with your arrest or the defeat of hero society.

Katsuki didn't comment on it. Instead, he scowled and looked away. You opened your mouth to ask about how his makeup lessons for his Provisional License was going when your phone pinged. Heart dropping, you whipped it out.

I don't think Twice noticed you were gone, but I did. I hope you're causing some hell

Sighing in relief, you were glad it was Dabi and not Tomura that had discovered your disappearing act. But you should start heading back either way.

"This has been fun, but I've got candy to steal from babies," you announced, standing and heading over to the window, "It's a Bunny Ear Cactus, you should do some research on when to water it and stuff."

"Don't tell me what to do."

Pausing when you were halfway out the window, your leg hanging three floors above the ground, you turned back to Katsuki and smiled, "Happy Birthday, Katsuki."

Katsuki looked away. Smile widening, you lit up your hands to keep your fall light. When you did, you caught sight of Katsuki's red cheeks. Not wanting to become a splat on the ground beneath you, you didn't say anything and jumped.