— pt. 1 | barista!verse, slow burn & fluff | fem!reader | 3.9k words
— file brief : He just wanted coffee. Then he asked you out. Now Katsuki Bakugo has one mission: survive your first maybe-date without combusting. (No promises.)
— sensitivity log : caffeinated slow-burn romance, mild language, texting and first-date anxiety | characters are 19 and stressed about it
— author’s note : This was supposed to be a small fluffy follow-up to “new barista in town.” (Works as a stand-alone, too.) Instead, it became 3,954 words of Bakugo spiraling because a girl said yes. Do with that what you will.
Bakugo stared at his phone like it might explode.
Which, coming from him, meant something.
He’d just gotten back from training—sweaty, sore, and still mildly irritated about a villain exercise that went sideways because Kaminari thought it was a good idea to freestyle. Typical.
But none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was the slip of paper burning a hole in his pocket.
What mattered was your handwriting. Your number. Your smile when you gave it to him.
What mattered was the fact that he’d asked.
He exhaled sharply, like it might help steady his hands. It didn’t.
Still, he grabbed his phone. Opened your contact. Typed.
Finally, after almost five minutes of intense, silent suffering:
Saturday. 4 p.m. Outside that café near station 3. You in?”
He stared at the message.
And sent it before he could overthink it again.
He’d picked 4 p.m. on purpose.
You worked mornings on Saturdays—he knew that. You were off by 1. He, on the other hand, had class until 3:10. If he was fast—no, if he sprinted—he could make it just in time.
Better that than making you wait to eat.
He’d rather be the one out of breath than let you sit around hungry.
Then he stared at the screen some more.
He threw the phone onto his bed like it had personally offended him and flopped down beside it, arm over his eyes.
“Tch. Idiot,” he muttered, ears red.
It was fine. Whatever. You were probably working. Or busy closing the café. Or laughing at him behind the counter with that other barista who smiled too much.
(Okay, maybe not laughing. But still. Maybe.)
He didn’t hear his phone buzz right away. But when he checked it twenty minutes later, your reply was sitting there, bright and obnoxiously adorable:
Do I get to know what you’re planning or are you going full mystery hero on me?”
His stomach did something weird. Like a flip. Or a detonation.
He locked his phone without replying.
Because he didn’t have a plan.
Because this wasn’t supposed to happen.
And that kind of terrified him.
Bakugo didn’t go to the café.
He thought about it. Thought about seeing you again. Thought about maybe, possibly asking what kind of stuff you liked—music, food, flowers—anything that might help him figure out how to plan this stupid not-date date.
And then he thought about saying something dumb. Looking obvious. Sweating like an idiot.
Instead, he sat in his room, textbooks open, completely unread, while Kirishima scrolled on his bed across the room.
“You okay, bro? You’ve read the same page five times.”
Bakugo didn’t look up. “Shut up.”
Kirishima grinned. “That bad, huh?”
“I mean, you did ask her out. That’s huge.”
Bakugo’s eye twitched. “I didn’t ask her out. It’s just—coffee.”
“You already get coffee,” Kirishima pointed out. “What’s different now?”
Bakugo looked like he might actually combust. “She knows it’s coffee. With me. Outside of work.”
Kiri laughed. “Right, right. Totally not a date.”
Bakugo grunted and threw a pillow at his face.
He picked up his phone, unlocked it, checked your text again, and locked it.
Still there. Still annoying. Still—sweet.
He woke up early. Extra early.
Time was going by fast and he still had no plan for your definitely-not-a-date. Or whatever.
So, he got his laptop out. And searched. And typed. Like he was working through his thesis.
“Good places to have breakfast near me.”
“What to say on a first date?”
“What not to do on a first date?”
“How not to scare people off?”
He sighed. “Idiot,” he muttered.
And he had more tabs open than he could even count.
Kirishima: “On your way?”
He panicked. Clicked on your chat.
Were you about to cancel?
Did he just act like an in-love idiot for nothing?
Damn it. Damn it. Damn—oh.
Haven’t heard from you since Tuesday.
I mean, I know you’re busy, don’t misinterpret me.
At least he wasn’t the only one nervous.
He ran to class. Just in time.
He looked for a table where he could just eat in peace.
You like Italian food or not?”
Which was exactly why he sent it.
No dot dot dot typing this time.
No waiting twenty minutes.
Your reply came fast. Too fast.
“I love Italian food! Are you planning to cook for me or something? 👀”
His face went red instantly.
You’re cute when you pretend you don’t care.”
He groaned and slapped his forehead against the table.
“…I hate you,” he mumbled under his breath.
Great. Italian food it is, then.
Kirishima blinked. “Bro. It’s literally lunchtime.”
He raised an eyebrow. “For what?”
Bakugo slammed his lunch tray on the table.
“I need a restaurant. Somewhere decent. Not fancy. Not trash. Good Italian. Preferably quiet… Bonus if no one we know ever goes.”
“Wait. Is this—? Are you planning the date, bro?”
Bakugo hissed, “It’s not a date.”
“Right. The not-date. With the girl whose number you’ve been checking every ten minutes and who makes you blush when she says hi.”
Bakugo shoved a piece of bread in his mouth just to avoid answering.
Kirishima grinned. “Okay, okay, no teasing. I’ve got a place. My cousin’s girlfriend works there. It’s chill, private, and the food’s great.”
Bakugo swallowed. “Send me the damn name.”
He rolled his eyes but texted you before he could chicken out:
It’s called Il Filo. You’ll like it.”
You replied barely two minutes later:
“You already sound so sure lol
His chest clenched for some reason.
“Don’t care. You’ll look beautiful either way.”
Should he have said good? Or pretty? Was beautiful too much before even the first date outing?
You didn’t reply right away, and he felt his brain doing a triple backflip.
See you tomorrow, Kats. 🤍”
He stared at that little heart emoji like it was a bomb.
“I sent it! I sent it! Ah!”
You tossed your phone onto the table like it burned.
Your coworker raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.
“Never seen you that nervous for someone. He must be special, huh?”
Your cheeks warmed immediately.
You tried to look busy—shoved your phone into your locker, smoothed your apron, adjusted your updo.
“So… who’s the mysterious man? Alex refuses to tell me anything. He just laughed and walked away like he knew everything.”
“He’s just… this guy who comes in sometimes. Not the friendliest at first, but—he’s sweet. Like… secretly sweet. And way too pretty for his own good.”
She leaned closer across the table. “Hot and emotionally repressed? That’s your type.”
“Wait—is this the blonde with the resting murder face?!”
You slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Shh! He’s… he’s really not like that.”
She pulled your hand off, laughing.
“I’m just saying. You? Crushing on someone who looks like he could bench-press a motorcycle? I’m shocked.”
You couldn’t help but laugh, even as your heart raced.
“Fine. Yes. It’s him. And we’re… grabbing food tomorrow. Just—don’t make it a big thing, okay?”
She gave you a knowing smile.
“My lips are sealed. But if you don’t give me a full report by Monday, I will cry.”
“Ugh. Could this shift be any longer?”
You slumped over the counter like your soul was already halfway gone.
“Girl, we’ve been here for forty minutes. Chill.”
Your coworker handed you a stack of clean mugs.
You groaned again and straightened up.
“I have a thing later. I can’t look dead inside by the time I leave.”
“Don’t say it like that,” you muttered, placing the mugs in their spot. “It’s not a thing. It’s just… food. With a guy. A very attractive, intimidating, sharp-jawed guy who texted me ‘you’ll look beautiful either way’ and now I don’t know what to wear.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Okay, yeah. That’s a thing.”
You didn’t answer. You were too busy mentally cycling through every outfit you’d ever owned and wondering if you should buy new shoes during your lunch break.
Your phone buzzed in your pocket.
“I’m not texting because I’m nervous, by the way.
Just checking you’re still alive or whatever.
You smiled. Instantly. Stupidly.
“Still good. And very alive, thank you.
Now go study or something.”
Bakugo stared blankly at the whiteboard in front of him.
His leg bounced. His notes were half-finished. His pencil snapped at some point and he didn’t even notice.
He’d checked the time seven times in the last fifteen minutes. And he didn’t even like checking the time.
Class ended at 3:10. He needed to be at Station 3 by 4. If he sprinted across campus, skipped the train and just used his quirk for a shortcut (not technically allowed), maybe—
“Bakugo?” Aizawa’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Page twenty-five. Try to keep up.”
He grunted in apology and looked down. He had no idea what he was looking at.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
He didn’t even read the message. He just pressed his palm over the screen and let himself breathe.
Only a few hours left. He could make it.
Bakugo was running through the streets like his life depended on it.
And, honestly, it kind of did.
He was not about to be late. Not for this.
“No way in hell,” he growled, weaving between pedestrians, ignoring the stares.
“Old hag raised me better than that.”
He resisted—barely—the urge to use his quirk just to get there faster. Exploding across town might’ve shaved off two minutes, sure, but it’d also make him look like a lunatic.
(And maybe mess up his hair. Again. No thanks.)
He’d picked his outfit the night before.
Black t-shirt. Gray jeans. Black boots.
And the damn beige trench coat his mom made him buy “because it was stylish and didn’t make him look like a delinquent.”
He hated how good it looked.
Worse—how much you might like it.
He checked his phone once as he turned the corner.
He spotted the station sign just ahead.
One more block. One more turn. Just—
Bakugo came to a sharp stop right outside the café near Station 3, heart pounding, breaths fast but quiet.
Standing just outside the café’s patio fence, hands tucked into your coat pockets, head slightly turned like you were scanning the street. Your hair was pulled back differently today—looser, messier, softer somehow—and you wore this warm, thoughtful expression, like your mind had drifted off somewhere peaceful.
Which gave him one dangerous, fleeting second to look at you. Just… look.
And damn, you looked good.
The kind of good that made his heart trip over itself. The kind that made his throat tighten and his brain go blank.
You looked real. You looked like something he could never let himself want—until now.
“Hey, Katsuki,” you said, voice soft, happy. Just for him.
He coughed once, like his body was trying to restart itself.
You took a step closer. “Did you run here?”
You laughed. Bright, sweet, way too loud for how flustered he felt.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” you teased, nudging his arm lightly. “But you are a little out of breath.”
That soft teasing. That easy smile. The way you stood just a little closer than necessary.
He offered his arm. Tense, a bit awkward.
Then looped yours through his without hesitation.
He nodded, too fast. “Let’s go.”
And he was already questioning every decision he’d ever made.
Why the hell had he offered his arm?
Who even did that? Was this a thing?
What was he now, some kind of Victorian gentleman?
He risked a quick glance at you.
You didn’t seem to think it was weird. You were… smiling. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Still—he didn’t pull away.
The walk to Il Filo was only a few minutes. But it felt longer. Not in a bad way. Just… different. Like the air had changed.
Neither of you spoke for the first block. It wasn’t awkward, exactly. Just… careful.
He could fight villains, lead missions, destroy entire landscapes—but casual first date small talk? Death.
You, apparently, had a stronger constitution.
“So…” you said, your voice light, warm, the way it always sounded when you handed him his drink. “What made you pick Italian food?”
He grunted. “Didn’t. Just… knew you liked it.”
You tilted your head. “Yeah? How?”
“I dunno. Thought you said it once.”
You raised an eyebrow. “I did?”
You squinted at him playfully. “Bakugo… have you been listening to my conversations?”
He wanted to crawl into a manhole.
But then you said, “Well, I’m glad you did. Because I’ve been craving pasta for like two weeks now.”
You walked a little closer.
Il Filo sat tucked between two office buildings, small and shaded and just out of sight from the main street.
Warm lights. Ivy-covered windows. A soft chime when he opened the door for you.
You both stepped in. The host recognized Bakugo’s name from the reservation and led you to a table near the back—semi-private, quiet, but still open enough that it didn’t feel awkward.
You slipped out of your coat and sat across from him, hands folded politely, like you didn’t notice how stiff he was.
“Nice pick,” you said, glancing around. “It’s cozy.”
He shrugged. “Kirishima recommended it.”
You smiled. “He’s the redhead, right?”
You looked down at the menu with a grin tugging at your lips. “He’s a good friend. I can tell.”
He didn’t answer. Just stared at the menu like it owed him money.
But the silence didn’t stretch too far this time. After a few seconds, you asked:
“So… what year are you in?”
You tilted your head. “At U.A.”
You smiled again—genuine, curious. “That’s impressive.”
He looked away. “It’s not.”
His mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. But close.
“…What about you?” he asked, after a pause. “You in school?”
“I took a break this year. Was supposed to start med school.”
“But I wasn’t sure. Thought maybe I should… see what else is out there, first.”
He didn’t respond right away.
He shrugged, not looking at you. “People rush too much. Act like everything has to be figured out at eighteen. It’s bullshit.”
You stared at him a second longer than you meant to.
“Yeah,” you said softly. “That’s exactly how I feel.”
For a few seconds, there was just the quiet hum of the restaurant around you. The weight of something delicate settling between you both.
Bakugo let you speak first, then ordered the exact same thing without blinking.
The conversation stayed light after that—mutual teasing, awkward jokes, a few stories from school (filtered, of course—he wasn’t about to traumatize you with the full UA experience), and little comments about café disasters and annoying customers (which he nodded at, pretending not to remember every time he’d seen them happen).
At some point, you laughed at something he said—really laughed—and it stunned him into silence.
You looked so happy. So you.
He wanted to see more of that.
He blinked, sat up straighter, and picked up his water like nothing had happened.
You smiled at him across the table, eyes bright.
“…You’re not as scary as I thought,” you said softly.
His eye twitched. “Don’t get used to it.”
You both were nearly kicked out of the restaurant.
The hours had passed in what felt like fifteen minutes.
You’d laughed. A lot. And somehow, he had too. Quietly. Barely. But you noticed. And that made him nervous. And a little proud.
He enjoyed every second of it.
And he wasn’t even annoyed to admit that one.
The way you lit up when the pasta came. The way you said it was exactly what you’d been craving. Like he’d somehow read your mind.
(It was a lucky guess. But he wasn’t about to tell you that.)
He, of course, didn’t let you pay.
You’d tried to argue—he shut it down with a look. It’s not even like you had a chance at it.
That part of him, the gentleman, the one that wanted to take care of you, to do things right—he didn’t even know it existed until tonight.
And you were the first one to meet it.
Now, he was walking you home.
Risking a full-blown lecture from Aizawa.
To smell that faint, sweet perfume you wore.
To hear you laugh again—like it was only for him.
He felt his chest tighten with something new. Something real.
He tried to ignore it. It didn’t work.
The streetlights cast warm shadows across the pavement. Your building wasn’t far. You walked slower than usual. He matched your pace.
“By the way…” you said suddenly, not looking at him. “You looked really nice tonight.”
His steps faltered for half a second.
He grunted. “Didn’t even recognize you at first.”
You blinked. “Is that… a compliment?”
He looked away. “You looked—”
“—really damn good, okay?”
“Well, thank you,” you said softly.
“…I almost didn’t recognize you either,” you added. “I didn’t know you could dress like that.”
He squinted. “Like what?”
“Like a grown-up,” you teased.
He groaned. “Remind me why I like you again.”
You grinned. “You like me?”
But he didn’t let go of your arm.
You stopped just outside your building.
He was stiff again. Back to that awkward version of himself you’d seen at the café—the one who didn’t quite know what to do with how he felt.
You turned toward him. “So…”
“I hope we can do this again sometime.”
And for the first time tonight, he didn’t look away.
“I mean—if you want to,” he added quickly, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. “We could. Sometime.”
You smiled. Warm and sure.
“I’d like that, Katsuki.”
Your voice saying his name.
It hit him in the chest like a damn truck.
Before he could even register—which was bad for his whole hero reputation—you leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
His brain and heart short-circuited at that.
A small tug at the corner of his mouth. Almost a smile.
“I know you’re a hero in training and all that, but get home safe, yeah?”
How the hell was he supposed to react to that?
You moved toward the door—quiet and careful, like you didn’t want to scare him off.
And right before you turned to go, he said—quiet, but firm:
“Text me when you’re free again. I’ll plan something.”
A pause. Too quick for you to answer, but heavy for him.
“And if you ever wanna text me your nonsense. Or cravings. Or whatever… I won’t mind.”
He looked away, grateful for the mediocre streetlight that made it harder to see how red his ears were.
Your cheeks a little pink too.
“I’ll make sure to text you all my nonsense, Kats.
As long as you text me yours.”
He nodded again. No idea what to say. No idea what counted as nonsense.
“Good night, Katsuki,” you whispered.
And in something between a breath and a prayer, he said,
He watched you walk inside.
And when the door closed behind you, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
He made it back to the dorms without getting caught.
Took the long way. Avoided every hallway Aizawa might be lurking in. Moved quiet, like a villain on a stealth mission.
(If villains wore beige trench coats and had their hearts pounding like idiots.)
Once inside, he climbed the stairs two at a time and shut his door behind him.
Leaned his head against the wood.
And smiled. Just a little.
Then, phone in hand, he flopped face-first onto his bed.
He sat up like someone had hit him with a stun grenade.
Blurry. Taken without him noticing.
He was in the background, walking down the street, hands in his coat pockets, hair a mess from the wind.
A plate of leftover pasta in a to-go box.
His fingers hovered over the screen.
For a second, he considered sending something sarcastic.
A beat. Then another buzz:
“You’re cute when you’re nervous.
Also, thanks for letting me know. <3”
He stared at the message.
Grinned into his pillow like a damn idiot.
Just let me know when you’re free again. Next time’ll be even better.”
He didn’t wait for a reply this time.
Just turned off the light.
steal this and Bakugo will personally blow up your espresso machine.
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