everyone talks about you teaching bakugou katsuki how to love, but what about him teaching you how to love?
of course, for him to get to that point, he had to do a lot of learning himself. something that had taken him quite a long time.
katsuki didn't date around as a pro-hero. he was practically married to his work, after all, and he preferred to wait before lunging into anything without an idea of the consequences and outcomes. that being said, he wasn't really the most experienced in kissing, or hugging, or dedicating his entire heart to a singular person.
but well, he had an idea of what love looked like, what it felt like. while he didn't have the best relationship with his parents growing up—his mother, in particular—they at least were a solid example of what a relatively healthy couple should look like. he could gag and groan all he wanted when they kissed or hugged around him, but it was knowledge that he inadvertently tucked in the very back of his mind for future use.
katsuki liked to sit back and observe, that much was obvious. when he wasn't throwing himself into a fight with a villain, he was quietly watching the people around him, taking note of their moods, their habits, and eventually, their relationships.
as time moved on and he got older, more mature, he became more and more conscious of the fact that his friends were starting to pair off. and he? well, he was left in their dust, watching their backs as they laughed and smiled and promised their lives to the ones who they loved. katsuki told himself he didn't necessarily need all of that—didn't need the distraction it brought—and yet, he found himself carefully watching his friends from a distance. meticulously taking note of how they held their loved ones, how they talked to them, how they treated them.
it was this knowledge katsuki used when he first started dating you.
he was a smart man. he could fit two and two together to get four. he could use all the collective notes on love he'd gathered over his twenty-four years of life to make this relationship with you the best thing in the goddamn universe. he did his research. he was determined to make it work like how his friends did with their own loved ones—like how his parents did. he dove headfirst into the fire.
katsuki sometimes woke up early to make you both lunches. he called you whenever he got the chance. he wished you good morning and good night every day. he took you out on little dates he knew you would like. he gave you his attention. he gave you his heart.
but you... you didn't know what to do with it.
you held it gingerly in open palms, unsure. you were trying, he could tell you were. but you were hesitant. you were shy, at times. you didn't initiate things, though he could tell you really wanted to. you wanted to love him so, so desperately. but there was just something holding you back, and katsuki found himself empathizing. he had been in your shoes at one point, unsure and unsteady before he took a very long time to self reflect and think about what he truly wanted. his fiery determination and strong willpower allowed him to plow on. so he helped you—helped you to love in the same way he had taught himself.
gentle assurances in the quiet of night where there was no one else to overhear. endless amounts of patience when you froze up or fumbled with your movements, your words. slow, steady touches, delicate and meaningful, to ease you into opening up more. he taught you how to reach out. he taught you how to cradle his face between your smaller palms. he taught you how to kiss him, once on his forehead, then on his nose, then on the pink of his lips. he taught you about all of his strengths, his weaknesses, his motives—everything that he was made of.
all of this and more, katsuki taught you, ever so patient as you cradled his heart, and he eventually cradled yours.
theartofmadeline
germansingergirl
romaincrisis
origamiaround
