I only have fries for you [IidaBaku] - Part 2

[Part 1] 

Iida realised his mistake as he sat down on the little bench outside, looking down at his lunch tray and staring blankly at the box of fries, heaped above the top of the carton by the lady who had a soft spot for him and his manners. There was no way he’d be able to get through them all himself, he was going to have to hope someone else would take a handful, lest he have to waste them at the end of the break. It had just become such a dumb little habit to ask for them, to ask for extra, and without Bakugou beside him to share with...

He looked up as a cluster of shadows passed over them, eyes widening when he saw the familiar little pout at the back of the group, hands stuffed in his pockets as he tried his best to look uncaring. Iida knew that look, knew he was forcing it, but he would never dream of calling him out on it. When Midoriya invited the group to sit down, Bakugou sat at Iida’s side without hesitation, and it made Iida’s heart flutter. He knew it was just habit, that they’d all found their little spots to take while the weather stayed nice, but he still liked knowing that he wasn’t the last resort for Bakugou’s lunch-neighbour.

He shot Bakugou a quick smile in greeting, but didn’t bother to disrupt the conversation that was already going on, focused instead on working his way through his chicken nuggets. As much as he enjoyed the taste of them, he couldn’t help but think about the expansive meal Bakugou had put together for them a few nights prior, the meal that had spoiled him for the foreseeable future. Bakugou must have thought he was so weird, offering cheap, greasy fries when his own lunches were so much better. He’d seen the lunches Bakugou put together for himself, after all – he knew they were always fresh and healthy, not the awful stuff Iida and his friends fuelled themselves with to save a little time.

When he made the mistake of glancing over, though, the sight he found waiting for him left him speechless. Bakugou hadn’t even started on his lunch, with his box of perfect little rice balls and slices of marinated chicken. He just poked at the food with his chopsticks, strangely listless, his expression somehow caught between deep contemplation and the most pathetic little pout in the world. Iida blinked at him, waiting for it to pass like it usually did, but when Bakugou looked up, the face still remained. The tiniest shift of his eyes had Iida’s hand moving almost unconsciously, sliding his box of fries to the edge of the tray nearest to Bakugou.

“Do you want some?” he asked quietly.

The strange look cleared instantly, replaced with a smile that Iida wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before, as he reached to take a few fries. He didn’t take very many – only three or four, compared to the little bundles he usually plucked out, and the smile disappeared as quickly as it had come, but still Iida had seen it, had locked it away in his heart where no one could ever take it away from him.

“Want to try some?” Bakugou spoke up, when he’d finished his fries.

“Huh?”

Bakugou gestured with his lunchbox, and Iida just blinked at him again, waiting for him to elaborate before he made a fool of himself by assuming something stupid.

“I made it,” Bakugou clarified, his voice just a mumble that Iida had to lean in to hear. “If you want to try some.”

“Really?”

“You always share with me,” Bakugou shrugged, grabbing half the chicken with his chopsticks and dropping it on Iida’s tray before he returned to scoop up some rice balls. “You seem hungry.”

“Do I?” Iida blurted out, confused. “I mean-! Thank you, Bakugou, it looks delicious, and I’m excited to try something else you’ve cooked.”

“It’s spicy,” Bakugou warned him.

“I assumed.”

The Iida family, thankfully, had a wide spread of culinary interests. He’d tried thousands of different dishes from all over the world, and had gotten used to the level of spice that came with a few of them. He knew Bakugou’s friends were terrified of the spice mixes Bakugou kept on hand, but honestly, he was kind of excited to see what all the fuss was about.

“Take some more fries,” Iida insisted, as he picked up the first piece of chicken to try. “I have plenty.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!” Iida smiled warmly. “If you’re sharing your amazing homemade lunch with me, the least I can do is share my cheap fries.”

Bakugou nodded faintly, reaching for a small handful, and Iida caught a glimpse of that tiny little smile again as he dropped them in his lunchbox to pick at. He normally took far more, usually ate most of them, honestly, but hopefully whatever awkwardness had come over him would pass quickly, and he’d be back to sneaking more when he thought Iida wouldn’t notice. Lunch just wasn’t the same without his little potato gremlin beside him.

He took a bite of the chicken finally, and Uraraka raised an eyebrow at him when he lost a moan. He clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle it, swallowing quickly in case he had to defend himself, but all thoughts of embarrassment were gone the moment he saw Bakugou looking at him, with pride in his expression.

“So good,” Iida said needlessly, already picking up the next piece. “Why do you even want my fries if you can cook things like this?”

He kicked himself the moment it came out of his mouth – why the hell was he drawing attention to the nonsensical little thing that always made his day? Then again, it was probably ruined now – not just because Bakugou’s food was so much better, but because mutually sharing had been so much better, something he’d never even realised he wanted, until that moment. Honestly, with how adorable that little pout had been over not getting fries, and how cute he’d been as he offered his chicken, and how nice it had been to share together like their own little picnic, Iida was pretty sure he could have dropped dead right then and there, and still done it with a smile on his face.

Everything about Bakugou’s expressions was just so sweet – the way his mouth fought against any expression except scowls, but sometimes won when Bakugou was distracted. The way his cheeks puffed out a little when he pouted, and made Iida squeeze his hands into fists to keep from reaching for them. The way he sometimes gnawed on his lower lip, to fight back a smile or a laugh, and Iida desperately wanted to kiss him, to help them win.

Instead, he just offered his fries, and he was happy with that. The small things in life, and all that.

Confessing would have just made things awkward, after all. Bakugou would have been uncomfortable, would have gone back to avoiding him, the way he had for a lot of their first year. And he didn’t want that. Even small things were better than silence.

So he let his friends give him sad smiles and feel bad for him, he let them lament that he didn’t get the hugs and kisses he would have loved beyond anything else in the world, and he smiled.

Being in the company of the one person he liked most in the world, that was more than enough.

[Part 3]