Chapter Text
~~~
[16 Jan. 9pm Thursday]
Chatter filled the room to the brim. Clinking of glasses and fake laughter invaded Bakugou’s ears for hours as the night grew darker. Boring. All of it. He couldn’t believe he had to stand here and endure this. A pinched expression sat on his face as he tapped his foot. The fake smiles and snobby conversation tired him out already. He stretched his arm out to pull back his sleeve and looked at his watch; 9pm.
Great, it was past the time he usually resides for the night and he knows he still won’t be home for a few hours.
He was stuck at the event that that man told him to come to. Bakugou was wearing a gray suit with a white button up underneath and black tie. Of course he was dressed up. This was a charity event after all; an art auction to spend copious amounts of money. ‘Save the dolphins’ or some shit. But he knew none of the rich people were really here for that. With cameras and unnecessary red carpet outside, they were here for the publicity.
He had to show his face as the next head of the company, SPICE, a fashion brand that specialized in luxury clothes, handbags, accessories and recently cosmetics, which many competitors dislike. Not his fault that whatever SPICE comes out with dominates and shelves clear out within hours. Maybe your product isn't good.
So he had to tolerate the night instead of losing face and possibly have business partners disassociate with the company. But what does it matter? He’s been able to score promising agreements with people who supposedly hated his guts. And don’t get him started on women who will sign anything after a good dicking.
The ball room was nice at least. The red carpet went nice with the bone white walls. Gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling in a straight line and led up to the stage where the auction for expensive art pieces would be held.
Bakugou ran a hand through his slicked back hair. After a heated back and forth with that man, he was forced to gel down his hair to look “presentable”. He's been told he has piercing eyes that scare people off. Add that with a bad attitude, sometimes it’s hard to not get talked badly about in the media. But what does it matter? He’s blunt. He’ll tell it how it is. Sugar coding is for wusses that are scared of confrontation. If you fuck up, he’ll tell you.If you annoy him, he will ignore you.
He finds it ridiculous that people find the truth rude.
The blonde plays with the rounded wine glass in his hand and scoffs. ‘Who the fuck puts white wine in anything other than a stemmed glass?’ The light bodied liquid bounced around as he swirls the cup.
The men standing at the same table as him have delved into another penis measuring competition. This time about who owns the newest or most expensive car. Before that it was about whose wife has gotten the most plastic surgery after birthing a child.
Bakugou contributes every now and then, quickly mentioning his Honda Accord. The men write him off as the kind of rich guy that doesn't like to show off. They egg him about his “romantic endeavors” and when he doesn't answer, they write him off as a playboy that doesn't kiss and tell. How annoying. Is this all they are capable of talking about?
He brings the wine to his lips. The intricate flavor of citrus hits him. Bakugou is not a fan of alcohol, but this doesn’t taste too bad despite it being heated from his hands.
The conversation at the table slows. He doesn't care why, only that they've quieted down. The men are suddenly talking about the beautiful woman that just arrived. He turns as well, slightly interested, and sees you walking through the door of the ball room. He raises a brow. Your presence is definitely strong. You look confident as you walk in with a red a-line style evening dress. It’s modest at the top. It covers your breast completely with sheer black covering your neck and arms. It’s the bottom that draws attention. A high slit that probably won’t allow you to sit without showing off something. You enter the room with a smile and people immediately surround you as you flash a smile and greet them one by one.
Of course he knows you. Miss sunshine, Y/n Takami, always in the news for being kind and donating to good causes. ‘Japan’s sweetheart’ they called you. Bakugou sneers. He hates people like you. The type that is always so cheery. They are always the people hiding something. He knows your kindness is just a front for your probably shitty personality.
He’s a bit taken aback when he makes eye contact with you. It must be his imagination, but he swears your smile falters for only a second. He blinks and you're already looking elsewhere, smiling again at another stranger.
“I would definitely leave my wife for her.” Says someone from his table. Bakugou looks back at the men who are now fucking you with their eyes. “God, what a perfect body.” another says.
Fucking hell, he was tired of this.
“I bet you those are real, look how they sag just the right amount.”
Bakugou looks at the men with obvious disgust in his face. The hell are these forty-something men saying? Don’t they have whole families at home? The man next to him noticed his scrunched face and elbows him lightly. “Oh come on, you saying you wouldn’t bed her?”
He says nothing as he drinks the rest of his wine and slams it on the table. The men jump and laugh awkwardly at his sudden move. He was tired of hearing this kind of talk. He was about to speak, but the lights went dim as the auction began. Bakugou sighed and rolled his eyes, glad that he was stopped from exploding. He glances back at you as you lightly clap and whisper to a woman beside you with a giggle. How annoying.
~~~
You fixed your earring before walking into the ballroom where the art auction would be held. You wiped at your red dress with sweaty palms and sighed. You really didn’t want to be here, but you were pushed by your mother to show your face.
“It’s for a charity, save the dolphins or something.” You remember that’s what Mina, your assistant told you anyway.
As soon as the doors opened, all eyes were on you. Your face transformed into the signature sweetheart smile as you made your way in. This was something you were used to. People swarmed you before you could even get a second breath out and you attempted to greet them warmly.
“Ms. Takami, how are you this evening?” one asked.
“Ms. Takami, would you like some wine?” another said as they handed you a glass of red wine. You took it with a ‘thank you’.
“Takami, sit by me, the auction will start soon.” you nodded and tucked your hair behind your ear bashfully.
You smiled, knowing exactly what they wanted. Despite what the media painted, you were not naive. You are the daughter of Takami Tech, a company that specializes in AI. With today's day and age, who wouldn’t want to merge companies with you? You would sky rocket them right into modern times. Your father made you major in computer science. You even graduated as salutatorian.
People seem to forget that since on TV you are just the pure rich girl who uses her money for good. Don’t get them wrong, you did enjoy putting your money in the right places –extinct habitats, women's rights, etc– but they didn't show the side of you that stays up restlessly thinking of inventions that would move the world forward.
You really hated fake people, yet you did the same thing and here you were presenting your fakest smile. You were really no better than them. But it’s what you had to do to survive in this type of world. You sipped the wine given to you and turned to look around the ballroom. It was an impressive venue. You saw some more people coming to greet you and internally sighed.
You glance elsewhere and your smile drops when you lock eyes with a blonde man. Was he looking at you? He seems familiar.
What? No he doesn't.
You looked away quickly. A headache was beginning to plague your brain as you furrowed your brow. You were lucky when someone asked if you were ok. You brought your lips up into a smile and waved them off with a laugh.
“The wine is just a bit bitter.” you reassured them and they smiled as they began to talk about the new product their company was thinking of launching and why AI would benefit the both of you.
You sipped your wine as the lights began to dim. You kept up your image by chuckling every once in a while as if you were listening and really thinking about the offer. You werent. You really just want to go home.
How annoying.
~
It has been about three hours of auctioning and finally it was the final item. Mina had taken your phone, saying that you shouldn't be caught with your head down and looking bored. You wondered what time it was now since there was no clock in the room. You stifled a yawn as a painting was brought onto the stage. You cocked your head at the piece. Something about it was very…beautiful.
An artwork titled “Love”. An oil painting of a woman descending from the heavens, like a vision or an angel. She was falling gracefully, with her long hair flowing behind her in waves and the sunlight rippling off of it. Her dress billowed around her body; like a cloud of color, as if it had been woven from pure blissful emotion and divine dreams. Her arms were held out, ready to land gently into the embrace of a man’s awaiting arms.
Love. Something that was very lacking in your life. Could this picture bring light and maybe a love interest into your life? Probably not, but it did draw you into believing something. You had to have it.
~~~
Bakugou wasn't one who cared for romance since…ever. He doesn't mind the one night stands, the flings or occasional small relationships where he didn’t know he was dating someone. But he has never had anything real, deep or interesting. He doesn't need it anyway. He has a company to run. No time for distractions.
But this, he didn’t know what pulled him in. The illustrating of not only a physical connection but something much deeper; beyond words or any other form of explanation that could exist within this world.
Maybe it was because the painting reminded him of his parents. He always remembered how much his dad loved his mother. Could he buy this as a memento? It’s dumb, but he couldn't rationalize the feeling he felt when he looked at the piece of art. Bakugou sighed at his resolve and raised his hand to bid, but was cut off.
“100 thousand.” The voice came from right next to him.
He looked down slowly to see you. He married his eyes at your presence. Where the hell did you come from? You looked ahead at the painting with stars and determination in your eyes. You wanted this too? Too bad, he wanted it first. The auctioneer began his counting down and Bakugou broke out of his thoughts.
“150 thousand.” He said with his numbered fan in the air. You looked shocked and turned to him. He met you with a smirk, ‘It’s mine’ it said.
You smiled at him and his eye twitched in irritation. The hell are you smiling for?
“300.” You said and turned back to the stage. Nothing was said and the countdown began for it to be auctioned to you. You chuckled. It was a fun match, but in the end you always win.
“500.” Bakugou gritted out and you looked at him again. He was now on your radar. You quirked a brow and he smirked. ‘Little miss sunshine, not used to losing, huh?’
“1 million.” You said while looking at him. What was this? Was he bidding just to challenge you? Did he even want this art? Did Bakugou Katsuki, son of SPICE, have some grudge against you?
This was exciting for you. You've never met someone who'd given you a challenge before. Usually you were met with yes men who let you do whatever and give you whatever you want. It was almost exhilarating to be met with someone who doesn't want to lose to you. You laughed and your eyes filled with glee at the blonde.
“2 million.” Bakugou said as he kept your gaze. He glared down at your condescending look.
“4 million.” You said slowly. The ballroom began to fill with whispers. This is the most expensive auctioned item of the night. No doubt it would be the talk of the town amongst the elites for a few days.
“8 million.”
“10 million.”
Another countdown began and you expected this to be over soon, already wondering where you would put the painting in your office.
Bakugou took a deep breath. Should he just let you have it? What the hell was he doing, bidding childishly like this just because you provoked him. He knew he would get shit for this in the morning if he let this go on. He began to bring his hand down in defeat. No, not defeat, just doing the smart thing.
That was until. You yawned. You looked up at the blonde and smirked in triumph before your red stained lips parted, “Better luck next time.”
Bakugou swore a vein popped in his forehead. No, he wasnt about to let you have this fucking painting if his life depended on it.
“15 million.” He finally said as he stared at your faltering smile. A few gasps were heard, but Bakugou didn’t mind. The two of you stood looking at each other as even the auctioneer was shocked. He composed himself and began his countdown. It was slow. Everyone held their breath wondering if you would bid again. But you didn’t, you were busy smirking up at the man who beat you in something. When the hammer hit the desk and it was finally sold, you clapped at his victory.
Bakugou scoffed. What the fuck was your deal?
~~~
The auction ended with a speech from Mr. Monoma, CEO of Obsessed, a cosmetic company. Also the one who put together this event. After the applause and thank yous and tallying of money, people filtered out of the venue as it was late in the night now, almost 1am. After Bakugou discussed payment and where to bring his painting that he spent way too fucking much for, he also began to make his way out. He just wanted to return home and sleep on his egyptian cotton, king sized bed.
He turned right before he left the room and saw you again. He smirked and wondered if he should come rub his win in your face, but stopped himself when he saw that you were busy, very obviously fake laughing at a man who was trying to talk you up. He saw you deny the man’s offer for a drink, but he was still talking and talking and talking. Should he jump in? Help you? He clicked his tongue. What did he care though? He didn’t know you. So he left the room.
Bakugou stepped into the elevator. He was currently thinking about how he would explain buying a painting for 15 million dollars. But it really wasn't his fault. It was yours, dammit. Your damn condescending smile that he couldn't find the meaning to made him want to rip his hair out. Who the fuck were you really? Definitely just another rich kid using daddy's money and given everything from birth.
Thinking of you, why were you standing in front of his elevator door? Why was he still standing in an open elevator? Why wasn't this thing moving? How long has he been standing here? He looked over to see that he never pressed the button to the first floor.
You looked like you really wanted to say something. When did you get here? Weren't you just with that loser in the ballroom. He clicked his tongue and pressed the button and as the doors began to close and you finally spoke.
“I’m in love with you.” You confessed.
The elevator doors closed and Bakugou was left in silence. He blinked once, twice.
‘Hah? What the fuck did she just say?’
~~~