Chapter Text
Sero thought Bakugou was pretty cool. He was strong, smart, direct, and had no room for nonsense. He had always been amused by Bakugou’s antics. He had always poked fun at the loud boy. One of the funniest moments in his life was when Bakugou came back from Best Jeanist’s agency with flat hair and he almost died from the laughter. Like, seriously died because of how the laughter was escaping him and he couldn't find room to breathe, and between tears and clutching his stomach, he honestly thought he'd never find oxygen again.
All in all, Bakugou was o-kay.
He, however, was not very impressed with Bakugou when it came to being a good friend.
In reality, when he thought about it, Bakugou didn’t really talk to any of them a lot. He did eat lunch with them regularly but they didn’t have a lot of conversations past homework and awesome quirk Youtube videos.
Which is why he didn’t really expect much when he accidentally told Bakugou about his insecurities. He hadn’t really known Bakugou much at that point of time since classes had only started a few months ago, so he didn’t know that Bakugou could be that rude. But… still.
Sero was in the locker room waiting for Kirishima and Kaminari to finish their showers. Freshly showered and dressed up, he sat on one of the benches, waiting. Beside him, Bakugou was tying his shoelaces and looked just about ready to leave. Sero was stretching his arms when he absently said, “Man, you’re so lucky.”
Bakugou glanced at him. “What?”
“Your quirk,” Sero said with a grin. “It’s really powerful. I’ve only got tape, and there’s only so much you can do with tape.”
Bakugou shrugged. Usually, Bakugou liked being praised. Actually, he seemed to live off it, using it as fuel to keep going on. It was strange to see him respond with such disinterest, but at that point, Sero had yet to figure out that Bakugou was not a fan of self-pity (which Sero was currently wallowing in).
“I just don’t think I’ll amount to much, honestly,” Sero continued. It’s not that he meant to pour his heart out, he was just upset that he had lost another one-on-one battle with Midoriya that day. “Maybe a sidekick at most… which sucks. What do you think, Bakugou?”
Glancing at him again, Bakugou had an expression of annoyance. Then he said, deadpanned, “I don’t care, Soy Sauce Face. Figure it out yourself.”
It was at that point that Kirishima approached them, freshly out of the showers. He had a towel wrapped around his hips and he shot a frown at Bakugou. Bakugou blinked for a moment and Sero didn’t miss how his stare lingered at Kirishima’s hips for just a millisecond more than required. The interesting scene was short lived as Kirishima proceeded to scold Bakugou. Scrunching his nose, Kirishima told him, “Bakugou, don’t be rude!”
“Fuck off, Shitty Hair,” Bakugou drawled before getting up and heaving his bag over his shoulder. “I didn’t come here to be anyone’s damn therapist. Not my fault your quirk is dumb, Soy Sauce Face.”
Sero grinned widely at Kirishima, trying his best to mask the way Bakugou’s words stung. Kirishima was frowning heavily at Bakugou’s retreating back.
It was at that point that Sero quickly formed the opinion that Bakugou was truly an asshole.
He was an interesting guy, but not a very good friend.
Which was why, months after, he was shocked to see the change in Bakugou. Bakugou became a little more mellow, he actually cooperated with Midoriya during the finals, and there were other small things like volunteering to tutor Kirishima.
Oh, and he cheered Kirishima up.
Yup. Sero almost pinched himself.
Kirishima had been complaining about his quirk, about how it was too dull, not flashy enough.
And since he had heard it a dozen times before, Sero quipped a joke and said, “You’re being more of a downer that I’d ever expect.”
At that point, Bakugou glared at him, and it jolted up his spine, made him realize that it wasn’t the time to be joking.
Bakugou’s face looked almost uncomfortable.
Actually, he looked pissed.
Yup, he was most likely pissed.
To be honest, Sero couldn’t tell. Bakugou always looked pissed that it was hard to distinguish.
Sero held back a grin when Bakugou, unexpectedly, was the one who spoke up for the group. He stared pointedly at Kirishima who was looking back at him with wild eyes, as if he was also bewildered that Bakugou was actually being nice for once.
Bakugou told Kirishima something about refusing to go down, and that in itself was crazy strong, and Sero silently agreed. Sero didn’t miss how Kirishima’s gaze softened at the words.
And, experimentally, just to see if Bakugou truly had changed, Sero nonchalantly complained about his quirk a few weeks later.
“Seriously, do you think I can make it pro, dude? My quirk’s nothing compared to yours, or Todoroki’s, or Midoriya’s… bums me out is all,” Sero asked Bakugou during lunch. Truthfully, he didn’t really have a lot of insecurity issues about his quirk. He was getting stronger recently and more mobile, which was awesome. He just kind of wants to see Bakugou’s reaction.
Bakugou yelled at him, “This shit again!? Jesus fucking christ, do you assholes have nothing better to do than wallow in self-pity!?”
Sero laughed as Kirishima shot Bakugou an exasperated expression from across the table, then Sero instantly forgot about the whole exchange. However, Sero noticed that while they were walking back to class, Kirishima and Bakugou were arguing to themselves and he could hear his name mentioned once or twice.
“I can’t believe you, Bakugou. There’s something called empathy, look it up!” Kirishima’s voice was clearly annoyed, which was unusual when it came to the guy. Sero blinked and exchanged looks with Kaminari, who cocked his head back in puzzlement.
“Holy shit, shut up!” Bakugou snarled back at Kirishima. He grit his teeth. It was at this point that Sero opened his mouth to say something, to apologize and tell them that it was no big deal, but Kaminari held his arm to get his attention. Kaminari grinned at him sheepishly with a shake of his head.
Fine, Kaminari wanted him to stay out of it. Okay then.
“Oh my god, Kirishima, what the fuck!?” yelled Bakugou when Kirishima suddenly put him in a head lock and pulled him towards a hall away from their classroom.
“I feel bad,” Sero muttered to Kaminari as he watched Kirishima drag Bakugou away. Absentmindedly, he didn’t miss the way Bakugou let him.
“Don’t,” Kaminari said with a shrug. “They’re fine.”
Kirishima and Bakugou came back five minutes late to class but Midnight didn’t seem to notice even if Bakugou stomped all the way to his desk. Kirishima took a seat by his desk and his expression didn’t give anything away. Sero found it strange but that was it. He never found out what they spoke about, and he decided never to taunt Bakugou with complaints about his quirk ever again.
Fast forward to a week later.
He found that Bakugou had sent him a text message. It was so random, he barely even spoke to Bakugou that day. Bakugou never texted him, so he was puzzled about it until he opened it. It was a picture from one of the pages of their history book (a page that Aizawa had asked them to go through for the next day's lesson). It was of a middle-aged hero who shot tape out of his limbs… Sero knew him not only because they had similar quirks but also because it was his grandfather.
The picture is captioned: ‘Look at this shit. This fucker has the same dumbass face as you, Soy Sauce. Pretty fuckin' cool.’
Sero grinned to himself. It was the longest text Bakugou had sent him ever. Against his best judgment, Sero replied, ‘That's my grandfather.’
Another five minutes and Bakugou responded, ‘So why the fuck do you keep complaining about your quirk? This guy was the no. 3 pro hero in his time, so what's your deal? Call yourself weak one more time and I’ll end you.’
Sero couldn’t help but laugh.
This was Bakugou’s own unique version of being a friend.
Yep, Bakugou had changed a little.
And he kinda thought Kirishima had a lot to do with it.
Chapter 2: Midoriya & Anger Management
Summary:
Midoriya is impressed by how Kirishima is able to calm Kacchan down.
Notes:
Look, I know Bakugou's control over his quirk is amazing. But you gotta admit, his temper throws him off a lot.
Chapter Text
Oh, Kacchan’s in another one of his moods.
Midoriya sighed and scratched the back of his head. He can’t tell what set Kacchan off this time. Really, it could have been anything.
“Why the fuck can’t I use my quirk!?” Bakugou was yelling at Aizawa. He was pulling his hair in frustration.
“Language,” Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s quite obvious, Bakugou. Your explosions may cause an avalanche.”
They were going to a snow resort for the weekend to train. The class was bundled up in thick jackets and scarves. Midoriya felt someone shuffle behind him and he glanced sidewards to see Kirishima walking to a halt beside him. Half his face was hidden behind a thick red scarf but when he sensed Midoriya’s stare, Kirishima looked back at him and the corners of his eyes crinkled. He was smiling behind the layers of cloth, it was obvious even if Midoriya couldn’t see it.
“This isn’t going to end well,” Midoriya mumbled. He had half the mind to edge away. Bakugou and Aizawa were only a few feet away from them and preventing the class from boarding the bus as they blocked the door.
“It will be fine,” Kirishima shrugged.
Bakugou’s palms crackled in frustration. He grit his teeth and said, “How the hell am I supposed to train when I can’t use my quirk?”
Aizawa looked tired. He always did. However, on this particular day, it seemed as if his patience was wearing thin more than usual. “You are not allowed to use your quirk, Bakugou. We will not be endangering the class just so you may train.”
“I can control it,” Bakugou hissed. “I’ll keep the explosions small.”
“Look,” Aizawa waved at Bakugou’s open palms which were crackling lowly. Their teacher’s tone was slow, as if he hated saying this as much as Bakugou didn’t want to hear it. “You get angry and your palms go off. I understand that you have a great deal of control, but it’s too dangerous. Please just refrain from using your quirk, if you can help it. You can still do other types of training.”
“Don’t worry, Bakugou,” Tsuyu suddenly quipped in. She was standing behind Aizawa, waiting for the argument to finish, just like the rest of the class. “Maybe next year, your control will be better. Perhaps you can ask Todoroki to give you tips, his control is impeccable.”
Midoriya winced and Kirishima shifted nervously. They both knew Tsuyu meant well, but that was the last thing to say at the moment.
“What the fuck!?” Bakugou growled. As if proving Aizawa’s point, his palms gave another round of explosions, much louder than before.
Midoriya expected Bakugou to argue more at this point. However, he only paused and looked at his palms, biting his cheek in frustration. He stood there in silence, his eyebrows furrowed, until the explosions died down. Aizawa pat him on the shoulder empathetically and stepped aside, gesturing for the class to board the bus. One by one, the students circled around Bakugou, some of them casting him looks of pity.
Bakugou continued to blink at his palms. Midoriya was frozen in place, staring at him. He felt… sorry for him.
Oh no, he had to fix his expression, else Kacchan might punch him for it.
“Fuck…” Bakugou muttered under his breath. The tiny explosions came back because of how the frustration was seeping into his mind again.
“Kacchan–” Midoriya squeaked unintentionally and not smartly.
“What, nerd!?” Bakugou looked up to glare at him with squinted eyes.
“Bakugou,” Todoroki muttered in a deadpanned tone as he walked towards the bus. “I’ll give you tips later, just get on the bus.”
And that was the ultimate trigger.
Something snapped in Bakugou, he raised his fists to throw an explosion towards Todoroki. Midoriya instinctively stepped forward to intervene but there was an immediate flash of red and Kirishima had caught Bakugou’s palm in his own. The explosion was muffled against Kirishima’s skin, smoke coming out from between their hands. Kirishima had hardened his hand up until his elbows, and Midoriya watched in fascination as he reverted it back to his normal skin at the same time the smoke cleared.
“Haha,” Kirishima grinned. He gripped his fingers in between Bakugou’s. Their hands were raised in the space between them. “You guys, Bakugou’s control is fantastic. He’s only blowing steam off now ‘cos he can’t later on. Right, bro?”
Bakugou blinked slowly. He eyed how Kirishima was gripping his palm, and Midoriya saw his eyes twitch when Kirishima squeezed it.
“Are you coming?” Aizawa asked with an unimpressed tone.
Midoriya realized that only the four of them were left standing outside the bus. Kirishima had wedged himself between Todoroki and Bakugou. Todoroki was looking at Bakugou with a frown, but he didn’t say anything as he stepped away and unto the bus. Midoriya followed him. He glanced at Kirishima and Bakugou as he walked.
“Don’t patronize me, asshole,” Bakugou mumbled as he swat Kirishima’s hand away.
“I’m not,” Kirishima grabbed Bakugou by the arm and tugged him. They got on the bus right behind Midoriya. Their conversation was quiet but Midoriya could hear it. “It’s true, your control over your quirk is damn good, bro.”
“If it’s good, then the fuck is this about?” Bakugou grumbled.
Midoriya almost jumped– Kacchan was second guessing himself.
“Your control over your quirk is good,” Kirishima said slowly. “Your control over your temper? Not so much. You can’t blame them for being careful.”
Bakugou huffed in response but it was evident that Kirishima’s words were working to calm him down.
Impressive.
Midoriya looked around the bus. Since they were the last to get there, there were only three empty seats left. There was an empty seat beside Todoroki. In the same row as where Todoroki sat, there were two seats side by side that were unoccupied. Without thinking, he made his way towards the two empty seats, taking the one by the window.
“Oh,” Kirishima said softly to Bakugou. “Do you want to sit beside Todoroki or Midoriya?”
A few people sniggered as they heard the question. Kaminari actually started coughing to hide his laughter and Sero gave a snort.
Oops, Midoriya fought back a smile as he realized what he had done.
Bakugou’s palms exploded again, and Kirishima visibly winced. Taking matters into his own hands, Kirishima walked over to Midoriya with a sheepish smile.
“Do you mind sitting beside Todoroki?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t mind,” Midoriya replied and he got up immediately. Bakugou glared at him as he took the seat beside Todoroki. He was clenching his fists, muffling explosions using his own hands. He was mostly immune to his own explosions, but squeezing his fists shut meant he was taking the brunt of it. It was as if he didn’t want to alert Aizawa with his ‘lack of control’.
“Don’t do that,” Kirishima mumbled as Bakugou took the now empty window seat. Sighing, Kirishima sat down as well and pried open Bakugou’s hands, frowning at the rawness that had appeared because of what he had done. He ran his thumbs over Bakugou’s palms, causing Bakugou to wince. “See? Idiot.”
Midoriya blinked. He had never seen anyone call Kacchan an idiot and get away with it. He had also never seen Kacchan allow anyone to run fingers across his palms.
Bakugou mumbled something incoherent which made Kirishima snort in amusement.
“Why are you smiling?” Todoroki asked Midoriya curiously.
Midoriya looked at Todoroki. He said softly to Todoroki, making sure the others couldn’t hear him, “Kirishima’s amazing.”
Surprisingly, Todoroki smirked, “He can control that explosive temper better than Bakugou can.”
Rubbing his nose, Midoriya hid his chuckle behind a cough.
Kirishima could control Kacchan’s explosive temper better than Kacchan himself.
Todoroki had summed it up perfectly.
Chapter 3: Kaminari & Midnight Fights
Summary:
One thing was for sure– the next time Kirishima insisted that Bakugou was simply his best bro, Kaminari would jolt him with electricity and flip him off.
Chapter Text
“Shit, shit…”
Kaminari watched with desperation as the water spilled from the counter and unto the tiled floor. He had accidentally tipped over a glass of water, causing it to make a mess.
In his defense, it was one in the morning and his mind was practically half-asleep. Yawning, he grabbed some paper towels from the sink and kneeled down. With half-lidded eyes and a huge frown, he lazily wiped the floor.
The dorm was silent. The only light he had was from the fridge, which he had kept open for the sole purpose of being able to see. Kaminari blinked at his handiwork– it was awful, but he knew it would be dry by the morning so what did it matter– and he tossed the tissues into the bin and stood back up.
He had been playing video games with Kirishima. Kaminari was ridiculously sleepy but then they just had one more boss to kill, and he had told Kirishima he was going to get some water because maybe that would wake him up.
Kaminari’s phone vibrated and he looked at the screen. Kirishima had texted him, “whats taking so long??? Lets finish this boss offffff hurry up”
“just a sec!!” Kaminari texted back. He made his way to the staircase, musing that he should walk upstairs instead of taking the elevator because it might get rid of his drowsiness even by just a bit.
He was so, so sleepy. But then, Kirishima was incredibly restless, and even if he didn’t ask why, Kaminari knew it was because of Bakugou.
Bakugou had failed the licensure exams.
Bakugou Katsuki had failed.
Kirishima had been restless about it all afternoon, as if he wanted to reach out to Bakugou– and had been unable to. Kaminari ended up playing Monster Hunter with him all night just to get his mind off things, and even if he was so sleepy, Kirishima’s energy just kept going up and up to the point that Kaminari was starting to regret offering his presence.
And even if Kaminari wanted to go pass out, he couldn’t leave his bro in this state. Which was odd, because Kirishima had passed the exams, he had gotten his license– shouldn’t he be overjoyed? Instead, he was wearing himself thin worrying over Bakugou.
Weird.
A loud sound shook Kaminari, causing him to jump with a wince. He heard footsteps as a few figures emerged. A few people were entering from the main door. Kaminari was standing by the staircase, a good distance away from them, and he went unnoticed. It was All Might, Aizawa, Midoriya, and Bakugou.
WEIRD.
All Might was nervously rubbing the back of his neck and Aizawa was positively seething and rambling at the same time. Both Midoriya and Bakugou looked injured (what happened?) and were both staring at the floor as Aizawa raised his voice at them.
Kaminari felt awkward as he stood there in the dark. He couldn’t open the door to the staircase, it would alert them to his presence, and then Bakugou would kill him. Literally.
“Good night,” All Might sighed as he nervously shifted his gaze at the two students. Slowly, he made his way to the main door.
“This will not happen again,” Aizawa hissed at Bakugou and Midoriya.
Midoriya was smiling sheepishly and staring at the floor. Beside him, Bakugou grit his teeth.
“I expected this from you, Bakugou–”
“The fuck does that mean?” Bakugou spat.
“But you, Midoriya?” Aizawa ignored Bakugou’s outburst. “What on earth possessed you to get in a fight at this hour?”
Bakugou muttered something that Kaminari couldn’t hear as he bowed his head a bit. Aizawa waved him away, and he made his way to the elevator, all the while glancing back at their teacher and at Bakugou.
As soon as Midoriya was gone, Aizawa returned his focus to Bakugou. He said in a low tone, “Is this about the licensure exam, Bakugou?”
“No!” Bakugou’s shoulders stiffened.
Kaminari watched as Aizawa scrubbed his face with a hand. Their teacher turned around and walked away, muttering words to Bakugou that he couldn’t hear. Bakugou stood there for a while, shoulders stiff and glaring at the ground as if it had committed a crime. Then he turned and slowly walked to the elevator– Kaminari prayed to all the gods Bakugou wouldn’t spot him– and got on.
“Thank god…” Kaminari wheezed dramatically to himself, clutching his chest in relief. He had gone unnoticed.
His phone vibrated again. It was Kirishima– “Wru Denki?? Did you go sleep???”
Kaminari hesitated… then he typed back. “Blasty got into a fight bro”
Almost instantly, he received a reply. “Ha? Howd u know? Thought he was asleep?”
Kaminari blinked slowly at the screen. Realizing that it would probably be easier to talk to Kirishima in person, he opened the door to the staircase and made his way up to his friend’s floor. Yawning, he stepped out into the fourth floor hallway.
Then he froze.
Bakugou was still there. He was facing away from him and was leaning against the wall, unmoving. He looked so defeated, his hands buried in his pockets, and Kaminari saw the bruises and bandages all over his bare arms. He just stood there– and Kaminari realized he wasn’t even anywhere near his room. No, he was standing near Kirishima’s door, staring at the empty space in front of him.
Strange.
Incredibly strange.
Kaminari ducked back into the staircase and whipped his phone back out.
“Bro, step out of your room.”
“Why are u being so weird???” Kirishima replied almost instantly, and a few seconds later the sound of a door opening was heard.
“Denki, what– agh!” Kirishima’s voice jumped mid-sentence. Kaminari bit back a chuckle. His voice was high-pitched and resounded loudly and clearly through the hall. “Bakugou, you surprised me, what are you doing here!?”
“Uh,” Bakugou said blankly, he seemed just as surprised.
Going against the little bit of willpower that he had, Kaminari peeked around the corner to look at them. Bakugou had pushed himself off the wall and was standing stiffly in front of Kirishima who looked back at him with wide eyes.
“What happened to you?” Kirishima asked. His voice was unusually calm and soft, and Kaminari watched as his eyes glazed over Bakugou with worry. “Who did you fight with?”
Bakugou stuttered. No words came out and Kirishima waited (so did Kaminari).
“Hey…” Kirishima said softly. He tentatively held his hand out and let it rest on Bakugou’s cheek.
A few moments passed and Kaminari’s eyes widened as Bakugou leaned into Kirishima touch. He muttered something so low that Kaminari didn’t hear it at all. Kirishima’s eyebrows furrowed at the response and he nodded. The tension slowly left Bakugou and he stepped forward and dropped his head into Kirishima’s shoulder.
Kirishima froze, he blinked rapidly. It took him a few moments to recover then he slowly and tenderly stroked Bakugou’s hair.
Mouth slightly agape, Kaminari stared. He should probably step away. This wasn’t for him to see. He should really, really go back to his own room and call it a night. Instead he watched as Bakugou melted into Kirishima. His hands were still buried into his pockets but his posture had slackened, and he wasn’t saying anything but Kaminari knew– he knew that right now, Kirishima was giving him what he needed.
Kirishima looked concerned, he was staring at his own hand as he ran his fingers through Bakugou’s hair. He didn’t ask any questions and Kaminari saw how much he wanted to, saw how he was biting his lip to stop himself.
Kirishima’s gaze shot upwards and he locked eyes with Kaminari.
Kaminari smiled sheepishly at him and gave him a nod and a very awkward wave of the hand. He mouthed at his friend, night.
Kirishima grinned weakly back at him and that’s when Kaminari ducked back into the staircase to make for his room.
His chest felt warm. Kaminari couldn’t help but smile to himself as he unconsciously ingrained the image into his memory. There was a certain fuzziness to it, to see Bakugou melt into Kirishima’s touch, to see how tenderly Kirishima looked back at him. All the restlessness had vanished from Kirishima’s expression to be replaced with something much more simpler and transparent.
One thing was for sure– the next time Kirishima insisted that Bakugou was simply his best bro, Kaminari would jolt him with electricity and flip him off.
Chapter 4: Uraraka & Marketing 101
Summary:
“Oh,” Kirishima blinked rapidly. His voice was quiet, a total contradiction to his usual volume. “Shit, I totally forgot.”
“I did too!” She replied, a little too loudly. Kirishima winced, his fingers tightening around the door. Uraraka found his behavior peculiar but she continued to speak, “Kirishima, the homework’s due tomorrow! We need to power through it tonight!”
“Uhm,” he scratched the back of his neck and laughed. “Yeah, one small thing– Bakugou fell asleep in my room. Is that weird for you?”
Notes:
...I have a confession to make.
This was originally an Ochako/Bakugou/Kirishima hot mess and it was practically done but. I just couldn't. I tried to write out the last scene but my brain wouldn't let me. So I edited it quite a lot and it ended up as Ochako's POV to a Bakugou/Kirishima hot mess instead. ;)
Also, does 3k words count as a drabble? Hah.
Chapter Text
It was a few minutes past eight in the evening when Uraraka knocked on Kirishima’s room. She was almost half an hour late but she had been caught up gossiping with Ashido and Tsuyu before she realized the time. When Tsuyu had asked her how her Marketing 101 assignment was going, she gasped, looked at her watch, and realized her mistake. Shit, the assignment was due the next day and they hadn’t even started– and now she had totally forgotten they had promised to meet up. Since Kirishima wasn’t texting her, he had probably forgotten as well!
Obviously, Kirishima and Uraraka weren’t the most responsible of students.
Quickly, she ran to her room and grabbed her laptop, a water bottle, and her book before making a beeline towards Kirishima’s room.
She heard shuffling from inside the room and then the door swung open. Kirishima blinked at her. He had taken a shower and his hair was sticking to his face and neck, and he was wearing a tank top and shorts– and Uraraka realized, oops, maybe she should have texted beforehand because showing up at a guy’s room unexpectedly like this was probably kind of weird.
...Except that this wasn't unexpected. They had a plan to meet to do homework.
So why was Kirishima gaping at her like she had grown cat ears?
“Oh,” Kirishima blinked rapidly. His voice was quiet, a total contradiction to his usual volume. “Shit, I totally forgot.”
“I did too!” She replied, a little too loudly. Kirishima winced, his fingers tightening around the door. Uraraka found his behavior peculiar but she continued to speak, “Kirishima, the homework’s due tomorrow! We need to power through it tonight!”
“Uhm,” he scratched the back of his neck and laughed. “Yeah, one small thing– Bakugou fell asleep in my room. Is that weird for you?”
Uraraka blinked.
“We can work on the floor, he won’t wake up,” he grinned at her. “But if it’s weird for you, we can head to your room or downstairs?”
It was odd that Bakugou would even fall asleep in Kirishima’s room, but she always guessed there was something going on with the two. Bakugou had mellowed down a lot since the first day of school, but he was still volatile and had an impressively bad temper– somehow Kirishima was the only one who knew how to sneak around it. Uraraka had seen on multiple occasions how Kirishima would absently rub circles on Bakugou’s back until he calmed down, she would watch as Bakugou would slowly deflate, and she had always been in awe of it.
Peeking over Kirishima’s shoulder, she only now realized that the lights were out.
“I guess if he won’t wake up, then it’s fine?” she asked him skeptically, cocking her head to the side and grinning widely. She was trying her best not to burst out laughing. Uraraka was speaking on a lower octave now as she realized the reason behind Kirishima’s peculiar behavior and quiet voice.
Kirishima gave her a huge, wide grin, and she almost winced as if blinded. “Okay, cool!”
He led the way inside, closing the door behind her. The only light was from the lamp on his desk. Kirishima pulled out his own laptop and plopped down on the floor. He smiled at her and beckoned her to come over.
She was just about to complain about the lack of light when she realized that Bakugou was indeed sprawled out on Kirishima’s bed, an arm over his eyes. One knee was bent and resting against the wall, and his shirt had ridden up to show his bare stomach.
“Pffft,” Uraraka bit back her laughter. “Shit, I want to take a picture and send it to Deku.”
“Haha, don’t! He sleeps like a log, just ignore him,” Kirishima told her. “But god forbid we turn on the lights. Anyway, is this okay with you?”
“It’s fine,” she said, plopping down on the floor across from him. “Think we’ll get a good grade?”
Kirishima nodded cheerfully but Uraraka knew he was lying. She had been paired off with him a few times before and knew that it was almost impossible to get him to focus on homework.
Which is exactly what happened that night as well. Uraraka had no idea how Kirishima did it, but as always, she ended up listening to his rambles, completely forgetting that they had another agenda.
Half an hour later and she was listening to Kirishima ramble about All Might’s hair.
“I’m telling you,” Kirishima said passionately as if he wasn’t going off about a very inane topic. “All Might dyes his hair. One of these days I’m going to prove it. Nobody believes me, Kaminari says its perfectly normal for a Japanese guy to have blond hair… but Kaminari’s hair is blond because of his quirk. Why would All Might’s quirk cause him to have blond hair!?”
Bakugou also had blond hair, Uraraka wanted to say.
“Hah! You’ll help me, right?” Kirishima grinned at her.
“You want me to help you prove that All Might dyes his hair?”
“Yes!” He pumped his fist into the air.
Uraraka actually burst out laughing... and then immediately froze when Bakugou suddenly groaned and stirred in his sleep. “Fucking shut up, Shitty Hair!” Bakugou snarled before shifting to his side, his back to Uraraka and Kirishima.
Kirishima snorted.
“Thought he slept like a log,” giggled Uraraka, her voice low. Fortunately, Bakugou didn’t have half the mind to realize that it had been Uraraka who had disturbed his sleep.
“Yeah, but you laugh kinda loud.”
“It’s not my fault!” she hissed at him, sticking her tongue out. “You’re making all these jokes about All Might’s hair!”
“Jokes?” Kirishima looked genuinely offended, putting up a hand to his chest. “I was totally serious!”
Uraraka bit back a smile. “Hey, we really should start on that assignment! Wait, give me a second, I’ll divide up the sections between us.”
Kirishima blinked, looked at that weird clock he had on his wall, and realized that half an hour had already passed. He looked back at her with a sheepish smile and nodded, and Uraraka pulled her laptop closer and started typing.
“Why are you smiling?” Kirishima asked innocently.
“Oh?” Uraraka looked up at him, her face lit up by the screen of her laptop. She hadn’t realized that she had been smiling. Now that she realized it though, it was because she thought it was cute that Bakugou was sleeping on Kirishima’s bed like it was no big deal. “It’s nothing.”
Kirishima was not easily convinced. “Tell me!”
“It’s just–” Uraraka gestured at Bakugou. “I’ve never seen Bakugou with his guard down like this. It’s kind of cute. I mean, this thing between you is kinda cute.”
A blush crept to his cheeks, one that didn’t go unnoticed on Uraraka. Kirishima planted his hands on the floor awkwardly. It was strange seeing Kirishima so flustered, usually, his every move was naturally confident. “Yeah, I guess.”
“That’s all,” Uraraka returned her attention to her laptop, opened up the points of discussion they had been assigned. “You two are dating, is it?”
Kirishima grinned. His ears went pink. ”Nah, just the best of bros.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, skeptical.
“I mean… I dunno, it’s kind of weird to ask, even Denki’s always on my case about it. But I’m pretty sure we’re just bros?” Kirishima’s voice was wavering. He was so nervous and Uraraka wasn’t used to hearing him sound like this, his eyes staring at the floor and twiddling with the hem of his shirt.
Kirishima rubbed the back of his head and looked embarrassed, and Uraraka regretted being so candid about her question. Strangely enough, while she was good friends with Kirishima, they had never spoken about these things before. And now, her interest was piqued. “What… well, what exactly is going on between you two then? The usual bro stuff or more?”
“I dunno–” Kirishima stared at the hands he had planted on the floor. “We study and go to the gym all the time. We wait for each other in the morning. Go hiking.”
“Have sleepovers?” Uraraka offered. She opened her water bottle and started taking gulps from it.
“Yeah,” he continued. Then he avoided her eyes. “I guess we kissed once–”
Uraraka choked on her water. She coughed a few times, slapping her chest, and Kirishima grabbed the bottle from her hand before she made a mess on his carpet. “Kirishima!” she hissed in-between coughs. “Did you really need to wait until I was drinking before you said that!?”
He grinned at her, placed her water bottle down near his knee. “You asked.”
Her cheeks were bright red as she glowered at him. Slowly, she softened her expression, unsure of what else to say.
“It was a one time thing, months ago. We just never talked about it.”
Her face split into a huge, bright grin. She couldn’t help it. “That’s not what bros do, Kirishima!”
“Haha, yeah!” Kirishima stifled a laugh. “I didn’t think so either, shit.”
There was a few seconds of silence as Kirishima glanced over to where Bakugou was sleeping.
Uraraka had never seen anyone look at another person that way, his gaze was so soft, and his lips quirked into a slight smile– just watching him this way made her feel warm, and shit, they were just so damn cute.
“Homework,” Kirishima said quietly before reverting his attention to her.
Uraraka nodded.
Finally, even if it was half-heartedly, they started to focus on their assignment. Uraraka divided up the sections between them and created a google document they could work on at the same time, and she was impressed when she realized just how attentive Kirishima could be once he set his mind to it. They worked in silence for a while, only speaking when they had questions, such as asking if a certain line made sense, or if it was phrased correctly.
“I’m starting to get a headache…” Uraraka said softly after a while. “It’s too dark here.”
“Oh, sorry!” Kirishima said, getting up on his feet. “I’ll open the balcony lights, will that work?”
She nodded, reverting his attention to her laptop as he walked over to open the curtains to his balcony. Then, he switched on the lights outside, causing it to spill into the room. It wasn’t as good as turning on the lights to the room, but it was a lot better. The lights were soft and dim, casting shadows in the room, and Uraraka appreciated it.
Bakugou stirred once more. He shifted until he was lying on his back again, and he rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn. Uraraka looked up, stared at Kirishima, who was still standing by the balcony. Kirishima was looking at Bakugou and seemed to be having an internal debate with himself. Finally, he gestured at Uraraka to give him a minute, and he walked over and leaned over the bed.
Uraraka watched as Kirishima ran his fingers through Bakugou’s hair, marveling at the affection. Slowly, Bakugou opened one eye to look up at Kirishima. “Hey, Bakugou,” Kirishima said softly. “Can you move back to your room? I need to do homework with–”
“Holy fuck, shut up,” Bakugou grumbled, suddenly grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the bed. Kirishima gave a surprised squeak and fell forward, half-lying against Bakugou, who wrapped his legs around his torso and tried to maneuver him into lying beside him. Kirishima fell down beside him (Uraraka didn’t think he was really putting up a fight), and Bakugou buried his face into Kirishima’s chest.
“Oi, wait, Bakugou!” Kirishima protested, painfully aware that Uraraka was watching.
Eyes wide, Uraraka couldn’t help but stare as Bakugou growled again and shoved an arm into Kirishima’s face, trying to get him to keep quiet.
“Will you shut up!?” Bakugou snapped. “I’m fucking tired!”
“Bakugou–”
Bakugou smacked his hand over Kirishima’s mouth, effectively shutting him up for the time being.
Uraraka had half the mind to just crawl out of there. Her eyes went wide when Bakugou gave a yelp and realized that Kirishima had bitten him. “Uraraka’s here, dude!” Kirishima whined.
“Uhm,” she said, finally speaking out. “I’m just going to go now.”
Bakugou sat up so quickly Uraraka thought he was going to break his back. He gaped at her, cheeks going red, and Kirishima sat up as well with a very embarrassed look.
“What the fuck?” Bakugou said slowly.
At the same time, Kirishima muttered, “I was trying to tell you…”
An explosion went off as Bakugou smacked Kirishima on the forehead. Once the smoke cleared, Uraraka saw that Kirishima had hardened his face. He was looking at Bakugou with an annoyed expression as he swung his feet over the edge of the bed.
“Sorry, Uraraka–” Kirishima started.
“What the fuck!?” Bakugou repeated, getting up as well.
Well, this was a mess.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Uraraka said, trying to force any amount of cheerfulness in her voice. Instead, it came out all high-pitched and squeaky. She gathered up her things in her arms, fumbling nervously under the pissed off glare that Bakugou was giving her.
“The fuck are you bringing Moon Face in here for!?” Bakugou shoved Kirishima’s shoulder.
“You’re the one who fell asleep here!” Kirishima retorted. “We’re doing our homework. I mentioned it this morning, right!?”
“Oh, fuck you, dipshit,” Bakugou hissed at him, shoving him again. Uraraka finally managed to gather her stuff when she saw Kirishima flash Bakugou an angry look.
“It’s my fault, I’m sorry,” Uraraka said quickly. She didn’t want them to fight over something as silly as this. “I shouldn’t have come in at all, I just reeeally wanted to get the assignment done.”
“Yeah, yeah, get lost, you damn extra!” Bakugou waved his hand at her dismissively, and she winced.
Oh, that did it.
“I’m not some extra, Bakugou!” She snapped back at him. “My name’s not Moon Face either!”
“I don’t give a fuck–”
“Well, I’m going to go back to my room and Kirishima and I are going to fail now–”
“You think I care about that!?”
Kirishima whined, “I really can’t afford to fail…”
“What are you even throwing a tantrum for, Bakugou?” She threw her hands up in defeat. “You’re just pissed off ‘cos I saw you manhandle Kirishima!”
All the blood rushed to Kirishima’s face and he looked like he was about to faint. Bakugou grit his teeth at her and made to step towards her, but she was already on her way out– grinning widely to herself. The look on Bakugou’s face was priceless and she knew she had won that argument.
She was going to fail Marketing 101 but she had won an argument against Bakugou. Haha.
“Bakugou, ugh, just stay here,” she heard Kirishima mutter to Bakugou. He grabbed his laptop and followed her outside and closed the door behind him, leaving Bakugou in his room. “Wait, Uraraka. Let’s just work on the homework in the common room. Shit, I’m so sorry.”
Uraraka waggled her eyebrows at him. “No, I’m sorry. Looks like I just cockblocked you.”
Kirishima choked.
“To the common room!” she announced.
They got on the elevator. The tension had left Kirishima’s shoulders… slowly.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing.
“I can’t believe that shit happened!” He clutched his stomach, doubling in on his laughter. “Holy shit, Uraraka! I seriously didn’t see that coming. I’m so sorry!”
“It’s fine, stop apologizing,” she was laughing as well. “I can’t wait to tell Deku about this–”
“Oh my god, no,” he coughed. “Hahaha– don’t tell Midoriya that Bakugou pulled me into bed, hahaha, oh god–”
They were both still laughing as they stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the couches. Slowly, they began to regain their composure as they took their seats. The common room was empty now. Hopefully, the peacefulness would help them focus.
Uraraka bit back a grin. “Hey, I really am sorry for all that.”
Kirishima shook his head. “He’ll get over it. My fault for thinking he’d be fine with it.”
“Anyone else would have been fine with it,” she shrugged.
“Yep,” he answered. Uraraka could sense the hurt behind his tone.
They opened their laptops and resumed working on their homework. Finally.
Except that after a few minutes, their gazes flickered to one another and they burst out laughing again.
“I just–” Uraraka coughed. “You bit him–”
“Because he wouldn’t listen!” Kirishima barked in-between laughter.
Suddenly, a voice from behind them startled them. Bakugou’s voice. “...You two fuckers have got to be kidding me.”
Uraraka and Kirishima almost jumped out of their skin. Gaping, they turned their heads to see Bakugou standing behind the couch, looking absolutely pissed.
“Haaaa–” Uraraka said, her eyes wide.
“Bro! What are you doing here?” Kirishima asked, recovering impressively quickly.
Bakugou grit his teeth. “I was gonna make sure your dumb ass didn’t fail. On second thought though… fuck you.”
“Haha! Wait!” Kirishima grinned at him widely. “We really do need your help!”
Uraraka cocked her head to the side. No, they only had a few paragraphs left, and she thought they were just about done. Kirishima was smiling brightly at Bakugou, gesturing him to take a seat beside him. It took a couple of seconds of seething, then Bakugou huffed and circled around the couch to take a seat beside Kirishima and roughly yanked his laptop.
With an expression that looked like he wanted to murder someone, Bakugou scanned over their document and started furiously typing here and there, correcting typos and phrases that Uraraka didn’t realize even needed correcting. Since they were working on a google document, she stared at her own laptop as the changes that Bakugou made quickly reflected on her screen.
Kirishima beamed and sat back on the couch with a smug look on his face. He turned to flash Uraraka a smile and she looked back at him quizzically.
Sensing that she was waiting for an explanation, Kirishima leaned into her space and whispered, “This is how he apologizes.”
“I can hear you, fucker!” Bakugou growled.
Uraraka couldn’t help but snort. Kirishima gave a laugh and leaned back on the couch.
She mimicked Kirishima’s smug look and leaned back as well, happy, cos damn, if Bakugou was fixing their homework then she was definitely going to get a good grade.
Chapter 5: Ashido & Pink Nails
Summary:
“...Why are you fuckmunches in my room?” Bakugou snarled.
Ashido’s high-pitched laugh resounded throughout the room and she watched as Bakugou’s hands twitched. He was gripping his book and he looked just about ready to throw it at Ashido. Fortunately, Kirishima quickly grabbed his arm and pushed it down playfully.
“Because you agreed to help me with my math homework, and Mina’s having the same trouble, so I brought her along,” Kirishima said gleefully, looking at Bakugou with a huge, bright grin.
Notes:
This has been in my drafts folder for like two months now and no that still doesn't mean I proofread it
Chapter Text
“...Why are you fuckmunches in my room?” Bakugou snarled.
Ashido’s high-pitched laugh resounded throughout the room and she watched as Bakugou’s hands twitched. He was gripping his book and he looked just about ready to throw it at Ashido. Fortunately, Kirishima quickly grabbed his arm and pushed it down playfully.
“Because you agreed to help me with my math homework, and Mina’s having the same trouble, so I brought her along,” Kirishima said gleefully, looking at Bakugou with a huge, bright grin.
Bakugou was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Kirishima right beside him. Across the two boys, Ashido sat, her eyes wide and expectant. Ashido had a bright pink bag with her since she had just come back from the mall and had spotted Kirishima when she arrived at the dorm. After finding out that he was going to go to Bakugou’s room for a study session, she had invited herself in, practically hopping right behind Kirishima and ignoring Bakugou’s protests for her to get the fuck out.
She smartly told herself not to comment on the fact that he wasn’t chasing Kirishima out.
It was the first time she came to Bakugou’s room. It looked plain, much to her surprise, with a few posters here and there. Oh, and he had bright blue sheets. Cute.
“Who’s Mina?” Bakugou said with all seriousness. Ashido realized that he wasn’t even joking and she faked a scandalized expression and pointed at herself. His frown deepening, Bakugou hissed, “Right after we finish these solutions, get the fuck out.”
“Don’t be rude!” Kirishima rolled his eyes.
“Sure!” Ashido said brightly– haha, she didn’t even have her things with her. Whatever, she would just need to take a picture of Kirishima’s notebook and write it down later. It was fine.
Bakugou pulled out his book. Muttering under his breath, he searched for the page that they were supposed to work on for the day. Blinking, Ashido realized that Kirishima was staring at her– he had a smile on his face, but she could tell that he was puzzled– why was she here, she didn’t seem interested at all to come along before? She smiled sweetly in response to his expression, and he shrugged and let it go.
To be honest, Bakugou was a terrible teacher. He didn’t explain the theories, and he made use of weird phrases such as ‘smash these numbers together’. Ashido had to stifle a grin a few times. Strangely enough, Kirishima seemed to be used to it as he nodded along. Soon enough, she had scooted beside Kirishima to get a better view, not even realizing that she was soon leaning her head against his shoulder.
Kirishima didn’t seem to mind, he even adjusted his weight to make her more comfortable.
Ashido noticed the way that Bakugou paused mid-sentence when he realized that she was leaning against Kirishima. He blinked once, then twice, before scowling to himself and looking back at his book.
Oops.
Biting back a laugh, she straightened herself and pulled away from Kirishima. Realizing what was going on, Kirishima sheepishly scratched the back of his head and shot her a smile. She couldn’t help it, she waggled her eyebrows at him, causing his ears to blush.
“Okay, get out,” Bakugou finally said when they finished the last problem.
“Aw,” Kirishima feigned disappointment. “I kinda wanted to borrow your switch, man.”
“Then borrow it and get out!” Bakugou said, his patience wearing thin.
“But I wanted to play Mario Party, and playing alone is boring.”
Bakugou seethed as he reached over his bed and grabbed his switch, before shoving it at Kirishima. “Then play with Raccoon Eyes. Take it and go!”
Ashido blinked as she stared between Kirishima and Bakugou. The latter seemed to be in a bad mood, but whether it was his usual temperament or not, Ashido couldn’t tell. It was difficult to know if Bakugou was in a truly bad mood or if he was just… not. Since Kirishima’s demeanour hadn’t changed, Ashido decided that Bakugou was simply being Bakugou.
“Can we play here?” Kirishima asked, clearly not giving up. “My room’s all messy. Mina, want to play Mario Party?”
“Sure!” Ashido replied without missing a beat. “But I was supposed to meet Toru in a few, she was going to do my nails– oh, maybe we can play a few rounds and you can paint my nails for me?”
“Okay!” Kirishima said.
Bakugou stared at the two of them wild eyes. He mouthed a silent “What the fuck?”
“It’s fine, right, dude?” Kirishima asked with all seriousness, giving Bakugou another shit-eating grin.
There was a tense pause. Bakugou stared at Kirishima but it looked mostly like bewilderment rather than anger.
“Whatever,” Bakugou sighed before getting up and plopping down on his bed. He laid on his tummy and stretched out his arms in front of him, his phone in his hands, and Ashido was slightly surprised that he had put his barriers down that much.
Well, Ochako had told her that she had caught Bakugou asleep in Kirishima’s room.
Haha.
Perhaps Bakugou’s barriers were going down bit by bit then– and she knew it was mostly Kirishima’s doing.
Kirishima booted the game console and they played a round, and then two, before she realized that Bakugou had fallen asleep. His hand was draped over the side of the bed, his phone still in his hands but close to falling from his loose grip. She watched with fascination as Kirishima took the phone and put it aside before turning his attention back to her.
“Wanna do your nails?” he asked her. “I’m awful at it though.”
“Okay!”
Actually, he wasn’t awful at it. With a little coaxing, she found out that he had also done his sister’s nails growing up– and that was really, really adorable. Ashido even made a comment about that being really manly, and he nodded with a huge grin, agreeing with her completely.
When her nails were all nice and pink, she blew on them and took a glance at Bakugou’s hand which was still draped over the side of the bed and taunting her.
“I wonder how Bakugou would look with pink nails,” she said.
Kirishima blinked and turned to look at Bakugou’s hand. “Oh.”
There was a silence and Kirishima seemed to be deep in thought.
Ashido said, “Dude, I was just kidding–”
She was cut off by the mischievous glint in his eyes. Sniggering quietly, he popped the bottle open and splayed Bakugou’s hand over one of his. Then he started painting Bakugou’s nails as if it didn’t mean his death.
“Holy shit,” Ashido whispered. “He’s going to kill you.”
“Shhhh! You have remover, right? It’s not permanent.”
Oh wow, Ochako had told her that Bakugou was a heavy sleeper. She was feeling a mixture of fascination and horror. She didn’t want to be Kirishima’s partner in crime because she wanted to live– at the same time, she wanted to be a part of this.
“Pretty,” Kirishima said as he pulled away from Bakugou.
Shit.
Bakugou’s nails were pink.
She left Bakugou’s room feeling both triumphant and fearing for her life. Kirishima left the same time as her, telling her he was going to hit the gym, and that Bakugou might look for her if he woke up before he came back.
“Why’s he going to look for me?” Ashido asked.
“For the nail polish remover,” Kirishima answered like it was obvious and like he was blind to the look of horror on her face.
“Why are you all so scared of him?” Kirishima laughed as he put his hand on the handle of his door, which was right next to Bakugou’s. He pulled out his phone. “He won’t murder you over pink nails! Just a sec, I’ll text him your room number.”
“Kirishima!” Ashido hissed. “You keep forgetting that you’re the only one who can get away with this shit!”
“Just distract him, that’s the only secret behind it– besides, he likes you a lot more than you think!”
Kirishima’s laugh ran through the hallway even when he disappeared into his room.
A half hour later, there was an angry knocking on her door.
“Open the fuck up, Raccoon Eyes!”
She scrambled out of her bed and over to the door. When she opened it, she was met with a very pissed of Bakugou.
“Hi, Bakugou! What brings you here?”
“Die,” he hissed, flipping her off. It was a lot less intimidating than he probably thought since the nail on his middle finger was bright pink.
“Oooo,” she said, raising her hands in-between them and showing him her nails. “We’re matching!”
He gave an angry snarl before inviting himself inside the room.
“The fuck is this?” he blinked at her pink room. Ashido reminded herself that he had never been here before, not even the night they all moved into the dorms and the room competition had happened. Her room was nice, she thought. It was a mixture of dark pink and black.
“What, you don’t like it?” she asked innocently before hopping over to her drawer and pulling out a bottle of nail polish remover and a fluff of cotton. “Kirishima said it was nice!”
His face contorted to the same expression he had worn when he saw her leaning against Kirishima, and Ashido had to kick herself mentally. Frowning, he stood there awkwardly, as if debating what to do next.
“You can sit on the bed,” she offered as she handed him the bottle and the cotton. “I’m working on my history essay so I’m sitting on my desk.”
Bakugou shrugged and walked over to her bed, plopping down on her mattress. With unnecessary effort, he opened the bottle and poured it on the cotton. Then he furiously scrubbed at his nails, muttering under his breath about stupid raccoon asses and shitty-haired sharks. Charming.
Ashido sat on her desk and turned her attention to her laptop. Shit, it was awful. Her mid-term grades depended on this essay.
Then she remembered Ochako tell her that Bakugou had helped with her Marketing homework and she got a spectacular grade.
“Hey, can you proofread my essay?” she turned to look at Bakugou with puppy eyes.
“Why the hell would I wanna proofread your essay?” Bakugou growled, as if offended by the question.
“Because Ochako said you helped her and Kirishima with their marketing essay and their grades skyrocketed!” Ashido replied easily. “Pleaase? Please with sugar on top?”
“Who the hell is Ochako– oh, you mean Moon Face. Anyway, no, fuck off,” Bakugou tossed the bottle of nail polish remover aside and moved to get up. With ease, he threw the pink-stained cotton at her waste bin from across the room.
“Pretty please with level five spiciness curry from that place down the street? I’ll get take-out for you tomorrow night and bring it to your room?”
She beamed when Bakugou seemed to think about it for a moment. Kirishima had mentioned to her before that Bakugou really liked that curry place. Bless Kirishima and his helpful hints. Bakugou sighed, resigned himself, and gestured for Ashido’s laptop.
Ashido made a gleeful cheer and got up. Sighing with exasperation, he took the newly-vacated seat by her desk. Hopping, she flopped down on her hot pink bed and watched Bakugou absently scroll through the assignment with a look of disinterest on him. He typed here and there, corrected some of her grammar, and Ashido watched him earnestly.
There were a few minutes of silence, but it wasn’t awkward. Actually, it was kind of nice seeing Bakugou so mellow. She wondered how often Kirishima saw this side of him.
“You went to Middle School with Kirishima, right?” drawled Bakugou, and Ashido realized he was making conversation, which was so unlike him.
“Yeah!” she said, a little too loudly. “We weren’t very close friends, though! He looked totally different, too.”
“...Different?”
Smiling, she remembered that nobody from their class knew that Kirishima used to wear his hair down, and that it was naturally pitch-black. “Well, I don’t have any pictures… oh wait, actually. Wait, wait, I think I have one.”
Bakugou glanced at her as she pulled out her phone and started scrolling through the gallery.
“Here, take a look. Not the greatest pic, but look!” she said, grinning, before scurrying over to him and practically shoving her phone in his hands. It was selfie, she was flashing the camera a peace-sign. Beside her is a black-haired teenage boy with a familiar face. He looked flustered. His eyes are wide and surprised and he’s biting his lower lip in that way he did when he was anxious. Ashido watched as Bakugou stared blankly at the picture. “Cute, right? I took it during the U.A. entrance exam! I think I kind of caught him off-guard, though…”
“Guess his hair has always been shitty,” muttered Bakugou, but Ashido was unconvinced. He aggressively gave her back the phone and reverted his attention to the laptop screen.
“Want me to send it to you?”
“Why the fuck would I– fuck, shut up and let me finish this.”
Ashido sent it to him anyway, saw him flinch when his phone made a sound and vibrated in his pocket.
Bakugou scrunched his nose and a redness spread from his ears to his neck. He tucked his chin to his chest as if that would hide his blush, avoiding her curious stare.
Of course, Ashido made sure her phone was on mute before taking a quick and stealthy picture of him.
She sent it to Kirishima without a second thought.
Mina:
[attachment]
guess who saw your old photo and turned into a messy pile of blushes. When the hell r u guys having feelings time. i swear to god
Kirishima replied a few minutes later.
Kiri
haha :D cute.
Ashido rolled her eyes, noting down that he completely ignored her question.
Chapter 6: Kaminari & The Betting Pool
Summary:
Kaminari has half the mind to start a betting pool.
Actually, he does just that.
Notes:
Wow 2 chapters in an hour.
DON'T JUDGE ME I'm clearing out space on my computer <3
This one also features the bakusquad, and in my head Jirou is also part of the bakusquad.
Chapter Text
“Just go sleep, you look like shit,” said Kaminari as he frowns at Kirishima.
Shaking his head, Kirishima gave a huge, unconvincing yawn. He was on the couch, completely slouched, and every move he made was sluggish and slow. “No way,” he whined. “I really want to see the match. I can do this.”
“It’s not on for at least another hour!”
“Eh, I wanna see it!”
Kaminari made an irritated noise as he watched Kirishima slump backward against the back of the couch. The World Olympics is currently happening on the other side of the world. There was a much-awaited quirks matchup happening at midnight, Japan time, and less than half of the class was in the common room waiting for it. Most had given up and had retreated to their rooms.
Kirishima had never been one to give up, but he was straining to even keep his eyes open even after two cups of black coffee. On the other hand, Kaminari was one of the few that were still wide awake. To be fair, Kirishima was more tired than usual because he had gone to internships with Fat Gum that day.
“Oi, Shitty Hair, go to your room!” Bakugou’s voice commanded as he emerged from the kitchen, an almost empty cup of noodles in his hand. He noisily slurped the noodles and chewed as he glared, which made him seem just a little less menacing. Kaminari noted that his hair was wet, and remembered that Bakugou liked going to the gym during the late hours when nobody else was going to be there, and then taking a shower right before bed.
And he knew all this because Kirishima had thought it was an interesting piece of information that just had to be shared.
“I really, really want to watch it! Leave me alone, ugh!” Kirishima responded. He sounded annoyed but his friends could tell he’s not doing it on purpose. “Hey, Bakugou, can you be my pillow?”
“What the fuckin’ hell did you say?” Bakugou snarled at him.
“Be my pillow! Let me nap on your lap!”
Inwardly, Kaminari wondered if the need for sleep had broken Kirishima. He almost took out his mobile phone to film the entire exchange.
Bakugou and Kaminari glanced at each other as Kirishima leaned forward and almost toppled over.
“Holy shit, you’re impossible,” Bakugou muttered under his breath, but Kaminari could sense the underlying concern in his tone. “Come here,” he grunted as he tossed the cup of noodles on the coffee table. To his shock, Kaminari watched as Bakugou grabbed one of the couch pillows and took a seat beside Kirishima. Almost forcefully, he pulled Kirishima down, and Kirishima let him. His head now resting comfortably on the pillow in Bakugou’s lap, Kirishima grinned up at him sleepily.
Kaminari couldn’t help but stare at the affection, at the way that Kirishima rubbed his eyes and nuzzled closer to Bakugou’s warmth. Blinking, Kaminari wondered if Kirishima was even aware of what he was doing.
Bakugou, on the other hand, seemed fully awake and purposeful in what he was doing, even if there was an undeniable blush on his cheeks. He let Kirishima shift and settle to a more comfortable position, and Kirishima said something in a quiet voice that only Bakugou could hear.
“Yeah, whatever, I’ll wake you up when the match is on. Just fucking go to sleep for now before I punch you in the face.”
“Aw, you smell nice.” Kirishima mumbled with a loud enough voice that Kaminari could hear. Bakugou bristled with embarrassment and it doesn’t take long for Kirishima to finally doze off to sleep.
Still staring, Kaminari raised an eyebrow at Bakugou when their eyes meet.
Bakugou replied via raising his middle finger at Kaminari.
“Not that it's really any of my business,” drawled Kaminari. Then he asked the same question he had asked a few times by now, “But could you two lovebirds just get together already?”
“What's your fucking issue? You practically lie on Shitty Hair's lap all the time. This ain't a big deal, Pikachu.”
Kaminari snorted. “Yeah, alright, so I can nap on your lap? Should we mark it on our calendars, maybe tomorrow night?”
“I will end you.”
Because they were speaking too closely to Kirishima’s earshot, Kirishima stirred in his sleep. Bakugou glared at Kaminari, dared him to make any more dumb noises. And because Kaminari really does want his best buddy Kirishima to get some rest, he doesn't prod further.
He does take a picture though, and expertly dodges when Bakugou throws a slipper at him.
Later that night, when Bakugou’s guard was completely down, Kaminari watched him thread his fingers across Kirishima’s hair in a soothing motion. Bakugou was staring at the television, completely oblivious to his ministrations, and Kaminari slaps his own forehead in exasperation.
Kaminari has half the mind to start a betting pool.
Actually, he does just that.
Kaminari adds Sero, Ashido, and Jirou to ‘Baku-Kiri Support Group’.
Kaminari
[attachment]
These 2 are killin me
Sero
Oh boy
Srsly when are they gonna just get together shit
Kaminari
hahahahahahahaaaaa i asked bakubro and all he said is [middle finger emoji]
okay guys and girls, taking bets now
Ashido
U guys, be patient. Theyll get there.
Sero
What if they’re already together but just hiding it
Jirou
10k yen says they’re already together but just hidin it.
Kaminari
no way.
10k yen, within the month one of em will ‘fess up.
Sero
Id say graduation day.
Kaminar
...graduation day is 2 years away
Sero
Yep they’re that hopeless
Ashido
Hmmmmm. I say within the year.
Ok so
Already together - Jirou, Together within the month - Kami, Together Within the year - Mina, Grad Day - Sero
That’s 40k pool damn holy shit
Chapter 7: Sero & Lessons On Distractions
Summary:
“You’re not gonna fuckin’ shut up about this later on if you don’t get it over with,” Bakugou glowered at Kirishima. “I’m not going to spend the entire day listening to you whine about unmanliness or whatever shit you work your last brain cell over.”
Chapter Text
“Kirishima– dude, my man, bro. Please,” Sero pleaded.
“I’M NOT DOING IT ON PURPOSE!” Kirishima screeched.
They were in the infirmary. Kirishima was sitting down with Recovery Girl beside him. His arm was outstretched on the table, his fist clenched into a ball, and a rubber tourniquet tied just below his elbow. Right beside Kirishima’s arm were a few broken needles.
It was physical exam day, and one of the tests required Recovery Girl to draw blood from them.
And it’s not that Kirishima was afraid of needles (he insisted he wasn’t), but he kept hardening just as the needle poked his skin, causing the delay and snapping the needles repeatedly.
“Dude!” Kaminari tried hard not to laugh. He was right behind Sero in the queue. The queue itself was starting to get longer as their other classmates arrived. When Kirishima had sat down, only Sero and Kaminari were in the queue with him. Now though, Ashido and Jirou were there as well. “Look at your– haha– look at your feet and think of something else. You’ve been through worse.”
“I know I’ve been through worse!” Kirishima said defensively. His face was starting to get as red as his hair. He looked absolutely embarrassed at the entire ordeal.
“Alright, let’s try this one more time,” Recovery Girl said. There was a hint of amusement in her voice as she prepared another needle. “Perhaps try shutting your eyes? It will only feel like a pinch– it may help if you try to distract yourself.”
Frustrated, Kirishima muttered something under his breath. When Recovery Girl raised the needle and gestured for him to shut his eyes, he did so willingly. Sero watched with fascination as Recovery Girl angled the needle towards his arm, pricking the skin and inserting it. It was a few millimeters in his arm when–
Kirishima’s eyes snapped open and he instinctively pulled his arm to his chest the same time that his skin hardened, snapping the needle in half. The little part of the needle that had punctured his skin was pushed out easily.
“Ugh!” Kirishima threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
“At this rate, we’ll run out of needles,” Recovery Girl laughed as she discarded the broken needle. “We’ll have to ask everyone to come back tomorrow.”
Kaminari gasped, his hands flying over his mouth. “But we fasted eight hours for this!”
“Maybe I should just go last?” Kirishima offered. “Shit, this is so unmanly.”
Recovery Girl was about to respond to that when Sero and Kaminari exchanged looks. It was as if they were speaking telepathically, a jolt of amusement and understanding travelling between them. Behind the duo, Ashido and Jirou stood and watched.
“Oh,” Ashido grinned as Sero and Kaminari suddenly lunged forward.
“Now what?” Jirou fought back a smirk.
“What are you two doing!?” Kirishima bellowed as Sero suddenly grabbed him by the face and forced him to look away from his outstretched arm. Kaminari, on the other hand, shoved his arm down and pinned it to the table with all his might. “How is this supposed to help!?”
“Do it!” Sero yelled at Recovery Girl and he actually threw out tape to pin Kirishima’s arm to the table, helping Kaminari.
“Do it! Do it!” Kaminari said as well in a chant.
“This goes against my ethics,” Recovery Girl muttered under her breath but she took out another needle anyway.
Unfortunately, Kirishima was too strong. When he saw the needle glinting in the light from the corners of his eyes, he gave a yelp and his arm went unbreakable, its jagged edges ripping the tape easily and pushing down on the table until it splintered.
“Oh my god,” Kaminari barked with laughter and he let go of Kirishima’s arm like it was hot coal.
“...Oh,” Recovery Girl blinked at her table. It was still standing, but there was a dent with splinters rising from it from where Kirishima had dug his arm in.
Jirou held up a hand to her mouth, hiding her smile. Beside her, Ashido had no reservations– she was barking in laughter as Kirishima got up and tackled Sero and Kaminari. The three of them fell into a heap into the ground.
“I can’t believe you guys!” Kirishima yelled as he put Sero in a chokehold, his other hand gripping Kaminari by the front of his shirt.
“We’re only looking out for you,” Sero said defensively, but there were tears in his eyes as he choked with laughter.
“Also we fasted for eight hours,” Kaminari barked.
Despite wrestling his two friends to the ground, Kirishima was also choking with laughter, “Being afraid of needles is unmanly, but what you two did–”
“So you admit you’re scared!?” Kaminari gasped, trying to break free from Kirishima’s grasp.
“I’m not doing it on purpose!”
“The hell are you three idiots doing?”
Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari froze and look up to see Bakugou looming over them with an annoyed expression. He had been in a bad mood since that morning, mostly due to the fact that he wasn’t allowed to eat breakfast because of the blood test. Actually, almost the entire class was on edge because of it.
The ‘three idiots’ were on the floor, their limbs tangled, and they all looked up at Bakugou. Kirishima’s mouth was agape, absolutely mortified.
Kaminari screamed, “Kirishima’s scared of need– mmmph– ”
Kirishima had shoved his arm into Kaminari’s mouth.
“You’re scared of needles , Shitty Hair?” Bakugou looked startled.
“I’m not– no– ugh!” Kirishima stuttered. In the midst of his flustering, Kaminari and Sero broke free of his hold and jumped up. Kirishima made a frustrated sound as he got up as well.
Sero watched as Kirishima avoided Bakugou’s stare.
Chuckling, Recovery Girl spoke up, “Does anyone plan on actually getting their blood drawn today?”
Bakugou shrugged and marched up to her, taking a seat and outstretching his arm, waiting.
“Hey! You cut the queue!” Ashido said, pointing a finger at him. He ignored her and instead glared at Recovery Girl, who put out a fresh tourniquet (Kirishima had destroyed five already) and wrapped it around his arm.
As Bakugou proceeded to get his blood drawn, Sero put his arm around Kirishima. Kaminari leaned into their space, as if huddling with them, their backs to Bakugou.
“This is so damn unmanly,” Kirishima muttered in a low voice. “Fine, maybe I am a bit scared of needles.”
Kaminari smiled at him, not unkindly. “We kinda figured that out by now, bro.”
“Bakugou’s gonna think I’m weak as shit,” Kirishima sighed.
Sero looked over his shoulder at Bakugou, who looked bored and was staring out the window as Recovery Girl pulled the needle out from his arm. On the table was a vial of his blood, which she labeled with his name.
Unimpressed, Bakugou yawned, seemingly oblivious to Kirishima’s turmoil.
“I’ll go next!” Ashido said gleefully since Kirishima was still huddled with Kaminari and Sero, lost in their conversation.
“I don’t think he cares,” Sero whispered at Kirishima. It didn’t seem to be the right thing to say as he saw Kirishima frown at his statement.
Of course, whether he admitted it or not, Kirishima gave way too much thought about Bakugou’s opinion, even for such a trivial matter.
“You’re not going next,” Bakugou suddenly said, shooing Ashido away. He stood up from the chair and gestured at Kirishima. “Oi, Shitty Hair, come here.”
“What?” Kirishima squeaked, turning around comically. Sero let go of his hold around Kirishima’s shoulder, almost feeling sorry for him. Blinking, Ashido stopped in her tracks and glanced at Kirishima with a puzzled expression.
“You’re not gonna fuckin’ shut up about this later on if you don’t get it over with,” Bakugou glowered at Kirishima. “I’m not going to spend the entire day listening to you whine about unmanliness or whatever shit you work your last brain cell over.”
“Oh,” Sero chuckled. “Bakugou does care.”
He cared in his weird, rude way.
Kirishima stood frozen in place, debating on whether he should give it another shot.
There was something in the way that Bakugou was staring at him with unnerving eyes that appeared to convince him. Laughing sheepishly, Kirishima took the seat beside Recovery Girl, who gave him a smile before wrapping another tourniquet around his arm.
Bakugou stood right beside him, practically looming over him, and Sero wondered if that would help or make it worse– because Kirishima looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
When Recovery Girl pricked his skin, Kirishima winced and snapped his attention to his arm, and as expected, snapped the needle once more.
“Why are you looking at it!?” Bakugou yelled at him. “Besides, it’s just like getting pinched. Just ignore it!”
“I can’t help it!” Kirishima yelled back. “It’s a damn defense mechanism– why do you think I harden the exact moment you set off your explosions on me? It’s instinct, Bakugou!”
Recovery Girl sighed. “The infirmary is really no place to yell.”
“Is Bakugou even helping?” Sero whispered to Kaminari. Grinning in reply, Kaminari’s expression was one of fascination.
Bakugou glowered at Kirishima, his teeth bared. Kirishima looked back at him with a frown.
There was some silence and Sero could practically feel the tension in the air. Bakugou seemed to be deep in thought. When Kirishima finally made a move to stand up, Bakugou finally made a decision.
Suddenly, Bakugou grabbed Kirishima’s face with his hands, forcing him to look away from his arm. His grip on Kirishima was steady, his fingers curled around Kirishima’s jaw and forcing him to look at his face.
Sero was just about to tell him that they had tried that– tried and failed at it– when Bakugou’s palms suddenly started to crackle. Instantly, Kirishima’s face hardened under the tiny explosions. He stared up at Bakugou with wide eyes.
“Focus on this,” Bakugou muttered, his solution clear and concise.
“O-oh…” Kirishima said in a low voice that his audience (apart from Bakugou and Recovery Girl) could barely make out.
“Smart,” Recovery Girl commented, and when she tied the tourniquet and pierced his skin with another needle– it actually worked.
Kirishima was staring straight at Bakugou, the two of them appearing to be in their own strange bubble as Bakugou’s palms gave the tiniest explosions against his hardened skin. The explosions played against his jaw and nape, distracting him completely, but Sero mused that it wasn’t the only reason Kirishima’s attention was fully stolen.
“He’s blushing,” Sero whispered at Kaminari.
“They both are,” Kaminari whispered back.
Jirou coughed back a laugh– Ashido was not as polite, she brought her phone out and took a picture. It was cute, Kirishima and Bakugou were staring at each other so intently, their faces both fighting back any emotion. They both failed, redness dusting their cheeks and ears.
Recovery Girl brought them out of their reverie. “Done. Thank you, Kirishima.”
Bakugou let go of Kirishima’s face. With wide eyes, Kirishima spun around and stared at the vial that Recovery Girl was labeling with his name. Kirishima exhaled, “Ooooh, so cool. Bakugou, you’re so smart!”
“If anyone here was smart, they’d have called Aizawa– that would have saved you all this trouble,” Bakugou said, exasperated, as he started to storm off.
“Aizawa-sensei!” Kirishima stood up to race after Bakugou. “Oh yeah, that’s how they took my blood before! They always had to call a doctor who could erase my quirk for a minute!”
“How did nobody think of that!?” Bakugu barked, and the two of them disappeared behind a corner. “I’m fucking hungry, let’s go get some breakfast.”
“Hey! We’re supposed to go back to class!” Ashido called after them, but her voice went unignored.
“Y’know,” Jirou blinked. “I’m pretty sure Bakugou didn’t need to use his quirk at all.
“Right?” Ashido replied. “He could’ve just stared at Kirishima and the guy would have forgotten about the needle entirely.”
Sero snorted. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had arrived at that conclusion. Beside him, Kaminari was barking with laughter.
Chapter Text
It’s a lazy night in the common room. Kaminari is on the carpet, lying on his stomach with a pillow under his chest– and he’s staring at the television, idly exchanging banter with Sero who is sitting cross-legged and leaning against the foot of the couch.
On the couch is Kirishima. He’s draped over the length of it, his arms dangling over the edge, and he doesn’t even remember the name of the show that they’re watching. It’s ten in the evening on a friday, which means that they were going to stay up as late as they could even if there was no reason to.
“Kacchan, ‘sup with you?” Kaminari asked, jolting Kirishima out of his reverie. Kirishima peered towards the direction Kaminari was looking at to see Bakugou yawning wildly. His hair was drenched and sticking to his face, and Kirishima knew he had taken a shower after one of his late-night runs. There were bags under his eyes and he instantly sent a scowl towards Kaminari’s general direction.
“Shut up, Dunce Face,” Bakugou snarled, and as he stepped forward he actually stumbled, and Kirishima is bewildered because it’s not often that they see Bakugou so vulnerable. He looked so tired and sleepy, and Kirishima almost asked if he had been having nightmares again lately, if he had been getting any sleep at all. He almost asked if Bakugou wanted him to sleep in his room tonight, because they’ve done it a few times before and it should be alright to ask, right? With Kaminari and Sero around to hear it though, it would probably be his death sentence. Bakugou has always been spectacularly private about those kinds of things, so Kirishima decided not to say anything, he simply stared at Bakugou with pursed lips.
There’s an awkward silence as Bakugou stared back at Kirishima with sleepy eyes. At the same time, Kaminari and Sero exchanged puzzled glances (it didn’t go unnoticed by Kirishima, simply added to the weird tension in the air)
Bakugou had always been very reserved with anything that resembles affection– which is why, when Bakugou slowly walked over to Kirishima and flopped down on the couch, slotting himself right between Kirishima’s legs, Kirishima almost died. His mind goes fuzzy and he can actually hear Kaminari and Sero make surprised sounds.
“U-uh? Bakugou?” Kirishima squeaked, but Bakugou just made a disgruntled noise and practically curled up into him. He buried his face into Kirishima’s chest, his hands trapped between their bodies as if he’s cold, and Kirishima shifted because this isn’t a comfortable position– but he doesn’t push Bakugou off, of course not. He only fixed himself so that his back was leaning against the arm of the chair, his legs tangled with Bakugou’s but mostly caging him in, and then he realized that Bakugou has passed out and is sleeping deeply against his chest.
“He’s like a cat!” Kaminari hissed, bewildered.
“He, uh,” Kirishima panicked, his ears red, unsure if he should put a stop to this because Bakugou might kill him for it later. “He gets weirdly clingy when he’s sleepy.”
I didn’t think he’d be like this with other people around, though, Kirishima wanted to say– however, that would be exposing too much about them, wouldn’t it? They’re just friends, but this– okay, maybe they had to have a talk about this at some point.
Sero raised an eyebrow. “Of course you’d know that, huh? You guys do this a lot?”
Shit. Exposed.
Kaminari and Sero returned to their conversation. Every few minutes, one of them glanced over to Kirishima and Bakugou. Kirishima’s wide awake now, his back hurt but that’s okay, and he ran his fingers through Bakugou’s unruly hair as he idly watched the television. Bakugou was a warm presence on his chest and he liked it– he welcomed it.
Bakugou’s messy hair was wet and scrunched up against his chin, and he couldn’t help but notice how it smells like a mixture of caramel and spice. It would have been a weird combination, but it’s so strangely Bakugou and it made Kirishima’s throat go dry. He swallowed, resisted the urge to press his lips against Bakugou’s hairline.
This was kind of strange. He had shared a bed with Bakugou a few times before, it was their unspoken secret– most of the time it was only by accident, such as when Bakugou falls asleep on his bed without meaning to, and since Kirishima is a good friend (he insists that’s all it is, him being a good friend), he doesn’t wake him up. Simply gets in beside him, and he’s not even sure how it happens, but they always end up with entangled limbs, as if they were unconsciously grasping for each other’s warmth.
But that’s all it ever accounted to, nothing more.
Except maybe that one time they had kissed.
Sometimes, Kirishima wondered if he should actually confront Bakugou about all this.
It took half an hour more before Bakugou finally stirred awake, slowly then all at once, and he instantly became red when he realized that he’s curled up in Kirishima’s arms. That would be okay if they weren’t in the goddamn common room, so he froze almost instantly, looked up at Kirishima with a shocked expression.
He stopped short when Kirishima smiled softly at him, and Kirishima leaned forward and pressed his jaw against Bakugou’s temple and said, “It’s fine, this is fine,” as if he was reassuring Bakugou not to freak out, and it actually worked, much to both of their surprise. Unconsciously, Kirishima rubbed the small of Bakugou’s back in small circles. Bakugou grunted and pressed his face back into Kirishima’s shoulder, his ears burning wildly.
And it would have been perfect too.
But Kirishima couldn’t help it, he said, “You fainted… straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”
So of course, Bakugou didn’t let that go, and Kaminari and Sero shouted in surprise when an explosion resounded from behind them. They turned to see a very crimson Bakugou who has a hand grasping Kirishima’s hardened forehead. The latter laughed loudly at Bakugou, who cursed and threatened him.
“Fuck you, Shitty Hair!” Bakugou shoved him before getting up and stomping off to his room.
Kirishima laughed, his cheeks bright red as he sat upright. Only then did he realize that he still had an audience– Sero and Kaminari stared at him with goofy expressions.
“Dude, are you, like… together?” Kaminari blurted out.
“No!” Kirishima replied almost instantly and a bit too defensively.
His two friends exchanged glances. It seemed like they were doing that a lot lately, especially when it came to Kirishima’s totally platonic relationship with Bakugou. Kaminari looked like he wanted to say something, and Kirishima waited patiently, even if he didn’t really want to have this conversation. Behind them, the television continued to play, forgotten.
“Are you sure?” Kaminari asked, slowly.
Kirishima looked at him wide-eyed. “I think I’d know if I was dating someone, Denki.”
“Yeah, but… are you sure?”
Rolling his eyes, Kirishima grabbed the remote control in a charade to avert their attention.
“You should really go talk to him about it, man,” Kaminari said. From beside him, Sero glared at him. “You know him– he’s emotionally constipated. I bet if you just outright went and asked him out, then you’d get there faster.”
“You’d bet on it, huh?” Sero asked dryly. He was still glaring at Kaminari, and Kirishima inwardly wondered why he looked annoyed at Kaminari. “Actually, I think Kirishima should let it run its course. It would be better if we let Bakugou sort it out himself. That guy’s such a mess, he might literally blow up the building out of sheer panic.”
“What’s going on…?” Kirishima squeaked, confused as to why they were having this conversation.
“Nah, if he did that, this will drag all the way to graduation,” Kaminari answered, in a tone that mimicked Sero.
Kirishima wasn’t sure, but it seemed like the two were having a conversation that he wasn’t even part of. Which was strange, because they were talking about him and Bakugou.
Geez, his friends were great, but they could be real puzzling at times.
He had no idea though. Didn’t have a clue that his friends were currently running a pool as to when Bakugou and Kirishima would get together– with Kaminari betting on soon, and Sero betting on graduation.
So, Kirishima asked, “You really think I should talk to him?”
Kaminari and Sero talked all at once– Kaminari half-yells, “Yes!” at the same time that Sero goes, “No!”
His two friends stared at each other. Sero looked sheepish and Kaminari was staring at him with bewilderment. Kaminari mouthed to Sero, are you serious?
“Haha,” Sero rubbed the back of his head. “Actually, yeah, Kirishima– you should really talk to him. Don’t mind me, I’m just being funny.”
With those words, Kaminari deflated and reverted his attention to Kirishima… who is biting his nails in nervousness.
His friends wanted him to go talk to Bakugou.
They teased him a lot about it, but there was something different now– they both looked intent. They were definitely urging him on, most likely tired of how Kirishima and Bakugou were dancing in circles. And Kirishima wasn’t dumb– he knew that they were.
What was he waiting for, really?
“Fine, maybe before the year ends,” Kirishima mumbled.
Kaminari gave an exasperated sound and scrubbed his hands over his face. Sero said quietly, “I guess Ashido’s winning the pool, then…”
“Hah?” Kirishima asked.
“Hah? Oh, I said Ashido wants to go to the swimming pool.”
Kirishima blinked slowly, once, twice. Then he said, “Uh... Okay. I guess we can do that, too.”
Notes:
Kirishima's part of class 1-a so his POV is totally valid. Hehehe.
I originally posted this as a response to a prompt on my tumblr. I liked it too much that I tweaked it for this series.
Chapter 9: Todoroki & Gossiping
Summary:
Headcanon that the Dekusquad gossips about the Bakusquad and vice versa.
Chapter Text
Todoroki wasn’t a fan of gossiping.
Aside from not being a fan of gossiping, he was also spectacularly good at not paying attention to conversations that didn’t concern him. He didn’t do it on purpose, at least he didn’t think he did… he was just the type of person to zone out.
Indeed, he was zoning out right now, staring at the math book resting on his lap.
He was in the common room with his friends (friends? Right, they called themselves that, Todoroki reminded himself). Todoroki was on the floor, Midoriya to his left, and Iida sitting across them from the other side of the coffee table. Uraraka was on her stomach on the carpet, a book in front of her, but it was obvious that she was no longer paying attention to it. Tsuyu was there as well, about a foot away from Uraraka, sitting with her feet curled underneath her.
Tsuyu and Uraraka were gossiping. Todoroki could tell as much because Uraraka’s voice was barely a whisper, and even if Tsuyu wasn’t matching the quiet volume of her voice, he could tell that they were trying to be subtle.
Todoroki wasn’t listening, but when Tsuyu gave a very confused “Huh?”, his interest was piqued. It wasn’t common that Tsuyu responded with such confusion, and he wondered about what they were talking about. He looked up from his book and saw that Iida looked mortified at the entire exchange and Midoriya’s face was currently going through several different shades of purple.
“What?” Todoroki asked, his voice low and monotonous.
Tsuyu turned to glance at him, her eyes wide but her mouth curved unexplainable.
Uraraka gave a squeak and covered her mouth with her hand, her cheeks pink. She said, “Oh, I didn’t mean to be loud.”
“You weren’t,” Todoroki blinked at her, puzzled. “What were you talking about?”
“Ha… haha,” Midoriya said, his eyebrows furrowed, and Todoroki couldn’t help but frown at him in confusion. The green-haired boy was looking down at his own book with such focus, but was that sweat pooling in his temple? Why was he so nervous?
Todoroki was definitely listening now.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to gossip about our classmates,” Iida sighed as he adjusted his glasses.
Evidently, Todoroki wasn’t going to let the topic go so easily. He said, “Who are we gossiping about?”
There was a tense silence as they all turned to stare at Todoroki, who looked back at each of them with a blank expression.
“Bakugou and Kirishima,” Tsuyu finally said, direct to the point. “Uraraka caught Bakugou sleeping in Kirishima’s room.”
Todoroki stared. Then, he said, slowly, “That’s it?”
Suddenly, Uraraka burst out laughing, her cheeks puffing as she did and she pushed herself up with her hands and sat back on her knees. Midoriya made a gurgling sound of discomfort. On the other hand, Todoroki was confused. So Bakugou slept on Kirishima’s bed? What was the big deal? The two of them were good friends, right? He thought that was already established information.
“You guys slept in my room the other day,” Todoroki stated, matter of factly. “Is that strange?”
They had indeed stayed in his room the other day. His room was japanese-styled, with tatami mats and a lot of space. His friends (friends?) had brought futons and had laid them out, and they had spent the entire night marathoning Netflix.
“It’s Bakugou, that’s why it’s strange!” Uraraka said with excitement. Somehow, she had forgotten her previous statement of not being loud. The adrenaline coursed through her veins as she shifted around and balled her fists, letting the conversation take over. For some reason, the idea of Bakugou and Kirishima sharing a bed was… apparently, it was interesting to her? “Wait, that’s not all!”
Iida sighed, “Uraraka…”
“No, no, you’ll want to hear this!” Uraraka crawled closer to Todoroki, gesturing for the rest of the group to huddle closer. Tsuyu blinked and followed her, and soon enough, the four of them (including Midoriya) made up a small circle in the middle of the common room.
Iida, with all his previous resistance, sauntered over as well and plopped down, mumbling something about it being his duty to know what was going on in the class. The five of them sat side by side, their homework all forgotten by now. Uraraka’s face was flush with giddiness and Tsuyu looked at her with curiosity.
“They kissed!” Uraraka hissed, her voice low but clear to the small group.
“Ah,” Tsuyu’s eyes widened and her shoulders stiffened in surprise.
Iida made a strange, bewildered sound.
“K-Kacchan and Kirishima did what…?” Midoriya squeaked.
Todoroki, on the other hand, simply stared at them.
He was the only not reacting with surprise.
Finally, he said, “Yes, I know? I didn’t know that would interest you?”
All four faces turned to look at him.
“What!?” Uraraka gasped. “Oh my god, Todoroki, what are you talking about!?”
Todoroki scratched the back of his neck with discomfort. Beside him, Midoriya was muttering some incomprehensible words, going off on one of his infamous monologues.
Midoriya was muttering, his chin in his hand, “Kacchan and Kirishima? I mean, Kacchan’s a lot nicer and accepting of him, and Kirishima’s a good person, he was the only one with a bond strong enough to offer help to Kaccha–”
“Deku! Deku!” Uraraka reached across the circle to tap Midoriya on the shoulder, effectively shocking him out of his trance. “Wait, let Todoroki speak!”
“It was that day you all came back from that raid…?” Todoroki’s voice trailed off as he spoke. He didn’t remember the day all too clearly, but his friends looked so invested in the information that he tried his best to remember. He pointed at Tsuyu, Uraraka, and Midoriya. “You three, including Kirishima, came back that night from that infamous raid. Then the next day Bakugou and I had provisional license training. Do you remember?”
They all nodded their heads– even Iida.
“All Might texted me that Bakugou wasn’t responding to him, and he really needed to let Bakugou know that he should bring his hero costume specifications because they wanted to get it approved for the winter exam,” Todoroki shrugged.
Silence.
“And?” Uraraka asked, insistent.
“And?”
“And… they kissed?” Iida asked, confused.
Todoroki almost wanted to ask Iida why he was so curious. Okay, apparently the class president was a lot more invested in gossip than he thought.
“So I went to his floor,” Todoroki continued. “Kirishima was knocking on Bakugou’s door. Bakugou opened it and they kissed. They didn’t look like they wanted to be bothered so I left right after.”
“That’s–” Uraraka’s face was a mixture of curiosity and agitation. “Todoroki, your story-telling is the worst!”
“Is it?” Todoroki asked blankly.
“Haha,” Midoriya rubbed his nose as he looked at Todoroki earnestly. “Was it their first kiss?”
Uraraka mused, her arms crossed, “Well, Kirishima said they’ve only kissed once…”
“It was their first kiss,” Todoroki said. He reverted his attention to his book and turned the page.
“How’d you know it was their first kiss?” Tsuyu inquired.
“Because Kirishima said to Bakugou… oh, first kiss,” Todoroki’s voice was unimpressed and he traced his finger along the page until he found the next math problem he had to work on. “Midoriya, what answer did you get for this problem?”
Midoriya’s face was scrunched uncomfortably, he looked like he wanted to smile but he was keeping it hidden. And failing.
Finally, Midoriya said, “I got a negative three.”
Uraraka giggled and pulled away from the group, putting space between all of them. Tsuyu and Iida followed suit, with Iida mumbling something about gossiping being awful. When Tsuyu stated that he had been part of the problem, he simply started stuttering and scissored the air with his arms.
It wasn’t until later, when the topic had died down and Todoroki was going through a problem with Midoriya that Todoroki decided to ask, “Was it bad that I didn’t tell the group that Kirishima and Bakugou kissed? I didn’t know you would all be so interested.”
Midoriya choked back a laugh, “It’s not bad. It’s just normal gossiping between friends. We were just surprised that you knew so much.”
“Oh, okay,” Todoroki responded blankly, deep in thought.
“It’s nice, actually,” Midoriya said softly, and Todoroki looked at him as he spoke. He was looking down at his book and his fingers played with the corner of a page. “Kirishima and Kacchan are good for eachother. I even heard the Bakusquad has a betting pool on when they’ll get together.”
“Bakusquad?”
Midoriya chuckled. “Yes, that’s what Ashido calls it. It’s funny. Anyway, Kirishima is… well, I heard Kirishima is scared of confronting Kacchan about it, he’s scared that he’ll get rejected. O-oh, I don’t mean to gossip, I just heard them talking about it when Kacchan wasn’t around.”
“What makes Kirishima think Bakugou will reject him?” Todoroki asked thoughtfully.
“It’s Kacchan,” Midoriya replied with a sigh. “You know him.”
“Oh.”
Todoroki stayed silent, he looked back at his book and transfixed his eyes on nothing in particular.
Strange.
He was reminded of a conversation he had overheard (or hard been part of) weeks before, during one of his training sessions with Bakugou.
(Maybe, they would all be surprised that during one of their trainings, Bakugou had let it slip that he had a massive crush on someone from their class– Camie had asked the question nonchalantly, and Bakugou had offered the answer generously, saying, “Yeah, I’m into a shitty-haired moron.”
“Oh, you’re a-okay with someone from your class knowing, dude? Or does everyone in your class know?” Camie has asked, pointing a thumb at Todoroki’s direction.
Bakugou had snorted– “No, nobody knows shit in our class. It’s fine, Half and Half’s not interested in shit like this.”
Well, Bakugou hadn’t been wrong.)
Realization hit Todoroki– he whispered lowly to Midoriya, “I’m the only one who knows… huh.”
“Sorry?” Midoriya asked.
Todoroki shook his head in response, realizing that he was the only one in class who knew Bakugou’s secret.
He couldn’t help the slight smile that crept slowly to his lips, ignored the curious look that Midoriya shot at him.
Chapter 10: Ashido & Middle School Classmates
Summary:
Takeshi is staring at Bakugou, who’s leaning against the wall and still on his phone. Bakugou looks impassive, his expression entirely neutral, and Takeshi continues– “He’s… he’s the guy who got kidnapped, isn’t he?”
Ashido blinks slowly and notices how Kirishima glances up from his phone. There’s a huge frown on Kirishima’s face, the aftermath of Takeshi’s blunt question.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Do you think this is a nice shade?” asks Ashido. She grips up a bottle of pink nail polish in her hand, holding up to to the light and squinting at it. Kirishima cocks his head and for second, it looks like he’s almost paying attention– Ashido knows he isn’t.
They’re in the mall’s department store. Ashido has convinced Kirishima to come along with her to buy new polish. He wasn’t difficult to convince, though he wasn’t very interested in choosing a shade for her.
There’s a third person with them– Bakugou. He looks bored out of his mind, standing near the cashier and waiting for them while going through his phone.
Ashido puts back the bottle on the rack and absently goes through a few others. All the while, Kirishima is waiting patiently, albeit he couldn’t look any less disinterested at the entire thing.
“Hey! Ashido!” calls a voice from behind them.
“Hm?” Ashido turns around, curious. There’s a tall guy walking over to them. He has jet-black hair and a lopsided grin, and he’s waving at her as he approaches. She recognizes him from middle school– knew his name was Takeshi. “Hey there!”
“How are you?” he asks, standing in front of her. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I’m great!” Ashido replies with a huge grin.
Takeshi glances at Kirishima, who is standing beside Ashido and offering him an awkward smile. “Hey there, nice to meet you– your boyfriend, Ashido?”
“Errr,” Ashido can’t help but bite back a laugh. Beside her, Kirishima seems uncomfortable as he scratches the back of his neck and stares at the ground. “It’s Kirishima! You know him!”
“Oh!” Takeshi’s eyes widen just a bit as he looks at Kirishima from head to toe. Kirishima gives a laugh and shoots him a thumbs-up, and Ashido feels the anxiety brewing off of him. She knows that Kirishima has changed a lot since middle school, and it’s not only because of his new hair style.
And… Takeshi, well, he had been nice to Ashido back in middle school, but he was also one of those dudes who didn’t really give Kirishima a second thought. He didn’t bully him, at least she didn’t think so– but they hadn’t been friends, either. Somehow, his presence was making Kirishima uncomfortable. Ashido could tell that much.
“Right, right,” Takeshi nods. He looks between Kirishima and Ashido, eyes wide. “You two got into U.A.! Yeah, I remember now. That’s unbelievable… I mean, I knew you had it in you, Ashido, but… err–”
Kirishima flinches, his lips purse into a thin line and Ashido’s sure he’s not projecting but he definitely stands a little bit taller. They both know what Takeshi means to say– he’s surprised that Kirishima got into U.A. as well, because everyone remembers him as someone less than that. Unfortunately.
It pisses Ashido off a bit, but she refuses to show it.
“Just a sec, I gotta reply to someone,” Kirishima says and he steps away a bit and takes out his phone. Ashido’s not sure if he’s telling the truth or if he just wants to get out of this conversation. Nevertheless, he really does start typing into his phone, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Oh,” Takeshi leans in to Ashido’s space, and he looks a little bewildered. “You see that guy over by the cashier? He’s from U.A. too, isn’t he?”
“Mm, yeah!” she replies, nodding.
Takeshi is staring at Bakugou, who’s leaning against the wall and still on his phone. Bakugou looks impassive, his expression entirely neutral, and Takeshi continues– “He’s… he’s the guy who got kidnapped, isn’t he?”
Ashido blinks slowly and notices how Kirishima glances up from his phone. There’s a huge frown on Kirishima’s face, the aftermath of Takeshi’s blunt question.
“Yeah,” she replies, and she’s trying to think of a way to redirect the topic into something else–
“Fuck, that must have been rough for him,” Takeshi mutters. Right, Ashido thinks with disdain– this guy had a bad habit of putting his foot into his mouth. She remembers that much. Perhaps that was one of the reasons Kirishima wasn’t too fond of him. “I remember him from that televised sports festival. It’s not his fault, I’m sure, but maybe he didn’t have to be so angry on national television.”
“Oi,” Kirishima huffs. He’s glaring at Takeshi from over his phone. “The hell’s your problem?”
Ashido quickly says, “Haha, Bakugou’s a pretty cool guy.”
Takeshi doesn’t seem to hear her. Instead, he looks startled at Kirishima’s annoyed reaction. He glances at Kirishima, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“It’s really unmanly to say things like that about someone you don’t even know, dude,” Kirishima says carefully and he shoves his phone back into his pocket. Ashido frowns. It’s not common to see Kirishima annoyed– but when it happens, it usually has something to do with unmanliness, and this was definitely one of those moments.
“I’m just saying it how I see it, dude,” Takeshi tilts his head, his eyebrows furrowed and utterly confused at Kirishima’s mood. “Oh, wow… you haven’t changed, have you? You’re still spouting that manliness thing?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kirishima asks, his voice getting a tad bit lower.
“Okay, guys,” Ashido sighs.
“Why does it bother you so much anyway?” Takeshi mumbles. “Don’t tell me that guy’s your friend? He’s just some obnoxious power-tripping dude, far from what you call manly–”
“Take that back,” Kirishima interrupts and suddenly he’s stepping towards Takeshi.
“What the hell?” Takeshi doesn’t budge. He seems taken aback and completely perplexed at the entire exchange. “You fuckin’ serious right now, you nerd?”
“Take it back!” Kirishima repeats and Ashido is starting to panic about the whole situation. It’s escalating way too quickly. Shit!
Scowling, Takeshi doesn’t say anything for a while. He seems to be choosing his next words carefully– however, when he speaks, Ashido can tell that wasn’t the case. Takeshi grits, “You think you’re so special just ‘cos you got into U.A.!? Fuck you, Kirishima!”
Takeshi gives a pained yell as Kirishima tackles him to the ground. They stumble and crash into the concrete, skin scraping as they grab at each other. Ashido’s eyes widen and she clasps a hand over her mouth, frozen in place. She’s not used to seeing Kirishima this angry. The sight is so foreign and surprising that she’s not sure how to react.
Ashido turns around and sees Bakugou striding over to them with a bewildered expression. He stops next to her and blinks at the ruckus in front of them. He doesn’t do anything, simply watches.
“Go to hell, Kirishima!” Takeshi yells. He punches Kirishima in the chest, which is evidently not a smart decision because his knuckles are scraped raw when it hits rigid skin. Kirishima scowls at him, slams him down on the ground, crashing his fists against the other boy’s shoulders. The back of Takeshi’s head hammers against the ground.
“The fuck’s going on?” Bakugou mutters.
“Stop it! Kirishima!” Ashido screams, panicked. A crowd is beginning to gather around them. Kirishima clearly has the upperhand but Takeshi isn’t giving up either, and they continue to hit each other, refusing to let go. Ashido whips around, eyes frantic and wild. “Bakugou, do something!”
Bakugou has his arms crossed. Ashido is horrified to see the manic smile on his face. “Hit him, Shitty Hair! Fuckin’ kick him, that’s it”
“What the hell!?” Ashido half-yells. “Bakugou!”
“What!? Haha! This is fuckin’ awesome.”
“Take it back!” Kirishima growls as he slams a hardened arm across Takeshi’s throat, pinning him to the ground, and Ashido scrubs her hands over face in exasperation. Takeshi curses and spits back at Kirishima, he can’t break free even if he’s struggling to do so with all his strength.
“Bakugou!” Ashido hisses, pushing his shoulder. “Stop him!”
“Why should I?” Bakugou looks offended at Ashido’s words.
“Because if you don’t, he can get into trouble– maybe even expelled, you jerk!”
He’s scowling at her but he seems to think about it, lets the words wash over him. Slowly, he uncrosses his arms and balls his fists to his sides. He seems to be having an internal debate as he looks over to the fight, sees as the eyes of the jerk with the jet black hair roll back into their sockets, and he’s about to pass out and… damn, yeah, Kirishima could get expelled for this shit, Ashido’s fuckin’ right.
“Oi, Kirishima…!” Bakugou calls out. When Kirishima doesn’t let go, Bakugou crosses the distance between them in quick strides and grabs his collar, attempting to yank him off. Kirishima practically doesn’t budge, but he does bristle when he realizes that it’s Bakugou who’s trying to pull him away. “Kirishima, let go, you idiot.”
Kirishima doesn’t shake Bakugou off. He turns to glare at Bakugou, his red eyes brimming with anger. It takes him a few seconds until his grip on Takeshi relaxes, and he does let go, even if he does it reluctantly. Takeshi goes slack under him, his back hitting the ground with a thump and he tries to catch his breath as Bakugou grabs Kirishima’s arm and pulls him up forcibly.
Takeshi sits up and he’s wheezing, and he looks at Kirishima with so much hate in his eyes. His voice is caught in his throat but he manages to cough out, “You fuckin’ prick, attacking me out of nowhere? You call that manly, Kirishima!?”
“The fuck’s wrong with you!?” Bakugou snaps.
“What!?” Kirishima yells at Bakugou, pissed off, because how dare Bakugou– of all people– stop him from fighting. Then he realizes that Bakugou’s not even shouting at him, no, he’s talking to Takeshi, and barely a second passes before Bakugou stomps forward with a clenched fist aimed at Takeshi’s direction– “Oh shit– Bakugou!”
Ashido smacks her forehead repeatedly in exasperation.
Bakugou is quick, he lunges right at Takeshi, and now it’s the two of the rolling around on the hard ground. Bakugou’s smart enough not to use his quirk, because it would be really stupid to use his quirk on a civilian… right? So it’s all quick punches and kicks, and Takeshi even gets one good punch in– Kirishima groans and grabs Bakugou from behind.
This time, it’s Kirishima who’s holding Bakugou back. Fortunately, Kirishima had been able to come back to his senses, pushing aside his uncharacteristic rage to realize that Bakugou might kill his middle school classmate.
Maybe he was acting on instinct, Ashido couldn’t damn tell– all she knew was that the tables had turned, and now it was Bakugou who wanted to fight. Damn ridiculous, seeing as it had been Bakugou’s task to stop the fight in the first place. Around them, the small crowd that gathered looked on with a mixture of shock and curiosity– oh, and a few of them were giggling as Kirishima wrapped his hardened arms around Bakugou’s torso.
“Stop it, dude!” Kirishima yelled.
“Fuckin’ let go of me, I’m going to kill him!”
“You two are ridiculous,” Ashido whines, and she steps forward and, with all her might, attempts to lead them away. Of course, she knows she doesn’t have enough strength to hold Bakugou back– but that’s okay, Kirishima is doing that on his own. Ashido steps in front of Bakugou, gets up right to his face and glares at him. “You wanna get expelled, Bakugou?”
Bakugou scowls at her but he does relax in Kirishima’s hold.
She looks at Takeshi, waving at him frantically to just walk away even if he’s still trying to recollect himself.
They end up in a coffee shop that Ashido insisted on going to. They agreed– mostly because they didn’t really have a reason to turn her down. Kirishima ended up buying everyone drinks as an apology for the earlier mishap.
“Idiots, I swear to god,” Ashido mutters under her breath. She adds in her mind, smartly deciding not to say it out loud, ridiculously made for eachother is what these two idiots are.
“Sorry,” Kirishima says sheepishly. He grips the mug in his hands, flashing her an apologetic smile. Beside him, Bakugou grunts and rolls his eyes. His apathetic reaction causes Kirishima to bite back a grin, but he does knock his shoulder against Bakugou’s, a silent plea for him not to spur Ashido’s irritated mood even further.
Bakugou unconsciously rubs his jaw, and that’s only when Ashido notices that the skin there is raw, as if nails had scratched it. It wasn’t deep, barely noticeable, but the subtle action doesn’t go ignored by Kirishima who tilts his head at Bakugou with a frown.
“See, this is what you get for getting into a fight,” Kirishima accuses, his eyebrows scrunched in frustration.
Predictably, Bakugou gapes at him with wide eyes. For a moment, he’s at a loss at words– then he shoves Kirishima and scowls. “You kidding me right now? You were the one who got into a fight with that extra. The only reason you don’t have a scratch on you is because of your goddamn quirk, asshole!”
“S-shut up!” Kirishima’s cheeks burn and he quickly tries to change the subject. Ashido grins to herself as she watches Kirishima let go of his mug and instinctively reach over to Bakugou’s face, most likely to get a better look at his jaw. She almost, almost, brings her phone out to take a picture. Bakugou grits his teeth and smacks Kirishima’s hands away, and Ashido watches as Bakugou glances at her in a movement so quick that she almost didn’t notice it. Kirishima’s frown deepens, his hands lingering in the air and he pointedly glares at Bakugou.
Oh, okay. And she reminds herself– Bakugou had this weird indifference about being affectionate, no matter how inane, and especially when in front of others. He was allergic to it, as if it would cause him to go into anaphylactic shock.
Except if it were from Kirishima, and only when nobody else was watching.
And– Ashido wasn’t that dense, she could take a hint. “I’m going to go get a slice of cake,” she says cheerfully. She slides her way out of the booth, hoping she isn’t being too obvious, and practically hops off to the dessert display. Of course, once she gets to the cakes, she doesn’t pay any attention to them. Instead, she cranes her neck to get a better look at Kirishima and Bakugou.
“C’mere!” Kirishima insists, and he curls his fingers around Bakugou’s chin. Bakugou grits his teeth once more and bristles, but he’s surprisingly compliant, and he lets Kirishima gently tilt his face upwards. Kirishima scrutinizes the shallow wound. His lower lips juts out in a pout– and, haha, Ashido tries to stop herself from doubling over in laughter as she watches Bakugou’s cheeks burn red as he glares at Kirishima’s mouth as if it had committed the gravest offense.
Ashido strains to hear their conversation. She has never said she wasn’t a gossip, and she’s not going to change that.
“What did he even say that got you so pissed off?” Bakugou asks, and he winces when Kirishima runs a thumb over the raw skin on his jaw, testing it.
“Nothing,” Kirishima lies.
“Kirishima.”
“Uhm,” Kirishima laughs nervously. “It’s nothing, I swear.”
Bakugou eyes him, obviously unconvinced. “He said something dumb about me, didn’t he?”
Kirishima hums, a dry smile on his lips, and his hands let go of Bakugou’s face. He laughs as he slides his hands down to the front of Bakugou’s shirt and he absently smoothens it out. Kirishima’s stare follows his own hands. It’s obvious that he’s trying to avoid Bakugou’s stare.
Ashido blinks and her heart hammers in her chest as she watches them. She has a funny thought– if she’s feeling the tension this much, what more for these two dorks? Damn, they could probably hear their heartbeats in their ears!
Kirishima still has his hands on Bakugou’s chest, simply resting there, and they’re both not speaking. Kirishima’s forcing a smile, a huge contrast to the scowl on Bakugou’s face. Ashido sees so much emotion behind their expressions– realizes that Kirishima was trying to repress so much behind his touches, and Bakugou couldn’t find the words to pry it out of him. Shit.
She doesn’t choose a cake, she walks back to them and stomps loudly in exaggeration to announce her return. It does the trick, the two of them break away almost immediately.
“Hey, Tooru texted me, she’s in the mall as well!” Ashido says cheerfully. She points a thumb towards the door of the cafe. “I’m gonna go buy the polish with her– I’ll see you guys back in the dorm, okay?”
“Alright!” Kirishima nods, his cheeks tinted red. Bakugou grunts and doesn’t offer any other words, so Ashido takes that as her cue to go.
Tooru’s not really around, of course not. She just wants to leave them alone. Grinning to herself, she makes a beeline back to the department store, ready to choose a bottle of polish on her own without Kirishima’s help (or lack thereof). It doesn’t take her long to decide, and barely five minutes pass until she’s paying for it by the cashier.
Glancing at her watch, she sees that the day is still young. She should go see a movie– maybe buy a huge serving of popcorn while at it. That seemed nice.
As she makes her way to the movie house, she realizes that the cafe where she had left the two boys was along the way. Blinking, she sees that both of them were still in the booth where she had left them. She’s a good distance away but she could clearly see them.
She could clearly see Kirishima gripping Bakugou’s face tightly. Bakugou’s shoulders were stiff, his hands clenching the edge of the table and Ashido swears she could see smoke coming up from between his fingers.
Ashido could clearly see them pressing soft kisses against each other’s lips.
“Oh,” she whispers to herself.
Notes:
Angry Kiri is so difficult to write ;;;
Chapter 11: Jirou & The Prize Money
Summary:
“Just because we’ve kissed a few times doesn’t mean it’s not a hopeless crush, I swear it’s platonic,” Kirishima mumbles, but it’s obvious from the way his eyes twinkle that he’s giddy about the entire thing.
“Platonic?” Sero gives him a wry smile. “You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means.”
“If you say one more stupid thing, I am going to smack you across the head,” Kaminari says. And, oh, okay, he’s serious. Serious enough that Kirishima scratches the back of his neck and simply nods in response.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Jirou yawns as she scrolls through the messages on her phone. There are dozens of unread messages. There’s one group chat which is fairly new, it’s called the ‘Baku-Kiri Support Group’ . Kaminari had added her to it a few weeks prior and it was mostly just him, Sero, and Ashido complaining about Kirishima and Bakugou’s ridiculous crushes on eachother.
It was weird and very, very amusing. Apparently, Bakugou and Kirishima’s friends were starting to get anxious at how the two dorks were going around in circles with each other.
Jirou had asked Ashido about it once– she asked, why are you all so affected by this? And it had ended with Ashido ranting about the times Kirishima had kept her up until two in the morning with pints of ice cream, and Kirishima never outright said why. Nope, he just stayed around, for no reason at all, going off on tirades about nonsensical stuff such as cheap hair dye and how his favorite barbecue stall had closed down.
It had all boiled down to this– a group specifically created to stalk the duo, but mostly to cash in on an ongoing bet. The bet was simply… when would the two finally get together?
Jirou wasn’t usually one to partake in such nonsense.
…but she had put her money in on ‘they’re already together but won’t admit it’.
Jirou blinks when Bakugou, who sits beside her, suddenly hunches over and buries his face in his arms. His ears are burning red and Jirou’s not usually a gossip, but she’s definitely curious now. Frowning, she can’t help but take a peek at his phone. He’s holding the phone in a way that has the screen is angled towards her, and she swears she’s not prying, and she doesn’t even mean to look. However, the screen is right there, and–
Shitty Hair
love ya man
Me
jfc this dumb nonsense again
Shitty Hair
just say it back?
Me
No.
Shitty Hair
:(
Me
…I’d kill for u.
Her eyes widen for only a fraction and she looks away quickly. “Oh,” she says quietly, and she can’t help but snort at the implication behind it. As if on cue, Bakugou grips his phone and shoves it into his pocket. He raises his head and looks at her with a puzzled look.
“What’s so funny, Headphones?” he mutters.
“Nothing,” she lies, her tone flat and not giving anything away. Good thing she’s had a lot of practice with schooling her reactions.
And Jirou knows– she knows that Bakugou’s strange response to Kirishima was his own way of showing his feelings. It was silly, and so violent, and so… Bakugou .
This meant she was correct, right? This meant she won the bet? If these two texted each other this way in such a casual manner, then they were definitely beyond platonic.
Of course, Jirou decides not to tell the ‘Bakusquad’, because it’s not really her place to do so. She simply buries the information, knows that they’ll let everyone else know when they’re ready.
...As it turns out, the rest of the squad is not as forgiving. Ashido sends a text to everyone: “Meet up in the kitchen after dinner today. EVERYONE BE THERE. WE ARE COLLECTING MONEY.”
Guess they’d found out that as well that Bakugou and Kirishima had finally come into terms with their relationship.
“Ashido, what is going on, why do you keep pacing!?” Sero asks, puzzled, as Ashido walks back and forth across the length of the kitchen. Kaminari, Sero, and Jirou are sitting by the counter… staring at her.
Jirou thinks, why am I here again?
“What did you mean we’re collecting money?” Kaminari blinks wildly. He looks at everyone’s faces, trying to get a hint.
Ashido makes a disgruntled noise and scratches the back of her head and her eyebrows are furrowed as she goes through a mental debate with herself.
“Did they get together?” Jirou decides to be straight-to-the-point.
Pouting, Ashido marches up to them and plants her elbows on the counter. She looks at all of them with a very serious expression. “I– I don’t want to be a bad friend and gossip about it, but– I need to tell you guys what I saw yesterday, it’s driving me crazy– ”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Kaminari screeches. “Did something happen between my two bros?”
“YES! So, as I was saying, we went to the mall yesterday and I kinda left them alone, and I spotted them making out–”
“Uh, Ashido?” says a familiar, weak voice from behind her.
Ashido turns around in comical speed and it’s as all the color is drained out of her. Sero’s jaw drops and Kaminari stares blankly, and even Jirou feels her heart skip a beat as she spots Kirishima standing right behind them with wide, panicked eyes.
Time stutters.
Finally, Ashido raises her hands in the arms and screams, “Kirishima, congratulations!”
Kirishima gapes. He’s frozen in place. Finally, he gives them all a lopsided grin and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly as he makes a beeline towards the refrigerator, all the while avoiding their stares. Of course, none of them stop leering at him. Kirishima can tell, his ears burn hotly and when he straightens his posture and looks at them. Finally, he asks, “What for?”
“For finally getting together with Bakugou, of course,” Ashido retorts in a very direct-to-the-point manner. She’s taking no prisoners and is ruthless. Jirou snorts at the same time that Kirishima looks around the kitchen frantically. Upon seeing that only they’re around, he seems to relax, albeit only slightly.
“Ashidooo,” Kirishima whines. “What are you talking about? There’s nothing going on between us.”
“Holy shit!” Kaminari leans down and bangs his head against the marble counter, muttering words of exasperation under his breath.
Ashido’s not giving up. She glares at Kirishima, and wow, okay, she’s really going to do this. “I saw you, Kirishima! You guys kissed when you thought I wasn’t looking!”
“Huh?” Sero blinks, taking this information in, and Jirou watches earnestly. Kaminari actually chokes at this information.
“Oooh my god,” Kirishima looks like he’s about to faint and he takes a few careful strides closer to the group. He puts a finger up to his mouth and shushes her.
“Look, bro,” Sero laughs. “Y’know we don’t want to pry, right? But all you do is rant about– about whether he’s into you or not, and it’s fine, really! I swear, it’s not annoying! But you’ve kissed, and you still can’t figure it out? It’s just… it’s getting weird, dude.”
“We don’t want to pry ?” Kirishima repeats.
“Yeah,” Ashido nods eagerly. “ We. Me, Kaminari, Sero, Jirou. We’ve got a pool going about it, too.”
“What!?” Kirishima half-screams. “Bakugou’s going to kill you!”
Jirou puts up a hand. “I swear, I just put my money in, I don’t gossip as much as these guys.”
“Hey!” Kaminari gapes at her betrayal.
Kirishima scrubs his hands over his face, and he’s laughing. He’s trying to hide his huge grin behind his hands and he’s failing at it, so at least they know he’s not really angry.
“Anywaaay,” Kaminari exhales. “Now that you’ve kissed for the first time–”
“Oh, haha,” interrupts Kirishima. “Funny story, we’ve kissed before?”
Ashido’s scream resounds through the kitchen and she lunges at Kirishima and they come crashing to the ground, and she’s giggling and hitting his chest repeatedly in excitement. “This is crazy, Kirishima! I can’t believe this. What’s all the late night ice cream runs for if your hopeless crush isn’t even that hopeless?”
“Wait, you guys have late night ice creams runs?” Kaminari whines, which is so totally removed from the point of the conversation that they ignore him.
Sero has a goofy grin on his face. “Actually, I already knew you guys have kissed before…”
Oh wow, this is a mess. Ashido stops hitting Kirishima to look at Sero with betrayal.
“What?” Sero shrugs. “Todoroki saw you guys, he seemed pretty bothered by it for a while.”
Kirishima gapes– “Todoroki saw what?”
“Wait, hey, focus,” Jirou actually grins.
Kirishima is smiling and Ashido lets go off him. She sits back on her knees and Kirishima hunches forward. They’re both on the ground and Kaminari hops off his stool to join them. Sero and Jirou stay seated until Ashido gestures for them to follow, and they’re not really given a choice, so they do– they join them on the floor.
They end up like that, five weirdos sitting on the tiled floor of the kitchen like no big deal.
“Just because we’ve kissed a few times doesn’t mean it’s not a hopeless crush, I swear it’s platonic,” Kirishima mumbles, but it’s obvious from the way his eyes twinkle that he’s giddy about the entire thing.
“Platonic?” Sero gives him a wry smile. “You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means.”
“If you say one more stupid thing, I am going to smack you across the head,” Kaminari says. And, oh, okay, he’s serious. Serious enough that Kirishima scratches the back of his neck and simply nods in response.
“Okay, honey,” Ashido reaches forward and takes Kirishima’s hands in hers. “I swear. It is not a hopeless crush, and it definitely isn’t platonic. If anything, I’m pretty sure you’ve been dating all this time, you both just don’t… realize it? It’s so silly when I say it like this, but you both need a reality check.”
“Uhm,” Kirishima starts.
Jirou listens, but she’s also very confused– Kirishima was still lost about whether it was a hopeless crush? What was that text conversation she had seen earlier that day? She was pretty sure it had been a confession of some sort. Wow, Ashido was right– these two were ridiculously hopeless.
“Kirishima!” Kaminari reaches across the circle and tries to grab Kirishima’s hands. Ashido’s still holding Kirishima so the three of them end up with entangled fingers. “You’re, like, the manliest guy I know! You’ve got this!”
“Uhm,” Kirishima repeats, eloquently.
“It’s true,” Sero nods earnestly, patting Kirishima on the shoulder. “Confront the guy. Just, march up to him and say, dude, I’m into you, let’s date.”
“I thought…” Jirou blinks. I thought they were already dating, she wants to say.
“Yes!” Ashido pumps her hands in the air. “Just march up to him and scream, Bakugou, I am so into you and I know you’re into me as well–”
“What the fuck!?” Bakugou voice yells from behind them.
All five of them scramble to stand up (even Jirou) upon realizing that Bakugou was there as well, bristling at them. His palms were giving off small explosions, whether if it were from anger or panic, they couldn’t tell.
Bakugou yells, his voice impressively carrying across the room, “What the fuckin’ fuck are you idiots going on about!?”
“I gotta go!” Kirishima says quickly and he’s just about to run out the door– but then Kaminari lunges at him, Ashido grabs his ankle, and Sero actually shoots tape around his arm. “Oh my god, you guys!?”
Jirou dusts her pants, she glances over at Bakugou he’s frozen in place and is glaring at the group. His teeth is bared in annoyance and Jirou bites back a laugh.
“Nope, you guys need to talk,” Sero says confidently, and Kirishima is struggling against them, cheeks incredibly red as they push him towards Bakugou, who just stands there. “Sorry, guys, but it’s time we step in–”
“I saw you kissing in the cafe, Bakugou!” Ashido screams, and Kirishima sputters at her words.
“S-shut the fuck up, Raccoon Eyes,” Bakugou grits.
Jirou’s not sure what really happens next, but they retreat to Ashido’s room. Sero and Kaminari come along with them, and they end up just sitting around in the dark and pink theme of Ashido’s things. Ashido’s pacing again and Sero’s drumming his fingers along the floor. Jirou’s lying back on Ashido’s bed and going through her phone.
“Hey!” The bed creaks when Kaminari sits beside her, prodding her shoulder. “Can you hear the kitchen from here?”
“Are you asking me to eavesdrop on them?” Jirou asks in disbelief.
He nods earnestly.
“Yeah! That’s a great idea!” Ashido pumps her hands.
“No, don’t,” Sero laughs, the voice of reason.
“Ugh, I’m going down there,” Ashido announces, and before anyone can stop her, she’s marching to the elevators. Jirou decides not to go with her– Sero and Kaminari follow her though.
After a minute, Jirou gets a text message. A video sent from Ashido. It’s shot from behind a corner, and it’s blurred and obviously taken in panic. Ashido’s giggling at the camera and has a finger to her lips. From behind her, Kaminari and Sero are peeking around the corner.
The camera flips to show the kitchen–
Bakugou and Kirishima making out.
There’s nobody around and the two of them can’t tell that they have an audience, but Kirishima has a hand around Bakugou’s nape and is pulling him close. He seems to say something that makes Bakugou’s shoulders freeze, and Bakugou pushes away to glare at him.
Jirou watches the video– she’s not sure why she finds this so sweet and why it makes her stomach twist pleasantly, but she watches as Kirishima laughs and pulls Bakugou back for another kiss.
They both look so… happy. Kirishima smiles all the time, but this is different. His expression is so unbelievably soft and calm, and he’s gazing at Bakugou as if he owes him the world. Bakugou, on the other hand, is glaring… but his lips are scrunched up in a pout, a pout that Kirishima leans in to kiss away.
The camera is flipped back to Ashido’s face, and she’s grinning widely and wiggling her eyebrows before she gives a thumbs-up and ends the video.
Jirou’s grinning. She can’t help it.
She’s ready to type up a reply to Ashido but she sees that a barrage of other messages had already been sent–
Iida
THE KITCHEN IS NO SUCH PLACE FOR THESE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES
Uraraka
AHHH
AHHHHHH
Jirou sits up abruptly. Oh my god. Oh, shit.
Ashido had sent the video the the class group chat.
Ashido
WHAT THE HELL I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE OTHER GROUP
HOW DO I DELETE THIS?
Midoriya
Oh… congrats Kacchan
Ashido
Dsjfhskdjhfksjdfh
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES GUYS. JIROU. RUN.
Me
…
I literally have nothing to do with this.
Kaminari
HE’S CHECKING HIS PHONE BAKUGOU IS CHECKING HIS PHONE
Bakugou
what the fuck.
Grinning widely, Jirou gets up from Ashido’s bed and decides to make her way to the kitchen.
And to collect her winnings… because she’s sure that nobody can argue with her that these two hadn’t been dating this entire damn time.
It’s the easiest 40,000 yen she’s ever made.
Notes:
I'm trying a new format with the texting and I hope it looks okay???
And yes, Jirou won, fight me. They've been dating the entire damn time OKAY.
I'm marking this as complete but I have another long-ass chapter in the works which is written from the Kiri & Baku's POV, because a few people have been asking to write that-- and also because I want to, ehehe. Should I post it here as an extra chapter or as a standalone fic.....? (Please help me decide? I feel like it supplements this fic but can be posted separately, so I'm not sure?)
This was fun to write, but everything has to come to an end because these two dorks can't make excuses forever. Thanks for sticking with me!
Chapter 12: Kirishima & Bakugou Part I
Summary:
Kirishima’s first impression of Bakugou was not manly, and Bakugou’s first impression of him was this guy is far from my equal.
Turns out, both their first impressions were so terribly removed from the truth.
Notes:
Kirishima & Bakugou's POV of everything else that has happened -- if the timeline is confusing against the rest of the chapters, basically, it starts from the beginning!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The first time Kirishima meets Bakugou isn’t on the first day of classes.
He actually meets him during the entrance exams. Kirishima glances at the strange blond guy who’s yelling at a shorter, freckled boy. The blond guy’s loud and he commands attention from most people without meaning to– truthfully, he just seems pissed at the freckled boy for whatever reason.
It doesn’t matter why he’s pissed, though. His language is so crass, his scowl is so unnecessary, and it’s so far away from Kirishima’s image of what a hero should be that he’s actually a little disappointed that this person’s applying to U.A. as well.
Kirishima sighs, tugs at his black hair and thinks, this guy’s not so manly, is he?
Kirishima doesn’t know, and Bakugou never tells him, but Bakugou remembers Kirishima’s name even before the first day of classes.
He sees it when he’s watching the acceptance video that U.A. has sent him, pauses on the frame wherein their scores for the practical exam are shown. Of course, he gets the highest score out of everyone, even if he did score a complete zero for rescue points.
Instinctively, Bakugou looks at the name next to his– Eijirou Kirishima.
“Huh,” Bakugou mutters, and he stores the name away without meaning to, because he has always been particularly aware of the gap between him and second place. He stares at the name for a while, thinks that it doesn’t even matter, because this guy will never surpass him nor even become his equal– of course not.
Kirishima’s first impression of Bakugou was not manly, and Bakugou’s first impression of him was this guy is far from my equal.
Turns out, both their first impressions were so terribly removed from the truth.
Kirishima finds out that Bakugou’s as manly as can get– he’s focused and smart, he reaches for his goals without caring about obstacles. He has a one-track mind to get to the top, and his quirk’s amazing. When the USJ happens, he gets an even closer look at the loud guy, and he somehow reads between the lines and decides that Bakugou was damn interesting and very manly.
Bakugou, on the other hand, stares deadpanned when Kirishima rushes up to him during the sports fest. He calls him Shitty Hair out of instinct, and when Kirishima reminds him of his name, Bakugou almost tells him the truth– that he knew his name even before classes started. When Kirishima hypes him up to win the cavalry battle, it’s the first time Bakugou decides that, okay– if anyone was anything close as his equal, it was probably this guy.
Somehow, without meaning to, Kirishima and Bakugou become pretty good friends. They end up hanging out after classes, buying soda in the nearby convenience store, or even visiting an arcade after classes.
It’s strange to both of them– Bakugou has had lackeys before, but he hasn’t had friends. Kirishima’s a new kind of presence to his life, one that he accepts unwittingly.
“Bro, are you gay?”
Kirishima almost chokes on the dumpling he’s chewing. He pounds on his chest a few times before turning to Kaminari with huge, stunned eyes. “Hah!?”
“Are you gay?” Kaminari repeats slowly and way too confidently. His expression is deadpanned and he stares at Kirishima, waiting.
Half a minute passes as Kirishima simply stares. Around them, the crowd continues with their lunches, totally oblivious to the fact that Kaminari was asking Kirishima a question he’s been avoiding for years now.
Finally, Kirishima manages, “Yeah?”
Shrugging, Kaminari turns away. “Yeah, I thought so.”
“Uhm, what do you mean?”
“I mean that you and Blasty aren’t exactly the most subtle.”
Kirishima laughs at that. It’s a real laugh, and he throws his head back in amusement. Kaminari eyes him warily as Kirishima chokes out between giggles, “Dude, Bakugou and I are just bros!”
They’re only bros.
It’s totally normal and very much platonic to fixate on the manner a bro’s lower lip juts out when he’s pouting. It’s not weird at all to realize that, wow, Bakugou’s waist is kind-of small. When Bakugou stretches his arms and shows a sliver of skin beneath the hemline of his shirt, Kirishima swallows and looks away, wondering why suddenly his ears feel incredibly warm. Kirishima wants to punch himself when his thoughts stray, when he can’t help but think about how it would feel to grip Bakugou’s hips, to simply push him against a wall and devour him.
Kirishima forces the thoughts away, he tells himself that it’s really shitty of him to even think of such selfish things, because they’re only two dudes, who happen to be in the same class, trying to get through high school the best way they can.
When Bakugou is kidnapped by villains, Kirishima is filled with dread, it’s an all-consuming sensation and worse than anything else he’s felt before. He feels nothing regret, everything feels heavy, and all he wants is to get his best bro back no matter what.
And they do get Bakugou back. He accepts Kirishima’s hand as a way out of the nightmare, and Kirishima wants to grab him and never let go.
“Katsuki! You have a guest!”
“Haaa? Who the hell?” Bakugou takes a bite out of the apple he’s holding. His face is contorted into annoyance– who would come over at eight in the evening on a friday night? He had only been dismissed from the hospital that afternoon and hadn’t seen any of his classmates– besides, he didn’t consider any of them his friends – but who was it?
His mother simply makes an exasperated sound from where she’s standing in the hallway. Bakugou can’t see who it is, and he doesn’t get up from the couch, simply turns his head and waits. “He’s over there,” he hears his mother say.
“Okay!” says a very familiar voice.
Oh.
It was Shitty Hair.
Bakugou’s fingers freeze over the half-eaten fruit in his hand and there’s a strange, clenching sensation in his chest as he sits up straight. He feels as if he’s lost his voice and he’s very much thankful for the fact that his mother decides it’s unnecessary to usher Kirishima to the living room, because Bakugou’s expression is so stunned and he doesn’t need her shit right now.
Red fills his vision as Kirishima enters the living room. He’s wearing a shit-eating grin and saunters over to Bakugou, ignoring the fact that he’s an uninvited guest.
They hadn’t seen each other until that night in Kamino, and everything had happened so quickly– Bakugou had been ushered off by security and ambulances, and Kirishima had snuck off because he wasn’t even supposed to be there in the first place.
Kirishima had been sending him text messages since then, all of which Bakugou had ignored.
Did Kirishima take that as an invitation to come over and ambush him, then?
It’s not that Bakugou doesn’t want to see Kirishima, or that he’s angry at him. He can’t really tell what he’s feeling even as Kirishima walks over to him; like there’s not a fuckton of questions going through his brain. Bakugou leans forward, rests his elbows on his knees, the apple limp in his hand.
“Oh,” Kirishima says, stopping a few feet away from him and looking at him softly, because what the fuck. “You didn’t answer any of my messages and I really wanted to see how you were doing, dude.”
Kirishima’s eyes glaze over him, as if taking it all in, and Bakugou just stares back at him– he’s still conflicted about the entire situation.
“My lack of replies didn’t mean come over, dumbass,” Bakugou hisses.
“Katsuki! Be nice!” screamed his mother’s voice from the kitchen. Apparently, she was listening.
“Shut up!” Bakugou yells back at her. He snaps his attention back to Kirishima, who’s still standing there in front of him, a goofy smile still on his face. “What are you doing here?”
There’s a moment where Kirishima’s expression wavers, and Bakugou’s quick enough to catch it. Bakugou can’t read it, not exactly, but Kirishima’s lips are a flat line and he clenches his fists to his sides. Instantly, Bakugou feels terrible– because this was the friend who had risked his life, he was the one whose hand Bakugou had taken– he was the only one who Bakugou would have accepted help from, and he doesn’t deserve the shit Bakugou’s throwing at him at the moment.
Predictably, Kirishima brushes it away. He grins, “Wanna go get some snacks at the store down the street? I saw it when I was walking over!”
It takes Bakugou a few moments, but slowly, he nods, and he doesn’t miss how Kirishma gives him a real smile.
The walk down to the convenience store seems longer than it really is. Bakugou stays quiet, eyes hooded and hands planted in his pockets, and Kirishima is rambling off about nothing in particular. He’s making animated gestures, but then he glances over to Bakugou. When Bakugou’s eyes flicker up to meet his Kirishima pauses for a moment. He simply locks eyes with him and electricity shoots up Bakugou’s spine.
They continue walking but Kirishima cocks his head, shoots Bakugou a smile and it causes Bakugou to halt in his tracks. The sun’s setting and the shadows on Kirishima’s face are soft, it makes him look melancholic despite the fact that he’s grinning widely at Bakugou.
“What’s wrong?” Kirishima stops in his tracks as well and blinks at Bakugou.
“Why’d you do it?” Bakugou stares at the ground, refusing to meet Kirishima’s eyes. His hands are in his pockets, but they’re trembling as he attempts to keep it all in.
There’s a reason he hasn’t responded to Kirishima, hasn’t acknowledged a thing, and yet the idiot’s standing right in front of him as if it wouldn’t cause him to break.
“Oh. Uhm...” Kirishima’s voice is low and tense.
“Why’d you do it, Kirishima?”
“I… Bakugou, dude, I was really scared, and I could only imagine how frightening it would have been for you–”
No. No.
“Shitty Hair,” Bakugou grits. “I don’t need you to fucking save me!”
“It’s not that, dude,” Kirishima whispers and Bakugou’s fully aware of how his voice hitches. “I was just… fuck. I was so scared, y’know?”
Bakugou’s fists are shaking as he feels a rush of emotions, and it makes him want to throw up, because this makes him feel awful– he hates how much Kirishima is looking down at him right now. Him, the idiot who had been weak enough to get abducted by villains.
“Fuck!” Kirishima grits, and it’s so rare to hear him curse that Bakugou abruptly snaps his eyes at Kirishima.
“Huh?” blinks Bakugou, stunned.
His shoulders shaking, Kirishima has the back of his hands pressed to his eyes. Bakugou can’t see his face, but Kirishima inhales sharply, and Bakugou realizes that he’s close to crying, that he’s trying his best not to break down, and– what the fuck?
“Huh?” Bakugou repeats incredulously.
“Fuck, I’m so s-sorry, this is so unmanly!” There’s a quiver in Kirishima’s voice and it appears that his resolve finally breaks and he furiously wipes his face as his tears spill over his cheeks, his jaw. Bakugou’s frozen, he stands there, not knowing what to say. “I was so scared, Bakugou! Y-you… I know you hate hearing shit like this, but y-you’re way more important to me than you know, a-and–… I was so scared.”
Bakugou exhales, he takes a step forward. “Kirishima–”
“It’s so unfair!” Kirishima continues to hide behind his hands. “That shouldn’t have happened to you, seriously, what the h-hell!?”
“I was the one who was taken, what the fuck are you crying for!?” Bakugou half-yells, but he feels a tightening in his chest, his eyes feel raw as he fights not to let it all out, because he doesn’t cry. He didn’t cry even when he was at the hospital and his mother had forced him to recount every single fucking detail. Rather, he had felt absolutely nothing back then. He had spoken, but he hadn’t felt anything, he had just been numb.
Now, though– watching Kirishima break down in front of him, Bakugou couldn’t help how his own tears threaten to spill over, and when Kirishima finally looks at him, Bakugou forgets everything.
“Kirishima,” Bakugou breathes. He takes a step forward, and without thinking, roughly plants his hands on Kirishima’s jaw and pulls him in. It forces Kirishima to look up at him, startled, and when the tears finally fall from Bakugou’s eyes, Kirishima breaks even more. He grips the bottom of Bakugou’s shirt, bites his lips. “You– you fucking moron, Kirishima, what the fuck–”
Kirishima doesn’t say anything when Bakugou steps even closer and presses his lips on the spot just below his eye, and they’re in each other’s space. Bakugou’s lips are chapped, but they’re soft against Kirishima’s skin, and their cheeks are wet against each other’s.
“I love you, man,” Kirishima hiccups. “Shit, I’m sorry for being so unmanly, but you’re my best friend, and… shit, Bakugou, I’ve never been more scared–”
“Shut up, shut up,” hisses Bakugou, his breath warm against Kirishima’s skin, his lips still pressed against the juncture between his eyes. And Bakugou’s not kissing Kirishima, of course not, but it’s strangely affectionate and it helps to calm them both down.
They stay in that position for a few minutes, in the middle of an empty street, with Kirishima gripping Bakugou’s shirt tightly, and Bakugou holding Kirishima’s face. Kirishima angles his head away from Bakugou a bit, but Bakugou doesn’t pull away, simply lets his lips trail towards Kirishima’s temple, just lets them rest there.
And Bakugou realizes– at that moment, a million emotions surge through him, he no longer feels numb, or angry at himself. He doesn’t know what to call whatever he’s feeling right now, but it’s warm, it feels as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, and for a split second he thinks that it would be so easy to press his lips against Kirishima’s instead.
When they get to the convenience store, both of them have red eyes and flustered faces, and the cashier blinks at them for a while as she gives them back their change.
The whole Kamino fiasco brings them even closer– on a literal sense, too, because now their rooms are right next to each other’s.
When Bakugou tells him that he’s crazy strong, Kirishima’s insides lurch, and he fights against the blush that’s creeping into his cheeks. He stares, eyes wide, his words all forgotten. Bakugou’s staring right at him with narrow eyes and Kirishima ignores how Sero and Kaminari exchange glances. Kirishima bites his cheeks and looks away, and not for the first time, he thinks that Bakugou’s a damn enigma.
Bakugou falls asleep in his dorm room on a random night. They had been watching an action movie and were sitting cross-legged on the bed, their backs to the wall. Kirishima doesn’t ask but he knows that Bakugou has been getting terrible nightmares since Kamino, which is why they do this a lot, simply watch movies until their eyes can’t take it any longer. Once he’s sure that he can go to sleep in a second, Bakugou will simply make a grunting noise and saunter off to his room.
This night, though, Bakugou ends up with his head against Kirishima’s shoulder. Kirishima swallows, peeks down at him, watches how his chest moves with his even and slow breathing. Bakugou’s eyelashes are thick and his hair smells nice… and Kirishima can’t help it when he falls asleep as well. They fall asleep with their backs to the wall, and somehow during the night, they both fall to the bed, on their sides and entangled.
They wake up just when the sun is rising, still intertwined. Kirishima wakes up first, and he’s so surprised by the entire thing that he immediately flinches. It causes Bakugou to stir awake.
They both stare, saying nothing. Kirishima’s hand is resting on Bakugou’s hip– his heartbeat is beating so loudly that it’s practically deafening.
Bakugou blinks slowly at him. He bites his lower lip in that way that Kirishima now recognizes as nervousness. Bakugou’s the first to break the silence, he asks, “Is this normal? Between friends?”
The question is loaded. It hides way too much meaning behind it and Kirishima’s entirely scared of saying the wrong thing. Kirishima’s looks down, right at Bakugou’s bare neck, and he says softly, “Yeah.”
Kirishima’s not stupid, and Bakugou’s not either. They both know that this isn’t the norm between friends, but neither of them say anything else. They simply lie there in silence, staring at anything but each other, and they both don’t pull away. Kirishima’s hand is still on Bakugou’s hip, one of Bakugou’s ankles are trapped between both of Kirishima’s.
“We’ll be late for class,” Bakugou mutters, and Kirishima grins at him sheepishly. Neither of them talk about that night, similar to how they don’t talk about that time that Bakugou pressed fluttering not-kisses against Kirishima’s temples.
Notes:
*wheezes* Why am I doing this to myself?? I told myself I'd type up some quick drabbles that sums up wtf has been going on these past 11 chapters and I ended up with thousands of words and WHAT AM I DOING. WOW, the thing was getting so long I just decided to split it up and finish the 2nd part... soon.
Thanks to LittleMissHeartfillia for helping me beta that one crying scene. I've never written these bois crying before and she basically saved me.
Also, that crying scene was based off this art by thatfunkyopossum. I loved that art so much that I kept staring at it each time it popped out on my tumblr feed and I couldn't help but attempt to write the crying bois ;~;
Thanks for reading. I hope the switching POVs wasn't TOO confusing.
Chapter 13: Kirishima & Bakugou Part II
Summary:
Kirishima laughs, and suddenly he’s all up in Bakugou’s space. There’s a moment of hesitation when he puts his hand on Bakugou’s hip and squeezes. “Hey, did you mean it? When you said you loved me, too?”
Notes:
listen it's 4:12 am right now and i haven't proofread this, not really? but if dont post it now then i never will SO. i apolofize in enough for the typos but im sure ill come back for them.
Thank you for the ride!
*faints*
Chapter Text
The night that Bakugou gets into a fight with Midoriya, Kirishima realizes that there’s a possibility—a sliver—that he might be in love with his friend.
He had been hanging out with Kaminari, his mind going a hundred different directions, and he knows that Kaminari can tell. Kirishima’s not paying attention, but he’s glad that Kaminari’s a good enough friend to keep him company.
Kirishima can’t stand the fact that Bakugou had failed the licensure exams, and it clouds over the fact that he had. “You’re being ridiculous,” Kaminari mumbles without looking up at him. “You should be happy about this, dude.”
“I know,” Kirishima sighs. “I’m not sure why this is bugging me so much.”
Kaminari excuses himself to get a drink of water, and Kirishima waits for him, rubs his eyes wearily with knuckles to keep himself awake. A part of him wants to get up and go to Bakugou, ask him how he’s doing, but how? He doesn’t know how. He can’t find the words.
His phone dings, and he looks down to see Kaminari’s message: ‘Bro, step out of your room.’
Kirishima opens the door, a bit annoyed. He calls out, “Denki, what–agh!”
His heart beats loudly in his ears as he’s met with Bakugou, who’s simply standing outside his door. Kirishima stares at Bakugou with bewilderment, who looks back at him with a mixture of shock and embarrassment.
Bakugou’s bruised and bandaged, he’s covered in dirt, and Kirishima can see the emotions on his face. His chest lurches, and it takes everything in him not to reach out and grab Bakugou, to wrap his arms around his shoulders and just hold him. He can’t do that, though. He’s not sure if he’s allowed to, so instead he reaches out and holds Bakugou’s cheek.
It’s Bakugou who steps forward and drops his face into Kirishima’s shoulder, and Kirishima can smell the residue of smoke and blood from his skin.
“Got into a fight with the nerd,” Bakugou says, his voice low.
Kirishima nods. He wants to scold Bakugou, tell him how stupid that was, but he doesn’t. Startled, Kirishima notices that Kaminari is standing by the end of the hallway, and he smiles awkwardly at him. He’s sure that Kaminari has a million questions for him, but for now, Kaminari decides to creep away quietly.
“Wanna stay over?” Kirishima asks Bakugou.
He feels Bakugou exhale against his shoulder. Bakugou has only slept over once before, and it had been so strange that they didn’t really talk about it. “Yeah,” Bakugou finally says. He pulls away from Kirishima, his eyes downcast. Kirishima blinks at him for a second before opening his door and tugging Bakugou along by the wrist.
Bakugou’s filthy, there’s blood and grime all over him, and his clothes are a mess. Kirishima doesn’t care.
It’s awkward. Bakugou stalks off to the bed and plops down on it, sticking close to the wall with his back to Kirishima. Sighing, Kirishima turns the lights off and quietly lies down beside Bakugou. The bed dips under their weight and he can feel the warmth radiating off Bakugou’s skin, and he’s fully aware of what’s happening right now.
Bakugou still has his back to him, he’s so tense, and Kirishima stares up at the ceiling. They say nothing, and Kirishima guesses that there’s nothing he can say to make it better.
There’s a knot in his throat, his chest is heavy, and he wants to reach out—wants to pull Bakugou close. Soon enough, he hears Bakugou’s breathing slow down, and he realizes that his friend has fallen asleep.
Kirishima doesn’t get any sleep.
He’s much too focused on his thoughts and on the fact that he wants to hold Bakugou, wants to press their foreheads together. And he realizes—maybe, okay, he might be in love. Maybe.
It’s Bakugou’s words that save him. When he breaks, again and again, it’s Bakugou’s face that flashes through his mind—Bakugou’s unwavering stare, and the words that he said: If you refuse to go down, it means you’re stupidly strong.
Bakugou doesn’t text him the entire time he’s in the hospital. Everyone else texts him, but Bakugou doesn’t. Kirishima wonders if he even cares.
“Dude, quit pacing!” Kaminari whines.
Kirishima does not stop pacing. He’s biting his nails as he goes back and forth across the expanse of the common room. “What did I do to piss him off this time!?”
“How would I know!?” retorts Kaminari from his spot on the couch. He’s looking at Kirishima with wide eyes, not even putting any effort into hiding the amused grin he has on. “You two were texting the entire time you were in the hospital, weren’t you? Did you say anything to piss him off?”
“No!” Kirishima answers. Then, with hesitance, “No...?”
“Go talk to him,” Ashido giggles. “Maybe he didn’t like the crowd. Typical Bakugou, if you ask me.”
Sighing, Kirishima buries his hands in his pockets. He had just come home from the hospital after the mafia raid, along with Midoriya, Tsuyu, and Uraraka. The entire class had been waiting for their arrival, and as soon as they had entered the building, all kinds of greetings had met them. It had been uncomfortable; Kirishima didn’t enjoy being at the center of attention like that.
He also didn’t like it that Bakugou had said nothing, simply sat on the couch with an aggressive pout on his face. Hadn’t even greeted him; just starkly said it was time for him to go because he had training the next day.
And it’s not that Kirishima expected more, but he kind of wanted a less apathetic reaction. Was that so much to ask?
As if on cue, Kirishima’s phone vibrated in his pocket, startling him. He fishes it out and sees that there was a new message from Blasty. Oh, okay. Puzzled, he opens the message–
‘Wanna stay in my room tonight?’
...Kirishima’s heart almost stops, and he fights hard to school his expression.
“What’s up?” Kaminari asks, confused at Kirishima’s face. He definitely wasn’t doing a good job at hiding his shock. No, he was staring wildly at his phone and biting his cheeks. Kirishima’s ears has burned up almost instantly, and he was just standing there, bewilderment across his face and all.
Great, Bakugou isn’t angry at him. Ashido was probably right–he simply didn’t care for the crowd in the common room.
“Why are you staring at your phone!?” Kaminari’s tone is high-pitched and incredibly curious, and next thing Kirishima knows, he’s standing up from the couch and making quick strides at Kirishima’s direction. “Let me see!”
“What the–no!”
Kaminari doesn’t give him a choice, he wrestles the phone out of Kirishima’s hands–Kirishima doesn’t put up a fight, he’s honestly too startled at the entire thing. The way Kaminari barks out with laughter snaps him out of his reverie, and he grabs his phone back and shoves Kaminari away playfully.
“What? What!?” Ashido screeches.
Doing an awful job at holding back his laughter, Kaminari chokes out, “I seriously don’t see why you two just won’t admit you have a thing going on–”
“Ooh my god,” Kirishima shoves him a second time. “Bros can have sleepovers, you jerk! ”
“Since camp doesn’t count, we have literally never had a sleepover, Kirishima–”
“Because you shock people in your sleep!” retorts Kirishima, and he’s so done with this conversation. Kaminari’s done with it too, he gives Kirishima a huge grin before prancing back to his spot on the couch. Ashido exchanges a smirk with Kaminari, and Kirishima decides to ignore it.
“Oh, Kirishima,” Todoroki says. He’s walking by, a phone in his hand, and stops a few meters away from Kirishima. “If you’re going to Bakugou’s room, then–”
“Why would I head to Bakugou’s room?” Kirishima snaps unexpectedly. “He said he will sleep, right? Why would I head there, do you think we’re together too!?”
Blinking slowly, Todoroki stares back at Kirishima, puzzled. “No?” he asks unsurely.
”Dude,” Kaminari laughs from his spot on the couch.
“Oh, shit, sorry,” Kirishima’s annoyed expression disappears completely and a sheepish smile takes over. He scratches the back of his neck and glances over at Todoroki’s direction. “Sorry, sorry. Did you want me to ask Bakugou something for you?”
There’s an awkward silence as Todoroki stares at Kirishima for a while. “Never mind,” Todoroki finally says and he turns and walks towards the kitchen, leaving Kirishima feeling like an ass.
“Totally your fault,” Kirishima mumbles at Kaminari, who gives him an apologetic grin.
Kirishima makes his way to his room, simmering in annoyance the entire time. He’s starting to hate how much his friends make fun of his platonic, his very platonic and normal bromanship with Bakugou. They just don’t get it–and why would they? Bakugou’s a goddamn enigma, they don’t make a real effort in getting to know him the way Kirishima does, and–
He pouts and looks down at his phone, at the message that Bakugou had sent him, ‘Wanna stay in my room tonight?’
...And, okay, fine. He doesn’t want them to know Bakugou in the way he does.
There’s a strange twisting in his chest as he stands frozen in the hallway he shares with Bakugou. His throat feels dry and his thoughts are going a thousand different directions. Kaminari and Ashido, they have a point, don’t they? His relationship with Bakugou is obviously special, but–
Startled, Kirishima jumps when Bakugou’s door slams open. The sound reverberates through the hall and Kirishima gapes at Bakugou, and he wonders why his bro is so damn extra , can’t he open a door like a normal person?
Bakugou looks surprised to see him. “The hell are you doing out here?”
“What? This is my hallway too?” Kirishima squeaks in the most unconvincing tone.
“Huh?” Bakugou scrunches his nose and glares.
“Huh?”
It’s not his fault, all right? It caught him off-guard. Kirishima had been buried way too deep in his thoughts. Then, out of nowhere, the guy who was tormenting him in the first place is standing in front of him, scowling.
“What the–fuck, never mind,” Bakugou exhales, clearly annoyed.
And, just like that, Bakugou steps back into his room and slams the door.
“What the…?” Kirishima gapes. He stands outside Bakugou’s room, staring at the closed door, entirely bewildered. Oh, god. Bakugou confused him so much. Irritated now, Kirishima goes off to his own room and practically dives at his bed.
The clock reads half an hour past eight, and Kirishima stews in annoyance. He reads Bakugou’s message, again and again. Bakugou had asked him to stay over, so what the hell? He really wasn’t in the mood for this right now. He was tired, he had just come back from the hospital, and Bakugou hadn’t even asked him how he was–
Pissed off, Kirishima practically jumps off his bed and stomps over to Bakugou’s room. He knocks on the door, and in his annoyance doesn’t notice Todoroki who’s in the hallway.
“Bakugou!” Kirishima half-yells.
The door slams open again, and Bakugou stands there, eyebrows scrunched together. He looks just as irritated as Kirishima. His lower lip quivers even if there’s anger in his eyes, and before Kirishima can say anything else, Bakugou gets rid of the space between them.
He fists the front of Kirishima’s shirt and pulls him, and Bakugou smashes their lips together, and it’s clumsy and sudden, and Kirishima’s heart almost stops.
Bakugou pulls away, eyes wide and shocked. Kirishima gapes back at him for a while, and they’re frozen in silence.
Finally, Kirishima says–“Oh, our first kiss.”
His voice, laden with surprise, rings through the hallway. His words are so ridiculous that Bakugou’s shocked expression makes way to amusement, and out of nowhere Bakugou snorts and hides his smirk behind his hand. Kirishima can’t help it either, his face splits into a grin.
They don’t kiss again after that, not really. They don’t even talk about it. Kirishima wants to bring it up, eventually. He doesn’t find the courage, ever.
They do have a lot of sleepovers, though. And when Bakugou buries his face into the crook of Kirishima’s neck, he doesn’t get called out for it.
Kirishima finds his courage in the strange place. In a cafe, in a mall, right after he got into a fight with someone from middle school. He’s not sure how they got there, but they’re huddled together in a corner booth.
“You look like you want to say something,” Bakugou grits.
Kirishima takes a deep breath. His hands are curled around Bakugou’s jaw, and he’s so nervous, there’s a strange knot in his chest, a heavy sensation that’s screaming at him to run away.
But Bakugou’s staring back at him, eyes narrowed and lower lip jutting out in a pout. When Kirishima glances to the side to avoid his stare, he sees that Bakugou’s gripping the edge of the table so tightly that his knuckles are white. Kirishima snaps his focus back to Bakugou quickly, his hold wavering against his own accord.
“Spit it out, asshole,” Bakugou demands.
And Kirishima does, he just goes for it, he says–“I’m in love with you, man.”
Bakugou’s eyes widen by just a fraction and his mouth parts in surprise, but he doesn’t pull away from Kirishima’s hold–if anything, the hold he has on the table relaxes. Strangely, it seems to give Kirishima the confidence he needs, because he leans forward and presses his forehead against Bakugou’s. They end up like that–in a corner booth of a cafe, with Kirishima holding Bakugou’s face, their foreheads pressed against one another’s. In the background, a cheesy song plays on the cafe’s stereo.
Kirishima closes his eyes, and he breathes, “I’m in love with you.”
“What.”
“I said I’m in love with you,” he repeats, and every time he says it he actually sounds more confident about it.
Bakugou grits, his words are harsh but Kirishima can hear how his voice hitches, “Yeah, Shitty Hair, I heard you the first two fucking times–”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to say it back,” Kirishima interrupts and he pulls away from Bakugou by just a few inches because he has to. They’re so close that their warm breaths intermingle, but Bakugou doesn’t move away so Kirishima continues to hold him in place. Bakugou’s just staring–no, glaring –at him, and Kirishima waits.
“Okay,” Bakugou finally grunts. The way his cheeks burn is adorable and Kirishima puts away the memory for later.
“Uh, haha,” Kirishima says nervously. “What do you mean okay?”
“Just–okay! Don’t push your luck. I’m not fucking saying it back, Kirishima,” Bakugou hisses. Despite his disagreeability, Kirishima notes that he still isn’t pulling away. If anything, Bakugou looks calmer, his shoulders going slack.
“It’s okay if you don’t say it back,” Kirishima exhales. And he thinks, please say it back.
Bakugou whispers, “Okay.”
Kirishima’s heart sinks, but he forgets about that as soon as Bakugou leans in and presses their lips together. It’s much softer than the first time, when Bakugou had crashed their mouths together in the hallway of their dormitories. Kirishima’s hearbeat hammers in his ears and he presses back, and this is what he wants. Even if Bakugou can’t say the words, they’re still kissing, and that says the same thing, doesn’t it?
Kissing Bakugou is like a drug. Bakugou is, surprisingly, a lot more docile this time around. He can smell smoke and realizes that Bakugou has hands clenched around the table, and that his palms are sparking in nervousness. When Kirishima chuckles at this, Bakugou pulls away and glares at him.
“It’s cute,” Kirishima insists, and he lets go of Bakugou’s jaw to grab his hands and intertwines their fingers. Predictably, Bakugou looks down at their hands as if it disgusted him, but his ears are blushing so wildly that Kirishima knows otherwise.
“It is not fucking cute,” Bakugou snarls.
Kirishima tries to coax the words out of Bakugou, tries to to get him to say he’s in love as well. The closest he gets is a message that says ‘I’d kill for you’, and strangely enough, it’s all Kirishima needs for now.
“Your friends are fucking idiots.”
“Bakugou,” Kirishima laughs. “They’re your friends too.”
Bakugou looks utterly offended at the idea. He stands in front of Kirishima, in the kitchen, his expression twisted into frustration.
“They’re just concerned,” Kirishima says carefully. “We worry them, I guess.”
A silent moment passes as Bakugou crosses his arm and glares at Kirishima.
A few minutes earlier, he had walked into Kirishima being interrogated by the idiots. He wanted to punch someone, but Kirishima was practically blocking him from getting out. Bakugou had enough of this, he was over the prying idiots—they were way too invested in him and Kirishima.
Kirishima, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind.
And, besides… maybe he owes them, too? Kind of? He knew that Kaminari had stayed up with Kirishima the night he had failed the licensure exams (a fact that the Pikachu copycat had actually let slip). He knew that Jirou had seen his text messages with Kirishima and had said nothing about it. Sero was always catching him staring at Kirishima and not saying anything about it, so he supposed Soy Sauce Face was cool, too. And, Raccoon Face, she was good friend, too—especially to Kirishima. And he was thankful for that.
“You’re thinking too much,” Kirishima whispers. He takes a deep breath and steps towards Bakugou.
“I’m thinking of reasons not to kill your friends, dipshit.”
Kirishima laughs, and suddenly he’s all up in Bakugou’s space. There’s a moment of hesitation when he puts his hand on Bakugou’s hip and squeezes. “Hey, did you mean it? When you said you loved me, too?”
“I didn’t say–”
“This morning. You said, you’d kill for me.”
Bakugou snorts. Amused, Kirishima watches as the corners of his eyes crinkle and he stops himself from bursting out laughing. He looks good like this, when he’s happy, and Kirishima adores the fact he was the cause. “Fuck off, Kirishima,” Bakugou says while trying to school his expression.
Laughing, Kirishima presses their foreheads together, and their noses bump. Bakugou’s breath hitches as he tenses, and Kirishima’s grip on his hip deepens, coaxing him to listen. “If you admit it, I’ll treat you to curry.”
“Jesus fucking christ, you’re ridiculous–”
“Bakugou,” Kirishima cuts him in. He squeezes his hip, again. “Please.”
He’s not begging, not really. He doesn’t even know where the word had come from. It has its effect on Bakugou, who stays quiet.
“If you admit it, I’ll kiss you,” Kirishima says.
Bakugou bursts out laughing at that, and the sound of it is too much, it overwhelms Kirishima. Kirishima laughs with him, and even if Bakugou hasn’t said it, Kirishima kisses him anyway. They make out in the kitchen, not realizing that anyone can walk in.
“Bakugou, say it,” Kirishima urges between kisses, and Bakugou freezes. He pulls away from Kirishima to glare at him.
“I–” Bakugou grits. Finally, he says, “You know I love you, you fucking moron.”
For what feels like the hundredth time that day, Kirishima laughs again. He throws his head back and just lets go, because the confession is so Bakugou. Bakugou snarls at him and smacks his hands and makes a move to walk away, but Kirishima just pulls him back and kisses him again, with a lot more urgency this time around.
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Last Edited Fri 29 Mar 2019 06:02AM UTC
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