Chapter Text
"Bakugo!! Come on!"
Kirishima.
Bakugo's heart clenched in his chest. Relief and hope surged through him at the sound of his friend's voice. He turned his palms downward and flexed his quirk, forcing nitroglycerin sweat through his skin. He blasted himself into the air with a series of concussive bursts. Bakugo flew through the air toward his classmates.
Towards Kirishima.
…
Kirishima was still holding his hand.
Bakugo and his so-called "rescuers" had landed in the city center, near a large crowd of people who were watching the fight between All Might and All For One on a jumbotron above the intersection. They'd descended to the ground in a back alley to avoid as much attention as possible. Bakugo noted that without him, Deku's quirk wouldn't have been enough to land without breaking bones.
Except for Kirishima. You couldn't break Kirishima's bones that easily.
Damn Deku. Of course he was here.
They had landed and rushed to the intersection to watch the live broadcast. And the entire time, Kirishima had gripped Bakugo's sweaty hand in his own, pulling the blonde along behind him. They stood in the middle of the intersection hand-in-hand, clutching each other, and watched the Symbol of Peace pass into history.
...
The rest of Bakugo's summer passed by in a haze of boredom. And… itchiness. Life was too tight being stuck at home. He worked out in his parents' home gym nonstop. Enough so his old hag even bought him an additional set of weights and even had a punching bag and combat dummy installed for him to beat up. The old rules applied, though, which drove him crazy. No blowing things up in the house.
He also, for the first time in his life, missed people. He missed hanging out with class 1-A -- well most of them, definitely not stupid Deku. But most of all, he missed him... It's not like Bakugo couldn't accept that part of himself. He'd known for a long time that he preferred sausage to eggs. Not all eggs were off the table, but… they weren't really his preference.
All summer Bakugo drove himself crazy wondering how his shitty-haired best friend felt about him. He obsessed over their interactions at I-Expo, the last time they had been able to actually spend time together as friends without being exhausted from training. Then, he would find himself thinking about Kirishima's hair and how much he actually liked it. The gelled spikes fit the hardening-hero aesthetic perfectly, and the stiff strands were fun to brush his hands across… not that he got to do it very often. Whenever he brushed his palm across his own spikes, Bakugo would shudder slightly, the nature of the hairstyle meant that any touch of his hair sent a pleasant single across his scalp. He wondered if Kirishima liked the feeling, as well.
This line of thinking would inevitably lead Bakugo to think about the conversation his parents had with him when he started middle school. They'd noticed his interest had only been in his male classmates and heroes. He had posters of All Might, Crimson Riot, and Endeavor, while most other guys his age had posters of Midnight, Mirko, or Uwabami. His parents had sat him down, offered him candy, and then shared way too much goddamned information.
"Katsuki, we need to tell you something." His mother had said in her annoyingly-melodious voice. "Your father is a bisexual. So, ya know. If you like boys, that's fine --" He had yelled wordlessly for a full twenty seconds until she had stopped talking , and then fled the room.
His father had found him later, and much more gently broached the topic, asking questions, making no insinuations or assumptions. And Bakugo had, his face covered with his hands, asked his father questions. It turned out that, before Mitsuki, he had dated mostly men. It was a surprise to all involved when she captured his heart.
It's not like Bakugo didn't talk to Kirishima every day . They texted constantly, sending each other memes and posts to make each other smile and laugh, talking about their days and how bored they were. At least Kirishima got to hang out with Mina and go do things with their parents. Bakugo waa kept him locked inside all day and night. There was concern that he might be kidnapped again. And never got a reprieve from his parents -- both of them worked from home.
Sure, they invited him to go grocery and back-to-school shopping with them, but he hated grocery shopping, and he opted to buy everything new he needed online and have it sent straight to the dorms. His mother was a fantastic cook, but she always picked incessantly through the fruit and vegetables, making sure she got perfect ones. What a waste. Ugly vegetables taste exactly the same.
So… Katsuki Bakugo lived as a prisoner for two months, locked in his parents' house, working out, playing games, reading, cooking, and generally wasting his damn time thinking about that shitty-haired idiot.
…
Death-hands Kojima was already moved in by the time Bakugo arrived at the dorm complex. He had a silent fit of rage when he realized that she had been allowed to stay there through the summer just because her parents were poor and lived in some podunk "city" in the middle of nowhere. Bakugo suspected that even if she hadn't had that excuse, Aizawa would have given her special treatment and let her stay on campus. Teacher's little pet.
Bakugo did notice, though, with a blush, as she walked up the stairs, that Kojima had spent the summer getting fit. She was already muscular, as were all the girls in the hero program, but now she was cut. And her face was fuller and healthier than he'd ever seen it. He was starting to understand why Icy-hot was always covertly staring at her. She was even nice, chatting with his parents for a while, asking them questions about their work in the fashion industry. His mom actually shared a few sources on do-it-yourself tailoring videos she approved of, as if Katsuki wasn't embarrassed enough already.
Thank goodness Kirishima arrived at school next. He rode up in a van with his mom, Mina, and her mom. Bakugo felt a deep surge of jealousy watching his friend and Mina laugh together. He helped Kirishima move his belongings in and waited impatiently while he hugged his mom goodbye, then, he dragged Kirishima back to his room and shut the door.
"We're unpacking now, shitty-hair," Bakugo growled. "I know you. If we wait, you'll live out of these boxes until the end of the year." He grabbed a box cutter and sliced the tape on one labeled "school supplies." It was filled with a seemingly random assortment of Kirishima's clothes. Bakugo dug down, and halfway, it's contents switched to an assortment of half-filled notebooks covered in doodles.
"Aww, come on, Bakugo, more people will arrive soon! And I barely got to catch up with Kojima --"
"You'll see them later," Bakugo hollered. "Did you seriously just randomly throw things in boxes? Seriously?"
"No, man, I got a system!" Kirishima said, grinning his pointy-toothed smile. "Any box I couldn't fill up, I just filled the rest of the way with clothes! Genius, right?"
Bakugo sighed, and grumbled, "I guess it could be worse."
The pair spent the better part of an hour unloading Kirishima's boxes, stuffing his clothes and other belongings away inside the school-procided mass-produced furniture. Kirishima hadn't bothered to purchase his own. He had brought his own punching bag and flame-covered curtains, though, the nerd .
Once everything was put away, Bakugo turned to face his friend, steeling himself. He clenched his fists at his side and stood up straight. "Look… Kirishima, there's something I gotta say."
Kirishima flopped down on his camo-covered bed. "Yeah, man, what's up?'
"Look, I don't expect anything from you, okay? You don't even have to respond if you don't want. If -- if you don't say anything, I'll leave and never mention it again, okay?"
"Bakugo --"
" Just let me get this out, okay??? " Bakugo snapped, and Kirishima shut up. Bakugo crossed his arms protectively across his chest. "First, I need to thank you. I know it was your idea to come get me from the League of Villains."
Kirishima grinned in response.
"I know it was you and it was a terrible, stupid idea," Bakugo said, his voice rising to almost a shout, "and you must never do that again! It was dangerous. The pro heroes had it under control --"
"Bakugo, calm down, I know that--"
"No, you don't know, Kirishima," Bakugo said, his voice rasping as he said his friend's name. He continued, his voice rough. "If something had happened to you… it would have killed me, man. I'm the one who was too fucking weak to avoid getting captured."
"You're not weak--"
"LET ME FINISH!" Bakugo centered himself with a breath. "If something had happened to you, specifically , it would have killed me. I … like you."
Kirishima beamed at Bakugo, his face bright and happy. "I like you, too, man! You're so brave and manly. You're gonna be number one for sure!"
"I --" Bakugo blushed. "No, Kirishima, I…" he closed his eyes and breathed. "I like you . Like, like you , like you."
Kirishima looked confused. "We're kinda best friends, man, I know --"
"I like you, like I want to kiss your stupid face, you idiot!" Bakugo blurted. He slapped his hand over his mouth and ducked his head, humiliated.
Comprehension spread over Kirishima's face and his jaw dropped down, and down, and down. He stood up and walked toward Bakugo. He reached for the arm covering the blond boy's mouth, pulling it away, gently. Bakugo stepped back, alarmed.
"W-what're you doing?"
Kirishima smiled. "Shut up, and stay still… you idiot ." He grasped Bakugo's hand in his own, pulling their bodies closer together. He slid his other hand into Bakugo's blonde hair, pulling the taller boy's face gently down to his, and capturing his lips with his own.
The kiss was ponderous, slow and carefully gentle. The pair twined the fingers of one hand together. Bakugo stepped closer to Kirishima, cautiously wrapping his arm around the redhead's waist and pulling their bodies closer together. Kirishima made an involuntary, pleased noise in his chest that melted Bakugo into him.
Bakugo's lips parted and Kirishima slid his tongue between them, brushing his fingers over Bakugo's gelled spikes. The two kissed deeply for another long moment, their breathing increasing in speed, until Bakugo pulled away with a gasp.
"So," he said, his voice gruff. "So you want to like, go out on a date or something?"
"Right now?" Kirishima asked.
Bakugo laughed. "No, you idiot , we're on freaking house arrest."
Bakugo wrapped his arms around Kirishima tightly. He brushed his hand over his stupid, spikey hair.