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Chapter Text

Bakugo could see Kirshima practically falling asleep on his feet and checked the time. It was a bit past nine and no wonder.

Sometimes Bakugo felt like his parents had inflicted that sleep schedule on him so that-Well no.

He had always been a “loud, and rowdy” brat so he knew for a fact they sent him to bed at eight because they wanted time to themselves.

Even now, he got tired around eight and was out like a light before ten.

He felt tired himself. Recovery Girl’s quirk left his body heavy and leaden. He shoved Kirishima, who had just pulled his shirt over his head, like an oversized necklace, eyes half-closed and half dressed. With that shove he startled and yawned, “Sorry dude! I’m just so sleepy...”

Bakugo scowled, “Sleepy? You’re fucking sleepy?!”

“Yeah.”

“How about tired? Exhausted? Haggard? Not fucking sleepy what the fuck?!”

Kirishima shushes him, “I’m not being you in front of you jerk. Let me be me and me’s sleepy.”

He rubs at his eyes and finishes putting on his shirt and Bakugo’s heart is pounding stupidly in his borrowed chest, “You’re so dumb. I can’t wait until you’re unconscious so I don’t have to hear you.”

Kirishima hums, “Me too. But dude, I’m getting the best sleep of my life. Being you is awesome. No dreams either just straight up Z’s. Quality Z’s.”

Bakugo snorts, “Whatever the fuck that means.”

Kirishima smiles at him, soft and tired and he looks away.

That unsettling feeling crawls right beneath his skin and he can’t help but think of earlier and wonder.

Does he know?

Does it show on his face when he looks at him?

Kirishima yawns again and pulls down his shirt. He runs his hands through his hair in a weird petting motion that Bakugo finds distracting. His gut churns, suddenly airy and it’s hard not to snap at the other boy to stop that.

“Your hair’s so soft bro. Compared to mine anyway...” Kirishima mumbles and Bakugo’s heart trips over itself to his throat.

“What the fuck?” He says and Kirishima jolts upright, eyes wide.

“I just mean-“

Does he know?

“Forget it. Everything you’re saying makes no fucking sense. C’mon.”

Kirishima sighs in relief, but with it, it’s like that released tension goes straight to Bakugo’s shoulders.

Maybe...

Well Kirishima has always been this way. Overly touchy feely. Overly honest and open about both feelings and opinions. He freely gives out help and compliments without thinking much about it. That has always been Kirishima as he knows him.

It’s Bakugo that has changed since they met.

It’s him that searches for hidden meanings in the everyday things. It’s him that hopes for something more even though nothing has or will change.

Just him.

His chest feels tight and he rubs a hand over it absently.

And the way Kirishima’s body had gone stiff. The way his shoulders hiked up to his ears at Tetsutetsu’s insinuation of a double date. It was practically cringing.

Sure, Bakugo liked him, but he had resolved to be content with what he had. If they kept bringing up Bakugo’s crush to Kirishima, how long would he have even that?

How long until they couldn’t be like this anymore? Until they had to be awkward and break apart before renegotiating a friendship knowing that Bakugo had feelings? Before they had to address the elephant in the room?

“You’re grinding your teeth.” Kirishima said. And Bakugo stopped.

“You okay?”

Bakugo nodded, “Just tired.”

Kirishima sighed and the rode up the elevator in silence, Kirishima swaying a bit and yawning.

“You’re usually in bed by now, huh? Must be why I’m so tired.”

Bakugo grunts.

Kirishima sighs, “Sorry.”

That startled him, “Hah?”

The elevator opens and Kirishima snaps his mouth shut, shrugging. He heads to Bakugo’s room and he wants to ask him why. To reach out and yank him back so he can explain himself, but he sees Shoji’s door and is suddenly wary.

He gets a text:

Just remembered I took a lotta snaps haha like sorry

Bakugo rolls his eyes, somewhat relieved regardless:

like I give a shit

He hesitates, then types and sends it before he can really stop himself:

Night

!!GOOD NIGHT DUDE!!:DD

He can’t help the giddy feeling at those smiley faces. He hardly ever does that simply because of this. That enthusiastic response that tells him Kirishima recognized his effort to be somewhat civil.

And then he sinks.

Tapping his phone against his chin, he looks to Kirishima’s door.

It takes him a half hour to search Kirishima’s room and since he doesn’t have a second pair of eyes this time, he does a second sweep just to be sure.

Both frustrated and relieved, he throws a couple punches against Kirshima’s punching bag and flops down onto the bed with an aggravated huff.

This is a good thing. No bugs.

Or maybe they had caught Toru before she could plant it.

If she even did. Bakugo wasn’t too sure but that was the only explanation for her being there.

He was ready to rip his hair out and realized he forgot to put the stuff he had pulled out of Kirishima’s desk drawers back into it. Grumbling, he stood up and shoved the workout gear catalogue, a fitness magazine, and the bottles of supplements into the drawer until he got to a bottle that was nearly empty and another that was the same but unopened, the plastic still on it.

He rattled the bottle. Maybe two left.

“Melatonin.”

Oh.

Ever since they had swapped, Bakugo had laid around looking through Kirishima’s phone gallery and playing a crossword game on it before bed. He just figured it was an internal clock thing. Just like how he was always waking up way earlier than he wanted to.

Maybe that wasn’t a choice and it was something else entirely.

With a hum, he put the bottles back into the drawer and felt his body drag at him, his eyes fatigued.

Now that the room was in order, he could finally drop off to sleep.

Except when he turned off the light, plugged in Kirishima’s phone, and laid down, he was wide awake.

He turned over and over. Back, stomach and either side.

He punched at Kirishima’s pillow into a more huggable shape and waited with eyes closed.

He got up and took the two remaining pills and he laid down and waited.

He slammed the pillow over his face and breathed slower. In and out fully and exaggeratedly.

And he waited.

It was 1:42 am.

He got up and started pacing, he did push ups and his muscles protested it, from working out in the gym yesterday! Now that was yesterday! What the fuck?!

He did a few jackknifes and he shadowboxed until he was starting to sweat and threw himself onto the bed.

His heart was pounding and his sweat cooled and he scrunched his eyes shut and hoped.

He was tired.

He didn’t want to think anymore.

But his thoughts kept circling round and around. Like a dog chasing its tail and he groaned.

What if Kirishima knew?

And what then?

Kirishima wasn’t the kind of person who would make fun of someone else for a crush.

Right. A crush.

As if Bakugo hadn’t actively tried to squash that feeling and dash his hopes so it would stop. As if he wasn’t mean sometimes to discourage Kirishima’s friendly behavior because-

It was 3:29 in the morning.

Seeing the time only made him even more tired.

This wasn’t like yesterday and the day before.

He almost wanted to wake Kirishima and ask him how he managed to get to sleep but instead, he unlocked the phone and got distracted. He pulled up his contact, and sluggishly he went through the pictures, of which there was a lot of.

Kirishima posing with Kaminari and Sero. Mina and Kirishima standing in front of the school gate, posing. Kirishima, Iida and Ojirou at the gym.

Bakugo snarled at seeing Deku and Kirishima with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders with Uraraka holding the phone, throwing a peace sign into the frame.

There was Kirishima grinning with Toru, Jirou and Yaomomo smiling brightly in what looked like the common room.

There was Tetsutetsu, Tokoyami and Asui all at the pool posing in front of the diving board.

There was Kirishima with arms around Koda and Shoji and Tokoyami.

There was Aoyama and Kirishima sitting on a desk posing primly with Iida’s hands a lecturing blur in the background.

There was a picture of Satou and Kirishima flexing at one another, grins competitive.

And then there was an overwhelming amount of photos Bakugo didn’t remember taking. Kirishima’s mouth parted on a smile with Bakugo in frame, scowling at something beyond the lens more often than not.

He found it. There were two pictures dated over a month ago.

Bakugo grinning over his shoulder, in full hero costume.

Bakugo swiped the phone to look at the previous picture.

His breath caught and his heart dropped into his stomach.

It was apparently the original, uncropped photo. A photo of Bakugo grinning at Kirishima who was practically glowing with happiness.

He closes out of the gallery.

Bakugo turned over and thought through the day from when he woke up to now. Now that he was alone, it still bugged him. Toru and Tetsutetsu making jokes.

The way Kirishima and Mina and Sero had froze up and watched him.

He wants to ask Kirishima about it, but he also doesn’t want to know the truth.

Even so, the thought plagues him. They all know and tell Kirishima so casually. And in front of him too, no less. Is it because they spend so much time together and it’s actually a joke? He knows Kaminari would never tell. He may be loose lipped, but if you tell him outright it’s a secret he’s good about it.

It helps that Bakugo has blackmail but that’s a moot point.

He had heard Mina’s cry of “No!” Before Toru had skipped over and told him. He unclenches his aching hands, realizing he’s hardened them.

Everyone knows.

His stomach turns and he tries not to believe it, but the thought won’t leave him alone. If he was obvious enough for them to notice, then Kirishima probably has too. There’s no way they’ve caught on and he hasn’t. It doesn’t make sense.

Sparing his feelings by not addressing it sounds kind hearted and that might be what Kirishima is doing.

Why did he say he liked his laugh then?

Bakugo groans, dragging hands over his face. His eyes ache and he feels sluggish so he crawls under the covers and shuts his eyes.

People are allowed to like his laugh and not like him back, he supposes. They’re allowed to call him the manliest boy in school, and tell him his hair is soft without it meaning anything.

Except it hurts to think that. It hurts more than he thought it would.

He must look like an idiot. It’s not like he’s tagging along with Kirishima every chance he gets, it’s more like Kirishima is always pestering him to do things together.

If he knows Bakugo likes him, why would be he keep him around? If someone he didn’t like had a crush on him, Bakugo would put some distance between them and make it obvious he didn’t like them.

He rolls over, and closes his eyes, trying to ignore the way tears manage to escape. He refuses to sob, keeping his jaw clenched.

He rolls over and over and back over, every part of him tired but he can’t sleep. He keeps thinking about it. It feels like the thought is eating him alive and he wonders how many people know. He wonders what he’s doing wrong and what gave him away, except that lately he has really felt like there was something unspoken between them.

Something beyond the fact that they were best friends.

Bakugo had felt it in those moments where they didn’t have to fill the silence with idle conversation. The times when Kirshima would work on homework as Bakugo scrolled through his phone. Those small quiet moments in the morning when they ate breakfast together.

It was all one sided wasn’t it? That peaceful feeling, accompanied by Bakugo’s usual thought that he wouldn’t mind things continuing on like this indefinitely.

He wipes angrily at his face with Kirishima’s sheets, knowing that he’s being dumb as all fuck. What’s the point of best friends forever or ride or die when you don’t fucking mean it? Bakugo has never gone back on his word and he’s not going to start now. There’s no reason to be disappointed in what they have because what they have is enough. He shouldn’t be asking for more anyway when this, really is the best outcome.

What else could he possibly hope for when already he has so many things with Kirishima that he didn’t before?

Eventually, he just takes out his phone, heart heavy and body tired. He turns it on and sees that if he doesn’t fall asleep now, it’s game over for catching sleep at all.

Bakugo gets up and he considers taking one more of the melatonin before deciding against it and lays back down. It hasn’t helped so far. He sees Kirishima’s notifications and goes through them.

He goes through his posts on Instagram and realizes that he’s in a lot of them.

Bakugo idly considers making an instagram just so Kirishima can tag him like he does with his other friends. He sees a few from Tetsutetsu and it’s weird knowing that Tetsutetsu unwittingly took pictures of Bakugo instead.

Except he’s Kirshima and-

He decides not to give it much thought. He’s too tired.

Then he sees a photo from today.

Tetsutetsu is holding up a peace sign, and Bakugo and Kirishima are in the background. Bakugo sees himself as Kirishima doing curls and Kirishima as him, nearby and turned to talk to him. The tips of his fingers rest over each of them and the caption reads, “Third-wheelin’” followed by a heart and flex emoji.

Bakugo is amazed at how many people liked it beyond their friends. He sees classmates and Class B and kids that he feels look familiar but doesn’t have names for.

Third wheeling.

He sees the comments:

Aww you didn’t invite me?!

Hanging with Class A again huh?

He scrolls and then sees:

They’re always together

Omg love traingleeee??? Lmao

Bakugo closes out of the app, chest tight.

He didn’t even know those people.

Are they really together that much? What is he thinking! Of course they are...

He opens it again and looks.

Kirishima’s instagram is filled with photos of him and his friends and Bakugo scrolls through them, clicking on anything that catches his interest.

There’s a picture of Kirishima, and Kaminari posing in front of some rocks, and they’re wearing what are unmistakably Iida’s glasses. Even the rocks.

Sero is on the ground, mouth wide in laughter, tears streaming down his face and Mina is the one taking the picture like a selfie.

The caption reads:

Me and Iida have mutual family! #cousins

The first comment is none other than Iida:

Please return my glasses. I was unaware that this was why you wished to borrow them.

Sero responds:

Class Rep...did you make an account just to post that?

Bakugo can’t help a laugh and he moves on to the next picture, Kirishima flexing and Bakugo sees himself in the background doing pull ups and the caption reads:

Just a day with my best bro!

Bakugo can’t help the roll of his eyes in response to that. Whenever Kirishima gets him smiling, it’s his only defense.

Then he sees the tag “#meandBakubro” and is bombarded by 312 pictures. Half of which he doesn’t even remember. There’s tons of them at the gym, Bakugo indulging Kirishima by being in them. Bakugo sees himself, with Kirishima’s arm thrown over his shoulder over and over. Them at the convenience store, Bakugo and Kirishima hanging out with their friends, Kirishima with his textbooks laid out waiting for him to tutor him, Kirishima and Bakugo at movie night (the times that Bakugo has actually gone), Kirshima and Bakugo in each other’s rooms and on the training field.

There’s even posts of himself and Kaminari, although not even close to being nearly as many.

He sees Kirishima’s bright smile again and again and he closes out of the app to see Kirishima’s Crimson Riot wallpaper.

He can’t decide if he feels better or not.

He sorely misses his own bed, and his own neat room. His room that doesn’t smell like Kirishima’s body spray and detergent. Where he doesn’t have a stupid analog clock that ticks and tocks with stupid flexed arms attached to it that flex every hour.

Bakugo stares up at the ceiling.

It’s 5:47 a.m.

He drags hands over his face and tries to shut his eyes. He lays there for a bit in the silence, before he opens his eyes and picks up Kirishima’s phone.

He looks through his photos, seeing a bunch of what he knows to be reaction pictures. He has several on his own phone because Kaminari and Kirishima use them so much in their group chat. Admittedly, it’s always funny to see them lose their shit when he sends one.

His friends are easily impressed, and he enjoys that, what can he say.

He spends a half hour saving pictures to Kirishima’s repertoire when he decides to scroll back to his contact picture again.

He looks at the uncropped one more closely. He’s got memory like a steel trap.

He just has to focus.

Bakugo in the picture is grinning over his shoulder at Kirishima, and he knows it as the practice match they had last month. He knows because the bottom half of Kirishima’s mask broke. Because he had gotten a cut on his lip that Bakugo couldn’t stop staring at. And his hair had been in disarray, his bangs falling over his forehead. It hadn’t helped that he kept brushing them out of his eyes. It was distracting as fuck but Bakugo couldn’t bring himself to be too angry when they had won.

And of course they had.

He stares at Kirishima in the picture who is grinning back at him, smile wide and bright. Eyes scrunched and glinting happily.

Someone took this picture and he wonders if they knew.

It was probably Kaminari. Or Mina.

Sero likes group photos too much for it to be him.

He wonders how many pictures will be like that one before Kirishima realizes he likes him as much as he does. He had wanted to tell him at some point. Maybe when he was strong enough to lose him.

Tears well up yet again and he curses, dropping the phone to wipe at his eyes. What the actual fuck.

Kirishima’s tear ducts fucking react to everything, going off on a hair trigger and he’s fucking sick of it. If he’s happy, he cries. Sad? Cries. Laughing? Cries. The only emotion that doesn’t bring tears is fucking anger so he grits his teeth and tries to seethe.

Except it’s overwhelming.

He feels like he’s choking, and his throat closes over the lump in his throat.

Why would they think it was funny unless it was? Unless it was fucking ridiculous for someone like him to have a soft spot for the guy that could make friends with anybody. Unless it was ridiculous that he thought it was even possible for someone like Kirshima to like him back.

He tries to pick himself up before he starts wallowing. He had already come to terms with it, and he refuses to be so pathetic as to dwell on it.

Kirishima is his best friend. Just because Kirishima doesn’t want to fucking kiss him doesn’t mean his life is fucking ruined.

Except he feels humiliated and embarrassed.

His body burns hot and he wants to curl up and die. He wipes away tears one after the other until his eyes feel raw from the rough swiping of his hands. Of Kirishima’s hands.

Bakugo isn’t a touchy feely person.

No one in his family really is.

His mom forced hugs onto him less often than she had when he was small. His dad was awkward with those kinds of things, often settling for a clap of a hand at his shoulder. And an irritating, “You’re just like your mother in a lot of ways.”

He would say it fondly but still.

His mom was more of a “say it loud and proud!” kind of person while his dad was sort of mousy and was more opportunistic with his words.

As a result Bakugo felt they had screwed him over because he was loud about everything except his feelings. They were hard to put into words and in his family, apologies were never spoken.

“The best apology is changed behavior, Katsuki. So shape up or ship out brat.”

Right now he was grateful for his inability to put words to his feelings. What if he had done something stupid like confess?

How do you stop liking someone anyway? He felt like he had tried everything but Kirihsima was just too...

He glanced at the clock.

And how the fuck do you fall asleep instantly?

He didn’t know how he managed it everyday in his own body but he had taken it for granted.

Those pills didn’t do shit.

He drags himself upright and decides that he’s going to drink a hot glass of milk and some camomile tea.

He’s heard Iida talk about one and heard Yaoyorozu talk about the other so combining them should knock him out. He berates himself for not having thought of it earlier.

He decides to walk down the stairs instead of using the elevator, thinking that he should try and tire himself out, even though he knows that his body isn’t the problem-

Or is it?

Is this because of the swap or because Kirishima really has trouble sleeping?

He thinks of the empty pill bottle and wants to ask.

Instead he goes to the kitchen, goes to turn on the light and then has to leap back as something flicks it off and he sees two white eyes in the dark and sighs in relief.

It’s Dark Shadow and Tokoyami.

“Very funny asshole,” Bakugo says and flicks back on the light only for Dark Shadow to flick it off again-

Wait.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Bakugo makes his way over to the fridge and opens it to see Tokoyami swathed in Dark Shadow in the glow of the fridge light.

“Well that isn’t creepy.” Bakugo remarks and Dark Shadow’s eyes narrow.

“You know that Hero classes are today right? You’re gonna wear him out before they even begin.”

He almost misses it.

But he sees and signs back, “Guess again.”

“Talk talk talk talk!” Dark Shadow signs enthusiastically and Bakugo scowls.

“Sleep.” He signs back and it shuts the fridge door. Bakugo is startled by the lights turning on and Dark Shadow signs at him.

“No no no no no! Always talk!”

“Always?”

“Always! You talk a lot! A lot!”

Bakugo signs at him, “Like this? In sign?”

“Sound.”

“Do you want me to sign?”

“Talk! Sound!”

“Fucking fine then. Let me make this.”

“You not-“ Dark Shadow makes a motion with his hand against its temple and Bakugo doesn’t know the word.

How the fuck doesn’t he know the word?

“What’s-“ He makes the motion and Dark Shadow points at him, “You! It’s you!”

Oh. A nickname.

He copies the motion and grins. It’s “sharp” but against his hair. Cute.

His grin falters. And he goes back to fixing himself a cup of tea. He sets up the electric kettle and heats up a mug of milk in the microwave as he waits before Dark Shadow is pestering him, moving Tokoyami’s body like a weird puppet to grab at his sleeve.

It’s kind of creepy and Bakugo would use his quirk to get rid of it but can’t since he’s swapped.

“Sleepwalking huh.”

“Suppose! Maybe maybe!”

Then Dark Shadow signs, “You forget?”

Bakugo goes cold, “What.”

“Forgetting me!”

Bakugo frowns, “What do you mean dude?”

“Talk weird. Talk in sign. Acting surprised. Not Kirishima! Kirishima has a-“ Dark Shadow makes the sign for bird, and shadow.

“Is that your name?” Bakugo asks even though he knows.

“Yes! Yes! You have a Dark Shadow?”

“No.” Bakugo says, “I’m just tired.”

“Always.” Dark Shadow declares. Tokoyami’s eyelids flutter and Bakugo sighs.

“Can’t you put him to bed? Doesn’t that make him tired to use you?”

He makes another sign that Bakugo assumes, “Fumikage doesn’t know! Does it in his sleep!”

Bakugo snorts, “That’s... unsettling.”

“You are mean boy.”

Dark Shadow fucking pecks at his fingers and he hardens them just in time he forgets himself and signs, “FUCK OFF!”

“See? You are mean boy. Kirishima is nice boy. Grumpy and tired. Like-“ Dark Shadow makes the sign for “explosive” against his temple.

“What.” Bakugo says, finally understanding that that’s a sign for HIM and Dark Shadow reiterates his sentence word for word.

The microwave goes off.

He retrieves the milk, downs it, and then makes himself tea. Dark Shadow watches him quietly.

“Nothing to say. Dumb boy.”

“Oh shut it bird brain you can barely talk either!”

“More than you.”

“Yeah yeah whatever.”

Dark Shadow and Tokoyami sway together as he polishes off the tea and he leaves the kitchen only to be followed into the elevator.

Dark Shadow runs a hand over all the fucking buttons and Bakugo hisses, “Why the hell would you do that?!”

“Can’t read.”

Bakugo pinches the bridge of his nose and feels a headache coming on. His eyes burn and his lids fall heavily over them. Hopefully this idea worked or else he’s going to have some choice words for Iida and Yaoyorozu.

With a groan and a smack of his beak, Tokoyami wakes up, and Bakugo has to catch him as his eyes open and he stumbles, “Mm? Kiririn?”

Bakugo flusters, “Yo.”

He’s so fucking tired if this asshole starts a fucking conversation in this god forsaken elevator he’s going to scream.

“I was sleep walking again huh.”

“Um yeah.”

“Sorry. Dark Shadow didn’t give you trouble did he?”

“No, dude, it was cool.”

Tokoyami hums, rubbing at his eyes and the finer feathery-hair around them. Katsuki has always noticed it looked more like penguin feathers like at the zoo than crows, “Can’t sleep?”

Bakugo shrugs and Tokoyami sighs eyes narrowing at the floor, “I keep...sleepwalking.”

“And Dark Shadow puppets you around too.”

Tokoyami looks at him, cocking his head, “He’s the only thing keeping me from tumbling down the stairs or getting into cabinets...Thank you for keeping him company again. These are troubling times.”

“Uh yeah! No problem!”

Bakugo tries not to look too relieved when Tokoyami leaves for his floor, “G’night dude!”

“Farewell. See you in class.”

But he sees Dark Shadow’s eyes watching him.

The elevator door shuts and Bakugo waits for his floor. It’s when it opens and he’s halfway to Kirishima’s room that he realizes, “Shit.”

Would Dark Shadow be able to convey that he was acting weird?
He didn’t know and suddenly he’s less irritated and feeling more like he’s been dunked into an ice bath, hair raising.

Being tired and irritated was no fucking excuse.

He was probably freaking out for no reason.

He didn’t think that Kirishima talked much with Dark Shadow, but he couldn’t be sure. In this past couple days he was learning more about Kirishima and what Kirishima thought of him too.

It upset him a bit that he had kept the old nickname “Shitty Hair”. And that he had doubted his own strength saying that things came easy to him or whatever the fuck.

Bakugo hoped he had managed to...reassure him? Kirishima was fucking strong, and he had been using his name for a few months now. They were equals. Partners.

He slumps into Kirishima’s room, his heart skipping stupidly at the smell of his room before he looks at the clock.

He hisses out a curse and knows he won’t be sleeping at all today. Unless he can fit in a nap during lunch. That’d be his best bet.

At least it’s Saturday. Tomorrow he won’t have school at all and maybe he can postpone the stupid dance off with Mina long enough to get two hours in.

He decides to get Kirishima’s morning jog out of the way. Might as well get the day started. He goes to brush his teeth and do Kirishima’s hair.

It’s going to be a long day.
**
Kirishima wakes to Bakugo’s alarm. He feels a bit groggy, but he sits up, does Bakugo’s morning stretches and checks his phone. He knows the other boy likes to lay around in bed for a bit after waking up, but Kirishima doesn’t keep to this part of his schedule. Bakugo is a pretty low maintenance guy so far as grooming goes. He doesn’t spend time or money the way Kirishima does on his hair and he just throws on his uniform without a tie. Kirishima knows he knows how to do one from the uniform check days. Bakugo always does the tie because he refuses to get points for wearing his pants proper but wont risk being sent home for being docked too many points.

He feels like he knows too much about Bakugo and he sees his ears go red and his face turn blotchy with embarrassment in the mirror as he brushes Bakugo’s teeth.

That’s another weird thing about being the other boy.

The flat teeth. Right now Kirishima runs a tongue over them and still marvels at the texture. His own teeth are broader and blunter at the back, while his front teeth are narrower and sharper. As a joke he once hardened his teeth and mouth and ripped into a soda can after chugging it, “I’m so hungryyyy!”

And everyone had froze in shock except for Bakugo. Bakugo who just silently handed him his bag of chips which he would not accept back.

Thinking back on it, he covered his face. Remembering the way Bakugo had kept staring at him as Mina fretted before saying, “That was metal as fuck, and not just because you tore through it like it was paper.”

It sounded a lot like admiration, but he couldn’t be sure.

He tries to shake off those thoughts, seeing Tokoyami walk into the door frame before entering the bathroom. He almost chirps a good morning, but instead, he puts on an annoyed scowl and starts chucking Bakugo’s stuff into the bathroom caddy.

“Good morning Bakugo.”

Kirishima grunts, and Tokoyami goes on, “It was a long night and instead of enveloping things in a blanket, the darkness was unforgiving and cold. Piercingly so.”

“Just say you didn’t sleep well and spare me the headache.” Kirishima says. He knows that since the band, him and Tokoyami get along better but Bakugo is still Bakugo.

Tokoyami’s feathers literally ruffle and he barks out a laugh, “Anyhow music soothes so when are you going to stop being so obstinate and just play the damn drums?”

Kirishima rolls his eyes but before he can get a word in, Tokoyami tells him, “You like the drums but you like Kirishima more. I know.”

“I-huh-haaah?!”

Tokoyami just chuckles to himself and starts doing his weird bird grooming around his eyes and ears and Kirishima is for once at a loss for words.

“Whatever!” He spits and Tokoyami just tells him, “Speaking of Kiri-rin, we were both up late last night and Dark Shadow told me he knows sign!...I wonder where he learned that? Hm? I know him and Mina’s middle school did not provide such a course...so who? He must have asked you so he could talk to Dark Shadow. That’s rather sweet of him, isn’t it?”

Tokoyami says it with a straight face but his tone is smug.

Kirishima feels his face heat.

Is that what it looks like?! How many things is he going to have to learn to keep his cover! Drums, beatboxing, dancing, and now sign language.

He knows that as heroes they need a form of non-verbal communication, but Tokoyami is right. His middle school didn’t churn out enough heroes for it to be in their curriculum!

“You’re a rather thorough tutor, hm?”

“Shut yer beak! I’m the best damn tutor and what’s it to ya!” Shit, he sounds defensive when he doesn’t need to be and Tokoyami just snickers, Dark Shadow forming just to mimic laughter.

So he saves his bluster and just flips them off before stomping out of the bathroom.

Whenever he has a late night, sometimes Tokoyami is there, most times he isn’t. He has a problem sleepwalking when he’s stressed and Kirishima sometimes makes late night snacks and talks to Dark Shadow.

It seems like Bakugo had found that out, but even when he gets his body back, he should learn. He already has a hard time in English! How is he supposed to-

“Hi Bakugo! Oi! Who shit in your locker buddy! Or maybe you’re the one that needs to relieve themself considering that constipated look on your face!” Sero says cheerily and Kirishima grouses back.

“Better than looking dumb and making decisions twice as fucking dumb.”

Sero places a hand over his heart in mock shock, “Blasty! You wound me! And just when I was trying to be a good friend and give you a heads up about Kiri!”

“What.”

“Ah, that got your attention,” Sero’s ever-present grin is sly and Kirshima rolls his eyes.

“Well? Out with it.”

Sero frowns, “He’s uh, grumpy. Not you levels of grump, don’t worry! No ones coming for your throne but uh, yeah. Maybe you should do something about that! Also! The dance off! “

“Yeah?”

“You better prepare yourself fella! We got a secret weapon!”

“It’s not secret if you tell me.”

Sero just grins at him and taps his temple, “War’s conception is always in the mind first my friend.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wax philosophical with a common rube!”

“Musutafu ain’t the country fucker!” Kirishima tried to swat at him and Sero just laughs and darts away.

“Oh yeah? And tell me why you spent your childhood as a woodland creature hunting bugs with Midoriya in the backwoods west of nowher-“

Kirishima shoves him and he stumbles away laughing,” Point is, we’re gonna win and you my friend, are gonna lose!”

“Not in this lifetime, sticky!”

Sero just saluted him with both hands and headed up the stairs to probably change into his school uniform.

Kirishima on the other hand, is as ready for the day as he’s going to be and he heads to the kitchenette and already his mouth is watering, but his appetite is gone when he sees who’s cooking.

Or should he say, how they’re cooking.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Kirishima asks and Kaminari grins, elbowing Todoroki who is also sitting on the counter next to him.

“Check it out! Todoroki! Pig me!”

Todoroki nods and peels a piece of bacon from the package and lays it over Kaminari’s arm in mere second it’s sizzling and Kirishima watches in abject disgust as Todoroki, with his heat resistant hand, carefully grabs the bacon and flips it.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

No wonder the whole downstairs smells like bacon.

Todoroki speaks, mouth already full, “You’re mad because you can only make charcoal.”

“You wanna bet?”

“We all know you can cook the regular way bro, no thanks!” Kaminari chirps and Todoroki nods.

Kirishima rolls his eyes and enters the kitchenette, preparing to make himself breakfast.

“Hey Bakugo!”

Kirishima turns at the sound of his own voice and sees himself tucked on the couch between-

Between Midoriya and Uraraka with a wide grin on his face. Uraraka and Midoriya’s faces are as red as his hair and Bakugo trots up to follow him.

But not before he makes a disgusted face at the other two boys before asking Kirishima, “Make me coffee?”

“Kacchan hates coffee!” Midoriya blurts out and Bakugo turns to him with a shrug, “But he cooks well enough so, it stands to reason-“

“If it’s food, Bakugo can make it.” Kaminari says with confidence and Bakugo’s grin doesn’t reach his eyes when he snaps his fingers, “Exactly.”

Even Kirishima knows what Bakugo thinks of his morning coffees. It’s been called everything from poison to sludge but now Bakugo wants to drink it?

“Sure.” Kirishima says rolling his eyes, “Just for you since you asked so fucking nicely?”

He knows he’s got Bakugo in a trap and smirks as he opens the cabinet and waits. Bakugo grits his teeth, but manages a pleasant tone, “Please?”

Bakugo seems like he’s having a bad day, but these are routines that can’t be changed and this exchange is something familiar to them. He hums and gets to work and Bakugo sticks close, watching him make the coffee.

Back of his neck prickling, Kirishima puts four scoops of coffee into the filter and immediately turns, “I know! GET OFF MY CASE!”

Iida startles, hands raised and brings them down, “I am just-I implore you to use the reusable filter! To use-“

“Oi, I don’t tell you how to buy orange juice pal! So don’t you tell me how to make coffee! I already bought them!”

“Bakugo! You should not listen to Kirishima in this regard!”

Bakugo grumbles, “It leaves coffee...powder.”

“Silt.” Kirishima corrects and suddenly everyone is staring at him.

Kaminari is the first to speak, around a mouthful of bacon, “Ew. You guys are spending too much time together. I’ve only ever heard Kiri complain about that and now-ugh. You guys are talking like each other.”

Todoroki hums, swallowing down bacon before saying brusquely, “You’re both being weird lately.”

“Says the two that are cooking bacon on their skin!” Bakugo retorts.

Kaminari laughs, “Want some, Kirishima? We wanted to see if electric or gas stove is the way to go for flavor!”

“And...you didn’t use the electric griddle or gas stove why?”

Kaminari and Todoroki look at one another, and Todoroki says blasé as can be, “We can’t cook.”

Mina starts howling with laughter from the living room and Kirishima nods, “Sounds about right.”

Bakugo sighs, “Look at all that grease.”

“C’mon bro, bacon is a pretty manly smell! Everyone likes bacon!”

“Not me.” Ojiro says from the couch and before Kirishima can get distracted, joining in the conversation, Bakugo elbows into his space.

“How much water.”

Kirishima speaks lowly so that no one else can hear, “You hate coffee.”

“But you don’t. And you can eat spicy curry now right.”

Kirishima blinks. Right. Weird.

He measures out about two cups of water and Bakugo’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t say anything as Kirishima starts the pot. He picks up the coffee tin and reads it, looks to the coffee pot and then says a simple, “Yikes.”

Yikes?! YIKES?!

Kirishima snatches the tin from his hands with a “Do you want coffee or what?!”

Bakugo just grins at him, raising his hands in surrender, “Yes, chef!”

Kaminari laughs and Kirishima squints at Bakugo.

Something is up with him. He just doesn’t know-

Tokoyami says he saw him.

“How much sleep did you fucking get?”

“Enough,” Bakugo says cryptically and Kirishima curses. When the coffee is done, Todoroki and Kaminari have made their way through the package of bacon and Kaminari pitches it into the trash.

“Dude I could still eat!”

Todoroki hums, “I preferred my own bacon to yours. It just doesn’t have that smoky flavor.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

They start washing off their arms and Kaminari says to Bakugo, “Don’t give me that look!”

“You ate that entire package of bacon. I think I’m allowed to be disappointed in you.”

“Half a pack.” Todoroki says and that has Kaminari nodding, “Yeah! Just half!”

“Dude. What do I even work you so hard at the gym for! You’ll have chicken legs and stick arms forever!”

“Whatever! I’ve got guns!”

“He’s packin’ heat.” Todoroki intones with a smile and Bakugo shakes his head, “If those are guns I’m the fucking gunshow and that’s an unlicensed peashooter.”

“If you’re a gunshow, I’m a damn shooting range!” Kirishima says with a sneer and before Bakugo can say anything, Shoji waltzes into the kitchen flexing all six of his arms, “If you’re a shooting range then I must be the whole artillery.”

They all wave him off at varying levels of exasperation and Todoroki snorts.

Kirishima breaks into his powerbar stash, scoops himself some rice and since its hero classes he breaks an extra egg over it before realizing he isn’t himself.

He grabs the hot sauce as an afterthought.

He takes out two mugs and splits the coffee. Bakugo takes his and glares at it, before sipping at it.

“Oh. It’s good.”

Kirishima flushes, “Of course it is! I made it!”

He takes a sip of his own as he heads to the fridge and gags.

BITTER! TART! It tastes like ashes in his mouth and he splutters as he spits it back into the cup and Mina is laughing.

Ochaco snickers behind her hand and the other kids are watching him so he lets Bakugo’s quirk snap and pop like firecrackers with a roar, “GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? HAH?!”

Bakugo snorts, “Too hot bro?”

Kirishima snarls back, “What the fuck ever. Shut it.”

Bakugo just smiles over the rim of his cup and Midoriya pipes up from the couch, “Kacchan you hate black coffee.”

“He’s just trying to impress me.” Bakugo says evenly, and Kirishima pauses.

What.

Bakugo may be smiling, but his eyes aren’t. They’re sharp with intent and Kirishima shivers even though his gaze is on their classmates.

“Ah?” Midoriya says, “But...”

He does that nervous thing where his hands hover in the air and Kirishima feels pressure to diffuse the situation.

“Like hell I am!” Kirishima spits back and Bakugo barks out a laugh.

“Just kidding you man. See? You need a morning coffee just as bad as I do!”

Bakugo takes a swig of the coffee, eyes watching him again and Kirishima rolls his own. He grabs the creamer from the cabinet and takes two heaping spoonfuls to add. He sips it and is glad that it mellows out the flavor, but it’s still nasty.

Sighing, he takes out the sugar and dumps some in. The next sip he takes, is sweet.

And he likes it.

Kirishima frowns into his cup. He’s never been a big fan of sweet things. Occasional sweets were nice, but he’d always preferred more savory flavors and the more mellow sweetness of fruits.

Weird.

Their classmates are quieter when they talk now and Bakugo is trying to act casual, but his smile is stiff on his face. His hand is clutching the handle of the mug too tight, tendons in stark relief with the strain.

He sits on Bakugo’s side of the table and the other boy stands to chug his cup and goes to wash it in the sink.

Miffed, Kirishima figures it’s more the lack of sleep than anything, but part of him is less forgiving. He always likes talking to Bakugo, grumpy or not and it feels like the other boy is starting fights for no reason.

Kirishima knows that when he’s sleep deprived himself, he gets more mopey than anything else, but he also understands the irritability.

“Don’t be late for class everyone!” Iida shouts before he leaves the dorm and Kirishima knows he’s got forty five minutes at least until class and decides to hunt Bakugo down and talk to him.

He drinks his coffee, eats his eggs and rice with plenty of hot sauce, and heads to class with a sigh after doing his dishes.

Uraraka stops him, pulling at his blazer and he feels it lift weirdly and knows she’s used her quirk, “What is it round face!”

“I was going to ask you!” Uraraka says with a frown, “Why’s Kiri so...he asked me if it was true that I liked someone!”

“Well is it?” Kirishima asks to stall for time and Uraraka lets out a soft squeak, “W-why! You too?!”

Midoriya pipes up, face pink, “Kacchan, he also asked her if she planned to do anything about it.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“I mean-um, Kacchan doesn’t beat around the bush. Don’t you think-I mean, I’m not telling you what to do but-“

Uraraka grabs Midoriya and shakes him, “I can’t say it so you have to, Deku! Plus Ultra!”

“Yeah. Spit it out.”

“Kirishima seems interested in romance-romantic? Things?”

Kirishima is fighting mortification, why is Bakugo talking about this stuff with these two of all people?

“Okay? And?”

“I mean, you are too, aren’t you? You said you liked someone!”

The fucking Uno game has really come back to bite him in the ass.

Kirishima can’t help the blush that curls across his face in a hot flush, “What the fuck is it to you, Deku. Spit it out!”

“Maybe you should do something about it!”

“Like what?”

Midoriya blinks, looks to Uraraka who releases the blazer from zero gravity, and then looks back to who he thinks is Bakugo right now, “Kacchan...you don’t want to do anything about it?”

Kirishima scoffs at them, “This shit isn’t exactly time sensitive. Fuck out of my business and over analyze your own, Deku.”

He turns to leave, but Uraraka gets in his way, eyes blazing with a manly passion that holds him captive, “What are you so afraid of? Worst you can get is a ‘no’. You already know what the outcomes might be so why don’t you go for it?”

He can think of several things that could go wrong, and only one thing that could go right so he sneers at her, “That goes double for you. Hypocrite.”

Her face goes red even if he was bluffing and Uraraka sighs, “You said we were in the same boat once... I was just trying to help you.”

Kirishima pauses at her tone. Is she actually-

She fiddles with the button of her blazer and he manages a gruff, “Thanks, but...you know.”

Midoriya gasps none too subtly and Uraraka nods, “Yeah. Sorry for cornering you on that. Haha, I got way too pushy there.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t want to snap at you like that so...same.”

Uraraka grins, “No worries!”

“Whatever.”

Midoriya jumps about a foot in the air when his phone alarm goes off and he squeaks out, “We should head to class!”

It’s easy to bark at them, “Walk behind me!”

He elbows Midoriya and Uraraka aside to get into the classroom first when they arrive and Iida stands to shout, “No roughhousing!”

“Yeah yeah,” Midoriya and Kirishima say at the same time and Kirishima sees Bakugo shake his head from Kirishima’s seat.

“Idiots,” he mouths and Kirishima struggles to keep a straight face.

The school day is long even as a half day and Bakugo keeps almost nodding off in his seat. At least until Aizawa strides in.

Kirishima stands with everyone else to retrieve his costume and they all head out to the locker rooms.

It’s there that Bakugo pulls him aside, grabbing his back pack and Kirishima ends up before the big mirror.

“Okay, I changed it since the last costume update so pay attention-“

“What?”

“Just shut the hell up! Okay so this part sticks on with adhesive so it takes fifteen minutes to set before you can stick it-“

Kirishima splutters, “ADHESIVE. BAKUGO?!”

“NOT TO YOUR EYEBROWS IDIOT! FUCKING HELL!”

“ADHESIVE THOUGH?! YOU’LL RIP HALF YOUR MANLY FACE OFF!”

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU CARE? AND I THOUGHT SCARS WERE MANLY AS SHIT OR WHATEVER!”

“STOP REMEMBERING EVERYTHING I SAY JUST TO SPIT IT BACK AT ME!”

“JUST PUT IT ON TO KEEP THE DAMN MASK ON YOU-“

“WHAT. ARE THE TIES IN THE BACK JUST AESTHETIC?!”

Bakugo is surprisingly quiet, shoulders hunched.

Then, quietly, “No.”

“Oh my god, they are-“

“Kiri-rin why are you and Bakugo yelling?!”

Last minute remembering he’s Bakugo, he talks down on his surprise at Tokoyami being there and manages a sarcastic, “I dunno! What’s wrong Kiri-rin.”

Tokoyami’s feathers ruffle, before he clears his throat, “What ails you friends? Allow me to mediate on the matter if you think it will help.”

As Kirishima, Bakugo rolls his eyes, “This is about prosthetic adhesive and how not-deadly it is.”

“The theatre!” Aoyama sighs as he enters the room and finds his way over, “Spirit gum is the secret of theatre prosthetics!”

Bakugo runs a hand over his face and pulls the mask out of the bag, “I’m just helping Bakubro out a bit.”

“Well can you possibly do it quietly? Maybe-eeeek!” Koda opens the bathroom stall to tell them, then slams the door as he and what he thinks is Bakugo make eye contact. Kirishima snorts, “Fine.”

Then, more quietly once Aoyama is done looking at himself in the mirror and leaves with Tokoyami, “I didn’t realize you had to do like make up and stuff.”

Bakugo just rolls his eyes and sticks the mask on Kirishima’s face.

Eventually they are headed to Ground Beta.

Again there was an underlying emphasis on teamwork.

“All right,” Aizawa started after he clapped his hands to get them all to shut up, “Pair up.”

Immediately Kirishima called his own name, “KIRISHIMA! Get over here!”

Bakugo strode over, grin wide, “That’s a little predictable isn’t it Bakugo?”

Kirishima grinned right back, clasping the other boy’s proffered forearm, “What? You don’t want to be on the winning team?”

Bakugo’s grin was malicious on his face, even more so when a tongue ran over sharp teeth, “Didn’t say that.”

He saw Midoriya call for Tokoyami, Aoyama for Tsuyu who remarked that it would have better if he had chosen someone less stealth based.

“Au contraire! I shall take their eyes right off of you!”

Ochaco and Hagakure ran right for one another and Mina leaped onto Sero with a war cry of, “We’re gonna win!”

Kaminari and Todoroki ended up paired. Shoji and Satou. Ojirou and Jirou. Mineta and Iida. Koda and Momo.

Aizawa nodded, “Good. It’s capture the flag. You have eight minutes to choose a base of operations and will either be defending or attacking. When the attacking party is captured, they lose. When the defending party’s flag is captured, they lose. There will be five teams on the map at once. Plus Ultra.”

Kirishima was practically thrumming with excitement when Iida asked, “Sensei! Can attacking teams sabotage one another?!”

Aizawa shrugged, “Sure.”

Bakugo grinned, knocking hardened fists together, “Hear that dude? They’re toast.”

Aizawa handed out three flags to several teams that Kirishima was sure Bakugo would remember. Even so he knew Todoroki and Kaminari will be one of the harder flags to capture. Asui and Aoyama look relieved when they don’t get a flag set. Tokoyami and Midoriya can barely hide their glee when Aizawa bypasses them as well to hand flags to Momo and Koda.

Man that’s going to be a rough capture too. Momo will be sure to have the place booby trapped to high heaven and Koda’s birds will have eyes everywhere.

Satou and Shoji also receive flags. And then Aizawa points to Kirishima and Ojirou and Jirou.

“Go.”

Kirishima makes a run for it into the city with Bakugo on his heels, it’s when they’re out of sight that he defers to his friend, “Whatcha thinking bro?”

“Doesn’t matter who we go after first but do you wanna go in for a fist fight or a fist fight?”

Kirishima laughs, “We gotta find em first.”

“Keep an eye on the sky. We’ll find Doctor Dolittle first.”

“Sounds good to me bro, wanna climb this rain gutter then?”

“Be easier if you flew.” Bakugo says but Kirishima counters, “Also quieter.”

Bakugo snorts, “Who cares. We can take Ears and Monkeyboy one handed.”

Kirishima laughs, “True.”

He knows it would be much harder than that, but Bakugo’s confidence is infectious and heartening as it is manly.

Even so, they start the climb, one hand going over the other in fast succession until they’ve reached the roof and Bakugo’s grabbing him up by his arm and frowning, “I’d pack on more pounds if my mobility in the air wasn’t fucking limited by it. What do you think?”

Kirishima blinks, “I think your bod is good the way it is! Lean and mean bro.”

Bakugo’s face goes red and Kirishima is unsure if he’s mad or what but he points to a dot in the sky making out the shape of a bird, “Only one?”

Bakugo just grunts, “I don’t trust it. They’re up to something. C’mon. Lead me.”

“Right right.” They start leaping across rooftops seeing several birds circling overhead, “They’ll see us coming at this point.”

“Does it matter?” Bakugo snarls, but they keep to shadows and approach with caution anyway. He notices that when they have to climb, Bakugo hardens his hands into claws that dig into the buildings’ sides and chastises him, “Dude I always avoid punching holes in things if I can help it man, property damage.”

Bakugo shrugs, “Bossy today.”

“Just playin the part.” Kirishima says back and Bakugo bumps his shoulder with a roll of his eyes.

Kirishima just grins at him, glad he’s gotten over his bad mood from this morning, and they make their way rapidly toward where a few crows are flying.

Kirishima snarls, “They’re indoors.”

“Seriously? What’s Ponytail thinking? You know she’s got some fucking plot. It’s good we went for her first. Let’s blast our way in and ruin whatever the fuck is up.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“I don’t know if I can blast this open without like taking us out too?” Kirishima says feeling his face heat. Bakugo shoves him aside with a huff and with hardened hands, tears the door from its hinges before kicking it in and-

He starts coughing and Kirishima can see the dust in the air.

“The fuck? Oh. OH YOU THINK YOU’RE CLEVER HAAH?”

Bakugo gestures at the air, the motes swirling along with his movement.

“If you had set off an explosion the whole building would have went up. She tried to get us to set off a dust explosion.”

Before Kirishima can respond Bakugo is storming into the place, upper body hardening, “WHERE ARE YOU AT CREATI?!”

Kirishima trots after him, “THINK YOU’D GET ME WITH THAT TRICK DID YOU?!”

“She’s not the only one here ya know!” Koda yelled and Bakugo just narrowly avoided a net by slicing through it when Kirshima felt something around his ankle and looked down to see-

Snakes. Bugs.

He did his best to kick them off but the snakes twined round each other unnaturally to form bonds.

“YOU FUCKER!”

Koda made a soft “EEP!” as Bakugo went after him, “GET BACK HERE!”

Then Kirishima saw Momo, who was wearing a filtered mask and goggles, “Looks like you can’t use your quirk.”

“Don’t fucking need it!” Kirishima snarled as he ripped the snakes from his legs and Momo came at him, staff in hand as she aimed straight for his head.

He rolled into a duck and tried to sweep her legs as she landed but was hit hard in the shins and swore he heard the metal ring in the air from it.

Eyes watering, he cried out and regretted it as bugs crawled up his jaw into his open mouth.

Momo grimaced, “Well maybe that’ll make you think before speaking so rudely huh?”

Kirishima just spat as many as he could out and managed to roll out of the way of another hit.

She wouldn’t let him get his footing and he continued to fail at hooking her legs out from under her, “RIOT!”

“I’M FUCKING BUSY!” he heard Bakugo yell and heard another of Koda’s yelps.

The floor was covered in insects that skittered and he knew it wasn’t manly but he scooped up some bugs and threw them right at Yaomomo.

She wasn’t even phased and managed to tackle him, not even distracted for a second. He bucks against her grapple, rolling onto her when he realizes from her arms she’s making the restraints from her body and tries not to panic before he throws his head back unsuccessfully. If he was in his own body he’d be more effective. He manages to free one am and lifts himself just to slam himself back to the ground and hears Momo cough as she’s winded. He rips the flag off her belt and crows out a victorious yell just as Bakugo screams, “I GOT IT!”

“ME TOO.”

He leans down to help Momo up and she hesitates before taking his hand.

“I was hoping if it came down to a fist fight, we’d be even.”

‘Well keep hoping’ is a very Bakugo thing to say, but he can’t say it.

“Yeah well, it was a good plan.”

“Can’t say it was good if it didn’t work.”

It takes everything he has not to try and turn it around so she can’t kick herself but he ends up yelling at her and shaking off her hand, “Well I wasn’t able to use my quirk so stop getting mopey it’s making me sick.”

He winces and she looks at him curiously, “Are..you trying to be nice?”

Kirishima just glares at her, “Did I give you a concussion or something? Riot! Let’s get a move on or I’m leaving ya!”

Koda comes down the stairs from the above catwalk, screeching, “P-p-please get it out!”

Bakugo yells, “Hold still and I will! Can’t you ask it to leave?!”

“HE’S LOST! OHHHH GET HIM OFF!”

With a sigh, Momo catches Koda and waves the end of his shirt where a huge stag beetle falls out and Bakugo drops down to scoop it up before waving at them, “Later!”

Kirishima watches Bakugo curiously, “What’s with the bug dude?”

Bakugo lets it crawl over his fingers before grabbing it between his thumb and index finger, “Kaminari hates em. I got no illusions about this one. It’s gonna be a shitshow.”

Kirishima’s stomach drops, “Yeah dude I don’t know how-“

He’s stepped into a puddle.

It hasn’t rained and-

“FUCK! MOVE!” Bakugo shoves him and the lighting hits or at least Kirishima thinks it does because Bakugo locks up, Kirishima’s quirk hardening his skin in reflex. The stag beetle flies away unharmed and somehow Kirishima is relieved but-

Kirishima barely has time to dodge before a torrent of ice traps his friend and Bakugo goes limp in the ice’s hold.

Damn, Damn, damn. He lets off an explosion, but new ice reforms between the fissures and it’s only Bakugo’s hardened form that lets him rip him free.

Except he’s heavy. Kirishima lets off another explosion one after the other to propel them out but Todoroki is sliding right toward them on the ice, face impassive as ever.

Kirishima flexes his hands, letting fingers uncurl around explosion after explosion but Todoroki just leaps as the ice breaks apart and makes himself a new pathway.

“Brodoroki! You got em yet?!”

Kirshima doesn’t turn at Denki’s voice but Todoroki does and he takes that opportunity to drag Bakugo into an alley and drops him. He yells in his face, “C’mon, c’mon!”

The other boy groans and he shouts at him, “Get up!”

“M’fine. What-“

He sees the blur of Denki’s conductor disks before it hits the ground and only barely throws himself to the side to avoid the line of electricity. Bakugo is laying low, and is safe. He sees when Bakugo hardens an arm and hits the side of the disk, sending it spinning back towards Denki and the boy gets caught in his own beam before stepping out with a grin, “What? Did you think that little jolt would get me?”

He takes one look at Bakugo and they’re retreating as fast as they can, Bakugo’s pathway is a bit stilted because he’s disoriented from the shock still. Kirishima ends up corralling him as they turn the corner but Todoroki is there.

Ice shoots out in every direction to curl around them and Bakugo pulls Kirishima to his chest, “JUST GO ALL OUT!”

But his arms ache from the blowback. He braces his elbows against Bakugo’s hardened figure and he barely remembers to hold his jaw loose before the earth feels like it’s shattering. His bones are rattling. He tries to take a hard stance, but he ends up leaning fully on Bakugo and watches the ice blast apart in a torrent of flame.

Todoroki is pulling himself up from the wreckage of ice but that’s all he sees before Bakugo throws him over his shoulder and-

He winces at the way Bakugo kicks Todoroki in the face before reaching down and snatching the flag.

“MELT IT ALL! QUICK!”

Todoroki raises his arm but Kirishima’s whole world spins before he’s slammed down onto Todoroki. Bakugo threw him at the other boy!

If he were in his own body he’d be fine but as Bakugo, his arms are already on fire and the way he’s landed on his side brings tears to his eyes.

“Shit. Sorry.” Bakugo says, but he’s already rounded on Denki who is grinning, “You kidding me Kirishima? You’ve lost already dude.”

He knows he’s talking to Bakugo in his body, but he still reacts, bracing himself with an arm and cries out.

Something’s wrong with his arms.

His vision has started to darken at the edges like it does when he’s been punched too hard. His face feels clammy and Bakugo’s voice is tinny, and far away.

“The only flag I’m waving is Todoroki’s so I think I’m doing just fine.”

“You won’t win at hand to hand against me dude and skill’s got nothing to do with it!”

“We’ll see about that. Get up Bakugo.”

Kirishima breathes through his nose and manages to rock forward onto his feet before he springs up. Even though he sways a bit, Denki goes pale.

He knows exactly what he’s thinking and says it, “You’ve lost more times to us than you’ve won pipsqueak.”

“Don’t let em...talk to you like that.” Todoroki growls from the floor and Denki stands taller.

“That’s right. Nobody can diss me like that an get away with it! ‘Sides! Look where you’re steppin’ my guy!”

Before Bakugo can look, his body seizes and he hits the dirt. Kirishima blasts his way into the air, and lets himself fall. This strategy has never failed him yet and it won’t start now. He lands right on Denki and before he can get shocked, he rips the flag off and represses a scream.

He’s done it!

“I always win when it matters.”

Todoroki groans, “Shut up.”

“Bro! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU JUST FELL ON ME!”

Todoroki laughs, “THEY DIDN’T HAVE A STRATEGY THEY JUST RAN RIGHT INTO US!”

“Why y’all so dusty?” Denki says as Kirishima pulls him up and he lets him drop back onto his rear with a scowl because his arms hurt.

Then they hear the announcement, “KIRISHIMA AND BAKUGO HAVE PASSED. LEAVE THE FIELD.”

Denki rights himself and jogs over to Todoroki who is sitting up with no thanks to Bakugo.

“You okay Todoroki?” Denki asks.

The other boy shrugs, “JUST JOSTLED A BIT IS ALL!”

“Dude! Why are you yelling!”

It’s then that a green blur shoots through and Kirishima sees Bakugo scowl before a wall of ice encases Kaminari and Todoroki. Midoriya barely stops himself from slamming into the wall and Bakugo snickers before gesturing to Kirishima “C’mon dude. We won.”

They head out and Kirshima can’t wait to see Recovery Girl. His arm muscles feel like they’ve been shredded, and even walking he has to hold them stiffly to prevent jostling them when Bakugo stops him, “What’s wrong with you? You’re all...weird.”

Kirishima turns to him, willing his eyes not to water, “Dude I think I overdid it with your quirk. Normally it’s your shoulders? But right now-OW! OW OW OW STOP!”

Bakugo lets go of his forearms, palms up in surrender before his expression goes cold, “I was hoping having something to brace against would mean that wouldn’t happen.”

He curses under his breath and mutters, “Soon as Eraser is done debriefing us you have to see recovery girl.”

He wants to ask him, ‘You can make explosions you can’t handle with your quirk?’ but can’t bring himself to.

“I’m sorry.” Is what comes out instead.

“Don’t be sorry. Be better.” Bakugo snaps and the shock of that has Kirishima’s eyes filling with tears.

“Sorry.”

“Are you-stop-don’t? Why?” It’s obvious the other boy has no idea as for what to do and Kirshima knows he’s got to explain but all that comes out is a sob.

Bakugo goes to grab his arm, but remembers and ends up awkwardly patting his back, “Stop it.”

Kirishima laughs. He can’t help it, this is ridiculous.

“Sorry. You trusted me with this and-I blew your arms off dude what if-like Deku-“

Bakugo startles, “There’s no way I’ll ever be like De-like him! Hey. Look at me.”

He stares into his own face, that is uncharacteristically stern, “You didn’t ruin anything all right? This shit happens. Now get that look off my face and wipe your face of snot.”

It hurts to do it, but he manages and Bakugo rolls his eyes before taking a piece of Kirishima’s ripped skirt cloth from his costume and handing it to him.

He manages to chastise him with a, “Did I say you could rip my manly cloth?”

“You made me cry so now we’re even, fucker.”

“Shoot, they’ll see my face is all red-“

“You should have thought of that before you started getting hurt and shit.”

They head back to the starting point in Ground Beta after one of the school drones finds them. When they reach the group, it looks like half their class has completed the mission as well. Aoyama is practically prancing around Tsuyu, “As usual, we were magnifique!”

“We sure were Aoyama.”

Aizawa beckons them over and immediately tears into their technique with an, “Explain why you threw your partner onto Todoroki.”

Bakugo lets out a long, “Uhhh.”

And Kirishima knows why he’s stalling: usually Bakugo is tossing him around but it’s him in his hardened form.

“You have nothing to say for yourself?”

“He was what I had on hand?”

Aizawa just narrows his eyes, “It this weren’t a mock fight you would have put not only him at risk, but you would compromise yourself as a hero. We save people. And sometimes you have to figure out when to run and save yourself.”

“And you.” Aizawa turns on Kirishima and he stands taller on reflex, even as Aizawa asks him, “You overdid it. Why would you throw yourself as a weapon? Did you forget about your grenades? What did you even add them to your costume for?”

Kirishima didn’t know how to use the gloves to fill them and Bakugo had neglected to show him so-

Yes. He did forget about them completely because they weren’t even an option to him.

“It would have hurt to throw them. My arms-“

Aizawa stares at them both, face unreadable before he tells Kirishima, “Go to Recovery Girl. Kirishima. Stay here.”

Kirishima looks at him worriedly but Bakugo’s face is unreadable.

Kirishima turns to head out of the observation room into the side hallway and finds the big medic sign on the door. Standing in front of it for long enough opens it and he’s glad for that. Recovery Girl spins on her stool to look at him and she smiles wide, “Oh! It’s Bakugo! What seems to be the problem?”

“Overworked my quirk. My arms are all,” He makes a gesture and she nods.

“Well remove the gauntlets and lets see.”

Kirishima does, sets them on a nearby table and then the hard part. He grits his teeth so hard his jaw aches as he peels the gloves off his hands and Recovery Girl asks, “Do you want me to cut them off?”

“I’m good!” Kirishima says and figures it’s like a band aid just gotta rip it off!

And his skin feels like it gets peeled off with them, “What the f-fffff!”

He cuts himself off, as Recovery Girl tuts at him with sympathy, “Your gloves usually give you some stability. You’re over working yourself kid. Have you been practicing without them?”

He thinks of when Bakugo had started training him and thinks could that have been it? He thought it was more likely that yesterday’s workout had done it. Must be! Bakugo had had worse.

He shrugs and she sighs long-sufferingly, “Remember then next time, MU-AH! Now off you go.”

The relief he feels is instant, but it also makes him sag with fatigue.

He heads back out, putting on the gloves and gauntlets. They still have the second portion of class, he hears the chime of one team of classmates after the other being eliminated or winning and feels his gut sink.

He and Bakugo really had been reckless. He wanted to say it was through no fault of their own, but if they weren’t pretending to be switched back, he hates to think that they would have sat out on the sidelines twiddling their thumbs or sparring without quirks.

He and Bakugo were the same kind of person. Restless and unable to sit still and he was sure it was for the same reason. Sitting around, they were plagued by thoughts of how better they could spend their time.

Even if it wasn’t exactly ideal, pretending they were switched back was a good call on his part if he did say so himself. Maybe being in Bakugo’s body was making him smarter by some placebo thing. He certainly felt more confident. After all, what did Bakugo have to worry about?

Immediately upon thinking that he knew he was wrong. And Bakugo himself was proof that he cared too much. Like Bakugo said, he worked hard.

Being Bakugo felt good in a lot of ways. He was faster for one. And he wasn’t too bad on the eyes when Kirishima was staring into the mirror brushing his teeth.

It was cool and weird to have flat teeth too. His own molars in the back were broader, more blunt points but the front were sharp as all hell. It was cool to be able to bite into things evenly? Or something, He couldn’t really explain it except his gums were less exposed and it was weird.

He entered the observation room just as he was running his tongue over his teeth when he heard Mina shout, “THERE HE IS! You and your boys are toast!”

“Who says?” Kirishima asks but Kaminari is drawing him under his arm with a sneer at Mina, “We’re gonna win.”

“A little engine that could told me you added Todoroki. Think you got it made huh? Wait til you see our secret weapon!”

Bakugo opens his mouth and Mina cuts him off, “And no, it’s not Toru in a different outfit!”

Sero sighs, “I’m kinda beat, can we-“

Mina takes Sero’s hands into her own and his mouth snaps shut, smile gone as she fixes him with a stern look, “Sero? Sweetie, look at me. We’re on a winning streak right now and there’s no way I’m not gonna defend my title.”

“Yeah!” Toru says, fists pumping into the air, “Ain’t nobody come for my girl Ashido without having to go through me!”
**
“And me.” Sero says. It’s a bit of a hitch in his plans, but that’s fine. Ashido has always been the exception. The wrench in his gears he never minds being thrown. He didn’t know what was up with or wrong with him, but he was really happy she included him. Ashido was just like that. She had a magnetism that drew you in, and a kind heart that kept you close and-

Weird line of thought but all right.

“I have things to do before hand though, so it’ll have to wait-“ he smiles at Ashido’s pout, “but Bakugo, Kirishima, Kaminari? Look forward to seeing you guys get served.”

“Humble pie, it’s what’s for dinner!” Toru says.

Kaminari is practically scoffing at them, smile matching Bakugo’s scowl in malicious intent, “Oh yeah? You guys save the leftovers from last time?”

“Last time wasn’t dancin’!” Ashido says, gold eyes glinting in a way that has Sero almost sighing, “So defeat for you guys is inevitable, but I welcome you to try!”

Kirishima snaps back, “We don’t try at winning, we just win. There are no attempts, just guaranteed successes.”

Kirishima’s been on fire these last two days huh? He’s almost been like bloodthirsty and Sero thinks it’s likely Bakugo’s influence. Because they’ve been weird.

Not really?

He can’t place it.

Maybe it was Uno Night. Maybe it was the swap that was kind of boring, all things considered but they were weirdly...

Riled up? Chomping at the bit? Over enthusiastic? All the time.

It was like what happened when Kirishima was fresh from the gym rounds with Tetsutetsu but like more subtle maybe.

Because Bakugo had finally come to a decision and had told everyone, which telling Toru meant everyone knew, he was holding a torch for someone.

And everyone knew it had to be Kirishima.

Except...Kirishima.

He didn’t know if it was a lack of perception, his humble personality, or the fact that he was really focused on friendship, but Kirishima’s obliviousness was so frustrating. Especially when Bakugo was really obvious. The entire time.

Sero would be surprised if anyone in their class didn’t know.

And finally, hearing Kirishima say “yeah right.”

Hearing Ashido say it was about time they helped them, but without a plan in mind.

Sero had a plan in mind.

Not a good one, but what ideas from teenagers are? Also there’s a betting pool. So there’s that.

And he plans to take it all.

With a bit of help.

People have made bets. For the end of this school year. Start of next one. Start of the calendar year. Hatsumode.

He’s betting on this week. The day after the Boys’ Night he’s been banned from and the day that Todoroki has been talking the ear off of anyone that stays quiet enough so that he has to make conversation.

It has to work.

“I’ve got stuff so...like gimme three hours.”

Ashido whines, but Kirishima sends him off with a smile, “Take your time preparing, but it’s not gonna help.”

“Best laid plans are plans that are actually made, my friend.”

With that, Sero is off and he takes Toru with him, glancing at her pointedly before leaving for the dorms.

She makes him jump about a foot in the air when she tackles him, draping herself over his shoulders with a, “Sero!”

He only stumbles a little and he’s proud of that. He’s not as gangly as he was at the start of the year. He might even-

Nah, no there is no way he’s going against Mina or Kirishima in an arm wrestling competition. That’s just inviting trouble.

Sero asks her, “So how’d it go? I got nothin.”

“They found Em all right.” Toru says, “Though I dunno what you were expecting to hear.”

“Shoji said they’re fighting a lot.”

“Oh? Is that why Kaminari said he’d ask em?”

“Yeah...but they seem fine?”

“Not really.”

“Well yeah no, yanno?”

“You lost me!”

“They’re the same but different.”

“Of course.” Toru says. She takes her earrings from their case and tells him, “So Kiri said Bakugo is including him in his D Day move, they’ve been fighting, they seem fine now, case closed!”

The earrings today are a bright red pair that look like berries.

“Those are cute.” He tells her and he can hear the smile in her voice, “Yeah? I thought so! Do they bring out my eyes?”

He laughs, knowing she isn’t looking for a serious response or an answer at all.

“Listen, I have an idea.”

“And you need my help. More like invisible guardian angel type deal or-“

He shakes his head with a grin, “No, no. Just I need everyone in the recc room at six. I’ve been banned from Boys’ Night, but I don’t plan on missing out.”

Her sleeves wave about and she shoves Sero, “So you called me out here to make plans in front of me?!”

“Nah I just want you to tell everyone. I’m gonna try and get Yaomomo hyped up to play music. If anything gets Bakugo, it’s guilt and peer pressure.”

“You’re evil. I love it. What did you have in mind?”

“Okay so since eavesdropping and spying isn’t working we gotta be more proactive. It’s the weekend. We’re teens. Aizawa is really tired lately.”

“Go oooooon?”

“Game night.”

“Game night!”

“Game night that will lead into movie night?”

“Dude. Okay so we need the essentials.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Face masks, nail polish, one of Sato’s glass soda bottles, and the dart board that Bakugo says he doesn’t have with our faces on it that is suspiciously devoid of holes.”

“I actually didn’t know about that. Where does he keep it?”

“His closet. I got distracted looking at it and tearing up a little so I got caught! I wanted to take a picture!”

“Best that we don’t do that.”

“Aw! C’mon!”

“Like I know it’s fun to rile him up. Me and Kiri do that all the time, but it’s bad enough that we know about it. Taking a picture is overkill.”

“You’re only holding back because of the blackmail folder.”

Sero sighs, “You just have to be so transparent about it.”

Toru shoves him and he thinks it’s probably deserved, “Ha. Ha. Like I haven’t heard that one. But I did poke around a bit and I’m guessing the folder isn’t actually a folder.”

“No. It’s stuff Bakugo knows.”

Toru laughs, “So he has no proof!”

“If Bakugo told you something, you’d believe it though, wouldn’t you?”

“Believe something like what?”

They make it to the dorms and start heading up in the elevator.

“I dunno. If he told you like that I ate entire jars of olives for breakfast everyday would you believe him?”

“Looking kinda sweaty there Sero! Is it true! It’s true isn’t it!”

Sero sighs, “That was just an example. Something innocuous but out of the blue like that.”

“Bakugo isnt really a liar?...I thinks it’s just that he speaks his mind so much that when he doesn’t wanna talk about something he just doesn’t.”

“So that’s a yes.” Sero says and she answers him, “Definite yes! Wow doesn’t he have any dirt on me do you think?”

“Well we all live together but you wouldn’t know unless you were trying to prank him.”

“Oh, when he told Jirou about Kaminari’s me-days.”

“Yup.”

“I don’t see how that’s embarrassing!”

“It is to Kaminari and that’s what matters.”

“That’s so funny!”

“After you,” Sero holds open Bakugo’s door for Toru and she giggles, “Oh! So gentlemanly! Ashido doesn’t appreciate that kind of thing you know?”

“I-yeah?”

Toru goes over to the closet, and watches her gesture dramatically, bracelets jangling, “Door one or Two Mister!”

Sero grins, “One, because I’m a fan of odd things.”

“And you are wrong for that in more ways than one, weirdo! Ta-dah!”

She opens the second closet door and he sees it. It’s a bigger picture than he was imagining, but he recognizes it. It’s from when they were able to go out for the first time since Bakugo’s kidnapping and the Mall incident with Midoriya and the League.

Ashido had her arm over Uraraka’s shoulders and her other hand was laced with Toru’s. Sero was leaning on Kaminari who was leaning on Kirishima who was leaning on Bakugo who was glaring daggers at the camera with a sneer. Koda was right next to Bakugo, smile unconvincing. Tokoyami was next to Koda, posing his heart out with Jirou and Aoyama posing just as dramatically. Momo and Iida were prim and proper next to them, smiles serving as lighting with how bright they were. Shoji was flexing in the back with Sato, and Midoriya was hanging off of Shoji with Tsuyu on the other arm. Tsuyu hung on one-handed, a crying Mineta bundled and tied hanging from the other one. Todoroki was smiling softly at his classmates, not looking at the camera with Ojirou putting bunny ears up behind him.

It was all of them.

Sero felt his eyes crinkling with his smiling mouth and that warm and fuzzy feeling persisted as Toru unpinned the darts holding down the corners and put the photo in Bakugo’s desk. They considered it a mission accomplished until they heard Kirishima, “What are you doing in here?”

They froze.

“That’s m-Where’s the photo!”

“Oh.” Sero says, “Did you give it to him Kiri?”

“Where is it!” Kirshima looks at the closet door and Toru says, “It’s in the drawer? We were just borrowing the dart board. Bakugo never minds when we borrow his comics...”

Kirishima takes it out of the drawer and scowls at them and Sero holds up his hands, “I didn’t think he would have that yanno? Since it was on a dartboard.”

Kirishima sets the photo atop the desk with a frown, “It’s a joke that it’s on there like haha I hate you-even if it’s on a dartboard, Bakugo’s like everyone else when it comes to being friends jackass.”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t! I know that!”

Kirishima frowns, “What do you need the dartboard for?”

“Can you keep a secret?”

Kirishima scoffs, a wry smile playing at the corners of his mouth, “You have no idea.”

“Okay, weird response,” Toru says, “But it’s for game night! We’re having one!”

Kirishima looks to Sero and sighs, “All right.”

“What did YOU come in here for bro?”

“Change of clothes for Bakugo. I already had my gym clothes in my backpack so...”

“And he couldn’t grab them? Not that I’m not glad it was you that we ran into but-“ Toru says and Kirishima snorts.

“I bailed because they’re watching-wait no. You’ll see. I’m not giving you a leg up on the dance competition but nice try. I’m without rhythm, not a brain.”

“I wasn’t!” Toru says and Kirishima fucking winks, “Right. Okay. I’m catching you in here a lot Hagakure and I wonder why.”

Before Sero can say anything, Kirishima holds up a hand and opens his second desk drawer and tosses the baby monitor and Sero’s stomach sinks as he catches it.

“That’s your tape.”

“It isn’t.”

“And Hagakure put it there.”

“I didn’t!”

“And why?”

“Beats me!” Sero says.

Toru huffs, “I told you I was sleepwalking!”

“Hm. Okay then if you were sleepwalking why were you hiding behind my door then?”

“I-um woke up there!”

Kirishima crosses his arms, “Do I look as stupid as you guys sound right now?”

“Damn Kiri, chill! I swear it was nothing bad dude! Lay off!”

The other boy frowns, and Sero realizes too late that he’s upset, “I dunno what you were trying to do...but it isn’t funny. None of this is.”

“Kirishima? You okay?”

Kirishima sighs, and his red eyes seem to be boring a hole into the photograph on the desk.

Toru steps forward, “Kirishima?”

“Are you guys making fun of him? Of Bakugo? I know I-“

“No!” They both shout it at the same time and Kirishima looks at them in a way Sero doesn’t know how to describe. He just knows it isn’t happy. Not really sad or mad. Like some kind of-

Hurt.

He looks at them, eyes looking from Sero to Toru, and he shakes his head.

“Fine. Don’t tell me what you’re doing. Just get out so I can do this.”

“Kiri, we’re really not! He’s our friend!”

“Well you got a funny way of showing it, sneaking around and laughing at him behind his back. Just go. I got stuff to do.”

Sero is about to speak, but Toru grabs his arm and tells Kirishima, “All right Kiri. We’ll see you later okay? Tonight’s going to be fun! You’ll see! And I’m sorry. You’ll tell Bakugo for me too, won’t you?”

“Me too.” Sero says, feeling numb, “I’m sorry too. We were just planning a prank. It was stupid and I’ll apologize to him myself later.”

“Yeah sure. Go.”

They both leave, the dartboard under Sero’s arm and Toru’s voice is soft, “Bakugo thinks we’re making fun of him?”

“And Kirishima is pissed.”

“We...we really have to clear up all these misunderstandings.”

Sero laughs humorlessly, “Yeah since it’s those two of course we’d get hit with the same misunderstandings bug.”

“Yeah...we need to get them together if it kills us...but maybe...tonight we just focus on the friendship part.”

“Spin the bottle is a must.”

“Okay so that one we’ll let people opt out.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

They both sigh. This isn’t at all how either of them hoped it would turn out.

“Well at least we got the board.” Sero tried to lighten the mood but Hagakure can’t be swayed when she has something on her mind.

“At what cost, Sero?”

They laugh, but it’s not really that funny.

“We really should apologize to Bakugo. When we get the chance.” Hagakure says, “Apparently he and Kirishima have been talking about it enough for Kirishima to be mad at us too.”

That doesn’t sit well with Sero. Sure he always teases Bakugo about having a soft spot for them, or caring more than he would like to let on, but he didn’t think it actually bothered him. He doesn’t see why it’s a bad thing, but he knows that if he’s crossed some sort of line he needs to make amends. It’s the right thing to do.

For now, he and Hagakure head to Satou’s room. Hagakure sways back and forth on her heels before she knocks and Satou calls through the door, “Just come in!”

Satou is folding something into a batter he is mixing into a big bowl and turns to look at them briefly with a “Hi!” before he goes back to folding and sets the bowl on his counter top.

“I’m sorry Sero, the cake isn’t ready yet but I it will be done by the time it starts-“

“Oh no! I wasn’t bugging you for that!” Sero says with a shrug and Hagakure chimes in, “We need a glass bottle!”

Satou hums, “There’s some in my recycling bin? But what do you need it for?”

“Spin the bottle!” Hagakure declares, sleeves waving about before she heads over to Satou’s recycling bin and his face turns a startling shade of red.

“Why are you so cheerful about that!”

Sero grins, “There’s penalties if you don’t join, but they’re not too bad.”

Satou makes a face, “I made the cake and provided the bottle so I’m exempt I should think brah.”

“You make a good point.” Sero agrees.

Hagakure cheers at having found a suitable soda bottle and says, “If your cake is as good as last time I have no problems with that!”

“My cakes are nothing special, but thanks.” Satou says and they close the door on their way out with equally cheery cries of, “See you later!”

“How are we going to get Kirishima and Bakugo to kiss.” Hagakure asks him on his way to his room and Sero shrugs, “I figured you should wear a sleeveless shirt and rig it.”

“They’d notice me leaning forward wouldn’t they?”

“Not if you don’t wear earrings!” Sero says and Hagakure, whole figure seems to droop.

“I’ll do it for love.”

“You can always put them back in.” Sero says, feeling bad and she just hums.

“You’re right.”

On their way to Sero’s room they see his next door neighbor Todoroki leaving his own. When he spots them he says a small, “Oh.”

“What are you wearing?!” Hagakure blurts out with a laugh and Todoroki answers plainly, “I’m going to dance, so I changed clothes.”

Sero notices the way his shoes click against the floor as he passes them and asks, “Tap shoes?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know you knew tap.”

Todoroki nods seriously, “You’re right to be worried. I’m pretty good.”

Sero laughs, “I’m not worried dude, it’s just unexpected.”

Hagakure frowns, “Why tap dance? Like you chose to learn tap dance?”

Todoroki’s shoulders go up defensively, “It’s what I was allowed to-it teaches precision.”

Hagakure leans forward, voice cheery, “I’m sure you’re good, but we have Mina! Well stomp you into the ground Todoroki!”

Todoroki huffs, a wry smile skirting his mouth before he says, “Good luck with that.”

Sero grins, “What does Bakugo say? It’s not luck, it’s skill. Later dude.”

Todoroki just rolls his eyes and heads off, “Later then.”

Sero opens his door for Hagakure and she bounds toward his desk, “Where’d you-oh under the desk.”

“Yeah it’s good we’re doing this. I needed to return Jirou’s karaoke machine anyway.”

Hagakure gathers it up and says, “He sounded really confident they’d win. I think I might just cry at how crushed they’ll be when we win.”

Sero can’t help a laugh, “You’re terrible.”

“Seriously.” Hagakure says, handing the karaoke machine to Sero when he holds his hands out, “They have Kirishima and Bakugo. Bakugo May be good, but he’s the worst at being in a team.”

“Maybe last time we were dancing, but he’s gotten a lot better at working in groups.”

“-because of the band.” Sero and Hagakure say together and Sero nods, “Exactly.”

Since they’re in the boy’s dorm already, they drop by Kaminari’s room to get his guitar. He slings it over his shoulder, and Hagakure notes, “His room is so cluttered I don’t know how he finds anything in here.”

They head out to Yaomomo’s room next. They’re both excited about the game night later on the closer it gets to it and Hagakure says, “We still need to practice a bit to work out our routine now that-“

“Oh! Sero and Hagakure! What can I do for you?”

“Heading out Yaomomo?”

“Oh, Iida told me to expect you. He says you’re ‘plotting’.” Yaomomo grins, and asks them, “So what do you need help with?”

“Oh we need to get the band toget-“

“Oh! We’re playing?!”

“I’m mostly asking for Kaminari, but could you ask Jirou to set up in the rec room? We’ll help if you want us to-“

“Oh! No, no! I got it! Let me just grab my keyboard and I’ll head out!”

Yaomomo is quick to dart into her room and emerge with her keyboard under her arm. She bounces as she walks, steps light and voice even lighter, “We should get Tokoyami next! He’s very particular about setting up his own things.”

“Yeah for sure.” Sero says, and Hagakure grabs Yaomomo’s hand and starts swinging it between them, “So Yaomomo! What song do you want to play?”

“Oh, I think it it will be up to Jirou!”

Hagakure pulls away her hand and in her hands is a little plastic barrette that Hagakure immediately puts into her hair. Sero tries not to be jealous that the girls get little presents like that. What would he do with a barrette anyway? He and Denki share bags of chips and he figures it’s the same feeling for the girls so-

“Here.” Yaomomo offers him a barrette and he can’t help the way his face lights up, seeing it’s in the shape of a small tape dispenser.

“You didn’t have to! But thanks Yaomomo!”

Yaomomo just beams at him, “Just promise me you’ll review your homework before our study group meet up!”

He had forgotten, “Right! Psh! Of course!”

He snorts, “You think I’m so irresponsible Yaomomo.”

“Because you are.” Hagakure says and Yaomomo is quick to dispel the implication that she could ever say anything like that, “No, I just mean that you have a habit.”

“Of being irresponsible!” Hagakure chimes in and Yaomomo shushes her.

They end up in front of Tokoyami’s door and he and Yaomomo both hesitate before Hagakure launches forward to rap an invisible fist against his door, “Tokoyami! Open up please! It’s a band emergency!”

The door swings open and Tokoyami’s feathers are fluffed up, “Let me grab my guitar.”

Sero laughs and Tokoyami tries to shut Hagakure out but she manages to barge in, “Oh! You put pictures on the walls!”

Tokoyami lets out a grunt and hooks his arm over her shoulders to try and make her move, but she just plants her feet, “We need to take more pictures together!”

Tokoyami rolls his eyes and gives it more effort, gritting his teeth, “You’re in two of them!”

“That isn’t enough Tokocchin!”

Finally she leaves his room and Sero catches Tokoyami by his upper arm before he can pitch forward. Yaomomo is just smiling wide, bouncing on the balls of her feet, “I’m so happy! We’re going to play for everyone again! I’ve been practicing!”

Tokoyami ducks his head, tugging at his choker. Sero notices his feathers ruffling out in what he’s come to know as embarrassment, but he opts to keep quiet for once as the shorter boy says, “Yeah. Me too. The curtains are drawn and the stage is set for our nocturne.”

“A nocturne? I was hoping we would play something more upbeat!”

“Nocturnes can be anything, but moreover they are evocative of the night.”

“Oh! You’re right, maybe that would be nice. If I’m honest I’m excited to play just about anything!”

Sero grins at Hagakure and she shrugs at him, “This isn’t so surprising that asking worked. They love playing music.”

“We’re artists.” Tokoyami butts in and Yaomomo smiles, “I’m more of a hobbyist.”

“The way you play, it’s much the same thing. Synonymous.” Tokoyami asserts gruffly and Yaomomo looks flattered but waves him off, “No, I just play for fun! It’s good to pick up the old habit.”

“Dude you should see your face! You look so offended!” Sero points at him and Tokoyami bats his hand aside with narrowed eyes.

“I am not.”

“You’d be wrong to tell Yaomomo she’s wrong! She’s never done anything wrong in her life!”

“That’s where you’re wrong Hagakure.” Yaomomo says, face turning pink as Mina’s skin, “ I’m not perfect.”

Sero can’t stand by and hear this kind of blasphemy, “Okay so this is the first time you’re wrong sorry to say.”

Tokoyami nods solemnly, and Sero wonders who doesn’t admire or love Yaomomo just a little.

They make their way down to the rec room teasing one another when Jirou calls out to them, “Hey!” She springs up off the couch and Kaminari is grinning, phone in hand and phone charger sticking out between his teeth and gives them a wave.

Jirou approaches Tokoyami, and they do a fist bump before she asks him, “So what’s going on exactly? I got my bass so what’s up.”

Tokoyami deflates and Yaomomo answers cheerily, “I thought you knew?”

Kaminari takes his charger from his mouth and clears his throat before he starts winding it, “Y’see fellas. We’re gonna play to kick off game night.”

Yaomomo frowns, “Game night is on Friday Kaminari.”

Sero realizes he needs to tell them his idea and speaks up, “It’s my idea. I figure-“

“Sero’s been a bad egg so he figures we can have Boys’ Night at the dorms!”

“No!” Sero protests but Jirou is smiling at him knowingly, hands at her hips, “Oh really. You trying to work the system in place Mr. Sero Hanta?”

Kaminari slams his hand on the low table in front of the couch, “OBJECTION! Yaomomo she’s leading! Just blatantly badgering the defendant!”

Yaomomo sighs, “You can’t just throw court jargon into any conversation you see fit, Kaminari. Sero, if you’re trying to get around being punished for taping Todoroki to the couch again-“

“I’m not! He likes it!”

Jirou snorts, “Then why does he call for help every time he wakes up taped to something?”

“Tell me why he keeps falling asleep out in the open then!” Sero counters, but he sees Yaomomo getting serious and backtracks, “I didn’t get barred for taping him to anything anyway! I got barred for cheating!”

“Oh yeah.” Kaminari laughs, “That was rich.”

Jirou snickers and Yaomomo goes on, “I can’t allow it.”

Tokoyami’s feathers fluff out, his eyes wide, “But what about our music?!”

Sero chimes in, “Yeah! Just because I’m the one pitching the idea doesn’t mean it’s not for everyone Yaomomo! Besides! This isn’t Boys’ Night! That’s on Sundays! This is just a dorm game night!”

“Plus! Plus, everyone is in on this! Not just the guys! And Sero is still missing out on tomorrow!” Kaminari brokers desperately.

Yaomomo takes out her phone and they have already heard this line long enough to predict it, “I’ll ask what Iida thinks.”

Iida is a mixed bag. It’s hard to predict if he will help or harm the situation but Jirou says, “Momo please!”

“I think we would still play. It’s a matter of a game night and facilitating it a second day in a row. Also we must gauge interest and you completely forget that movie night is today.”

“Shit.” Sero says and Yaomomo gives him a long suffering look that makes him sheepish.

“The words you chose could use some work but I believe your sentiment is right! Let’s see now.”

Yaomomo calls Iida and they all press close as she puts it on speaker.

Iida greets them much too loud and Sero supposes it’s that, more than the fact they closed in to listen that made her put it on speaker in the first place.

“Hello Yaoyorozu!”

“Hi Iida I wanted to ask you about hosting a game night again.”

“Tonight is movie night Yaoyorozu.”

“I’m aware I’m just letting you know there might be a change of plans. Since there’s no school tomorrow, movie night could possibly be postponed to 8:30, Iida.”

Iida goes quiet, then, “That would be up to Tsuyu. It’s her choice for movie night.”

“Of course, I’ll message you the changes if there are any.”

“Thank you as always for being succinct and keeping me in the loop. I appreciate it, Yaoyorozu.”

“Of course, Iida.” At that, Yaoyorozu hangs up and says cheerfully, “I suppose we’ll go ask Tsuyu!”

Tokoyami’s feathers bristle outward, and he says glumly, “I will wait here then.”
Sero knows better than to tease him about Asui. He doesn’t need this dude playing brooding tunes or writing poetry again.

He looks to Kaminari and gestures for him to follow him, but the blonde just grins wide and jerks his chin to Jirou. He shrugs as if he’s helpless and maybe he is.

Sero just throws up his hands in exasperation, “Well let’s go ask her then.”

“I’ll go with you!” Hagakure cheers and Yaomomo ushers them along, “Let’s get going then.”

Jirou actually pouts, “Don’t take too long Momo. Either way we’re gonna play. I’ll text Bakugo.”

Sero frowns, “Let Kaminari do it.”

“You got it boss.” Kaminari says with a roll of his eyes. He unwinds his phone charger and pops it into his mouth, fingers going to work against his phone and Sero salutes him.

“Thanks for your service bro. Big help.”

“Fuck offfff.”

“Getting in character so you can relate to Bakugo huh.” Jirou snickers and Sero doesn’t get to hear the rest as Yaomomo closes the door behind them.

“All right! Let’s get going!”

Hagakure links he and Yaomomo’s arms and starts marching. Yaomomo ends up trying to direct them which turns into a game of them trying to sync steps with her without faltering their pace. They have a whole point system going when Yaomomo brings them back on track with, “We’re here.”

Hagakure surged forward to knock as she did last time and there’s no answer when Yaomomo exclaims in delight, “Oh! Tsu! Were you looking for me?”

Tsuyu is in front of Yaoyorozu’s door at the other end of the hall, fist poised to knock. She turns to them thoughtfully, “Hello Yaomomo! Uh, why are you and Sero linking arms?”

Sero steps away from her with a laugh, “We were horsing around while looking for you!”

Tsuyu goes from pensive to smiling wide, “Horsing around looking for a frog. I feel like there’s a joke in there somewhere, kero.”

“What did you need me for?” Yaomomo asks and Tsuyu waves her off, “You first.”

Hagakure cuts Sero off, “Will you be all right delaying movie night? Until 8:30?!”

“Ah, yeah.” Sero adds lamely and Yaomomo explains for them, “We would like to have a game night and also the band is playing!”

Tsuyu’s smile is genuine, “Oh sure! I missed cards last time because I was studying. Hagakure and Ochako told me they missed me.”

Sero and Hagakure cheer and the latter swings Tsuyu into a circle, getting a surprised croak out of her before she’s set down. Sero can’t see Hagakure’s face but from her tone he knows she’s probably beaming as brightly as Yaomomo, “Thanks Tsuchan! It’s going to be so much fun! Sero and I are dancing with Mina beforehand too!”

“Oh are you? That sounds fun, kero.”

“It’s a competition! Against Bakugo!” Sero adds and Tsuyu considers that, a finger to her chin, “Oh Ochako loves competitions. I should tell her.”

“Well mainly it’s us and Mina against Bakugo, Kirishima, Kaminari and Todoroki.”

Tsuyu’s eyes go wide, “Todoroki’s in on it? I didn't know he could dance, kero. I’ll have to show my support then won’t I?”

She laughs and Hagakure whines, shaking her by the shoulders, “Tsuyu no! You’re supposed to support me and Mina! And Sero!”

Tsuyu looks over Hagakure’s shoulder to Sero, “Well I’ll root for both of you!”

Yaomomo chimes in, “Me too!”

Sero can’t help his grin. He’s confident that they’ll win. They all head back, Tsuyu and Yaomomo to the rec room to practice and watch practice respectively. Apparently Tsuyu needed to bounce some ideas around for her essay and needed Yaomomo. Hagakure and Sero head to the dance studio part of the gym and open the door to a bunch of yelling.

“I called dibs! You can’t see what we’re doing!” Mina shouts and Bakugo folds his arms, “We got here first!”

Kirishima is laid out over his gym bag, nodding off in between their shouts and Kaminari doesn’t seem to be back from the rec room yet. Todoroki is out cold on a bench nearby, arms tucked into his longsleeve. Sero decides he shouldn’t tape him to the bench. He doesn’t want to get scolded again.

Instead he crosses over to Kiri as Hagakure tackles Mina into a hug. He sees Bakugo’s backpack beneath Kirishima’s head and his legs are propped up on his own backpack. Sero sits next to him on the wooden floor, “Turf war huh.”

Kirishima just grunts, “ Tell them there’s a divider.”

Sero realizes the implications of this, and asks, “Why didn’t you tell them!”

Kirishima groans, “I was hoping to get a nap in, but fuck this noise. Now that you’re here there’s no point in stalling this shit.”

Sero is startled by the vehemence in Kirishima’s voice, and looks him over. His hair is starting to wilt and he hasn’t bothered to fix it. His eyes are drooping with fatigue and rimmed red.

“Dude, did you sleep at all?”

Kirishima just shoots him an exasperated look and starts a slow clap, “Good observation. I’m tired of this shit and PEOPLE YELLING WHEN THIS GYM HAS A DAMN DIVIDER!”

Sero startles as Kirishima grabs him up by the arm and collar before he shoves him into Ashido and Hagakure and nearly clotheslines Bakugo dragging him back before he stalks over to the wall and rips the divider across its tracks to the middle. It’s when he starts toward the other one that Ashido breaks the shocked silence, “Kiri! You’re being mean!”

“And you’re being too loud!”

He slams the divider shut and Hagakure asks, “What’s wrong with him?”

“It’s not soundproof! I CAN STILL HEAR YOU!”

Sero shakes his head, “He doesn’t usually get mad? But he’s just tired.”

“Ohhhhhh.” Ashido and Hagakure say knowingly.

Still, something feels amiss. He’s never seen Kirishima act like that. Sero had gone limp as soon as Kirishima had grabbed him, because he knew not fighting Bakugo was better than-

Bakugo was rubbing off on Kirishima’s personality or something for him to think something like that...

Later they’re joined by their secret weapon and Kaminari shows up but promises not to say anything before he crosses over the divide. He puts a hand to his chest as Sero falls to his knees dramatically. He grabs Kaminari’s hand and tips his head back, to lament, “ Here we stand, divided again by whom we choose to dance with.”

“Farewell, sweet Sero! I-GACK!”

Kirishima yanks Kaminari through the divider and rips him right from Sero’s hand. Sero calls out his name despairingly, but he’s met with the snap of the divider sliding shut and Kirishima’s yell of, “STOP WASTING TIME! Where were you!”

“Chill Kiri! Chill! I’m sorry!” Kaminari says over a laugh that’s drowned out by both groups’ music.

Other than that, practice goes by smoothly.

Well as smooth as it possibly can considering that their secret weapon and Hagakure stopped for a water break and disappear for half an hour.

He finds himself empty-headed but tongue tied. Usually he has no problem talking and he would even argue that he talks too much but Ashido is spinning artfully before she catches his eye. He stumbles over his own feet and Ashido trots over to him, “Having trouble?”

“N-no! I’m good!”

She sighs, “Hey. Sero.”

“Ashido?”

His heart is racing from having danced too hard and his face is flushed. He notices the fringe of her eyelashes dropping over her gold eyes making it seem like they’ve flickered. He catches the raised pitch of a sentence and snaps back to the present, “Uh. What.”

Ashido rolls her eyes and leans in conspiratorially, her shoulder pressing into his arm. He barely hears her over his heart, “Don’t you think Kiri is acting too weird?”

“He didn’t sleep.” Sero feels himself say. His eyes are fixed on where her shoulder is touching him and it’s a shock when she pulls away. He sways toward her as if she has her own orbital pull before he catches himself, poised on the balls of his feet for just a moment before he rocks back onto his heels.

What.

She hums, dark eyes meeting his, “I mean...he’s a little mad today. I think...”

She bites her lip and his eyes dart away to trace the curl of her hair, the zigzag of her horns.

“Maybe I made him mad. I was trying to pry his business out of him.”

“Oh.” Sero says, “He might...he’s mad that Hagakure and I..we went into Bakugo’s room to get his dartboard and-well Kirishima told us Bakugo thinks we’re making fun of him. So he’s-“

“Why?” Mina asks, and he doesn’t have an answer so he shrugs and Mina frowns so he reassures her, “We apologized but we gotta make sure this thing goes without a hitch. Here’s what I wanna do-“

Mina listens and he’s grateful.
**
They can’t find dumbass Todoroki anywhere. He disappeared with a yawn saying he needed to do something before they started and now it’s like he’s dropped off the face of the fucking Earth.

Bakugo yells, “BRODOROKI!”

Kirishima follows it up with “HALF N’ HALF COME OUT HERE YOU COWARD!”

Mina laughs, “He’s probably too scared to face me!”

“Oi! You got a few no shows yourself! Where’s your mystery dancer now, huh?!”

“Oh he’ll be here.” Hagakure says, gloved hands waving and Bakugo grins.

“So its a guy.”

“Most of our class is guys dummy.”

Bakugo just blows a raspberry at her, “Well it does narrow it down some.”

Kirishima’s mouth purses over a barely concealed smile and it irritates him even further. He knows it’s because of what he said but it feels more like he’s laughing at him. He knows he thinks so because he’s tired but he still can’t shake the tight feeling in his chest.

He feels like he’s choking.

He’s trying to keep an eye on Kirshima for different reasons than usual and it’s putting him on edge. He wants to know if they really think he’s some big fucking joke, so he’s watching the way they treat Kirishima in his body.

They all end up convening at the low coffee table by the couches table for a “strategy” meeting. Most of their class is there, and Iida declares, “All right! I’ve compiled a list of where we have searched so far and the approximate times we have searched the area! Please go through the list and add-“

Iida yells, “I FOUND HIM! My knee bumped-GOOD GRIEF! HE’S BEEN TAPED TO THE TABLE!”

They all crowd over and Midoriya perks up at seeing Bakugo as Kirishima, “Kiri! You mind helping me lift this.”

“Why can’t you do it yourself.” Is out of his mouth before he can stop himself but he bites his tongue on the word “Deku.” Everyone is staring and he laughs, “Oh right, with your quirk you might flip Todoroki into next week!”

Midoriya laughs sheepishly, hand rubbing through the wild thicket of his hair before those green eyes land on him, smiling brightly, “Yeah Maybe.”

He hasn’t seen Deku smile like that at him since they were in middle school and he ducks his head to start lifting his end of the table. Deku always smiles at him in a way where it feels like he’s being challenged so he wonders briefly, very briefly what it would be like to be better friends.

“Heave ho!” Todoroki says from beneath the table and everyone starts giggling before Iida silences them with a decisive chop of his hand, “This is no laughing matter!”

“It’s kind of funny.” Todoroki says blearily, words sloshing together. From what Bakugo knows of him, the idiot is probably still asleep.

They flip over the table and the class breaks into laughter as they see that Todoroki has been cocooned to the underside of the table. Ochaco exclaims, “So someone has been cheating for a while! There are playing cards too!”

“It’s Sero.” Kaminari says.

“Me?! Couldn’t be!”

Everyone stares at him and the silence is only broken by Todoroki mumbling something incoherent in his sleep.

“Ah, so the cutest boy in class mumbles in his sleep huh.” Mina says and Ojirou is quick to say, “You think he’s the cutest? Really? We all saw him eating bacon off his arm!”

Kaminari raises his fist and yells, “And mine!”

“Okay? But he IS pretty.” Mina says and Iida shouts, “Enough! We need to free him! Kirishima see if you can tear through the tape.”

“Got it.”

“Iida be quiet.” Todoroki says with a yawn and Iida makes a scandalized sound that Aoyama laughs at.

Iida crouches down as Bakugo hardens his hand and starts sawing. He pats Todoroki’s cheek and demands of him, “Shoto. I need you to freeze this tape.”

Everyone looks at one another in bewilderment, “Shoto?!”

“Get bent.” Todoroki says and his head hits the underside of the table he’s taped to.

“Oh c’mon nobody falls asleep that fast!” Satou says but Iida shakes his head gravely, “He was never awake to begin with. He talks in his sleep.”

Kaminari nods, “That’s true!”

Bakugo adds as he gets a particularly tricky layer cut through, “He does. I’ve had whole conversations with this-“

He almost says idiot. Instead he sighs and gripes, “Ashido. Help.”

“How am I supposed to-“

“Maybe you should saw through with your horns.” Kirishima laughs, then, “Low-acidity acid. Like the one you use to slide around on.”

Her eyes go wide, “Oh! Yeah! Right, duh!”

“An excellent idea, Bakugo!” Iida says.

Kirishima just crosses his arms and scowls, “Just hurry up so we can-“

“Eager to play the drums are ya?” Satou said, clapping Kirishima on the back and Bakugo scowled at the audacity.

Kirishima side steps another pat and tells them off, “No. I’m not playing. I’m supposed to be taking it fucking easy and look at this. Is this you guys’ idea of easy going?”

What.

“Dude? What do you mean by that.” Bakugo asks and Kaminari butts in, “Yeah man what gives!”

Kirishima frowns, “None of your business that’s what.”

Bakugo sees the wide-eyed look Kirishima gives him before it’s hidden by facade and he realizes he’s supposed to save him.

The problem is how quickly his brain supplies an idea when it comes to saving his favorite jerk, “Well it’s his arms. You guys remember he had to see Recovery Girl.”

“Mind your business Kirishima!” Kirishima snaps and Bakugo makes a show of shrugging.

Bakugo doesn’t miss Midoriya’s soft gasp of, “Kacchan!”

It takes everything he has not to yell except he doesn’t know what to yell. Instead he refocuses his efforts into sawing off tape.

“Why the hell is it double-sided?!” He asks Sero and the other boy pouts.

“You guys don’t appreciate anything!”

Iida crouches down to pat at Todoroki’s face, “Stop sleeping through this! If you used your ice I bet Kirishima could break up the tape easier, Shoto!”

Todoroki wakes and Iida has to repeat himself and Mina chimes in, “Also this acid might irritate your skin so sorry.”

“What? Oh. Yeah stop for a second.”

Bakugo and Mina stop and in an instant Todoroki freezes his bonds and rips free. Midoriya splutters and for lack of a better thing to say Bakugo opens his mouth, “Did you just flex and bust outta there?! That’s so manly!”

Kirishima barked, “YOU COULD DO THAT THE WHOLE TIME YOU SHIT!? Way to waste time!”

“I was tired.” Todoroki says plainly and he stands and steps off of the table as Midoriya motions for Bakugo and Mina to do the same. Bakugo helps Midoriya turn the table around and Uraraka yells, “What about the playing cards and tape?”

Sato shrugs, “We’ll get it later-“

“No.” Iida declares, “Sero. You will take responsibility and clean your mess.”

“But we have the dance-“

“Tomorrow.” Iida says with finality, “Since you’ve gotten a red card you will do it tomorrow on our free day. I will tell Aizawa sensei so you do not have to write a reflective essay. You have enough work piling up as it is.”

Sero looks shocked, “Oh. Sure. Thank you.”

Iida looks bewildered, “I’m giving you hard labor! Don’t thank me! Reflect!”

“Y-Yeah! Okay!”

At that, Jirou hops down from the last step of the stairs, boots clomping hard on the ground, “Are we doing this or what.”

“Of course!” Iida says, “If not for Todoroki being pranked I would still be helping Yaoyorozu with set up.”

“Oh?” Bakugo says, “You want to watch class rep?”

“Momo and I have taken it upon ourselves to judge your dancing.”

Todoroki snorts, “You’re an expert now?”

“Not an expert Shoto. Merely versed in how to judge. Yaoyorozu’s family is very invested in ballroom competition. My own are fans as well.”

“Ah.” Todoroki says, “What is with rich people and ballroom.”

Uraraka’s voice is intense as she accuses, finger jabbing, “You’re rich too! You know ballroom!”

Todoroki shrugs, “That doesn’t mean I understand it.”

Sato frowns, “I don’t think it’s even all rich people. Just OUR rich people.”

Kirishima snorts, “Break dancing is nothing like ballroom.”

Mina shouts, “Yeah! If you’re judging based on ballroom, then Todoroki and Kirishima are going to win!”

“Not necessarily. We will judge your form and rhythm as well as-“

Bakugo loses interest and nudges Sero, “Might as well get going dude.”

“Right, right. Kami, Bakugo, were going.”

Mina runs up to them, hanging off of Sero who freezes up, “No way! There’s no way I’ll let you get a head start and beat us in any way!”

“What.” Bakugo says, but Mina starts running and suddenly he’s trying to outpace her and Iida is yelling, “No running!”

Uraraka ends up using her quirk to outpace them by crowd surfing and Bakugo is seething as Midoriya grabs her hands to help her down. They both are red as Kirishima’s hair and pop apart as if they’ve been burned and it only pisses him off. His legs feel like they’re made of lead and his head is throbbing. He hopes that once the day is over he can just drop to sleep as soon as he hits the mattress.

Except his stomach lurches when he realizes that he’ll be in Kirishima’s room instead of his own.

How is he supposed to relax knowing that! He doesn’t know how he fell asleep the first night.

“Kirishima?” He hears his own voice and feels a firm hand on his shoulder. He hadn’t realized he’d closed his eyes.

He sees concern on his face, and frowns, “I’m fine. Just tired.”

He shrugs off Kirishima and the other boy lays off. They arrive in the rec room and Bakugo sees Momo and Tokoyami doing sound check. Jirou trudges over, smile wide as she snatches her mic up.

Already he has a bad feeling, but Ashido grins at them too wide, like a beast circling in for the kill. Their whole class is watching with varying degrees of interest as Yaoyorozu goes to serve tea and Jirou hooks up Kaminari’s wireless speaker to her phone and blasts music. The rec room is full of all their classmates who are cheering as Jirou introduces them with a sly grin.

“Place your bets! We've-”

“NO BETTING!” Iida says with a sharp chop of his hand and Momo covers her mouth in polite shock, righting her teapot and setting it on the table with a decisive, “Absolutely not.”

The music plays for a beat and Bakugo is sure that a few of their classmates are sweating.

Jirou rolls her eyes, “Just a figure of speech Exit Sign! Did I mention that there are two teams, eight dancers but there will be only one winner! You know the usual routes! Anyways! Here is yet another competition between your usual suspects and two surprise combatants! In this corner we have ASHIDO! HAGAKURE! SERO! And OJIRO?! Ojirou!”

“I FUCKING KNEW IT!” Kirishima says, then to Bakugo, “That’s why jog Squad was cancelled.”

What. Bakugo had no idea but he’s glad it was.

The screaming and hooting is accompanied by Sato's shout of, “HELL YEAH!”

Uraraka screams, “MURDER THEM ASHIDO!” followed by Midoriya’s almost shrill, “URARAKA!”

Jirou goes on, “On the right! We have a rock, rock-throwing murder goblin, an air con and its power supply!”

Kirishima flips her off and sneers, “You meant to say the winners!”

Kaminari whines, “WE HAVE NAMES!”

“Which one am I?” Todoroki asks Bakugo and the other boy just groans, dragging his hand over his face.

“JUST PLAY THE MUSIC!” Bakugo yells and Jirou laughs as she drops her arm and starts the song with a, “Win for me Ashido!”

Ashido blows her a kiss, “This is for you!”

Ojiro steps forward and Bakugo realizes with the rest of their group that their opponents’ dance is choreographed.

And Hakagure and Ojirou are off beat.

Bakugo grins but...

They hadn’t talked about how they were going to dance. Bakugo had figured it would be a one at a time thing and he looks to see Kaminari and Todoroki looking at him, wide eyed.

“Don’t sweat it. Just have fun.” He feels like that’s something Kirishima would say but, “ And we have fun by winning this shit.”

Bakugo knows his balance is a bit off. He isn’t used to Kirishima’s strength but even so, he manages to keep on beat and only fumbles his headstand a little. His whole body is weighing him down like baggage, he’s so goddamn tired. It’s easy to keep on beat because that’s all he can focus on. It matches the pounding at his temples, and the ache in his joints.

He grabs Todoroki into a swinging sort of ballroom dance, and only steps on him once, but it’s his own damn fault.

In response, Hagakure and Ojiro turn mocking circles and Hagakure makes a point of “stepping” on Ojiro’s foot but then she drops to a kneel and he steps on her and launches into a backflip where he lands on his coiled tail and spins out. Mina launches in as well, dancing fluidly and Ojiro and her movements are seamless.

Kaminari and Sero step in with their intricate footwork, Kaminari almost clinically precise and Sero looking as if he’s gliding over the floor and Bakugo hears Todoroki say, “Like Ginger Rogers.”

Bakugo doesn’t know who that is, but the way Todoroki looks at him, he knows he should and he mirrors his expression and nods.

Kirishima is high energy as usual. Bakugo figures why fix what isn’t broken but it isn’t a problem until Kirishima goes to do his usual display of strength, balancing himself on his hands before snapping onto one hand to grab at his leg when he falls on his face.

Mina trips over him and as she claws at Sero’s shirt, her acid rips holes in it and Sero shrieks as he rips his shirt off to avoid being melted with it.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry!” Mina says. Bakugo is so worried about Kirishima that he let’s go of Todoroki swinging him into Kaminari and he winces as they crash to the floor.

Jiro stops the music and Tsuyu is running over with the class reps, “Are you all okay?”

Kaminari wheezes, shoving Todoroki off his stomach to ask him, “You must be an angel Todoroki, because when you fell from heaven you smited me, ughhh.”

His head hits the floor with an audible thunk and he mimes dying.

“I’m sorry.” Todoroki says, then glares at Bakugo who ignores that to pull Kirishima up.

“You okay dude?”

Kirishima pulls his arms away and stares at them, “Still hurts?”

“You overdid it? How? She fixed it!”

He can’t help the panic in his voice. Did Kirishima really fuck up his arms or was it just the usual setbacks that Bakugo often grit his teeth through.

His dad said it was “growing pains” and as someone who had inherited a quirk more similar to his dad than mom’s he was inclined to believe him.

“I did it in the gym,” Kirishima explains, “so I thought-“

“Kacchan! Your lip!”

Bakugo sees the cut and Kirishima’s mouth wobbles in a way Bakugo knows he’s going to cry, “That’s nothing right? Let’s get you cleaned up dude.”

Kirishima just grunts, expression hardening before he grabs his hand to snap him out of it, “C’mon.”

“Mina you alright? Sorry for freaking out.” Sero helps her up and Bakugo can’t help it, “We win.”

“Like hell! Bakugo broke his face!” Mina screeches.

“And now he’s ugly!” Hagakure adds with a laugh. Kirishima flips her off and it breaks whatever tension the class had.

Kaminari says with an eye roll, “We were obviously better.”

Tokoyami speaks up, “I believe that judgment will be delivered to those that have fallen short in imperceptible ways more so than-“

“Dude.” Sato says and Tokoyami coughs.

“You both embarrassed yourselves out there.”

“Tokoyami!” Aoyama gasps and shakes his head, “They gave a most beautiful effort!”

“Even so,” Iida says, and he turns to Yaomomo, “I think Kaminari’s team has won.”

Yaomomo frowns, “Ashido’s team won. They were on beat and showed the most technical skill.”

“Draw.” The class reps declare and Bakugo knows all the people who have bet money by their collective groans. At the start of bickering he tightens his hold on Kirishima and pulls him along to the boys’ bathroom.

It’s when they’re at the bathrooms headed towards the sink with the first aid kit under it that Kirishima says quietly, “You can let go of my hand now...Bakugo.”

Bakugo drops his hand, feeling his face warm before he throws open the cabinet and pulls out the kit. He sets it on the counter and pats the empty space next to it, “Hop up.”

“Dude...”

Bakugo just glares and he’s thrown off by the way he’s looking at himself. He sees the way his ears redden and his gaze drop before Kirishima goes to sit on the counter as asked.

He takes out a cotton ball, takes the tweezers in hand and Kirishima flinches at his hand on his chin before Bakugo realizes.

“You bruised it. Sorry.” He grips his chin more gently and it’s so surreal, tending to his own body in third person. Kirishima’s face is red as he relaxes into Bakugo’s hand at his jaw and sighs.

Bakugo can smell his own shampoo. The familiar scent fades away quickly and he can instead smell himself, or Kirishima?

It’s a weird trick of his brain that leaves him reeling and he dabs too hard at the cut in Kirishima’s lip. His body or not, he thinks about kissing him for no particular reason at all other than that they’re close and his stomach swoops. He feels a buzzing at the back of his skull and he’s swaying on his feet, forward until Kirishima grabs his waist, “Bakugo?”

He shuts his eyes and shakes his head, headache returning full force. It’s right behind his eyes, resting at the front of his skull and he replies softly, “Just tired.”

Kirishima’s hand at his waist tightens and he realizes his hand is still at his jaw. Except it’s his own jaw.

Kirishima is holding him up because if he doesn’t, he’s so tired he just might fall over.

Realizing it’s no other reason, he steps back and lets his hand fall. He is the one who kissed his reflection and he’s the only one that stares and sighs and wants. Bakugo is taking advantage of their situation in a way that he’s ashamed of. It’s weak.

He steps away and wipes at the blood that’s dribbled down Kirishima’s chin.

“Bakugo?”

He grunts to show he’s heard.

“I’m sorry.”

“Contrary to what Miss Appear said, I’m not ugly now. Besides,” Bakugo shrugs one shoulder, “Scars are manly right?”

Kirishima’s eyes brim with tears, “Right.”

“I thought I told you to stop making me cry, idiot.” He knocks his fist against Kirishima’s head and Kirishima just sniffles.

“Still. I didn’t realize a lot of things Bakugo.”

Bakugo freezes. He is hyper aware of Kirishima’s hand still on his waist, touch light but very present. His eyes flick from where they’re touching to Kirishima’s borrowed mouth and then he’s staring into his own eyes.

“Like what.”

“Like that you couldn’t sleep and-“

“I could have asked for help-“

“How were you supposed to know you needed it?”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself, all right?”

Kirishima ducks his head and Bakugo tenses. His forehead is almost touching his shoulder and it’s raising all the hair on his arms at the close proximity.

Kirishima sighs and the place where his breath hits comes alive like fire.

Kirishima grabs his shoulders and Bakugo looks at him, expecting to feel the way he always does. To feel that he can relax, that he doesn’t have to put up a front for Kirishima, or at least some measure of relief.

Instead, he sees his own dumb mug and he finds himself wrenching away. His chest aches suddenly and that crushed feeling creeps from the center of his chest, up his throat and his eyes are watering. All he wants to do is sleep. Everything is so fucking irritating and he doesn’t want to do one more thing.

He doesn’t want to pretend anymore, but it’s just two weeks.

Tomorrow he’ll talk it out with Camie and he’ll be able to relax and be himself around at least one other person.

He hangs onto that hope and steps away from his best friend.

“Let’s go back. Your lip has scabbed over just don’t fucking talk too much.”

Kirishima smiles, “Yeah well. Stop talking and I won’t have to answer you.”

“Is that a promise? You’re kind of annoying.”

Bakugo laughs as Kirishima shoves him, “Bro.”

Before they leave, Kirishima suddenly grabs his hand and Bakugo wrenches it away to look at him, “What.”

“Is there something bugging you man?”

“The fuck?”

“I usually can’t sleep because I’m overthinking something. Like I get too wound up and can’t sleep. Or I end up feeling tired but when I go to lay down I’m like wide awake? I don’t know if I’m-“

“Yeah. That’s-there’s nothing bothering me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Fuck off. I said what I meant.”

“Is it weird to say that I don’t want to go back? Like...I feel like we haven’t talked in a long time-“

“It’s been three days dumb-“

“Yeah! And I miss you still! Like we can’t hang out like regular we have to be each other and-I dunno.”

“Don’t say you miss me. That’s fucking weird. I’ve been here the whole time.”

His heart is pounding in his ears and his face feels numb, his skin crawling with warmth because he feels the same way. Even though Kirishima is right there, he misses him.

“Bakugo...Can I ask you something? And promise you won’t get mad.”

“I’m not promising shit. Spit it out Kirishima. Be manly about it.”

Kirishima grins, “You’re talking like me.”

“I’m not.”

“Sure.”

Bakugo wants to throttle him, “Well? We ain’t got all day.”

Kirishima drops his gaze, smile slowly fading, “Your phone’s always silent. But I notice that now, you’re messaging the group chats when you have time huh?”

His stomach flips and his denial sounds as fake as it is, “No!”

“Are you ever lonely, not being apart of things? I know you like your space but it seems like people don’t even ask you if you want to come along because they assume-“

“I’m not.”

Kirishima looks up, eyes wide and Bakugo looks at him in disbelief.

“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I have you don’t I? To drag me into shit or invite me? Anything I’m not apart of you tell me about it so it’s not like I’m ever missing out. Why the fuck would I be lonely? What. You gonna start punking out on me now that we’re swapped?”

Kirishima grins and Bakugo attempts to fend him off as he’s swept into a crushing hug, “Of course not dude! I’m relieved!”

Kirishima’s face is rubbing into his shoulder and he loves this boy. Kirishima was worried about him and he’s relieved that he can get it off his chest, finally.

He grips the back of his shirt, “Do you always have problems sleeping? Everyone else seemed to know about it.”

He tries not to sound bitter and fails.

“Oh.” Kirishima tries to pull away from him, suddenly sheepish and Bakugo respects his space and lets him. The other boy goes on, “Not all the time! Just-Some? Of the time?”

“So often. How do you deal with it?”

Kirishima laughs, “My mom is the same way! I just-don’t? There’s not really much I can do.”

“Well it fucking sucks.”

Kirishima laughs a little ruefully, “Yeah no kidding. Midnight sensei’s quirk doesn’t work well on me either I even asked her and it was just a cat nap!”

“You what. You asked her?!”

“Well yeah I was hoping. No luck though she said it might be because-er um.” Kirishima’s face goes red and Bakugo raises a brow, “What.”

“Because I like guys. So it’s not as potent? I guess?” Kirishima laughs nervously and Bakugo hates that expression on his face.

“I wonder how it would work on me then.”

“You?”

Bakugo won’t look at his reaction. It’s the first time they’ve ever talked about this kind of thing and he hates that it has to be because he can’t sleep. He’s in a shitty mood.

Bakugo glares at him, “Yeah. Me.”

Kirishima’s face is unreadable, “You like...guys?”

“And girls.” Bakugo adds.

“I didn’t know.”

“Well now you do. Is it that big of a deal? Or what.”

Kirishima raises his hands in surrender, “No? It’s just we’ve never really talked about it.”

“Wasn’t relevant. We don’t talk about shitty crushes. It’s a waste of time.”

“Oh.” Kirishima bites at his lip and Bakugo sees the scab there crack before Kirishima is talking again, “But you were mad I didn’t tell you even though you did the same.”

“That-we aren’t arguing about this again!”

“I’m not arguing I’m just-“

“Starting shit.”

“No!”

“Whatever let’s just-get today over with.”

“Bakugo?”

“What now?”

He turns and Kirishima just shakes his head, “Forgot.”

“Must not have been important then.”

“No...it wasn’t.”

Bakugo doesn’t believe him with that soft tone and says so, “You’re lying but I’ll let it slide this time. Tell me or don’t whenever. I don’t care.”

“Thank you.”

Bakugo can’t believe what he’s hearing, “For what? Shut it Kirishima. I don’t even want to know because you’ll start crying. Again.”

“I won’t!”

“Sure.”

They have to stop bickering once they leave the bathrooms and head toward the rec room. When they get back Yaomomo is playing a jaunty piano piece and the rest of the class is in awe of her as they should be. She’s formidable in everything she puts her goddamn hand to and it’s irritating as hell.

Bakugo goes to sit as Kaminari and Jiro swarm Kirishima. Todoroki sits next to him and he almost asks him to find his own place to sit before he remembers who he looks like right now.

Jiro folds her arms, “Then beatbox if you can’t use your arms. Quit acting like you can’t!”

“Or I can sit this one out.”

Kaminari grabs Kirishima’s shoulders and shakes him, “Dude! We have to work something out! Your Shiketsu friends are coming tomorrow too aren’t they?! Think of it as a practice run.”

He hadn’t realized that he wasn’t going to get to play drums for Camie and Baldy. What the hell did he practice those drumstick flares for then?!

He sits back, entirely annoyed as he watches Yaomomo declare excitedly, “Everyone! I think I have a solution!”

She reaches behind her back, lifting her sleeve and reveals a tambourine fresh from her arm, “Tada!”

Kirishima takes it, fighting a smile, “You guys are really busting my balls.”

“C’mon Bakugo!”

Tokoyami implores him, “I implore you to join us.”

“I’m already doing it! Shut it!”

Their classmates cheer and Iida sighs, “You could have accepted it more graciously.”

Kirishima rolls his eyes and takes a seat in the back and Bakugo thinks it’s fucking ridiculous.

“Weird.” Todoroki says, and Bakugo tried to ignore him but Todoroki raps a knuckle on his elbow and asks, “Don’t you think Bakugo is being weird?”

“No?”

“He was watching his feet the whole time he’s dancing and now his arms hurt.”

Bakugo starts trying to think of a response before Todoroki says, “He must have finally pulled that giant stick out of his ass and is reorienting himself.”

Bakugo is so offended he moves toward Todoroki, making the other boy flinch before he’s forcing his hands into loose palms, and shakes his head, “Funny.”

“You aren’t laughing, so I guess not. Uraraka would have laughed. Maybe even Kaminari. I’ll tell them later. Speaking of, did you get the discarded stick? Because you’re-“

“I didn’t sleep.”

“Ah. It’s not nightmares is it?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t know how to help you there.”

“Thanks for nothing then.”

“You’re welcome Kirishima.”

Bakugo watches Kirishima get his tambourine taken by Mina who does a few test hits as Tokoyami tunes his guitar.

“It’ll be just like karaoke for you huh, Bakugo? Will you sing for us too?”

Kirishima scowls, snatching the tambourine back, “You know what-“

A shrill voice cuts through the din of idle chatter and music.

“You guys are jerks! YOU FORGODABOUT ME!”

Bakugo sees Todoroki’s expression darken instantly and he has to refrain from poking fun at him.

Todoroki has never liked Mineta and was Bakugo himself was glad to see him gone. Even so his dislike is unparalleled by Todoroki’s, especially since Mineta believes that he is some sort of competition when it comes to the attention of the girls. Todoroki could care less.

Iida shouts just as loud, “I did invite you!” Iida pushes up his glasses with a haughty huff and stands to use both his hands to gesture wildly, “Cordially!”

He adds that as if it's important and Bakugo thinks that to Iida, it probably is.

Mineta shakes a finger at Iida and marches up to him and Bakugo thinks it looks ridiculous because of their height difference, like an unruly child and a parent.

“You did not!”

“I did so! I told you! 'Mineta!' I said and quite pleasantly at that I said 'Mineta there shall be a gathering in the rec room at seven and movie night shall start later than usual at eight thirty!' I believe you said 'Not now Exit Sign I gotta'-” Iida frowns, “ You were rather vulgar in your implications as to what you would be doing.”

Mina mimes retching and Hagakure laughs and Sero makes an obscene gesture that gets Sato elbowing him and Midoriya gets obvious second hand embarrassment for Mineta. Momo just covers her mouth and shakes her head and Jirou snickers, “Real uh important business huh?”

Mineta squeaks, “NO THAT MAKES IT SOUND TEN TIMES WORSE THAN WHAT IT WAS! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT IN FRONT OF THE GIRLS! I WASN'T! I HAD TO TAKE A DUMP!”

The silence is such that Bakugo is sure that he can hear the sound of Mineta's heart ripping in half as the girls react with varying levels of disgust (Momo) and amusement (Ochaco).

Mineta Minoru realizes his mistake when Momo herself heaves a huge sigh, “TMI.”

“Gross, Kero.” Tsuyu says and Ochaco's face is scrunched up from trying not to laugh as Iida tells her not to laugh.

Bakugo sees Mineta turn as red as Kirishima’s hair and he can’t take it.

There's a huge thud as Bakugo falls off the couch. But the silence that follows it is broken by his howl of, “WHY DID YOU SAY IT OUT LOUD AHAHAHHAHAHA! BRO! BRO I CAN'T-”

Mineta groans in frustration, ripping his hairballs out and chucking them to the floor with a yell of, “You act like you all don't poop! It disgusts me!”

Sero laughs, “We just don't announce it dude.”

It's then that Tokoyami and Kaminari arrive with their guitar and bass strapped to their respective backs. Kaminari also has Momo's keyboard under his arm and shouts, “ Who's ready to rock!”

To the answering cheer Tokoyami grins, holding the karaoke machine in hand, “We salute you.”

Set up is quick because Momo is overeager, bouncing along as she plugs things in and helps everyone with the sound check. He sees Kaminari take the mic and lick his lips nervously before he announces, “Today we'll be doing something different?”

He stares out at the small gathering, then looks back to Bakugo who just nods and Kirishima shouts, “HELL YEAH! FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO!”

Iida shushes Kirishima but eventually gives up when Sato gives a wolf whistle, “Buh-RIIIIIIIING IIIIT!”

Kaminari says quickly, looking at Jirou and announces, “I learned this for you.”

Momo starts playing chords and Kirishima taps at the tambourine in a way that Bakugo feels needs more gusto, accompanied by the mellow notes of Tokoyami's guitar. Jirou's hands fluster over the strings for a moment as Kaminari starts to sing and Bakugo is grinning.

Finally!

It's a soft, buzzing melody, at first but Kirishima of course seems to get carried away, and the tempo gets faster. Kaminari flusters as Jirou pulls close to sing into the mic as well, smile bright, cheeks flushed.

Bakugo knows this song. It's about missed connections and trying again. It's about hesitating and then resolving to go for it. It’s about lights reflecting in someone’s eyes and setting you alight.

It’s ‘Golden Eyes’ the song that Bakugo knows Kaminari has been trying to play by ear ever since the EP came out.

Todoroki gets pulled into a dance circle by Uraraka and suddenly Bakugo gets dragged into it too, bumping shoulders with Iida and Midoriya and Ochaco and he can't help but grin. He laughs as Uraraka twirls him, when Midoriya steps on his feet, and when Iida complains about proximity and rhythm.

He's happy and it hits him like a ton of bricks.

Being Kirishima is fun.

That is until the song ends, and Jirou replies to Kaminari, voice strong and grin wide, “And this is for you, it's my best.”

“You mean your best yet!” Kaminari blurts out and then covers his face and mumbles, “I just mean you keep getting more and more amazing so...”

Jirou shakes her head, “Sure, but either way, in this moment, it's my best still, dummy.”

“Oi! You know what I meant!”

Jirou just shoots him a knowing smile and starts to sing, and the tambourine is missing from the sounds of the instuments. Bakugo looks to see Kirishima just standing there, staring. He looks frozen, the tambourine clenched in both hands before Tokoyami bumps him with an elbow. Like an automaton, Kirishima starts playing again and Bakugo would find it almost funny if his friend wasn't staring at the ground, expression stony.

“Loosen Up Bakugo!” Bakugo shouts over a grin, stomach tight with concern. Kirishima looks right at him and flips him off, but as he looks back down, Bakugo sees him smile and something in his chest loosens.

“It makes sense he’d be jealous,” Todoroki says suddenly and Bakugo jumps from surprise. Todoroki smiles smugly before going on, “Jirou and Kaminari are saying sappy things, and the most Bakugo has managed to do is show obvious favoritism alongside a hard denial.”

Bakugo can’t help the way his face heats up, “What do you mean?”

Todoroki looks at him, face unreadable, “You too. You’re the same way.”

“I’m not.”

“Denial isn’t very manly.” Todoroki says and Bakugo wants to tear him a new one but just whines in typical Kirishima fashion, “I knoooooow, but it’s-its easier said than done! I’ll get to it.”

Todoroki hums and Bakugo elbows him, “Mind your business.”

“It was my business when you told me and didn’t do anything about it.” Todoroki says, shoving him back and Bakugo wonders when Todoroki became so touchy freely. Maybe that’s a trademark of all of Kirishima’s friendships.

Of course it is. He isn’t special in that regard. Maybe they’re best friends, but lately Bakugo wonders what the distinction between him and everyone else even is.

It takes down his mood and it must show on his borrowed face because Todoroki apologizes, “I was only giving you a hard time, I’m sorry.”

“No,” Bakugo forces a laugh, “I’m good dude! It’s just a lot to think about.”

Kirishima’s crush. He looks up on stage and wonders who it could possibly be. Kirishima is staring straight ahead, and Bakugo is unsure if he’s frowning because he is genuinely jealous of Kaminari and Jiro for the reasons Todoroki gave or if it’s just an imitation of Bakugo’s default expression.

Oh, maybe it’s that.

Kirishima always seems to be able to distinguish his genuine anger from his usual temper. Somehow. Thinking that makes his heart flutter as he recalls Kirishima asking after him. He had noticed he was tired and had guessed what happened without much to go off of. He thinks of hands at his jaw, fingers curling over his waist and then, their eyes meet.

He sees his own red, and yet his scalp prickles and he turns his head slowly, breaking eye contact as if he weren’t jolted.

The band slows and Jirou shouts, “DIRGE TIME! D MAJOR!”

Momo plays a jangling tune over her keys and Kirishima grouses into the mic above the unused drum set, “LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOO!”

He sets a fast beat with his tambourine and the pedal drum and Jiro’s bass becomes the forefront for their sound with the guitars playing at a low melody accompaniment. Soon enough and as Bakugo expected, the dirge devolves into each of them doing whatever the hell they want and becomes a cacophony of pure noise that Iida breaks up with a clap of his hands that gets a round of applause and whistles going.

Sato is the loudest, “ENCORE!”

Iida’s eyes go wide in panic, but Kirishima declares, “Go fuck yourself! It’s movie night and my fucking arms hurt!”

The mic knocks over and gives feedback and Jiro starts laughing and bowing, as Kirishima leaves the stage. Bakugo ditches Todoroki to rush to him, “Do they really?”

Kirishima winks, which is so atypical of Bakugo’s idea of himself he freezes.

Sero grabs up the mic, his ever-present grin showing off every tooth he has, “Before we get started I want to say that this is totally not derivative of girls’ night but girls’ night is absolutely derivative of boys’ nigh-“

“BOOOOOO!” Hagakure shouts.

Sero just shrugs it off, “It’s true and you girls know it! I started the first-“

“Get to the point instead of starting a petty gender division again!” Shoji says sternly, all six arms folded for maximum disapproval.

Mineta chimes in with, “Yeah! Don’t make them hate us any more than they already do-!”

Bakugo can’t help himself but he hears his thought in surround sound from every other boys’ mouth, “They only hate you.”

Mineta goes pale, mouth parting in shock. He looks to the girls but each of them is looking elsewhere with no intention of refuting.

He crumples to the floor, speaking through grit teeth, “With people like Bakugo how am I the most hated?”

Bakugo just barely refrains from kicking him.

Iida scoffs, “You are being incredibly dramatic! Comport yourself with dignity, and maybe-“

“Easy for you to say moneybags!”

“Hey now! My family’s economic background has nothing to do with this!”

“Does so! You wouldn’t understand anyway! Hot guys like you would never get it!”

Iida’s frown deepens beyond what Bakugo had thought possible and Sero squawks into the mic, “You think Iida is hot?”

Mineta freezes, his words scrambling and Bakugo barks out a harsh laugh at his expense. Iida coughs once, twice, a third time. He opens his mouth and looks paler than Bakugo has ever seen him, “I...do not feel the same. I’m sorry.”

Iida bows deeply and Mineta shrieks, “IDIOT! RAISE YOUR HEAD! DON’T REJECT ME EITHER WHEN I DIDN’T ASK ANYTHING OF YOU, BLOCKHEAD!”

Iida is sweating, forehead a glossy sheen, “I’m afraid I must retire. I’ve had quite a shock and I’m not feeling well. Good night everyone. Defer to Yaoyorozu if you’re in need of guidance. I need to lay down.”

“WHY YA ACTING LIKE THAT HAAAH?! LIKE YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’VE WON THE GENETIC LOTTERY WITH A FACE LIKE THAT! LIKE OBJECTIVELY!”

Iida turns, and Bakugo laughs at his face. He looks like he’s going to hurl.

“Stop hitting on Iida! Persistent aren’t you!” Bakugo says, knocking his fists together as threateningly as he can, “That’s just not chivalrous!”

“I-I’M NOT!”

“Hey, this might not be such a big surprise yanno?” Kaminari says, rapping his knuckles on his guitar, “You like big chests right and Iida has the biggest-“

“BOOBS! I MEAN BREASTS DUDE I-“

“-moobs.” Kaminari finishes, “Well pecs but-“

Iida lets loose an “eep!” and crosses his arms, “Please don’t. I’m leaving now!”

The room shakes with the force of his recipro-burst and Bakugo sways against the torrent of wind in his wake.

“Who woulda thought!” Hagakure exclaims.

Tokoyami plucks at his guitar, crooning, “A man’s true nature reveals itself not under the harsh light of the sun, but under the kinder gaze of the moon. In the night we reveal ourselves as beasts.”

Jiro claps, “Write that down Tokocchi!”

“It’s kinda kitschy-“ Kaminari starts but Mineta wails, “Stop making fun of me!”

“Were we?” Sato says.

Koda pipes up, “Mineta said...he called him hot...I-n-never mind!”

Midoriya hums, “Stranger and stranger this is completely unprecedented but maybe it extends to just anyone with overly large-“

Yaomomo claps her hands, “That’s quite enough of this! It’s-unseemly!”

She looks right at Mineta as she says it and he flinches as if she’s hit him. He doubles over and Bakugo snorts behind his hand but easily reigns it in to project disappointment.

Mineta shakes a finger at them, “You have it all wrong! I’m not gonna be your punching bag!”

He leaves and Ochaco sighs, “Sero what were you saying?”

“He was getting to the fact that some of us missed Uno so they wanted to play games before we started The Little Mermaid.”

Todoroki scowls, “Forget that. I want to watch the movie.”

Sero whines, “Todoroki don’t be like that!”

“I’m tired.”

Yaomomo looks between them, “Ah let’s put it to a vote?”

“Or how about this. People that wanna play games, let’s play. People that wanna watch the movie, watch it. Simple as that.”

Bakugo wants to watch the movie honestly, he’s seen it before so he’s hoping he can zone out and it will help his sleep later.

“For the games?” Sero asks and most of the class’s hands shoot up.

Uraraka frowns, “No way. Not after last time!”

“Too many secrets came to light,” Aoyama says with a sly smile and her face goes scarlet.

“No!” She denies and Bakugo realizes Kirishima’s hand is raised.

Kaminari looks to Jiro’s raised hand and starts raising his own before Mina shoves it down, “Traitor!”

Yaomomo claps her hands, “Well I will prepare popcorn and snacks. Tsuyu, it was your choice. Please start the movie.”

Ochaco grabs her hand with a grin, “I’ll go with you!” and Midoriya is not far behind them, lamenting, “It’s a shame. Iida actually enjoys Disney.”

“He enjoys Big Hero 6, you mean.” Ochaco corrects and Tsuyu adds, “Only that one, kero. Over and over.”

Todoroki follows them with “That’s not true he also-“

Their voices trail off and Bakugo realizes he’s still staring at Kirishima, hoping he’ll change his mind, “You don’t want to see a movie? Dude?”

Kirishima starts to reconsider before Sero elbows him, “What. You afraid you’ll lose Blasty?”

Bakugo’s eyes narrow and that’s all the prompting Kirishima seems to need to say, “Of course not! I’ll wipe the goddamn floor with you!”

Fuck.
**
This is something Kirishima has been hoping for all year and it sucks that he’s switched when it happens.

Sero takes out a bottle and declares, “It’s spin the bottle, but with a twist!”

“And the twist isn’t just the bottle turning!” Kaminari says, “Because it’s also truth or dare! Sorta!”

They’re all sitting on the couches around the table not too far from where the others are watching The Little Mermaid. Bakugo notices a few of them being nosy fucks and craning their heads.

“This cant be good if you came up with it, Kaminari.” Jiro says with a snicker, arms over the back of the couch and the blonde boy looks offended.

“Well I didn’t. It was Sero.”

Sero clears his throat, “So it’s spin the bottle, whoever it lands on you have to kiss. Duh. If you don’t not to, you gotta do a penalty game. You get to choose.”

“Bruh.” Sato says, “Why wouldn’t we just pick the dare?”

“Some of them are pretty gnarly dude.” Kaminari says with a laugh.

Bakugo sighs, “Bring it.”

Tokoyami crosses his arms, “I fear nothing you could throw at me.”

Shoji grins with six mouths, “ How do you win?”

Sero blinks, “Uh. You take the least amount of penalties by the end of the movie.”

Shoji frowns, “You all don’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to. I know it’s weird.”

Koda pats him on the arm, “Don’t say that.”

Kaminari shrugs, “I’ll go first.”

He spins the bottle and they see Sero freeze up as it lands on him and they meet eyes, “Is it gay to kiss your homie goodnight?”

Sero laughs, “I don’t think so.”

Kaminari grabs Sero’s hand up and makes ridiculous “muah muah muah” sounds as he kisses from Sero’s wrist to his elbow. Sero slaps a hand over his mouth as a giggle bursts from his mouth and rips his hand away and Bakugo can’t help but laugh along with everyone else.

“You can’t do that now.” Kaminari declares and then they fall silent. Oh.

Sato is next and when it lands on Mina, he declares, “Ill take the penalty.”

Sero sinks in obvious relief and turns to Kirishima, “Bakugo. Do your worst. Make a drink.”

Kirishima laughs on his way to the kitchen and they go on with the dares.

When he returns with the terrible orange juice, hot sauce and condiments concoction he slams it in front of Sato with a grin, “Drink up.”

“Just a sip.” Sero says.

Sato takes a gulp of air before he holds his nose and sips it. Holding his nose obviously didn’t help because he’s choking, eyes watering and asking for water. Bakugo is practically beaming at him from the other side of the table and he wonders if this is it. If this is the day he will kiss Bakugo Katsuki.

Koda spins the bottle and it lands on Kirishima. Fuck. Koda is shaking so hard he can barely get a word out so Kirishima slaps a hand over his mouth and kisses the back of it.

Then he goes back to his seat, “There. Decided for you.”

“Hey! Does that even count!” Hagakure asks and Bakugo shrugs, looking to Sero, “Judge?”

“I’ll allow it.” Sero says solemnly.

Hagakure goes next and it lands on Kirishima.

Great.

She ends up kissing his cheek.

Mina kisses him atop his head before he can stop her. Ojirou opts out and gets his tail taped to his back. He ends up getting annoyed by the fluffy tuft at the end of it and ends up sitting hunched over.

Shoji opts our of kissing Bakugo in his body and has to meow before he does anything and sighs, “Meow, I guess this is my life meow.”

Bakugo snorts at the pun and goes on to spin.

It lands on Tokoyami and Kirshima is wide eyed and jealous as Bakugo kisses his forehead right over his feathers.

Tokoyami’s embarrassment shows in the way his feathers fan out and he ends up kissing Shoji on his bicep with an embarrassed shrug.

Hagakure and Mina giggle when she kisses her loud against her invisible ear and Ojiro can hardly keep it together when he opts out of kissing Hagakure and has to drink the hot sauce concoction.

“Coward.” Hagakure says and suddenly, Kirishima is sure she’s upset even though she sounds as she always does. Ojiro has no response for her, eyes wide as Hagakure crosses over to the other couch to lay against Uraraka and Midoriya to watch the movie.

Kirishima has had to let Bakugo’s body be kissed and realizes:

What was he hoping for? Even if he and Bakugo kiss? It won’t be them.

“This is stupid.” Kirishima crosses over to the other side, throwing himself into the corner of the couch and Sero calls after him, “You’re just saying that because you got a kiss from everyone but-“

“Me.” Aoyama says with a wink, “And you’re heart broken! C’est l’amour!”

“ Fuck off.” Kirishima says and Bakugo stands, “Game over. I win.”

“You can’t do that! Everyone likes you enough to kiss you and Bakugo won anyways!”

“Boo.” Mina says and migrates towards the couch.

Bakugo ends up sitting next to him, arm over the back of the couch and he realizes that just like he knew Bakugo curls up in the corner with his feet on the table, Bakugo knows he likes to put his arms along the back.

He doesn’t know why it strikes him the way it does. The familiarity speaks volumes about the strength of their bond and his heart is hammering in his chest so loud he can hardly focus on the movie.

Sero Kaminari and Shoji end up playing cards with Kouda and Tokoyami. Everyone else goes to the other couches or in Ojiro’s case, their room. He almost feels bad for him except Hagakure is right. It’s cowardly to not take a chance and Kirishima refuses to be a coward anymore.

When these two weeks are up, as himself, he is going to tell Bakugo exactly how he feel-

Bakugo’s head falls against his shoulder and he freezes.

Bakugo hasn’t slept in over a day and now, he’s asleep on his shoulder.

He keeps as still as he can, hardly breathing or daring to move when Midoriya looks at him, “Kirishima looked really tired all day today.”

He doesn’t say anything.

“It’s good he’s finally sleeping. You seemed really worried Kaccha-“

“Can you be quiet?” Kirishima says in a brusque, Bakugo-Like fashion and he feels like he’s kicked a puppy with the sheepish smile Midoriya gives him, “Right.”

Kirishima can’t focus on the movie because of the way Bakugo’s heat soaks into his skin and warms him. He can’t think when Bakugo’s soft breathing fans out over his chest and raises his hair. Bakugo’s arms loop around him as he shifts in his sleep and Kirishima wonders if he shouldn’t kick him off.

It’s because he’s being so unmanly that he shakes his friend awake, “Go to bed if you’re so fucking tired.”

Instead of doing that, Bakugo clings to him, fingers digging in and he whines, “No, I only just got to-how long was I asleep?”

Kirishima feels bad because Bakugo’s eyes brim with tears as he says it, “For like a minute.”

“Why did you wake me? I’ll never get back to sleep I just want to-“

“Way to go Bakugo.” Mina says throwing popcorn at them and Yaomomo catches her hand to stop her.

Koda fidgets, “Kirishima, you should go to bed.”

“I can’t!” Bakugo despairs. He buries his face into Kirishima’s shoulder with a groan and Kirishima’s heart leaps into his throat, “This is so stupid.”

Kirishima sighs, “C’mon.”

He grabs Bakugo up and sets him on his feet and Bakugo is glaring at him like he hasn’t since they first properly met. On his own face it looks scary, every sharp tooth standing out in high relief from the glow of the TV.

Kirishima grabs his shoulder and starts shoving, “Let’s go then I won’t have you fucking tumbling down the stairs or some shit.”

“There’s a goddamn elevator.” Bakugo grouses and Kirishima is all too aware of the interest that angry response from who looks like Kirishima garners.

So he rolls his eyes and moves along, “Then I’m shoving you into it. Shut up.”

In the elevator, Kirishima notices the way Bakugo winces at the bright fluorescents. He watches as the other boy rubs his palms over his eyes and groans, “As soon as I lay down I’ll be wide awake. I fucking know it.”

Kirishima asks him again, “Are you sure there’s nothing on your mind dude?”

“I dunno it’s kind of stressful being fucking swapped so take your pick.”

“Do...you want to sleep in your own room tonight then?”

“What? With you?”

That wasn’t what he meant at all.

“I fall asleep in your room all the time when you get too boring during study!”

“You seriously calling me boring asswipe? I shoulda kept whacking you with books and papers and maybe you wouldn’t be drooling all over everything!”

Kirishima realizes that’s true. Bakugo hasn’t hit him with books or papers since they first started out but, “I don’t even know how I fall asleep when you’re yelling all the time!”

“NOT ALL THE TIME!”

“YEAH?! OH YEAH WHAT ABOUT NOW?!”

“Stop it I have a headache.”

“Ha. Real funny. I have a headache and let me guess. I’m supposed to say ‘We don’t argue like we used to Bakugo.’”

Bakugo just glowers at him, “ What the actual hell are you even talking about. And-“

Kirishima has to admit that it’s still weird seeing his own face turn red. What does Bakugo have to be embarrassed about?

“And what?”

“And nothin’.”

They get their bathroom stuff because Kirishima insists that Bakugo needs to relax.

“It’s like nine. Waaaaaay past your bed time, dude.”

“Shut it.”

“A bath will do you some good.”

They end up heading down to find Sero, Todoroki and Shoji already soaking in the tub. All their voices cut off and Sero lifts an arm to greet them both, voice pitched high, “Hey guys!”

Kirishima grunts and stalks off to the showers to scrub himself down and Bakugo just tiredly raises a hand, smile dim, “Heyo.”

“You okay Kiri-rin?”

“You look like shit.” Todoroki says and Kirishima sees the muscles in his jaw jump in third person. It’s weird, but Bakugo shrugs, “Tired.”

“Class was brutal.” Sero agrees, “Swinging around is taking its toll on my arms so I need to find a way to distribute my weight when-“

“Fucking get a harness like in rock climbing. Like when you rappel.”

The bath is silent then and Bakugo gives a half-hearted salute before he goes over to scrub himself down as well. They rinse off and slip into the tub. Kirishima sees the way Bakugo’s eyelids are half shut and Shoji’s quiet talking gets loud enough for both Bakugo and Kirishima to hear.

“Say, Kirishima. You were swapped with Bakugo for a couple of hours right? How was that? I didn’t get to ask.”

“Weird.” Bakugo sighs and Kirishima eyes fix on his mouth, the way his breath makes the water ripple out. He leans back and sighs. He had almost been able to kiss him, but it’s better this way. If he ever does, it will be on his own terms.

Besides the fact that Bakugo is sure to reject him, even if there are moments when-he jolts at his arm being pinched and slaps water into Bakugo’s face, “What.”

Bakugo slaps water right back and grabs his arm before he can retaliate, “They asked you what it was like dude. Being me.”

“Weird.” Kirishima says and Sero groans.

“Really? That’s all you have to say about it?”

“I couldn’t sleep as him.” Kirishima says and then all three of them perk up, “Nothing helps.”

“That true?” Shoji says and Bakugo sighs, “Well yeah.”

“Have you tried-“

“YES!”

Bakugo and Kirishima look at each other startled by the mirrored reaction and end up laughing.

“I don’t think it’s that funny I was going to say lavender.” Sero says, “I can give you some incense that-“

“Tried it and tried the essential oils in my diffuser.” Kirishima says and Shoji coughs.

“You have a diffuser, Bakugo?”

“Kirishima’s diffuser I meant.” Kirishima says blandly, ignoring the way his heart leaps to his throat.

“Sure,” Sero grins, “You use bathbombs too, Explosion Murder?”

Kirishima just sucks at his teeth in a disapproving sound and remarks, “You ever shut up?”

He stands and gets out of the bath to towel himself off and realizes with a jolt that Bakugo is half asleep. He shoves the back of his head, and feels bad as Bakugo jerks awake with a groan.

“Don’t fall asleep and drown idiot.”

“Like we’d let him.” Todoroki says, eyes boring into him and Kirishima rolls his eyes and stalks off to dress.

He starts towards the elevator when Bakugo shows up, towel wrapped around his shoulders and hair dripping. His eyes are half lidded and he leans against the wall of the elevator, “Your hair’s too long.”

“Aw, you don’t like it?”

“Takes forever to dry.”

“I’ll help then.”

Bakugo just looks at him for a long time before shrugging as the elevator doors open, “Whatever dude.”

Kirishima can’t help grinning, “I really don’t say dude that much.”

“You’re not suckering me into arguing with you Katsuki.”

“Katsu-“

Kirishima stops, everything stops as Bakugo kicks his door in. He turns to looks at him, eyes narrowed, “You said it.”

“I...when?”

“Forget it.”

Kirishima closes the door behind him, and his head feels too empty as he says, “Then call me Eijirou.”

“Haah?!”

“You don’t have to.”

Bakugo snorts, “I trusted you with my body. Why not. Go fucking ham, Ei-“
Bakugo stumbles over the name and his sarcasm is unconvincing but Kirishima waits and hears his name, softly, “Eijiro.”

He makes a face, “Stop grinning at me like that. It’s fucking creepy.”

Kirishima just grabs him by the shoulders and steers him over onto the bed, “M’just happy, Katsuki.”

“Don’t go around fucking saying that all the damn time.”

“Not even in front of Midoriya?”

His fingers brush over Bakugo’s neck when he grabs the towel and he notices the way he shivers. He should towel his hair off quick or else Bakugo will catch cold or something.

“What does it matter if it’s in front of Deku or not? Oh.” Bakugo grins, “What. Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

“Of what? It’s just-you can’t stand him and I’m your best friend so-“

“If you call me Kacchan, I’ll kill you.”

“Noted.”

He runs his fingers along Bakugo’s scalp through the towel and it’s easier because he can’t see his face, “You said your friends are coming here tomorrow right?”

Bakugo yawns, “Baldy is stupid and will try and bug Todoroki but Camie is my friend. We won’t have to pretend with her.”

“Like we did to Mina. And Kaminari. And Sero. And everyone.”

Bakugo grabs his wrists, “So we could get into class still. Remember? And don’t forget our bet. It only counts if Aizawa finds out. Which who are we kidding. He will.”

“He won’t!” Kirishima rips the towel from his head and sees his hair is wild and tangled with dismay, “I’m a good actor!”

“You don’t fight like me and it shows.”

“Not everyone can be-“

“Don’t finish that. You’re used to being a tank and I’m used to throwing you around. It’s whatever.”

“Sure. Easy for you to say when you’re the one getting good scores on everything while I’m dragging you down haha.”

Bakugo glares at him, “We talked about this. And what did I say then?”

Kirishima sighs, “Right. You’re right. It’s just-“

“Yeah.” Bakugo cuts him off, “Yeah.”

He falls back onto the bed and Kirishima groans, “Dude. You have to at least comb it out with your fingers!”

“I do? S’been fine so far.”

“You’re not ruining my hair, c’mere.”

He sits on the bed and pulls an uncooperative Bakugo along, running fingers through his own hair to untangle the rats’ nest it’s become. It’s so weird. Seeing his own face while he does this. Seeing Bakugo’s hands running through red hair-

He drops his hands, “That’ll do!”

Bakugo winces at his volume, suddenly too loud and Kirishima is noticing the way Bakugo’s voice is squeaking a lot when he gets flustered. His own has already been through that so it’s weird to experience it again.

“Your voice has been cracking a lot lately, dude-“

He gets a face full of palms that shove him to the mattress, “You think I don’t fucking know?!”

“Sorry! Sorry!” Kirishima laughs and Bakugo isn’t satisfied by an apology so he ends up getting shoved almost off the bed before he’s clawing at the sheets, “I give!”

Bakugo just snorts and settles onto the bed. Kirishima scrambles up and now that they’re not talking, realizes that this was a bad idea. The overhead light is still on and Kirishima doesn’t want to turn it off. Bakugo is looking at him with his eyes, but the gaze is calculating and unreadable in the way that only Bakugo’s gaze can be. He swallows hard, not knowing what to say when Bakugo speaks, “Thanks.”

“For?”

He rolls over to face the wall and sighs, “Just turn out the light doofus.”

“Oh? Sure.”

Bakugo plugs in his phone and Kirishima curses as he realizes he forgot his charger. He tells Bakugo that and the other boy just smashes a pillow over his head, “Hurry up.”

Kirishima’s steps are as quick as his heart when he darts over to his own room and ends up tripping on a dumbell with a curse of “SHITFUCK!”

He grabs it up and starts heading over when he feels a gaze on the back of his neck and sees Shoji halfway into his room, watching him.

“What.”

“Nothing. Good night Kiri.”

“G-What? You mean tell him good night? Tell him yourself.”

Shoji just shrugs and heads into his room. And Kirishima feels like someone has dunked him in ice water.

Did he hear that right?

Shaking and wondering if he’s hearing things or if he heard his own name, he enters Bakugo’s room where he gets hit by a pillow, “What took you so long? God your reflexes are shit.”

“Shoji called me by my name. Kirishima.”

“Get the fuck out.”

Kirishima turns to leave but Bakugo stomps over to grab his arm, “It’s an expression. What do you mean? You’re serious?”

“Yeah dude. He looked right at me!”

“Fuck.” Bakugo looks stricken, then just says, “All right.”

“All right?”

“I’m going to sleep. Well fucking try.”

Kirishima walks over in disbelief, “You don’t have a plan?”

“I can’t think right now so it’s no use. Leave it for tomorrow.”

“Yeah? I guess. If you say so.”

“Shut it and flip the switch already.”

He does and it’s different seeing Bakugo illuminated by his phone screen. Except it’s himself he’s stuck looking at. He crosses over to take the spot next to him and it’s like the air is too thick, making it hard to breathe.

Bakugo sighs, “It was easier before. Now that I’m laying down I’m fucking wide awake.”

“We could put on a movie? On my phone?”

“Whatever.”

They end up propped up on Bakugo’s pillows, crammed together so they can see Kirishima’s phone held between them. Kirishima only has two movies on his phone. The Crimson Riot documentary and some dumb parody action movie that he and Kaminari know all the words to. Bakugo has already seen the action movie he’s sure, so he puts on the documentary.

Kirishima knows it word for word so he finds himself focusing more on Bakugo’s shoulder against his own. At some point, he sinks down and his eyes are barely open, his cheek smushed against his shoulder, “Is that why you go shirtless?”

“Eh?”

“Because Of Crimson.”

“No dude. My quirk would rip it off. Even my sleeves get kinda battered.”

“That’s not why.”

Kirishima looks at him, “What.”

“Your sleeves don’t rip because of your quirk. What’s the reason.”

He swallows, voice thick, “I think it’s kinda cool?”

“Like...try and hit me you stupid fuck, I’m wide open!” Bakugo grins at him wolfishly, “ Like that?”

Kirishima can’t speak, so he turns back to the screen and nods, “S’manly.”

Bakugo is quiet

“A frenzy quirk huh.”

“Yeah. I’ve always thought...That has to be difficult. Making other people react violently.”

“A villain quirk.” Bakugo says and Kirishima knows that they’re on that part of the movie where Crimson had had to enter UA with his strength alone.

“It depends on how you use it.”

Bakugo agrees with a yawn and and a grunt. Kirishima tries not to react as Bakugo squirms against him into a more comfortable position.

“Kirishima.”

“I thought we were on f-first names now.”

Bakugo is quiet, “Is this okay?”

“As long as you’re comfy and it helps you sleep! I’m-“

“That’s not what I fucking asked.”

“Maybe,” Kirishima squirms, looping his arm around Katsuki’s waist pulling him to his side. He anticipates yelling that never comes, or Bakugo to ask why he’s so nervous, but instead, Bakugo’s eyes close and he sighs warm against Kirishima’s chest.

“Is this okay?”

Bakugo just shrugs, and hums.

“You going to sleep dude?”

“Shut up and maybe it’s possible.”

Kirishima thinks he’s cute. He’s super cute. They’ve fallen asleep in each other’s rooms before but not like this, pressed together on Bakugo’s bed. He knows enough not to point it out. The longer they’ve been pressed together the easier it is on his racing heart and he finds himself resting his hand on Bakugo’s side, and the other holds his phone.

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep.

When Kirishima wakes it’s to the muted sounds of Bakugo’s phone game and he’s crushing the other boy. Somehow Bakugo is on his stomach and Kirishima is draped over his torso, arms akimbo.

“Uh. Did you sleep.”

Bakugo misses a target in his game but doesn’t yell at him, “Some. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

“I always wake up at this hour.”

Bakugo turns to look at him and Kirishima takes the opportunity to slide off of him.

It’s colder without Bakugo’s heat.

“It’s fucking Sunday.”

“Yeah?”

“Why the fuck would you wake up before noon?”

Kirishima scoffs, “My workout. Hanging out? Making the most of my time?”

“Figures. This is my day to take a break from all that shit.”

“I could put a hold on it.” Kirishima says with a yawn. Bakugo looks like he’s pouting and he sort of wants to take his spot back, but he ends up laying next to him, “Did you wanna sleep more?”

“There’s no point in staying up when Camie won’t be here until ten.”

Kirishima looks at the clock and sees it’s seven, “I think I’m gonna go for a jog.”

Bakugo looks at him, turning over. Kirishima sees him turn off his phone, his own phone, before he hands it to him, “All right.”

“You can still use your phone! I don’t really need it since I’m gonna be right back?”

Bakugo stares at him, voice neutral, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

Bakugo is staring the black screen of the phone, face unreadable, “Kirishima...thank you.”

“For?”

“Does it fucking matter?”

He’s taken aback by the curl over a sneer and the way Bakugo’s borrowed face has gone a little pink.

“Guess not. I’ll see you in a bit then dude!”

Bakugo waves him off and hunkers back down into his blankets.

He’s so cute.