Chapter Text
The house he stepped into was decrepit and filthy, and he winced at the noise the front door made when it creaked open. The moving boxes were still in the small rented trailer he had attached to his bright red truck, and there was less dread at being all alone in a brand new location than there was at the prospect of having to unpack all his items he’d taken over from the dorm.
The house was shitty, but Kirishima had shared a dorm with maybe one of the most excruciatingly annoying sexual predators known to man, so he could totally manage. Plus, every house was a fixer-upper, right? And as soon as he moved all his stuff in, it’d definitely feel more like home. It’d also be way better to just… get unpacking over with, he thought as he stepped outside to retrieve the cardboard boxes in the trailer.
But Kirishima was having a hard time being enthusiastic about fixing this place in the summer heat. He squinted up at the sun as it burned down at him almost mockingly. The AC was broken, so his friends were going to tag team it with him later this week- though, none of them knew exactly how to fix it, four heads were better than one, most likely- but until then he just had to tough it out. But he was all about being tough, so this was definitely going to be just fine!
As he carried box after box into the run-down house, he tried to focus on things that would happen once it was actually fixed completely, and that put him in a good mood. Dorms were expensive, especially the ones his friends had so close to campus, and while he was the only one in the house currently, they would probably be able to live with him after stuff was sorted out. He was the only one out of them that was in a position to move earlier, and to be honest, anyone would want to get out of rooming with Mineta.
Once his friends were with him, though, they could hang out all the time! None of them were the best cooks, but Sero wasn’t half-bad, so maybe they wouldn’t have to eat takeout every night. Plus, there was the added bonus of this neighbourhood being relatively quiet, with the houses rather spaced out. He and Mina both preferred speakers over headphones, so hopefully there wouldn’t be many noise complaints from the neighbours this way. All in all, more pros than cons, he thought as he carried one of the last boxes into the house.
The lights were dim, but fully functional, and as Kirishima dropped his mattress in what would be his new room (he could get a bedframe later, this was fine, damnit), he couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement as he dropped down on it. If he passed out, who could blame him? It had been a long day.
Unfortunately, the consequences of falling asleep too early hit Kirishima like a bag of bricks as he blinked his eyes open. It was almost pitch black in his room, and he blindly slapped his hand around the ground where he thought he had left his phone. Turning it on, he groaned as he read the time. One in the morning. He was lucky break had just started; staying up this late if he had class would probably have been the death of him.
Or maybe a heart attack would be the death of him, because the light from his phone screen illuminated the room just enough to reveal what appeared to be the form of a man sitting on the cardboard boxes he’d brought into his room.
Kirishima had had situations before where he thought a hoodie slung over a chair was a slouched form, or a coatrack at a friend’s house being a looming figure of a monster that would eat him. Those were different, because this figure had eyes, and it locked them directly with Kirishima’s own. They widened, as if surprised he was awake, and before anything could happen, Kirishima did the only rational thing he could think of- scream.
“Augh- what the fuck!” the man in the room said, which only made the redhead scream louder, because that essentially solidified the knowledge that someone else was in there with him. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!”
“What the fuck are you doing in my house!” Kirishima shouted as he finally managed to produce some cohesive words from his mouth.
“This is my house!” the man replied with a scowl that one could compare to a dog about to attack. But he made no sign of moving, so Kirishima turned the flashlight from his phone on and shot up off the mattress. He was a big dude, he knew that- around 6’4” with a good build- and with any luck, the quick movement would startle the intruder and he could get a few hits in on him. He had no idea what weapons the man had on him, so it would be best to get him fast-
Instead, Kirishima froze in place.
The man in front of him was… well. He was handsome, with unkempt, spiky ash-blond hair and eyes that seemed almost scarlet in the light. He stood about 5’8”, if Kirishima had to guess, and though he was lean, he didn’t appear to be weak at all. None of this, however, was important in the moment, because the only thing Kirishima could focus on was the fact that the man was translucent.
The man took his stunned moment of silence as a cue that it was his turn to talk, though judging from the look on his face, he probably would’ve started talking whether the other party had stopped or not. “I can’t believe that motherfucker sold the house.”
Kirishima could only let out a stammered “huh?” before the man continued. His foot was tapping on the ground, and his arms were crossed. “The fucking- the real estate agent! I worked so hard making this place unlivable, but no! You-” at this, he pointed at Kirishima, “- bought this shithole anyways, huh?”
If what he thought was happening was happening, then this had to be the “unusual circumstances” the real estate agent had mentioned that had caused the price to lower so much in this specific household, and he found himself wishing he’d asked for a lot more details than what she’d given. The taller man slapped at the finger pointing to him, though not to cause harm; he was certain he must be dreaming as his hand simply passed through the blond’s own. “Is this real?”
He looked downright offended at Kirishima’s question, and leaned over to flick him in the head, the other yelping in pain. How come that connected! Dream or not, he wasn’t going to be pushed around by a ghost. He was a nice dude, but come on! That was uncalled for!
“Of course it’s real! A real pain in my ass! Get out of my house!” The man barked back at his question.
Kirishima gritted his eyebrows together in frustration. “You know what? Tell me your name.”
“Huh?”
“ Name, please. My name is Eijirou Kirishima,” he gritted out through his clenched teeth. Usually he was much more patient, but he was tired, and he’d been doing physical labour all day, and this was a lot.
The man seemed caught off guard by this, so his reply was simply “Katsuki Bakugou,” though he didn’t look all that pleased about introducing himself.
“Well, Katsuki, I am not leaving this house! It’s like one in the morning! You are see-through! It is really hard to find affordable housing right now! And I’m pretty sure this is a dream now, so if you’ll excuse me!” And with that, Kirishima laid back down, pulling the blanket over himself as if it had personally wronged him and was atoning for its sins.
It was incredibly difficult to fall asleep when the man- Katsuki, apparently- seemed so real next to him, and also wouldn’t stop grumbling now and then, but Kirishima was nothing if not dead to the world once he fell asleep, so once he closed his eyes he opened them to a bright day. He yawned, stretching his arms as he sat up, and winced a bit as he realized he’d slept in his sweaty clothes. He peeled his tank top off his skin before he felt his phone charger slam into the top of his head.
As he looked at the translucent form of Katsuki Bakugou, glaring at him with his arm in a position that indicated he was the reason the phone charger was on the attack, Kirishima had to admit to himself that maybe he wasn’t totally dreaming after all.