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It started with a kiss.
No, not the sloppy kiss on the cheek your grandmother would give you, or even the kind you share when slow dancing at prom. First of all, it wasn't even him; the jerk kissed him out of nowhere and got away with it because “he’s so cute!” But it wasn't the kiss itself that made Bakugou’s heart skip a beat, it was Deku’s response. He laughed and snorted as it happened but then grabbed his face and gave him a cute little peck on the nose in retaliation. And in that moment, he cursed Fluffles and everything he stood for.
Fuck dogs. Lucky bastards can get away with anything.
Of course, he didn't let this on when it happened, just pushed past Deku, kneeling on the sidewalk and giggling like a little school girl, and said he was in his fucking way. He didn't know why that little peck on the nose made his lips curl, why seeing that mutt lick his stupid baby face made his blood boil. He pegged it as Deku being weak in character again and letting his guard down for a dog, which are one in a million compared to Bakugou. Bakugou was the best thing since sliced bread and he would be damned if Deku was going to love up on a dog instead of him.
That exact thought stopped him dead at dinner that night, his fork clattering onto the plate. His dad stopped mid chew to ask if he was okay and all Bakugou could do was tighten his slack jaw and mutter that he was fine. But he wasn't; what the fuck was that? Why would he want that stupid Deku kissing his face? He wouldn't let those Quirkless lips anywhere near him, not after he kissed a dog, that’s for sure.
Fucking dogs. Lucky sons of bitches.
A week later he was standing at the bus stop and scoffed as Midoriya ran to him and the bus that was hissing to a halt. He grabbed the first seat he could find and put his feet up, watching as Midoriya clambered up the stairs, paid the fare, and sat in the seat across the aisle from Bakugou. As the bus started moving, Bakugou glared at the world outside the window but found his eyes drifting towards the reflection of Deku’s face in the glass. At one point or another, he whipped out a GameBoy from his backpack and was tilting and tapping away at it like a woodpecker on a tree. Bakugou turned his head to look at him, seeing how Deku’s legs were curled towards his chest as he took up the whole seat, how he squinted to see the details on the tiny screen better, the tongue that peeked out from between his smooth lips in concentration.
What the fuck?
Bakugou shook his head and looked out the window again, failing to notice how much more severe his pout was getting.
In class, he liked to watch the side characters be themselves, how insignificant they were compared to him. Kirishima was prattling on about something or other but it was the buzzing of a fly in Bakugou’s ear. His eyes were trained on Midoriya, Iida and Uraraka, mostly on Midoriya though. He hunched over and laughed at something Iida said, jumped to a seated attention when Uraraka suggested something, covered his mouth with his crooked little hand as he tried to hide another ugly laugh.
Ugly in the sense that it was loud and jarring, not at all because it itself was ugly. It had a certain lightness, an unbridled joy that brought Bakugou back to when they were kids and Deku was trailing behind him and his cronies but would laugh at anything Bakugou said. It fed the flames and his lips curled at the memory. Deku should’ve been laughing at him, he was sure he was more entertaining than those two. What did they have that Midoriya had to fawn over them as opposed to him? When did he become his own person, capable of beating him in a fight and outsmarting villains? When did he-
“Dude.”
Kirishima’s voice yanked Bakugou out of his thoughts, which made his response that much more biting. “What?”
“You broke your pencil.”
Lo and behold he did, the halves of his once pencil rolling on the floor next to his desk. Bakugou blinked and looked up at his friend with frustrated confusion.
“I mean, that’s manly as hell but why?”
Bakugou simply said because he could. He wasn't about to divulge all his thoughts to anyone, at least not thoughts like these. Instead his gaze found itself back on Deku, who was now getting serious and flipping through a textbook as he studied with his friends. Those fingers, so slender and capable, his eyebrows scrunched with concentration, his soft pink lips pursed into a frown.
What the fuck?
Another week passed and it wasn't getting any better. Everyday in class he’d watch Midoriya display his abilities and wit, and every afternoon he’d aimlessly watch Midoriya stare at the scenery out the window, scribbling in his notebook or messing around on a GameBoy. But one fateful bus ride home had Midoriya playing with his GameBoy right next to Bakugou. All the other seats had been taken and instead Midoriya plopped his butt down next to him, as if he deserved to be in the same space as him.
“Hope you don't mind me sitting here, Kacchan.”
“Whatever. Stay on your half.”
And he did, but it wasn't far enough away for Bakugou to stare at him without going unnoticed. Out of the corner of his eye though, he could see Midoriya tilt his body to the left, as if the movement would aid the game in following his direction. He felt him jump when he came to a particularly hard part in the game and heard him mutter “No, no, no, no” to himself when something didn't go the way he wanted it to. Every little quirk he displayed in that moment was purely Midoriya and it took Bakugou back to the days when he would take the GameBoy and show Deku how silly he was being for not being able to pass a certain level.
“Wow, you’re so good at this!”
“Of course I am.”
So when Midoriya groaned to himself and slumped in his seat, Bakugou huffed and reached for the GameBoy out of instinct. It caught them both by surprise, but Midoriya stared up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Uh…”
“Gimme the damn game. Someone’s gotta show you how to do it.”
A second passed before the relatively warm plastic was placed gently in his hands, the plastic that was in Midoriya’s hands, the hands that held that dog’s face and the hands that belonged to the person that gave that dog a kiss on the nose.
That got him going, now more determined than ever to show Midoriya just how much greater than a dog he was. Of course it was an All Might game, but given how old it was, he was surprised Midoriya hadn't aced every aspect of this game yet. Maybe he was out of practice. It took Bakugou a second to commit the controls to memory but once he did he was hell on earth for the pixelated characters on the screen. Each knockout made Midoriya scoot closer to see, a breathless “Whoa” here, a wince when Bakugou nearly missed a ledge there, and eventually a loud “YES!” next to his ear when Bakugou beat the boss.
“Jesus,” Bakugou had leaned away from Midoriya’s exclamation but once he did, he realized just how close they were to each other. The order for him to stay on his half of the seat was apparently long forgotten, the two pretty much breathing the same air and their knees nearly pressed together. He had yelled in his ear, that meant his face was close to his own, those lips were near his ear, those lips that kissed the dog.
Those lips…
Bakugou blinked as Midoriya scooted away a little and looked down at his lap. “Sorry, I’ve been trying to beat that boss for days.” Why couldn't Bakugou move? Why were his eyes trained on Midoriya’s face? Why was he committing every eyelash that brushed his freckled cheeks to memory? Why was his heart pounding in his ears when he realized Midoriya had a soft blush coloring his face?
He shook his head when he felt Midoriya’s fingers graze his own, only trying to retrieve the GameBoy but sending Bakugou’s heart rate through the roof in the process.
“Dog.”
“What?”
Oh my God, what was he saying? He sat up straight and looked out the window, refusing to look Midoriya in the eye as he almost snarled, “Why would you kiss a dog?”
“Oh,” Midoriya chuckled. Like the fond memory of Deku’s Past, it was light, jaunty, kind of had a breathless undertone to it. “Fluffles? Because he was cute. I don't know, it felt right at the time.”
What cuteness did a dog have that Bakugou didn't?
Wait, no. Why couldn’t Bakugou be kissed like that?
Fuck, no, shit.
“Kiss me instead.”
That blush that had pretty much disappeared from Midoriya’s face came back in full force. Oh fuck, what did he say?
“What?” Bakugou dared to ask. He lost control of himself for a second, what did he say?
“K-Kiss you?”
“What?” God, he was starting to sound like a broken record, but it was all he could think of saying. The entire dictionary of swears and catchphrases he had for a moments like these was burning somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind. All he could do was gawk back at his childhood friend in hopes he would say something more intelligent.
Bakugou averted his eyes and cursed the world around him almost simultaneously to Midoriya saying, “We’re both boys though.”
He had a point, but it was 2017. The modern world they lived in had bigger concerns than two high school boys kissing on a bus.
Or maybe it didn’t, what did he know? Certainly not how to reply, that was for sure.
“Fluffles is a boy.”
“Fluffles is a dog.”
“So pretend I’m the dog.”
The hole he was digging for himself was getting that much deeper for every second Midoriya’s eyes were fixed to him. When Midoriya raised an eyebrow, he knew he was in for it. “You want to be the dog?”
Bakugou glanced between him and the floor, shrugging when he found a very interesting dirt scuff on his shoe. The seconds passed at a snail’s pace but soon the weight on the seat changed and Midoriya was suddenly leaning towards Bakugou, hands shaky as they reached for his face. His fingertips grazing his ears were like hot brands, making Bakugou shrink away before remembering who it was. Midoriya pulled back a little at the reaction but his expression set into one of determination.
That same face that faced villains at USJ, those same hands that blew him away in the simulation, those same hands that held the GameBoy that held the dog in place as those lips kissed it’s nose.
And suddenly those lips were on his nose. And Bakugou ascended to a higher plane of existence. It was only a second, Midoriya pulling away and looking at Bakugou for approval or disgust.
Bakugou didn't even stop himself from pulling Midoriya back in and pressing his lips to his.
It started with a kiss and he wouldn't have had it any other way.