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Chapter Text

Bakugou Katsuki was always popular. It was due to his quirk, something he was always hyper-aware of. It didn't make him unhappy, but it felt superficial. He still went with it, absorbing the attention like a sponge. It went to his head sometimes. The kids who followed him would do anything he asked, no matter how ridiculous. 

Eventually, he would become tired of the fake friends he'd obtained. He yearned for someone who would be happy to hang out with him, not because of his quirk. 

Problem was, he didn't know how to be genuine around other people. He didn't know how to talk to someone with the intention of becoming something more than acquaintances. It was like a foreign language to him. All he knew was to take advantage of his popularity, and act out against people who weren't in awe of his abilities. 

It was thoroughly frustrating. 

This show of dominance over the other kids lasted for a few years. It wasn't until he was in fourth grade that someone new came to his school, and tore down the wall he'd created with such force, Katsuki couldn't see it coming. 

The new boy stood in front of the class on the first day of fourth grade, fresh haircut and pressed uniform, ridiculous smile smeared across his face. With vigor, he announced, "I'm Kirishima Eijirou, and I'm looking forward to being in your class this year!"

Katsuki grumbled. This new guy was way too excitable.

The teacher nodded, smiling almost as brightly as Kirishima was. She put her hand on the boy's shoulder, and pointed at a seat. "You can sit over there, behind Bakugou."

Katsuki slumped in his seat, pushing a balled fist to his cheek. He didn't want someone new by him. He knew he'd just have to explain how his quirk works again, and deal with the added attention that felt so plastic. 

Kirishima sat in his seat, placing his bag next to the chair. Katsuki waited no more than three seconds before he heard, "Hey, I guess we're sitting by each other."

Katsuki craned his neck to look at the source of the voice. He had large, shining eyes, black hair that came to his chin, and he leaned a bit too close for comfort. He didn't seem like the other kids who tried to get his attention. But he didn't want to risk it. The last thing he needed was another follower. 

"Yeah, I guess," Katsuki mumbled, turning back to the front of the classroom. 

---

Days passed, and Katsuki was still followed around by his little posse, but Kirishima never made attempts to join the group. He never asked Katsuki about his quirk, which he was relieved for. He did, however butt his way into everything Katsuki did. It was annoying. 

"Whatcha working on?" Kirishima asked, leaning his head forward, over Katsuki's shoulder during their working time. His hair grazed Katsuki's neck.

Katsuki whipped a hand up, pushing Kirishima's face away. "None of your business," Katsuki snarled. 

Kirishima pouted. "I need help with this problem, though. You're really good at math, right? If you're not too busy--"

"I said no. Leave me the hell alone." Katsuki tried pushing his desk forward, away from Kirishima's. The desk slammed into the one ahead of him, and the girl occupying it scowled at him. Katsuki sighed heavily, settling for just sliding forward in his seat a little bit. 

Later that day, Katsuki's usual group of followers crowded around him. He didn't bother to remember their names, so he referred to them as whatever their most prominent feature was. There was a kid who always wore a baseball cap backwards and could sprout branches from his arms, and there was the kid with the round face who grew bat wings. They were his biggest followers. Other kids would sometimes hang around, but these two guys were incredibly loyal. 

"Hey, Bakugou, I saw the new kid sitting behind you," the winged kid mentioned as the three of them and two other tagalongs walked around the playground during recess. 

Katsuki grumbled at the thought of the disgustingly loud and bright boy who was placed behind him. "Yeah, so what?"

"Do you know what his quirk is? It's probably not as amazing as yours!" the hat kid asked, bouncing as they marched around. 

"Haven't asked. It's probably something dumb and useless anyway. Or he could be quirkless!" Katsuki said, laughing at the thought. 

Of course, the four kids walking with him burst out into laughter as well. They thought everything he said was genius and hilarious. It gave Katsuki fake confidence, that would only last for the time they were laughing with him. 

"Do you think that could be? He didn't seem sad enough," the round-faced kid questioned. 

It was true that oftentimes children who were born quirkless had a saddened aura about them. They knew they were doomed to never fit in anywhere. The picking and prodding at them just because they were born different was always a constant. So even when they tried to hide their feelings about being powerless, it was almost blatantly obvious the truth about them. Katsuki had noticed this about Midoriya Izuku, the kid who tried so hard to prove himself worthy of heroism despite being useless in the power category. The passion Midoriya showed infuriated Katsuki, so much that he gave him the name of Deku, to show him just how useless he was. 

But even under all that passion to help people and the determination to make it work despite being quirkless, Deku looked a bit sullen most of the time. When other kids talked about their future in heroism, Deku's head fell a bit. He kept his smile on, and tried to keep his usual optimistic nature, but it was unmistakable how upset he was about his destiny. 

This was not what Katsuki saw in Kirishima. His smile was genuine, and his excitable nature was blinding. There was no way he was quirkless, Katsuki was sure of it. 

But why was he so interested in talking to Katsuki? He didn't know about his explosion quirk, why else would someone want to talk to him? He didn't exactly look approachable. Even as a ten-year-old, Katsuki had a permanently grumpy expression glued to his face even when he wasn't doing anything. People generally avoided him unless they wanted to know how his quirk worked. 

That wasn't Kirishima's intention. So what was it?

"Well, whatever it is, he can mind his own damn business anyway. I'm not interested in being friends," Katsuki grumbled, crossing his arms. 

"What about us? You like us, right?" the hat kid asked, eyes shining. 

Katsuki screwed his face, "Never said that."

The hat kid pouted, and the others giggled. 

Now that he thought about it, he didn't like anybody. He wouldn't let them get close enough. And he thought he was okay with that. But it was really, really lonely. He felt nothing when he hung around hat kid and wings kid. They saw him as someone untouchable. Someone who could smite them at any second. An uncontrollable force. So they stayed on his good side by hanging around him and taking any kid down he asked for. They feared him. 

Katsuki's chest hurt. His heartbeat quickened. Tears pricked at his eyes, but he forced them back down. 

"I'm gonna go pee," he mumbled and left the group, running back to the school building. 

---

Katsuki hid in the furthest stall, buried his face in his knees as he fought against the tears begging to slip down his face. His shoulders quaked with the sobs trapped in his chest. 

They don't actually care about me at all. Why was I so stupid to think they would? he angrily told himself. I don't really care about them either, though.

But god, it hurt so bad. Katsuki wanted to scream. He wanted to let everything out at once, all of his loneliness, all of his anger, all of his feelings for the world to see. To see he was more than his quirk. 

That was when a familiar voice rung out, "Hey, is someone in here? Are you okay?"

Kirishima. Why is he here?!

Katsuki frantically rubbed at his nose and eyes. 

Shit.

He took back all of the thoughts he had before. He didn't want Kirishima to know he was crying by himself in the bathroom. He would definitely think he was weak. And that was the last thing he wanted. 

"I can hear you, ya know?" Kirishima said, making his way to each stall, pushing the door in to check for inhabitants. "Hey, if you need to talk, I can help. Nobody should be sad like this."

It almost made Katsuki speak up. Almost. He shoved his mouth full of the collar on his shirt, chewing on it. 

When Kirishima reached the last stall, he pushed it, but it didn't budge. He knocked on the metal, the sound resonating throughout the room. "If you don't come out, I'll just crawl under."

Dammit, Kirishima.

Katsuki reluctantly stood, brushing the dust from his pants and wiping as much moisture from his face as he could. He was certain he still looked like crap. 

The lock clicked, and he pulled the door open. Kirishima stood in front of him, eyes softened and arms outstretched. 

Katsuki sneered at the friendly gesture. "I don't need a damn hug."

"But you're sad. And that's what people do for other people who are sad," Kirishima said, looking a little bit offended.

"Maybe not everyone wants a face-full of sweat and some stranger wrapping their arms around them." Katsuki pushed past Kirishima, walking briskly to the exit. 

Kirishima was not far behind. "Hey, I'm not a stranger. And you should talk to me about what's on your mind! If it made you that upset, you should tell someone."

Katsuki wanted to shut down again. He wanted to ignore this boy's words. But the yearning he was suffering from was winning the battle. 

"Okay," Katsuki muttered through clenched teeth. 

A smile full of teeth shone before him. Kirishima grabbed his hand, tugging him along. 

"Where are you taking me?"

"Outside. We'll get in trouble if we stay in here too long. But there's a spot in the corner of the field where we can sit and talk."

Katsuki was out of fighting spirit. He was tired of pushing everyone away all the time. He was tired of being lonely. It sucked. If Kirishima cared enough to listen to his problems, maybe it would be worth it to open up a little bit. But only a little. He didn't know what Kirishima's true intentions were, so he told himself he'd keep his guard up. 

They reached a corner in the field, where the grass was matted down more than the rest of the field. It was also yellowing, and miscellaneous garbage pieces were piled up in the corner of the fencing. A lot of kids must have come here to talk about stupid personal problems. 

"So, what's wrong?" Kirishima asked as he plopped himself down on the grass. His legs were crossed, and he leaned forward with interest. Katsuki followed his model, and sighed heavily. 

"Why should I trust you with this?" Katsuki asked skeptically. 

Kirishima shrugged, "Cause I want to know more about you. And you always tell me to go away. So, this is a good chance to both help you out and get to know you."

"Of course," Katsuki growled, crossing his arms. "You had ulterior motives, just like everyone else!"

Kirishima's eyebrows raised, shaking his head. "No, wait, that's not what I meant. I mean, I've been sitting behind you for almost a whole week, and we still haven't had a single conversation. And you're sad. I don't know what you're like, so I can't properly comfort you. Sorry if I sounded selfish." Kirishima's head dipped, and Katsuki's heart plummeted. 

The blond brought his fingers to his forehead, squeezing his eyebrows and his eyes shut. "No. Shit. Never mind. I'm bad at this."

"At what?"

"This!" He gestured between the two of them wildly. "I don't-ah, god, what the hell."

"Talking to people?" Kirishima guessed. 

"Yeah..." Katsuki wanted to just die right there. He never told anybody about this. 

Kirishima nodded, not at all judgmental. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. So, is that what this whole thing is about?"

"Kind of." Katsuki took in a breath before continuing on. "I just-I don't have any friends. The kids who hang around me all the time don't even care about me. And I don't care about them either. So, it just pisses me off that I have to pretend I'm just gonna go along with all of that crap."

Kirishima nodded. "Why do you have to?"

Katsuki almost jumped at the question. "What?" he cried.

"You don't really have to. You can just tell them you don't want to spend time with them anymore."

Katsuki hummed. He brought a hand through his hair, tugging at the tangled ends. "I guess so."

"Why'd this happen anyway? If you're not friends in the first place, how did you end up being around them so much?" Kirishima asked, curiosity piqued. 

"My goddamn quirk." He opened his palm and held it in front of Kirishima, igniting the nervous sweat on his skin, sparks popping. "It's more powerful than that, but I don't want to light anything on fire."

Kirishima's mouth hung open. "Man, that's freaking sweet!" He grinned at Katsuki, who met him with a grimace. "Wanna see what I can do?"

Katsuki extinguished the small flames. He nodded slightly, not much more than an incline of his head. 

Kirishima held his arm out in front of him, the flesh going from plump and soft to hard as a rock. There were jagged lines along his forearm. His hand seemed to disappear under the sharp point that formed over it. 

"That's cool too. Does it hurt?"

Kirishima deactivated it, and shook his head, "Nope! Does yours?"

Katsuki shrugged, "If I overdo it, it could mess up my hands. But I've only done it once."

"So, those kids just think you're so cool that they want to follow you forever? What part of it's bad?" Kirishima asked, changing the subject to a more dangerous territory. 

Katsuki bristled. "They don't think I'm cool, they think my quirk is cool. And it's damn sad that they would do that. I'm not even a person to them." He pulled his crossed legs up to his chest, resting his chin on them. "They're just dumbasses," he mumbled into his pants.

"That's a crappy thing to do. Who cares about those guys?" Kirishima placed a hand on Katsuki's shoulder, only for it to be swatted away just as quickly. 

"Don't push it."

Kirishima held his hands up in defense. "Sorry, man. But, you have me now. You don't need to have to feel bad about pleasing those other guys."

"I never said I'd be friends with you, but I will talk to the other guys." Katsuki stood, looking down at the black-haired boy still sitting on the ground. "I'll consider the whole friendship thing, but there are no promises, got it?"

Kirishima grinned, "Yeah, man, that sounds awesome!"

"Don't get too excited, Shitty-hair," Katsuki retaliated, sauntering away.

---

Katsuki smoothed things over with his followers. They agreed that they weren't going to bother him anymore. It was a huge relief off his chest. 

After that discussion with Kirishima, Katsuki slowly began warming up to him. It took the rest of the year before he called himself Kirishima's friend. And after that, they only grew closer. They managed to stay in the same class for almost every year leading up to high school. Once the idea of high school came around, however, things became tense between them. 

They both had powerful quirks, but Kirishima often struggled in his classwork, and Katsuki's attitude didn't get better with age. Their powers got more powerful, and they learned how to control them better, so they could ensure they'd pass the physical portion of Yuuei's entrance exam. But Kirishima still failed the practice entrance exams. Katsuki passed them easily, but he'd been told he needed to lay off the angry explosions if he wanted to prove himself as a hero. 

But they now had each other, and that in itself eased their consciences. 

"That's not how you do it, dumbass," Katsuki said, jabbing the eraser end of his pencil at Kirishima's paper. "Here." He scribbled out a solution. "You've gotta do it this way or you'll screw yourself over." 

Kirishima smacked his temples, grinding the heels of his hands into his skull. "Thanks, man," he sighed, looking at what Katsuki had written down. "How are you so good at this?"

"Cause I pay attention, unlike you, Shitty-hair."

Kirishima pouted, "I pay attention! It's just hard for me to understand it."

Katsuki nodded. He knew just how badly his friend struggled in class. In all of his classes. 

"You think I can still pass the Yuuei exam? I really want to go to the same high school as you!" Kirishima said, shifting in his seat. They had gone to the library to study, where the librarian attempted to scold them multiple times, but gave up. They were the only ones in the room besides a group of girls chatting about something mindless. 

Katsuki scowled, "Only if you do everything exactly how I show you."

Kirishima nodded desperately, "Yeah, of course!"

They stayed in the library, working at the study guide they'd been given when they decided they wanted to attend Yuuei. It consisted of both academic questions and heroic hypotheticals. It was difficult, but that was only expected of the top rated hero academy in Japan. Katsuki was concerned how Kirishima would do on it. 

If it were anybody else asking him for help, he would have turned them down before they could even finish the sentence. But since it was Kirishima, well, he felt like he was obligated. He wanted Kirishima to get into Yuuei, so they could be in class together still. Kirishima was the only person keeping him sane at this point. He also stopped Katsuki from bullying other kids like he used to. Kirishima was relentlessly kind and easy to talk to. Which meant that there were other kids in his middle school who liked hanging out with him. And Katsuki had to share. It was annoying to him at first, but he got over it and spent that time alone to work on assignments that he'd later have to teach to Kirishima. 

But he never worried about Kirishima leaving him. Not until the exams were fast approaching. 

If Kirishima failed the entrance exam, he'd be alone once again, and he still didn't know how to make friends. It made Katsuki shudder.

"What about this one?" Kirishima asked, pointing to another question on the page. In the time Katsuki was worrying about losing his only friend, Kirishima finished two problems, more than he usually was able to complete on his own. Katsuki checked those over first before moving onto the one he was pointing to. Again he scribbled an example, and looked up at his friend. 

"You did the two before it right. Maybe you're not totally useless."

To anyone else, that would be an insult. But Kirishima grinned. "Thanks, man!" He looked at the work Katsuki did, and excitedly worked through the next problem. 

They worked through two more pages of the guide before Kirishima stopped. "Hey, the library will be closing in a little bit. Do you want to come over to my house?"

Katsuki nodded. "Yeah, sure. You'll work on that more, right?"

"We worked on it for two hours already, why can't we just relax? It's a Friday night. You could even spend the night, if your mom is cool with that," Kirishima suggested, pulling his bag over his shoulder after shoving his books and papers back into it. 

His mom would say yes, of course. But he really wanted Kirishima to just work on that study guide forever. Because if he did that, he would surely make it in, right? But he also wanted to bum around on the couch with his best friend. They could watch poorly executed action movies and eat popcorn and just enjoy each others' presence. It was all Katsuki ever wanted. He didn't want to worry about losing his friend next year. 

"Yeah, okay." He agreed anyway.  

Chapter Text

Kirishima Eijirou was in awe of his best friend. He always had been. Bakugou was smarter and more powerful than him, by a wide margin. It was impressive, but also intimidating.

He knew Bakugou would get into Yuuei, no doubt about it. But Eijirou, on the other hand, he had to work his ass off. His grades were suffering, and his quirk was powerful, but it wasn't as refined as he wanted it to be. He was certain the testers would take one look at him, and shake their heads in shame. 

It was a heavy thought on Eijirou's mind at every time of the day. But he smiled through it all. He didn't think Bakugou had much of an idea of how badly this was impacting him. He couldn't sleep at night. And when he did, he had nightmares of never seeing Bakugou again. After six years of being friends, he couldn't imagine not seeing his best friend every day. He didn't care if they weren't in the same class, he just wanted to know that Bakugou was still there for him. 

Then he felt a poke at his shoulder. 

"Oi, Shitty-hair, you're zoning out," Bakugou grumbled, shifting so he could get more comfortable on the couch. A movie was on the TV, but Eijirou hadn't been paying any attention to it. 

"Sorry, man," Eijirou apologized, his shoulders and head drooping. 

Bakugou glared at him, but it wasn't with the usual malice. His mouth was drawn in a frown, but his brows were raised. "If there's something on your mind, just spill it."

Eijirou clasped his hands together, squeezing them. "Yeah, I probably should talk to you about it." He found the remote buried in between the cushions, and he paused the movie. 

"So, what?" Bakugou asked again, pulling his legs up and turning to face his friend. 

Eijirou pursed his lips before explaining, "I'm worried I won't get into Yuuei with you. I'm scared we won't see each other again. I can't..."

"Hey, stop talking like that. We've been working really hard to get you ready for the exam. I didn't spend all that time tutoring you for it to be thrown away," Bakugou told him, in a reassuring voice. Eijirou didn't realize he was capable of talking so soothingly. 

All of his nerves slowly untangled themselves. "You sure?"

"Yes I'm damn sure. We need to work on it more, but we still have enough time to get through it."

Eijirou grinned, "Thanks, man!" Before he could remember how much Bakugou hated hugs, he'd slammed himself into the other boy, wrapping his arms around Bakugou's back. 

Bakugou growled, "Get off me before I blast your shitty hair off your head." Eijirou could hear the telltale sparks of his friend's quirk, and retreated. 

"Sorry, just excited."

Before Eijirou turned back to turn the movie back on, he noticed the dusting of pink across his friend's cheeks. His jaw was set, and his arms crossed over his chest. Eijirou raised an eyebrow at the expression, but didn't press anything. 

"Do you know what's happening in this movie?" he asked Bakugou, changing the subject so his friend wouldn't explode. 

He grumbled in response, "I thought you were paying attention. You were the one to pick this dumbass movie in the first place."

Eijirou shrugged, "The cover just looked cool. Do you want to pick the next one?" Eijirou cocked his head to the side, so he could look at his friend's cheeks. They were colored normally again. So, he wasn't sick, and he wasn't overheated, why would his face be red? 

"Fine. I didn't want to watch this one anyway."

Bakugou chose an action movie, which didn't shock Eijirou in the slightest. It was one that been highly reviewed, but he didn't get to see it when it came out. 

"Ooh, I heard this movie is good!" Eijirou exclaimed, settling further into the couch cushion. He noticed his shoulder pushed against his friend's, but he didn't make any effort to move away. That was not to say Bakugou wouldn't move. 

Bakugou made another grumbling noise, and he scooted away from Eijirou. He was almost sitting on the opposite end of the couch now. His face was again flared up with red. 

"Are you okay, bro?" Eijirou asked, worried that he was doing something wrong. 

"I'm just fucking dandy," Bakugou snarled, pushing a hand to his chin and leaning against the other arm of the couch. 

Eijirou pouted, "Then don't move so far away. Did I do something wrong?"

"Yeah, you kind of did. You keep sitting so damn close to me."

"So? We always sit next to each other. We're friends, right?" Eijirou asked, becoming increasingly confused. 

Bakugou whipped his head around to look at Eijirou. "Friends don't sit on top of each other, you damn moron."

The blond's face was now completely on fire. Eijirou was surprised he hadn't set his couch on fire too. "Calm down, dude. I didn't know..." Eijirou picked at the ends of his hair. It had gotten long. "You don't like hugs, I've known that for years, but I didn't think sitting close to you was bad too. I'm sorry. But don't sit all the way over there, please?"

Bakugou ignored him for a while, then sighed and said, "I'm going to get some water."

Eijirou watched as his friend stood, shoved his hands into his uniform pants pockets, and sulked into the kitchen. None of today had been going well for Eijirou. He wanted to have a nice evening with his best friend. Was that a bad thing? And why was Bakugou acting so weird?

He pulled out his phone and decided that the Internet should have some sort of answer for him. 

He typed in "why is my friend acting weird?" and a slew of concerning answers popped up in front of him. All having something to do with feeling isolation, mental disorders, and stress. Eijirou became instantly worried, sure that he'd done something to make his friend angry, or that he was dealing with something serious Eijirou wasn't aware of. He gaped at the results, scrolling and reading article after article. Though none of them included the intense blushing Bakugou was showing. 

Maybe it's something else? The only thing I can think of is the entrance exam, but he's confident he'll get in.

Eijirou scratched at his head. He tried another question: "why is my friend's face red?"

Instead, it showed results for why people's faces turn red. The first result explained that it could be due to anxiety, embarrassment, anger, stress, sadness, and other extreme emotions. Some were the same as the previous question, but there was another emotion in there that struck Eijirou. Embarassment. 

Was Bakugou embarrassed of something? Or it could just be his anger, but he was almost always angry. Why would his face turn red due to that?

Bakugou returned, placing a glass on the coffee table, and tossing a package of something at Eijirou. "I forgot I bought this for you." 

Eijirou inspected the plastic wrapping of the snack sitting on his lap. It was an energy bar, he noticed, but there was also a familiar face printed next to the title. "Oh my god, I've been looking for this! I have all of his other merchandise, but I could never find this anywhere," Eijirou exclaimed. It was an energy bar that had been endorsed by Eijirou's long-time idol, Crimson Riot. He spent all of the small earnings he received from his mother on Crimson Riot's merch, but he'd looked at multiple stores to find this one, and it seemed to not even exist. "How did you find this?"

Bakugou played with the hair at his neck, "I just saw it at a party store when I was getting a drink."

"No way, bro. I've looked everywhere for this!"

"It's just a damn energy bar. It's not a big deal," Bakugou mumbled. 

"It is too a big deal! You must have paid attention when I was talking about it." He looked up to Bakugou, who hadn't sat down again. "I want to hug you really badly right now," he murmured, and he wasn't sure if Bakugou could even hear him.

Though when Bakugou bristled and clenched his fists, he got his answer. "You're too damn affectionate. You're killing me." His cheeks flared again. 

"Are you embarrassed?" Eijirou asked, wondering if the Internet was right. 

"Dammit, of course I am!"

"Sooo, no hug?" Eijirou asked again, slumping in his seat. 

Bakugou threw his hands over his eyes, grinding the heels of his palms into his eyes. "I don't fucking know anymore."

Eijirou stood and strode over to his friend. At the moment, Bakugou was about two inches taller than him. But they'd been going back and forth between who was taller for years. "I'm going to hug you anyway. You can blast me if you want, I'll heal." He gathered his fuming friend in his arms, and rather than feeling the heat of explosive hands on his back, Bakugou's hands rested gently on his back. Bakugou never did anything gently, so this shocked Eijirou. 

Eijirou's forehead rested on Bakugou's shoulder. He felt Bakugou's chin on his. "Are you still embarrassed?" 

Bakugou grumbled something Eijirou couldn't understand. "A little bit." The blond pushed his forehead into Eijirou's neck. "But it's nice, still."

Eijirou was hyper-aware of Bakugou's ragged breathing on his skin. Then he felt his own face flare with heat. Was he embarrassed now too?

They stood, remaining in their embrace for a few minutes. Eijirou was glad his parents wouldn't be home for another hour or so. He didn't know how they would react to see their son and his best friend hugging for a weirdly long amount of time. 

"Hey, uh, you remember how I said friends don't sit so close?" Bakugou asked, gulping, and burying his face further to ensure Eijirou couldn't see his expression. 

"Yeah?"

"What if... wait, no that's really gay." Bakugou cursed at himself. "Never mind."

Eijirou laughed. "What is?"

"Hmmm" Bakugou half-growled, half-hummed. "It's stupid."

"I'm sure it's not." Eijirou was so curious now, it was killing him. His heartbeat was in his ears. 

Bakugou's hands clenched. His fists had gathered some of Eijirou's tank top, but he didn't mind it. "What if I had a fucking disgusting crush on you?"

"I, ah, god, I, er," Eijirou stuttered, not entirely sure how to respond to a confession. He wasn't expecting this, but it didn't exactly feel wrong to him either. Did he want Bakugou just as a friend, or was it possible he felt the same way? 

"Goddammit, I knew I shouldn't have said anything." Bakugou's hands tightened, but managed to squeeze the skin of Eijirou's back. 

"Hey, man, you're kind of hurting me," Eijirou winced. 

Bakugou pulled away from his friend, hiding his face with a hand. "Just forget about this, okay? It doesn't really matter anyway."

Eijirou shook his hands, "Wait, no, it's okay. I, ah, just haven't really considered it as a possibility. But, uh, it's not weird or anything."

"I just, fuck, I hate this." He pulled both hands over his face, and Eijirou could hear a muffled scream from his friend. 

Eijirou just stood and stared. He never would have guessed. He wondered how long it had been that Bakugou had felt this way. And he also wondered if he could reciprocate those feelings. He'd never really felt that way toward someone in his fourteen years of life, but if he were to feel that way about anyone, it would be Bakugou. 

"So, why did you stop me from hugging you a while ago?" Eijirou asked.

"Cause I like you so damn much, and I knew you were only hugging me cause you're friends with me. And you hug everyone. It's...not the same," Bakugou explained, sinking into the couch. 

Eijirou sat too. "So...you want me to only hug you? You know that's not reasonable, Baku."

"I never said I was being fucking reasonable. I'm selfish. I want you to come with me to Yuuei. And I don't want you to make any other friends. Because I know I can't make any, and I want you all for myself. It's stupid, and I'm being a damn terrible friend." His hands lifted from his face. His eyes were red around the rims, and his face was flushed, but out of anger and frustration now. "I never really was good at this. You've led our friendship this whole time, and you made other friends along the way."

"You know you're my best friend, though. Sure, I'm friends with other people, but they don't matter to me as much as you do. I don't really care whether I see them next year or not. It'd be nice, but it's not anything I'd be devastated over," Eijirou told him, calmly as he could. It was all true. 

Bakugou was sitting close enough on the couch now, so Eijirou took the chance of placing his hand over his friend's. He initially felt the heat of an impending explosion, but Bakugou glared at him. "Why are you doing that?"

"Because you're sad. And that's what people do for other people who are sad. Plus, you're my best bro, and I want to cheer you up." He offered a grin, pushing his fingers through Bakugou's. 

Bakugou looked like he wanted to retaliate, but kept his mouth shut. He leaned back on the couch, closed his eyes, and huffed out a breath. He rubbed a thumb over Eijirou's thumb. "Can I go to sleep?" Bakugou muttered.

"Yeah, why are you asking?" He didn't need an answer, because Bakugou's head landed on his shoulder. "Baku, you'll get a crick in your neck that way."

"How the hell else am I gonna lay down if you're sitting there?"

Bakugou cracked an eyelid open, to see Eijirou patting his thighs. Bakugou huffed, and laid his head on his friend's lap. They had to release each other's hand. Eijirou began carding through Bakugou's hair to compensate. 

"Is this okay?" Eijirou asked, though he doubted he'd stop even if Bakugou said no. Despite the blond hair being spiked at every angle, it was unbelievably soft. 

"Yeah," Bakugou mumbled into Eijirou's shirt. 

"G'night, bro," Eijirou said, feeling rather elated. 

---

Eijirou's parents may not have seen them hugging in the middle of the living room, but they did see their son mussing up Bakugou's hair while he napped. And that caused a bit of suspicion. 

"Uh, Eiji, what's Bakugou-kun doing on your lap?" his mother asked. 

"He's tired."

His mother stared at him in alarm. "I see that, but he could have used the guest room, you know?"

Eijirou blushed, "I, ah, he was going to fall asleep sitting up, and I didn't want him hurting his neck."

"A-alright." His mother dropped her purse by the door and lugged her shopping bags through the living room and into the kitchen. Eijirou's father followed, eyeing his son but not making any comments. "Make sure you wake him up so he can head home soon. We don't want his mother getting worried."

"M'kay," Eijirou said, though he doubted his mother could hear it. 

The conversation the two had before Bakugou fell asleep repeated in his head, beating itself into his skull. He didn't want things to become tense between him and Bakugou. He wasn't sure if he could agree to something more than friendship as it stood now, either. There was more on his mind. And he was still in middle school, after all. There was no need to rush into things yet. He hoped Bakugou would understand that. 

He was also becoming tired. It was only 8, but the studying had drained Eijirou. He almost wanted to slump over on Bakugou's back and fall asleep too. But he had to wake him up still. 

Eijirou poked at Bakugou's face, "Hey, my mom said you need to go home soon."

A grumble escaped from Bakugou's lips, and he swore. 

"Baku, I'm serious," Eijirou tried again, shaking at his shoulder this time. 

"No shit. Can't I stay over?"

Eijirou shrugged, "You gotta let your mom know. And I've gotta ask first."

Luckily, Eijirou's mother overheard, "Bakugou-kun is welcome to stay the night. I can pull out an extra sleeping bag, and I'll call Bakugou-san to let her know."

Eijirou smirked, "Looks like you got lucky. But we should probably go in my room so my parents can have the TV."

At that, Bakugou nuzzled his nose further into Eijirou's shirt, pulling the fabric over his face. 

"Fine, I'll just carry you."

---

Before Eijirou's mother could come in with the sleeping bag to get the boys settled, they both had already curled up on Eijirou's bed. The covers were left untouched, and Bakugou's head was pushed into Eijirou's chest, arms around his back. Eijirou's leg was in between Bakugou's, and his chin rested on Bakugou's head. 

Kirishima-san sighed, closing the door to the room and silently wishing them a good night's rest. 

---

"Hey, Shitty-hair," Bakugou mumbled when he woke up, much too close to Eijirou, but too tired to care. 

Eijirou groaned, "Baku?"

"We fell asleep on your bed." His nose was nearly touching Eijirou's, and his arms were still twisted around his friend's torso. 

"Oh yeah. Crap. I'm sorry, I couldn't stay awake. I'm not too close, am I?" His eyes remained closed, his mouth barely moving as he spoke. 

Bakugou sighed, "I don't know at this point. I don't think I want to be your boyfriend yet. But this is..." He gathered the material of Eijirou's tank top in his fists. 

"I get it. I think I'm the same way. Wait until we're both admitted to Yuuei, right?"

That made Bakugou smile a bit, tiredly. "Works for me."

---

The month leading to the exams was intense, between training and studying. But by the time the exam came, Eijirou felt more than prepared. He was sure he'd get into the high school he'd been having dreams and nightmares about. And he would stay with Bakugou, at least for the next three years. He chose to not think past that, when they would either be pro heroes, or be forced to choose a different career path. He hoped they would both make it to the first option. 

During the exam, the two of them met their potential classmates, and Eijirou could see that some were incredibly talented, but others were almost certainly going to fail. His heart ached for those not as prepared as the others, and he hoped that wherever else they ended up, they'd be able to find another passion. 

There were times during the tests that he thought he would fail. But the thought of keeping that promise to Bakugou kept him going. 

In the end, both him and Bakugou succeeding in making it in. All of the stress and self-doubt he'd had piled up washed away the instant the news was revealed. Tears had been forming in his eyes before Bakugou poked his arm. 

After the ceremony, the two of them went back to Eijirou's house, where his mother had made them a special dinner and dessert. They ate it thankfully, with both of Eijirou's parents' congratulations pouring over them. Bakugou's parents had come for a brief time, but left after congratulating their son. They'd already agreed that Bakugou could sleep over again. 

They ate their meal, and went back to Eijirou's room, where a sleeping bag was already laid out on the floor this time. They sat on his bed, Bakugou fiddling with his phone, swiping away the notifications from acquaintances wishing him luck.  Eijirou became bored and leaned over Bakugou's shoulder. 

"Sooo," Eijirou drawled, expectantly. 

"What?" Bakugou mumbled, not moving his attention from the screen. 

"We made an agreement, remember? A month ago," Eijirou reminded him, heat arriving on his face, and his hands were nearly shaking in anticipation. 

Bakugou's hand lowered, phone plopping in his lap. "Oh. Yeah."

Eijirou's eyebrows shot up, "Just 'yeah'? This is kind of a big thing!"

"What do you expect from me? A big celebration or some shit?" Bakugou growled, keeping his head low. 

"You still want to, right?"

"I brought it up to begin with. Of course I fucking want to." 

Eijirou's stomach fluttered, brain nearly short-circuiting. He pushed himself forward, letting his legs dangle over the side of the bed. His hip was flush with Bakugou's. They now were almost the same height, with Eijirou having a growth spurt over the past month. He thought maybe within the next year, he could surpass Bakugou. 

"So, what now?" Bakugou asked, rubbing a hand through his hair. "I don't know how this whole thing works."

Eijirou hummed, leaning his head on Bakugou's shoulder. "I don't think there's a set way. We just...get to be close. And we support each other. Like before, but we don't call each other friends."

"Okay...you're my boyfriend now then. This is weird as shit." He grumbled as he pulled Eijirou's hand into his. 

"It is...but it makes me really happy. You're happy too, right?" It was so hard to tell with Bakugou when he was pissed and when he was happy about something. His expressions were so similar. But Eijirou had known Bakugou long enough to know that this expression now was of relief and happiness. Eijirou had lifted his head, and was approximately two inches away from Bakugou's face. "I wanna kiss you."

Bakugou's expression didn't waver. But his cheeks colored, and he softly nodded. 

It was quick. Just enough for both of them to be so sure of their decision. After the fact, they pressed their foreheads together. 

"You're gonna stay with me, no more confusion or worrying about other people," Eijirou told him. 

Bakugou nodded, "Yeah, I got it."