Work Text:
«I'm gonna say it again, it's a bad idea.»
Mina stretches her legs, placing them onto Kirishima's ones while resting her head on the arm of the couch in the common room.
«There's nothing wrong with helping a friend out,» he replies, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.
«Yeah, there'd be nothing wrong if you hadn't feelings for him!»
Kirishima feels his face warming up and gets up from the couch, abruptly moving Mina's legs away.
«I'm going to sleep,» he announces, before heading towards the elevator.
Context first: the spring break is getting closer and the UA students will finally be able to return home to visit their parents.
For the teachers and the principal this was a painful decision, due to the recent villains' activities, but Aizawa insisted about the fact that the kids deserved a couple of weeks of peace with their families; the pro-heroes will just have to sacrifice themselves to be on the lookout.
And basically it happened that morning.
Class 1-A was excited about the news and the chattering was a steady sound around Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero who were standing by window.
When the last person the three of them ever imagined approached them - hands in the pockets and a frown - the boys were taken aback. But Kirishima was the first one to speak.
«Yo, Bakugou! What's up?»
The blonde whispers something before taking a deep breath, «Gotta talk to you.»
«To me?» the red head asks in disbelief, noticing the smirks coming from the two friends next to him.
Dumbasses.
«Yeah to you, hair-for-brains, alone.»
«Oh! Sure thing!»
Both left the class, lurking next to the door; Kirishima stood with his back against the wall pretending nonchalance while feeling a hint of anxiety inside.
«I need your help,» Bakugou said suddenly, making the red head smile. It was unusual for Bakugou to ask for help - nearly impossible - and Kirishima was grateful to be the only one the blond had ever asked for such a thing.
«Of course! Whatever you want, man!»
But when the blond looked away, a slight flush coloring his cheeks, Kirishima's heart began to beat faster.
What the hell was happening?
«My mother is the most annoying person on earth--»
«Oh, I like her!»
«Don't interrupt me, damn it!» Kirishima gave him an apologetic smile, then he kept talking, «And since she had the wonderful idea to set up a date with a chick I've never seen in my whole goddamn life, I told her that I was actually dating someone else.»
He blurted everything out in a beat and Kirishima took a lot of effort to keep up with what his friend was saying.
«...wait, what?»
Bakugou was definitely blushing and decided to stay silent, one hundred percent sure that Kirishima understood everything and only needed time to process it.
After a few seconds of silence, Kirishima recovered from the shock.
«Uhm, okay? What's the point, then?»
«The fucking point is that it's not true that I'm dating someone!»
«Well, everyone lies to their parents, it's kinda what the teenagers do--»
«Shut up, fuck! I know it already, I wasn't born yesterday, goddammit.» Bakugou was definitely nervous and the red head couldn't get what his friend was trying to tell him. «That old hag said she wants to know the person I'm dating!»
«Oh, uh, that's a problem,» Kirishima said, touching his chin with one hand. Bakugou's forehead was covered in sweat, the red head could clearly notice that. So he announced triumphantly: «Don't worry, I'll help you find a girl who can pretend to be your girlfriend! Leave it to me!»
«Yeah, easy, all you need to do is to find a girl with red hair and sharp teeth,» the blond said sarcastically.
Kirishima chocked in his own breath.
«What--»
«I was angry, ok? She didn't believe me and started asking questions about this person and the first one that I could think of was you!» Bakugou was grinding his teeth, on the verge of a breakdown while Kirishima was slowly panicking.
«You can't be serious! I should pretend to be your girlfriend?!»
«God fucking dammit, keep your voice down, you idiot!» Bakugou clenched his fists at his sides, the tension was evident on his shoulders. "She already knows you, I don't know why in the world she adores you and keeps asking me about you. She was so happy when I told her your name. And that's it, fuck, you just gotta pretend you're dating me, not being my fucking girlfriend!»
«Yes, I get that but, that's, I-- No, Bakugou, I can't-- What should I say to her?!»
«You'll just have to act as you always do, y'know, to be the fucking blinding sunshine you usually are and it'll be alright. It's just a dinner next Saturday.»
«Sat-- but it's tomorrow!»
«Uh, yes, tomorrow night. So, are you gonna help me out or what?»
«I...»
Kirishima knew very well how bad this was, but Bakugou asked him for help (just him!) and the fact that he was the only person Bakugou could think of while talking with his mother made him slightly happy.
«Alright then! I'll do it!»
Was that relief in Bakugou's eyes? Oh, Kirishima knew he was already fucked anyway.
When the elevator's door open on the third floor, Kirishima is face-to-face with Bakugou, a suitcase behind him, ready to leave the dorms. Both stop and stay in silence for a few seconds, until it's the readhead to gather himself.
«Are you leaving now?»
«Yeah, my old man is waiting outside.»
«Oh! Good! Then I'm going to say hello!» he announces, turning around and getting again into the elevator.
«Do whatever.»
Masaru Bakugou is, in fact, standing outside the car, waiting for his son. Just before Kirishima greets him, he notices an ash-blond hair – too familiar – in the driver's seat.
«Good evening, Mr. Bakugou!»
«Kirishima-kun, it's good to see you again,» says Bakugou's dad in a polite and kind voice.
«Kirishima?!» A female voice makes the three startle as also draws the attention of the red head, still busy shaking Masaru's hand. "My gosh! It's really you! Come here, let me hug you!»
Mitsuki Bakugou is a beautiful woman in her late thirties, even though she seems ten years younger. It's the female version of his son, both in terms of physical appearance and personality. When Kirishima met her, he liked her right away, just because she resembled his friend a lot.
Kirishima returns the hug a bit awkwardly, feeling his cheeks warming up and, when they separate, he notice that Bakugou is watching them, arms crossed and a crooked smile.
«Losers...»
«Oi, brat! What the hell are you blathering about?!» Mitsuki yells in the direction of her son who just rolls his eyes and starts helping his father to put the suitcase into the trunk.
«It's a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Bakugou--»
«What the hell, call me Mitsuki! And by the way, I'm really happy that you and my son are dating. He needs a person to hold him back and calm him down. You know, like Masaru does with me.»
Her kind smile is almost stunning and Kirishima feels considerably guilty about the lie.
«Uhm--»
«Oi, shitty hair. Tomorrow afternoon we're gonna pick you up from your house,» Bakugou interrups them, approaching Kirishima menacingly and too fast. Too much.
Wait.
What?!
Bakugou's lips touch gently Kirishima's cheek, burning him from the inside, a heat that spreads from the tip of the hair to his feet. The boy is paralyzed as he follows Bakugou with his eyes; the blond, without even looking at him, moves away muttering something and slipping on the back seats of the car. His parents smile warmly, waving Kirishima their goodbyes and repeating several times that they can't wait to see him again the next day.
The moment when the car disappears over the horizon, Kirishima finally moves an arm, reaching out the cheek that Bakugou – Bakugou!! - just kissed.
Mina was probably right: it's a very bad idea to pretend to be the boyfriend of the person for whom you have already strong feelings.
«So, Eijirou!» Mitsuki's taken the liberty of calling him by his given name as if he were her son, and Kirishima doesn't conplain. «What's your hero name?»
The dinner was getting to an end. Everything went well so far: no inappropriate questions, no embarrassing silences, Kirishima and Bakugou were acting as they usually do; the only difference were that they were sitting closer to each other than they would normally do. Besides that though, it seems like they aren't pretending anything.
The red head sips the last drop of water before answering, «Red Riot! I've been inspired by--»
«Oh, Crimson Riot! Damn, that was a hottie. You remember him, darlin'?!»
«Well, I was a kid,» Masaru replies calmly, wiping his lips with a napkin, «but I remember very well how popular he was. They say he's enjoying the retirement in America.»
«Yes, he's kinda the symbol I aspire to become. I just hope I don't dash the expectations!»
«You won't at all!» Mitsuki smiles, getting up and starting to clear the table. Her husband rises immediately after her to help. «What do you think of Katsuki's instead? I t--»
"Oi, old hag, shut up! I haven't told anyone yet!» Bakugou stops her, talking for the first time that evening.
«And why the hell does Midoriya-kun already know it?!»
«That's a thing between me and fucking Deku, mind your own damn business!» Bakugou gets up, grabbing Kirishima's wrist and pulling him up with him. «We're going out for a walk before going to sleep, don't wait up for us!» Then, without even waiting for an answer, the two quickly rush out the house.
«I don't know what makes you all angry, but you should calm down,» Kirishima says when both of them are on the street, starting to walk along the sidewalk. Bakugou's hand still holds his wrist, still Kirishima tries not to pay much attention to it.
«My mother thinks you're a damn angel or something. The way she looks at you is irritating.»
The red head chuckles, «She told you that?»
«There's no need to.»
«Don't tell me you're jealous!» Kirishima jokes and comes to a stop as, finally, the blonde lets him go. «C'mon, you don't really believe that she likes me best than her own son?!»
«I already know it's true, but that's not what makes me jealous.»
Wait, what? - Kirishima thinks he misunderstood, because it's absolutely not possible for someone like Katsuki Bakugou to be jealous of him.
«Bakugou?»
«Your hero name.»
«What about it now?»
«I'm jealous of the fact that the motivation behind your choice is noble and appreciated by the fucking whole world. While mine-- My hero name. I chose it for the sake of stick it to that shitty nerd!»
Bakugou clenches his fists and stares at the sidewalk as if it did something wrong to him. Kirishima doesn't understand what he's feeling right now, but at least he knows very well what to say to his friend.
He steps forward and -- as if drawn to the other –- takes one of Bakugou's fists into his hands, loosening his fingers and feeling the sweaty palm against his own skin.
«Whatever your hero name is, or the motivation behind it, is nobody else's business but yours. And above all, you must never regret a decision. That's not manly at all, bro.» The blond finally lifts his eyes and Kirishima manages to read discomfort in them, in addition to something else he can't quite identify. «Besides, your parents are proud of you. And they will always be, I know that much!»
«You barely know them,» the other murmurs, raising the corner of his mouth. «You don't have the slightest idea of what's on their mind. They're such psychos.»
Kirishima laughs, for the first time that evening, and feels as if all the anxiety and the built up tension slip off his shoulders. «But I know you!»
Bakugou's hand, between Kirishima's finger, opens and closes in an instant around the red head's one. His heart starts pounding and he feels within himself that something around them is changing.
«Thanks for, y'know, for tonight. To be there and all of that.» Bakugou says, stepping slowly forward.
«Don't even mention it! You're my best friend, I'd do anything for you.»
«Yeah,» another step, «best friend.»
And after those last words, which have the sound of a chain that breaks in Kirishima's head, Bakugou abolishes distances and firmly presses his lips against Kirishima's ones.
Fireworks in the head, butterflies in the stomach, shaky legs and all the shit that you read in romance novels are nothing compared to what Kirishima feels right now, while his lips open up and his tongue starts to caress Bakugou's.
He can't realize how much time the two of them spend kissing, though he wishes time would stop now and that this moment would never end.
Instead, he's the one who breaks the kiss and, when he open his eyes, he sees Bakugou panting, his cheeks flushed and his lips glossy.
«So...» Kirishima says with raspy voice, «...I guess this definitely marks the transition from fake dating to real dating, yeah?»
Bakugou scoffs, shaking his head. «You're such an idiot.»
It's the red head this time to start their second kiss, with a new awareness within himself: to let go Bakugou Katsuki, with all his pride, his anger and his swearing, is definitely out of the question.
As well as being the least manly thing he can ever think of doing.