Work Text:
Everyone had their scowls and disgruntled frowns turned towards him. Bakugou Katsuki wiped his watery eyes from laughing so hard, as it seemed like ages since he found something this comical. Once he managed to catch his breath, he took notice of all of his classmates glaring at him from his seat in the back of the theater.
“The fuck you all staring at?” he growled as his usual scowl made its way to his face. Bakugou shot them a glare, wondering why they were so hung up on his amusement, as if he had done something criminal, “What? It was just a joke, calm the fuck down.”
“That wasn’t funny,” Jiro snapped, the burning intensity her look was probably enough to set him on fire. Bakugou rolled his eyes and glanced over at the stage, expecting to see Kirishima Eijiro there to agree with him, but he was met with nothing except for ocean treasure, sea blue lighting... and the remnants of a sparkly green mermaid tail. The boy who had been singing The Little Mermaid’s ‘Part of Your World’ had suddenly disappeared off the stage, leaving Bakugou slightly confused with an unexpected pit growing in his stomach.
As if to answer his quizzical expression, Professor Aizawa stood up, “Kirishima ran off as you were laughing, unprofessionally at another idol student I might add.”
The professor lazily made his way to the stage wings, but not before turning to Bakugou and giving him his notorious glare most of the students at UA Music Conservatory feared.
“We may be in the theater, Bakugou, but I’ll have you know the rules of the classroom still apply here. Another outburst like that while your fellow classmates are trying to perform their midterms, and I will not hesitate to have you expelled for your lack of professionalism. I expect all students to treat each other with respect,” Then he directed his attention to the rest of the class. “We’re going to take a 15 minute break, so everyone please return back here for the other students scheduled to perform for the day.” Then he disappeared behind the stage most likely to check up on Kirishima.
The rest of the class made their way out of the auditorium for their break, but Bakugou sat in his seat grinding his teeth, shooting down the stares from the other students as they passed him. Ashido Mina planted herself in the row directly in front of him, with a pout and cheeks puffed in dissatisfaction.
“Aaaah, Bakugou, why’d ya do that?! Kirishima was so excited to show you his musical!” Ashido whined. “He worked so hard and you just had to laugh at hi-“
“Shut up, alien,” Bakugou snarled in defense. He didn’t need to be lectured anymore, he got it.
“Yeah, man, you kind of messed up,” Sero Hanta stated as he crossed his arms. “Kirishima really supported your practices, and you did this. You actually did go too far this time.”
Bakugou Katsuki could swear he was one second away from kicking someone’s ass.
“Dude…” Kaminari Denki said, passing him up the aisle and shaking his head solemnly as if pitying him. That was the last straw that made Bakugou’s blood boil as he snatched up his bag, and bull-dozed his way to the exit. He pushed past a few of the students that protested.
“Damn, you all really can’t take a fucking joke,” he seethed, kicking the door to the auditorium open with a deafening bang, and stomping his way out of the heavy silence left behind him.
--
Bakugou sat in the UA Conservatory gardens shaded under a tree from the blazing sun. The part of the garden was obscure, where barely any trafficked passed by, just the way he liked it. The silence was nice—no students as they were all probably studying (like he should be, yet here he was), and none of his stupid classmates to judge him with their looks of disapproval.
Bakugou was fuming, and he knew if he wanted to calm down, returning back to class was not going to solve that. He needed the silence to clear his mind… but what Sero said constantly crept back into his thoughts and haunted his rest.
“You actually did go too far this time.”
He frowned, laying on his back as the wind tickled his hair and skin. In hindsight, he could vividly remember Kirishima’s wide eyes as he stared at him from the stage when he finished his performance and heard Bakugou obnoxiously loud laugh— the falter of his smile as he realized he was being made fun of.
Katsuki recalled the memory when he hugged his sides and laughed as he delivered the last blow:
“Ariel from The Little Mermaid? Really? Ha, this isn’t manly at all!”
He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, and cursed under his breath. For some reason his chest started to hurt. Bakugou had no clue how much time passed as he stayed curled in on his knees and thought of his reckless actions, playing the memories over in his head like a broken record, until the sound of nearby grass crunching made him look up.
The last person he expected to see was Ochako Uraraka standing a few feet away with a guitar strapped to her back and a look of what he considered amusement on her face. She clearly hadn’t expected him to be their along the path either.
“Ah ha, sorry, I always go this way to get to the café I busk at,” she chuckled as if he actually cared to know, pointing past Bakugou to a nearby side exit from the garden. He just stared at her, noticing how she had completely changed her look from her earlier midterm’s performance. Ochako’s dark mascara, combat boots, and black tank top were gone— replaced by pink blush, sandals, and a pale blue dress. Honestly, no one would be able to tell she performed Avenged Sevenfold’s ‘Almost Easy’ that morning. Frankly, Bakugou didn’t think the performance was half bad either, considering it was one of his favorite bands and she didn’t fuck it up— in what he would like to believe was thanks to his help.
Surprisingly, Bakugou wasn’t aggravated as he thought he would be to see her there. He went back to staring blankly at the grass, and waited for the round face girl to leave. Instead, she took a few steps towards him and stopped.
“Well, are you going to your dumb café or are you just going to keep staring at me like an idiot?” he barked. Bakugou had enough experience to know that usually his anger was good at driving many others away, but after this semester of being assigned to work with Uraraka by Professor Aizawa, he should have known that wouldn’t work with her.
“I noticed you didn’t come back to see the performances after the break,” she commented while taking a seat next to him in the shaded grass, causing Bakugou’s irritation to spike. Could she not read the situation? He wanted to be left the fuck alone. “I’m guessing you are practicing for your performance tomorrow?”
“I already know my damn material,” Bakugou frowned. He had a stupid, happy upbeat song, she knew that. Even though he didn’t want to sing it, he was going to sing it well.
“Then you’ve been practicing the smiles I taught you?” Ochako teased, turning to face him with her fingers pointing at her cheeks and a bright grin on her face. “You know, you can’t sing ‘It's Not Unusual’ without the brightest of smiles.”
Bakugou glared at her in disbelief. He believed his past self from the beginning of the semester probably would have pushed her out of his face, but he blamed his new music genre for making him soft. “Hah? You mocking me roundface? I know how to fucking smile, you idiot.”
“Yeah, but before I taught you, it looked kinda creepy,” Ochako joked, as if she had no inkling of the danger she was creating. Bakugou growled remembering how many times he practiced his smiles in the mirror, especially when no one was looking. He knew what he was doing, (or at least he hoped) and he'd be damned if he was going to let someone make a fool of him. “Funny though, when you look at him it’s like I didn’t need to teach you to smile at all. Actually, it’s like he was the one that taught you, not me.”
“Who the fuck are you talking about?” Bakugou asked, his confusion mounting.
“You know exactly who I’m talking about,” Ochako beamed, innocently twirling a piece of her hair around her finger as she looked up at the blue sky. “You should see the way he’s gazed at you since the first year we’ve arrived—and also all this semester. The way he sings half of his songs as if they’re dedicated to someone. It’s totally obvious—well, at least to the rest of us. ”
Bakugou didn’t want to admit it, but that caught his attention and made him remember.
Kirishima Eijiro, the guy that was always there cheering him on at his rehearsals over the past few months—without any acknowledgement from Bakugou Katsuki. He didn’t show up to Kirishima’s practices or tell him what he thought. He never cared really… he just wanted to be the best. Although even at that moment, his musical performances were some of the highest ranked in the class, just like he wanted, he didn’t feel much of anything.
It took a couple of seconds for the thought to roll around in his head that he, Bakugou Katsuki, achieved so much already, but he wasn’t feeling…anything…
As if he didn’t feel bad enough, the pain in his chest grew deeper.
“And today, he came back into the auditorium, as if nothing had happened, as if everything was alright,” Ochako murmured, cutting off the rest of what she wanted to say. After a pause, she turned to Bakugou with a straight face he could have sworn hid something else, “If I did what you did, I would apologize.”
“I don’t need you to fucking lecture me like everyone else!” Bakugou spat, standing up and taking his bag. “I know I fucked up, okay? There’s nothing I can do about it now, and I don’t even know how to apologize for this. Fuck!”
He kicked the grass, and Ochako stood up as well, hoisting her guitar over her shoulder while brushing off her dress, practically unfazed by Bakugou’s outburst.
“It’s never too late to apologize, Bakugou,” she stated wisely. “Besides you’re a man of action, you’ll figure something out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some money to make.”
Ochako walked away with a bit of hop in her step, but before she left, she turned to wave, “Oh thanks for helping with my performance today! Break a leg, tomorrow, okay?”
Uraraka disappeared and left Bakugou alone with his thoughts once more.
Bakugou glared at the spot where she had been and grumbled a curse under his breath. How could he have not seen it all? Kirishima was glued to his hip most days, and cheered him on from the sidelines when he needed to. He never made fun of Bakugou when he was given ‘old people music’ to perform, and he never seemed to waver in his excitement.
Kirishima Eijiro was always there telling him he could do anything, managing to make him smile without Bakugou himself taking notice…never to say or give anything in return.
“Aww, you got ‘It’s Not Unusual’? A song of a man’s unrequited love, my dad used to listen to it all the time when he was younger! Only the manliest of men could perform it, you got this!”
Bakugou could feel his face grow warmer, and a wave of gratefulness passed over him that there was no one around to witness his embarrassment.
But a question still ate at his mind— why should he care? After graduating from UA Musical Conservatory he was leaving behind all of his idiotic classmates, and he was going to be famous, rich, and successful –friendships didn’t matter here. Nothing mattered except how far he could soar above everyone else and he didn’t need friends getting in his way or slowing him down.
So why did he still feel a sharp pang in his chest every time he remembered Kirishima’s hurt expression on stage?
That hurt expression that he caused.
“You’re a man of action, you’ll figure something out.”
It took him a few moments of hesitation before he dug in his pocket for his phone, and dialed a number (pressing the buttons probably a bit too harshly). Bakugou waited for the phone to ring and someone to pick on the other end.
“Hey frog face, call the others, there’s been a change of plans.”
--
“You know Professor Aizawa is already angry with you, and now you’re doing this,” Tsuyu Asui remarked as she fidgeted with her trumpet and tilted her head to inspect him with her wide eyes. Her mouth stretched out thin and disapprovingly. “You’re lucky I already knew this trumpet solo or else I would have told you ‘no’ to this switch.”
Bakugou shrugged his shoulders. “I’m still keeping my opposite genre, the professor won’t have a damn hernia.”
“Bold move, though— I like this song. It’s fairly easy to play on the piano,” Sero said, rubbing his knuckles on his lapels as he smiled confidently. “But come on, Tsuyu, the switch is for a good reason, I’m totally down for it. Plus, you gotta admit, we all look good in these suits—the fashion department really hooked us up.”
Sero playfully pat Bakugou on the back and the latter slapped his hand away with a growl.
“You are dismantling UA’s performance conditions and going against protocol,” Tenya Iida scolded while holding his bass in one hand and making chopping air motions at Bakugou with his other. “To switch your song at the last minute is unprofessional—unprecedented—the Professor has already reprimanded you once, I highly doubt he will approve of this. If we, too, get into trouble for following you on this stunt—“
“Yeah, well we ain’t performing that old song anymore, get the fuck over it, glasses,” Bakugou groaned, rolling his eyes as Iida sputtered in shock at the response. He was tired, but he knew his plan was worth it. “I’ll take the blame. Just tell the professor I made you all switch songs with me.”
Before Iida could make another interjection he went to peer out of from behind the curtain and catch a glimpse of the audience. Just like yesterday, all of the idol classes were there along with a few professors and students from other departments sprinkled about the auditorium–basically anyone interested in seeing the second year’s midterm performances. He looked around until his eyes unmistakably landed on bold red hair.
Kirishima sat next to Kaminari in the front row. The usual smile on his face was there while watching the other students perform, as if yesterday’s events didn’t happen. The other half of Class 2-A’s idols were going today, and Toru Hagakure was currently on stage performing Paramore’s ‘Misery Business’, while Bakugou and his accompaniment waited on deck in the wings. Before that, the weird half and half kid, Todoroki (at least he thinks that was his name, he didn’t care), had performed 'Chunky' by Bruno Mars and made Bakugou want to gouge his eyes out as Deku ogled him like he was the most handsome person in the room. Ugh.
Mezo Shoji’s towering figure walked up behind him as he made his way over to Bakugou holding his drum sticks. A very observant person, Shoji was able to see where the shorter student was gazing out into the crowd and analyzed him with his usual calm demeanor.
“I hope you’re ready,” Shoji said. He was a student who rarely ever spoke but when he did, it was always in a very few words.
“We rehearsed once this morning. It’s enough,” Bakugou answered, probably more so to console himself if anything. He ran his hand through his gelled back hair one last time. There were a few spikes sticking up, but it was still under control.
“Nice, Hagakure. Alright, Bakugou Katsuki, you’re up,” he heard Professor Aizawa call from the audience. He marked something on his clipboard and raised his eyebrows at Midoriya, taking in the young man’s questionable outfit. “And… Midoriya Izuku, you’re on deck.”
Bakugou, Shoji, Tsuyu, Iida, and Sero took their spots behind their respective instruments being placed on stage by the Support department, and silence hushed over the room as the excited chatter of the students died down. Kaminari jokingly wolf whistled as Sero exaggeratedly winked back, and Ashido shouted ‘Yasss, Bakugou that suit, yasss!’ and a few of the students chuckled. Uraraka gave Bakugou and Asui a quick thumbs up.
“‘It’s Not Unusual’ by Tom Jones, correct?” Professor Aizawa said not once glancing up from his clipboard.
Bakugou looked out into the crowd where his gaze landed on Kirshima, and there was really no mistake for anyone to assume he was looking anywhere else. Kirishima stared back as a bead of sweat formed on his brow and he visibly gulped. Many of the students looked back and forth between the two, confused at the tension.
“I’m not gonna make a big speech about it, but I changed my song,” Bakugou announced, not taking his eyes off of Kirishima. Ochako covered her mouth and he could hear Aoyama in the distance gasp something in French at the scandal of it all. Professor Aizawa squinted his eyes at the unexpected challenge.
“Excuse me?” Aizawa asked, not as if he expected an answer, but more with an undertone that he was giving Bakugou a chance to correct himself. He was on the shore throwing Bakugou a lifebuoy to save him from the sinking boat that was soon to be expulsion from the conservatory.
Professor Yagi, noticing Aizawa’s famous death glare, slowly turned to his student Bakugou, “Well, I think he’s just joking, yes, isn’t that right my boy…?”
“I’m not,” Bakugou firmly stood his ground and everyone went silent again. He nodded at Shoji to start the drum’s rhythm and for the others to follow. Professor Aizawa bit his cheek in disbelief as he stood from his seat, his silent fury very noticeable, but Professor Yagi dragged him back down in an attempt to calm him.
Bakugou began to tap his foot. The storm of feelings that plagued his mind yesterday didn’t matter anymore. If he was going to get expelled from UA Musical Conservatory, then so be it. There would always be other schools that may accept him, and if not that, he was sure he could do something with raw talent. He could climb to the top some way or another.
This could be his final stand— his last battle.
But at that moment on the stage, it didn’t feel like a battle. It felt nothing like a fight. Even though jazz was one of his opposite genres, he felt lighter than he had in months. With his eyes on Kirishima, and Kirishima’s eyes on him, there was no pressure, no heaviness in his chest at the prospect of being kicked out of the school of his dreams. Only him and this dumb love song he knew Kirishima Eijiro believed he could perform.
Bakugou grabbed his microphone and swung it in front of him, and tapped his fingers to the rhythm while Iida plucked the strings on his bass.
L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can
It was obvious, thanks to the stage lighting that Kirishima’s blush was spreading across his face. The shock clearly visible in his wide eyes and his mouth left agape. Uraraka glanced back and forth between the two and understood immediately, as she too began snapping her fingers to the rhythm.
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Bakugou noticed from the corner of his eyes that Professor Aizawa was eyeing him, but Professor Yagi seemed to be enjoying himself while trying to make sure the former didn’t burst from the frustration of his unruly students. Nonetheless, Bakugou continued on with his light and easy footsteps as he carried the microphone across the stage with him.
Stage presence points were always given to those who could embody their songs the best, and Bakugou knew he would be no exception to the rule, even if it meant…smiling. But just as Ochako taught him, along with the gleefulness Kirishima made Bakugou feel, the smiling this time around wasn’t that hard. He was sure he was going to be expelled after this, so the points probably did matter anymore, but he really only needed one person to enjoy his last performance.
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you
Bakugou moved out of the center of the stage to let Asui take her place next to him as she played the trumpet solo. He swayed with his microphone and danced when he could with Tsuyu’s rhythm and two-steps. She surely was good with her wind instruments, and this was clearly a favorite solo of hers to perform as she played ecstatically. He swayed his way back to the center when she was finished and found Kirishima’s eyes again.
Kirishima could feel his heart pound above the music and his excitement, his smile showed all of his pointy teeth. Bakugou’s heart seemed to skip a beat as he almost faltered on his dance step, after suddenly being caught off guard by the expression.
L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can
He spun around and held the mic close with a soft caress. It may have felt stupid but he remember seeing it in an American 60s music video so it had to count for something.
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
After being dealt what felt like the death knell of Kirishima’s romantic feelings for Bakugou after his performance yesterday…. that was like the cherry on top after having his feelings ignored for months, the aching pressure of having his heart call out for a response, after constantly being met with silence-- for Bakugou to say anything.
And in Kirishima’s theater seat, on the very stage in front of him, he could hear an answer in a two-step and jazz. Whether the answer was genuine, Kirishima couldn’t tell, but there was something sparking between the two of them and he swore he could feel it swell in his heart.
Eijiro’s vision blurred and he ducked his head to quickly wipe away the wetness before any tears could fall.
Take my heart and please don't break it
To be honest, hadn’t expected much from Bakugou, apologies weren’t the guy’s thing, but least of all did he expect to see was Bakugou leaning down on one knee, with a gloved hand reached out to him, when he looked up from drying his eyes.
Love was made for me and you
Kirishima hesitantly reached his hand out to the upturn one, and grasped it.
Love was made for me and you
Bakugou held on firmly as he pulled Kirishima on to his feet as everyone stared at them.
Love was made for me and you
Bakugou gazed at Kirishima and his eyebrows furrowed as the music died down. He looked as if he couldn’t form the words that he knew needed to be said, and instead he frowned. The sudden pang in Kirishima’s chest made him want to pull his hand away, but Bakugou held on, and everything suddenly made him feel completely vulnerable.
He was right. Bakugou only did this for the show, it wasn’t because he really liked him back. The song was enough, he didn’t need anything else, it was all enough—Kirishima could convince himself it was enough—
Then, Bakugou Katsuki pulled him in close and kissed his cheek. As he slowly pulled away, Kirishima was stock still and a blush dusted his face. Katsuki’s eyebrows twitched upwards, and the small, genuine smile on his face was solely directed at Kirishima after he gently let go of his hand.
And in the unbearable silence, he walked off stage.
--
“Ok, I get it!”
“But do you, Bakugou, do you really get it?” Professor Aizawa growled. “You switched your song without permission, and you just think you can get away it, huh? Our school is big, Bakugou, we have to get copyright permission from the original artists’ companies for every song you sing that isn’t yours. That’s why I wanted to know everyone’s songs ahead of time, but your little switch could cost UA millions, thousands if the companies are being nice.”
“Just blame it on me then, damn, whatever.”
“This is not a whatever situation, Bakugou,” Aizawa seethed through gritted teeth. “Professor Yagi is on the phone with his industry connections just in case word gets out about your performance, so it’s under control for now. You’re lucky Midoriya fell off the stage in the middle of his performance, and I’m dealing with that matter right now, but you better understand this isn’t over.”
Professor Aizawa led the way to his office door making a sweeping motion for his student to leave, all the while mumbling something about how Professor Yagi gave him too many points and ‘not learning a lesson’.
“Hey,” Professor Aizawa grunted, as he stopped in the doorway. The professor looked him in the eyes, but this time without the usual malice, “You have potential. Stop trying to throw it all away.”
Then the door closed, which confirmed Bakugou Katsuki was done being grilled by his professors and somehow given a second chance (probably thanks to Professor Yagi). He marched off to the dorms, as he loosened his bow tie and readied himself to wash the gel out of his hair. He was thankful he wouldn’t have to deal with anymore of this nonsense again until finals.
Sure, Professor Aizawa took away his chance to perform at the upcoming UA Music Festival with everyone else, but it was probably a plus that he was still in the school… and at least something else was settled—at least—
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t lover boy,” Ashido cooed leaning over the common room’s couch. She unabashedly bat her eyelashes and flirtatiously waved Bakugou over. “I’ll tell you, you had the ladies in the audience swooning, darling, even some of the guys felt a little hot!”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Bakugou said stuffing his hands in his pockets. He planned on going straight to his room and sleeping, hoping to avoid any new problems that would unexpectedly occur, but obviously some people thought it would be nice to get in his way.
Sero came up behind him with his usual grin and shot him finger guns, “So I see you haven’t been banished from the school yet. Dang, man, you got some guts! I like that. Why’d you run off at the end though? You didn’t tell us you were going to do that at practice—”
“Any other fucker in here got something else to say? Damn!” A few other classmates in the lobby giggled and Bakugou crossed his arms in frustration.
Kaminari leaned over the couch next to Ashido with the most mischievous grin and a smarmy eyebrow wiggle to match. “He’s in his room just in case you were wondering, you should probably talk to him.”
“I wasn’t—“ Bakugou spat when a blush crept to his face as if he was caught red-handed and Kaminari had read his mind. A few others laughed again. “All of you can fuck off and die!”
Bakugou began stomping his way up the stairs and heard Uraraka dreamily sing something about ‘complicated young love’.
Though before he could make his way into his floor’s hallway, he nearly crashed into someone as a familiar shade of red blocked his view. There was a quick slip and Bakugou caught Kirishima around the waist before the boy could fall to the floor and do some damage. Kirishima stood up so fast he felt vertigo, and his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his head before he covered his face with his hands.
“Dude- s-s-sorry I was just going downstairs—because I was h-hungry I didn’t s-see you,” Eijiro took the chance to peer through his fingers and up at Bakugou. He took in Bakugou’s loose bow tie and shaggy appearance, and Kirishima was trying to figure out if it was even possible for him to blush even more. “Sorry, I’ll just go, now—“
Before Kirishima could push his way out of the door, Bakugou quickly grabbed his wrist and opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it with the other staring at him in confusion. Bakugou growled and palmed his forehead in frustration at his loss for words and a few tense pauses engulfed them. It seemed like an eternity to Eijiro before Katsuki spoke.
“Your Little Mermaid performance wasn’t bad,” he stated awkwardly as he willed himself to meet Kirishima’s eyes, instead of looking at the floor like he so desperately wanted to. He grit his teeth and pushed forward. “And that performance, it didn’t change your manliness.”
Bakugou couldn’t look at Kirishima after the silence covered them once more. He let his hand drop from Kirishima’s wrist after he felt the other wasn’t going to say anything else.
Bakugou could always go back to his room and sulk, he had enough losses for the past two days. But this is something that still needed to be said and he would take it as his final defeat if it didn’t go well. He was going to have to work to change, he knew that… but this felt like it was a step in the right direction. He was thankful to know Kirishima Eijiro would be the student who understood that the most—who would understand him the most.
If Kirishima didn’t want to be friends with him after embarrassing him like that, he would understand. He was fine alone—
And Kirishima Eijiro grabbed his hand.
“Your performance,” he said simply. Bakugou quirked an eyebrow in confusion.
“Hah?”
“Your performance,” Kirishima repeated, leaning in. “Did you… did you mean it? You know… the part where you said, ‘Take my heart but please don’t break it?’ Cause I’ll do it bro, I’ll take care of your heart, I promise.”
Bakugou upturned his lips in surprised, “What? You—what?”
It’s like his brain decided to malfunction instead of processing the words. And then Kirishima looked as hurt at a puppy denied a treat.
“Oh…so you weren’t serious,” he lamented. He let go of Bakugou’s hand and solemnly gazed at the ground. “That’s why you walked away after you kissed me, yeah?”
“No! I am serious, it’s just,” Bakugou protested, he clamped his hand to his hair willing himself not to pull it out. His lips pressed into a straight line as he tried to make the thumping in his chest calm down. “I just really don’t know how you could say that so straight forward and out loud.” Then he paused and took a deep breath.
“And…I walked away because, well, just in case Professor Aizawa was going to expel me right after that performance…that’s how I wanted you to remember me – not from the stupid shit I did yesterday—gah— stop staring at me like that you’re creeping me out!”
Kirishima’s Eijiro’s eyes lit up as if he was experiencing a whole new world of possibilities.
“Dude, my heart was beating so fast,” Kirishima beamed excitedly. “That was truly manly. Nat King Cole is always a good choice.”
Bakugou averted his gaze and mumbled, “Well, it wasn’t my choice, I asked my mom if she had any romantic music for old people like her—and she gave me this song, after she kicked my ass.”
“It was awesome,” Kirishima chirped. Then he slyly narrowed his eyes, “Did you tell Kaminari to sit me in the front row on purpose?”
Bakugou just kept his attention to the floor and rubbed the back of his neck as if that was supposed to answer the question. “Damn, you ask too many questions!”
“Hey.”
The word was soft, but it still caught Bakugou’s attention. He looked up to see Kirishima’s face merely centimeters away from his, and Eijiro raised his eyebrows, giving him a chance to back away.
When Bakugou reassuringly stayed, Kirishima’s lips gently touched his in a chaste kiss, quick and swift, but the tingling effect of his touch lingered all over him when he pulled away. Eijiro stepped back and chuckled, “It’s okay, I get it now. Like you said, love was made for me and you, right?”
Now it was Bakugou’s turn to cover his face in embarrassment.
“Fuck, who even likes love songs anyways?”
“I do!”
“Dammit, that was rhetorical question,” Bakugou groaned. Kirishima laughed as he didn’t hesitate to grab Bakugou’s hand with a firm squeeze.
“Hey you want to go out and get something to eat with me tonight?”
Bakugou squeezed back, becoming more sure as the moments passed by, the new feeling in his chest making him as light as can be as they walked down the hallway hand in hand. “Yeah…that’d be nice.”
When they reached his room, Kirishima looked him over and hesitantly scratched the back of his head, “Um… I have a question?”
“Hah?”
“Could you keep on the suit?”
Bakugou raised his eyebrows in amusement, and then he gave a knowing smirk, “Only if you wear the mermaid tail.”
“Okay.”
“I was joking.”
“Nope, I’m putting it on so everyone knows you have a mermaid fetish,” Kirishima teased, and Bakugou scoffed at him.
“It was a joke, I’m not going to a restaurant with a mermaid.”
“Too bad!” Kirishima laughed as he dragged Bakugou into his room. This was going to be a long new journey at UA Musical Conservatory, huh?
But if this was the price to pay, it was a nice reward to find himself a part of Kirishima’s world.