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Katsuki knocked on Kirishima's door. Fuck, his hands were sweaty. They were always sweaty but they were extra sweaty today. Right now. Standing in front of his best friend's door and all geared up to finally tell him that- Well. Fuck. Katsuki had some feelings . Feelings he wasn't about to sit on any longer.
The door opened, and there he was. It was early in the morning and Kirishima hadn't yet put his hair up into its signature spikes. The red locks fell around his face, instead. Fuck he was so cute. Katsuki's mouth went dry.
"Hey, Bakugou," Kirishima said, voice still a little rough with sleep. "What's up?"
Right. Time to speak. C'mon Katsuki, you're the best, he's the best, you'll both be the best together. Katsuki opened his mouth, feeling his heart pounding away a mile a minute.
"I like you," Katsuki said, and Kirishima's eyes widened. "Go out with me."
Kirishima just stared at him, a little flushed, his mouth slightly agape and his hands gripping at the hem of his pyjama shirt so tightly that the knuckles had gone white. That was good, right? Or? Or what? Katsuki didn't fucking do nervous, but if he did, then this would count as the most nerve-wracking thing he'd ever done.
Kirishima still hadn't said anything, and Katsuki shuffled on his feet a little, but he didn't look away.
"You... what?" Kirishima said at last.
"I like you," Katsuki repeated. He swallowed. "Go out with me?"
"Oh. Huh," Kirishima said, blinking. Then a new emotion flooded over the redhead's features. What was that even, realisation? "Ohh, oh right, this is for that thing Kaminari mentioned yesterday?"
Huh? Kaminari? Now it was Katsuki's turn to blink. "The what now?"
"The, uh, what did he say? April Fools' Day, right? The joke holiday the Westerners have," Kirishima said. Wait. Wait, no no no no no, fuck. Kirishima gave a dry, slightly hollow laugh. "Where you play pranks on people. Well, uh, dang, you sure got me good. I should probably get ready for school now, man."
What.
Did Kirishima really think that Katsuki was joking? Fuck! Kirishima shut the door, maybe a little harder than he normally did. Katsuki just stood there, staring at the painted wood. Well that had gone spectacularly badly. Katsuki was sort of at a loss for what to do. He wanted to pound on Kirishima's door and tell him that no, it wasn't a joke, he hadn't even looked at the date and he'd forgotten the conversation they'd had with Sparky completely, actually, but... What if that had been Kirishima's way of turning him down gently? To play it off as a prank so neither of them had to face the consequences of a rejection that felt more real?
Shit, Katsuki thought. No, he couldn't think that way. Not until he was convinced that Kirishima understood that Katsuki liked him, and gave him a proper yes-or-no answer. For now, however, he'd probably spent too much time staring at the door. School beckoned. He'd have to catch Kirishima at lunch and explain himself then.
That was easier said than done when Kirishima seemed to be avoiding him. Fuck. Katsuki sat with their other friends and brooded over their food. How was he supposed to confess to that spiky bundle of all things good in the world if he wasn't here and available to be adored?
"Ooh, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Ashido asked, prodding Katsuki's shoulder. Katsuki glowered at her. "Metaphorical knickers, of course."
"Given the distinct lack of Kirishima here, I'd say it's something to do with him," Sero said.
"Ooh, yeah, he was kind of grumpy today," Kaminari said. Oh, he was? "Did you guys get into a fight?"
"What? No," Katsuki snapped. He narrowed his eyes at the other blond. "This is your fault."
Kaminari spluttered. "Wh- Me? What'd I do? This time?"
"You talked about that fuckin', what's it called holiday that happens today. The Western one about the pranks," Katsuki said.
"Oh yeah, April Fools' Day," Kaminari said.
"Did he try to prank you and you freaked out?" Ashido asked.
Katsuki scowled at her. "No."
Wait. Fuck. Was he gonna tell them he'd tried to ask Kirishima out? They'd get to that if this line of questioning continued. It wasn't like they wouldn't have already found out if Kirishima had said yes, because Katsuki would ideally be rubbing it in everyone's faces that the best and most manly guy in the world had said yes to him. Only he hadn’t. Alright. Fine.
"So?" Sero tilted his head. "We're waiting in susp-"
"I asked him out," Katsuki said.
"I knew it," Mina said, holding her hand out towards Kaminari and Sero, who slapped some yen into her hand. "Romantic troubles. When is it ever not? "
"You made a fucking bet on me?" Katsuki asked. That was so fucking rude. “You owe me half of that.”
“I’ll buy you an ice-cream or something,” Ashido said, waving him off. “So… what went wrong?”
“He thought it was a fucking prank,” Katsuki said, scowling over at Kaminari.
“Oh, whoops,” Kaminari said, shrugging.
“That sucks,” Sero said.
Ashido nodded. “Fits, too, he’s a self-sabotager.”
Katsuki vowed to maybe kill Kaminari later, and turned back to Ashido. “Now he’s avoiding me. What the fuck do I do?”
Ashido shrugged. “I don’t know why you’re looking at me?”
“You’re into the whole,” Katsuki waved one of his hands around. “Romance thing. You know how to people, and you’re less of a dumbass than those two.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” Ashido said. “But the problem here is that I am still kind of a dumbass. And I can’t give you any advice on boys. Girls? Yes. Boys? Yikes.”
“Fuck,” Katsuki said, with great feeling.
“Well, I think your first step should be finding him,” Sero said. “Then you tell him it wasn’t a joke.”
“And then you smooch,” Kaminari said. “And we won’t need to hear Kirishima whining over how manly your abs are for the forty billionth time.”
“He- What?” Katsuki felt himself turn red.
“‘Oh boy, did you see Bakugou today?’” Ashido mimicked Kirishima’s voice as best she could. “‘You could cut glass with his abs, I swear.’ And stuff along those lines. Constantly.”
“And like, he’s the one who can literally do that,” Kaminari said. “If he hardened his stomach, I mean.”
Katsuki opened and closed his mouth like a fucking fish. “He likes me?”
“Dude,” Sero said. “Oh my god.”
“Big time,” Ashido nodded.
“Huh,” Katsuki said. Well, that was good news, right? If Kirishima liked him, he’d say yes to a genuine- “Oh fuck.”
“Whaf ish iph?” Kaminari asked around a mouthful of food.
“No wonder he’s fuckin’ avoidin’ me,” Katsuki groaned, letting his head slam down onto the table. “If he thought I was makin’ fun of him he’s probably really fuckin’ upset. Fuck, fuck, stupid timing, gonna kill Kaminari.”
“Aww, Bakugou’s romantic side is cute,” Ashido said.
Kaminari frowned. “Are we just gonna ignore the threat on my life?”
“Yes,” Sero and Ashido said in unison.
“Fine, I won’t leave any of my things to either of you,” Kaminari said.
Katsuki clicked his tongue. “Shut up. How the fuck do I make this up to him?”
“Once again, you find him first,” Sero said. “And then you communicate . With words.”
“And tongues,” Kaminari added.
“Though not if you don’t think you’re ready for it,” Ashido said. “Stick with simple kisses to begin with. I think.”
“I think, mostly don’t communicate with tongue in front of us,” Sero said.
Kaminari nodded. “Though you will likely be tempted. I predict you’ll be eating his face within… Hm. Let’s say four kisses.”
Katsuki ran a hand over his forehead. “You’re all overly-optimistic dipshits.”
“Better than being an overly-pessimistic dipshit,” Kaminari chirped. “At least this way we’ll enjoy the ways in which stupidity inevitably kills us.”
Ashido and Sero hummed in agreement.
Katsuki groaned again. They did have a point, though. He needed to talk to Kirishima, and as soon as possible. If he wasn’t able to catch him during the rest of the school hours, well, it was a good thing that Katsuki knew where Eijirou would be afterwards, wasn’t it?
Katsuki vowed to resolve all of this before the end of the day.
The afternoon lesson was a general sparring practice in the multi-terrain gym that Cementoss had created. Perfect. Katsuki zeroed in on Kirishima and grabbed his arm.
“We’re sparring,” he barked, pulling Kirishima along and behind a big pile of rubble.
“Oh, hey Bakugou,” Kirishima said, rolling his eyes. “Nice that you asked.”
Was that attitude? Katsuki felt his stomach flip over. It was kinda hot. No, focus.
“We need to talk, Kirishima,” Katsuki said, glancing around to see if there was anyone else nearby. Nope. Good. “About this morning.”
Kirishima sighed. “There isn’t really anything to-”
“Yeah the fuck there is,” Katsuki said. He frowned. “I didn’t know there was any stupid holiday today, okay?”
Kirishima looked at him but said nothing. His face was unusually still. It was weird. Kirishima was normally more animated - should be more animated. Should be bright with laughter or set with determination. Not this.
“I wasn’t asking you out as a prank,” Katsuki continued, mostly because Kirishima was being way too silent. Again. “I like you. For real. I wanna date the fuck out of you and do stupid mushy things like holding hands and sharing food and whatever weird couple-y stuff it is that couples do. ‘Cause I wanna be a couple. With you. No jokes.”
Kirishima swallowed. “Really?”
Katsuki nodded. “I didn’t mean to make you think I was playing some dumb prank on you.”
“Oh,” Kirishima said. He swallowed again. “Then, I like you too. No jokes, ha.”
“Good, uh, great,” Katsuki said. Why didn’t his costume have pockets for him to stick his hands in? This was a design flaw. “So did you wanna go on, like, a date or somethin’?”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Kirishima said, giving Katsuki a soft smile. Fuck. That smile should be illegal. Katsuki found himself smiling back, and part of him felt all weird and embarrassed. Most of him, though, was buzzing with excitement and anticipation and fondness. Kirishima’s expression shifted into something fiercer and he clanged his fists together. “Hey, so are we gonna spar or what?”
“Fuck yeah we’re gonna spar,” Katsuki replied, settling back onto the balls of his feet and into a fighting stance.
It turned out for Katsuki that pinning his new boyfriend to the floor was a great way to get a first kiss. And a second. And a third… And damn it all, Kaminari had been right.