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BANG BANG BANG BANG.
The sudden pounding on his door startled Kirishima enough that he fell off his bed with a yelp.
“Oi, Shitty Hair, open up!”
Rubbing his head where it’d hit the floor, Kirishima scrambled to his feet to get to the door. Bakugou sounded a little frantic on the other side, if he wasn’t mistaken. And that never bode well–Bakugou rarely ever sounded anything other than angry or at least mildly irritated.
Kirishima opened the door to see a sopping wet blond holding an equally soaked bundle in his arms. It seemed to be Bakugou’s jacket.
“Dude, what–” the redhead started before he was nearly bowled over by his boyfriend. Said boy practically ran over to the bed, but crouched down on the floor next to it rather than sitting atop it.
“Close the door!” Bakugou ordered in a hiss. A confused Kirishima complied.
“What has got you in such a tizzy, dude?” Kirishima asked, crossing the room and approaching the explody boy. He knelt down next to Bakugou, tilting his head. “This…isn’t like you.”
“Shut up, just…just help me with this!” Bakugou growled, holding out the bundle.
“…What is it?” Kirishima asked, reaching his hands out.
“Meow…”
Kirishima froze, red eyes glancing quickly between the bundle and Bakugou.
And Bakugou had the audacity to pout.
“You brought a cat into the dorms?!” Kirishima exclaimed, moving several panels of wet fabric to reveal a drenched feline with black and white fur. The cat stared up at him with wide olive green eyes.
A blush lit up Bakugou’s cheeks and he scowled. “It was out in the rain! What the hell else was I supposed to do, leave it?!”
Kirishima frowned, not having a good answer for that. Had he been in the same position, he probably would have rescued the cat too.
Because that’s what a hero would do, right?
Sighing, Kirishima scratched at his forehead underneath his thick white headband. “Let me at least get a towel…both of you need to dry off.” He offered Bakugou a small smile before crawling to his storage tubs to look for one of his spare gym towels.
The cat meowed again and squirmed in Bakugou’s grip. Growling, Bakugou released the cat from the confines of his jacket and set the animal on the floor. It shook its fur out, spraying water droplets everywhere.
“Hey, watch it you dumb fucking thing!” Bakugou yelled at the cat. The cat just stared at him before starting to lick its paw.
Kirishima threw a red towel at Bakugou’s face, smirking as his boyfriend spluttered. “Here, use this one. I’ll try to dry the cat,” he said, holding up a black towel for said purpose. He scooted closer to the bathing feline and tried to pick it up, but the cat only squirmed and immediately slipped out of his grip. “Kitty…why have you forsaken me?” he sighed, trying again and failing to grab the elusive creature.
Having dried himself off, Bakugou snatched the towel from Kirishima’s hands and dove right for the cat. “I’ll get it, hair for brains,” he said with an eyeroll. But just like with Kirishima, the cat slid from Bakugou’s grasp and trotted further away from the two boys. It sat down and started licking its side, stopping to stare at them for a few moments before continuing its grooming.
“Dumb fucking thing,” Bakugou said. “I saved you! You should at least respect me!”
The cat stopped bathing, stared at Bakugou with those green eyes, then turned away from him and continued licking its wet fur clean.
Kirishima busted up laughing, clutching his stomach. “Ohhh man, he dissed you hard!”
Growling, Bakugou balled up the black towel and threw it at his boyfriend’s face. Vengeance from earlier.
“Asshole!” Kirishima accused, though the bright smile and laughter still present in his voice made it clear that it was more of an affectionate nickname than an insult. He tossed the towel back at Bakugou, who dodged effortlessly this time.
“Try again, dick face,” the blond said with a smirk. He might have even stuck his tongue out a little. Maybe.
Kirishima was about to leap at Bakugou and tackle him to the floor, but the cat’s meowing interrupted the action before it could occur. Both boys glanced over–the cat was sitting at the door, pawing at it, wanting to be let out.
“No, kitty, you can’t leave the room!” Kirishima said, crawling over to the cat and picking it up. This time, at least, the cat sat comfortably in his arms without wriggling for freedom. “I do think we should get it some food, though…maybe some water?” The redhead looked to Bakugou, unsure.
“I don’t even know if we have anything for it to eat. And I don’t have a litter box or anything…” Bakugou trailed off, then scoffed. “Goddammit, I really didn’t think this through.”
Kirishima offered a small smile. “Not thinking things through usually works for me…maybe this time it’ll work for you, too?”
“Shut up,” Bakugou said without any real venom.
The cat, still in Kirishima’s arms, nuzzled into the crook of his elbow and started purring. The redhead’s whole face lit up with a smile. “Aww, kitty likes me.”
Bakugou pursed his lips. Of course the cat would latch onto Kirishima. He was the most positive person Bakugou had ever met. He exuded charisma and good vibes. And animals were usually good judges of character.
The sight of Kirishima cooing and lightly scratching the cat’s head was so undeniably cute that it made Bakugou want to puke. Almost.
“Oi, shitty hair, let’s at least get ‘im some water.”
Nodding, Kirishima stood up and carried the cat to his bed. He set it down on the camo comforter and shook his finger at it. “You stay here like a good boy, alright?”
“The cat’s not gonna understand you, idiot,” Bakugou said as he stood up. He dragged Kirishima to the door, taking one last look at the cat to make sure it was still on the bed before they slipped out of the room.
It didn’t take them long to retrieve a small serving bowl and fill it with water. Kirishima wanted to find something for their feline friend to eat, but there wasn’t much in the kitchen that they could reasonably feed to a cat. So they forewent the food for now and just settled on the water.
When they got back upstairs, Bakugou held the water while Kirishima unlocked his door. The redhead cracked it open just enough to peek inside. At first glance, he couldn’t see the cat.
“Maybe he’s hiding…” he said as he pushed the door open just a bit more.
“Close the door!” Bakugou suddenly yelled from behind him, but it was too late. A black and white blur sneaked past their feet and ran down the hall.
“Shit!” Kirishima yelled, giving chase. Bakugou abandoned the water dish on the floor and gave chase as well. They couldn’t afford for anyone to see the cat, or else they’d be in huge trouble.
“Stupid fucker,” Bakugou muttered under his breath, rounding the corner and dashing down the stairs after the cat. Kirishima wasn’t far behind, propping himself up on the railing to slide down a little faster.
The cat led them all the way down to the ground floor, into the common room where both boys stopped dead in their tracks.
Aizawa was standing behind the large couch, arms crossed and bloodshot eyes staring blankly at the two. Shouji stood next to their teacher, two ears pointed at Bakugou and Kirishima.
“Uh, hi Aizawa-sensei!” Kirishima greeted nervously, giving a small wave. Next to him, Bakugou grunted in greeting.
“Kirishima. Bakugou,” Aizawa said in his gravelly voice. “I’ve been informed that you’re hiding a cat in your dorms?”
“Uh…”
As if on cue, the black and white fluff ball jumped up on the back of the couch and looked up at Aizawa, meowing at him.
“We’re sorry, sensei!” Kirishima immediately blurted out. “You see, Bakugou found the cat outside in the rain and didn’t want it to get sick or hurt, so he brought it in here to keep it safe, and–”
Aizawa held up a hand to silence the redhead’s apology and explanation. “Whatever, I don’t need you to tell me the hows or whys.” And then, Aizawa’s expression turned just a tad softer and he reached out to pet the cat. “Shouji actually came to ask if you two could keep the cat.”
Both Kirishima and Bakugou’s eyes widened, then Bakugou glared at Shouji without any real heat. “How’d you even know we had the cat?”
Shouji wiggled one of his ears. “Kirishima’s room is right next to mine. I could hear you guys yelling about it through the wall.”
Kirishima laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Bakugou scowled, though a blush dusted his cheeks.
“If you can get the proper supplies and choose a room to let him stay in, you can keep the cat,” Aizawa said, still petting the cat. He eyed Bakugou. “That was a very heroic thing you did, Bakugou. I commend you for taking this cat in when he could have been in danger.”
Bakugou grunted, his blush deepening.
Kirishima latched onto Bakugou, giving him a giant hug. “Woo, we get to keep him! Thank you, Aizawa-sensei!”
Aizawa waved his hand at his students. “Just make sure he stays out of trouble, and make sure you take care of him properly.”
Later that evening, after they’d gone out to get a small bag of cat food from the convenience store and set up a temporary cat box for him to use, Kirishima and Bakugou sat on Kirishima’s bed. The cat was curled up on Bakugou’s lap.
“What should we name him?” Kirishima asked, leaning his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.
Bakugou stared down at the black and white fluff asleep on his lap, thinking of a name.
“Mischief. We’ll name him Mischief.”