Chapter Text
It all happened slowly, naturally, organically. He didn’t even know how he ended up like that.
At first, Katsuki couldn’t even bear to be in the same room as the nerd. He tolerated him in the class, he didn’t have the choice, but meeting Izuku on the streets or even the corridor of UA made all his hairs prickle on his skin. He was used to his presence and could lull it in the background when he knew the nerd would be there but being taken by surprise by those green hair or eyes or even this aggravating voice was always too much for him.
Being forced to live all together in the dorms changed the situation. He knew Deku could be anywhere around him now and, “thanks” to all their classmates, they had to partake in group activities. He knew he would have to work with some of them later, and he could admit some would be useful on the workfield, so he indulged them with his presence sometimes.
One Friday evening, Kirishima arrived in the common room with his arms full of DVD boxes and declared that they’ll have a movie night each week. Most of them were thrilled with the idea, foraging between all the boxes to find what they could see tonight and planning what they could bring from home next time. Katsuki didn’t move from the couch where he was seated against the armrest, looking at news on his phone.
“Hey, Bakugou, what do you think of this movie?”
“I don’t give a damn what you put down, it’ll be all shit I’m sure.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, bro!”
He vaguely saw everybody settle all around the television and heard Round Face tell that Deku was working on his room. Kirishima grinned immediately.
“It’s the first Movie night of 1-A UA Dorm, everybody needs to be there! I’ll fetch him, you can start the menu!”
Katsuki went back to his phone, not really interested in the movie but knowing that Kirishima would be disappointed if he left now - not that he really cared if Shitty Hair was disappointed, but he didn’t want to hear him whine later.
The music from the DVD started, they had managed to find a movie most of them haven’t seen before and they were discussing what they thought would happen on the plot when the two boys came back.
“Oh, Midoriya, you can sit on the couch, I’ll take the floor.”
Bakugou was surprised when the red-haired boy sit just in front of him, not even hesitating when his back rested against his leg. And even more surprised when the couch dipped next to him. Ah, it was the last place available… He thought about leaving but he wasn’t a quitter, and Kirishima’s back was warm in the chill of the evening, he could stay at least for the movie.
The movie started and an explosion took all the screen, deafening in the big space of the common room.
“Wow, already? I’m sure Bakugou loves this movie!” Ashido teased from her place on the other couch between Sero and Hagakure.
“W-Well… It was Kacchan favorite…”
The nerd doesn’t finish his sentence when Katsuki whipped his scowl to him.
“Do you want to die tonight, Deku?!!!”
Kirishima’s laugh stopped him from killing the fucking nerd.
“I knew you’d like it when I took it from home, it was a good choice, guys! Liking an old classic movie, it’s really manly!”
His smile was almost blinding in the dim light. Katsuki sit back against the armrest, a deep pout on his lips but he didn’t add anything and looked stubbornly at the screen.
The movie was still one of his favorite and looking at it again made him remember why. The main character was really cool and all the explosions and the All-Might cameo were just a plus.
He would have been totally taken by the story if there wasn’t a total pain in the ass next to him. He could feel the couch cushion tremble and a look at the nerd explained why. The stupid boy was trying to take the less place possible on the couch, not touching anyone, especially not Katsuki. Bakugou sighed loudly, the movie didn’t deserve that, so he elbowed Midoriya lightly to catch his attention.
“Hai!” The boy was so tense he almost jumped from the couch and drew all the attention. He bowed several times, apologizing again and again before sitting back and looking à Katsuki with a mix of curiosity and fear that made him cringe.
“I won’t bite you, you can touch me, stupid shit.” He whispered without looking at him but taking his thigh with his hand to make it touch him before leaning back against the armrest.
He could feel Deku relax next to him but soon, his voice started to raise low again and again, until Katsuki flicked him in the ear.
“Ow!” Izuku whispered with a betrayed look, holding his ear in his hand.
“No muttering during movie night. It’s a rule.”
“No it’s not.”
“Now it is, nerd, shut up or I’ll make you.”
He tried to whisper too but he could feel the look of all their classmates that heard their argument and were waiting to see if they’d ruin it for everybody.
Katsuki took a deep breath and released it slowly, counting to ten before looking at the nerd again.
“Just look at the movie, Deku, I like it so it’s really good, you can analyse the shit out of it after when your voice will not bother me. And the whole class.”
He smirked when Midoriya turned a deep red as he realised all their classmates were looking at them and apologized again before looking at the screen once more.
Katsuki noticed that his blush went as far as his ears and neck before looking back at the movie too. He didn’t see the big smile that Kirishima had looking at them cohabiting if only for a night.
***
Things didn’t change overnight and Izuku never seated next to him again during movie night but slowly, Katsuki warmed up to his classmates.
He could call some of them friends, not aloud, but in the privacy of his brain, some of them weren’t extras anymore. He spent most of his time with Kirishima, even helping the big idiot reviewing their lessons for the exams and slowly, the duet became a trio when Kaminari joined their group soon followed by Sero during a cursed evening.
They went to the arcade and all went well - i.e. Katsuki was winning, until Sero joined them. The tape dispenser was freaking good with his fingers, gaining lewd comments from Kaminari that Sero only confirmed with a loud “Yeah, girls love my fingers.” that prompted a virulent conversation about who was or wasn’t virgin anymore.
“Who has time for shit like that?”
“Well, all of us! We’re teenagers, Bakugou, you don’t feel the pull of hormones towards girls?” Kaminari replied.
“We’re future heroes, you should put your head out of your ass and think of the exams instead of this, that’s why you’re all losers.”
“Well, it’s not my ass I want to use, you know.” Sero laughed, his huge smile seeming even bigger than normal.
Katsuki groaned and looked at the door. It really wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have, especially not with them.
“But really, Bakugou, you never wanted to be… promiscuous?” The other blond asked with a knowing smile and a wiggle of eyebrows.
“Why is it the only subject where you have vocabulary?! No, I never wanted to and I don’t know if I’ll ever want to!”
“That can't be true, Bakugou, you really never thought of being with someone?”
“Of course not! Are you implying I’m lying?!”
“Maybe you’re asexual.” Kirishima’s voice was strangely soft when he looked at his friend and his little smile immediately calmed Katsuki.
“Do you really think it’s real? Maybe he’s just late for puberty.”
“I’m a teenager too, I made researches, there’s too many people feeling like that for it to just be a passing trend. Who are we to tell people how they should feel? And Bakubro is too occupied with being the number one hero anyway, aren’t you?”
Katsuki could feel his face warm more and more, he twitched and looked away.
“Yeah, like I said, I don’t have time for this shit!”
“Awww! Bakugou, you’re so cute actually! So pure! A cinnamon roll!”
“What the shit are you calling me, you dumb Pikachu!”
He didn’t want to think about it, really not, he didn’t have the time for that, really. But he made research too. He needed to know how his body worked in order to be the best, and maybe Kirishima wasn’t that far from the truth…
***
Mina was always a free spirit and was often seen with them without really being a part of their group. She really joined the squad when Kirishima summoned his courage and asked her out, to the great displeasure of Bakugou.
Mina was a really physical person and never hesitated to hug the people she loved. Thankfully, Kirishima was her principal victim now but Katsuki wasn’t that far. Seemed like his instinctive reactions of rejection just made her want to touch him more.
He was just chilling in the common room when she jumped on his back, gluing herself with her arms around his neck.
“Just let me go, you racoon faced octopus!!!”
“But Bakubro! Everybody needs to touch someone, I’m sure you’re touch starved but don’t even know it!”
Katsuki tsked, Mina had adopted the nickname Kirishima gave him and he didn’t really knew how to feel about that. Telling her to stop would just give her more incentive to do it and he was used to ignore demeaning nicknames since Deku never stopped calling him Kacchan. As long as it didn’t spread more, it should be alright… He tried to get her out of his back but she was so stuck that he couldn’t do it without hurting her.
“I’m fucking not!”
“Well, it’s known you’re not fucking, everybody knows it. One more reason to be touch starved!”
He could feel the blush invade his face and reacted without thinking, he made her fly above his shoulder and land hard on the floor in front of him. His eyes widened when he heard her breath cut by the impact.
“Fuck! Are you…”
A giggle stopped him from being worried, she was just laughing, her eyes sparkling with mirth.
“You react so easily, Blasty!”
He had no more pity to let her on the floor and took one of the cushion to slam her several time before abandoning her still laughing.
***
Things were going better with the nerd after their fight at ground beta. They weren’t friends again but the green haired boy didn’t get on his nerves as much as before.
Working with him for class was not that bad. A least, he knew that the nerd would do his part of the work, not like Kaminari that just whined until the very last day before cramming all his shitty work in hours. Katsuki always refused to work in his place, just correcting whatever he would write after - he still had an almost perfect score to have.
Ponytail, Glasses and IcyHot were still battling with the nerd and him for the first spot of the class, and it was infuriating to work with them, knowing they would have a perfect note as him. But he now understood that the teachers were making them work on teamwork even in “normal” classes and forced them to cooperate. Still infuriating though.
But having to work on projects with them had its advantages.
Yaoyorozu always had the best teas, something Katsuki discovered himself a real passion for. They were so much better than the poor excuses his old hag served to their guests. Momo was so glad to find somebody else sharing her passion that she made him try something new anytime they had to work together. Too bad most of them were too expensive for him now. But he took note for when he’d have the salary of the number one hero.
IcyHot was still getting on his nerves but they mellowed together since the licence exam, and Todoroki was always glad to use his father credit card to pay for a karaoke room where they would be sure to be left alone in calm with a lot of snacks and beverages. They never sang together but Katsuki could see Half-and-Half looking at the mic every time. Maybe he would tell him that nothing prevented him to sing after they would be done next time…
Glasses was… harder to work with. He was too loyal to Deku and didn’t really trust Katsuki at first. Until they worked in his house one day. Katsuki knew of Iida’s family - who didn’t? - but meeting them was another thing. They met a lot of real heroes at the school and during their internship but it was the first time Katsuki met a former hero other than All Might… Tensei had to use a wheelchair. He was really great with it and the Iida family was rich enough to make accommodations but it was painfully obvious that their house wasn’t thought for its usage. Iida had to take everything too high for his brother and help him with most of the little step that were not filled as ramps yet.
Katsuki didn’t say anything but it was clear in the Class President’s behavior that his brother meant the world to him - he took his freaking Hero Name too, and that the situation was a big weight on his shoulder. He wore it so well at school but here, in his own bedroom, his mask cracked a little when he sit next to Bakugou. Katsuki put a hand on his shoulder and reminded him of the work they had to do. He knew that sometimes, not saying anything was the thing to do. They worked real good together after, both of them being adamant about things being perfect.
Working with Deku… Katsuki had difficulties to admit it but it was the easiest. Once Deku was done muttering, thinking of the plan of their work, he was always open to Katsuki’s suggestions and they always knew how to split the work perfectly, so much that they split it to an even number of words in an English essay once. Katsuki kept it to class work every time, they always went to a public library and went back to the dorm as soon as they were done. It was perfect this way. And Katsuki never thought too much about the fact that he was wondering if Deku knew how to sing now.
***
Movie night was still going strong at the start of their second year at UA, most of them had claimed a seat on the couch or the cushions they gathered around.
Deku was seated on one couch, surrounded by Iida, Shinsou - who had joined their class at the beginning of this year, and Todoroki, all very proper on their seating. Most of the time, Koda, Sato or Ojiro completed it, often visited by Koda’s bunny that loved sleeping on the guys thighs during the movies.
Most girls had taken cushions on the floor, Yaoyorozu being the first, charmed by the simplicity of seating without a chair. They always formed a puppy pile in front of the TV, some daring enough to use the guys legs as back support, or Shoji, that more often than not served as a seat for Mineta and/or anyone little enough to sit on his legs. Tokoyami prefered using the backrest of the couches as a seat and changed place almost every time, strangely followed by Aoyama that seemed to try to spark enough to take the emo out of his classmate.
The second couch was always reserved by Bakugou’s squad. Most of the time, Kaminari was already lazing on it after class, with a game or a comic, still not serious enough to review his class lessons.
Today was one of this day.
Katsuki had already finished his homework and decided to take his place on the couch before everybody came. He found Kaminari stretched out all over the couch and groaned.
“Get out of my seat, Dunce Face.”
“Hey, Bakubro!” Kaminari had stopped trying to call him Kacchan too when he understood that, yes, Katsuki would never stop really kicking him for it. “It’s not Movie Night yet, you can seat on the other for now.”
“Nope. No way.” It was Deku’s couch, he would never seat there again. “Get your ass up or I’ll make you.”
“Make me.”
Kaminari always liked playing with fire - and electricity, and riling Bakugou was always funny, and sometimes painful. Like today, when Katsuki didn’t even hesitate to jump above the back of the couch in order to push him on the floor with his feet, making him fall with a loud ‘thump’. The dirty blond took his place, lazing on the sofa with all his body.
“So easy.”
Kaminari stood up and looked at him, before smiling greatly and jumping on him.
“Puppy pile!”
“No fucking way!”
They battled for the couch, both refraining from using their quirks in order to not setting the cushions in fire. Denki tried his best to keep his arms around Katsuki but the other blond won and sent him back on the floor just when Kirishima arrived.
“Here! Go back to the ground, where you belong!”
“Kirishimaaaa! Bakubro is mean with me!”
The red haired guy looked at his friends and smiled.
“Hey, Baku, can you let me a little place?”
“Hmmmm… You may serve as a pillow.”
“You’re so magnanimous.”
Kirishima shook his head but seated himself under Katsuki’s head who used his thighs as a pillow like he said. Katsuki normally never let himself indulge in his friends presence but the battle with Kaminari amused him and he closed his eyes with a little smirk, happy to have won. He tensed when a big hand touched his hair and opened his red eyes to see his best friend looking at him with a big smile.
“Your hair is so soft, Bakubro, why did you hide this fact for so long!”
Before Kaminari could try to touch it too, they heard a loud “gasp!”. Deku stood behind the other couch, a hand in front of his mouth, his big eyes full of shock.
“What the fuck, Deku?! What is happening in your twisted mind?”
“No-No-No… Nothing!”
Kaminari laughed and stand up again, his hand going straight to Katsuki’s hair too.
“Awww, so soft!”
“Stop petting me! I’m not a cat!”
He pushed his friends and sit himself next to Kirishima, keeping his head far from them, only to feel another hand coming from behind him.
“Ooooh! Really soft, yeah, come on everyone!”
“Tapeface! I’m going to kill you then resurrect you and kill you again!”
But his threat was difficult to take seriously when his head was lolling under all the petting hands from their classmates. They all “Ooooh-ed” and “awwww-ed” when touching his hair, asking him what was his shampoo or if he used conditioner. He let everyone touch, grumpy but telling himself that it was better that they took it out of their mind today instead of obsessing about it later - except Mineta, you never knew where those hands were before, but he could see that one of his classmates didn’t move. The nerd was still in his gasping place, his limbs trembling with what Katsuki knew was the need to touch, to gather this new information that all his friends (except one) learned today, and a flow of mumbles going out of his lips. Bakugou sighed loudly and bored into the nerd’s eyes, scowling even more.
“C’mere, Nerd, before I change my mind.”
Deku sprang, almost falling when his feet hit the couch’s armrest and Katsuki had to catch him before he facepalmed on the floor.
“You’re really useless…”
Kirishima would have berrated his friend for those words but they were missing his usual rage and the blond took Midoriya’s hand to put it on his hair too. Deku “aww-ed” too and Katsuki rolled his eyes but let him pet his hair. It’s only when Shinsou remarked that “You let Midoriya touch you far more than us.” that Bakugou pushed the nerd away.
“It’s just to keep him from mumbling during the movie! Go sit on your couch, Deku, the next one to touch my hair will have to pay!”
They all took their place in front of the TV and Bakugou would never go back on a sentence. Except when Mina started to pet his hair again during the movie. But it was Mina. She really would pay if he asked her.
*****
After their first year school festival, Jiro had decided to keep her music lessons for her class, it was nice to share her passion with her friends. Tokoyami thrived under her mentoring and he became good enough for her to accept when he asked her if she wanted to start a band together. Kaminari had stopped playing when he understood that it didn’t really helped him getting girls but strangely, Mineta joined them when Kyoka showed him a music store specialised in non-conventional musical instruments and he found a small guitar he could use. He wasn’t the best but good enough for a high school band.
They hesitated to ask Yaoyorozu but Mineta took the initiative by asking her himself during lunch. She politely refused, flattered that they asked, but she wanted to concentrate on her studies.
Bakugou flat out refused when they asked him to join them, he didn’t have time for that. He would help them sometimes, the drums were a great way to let some of his anger go in a productive way, but he would never be a full-time member.
“Bakugou! Let me try the drums!”
“Can’t you try them when I’m not here, Chipmunk?!”
“Jirou doesn’t let me, come on, don’t be a wuss and let me try!”
The blond reaction was instantaneous, he gripped Mineta’s collar and lifted him from the floor, his other hand ready to explode in his head.
“Care to repeat what you called me, dickhead?!”
Mineta was already crying when Tokoyami put his hand on Bakugou’s wrist.
“Let him go, his destiny doesn’t end today.”
“Destiny?” Jiro whispered behind him before talking aloud. “It’s a good idea actually, let’s try a little something different today. We still haven’t found another drummer nor a keyboard player, it could be good to know a little bit of both.”
Mineta immediately stole the drumsticks from Katsuki and sit behind the drums, Tokoyami took place behind the abandoned keyboard and Bakugou found himself with a bass between his hands.
“Here, I think you could be good with it. It’s all in the rhythm too.”
Bakugou never touched a guitar before, he knew how to take it and correctly placed his hands but that was all. He looked at the cords that seemed so fragile under his fingers.
“Come on, try!”
He brushed the cords with his thumb, barely doing a sound.
“Nope, it’s not good if you don’t make them vibrate. Here, like that.”
She didn’t hesitate to pass her arms around him and took his hand in hers to show him how it was done. The sound was clear and the vibrations echoed in his arms, different from the drums but just as cool.
“Do you hear the difference?” She smiled next to his shoulder and Katsuki didn’t know how he should react, she didn’t do anything for him to push her down, except touching him.
Mineta’s whining saved him.
“Whyyyyyy?!!! Me too, I want Jirou-Sensei to tou- teach me like that!!!”
Katsuki took off the bass with attention, put it in its stand and walked to Minoru with murder intent. He will buy Jirou new drumsticks, it would not be the first time.
*****
It was a bad day. His alarm didn’t ring in the morning, there was no more hot water when he took a shower, his rice was strangely the only one overcooked and Aizawa was in a foul mood and made them work until they bleed from all their pores.
He just wanted to prepare a light diner and go to his room before everybody invaded the common room. He shoot a curse when he saw the frog girl in the middle of the kitchen before him.
There was worse company, green eyes and hair coming in his mind, and he decided to ignore her and took his ingredient in the fridge in order to cook himself something light.
He was in the middle of cutting his vegetables, thinking she would not bother him actually, when he heard her particular voice.
“You’re more sociable now.”
He tensed but didn’t answer, only the little pause during his cutting telling Tsuyu that he heard her.
“It’s good, you seem happier.”
He settled for a salad, something quick to do. He put all his vegetables in a bowl, poured some sauce above it and took a fork.
Before leaving, he just brushed Tsuyu’s shoulder, just enough to have her attention, just enough for her to hear his whisper, low enough that he could deny ever saying it.
“I am.”