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Chapter Text

Everyone was staring. 

Must be something about the fact that they were all just heading back to the dorms and almost right before they got there, Bakugou was sweeping right in front of Kirishima, so close that Kirishima startled and hardened in an instant. “HEY-” 

Well, Kirishima cut himself off when he realised it was just Bakugou. Though still, the guy was closer than he wondered if he’d ever been and Kirishima’s heartbeat was picking up as he stared. Bakugou didn’t look like he was going to move, and that made Kirishima feel like he shouldn’t move either. So he tried to stand his ground, but Bakugou’s…face… 

Why did he look so happy? Well, his kind of happy but it still had Kirishima breathless for a second. His feral grin held pure anticipation, his eyes narrowed to be intense but the red of his eyes were as warm as they were sharp, and there was an excited flush on his cheeks. 

Shit. Bakugou was going to kill him today. The time had come. Well, he’d enjoyed his time on Earth, he hoped Bakugou would at least give him a last meal- 

“You better be fucking listening,” Bakugou snarled, grabbing Kirishima’s collar and Kirishima swallowed. Yeah, he was definitely listening! Wait, had Bakugou said anything else? 

“W-What’s up, man-” 

“Fight me.” 

Kirishima’s vocal chords were obliterated almost completely just from the steely, raspy way Bakugou had said that, eyes blaring at Kirishima and it was so confusing because they held so much yearn for blood, but he was smiling. And his smile was telling Kirishima things, telling him that it was different to usual but he couldn’t understand.

He managed to get out a small, “H-Huh,” before wincing when Bakugou slammed Kirishima’s shoulder back, and though it didn’t hurt, Kirishima still frowned. “What the hell, dude?!”

Bakugou’s smile faltered then. “What? No, don't get mad, I’m getting you into the spirit. We're fighting.” 

“I haven’t said yes yet!” 

“Of course you’re gonna fucking say yes, you a man?!” 

Ugh, K.O. Kirishima knew Bakugou was just riling him up but he was going to say yes anyway, even though he really was tired from school. Why now? Why couldn’t Bakugou have waited a few hours? 

He opened his mouth to answer, but then he heard Sero’s voice suddenly calling out, “Kirishima, dude, agree to it!” 

“Huh?” Kirishima asked in confusion as he turned his head, because did Sero know what this was about?! And Kaminari and Ashido were with him too, Ashido shouting, “JUST LISTEN TO US! BAKUGOU’S AN IDIOT BUT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY-” 

“OI, THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING?!” Bakugou bellowed as he launched at them, and Kirishima yelled out worriedly as he ran after him, sliding between him and the others but that just had Bakugou pummelling at him, and for a moment they were wrestling and Kirishima had no idea why but he was too caught up in the familiar feeling of grappling with his best friend as he pulled on his hair and his hip and rolled them over, but then Bakugou stopped. 

Kirishima blinked in wonder, breathing heavy as he looked down at the guy who was smiling, a glint in his eyes and sweat already dripping. Then he leant up, just the tiniest bit, to touch the tip of Kirishima’s nose with his own.

“Let’s continue this on the grounds.” 

And Kirishima was weak as he breathed out an “okay” even though he was only really thinking about how goddamn unfair it was for Bakugou to be so pretty, for him to do something so sweet that Kirishima’s heart thumped even though Bakugou probably hadn’t meant it that way. But the dynamic eyes he was staring into got taken away from him in seconds as Bakugou pushed him off only to start dragging him away. And yeah, Kirishima would follow him anywhere…except this wasn’t the time. 

“I can walk myself!” 

“Then I’ll fucking race you.” 

Kirishima wasn’t a big fan of getting even more winded before the actual fight, so he let Bakugou keep hold of his wrist as he caught up to jog beside him. But when he heard other footsteps, he looked behind him only for his eyes to widen because it seemed like the whole class was following.

“KIRISHIMA, WE’RE ROOTING FOR YOU!” Uraraka called out with a whoop, and Bakugou chuckled darkly as he said, “Oh no you’re fucking not,” and Kirishima would pin that down to just his ego, but he’d said ‘you’re not’ rather than ‘you shouldn’t’. That had Kirishima thinking back to why. Why did Bakugou want to fight? What was all this about? It could just be Bakugou wanting to let off some excess steam that was still in him, but then what had their friends been talking about? 

“Guys,” Kirishima hissed as Sero and Ashido crowded him soon enough, with Kaminari rushing to catch up. “What the heck’s going on?” 

“Something absolutely dumb, and you’ll see,” Sero said with a grin, laughing as he ducked away from Bakugou’s elbow jab. 

Kirishima was wary and still confused as hell as they stood on the pitch, watching Bakugou calmly stretch as the class filled the stands cheering, and Kirishima shook his head as he got on with stretching too. He let his hardening ripple through his body for a moment, and felt confident in what he could do with it right now. But well…against Bakugou who was a goddamn force of nature… 

But he loved sparring with Bakugou. It was perfect for him, he felt stronger and stronger each time they did it but this wasn’t a spar. He’d only really fought Bakugou a few times, and thinking back to them had him in awe because Bakugou just went so hard and the fact that he did and just the fact that it was him had Kirishima wanting to push as hard as he could himself, too. 

“Ready?” Bakugou growled out from in front of him, and he spun around to see the guy shaking his hands out before clenching them and Kirishima nodded, smashing his fists together. Bakugou’s grin was back. “Then fuckin’ come at me.” 

Kirishima didn’t need to be told twice. He was racing in, teeth gritting, arms rippling as he pulled a fist back, and he just about managed to register Bakugou’s eyebrow raising as he stared to swing - but then a hand was pushing into his face and he paused for a moment. 

“Tch. Never stop moving, loser,” Bakugou said sternly, then Kirishima was yelling as the explosion fulminated right in his face knocked him backwards, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he hardened, more, more in an instant and managed to just about catch himself on his two feet.

Never stop moving, huh. He ran for it again, war-cry ripping out of him and this time he ducked under Bakugou’s arm and in the time that Bakugou used to turn around, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists harder, so he could start a flurry of attacks immediately. 

“You like this tactic,” Bakugou grumbled as he lowered his arms and began to dodge, and Kirishima glared as he pushed harder. 

“‘Cause I’m perfecting it more and more!” 

“More.” 

“More!” 

“More.”

“MORE!” 

Kirishima yelled as he lunged forward, but then Bakugou’s fist connected with his stomach with an explosion going off at the point of contact so he was thrown away all over again. But he was good at getting back up, and he wasn’t going to stop moving again. 

More. Bakugou wanted more, so Kirishima would give it to him. He felt his skin grow more and more jagged by the second, digging into the humid air around him, he had his fists pulled back. And as Bakugou advanced towards him, he saw the guy grin, eyes gleaming again. 

“Fuck, look at you.” 

Kirishima almost hesitated then. What did that mean? Did he look terrifying? Yeah, well that wasn’t surprising…but it didn't matter what he looked like when his goal was to fight, he guessed. He braced himself, raising his arms to cross them over himself but then Bakugou was grabbing his hip and stopping right in front of him, no explosion in sight. Kirishima blinked, lowering his arms and he saw Bakugou's eyes darting over his face, thoughtful. 

“Bakugou…?” 

“Just reminding myself of why I’m doing this.” 

Kirishima blinked, having no idea what that meant but then Bakugou was raising an arm and slamming him with explosions again, making him grit his teeth and stand his ground as best he could, like he was bearing a sandstorm. And, Bakugou was loving it? Heck, Kirishima could even hear his laughs over the booms and he fleetingly wished he could see Bakugou's face to match the noise, but he was too focused on keeping him away, searching for just one small opening and he found it the instant Bakugou tried to change his tactic, probably getting bored.

Kirishima ducked so Bakugou's next explosion seared through the back of his shirt, and he decked Bakugou in the side. Fuck, and he almost missed. Could Bakugou stop laughing? It was making him feel heady, yet at the same time it fired him up to all hell as his fist connected with Bakugou’s face, making the latter yell before he knocked back and Kirishima dropped over him, teeth bared. 

“Not laughing now, are you?!” 

Bakugou exhaled, grinning madly as he shook his head and if the words he said sounded anything like “fuckin’ manly” then Kirishima was seriously going mental, because Bakugou was grabbing him to hurl him over onto the ground in the next second anyway. 

It was a good old-fashioned grapple from then on, with Kirishima holding on tight to Bakugou's hands so none of his sparks bothered him in the slightest and he shoved his knee into Bakugou’s stomach but the guy twisted away. Kirishima was a beat too late to realise what was going on, because he hadn’t even realised Bakugou had let go of one of his hands, or was driving him into the ground with a strength he couldn't match through being locked under him. But, he did know that Bakugou was usually always one step ahead of him.

“BAKUGOU WINS!” Iida called out from the stands and there were mostly groans from the class, but cheers from Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari as Kirishima lay flat on his face, coughing into the ground. He could hear Bakugou moving, hopping up easily and brushing himself off. 

Kirishima snorted to himself, smiling with a wince, and tried to push himself up. So cool, damn it. And he was so gonna give himself the warmest bath after this, his skin felt sore as fuck. 

“Oi,” Bakugou’s hard voice said from behind and Kirishima nodded, going to get up before he stilled at the rough hand smoothing between his bare shoulder-blades where his shirt had been blasted. “I won.” 

Kirishima huffed out a knowing laugh. “I know, man, you did awesome.” 

“Yeah. And you’re getting somewhere.” 

“Oh come on-” Kirishima yelped when Bakugou's shoe was what was pressing between his shoulder-blades next, threatening to go in hard as he felt Bakugou lean down. “Dude? Is- is the fight not over?! Come on, let me get up at least!” 

“Gonna kiss you one day,” Bakugou said, voice dripping with intensity as he drove his shoe in. “When you’re that hardened. I won, so my prize is I’m taking you out on a date, you beautiful shitty bastard. And you can’t say no.” 

Kirishima froze. Then slowly, finally, he turned around and stared at Bakugou who was hovering over him and staring right back, smirking, chest still heaving from the fight, but there was a note of heaviness in his expression.

And all Kirishima wanted to do was laugh. 

“Oh my God,” Kirishima wheezed out breathily, reaching out to grab Bakugou’s face and the latter blinked, staring curiously, eyebrows furrowing in irritation. “Oh my God, you - ah, Bakugou, did- did you do all this just so I wouldn’t have a chance to reject you?!” 

“Well, so fucking what? I won so if you don’t go through with the wager then you’re a shitty loser-” 

“No, I get it. Heck, I get it and that’s why I- ah. Oh no. You’re so cute.” 

“The fuck?!”  

“No dude, you’re cute, the cutest, you just went through an entire fight just to-” Kirishima cut himself off with a loud giggle, tipping his head back because there was so much laughter bubbling in his chest that it felt like it would take years for all of it to get out – but he was forced to take a break when hands cupped his jaw and lips crashed into his. 

“Fuck you,” Bakugou growled against him, but it was quiet enough to have been a whisper and hell, Kirishima wanted to laugh all over again. Was it because of the euphoria, or was it how he was coping with utter disbelief? Either way, he pressed closer, growing even more light-headed as Bakugou’s hands dropped so he could hug Kirishima’s waist and tug at him way too hard, but Kirishima didn’t care, he wanted to be closer too and the way he surged forward must’ve caught Bakugou off guard as he fell onto his back. That just had Kirishima cackling harder as he crawled closer, sniffing as he looked down at Bakugou. And grinned.

“I’m like you…during the fight, now I c-can't stop laughing…oh heck…” 

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You're fucking lucky you’re gorgeous when you laugh.” 

Kirishima flushed redder than his hair and he only just started hearing the wolf-whistles and cheers from everyone else, and he snickered once more, smiling as one of Bakugou’s hands raised so his thumb could stroke over Kirishima’s scratched cheek. “I like you. So much.” 

Bakugou’s eyes grew, and Kirishima was laughing again, he was probably getting annoying so he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips against Bakugou’s, slowly, tasting what he’d wanted to for so long and he felt Bakugou hum as his roughed-up hand rested warmly on Kirishima’s nape. 

“I can’t wait for the date,” Kirishima sniffled, pecking Bakugou’s lips over and over. “Then another, then another, then another-” 

“Oi!” Bakugou yelled, elbowing Kirishima in the face which had the guy yelping as he rolled off so Bakugou could pin him down by his wrists, glaring down at him with face and ears brushed pink and oh, Kirishima wanted to fall in love, could he fall in love before the first date? 

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be celebrating, it’s my achievement, the fuck are you doing?!” 

Kirishima grinned at that. “You're right. You won. I’m just happy, I’m so happy, how do you make me so happy?” 

Bakugou stared down at him, amazement flickering on his face. “Well. Good. ‘Cause then it’s give and take.” 

Kirishima let out a strangled noise that finally had Bakugou laughing again, and Kirishima got to see his expression open up as his lips quirked. Lips that Kirishima wanted to kiss again. He wanted to get drunk on them, hell, was he allowed to now?

Honestly, Kirishima didn’t care what Bakugou said, he might’ve won the fight but Kirishima had won too, somewhere. He felt it in the way Bakugou was looking at him, he felt it in his warm hands resting on Kirishima’s warmer skin, he felt it in how Bakugou asked him softly, “Again?” 

“F-Fight or kiss?” Kirishima asked dizzily and Bakugou muttered something that sounded like “Both,” right before he crushed their lips together again, while the warmth between their bodies and the loud cheers of their classmates blanketed them. 

Chapter Text

“Hey, Bakugou!” Soy Sauce called out when Katsuki walked into the common room, and he saw him and Pikachu and Kirishima playing ball. Except Kirishima whipped around at the sound of Katsuki’s name, only for the ball to hit him square in the stomach which had him groaning.

“H-Hi, Bakugou,” Kirishima managed to weakly say even as he descended onto the floor and played dead while Pikachu poked him with his foot. Katsuki quirked an eyebrow at them, and Soy Sauce’s laughter rang through the air.

“We’re playing catch, wanna join?” 

“Fuck no,” Katsuki snorted, still eyeing Kirishima who was dizzily being dragged up by Pikachu before he moved away into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water because that was all he wanted. Who the heck played catch indoors at eight pm with a ball the size of a basket? 

Seemingly those idiots, as they seemed to have gone back to normal with all the yells and ‘DON’T LET IT GET BEHIND THE SOFA’ and Pikachu’s sudden screech of ‘NOW THE FLOOR’S LAVA!’.

Katsuki turned around to watch, unimpressed while sipping his water as the others all screamed and clamoured to get onto the sofas and chairs while precariously batting the ball about at the same time. Who the fuck let these idiots into this school… 

Pikachu suddenly slammed into Kirishima which had the latter yelping in laughter as Soy Sauce did some cool elbow tricks with the ball. 

“I’m gonna take you DOWN, EIJIROU!” 

Katsuki froze. His hand froze, the glass froze, his water froze (well, not into ice), and it did sort of seem like time had stopped. 

Eijirou. Eijirou? Pikachu had given name benefits? Since when? Since why? Wasn’t it weird as hell, too? Could barely even two-year friends even do that? Was this just Pikachu being weird and dumb?

He waited for Kirishima’s reaction, for him to yell or say that was completely inappropriate, but instead Kirishima was just wiggling his eyebrows and saying, “Ooh, okay, we’ll see how you do that, Denki.” 

DENKI?! 

Katsuki numbly walked out of the kitchen, hand still tightly gripping an empty glass as the others were all still snickering and yelling as the ball was basically forgotten at this point. And Katsuki was just next to the couch when he heard Kirishima’s yell sound a bit more urgent, so he instinctively turned around, and his eyes widened as he dropped his glass to the floor. 

“MAYDAY!” Kirishima yelled, arms locked into his sides and eyes squeezed shut, before he paused, because he didn’t feel the impact he should’ve. Instead he definitely heard a pained grunt, and when he looked back, Katsuki was glaring at him, biting his lip in a grimace.  

“Why the fuck are you-” 

“DUDE!” Kirishima yelped, scrambling to get out of Katsuki’s arms, and Katsuki groaned as his cuts were more exposed to air, and he let Kirishima grab at him. “I HARDENED ‘CAUSE I THOUGHT I’D HIT THE FLOOR, I- HECK, guys, I gotta go!” 

“Holy shit, take care,” Soy Sauce said worriedly as Pikachu hopped down to try and rush over, but Kirishima was already grabbing Katsuki’s hand and dragging him away. Meanwhile Katsuki wasn’t really thinking about the cuts. He just stared at the back of Kirishima's head, frowning, the only words in his own head being ‘fucking Eijirou’.

“Hey, hey, are you okay?” Eijirou said worriedly once they got into the elevator, pulling Katsuki close to check his body and grimace at the blood staining his shirt. “Oh my God. I’m an idiot. Why do you have to be so cool, man, why?!” 

“The fuck are you talking a-” 

“You caught me! ‘Cause you’re so cool! And I couldn’t even enjoy it,” Eijirou whined and Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Enjoy it’? “I’m so so so sorry. You have a first aid kit in your room, right?” 

“Duh.” 

“Can I patch you up? Please? I’ll be good, I’ll be really good.” 

Katsuki was getting tired, and the nicks on his chest and arms were starting to feel so irritating and sore that he just sighed in response and Eijirou grinned as he went in to try and hug Katsuki before realising that probably might not be such a good idea.  

“So…why did you come downstairs anyway, dude?” Eijirou asked once they were safely in Katsuki’s room, and Katsuki had taken off his shirt so Eijirou could pad Katsuki’s cuts with antiseptic. It fucking stung and Katsuki hated it so he ended up focusing way too hard on the sprinkle of pink flush across the bridge of Eijirou’s nose. Eijirou’s eyes met his and the flush deepened as he cleared his throat. “U-Uh…hey, did you hear me?” 

“What?” 

“Why’d you come down now, bro?” 

“Water.” 

“Oh, cool.” 

It totally wasn’t cool. Katsuki didn’t know why Eijirou said things were cool when they weren’t. It was dumb of him, he probably thought it was ‘cool’ for Denki to call him by his first name when it fucking wasn’t. 

Though Katsuki groaned to himself when he remembered all the times Pikachu had called him ‘Kacchan’. That wasn’t the same thing, right, he mostly saw that as something like an annoying fly he didn’t need to care about. And Deku called him that too, he was used to it. 

But Katsuki singed his bedsheets thinking of someone calling Eijirou fucking ‘Ei-chan’. 

“Woah, woah, hey! What are you thinking about?” Eijirou asked in concern as he took Katsuki’s hand away from the bed, squeezing it. Katsuki took one look at him and bared his teeth, looking away the next second because he couldn’t stand it. And Eijirou didn’t say anything else, but his hold on Katsuki’s hand loosened even though he didn’t completely let go for a while. 

“Okay, you’re all set I think! You should sleep on your back today, bro.” 

“I know.” 

“I’m really so-” 

“Shut up, you don’t got a thing to be sorry about.” 

“Oh…really?” Eijirou said, perking up like a happy puppy and Katsuki almost looked behind him to check for a wagging tail. “Then that’s awesome! And you were super manly for catching me! Next time you’re gonna do it, I definitely won’t harden.”

“You can’t call that, dipshit.” 

“I’ll try! Or you can like call out beforehand ‘Kirishima, I’m gonna catch you!’ then I won’t harden and I’ll live happily forever after in your arms.” 

“Holy fuck. I’m actually gonna barf,” Katsuki said in utter horror and Eijirou burst into laughter, jumping next to Katsuki and resting his arms loosely around his waist as he hugged his side, and Katsuki rolled his eyes. While also wondering how fucking Pikachu could be closer to this guy than Katsuki was when Eijirou was here doing this to him. 

“I love you, dude, you can’t hate me, you can’t.” 

“Wha- I don’t-” 

“If you hate me I’ll cry a river, right here right now!” 

All Katsuki could do was sit there growing more and more confused and exasperated as Eijirou wailed into his ear, and he was on his twentieth round of “IF YOU HATE ME THEN LIFE HAS NO MEANING” before Katsuki grabbed his face and yelled out, “SHUT UP!” before sparks grew on his palm. 

Fucking serves him right, Katsuki thought to himself, brushing his hands off as Eijirou lay dazed and sprawled across the floor. But he still scooped the guy up and jumped balconies to get him back into his bed, flicking his forehead once he was all settled.

Eijirou was a jerk. And Katsuki was going to get him to let him call him by his first name, because no-one should ever get any privileges that he didn’t have first, let alone fucking Pikachu. 

So he rented a movie.

He was sneaky with it, picking one about best friends and even though he didn’t fucking know if him and Eijirou were best friends or whatever (probably not thinking back to what this was all about), the movie still reminded him of them. 

He’d planned needing to convince Eijirou a little to come but that was completely dumb, the guy’s eyes were all starry and expression as bright as the sun before Katsuki had even finished the question.

“Dude! Of course, of course, of course!” Eijirou yelled excitedly, fists clenched and ready to pump before he saw Katsuki’s surprised expression and cleared his throat, pinning his arms behind his back. “I mean, yeah.” 

“So that’s a yes…?” 

“Of course it’s a yes! Did I not make it seem like a yes?!” Eijirou asked worriedly and damn, Katsuki was already getting a headache which had him shaking his head and hitching his bag up his back so he could simply move past Eijirou, ignoring the calls of, “UH, I’LL TEXT YOU?!” as he walked.

Eijirou didn’t text him, because Katsuki was the one who texted him ‘just come now’ at five pm and barely even a minute later, he heard a crash against his door. “Ow.”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, and walked over to open the door and say something snarky only to pause for a moment. He wasn’t entirely sure why. Something just seemed different, seeing Eijirou with his hair tied back, a massive shark pillow under one arm, comfy clothes and his bright characteristic grin on to top it off. And Katsuki had a fleeting thought that he wished he’d done something like this earlier. 

“Hey, dude!” 

Katsuki nodded, letting Eijirou come inside before the guy spun around to ask, “What we watching?” 

A moment later when they were settled on the floor in a mound of blankets and pillows not excluding the gigantic shark pillow that Eijirou hugged like it was a lifeline, Katsuki showed him the DVD and watched the way Eijirou’s eyes widened as he read the description. 

“Woah, bro,” Eijirou said, voice kind of soft even though it was almost spooked as he stared at the front cover, at the two best friends. “Uh. I don’t mean to imply anything! But, uh, are you trying to tell me something with this?” 

Katsuki’s eyes widened a fraction because wait a moment, did Eijirou already understand what he was getting at? Because heck, if he did, Katsuki could never call him dumb again. 

“Yeah.”

Eijirou’s eyes were sparkling all over again and before Katsuki could get freaked out for the millionth time by how pretty they were, Eijirou was pouncing at him, arms wrapping around him as he hugged him so tight. “Bakugou!” 

Katsuki was frozen for all but a second before he yelled, “THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!” and shoved Eijirou off of him, sparks already popping along his palms as they met Eijirou’s hardened skin and the guy had the fucking audacity to just laugh under him, punching lightly at Katsuki’s chest. 

It felt so friendly. But Eijirou still must’ve understood him wrong, because he had still called Katsuki ‘Bakugou’.

“Don’t worry, man, I’m happy! Let’s watch the movie!”

Happy, huh. Katsuki eyed him, curious, but pulled his laptop onto their laps and raised a suspecting eyebrow when he felt a blanket drape over his back, then arms rested on it. Katsuki looked behind him, and Eijirou just beamed at him. Like just doing that would get him out of anything ever. It probably would, it was fucking blinding. Then he clicked play. 

He’d already watched it before, during his ‘research’, but it was nice watching it again. A story of a misunderstood temperamental street rat and an excitable sweetheart with a dark backstory who both met at the right time. Katsuki’s eyes kept flicking to Eijirou during, and he always had a different expression on that he wore so clearly on his face, looks of awe, horror, joy, sadness. At one point he had the most scrunched up look of disgust on when the friends had to climb into the mankiest sewer that Katsuki couldn’t help but let out a surprised snort, a laugh escaping him and Eijirou’s eyes fell on him, expression switching effortlessly to amazement. 

“Your face is like fucking moulding clay,” Katsuki snickered, poking at Eijirou’s cheek. “That’s the weirdest thing if you think about your Quirk. And who wears their heart on their damn sleeve like you do?" 

“I just react to things easily!” 

“That’s a damn understatement, loser.”  

“It’s nice to be open, you know?” Eijirou shrugged, some of his hair falling out of his loose ponytail as he nudged Katsuki's shoulder with his head. “You should try it. I wanna see you smile all big and happy, it’d be so beautiful.” 

Katsuki stared at him and Eijirou turned such a bright red, but he still stammered out, “I-I’m not taking that back! I stand by what I said ‘cause I’m a man!” 

“A man, huh,” Katsuki snorted, flicking Eijirou’s dumb hair out of the way as their faces neared and Eijirou smiled at him, nodding as their foreheads knocked slightly. Katsuki could probably look at him forever, though he didn’t know why he wanted to. Maybe it was something to do with the way Eijirou was looking back like Katsuki was the only thing in the room, even forgetting about the damn shark plushie, and the music playing in the movie right now was soft and nostalgic. 

“I’m very manly.” 

“Men don’t whisper.” 

“Men can so whisper! I mean…oh, I don’t know…ah, who am I kidding, I’m trying to be very manly.” 

“I know, you idiot, it’s only your literal life-goal.” 

“Yeah! And…you’re really really manly, you know, so why are you whispering?” 

Katsuki blinked at that. Hell, he didn't know why he was whispering. Because Eijirou was? Because it fit the mood? What even was the mood? 

“Focus on yourself first, loser.” 

Eijirou’s giggle in reply was so fucking sweet that Katsuki felt light-headed.

Katsuki was enjoying the dumb movie so much that he almost forgot what this was all for, and he just about remembered when he heard the street rat call out the sweetheart’s name. “Huh, they’re calling each other by their first names now.” 

“Oh? Yeah, I guess they are!”  

“Guess that’s something best friends do.” 

“Yeah! My besties back in mid school did too.” 

Back up. 

“They what?” 

“Yeah, we’d known each other for years and years! Like you and Midoriya, he calls you Kacchan, right?”

“That’s fucking different!” 

“Wha- how? It’s a childhood friends thing, right?” 

“No, that’s not- I don’t- you and-” Katsuki bit his lip to stop himself from saying Eijirou and Pikachu weren’t childhood friends, but they really fucking weren’t and none of this was an explanation. People other than Katsuki were calling the guy Eijirou. People other than him were getting privilege. People other than him were better than he was in Eijirou’s goddamn eyes. “Fucking leave.” 

“What?” 

“Get out!” 

“What?! Huh, Bakugou, but- but what have I- the movie-” 

“I SAID TO GET OUT SO FUCKING GET OUT!” Katsuki roared as he grabbed Eijirou by the arm and dragged him to the door so he could throw the guy outside, ignoring his incessant concern and confusion as he shoved the door closed and let out the loudest groan. What was happening? Since when was he fucking doubting what he meant to Eijirou, when he was pretty darn sure with all his cheerleading and how happy Eijirou seemed to be around him that the guy worshipped him. 

Well, fuck that. Eijirou didn’t worship him. No-one worshipped him anymore, that was all left behind in middle school and now all that was happening was that he didn’t understand anything anymore. And he still blatantly didn’t understand what he meant to Eijirou. 

But what did Eijirou mean to him? 

He didn’t know. He almost felt like he didn't want to know, because if he admitted to anything when he grabbed Eijirou’s massive shark pillow and hugged it tight, it would become deep, unknown waters. 

So he wasn’t going to try to find out a thing. All he wanted was to just call the guy by his damn name. 

-

They both stepped out of their dorms almost at the exact same time the next morning. It was awkward, and heavy, but the instant Eijirou opened his mouth, Katsuki told him to shut up. 

“It’s fine. I was being an idiot.” 

“You sure?” Eijirou asked, still sounding worried as Katsuki started walking and he grimaced when Eijirou was quick to be hot on his heels. “Because I was so stressed, man! I could barely sleep! I can’t bear it if you’re angry at me and I don’t know why you are.” 

“I wasn’t ang-” 

“And- and I gotta get this out before I chicken out, so, uh…” 

Katsuki paused a little when he didn't feel Eijirou’s presence close to him anymore, but before he could say anything, Eijirou barked out so fucking loud, “You don’t need to worry about my middle school friends because I love them but I love you too and you’re my best friend right now!” 

Katsuki, wide-eyed, slowly turned around only to see Eijirou at a fucking right angle with his fists clenched and bag hanging off his shoulder. “Are you…are you bowing?” 

“I’M VERY SERIOUS!” 

“KIRISHIMA, GET THE HELL UP!” 

Eijirou did, stumbling a little with his face very red and Katsuki grabbed his arm, seething, “Who the fuck told you I was ‘worrying’ about your little nerd friends?” 

“Oh they’re definitely not nerds. We all got pretty low grades, man,” Eijirou said dizzily. “But I just- just in case that was the problem! Because you - you think we’re best friends, right? Isn’t that why you wanted me to watch that movie with you yesterday?” 

“Are you actually joking? No way!" 

Eijirou grinned. "Now I definitely don’t believe you. It was so obvious! And I'm really touched, man, I’ve thought you were my best friend for so long but I didn’t know if you did and now I know! And it’s awesome!” 

Fucking hell. Eijirou was actually for real. So that meant Katsuki was the closest to him and he hadn’t needed to worry one bit, which made this whole thing all the more dumb. 

“Eijirou.” 

Fuck this. Katsuki didn’t know what he was doing, and he looked away from Eijirou’s face before he could see whatever strong expression he had on right now. 

“I wanna call you that. I mean, Pikachu fucking called you that. Your dumb mid-school friends call you that. And how does any of that even happen, did they ask you? Then I’ll fucking ask because I’m supposed to be the one who means the goddamn most to you and if I’m not then I want to be!”

There was a beat of silence, before Katsuki’s eyes grew wide. And he wanted to run. Not forever, because he never ran away from his problems but he’d just yelled something that he didn’t know he’d even felt. He’d just admitted to wanting to be Eijirou’s number one. 

“Wait!” 

No, shut up, shut up- 

“Bakugou!” 

The only number one he wanted was on the charts, not for a fucking person- 

“KATSUKI!” 

A second-long halt in Katsuki’s bolt was enough to have Eijirou crashing into him from behind, making them both yell as Katsuki spun around to try and shove Eijirou off but that just had the guy falling into him in a way he couldn’t control, and he was knocked onto his back only for a guy who wasn’t light in the slightest to knock the wind out of him by dropping onto his chest.

“Fuck,” Katsuki groaned, eyes squeezed shut as he banged his head back against the floor in utter misery, but hands on his face stopped him. 

“Hey. Dude, please,” Eijirou said softly, and Katsuki warily cracked an eye open to look at him. At his warm big eyes and gentle expression that had Katsuki’s heart beating faster against his chest, against Eijirou’s damn chest. “We can talk this out.” 

“The fuck is there to talk about. I said everything…” 

“Yeah, and if you mean all that then I'm the luckiest guy alive, man. You’re so cool, and you’re brave, I can’t believe you just said all that to me. I could never.” 

“The heck are you talking about,” Katsuki grumbled as he sat up, rubbing his head and Eijirou moved back too, though he was still as close as he was. 

“You said you wanted to be…the one that means the most to me. And I- I'd want that! I mean, I'd want that, for you- to you! Um, to mean the most to you. If you’d let me try. And I’ll definitely let you try. You probably don’t even need to try very hard, bro, I already adore you like crazy.” 

“…okay,” Katsuki said, still a little confused. “So. You want to be my number one?” 

Katsuki wanted to shield his vision when Eijirou lit up. “That’s the most Bakugou thing I’ve ever heard.” 

“‘Cause I am Bakugou, dipshit-” 

“No, you’re Katsuki.” 

Katsuki wished to all deities that he wasn’t turning red but the way Eijirou was looking at his face in awe told him they weren’t listening. “Gross…” 

Eijirou smiled, and if Katsuki could forget that they were probably going to be late for class and they were on the floor steps away from the first flight of stairs, then he could remember to ask, for real this time, but Eijirou beat him to it. 

“Will you call me Eijirou?” 

“What a marriage proposal,” Katsuki snorted as his hands slipped down to Eijirou’s hips and the guy laughed, though that quickly morphed into a yell as Katsuki's hands wandered enough for him to be able to lift him up into his arms. “You able to enjoy this now?” 

“Manly! And wordplay! Bridal style!” Eijirou yelled, fists pumping and to hell if Katsuki didn't understand him in the damn slightest but at least he was cute and looked like he should be using pompoms 24/7. 

“Come on, Eijirou.” 

“HELL YEAH, KATSUKI!” 

Chapter Text

“Dude, I can’t do this.” 

“Fucker, there’s no such thing as ‘can’t’, just keep going!” 

“Woah, did you just say a cliché motivational phrase, bro?” 

“SHUT UP AND GET ON WITH IT!” 

Kirishima sighed, tapping the side of his cheek with his pencil as he stared down at the maths question. Every time it seemed to start making sense, he’d write down his working and have no idea where to move on, or he’d catch that he did something wrong and he’d get so confused that he’d have to start again. He frowned, resting his chin on the table as he scrunched up his nose and stared some more, pointing at the question with the tip of his pencil. “That equals 67. But that can’t? Right? But they’re supposed to equal each other…wait holy shit, that 13 had not always been there.” 

Bakugou wasn’t answering him but Kirishima didn’t notice for the moment, frowning a little before he carefully wrote down where his train of thought was going. And there were scribbles, crossings out and messy trying to fit in numbers where they clearly didn't fit on the page but he finally got to the answer they needed. He’d solved it. 

“Dude dude dude, oh my God, I solved it I mean it’s not an answer but ‘show that’s are like still hard so I’m really happy but I mean it’s not that I know it’s…right…” 

For the moment, Kirishima thanked God he hadn’t gone with his usual instinct to shake Bakugou by the shoulder, because the guy had his eyes closed.

His chin was resting on his hand as if to try and keep his head up, but his head kept on nodding and he’d always just about catch himself before it fell off his hand, but his eyes stayed closed, and Kirishima knew he had to be at least half-asleep. Maybe a little more than half.

And heck. He looked so sweet that Kirishima could feel heat rising up his face the more he watched, because Bakugou’s face looked so calm if not for the slight pinch between his eyebrows that Kirishima wanted to smooth away. He'd kiss it away - if the thought didn't almost make him choke, and he slapped a hand over his mouth and looked at his clock for a distraction. Oh, it was nearing nine . Nowhere near Kirishima’s ‘bedtime’ but he knew about Bakugou’s, and it was no wonder the guy was sleepy. 

He felt his heart swelling a little as he slowly went back to looking at Bakugou, a smile growing as he thought, the guy could’ve probably easily made more of an effort to keep himself more awake. But maybe he’d thought it was okay, because it was Kirishima he was with. Maybe, just maybe his prickly porcupine friend thought it wouldn’t be so bad to let Kirishima see a less sharp side of him and even if the thought could be nothing short of fantasy, Kirishima was locking it away to keep in his heart. 

He looked from side to side; for a reason he didn’t know because it wasn’t like anyone was going to see them in his locked room but he just felt the need to be careful, for Bakugou; and he slowly took hold of Bakugou’s arm and lowered it, then he wrapped his own arm around Bakugou’s shoulders and pulled him in, just ever so gently, and Bakugou’s head gently lolled onto Kirishima’s shoulder on its own accord. Kirishima swallowed, blush burning even harder but he didn’t have much time to enjoy it before Bakugou was shifting, blinking groggily. Kirishima was already ready to harden his body, prepared for screaming and maybe he’d be kicked out of his own room, that’d be a first. 

Bakugou grumbled something and Kirishima squeezed his eyes shut, thinking ‘this is it, time to make sure I don’t die’, but nothing happened. Bakugou was just silent and Kirishima slowly opened his eyes, confused until he felt Bakugou lean closer, and then arms were loosely but warmly curling around Kirishima’s waist before Bakugou turned his face to push into the crook of Kirishima's neck, burying slightly. And Kirishima already had goosebumps littering his skin by the dozen, but having Bakugou sigh softly against the ones on his neck…actually eased them.

Kirishima might not really know what was going on but he stayed exactly where he was, biting his lip as Bakugou used him as a throw-pillow and he didn't mind at all. 

“Bro,” Kirishima whispered and Bakugou hummed, hugging him tighter, just a bit. Kirishima swallowed again to ease his dry throat, then murmured, “I-I’m sorry for keeping you up this late, uh…you…you wanna head back? It’s okay if you do.” 

“Shut up,” Bakugou said slowly, raspily. “Stay.” 

“Oh, uh, o-okay but um, you’ll- get a sore neck, maybe? We can do this on the bed. I-I mean- wait, that wasn't an invitation or anything I’m just-” 

“Mm, good idea,” Bakugou muttered, pulling back and then all of a sudden his arms were slipping under Kirishima and lifting him up, making the latter yell out in surprise. Bakugou smirked at him, tiredly but it still had Kirishima’s heart beating fast. 

“DUDE! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU BEING ALL SWEET AND SLEEPY?!”

“You started it, dipshit.” 

Then Kirishima was yelling even louder when he was thrown onto his bed, but his complaints almost instantly died in his throat when Bakugou hovered over him, grinning down. “On bed now. Better?” 

“U-Uh…huh…” Kirishima weakly agreed with a nod, and it was so difficult to say anything with Bakugou’s eyes piercing him with ruby dynamite. But then he was yelping in surprise when the hover was gone because Bakugou just ended up falling on him. 

“Sleepy,” Bakugou mumbled, and Kirishima nodded, raising his hand and he paused, almost chickening out but he managed to silently hype himself up enough to run his hand through Bakugou’s hair, ruffling it gently. And Bakugou seemed to like it, humming again but for longer before he was slowly shifting off Kirishima to slot into his side, almost into such a similar position as to when they were sitting down as his head fit into the crook of Kirishima’s neck, and his arm slung over Kirishima’s waist, but his legs tangling up in Kirishima’s was new. It had his breath hitching, but he felt every feeling leave when Bakugou pressed a feather-light kiss to the underside of his jaw. “Stay.” 

Was this a dream? Because that would explain more than a lot. 

“I’m staying,” Kirishima murmured, turning on his side and Bakugou moved his head back onto the pillow, letting out a warm sigh as his hand followed the line of Kirishima’s waist more now that he could, and pulled him even closer. He blinked his eyes open then, just a slit, but it was still red on red that had Kirishima’s face turning the same shade. Yet somehow, it instilled a small sense of bravery into him. “If this is you when you’re sleepy, I'd want to be with you every night. 

“’N that’s an open invitation, shithead…has been for…ages…” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. You’re just fuckin’ dense…” 

And for once, Bakugou sounded small. So small that it amazed Kirishima, and he moved the hand in Bakugou’s hair to just lightly curl his fingers against Bakugou’s cheek. And to God if he had no words left, so he did the thing he knew best and smiled. And Bakugou seemed to understand him because he smiled back, even if just a small one, as he closed his eyes and turned his face into Kirishima’s hand, sighing against it. 

“‘M sorry. F-For being… ‘dense’?” 

“Just shut up and come closer.” 

Kirishima didn’t want to really because he was worried about Bakugou being able to feel just how hard his heart was pounding, but Bakugou was tugging on him and he had no choice as their chests pressed together and their noses brushed. Bakugou was all he could see. And it’s not like he’d ever mind that. 

“Night.” 

“Good night,” Kirishima said breathlessly, and Bakugou looked satisfied as his eyes fluttered closed again, and it was back to square one. Kirishima watching his beautiful sleepy best friend. 

He leant closer, whispering, “You’re so cute,” and there was no reply, just soft breaths that Kirishima could equate to snores. So he pressed his forehead against Bakugou’s, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep three hours earlier than he usually did, even though the light was still on, even though they hadn’t brushed. If he could stay this way, he’d do anything.

Chapter Text

Katsuki never thought much about the scar over Kirishima’s eye until the guy shared the story as to how he got it.

He hadn’t noticed it the first time they met, the first few times they interacted. He’d eventually ended up seeing it, but didn’t think much of it because it had just been in a casual setting. He’d seen it from across the room, after school, when he’d just been leaning back in his chair and his eyes happened upon Kirishima excitedly talking to Soy Sauce about a new brand of food he liked.

He saw the little red scar over Kirishima’s right eye, small and kinda perfect. And thought, huh. That looks familiar.

And that was it.

But here he was, listening to Kirishima with the others as the guy said, with all his animated expressions and loud hand movements, “It was when I was like, five! My Quirk activated and bam, I struck my eye with it. I remember crying buckets. ”

“Ohhh, it was a Quirk-forming accident! Dude I get it, those are super common. I stuck myself to my dining table when I first got mine,” Soy Sauce laughed, and now everyone was sharing their unsightly dilemmas from when their Quirks had first generated.

“Blasty has a scar just like Kirishima’s,” Pinky hummed as they all turned to Katsuki who raised an eyebrow at them. “Where’d that come from?”

Katsuki pursed his lips, and he flicked his gaze over to Kirishima for a reason he didn’t know. Kirishima was looking at him with the same kind of rapt attention that the others were, big eyes sparkling, fists unconsciously clenched - you know, Kirishima stuff. Katsuki looked away, and just shrugged.

“No clue.”

There were a bunch of ‘seriously?!’s, and most people letting him off because he might just not remember, but Pikachu hooked an arm around Kirishima’s shoulders and teased, “Imagine if these two were soulmates, huh?”

Katsuki’s face scrunched up as he was about to tell Pikachu to knock it the fuck off, but Kirishima’s sudden hyena-like laugh surprised him enough to not.

“Dude! Can you imagine?! No way, that’d- how could you even-” Kirishima just descended into more high-pitched giggles that had everyone giving him a look by this point, and Soy Sauce patted his back.

“Alright, man, we get it, it’s weird. Kami, why’d you have to break him like that?”

Kaminari spluttered out and held up his arms in surrender as everyone started jabbing at him now, and soon it wasn’t long before the lunch bell rang and they had to pack it up. But Katsuki still growled out Kirishima’s name when they were walking out.

“Hm? What’s up, dude?” Kirishima asked, the picture of innocence and Katsuki narrowed his eyes.

“What the fuck was that back there?”

“What was what?”

“Huh?! The way you reacted to-” Katsuki paused, not quite able to say it out loud, but Kirishima seemed to understand by now judging from the way he was burning red.

“O-Oh, well...it’s just funny, right?”

Katsuki eyed him. “Sure. But you were acting damn hysterical.”

Kirishima didn’t say anything for a second, turning even redder, before he sighed. “Sorry. I just didn’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable, man.”

Ew, why was Kirishima making Katsuki feel bad now? He grimaced, moving forward and knocking shoulders with the guy as he called over his shoulder, “Shut up, I didn’t mean anything by it. And I wasn’t gonna get uncomfortable.”

Like yeah, soulmate stuff was always a heavy topic for anyone but nothing about Kirishima made Katsuki feel uncomfortable anyway. He’d deal with that kind of teasing.

“You weren’t? Ah, that’s great!” Kirishima cheered as he caught up, throwing an arm around Katsuki’s shoulders. “So d’you wanna come to my room after school to play chess?”

“Chess?”

“Iida gave me a set and taught me how to play! I’m so bad at it!”

Katsuki snorted, hiding a smirk as he nodded and Kirishima whooped, dragging Katsuki into a hug that got him pummelled into the wall.

But maybe Katsuki shouldn’t have said yes to that offer. Because the entire night as he watched Kirishima squint and struggle and whine over damn chess, he couldn’t keep his gaze off the lithe scar above Kirishima’s eye. It had him looking at the eyes themselves too...they really were big, and always so full of emotion. He wondered how him and Kirishima could have the same iris colour but their eyes were still so different. His were sharp, intense and predatory. Kirishima’s were bold, visceral and...pretty.

And they both had the same scar adorning one of them.

But not the same. No, totally not the same. Katsuki didn’t know what he’d been thinking.

But still, a while later when they were squished together on the floor with their backs resting against Kirishima’s bed as they drank soda, Katsuki raised a hand and brushed his thumb over Kirishima’s scar. Kirishima froze, the smile on his face faltering but Katsuki didn’t see. He just focused on his thumb running up the outline of faded pink scar tissue.

“Did it hurt?” Katsuki asked, voice way too soft to sound real even to his own ears. It was also a dumb question - Kirishima might not even recall the amount of pain something had when he was five. But then Kirishima was chuckling.

“Yeah, dude, ‘course it did. Hurt tons. My skin was super soft then too, not the kinda hard that it is now,” Kirishima said. And he was right, even his unhardened skin had a tough quality to it. “I didn’t like my Quirk, then. I didn’t want it.”

“Guess that didn’t change.”

Beat of silence.

“I like it better now.”

“I know.”

“I’ve done a lot with it by now, I’m happy.”

“I know.”

“And I like how well it works with yours,” Kirishima laughed, and Katsuki looked at him. Then he sparked a finger, and pressed it against Kirishima’s cheek which instantly hardened.

“I know.”

Kirishima beamed at him, and Katsuki was shaken up by it a little. He didn’t know why, but the close proximity, the words, the intimacy of whatever this was, it was messing with him. Even though he’d initiated it...

“Just saying that you’ve still got some way to go, dipshit.”

“Oh. Oh, for sure. I definitely don’t love it yet, I can’t imagine that, but I want to!”

Yeah, I want you to, Katsuki thought, thinking back to all the damn times Kirishima had gone far and beyond with putting his Quirk into action and heck, Katsuki really felt a thrill whenever they’d spar, a thrill he liked. He was snapped out of his thought process by Kirishima raising a knight chess piece. “Hey, bro. Look. It’s me.”

Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you calling yourself a fucking...knight?”

Katsuki jolted when Kirishima suddenly threw the piece at the wall, and pumped his fists when it bounced off. “YOUR UNBREAKABLE HORSE!”

Katsuki dropped his head into his hands as Kirishima’s booming laughter was the soundtrack to his mortification of how bad he was at choosing friends. 

‘You didn’t choose him anyway, you just got fucking lucky’, his conscience jeered, and Katsuki sulked in silence.

-

Katsuki always kept to himself in the changing rooms. He wasn’t the type to dubiously try to hide his body at all, he didn’t care about that shit, and the scars on him that he was pretty sure were mostly his soulmate’s gave him even more of an urge to show off. But he didn’t look at anyone else, and he’d change quickly and efficiently both in and out of uniforms and costumes. He severely doubted that anyone was looking looking at him, either.

Though that kind of thing half didn’t even matter with Kirishima. The guy’s hero costume was shirtless for fuck’s sake, Katsuki couldn’t help but notice his body but once again, it wasn’t a big deal. The nicks on the guy’s torso looked natural and made sense from all the hits and wear Kirishima’s body must take, and all faded into the lines of a hard chest.

But since the eye-scar thing, Katsuki’s awareness meter on certain things had been tipped, and there he was. Staring at Kirishima’s chest while he was under the guy during a spar, Kirishima’s hands pinning him to the ground.

He raised a hand, ghosted them over a few scars that were speaking to him, and Kirishima’s breath above him hitched.

“D-Dude, what’re you doing?”

Katsuki was a meticulous person. He’d looked at himself many times in the mirror, mapping out the blemishes of his skin so he could commit it to memory and recognise his soulmate in an instant if it for some reason came to their clothes being docked. Even though the scars multiplied and darkened pretty quickly, even though they were always changing, but Katsuki still always tried to keep track of them.

But he wasn’t that good at keeping track of other people in the same way. Or more, people he’d never even... dreamed would be his soulmate.

Katsuki was about to actually touch him, before Kirishima quickly grabbed his hand, but that just had him falling into Katsuki with a loud yell. Katsuki didn’t really have the will to mind, though. He just laid there, wide-eyed and heart pounding too hard for his liking because Kirishima’s head just had to be resting on his chest.

“B-Bro-”

“Come to my room after school,” Katsuki said, silently cursing the way his voice shook a little. He just needed to know for certain. Kirishima wouldn’t mind taking his shirt off for him so he could look for real and officially figure out that his and Kirishima’s scars definitely didn’t match, right? The guy was shirtless 24/7 anyway, and it’d just be in his room-

“No!” Kirishima suddenly yelled, clambering to push himself up and Katsuki froze. No?

“Why the fuck not-”

“I just mean that I don’t want to. W-Wait, no, I mean I’m busy! I’ve got stuff to do! Tons and tons of stuff, I’m a really super busy hardworking person, okay bye you won!” Kirishima clarified frantically before he scrambled off of Katsuki and immediately bolted away. Katsuki slowly sat up, staring after him in disbelief. Where the fuck was he even going?

Also Katsuki totally didn’t win. Not yet, anyway. That made him even angrier let alone the fact that Kirishima had horribly declined him like that.

‘I just mean that I don’t want to’. What the hell?

He was sulking again. He knew it the instant his pride didn’t let him go over to Kirishima when they all rounded up to finish training, and when he shoved Pikachu to the ground the instant the guy just laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude, that was uncalled for!” Soy Sauce called out after him as Pikachu whined, and Katsuki just gritted his teeth, looking away as he stomped off. Fuck them. Fuck them.

He’d make Pikachu an apology meal later.

But right now, he tore his clothes off himself and changed like lightning, teeth bared at his locker that he slammed closed like it had personally offended him. No-one tried to follow or call out for him when he left less than two minutes after he’d entered, but it didn’t matter, he couldn’t have cared. Because while leaving, he’d managed to catch a glimpse that he didn’t want of Kirishima’s hips and thighs while he was changing.

There were stretch marks, that looked all too familiar.

-

A week since then passed and things weren’t the same. Katsuki knew they weren’t. Kirishima had almost broke down his door trying to knock and say sorry that very same night, and Katsuki had told him it was fucking fine, mostly because he didn’t want to deal with it, he didn’t want to argue. But maybe he shouldn’t have done that, because Kirishima was strange now.

For one thing, he started wearing shirts more when they were together. Yeah, the same guy who loved yelling ‘SHOWING OFF YOUR MUSCLES IS THE MANLIEST’ and ripped off his shirts in fits of excitement.

They weren’t spar partners as often. Clearly Kirishima was trying to be sneaky about it because he still partnered with Katsuki sometimes, but not as much, and Katsuki wanted to cuss him out more than anything but he’d bite his tongue and hold his ground. He didn’t want to argue.

And the worst thing? He just didn’t get as close anymore. Goodbye to friendly arms around shoulders and hip checks and a palm pressing into his. Shit, Katsuki really missed Kirishima’s fucking hand. A hand!

A hand that was rough like his, smaller, covered in little hardening blemishes, and it locked against Katsuki’s like what they were doing was more than just holding hands. And Kirishima liked playing with Katsuki’s hands. Liked stretching out the fingers while Katsuki was half-asleep or reading a book, liked running light fingers over the callouses his Quirk gave him.

Maybe he’d been checking for matching scars the whole time.

Katsuki fell off his bed.

Fuck. Was- was he really starting to buy into this? He didn’t want to believe it- couldn’t believe it, couldn’t kid himself that the guy he was more comfortable with than anyone on this earth was really his soulmate. ‘Cause that would be too fucking perfect, wouldn’t it?!

“God,” Katsuki sighed, sitting up with a wince and stuffing his head into his arms.

It would be perfect.

Thinking of Kirishima, his equal, his best friend, the guy who fucking lit up his life, the guy with hidden strength that Katsuki clearly saw which made him want to motivate the idiot to go further, get stronger; that guy being his other half? Perfect. Where was the catch?

Wait.

Did Kirishima...already know?

He’d already got into his own head about Kirishima checking the scars on his hands, but he also thought back to the spar. Kirishima might not have simply rejected his company, he might’ve known what Katsuki had been getting at. Might have seen the way Katsuki was looking at his chest and panicked, because he knew. 

If Kirishima knew, and he hadn’t said anything, there was only one conclusion. He didn’t want Katsuki.

And that was fine. That was fucking fine. If Kirishima wanted some other extra who probably smiled more and was nicer to his friends and ticked off every box on his ‘manly’ checklist and appreciated his dumb stupid jokes then that was FINE so why was he...crying.

Katsuki’s breathing stuttered when he noticed his arm getting wet. He raised his head, held his hands out, watched them glisten more by the second with the stupid tears falling from his eyes until they were so blurry that he couldn’t see anything.

“I WEAR YOUR SCARS BECAUSE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO FUCKING WANT ME!” Katsuki roared, banging a fist on the side of his bed as he dropped his head into his knees, shaking. “I’M FUCKED UP! IS THAT IT?! YOU’RE TOO GOOD FOR ME?!”

Katsuki’s throat closed up before he could keep going, but he stumbled onto his feet, dragging them over to the wall he shared with Kirishima. He gritted his teeth, and he banged. Hard. Both fists, over and over, louder and louder until the whole floor must’ve been hearing it. But he couldn’t keep yelling because things were starting to make sense again, too fast. Katsuki wasn’t what Kirishima wanted, and Kirishima was the kind of perfection that the universe wouldn’t dare give him without a fight. And hell, Katsuki would fight, he was always more than ready to fight. But not if the person he was fighting for didn’t even want him to. 

So he stopped. He rested his fists and head against the wall, and just stayed silent.

“Sorry,” Katsuki breathed after a few painful minutes. “Fuckin’- sorry. You don’t have to want me. I just wish you did. I’d-I’d be good, I’ll be the best fucking mate, I’ll try so hard, I would- ugh. No, I get it. I get it. I- I’m not your perfect.”

‘But you’re mine’, Katsuki wanted to say, but how much more of his pride was he going to let go of today?

“Bakugou,” a voice said. A cracked pained voice trying so hard to be loud enough, and Katsuki heard it. He heard it, he fucking heard it and he straightened up.

“Kirishima?!”

“W-Wait a sec,” Kirishima said quickly and Katsuki numbly nodded, his tongue heavy in his mouth. Kirishima was coming. He was gonna answer to all...that. And Katsuki didn’t fucking know how but his fear was completely overridden by an urge to just see him.

There was an urgent knock on his door the next second and Katsuki was already tripping over furniture to run over and open it, opening his mouth to say anything but the breath in his lungs left him when he saw Kirishima shirtless, tears in his big eyes and tracking down his face.

“I’m so sorry,” Kirishima managed to get out in a whisper before he crashed into Katsuki, arms gripping him like a vice. Katsuki tensed, breathing in and out harshly before he slowly closed his eyes and let himself melt against his best friend.

“Don’t pity me,” Katsuki muttered, dropping his face into Kirishima’s shoulder but Kirishima laughed.

“No way. Never.” Kirishima pulled away and took hold of Katsuki’s face, making the latter stare at his determined face in confusion. “You’re my soulmate. You’re my soulmate and all I want, I want you so bad.”

“You fucking knew,” Katsuki muttered, scoffing a little as he raised his hands and rested them over Kirishima’s. Oh yeah. He’d missed these. “Don’t lie. You knew and didn’t tell me. Don’t bullshit me now I’ve said something.”

“No, dude. I thought you knew too,” Kirishima said softly, fingers wiping away Katsuki’s tears. “You’re observant, I’m shirtless 24/7, we’re always together - I was so sure you knew but just ignored it. ‘Cause you didn’t want it to be true.”

“You’re so dumb. You’re so dumb, you’re so dumb,” Katsuki groaned, clutching Kirishima’s hands so tight that the latter yelped. “I mean I’m dumb too ‘cause I never noticed because I just never fucking saw you in that way, it didn’t cross my mind but now I’ve got it, okay?! I fucking...I’m late to the game but I got it.”

“When?”

“Kinda started when you were talking about how you got your eye scar?” Katsuki tapped his own. “I’ve always pretty much known that’s a soulmate scar. I’m...geez, I’m dumb.”

“Shh, you’re the smartest guy I know,” Kirishima assured with a frown and Katsuki snorted. “I only know ‘cause I...I mean, I hoped for it, so I unconsciously kinda started looking for signs, and there they were. Always right in front of me.”

“You hoped for it?” Katsuki asked curiously, and Kirishima‘s smile was shy.

“I have the fattest crush on you, man.”

Oh. Oh. Shit. Katsuki had forgotten about that side of soulmatehood. Katsuki thought Kirishima was perfect for him but he had no fucking idea if he wanted to...kiss him and shit.

“Uh. That one time at spar,” Kirishima said quickly, and Katsuki looked at him. “When you wanted me to come over. Is it ‘cause you wanted to look at my scars?”

Katsuki nodded in realisation, and Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Okay...so can I see yours too?”

“Oh. Yeah, hell yeah,” Katsuki said immediately, grabbing Kirishima’s hand and throwing him at his bed, then he shucked his own shirt over his head. He looked back to see Kirishima staring with the widest eyes and a light flush touching up his skin and Katsuki rolled his eyes, taking a seat opposite him, really close. Their knees touched. “There you go. And you can touch, I know you want to.”

Kirishima flashed him an unimpressed flustered look that had Katsuki cackling before the guy shifted a bit closer, holding a hesitant hand out.

“I’ve seen them before,” Kirishima said quietly. “But this is...you look so nice with them...ah...I’m sorry.”

Katsuki grimaced. “Thought we were done with the apologies.”

“No, I’m sorry that you gotta wear all my scars, man. I get so many, I’m sorry, and I-” Kirishima’s eyes grew wide before he looked down at his own hips, and he seemed like he was going to spiral into panic for a moment and Katsuki was so confused. So he just grabbed Kirishima’s hips, let his thumbs follow raised faded scar tissue.

“You embarrassed about this shit? They’re fine. They’re you. They ain’t bad. Okay, my ma has stretch marks from being pregnant, when I was four and saw them, I thought they were fucking badass.”

“Mine aren’t like that, though,” Kirishima murmured, even though there was a smile peeking from his lips but Katsuki reached out to clasp his chin and tilt his head up.

“Why not? People go through fights with their own body when they’re growing at any time for any reason. That shit is hard, right?”

“It’s hard,” Kirishima whispered, and shit, now Katsuki wanted to kiss him. Rather than on the lips, on all these scars of his.

“You got any stories for these?” Katsuki asked, letting one hand wash over the scars on Kirishima’s chest while the other stayed on his hip, and Kirishima shivered under his touch.

“Y-Yeah, some of them. Most are hardening scars, though...”

“Guessed as much. And I’ve got some too.” Katsuki twisted a little, pointing at a space on his lower back then held a white scar that spoke of something painful. Quirk recoil. “Wanna know that one’s story?”

“I’ve always wanted to,” Kirishima said eagerly, nodding and Katsuki nodded back.

“Same for yours. It was always the coolest that I got someone who had a lot of these fuckers, meant they weren’t boring or some shit.”

Kirishima‘s lips twitched, and Katsuki could see that his words were finally getting to him. “They’re not that cool, bro.”

“They’re cool. They’re fucking cool. Anything to do with my soulmate is cool.”

“I love you,” Kirishima laughed loud and free, leaning into Katsuki’s touch and Katsuki turned wide-eyed and pink at the words. But, that was also cool. “S-So are we gonna...do the whole cliché kiss each other’s scars thing or is that asking for way too much because it totally is if you think so unless you don’t think so then I’d be very down-”

“Shut the fuck up, we’re not doing all of that now.”

“Right! Knew that!”

“We’re not doing all of that is what I’m saying. Not right now,” Katsuki muttered, pulling Kirishima closer before he took in a breath, mentally beat up his brain to motivate himself, then pressed a kiss just above Kirishima’s eye. “But we can start.”

“Then we’ll have the rest of our lives to finish?!” Kirishima asked in moon-eyed awe, and Katsuki wanted to snap at him for making his words even cheesier but he was too fucking endeared.

“Sure.”

Kirishima nodded, his flush spreading to his damn chest by now, and Katsuki watched him as he carefully took hold of one of Katsuki’s hands and gently pressed kisses into his calloused palm. Katsuki bit his lip, resisting the urge to secrete nitro.

“That okay?” Kirishima asked when he resurfaced and Katsuki nodded, saying a shaky, “Y-Yeah,” as he let Kirishima rest the palm against his cheek, giving him a grin that he wanted to frame.

“I’m so happy.”

“Yeah.” Me too. “Kirishima.”

“Hm?”

“You’re fucking beautiful.”

Kirishima dropped his hand, eyes wide and his own shaking where it was still in the air, and Katsuki’s blush was as deep as velvet but it wasn’t something he wanted to take back. It was just one more thing that he thought Kirishima needed to hear.

“Oh,” Kirishima breathed, pressing a hand against his heart. “Oh. O-Oh man...okay...I- woah, you- oh-“

“All of you. It’s great. If I had a dream guy, it’d probably be you.”

“You’re my dream guy,” Kirishima gasped, sounding choked up and Katsuki rolled his eyes.

“My dream guy’d be less fucking emotional though. And more in love with himself ‘cause I want him to be. And I know it’s hard, it’s one of the hardest things ever, and you can take your sweet time or whatever but you’ll get there and I’ll fucking see you get there and you-”

Katsuki’s eyes grew wide when he saw Kirishima surge forward, and give him the gentlest kiss on his lips. Barely anything past a feather’s touch but Katsuki still saw stars, still felt his heart beat out of his chest when Kirishima breathed against his lips, their noses touching. Katsuki wanted him to be this close forever.

He rested his head on Kirishima’s shoulder as his face burned, arms hugging his waist tight while Kirishima whispered a million panicked ‘sorry’s into his hair and Katsuki sucker-punched him in the gut.

“I’ve probably got some scars on my lips that you can kiss,” Katsuki mumbled, pretty pathetically, but he was still rewarded with Kirishima’s hearty laughter and a warm embrace cloaking him back.

“God, you’re the best, the best.”

“I know,” Katsuki agreed, closing his eyes. “I’m your soulmate. I’m your number one.”

Chapter Text

Eijirou wasn't even sure he liked change. At this point it had simply just become his way of living.

There were the big changes, like dying his hair which had taken hours and him accidentally smacking his head against the bathroom sink before his mother came to help him, or like finally, finally believing that he could be enough for UA.

Then there were the subtle ones, like shifting comfortably into the mindset that had always really been there about how much he wanted to kiss boys, or like how he realised red had to be his favourite colour.

He found comfort in the things that didn't change, though. In worn shoes he'd had for years, in his parents, in his old friends. Because he'd been the one to let things change, but it was painful. It reminded him every day that it wasn't really him. Looking in the mirror didn't give him anything nice, so he stopped. Started doing his eyeliner blind, and now he was getting scarily good at it. But still. He'd put on the most outlandish clothes he could to stand out, but still put on the same shoes he did back then, back when things were different. But not really different.

Did everyone else buy his act?

He thought so. He hoped so. People smiled when he smiled, laughed when he joked, let him force himself into spaces to be impulsive and as loud as he never used to really let himself be, just so he'd be noticed. He knew people must find him annoying, though. He probably always said the wrong kind of thing, because he didn't know how this new world he was in at UA worked, but he'd at least hope he said them at the right times because his friends' laughter really fuelled him. It was okay if they were laughing at him.

"What?" a voice growled, and Eijirou snapped out of it, looking up with wide eyes at Bakugou who was facing him with teeth almost bared and eyes blazing. He also looked closer than he had been.

"What what?"

"You've got a fucking face."

Eijirou blinked. "Everyone's got a face, dude."

Bakugou looked so disgusted by the words that Eijirou half-wanted to say sorry but a laugh bubbled out of his mouth instead. That had the intensity of Bakugou's eyes decreasing just a little. "Expression, idiot. You've got a dumb expression on. What is it."

"I don't know, man, I didn't see it."

"Stop being a smartass and answer me!"

Eijirou hadn't been trying to be a smartass, he really hadn't seen his expression. "Are you...asking me what's wrong?"

Bakugou's nostrils flared a little, heck, the guy was such a bull. "No. Fuck you."

Eijirou grinned at him, and he saw Bakugou's face drop into something a little more subtly neutral, before he turned away and downed the drink in his hand like the coolest guy ever. Because he was. In a lot of ways, he was everything Eijirou wanted to be.

At least, Bakugou probably had good night sleeps. He probably didn't have fitful rests or get bogged down by every thought in existence from homesickness to boy trouble to 'what if I could one day harden into a DIAMOND', like Eijirou did. Though when he was looking it up, he did manage to stumble across the fact that Bakugou's birthstone was a diamond. Another reason why they were perfect for each other!

...except Eijirou was also delusional.

But his thoughts always got too much, even in his dreams apparently. One night in the dorms, he'd woken up to his hardened hand clawing at his arm, and he almost screamed down the dorm. Since then he'd been keeping a first aid kit by his bed and sleeping with the light on, curling up tight like a ball while feeling like he'd never grow out of being a stupid kid.

"Wha- Shitty Hair?" a voice filtered through one night, when Eijirou was already asleep, breathing softly against his pillow as he hugged his sheets to his chest.

There was a pause, then a swift thumping noise on his balcony before a figure slowly pushed apart his balcony doors and walked in. "Oi. Your light's on, the fuck are you-"

Then silence.

Eijirou hadn't always been a light sleeper, but recently he'd been figuring out how to force himself to be, he knew it was the best thing when it came to danger. He didn't wake up when the figure crouched beside his bed, staring at him for a minute. But he scrunched his face the tiniest bit when a finger carefully sifted through the hair falling in his face, pushing it back over the top of his head. And he felt very, very faintly conscious when a finger touched his nose a little harsher than it seemed to have meant to.

"Oh. My bad," Bakugou muttered under his breath, though he didn't withdraw his hand when Eijirou blearily opened his eyes. "You awake?"

Eijirou frowned a little, shaking his head as he tried to stuff his face into his pillow but Bakugou's hand stopped him when it touched his jaw.

"Why's your light on, Shitty Hair?"

"Sometimes," Eijirou murmured, yawning quietly and Bakugou bit his lip. "I freak myself out...light on feels better."

"Freak yourself out?"

"Yeah. And my head is so loud."

"It suits you, then."

"It's not a good loud," Eijirou sighed, and Bakugou hummed, head leaning closer.

"You sayin' you're a 'good loud'?"

Eijirou caught himself just before he said 'no', and instead jokily asked, "D'you think so?"

Bakugou didn't answer straight away. Eijirou didn't know what he was even thinking, but for some reason asking the question seemed to be easing his soul a little. He'd always felt this uncontrollable urge to ask Bakugou 'how do I look to you?', and wait to see if the answer from one of the coolest guys ever would officially tell him if his fronts were thin enough to see right through.

Instead Bakugou just leant back and said, "It doesn't suit you anymore."

Eijirou wanted to understand him, but his tongue still felt too heavy in his mouth to speak again to ask, and he couldn't stop himself from lolling back onto the bed as Bakugou got up now, taking a seat next to him. Eijirou had a hand over his eyes, but he peeked through two fingers to get a sliver of a look at the guy. The overhead lights hit the back of his head, framing his blond hair. Angel-like.

"You're gonna rack up the electricity bills."

"Heh, this school's mega rich! I don't think-"

"How loud can your head be?" Bakugou asked, sounding uncertain and Eijirou blinked. "You're an airhead. You barely ever look like you're thinking about anything."

Oh. Well. He'd wonder if that really was an insult by the way Bakugou hadn't said it with any bite in his tone, but what else could it be?

"There's a lot behind closed doors, man."

"My doors aren't closed. If you freak yourself out again, come to me and I'll knock you out for you."

"Knock me out?!"

"No memorable thoughts when you're unconscious."

Eijirou's laugh sounded scratchy, throaty and gross but he still let it out, slowly sitting up and Bakugou's eyes widened a fraction when their faces grew close. If anything, Eijirou might be imagining the pale blush on the guy’s cheeks but he moved closer in a sudden bout of courage.

"You're really really cool."

Bakugou's eyes were trained on his mouth, and that was when Eijirou remembered how big he was smiling and self-consciousness hit him like a brick as he tried to stop but the instant he did, Bakugou's finger poked Eijirou's cheek and stayed there.

"Your pyjamas are ugly."

Eijirou grinned again. "The pattern is Hello Kitty's boyfriend. Daniel!"

Bakugou looked like he was battling two very conflicting emotions as his knuckles brushed Eijirou's cheek as light as a feather before connecting hard with sparks (and growls courtesy of the sender) and Eijirou was giggling into the bed as he wrestled with his best friend at one am.

Yeah, Eijirou was a dumb fifteen year old with funny pyjamas, too many worries, an unreachable crush and strange sleeping habits, and he wanted to grow out of it all one day but he hadn't even felt like he'd grown out of his shell yet.

Except, when he was with Bakugou he felt like himself, even though he was the same as he was everywhere else with his fronts. He was loud and derisive and it was so natural to rile the guy up and laugh with no fear when Bakugou whirled his rage on him. And whenever he did second-guess things, like he would constantly anywhere else, Bakugou would miraculously do something to take his mind off it so he wouldn't. And the expressions he'd make whenever Eijirou smiled had him wishing Bakugou would come closer, and make him smile more.

At the start of the year, he would've expected someone like Bakugou to call him something like a scrawny motherfucker with a cool hairstyle. Instead he got called a stupidly strong bastard with the shittiest hair, and why did being insulted about the one physical thing he'd changed about himself make him so happy the way that did?

Bakugou was letting him feel true to himself through a version of himself that he'd thought he'd completely created anew, and the feeling just kept growing.

Did he always think hard about the interjections he'd make to cheer people up? Was he really still thinking everything through before doing them? Was the weight on his shoulders from carrying around this persona getting lighter every day? Maybe. And he was itching, itching to tell someone because each morning he felt so proud of himself for what always seemed like the first time in years, because it was such a foreign feeling, and he wanted someone to KNOW. To share his happiness.

But it was okay to keep this to himself, because he was happy that way too.

Though those happiness levels did drop a little when Bakugou walked into his room one morning when they were supposed to hang out, took one look at his outfit, then walked straight out.

"Wha- HEY!" Eijirou yelled, about to chase after him but then Bakugou was back, kicking the door closed behind him and glaring such fierce daggers at Eijirou that he didn't feel safe.

"You know all the villains we're meant to fight? They'd fucking run from all your outfit disasters. Willingly. But it feels like they're being tortured."

"Dude, what?! Too far-"

"THAT'S HOW I'M FEELING!" Bakugou yelled before he suddenly he was soaring right at Eijirou who was pretty sure he saw his life flash in his eyes before Bakugou was on him and tearing off his green sweater, then shoving his red shirt up his torso.

Eijirou's life was still flashing. Now for different reasons, but not quite.

"B-BAKUGOU-"

"I'd fucking rather you be constantly bare chest than wear a shirt ever again, you little dipshit."

"Oh. Oh! Sure, sure, I'd like that! If you'd like that then I'd like that even more!"

Bakugou made the most exasperated strangled noise, grabbing Eijirou by the shoulders and tugging at him so their noses bumped harshly, snarling, "JUST GET A FUCKING FASHION SENSE, MORON!"

Eijirou really only ever wore what he wore to stand out, he didn't understand clothes that much, but seeing Bakugou get peeved about this was always something that amused him and he was beaming before he could stop it. "Teach me?"

Bakugou's slightly wide eyes were on his mouth again, spots of pink dashing his cheeks. Then his eyes snapped up to meet Eijirou's, narrowing. "Like hell."

"Oh come on, man!" Eijirou laughed as Bakugou turned around, crossing his arms with an irritated low growl. Just like a dog, a dog that Eijirou wanted to pet so bad.

Heck. 

He was honestly done holding back, even if the only thing running through his mind was 'ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod' as he curled his arms around Bakugou's torso from behind, pressing his chin gently into the crook of his neck.

"You don't like my clothes, but you still like my smile," Eijirou said, soft and teasing all at once. And he made sure to be smiling when Bakugou turned his head, face pinched into such a mixture of emotions as Eijirou blinked at him.

"An airhead like you managed to figure that out, huh."

Eijirou was gonna break his face one day with how hard Bakugou always made him smile. "Would you believe me if I said it was kind of obvious?"

Bakugou tilted his head, and pecked Eijirou's lips gently, finally. "Thought someone with your kind of self-esteem wouldn't be able to realise."

Eijirou's heart swelled as his face filled with dizzy lovesick red. "I'm really working on it."

Bakugou kissed him again, harder, sweeter. "I know."

"And you help me. So much."

"Good."

"And it makes me so so happy, I feel like TONS lighter."

"Uh-huh."

"We're gonna both be diamonds!"

Bakugou gave him a quizzical look at that and Eijirou just shook his head, too giddy to explain and when Bakugou was distracted by his smile again, Eijirou kissed him first that time and revelled in how Bakugou pushed against him in a way that felt like melting.

"I'll become one of those people you remember."

"I won't forgive anyone who forgets you."

"Uh, you did, many times at the start of the year."

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "You aren't the only dumb hopeful going through development."

That was right. That was totally right, because Bakugou was cool but he could be even cooler and he was going to become the coolest and Eijirou was about to dock the word cool from his fucking vocabulary until Bakugou turned around, rough hands gentle on Eijirou's sides.

"Doesn't mean yours ain't important, though."

Eijirou felt tears prick his eyes as he nodded wildly.

"I know!"

Chapter Text

This night should be one of the most fun nights of Kirishima’s life, but all he could think about was ‘I hope Bakugou doesn’t blow anyone up tomorrow’.

Because if Bakugou heard wind of anything about how he’d been throwing himself at people today, yelling at Shoji, “YOU’RE A FUCKING STRONG TOUGH GUY I’VE ALWAYS LIKED TOLERATING YOU!” before jumping into his arms which had Shoji scrambling to catch in utter confusion, or slurring to Dark Shadow while scratching his head which had the shadow yapping happily, “Doooooon’t tell your guy but he’s like...pretty neat n shit....like his music taste....”, or accepting Hagakure’s karaoke offer and screaming with her to Primadonna by Marina, then they would ALL be dead carcasses by the time the next day was up.

But heck, Kirishima had thought about swooping in and stopping it, but he faltered every single time he saw the happy surprised faces of every person Bakugou would confess a slice of his true feelings too. Not to mention his heart was melted inside him just seeing Bakugou have fun throwing himself around, seeing his flushed face and wide grin and blazing dynamite eyes that’s intensity still shot past their slight hazy glaze.

“Is this what it’s like having a kid on sugar rush?” Sero laughed as he clinked open another beer. 

“I feel like I’m the one consuming sugar, look at him,” Kirishima snickered, and Ashido shrugged with a smile.

“He’s all kinds of soft tonight but he’s still so yelly that I wanna tear my ears off.” 

As if to back up the words perfectly, they all winced hearing Bakugou cackle maniacally sat atop of Iida’s shoulders as the latter ran around like absolute lightning.

“I can’t believe we’re so caught up in watching him that it’s all we’re doing.” 

“Exactly! This is so fucking rare, did he drink something spiked?!” 

“Well, we are the one ones who let him drink this much...”

“Hello, everyone,” a sage voice said and they looked up, and Sero grinned as he held his arms out as a novelty. 

“Todoroki!”

Though Sero jolted in surprise when Todoroki dropped onto him, taking the open arms as some kind of hug offer. The others looked at each other, was Todoroki drunk too? 

“Woah, easy!” Ashido yelped when Todoroki stumbled a little, and her and Sero helped push him into one of the empty chairs which he flopped back on for a second, blinking at the ceiling. 

“I believe I’m feeling quite feverish.”

“Oh man, were you spiked?” Kirishima asked in concern, only to flinch because Kaminari was suddenly pummelling into Todoroki who was rather unfazed as Kaminari laid over his lap as stiff as a board. Then he looked up, all askew sunglasses and toothy grins.

“I’M ARNOLD SCHWARZNEGGER!” 

“Denki, no-” 

And just when they were all arguing with each other and trying to save Kaminari from jumping straight into the punch bowl and Todoroki started falling asleep, Kirishima‘s ears picked up on loud stamping footsteps. Then he froze at an even louder, “YOU’RE ALL HERE! FUCK YES!” 

They all paused, before turning around only to see the guy they’d been watching fondly not even a second ago staring at them with even ruddier cheeks and chest heaving, fists clenched for good measure? Not to mention his shirt was soaked through and Kirishima didn’t want him to get a cold. Wait, God, he sounded so weird, wasn’t it usually Bakugou’s job to look after him? Even if it was something like slamming a jacket into his face, it was still something.

“Oh, theeeere’s the guy who’s ditched us all evening,” Ashido said amusedly, but Bakugou frowned at that, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to process. But then he shook his head and grabbed Kirishima’s drink out of nowhere so he could only call out a ‘hey!’ before Bakugou downed it then threw it at the ground so he could crush it under his boot.

Had Kirishima mentioned Bakugou looked honestly incredible in his own right and it was messing with him? He had on a dark (wet...) dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and too many buttons undone, but it was amazingly still tucked into darker trousers that stopped short above the toe of hard strong boots. He looked stellar, and it had Kirishima’s mind too hazy. The only explanation as to why he wanted to be crushed under Bakugou’s boot like that cup.

“Well that shit doesn’t matter! You know why, ‘cause you lot, you never ditch me.”

They all blinked sitting up straighter now as they looked at each other, even Kaminari and Todoroki were a bit more focused.

“Bakugou-” 

“Because you like me!” Bakugou yelped, grabbing another cup from the table to crush in his hands. “And I don’t fucking know WHY BUT I- you do.” 

They were all more than confused, but Bakugou sounded so passionate about this that it was getting to them. Kaminari was already bawling into the trifle. 

Then Bakugou was moving in close and grabbing Todoroki and Sero by the shoulders, leaning in close to look around at all of them before he said with conviction and so much pride, “You guys are my fucking best friends.”

“Holy shit,” Sero breathed as Ashido let out a noise and had to cover her mouth. And Kirishima could tell they all wanted to cry, he could see it in their faces and why wouldn’t they after Bakugou had finally said something like that, so outright, even if he was drunk? So Kirishima hated the heavy feeling inside him. Hated the fact that he couldn’t only be happy and warm because he was thinking about how Bakugou hadn’t looked at him, there.

Maybe it was okay for that to twinge a little, when he’d been hoping, basically believing for the past three years that he was Katsuki’s number one, his best friend. But he didn’t need to make it that deep, did he? Of course these guys were Bakugou’s best friends, they were Kirishima’s too! Still, even though his voice was playfully sad when he said it, he had to call out, “I’m not your best friend?”

The only warning that Kirishima got (and it wasn’t enough) was a look. An intense, narrowed-eye look, and Bakugou was close enough for it to hold ten times the power. And so close that all he needed to do was lean over Sero to smush his lips against Kirishima’s.

“You’re more than that.” 

Kirishima was frozen. Eyes wide, breath stuttering, red filling his skin drastically from his neck up, and his soul ascended when Bakugou smirked, pinching one of Kirishima’s hot pink ears. “Fucking cutie.”

“WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!” Ashido yelled out, jumping onto her feet and Kirishima shook his head wildly as he tried to ignore Bakugou for a moment, about to yell, “I DON’T KNOW!” but then he was squeaking when Bakugou grabbed his face and went for it again, messy and hard and was Bakugou in his lap, was Bakugou in his lap?! 

Kirishima could feel himself get light-headed, mouth bruising already by the loud kiss that had him reaching out for anything that could ground him because he was about to see stars, and all he found was Bakugou’s shirt. A shirt that was still wet, really wet, the guy must have got like twenty drinks all over him.

“Bakugou!” Kirishima managed to gasp out as he pushed the guy away, and Bakugou growled, leaning in again but Kirishima pushed his face away. “You’re gonna get a cold, you gotta - you gotta change.”

“Well you’re the fucking warmest thing ever,” Bakugou argued, pushing closer and Kirishima grimaced as he got up and let Bakugou stumble back onto his feet. “OI-”

“I’m gonna get him changed, it’s late already so I’ll see if we come back, okay?” Kirishima said to the others who were still watching them in utter amazement, nodding slowly, and Kirishima sighed before jumping when two arms wrapped around him, Bakugou’s grinning face right up in his again.

“We gonna go to your room, we gonna, we gonna? We’re bloody gonna!” 

Fuck, he was so cute. “Gah, just to get you warm and more comfortable. Maybe it’s bedtime, too.”

Bakugou frowned, tugging so harshly at Kirishima’s shirt that some of the buttons broke. “I don’t wanna sleep! I’m kissing you or I’m going off dancing.”

“You’re a surprisingly good dancer,” Kirishima laughed, though maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say because Bakugou’s hands dropped to Kirishima’s hips as he murmured lowly, “Dance with me.”

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, Kirishima had to get back to the dorms before Bakugou bewitched him into doing anything he wanted. And heck. Why was he more worried about the fact that Bakugou’s shirt was wet than the fact that Bakugou had kissed him? 

Because Bakugou was drunk.

But he was also going through an entire phase of unabashed honesty right now.

So did Bakugou kiss him because he was drunk and not thinking straight, or because he usually wanted to kiss him sober but something that the alcohol took away had been stopping him? Either way, Kirishima wasn’t able to think straight, especially since Bakugou gave up on struggling and instead started pressing little lithe kisses to the corner of Kirishima’s mouth, up his jaw, and how the heck were they managing to walk like this?

“Bro, please,” Kirishima whispered breathily and Bakugou seemed to take that as ‘please more’ as he tipped Kirishima’s chin up and kissed him so softly this time that now Kirishima was the one who yearned.

Oh God. No, no. He wasn’t going to kiss back, he wasn’t going to lean closer, he couldn’t, and he immediately averted his eyes away from Bakugou’s hurt ones when Kirishima tore him away. 

“We need to get back.”

“Tell me you don’t wanna kiss me then I’ll stop,” Bakugou snarled, and honestly fuck him. Kirishima didn’t even know if he could lie at this point, he didn’t know if he wanted to, he didn’t know if it mattered when Bakugou was this inebriated.

“If you let us get back quick, I’ll tell you,” Kirishima said tiredly, not expecting much out of it. But then Bakugou was grabbing his hand and stumbling forward as fast as he could, and Kirishima blinked before he hurried to follow. Was Bakugou actually listening to him? Seemed he was.

The guy didn’t say another word the entire walk back, even when he tried to kick open the Alliance doors but ended up falling and Kirishima scrambled to catch him. No, it was only when they were together in the quiet elevator that he stepped closer, hands digging into Kirishima’s hips again before he dropped his face onto Kirishima’s shoulder. 

“So warm. Fucking...warm...why isn’t that warmth mine...”

“You’ll have your own warmth once you’re fresher,” Kirishima said kindly, because he was pretty sure that was what Bakugou meant? But the way Bakugou looked up to give him the most fed-up look ever told him, maybe not. But the guy didn’t elaborate, and he let go once they were out the elevator. 

But the instant they were inside Kirishima’s room? Completely different story. He slammed Kirishima against the closed door, except he wildly missed and slammed Kirishima against a shelf instead which had Kirishima gasping in pain and Bakugou’s eyes widened as he looked behind Kirishima then pulled him close instead. 

“Fuck, sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Kirishima laughed, wincing only a little since he had hardenEd before most of the shelf dug into his back. “Don’t go around slamming me anywhere when you can barely walk!”

“Wanna be...assertive...” Bakugou muttered, almost pouting and Kirishima was so fond, flicking Bakugou’s hair out of his eyes gently. 

“You’re plenty plenty assertive.”

Bakugou perked up at that, looking at Kirishima’s lips again and Kirishima froze before clamping a hand over Bakugou’s mouth. “No! Not yet! I mean, no, God- just, let me give you one of my shirts.” 

“Ooooooooh, boyfriend shirt-” 

“STOP!”

Bakugou was sprawled out across the bed while Kirishima rooted through his cupboards for something clean and big. He honestly didn’t think they’d go back to the party at this rate, so just anything would be fine, right? But while he was searching, he heard the sound of something dropping against the floor, then arms wrapping around his waist as Bakugou pressed into his back. “Slowpoke...”

Kirishima didn’t dare look back. He didn’t dare when looking down and seeing Bakugou’s bare manly arms already gave him a foreshadowing taste of what he’d see if he did had him burning red again.

“So d’ya wanna kiss me or not?” Bakugou asked, unfairly carefree while Kirishima was dying. And he grimaced, fists clenching around fabric before he spun himself around, seeing Bakugou’s face light up right before Kirishima shoved a shirt right over the guy’s head. “OI-”

“Put your arms through or so help me,” Kirishima seethed, red as hell but he was also done, and Bakugou stared at him in wonder before he slowly complied, and Kirishima could breathe again.

“Are you mad?”

“No,” Kirishima sighed as Bakugou stepped closer, but all he did was touch his hip gently and run a hand through Kirishima’s hair. It felt safe. “I just don’t know what to do.” 

“I can do everything.” 

“You can’t walk.”

“Power of love,” was all Bakugou said in reply, and Kirishima stared at him before bursting into laughter because heck that was ridiculous, all of this was so ridiculous and it felt too nice seeing Bakugou smile as he pressed against him, and Kirishima didn’t know if he was letting himself or doing it unconsciously when his arms looped around Bakugou’s neck.

“The power of love will let you do everything?

Bakugou pushed Kirishima back against the open closet, eyes dangerous now as he slurred a light, “Probably.”

And Kirishima’s legs knocked back before he could help himself and he was yelling, latching onto Bakugou tighter but he was already being pushed into his cupboard, and before he knew it, Bakugou was draping over him, one knee pressing into the clothes by Kirishima’s thigh as his face stuffed in Kirishima’s neck breathed in his skin that was salty with sweat. 

“Bakugou-”

“Katsuki. My name’s Katsuki, my name’s Katsuki, it’s been three fucking years, call me Katsuki,” Bakugou babbled, nosing Kirishima’s neck deeply and Kirishima’s heart thumped, searching for words as his arms slid over Bakugou’s back and held on stronger. Bakugou seemed happy about that, humming as he pulled back, and leant in. Meanwhile Kirishima was just an idiot who let him get closer than ever, too enraptured to really think.

“Do you like me?” Kirishima asked, because he couldn’t help it. He needed the answer, even if it wasn’t going to be true right now. He just needed words to match Bakugou’s hot fingers searing through his clothes and his strong gaze that had Kirishima melting.

“You’re more than a best friend,” Bakugou said with a click of his teeth, sounding almost disappointed. “I fucking love you, don’t I?”

Kirishima kissed him this time. Because he was awful, because he was a moron, because he was weak, because he loved Bakugou more than he could breathe. And Bakugou’s soft growl sounded so pleased, content as he pressed Kirishima back into his clothes and they both fell sideways into the closet, with Kirishima dizzy while Bakugou attempted to hover over him but he couldn’t help but fall. 

So maybe he did get a confession after all. The way Bakugou looked at him after sealed it, because his hair might be crazy, his face might be flushed, but he was more than beautiful, and Kirishima was drunk off the hazy warm look in his dark eyes. 

“I thought it was just me,” Kirishima murmured, eyes tearing and he hoped Bakugou wouldn’t find that unmanly. But Bakugou was the person who’d tell him that it was fucking human nature to cry, and he felt Bakugou’s thumbs stab at the corners of his eyes but he meant well. 

“Ditto. Idiot.” 

-

Waking up to Bakugou the next morning was one of the best things Kirishima’s ever been able to do.

And he knew, he knew that he was going to have to explain so much, he would have to clamour to get another confession out of Bakugou, this time sober, and only then would he be fully satiated and ready to let himself be in love with the guy who’d had him mesmerised since day one. Well, even if the reason for the mesmerisation had changed.

But still, when he heard Bakugou groan (probably because of his hangover) and saw his eyes blink open sweetly, Kirishima pecked the guy’s lips, gentle. “Morning.”

Bakugou was staring at him with wide eyes now, wider than the moon. “I’m dreaming.”

Oh wow. That was a good start, and Kirishima didn’t know he could blush this hard this early in the morning. “You’d wanna dream about this?”

“I have dreamed about this.”

Kirishima almost choked on air, eyes big and heart stuttering inside him because damn, that was confession enough, wasn’t it?!

Bakugou was watching him curiously, slowly pushing himself up a little before he hovered over Kirishima, their noses touching and Bakugou’s eyes darted all over Kirishima’s face, searching for something.

“I did something last night, didn’t I?”

Kirishima couldn’t stop the grin spreading over his face. “Not a dream anymore?”

“It’s different.”

“You’re too smart.”

“If I did something that finally got you to be mine, then get me drunk again.”

“W-Woah, woah! You’re being so confident, are you even sure that’s what happened?” Kirishima asked in amazement, but Bakugou raised an eyebrow.

“School’s over. Not about to wait a second more, if you’re fucking waking me up with a kiss.”

So cool. Bakugou was the coolest person ever.

“I love you, Katsuki,” Kirishima murmured, and he giggled at the unceremonious nose Bakugou made as he rasped, “Holy shit.”

“Can I still call you that?”

“STILL- is drunk me a fucking Chad?”

“I’ll tell you everything, I swear, I’m just...” Kirishima flopped back, sighing. “So happy, but exhausted. It’s like. Floating on clouds after working all day.”

Bakugou frowned. “What did I do to you?”

“What - no it’s not like that! It was a long day anyway, it was graduation, and the party!”

“Right.”

“You were really sweet, kinda. So don’t worry about it,” Kirishima smiled, and Bakugou’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise, before his eyes looked down at Kirishima’s lips. Kirishima wondered if he was simply staring, or if he was being hesitant, but either way it had Kirishima’s skin tingling.

“Is that something we do now?” Bakugou said so quietly, and Kirishima hoped he knew what ‘that’ meant as he nodded.

“You liked to last night.”

“What the fuck?!” Bakugou yelled before wincing, clutching his head as he rolled off Kirishima with a groan, and Kirishima laughed at him, propping himself up now as he matched Bakugou’s glare with a smile.

“Before I even tell you what happened - would you wanna kiss me again?”

Bakugou’s glare started melting away then. He stared for a second, but he didn’t waste any more time before he pulled Kirishima’s head down, connecting their lips. And that was the final thing, all the affirmation Kirishima needed to know that sober Bakugou liked him too.

“Drunk me better have told you he loves you,” Bakugou muttered, and Kirishima bit his lip, unable to stop his smile.

“Wait a sec, and I’ll let you know.”

Chapter Text

When Kirishima first ever sat in Bakugou’s lap, it went awful. Bakugou had jolted and spilt an entire drink over the guy. But, Kirishima just howled in laughter and leant into him, probably to get Bakugou wet but he just sat there wide-eyed, smoke curling from his twitching palms.

And apparently this new development in their relationship was here to stay. It was the random moments that got Bakugou way too jittery because why wouldn’t you if fucking sunshine just dropped into your lap - but the moments when they were all tired from spar and training and Kirishima would gently slot between Bakugou’s legs and melt into his chest had him feeling warm. It was lazy and cosy and Bakugou could drop his face into Kirishima’s hair, close his eyes, just cool off in the warmest way possible. 

He practically forced himself to get used to it. The lazy moments helped, because during those he always kind of wanted to curl around Kirishima and keep him hidden from the world but he couldn’t do that because that was so weird, but when they were watching TV or talking and Kirishima would come back from the kitchen just to randomly climb onto him? Bakugou was about to bite his own fist off. 

But if Kirishima wanted to do this and for some reason found Bakugou a good seat then there wasn’t really anything he could do. Well sure, he could always shove Kirishima off, but it wasn’t that Bakugou didn’t want him there. Because heck...Bakugou might really want him there...and he didn’t really know why but this way everyone knew who Kirishima belonged to! 

That’s a lie, Bakugou thought as he pressed his face into Kirishima’s back for the millionth time, quietly content. No-one should own Kirishima, he was too beautiful for that. It’s more like who I belong to.

Kirishima turned his head back to grin at him, and Bakugou looked at him through his lashes and narrowed eyes, hiding his expression in the guy’s shirt as he muttered lowly, “What?” 

Kirishima blinked in surprise for a moment, before he burst into laughter. Loud, way too bright laughter - Bakugou needed to invest in some shades. “Nothing! Just looking at ya, blasty boy.” 

Bakugou grumbled into Kirishima’s shoulder, hugging his waist tight out of sheer anger (obviously) and Kirishima snickered as his back pinned against Bakugou’s chest. Bakugou looked at him again only when the guy had turned his head back around, and he bit his lip. He wasn’t trying to be a wistful yearning loser but that tiny space of bare skin where Kirishima’s hair parted a little at his nape was begging to be kissed and Bakugou couldn’t do this anymore. 

So obviously he continued doing it. 

After long days, during spontaneous nights together in their dorms, while playing video games where Kirishima would shuffle into his chest and Bakugou would easily lock him in with his legs while kicking zombie ass, it became so perfectly routine that Bakugou could barely even care about their loser friends teasing them about it. Kirishima reflected them easily with returning taunts and sticking his tongue out anyway but when he once said, “You’re just jealous that I have a Bakugou and you don’t,”, Bakugou was certain he fell right through the floor in love. It was just the way Kirishima said it so coyly, smirking as he smoothly leaned back into Bakugou like he really did own him and Bakugou had never blushed harder in his life. Yet only seconds later Kirishima was laughing like an idiot and Bakugou wondered who the hell Kirishima thought he was.

Whether dumbass, flirty bastard, strong fighter, sleepyhead, he had Bakugou wrapped around his finger no matter what. 

When Kirishima upgraded to sometimes sitting in Bakugou’s lap facing him, Bakugou was officially ready to just ascend. And fuck, okay, he couldn’t do that because he had so much left to prove in his life but with the sun setting through the windows, no-one else in the whole common room, Bakugou in an awful mood because of his thoughts catching up with each other so they were all screaming at him; having Kirishima carefully rest hands on his shoulders and asking, “Hey, man, you good?” was honestly already enough to raise his spirits a little. But when Bakugou only grunted in reply, Kirishima paused, then muttered a determined but still shy, “H-Hold on a minute!”, right before he leant down and slammed his hands down onto Bakugou’s shoulders now. Bakugou looked up at him in confusion, only to freeze when Kirishima swung his legs over Bakugou’s waist. 

“The fuck are you doing?” Bakugou asked, but there was nothing in his tone except for full-blown shock, and his hands were in the air because he didn’t know what the hell to do with them. But Kirishima just smiled at him, grabbing his hands and linking their fingers. 

“I was wondering where you were, bro,” Kirishima began, knocking his forehead against Bakugou’s as the latter grimaced and screwed his eyes shut. “Isn’t today study date day?” 

“I fucking told you I’d be late.” 

“Which you never are, so I worried.” 

Bakugou’s grimace fell short as he sighed, pushing against Kirishima just a little. Then Kirishima was hugging his head with no warning whatsoever but it felt so warm that it couldn’t matter. 

“It’s okay if your brain here is loud sometimes. It happens to the very best of us, and we go through a lot. And man, if you need anyone to yell those thoughts at then I’m here.” Kirishima pulled their linked hands towards his face then kissed Bakugou’s, making the guy’s eyes grow wide. Kirishima smiled down at their hands. “These hands. I love these hands, you know? The source of your Quirk, and they’re rough and tough and brave and when I hold them in mine I feel all of that powerful strength in you and it motivates me like crazy. That’s why I get so surprised that they can be so gentle sometimes too, when you hold me. They’re really- you’re really so cool and God, I’m spiralling, just-”

Kirishima leant down and grabbed Bakugou’s face, their noses touching. “You don’t gotta be silently loud on your own.” 

“Just stay here,” Bakugou said. Shakily, his voice slightly croaky, but Kirishima nodded as he grabbed Bakugou’s hands again and sent them a flurry of kisses before he let them go, surging forward and hugging Bakugou tight. 

“I’m always here,” Kirishima’s muffled voice sounded, and Bakugou fucking knew that. Kirishima was always there because Bakugou was a lucky sod who managed to earn his love (without even doing anything which Bakugou was starting to realise was seriously unfair) and Kirishima didn’t even let Bakugou mess up. If Bakugou wouldn’t tell him something, Kirishima would wheedle it out soon enough. If Bakugou was too cowardly to take his hand, Kirishima would grab his and run with it. If Bakugou was too nervous to rest his hands on Kirishima’s hips, Kirishima would take them and do it himself. 

“You gotta hold me, dude!” Kirishima whined, and Bakugou almost choked, pausing a moment before he managed to say a breathy, “Fine, you fucking brat.” Kirishima hollered in victory as he slammed Bakugou into a hold strong enough to rock the damn couch and Bakugou was seriously, wholly, utterly in love. 

Forget big declarations and cliché confessions. Bakugou knew the ways he wanted to show Kirishima he loved him, and it was through beating him so far into the ground he might as well be part of the soil during spar, holding his hand like every time was the first with wind rushing through their hair and stakes as high as the fucking sun (though now the wind was simple autumn breeze and the stakes were how long Kirishima would let him keep holding on), and soft touches as Kirishima would sit in his lap (so fucking casually now) and talk his ear off. 

Bakugou was listening. Obviously, he always was. Kirishima was going on about food he’d eaten right before he’d gone to the gym, arms wound around Bakugou’s shoulders as his face went through a hundred different expressions in a minute like moulding clay. Bakugou would hum in the right places to make sure he was listening, watching Kirishima with barely veiled adoration as he leant back and let his hands lazily run up and down Kirishima’s thighs. God, such good thighs, having them hug Bakugou’s waist so constantly like this was a fucking dream. He stared with lidded eyes at the small flush sprinkling the bridge of Kirishima’s nose, smiling absent-mindedly. 

“So then Kami was like-“ Kirishima paused to giggle, and Bakugou had no idea why as he squeezed Kirishima’s thighs gently. “He was all ‘dude, you DO smell like what you eat before workin- HA- workin’ out!’ But I-I had garlic so of course he would sme-” 

Kirishima cut off into another bubbling laugh as Bakugou absently squeezed again, this time at Kirishima’s hips and the guy swatted at Bakugou’s hands. “Dude, stop!” 

Bakugou’s hands stilled at the realisation. “Sorry.” He wasn’t really sorry, no-one could blame him. “You’re just really distracting.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kirishima giggled breathlessly, and fuck, Bakugou couldn’t help himself from smoothing hands back down his legs and squeezing perfect thighs again, earning him a yelp.

“You’re fucking beautiful, that’s what I mean. And I ain’t telling you anything else.” 

Kirishima grabbed Bakugou’s face, because he really seemed to like doing that, looking at him so determinedly even with his whole face looking like a tomato. “You’re beautiful.” 

Bakugou raised an eyebrow, yet he felt his heart ready to beat out of his chest, and he knew Kirishima could feel it because Bakugou could feel his. 

Then a cushion was thrown right at them. 

“YOU’RE BOTH UGLY, NOW GET A ROOM!” Kaminari hollered from the adjacent couch, and he had a two second headstart and a Sero to help out before Bakugou went down to soar after him through blazing fire and blast him into outer space. But not before he squeezed Kirishima one more time by pulling him flush against him and pecking his lips. 

“Don’t kill him,” Kirishima sighed even through a chuckle, and Bakugou scoffed. No way was he promising that.

Chapter Text

“It’s our middle birthday.”

Eijirou looked up in amazement at Katsuki who was standing in front of his desk, hands shoved in his pockets as he waited for an answer. “What?”

“Yeah, 18th July, it’s halfway between our actual birthdays.”

“Woah…” Eijirou stared more. “Bro, how do you know that?”

“‘Cause he’s a nerd,” Kaminari called out and ducked away snickering from Katsuki’s glare.

“So…does that mean anything? Should we do something about it?” Eijirou asked in wonder, and Katsuki tilted his head, looking down at him before he grabbed a chair and pulled it over so he could sit on the other side of Eijirou’s desk.

“You tell me.”

“Hey, you were the one who brought this up.”

“Only ‘cause it seemed like it could mean something. I also thought you might like it,” Katsuki muttered, leaning his head a bit closer as embarrassed pink flashed across his nose, and Eijirou bit his lip, barely holding in a massive smile.

“I do like it.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh. It’s cute as hell. But I agree with Kami,” Eijirou teased, huffing out an airy laugh. “It’s a little nerdy.”

Katsuki’s expression instantly soured, mouth opening probably to cuss Eijirou out before he’d stalk off so Eijirou quickly grabbed his hand that was on the desk, thumb running over taut knuckles. “But cute. So cute.”

Katsuki watched him with narrowed eyes that softened with each second that Eijirou held his intense gaze, not backing down because he was telling the truth. He didn't want the guy to feel disheartened. He’d even seemed the tiniest bit excited to tell Eijirou, so now he'd adopt this half birthday or whatever it was into his calendar too and he’d love it to pieces if his best friend did.

“I think this is a thing,” Katsuki said. “Like there might be actual traditions."

“I’ll do anything you say!”

“And-” Eijirou tried not to think about the way Katsuki’s fingers neatly slipped through the gaps between his and held on, curiously gentle for such rough hands, his palm fitting neatly and warmly over Eijirou’s own. “-we can do stuff that you want to, too.”

Eijirou’s eyes lit up. “Video games? Movies? Can we visit the new animal shelter?!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Whatever kinda shit, just don’t expect me to enjoy it.”

“Huh. So this - this is like a complete day for us, right? We do things we like and we be with people we like and-” Eijirou blinked. “Well. I mean, we’ll be together. Not that I don’t like you! I like you a lot! A lot a lot a lot, but not like that, I just mean it’ll just make this super nice-”

“I like you,” Katsuki said, freezing Eijirou in his tracks. “I mean, don't hate you a lot. Like you a little. There's also…” Katsuki waved a lazy hand about as he tried to find the words to explain. “Some kind of exasperated fondness there.”

Eijirou swallowed, laying a light hand on his chest as if it could push down what felt like his heart rising. “So that’s why we're sharing a half birthday?”

“Middle birthday-”

“I like you a lot. Like for real. I’ll say it.”

Katsuki smirked, leaning closer. Eijirou swore he felt their foreheads brush. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I was weird about it! It wasn't manly.”

“Shut up, weirdo, I understood you just fine. And I have something for you.”

Eijirou blinked, warmth and anticipation curling in his chest at the thought of Katsuki getting him a gift. Holy shit, it was like some kind of dream Eijirou had definitely had before, though for some reason he usually kept dreaming about Katsuki buying him roses which definitely didn’t count.

Oh heck. Was he supposed to get Katsuki something? Probably, right? Well the guy shouldn’t mind, Eijirou hadn't known this sudden day existed but he’d definitely get something by the end of the week-

“There,” Katsuki said as he threw a bag onto the table with a thunk. “I got you the middle of like fifty Ferrero Rochers.”

Eijirou stared. And stared. He stared for longer than he’d like to admit. He stared until he heard Katsuki let out the smallest of snorts, then he finally said, “It’s a bag of hazelnuts.”

Katsuki burst into laughter so loud and ridiculous that Eijirou had to look up, eyes growing wide and lump forming in his throat. Wait a second, why would Katsuki laughing make him want to cry? It was so goofy and ugly but beautiful all at once just because the guy himself was so fucking beautiful and letting himself go while letting Eijirou in and- oh, that lump wasn’t tears. Not even a lump. It was a bubble, a bubble of laughter that burst out of Eijirou’s throat before he could stop it, not that he wanted to because the instant he started laughing like a hyena, Katsuki eyed him in surprise for a second but then snickered wildly.

“YOU’RE SO DUMB!”

“OI, YOU’RE THE DUMB ONE, LET ME HAVE A LAUGH SOMETIMES-”

“But you- I-” A fresh wave of laughter hit Eijirou again as his shoulders shook and he rested his head at Katsuki’s collar, laughing wild as Katsuki’s other hand reached for Eijirou’s nape, warm before he crashed their foreheads together hard enough to have them spilling more laughter into the air.

“It wasn’t even that funny. But you just fucking stared at it. For like ten minutes,” Katsuki borderline wept and Eijirou begged him to shut up through giggles, messily raising a hand to slap at Katsuki’s mouth but then Katsuki grabbed the hand and pulled Eijirou in.

It was clunky when their lips met, both their mouths still holding laughter. But it settled Eijirou in an instant, and while he was frozen, Katsuki’s hand cupped his jaw in a way that somehow sent warmth to his soul, and so he leaned into it.

"H-Hold on, hold on," Eijirou rasped out not even a minute later, because all too quickly it had got too much, both of them chasing unending contact with each gaining breath because they were savages, or more because they both wanted it so bad that things were bound to get crazy. The memory was already hazy, but right now, with their noses touching, warm blazing eyes staring into each other’s, breaths mingling like safe reminders that they were doing this with each other and it was all they needed, it was so clear.

Katsuki looked flushed, eyes hooded and waiting on Eijirou who once again, couldn’t stop staring. “Damn.”

Katsuki snorted a little, and Eijirou smiled, hand curling against Katsuki's cheek. It was fucking boiling.

“Not gonna lie, I think I’ll pass out if we kiss again.”

Katsuki smirked, softly, his hand on Eijirou’s jaw getting bolder with its pressure as he looked at him, dark eyes sparking curiosity. "How was it?"

Eijirou blinked. "The kissing?"

"Mhm."

“Fairytale.”

“Gross.”

“You asked for it.”

“Was planning to kiss you today. Was gonna make a shitty joke of ‘you gonna meet me in the middle?' and just kiss you anyway if you didn’t get it. But I got carried away.”

Eijirou's eyes flashed wide, gulping because fuck, Katsuki had planned to kiss him. Katsuki’d been wanting to kiss him, more than just in a hurried moment of passion or whatever that was when they were laughing like the only two people on the planet.

And while he was flustering too much to find words in reply, Katsuki leant back up to fit their mouths together gently but so closely, so Eijirou could drink him in without passing out.

Next time they kissed, after shy shared smiles, after finally getting up to leave the classroom, after flickers of burning embered eye contact as the sunset reflected in their already ruby eyes, Eijirou did meet Katsuki in the middle. Whispering against him, "I wanna play Mario Kart,” and Katsuki shoved him into the nearest bush.

Chapter Text

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Bro, I bet it’s not their fault-”

“They got fucking SUMMER COLDS! Who does that?!” Bakugou yelled, pointing at the three groaning idiots sprawled over the bed or floor of Sero’s dorm room. “AND I BET THEY JUST KEPT CATCHING IT FROM EACH OTHER! ‘CAUSE THEY’RE IDIOTS!”

“Kirishima, please tell Bakugou to shut up,” Ashido whined, clutching her poor head while the other two moaned in agreement. Bakugou growled, hands already sparking but Kirishima swept in front of him, resting a hand on his chest to stop him.

“Kats, they’re sick,” Kirishima reasoned, as Bakugou slowly let his palms fall flat. “No yelling. They need rest right now.”

“We’re so lucky it’s the holidays,” Sero shivered, curling into his bedsheets as Kaminari let out a loud sneeze that fizzled electricity through the air. “Let’s just die for a little while...”

“Eijirou,” Bakugou seethed, his commanding tone on and Kirishima stood at attention.

“Yes, sir!”

“Moron. Go to the store, I’ll text you a list of what to get and I’ll get a futon to drag in here.” 

Kirishima nodded curtly, and in near to no time the two were clearing out and leaving the others alone. They all stared miserably at the ceiling for a moment, before Kaminari and Ashido whined and clambered onto the bed so they could all climb on each other and Sero accepted them with wide arms.

“I can’t feel my nose,” Kaminari sobbed while Ashido cried, “I can feel my nose too much,” and Sero sighed, nodding empathetically as he patted their heads.

“Tissues are by my head.”

The two ravaged at them, and blowing noses was the only sound that filled the room for a good few minutes. Then there were pained groans, and they all flopped back on the bed again.

“Are Kirishima and Bakugou seriously gonna be like...our maids?” Kaminari asked in amazed horror and Ashido shrugged.

“Kiri’s got the spirit but I don’t know how good of a nurse he’d be...”

“And Bakugou’s straight-up terrifying, I don’t want him anywhere near me when I’m this vulnerable!”

They all shivered at the thought of Bakugou shoving medicine down their throats and threatening them with a machete to go to sleep.

“Let’s run away before they come back,” Ashido hissed, and the others all nodded.

No-one moved.

“Ugh, let them do whatever, it can’t be too bad to have anyone looking after us,” Sero said eventually, and Ashido and Kaminari let out twin sneezes that racked the bed, which might have meant they agreed.

Sero painfully sat up to turn on the fan, and they all laid down strewn over each other, stomachs rumbling and bodies aching as they all muttered stuff about ‘going downstairs to fetch food’, ‘get more blankets’, ‘turn some music on I’m so bored’ but no-one wanted to budge a single inch. Kaminari said something about calling Jirou - ‘she’d be such a perfect maid pleeeeeeease’ - but voting called for they shouldn’t rope another person into it.

Then it wasn’t long until their unruly saviours arrived. Kirishima burst in first with bags hanging on his arms as he yelled frantically, “I’M HERE!” before quickly apologising when the others whined in complaint.

“I got you all food and Vicks and some other stuff that I don’t understand but Bakugou knows-”

“You lot owe me for FINDING and carrying this heavy bastard,” a voice growled from behind, and Kirishima paused as he looked back, and Bakugou stared at him too.

“Bro!” Kirishima gasped, holding his arms out. “We arrived at the same time! That’s so soulmatey!”

“Oh shut up,” Bakugou scoffed, pushing past him to unfold the futon. “So who’s gonna sleep here. I’m not gonna let three of you sleep in one bed.”

“Oh so we’re really using this as a quarantine room?” Kaminari asked in wonder, and Sero shrugged.

“I don’t mind, it’d be nice to have you lot share my pain 24/7. And I’ll share with Kami.”

“Hell yeah, futon!” Ashido cheered, looking like she wanted to jump on it before thinking better, so she just slowly rolled off the bed and flopped into it. “Comfyyyyyy.”

“Glad you fucking think so, means it was worth it. Had to heckle President Roadrunner for it, he only got kinda weak to it when I told him you lot were sick.”

“Iida looooves us.”

“He definitely does,” Kirishima agreed as he sat on the edge of Sero’s bed and patted Sero’s arm, gently pushing the guy’s hair back to rest a hand on his forehead. Sero looked up at him, kind of awed by how focused Kirishima looked. “Oh man, you really are burning up. Let me get you guys cloths for your heads.”

“Is there food?” Kaminari asked weakly, and Kirishima smiled, clicking his fingers.

“Yeah, I got you! Got all kindsa soup and easy stuff to eat.”

“I’ll go heat some,” Bakugou muttered, rooting through the bags and Kirishima called out a, “Thanks!” right before he left the room. Then  Kirishima got up, took one look at them, and went for Sero’s cupboards. It wasn’t long before they were cloaked with more blankets, and the fan was turned off.

“You guys need to stay warm, okay?”

Though they wanted to complain that they were already boiling, no-one really had the heart to.

“Bakugou got a cold a few months ago, actually.”

“Bakugou’s been sick before?!” Kaminari yelped in astonishment, and Kirishima snickered.

“I know, right? He was adamant on not letting anyone know. He basically forced me to look after him in the best way possible so his recovery would be quick - honestly don’t know how he’s still so bossy when he’s ill - but I’m glad I did. His sneezes are cute,” Kirishima laughed fondly, disappearing into the bathroom for a second. The others all looked at each other in slight horror. They’d heard Bakugou sneeze before, and he sounded like a goddamn mountain lion.

“What was it like?” Ashido asked curiously, and Kirishima hummed over running water.

“Heckin’ stressful. He asked for things every other minute. But I got to see him all coddled and smiling at cartoons which was epic.”

“I wanna watch cartoons,” Kaminari pouted, and Kirishima called out like he was almost offended, “Oh don’t you worry, man, that’s a given!”

“Did Bakugou do all the groany-moany stuff?”

“Oh hell yeah. He’s an avid complainer, but give him some touch and he’s fine.”

“Touch?” the other three asked in confusion, before slapping jinxes at each other and Kirishima came back to rest warm wet towels on their foreheads.

“I’ll let you in on a secret,” Kirishima said, winking at Kaminari who hugged his arm. “Bakugou really likes touchy stuff. I’m not joking. Fiddling with his hair, holding hands, a hug, he likes it. He just doesn’t usually let himself like it.”

“Oh, we know that,” Sero snorted, and now Kirishima was the surprised one. “Blasty’s an open book, we know he’s touch-starved. Are you telling me he lets you do all that stuff, though?”

Kirishima’s ears flashed red as he turned away slightly and Ashido grumbled, “I call favouritism.”

“W-Well, he’s more open to it when he’s sick, I mean! Like being...petted...”

“Are you saying that the answer to the age-old question ‘is Bakugou Katsuki a cat?’ is officially yes?” Sero asked in his best journalist voice, grabbing a water bottle from the nightstand to hold up as a microphone, and Kirishima’s eyes widened at that before he burst into laughter.

“Holy heck, he’s such a cat!”

As if on cue, the door was thrown open and Bakugou stood there with two bowls of soup in his hands and one balanced on his head. “I’m fucking here.”

“Did he say meow or have I gone mad,” Kaminari whispered so seriously that everyone gave him a look, and Bakugou kicked the door closed.

“Eat up, morons.”

Sero the self-sufficient wonder assured them that he could eat by himself, but the other two were way more shameless and simply rolled about groaning that they couldn’t get up.

“Fucking brats,” Bakugou snorted, not actually sounding that angry as he took Ashido, and Kirishima took Kaminari. “Say ‘ah’, Pinky.”

“I’ll have you know I totally don’t believe this is really happening,” Ashido said happily as she opened her mouth, and Bakugou was careful, spooning small bites and gently pouring them into her mouth.

“Kaminari, stop spilling it!” Kirishima protested, and Bakugou snickered, “Your loss, Pinky’s being good.”

Ashido beamed around the spoon at the praise, but Kirishima gasped loud and hugged Kaminari’s head to his chest.

“Don’t insult him, he’s trying!”

“I’m trying!” Kaminari echoed in a too smug tone, and Bakugou rolled his eyes as he spoon-fed Pinky some more.

“Don’t coddle him.”

“You were playing favourites first!”

“Fuck off, no I wasn’t.”

“You better not have been, man! It’s what breaks up a family!”

Bakugou spluttered. “What fucking family? And Soy Sauce ain’t getting any attention, is he?”

“I really don’t need any,” Sero said weakly, trying to shuffle back but he had to surrender when Kirishima was already pouncing at him in a hug wailing, “I’M SORRY, DUDE!”

“Wow. I feel like this is the part where you say to me ‘your father’s an idiot, kid’,” Ashido giggled when Bakugou turned back to her ready to give more spoonfuls, and Bakugou miraculously smirked.

“You lot as our kids sounds like a fucking nightmare.”

“Nahhhhh, you’d love it. I’d get you a #1 Dad mug and you’d parade it around everywhere.”

“Yeah because it’d be the damn truth.”

Ashido laughed in surprise at the fact that Bakugou was going along with it, and Bakugou adjusted her cloth and told her to open her mouth again. She grinned, saying a high-pitched, “Thanks, Dad!” before screeching when Bakugou tipped the spoonful right down her shirt.

“So...less like maids and more like parents?” Sero questioned when they were huddled watching cartoons on Kirishima’s laptop, because the guy had panicked when Kaminari said he was bored and basically brought up his entire room.

“Aren’t they playing cards right now? What parents play cards,” Kaminari snorted dismissively, and they all looked at Bakugou and Kirishima who were at Sero’s desk, Kirishima frowning at his set while Bakugou leaned back with a smirk.

“You look like you’re boutta rage quit like a baby.”

“No way, I’m a good sport!” Kirishima whined, slamming down a card and Bakugou peeked at it before bursting into laughter. The others stared at them wide-eyed.

“You can’t even use that-”

“I KNOW!”

Kirishima’s head descended onto the desk forlornly as he muttered grumbles and Bakugou sniggered, hitching up a leg to kick Kirishima’s side gently. “Come on, you big baby, hurry up so we can declare me winner already.”

“Stop calling me a baby!”

“I thought you liked that.”

Kirishima flared bright red before grabbing Bakugou by the hands and pushing him back in the chair, making Bakugou yell through cackles as it was almost knocked over. “CONTEXT, DUDE, OH MY GOD-”

“Bakugou did not just flirt,” Sero said in subdued terror as they all numbly turned their heads back to the laptop screen.

“No way. We just have dirty minds. That innocent horrifying gremlin would never,” Kaminari said in a wobbly tone.

“Let’s forget this ever happened,” Ashido croaked, and they all silently fist-bumped a truce.

They couldn’t forget, though. Not when Bakugou and Kirishima had seamless teamwork whenever things like tissues ran out and they’d throw boxes at each other and bags to empty only to grin at each other all warmly after. Not when they realised that Bakugou and Kirishima held hands at literally every opportunity, grabbing each other’s fingers when they pulled each other up from chairs and then conveniently forgetting to let go. Not when they had to hear them call each other their ‘Ei’ and ‘Kats’ nicknames 24/7, and that just sparked the conversation, “When did they even start going by given names?”

“The start of second year maybe?” Sero thought back, and Ashido nodded.

“Yeah, I think so. I wanna know how it happened, though. I’m envisioning something super cute!”

“I honestly bet Kirishima just said it by accident and Bakugou went ‘okay’.”

“That’s so boring! I want fire, I want excitement, I want plot!”

“Even with colds, you lot are the loudest, huh,” a warm voice teased, and the others all turned their heads to see Kirishima going towards them and leaning down to tuck their bedsheets in more.

“U-Uh, we weren’t-”

“It was when we were mountain-climbing. We were at the top, sitting down and watching just the beginning of the sunset and he said my full name, all manly and spiritual-sounding like ‘We’ll climb better mountains than this, Kirishima Eijirou’. And I just. I liked him saying it, so I told him as much. Next thing I knew he was telling me to say his and he simply kept going with Eijirou after that. So I followed suit.’

“It was super cute, I told you!” Ashido jabbed at the others and Kaminari stuck his tongue out at her while Sero asked, “You guys usually have fairytale moments like that?”

Kirishima laughed out the word “Fairytale”, tucking hair behind his ear as he smiled at his hands. “No clue. But maybe. I’ve got good memories with him.”

“Ugh, you guys are GROSS. The grossest friends, EVER. I’M JELLY ‘CAUSE I’LL NEVER HAVE THAT! But MOSTLY GROSSED OUT!” Kaminari complained, crossing his arms like he was actually angry and Kirishima frowned, brushing Kaminari’s hair back.

But Sero said between coughs, “Am I chopped liver?”

“You don’t love me like they love each other!” Kaminari pouted even though he flopped over to smother Sero with a hug. “Have you seen them?”

“I love you guys too, though. I swear!” Kirishima whined, and Ashido jabbed a weak finger at him.

“Then prove it!”

Kirishima seemed stumped at that, and he looked so upset about it that the others almost caved and told him it was okay, but in the next moment he was flopping onto the bed to join the cuddle pile. The room filled with all kinds of gasps, but Kirishima yelled a hearty “I DON’T CARE IF I GET SICK” and instantly everyone rolled into his open arms and hugged him tight. Kirishima nodded firmly, satisfied as he patted Kaminari and Ashido’s heads.

“You do love us,” Kaminari hummed happily, and he truly felt five years old again when Kirishima kissed his forehead.

“Ei, got us some dinner,” a voice called from outside the door and Kirishima tapped Kaminari’s nose.

“I’ve gotta go eat, bros,” he said, but not before smacking kisses onto the others’ foreheads.

“He’s my new dad. I’ll get the adoption papers,” Kaminari said dreamily as Kirishima left to open the door, and Sero snickered while Ashido crawled on top of them, and they all flattened into the bed as they lazily watched more cartoons before they fell asleep.

“Shouldn’t we stay?” Kirishima asked worriedly once it hit nine, and Bakugou was lifting up Ashido to lay her on the futon. “What if something happens to any of them during the night?”

“Half n’ Half’ll hear through the thin as fuck walls, I’ve told him to call me.”

“But-”

“After today we deserve better than sleeping in chairs or on the floor, these brats got me beat.”

Kirishima looked at him in surprise and Bakugou held up a box of tissues ready to whack him with. “Not that kinda beat. Never that kinda beat.” 

“You sure about this?”

“I’m sure.”

“But I wouldn’t mind-”

“I fucking mind! Having to be with you all day while barely even being able to lay my hands on you,” Bakugou grumbled, grabbing Kirishima’s hips and pulling him flush against him. “Was a tragedy.”

“A tragedy?” Kirishima repeated in wide-eyed amusement, though he threaded a hand through Bakugou’s hair and kissed his cheek. “Man, you’re so cute.”

“Let’s get outta here already.”

The night was good for the most part. Ashido fell off the futon but it didn’t wake her up as she snored into the floor, and Kaminari rolled over to cuddle into Sero later on. Though his arms wound tighter and tighter as the minutes ticked by, head burying into Sero’s chest as his cold had him sniffling too, and Sero eventually groggily woke up when he heard fizzing, and Kaminari was holding onto him so tight that it hurt. “K-Kami, what- are you o- OW!”

Sero groaned as his head throbbed at his yell, then he was hissing as he got out of Kaminari’s hold and held up his arm. Kaminari had just electrocuted him.

He rubbed his eyes and turned to see Kaminari curled into himself, shivering as electricity sparked from his body, spilling over and magnetising the bedsheets so Sero had to quickly roll off, and he winced as he landed flat on the floor.

“I can’t do this,” Kaminari choked out, sounding like he was sobbing. “I’m not a hero...I’m not that good...why do you need me...”

Sero’s eyes widened as he slowly got back up. “Kami...”

He tried to get close again, but the electricity was spilling even further. Sero frowned, closing his eyes and clutching his head, practically willing all the flem to get the fuck out so he could think clearly enough to help his best friend. But before he got too far with something that wouldn’t even work, the door was suddenly struck clean through the middle before it was knocked down, a low voice growling, “What the fuck happened,” while another louder one yelled, “WE’RE HERE, WE’LL SAVE, WE’LL PROTECT, WE’LL HUG!”

Sero could only get out a weak, “Kami,” before Kirishima was rushing over, hardening before he took Kaminari in his arms, shaking him gently. “Buddy, you awake?”

“I’m too scared. I can’t!” Kaminari wailed, hands digging into Kirishima’s rock arms and finding no purchase, but Kirishima held him tighter. Bakugou eyed Sero before scooping Ashido up again, rolling her back onto the futon as the girl slowly woke up, rubbing her eyes.

“W-What’s going on?”

“I think Kaminari’s having a nightmare,” Kirishima said as he patted Kaminari’s back, muttering soothing things and the electricity had come to a stop but Kaminari was still shaking, eyes not yet open.

“Failed...failed everyone...why was it me...I wasn’t what they needed...”

“He’s dreaming about a fight?” Bakugou asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer, simply raising a finger to his lips at Ashido who nodded before he straightened up. “Eijirou, go get water and those crisps Pikachu likes.”

Kirishima looked distressed at the thought of leaving. “But-”

“Go.”

Kirishima sighed but agreed, carefully resting Kaminari‘s back on the headboard before he made to walk out, and Bakugou squeezed his hand on the way like a silent ‘I got this’. Then Bakugou was moving forwards with bold steps and slotting right into the space that Kirishima had been, before he wrapped an arm around Kaminari’s shoulders and pushed his head into his chest. Kaminari went still.

“I’m gonna tell you something,” Bakugou said, as Sero and Ashido both stared at him in wonder. “I get nightmares. About quite a few things.”

Kaminari started shaking again, hands curling into Bakugou’s shirt and Bakugou’s hand rubbed his back, slowly. “About...the slime monster. About when I got kidnapped. And more general stuff too, like about not making it as a hero, about ruining things. About who I used to be. And I’m fucking awesome, so having nightmares doesn’t knock you down any pegs, okay?”

The others smiled at that, as Kaminari sniffed.

“You’re allowed to be scared about things, it’s normal, it’s human, blah blah blah- you know all that. But what’s with this fucking dream, Sparky? Don’t let your dumb braincells make up some kind of scenario where you failed, don’t settle for that. Insecurity is some fucking Grade-A hard shit to get over, I know. But you just almost electrocuted the fuck out of us, you know?” Bakugou grabbed Kaminari’s shoulder and pushed him back, so they could lock eyes. “You’re fucking strong. You’re gonna be a hero. And that Quirk’s gonna be in a hall of fame.”

“They trusted me,” Kaminari began almost hysterically, still talking about the dream but Bakugou shushed him.

“They put their trust in a good place. Show it to ‘em.”

“I want to...”

“You will.”

“I will.”

“Louder.”

“I-”

“LOUDER!” Bakugou yelled, shaking the entire damn floor but it worked as Kaminari clenched his fists and bellowed, “I WILL!”

“Don’t yell, moron, you have a cold,” Bakugou said proudly, and Kaminari whined as he clutched his head.

“I have no idea what I just saw but Bakugou, I love you,” Ashido muttered in awe as she tried to climb onto the bed, before falling right back when Bakugou threw a box of tissues at her face. “STOP DOING THAT!”

“BACK AGAIN!” another voice cheered as the door was slammed open and everyone collectively groaned. “Oops, sorry. I got every single snack I could. Emergency measures.”

“The idiot’s fine,” Bakugou said as Kirishima sat down on Sero’s bed and let his bounty spill over it. Kirishima ignored the guy and pulled Kaminari into a bone-crushing hug, asking him if he wanted anything and Bakugou swatted at his back pettily.

“You’re pretty cool. Seriously. That’s not allowed,” Sero said in thought as he sat down next to Bakugou who glared at him, snatching up the snack Sero had been reaching for. “And how’d you know to come here?”

“Half called me. He heard a yell and some ruckus.” Right, it was probably Sero’s when Kaminari electrocuted him.

“That’s cool. And...I’m sorry, man, about your nightmares. Don’t kill me but I’d totally hug you through them, too.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, but then Sero piped up, “Unless you’ve already got someone who does that.”

Bakugou froze immediately. Then slowly he turned his head to face Sero, with a threat probably on the tip of his tongue but Sero just asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Bakugou’s eyes narrowed. “Tell you what.”

“That you two are together. I was awake while you did all the gross cutesy stuff before you left. And it’s been all kinds of obvious today, I feel almost dumb for not noticing at all earlier.”

“If you’re homophobic, you’re getting beat into the ground,” Bakugou snarled after a moment of silence, and Sero‘s eyebrows rose.

“That’s why? No WAY, dude. None of us are against it. And this won’t change a thing, if that’s been a worry, ‘cause I for one am happy as hell for you.”

“Kat, I think they’re good now. Got them hooked on Funyuns,” Kirishima spoke up as he grabbed Bakugou’s hand before smiling at Sero, all sunshine and teeth. Sero saw the soft note in Bakugou’s eyes while he watched the guy. “Hey, dude.”

Sero wiggled his eyebrows at Bakugou as if to say ‘THIS guy, eh?’ who blushed so hard that it was an incredible sight before he smiled back at Kirishima. “Hey.”

Kirishima tucked them all in again when they’d wound down a little after a sugar-induced crying fest which was luckily less painful, and more like melodrama about stubbed pinky toes and bad makeup brands.

“Sero, you’re kicked to the futon, I’m gonna hug this baby,” Ashido confirmed for herself as she patted Kaminari who was clinging to her like a koala while almost passed out again, and Sero just waved a sleepy hand and didn’t even bring up the fact that it was his own bed.

“What are you doing, you creep?” Bakugou deadpanned when him and Kirishima were about to leave an hour later, when they were sure it was safe and everyone was asleep. But Kirishima was staying by the just cracked open door, looking at all of them.

“I’m not being creepy, man! I just- I don’t know. Just worried, still? Also they’re sweet,” Kirishima said with a soft smile, and Bakugou’s arms looped around the guy’s waist loosely from behind.

“You’re so weird. And it’s three am, for fuck’s sake.”

“How did you calm down Kaminari?”

“None of your business.”

“Wha- hey! I wanna know! Then I can help next time, and I’m also really really happy that you helped.”

“Hm.” Bakugou dropped his chin onto Kirishima’s shoulder and muttered, “Me too.”

“What?”

“Let’s go.”

“But look at them...”

“Just adopt a kid if this is the kinda shit you wanna pull.”

“Oh dude, is that you giving your blessing? Because one day,” Kirishima grinned as he pulled Bakugou’s arms tighter around him, leaning into the guy and Bakugou flushed a little, “I’ll do just that and we’ll have the best kid ever.”

“Shit, don’t talk about that now,” Bakugou mumbled into Kirishima’s neck, and Kirishima tilted his head to rest against his.

“You don’t want it?”

“I...fucking want it. But when you talk about wanting me for that long, all the way until then, I just...” Bakugou descended into unintelligible flustered grumbles as he hugged Kirishima tighter, and the latter burst into laughter that he had to cover his mouth for.

“So cute.”

“I’ll kill you.”

“Kiss me? Heck yeah, dude!”

“If we go now, I’ll kiss you to sleep.”

“WHAT?!”

“Said kill.”

“Katsuki-”

“Let’s go fucking sleep-”

The words died in Bakugou’s throat when Kirishima reached back to take hold of Bakugou’s jaw and kiss him. It had Bakugou relaxing in an instant, pushing against Kirishima who turned around for good and rested a hand on Bakugou’s hip.

“Yeah, we’re not staying,” Bakugou said breathlessly as he kicked the door closed and cut off Kirishima’s laugh with another bruising kiss.

There was silence in Sero’s room for all but a second before Kaminari said a teary, “How did we not know,” then Ashido cried, “HOW DID WE NOT FUCKING KNOW”, and Sero’s laughter rang through the dorm as Kaminari whimpered that they were way too loud to ever get sick and stay sane.

Chapter Text

Kirishima and Bakugou are sitting by the school field under a tree eating lunch, and the atmosphere is all warm and quietly content until they catch eyes. Kirishima winks and blows a kiss, and Bakugou...catches it. Kirishima drops his chopsticks, meanwhile Bakugou stares at his own closed fist in the air like it’s the first time he’s ever seen it.

"DUDE! You humoured me, man, I love you!”  Kirishima gasps as he throws his arms around Bakugou who flushes a little, nodding.

“Humoured you...yeah, that’s it...”

“You know there’s a saying that someone who catches your kiss on their first try will be able to look after your heart safely?” Kirishima laughs, leaning back against the tree. “I think it‘s the cutest thing ever.”

Bakugou thinks about that for a while, eyebrows furrowing. "So I've got your heart?"

Kirishima turns bright red so fast, eyes growing wide. “BRO. Are you okay? Do you have a fever? YOU CAN GET SICK?!”

“Get the fuck off me ‘n answer the question!” Bakugou yells, batting Kirishima’s hand away from his forehead. “You were the one who brought it up, you idiot!”

“It‘s just a saying!”

“Oh yeah? And d’you believe in it or what?”

“Why do you care so much?!”

“Why are you yelling?!”

“YOU'RE YELLING!”

“Kirishima. For the fucking principle, I want an answer. You weirdo.”

Kirishima sighs, huffing. "Well, it's...romantic." 

"Romantic." 

"And I used to really believe it way more when I was a kid," Kirishima continues quickly as Bakugou eyes him. “I’d blow kisses at everyone I’d see to see who I’d trust with my heart! A lot of people thought I was weird...”

Bakugou finally smiles a bit at that, behind his hand. “So did anyone ever catch it?”

“Nah, most people were so confused. Oh- but yeah! Of course some people did!”

Bakugou’s sure his expression sours a little to match his feelings as he quickly looks away. “Who?”

“Well...I say ‘people’ liberally,” Kirishima teases, elbowing Bakugou who scrunches up his face.

“The hell d’you mean?”

Kirishima slams a hand onto his chest. “There are only three beings on this earth that I trust with my heart, and that’s my bffie-”

“Who?”

“You! And Tomo who was my best friend from middle school, and a cat who swept in front of a guy I sent one to to curl their paw around it. I was super amazed, I even clapped.”

“So your heart’s safe in the hands of me, a greasy bastard, and a ball of fur?” Bakugou asks with narrowed eyes, and Kirishima splutters. 

“Don’t call Tomo a bastard, he’s awesome! I miss him a lot.”

“Fuck him, I’m a better replacement.”

“Wha- you replaced no-one, dude. You’ve got a new space in my heart that, honestly, I would give you for safe-keeping.”

Bakugou stares. “For real?”

Kirishima nods, and Bakugou sits there, thinking. Well, now he's feeling all kinds of warm and guilty for yelling at Kirishima. He doesn't know how to remedy things - not that Kirishima is probably even mad at him but Bakugou has some kind of annoying strict moral code when it comes to this guy - and for some reason the first thing that pops into his head is, to try to blow a kiss back. 

And he’s so fucking mortified that he’s about to explode himself off into the sky, but then Kirishima rests a hand on his arm and smiles at him, glowing with amused, fond pride. “That’s not how you do it. You should do it using your hand too! And puff your cheeks! Make it comical and cute!”

“I didn’t do it to be fucking cute,” Bakugou growls, and Kirishima blinks.

“Then why’d you do it? I thought you were trying to make me feel better,” Kirishima snickers, and Bakugou would yell if Kirishima’s arm didn’t go around his shoulders. “Can I keep your heart safe too?”

Bakugou frowns, and looks away. “Why would I give that shit away? That’s dumb.”

Kirishima hums. “Maybe. But trust is nice, right? And it’s just me. I’d trust you with my life, and with my heart.”

Bakugou frowns. “This is a trust thing? Not a love thing.”

Kirishima’s eyes are the size of the sun when he understands what Bakugou's getting at, and he quickly flaps his arms about as he desperately clarifies, “N-No, dude, I totally love you!”

“Not what I meant. Ugh, just fuck off, I’m still eating,” Bakugou sighs disappointedly, grabbing his bento again. But he blinks, and turns his head when he feels Kirishima's presence getting closer - just to have Kirishima’s nose crushing against his.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Bakugou yells as his brain shuts down at the fact that Kirishima’s so close, his eyes wide in panic but fuck are they pretty...

“W-What are you doing?!” Kirishima squawks back, seemingly frozen to the spot so they’re just sitting there, staring each other down with noses smushed and lunches squished between their chests.

“You did whatever this was first!”

“I just wanted to kiss you-r cheek!”

That’s it. Bakugou’s brain is officially going through a meltdown, none of his receptors are working.

“Friends do that!” Oh God, Kirishima’s still going. “Yeah! Totally! I’ve kissed Tomo.”

“On the cheek,” Bakugou carefully clarifies, and Kirishima takes time to think. Why does he have to think?!

“I had to kiss his feet for a dare once. But yes on the cheek! Where else?!”

“On the lips, you moron!”

Kirishima gasps like he’s been stabbed. “I’VE NEVER KISSED ANYONE! WHY WOULD I KISS ANYONE?!”

Bakugou can’t believe what he’s hearing. “PEOPLE KISS. IDIOT.”

"Ooooh. Have you kissed before?"

Bakugou looks uncomfortable now, and Kirishima starts to wish he never asked. “You don’t need to tell me, dude-”

“No way," Bakugou grits out eventually. "It sounds literally gross. I bet it has worse hygiene than a toilet does.”

“...wow. You’re really good at killing moods.”

“What mood?”

Kirishima stills.

“Uhhhh...I didn’t mean mood! I-I meant...just killing the novelty of kisses! Because they’re supposed to be so lovely and sweet and fairytale, dude, and there’s this one guy I wanna kiss who’d sweep me off my feet because he’s so cool and manly-”

“So you do wanna kiss someone, you liar,” Bakugou muttered, heart dropping like a fucking stone. He hates this topic. Why did he ever start this conversation. Kirishima flares red immediately, not that Bakugou can bring himself to care, but then his eyebrows furrow.

“Hey, dude...why do you sound so sad?”

Bakugou turns his head but Kirishima’s hand on his jaw brings it back, and then two hands are squishing his cheeks, and Kirishima’s face is right up in his, all warm and bright and encouraging. God, he's so horribly unfair, and Bakugou hates loving him. “I bet you’ll get to kiss one day. And it’ll be lovely and sweet and fairytale.”

“I just said I don’t want to kiss.”

“I don’t believe you but it’s okay, I won’t call you out for being a liar,” Kirishima huffs, and Bakugou wants to smile. "Here’s something you’ll like to hear: you’re best at everything so your kisses will be the best kisses!”

Words come out of Bakugou's mouth before he can stop himself. "So see for yourself." 

And he doesn't even have time to feel mortified, because he's too busy wondering why Kirishima's smile is suddenly so bittersweet. He makes to move back but Bakugou grabs his wrists before he can, a shadow casting over his face.

“Don’t play with me like that, man,” Kirishima says softly. “Sorry if it was a joke. I just...can’t.”

“If you wanna kiss your bastard crush so bad then fucking do it. I just shot my shot 'n they said a blatant no so now you’ve got no excuse,” Bakugou seethed through gritted teeth, ready to throw Kirishima off him and stalk off to fucking...cry or whatever. But Kirishima holds on.

“You shot your shot? Where? Who?” Kirishima asks in amazement, and Bakugou wants to groan. He actually managed to forget that his best friend is a bloody dumbass.

“Just now.”

“Just now? During class?! Ooooh, you delinquent heartsnatcher you-”

“Oh, don’t talk about fucking heart-snatching. You go on about me keeping your heart safe and hold my face and be sweet as fuck and blink at me with those big god-awful doe eyes and expect me to NOT want to kiss you into the ground.” Bakugou sighs, heart heavy as he mutters, “I’d...I’d sweep you off your feet too. You think I’m cool and manly too, or you say you do. I’d be better than- than whoever you decided to pick. I bet they’re lame. And that they have shittier hair than you.”

“It’s pretty similar, actually,” Kirishima breathes.

Bakugou rolls his eyes, uncaring. He doesn't want to know anything about the loser Kirishima likes. “Of fucking course.”

But he stills when hands grip his face tighter, before they pause, then decide on gentler as one of Kirishima’s hands slide down his jaw and tangle in the hair just above his nape.

“You are the manly cool guy who’d sweep me off my feet,” Kirishima says, voice wavering. “And if I don’t wanna kiss you then I’m an idiot, and please don’t tell me the moment’s passed because I’ll actually cry and you don’t want that, bro, I cry UGLY-”

“You’re never ugly, shut up,” Bakugou says like he’s offended, watching Kirishima’s flush spread to his neck. He’s all red now and it suits him so well, God, he's the fucking embodiment of red. One day Bakugou'll get lipstick, and kiss red into him too. “And I’d kiss you any day. But neither of us know how to do it.”

"Let's just go for it! No nose-crushing this time,” Kirishima laughs, and Bakugou stares wide-eyed.

“You were trying to kiss me then?”

“M-Maybe...?”

Kirishima moves their food then shifts closer, between Bakugou’s legs as their chests press together. Jesus Christ, Bakugou's heart is in his throat. Kirishima's so close again, so sweet and beautiful while his fingers tap Bakugou’s cheeks gently before he murmurs, “I’m sorry I failed.”

“Fuck...don’t be,” Bakugou breathes out, starstruck as he rests a hand on Kirishima’s side. “We’re doing it now, I couldn’t care less.”

Kirishima’s eyes sparkle at him, and then they’re both grabbing each other, finally going for it. And holy shit is it a mistake. Their mouths were open awkwardly and their teeth clunk in an instant, Kirishima’s incisor digging into Bakugou’s bottom lip which makes him hiss.

“Ah- Bakugou!” Kirishima yelps, mortified, but Bakugou shakes his head in awe.

“God, your teeth are fucking cool,” Bakugou groans in blind praise, swiping his tongue over the blood on his lip before leaning in to press a kiss onto Kirishima’s parted lips.“One day I’m licking every single one, you can’t stop me.”

“Th-That’s weird! And so nice!” Kirishima cries, sounding way too happy as he presses a kiss to the cut he made, and Bakugou inwardly sighs, pecking Kirishima again the instant he moves away. “But it wasn’t lovely and- fairytale and-”

“Forget that shit. You know I’d want my kisses to be a challenge so don’t make it easy for me.”

Kirishima looks like he's at a loss for words, his blush so heavy that maybe it's overtaking his mind too. And then he grabs Bakugou, and kisses him so hard that he feels bruising already. And to hell if it doesn't make Bakugou fall even fucking more. He lets himself smile big against those soft lips that are finally his, so carefree and wild and warm, pulling Kirishima close and meeting him head-on. Their foreheads knock together, and Bakugou whispers a muted, "Keep my heart safe too." 

“Do I have it?" Kirishima gasps in amazement. "Do I really have it?!” 

Bakugou very deliberately raises a hand, and blows the most exaggerated kiss ever that has Kirishima trying so hard not to laugh himself into the ground before he catches it. Then, Bakugou watches the guy kisses his own palm.

“If the receiver does that, that means you’ll be together forever,” Kirishima explains, a massive smile breaking out on his face when Bakugou’s blush finally deepens. “You’re mine! Forever!”

“If you want that then just ask, you idiot,” Bakugou mutters, trying to hide his face and Kirishima slaps his thigh.

“That’s it! We’re getting married this Sunday!”

“Kirishima.”

“It’s okay, no-one shows up to Sunday weddings,” Kirishima says with a very serious nod, and Bakugou battles two horribly conflicting emotions of exasperation and fondness but he finally gives in to the best choice, murmuring, “I fucking love you,” before slamming Kirishima into another perfectly awful kiss.

Chapter Text

Ever since Katsuki and Eijirou had become hero partners, the likelihood that they could get to each other before anyone else could when one of them got injured had upped tenfold, and it was one of the best things ever.

Gone were the days where Katsuki would only find out about Eijirou’s hospitalisation on television or through a nervous phone call, though things had got better when he’d grabbed Eijirou one day and yelled in his face, “Make me your emergency contact, you dumbass!” But still not good enough.

Yet here, when they usually worked cases together and fought side by side with never much distance between them, they could hear each other’s cries, or else lack of them. It was sort of an amazing thing, just how motivated Katsuki would get when he’d see that Eijirou got injured by whoever they were attacking. He’d see red, his whole being would get charged up with the thought to avenge and between rage and war cries, the scene would be over in flat minutes. Then Eijirou might laugh weakly in triumph and clutch where he got hurt, or stumble over to Katsuki and throw an arm over his shoulders pretending he wasn’t using him as leverage. Or sometimes he’d just collapse, and Katsuki would practically fly over to catch him. Eijirou would just do the same for him, after all.

First rule of Eijirou’s Major Injuries was to never believe the guy’s smiles and ‘I’m fiiiiine’ when he looked infinitely less than fine. Next rule was to call an ambulance. Definitely call an ambulance. Then try and remember to call the police after even though the case didn’t fucking matter as much as Eijirou’s wellbeing. But it was also kind of his job.

Third rule was to try and ride alongside Eijirou in the ambulance but that didn’t always work out. The more famous Katsuki got, the more people usually let him but they’d keep going on about only letting spouses and family members and Katsuki wanted to scream that him and Eijirou were practically family. They shared fucking everything, they lived together, they worked together, Katsuki was closer to no-one else.

Then he’d go to the hospital himself, and just get told the same thing and that he needed to wait until visiting hours. For fuck’s sake. Thank God Eijirou started to get the hint after a while and started to ask for Katsuki after he’d woken up, but that still didn’t always automatically let him in.

At least he was always the first one to see him. At fucking least he’d get to burst in like a madman even if it was a few hours late and see Eijirou smile at him like Katsuki was all he wanted to see.

Some hospitals understood their closeness and let him in. But some didn’t, and it still grated Katsuki to his very core. At one point he was so fucking tempted to tell one of the idiot nurses that they were married. He’d tear off a ring from his smaller grenades and slip it on his finger for ‘proof’, how hard would that be?

But it was lying, and word would get out which would make the world go crazy...so fuck that.

But Eijirou seemed to have way less tact and damn brains than him, because one day when Katsuki was laying in a hospital bed with a barely patched fractured forearm and a stitched gash in his leg after a particularly hard fight against someone with a knife Quirk, his partner rushed in out of breath and slammed the door closed behind him.

“Wha- how the fuck d’you get here so fast?” Katsuki asked in surprise, still a little woozy as Eijirou heaved a breath at the sight of him and ran over, jumping into the seat by his bed and grabbing Katsuki’s hand to rub against his cheek.

“Told them we were married,” Eijirou laughed as he closed his eyes, holding Katsuki’s hand gently with both of his, and Katsuki’s eyes widened.

“You what?”

“Sorry. I know it was a dumb lie, I just had to see you, I- that villain had hurt some people so badly, I was worried that-”

“Oi, oi. I’m good,” Katsuki said firmly, fingers slowly curling out so the tips could card through Eijirou’s hair that he hadn’t even spiked. “Isn’t this your day off?”

“You really think that’d stop me from seeing you?”

He had a point.

“Thank God you’re fine, man,” Eijirou sighed, kissing the inside of Katsuki’s palm before dropping the hand into his lap, fiddling with it gently. Katsuki hummed, letting his eyes slip closed. “It’s scarier these days, you getting hurt when I’m not there because I’m so used to being there now.”

Katsuki felt the same way, so he nodded. He felt a hand run through his hair back and forth. 

“And I’m sick of them saying I’m not allowed to see you.”

Katsuki wanted to scream ‘me too’, but all that left his mouth was, “Let’s get married then.”

He could feel Eijirou’s entire body freeze up. “H...huh?”

“It has all the benefits. Financially, and in regards to each other we’ll be looked at as even more of a unit-”

“No, I...I get it,” Eijirou said quietly, resting Katsuki’s hand back on the bed before letting go. “Wow. I can’t believe you’d really want to.”

“S’beneficial, why wouldn’t I.”

“Katsuki.”

Katsuki blinked his eyes open, looking up and seeing Eijirou hanging his head, hair framing his face a little as his teeth toyed with his bottom lip. Then he sighed.

“It sounds good.”

Katsuki tried not to sound too excited when he replied. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. But I...what if I fall in love one day?”

Oh. Katsuki felt his mood sinking when he remembered what a major reason for marriage usually was.

“You can fall in love with me if you want,” Katsuki said, and Eijirou raised his head to stare at him in utter amazement, before bursting into laughter. Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows at the reaction before Eijirou reached for his hand again, squeezing it tight.

“Dude, oh God- that was one of the most incredible things you’ve ever said and you say the wackiest shit.”

“I don’t say wacky shit! You say wacky shit!” Katsuki argued fiercely and Eijirou giggled some more.

“Gah. No kidding though, I really do want to, it’d make things so good. Have you heard about those things - queerplatonic relationships?”

Katsuki blinked curiously, and Eijirou smiled at him. “Two of these friends I have in the States are in one. It’s like...a relationship that’s just between platonic and romantic. Kind of. Like it has more benefits than a platonic relationship, more emotions and touches and stuff. I don’t know much about it...but some of those people get married.”

“I...feel emotionally towards you,” Katsuki said, reaching out to touch Eijirou’s hand, and Eijirou looked like he was going to erupt into both tears and laughter as he leant down and hugged Katsuki gently so to not hurt him, whining in his ear, “Why are you so cute?!”

“Meds,” Katsuki deadpanned, closing his eyes again as he slid an arm around Eijirou’s back, face resting in his shoulder. “But that shit you said sounds good. I’d take it. Don’t care for the title or whatever but if it’d make you say yes then let’s go for it.”

“D’you think we have a queerplatonic relationship?”

“Uh...sure.” Katsuki actually had no idea, but Eijirou hugged him tighter so it had to be the right answer.

“Oh man, why does that make me so happy. I’m so happy. We’re so close and that makes me really happy!” Eijirou wailed, and Katsuki thought that the guy sounded really dumb right now. But he loved it when Eijirou was happy, he always glowed even more than usual and his bright aura was seeping into Katsuki’s skin. He hummed again, thinking he was happy too as he hugged Eijirou’s waist tight and hoped the guy would stay while he slept.

From that moment on, things really did start looking up. Katsuki didn’t use his grenades, but he went to a fancy jeweller’s. And hated absolutely every ring on offer. They were too gaudy, and he got too bored of most of them too quickly. He asked for simple, and the clerk looked so surprised. Probably because the great Dynamight himself was one of the flashiest heroes out there, and here he was wanting something minimalistic.

“Getting married, sir?” the clerk squeaked, sounding awed and like he was going to gossip about this to all his friends, but Katsuki just felt himself smile a little.

“Yeah.”

The clerk looked ready to faint, and hurried him over to the simpler collections. Katsuki liked the looks of them, plain stark bands that winked not too obnoxiously in the light.

“Can I get them on chains?”

“Oh, of course, sir!”

It made sense, after all. He could tuck it under his hero shirt and make sure it wouldn’t get lost or damaged. Eijirou couldn’t do the same, but he hoped the guy would wear it when he wasn’t working.

He left the store whistling through his flu mask, with everyone inside staring after him wondering what the hell had put a guy like him in this good of a mood. And he felt both worse and immensely better when Eijirou cried when he saw the rings.

“Oh,” Eijirou breathed, covering his face but Katsuki clicked his tongue, pulling his hands away.

“Why the fuck are you crying.”

“I didn’t know you’d go that far. I’m. I don’t know- I just can’t believe this is happening,” Eijirou laughed through tears, and he was crying so pretty, no-one else could ever have the audacity to look so good whenever they were happy.

“Marriage isn’t that big of a deal,” Katsuki said, though his voice was soft, and Eijirou beamed at him as he took the rose-gold chain that Katsuki held out to him.

“Forever with you is, though.”

Oh. Marriage could mean forever. And Katsuki had always thought in the back of his mind that he’d be with Eijirou forever, he couldn’t really imagine wanting things any other way, so if this cemented that thought then it made things all the better. God, this really was such a good idea. He should’ve done something about it earlier.

“Are we engaged?!” Eijirou gasped, hands grabbing Katsuki’s shoulders and Katsuki snickered.

“I think so. D’you wanna be?”

Eijirou just let out some strangled noise as he threw himself at Katsuki in a hug, and he could only smile and squeeze him back. Eijirou seemed even goofier and brighter than normal since this whole thing started and it just drove it in further that this was the best idea.

That week, Katsuki felt like he was floating on clouds. Once he was all set and back to work, him and Eijirou fought together seamlessly, no more difficult injuries coming to light. Eijirou was like fucking Snow White at home, singing joyfully off-key around the house and throwing open curtains and even washing the damn dishes the same day he’d put them in the sink. The first time Katsuki caught him cleaning up after dinner he’d been so surprised that he almost thought it was an imposter. Then wondered why an imposter would be cleaning his dishes. Then immediately took all his thoughts back when Eijirou started running at him with soapy hands for a hug.

Katsuki always got a little smile on his face whenever he saw the ring swinging from his fiancé’s neck at home, and he’d fidget with his own. He’d make sure to hide the smiles so Eijirou couldn’t tease him about it but one time that he’d slipped up, Eijirou just settled beside him on the couch and kissed his shoulder. No complaints there.

“How are we gonna tell people?” Eijirou asked one night when they were sprawled over each other in Katsuki’s bed, having just finished watching an action movie. Katsuki shrugged.

“We’re close as hell, this is just one more thing to add to our agenda. I don’t think anyone could take it badly, either. They know you’re gay.”

“They don’t know that you are.”

“Even I don’t know what I am,” Katsuki yawned, pushing his face into Eijirou’s neck. “That shit shouldn’t matter to anyone we tell.”

“You’re right, you’re right, you’re so cool. Still, if you get backlash then come tell me and I’ll hug you to pieces,” Eijirou said with a firm nod, wrapping his arms around Katsuki for good measure, and the latter rolled his eyes.

“I already basically said I don’t care. What we should focus on is fans being sad that we’re unavailable.”

“Wait, we’re gonna go public public?! I was just talking about families and friends!” Eijirou yelped, sitting up and Katsuki stared at him incredulously.

“We’re gonna be telling hospitals all around the country. Might as well make it ‘public public’, you dipshit.”

“You want to?” Eijirou asked in surprise, but Katsuki didn’t know why he was surprised. This whole thing was Katsuki’s idea in the first place and he’d take it the whole way.

“Obviously.”

Eijirou was quiet for a second. Then he looked down, and fiddled with the ring lying on his chest. “The whole world’s gonna know I’m married to you.”

“D’you not want that?” Katsuki asked in utter confusion, sitting up now too but Eijirou attacked him with a hug that knocked him back down again.

Then he heard snores.

“Fucking hell,” Katsuki scoffed, but he brushed Eijirou’s hair back, kissed his temple, then tugged the blanket over them.

They had dinner in the living room the night that Katsuki brought over the marriage papers.

“Don’t spill wine on it, you idiot,” Katsuki scolded as he pushed Eijirou away, and the guy just laughed at him, huddling up closer.

“This is so excitinggggg-”

“Exciting my ass, it’s just paperwork.”

“Aren’t you excited? Why aren’t you as happy as me?” Eijirou pouted, swirling the wine in his glass gloomily and Katsuki stared at him in amazement.

“Wha- the fuck are you talking about? Just ‘cause I’m not crying and glowing like the fucking sun doesn’t mean I’m not happy.”

Eijirou didn’t look like he believed him, hanging his head, and Katsuki frowned as he pushed the papers and pen to a side and took hold of his idiot’s face. “Hey. You know why we started this. ‘Cause we wanna easily see each other when we get majorly hurt.”

Eijirou looked up, nodding like a kicked puppy.

“Even just that makes me happy. And the fact that we’ll be connected in such a big way makes me happy. And you being so happy about it makes me happy, you moron. I’m really glad you wanna do this, because I know you want love too. I mean, I do love you and shit, I love you a lot, but it’s probably not...the right kinda love, I guess. You know what I mean.”

Katsuki really didn’t expect for Eijirou to lean forward and press his lips to Katsuki’s so gently that they were barely there. But it made his skin tingle, as Eijirou’s smile when he moved back filled him with whole bundles of warmth.

“Sorry. I was gonna kiss your cheek then changed my mind,” Eijirou giggled, and Katsuki murmured fondly, “I’m cutting you off the damn wine.”

“I love you more than anyone ever. You know that, you’ve been my number one since we were fifteen. I don’t think I could ever love someone else this much and I know you’re the guy I wanna be with forever. I was thinking about it and thought, eh, what man could catch my eye more than the great Bakugou Katsuki?”

“No man,” Katsuki agreed solemnly because damn straight, and Eijirou draped himself over Katsuki’s shoulder.

“So this is the best thing. Best thing ever.”

“Are you falling in love with me, then?” Katsuki asked, and Eijirou laughed again.

“I don’t think I even care about that. I’ll just love.”

“Nice.”

Eijirou kissed him again, tender and close-mouthed and just as small, and it felt like a bridge for all of their wordless swelling emotions for each other to pass over as Katsuki found Eijirou’s hand and squeezed it. He tasted love and dedication on his lips, and hoped Eijirou got the same.

“Thank you for letting me kiss you,” Eijirou whispered, and Katsuki raised an eyebrow.

“You do it everywhere else. One more place doesn’t matter.”

Eijirou smacked a kiss onto his forehead as if to emphasise Katsuki’s own point, and they wrestled each other to the ground through laughter with dinner and the marriage papers strewn beside them, almost forgotten.

Katsuki had been thinking about that night a few weeks later, just before he caught sight of the TV in his office of the agency showing Eijirou being carried away on a stretcher. Katsuki’s eyes widened as he ran over, already dialling a number into his phone as he brought it to his ear and watched the screen in a trance. Eijirou had been struck by a surprise bomb. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He was out the door in minutes the moment he’d been told which hospital Eijirou was being taken to. And this time, when he soared through the door and people tried to stop him, he yanked on the chain around his neck. “I’m Red Riot’s fucking husband, now tell me where his room is!”

So Katsuki had messed up a little. He’d yelled that loud enough for even civilians in the waiting room to hear, for every piece of staff there to hear, and some people even started clapping which had him ready to tear his hair out. But just before a commotion could start, a doctor quickly told him to follow him, and Katsuki was about to collapse from relief.

“EIJIROU-”

“Not that room, Dynamight sir.”

“Fuck, how many rooms are there?!”

“This is a main city hospital, sir.”

“I don’t care, I- it’s that one?”

“Yes.”

Katsuki groaned in relief because finally, but he quickly whirled around to face the doctor. “Did you patch him up good? How the fuck is he doing?”

“It was not as major as we initially thought, and he’ll be fine. I can give you the details if you’d like,” Doc replied, and Katsuki waved it off.

“I’ll hear it later, or from Ei himself. Thanks.”

Katsuki ignored the reply he got and turned around, kicking the door open. No staff came by to berate him, and thank God, because he wanted nothing to ruin the moment when Eijirou turned to look at him then lit up so drastically. “HUSBAND!”

“You fucking brat,” Katsuki said, unable to hold back his unabashed grin as he stomped over. And Eijirou shuffled into a half-sitting position to lean into him when Katsuki immediately hugged him, sure to be gentle. He felt Eijirou kiss the ring hanging from his neck. “I’m here.”

Chapter Text

There was this one guy who had kept on showing up recently during villain encounters that Bakugou would come across, and it was getting on his fucking nerves.

Every scenario he came up with to explain things just made him even angrier, too. The guy could be a normal but dumb civilian with the worst luck. He could be trying to be the hero he wasn’t by fighting off these guys himself and have to have his ass saved every time by Bakugou because he actually was a fucking hero.

But Bakugou also wasn't stupid, he never had been. He knew that this guy had been in this position with villains so much recently that it almost didn't seem by chance - so who was to say this idiot wasn’t some kind of big figure among villains, acting the victim so neither Bakugou nor anyone else would suspect him?

That was what gave Bakugou the most fuel to fight these villains, rougher than he usually did, raging adrenaline coursing through him whenever big eyes lit up when they caught sight of Bakugou once he arrived on the scene.

Did this guy wear eyeliner?

“THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE AGAIN, SHITTY HAIR?!” Bakugou snarled, a question he always asked and it got harsher each time. The guy opened his mouth to answer before he snapped his head to the side in alarm and yelped as he just about dodged a punch, tripping to the ground instead. Bakugou grimaced, muttering a small curse before he bolted forward and reared a fist, firing it up before he punched the villain straight into the ground. The noise of the explosion made at the point of contact reverberated louder than he wanted, and Bakugou rolled his eyes as he hoped civilians would rather stay away than come peeking. But then he blinked, because the guy was yelling at him, and it seemed like a flash where he managed to smack back an arm that connected with flesh and a howl sounded. Time to go all in.

There were more of them than Bakugou had expected, not that he had much to go on, he'd just arrived after all. But it still wasn’t the most he had ever taken.

They seemed so cocky from the way they always tore in recklessly without thinking but no-one could beat Bakugou in that field and he barely let any of them get a hit in, palms constantly sparking, limbs braced for any of them who got in close. But in the middle of holding one up by their throat and getting ready to spark them out, his eyes caught sight of the guy. Because he was definitely holding his own.

Probably because these losers were already hashed up from Bakugou's doing, but the guy’s flurries of punches landed well, his amazingly sharp teeth were bared and his eyes were aglow as his Quirk, something Bakugou had discovered the second time they'd run into each other like this, had him stronger, forcing the petty villains on their knees. And with rocked cracks cutting through the guy's face as he grabbed a villain by his shirt, still with the fighting look in his eyes, his bared mouth suddenly looked more like a grin of pride. So bright and…genuine. Bakugou's heart thumped.

He shook his head as he tried to get back into action, though there wasn’t much left to clean out as one final explosion had the remaining knocked off their feet, and Bakugou was tying them up in no time.

A few moments of catching his breath and a phone call to the police later, Bakugou looked around for his intruding helper. But he couldn’t find anyone.

It’s for the best, Bakugou thought silently, moving on top of buildings so he could avoid civilians and grabbing onto lamp posts to swing through gaps and jump to the next roof.  Didn’t need to waste time with him this time. Guess he finally got a braincell and realised I had it sorted.

He took a break to sit on a ledge as he sighed to himself, leaning back. Thinking.

Maybe it was time to bring up this shitty-haired idiot to the police. No doubt other heroes must have encountered him too if Bakugou always did, and maybe there’d be a pattern. Because sure, this civilian might have the ability to sometimes punch up bad guys and look beautiful doing it but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a threat.

“‘Look beautiful doing it’?! Fucking hell, get a grip,” Bakugou groaned to himself, smacking his forehead as he looked down, grimacing.

It just definitely didn’t hurt, if the current bane of his existence was a looker...

“Dynamight?”

Bakugou froze, accidentally kicking out as he tried to look down way too fast, and he was yelling out as he toppled over instead and there was nothing for his flailing arms to grab onto, all he could do was instinctively hook his legs over the ledge so that he came to a stop when he was hanging exactly upside down, and he didn’t even have time to be relieved because he managed to be face-to-face with what he’d just been thinking about.

Well. Reverse face-to-face?

“Woah,” the guy breathed out, eyes wide and pink dusting the bridge of his nose as he stared at Bakugou who was holding his breath instead, still trying to comprehend what the fuck was happening. “H-Hi.”

“Where in the living fuck did you go?” Bakugou said, trying to sound cold and commanding even though he was currently hanging upside down like a goddamn bat and the guy blinked, mouth opening but then something was jumping up and licking the side of Bakugou’s face.

“Wha- no, down, girl!” the guy scolded, pulling the thing back as Bakugou stared in disgust like he'd just been assaulted, and the guy looked back at him sheepishly. “I was walking my dog when the villains came…I had to rush off to fetch her after. I told her to stay and she did, she’s so good!”

“Well, tell her to never fuckin’ go near me again,” Bakugou grumbled as he rubbed his cheek, though when he looked back he felt his chest tighten seeing the guy smiling as he rubbed his cheek against the dog’s face, eyes closed in content amusement. Fuck.

“Big bad hero doesn't mean that, baby, he knows you're a sweetheart!”

“What the he-”

“You’d love her, you would,” the guy said to Bakugou that time, still adamant on this and Bakugou scoffed, staring incredulously as he poked a finger into the guy's chest, hard.

“And tell me why I would when I don't even fucking like you. Do you even know how much you aggravate me? If only you didn’t get your stupid ass in the most annoying situations then there wouldn’t even need to be a victim report. Fuckin’ shitty-haired bastard.”

The guy's eyes narrowed the tiniest bit at that, as if he was thinking. Then he said, “It’s Kirishima.”

“What?”

“My name.”

“Wow. Who the heck do you think you are? You’re fucking delusional if you think I’m gonna use your name.”

“Just thought you might want to one day, instead of the insults.”

“I was right. Straight-up delusion right there.

Kirishima grinned, and it was strange to attach this guy to a name at all after so long, but Bakugou had to begrudgingly admit just to himself that it felt a little good. Until he was bombarded with thoughts like ‘it’s probably not even his real one’, ‘he’s still a stranger’, ‘he's still someone you DESPISE’ and he scowled as he looked away, and Kirishima’s smile faltered “Bro?”

“Don’t fucking call me that. I ain't your bro.”

“I call everyone bro!”

“Gross.”

“Say what you wanna say, bro. So what are you doing here? In front of my house?” Kirishima asked with furrowed eyebrows and Bakugou blinked, looking back at the small bungalow squished between buildings. This was this dunce’s house? “Were you looking for me?”

“Why the hell would I do that? Was glad you were gone. No-”

“Victim report,” they said in unison, and Kirishima was literally sparkling when he beamed at Bakugou. “I got you. And jinx!”

“What.”

“Oh man, you broke the jinx. Something really bad’s gonna happen to youuu,” Kirishima warbled in the worst spooky voice ever, waving his dog about in a circle between their faces and he burst into snickers when Bakugou bared his teeth and snapped. “Don’t kill me, big bad hero, I have a wife and kids!”

“Wait, you fuckin’ what,” Bakugou asked with more surprise in his voice than there ever had been and Kirishima shrugged, kissing his dog’s head.

“Well it’s more one kid, which is this big lug here, and the wife is definitely the life-size cutout of you in my kitchen.”

It was crazy the way relief rushed into Bakugou, but he still said, “I’m a fuckin’ man.”

Kirishima laughed in wonder, eyes lighting up. “That’s what you focused on? Okay, husband then! I don’t actually have a cutout of you but I’ll get one, just you wait, and I’ll take it in a bag every time I go outside so I can show you whenever we meet on the streets aga-”

“Can you seriously shut your mouth? How aren’t you embarrassed by the words you’re spewing?” Bakugou asked in honest-to-God curiosity while really trying to ignore how hot his face felt and Kirishima’s grin was a little shier then but still coy as he hugged his dog to his chest.

“Sorry, sorry, I just…your reactions are fun.”

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?!”

Kirishima held his dog up in front of his face when Bakugou looked like he was about to lunge again, and Bakugou growled low in his throat even though he had to retreat. Kirishima beamed, peeking his head out from behind her.

“I just think you’re so cool, and seeing you when you’re not cool too makes you even cooler.”

Bakugou was a smart guy, and he was pretty certain none of that made sense. “The fuck.”

“Like as in - you’re a cool hero and a cool guy! You’re so clever and capable and collected and all," Kirishima said as he bent down to rest his dog on the ground, and the dog pattered away as Kirishima straightened up again and smiled at Bakugou. And was it just him or was he even closer than before? “So seeing you blush…”

Bakugou's eyes widened tenfold. “I don't fucking blush!”

Kirishima’s smile grew bigger at that as his eyes flicked up Bakugou's face and he didn't want to think about why. “It’s okay. I blush too.”

Well, you’re fucking pretty when you do, and Bakugou might’ve only kept that in his head but it must show all over his face as he grimaced, flush growing darker even though he still wasn’t ever in his right mind going to admit he was blushing. But Kirishima was leaning in so close that Bakugou’s brain was going into overdrive instead, so he might’ve. But then it made him realise that Kirishima was trying to mess with his head, and it was fucking working. 

It had his eyes widening, teeth gritting as he snarled right in Kirishima’s face, “Villain.”

Kirishima's eyes grew big, all ounces of dreaminess and playfulness gone from his face to make way just for alarmed confusion. “Huh? One here? Where?!”

“Could be one right in front of me,” Bakugou seethed lowly, though he blinked when Kirishima looked around frantically.

“Where, where?! I-I’ll fight!"

“Holy fuck, you’re just gonna make a whole charade of this, huh? No-one's that dumb,” Bakugou growled in disgust as he reached out and grabbed Kirishima’s shirt, pulling him close so their noses almost crashed and he heard the sharp hitch of breath in Kirishima's throat. Bakugou almost faltered for a moment, but before his blush rose he swallowed it down and growled. “You better know I’m one of the best heroes in history. And if you're about to think you're gonna get a hold over me to the point that you’ll be able to take me on then fucker, you will ALWAYS have another thing coming.”

And Kirishima only stared. Eyes so big, voice stammering but no words, barely any noises. And for some reason, he was even redder.

Then just when Bakugou was about to push him to the ground and get down from this fucking ledge, Kirishima took in a shaky breath, closed his eyes then opened them again so they were less wide. More sure, but Bakugou didn't know what he was sure of.

“I’m sorry.”

Bakugou blinked, the words sobering him a little but before he could open his mouth, hands were sliding over his head, over his mask as the tips of fingers threaded through Bakugou’s hair. Then his head was tugged, so the closeness became complete contact and lips met his.

And he went absolutely ballistic.

What the fuck was this? Kirishima messing with him? Playing up to his disgusting charms, what, so he’d wear Bakugou down into submission? So he could take him back to whatever villain headquarters they had, and destroy him?

He grimaced against the kiss, grabbing Kirishima’s shirt tighter and shaking the idiot about but Kirishima was so good at holding his stance that it was almost unnerving, neck hardening slightly under Bakugou’s thrashing and God, Bakugou needed to end this, he didn't care if an explosion would send Kirishima to a hospital if he…if…if he…

Kirishima’s hands were trembling.

And the ends of his fingers twisting in Bakugou’s hair were moving, so slow, almost like they were playing with the hair as if Kirishima couldn’t believe it was under his fingertips. And despite all that, they were barely there. Somehow, in a way that seemed respectful yet so tender, the feeling of Kirishima's hands on Bakugou’s skin was as light as a wisp as his thumbs traced over Bakugou’s cheeks, so gently that it managed to do something that made Bakugou still.

His hold on Kirishima loosened, and he was wide-eyed as he stayed there, still. The gentlest touch on his face and a feather-light brush over his lips.

“You’re not a villain, right?” Bakugou breathed out softly the moment their lips broke, more desperate now but he could barely hear himself over the blood rushing to his head for all kinds of reasons.

Kirishima shook his head, murmuring, “I swear,” and Bakugou wouldn't have believed him a second ago. But he'd never been treated this gently before, and now he just felt so dizzy.

“I don’t mean to make your job more difficult,” Kirishima said, eyes dropping as his voice got quieter, and Bakugou had wanted this apology for a while but that didn't mean he wanted it now, not when Kirishima had just been so playfully carefree that even Bakugou might've wanted to smile under different circumstances, not when Kirishima had just kissed him with no explanation, but like Bakugou was something precious. Not when Kirishima was still holding Bakugou like he was something precious. “Because you - you don't know how much I respect pro-heroes, I swear I do. There’s just something in my head that doesn’t let me not run into action if it means protecting someone.”

“Fuck's sake, you're a goddamn vigilante.”

“No! No, I’m not - I’m not trying to be a hero, man, I do some fighting here and there but nowhere near the hero level, but I mean…there's a reason you always only find me, you know? It's never just me to start with, I don't look for trouble. But I just try my best to get other people out of it, just to be a good person, that’s all. I’m impulsive and I can't see people get hurt. That's literally it.”

“So you get the victims you see safe,” Bakugou muttered, and it did click in his head as Kirishima nodded, face lowered. “You save them.”

Kirishima’s head snapped up at that, eyes wide as he stared at Bakugou who just stared back, waiting for whatever reply Kirishima would give. He didn’t expect the glassy eyes, or the twitching smile full of disbelieving pride. “W-Well, that’s…that's a nice way to put it…”

Why didn’t this utter loser become a hero? They needed to have some fucking words.

Well, Bakugou was enamoured by him now. Not that he wanted to be. Not that he wanted Kirishima to kiss him again, not that his chest felt restless and warm when Kirishima’s hands cupped his face tighter, not that he felt a small burst of ecstasy when Kirishima leant in again.

“D’you like me a little now, big bad hero?” Kirishima asked with a smirk after he pulled back, and Bakugou was so light-headed that all he could really do was grunt something that sounded mildly positive, quietly festering under how that smirk made him feel.

“A little…”

“You should get down, bro.”

“Fuck off.”

“Nah, I think you want me to stay.”

Scratch that. Bakugou hated him to death. Hated him so much that he grabbed his dumb shirt again and crashed their lips together before he passed out, and his delirious mind told him that drinking in Kirishima’s laugh was the best way to go.

Chapter Text

“Bakugou likes someone.”

Eijirou’s hardened hand dug into the surface of the desk while Sero almost fell off his chair, and Kaminari didn’t even laugh at them. He just looked deep in thought, and a little bit disgusted.

“YOU WHAT?!” Eijirou yelled, already standing up as Sero said quickly, “Dude, elaborate, you gotta elaborate, what the hell do you mean by-”

“He’s got a crush.”

Eijirou and Sero both groaned in unison, Sero’s head dropping against his arms. “I never wanted to hear that! I never thought this day would come and I hoped it wouldn’t!”

“Don’t be mean, Bakugou’s entitled to human emotions!” Eijirou scolded, but he sounded too stressed to be stern. Truth be told, he’d never expected this day to come either. The thought of Bakugou having romantic feelings towards someone? Wanting to hold someone’s hand, flirt with them, kiss them? The images forming in Eijirou’s head made him feel almost woozy.

“How did you even find out, dude?”

“Just saw him blushing  and stuff,” Kaminari said in distaste, and Eijirou and Sero both yelled, “BLUSHING?!”

“He was looking at something on his phone. It was so weird, he was blushing but a soft kinda blush, and smiling too. It was so scary. When he caught me staring he almost blew up my phone but I was so shocked that I could not  leave it be, I followed him around for like an hour trying to question it.”

“Dude, you’re so annoying.”

“You’d do the same thing if you were in my position, this is CRAZY stuff! And I think he got so annoyed and just wanted me to leave him alone that he eventually just hissed, “You’d fucking know. You get a crush on literally every person you see.””

“You do,” Eijirou said and Sero hummed in agreement which had Kaminari whining, before they processed, and both stared at each other in amazement. “Holy shit .”

“Same. I tried to pester him about who it was but he really was ready to kill me then so I had to run away but heck, guys. The time’s actually come. Blasty’s all grown up.”

“I don’t know whether to cry or barf,” Sero said tactfully, and Eijirou kind of had to agree. The swirling in his stomach didn’t fully feel like he was going to be sick, though, but he didn’t know how else to explain it.

He really did feel emotional at the thought of Bakugou wanting to love. But he wished the guy had told him.

“I’ll get more info out of him. I’m his best friend after all!” Eijirou cheered, and the others whooped, patting his back before they all fell into an uneasy silence.

“Do...do we actually want  to know more?” Kaminari whispered, shivering like he was in a horror movie and Eijirou was ready to throw his shoe at his head.

“Guys! It’s just! A crush! And he deserves to be able to talk to someone about it, if it really is his first time. Man, I hope he does let me in if he’s struggling.”

“How’re you gonna do it. At lunch? You probably want somewhere more closed off and where he’s comfortable to talk, right?”

Eijirou frowned, thinking. Sero was right, Bakugou was already pretty high-strung whenever he was outside, pretty much always alert as if he thought someone would jump him at any time. The only times Eijirou could think of that Bakugou was even a little bit towards the relaxed end of the spectrum was when they had their study sessions in Eijirou’s room. He did Maths furiously like the questions were opponents he needed to beat, but if it was memorising information or essay questions, he was calm and focused, the only real movement being the blinking of his eyes and his hand moving his pen neatly across the paper. Eijirou liked Bakugou whenever, the guy was all kinds of interesting and cool in his own explosive way, but he liked those moments. He liked the thought that Bakugou had chances to not be so wound up, and let loose a little.

“I think I have an idea,” Eijirou said quietly, and Kaminari and Sero both looked at him curiously but the cogs in his brain were still whirring. He had no idea if Bakugou would say yes. He was also pretty sure he’d have to ask Mr Aizawa for permission. But him and Bakugou were best friends, and Eijirou used to do this with best friends all the time.

“Bakugou, I’m sleeping over!” Eijirou said brightly at eight pm that night when Bakugou opened his dorm door only to see Eijirou with his hair down and only sweats on, his bed covers and a bag of snacks bundled in his arms. Bakugou’s eyes widened a fraction before he made to slam the door closed, but Eijirou wiggled through the gap just in time.

“Idiot, what are you doing here?! This ain’t legal,” Bakugou growled, and Eijirou let out a surprised snicker.

“‘Legal’?! Oh dude, you’re the cutest, you call breaking school rules ‘illegal’?”

“...shut the fuck up.”

“Besides, this is completely and utterly ‘legal’, I’ve got permission,” Eijirou grinned, waving the ticket Mr Aizawa wrote him in front of Bakugou’s face smugly, because he’d known that Bakugou would ask for proof. Bakugou stared for a second before he grabbed the note, stared some more, then scrunched it up in his hand.

“What the fuck .”

“Ahhhh, this is comfy,” Eijirou sighed after he had taken the liberty to sink into Bakugou’s bed, humming contentedly only to yelp when he was shoved off. “Dude!”

“You haven’t answered my question yet, what are you doing  here,” Bakugou snarled low in his throat as he leant down and grabbed Eijirou’s shoulder, effectively pinning him to the ground. Eijirou just grinned up at him.

“Besties have sleepovers, bro! It was bound to happen sooner or later, so I thought I’d go for sooner. I’ve been wanting to do this so why not tonight?”

It wasn’t a lie, at all. Okay so he hadn’t truly thought about it a lot, but it was  nice to think about, staying up chatting with Bakugou about anything and everything and guzzling sweets then falling asleep strewn over each other. So what if he had one  tiny bitsy ulterior motive? He’d even settle with not finding out anything about the crush, but he did want to know if his friend was doing okay.

Bakugou blinked at that, still looking sceptical but he leant back, sitting beside Eijirou who turned on his side and hitched an arm to rest his head on his palm.

“So what d’ya think?” Eijirou asked, winking, and Bakugou grumbled as the tips of his ears flashed red.

“Friends do this, huh.”

“Absolutely, completely, totally, utterly, abso- oh I already said that one-”

“I go to sleep soon. What, so you just sleep here too?”

“Mhm. But stay up just a little! For me! Let’s gossip and squawk like mother hens!” Eijirou laughed as he grabbed Bakugou’s arms and pulled the guy up, taking advantage of his split-second of confusion to roll them both onto the bed. He grabbed his snacks bag too. “I’ve got food!”

“That’ll mess with your appetite and body,” Bakugou frowned, but Eijirou just knocked his hand, telling him to hush.

“Don’t be a downer, it’s just for tonight, anyway. Snacks really set a mood, I promise.”

“Mood?”

“Chatty mood!”

“I don’t chat.”

“Oh, but I do. And my chatting is very contagious, I’ll have you know,” Eijirou said pointedly, and Bakugou snorted.

“I do know.”

That had Eijirou smiling, and when Bakugou didn’t say anything against him settling on one side of the bed, he patted his side. Bakugou narrowed his eyes, so Eijirou just patted harder like a maniac.

“You’re so dumb,” Bakugou muttered, but he slipped into the space beside Eijirou, a hand’s width of space between them as he rested his head on his pillow. Eijirou looked around for the one he brought with him then said ‘aha!’ when he found it, and slipped it under his own head. Now they could face each other, bold happy gaze meeting a wary irritated one, but then something hit Eijirou.

“Did you have any plans?”

“No. Obviously. You’d be kicked out easy if I did.”

“Ooh, nice. Got any gossip then?” Eijirou teased, reaching out to pat Bakugou’s fluffy hair and he giggled when the guy groaned, kicking him.

“I don’t fucking gossip.”

“Yeah but Ashido’s the queen of gossip, how’re you friends with her without knowing anything? Oh my God, bro, just yesterday she told me that she thinks Amajiki-senpai and Togata-senpai have something going on. I totally believe her, Amajiki talks about him a lot at work studies. And he’s not even a talker.”

“They’re...” Bakugou furrowed his eyebrows, looking like he was thinking. “Third years.”

Eijirou gaped. “Yo, you remember who they are!”

“Shut up. It’d be nice.”

“Hm?” That was surprising to hear.

“For you to have a relationship to look up to.”

Eijirou blinked. For a moment, his heartbeat picked up a bit of speed. Sure, he might’ve mentioned to Bakugou before that he was a little disheartened by the lack of gay relationships in Japanese life and media especially with how far ahead they’d got by now, but he didn’t think the guy would go as far as to ever remember small talk like that.

“It would be!” Eijirou agreed in a dramatic cry, throwing himself forward to bury his face in Bakugou’s shoulder and the guy was yelling at him like normal but the atmosphere was so nice now that even Bakugou didn’t seem to want to shove him away. Eijirou felt warm, throwing a lazy arm over the guy as he brought his head back to smile at him. Bakugou looked back, all neutral expressions and sunset eyes. “It would.”

“One of Endeavour’s sidekicks tried to hit on me at work studies,” Bakugou suddenly said and Eijirou gasped sharp enough for the whole floor to hear.

“SCANDALOUS!”

“It was so fucking funny, she was bad at it too and all like twirling hair and batting eyelashes and shit, I was unimpressed as fuck but super not bothered enough to do anything that’d get me kicked out so I just called up Burnin’ who decked her silly.”

Eijirou was choking on laughter. “O-Oh God. Bro, dude, my man, let’s hope she didn’t know your age.”

“I swear she‘s engaged.”

“WHA- BRO !”

Things really got going after that. Eijirou was the one who mostly talked about embarrassing funny stories of things his friends did, tallying in his head each time he got a snort out of Bakugou or a small smirk. Bakugou still really wasn’t one for gossip but he was observant as hell so he still had a few interesting stories about shit he’d see that always had Eijirou howling. He half wished he was drinking milk so it would snort out of his nose because Bakugou always laughed at that.

And between stories, they’d have mini snack games, like throwing gummy worms into each other’s mouths (even though they were super close so it got aggressive fast) or counting how many marshmallows they could fit in their mouths. When Bakugou got to twenty, Eijirou had actual tears in his eyes because the guy’s eyebrows were pinched in focus while his cheeks were all puffed and he looked more adorable than Eijirou’s little heart could take. Eijirou cupped his face without thinking, before immediately letting go because Bakugou finally started choking.

“Bro! You did so good!”

Bakugou just glared at him while chewing slowly and it was the most cutely intimidating thing in the world. Like an angry hamster. Eijirou felt dizzy.

It was so nice and comfy talking and having fun like this that Eijirou wished he had done it so much earlier, he could feel Bakugou easing into his touch and presence more than he ever had and the guy already acknowledged their best friend status by now. Seemed like there was still some way to go for them, and Eijirou was more than excited for it.

He didn’t know when their voices had lowered to almost whispers (he loved Bakugou’s whisper, so raspy and manly), but it was probably because Bakugou looked so sleepy. His eyelids were the tiniest bit droopy, his lips weren’t even trying to pull themselves into a characteristic scowl or something neutral, they just looked soft, and he’d half-tucked himself under his covers. Eijirou grabbed his own and tugged it over both of them, even though that hadn’t been the initial plan, and Bakugou blinked his eyes open a bit wider.

“We’re not sleeping yet,” Bakugou said, sounding more confused than anything, and Eijirou beamed.

“Yes sir! I’m accepting because you look the sweetest when you’re sleepy and if you’re actually asleep then I’d become a creep if I kept looking at you.”

“You’re already a creep,” Bakugou murmured, the lightest blush dashing across his nose as he pushed his head further into his pillow. “You like gossip ‘n shit. Creeps like that stuff.”

“I don’t like harmful gossip! I just think people and the things they do are really interesting!”

“Creep.”

“You’re a creep,” Eijirou huffed lamely and Bakugou cracked an eye open.

“How?”

“You observe people like...like...a really cool spy.”

“How am I a creep if I’m cool-”

“I’m conflicted, okay!”

Bakugou snickered, a sound that was so nice and breathy that Eijirou pretty much forgot his anger as he nudged Bakugou’s leg lightly, then kept their limbs touching. Bakugou didn’t move away, he just made the tiniest of noises that was probably nothing, eyes closing again.

Staring at him had Eijirou thinking this was a rare opportunity, seeing the great Bakugou Katsuki all cuddled up and vulnerable but totally not vulnerable, Eijirou bet he could still pummel people in this state. But he looked sweet and open, all his cards laid out in front of him and they just read ‘sleepy’. Eijirou felt kinda blessed, to see this. He wondered how many more times he’d be able to. Thought about how lucky a future someone would be to get to fall asleep and wake up to Bakugou like this.

Right. Bakugou’s crush. That might be the future someone. Eijirou felt the weird coiling in his gut again, and knew he was probably a little jealous. It was unmanly but he just wanted to be the one closest to Bakugou, be the guy who made him smile at his phone, made him blush. Well...he didn’t want to make him blush. But, he did like the way Bakugou looked when he did that thing where he’d go just a little pink. He’d done it a few times tonight.

Eijirou reached out, hand ghosting Bakugou’s cheek, but his thumb brushed over his eyebrow for real. Bakugou frowned the tiniest bit, and his ears were touched up with a gentle pink again.

“So I heard you have a crush,” Eijirou tried to say smoothly though it definitely wasn’t, but to his surprise, Bakugou just sighed.

“S’that why you wanted to do this?”

He couldn’t lie to Bakugou. “Maybe. Is that okay?”

Bakugou was silent for a long minute. Eijirou almost thought he’d fallen asleep, until he suddenly muttered, “It’s annoying. But it’s okay.”

“Just wanna know if you’re dealing with it alright, really. And that you can tell me anything because we’re ultimate besties.”

“It’s your metal friend.”

“Tetsutetsu? Really?!” Eijirou yelped, more shocked than he could even process but he paused when Bakugou shook his head.

“No, was jokin’.”

“Aw, dude. Don’t do that to me!”

“It’s actually Ears.”

“JIROU? FOR REAL?!”

“No.”

“Wha- Bakugou!” Eijirou whined, shaking the guy by the shoulders and Bakugou looked mildly amused even with his eyes closed, cuddling up into the mattress some more. “Why’re you messin’ with me?”

“‘Cause I don’t want to tell you but I want you to stop worrying.”

Eijirou pouted, crossing his arms. “I’m not worried about who it is. I don’t...I don’t really care about that. Just wanna know if you’re okay.”

“Look, I’m dealing with it fine. ‘M pretty sure he likes me back, he’s just fucking dense.”

He. “That’s awesome, dude! How d’you know?”

“He likes touching me.”

“Oooh,” Eijirou said as his fingers brushed through Bakugou’s hair. “Spicy.”

Bakugou snorted. “Not like that, you moron. Little touches. And I know he wants to hold my hand again like all the fucking time. He keeps knocking it against mine like I’ll take a hint but he’s gotta be a man and do it himself.”

Eijirou swallowed. “A-Again?”

“Did it once, it was all important and dynamic ‘n shit. Then rejected him a few times after ‘cause I was too...embarrassed. Might’ve shot down his courage a bit but still.”

“Ahh.”

“He can’t keep his eyes off me.”

“...oh.”

“He does really dumb things to try and make me smile.”

The tight feeling was getting worse and worse. Eijirou didn’t know if he could handle this much longer, but he wanted to be a good bro. “Cute.”

“He’s like my own cheerleader. Didn’t realise how much my name came out of his mouth ‘til Soy Sauce brought it up,” Bakugou snickered. Oh, he was enjoying this. Of course he was but that just made everything worse, and Eijirou couldn’t say anything in reply this time. Bakugou didn’t seem to care, though.

“He likes spending time with me,” Bakugou hummed as he shuffled closer so smoothly that Eijirou barely noticed. “He initiates it all the damn time. Could probably call half our hangouts dates by this point.”

Huh? Who...who else did Bakugou spend time alone with?

“And,” Bakugou said, blinking his eyes open to ruby slits to look at Eijirou with a soft smirk curling up his lips. “I don’t think he likes the fact that I’ve got a crush on someone.”

“He knows?” Eijirou asked weakly, and Bakugou hummed.

“Found out recently.”

“Poor guy.”

“I should put him out of his misery.”

Eijirou choked over his words a little, but he managed to get out, “Y-You should.”

“Ei,” Bakugou said, tired voice laced with gentle amusement that somehow set Eijirou’s heart on fire. Wait, scratch that, it was the nickname that did that. Holy hell. “You’re the dumbest motherfucker I’ve ever had the displeasure to know.”

Eijirou’s heart sank. “Man, I’m sorry. I’ll- I’ll figure out who it is with more clues, bet!”

“The thing is, I want you to figure it out on your own. I’m pretty sure I’ve done enough.”

Eijirou groaned, dropping his face into his pillow. Bakugou sounded disappointed in him, and on top of that Eijirou felt sick and like he wanted to run away and never hear about this crush again. The explanations made it hurt that much more, because Bakugou sounded happy, happier than Eijirou usually heard him being, and they seemed close to the point that Eijirou almost felt like his own closeness with Bakugou was fake. There was no way the guy had room for both Eijirou and his crush in his life.

“But don’t hurt your brain,” Bakugou mumbled. “It’s late.”

“Not for me,” Eijirou tried to say, but the words died in his throat when Bakugou glided closer, an arm loosely curling over Eijirou’s waist, and that sleep-soft face rubbed gently into his neck. Eijirou couldn’t move for the life of him, but he was also kind of suffocating himself staying in his pillow.

“He’s dense as a rock,” Bakugou whispered against his skin as his free hand found Eijirou’s, but didn’t link them. Because that was Eijirou’s job. That was Eijirou’s job.

He grabbed Bakugou’s hand faster than lightning as he turned, gasping in a breath as his other hand almost slapped Bakugou’s face with its urgency to touch his cheek, and Bakugou was grinning at Eijirou like he was stupid because he was, oh he so fucking was, but like he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“S’this kinda gossip good enough for you?” Bakugou asked, and Eijirou felt tears gather in his eyes as he nodded fiercely. “Good. Don’t cry, you baby. You’re such an idiot that I can barely deal with it, I described you to a fucking T earlier and there’s literally no-one else I could possibly like.”

“Y-You never know!” Eijirou wailed, grabbing Bakugou around the shoulders and pulling him close. “All kinds of things get said during sleepovers! People are weird!”

He felt Bakugou smile into his shoulder as his arms wound around Eijirou too, hands rubbing gently against his back.

“Thought you said they were interesting.”

“They’re weird too!”

“And you’re the weirdest.”

“I’ll kiss you, then you won’t say I’m weird!” Eijirou sobbed, and Bakugou leaned back and rubbed Eijirou’s cheek this time, flicking away tears. Eijirou barely even knew why he was crying. Maybe it was because of the impact of realising such a big thing as a crush, or relief that he didn’t actually want to throw up.

“Stop crying, I’m too fucking tired for your irritating sniffles,” Bakugou grumbled even as he leant in and pressed miniature kisses along Eijirou’s tear trails, making him cry harder, oh God. “You’re okay.”

Eijirou nodded, sniffing loudly as he gave a watery smile. “Way better than okay.”

When he finally started calming down, even though Bakugou squishing his cheeks had him wanting to both stop crying and cry waterfalls, Bakugou sat up and started rummaging around in the cabinet in his nightstand. He came back with a marker, then he grabbed Eijirou’s hand and wrote on his palm, ‘Bakugou likes you. It wasn’t a dream’.

“How dumb do you think I am?!” Eijirou yelled, but Bakugou just gave him a look and Eijirou let him finish. He was completely swooning when Bakugou drew a little heart on his pinky finger before pausing, scrunching up his face.

“The fuck am I doing.”

“You’re being cute and it’s killing me.”

Eijirou wanted to laugh when Bakugou actually looked satisfied with that answer, then he threw the marker away and dove back into the bed, caging Eijirou in his arms again.

“Sleepovers are good,” Bakugou decided as he pecked Eijirou’s lips, almost missing in his sleep haze, and Eijirou melted into the mattress. Bakugou was right. And they’d better do this way, way, way more often.

“The best.”

Chapter Text

Katsuki’s parents had known about Kirishima before the students had been moved into the dorms. They knew about Katsuki’s cheery, manliness-obsessed best friend just because of offhand comments from Katsuki of ‘Shitty Hair doesn’t know how to fucking math’ or ‘Shitty Hair was my partner’ and it became a little like ‘Shitty Hair this’, ‘Shitty Hair that’, and even though it still wasn’t that often, Katsuki’s parents weren’t sure they’d ever heard Katsuki talk about one person this much since…well, since All Might. 

And of course after the dorm move, Katsuki barely made an effort to talk to them. He’d blatantly ignore most phone calls and only pick up about once a week which became the check-in his parents used, and they noticed change.

’Shitty Hair’ changing to ‘Kirishima’. A softer tone, slowly becoming softer for everything because their son was evolving so beautifully but for Kirishima it was…calmer. It seemed like Katsuki barely felt any true stress or anger talking about him. It was just casual, and friendly. 

Until he started sounding sad. 

And it wasn’t explicit. Emotions other than anger and pride were never explicit on their own with Katsuki but not because he tried to hide them, mostly because he didn’t know how to show them, he wasn’t used to feeling much and his parents knew that.

Surprisingly, but maybe not so surprisingly, Mitsuki was the one who noticed the sadness. 

“Yeah, Kirishima was fighting Soy Sauce,” Katsuki muttered, yawning a little as his parents listened on the other line. “He was good. He’s an idiot who can get better and he’s trying and that’s cool, I guess.” 

“Kirishima or ‘Soy Sauce’?” 

“You fucking know, shut up.” 

His parents shared a knowing look. “So-” 

“I wonder if he sees that,” Katsuki was continuing suddenly and his parents blinked in surprise. Katsuki didn’t usually speak longer than a sentence or two at a time. “He’s a fucking idiot, I’m not joking, he’s just so- aggravating. Shows such a front of loudness and confidence but he’s just dragging himself down all the time. And it’s dumb. He's dumb. Just want people to stop being dumb.”

“Ah, well, at least he’s working on it, son,” Masaru had laughed as Katsuki scoffed, but Mitsuki didn't say anything. She was thinking. 

“He meant that for more than one thing,” she said after the phone call was over, after dinner, just randomly while they were cleaning up in the kitchen and Masaru paused, before turning to look at her in amazement. 

“Who? What’s ‘that’?” 

“Katsuki, you moron, and about Kirishima being dumb. There was this kind of…weight in his voice. You didn’t hear it?” 

Masaru shook his head worriedly and Mitsuki rolled her eyes as she went back to the plates. But she couldn’t stop thinking that her kid had a quality to his voice and a colour to his eyes that said more than his words, and she wondered what else Katsuki thought Kirishima was dumb about. Something that must dig a bit deeper. 

The sadness didn’t stop, for a while. 

“I’m so much fucking better than that Pikachu bastard anyway.” Sad. 

“I don’t know why he likes going to other people’s dorms so much.” Sad. 

“If he wants to keep being an imbecile like always then fine, he can keep being a fucking imbecile.” Sad.

It got to the point that even Masaru noticed the dip in Katsuki’s tone and the short silences he’d take inbetween sentences, and the parents would look at each other in worry. They’d truly thought Katsuki had found someone who actually made him happy, but now things were going downhill so fast they didn't know how to keep up.

Until one day, Katsuki said, “I think I wanna go mountain-hiking with him once,” and even though it wasn't a video call, they heard the smile. They heard the slight lift of his tone and the calmness mixed in with wist, and Mitsuki and Masaru looked at each other in amazement.

Katsuki wasn’t sad anymore. But there was more. He sounded happier than before he was sad, and the longing was still there in his voice but it held a sense of promise, a sense of ‘I'll be able to do the things I’m longing for’. There was the same softness but this time it followed a different design. One that was warmer. 

“They’re dating, aren’t they,” they both said to each other in unison the instant the phone call ended, and they both looked at each other with wide eyes before bursting into laughter, grabbing each other for a hug which had Masaru yelling as Mitsuki crushed his bones.

“You heard it too?” 

“OF COURSE I FUCKING HEARD IT, I KNOW MY SON!”  

“Oh my goodness, should - should we celebrate?” 

“You get the champagne, I’ll get his baby photo album to cry over how much he’s grown up.” 

Masaru laughed again then, tears already at the corners of his eyes and Mitsuki rolled her eyes, muttering, “Wuss,” as she leant forward to wipe them away, then promptly pushed the guy off the sofa, yelling at him to get a move on. 

Katsuki’s parents could always pride themselves on being observant. They were designers, it was in their veins and if they weren’t going to have that upped up one hundred percent when it came to their only kid then there was barely a point. That’s why they were so sure about Katsuki’s newfound affinity, so certain that Kirishima was a ball of sunshine who’d be the best person to have Katsuki’s heart, and why they weren’t going to worry. Sure, they’d be concerned in their own right without being able to help it but Katsuki was getting mellower these days, more aware of other people and their feelings and when Katsuki was ready to tell them, he could, and they’d be there to accept Kirishima into the damn family already.

And that time seemed to come much sooner than expected. 

“Oi, you know how I’m comin’ home this weekend,” Katsuki muttered over the phone and Mitsuki nodded, stroking Masaru’s hair because the big lump had managed to fall asleep even after promising he’d be able to stay up. “Can I bring someone?” 

Mitsuki sat up so fast that she got whiplash and Masaru’s head fell off her chest, making him blink open his eyes groggily. “Huh…?” 

“WHAT?!” Mitsuki screeched and they could basically hear Katsuki’s eye-roll. 

“Calm the fuck down, Satan, I can want people over." 

“What, but - okay. Fine. Let’s say you’ve made friends there.” 

“The fuck’s ‘let’s say’ supposed to mean?!” 

“You see them all the time at school and you’re only coming to see us for a weekend, you really can’t bear to stay two days away from whoever the heck this is?!” 

There was a short phase of silence then. That's when Mitsuki fully thought over her words. Someone Katsuki couldn’t bear to stay two days away from. Someone he liked. Someone he...might adore... 

Mitsuki slapped Masaru in her realisation which had the latter groaning, but she was already back to Katsuki. “Wait, hold on-” 

“He’s not gonna be here the whole weekend or anything. He lives nearby.” 

“Okay. Fine but who the fuck is ‘he’?” 

“Woman, you don’t need to swear every sentence-” 

“THAT’S RICH COMING FROM YOU, JUST ANSWER YOUR MOTHER!” 

“Ugh. I know you already know who it is. Don’t play dumb.” 

Mitsuki paused for a moment. Then she hung up the phone and threw it against the wardrobe. 

“MASARU! HE’S BRINGING HIS BOY HOME!” Mitsuki yelled in Masaru’s face as she shook the man by his shoulders and he blinked, trying his hardest to fix his glasses as he sat up with wide eyes, slight sleep-sand forming in the corner of them. 

“Huh?” 

“MOTHERFUCKER-” Mitsuki pulled him up completely and squished his face, staring straight into his eyes as Masaru gave her a rabbit caught in headlights look back. “Kirishima's coming to our house this weekend.” 

Masaru blinked. “I…I thought Katsuki was the one coming…?” 

“WHA- HOW DO YOU EXIST WITH THAT PEA-SIZED BRAIN OF YOURS?!” 

“WHAT?! MITSUKI, I’M VERY SLEEPY, PLEASE-” 

“Oh for fuck’s sake just, just go to sleep. I’ll tell you tomorrow.” 

Masaru smiled sleepily and held his arms out, and Mitsuki grumbled but fell against him, growling when Masaru nosed her hair. Though she blinked when she heard, “Kirishima likes meat, doesn't he…I’ll…make him a really good hot-pot…him and Katsuki will like that…” 

Mitsuki shook her head, scoffing a little but it turned into a laugh as she tapped Masaru’s cheek, and Masaru blew her a sleepy kiss.

So when Saturday morning came and Masaru got ready to drive to UA only to be shot down with Katsuki’s deadpan text of ‘we already got the train’, that had them a little giddy because it meant they were meeting Kirishima straight off the bat. They’d been talking about it almost all night. 

“Do you think Katsuki’s done the boy’s eyeliner this morning too?” 

“Maybe. I’m sure he’ll be the sweetest little gentleman to exist, huh.” 

“What if he’s so bright we’ll be blinded?” 

“Katsuki might say that a lot but don’t think he’s blind yet, right? Lucky little fucker.” 

“Oh no, I don’t think I can bear to think about what his smile would be like.” 

“Bet you a thousand that Katsuki dies a little every time he smiles.” 

“Bet you ten thousand Katsuki kisses him every time.” 

“HA, MASARU!” 

It was eleven am when there was a knock on the door and Masaru let out a gasp from where he was cooking in the kitchen, meanwhile Mitsuki threw open the bathroom door and tore her face mask off. “They're here early?!” 

“THEY’RE HERE EARLY!”  

“I’M FUCKING COMING, TURN OFF THE STOVE!” 

“WHAT, I CAN’T JUST-” 

“DO IT, YOU’RE COMING WITH ME!” Mitsuki yelled as she tore into the kitchen, grabbed Masaru’s hand and tugged the guy who managed to catch the switch to turn off the stove just before they both raced out. “JUST A SEC!” 

“Hurry the fuck up,” a voice groaned, then there was a chirpier yet rougher voice saying, “Yo, you talk to your parents like that, man?”   

“His voice. It’s so kind,” Mitsuki hissed as they both pressed their ear up to the door, and Masaru nodded in agreement.

“I hate them.” 

“‘m sure you don’t, bro.” 

“Can you shut up because who asked you? OI, WHERE ARE YOU TWO?!” 

“Here, here, shut your ungrateful gob,” Mitsuki managed to say after catching her composure and opening the door, docking Katsuki’s head. Katsuki winced, and Kirishima blinked at her and just when Mitsuki tried to smile at the vibrant-haired kid, Kirishima pulled on Katsuki’s sleeve and tugged a little so he was closer to him, and further from Mitsuki. 

“Uh…sorry, ma’am, um, but, don’t…touch your son like that? Please?” 

Mitsuki froze, eyes wide but she was speechless. Everyone was speechless, even Katsuki who stared at Kirishima like he was crazy and the boy was already sweating a little, swallowing as his clutch on Katsuki’s shirt nervously got tighter. “S-Sorry. Just, worried.” 

“Do your parents not do that to you?” Katsuki asked confusedly and Kirishima’s eyebrows furrowed further as he shook his head adamantly. 

“Not at all.” 

“That’s alright, I apologise, okay let’s get inside,” Mitsuki said robotically as she turned on her heel and walked off, and Masaru said a hurried greeting to the boys before rushing after Mitsuki. 

“Mits-” 

“Katsuki’s boyfriend hates me,” Mitsuki whisper-screeched, clutching her head and Masaru sighed, frowning as he took hold of one of Mitsuki’s hands. 

“Hey, hey. He was probably just surprised! Who knows!” 

Masaru held his breath, and let it out when Mitsuki slowly nodded. Still, her heart felt heavier but they swiftly moved back to where they were without another word, and Mitsuki tried to paint a smile on again as she was about to clear her throat, but she paused at the sight she saw. Masaru bumped into her but Mitsuki brought a finger to her lips. 

“Trust me, dude. I’m gonna hug my parents so hard when I get home that they’ll cry! I'll cry, too!” Kirishima cheered way too happily for the words, fist pumping. Katsuki watched him with an amused smile on his face, chin resting on his palm. 

“Oh yeah? You're all gonna be ugly blubbering messes, I know you’re gross when you cry.” 

Kirishima tried to get offended but only burst into giggles instead, and Masaru and Mitsuki looked at each other in amazement because holy hell, that was one of the happiest smiles they’d ever seen, and the laugh complimented it even more. 

“Seriously, though, man. Thank you for…letting me come here before I go become an ‘ugly blubbering mess’. I’ll be able to man up and head off later…” 

“Oi, oi, look at me,” Katsuki said, voice unwavering but…caring as he tilted forward to get a look at Kirishima’s downcast face, and Kirishima did look back at him. “So you didn’t tell them you were coming home. So what? I know you’ve got your separation anxiety shit going down so you shouldn’t need to stay away from them for so long. And I know you told me they’re crazy busy now but you know and I know they’ll be so happy to see you so when I send you off you’ll be having that dumb usual smile on your face, not this miserable thing you've got going on now, won’t you?”

Kirishima smiled so gratefully as he murmured, “Thanks, man,” and raised a fist, and Katsuki rolled his eyes as he knocked his own against it. His head turned then and he caught sight of his parents who seized up, expecting Katsuki to flip out - but they were wrong. Katsuki just nodded at them, straightening up before he flicked his head in Kirishima’s direction. 

“Wanna greet the loser properly, folks?”

That was how handshakes and smiles were exchanged, as well as Mitsuki and Masaru getting slightly starry-eyed by Kirishima’s oh-so-bright, “I’m Kirishima Eijirou, thank you for letting me into your house!”, then his even brighter laughter at Katsuki saying in distaste, "You sound like you're some fucking stray.” 

“Am I your stray?” 

Katsuki reached out as if he was about to scratch Kirishima under the chin, then he realised the others were there and he trudged away, grumbling something as Kirishima bounded after him and the other two just looked at each other in amazement. 

“They’re in love.” 

“Mitsuki.” 

“I fucking CALL IT-” 

“I need to cook the hot-pot.” 

“Holy shit, get in the kitchen.”

The looks. The conversations. The small touches. Just seeing Katsuki smile at someone without it being a smirk or a feral grin was something that had Mitsuki and Masaru on edge, but it wasn’t scary. Not when Kirishima was the complete opposite, leaning into Katsuki’s subtle affections with way more obvious sentiment and smiles galore, chatting easily about any topics the parents would bring up and he used his hands a crazy amount while talking that Masaru and Mitsuki’s eyes simply started following them eventually. Katsuki kicked them once he noticed.  

“Bakugou's doing amazing at school. Like, really, really amazing,” Kirishima said with pumped fists and starry eyes, and that might be cute, but Mitsuki and Masaru caught each other’s eye for a moment when they realised that Kirishima still called Katsuki ‘Bakugou’. Strange for two people dating, but then again not completely unheard of, and the boys were probably simply too used to it.  

“Idiot. He likes gushing about my grades more than improving his own,” Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes and Kirishima yelped a, “Hey, I’m trying!” and Katsuki laughed when Kirishima launched into a spiel about how he was going to do better because trying hard was the manliest thing in the world and he’d take everything that hit him head-on and Katsuki was the best tutor anyway so it didn’t matter, and Mitsuki wasn’t sure she’d ever smiled this big (it hurt) meanwhile Masaru already looked close to tears. Mitsuki slapped his arm. 

“You big baby, go get the food ready to eat, I’ll come help in a sec.” 

Masaru nodded, sniffing as Mitsuki scratched his head then sent him off. Mitsuki got up then, hands on her hips as she smiled at the kids who blinked up at her. “Wanna lay the table with me, boys?” 

“How fuckin’ lazy are you to have not done it yet…" 

“You're three seconds away from extinction, I hope you know,” Mitsuki seethed and Katsuki just stuck his tongue out crudely, grabbing Kirishima’s wrist as they got up before steering him away, probably to the dining room. 

Mitsuki didn’t miss Kirishima’s slightly uncomfortable look. 

Damn it. 

Laying the table was a sitch, Katsuki and Kirishima were basically done by the time Mitsuki got there, talking in their way with knowing smiles and simple conversation and bubbles of laughter that made Mitsuki think they definitely had inside jokes. Or maybe they just really found it that easy to talk to each other, and Mitsuki far preferred that option, because a year ago she would’ve never believed it. 

The parents were about to burst once they were getting seated, with Masaru and Mitsuki at opposite ends of the table and Katsuki and Kirishima inbetween them, opposite each other too but when they caught eyes, Kirishima sent a shy grin that Katsuki returned with a happy smirk before they averted eyes. Mitsuki pointed at them while they weren’t looking, mouthing at Masaru “LOOK AT THEM” and the latter coughed up his laughter into a handkerchief. 

“This is amazing!” Kirishima gasped in awe after he hadn’t even finished the first bite, and Mitsuki smiled proudly as Masaru beamed. 

“Thanks, son, I tried my best.” 

“I definitely understand where Bakugou gets it from now. You know he cooks so many of the meals for our class? It’s so cool.” 

“I wouldn’t have to do it if you lot weren’t hopeless. Realised that like two seconds in once Pinky blew up the microwave.” 

“Bro, I know we’re the worst but it’s still so nice of you, though.”

The parents paused then, so in sync that it would’ve been scary, but of course they were sharing one thought. Someone had just called their son nice. The other two had already started arguing about it but the parents must have love goggles on their behalf now because they couldn’t see any of their interactions as anything but adoring, and they wondered, they wondered just how one year at a school had allowed their son to be seen as something like nice. It made them feel like they’d missed out, on seeing Katsuki go through some of the best growth he ever would in his life. 

But they also felt like letting Katsuki get away and settle into a lifestyle with other kids who cared about him was honestly one of the best things they’d ever been able to do for their son. Mitsuki could see that for herself in many things, but mostly in Katsuki’s laugh that she felt she hadn’t heard in years.

“Oi, give me a roll,” Katsuki was saying which snapped her out of it, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Get it yourself, it’s right there.” 

“It’s literally so much closer to you, what the fuck-” 

“God’s sake, stop being lazy, you little-” 

Mitsuki froze then when a strong hand that had darted out to encircle her wrist stopped her from her instinctive urge to thwack Katsuki’s head, and she, as well as everyone, turned her head to Kirishima who was standing up slightly, arm reached out as their hands were hovering just above a surprised Katsuki’s head. 

“Don’t,” Kirishima said, and his voice was somehow still soft, probably because of the delicateness of the situation, even with its edge of warning. 

So Mitsuki quickly pulled her hand back while Kirishima sat back down a little embarrassedly, and Katsuki just looked between everyone through the new heavy atmosphere very confusedly. 

“What the hell-” 

“Here’s a roll!” Masaru said quickly as he got up to the other side of the table to throw a roll onto Katsuki’s plate, and the latter gave him the most weirded out look but Masaru managed to discreetly squeeze Mitsuki’s shoulders meanwhile. Yet Mitsuki batted the hands away. 

Silence stretched for the next while as they ate, all of them trying to rack their brains to where they could steer the conversation to a better topic, or at least a topic, and it seemed like Kirishima was going to futilely try for a ‘this tastes so good!’ again, until Masaru managed to ask calmly, “So how did you two become acquainted to begin with, exactly?”, and him and Mitsuki did a telepathic fist-bump when the kids perked up.

“He wouldn’t stop bothering me,” Katsuki grumbled just as Kirishima cheered, “He has a manly heart, I liked it!”, and the parents decided to take both answers. 

“A manly heart? God, you’re dumb.” 

“You’ve got a hella good heart man, I just need to bulldoze through some more of the walls up around it!” 

“You two are so cute, you know that?” Mitsuki managed to say in awe before Katsuki could give a scandalised reply back, and the kids whipped their heads around to stare at her, pink creeping up their faces almost in unison.

“The fuck are you saying that for?!" 

“Th-Thank you, ma’am.” 

“Of course! It’s so nice to meet our son’s boyfriend, really. We never even thought he’d have true friends let alone this,” Mitsuki laughed as she ignored Katsuki’s reply, and neither of the parents had noticed how Katsuki had frozen, or how Kirishima’s smile faltered. 

“Oh well that’s not quite true, I always thought he could do it,” Masaru began warmly, but he couldn't get far because there was a loud bang and the next thing they knew, the piece of tablecloth Katsuki was holding so tight in his hand was covered in soot. Mitsuki glared, irritated that he’d ruined such a wholesome moment as she hissed, “Brat, what the fuck are you-” 

“B-Bakugou, uh,” Kirishima was saying next, eyes only on Katsuki as the guy stared down at the table, grimacing hard. “Did…did you tell your parents we were dating?” 

Wait.

“No! No, of course I fucking didn’t!” Katsuki yelled almost desperately through his anger, getting up and Kirishima got up too, like they were attached by string. “I don't want to date you! Why the fuck would I ever tell them such a dumb lie?!” 

“Wait a second,” Mitsuki said quickly, feeling more confused than she ever had but Katsuki was baring her teeth at her, exploding his plate cleanly before racing off before the smoke cleared, banging a fist against the wall before he left the room. And Kirishima called out after him, eyebrows creased as he made a move to follow, but then he paused. Instead, he looked between the surprised stuttering parents, a look of utter disbelief and amazement on his face.  

“Have you thought we were…boyfriends? This entire time?” Kirishima asked warily, voice heavy with something so purely negative opposed to his usual sunshine that the parents felt their hearts breaking, and Mitsuki stammered out, “W-Well, we knew it had to- wait, but Katsuki said-”

“Did you ever ask?” 

“What?” 

“Did you ever ask him? Because I’m assuming that you simply assumed. Am I right?" 

And when the parents truly thought about it, looking at each other, Kirishima was absolutely right. 

They’d just been so sure about it that it had become reality, and every outing Katsuki talked about was turned into a date, every notion turned into a loving gesture, and they hadn't cared about questioning it because they had just been so happy that their son had someone. So happy that Katsuki could learn how to love, in more ways than one. 

“We never asked,” Masaru said quietly, and Mitsuki said even quieter, “We were just so sure.” 

“You…” Kirishima sighed then, dragging a hand over his face before he straightened up, face scrunched and fists clenched. “You’re…you’re so weird!” 

Then Kirishima was off, calling Katsuki’s name again as he bolted out of the room and Mitsuki let out the heaviest sigh of misery as she leant forward and rested a hand on her head, shaking it morosely and Masaru moved to the seat that Katsuki had been in, wiping away the soot.

“Mitsuki-” 

“He hates us, Masaru. What’s the point? We’ve messed up so much. They’re not even dating, and if we thought that so surely then that just means their friendship is impeccably close - so what if we’ve just messed that up? What if we’ve made them uncomfortable to the point they can't save it? What- what if Kirishima doesn't even know Katsuki likes guys? What if he’s homophobic? What if we've taken away the one guy that makes Katsuki happier than we’ve ever seen him?!” 

“God, Mitsuki, please, please stop before I cry,” Masaru begged with a wobbly voice, and he reached out to wrap his arms around Mitsuki’s head and pull it towards his chest, and Mitsuki squeezed her eyes shut as she slowly relaxed in her husband's warm clothes and scent. But she still knew how much she'd fucked up, and she couldn’t deal with kindness now. 

“I’m gonna - I can't, I’ll be back, just…eat some more or something, fuck,” Mitsuki said, a crack in her voice during the sentence somewhere but she didn’t care as she shook herself out of Masaru’s old and the man let her, patting her head once before she managed to separate completely and leave, just ready to head to the kitchen and rush-wash the dishes in the sink until they all broke. 

But she opened the door a little only for her breath to hitch, because this had to be the one place the kids had decided to have their consolation fest. 

“Why would I want to date you?” Katsuki was still hissing, but he sounded even worse, voice more ragged and raspy and when Mitsuki cautiously looked through where the door was ajar only to see Katsuki turned to face the counter, hands grabbing it tight and he was…shaking. And Kirishima was next to him, face sad as he looked like he wanted to get close, wanted to comfort, but he kept his distance. “Why would I ever want to date you? It's gross!” 

Kirishima’s face changed then. “Bro, I’m sorry but come on, I - you know I’ve got two mothers. Be careful about who you’re saying ‘it’s gross’ to.”  

Katsuki seized up, then he was snapping his head up to face Kirishima, eyes wide. “W-Wait, that - okay, okay. Not gross. I didn't mean it. I fucking- I didn’t!” 

“Yeah. Yeah I know, man, I know you didn't mean it,” Kirishima reassured, reaching out but Katsuki flinched, so Kirishima paused. Then he sighed and retracted his arm. “Look, it - it’s okay, you know? Definitely not the end of anything. I mean, I don’t mind.” 

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean? You don't mind them thinking we’re together?” 

Kirishima’s face flared. “I more meant I didn't mind the whole situation because we can fix it, but I mean…uh…that's also…”

Katsuki stared in utter disbelief, and so did Mitsuki, eyes wide even though she almost didn't want to assume the insinuation just so she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice - but she almost yelled when Katsuki shouted, “FUCK!” as he lost his grip on the counter and crashed back onto the floor with a groan. 

Mitsuki thought she might actually go in to help at that point but she was frozen a little when she saw Kirishima crouch down in front of Katsuki worriedly, reaching out to finally touch the guy and tug him closer, patting him worriedly. “You okay, man?!” 

And for a moment, even though it was nowhere near, yet, it reminded Mitsuki of every time Masaru used to find her after street fights, where her young adult hot-headedness got ahead of her. Every time Masaru would crouch down in front of her, giving her a worried look, a kiss on her forehead, a ‘it’s fine, love’.

“Yeah, I’m fucking fine…ugh…God, you really know how to spring something on a guy.” 

Kirishima laughed, one of his hands intertwining with Katsuki’s. “Sorry, I- it just came out.” 

“Well, don’t worry about it.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.”   

They just looked at each other then, mouths twitching as their eyes stared so gently. And that's when Mitsuki knew for sure that, in some way, she hadn’t completely been wrong. Katsuki really liked this boy. And Kirishima liked him back.

“Uh…can I…?” 

“If you mess up, I’ll kill you.” 

“Ha, I’ve never kissed someone before, man.” 

“Then it better be the best thing you've ever fucking done.” 

Then Katsuki was grabbing Kirishima's collar, and that finally snapped Mitsuki out of her stupor as she ran off, almost stumbling into everything on the way but she burst into the dining room where Masaru who was just cleaning up looked up in surprise. “Mitsuki! Are you-” 

“They - the boys - they kissed!” Mitsuki whisper-yelled as she held her heart and breathed out, but Masaru gaped for only a second before concern fell over his face.

“Mitsuki, though that's wonderful, are you telling me you eavesdropped on them? Oh come on, you know you can’t-”

“I KNOW I'M NOT A GOOD PERSON!” Mitsuki suddenly yelled and Masaru froze, eyes blown wide. Mitsuki clenched her fists, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “I know, but that boy there, our son is one of the only things I care about in this stupid world. And I might not know how to show it, I might not do what I should because I suck but I want him to be happy and seeing him happy makes me the luckiest parent in the world so can you just let me gush for a second?!” 

“Mitsuki,” Masaru whispered, eyes following something just behind Mitsuki, and Mitsuki was about to yell, “WHAT?!” until Katsuki’s voice was saying, “No-one asked for a fucking pantomime performance like that, ma.”

Mitsuki spun around, and she saw Katsuki and Kirishima standing in the doorway, Katsuki looking away with arms crossed, face pursed with a slight blush on his pale skin, but Kirishima stood loud and proud, his smile so bright and good. Because he was so good. 

“Son, can we talk?” Masaru asked Katsuki who blinked, but nodded, turning on his heel and Masaru made to follow, but answered Mitsuki’s confused look with, “Just for a breather. Don’t worry about it.” 

“B-But you can't leave me alone with-” 

“Hey. My wife can do anything. I’ve known that since forever,” Masaru said softly, patting Mitsuki’s forearm once before he was off, nodding at Kirishima who smiled at him best he could even with the nervous sweat he was breaking, but Mitsuki wasn’t much better.  

Silence, for an agonising second. Before Kirishima cleared his throat.

“You know,” Kirishima said, starting off quiet as he got a little closer, and Mitsuki winced, still not quite bearing to face him. “That kind of thing you just said. Can’t you say it to Bakugou’s face, once or twice?” 

“Kirishima, that’s not what we do-” 

“But I think it’s something you both need.” 

And for some reason, Mitsuki wanted to laugh at that. Not a crude laugh, not one to make fun of Kirishima but because she knew he was just so right in such an obvious way that it was, well, laughable. 

“You’re going to teach our family a lot about love, aren’t you?” 

Kirishima blinked then, a feign of confusion all over his face but of course Mitsuki could see the small tug of his lips as a sharp tooth peeked out. “I’m only a kid, ma’am, you think I know enough to teach?” 

Mitsuki snorted. “Honey, I know. But that doesn’t always matter. I know you know enough.” 

“I just…think that Katsuki deserves more, that’s all. And that he deserves to have a better relationship with himself and other people. You guys are two of the most important ‘other people’.” 

“I know, I know. You’ve got a golden heart, Kirishima. Let me tell you how rare it is to find one of those these days.” 

Kirishima smiled, bigger now. “Nah. I’m not that good, not yet. I’m trying, though.” 

So this amazing boy was going through his own development, too. 

Well, Mitsuki and Masaru would be there for him. Mitsuki ruffled his hair and Kirishima winced warmly, grinning, and when Katsuki and Masaru returned, Kirishima announced that he was heading off, and Katsuki’s eyebrows furrowed a little. 

“Already?” 

“Mhm. It’s okay, bro, I’ll see you Monday!” 

“I can come with, if you want. I’ll be nice.” 

“You ever fucking think to ask your parents before you offer something like that? He can, though,” Mitsuki said, switching tones so fast and Kirishima blinked, speechless for a second as his mouth opened. Then he was muttering a quick, “Sorry,” to Katsuki’s parents before he ran forward and grabbed Katsuki’s face, kissing him hard. Katsuki snorted even while his face flushed, eyes closing as his arms caught Kirishima by the waist and he groaned in faux annoyance the entire time Kirishima felt the need to yell at him about how much he would want that once the kiss was over, and now the parents’ hearts were bursting for real.  

“Guess we’re both heading off then,” Kirishima laughed once he eventually pulled away, bashful but Mitsuki waved a hand at him dismissively to show he was fine. “I’ll - I’ll make sure he returns in one piece! Or you can pick him up if you’d like!” 

“Thank you, Kirishima, and, Katsuki, remember to text details,” Masaru said with a smile, patting the boy’s head and Katsuki rolled his eyes as he grabbed a coat and started shoving his feet into shoes. It seemed like a flash before Katsuki and Kirishima were outside, waving at the parents before they were back to just themselves, laughs and glances and holding hands, and the two watched them for a minute before Masaru calmly closed the door. 

“He’s wonderful, isn’t he?” Mitsuki asked wistfully, a note of sadness in her voice. “I want him to like me.” 

Masaru took her hand, squeezing it. “As time passes and we all grow, I know he will.”

Mitsuki snorted a little brokenly at that, muttering a raspy, “That’s fuckin’ cheesy,” but she let Masaru hug her, then they went back into their now childless (only for a short while, though) house to clean up and spend just a little more time looking at baby photos tonight.

Chapter Text

Eijirou said 'I love you' like he was giving out candy.

He adored letting his friends know he loved them, he loved their reactions full of smiles and warmth, and he felt warmed to the bone by getting an 'I love you' back. But he wouldn’t mind if he didn't get one. He didn't mind the fact that the blond explosion boy he loved the most never said it back.

The reactions Katsuki gave him were always different, to the point that he'd get whiplash trying to remember. The first time had been a picture of complete and utter shock, his eyes wide as he stared at Eijirou, face brushing pink before he was yelling out and Eijirou cackled as he had to run away. But as the days, weeks and months passed...they started getting somewhere.

'I love you!'s after late night study sessions might get him a head pat. 'I love you!'s when they were out on sunset walks might get him a punch on the shoulder. But sometimes, he'd get smiles. Katsuki wouldn't look at him and smile, no way, but he'd fiddle with a pencil, or look at his desk, and smile. A soft smile. Someone might call it an almost-smile, someone who wasn't Eijirou who thought it so enchanting that it couldn't be anything but a pure smile that had his heart racing a little. He knew he'd done good when he'd get a reaction out of his bro that would have his heart doing something funny. 

But it was the bad reactions that got to Eijirou the most.The scowls. The glares, the 'find some extra to fucking say that to!'. But sometimes it was just a look. A look of straight...exhaustion. And Katsuki would always leave after those.

"Wha- dude, we were gonna play the new-"

"'M tired. Play it yourself, Ei."

"Don't 'Ei' me when you're mad!"

"I'm not fucking mad!"

"But- but you're-! Ah...I don't understand, dude..."

Katsuki looked back at him, eyes heavy with something that Eijirou wished, wished with all his might that he had the emotional intelligence to recognise, before Katsuki turned, muttering, "Night, idiot," and left the room. Eijirou would watch the door for a moment, heart heavy as he'd wonder why. He'd wonder if Katsuki didn't want to be loved by him.

But then the next day would come, he'd say it again out of instinct and Katsuki would snort, smirk softly, and everything was forgotten as Eijirou just felt dreamy all over again. And, repeat.

It was at Mina's eighteenth birthday party that people heard him say 'I love you' the most because turned out drunk Eijirou was VERY loving (no-one was surprised). He'd soar at everyone to tackle hug them, he'd yell 'I LOVE YOU, MY DUDE!!' at even the most random of people and he kept sobbing whenever he saw Mina, holding up a fist and wailing, "That's my GAL" and Mina cooed before they hugged to death until Hanta would have to drag him away.

But it was when Eijirou was drunkenly stumbling to the door and crying out, "I LOVE YOU, BEAUTIFUL GUY IN RED OVER THERE" that they finally decided to get a hold of things before Eijirou professed his love to every postbox in the neighbourhood.

Eijirou looked around dizzily, asking 'whaaaa' when arms started taking hold of him, and he hoped it'd be another group hug! But his vision kept blacking out on him...every time he'd open his eyes he'd be in a different place, he was so confused. So confused that he'd just keep closing his eyes, because that seemed good, that seemed safe. Though he opened them a little when he felt fingers touch his face just for a second, and he blinked up to see blond. Blond and warm and strong, carrying him, hard chest, warm.

Eijirou smiled big, letting his eyes close again. Safe. Very safe. With Katsuki.

When he felt himself being dropped lightly onto a bed, he felt like he was dropping into clouds. Though clouds were softer...wait, did he know what clouds felt like...but this was still nice! He sat up more now, because he wasn't moving anymore, he was still, though the world was still a bit swirly. He clutched his head a little, wincing.

"You alright, shithead?"

Eijirou instantly smiled at the familiar voice, and heard a snort next. "Yeah. You're okay. Get under the covers, idiot."

Well, Eijirou was feeling tired, he could feel it in his bones even as much as a buzz, both of them fighting with each other to the point that he felt dizzy, and he didn't know if he wanted to stay up or not anymore, so he turned around to Katsuki but his head went completely empty when he did. Katsuki was leaning back on his hands, head tilted back and eyes closed as slithers of moonlight through the dodgily closed curtains illuminated him. He looked like a tired angel and Eijirou wanted to hug him and tell him he could sleep forever and ever.

"Katsuki," Eijirou said, tone slightly sing-song as he crawled towards the guy, and Katsuki turned his head to face him, blinking his eyes open. "Sleep time!"

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, catching Eijirou before he fell off the side. "Look at you, you responsible little drunk. But I said get into your damn bed."

"My head heavy," Eijirou sighed dramatically, slumping against Katsuki's chest and Katsuki snickered, one warm hand on Eijirou's aching head and the other tracing his side gently. "But I'm still all giddyyyyyy..."

"Mm. So why sleep time?"

Eijirou poked Katsuki's chest. "You're sleepy, am I WRONG?!"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, muttering 'too loud' as Eijirou shuffled closer just as Katsuki tugged on him a little, and Katsuki's face suddenly leant in close, a smirk on his lips that entranced Eijirou. "What're you doing?"

Eijirou didn't know, so he just counteracted with, "What are you doing?" and Katsuki shrugged.

"Gettin' close to you."

"Hehe, 'cause you love me!" Eijirou giggled as he pressed closer, emboldened by being so close and feeling the other’s hands all warm and gentle on his hips through his thin shirt. Though Katsuki's eyes flashed at that, face twisting a little into something bitter and though drunk Eijirou couldn't pick up on it, he definitely felt the way Katsuki pulled him closer so their chests hit, and Eijirou's eyes grew wide.

"No. You love me," Katsuki growled, lowly, but the note of desperation in his voice was becoming clear. Eijirou frowned a little, worried as he said, "Y-Yeah, I do," bringing his arms up to wind around Katsuki's shoulders. Katsuki sighed as he closed his eyes and his eyebrows furrowed when Eijirou started playing with his neck hair.

"You know I love you!"

"'Course I fuckin' do."

"Yeah! I like telling you. I really really do! It makes me warm. It makes me happy, letting you know. You're my bestie! My favourite!"

Katsuki opened his eyes to look at him, exasperation in his expression but Eijirou only beamed obliviously which had Katsuki groaning quietly.

"Fuck. Why you gotta be so cute, huh? Makes it so fuckin' hard to hate you," Katsuki sighed as he nosed Eijirou's jaw, smiling a little and that made a bubble of happiness grow in Eijirou's chest, though it popped in a second.

"You hate me?!"

"Sometimes I wish I could. 'Cause I fucking hate how I can adore one person this much."

"Me?" Eijirou asked worriedly, quietly, not sure if it was him but his heart rose when Katsuki's lips brushed his neck, so softly.

"'Course it's you. Idiot."

Eijirou made a happy noise, giddiness filling him up even more and he didn't know what it was, but he couldn't stop himself when Katsuki brought his head back up to face him. He leant forward and before he knew it, he was pressing his lips against Katsuki's, short, messy, small, but so warm as he giggled the instant he pulled back. "I love you!"

Katsuki didn't reply. Probably because he was completely and utterly frozen by the looks of it. He was just staring at Eijirou, eyes filled with wonder and disbelief so wide, mouth slightly open, the picture of surprise.

Then before Eijirou could even react, Katsuki was pouncing, grabbing Eijirou's face and kissing him again and again so they kept moving back on the bed, so much that Eijirou grew light-headed in an instant, wincing when his head hit the headboard of the bed but he couldn't help the giggles escaping his mouth. Katsuki's kisses were so quick, all close-mouthed, desperate, but so gentle. Eijirou's laughs were breathless as Katsuki moved to his forehead, his cheeks, jaw, peppering his face and neck with kisses that felt like warm feathers and Eijirou felt like he was in some kind of strange heaven.

"Kat- Katsu- Katsuki! Kats, wait!" Eijirou laughed loud as Katsuki was about to go back to his lips, but the guy did pause then, staring again. Eijirou stared back at him, a shy but more than happy smile on his lips, cheeks flushed and hair messy but that seemed to make Katsuki come back to his senses. He leaned back a little, eyes falling as he panted softly, then he grimaced right before slumping against Eijirou and letting his head drop into the guy's neck.

"You're drunk," Katsuki muttered, and he sounded so hateful as he grabbed Eijirou's shirt to bunch it up in his fists so tight. "You're just drunk."

Eijirou frowned. He didn't know what to say to that, and he was getting sad, because Katsuki kept getting sad tonight and even when Eijirou cheered him up, he wouldn't stay happy for long. So he just tried to hug him, resting his chin on his shoulder as he murmured, "I'm sorry."

"You know what the worst thing is?" Katsuki said, and Eijirou apologetically shook his head because he knew nothing, and Katsuki scoffed out a laugh. "You don't even have anything to be sorry for. You don't, you - you don't do anything wrong, ever, you're just so fuckin- what was wrong with me when I decided to like the most beautiful person this dumb world could offer?"

"I-I don't understand-"

"Shut up. I don't want you to understand. Even I don't understand. And that makes me hate you, Eijirou, I hate you, I hate you, I fucking hate you.”

"H-Huh?" Eijirou asked in confusion, voice wobbling as tears filled his eyes so quick. Katsuki froze in his hold before pulling back quickly, eyes widening.

"Ei- wait-"

"N-No, it- it's fine, you-" But he broke off into a sob again and his heart felt so heavy in his chest. He loved Katsuki...he loved him. Why did he hate him? What did Eijirou do?

"No, no, shhh, fuck, please," Katsuki’s voice was saying and Eijirou didn't want to listen to it but he was already subconsciously angling into Katsuki's warm hands brushing away his tears, and Katsuki might be kissing him again but Eijirou could barely tell. "Fuck, fuck, don't cry, holy shit - what the fuck is wrong with me?!"

"Please don't hate me," Eijirou cried softly, trying to move but Katsuki kept him in place, groaning as he raised his sleeve to wipe Eijirou's face gently, and Eijirou couldn't stop hiccupping but he tried, he tried to speak. "I-I'm okay if you don't say it b-but I thought maybe, maybe you loved me just a little, that maybe - maybe I was special and I make you smile and I try so hard for you 'cause you deserve it, you deserve love after everything's been so mean to you and, and I- so I thought, you at least liked me."

Katsuki hushed him this time with a gentle kiss on his lips, and Eijirou closed his eyes, wishing it would last forever and he chased it the instant Katsuki pulled back, but Katsuki pushed him away.

"Eijirou. I'm sorry. You just - you don't understand. You'll never understand, just how fucking demeaning it is to like someone who doesn't like you back."

"Demeaning..."

"You love me. I know, okay? I know. But I'm in love with you. You're not. You'll never be. Yeah, you're the only person who'd be able to handle me. You're beautiful, you're strong, you're soft, you're brave, you're so determined. Shit, forget that you're a dumbass for a second then you're fucking perfect. You're everything I want and hell, you'll never love me back. And it's not like I deserve it either."

Eijirou's head was spinning.

He didn't understand. He didn't. And the more he tried, the more his head hurt, and he wanted to say something, he wanted to get that angry self-loathing look off Katsuki's face but he didn't know how.

But he jolted when Katsuki's face was suddenly so close that it was all he could see, and he had one eyebrow raised. "Ei. I'm never gonna say I love you to you, not as long as I live. That's because I'm fucking selfish. Because I think that you don't get to hear it, you're the one who doesn't love me back the way I want so you don't deserve me letting you think I love you."

Eijirou might've cried again, if Katsuki didn't kiss his forehead. "But I'm too pathetic to let you go. I might hate it but just keep loving me. Keep doing it then maybe I'll be okay 'cause I'm so in love that it'd probably be enough."

"Katsuki," Eijirou whispered, and Katsuki nodded as he slumped again, forehead against Eijirou's and eyes closed as Eijirou raised a hand to caress Katsuki's cheek.

"I'm hopeless..."

"I-I don't know if I'm in love with you but-"

"You're not. Trust me," Katsuki snorted, and Eijirou pouted, hands tangling up in Katsuki's hair and Katsuki seemed to like that as he nuzzled Eijirou's cheek.

"How do you know?"

"I'm your fucking ‘bro‘. You make that very clear."

"So why don't you just tell me?"

"I'm not about to fucking do something that might take you away from me."

"You told me now!"

"You're drunk."

"I- but that- ah," Eijirou groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and clutching his head, and Katsuki's eyes softened as he gathered Eijirou up in his arms, pulling him close and kissing the side of his face. Eijirou softened up a little too, sighing as he leant against Katsuki, knowing that he was just so tired and dizzy now.

"You're perfect," Katsuki murmured through kisses, and Eijirou sniffed. "Never forget that. Even when I'm the one telling you otherwise, 'cause I'm a fucking prick."

"You love me?” Eijirou whispered, because somewhere in this hazy mind of his, or maybe it was his heart, he knew that was one of the only things he wanted to hear in life. It was something that would make him happy forever. But Katsuki's face wasn't happy, at all, as he grimaced and started pulling away again.

"I'm leavin' before you somehow bewitch me to say it. I'm not gonna. I can't."

"But I love you so much."

Katsuki paused at the crack in Eijirou's voice, as Eijirou felt tears gathering. Again?! Damn it.

"You...you're...I've never loved someone like I love you, I never - you just make me so happy, you - you have my everything. My trust, my love, my respect, my adoration 'n I, I just, I don't think about it...I don't ever think about you not saying it back because...I think it doesn't matter. I think, ‘if I love him then it's okay. If he lets me love him then it's okay.’"

Katsuki started reaching out for Eijirou again, but Eijirou sniffed, turning away a little. "But even once...just sometimes, I fantasise, that you might...you might...even just pretend."

Eijirou could barely feel Katsuki's arms clamping around him, could barely hear the "no, no, no" but he let out a shaky breath at Katsuki kissing his eyelids. "Open your eyes, hey, please."

But Eijirou shook his head. If he opened them he'd just see blurs anyway, he'd leak more tears than he was ready for, and he'd see his best friend who didn't want to love him. Though he jolted a little when he felt something poke under his eye, lapping at his tears a little. Katsuki’s tongue...?

He blinked his eyes open for a second, then the lapping got so ticklish that he burst into giggles without being able to stop, and Katsuki smiled against his skin. "That funny?"

"Heh, tickles..."

"Mm. Look at me, Ei," Katsuki murmured, and Eijirou complied a little though he didn't need to look at much since Katsuki kissed him again, another desperate soft one. One that had Eijirou frowning, fingers curling against Katsuki's cheek in worry as Katsuki knocked his forehead against his a few times before settling, breathing hard. "God, this is fucking painful. A mistake. Bloody mistake. How am I supposed to go back to normal tomorrow after I know how fucking good it feels to hold you?"

"Kiss me when I wake up," Eijirou whispered, eyes already falling heavy at the thought of sleep, and Katsuki looked uneasy.

"I can't-"

"See what I do. Please, Katsuki. See what I do."

Katsuki looked like he was about to argue again, but he seized up when Eijirou leant forward to press a messy kiss to Katsuki's cheek. He was pushed away almost instantly after, but he didn't mind so much since he just fell into warm comfy sheets that had him sighing contentedly, and he distantly heard the soft groan of complete betrayal (as if Katsuki was betraying...himself) above him as sheets started covering him too, pressing against him warmly, and he fell asleep to a raspy voice whispering in his ear, "Fuck, I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you." 

And when he woke up, that was what he remembered.

A low hum of a string of 'I love you's was all he could remember. And the promise. What his weary mind hoped was an unspoken promise of a kiss.

But he didn't wake up to anyone. Didn't wake up to Katsuki. Didn't wake up to a kiss. Didn't wake up to anything but an empty bed, the worst headache in the world, and a curling feeling of dread in his gut.

"Katsuki!"

He wanted to groan as his head thumped but he swallowed that down, he needed to be a man, though the way he was ferally kicking at his blanket because it was tangled up in his legs definitely didn't feel manly... but he needed to get up, get out, figure out what the fuck had happened and why, why...he wanted Katsuki to kiss him.

He felt his heart stutter. And it was painful.

"KATSUKI!"

"HOLY HECK, I'M HERE, I'M HERE, COOL YOUR CRACKERS!" a voice yelled out and shit, Eijirou almost fell out of bed from the wave of relief that crashed into him.

He heard a bang and before he knew it, Katsuki was behind Eijirou's exploded bathroom door, face wet as he held up a toothbrush like a weapon. "WHERE THE FUCK IS THE FIRE?!"

"You didn't leave," Eijirou breathed out, too dizzy to even fully register what he was seeing in front of him, but he was laughing, he was laughing, he was laughing so much that his head and chest ached by the time Katsuki put down the toothbrush and went over to him, sitting on the edge of Eijirou's bed and looking down at him. Eijirou smiled at him as he came down from his high, warm when Katsuki's hand flattened across his forehead for a second.

"How you feelin'."

"Absolutely awful, bro."

"Thought so. Got you some water 'n Aspirin there-"

"Kiss me."

Katsuki froze. Froze so completely, for so long that Eijirou started to get worried, started to wonder if that had been so stupid, if he was even remembering that right at all because it was only one of the two things he remembered, the other being...the other being...

But before he could question that too, he felt warmth near him. Crackling warmth. Felt a hand tip his jaw up and before Katsuki took his lips, he whispered something that had Eijirou's eyes widening. Then electrifying warmth touched his lips, and it was a bad idea. He hadn't taken in any breath, none at all, he was gasping silently almost immediately but it was like Katsuki knew. He kept breaking just a little so Eijirou could breathe in, then he'd be back, tilting each time, deeper, pushing Eijirou into the back of his bed until he felt like he couldn't breathe for more than a few reasons.

And yet, so desperate. Eijirou could feel Katsuki's fingers shaking. Feel the way he clung to Eijirou, pressed so deeply as if it would cement that this was real. All this time, Eijirou thought he'd been the desperate one, working so hard to be by Katsuki's side, to love him the best he could. But here Katsuki was kissing him as if it was all he wanted and he'd never get the chance again.

So when Katsuki pulled back for good, completely despondent as he raised an arm to wipe at his lips, Eijirou grabbed it. "When?"

"The fuck?" Katsuki asked, looking wary and so exhausted, like he was seconds away from tears and Eijirou felt a lump forming in his throat.

"When did you fall for me?"

Katsuki snorted, shrugging almost sarcastically as he sat back. "Don't fucking know. Can't remember. Can't remember not liking your dumb ass."

So this was why Eijirou's heart would race, huh. Why it would feel heavy. Why it would ever feel anything at all around his best friend.

"What happened last night?" Eijirou asked quietly, almost scared to know, and Katsuki took in a breath that he let out in a short huff.

"Well...you kissed me, then I couldn't stop myself from becoming a blithering idiot. Pretty much."

"I kissed you?!"

"Mhm. Drunk you is fuckin' affectionate to the max."

"But I - wait...but you said...before I fell asleep, you, you said you love me..."

"Fuck, you remember that?!" Katsuki groaned through a whisper, and that had Eijirou flinching, curling up a little.

"Why don't you want me to know you love me..."

"Pfft. Drunk you knows."

"Well I know you love me now, so tell sober me!" Eijirou yelled, ignoring his head as best he could as he surged forward so their foreheads knocked loudly, but neither of them backed down in the slightest. They stared, stared, stared to the point that Eijirou realised, they were going to get nowhere. This wasn't the time to be a headstrong idiot because getting nowhere right now sounded like his worst nightmare.

He'd been getting nowhere for so long, every time he'd never asked what his 'I love you's meant to Katsuki, and it was time to end it.

"You'd never said it before," Eijirou murmured as his eyes dropped to the bed. "I just wanna know why. Why you didn't, then why you finally did."

"You really wanna know?"

"I wanna."

Even though Katsuki had sounded so angrily confident just a second before, he faltered a little at Eijirou's answer, then he was turning his head and grimacing at the bed. "I don't...I don't...wanna."

"What?" Eijirou asked confusedly, having no idea what he was talking about and Katsuki groaned in frustration, dragging a hand through his hair. 

"I don't want to tell you."

"Katsuki, I wanna know."

"You don't."

"I do-" 

"If I tell you, you'll fucking leave! You'll leave me-"

"I already know that you like me and I'm not gone! What's left?!" Eijirou yelled, grabbing Katsuki's collar and the latter winced. "You love me but you don't wanna say it. That's already the weirdest thing but what the fuck kind of reason do you have that'd make me leave you?"

"Ei-" 

"I don't ever wanna leave you," Eijirou muttered, grip loosening as he slumped, knocking his head onto Katsuki's chest lightly. "All this...I don't know what's going on and it's making me feel exhausted but I'm not...I'm never gonna leave. I did a lot to be by your side and it's one of the best things I've ever done. It makes me so happy. So just...tell me.”

Katsuki was silent, and it was making Eijirou's heart twist horribly. But then fingers were curling through his hair, gently carding for enough time that Eijirou felt his chest slowly expand and relax.

"The answer you're asking for is I'm in fucking love with you, Eijirou."

And maybe a sane person would try to figure out what that meant. Maybe a sane person wouldn't be so caught up in having those words said to his face from a guy he might've just realised he'd been crushing on for the majority of his UA life because all Eijirou could get out as he raised his head was, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"'Cause you spew that fucking 'I love you' bullshit to literally everyone, jackass," Katsuki snarled, leaning in so suddenly but Eijirou didn't back up even when his eyes grew wide. "'N here I am head over heels for you when you tell me the same shit you tell everyone else. What, I'm supposed to think I'm special from that? Supposed to think you love me? Yeah it's nice to hear, maybe you do love me but it's not the way I want you to love me."

"Katsuki-"

"WHAT," Katsuki shouted, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes and awaited Eijirou's words like an angry bull, and Eijirou couldn't help his smile. He'd laugh if Katsuki wouldn't kill him if he did.

"Katsuki, I wanna kiss you. Again."

Katsuki's steely eyes softened in surprise for a second. "Wha-"

"For a long time. Maybe forever. My heart beats a lot around you. Almost like it's trying to beat for you. And I know I'm dumb, I don't know a lot of things, I didn't know you liked me but I like you back and I, I...wait for me. Wait until I fall in love with you because I can see myself doing it so easily, man, when you're already my favourite person. And I love so many people, I do, I can't stop that. But you're different. You were always, always diff-"

"I love you," Katsuki said like it was a life force, the words tumbling out of his mouth, and sure enough Eijirou's heart thumped. "I love you, I fucking...I-"

“I know," Eijirou said, smile stretching over his face as he grabbed Katsuki's hand, pulling it closer while Katsuki squeezed his eyes shut like that would contain his feelings. "I think- I think I've always known, you at least love me even if you don't say it. I just wondered if you didn't want me loving you."

"Okay hold on a second. I've got really sick of the word 'love' by this point, stop saying it," Katsuki groaned, and Eijirou snickered. "Moron, it wasn't ever like that. I just wanted more."

Eijirou understood. He got it now. Katsuki was a person who hated not getting what he wanted and his guess was that this irritated him to death, but Katsuki hadn't pushed. Because, maybe he respected Eijirou too much to force him into anything.

He was so overwhelmed by feelings that all he could do was lean up and kiss Katsuki again, soft lips driving his leadened brain into mush and when Katsuki pushed him down so they could lie, he broke away to grin up at him.

"Guess we're...lovedrunk."

Eijirou burst out laughing when Katsuki's hands immediately sparked and he had to harden, wrestling them away through way too loud giggles that he hoped wouldn't wake the rest of the probably hungover class up. And when they settled with Katsuki's forehead pressing against his as he pout-glared down at him and Eijirou smiled back, playing with the hair at Katsuki's neck, it felt warm. It felt right. He felt his heart skipping for joy in his chest, but he was still calm.

Though, he felt the need to...

"I love you!"

Eijirou thought he'd be blasted again, but instead he got another warm kiss, with Katsuki murmuring a low laughing, "You're gonna be the fucking death of me."

Eijirou grinned, so big that it might break his face as Katsuki pressed three hard kisses into his jaw, the smallest of whispers trailing after them.

He wondered if Katsuki was saying it back.

Chapter Text

Katsuki wasn’t sure how long he had been in this police station, but it sure felt like he wasn’t about to leave anytime soon.

He’d been interrogating the villain he’d just caught at first; where even that had been a wild meaningless goose chase that had Katsuki’s hands charred and freshly calloused by the end to the point where he could barely move them without wincing; and though he’d been able to be calm at first, after the first few rounds of dumb circling and cop-outs, Katsuki had slammed his hands (ouch) onto the table and yelled in the bastard’s face, “TELL US YOUR FUCKING MOTIVES ALREADY BEFORE I DO WAY WORSE TO YOUR UGLY MUG-” 

Of course he’d been dragged away immediately by a policeman, but what made it even worse was that he could see the laughter in the eyes of the villain who never stopped staring him down, and it was what made him shove any and every officer away as he stormed right out of the station. 

“Bakugou!” a voice called out and Katsuki narrowed his eyes, about to snap to infinity at whoever this person was using his civilian name, but he paused for a moment when he saw who it really was. “Tsukauchi…” 

“That’s right,” the long-time officer said, taking off his cap as he looked at Katsuki with hard eyes, face blank and just like that, Katsuki felt like he was eighteen again. But then Tsukauchi’s eyes grew softer. “Look, tell me if anything’s wrong, will you? Are you sure you don’t need to be taken to hospital?” 

“No! I’m fine!” Katsuki snapped and Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow, taking a step back. 

“Alright, then. But you have to admit you’re being incredibly short today - I thought you’d grown out of that.” 

Katsuki whirled around, eyes narrowed as he snarled, “I have. ” 

“Oi, stop being an angry dog for a second,” Tsukauchi said dryly, docking Katsuki’s head with his cap and the latter blinked, “and talk to me like an adult. You gotta get yourself calm if you wanna stay and finish filing this in, but honestly I think that’s gonna take a while. I’m sending you off.” 

Katsuki blinked even more at that. “…what?” 

“Go back home. You’re not in the right state to do this, and I don’t know why but I’m not about to ask you to explain. Unless you’d like to.” 

For a moment, that made Katsuki think. Was there really anything inherently wrong? To be fair, all that had happened today could be enough to get anyone annoyed, but then again this was Katsuki’s job. He’d been through this kind of thing far too many times by now to excuse his behaviour, if he was being honest. But as he thought, something on his ring finger glimmered up at him, and a silent sigh left his mouth. 

“I know there’s been a great influx of work that’s needed to be doing on your part recently,” Tsukauchi said, and by his tone it seemed like he’d immediately understood what Katsuki had just thought about. “I’m telling you, go home. Have a bit of a break.”  

“Tsukauchi, look…thank you,” Katsuki muttered a bit awkwardly, rubbing his nape. “But I gotta stay. I’ve never not seen a job through before.” 

“Baku-” 

“Oi, I’m stayin’. You knew this was gonna be my answer in the first place so just stop it. I’m going back in.” 

“Alright,” Tsukauchi sighed, sounding withdrawn and Katsuki was going to ignore the pity he could hear before he blew up one the most beloved police officers in the state. “Work diligen-” 

“Don’t tell me how to do my fucking job!” Katsuki yelled back without turning around, anger building up yet again even though in truth, he felt a curling feeling in his chest that wasn’t as bold as his anger usually was, and he felt the urge to bite his lip. Had…had that been a mistake? Should he have really taken the offer and gone back home? 

But Eijirou won’t be at home anyway. 

Katsuki growled, wanting to spark off explosions but he wasn’t about to harm his hands even more so he pulled back a leg and kicked the wall harder than he ever thought he’d be stupid enough to. “FUCK!” 

“S-Someone get him help!” a member of staff called out as Katsuki crouched to the floor, and even then he tried to yell at people to stay away and that he was fine, even though it was so obvious he wasn’t, and he didn’t know if he wasn’t admitting that to himself anymore. For a moment he just rested his head on his leg, grimacing as he hoped no tears would leak from his eyes. Though did he really care if they did at this point?

It was going to be too long of a day and for the first time maybe ever, he just wanted everything to disappear. 

- 

It was two am when Katsuki finally got home, tired and smelling of alcohol since he’d stopped by a bar to grab one drink to at least keep him sane before he got home, but just one. It wasn’t his fault a dumbass next to him had spilt his own lot all over him, and he’d been ready to strangle him with his jacket before the bartender threw them both out. 

He scoffed at the memory, shrugging off his coat to hang before he stumbled inside, sighing from how warm it was and it instantly seemed to soothe the aches in his joints and mind from the past week as a whole. It was always something to be able to come back to a place he could call home. 

But for some reason, today it wasn’t enough. The smoke rings of his anger curled back up in no time and he was growling, kicking his shoes off more aggressively than he’d ever need to. 

Kitchen. Now.

He stormed off, eyebrows furrowed in a way that felt permanent at this rate as he mindlessly grabbed bowls, pans, a whisk but not the electric one because he was ready to whisk all his anger out. If he rage-baked until he almost passed out then once he’d get to bed, all he’d need to be calmed completely would be snaking his arms around his sleeping fiancé, maybe nose his neck a little, breathe him in. Just that would be enough, and if he could get that after all his anger had left him and there was only fatigue and an urge for love left, then it would be perfect. 

It was his best plan yet, so obviously Katsuki wasn’t allowed to have it go how he wanted. 

Two hours passed before the front door opened, but Katsuki couldn’t hear as he was frantically whisking more after having already knocked a batch of vanilla cupcakes into the oven, a cherry pie, cinnamon rolls and raspberry tarts already piling up. He was on to red velvet cake mixture now as well as trying to simultaneously pour the ingredients for the cupcakes’ icing together when a low whistle sounded from the kitchen door. “Damn, Katsuki…” 

Katsuki turned around, eyes widening but his hands didn’t pause even then. Though he did falter a little when he saw the fact that Eijirou wasn’t wearing anything like pajamas, nor was he rubbing his eyes, no bedhead, no sign that he had just been asleep. The guy looked battered for sure from the tiredness present in his face but it was more exhaustion than sleep, and he was decked in full outdoor clothes, jeans and a jacket as well as his wild hair pulled back with a ponytail and headband.  

The realisation made Katsuki drop the whisk. 

“Did- did you just get home?” 

“Yeah, man! Why’re you baking at four am?” Eijirou said though his voice was raspy and gentle, like he couldn’t quite bear to speak any louder as he walked in, and Katsuki was still processing. “Ooh, this looks nice, can I-” 

“No! What the fuck do you mean you just got home at four am?!” Katsuki yelled, slapping Eijirou’s hand and the latter blinked, pulling it back. “I’ve been thinking you were in bed this entire time!” 

Eijirou’s eyebrows knitted together as he rubbed his hand. “Katsuki, I just ran into villain trouble when I was making my way home. You of all people gotta understand that, man. I didn’t mean to come home this la- have you been drinking?” 

“What?” Katsuki asked in confusion, but he seized up when Eijirou grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, sniffing him. 

“Yeah…dude, that’s definitely whiskey I can-” 

“Get the fuck off of me right now,” Katsuki growled lowly, lip curling into a grimace because he could feel his damaged skin burning from where Eijirou was holding on way too hard, but the latter looked up, peering at him with the most questioning eyes but he still didn’t let go. 

“Why? What, it bothers you?” 

“Don’t be a fuckin’ brat-” 

“How am I-” 

“I didn't say you could touch me!” 

Eijirou’s eyes widened in amazement as Katsuki glared at him, and then his hand was finally pulling back for good. “Fine.” 

“Thank fuck-” 

“Didn’t know I needed permission to touch my fiancé, but fine.” 

Katsuki groaned, grabbing his whisk and whirling around so he could jab it at Eijirou’s throat. “You don’t know shit, now get your ass to bed right now before I fuckin’-” 

“Why were you drinking?” 

“None of your fucking business.” 

“When did you get home?” 

“I said none of your fucking business!” 

“Did you drink with someone?” 

“If you’re about to even minorly imply any possibility of me cheating then I’m genuinely ready to whisk you into this fuckin’ cake.” 

Eijirou’s eyes cleared a little then as he shook his head slowly, taking a step back and Katsuki finally felt like he could breathe. “N-No, right, I’m not…no way…”  

“‘Course not. I ain’t the dipshit that comes back at four am, anyway.” 

Eijirou nodded absently, but then he blinked as he properly processed the words, straightening up once more as a renewed fire lit his eyes. “Are you implying I might be now?”

“It’s not like I’d fuckin’ know.” 

Katsuki whisked some more, but he was yelping when the bowl was grabbed out of his hands and instead Eijirou was right in his face with his eyes steely, face set hard. “So even though I immediately deny thinking that about you, because maybe I really believe you’d be loyal, you don’t think that about me? What, you’ve never trusted me now?” 

“Pro-heroes have more relationship scandals than any other profession, you think I ain’t boutta clock that in?” Katsuki snarled, baring his teeth as he tried to reach for his bowl but Eijirou kept pulling it away. “Fucker, give me my-” 

“Say it.” 

“What?” 

“Say I’d never fucking cheat on you, say you don’t think I’d ever do it because when have I ever given a sign that I would?!” Eijirou yelled so loudly, so brokenly that Katsuki faltered for a moment, his heart stilling beneath his ribcage. "What the fuck have I done to the point that you’d ever think that?!”

“Eijirou, I didn’t fucking say you were, I just-” 

“I’ve had the worst day and I come back to you yelling at me, and now this?!” 

That’s supposed to be my line, Katsuki thought miserably, grimacing as he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment just to feel relief, so he could pretend this was just a bad dream. Him and Eijirou weren’t fighting. No, they weren’t, they weren’t going to lose it further, they wouldn’t call off the wedding, they wouldn't part ways, not if Katsuki ever had a say in the matter because if he lost Eijirou then he’d lose…so much. He’d lose his home. 

“Katsuki, fucking answer me right now or I swear to-”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?!” Katsuki roared, eyes opening fresh with tears as his fists clenched, and he banged one right into Eijirou's chest and tried so hard to ignore the wave of pain it brought. “I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU AWAKE IN BASICALLY A WEEK AND SO WHAT IF I’M FORGETTING WHAT YOUR LOVE FEELS LIKE AND IT’S TERRIFYING ME?! SO WHAT IF I’M GETTING HYPERAWARE ‘BOUT THE FACT THAT YOU COULD UP AND LEAVE WHENEVER YOU WANT?! NONE OF IT FUCKING MATTERS, DOES IT, SO JUST STOP!”

Eijirou’s eyes were wide, almost all the anger seeped from them as he tried to reach closer but Katsuki recoiled like a wounded cat. “W-Wait, Kats-”

“I’m leaving and if you fucking follow me, your severed head’s going on a stick,” Katsuki threatened lowly, and he wasn't about to care that his voice sounded wobbly as he stumbled over to the oven to turn it off even though he doubted the baking was done, and then he was legging it, wishing he could close his ears like his eyes to block out Eijirou’s calls but he just pressed his hands against them instead. But at least he couldn’t hear running. At least he couldn’t hear Eijirou going after him. At least Eijirou was listening to him, and leaving him alone. 

That was what made him cry for good.  

To the attic was where he ran to, up stairs until he could push out of the top window and slip through. To the roof. He didn't care who in this stupid neighbourhood saw him, he just needed to be able to sit there as close to the sky as he could get as he sat cross-legged, hung his head, and cried. And all he could think was that he should’ve done this earlier. It felt so good to cry, and if that was what he had been locking up inside himself which was causing all these strong nuclear reactions of anger, then he was an idiot. He could’ve just done it earlier. He could’ve, and not fucked things up. 

Seconds, minutes, maybe an hour ticked by as Katsuki sat there. Though the air was cold, it was a welcome bite that Katsuki let nip at him as it cooled down his red face and tears, until they slipped away completely and he was left humming softly, drier eyes still closed. He wrapped his arms around himself once he started to shiver a little, but he didn’t mind for once. All he could think about was the fact that he didn’t know what to do anymore, and he wasn’t sure he could ever go back inside. 

“Hey,” a voice said then, so soft that Katsuki raised his head, thinking it might have been words of the wind. But then he heard a creak from behind him, and his shoulders tensed. “Hey, hey, it’s just me. You alright? Is- is it okay for me to be here now?” 

“Maybe,” Katsuki mumbled, stubbornly not looking back as he rested his arms behind himself casually so it would be harder for Eijirou to join him, just out of spite. He heard the guy still for a moment, trying to figure out where to go, and Katsuki almost smiled when he felt the guy wiggle in beside him. Then they were simply both silent as gentle night breeze ruffled through both their clothes and hair and Katsuki tried to hold back another shiver. He wasn’t about to show a weakness, not again. 

“I’ve missed you, too,” Eijirou said lowly, and his voice was scratchy. For a moment Katsuki wondered if he had been crying too but he was caught up in scoffing, turning his head even more away.

“I never said I did.” 

“Yeah. Well, then I’ll say it for the both of us. You don’t know how much I miss you, all day, every day, so much. Half the time I just wish I was in your arms and I love my job, but I love you, I want to love you both. But time’s not letting me.” 

There was a sort of desperation in his voice that got to Katsuki, probably more than the words themselves. ‘I just wish I was in your arms’ was heavy and raspy, and Katsuki’s body almost moved on its own accord to turn so he could wrap his arms around Eijirou’s torso from behind. The latter let out something that sounded half like a laugh or small cry of relief at the touch, but it was broken and real as he leaned into Katsuki’s side. 

“Sorry,” Eijirou said immediately after, clearing his throat and even trying to move away a little but Katsuki held onto him tight until Eijirou gave up and just flopped his head onto Katsuki’s shoulder, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. “S-Sorry, I…I’m so sorry…” 

“Fuckin’ stop. Please. If you say that word one more time,” Katsuki muttered exasperatedly, even though his voice was soft as he said the empty threat and he almost sighed aloud when he felt Eijirou’s arms gather him up too, squeezing his middle messily, desperately. “I said dumb things, ok, I’m the one who’s fucking sorry. God, I know you’d never cheat…you would never, you’re too damn beautiful for that, I just - I’m getting dramatic these days, you know.” 

“Saying that as if it’s a new thing, are you,” Eijirou laughed, warm breath hitting Katsuki’s neck and Katsuki knocked his chin against the guy’s head hard. Then Eijirou's arms around him tightened, suddenly. “I don’t think I’m ever gonna leave you. Not if it’s my choice. Ever. Because it’s been so long but my heart still aches when you're gone, it lifts when you’re there, I can get so emotional from anything you say or do…it’s just, how much you impact me that makes me know how much you mean to me.” 

Katsuki sighed, closing his eyes for a second as he reached down and kissed Eijirou’s ear. His whole being was screaming ‘ditto’ but he couldn’t just say that, it probably wasn’t good enough but it was truly what he felt too. Eijirou meant the world to him and he was sick of missing the man he was going to marry, the man he was supposed to spend his days with for the rest of his life and if he had already made that decision then why did he have to miss him? 

“Let’s bring back date night,” Katsuki suddenly said, making Eijirou pull back and look at him in confused amazement. “Yeah. No matter what we’ve got ourselves into, we ditch to meet each other. I mean, it’s just once a week, even if we’re in the middle of a fight I’m sure another fucker can take care of it.”

Eijirou laughed and no matter how beautiful it sounded, Katsuki was about to snap at him because he was fucking serious but he blinked when before he knew it, lips were against his.

“I love the idea more than anything,” Eijirou snickered as he pulled back, cheeks rosy from happiness while Katsuki was burning up like it was summer, “but you know we can’t do that, right?” 

Katsuki grimaced, looking away as he mumbled an annoyed, “I know but I don’t fuckin’ care,” and Eijirou was laughing at him again but he found himself not minding much because really, he loved Eijirou’s laugh more than most things and he’d never be sure when he’d hear it again.

“Hey now, don’t become a bad hero just for me, Kats, and I know you won’t. We’ll make the time for each other some way or another and if we don’t...can we just at least start telling each other stuff? You know about my insecurities, man. You've always been the person to lift me up and make me feel like I can take whatever the world throws at me. So can’t you tell me yours too so I can return the favour?” 

“I ain’t insecure,” Katsuki muttered with less bite than he wanted, but he didn’t really mind as he pushed his face into Eijirou’s hair, feeling calmed in an instant. “I mean. Probably. I just don’t want one of the best things that’s ever fuckin’ happened to me to go. I mean I hold myself in pretty high regard already-” 

“Wow, understatement-” 

“Oi, I’m trying to be bloody sweet, you loser,” Katsuki snarled as he kicked at Eijirou’s stomach and the latter yelped in both pain and laughter, giggling apologies that had Katsuki finally smiling as he buried his face further, arms locking tighter. “Look. The fact that I was able to nab you was like, damn, one of my best moments. Being able to hold onto you is even fuckin’ better. So what am I supposed to feel about all of that if I lose you?” 

“But- you won’t,” Eijirou said, sounding almost like he was pleading as he grabbed Katsuki’s wrist softly, bringing it closer to his face. Katsuki sighed, unclenching his hand so he could let it cup Eijirou’s cheek that he couldn't even see, but he could feel it. He especially felt the way Eijirou nuzzled into it, turning his face into it so he could kiss Katsuki’s palm. Then he paused. “Babe. Your hands…” 

“You know it happens.” 

“Can you give them to me?” 

Katsuki curled his lip but didn't disagree as Eijirou pulled back, ever so gently taking hold of Katsuki’s outstretched, messed hands. Katsuki looked away with a grimace at first, but his eyes flitted over when he felt Eijirou’s hands which were rough to start with run over his scars and sores so gently, pressing and smoothing over them before he’d plant a tiny kiss on what seemed like each blemish. Katsuki swallowed, heat rising to his face as he tried to tell Eijirou that what he was doing would take forever, until Eijirou was letting go and leaning forwards to wrap his arms around Katsuki’s shoulders. Katsuki blinked, hands instinctively clutching Eijirou’s hips and he curiously stared when Eijirou’s forehead bumped against his. The guy had his eyes closed. He looked so peaceful, at such a strange time. 

“Let’s go back inside,” Eijirou murmured, and Katsuki’s eyes softened. “Let’s talk. Complain about our days. Kiss each other where it hurts.” 

“What about sleep?” 

“Later, I just want you.” 

He sounded so stripped back and honest that Katsuki felt it beat at his heart, and he didn’t think twice when he kissed Eijirou, hard. Eijirou returned it almost immediately, just as strong as they held onto each other tight.  

“How do I still love you this much? Honestly, you’re some fucking wizard, I swear to God,” Katsuki grumbled, though he was smiling when Eijirou kissed his cheek, then his jaw. “Let’s get inside then, bastard. I’m still finishing my baking, though.” 

“That's fine, I’ll cheer you on then we can eat cupcakes into next week!” 

“Honestly yeah, I probably have made that many…”  

“And you know I’ll eat them all,” Eijirou sang, and Katsuki rolled his eyes as he elbowed Eijirou in the gut as fast as lightning, and slipped back inside the attic as Eijirou groaned in slight pain. It was dark in there, but eventually he felt a hand find his and they walked through carefully before they got to the end of the stairs, and Eijirou immediately grabbed him by the waist and tipped his head up, kissing him into jelly. 

“What kinda mood are you trying to set, huh?” Katsuki teased, though his face was brushed a soft pink. “Thought we were just gonna talk.” 

“Kissing too, right?! Kissing is nice!” Eijirou said quickly before blinking when Katsuki chuckled, manifesting to laughing loudly, louder than he probably would have but he just wanted to relish in being happy. Though he paused when he saw Eijirou moving in close again. 

“Stop, you fucker, wait until I’m done baking!”

Eijirou pouted but did finally listen, and that night was filled with whisking and munching, loud music from Eijirou’s half-broken speakers that they both yelled to, as well as messy flour-covered dancing that had Eijirou laughing heartily while Katsuki smugly dipped him to the ground. And then finally on their bed, shirtless and pyjama pants as Katsuki was the one who kissed Eijirou’s scars this time too, old and new. They were too tired to do everything they wanted, but even if it didn't always seem like it, they did have forever. The rings winking at them from their fingers said that. The love in the eyes said that. Their lips would always say that. 

“If we fight again, I’ll blow up the house,” Katsuki slurred half-asleep and Eijirou giggled into his chest. 

“Nah, you won’t. Come on, it’s bound to happen but you know we’ll get through it. We always have, haven’t we?” 

“Mm…come here, you sap…” 

Eijirou leant up and Katsuki carded a hand through his long messy hair, loving how it felt under his fingers as he curled them around it and pulled, until Eijirou was falling against him gently and their lips met again. 

“Forever, right?” Katsuki asked carefully as he held up his hand, and Eijirou grinned as he tapped his ringed finger against Katsuki’s so the metals clanged softly. 

“You know it.” 

Chapter Text

Bakugou's sitting in his room, bandaged, and exhausted. At least he doesn't feel like he's only held together by white pieces of fabric anymore like he had after today's battle, when he'd been ushered onto a stretcher and jostled about so much that he felt like a rag doll. Anything to stay alive, though. 

Now the bandages feel like an afterthought. The wounds still feel fresh under them. The bruises have formed, they'll leave one day, but not today. You can never forget a fight in one day no matter how many you do in your life.

Bakugou leans over his lap, pressing his face into his hands. His body's fine - it'll survive - and now his mind's the one that needs holding together. It's spiralling, thinking about anything from blood to the scent of a hospital, things he'll probably never be able to forget since he chose this life. He doesn't really want to forget them. He doesn't really care about them. So he asks himself, just why he's so mentally drained. 

He's about to tear apart his mind answering that question, when fingers press lightly between his shoulder blades. Bakugou would have exploded if he didn't recognise that touch but he does, and all he does in reply is fix his posture. 

"There we go," a familiar voice laughs lightly, and for a sweet moment, Bakugou's head is empty. He just mindlessly watches Kirishima move from behind him to climb onto his bed, copying the way Bakugou's sitting by crossing his legs and shuffling to be exactly opposite him. The smile he gives isn't as big as usual, because Kirishima's tired too, hair wild and white patches covering his cheek (that almost makes Bakugou annoyed) but it's still bright. It still warms Bakugou up. "You left your door open. You never do that." 

"Forgot," Bakugou mumbles, acutely aware that he's unable to take his eyes off of Kirishima. 

"To close it?" 

"Yeah." 

"Okay."

They look at each other for longer than the meaningless conversation lasts. Bakugou wonders if it's an impromptu staring competition but then Kirishima blinks early, and Bakugou doesn't feel the need to call him out on it. It's just too nice, to have a focal point of vibrant colour like Kirishima's irises to stare at to help ground him. It's nice, that Kirishima's eyes still have such light in them after such an exhausting day. It's nice to see his own reflection in pretty eyes because they don't make him look as battered as he feels. 

Sunset from the window pours between them, blanketing them if Bakugou had opened his curtains wider. He wishes he had, because today isn't the first time he's thought sunset a good accessory for Kirishima. It streams over the guy's face, making him wince for a moment, so his solution seems to be to shuffle closer. He beams when he's done, their knees bumping, and Bakugou stares at him even harder as warm light hits off his bright hair this time. Kirishima catches the way Bakugou's eyes widen slightly, and his smile twitches.

Then he's reaching out for Bakugou's hand but he doesn't quite get there before he bursts out laughing. And this idiot's laugh is so much louder than Bakugou's mind could ever be. 

Bakugou's an idiot too, focusing so much on a battle that he'll forget in not even a year, and he lets loose to laugh too. He takes Kirishima's hand that's flopped onto his thigh and tugs, making Kirishima fall into him with a strangled yell and it makes him laugh harder.

"DUDE! I AM INJURED!" Kirishima flails about muffledly, face in Bakugou's chest before he sits up to stare wide-eyed at Bakugou who smiles, because he's stupid and he's missed Kirishima's face in the past two damn seconds he hasn't been looking at it. "And YOU'RE injured! You can't just do that, my God, if any of your wounds open-" 

"Kirishima," Bakugou says firmly, not wanting Kirishima to say another thing about wounds and injuries. "We're fine." 

Kirishima blinks at him. For quite a long time, and Bakugou's momentarily mesmerised by those fucking eyelashes moving (he got so unnecessarily pissed the day he found out Kirishima doesn't use mascara), and then Kirishima sits up and laughs sheepishly, resting his other hand comfortably over Bakugou's knee. 

"Yeah. Yeah, we are, aren't we!" 

Kirishima beams, and Bakugou can't do anything but smile back even as he wonders what the fuck he's meant to do with his other hand. Kirishima's tank top is riding up, showing the bandages winding around his torso, leaving a small space at his hip that Bakugou decides to press his fingers lightly into as Kirishima hums, "Today was a lot." 

It's a statement, but Kirishima almost says it like a question. Like he wants to know if Bakugou agrees, or if Bakugou would find him weak for saying it.

Like heck is Bakugou about to let him think that.

"Got real tired when it was over."

Kirishima's eyes grow as he almost perks up, before he seems to remember that that's not a good reaction and he slumps instead. Bakugou can't stop smiling at him. "Y-Yeah, it was really...ahh, it was just like there was a ton of adrenaline coursing through during the whole battle but then! Once we were resting and being checked up, man, it really hit my bones just how long we'd been fighting. Just how many hits I'd taken."

Kirishima rests a hand on Bakugou's chest, so gingerly but it still makes Bakugou's heart go wild for a surprised second, and Kirishima looks down morosely when he feels bandage under shirt material. "You too."

"We gotta get used to it."

"We'll still get tired no matter how much we get used to it, man," Kirishima laughs, and he's right. Fuck him, for being so bright even when he was clearly so tired. Bakugou wants to wrap him up in twenty blankets to shield his light from bad things that'll try to chip away at it.

He hates thinking about Kirishima's vibrance being worn down as the world gets harsher and harsher for all of them. But he knows Kirishima's always had a lot on his plate, always had to deal with difficult things, and he'd know how to make it through the future.

Bakugou's not like him. He's regressing every day. Crumbling under the weight of who he used to be and all the things he's learning about himself. All the apologies he needs to give and the time he needs to take to bash his own skull in and force himself to become better. A better person, before he becomes a good hero.

But it's so fucking hard. It's harder than being angry all the time, it's harder than just working on honing skills and smarts - it's so hard to try. And every day he wonders if one day his will might run out.

He stills when Kirishima's hand in his squeezes lightly.

"Don't think too hard," Kirishima murmurs, leaning in just a little, and everything he's doing is so quiet and gentle but he was already so close, so present. So now when Bakugou looks up, he's the only thing he can see. The only thing he wants to think about.

He wearily drops forward to knock his forehead against Kirishima's shoulder, clutching his hip and hand tight and Kirishima hisses a quiet, "Ouch," with a teasing lilt as he curls his body around Bakugou's just a little. Everything in this moment is 'just a little'. Nothing overwhelms, nothing goes too far, and Bakugou is free to breathe.

He slides an arm around Kirishima's torso, stuffing his face further into the crook of his neck. Kirishima giggles something about Bakugou's hair tickling him, so he shakes his head like a wet dog to make him laugh more. It's everything to him to have Kirishima drag himself closer, stumble into his lap and hug him tighter to 'get him to stop'.

Bakugou's heartbeat is calm now, pressed against another warm bandaged chest. It's because he's calm, by some bloody miracle. He closes his eyes.

Everything's been too much for a really long time now, and he's only just starting to realise how much he hadn't ever been able to deal with it.

But he doesn't need to think about that right now. He's tired, he's aching, he'd just fought in battle. His best friend's here, and Bakugou just wants to be with him.  

Chapter Text

Kirishima’s been pacing in his room for about ten minutes. He hopes Bakugou can’t hear him through the wall, but he’s too stressed to quieten his clunky steps.

Every day, he‘s getting prouder and prouder of who he is. He’s wholeheartedly accepted the fact that his love for manly men and muscles ran a little deeper, even if at the start he’d wished that he didn’t need to have one more thing to set him apart from everyone else...

He hasn’t come out before. Sure, he’s had people figure it out, like when Sero gave him an easy knowing smile right after Kirishima’s first rant on Dwayne Johnson, or when Kaminari crashed into him one day and excitedly told him he was bi ‘so please bro can we talk about boys together 'cause LOOK AT THEM!’

But not Bakugou, huh? Not one of the most observant people Kirishima’s ever met, not the person Kirishima cares about the opinion of more than...anyone’s?

So he knows he has to do it himself.

He knows, feasibly, that he won’t lose Bakugou. That’s more because of the indifference default towards love that the guy seems to have, Kirishima has seen him turn a blind eye at opposite and same sex couples alike. But people can be different when it comes to those they’re close to. And Kirishima likes to think him and Bakugou are close, he thinks about it in the middle of the night and fizzles under his blanket in joy, but that makes everything so much harder.

And even though the best case scenario is that Bakugou simply won’t care and probably just raise an eyebrow at him, Kirishima kind of wants more than that. He kind of wants a hug - kind of wants Bakugou to hold his hand and tell him it’s fine. Because it is fine. Kirishima knows it’s fine to be gay, he knows that by now, which is why he wants the manliest guy he knows to reiterate it for him. And if Bakugou doesn’t think it’s fine, then that means Bakugou's  not actually manly at all, and Kirishima should shun him, push him away and feel so glad that they'd no longer be friends. But the thought always brings a lump to his throat.

Losing Bakugou? Losing the person he worked so hard to be friends with? Losing the guy who makes him feel so happy with each smile, each look? Losing the boy who lifts him up constantly, in all the perfect ways he needs?

Oh no. Kirishima can feel his breath falling short and he slams a hand against the wall, forcing himself to inhale big.

On the other side of the wall, Bakugou bangs his head against it at the same time, and he pauses in surprise.

As far as coming out goes, Bakugou isn’t too big on the whole idea. He wants people to know at the same rate that he doesn’t want them to know - it is a part of who he is but no-one’s going to end up knowing every little thing about him, so one thing like this shouldn’t matter.

But he's also starting to realise that there’s literally no other way to tell. He’s never had a boyfriend that he can casually mention, he doesn’t care to comment on guys’ appearances, and trying to smell Kirishima’s hair when they hug is apparently pretty gay but not gay enough to be literally gay (Pikachu’s conclusion and Bakugou still wants to punch him for finding him out) which is annoying. Bakugou only cares about one person knowing and that’s the current dumb target of his overwhelming heart who isn’t picking up any clues.

Not that Bakugou’s sending him clues. Fuck that.

(Or maybe he would if he actually knew how to.)

He doesn’t know if he actually likes Kirishima, okay. It’s complicated, because he knows he’s attracted, his eyes always linger on things like rippling muscles and big eyes and dazzling smiles and Kirishima conveniently has all three. And he knows he’s so fond of him that it physically hurts, a smile flicking up his lips at all of Kirishima’s stupid interjections and cheerleading and crazy impulse actions. But as far as romance, he’s not sure if he’s happiest the way they are now or if he could be happier with more.

But thinking of Kirishima in his arms makes him want to lean so badly to more.

And at this point, he just wants Kirishima to know that he, Bakugou Katsuki, wants to officially date guys as well as girls and...there isn’t much reason behind it. He just wants him to know. He needs him to. The truth of it is probably, actually, that Bakugou’s found someone who he wants to know everything about, and in turn he wants them to know everything about him too.

Fuck. Is that really it?

Bakugou groans, banging his head against the wall but he gets the fright of his life when a loud slam meets him right back. He blinks, staring incredulously at the wall as if that would let him see through it.

On the other side, Kirishima rests his hand on the wall, eyes wide.

Bakugou does the same thing.

Neither of their vocal chords work enough to call out each other’s name, still too locked in themselves and their own worries but they’re quickly being overtaken by shared worry for their best friend.

Is Bakugou angry about something?

Did Kirishima launch his punching bag across the room again?

They both open their mouths, but then realise that means they have to talk. They thought they’d have more time before they even had to acknowledge each other, more time to screw their heads on straight (‘straight’) and make themselves sane before facing the other.

Kirishima’s about to turn away and roll himself into his bed to shy away from everything, until he hears Bakugou shakily clearing his throat. Then he calls out a raspy, “Hope you’re okay.”

Kirishima stares at the wall, mouth open, eyes glistening with tears that were already there before and what was he supposed to do about them now?

He’s out the door before he can waste another second, and Bakugou’s wrenching his own open like he could hear Kirishima’s wild footsteps, and maybe he could. He catches Kirishima as the guy runs right into him by accident, and he yells, trying to get out an apology but all he can say is, “I am okay! I’m so fine! I’m finer than bread!”

“Bread?”

“Bread?” Kirishima clicks a wildly misplaced finger gun at Bakugou. “I meant silk. You know silk, bread, virtually the same thing- anyway, I’m so fine because I’ve made the completely utterly absolutely awesome realisation that you care about me.”

“What,” Bakugou asks in utter confusion, nose crinkling when Kirishima’s hands slide up to grab Bakugou’s face. “You- first off, when the fuck is silk and bread pretty much the same thing-”

“I hear evasion~”

“KIRISHIMA! Ugh,” Bakugou groans, arms letting go of him and Kirishima misses them, but Bakugou’s hands curl warmly around his wrists instead. “Of course I- shit- I care. Whatever it’s about, if it’s to do with you I have to care because you’re a shitty-haired dumbass who’s weaselled his way into my life.”

“I thought that was going somewhere way nicer,” Kirishima huffs, and Bakugou snorts as he removes one hand to pinch Kirishima’s cheek.

“You wish. Why did you slam the wall if you’re as fine as fucking bread?”

“Stress. About the study session!” It was technically true. “You?”

“Why’re you stressing? I teach you well, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Bakugou sighs, even as he bites his lip. “Well, mostly nothing to worry about.”

“What?”

Bakugou’s eyes are distant as his hand ghosts Kirishima’s cheek, fingers curling gently against it and Kirishima embarrassingly feels it heating up from the touch. But he wouldn’t ask Bakugou to let go for the life of him.

Still, he takes the hand, and slips his other down to Bakugou’s before he intertwines them both and tugs Bakugou forward while he steps back. Bakugou watches him curiously, but doesn’t object as his steps match Kirishima’s slowly.

“Can we start early? I wanna talk,” Kirishima says, smile slightly wobbly but he hopes Bakugou doesn’t notice. He doesn’t expect Bakugou to take so long to answer, though, a conflicted look in the guy’s eyes. But then he squeezes Kirishima’s hands.

“Sure.”

When they get inside Kirishima’s room, Bakugou tries to sit down at the table but Kirishima keeps pulling him, making Bakugou snap at him, “I’m not some fucking doll!” and Kirishima bursts into laughter, replying by pouncing at him and rolling them onto his bed.

“You’d be the prettiest doll ever,” Kirishima teases, chin on Bakugou’s chest as he smirks at the guy and Bakugou flushes hard, growling lowly in his throat like a damn dog as he pushes Kirishima off. But they settle against each other like it’s nothing, nearest legs crossing, and heads tilted towards each other’s.

It’s probably now or never. But they both want to bask in this for a little longer. Bakugou finds himself shifting closer, as Kirishima’s fingers tap patterns into his back gently.

“I don’t think you know how happy I am that we’re friends, man,” Kirishima hums, and Bakugou wants to disagree. ‘Cause God, he knows. But he keeps his mouth shut, as Kirishima’s hands keep moving across Bakugou’s collar and down his arm and it’s how Bakugou knows for real that something’s up because Kirishima likes to touch muscles to calm himself down when he can. It always makes Bakugou hide a smile. “And I want to be friends forever. And ever.”

“Okay.”

“Do you?”

“Yes,” Bakugou says without even thinking, and Kirishima lights up, face breaking out into a grin as he hugs Bakugou’s arm. “You really get elated over the most obvious things, dumbass.”

“Obvious- how am I meant to know that’s obvious?!”

“I’d’ve hoped you just do. ‘Cause you know me.”

Kirishima blinks, frozen for a moment. Then he’s sitting up, eyes going glassy again as he says softly, “Bakugou, I need to tell you something.”

“I know. You sure seem like it. And so do I so - you go ahead ‘n I’ll follow.”

“What if it’s the same thing?” Kirishima teases with a sniffle, and Bakugou actually lets out a half-laugh at that. He fucking wishes.

Kirishima rolls off the bed to duck and grab something from underneath it. Bakugou looks down at him curiously, only to quickly move away when Kirishima jumps back up out of nowhere, letting Bakugou see only a flash of shimmering colour before something is wrapping around both of them.

“Th-This is just to set the mood AND so you can’t run away after!” Kirishima says sternly, even as worry seeps through his features but he clutches onto the material blanketing them tight. But Bakugou isn’t listening to him. “Because whatever your reply is, we need to talk. We need to talk a lot and then I’ll let you go whatever you say because-”

Kirishima’s words fall into a gasp when Bakugou surges forward to cup Kirishima’s jaw and tug him into a kiss.

His hands weaken against the rainbow flag he’s holding but it manages to stay around them as his arms wrap around Bakugou who pushes closer. The kiss is soft, as gentle as their lips just brushing but there’s so much withheld emotion bursting out of it that it doesn’t even feel anywhere near. And Kirishima has tears rolling down his face as their lips finally move, meeting a rhythm that he wants his heartbeat to match.

Bakugou’s hands tremble on his face as he whispers, “Shit, don’t cry,” and Kirishima sobs harder, but presses harder too to make up for it.

When they break apart, it’s slow. Their heavy breaths mingle, and Kirishima chokes out a laugh as they stare at each other.

“Coming out to you would’ve made you done that?” Kirishima asks in delirious wonder, honestly wondering if he's hallucinating. “Why the fuck didn’t I do it earlier?”

“You wanted me to kiss you?” Bakugou asks, carefully, but he’s already grinning even before Kirishima nods wildly, dragging Bakugou into a hug.

“Bakugou, I’m gay, and you’re the hottest guy ever, and the manliest, and the prettiest, and the strongest, and the smartest - how could I NOT!”

Bakugou snorts, eyes alight as the back of his hand drags away a few more tears from Kirishima’s cheeks. “And I’m bi, yeah? And I don’t know what the heck came over me but I just had to kiss you, which has gotta stand for something.”

“Like you like me?” Kirishima asks, eyebrows wiggling and Bakugou grimaces. But he murmurs, “Something like that,” when Kirishima pulls him in by his shirt for more, and the look in his eyes is borderline lovesick.

“It’s okay if you’re not sure,” Kirishima whispers between warm kisses that make Bakugou's heart swell, and Bakugou hums, breaking away just to close his eyes and press his nose against Kirishima’s. “We’ve got forever to figure it out. Because we’re staying together forever and ever. And is this the thing you wanted to tell me? Were we gonna come out to each other at the same time?!”

“Soulmate shit,” Bakugou says casually, and Kirishima almost screams as he tackles Bakugou onto the bed, flag billowing around them.

“WE’RE SOULMATES.”

“You’re so-”

“Dude, if you say something like ‘that’s obvious’ again then I’m kicking you out!”

“You wouldn’t bloody dare.”

Bakugou’s right. Kirishima wouldn’t dare, not after everything that just happened, because he doesn’t want to let go of Bakugou for the entire night. He falls into the guy’s chest as Bakugou pulls the flag around them again, narrowing his eyes when Kirishima says softly, “Rainbow suits you.”

“Suits you more, you damn disco ball.”

“I know that’s a jab at my clothes but having rainbow suit me is actually the most wonderful compliment so I think you just played yourself.”

Kirishima cringes at himself before he even finishes the sentence. Oh God. Please don’t say he’s already gonna lose his almost-boyfriend when they’ve been almost-together for like two seconds.

“You’re so...” Bakugou could end that sentence with a million adjectives, as Kirishima blinks at him and radiates his sunshine-glow like it’s second nature, and it’s exactly why Bakugou is so drawn to him. Why the relief in his heart at the fact that he didn’t lose Kirishima is spreading throughout his entire body and calming down his cells that are usually all screaming constantly for no reason. Kirishima makes him feel light, makes him feel at peace with the world. And it's sad how that's such a foreign feeling for him, but he's gonna chase it with all his might.

Kirishima sighs heavily as he hugs Bakugou tight, and whines, “Man, I’m so lucky that you’re still manly, that would’ve been the real heartbreaker.”

“What?!”

“Nothing! My bro’s the manliest. Manliest ever. If I look at him I only think ‘ooooh manlyyyy’ and if there were two manly people and one of them were you then you’d still be the manly person because you’re the manliest thing I’ve ever ever seen and if there was a test for manliness which I might actually create one day because that’d be EPIC then you’d-”

Kirishima had never been kicked out of his own room until today.

Chapter Text

Bakugou's been having a dilemma recently. And he is no closer to figuring it out, because he doesn't even know where to start. 

Kirishima. Kirishima's the root of it. Kirishima's the reason, the cause, the problem - everything. There's something about him that makes Bakugou's heartbeat pick up, makes his neck sweat and he has to clench his hands into fists so sparks don't pop along his skin without his permission. 

Not always. Usually, Bakugou's more comfortable with no other person than with Kirishima. It's so easy to be with him, so nice to play-wrestle and joke and Bakugou's far beyond accepting that they're friends. Heck, he loves the fact they're friends because he's never had something that's felt this good. 

Which is why he hates that all of that needs to be jeopardised by minute moments where Kirishima will look at him with his big eyes, or where he'll forego spiking up his hair for tying it up, or where he'll throw his head back to laugh so loud, or where sunlight will catch his badass teeth when he smiles big (or any time he smiles honestly) and Bakugou's heart goes into fucking overdrive.  

One day it gets so bad that he just grabs Kirishima’s face. Kirishima's smile falters, eyes growing even bigger as he stares at Bakugou. "Bro? What- hey- OW-" 

"Why in the heck are you so cute," Bakugou growls lowly as he stretches Kirishima's cheeks to oblivion and Kirishima's expression takes a break from being pained to look surprised instead, pink dusting the bridge of his nose. 

"What? W-Where did that come from?" 

And Bakugou's at a loss for words, because if he tells Kirishima 'I NEED YOU TO STOP YOUR FUCKING SPELL ON ME WHERE I GO BLOODY MAD OVER YOUR CUTE FACE AND SMILE AND LAUGH AND EVERYTHING' then things might go very wrong. 'Things' meaning their friendship, which Bakugou cherishes way more than he ever wants to admit. And Pikachu, who's right over there, might never let him live it down. 

All he can do is let go and stomp away, ignoring Kirishima's calls, and hide in his dorm room like a loser. 

He eventually comes to the conclusion that he might be dying. 

"That's incredibly dramatic, Bakugou," is what Iida tells him, which has Bakugou wondering why the fuck he's confiding in this guy. He isn't even confiding in him - Iida had just found him punching walls out of misplaced anger and dragged him over to the sofas so they could have an impromptu therapy session. "But if you are that worried, you should definitely go to the doctor." 

So Bakugou does. All they tell him after a check-up is that he's very healthy and robust for his age, which Bakugou is smug about for all but two seconds because shit. That means there are truly darker forces at work and it's up to only Bakugou to find out, once and for all. 

"Hey, Baku-" 

"Shut up," Bakugou says as he chews on a banana, pushing Kirishima's face away. "I'm deep in thought." 

"Oh yeah? What about?" Kirishima asks curiously because he's a dipshit who can't take a hint. 

Bakugou stares at him head-on, and says, "You." 

Kirishima's eyes widen, face flaring. Bakugou chucks his banana peel into the bin and turns to face the dumb source of his current pain and confusion. "I'm thinking about you. I'm always thinking about you these days. I'm going fucking crazy thinking about you these days." 

Kirishima makes an unintelligible noise, and now Bakugou feels shy seeing his best friend look so red and embarrassed. And he still manages to look like the cutest fucking thing, so now Bakugou's heart is ticking wildly again.

He walks past the guy before, after realising that might be a little rude, turning back around, about to ask Kirishima if he wants tea, coffee, water, literally anything so he can escape to the kitchen to be alone even just for a second and ease his racing heart; but then hands slide along the sides of his neck, and up his jaw. Tips of lean fingers tangle up in his hair, and all Bakugou is able to do is exhale once, stare into bright red eyes for one second, before Kirishima kisses him. 

And everything makes sense. 

Not right away. Definitely not right away as Bakugou stands there dumbly, eyes blown wide staring at the pretty way Kirishima's long eyelashes curve with his eyes closed. He watches Kirishima slowly tilt his head, using his palm to gently tilt Bakugou's too. He feels body heat so warm and comforting, battling with his own intense aura of vehement confusion, trying to mollify him until all he knows is the kiss. Then he feels Kirishima hesitate, his lips parting just a fraction as he wonders what Bakugou is doing. 

What is Bakugou doing? Had he really just stood there for half a minute completely still as Kirishima did something that really needs a reaction? 

Bakugou's eyes slowly start falling closed so he can reciprocate until they burst wide open again when Kirishima starts to fight for a reaction. He curls a hand into Bakugou's collar, dragging him closer, lips pressing more insistently, desperately. Bakugou's breath stutters as he realises just how much Kirishima is yearning to be kissed back. 

He doesn't know how to do this. He's never done this. He wants to tell Kirishima that, wants to tell him so many things right now, but he can feel the time ticking by before Kirishima might pull away or run off or maybe even never speak to him again. So Bakugou moves. He presses his hand into the small of Kirishima's back and kisses back, finally meeting him halfway, and the small relieved whimper that leaves Kirishima's mouth punches him right in the gut.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm here, Bakugou tries to say with his body, crowding close to Kirishima, having absolutely no idea what to do with his other hand but that's the least of his problems as he tries to work out how to kiss Kirishima harder, better. But Kirishima's hands on him soften, and his lips turn up into the sweet smile Bakugou knows so well which makes it...harder to do anything harder. But Bakugou doesn't give up. He kisses the dips of the grin, presses pecks to the upturned corners, and in no time he gets drunk off the new fact that he is feeling, cherishing the smile that he's been fucking obsessing over for who knows how long. 

When Kirishima laughs, so bright, Bakugou could never have been mad that it finally breaks the kiss.

But he does pull away. He has to. He pries Kirishima's warm hands off him, turning away from Kirishima's glowing face that slowly becomes concerned by the second. And then, robotically, Katsuki walks to the common room sofa and sits down. He drops his head into his hands. 

"I like you."  

The room is so quiet that a pin-drop can be heard. But something so painfully big is building up in Bakugou’s chest and he doesn't know what it is until he hears footsteps rush across the room and then Kirishima is on one knee in front of him, saying his name worriedly. Bakugou slowly looks up, at Kirishima, at his kissed-pink lips and flushed face and beautiful glow, and sudden laughter rips from his chest so loud that Kirishima jolts. 

"Holy shit," Bakugou cackles, laughing himself into hysteria as he brings up a hand to rest on Kirishima's cheek. "I like you, I like you, all this time I'd been wondering what the fuck this tightening in my chest and heart racing and turning even sweatier than usual and all this shit that kept happening around you was- I KNEW I WASN'T DYING, MY HEALTH'S PERFECT!" 

Kirishima's eyes grow wide as his cheeks flush darker, stammering out, "W-WAIT, I thought you knew- I thought you knew you liked me, all the hints you've been dropping, or at least I thought you- MAN I WOULDN'T HAVE KISSED YOU IF I-" 

"Shut up. God, shut up, you beautiful motherfucker," Bakugou laughs fondly, leaning forward to press his lips against Kirishima's again with no warning but he can't help himself. Kirishima falls over himself trying to indeed shut up and match the kiss, hands falling but Bakugou catches them so he can pull Kirishima up onto the couch. 

"I like you, I like you, I like you, I like you," Bakugou whispers over and over, all and only for himself, but he can feel Kirishima's breath hitching higher each time he says it. "I'm dumb, I'm so fucking dumb, Kirishima I love you-" 

Kirishima chokes at the last three words, pulling back to cough and Bakugou nods when he thwacks Kirishima's back to help. "Okay so I can't say that last one yet, got it, I'm learning!" 

" Jesus," Kirishima groans, still doubled over but he squeezes Bakugou's hand and uses it to pull himself back up. "You- man, you're so cute, I don't even know what just happened, I..." 

Kirishima lets out a long breath, knocking his head heavily onto Bakugou's shoulder. "You scared me so much when you didn't kiss back. I felt so bad, entitled, shit I was just gonna run away, and then you became your amazing self and made up for it so hard and now I'm reeling and I really can't believe you just realised you- you-" 

"Wait," Bakugou announces, suddenly realising another thing. Kirishima raises his head, looking at him warily, and Bakugou stares back with wide eyes. "This means that you like me."

Kirishima seems to have no idea how to reply to that. His expression flounders a bit, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, but then he yelps as Bakugou grabs his wrists and crushes their lips together so hard that they both fall back against the sofa seats. 

"Yeah. Yeah, man, of course I do," Kirishima replies breathlessly, arms flailing at Bakugou's shoulders as Bakugou kisses his jaw, spurred by pure instinct to kiss Kirishima in as many places as possible. "D-Did you just realise that?" 

"I'm dumb. I'm at literally two brain cells when it comes to you, we've established this, alright?" Bakugou clarifies quickly, leaning back in for more but he ends up in a daze just watching Kirishima burst into laughter, playing with the hair at the back of Bakugou's neck. He's so...beautiful. Yeah. Beautiful. So wonderful that it's painful that all this time he's had to like an oaf like Bakugou who hadn't even known he liked someone this gorgeous.

"I don't deserve you," Bakugou says bluntly, but he definitely shuts up when Kirishima throws a fist out and punches him. Feels like Kirishima had sure been wanting to do that for quite some time as Bakugou holds back a yowl of pain, raising his head to ask what the fuck. But he doesn't get to when in the next second, Kirishima pulls him down to kiss him so tenderly that Bakugou feels himself falling apart, slowly sinking into Kirishima's arms.

"Ooohh," Bakugou whispers so fucking dumbly when the kiss is done, eyes still closed and body shivering with longing. He's got it, he won't ever say something like that again, and Kirishima peppers his punched-red cheek with kisses too. "No, you don't need to do that...holy shit, you could punch me any time..." 

"Bakugou, I don't think you're okay," Kirishima chuckles in confused amusement and Bakugou whole-heartedly agrees, he knows for sure that he's very delirious and in love and finding it hard to think straight and that could be due to lack of sleep (from staying up thinking about Kirishima) but he knows it isn't. And he's going to admit that. Today is the day to admit a lot of things to himself.

"Nah. You just bring this side outta me," Bakugou murmurs. "I've been called smart since fucking forever but you make me feel like an absolute idiot who has nothing better to do than loving you."  

"You're an idiot for loving me?" Kirishima teases, even though his eyes are filled with stars and his smile is so big that Bakugou wants to kiss it again, wants to imprint that smile onto his own lips. 

"No, loving you's made me an idiot. Knowing you's been like being thrown straight into the deep end, having to swim relentlessly to survive in your fuckin' beautiful eyes." 

"You're just flirting," Kirishima groans, as if he isn't glowing brighter than the moon at the words, and Bakugou's eyes widen. 

"That's flirting? How can I make everything I ever say to you flirty from now on. How, tell me."

"You don't need help for that. You really don't, dude..."

Bakugou doesn't know what that means, but he doesn't care. He's just ready to let out a million poetic lovesick things that his dumb brain has stopped him from saying all because he hadn't known shit about his feelings - but then Kirishima kisses his cheek and his mind goes blank. Fuck. "Let's go upstairs, yeah? We can talk this out more there if you want, if you don’t want anyone walking in on us..." 

"Sure," Bakugou agrees, though he's already said everything he's wanted to. But he wants to hear about how Kirishima fell for him. He wants to know if he thought he was dying too. He wants to know how he figured it out. He wants to hear absolutely everything, because Kirishima liking him back might actually be one of the best things ever. 

They go up the stairs hand-in-hand, and Bakugou's hand is sparking gently, sweaty as fuck. But so is Kirishima's as he flushes and his hand hardens just a little instead of letting go. Bakugou bites down on a smile big enough to break his face, and he doesn't even make it to his room before he feels the need to kiss Kirishima again. The guy laughs in surprise when Bakugou suddenly attacks him, and he presses a hand against Bakugou's wildly beating heart. 

"I love you too, by the way," Kirishima murmurs against his lips. Bakugou officially ascends. 

Chapter Text

Bakugou doesn't even know how this started. He'd just got too angry - like always - but it really hit a nerve this time when Kirishima said something degrading yet again today - like always.

It was simple, just, "Man, I wish I could be good enough to go pro the instant I leave school."

Why did Bakugou see red?

"You'll be fucking good enough," he insists, pretty much before Kirishima even finishes his sentence. Kirishima hums, starting to shrug off his shirt.

"Nahhh, even Tamaki-senpai's not going pro and he's amazing. I wonder how many years it'll take for me..."

"None. You're already strong," Bakugou says, and Kirishima smiles at him but Bakugou can tell his words haven't worked as well as they usually do. Kirishima's too in his head.

"I gotta get so much stronger, though."

"If you work out more then you're gonna be able to lift a whole damn planet."

"Ha, I wish! That sounds like a dream."

"That- that was a joke, Jesus Christ..."

And Kirishima just keeps going. It's like he's talking to himself at this rate, and maybe he really has forgotten Bakugou's was there, maybe he really can't sense the way Bakugou's silently festering in growing anger as Kirishima says such dumb things like 'people usually have more than one ultimate move but I think I'll only ever have Unbreakable', and 'I always used to think my Quirk wasn't flashy but apparently now it looks scary, isn't that worse?!"; it's all diffidence this, self-doubt that, and eventually the anger it all causes builds up in Bakugou's chest until he's banging a fist against the wall. And that finally makes Kirishima stop.

"Dude?" Kirishima asks confusedly, before seizing up when Bakugou slowly turns his head to face him with eyes of fire. "I-I- hey, I'm so sorry, you could've told me to just shut up-"

"Well, that won't make your brain shut up, will it?!" Bakugou yells, grabbing the front of Kirishima's half-undone shirt. "You're so fucking stupid 'n I can't stand it. I should just beat you up because I should wanna kill anyone who talks about you the way you do and technically that includes you."

Kirishima frowns, his fingers encircling the wrist of the hand Bakugou has bunched up in his shirt. "Calling me...stupid isn't gonna-"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" Bakugou yells, as a very distorted way of apologising even though he knows it's not working but he's too angry to dial it back now. "There's nothing wrong with you and I bet no-one's ever told you that there is. I just don't understand why you think any of this shit!"

"Maybe it's because society told me to? That I barely see any famous heroes who don't have a flashy Quirk? That even my best friend's Quirk is the definition of flashy so who the hell is he to lecture me?" Kirishima seethes, his eyes suddenly steely, and Bakugou falters. Hold on, this isn't how this is supposed to go. 

"I-I ain't lecturing-"

"You've never had to feel the way I feel and that's why you don't understand, Bakugou."

What. What? He- why can't Bakugou's brain keep up? Now he's plain confused, but he holds onto Kirishima's shirt tighter. "Why do I need to understand that? Why can't I just look at you and know you're amazing so I can tell your thoughts to fuck off?"

Kirishima flushes a little, but he still argues, "Because it's not that easy! It's not - if it was that easy I'd be the most confident person in the world but it's not, no matter how hard I try or no matter what you or anyone says, I just think I'm cursed to hate myself forever."

Bakugou blinks. "You hate yourself?"

"Well, I...I don't know...I definitely did once, so I might still."

How can anyone hate Kirishima. Even if it's, well, Kirishima who hates Kirishima, it still grinds at Bakugou's gears, he still feels himself wielding a fist even though he knows this is such a dumb reason to punch Kirishima and he knows he won't actually do it but God, he's so fucking confused and mad-

Kirishima shoves him away.

"Don't look at me like that," Kirishima mumbles, dropping his gaze down to the floor. "'Scary."

Bakugou breathes out, trying to come back to his senses. Yet by the time he's wound down enough from his fit of rage to say sorry, Kirishima's not in the room anymore.

I want to understand but I don't. Why don't I? Why can't I? Bakugou thinks to himself as he kicks at the ground, on a walk outside to clear his head. 'Cause I've never felt insecure about my Quirk. That's true. But you don't need to be flashy to succeed, fucking hell, Kirishima's one of the people who's taught me that!

He sighs, pausing and pinching his nose. And I've always seen the value in everything that does well. Kirishima does so fucking well, he's strong as a horse, he even gets me on the defensive. What's made him insecure? Was it a literal event or just society like he said? What's society done?

He pauses when he hears a voice saying, "Let me show you!"

What's going on? Some kid trying to show off?

Bakugou peeks around the corner to see three first years crowded around another one with blue skin and clock handles sprouting from the sides of his nose. Bakugou narrows his eyes, watching closely - and suddenly Clock Face disappears. The other first years all gasp, then they gasp even louder when Clock Face reappears minutes later and holds out a puppy. "Here's your dog!"

...huh.

One of the first years that Bakugou just realises has tears streaming down his face takes hold of the puppy and hugs it tight, wailing a million thank yous as Clock Face smiles at him. Then the others are all clamouring for attention, saying, "I want my ball I lost last year!", and "Change my end of year exam test results!" and Bakugou decides enough is enough.

"What are you lot doing?" Bakugou growls as he comes out from behind the corner, hands in pockets and eyes ablaze. Every head whips towards him before the firsties are screeching.

"IT'S SECOND YEAR BAKUGOU KATSUKI!"

"EVERYONE RUN!"

"HE'S GONNA BLOW US UP!"

What- come on, Bakugou's never blown someone up. He's about to snap at the annoying little shits until he sees that Clock Face is getting ready to run too, and Bakugou swiftly strides forward to grab the back of his collar. "You, wait."

Clock Face yells, and swings his foot back to kick Bakugou in the gut.

"JESUS FUCKIN- MOTHERFUCKER-" Bakugou groans as he clutches his stomach and lets Clock Face go only to spin him around and hold a glowing hand right to his face, teeth bared, but Clock Face quickly cries, "WAIT, WAIT, HOLD ON, WHAT DO YOU WANT? DO YOU WANT SOMETHING YOU'VE LOST?!"

Bakugou pauses, and slowly pulls his hand back. "Kid, what the actual fuck is your Quirk?"

Clock Face beams, bizarrely after everything that just happened. "Time travel!"

Bakugou's eyes widen, and Clock Face seems to pick up on his confusion because he clarifies, "But 'cause of the butterfly effect, it's really hard to use it well...so I usually just use it when someone's lost something, 'cause I can go back to a time where it wasn't lost and monitor it to see where it got lost so I can find it in present time."

"That's so boring," Bakugou deadpans, but then Clock Face looks like he's going to cry so Bakugou quickly continues, "for a, uh, Quirk as fucking neat as that. I figured it was something like time travel and I want it."

"Huh? You want it?"

"Yeah. I've got shit that I want to do with it."

"What kind?"

"Someone I know is way too insecure and I wanna get rid of the time that's made him that way in the past."

Clock Face stares at him with big eyes. "Bakugou Katsuki, that's so...sweet?"

Clock Face yells out again when Bakugou grabs his shirt and throws his hand out once more. "OKAY OKAY, that's- I can do that but that's so much bigger than what I usually do, aren't you scared it might change things for the worse?"

Bakugou doesn't even think twice about his answer. "Kirishima might never become a pro hero at this rate 'cause of his dumb brain and that's already the worst case scenario."

Clock Face's mouth makes an 'o'. "It's for Kirishima Eijirou? Things make sense now."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Clock Face just grins at him before saying, "Hold on," and closing his eyes. Then he holds a hand out and a small blue thimble forms in it.

"Take this. It lasts a day so that's all you have, but within that time frame you've got as many tries as possible. Just close your palm around it and it'll let you go back in time to whenever you're thinking of, and then do the same when you want to go back to the present. But if something goes wrong and you want to reset everything you've changed then put the thimble on your finger, you should appear back here."

Holy shit. Quirks really are becoming so advanced these days, and Bakugou takes the thimble and gruffs out a thank you to Clock Face who blushes so hard that Bakugou almost punches him. "I'll pay you back, just wait. I hate owing people shit."

"W-Wha- you're Bakugou Katsuki! You don't owe me anything! You're too cool!"

"I said what I fucking said, kid, now get outta here."

Bakugou turns and walks back to the Alliance before he can tell if the kid's even left, looking down at the thimble in hand. He'd talked up a whole plan and he wants to go through with it but he doesn't...actually know what times Kirishima's been made to feel insecure in his life.

Hold on. Bakugou's eyes grow wide as his fist instinctively clenches around the thimble once he gets an idea. What about when Kirishima's Quirk first manifested?

Suddenly, he's not on school grounds anymore.

He's in a house. It's a big house, he notices, but somehow it's still cosy. The colour scheme is warm and there's funky modern art everywhere, as well as family photos. Bakugou's eyesight isn't great, so he tries to step closer so he can get a look when suddenly there's a scream. Bakugou whips his head around to see a woman pointing a finger at him. "Who are you?!"

Shit. Bakugou's made his first mistake. No-one should see him, probably, or that'd definitely change the future. But he forgets about that for a second as his jaw drops, because he knows this woman. It's one of Kirishima's mothers.

"What's going on?" another woman asks, one with dark hair and shark teeth like Kirishima's dressed head-to-toe in biker leather, and fucking hell, Bakugou's experiencing a weird type of deja vu seeing the women he's seen in photos so many times but never in real life until now. 

He's suddenly so desperate to make a good first impression. So he quickly blurts out, "The back door was open, and I'm friends with your son."

The women both give him a leering look that gives him chills. What the fuck, how is Kirishima so nice if his parents are terrifying? "Our son is four years old..."

Eh?

Think on your feet, think on your feet- "Maybe 'friends' sounds weird, but I saved him from a car hitting him once and now he follows me around all the time like we're brothers."

Kirishima's mothers both look at each other as Bakugou feels himself sweating buckets. Then suddenly they're both bursting into the brightest smiles, and each rushing forward to take hold of Katsuki's arms.

"That is so wonderful, thank you so much!"

"Eijirou must adore you, he loves strong people who do heroic deeds like that!"

"He's never talked about you before, though..."

"He probably just doesn't want us to know he almost got run over," one mother sighed, and the other nodded.

"Ah, we should tell him to be more careful."

"What's your name, son?"

"B-" Wait. He should lie. "Uh, Sero...Denki."

Soy Sauce and Pikachu can explain that for themselves in thirteen years.

"Alright, Denki! Would you like some tea?"

"Ah, wait, love, he's here to see Eijirou. Eijirou probably left the door open for him too, silly kiddo."

"He also told me you guys knew I was coming, uh, so sorry," Bakugou lies, telepathically apologising to kid Kirishima who's gonna be so confused. "So can I see him?"

"'Course, he's just upstairs!"

Bakugou nods, walking off and flushing a little when he hears the mothers giggling behind him "he's so so handsome" and "he doesn't smile, so strong and silent". But he doesn't have time to focus on that because (thank God for his smarts) he's figured out what's going on. He had thought about the time Kirishima's Quirk manifested before teleporting, and here he is. It should happen anytime now.

He knows the story because Kirishima had told their squad before. Said he didn't remember it but his parents said that he kept complaining about his Quirk for a while after the incident where it cut his eye when it manifested.

Shit, Bakugou's going to have to be so careful to make sure Kirishima doesn't see him, and fast. What if it already happened while he was talking to Kirishima's mothers?

He hurries upstairs, and walks across the landing. Then he seizes up when kid Kirishima comes out of a room, looking all sleepy as he rubs his eyes. Bakugou almost forgets to hide for a second because he's pretty sure his heart just fell out of his chest.

Kid Kirishima. Is so. Fucking. Small.

Bakugou gapes at him the entire time he hides behind a chest of drawers, then moves around it swiftly when Kirishima gets ahead of him. Fuck, fuck, fuck, what's this feeling in Bakugou's chest, he hates kids so much but he wants to grab this four year old and put him in his pocket. 

He's snapped out of it when kid Kirishima yawns sweetly. Bakugou watches with wide eyes as Kirishima slowly brings his hand up to rub at his eye - his eye, which has his scar. So Bakugou bounds forward, and from behind, he gently pushes Kirishima's arm away from his face.

And before Kirishima can get confused, his Quirk manifests.

"WOAH!" Kid Kirishima gasps as he stares at his arm, sounding awed, such a different reaction to the one Kirishima had told him about before, and Bakugou smiles. Then when he hears footsteps on the stairs and a call of, "WHAT HAPPENED, HONEY?!", he tries not to yell and rushes out of sight.

With his work here being done, Bakugou quickly closes his hand around his thimble and wishes to be back at UA.

Which isn't there.

"What the fuck?" Bakugou asks aloud in amazement as he stares at the massive barren pit where he's sure UA used to be. The surrounding landscape is the same, but there's nothing here but barren land and the streets have clearly been built anew.

"Kid, what are you doing over there?" a voice calls out, and Bakugou whirls around to see...Eraserhead? But there's no recognition in his eyes. Why- doesn't Mr Aizawa know who he is?

"Where's UA?" Bakugou asks, and Aizawa stares at him like he's mad.

"It was struck by a meteor four years ago."

Bakugou's eyes grow wide. A meteor? Four years ago...before Bakugou went to UA. Even before the slime monster attack. That explains why Aizawa doesn't know him.

"So it's completely-"

Aizawa yells when the boy in front of him suddenly disappears into thin air, before frowning. "Rude."

Okay. Shit, so that didn't work, that definitely didn't work, Bakugou thinks, teeth gritted and thimble on his finger as he stands on the grounds where he began. Clock Face isn't there anymore. Fucking butterfly effect, I hate this shit, I really thought it was gonna work! And I don't even know any other possible times Kirishima could've been shot down!

He huffs as he stalks back to the Alliance. He's annoyed...but also a little giddy. Heck, he'd just met Kirishima's parents, and they thought he was handsome, not that he cared but it was Kirishima's parents and they seemed to like him. Would they like him now? Whenever the fuck Kirishima would finally introduce them? And Bakugou would also proudly admit that Kirishima was the first kid to have ever made him want to give them the world just because they were the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

"Hey, Bakugou!" Soy Sauce calls out from the sofa and Bakugou nods at him. Pinky and Pikachu are playing an aggressive game of Chopsticks, swatting at each other's fingers, and while Bakugou mindlessly stares at them in mild distaste, he realises something.

Pinky went to middle school with Kirishima.

"Stop, I need Pinky," Bakugou says as he chops a hand right through the game and Pikachu whines while Pinky blinks up at him, asking, "What's up, man?"

"Was there anything that happened in middle school that could've made Kirishima real insecure?"

Pinky stares. "What the hell? What kind of question is that, do you want to make fun of him?!"

Bakugou's eyebrows furrow. "What? No, I want him to feel better."

"Creepyyyy," Pikachu shivers before yowling when Bakugou slams a hand down onto his head.

"I CAN BE FUCKING NICE AND SHIT-"

"We know, and you always are when it comes to Kirishima so why be surprised," Soy Sauce snorts, and Bakugou opens his mouth to counteract but he doesn't rally have anything to say. Is it really that well-known that he likes Kirishima a lot? Even Clock Face said something like that...

"Well, you're his best friend, so...I think I can trust you with one thing," Pinky says warily, rubbing her arm, and Bakugou perks up. Pinky gestures for him to come closer so he crouches down to sitting level, and then Pinky whispers in his ear, "In third year, he saw a villain interrogating some girls in our year, and he froze up."

Oh. Oh, shit. "So he's insecure about not being able to run into the action then."

"You got it."

"Is that the whole story?"

Pinky rubs the back of her nape. "Uhhh, pretty much! The rest is irrelevant!"

"Alright. Thanks." Then Bakugou's jogging over to the communal bathrooms, ignoring the others calling out to him. The instant he slams the door behind him and checks there's no-one else there, he clutches the thimble, closes his eyes, and thinks about what Pinky just told him. Wind rushes past him as he's transported somewhere outside. It's unfamiliar but still clearly Musutafu, and it looks like the middle of the day. But no-one could have missed the twenty feet tall giant in the middle of the street, hovering over some girls in middle school uniform.

Bakugou has to clench his fists to force himself not to go and fight it, because that's not what he's here for. Firstly, where's Kirishima? Is he with the girls? Bakugou can't see very well so he turns around, trying to scour the place but he doesn't need to look very far. A boy is standing two metres away from him, hair dark and down, but the big eyes and shark teeth are unmissable. As is the pure look of dread on his face.

Bakugou surges forward. He so fucking wishes he was invisible right now, but he relies on his patented swiftness and intuition as he stands behind Kirishima and whispers in his ear, "You can do this."

Just like Bakugou thought, Kirishima's too bogged down by his own thoughts to try and turn around. He just whimpers a small, "I-I can't..."

"I know it doesn't seem like you can, but you're going to be a hero. I know you are. You know you are," Bakugou murmurs, loosely taking hold of Kirishima's hanging limp hand and squeezing it. He hopes that's not too weird. He's just really used to holding Kirishima's hand when he needs it by now. "And I see that chivalrous heart inside of you wants to run, but you just don't believe in yourself yet. You're not not running because you're not good at being a hero. You're not running because you're scared, which is so normal." Bakugou rests a hand on Kirishima's back. "Being a hero is all about going for what might be impossible. Maybe you'll die but you'll do it right. Loosen up. And run."

Bakugou gently pushes, and then Kirishima's letting out a war cry as he bolts forward. Bakugou's eye catches another figure running too though they pause when they see Kirishima, mouthing his name in surprise.

Ah. So Pinky was the one who had saved the girls the original time.

Bakugou thinks about the way Kirishima looks at Pinky sometimes. With that awed look with a hint of sadness to it. Bakugou's always wondered if it was unrequited love or some shit, but now it makes sense.

Bakugou checks to see if Kirishima succeeded, and grins when the villain is stomping off and the girls clamber to hug Kirishima who's blushing, stuttering something. Bakugou hates them. He wants to hug middle school Kirishima too, because that's an adorable kid who looks like he hasn't got enough hugs in life. Not to mention he almost looks cuter than Kid Kirishima, his hair ruffling around his face as he laughs bashfully. It's beautiful, because he's beautiful. He always is. And Bakugou's guessing that there's a reason why Kirishima dyes his hair, and why he seems to keep that a secret. Bakugou won't push for a reason, won't ask Kirishima why back when he's at school. He knows Kirishima will tell him in his own time, when he's ready.

He's smiling when he closes his hand around the thimble and wishes to be back at UA. And this time he is.

He's in the common room, and he looks back to see that he recognises everyone in the room, they're all his class, just chatting leisurely and playing games. Pinky and Pikachu are even still playing Chopsticks. Everything is so normal and so holy shit, did he actually succeed?!

On his second try and everything. Damn, he really does always outdo himself.

He sees Kirishima walking outside of the kitchen arm-in-arm with Icy-Hot which is a little weird but Kirishima's friendly like that so oh well, and Bakugou tries not to smile too big (or at all but fucking hell he's too pleased right now) as Kirishima walks towards him.

Then keeps walking. Straight past him.

Bakugou freezes on the spot.

Kirishima didn't acknowledge him. At all. Not a hug. Not a hi. Not even a smile...

Bakugou shoves the thimble on his finger so aggressively that he could've broken it.

I'm not about to live in a fucking world where Kirishima doesn't yell my name at the sight of me, Bakugou's thoughts growl as he paces across the grounds, back where he was. Were we even friends in that universe? What if we were enemies?! Jesus Christ, I'd rather die-

Bakugou smacks himself. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'D RATHER DIE?!

God. Bakugou crouches, head in his hands as he tries to think. Now he has no more leads. He's pretty sure Pinky won't tell him anything else, and he doesn't think anyone else would know anything. No, no-one else would know anything in particular.

But it might not need to be particular...

Time to see how good this kid's Quirk really is.

Bakugou closes his eyes and his hand around the thimble, and thinks. And when he opens his eyes, he's in a room, hidden by a bookshelf. When he peeks out, he sees middle school Kirishima at a desk, eyes glossy and face pinched into pure dejection as a pencil shakes in his hand.

It worked.

What Bakugou had thought of was a horribly long mix of vague and specific: 'take me to the time Kirishima was feeling most insecure after he didn't jump in to save the girls from the villain he saw in his third year of middle school', and here he is. He's happy for all but a second, because his heart fucking shatters when a tear rolls down Kirishima's face.

"I ain't a man," Kirishima whispers, "or anything else."

Holy shit. What can Bakugou even do in this situation? He doesn't even know what Kirishima's writing on right now, and he can't reveal himself because that'll ripple the future completely.

But that really might be the only way. If Bakugou comes out and says 'I'm your best friend from the future, and me and everyone I know thinks you're incredible', won't that work?

So Bakugou almost does exactly that, until he sees Kirishima look to the side at the books on his desk. Bakugou watches curiously as Kirishima picks one up, staring it. Then his lip wobbles, and he grits his teeth as he throws the book right at the bookshelf Bakugou's hiding behind and Bakugou bites down on a yell as the bookshelf wobbles and he quickly tries to catch some books that fall which makes him stumble for a moment, and his palm accidentally presses on a projector without him realising.

Him and Kirishima both jolt when they hear Crimson Riot's voice yelling, "THAT AIN'T IT AT ALL!"

Bakugou bolts behind the moved bookshelf when Kirishima looks back in his direction and notices the projector that Bakugou still isn't aware of. Then he's looking back at the projection, and Bakugou's able to watch too.

"May I ask," an interviewer says, "do you feel no fear whenever you throw yourself into harm's way?"

Bakugou watches Kirishima's eyes widen when Crimson Riot bursts into laughter and yells, "Just what do you think I am? OF COURSE I FEEL FEAR!"

Well, Bakugou thinks with a small smile as he watches Kirishima finally cry for real as Crimson talks about how having regrets from hesitation will lead you to never wanting to hesitate again, because failure is what drives your heart into manliness. It's so perfect that it's unbelievable; but Kirishima deserves pretty clichés if they'll help him.

I guess someone else saved him here.

Bakugou puts down the books in his hands and laments for about two seconds about how he wishes he can wipe middle school Kirishima's tears away and squish his cheeks, before he closes his fist around the thimble in his hand, and wishes to go back to UA while making the promise that he's going to buy Kirishima every piece of Crimson Riot merch he can get his hands on.

He's exactly where he was at the beginning when he returns, outside on the grounds, because of course nothing's changed. Except after a few minutes, a voice calls out from above, "Bakugou?!"

Bakugou looks up, eyes widening when he sees Kirishima looking down from his balcony. Well, this might be the most cliché thing that's ever happened to him.

"Where have you been, man? I was so worried when people said you left the dorms."

Bakugou can't say anything. He looks up at Kirishima, sees his forehead pinched in worry, sees his awful mismatched clothes, sees his hair half-done and held up by a bandana, sees how beautiful his dumb best friend is and he finally says hoarsely, "Can you come here?"

Kirishima looks even more worried now as he immediately nods before racing back into his room. Bakugou waits, crossing his arms because it's getting a little chilly now, and he turns to the side when he hears loud footsteps and a call of, "Bakugou! I brought you a jumper, you look cold!"

"Of course you did," Bakugou mutters, snorting a little and Kirishima looks at him quizzically but throws the jumper over Bakugou's shoulders. "Hey, you...I...I don't want to-"

"I'm gonna overcome it all, you know," Kirishima says, and Bakugou looks at him in surprise.

"Huh?"

"I know you meant well, Bakugou. And I know you'd love to just fix whatever insecurity I have in me but...even if I don't believe in myself yet, I believe that one day I will. I do believe that. And I'm working on it every single day."

"What was that shit about you hating yourself forever, then?"

"Man, that was just me getting too into my head. Besides, I thought about it a lot, and I don't hate myself. I've come a long way, I'm becoming who I want to be, and I can't hate myself if I got someone like you to love me."

Bakugou burns red, and Kirishima pauses before he mirrors it, yelling, "W-Wait, not - NOT THAT YOU LOVE ME OR ANYTHING, I JUST- JUST MEANT LIKE OR TOLERATE OR-"

"No, no no no, shut up, I love you," Bakugou says quickly, grabbing Kirishima's hand as Kirishima makes a strangled noise. "I'm just surprised that you were able to think I love you before I've even said it to you."

"Oh," Kirishima says in wonder before smiling, shy. "Well, you...I don't know why either but, I guess it just feels like it."

"I'm glad," Bakugou breathes, because he really fucking is. "I'm so damn glad you know that. I don't want you ever thinking anythin' I do for you ain't out of love. Before, when I yelled at you, I didn't mean to- it wasn't because I-" 

"I know," Kirishima shushes him, tapping a finger against Bakugou's lips. "I know. You're angry for me, not at me." 

"I'm a little angry at you, I mean, you're the one who doesn't think you're amazing," Bakugou mumbles, scuffing his shoes as Kirishima laughs in surprise. "But that's okay. I can think that enough for the both of us."

"You really can, man. And I just need you to know that yeah I'm insecure but I'm working on it and do you believe in me to help myself become confident?"

"I believe you could do anything ever," Bakugou says, one hundred percent honestly, and Kirishima bites his lip to barely hold down a massive smile before he nods, squeezing Bakugou's hand.

"There we go."

There's a moment of silence, half comfortable and half awkward with all the dissipating tension of what they'd just been talking about. Bakugou's not sure what to do, until he notices Kirishima shuffling about as awkwardly as the silence, like he wants to do something. Then it's so quick and sudden when he leans in to kiss Bakugou's cheek and Bakugou's brain just...melts. Only two things can ever make him feel this way, a perfect victory and his crazy beautiful best friend. He doesn't even know how he's still standing. "Thank you for believing in me." 

Bakugou nods, ducking his head to hide his burning face. "Duh." 

They walk back to the Alliance hand-in-hand, with Bakugou muttering, "I want you to introduce me to your parents," which has Kirishima red-faced and staring at him in flustered confusion. Bakugou crushes the thimble later that night, and even though he hadn't even changed anything, he decides to make Clock Face the best bento ever created just because the kid's Quirk is fucking awesome. 

Chapter Text

"Oi, Disney prince," Bakugou calls to Kirishima who's staring into space before the game. "Butterfly on your cheek."

Kirishima blinks, and the butterfly flies away. "Thanks, man."

"Don't know what flapped harder, the butterfly or your fuckin' eyelashes," Bakugou snorts, and Kirishima bursts into laughter as Bakugou stands behind the bench Kirishima's on and leans against the wall, only to groan and cover his eyes when Kirishima turns his head to bat said eyelashes at him. "Gross, I don't wanna see that."

"I think you're just jealous," Kirishima sings, and Bakugou scoffs so loud that Kirishima has to stifle a giggle.

"My eyelashes are bloody fantastic, thank you very much. Yours are freakish. No-one needs eyelashes that long except for a camel."

"Wow, here I am wanting to gather good vibes before the match and all I get is my best friend calling me a camel," Kirishima deadpans, reaching back to shove at Bakugou who just cackles at him. "Well...they do kinda get in the way when I wear shades, maybe I should trim them a li-"

"NO," Bakugou yells starkly, startling Kirishima. "Why in the fuck would you do that?!"

"Because...shades, man-"

"It's spring."

"The sun still shines in spring, what's your point!"

"Ugh, shut up, you moron, just...don't trim them. How the heck do you even trim eyelashes anyway," Bakugou mutters, resting his head against the wall behind them and closing his eyes and he's right, Kirishima doesn't know how to trim them either. So he just shrugs.

"What are you doing here anyway? Thought you'd be doing some individual stretching or the cool muscle stuff you do."

"Was lookin' for you. Wondered if you'd thought up that pregame superstition shit you've been so excited about."

Kirishima sighs. He has been excited about that. He really really loves the thought of pregame superstitions, and he adores finding out about the different ones that famous sports players have like getting someone to hit them as hard as they can right before a game (Kirishima for some reason completely understands how that works) or having lucky clothes. But he's been playing volleyball since he was a kid, and it sucks that he's never had any of his own.

So he'd told Bakugou so confidently the week before when they were having sleepover, "I'm gonna make up something for us to do before the game, alright?!"

"What on earth you talkin' about," Bakugou had asked him sleepily, pushing Kirishima's pumped fist down. "We warm-up before the game. What else is there to do."

"No, Bakugou, I mean a superstition," Kirishima told him excitedly, grabbing Bakugou's face and squishing it. "Like...like tying ribbons the colours of our school around each other's fingers or something!"

"That'll throw me off my game, fuck off," Bakugou grumbled, though he didn't move away. "What else."

Kirishima lit up at the fact that Bakugou was playing along with him. "I've got no clue but, I'll think of some! I'm sure I can, and we'll do it together because we're a duo and it'll be so awesome and we'll do it before every single match from now on."

Bakugou's eyes cleared a little then. "Oh, it's like - a ritual? Those things some people always do before games to make them feel luckier? I've always thought those were dumb."

"Yet you decided to become the best friend of Mr Dumb™ so things like these are simply in your job description," Kirishima grinned, pointing both his thumbs at himself proudly and Bakugou rolled fond eyes at him, knocking Kirishima back onto his bed.

"Sleep, dummy. We'll think about that shit tomorrow."

Except no matter how hard Kirishima's tried since then, he hasn't been able to think of a thing. He's searched the internet for ideas, but it's actually kind of rare to find pregame superstitions for two people. He's tried to think on his own but the things he thinks of like fist-bumps or eating one single macaroon all seem so lame. He's thought about making up a handshake, but he doesn't want to bother Bakugou by having to learn it.

"I say you should kiss the shit out of each other to pay homage to the homoerotic side of sports," is what Kaminari told him, which had made Kirishima spit out his drink. "You two are also very homoerotic in your own right so I think this would be a win-win."

"Bakugou's bi and not into me, dude," Kirishima had whined, and Kaminari gasped.

"I'm bi too and I'm ALL about the homoerotics!"

"No, that's not what I- just- stop saying the word homoerotic! And I can't do that, he'd kill me, and why am I even talking like I'm considering it?!"

"Heard my favourite word 'homoerotic' and had to come over, what's going on," Sero said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, taking a seat opposite them and Kirishima sank his burning red face into his arms as Kaminari told Sero, "Kirishima doesn't think bisexuals can be homoerotic."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I-"

"Then what were you even saying?"

"I was saying that I kinda might consider a pregame kiss like a peck or on the cheek if neither me or Bakugou were into guys...then it'd be kinda funny and sweet, maybe. But Bakugou's bi and I'm pretty sure he doesn't find me attractive one bit so that just makes it embarrassing."

"Is this you indirectly saying you find Blasty attractive?" Kaminari questioned, and Kirishima raised his head to give him the most 'are you kidding me' look he can muster.

"Dude, have you seen him?! He's a diamond."

"Bakugou's birthstone is diamond," Sero said with a solemn nod, and Kirishima pointed at him saying a firm, "This man gets it. Look, guys, I need to think of something and fast because I was so confident about this superstition stuff and now Bakugou's gonna think I'm some sorta QUITTER or something if I don't have anything...what should I do?"

"Still liking the kiss idea but maybe you should ask Bakugou himself about it."

"But I want it to be a surprise..."

"But what if he doesn't like it? Thing is, Bakugou's a hothead but he's probably not gonna say an outright no to whatever you come up with if you're excited about it," Sero said. "He's soft on you like that. So I think you guys should work on something together so he's not stuck with a ritual he hates."

Sero had been right, and Kirishima knows it's what he should have done. He should have called up Bakugou and asked him if they could do this together but that night, he'd just stared at Bakugou's contact on his phone for an hour before throwing it away and stuffing his face into his pillow with a groan.

And now here they are. A few hours before the match, and Kirishima's stumped.

"I don't have anything, man. I'm really sorry," Kirishima mutters, hanging his head a little. But he blinks when a finger suddenly flicks against his cheek pretty hard. "Ow!"

"Doesn't matter, you dumbass. That butterfly was probably good omen enough anyway," Bakugou tells him, fingers brushing against Kirishima's cheek where the butterfly had been for a second, and Kirishima's skin heats up a little. But he brings up his head to smile at Bakugou, glad that he's not annoyed.

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, we should probably get to the changing ro-"

"STOP THAT BUNNY IN THE NAME OF SCHOOL LAW!" a shrill voice suddenly yells, and Bakugou and Kirishima almost instantly get up on instinct, staring with wide eyes as a tiny white fluffy bunny just rushes right past them, so fast for something so small. Then Kirishima spots Jirou, Iida, and Koda pretty far away and trying to run after the bunny, with Koda looking close to tears.

Bakugou and Kirishima just have to share one look before they're off, Bakugou vaulting over the bench and grabbing Kirishima's hand before they sprint. The bunny looks back over its shoulder and twitches at the sight of them, then immediately starts running faster.

"Oh no you don't," Bakugou growls, and Kirishima really tries not to laugh at how serious his best friend looks as the bunny hops right over a bin and, with some kind of frenzied adrenaline-induced power, Kirishima and Bakugou manage to do the same thing.

"Heck, we're so cool?!" Kirishima yells as they manage to land on their feet without dying, and Bakugou snorts, "It's the damn volleyball," before they're noticing the bunny running out of school grounds and into the woods. And just like it's a ball going out of bounds, Kirishima dives at the ground with the help of a push from Bakugou and just about manages to clasp his hands around the bunny and pull him close. He breathes a sigh of relief.

"I was seriously about to punt the bunny into the air like it was a fucking ball," Kirishima cries in despair when he's getting up and handing the bunny to Bakugou who stares at him in surprise before bursting into cackles.

"Bloody hell, don't go tellin' Koda that."

"Oh guys, thank you!" Jirou calls out as the three catch up to them, and Bakugou hands the bunny over to Koda who lights up and hugs the bunny close. "Man, we've been running after the rascal all around the place today."

"He's so curious," Koda sighs, stroking the bunny's head. Kirishima smiles, and doesn't miss the way Bakugou looks down at the bunny with soft eyes and reaches out a finger to stroke him a little too. "I-I'm so sorry about this!"

"Don't worry, man, the volleyball team's got your back," Kirishima says proudly, grabbing Bakugou's shoulders to pull him closer and winking at the others. Koda flusters shyly as Iida calls out, "Why yes, we are all so excited for your match tonight! Good luck!"

"Thank you, Prez!"

"Speaking of," Bakugou mutters with wide eyes, showing his watch to Kirishima who looks and doesn't register the time right away because he's so bad at reading analogue clocks, but he eventually figures it out. Then he gasps, glad he's not holding the bunny anymore because he definitely would have dropped it.

"We have to go! We'll see you guys in the stands, look after that bunny!" Kirishima calls out as he grabs Bakugou's arm and they're sprinting off again, with the other three waving at them.

They just barely get to the changing rooms in time, with the coach yelling at them and Kirishima bowing a million times saying it won't happen again and Bakugou just rolls his eyes. "And why are you two so out of breath already?!"

"Bunny," is all Bakugou says before he walks off, and the coach looks at Kirishima for explanation which has him smiling sheepishly.

"Well, he's not wrong, haha, ah- gotta go change! See you out there, Coach!" Then he's sprinting off in shame and jumping on Bakugou's back as punishment for leaving him in such an awkward situation.

And in what seems like barely any time at all, the match is almost due to start.

"The butterfly was a good omen, the butterfly was a good omen, the butterfly was a good omen," Kirishima whispers to himself as he rushes off to grab the ball he'd just spiked in warm-up. He's never ever going to stop getting nervous before these games, which is one of the biggest reasons why he wants a pregame superstition so badly. He just feels like it would ease his heart even if just a little, and help him believe.

But it's alright, he thinks as he picks up the ball, because he can think of one another time and today he'll simply win by pure skill and butterfly luck.

Butterfly luck.

“Don’t know what flapped harder, the butterfly or your fuckin' eyelashes."

“I say you should kiss the shit out of each other to pay homage to the homoerotic side of sports."

"Oh no," Kirishima whispers to himself, because his feet are already moving and he knows he's not going to be able to stop himself from what might be his dumbest idea yet because, he might just be in love with this dumb idea. And before he knows it, he's reached Bakugou who has met him halfway, looking like he needs to tell Kirishima something too as they grab each other by the shoulders.

"I've thought of a pregame superstition," they both say at once, before pausing. Kirishima stares at Bakugou wide-eyed, heart beating fast for some peculiar reason but he's probably just...really happy that Bakugou even tried to think about this. So happy that he feels warmed from the inside out.

"You have? What is it?"

Red dusts the bridge of Bakugou's nose as he says a low, "Bunny kisses. Obviously you know where I got the idea from."

Kirishima's eyes grow wide, startled just by the word 'kisses'. "Bunny kisses? W-What are those?"

"It's like..." Bakugou leans forward, and Kirishima jolts in surprise but he doesn't move away. He doesn't even think he can. Suddenly Bakugou's so close that he's the only thing Kirishima can see which makes him feel all kinds of dazed, and then he presses the tip of his nose against Kirishima's. "This."

"Oh," Kirishima breathes, feeling lost in time as Bakugou's rufescent eyes stare into his, shyly asking for affirmation. Is it just him or are they suddenly the only people in this whole stadium? "Dude, I love it."

Bakugou blinks in surprise, before he nods, face touched pink with pride but before he can move away, Kirishima moves even closer and blinks his eye against Bakugou's so their eyelashes brush together. Bakugou's breath hitches the tiniest bit (but Kirishima can hear it and it makes him feel very giddy) but he seems to get what's going on because soon enough, he blinks back.

"Mine was butterfly kisses, so I think that fits pretty well," Kirishima laughs, leaning right back into another bunny kiss except this time, for some overwhelmingly wonderful reason, Bakugou rubs their noses together which has Kirishima laughing even louder in delight. "That's our superstition! Bunny kiss, butterfly kiss, then rubby bunny kiss!"

"S'fine with me. Finally gives your disgustingly long eyelashes a purpose," Bakugou scoffs, even if his eyes are softened to all hell watching Kirishima laugh, but then Monoma from the other team points at them and shrieks, "REFEREE, IS THIS ALLOWED?!"

"We'll kill him with our super cool volleyball playing, man, don't worry," Kirishima assures with a raised fist so he can stop Bakugou who suddenly looks fucking murderous from stomping over and throwing Monoma across the stadium. Bakugou seems placated by that, knocking his own fist against Kirishima's. "LET'S GO!"

Chapter Text

Everything starts because Kirishima and Bakugou are outside getting ice-cream together, and Kirishima yelps when his falls clean off his cone.

"NO!" Kirishima wails, dropping to his knees and lamenting over his rotten luck, meanwhile Bakugou, the meanest person in the world, is dying from laughter beside him. But Kirishima is too despondent over his ice-cream to care about that as he sniffs and glares at his betrayer (his ice-cream cone). But then something nudges his shoulder.

"Get up, you big baby, share mine," Bakugou tells him, voice still amused, and Kirishima blinks before immediately perking up and getting up so quickly that he almost falls again. Bakugou grins when Kirishima, already completely consoled, immediately takes a bite of Bakugou's ice-cream. "You're so simple."

The next time is when Kirishima gets his hand stuck in what feels like the smallest jar ever and it hurts so much that tears prick in his eyes. He walks over to Bakugou like a kicked puppy and gestures sadly to his hand, and Bakugou looks at it. His eyes widen and he looks like he's about to laugh, before he looks at Kirishima's face and his eyes widen even more.

"O-Oi, oi, come on, you baby, s'nothing to cry about," Bakugou tries to awkwardly reassure him, reaching out to pat Kirishima's cheek a little hard but the sentiment's there.

"I'm not a baby," Kirishima whines, even if Bakugou calling him that had softened the pain a little with how reassuring he'd, uh, tried to sound, and Bakugou rolls fond eyes.

"Hell yeah you are and you're a dumbass too, just harden your hand."

Kirishima gasps, and Bakugou does laugh this time when Kirishima throws out his arms and yells, "STAND BACK, MY SMART BESTIE," before he closes his eyes and hardens his hand. Surely enough, the glass breaks and falls to the ground. Kirishima looks excitedly back at Bakugou who pummels a cushion from the sofa at him.

"Clean it up, you idiot."

The next time is what first hits the hardest. They're play-wrestling for the last doughnut Satou had made, where Kirishima was about to take it before Bakugou jumped out of fucking nowhere and hammered him into the ground.

"THAT DOUGHNUT'S MINE, BAKUGOU, IVE HAD A REALLY TOUGH WEEK OKAY," Kirishima sobs as he tackles Bakugou who cackles sadistically and jams an elbow into Kirishima's gut which makes the guy yowl.

"Awe, baby needs sugar to make him feel better?" Bakugou coos even as his sharp eyes flash with challenge, but Kirishima doesn't catch that. He just hesitates, blinking for a moment as he wonders...why the hell did that make his heart rate spike so high...

And the moment of hesitation is all Bakugou needs to floor him for good and snatch the doughnut from the plate. Kirishima stares up at him dizzily, and all Bakugou does is take a bite and wink down at him, all feral smiles, before he throws the rest of the donut at Kirishima's chest and stalks off.

Kirishima lays there, cheeks firetruck red, before he covers his eyes with his hands and groans.

It just keeps going. Bakugou calls him that whenever Kirishima overreacts over something, or is too loud, or gets emotional which is pretty much way too often. And he says it in so many different ways. Sometimes he'll snap it like he's scolding Kirishima, sometimes he'll say it sort of softly like he's trying to comfort Kirishima, and sometimes...it's a whole stack of flirty overload, which is so weird because who the fuck would've known that Bakugou can flirt? 

Kirishima is going mad, and so many times he's had to excuse himself from Bakugou just to run to the other side of the school or his room so he can scream. In a not very manly way...

And Kirishima is at first entirely certain that Bakugou knows what he's doing and he is very deliberately ruining Kirishima's life, until this one time when Kirishima is sighing over his maths homework and Bakugou pokes him in the cheek with a ruler, saying, "You don't need to think so hard."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"When you overthink things, you always miss the actual solution."

"Oh," Kirishima mutters, scratching his head. So he takes a step back and starts again. A page of pencil-work later and a bit of help from a page of formulas and he's showing his answer to Bakugou who looks at it and grins.

"You got it, baby."

Kirishima seizes up, but the funny thing is, so does Bakugou. Not as obviously as Kirishima does but the guy freezes and his nose and ears touch up with pink as he opens his mouth in surprise.

Because that was a completely new way for Bakugou to say it. Entirely casually, with no reason for it at all.

Kirishima jolts when Bakugou suddenly gets up, telling Kirishima a grumbled, "Toilet," so low and quick that it barely sounds coherent, and Kirishima barely gets to tell him that there's a toilet in his room before Bakugou's out the door.

Twenty whole minutes Kirishima has to wait before Bakugou returns, coughs, then they continue like nothing happened. Except now they both have a permanent quiet blush on their cheeks and Kirishima catches Bakugou smirking a little proudly to himself a few times. Kirishima's heart drops.

Oh God. Bakugou likes this. Bakugou now knows what he's doing to Kirishima and he's proud of himself. Kirishima drops his head into his hands and groans so loud that Bakugou launches his pen at his head like it's a reflex whenever Kirishima is being too loud. But then he's silent, and instead of telling Kirishima to shut up like he used to, he asks a small, "...are you okay?"

Kirishima hates how that makes his heart clench. He loves when Bakugou is considerate, but Kirishima is also mad at him right now. Or maybe not mad, but just very conflicted. So he morosely shakes his head, and Bakugou doesn't say anything, before he just gets up and leaves again. Then he comes back, rests something on the table by Kirishima's head, and tells him, "'m gonna go back to my room." 

"Okay, man."

Then Kirishima's alone for good. He raises his head miserably, and zones in on a packet of skittles. Kirishima might be going through a lot of feelings towards Bakugou right now but that does make him smile. He also sees a post-it note attached to it, so he picks it up and reads:

'if i buy you stuff like this does that make you my sugar baby now'

"BAKUGOU, FUCK YOU!" Kirishima yells in the squeakiest voice ever as his entire body flares red, and he hears Bakugou cackle so hard from the other side of their shared wall that a loud thump follows where he probably fell off his fucking bed.

"Hey," Bakugou greets him breezily the next morning before doubling over wheezing when Kirishima immediately runs back into his room and locks the door. "K-KIRISHIMA-"

"I'M NOT COMING OUT, YOU CAN'T MAKE ME, YOU FIEND-"

"But everyone'll miss you, baby," Bakugou tells him through the door, voice light and soft and barely teasing at all. Kirishima flushes so hard and accidentally bangs into his wardrobe with a yelp but also for a moment, he almost believes Bakugou said that seriously. Like an awesome boyfriend who says sweet things to make Kirishima feel better.

Bakugou is no awesome boyfriend of Kirishima's, though.

Kirishima opens the door a crack and peeks his head out, looking at Bakugou who seems wholly proud of himself as he grins at Kirishima, arms crossed while he rests his head against the door. The light flush on his face makes it all seem even more real. 

"Would you miss me too?" Kirishima asks with a pout, and Bakugou rolls his eyes as he hooks an arm around Kirishima's shoulders and pulls him out the room so they can get going.

"Duh."

Kirishima lights up, and he thinks, that was way sweeter than anything an awesome boyfriend could say. He laughs before he can stop himself. Bakugou watches him with a raised eyebrow and Kirishima smiles at him, throwing all caution to the wind when he teases, "Then call me baby one more time and I'll kiss you."

Bakugou freezes, his eyes growing to the size of moons. And Kirishima doesn't even know what he'd been expecting but it definitely wasn't for Bakugou to kick his own dorm room open and shove Kirishima inside, already making a whole show of shedding his blazer as he says a low, "Baby, your wish is my fuckin' command," and Kirishima howls from laughter, shoving Bakugou away when the guy comes in close and pretends to smooch Kirishima's face off.

"I hate you so so much, man," Kirishima sighs after he's wound down, eyes teary when he grabs Bakugou's face. Bakugou smiles at him, eyes endeared even when he mutters a slightly embarrassed, "Yeah, I get that," and lets Kirishima kiss him. He drops his blazer for good so he can rest his hands on Kirishima's sides and pull him closer, and Kirishima laughs in surprise, making Bakugou grin against him. It's an awful kiss, and it makes Kirishima melt from how much he loves it.

"I've got way more pet names in my arsenal if a kiss is what it gets me," Bakugou tells him completely seriously, and Kirishima grimaces when he remembers how just 'baby' has almost killed him.

"God, dude, you're gonna murder me before I even turn twenty."

"You know murder's my middle name," Bakugou says smugly as he grabs Kirishima's hand and they're off to school again, with Kirishima deadpanning, "Yeah, I do know, Mr Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight."

"Holy shit, murder's exactly in the middle. I'm so fucking cool."

"Bakugou, you suck."

Chapter Text

Bakugou and Yaoyorozu study together on Wednesdays. Bakugou wears glasses, Yaoyorozu brews a different flavour of tea each time, and classical music plays while they work.

Bakugou says suddenly one Wednesday, "Can't focus. Keep thinking 'bout Kirishima."

Yaoyorozu chokes on her tea.

There's just something about these sessions where everything is comfortable and calm, whether that be in silence or not. Bakugou and Yaoyorozu have talked in length about history, fighting strategies, all the things that both of them feel like they couldn't really gush to anyone else about before. But right now, Bakugou has been staring at this one page for ten minutes now, and he's ready to scream.

"Why?" Yaoyorozu asks kindly once she's composed herself. But Bakugou just furrows his eyebrows and doesn't say another word, so Yaoyorozu decides to leave it be. She knows Bakugou will tell her what's troubling him on his own accord soon.

"It's probably his eyes," Bakugou surely says another Wednesday when they're outside taking a little break and lying next to each other on the grass. "Massive fuckers 'n all those lashes. Who needs that many lashes?!"

"Those eyes look at you a lot, don't they?" Yaoyorozu says amusedly as she makes a daisy chain, her nimble fingers daintily twisting stems. Bakugou grunts in affirmation.

"Exactly. On me too much. Light up at the sight at me. Make my chest grow fuzz."

Yaoyorozu laughs in surprise, turning on her stomach as she connects her last daisy to her first then drops the flower crown onto Bakugou's head. "I truly love the way you talk, Bakugou."

"D'you think its his eyes?"

"I do not. Look closer! Think of this as a problem to solve."

Bakugou frowns, then looks up at his head. "Wait. You're supposed to make it out of daisies?"

Yaoyorozu blinks, before her eyes widen when Bakugou lifts up a perfectly modelled wreath made out of grass that looks like the kinds royalty would wear in the past. Yaoyorozu shakes her head, chuckling, "You're too cultured for me, Bakugou Katsuki."

"I get really angry," Bakugou says when they're in the library and Yaoyorozu is on a ladder looking for books on the top shelf, "when he puts himself down."

Yaoyorozu hums in acknowledgment. "He does that a lot?"

"Oh hell yeah. Makes me wanna punch him but I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Are you condoning unwarranted violence, Little Miss Perfect?" Bakugou teases and Yaoyorozu giggles, reaching down to give him a book. "You know why. You can't hit people for shit like that, I know that by now. That won't help them." 

 "Maybe a little slap in the face will motivate him," Yaoyorozu says, playing a little bit of devil's advocate, and she smiles when Bakugou sighs.

"Maybe, but. But I gotta do this with- with like- WORDS. And you know I'm fuckin' terrible at those." 

 "I don't know that. I think you're perfectly capable."

"But what the hell do I say to him? 'Oh you're still here so obviously you're fuckin' stupid strong' or whatever."

Yaoyorozu smiles down at him. "Yes. That's exactly what you say."

Bakugou blinks. "Oh...really? But that-" 

 "Catch me!" Yaoyorozu suddenly calls out, pushing herself off the ladder and Bakugou yells as he scrambles to rush forward and catch her in his arms. "You bloody IDIOT!"

"It's fun!" Yaoyorozu cheers, laughing brightly. Then she pats Bakugou's cheek. "Say that to him, Bakugou. Let him know just what you think of him, then things will become clearer for you too. You don't need to say any fancy words or anything more than what's in your heart, trust me." 

Bakugou's face is flushed an uneasy red, but slowly he nods, determination breaking through his expression. Yaoyorozu has never felt prouder.

It's two weeks later when Bakugou runs inside Yaoyorozu's room and hides under her desk in embarrassment.

"You told him?" Yaoyorozu asks gently as she crouches down to look at him, and Bakugou looks back like a bunny stuck in a burrow, nodding. 

"Why did I DO that?" Bakugou groans, dragging his hands through his hair. "I DON'T DO THAT! I DON'T EVER SAY NICE THINGS OR EVEN COOL THINGS."

"You say very cool things," Yaoyorozu disagrees, squeezing under the desk which she's too tall for but she squishes up beside Bakugou anyway. Bakugou rests a hand over his face dramatically as he complains, "I know, I'm the bloody coolest but now I feel so weird."

"Why?"

"He knows now. He knows how I feel about him."

Yaoyorozu smiles fondly. "That wasn't quite a confession, bakugou."

"That's not what I'm talking about I mean he knows what I think about him and to an insecure guy like that, I might as well've professed my love."

Bakugou frowns. "I want him to love himself like I love him. That- that's not a big ask, right? It can't be. He's so good 'n everyone should love him 'n I should wanna kill anyone who doesn't."

"Don't you go killing him!" Yaoyorozu scolds, and Bakugou snorts brokenly. "He'll get there one day. You know that."

Bakugou hides his face in his knees. "Can't wait. Too long."

"Yes you can, you ninny," Yaoyorozu says with a roll of her eyes, nudging him. "I know you will. And you've already pledged your life to helping him do it so you're not going anywhere."

"Stop perceiving me," Bakugou scowls and Yaoyorozu bursts into laughter.

"Gosh, I hope we never stop being friends. You should become my jester."

"I'm gonna wring your rich little neck."