Work Text:
Bakugo would begrudgingly admit that the remedial courses for the Provisional Hero License Exam were useful in ways he hadn't expected. But most of the training exercises they had to complete were still ridiculous, and Half-and-Half wouldn't stop acting like they were becoming 'friends'. He needed a break from the nonsense (and maybe a distraction from some of the darker thoughts still lingering within after the semester he'd had so far).
So when he learned of a new All Might biopic coming out as a celebration of his legacy, he knew that was just what he was looking for. He already knew pretty much everything about the former #1 hero's career but he would die before he missed the opportunity to see a new All Might movie on opening weekend.
The only problem was, he decided to buy two tickets because he refused to go by himself. That would just be too boring, even for a natural loner like himself. (Not to mention he'd look like a friendless loser but that definitely wasn't as important.) He would have asked someone from his usual group of...companions...but unfortunately they were going to their individual homes or already had their own plans for the weekend.
And so, there was one person left. The only person he knew that shared his enthusiasm for all things All Might...
Deku.
The idea of enduring 2 hours of Deku's annoying fanboy rambling was not pleasant to think about (seriously, why couldn't he be subtle about it like Bakugo?). But with no other options, Bakugo simply had to take it or leave it.
In the end, he decided that Deku would indeed be the one to accompany him to the movie. But his pride still wouldn't let him ask upfront. He spent some time deliberating about a more discrete way to do it. Until he remembered Deku's notebooks that he had for any and every purpose one could think of. If he managed to slip the ticket and a note into one of his notebooks, there would be little verbal exchange necessary.
Luckily the moment to put his plan into action came when Deku accidentally left his notebook on his desk as he was heading off to lunch.
Bakugo made sure everyone was gone before making a move. With the ticket and note in hand, he quickly opened the notebook to a random page and slipped the two items inside. Then he marched all the way to the lunchroom and managed to run into Deku before he'd gotten his food. He shoved the notebook in the nerd's face, warning him not to leave shit laying around for people to steal. Deku looked surprised as expected but he still managed to thank Bakugo for returning the notebook. Bakugo simply scoffed and trudged off, internally glad that he'd finally gotten it done.
The nerd acted like his usual self for the rest of the day. But if Deku found the note and took him up on his offer, then the two of them would be meeting up in front of the dorms on Saturday afternoon. He could already imagine the irritatingly bright-eyed and overjoyed expression on Deku's face. (Of course, it was only the movie he was looking forward to, and definitely not the idea of making up for lost time with his childhood friend, who he’d only recently started kind of seeing eye to eye with again.)
So, when Saturday came, Bakugo was sitting outside on one of the benches. He checked the time on his phone. 5 minutes until 1 pm.
He scoffed in annoyance. "That nerd better not be late..." Bakugo grumbled. To say he would be pissed about wasting his money and going to the movie alone would be an understatement.
Conveniently, it was right at that moment that he heard someone call his name.
But Bakugo froze in confusion. Because that did not sound like Deku.
He decided to look up to make sure, and his eyes widened when he saw that the student heading his way definitely was not Deku.
Shitty Hair ( Kirishima , a voice whispered in the back of his mind, thought he tried his best to ignore it) was skipping towards him, a disgustingly-cheery grin on that face of his, and his hair was done up in its usual spiky, blood-red manner.
Bakugo was, as the kids tended to say these days, Big Confuse ™. Because he was sure Deku had seen the note, and Deku would be loping down the path, ready to go to the movie. Why Shitty Hair ?
For a minute, he allowed himself to hope that, instead of Kirishima, it was, in fact, Deku who was coming. He hoped to open his eyes and see green hair, green eyes and very annoyingly red boots. And he hoped that the voice would be that irritating one he’d heard since childhood, shouting Kacchan, Kacchan!
‘Hey, Bakugo!’
Well, that ruined his hopes. The voice was unmistakably the deep one belonging to the one he saw, and the one he saw was, in fact Kiri - Shitty Hair .
‘Baku! Midoriya gave me a note to give to you! Here, take it,’ said Kirishima. He slipped the note into Bakugo’s open hand and walked away, whistling something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen’.
Bakugo unfolded the note so quickly that it tore in half, so he had to read it putting the two halves together on the bench.
I’m really sorry, Kacchan :( , read the note. Bakugo’s heart sank. Todoroki said he’d be visiting his mother today, and he said I should come with him because she wanted to meet me. You should take Kirishima with you! I slipped my ticket into his pocket when he wasn’t looking. He’s probably walking back into the dorms now, so go call him! You shouldn’t let that money go to waste! And PS, thank you so much for the invite, and again, I’m really sorry.
Well, thanks for the advice, Deku , thought Bakugo sarcastically. Looked like the nerd had forgotten Kirishima was going to a cat caf é or some such overly-cutesy place with the steel idiot from Class B.
And now his ticket was in Kirishima’s pocket. Oh, yes, he had Deku to thank for that! Screw that nerd, really. He tended to mess things up so much. Don’t let that money go to waste! he’d written, and yet, here was that money, going to waste because Deku just had to be a sneaky little idiot and give Shitty Hair the ticket without asking.
What was he to do?
Naturally, the only option was to go to the movie by himself - though he could , technically, ask someone to go with him, if he got the ticket back from Shitty Hair.
So this was his life now, huh? Desperately searching for a movie-watching partner, of all things?
Bakugo sighed, and pulled out his phone. The first step would be to get the ticket from the (unaware) idiot who had it.
Pausing, an idea struck, and he chased after Kirishima, slowing down when he reached him and attempting to look innocent.
“Bakubro, you are coming with me?”
“For the moment.”
“Fantastic!” After that Kirishima started going off on some tangent about something that had happened in class, thankfully distracting him enough that Bakugou could slip the ticket out of his pocket. Goal number one achieved, he gave some sort of goodbye to Kirishima and headed to find someone to go to the movie with him. He was scrolling through his phone when he was suddenly wrapped in a hug by a small figure. Looking down he could see the white hair that indicated Eri attached to the human currently clinging to him like a koala.
He hugged her back, glancing over to see Amajiki lingering nearby. He must be the one watching her today then.
“What are you doing today, Eri?”
“I want to see the new All Might movie, and Suneater said he’d take me! So we are headed to the theater now.”
“That’s where I’m going, I just didn’t have anyone to go with me cause they are all fucking busy for some reason.” If anything, the hug got more enthusiastic after that, and Bakugou shifted her to his hip to hold her more easily.
“You should come with us. Pretty please join us?”
He glanced over at Amajiki who shrugged. “Hell yeah, Eri, I’ll join you.”
“Thank you!” Eri smiled up at him, eyes shining. Something soft and mushy appeared in his chest, a feeling he shoved down with ruthless efficiency.
No. He’s not attached to Eri. Definitely not. It definitely doesn’t make him feel … good … to have her look up at him like he just made her whole day.
She grabbed his hand and tugged him back towards Amajiki, where she proceeded to stand between them and grab Amajiki’s hand as well, linking all three of them together.
They walked through campus like this, Bakugou scowling at anyone who dared look at them funny.
At one point, he turned towards Amajiki, speaking over the top of Eri’s head.
“I have an extra ticket,” he said. “You could use that, and then only have to pay for Eri’s ticket.”
Amajiki’s eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Oh. Uh. Thanks,” he said.
Bakugou grunted. “Yeah. Don’t fuckin’ mention it.”
Eri continues holding their hands, even as they leave campus. Even when their palms begin to get sweaty and sticky, she still clings on, swinging them back and forth as they walk.
The day was sunny and nice, and the cinema was not far away. Amajiki paid for Eri’s ticket, and they stepped inside.
“D-do, do you want any concessions?” Amajiki asked. “I’ll pay.”
Bakugou is about to decline — he can pay for his own stuff, really — but Eri suddenly pulled him forward, with far more strength than he expected of someone her size. “I want one of those!” she shouted, pointing at a large slushie in someone’s hands.
“Eri! It’s not nice to point…” Amajiki hastily said, trying to pull her hand down before the person could turn around and see them.
She pouted for just a moment, but quickly turned her gaze back at the displays of the concessions, eyes almost sparkling at the many choices before her. He can say he definitely understands now why Deku and Toogata seem to bend over backwards for any scrap of her attention. Not that that’s what was happening with him — not at all!
They ended up buying some popcorn to share, a large slushie for Eri, and a bag of sour belts for Bakugou. Amajiki gave him a judging look but Bakugou felt no need to justify his choice of candy. Besides, Eri said she hadn’t tried them before.
He opened the bag and fished one out, and she excitedly took it in her hand. “Woah… it’s so colorful!” she exclaimed, shoving it in her mouth. Her face instantly crumpled the moment the sour particles made contact with her taste buds. To her credit, she didn’t spit it out, instead toughing it out until she got to the sweetness of the belt. Bakugou had to fight back chuckles, while Amajiki sighed beside them.
“You really should have warned her,” Amajiki muttered.
“Hah! We all had to find out the hard way,” Bakugou countered.
Eri stuck her tongue out for a few moments before looking like she made up her mind. “Can I have another one, Bakugou?” she asked, looking up at him with those wide eyes. He nodded and handed her another one as Amajiki took her other hand to begin their walk over to the room for their showing of the movie.
They easily found the proper room, and their seats. It was packed, of course; it was an All Might movie and a weekend to boot. Luckily they had assigned seats near each other. Once seated, Eri chattered happily about whatever came to mind. Bakugou found that he didn’t mind listening and nodding along.
Eri babbles happily through all the preshow ads. A few people give them nasty looks whenever she gets particularly excited about something, but anytime any of them open their mouths to say something about it, Katsuki gives them the meanest glare he can manage, channeling all of his rage in their direction. They all choose to let it go.
One the lights start to dim however, Tamaki leans over and whispers in Eri’s ear, “Remember what we agreed on.”
Eri nods her head vigorously and whispers back, “No talking when the lights are off.”
“Good girl.” Tamaki gives Eri a small genuine smile that he seems to reserve for only the people he is closest to. Katsuki’s only seen it before because the nerd hangs out so much around the other Big Three students.
And then Eri grabs his hand again, small palm fitting comfortably against his. Katsuki goes to pull away on instinct, no one likes holding his hands, not when they can catch fire and explode. But Eri just holds on tighter.
The first trailer starts to play and Eri starts practically vibrating in her seat. Her excitement is infectious as he feels the emotion curl pleasantly in the pit of his stomach.
Katsuki remembers what it was like when he and Deku were kids each time a new All Might movie would come out. The way they would pester their mothers for tickets, how neither of them could ever sit still, their excitement too high. They are fond memories that Katsuki would die before admitting to remembering.
And watching Eri be so excited for this All Might biopic, he cannot help but be reminded of them when they were younger.
The trailers continue, Bakugo ignoring the rest of the theater's reactions in favor of discreetly observing Eri and Tamaki. Most of the movie trailers are action packed and high energy, which has Eri on the edge of her seat and Tamaki trying his absolute best not to look too startled by the loud noises. Katsuki has to stifle his laughter several times.
By the time the last trailer ends and the movie is about to start, everyone is quiet. Eri's eyes are the size of saucers, Tamaki has slipped into a state of deep concentration, and Katsuki feels more comfortable and at home than he has in a long while.
The movie itself, as Katsuki expected, was an incredible experience. He forgot all of his worries and doubts, feeling like he was back in his more carefree days. When all he had was a dream of being the best and his undying admiration for his number one idol. When the expectations of those around him hadn't weighed on him so much that he could only cope by slowly warping into the person he is today. When he wasn't plagued by questions of if he truly knew what it meant to be a hero - and if he even still deserved to be one after everything that he's done.
Instead, it was his chance to freely indulge in a lifelong source of joy as the biopic retold various important events of All Might's career. Just like a bedtime story, he never got tired of hearing about them because it felt familiar and safe .
(At times his mind even imagined what kind of running commentary Deku might subconsciously have going on beside him. As annoying as the nerd's rambling could be...there was a certain charm to it.)
Not to mention, whenever he took a peek at Eri he noticed the awestruck expression on her face. His heart actually melted at the sight. It was sickeningly sweet how precious one little girl could be. And from the few glances he snuck at Tamaki it looked as if he was also entranced by the movie, as if his mind was in another world.
That was perhaps All Might's greatest power. How he could bring people from many different walks of life together on one accord.
By the time the movie ends, Katsuki was more than satisfied. Although it wasn't supposed to be Eri and Tamaki that he watched the movie with, he found that he definitely didn't regret taking them up on their offer.
"That was amazing!" Eri cheers as they walk out of the movie theater, grinning with stars in her eyes. "All Might is so strong and brave! He can get through anything! Just like all the heroes at UA!"
Katsuki lip twitches in amusement. Why did her enthusiasm for heroes have to be so endearing?
"I agree Eri, that movie really showed how great of a hero All Might is," Tamaki remarks in that soft, warm tone that seems like it's just for her. That seems to be her effect on people, and at this point Katsuki can't say he doesn't understand.
Eri nods eagerly in agreement. Then she looks up at Katsuki hopefully. "Did you like the movie too Kacchan?"
Katsuki's brows rise from being caught off guard. She must have heard Deku call him that. Looks like it stuck.
But when he really thought about it, he found that he didn't really mind it. Or anything about today, for that matter. He couldn't remember the last time he truly got the chance to forget about everything and enjoy himself. So, the rough and tough hero-to-be Bakugo Katsuki decides to allow himself one faint - yet genuine - smile.
"Yeah...I did."