Chapter Text
He didn’t want to post it.
It had been six months since the album had dropped.
Six months since Dynamight had sent him an early copy.
Six months since drummer and lyricist Bakugo Katsuki had taken lead vocals for a single track, weaving familiar words from an achingly familiar email with an unfamiliar tone-shift for the band. Slow and wistful wasn’t exactly what explosive Dynamight was known for.
But Bakugo’s low and soft tone made it work.
It was an instant hit. One of the band’s most popular tracks.
And Eijiro’s name was in the lyric jacket of the CD, teasing him in printed red letters that popped violently from the rest of the white text of the song.
He hadn’t wanted to believe it on first listen. There was no way that obscure little Kirishima Eijiro, youtube musician and freshman-year drop out, had inspired up and coming rockstar Bakugo Katsuki for such a… dreamy song.
But the words… they were his words.
Words he sent after a week of stewing over nervous thoughts and seeping in anxiety telling him he was going to be a bother and a nuisance.
But the evening they had met was an enchanted one and it had left Eijiro wonderstruck, and he had told Bakugo as such in a rambling, eager email sent in a moment of pure courage.
It was cheesy. And Bakugo told him so.
Eijiro hadn’t replied back to that, assuming their one night of laughter and avoiding the party of their mutual acquaintance was simply that. One night of magic that wore off when Bakugo woke up the next morning and realized he had better prospects than Eijiro.
… or, so he thought. Until his words were expertly sewn into a song that made him want to squeal like a middle school girl into his pillow and then cry-sing along to the quiet plea at the end.
Eijiro took a deep breath as he stared at the video waiting to be uploaded.
It had taken him six months to sing it without sobbing (but tears couldn’t be helped no matter how many takes). The instrumental was tapped out between weekly cover uploads. Mixing had taken care and time and--
Well…
… rumors about Bakugo Katsuki being seen with actress Utsushimi Camie were flying about…
… he was probably too late anyway… he certainly wouldn’t wait around for himself.
But he didn’t have another song in his line up for this week. And he’d spent so long on it…
Eijiro swallowed his pride.
Bakugo probably wouldn’t see it anyways.
Clicking the red upload button felt like a herculean task, but it was one conquered.
He closed his laptop with a stuttering “click.”
-*-
His phone hadn’t stopped buzzing all through rehearsal.
None of their phones had stopped buzzing.
Not a problem, they were supposed to be professionals.
Emphasis on supposed.
“God dammit, Dunce Face! Put it away!” Katsuki spat, slamming his drumsticks down, effectively making their guitarist jolt in surprise.
Rage, now focused on an easy scapegoat, allowed the rest of their band to quietly dig out their own phones. The possibility of hitting a new chart number was too tempting to ignore.
“But Kacchan, we’re trending!” Kaminari grinned, guitar swaying precariously on his hip, as he waved his phone excitedly above his head. “Our Twitter is blowing up!”
“Correction, Bakugo is the one trending,” Tokoyami hummed.
“Hah?!”
“What’d you do now?” Jiro smirked back at him.
“Didn’t do shit!”
“Doubtful.”
“You wanna die, bird boy?”
Jiro turned away as the boys began bickering, toes tapping as she launched her own twitter app to check their band’s account. Hundreds of notifications greeted her, mentions for their group and Bakugo’s own account all attached to a repeating link.
@therealcellophane: @dynaMIGHToffical @lordexplodok1lls hey man, look who it is!
@d3ku: @dynaMIGHTofficial @lordexplodok1lls Kacchan! Kacchan!!! KACCHAN--
@pinkisthenewblack: @dynaMIGHTofficial @lordexplodok1lls OH MY GOD, IT’S HAPPENING. IT’S HAPPENING.
She tapped the [link] and scrolled the app as the ad played.
Could be paparazzi footage of their drummer causing his special brand of asshole chaos. Or someone analyzing his latest outing with their designer.
She checked the uploader and blinked.
Then blinked again as the ad ended and a familiar melody, now transposed for piano, caught the attention of her team.
“What the fuck is i--”
“... all I can say is it was enchanting to meet you...”
Katsuki’s tongue tied itself as Jiro flipped her screen towards him.
The video was dark, faintly lit by strings of fairy lights and a single ring lamp at a distance, but that red hair was impossible to lose in the darkness of the room. Large, kind eyes met his through the screen, mouth twisted in a remorseful smile as Katsuki’s lyrics slipped through sharpened teeth.
“--counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy--”
No one commented as he tripped to his feet, nearly toppling over the drumset in his haste to snatch the phone away. Jiro placed it in his shaking hands, sucking in her lower lip as he clutched it close. A look was shared between her and the others, each shifting uncertainly.
“I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew--”
Katsuki inhaled sharply, the Eijiro on the screen staring intently at him.
“I was enchanted to meet you, too.”
The pixelated boy turned his face quickly to hide his faltering smile and Katsuki felt Jiro’s phone case protest under his grip. It was a pale imitation of the confident grin that he’d seen that night. But it still made him want to see more.
“The lingering question kept me up: 2 AM, who do you love? I wondered till I'm wide awake…”
His voice was rough, a little gravely, untrained. Strained, like this was his millionth take in a helpless attempt to make it through a recording without cracking with tears.
It turned the song from a plea for a probable attraction to a mourning of a love lost. A missed chance.
“--and this is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the story line ends--”
Katsuki’s hands shook.
“--my thoughts will echo your name until I see you again--”
Denki was stepping away, frantically tapping at his phone as he and Tokoyami whispered to each other.
“--these are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon--”
But tears were running down Eijiro’s face, and Katsuki couldn’t be bothered by any thought beyond how perfect he still sounded, raw and real and--
“... please don't be in love with someone else… please don't have somebody waiting on you…”
“No, fuck you--don’t--” he whirled to fumble for his own phone.
“Kats--”
“Don’t say anything--” he growled out, Eijiro’s chorus echoing from the phone’s speaker.
He scrolled through his email, desperate to find the one he never got another response from.
“--I'll spend forever wondering if you knew--”
He’d starred it, hadn’t he? It was fucking important, he’d read it a million times when he’d written the damn song--
“--this night is flawless, don't you let it go--”
Or had he given up on a response months ago and deleted it?
“--I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone--”
“Bakugo.”
“I said shut up!”
What was his email?! He knew it was something silly--a username that just stuck based on an anime he loved as a kid--maybe--
“--Ka’ski, I'll spend my whole life wondering if you knew: I was enchanted to meet you, too…”
He snapped his attention back to the video, lingering a moment helplessly on Eijro’s little smile before his brain fucking kicked to attention and he frantically looked at the username.
RedRiotOnScene
“--I was never in love with someone else--”
Oh.
“--I never had somebody waiting on me--”
“Kacchan! Kacchan, we--”
“--'cause you were all of my dreams come true--”
“--found him! He’s Shinso’s friend’s roommate! We can--”
“... and I just wish you knew…”
Jiro slapped her hand over Kaminari’s mouth for a moment, eyes glued on Katsuki’s wide-eyed expression.
“...Ka’ski, I was so in love with you…”
It was quiet as Eijiro trailed off with a small smile and one last look to the camera. “Sorry,” he mouthed before the video ended, timer counting down to play another song from his channel.
A beat, then Katsuki was straightening up and whirling towards Kaminari.
“Where the fuck is he?” he ground out, both phones creaking under his tense grip.