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His class was stupid. So what if they were the 'golden' class of UA? It was more like the ‘problem class,’ if you'd ask Katsuki. Not that many people were lining up for his opinion on the matter.
Most people were interested in Deku's opinions.
That fact would have irked him once. It would have caused a ball of anger and insecurity and a feeling that he had refused to call 'worry.' But that was a long time ago. Close to two years now, even if it felt like a lifetime ago at this point.
Now the fact just rolled off his back. Despite his drive to be a hero, Katsuki knew his flaws. People pleasing would always be one of them.
That never seemed to stop his idiot class though.
He guessed they were lucky enough that he did like them. Most of them at least.
The half and half bastard would always be annoying as fuck.
And Grapeface was a goddamn disgrace. Fuck all that 'growing and developing' noise the others wanted to use to try and excuse his behavior. The little creep would always be a creep and Katsuki couldn't wait for an excuse to beat his face into the ground.
Speaking of Grapeface, he kept the other boy in his peripheral vision as the others were debating what he should do for his next move in their ridiculous game.
"He's stuck to the rules without complaints, you guys! He hasn't even put up a fight about it since we started!"
Katsuki rolled his eyes as Dunceface tried a different tactic. Grapeface was nodding and there were even a couple others who were looking considerate. While it was true the creep had taken the classes verdicts in stride, it hadn't stopped him from looking longingly and jealously at everyone else through out the stupid game.
Katsuki eyed the glass bottle on the floor and the empty spot where Cheeks had been sitting. It was right between where Frogger and Sero were sitting. She was out in the hall now, waiting until Mina would call her back in with the verdict.
'Slap or Kiss.' That was the stupid game his class had wanted to play. Much like spin the bottle, except the class would decide whether you got kissed or slapped.
He could admit it was a much more tame game night than he expected. Probably because last week's game night almost ended with everyone being put on house arrest.
Who knew fucking Uno would be so vicious?
It was really only thanks to Deku that everyone got let off easy. Aizawa-sensei did have a weakness when it came to the greenhaired teen after all. And nobody - except for maybe Deku himself - was above exploiting that weakness.
"Bakugou! What do you think?"
Katsuki blinked, having tuned out everyone as he thought about how stupid this was. He was only playing because the girls had begged him. Everyone knew he was the only one who could keep grapeface in line just by being present.
He rolled his eyes as he took in everyone's expectant faces. "The fuck do I care?"
Mina pouted, but it wasn't her voice that replied.
"You're the only one who hasn't voted, Kacchan. It's a stalemate without your choice. "
Deku's voice was chipper from where he sat on the couch behind Kirishima. He had a pillow clutched to his chest, acting as an almost barrier between himself and the room. One leg was crossed under him, while the other was bracketing Kirishima's side. The redhead was looking perfectly content where he was, smiling up as Deku petted his head. Like he was fucking dog or something.
It was sweet enough that Katsuki wanted to gag.
"You could vote instead, shitty nerd."
Deku's face went red. "No! I'm the ref, Kacchan! I don't vote, I just keep the tallies. Otherwise I have to play!"
Katsuki snorted. Same old nerd. He had volunteered for the role as he wanted to watch but didn't want to play. Knowing him he was too nervous with the possibility of having to slap someone, rather than the prospect of being kissed. Though that certainly would've been mortifying for him too.
"Right. Well then give the fucker a break, I guess. As long as he can keep his fucking hands to himself. Otherwise I'm blowing him up." It wasn’t so much as a nice gesture for good behaviour, as it was he was really hoping the pervert would try even the most miniscule thing so Katsuki could get some aggression out.
Grapeface looked at him and Katsuki could swear he saw the sparkles coming off of the other boy. It was almost enough to rival Twinkle Toes.
Nobody looked upset by the decision, so Mina called the other girl from the hall. He had to give her credit. She didn't look nervous. Just mildly put off that she'd needed to wait so long.
Her eyes found Katsuki's as she took her spot again. Katsuki gave her a vicious grin, something with all teeth. Cheeks just grinned back, equally vicious.
There was a reason he tolerated her.
"So," Uraraka started. "What's the verdict?"
"The lady is waiting, Mineta! Remember the rules," Engines chimed from where he was sitting at one of the tables. He had opted out of playing the game, instead preferring to do some other nerdshit with Animal Boy. Probably the homework that would be due in the morning.
Losers. Katsuki had finished it already.
He watched carefully as Mineta walked in front of where Cheeks sat. Sero was also watching carefully, but it turns out the boy was taking the warnings seriously. With hands clearly behind his back. He leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Uraraka's left cheek. He didn't even linger like the creep probably wanted to.
He all but floated back to his spot. High on cloud nine from the practically innocent touch. Even Uraraka didn't look put off by it. Instead just rolling her eyes and leaning forward, her hand reaching towards the bottle.
"My turn?"
"You know it! Get it, Ochako!" Mina squealed in excitement. Ponytail just smiled from her spot next to her. Her never-ending patience was what had landed her that spot.
Katsuki on the other hand had somehow ended up between the invisible girl and Twinkle Toes.
Uraraka grinned again as she gave the bottle a twist and sent it spinning. Everyone watched with differing reactions. Half the class was cheering, the other half was just amused. Then there was Katsuki who couldn't care less, and Deku who was watching with curiosity.
It was the other boy's reaction that told him who the bottle landed on. Precisely half a second before the group yelled loud enough to rival the sound of his explosions.
He took a quick glance and saw the bottle's opening pointed at him.
Most of the room was laughing. His own friends were practically crying with the force of their laughter. Shitty hair himself had a hand wrapped around Deku's ankle to keep himself mildly composed. Mina was leaning on Ponytail, who was trying to hide her own mirth behind her hand.
Cheeks was looking at him with an evil gleam in her eyes.
Surprisingly, Deku was the only one who looked nervous. He was biting the corner of his lip as his eyes kept darting between the bottle and Katsuki. Trying to gauge his reaction most likely.
Katsuki just rolled his eyes, huffing as he pushed himself to his feet.
He wasn't the same fifteen year old brat who would have blown someone's face up because of this game. He had agreed to play. He knew the rules and the possibilities. Even if he wasn't particularly thrilled that it was him.
"Do we really need me to go outside for this?"
"You know the rules, Blasty! Don't go trying to weasel your way out," Mina said between her damn giggles.
Uraraka winked at him as he passed her on his way to the hallway. He felt the very corner of his lip curl up when he flipped her off and she threw her head back to laugh.
Idiot.
He could hear everyone's mumbles as he closed the door to the hallway. Nothing distinct, of course, but it didn't stop the different pitches and tones from reaching his ears. There was also more laughter. Lots more laughter.
It felt like a giant waste of time for him to be standing out here. But he supposed rules were rules. Whoever the bottle lands on would leave the room until a decision could be made on what would happen to them.
'Spin the bottle. With a twist.'
That's what Mina had told him when she first asked him to play. Like with any spin the bottle, it could very well end in a kiss. On the cheek, of course, because not everyone was thrilled by the idea of a classmate (Grapeface to be specific) kissing them straight on.
The twist was that you could also slap someone.
That's really what had piqued Katsuki's interest. It would be a group decision, majority rules, whether someone was kissed or slapped. And once the decision was made, the spinner could be as ruthless or sweet as they pleased, as long as it didn't result in injury enough to warrant a trip to Recovery Girl.
Katsuki had mainly voted for slapping people, but hadn't been shy to choose a kiss if it would embarrass a friend more. He had been lucky that the damn bottle hadn't landed on him most of the evening.
He had assumed it would be an easy choice for his classmates to make. It wasn't everyday anyone could slap him without fear of consequence. This would be the perfect time. He couldn't even bring himself to be even a little mad about it.
Though the longer he stood in the hall waiting, he figured it was also the perfect time for someone to kiss him without consequence. Something not many had been able to get away with during their years at Yuuei.
Maybe that was why it was taking the extras so damn long.
He started tapping his foot out of restlessness. The laughter had quieted,but he could still hear them talking. He debated whether he should yell at them to hurry the fuck up or not.
As he was debating, there was an uproar of laughter and cheering. Then Mina was yelling.
"Come back in, Blasty!"
"About damn time," he hissed. He glanced at everyone's shit eating grins. Even Icy Hot was looking pleased, which was almost unsettling compared to his normal stoic look.
What made him almost trip over his feet was that Deku was no longer on the couch behind Kirishima. Instead he was sitting on the floor, hugging the damn pillow to his chest like a fucking shield, next to Kirishima.
The green haired teen gave him a nervous smile. Katsuki was sure he wasn't the only one to note the tension in the nerd's shoulders, but he knew he was probably the only one who noticed how green eyes were looking a little wide and a little frantic.
"The fuck are you doing in the circle, Deku? Thought you were playing ref?"
Deku laughed, slightly breathless sounding. "I - uh - well, I voted? And the rules are clear? You vote, you play a round. So. Well. Here I am, Kacchan?"
Katsuki rolled his eyes despite having a bad feeling about this. "Wanted to tell 'em to punch me in the face, huh?"
"Kacchan!"
"Deku," he parroted back, ignoring the way the nerd flushed and everyone else laughed. He looked at Uraraka and raised an eyebrow. "So? Get on with it, Cheeks."
He took a seat, knowing she wouldn't be able to reach his face very well without it. Katsuki's growth spurt had hit him mid second year and hadn't stopped. He had recently just broken 183 cm, whereas the girl had stayed the same 162 cm she'd been their first year. Something that both irked her and gave her a killer advantage of having stupid people underestimate her.
She stepped up, sitting on her knees, hands in her lap. She smiled at him. It was equal parts bloodthirsty and gleeful. Katsuki grinned back, all sharp teeth and dare.
"Better make it good."
She just nodded. Behind her he could see Deku looking away, tucking his chin into the top of the pillow he held.
Slap!
He heard the sound before he felt the sting. He felt it right as the rest of the room started howling with laughter and jeers.
He could admit, Uraraka packed a lot of strength into her hit. It was a really good one. His skin smarted and pulsed a bit where her hand had landed. It was also starting to feel warm, letting him know there was probably a nice pink spot steadily growing on his skin.
Across from him, the girl was shaking her hand a bit. Clearly she was also feeling the sting. But she was grinning and Katsuki couldn't help the half smile he gave her in return.
For being one of Deku's best friends, she wasn't that bad. And he could appreciate the strength she'd worked hard on to earn.
Once the laughter had started dying down he reached for the bottle. He listened to the others ask how it felt to slap 'The Bakugou Katsuki' and how the other teenager just giggled and danced around the question.
Bakugou watched as the bottle started to slow. A sudden feeling of certainty and dread hitting him as looked at it.
He knew exactly where it was going to land.
From the quiet squeak and sharp intake of air, Deku also knew what was going to happen.
It didn't happen in slow motion, like a cheesy chick flick or shoujo manga would have some believe. It happened in real-time, with very little fanfare other than some of the other extras seemingly holding their breath.
The bottle slowed, almost stopped on Kirishima, before it moved ever so slightly further.
Coming to a full stop on a wide eyed Deku.
It was relatively quiet for a second before Kaminari gleefully said, "Holy shit!"
Everyone else started laughing and talking about the irony. Katsuki just grunted, keeping a close eye on how Deku seemed to tense more. There was a very fine tremble to his shoulders. Katsuki also didn't miss the way he turned his face closer to the pillow, as if to hide his cheek from an oncoming hit.
Kirishima nudged the younger boy, reminding him he still needed to get up. Deku smiled, but it was stained. Trying too hard to appear like he wasn't fazed by this.
A weird feeling settled in his stomach as Deku looked over at him before he left the room. It was an ugly feeling. Something angry and full of self-loathing. Because it had been a long time since Deku had last looked at him like that.
Like he was scared of Katsuki.
Because despite patching their shit up - despite forgiving and growing and becoming friends again - it did nothing to change the scars that were already there. There was no way to overlook the history and violence that laid in their past, courtesy of Katsuki.
He sighed as he listened to the extras talk about what he should do. He already knew what they would eventually decide on.
"C'mon though! Wouldn't it be hilarious to make Bakugou kiss him?" Dunce face chimed in.
"Yeah, but wouldn't it just make Mido uncomfortable? He didn't want to play in the first place." Katsuki was relieved that at least Sero had seemed to notice the other teens' behavior. Even if it was for the wrong reason.
Katsuki was willing to bet good money on the fact that Deku had chosen not to play more because of the slapping, then the possibility of being kissed. The self-sacrificial teen wouldn’t want to hurt a friend, even in a game. And he would flinch away at the first sign of his friends directing violence at him outside of hero training.
Frogger tilted her head, looking at the group. "I think having them kiss would be awkward for both of them. Not in a fun way though."
Ponytail nodded. She set her hands primly on her lap. "I agree with Tsu. I believe that it might just cause more tension between them."
Katsuki snorted, making some of the extras start a bit. As if they had forgotten he too was still in the room. "Fucking make a decision already. No point in delaying it."
The group looked at each other. That ugly feeling gnawed on his gut as they all nodded at once.
"Slap."
He didn't really pay attention as Mina called Deku back in the room. He was only vaguely aware of the supportive and smiling faces of the group as the teen came back in. Katsuki knew they were being supportive and they thought this was the best course.
But Katsuki knew better. He could see the flicker of panic in Deku's green eyes. The way they shifted around, like he was looking for an exit.
His fingers curled as the phantom warmth seemed to linger on the skin of his palms. It only served to remind him that he already knew the skin on Deku's face felt like under his palms.
He knew the hints of smiles and amusement that had been on his face were now gone. He felt blank. Stone-faced with that feeling of wrong, wrong, wrong yelling for his attention.
He stepped towards Deku. The other boy was putting on a great brave face, but he couldn't stop the small flinch when Katsuki approached, clearly knowing what the group had chosen.
Katsuki made a decision then and there, as Deku's eyes fluttered closed and his fingers tightened on the pillow, almost crushing it under his grip.
Katsuki didn't want to hit Izuku.
God. He never wanted to hit Izuku like that again.
He knelt in front of Izuku. Because much like Uraraka, the younger boy hadn't grown past 170 cm after first year.
He paused for a moment, watching the other boy, before he made his move. Izuku had unconsciously tilted his head down and away from him. He reached out, a hand gripping Izuku's chin and tilting it for a better angle. The other boy tensed more, but didn't oppose the movie.
Katsuki smirked a bit, happy when the boy didn't move away.
Then he leaned down and pressed a kiss directly to Izuku's lips.
He heard the gasps from the extras, but it all paled in comparison to the moment Izuku's eyes flew open wide in shock. Color was flooding his face as Katsuki pulled away and stood up.
An odd twinge hit his stomach as he looked at Izuku's flushed face. He blamed that feeling entirely on hormones and being a healthy teenage boy. He'd have to think about those feelings later.
Around him the extras were getting over their shock. Some people wolf whistled, some were spluttering. Katsuki ignored them all as he stood and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Ka-kacchan? What?"
Katsuki spared a look at the nerd who almost looked hopeful. Or maybe Katsuki was projecting feelings. Who knew?
"Felt like it." Was his simple response. He turned towards the elevators. "Game over. That's all you losers get. Plan a better game for next week."
He continued to ignore everyone as he walked away. In fact, he didn't acknowledge anyone until the elevator doors opened and he turned around to push the button for his floor.
When he looked back, Deku was still sitting on the floor, half hiding behind his pillow, with Kirishima ruffling his curls. Green eyes were trained on him though. And when they met, Izuku sent him a truly blinding smile.
'Talk later?' the other boy mouthed to him. Katsuki gave a quick nod as his own lip curled up in a half smile as the doors closed.
Later. He wasn't sure when it would be. But he looked forward to it either way.