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The thing was- the Sunshine Duo was aptly named.
Truly.
Proven by the fact that the moniker was one they both embraced with enthusiasm.
Hell, they even got matching shirts.
“You both look ridiculous,” Bakugo told them when they left the agency together in their bright yellow shirts, depicting half of an orange sun and the text “½ of the Sunset Duo.”
But Uraraka and Kirishima, also known as Uravity and Red Riot to their many adoring fans, had long grown used to the grousing of their cranky friend and colleague.
“Oh, don’t feel left out, Bakugo,” said Uraraka, activating her quirk on herself so she could float up to be side by side with Kirishima- a feat that was only achieved by means of her quirk due to her being 5’1’’ and him towering at a hulking 6’4”. She slotted up close to his side, bringing the halves of their sun together, the weight of Kirishima’s arm over her shoulder keeping her from floating to the ceiling. “We can get you a shirt too!”
“Absolutely!” agreed Kirishima, grinning wide and warm like the sun on his shirt. “We can make it into thirds!” Kirishima looked between the two of them and then at Bakugo. “I’m not sure how we will be able to make it a whole sun between the three of us, but we can….”
“Nooope,” he said, pushing past them and moving toward the door. “Not happening.”
Kirishima turned around to face Bakugo as he stalked toward the door, the weightless Uraraka turning with him. “Boo!” called Kirishima. “You’re no fun!”
“We didn’t want to be the Sunshine Trio anyway!” called Uraraka.
He didn’t even bother to turn around when he flipped them off.
While they had just been sidekicks when that name was bestowed upon them, it followed them into pro years, as did their unofficial partnership.
Everyone loved the Sunshine Duo. They were favorites of fans and media alike. Because they smiled and waved and looked utterly pleased to be with you. Because they stayed late at events to ensure that every fan got a picture or an autograph.
Which was why anytime either of the Sunshine Duo went ape shit, it broke the entire internet. There was just something so compelling about the juxtaposition of their smiling faces, their eagerly offered fist pumps and thumbs up, with how utterly horrifying they were on the battlefield.
It was one of Bakugo’s greatest sources of frustration.
“Why is it every time you two morons go viral; it’s because you did something badass, and when I go viral, it’s because someone took a picture of that fuckin’ nerd feeding me a bite of cheesecake?!”
“Oh yeah!” cried Uraraka excitedly, tossing her head back and laughing as she threw her feet up on her desk. Bakugo scowled across the short distance of their two desks pushed together, an arrangement he had not been stoked about, but as the youngest pros at their agency at the time, they didn’t get much of a say in the matter. “I remember, cheesegate!”
“Cheesecake!” he barked angrily.
“Nooo….” she corrected childishly. “Ei and I called it cheesegate.”
He snorted. “I’m sure you losers did.”
“It was a cute photo,” she observed.
“It was a damn invasion of privacy!”
“True,” she admitted, opting not to remind him of the time someone had taken pictures of all the girls at Momo’s house, sunbathing in her backyard and sold them for gods-knew how much for the internet to pick apart. “Buuuut,” she drawled. “That didn’t stop me from making it my screensaver for 6 months.”
He inhaled sharply through his nose, staring her down across the desk with a murderous gaze that had long ago ceased to frighten her. “You are just...the worst."
She slammed her palm against her desk dramatically. “I will not be shamed for shipping Bakudeku!”
“You should be shamed!” he shouted back, standing up as if his frustration could not be contained while sitting.
“I can’t believe you’re trying to stifle me! I’ve drawn really lovely fanart of the two of you and….”
“YOU HAVE NOT!” he roared, all but crawling over his desk toward the cackling Uravity who kicked against her desk to send her chair rolling away out of reach of his explosive hands.
Kirishima would eventually come in to break them up before they burned the building to the ground- which might have been the first seed of a thought that maybe the three of them could open up their own agency after they moved from sidekicks into full-fledged pros, reinforced with all the precautions necessary to make it Dynavity proof.
And, of course, their status in the hero world was not at all hurt by the fact that they were two of the most beautiful and eligible heroes working today.
Well…according to fan boards, maybe not eligible, as that was the second draw of the Sunshine Duo…their easy, palpable chemistry, both in work and in their everyday life that led to the constant speculation of…are they or aren’t they? Will they or won’t they?
“Uh, I’m not exactly comfortable speculating about the relationship status of two of my respected colleagues; I just want them to be happy!” Pro Hero Deku answered when asked.
“Pshhh…you don’t think I’ve been trying to figure that out for the past six months; if you find out, let me know!” Pro Hero Alien Queen exclaimed.
Pro Hero Shoto had stood there for a moment, blinking dumbly, as if his brain could not compute why he was being asked the question. Eventually, the reporter just walked away, a rookie and unaccustomed to the unbearable awkwardness that was Shoto Todoroki.
“None of you goddamn business, you vultures!” Pro Hero Dynamight had answered.
Of course…this didn’t stop them all from speculating when they got together and were a few drinks in.
“They have to at least be boning, right?” commented Sero, looking between them all.
“Why is that?” Jirou asked. “Because it’s impossible for men and women to be close friends and not have sex?”
“Didn’t say that,” returned Sero. "Plenty of men and women can be friends; I'm just saying they are not just friends, right? They are always flirting with each other.”
“Those two flirt with everyone,” said Bakugo. “They flirt with me; it’s just how they are.”
Though Bakugo, in the process of opening up his own agency with the two of them, had a little more insight into the situation than he would share with his friends because if there is one thing that he knew how to do well (and he, in fact, knew how to do many things well), it was how to mind his own damn business.
“But he’s always looking at her!” said Kaminari. “Like always. Anytime we get drinks or go out or are at hero events, his eyes are just like…” he held up his hands and held them to his face like binoculars. “Like always!”
It was true. Bakugo had seen it himself a number of times- asked Kirishima about it a number of times.
“Stop staring…” he had told him once when she was doing squats in the gym (granted, even Bakugo could understand that one).
“She’s fine, Shitty Hair…” he yelled at Kirishima when he had been momentarily distracted on the field by a yelp of pain from Uraraka.
“You’re being creepy,” he said, nudging Kirishima out of his trance as he stared at Uraraka dancing with Mina and Tsu and Kaminiari.
But found that his friend was unusually tight-lipped about it for some reason. Maybe it was because of their own romantic past, but Bakugo had a feeling it was about something much deeper than that- something related to the long-held insecurities that Red hadn’t quite been able to entirely shake, despite his progress. If he had to hazard a guess, Bakugo was sure the reason they hadn’t done anything about it was that Uraraka was oblivious and that Kirishima didn’t believe for a hot second that Uraraka could possibly feel the same way about him.
“They are always touching each other,” admitted Jirou. “I mean, I know they are both affectionate people, but still… it’s like they can’t go more than a day without physical contact.”
And they weren’t the only ones who noticed.
At first, the touches seemed innocent enough and easy to overlook.
Last year, Uravity was being honored at an event for her relief work worldwide. She had been nervous as one of the youngest recipients of an award that night. She had over-thought her hair, her dress, her speech, and everything in between- so much so that when she was making her way up the steps, her heel caught on her dress (she had known it was too long) and sent her spilling forward.
Kirishima, not even the closest to her at the time, somehow managed to be the first one at her side- holding her hand and dress for her as she went the rest of the way up the stairs. And that action alone overshadowed the fall that Uraraka was sure would follow her to her grave.
It seemed too many people were swooning about the way he rushed to her side, at the way he was looking at her when he held the hem of her dress.
“That’s just Red Riot,” she had said later, with a fond smile. “They don’t call him the most chivalrous hero for nothing!”
But it still didn’t stop the clip from going viral.
And even if that was easy enough to explain away, it didn’t account for all the touching.
Anytime she floated herself, it was his shoulder that she grabbed onto.
Anytime she fell asleep watching a movie, it was his shoulder that her head found, often with his head on hers because if one was relaxed, the other was.
Anytime there was a celebration, their hands found each other as they jumped for joy like over-excited puppies.
Anytime he had a hard day at work, hers were the arms he wanted to go to.
Because they were friends.
Comrades.
Partners.
“We’re just really good friends,” Uraraka insisted anytime someone asked her. “I’d do anything for Red Riot.”
She would, and everyone knew it. There were more than a few video compilations on the internet of Uravity risking life and limb to come to Red Riot’s rescue.
“She’s one of my favorite people in the world,” Kirishima would say as if somehow either of those answers would do anything to shake the speculation.
She was, and everyone knew it. There were more than enough interviews out there of Kirishima gushing over Uraraka to anyone who would ask, sometimes to those who wouldn’t ask.
But still... Those could all be the actions of a proud friend or colleague. Red Riot would say nice things about any of his friends, and Uravity was the hero who rescued heroes.
Sure, Uraraka had often wondered what it meant that on the rare occasion she went on a date, even with perfectly nice guys, she found herself wishing that she was at movie night at Kiri’s place.
Of course, Kirishima wondered what it meant that- despite being a man who prided himself on not being toxic - felt what could only be considered jealousy adjacent when anyone who wasn’t him, Bakugo, or Deku got too close.
He knew he didn’t have a right to feel that way. They were friends.
But he knew for a fact that more than a few of his fellow heroes had their eyes on her… of course they did; why the hell wouldn’t they? He’d be offended if they didn’t and immediately launch into a PowerPoint presentation on why they should want to date her.
But still…
When Phantom Thief went out of his way to comment on every single one of her photos…it made him feel a way.
When Hitoshi Shinso whipped out that smooth as fuck charm that he carried with him like a second quirk…it made something twist inside of his stomach.
Something he didn’t have the right to feel if he was just a friend.
They had both wondered- on many occasions- what it meant that they ended up at each other’s apartments. When things got a little too hard for the Sunshine Duo- when the sunshine became more of an act than the reality because being a hero meant that you carried the weight of the world- when the girl who could lift mountains couldn’t even lift her own head and when the man who was unbreakable was one pinprick away from shattering completely- they had each other…they always went to each other. Uravity rescued everyone, and Kirishima was never without a smile- they took care of everyone. And it meant something- even if they didn’t know it- that they trusted each other for the care they needed.
Kirishima knew what her favorite comfort shows on Netlfix and knew her favorite teas.
Uraraka knew how he liked to be cuddled and how he liked his head to be scratched and when he needed a good rest or a good spar.
They just knew.
Because they were friends.
And they meant it when they said it. They were friends.
As to whether they were just friends…that was a different story.
Even to the two of them.
It was an answer that neither of them knew for certain.
That was until the night they celebrated the opening of their agency.
Bakugo, Kirishima, and Uraraka were some of the youngest heroes to undertake something so ambitious, which, combined with their massive popularity, made it quite the affair. Heroes, press, and investors from all over the country showed up for the event.
It was meant to be a momentous occasion. It was meant to be the culmination of hard work and making the impossible possible, but if someone were to ask Kirishima what he was truly thinking, it was Uraraka’s night. It was her moment.
Because he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
The specially made dress from the Bakugo family was some magical mix of modern chic and princess-fairy tail- everything from the glow on her face to the heels on her feet made it impossible for Kirishima to focus on anything but her.
Frankly, it was baffling to him that anyone was getting anything done that night, what with Uraraka looking the way she did.
The problem was…Kirishima wasn’t the only one seeing her this way- everyone else was too. And for some reason, that made his insides twist with panic.
Not that she was getting all the recognition she deserved…that was overdue.
But the notion that everyone else around her was probably falling in love with her- sent him into a tailspin.
Which was stupid…
Why should he care?
They were just friends.
Just friends.
The beloved Sunshine Duo- wholesome and sweet and definitely not zeroing in on the way the neckline of the cut an impressive line down to the middle of her torso, showing off all of that roundness. He was her friend, and he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about what would happen if he dragged the tips of his fingers from her neck, down her sternum, taking in all the exposed skin.
He was her friend, and he was thinking it.
So he knew damn sure that everyone else was too.
And that back and forth between wanting to be a good human and wanting to glare at anyone who stared too long wasn’t making it really hard to concentrate on anything else that night. Especially when they had to stop every few minutes for a photo- especially when Uraraka floated herself up to him to fix his tie, bringing her face to face with him.
“You look really good, Ei,” she said, the palms that were smoothing out his jacket lingering a bit on the expanse of his shoulders.
“O-oh, thanks,” he offered lamely. “I…I wasn’t sure what to do with my hair?”
She reached behind him and flipped his ponytail over his shoulder, playing with the hair briefly. “This is perfect!” she said with an affirming nod.
He thought for a moment that he should tell her how damn good she looked. How beautiful she was…how hot she was…how good her legs looked…all the things tumbling around in his brain, but before he could, a voice from behind them caught her attention.
“Hey, Uravity…”
Uraraka released her quirk and spun around. “Hitoshi!” she cried happily. “I thought you weren’t gonna make it.”
“I thought so too…” he said, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek.
Now, Kirishima had feelings in the past about Uraraka going on dates and such, but the truth was, it hasn’t been an issue in a long time. They were all so busy with the opening that they basically lived with each other anyway. He couldn’t count how many times he and Uraraka had passed out on Bakugo’s couch only to be awakened by Deku coming home and putting a blanket over them like some proud papa.
So he was surprised when that ugly anxious feeling twisted in his gut.
Something that made his jaw twitch and his fists clench.
And despite every attempt to stomp out the ugly emotion, it stuck to his shoe like gum.
“Now let me see that dress,” said Shinso, which Uraraka showed him by holding his hand and doing a twirl beneath his arm, which Shinso clearly approved of, as did the paparazzi ooing and awing and snapping photos of her.
He resented that it wasn’t with him.
But also, he was glad someone was getting pictures because she looked so happy.
But for Kirishima, the night only got harder- and he wasn’t sure if the solution was to keep her close or to keep his distance. If he kept his distance, he didn’t have to see everyone in the room fall in love with her. If he kept her close, he didn’t have to torture himself, imagining the worse.
Ultimately, she made the decision for him- spending most of the night beside him.
Which soothed that worry in his chest for a little.
Together they were the Sunshine Duo-wholesome, sweet and kind…no member of the Sunshine Duo would ever have any need or desire to growl at someone whose eyes drifted downward away from Uraraka’s eyes. That was Bakugo’s job.
And he was busy just keeping himself at the event when all he wanted to do was go home.
But things took another turn during dinner. They were all at a table together, but, of course, Phantom Thief had to make his merry way over to their table and plop his ass next to Uraraka.
The truth was, Kirishima had always found the guy annoying- he didn’t hate him as much as Bakugo did, but he did find him irritating as hell- and he still had grudges from UA. He hated the way the asshole talked about his peers.
But he had always had an eye for Uraraka; he always treated her better than he did the rest of 2-A.
And now, it seemed, he was shooting all of his shots at once- really laying it on thick with that devil-may-care charm…having no concern that Bakugo or Kirishima was at the table as well.
If Kirishima had been in a different place- if something hot and angry wasn’t welling up inside of him- he may be inclined to give the hero kudos for his balls in that moment.
But- as it was- Kirishima was not in a good place and not inclined to give anyone credit for anything right now while he was just trying to control every instinct not to shout, “she can hear you! You don’t have to lean in so close.”
But…seriously…what could he possibly be saying that would require him to lean in so close to her, and what could he possibly have said to make her laugh like that?
And why on earth did he need to tuck her hair behind her ear? She could do that on her own, and if she couldn't, then Kirishima would be more than happy to…
The shattering of glass and the scraping of chairs cut off his thought- shaking him out of his reverie. He moved to look toward the source of the clatter- to make sure no one was hurt- only to find that it was, in fact, him who was the source.
“Shit, Ei!” Uraraka jumped up to help him. Kirishima looked down at his hand, a hand holding his scotch not a second before and now was holding shards of glass. “What happened?” she asked, moving to help him.
“Nothing,” answered Bakugo before Kirishima could, standing up and dragging Kirishima with him. “Come on, Red.”
“It’s nothing…” he insisted, looking down at his plate, certainly covered with tiny bits of glass.
Dammit.
They were having steak too…
“Bullshit, you ain’t gonna dig glass out of your hand at the dinner table like some kind of animal and put everyone off their meal.”
Kirishima reluctantly joined him, trudging behind him like a scolded puppy. “Come on, man,” he said when they got to the bathroom. “It ain’t that….”
“I know it ain’t that bad,” snapped Bakugo, turning on him and crossing his arms. “I’m just getting you away from the table before you lose your shit.”
“I didn’t lose my shit!”
“So you weren’t picturing Copy Cat’s face when you shattered your Scotch glass?”
“I wasn’t!” he insisted stubbornly.
Bakugo cocked an eyebrow. “You weren’t wondering what he was whispering in Cheek’s ear that he needed to be that close to her? Or what he was saying that made her laugh? Or…”
“All right! Enough!” shouted Kirishima, turning to the sink and picking at the glass with his hands.
“Tch… your hot dog fingers ain’t pulling shit out, give me!”
“Not cool, man,” said Kirishima, pouting at the insult but letting Bakugo take his hand and prod at the little bits of glass that remained.
"But seriously,” Bakugo said. “You were about ready to strangle Copy Cat, which I get, but you even looked like you were about ready to throw hands with Mind-Fuck, and you know how he is with her.”
Kirishima knew. Shinso had grown into himself in every way and, for whatever reason, took extra delight in flirting with Uraraka. The most likely explanation, given that he was notoriously unwilling to settle and liked to sleep around and Uraraka tended to be a bit more of a one-partner gal, was that she was incredibly responsive to flirtation.
She giggled.
And blushed.
And laughed.
Feigned like it was working on her in a theatrical and comedic way.
And even rose to meet the occasion in some instances.
It was a game that they enjoyed playing.
It used to not bother him so much. When did it start bothering him?
“It’s just tonight,” said Kirishima, shaking his head dismissively. “I’m feeling sentimental, and she just…I’m…your parents did a good job on her dress, of course I’m gonna notice! Your gay, and you noticed.”
Bakugo snorted. “You’re kidding yourself if you think you don’t stare just as hard at her when she’s in sweat pants and hasn’t showered in three days.”
Kirishima sighed as Bakugo pressed the paper towels into the palm of his hand, dabbing at the blood there.
“Why the fuck don’t you just tell her?”
“Tell her what? That I’m in love with her like every other sap in the place?” he asked. “I can get in fuckin’ line, apparently.”
Bakugo rolled his eyes. “Drop the self-pitying thing, Ei,” he said. “Don’t act like you’re some underdog here and not about the only damn person in the world who actually is good enough for Floaty.?”
Kirishima’s eyes jumped up from his palm to look at Bakugo- emotion overwhelming his features. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, don’t start….”
“Dude!” he said, his mouth wobbling.
“I said knock it off!” snapped Bakugo, stepping away and holding up a finger. “I’ll explode your ass, and then it’ll just be Cheeks and me and…” before the threat could finish, Kirishima had the explosive blonde gathered in his arms in a bone-crushing hug that took his feet off the ground.
“Let go of me, you big ox!”
“I’m sorry, it’s just so sweet!”
“I said let go!” he demanded, the giant of a hero finally dropping him.
“Just fuckin’ do something,” said Bakugo, straightening his jacket. “Or get over it. Watching you too pine at each other is not what I signed up for for the next ten years.”
“Isn’t it, though?” asked Kirishima, and Bakugo had no real argument.
The thing was- Kirishima wasn’t a jealous or possessive person. He really wasn’t. He liked seeing his friends flourish and thrive, but maybe it was time to start realizing- as the broken glass embedded in his palm indicated- that he didn’t want to just be her friend.
He didn’t mind that other people were touching her- really- that other people were dancing with her. He just didn’t want them to think it was leading toward something, specifically toward taking her home.
He didn’t want her to kiss other people.
He didn’t want her to want to kiss other people.
He inhaled sharply and looked at Bakugo.
“What if she rejects me?”
Bakugo pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “Well, you’ll come over tonight, and you can drown your sorrows with our tequila.”
That didn’t sound like the preferable way to spend a night, but if he had wanted the quick response of “of course she won’t reject you,” he should have picked a better best friend. Because Bakugo didn’t lie.
“You coming?” asked Bakugo.
Kirishima nodded. “Yeah, give me one sec,” he said. “Gonna see if I can track down some bandaids.”
Kirishima was at a crossroads. He had to decide soon if he was going to talk to her or ignore everything all togther. If he didn’t tell her, they could remain the Sunshine Duo- sure, everyone would speculate about their relationship status, but eventually, they would start dating other people, and it would die out.
He knew if he decided not to tell her that he couldn’t be jealous and go around breaking glasses- that was not sustainable.
These were all facts. Facts that he, as a reasonable human, could hold onto.
He was a reasonable human, a non-toxic human. He believed it was healthy and good to express emotions and fears and affections, he had a regular skin-care routine that he was in no way shy about; and he always took the time to hype up his bros (his guy bros, his gal bros, his nonbinary bros and everyone in between), because he believed everyone needed someone in their corner, and he was a damn good cheerleader.
He was not beholden to his feelings and was not controlled by them.
Not usually, anyway.
But for some reason, when he stepped back out into the reception area and the first thing he saw was Uraraka…on the dance floor…with some joker who graduated a couple of years ahead of them from Shiketsu and had been recently making a name for himself in the hero world- all of that perfectly tailored rational went flying out the window replaced by a haze of red.
And that went up about 1,000 degrees when Uraraka had to reach behind herself to grab the wrist of her dance partner and bring it higher up on her back, only for it to dip lower for a second time.
And at that point, it was only about 30% jealousy fueling his brutal pace toward the dance floor.
Because he certainly was not jealous of some asshole who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
But still…he might not have been inclined to react so strongly- given the public nature of the whole affair.
“Get lost!” he ordered, grabbing the hand on Uraraka’s back and flinging it off.
“What the hell, man?” protested the guy…whose name Kirishima could not remember for the life of him.
“You heard me!” he growled, reaching over Uraraka’s shoulder to shove her dance partner away. “I said go! Uravity has better things to do tonight than dance with your grabby ass.”
“Kirishima!” she scolded, turning to look at him, but trying to keep her voice light and happy so as not to draw attention.
But the thing was…they were the Sunshine Duo…Bakugo was the one who bit and snapped and growled like a dog in public- no one batted an eye when that happened.
But when Kirishima raised his voice, people took notice- especially when it wasn't a villain he was addressing.
“Yeah, calm down, Red Riot,” the asshole smirked at him, reaching out for Uraraka’s hand. “It’s just a dance.” Now, Uraraka was over and done with this asshole well before Red Riot came swinging in, but she also knew that she couldn’t afford to freak out and lose her temper in the way Bakugo could. So she had purposed in herself just to get through one dance with the guy and then make sure she spent the night close with her friends.
No feelings hurt.
No rejection.
No scene.
Because she was a professional.
So when he reached for her arm, ready to whisk her off onto the dance floor again, she had been prepared to step away… in the polite way expected of female heroes.
But a resounding smack rang out when Kirishima smacked his hand away with one hand, grabbing hold of Uraraka with the other and pulling her away.
“I said…back off!” growled Kirishima, a rumble that Uraraka heard right by her cheek from where she was pressed to his body.
Uraraka, for her part, felt a momentary surge of something far more primal and instinctual when she reared to tell off Kirishima for butting in. She had meant to yell at him, to berate him for the caveman act, and would have done as much had she not forgotten how to actually form words.
It wasn’t her first time seeing him like this. Kirishima was sunshine incarnate, but she had also seen him go full out in battle- she had seen him smirk and growl and scream. She had seen that sunshinyness turn feral. But to see it now- so close and so intense and so focused…focused on her.
In that way, she had wanted it to be for longer than she could admit.
It temporarily knocked the wind out of her before she remembered to be insulted.
And before she remembered that they were in public.
She quickly went into Uravity mode and turned toward everyone, waving. “So sorry about that!” she said cheerfully. “We had a bit of a misunderstanding! It seems I overbooked my dance card! Whoops!” she shrugged and grinned and patted Kirishima on the shoulder.
Everyone who knew, who knew them well, knew that was for the benefit of paparazzi and investors…her friends knew what had just gone down, and none of them were surprised by it.
The hero who had danced with her…the cocky up-and-comer stopped and looked from Uraraka to Kirishima, crossing his arms speculatively.
“I thought you two were just friends…” he said, cocking his head to the side.
So did Uraraka, but the scent of him when he had held her close, the jump of his jaw as he restrained himself, the tense hold of his body beneath his suit, all of it stoked decidedly not friendly feelings in her.
Which was just… annoying!
“That is neither here nor there,” answered Uraraka, pushing away from Kirishima.
Not to mention it had nothing to do with where his hands were… but she wasn’t going to bring that up while tempers were so high, and God knew who else would get into the fray if she drew attention to that.
The guy shrugged. “Well, sorry about that,” he said, holding up his hands. “I didn’t know the Sunshine Duo was off-limits.”
Uraraka heard Kirishima inhale sharply above him and felt his grip on her tighten in a way that should not have been as thrilling as it was.
“You’re not allowed to touch any woman like that,” he said, his voice low, barely above a threatening whisper. “Whether they are off-limits or not.”
Around them, people were watching from the corner of their eyes after Uraraka’s assurance that it was nothing, but from the outside looking in, it seemed like a tense conversation.
Uraraka cleared her throat and, once again, pushed Kirishima away, hating her body for the way it berated her from moving from the solid warmth of him.
The thing was…Uraraka was a strong hero, an independent woman if there ever was one. She could take care of herself without any doubt. And yet again, that primal part of her that she couldn't quite control preened at the way he was holding her, at the death glare he was sending at the other hero, at the way his red eyes flashed in warning. And there was something that responded to the way he towered over her in that moment, holding her to him possessively.
And something about the fact that it was Eijiro Kirishima made something in her chest flutter.
But…
But…
They were in public.
And she…she needed to leave.
Because they were just friends.
This was just his chivalry again.
That was all it was.
So Uraraka cleared her throat and nodded to both of them, not sure what to say before she made her way off the dance floor in a hurry- needing to make sense of what was happening inside of her in that moment. So she did what any self-respecting hero would do who didn’t really have the ability to leave the function- given that it was a function for an agency she was starting…she fled to the bathroom.
Deku moved to stand and follow after her, but his boyfriend grabbed his arm and jerked him back into the seat.
“Kacchan!” he protested angrily. “She’s upset…”
“She ain’t upset,” said Bakugo, knowing what had just happened.
“Well, what is she then?”
For everyone’s sake, Bakugo didn’t tell Deku but just hoped that Kirishima didn’t blow his chance here. But from the way he was hurrying off the dance floor after her, it seemed he had no intention of doing that. Sure, he probably shouldn’t follow her into the bathroom, but what else was he gonna do? Let her get away?
“Uraraka!” he called, barrelling in, finding himself first in the nice lobby area of the fancy bathroom with mirrors and plush seats- no doubt one of many rooms for primping and prepping for all the events that the hotel hosted.
“Eijiro!” she looked around frantically. “This is the women’s room!”
“Is anyone in here?” he asked.
Uraraka wrinkled her nose and huffed. “No!” she said. “Which says something about the percentage of women heroes working…doesn’t it?”
Kirishima laughed despite himself…she was consistent even in her anger. “I’m mad at you!” she said abruptly, slapping him on the shoulder- not hard, he knew she could hit harder than that- just to make a point of sharing her frustration with him.
“I get it!” he said. “That wasn’t manly of me!”
“You're damn right!” she said, wagging her finger in his face. “I…I…I am a grown woman, Eijiro Kirishima!”
His brow furrowed in confusion at the wobbly-offered statement- like it was meant to be said with far more ire than she was able to really work up.
“Yyyeah?” he said.
She smacked his chest again and crossed her arms, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout. “And you…” she let out a growl and turned away from him again, but even turned away, he could see the blush blooming on the back of her neck. “You…” she peered over his shoulder and then back at the wall. “I am a feminist!” she insisted.
“Yeah?” he said, again with even more confusion. “Me too?”
At least he tried to be, though his behavior the past couple of days sure wasn’t indicating that truth. “I DON’T BELONG TO ANYONE!”
Fuck.
He inhaled sharply through his nose and ran his fingers through his hair. “I know that Uraraka,” he said. “I get it. And I’m sorry that…”
“I don’t need you or anyone else to rescue me,” she said. “I can deal with creeps all by myself! I’ve been doing it for a long time!”
Kirishima opened his mouth and then closed it again, thinking of what he should say to that in a way that didn’t make it about him, even though it stoked those weird fires of possessiveness and protectiveness that he felt.
“Well, maybe that’s bullshit that you have too, Uraraka,” he said, his voice low and serious.
Uraraka flushed bright red, turning away from him and crossing her arms stubbornly.
“You don’t get to decide that, Kirishima,” she said.
He knew that. Of course he did. She wasn’t his girlfriend. He didn’t get to be jealous. And she was her own person, so he didn’t get to decide what battles she fought and which ones she didn’t.
“Look, Uraraka,” he said, his head falling back between his shoulders and taking a deep breath. “I am so sorry. I…I shouldn’t have…”
“So why!?” she bemoaned, stomping over to the large chair and flopping onto it, the huge chair seeming to swallow her whole.
He stepped tentatively toward her, wondering what that “why” could be referring to. Why had he acted like that? Why was he jealous? He could put the blame on a number of things- the night, the spectacle of it all, the fact that the guy was clearly trying to feel her up- that made the most sense- except he felt like that would be lying to her- and that was not what he came here to do.
He came here to be honest.
So he opened his mouth and stepped closer to her bed, ready to be honest, but before he could, she let out another loud, frustrated groan of annoyance.
“Why was that so hot?!” she wailed.
And that made him stop in his tracks.
“Pardon?” he asked, taken aback.
She huffed and kicked her legs out in front of her before letting her face fall into her hands like she was throwing a tantrum. “You heard me, Shitty Hair!” Kirishima let out a bark of laughter as he moved closer to the chair.
“I think I did,” he drawled, edging closer to the chair, toward her, his knees inches from the bend of her legs as they dangled off the edge- not quite long enough for her tennis shoes to touch the ground. “But just wanted to make sure that I heard you, right?”
“I’m an evolved woman!” she said.``Jealousy is an ugly emotion, not a sexy one! And yet heeere we are…”
Sexy?
Was…
Was she telling him something?
Or once again- was this just her weird honesty thing. “You and I were supposed to be the cute ones!”
He cocked an eyebrow at the accusation- trying to follow her dizzying train of thought.
“Eh?”
“You and me!” she said, gesturing between them. “We are the cute ones! Are the cute ones! We are the Sunshine Duo!” Her voice trailed off, her brain catching up with her unfiltered verbal spewing. Kirishima could see the moment she realized it- see the dread setting in- see her come to an impasse about whether or not to run and hide or just continue committing to what she was saying…apparently very out loud.
And when her brows furrowed, when her mouth set in a stubborn line, he knew exactly what path she was committing to.
“You weren’t supposed to be sexy, too!” she said.
“I’m…sorry?”
“Yeah, you should be,” she pouted, pushing lightly at his thigh with her foot, but he reached down and caught her ankle, holding her leg still against him. “You’ve made me into a bad feminist, and also now you’re the sexy one.”
“You mean between the two of us?” he asked, gesturing with the hand not holding her ankle.
“Yup,” she nodded. “And anytime one person is sexy, and one person is cute, it's doomed to failure!”
“Where is that written?” he asked, moving closer, his hand grazing up slightly to her calf, pushing the fabric of her dress up as he did. Her mouth went slack for a moment, her eyes flicking down to the brush of his palm. She visibly swallowed before looking back up at him.
“It’s just…it’s…hot people like hot people,” she said, her voice rising in pitch when he stepped forward, his boldness and confidence soaring at the way her knees parted slightly to give him room to press up against the chair- well and looming over her now. “Now that you’ve decided to start being sexy and smoldering, you’re gonna drop me for Bakugo or something like that."
She knew, of course, that he was dating Deku, but still...maybe they wouldn't be opposed to a third- and then she would definitely be left in the dust.
Like hell, she could compete with that.
“You’re hotter than Bakugo…” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a smirk. She flushed and covered her face to hide it- as if she hadn’t just let every possible cat out of the bag. “Don’t tell him I said that, though.” She parted her fingers so she could peek through at him.
“I’m gonna…” she said.
He cocked his head to the side, taking her in.
She was brave.
No doubt about that.
She had just said the quiet parts out loud.
But still…
That didn’t mean the kind of bracing honesty she practiced wasn’t hard- even for her.
“You really think I wanted to knock out any guy who stared at you tonight because I don't think you’re sexy?”
“I thought it was just that guy I was dancing with?” she muttered. His hand was higher now, the hand that had caught her ankle now cradling the thicker part of her thigh as he bent at the waist, so he was hovering right over her.
“Okay,” he admitted. “To be fair, I wanted to knock him out before he got handsy- that just made me feel justified in it. I also wanted to knock out Shinso and Monoma today, Ochako.” She visibly shivered at her name- the way it rolled off his tongue. He knew Bakugo was the one who was known for pet names (Bakugo insisted they were insults and so Kirishima made a point of calling them pet names), but Kirishima also tended more toward “dude” “man,” “yo,” and the like, but even with how close they were, he still usually called her Uraraka.
But watching her visibly react to the way he said her name made him want to say it again and again.
“You were jealous,” she repeated.
“Obviously,” he said, suddenly realizing that he had never straightened out. He was still hovering over her- still gripping her leg, bracketing himself between them. Ochako’s eyes searched his face.
“Eijiro,” she whispered; it wasn’t a question, but it felt like one, like she was testing it out. “Are…are you...what are you telling me, exactly?”
“Exactly?” he repeated.
She nodded. “Sharing your feelings is manly,” she offered softly.
“It is,” he agreed.
“Jealousy is an ugly emotion,” she said.
“It is.”
“But it was still hot,” she admitted.
He was so close now. Really close, his fingers digging hard into the flesh of her thigh, as he bent at the waist, bringing his face closer to hers. Her head was tipped back, expectantly.
“Why?” he asked.
She swallowed, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. “Because you could have destroyed that douchebag if I asked you too.”
She wasn’t wrong. He would do anything for her. Everyone knew that.
“And that’s hot?” he asked, with a smirk that, when combined with the flex of his hand on her thigh, made the indomitable Uravity into a puddle of want. She nodded.
“It shouldn’t be,” she said. “But it is.”
They were so close now that she could feel his breath against her cheek- warming her cheek.
“I like…I like when you look at me like that,” she admitted, as though it was a confession, casting her eyes down and away from him, only for him to catch her chin between his thumb and forefinger, bringing her eyes back to his face.
“Like what?” he pressed.
Under his close, roving gaze, her whole face reddened, her skin heating up as if that were his quirk.
She wasn’t sure how she got her voice to work, but she did, barely. “L-like that,” she said. “Like I belong to you.” Just saying it thrilled her and made her want to run and hide. “Like I’m yours.”
His thumb brushed over her lip, drawing a gasp out of her that opened her lips more to him, and he couldn’t help but push in just a little bit more.
“Is that what you want, Ochako?” he asked, and despite the lower register of his voice, there was still something distinctly Kirishima in the way he said the question.
He wasn’t just inviting her to tell him what she wanted.
He was telling her what he wanted too.
And before she could overthink, she grabbed the tie that she had fixed earlier that evening and pulled him toward her, closing the space between them, her other hand cupping the back of his neck.
Yes.
Yes.
She wanted to be his.
She wanted to be his, and she wanted him to be hers.
She wanted to possess him as much as she wanted to be possessed by him.
And the need was both sudden and not sudden; overwhelming and steadying.
Everything she needed and wanted and craved.
She let out a sigh of pleasure when his hand moved higher up her leg- gripping even tighter- knowing how much she could take, more than familiar with how sturdy she was.
And he took that moment to dive deeper into the kiss, to taste her more deeply, to explore. And, now, having kissed her, he sure as hell wanted to be the one who got to do it all the time, the one who everyone knew got to kiss her at the end of the day.
He wanted everyone to know that he belonged to her. He sunk deeper onto the chair, letting go of her face to grip the high back of her chair, caging her in.
People already thought of them as a duo- so it wouldn’t be much of a leap.
It wasn’t a leap for him. It didn’t feel odd or even like there was a shift in what they meant to each other- instead, it felt like coming home. Like this is what they should have been doing all along. And his last inch of resistance to her, that worry that, maybe, he was fucking up the best relationship in his life- melted away with the feel of her smile against his kiss, with the drag of her fingers against his scalp.
He had forgotten momentarily that his hand was still on her thigh until she covered his hand with her own, her fingers curling into his, inviting him to move higher.
And he was damn well gonna do it because Kirishima would do anything for her.
She let out a whimper as his fingers pushed her dress the rest of the way up, revealing scars and skin that he had seen before but never like this.
“Please,” she whispered, lifting her hips. “Please, Eijiro.” She didn’t even know what she wanted from him right now in a bathroom. But she wasn’t thinking straight; all she could think about was how her favorite person in the world was setting every last one of her senses on fire.
“OI!” Kirishima jumped back away from Uraraka at the familiar bark and the banging of a fist on the door. “I left you two morons alone as long as I could, but we have a speech to give and I damn well ain’t doin’ it by myself! So get your asses out here!
Kirishima stood there for a moment looking down at Uraraka- his best friend, someone he trusted with his life; the other half of the wholesome Sunshine Duo, both of whom were thinking about some not so wholesome things right now.
“Be right there, Bakugo,” Uraraka called out, her voice strained.
“Tch…sure you will; you think I couldn’t tell what had you runnin, Cheeks? You weren’t pissed; you were hot and bothered, and….”
“WE’RE COMING, BAKUGO!” she yelled, louder this time, silencing him before he could read her for filth by commenting on the state of her arousal.
“Tch…touchy,” he said. “You’ve had five minutes, and I would have assumed you would have at least got a kiss in there, so why are you so cranky?”
Not that Bakugo cared or anything…not at all.
“Fine!" groaned Uraraka, standing up and letting her dress pool back down around her body. She reached up and readjusted the tie that she had dislodged with her manhandling.
“Do you think anyone will be able to tell?” she asked, looking up at him with lips swollen and pink from kissing- tempting him to dive back in for one more.
“I hope they can,” he said, cupping her cheek once more. “I want everyone to know I’m the only one who gets to kiss you tonight.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Just tonight?”
No. Not just tonight. He had a feeling- because it was them because it was Uraraka- that it wouldn’t be just tonight.
Kirishima fixed his hair quickly, putting it back into place after Uraraka’s tousling.
Little did they know that there would be no need for such pretense.
The video of Kirishima losing his shit at another guy dancing with Uraraka had already gone viral as definitive proof that the Sunshine Duo were more than just friends. And as proof that…the sunshine could go away in the drop of a hat if you put your hands on Red Riot’s girl.