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“Oh hell no,” Bakugou swore, narrowly avoiding the villain who seemed hellbent to ruin his first day off. Bakugou never, never took time off, but after the results from the most recent billboard charts came out, he felt secure enough in his place (eighth, thank you very much) to take a few days off to rest and recuperate and get ready to kick Todoroki’s ass in the next cycle. This asshole, though, seemed to have other ideas.
“I thought I recognized you Dynamight,” the asshole sneered, and Bakugou rolled his eyes.
“Wasn’t exactly like I was hiding it,” Bakuogu replied, though his street clothes would suggest otherwise.
He popped a few small explosions off in his hand as a warning before the guy rushed at him again, this time laying out a fake to the left and a hard move to the right, his hand landing on Bakugou’s exposed forearm. Rule number one of engaging with people with unknown quirks is get intelligence on them. Rule two? Don’t let them touch you.
The man grinned before ducking into the closest alley, and Bakugou moved to chase after him but something didn’t feel right. Something definitely wasn’t right as he felt his bones begin to shift under his skin, twisting and contorting. It should have hurt, he’d broken enough bones to know that it was painful, but this just felt weird.
He went to shout, to cry out for someone to call an ambulance or something, but his voice was nowhere to be found. Instead, when he opened his mouth, only a small squeak came out. Bakugou reached for his throat to feel if it had been injured but found paws where his hands should have been, paws that were on the ground that had somehow grown so much closer.
Tail twitching, Bakugou made his way over to the closest shop window to get a look at himself, and when the hell did he get a tail? Since when did he walk on all fours? This was not looking good for Bakugou as he dodged and weaved between the legs of pedestrians, hissing at them when they got too close. He had a bad feeling he knew exactly what had happened, but he needed confirmation anyway.
The tiny face that peered back at him from the reflective glass was… kind of ugly. Some cats were cute, but Bakugou, apparently, did not make a cute cat. He was scrawny and his fur was blond and patchy and ragged and he looked kind of sick. This was a cruel fucking joke but he didn’t know how to fix it.
It wasn’t like he could ask for help from any of the idiots on the street, and he wasn’t sure how long it would take him to get to someone who could help. His agency maybe? But even then, would they just take one look at the sick cat that crawled into their building and toss him out? Or could he somehow let them know that it was him? Since he was on vacation, it wasn’t like anyone would be looking for him either.
Bakugou let out a heavy sigh and trotted in the general direction of the agency, avoiding being stepped on as best he could.
The walk should have only taken him 45 minutes on foot, but as it turned out, cat steps were much, much smaller than human steps. He’d been walking for what felt like hours and had made hardly any progress, constantly tripping up people or having his tail smushed under their feet. That last one hurt way worse than he had anticipated and he suddenly felt horrible for all the times he'd accidentally stepped on an animal's tail. Bakugou changed up his route and stuck to mostly smaller streets and alleys, only having to avoid the odd actual cat and person out on a smoke break.
It was slow going and Bakugou was hungry and tired and sore. He thought it best to rest, and he’d try again for the agency when there were fewer people out and about. What he hadn’t expected, though, was to be rudely awakened by someone scooping him up in the middle of his nap.
He was startled, only able to twist in the man’s hand and let out a low growl as a warning before he snapped his jaw and tried to bite him.
“Whoa, you have more fight in you than I thought.” The voice was familiar, but Bakugou couldn’t place it as he fought against the death grip that the man had on him. He let out another yowl, his claws trying to dig into the man’s arm. His entire body suddenly went slack as a hand gripped his scruff, rendering him completely limbless and pliable. This was… not good. This guy clearly knew what he was doing and Bakugou’s fur stood on end.
“There we go. I’ll bring you back to my place and hopefully get you patched up in no time.” Bakuogu was spun around by the guy and he finally got a good look at him.
What the actual fuck, he thought as Shinsou’s face came into view, that dumb, stupid grin staring back at him. There’s no fucking way. Of all the people, it had to be this asshole? Bakugou let out a low growl that sounded pathetic even to his own ears. He still couldn’t move as Shinsou wrangled him around, producing some type of clip that held his scruff so he could use both hands to carry Bakugou.
Christ, how many cats does this guy rescue that he just has this on him? All Bakugou could do was make noise, and a hell of a lot of it, to voice his displeasure at the situation. Much to his chagrin, it only earned him kind, soft words from Shinsou about how he was going to get him all clean and fed and brushed and how he was going to have so many new toys.
Bakugou was fuming internally, trying to figure out exactly where he’d gone so wrong in life that this was his current situation—fucking catnapped by one of the dumbest people he’d ever had the displeasure of meeting.
The only positive thing was that Shinsou seemed to live nearby and Bakugou was deposited into his bathroom quickly and left alone. He hid behind the toilet, determined to find a way to break out of the room. Shinsou opened the door again and Bakugou thought about running but held his position as the idiot put down a bowl of water and some cat kibble. Bakugou felt his stomach growl and he scrunched his nose up; there was no way he was eating cat food.
Worse than the dry, sad excuse for food was the litter box that Shinsou shoved into the room next. It would be a cold day in hell before Bakugou pissed in it and he hissed at it before hissing at Shinsou, expressing his displeasure. The door shut again and Bakugou could feel his hunger start to wear him down as time passed. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning and he’d certainly done a fair amount of walking.
Bakugou stood and padded over to the food bowl, giving it a sniff. He paused and thought about it, weighing the need to eat against the knowledge that if he ever got out of this mess Shinsou would know he ate cat food. Maybe, maybe he could just ignore it until Shinsou gave him something better, something like fresh fish or chicken or whatever it was that those people who fed their cats' raw diets used. That sounded like a plan, and he opted to fill up on water to see how far he could take it.
The door clicked open again as Bakugou was figuring out how his tongue worked and before he could scramble on the tiled floor Shinsou had flung a towel over him, trapping him. He let out another yowl, just about the only thing he could do at this point, and his entire world was upended as Shinsou picked him up.
“You’re not gonna like it, but I need to bathe you,” he said in a calm voice. Bakugou wasn’t having any of it. He screamed, flailing around in the towel in a frantic attempt for his claws to find any purchase. Bakugou found himself in another bathroom, head peeking out of the towel at the bathtub in front of him that was currently full of water.
Absolutely the fuck not, he thought and wiggled out of the towel with every ounce of strength his feline body possessed. It wasn't enough, not compared to Shinsou’s hero training, and he was caught and plopped into the water. It was a nice temperature at least, but he was sure Shinsou was going to drown him as soon as he got his massive hands on him.
Instead, he massaged some kind of cotton candy smelling shampoo into his fur gently, ignoring the way Bakugou was screaming his vocal cords raw.
“Listen, you stank and you needed to be bathed,” Shinsou said, and Bakugou hissed back at him. He did not stink, thank you very much. There was an opening, a brief moment where both of Shinsou’s hands were off of him and he took a swipe, barely nicking the skin on Shinsou’s pinky.
Ha, he thought, tail swishing in a pleased manner.
“That wasn’t nice,” Shinsou frowned, reaching for the little cup on the lip of the tub to start to rinse Bakugou off. “You’ve got a hell of an attitude.” He laughed a little as the suds slid off of Bakugou.
“Actually reminds me of someone I know. Maybe you two would get along, though I doubt it because he doesn’t get along with anyone.”
Bakugou’s ears perked up, he may have been a cat at the present moment but he was always interested in hearing other people get shit-talked.
“He’s a pro hero too. Oh, that’s what I do,” he added as he unplugged the tub, both of them watching the soapy water get pulled down the tiny holes. “I help people.” The towel was back but this time Bakugou was glad to see it as all of the heat in his body seemed to wash down the drain with the water.
“This guy though,” Shinsou laughed, scooping Bakugou up. “Sure he helps people, but that’s not what it’s about for him. It’s always been about being the best, and yeah he’s pretty good I guess, but he’d probably have more friends if he wasn’t such an ass."
Bakugou’s ears flattened against his head as Hitoshi rubbed him dry; he didn’t like where this was going at all.
“His name is Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.”
Bakugou snarled, who was this asshole to say things like this about him?
“Oh, yeah, I know it’s a stupid name, right?” Shinsou let the towel slip just enough so Bakugou could peek his head out and hiss.
“His real name is Bakugou. Bakugou Katsuki.” Shinsou shook his head as he fucked with Bakugou’s fur. “And he’s a real asshole.”
A low growl settled in the back of Bakugou’s throat. This wasn’t fair, fucking Shinsou going on and on about how much of a dick he thought he was and Bakugou couldn’t even defend himself! Just how often did this idiot talk shit about him? Bakugou snarled and tried to wiggle out of Shinsou’s grip.
“Okay, okay,” he conceded, placing Bakugou on the floor. The tile was slick under his still-damp paws as he took a swipe at Shinsou before ducking behind the toilet and curling up as small as he could. Shinsou took a long look at him before nodding and leaving, only returning to place the food, water, and the fucking litterbox in this bathroom.
Bakugou was still a little damp, more than a little hungry, and so, so tired. He crept out from behind the toilet to retrieve a dry towel from the back of the door, gripping it between his tiny, sharp teeth and dragging it to his corner before tucking himself underneath it, the warmth a welcome relief as he dozed off.
Shinsou woke him up the next morning as he opened the door, eyes searching the room before landing on Bakugou’s half-awake form.
“Good morning sleepy head.” His voice was rough and sleep-worn as he padded into the room, shutting the door behind him. “Didn’t eat anything,” he said, and Bakugou’s stomach growled so loud he was sure Shinsou had heard it.
“Probably just scared.” He stuck his hand behind the toilet to grab Bakugou, pulling him out by his scruff and holding him up to get a good look at him.
“Not scared,” he said, examining Bakugou, who only snarled in response. “Stubborn. Angry.” Shinsou laughed, cradling Bakugou in his arms like a baby. A baby made of teeth and claws and spite.
“You really are like Bakugou, huh. Maybe I’ll call you Blasty. You like that, Blasty?”
Bakugou reminded Shinsou of the teeth and claws he was made out of, biting into Shinsou’s arm with just enough restraint that he didn’t break the skin.
“Shit,” he swore, placing Bakugou back on the floor. “Blasty it is.” He grinned down at Bakugou, clearly ignoring the way his tail was fluffed up to three times its normal size.
Bakugou had been right to wait out the food situation; when Shinsou returned from work and saw that Bakugou still hadn’t eaten anything he returned with a dish full of tuna. It smelled so good he could barely wait for Shinsou to place it on the ground before he dug in. Shinsou was rambling on about his day, about his coworkers (Bakugou could never remember who ended up working where), and about everything under the sun as he sat on the edge of the tub watching Bakugou eat.
When he was finished Bakugou sat down, taking a moment to figure out how to wash his face with his paws, sure he looked like a clumsy, broken cat at best. He offered Shinsou a slow blink and a mew, a thank you for the fish.
“Maybe you’re not that bad,” Shinsou conceded, letting his hand dangle down for Bakugou to sniff. He wanted to bite Shinsou, but if he did there might not be any more tuna, so he settled for bumping his head into his hand before returning to his nest behind the toilet for an after-dinner nap.
At some point Shinsou had deemed Bakugou non-threatening enough to allow him into the rest of the apartment, leaving the bathroom door propped open so he could explore. Bakugou rolled his eyes—like he’d want to see Mind Fuck’s shitty apartment—but he couldn’t deny that the bathroom had grown rather dull after spending the better part of a day in there. Or, at least, he assumed it was a day, he didn’t really know. This way Bakugou figured he would be able to collect dirt on Shinsou’s sad little life to rub in his face the next time he saw him.
Only, Shinsou’s apartment wasn’t that bad. It was rather bare, actually, with a few odd photos of him and Deku or him and Kaminari, and a few garish stuffed cats. Even his kitchen was boring, his counters relatively bare with nothing good for Bakugou to swipe at. Shinsou was presumably still at work so Bakugou curled up on the sofa, enjoying the softness of its cushions compared to the hard, tiled floor of the bathroom.
Bakugou hadn’t heard the door open and wasn’t aware that Shinsou had returned until he dropped down onto the couch next to Bakugou, startling him awake.
“Shoot, sorry,” he said quietly, placing his hand on Bakugou’s side. He could feel his heart racing as he thought about snapping at the idiot that had just woken him up from the best nap of his life, but he thought better of it.
“Glad to see you’re out of the bathroom, though,” Shinsou smiled and scratched between Bakugou’s ears. Bakugou allowed it, but only barely. The idiot just kept talking and Bakugou caught bits and pieces of it; something about his voice was actually soothing and Bakugou found himself purring.
“We had tuna for dinner last night,” Shinsou said as he stood, “how about salmon tonight?”
Bakugou chirped his approval and followed Shinsou into the kitchen, his desire to eat outweighing his desire to avoid Shinsou.
His portion of fresh fish was served with care, Shinsou placing it in front of him before heating his own dinner in the microwave. Bakugou scarfed it down, offering Shinsou a small mew before padding back to the sofa to sleep it off. It could be worse, he thought as he started to doze off, than to have been stuck with a cat lover.
Bakugou lost track of the days he spent in feline form, and much to his chagrin he was starting to become begrudgingly fond of Shinsou. The idiot was keeping Bakugou fed and sheltered and company and Bakugou was finding that he enjoyed listening to Shinsou ramble about his life as he snoozed on the couch. It was peaceful until Shinsou started talking more and more about him.
“You remember me telling you about Bakugou, right?” Shinsou said as he washed the dishes from dinner. “The really loud, annoying hero you remind me of?”
Bakugou popped his head over the couch, scowling, and Shinsou laughed.
“I guess you do. Alright, well, anyway, he was supposed to be at the dinner I went to last night but he didn’t show.”
Bakugou’s heart sunk. He wasn’t aware that he’d been invited to any dinner, but given his phone was probably lying somewhere in the middle of the street that wasn’t surprising. Not that he would have necessarily gone, but it was always nice to have the option.
“I’m not surprised he didn’t show up, he rarely does, but it would have been nice to see him.”
Shinsou was making his way back towards the couch as he spoke and Bakugou was confused. Why would he want to see him? And so what if he didn’t always show up to things? He was busy, for fuck's sake!
“I know I said he’s a jerk, but he’s not actually all that bad.” Shinsou was sitting beside him now, fingers gently scratching under his chin. “I’d kind of like to get to know him outside of his hero work, you know?”
Bakugou purred. It was all he could do, really, in his current state. Why the hell would Shinsou want to get to know him? Didn’t he already know him? And why was it making Bakugou feel warm and fuzzy inside?
These questions were too difficult for him to sort through in his small cat brain, so he settled on climbing into Shinsou’s lap and drifting off, deciding he’d have to deal with it at a later point.
What Bakugou hadn’t accounted for was that Shinsou would keep talking about him, rambling on about weird times they’d interacted in high school and how he thought it would be cool to work together on a case. He sounded like he was a middle schooler with a crush, and it hit Bakugou like a tsunami: Shinsou had a crush on him.
He’d had absolutely no idea. Shinsou had never let on, no one else had noticed or knew or said anything. Bakugou tried to remember all the times he’d seen Shinsou out and about, trying to figure out if he’d dropped any clues that should have let him know. He’d always looked pleased, maybe excited, to see Bakugou, but that was it. How was he supposed to have known?
Arguably the worst part of this was that Bakugou couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t tell Shinsou to shut up, couldn’t ask him why he felt that way, couldn’t say that maybe he felt that way too. All he could do was hiss and spit and purr and cry until Shinsou scooped him up and held him. It was frustrating, and Bakugou was sure he didn’t have the space in his tiny, furry body to process these emotions. Instead, he settled for following Shinsou to bed, curling up beside him as they drifted off to sleep.
Bakugou was once again startled awake by Shinsou, only this time he was screaming.
“What the fuck? What the fuck!”
Bakugou was suddenly freezing as Shinsou leaped out of the bed, taking the covers with him.
“Sh, stop yelling,” Bakugou replied, a wave of panic rushing over him as he realized he was talking. He sat bolt upright, scrambling for something to cover himself with because he was back in his body and he was extremely naked.
“Oh shit,” he swore, looking up at Shinsou, his eyes wide and his chest heaving as he tried to calm himself.
“‘Oh shit,’ yourself. What the fuck Bakugou?” Shinsou’s voice was borderline shrieking and Bakugou couldn’t really blame him. “How the fuck did you get into my apartment? When the fuck did you get in here? And why the fuck are you naked?”
Bakugou blinked a few times, trying to find the best words to explain his situation. Language, and rational thought, failed him as he simply replied, “You brought me in.”
“I most certainly did not,” Shinsou replied calmly, throwing the blankets back on Bakugou. “I’m pretty sure I would have remembered inviting your annoying ass into my apartment, into my bed, and I did neither of those things.”
Bakugou held his tongue, trying hard to not make a comment about how much he probably wanted to anyway. He settled for trying to make Shinsou understand.
“You found a cat on the streets a few days ago, right?” Bakugou tucked the sheets around him as he talked, feeling a little more relieved as he covered himself.
“How did you know that,” Shinsou asked, narrowing his eyes.
“And you brought that cat to your apartment. And you said it reminded you of me.” Bakuogu could see the pieces slowly start to slot into place.
“The cat came to bed with me last night,” he whispered, his mouth hanging open slightly.
“Meow, motherfucker,” Bakugou said, and Shinsou let out a dry laugh.
“So you were that damn cat the whole time.” Shinsou stared at him, sucking in a deep breath. “How much could you—”
“All of it,” Bakugou cut him off.
It looked like someone knocked the wind out of Shinsou and Bakugou could practically see his heart shatter.
“Damn quirk basically put my human brain into a tiny cat body, but I was still aware of everything.”
Shinsou took a step away from the bed as if putting distance between them would help. “Listen, I had no idea it was you, obviously, so just pretend I didn’t say anything.”
“As if,” Bakuogu snorted, letting a grin slip onto his face. “After the way you took care of me, I think I owe you at least one dinner as a thank you—if you’re interested.”
Bakugou watched as Shinsou’s posture straightened up again, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
“I think I would be,” he replied, nodding. “But I’m gonna need you to put some clothes on and get out of my apartment first,” he laughed.
Bakugou agreed, letting Shinsou throw an extra pair of sweats and a tee-shirt at him.
“I’ll text you,” Bakugou said on his way out the door. “As soon as I find out where the fuck my phone is.”