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“You don’t need to stay Kirishima.”
“Huh?” Kirishima looked up to his teacher from the booth’s systems, planning to get through his close of house routine as fast as possible.
“I know you’ve got a date.” Ms. Nemuri gave a knowing smile as she teased him. “I think your date is waiting outside for you.”
“Ms. Nemuri!” Kirishima’s face heated up as he fidgeted, unable to look his teacher in the eye. Was Bakugou really outside waiting for him? Just thinking about it made him feel giddy. He had been looking forward to today so much he had hardly been able to sleep all weekend.
“Ah such youth!” Ms. Nemuri cried wistfully. “Go on then, don’t keep your date waiting!” She teased with a giggle as she waved him out of the booth.
“Thank you, Ms. Nemuri!” Kirishima called behind him as he hurried down the steps. Out of the auditorium, he joined the rest of the cast and crew changing in the theater classroom. Everyone chatted and congratulated each other as they all grabbed their things to head out to enjoy the rest of their Sunday.
Kirishima usually just went home in the black wear he wore during shows, but this time he had brought a change of clothes. A pair of straight jeans with holes at the knees, a white t-shirt tucked in beneath a yellow button up he had tied in a bow and rolled up the sleeves. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to dress up a certain way since Bakugou hadn’t told him a dress code, so he really hoped this would be good enough. He had already told his parents about the date – the couple being over the moon for their son’s first date and told him to be home before eleven, if the date got that long, and to update them via text every now and then. To start, he let them know that he was leaving the show for his date, to which they sent a text of ‘good luck!’
He stopped by the nearest mirror on his way out, smoothing some of the more rogue spikes of his hair, his spikes lying farther back than spiked up given how much time had elapsed since he had sprayed it. “Good enough.” He mumbled beneath his breath and headed outside with the mob of people.
It was too easy to spot the blonde. Especially since Kirishima was now becoming an expert at seeking out the blonde in a crowd.
Against the front curve, Bakugou was leaning against his truck with his arms crossed, eyes surveying the crowd exiting the school’s cafeteria. He was wearing well-worn blue jeans with a white tank tucked in, and an orange button-up rolled up to his elbows. Now that it wasn’t dark out, Kirishima realized that Bakugou’s truck was orange and had unique decals of black and red that ran along both sides which reminded him of the cartoon explosion symbols. Bakugou’s orange shirt matched the exact shade of his truck too.
He went sideways through the sea of people while they streamed in a straight line toward the parking lot. “Bakugou!” He called out as he got closer. Once Kirishima was finally free of the crowd, he marveled at Bakugou’s truck now that he was closer. “Wow, is this yours?” Up close he also realized the tires were larger than a normal truck’s, jacking the height of it up a bit.
“Yeah.” Bakugou answered, turning to look at his truck. “It’s mine.” Bakugou moved to open the passenger door, holding it open for him. “Ready?”
“Ah!” Kirishima shook himself out of his stupor and nodded. “Yeah.” Kirishima got into the truck with not as much difficulty as he thought. Bakugou shut the door behind him and came around to the other side. Easily, he climbed into the driver’s seat. Only once they were both buckled did Bakugou start the truck, the engine roaring to life. “Your truck is pretty nice.” Inside the single cab it was obvious that it was a truck that was older and had a lot of work put into it.
“I built it with my mom.” Bakugou said as he pulled away from the curb, careful and slow of the people still reaching their cars. He slowly kicked the speed up to the limit once they were out of the school parking lot.
“You built it with your mom?” Kirishima was fascinated with that fact, and he looked with new interest around the inside of the vehicle.
“Mhm.” Bakugou answered with a short nod. He patted the dashboard with one hand. “Nineteen-sixty-six Jeep Gladiator. We found her in a dump. I used the money I had saved up for a car to buy her. Started to repair and replace what needed to. Few weeks ago I finally got to paint her.” This was the most conversation they were having in a singular interaction than they had all tech week. It was made even more special by the fact that he was learning more about Bakugou. It was dedication to buy a car that needed to be fixed up and spend money doing that when many and most would just buy a car that worked.
“The paint looks really good. I thought you’d be more into an all-black, but the orange fits you, I think. The decals too.” Kirishima mused. “Are you a car guy then?”
“Eh.” Bakugou shrugged his shoulders. “More of a hobby for me. I know it's more cause my mom forces me to. I help her restore and fix cars as a side hustle. I just like to work with my hands for a bunch of stuff. Putting stuff together is just interesting to me.”
“That’s impressive! I am definitely not a car person. I don’t know much about them.” Kirishima admitted. Now, lighting and sound systems were easy, so maybe he could remember wiring if he really tried. But, cars were just not an interesting thing for him. “If you work on cars and do all the stuff you do with shop class, then I could see why you’ve got all those muscles!” Kirishima laughed. Only a split second later he realized exactly what he said, and his face flared in a blush. He had just openly admitted to admiring Bakugou’s body! He could feel that piercing stare from his left side. No doubt Bakugou was looking at him from the corner of his eye; but Kirishima couldn’t bring himself to look at Bakugou. How could he say that!? How embarrassing!
“Heh… you like my muscles?” That voice was much lower than usual as Bakugou chuckled. The gaze left him, and only then did Kirishima raise his eyes to glance at Bakugou. The blonde was driving with only his right hand atop the steering wheel, his left elbow propped up on the window frame as he rubbed his fingers against his lips, a wide smirk gracing them for the briefest moment. Blonde hair was gently moving thanks to the wind created by their cruising speed.
Handsome. His attraction to Bakugou skyrocketed in that moment alone, the picture before him one that had his heart racing. That smirk forever burned into his memory. He hadn’t seen Bakugou like that before. Hadn’t seen Bakugou smile or even a smirk like the one he had shown him. Sure he hadn’t been watching Bakugou as long as the other had probably watched him, but now that he had – he wanted to see every expression Bakugou could make.
Bakugou glanced at him, catching Kirishima staring. Bakugou smirked again, but this time it was cocky and matched with an equally cocky snicker. “Look all you want.” Bakugou’s suddenly cocky behavior likely a result from the rush of adrenaline of finding out his date was attracted to him.
“Y-You-!” Kirishima stuttered with a flush and quickly looked back out the windshield to instead watch the road as Bakugou kept driving.
The radio covered their silence as Bakugou drove and Kirishima tried to recover from his embarrassment. Only after a while, Kirishima realized they were now driving down back roads and he wasn’t sure where they were or where they were going. He could just hear Kaminari in the background yelling at him for doing something so dangerous.
“Bakugou, I know we’re going on a date… but where exactly are we going?” Kirishima asked, glancing at the road sign that passed, not recognizing it.
“Wanted to take you somewhere.” Bakugou flipped on his blinker, slowing down until he was turning between the opening of some trees. It wasn’t even a dirt road! “We’ll be off roading now.” Kirishima thought he saw a wild smile right before Bakugou took off.
Honestly, off roading was a lot more exhilarating than Kirishima thought it would be.
He had never done it before, and seeing the way the scenery passed them by, forcing their way through to some unknown destination. Over hills and rough terrain and dried mud puddles, Bakugou booked it when the land was flatter, likely showing off how well he could handle his truck as he sometimes forced twists and turns. The wind from the windows that had been open since Bakugou had picked him up, whipped his hair all around but mostly out of his face. It aided to the rush of adrenaline he was feeling as he couldn’t help but yell out, “Woohoo!” before his voice bubbled into laughter.
Over much too soon, they bumped their way over a hill and broke through dense trees to a rocky embankment of a large creek. The beautiful green trees along the bank and those leaning over the creek made it seem just out of a photograph. The full beauty of nature was breathtaking.
“Woah!” Kirishima gasped as his eyes trailed over the scenery. Bakugou found the best place to park his truck on the rocks. Only once the truck was turned off, did he scramble to unbuckle and exit the truck as fast as he could. He walked all around the immediate area and then climbed over the rocks easily to the creek’s edge, leaning over as he peered into the water, able to see small fish and crawdads swimming around.
“I usually hike to this place, but it’s fun to drive here too.” Bakugou said as he shut the driver’s door behind him. “Thought you might like this place.” He came up beside him with his hands in his pockets. “I got some towels in the bed, if wanna jump in. The water’s deepest down there,” Bakugou pointed down the stream. “There’s a rope to swing too. But, if you’re not interested in the water we can just walk along the creek.”
“Let’s do that!” Eagerly Kirishima grinned at Bakugou, one hundred percent into the suggestion. This was a nature date to a place that Bakugou would have to know intimately. It was a date better than Kirishima could’ve come up with. He would have never been able to come up with such a lovely idea as a first date.
They brought the towels from the bed of Bakugou’s truck, along with a cooler full of drinks and sandwiches that had been strapped in. Bakugou really had prepared for their date. Minus mentioning swimming trunks, but that would be no issue for either of them. They walked over the rocks down to where the water was deeper and ideal for swimming and jumping in. They stripped from their clothes down to their boxers, setting their nice clothes into a pile on a sunny rock by the towels.
Bakugou untied the rope swing and handed it to Kirishima. “All yours.”
Kirishima smiled and wasted no time climbing to a slightly higher point up the bank before he ran and jumped, clinging to the rope. He yelled happily as he swung out over the water and let go, falling into the center of the water with a great splash. The water was cool and refreshing. When he resurfaced, he had to push red hair out of his face. “That was fun!” Kirishima shouted. He looked to where he left Bakugou on the rocks. The blonde wasn’t there. Instead, Bakugou was swinging on the rope right toward him.
“Watch it shitty hair!” Bakugou’s wild grin was blinding as the momentum of the rope brought him right to his area.
“Wah!” Kirishima gasped as he quickly tried to swim further away. Bakugou was faster in letting the rope go, effectively cannonballing right next to him. Kirishima bobbed where he was, gasping as he pushed water and hair from his face from the tidal wave Bakugou had sent. Bakugou resurfaced with a cackling laughter that made his heart pound.
“Your face was priceless.” Bakugou laughed as he looked at Kirishima with that grin of his. His blonde hair was no longer fluffy as the water flattened it. Too damn handsome, in Kirishima’s opinion.
“You ass! You totally did that on purpose.” Kirishima splashed Bakugou who took it as a challenge to do it back.
They splashed each other and swam together. At one point there was even a competition of who could make the biggest splash from jumping off the rope swing. When they grew too tired from swimming, they walked up and down the creek to just look for cool rocks and wildlife. Kirishima took a lot of pictures of the creek and any critters they happened to find, mentioning he’d share them with his parents. That led them to converse for a while. Come to find out, they both enjoyed hiking, climbing, and being outdoors. They had a lot more in common than Kirishima thought.
They spent hours in the sun and creek. When at last they grew hungry, they sat on some sunny rocks to dry themselves as they munched on the BLT sandwiches Bakugou said he had personally fixed and sipped at the sodas he had brought. His eyes glanced at Bakugou’s figure as he ate silently, looking over the creek. His blonde hair had pretty much returned to its crazy floof, and his muscles no longer had a drop of water on them. Freely being able to see his body like this was quite the treat. To appreciate every move of his muscles while his date was only in his boxers.
Yeah, his date couldn’t be topped. This was the best first date ever and would never be topped by anyone else, in Kirishima’s opinion. One thing he had come to understand from this date was that he was into Bakugou and for sure attracted to him.
Hours after the sun dipped behind trees they fully dried and brushed themselves off with the towels. They got their clothes back on and headed back to the truck. “That was a lot of fun, Bakugou.” Kirishima said as the truck started up again. Kirishima also loved that he had gotten to see a lot of different sides and expressions of Bakugou thanks to their date. He was sure the other had seen sides of him too that he didn’t get to see in school. “I’m glad you finally asked me out.” Kirishima commented with a chuckle. Bakugou had been about to shift into gear, but he stalled. “Made me wonder for a bit if you would though.”
“I was going to.” Bakugou’s voice was a touch softer as he stared at the shift lever. This got Kirishima’s attention. “I’ve wanted to… for a long time.” Bakugou finally let go of the lever and instead shut the truck off. He turned in his seat, one arm resting atop the steering wheel and the other atop the back of the bench seat. “Kirishima,” Bakugou’s face was set in a scowl. One Kirishima realized that likely was pointed at himself rather than at Kirishima since Bakugou looked rather frustrated that his words weren’t coming out like he wanted to as the seconds ticked by. “Kirishima!” He said the redhead’s name louder, puffing out his chest as he did so. His face was getting red, starting at his nose before it spread across his cheeks. His fist gripped the steering wheel till his knuckles turned white. Long beats of silence. Kirishima held his breath.
“Kirishima, I like you!” The confession came as a shout with all of Bakugou’s emotions boiling over. “I like your shitty hair, your dumb smile, your laugh, the way you talk – the fucking way you handle other people. You said it first that we lead two different lives, but I don’t want that to mean our lives don’t crossover. I want to be in your fucking life. I want to be a part of it. Even if I’m not like your sparky, happy-go-lucky friends. Even if I’m not loud. Even if I’m not the best with fucking words. I also know I can be arrogant. I can be rude. I can be a pain in the ass to others. I can be so damn childish. But I want to do better because of you. For you. So I can be your fucking boyfriend.”
It was the most passionate confession Kirishima’s ever received. Including one with the most curses. It was a deeper confession than Kirishima thought he’d receive. This wasn’t a simple ‘I like you, be my boyfriend.’ Bakugou’s words made it clear that he had feelings for him for a long time. That his like held a much deeper meaning, a heavier meaning.
Kirishima’s face was just as red as Bakugou’s as they both sat in silence.
Kirishima knew he had to answer, but anxiety tied his tongue. He didn’t know what to say, or what Bakugou expected to hear from him. His feelings weren’t that deep. Not yet anyway. Would Bakugou be disappointed in him then? That lower self esteem he always shoved to the back of his head couldn’t help but wriggle to the forefront to snatch onto his doubts and add on more, whispering to him that Bakugou may only like his cheery disposition – what if he found about how Kirishima used to hate himself. How sometimes he still struggled with those thoughts?
“You don’t have to answer me.” Bakugou finally spoke up again, face no longer red. “I don’t expect you to like me or give me an answer yet. This…” His hand kept clenching and unclenching the steering wheel out of nerves. “This was just our first date. I’d like to keep asking you on dates until you decide. There’s plenty of time.”
The blonde had turned to start the truck again, but Kirishima scooted across the seat. He grabbed a fistful of his shirt and used his own strength to pull Bakugou back towards him. He kissed the blonde’s cheek. His own face was still aflame. He looked shyly up at Bakugou.
“Bakugou… my feelings may not be as deep as yours right now… but I do like you.” Kirishima’s words were quiet as he spoke nervously how he felt, trying to put his words together as best he could. He had to say at least this much to Bakugou. He didn’t want the blonde to think that he didn’t like him at all. “I hope you do keep asking me on dates, because I want to go on more. I really did have a lot of fun with you.”
Bakugou stared at him with wide eyes, that same stunned face he had seen during their first encounter. “Can I kiss you?” Bakugou seemed surprised with his own question, looking like he had been thinking it but had not expected to say it. A soft smile spread on his lips as he nodded his head, slowly loosening his grip on Bakugou’s poor shirt.
“You can.”
Their first kiss was gentle and rather sweet. A simple press of lips to solidify Bakugou’s confession and his own feelings. A kiss he thought was rather fitting for the end of their first date. Even if it wasn’t near as long as he had hoped for.
After, they separated and buckled themselves up at last. Neither spoke about the kiss or the confession.
Bakugou drove much slower on their way back, admitting the land they were on was owned by his father’s grandparents, so he wasn’t just trespassing and tearing up a random person’s land.
“That makes me feel better! I thought we’d surely have the cops called on us.” He said with a sigh of relief.
“Hah!” Bakugou scoffed. “I’m not that stupid to mess with the law.”
“Really?” Kirishima glanced at Bakugou. “There’s a lot of people that say you’re some delinquent troublemaker with the law. While I don’t believe such things and just think it’s people not able to read your expressions… Doesn’t help you stabbed someone with a screwdriver, you did admit that to me yourself.”
Bakugou shrugged. “Fucker deserved it.” That really made Kirishima wonder more about that incident, and more about his crush. While it had gotten around that Bakugou had stabbed someone, there had been no one to attest they had seen it nor them to include the screwdriver part. He didn’t recall any news articles about a stabbing at their school, so the school must have ensured it didn’t get out if that was the case. That meant either the incident was too small, highly unlikely since it was a stabbing with a screwdriver, or it was a big enough event between only a few parties that it was able to be quieted by the school for another reason. What would cause Bakugou to stab someone with a screwdriver?
All questions he missed asking as Bakugou told him to hang tight over the last of the rougher terrain. Which reminded him to text his parents to let them know he was okay and would be home soon.
It was a smooth drive once they hit the pavement at last, enjoying the warm breeze and the radio playing. The sun set as they drove, and once they hit city limits, Kirishima directed Bakugou to his neighborhood so he could drop him off at his house. When they stopped at the curb, Kirishima finally got them to exchange phone numbers, and Bakugou insisted on walking him to the door. Kirishima swore he saw movement at the curtains hanging in front of the large windows of the living room.
Under the stoop they stood there awkwardly. “I had fun, thanks for taking me.”
“We can go again sometime.” Bakugou said, one hand in his pocket while the other rubbed at the back of his neck.
“I’d like that.”
“Mm.” A curt jerk of his head in one of those Bakugou nods.
Silence enveloped them as Kirishima didn’t know if he should just turn to go in or not. It’s not like he expected Bakugou to give him a goodnight kiss just because they had already kissed once and Bakugou had been adamant about walking him to his door.
Before Kirishima could make up his mind, Bakugou seemed to find what resolve he had been trying to scramble together. The blonde leaned down. As soon as Kirishima noticed, he made sure the other wouldn’t have to ask if it was okay by leaning up toward him too. Bakugou placed another gentle kiss on Kirishima’s lips. A kiss fitting for a newly budding relationship. Though, the kiss lingered a lot longer than their first, and Kirishima eagerly expected another one when Bakugou barely pulled his lips back.
“Goodnight Kirishima.” Bakugou murmured in a low, husky voice against his lips. Once standing straight again he returned to his truck. Did Bakugou just tease him? Kirishima, left a little flustered, waved to Bakugou with pink cheeks before he finally turned and opened the door. Only once he was inside did Bakugou pull from the curb and drive off.
Kirishima managed to compose himself a little bit by the time he rounded the wall’s corner to the living room where his parents were lounging on the couch. It was quite obvious they had snuck to the front windows to peek at their son’s date with the way they tried so hard to pretend they hadn’t rushed back to the couch. “You’re back earlier than we thought.” His father commented. True, it was after dark, but it was not as late as the curfew they had bestowed on him.
“How was your date hon?” His mother’s sweet smile matched the one on his face. “He looked nice.” A quiet admittance they had gotten a good look at the boy who had taken their son out.
“It was a lot of fun.” Kirishima couldn’t help but laugh, his smile brightening. He was sure he still looked a little embarrassed. “I think I’ve got a boyfriend!”