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Kariage doesn’t actually have a habit of picking up his boyfriend from places, especially considering just who his boyfriend is, but sometimes he submits to a whim or two.
Like now.
“I told you that you didn’t have to pick me up,” Katsuki says. He’s in casual wear—open button-up shirt, white tee, fancy watch, the works—and looking a little too stylish; entirely unlike how he presents himself at home with his Aji Fry black shirts and tank tops.
It’s cute, this habit he has of making the effort to look nice when he’s going out.
“You’ll jog your way home, I know you,” Kariage says. He smiles with his eyes when he notices the crowd of familiar faces behind Katsuki, then grins with his mouth when he realizes that one of those faces is Midoriya’s. The same freckled cheeks, big eyes, and messy hair— despite the obvious muscular growth, his face is still very much the same. To think, one of the most popular heroes nowadays would be the same quirkless kid so easily trampled back in their middle school years…
People do change, after all.
Turning his gaze away from Midoriya, he tells Katsuki, “Or were you intending to stay for longer? You could’ve just said.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Katsuki argues, scowl unflinching on his face even as he catches the helmet Kariage throws at him.
“I’m not! I’m just saying, you might wanna spend more time with your friends,” Kariage argues lightly, before laughing when he catches the deadpan stare Katsuki shoots his way. Of course, there’s no way Katsuki won’t catch when he’s just teasing. He admits, “Alright, fine, maybe I just wanted to be a reliable boyfriend for once.”
“Boyfriend?!”
Katsuki whips his head around to glare, only to find that most of his peers are already staring at the both of them in shock. Some attempt to hide it, like Ingenium and Creati, though some others are far more blatant in their curiosity, like with Chargebolt’s open-mouthed gawp and Shouto’s unblinking stare.
Midoriya, in particular, is practically a signboard advertising the collective shock of their group with how wide-eyed and slack-jawed he is.
“B-boyfriend, Kacchan?!” Midoriya sputters. He sounds so scandalized for such a small thing, almost betrayed even, one would wonder if he had any hidden feelings for Katsuki. But then again, considering how obsessed the kid had always been with Katsuki in the past, maybe it’s to be expected for him to react this way. Midoriya goes on, “Since when..!”
“Since none of your business,” Katsuki says, nose wrinkling in distaste at him (or all of them, really). To Kariage, he says, “Come on, dumbass. Let’s go.”
“Bakugou, is it true?!” asks Red Riot.
Katsuki gives Kariage an annoyed look; he gives him a shrug in turn. If Katsuki didn’t want to be interrogated, he should’ve at least let his friends know beforehand that he’s already dating someone. It’s not Kariage’s fault that his casual statement of the truth could be so shocking to them, is it?
“Why the hell would I let this idiot call himself my boyfriend if he isn’t?” Katsuki retorts finally, gaze sharp as he turns to his friends. He scoffs at the chorus of shocked noises that he gets in response, then adds, “I ain’t taking any other questions; I’m not your damn entertainment, nosy bastards.”
“But!”
“This is news to us, though!”
“Don’t care,” Katsuki drawls. He nudges Kariage in the side as he passes by him, before giving a nod in his motorcycle’s direction. “Let’s go before any more of my brain cells rot.”
“Right,” he says, smirking in amusement. He holds his helmet in one hand and puts his other hand to Katsuki’s upper back, knowing that it’s a touch that’s allowed of him. It’s an innocent touch in comparison to everything else , to be certain, but it’s still a stark difference from what was allowed of him when they were just friends.
I wonder, he thinks, side-eyeing the neutral expression on Katsuki’s face, how are they looking at Katsuki right now?
Should I look?
He battles with his curiosity for a bit, before giving in and sneaking a look back to where the others are still standing, staring after them like—
“The hell’re you looking at?”
Kariage turns his head away from their captive audience, taking the opportunity to tuck Katsuki into his side as he walks with him. “Nothing, nothing,” he says, voice trailing off into silence, before continuing with, “I just think it’s funny that your friends look this shocked that you have a boyfriend. Have you been keeping me a secret, Katsuki?”
Katsuki clicks his tongue at him. “As if, dumbass.”
“S’that right?”
Katsuki turns to look up at him, mouth already open to retort, until he closes it again with a squinty-eyed gaze. There’s a pause so noticeable that even Kariage frowns at him, before Katsuki says, “What’re you looking so smug for?”
Kariage blinks. “…what?”
“You’re smiling like a weirdo.”
“Ah,” Kariage hums, letting Katsuki go from his hold as he takes a seat on his motorcycle, kicking it up from where it’s parked. He touches his mouth with one hand as Katsuki heaves himself up from the back, and then laughs when he realizes just what it is that had caused the odd expression Katsuki had noticed on him.
“I guess I do feel a little smug,” Kariage muses as he wears his helmet, remembering the mix of conflicted expressions that had followed after Katsuki’s back. “My boyfriend is really attractive, after all.”
Katsuki barks out a laugh at that, knocking his helmeted head against Kariage’s own. His arms are warm when they wrap around his waist, his body even warmer, and though they’re separated by their helmets, Kariage doesn’t need the physical closeness to feel the warmth of Katsuki’s words when he says,
“Damn right your boyfriend is attractive, idiot.”
He laughs. “And I’m very lucky to know that you’re very much aware of that, dearest.”
“Shut up and drive!”