Work Text:
"You signed me up for what?!"
"I said, it's a public service announcement campaign," Todoroki repeats, unfortunately unfazed at all by Bakugou’s hands sparking dangerously close to him.
"Yes, but why did you volunteer me for this shit instead of doing it yourself?" Bakugou growls, flipping through the paperwork for it with one hand while flipping his hero partner off with the other one. "It's a fire safety campaign, for fuck's sake. You'd be perfect for the job."
Todoroki has the audacity to nod in agreement before answering, "yes, but Hanta and I are taking a vacation next week, so it didn't fit in my schedule. Plus, the agency said you needed some good PR after the grocery store fiasco."
Bakugou grimaces. "If they didn't want me to use several heads of lettuce as a flaming projectile weapon against a villain, then they shouldn't have put the display section so close to the front of the store."
It's infuriating to watch Todoroki simply nod again, as if he didn't freeze over the whole romance section of the local library two weeks ago.
"Anyway, there's no need to worry about the campaign-"
"I'm not."
"-because you won't have to do it alone. Iida is also participating."
Ugh, Glasses?! A regular stick in the mud who probably watches PSA videos for fun.
"I think you'll both have a good time together."
In a fit of fury, Bakugou crumples up the papers in his hands, explodes them, and then tosses the remains into the trashcan by his desk. Todoroki stands there, eyeing the tendrils of smoke that waft up from the garbage.
"Perhaps you could also learn some things about fire safety while you're there," Todoroki adds.
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Bakugou steps into the studio where they're going to be filming the PSA videos, and looks around. The crew is getting things ready, and thankfully haven't noticed he's arrived yet. He already doesn't want to be here, but he especially doesn't want to be swamped for autographs and whatnot.
But, in the corner of his vision, something large is hurdling towards him.
"Bakugou, so nice to see you!"
Ah, the object in his peripheral is Iida, speedwalking towards him like a salaryman trying desperately to catch his train but thinks it's too undignified to run in public. His arms swing in time with his steps, looking like they could slice through any unsuspecting bystanders.
"Can it with the niceties, Prez," Bakugou grumbles. "It's not like I want to be here. I didn't sign up for this job voluntarily."
"Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll make the most of the situation," Iida replies, grinding to a halt as he extends his arm for a polite handshake.
Bakugou ignores the hand. It's not like he hasn't known Iida since they were 15 years old. Even if they don't work together often, he doesn't need a formal introduction.
"I'm happy to work with you on this very important campaign," Iida continues, unfazed by Bakugou’s stubborn refusal to shake hands. "A hero's job is to keep people safe in all situations, even if it's simply by arming them with knowledge."
Iida certainly hasn't changed since high school, Bakugou thinks. He's still got a penchant for speeches.
"I'm sure Icyhot would have been better for this," he says. "Bet you're disappointed he's not here instead."
"On the contrary," Iida smiles, looking genuinely pleased, "I always enjoy when we have a chance to work together."
Bakugou blinks, confused by the admission. But before he can reply, an assistant approaches to wrangle them up for wardrobe and Iida turns his focus wholeheartedly on the job.
He and Iida have never been what he'd consider "friends." So why's he saying things that sound like he's excited to spend time with Bakugou? Most people outside his weird-ass little group of friends don't have the patience to deal with his aggressive abrasive demeanor. He can think of plenty of times back in high school actually when Iida had even nagged and scolded him for it.
"Excuse me, Dynamight. If you'll just follow me," says the nameless production assistant who's gesturing in the same direction Iida is already walking in.
Bakugou shoves the thought aside to ponder later. He's got a dumb PSA video to film.
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PSA #1: Cook Your Food, Not Your Kitchen
Iida stands in a kitchen, dressed in a button-up shirt and nice pants but is also wearing a frilly pink kitchen apron over the business-casual ensemble. He looks extremely focused on stuffing a beat-up old toaster with multiple slices of bread.
There's a crashing sound as someone kicks the kitchen door open.
"Stop that!" the newcomer yells. "That's unsafe, you idiot!"
The newcomer, of course, is Bakugou, dressed in regular casual clothes, including a black t-shirt designed with a simple orange X over a flame.
"I'm Mr. Fire Safety Man," Bakugou announces angrily, "and I'm here to stop you from burning down this kitchen."
"Oh no! What am I doing wrong?" Iida asks, ratcheting up the concern in his voice from his typical those shoes probably don't provide enough arch support to a very overdramatic level on par with caught outside in the middle of a typhoon with no means of transportation to get home and your umbrella has just disintegrated.
"Firstly," Bakugou begins, elbowing Iida away from the toaster. "Never use malfunctioning appliances. Frayed wires can spark fires."
Bakugou points to the frayed cord plugged in the nearby wall socket, and then takes a step away from the countertop as the entire toaster bursts into flames.
"My toast!" Iida shouts.
"Your toast is toast!" Bakugou yells back, and then tugs Iida's arm towards the nearby stove.
"Secondly," he continues, "never leave pots and pans unattended on the stove."
Iida frowns, noticing the smoke rising up from the frying pan. "Oh dear."
The frying pan and its contents also go up in a blaze. Iida waves his arms around frantically.
"Should I put water on it?" he asks.
"Absolutely not!" Bakugou yells, pulling out a fire extinguisher from somewhere offscreen. "Never use water to put out a grease fire!"
He sprays the fire extinguisher all over the stove and then all over the still-flaming toaster until finally everything is doused in extinguisher foam. Tendrils of smoke still linger throughout the kitchen, and Iida surveys the scene with his hands on his hips, looking dismayed.
"Guess I'll have to order takeout for dinner tonight," he sighs.
Bakugou ignores him and takes a step forward, looking directly into the camera to say, "Never leave your stove unattended while cooking. Never use malfunctioning appliances. Always keep a fire extinguisher on hand."
"Thank you, Mr. Fire Safety Man!" Iida says, waving cheerfully to Bakugou as he stomps away to the exit.
Text pops up at the bottom of the screen which reads "Cook Your Food, Not Your Kitchen!"
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Bakugou is packing away the leftovers from his dinner when he hears a notification ping on his phone.
Did u survive 1st day of psa filming?
It's a text from Sero, and Bakugou rolls his eyes at his nosy-ass friend. He's sure Todoroki must have told Sero about how he conned Bakugou into doing this job so they could take a vacation to wherever the hell they are now.
I lived, bitch, he replies.
Actually, the whole ordeal hadn't been as bad as Bakugou expected. He thought the stilted scripts were dumb as hell but the crew was professional and extremely organized, which he appreciated.
And Iida wasn't bad to work with either.
Better than some random extra at least. Iida didn't mess around while filming, making sure he knew all his lines and knew exactly where he should be standing each time. There was one point where he kept laughing every time Bakugou kicked open the door, necessitating a few extra takes, but Bakugou wasn't mad about the opportunity to kick things more than once.
Bakugou's text conversation with Sero lasts a little bit longer, with him answering Sero's questions and then asking a few of his own about their trip until Sero wraps up the conversation with a cheeky gonna go do some unsafe things with fire now!!
He sends a selfie of himself and Todoroki, where half of Icyhot's face is cut off because the dumbass still doesn't know how to pose for photos. But Bakugou can see a hint of a smile on his face, something that Sero always manages to bring out of him when he's around.
Bakugou, of course, just replies with a string of middle finger emojis because he's not gonna be sappy, and then tosses his phone away so he can sleep.
His last thoughts before he drifts off are about how content Todoroki and Sero always look when they're together, and how unexpectedly nice Iida looked while laughing joyfully on set today.
He'll think about what that means later.
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PSA #2: Enjoy Nature Without Setting It Ablaze
Iida stands outside beside a campfire, still adorned in his same office-casual clothes. He is also holding several unlit fireworks in his hands.
There's a rustling sound from the nearby bushes, and then Bakugou bursts forth into view. He's dressed in the same outfit as the previous video.
"Don't set the forest on fire, idiot!" Bakugou yells as he charges forward.
He grabs the fireworks and tosses them in a nearby trashcan.
"You can't shoot off fireworks around all these trees or around dry brush," Bakugou exclaims, gesturing to the greenery around them.
"Oh my! I didn't know that!" Iida replies, slapping his hands against his cheeks in an extremely exaggerated concerned gesture.
"It's best to leave fireworks to the professionals," he says. "Improperly handled fireworks cause numerous injuries and deaths each year."
"That's terrible!"
Bakugou points to the campfire in front of them, and then shares several safety tips on how to properly extinguish the fire when you're done with it. Iida nods and takes notes on a notepad he had inexplicably stashed away.
"Thank you, Mr. Fire Safety Man!" Iida says as he follows directions to put out the campfire completely.
The camera pans to Bakugou who is now showing off by holding several lit sparklers in both hands and one between his teeth.
"I thought we weren't supposed to be reckless with fireworks," Iida points out.
"I'm a professional," Bakugou grits out in response.
Text pops up on the bottom of the screen which reads, "Enjoy Nature Without Setting It Ablaze"
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"Nice work today," Iida says, glancing up from lacing up his shoes.
They've just wrapped up filming for the day and are switching back into their regular clothes. Bakugou feels tired, but the same way he feels tired after a session at the gym. A good tired.
"Yeah, you too," Bakugou says, untangling the sleeve of his jacket before he slips it on.
Iida stands up, but instead of his typical focused march towards the door, he awkwardly shuffles in place for a moment, as if internally debating something.
Bakugou watches him and the way his hands fidget until he comes to a decision.
"Bakugou," he begins, "if you don't already have dinner plans, you are welcome to join me. There's a new restaurant a few blocks away that I've been interested in checking out."
Iida’s hands make several wide gestures as he speaks, and Bakugou's so focused on his hands, he almost doesn't register the question. Iida stills, waiting for an answer.
"Sure, whatever," he mumbles with a shrug before he gives it much more thought.
He's hungry; Iida’s hungry. No need to turn down the offer, Bakugou reasons. He's spent all day with Iida, so what's the harm in another hour more? It's better than the leftover soup he was planning on eating.
As it turns out, the restaurant ends up being a whole lot better than eating leftover soup alone at home. Bakugou can't remember the last time he spent time with Iida outside of work – except for maybe chatting at someone's birthday party recently – but the old stick in the mud isn't half bad. They talk about patrol routes, complain about paperwork, trade recommendations for books to read, reminisce about dumbass stuff from high school, and share what they're planning to do for the New Year's holiday in a few weeks.
Bakugou hardly notices how much time has passed until the restaurant staff start cleaning up and shutting down for the night.
Huh. He wonders why he doesn't hang out with Iida more often. He's a nice change of pace from his usual crowd of rowdy friends.
"Hey, we should do this again sometime," Bakugou suggests before they part ways on the sidewalk.
"I would enjoy that," Iida smiles.
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PSA #3: Just Buy New Curtains Instead of Burning Them
Iida is dressed, as always, in clothes that look more appropriate for an office even though he's standing in the living room of his home. This would be a normal day in a normal home except Iida is currently busy lighting an absurd number of candles on a table in front of the window. The camera pans wider to show a space heater humming nearby, pressed up against the wall.
"This is nice," Iida says.
"This is stupid," another voice chimes in.
The camera pans again to reveal Bakugou, dressed in his usual getup, standing behind Iida, arms crossed ominously.
"Hello, Mr. Fire Safety Man!"
"Don't hello me," Bakugou growls. "Look how dangerous this all is!"
"Oh goodness, I had no idea!" Iida replies, glancing around the room in disappointed dismay, with the same sort of facial expression of a student who's just been assigned extra homework.
Bakugou frowns back with the same sort of facial expression as a teacher who knows they're going to have to explain a concept for a third time in a row.
He then quickly dives into explaining fire hazards concerning the space heater, pointing out that proper placement should be away from everything else. He also explains that space heaters shouldn't be left on while sleeping.
Iida nods seriously, and pulls a tape measure from his pocket to make sure the space heater has enough distance from everything else.
"And we need to talk about the candles," Bakugou continues.
"Aren't they so nice and decorative?" Iida says, beaming.
"They're going to burn down your living room."
Sure enough, the sea of candles catch the window curtains on fire a second later.
"This is awful!" Iida wails.
"This is expected," Bakugou sighs.
He then shares several safety tips about having candles in the house as they watch the curtains disintegrate into ash.
"Well, on the bright side, I never liked those curtains anyway," Iida says.
Bakugou glares, annoyed, at the camera as text pops up at the bottom of the screen which reads, "Just Buy New Curtains Instead of Burning Them!"
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It's the last day of filming, and Bakugou should feel relieved.
But he doesn’t.
What the fuck is this weird feeling that he'd like this job to continue a little longer? He's supposed to hate everything about this.
"I hope you've memorized all your lines for today," Iida says cheerfully to him while readjusting the tie he wears for every video.
"Course I have."
Bakugou's eyes sweep over Iida, from the glasses resting on his nose down to the dress shoes the production assistant makes him wear even though they're not visible on camera. He no longer looks like the stiff, awkward classmate Bakugou remembers from high school.
Iida looks... good?!
Bakugou's brain feels like Kaminari just used his quirk on him to short-circuit and shut it down. Is he attracted to Iida?! When did that happen?! What is he supposed to do with that information?
"Excuse me, Dynamight. We're ready for you on set," says a staffer whose name Bakugou still hasn't bothered to learn.
Bakugou stomps off towards the set, still stewing in this unexpected revelation while tiny frustrated sparks pop off his fingertips.
This job was supposed to teach him how to prevent fires, not set one ablaze in his own damn chest.
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PSA #4: Give the Gift of Safety for the Holiday Season
Iida, dressed as usual, is attempting to decorate a Christmas tree but he's tangled up in the string of lights. A moment later, Bakugou inexplicably pops up beside him, with a judgey stare at the tangled light mess.
"Decorating for the holidays, huh?" he remarks.
"Indeed I am!" Iida replies, attempting to give Mr. Fire Safety Man an enthusiastic wave of hello, but his arms are trapped. "Just trying to finish decorating my tree."
"Is it a live tree?" Bakugou asks.
"Indeed it is!"
Bakugou picks up a watering can from offscreen somewhere. "Then you should know to keep your tree watered to prevent fires. A dry tree this size could burn up in seconds."
"It is a very large tree," Iida nods.
(There is the barest hint of a blush spreading across Bakugou's cheeks as he thinks about that for half a second before continuing on.)
"And be careful with those lights! Don't overload the surge protector and never leave them on while you're sleeping!" Bakugou yells, perhaps a bit louder than necessary.
"Duly noted!" Iida replies, and tries to make a hand salute gesture, but he's still unable to move.
There is a bit of a scuffle as Bakugou frees Iida from his colorful light prison. But once he's mobile again he thanks Bakugou and starts stringing the lights up around the tree.
"By the way, I got this for you," Bakugou says, suddenly holding up a present box.
Iida’s eyes grow comically wide in shock, and quickly opens the present.
"It's a fire safety manual!" Iida holds up the pamphlet to display the name.
"That's a summary of all the information you need to know," Bakugou explains, and then rattles off a website address too for people interested in the digital version.
"What else is in here?" Iida ponders, rummaging around in the box again before he pulls out some fabric. "Oh, new curtains!"
"To replace the old ones."
The camera pans to the left to the scorched window and wall from the previous candle video. Text pops up on the bottom of the screen which reads, "Give the Gift of Safety for the Holiday Season."
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Bakugou paces his living room floor. It's been three days since they wrapped up the fire safety campaign project, and Bakugou still doesn't know what to do.
Now that he's had more time to think about it, he realized that he actually is interested in Iida. That burning sensation in his chest isn't indigestion, and the feeling wasn't just some fleeting fluke from, like, accidentally inhaling smoke on the set or whatever. He genuinely would like to get to know Iida better and spend more time together.
"Ugh," Bakugou growls and sparks two small explosions as he throws his hands into the air.
Feelings are dumb.
His phone pings but he's been ignoring it all day. It's mostly bullshit from the group chat where Kaminari and Kirishima have been trading terrible jokes about "Mr. Fire Safety Man," while Mina sends unflattering screencaps from each video, and a few messages from Todoroki featuring unsolicited vacation photos. (He still cannot get selfie angles right, the half-and-half idiot.)
He should do something. Maybe not a whole shitty high schooler-like confession or whatever, but there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to invite Iida to hang out. There's nothing wrong with that. It's not weird.
He pauses long enough to snatch up his phone – (he dismisses the new message from Deku who says he was inspired to buy a new fire extinguisher for his apartment today, the damn nerd) – and opens up a chat with Iida.
Hey. Dinner at that same restaurant from before if u r free?
Iida surprises him with a quick affirmative, and Bakugou feels his hands start to get dangerously sweaty.
They both arrive at the restaurant slightly earlier than the agreed upon time, which Bakugou appreciates. None of his other friends can ever manage to show up early for anything.
Iida looks extremely pleased to see him, just as he had on their first day of filming. He blurts out a formal hello and then nervously adjusts his glasses. (Which had not been askew, Bakugou notes.)
"Just thought it might be cool to hang out again," Bakugou mumbles, suddenly feeling weirdly self-conscious about his crush or whatever.
"Of course," Iida nods. "We should do this more often."
Bakugou nods in agreement, and then an awkward silence descends over them as they figure out how to transition into more casual conversation. He wonders briefly if Iida can tell how completely obvious his feelings for him are, but then he remembers it's Iida and he's probably in the clear.
Still, that doesn't stop his nerves from feeling like a lit fuse, like he's watching that spark wind its way towards a pile of explosives. He feels like no amount of safety preparations are going to stop the ensuing blaze.
"This perhaps may be too forward," Iida begins, interrupting the runaway metaphor in Bakugou’s thoughts.
Bakugou glances up to see Iida straightening his shoulders, as if gathering up his courage.
"I was wondering if you wouldn't be opposed to considering this dinner... as a date?" Iida continues.
Holy shit, Bakugou thinks. Iida actually is that perceptive.
There's a sound of something small exploding nearby. It takes Bakugou a moment to realize that he'd ignited his extremely sweaty hands and slightly singed his pants.
"...is that a yes or a get lost, loser?" Iida asks.
Bakugou quickly wipes away any remaining sweat on his palm and then grabs one of Iida’s hands to drag him off the sidewalk and into the restaurant. "Yes, fucking yes, it can be a date!" he grins.
"Wonderful," Iida replies, not even resisting as Bakugou navigates them to a cozy booth near the back. "I've been trying to figure out how to spend more time with you for a while. I'll have to remember to thank Todoroki later for letting you take his PSA job."
"He set me up," Bakugou growls, realizing that Todoroki must have schemed to get him to spend more time with Iida. "I'm gonna kill him."
Iida laughs, and suddenly Bakugou doesn't feel as irritated as before. Not when he's treated to seeing Iida happy and relaxed like this.
That burning sensation in Bakugou’s chest might actually be something like love.
(Maybe he'll send Icyhot a thank you card too. Before he kills him, of course.)