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Over the past year in which he had come to know and befriend his next-door neighbor, Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima had thought that he was prepared for anything the blond would dish out.
It turned out, though, he was horribly mistaken because Bakugou had suddenly barged into his room without any warning, asking him some random thing that was drowned by the sound of the video he had been watching.
“Sorry bro, what did you say?” Apologetically, he had paused the funny prank video that had kept attention for the last few minutes. It was something his co-worker, Kaminari had recommended and sent over for him to watch. “I wasn’t expecting for you to just show up so I got caught off guard.”
“Fine, I’ll say it again since it seems like you’re deaf or something.” Bakugou scoffed. “Can I borrow your HDMI?”
“Oh, what for? Is there something wrong with yours?” He blinked at the odd request, definitely something he wasn’t all expecting for his friend to even ask especially this late in, just a few hours before midnight would strike.
Of course, he couldn’t exactly be the judge of strange requests especially knowing that he had been guilty of doing just the same. A certain memory replayed in his mind at that— the day he had first met Bakugou, when he had knocked on his door one night, randomly asking him if he could use his balcony…
It was definitely a strange request that still got him cringing every now and then, but it was one that had paved the way for him to properly get to know the other man in front of him, so he couldn’t say that he had regretted it to begin with.
Plus, it had allowed him to see just how amazing Bakugou was; he was soft underneath all that grouchiness; determined and dedicated to accomplish anything to his utmost power; adorable even in spite of all the scowls he’d wear on a daily basis; and not to mention-
Yeah, he should probably stop right there before his thoughts go out of hand.
“ ‘S busted for some fuckin’ reason.” Bakugou explained irritably, voice filled with displeasure. “It’s so damn ridiculous. It was working fine just a couple fucking days ago.”
“Well, things don’t always go as how they are planned.” Kirishima replied, laying a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder, giving it a pat in an attempt to calm him down, which appeared be effective given that Bakugou’s body eased a bit at the touch. “So anyway, what were you planning on watching?”
“None of your business.” Bakugou bit out harshly, yet made no attempt to wretch his hand away from his shoulder. “Just gimme your HDMI already, and I’ll be out of your shitty hair.”
“Hmm, but I’m curious though,” Kirishima couldn’t help but press further. “Actually, maybe you don’t have to tell me, and you could surprise me instead if we’d watch it together?”
“The fuck do I have to watch it with you for?” He couldn’t help but wince a little at how the other’s words stung quite a bit, but his eyes zeroed in on the blond’s strange behavior.
Somehow, with the way his eyes were glancing away from his line of sight coupled with how his feet had taken just a little step back, it almost seemed as if Bakugou was embarrassed…
With his curiosity piqued, he was all the more interested to see for himself what the fuss was about with what Bakugou had wanted to watch. But he decided to let it go, not wanting to put Bakugou on the spot just to satisfy his curiosity.
“Sorry, I just assumed because of all the movie nights we’ve been having together.” He retracted his hand away from the blond, moving to his desk where his laptop was at so that he could unplug the cable to lend to Bakugou.
“Here you go.” Kirishima offered the cable to his friend with an easygoing smile, making a move to return back to the comforts of his bed, but he was abruptly yanked back all of a sudden and he was so taken aback that all he could sputter out was a “Huh, what?!”
“You’re coming with me.” Bakugou began tugging him out of the room, giving him no breathing room to process everything which was happening far too quickly than his liking.
```
Within seconds, he was shoved rather forcefully inside the neighboring apartment and he lost his balance, ungracefully falling onto the ground in a heap.
“Dude, what gives?!” Kirishima picked himself up from the floor, and he was about to continue questioning his friend further when he was distracted by the sight of Bakugou setting the HDMI up.
“Don’t just stand there with your mouth open like a gaping fish.” Bakugou snarled, beckoning him to sit on the spot beside him on his bed. “Get your ass over here before I change my mind about you watching the movie with me.”
Even though his neighbor’s sudden change of heart was certainly puzzling as it had seemingly come out of nowhere, he still dutifully obeyed Bakugou’s command and made himself comfortable on the bed.
Bakugou already had a movie loaded up in his laptop, though he appeared to be hesitating with pressing the play button.
Witnessing this, he turned to send his friend reassuring smile. “Hey, it’s fine if you don’t want to show me the movie. We can just watch something else in the meantime.”
“Nah, it’s fine.” Bakugou dismissed, reaching over to play the movie. “ ‘S not like you won’t find out eventually anyway.”
He was made all the more confused by the blond’s last statement, but all his questions were then answered the moment the movie started playing on the TV screen.
Kirishima could recognize what they were watching just by seeing the first few seconds like it was the back of his hand.
The redhead sat there, grinning from ear to ear as he excitedly whipped his head around to catch Bakugou’s averted yet flustered gaze.
“You were gonna watch a Crimson Riot movie on your own?” Kirishima questioned with some mirth in his voice. “If I remembered right, you said those movies were ‘stupid’ before, but you’re about to watch one right now, and it’s even third one in the franchise?”
At that, Bakugou had paused the movie, his gaze snapping up to lock onto his, red dusting his cheeks as they puffed out almost indignantly. It was cute and endearing to watch the other fumble with his words a bit as he spluttered, “D-Don’t get me wrong! If we’re going to be watching a stupid Crimson Riot movie together then I might as well know what the heck is going on, so I won’t look like a fuckin’ dumbass at the cinema.”
“Haha, well, if you say so.” Kirishima couldn’t but chuckle a little at the other’s bashful demeanor when his mind registered the other thing Bakugou had said. “Wait, we’re going to be watching the new Crimson Riot movie together next week?”
“You wouldn’t fuckin’ shut up about it, so might as well…” Bakugou trailed off, blush as bright as Kirishima’s own hair, his hands fidgeting a little as he then approached unsurely, “ ‘S what you wanted, right?"
Reminiscent to the time the lights went out in the elevator, Kirishima reached out to place a hand to lay atop one of Bakugou’s fidgeting hands, giving it a light squeeze; all the while, gazing at the blond imploringly as he expressed sincerely, “I’d want that.”
“Thank god!” Bakugou huffed out gruffly, yet it still didn’t do much to mask the relief in his voice. “ ‘Else I’d be watching all those damn movies for nothing.”
“You say that, but admit it, dude,” Playfully, he nudged Bakugou lightly with his arm not holding Bakugou’s hand. “You enjoyed watching those movies!”
Kirishima had already braced himself for the protests that were yet to come from his neighbor— for Bakugou to loudly proclaim ‘Shut it! You’re outta your mind if you think that!’
However, his friend did none of that sort, choosing instead to be uncharacteristically honest he had responded with “They’re alright. They could’ve been worse, I guess.”
“ ‘Glad they’re alright in your book.” Through the immense joy he had been feeling, he had impulsively made the move to intertwine their connected hands together. “ ‘Wouldn’t want you to feel bored while we watch the movie next week.”
“ ‘Course I fuckin’ won’t.” was it just his lovesick mind playing tricks on him, or did Bakugou lean a smidge closer to him? Not to mention, that wasn’t all that was strange, the look Bakugou was giving him was unrecognizable, an expression he had never seen the other wear in the past.
Nonetheless, it didn’t fail to get his heart to start beating violently in his chest, and for goosebumps to spread all over his skin; something which had only worsened when the blond softly said next in his gravelly voice, “You’re there, after all.”
At that moment, all of the air seemed to have left his body as he could barely even breathe, only finding it within himself to utter “Huh? What do you mean by that?”
But Bakugou had chosen not to dignify his question with a proper response, grunting out instead with a flushed face, “Tch, figure it out yourself.”
And he did try to decipher it himself— He had run through Bakugou’s words once more in his head, trying and failing to make sense of them, even to the best of his ability since all he got from it was his delusional mind telling him that Bakugou likes him back, an impossible reality to say the least, no matter how much he had hoped for that to be the case.
There was no way, after all, that he could be that lucky for his crush to like him back. Besides, he was out of Bakugou’s league to begin with. He wasn’t the attractive, amazing and all around talented guy his friend deserved.
“Kirishima.” He was brought out of his self-deprecation by Bakugou’s sharp voice calling his name in concern, and his stomach fluttered in flurry of butterflies when his friend tightened his grip on their intertwined hands. “You okay there? You spaced the fuck out just now.”
“Ah, yeah, I’m fine.” Kirishima said, hoping his smile wasn’t coming out too strained to Bakugou. “I was just thinking of what you said is all.”
“Oh, have you figured it out yet?” Bakugou asked, tone grave, his hands fidgeting once again as he nervously awaited the redhead’s answer.
“No, I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around it.” Kirishima began rubbing circles around Bakugou’s palm, slowly but surely relieving the other’s nerves and the blond was able to stop in his fidgeting. “Are you sure you couldn’t explain it to me so I could understand what you mean?”
“Fuck I-Not today.” Bakugou had floundered a bit on trying to spit out what he had wanted to say, but then proceeded to elaborate more eloquently “I’ll fuckin’ tell you what I meant next time just not right now. “
“Okay, I’ll wait for when you’re ready.” He smiled at his friend in complete understanding. “And I’m sure, when you do, I’ll finally be able to understand what you meant earlier.”
“You fuckin’ better.” Bakugou scoffed exasperatedly. “You’d have to be a complete idiot if my point still wouldn’t get through your thick skull by the time I explain shit to you.”
“I’m not a complete idiot, so you don’t have to worry about that, bro!” Kirishima remarked jokingly, thumping his free hand to hit lightly on his neighbor’s shoulder.
“You sure about that?” Bakugou quipped back with a cute smirk that had gotten him to blush a bit.
“How rude.” Kirishima clutched his chest in mock offense. “Of course, I’m sure.”
“We’ll see about that.” was the last thing Bakugou said about the topic as a finality, before he resumed playing the movie once more.
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Kirishima leaned back further into the plush comforts of the bed, his scarlet eyes taking in scenes he had seen countless of times in the past, yet his experience in watching the movie was different this time around.
Every once in a while, he’d catch himself glancing at the blond beside him to gauge his reactions. In funny scenes, Bakugou would seem to struggle in holding back a snort. In the more intense scenes of the movie, Bakugou would be so into the film that his carmine eyes would be intently following through the action sequences, shouting out obscenities at the screen every now and then.
And maybe it was his crush addled mind wanting to give himself hope, but once or twice throughout the movie, he could have sworn he felt the other’s gaze drilled onto him.
But, then again, it was probably just his imagination…
Overall, they were little changes, but they made watching a Crimson Riot movie all the more unique and fun at the same time.
All the while, though, throughout it all, one single change stood out among the rest and was single-handedly responsible for having his heart to swell in happiness.
It was the fact how they both never seemed to let go of each other’s hands, and just that fact alone was enough to have his heart beating sufficient beats which could last for a lifetime.