Archive of Our Own

When Momo invites the entire class to an out-of-town trip to her family’s cabin, nobody turns it down. Not even Katsuki, who always seems to say no on impulse, only to be talked into it later on. This time around, Katsuki’s immediately interested, grunting his affirmation with a slight nod.

The cabin is huge, with many rooms of varying sizes. It’s right next to the most gorgeous lake any of them have ever seen. A few of them scout out the rooms, various oohs and aah s being heard every time they open a door. The teenagers are quick to the chase, dumping their bags onto beds and claiming it as theirs. Katsuki stares at them, rolling his eyes, because it’s not as if there’s a shortage in the enormous place.

“I’m so sorry for how quaint our cabin is,” Momo says – as if she’s serious. She looks genuinely apologetic, and Uraraka gapes at her. “We’re all going to share a room with someone. The three rooms on the first floor are bigger and have single beds, so most of us are going to stay on the first floor. The rooms upstairs are for couples.”

“Couple rooms?” Hagakure repeats.

“Yes, the rooms on the second floor only have king-sized beds. Those who are staying there will have to share.”

That’s when Katsuki, with horror, realizes his mistake of not racing to claim a bed like the rest of the idiots.

Momo and Jirou say they’re going to take one of the couple rooms, Jirou blushing furiously and saying it’s only fair that the host takes one of the master bedrooms. Momo invites Jirou to stay with her, only because she wasn’t able to take one of the single beds. 

“There’s one more room upstairs.” Ojirou blinks, looking around to see who still has their bags.

 His eyes land on the only two people who didn’t care to race like everyone else: Todoroki and Katsuki.

Katsuki levels Todoroki with a stare. “I will actually murder you in my sleep.”

“Hm,” Todoroki shrugs. “Kirishima, swap with me.”

Kirishima, who’s on the other side of the room, perks up at the call of his name. Without even thinking twice, he yells with the biggest grin that Katsuki hates , “Sure, man!”

“Why the hell do I need to stay upstairs?” Katsuki splutters.

“You don’t have to,” Todoroki says. “Swap with Kirishima then, we’ll both stay upstairs.”

Oh, god. Katsuki’s going to murder him-and not in his sleep. Blood rushes to his face, and he gapes for a good second, not missing the way some giggle at the exchange.

“You – ” Katsuki tries, and fails. 

Before he knew it, Kirishima was right beside him. Kirishima throws an arm around his shoulder and drags him towards the stairs, ignoring Katsuki’s protests the entire time.

“You know what you were doing,” Jirou says, raising an eyebrow at Todoroki.

“Hm?” Todoroki responds, and Katsuki seethes at the way the corner of his lips upturn in a slight smirk.

He fumes the entire way to the room, stomping heavily for added effect. He glimpses at Kirishima fighting back a grin – the asshole. He should be angrier about this. 

(Katsuki can’t even tell why he’s angry, honestly. He’s probably just annoyed they put him on the spot like that.)

The room itself is cozy and Katsuki blinks at how… fucking romantic it looks. His cheeks warm up slightly, and he can’t tell why. Kirishima’s his best friend, and yeah it’s clearly a room made for couples, with goddamn scented candles and a window with a perfect view of the lake… but Kirishima’s his best friend. It’s not a big deal to share a bed with him.

Kirishima drops his bag to the floor and makes his way to the window, eyes wide and excited by the magnificent view. “Bakugou, this room’s amazing! We’re so lucky!”

“...Hn,” Katsuki grunts in reply.

There’s an odd pause, and Kirishima turns his head to blink at Katsuki. Smiling sheepishly, Kirishima says, “You don’t have to be so pissed off about this. It’s not as if we haven't slept in one bed before. Our beds are way smaller than this one, too.”

The heat definitely rushes to his face this time. How dare Kirishima bring that up now of all times?

Yeah, they’ve shared a bed before. 

A few times. 

It was easier than dragging a futon across the floor, or waking Kirishima up when he fell asleep during a movie marathon. Never mind that the few times it happened, they woke up entangled in each other’s limbs. They were best friends, and that was okay. 

It was so okay that they never even talked about it. It was one of those things that they simply didn’t feel the need to call out, so why the fuck is Kirishima bringing it up right now?

“Huh.” Kirishima’s grin spreads. “I thought that’d make things better, but you look even more pissed now.”

Instead of finding a response that would redeem himself, Katsuki raises a middle finger at his so-called best friend. Kirishima laughs, and Katsuki’s heart leaps at the sound of it. 

The day passes by fairly quickly.

It was nice, especially with how gorgeous – a fact Katsuki would never admit – the scenery looked. There were pretty brown and orange leaves falling to the ground, making crunches when stepped on, and the lake was a serene sight. Katsuki had hidden himself behind a thick scarf the whole time, ignoring the way Kaminari poked fun at him for being weak to the cold.

It was exhausting, too. Especially when the entire class put up an obstacle course by the lake and Katsuki refused to lose. 

He and Deku had put all their energy into it and kept tying for first place, and Katsuki wouldn’t budge until there was a clear winner. Deku, for someone so mild-mannered, also refused to back down – and yeah, it was a lot of fun. Kirishima looked so excited when Katsuki finally won, giving him a high-five that was enough to knock Katsuki back.

Now though, without the adrenaline, Katsuki is just tired. After everything’s settled down, Katsuki finds himself tucked under the sheets staring at Kirishima, and Kirishima’s hand is on his cheek. His best friend speaks as if he’ll doze off any minute now, also exhausted from the day.

He can’t even remember how he and Kirishima ended up like this. Underneath the thick and cozy quilt, talking about the day in low voices. There’s a cadence in Kirishima’s voice that soothes him, making all the other noises in Katsuki’s head quieter. And when did it become okay for Kirishima to touch him like this? He doesn’t know, but Katsuki himself has his hand resting on Kirishima’s hip.

Again, Katsuki wonders if he should question what the warmth in his chest means. He should’ve figured out what it all was. Kirishima makes him feel many funny things, and he can’t tell if he likes it or not.

Kirishima’s laugh, the way he grins, how he puts an arm around Katsuki’s shoulders and pulls him close – it all messes with Katsuki. It’s been years, and he still hasn’t put a name to it-still hasn’t decided if it’s something he wants to deal with.

He really should’ve figured it all out before tonight, because there’s something about the night that makes it all louder.

Because why does Kirishima have a hand on Katsuki’s cheek, thumb tracing circles on his skin, and why the hell is Kirishima looking at him as if he’d give him the world?

“You’re so… so manly,” Kirishima says. “God, Bakugou, you’re amazing.”

It doesn’t sound like the usual way he says it when he yells it obnoxiously for the entire class to hear. Instead, Kirishima whispers it, relaxed, and it makes Katsuki’s eyes droop half-lidded. Katsuki doesn’t even realize he’s smiling until Kirishima smiles back and traces his lips with his thumb.

Oh, god. Kirishima’s so close. When did he get this close? And why does Kirishima’s lower lip wobble when he looks at Katsuki’s mouth?

He finds out the answer quickly enough when Kirishima’s eyebrows scrunch, and as if he can’t hold back anymore, Kirishima grips the back of Katsuki’s head and pulls him, and presses a chaste kiss against his lips. It takes some time for Katsuki’s mind to catch up with what’s actually happening, and just like that, his world tilts.

When Kirishima pulls back, startled, Katsuki has to stop himself from chasing his lips.

“Oh, god.” Kirishima pales. He lets go of Katsuki as if it burns him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry – ”

“Shut up,” says Katsuki. His voice comes out hoarse and Kirishima’s eyes widen, even more horrified. Katsuki has to say something before Kirishima freaks out completely, before he gets up and bolts out of there. “Again,” Katsuki demands.

“W-what?”

“Again.”

This time, it’s he who grabs Kirishima and kisses him.

Katsuki sleeps better that night than he has in a long time.

His stupid alarm wakes him up at seven in the morning.

“Oi…” Katsuki says sleepily, attempting to slap Kirishima awake so he can turn it off for him. It’s on the table on the other side of the bed – Kirishima’s side. He expects a warm and sturdy presence beside him, and instead, his hand falls flat on the mattress. “Shitty Hair?”

He rubs his eyes and sits up, confused. Kirishima never wakes up before him. If anything, he sleeps like a log and stays in bed until the last minute possible. It’s Katsuki who sneaks off as if it’s a dirty secret that they had fallen asleep together.

Last night’s events rush together all at once –

“What the hell?” Katsuki grits.

He remembers kissing Kirishima. A lot. At one point, he’s pretty sure he climbed over Kirishima’s lap and caged him in with his legs. Kirishima had looked up at him with an expression that made Katsuki’s heart race, and Katsuki didn’t know what to do with all of it. He’s unsure when he passed out from exhaustion and sleepiness, but he remembers Kirishima’s chest rumbling with laughter from where he pressed his cheek.

Katsuki wants to yell. He wants to bury his face in the pillow and yell because there’s too much going on in his stupid heart and he doesn’t know what to do with it. Damn Shitty Hair, as if it weren’t enough that he makes Katsuki happy daily, now he had to kiss him too. 

When Katsuki makes his way downstairs, there are already many people there. Despite the heating, the air’s chilly – and if anyone calls him a baby about the number of layers he has on, he’ll probably kick their ass. 

It smells like hot chocolate, and he can hear several people laughing from the kitchen. Kirishima included. Katsuki glances around the living room, only to find Deku and Todoroki snuggling on the sofa. Deku’s on Todoroki’s left side, practically rubbing his face against his arm, clearly taking advantage of his natural heat.

Katsuki frowns. “Get a room.”

“We can’t,” Todoroki says. “You took it.”

“Heh.” Katsuki smirks, and he doesn’t miss the way Deku blinks when he does. “Yeah, I did. Fucking thanks.”

“You’re in a good mood, Kacchan,” Deku says, voice soft and muffled since half his face is pressed against Todoroki. 

Out of habit, Katsuki flips him the finger and scoots off towards the kitchen. Kirishima, Kaminari, and Ashido huddle around a counter, sipping hot chocolate. In an instant, Kirishima’s face lights up just as soon as Katsuki approaches them.

“Bakugou, I made a mug for you!” Kirishima exclaims. He grabs it and brings it closer to Bakugou, a triumphant look on him. He’s proud of making hot chocolate, of all things. 

“The hell are you all doing here?” Katsuki asks.

Ashido giggles and points a thumb toward the living room. “We didn’t want to disturb the lovebirds.”

“Lovebir – oh, you mean Deku and Half-and-half.”

Right. Katsuki was much more used to their sappiness than anyone else. He’s spent the most time with them during internships – and he used to be so irritated at it until it devolved into constant jabs. Honestly, he didn’t really care that much. 

(If anything, he may be happy for them. Something he’d never admit out loud.)

Ashido waggles her eyebrows. “They’re really cute, aren’t they? I wish I had something like that!”

Katsuki stares at her as if she’s grown a second head. “Why the hell would you want something like that?”

“They’re really happy,” Kaminari laughs. He playfully pokes Katsuki’s shoulder. “You would know how it feels, right?”

“Eh?” Katsuki stares, again.

Kirishima shifts between his feet. Laughing awkwardly, he quickly changes the topic – a fact that isn’t missed by Bakugou’s astute observation skills. “So, what are we doing today?” he asks.

Why the hell was he changing the topic? Yeah, they just ‘got together’ the night before and didn’t actually talk much about specifics, but he never assumed that Kirishima wouldn’t want to tell their friends about them. 

“Pumpkin carving!” Ashido answers. “It’s going to be so much fun! We’re doing it in pairs and the best-looking one gets a prize!”

Kaminari blinks. “What’s the prize?”

“I don’t know! But I want to win!” Smiling, she turns to Kirishima. “Hey, let’s pair up!”

“Oh,” Kirishima says, startled. He glances sideways at Katsuki, who’s currently still stewing at the fact that Kirishima oh-so-blatantly didn’t want to talk about Katsuki’s dating life with their friends. 

Ashido immediately gets the hint. “Right, you’re pairing up with Blasty! Okay, I’ll ask Sero. He’s amazing at this type of thing.”

“... Hello?” Kaminari asks, scandalized. He points a finger at himself. “Are you forgetting about me?”

Still frowning, Katsuki stops listening to the conversation. He takes that as his cue to leave and dips out, only for Kirishima to jog after him as soon as he makes his way to the hallway.

Kirishima half-yells, way too excited, “Bakugou, you’ll be my partner, right?”

“No.”

Spurred on by his irritation, he said it on impulse. He doesn’t think much of it until he looks up to see Kirishima completely dejected, as if his heart’s broken – by pumpkin carving, of all things. He looks like a puppy who lost a treat and Katsuki’s heart is torn between finding it cute and cursing himself.

“You actually want to stab a pumpkin?” Katsuki gapes.

“Well, yeah. I was looking forward to it, man.”

Then, the idiot – the idiot – steps closer and wraps a hand around Katsuki’s wrist. As if they’re not in the middle of a hallway, in a cabin filled with all their classmates, where they can be seen by any of them. Katsuki’s face burns up immediately, which is stupid because this is nothing compared to all the making out they did last night.

“I didn’t want to tell the others we’re dating,” Kirishima says, softly, “not without your permission. Sorry. I didn’t know it’d upset you.”

“Nah,” Katsuki grumbles. Kirishima rubs a thumb against his palm and his mind fizzles. “You’re right. We didn’t talk about telling them.”

Kirishima grins. “Do… Do you want to tell them, though?”

For a moment, Katsuki’s silent. Does he? He’s not sure how they’ll react. They’ll probably bombard them with questions, which would annoy him. In the end, though, Katsuki thinks they owe it to their friends. That’s what friends do, right? Be honest? He has no fucking idea.

“We should at least tell the idiot brigade,” Katsuki decides. “Ashido, Kaminari, Sero.”

Kirishima wheezes. His grip on Katsuki’s hand tightens, and Katsuki resists the urge to kiss him . “Dude, don’t call them that!” 

“We can tell them after the trip,” Katsuki shrugs.

“Yeah.” Kirishima gazes at him with that expression that makes Katsuki’s heart melt, always. “Let’s do that.”

“Okay. Now let’s go win that stupid pumpkin contest.”

Again, Kirishima wheezes. It’s weird because Katsuki doesn’t think he’s even that funny, so he rolls his eyes at his boyfriend’s response. For a quick second, Kirishima looks around the hallway as if planning something. Once he decides the coast is clear, Kirishima pulls Katsuki by the wrist and kisses him on the mouth.

There, in the hallway.

Where anyone can walk in on them.

His palms heat in that way that it does when he’s surprised and his quirk’s about to go off. Katsuki yells, “I’m going to kick your ass!”

Kirishima chuckles, ducking below his punch. He’s getting too cocky. When did Katsuki’s guard go down so much that somebody could get close enough to kiss him in the middle of a hallway!? Face burning, Katsuki flips Kirishima off.

Pumpkin carving is stupid.

Katsuki’s amazing at a lot of things – fighting, studying, cooking – and apparently… pumpkin carving was not included in the list.

In his defense, which idiot got up one day and carved a face in this huge orange fruit? It also doesn’t help that it’s chilly. Despite his gloves, he’s pretty sure his hands are going to fall off. He’s always been weaker to cold weather than most people, though. Just another weakness that shouldn’t exist.

Kirishima is not good at it either.

His best friend – uh, boyfriend? – has this habit of chewing on his bottom lip when he’s focusing. Katsuki’s noticed it a lot of times before. His eyebrows scrunch and his hands are amazingly stable when he’s doing his best.

Which he isn’t, right now.

Kirishima is clumsy and laughs every time he makes a mistake, and now their pumpkin has disproportionate eyes and the strangest-looking mouth Katsuki’s ever seen.

“You’re messing it up,” Katsuki stares. “What are you even trying to do?”

“I want to give it sharp teeth.”

“Why? That’s a lot harder to do.”

“Because it’s my friend and I want to give it normal human teeth, man!”

“Heh?” Katsuki gapes. “Y-you think sharp teeth are normal!?”

“Yeah!?” Kirishima stares at him like he’s said the stupidest thing. “I mean, I’ve never wanted to point it out before because it might offend you all – but everyone’s teeth are straight and weird-looking! Not our pumpkin, though.”

Baffled, Katsuki blinks. Kirishima… Does Kirishima think his teeth are the normal ones? He stands there in utter shock, unsure if he wants to correct Kirishima or burst out laughing.  

Is anyone hearing this, right now? Katsuki looks around as if searching for help, for anything .

“Wow, Midoriya, Todoroki!” Ojirou calls out from across the room. Both Katsuki and Kirishima turn their heads to look at the couple. The pumpkin they’re working on is impressively carved. “That’s amazing! Have you done this before?”

Sheepishly, Deku laughs. “Haha, no.”

“He spent all night watching tutorial videos, though,” Todoroki adds. 

Weirdly annoyed that Deku and Todoroki are once again beating them, Katsuki grits his teeth. He’s competitive to a fault and aware of it, and he’s downright irritated that Deku’s likely going to win this.

Tsuyu, who’s passing by, cocks her head at Deku and Todoroki. “You two are quite a good match, aren’t you?”

“Hm,” Todoroki hums. There’s a smug smile on his face as if he’s proud of Deku –

– over a pumpkin.

For carving a fruit.

“Give me that,” Katsuki snaps, grabbing the carving tool from Kirishima. It only takes Kirishima a moment to recover from the surprise, then his face completely lights up and Katsuki leans over their pumpkin with the most determined look he’s ever had. 

“That’s so manly, Bakugou,” Kirishima says.

Katsuki flushes. Kirishima will literally call anything manly, yet the compliment still hits him hard.

It’s difficult. Again, Katsuki’s reminded of the fact that he’s no good at this pumpkin carving thing. Still, he tries his best to give it the sharpest teeth, perfectly aligned, just as Kirishima had wanted. It’s not perfect, but it’ll do, and he’s rewarded by Kirishima’s ever-widening grin.

“Deku and Half-and-half are not better than us at anything , Shitty Hair,” Katsuki grumbles under his breath.

“Haha, oh. Is that what this is about?” Kaminari pipes in from across the table. “You can’t stand them being the better couple?”

Ashido whistles, a playful smile on her lips. Sero also glances up for a second and exchanges a look with Kirishima.

And Katsuki – well, Katsuki’s stunned. He flinches, accidentally knocking the knife against the corner of their pumpkin’s mouth. A huge chunk of it falls to the table.

They haven’t even told them they’re dating and they’re already making fun of the idea? 

He should not be this annoyed.

“Bakugou?” Kirishima asks, blinking at him. “What’s wrong, man?”

Red-faced, Katsuki grits his teeth and drops the knife. It falls to the table with a clank, and everyone else seems utterly baffled by his reaction.

Kaminari helplessly looks around. “Did I say something wrong? Bakugou, you and Kirishima are also an awesome couple!”

“What?” Katsuki snarls. Yup, they’re definitely making fun of him. He knows he’s not the best in social norms or whatever, but he tries his darndest and he doesn’t need them teasing him like this. He knows Half-and-half and Deku are supposed to be the pinnacle of dating, and that everyone probably fucking knows he’s got a crush on Kirishima, but they don’t need to mock him like this.

What would they even say if they found out they were truly dating? What, would they tell Kirishima to run for the fucking hills?

Something in the back of his head is screaming at him to calm the hell down, that he’s being unreasonable right now. That Kaminari didn’t mean it that way, at all. The way Ashido and Sero reacted wasn’t them making fun of him, but he’s never said he’s great at keeping his emotions in check.

“Bakugou, talk to us,” Ashido says, concerned. 

“I’m out of here,” Katsuki announces, and he does just that – pushes himself away from the table and stomps off. He can hear Kaminari frantically asking what exactly he said wrong – and even Katsuki himself doesn’t know for sure.

Of course, Kirishima dashes after him immediately. Even when Katsuki runs up the stairs two steps at a time, Kirishima catches him before he can slam the door to their room shut. Kirishima closes the door behind him and takes a moment to catch his breath. It’s dramatic how he clutches at the front of his shirt and heaves.

“Baku – Bakugou, what was that – about?” Kirishima asks. He leans back against the door and takes the longest exhale, ever. He’s so goddamn dramatic. Never mind the fact that Katsuki’s in the same state, out of breath and red in the face.

From the open window, they can hear the voices of their classmates. Hagakure’s squealing because she was able to carve out the eyes like she wanted, and they can hear Iida instructing everyone where to throw their trash. 

God, Katsuki really is the worst. They’re supposed to be having fun right now, instead, he’s got Kirishima babysitting his – eww – feelings.

“They’re fucking making fun of me!” Katsuki bellows. “We haven’t even told them we’re dating and they’re already making fun of me!”

“They’re not – Bakugou, they’re not making fun of you!”

“Then why the fuck were they looking at each other like I’m a huge joke!?”

Kirishima stares, wide-eyed and stunned. He grabs Katsuki’s arm and squeezes, and Katsuki almost pulls away. Instead, he pouts like a petulant kid. 

“Is that why you’re upset? Because you think they’d make fun of us for dating?” Kirishima asks, brows furrowing.

“The idea of us dating is a joke,” Katsuki grumbles. Now that he’s had a moment to calm down, he realizes just how fucking ridiculous this sounds. Kirishima squeezes his arm again, urging him to go on. “But when it’s Deku and Half-and-half, it’s all praises and shit. All they do is cuddle and talk to themselves and do stupid sappy things.”

Eyes lighting up, Kirishima grins. The dork. “Do you want to do stupid sappy things, too?” 

Katsuki glares. “Look, I know it’s fucking stupid, but it gets to me – it gets to me when they treat me like I’m some kind of emotionally constipated moron. And we all know you’re too good for me – shut up, don’t argue – so it pisses me off when I’m reminded of it.”

“Bakugou, nobody thinks I’m too good for you!” Kirishima says, startled. “Holy shit, is that what you think!?”

Frowning, Katsuki glares at Kirishima. He knows it’s fucking stupid. His brain’s never been the quietest and Kirishima’s known that for a while now. Katsuki doesn’t know what to do with the way his heart races at this moment, especially when Kirishima grabs him by the sides of his face and kisses him to shut him up.

Katsuki feels out of breath. Despite that, his shoulders go slack and the tension leaves him. Kirishima’s hands are warm against his cheek and his lips are soft, and he looks at Katsuki in a way that he can’t handle.

“Kaminari tells me all the time how lucky I am I have you,” Kirishima says. “He never shuts up about it! Ashido and Sero, too. And I know this will shock you, but even Midoriya’s told me how good we both are for each other.”

“... Why the fuck would they say those.”

“You know they were just teasing us, right?” Kirishima insists. His smile’s gentle and he rubs Katsuki’s cheek with his thumb. “That’s what they do. Dude, that’s what we do. We tease each other… the same way you tell Midoriya and Todoroki all the time to stop being sappy, but then you always have this cute goofy grin on your face and we all know you’re happy for them.”

“If you don’t shut up right now – “

“And why would they say that about us? Bakugou, the entire class has thought for the longest time that we’re already dating!”

What.

What!?

Katsuki’s mind turns to static and his face immediately goes red. “Why the hell would they think that!? We only got together last night! They don’t even know you’re into me!”

Kirishima grins, wide, as if he’s trying to hold back a laugh. “I think everyone knows I’m crazy for you, dude.”

“What the hell!?”

“Well… yeah?”

He’s not sure how he should react to this. Katsuki feels mortified but also relieved. There’s a rush of emotions that course through him and he opens and closes his mouth, unable to find the right words. Finally, Katsuki says, “You’ve liked me back this entire time?”

“Obviously,” Kirishima laughs.

“Oh, my god…” Katsuki rolls his eyes.

“Bakugou,” Kirishima calls, and he leans in again and presses their lips together. 

Kirishima’s going to need to stop kissing him before Katsuki becomes addicted. Katsuki makes a strange sound from the back of his throat and there’s a comfortable warmth that surges through his chest.

“Let’s go back,” Kirishima murmurs against his lips. He stares at Katsuki with half-lidded eyes and Katsuki doesn’t want to go back, not really. Still, they should.

“Okay,” he grunts.

Slowly, Kirishima lets go of him. There’s a sheepish smile on his face when he opens the door and steps out. Katsuki follows, still entirely out of his element. They’re heading down the stairs when Katsuki concludes that he’s the biggest dumbass ever.

Of course, their friends wouldn’t make fun of them being together. He should know that better by now – they’re much more important to him than he lets on and for a good reason.

They reach the bottom of the stairs and Kirishima turns to him. He murmurs, “Stop thinking so much.”

Katsuki meets his stare. Kirishima’s perfect. He’s way too good for Katsuki and that’s a nagging feeling he’s had for the longest time. 

“It sucks that you don’t realize how amazing you are,” Kirishima says, softly. The noise from the door practically drowns his voice out and Katsuki prefers it that way. He’d rather not let anyone else hear what Kirishima’s saying. It’s all for him. “And you are – it’s ridiculous how amazing you are. I’m going to say it again and again until you believe me.”

His cheeks redden. “Shut it,” Katsuki mumbles.

If he wants this to actually work between them, he’s going to have to get his brain to shut up.

When Katsuki reaches out to take Kirishima’s hand, there’s a moment of surprise on his best friend’s expression. Kirishima glances down at their intertwined fingers and a goofy smile spreads across his face. “You want to go out, like this?”

“What, you don’t want to?”

“Of course I do!” Kirishima says it too loud, startling both of them. The dork.

And they head for the door like that – holding hands and cheeks flushed red, and Kirishima’s lips are bruised from all the making out and Katsuki’s sure his are as well. He tries not to think about it or he might just turn and run.

“Kacchan!” Kaminari calls out when they step out onto the lawn. “I fixed your pumpkin!”

“Ha!?” Katsuki yells. “What did you do!?”

“I fixed it!”

They approach their table and see that Kaminari abandoned his own pumpkin to ‘fix’ Kirishima and Katsuki’s. He’s carved the mouth to be bigger than before because of how Katsuki had broken it, and now their pumpkin has a lop-sided grin and perfectly sharp teeth just as Kirishima wanted it to be.

“Uh, thanks,” Katsuki says. It feels lame to say, but he means it. Kaminari gives him a thumbs-up.

Kirishima, dork that he is, gives Kaminari a thumbs-up back – except that his dominant hand is still gripping Katsuki’s so it’s not until he drags Katsuki’s hand up in the air that he realizes it. He struggles to put his thumb up without letting go of Katsuki, brows furrowing at his failed attempts. 

Katsuki should just let go. Instead, he’s baffled by how Kirishima can’t even figure out that he needs to let go of his hand.

Of course, that they’re holding hands doesn’t go unnoticed by their table. Kaminari blinks at them for a second before he looks away, grinning to himself. Again, Katsuki’s fully aware of how everyone reacts. Ashido makes a soft squeak of what sounds like amusement, and Sero smirks to himself.

That’s when Katsuki realizes they weren’t making fun of them, not at all. They were happy for them. The stupid goofy smirks, the way they exchanged looks with each other – they were reactions from friends who cared and were happy.

“Yeah, I can’t figure this out,” Kirishima says, cutting his trail of thought. He’s still trying to give Kaminari a thumbs-up.

“Use your other hand?” Sero suggests.

Katsuki watches, bewildered, as Kirishima’s expression lights up and he follows Sero’s advice. He lifts his other hand in the air and gives Kaminari a thumb-up with the biggest, brightest smile ever. It’s as if he’s accomplished his most challenging feat yet.

Katsuki’s dating an idiot.

A cute idiot, but whatever.

Kirishima shrugs and pulls Katsuki back to their table, ready to finish their pumpkin – though, in Katsuki’s opinion, it looks complete. It’s not that bad, actually. It’s simple but at least it’s not hideous, and its sharp teeth and angry eyes give it personality. He doesn’t believe they’ll win and at this point he doesn’t actually care, all competitiveness and adrenaline gone.

The surrounding conversation continues and Kirishima’s hand is still wrapped around his, a thumb idly rubbing against his palm. He forgets about it until he catches Deku’s stare, who blinks at him for a split second. 

Then, Deku smiles at him.

He smiles at him.

“You got something to say, nerd?” Katsuki scowls, voice loud enough to reach him across their distance. He feels Kirishima flinch under his hold, surprised. Todoroki turns to stare at him, his expression pretty much passive even if he’s clearly listening.

“No?” Deku asks, unsurely. 

“If you’ve got something to say about this, then spit it out!” Katsuki grumbles.

Deku’s clearly confused. He genuinely looks lost at Katsuki’s outburst. “Uh?” He starts. “Why would I say anything about you holding your boyfriend’s hand, Kacchan?”

Huh?

“You know we’re dating?” Katsuki asks, confused. He ignores how Kirishima snorts. They just got together last night, how is everyone already aware of this? These goddamn gossips – 

“What are you talking about, Bakugou?” Todoroki interjects, frowning. “We all know you and Kirishima have been dating for months.”

Oh, that pushes Kirishima over the edge. Kirishima finally lets go of his hand only to clutch his stomach as he bursts out laughing. He’s laughing so hard there are tears in the corners of his eyes and Katsuki glares at him with a scowl.

Kirishima told him that the entire class thought they’ve been together all this time – and, apparently, he was right.

“We haven’t been dating all this time, what’s the matter with you!?” Katsuki yells at Todoroki. He points an accusing finger at him.

“Ohhhh.” Kaminari interrupts. Realization washes over him. “Is that why you were so upset with what I said earlier!? But dude, you do all the boyfriend stuff… you go on dates, share clothes, sleep in each other’s rooms – you’re telling me I’ve been third-wheeling this entire time and you didn’t even know I was third-wheeling!?”

“The hell are you talking about!?”

Kirishima wheezes, again, and Katsuki shuts him up by elbowing him. 

“I’m so sorry, oh my,” Momo suddenly says. She’s at a nearby table and had been listening all this time – well, the entire class is listening at this point. “I thought you were together, so I thought you’d be okay with getting one of the big rooms. Why didn’t you say anything last night…?”

Katsuki gapes.

When he looks at Kirishima, Kirishima’s wearing the biggest, smuggest grin ever.

“Told you,” Kirishima says. “You were so worried about nothing, literally nothing has changed.”

“Okay, you can shut up!”

Katsuki’s cheeks are burning. All this time and they thought they were already together!? Kirishima’s right, he was worrying for nothing. He might be a little annoyed that Kirishima didn’t mention this a lot earlier, but he’s also just so fucking relieved that his classmates aren’t looking down at him. All this time – without him even realizing it.

“Midoriya, our pumpkin looks better,” Todoroki mutters, breaking Katsuki’s train of thought. He looks at their pumpkin and then at Katsuki and Kirishima’s. 

“Okay, listen here, Half-and-half – “

“Anywaaay.” Kirishima grabs his hand again and tugs him, and he stumbles for a bit. Katsuki scowls at Kirishima as he’s forced to return his focus to their table. “Bakugou, you think our pumpkin’s done?”

“No!” Katsuki says, quickly. He grabs the knife again, and there’s a renewed competitiveness. “Let’s show them all we’re the fucking best, Shitty Hair.”

“Ah,” Sero mutters. “He’s back.”

“Shut it!” 

Ashido wheezes and says something that Katsuki doesn’t listen to. He’s staring at his pumpkin, wondering what other improvements they can make. When he glances back up, Kirishima’s staring at him with the gentlest gaze he’s ever seen – and Katsuki’s heart all but melts.

“Told you,” Kirishima says, quietly. He squeezes Katsuki’s wrist, thumb rubbing once more against his palm.

“Fine,” Katsuki murmurs.

Kirishima’s right – he had nothing to worry about. 

Nobody’s going to treat them differently because, apparently, Katsuki was the only one who wasn’t aware that they were already dating. Fucking ridiculous. Too much has happened and it’s ridiculous how he’s not angry about how it all came together. Even more ridiculous is the warmth that spreads across his chest, and that he might just be thankful these dorks planned a dumb weekend away carving massive orange fruits.