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Katsuki had never seen anything this stupid in his entire 23 years of living. This definitely wasn't the moment he thought would take the cake. Then again, what was he to expect? He was currently dressed in a barbarian style outfit, his hair messed up more than usual, he’d even gone as far as to apply eyeliner and smudge it messily around his large ruby red eyes, making them darker. This was already a fucking rediculous situation.
Katsuki never beat around the bush for anything, no, not even for a dumb costume contest. He’d somehow expected Kirishima to take this just as seriously as he did, especially because HE asked.
Katsuki had spent a countless number of hours between college classes on his costume, seams sewn to perfection, mock fur around the edges of his pants, and fur boots. Leather straps that ran against a perfectly defined, pale, chest. As well as a long red cape that drug against the ground, tattered and burnt in some places for finer details.
Katsuki felt his eye twitch, the sight in front of him was beyond infuriating. “What the fuck is that?” His tone was crude, sharing the deep rooted frustration that had settled in the pit of his stomach. “I thought you said you were going to be a dragon… not a fucking box troll.”
Kirishima was proud of his costume, he’d also spent hours on his costume… taping together large cut out pieces of cardboard, abusing himself with hundreds of paper cuts. Who knew paper mache was so hard?
His large fingers were covered in bandaids, he even had a skin colored band aid spread slanted across his cheek. He’d labored over this costume, he wanted it to be perfect especially for Katsuki. Katsuki, in his eyes, was perfect. He deserved every last ounce of effort when it came to this.
When his eyes landed on Katsuki, he thought his jaw could’ve dropped to the floor. That was… until the insults rolled off the blonde’s sharp tongue.
‘Ouch’
He felt all the excitement on his face drip off of him like sweat. It puddled around his feet, drying away and leaving its skeleton of dread behind. “What?” his voice cracked.
“Don’t be silly, Katsuki, it's a dragon costume. Like we discussed!” He forces a sweet smile back onto his face, his arms jutting out. He stood in a starfish type position so Katsuki could get a better look of the cardboard masterpiece. “See? It’s cool isn’t it?”
Katsuki still just couldn't believe it. To him the costume looked sloppy, it looked like there had been no effort applied to it what-so-ever. It was something a five year old could do in an hour to play knights with their dog. ‘At least he’s cute..’
“Cool is an overstatement” said Katsuki. In that exact moment, the left arm fell from Kirishima’s costume. A thud came from the floor. The small arm tunnel created a strange echo when it landed. Kirishima’s face fell, all color in his cheeks paling slightly. It wasn’t quite embarrassment that flashed over his face, instead it was a mix of fear and disappointment. He looked like he could cry. A tear slipped down his band aid cheek. Eyes trained to the fallen limb. Kirishima took a very visible, shaky, deep breath. The cardboard plating on his chest rose and fell quickly. He feared this would happen.
Katsuki watched the still limb as his vermillion gaze met maroon red eyes. “ Oh, Kirishima, I didnt-'' He immediately shut up. Kirishima's large hand came up as a signal for Katsuki to just stop. “It’s fine, just let me go fix this, and then we’ll go.” He mumbles softly. “Tonights going to be fun.” His tone was forced, trying to create the illusion that all things were fine. Katsuki was not convinced. Especially as he watched Kirishima drag his feet against the wood floor, his cardboard tail dragging behind. His expression was like a kicked dog.
“Kirishima, your costume is great.” He called out from behind as he followed the dragging tail while trying to not step on it. “I can tell you put in so much effort- “ Again, the large hand came out
“Stop”
There was a lot of power behind the simple word. “Come on, it's late. Just help me get this chest plate off so I can fix the arm” Katsuki nodded, stepping forward. He reached out to help Kirishima pull the red paper box over his head which left Kirishima entirely shirtless beneath his costume. Kirishima took the box from Katsuki’s hands, and he set it on his bed “Thanks.”
Kirishima forced a smile on his face, this was getting rough. He tried so hard to drop the emotions that were whirling around the innermost parts of his chest, yet the feelings had made themselves permanent on his face. “Can you go grab the tape from the kitchen drawer? I’m just going to try taping and stapling it back on.”
Katsuki felt frozen, as if his feet were currently gorilla glued to the ground. “Hum how about we stay here instead? We can just watch movies, and have snacks” His intent was to make things better, and he preferred personal time with Kirishima over big parties anyway. “I think it would make more sense for us, huh?” Kirishima’s eyes shifted over to Katsuki. Tilting his head, he asked “Are you sure?” “ I really wanted to join this contest, we never go out and do anything.” Kirishima brought his hands up to a rest as he placed them on his firm hips. This night just… wasn’t going his way was it.
Katsuki nodded “It is better when it’s just us.” He mumbled. Stepping forward he gently brought Kirishima’s hands into his before bringing them up to the skin of his bare chest. “They’re just stupid costumes, you know?” Kirishima followed the motions of Katsuki’s hands, letting him do whatever he wanted. With strong but gentle hands now resting on Katsuki’s pecks, the two drew much closer. So close that their noses would touch if Kirishima just dipped his head slightly. “I’m sorry” Katsuki had finally conceded as he gave those two heavy little words that Kirishima had selfishly hoped for. “I- yeah, I forgive you Katsuki. You should know that I endured a lot of paper cuts to impress you.”
Katsuki’s eyebrow raised “To impress me huh?” His hands slipped from Kirishima's elbows to his shoulders then down his sides. A slight embrace. “You don’t have to try and impress me, you’re my best friend! I would’ve gone with you and defended that stupid costume regardless.” Kirishima’s heart thumped against his chest the same way a sledge hammer would strike wood and drywall. He just hoped this wouldn’t break through his skin in the same way.
“Really?” He met Katsuki’s eyes with a bit of hope. “Really, I swear on it.” Though his voice was naturally rough, it had a sweeter tone to it. “You’re a fucking idiot, but no one else gets to tell you that.” Kirishima took it as a reward. “So in other words, I’m your idiot?” A grand, genuine smile cracks on the red head's face. Katsuki looked away for a second, as his cheeks radiated a bright red. Stupid emotions, stupid heart. Stupid embarrassing feelings! He hated the way his heart craved Kirishima. It was entirely unfair! “Yeah- something like that” His voice sounded unsure, but Kirishima saw right through him.
“Katsuki” Kirishima stepped forward closing the small gap that rested between them until their two warm bodies met “Yes?” Katsuki didn’t move, he only stood there, letting Kirishima invade his personal space. (Only so many people had that honor.) “Let's stay here, and just watch movies.” Those words were music to Katsuki’s ears. “Yeah? I think I would like that.” Katsuki’s voice came out just above a whisper. He thought that if he spoke too loud his heart would crawl out of his throat and throw itself right into Kirishima's tender hands.
“We should watch a scary movie, you know? So I have more of an excuse to not keep my distance” Kirishima wore a playful grin on his face with his hands still maintaining a soft connection to Katsukis warm skin. His eyes inquisitively watched Katsuki’s face as he tried to read the thoughts behind those bright red eyes. The moment was heavy like a fog filled with unspoken words. “Kirishima, before we do that can i just-“
“Katsuki you already apologized, I’m not mad!”
“No no, it’s not that, I just-“ oh there it was, his heart was crawling through this throat. “Kirishima, you’re a goddamn dork” Kirishima nodded in humorous agreement. Yeah, he knew that. He just didn’t understand where Katsuki was going with this. “I know”
“But-“ he growled to himself. This shit was so embarrassing. How was he supposed to back track this? The way Kirishima stared at him, so expectantly for him to finish made this even more difficult. ‘He’s so gorgeous’ God he loved his best friend. “I love you” These three little words transformed the look on Kirishima’s face. His eyes grew wider and his cheeks exuded shine and warmth. “Wow- Katsuki I can’t believe this.” He started to giggle with tender hearted relief. “I really thought I’d have to be the first one to say it” Katsuki stepped back crossing his arms and ending physical contact. “Stop. You’ll embarrass me, shitty hair.” He looked away, closing his eyes, and he began a small tantrum.
Kirishima couldn't stop the small string of giggles continuing to fall. He couldn’t help it when he reached out, cupping Katsukis face. Making the shorter blonde look at him. As their eyes met, their eager lips connected.
Kirishima closed his eyes and fell into the soft kiss, Katsuki’s back was stiff, he had never been much of a kisser- or much for touch in general, yet something about this felt so right. Small fireworks were lit off in his heart the very moment their lips touched. His eyes closed, leaned in, he passionately kissed Kirishima back. His hands slipped up and into those soft, red locks. There was a small symphony that played in the back of his mind. This orchestra’s crescendo grew the longer they kissed, and the closer they became. Kirishima’s rough hands shifted from Katsukis cheek to his waist, releasing a soft groan. His tongue ran over Katsuki’s bottom lip. Katsuki tugged at Kiri’s hair, with his mouth opening some for Kirishima, a gasp escaped when his back hit the cool wall of Kirishima's bedroom wall.
Kirishima licked up into Katsuki’s mouth briefly. He stopped, before the kiss became anything more than just a kiss. When he pulled away, their eyes met for what seemed to be the millionth time. “I love you too, Katsuki. I have since we were high schoolers, and I just never stopped.”
Katsuki made a ‘Tch’ noise, his face still red with embarrassment. “Shut up, and just kiss me.” Kirishima couldn’t help the small laugh that came out of his mouth, or the groan that happened when their lips met again. This was perfect.
This was the perfect first kiss, the perfect late night confession, and he had the best man, in his perfectly dumb paper dragon costume..