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Bakugou doesn’t know when he started getting invited to girls night. He thinks it started when Mina noticed the pride pin attached to his bag.
He’s gay, so what.
Apparently that means he’s good at fashion and advice. While the fashion part is true the advice part is not.
Cheeks was once again being comforted by the group because Deku is an oblivious fucker who has a huge crush on Icyhot.
His phone buzzed in his lap. A small upturn appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Shitty Hair had finally given him his number. He sent all kinds of memes and stupid videos. He rambled and Bakugou found it adorable.
Pink locks appeared over his shoulder out of the corner of his eye.
“What do you want Pinky?”
“Are you textin Kiri?”
“Yeah what about it?!”
Mina paused and looked between the buzzing phone and his red face. “You like him!” There was a choking noise as Bakugou had to reorient himself in his shock.
“But Bakubabe, have you been responding immediately to every text?” Her head tilted as she cranes her neck to catch a glimpse of the still glowing screen.
“Yes, why is that a problem?” Bakugou will admit, interactions and communication are hard, Mina is much better at it than him.
“Well you can’t do that!! You’ve gotta play hard to get! Keep his attention, make him crave that text back you know?”
“Uh, Mina, I don’t know if that’s a good idea-“ Jirou started as she looked between the blond and the other girls.
“It’ll be fiiiiiine.” Mina took Bakugou’s phone and tucked it away on a charger. “Kiri can handle being ignored for a little while.”
Bakugou’s conflicted expression darted between Mina and his phone. On one hand he thought that texting back quickly meant you were interested, on the other Mina had a point that he should make sure Shitty Hair really likes the interactions…
He decides to leave it there and if it doesn’t go over well, he’ll blame Pinky.
Kirishima sat, staring at his phone. It had been 10 minutes since Bakugou last read a message. And while he knew his best friend (and long time crush) had other things he did, ever since they exchanged phone numbers he always replied instantly or said he’d be busy and couldn’t- Reply right away. He was consistent. The consistency was refreshing since Kiri was an organized mess on a good day.
But now he just felt... empty and a little hurt. Did Bakugou actually not like talking to him? Was he boring?
“- ou there Kiribro?” Sero was waving a hand in Kiri’s face. “You okay? You zoned out for a sec.”
“Yeah dude, you never zone out during bro nights!” Kami added as he leaned forward. “You been waiting on someone to text back or something?”
Kirishima blushed and scratched the back of his head, keeping his eyes locked on the carpeted floor.
“IwaswaitingforBakubrototextmeback,” The mumbled reply went right over his friends heads except for one word.
Bakubro
“YES, CALLED IT! JIROU OWES ME 20 BUCKAROOS!” He jumped up and danced in a circle before grabbing his phone excitedly.
Sero rolled his eyes but clapped a hand on Kiri’s shoulder. “I’m glad you exchanged numbers. Maybe now you can tell him about your crush?”
The other two watched the sunshine diminish in Kirishima’s smile.
This did not bode well for Operation KiriBaku.
Their friend looked anxious and worried with a gaze locked on the dark phone. Sharp teeth worried at his lower lip.
“What’s wrong Kiri?” Sero’s soft voice asked from his left shoulder as Kami crowded his right shoulder in a hug.
“He always texts back immediately or lets me know he won’t be at his phone. But he hasn’t responded in ten minutes and there wasn’t a text beforehand Saying he wouldn’t be by his phone. I know he does something with Uraraka and Mina tonight but even when he’s with them he texts back...”
Ruby eyes glimmer with insecurity as he looks up at his two bros. They’re supportive and loving but he worried that he isn’t good enough. His thoughts swirl with possibilities that he isn’t manly enough or strong enough to be their friend much less Bakugou’s friend.
“Give him a taste of his own medicine then!” Kaminari pouts. “Let him see how he likes being ignored.”
Sero sighs, wrapping his lanky arms around his friends. He would have to talk to Jirou about the situation with the girls. Hopefully it didn’t escalate quickly.
The fact that Kiri doesn’t respond hurts. Bakugou can’t help the fear that latches onto his heart that maybe Kiri was just doing this because he felt bad. Maybe Kiri didn’t even want to be his friend? Had they really gotten to their third year and Bakugou had never noticed? The blank screen taunts him now that he’s awake, curled up with Jirou and Uraraka in a pile on the carpeted floor with pillows and blankets all around. There’s the word ‘Read’ under his good morning text. And fuck if that doesn’t hurt.
So he puts the phone in his pocket and starts working his way out of the pile.
He managed to not step on anyone or fall over. Looking over the girls with a soft expression he will deny ever allowing on his face, he allows himself to feel happy.
Just for a moment.
He opens Mina’s dorm room and comes face to face with the other three members of his ‘squad’. They look at each other in silence.
Bakugou glances over his shoulder and sighs. He shuts the door behind him softly before turning his attention to the other three.
“Pinky’s asleep. She had a late night, don’t bother her or me until lunch.” He spins and stalks down the hall to the stairs.
The hurt in his chest still hasn’t left when he makes it to his dorm room.
What was he doing wrong???
Kirishima gapes at the now closed door as his gaze darts between the door and Bakugou’s retreating figure.
“Well okay then,” Kaminari says with an awkward shuffle.
Kirishima just shakes his head and smiles sadly. He slowly tugs the other two towards the elevator.
Bakugou and Mina.
Kirishima would have never paired those two together but hell, he wasn’t even sure if Bakugou isn’t straight. He pulls out his phone and taps his and Tetsu’s chat.
💪: gym today???
🦾: sure thing bro!
🦾: wait don’t you and Bakubro train today?
💪: can we talk about it at the gym?
🦾: oh yeah dude totally, I’ll see you in 10?
💪: see you in 10
“I’m headed to the gym then.” Kirishima presses the button for the first floor. “I’ll see you guys later.”
The other two nod and get out when the elevator stops on the second floor. Both look like they want to say something but they aren’t sure what. His phone buzzes in his pocket but he doesn’t bother to check. The radio silence and leaving Mina’s room this early makes him feel queasy.
Were they together? Or was Bakugou just there to comfort? It’s not like him and Baku haven’t done that before. They’ve cuddled and held each other when the nightmares became too real, when the emotions got to be too much, when it felt like the world had them by the throat with a knife already digging into their skin. He shook the thoughts from his head. Tetsu might be able to help him figure this out.
He opened the doors to the gym and saw Tetsu already warming up. He’s always admired the similarly quirked man, he was very manly and covered in muscle. But he also radiated confidence and charisma and kindness. And yeah, maybe he had a crush on him but he’d never admit it. It felt selfish to want two people to himself.
But he loved the idea of having his crushes all to himself.
“Eijirou! What’s up man?” The genuine concern in his eyes made something in him break and a watery smile spread across his face.
“It’s kinda a long story.”
The soft and concerned look stays as Tetsu guides him to a bench in the empty gym. “I’ve got all the time in the world.”
And so Eijirou confesses
He confesses liking Bakugou since their first year and then developing a crush on Tetsu during their second while they trained together. He admits that he saw Bakugou leaving Mina’s dorm and that he’s been getting mixed signals and doesn’t know what to do about it. Tetsu is there through it all. He rubs Eijirou’s back and stays a silent, comforting presence through the entire explanation.
“I’m glad I’m not the only one then.” The low chuckle leaves the steel-quirked man as he glances up at Eijirou.
“What do you mean?”
“Bakugou’s sent me some mixed signals too. I thought that we were flirting during our trio training sessions but I was too scared to ask either of you out.”
“Wait seriously?!??” Wide ruby eyes meet a molten silver.
“Yeah.” Tetsu clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck. “Um, would you like to go on a date? With me? I mean just to see how it goes it doesn’t have to mean anything and I figured since we already have so much in common that it would be okay but I can-“
He’s cut off by Eijirou planting a kiss on his cheek with a blush. “I would love to go on a date with you.”
It was the dorm’s game night which was not mandatory but with Momo running it, no one wanted to tell her no unless they had an actual excuse.
Bakugou pouted on the couch where he was smushed between Mina and Sero. He was currently watching an intense game of Uno. Then the door to the dorm opened and revealed the one member of their class that had been missing for the past three hours.
Kirishima.
There was a grin pulling at the tanned skin and a dusting of pink down his neck and cheeks. He looked dazed but fine.
That’s what made the alarm bells go off in Bakugou’s brain. He looked like Deku looking at IcyHot.
An uncomfortable twisting formed in his gut, it turned and spun into a knot of emotions he didn’t know how to express. He locked eyes with Pink Cheeks who shot him a knowing look with a grimace.
“KIRI YOU’RE BACK!!” Kaminari screeched. “Where did you go?”
Kirishima rubbed at the back of his neck as the pink tint to his skin darkened. “I had a date...”
The common room was silent as Kirishima headed to the elevators. Noise exploded as soon as he was out of sight. Bakugou slipped off the couch and managed to make his way to the stairs without being noticed. He headed to the one place he knew he could think.
The roof.
The door fell shut softly. There was a small piece of wood preventing the door from locking him out. Right as he settled, leaning against the small wall around the building edge, he heard the door open and close again. The person settled in beside him. They didn’t say anything, only looked out across the campus that glowed in the fading light of the setting sun. Her head fell to his shoulder and a small sob wracked her body. Bakugou didn’t think twice before sliding an arm around her shoulders.
“At least now I understand why you cry every fuckin girls night.” His own voice was rough and cracked slightly.
Uraraka only shook harder. The two of them stayed there, looking out into the expanse of the universe over their small world and allowed their emotions to connect them. Allowed themselves to feel comforted by each other’s presence. And Uraraka didn’t tell anyone for a very long time about the steady drip of Bakugou’s salty tears mixing with her own on her shirt as they held each other in a tight grip. Bakugou didn’t tell any one for a very long time about the mumbled words of self hatred, the lost look in her eyes, the obvious feeling of not being enough. He just held her tighter.
After a while they broke apart, standing to head to their own rooms. The two paused at the threshold of the entrance back down to reality, to the dorms, to their friends, to the pain and sadness.
“Do you want to train with me this weekend?” Bakugou’s voice was uncharacteristically soft, gravelly and rough, but quiet and weighed down by tears and emotions.
“I’d like that a lot.” Came the whispered reply. With that the two fell into step as they headed into the depths of the dorm, into the heavy emotional feeling of reality.
Over the course of the next week, Kirishima and Tetsu watched in shock as Uraraka started stealing their third training buddy. They would spar or an hour until she came in, bright smile across her face as she tackled Bakugou in a hug from behind, arms always around his waist. He would grumble but huff a soft laugh before nodding at them and heading off to another mat to spar with her, chuckles and barely there grins haunted them.
Maybe they were wrong? Maybe he didn’t like them? Maybe... he just wanted sex?
The two found solace in each other, spending more and more time together as their friend group started splitting. Mina hung around them to flirt with the oblivious Kendo and Denki and Sero followed her.
Bakugou pulled away, hung out with the girls, specifically Jirou, Uraraka, Momo, and Tsu.
He would show up for training, a dark look on his face and spar or train with them for an hour or two before the girls came rushing in. Uraraka always lead the charge as she tackled him. His face would twitch into a grin as he sling an arm around her, fist bumped Jirou, patted Tsu as she walked by, and messed up Momo’s impeccable hair.
Bakugou never looked at them like that. Never initiated touches with a soft look on his face. He started initiating conversations with his new friends, started getting comfortable with their touches. Getting comfortable with people that he had treated as strangers for years, pulling away from those who had stuck by him. Occasionally they’d catch him gazing off into space, looking right at them until he blinked, brow furrowed and a flush staining his cheeks as he turned and got pulled into conversations with phones and snacks being shoved in his face.
Tetsu and Kiri watched this divide begin to separate them and held onto their relationship tighter.
They hated how outside of training and fighting, they learned everything else about Bakugou from the gossip magazines about the promising soon-to-be hero or over hearing conversations. They hated that they observed him at every chance, watched how he made his coffee, watched how he never wore cool colors unless the girls shoved it on him, watched how he would add extra eyeliner if he hadn’t slept to cover the bags under his eyes because of a nightmare.
They hated that outside of the surface details, they knew nothing else.
And most of all, they hated that they had pulled away first.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that the Bakugou-less BakuSquad had the real shock of their lifetimes. It was movie night and as usual, everyone was piled on couches, chairs, and pillows so they all could see the TV.
Mostly everyone was there. Tokoyami was out on a last-minute work-study call but otherwise, their class was smooshed around them.
Bakugou never joined movie night but usually, Uraraka was expressing her opinion on what they watched, and yet now her voice was missing. Then Momo's voice called across the common room directed towards the kitchen, "Hey, before you two disappear, can you please make some spicy popcorn for me and Kyoka?"
"What's the magic word Momo?" Uraraka calls back from the kitchen doorway as Bakugou rolls his eyes.
"'Chako, leave 'er 'lone," The blond brought a large black bowl over that matched the horrendous orange and pink one in Uraraka's hands. He passed it to Jirou with a smirk. "Kyoka, remind your girlfriend here that she should keep her milk tea on hand, yeah?"
Jiirou gasped dramatically with a hand to her chest, "How dare you insinuate I haven't already grabbed two for her."
"Oh come on, we know she'll need three, kero," Tsu said as she snagged the other bowl in his other hand. "Thanks for the snacks 'Suki."
"Never say I didn't do nothin' for you girls." He spun on his heels, eyes soft as he ruffled Momo's hair and headed back over to Uraraka and took the pack of drinks from her. "Don't bother us unless there's a villain attack."
With an arm slung over Uraraka's shoulders and her own arm resting around his waist, the two left with a shout of indignation and a hip-check as they took off running up the stairs with feral, challenging grins. Most of their class was left blinking astounded at the interaction.
"Does that happen often?" Mina asks as she looks between the three girls on the couch and the door to the stairs.
Jirou looked up at Mina and back down at the red popcorn. "Which part?"
"Uhh, ALL OF IT!?" Denki shouts from his place beside Shinsou.
"Oh, uh, the popcorn making happens like twice a week I think? He usually makes big batches for us." Jirou shares a look with Tsu and Momo.
"Ocha and 'Suki are like that all the time though." Tsu shrugged as she tossed a handful of faintly red-seasoned chapulines in her mouth.
"And the given names thing?" Kirishima found himself asking.
"Oh, the names thing happened like last week after we argued over nicknames."
The night carried on but the BakuSquad found themselves preoccupied thinking over when their friend had pulled away, trusting his new training buddies and friends over them. Mina left after the first movie to see Kendo. It left the three boys to their own thoughts and devices.
Between the second and third movies, Kirishima texted his boyfriend.
💪: Bakugou is on first-name basis with the girls...
💪: Also I think him and Uraraka are dating
🦾: Wait fr?
🦾: I thought they were just friends or smthn
💪: He just went somewhere with her
💪: Alone
🦾: Oh
🦾: Maybe we were both wrong and he isn't interested and never was?
💪: Maybe
💪: Can you come over?
🦾: Yeah as soon as this movie is over, hang tight
Kirishima felt the heat of tears welling behind his eyes, sadness and guilt pooled in his chest, dropped down to his stomach. He curled up in a ball under his red fuzzy blanket, a gift from Bakugou last Christmas. He barely remembers the end of the movie on the screen, his head dizzy with questions and what-ifs. Tetsu finally comes into sight and holds his hand as he moves them to the elevator quietly.
They pass Bakugou's dorm as they head to Kirishima's. The sound of muffled laughter sounds from the crack under the door.
"-urry up! We can't miss our date wi-" Kiri rushes them into his room and closes the door behind them right as they hear Bakugou's door open. "Come on slowpoke!"
"I'm going as fast as I can 'Chako! I'm the one carrying all the extra shit you said we would need!" Bakugou's normally gruff tone is softened by the sound of a smile in his voice as the soft padding of their feet down the hall fades. The two teens left on that floor of the dorms find themselves filled with questions and overwhelming emotion.
"Is this our fault? Is he with her because we ditched him?" Kirishima tangled his hands in his hair, tugging at the spikes.
"Fuck, Tetsu, he started making distance after we started dating... did we only push him away?" Tears spilled onto his angrily flushed cheeks. "I- I just think about what if he thinks he got in the way of our time as a couple? What if we had involved him more instead of pushing him away because we felt scared and hurt? Did we fuck up, did we misread the situation? How did he move on so fast without us?"
Tetsu watched the salty tears drip down as his own start to form, clumping his eyelashes together. He tugs the smaller redhead into his chest. Maybe they did fuck up, maybe it is their fault that Bakugou pulled away. But right now, they needed to cry, to mourn what could have been and what they had hoped would be.
Laughter floats through the cracked open window, haunting their dreams and plaguing their thoughts.
The next thing they knew, it was time for midterms. Momo had invited their class over for a study session, a majority of the class arrived at the same time. Momo greeted them at the door and led them into a large room full of coffe tables and plush chairs. Finally the last few people trickled in. Uraraka busted through the doors panting as she tugged Momo, Tsu, and Jirou to the windows that looked out on the front lawn.
Jirou gasped. “He’s been holding out on us!”
Cue the rest of their class rushing over to the windows like the nosy people that are only to see Bakugou making out with another guy before pulling away to peck him on the cheek. The blonde turned and caught sight of them in the window. He flipped them off with a smirk before walking inside. The guy just grinned and waved as he walked off.
Jirou and Uraraka dashed to the door and bombarded the blonde with questions.
“You’ve been holding out on us!”
“Yeah, Katsuki, what the fuck?!?!”
“Who was that?!”
“Are we gonna meet him?”
“How long have you been seeing him?!”
“Come onnnn, Kats just tell us!!”
“Christ! Calm down and let me explain then dumbasses!” He pushed their group towards a small grouping of chairs.
“Baby gay explainnnnn, I wanna know about your first boyfriend!” Jirou whines while waving Tsu into their corner. The frog girl rolls her eyes but makes her way over to plop on Ochako’s lap.
“It’s not that big a deal!” Exasperated, Bakugou throws his hands in the air. “He’s the fucker from our provisional exams first year that nearly took out all you extras.”
It was Deku who sputtered and whipped his head around to look at Katsuki. “You’re dating Shindo Yo?!??”
Bakugou glared, “Got a problem with that?”
“Be nice ‘Suki,” Momo called from across the room. The blonde huffed but complied, relaxing into the furniture.
“So are you guys dating dating or ya know-“ Ochako made a crude gesture that had half the room choking on their drinks watching as they expected an explosion. Her eyes were twinkling mischievously as she peeked around Tsu’s form curled up in her lap. Bakugou flashed her a smug grin in response. Momo’s jaw dropped and she squealed before rushing over to them. “You are explaining yourself tonight Katsuki, I want every detail!”
“Yeah, yeah don’t you have extras to tutor?” She flushed before rushing back to help their class.
A happy Tetsutetsu arrived at Yaoyorozu’s house with Kendo by his side to pick up their friends. A dark haired man was waiting by the door when they walked up. He was leaning against the wall with his phone in hand. He flashed them a smile and tucked it in his pocket.
“Hi! You here to see class 3-A?” His posture and grin were laidback and relaxed. His voice seemed tense as he looked Tetsu up and down.
“Yeah, we’re just waiting on my boyfriend and his friends.” Tetsu said. Shindo’s eyes darkened.
“I’m waiting on my boyfriend too.” An awkward silence fell over the three before the door opened and people started leaving. Denki was one of the first out closely followed by Sero and Mina. Not far behind them was Eijirou who had an odd look in his eye. A confused Shinsou followed their group off to the side as Bakugou grinned and locked eyes with Shindo. The taller man scooped the blonde up in a hug as he pulled back put a bag in Bakugou’s hand.
“You left your stuff at my place last night. I figured you’d want it for your girls night.” He tucked an errant lock of spiky blonde behind Katsuki’s ear.
“You sure it wasn’t just because you missed me?” Bakugou teased back with a smirk, one hand trailing up Shindo’s chest.
“Maybe, maybe not,” those that were just leaving caught sight of the two and gaped but were quickly ushered down the path. Shindo’s eyes flicked to Eijirou and Tetsu before he swooped in for a kiss. “Send me a text when you need me.”
Bakugou nodded and slipped back inside with a dopey grin and four girls squealing behind the door.
Shindo looked Tetsu and Eijirou up and down before scoffing and walking away muttering. “You don’t deserve him anyways.”
The two flinched before following their classmates off of the property. It seemed that they didn’t stand a chance now.
“What are you gonna do?” Denki asked them quietly from beside Shinsou and Sero.
They shared a glance, interlacing their fingers. On one hand Bakugou likes boys, he’s gay. On the other he may or may not be dating someone else.
“Nothing,” Kirishima sighed as he leaned into Tetsutetsu. “We lost our chance months ago.”
Shinsou looked at them then looked at Sero who nodded. The purple haired boy grimaced but kept silent for the time being. It’s possible they could stand a chance especially if they haven’t addressed the subject with Bakugou, Shinsou thinks. But for this to work, someone would have to get to the bottom of the situation.
Getting to the bottom of the situation was much harder than anticipated. Shindo was a new constant in their lives after midterms. He appeared at the dorms and hung out with the blonde and his girls but no one else dared to approach. Kiri and Tetsu wanted to hate Shindo, they really did. However he treated Katsuki like a king, he treated him like an equal but still looked at him like he was made of the most precious materials on Earth. Katsuki shined under Shindo’s attention. The old BakuSquad were not the only ones to notice. Shindo had appeared at their dorm doors to take Katsuki on a date. He chatted easily with Ochako and Jirou until Bakugou had waltzed down the stairs in ripped jeans that hugged his ass and a tight shirt covered by a jacket.
The jacket was Shindo’s hero merch and had his signature in gold on the collar. Bakugou smirked before grabbing his boyfriends hand to drag him out.
“They’re so cute,” Hagakure sighed.
“I’d be surprised if he comes back tonight.” Jirou snickered and Momo gasped.
Sero looked contemplative before he opened voiced his own opinion, “They look... happy.”
Ochako’s gaze darted over to their group and her gaze seemed to flicker between emotions. “They aren’t in love, but yes. They’re happy.”
Shinsou glanced at the brunette who was staring Kirishima down before looking away. He knew there was something going on. Something that he just needed to get to the bottom of. He started with the person he knew would tell him at least something.
His boyfriend.
Denki looked at his boyfriend from his place on his bed, back to the numerous pillows and plushies he accumulated over the years. The lilac eyes pierced a hole in his head as he squirmed.
“Okay okay fine! It started when we found out Kirishima liked Bakugou.”
Shinsou raised a brow.
“We thought they’d get together and started making silly bets. They were close and spent a lot of time together.” Denki started messing with the strings hanging from his torn jeans. “Mina tried to talk to Bakugou about it but it went wrong.”
“What do you mean by wrong Denks?” Hitoshi asked, tugging the nimble fingers away from the threads.
“She told him to stop texting for a bit, see if Kiri still liked him when he didn’t text him constantly. Play hard to get yanno?”
Hitoshi groaned internally, this was going to get complicated real fast.
“And Kiri started assuming things because we saw Bakugou leave Mina’s room after a girls night but we didn’t know it was a girls night or that he’s gay.” Gold eyes darted up to meet his own. “We all assumed.”
“Right so after that girls night what happened?” Hitoshi pushed for further information.
“Well Kiri started hanging out with Tetsu more then they went on a date. After that Bakugou and Uraraka started their little group.”
“The same Uraraka that watched her crush get with someone else and said nothing because he was happy? She bonded to Bakugou? Right after those two himbos got together?” Denki nodded and blinked with apprehension growing in his eyes.
“Yeah, they assumed the two were dating and that they had no chance. Bakugou pulled away after that. The other two blamed themselves.” The smaller man tapped his fingers on Hitoshi’s arm. “Do you really think...”
“I think Bakugou liked them. I think when they got together Uraraka saw herself in Bakugou and they bonded. I think that those two pushed him away and it’s their own fault for assuming things especially who he was dating and his emotions on the situation.”
Shinsou groaned and flopped forward into Denki’s lap. “I can’t deal with this, hold me before we have to address this situation with the dumbos who caused it.”
Denki complied and ran his fingers through the purple locks as he wrapped his brain around what he just learned.
Shinsou sat the two larger men down in his room and took a very deep breath. “You done fucked up.”
Kiri and Tetsu made confused noises. Shinsou held up a hand before he continued to speak.
“No, listen. You assumed a lot about Bakugou. You assumed who he was dating and you assumed his emotions. You pushed him away even though he obviously liked you both.” The two men’s jaws dropped. “You never even talked to him about anything.”
“But you’re saying he liked us!?!” Kirishima blurted.
“Yeah, he connected to Uraraka right after you both got together because he watched two himbos get together just like she watched Mido and Todo.”
“Wh- what now?” Tetsu asked. Shinsou opened his mouth only to be shut off by Kirishima.
“We have to tell him, maybe he still likes us! Maybe we have a chance!”
The redhead dashed out of the room followed closely by Tetsu and Shinsou was left alone.
“This isn’t going to go over well.”
Kirishima dashed into the common room just in time to see Katsuki walk out the front door. Tetsu wasn’t far behind. They sprinted out the door shouting for Bakugou to wait.
“What?” The blonde asked as he looked at his phone buzzing from Shindo’s texts.
“Bakugou listen we like you! We’ve liked you for a while now!” Kirishima looked so, so desperate as he clung to his last string of hope.
Bakugou froze. Around the corner of the hedges, Shindo froze as well.
“Why are you telling me this now?” His voice was low, hurt.
Tetsu flinched. “We assumed you pulled away because you didn’t like us and you were dating Uraraka.”
“We assumed you were tired of us and you thought we were annoying.” Kiri continued trying to make him understand.
“And so you decided that telling me now would what?” The blonde shouted in their faces. “Let me guess you thought you could change my mind.”
Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were silent under his harsh glare as tears dotted his vision. “You two think I would get with you after you assumed everything about me?! You never asked, never communicated ANYTHING!!!”
“Shindo, he asks me about my emotions, my thoughts, my opinions. He NEVER assumes. He knows what it’s like to have people assume things, he knows what it’s like to be in my shoes and makes me want to push myself to be my best!”
Bakugou clenched his fists as explosions popped around him in his anger. “He helped me, stood by me, waited for me to get the fuck over you. I love him and I would never leave his support for you.”
Tears fell from both sides and Bakugou stormed around the corner, straight into Shindo’s chest. “Shhh, sweetheart, I’ve got you.”
Shindo ushered him down the street towards his car. “I love you too Kats.”
Behind them in the yard of the 3-A dorms, Tetsu and Kiri were frozen in place as they stared into space. Bakugou’s words ran through their heads on repeat swirling their thoughts around as Shinsou looked on from the porch and sighed. They had to learn somehow.
~Epilogue~
Class 3-A had graduated. At the ceremony Todoroki had proposed to Deku. Ochako cheered, no longer affected, as she kissed her girlfriend Tsu on the cheek. Shindo whistled and cheered from his seat with Katsuki’s parents as the blonde got his hero license. Two months later, invitations went out announcing two weddings. The first was Deku and Shouto’s and the second was Jirou and Momo’s. It had been nine months after graduation when Momo amd Jirou tied the knot. Bakugou was Momo’s best man. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu watched from afar.
They saw how happy he was and they got to be front row witnesses to Shindo proposing to the number 15 (and climbing) hero Dynamight at the reception of the two women’s wedding after Momo tosses her bouquet straight into the blondes arms with a laugh. While the two were happy, a piece of them would always be left with the blonde, buried in his smiles and his victorious laughs.
But Katsuki... he had never been happier. Everything he ever wanted and loved was right here in his arms surrounded by his friends and family.