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Kirishima and Bakugou start dating at the start of second year, surprising pretty much no one. They didn't so much announce it as they did start flopping all over each other and calling each other pet names ('dumbass' and 'shitface' may as well be pet names coming from Bakugou, anyway) in front of everyone and expecting the class to go with it.
Which they did. Because, well. Kirishima and Bakugou.
It didn't surprise anyone that Bakugou would drag Kirishima upstairs while announcing he was going to make out with his boyfriend; it wasn't a shock that Kirishima whistled and cheered 'you go, baby!' while he watched Bakugou sparring with one of their classmates. Everyone expected Kirishima to be as clingy as Bakugou was possessive.
The cuddling, though. That's a bit...uh.
Well, not a surprise, exactly. It's just something everyone expected to be more private, between the two, and largely initiated by Kirishima. Bakugou isn't the touchy-feely short, after all...they thought.
Actually, Bakugou Katsuki is a giant baby about cuddle time with his boyfriend and he is not shy about it.
___
Poor Kaminari is first to be slapped with the revelation, interrupted in the middle of hangout time with his bro when Bakugou comes storming in, clearly fresh out of his work study and exhausted as hell, and immediately drops himself into Kirishima's lap like a sack of turnips.
And he just. Curls up there. Face tucked into Kirishima's neck, grumbling something unintelligible but unmistakably whiny.
Kaminari blinks, wondering in a panic if he's entered some kind of alternate universe, as Kirishima just murmurs soothingly back, kisses Bakugou's forehead and begins petting his explosive boyfriend like this is a normal thing.
He turns to Kaminari and, smiling politely, says, "Sorry, bro, you were saying?"
Kaminari blinks again. "Uh...what is happening?"
And Kirishima replies, "Nothing you need to worry about," at the same time Bakugou answers, "Just fuckin' pretend I'm not here, Dunce Face," in a growl muffled against Kirishima's neck. Kirishima shushes him again, and that's that.
For his own sanity, Kaminari chooses to write off the scene as a fluke and continues with the conversation.
___
Midoriya's report almost a week later confirms that, no, actually, that had not been a one-off. In fact, the scenario he describes is almost identical to the one Kaminari had witnessed, just in a different room. Midoriya's, to be exact.
Kirishima and Midoriya had been paired for an English assignment, and had been working on it together when the knock came. Midoriya has a brief moment to wonder who it could be before he comes face to face with Bakugou's...well, face. In true Midoriya fashion, he jolts and squeaks in surprise.
"Kacchan! What are you doing here?"
Bakugou scoffs. "What else? Glasses said my boyfriend was up here with you."
He doesn't ask to come in, but his unwavering gaze seems to demand it. Even as flustered as he is, Midoriya is still fluent enough in Bakugou to understand, and easily steps aside for him. Bakugou brushes past him without another word, goes up to Kirishima, and nudges his boyfriend's knee with his foot.
"I need my pillow, fucker," he says; and Kirishima, being just as fluent in Bakugou as Midoriya, scoots back and pats his thighs, inviting Bakugou to cuddle into the space like a grouchy kitten.
Midoriya just. Stares for a second. At a loss for words as Bakugou leans against Kirishima's chest with a contented sigh, nosing into his shirt. Kirishima winds his arms around him and reaches for his worksheet like Bakugou isn't a hindrance whatsoever. He looks up at Midoriya with an easy smile.
"Ready to keep going?"
To his credit, Midoriya recovers faster than Kaminari, even if he does stumble over his words as he says, "Oh, yeah, of course," and scrambles back over to the table like he's on fire.
He tries his best not to look at the ball of rage and spite snoring softly in Kirishima's arms, but Bakugou doesn't appear to be in the mood to yell at him about it, anyway.
___
Incident number three occurs in Mina's room, where the couple in question is lounging on her bed with Sero, with herself flopped onto her favorite beanbag chair and Jirou and Kaminari sprawled out like bizarre rugs on her floor.
It's movie night, which like any other squad hangout night, started off rowdy and obnoxious (as a bunch of teenagers are wont to be), then steadily grew more quiet and sleepy as the night wore on. Kaminari or Mina would occasionally chime in with some silly comment about the movie, but their voices became hushed as the late hour seeped into their brains and wore them down.
Now, the sound of insistent shuffling on the bed makes sluggish brains slowly reboot, everyone looking over to where Bakugou is currently trying to become Kirishima's new weighted blanket. Kirishima is speaking to him in the quietest whisper he can manage, but some bits of conversation still slip through in the dead silence of the room.
"...should just head up to bed if you're this tired...pretty late..."
"...not gonna fall asleep...want you to hold me..."
The others in the room share glances, but any potential commentary is silenced by a warning glare from Kirishima. He eventually sighs and allows Bakugou to collapse onto his chest. Gentle hands begin petting the spiky blond head as weary, befuddled gazes turn back to the movie.
Bakugou does fall asleep on top of Kirishima, despite his insistence otherwise, then protests in pouty tones when his boyfriend tries to shake him awake at the end of the evening.
"Carry me," he demands, and not a single voice pipes up to tease or question as Kirishima scoops him up and carries him out the door.
__
As they say, once is an anomaly, two times is a coincidence, but three...well, three times and the class just has to accept that this is life, now. Bakugou is a vicious cuddle monster and Kirishima is his willing victim.
And normally, the confirmation that this is something Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight does, holy shit, would prompt plenty of good-natured ribbing from the class, particularly from the squad. But any time the thought arises, there's a look from Kirishima or a grumble from Bakugou and the urge soon dies. It occurs to the class quite quickly that this is something too personal to be touched by jokes and teasing. This is something that Bakugou is letting them see, and to poke fun would be to cut them off from any other sort of privilege, indefinitely.
So everyone just gets used to it. After a while, it seems normal to find Kirishima cradling Bakugou in his lap on the common room couch, or for Bakugou to barge in somewhere and wiggle his way into his boyfriend's arms. It's second nature to make room for him or to lower their voices when he inevitably falls asleep, all curled up against his favorite person.
It's eventually so normal that when someone does finally make the mistake of laughing about it, the whole class is shocked.
Well, okay, not that shocked, because, uh. The idiot with the death wish is Monoma. Because he still hasn't let go of his incredibly loud rivalry with Class A. Apparently.
___
The School Festival has come again, and this year, 2-A has put together a café. Some students dedicate themselves to setup, others to being waitstaff, and some are assigned kitchen duty--Satou, Asui, Uraraka, and Bakugou, to be specific, given that they're the best chefs in the class and no one wants to poison the rest of the student body, thank you very much.
Once the festival comes to a close, the cooks are shooed off to get a break, which means Bakugou makes a beeline for his boyfriend to make himself at home on his lap.
Kirishima protests at first. "Babe, I should really help clean up...can we take a nap later?" But Mina just laughs and waves at him.
"Go ahead and be on Bakugou duty," she says. "You practically set up the whole booth by yourself; we can take care of things from here."
Kirishima nods, then settles back with poorly-disguised relief, letting Bakugou settle happily in his lap.
Monoma enters the scene as though he's sniffed out a happy 2-A moment like some kind of vindictive bloodhound. He sneers once his eyes catch the cuddly pair, oblivious to all the eye-rolling around him.
"Well, look at this! Class 2-A slacking off? Meanwhile 2-B is still slaving away at our booth!" He ignores the tired sighs that respond to his boasting, and leans forward, grin widening.
"And, oh, could it be? Is this Bakugou Katsuki, the supposed Beast of Class A? Looks more like a snuggly little puppy-dog to me!"
If anyone notices the way Bakugou tenses, they don't say anything. Kirishima's only response is to glare at Monoma and curl his arms tighter around Bakugou.
"More like a sleeping bear," Sero comments, loudly enough that it gets Monoma to turn his eyes away from the couple. Ashido chuckles, adding to the subtle defense for Bakugou's privacy.
"Yeah, keep poking, Monoma. None of us will save you when Bakugou blows you to pieces for interrupting cuddle-time."
Monoma laughs, but the sound is weak, especially with all the eyes on him. "You're trying to intimidate me!" he insists. "Your tricks won't work!"
Kaminari shakes his head. "I pity you, man."
Then, from behind Monoma, a voice growls, "Fucker, I am tired and I am fucking comfortable, and so help me if you make me get up to torch your ass..."
The crackle of Bakugou's quirk isn't that loud in an area still bustling with students, but it makes Monoma jump like a cat who's had its tail stepped on. His laugh warbles even more.
"I should get back to my class!" he announces abruptly, looking anywhere but at Bakugou. "This isn't over, Class A!"
He retreats in true Monoma fashion, still laughing like a maniac.
___
Bakugou doesn't lower his hand until the idiot is out of sight, and then he relaxes fully back against Kirishima's chest. Kirishima gives him a kiss and a nuzzle while in the background, the rest of the class shakes their heads and goes back to cleaning up. Bakugou only relaxes more, sighing softly as Kirishima massages his shoulder.
Lips close to Bakugou's ear, Kirishima whispers. "That was a lot of attention, babe. You took it really well."
Are you okay? is what he's asking; but Kirishima has only ever offered praise for the things Bakugou has found difficult, and never dug too far into weaknesses that Bakugou wasn't ready to tackle.
He smiles now, warmed by the person who makes him feel the safest in this world, and by the friends who have come to stand in defense of them both.
"Yeah," he murmurs back, sighing again against Kirishima's neck. "Yeah, I did."