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Kirishima Eijirou was a massive dork. The BIGGEST dork! He was short, goofy, had long, black hair, and was incredibly loud. He was also the most outgoing person Katsuki had ever met. He was the ‘little brother’ type in the friend group. Everyone treated him like a kid because he was the smallest boy in class—hell, in their grade. And yet, he easily stole Katsuki’s heart.

Katsuki moved to Musutafu at the start of their first year in high school. He hated it there. The small Podunk town had nothing to do in it and everyone knew everyone. All the kids grew up together and there was only one school building. Katsuki felt like an outsider. All he could do was count the days until graduation so that he could move back to Tokyo for university. He was the fashionable city kid, and it took most of the year for people to stop treating him like a zoo exhibit. On the contrary, his classmates all behaved like they belonged in a zoo.

Kirishima was the only one that treated him normally right from the start. He was unphased by Katsuki’s abrasive personality and desire to be left alone, doing whatever he could to get Katsuki involved with everyone in and out of class. The loser was an entire head shorter than Katsuki, but he always draped himself over Katsuki as if he were taller. Kirishima received constant teasing from his friends, but he took it in stride. It pissed Katsuki off. How could he tolerate always being made fun of like that? Stupid idiot.

No one paid Kirishima any mind romantically. The girls joked about how he would be a last resort pick. Even Ashido Mina, who was Kirishima’s neighbor and childhood friend, said there was no way they would ever date. Ashido was the most fashionably dressed out of all the girls. She wore clothes as if she walked straight out of Harajuku. She was the it-girl of Musutafu, though she would still pale in comparison to actual Tokyo girls. They’d take one look at her and know in an instant that she was from the countryside.

If everyone thought so little of Kirishima, then what the hell was this?! They returned from spring break of their second year with a shock. Katsuki had been waiting at his desk impatiently for Kirishima to show up. Kirishima was always the last one to rush through the door before the bell rang, but he was even later that first day back to school. When he walked in, no one recognized him at first. Only Katsuki.

They were supposed to hang out over spring break, but Kirishima canceled on him. Katsuki loathed to admit his disappointment, but he had in fact been that—disappointed. He didn’t have the courage to ask Kirishima to hang out so when his friend texted him saying he wanted to spend a lot of time together over the break, his heart fluttered in his chest and his cheeks burned in anticipation. He intended to chew Kirishima out for bailing on him.

Instead, the person that walked into the classroom just as the bell rang was a head taller than Katsuki with bright red hair and sharp features. Gone was the baby fat as his skin stretched to accommodate the growth spurt that occurred in the last couple of weeks. His school uniform was too short on his body, the sleeves stopped halfway down his forearms and his pantlegs looked more like capris. Dressed like that, he appeared even goofier.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone,” Kirishima said, rubbing nervously at the back of his neck. “I had to stop in the office to order a new uniform.”

“You’re so tall!”

“What happened to your hair?”

Everyone was in shock. No one more than Katsuki. Kirishima explained that his sister was training to be a hair stylist and wanted to practice for her hair dyeing exam. He let her use him as a guinea pig. It suited him. Though Katsuki liked him plenty with black hair as well.

Kirishima approached him during their first break. He knelt in front of Katsuki’s desk and with his new height, he had no issues remaining at eye level with Katsuki when doing so. “Sorry I canceled our plans during break. I was bedridden for the entire second half of spring break. My body was so sore.”

Katsuki scoffed. “Whatever. S’not like I was looking forward to it or anything.” His ears burned as Kirishima studied him. Was that disappointment on his face? Katsuki tried not to think about it.

Kirishima pressed his lips into a thin line. “Do you wanna hang out after school today?”

Katsuki clucked his tongue. “Sure, I guess.”

“Great!” Kirishima beamed. “I’ll meet you at your house after I change.”

An involuntary snort escaped Katsuki. “You don’t wanna go out dressed like that?”

Kirishima glanced down at his too-small school uniform and shook his head with a smile. “I’d rather not.”

Katsuki felt better after they made new plans. Kirishima would probably want to go to the river or something. He liked being outdoors. Katsuki didn’t mind it, though he complained on principle. If the rest of the losers didn’t tag along, then it would be fine.

The most shocking part was how the rest of the school reacted. Three days into the new school year, Kirishima had a uniform that fit him, and his hair was styled (courtesy of his sister). Everyone took notice of the class runt. Girls in other classes whispered about him. The guys on various sports teams were asking him to join their practices. He was pulled in every direction. And of course, he didn’t seem to mind. He was completely unphased by the new attention, just as always. As the week went on, Katsuki felt like he saw Kirishima less and less. Irritation began to boil.

Katsuki stood, bag of lunch in hand, and opened his mouth to tell Kirishima to eat with him on the roof.

“Kiri~ There’s a girl here to see you in the hallway,” Ashido announced in a sing-song voice. She draped herself over his shoulder and poked him in the cheek. “Mr. Popular.”

Kirishima blushed and brushed her off. “I’m not that popular.”

“So are,” said Kaminari. He blew his blond bangs out of his face and gave Kirishima finger guns. “Suddenly everyone wants a piece of you.”

“You’re exaggerating,” said Kirishima. His eyes met Katsuki’s. Katsuki turned with a huff, heading for the door at the front of the class to head to the roof on his own. “Ba—”

“Kiri don’t keep her waiting!” said Kaminari, shoving Kirishima out into the hallway through the back classroom door as Katsuki walked away.

He heard the tail-end of the greeting as an upperclassman sheepishly asked Kirishima to take a walk with her. Katsuki marched down the hallway with purpose, heavy footsteps thumping loudly on the tile floor as he made his way towards the staircase that led to the roof.

Katsuki liked Kirishima first. He acknowledged his charms and found the dorky side of him cute. Everyone else only saw him at surface level. They knew him for years but didn’t give two fucks until he went from unconventionally attractive to outright hot. Why did Katsuki have to be subjected to such torment?

Bakugou Katsuki wasn’t jealous! He didn’t do jealous. There was no reason to be jealous of a bunch of extras from some backwater town. It’s not like a relationship with Kirishima would ever come to fruition. That smalltown dork would likely take over his family’s grocery store and he’d marry one of the local girls. Everyone’s bets were on Ashido despite her protests.

In two years, Katsuki will be back in Tokyo on some university campus, likely living in the dorms. In the microscopic chance that Kirishima reciprocated his feelings (he wouldn’t), they’d still end up breaking up when Katsuki moved away, and Kirishima inevitably stayed behind. Not that they talked much about their post-secondary plans. Kirishima would rather play video games and go jumping off the small bridge in the woods into the river. It scared the piss out of Katsuki the first time he did it with the others. They purposely neglected to tell him the river was only four meters deep at that bridge.

Katsuki ate his lunch alone.

And the next day.

And the next.

The weekend came quickly. Katsuki slung his backpack over his shoulder and swapped out his shoes at the locker. He was outside of the building before Kirishima caught up to him. A heavy hand caught him by the shoulder and spun Katsuki to face him. He was not used to that yet. Kirishima hadn’t been the type to just easily spin him at a whim.

“Bakugou,” he said, a little breathless. “Let’s walk home together.”

Katsuki pinched his brows together. “Aren’t you a little busy for that?”

“What?” asked Kirishima, confused.

Katsuki wanted to be happy about them walking home together, but every time either one of them tried to be around each other in the last week, Kirishima was dragged away. “You don’t have to waste your time on me. I’m not the charity case new kid anymore.”

Kirishima narrowed his gaze at Katsuki. He literally looked down on him as he towered over Katsuki. “Why would you say that? You’re my friend, not a charity case!”

Katsuki shrugged him off. “Doesn’t really seem like it. Don’t you have some girl to see or a club to go join?”

“Bakugou…” Kirishima pursed his lips. “Are you jealous?”

Katsuki took an affronted step back. “Fuck you. I’m not fucking jealous!”

Kirishima smirked, then threw his arms over Katsuki’s shoulders and hugged him to his chest. “Awe, that’s so cute. Bakugou Katsuki, the loner king, is jealous.”

Katsuki elbowed him in the stomach. “I’m not fucking jealous.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it. I’ve missed you too. It’s weird having so much attention.” Kirishima released him, but he kept one arm firmly planted on Katsuki’s shoulder as they started their walk home together. “Don’t worry. I could never forget about my best friend.”

Right. Best friend. That’s all Katsuki was and that’s all he’d ever be. His shoulders slumped as his heart hammered in his throat. He fucking hated this town. Despite the coil of anger and (not-)jealousy that wound its way through his body like a Jack-in-the-Box ready to burst, Katsuki relaxed into Kirishima’s hold. He let the warmth of their sides pressed together soothe the ache in his heart.

“Hey! Guys! Wait for us!”

Katsuki stilled. He glanced over his shoulder to see the rest of the idiot brigade rushing to catch up with them. He tilted his chin to look up at Kirishima and meet his gaze. Kirishima gave him a sheepish, apologetic grin and the box erupted. The spring doll bounced out of the toy and Katsuki’s fuse quite literally blew. His face went red, and he yanked himself free of Kirishima’s hold.

“Fuck this,” he snarled, before marching off by himself. Katsuki ignored Kirishima’s calls for him to come back and didn’t stop power walking until he was all the way home. He may or may not have started jogging once the school was out of sight.

He needed to get over his stupid fucking crush because that’s all it was. A crush. It was bad enough being singled out as the ‘city kid.’ He couldn’t let the others know he was ‘the gay one’ too. Rural areas were more conservative. No one would understand.

“Welcome home, Katsuki,” said his mother.

Katsuki stormed past her, up the stairs, and into his room, slamming the door for added effect. She let him be. He tossed his bag onto his desk and flopped onto his bed, face down. Katsuki let out a strangled cry into his pillow, exhausted from the week. He lay there with his face buried in his pillow for about a half hour until his phone rang. It was a video call from Camie, his upperclassman at his old school. Katsuki did not have the strength to deal with that sort of call at present. He pressed the reject button.

It rang again. Camie’s bright and bubbly face filled his screen, impatiently waiting for him to answer. Rejected. Another call. Rejected. On the fourth call, he finally answered, defeated.

Katsuki sat up in his bed and glared at her. “What?” he asked.

“Oh, Katsuki, baby. Your phone must be acting up. For some reason, my calls keep failing to go through,” she said innocently.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. She knew damn well he was ignoring her. “Weird,” he said sarcastically. “What do you want?” he asked again.

Camie popped her lips. “You should check the group chat more often.”

“I’d rather not.”

This time, it was Camie that rolled her eyes. “Anywhosie, I was talking to Shouto and Inasa and we wanted to come celebrate your birthday. Can you ask Mamma Mitsuki if we can come stay next weekend?”

“Fuck no.” Katsuki protested. “I don’t want you assholes staying here.”

Camie pursed her lips into a pout. “But we wanna see your new house and meet your friends. We haven’t seen you in so long.”

“I don’t care. No way am I having you meet them.” He could already see the chaos they would cause. Camie would get one look at Kirishima and Katsuki’s life would be over.

“Why not? Unless… OH-EM-GEE, do you not have any friends?” She had the audacity to giggle-snort.

“I have fucking friends.”

“Prove it.” Camie taunted.

“Fine!” Katsuki marched to his bedroom door and shouted down the stairs. “Ma! Camie, Half-and-Half, and Baldie are coming to stay next weekend.”

His mother popped into view at the bottom of the stairs and peered up at him. “You really gotta quit calling your friends by such weird nicknames.”

“I don’t gotta do shit!”

“Language, Katsuki!”

“Fucking fine!” He rolled his eyes. “Can they stay or not?”

Mitsuki smirked. “I suppose. I guess that means I should start preparing for a big birthday party. It’s been ages since you had one. Are Kirishima and the rest of your friends from school coming?”

“I haven’t asked them.”

“Well hurry up, brat! I need to know how much food to make.”

Katsuki groaned and slammed his bedroom door shut once more. Camie laughed at him through his phone screen.

“Still the same as always,” she teased.

“Fuck you.” Katsuki grumbled.

“I can’t wait to meet all your new besties. Especially whatshisname?”

Camie was fishing and Katsuki wasn’t falling for it. “I ain’t fuckin’ inviting them,” he said. No way was he having them all in the same room. Camie and Kirishima were both lethal in their own rights. They each knew too much. It was a death sentence if he allowed them to meet.

“Boo.” Her verbal disappointment didn’t match the glimmer in her eyes.

Katsuki frowned at the screen. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop.”

She shrugged coyly. “M’not thinking anything, babes. I’ll see you next weekend.”

The call ended and Katsuki said a silent prayer when her face disappeared from his screen. He needed some time alone to think and get his head on (metaphorically) straight. It wasn’t fair that Kirishima was out there living his best life, while Katsuki hopelessly pined for him in the confines of his bedroom. Now he had to deal with the clowns from his former middle school club in his house for a weekend to boot.

His phone chimed, but he ignored it. Whatever else Camie wanted to say, he didn’t care. Katsuki would spend the weekend doing anything but think about Kirishima and when Monday came around, he would be free of this curse. He would be unbothered by Kirishima’s stupid hair, face, height, muscles.

“Fuuuuck,” he groaned.

Katsuki’s phone rang. It was the personal ringtone Kirishima had set for himself. Asshole. Katsuki groped his mattress in search of it to see that Camie hadn’t been the one that texted.

“What do you want?” he asked. Pleasantries be damned.

Kirishima laughed good-naturedly. “Hey. I just wanted to check on you. You’ve been kind of weird all week and there was that whole thing after school…”

Katsuki rolled over and glared at his ceiling as if it had personally offended him. “I’m fine, Kirishima.”

“Right. Sure. Okay… Do you want to go to the park tomorrow and play baseball?” Baseball was a team sport. “Denki said—”

Katsuki exhaled loudly, cutting Kirishima off. “Why the fuck would I want to go hang out with all those losers?”

“Because they’re our friends.” Kirishima supplied.

“They’re your friends.” Katsuki argued, merely to be difficult. In truth, he didn’t hate the others, he just hated having to share Kirishima, which was ridiculous. Kirishima was their friend long before Katsuki arrived, and he would be their friend long after he was gone. That left a hollow ache in his chest and swallowed thickly.

“Bakugou,” Kirishima coaxed. “What’s really going on?”

Katsuki blinked, just now realizing he was on the verge of tears, his face hot with anger. “I liked you better before you changed,” he admitted. It wasn’t like Kirishima had actually changed. He had physically matured over spring break, but he was still the same goof on the inside.

Whatever Kirishima was expecting Katsuki to say, it wasn’t that. The pregnant pause that stretched between them was unbearable. “I’ll see you at school,” said Katsuki, finally breaking the silence before hanging up the phone. Maybe if Musutafu wasn’t such a remote, tiny town, he wouldn’t feel as shitty as he did. A bigger city meant more people minded their business. If Katsuki did confess, and Kirishima rejected him, the rumor mill wouldn’t spread to the entire town.

If Katsuki confessed and Kirishima rejected him…

There would be others. He wouldn’t feel singled out for his sexuality. Kirishima was nice enough that he probably wouldn’t call Katsuki weird or gross, but his niceties were the real issue. Katsuki could already picture him awkwardly trying to maintain their relationship, even though it had fundamentally changed. Kirishima looked at Katsuki as a friend, while Katsuki did not.

The weekend passed in a blur. Katsuki did his homework, watched television, and ignored messages from the group chats—there were multiple, one for his old friends, and several for his new friends. The idiots felt the need to make a new chat every other week. He always kept them on mute, lest he be bombarded with messages every five minutes. Katsuki failed to distract himself with games, thoughts constantly wandering to a now red-haired fool.

As he approached the school building Monday morning, a sense of dread nestled itself in his chest. He wondered how pissed off Kirishima was going to be when they inevitably crossed paths. Katsuki didn’t see him until he was seated at his desk waiting for the first bell to ring. Kirishima usually ambushed him at the shoe locker or dramatically draped himself over Katsuki’s desk, begging for last-minute help with the homework they had been assigned.

This time, Kirishima entered with a smile on his face and went straight to his seat. He greeted their classmates but said nothing to Katsuki. Katsuki chanced a glance at him, their eyes connecting, then Kirishima turned away. He was… sufficiently snubbed. Katsuki had no one to blame but himself.

During break, Kirishima sat with his tongue poking out between his teeth in concentration. “What are you thinking about so hard?” asked Ashido.

Kirishima shrugged. “I was debating dyeing my hair back to black. I’m not sure red’s really me.”

Ashido looked personally scandalized. “What are you talking about? It’s fire. Everyone loves it. Remind me to have your sister touch up my hair the next time I’m over.”

“You literally live next door,” said Kirishima with a groan.

“Bakugou!” Katsuki lifted his gaze to see Ashido waving at him. “You like Kirishima’s new hair, right? He looks soooo good.” She cooed.

Katsuki opened his mouth to speak, to say ‘yes, Kirishima does look good,’ but the moment was taken from him. “Leave Bakugou alone.” Kirishima protested. “He doesn’t care about stuff like this.”

Admittedly, that was true, but this was Kirishima. Katsuki cared when Kirishima was involved. He liked him before when his hair was black and stick-straight, but he loved the way the red hair framed Kirishima’s face and made his crimson eyes shine brighter. Katsuki dropped his head, burying his face in his arms.

The rest of the day was more of the same. Kirishima pointedly ignored Katsuki—not that he was sulking, because Bakugou Katsuki did not sulk—a first-year girl asked if he was dating anyone, the guys on the basketball team asked him to play a round with them, and their classmates continued to be noisy as ever. Did Katsuki secretly watch the game of three on three from the doorway of the gym during lunch? His rising heartbeat from Kirishima’s exposed stomach during a free throw would say he did. The way his shirt lifted as he stretched his arms over his head had Katsuki seeing stars.

He excused himself after that.

Kirishima didn’t talk to him on Tuesday either. He didn’t ask to have lunch together. He didn’t demand that they walk home together. Nothing. Katsuki wanted to apologize but he didn’t know how. Apologizing meant explaining why he said the thing he said and there was no way he could tell Kirishima the truth.

Come Wednesday, the entire class was on edge. They could sense that there was obviously something wrong. Surprisingly, it was Sero who attempted to bridge the gap. Katsuki sat alone on the roof during lunch when the heavy metal door creaked to let him know someone had joined him. Foolishly, he thought it was Kirishima. To his disappointment, another with long, dark hair crossed his field of vision.

Katsuki said nothing. He continued to eat in silence as Sero sat down next to him on the hard concrete surface, neither talking. When his food was gone, Katsuki gathered his bento and moved to stand, but Sero’s creepily long arms caught him before he could slip away. He pulled Katsuki back down on his ass.

“What?” he seethed, butt sore.

“Did you and Ei have a fight?” asked Sero, blunt as ever.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “No. Why?” It wasn’t entirely a lie. They didn’t fight, per se.

“Gee, I dunno,” said Sero sarcastically. “Maybe because the two of you have been joined at the hip ever since you moved here last year and now you haven’t said two words to each other all week. Sure looks like a fight to me.”

“It’s not a damn fight!” Katsuki barked. He was fed up with the brief exchange. Things were better this way. If Kirishima continued to ignore him, then maybe he could finally get over his useless feelings.

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing.” Katsuki huffed. “It’s not like we were that close. He’s got all of you and his endless line of suitors.”

Sero’s eyes widened, and a knowing smirk crossed his face. “Suitors? Really? What are you? Fifty?”

“Shut up.” Katsuki punched him in the shoulder.

Sero rolled his eyes. “Whatever you did, just apologize. He’ll forgive you in a heartbeat.”

Katsuki narrowed his gaze. “Why do you think it’s my fault?”

“Are you for real?” Sero teased. “If Ei did something to upset you, he’d never shut up about it. He’d be desperate to come up with a way to make it up to you. When he broke up with Mina in third grade, he followed her around for weeks begging her to not be mad at him.” He shook his head, laughing at his memory.

Katsuki’s breath hitched and he clenched his fist hard enough to dig his nails into his palm. “What?”

Sero’s laughter ceased. “Oh, shit. Did he not tell you about that?”

“No,” Katsuki said carefully.

“Look, it’s not a big deal. They dated for like a week. If you can even count it as dating when you’re nine years old.” Sero put his hands up apologetically.

All the times Ashido insisted she and Kirishima would never be a thing when they had already been a thing. Katsuki ground his teeth together hard enough to make his jaw pop. Fuck. So much for getting over his feelings. Sero continued to talk but Katsuki was too lost in his head to hear the words that came out of his mouth.

“Fucking whatever, Plain Face.” Katsuki cut him off and got to his feet quickly, moving out of Sero’s reach before he could catch him a second time.

“Bakugou! Wait!”

Katsuki gave him the middle finger and marched back inside. He was done with all the hicks in this shitty town. Two more years, he reminded himself. It would pass by before he knew it.

There was an argument that afternoon during gym class. Presumably, Sero confessed to Kirishima and Ashido about the conversation on the rooftop. Katsuki watched as more than one finger pointed in his direction. He ignored it, turning to stand at third base for the game of kickball they had been assigned to play. Seriously, who played kickball in eleventh grade?

Maybe if Katsuki had taken the game more seriously, he would have noticed the ball that came careening at his face. By the time he noticed it, it was too late to move. The red rubber slammed hard into his cheek, stinging his skin, and knocking him off balance. His feet were knocked out from under him and he hit the ground hard. Shouts were heard around him and the game was paused. The teacher called a timeout and blew the whistle. Katsuki stared at the cloudless sky in stunned silence. His face burned, he was dizzy, and his back ached. Perfect.

If it happened to someone else and he saw the instant replay, Katsuki would have laughed his ass off. But since it happened to him, the situation wasn’t all that funny. He tasted copper in his mouth and his tongue hurt. Oh… He bit his tongue. Fuck.

“Bakugou!” Kirishima was at his side, staring down at him with frantic eyes. He grabbed Katsuki by the chin, turning his head this way and that, inspecting him for further damage.

“Kirishima, don’t move his head like that. He might have hurt his neck.”

“Sorry, sir!” Kirishima apologized.

“Can someone take Bakugou to the nurse’s office?”

“On it, sir!” Without missing a beat, Kirishima had Katsuki off the ground and in his arms. Katsuki’s face burned with embarrassment that he hoped would be masked by the redness of the blunt force trauma. He was too dizzy to protest, but he saw the looks his classmates gave them as Kirishima carried him bridal style back inside the building.

As if the last week and a half hadn’t been bad enough, Kirishima’s little display of heroics garnered him even more attention from the other students. Katsuki had hoped the shiny newness would wear off soon but now Kirishima was sparkling all over again to everyone else. The difference being that Kirishima was back to treating him like normal on Thursday. They shared a tense moment in the nurse’s office.

Katsuki’s good looks, however, were marred by a swollen red cheek and a black eye. Perfect. He was going to knock Kaminari’s teeth out. That asshole was the one that kicked the ball at his face.

“I was just trying to ride the baseline, Kacchan!” Kaminari said to defend himself.

“I’ll ride your fucking baseline!” Katsuki shook his fist at him.

“Gross, dude. I’m not gay!”

It was said in jest. Katsuki knew that, but he froze like a deer in headlights. He should have laughed it off or gave Kaminari some sort of snarky remark, but when he said nothing at all, four pairs of eyes turned to him. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gulped, heart thumping erratically in his chest.

“Bakugou?” Kirishima pressed a hand to his shoulder, a comforting gesture, but Katsuki flinched.

Laugh it off.

Kaminari cleared his throat. “Um… I wasn’t like, legit calling you gay or anything. Obviously, you’re not…”

“Obviously.” Katsuki croaked, the word holding little strength on his tongue.

Kirishima continued to stare at him as Ashido forced a change in the conversation. It was awkward as fuck, but eventually, she, Sero, and Kaminari had moved onto the math test scheduled for that afternoon, bemoaning their ill-preparedness. Kirishima’s eyes stayed fixed on Katsuki, his gaze heavy and unsettling.

“I’m going back to the classroom,” Katsuki finally said, getting up abruptly from his spot on the courtyard grass. He didn’t wait to see if anyone would follow. He needed a moment to himself.

Katsuki had essentially outed himself by not saying anything at all and to three of the gossipiest people in school no less. Word would get out by the end of lunch. They had less than one hundred people in their grade. He could already feel the eyes and the whispers on him even if they weren’t there. Fuck. He wanted to skip the rest of the day and go home, bury himself in his bed and never return. Maybe he could ask his mother to homeschool him instead.

That would never work. They’d end up murdering each other if she was responsible for his education. His father on the other hand… No. He shook his head. Katsuki walked into a nearby bathroom and locked himself in one of the stalls until the end of lunch. It smelled of piss and mildew, but he didn’t care. So what if he was hiding? His emotional state looked a lot like his face, bruised and swollen.

He still had to make it through the rest of the school day. His decision not to invite anyone from Musutafu to his birthday was cemented. Katsuki didn’t want anything to do with these extras anymore. He would suffer through his friends visiting from out of town for a night, then come the following Monday, he would go back to how things were at this time last year. Katsuki was a loner. A recluse. He didn’t talk to anyone unless spoken to. He especially didn’t hang out with anyone. Not until Kirishima slowly eroded his walls. It was one of those instances where Katsuki hadn’t known it was happening until suddenly everyone had been let in. There were no borders left standing. Kirishima’s friendship was a Trojan horse. When Katsuki let him in, everyone else associated with him came bursting through too.

He punched the stall door, startling someone taking a shit next to him. Katsuki stepped out of the stall and washed his hands, then marched back to the classroom with his head down. His face hurt.

Katsuki saw the looks of uncertainty his so-called friends gave him throughout the rest of the day. No one approached him, not even Kirishima. Good. That’s how he wanted it. When the day ended, yet another person came to profess their supposed love for Kirishima. Katsuki didn’t wait around to hear the answer.

“Bakugou!” Kirishima’s cry was ignored.

Katsuki’s legs felt numb as they carried him to the shoe locker and out of the school building. He felt a wet sob threatening to burst free but pushed it down. He wouldn’t break down while still on school property and others could see. Heavy footsteps pounded behind him and he was yanked back to see a breathless Kirishima.

“Dude—” he huffed, trying to catch his breath. Katsuki failed to jerk his shoulder free. Kirishima had a firm grip on him and wasn’t letting go. “Wait.”

“Leave me alone,” said Katsuki. He didn’t trust his voice.

“Seriously, what’s your deal lately? It’s like you’re pushing me away.”

Katsuki raked his eyes over Kirishima’s disheveled form. He had one hand on his knee, while the other rested on Katsuki’s shoulder. His red hair fell in his face and his chest rose and fell in rapid succession as he worked to pull the air back into his lungs.

“Maybe I am,” said Katsuki. Pushing Kirishima away was the only way he’d be able to move on.

“I don’t understand what I did.”

“Nothing.”

“Then why—”

“Please, just leave me alone, Kirishima.” Whatever face Katsuki made must have been enough to punch through to Kirishima. He let Katsuki go and didn’t say anything else as he walked away. With every step that brought them further apart, Katsuki felt his heart rip apart even more.

The swelling on Katsuki’s face was gone when he woke up Friday morning. That was a start. The redness had subsided as well. Now, he just had the shitty black eye to contend with. He hoped it would heal quickly. He could still feel the warmth of Kirishima’s arms wrapped around his body as he carried him to the nurse’s office. Katsuki dressed himself and walked downstairs to see his mom sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. She lifted her gaze, eyes flicking to meet his, then returned to looking down at her food.

“You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks.” Katsuki said sarcastically.

She pushed her plate aside and stood, rounding the table, and catching Katsuki’s chin between her thumb and forefinger. His mother inspected his face while Katsuki scowled at her. “I can probably cover that up for you.”

“S’no point. Everyone’s already seen my black eye.”

“I meant the red puffiness from the crying.”

“I didn’t—!”

His mother pursed her lips. “Your room is right next to ours, brat. You think we can’t hear you crying?”

“Fucking great,” he spat, not meeting her eyes. She released him.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Katsuki slumped in his seat. “Not particularly.”

She licked her lips. “Kirishima and them coming to your birthday?”

“No.” Katsuki said curtly.

His mother hummed, not saying a word, then made her way over to her purse sitting in the entryway. She came back a moment later with concealer. “Lift your chin,” she said, pressing her pointer finger under his chin, forcibly lifting it for him. Katsuki obliged, simply because he was too tired to argue. They sat in silence as she made quick work of his under eyes. He’d just wash it off in the convenience store bathroom or something before getting to school, lest he had one more reason for people to talk about him when he arrived.

She closed the container and nodded her head once, satisfied with her work. “That’s better.”

His mother put the concealer back and pulled out a compact, holding the small mirror up to Katsuki’s face. The makeup was subtle. Maybe he wouldn’t need to wash it off. If no one got too close to his face, they wouldn’t notice it was there. Katsuki dreaded whatever he was going to walk into at school.

“Can I just stay home?” he asked. Katsuki hadn’t intended to say it aloud.

“You aren’t skippin’ school, brat. You wanna tell me what this is really about?”

Katsuki clucked his tongue but relented. “Pretty sure I outed myself yesterday…” He turned away, staring out the sliding glass door off the living room. He hadn’t come out to his parents yet either, though he suspected they already had an inkling.

“Outed as in…?” his mother coaxed.

A quick glance in his peripheral let him know she was watching him carefully. “Gay,” he said. “This town is too small and nosy. Why did we have to move here?”

“You know why,” she barked, though it lacked all its usual heat.

A pout took hold of Katsuki’s lips, and he slumped back in his chair. “Can I just go live with grandma and grandpa or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” His mother patted him on the back. “Eat quickly. It’s almost time to leave for school. We can talk about this when you get home. Your friends’ll be here tomorrow.”

Right. His friends. “Half-and-Half lives on his own. Maybe I can stay with him.”

“You’re not moving, Katsuki. We’ll talk about that Kirishima boy later.”

“I didn’t—”

“You sayin’ it ain’t about him?” She raised a skeptical brow. Katsuki refrained from answering. He got up from his seat and made himself a quick breakfast before rushing out the door. It figured that his mother saw right through him. She always did. He hated that about her. They were remarkably similar.

School was unusually normal. Katsuki kept waiting for someone to make a scathing remark or call him names but the only thing out of the ordinary was that Kirishima and the rest of the idiots refrained from talking to him. Which wasn’t that out of the ordinary as of late. Katsuki made it clear he didn’t want to be around anyone.

Did the rumor mill break down?

Kirishima glanced at him repeatedly throughout class but never once approached him. Katsuki could feel his lingering gaze and it made his stomach coil into knots. He exited the classroom at lunch, wanting to be free of Kirishima’s watchful eye. Unsurprisingly, there were girls in the hall outside their classroom yet again.

“Did you ask him?” one first-year girl asked another.

The other girl nodded in disappointment. “Yeah. Same thing he’s said to everyone else. That he appreciates my feelings, but he has someone he likes.”

Katsuki was not one for gossip. He prided himself on being above all that, but he couldn’t deny the fact that his feet came to an abrupt stop. The underclassmen were obviously talking about Kirishima. That’s all everyone has talked about for the last two weeks. But what was that about him having someone he liked? Kirishima was physically incapable of lying. It was something Katsuki had grown intimately aware of over the last year. He had the worst poker face, and he was wracked with guilt any time he tried to lie about something. So why would he do that now? And to tell the same lie to more than one person?

If it wasn’t a lie, then Katsuki felt doubly like shit. Here he was, hopelessly pining over his best friend, when apparently his best friend already liked someone. And he hadn’t told Katsuki. Did he not trust Katsuki with that information? It seemed like the sort of information he would have spent hours assaulting Katsuki’s ears with. Was he not worth being privy to that knowledge?

Not that it mattered. He already decided he was done with Kirishima and all the others. However, it didn’t stop the stinging in his heart. Katsuki walked away from the girls and instead of heading to the roof, he found a quiet stairwell to hide away while he ate his lunch.

Katsuki dreaded waking up and going to school on Saturday even more than he did on Friday. The group chat with Camie and the others had several ‘happy birthday’ messages in it and a reminder that they would be there in the afternoon. Not that he needed reminding. Out of curiosity, he checked the other group chats, not a single person from school had said happy birthday, not even Kirishima. It was unsurprising.

He hadn’t told them about his party, so they likely didn’t know it was his birthday. He was still new and anti-social last year. Katsuki hadn’t made friends with the others, so they didn’t know about his birthday until well after it had passed. Kirishima had chastised him for not telling them. He said that they would have celebrated regardless. That he was their classmate, and it didn’t matter if he was new or not. That same kindness did not seem to extend to this year.

Thankfully, Saturdays were only half a day. He’d go home at lunchtime and then he’d probably have a couple of hours to sit and wallow before the others arrived at his house. His parents wished him a happy birthday as he came down the stairs. Katsuki grunted a ‘thank you,’ and grabbed his bag to head to school.

The classroom was quiet when he walked in that morning. Much to Katsuki’s chagrin, Kirishima was uncharacteristically early. He rocked nervously on the balls of his heels, shuffling about the classroom, but never making eye contact. Fine. He didn’t want to look at the stupid red-haired bastard anyway. It would be a lot easier, however, if he quit running around the room.

“Take your seats, everyone.” Their teacher said, as he walked in. Only then did Kirishima settle down.

Katsuki put earbuds in during the first break and buried his face in his arms. He could disassociate like a champion, and he thoroughly intended to do so now. Katsuki was only successful in doing so for a few minutes. A tap on his shoulder brought him to attention and he lifted his gaze to see Kirishima standing in front of him with a small giftbag sitting on his desk by his arm. Katsuki sat up fully and pulled the earbuds out of his ears.

“What is this?” he asked, skeptical.

Kirishima took a step out of the way and pointed at the whiteboard. In the time he had his head down, someone wrote ‘Happy Birthday Bakugou’ on the board and there were dozens of little doodles to accompany it.

“Happy Birthday,” said Kirishima.

All the jealousy and resentment Katsuki had felt over the last couple of weeks melted away with the soft smile on Kirishima’s face. It wasn’t fair of the now-redhead to smile at him like that when he supposedly had someone he liked. His eyes sparkled and his skin tugged at the corners of his eyes.

“Happy birthday Bakugou!” the others shouted, throwing themselves over Katsuki’s shoulders and dumping small gifts onto his desk.

“How?”

Kirishima gave him a knowing smirk. “You told me your birthday last year. As if I would forget. It was still rude of you last year not to tell us beforehand. We would have celebrated.”

Katsuki chewed on his bottom lip, fighting the smile that threatened to split his cheeks. He wet his lips and spoke carefully, voice close to breaking. “So, what? You planned a surprise party?”

“It was hard to keep it a secret,” said Kaminari.

“Even with—”

“Even with you being an ass?” Sero supplied.

“Fuck you,” snapped Katsuki, feeling more like himself.

Kirishima knelt, resting his elbows on Katsuki’s desk so that they were eye level. “Open it,” he said, nudging the gift at Katsuki.

Katsuki sucked in a breath and carefully pulled the bag open. This didn’t mean anything other than Kirishima being a good friend, unlike Katsuki who had been a shit friend ever since they returned to school. He pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and reached inside, pulling out something hard, round, and smooth. “The fuck is this?” he asked, staring at the rock in his hand.

Kirishima snorted. “You remember the first time I took you to the river and you slipped on that rock?”

“You kept it?” asked Katsuki aghast.

“Nah.” Kirishima waved him off. “I couldn’t find that rock, so I grabbed a different one. Look, it’s got flecks of red in it like your eyes.”

“You have red eyes too, idiot.” Katsuki rolled the rock around in his hand. It was a pale white with bits of red and orange. For being a stupid fucking rock, he might say it was pretty. He set the rock down and peered back into the bag. There was something else in there. Katsuki pulled out a weathered comic book in cellophane shrink wrap: All Might the Ultimate: Special Edition vol. 3. On the front cover was a signature in black marker that Katsuki could faintly make out as the writer, Yagi Toshinori.

His eyes widened and his gaze flicked from the comic book to Kirishima. Katsuki swallowed hard. One sunny day last summer they were laying in the grass near the river eating ice cream popsicles to cool down. Kirishima had asked what kind of comic books Katsuki liked and Katsuki said he was a fan of the All Might comics. Kirishima laughed, with an ‘of course.’ Everyone liked All Might. Katsuki had confessed that his favorite issue was volume three. It wasn’t as exciting as some of the other issues, but in that one, All Might is still a young hero and he saves a little girl and her family. She later goes on to become a hero herself. He liked the story because it inspired future greatness.

“How did you…?”

Kirishima’s soft smile softened even more. “It took a lot of work, and I owe my parents a ton of chores. Those online auctions are no joke!”

Fuck. Katsuki wasn’t going to cry. No way in hell. It must have taken him months to track down a signed copy from the original publication. Some people could go their whole lives without finding something like that. He wanted to kiss Kirishima—to reach his hands out, grab him by his stupid, messy, shirt collar, and plant his lips fully against Kirishima’s. He couldn’t but he wanted to.

“Open mine!” Kaminari cut in, ruining Katsuki’s daydream.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, setting the comic book down on his desk and opening the card that Kaminari handed to him. “This coupon entitles Bakugou Katsuki to one (1) free dodgeball kick at Kaminari Denki. Face shots not included.”

“The fuck is this shit?”

“I’m paying you back!” Kaminari cheered.

“How is it paying me back when you kicked me in the face, and I got a black eye, but I can’t also kick you in the face?”

Kaminari gasped, clutching his pearls. “My face is better than yours, Kacchan. Think of what you’ll do to my fans if you ruin it?”

“What fans? Your mom?” Katsuki quipped.

“Were you wearing makeup yesterday?” Kaminari countered.

“The stupid hag put it on me!” Katsuki protested.

“Now who’s a momma’s boy?” teased Sero. Assholes. The lot of them. Katsuki opened Ashido and Sero’s gifts after—a pair of sunglasses and a Grumpy Cat phone charm. Ashido said it reminded her of Katsuki.

Their teacher came back into the room and frowned at the whiteboard. He gave Bakugou a small nod, then proceeded to wipe it clean. The others returned to their desks, but Kirishima lingered briefly. “Hey Bakugou,” he whispered, “Can I talk to you after school?” There was hope in his eyes that Katsuki proceeded to crush.

“I have plans.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“To your seat, Kirishima,” said their teacher. Kirishima hurried away. Katsuki stuffed his gifts into his bag hanging off the side of his desk and flipped open his textbook.

Katsuki had thought he would have a couple of hours before the others showed up. They had school today too and needed to take the train to Musutafu, so color him surprised when he walked out of the school building to the shrill sound of his voice.

“Katsukiiiiiiiiiiiii~ Hey!”

Tunnel vision kicked in. Standing next to the school gate were Camie, Todoroki, and Yoarashi. Katsuki put his head down, hoping she wouldn’t notice him. If he could just make it off the school lot, he could still manage the impending storm.

“Katsuki!” Camie waved her hand high in the air, drawing everyone’s attention.

An elbow nudged him in the side and Katsuki glanced to his right to see Kaminari giving him a strange look. “Hey Kacchan, you know that high voltage hottie over there?”

“I’ve never seen that crazy person before.”

“She’s calling your name. Your given name,” said Sero.

“Stalker.”

“I see him. Bakugou, hello.” Fucking Todoroki and his stupid hair.

Camie crossed the threshold separating their school from the outside world. She did not have permission to do so, yet that rarely stopped her. She wore a frilly mini skirt and a crop top, two things completely inappropriate for a school setting. “Katsuki, my darling, how could you ignore your future wife like that?” Camie was certifiably insane and lived to sow chaos. She threw her arms around his shoulders, pressing her chest into his, and crushed him with the far too intimate hug. He almost dropped his gift bag.

“Get the fuck off me, you cow.”

He shoved her away but not too hard. He wasn’t a total dick. Yoarashi caught her by the elbow, helping Camie steady herself in her high heels.

“That’s no way to treat a lady,” she chirped.

“Since when are you a fucking lady?”

“Since, like, always.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes.

“Bakugou?” Kirishima’s inquisitive eyes peered down at him.

Katsuki huffed, ignoring the questioning tone in his voice. He looked back at the three intruders and folded his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here so early? Did the lot of you skip school?”

Todoroki nodded. “Camie-senpai made a fair argument that the train would be a lot busier later and that it would make more sense to leave early.” He turned to address the others. “Hello. I’m Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou’s best friend.”

“The fuck you are!” Katsuki protested.

“GREETINGS, FRIENDS OF BAKUGOU!” Yoarashi’s booming voice drew everyone’s attention, as if his large stature wasn’t already grabbing attention.

“Uh, hey,” greeted Sero.

Katsuki sighed in defeat. “Baldie, Half-and-Half, Boobs, this is Plain Face, Dunce Face, Raccoon Eyes, and Kirishima.” He gestured from his old friends to his new friends. “Kirishima, Raccoon Eyes, Dunce Face, Plain Face, this is Boobs, Half-and-Half, and Baldie,” he said in reverse order. All seven of them stared at him. Katsuki hadn’t felt that scrutinized in ages.

“How come Kirishima is the only one you addressed by name?” Kaminari whined.

Katsuki groaned. They all shared proper introductions before Camie latched onto him once more. “All right, well, let’s go~” she said in a singsong voice. Camie began to drag Katsuki away when she noticed the others weren’t following. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave them a curious cock of her head. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Um, where?” asked Kirishima.

Fucking hell.

“To his birthday party, duh!”

The four of them shared a look. It was Kirishima who spoke up for them. “We weren’t told there was a birthday party.”

Camie looked from Kirishima to Katsuki and back and shook her head like a disappointed mother. “How could you be so silly and forget to invite your besties?”

“I didn’t invite anyone. I don’t care about celebrating my birthday. You idiots invited yourselves over.” Katsuki protested.

“YOU ALL MUST COME!” Yoarashi shouted. “WE ARE DYING TO GET TO KNOW BAKUGOU’S NEW FRIENDS.”

“You can take about twenty percent off the top there, Baldie.”

“Please come!” Camie begged, eyes laser focused on Kirishima and the others.

Todoroki nodded in agreement.

Katsuki sighed and glanced back over his shoulder. “My mom’s cooking. If you want to come…” So much for cutting them all out of his life. Not like he could do so now, when they planned a surprise party for him at school and Kirishima got him a gift that likely cost a fortune.

“For sure!” Ashido chirped. She latched onto Camie, freeing Katsuki from her grasp. “Your skin is, like, flawless. What do you use?” They descended into an obnoxious conversation about skincare routine, in which Camie mentioned she had all her products in her suitcase and that Ashido could try them out.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. Kaminari and Sero chatted with Todoroki and Yoarashi as they walked, and Kirishima fell into step beside Bakugou as they always did.

“You weren’t going to invite us to your birthday.” It wasn’t a question. Kirishima spoke quietly enough that only Katsuki could hear him. His voice was riddled with defeat.

Katsuki shook his head.

“Bakugou—” He grabbed Katsuki by the arm, pulling him to a stop. The others carried on in the direction of Katsuki’s house, not paying them any attention. The three idiots knew where he lived, after all. They stared at each other, two pairs of red eyes searching for answers to questions that hadn’t been asked. Finally, Kirishima asked, “Can we talk?”

“Let’s go, losers!” Kaminari shouted back at them from half a block up.

Katsuki gave him the bird, then pulled his arm free of Kirishima’s grasp. They started to walk towards the others, albeit slowly. Katsuki let out a shuddering breath. “I heard there’s someone you like,” he said, changing the subject.

This time, Kirishima was the one that halted. His feet stopped for the briefest of moments before he fell back in step with Katsuki once more. “Where did you hear that?”

“Some first-year girls. Said you rejected them saying there’s someone you like.” The look on Kirishima’s face told Katsuki everything he needed to know. It was true. Kirishima did, in fact, have someone he liked. “Guess it wasn’t a lie after all.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek, feeling nauseous. “You could have told me.” He said, after a long moment.

Kirishima looked like he was stewing in his thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak, but they were already at Katsuki’s house. The front door flung open, and his mother stepped out, smiling toothily at them all.

“I see you decided to invite everyone after all.”

“Not by choice,” groaned Katsuki.

“Mrs. Bakugou,” greeted Todoroki politely.

“Shouto, dear, no need to be so formal.”

“Sup, Mrs. B?” Kaminari gave her finger guns.

“Kaminari, dear, you can be more formal,” she teased. His mother ushered everyone inside the house.

When Kirishima reached the door, he nodded his head to her politely. “Hello auntie. Thank you for having us.”

His mother, Mitsuki, furrowed her brows in concentration, eyeing Kirishima curiously. “Kirishima, sweetheart, is that you? You really sprouted like a handsome weed since the last time I saw you.”

Kirishima’s cheeks flushed red at the compliment and Katsuki scowled. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he spoke. “I had a massive growth spurt during spring break. I was stuck in bed the entire vacation.”

“I can imagine.” Her gaze flicked to Katsuki then back to Kirishima. “I see why Katsuki is so troubled.”

“What?”

Katsuki glared at his mother and shoved Kirishima through the door. “Nothing. Hurry up. I’m sick of standing out here.”

The others had already made their way to the living room by the time they walked inside. There was music playing from the stereo by the television and gaudy streamers strung on the walls. There were bowls of chips and other snacks covering the dining table. Katsuki slapped his hand to his forehead and scrubbed it down his face in defeat. It reminded him of all those kids’ parties with balloons and birthday banners. He was seventeen, not six.

A warm hand brushed his back and Katsuki stilled. Kirishima stood beside him with a soft smile on his face, then he walked past Katsuki to the snacks on the table, tossing a piece of matcha mochi into his mouth and chewing happily.

“Dinner’ll be ready at five,” called his mother as she walked into the kitchen, letting them be.

Katsuki dropped into the armchair and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He didn’t have the mental fortitude to handle hours of his friends in his home. He let out a heavy sigh, exhaling his frustrations. It was going to be a long day.

“Katsukiiii ~” His eyes snapped to Camie sitting on the sofa, Ashido on one side of her and Kaminari on the other. “Where’s that dark-haired shrimpy you’re always talking about? I thought we would get to meet him.”

Several eyes flicked to Kirishima who froze in place, a mouthful of chips stuffed in his face. Kirishima swallowed the chips in his mouth, cheeks flushed and pointed at himself. “You mean me?”

Camie furrowed her thinly plucked brows and squinted at Kirishima. “Sorry, babes. You’re hot A-F. Chibi-chan is supposed to be, like, tiny and mad cute.”

Ashido leaned into Camie’s side, phone out and presumably with her camera roll open. “This was Kiri before we went on spring break.”

“No shit, for real for real?” Her eyes widened as she repeatedly glanced between the phone and Kirishima. “Damn.” Camie whistled suggestively.

“Kirishima’s been getting asked out every day for the last two weeks,” said Sero.

“No doubt.”

“Guys,” whined Kirishima, “can we stop talking about that? We’re here to celebrate Bakugou’s birthday.”

“Speaking of,” started Todoroki. Just dandy. “Bakugou, what happened to your face? I didn’t realize we would be—what’s the word? —twining?”

“Twinning, boo.”

“Right. Twinning.”

Katsuki frowned, glaring at Kaminari. “I got hit in the face with a kickball.”

“I gave you a coupon!” Kaminari protested.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. He glanced down at the gift bag at his feet and sighed. “I’m gonna go take this upstairs.”

“Do you need help?” asked Kirishima.

Katsuki furrowed his brows. “No, dumbass. This thing is tiny.” He scooped the bag’s handles into his hand and marched upstairs. If only he could stay in his room for the rest of the day, but he couldn’t trust the others. Someone would end up saying something they shouldn’t. Camie was already a threat now that she knew who Kirishima was. He pushed open his bedroom door only for it to get stuck halfway. Katsuki grunted, looking down to see a suitcase and a duffle bag blocking his path.

He kicked the bag out of his way. Fucking morons. Katsuki set the gift bag on his desk and pulled the items out. He rolled the rock between his fingers, feeling the cool, smooth surface of the stone. Kirishima would be the kind of small-town moron that would get him a rock for his birthday. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he set the rock down and pulled the comic book out. He would need to get a proper display for it later. For now, he propped it up against the small lamp on his desk. Fucking Kirishima. The rest of the gifts were dumped unceremoniously onto his desk before he walked out of his room to return to the party. Katsuki stomped down the stairs to the sound of chatter and loud music. Ashido and Sero were dancing together while Todoroki bobbed his head along with the beat.

“Why the fuck were your bags blocking my bedroom door?” Katsuki barked.

“APOLOGIES, BAKUGOU! YOUR MOTHER SAID TO PUT OUR BAGS IN YOUR ROOM.” Yoarashi boomed from across the room.

“Who said you fucks could sleep in my room?”

“Mrs. Bakugou said we would sleep in your room and to put our bags in there, except for Camie-senpai.” Todoroki said flatly.

“Mm, yeah. I’m sleeping in the guest room, though I wouldn’t mind sleeping with you instead, hottie.” Camie had moved from her spot on the couch to the armchair Katsuki had previously occupied. She sat sideways in the chair, her body draped over Kirishima’s. His posture was tense beneath her, but his hands rested comfortably on her hips as she rested her elbow on his shoulder. Fucking bitch.

Kirishima laughed nervously at her joke. “I don’t think my mom would be okay with that.”

“You can stay with me!” Kaminari offered.

Camie pressed her pointer finger to her chin in thought, a devilish smirk on her glossy pink lips. “That sounds totes amazing, like massive slay, but I should probs stay here or Auntie and Uncle M might have words.” She shifted in Kirishima’s lap, throwing her arms around his neck.

Katsuki groaned. He hooked his arms under her armpits and dragged her off Kirishima’s lap. “Get off him.”

Camie’s feet hit the floor, and she was forced to stand. She pursed her lips into a pout and pulled her arms free from Katsuki’s grasp. “Fine. Party pooper.”

“It’s my party, I can poop if I want to.”

They all stared at him.

“Bakugou, as your best friend—” Katsuki shot a glare at Todoroki who snapped his mouth shut.

“What if we played a game?” asked Sero, turning down the volume on the stereo.

“Strip poker?” offered Kaminari.

“I’m still here!” Mitsuki called from the kitchen.

“I am also home,” said his father as he came walking into the living room.

“Haha, I was just kidding Mr. and Mrs. B.” Kaminari laughed awkwardly.

“Let’s just play Mario Kart or something,” grumbled Katsuki, moving to the Switch docked next to the television.

“Dibs on Toad!” called Ashido.

They took turns playing Mario Kart and set up a Round Robin tournament which Katsuki effortlessly won. They were halfway through Mario Party when dinner was ready to be served. Todoroki was currently in the lead with four stars and Katsuki was thankful for the interruption. If he had to have all his coins stolen from him one more time he would set the console on fire. It was not an overreaction. The only logical response to losing at Mario Party was mass murder.

“Kids, you can take your plates to the living room to eat,” said his father as he made room for himself at the dining table. The snacks had been condensed into smaller containers to allow his parents to sit at the table.

Katsuki plated his dinner and went to the refrigerator for a bottle of green tea. As he walked back into the living room, he saw Kirishima sitting on the far end of the sofa. Katsuki crossed the room with the intent of sitting beside him but before he could make it, Sero took a seat beside Kirishima and Todoroki on the other side of Sero. With the couch fully occupied, Katsuki had no choice but to take a seat in the armchair. He grumbled to himself, pissed off about having his spot stolen.

“Something wrong?” whispered Camie from over his shoulder.

Katsuki turned his head, their noses bumping together, and recoiled. “Fine,” he said curtly. “Go eat.”

Camie smiled at him, mischievously and went to sit on the floor directly in front of Kirishima’s feet. She set her plate on the coffee table and leaned back into his legs. Katsuki frowned; eyes fixed on the lot of them as they crowded Kirishima. Even at his own damn birthday party, he couldn’t get what he really wanted. He sighed as he stuffed a forkful of food into his mouth. Katsuki ate quickly, depositing his dishes into the kitchen sink. The others sang a shitty rendition of ‘happy birthday’ much to Katsuki’s chagrin, then his mother served cake for the lot of them.

“Mm, I should probably get going,” said Ashido, as she looked at the time on her phone.

“We should too,” agreed Sero. “I’ll walk with you,” he told her.

Camie did a stupid heart thing with her fingers and winked. “We should totes chill tomorrow before we leave.”

“Bet,” said Ashido.

Dear god, it’s spreading.

“I guess if they’re going, we should go too,” said Kirishima, grabbing Kaminari by the elbow.

Katsuki’s heart sank as he watched Kirishima head for the door and put his shoes on. He had been subjected to his friends’ torture all night despite not wanting to be around any of them and now Kirishima was preparing to leave with them having hardly talked the entire time. Katsuki had no reason to stop him, so he just followed the others to see them off. He stood in the entryway and waited. Sero headed out first, followed by Ashido, then Kaminari. Kaminari had just stepped onto the sidewalk when he turned around, having noticed Kirishima was not with him.

“Kiri, you coming?” he called back.

Kirishima looked at Katsuki, then turned to the door. “Go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you.”

Kaminari stared at him for a minute before nodding and disappearing down the street.

“Did you forget something?” asked Katsuki.

Kirishima shook his head. “Would you mind walking with me for a few minutes?” There was a hopeful look in his eyes as he waited for his answer.

Katsuki felt his throat close, and he nodded. “Y-yeah.” He turned around and shouted towards the living room. “I’m leaving for a few! I’ll be right back!”

“Okay, son,” called his father in return.

Katsuki reached for his jacket off the coat rack and slipped on his own shoes, following Kirishima out the door. They walked in silence to the end of the driveway and rounded the corner onto the street. The others were no longer in sight and a lump formed in Katsuki’s chest. What could Kirishima want to talk about?

“So, uh…” Kirishima started, scratching the back of his neck like he did when he was nervous. His steps slowed to a stop and Katsuki stopped along with him. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now, but things have been weird between us lately and I really hope it doesn’t make it weirder.”

Katsuki’s breath caught in his throat, and he swallowed thickly. An audible gulp sounded between them and his hands became cold. He stuffed them into his coat pockets to keep warm. “Okay,” he said, encouraging Kirishima to continue.

“It’s about what you asked me earlier.”

Katsuki had to think back. A lot had happened over the course of the day and his memory was foggy from it all. Finally, he settled on the question he had asked on their way to his house. “About you liking someone?” he asked, uncertain.

Kirishima nodded slowly. “Yeah. I was afraid you might hate me or look at me weird if I told you. I haven’t ever told anyone else.”

“I could never hate you.” Katsuki confessed. He hated himself and wanted to move on from Kirishima, but he could never hate Kirishima. He was too perfect. He was everything Katsuki ever wanted in a person. That’s why all of this was so hard.

“We’ll see if you still feel that way after I tell you.” said Kirishima. Katsuki waited. Kirishima bounced nervously from heel to heel as he worked up the courage to tell Katsuki the name of the person he liked. Katsuki didn’t want to hear it but as Kirishima’s friend, it was his duty to listen. “So, the thing is… The hair and stuff weren’t entirely just for my sister’s cosmetology exam. She asked my mom first, but I offered instead because I really wanted to impress the person. It’s dumb, I know. Don’t make that face.”

Katsuki stared at Kirishima judgingly because he changed his appearance to impress a crush. “Sorry,” he said as he schooled his expression. “Continue.”

“Then I got that massive growth spurt and was bedridden and we couldn’t spend time together at all during the break. It really sucked. I really wanted to hang out with you.”

“It’s fine,” said Katsuki. He understood. He had wanted to hang out with Kirishima too but there was nothing that could be done if he was laid up in bed the entire time.

Kirishima hummed to himself. “So, she dyed my hair but then school started, and you seemed to hate it, and didn’t want anything to do with me.”

Katsuki furrowed his brows in confusion and blinked twice. “What does this have to do with me? I thought you said you were going to tell me who you liked?”

“I am. It does. I just really don’t want to screw up our friendship and it feels like I’m always pissing you off.”

Katsuki sighed. “I wasn’t mad at you.”

“You weren’t?” Kirishima batted his long, dark lashes at Katsuki.

“No, idiot. I fucking hate it but you were right before when you said I was jealous. I was pissed off that everyone wanted your attention when they didn’t give two shits about you prior to spring break.”

Kirishima frowned. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or offended.” He reached for Katsuki. His fingers wrapped lightly around Katsuki’s wrist, coaxing his hand out of his pocket. Katsuki stilled; eyes fixed on his hand within Kirishima’s. That had never happened before. His ears buzzed and he had to will himself to pay attention as Kirishima continued. “Look, if you decide you want space afterwards, I’ll try my best, but it’s a small town so I can’t promise I can always stay away from you, but I really hope I don’t have to.”

“Kirishima.”

“It’s you.”

Katsuki gulped. “Come again?”

“The person I like is you. You’re my best friend and you have always made me feel seen in a way no one else has and I understand if I’m overstepping. I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to say anything ever but then there was that whole thing at lunch the other day and I thought maybe, just maybe, you might possibly feel the same way…” Kirishima trailed off, the wind rapidly deflating from his sails.

Katsuki stared at him, slack-jawed, failing to process the words he said. “I—um—you…” With his free hand, he pointed at Kirishima, then himself, then to their joined hands. “You like me?” he repeated, much softer, tasting the words on his tongue.

Kirishima nodded vigorously. “Yeah. Do you—uh—do you like me?” he asked, voice dripping with anxiety over the prospects of unrequited love.

Katsuki wet his incredibly dry lips and moved his head slowly up and down. While words failed him, he was thankful that his neck muscles still cooperated. The buzzing in his ears grew louder and his hands shook. He watched as the last tendrils of evening light sparkled in Kirishima’s eyes. They grew wide as a slow smile stretched across his face. “Yeah,” Katsuki parroted finally. “I like you.”

Kirishima yanked on their joined hands, pulling Katsuki in for a tight embrace. “Oh, thank god,” he muttered. He exhaled in relief and Katsuki buried his face against Kirishima’s chest, drinking in the warmth he provided, equally as relieved. “Do you really hate my hair?” Kirishima asked.

Katsuki slapped his chest. “Are you seriously asking that right now?”

“I need to know.” Kirishima whined.

“No,” Katsuki confessed. “I hate how all those girls won’t stop asking you out ever since you changed it.”

Kirishima laughed to himself. “You really were jealous.”

“It’s stupid.” Katsuki pouted. “I liked you when you were short, and your hair was all black and shaggy. Your appearance doesn’t matter. Those shallow hicks only care about looks.”

Kirishima rolled his eyes. “I’m a hick too.”

“Not like them.” Katsuki protested.

Kirishima pressed one hand to Katsuki’s face, rubbing his thumb over Katsuki’s cheek. “I should really get going. My mom’ll worry.”

“See you tomorrow?” asked Katsuki, suddenly wishing Kirishima would stay. He wanted to kick everyone else out right now and drag Kirishima back to his house where they could spend more time together.

“I’ll be over bright and early,” said Kirishima. He chewed on his bottom lip, worrying the thin skin between his teeth. “Can I… Can I kiss you?”

Wow. Yes. Katsuki wanted that desperately. He nodded. “I’ll be pissed if you don’t,” he said. His heart fluttered in his chest as Kirishima pressed his lips to Katsuki’s. He was thankful the street was empty. There were far too many busybody neighbors that would enjoy the gossip, and he wanted to keep the moment between them. The kiss was too short for his liking, but he was buzzing with energy, and a warmth remained on his lips after Kirishima inevitably pulled away. Katsuki gulped, voice hoarse, as he said, “See you tomorrow, Kirishima.”

“See you tomorrow, Bakugou.”

They shared another brief kiss, then Kirishima relinquished Katsuki’s hand to head down the street. Katsuki waited until Kirishima was out of sight before turning around to head home. He walked slowly, enjoying the state of bliss he found himself in after confirming their feelings. He didn’t want to have his mood ruined by the chaos that awaited him at home, so he was happy to take his time.

When he finally reached his house, the voices inside went quiet. Five sets of eyes were trained on him as he entered the living room. Did everyone know? He had assumed only his mother and Camie had figured it out but if those two knew, they would have undoubtedly told the rest of them. Everyone was a fucking gossip.

“Well?” his mother asked, looking far too smug for her own good.

Katsuki hiked his shoulders and scowled at the lot of them. “Well, what?” he barked.

“Did you ask him out?” asked Camie, eyebrows waggling.

“Who I do or don’t date is none of your fucking business.” He flipped the room off. “I’m going to bed.” Katsuki pointed at Todoroki and Yoarashi. “You fuckers can sleep in the damn living room.”

“Katsuki! Language!” His mother shouted.

“Bakugou, as your best friend—”

“You’re not my best friend! Kirishima is my best friend.” He protested, heading for the stairs.

“I thought boyfriends and best friends were two different things?” Todoroki mused aloud.

His mother gave Todoroki a pitying pat on the back. “It depends, my dear. In this case, you might be stuck as number two.”

“I’ll just ask Kirishima tomorrow,” said Camie, looking pleased with herself.

“I’ll get you boys the futons to set out on the living room floor,” said Masaru with a pitying shake of his head. He stood and walked past Katsuki, patting him on the shoulder as he headed to the hall closet.

Katsuki groaned. He turned away from them and marched up the stairs to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. As annoyed as he was with his friends, he couldn’t hate him, not when a smile threatened to break his face in two. The fact that he almost smiled in front of them horrified him as he crossed the room to his bed.

Kirishima liked him. Katsuki felt shitty for so long and now he didn’t have to anymore. He would get to see Kirishima in the morning and they’d spend the entire day together, even after the trio of idiots left. Every time a stupid girl from one of the other classes decided to ask Kirishima out in the future, Katsuki would know that the reason he rejected them was because of him. A self-satisfying smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he buried his face in his pillow to stifle it.

Kirishima’s face was branded behind his eyelids. His dazzling smile filled Katsuki with light and warmth. He wanted to rub it in the faces of all the extras at school that Kirishima belonged to him, but he wouldn’t be doing that any time soon. Maybe someday. For now, he would settle with knowing Kirishima was his. It was more than enough to make his heart race, and his breath catch in his throat.