Work Text:
Coming back to the dorms late was nothing new to any of them. After all, it was their third year at UA, and with everyone having internships as well as classes and other projects, the dorms seemed to have a revolving door for a place to sleep and relax. So, Bakugou coming back late after his internship with Best Jeanist should have been no big surprise, even if he did come in later than usual… except that every one of his classmates turned to look at him as soon as he walked in.
He froze, trying to figure out if he had forgotten something or if the idiots were trying to hide something. “What?” he huffed at them, annoyed since all he wanted to do was take a shower and climb into bed.
Preferably, his best friend’s bed, but the extras didn’t need to know his sleeping arrangements. The idiots all looked at each other, which is when Bakugou realized Kirishima and Kaminari weren’t in the room. His heart started beating rapidly against his chest. Kaminari had the day off, but Kirishima had his internship… Had something happened?
“Kachan,” Deku spoke up cautiously. “Everything is okay… but there was an accident.”
Bakugou was about to explode the idiot’s face off if he didn’t speak faster. “Where is Kirishima?” he asked.
“He’s okay,” Sero told him, but there was hesitation. “Denki has him,” he added.
Bakugou frowned. No one was giving him any info. “You said there was an accident, nerd.”
Everyone went silent for what felt like an eternity.
“He is a dog!” Uraraka screeched before slapping her hands over her mouth.
“What?” Bakugou questioned.
Ashido let out a sigh. “We were gonna break it gently… Kiri was hit by a quirk - civilian quirk! Accident! So he is a dog for the next day… or two… maybe three. We don’t know for sure.”
Bakugou blinked at them, wondering if they were being serious or pulling a prank on him. “Where is Kirishima then?’ he asked. Trying to sound calm but knowing he was failing.
“He looked sad, so Denki took him for a walk,” Jirou told him.
Bakugou narrowed his eyes. He was about to call bullshit when he heard the door open and then barking. He turned around to see a big red dog running towards him at full speed. That was the last thing he saw before he hit the ground. He was suddenly lying on his back with a dog licking him all over his face.
“Well, he looks happier,” he heard someone murmur, but he couldn’t figure out who as he tried to push the dog away.
“Get off me!” Bakugou yelled as he tried to push the very fluffy dog away. He had to be at least a hundred pounds. The dog didn’t listen; if anything, he seemed to get even more excited. “STOP!” Bakugou tried again.
“Kiri, bro, stop!” Kaminari tried to help by pulling Kirishima back from the collar, but nothing seemed to work. Even when the others tried to help.
It wasn’t until the dog, Kirishima, was able to find a comfortable place on top of Bakugou did he stopped moving, even if he still had his head tucked into Bakugou’s neck, licking him every few seconds.
“What is this?” Bakugou groaned.
“Aw, he missed you,” Ashido told him.
“Move him,” Bakugou ordered, to anyone who could.
“But he looks so happy,” Kaminari told him.
Bakugou glared at Kaminari as best he could.
“Maybe talk to him?” Kaminari suggested.
“Kirishima, get off me,” Bakugou said, because he may as well try it. The dog whined slightly, but he did move away, at least enough for Bakugou to sit up.
The dog looked at Bakugou expectantly, and now that Bakugou could look at him, he felt his heart sink lightly. Those were his best friend’s eyes. The red fur was the same color as Kirishima’s hair, a scar by his right eye, and there was something about him that just screamed Kirishima.
“Shitty hair?” Bakugou said, and he watched the dog’s tail start to wag.
Bakugou extended a hand and started petting the dog, his best friend, because what else could he do?
“Well, since you are here and he seems to like you so much,” Sero started, “we will leave you to it.”
Bakugou didn’t even have a moment to argue or react before everyone in the class disappeared. He cursed under his breath as Kirishima licked his cheek. It was going to be a long night.
Even though Kirishima kept trying to get between his legs while he walked, they had made it to Bakugou’s room. Kirishima wasted no time jumping into Bakugou’s bed. Bakugou decided it was a good sign to get his clothes and head to the showers. He was about to leave when he heard the whining.
Kirishima had his head on top of his paws as he lay down looking at Bakugou with the biggest puppy eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that, shitty hair,” he groaned. “I’ll be back in 20 minutes.”
He made it down the hall before the heartbreaking howls and whines started. He almost turned back, but no, he needed a shower. Kirishima would be fine by himself for a few minutes.
If Bakugou rushed back in order to stop Kirishima from being sad, no one would know. He got back to his room in 10 minutes, opening the door to Kirishima waiting right next to it. Kirishima let out a happy yelp before jumping up on Bakugou. Again and again in excitement.
“Yeah, yeah,” Bakugou said, “I’m back.” He let out a sigh as he petted Kirishima. Kirishima’s tail was wagging wildly.
It took Bakugou longer than he should have to get to his bed with Kirishima between his legs. He sat on the bed, and Kirishima followed with no hesitation. Bakugou could only chuckle, too tired to argue as he lay down on the bed. Kirishima lay right beside him.
Bakugou couldn’t help but think about how they would be doing just this even if the quirk incident hadn’t happened. But he would have had Kirishima’s arms around him, and heard him giggle and talk as he fell asleep.
The dog licked his face, and Bakugou wondered how aware Kirishima was of what was going on. He let out a sigh and buried his face in red fur. It was comfortable, and it wasn’t long till he fell asleep.
***
The following days were Bakugou trying his best to take care of his best friend in dog form. From learning to cook dog-friendly meals, to taking him on runs, to… the less-than-pleasant parts of dog ownership. He had called out from his internship because Kirishima wouldn’t stay with anyone else. Separation anxiety, someone had called it. Either way, Bakugou didn’t understand why Kirishima didn’t want to leave his side. Then again, he didn’t trust the idiots with Kirishima. The only reason he had been able to go to his classes was because, technically, Kirishima was still a student.
“When are you going to turn back?” Bakugou found himself asking on the fourth day.
The dog just turned its head to the side, as if asking how he would know.
Bakugou let out a sigh.
It was already late, lying on his bed with Kirishima on top of him once more, that he finally thought over what all of this meant. What if Kirishima never turned back? Bakugou’s eyes turned watery as his arms wrapped around Kirishima tightly. The dog only nestled more into him.
“What the fuck, you idiot,” Bakugou mumbled into red fur. “You can’t stay like this… okay? I need you.” The words were truer than anything Bakugou had ever said. “I never told you, but I do care about your dumbass. A lot. So, turn back already.”
The dog let out a small whine.
“How am I supposed to date you if you’re a fucking dog?”
The dog licked his face, and Bakugou felt even more hopeless. Then again, he couldn’t do much now but wait. He let himself drift away, wishing he were sharing the bed with his best friend in human form rather than the dog version.
He wasn’t sure when he woke up, but it was because of movement. Kirishima might have to go outside, was his first thought as he started getting up. That’s when he felt the arm pulling back towards the bed. “What the fu-”
“Hey,” a voice he knew too well said right next to his ear.
Bakugou turned around. The room was dark, but he could make out the shape he had stared at countless times. “You… you’re back?” Bakugou got out, his hand finding Kirishima’s face in the dark. Kirishima leaned into his touch.
“I’m back,” Kirishima whispered.
“You fucker,” Bakugou said, but there was no heat behind it.
“I can’t believe you took care of me,” Kirishima told him.
“As if you would have let anyone else do it?” Bakugou let out a soft chuckle.
“Sorry, I just wanted to be with you. Basic instincts took over,” Kirishima explained, and his arms tightened around Bakugou slightly. Bakugou buried himself into Kirishima’s neck, breathing him in.
It was after a minute of holding each other that the thought entered Bakugou’s mind. “Kirishima? Are you even wearing anything right now?”
Kirishima seemed to tense up at that. “No…”
“You fucker,” Bakugou groaned.
“Bakugou?”
“What?”
Kirishima suddenly kissed Bakugou’s cheek. “Thank you for all of it.”
Bakugou could feel himself blushing, and suddenly he didn’t want Kirishima to leave.
“Can you date me now that I am not a dog?” Kirishima asked, and Bakugou could hear the smile in his voice.
“Get out of my room,” Bakugou demanded as he pulled away from Kirishima.
Kirishima laughed, not moving and simply pulling Bakugou back towards him. “We can talk about it tomorrow?” he asked.
Bakugou just let out a sigh. He leaned over and kissed his best friend softly. “Tomorrow,” he said. “Now go back to sleep.”