Work Text:
Denki smirks to himself as he tucks the board game under his arm and repositions the bag of liquor in the crook of his elbow. It's game night and it's also his turn to pick the game. Everyone else loudly complained but he thinks he made a pretty great selection for this week's game. Even if they hate it, they'll be too drunk to remember how annoyed they were in no time. They always whine about his 'kiddy game' selections, but they're classics! He just can't wrap his head around the complex strategy games like Pandemic and Castle Panic. It takes him too long to understand all the rules and then half the night is wasted with Bakugou getting progressively more annoyed.
They make for a strange group. He expects people like Bakugou and Kirishima to be on one of the school's sports' teams, and yet here they are, certified members of the game club. It must have to do with the university's rule on every student participating in a club of some sort. Either way, Bakugou takes their club very seriously and it makes Denki laugh.
He knocks precariously on the apartment door, careful not to drop anything. Todoroki answers, staring blankly at Denki as he gives a wide grin and a hello.
"Welcome, Kaminari. The others are in the dining room already."
Todoroki steps aside to let Kaminari in. He heads for the kitchen first, depositing the bag full of liquor, then rounds the corner to the dining room. Todoroki is the unspoken game night host. He comes from money and his off-campus apartment is massive. He has no problem comfortably seating twenty people, though their game nights usually consist of about ten. Depending on the numbers, they sometimes have to run two games at once or have people team up to play a single character.
"I got Candyland!" announces Denki, setting the board game in the middle of the table. There's a collective groan and Denki ignores it. "We're playing a modified version."
Bakugou bristles from the other end of the table. "The fuck you mean, 'modified version'?" He's a stickler for the rules, so this immediately puts him on edge.
Denki smirks. "An adult version." He waggles his brows. "Everyone go into the kitchen and make yourself a drink. We're playing Candyland, but with added drinking game rules."
"I'm not playing a stupid drinking game." Bakugou grouches as some of the others get up from the table and meander into the dining room.
"What? Is the great Bakugou Katsuki scared of losing? I didn't realize you were such a quitter, Kacchan." Denki goads. It works. Bakugou's tense demeanor goes even more rigid as he slaps the table and stands.
"Bakugou," soothes Kirishima, setting a hand on Bakugou's shoulder and rubs calming circles into his back. Bakugou leans into the touch and Denki cannot believe that they aren't dating. They're so gay for each other that it's honestly disgusting. As a bisexual, the two of them make him incredibly homophobic. "I'll get drinks for us," says Kirishima, vacating the dining room.
"What are the fucking rules?" asks Bakugou, returning to his seat.
Denki gives another smirk, victorious in endeavors. "I thought you'd never ask." He pulls the sheet of rules out of his pocket and slides the paper across the table to Bakugou. Bakugou might not want to play a drinking game, but he'll make sure everyone follows the instructions to the T.
Everyone takes their seats with a drink in hand and Sero passes out the game pieces. "How does this work?" asks Kirishima, setting his red gingerbread man on the starting square.
"It's the same basic gameplay," Denki starts, "but then there are added instructions for each move. Land on red, take one sip. Land on blue, take three sips. Land on a character, finish your drink. If you cross a bridge, we do a waterfall."
"What's a waterfall?" asks Todoroki. Such a sweet, naive child.
"One person starts drinking, and then the person next to them starts drinking, going down the line until we get to the end. No one can stop drinking until the very last person starts drinking." Denki explains.
"Sounds rough," says Todoroki.
It is. The game starts simple enough. Each person takes a drink or two as they land on the various colors. Ashido lands on purple and they all take a drink. There's enough of them playing that they get a decent break between drinks, to the point that some are casually sipping on their beverages as they wait for their next turn. Yaoyorozu lands on the first character spot and is forced to finish her drink. Things take a turn when Bakugou lands on a licorice space.
"Take two shots," says Denki.
"I can fucking read." Bakugou snaps. He goes to the kitchen to bring back a bottle of vodka and a shot glass. He sets the bottle down on the table and pours himself the first shot. He takes a deep breath, nose twitching with disgust, then downs the shot. He hisses as the liquor hits his stomach, then pours the second shot. He's glaring at Denki as he takes it, obviously pissed about playing such a dumb game, but Denki couldn't be more pleased with himself.
Kirishima lands on a double blue. His gaze falls to the mostly full glass in front of him. "Six drinks?" he asks. Bakugou nods, but his reaction is dulled from the two shots. He takes six drinks from his glass, then gets up to go refill it. When he returns, Bakugou leans into him and Denki's pretty sure he sees a hand land on Kirishima's thigh.
Denki lands on orange and a devilish thought crosses his mind. "I pick Bakugou to drink!" Bakugou glares, then picks up his glass and drinks. Denki leans into Sero and whispers, "If you get orange, pick Bakugou or Kirishima."
"Why?" asks Sero, glancing between Bakugou, Kirishima, and Denki.
"I have a good feeling." Denki hums. He sees the glossy look in those matching red eyes as Bakugou and Kirishima's walls go down. Denki leans into Jirou on the other side of him and whispers the same thing. She gives him a knowing frown, but nods.
Todoroki lands in the candy cane forest and chooses Bakugou to take a shot with him, not because Denki told him to, but because he is convinced that he and Bakugou are best friends and it makes sense for them to drink together. It's incredibly amusing to watch. Bakugou takes his shot and his hand slips. Kirishima steadies him, wrapping an arm around Bakugou's waist. Their chairs are so close together now that Bakugou is practically sitting in Kirishima's lap.
With this many people, it takes an eternity to finish the game. Midoriya is the one to take first place, which sets Bakugou off on an angry, slurring rant.
"Drink up," says Denki. Everyone else has to finish their drinks for losing. They all down their respective glasses.
"Bathroom." Bakugou loudly declares, stumbling as he gets up from the table. He makes his way down the hallway and bumps into the wall. Kirishima watches him with concern in his eyes.
"Why don't you go make sure he doesn't hurt himself?" Sero suggests. Kirishima nods, getting up from the table a little too quickly. He rushes down the hallway after Bakugou. Sero turns to Denki, arms folded across his chest. "You really think your plan is gonna work?"
A crash sounds from the direction that Bakugou and Kirishima went in and Todoroki gets up from the table to check if everything is all right. He comes back less than a minute later, face blank, as he says, "Bakugou and Kirishima are making out by the bathroom door. I suggest using my en suite bathroom if you need to pee."
Denki barks out a laugh and pours himself another drink. "Yeah. Yeah, I think my plan is working just fine."