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Kirishima had a secret admirer.
At least, that was what Mina had decided.
It started with a bag of his favorite candy left on his desk.
No note.
No name.
Just the candy, sitting there when he'd gotten back from training.
Kirishima had assumed someone had bought too much and didn't want it.
Then, two days later, there was a coffee waiting for him in the common room.
Exactly how he liked it, along with a small paper bag from the café down the street.
Inside was a breakfast sandwich and a note tucked beneath it.
You skipped breakfast again. Idiot.
Kirishima had stared at it for a long moment before breaking into a grin, “Aww.”
Across the room, Bakugo's head snapped up, “What?”
Kirishima held up the note.
“Look! My secret admirer left me another one.”
Bakugo's expression went strangely blank, “That's not-”
He stopped.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Bakugo went back to whatever he was doing.
Kirishima smiled down at the note again.
It was kind of sweet.
Whoever was doing this had to know him pretty well.
“Maybe it's someone from another class,” he mused.
Mina nearly choked on her drink.
Kaminari looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh.
Sero suddenly found the ceiling fascinating.
Kirishima looked between them.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Mina said quickly.
Bakugo's eye twitched.
Kirishima shrugged and tucked the note carefully into his pocket.
“Whoever it is, I hope I get to thank them eventually.”
Bakugo muttered something under his breath.
“What was that?”
“I said you're fucking hopeless.”
Kirishima laughed, “Yeah, yeah.”
He had absolutely no idea why Bakugo looked so irritated.
Or why, later that afternoon, another package appeared on his desk.
Inside was the protein powder he'd mentioned wanting to try three weeks ago.
There was another note.
Try this one. You'll like it.
Kirishima stared at it, “Huh.”
Bakugo, sitting at the other end of the room, didn't look up.
Kirishima smiled, “This person really pays attention.”
Bakugo's grip tightened around his pen.
Mina slowly lowered her head onto the table.
“This is painful,” she whispered.
“What?” Kirishima asked.
“Nothing.”
Bakugo slammed his pen down, “I'm going to my room.”
Kirishima blinked, “Already?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. See you later, man.”
Bakugo stared at him for several seconds.
Then he grabbed his bag and left.
Kirishima watched him go, completely puzzled.
Behind him, Mina sighed, “You really don't get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
She looked toward the door.
Then at the note in his hand.
Then back at him.
“Nothing.”
Kirishima frowned.
Everyone had been acting weird lately.
He looked down at the note again.
You'll like it.
He smiled, “Whoever you are,” he murmured, “you're pretty cool.”
Outside the common room, Bakugo stopped dead in the hallway.
His ears turned red.
“Fucking idiot.”
***
The next morning, Kirishima found another note.
This one was tucked beneath his phone.
Eat something before training.
He looked around the common room.
No one seemed particularly interested in him.
Kaminari was half-asleep on the couch.
Sero was scrolling through his phone.
Mina was doing something suspiciously elaborate with her hair.
Bakugo was at the kitchen counter, drinking coffee.
Kirishima looked down at the note again, “Huh.”
“What?” Bakugo asked without looking at him.
“Nothing.” Kirishima smiled to himself.
It was kind of cute.
Whoever this person was, they were getting bolder.
He folded the note and tucked it into his pocket.
Mina watched him do it, “You're keeping them?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Kirishima shrugged, “I dunno. They're nice.”
Bakugo's eyes flicked toward him.
Kirishima caught it, “What?”
“Nothing.”
“You've been saying that a lot lately.”
“Because you keep asking stupid questions.”
Kirishima laughed, “Okay, okay.”
He grabbed a granola bar from the counter and headed toward the door.
“See you guys later.”
The moment he was gone, Mina slowly turned toward Bakugo.
“You're really going to keep doing this?”
Bakugo glared at her, “Doing what?”
She pointed toward the door, “You know.”
“No.”
“You literally left him a note this morning.”
“Yeah.”
“And a few days ago you left his favorite candy on his desk.”
“Yeah.”
“And the coffee.”
“Yeah.”
“And the protein powder.”
Bakugo's eye twitched, “So?”
Mina stared at him, “So when exactly are you planning on telling him?”
Bakugo scoffed, “I'm not.”
“Why not?”
“Because I'm giving him a fucking chance to figure it out.”
Sero looked up from his phone, “Dude, he hasn't figured it out yet.”
“I know.”
“It's been, like, two weeks.”
“I know.”
Kaminari snorted, “Maybe you need to be more obvious.”
Bakugo's glare snapped toward him, “More obvious?”
“Yeah.”
“You think I'm not being obvious?”
“I'm just saying-”
“I've literally been leaving him things with fucking notes.”
“Yeah, but maybe you need to, like, sign them.”
Bakugo looked offended by the suggestion, “That's not the fucking point.”
Mina covered her mouth to hide a laugh, “Then what is the point?”
Bakugo crossed his arms, “The point is that he should know.”
Nobody said anything.
Bakugo looked around the room, “What?”
Sero shook his head, “Nothing.”
***
A few days later, Kirishima was beginning to wonder if he actually knew who his admirer was.
He'd started paying attention.
Not because he was suspicious, exactly.
He was just curious.
The notes all had the same handwriting.
Short sentences.
Blunt wording.
Lots of insults.
Don't skip lunch.
You looked exhausted yesterday. Go to bed earlier.
Your left shoulder is still bothering you. Stretch it.
That last one made Kirishima pause.
He'd never told anyone about his shoulder.
Well.
Almost anyone.
He looked across the room.
Bakugo was sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone.
Kirishima narrowed his eyes, “Bakugo.”
“What?”
“How'd you know my shoulder was bothering me yesterday?”
Bakugo looked up, “You were fucking favoring it.”
“Oh.” Kirishima looked back at the note, “Right.”
Bakugo stared at him.
Kirishima smiled, “That's pretty observant.”
Bakugo's expression went flat, “Yeah.”
Kirishima nodded thoughtfully, then he walked away.
Bakugo stared after him.
That had to be it.
Surely.
He'd noticed the shoulder.
He'd noticed the handwriting.
He'd noticed the wording.
He'd practically handed him the answer.
Kirishima sat down beside Mina.
“Hey, Mina?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think my secret admirer might be someone I know?”
Mina slowly looked across the room at Bakugo, “Yes.”
Kirishima followed her gaze.
Bakugo was staring at them.
Mina immediately looked back at Kirishima, “Definitely someone you know.”
“Huh.” Kirishima thought about it, “Maybe someone from work?”
Mina closed her eyes, “…Sure.”
“Or school.”
“Yep.”
“Could be someone from another class.”
“Maybe...”
Bakugo’s eye twitched.
Mina closed her eyes; she was going to lose her mind.
***
The next note was accompanied by a small box.
Kirishima opened it at the kitchen table.
Inside was a pair of gloves.
His size.
The exact kind he'd been looking at online a few weeks ago before deciding they were too expensive.
There was a note tucked beneath them.
You need new ones.
Kirishima stared at the gloves.
Then he looked around.
“Okay.” He picked them up, “These are really nice.”
Bakugo, sitting across the table, didn't say anything.
Kirishima turned one over in his hands, “Whoever this is has expensive taste.”
Nothing.
Kirishima glanced up.
Bakugo was staring at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Kirishima grinned, “You know, this is starting to get suspicious.”
Bakugo's eyebrows rose, “Oh?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Kirishima held up the note. “Because whoever this is knows me really well.”
Bakugo's jaw tightened.
“Like, really well,” Kirishima added thoughtfully.
Bakugo slowly leaned back in his chair, “Right.”
Bakugo stared at him.
Then he looked away.
Kirishima smiled down at the gloves.
He didn't know who his admirer was.
But whoever they were, they were making him feel pretty damn special.
And, for some reason, every time he thought about it, he found himself looking at Bakugo.
He wasn't sure why.
But he did.
A lot.
And Bakugo was starting to notice.
***
The notes continued.
So did the gifts.
By now, Kirishima had stopped wondering whether there would be another one and had started wondering what it would be.
He'd started looking forward to them, even if he still had no idea who was leaving them.
***
Kirishima turned the little card over between his fingers.
There was no name on this one either.
Just a few words in the same blunt handwriting he'd started recognizing.
You did good today. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
His smile softened.
That one was different.
He'd been having a rough week.
Nothing terrible, nothing he couldn't handle, but enough that he'd been quieter than usual. Whoever this was had noticed.
“You know,” Kirishima said thoughtfully, “the person writing these really sounds like you, Bakugo.”
Bakugo stopped.
He stared at him.
Kirishima stared back.
For several seconds, neither of them said anything.
“Why the fuck,” Bakugo said slowly, “do you think that is?”
Kirishima blinked; then he laughed, “I dunno.”
Bakugo's eye twitched, “You don't know.”
“Nope.”
“You've got to be fucking kidding me.”
Kirishima grinned, “What?”
Bakugo stared at him like he couldn't decide whether to yell or laugh.
He'd spent weeks leaving him things.
His favorite snacks.
Coffee exactly how he liked it.
Notes written in his own handwriting because he'd never imagined Kirishima wouldn't recognize it.
He'd practically spelled it out for him.
Apparently, that still hadn't been enough.
So, Bakugo stepped forward, grabbed the front of Kirishima's shirt, and kissed him.
Kirishima went completely still.
When Bakugo pulled back, his face was flushed, but his expression was still irritated.
“Since I thought I was being pretty fucking obvious,” he muttered, “but apparently not enough.”
Kirishima stared at him.
Bakugo sighed, “It is me, dumbass.”
There was a beat of silence.
Then Kirishima's face split into the biggest grin Bakugo had ever seen, “Seriously?”
“No, I just kissed you for fun.”
Kirishima laughed, “I knew it!”
“You literally just said you had no fucking clue.”
“Well, I know now!”
Bakugo rolled his eyes, but there was no heat behind it.
Kirishima looked down at the collection of notes he'd accumulated over the past few weeks, then back at him.
“You really did all this?”
Bakugo shrugged, “Yeah.”
“For me?”
“Who the hell else?”
Kirishima's grin softened, “Man.”
He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around Bakugo's waist.
“You're really bad at being a secret admirer.”
Bakugo snorted, “Good. I wasn't trying to keep it secret.”
Kirishima laughed against his shoulder, “Could've fooled me.”
“Apparently.”
Kirishima squeezed him a little tighter, “For what it's worth, I really liked it.”
Bakugo went quiet for a moment.
“Yeah?”
Kirishima squeezed him tighter, smiling against his shoulder, “I'm glad it was you.”
Bakugo's expression softened, “Me too.”