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Kirishima made his way into the apartment, a bag under his arm. Ever since graduating from UA, he had stayed in touch with his closest friends and stopped by their places every once in a while. The only exception was Bakugou, who wouldn’t dare let anyone into his high-end apartment that probably had next-level security.
Mina’s apartment hosted their usual hangouts because it was large and accessible. She had filled it with her own unique signature, making it pop on the inside and stand unique among all others. The hot pink couches with black pillows, the sparkly coffee table, and shimmering curtains, all reminded him of her room back at UA, which had been filled with even more amounts of hot pink.
“Mina?” Kirishima called. “Are you here?”
“Bathroom!” She called back. “Be out in a minute!”
He shook his head with a smile and took a quick glance around the apartment, he was the first one there. After setting his bag on the counter, he wandered into the living space and scooped up the TV remote. With a single click, the black screen lit up and began streaming the newest season of Gossip in Tokyo.
Kirishima wasn’t surprised, but he quickly changed it to the news and sat down on the couch. The news anchor’s face appeared and smiled at him, recounting the day and its events. Of course, the hero section took up most of her time, where she recounted numerous high-priority incidents across the area.
Bakugou’s face made an appearance, grimacing in a picture next to the news anchor. Since high school, Bakugou’s hero costume had changed to become sleeker. The large gauntlets were long gone, replaced by slimmer versions that took up less space around his wrists, but still delivered the same damage. The big orange x in the middle of his suit was gone too, moved to his shoulders and gauntlets. That had been a surprise to Kirishima, but when he had asked about it, Bakugou replied with, “It was like walking around with a target on my chest.”
It made sense that the x had been moved after Bakugou had taken a heavy hit to his chest, one that had landed him in the hospital for over a month.
A burst of pride rocked through Kirishima as he stared at the picture. While the injury had caused a hit to his rankings, out of everyone in their class, Bakugou was highest ranked. The number one spot had been snatched by the explosive blond only a year after his debut as a pro hero.
“Ugh, the news?” Mina appeared at the end of the couch. “Really?”
“Hey! It’s the easiest way to see how things are going in the Hero World,” Kirishima said.
Mina gave him a look. “That’s not really true, they have an app for this.”
“Ah well,” Kirishima said, “Anyways, Bakugou’s looking pretty manly there, right?”
“He looks like he needs to take a shit.”
Laughter erupted out of him, filling the room. Mina moved closer and took a seat on the couch next to him, her own laughter accompanying her.
“At least admit that he’s grown up,” Kirishima said once he regained the ability to breathe.
“Oh yeah, he’s not our feral little teenager anymore, he’s an adult man.”
“Spooky, but I’m proud of him, he’s come such a long way.”
Mina leaned closer to him. “He still has some way to go, he still hasn’t dated anyone!”
“Well, yeah, but maybe he’s just not into the whole dating scene?”
“Oh good point, he could be ace.”
“Could be ace.”
“Why don’t we just ask him?”
Kirishima’s eyes flew open and he turned to stare at Mina, his mouth agape. Even if Bakugou wasn’t the same hotheaded kid from high school, he still had a reputation for dishing out violence if he deemed it necessary.
Before he could protest, the apartment door flew open and Kaminari tripped inside. Sero stepped in behind him, a crate under his arm.
“We brought the booze!”
Mina jumped to her feet, a cheer leaping out of her throat. The opportunity to shoo the idea of bothering Bakugou leaping away with her. Kirishima sighed and shook his head, standing up and following her.
Kaminari picked himself up off the floor and boisterously began handing out drinks. His and Mina’s chatter filled the kitchen, bouncing back and forth off of each other.
The eccentric blond had come a long way since UA to as one of the current fastest rising heroes on the charts. His ability to crack jokes under pressure was part of his charm, it definitely lent itself to his popularity. People saw Chargebolt as a hero that they could relate to, someone who was funny, nervous, and a little odd, but still brave and heroic. The newest generation related to him the most, as he was one of the few openly gay pro heroes on the board.
Kirishima felt a swirl of pride fill his chest as he looked at his friend and he smiled, leaning against the counter.
“How’s the new fiance?” Mina prodded Kaminari. “Please tell me every detail!”
“Hitoshi’s happy,” Kaminari replied, “We’re getting married and we’re getting a cat.”
“Are sure he’s not happier about the cat?” Sero joked.
“Oh, the horror! My own fiance loves a cat more than me! Whatever shall I do?”
“Speaking of love,” Mina said, “any updates on your mystery date, Sero?”
“Just a place and a time, I’m afraid.” Sero opened his drink. “It’s a blind date, I’m not supposed to have details.”
“So boring!” Mina whined. “You lot are so boring, I need some juicy news, something exciting!”
The door opened once more, the final guest arriving.
Bakugou stepped into the kitchen, closing the door behind him with a frown. “You guys broke into the booze without me?”
Mina jumped forward before Kirishima could grab her. “Bakugou! Just the person I need!”
“What the hell does that mean, Racoon Eyes?”
“We were talking about our dating lives and it made me realize, we’ve never talked about yours.” She pointed at him. “Why aren’t you in the dating scene, Mr. Dynamight?”
Kirishima took a deep breath and waited, waiting for the bomb to go off, the yelling to start, the moment where he’d need to save Mina from the slaughter. A moment passed and then, Bakugou sneered.
“I am, you nosey-fuckers just never asked.”
Silence.
Kirishima felt like his world tilted. He might need to reboot his brain and ask Bakugou what he said again because he couldn’t have possibly heard that correctly.
“What?!” Kaminari and Mina shouted.
“Wait, seriously?” Sero leaned forward.
Kirishima shook his head, trying to ignore the pang in his chest, and laughed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“One, you never asked, and two, my boyfriend didn’t feel comfortable with people knowing until recently.”
“A boyfriend!” Kaminari gasped, his eyes widening. “You have to let us meet him!”
“How long have you been dating?” Mina asked. “How long have you known him?”
Bakugou smirked at her. “I’ve known him my whole life, but we didn’t start dating until our third year of UA.”
“And you didn’t tell us?!” Mina gasped. “I can’t believe we didn’t even notice!”
That’s almost six years of dating…
Kirishima nodded, before laughing and shaking his head. “I’m shocked, I kind of feel like a bad friend for not noticing something!”
“You didn’t notice because I didn’t want you to.”
Kaminari moved forward. “So, can we meet this mystery man?”
Another smirk crossed Bakugou’s face and he puffed out his chest, raising his head and crossing his arms. “Yeah, that fucking nerd would love to meet you, but you better be prepared for him.”
“Oh no, you aren’t dating a second version of yourself, are you?” Sero teased.
“Of course not, Tape Face!”
“Then why do we have to worry?” Mina laughed.
“You know what, I’ll just let you find out.” Bakugou pointed at all of them. “Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
Kirishima moved over to him and threw an arm over his shoulders, pulling him close. “Anyways, let’s drink!”
So that I can drink my feelings away.
---
Later that night, Kirishima found himself back at home and laying on his bed. He sprawled out across the sheets and pillows. The ceiling looked down at him as unanswering as ever.
Bakugou shined in his world like a beacon, a light that never stopped shining no matter how far you wandered away. Back in UA, the crush that he had on the explosive blond had almost consumed him for their entire second year. To think that if he had just confessed then, maybe Bakugou would be dating him and not the mystery boyfriend he would be meeting.
Kirishima could admit that he still had feelings for his best friend, though they were not nearly as raging and all-out consuming as they had been in their second year. He still got chills down his spine when he saw his smile, he still felt warmth in his chest when the news covered one of his fights, and he still felt ill with worry whenever he got injured.
It was stupid, being jealous of someone he hadn’t met, but Kirishima felt oddly justified knowing they had dated for so long without a peep. Who would put their own partner through that?
With a sigh, he rolled over in his bed and hugged one of his pillows close to his chest. “This sucks, these feelings totally aren’t manly.”
A thousand thoughts circled around in his head, crawling up from some kind of void within him to stir even more chaos.
Those kinds of thoughts aren’t you, his therapist had said, they’re your anxiety.
Kirishima could definitely see these thoughts as toxic, born from his anxiety and depression, from his lacking sense of self-worth. Despite that, they still yelled out to him. They dragged Bakugou through the mud, his boyfriend through the mud, and Kirishima through the mud, completely tearing everything apart. It was hard not to listen to them when they just wouldn’t stop.
Drinking hadn’t helped either, those thoughts were still very much there and his feelings were still getting hurt with each new thought. Even if those thoughts weren’t truthful.
His brain seemed attached to the idea, more than he was willing to let himself understand. He kept wondering what Bakugou’s boyfriend could be like. Was he another hero? Did he even really exist? What if he was some kind of serial killer?
Okay, he probably wasn’t a serial killer.
Bakugou probably liked someone who was as strong-minded as him, someone who meant business and didn’t take shit from anyone. If his boyfriend was anything like that, then he definitely fit some impossible standard of society. He was probably a perfect golden child, with equal amounts of tidiness and orderliness that seemed inhumanly possible. If anything, he probably had a perfect quirk that everyone liked.
Kirishima remembered his friend smiling as he spewed out the word, Nerd.
It had been so affectionate, despite being a common insult from the blond. Filled with more love than any of the nicknames that Bakugou called him or their friends.
Something twisted in his stomach and he rolled over.
Maybe if he tried to go to sleep, he would feel better. Maybe those thoughts would go away.
---
Hero work swamped his schedule, keeping Kirishima moving. If there was one thing he would have wanted to know about before becoming a hero, it would have been the number of hours that he would put in each week. Forty hours was a light weak in comparison to the hours he was putting in now. Patrols and paperwork took up a lot of time, but so did the meetings and conventions.
The only good thing about all of his time being taken up was that it distracted him from the anxious thoughts screaming at the back of his head.
That was until he was paired up on a patrol with Bakugou.
“Ready to go?” Kirishima asked the blond. “I’m so stoked, it feels like forever since we got to go on patrol together!”
Bakugou shot him a smirk. “Hell yeah, Shitty Hair.”
Warmth flooded his chest, but he tried to beat it away as the two began their route.
When they had first joined the same hero agency, they had been placed on patrols routinely together. They were UA students from the same class after all. Over the years, the agency began to expand, and eventually, they began patrolling with new heroes. It was rare now that they got to have patrols together.
As they walked the streets, Kirishima found himself repeatedly glancing at Bakugou. The thoughts raged at the back of his head, questions danced on the top of his tongue.
His stomach twisted once more and he forced himself to look back to the street.
Citizens traversed the place, one of the heavier foot-areas in the city. They hurried along their way to work or chatted with each other outside of stores. A group of children was crowding a corner, their excited shouts echoing across the buildings. Every so often, one brave person would dart up to them and ask for an autograph, which Bakugou always divulged in. He might have been intimidating, but he wasn’t a monster.
Suddenly, being around so many people made him nauseous.
Kirishima looked back at the pavement, taking a moment to try to ground himself.
“What is it?” Bakugou asked, coming to a stop.
Kirishima’s head shot up. “What?”
“You’ve been quiet, but you keep looking at me.” Bakugou raised an eyebrow. “If you have something to say, just spit it out.”
“Okay, fine.” He took a deep breath. “I’m curious about your boyfriend.”
“Is that it? You want me to tell you about him?”
“I want- is that really that hard to believe?”
“No, I just… haven’t thought about it. Telling people about him, I mean.”
“You’re used to keeping him to yourself, right?” Kirishima stepped forward, setting a hand on Bakugou’s back and pushing him forward to begin their patrol again.
A chuckle huffed out of Bakugou’s lips. “I guess you’re right about that.”
Kirishima’s stomach twisted against, the thoughts trying to call out once more. “Well, why don’t you tell me something about him? Like uh, what’s his favorite color?”
“His favorite color? That’s the best you got?”
“It was just an example!”
Bakugou shook his head and looked over at the group of children, watching their huddled group. As they got closer, it became clearer that they were playing a game together. They waved flashy cards around, with pro heroes plastered onto them.
“Red,” Bakugou said, “His favorite color is red.”
“Oh cool, mine too.”
Bakugou glanced at him. “He thinks you’re a good hero too, he likes that you use your quirk to its fullest capabilities.”
Kirishima’s feet stopped, his heart froze, and his eyes widened. Suddenly, all of the nasty thoughts at the back of his head fell silent. Bakugou looked back at him and scowled.
“Stop looking at me like that!” He whacked his shoulder.
“Ow!” Kirishima whined, breaking out of his trance. “I’m just shocked!”
“Well don’t be!”
“What does that even mean?”
Bakugou shook his head and pulled him forward, leading them down another road into a more quiet part of the city.
Kirishima smiled as they got away from the bustle of the people, feeling the tension in his shoulders begin to unwind. He took a deep breath and moved to catch up, walking alongside the number one hero.
Bakugou’s boyfriend thought he was a good hero. Kirishima felt something stir in his stomach again, he couldn’t help the little smile on his face. Though he himself was a popular hero, ranking fairly high, he didn’t often hear people praising him for being a good hero. Standards were high among the press, ever since All Might’s retirement, so praise was rarely given out. In fact, Kirishima heard most praise about himself from Hero Forums, which he didn’t get to frequent often.
There was something about knowing that Bakugou’s boyfriend thought highly of him that made him feel proud, but also a little guilty. His toxic thoughts had been eating away at him, his faith in his friend, and his morals.
“Got any more questions, Shitty Hair?” Bakugou broke into his thoughts once more.
Kirishima puffed up his chest and smiled at him. “What’s your favorite thing about him?”
Bakugou’s face went bright red and he looked away. “That’s a stupid question, it’s not about him, that’s about me.”
“I guess not, but I’m curious.” Kirishima shrugged. “He seems really important to you.”
“Well, that question is impossible to answer, so I’m not answering it.”
“What? How?”
“I can’t possibly choose one thing about him as my favorite thing.”
“Oh, bro!” Kirishima wrapped an arm around Bakugou’s shoulders. “That’s so manly!”
“Oh, shut up!” Bakugou pushed his arm off and scowled.
Kirishima shook his head. “No way bro, you’re the manliest person I’ve ever met.”
“And you’ve met your clone.”
“Hey!”
“I was only joking.”
“Yeah, yeah!” Kirishima laughed. “But you have to admit he’s pretty manly too.”
“Whatever you say,” Bakugou replied.
Suddenly a large crash rocked the ground and Kirishima felt himself stumble before he turned to the source. Bakugou shot off, his growl coming over the comms to notify the rest of the heroes in the area.
A smirk fell onto Kirishima’s face and he took off after his friend, letting his hero persona take over completely. The thoughts at the back of his head completely fell away. Seeing the smirk on Bakugou’s face, the happiness that rose into his eyes, when he talked about his boyfriend had struck him to his core, because he only ever saw that face when the other was fighting and winning.
---
Sporting new bruises and a nasty cut across his shoulder, Kirishima sat down on the agency couch with a grown. One of the interns whistled, eying the cut, before turning away and hurrying down the hall. Though the cut had already been dealt with, stitched and bandaged, stamped with a seal of “come back in the morning for quirked healing”, it still looked rough.
Bakugou loomed over him, looking down at the cut with a deep scowl. “You better take care of that, Shitty Hair.”
“I will, promise,” Kirishima replied. He shot him a good-natured smile and carefully leaned back against the couch. “Could you do my paperwork for me? It hurts to write.”
“Why not ask one of the other extras?”
“Because I know you won’t make any stupid mistakes.”
Bakugou huffed and crossed his arms, looking back at the office area. “Yeah, whatever. Just leave it on my desk and it’ll be done by morning.”
“Thanks, man, you’re the best!” Kirishima grinned. “Oh, by the way, Kaminari wanted us to all hang out at his place this weekend. If you’re up for it, maybe you could bring your mystery man?”
Bakugou raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ll ask him, he has a busy schedule.”
“Can’t possibly be busier than you, number one,” Kirishima joked.
“You’d be surprised.”
Bakugou pulled out his phone and began to type away on his phone. A crease appeared on his forehead as he squinted through his mask. Kirishima took a moment to admire his new gauntlets once again; back in UA he would have had a hard time texting, but the slimmer versions made it easy.
Kirishima glanced down at his own costume, realizing that not much had changed over the years. His shoulder gears were still there, still protruding from his shoulders, but he had never had a problem with them. Honestly, he thought he had a pretty good and functional costume.
“He won’t be able to make it this weekend, he’s booked.” Bakugou looked up from his phone. “He said he’s free Thursday, mentioned something about inviting you dimwits over to our apartment.”
Kirishima’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Bakugou’s apartment, the mystery among their friend group. No one had stepped foot into it, no one had ever learned where it even was. It was a secret that Bakugou held tightly onto, just as tightly as he held onto the number one spot. He could understand why now; he had shared it with his boyfriend.
“Yeah, he’s out of his mind, but I’ll let everyone know.”
“Oh this is so exciting, I’m definitely coming over!” Kirishima threw his arms up, then let out a loud groan and fell back. Pain seared through his arm, the cost of his excitement.
“Don’t move so much, idiot!”
---
Bakugou ended up not showing up at Kaminari's place that weekend. Maybe that was for the best, he and Shinsou didn’t get along very well. Though, the two had definitely gotten better recently.
Instead, Bakugou mentioned that his boyfriend needed his help for a work-related issue and that he wouldn’t be able to make it. That little bit of information brought up the conversation that they were having now.
“I bet he’s a designer!” Mina declared. “Think about it, Bakugou’s family is in that business, that could be how they met!”
“Oh, that’s such a good point!” Kaminari said. “And it would explain why he needed Bakugou’s help and why he’s so busy!”
“Well I don’t disagree with that, I doubt they met through the fashion industry.” Sero sat down between them, handing out the drinks. “They were both children when they met, right?”
“That’s what Bakugou said, but that just means his boyfriend could come from a fashion family too!”
“Very speculative, I think.” Sero looked at Kirishima. “Don’t you agree with me?”
“Mm, I’m not sure, but I did get a few details about his boyfriend out of him the day of our patrol,” Kirishima admitted.
“What?!” Mina gasped. “And you didn’t tell us?”
“The betrayal!” Kaminari groaned. “This is the worst, Kirishima the loyal has fallen.”
Laughter erupted from the group, filling the small apartment. Warmth filled Kirishima’s chest once again and he smiled out at his friend, taking a moment to look around at the group. Mina was perched on the edge of the couch, her drink balanced in her hands. Kaminari took the other end, his drink resting on the coffee table. Sero sat between them, trying to hold in his laughter. Finally, Shinsou sat in a nearby chair, smiling at them and shaking his head.
Kirishima smiled, leaning back in his own chair and taking in the moment. The light feeling in his chest bubbled.
“Well, what did Bakoug say?” Sero asked after the laughter died down.
“His favorite color is red.” Kirishima took a sip of his drink. “And he apparently has a busy schedule, just like Bakugou.”
“Is that it?” Mina whined.
“Sorry man! Didn’t get the opportunity to talk for long before a villain decided to blow up a car.”
“Ugh, well, at least having a busy schedule lends itself to my theory!”
“Not to interrupt you guys,” Shinsou said, “But isn’t this a little invasive?”
Mina smirked at him. “Not really, we’re just theorizing with what we know, which was willingly given to us by Bakugou. If we wanted to be invasive, we would be planning to spy on him.”
“And we aren’t doing that, we aren’t in high school anymore!” Kaminari declared.
Shinsou blanched. “You spied on people in high school?”
“Regardless!” Kaminari swept forward. “I’m beginning to agree that the boyfriend designer theory is the most likely possibility.”
“Okay, with that settled, what about other things?” Sero asked. “Maybe his quirk?”
“It’s got to be something really strong, to match Bakugou’s,” Kaminari said.
Mina nodded. “Bakugou seems like he’d be attracted to that.”
“Well, he hasn’t said anything about his quirk,” Kirishima said, “So it’s kind of hard to guess what it could be.”
“You guys are unbelievable,” Shinsou said. He shook his head and stood up, finishing off his drink as he did. “I’m going to bed, babe.”
Kaminari whined. “No, stay and cuddle me.”
“Tempting, but I have an early patrol tomorrow.” He leaned down and kissed Kaminari’s head before turning to the rest of them. “It was nice seeing you guys, can you try to be a little quiet for me?”
“We make no promises, but we will try.” Sero declared.
“That’s probably the best I’m going to get.” Shinsou wandered away, only stopping at the entrance of the hall to look back. “I’ll put money on this, I bet Bakugou’s boyfriend isn’t any of the guesses that you could come up with.”
“A challenge! I like it!” Mina grinned. “I’ll take you up on that.”
Shinsou smirked. “Prepare to be sorry then.”
Then the purple-haired underground hero turned and disappeared into the darkness of the hall.
---
The apartment complex sat in front of Kirishima and his mouth fell open while staring at it. It felt like something was missing from the scene. The gated building housed only a couple of floors, with balconies covered in greens and chairs. He could see a small pathway from the gate that led up to the entrance, either side flanked by small trees and bushes through the large gateway.
It seemed so small, so quaint for someone like Bakugou, let alone the number one hero.
Kirishima glanced at Kaminari and Sero, who looked just as shocked as he felt.
“This can’t be right,” Kaminari muttered, “We probably have the wrong address.”
Sero nodded in agreement. “Mina isn’t here either.”
“She’s running late,” Kirishima replied.
He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through their group chat, double-checking the address. He reread the name, put it into a map app, and frowned. This was undoubtedly the right location.
“Oi, dumbasses!”
Kirishima jolted and looked up.
Bakugou appeared before him, stomping down the narrow pathway beyond the gate.
“Stop moping around, you look like creeps!”
“Dude, we didn’t think we had the right place!” Sero said. “This just… we didn’t expect you to live in such a small apartment building.”
Bakugou glowered at him. “My boyfriend found it for us, it has some of the best security and safety features in the whole city.”
“What? But it looks so cheap!”
“It’s definitely not.” Bakugou opened the gate for them. “I sent Mina the code to get in, so let’s head up.”
“Hell yeah!”
Bakugou stomped back down the pathway, leading them up to the entrance. Now that the large gate was out of the way, Kirishima could see more of the courtyard. A few lawn chairs were set up, sitting in the sun or shade. There was a ball resting in the nook of a tree as if a small child had placed it there for safety.
Turning to walk inside the building, he felt his breath fly away. The soft lighting, the numerous plants, and the plush inside took over. A small desk sat in the corner, empty but clean of any dust.
“If this is what the inside looks like, I bet your apartment will be even better! All modern and stuff,” Kaminari said. He let out a whistle, looking around at the lobby.
Bakugou smirked at them as the elevator doors opened. “Yeah, sure, Dunce Face.”
Kirishima stepped into the elevator and tried to wrestle with his nerves, pushing them down despite how much he wanted to jump around and ask a thousand questions. Images of what the apartment could look like flooded his mind; small, but well kept and highly stylized to fit Bakugou’s fashion background. If Mina was right about a fashion designer boyfriend, the place would be incredibly fashionable.
One mystery was about to be solved, which contained another mystery within: Bakugou’s boyfriend. Excitement bubbled up in his chest and a smile stretched across his face. His friend led them down the hall to the end apartment.
“Alright, listen up fuckers,” Bakugou said, “There are some rules.”
“Oh jeez,” Kaminari whined.
Bakugou gave him a look. “You will follow the rules.”
“Yeah, of course, we will!” Kirishima said. “You can count on us, man!”
“First rule, don’t mess with anything.” Bakugou stared at Kaminari. “You will regret it.”
“That sounds like a targeted rule…”
“Second rule, clean up after yourselves! I’m not your fucking maid and neither is my boyfriend.” Bakugou turned towards the door. “And the final rule is to answer all of the questions my boyfriend has for you.”
“What kind of a rule is that?”
Bakugou didn’t reply, he only opened the door and shoved them inside.
One of the first things Kirishima noticed was the posters. Vintage posters were framed and hung on the walls, some pre-dating All Might’s era by the look of it. Heroes that Kirishima barely recognized smiled or grimaced out of their posters, but the majority of them were of All Might and his thumbs up.
The next thing he noticed was how not-modern the rest of the house was. The couches were fashionable, but they looked incredibly comfy. Next to them was a large bookcase, overflowing with textbooks, journals, and novels.
He swept his eyes across the cream-colored walls to the large kitchen, which called out Bakugou’s name. He could see a red pan on the stove and other red items littering the counters, clearly, he had been in the middle of cooking when he had come to fetch them. But the most obvious Bakugou feature in the kitchen was just how clean it was, it looked immaculate.
“This place feels so homey, dude!” Kaminari stepped in first, looking around the living room before trotting over to the small dining area. The table was covered in papers and textbooks, a laptop was open on top of it all. “Oh man, I don’t even know what half of this stuff means.”
“Get out of Deku’s work area, Dunce Face.” Bakugou grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him away. “I’ll make him clean it up before dinner is done.”
“Deku?” Kirishima asked. “That’s your boyfriend’s name?”
“Ha, no, that’s not my name.”
The trio of friends swung around, their eyes wide and mouths dropped open. A green-haired man, shorter than them easily, stood at the entrance to the hall. He wore a comfortable set of clothing, basketball shorts and a shirt that said ‘T-shirt’ on it. Then he smiled at them, adding in a little nervous wave, and Kirishima was struck with the idea that this man’s smile was better than smiles on the posters.
“My name’s Midoriya Izuku,” he said, “Kacchan has called me Deku since we were kids.”
“Ah, a childhood nickname, sweet,” Kaminari replied. “I’m Kaminari Denki!”
“Oh, I know!” Midoriya said.
“You know me already?” Kaminari’s eyes widened and he tilted his head.
Midoriya smiled sheepishly. “Well, Class 1A is famous and I’ve seen all of the Sports Festivals… So yeah, of course, I do! Your quirk is really amazing by the way, you don’t mind if I ask questions about it, right?”
Kaminari blinked, his head still tilted in confusion. “Oh yeah, that’s fine.”
“Ask him later, nerd.” Bakugou made his way toward the kitchen, a scowl on his face. “Dinner’s almost ready and I need you to move your shit off of the table.”
“Oh! Okay, Kacchan!”
Kirishima watched as the man quickly darted between and began to pick up the papers. He leaned over, catching a glimpse of them as they went. They were filled with paragraphs of what seemed like gibberish, but some of them had graphs and diagrams present. One of the textbooks read “Advanced Metaphysical Theory - Tro’s Edition; Evolution, Nurturing, and Social Systems.”
He had no idea what any of it meant.
“Do you need help, Midoriya?” Kirishima asked. “This looks like a lot.”
“No, it’s fine! I’ve got it!” The green-haired man laughed. He carefully placed everything into a large stack, his laptop balanced on top. Then he picked up with trained ease and disappeared deeper into the apartment. “I’ll be right back!”
Sero exchanged a look with him, but he simply shrugged and made his way over to the kitchen.
Midoriya Izuku was not what Kirishima was expecting. As he looked around the apartment, taking in extra details that just didn’t seem like Bakugou… it started to paint a very different picture from the one he had in his head. The stoic, no-nonsense strong man being replaced by the short and sturdy man, with a shining smile and happy personality. He seemed like sunshine incarnate, but there was still a nervousness to the way he pedaled around them and interacted.
Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he turned to Bakugou, who stood in the middle of the kitchen, chopping furiously at an onion.
“He seems nice,” Kirishima said, “What was all that stuff on the table for? It looked advanced!”
“It’s his research that he’s been working on for the past few years, but I’m not entirely sure what it’s about.” Bakugou finished chopping. “It seems batshit crazy to me.”
“Research?” Sero echoed. “On what?”
Bakugou smirked and pointed a knife at him. “Find out, I’m sure he’d love to tell you.”
Kaminari called from the living room. “Sounds like a challenge!”
“Well, we love challenges.” Kirishima stretched with a smirk.
Bakugou huffed and kicked them out of the kitchen, forcing them into the living room. It allowed Kirishima the time to look around more closely. He spotted pictures on the table underneath the TV, of the two men at various ages smiling at the camera. The youngest was of them as babies, sitting in a matching pair of All Might onesies and staring up at the camera with wide eyes.
Guess when he said he knew him his whole life, he meant literally.
Kirishima looked away from the pictures, looking out at their balcony. There was a pair of comfy chairs set up, with a small table in between. A tiny at-home garden was pressed against the railing, stretching and taking up the most space. It looked like the perfect space for a morning coffee.
Turning back to the living room, he looked over the two couches and the single chair around the coffee table. There was a singular novel on the table, accompanied by Dynamight coasters. To match the coasters was a large blanket, thrown across the chair, and an assortment of Dynamight pillows.
A smile crossed Kirishima’s face at the sight and sat down, picking one of the pillows up.
“I’m back!” Midoriya suddenly appeared in the living room. “Sorry about that, I completely forgot I had to clean that up before you guys came.”
“It’s alright, dude, I forget to clean all the time.” Kaminari waved his apology away and gestured for him to sit with them. “Come talk with us! We want to get to know you.”
Midoriya smiled a little and walked into the living room, taking a seat in the chair. He pulled the Dynamight blanket around him and leaned forward. “I’m excited to meet you guys too! I spent a long time just watching you all from the sidelines. It was really cool to see how much you’ve grown since high school. I mean, Sero, you’re doing amazing in the rankings this year! It’s really inspiring! And-”
Kirishima stared at Midoriya as his rambling became faster and faster, becoming almost indistinguishable.
“Nerd, slow down!” Bakugou called from the kitchen. “You’re muttering!”
“Oh, sorry!” Midoriya said.
“It’s okay, just a little fast.” Kirishima waved a hand. “Sometimes Kaminari talks that fast.”
“Hey, don’t throw me under the bus!”
Sero laughed and clapped Kaminari’s back, giving him a good-natured smile. Then he leaned forward, getting ready to say something when there was a knock at the door. Midoriya shot to his feet and hurried over to the door as if he was brimming with more energy than he could contain.
The door swung open and Mina stood on the other side, her lips pressed together in confusion. “Hi, am I at the right apar- Kirishima?”
Kirishima waved. “This is the right one!”
“Ashido Mina, right?” Midoriya asked. “Come on in!”
Mina turned to look at Midoriya, looking him up and down with wide eyes. Then a smile bloomed across her face and she squealed. “You must be the boyfriend Bakugou’s been keeping from us, right?”
Midoriya laughed. “That’s me! My name is Midoriya Izuku, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
Without regard, Mina threw herself forward and hugged him. She looped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed tight. Midoriya let out a surprised yelp, which resulted in Bakugou yelling from the kitchen, but relaxed after a moment and hugged her back.
“I’m so happy to finally get to meet you!” Mina let go of him. “I mean, I’ve only known about you for a week, but you’ve been by Bakugou’s side for so long that I knew you had to be special.”
“I… thanks?” Midoriya looked over at them, confusion clear across his face.
The trio sitting in the living room just shrugged in return.
“Well, come on, let’s talk!” Mina walked further inside. “I’ve been dying to get to know you.”
“Oi! Racoon Eyes!” Bakugou snapped from the kitchen, appearing next to the counter. “Give him some space!”
Mina pouted at him.
Bakugou pointed a wok at her.
She put up her hands in surrender with a huff.
A satisfied smile crossed Bakugou’s face and he turned to them, nodding to the dining room. “Dinner’s ready, it’s already set at the table.”
“Yes! I’ve been looking forward to some good Bakugou cooking!” Kirishima called.
“You and I both,” Midoriya said.
The group moved to sit at the dining table, picking out where to sit and what to eat. Midoriya sat next to Bakugou on one side of the table, his eyes brimming with excitement. Kirishima and Mina sat across from them, with Sero and Kaminari at either end.
“Thanks for the food, Bakugou,” Kirishima said. He looked down at his plate, his mouth beginning to water.
“Thank you!” Everyone chorused, beginning to dig as Bakugou grunted in reply.
Bakugou had made a few dishes, but it was clear the main dish of the meal was katsudon. Not only did it have the largest portion, but it was definitely the best quality. Kirishima had never had such good katsudon before, and for a moment he felt jealous that Midoriya probably had had it before.
In fact, Midoriya repeatedly filled his plate with the dish, looking as if he was experiencing heaven each time he took a bite. And Bakugou watched him, a large smirk on his face.
“So, Midoriya,” Sero said, “What is it that you do? It looked like you had a lot of research out on the table before.”
Mina’s head swung to Midoriya, leaning in to hear what he would say. She had made a list of their guesses from the other night, of about twenty different positions that the man could work in.
“Oh, I’m a quirk scientist and analyst,” Midoriya said, “I study and analyze quirks in a lot of different manners.”
“Fuck!” Mina leaned back and threw a hand over her eyes. “I owe Shinsou so much money.”
Kaminari snickered at her. “That’s why you don’t bet against my fiance.”
“Uh, what?” Midoriya squeaked.
Kaminari turned to him. “My fiance, Hitoshi, bet that Mina couldn’t guess what your profession was.”
“And he was right!” Mina sighed. “I thought for sure you’d be a fashion designer, Bakugou’s family comes from that area!”
“That’s a fair guess, based on what you knew.” Midoriya smiled at her as he took another helping of katsudon.
Bakugou on the other hand was laughing into his plate, holding onto his stomach, and whispering to himself, “Fashion Designer! Ha!”
Kirishima shook his head, smiling at the scene before him. He was struck once again by how different Midoriya was from how he had pictured he would be. Suddenly, the time when Bakugou had uttered Nerd in reference to his boyfriend made so much more sense.
“Wait, so you’re like a quirk counselor then?” Kaminari asked.
Midoriya glowered. “I’m much more advanced than those idiots.”
The shift in tone struck Kirishima to the core, he felt as if any words he had were suddenly gone. It was clear the others felt the same, as they stared at the good-natured man who had suddenly shifted in tone. The only one who wasn’t shocked was Bakugou, who was still laughing into his plate.
“Oh, uh, sorry,” Kaminari laughed, “I didn’t mean to be offensive.”
“It’s fine, most people think I’m like a counselor and technically I am, but there is way more to what I do.”
“Uh, do you want to explain…?” Kirishima asked. “What more is there to quirks?”
“What more is there?” Midoriya asked. “Don’t make me laugh.”
Bakugou laughed again, “Now, you’ve done it!”
“There are so many important things about quirk, they have literally changed and revolutionized the world that we live in! If you take a look at any area of life, quirks have an effect on it. That includes the economy and workforce, along with societal norms and historical evaluations, the justice system, and political agendas. I dedicate my life to studying the effects that quirks have on people and society. With what I learn every day, I use it to help people that come to me in need. Quirk counselors are only taught how to teach people to control their quirks, but I go beyond that teaching to teach people how to grow their quirks and how to become aware of their quirk’s effects on the world around them. I help hero agencies by analyzing the quirks of villains so that they can be prepared to apprehend them, a quirk counselor wouldn’t even know where to start for that level of knowledge!”
Silence encompassed the table.
Kirishima could hear his heart beating in the back of his head. He had never thought about quirks in such a way before. More importantly, he wasn’t aware that others thought about quirks in such a way. It felt like someone had slapped him awake and forced him to look at a part of life that he didn’t know existed.
He glanced at the others, taking in their dumbstruck faces that probably mirrored his own, and then back at Midoriya. The green-haired man sat back in his chair with a huff, his arms crossed over his chest. Beside him, Bakugou smirked and looked around at his friend.
“Meet my boyfriend,” Bakugou said, “Midoriya Izuku, the father of Modern Quirk Theory at the age of fifteen.”
“Fifteen?” Mina gasped. “Holy shit.”
“Fuck, wow!”
“That’s unbelievable…”
“I never thought of quirks like that before!”
Midoriya huffed. “No one ever thinks of quirks like that, which is why my agency is trying to change that.”
“Your agency?” Kirishima gapped. “Like a company?”
“Yes,” Midoriya replied, “We’re a research organization. We make most of our money by working with hero agencies and quirk counseling sections, but we use it to further our understanding of quirks to create a better world.”
“That’s… that’s so manly!” Kirishima said, wiping a non-existent tear from his eye.
Mina leaned closer to the table. “Wait, were you helping a hero agency last weekend and that’s why we weren't able to meet you?”
Midoriya shook his head. “No, I was actually helping a hero-in-training improve his quirk. Unfortunately, he has a somewhat unpredictable quirk that can put him in dangerous situations, so I asked Kacchan to help with the safety issue.”
Bakugou huffed. “The little shit kept falling out of the sky, it was fucking annoying.”
“Kacchan, he was just starting to get the hang of it!”
“Don’t care, saving his ass every time was driving me insane.”
“Wow, Bakugou, sounds like you had your hands full,” Kaminari said.
“Yeah, annoying little shit.”
Midoriya rolled his eyes and shook his head. “But yeah, I help a lot of people looking to improve their quirks, or I help in cases where quirk counselors deem a quirk too dangerous for them to handle.”
“Does that happen often?” Sero asked. “It sounds kind of problematic too…”
“It doesn’t happen that often, but it does happen.” Midoriya shrugged. “Most of those cases come with a lot of trauma too, which sucks.”
“So you’re kind of like a therapist in those cases.”
“No, not really.” Midoriya shook his head. “I help with the quirk-related trauma, but I’m not qualified to help with anything else.”
“Quirk trauma?”
“Well yeah, duh.”
“I don’t think they know what that is, Deku.”
“Oh!” Midoriya blushed deeply. “It’s the idea that a certain quirk in an unsupportive environment can cause trauma to a person. Basically what I do is give a person a supportive environment to learn about their quirk, so they aren’t afraid of it or try to repress it in a way that can be harmful to themselves.”
“Wait, wait!” Kaminari gasped. “Like Himiko Toga! Didn’t she like, uh, go crazy because her parents forced her not to use her quirk?”
Midoriya made a face. “I think that oversimplifies things, but a little bit, yeah.”
“Can we not talk about the psycho bitch during dinner?” Bakugou groaned.
“Okay, Kacchan!” Midoriya smiled. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Well, I’m still interested in the quirk thing,” Kaminari said, “So, Midoriya, you must have a pretty strong quirk then, right? If you’ve studied how to improve it.”
Midoriya flinched as mumbles fell out of his mouth, his whole face going pale. Beside him, Bakugou sat straight up, his shoulders tense and his eyes glaring. The atmosphere turned as cold as jagged ice and Kirishima swore he could feel it dragging across his back. He froze above his plate, a fork full of food halfway to his mouth.
Bakugou glared right at Kaminari, opening his mouth to talk, but stopping when Midoriya’s hand appeared on his shoulder. The green-haired man dragged his hand down to the blond’s elbow and clung to it, holding it close.
“It’s okay, Kacchan.” Midoriya tightened his hold. “I’m okay with telling them.”
“You don’t have to tell them shit, Izuku.”
“Kacchan, I’m not afraid anymore.”
Bakugou softened, turning away from Kaminari completely and sinking into Midoriya’s hold. He rested his head against the green curly hair and sighed.
“Okay, but I’ll kick them out if they’re bitches about it.”
Kirishima swallowed and set his fork down, a few alarm bells going off in his head. He wondered just what kind of quirk did Midoriya have that elicited this type of reaction. Was it a supposed villainous quirk, like Shinsou’s? Was it a dangerous quirk like the ones that he studied and helped? Did that area interest him because he could relate to it?
Midoriya turned to them and took a deep breath. “Sorry about that, I just… I’ve been through a lot because of my quirk status.”
Kaminari immediately began to wave his hands. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to imply anything or something! You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel comfortable.”
“No, it’s okay, I promise,” Midoriya said.
“Are you sure?” Bakugou asked.
Midoriya smiled at him, then pressed a kiss to the blond’s cheek, before turning to them and forcing a smile onto his face. “I’m quirkless.”
Oh, Kirishima thought. Oh, that’s… that explains a lot.
“Oh, is that-” Mina cut herself off and shook her head. “I don’t mean to be offensive when asking this, but is that why we haven’t heard about you until now?”
Midoriya sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I just… it’s taken me several years to really come to terms with being fine that people know about it.”
“That sounds really hard to live with,” Kirishima said, “A lot of stress.”
“I was mostly worried that people would think badly of Kacchan, for dating someone like me.”
“Deku,” Bakugou said with a raised voice, “Don’t say ‘someone like me’, you’re perfect just the way you are.”
Midoriya blushed and hid his face. “Oh my god, you know I can’t take it when you compliment me!”
Laughter broke out across the table, bringing a lighter atmosphere into the room. The jagged ice that Kirishima had felt disappeared into a soft warmth that filled his chest.
Sero was the first to speak afterward, “Well, thank you for telling us. I feel honored that you trust me.”
Midoriya smiled at them. “You’ve all saved Kacchan’s life numerous times, I’m grateful for all of you… but I’m more grateful for how well you’re taking this. Thank you.”
“No need to thank us, bro!” Kirishima gave him the thumbs up. “I’ve now decided you are the manliest person I’ve ever met.”
Mina whistled. “That’s some high praise there.”
“What!? Even more manly than me, Shitty Hair?” Bakugou thumped his hand on the table.
Kirishima smirked. “Well, he is dating you, that’s pretty manly.”
Laughter erupted from the table once more as Bakugou moved to grab a bowl of soup and hurl it at his best friend.