Chapter Text
Kirishima breathed in the stale air of the apartment. He couldn't quite call it his apartment just yet, not when this was his first time seeing it. Not when he has yet to hang up his muscle clock in the corner. No matter how many times Bakugou told him to dump his 'offensively disgusting' clock away, Kirishima would trash such a blessed item. He kept Cherry (yes, her name was Cherry) all throughout high school and refused to give up on her now.
Kirishima slipped on the house slippers, scanning the living space. It was bland and in desperate need of some remodeling. The wooden tiles were dusty and creaked under his feet, the cupboard's white paint was chipped and falling off. Dust bunnies floated, suspended in the air, illuminated by the sunset showcased perfectly by the large window in the main room. It gave the atmosphere an ethereal glow. This room, Kirishima and Bakugou decided, would be their living room.
The apartment wasn't Kirishima’s or Bakugou's just yet, but they would make it their own.
Moving into an apartment was a big change compared to where he was just a few short days ago, though the UA dorms couldn't be too different. It would probably be even quieter without the bustle of their high school activities. Kirishima wasn't going to lie, he was going to miss it.
He still remembered when Bakugou came up to him with the proposition at the end of their graduation ceremony. Kirishima had been nervous out of his mind regardless of how many times the UA staff announced that every single person in his graduating group was well prepared. It was hard to believe. He would finally be leaving the school system to start his own life, he was equally ecstatic and terrified.
Realistically he knew he had a lot to look forward to. Fatgum already gave him a job offer as his new sidekick since Amajiki had gone off to start his own Agency with Mirio and Nejire.
It was also heartbreaking to know that the class, his second family he had spent four years with, would all be separating. Some even traveled as far as America. Thankfully his close friends opted to stay near.
Mina hadn't yet decided who she would be working for, but she was rooming with a few of the other girls only a train ride away. Kaminari was staying with Jiro and would be working with the pro hero shockwave. Sero was staying with his parents until he found a sidekick job. All in all, pretty close to him.
What Kirishima was worried about the most was Bakugou. He was afraid the best friend he had grown close with over the years would cut off all contact with them. It turns out he had underestimated Bakugou sorely.
"Shitty hair!" Katsuki called from across the stadium. Kirishima turned to him, a small smile on his face.
"Hey bro what's up?" Bakugou approached him, and now that Kirishima was paying attention, he noticed the way Bakugou glowed.
His ash-blonde hair was tousled from the graduation hat he had thrown. His skin, not quite as tan as Kirishima's, held a healthy luster. And wow- he couldn't be focusing on that, especially if Kirishima would only be more heartbroken when they moved from the dorms later that day.
He tried not to think about it.
When Bakugou finally reached him, he wordlessly shoved a folded paper to his Kirishima’s chest. “Huh? What's this-“
"Just take it, shitty hair." Kirishima numbly unfolded the paper with uncoordinated fingers, managing to open it up to reveal... No. No way. "Is this your apartment Bakugou? It's nice" Kirishima tried his best to sound sincere. He really did, even if the prospect of Bakugou moving away was almost unbearable.
"It's not my apartment idiot." Bakugou huffed, looking to the ground. Wow, that was very un-Bakugou-like behavior.
Kirishima scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. "Really? Then who's-"
"It's ours."
Kirishima's jaw fell to the stadium floor. A hurricane of emotion passing through his heart and leaving too much wreckage to fix. It was happy wreckage, though. In a way, it was hard to comprehend that Bakugou, the Katsuki Bakugou, wanted to move in with him.
He wouldn't be alone, his worst fears wouldn't be confirmed. "That is... if you fuckin' want to." Kirishima didn't miss the way Bakugou shuffled his feet, even if his hard red gaze didn't leave Kirishimas. " 'Course if you have other shit to do-"
"No!" Kirishima jumped in, cursing himself for sounding so eager. "I'm-I'm free! I'm happy you came to me, bro!" Kirishima had the overwhelming urge to pull Bakugou into a bone-crushing hug but held off to look down at the papers. He didn't really care what his new living space would look like, as long as Bakugou was there he wouldn't mind.
And hell, that sounded cheesy even in his head.
" 'jus figured it would work out. Fatgum agency isn't too far away, so it's convenient." Bakugou took the papers back and Kirishima felt his heart melt. He really put a lot of thought into this hadn't he?
"So when do we move in, roomie?" Kirishima asked, slinging his arm over Bakugou's shoulder, steering him in the other direction as they went to meet up with the rest of their classmates for a last group picture.
"Tonight."
Wow, that soon? Life was moving quickly. Kirishima remembered the day he passed the entrance exam like it was just yesterday. It was bittersweet looking on as his class all laughing joyously while mingling and taking selfies with each other.
Kirishima smiled to himself, it was time to move on. "This is gonna be great! My moms are going to be so happy to get me out of the house" He chuckled fondly at the thought of his mother booting him out with only a cardboard box to live with.
Another wave of sadness hit him. He wouldn't be near them anymore either. He was going to miss his friends, but Kirishima would surely miss his moms even more.
He would make due.
Bakugou gently lifted Kirishima’s arm away from his shoulder. "They can visit whenever the fuck they want." Eijiro knew this was Bakugou's own way of trying to pull him from his sudden homesickness.
He had read him like a book. It was a skill both of them had earned over the years of their closeness at UA. Kamino was the first domino in a chain of events that pulled Kirishima and Bakugou closer to each other.
Kirishima liked to think it was fate. He silently thanked the universe for its events, even if it wasn't nice to Bakugou.
The number of dangerous situations thrown at Katsuki left him humbled. Bakugou had many breaking points, but Kamino was where the line was drawn. Every night after the event, Explosions would sound, followed by panicked yelps and heavy breathing.
Kirishima was worried for his bro. About a month into the constant night terrors, a month of Bakugou looking like hell had frozen over, Kirishima decided to take action. He forced his way through Bakugou's impenetrable walls and fit snug in his role as his best friend. He didn't regret his decision for a second.
Being friends with Katsuki was like waking up the day of auditions. He kept you on your toes and it was exhilarating. Kirishima noticed how much Bakugou made him happy, and how much having a friend seemed to calm the blonde's violate attitude.
Once they became close enough, Bakugou finally got the help he needed. It was all smooth sailing from there. Now he would only get an occasional nightmare.
Kirishima wondered if he would have anymore when they moved into their new apartment.
" Eijiro" A feminine voice snapped Kirishima out of his void of thoughts. "You’re zoning out, your Ma asked you a question!"
Kirishima his heavy cardboard box down onto the wooden floor, his arm muscles twitched in relief. His Mama studied him with worried red eyes while his mom grumbled in fake annoyance.
"Oh, sorry Ma" Eijiro chuckled, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. "What were you saying?"
"I was just asking how you managed to find such a nice place." His ma set down her own box, wiping her hands on the sides of her paint-splattered jeans. "It needs a bit of fixing up, but it's nice."
Kirishima’s mom placed her index finger on the dust-covered countertops, the granite would be shining if it wasn't so grimy. She blew the dust off of her finger, face twisted in disgust. "A little?"
Kirishima burst into laughter, standing from his crouched position. "It was all Bakugou, he found the place and everything. I know, I'm just as stunned as you are- ah, place that box right there please."
His ma pushed another box around with her foot just as Bakugou bumped the door open with his hip, carrying his own load of possessions. "What room are you taking Kiri?"
His parental units raised their eyebrows at the nickname. It had been a while since they've seen Bakugou, so they weren't too well acquainted with his tendencies to switch from the nicknames 'shitty hair' to 'Kiri.' Eijiro loved it though.
"I'm not sure" he shrugged "I think the left ones a bit bigger-"
"I'm taking that one."
"Oh- alright.”
They continued to unpack in comfortable silence, occasionally his mom starting a conversation with Katsuki, asking him how his life has been. Bakugou’s answers were short and strangely civil compared to the first year when he had blown up at parents' day. He had come a long way.
As Kirishima started on his last box a strange sense of pride swelled in his chest. Man, he was so proud of Bakugou, he was so manly.
Eventually the time to say goodbye to his mama and mom was upon him. He was glad he got to see them, it settled his nerves. Bakugous parents were out of state unfortunately but he seemed accustomed to it.
Now that Kirishima looked back, they weren't at any of the parent days at UA either. He frowned to himself as he kicked a box into the corner to deal with later.
" Goodbye Eijiro" his Mom stood on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek. He was smug to learn that he had hit the 6'4 mark. "Make sure to call us every few days baby."
His Ma whacked him on the back of the head. "And clean the place up, it still looks like a shit hole."
"Not for fuckin' long" Bakugou grumbled from the other side of the room where he was... Oh man, he was already wiping the counters down.
"Bakugou, make sure my son doesn't lose his head please." His mom requested, dragging his ma with her.
Kirishima flushed red. "Mom!"
"He's not losing his shit on my watch."
"Thank you sweetie!"
Then they were gone. He knew he would see them in a couple of days but Kirishima already missed them.
Bakugou retrieved a broken looking broom from the closet. "Whatever."
Kirishima had never seen someone clean so aggressively in his life as the hours wore on. Anytime he stepped in to help, Bakugou furiously batted him away with his feather duster.
By now the sun had set, darkening the whole room. Kirishima wasn't sure which view he liked better, the daytime or nighttime view. There were no tall buildings that blocked their window like some other unfortunate apartment residents. There were only one-story buildings below them. Bakugou chose the highest room up. Kirishima was glad he did.
Katsuki sneezed, and Kirishima grinned at the sound. "You're kicking up so much dust you're sneezing, take a breather man!"
Bakugou rubbed his nose, sniffing. "I'm not kicking it up, I'm fucking cleaning it."
"Sure sure, want me to set up the futons?" Bakugou grunted then went back to wiping down the already clean windows.
Over the many years Kirishima had known Bakugo, he had learned what he liked to call, ‘The Bakugou language.’ At this point, he was fluent. So taking his lacking response as a yes, Kirishima got up to slide the futons next to each other by the window.
Their beds wouldn't come in for the next few days along with the rest of their furniture. At least they would get to sleep with an amazing view. "So when do you start working with Mirko?" Kirishima asked, plopping himself down onto the futon closest to the wall.
"The bitch gave me a week to 'settle in.' She wanted me to tell you to drop by, said you got spunk or somethin'" Bakugou leaned close to the glass, scrutinizing the nonexistent stains.
Kirishima’s face split into a grin "Wow really? Guess I'll have to. I don't start until the Monday after next, so I have a lot of time to just chill."
Bakugou turned to him, and for a second Kirishima was afraid he was going to spray him with the water from his squirt bottle. "You better not just 'chill'" he jabbed a finger to Eijiro’s chest. "You got a lot of cleaning and moving in to do."
Kirishima sat up, putting his hands into a surrendering gesture. "I'll even build your bed for you Bakubro! I know you suck at assembling things."
This time, Bakugou did spray him with the water.
Despite Bakugou's complaining, they ordered out at a nearby Chinese food joint. Kirishima paid the extra to have it delivered since they were both too exhausted to walk anywhere.
They didn't have a TV set, so they both sat on one futon, food spread out in front of them as they watched Netflix on Kirishima's phone. Of course, the subtitles were on, just as Bakugou liked it.
Katsuki’s own phone was on the charger. "I'm not watching the fucking kissing booth for the tenth time-"
"But Bakugou it's a romanceeeee"
"I don't give a shit. Let's watch a horror movie.”
They ended up deciding on Bolt.
"Hey Bakugou?" Kirishima asked, absentmindedly twirling his chopsticks between his fingers, eyes on the screen as Bolt and the cat escaped the vet.
"Hmm?"
"Why'd you want me to get a place with you?" It was a question that had been on his mind all day. He knew they were best friends, and that if Bakugou was going to get an apartment with anyone in the class, realistically it would be him. But he could have just as easily chosen to live alone.
Money wasn't an issue for Bakugou, he had been saving for a place ever since their Second year.
Katsuki didn't look at him, eyes trained on the screen in front of them. The blue light of the phone flashed over his face, and in that moment Kirishima noticed features he hadn't before.
Had he always looked that tired? Was Bakugou not getting enough sleep again?
The blonde then turned his head slightly to eye him. He just finished slurping up his spicy noodles. "Who else would it be?" He asked like it was a genuine question. And that was all Kirishima needed.
A half an hour later Bakugou's eyes started drooping to the point where he was adorably jolting awake every other minute.
Adorably? Kirishima didn't know how he managed to pull that word out of the magic hat, but he shoved it back in.
"Bakugou?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you asleep?"
"Hm."
Kirishima snorted, rolling his eyes fondly. He was totally half asleep. It was only... he glanced at the time on his phone... eleven O'clock. But he didn't have the heart to rouse Bakugou or kick him to his own futon.
Instead he shuffled around and laid Bakugou down, pulling the weighted blanket up to the others chin. Kirishima almost lost it when Katsuki subconsciously pulled it closer around himself, grumbling sleepily.
Man, he needed to get a life other than stalking his bro. It was unmanly.
Heaving a sigh, Kirishima pulled his hair back into a lose bun, rolling onto the other futon. He must have been even more tired than he thought since he fell asleep the moment his head hit the soft pillow.
The last view Kirishima saw was one he wouldn't be against seeing for the rest of the nights spent at their apartment.
Bakugou snuggled into his blanket, face relaxed and free of any frown lines, hair a puffy halo around his head. The night sky behind him seemed to extend on forever.
"Night Bakugou."
"...G'night K-kiri. You... y' got tha shark?"
Oh yeah, he was definitely sleep talking.