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The common area was just buzzing with the sounds of laughter and excitable chatter, colorful articles of clothing thrown over plain chairs and couch cushions. Bakugou spotted Iida in the kitchen with Deku and Todoroki, packing some string backpacks with water and snacks. From the corner of his eye, he could see Jirou and Momo snuggled up together on a small but seemingly cozy chair, with Momo occasionally lifting her phone up and having the two pose for a quick selfie. Somewhere amidst all the bustling bodies, music was playing off of someone’s phone. It was faint, but it sounded distinctively of some foreign pop singer. Probably Mina’s doing, she’s always had a unique taste in- well, everything.
Speaking of Racoon Eyes, Bakugou could kinda see the fluff of her pink hair from within the small crowd surrounding her. She was seated on the couch, a feathery brush in one hand and a colorful pallet in the other. With careful strokes she adorned Denki's cheeks with the sparkly colors of pink, yellow, and blue. Dunce Face had some sort of cube in his hands, playing with the little doodads on each face of it while Mina continued on with her artistic work.
As if sensing his eyes on her, Mina manages to tear her gaze away from Denki to meet Bakugou’s stare from across the room, where he stood leaning against a wall with his arms folded over his chest. The usual scowl painted his features, as did the glittering colors of the rainbow upon his cheeks; he fought tooth and nail against Mina, and yet she still managed to overpower him enough to get that sparkly crap on his face. He tried to rub it off but that shit won’t come off!
Shitty extra with her shitty face paint…
“Bakugou! Can you go get Kirishima for me? I told him to have his butt down here so I can do his face paint too before we head out. The guy hasn’t responded to my text yet though, and I only have a few more people left to do-”
“Alright! Alright, quit your damn yapping. I’ll go get him.” Bakugou grumbles with no real heat to his words, pushing himself off the wall and heading towards the actual dorm rooms now. With his arms unfolded from across his chest, he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his pants and keeps stomping along to Kirishima’s room. Fainting from the distance, he can hear Mina yell a ‘thank you’ to which he just throws a hand up in the air as if he could smack that thank you away from him.
It grew quieter as Bakugou got away from the common room, that excitable atmosphere mellowing down to something more tolerable for the explosive blonde. A deep sigh in drawn from his lips as he takes a moment to enjoy such peaceful silence, as he knew he’ll get no break to recharge his social battery once they’re there.
Soon enough though, Bakugou arrives at Kirishima’s dorm. Although the door was plain with a simple set of numbers inscribed onto it, he knew what a chaotic jumble of a room laid within its walls. It was loud in color, it was messy as a whole with no real rhyme or reason to its decoration, and it was so- Kirishima.
Lifting a hand up, Bakugou knocks his fist against the wood of the door,“ Oi, Shitty Hair, you there?” He calls out, staring at the door as if he could magically see through it and into the room; Bakugou knew Kirishima had to be in there, or else he would’ve seen the redhead walking to the common area on the way here. But Katsuki couldn’t hear anything from inside, none of the usual vibrations that accompanied the sound of Kirishima’s rock music or anything else of the sort.
“Yeah bro- I’m here.” Kirishima's voice was faint through the door, but even then Bakugou could tell something was off. His voice sounded rather hoarse, cracking when he spoke out to him," What's up?"
Katsuki couldn't help but raise a suspicious brow up now, his eyebrows bunching together into a small but confused furrow; usually Kirishima would've opened up the door by now, inviting Bakugou inside or stepped out to talk to him. Something was /definitely/ off.
"Mina told me to come get you. Get your face painted and shit." Katsuki replies, straining his ears now just to see if he can hear anything from within the walls of Kirishima's room.
"Oh-" Something soft hits the floor now, probably a pillow or blanket or some shit. Meaning Kirishima was in bed or something. Can't tell from outside the room, obviously," Uh, tell Mina not the wait up on me. I'm- not feeling the best right now."
Whatever little alarms Bakugou had chiming in from before were definitely blaring now," Wha'cha mean you don't feel well? You were fine this morning."
"Yeah well- I think I might be coming down with something. Better not to risk going out or anything..."
Bakugou could smell the bullshit from here.
Rolling his neck from side to side, Bakugou let a slow exhale out through his nose before speaking again," Let me see you, Shitty Hair."
For a moment, the only response Katsuki got was silence. But then, the blonde could hear the faint pitter patter of steps approaching the door. With a familiar clank of metal, the door was cracked open a smidge. You could barely see Kirishima's face, only see a bit of his nose and watch his lips move as he spoke," I don't want to get ya sick man..."
"I'm not buying that shit," Bakugou places a firm hand on the door and forces it open, just enough so he can step inside the room. Surprisingly, Kirishima doesn't fight back against this small invasion, either unwilling to fight back against Katsuki and his stubborn strength or unwilling to put in that effort to hide whatever he was trying to hide. He stumbles back a bit through, remaining unusually quiet. As Bakugou steps inside, he immediately takes notice of how damn dark it is. The curtains were pulled closed and Kirishima didn't even bother to put on a lamp or some shit," put on a fucking light man. You'll strain your eyes if you just sit around like this."
There isn't a peep of protest from Kirishima, although Bakugou could feel his eyes on him as he reaches for the light switch and flips it on with a single flick of his hand. Immediately the room is basked in artificial light, seeming to blind Kirishima momentarily as he lets out a small hiss and rubs his eyes. You'd swear he was a vampire evading the light of the sun-
But as Kirishima's palms drop from his face, Bakugou finally has the chance to get a good look at his face. Despite the strands of long red hair swaying in front of his face, the evidence of crying was clear in sight. His eyes were all red and puffy, tear streaks evident down those lightly freckled cheeks. His bottom lip looked to be raw, probably from the constantly gnawing of those shark-like teeth the guy had.
He looked like a mess, to put it bluntly.
"What's wrong?" Bakugou doesn't dare dance around the topic and gets straight to the point, that confused scowl twisted upon his features never seeming to cease," You've been crying, so I know something's up. No point in lying anymore."
Kirishima's lips part to speak, but no words seem to come out. It's like they got clogged in his throat, and Bakugou watches silently as tears get caught in the redhead's dark lashes. Kirishima's fists are bawled up at his sides, and for a moment a small sense of panic begins to take hold of Bakugou's chest. But Kirishima forces an intake of breath, letting it tremble past his lips as he exhales it," I'm scared."
"What?" Bakugou couldn't help but internally wince at how harsh that sounded leaving his mouth, though thankfully Kirishima seemed unphased by it; it wasn't uncharacteristic of the blonde to come off as a asshole when he tries to show concern, the class gets it enough even if it annoys Bakugou at times.
"I said I'm- I'm scared, okay? To go to pride." Kirishima manages to spit out, rubbing his hands upon his cheeks, surely to wipe away any remaining evidence of the tears he shed. He turns away and faces his back to Bakugou, irritation clear in the sigh that leaves him. Whether that irritation was at Katsuki or himself was up for debate, but either way the blonde watches as Kirishima stalks towards his bed and plops down upon the mattress. It was clear that it was the same spot Kirishima had been curled up in before, given how his blankets were circled around that particular spot. Gently his feet kick at the pillow lying on the floor beside the bed, staring down at it with a rather defeated expression," I know I agreed to go with everyone but now- I don't know if I can do it. It's so unmanly and I-"
"That's bullshit."
Kirishima's head snaps up, looking like a deer caught in headlights as he stares at the explosive blonde with wide eyes of red. Bakugou stomps on over now, kicking the door closed with one solid movement. Without another word he plops down beside Kirishima, brewing in silent thought before letting out a deep sigh," Being afraid doesn't make you unmanly. Owing up to it is tough at shit. Hell, I can't do that most of the time." He admits, absentmindedly tracing the lines of his own palms as he spoke with an averted gaze, unwilling to meet the eyes that were gazing so intently at the side of his skull.
"You are pretty bad with vulnerability." Kirishima agrees with what sounded like a hush chuckle, dragging his nose across his forearm as he sniffles. Bakugou has to fight the sudden urge to smirk, instead turning to land a playful punch on the redhead's shoulder," Hey! Don't kick a man while he's down."
"Whatever." Katsuki gives a roll of his eyes, but it lacks the usual irritation it typically possesses. Instead, there's a certain fondness in its place. A rare sight that seeks to have Kirishima grinning like a dork beside him," Now, you wanna talk about why you're scared?"
That dorky sharp-tooth grin from seems to dim into a more weak smile as this question is asked, which immediately has Bakugou back-peddling," We don't have to, obviously, but I know people usually ask-"
"It's fine man," Kirishima gives a slight shrug of his shoulders, seeming lost in his own internal thoughts for a moment before a sigh escapes him. He leans back on his arms now, staring up at his ceiling," I'm just- remembering all the stuff my parents use to say. About pride, about- people like me. And I know we don't get protests here like they do in America, but like- I don't know if I could handle it. Hearing that hate my parents use to spew and stuff..."
Now it's Bakugou's turn to sigh, his head bobbing in a slow nod as he moves to more or less mimic Kirishima now. Rather than lean back on his arms, he straight up just lays back on the mattress, resting his hands above his head," Yeah, that could happen. But there's assholes everywhere, who'll say shit to you just for wearing a damn rainbow button on your jacket. Pride or not, small-minded idiots will spew hate."
"I know I know..."
Bakugou's eyes flicker to Kirishima, watching how he sits up just to tug at his strands of long red hair, seeming to gaze at the floor like it was some math homework he was stressing over. Katsuki chews on the inside of his cheek for a moment, before knocking his leg lightly into Kirishima's side. This has the redhead's attention on him now, flickering those ruby eyes to meet his gaze," But you won't be alone, Eijirou."
The blonde slowly pushes himself to sit upright once more, leaning back on his arms like Kirishima had been moments before," We've all dealt with our fair share of stupid-ass people making their stupid-ass comments. It's allowed to hurt, you're allowed to feel afraid of that kind of confrontation. But you got us. We aren't going to let you face that shit alone."
Kirishima falls silent now, staring at Bakugou's face with an expression he could only describe as awe. Slowly, however, a small smile crawls up onto his lips," That was kinda corny, man."
"Shut up, Shitty Hair." Bakugou manages to get his hands on a misplaced pillow and chuck it at Kirishima's face, only seeming to fuel the soft laughter spilling from his lips. Admittedly, Bakugou let out a few chuckles as well," What I'm trying to say is that any one of us will throw hands at someone if they try to disrespect you, alright? That's it. I've said my peace."
Kirishima's laughter seems to simmer down after a moment, leaving only the remnants of a smile curled upon his lips. With that thrown pillow now being cradled in his lap, his painted nails picking at the fabric, Eijirou would lift his eyes to gaze at the blonde with a rather glowing expression" Thanks, Bakugou."
Katsuki couldn't explain it-
As cheesy as it sounds, it felt like there were suddenly butterflies in his stomach, fluttering around without a care for Bakugou and his confusion.
He tries to shake such weird feelings away, brushing them aside as he gives a shrug of his shoulders," It's no big deal."
"I really needed that little pep talk man," Kirishima continues with a growing grin, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes now," no matter how corny it is."
"That's it- I'm never giving you a pep talk again."
"Nooooo-! Don't do that Bakubro, I need you and your corny pep talks!"
Yet again, Bakugou finds himself rolling his eyes at Kirishima with the utmost fondness. He grunts and tries to roll away from the redhead now, failing miserably at such an escape as Eijirou comes giggling after him. He essentially flops onto Katsuki to stop him from rolling off the bed and out of the room, and leaving the two teens to fall into a fit of laughter.
It felt good to laugh like this.
It felt good to see Kirishima smiling again.
With Eijirou lying on top of him, Bakugou could truly appreciate how he looked when he laughed. Those ruby red eyes, encased with dark lashes, were shut tight with delight, the freckles dusting his tanned features seeming flushed to a certain degree. And his smile- his smile was bright, brighter than the sun in fact. It was radiant and beautiful and Bakugou would do anything to see Kirishima smile like that always.
All of a sudden, Katsuki felt his heart leap into his throat, leaving the blonde absolutely muteness as those butterflies from earlier came in for another attack.
Love.
This feeling- it was love, wasn't it?
Love was always described like this in the mangas. As this sort've weird fluttering feeling in your gut, that travels up into your heart and leaves you wanting to hold the person of your affection close. Wanting to see them smile and be happy, like Bakugou desires so greatly.
Bakugou has never been in love.
He's been alone, for the most part.
He's made it so hard for people to get close for all these years, pushed people away with all his might and yet-
Here he was now.
"We should-" Bakugou's mouth felt dry all of sudden, licking his lips as his gaze flickered from Kirishima's now open eyes to his lips, the back up to his eyes. His heart felt like it was hammering against his ribcage now, to the point he feared Eijirou would feel it from above him," We should get moving, or else Mina will kick both our asses."
"Afraid she'll put more glitter on you?" Kirishima asks with a rather impish grin painting his lips, daring to extend a finger out and boop the blonde's nose.
Katsuki retaliates by trying to nip at that finger, earning a small yelp from the redhead above him. Such a reaction leaves the guy smirking," Yeah, so get your ass off me."
"Fiiinnneee, if you insist." Kirishima reluctantly rolls off him now, laughing to himself as he watches the blonde leap up onto his feet and start straightening out his clothes from where he remained laying in bed," I kinda like your whole glitter look though."
"Funny," Bakugou replies with a sarcastic huff, although he finds himself totally unable to wipe that damn smile off his face now. He gently kicks his foot at Eijirou's dangling legs," now get up."
"Yeah yeah-" The redhead more or less rolls off the bed and onto his feet, giving his body a small stretch before his hands began to pat all over himself.
This has Bakugou raising a curious brow at him," What the hell are you doing now?"
"Checking if I've got everything on," Kirishima mutters, looking to the colorful rainbow bracelets adorning each wrist and feeling the pockets of his black ripped skinny jeans for what Bakugou assumed was his phone and wallet. He pats his chest, as if he somehow managed to forget to put on that black binder Katsuki hardly sees him without, which is a lot as concerning as it sounds. He can see it even now, peeking out from the loose sleeveless tank top he's got on. Eijirou gives a small tug at the simple necklace he has dangling around his neck, touch at his ears for the piercings adorning them, before looking to the blonde," wha'cha think of the fit?"
Bakugou gives the redhead a quick glance-over, letting out a small pondering hum as he taps his chin; he looked great, obviously, but he couldn't be too eager answering," You look good." He says, watching the smiling relief wash over Eijirou's expression at his answer," Glad Sero talked you out of wearing your crocs."
"But my crocs would've looked so cool! I had cool charms and everything-"
"Dude, nothing looks good with crocs. Especially your red monstrosities."
"Hey! Don't go disrespecting my crocs like that." Kirishima protests, giving Bakugou's bicep a playful punch before he starts moseying on over to his door. He pulls a black rubberband from around his wrist and starts to pull his hair back into a high ponytail.
Soon the two are heading back towards the common room, walking side by side with one another. Although they walk in comfortable silence, Bakugou can feel the brush of skin from Kirishima's arm, the natural warmth of his body radiating against his own from the closeness of their walking bodies. Eijirou simply gazes ahead with a beaming smile, and Katsuki decides to do the same.
Bakugou will learn to live with the butterflies in his stomach if it means he can see Kirishima smile like that.