Chapter Text
Kirishima woke up with a jolt. His head swerved to the clock on the wall. 9:05. Shit. He scrambled out of bed, grabbing whatever shirt he could find. He didn’t know the fight yesterday left him that tired. Shit shit shit! Bakugou is going to kill me. He wrestled with his laces, throwing his towel in his gym bag, and rushed out the door. He threw his bag on the motorcycle as he reached for his keys, again cursing his tardiness. He was seconds away from roaring the engine to life when a honk from behind scared him.
He whipped around, “H-hey bakugou!”, he waved nervously. Suddenly, all too aware of his undone hair and bland shirt.
“You’re late.”
“Yeah.. I’ll make it up to you! I’ll uh- oh! I’ll drive us to Korean BBQ with the gang! My gas, my treat?”
“Shut up and get in the car. “, he rolled his eyes, though his words lacked bite.
Kirishima jogged his way to the passenger side, settling his stuff down in their designated spots. Kirishima glanced up at bakugou. He smells so nice.
“So Korean BBQ? “, bakugou asked. One hand on the stirring wheel, the other dangerously close to Kirishima's knuckles.
“ Yeah, next weekend if you’re free. “, he stared at how close their hands were.
“On that piece of junk?”, he glared at Kirishima's motorcycle. he had something against his bike, he was sure of it.
“ You gotta stop hating on my old girl. She's my passion project! ”
“yeah yeah whatever. Pinky and other guys are gonna be there?”, Bakugou asked.
“ you know it!”,
“ Fine. “, he spared him a glance. “Why’s your hair down? How late did you wake up!?”
The rest of their car ride was full of playful bickering. Kirishima loved their witty back and forth jabs, but what he couldn’t stand was Bakugou's knuckles brushing against his skin at every bump in the road. It was a constant struggle suppressing the heat from rising to his cheeks, and keeping up with their petty argument.
***
The gym they were headed to was specially constructed for Pro-Heroes. The walls had been reinforced to handle a variety of quirks. There were also several rooms meant to simulate various combat situations. Truthfully kirishima wasn’t a regular, only appearing when bakugou invited him along. He had nothing against those places, in fact he thought it was incredibly beneficial to heroes with more destructive quirks (like Bakugous), but hardening was just… not enough to warrant a specialized building.
bakugou led the way to a makeshift street, fully equipped with street props and fake stores. They left their bags outside the room, stretching before bakugou turned to kirishima as they walked in. “ Is your side alright?”
“Huh? Yeah I'm good, Blasty. “
They shared a look. It was almost endearing from kirishima, warmth swelling in his chest. They took their places facing each other. When their eyes locked again it was as though a starting bell had rung.
Bakugou blasted up in the air, not missing how Kirishima's eyes hardened at the sound. Explosions and rock collided, smoking obscuring the playing field. The two went around exchanging blows for a short time. bakugou had a habit of using his quirk to gain momentum, landing harder hits. However, kirishima being his regular sparring partner, got really good at absorbing the shock. As a result, kirishima was getting comfortable taking hits. They swerved around each other with the clangs of their impact ringing through the room. With every hit more debris flew into the fake buildings, shattering windows and bending door frames. Kirishima's legs were getting shaky, how many more could he take?
“fucking dodge dumbass!”
“ I would if you gave me a chance!”
kirishima rolled on the ground. his hair was starting to stick to his forehead. although he knew he couldn’t stay down long. He could already feel bakugou vibrations through the floor. Quickly he got up looking at his surroundings- only to find broken props of street signs.
“bakugou,” kirishima was out of breath. “Let's take 5? “
bakugou was panting too, ignoring his previous statement , “ you think the villains will give you a break, huh?”. it sounded almost like a taunt, although there was an edge to his voice that wasn’t there before.
“ Is that what this is about? yesterday’s news?”, the dots clicked in his head. That must’ve been why bakugou was going all in from the get go.
“ think what you want. Point is you can’t be acting all stupid in the middle of a fight. “
kirishima laughed, letting his head fall. If there was one thing kirishima liked about training with bakugou it was that no one could tell if he was flushed or not. “ You shouldn’t either man. “ he looked at where they had been training. “ You're always leaving collateral damage on your patrols. It's dragging you down in the rankings. “
“ the hell you talking about!? “ , bakugou was getting riled up. He was trying to say something important, how did kirishima always manage to flip it around on him?
“I'm just saying; we both got room to improve”. Eijrou said it with a slight smile.
****
he was going to combust. he was sure of it. bakugou had already dropped him off at home after they grabbed a bite, yet his heart refused to still. He needed to get it off his chest, scream, rant, something!
“Mina how’s it going?”
“Good, I just finished my workout. What's up?”
“nothing i just uh- i went to train with bakugou earlier.”, he could feel her shit eating grin through the phone.
“Tell me everything! Did you finally say something!? confess maybe?”
“no no but-…”, he took a breath.
He started from the beginning, telling her about the villain from the day before; all the way to the late night call until Mina interrupted him. “ So it was past his bedtime?” , he hadn’t made that connection yet. although he tried to excuse it. “Yeah, but he could’ve had a late patrol. You know how things go.”, he reasoned. She didn’t buy it. She hadn’t bought it for so many years that one would think she was boycotting. Nevertheless, kirishima continued his ramble. He told her about their training, and Bakugou's stern advice. Maybe he was making a deal out of nothing.
“kirishima i know i’ve asked this a hundred times already- but are you sure the feelings aren’t mutual? “
she was wrong, truthfully she asked that question at least a thousand times in the past 6 years. he had considered it at the beginning. he would let himself read into the small things. he would stay up in his dorm thinking about their tutoring sessions, the hikes, the partnership they had grown used to, but ultimately he couldn’t let his hopeful feelings fester. deku helped him see that.
He knew bakugou and dekus relationship was complicated. Maybe that was why he felt guilty about it. In truth it wasn’t a romantic connection, but it was undeniably unique. They were friends since childhood, not to mention their moms were good friends as well. Their ideas of good and bad were almost intertwined with their shared upbringing, bakugou had admitted as much. in an odd way deku was Bakugous key to redemption. kirishima knew the kind of person katsuki was in middle school, and the shame he carried since then. Although bakugou didn’t feel bad about it then, his attitude naturally changed with maturity.
they would talk about it occasionally, bakugous remorse. he would wonder if he could be a hero in spite of his wrong doings. He wondered if he was worthy of his passion. Kirishima hated that kind of self deprecating attitude from katsuki.
After so many sessions he concluded that it was out of guilt. the reason why bakugou would equally, if not more so, go out of his way for deku. That was why he laid his finances bare in front of kirishima, explaining his plan to fund dekus new suit. It was why he still went to visit his mom, and donated to the first years at UA. no matter how kind hearted the soil was from which these actions stemmed from- the thorns still found their way into Kirishima's lungs.
Could kirishima redeem himself of these jealous thoughts and feelings too?
“ I'm sure Mina.”