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It’s a summer Saturday night and Eijirou is lifting weights in his room, listening to early 2000s and late 2010s american punk pop music. His fairy lights illuminate his darkened room to reveal a messy desk, his queen sized bed with a weighted red, fluffy blanket, and his more portable workout equipment in the corner of his room, as well as a fan facing directly towards his bed - he gets hot and sweaty easily. The fan is on, blowing wind into his freshly red dyed hair that has yet to be styled. Using the towel draped around his shoulders, he pats at the red water droplets falling down his forehead with a deep sigh in an attempt to relieve the heavy weight on his chest. Becoming a hero is what he wants to do, but man does it leave a guy stressed.
A ping sounds from his phone, and he puts down the 20 pound weight he was lifting at the foot of his bed, his feet dangling over it. He grabs his phone and reads the notification he’s received:
bakugo - best bro
oi, wanna come over?
Eijirou opens and answers faster than he’d like to admit to himself.
kirishima - shitty hair
yeah man, sounds fun to me!
bakugo - best bro
you’ll have to come to my grandmother’s house btw
Eijirou’s heart skips as soon as he reads the text. He drops his phone and covers his mouth - oh my god. He’s finally going to meet Nana Bakugo - the incredible woman who practically raised Katsuki. The person Katsuki admires and respects the most. Katsuki, his crush for the longest now, is going to introduce Eijirou to his grandmother. That’s
big.
Eijirou is snapped out of his shocked state when he hears another ping from his phone.
bakugo - best bro
you there idiot? she aint gonna bite
bakugo - best bro
well, maybe
bakugo - best bro
but that’s what i like about her.
Eijirou can’t help the huge smirk spreading across his face.
kirishima - shitty hair
if i can handle you, i’m sure i can handle her
bakugo - best bro
oh fuck off
Without really giving it a second thought, Eijirou takes a photo of himself smiling while flexing his muscles and sends it to Katsuki.
kirishima - shitty hair
you know you want me to stay ;)
bakugo - best bro
…
bakugo - best bro
i’m blocking you.
Eijirou gives his phone a goofy grin. A totally lovesick, goofy grin.
kirishima - shitty hair
i’ll see you soon <3
Eijirou said his goodbyes to his moms and made his way to Nana Bakugo’s. Eijirou’s lucky to know that Nana Bakugo’s household is just a block away from Katsuki’s house. Katsuki had pointed it out at one point when the two of them were on their way to the mountains for another hike.
Katsuki has always been close to his grandmother - Eijirou knew this better than anyone, as Katsuki was always mentioning his grandmother any chance he could. When they were talking about quirks, Katsuki never hesitated to talk about how amazing he thinks her quirk is - melting - and how he hopes he can be even stronger than her. Which, of course he is. Physically. But there’s something about Nana Bakugo that radiates total dominance, yet complete sincerity. The magic of having a hard shell while also being able to soften that shell - and knowing when to soften that shell. Her quirk wasn’t just physically strong, in Katsuki’s eyes. She could melt people’s hearts, too.
Even when they were talking about something completely obscure, he always managed to somehow fit the beloved grandmother into their conversations. It was clear to Eijirou that Katsuki held high respect for her, maybe even more than Katsuki respects Ei.
Eijirou has heard so many stories of Little Kats and Nana Bakugo, it’s like he lived them himself, right by Katsuki’s side. The story of the time Katsuki had fallen out of a tree and Nana Bakugo caught him just in time (Nana reassured him he didn’t need saving, but it’s much better than hurting himself); the story of Nana Bakugo teaching Little Katsuki sign language after noticing his hearing had been getting worse, Nana Bakugo deaf herself; the story about Katsuki and Nana doing karaoke. But the story - or stories - that stick out to Eijirou the most are the cooking stories. At age seven, Nana Bakugo taught stubborn little Katsuki how to cook.
“Katsuki, why don’t you come help me cook?”
Little Kats had looked up to the elder woman as she sat a pan onto the stovetop, eyes beaming with a child’s innocence and curiosity. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“But heroes don’t cook! I don’t have to learn how to cook.”
“Oh, but you’re mistaken. Every hero cooks.”
“But All Might doesn’t!”
“All Might does. You just never see it on TV.”
“So...even All Might?”
“Even All Might. A lot can happen behind closed doors, Katsuki. Now, do you want to become the greatest hero or not?”
“I do! I do!”
Eijirou remembers the wholesome scene by heart, even though it isn’t his memory nor did he see it himself. But something changes in Katsuki when he talks of his grandmother, so much that he can explain things so incredibly clearly, like he’s a professional author of a thousand best-selling books. Eijirou is sure that Katsuki keeps that memory close to his heart.
God, Eijirou’s heart is beating fast.
Almost as fast as Katsuki’s.
Katsuki feels like his heart might burst out of his chest. It’s punching at his ribcage, painful but euphoric. He’s really doing this. He’s really introducing Eijirou to his grandmother. Sure, Eijirou had met Katsuki’s parents and Katsuki had met Eijirou’s moms, but holy fuck. Eijirou meeting Katsuki’s grandmother is way past level 15. And they hadn’t even gotten to level 15 yet! Not that Katsuki thought about it, of course not. They’re just really close friends - that’s all this is. Of course. Right? Right?
Katsuki’s grandmother isn’t helping in calming his anxiety. “Oh, Katsuki!” She signs, “I’m really meeting him! Your first ever crush-”
“Shut up, would you!?” Katsuki whisper-yells, as if she can hear him, like an idiot. He signs his previous statement, and continues, “I don’t need you embarrassing me.” Even if his grandmother did embarrass him, they both know Katsuki wouldn’t hold a grudge - not like with his parents. His grandmother is different. The house is different. The atmosphere is different.
Unlike Katsuki’s parent’s house, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. It didn’t make Katsuki feel the weight of a thousand fights, tension built up into his chained heart. It didn’t feel that way at all, no, not even close; it felt like freedom; birds flying high in the sky, but without any effort or care in the world. It felt warm and sweet, and smelled of clean lemons and fresh air.
“I’m so going to embarass you,” Nana Bakugo signs.
Katsuki smiles.
A tuned knock at the door startles Katsuki, his heart quickening its pace - god, could it go any faster? - and he signs to his grandmother that Kirishima is here. Taking a deep breath and plastering on his mask of a snarl, he opens the door to see Kirishima with his hair down, still slightly wet.
“Did you get caught in the rain or somethin’?” Katsuki asks, leaning against the open door.
“Uh,” A light blush spreads across Kirishima’s face. “Oh. I forgot to style my hair.”
“You look better like that anyway, shitty hair.”
They stare at each other, like there’s a barrier between the house and the outside, a new level that they’re both hesitant to unlock.
Nana Bakugo taps on Katsuki’s shoulder and signs to him something Kirishima clearly doesn’t understand. Katsuki had taught Kirishima a little bit of sign language in their free time, but their free time is scarce, so Kirishima’s knowledge is limited. It’s alright, though, because Katsuki takes notice of Kirishima’s confusion.
“She says, ‘Come in.’” Katsuki says with the warmest smile Kirishima will probably ever see him wear. So warm that it sends chills down his spine, a fire igniting within him so bright that even the bitter wind can’t blow away.
Kirishima gingerly walks into the house and is welcomed with warmth and protection from the wind outside. Nana Bakugo signs, “Welcome!” - something that Kirishima can understand. Kirishima signs back, “It’s nice to meet you!” while also subconsciously speaking it out loud. He really doesn’t know how to shut up.
Kirishima takes off his shoes and puts on a pair of spare house shoes, blissfully unaware of Nana Bakugo’s intense stare. When he finally looks up to see amber eyes staring into his red ones, he’s suddenly hit with familiarity. Her stare is just as intense as Katsuki’s, just as wonderous and curious and beautiful - maybe even charming, striking. She signs to Bakugo, who says to Kirishima, “Wanna help make dinner, or are you bad at cooking too?”
“She didn’t say that!” Kirishima says defensively, crossing his arms.
But Katsuki laughs. Not a maniacal laugh or an “I’m-better-than-you” laugh, but a genuine laugh, teeth bared and eyes crinkled at the corners. Kirishima can’t help but laugh too, which prompts Nana Bakugo to laugh, and suddenly the house is full of a bunch of care-free, innocent laughter.
After calming down, Nana Bakugo makes her way into the kitchen and sets out a cutting board and pan, along with ingrediants such as beef and onions and ketchup. Almost immediately, Katsuki pulls out a knife and places the onion on the cutting board, carefully chopping it up.
“Is there any way I can help?” Kirishima asks sheepishly.
Katsuki pulls out another cutting board and places an onion and knife on it for Kirishima. “Cut the onions,” he says.
“O-Okay,” Kirishima picks up his knife and stabs the onion, right in the middle of it.
“Not like that, you idiot!” Katsuki yells, “Holy shit, you are so dumb.” It doesn’t have any real bite, as Bakugo gets behind Kirishima and guides his hand. “Like this.”
Kirishima would be lying if he said he didn’t like how close Bakugo was, how his hot breath could be felt on Kirishima’s neck and how it sent tingles down his spine. Kirishima looks at the half cut onion, “Woah! It has layers!”
“Of course it has layers, dumbass!” Katsuki laughs. “Onions have layers.”
Kirishima hums, “Like you, Bakugo?”
“Hah?” Katsuki releases his grip from Kirishima’s hands, returning to his side of the kitchen island. “The fuck does that mean?”
“Layers,” Kirishima repeats. “You have layers. Like, levels. You peel one bit away -” He peels off a layer of his onion on the cutting board. “- and then there’s another, until you get to your deepest core. Kinda like video game levels.”
“Is that all I am to you!?” Katsuki defends jokingly, “A game!?”
“I didn’t say that! Not what I meant!”
The two of them are laughing again, forgetting that the outside world exists. Right here, right now, it’s just the two of them - two teenage boys who have dreams bigger than they are tall, making a meatloaf together.
Nana Bakugo stands from the living room, watching the two boys bicker and laugh. Yeah. This Kirishima boy is definitely the one for her grandson.