Archive of Our Own

The day Kaminari knew he would die came when Bakugou dragged him to his room by the collar.

It wasn't the dragging by the collar part; that, unfortunately, was a well-established move in their friendship. Since the day Bakugou dragged him behind a bush (which felt just as terrifying as it sounded) he would physically drag Kaminari to wherever he needed to talk to him. Behind oddly tall trees, nondescript back-alleys or buildings, toilets when Bakugou ran out of eyeliner.

Kaminari would try to open lines of communication, suggesting maybe Bakugou could give him 1 to 2 business days advance notice of location, topic, general non-lethal intentions. Just so that Kaminari could, perhaps, in a bold move, walk by himself to wherever Bakugou wanted to speak to him. Unfortunately, telling Bakugou that they needed to talk led to Bakugou saying they needed a better place to talk, then dragging him by the collar to the nearest place he thought would be good for said talk.

So, like he did with his dignity, he dropped it. Eventually and very reluctantly, Kaminari decided it was a very particular and maybe one day endearing habit of his. Now, out of convenience, he just went lax when he felt the telltale grip around his collar -- like a kitten going limp from being picked up by the scruff. It did take the pain out of walking, on the bright side.

But what Bakugou never did, however, was drag Kaminari to his room at 1 AM like the world was ending and he was taking Kaminari out with him.

That, and Kaminari had just trawled through another enthralling and endlessly terrifying page on the SCP Wiki, so he was going through a unique brand of scared shitless when Bakugou bodily dragged him out of his room.

"Buddha, Allah, holy Mother, take care of me when I'm up there," Kaminari muttered like a madman under his breath, hands clasped till his knuckles went white in prayer, his ass sliding along the dormitory floor. "If I can have anything in this world left, leave me enough blood to write Kacchan's name in dying, barely legible handwriting, a documentary that makes millions from a dramatised retelling of the murder, some artistic license taken with the attractiveness of my bloody, charred remains -- also, please, have someone take care of my board, my Switch 2, my hamster Smamosa, and -- "

"God, pipe the fuck down, Sparky...!" Bakugou hissed between clenched teeth, giving another sure tug so Kaminari could choke a bit. "You'll wake the whole fucking floor up!"

"And you didn't think that applied to me...?!" Kaminari hissed back at him, struggling against his vice grip. He didn't like his shirt that much anyway. "What do you even want?! I'll give you my most prized possessions, liquidate my assets -- we can negotiate...!"

"Got nothin' to negotiate," is all Bakugou grunted before they reached his room.

"Great. Just great," Kaminari threw up his hands. "And I didn't even get to reach Avengers Endgame in my MCU marathon -- " He shook his head, sighed to hide a sob. Bit his lip, voice wobbly. "I had -- so much, to live for..."

"Fuckin' drama queen," Bakugou muttered.

"I cannot stress how much I don't want to hear that from you right now!" Kaminari cried. When Bakugou threw him on the bed, he froze up. "...Oh -- Oh, dear god. Are you trying to bed m -- "

"Think about even finishing that sentence." Bakugou lifted a palm at him, seething. "I want to see you try."

Kaminari glanced at his sizzling hand, already smelling burnt marshmallows. He gulped loud in the silence.

"You... You won't kill me?"

"Why would I?" Bakugou scoffed, tired. He put down his palm. "Besides, if I wanted to kill you, why the hell would I do it in my room of all places?"

"I don't know! Making everyone think one thing about you when you're actually another is your whole shtick, thing!" Kaminari sat up on the bed, gesturing wildly at all of Bakugou, who sat on the computer chair opposite him. "How am I supposed to know what sort of twisted psychological warfare mind-games you'd play on your would-be captors!"

Bakugou squinted at him. "Don't fucking flatter me."

"I wasn't trying to?!"

"God, Jesus, just -- " Bakugou sighed and leaned over deeply. "Kaminari, could you be quiet for one goddamn second in your life, please."

At that, Kaminari took genuine pause. He rarely, if ever, used Kaminari's actual name.

More than that, Bakugou never said please.

The giddy panic left his system, leaving a confusion that weighed on the air, on Bakugou's back as he stayed leaning over. Elbows buried into his knees, looking to rub his brain out of his temples.

"Are..." Kaminari scanned the length of him -- smaller, exhausted -- his frown digging deeper in his brows, "you okay, man?"

"No," he spat, making Kaminari flinch. "I mean, yeah. I'm fine. I'm just being, fucking. Weird, about it." He blew out a long breath. Pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just... Gimme a minute."

Slowly, Kaminari nodded. He grabbed the edge of the bed sitting himself upright, waiting for Bakugou to collect himself.

The seconds dragged to minutes. Then, Bakugou's hands slipped from his face to dangle between his knees. He took a deep, long drag of a breath, exhaling a long plume of calm. Forced, but calm nonetheless.

Kaminari kneaded the blankets beneath him without realising, a ball lodged in his throat.

Bakugou looked up at him eventually. A hard notch between his brow, otherwise completely poker-faced. Kaminari chewed on the inside of his cheek, taking in Bakugou's long, calculating look.

"...Can I trust you?"

Kaminari blinked at the sudden question. In the silence that followed, it sounded like Bakugou was really asking himself more than the boy sitting on his bed.

"Wh -- Yeah. Yeah, of course," he said on reflex. He swallowed. Despite the uneasiness of his laugh, it was genuine. "I wouldn't mess around if it's something serious."

Bakugou studied this response. Studied him. He looked down at the ground again, a noise leaving him. Supposedly of acknowledgement.

"I'm gonna tell you something," he decided. Declared. Kaminari's hairs prickled rising on his skin. "You won't tell anyone else. You especially won't tell Kirishima."

Dazed, Kaminari suddenly straightened his back. He didn't even consider that Bakugou would tell him something he hadn't even told Kirishima -- the gravity of the situation started making itself known in his gut.

"I -- Yeah. Yeah, no, sure. He won't hear it from me," he promised. Then his eyes darted. "Uh. But like, if it's something illegal, or you're -- hurting yourself, or something, I -- I'm pretty sure I'd have to tell Aizawa, or Recovery Girl, or someone -- "

"It's nothing like that." Bakugou shook his head. "No danger, no villains. I'm just asking you to keep a secret that I can't handle by myself anymore."

He was soft-spoken and calm. In a way that was as unsettling as it was comforting -- like the calm that followed a travesty, the wreckage of a disaster. Like the heroes were too late to the scene.

Kaminari, despite himself, gave a small, sheepish smile.

"You can tell me, dude," he said. "I'm here for you."

Bakugou glanced up at him. His lip flattened to a line, dimples forming on his chin. Kaminari just kept smiling back at him. Till Bakugou deflated in a sigh, the last of his defences down.

"I..." He bit hard on his lip. Let go while his brow furrowed tight. The words fought their way past his lips. "I'm gay."

Kaminari's brows rose. Bakugou's mouth stayed open, eyes following slowly, opening in pained expression.

"I'm gay, and, I'm..." He made a fist on his leg, squeezing tight. "I'm...in love, with. Kirishima."

Kaminari stared. He breathed out, realising dimly that he had held his breath there. Bakugou looked up at him. Piercing and calculating as always. But worried, this time.

"Bakugou," he blurted. Cleared his throat -- he sounded quieter than he had meant to -- and took in a breath. "I'm... I know this a lot, for you, but. I want you to know that I'm -- genuinely -- glad you could trust me enough to tell me, and. And this doesn't change how I see you at all. Like. Don't think I'll stop dropping you lines to see Recovery Girl for anger management, or stores to get you anything other than the loafers you wear all the time, like -- "

Bakugou gave a snort. A smile sprouted on Kaminari's face, and he kept going.

"Bottom line is this doesn't change anything, man," he said. "Your secret's safe with me."

Bakugou glanced aside. Licked his lips, shoulders rolling before he let out another sigh. Naturally harsh, but lighter than anything Kaminari had heard from him that night.

"That...means a lot to me," he said. He looked up at Kaminari, an unfamiliar, tight quirk to his lip. Which, belatedly, Kaminari recognised as maybe a smile. "...Thanks."

"No problem." Kaminari leaned back on his hands. "How, uh, long's it been since you knew?" He started kicking out his feet, his energy seeping back with the weight that left the room. "I mean, it sounds like it's been a while." His legs stopped mid-kick. "Oh -- am I allowed to ask, or?"

"Yeah, you can ask," Bakugou said. Kaminari gave a hard nod at that, resuming the beat of his feet -- his feet beat. "I don't know about the gay thing. I'd just...noticed guys more than girls. Only realised it was a thing when most guys noticed girls more." He scratched his nose, pouting. "But I don't think about that kinda stuff much in the first place."

Kaminari hummed. Like the more he thought about it, the less he was surprised by it all.

"And the Kirishima thing?" he asked. "You said you're in love with him, yeah? That's pretty intense."

"I mean. I don't know if I -- fuck." Bakugou scrubbed a hand over his face, which, Kaminari noted, was turning an interesting colour. "I know I like him, and I'd -- do...a bunch of shit for him, if he asked. Or not. Even when he's, like, not around, and even though he doesn't know. And I don't want him to know because we're fucking great friends, he's got a heart of gold in him, and he doesn't deserve me giving him shit, but fuck if I wouldn't mow down some bitches if he needed me to and -- " His lip twisted, and he threw his hands up, his frown growing red. "Like, shit, if that isn't being in love with him or -- fuckin', whatever. Then I don't fuckin' know what is."

Kaminari's brow planted itself high on his head. He gave a low whistle. Bakugou's eyes snapped to his.

"What?"

"You're gone for him, man," Kaminari said. Bakugou's blush stretched fast down to his neck, and Kaminari let out a surprised laugh. "No wonder you had to tell me -- you must've been messed up trying to keep this to yourself."

Bakugou opened his mouth, looking ready to cuss him out. Then he closed it, obviously realising Kaminari was just telling the truth. Then he groaned long and muffled into his hands, and Kaminari only snickered.

"Don't fucking laugh," he muttered, muffled, because his face was still in his hands. "It's fuckin' awful."

"Dude, c'mon -- you gotta admit it's kinda funny," Kaminari grinned. "You got a major crush that's got you dumb for a guy you keep calling Dumb or Shitty Hair."

"'Cause his hair is dumb and shitty," Bakugou mumbled, looking over his fingers all soft and into the distance, sighing helplessly. "It's the fucking stupidest thing..."

"I'm processing lovesick Kacchan for the first time, and gotta say, lovin' what I'm seein' here," Kaminari circled the scene with his hand, only grinning wider when Bakugou glared at him. "What! I'm not gonna tell anyone about it! Besides, even if I wanted to and managed to avoid you finding out and actually murdering me -- "

"Which you wouldn't."

"Without a doubt I would relive The Quiet Place on repeat while you hunt me down to the ends of the earth -- no one would actually believe me. They'll just think I short-circuited again or something." In the middle of waving off the idea, he stopped, eyes wide with realisation. "Man, you actually chose the perfect person to tell. No one would believe anything I told them about tonight."

"Congratu-fuckin'-lations," Bakugou sat back in his chair. "You get no prizes."

"Wow. You little devil," Kaminari just shook his head at the ceiling, before looking down at him. "I'm not even mad about it. A little used, maybe, but I'm mostly just impressed."

Bakugou shrugged, looking aside. A few seconds passed. Kaminari tapped out a rhythm on his leg, humming.

"...So," Kaminari said, taking his time with the 's'. "Did you like. Get super turned on thinking about him which made you tell me this late, or? Hey, whatcha coming over here for? Oh, shit -- "

In hindsight, Kaminari accepted he fully deserved Bakugou smothering him with a pillow for a solid half a minute.

After that, Kaminari acted as Bakugou's soundboard for that night. About how he started noticing Kirishima as a friend more properly during the sports festival, how they ended up spending more time together in general, especially at I Island. The adrenaline that followed after the Kamino incident is when thoughts of Kirishima started bleeding into Bakugou's brain more and more, and the time they spent with just each other didn't help matters. It was only after Bakugou waited up to see Kirishima come back from the hospital after his internship, looking tired but alive and well, and Bakugou felt so much he just laid awake in bed from 8 in the evening, that he realised maybe he cared a lot about things other than being the best hero ever. Namely about Kirishima.

"I thought that was weird!" Kaminari said, pointing vigorously. "You were such a grandpa that night -- I knew something was off!"

"Well, I wanted to get an early night in for my license retake, so..."

They kept talking. Mostly, and rightfully so, it was Bakugou talking. About how he got more self-conscious around Kirishima. How he started finding things he knew about for so long -- Kirishima's eyelid scar, his permanently dyed hair, his workout routine, how he had to use his fingers for his nine times-tables still -- made him smile and feel hot like he was about to blow up but all around his face instead of just his hands. And how he forgot how he usually acted before he knew he liked Kirishima, and they just kept meeting up for tutoring or training or just hanging out. How these feelings kept snowballing inside him until it became unbearable, and the dam broke tonight.

"And now we're here," Kaminari surmised. To which Bakugou only nodded.

"Yeah," he let out a breath, shoulders sagging. "Now we're here."

"Damn, if that..." Kaminari blinked slow, starting to yawn. His hand came up to cover it. "If that ain't something. Sorry, I usually get to sleep by now -- it's not that you were boring me or anything."

"Didn't figure you had the balls to yawn at me even if you were." He huffed. But his shoulders shook with it, so it was an amused huff, probably. "Get your ass to bed. We're done here anyway."

"Sure, sure," Kaminari stood up, stretching his arms, out his back. "Lemme know if you wanna talk about any of this again. I'm no Shouji, but I can lend you an ear if you need it."

Kaminari relaxed, shaking his arms and fingers. Then noticed that Bakugou was staring at him, confusion all over his face. "What? Did I say something?"

"Why would I need to talk about this again?" Bakugou said, frowning. "I said the crap I needed to."

Kaminari stared. Cocked his head. The gears in his head clicked.

"...Wait. Do you." He put one hand up, another at his own face, before looking at Bakugou again. "Do you think, like. You just spill your guts about your crush once, and everything sorts itself out? All hunky-dory, happily-ever-after style. Just like that?"

Bakugou stared back at him. Before his expression evolved into a genuine, deep terror.

"You mean there's more?"

Kaminari fought back his laughter. He really tried. But it was an onslaught following a surprise attack, and he was reduced to a hose that shot out air instead of water: just a hissing, writhing mess.

"Asshole, don't fuckin' laugh at me...!" Bakugou yelled at him -- as loud as he could without waking their neighbours. Kaminari just tried valiantly to not choke braying like a donkey on his floor.

"Oh, holy shit -- I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, don't kill me, but oh-hoh my god -- !"

"Fuckin' answer me, dipshit!" Bakugou wrung him up by his collar, but Kaminari still couldn't stop laughing. "What the fuck do you mean it doesn't sort itself out?!"

"Oh, Blasty, Kacchan, my sweet, explode-y boy -- " Kaminari wiped away his tears, a foot away from Bakugou's snarl, lax in his death-grip out of habit. "Crushes don't work like that, man! You're not gonna suddenly stop thinking about who you like just because you talk about 'em once!"

Bakugou squinted at him, still confused. Kaminari took deep, puffing breaths, holding some in to control himself. "Okay! Okay. It's like -- look, do you still like Kirishima?"

"Fuckin' course," Bakugou said immediately, indignant.

"Never thought I'd say this about you, but that's adorable -- are you gonna tell him anytime soon?"

"Not a chance."

"Uh huh, yep, and will you see him anytime soon?"

"Yeah, like every damn day."

"So. You're gonna see Kirishima every day. Just him. And not be able to tell him you like him, when you've been thinking about it non-stop for, approximately, forever," Kaminari summarised slowly at Bakugou, making sure he enunciated. "And you think things will just sort themselves out -- keeping in mind how you even got to this stage in the first place -- and you won't need to talk about it to someone ever again? Much less anytime soon?"

Bakugou processed the words a foot away from him. Shock and horror overtook his face again, eyes boggling. His grip loosened on Kaminari's collar, and he sat back down on his computer chair, leaving Kaminari to readjust his shirt while his jaw fell open in a catatonic state.

"...Fuck."

"And there we have it," Kaminari said, patting himself down. "McSplode gained much-needed love XP."

Bakugou buried his head in his hands again. "Fuuuuuck."

"Give it time, buddy. Give it time," he nodded with sympathy. Patted Bakugou's shoulder twice before heading for the door. "Tell me when you wanna vent about Kirishima or your gay thoughts again. Night!"

With the door clicking shut behind him, Kaminari let out another yawn as he headed back to his room. There was a lot that happened tonight, but not much to process. It felt like things that he had never even thought about had fallen into place. About how Bakugou would act a little differently towards Kirishima than the rest of them, despite them all being friends. Also Bakugou's behaviour and lack of interest in girls when it was just them guys chewing the fat. Little things like that started making more sense.

"Who'da thunk it," Kaminari hummed to himself when he back in his room, switching off the lights.

He felt for Bakugou -- not that he got the gay part so much, since, well. Girls. All the way till he died of old age mourned by his loving wife and his many stunning exes who would attend the funeral anyway because he would be just that banging of a lover. But he got what it was like to crush on someone and not be able to tell them. Maybe not as hard as Bakugou was on Kirishima, but it was still tough.

Bakugou and Kirishima. It was something that crossed his mind, but only in a platonic context. Definitely, if anyone was equipped to handle Bakugou's bullshit, no one but Kirishima would fit the bill, realistically. Though Kaminari, ever slanting towards pessimism, thought Kirishima would prefer someone else. There was no guarantee he was gay, and even if he was, he was a real friendly guy -- there wasn't any sign that he'd do things for Bakugou that he wouldn't do for any of his other friends.

Still, he wished Bakugou the best of luck, if only because he may have needed it. That Kirishima would go as moon-eyed over Bakugou as he just saw Bakugou go over him tonight was pretty funny. The idea of the hot-blooded, overenthusiastic epitome of manliness fawning like a schoolgirl over Bakugou Katsuki of all people made Kaminari chuckle.

"What would be the chances," he muttered to himself, settling under his covers, sleeping dragging nicely on his eyes. "Kirishima being head over heels over him like that..." he yawned again, snuggling into his pillow, humming. "That'd be somethin'."

"I swear, I'm like, head over heels for him, bro, like -- " Kirishima collapsed back on his bed, arms spread-eagle as he groaned. "It's so unmanly -- I get all excited like some schoolgirl when I think about him, and it's like, ugh! You know?"

The afternoon sun streamed where Kaminari was sitting perfectly straight on his computer chair, smiling so hard his face would split in half. Or maybe his teeth would shatter under the pressure.

"Uh huh! Is that right!" he squeaked, voice climbing in pitch with every word. "That's a lot you've been going through, huh!" He nodded short and fast, a bit too enthusiastic. "Champ!"

"Yeah, man! It's been a little crazy lately, if I'm being honest," Kirishima laughed sitting back up, adjusting his white headband around his hair. "Hey, thanks for listening to me, dude. Especially since I dumped this on you so suddenly. First coming out to you as gay, then saying I'm in love with Bakugou and everything. I mean, I probably, am," he corrected himself. Rubbed at his neck, laughing shyly. "I'd do anything for him. I know that much."

"It is. Wild!" Kaminari chewed his inner cheek while nodding progressively faster. "Certainly! I will say that much!"

"It is pretty wild, isn't it?" Kirishima gave another shrug and a smile. His sigh came airy. "You've been really great about it, though. You're definitely a lot happier about it than I thought you'd be. You haven't stopped smiling since I told you about it!"

"Oh, that! You know me, I'm just so happy. Surprised, definitely, but just over the moon for ya!" He made a fist, swinging it through the air, his smile still super-glued on his face, looking like a bad Botox job. "You big...! Buddy o' mine!"

"Maybe I was less obvious about it than I thought I was, huh?" Kirishima leaned back on his hands, a wry pull to his lip. "Well, as long as Bakugou doesn't find out about it, then I'm fine with it. I mean, I wouldn't be able to handle him looking at me differently, or ruining our friendship because of it, so he definitely can't know. But, uh, you already know all that -- I don't need to get all paranoid on you now." He shook his head of his negativity, before beaming wide and bright at him. "I know I can trust you!"

"Yep!" Kaminari yelped, dragging the 'y' like a corpse against gravel, before the 'p' popped like an explosion he did not want to think about right now. "About the not telling Bakugou part. Or anyone else, but the not Bakugou in particular part, absolutely! You know me!" He thrust out a thumbs up like he'd short-circuited himself stupid. "Kaminari... Trustworthy McGee!"

Kirishima held his stomach laughing at that. Kaminari grinned at him. He couldn't physically stop doing so.

"Aw, man, I knew it was a good idea telling you," Kirishima said after he calmed down. "You're such a funny guy. I thought if I told you you could just be cool about it and make me laugh at the same time. And I was right!" He put both hands out, laughing fondly at Kaminari's rigid stance and his paralysed, scrunch-faced grin, like he ate a lemon on picture day. "You're really the best, dude. Thanks for being here for me."

"No problem!"

Kaminari then stood so fast, the chair spun behind him.

"Whoa, there -- you in a rush, buddy?"

"Yeah! I need to shit!"

"Oh!"

"My pants!"

"Oh." Kirishima made a face.

"I mean I will, if I don't do a shit! Post! Haste!" Kaminari beelined for the door. "Take a big two!"

"You, uh, must be desperate, man."

"You have literally no idea! But remember! You have a friend," he pointed back at Kirishima, "in me!"

He jabbed his thumb so hard into his own chest, he both winded himself and may have sprained his thumb in the same motion. Wheezing, he backed out of the door to Kirishima's bewildered, mildly concerned stare.

When he sat on the toilet, pants around his knees, Kaminari cradled his face so long in his hands they legally registered as conjoined twins.

"What the hell is happening?" His hands fell away from his hands. He looked up at the porcelain ceiling with searching eyes. "God exists and she's got popcorn in the microwave pressing play on my life."

He took in the biggest breath, gave the longest sigh he had in recent memory. He was still processing everything when he was at the sink, taking a little longer to wash his hands as he pondered what to do about the situation. It was a satisfying dump he took, at least.

"Hey."

Not that Kaminari would ever admit it to have happened, but at that very moment, he made a noise at a pitch he didn't know he was capable of.

"Todoroki!" Kaminari said, swinging around. He glanced at what looked like sauce dribbling down his forearms. "What's, uh..."

Todoroki, who looked impassive as usual, had creamy, yellow liquid dripping from his down his wrists. And he held up his hands all the while, like a surgeon that made a sweet-smelling mess.

"Midoriya and Ashido wanted to see we could make pancakes using my quirk," he said. He looked down at his hands. "My hands don't make for a good pan."

"I...see."

Todoroki only nodded, and went for the sink next to Kaminari's. Kaminari chewed on his lip, deciding to stop wasting water when he turned off the faucet.

"Your fingers are pruning," Todoroki noted.

Distracted, Kaminari looked down at his fingers. They were indeed. Wrinkly and old-looking. Like how he'd look while he would still be keeping these entirely mutually beneficial secrets to his grave.

"...They sure are."

"What's bothering you, Kaminari?"

Kaminari looked aside to Todoroki. Who was facing him fully, frowning in concern. It was so ready to leap off the tip of his tongue. He was aching to confess, get everything off his chest, and forget any of this ever happened.

So much. So very much, Kaminari wanted to say. I don't even know where to begin. It's a shitshow and I'm in the crossfire. Save me, please, I beg of you.

"Nothing, man! You just startled me, coming in, batter all a-dripping," he smiled genially, shaking the water off his hands. "Save me a pancake or two when you get to making them!"

He dried his hands and headed out the toilets, ignoring Todoroki's gaze that clung to him till he had left.

He usually loved when he came across his friends and classmates hanging out in the dorms, but this time he was grateful he bumped into no one else when he went straight for his dorm, locked the door behind him, and flopped onto his bed to moan into his pillow.

"This is the wooooorst..." He rolled onto his back, hand on his forehead as he stared up at the ceiling again, which was something he was doing a lot lately. "I mean, I heard him tell me he was gay, and I thought, oh, weird, what're the odds! And then he tells me he's gay for him of all people and I gotta not haul ass like I have to leave right now immediately."

He huffed, covering his eyes with the back of his hand. Even with a clear colon, nothing was coming easier to him. The easiest thing to do was to just tell them they liked each other. But it felt wrong to butt in when it wasn't his business and they had each trusted him, and made him promise, no less. Strictly speaking, no matter how much they tried to make it otherwise, their relationship wasn't Kaminari's business. Telling anyone else about his dilemma was also obviously out of the question.

"Ugh, why is it so hard to be morally, upstanding..." He rubbed his eyes, groaning. Spread his arms on his bed again like a snow-angel on hold. "Maybe they'll find out... Yeah. They'll find out, and get together, adopt beautiful babies, and I won't need to worry my pretty lil head about it anymore." Kaminari nodded to himself, resolute as he sat up straight. "Yeah. Yeah! Bakugou's smart, and Kirishima's a nice, understanding guy... If they're this stupid for each other, they're bound to get together in no time!"

Nodding one more time to himself, he got up and grabbed his skateboard.

"Go for a ride, grab some food later. Maybe Sero'll be free and I'll swing by and we'll play some video games," he said to himself like a chant, hyping himself up. He could feel it working. "I'll just live my life, and everything'll turn out okay!"

Astonishingly, nothing turned out okay.

After coming out to Kaminari and his temporary logical breakdown, Bakugou lost any and all pretences he might have had. When Bakugou needed to talk, he needed to talk immediately. The rate at which Kaminari got scruffed by Bakugou shot through the roof -- he'd swoop in like a kingfisher and kidnap him back to his room for a gay panic session.

At times, it was innocuous. He could be in the middle of eating something in the common room before finding himself going lax to avoid choking.

"Can I at least finish my mango pudding...?"

"Fuckin' do whatever," Bakugou said absently, pacing his room before he launched into a tirade against Kirishima's general existence being on his mind all the time.

Other times, it kind of hindered his schedule.

"And then he fucking takes off his motherfucking shirt and he knows I don't care for that shit but he fucking does it anyway 'cause his pecs are out to fucking get me in my dreams and he says with his dumbass mouth 'don't call Eraserhead but these guns be popping' and flexes in my motherfucking direction and I swear to fuck it takes every damn piece of self-restraint in me not to smash in his dumb handsome fucking face in with my dumbbell in the middle of the gym because how fucking dare he that jacked motherfucker one day I will kill him with my bare hands and show him which guns be popping I swear to god who even says that shit -- "

"Th-That does sound d-d-damning, Blasty, b-but -- " Teeth chattering, Kaminari thumbed over his own shoulder as he hugged himself, dripping water sadly on Bakugou's floor. "C-Could I maybe, uh, g-go back and sh-sh-shower? I-It's k-kinda c-c-c-cold in h-here."

"What?" Bakugou blinked at him. Processing that, indeed, Kaminari was wet and half-naked in his room. "Oh, yeah. Come back here after you go get clean and shit."

Kirishima was just as bad.

"It was so sudden, man, like -- " Kirishima huffed, doing sit-ups while Kaminari held down his ankles in his room. "I was just trying to listen to him while he was teaching me, honest! But his hand brushed mine for a bit, and -- it was just so soft? It just made me think about how it'd be around my hand, or just, like, on me, you know?"

"Uh huh," Kaminari nodded, avoiding eye contact with Kirishima, given the latter's grunting and heavy breathing while coated in a frankly obscene amount of sweat while not three feet away from him. "I bet that was tough."

"Oh, definitely -- Couldn't stop thinking about it," Kirishima sat up, bracing on his hands in a puff of air. "Whew! Yeah, then I popped a boner from it, and, man, when you gotta study while hiding your buddy downstairs from your best bro -- "

Kirishima shook his head in a laugh and went back to doing sit-ups. Kaminari slowly, slowly closed his eyes.

For all of Bakugou's zeal, at least he padded everything with cursing, the amount of which seemed to directly correlate with how gay and overwhelmed -- as Kaminari liked to call it, homoverwhelmed -- he was in a given moment. Kirishima might not have talked to him as often as Bakugou did, but he was just as bad, if not worse. The very vivid and detailed extent to which Bakugou made Kirishima both soft and hard at the same time haunted him in his sleep.

There was a simpler time when Kaminari didn't know the word bussy even existed. 'Bleach still poisonous in ears?' stayed in his search history in case any updates went live on that front.

Kaminari tried to be subtle moving things forward with his hands tied. He really did. He even tried suggesting, perhaps, if their friendship was so long-standing, that they tell each other about their feelings. Or maybe just that they were gay, because the number of times Kaminari heard the phrase 'I don't even know if he swings that way' had him make a drinking game where he was the only one playing -- that was a sad existence he had never wanted to inhabit, and he still didn't.

But every time, he'd hear the same response.

"Are you fuckin' crazy?" Bakugou would bark at him.

"Dude, there's no way I could tell him that," Kirishima would say, crossing his arms.

"He's my friend -- "

"He'd get weirded out -- "

"And even if I can't be with him as his partner -- "

"I don't wanna do anything that means I could lose him as a friend -- "

"At -- "

"All."

"I'm gonna lose my fucking mind," Kaminari breathed up to the ceiling on his bed yet again, his eyes bugging before they screwed shut. "Kacchan's rubbing off on me. But I swear to god I will. Bet."

He sat up, letting the blood rush down from his head, letting out a long, long breath. Gathering his thoughts. Thinking. Plotting.

"...Gah, it's no good." He slumped in defeat. "I've been thinking on my own for weeks now, and damn it all if I don't learn from their disaster gay example."

He sat up with purpose, putting on his slippers. He had to tell someone and get advice without letting slip that either Bakugou or Kirishima were gay, and specifically for each other.

"Sero should be in by now," he muttered. "I'll just put it as wanting general love advice or something."

Hand on his doorknob, he frowned, full of resolve. Took a deep breath, in then out, before he turned it.

"I hope this works."

He went down the corridor, strategically avoiding both Bakugou and Kirishima's rooms, or any path they could be taking back to or from them. Managing to arrive at Sero's without incident, he knocked before letting himself in.

"Hey hey, buddy, your favourite spark-plug incoming..." He went into Sero's decked out, South-Asian inspired pad, ready to dive into the hammock before he saw it was occupied. "Oh, hey, you got company."

Sitting across from Sero in the hammock was Todoroki, who held a cup of tea in one hand and a volume of Jump in another. Sero just finished pouring piping tea into Todoroki's cup.

"'Sup, man," Sero nodded at him from his seat.

"He makes me tea. I share my Jump," Todoroki explained before a sip.

"Wanna get in on this?" He lightly shook the teapot. "Freshly brewed."

"Uh, do I?" Kaminari scoffed, rubbing his hands, feeling the static between them already. Then he stopped himself, and cleared his throat. "Yeah, pour me a cup. But I got, uh, some fish to fry before reading any Jump you got."

"Yeah?" Sero leaned back, getting out another cup for him. "What kinda fish?"

"Haddock or goldfish?" Todoroki asked.

"Uh -- goldfish. Nothing big, just," Kaminari rubbed at the back of his head, suddenly nervous. "Kinda want some advice? I just got a little problem and don't really know what to do about it."

Todoroki examined his cup for a moment. He looked at Sero, who gave him a gentle nod. Then, he looked up at Kaminari.

"What's the tea, sis?"

Kaminari's jaw dropped. Gaping openly at Todoroki, at his enviably sincere delivery, he turned his beseeching look to Sero.

"...Did..." Kaminari swallowed. His lip started quivering, weakly pointing at Todoroki. "Did you...?" Looking at Todoroki, his pointer finger moved to Sero. "Did he...?"

"Yeah, he did teach me that," Todoroki said, taking another drink. "I found it funny."

"What can I say?" Shrugging, Sero smirked behind the rim of his cup. "He comes over a lot."

"I -- " Kaminari bit his knuckle with feeling. "I love you so much."

Sero raised his teacup at him. "Yours till I die, buddy."

Kaminari sat on the hammock next to Todoroki, having some tea to collect himself. When he settled down nicely enough, he started talking. About a problem with a couple who obviously liked each other but who were consistently doing nothing about it.

"And they're bothering you about it?" Todoroki asked.

"Uh," Kaminari said, mid-sip. Maybe a white lie or two would help the confidentiality. "It's actually my cousin they're bothering? She's been texting me about it non-stop."

"You've a cousin?" Sero lowered a brow.

"Yeah!" Kaminari said on reflex. Reeled it in to tone it down. "Kyo... Kyoko." He nodded. "Dad's side. We, uh, don't talk often, but my dad and uncle have been hanging out a lot lately. My dad tells me to talk to her more, and...yeah."

Sero peered at him. Kaminari held his gaze. Took a sip of tea. Smacked his lips.

Then Sero shrugged.

"I've no reason to doubt that," he said, drinking his tea. Kaminari inwardly pumped a fist. "So she's been bothering you about it, huh?"

"You have no idea," he muttered. "Just on and on about how she's stuck between a rock and a hard place, who won't talk to each other about their feelings for like, five seconds. She's been trying to be patient and nice about it because she knows she needs to work on being a good listener, and hey, she's just trying to be a good person and be there for her friends, but sometimes it's hard when one of them pulls them out of a shower, interrupts her in the middle of a boss battle she went through twenty times just to get to the second stage -- out of five total no less -- or when the other one talks about how much they creamed their pants in the morning after a wet dream that they retell in excruciating detail, down to what they dream the other's O-face to be, with like brow positioning and everything, which she didn't even know was a thing you could describe, and sometimes it's just a bit..."

He looked to Sero and Todoroki, who looked at each other and him with increasing worry the more the death in his voice crept out. He reined himself in, and took a long gulp of tea.

"...much." Kaminari clenched his neck in few nods, biting his lip. "Y'know?"

"That..." Sero gave slow, measured nods, looking a little alarmed. "That sounds like something."

"And you want advice to give to her so she can stop texting you about it," Todoroki said.

"Yeah. Well, more like, to help her solve their thing, because they're not about to solve it themselves, and it'd be cruel to just make her deal with it herself when she's all out of ideas, y'know?"

Todoroki nodded at that. Sero rubbed at his chin while refilling his cup.

"I gotta say, I'm stuck on this one, Kamiden," Sero admitted.

The dread that started burying Kaminari's hope alive was a cold one.

"Wh... What do you mean?"

"I mean, for all my tips and infotaining but admittedly useless trivia, I'm not one for giving love advice." He put his hands up in a shrug. "If she's already tried telling them to tell each other how they feel and they won't, there's not much else she could do without breaking their trust in her."

"I agree with Sero," Todoroki said. "Matters of the heart are delicate."

"But -- But what about me -- I mean, me leaving her, to be their middleman?" Kaminari said, trying to keep a steady surf on his choppy voice. "She can't just listen to them forever, right? Right?"

"That's true," Sero hummed.

"If it bothers her that much, she can just tell them to talk to her less about it," Todoroki pointed out.

Sero pointed at him, nodding emphatically. Kaminari looked at the ground, worry lining his brow.

"What if...she can't do that?" he asked softly. "Because she's the only one they can tell these things to?"

Todoroki frowned at that, going pensive. Sero let out another sigh, tapping his heel in thought, before he gave a helpless shrug of his shoulder.

"It sucks to say this, but she's gotta tough it out for them, then."

He stared down at his reflection in his teacup, and the frown that was growing on his face. He couldn't read tea leaves, but he had a feeling about what the future held for him anyway.

"Yeah," Kaminari sighed, his shoulders sinking. "I guess you're right."

"Of course they aren't right!" Kaminari laughed, full of disdain and an extra dose of denial. "I'm so stupid -- any lovey-dovey situation needs a girl's input, obviously! Let it never be said that Kaminari Denki gives up...!"

His strides went long and fast in a military march down the corridor. Arriving at Ashido's door, he gave three quick knocks before he stood back proudly, hands firm on his hips.

"Yeees?" Ashido's voice came muted and sing-song from inside the room. "Who isss ittt?"

"Ittt's Kamiii," he said louder. "Can I cooome iiiin...?"

"Offf cooourse...!"

The door swung open to reveal Ashido, a towel pushing up her hair and a green face mask spread on her face as she smiled at Kaminari with open arms.

"Kamiii...!"

"Ashidooo...!"

With the friendly smile still lifting her cheeks, she pinched Kaminari's with enough force to pull them off his face if she wanted to.

"Ow -- ow ow ow, my cheeks, ow -- !"

"Where's my earphones, huh, Kami?" she simpered sweetly. "It's been a long while since I lent them to you. About two weeks now. And I still don't have them. I've been waiting for a while now. And Mama needs her music without waking the neighbours." A shadow cast over her slathered-green face, her smile remaining entirely unmoving. "Where are they, Kami?"

"I-In my room, my room...!" he said, trying and failing to pry Ashido's hands from his face. He could feel the skin of his lip splitting. "I'll get 'em to you tonight, I promise...!"

"Hm." Ashido pouted. Then let go of Kaminari's face, brushing off her hands as he cushioned his cheeks in little whines. "I'll send you a text to remind you!"

"Much obliged..." he muttered, hands staying on his face for protection.

"No problem!" she said, clambering onto her leopard print sheets. "You actually came at a good time -- I was just killing time while waiting for my face mask to dry." She sat cross-legged towards him, at attention with a kind smile (a real, non-fear-inducing one). "What's up?"

Making himself comfortable, Kaminari started telling her what he told Sero and Todoroki. Leaving out the bit where he verged on a faux-vicarious breakdown at the bullshit Kyoko had to deal with on a daily basis. Ashido peppered in little requests for Kaminari to do some self-care routines so they could do things while he talked. Sure enough, she was in the middle of painting his nails black and yellow when he had finished, the stink of nail polish lingering in the air.

"Ugh, that sounds so tough on her...!"

"Girl, it really is," Kaminari said, free hand on his chest, his other in Ashido's as she touched up the design on his ring fingernail.

"And that couple?" she said, giving a few puffs to the nail before moving onto his pinky. "Needs to get their shit together."

"Amen, sis," Kaminari raised his free hand, shaking his head. "I tell her that every day."

"So you wanna help your cousin out, and that's why you came to me?"

"You know these things need a woman's touch."

"Oh, you know I know, honey," she clicked her fingers, making a quick and clean job of his pinky nail before she screwed shut her nail polish. "I just need to wash off this face mask now. You stay put. And keep that hand up either on the towel or away from my sheets, you hear?"

Kaminari obeyed, keeping his fingers spread out as the door shut behind him. He bounced on Ashido's bed, every moment he waited making him more flighty and fidgety.

He really had to pat himself on the back for this one -- going to Sero first was asking the blind to lead the blind. Ashido seemed to have way more know-how under her belt about these sorts of things. He needed Bakugou and Kirishima off his back and (more importantly, obviously) onto each other, stat.

"This is gonna be great...!"

The door swung back open, and Kaminari spun around to attention.

"Okay, I'm thinking there's only one thing you can do to get these two to get a move on," she declared with her hands up, marching back to her bed as she parked across from Kaminari again, face mask and head towel free. "And that is -- "

"Uh huh?" Kaminari leaned forward, eyes gleaming and beside himself. "Is...?"

" -- To get another one in the mix!"

He stopped. The gears that whirred in his brain ground to a halt. He could not compute, and so blinked instead.

"...Huh?"

"I know," Ashido beamed deviously. "Showstopper, right?"

Kaminari wanted to correct her, but apparently he couldn't take back his stunned silence to mean anything other than he was in awe of her genius.

"...Uh, hm," Kaminari cleared his throat. "I'm not, uh, quite following -- why would I -- Kyoko, I mean Kyoko, why would I tell Kyoko, is what I mean -- " he sucked in a breath, putting his hands together. Ashido just smiled patiently at him. "You...want her to involve someone else. Unrelated. Into their couple, drama...thing." Kaminari prompted with a slow nod. Ashido nodded back happily. "...Yeah. Yeah, okay. Just checking you meant that, um... Why would she do that?"

She rolled her eyes in a laugh, like the answer was obvious.

"To get one of them jealous," she said. "Duh!"

"Hold on -- jealous?"

"Okay, I'll explain," she adjusted her posture, and put her hands together. "See, right now, nothing's happening with this couple. They think they'll always be friends and things will basically stay the same forever."

"Well, yeah," Kaminari scratched his head. "The two of them are pretty close... Or, so I hear, yeah."

Ashido nodded. "What that means is that she's gotta kick their butts into gear! Let their hinies know someone else might snatch 'em up! Then they'll realise that if they don't make a move, their sweetheart will go with someone else -- that's bound to make them make a move. And so that's why..."

"You get someone else involved..."

Ashido gestured to him -- a wordless 'there we go'. But Kaminari's gears went through a reboot, starting up again slow, before gradually picking up speed. It showed on his face, as he frowned deep in thought, thinking harder about the situation than he ever had for his homework. Maybe save for the really interesting literature assignments.

He thought back to what Bakugou and Kirishima each confided in him. How they would do literally nothing that could potentially jeopardise their friendship, and Kaminari knew first-hand that they meant that.

Then he thought about how that would look if one of them ended up with another guy.

"What if..." he started. Paused, because déjà vu from Sero's room washed over, and he had to push through it. "That wouldn't work?"

Ashido cocked her head, pouting. "What d'you mean?"

Come on, Kaminari closed his eyes, frustrated at himself, at how convinced he was by the outcome. Really?

"Like, uh... This couple said -- or, told her, Kyoko, that...they wouldn't do anything to ruin their friendship. And she's 100 percent sure that's the case -- like, I double checked with her, who checked with them, and everything." Pausing his rambling, he chewed his lip. "Wouldn't that mean that, even if it looked like one of them would get with someone else, the other wouldn't want to do anything about it? Because...they just want the other one to be happy?"

Kaminari could see the words enter Ashido's brain after they left his mouth. Squeeze through all the nooks and crannies that brewed the complicated, thoughtful expressions overtaking her pink face. He was hoping she would burst out with a cry of nonsense that could rival All Might's -- a knock-down argument of what his simple boy-brain missed, a three-point plan to get Bakugou and Kirishima together with the painless in-and-out of a third-party actor.

Seeing her sulk and cross her arms, Kaminari's heart sank.

"That does make sense..." she rocked her head back and forth, frowning intently. "But if both of them put the other's happiness in front of their own like that, nothing will happen between them at this rate," she huffed. "I mean, why won't either of them go for it? It's stupid!"

Kaminari stared at his half-patterned, black and yellow fingernails. Which looked way cooler than he felt right now.

For how hopeless and dumb the situation was, he couldn't help a little laugh at it all.

"Yeah," he admitted. "It sure is."

"Well, let it be said that Kaminari Denki only gives up at a reasonable juncture..."

He had to be careful not to drag his feet trudging back to his room. Or his knuckles from the sheer slouch of defeat he'd taken on -- he didn't want to ruin the manicure Ashido had given him. But he shouldn't have expected anything different from wanna-be heroes who respected good people's wishes and free will so much.

Then again, nothing was really stopping him from taking on Ashido's advice. Except his moral compass, really.

In reality, no matter how tired Kaminari was of the standstill and the TMI, he knew he wouldn't be comfortable with interfering. He wanted a way to get Bakugou and Kirishima together while respecting their feelings for one another -- feelings, which, honestly, Kaminari was in awe of at times. He had had secret crushes before. He doubted he had the level of friendship, affection, and devotion that they each harboured for one another, to the point they would hold themselves back for the other's sake. Seeing just what it did to them was like witnessing an emotional brand of self-immolation, Kaminari thought.

He winced to himself again. Even if he was going to respect their wishes, he had to do something for them. But what could he do?

"Figures this beggar would be a chooser..." he sighed.

At that moment, he felt a sad harmonica solo would be the best addition to the lamenting mood he was in. He also needed someone who could teach him the basics of a harmonica for him to play it. And also to actually have one.

Not a minute later, he found himself knocking on Jirou's door. Sure enough, dressed in a black choker, tee, and purple pyjama pants, she opened the door.

"Hey, Kaminari," she said. Giving him a once-over, she made a concerned face. "You're not looking too hot."

"Always know how to make a guy feel special," he sighed. He had a feeling he'd be doing that a lot more in the near future. "Can I come in?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

Jirou made way for him. Kaminari let himself in with the grace of a zombie with a chain and ball around both ankles. Jirou kept making a face.

"Can I, uh, get you anything?" she said, slow and careful. "Like a snack? Or drink?"

"M'good. Thanks."

She closed the door, cocking a brow while Kaminari just slumped to his knees in the middle of the floor. Melted like chocolate forgotten in a pocket, a sad and messy existence as he dwindled into a heap on the ground and just groaned.

"O...kay." Jirou went back to her chair. Picked up her acoustic guitar, and resumed tuning it. "You just came in here to be sad, then?"

"Your rocker room's my safe space," he mumbled. Then turned his face on the carpet, ass up in the air. "Do you have a harmonica?"

"Yeah," Jirou looked up. Scrunched her nose. "At least, I think I do."

"Can you teach me?"

"I...could? But you'd have to wash it. Unless you're very non-germ-or-saliva-conscious. But I'd rather you wash it."

"That's valid."

Kaminari turned his face back into the floor. Jirou's lip thinned in some worry, before she turned her attention on her guitar. Then started fingering a tune along the strings, as easy as breathing.

It wasn't a tab for any song Kaminari knew. It didn't sound like a tab for any song in particular. It was just rhythm that wandered like a running stream, warm and resonant. A constant thrum, soft and melodic. One that belonged at a gathering around a campfire and provided all the warmth for one in her dorm room. A warmth that loosened the tension under his skin, teased apart the exhaustion in his bones as he really relaxed on the floor. Instead of a bum that ate dirt after slipping from a skate trick, he started to curl up like a cat that had found a sunspot to lay in.

Opening his eyes, it felt like that was the case. He could spy the dust motes dancing in sunlight streams. Looking down at her guitar, Jirou looked so relaxed and in her element. Her gaze had trailed into the distance, like she was pondering, but her fingers moved like liquid over the strings. Fluid and enchanting.

The music faded to a stop. Kaminari was still in a trance when Jirou caught his eye from the floor. After a second, maybe two, he spoke in a whisper.

"Your music's beautiful, you know?"

Despite a smile, Jirou rolled her eyes.

"You always say that."

"And I always say that, why?"

Jirou just shook her head, still smiling. Her earjack glinted in the light from the windows.

"So?" she said, slapping the body of her guitar before looking to him. "You gonna tell me what's bumming you out so bad?"

At having to think about retelling the problem, Kaminari pouted. He looked at Jirou, patient and easygoing leaning on her guitar. Looking very cool about it. Kaminari wanted a little of that cool vibe for himself, too.

Heaving a long, dramatic sigh, he sat up straight. Cross-legged, hands clapping his knees, loud and firm. Sucked in a breath, ready to launch into his classic histrionics again, if not to draw out a laugh or two from Jirou.

Besides, what did he have to lose?

That was the reigning thought he latched onto while he retold his dilemma. Keeping the key parties anonymous, he took out the part about it being a problem his non-existent cousin from his dad's side was going through. Partly because, in hindsight, Kyoko sounded oddly similar to Kyouka. Mostly because he didn't really see the point in putting in a degree of separation where none existed -- he cared about what was going on because he was witnessing it first-hand. He wanted to see his friends get together without disrespecting their wishes, and it seemed like an impossible ordeal.

"Yeah, so, long and short of it..." Kaminari, with his hands up, shrugged and let them flop back down on his lap. "Kamiden's in a real pickle."

"You can say that again," Jirou muttered, looking both worried and impressed in the same quirk of her brow. "It sounds like something out of a romcom my folks would watch."

"Yeah, or a bad fanfiction, more like," Kaminari tacked on, rubbing his temples. "Only I got moral do's and don'ts, and right now the don'ts are winning. But the do's say I gotta help them out somehow, but..."

Kaminari planted his cheek on his palm, blowing a raspberry as long as he was tired. Studying him, Jirou looked to her guitar. Absently stroked the neck and body of it. Fiddled with her earjacks -- the way she would do when she got nervous, or doubted herself a little.

"My...dad told me about how he used to do different gigs back in the day," she said softly. "A lot of them when he started out was just requests. Songs any listener willing to pay would want to hear. It was fun, for a while. But my dad wanted to move on to do other things. He wrote his own songs, and started turning down song requests. Less people would show up. Then my dad had a problem: should he play what people wanted to hear, or what he really wanted to play?"

The computer chair creaked when Jirou leaned back. Gazing at the ceiling, fingers tangled in her earjacks. Kaminari found himself enthralled by her again. Like one of her songs was playing, and it was building to the chorus.

"What'd he end up doing?"

"Well, it was tough," she shrugged, smile wry as she looked to him. "He wanted to get his music out there, but he didn't want to turn away the listeners who had stuck with him since the beginning. At the same time, he wouldn't be happy just doing whatever they wanted him to do forever.

"He ended up doing covers of well-known songs. Songs that people knew and loved, but he'd put his own spin on them. Show a bit of flair that wasn't in the original. I'm telling you, anything in the Billboard Hot 100, my dad can make it sound like a bunch of grunge artists in the eighties sat down and wrote it in a rundown US diner."

Kaminari laughed at the image. Jirou smirked, her earjacks hugging her fingers as she tapped her foot.

"He went back to requests while he did that. The covers he made were mostly of song requests his die-hard listeners would give him. So when they would request a song that wasn't his style, but popular enough that he made a cover of it, that's what he would play them instead. And his listeners would love it. It was the same old thing they loved with a new twist. Eventually, my dad had gotten them to appreciate the genre he did best in, the style he covered other songs in, and his listeners followed his original stuff pretty naturally after."

She took a breath in the lull. Let the words sink in. Kaminari kept watching.

"No one's happy doing what other people want forever. But no one likes feeling selfish either. Sometimes, to get something new across to others, you have to put it as a spin on something they already know really well."

In a glance, Jirou gave him a encouraging smile. Small, and a bit unsure. But encouraging. Kaminari's breath caught in his throat.

"It's hard finding a good balance, I think."

Like that, the wave came crashing back onto the shore. A cymbal crash to the closing act, curtains flowing shut as the crowd burst into a standing ovation.

That was how Kaminari's last two brain cells reactivated, before he bound up to envelop Jirou in a hug.

"Wh -- Kami -- !"

"Thank you," he whispered. Squeezed a yelp out of her with his firm hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you...!" He pulled back at a dizzying speed, his grin breathless as he aimed it straight at Jirou's baffled, gorgeous face. "You're a genius, thank you! Man, I could kiss you right now, I'm so happy...!"

Jirou's face bloomed a deep red. "W-Wha -- I -- "

"What movie do you wanna watch?"

"Huh?" Jirou blinked. Kaminari's hands were still on her shoulders. He looked serious, and oddly different and mature when he looked serious. "Um. There's a -- horror movie coming out this week, but -- "

"Two tickets. On me. Any popcorn you like," Kaminari began to brim with glee again, cheeks straining not to burst into a dumb grin. "You can even get those stupidly expensive sodas or meal deals, I don't even care. You deserve it. I'll text you!"

With a hearty clap on her shoulders, Kaminari raced out the room, the door floating shut behind him in an anticlimactic click. Jirou goggled the Jimi Hendrix poster tacked on the door, a hand braced on her rattling chest. If her earjacks touched anything now, her room might have come tumbling down, if not the building.

"What the hell..."

She swivelled in her chair to grab her phone, the dizziest smile on her face. She had to text the girls immediately.

Kaminari burst back into his room. Navigated through the dirty laundry on the floor he hadn't done yet. Doubled back and picked it up to put it in the hamper in a surge of productivity from the high he was riding. Then he sat and rolled in his computer chair, spinning till he caught himself at his desk, breaking out an old notebook and a mechanical pencil. He bent over like he wanted to give himself back problems, Jirou's words whizzing through his brain while he started scribbling fast and furious on paper.

"Same old thing, with a new twist..." he mumbled to himself. His eyes darted across the page, his pencil nipping at the heels of his vision. "A twist...A twist..."

He launched back in his computer chair, fingers at this temple as he scowled in thought, humming with the exertion. He thought back to his visits to Sero's and Ashido's, to advice he could use that floated in the recesses of his mind.

...if she's already tried telling them to tell each other how they feel...

...only one thing you can do to get these two to get a move on, and that's to get another one in the mix...

...put it as a spin on something they already know really well...

Kaminari's eyes blew open. He could almost feel his pupils dilate, letting so much light in. Leaning forward to his notebook, looking distracted, he let out a chuckle. Soft with disbelief.

"...Welp." He smiled wide and winded as he drew a great circle with spokes in the middle of the page. "Every cause needs a martyr."

The sun, high and bright. Not a cloud in the wide blue sky. Children squealing, teenagers chattering, and adults chuckling amongst themselves, walking hand-in-hand. The amusement park bustled with excitement and lit up with sunshine, rays bouncing off tree leaves and tall, colourful sculptures.

Kirishima wandered into the wide opening before the entrance turnstiles, lip pursed as he looked around, to his phone in hand, then back up.

"Where is he?" He scratched his head, walking closer to the entrance. "Pretty sure I got the time right, too..."

"Kirishima?"

Kirishima's neck snapped up, his heart making itself known in a sudden boom. He'd know that voice from anywhere, but he still didn't expect when he spun around, his heart high-jumping into his mouth when he spotted --

"Bakugou!"

Sure enough, it was him -- waiting in the shade, foot up on the wall as he loitered next to the currents of people entering and leaving the theme park. Dressed well, too -- fashionable and light for the weather. A light grey polo shirt, dark jeans, and his loafers. It showed off the muscles in his arms, how strong and shapely his neck was, which led to his jawline and face and just handsome manliness. Suddenly Kirishima felt glad he didn't dress too shabby going out today.

"Hey, man," he said. Despite his surprise and his heart being made into a drum-kit for it, Kirishima couldn't help the smile that blossomed on his face seeing him. "It's great to see you! What're you doing 'round here?"

Bakugou studied him. Looked down and up the length of him, maybe noticing he wasn't wearing his crocs. He had on a nice V-neck his mom bought for him a while back. Wait, was he checking him out?

"Should be asking you that," Bakugou grumbled, crossing his arms. Promptly breaking Kirishima's train of thought. He always had nice forearms. "Thought you'd be having lunch with your mom 'bout now."

"Huh? Oh! Something came up, so we had brunch this morning before I got here," Kirishima said, smile loping along his face. "I, uh. Can't believe you remembered something like that."

"Why wouldn't I, huh?" Bakugou said, bristling a bit. "S'not like I don't fuckin' listen -- "

"No, yeah, I just meant! That, uh -- " Kirishima scratched his nose. "I just, didn't expect you to. It's nice, that you did."

Bakugou's frown melted into surprise. Kirishima shrugged, smiling. Sheepish, boyish. Bakugou turned away quickly, mumbling under his breath.

"Just got a good memory," he muttered. Huffed before focusing again. "So? You waiting for someone then?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm just looking for Kaminari," Kirishima said, looking at his phone again. "He said he wanted to talk to me, but -- "

"Wait..." Bakugou stood up straighter, brow furrowing deeper. "You're lookin' for Two-Watt here?"

"Huh?" Kirishima blinked at him. "Uh, yeah. Why's that -- "

"I am, too. Fucker told me to meet him here."

"Wh -- That's..."

They looked at each other for a moment, questions abound. Then, like a light bulb, a flicker of concern flashed across both their faces.

"Why did, uh," Bakugou cleared his throat, hand massaging his neck, "Sparky call you here, anyway?"

"Nothing! Nothing, he just -- wanted to hang out a bit! Tell me about something that was bothering him or something, but invited me out here, so it's not -- can't be that serious, is what I thought," he laughed, maybe a little too quick, but he couldn't smother all his nerves. "You know?"

"Well, he told me to come talk to him here, too. So."

"Oh. Oh, for real!" Kirishima barked out another laugh. Swallowed the next one down, feeling how dry his throat was. "What, uh... What're the odds, huh?"

"Yeah..." Bakugou narrowed his eyes. Though it wasn't directed at Kirishima, he knew that was his borderline-actually-murderous face.

"C'mon, don't make that face," he chided. Thankfully, it seemed breaking Bakugou's concentration (or maybe imagined killing scenario) had him listen. "I mean, it's Kaminari we're talking about -- it can't be all that bad. I'm sure if we find him, we can get him to clear up whatever's going on here."

Bakugou pursed his lips, clearly brewing with questions at Kirishima's happy-go-lucky outlook. His chin was dimpled the way it did when he was thinking hard and -- well, he was usually angry, but this time in a childish and kind of cute way.

"...Text him." He jutted his chin to Kirishima's phone. "Tell him to drop his location."

"You just wanna talk," Kirishima snorted. He grinned when Bakugou scoffed and rolled his eyes, before he pulled up the messages on his phone. "Okay, let's see..."

A minute passed with Kirishima tapping away on his phone. Bakugou watched the notch between his short brows, all concentrated and serious in tracking Kaminari down. All childish and endearing. Swallowing down the welling warmth in his throat, he looked to the thrum of people meeting up for a day of fun in the amusement park. Not to distract himself from anyone, or anything -- just because he was bored.

Then he spotted two men. Who didn't look related, but who hugged and smiled kindly at each other when they met up, before making their way to the entrance holding hands. A sudden pang overwhelmed Bakugou in surprise. Of exactly what, he didn't want to know, with Kirishima settling right next to him.

"Aw, man," Kirishima clicked his tongue, pulling Bakugou out of his reverie. "Well, this is kinda inconvenient."

"What'd he say?" Bakugou peered at the screen, which he leaned in his direction. "Low battery...? And he's inside? What the fuck?"

"And he's lost in there, too. Doesn't have a cable to charge his phone either," Kirishima sighed, pocketing his phone. "I guess he got bored waiting out here and wanted to try some rides in the park or something. Sounds like something he'd do, at least."

Kirishima blew out a sigh, scratching his neck as he looked out to the crowd. Bakugou looked at him, before he spotted the two men from earlier, chatting happily in the queue, still holding hands.

"Wanna go find him?"

The words slipped out in a breath. At Kirishima's look of surprise, he wondered how they managed to come out so easily.

"Wh -- You want me to go look for -- ?"

"No, you idiot, I mean -- " Bakugou's shoulders bunched, frustrated before he made them drop in a huff. "He's got something to say to the both of us, and I'm not counting on him to not get lost again while getting his ass back here, so -- "

"We should look for him together...then."

Bakugou examined Kirishima's reaction. Still surprised, but a little amazed. His bright eyes wide, open mouth meaning Bakugou could spot the points of his teeth behind his upper lip. He looked a little dumb, a little charming, and nothing but a snicker could leave Bakugou's lips.

"Knew you had some brains in that hair o' yours."

He leaned away from the wall to head for the entrance. Processing the situation, Kirishima managed to reboot in time to catch up to his side. He was still a little lost, but being out with Bakugou and the beautiful weather couldn't put anything but a blinding smile on Kirishima's face.

And if they weren't so concerned with finding Kaminari, then, well. He should have brought a cable to chew on.

They didn't come close to finding him. A big part to their lack of success, though, was their lack of trying.

The more time passed, the more Bakugou and Kirishima just spent their day together in the park. Even in the winding queues to roller-coasters and free-fall rides, they managed to make each other laugh with little jokes, playing little games with their fingers, or exchanging private stories that gained private smiles.

When they left each ride, Bakugou grinned more at Kirishima's whooping than the leftover adrenaline, and Kirishima managed to wheedle Bakugou into buying a picture from poses they did for the camera mid-ride.

Later on in the day, when they bought ice cream, Kirishima managed to pay for both their scoops. There was a bit of a squabble, but with Bakugou being flustered more than anything. Kirishima's grin and Bakugou's fond huff as they enjoyed their ice cream made children watching coo to their parents for ice cream. When the parents told them not to bother the young couple, Kirishima helped them find the store they found with red cheeks while Bakugou started ripping into his cone.

In the lanes of stalls gamed to test people's skills was where things got a little crazy. In a game to knock bottles down with a ball, after Kirishima fell dejected not managing to get anything in three tries, Bakugou looked like he was going the bury the stall owner under his boot.

Rather than pitching a fit, Bakugou paid and knock the top bottle in one go. He received Kirishima's prize, as smug as he was proud. It was a soft toy that looked like grenade. Then Kirishima explained something to Bakugou a little nervously. Who, after visibly processing the information, went very quiet. Then muttered something before he kept the prize and Kirishima started smiling at him. Bakugou couldn't help but find himself smiling at it too.

"Now, where could they be...?" Kaminari whistled, scanning the park with a hand over his eyes. "Swear they came by the games stall earlier...a-ha!"

He ducked away behind a stall, watching the two settle by the hammer game of the park -- the High Striker. Kaminari was already cringing watching Kirishima psyche himself up for it. Bakugou was doing anything but, ogling him picking up the hammer, and he cringed even harder.

The digital display at the top maxed out from how hard Kirishima had struck the plate -- Kaminari swore a spark flew from the display once from the force of it. He won the top prize -- another jumbo plushie -- and happily gave it to Bakugou. At which, seemingly fuelled by (if Kaminari guessed right) indignant gay rage, Bakugou went next in the strongman test, which already made the manager start to sweat as Kirishima cheered for him.

"Crap," Kaminari whistled, airing out his collar. "They will kill me so hard when they catch me." Then he brought up the camera app on his phone. "Oh well."

He took the picture he needed, put away his hat and sunglasses, and dashed off to the final location.

The sun started to skim over the horizon when Bakugou and Kirishima took a break on a bench. Their jumbo plushies -- a bear and a cat -- sat beside them.

"I still can't believe you broke the hammer machine, dude...!" Kirishima clapped his forehead, still laughing.

"S'not my fault they made it for fuckin' weaklings!" he growled, an edge of embarrassment to his voice. "Whatever -- they didn't let me pay for the damages anyway."

"It is their machine, man -- couldn't handle what it was built for," Kirishima said, starting to calm down. "You were so manly, though, Bakugou. You're real strong."

Sitting back, he smiled at Bakugou while he caught his breath. Bakugou felt like Kirishima was stealing his as he did.

"Yeah, well..." He swallowed again, his fingers tingling. "You're not so bad yourself."

"High praise, man," Kirishima chuckled, warm inside. Bakugou repressed the sudden urge to cough.

Their phones buzzed in their pockets.

Kirishima promptly fished his out with a muttered apology. When he unlocked his phone, his eyes went wide.

"Oh, shit, I'd completely forgotten -- it's Kaminari."

Bakugou perked up. He pulled his phone out then, and frowned at the display.

"I got a message from him..." Bakugou looked up, squinting. "I thought he had no fuckin' charge."

"What'd he say to you?" Kirishima said, puzzled. "I just got a picture of the Ferris wheel, and..."

Bakugou flashed his phone display to him. Sure enough, Kaminari had sent them both the same picture: the Ferris wheel towering in the sky, just before sunset.

"Wanna hunt that motherfucker down -- "

"For a civil, face-to-face chat?" Kirishima finished for him, grinning as Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Sure thing!"

"Yeah, whatever, that." Bakugou shoved his phone back in his pocket, scooping up the bear and grenade plushies Kirishima won him. "He better have some fuckin' answers, keepin' us like this."

Kirishima looked down at the plushies in his arms. At the picture on his phone, realising it wasn't just him and Bakugou, together in a theme park for no reason other than because they wanted to. They were here to look for Kaminari.

In a sigh, Kirishima pocketed his phone.

"Yeah," he said, picking up his cat plushie. "Let's go find him."

There was less of a line to the Ferris wheel than expected. Only a couple people stood in the queue -- all the while, Kaminari was waiting in plain sight at the foot of the Ferris wheel, sipping a cola.

"Asshole...!"

At the violent-sounding voice in the distance, Kaminari looked up to spot Bakugou and Kirishima heading towards him. He greeted them in a peace sign of a wave.

"'Sup, fellas!"

"Don't fuckin' 'sup me...!" Bakugou said, barrelling towards him via the tiny queue. Looking as threatening as he could with two plushies under one arm, which was not much. "Where the hell have you been all day?!"

"Hey, c'mon, don't push in line," Kirishima put a hand on his shoulder. Joining the end of the rapidly shrinking queue, he nodded his apologies to the strangers giving them looks. "Let's talk to him when we're at the front where he is, yeah?"

"Why the hell is he even waiting there anyway...?" Bakugou grumbled, but made no move to go against Kirishima's hand.

In a satisfied nod, Kirishima's hand left his shoulder. Maybe brushed his bicep on the way down, which left the both of them a little jittery. Kirishima looked away, whistling, while Bakugou's lips looked like a crushed worm in some malformed attempt to smile. Kaminari rolled his eyes at the adorable display.

Soon enough, they reached the platform to the Ferris wheel. With Bakugou looking like a steaming bull, and Kirishima looking disappointed and confused (which, honestly, Kaminari would have taken harder under other circumstances), he never felt more relaxed.

"Alright, talk, or I'll turn you into a dead battery," Bakugou growled. "What the hell's your game sending us on a goose chase, huh?"

"Oh, sure," Kaminari gestured at the adorable plushies under the boys' arms. "Because you spent so much time chasing."

"Look, dude, what's going on?" Kirishima cut in, ignoring the embarrassment showing on both their ears. "You wanted to talk to us, stood us up, and now we're here. You at least owe us an explanation."

Kaminari took in a deep breath. The moment had come.

"Look... To be honest, it's kinda personal. I lost my nerve at the beginning, but I thought I couldn't just leave you guys here while I chickened out. It's something I wanted to tell you in private."

"Then why bring us here?" Kirishima said, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, 'cause a fuckin' theme park is where you have a heart-to-heart," Bakugou scoffed.

"Something like that..." Kaminari murmured, shrugging before he spoke up. "Look, it's -- complicated. Can we talk about this inside?"

He gestured to an incoming Ferris wheel carriage. Squinting, Bakugou looked at Kirishima. Who looked back at him, and shrugged.

"...Fine," Bakugou shouldered his way past Kaminari into the carriage. "Let's get this over with."

"We're here for you, buddy," Kirishima said, consoling Kaminari as he went after Bakugou. "Anything you wanna talk to us about, we got your back."

"Thanks, man," Kaminari said, smiling genuinely as he patted Kirishima's shoulder. "I got yours, too."

When they were both taking a seat in the carriage, Kaminari gathered his courage. Adrenaline rising. The moment of truth.

He didn't move.

"Kami?" Kirishima said, sitting across from Bakugou, who shot him a perplexed look too. "Aren't you coming in, man?"

"You getting cold feet again?" Bakugou said, frowning.

"Nah," Kaminari said, smile easy-breezy. He followed the carriage as far as it travelled alongside the platform, matching it slowly picking up speed. "It's been a wild ride, guys, but this is me signing off -- I ain't playing middleman for you two any longer."

"Wha -- " Kirishima looked to Bakugou, before switching fast to Kaminari. "Us two -- ?"

"What the hell do you mean, middle-man?" Bakugou said. He bared teeth, raring to stand before the Ferris wheel worker stopped him.

"Sorry, sir, please don't walk in the carriage as you're going up. Enjoy the ride, though!"

"Thanks, dude." Kaminari grinned at the worker.

"Wha -- ?!" Bakugou gaped at the clerk, who shot a thumbs up back at Kaminari, then at the closing doors. Then he shot Kaminari a look that could light up the Ice Age, seething. "Kaminari...!"

"Love you, too, Blasty!" Kaminari beamed at him in a wave. "You two have a nice chat, now, 'kay?"

He kept waving as Bakugou kept shouting profanities at him even when the doors shut, only stopping when Kirishima said something to get his attention. Dropping his wave, he let out a long sigh. Now he could only hope those two could sort themselves out.

"You're right," the clerk whispered to him on the side. "It is serious..."

"I know," Kaminari moaned, slurping the last of his soda before he binned it on the side. "Can't wait for them to get their heads out their butts. Thanks for being so cool and helping me out with this, by the way."

"Oh, no problem! Who am I to stop true love?" The clerk waved a hand before letting another couple on a carriage. "Make sure to watch your step, and enjoy! Plus, they don't pay me enough to care anyway."

"Oh, man, that blows! I was totally planning to give you a tip anyway, so -- "

He promptly took out his wallet, and managed to get the clerk to accept a few thousand yen from gratitude. If anyone asked him the exact amount, Kaminari wouldn't be able to remember.

Hands in his pockets, humming a tune off-key, Kaminari headed off towards the park exit. He had to text Jirou about that movie.

Even though they had already left the ground, that didn't mean Bakugou didn't pound against the window some more.

"That fuckin', piece-o'-shit," Bakugou blustered in the carriage, growling as he nearly face-planted the glass, "no-good, blown-out bulb of a --"

"Bakugou, chill," Kirishima said. "You're not gonna blast out and get him up here."

"Wanna bet?"

He turned to Kirishima, before his anger evaporated into thin air at the expression on his face. An embarrassed, vulnerable one.

"Hey... What's wrong?"

"I -- I don't know, man," Kirishima gave a dry laugh. "I thought I did. I thought I knew why Kaminari wanted to talk to me. But then you showed up, and we spent the whole day together, then he showed up out of nowhere and said that, and now we're here, and..."

He threw up a hand. Bakugou searched his face, even though Kirishima wasn't looking at him.

"We can grill him properly when we get down there," Bakugou said softly. A firm edge to his voice, still. But softly. "One of us can talk to him, and -- "

"No," Kirishima shook his head. "I don't wanna talk to Kaminari. Maybe later, but..." He looked at Bakugou, finally. "It's not him I wanna talk to right now."

Bakugou felt his breath catch again. He'd climbed mountains higher than this Ferris wheel could go up, and he would never go short of breath. Yet, somehow, today was a little different. With Kirishima, it was always a little different.

"Yeah... Me neither."

With that simple admission, Bakugou could see a hint of a smile come back to Kirishima's lips. He didn't know what would happen on this ride with him, but he wanted to keep doing that.

"Did, uh," Kirishima cleared his throat. Bakugou's attention snapped up to him, to how Kirishima's hand found the back of his own neck. "Did you have fun? Today?"

Bakugou blinked. "Uh, yeah? Theme parks are the shit."

"Yeah, they are. But I meant more like," Kirishima rubbed his arm. "'Cause, you were pretty set on finding Kaminari, but then you ended up just spending the whole day with me instead, and, well..."

Bakugou stilled. The connection only formed in his head then, and he wanted to kick himself for missing it.

"Yeah, I had a fuckin' blast with you. Are you kidding me?" Bakugou said, a smile naturally coming onto his lips. "Everyone else I go with are little shits, saying they can't handle me after we go out to the park. But you're not like them -- I could go all out and not hear shit from fuckin' downers who don't know how to have a good time."

Kirishima laughed at that. He had smile lines when he did, that cornered his lips, that framed his sharp teeth. Heart pounding at the sight, Bakugou felt his own smile coming on. It was always a little contagious, whenever Kirishima laughed.

Calming down, Kirishima smiled in a hum.

"I'm not like everyone else, huh?" he said. "It's nice of you to say that."

Bakugou, realising what he said earlier, felt heat crawl rapidly up the back of his neck. He fidgeted out of reflex, before he forced himself to stay still. Show no weakness.

"Yeah, well..." He looked out the window, pretending to be interested in the gorgeous view of the park. "I mean shit I say. So."

The Ferris wheel paused.

It had done so every few minutes. But this time, it was with their carriage at the apex -- the sunset over the hills, pouring orange light over the park and the town in the distance. It didn't hold a candle to the views Bakugou beheld after he reached the peak of a mountain. But it was still something.

Then, Kirishima stood up in the carriage.

Bakugou's head snapped to the movement. "Hey, we're not allowed to stand in the -- "

"I'm pretty sure the clerk said that earlier to distract you, man," Kirishima said, giggling when Bakugou blinked. "Gotta hand one to Kami -- that one did work."

Bakugou grumbled under his breath, not minding so much when Kirishima laughed some more. Kirishima made himself comfortable, sitting next to Bakugou. Their bear and cat plushie sat side-by-side too, across from them. Bakugou felt the side of Kirishima's thigh touch his, and he was sure he would get explosions from his legs, too.

"Bakugou, I'm gonna tell you some things. You don't have to respond, but, uh. If you did, I wouldn't complain. But you don't have to."

Bakugou could hear his eyes darting from his voice. But he couldn't move -- not with all his blood rushing everywhere -- roaring past his ears, heating up his skin, pulsing in his ears -- from the war drum of his heart from Kirishima's voice so near him.

He did Kirishima the courtesy of looking at him, though. Which, in hindsight, Bakugou didn't know how helpful or smart that would be. With the golden sun lighting up Kirishima's face, making his hair glow like actual wildfire, his eyes glint like raw rubies. Bakugou didn't know whether to become a poet or jump out of the carriage at that very moment.

"The truth is, I... I knew why Kaminari wanted to talk to me. I've been talking to him a lot, lately."

Wait, why was he talking about Kaminari now?

"I've been telling him a lot about, uh...stuff I've been feeling for..." Kirishima grabbed at his shirt collar, his arm, his knees. He couldn't stop fidgeting. "For..."

"Do..." Bakugou's hand left his cheek. Fear coiled around his insides. The past few weeks went through his head like bullet fire. "Are you going out with Sparky?"

Dead silence. Bakugou counted. It lasted four seconds.

"...W-What? No! No!" Kirishima spluttered. "It's not -- I wasn't talking to him about -- I'm not going out with him, that's -- ! And why would I talk to him about my feelings if I liked him like that?!"

"W-Well, fuck if I know...!" Bakugou yelled. The dread buried in his stomach burst into a fiery, confused embarrassment. "I misunderstood! You were talking about him all of a fuckin' sudden and how much you two were talking to one another and shit, how was I supposed to -- oi! Why are you -- Don't fuckin' laugh at me...!"

It was a lost cause. Kirishima was all over the place, his arms trying to hold himself together at his sides but wondrously failing. His laughter could've shaken the Ferris wheel itself. It started moving again, and the picturesque pause in time, their reign at the top of the wheel, faded past. Bakugou was still yelling at him.

"You got some fuckin' nerve!" he shouted. "Laughin' at me while spillin' your guts out like that -- !"

"B-Bakugou, it's -- It's not him, I -- !"

Kirishima gasped between laughs, tears collecting in the corner of his eyes. Even though Bakugou couldn't help a grin at the ridiculousness of the situation, he had an image to maintain.

"If you fuckin' laugh while I tell you my shit, I swear -- !"

"It's you! You're the one I like, not -- !" Kirishima doubled over, fighting to catch his breath. "Not Kami...!"

Kirishima did something unheard of in Bakugou's life, and that was shutting him up. Bakugou watched starstruck while aching. Like the first time he saw a firework show, the first time he saw his own quirk, as Kirishima laughed and laughed in front of him. The orange sunlight sliding down his laugh-red face as their carriage went down, lighting up the tear tracks going tacky on his cheeks, every point of his infuriatingly white, sharp teeth as his laughs went airless, and he started just wheezing on nothing but he just kept going, and Bakugou kept aching.

Like he would lose him, Bakugou cupped his cheeks in his hands and dove in to kiss him.

His eyes naturally screwed shut -- Bakugou could only hear the muffled yelp of surprise against his lips, which startled into a gagging noise from holding in a laugh, making Kirishima bleat like a goat snorting wet against his mouth. Which made Bakugou choke, and was also how he found out you can't kiss someone properly while smiling, because he broke away into his own peals of laughter, nearly falling back in his seat. Their jumbo plushies were already on the floor from how their laughter rolled the carriage.

"Oh my god, what fucking noise was that...?!"

"You kissed me!" Kirishima cried, loud and panicked as Bakugou keeled back on their seat, cracking up a storm. "Bakugou, you kissed me...!"

"You fucking, neighed or some shit, I -- " Bakugou was near hyperventilating, his hand clutching his face as his cheeks started to hurt from how hard he was laughing. "Holy shit, I fuckin' can't, what the fuck -- !"

"Bakugou!" Kirishima whined, red to his ears. "You didn't gimme any warning! You gotta give a man a warning...!"

He sat up, clutching his gut, pushing back his hair out of his teary eyes. Kirishima's face of distress morphed into one full of wonder as Bakugou heaved out his last laughs.

"What fuckin' warning -- " Bakugou sucked in a breath, shaking his head in an uncontrollable grin, "woulda helped with that...?!"

For the second time out of many to follow, Kirishima shut him up.

Saturday afternoon. Kaminari was relaxing in his room, ankle bobbing to the BlackPink streaming through his earphones. Todoroki was good to lend his Jump to him to catch up, and it was a solid update.

Neither Kirishima and Bakugou bothered him in nearly a week. He had seen them going around school as usual, if a bit more chummy. It was a running count that made Kaminari a happy man.

A solid knock and two came on his door.

"Coming...!"

He took off his headphones and put away his things. He knew his friends' knocks off by heart by now. From the sounds of it, it was Kirishima -- Bakugou would storm in without even knocking.

"Hee-yellope," Kaminari swung open the door, bracing on the door frame. "To what do I -- oh?"

Kaminari raised a brow at not Kirishima, but Bakugou standing alongside Kirishima at his door. He looked down at their hands, joined between them, and a grin stretched along his lips.

"Oh-hoh-hoh?"

"Hey, man," Kirishima chuckled, a hand behind his neck. "We just wanted to swing by and talk."

"Got a minute?" Bakugou said.

Kaminari looked to them both, looking years less panicked than the times he had seen them before in the past few weeks. He could feel the gratitude coming off of Kirishima in waves already, like the stink of his post-workout sweat, but infinitely nicer. Even Bakugou didn't look half as mean as he usually did.

"But please!" Kaminari opened the door to make way, gesturing to his humble, chaotic abode. "Make yourselves at home."

He offered them Gatorade and Monster as the refreshments du jour, to which Bakugou declined and Kirishima accepted. He took a seat on his computer chair and listened to Kirishima and Bakugou updating him -- first on exactly what happened in the aftermath of the Ferris wheel incident. Kaminari was grateful he was sitting down, because he was on the floor while Kirishima and Bakugou took turns trying and failing to recount the debacle that went down with their first kiss, in a reasonable level of detail thanks to Bakugou acting as Kirishima's filter.

Then they talked about the developments in their relationship, and that there was a relationship to speak of, and Kaminari just grinned throughout it all. Then it was how they found out they each used him as their outlet while things were going nowhere.

"We wanted to say sorry. And, most of all, thank you so much, dude," Kirishima said.

Bakugou squeezed his hand, giving Kaminari a nod of acknowledgement. Gratitude. A host of kind and genuine emotions that if Kaminari said he never would associate them with Bakugou Katsuki, he'd be lying. With a grin, Kaminari nodded back at him graciously.

"We couldn't have gotten together if you didn't kick our asses into gear," Kirishima continued, smiling at Bakugou, then back at Kaminari. "We're thinking of how we can repay you, honestly."

"You were thinking that." Bakugou rolled his eyes. "I said the thanks would be enough."

"Don't act like you didn't agree when I suggested it, man! Our bro Kami's done so much for us!"

"It's okay, Kacchan -- our exchanging of emotions through a masculinity-charged nod was already a treat, to be sure," Kaminari admitted, smiling when Bakugou snorted and Kirishima beamed with pride at him. "Although! I will say," he steepled his fingers, his grin turning sharper behind them. "There is...one thing."

"Name it, buddy," Kirishima said. "It's on us."

Bakugou at least made it look like he was going to protest, but with a knock of Kirishima's elbow, he settled to attention. Kaminari let himself have a snicker before composing himself.

"To do with the aiding of consummating your relationship and, importantly, bragging rights..." He lifted up a finger, letting his smile go wide and bright as he did. "I have one, humble request."

epilogue

Mount Fuji. For all its grandeur, no one expected less of Kirishima and Bakugou's wedding.

A bold and beautiful spot for the two to commit themselves to each other. The skies are clear above the cloud tops when they get married. The reception is held on a resort on the mountainside. Old friends from UA are invited for the occasion, and the cake is cut and shared for everyone to celebrate.

The sun begins to set over the horizon when a glass tinkles in the din. It clinks a few more times, bringing the room to a hush. Kaminari Denki, the ring bearer and best man to Bakugou, stands in his seat, near where the couple are standing.

"Everyone! If I could make a toast," he raises his glass to the happy couple, who look at him with excitement and amusement rolled into one, "to the explosive couple we all know and love, The Bakugou-Kirishimas!"

Applauses and whistles shake the room. Kirishima grins, shy and delighted at the attention. Bakugou smiles at the crowd with a sincere warmth.

"Alright, alright, settle down, now -- everyone knows I've been waiting to make it all about me," Kaminari jokes. Laughter ripples through the crowd, and he grins at the happiness on all his friends' faces.

"Now, not to be too presumptuous, but I think everyone knew this was going to happen. It was just a matter of how and, for just a lil while, when exactly they would just get on with it. Today, we all saw their union come to pass. And I think we all say this with a happiness and sincerity we've passed onto them from the bottom of our hearts: finally.

"I've known these guys for years now. Years and years, and I've only ever seen their trust, affection, and love for one another grow over the years. Never stopping for a moment. But you didn't get this far to my toast to hear more sap -- we're well past that now. No, this, right here? Is the time for exchanging anecdotes. Stories of an embarrassing nature. Times we look back on and laugh because, damn, that was just a mess!

"The one I want to share with all of you today -- the one I've really, really been dying to get to, is the story of how these two got together. Because these two didn't just confess to each other one day and got together, all easy, pain- and third-party-free. Oh, but how much more there is to it than that! And, as a special gift, our lovely husband and husband today allowed me to finally tell the story of how they got together, and stuck together since their first year of high school.

"So," he looks back to the happy couple. Glances at the fond exasperation on their faces, gazing at each other before they look at him, and Kaminari's grin is boundless when he turns back to the waiting crowd. "It all began on the day I knew I was going to die..."

He makes it through the retelling without a hitch. All the beats get the audience where he expects them to, elicits the eye-rolls from Katsuki and belly-laughs from Eijirou where he knows they'll remember best. It's a story that's stuck on repeat in his head, one he'll tell his kids, the Bakugou-Kirishima's kids, and anyone who'd be willing to listen. A story of two people he loves most in the world, and one he'll never forget.

Kaminari flourishes a hand to the couple when he rounds off the story, who bow and laugh at the raucous laughter and whooping cheers sent their way. The evening sky settled in a powdery lilac past the balcony, the fresh mountain air a pleasant chill to the warm and rowdy reception.

"So, what can we take away from this tonight? Honestly, I can't tell you. I don't know. I'm a pro hero, not a teacher. But when a rock and a hard place love each other very much..." Beaming at the laughter in the room, he raises his glass to the Bakugou-Kirishimas, who raise theirs back in a shared smile. "You know you'll be stuck with them for a long, long time."