"That's it!" Mina exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air dramatically as she slumped to the side, draping her body over Asui and Uraraka. There was a movie playing in the background, the subtitles displayed in text far too small for anyone to actually be able to see.
Now, usually the class didn't bother with the subtitles - the speakers on the television worked perfectly fine and didn't tend to hinder the sound quality, but today was different. The vibrations rattled through Kirishima's whole body, and it felt like, with every single jolt, that a part of his soul was separating and imploding on itself.
Everyone had a matching irritated expression on their faces as the jackhammers whirred away, chipping away at whatever they needed to above them, as well as chipping at 1A's patience, "If I have to stay here and listen to that for one more minute, I'm going to go insane," Mina continued, screwing her eyes shut and groaning. The rest of the class murmured in agreement. Since none of them were allowed upstairs, everyone has gathered in the common room, even the ones who tended to stay by themselves.
Yaoyorozu took that moment to sit up, startling Todoroki, who had been half-asleep on her shoulder. "I have an idea!" she said excitedly, her eyes sparkling. "What if we can get permission to take a class trip off campus, to get dinner or something? I'm sure if one of the teachers accompany us, it'll be fine!"
A ripple of excited murmurs coursed through the group, and Kirishima noticed a few of them sit up a little straighter, previous grievances over the noise forgotten. He, of course, was one of them - after all, the racket was bothering him just as much as everyone else, and a trip out of UA sounded nice. It was only when Kirishima felt the sofa cushion he was sitting on shift, did he turn to see Bakugo getting to his feet.
"Bakugo? Where are you going?" he asked as the chatter from his friend's intensified, each one of them inputting their own suggestions on where to go to eat.
Bakugo didn't look back, preferring instead to storm over to the door and swing it open. "To train," he answered gruffly, taking a single step outside.
In an instant, Kirishima was off the couch, vaulting over it and chasing after the blond. "Wait, Bakugo! Aren't you coming to the dinner?"
Bakugo scoffed, glaring at Kirishima out of the corner of his eye. "What, with those fuckers? No fucking way."
Judging by the serious tone of his voice and the way his face was fixated in that distasted expression, Kirishima thought it unlikely that he'd change his mind. "Oh, okay...but bro, it won't be as fun without you, y'know."
"Tch." Bakugo went to take another step out, probably to go to a Training Hall rather than simply to the front yard, but Kirishima gave one last-ditch effort and grabbed onto his arm. Bakugo stopped dead in his tracks, frozen to the spot. Kirishima kept his hand locked in position.
"Bakugo, come on," he tried, attempting to sound manly despite the fact he was so obviously pleading. "Just this once. If it's really that bad, then-"
"Fine."
"-I'll let you...oh?" Kirishima blinked once, twice. His mouth formed a little 'O' and his eyes had widened in surprise, questioning whether or not he had heard what he assumed he just did.
Bakugo's eyes were narrowed, mouth tightened in a thin line and brows low over his upper lashes, but somehow, his whole demeanour was lacking it's usual passion. "I said fine, Shitty Hair."
The grin on the red-head's lips formed immediately. "Nice!"
Clicking his tongue, Bakugo turned to walk away again. "I'm still going to train. Dinner's not for another two hours or some shit."
Kirishima chuckled. "Okay bro, just be back in time, alright?"
With a parting glare, Bakugo pulled his arm out of Kirishima's grasp and walked down the steps, down the drive and turned left, disappearing from view. It took Kirishima a long moment to realise he was still staring at the place where Bakugo had gone, and he quickly shook his head, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. Why was he blushing?
"Kirishima! Where do you think we should go?" Mina yelled, her voice tinged with childish glee as she perched on Uraraka's lap, leaning over the back of the sofa to talk to him. Uraraka didn't seem to mind.
Laughing enough to cover up the fact his skin was flushed with colour, Kirishima made his way back over. "I don't know. What are the options?"
Amidst their avid discussion on where to go, which intensified when Aizawa told them him and President Mic would accompany them, so long as it wasn't too far away, Kirishima's mind was stuck on one thing.
Bakugo.
Or, more specifically, the fact that Bakugo had agreed to join him for dinner. Well, join the class. It wasn't just going to be Kirishima there, but it was Kirishima who had convinced him to come. That was considered a pretty big leap in the friendship books, in his opinion.
---
Now, Kirishima's outfit wasn't exactly smart; he wore loose, dark blue jeans and a black shirt, with a red zip-up hoodie covering his arms. His feet were adorned with trainers, he hadn't done anything different with his hair and his face sported his usual grin.
However, when he saw Bakugo, he couldn't help feeling a little overdressed. The blond wore army-green cargo pants, rolled up around his ankles where they were slightly too long, with a plain t-shirt and a black hoodie tied around his waist. There was his usual scowl on his face, and his hair was in its normal explosion-like state. It was fitting, actually, now that Kirishima thought about it.
"Bro," he said as he approached Bakugo, who was just leaving his room. The blond turned, saw him, and scowled more. "Did you even change?"
Bakugo tch-ed. "I was training, Shitty Hair. Does it look like these clothes are sweaty as shit?"
"Well, no," Kirishima hummed. "But isn't it good to give a good impression to our fellow classmates outside of the classroom?" Despite realising the stupidity of what he was saying halfway through saying it, he didn't stop himself. Of course Bakugo didn't care what everyone else thought about him away from class - he didn't even care what they thought about him now. So manly. Kirishima wondered what it would be like not to be aware of everyone's opinions of himself, how they saw his looks, his hair, his personality.
Not even bothering to reply, Bakugo turned and stalked towards the elevator, totally assured that Kirishima would follow him - which he did. Obviously.
"I'm really glad you're coming out with us tonight, bro," Kirishima chatted away, not minding Bakugo's silence. "It shows that you're opening up, y'know? It's nice!"
"I'm not opening up, Shitty Hair," Bakugo grumbled. "I don't care about those fucking extras."
"Oh," Kirishima laughed, then stopped. "Oh. Then why are you coming?"
Whether it was the way Bakugo sharply turned his head away, or the red flush that flared up around his neck, the reaction got Kirishima thinking; why was Bakugo coming? Whenever Kirishima usually asked him, the request would be denied with its usual vigour, often followed by a few explosions (to the face). So why was he suddenly now deciding to come?
"To get away from the fucking noise, dumbass," came his irritated reply. "Stop overthinking shit."
Kirishima blinked once, twice, then the ground beneath him shook as a crash sounded. Ah, yes, the noise. He had almost forgotten about that. Laughing, he slung a hand over the blond's shoulder. "Right! Well, trust me, you're gonna have the best time ever." And even though it was a passing comment, Kirishima took it as a promise to himself - he would make Bakugo enjoy this night if it killed him.
The elevator arrived and took them down to the ground floor, Kirishima making more idle conversation, not phased in the slightest by Bakugo's short answers, until they arrived at the doors of Alliance Heights. The rest of the class had already gathered there, all dressed to the same degree of formality as Kirishima, except Iida, who had decided to go full out and wear a suit and tie. And were those different glasses?
"Kiri!" Kaminari yelled, leaping over. Since his arm was still looped over Bakugo, Kirishima could feel his friend stiffen.
Ignoring the weird feeling that the reaction initiated, Kirishima pulled his arm away and fist-bumped his friend. "What's up, bro?"
Kaminari grinned. "I can't believe Aizawa actually agreed to let us leave! And he's been in such a weird mood lately, too. I wonder what changed?"
With a short laugh, Kirishima made his way forwards, following Kaminari back to the main group. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to see Bakugo trailing behind, a look of more murderous intent on his face than usual, but before Kirishima could ask him what was wrong, there was a squealing of brakes. Turning around, Kirishima saw the coach pull up and the doors slide open. It was long, sleek and black, almost like a tall shiny limo - only the best for UA.
Climbing aboard, he was impressed; the walkway was lined with coloured lights, the seats made of expensive looking leather and were in rows of two, facing each other to form an area of four. There were cup holders, arm rests and the like, all poshly arranged in a way that screamed 'money'.
He walked on just behind Kaminari, nodding along to his rapid-fire questions that were simultaneously answered by Mina and Sero, who were walking just ahead. They slid into a booth halfway down, still chatting. Kirishima sat beside Kaminari, a grin on his face.
"So what do you think?" Kaminari asked, gesturing to his hair. "Does it look good?"
Kirishima narrowed his eyes teasingly, pretending to scrutinise it. "I don't know, bro. Doesn't look any different to m..." He trailed off as Bakugo stormed past, hands stuffed deep into his pockets as he purposefully avoided Kirishima's questioning gaze. Looking back at the group, all of which were silent, he realised that all four seats were taken. "Guys, what about Bakugo?"
Mina and Sero didn't reply, so Kaminari rested a hand on his back. "Well, there's only four seats. And we can sit with him in the restaurant, dude."
Kirishima frowned. "So, what? We just let him sit by himself?" He knew he was being silly, picking an argument over something as small as this, but he couldn't help it. "That hardly seems fair."
He watched as Kaminari pursed his lips. "Well, Bakugo isn't exactly the most friendly, Kiri."
Kirishima stared. "So? He's my friend, and I'm not letting him spend this by himself. He barely wanted to come anyway!" Roughly getting to his feet, Kirishima pushed his way into the aisle, ignoring Mina's requests for him to come back, and scanned his eyes across the bus until they found the bush of spiky, ash-blond hair. He made his way over, sliding into the seat opposite and beaming.
"What the fuck do you want, Shitty Hair? Aren't you going to sit with your friends?" Bakugo snapped, tone harsh and annoyed, but Kirishima wasn't phased.
With a quirk of his lips, Kirishima smirked. "Are you jealous?"
The scowl appeared instantly, darkening his eyes. "Why the fuck would I be jealous?"
He held his gaze for a moment, challenging him, until Kirishima snorted. "I'm messing with you, bro. You're my friend, of course I'd sit with you. Besides, I promised you that you'd have the best time ever, and I intend to deliver on that promise."
And deliver he did. Kirishima joked, laughed, shared stories that he hadn't thought about in years and a few times he thought he saw Bakugo smile a little. As they sat at the table, Kirishima noticed Kaminari, Sero and Mina sit next to the two, offering them smiles which Kirishima half-returned, but didn't actively try to involve himself in conversation with them.
When they were ordering their food, Kirishima didn't even think twice - he just ordered whatever Bakugo had.
"You sure?" Bakugo asked, a slightly bemused look on his face. Kirishima just nodded.
When the food arrived and Kirishima had taken a large bite out of it, only vaguely suspicious of the intense, self satisfied look on Bakugo's face as he did so, he very much regretted making such a decision. The spice overcame his tastebuds. It wasn't even like they were on fire; it was like someone was holding them over the hottest volcano in the world, had drained every last inch of saliva from his mouth and had tried to messily pour it back in, there was so much of it. He panted, grabbing his glass of water and chugging it down in seconds. Bakugo, on the other hand, found this immensely amusing, as shown by the large smirk on his face. Despite the pain he had gone through to get it, Kirishima was glad he had, because that grin on his friend's face was worth it.
While everyone else ate and laughed, Kirishima found himself transfixed on that smile - it was so rare to see Bakugo actually, genuinely happy. In fact, Kirishima couldn't recall Bakugo showing anything like that, other than his manic laughter when he was mid-battle. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners, how his eyebrows twitched downwards to crease in the middle, the slight flush in his cheeks, it was mesmerising.
The conversation dwindled from childhood tales to complaints about schoolwork.
"If you studied, Shitty Hair, you wouldn't be so bad," Bakugo scolded, shrugging as he shovelled another mouthful of his ridiculously spicy meal into his mouth.
Kirishima tentatively ate another mouthful, water prepared. "Yeah, well, it's hard! And I suck at studying by myself." A thought popped into his mind. "Hey! What if we had those study sessions again? I did so much better after that!"
Bakugo scowled, but his expression and tone didn't match his words. "Sure. Whatever."
"Hey, Bakugo! D'you reckon you could teach us too?" Kaminari butted in, his question directed at Bakugo but his eyes and apologetic voice centred on Kirishima.
"Yeah! That way, we'll all do well!" Mina agreed, a smile on her face when she saw Kirishima and Kaminari bump fists.
Bakugo sighed frustratedly. "Fine, idiots. But if you don't do well, I'll explode you."
There were cheers from the four that Bakugo dismissed, and as Kirishima thanked Bakugo for putting up with them Kaminari placed a hand on his shoulder, a grateful smile on his lips, which Kirishima returned.
The murderous look on Bakugo's face reappeared, not that Kirishima saw it.
---
Back at the dorms, the noise had stopped, since the builders finished their shift around seven. Kirishima had changed into his pyjamas and was now in the bathroom, staring intently at himself in the mirror. His hair was damp and fell limply on his face, framing his features. There was a slight frown on his face as he separated the strands, inspecting them.
"What the fuck is taking so long?" Bakugo called angrily from outside the door.
Kirishima chuckled nervously and moved away, opening the door and flashing him a grin. "Sorry, bro. I just noticed that my roots are showing." He paused, then added, "I need to redo my hair dye."
Bakugo scowled. "I know what you meant, Shitty Hair." He pushed past Kirishima, grabbing his toothbrush that looked like it was reaching it's final days, and began hunting for the toothpaste. "Do you have any dye?"
"Well, no. I kinda run out and forgot to buy more," Kirishima said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.
When he found the paste, he squeezed an excessive amount on before absently saying, "I'll do it."
It took a few moments for the words to sink in. "What? You know how to dye hair?"
The angry look flared up again. "Yeah, so what? You think you're better than me?" Bakugo snarled, shoving the brush into his mouth.
Kirishima raised his hands in surrender. "No, no, I wasn't saying that. You just don't strike me as someone who would know how to do that, is all."
Bakugo tch-ed. "Whatever, Shitty Hair. Buy the shit and I'll do it tomorrow."
Shooting him a beaming grin, Kirishima went back to his bed and lay down, squirming until he got comfortable. He could hear Bakugo aggressively brushing his teeth in the bathroom and he supressed a laugh.
His mind drifted for a while - a long while, long after Bakugo had switched off the light and climbed onto his futon, muttering a hasty "G'night," before turning over and going silent. Of course, Kirishima's thoughts kept circling back to the same thing. His pinky hovered over his forearm, ready to leave a note, even if it was just a simple 'goodnight' message as usual.
No, he decided, putting his arm down. Today had been a good day - a great day - and reminding himself of this was only going to lower the mood.
Satisfied with his decision, Kirishima rolled over, closing his eyes with a contented look on his face.