Notes: Happy V-Day y'all! I have released the "Denki's Vlogs!" AU! Details about it will be written in the endnotes! Let's get this party started!
But first, a card uwu.
Artist: pockyiistick (Twitter)
__________________________________
Bakugou came home late again that night, as expected. Kirishima himself decided to sleep the rest of the day away after spending hours drawing rough sketches of whatever prompted him at the moment. He woke up to his alarm jingling away feeling just as tired as he was the day prior, his hands going to rub his eyes as he yawned. He hit the snooze button and blinked away the blurriness in his vision as he sat upright in bed, softly smacking his lips together. His sketchbook slid off his lap and flopped onto the floor, an unfinished sketch of his favorite pro hero Crimson Riot staring back at him. He gazed at the image groggily, silently debating whether or not he had the energy to pick the book up. He yawned again, throwing his legs over the side of the bed just as his phone vibrated on his night table. Forgetting all about his sketchbook, his hand instead went for his phone and his eyes narrowed to thin slits at the screen's brightness.
Chargebrolt ⚡
Yo yooo! I have patrol today. You need a ride to the station?
6:14AM
His phone vibrated again before he could respond.
Chargebrolt ⚡
And is bakubro taking his bike? It's nippy outside, and im not talking about tits
6:14AM
Kirishima huffed a laugh, typing out a reply and sending it before tossing his phone on the bed beside him. Glancing across the room, he saw Bakugou's ash blond hair peeking out from where he laid wrapped cocoon-like in his covers. Lifting himself from the side of the bed, he shuffled over to the blond's, kneeling at his bedside with his arms folded across it. Bakugou's soft snores could be heard vaguely through his blanket, and Kirishima was almost tempted to just leave him be and leave him to his peaceful slumber. Unfortunately, with today's workday already scheduled, he couldn't savor the moment for long.
"Bakugou," whispered Kirishima, poking at the blond spikes of hair. Bakugou stirred in his sleep, letting out a groan and wiggling away. Kirishima chewed his lip, suppressing the squeal that threatened to escape. He managed to swallow it down and poked him again, saying his name louder. The blond still continued to sleep, rolling onto his back with a sonorous moan, his face coming into view. Kirishima leaned back. He supposed he could give him a few more minutes of rest... Kiri took in the blond's features he'd long since memorized, silently wondering how someone could be so beautiful. His face looked angelic in the brassy glow of the sun that kissed his skin. Kirishima reached out, tracing the sharp curve of his jaw with his finger. His skin was as smooth and velvety under his gentle touch, and he let his finger linger on his chin as he gazed at the blond's shapely lips.
His mind went back to the night he tried to kiss him, and thinking about it now, he did want to kiss him then. What would've happened if Kaminari hadn't walked in on him when he did? Would they have kissed? Kirishima sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, his cheeks warm, his finger going to trace the curve of his cupid's bow. Warm puffs of air tickled the skin of his finger, sending a tingle down his spine. Kirishima drew his hand back when Bakugou stirred again, groaning.
Kirishima blinked. "Bakugou?"
"Fuuuck..." drawled the blond in response, shuffling again, panting slowly. "Eijirou..."
"E-Eh?" Kirishima gasped, eyes widening. Kirishima arose from the bedside, his hands going to shake to the blond out his slumber. "Bakugou!"
Bakugou's eyes fluttered open at the call of his name, and once he grew aware of the redhead shaking him, they widened, and he stupidly sat up too quick, bumping heads with Kirishima. Kirishima fell back onto the floor with a hiss as did Bakugou.
"What the fuck?" Bakugou growled, rubbing his head as he glared daggers at the redhead on the floor below him. "Shitty Hair, what the fuck were you doing?"
"Trying to wake you up!" Kirishima glared right back. "I just wanted to know if you needed a ride since it's a bit chilly today. You were talkin' in your sleep."
Bakugou froze. "What did I say?"
Kirishima crossed his legs as he rubbed his forehead, his eyes focused on anything but the blond staring at him. "You said 'fuck' and... a-and my name."
Bakugou cursed internally. Kirishima let his hand fall into his lap as he kept his head tilted at the blond. "What were you dreamin' about?"
"Nothin', just you sucking me off", is what Bakugou wanted to say, but couldn't for obvious reasons. Scratching his head and pulling his legs towards him, thankful his blanket was still draped across his body, he shrugged. "I don't remember."
"Oh."
Lying to him was stupid. Bakugou was stupid. Bakugou's stupid feelings were stupid. Bakugou frowned at himself. "I need a shower."
"Me too. You can go first, though, you take faster showers than me."
Bakugou adjusted himself before getting out of bed. "Yeah."
Bakugou exited the room and practically sprinted to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and leaning against it. If no one else was up, if he had woken up before Kirishima did, he would've yelled as soon as he locked the door, but luck wasn't on his side. Nope. Now he was talking in his sleep, saying his name in his sleep, not to mention the raging boner he'd been waking up to for almost two weeks now. It was getting to the point cold showers were pointless and jerking off didn't take away the edge. He needed the real deal—craved it even—and he hated it.
Bakugou growled and grumbled at himself as he went through his morning routine—a shower, washing his hair, aggressively brushing his teeth, poofing his spikes up with calculated pops of his explosions, lining his eyes with black eyeliner for his hero costume, and lastly, glaring at himself in the mirror for having to put up with this for so long. He was calling himself a hero, the no. 8 hero at that, but despite the aggressive front he put on for everyone else, he was too scared of being rejected to confess his feelings, and now he was suffering because of it.
Kirishima was flipping through his sketchbook upon his entering of the room, and Bakugou ignored the smile sent his way, instead crossing over to their dresser and digging up his hero costume from its drawer. Kirishima left the room after that, and after getting dressed, Bakugou sat on the edge of his bed, his leg bouncing uncontrollably as he pouted. His phone vibrated on the nightstand beside his bed, and he unplugged it from his charger, seeing who texted him.
Camie 🙄
Kiri do you love me? 🧐 Are you riding? 😔👊🏻 Say you'll never ever leave from beside me? 👬 Cause i want ya 😏 And i need ya 😩✊🏻 And I'm down for you always 🤪
6:35AM
Camie 🙄
That's all you have to say lol
6:35AM
Bakugou rolled his eyes. If she was bothering him this early in the morning, she must have patrol today too. She was the only other person who he revealed his crush to aside from Mina, and unlike Raccoon Eyes, Camie actually tried to help. With her quirk, she created illusions of his beloved redhead in hopes confessing to a fake Kirishima would ease his anxiety towards confessing to the real one.
It didn't work.
He typed out a reply—Stfu moron—then tossed his phone aside, throwing himself into the comfort of his bed. His phone buzzed again, and he groaned, picking the phone up.
Camie 🙄
Pretty sure a kiss would mean the same thing js
6:36AM
Absolutely not. Another buzz.
Camie 🙄
It's been like 3 years broman he's not gonna reject you lol I'm pretty certain he likes you too. Tetsutetsu told me he talks about you like allllll the time.
6:36AM
Lies. If Kirishima liked him, why hadn't he confessed to him yet? But then again...
Fine, replied the blond.
Kirishima returned from the bathroom moments later, hair tied back into a loose ponytail. He dressed in his hero costume, then the two of them met Denki in the living room before proceeding to the basement where the parking garage was located. Kirishima called shotgun before racings towards the ash brown compact and Bakugou barked about having to ride in the back (but did it anyway). Pulling out of the lot, Denki took a hand off the steering wheel, feeling around for his phone. His fingers coming in contact with the cool device, he picked it up and handed it to Kirishima.
"I give you the power of the aux since you're the first stop," Denki stated, returning his hand to the steering wheel. "You're probably gonna blast, Nicki, aren't you?"
"Of course!" Kirishima beamed, his headgear framing his face. The sound of the road passing beneath them was replaced with the smooth beat of Bed. Denki perked up, glancing at the redhead with a grin of approval as he nodded his head. Denki took on Ariana's parts whilst Kiri recited every verse Nicki had in the song, adding hand gestures and subtle facial expressions. Bakugou gazed out the window, watching buildings, people, and trees pass by in a soft blur. Occasionally, his eyes flicked to the side view mirror, a pair of half-lidded crimson orbs peering back at him. His lips moved.
"Got a bed wit' your name on it
Wit' your name on it"
"Got a kiss wit' your name on it
Wit' your name on it"
He liked to imagine for that maybe, maybe he was singing to him. Maybe he was stealing glances at him in the rearview mirror. Maybe his eyes were heavy with lust, as they always were in his more than vivid dreams. Bakugou's cheeks burned, his mind trailing straight to the gutter due to that first verse following the chorus. Kiri was the one to look away first as the song came to an end and the car rolled to a stop. Bakugou's attention shifted to their current location idling in front of the station, an active, hurried crowd muffled by that of his window. Denki picked up his phone and his lips moved to say something to Kirishima the ash blond didn't quite pick up over the sudden music change. Kirishima smiled nonetheless, bidding them goodbye before he slammed the door closed and raced off to catch his train. Denki adjusted his rearview mirror and peered at Bakugou, a smug grin on his face.
"Careful, Bakubro, your attraction is showing," Denki quipped. Bakugou glared at him in response, catching a glimpse of how ridiculous he looked trying to look intimidating while his cheeks were bright red. Denki snickered, pulling away from the curb as he shook his head and tsked. "He thought he was slick, playing that song when he usually plays Starships first or somethin'. That's like, his anthem," Denki snorted, glancing at the blond again. "But I figure he wanted to send a message, yeah?"
"Shut up, Dunce Face," hissed the blond, folding his arms over his chest. Denki and Sero were one of the few who figured out that Bakugou had a crush on Kirishima rather than Bakugou revealing it to them himself. He didn't know how or when they saw through his bullshit, but they never passed up the chance to tease him about it.
"I refuse to shut up until you do the opposite of shut up and ask him out already. It's been three whole years bro! I couldn't even go through our first year without asking Kyo out."
"You asked every girl out."
"Precisely my point!" Denki boasted, finger-wagging pointedly. "I asked."
They rolled to a stop again—a red light. Denki leaned back into his seat, raking his fingers through his golden blond hair. He leaned his elbow against the frame of the door and cradled the side of his head in his hands, eyes flickering to the mirrored view of Bakugou again. Bakugou kept the eye contact until their staring contest was interrupted by the changing light. The car juddered slightly before it lurched forward, letting out a low groan as it accelerated forward. Pop music filled the silent void between the two.
Denki flicked on his signal, a hand swirling around the steering wheel for the turn. Bakugou leaned towards his door in a fight against gravity. The car straightened, and in the brief stillness between songs, Denki pressed him further. "I'm just sayin', bro, nothing's going to happen if you don't start making moves."
"Well, the fuck do you want me to do?"
"Literally just ask him out." Denki frowned at him in the mirror. "I'm pretty sure he wants to as much as I know you want to."
"That's..." Bakugou twitched his nose, his eyes fixated on the scenery passing by. "That's stupid. You're stupid."
"No, you are. Don't pretend like there's nothing going on between you and Kiri, 'cause the way you responded to dancin' with him said a lot. Still mad at you about that, by the way. I bet Mina had something to do with it, too."
Bakugou tched. He figured as much. Mina was a sly fox; including herself in her own game plans always led to an obvious bleeding mischievous aura from her. Denki continued to speak on his dilemma when it was apparent that Bakugou wasn't planning on responding to him any time soon, much to Bakugou's chagrin. "What are you so afraid of, dude?"
"Relationships are a liability in the hero world. Too many risks come with bein' number one on the charts." There weren't many heros that were open about their relationships, and with good reason. Calculated villains go for people you care about, people you love—the thought of Kirishima being one of those people, the thought of him becoming a target for the blond because of their relationship, was unsettling. Bakugou himself ranked no. 8 on the Top 10 heros chart with Kirishima himself coming in at no. 11 after Todoroki. It had been a long while since they had to deal with a villain as grand as All For One, but that didn't mean threats like that vanished. If they ever had to go through something remotely similar to that, he didn't want Kirishima to become something he could lose in the process. Or on the flip side, he didn't want the redhead to suffer loss lest something happened to him...
Denki scoffed. "What happened to 'Kirishima is my equal'? C'mon man, we both know he's stronger than that. He's saved your ass plenty of times, risked his life willingly. He's aware of what it takes to really be a hero, but that's no excuse to put your love life on the back burner, man."
Bakugou exercised his right to remain silent, his gaze falling back to the passing scenery for the rest of the ride. After less than ten minutes, they were pulling up in front of the hero agency Bakugou worked at, Denki took his cell phone in his hands, pausing the music and navigating to a different playlist while the blond exited the car, slamming the door. The car rocked slightly at the action, and Denki glared at his retreating back through the clear glass of his window. Denki rolled his window down and leaned an elbow against the door, calling out to the blond, "I'm just sayin', I understand you want to be everyone's favorite hero or whatever—I respect that—but be his hero, too."
The car grumbled as Denki switched the gear into drive and the asphalt beneath the wheels crunched as the vehicle crawled forward. "Later, hard-ass."
Bakugou froze, gloved hands clenched into fists at either side of his body, his gaze casted downward. He could hear Denki's compact roll away from the curve alongside the hum of the small motor bringing his window back up. The sounds dissipated as he trailed further down the road, but the blond remained frozen in place.
He was right.
☆
"Let's stop here for a minute, I'm starvin'," mumbled pro hero Fatgum as he came to a stop in front of a local ramen shop. The rotund pro dipped into the shop before Kirishima and Amajiki Tamaki—hero name: Suneater—could answer. The aforementioned glanced at his hooded companion, the latter peering at him through the long, navy blue bangs obscuring most of his face, the corners of his mouth dimpled due to the simper on his face. Kirishima shrugged, following after their elder with Tamaki close behind. Fatgum was already at the counter placing a rather large order, not that it was surprising since his quirk required it. The elder shifted himself to glance at the two sidekicks approaching him, a widespread grin on his face. "What do you two want? Actually, nevermind. I pretty much know what you want."
"I thought your quirk was fat absorption, not mind reading," Kirishima quipped.
"Ha!" Fat bellowed, a hand going to his stomach. Fatgum suggested the two grab a table. Kirishima and Tamaki obliged, stealing a booth close to a window. Tamaki sat adjacent to the window with Kirishima wedged right next to him. It was three hours into their patrol shift with three more before Kiri could take the four-hour train ride back home. It was a slow day in Osaka as well; the most they had to deal with were petty thugs and low-life criminals. Kirishima laced his fingers behind his head. Tamaki fiddled his thumbs together in his lap, his eyes cutting to the other every now and again.
"Kirishima," Tamaki spoke softly. "What are you up to this weekend?"
"Eh," Kirishima twisted his lips to the side, gnawing on the inside of his cheek. "Ashido suggested we go dancing, but she didn't give us a date yet. It's supposed to be like, a triple date or somethin'. Why, you want to come? You could bring Mirio!"
"N-No! That's okay! I'm not really much of a dancer like you are..."
"Dancing is easy, bro!"
"Says you." Tamaki huffed, smiling. He tilted his head at him. "By the way, I saw that video of you two dancing. So, you did ask him out after all?"
Kirishima laughed sheepishly, his elbows pinching together in a poor attempt to obscure his visage. "Well... No. I didn't."
"Why not?"
"I dunno how to! You've seen him before. He's not exactly the most approachable person."
"He makes me nervous," Tamaki admitted, shifting uncomfortably. "But he's the most easy-going around you, right? His demeanor around you versus his attitude towards other people had always been noticeably different..."
Kirishima's lips parted in awe at his comments. Tamaki looked to him, then gasped as he jumped in his seat, waving his hands frantically before going to cover his face. "N-Not that I watch you guys or anything! I-It's just something I noticed over the years of knowing you! I—" Tamaki clamped his mouth shut, swallowing the lump in his throat. Still shielding the blush on his face, he continued. "When Mirio asked me out, I really didn't expect it, but I was happy he was the one to do it. I liked him too, but I was too scared to ask him out myself... I know if he never did then neither would I. So, what I mean is—y-you should—just g-go ahead and—"
"Ask!" Fatgum interjected. Fat chuckled at Tamaki's surprised shriek. The elder slid their bowls onto the table as he spoke. "Tonkatsu ramen for you, Riot, and nakji for you, Suneater!"
He passed the two a pair of chopsticks before sitting on the side opposite of them. "The worst question is the question that was never asked, so don't hesitate! That's what you'd consider is the manly thing to do, yeah?"
"The epitome of manliness!" Kirishima boasted with new resolve, raising a fist to the air. "Today, I do the manly thing and ask! Plus Ultra!"
Tamaki grunted. "I don't think that's what it's—"
"Thank you for the food!" Kirishima bowed before dramatically breaking apart his chopsticks. He finished his ramen bowl in record time, and—after momentarily waiting for his other two comrades to finish theirs—went straight back to patrol for the rest of the day. The three hours rolled by as quick as they came. Tamaki and Fat waited for Kirishima to board his shinkansen, and it wasn't until they disappeared from his view that he checked his phone. Mina's name was the first to pop up.
Alien Qveen 🤪
Yooooo
5:24PM
Alien Qveen 🤪
Hope you're not too tired for 💃🏻 practice
5:24PM
Never—he replied. It wasn't long before the extrovert responded.
Alien Qveen 🤪
Say less. See you l8r
5:24PM
Kiri huffed. He wiggled closer towards the window, tucking a foot under his thigh as he leaned back into the cushion of his seat. By the time he reached Tokyo, Denki was already there waiting for him in his compact. The two stopped for pizza on the way home, and after a couple of slices and a marathon of songs later, they arrived at their apartment building, rode the elevator to the fourth floor, and entered the genkan and kicked off their shoes.
Mina wasn't there yet. Nor was Bakugou, not that he minded much. It gave him time to shower, stretch and sketch Denki's goofy poses. Kirishima was working on the details of Denki's face when Bakugou entered their room. The granite scratching against paper ceased. Denki dropped his head back to look at the blond. A smirk crept onto his face.
"Welcome back, Bakubro," Denki purred. The blond muttered a greeting, shuffling towards his bed and ditching the duffel bag he carried his costume in at the foot of it. Kirishima watched him out the corner of his eye, and naturally, Denki noticed it, the grin on his face parting into a toothy one. Denki clasped his hands together behind his head, his eyes narrowing as he spun on his heels. "I'll be back later, dude, gotta walk my fish."
Bakugou slit his eyes at him and Denki snickered as he left the room, shutting the door behind him. Kirishima sighed, a hand going to cradle his chin as he glared at the faceless figure on the page of his sketchbook. He mumbled, "I didn't even finish your face..."
Bakugou released his own sigh, though quieter. The bed creaked as he lowered his weight on it, eyes trained on the pattern of his socks. "We need to talk."
"That's great, actually," Kirishima flipped his sketchbook close. "I have somethin' I wanna ask you."
Crimson orbs pierced his tan skin, and Kiri's own instinctively went to examine the blond's thoughtful stare. Bakugou tilted his head. "Go ahead."
Kirishima parted his lips to speak but was unable to utter a word when a pink body bounded into the room. The door slammed and shuddered against the wall, and two pairs of eyes fell upon Mina. "Yo yo yoooo!"
"What the fuck, Raccoon Eyes?" Bakugou hissed, palms crackling. Mina waved him off, propping a hand on her jutted out hip as her amber eyes fixated on Kirishima.
"Ready to go?"
Oh yeah, Kirishima thought, mentally slapping himself. Dance practice. He'd nearly forgot about his evening plans with Mina as soon as the blond had stepped into the room. Maybe he should've left a sticky note for his brain, one that read: "Stop forgetting shit 'cause of your stupid man-crush". Though, could it even be considered a crush at this point? Kirishima blinked the thought away, pulling himself away from his internal tangent. Mina still expects an answer, and Bakugou was glaring daggers at him. His gaze switched between the two before his brain finally decided to verbalize a sentence.
"Yeah, but can we bring Bakubro?"
"Huh? Why?"
The blond's palms cracked again as he spat, "Why the fuck not?"
Kirishima took the mic again, his eyes pleading to the pink-haired girl. "Mina."
His puppy eyes worked apparently. Mina groaned, "Ugh, sure. Bring him along. Screw what Mina thinks, yeah?" She clicked her teeth, turning on her heels. "Well shit, let's go already."
That reaction? Odd. Kirishima didn't have time to question it, because Mina was out the door as quick as she came. Bakugou seemed to be just as confused, evident by his Bakugou-patented 'what the fuck was that about?' face. Kirishima could only shrug it off, slide into some shoes, and lead the blond out of their apartment. He filled their short walk to the studio with work-related chit chat, plus some other tangents on anything relative to that. Bakugou didn't pry him about the question he had yet to ask, so Kirishima didn't bother to bring it up. Not yet, at least.
So, just like the other night he and Mina came to the studio, he held the door open for Bakugou, checked in at the reception desk, and headed upstairs where Mina had just finished setting up, already warming up to a random pop song. She stopped as soon as the two entered the room, watching their reflections in the mirror. Kirishima dropped the bag he'd been carrying next to hers before dropping down after it. Bakugou took in his surroundings whilst Kiri fumbled through his bag for his water bottle. Mina sauntered over to them.
"So," Mina crouched beside the redhead, a hand clapping the top of his shoulder to pull him back into her. Leaning into his ear, she whispered. "I'm assuming you asked him already if you've suddenly voted to bring him to our practice, yeah?"
Kirishima didn't have to answer really; his face gave away the answer she expected. Pressing her lips together, she gave him a light shove and sprung upright to face the blond. "Yo, Explosion Boy. What'dya say we all go dancing next week? Kiri was supposed to ask you, but as you can see, he failed to do that—"
"Hey! I was gonna—"
"—So, on his behalf, will you be his date?"
"Mina!"
So much for resolve, Kiri's traitorous brain snickered.
Bakugou shrugged. "Sure, why the fuck not."
"Bakugou!" Kirishima squealed, hiding his face in his hands. The nerve of them to exclude him from the conversation as if he wasn't there—as if he was some child. The blond tched, glaring at him.
"You should've asked me first, moron," he hissed. His gaze went to Mina as his hands went to bury themselves in the pocket of his joggers. "So what the hell do you practice here anyway?"
"Whatever our creative minds come up with!" Mina's fingers steepled, a certain smugness to her face. Kirishima peeked between his fingers at the two, watching Mina ramble about their dance routines and such, but the sound of her voice never really reached his ears. It sounded garbled, as if the sound of her voice traveled to him underwater. All he could do was stare at the blond, a bad habit he picked up over the years. He knew all his features by memory at this point and could probably—most likely—sketch him just based on that. Was that creepy or was that talent? He'll go with the latter. Kirishima picked up on their conversation when Mina motioned towards him. "...but for this routine, Kiri did most of the choreography, though he's not gonna admit it himself."
"Tch, figures. Hurry up and let me see."
"You hear that Kiri? Quit ogling him and get up!"
"Alright, jeez..." Kirishima grumbled, abandoning his hunt for water to quench his thirst. He acquired a different thirst anyway, one that could only be appeased by a pair of crimson eyes on him.
He had his attention.
"Prepare to be amazed!"
__________________________________
Notes: Okay, so about "Denki's Vlogs!"
It's a Twitter AU. If you're not sure what that is or how t works, to put it short, it's storytelling through screencaps that I'm posting on my Twitter page. Is it a comic? Sorta. Will I be posting it here? I'm debating! Not everyone has a Twitter (hell, I just made mine recently), which is entirely understandable, so I might format it in a way that'll work with posting it here, too... Or post it to Instagram. IDFK!
Lettuce disk gust (please!).