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Despite his outward appearance and general gremlin behavior, it was universally accepted that Bakugo Katsuki was a nerd.
He would, of course, deny it vehemently to anyone who dared voice it aloud, but his high grades, commitment to hero work, and early bedtime all said otherwise. He even had several pieces of All Might merchandise stowed away in his room, hidden only to those who were deemed worthy enough to enter (Kirishima) or those who were foolish enough to break in (Kaminari). While Bakugo berated Midoriya for his All Might collection, Kirishima knew that his boyfriend was equally obsessed. He’d seen the blonde go head to head with other collectors on several eBay auctions and watched as he practically tore apart his mailbox while he waited for his treasure to arrive. Yes, Bakugo was a nerd, alright, but Kirishima with his Crimson Riot obsession was hardly in a position to speak.
Juggling school work, hero work at different agencies, and friendship had made it increasingly difficult for Bakugo and Kirishima to find time to themselves. The dorms were both a blessing and a curse – it made it easy for them to work on homework together and share meals, but it made it equally easy for their friends to interrupt those precious moments. They made an effort to have one date a week, but most nights Bakugo could be found cuddled up next to Kirishima, watching a movie with friends, sharing a late night snack, or simply enjoying the closeness while they each did their own thing.
It was on one of those nights that Kirishima bolted up from the couch, ignoring the yelp of shock the blonde let out, his eyes wide as he stared at his phone. “Look!” he cried, shoving it in Bakugo’s face.
Bakugo frowned, narrowing his eyes as he tried to focus on the screen. “Quit moving around Shitty Hair,” he snapped, grabbing the phone for himself and sinking back into the couch. “Oh fuck.”
Kirishima perched on the edge of the couch and beamed. “Pretty good huh?” He had found a listing for garage kits from the Pro Hero line that he knew Bakugo had yet to get his hands on. “Look, they’ve got an All Might for you and a Crimson Riot for me!”
“Fuckin’ finally,” Bakugo grinned, “I’ve been looking for these forever.” He leaned up to kiss Kirishima’s cheek in thanks before turning his attention back to his phone. “Should we splurge and get priority shipping?”
Kirishima peered over his shoulder and shrugged. “Up to you babe. We have that test next week though, so maybe getting them tomorrow wouldn’t be the best move.”
Bakugo groaned. “Fuck. You’re probably right,” he sighed, unchecking the box and submitting their order. He leaned back into Kirishima’s arms and grinned. “We’re gonna make the best fucking figures anyone’s ever seen.”
…
The next week, the two boys were equally excited for their package to arrive. Kirishima had the tracking number pulled up on his phone at all times, and would excitedly squeal every time there was even the slightest bit of movement.
“It says out for delivery, Katsuki,” he sang, ducking down for a kiss as soon as Bakugo opened his door.
“Fuck,” Bakugo muttered, “I have patrol today so we won’t be able to get started until later.”
Kirishima frowned. “Ah man, I totally forgot, I have patrol this afternoon.” He looked down at his phone. “Maybe we can get them to change the time or something.”
Bakugo shrugged on his jacket and shook his head, “Nah, don’t bother. It sucks, but we’re both off all day tomorrow so we’ll get started then. We all know you’re hopeless with instructions.”
“Hey! I could do it on my own!”
Bakguo grinned and rolled his eyes. “Just don’t forget to pick it up okay?”
Kirishima nodded, clashing his fists together. “I won’t let you down! Red Riot is on the scene!”
Bakugo let out a chuckle and couldn’t resist pulling him close for another kiss. “Walk me out?”
“Like you even have to ask!”
...
After a quick breakfast and a light workout with Tetsutetsu, it was finally mail time. Kirishima nearly accosted the poor delivery person as he rounded the corner and spotted the package being placed in his mailbox.
“Thank you for your service!” he cried, snatching it out and bowing deeply, before sprinting upstairs to his room.
The door banged shut behind him as Kirishima placed it carefully on his desk. He huffed out a breath as he sat down in the chair and leaned forward, studying it closely. He knew that Bakugo wanted to be there when he opened it, even if he wouldn’t admit it, but he wouldn’t be back for another five hours – and by then Kirishima would be off on his patrol.
“Maybe Katsuki wouldn’t want me to wait,” he mused aloud, “Because if I don’t open it now, then I’ll spend all of patrol thinking about it and I’ll be distracted!” He straightened up and bared his teeth in a mock scowl, dropping his voice an octave, “Yeah, he’d say, ‘You can’t be a good hero if you’re distracted, Shitty Hair!’”
He hummed, drumming his fingers across the top of the box, then paused. “What if…” he hardened his pointer finger and gently pressed into the tape. The top of the box dipped in slightly then began to collapse as his finger cut through the tape.
“Oops!” he murmured, “My bad.”
Soon enough the tops of the kits could be seen through the packaging peanuts and Kirishima technically hadn’t opened the box without Bakugo. A few gentle shakes of the desk knocked over the box and the Crimson Riot garage kit slid out onto the desk. Kirishima let out a gasp. It was in pristine condition, the edges of the box still sharp and sturdy, even after all this time.
If it was already out of the box, there was surely no harm in opening it up, right? He glanced back at his phone. He had to be at the agency in an hour, which would be just enough time to assemble the figure then take it apart and put it back like nothing had happened. Kirishima nodded, yeah, that’s what he’d do, and it was a great plan! Plus, he would be able to send Bakugo a picture of the fully assembled figure and prove that he could follow instructions, thank you very much.
With a confident nod, he lifted the lid to the box and pulled out the instructions sheet. There were so many pieces and so many steps, that he started to feel overwhelmed, but Kirishima shook his head.
He was Red Riot! He was Unbreakable! He was capable and confident and could do anything he could set his mind to!
…
He was fucked.
Somehow, Kirishima had managed to switch Crimson Riot’s left and right legs without noticing and had wedged his arm a little too deep into its socket. Luckily he hadn’t glued any of it together, but just thinking of taking it apart and starting all over again was too much to bear.
With a sigh, he fished his phone out of his pocket and snapped a photo of the mangled Crimson Riot. He had been so excited to show Bakugo his success! He typed out his message, hoping that at least the humor of it all would prevent his boyfriend from being too mad for trying to start without him.
~Katsuki~
I’m sorry Katsuki! I wanted to try, but I don’t think I can do this anymore.
Kirishima tidied up his desk, carefully putting the pieces back in the box and retaping the package up so they could “open” it together. His phone chirped and he quickly snatched it off his desk, hoping it was Bakugo saying that he wasn’t upset. Instead, it was a message from Tamaki, wondering where he was. He glanced at his clock and let out a gasp. He’d been so busy working that he’d lost track of time! Quickly, he grabbed his bag and shoved his phone inside, thundering downstairs to meet Tamaki so they could walk together.
On their way, Kirishima chattered about his new Crimson Riot figure and how excited he was to work on it. He even pulled out his phone to show Tamaki the photo of his attempt, which resulted in a rare laugh from the shy hero. As he did so, he noticed a string of notifications from his boyfriend and gulped. Multiple texts were never a good thing when Bakugo was involved.
~Katsuki~
What the fuck?
Are you fucking serious?Haha yeah? Sorry!
And this is how you tell me?
Over text?
What the hell is wrong with you Eijirou?
Kirishima frowned. He knew Bakugo would be upset, but he usually only used his given name when he was beyond pissed. “Fuck,” he murmured, shaking his head when Tamaki looked over, “I think I messed up big time.”
Tamaki clicked his tongue sympathetically. “Sometimes when you say things over text it can be hard for the other person to know your tone. S’Why Mirio prefers phone calls to texts.”
Kirishima nodded, “That’s great advice, thanks Tamaki-senpai.” He tossed his phone back in his back as they headed into the agency, unaware of the trouble brewing on the other end.
~Katsuki~
So you’re just gonna leave me on read?
Okay fuck you.
I thought you loved me or whateverI never want to see you again.
...
The dorm was deathly still when Kirishima returned home from patrol. Despite the late hour, many of the students were still awake in the kitchen or the common room. His friends, who were huddled around the kitchen table, fell silent as he poked his head through the doorway.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” he cried, a cheery smile on his face.
They all stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say.
Finally, Ashido spoke up. “That was really messed up what you did, Kiri. I know you can be kinda dumb sometimes, but that was just hurtful.”
Kirishima laughed, a bit embarrassed that his mistake had clearly been broadcast to all his friends. “Oh c’mon guys, it’s not that bad. Besides, Katsuki’ll get over it. He’s way too excited for that All Might figure.” He frowned when he realized that no one else was laughing with him. “Guys?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Kaminari began, “But I can’t believe you’re brushing off his feelings like this. You can’t just fix things with new merch!”
“Yeah,” Sero added, “Breaking up with him is one thing, but over text? That’s just harsh.”
Jirou nodded solemnly. “I’ve never seen him so upset. He didn’t even care that everyone saw him crying.”
Kirishima rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the empty chairs. “He’s just being overdramatic, if he—” he paused, Sero’s words sinking in. “Wait a minute did you say break up?”
“Jeez, get a load of this guy,” Kaminari snapped, “First he dumps Bakugo, then he has the guts to pretend like it never happened.”
“No no, I didn’t! I swear! I would never to that, I love Katsuki. I love him!”
“Eiji.” A gentle hand on his arm brought him back to earth. He looked over at Ashido and flushed, picking the chair up off the floor and sitting down. When had he stood back up? “Tell us what happened then. All we know is that Bakugo came back from patrol crying, and Jirou and Sero had to help him up to his room.”
Kirishima frowned. “Well you know how Katsuki and I had bought those hero garage kits? They arrived today and we were going to paint and assemble them together, but then Katsuki said I’d never be able to do it on my own so I decided to try when he was out on patrol so I could put it together super-fast tomorrow and impress him. Only it was a lot harder than I thought so I gave up and I sent him a picture and told him I was sorry because I knew he wanted to work on them together.”
The group looked at each other, confused. “Is there anything else?” Sero asked. “That doesn’t seem like something Bakugo would be that upset over.”
“Bakugo explicitly said you dumped him,” Jirou interjected, wincing as she saw the look of hurt on Kirishima’s face. “I mean, how could he get that from ‘sorry for not waiting’?”
Kirishima shrugged, burying his face in his hands. “Maybe this was just the last straw and he meant he’s breaking up with me.”
“He’s dumb but he’s not that dumb,” Sero joked, nudging Kirishima gently. “Hey let’s see what you sent him and see if we can figure it out.”
Kirishima slid his phone over reluctantly, watching as their faces frowned sympathetically as they read Bakugo’s latest message.
“Fuck Kiri,” Kaminari whistled. “He’s pissed.”
“Oh my god!” Ashido screeched, “Eiji you fool!” She spun the phone around and shoved it in his face. “Look! What do you see?!”
~Katsuki~
I’m sorry Katsuki! I wanted to try, but I don’t think I can do this anymore.
What the fuck?
Are you fucking serious?
Kirishima frowned, “Uh my text messages?”
“Yes but what else? Notice anything missing?”
“Uh…”
Ashido pulled the phone away and grinned, “The photo! You forgot to send the photo!”
“Oh my god,” Jirou murmured.
“So imagine you’re Bakugo— prideful, arrogant, insecure Bakguo— and you get a text message from the love of your life who tells you he’s sorry and he doesn’t think he can do this anymore. What would you think, other than they’re breaking up with you?”
“You really think I’m the love of his life?” Kirishima mused thoughtfully, a shy smile on his face.
“Kiri, focus dude,” Kaminari cried, “Sad Bakugo remember? Thinks you broke up with him?”
“Holy fuck!” Kirishima screeched, pushing back from the table and heading for the stairs, “Thanks guys I owe you one!”
He could hear his own heartbeat over the pounding of his feet. How could he have made such a silly mistake? Would Bakugo ever forgive him? More importantly, would he ever forgive himself for making Bakugo feel this way?
“Katsuki,” he cried, banging on his door, “Katsuki, please, there’s been a misunderstanding! I love you, I don’t wanna break up.” He sniffled and wiped his eyes, unsure of when he’d started crying. “Please Katsuki, let me explain.”
The door opened a crack and Kirishima could see Bakugo’s scowl in the darkness. “What do you want,” he bit out, his voice gruff.
“I didn’t want to break up,” Kirishima began, “I was sending you a picture of the Crimson Riot figure that I tried to build on my own because I wanted to surprise you, but it was a lot harder than I thought so I gave up and I thought it’d make you laugh because it looked so bad, but I forgot to send the photo so it seemed like I was talking about our relationship but really I was talking about the figure.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and gently slid it through.
The phone illuminated his face in the darkness as Bakugo grabbed the phone. Kirishima could see how swollen and red his eyes were and a fresh wave of upset rolled over him. “I understand if you’re mad at me and don’t want to get back together,” he whispered, dropping his gaze to his feet, “I hurt you, even if I didn’t mean to, and I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Damn right I’m mad,” Bakugo began, swinging the door open, “But the past four hours have been shit and I’d be even dumber than you to let you go.”
Kirishima frowned. “Does that…are we okay?”
“Just come here,” he huffed, pushing his way into Kirishima’s arms and curling around him.
“I’m sorry Katsuki,” Kirishima murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, “I should’ve been paying more attention.”
“S’not your fault,” Bakugo sniffed, “You have hair for brains; I should’ve known you didn’t mean it.”
Kirishima let out a laugh and maneuvered them inside to Bakugo’s bed. He let out a huff as Bakugo collapsed further onto his chest and ran a hand through his blonde hair with a smile. “I love you Katsuki,” he whispered.
“Love you too, Eiji.”
Kirishima grinned, before carefully extracting his phone from Bakugo’s grasp and leaning down to kiss his boyfriend.
>Bakusquad<
We’re good guys :)
Photo.attch.