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Chapter Text

Bakugou walked out of the bathroom with a smile on his face. Despite what everyone thought it wasn't like he never smiled. In fact Eijirou even had names for the different smiles that he'd seen. This smile was new though and he wanted to know what caused it. Even though it was Bakugou's birthday Eijirou knew that wasn't the reason. He'd been resistant to any of the plans that he'd made. Finally when he'd offered him a dinner with just the five of them at his favorite restaurant did he agree. Eijirou was pretty sure that it was just because he'd promised Kaminari would behave and that he'd pay. 

"I have to go," he told the group and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. 

"What?" Everyone complained. But Bakugou was already shrugging into his jacket and moving toward the door. Eijirou scrambled to follow after him. He thought the night had been going well. They'd all talked about what they were doing now. It had been chill and Bakugou had laughed. He had been so sure. 

"Dude," he whined when he stumbled outside past the family that walked in blocking his path. "What happened?" 

Bakugou looked surprised that he'd followed after him. He saw him considering his answer and then he sighed. "Deku just got here." 

Eijirou blinked. That was the cause of the smile then. It was his 'best friend' smile. Deku felt like a fairy tale sometimes. He'd heard a few stories about him when Bakugou was feeling strangely chatty. Or heard his name when Bakugou told the group what he'd done over break. But Eijirou had never met him. None of them had. The group had teased Bakugou over the years that he was keeping him hidden away. But their teases were always ignored. Eijirou noticed that Bakugou was always a little quieter every time they asked.

"So I have to-" 

"Can I meet him?" he asked, feeling a little desperate. They were roommates and Bakugou was his best friend. It felt ridiculous that he was hiding an entire person from him. Bakugou hesitated. He saw that same quiet expression that he'd worn any time they asked about the mysterious boy. "If he's even real," he teased. Bakugou rolled his eyes. It was an old joke, one that had died when Kaminari stole Bakugou's phone at the end of their first year and they heard the confused voice on the other end. 

"Yeah, whatever," Bakugou grumbled. "Come on. He's going to get himself into trouble if we make him wait too long."

-

They turned down the street to the train station and he heard a noise. He glanced down an alley and saw a group of boys surrounding another smaller boy who had his back pressed against the wall. Before he could get Bakugou's attention, the boy threw a right hook and the one closest to him dropped. He then kicked out catching the middle one between the legs. Eijirou raised an eyebrow as he stopped to watch the kid double over and drop with a groan. He threw another punch and the last kid stumbled back rubbing his mouth with anger in his eyes. Eijirou slapped Bakugou's shoulder before running down the alley at the first flicker of fire. He grabbed the kid's hand and wrenched it back. The heat stung for a moment, but he was used to it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned him. The kid's hand relaxed and the heat died down. "Get out of here." He watched the kid stumble to his friends. 

"What the hell, Deku?" Bakugou said and the boys turned and ran when they saw him stalking down the alley. There weren't many who didn't know who he was. Ground Zero had made front pages during his internship with Endeavor their third year and he was even more popular now that he was his sidekick. "I told you to wait for me at the station."

"I got thirsty," the boy said and bent to pick up a cup from the ground. He looked so disappointed in the puddle surrounding it. "I could have handled it myself."

"That cross was pretty weak," Bakugou said. 

"He was taller than I expected," Deku replied. 

"Um?" Eijirou said as he looked between them. Bakugou rolled his eyes and there it was again the best friend smile.

"Deku, this is Kirishima." 

"Ah, the other best friend," Deku said with a grin. "Izuku Midoriya, only Kacchan calls me Deku." He shook his hand and met bright green eyes. Fuck he is cute. He smiled and tried not to look like his brain was completely short circuiting. "It's nice to finally meet you. You aren't nearly as intimidating as you are on TV." 

"Uh, thanks?" he replied. He wasn't sure if that was a compliment. Bakugou had once told him that his face just begged for villains to hit it. Fat Gum had told him that it just meant the people would trust him. 

"I need to replace my tea. Do you want one Kirishima?" 

"Sure," he said. Bakugou was already griping that they didn't have the flavor he wanted. Eijirou watched them interact and realized that he hadn't seen any of these smiles. It was like he didn't even know the person standing a few feet away from him. 

A kid walked up to them while they were waiting and tugged on Bakugou's shirt. Midoriya backed away and Eijirou followed him. Modoriya smiled as he watched the kid talk to Bakugou. "I don't get to see him like this very often," Midoriya said. "I think he's guilty that he got to be a hero and I didn't." 

"You wanted to be a hero too?" 

"Yeah," Midoriya drawled and looked up at him suspiciously. "But I'm quirkless, so that ended that dream pretty fast." 

"You're-" 

"Way to ditch me," Bakugou said and thrust out the three cups in his hands at them. Kirishima looked at his and shoved the straw in his mouth to keep himself from asking questions. The biggest one that had immediately popped in his head was - had they never met Midoriya because he was quirkless? Bakugou didn't seem to care as he teased Midoriya about the girly color of his tea on their way out. So did that mean that he didn't want Midoriya to meet them ? Did he not trust them? So Kirishima had never met anyone that was quirkless, it didn't mean he was going to--

"Yo, Marbles for Brains, where are you going?" Bakugou called. He shook himself and jogged to catch up with them. He looked over to Midoriya. He was short, barely taller than Mina. But he'd downed three boys that were a head taller than him and had quirks. He thought quirkless people were weak. It's what he'd been told his entire life. They didn't have the strength to protect themselves. 

"So Kacchan told me you're one of Fat Gum's sidekicks?" Midoriya asked. He nodded. "That's so cool! Sidekick for a top ten hero." 

"Thanks," he said and rubbed the back of his head feeling bashful in the face of the smile directed at him. "I've been working with him since our second year." 

"He was the first one of our class to get a contract," Bakugou told Midoriya. Kirishima stared at his friend as he bragged about him like he was actually proud of him. Who was this person?

"Are you okay?" Midoriya asked. Eijirou looked over to him with wide eyes. He could feel the heat of tears. 

"He's a worse crybaby than you are," Bakugou said to Midoriya and draped his arm over Eijirou's shoulder. He shook him and Eijirou chuckled. 

"I'm just not used to you being so nice," he retorted. 

"I'm always nice," Bakugou said and both of them scoffed. "I am!" he insisted. Midoriya looked over at Eijirou and they burst out laughing. 

"So what do you do?" he asked when they were settled on their couches and Bakugou had eaten the cupcake Midoriya had brought with him. The frosting had been destroyed in the scuffle, but Bakugou didn't seem to care as he ate it out of the container with his finger. 

"I don't know yet," Midoriya replied. "I was thinking about taking a year off to figure some things out." 

Bakugou hummed and continued to suck on his finger. Eijirou looked over to Midoriya. He was fiddling with his sleeve. It looked like a nervous habit. They talked for a while before Midoriya started yawning between sentences. Bakugou sent him off to shower with a "Don't be an idiot of course you're staying here."

Eijirou watched Midoriya yawn and drift sleepily down the hallway. This was going to be a problem. He could feel it. He had to force himself to look away from Midoriya the entire night. He had failed a few times. He wanted to see him laugh, his smile was already the best thing Eijirou had seen, his laughter had to be even better. Bakugou was going to notice, and for some reason he didn't think he'd welcome it. 

Oh he didn't care about Eijirou liking guys. He'd told Bakugou during their second year when everyone kept asking why him and Mina weren't dating. It had been a stressful few seconds before Bakugou had shrugged and told him he didn't like girls or guys. 

The problem lied in the fact that Bakugou got weirdly protective of his friends. When Jiro had broken up with Kaminari, Sero had to restrain him from going and challenging her. None of them really knew what he had expected to come of the challenge, but it had happened. He imagined the need to protect was probably tenfold when it came to Midoriya since he was his oldest friend. So Eijirou planned on keeping this burgeoning crush to himself. It wasn't like he would see him very often. After all, it had taken three years for them to even meet.

-

Eijirou woke up to Bakugou and Midoriya yelling at each other. He pushed off the covers and stumbled out of his room. They were standing in the kitchen breakfast cooking on the stove behind Bakugou. 

"Because it was your birthday and I didn't want to take away from that," Midoriya said in a calmer voice. 

"That's fucking bullshit," Bakugou yelled. 

"Dude, stop yelling. You're going to get us in trouble again," Eijirou said as he walked in. Bakugou scoffed and turned sharply back to the stove. Midoriya looked back at him and blushed before turning back. "What are you arguing about?" he asked. 

"It's nothing," Midoriya said. 

"Deku's an idiot and didn't tell me that his parents moved to fucking America." 

"What would you have done? Told my dad no? And it's not like I'm moving. I'll just find a place here."

"We could have-" Bakugou started then looked guiltily at Eijirou. They could have gotten a place instead. 

"You could just move in with us," Eijirou said with a smile. 

---

Izuku hated being a charity case. He didn’t think that most people tried to make him one, but it didn't really matter. As soon as anyone heard that he was quirkless, they instantly assumed one of two personas. Superiority. Or coddling. That was part of the reason that Bakugou and Izuku had stayed friends for so long. 

It had been hard at first, when Bakugou's quirk came in and it was so strong, he couldn't wait for Izuku to get his. They would spend hours trying to guess what it would be between his parents. If he would be a zero gravity hero or a dragon. But it didn't come. And when the doctors told him and his parents that he didn't have the quirk gene, he had been devastated. But Bakugou didn't let him stay that way. 

"So what?" He'd demanded after Izuku told him tearfully about what the doctors had said. "That just means you have to work harder than everyone else." 

So Izuku did. 

He knew that he was never going to be a hero, so he'd invested his time in figuring out what else he could do. He studied hard and got into one of the top support schools in the region and had graduated at the top of his class. His parents had been thrilled when Shield Co offered him a job in America right out of school-- but Izuku hadn't been able to make himself take it. At the base level of it all, Izuku knew that working with David Shield would be the best opportunity that he could get to work with heroes and do the things that he had always dreamed about doing. But when he called Bakugou to talk it through and he listened to him talk about his work with Endeavor, he couldn't shake it -- the want for more. And he wasn't ready to sign his life away to something that wouldn't take him so far away. 

His parents had been devastated. Izuku's father had been working in America for most of his life and they viewed the job offer as a way for them all to be together. He had tried to convince them that it wasn't a straight out no and that he just needed a little time to think it over. So they had gone on ahead, and he had come to Bakugou thinking that they would be able to talk about it like rational people. He forgot  that Bakugou was the last person to be rational when it came to Izuku. 

He hadn't even gotten to the job offer when Bakugou started yelling about America. Izuku was trying to calm him down when Bakugou's roommate came into the room confused and half naked. Izuku bit at the inside of his cheek when he saw him. He's seen Kirishima's chest before, in his Red Riot suit on the news, but seeing it in person was an entirely different experience. He swallowed and forced his eyes back to Bakugou when he told Kirshima about why they were fighting. When you grow up quirkless, you learned how to control your face quickly. Highschool had been hell for him without Bakugou to watch his back so Izuku had learned the hard way to keep the redness out of his cheeks and his feelings to himself. 

"What would you have done? Told my dad no?" Izuku demanded. "And it's not like I'm moving." He added quickly. And even though it wasn't technically a lie, his stomach did a little flip. "I'll just find a place here."

Bakugou seemed even more frustrated at that, "We could have-" moved in together . He didn't have to finish the sentence for Izuku to know that he would say that. He had asked Izuku to go to UA when Bakugou got in. And from a person that didn't ask for anything that had been a big deal. He looked over at Kirishima almost guiltily and Izuku bit his lip. 

But Kirishima just smiled like it was the easiest thing in the world. "You could just move in with us," he offered and looked at Bakugou questioningly. "I mean we have the extra room. We'd just have to move all the gym stuff. We barely use it anyway." 

"Yeah," Bakugou said immediately and turned to glare at Izuku. "You're moving in." 

Izuku sighed and ran a hand through his hair, feeling like the charity case that everyone else made him out to be. "Kacchan…" he sighed trying to figure out how he could work his way from here back to Shield Co. 

"Shut it," he growled at him. He grabbed Izuku's arm like he thought that he would run away. "You're staying here." Izuku turned to Kirishima for help, but the redhead smiled guilty at Izuku and shrugged and Izuku knew he wasn't going to win. 

But that didn't keep him from arguing about it. 

-

It was easy to move in seeing as all that Izuku had was in his suitcase. He had sold most of his collection getting ready for the move and his parents had taken what was left with them, hopeful Izuku would join them shortly after. The guest room had a full sized bed in it along with a weight bench, a couple kettlebells, a pull up bar, and a treadmill. But the room was big enough and Izuku had so little, he told Bakugou and Kirishima not to bother taking them out until he actually had something to put in it.  

Bakugou hovered while he tucked his clothes away in the dresser that was in the closet and hung the few sweaters he had before Bakugou finally had to get going to his shift. He looked like he wanted to stay and make sure that Izuku didn't run off while he was gone, but he couldn't call in. So he begrudgingly left Izuku in Kirishima's care. 

"You don't have to hang out with me if you don't want to," he told Kirishima, flushing slightly as he set his sketchbooks out on the desk in the corner. "I promise not to run off until Kacchan gets back." 

Kirishima crossed his arms and shook his head. He was leaning in the doorway-- he pretty much filled out the entire doorway. He'd put a shirt on since their conversation in the kitchen, but it did little to hide what Izuku had already seen. He didn't even want to think about what was under his lounge pants. 

"Nah, I've been waiting to meet you for three years," he admitted a little sheepishly. "Trying to get B to give up any information on you is like prying out teeth. Half of our friends aren't convinced you are real."

Izuku laughed. "Do I live up to the legend?" He asked with a grin. 

"Yes," Kirishima said too quickly and his face went a little pink before he changed the subject. "You draw?" He asked, picking up a sketchbook from the top of the stack. 

He jumped and scampered over to Kirishima as he pulled it open. "Yeah, but It's nothing great…" He flushed bright red but Kirishima grinned. 

He was flipping through the first few pages, some designs that Izuku had done in school. Just for his teachers to see what he was trying to make and what the final project would look like. 

"You were in a support course?" He asked curiously. 

Izuku nodded slowly. "I figured if I couldn't be a hero… at least I could do something to help them." 

Kirishima straight out beamed when he got to Bakugou's gauntlets. They weren't the original, but a newer design that he hadn't run by him yet. Made to be lighter and more durable. He wanted to give them a little room to flex so they wouldn't be as easy to break. 

"Has Bakugou seen these?" He asked as he turned to the next page that had a look at the inside and a list of his materials. 

"I don't think he'll like them." Izuku shrugged and turned the page to show how they would shut. "It's more cuffed to his arm. I designed it so that it stores all the sweat straight off of his arm in this glove and when he pulls the pin, it draws from fifty different points so that the blast doesn't suffer from less storage. The ones he had now keep it in the outer shell, so it has to be hard and that makes them more likely to break. But with this its light and flexible."

Kirishima's eyes almost sparkled as they looked down at him, "What's not to like about that?" 

"They aren't as flashy as Bakugou likes." He shrugged and took the sketchbook back. "Besides, it's just a concept. It was a side project in school so I never got around to making a prototype." 

"Why not make it now?" Kirishima asked, he looked excited. Like this doodle actually meant something. "Bakugou said you are super smart. Top of your class or something. You should be working for NipTech or Shield-" Kirishima stopped as he said it, curiosity sparking on his face. "--in America." 

"You can't tell Katsuki," Izuku practically pleaded with him. 

"Why haven't you told him?" Kirishima demanded. He looked baffled. "Shield Co is the biggest supplier of support items in the world! If you got a job there I'm sure Bakugou would be thrilled for you… hell, I just met you and I can't believe it."

Izuku sighed and sat down heavily on the bed. "I meant to tell him," he admitted hugging his sketchbook to his chest. "But then he got signed by Endeavor and he was freaking out-"

"Bakugou freaks out?"

"- and I just… couldn't do it." Izuku groaned and dropped his face into his hands. 

"Izuku…" he felt the bed next to him divot with Kirishima's weight. "Do you know how many people get signed with Shield Co. a year?"

"Only a handful," he grumbled into his palms. "And very few designers come right out of school. I know that."

"Then… why?" 

Izuku looked up at Kirishima and hesitated. He asked like he had genuinely wanted to know and his eyes were free of judgment. 

"Its really stupid." He warned him. 

Kirishima's eyes narrowed, his lips pulling up at the corner in his couriously. "Try me." 

Izuku sucked in a deep breath and sat up straight. He tapped at the book in his lap and after a final moment of deliberation he pulled the book open to the almost dead center. Bakugou was looking back at him. The suit that Izuku had drawn on him was completely different. He had kept the same colors, but along with the new gauntlets, the suit could pull sweat from his storage and distribute it along any part of his body. He would be able to throw explosions from his feet or his elbows or even around his neck. "David Shield worked with All Might for years when he was in America. He was the spearhead of his entire operation, always supporting him from close by even if his quirk was almost useless. He helped All Might become the number one hero and I…" Heat crawled back up his neck. "I'm going to do that for Kacchan. And I can't do that from America." 

Eijirou smiled even as he felt the disappointment fill him. He should have known. He'd spent the last three years caught in Bakugou's orbit. All throughout high school he had been the way people worked their way into Bakugou's field of vision. Their friends had been Eijirou's friends first. The few girls brave enough to try for his heart had spent days with Eijirou, meeting him at the gates before school, eating lunch with him, and consequently Bakugou. The first time it had happened had been a week before Valentine's Day. Eijirou had still been trying to make himself like girls and had been thrilled by the attention. Then he'd watched as the girl he'd thought he had a crush on nervously gave Bakugou chocolates in front of their entire class. The few times guys had tried their luck had hurt worse. He'd let himself hope, pushing away the worry of the past repeating itself. 

It wasn't like he didn't understand. He'd had his own crush on Bakugou their first year. It was easy. He was attractive, strong, and had a bad boy edge that was strangely appealing. And that was just the surface qualities. He was smart, but didn't show it off. He was loyal, to a fault. His humor was dark, and so dry that there were times Kirishima wasn't sure that he was actually joking.

But this was Midoriya, who knew Bakugou better than anyone else, who had been his friend for their entire lives. He had thought his chance with Midoriya had been small before, but with Bakugou as his competition he knew he didn't stand a chance. Even if Bakugou wasn't interested in dating, Eijirou didn't want to be the consolation prize. So he kept his smile light and decided in that moment that he'd be Midoriya's friend. It would hurt less in the long run. 

He listened to Midoriya's explanations of everything he'd like to do, heard his complaints about how stubborn Bakugou was about his image. He chuckled when he agreed and they bonded over Bakugou's early name choices. 

"King Explosion Murder," Eijirou said with a straight face as he stood up. Midoriya started laughing. "I'd never heard our class so quiet."

"I told him it wasn't a hero's name, but he insisted." 

"You were the one that suggested Ground Zero, weren't you?" 

"Yes!" 

"He hated that we all loved it." Eijirou laughed. When Bakugou had come back from break he'd said that he had a new hero name he wanted to try out on them. The entire group had waited for him to tell them. His face had been wary distaste as he uttered the two words. Kaminari had been the first. He'd yelled how badass it was. The rest had joined in and Bakugou had looked genuinely surprised. It was his official name a few weeks later. 

"He was just mad that he didn't think of it." 

Eijirou's alarm chirped and he grabbed his phone to silence it. Midoriya shifted in his seat. He sat up straight and Eijirou gave him a lopsided smile. 

"I have to go in. You swear you won't run away?"

"On my limited edition All Might trading card."

Eijirou chuckled. Midoriya's smile was bright and he had to remind himself that they were going to be friends only. 

Chapter Text

The days passed quickly and the next thing he knew it had been almost two full weeks since Midoriya had moved in. He'd insisted on getting a job even though Bakugou had told him there was no need. In reality there wasn't even a need for Eijirou to work, Bakugou made so much money with Endeavor. But Midoriya just told him that he was bored at home and might as well do something. 

He yawned as he padded across the hall to the restroom. He had been at a battle protecting people from falling debris all night. He had already taken two showers, one at the agency and another at home before he passed out on top of his covers, but he still felt the grime. He looked at his reflection as he brushed his teeth. He pulled on one of the horns laying limply against his forehead and sighed. He pulled it back into a ponytail and wondered how much begging it would take to get Bakugou to help him out. 

"Good morning," Midoriya offered as he cooked. Eijirou went straight for the jug of orange juice and leaned against the counter as he watched him work. "You got home late."

"Gigantification quirk battle again." He finished the jug and tossed it across the room. It clattered against the edge of the trashcan before falling with a hollow thunk to the ground. He sighed and pushed off. Midoriya had turned when he turned back around, but he quickly looked back at the stove. "Do you work today?" 

"No, I switched shifts. Why?" 

"Bakugou always bitches about the smell, would you mind helping me out with my hair?" he pulled one of the shorter strands and winced at the black starting to show. 

"Sure," Midoriya replied. "You'll have to tell me what to do." 

"Once Bakugou goes to work we'll start." 

Eijirou ended up napping through Bakugou’s breakfast and half of the morning. Midoriya woke him up with a shake of his shoulder. 

"Did you want to get started?"

Eijirou nodded and grabbed a chair before walking into the bathroom. He pulled the band from his hair and let it fall before tugging his shirt over his head. He set it down on the counter and sat down. Midoriya stepped up behind him. He kept forgetting how small Midoriya was until it was right in his face. As he stood behind him, head still barely above Eijirou's own even in the chair, he was reminded and had to force himself to think of something else. Like mixing the dye. 

He handed Midoriya gloves and they talked through the first few steps. Eijirou watched how meticulously he applied the dye section by section in the mirror. 

"Why do you dye your hair?" Midoriya asked.

"Crimson Riot," he told him. "He's the reason why I'm a hero. I wanted to honor him." Midoriya didn't say anything, he just kept working. "Sometimes it seems really stupid. I've thought about chopping it all off and letting it grow back naturally-" 

"No!" Midoriya insisted, then realized how emphatic he'd been and focused on Eijirou's head. "I like your hair." 

Kirishima was looking at Izuku like he was crazy and he focused again on the task at hand behind even more careful with his hair than he had been before. "I-I mean, you don't have to color it anymore if you don't want to, but I like your hair?" He offered with an awkward smile at his roots. "It's handsome." 

He chanced a glance back up at the mirror and Kirishima wasn't looking at him like he was crazy anymore. His eyes were light and kind, just as red as Bakugou's but the fire was less harsh, more warm. 

"Thanks Midoriya," he said softly. Izuku just nodded and smiled before he went back to painting the roots of his hair. When he finished painting and checked to make sure he got every piece, Izuku set a timer on his phone and stepped out from behind the chair and sat on the toilet seat. Kirishima hooked his arm over the back of the chair as he turned to look at him, making the bulge of his bicep look impossibly large. "How is the new job so far?" He asked casually while Izuku dragged his eyes back to his face. 

"Oh, it's fine." Izuku shrugged and waved it off. He had taken a part time job at a small bookshop a few blocks away from the apartment. He had been on his way to a different interview but the shop owner had been struggling with a group of guests, so Izuku stopped to help and walked out with a job. "Nothing as exciting as you guys do, but it's a way to pass the time until I figure out what to do next." 

Kirishima frowned at him. "Why do you do that?" 

Izuku drew in his brows. "Do what?"

"Make light of what you do because it isn't herowork." Izuku blinked. He hadn't even noticed he'd done that but Kirishima continued. "Not everyone can save the world, you know? It doesn't mean you work any less hard. And you can do things that so many people aren't capable of."

Izuku felt his face getting red and grumbled, "I work part time at a bookstore."

"But you aren't always going to," Kirishima said, like he was reminding him of something Izuku already knew. "You are going to be this insane support engineer, and don't you try to tell me you won't I've seen your designs." He grinned and it changed Kirishima's entire face. He looked so young and handsome and it was all aimed at Izuku like he was trying to tractorbeam him in-- and he might have if the timer didn't go off.  

Izuku jumped up and turned the chair Kirishima was in, not without effort, so that it was leaning back against the sink a little precariously. Kirishima grumbled something about being able to wash his own hair, but he sighed in content and closed his eyes as Izuku carefully soaped up his hair and used a glass to pour water over his head. He sat him up and ran a towel through his hair, smiling at the super blond roots and his vibrant red hair. Izuku took out a brush and plugged in the blow dryer, taking his time making sure that Kirishima's hair was perfectly dry before he shut it off. He blinked when he pulled on a new set of gloves and Kirishima snapped a picture of him. 

"What are you doing?" Izuku asked self consciously. 

"Documenting the process." He laughed when Izuku's mouth perked up at the corner and took another picture. Izuku put a little of the red dye on his fingers and let out a mad scientist laugh and Kirishima took another before Izuku told him to sit still and they started the process all over. They both made a thumbs up in the mirror for another picture when Izuku finished the application. Then Izuku cleaned up before he was washing it out again. "Maybe you should be a hairstylist," Kirishima sighed in utter content.

Izuku smiled as he rubbed the shampoo into his roots in slow circles. "I guess Kacchan doesn't wash your hair for you?" 

"Nope. You have definitely gone the extra mile." Kirishima grinned again, his pointed teeth making Izuku wonder all kinds of things that he was sure he shouldn't be wondering. Izuku rinsed his hair again and willed the water to clear his mind. But it didn't help. He took a little longer than necessary to brush through and dry Kirishima's hair before he finally turned the blow dryer off and stepped back. 

"Tada!" He said, motioning to the mirror like a loser. Kirishima didn’t seem to mind though, he looked at his hair and smiled broadly. Izuku wasn't sure he was capable of smiling any other way. 

"This looks great," he told Izuku happily and Izuku watched his arms again as he pulled his mane of hair back into a ponytail. He turned to the side and snapped a photo of himself in the mirror, his smile turned cocky and arousing. Izuku swallowed and worked to look normal when Kirishima smiled happily at his phone and back up at Izuku. "Thanks for helping me. I can never get all of it on my own."

"Anytime," Izuku told him hoping he didn't sound too eager. "It was fun." 

It wasn't until Kirishima left for his shift that Izuku got the notification on his SwiftGram. He blinked in surprise when he saw the photos on Red Riot's official account. He flipped through them quickly. There was a photo Izuku hadn't seen him take of him carefully painting bleach into his roots. The next was a picture from the side, Kirishima's eyes were closed and Izuku was just barely in the shot, chewing on his lip as he concentrated on washing his hair. The next was Izuku doing his mad scientist laugh, and the one after was him laughing at his own ridiculousness. After that he had a picture of the two of them in the mirror with their thumbs up. And then finally the photo that Kirishima took of himself with the finished product. 

Izuku swallowed. He looked-- there were no words for this Kirishima except sexy. Izuku hated that word. It always made him feel uncomfortable. He had been told he was sexy once by an ex-boyfriend and it had completely rattled him then, and it rattled him now. But that's what this photo was. His body was perfect, Izuku could have counted his abs with his tongue. He shook his head. No . No. He would not think like that about his roommate. He chided himself as he scrolled down to the caption. 

RedRiotoffical✔: Touch ups can be a drag. Good thing I had this cutie to help. Thanks @allmightyMidoriya !!

Izuku shut his eyes and groaned at the lameness of his screen name now on display to everyone. He hadn't even given it to Kirishima. But it couldn't have been that hard to find, he followed Bakugou on everything. 

He shut the app and pulled what he needed for dinner out of the fridge, distracting himself with the rice cooker as the wok heated up. It didn't take long for Bakugou to come home and grunt at Izuku as he walked back to the bathroom to take a shower. Dinner was finished when he came back out and sank onto the couch, Izuku sticking a bowl in his hand before he sank down next to him and flipped to the news. 

Bakugou ate quietly and leaned into Izuku's side. Izuku had never been much of a cook. He always did his best and for the most part things turned out okay, but nothing compared to what Bakugou could make. Bakugou never complained though. He always ate what was given to him and did the dishes in appreciation. 

"Did you give Kirishima my SwiftGram handle?" Izuku asked tentatively while the reporter went over a children's event downtown. Evidently it was not a big day for villains. That was a relief. 

"Yeah, asked for it about an hour ago," he grumbled and took the last bite of his food before putting his empty bowl on the coffee table. "What did he make you do?" 

"Nothing," Izuku said quickly when he heard the edge in Bakugou's voice. "I just helped him with his hair. We took some pictures." He shrugged. 

Bakugou's eyes narrowed but he nodded and took Izuku's finished bowl out of his hands. "Better you than me," he grumbled and set it with the other one before he laid his head on Izuku's lap. "I'll do the dishes later," he told him and closed his eyes. Izuku just sighed and ran a hand absently through his hair as he opened SwiftGram again to look at that last picture of Kirishima. He almost seemed like a different person. 

-

He had over five hundred notifications the next morning in about two hundred new followers on his Swiftgram. He was overwhelmed by how many mentions there were of him. People wanting to know who he was. Why he was in Kirishima's apartment. When they had met. If Izuku was his boyfriend. The last one surprised Izuku. He didn't know how anyone would ever think that he was dating someone as attractive as Kirishima. He was so baffled by it and yet Kirishima just laughed when Izuku showed him the damage. 

"Sorry, I didn't think about that," he told him when he sat down at bar top, both of them watching Bakugou flip pancakes. "I didn't think about the backlash. But it'll die down," he promised but then turned a little guiltily to Bakugou. "Although, Denki did ask when the gang was going to finally meet Midoriya." 

"They'll meet him when they stop making such a big deal out of meeting him." Bakugou growled at the pan as he ladled in the next batch. He looked angry for a reason the Izuku couldn't fathom. These were Bakugou's friends. Surely they wouldn't be horrible. 

"I wanna meet your friends," Izuku told both of them. Kirishima smiled as Bakugou scowled. 

"Deku…" He started winding up for a big lecture that Izuku didn’t want to hear. 

"Why don't you want me to meet your friends?" Izuku asked him, he pulled his brow down and fixed Bakugou with the look he knew he hated. 

"Don't look at me like that," he groaned at him, angrily flipping the pancakes. 

"Are you ashamed of me, Kacchan?" 

"You know I'm not," he growled at him but it was made softer by him shoving a plate of pancakes in front of him. "But the guys are idiots."

"Isn't Kirishima one of the 'guys'?" Izuku asked as he poured syrup onto his breakfast. 

"He's different," Bakugou grunted, meeting Izuku's glare with his own. 

Kirishima stepped in when it didn't seem like they would be getting anywhere on their own. "They are going to find a way to meet him anyway," he said reasonably. "We can either set it up so we have control or you can let them butt their way in. I suggest the first option." He shrugged and cut into his own breakfast. 

Bakugou didn’t look happy but he finally consented. "Tomorrow after work. I choose the bar. One drink. If anyone acts up, we are out of there."

"Yay," Izuku grinned at him with a mouthful of pancake and Bakugou's eyes warmed before he muttered something about how annoying he was and poured more batter into the pan. 

-

Izuku was earlier than he expected. He had been let off work early when it turned out to be a slow day at the shop and when going home seemed pointless, he figured he would head to the bar early. It was busy, but not bustling and that made it easy for Izuku to push his way up to the bar. 

It was harder though, for him to get the bartender's attention when the rest of the men around him towered over him. He waited, starting to get frustrated when a warm arm pressed against him and he looked up to see Kirishima smiling down at him. 

"What are you drinking?"

"Kirin?" Izuku said shyly. 

Kirishima just grinned and ordered two. The bartender brought them immediately. Kirishima handed Izuku one and put it on his tab before Izuku could try to open one. "I already had it open." He shrugged and Izuku glared at him but his smile ruined it. 

"How long have you been here?" He asked, grateful for the path that Kirishima carved in the crowd just by being huge. 

"Not long," he offered. "It's just me, you, and Denki now. We're still waiting for Sero, Mina, and Bakugou." 

He followed Kirishima to a table in the back where a blond that Izuku had seen on TV was sitting, fiddling with the straw in his drink. His eyes lit up when he saw Izuku. 

"Holy shit! Is that him?" He demanded from Kirishima. 

He chuckled. "Izuku, this is Denki Kaminari," he told him and the blond stood up to shake his hand. "Denki, this is Izuku Midoriya."

"Charge Bolt?" Izuku asked excitedly and watched as Kaminari lit up even brighter. "The rescue you did with Wash last month was really impressive!"

Kaminari grinned. "Bakugou told me it was only because of my support items."

"Support items are only good if a hero knows how to use them well." 

"You should listen to him," Kirishima told him and looked down at Izuku almost proudly. "Izuku graduated from one of the top support courses in the country."

"So you're a tech guy?" Kaminari asked, seemingly thrilled. "And your Bakugou's friend. I bet you have a super crazy quirk. Tell me everything."

Kirishima went stiff next to him but Izuku forced a smile. He was used to this. It was the first thing that anyone ever asked. Name. Age. Quirk. He knew it was coming, but that didn't mean he liked it. He laughed it off with an easy shrug and scratched at the back of his head, saying the same three words that he always did. Perfectly rehearsed. "Actually, I'm quirkless."

"Oh," Denki said after a beat. "That's-" 

Mina fell down into the seat next to him and groaned. "I thought I'd never make it." She shrugged out of her jacket. "Some kids damaged the tracks." She rolled her eyes, then seemed to notice Midoriya. "Oooh! You must be the one we've heard so little about." She grinned and Midoriya chuckled like he was in on the joke. Eijirou looked at Denki for a second before Mina thrust out her hand to introduce herself. 

Sero joined them a few minutes later and then Midoriya was saying those words again. He felt his friends pause. Denki seemed just as shocked the second time. Eijirou didn't know how to force them past this discomfort. He kept talking about his day and pulled Midoriya into the conversation as best he could. Twenty percent of the world's population might be the statistic for quirkless people, but most of that number was in the older generations. All that he had learned, and he was sure that it was with the others, is that quirkless people were different. They were less evolved. They were the weaker base version of the human race. Eijirou hadn't really thought about meeting a quirkless person. It felt like something that you read in a textbook, not a living breathing person. Midoriya had proven everything he'd ever learned incorrect and Eijirou felt foolish for ever believing. 

"But you're Bakugou's friend," Mina said, interrupting Eijirou's pathetic attempt at normal conversation. "All he cares about is strength." 

"And Deku's fucking strong," Bakugou said. Mina looked startled. Bakugou sat between Midoriya and Eijirou. He bumped his chair and shot him a look as he sat down. He knew he was disappointed, like he had trusted him and had been betrayed. "Stronger than you three." Eijirou felt a little relief that he wasn't included in that. They started arguing. He wished that he could say that the strange tension ended, but it didn't. It just shifted into this strange aggressive air. Bakugou kept true to his word and as soon as he finished his drink the night ended. Midoriya told everyone goodnight as he got up with Bakugou. The others made noises of goodbye and Eijirou frowned. 

"You're leaving too?" Denki asked. Bakugou looked surprised when Eijirou stood up and pulled his jacket on. He hated that more than the disappointment. He had proven time and time again that he would always have his back. Even if it meant giving their friends space to process. And hopefully realize how stupid they'd been. 

"Yeah. It's been a long day. You guys have fun." 

"You could have stayed," Midoriya said as they walked down the street. "I know it's been a while since you've seen them." 

"It's fine." He offered him a smile. "I'd rather hang out with you two anyway." 

Bakugou grumbled a threat to get them to hurry up. With every block they put between them and the club, Bakugou relaxed. "I told you they were idiots." 

"They were surprised," Midoriya replied. "I guess I don't live up to the hype." There it was again that same dismissal. 

"That's not true," he said. Bakugou punched his shoulder. He grunted and shot him a look. 

"And you just sat there?" 

"Kacchan," Midoriya said, voice sharp. "I don't need you to protect me all the time." 

"I know that," Bakugou ground out. He could hear the rest that he knew Bakugou wouldn't say in those three words. 'He wanted to.' 'It's different since it's his friends.'

Eijirou turned to Midoriya. "You were telling me about the dog you found?" 

"Oh. Yeah. It was just-" Eijirou listened to Midoriya tell the story and Bakugou insist that he would be the one taking care of it. They bickered and Midoriya laughed when Bakugou told Eijirou about the time Midoriya had forgotten to water his succulent for two months then overwatered it in his panic and murdered it. 

"We had a funeral for it," Midoriya told him solemnly. 

"He made me dig a hole and he dumped the dirt from the pot in it," Bakugou said flatly. 

"It was a lovely ceremony." 

"I wish I had a friend like you two growing up." 

"You have us now," Bakugou said and elbowed him. "Stop being all depressing." 

"Don't be so rough," Midoriya admonished. 

"Oh. It's okay. I'm pretty durable without my quirk. His pathetic attacks are nothing."

"I'll show you pathetic." Bakugou's hand sparked and Eijirou ran. 

"No! I just got this shirt."

"You should have thought of that before you were a smart-ass."

He managed to evade long enough to get home. Bakugou gave up on him in favor of the shower. Midoriya locked the door and once Bakugou's door shut he sighed.

"Are you okay?" Eijirou asked. 

"Yeah. I just-" Midoriya looked at him for a long moment before sighing again and falling onto the couch next to him. "I don't want to be the reason that he's not friends with the guys anymore." 

"They'll get over it," he offered. 

Midoriya nodded and smiled, but it didn't look convincing. "I thought that last time too. Katsuki stopped being friends with everyone we grew up with. Some of them were bullies, but other times I think he just used me as an excuse to not have to be nice to people." 

"That sounds like him," Eijirou said. 

"This isn't just kid stuff anymore. These are professional connections. I don't want him cutting people off just because they stare at me." 

"Have you told him that?" 

"No," Midoriya admitted. 

"I was surprised when you told me. But I'd just watched you kick three guys' asses. You are very surprising." 

Midoriya looked startled. Eijirou didn't know what he'd said wrong. When Bakugou walked out in his pajamas looking reluctant, he wiped the worry from his face. 

"I'm off tomorrow. I'll drink with you two losers."

"Yes!" Midoriya cheered. 

-

"Kacchaaaaaaaaan," Izuku whined from the floor. 

"Whaaat?" Bakugou asked back. His cheeks were flushed and Eijirou was fascinated. He'd never seen Bakugou drunk before. 

"I need to give Kirishima a nickname," Midoriya declared. 

"He already has one. Shitty Hair." 

"His hair isn't shitty. It's pretty." Midoriya giggled at his rhyme. "Your nicknames are always so mean." 

"He called one of our classmates Round Face for two years," Eijirou told Midoriya as seriously as he could. He could feel the bubble of laughter trying to escape with every word. 

"So meeeean, Kacchan." 

Midoriya pushed himself off the floor and crawled in front of Eijirou. He put his hands on his knees and Eijirou suddenly wasn't laughing anymore. His eyes locked onto Midoriya's fingers where they flexed on his knees trying to keep him upright. Midoriya studied him and Eijirou tried not to react to the bright green eyes so close to him. Too close. Dangerously close. 

"Ahha!" Midoriya exclaimed and threw his hand in the air. He collapsed with a thud and a laugh a second later. "I got it." 

"Tell us," Bakugou urged when Midoriya was quiet for a few minutes. 

"Oh. Yeah. Kirikun!" Midoriya sat up with a sleepy smile on his face. "Kirikun and Kacchan." Midoriya fell back over. He didn't look like he was going to be getting back up. 

"I'm going to put him in bed," Bakugou grumbled and slowly got to his feet. "C'mon idiot." He picked Midoriya up and tucked him against his shoulder. 

"Hmm. Did he like his nickname?" Midoriya asked as they walked down the hall. 

"Yeah. He did," Bakugou replied.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up feeling like his head was trying to crack open. He groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow off of his head and blinking at the bottle of water on his bedside table. There was a note resting over the top of a pill bottle, four little pills already on the table. He took the note and found Bakugou's tidy handwriting waiting for him. 

Take the pills and drink the water. All of it. 

Izuku groaned again but sat up and did as the note told him, only because he knew that Bakugou would force him to if he didn't. He rolled out of bed and pulled out a pair of leggings from his drawer and an old Shiketsu High shirt. He fiddled with the sleeve on his right arm, the bottom of his scar just barely showing at the edge. He sighed and pulled his hair up onto the top of his head and found his glasses on the desk. Then he shoved them on and pulled on a pair of fluffy socks that his boss's wife had given him last week after he helped her with her groceries and stumbled out into the hall. 

The entire house smelled like bacon. It made his stomach turn. He groaned and turned to walk back into his room but instead walked straight into Kirishima who somehow managed to make no sound even though he blocked the entire hallway. Izuku didn’t have the energy to try to get around him, so he let his forehead drop against his chest and gripped his shoulder. 

"Kill meee," he begged. 

Kirishima's chuckle vibrated down Izuku's entire body. "Good morning." 

"Nothing is good about this morning." Izuku groaned and Kirishima's hands caught his arms to pull him back to look at him. His hands were huge. They covered more of Izuku's arm than he thought it was possible for one hand to do. He looked down at him curiously. 

"I like your glasses," he said almost too quietly for Izuku to hear. He ruffled the brush of Izuku's tiny ponytail and turned Izuku around. "It'll be better if you just get it over with," he told him as they marched into the living room. 

Bakugou looked annoyingly fine after their night of drinking, just like he always did. When they were younger and bored on break from school, Bakugou had stolen a bottle of spiced whiskey from his parents. They had built a pillow fort and traded pitiful sips from the bottle until Izuku eventually got sick. Bakugou on the other hand had been completely fine. Izuku knew logically that it was because he was so much bigger than Izuku. But he also theorized that Bakugou's internal temperature was naturally hotter than the average person, so the alcohol burned away more quickly. Which meant, he never got sick and it was infuriating. 

He scrutinized Izuku like he was x-raying his body for the pills. And when he had decided that Izuku was incapable of resisting, he finally pushed breakfast over to him. He looked at his eggs, his stomach went to war with his mind. Kirishima seemed to understand because he pulled Izuku's plate over to him and scooped everything onto his toast before putting his own on top and giving it back. 

"Don't look at it. Just eat it." He offered with such a kind smile that Izuku just nodded. He took his first bite and chewed it slowly. But as soon as it went down, his stomach growled and the next bite was much easier. 

Izuku sighed in relief as the grease started working its magic and Kirishima poured him a cup of tea while Bakugou sat on his other side. "Kirikun is the best," he told Bakugou with an exhausted smile. "I see why you are best friends." 

Bakugou just grunted, but Kirishima flushed almost red enough to match his hair. "Is that really my nickname now?"

"You get used to it," Bakugou offered with a mouthful of bacon. "Anyway, it's better than Kacchan."

Izuku was about to argue with him on that, when there was a knock on the door and Izuku jumped up to grab it. It was a delivery man with what looked like a pallet of boxes all addressed to Izuku from his parents. He frowned but signed for them. He'd only asked for his bedding and his tool box-- but he should have known that they would go overboard. They always did. It wasn't like his parents tried to baby him. They were very proud of the person that he was and the opportunities he had gotten for himself-- but it didn't change the fact that they felt guilty. Guilty that Izuku had had to give up his childhood dream so early just because of his genetics. They felt that Izuku being quirkless was their fault. No matter how many times he swore it wasn't. He did everything he could to live a fruitful life so that they wouldn't have to worry about him. He barely ever asked for anything-- and because of that, when he did, they always went a little crazy. 

The delivery man left all the boxes in the living room and Izuku thanked him while Bakugou grabbed the kitchen scissors and started cutting them open. Kirishima helped, hardening a finger and using the sharp edge so that he could peel back the tape and slowly they sorted through everything. His parents had sent him all of his tools, not just the one box he had asked for of the general ones. He also had all of the tools he had made when he was in school that make working with certain quirk types easier, his lab equipment and sewing machine. Bakugou helped him carry all of it back to his room and got it put away the best that they could, talking about how they could move it all around to make it fit and maybe get him a second desk. 

When they got back out to the living room, Kirishima was grinning down at the box he had just opened and bit down on it when he saw Izuku's face turn bright red. His parents hadn't sent the bedding he had from their house, they sent the All Might bedding that he'd used all throughout highschool, the hero's face printed all over saying that he was here. 

"No, no, noooo ." Izuku grumbled and dragged the box away from Kirishima. "Don't look at it," he begged through his embarrassment. But even as he said it, Bakugou was pulling it out to display it better. Izuku snatched it from him, glaring at the smirk on his face. "It's going in the closet. I'll get new bedding tomorrow!" 

"Um… Midoriya?" They both looked back at Kirishima who was leaning over the last box. He looked almost guilty when he pulled out a framed picture of Izuku when he was four in his All Might onesie, hands thrown into the air as he also declared where he was in a little speech bubble his mom had added. He wanted to sink into the ground. But he couldn't go without the picture. He ran up to Kirishima to grab it but he held it up above his head. "No! Don't be mad," Kirishima begged him and pulled the picture down to look at it again. "This is the cutest I thing I've ever seen."

Izuku's face turned redder. "I'm burning it," he told him, feeling like his nose might start bleeding if his blush didn't go down. "Katsuki, burn it." He begged him, still hanging onto Kirishima's arm as Bakugou took the picture. 

They watched as he stared at it for a minute until eventually he smiled, a real Bakugou smile and shook his head. "Nope. I'm keeping it."

" Kacchan!" 

"You have that ugly picture of me," he reminded Izuku and turned down the hall. It wasn't an ugly picture. It was a great picture. He'd cut it out of the newspaper from when Bakugou won the UA sports festival in his third year. It was amazing. "Now we are even." 

-

Izuku didn’t talk to either of them for the rest of the morning. He dragged his boxes into his room and shut himself inside, going through the rest of his embarrassing memorabilia by himself. Most of it was his All Might collection. There was still a lot of it, even after the culling for the move. Comics and movies and figures and trading cards and posters. He displayed a few pieces but kept the rest in the boxes, looking at the only movie poster that used to hang on his wall. He couldn't bear to put it in the closet. 

"Where are you going?" Bakugou asked when Izuku finally showed himself. It was almost time for dinner. Kirishima had left for work around ten and he would be back soon. He knew that Bakugou was looking forward to them all being there together even if he didn't want to admit it. 

"I need to get a frame and run by the hardware store," he told Bakugou as he pulled on his shoes. "I should only be gone half an hour." Bakugou looked out the window. It was around seven so it was already getting dark outside. Then he looked back at dinner in the oven. He knew that he wanted to ask Izuku to wait for him, but Kirishima was almost home. "I'm going straight there and back," he told Bakugou, daring him to say something about it. When he didn't, Izuku smiled and jumped up to kiss his cheek. "I'll text you when I'm on my way back."

He made it to the hardware store in one piece, his poster frame already tucked under his arm. The tool board and hangers he needed were all at the front so it looked like he was actually going to be able to keep the promise he made to Bakugou about only being half an hour. He got what he needed and tucked the board away with his frame, free hand grabbing his bags, and started back home. When he remembered that he had promised to text Bakugou, he stopped at the side of the building to set the board and frame against the wall and pulled out his phone. He opened their group text and started typing that he was on his way when the light from his phone caught movement in the alley. He dropped his bags and took a few steps closer until he hear what was happening. 

It was a man with a woman, she was clinging her her purse telling him to take it and leave when he told her that that wasn't what he wanted and took a step closer. 

"She said to leave," Izuku spoke before he could find any common sense. He didn't know what this guy's quirk was or what Izuku was going to do about it. 

The man paused for a moment and looked over at Izuku with a wide smile. "I don't think this has anything to do with you," he told him with a sneer. "Why don't you run along and let us go about our business." 

"I think you should leave," Izuku said again, balling his hands into fists at his side. 

The man pushed off of the wall and turned fully to Izuku. It was too dark for him to make out much of his face, but he was tall and his teeth were too white as his sneer turned into a grimace. The fight was sloppy. The man's quirk was small and insignificant even though it looked flashy enough to scare someone. He landed a good hit to Izuku's nose, breaking Izuku's glasses, and one in his stomach, but Izuku eventually got him pinned to the ground as the woman came back with the police. 

She thanked Izuku about a hundred times after the police finished questioning him. His nose was bleeding and he had a little cut on the brim of it from his glasses, but other than that he was fine. He gathered up his bags and boards and headed home.

Bakugou was pacing when he got back, Kirishima looked like he had been trying to talk him down. Izuku looked at the clock on the stove and realized he'd been gone over an hour longer than he had promised. He grimaced and hoped he didn't look as grimy as he felt as he wiped at his tender nose. Evidently that didn't do anything to help. 

"What the fuck happened to you?" Bakugou demanded, pushing against Kirishima who had been holding his shoulder. He yanked the bags and boards out of Izuku's hands and put them to the side. He pulled up Izuku's chin and Izuku tried to push his hands away but Bakugou just held on tighter. 

"I'm fine," he told him but Bakugou was furious. 

"You're bleeding."

"Kacchan--" Izuku grabbed his hand when it started to hurt his chin. 

"B," Bakugou's grip lightened when Kirishima shook him. "I've got him. Just… take a minute," he said softly. Bakugou's eyes were still flaming but he finally let go and stomped down the hall to his room. 

Midoriya went into the chair easily when he pushed him into it. He told him to stay and grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom. When he came back Midoriya was touching his nose again. He swat his hand softly. 

"You shouldn't touch it." He kneeled down and tilted Midoriya's face up as he looked at the cut. 

"It's fine," Midoriya said. Eijirou hummed and grabbed the alcohol swabs. They were almost out. Midoriya hissed when he put it to the cut. His hand jerked to grab Eijirou's wrist before he could move it. 

"It'll only hurt for a second," he told him softly. Midoriya let go and he finished cleaning it quickly. He took a second to look at him while his eyes were closed. He was beautiful. Eijirou shook his head as he turned and looked down at the kit. "What happened?" he asked to distract himself. 

"I saw a lady being attacked on my way home. I was trying to text you guys." Midoriya bit his lip. "I couldn't leave without doing something." 

"I know that. Bakugou knows that too." He put the bandaid over the cut and stifled a grin at the image it made. Midoriya frowned at him which only made it cuter. Eijirou took Midoriya's hand and wiped off his knuckles. He had a couple scrapes on them, but nothing that needed a bandage. "Bakugou was really worried. I don't think I've ever seen him freak out like that."

"He doesn't like seeing me hurt." Midoriya frowned. "I got hurt really bad when we were kids and ever since then he's been really protective." 

"I think you're good," he said when he finished his other hand. He put the pack of bandaids back in the kit and stood up. 

"Thanks, Kirikun," Midoriya said and popped up to kiss his cheek. "Now I have to go deal with the beast."

Eijirou stared as Midoriya trotted down the hall and without knocking walked into Bakugou's room. He touched his cheek once the door had shut. Shit. He had been doing so well. He put the kit back in the bathroom and caught his red face in the mirror. He walked across the hall and fell face first onto his bed. He thought of nothing but building another wall brick by brick around his ever growing crush on Midoriya. 

"Oi, Shitty Hair. You going to eat or not?" Bakugou yelled a few minutes later. He pushed himself up and took a breath before smiling and opening his door. Bakugou was still upset. He could see it in the way he held his entire body, but he was talking and not yelling so that was an improvement. Midoriya asked him how his shift was and Eijirou started retelling it just so he didn't have to stare at Bakugou aggressively chew each bite of food. 

-

He dried his hair and shook it out. He swiped it all to the side and pulled at a few strands as he looked at his reflection. His bangs fell down and hid half his face. There he was. Still looking back at him even through the veil of crimson. That helpless little kid that thought he was something more than he was. He pushed his hair back and smiled. He smiled until it felt like it belonged then grabbed his brush. By the time he was done he had a loose French braid curling across his head and over one shoulder. He touched the end of the braid as he looked in the mirror one last time. 

"What are you wearing?" Bakugou asked when he walked into the kitchen. 

"You look nice," Midoriya told him. His voice sounded different. But before Eijirou could try to pinpoint what it was Bakugou grunted. 

"Why do you look nice?" Bakugou asked. Eijirou grabbed his keys off the hook. 

"I ran into Tetsu the other day," he said and fiddled with his keys as he took another step toward the door. "We have a date." 

"What?" Bakugou snapped. 

"I'm actually running late," he said, but he wasn't.

"You're not fucking serious." 

"I'm really-" He glanced over to Midoriya, which was a mistake. He looked shocked and looked up to Bakugou who had stood. "Have a good night!" 

"Kirishima," Bakugou yelled through the door, but didn't follow him. He'd dated Tetsutetsu off and on for most of high school. Bakugou had tolerated him at first, but with each break up his tolerance had thinned. When they'd gotten back together at the beginning of their third year, Eijirou had thought he would lose it. But he'd just frowned at him, like he was disappointed in him, and said not to come crying to him when they broke up again. They'd stayed together for longer than they'd ever managed before. Every time the stress of balancing school, his internship, and his relationship got to be too much and he wanted to quit he shoved it down and pushed his determination harder. 

Something had to break though. And at their midterms all three did. He failed his midterms, all of them. He'd never done so bad before. He hadn't dropped past 10th since Bakugou started forcing study sessions on him after midterms during their first year. He was lucky and since he did so horribly across the board they let him retake them. But until he passed, his internship was on hold. And Bakugou-- 

He didn't want to think about that. Not before the date. He was supposed to be happy, looking forward to it. And he had been. Until he had to leave the apartment.

Tetsu grinned when he saw him and Eijirou felt his energy ramp up to match. They were jostled around by the crowd at the bar, but once they'd gotten their drinks they settled in a corner and caught each other up on what they had missed. 

"It's gotten longer," Tetsu said and ran his fingers down the braid. "I thought you were going to cut it." 

"I thought about it, but it's easier. How is Fourth Kind?" Eijirou asked to change the subject. It worked, but throughout the night Tetsutetsu's fingers went back to the braid. Every time his smile would dim a little. 

"I can put it up," Eijirou offered while they danced. He had frowned again. He grabbed the band holding it, but before he could pull it off Tetsutetsu was turning his head and kissing him. His hand dropped and he sank into the kiss. It had been a while since anyone had kissed him, and Tetsutetsu had always been his favorite to kiss. He felt the sharp edge of his teeth dig into his lip and fought his quirk's response. 

"Let's get out of here."

They didn't get very far, a few blocks away and halfway down the alley. Tetsutetsu had been taller than him when they first started dating. Now he was a few inches shorter, but that didn't stop him from pushing him up against the wall and slipping a hand into his pants. Eijirou looked around, paranoid that they'd be seen. He bit his lip to stop the whispers that they shouldn't. He could feel Testu through his jeans as he rocked against his thigh. He closed his eyes, pushing the worry from his mind. His braid disappeared over his shoulder. He felt it move then Testu's hand, wrapped in his braid, pulled his head back. He gasped. 

"Guess it's good for something," he said with a laugh. Eijirou let his own laugh slip out. "I've missed this," he said as he kissed him. 

"I can see that," Eijirou said and ran his palm over the strain in his pants. "Do you need help?" 

His hair tugged again and he hissed as he was pushed down to his knees. He kissed the trail of silver hair above the button of his pants before flicking them open. Tetsutetsu had been the first person that hadn't balked at his teeth and putting anything in his mouth. He'd promised the one other guy he'd gotten that far with that he knew what he was doing, but he'd never let him even try. He still wasn't wary. Eijirou had barely gotten his lips around the head before he was jerking forward. He heard the spark of pain from Tetsutetsu when the edge of a tooth raked along his length with Eijirou's surprise. Anyone else would have fallen away, but he had always liked it. Eijirou understood, but didn't enjoy it as much as Tetsutetsu did.

He looked up when his hair was finally released, most of it had been pulled loose from its rough treatment. He breathed as Tetsu leaned against the wall above him. He grimaced at the mess as he put himself back in his pants. Tetsu grinned down at him and offered his hand. He was pulled in for a deep kiss as soon as he was back on his feet. 

He ran his fingers through his hair loosening the knots as they walked opposite directions. Second date already on the books. That wasn't exactly what he was expecting when he'd agreed to the date. It was like they had just picked up right where they left off. He unlocked the door and hung his keys on his hook before sliding out of his shoes. 

"Have a good night?" Bakugou asked. His voice was low. He glanced over to the couch where he was sitting. The TV was on, but he doubted he had been watching it. 

"I thought you were done with the 'dad waiting up' routine," he replied. 

"I thought you were done with him," Bakugou said with a glare. His eyes narrowed when he noticed his hair and he stood up. "You broke up with him for a reason. Did you forget?" 

"You're overreacting. Again! It was a date." 

"It's always just a date. How long are you going to last this time?" 

"I don't know! Okay? I don't know. But I'm tired of being alone! It was a date. Don't worry. I won't bother you if we break up." He shoved past Bakugou, knocking his shoulder as he did. He instantly felt guilty for the little push of his quirk when Bakugou made a noise. He heard a creak as he walked into his room and looked at Midoriya's door across the hall. He frowned and shut his door. He wanted to take a shower, but he didn't want to go back out there. 

Izuku stood at his door as he listened to Bakugou and Kirishima arguing in the living room. He put his hand on the doorknob tentatively and then with a sigh he pulled it back. He would just make it worse. Bakugou had been in a bad mood when Kirishima left, but Izuku could tell he would have gotten over it. If Izuku hadn't pushed him-- well. It might have still been this bad. 

But he couldn't help it. He'd watched them bicker before Kirishima left and he'd needed to know why. Bakugou never got into it over stupid things, everything had a purpose. Despite what the public seemed to think, Bakugou only picked fights when it was important. So he had to know. 

"So, you don't like Tetsu?" He'd prompted when Bakugou's head fell in his lap, Izuku's fingers already massaging his scalp. 

"Tetsutetsu," Bakugou corrected in a grunt. Like the last part of his name made him evil. But he didn't elaborate. 

"Tetsutetsu then," Izuku pushed, scratching just behind Bakugou's ear. " Why don't you like him?"

Bakugou's eyes were closed but his brow was pulled in and his mouth was curved into a deep frown. "Maybe I just don't fucking like him." 

Izuku tried not to roll his eyes even though he knew Bakugou wasn't looking at him. "You never just do anything," he grumbled and Bakugou rolled onto his back so that he could glare up at Izuku. 

"Well this time I do," he told him, pointedly stating that he was over the conversation. "And you shouldn't be fucking encouraging him either. You look nice ," he mocked in a high pitched voice that Izuku guessed was supposed to be him. 

He pinched Bakugou annoyed and muttered, "He did look nice." He flushed slightly and Bakugou sat up and pinched Izuku's stomach making him squirm back to the arm of the couch. "Stop Kacchan!" He whined and smacked at his hands. 

Bakugou pinned him down. "Why are you blushing?" He demanded and Izuku turned his head to the side trying to will it to go away. 

"I'm not! " He said miserably. 

"Don't fucking lie to my face, loser," he said much softer than his words sounded. He grabbed Izuku's face and made him look at him, reading the truth in his eyes like he always did-- no matter how hard Izuku tried, Bakugou always saw right through him. He could feel his face getting redder and his eyes pricked with his embarrassment. There was a flash of anger in Bakugou's eyes before the ultimatum went soft and he sat back with a sigh, his palm running up his face. "Izuku…" he started. 

Izuku sat up and shoved his face into his hands. "That isn't fair," he told Bakugou in frustration. "I can't help my face!" 

"It's Kirishima, Deku," Bakugou told him. "He's… he's Kirishima!"

"I know, okay!" He moved his hands enough so he could see the careful way that Bakugou was looking at him. "It's not like I'm going to do anything about it. It's just a stupid crush and I'll get over it." He bit his lip and looked down at the couch until Bakugou sighed and grabbed his arm. 

"C'mere," he grumbled and pulled Izuku under his arm, tight against his side. Bakugou had turned back to look at the TV even though he wasn't watching it, giving Izuku a moment of privacy. "Just get over it fast, okay?" He said, squeezing his shoulder. 

Izuku turned his eyes down and leaned his head against his shoulder. "Okay," he breathed and they continued watching the show like nothing had happened. 

At least until the yelling. He stood in front of his door as Kirishima's steps brought him down the hall and his door closed heavily behind him. Every part of him wanted to apologize… but for what? For liking him? That would just make it worse. So he climbed back into bed and tried to forget it ever happened. 

-

Izuku woke up early the next morning, his mind too full for him to stay in bed. So he went for a run. And when he got back and it was still early he made breakfast. Bakugou raised an eyebrow at him when he came out of his room and Izuku put a plate of eggs and just barely burnt toast in front of him, but didn't say anything about it when he went to take a shower. He stayed in the shower until the hot water became uncomfortable. It burned at the scar tissue on his shoulder and back. 

He stepped out of the shower and sighed, pulling on a fresh pair of leggings and running his towel through his hair. He wiped the fog off the mirror and turned so that he could look at his shoulder a little better. He'd had it since he was five, the star burst of knotted skin long since healed-- but there were still spots that ached and pealed. He sighed at the red spot on his back, right under the curve of his shoulder blade and dug in the medicine cabinet until he found some ointment. He reached back to try and rub the balm on it, but it was too low for him to reach. He didn't even realise the bathroom door had opened until Kirishima's careful hand caught his and he pressed the ointment into his sore. 

It took Izuku a moment to control his face. He took a deep breath and smiled until he could make it feel real. Once he had it fixed in place he turned to face Kirishima. "Thanks!" He sighed as the medicine brought relief. "That one is always kind of hard to reach." 

"That's some scar," Kirishima told him, brows drawn in. He seemed to realise what he had said right after it came out of his mouth and he blanched. "Sorry, I didn't mean to--" 

"No, It's okay." Izuku laughed and brushed it aside. "I've had it for a long time and I'm not self conscious about it. Just.." He looked over Kirishima's shoulder. "Don't mention it to Kacchan, okay?" Kirishima frowned and Izuku could see the curiosity burning in his expression but he just nodded. Izuku smiled at him again. "Thanks Kirikun!" He told him brightly and kissed his cheek before he could remind himself that he wasn't supposed to do that. He rushed out of the bathroom before he could do something else stupid. 

Bakugou had already left by the time that Izuku got dressed and made it back out to the kitchen. The shower was running in their bathroom so Izuku put a plate of food for Kirishima in the microwave and scribbled a note for him before he slipped out. 

He had the day off and had decided that he would get started on making some of his designs. There was a small support store not too far from their apartment, but their supply was fairly limited so he decided to take the train further into the city and visit a bigger store. 

He followed his phone to a large building on a street by Best Jeanist's agency. It looked like a warehouse, it was so large. There were people all around but no one bothered Izuku as he browsed aimlessly, muttering to himself as he flipped through his notes. He had a basket full of items and was doing one last pass through of the store when he overheard an intense conversation by the support counter. 

"Please sir, I've made the adjustments you asked for. If you just try it-"

"And I'm telling you it isn't right." A man's voice growled. Curiosity got the better of Izuku and he stuck his head around the corner, blinking in surprise when he saw Shoto Todoroki was the man in question. 

He knew enough about Shoto from what Bakugou had told him. They'd been in the same class at UA and Izuku had watched him in the sports festival. Bakugou had never cared much for him, he'd told Izuku that he was blander than a piece of week old bread with a temper that could rival only his father's. Anyone who had watched the UA sports festival knew that Shoto had a very powerful and impressive ice quirk-- but only the people in his class knew that there was a second part of his quirk. The girl at the counter tried again to reason with Shoto, but he told her again it wasn't right, his voice getting gruffer and the girl looked at loss for words when Izuku stepped in. 

"Is something the matter?" He asked the girl kindly. 

Shoto glared at him. "Do you work here?" He demanded hotly. 

"No." Izuku shrugged. "But I'm pretty good with support items." He turned his smile back to the girl. "Sometimes it just takes a pair of fresh eyes." Shoto looked like he wanted to argue with him about it, but he looked over at the other counters and they were all full. "What's the problem?" Izuku asked, looking at the glove that was in the case on the counter. 

Shoto sighed, still glaring at Izuku when he said, "The lining keeps burning. They've changed it a million times. And the joints keep seizing up in the cold." 

Izuku picked it up and turned it in his hands, then looked at the girl. "May I?" He asked pointing at the counter. She looked around before she nodded and let Izuku back. Shoto followed him behind the counter before the girl could tell him not to and Izuku looked around until he found the work bench. He set his basket to the side and opened the drawers until he found a small set of screws and a seam ripper. He undid the joint support and set it to the side before he pulled out the seam ripper and started tugging out the lining. 

"If you break it-" Shoto started. 

"I won't," Izuku told him simply and continued working. He could feel Shoto staring at him, but he kept working without a word. He dug through his basket until he found the alloy that he'd picked out for his concept design on Bakugou's gauntlets and laid the glove over it as he cut it to fit. He took the glove over to a sewing table and relined it. He cut the outer layer on the pads of the fingers, and replaced it with a mesh. When he was done with that. He repositioned the supports on the wrist and handed it back to Shoto who had dropped his glare and slipped it carefully onto his hand. He flexed his hand and drew his brow in, steam rolling out of the open padding on his fingers. 

"What did you do?" He demanded, but he didn't sound angry. 

"I added an extra lining that can match your temperature and made space for it to release," he said simply, grabbing his basket and waving at the girl as she let him pass back through the counter. "Have a nice day," he told them easily and headed off to the counter to buy his items. 

He had made it outside before he heard footsteps running after him and a loud, "Hey!" He turned and saw Shoto running after him. He stopped to let him catch up. "What's your name?" He demanded, not asked, when he finally caught up. 

"Izuku Midoriya," he told him suspiciously. 

Shoto frowned. "I've been trying to get this fixed for months. You fixed it in ten minutes."

"Well it helps when you tell your support engineer the full extent of your quirk." Izuku shrugged. "She might have been able to see the problem if you actually told it to her. 

Shoto surprised him by actually looking abashed. He rubbed at his face and tucked a stray hair from his ponytail behind his ear. "Do you have a card?"

"A card?" Izuku asked confused. 

"A business card," Shoto clarified a little impatiently. "You're an engineer right?" 

Izuku blinked in surprise. "Oh." He scratched the back of his neck and laughed a little awkwardly, "Well, I'm not actually. I mean I have my license. But I don't work for a firm or anything. I'm just getting started." 

"What are you doing right now?" Shoto asked. Everything he said always seemed so deadly important that it made Izuku feel a little flustered. He looked down at his bags and checked his phone. He knew that Kirishima was off today. He would be waiting at home when Izuku got back. 

"Well… I didn't have anything planned," he admitted, flushing slightly when he thought of Kirishima's sharp smile. "But-- hey!" He yelped when Shoto grabbed his arm and pulled him around the corner. "What are you doing?" 

"Just--" Shoto shook his head and sighed as he pulled him towards the doors of Best Jeanist's agency. "Come with me." 

-

It was dark by the time Izuku got home, exhausted from the extensive surprise interview he had gone through, feeling a little bewildered and star struck. Kirishima was on the couch when he pushed open the door and dropped his bag, leg bouncing tensely. He jumped up when he saw Izuku and took a few steps toward him before he seemed to realized what he was doing. He forced himself to stop. "You were gone all day?" He said in a question and cleared his throat. "I mean, where did you go? I thought we could… hang out?" 

Izuku sighed and smiled despite himself. "I… got a job?" He offered. Kirishima laughed, shaking his head. "It's a long story. But I ended up by Best Jeanist's agency and they asked if I could fix a few things and well…" He shrugged and flushed when Kirishima's eyes got bigger. "I-it's no big deal, but--"

"Are you kidding me?" Kirishima demanded taking Izuku's shoulders in his giant hands and beaming at him. "Izuku, that's amazing!"

His face lit up bright red at the sound of his name in Kirishima's voice and even though he knew he should look away, he couldn't. There was a pool of warmth bubbling in his stomach and Izuku knew that he should look away before something stupid came out of his mouth. But he didn't. Instead he returned Kirishima's smile because he couldn't hold it in when he was looking at Izuku like that and muttered, "Thanks Eijirou," while his stomach tied itself in knots. 

Chapter Text

Eijirou came home from another date, hair pulled up into a bun and Bakugou didn't even look away from the TV. He had been ignoring him as much as he could and Eijirou knew that he was going to have to be the one that crossed over and got them back to normal. But he wasn't going to apologize and he was afraid that was all Bakugou would want. He sighed and went to get changed. When he walked back out, he stood in front of the TV. Bakugou stubbornly stared at his legs before dragging his eyes up to him. 

"Move over. I want to watch TV." 

"Sit in the chair," Bakugou replied. 

"No." 

Bakugou's eyes narrowed before he pushed up on his elbow. Eijirou sat down and with a grunt Bakugou laid his head back down on his thigh. "Deku's better at this."

"Well he's at his new job," Eijirou replied. "So you're stuck with me." 

They finished the episode and as the next started Bakugou let out a breath. "Saw your fight yesterday. You need to stop second guessing yourself. You know what to do. Just do it." 

Eijirou huffed out a laugh and relaxed. He complained about the fight and they talked for the first time in a while. He didn't realize how long it had been since they'd spent any time just the two of them. Hell he'd barely even seen him in passing this last week. 

"Deku's birthday is coming up," Bakugou mentioned when an All Might commercial came on. "He wants to have a party. Said I should invite the others."

"Really?" 

"I don't-- I don't think he has any friends from school. He never talked about anyone." 

"I can talk to them for you," he offered. Bakugou looked up at him and after a few seconds nodded. "What are you getting him?" 

"Some more nerd shit." 

"Wow. So helpful." 

"Shut up," Bakugou replied.

"We should go the next day that we're both off."

"Yeah okay," he replied. Eijirou smiled and stole the remote. 

-

It felt like he never saw Midoriya anymore. He heard him showering and occasionally saw him sprint out the door in the mornings while he was eating, but he was always gone. He didn't blame him. Best Jeanist's agency was huge. And the support group helped them all. Plus it sounded like he was still helping out at his other jobs. He wished he didn't miss him as much as he did. But he had gotten used to having another person around. He could tell Bakugou missed him too, which was strange to notice. He was grumpier about everything, but also followed Eijirou around the apartment when it was just the two of them. He didn't point it out, because he didn't want it to stop. It was nice to have his attention. 

Bakugou complained about the weather when he headed out. He hated when it rained. Eijirou didn't like it either. He felt bad going into Midoriya's room, but he needed to work out. They had moved most of the weights to Bakugou's room since it was bigger, but the treadmill was still in Midoriya's. He said that he used it so he didn't mind. Bakugou had scoffed, but it looked like it was true. 

He put in his headphones and started his program. A couple songs in his mind drifted. He felt the beat of the song in the rhythm of his feet on the tread. He kept running over the conversation he'd had with the rest of the group the day before. They had all been apologetic about how they'd reacted. Sero even offered to apologize to Midoriya. He told them about the party and that they were invited. He laid down a few rules and they were all quick to agree. The rest of the lunch was them interrogating him about Midoriya and Bakugou. He hadn't known how to answer some of their questions. They had their own view of Bakugou from how he was at school and around them, but Eijirou knew the other side of him. And this 'Bakugou with Midoriya' version of him wasn't actually that different. A little more clingy, which was a trip to realize, but not different. And Eijirou still didn't know how to explain Midoriya without making his still thriving crush obvious. 

"Kirikun?" 

He looked over and Midoriya was standing next to the treadmill. He startled and the tread sped out from under him. He managed to stay on his feet as he was ejected. 

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." 

"I'm fine," he said and waved his hand. "I didn't think you'd be home so early." 

"Kacchan's making my favorite!" Midoriya said with a bright smile. "How long have you been running?" Midoriya asked. His eyes trailed down Eijirou's chest and he suddenly felt underdressed, which made no sense. He didn't even wear a shirt to work. But being in such a small space, with Midoriya looking at him it felt different. Context was important apparently. He backed away. 

"Oh. Well if he's making dinner I should shower… Yeah." He backed out of the room feeling like an idiot as Izuku stared at him. 

When he walked into the living room in a long sleeve and sweats with his hair tied up into a messy bun, he could have sworn that Midoriya's eyes had looked at him the same way that they had when he was shirtless, running in his bedroom. But then his eyes went back to the TV and Eijirou wasn't sure if he'd really seen it or not. 

-

"I don't know what to get him," Eijirou complained after the fourth store. Bakugou had three bags in his hands and had even bought himself an All Might figure that he'd made Eijirou swear not to tell anyone about. "What else does he like?" 

"He likes heroes," Bakugou said with a shrug. "And smiling." 

"Smiling isn't a hobby," Eijirou told him with an eye roll. "And I can't just get him a hero…" He looked over to Bakugou. "I can!" 

"What?" Bakugou asked and had to jog to keep up with him when he realized what he was going to do for his present. 

-

The day of Izuku's birthday he woke up early and made pancakes. It was the one thing he made better than Bakugou. It didn't take long for Bakugou to join him in the kitchen and glare at him for beating him to the punch. He just smiled and flipped the pancake. 

Eijirou heard his phone go off and looked down. 

BK: Wake up. 

BK: Wake up. 

BK: Kirikun is making pancakes.

BK: [image] 

He looked over his shoulder in surprise that Bakugou had taken a picture of him. 

BK: Wake up. 

BK: You're wasting your birthday. 

IM: I am going to murder you. 

Midoriya's door opened and a grumpy face met them. He hadn't seen him look this angry before. It was cute. He had to keep his eyes on the pancakes to keep from letting Izuku see how adorable he thought it was. He finished the last pancake and brought the stack over. Izuku smiled at him and kicked Bakugou under the table. 

"Happy Birthday," he told him. Izuku smiled, half of a pancake already shoved in his mouth. 

"Thank you," he replied through the mouthful of fluff. 

"All Might Marathon is ready in the living room," Bakugou offered when they finished breakfast. 

"Everyone is still coming to the party right?" 

"Yeah," Bakugou replied and looked to Eijirou for confirmation. He nodded. 

"Okay. I invited a friend from work." 

Midoriya and Bakugou laid on the couch together like they always did. Eijirou set up on the floor and pressed play. The first movie he heard both of them reciting under their breath. Midoriya kicked him during a speech and he laughed as he apologized.

"Sorry. This one always gets me." 

Eijirou admitted he'd never seen the second and they forced him onto the couch so that they could watch his reaction. And they did. Every big scene they looked over to him. He felt his cheeks turning red the more it happened. He was relieved when the movie ended and Midoriya started asking him questions about what he thought about different things. When Bakugou joined in he felt like he'd slid into an alternate reality. 

They skipped the third because Midoriya's favorite was the fourth. Eijirou didn't get pushed back to the floor. Instead Midoriya leaned against him and Bakugou's legs were plopped across his lap as he leaned against the arm. He talked with Midoriya for most of the movie. He hadn't ever met someone who knew so much about so much. 

"Go get ready," Bakugou ordered. 

"We're going to set up," Eijirou added. After Midoriya had changed, he helped them finish setting up before shooing them off to change. Bakugou complained the entire way to his room, but Midoriya refused to let him wear pajamas to his birthday party. 

Eijirou got changed and let his hair down. He shook it free and decided to leave it. He looked at his reflection and shook his head. It didn't matter how he looked tonight. His boyfriend wasn't going to be there. And he didn't want to look nice for anyone else. Or that was what he kept telling himself. 

Bakugou made Midoriya open his present before anyone got there. As Midoriya pulled box after box out he knew why. He could see that Bakugou was nervous that he'd gone overboard. But Midoriya was beaming as he marveled at the new figures. He held up the Red Riot figure and grinned at Eijirou. 

"I didn't know you bought that," he said and punched Bakugou. "I'll just-" 

"No! He's mine," Midoriya said when he tried to take the figure. "Help me put them away." 

He seemed calmer about them seeing his collection now than he had been when it was in a box. Bakugou asked where the rest of it was and lifted up the cover on his bed to look under it. Midoriya swat him. 

"This is it. I sold the rest." 

Midoriya set the figures out and then took Eijirou's miniature from Bakugou's hand because he hadn't trusted Eijirou not to run off with it. "You can go next to Kacchan," he said and set him on the shelf next to Bakugou's. One of its gauntlets was missing. He stared at them and didn't know how to respond, or if he even needed to, but something felt strange in his chest. He was saved by the doorbell. 

"Do you want me to open yours now too?" Midoriya asked when Bakugou went to answer the door. 

"Mine isn't here yet," he told him with a smile. 

Izuku didn’t get the chance to ask Kirishima what he meant by that before Sero was next to him, head bowed as he apologized for the last time they met. Izuku blinked at him, cheeks turning red as he assured Sero that it was fine and it happened all the time. But he just kept apologizing and Bakugou stood next to Kirishima smirking until Ashido and Kaminari showed up. Their apology was much quicker and less awkward, moving quickly past that and onto the festivities. Ashido pulled them all into the kitchen with the bottle of vodka she'd brought with her and bullied them all into birthday shots. 

It felt strange to actually have people his age around him wishing him a happy birthday. The last time was probably when he was little, before everyone found out that he was quirkless. After that it had just been Bakugou. And when Bakugou left for UA, just his parents. And Izuku had never felt sorry for himself. He knew that it wouldn't do him any good. But because of that, it had always just felt like any other day. This felt special. He had told Bakugou to invite his friends to help them bridge the gap that their last encounter had made, but it was still nice to pretend for a moment that they were all actually there for him. 

He was starting to feel a slight buzz when the next knock came and Izuku skipped to the door, beaming when Todoroki fidgeted awkwardly with his jacket sleeve. 

"Shosan!" He cooed and pulled him into the apartment before he had a chance to speak. He seemed to blanch when he saw who all was standing in the kitchen but Izuku was happy, and the buzzing under his skin kept him from noticing. "Kacchan, Kirikun! This is my friend from work, Sho--"

"Todoroki?" Bakugou growled while Kirishima blinked in surprise. "Are you kidding me?" 

Todoroki glared at them but again, Izuku didn’t notice the tension. "I met Shosan at a support shop downtown and he's the one that got me the job at Best Jeanist's agency." He beamed up at Todoroki who's annoyance immediately turned to shy discomfort. 

"You work for Best Jeanist?" Kaminari asked Izuku, surprised and then made a guilty face at Kirishima with a hand over his mouth. 

"Midoriya is a very skilled engineer," Todoroki told him flatly, eyes going cold. "He should be working for the best hero agency."

Bakugou scoffed and everyone turned to him in surprise. "Never thought I'd agree with Icy Hot." He grumbled and grabbed Izuku's arm, pulling him back to the kitchen with Todoroki in tow. "C'mon, we're drinking." 

After they all took another shot, Ashido claimed that it wasn't a real party unless they played drinking games. When Izuku admitted that he didn't know any, she claimed him as her own and went hunting for cups so that they could set up beer pong. Izuku was on Ashido's team. She said it was because, 'us shorties gotta stick together,' and then talked him through the rules. He paid careful attention and nodded along with her instructions as Bakugou and Sero set up on the other end. Kirishima and Todoroki stood just behind Izuku and Ashido, offering advice when Izuku missed shot after shot. But that was okay seeing as Ashido was pretty bad too. Bakugou and Sero destroyed them in minutes. After Bakugou and Sero won a second game against Kaminari and Kirishima, he claimed that the game was boring and they needed to move onto another one. Izuku hugged Bakugou's arm to his chest while he argued with Ashido over the next game, his buzz starting to turn into something else. 

Todoroki showed up next to him with a bottle of water. He didn't say anything, just handed it over and made a face that told Izuku to drink it fast before any more alcohol was pushed on him. He downed the water and his stomach gurgled unhappily before settling and he sighed in relief before he rested his head on Bakugou's arm too. 

"So-- are you two dating?" Sero asked, interrupting the conversation when he couldn't hold it in anymore. 

"Why would you think that?" Bakugou demanded defensively-- always defensively-- and for a second Sero looked like he didn't want to answer. 

"Well, look at you guys," he said motioning to their stance, close together, with Izuku hugged around him. "You're so…" 

"Intimate," Todoroki offered objectively.

Izuku laughed and everyone turned to him and away from the seething Bakugou. "We aren't dating," he told them with an easy shake of his head. "It's just comfortable." He sighed in content, reaching his hand out to Sero. Sero drew his brows in and gave his hand to Izuku, who let go of Bakugou to attach himself to him. Sero's face went a little red when Izuku smiled up at him. "See?"

Kirishima stepped in before anyone else could say anything with a chuckle. "Give him here," he offered and held his arm out for Izuku to attach himself to while the conversation drifted back to normal. "You really shouldn't do that to people," he told him under his breath so no one else could hear. 

"Do what?" He whispered back. It sounded too loud but Kirishima grinned at him. 

"Dazzle people," he said with a little nudge. "It's not fair. You stun them and then they don't know what to do with themselves." 

A surge of pleasure raked down Izuku's spine and he bit his lip, looking up at Kirishima through his eyelashes. "Do I dazzle you?" The smile on Kirishima's face slid slightly, but he was saved by another knock on the door. Izuku frowned. He didn't think they had invited anyone else. "Who is that?" He asked. 

Kirishima's grin was back and he looked over at Bakugou who smiled and stepped away from the conversation to follow them to the door. Kirishima untangled himself from Izuku and pushed him back against Bakugou who was holding onto his shoulders like he might run away. 

"This is my birthday present," he told Izuku excitedly. Izuku raised an eyebrow and Bakugou's grip on his shoulders tightened until Kirishima pulled the door open. Izuku blinked at the dark haired man and the blond smiling wildly in the doorway. His heart jumped up into his throat as his eyes widened. Kirishima invited them in and turned back to Izuku excitedly. "This is my co-worker, Amijiki Tamaki and his boyfriend--"

"Le-lemillion!?" Izuku squeaked tears springing into his eyes that he wiped furiously away not wanting to miss a moment of it. He stumbled forward out of Bakugou's grip and grabbed the hand that was extended to him. "I, you-- how!?" He looked back at Kirishima who was beaming again. He couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his face when he turned back to look at his favorite current hero, "I love you!" He told desperately and hugged him like a blithering idiot. 

Fortunately Mirio laughed and hugged Izuku back. And after that it was a little easier for Izuku to be a person. He spent the rest of the night interrogating Mirio on everything and anything that he could think of. How it felt to be the youngest hero ever in the top ten. What it had been like to be a personal pupil of All Might and Sir Nighteye. How exactly his support items were made. What heroes had inspired him when he was younger. And he answered every question, never looking bored or tired. He even gave Izuku his number before they had to leave a few hours later telling him to call whenever even if it was just because he thought of something he hadn't thought to ask. 

He stood dazzled, drunk and breathless staring at the closed door for a full minute after Mirio and Tamaki had left until Bakugou grumbled something about how Izuku should go to bed. "I'll take him," Kirishima offered since Bakugou and Todoroki were deep in a debate about Endeavor's agency that it didn't look like he wanted to step away from. 

"I'm not sure I can walk," Izuku admitted shakily. 

"That's not a problem," Kirishima muttered and scooped Izuku easily up into his arms to carry him down the hall. He nudged open Izuku's door and set him carefully on the bed, pulling Izuku's shoes off for him as he turned on the lamp next to his bed and pulled back the blanket. 

"I can't believe you got me Lemillion for my birthday," Izuku muttered again still thinking about everything they had talked about. 

"It was easier than you think," Kirishima admitted sheepishly. "He's a nice guy. And he loves meeting people. He could probably get you an in at Sir Nighteye's agency after you've been with Jeanist for a while. " 

Izuku blinked. He hadn't thought about that at all. Kirishima smiled at him when the realization played across his face, a strand of hair falling over his shoulder. Izuku caught it before Kirishima could tuck it away. "Your hair is so pretty Kirikun," he muttered happily, sweeping it over his ear and moving to kiss his cheek. But Kirishima had followed his hand and Izuku's head still felt light and full of good vibrations. His lips pressed against Kirishima's for the smallest moment before he pulled back with a little laugh. "Oops. Sorry," he said and shook his head before laying down and turning his red face into the wall. "Thank you Eiji." He blushed heavily and let his eyes fall shut. 

Eijirou's mind went blank. Then all at once he thought about all the ways Bakugou would murder him. He stood up and backed away slowly. He'd kissed Midoriya. It was a pitiful kiss, but Midoriya's lips had still been soft against his own. It had still been a kiss. He returned with water and medicine and then shut the door. 

He floated conversation to conversation as the party died down. He watched Bakugou talking to Todoroki with a pit in his stomach. It was the same pit that had slammed down into him when Midoriya introduced him. He had already accepted that he didn't stand a chance next to Bakugou, kiss or no kiss, but there was some relief in the fact that he knew Bakugou wasn't interested. With Todoroki there wasn't that relief. Eijirou swore he'd gotten even more beautiful since they'd graduated too. 

"What's wrong with you?" Bakugou asked when it was just the two of them cleaning up. Eijirou put the rag down and looked at Bakugou. 

"Just running into Todoroki again," he said with a shrug. "You weren't yelling at each other."

Bakugou frowned at him as he tied the trash bag. "I'm not going to be friends with him." 

"Midoriya is, and it would be beneficial since he's Endeavor's son." 

"I don't want any more friends. I have you and Izuku. That's enough." Bakugou frowned at him then sighed. "And those other three I guess."

He laughed and finished wiping down the table. He started washing the dishes while Bakugou took the trash out. When he got back, he stood in the doorway watching him. Eijirou set the last cup to dry and yawned as he walked to the door. He was surprised when he was yanked into a tight hug. It was short and too hard, but the fact that it had come from Bakugou meant more than anything. 

"Stop moping," Bakugou grumbled then stalked down the hall to his room. 

-

Eijirou thanked Tamaki again when they started their patrol. He'd been surprised when he'd seen them paired up for the day. Tamaki smiled as he told him how much Mirio had enjoyed meeting Midoriya. It always felt like an accomplishment to get an actual smile out of Suneater. They talked off and on as they worked. When they got back, Fat Gum was waiting for them with a few boxes of pizza. 

KE: Late night at the office don't wait up for me. 

MI: Stay safe Kirikun!

They spent the rest of the night going over surveillance videos. He was exhausted when he finally left the agency. He replied back to Bakugou checking in on him and opened his thread with Tetsutetsu. He'd asked a few hours before if they could hang out. He apologized and told him they could meet tomorrow. 

Bakugou was passed out on the couch when he got home. He tossed a blanket over him on his way to his room. 

-

Midoriya was sitting on the couch reading when he got home. He pulled his hair free of its bun and tossed his jacket on the chair before sitting down on the couch and putting his head in Midoriya's lap. He had lifted his book without looking away from it. 

After a few minutes Midoriya's fingers brushed over his hair. His hand froze. Eijirou looked up and Midoriya was looking down at him in surprise. 

"Sorry. I thought you were Kacchan." 

"It's okay. It's nice. I had a bad night." 

Midoriya's fingers brushed through his hair. He closed his eyes again as he went back to petting him. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

"No," he murmured. It wasn't going to change anything. It wasn't going to make Tetsutetsu suddenly not hate Bakugou. Or vice versa. And it wasn't going to stop the argument that they'd had over that and the fact that Bakugou was his roommate.

"Okay," Midoriya said and went back to his book. Eijirou looked up at him for a few minutes. He closed his eyes again and turned his head. He fell asleep between breaths. 

The TV was on when he woke up. He sat up and wiped at his face. Midoriya was grinning at him when he focused on his face. "Did you have a nice nap?" 

"How long did I sleep?" 

"A couple hours." 

"I'm sorry," he told him. Midoriya shook his head. 

"Don't be. You obviously needed it." He could see the question that Midoriya wasn't asking

"It's been a long week. We've been working on this case and it's so tedious. I wish I could just go out and punch something. Instead I'm stuck at a desk watching videos." He sighed. "I thought I'd have a night off, enjoy some time with Tetsu, but we fought instead. It was a stupid fight." 

Midoriya was twirling the end of his hair. He looked up and his eyes flashed. "Scoot over," he told him. Eijirou moved and Izuku kneeled behind him before settling. He leaned his head back when he pulled his hair. Midoriya asked him questions as he slowly braided his hair. They talked a little about Tetsu, some about Bakugou. About school. He didn't think he'd ever felt this relaxed. Midoriya pulled his fingers through his hair as he undid the braid once again. 

"Do you feel better?" Midoriya asked. 

Eijirou touched the braid crown his hair had been left in and smiled. "Thanks," he said and kissed Midoriya's cheek as he stood. 

Izuku smiled until Kirishima turned down the hall and then grabbed the pillow behind him to shove his face into to tamper the burn. He needed to get a hand on this crush before it took over. It was bad enough that Izuku had kissed Kirishima in his drunkenness-- but now he was braiding his hair and letting Kirishima complain to him about his boyfriend. His boyfriend , Izuku reminded himself. He needed to get on top of this before it got on top of him. 

So he stayed busy. He had gone into the book shop with the intention to turn in his notice, but ended up staying the rest of the day to help restock. Then he was called into the agency to help with a new item that they couldn't figure out. He got home at two in the morning to find Bakugou waiting on the couch for him and wrapped himself around his waist to apologize for making him worry. It continued like that all week. Izuku stayed at work until he physically could not be there anymore and slumped home exhausted, too late or too early to catch Kirishima at home. It was both a relief and a pain. He missed him. More than Izuku felt that he had the right to miss him, but he couldn't help himself. There was just something about Kirishima that Izuku didn’t get from anyone else. Sure, Bakugou always made him feel relaxed and important and protected-- but Kirishima made him feel seen. The only other person that made him feel that way was-

"Have you slept at all this week?" Todoroki asked Friday afternoon when he walked into the work room. Izuku was set up on the floor surrounded by bits and pieces of the belt he had just taken apart. He was sure that he looked insane. He hadn't gotten around to getting new glasses yet so they were taped in the middle and a little crooked as they fell down his nose. He had his hair pulled up in two fluffy ponytails to keep them out of his face and a mouth full of tiny screws he was slowly taking out with a magnetic screwdriver while he put the belt back together. Izuku looked at his watch and grimaced. He'd been there all night. He didn't even want to look at his phone knowing that Bakugou had probably sent him a number of threats telling him to come home. 

He frowned at Todoroki who narrowed his eyes at him. He looked rough. His hair that was usually pinned back had tendrils flying out all over and his suit was burned on his left side. He pulled off his gloves, the only things that looked untouched and squated next to him. "That explains it. Kirishima is in the lobby, apparently you were missed."

Izuku groaned and started picking up his mess but Todoroki put his hand on his arm. "Leave it. It's your office," he reminded him and pulled Izuku to his feet, marching him out of the door by his shoulders. 

Kirishima was checking his phone, foot tapping impatiently. He looked up when he heard their footsteps on the linoleum and frowned at them when they came to a stop in front of him. "Don't let him come in tomorrow," Todoroki deadpanned at Kirishima before he turned his serious gaze on Izuku. "He's off." 

"Right." Kirishima nodded just as seriously. He took Izuku's arm and pulled him in closer to him. "Thanks Todoroki." Todoroki nodded awkwardly, narrowing his eyes at Izuku's face when he flushed but he didn't say anything. He just waved them off and went back inside the agency to get cleaned up. 

"Kirikun…" Izuku started when they got outside but Kirishima just glanced at him and kept walking, dragging Izuku along with him. He was dead on his feet and he didn't have the strength to argue that he was capable of following without being pulled-- because honestly he wasn't sure that he was. "Kirishima," he started again when they got to the train station and people started walking by them. 

"I know that you are busy with the new job and it's a good thing," he started, his tone was even but firm. "But check your phone every once in a while, Okay? I was--" He stopped himself and cleared his throat, a small tongue of pink in his cheeks. " We were really worried about you. It took me an hour to convince Bakugou to let me be the one to come and get you. You're stretching yourself too thin Izuku." 

Izuku looked down at his feet, shame making his head buzz uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."

They stepped onto the platform and Kirishima finally looked down at him. He looked like he wanted to scold him some more, but maybe Izuku looked too pathetic for that. "You are resigning from your other jobs tomorrow." Kirishima told him, expression clearly stating it wasn't up for an argument. "Why do you bother keeping them? You don't need the money."

"They needed help." Izuku shrugged. "And it was something I could do to help them." He flushed because he knew it sounded silly. He knew that it was because he was quirkless that he was always drawn to small things. Anything he could do to be useful-- be wanted. He just wanted to make people's lives easier, so they could have more time with their families. Be happy and smile. Bakugou had told him that was stupid so many times, ' of course you are useful idiot. You don't need a quirk to have worth.' But Kirishima looked like he understood. Without Izuku having to explain anything at all. 

His expression softened and he sighed, pulling Izuku onto the train with him. "We need to get you some new glasses too," he added, pushing them back up his nose. His fingers brushed over Izuku's cheek before his hand dropped to his side and the train took them home. 

Bakugou had gone to work by the time they got back to the apartment but he had left Kirishima in charge of Izuku. He made Izuku take a shower while he got started on dinner. Izuku stood in the hot water until it started to run cold and by the time he got out his shoulder ached. He pulled on a pair of sweats and grabbed the ointment from the cabinet, too tired to entertain the thought of putting it on himself. Kirishima seemed surprised when he held it out to him, but stepped around the island to carefully apply it to the most irritated parts of his skin. "Can I ask how…" he started and seemed to give up on the question before it came out. But Izuku understood. 

"Katsuki was really upset when we found out I was quirkless." Izuku started, glad that Kirishima was behind him so that he didn't have to look at him. "He wasn't mad at me, but we had always planned to be heroes together. It was our dream. And when he got this amazing quirk we just knew that it was real." Izuku looked over his shoulder at Kirishima. His hand was resting on Izuku's shoulder and his brows were drawn together. "Both my parents have quirks. There was no reason to think that I wouldn't get one. My dad's quirk is fire breathing so we thought if I got that our quirks would match. We just had to wait for it." He cleared his throat and turned back to the wall and Kirishima's hands started moving again. 

"But my quirk didn't come in. And we waited a few months until everyone else in my class had theirs and then we went to the doctor. They seemed just as baffled as we were. They hadn't seen a quirkless case in our town in almost thirty years. I still haven't met anyone our age without one,"he admitted uncomfortably. "And you know what they teach us about quirkless people. That we are less evolved. Not as special. Wrong. " He cleared his throat when Kirishima's hand stopped moving again. "My mom didn't want me to tell anyone until we had to register officially, but I had to tell Katsuki. We had a group of friends that I wanted to tell too. It took me a few days to work up the nerve, but when I did… our friends didn't take it well. They called me names told me I was stupid and weak. They looked at Katsuki waiting for him to say something since he had always been the leader of the group. But he stood up for me. He told them I was stronger than all of them. Then one of them tried to hit me and Katsuki tried to stop it but…" 

"No…" Kirishima whispered. 

Izuku turned to look at him. "It was an accident," Izuku told him, willing Kirishima to believe it as whole heartedly as Izuku did. "He was trying to scare the other boys but he didn't know how strong he was yet and I was too close. He was horrified. The other kids ran away and it was just us out in the woods trying to hold my arm together." Izuku winced as he remembered it. He had never felt a pain like that. And then it was like his shoulder had never existed at all. And it had been the first time he'd ever seen Bakugou cry. "We got most of the way home before he started yelling for help. His mom called an ambulance while Katsuki went to get mine. It took a really long time to heal." Izuku touched it carefully. "It's still healing." He sucked in a deep breath and looked into Kirishima's eyes, crimson and shining and fully immersed in Izuku's story. "I think that's why he's always been so protective. He just doesn't want me to get hurt again. Not if there is something he can do about it." He smiled softly. "But I ended up okay. And I always do. Maybe I have a secret quirk after all and I'm just extra resilient." 

"It's a nice quirk to have," Eijirou joked and smiled, though he wasn't sure if it was quite the smile he wanted it to be. He washed his hands before he went back to making dinner. Midoriya settled at the table. They were quiet. He could tell Midoriya was giving him time to process. He finished and set down a bowl in front of Midoriya. 

"That explains a few things," he said after Izuku had taken his first bite and hummed with a pleased smile. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Bakugou and I trained together a lot. It was beneficial for us both. He had a target that could tell him if his blasts had gotten stronger and I could withstand more and more power. The first time he broke my quirk he didn't celebrate like I'd expected. I'd gotten burned, small starburst on my chest. You can hardly even see the scar anymore. It didn't even hurt, but he freaked out." Eijirou looked up at Midoriya. "I always wondered why." 

"Him freaking out on you is his way of showing you he cares," Midoriya said with a laugh. 

"I figured that out," Eijirou said. They spent the rest of dinner laughing about the stupid shit Bakugou had done because he was terrible at feelings and words. They moved to the couch and Midoriya convinced him to let him watch a movie even though he knew that he needed to sleep. 

Midoriya snuggled up against his side. He looked down at his damp curls. He wanted to touch them, but knew it wasn't his place. He heard Midoriya's quiet snores before the movie ended. He let him sleep through the rest of it before moving him to his bed. Midoriya smiled in his sleep and rolled over, "Goodnight, Kacchan." 

Eijirou winced. He pat his head and told him goodnight before walking out. His phone chimed as he walked to his bedroom. 

TT: I got off early. You busy? 

EK: No.

TT: Come over.

Eijirou changed shirts and headed out. He pulled his hair up into a tight bun on his way out the door. 

Chapter Text

Eijirou yawned as he walked through the kitchen. Bakugou and Midoriya were talking at the table. There was a plate left for him in the microwave and he smelled it and sighed before grabbing a mug from the cabinet. He dropped his fork and bent to pick it up. He waited for the cup to finish brewing. 

He turned when he felt a hand brushing his hair to the side. "Again?" Bakugou asked. His thumb pushed at the juncture of his shoulder and neck and he hissed and shifted away from him. He didn't say anything, but he knew that Bakugou wasn't going to leave it. He picked up his mug and breathed in the smell. "Don't ignore me," Bakugou said. 

"He surprised me." 

"Bullshit." 

"Just leave it," Eijirou replied and glanced at Midoriya. He didn't want to have this conversation in front of him. He didn't want to have it at all. 

"I know how your quirk works, idiot." 

"Kacchan," Midoriya said. "Leave him alone." Bakugou turned to him and Eijirou took his chance to grab his plate and flee back to his room. He touched the bite mark and looked at it as best he could in his reflection. He had forgotten about it, but now that he knew it was there it throbbed lowly with each beat of his heart. He ate and waited until he heard Bakugou leave with a grumble. Midoriya was in the living room and smiled when he walked out. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Midoriya asked when Eijirou curled up on the couch next to him. He brushed his fingers over his hair and pulled the strands away carefully when they got stuck on the edge of the bandage on his shoulder. 

"His teeth are like mine," he said and smiled up at Midoriya. "Accidents happen." 

"Kacchan doesn't think it was an accident."

"No." Eijirou turned to look at the TV and Midoriya went back to petting his hair. He wasn't sure it was an accident either. But Tetsu had apologized after and it had felt genuine. 

The next two weeks were filled with nights spent between both Midoriya and Bakugou as they bickered over plots and characters and basically anything that they could. He liked listening to them talk, and the easy way that Midoriya got Bakugou worked up and snapping. He wondered if there was a manual that he could give him for handling Bakugou's moods. The nights when Bakugou worked it and it was just the two of them Midoriya braided his hair or ran his fingers through it as Eijirou used his legs as a pillow. After a couple attempts Midoriya finally admitted that he'd only ever been on a couple dates. He'd only been with his boyfriend for a few weeks before they broke up. Eijirou knew from the way his eyes flicked down when he asked why they broke up that it was because of Bakugou. He knew that too well. He told him about his boyfriends. Then about Tetsu. It was strange talking about him. He caught himself using past tense a few times. 

He was laying on his back as he told a story of the old man he'd helped earlier that day. Midoriya had his hair all pushed up over his head and was on a mission to get it to lay flat on the pillow. He'd admonished him for moving a few times and ruining his masterpiece. Eijirou laughed as he repeated what the old man had told him and Midoriya snorted. He blushed and covered his face as Eijirou started laughing harder. 

"Hey," Bakugou said gruffly. Eijirou looked over and smiled. 

"Hey! You're home early." 

"We caught the guy. Is there any food?" 

"Leftovers are in the fridge," Midoriya told him. Eijirou sat up and scooted over when Bakugou walked back out with his warmed up plate. He finished his story with a smile when Midoriya laughed again. 

"I have a meeting in the morning," Midoriya told them as he got up. "Don't stay up too late." 

Bakugou looked over his shoulder. Eijirou changed channels while he wasn't looking. Then got a punch on his arm.

"Ah. Shit. I'll put it back," he said. 

"What are you doing?" Bakugou asked. 

"I just wanted to watch something else," he replied and rubbed his shoulder. 

"No. With Deku."

"We were watching tv?" 

"It looked like more than that," Bakugou said. Eijirou raised an eyebrow. He'd seen the two of them spooning a few days before. "Don't play with his feelings."

"I'm not playing with anything. You do this all the time."

"Yeah, but that's…" he trailed off and shook his head. "That's different. And he likes you." Eijirou scoffed as he shook his head. He knew Bakugou was bad at this, but he didn't think he was this blind. 

"No. He likes you ." 

"Idiot. He's my best friend. Of course he 'likes' me. But with you he gets all-" Bakugou tilted his head and blinked up at him with a hopeful expression that Eijirou had to admit did look like Midoriya. "Just... if you are going to be with fucking Tetsutetsu don't fuck with Izuku. He gets more invested than you think he does."

"Yeah. Idiot I know. He gave up a job with Shield for you," he grumbled. 

"What?" 

Eijirou blinked when he realized he had said that outloud. He looked over to Bakugou who looked shocked. He shook his head trying feebly to deny what he'd let slip. 

"Deku gave up Shield?" 

"Bakugou," he whispered. 

"Deku!" 

Eijirou winced when Midoriya's door opened and slammed shut and he could hear their voices raising with each word as they worked each other up. He slipped out, giving them their space. 

-

"Hey," Tetsutetsu said as he answered his phone he sounded out of breath. "What's up?" 

"Can I come over?" he asked. 

"Now's not a good time," he said. Eijirou deflated. He could always just go in and get some work done. Then he heard a voice in the background calling him back to bed. 

"Who was that?" he asked. His stomach was twisting up in knots. "Are you cheating on me?" 

"What? Cheating? Eiji, we're just hooking up. You knew that, right?" He stopped and his stomach dropped out. He thought back on the 'dates' they'd had and the texts they'd exchanged. "Eiji?" 

"What? Oh yeah. Of course I knew. I have to go," he told him and hung up as Tetsu started talking again. His phone rang immediately and he turned it off. How had he missed that? How stupid was he? He bit his lip and turned to the agency. He locked himself in his office and stared at the surveillance footage until his eyes stopped blurring and the thickness in his throat eased. He let out a breath. He thought about telling Midoriya and Bakugou and his eyes blurred again. He shoved his face against his desk. He didn't have to tell them. They wouldn't ask. 

-

It wasn't like Izuku had never seen Bakugou angry before. He snapped at Izuku every day for almost everything he did, and most of the time Izuku egged it on. He'd seen Bakugou in battle too when he relied on his anger to work him to the point where he could literally explode-- but he'd never had it directed at him before. Not really. Not like this. He was glaring at Izuku like he was a villain, tiny sparks popping off of his fists as he clenched them tight to his sides. He didn't know how long they had been fighting for. Long enough that Izuku felt tired, his face hot and eyes prickling like they always did when he was frustrated. 

"Why does it even matter?" He demanded when Bakugou finally stopped yelling long enough for him to get a word in. "I got offered a job and I turned it down. It's done."

"It matters ," Bakugou seethed at him. "Of course it fucking matters! This isn't just some job, Izuku, it's fucking Sheild . David Shield. Your literal hero! If that wasn't what you were working toward all of this time- what was all of it for!?" 

"I did it for you!" He spat back before he could stop himself, frustration tipping him over the edge, tears falling down his cheeks. "Because I want to help you be the greatest hero there ever was! Better than Lemillion and better than even All Might!" 

And for once Bakugou was speechless. He stuttered and stopped a few times and his frown turned into a grimace. "You really gave up Shield for me ?" He repeated slowly. 

Izuku bit at his lip and wiped his face. "I turned down a job in America because I wanted to be here. With you. Helping people together like we always said we would."

Bakugou sat down hard on Izuku's bed and dropped his head into his hands. "Izuku…" he started and stopped when Izuku sat down next to him. He looked up at him sadly, uncomfortably and turned so that he could look at him fully. "Izuku, I love you. Like, you are my best friend and my favorite person. But I can't… give you what you need from me-- not like that."

He blinked confused for a moment and then shook his head. "Kacchan, no, that's not what this is," he told him earnestly, chest pinging just slightly but he ignored it and watched the relief slowly creep into his features. "I love you too, but I turned down the job because this is what's right for me. For us. Because I believe in you." 

Bakugou closed his eyes and let out a harsh laugh, shaking his head. "You're an idiot, you know that?" 

"I've been told." He shrugged with a small smile and Bakugou surprised him by pulling him into a hug. 

He didn't let go, letting Izuku tuck his face into his shoulder, "I believe in you too," he said gruffly. Like someone had made him say it-- but he still said it. And that was enough. 

-

Izuku felt a hundred pounds lighter the next morning. He got up early and made it into his meeting feeling more rested than he deserved after being up half the night talking Bakugou down. Work went by quickly and for once and Izuku didn’t feel the need to stay late at all. "You look… happier than usual," Todoroki told him, expression telling Izuku that he thought it was disturbing. 

He just shrugged, not sure how to explain it. "I feel good," he told Todoroki and pursed his lips as he thought about why. "I just feel like… I'm where I need to be right now. You know?"

Todoroki didn’t answer, very clearly not knowing how that felt at all. Izuku didn’t like the way his face twisted when he said that and he pestered Todoroki until he agreed to come back to his apartment with him for dinner. Izuku was teaching Todoroki how to chop the onion he was butchering when Bakugou came home. He looked unhappy for a moment and then he saw how horribly Izuku's cooking lesson was going and smirked. He leaned against the counter watching them, offering no help at all until Izuku finally put the food in the oven and wiped his hands on his shirt. He looked at the clock on the oven and frowned at Bakugou. "Have you heard from Kirikun? It's getting late."

Bakugou just shrugged. "He probably got stuck at the agency. I'm sure he's fine." 

Izuku nodded but frowned. Kirishima had been gone before he left that morning too, and Izuku hadn't heard him get ready at all. He wondered exactly when Kirishima had gone into the work-- but let Bakugou pull him and Todoroki over to the couch to catch the new episode of some cooking show he was obsessed with. They were half way through the episode when the news cut in. Both Bakugou and Todoroki sat forward while the reporter apologized for interrupting and they cut to the battle that was happening downtown.

Izuku was on his feet when they zoomed in and he saw Kirishima at the center of it all. He was breathing hard, barely staying on his feet as part of his rock like skin crumbled away where it looked like lightning had struck him. The villain laughed and said something but Kirishima just hardened again and charged at him. Izuku gasped and his hand shot up to cover his mouth when the villain blasted Kirishima again. Todoroki grabbed his arm and pulled him back down onto the couch and Bakugou pulled Izuku into his side, his face looking hard at the screen not giving anything away. Izuku moved to get up again but Bakugou held him harder. 

"Why doesn't he stop?" Izuku asked, his voice cracking as he watched a piece of Kirishima crumble again. Bakugou squeezed his arm and Todoroki's pager went off. He looked at it and rushed out the door without a word, leaving the two of them there. 

"Because It's the manly thing to do," he grumbled, full attention still on the TV. "Go until you can't anymore." 

The fight lasted another ten minutes until finally Fat Gum arrived and the villain fell. So did Kirishima. He didn't get up. 

Izuku was surprised when it was his phone that went off instead of Bakugou's, the hospital asking his name and claiming that he was Kirishima's emergency contact. The two of them were out the door in an instant, skipping the train that was delayed to run the extra blocks to the emergency room. Izuku was panting when they got there and rushed up to the counter asking for Kirishima's room. The nurse was very kind and told him that Kirishima was in treatment but she would come get him as soon as it was done. 

They sat in the waiting room for what felt like hours when the nurse finally came up to them and told Izuku he could go back. Bakugou wasn't allowed seeing as he wasn't family or the emergency contact. He griped about it but eventually told Izuku to go and he would find his own way back when they left. It was hard for him not to run when the nurse told him the room number. He walked as quickly as he could without rushing her but couldn't stop himself from yanking open the door they stopped in front of. Kirishima was awake in the bed, covered in bandages as he watched the recap of the fight on the small TV mounted in the corner. He looked tired, but when he looked over at Izuku his eyes clouded with nervous worry.  But whatever he was worried about would have to wait. 

Izuku burst into tears as soon as his eyes turned to him, the fear he had been pushing down all night now giving way to relief. He ran over to him and threw himself onto Kirishima, hugging him hard until Kirishima squeezed his shoulder and squeaked, "Izuku… ow." 

"Sorry," he hiccuped and pulled back, wiping furiously at his face. "I just… you were… I thought." He hiccuped again and Kirishima pulled Izuku back in as gently as he could, fingers carded in his hair while Izuku sobbed into his shoulder. When he had cried out all he could, he pulled back again, tugging up the collar of his sweater to wipe his face. He took a deep breath and said, "Sorry," again before he pinched a bandaged free spot on Kirishima's arm. 

"Ow!" He complained. "What was that for?"

"You scared the shit out of me!" Izuku growled at him, trying to do his best impersonation of Bakugou but he knew it came out weak. "I thought you were going to die before I could-" Izuku stopped. His face burning bright red and his eyes dropping down to the bed. Oh no. 

"Before you could what?" Kirishima asked. His voice was a little breathless. 

"N-nothing," Izuku said too quickly, shaking his head. 

"Izuku." 

"It's nothing!" He said again and hid his face in his hands. But Kirishima was looking at him in that way that saw right through him and Izuku knew he couldn't keep it in. "I just… I have this stupid crush. But you have a boyfriend and I don't want to ruin our friendship by-"

"I don't have a boyfriend…" Kirishima said softly, stopping Izuku's rant with a whisper. 

Izuku pulled his face out of his hands and blinked at him, eyes wide. "Y-you don't?"

But then the door burst open and Fat Gum came barreling in with Bakugou at his side. "Oh thank God," he sighed when he saw Kirishima was awake and intact. He pushed forward and Izuku stepped out of the way watching as the pro cooed over Kirishima and immediately launched into a lecture. 

Eijirou smiled as Fatgum talked. When he ran out of things that he thought he needed to improve on he just talked about how much he had worried Tamaki. 

"Were you worried?" He asked with a grin. 

"Yes, you brat," he said and ruffled his hair. Eijirou laughed and winced. He held onto his smile. "You should have called us sooner."

"I did," he told him. "His quirk must have disrupted it." The first attack that had broken through he had called for backup, the silence that had followed had been worrying. "But you still came." 

"How did you get back here?" a nurse asked as she pushed through the circle and over to his side. "I need all of you to leave." 

He looked at Midoriya and offered him a shy smile. "I'll be fine."

Before they left Bakugou walked over and Eijirou braced for the hit that had to be coming. Instead his hand touched the side of his neck as he pressed their temples together. "You ever do that again and I'm going to kill you. Got it?" 

"Yeah," he agreed and touched Bakugou's hand as he stood back up. Bakugou pushed Midoriya out the door. He kept looking at him until the door shut. 

"You tore your stitches," she told him. He grimaced when she told him they'd have to redo them. A few hours later they gave up when he broke another needle and the stitches tore again. They wrapped it in gauze and scheduled someone with a quirk that would help. Midoriya and Bakugou snuck back in after the nurse left. He was surprised that they hadn't gone anywhere. 

"She looked frustrated," Bakugou offered. 

"My quirk isn't cooperating." He shrugged and regretted it. Midoriya grabbed his arm and sat down in the chair next to him. "You guys don't have to stay." 

"Shut up," Bakugou said. He leaned against the wall next to the door and looked out the window. He looked at him for a few more seconds before turning to Midoriya who was looking at the bandages on his skin. He was still holding onto his arm. 

"I'm not going anywhere," he said softly to Midoriya. "I promise."

They let him go after the wound on his side was mostly closed. The healer hadn't been able to do much. His quirk kept activating and undoing the work they'd done. Eijirou was pretty sure it was Ground Zero stalking up and down the hall glaring at the nurses that had them agreeing he could go. 

He was under strict orders to rest and not use his quirk. He didn't know if he was going to be able to follow that. Every bump had his quirk reacting. He was pretty sure the electricity was part of the cause. He'd had a similar reaction when he'd gotten caught by one of Kaminari's bolts. 

Midoriya made Bakugou go to sleep once they got home and Eijirou was settled in his bed. Midoriya came back with a cup of water and sat down. 

"Can I ask you a question?" 

"Sure," he replied. He was exhausted, but his side was throbbing and he knew he wouldn't be sleeping soon. 

"Why am I your emergency contact?" 

"Because I know you'll be there. You're Bakugou's too. We talked about it." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Midoriya frowned as he looked down at the comforter and then back to Eijirou. 

"I didn't want you to worry. I didn't think anything would happen." He shifted and took his hand even though his shoulder burned. The pain meds from the hospital had worn off quicker than they'd told him. "I'm sorry."

"You were doing your job," Midoriya said. 

"No. I'm sorry I told Bakugou about Shield. I shouldn't have." 

"No," Midoriya agreed with a shake of his head. "But I should have told him before now." He turned and faced him. He held his hand before scooting up. "I have another question," Midoriya said. "But I'll ask you in the morning." 

-

Midoriya was sitting next to him staring at him when he woke up. He looked over to him and got a smile. "Were you watching me sleep?" 

"I was looking at your scar," he told him. Midoriya touched the edge of it and smiled. "How'd you get it?" 

"I whacked myself in the face in my sleep."

Midoriya laughed. He smiled and went to roll over before his body remembered he wasn't supposed to and he grunted and laid back down. 

"Really? I thought it would be a better story," he said. "Some epic manly battle."

"It was how I got my quirk." 

Midoriya ran his finger over it. "Can I ask my question now?" 

"Yes," he said and held his breath. 

"Will you go on a date with me?" Midoriya smiled and added, "When you aren't bed ridden."

"Yes," he answered. Midoriya smiled and Eijirou knew his own smile was too wide and bright. "This is real, right?" 

Midoriya poked a bruise on his chest and he winced. "Looks like it."

"Evil," he hissed at him. Midoriya giggled and kissed the bruise. 

"There. All better." Eijirou felt his face heat up and turned away. "Aw. Kirikun, are you blushing?" 

"No," he whined and pushed his face away from him, but Midoriya just grabbed his hand and put it back on the bed. He made a show of looking at Eijirou's pink face. 

"Oi! Deku. Do you want breakfast or not?" Bakugou called and Midoriya sat up and looked at the door. 

"Yes please," he called back. "Kirikun's up. Make him a plate too."

"We can't tell him," Eijirou said when Midoriya looked back at him. "He'll murder me." 

"He won't murder you." Izuku laughed and moved to get up but Kirishima caught his hand. When Izuku looked back at him his eyes were wide. 

"Yes, he will. He told all of us after you moved in that you were off limits."

" All of you?" Izuku asked incredulously, and then drew in his brows in resentment. "Why does Kacchan get to decide I'm off limits?"

"He just does-- or he did ," he corrected when Izuku glared at him. He was just about to go give Bakugou a piece of his mind but Kirishima still had a firm grip on his hand. "Just not right now?" He asked so quietly and so sweet that Izuku knew he couldn't refuse. "Not until I can defend myself."

Izuku rolled his eyes and another disgruntled Deku sounded from the kitchen. He sighed, conceding. It was only a date after all. "Fine," he told him knowing he was pouting but he didn't know how to make it stop. "But if this goes anywhere--"

"We'll tell him," Kirishima agreed with a smile that pulled Izuku's stomach out from under him. 

He pulled his hand back to his chest when Kirishima let him go, too dazzled to move until Bakugou stuck his head in the door and glared at him. "I don't have all day," he reminded Izuku. He'd been frustrated that he hadn't been able to get the day off to spend with them like Izuku had. He didn't like the idea of leaving them alone-- Izuku hadn't understood that until right now. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He waved him off and Bakugou slipped back around the door grumbling to himself while Izuku turned back to Kirishima. He hopped up from the bed and kissed his cheek quickly before he followed Bakugou out the door. 

-

Izuku spent most of the day helping Kirishima get around. He was sure that he was being smothering, but if Kirishima thought so he kept it to himself. He helped Kirishima set up the TV he had in his room before he started on lunch. He got Kirishima set up before he sank down to the floor and leaned back against the bed to watch the old Crimson Riot movie that was Kirishima's favorite. After they ate Izuku grabbed his sketch book and started doodling new designs, stopping every few minutes to doodle business card designs that popped into his head before he got back to it. When the movie was over he had covered all of two pages. 

"What is that?" Kirishima asked, poking at the list as the credits rolled. 

Izuku pursed his lips, unsure if he should say anything-- but he decided it couldn't hurt. “I was thinking about taking my support freelance?” He hadn’t meant for it to come out as a question. He was positive that this was the right thing to do and he needed to be sure about it before he told Bakugou. He tried again. “I figured that if I’m going to start my own company I need to get started sooner rather than later and it just hit me that I don’t have any business cards… “ 

Kirishima just grinned and held out his hand. “Can I see ‘em?” he asked hopefully and Izuku knew that he could not refuse. He handed over the sketch book and sat up on his knees, leaning next to Kirishima’s head on the bed as he scanned the page. Izuku laid his head on his hands while Kirishima pointed out the ones that he liked and he turned to Izuku with a playful smile. “You should just put a picture of your face on it," he told him, trying to seem serious. “No name, just your phone number and your face.” 

“They wouldn’t know who they were calling.” Izuku laughed. 

“They wouldn’t need to. One look at your adorable face and they’ll be pulled in.” 

“Shut up.” Izuku flushed bright red and pushed him carefully on his shoulder. 

“Ow,” Kirishima whined and grabbed his stomach. 

Izulu stood up quickly and pulled the blanket down to check his bandage. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” he started but when he saw the bandage was clean he looked back up at Kirishima confused and blinked in surprise when he saw him grinning at him. He pulled his arm until Izuku was falling over him, just barely catching himself on the bed before he could hit Kirishima. Izuku wasn't sure he’d ever been this close to his chest before, but here it was, perfectly sculpted and giant so close that he could lick it if he wanted to. His face was burning red when he pushed himself up, looking at Kirishima’s half lidded eyes, still ripe with amusement. It was like he’d pushed the off switch on Izuku’s brain and his breath shook as he leaned down to close the distance between them-- 

And the door burst open. 

Izuku practically threw himself across the room, falling gracelessly onto his ass by the door when Bakugou pushed it open looking at Izuku like he was insane. “What the fuck are you doing?” he asked. 

“I...uh...fell?” Izuku lied horribly, looking over at Kirishima who was barely keeping himself from laughing. 

“He did,” Kirishima confirmed, unable to stop all of it, clamping a hand over his mouth when a chuckle made him groan. 

Izuku knew Bakugou didn’t really buy it, but he looked tired and didn’t care enough at the moment to figure out what the truth was. “Well get up idiot,” he told him, pulling Izuku back to his feet. “I want dumplings and you wrap them better.” He pushed Izuku out into the hall before he went to sit next to Kirishima on his bed. 

Izuku watched them for a moment, wondering why his heart felt so full to see them there before he went to make dinner. 

Chapter Text

Best Jeanist took Izuku’s resignation better than Izuku thought that he would. He wasn’t happy to be losing him so soon after he had joined the team, but he asked for Izuku’s card and told him that he would be hearing from him soon. Todoroki took it less well. He didn’t get angry, but he pouted at Izuku for the entire time that he packed up his work station. 

“Why are you leaving?” Todoroki asked finally when Izuku grabbed his tool kit and started toward the door. “Do you need more money? Did you get a better offer? Because Jeanist will--” 

“It’s nothing to do with any of that,” Izuku assured him before he could offer him something ridiculous. “I just… I came here because I had a goal. There is something that I need to do. And as much as I love it here, I can’t work on what I need to if I stay.” 

Todoroki glared at the floor. “So this is it then?” he asked so seriously that it caught Izuku off guard. 

“What are you talking about?” He almost laughed. 

“You’re leaving," he told Izuku like he didn’t know that. “So I won’t see you anymore.” 

Izuku did laugh then. “Of course you’ll still see me. Just cause I quit doesn’t mean we aren’t still friends.” Todoroki looked confused and Izuku frowned at him. “You really thought I wasn’t going to be friends with you anymore?” Todoroki shrugged and looked away uncomfortably. Izuku’s chest squeezed. He walked over and grabbed his elbow, pulling him to the door with him. “C'mon.” 

“What are you doing?” he asked. 

“I have to go change Kirishima’s bandages,” he told him, grabbing his toolbox with his free hand. “You’re going to help me.” 

---

"You aren't supposed to be up," Bakugou said before Eijirou had even gotten halfway down the hall. He swore under his breath. 

"You're not supposed to be so quiet," he snarked back and leaned on the wall. Bakugou rolled his eyes and then looked at his door, like Eijirou would just know he wanted to know why he'd gotten out of bed. "I was thirsty." 

"You have a phone. One of us could have gotten it for you." 

"I didn't want to wake you up." He'd been texting Midoriya so he knew how late he'd been up. "Plus I can walk to the kitchen." 

"Can you?" Bakugou asked. Eijirou hadn't moved since he had gotten caught and he didn't know if he could let go of the wall. 

"Fine. Can you get me some water?" Bakugou chuckled as he walked past him. "I'll just be shuffling back to my room." 

He stopped in the doorway and stared at the three empty feet from the door to his bed. He wanted to take two steps and then fall, but he knew that was a terrible idea. Bakugou took his elbow and he was walking a lot faster over to the edge of the bed. 

"Don't push yourself," he said and handed him the cup. He nodded. He knew he was right. But he wanted to be better. It felt like he was healing so slowly. He didn't want to have people visit and just look up at them from his bed. He wanted to go on a date with Midoriya. 

"Hey, uh-" He called when Bakugou moved to the door. "I know you don't care, but I'm not with Tetsu anymore." 

"I care," he replied with his back to him. Eijirou put the glass back and touched his side. It was still tender. Bakugou turned and studied him. "You don't look that upset about it." 

"Almost dying kind of dulled that pain." 

"You didn't almost die." He'd never seen Bakugou use air quotes before. It was odd to see. 

"Yeah. I did. My heart stopped." 

Bakugou looked lost for a moment. His entire face changed before he shook his head. "You're not allowed to do that again." 

"Okay," Eijirou replied through a laugh. "I won't."

"Better not. And fuck Tetsutetsu. You deserve better than him anyway."

"Thanks."

"Yeah. Whatever. Go to sleep." 

-

"Kacchan made me swear I wouldn't let you get out of bed today. Did something happen?" 

"I tried to get a glass of water last night. And he found out about the whole resuscitation thing." 

"Why didn't you text one of us?" Midoriya asked and looked at the half full glass sitting on his bedside table. 

"It was almost four in the morning." He felt like he was reliving the conversation from the night before.

"Wake me up," Midoriya told him. "How did he take it?" 

"I'm not allowed to die." 

"I think I agree with him," Midoriya said. "If you're not allowed out of bed I need supplies."

"Supplies?" Midoriya grinned and grabbed the glass of water before he left. He came back with a stack of board games and had refilled the glass. 

"We're stuck with these since you made me take back the TV."

"It is better for my sleep." 

"You say that," Midoriya replied with a wave of his hand. He set up the first game. They played for a while. Eijirou was pretty sure that he was letting him win on purpose. 

"Ohh! My cards came in," Midoriya said and showed him the final design that he had chosen. He smiled and grabbed his phone. Midoriya looked down when his own phone started ringing. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Answer the phone," he told him. 

"Hello?" Midoriya said. There was a small echo in his ear. 

"Hi. I saw that you make support items for heroes." 

"I do." Midoriya smiled so brightly that he had to look away. 

"Good. I need some new sleeves. My last pair got destroyed. Do you think you could help me out?" 

"Hmm. I should be able to fit you in." 

"Thanks a lot. Let me know what you'll need." 

"Hang up, loser." Eijirou smiled as he hung up. "Are you serious?" 

"Yeah. We don't have our own support team at the agency. So we have to find our own. I've heard you're brilliant." 

"I want to start right now." 

"I was thinking of napping," Eijirou offered with a yawn. 

"Hold on. I need to measure you first." He watched him run off and come back with a notebook and a measuring tape. Eijirou was surprised to see sketches of himself on the page. Midoriya took his time measuring his shoulders and arms. He had to remind himself that he was a professional as his hands moved across his skin. He didn't find himself very tired when Midoriya sat back and wrote the last set of numbers on the page. "I'd like to get a set with your quirk activated, but I can start with this." 

"Maybe if you could make them resistant to electricity," he said with a laugh. 

Midoriya put his hand on his shoulder. He looked serious as he leaned over him and said, "You run around half naked. I'm not a miracle worker."

"So you've been checking me out," he said with a grin. 

"Ugh. I hate you," he said and flicked his nose. "Take your nap. I'm going to go make you some shirtless sleeves."

Kirishima was still sleeping when Bakugou got home and poked his head into Izuku's open door. He had finally gotten a new pair of glasses, but they were a little bigger and rounder and he could finally thread his sewing machine without destroying his hands. He was sewing an elastic lining into Kirishima's sleeves that he had weathered in liquid latex. He was pretty sure it would keep him from being electrocuted if it hit his arm-- now if they hit his exposed chest…

"What are you doing?" Bakugou asked, dropping onto Izuku's bed after he leaned in to check on Kirishima. 

"Working," he grunted and cut the thread after he finished his seam. "Take your shirt off."

"What?" 

"I need you to try this on." Izuku laughed at the way his face paled. He turned the sleeves back to their right side out and tossed them to Bakugou. "Kirishima destroyed his not-shirt and you're about the same size." Bakugou grumbled but he pulled his shirt off and slipped on the sleeves. Izuku stood up and pulled at the ties on the side where he'd eventually put the buckle. "How does it feel?"

Bakugou flexed. "Snug?"

"Tight snug, or comfortable snug?" 

He thought about that for a second. "Comfortable." 

"Good." Izuku smiled and turned to make a note in his sketchbook while Bakugou took it off. 

"I thought you stayed to make me the number one hero?" Bakugou griped at him when he handed the sleeve back. "Where is all my cool stuff?"

Izuku laughed again. "Real clients come first."

Bakugou rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Like you're going to let Kirishima pay you." 

Izuku's face turned red but he ignored it and pulled out a medal tub from under the desk. "The agency pays for it, thank you," he grumbled and laid the sleeves in it and pulled the beaker he'd been balancing chemicals in all day from next to his sewing machine. He cleared his throat. "And he actually needs new gear, while yours is still functioning." Bakugou shrugged and sat forward as he watched Izuku pour the solution over the fabric. 

"What does that do?" He asked, always curious. Izuku always thought that Bakugou would have been good at support if his quirk hadn't been so stupid powerful. 

"I made a mineral mixture with a little bit of Kirishima's blood," he told him as he pulled on a pair of gloves and made sure that it got every part of the sleeves. It soaked in almost instantly and came out completely dry. "Blast it," he told Bakugou excitedly. 

"What? No." 

"Not a big one." Izuku rolled his eyes. "Just try it, please?" He bat his eyes at Bakugou and he finally sighed. He took the sleeves out of Izuku's hands and let out a small blast on them. The solution reacted just like Izuku had wanted it to and hardened on the spot, just like Kirishima's quirk. 

Bakugou blinked in surprise. "Shit," he uttered while Izuku jumped. 

"Yes!" He beamed and took them back. He slipped it onto a hanger and hung it on the medal rod in the corner. "The mineral makes it so that it can mimic Kirishima's quirk when it's hit hard enough, but it keeps it soft for civilians. He grabbed a ball off his desk and skipped over to Bakugou." I also made it impact absorbent so every hit they take…" He threw the ball and it ricocheted back at them. Bakugou yanked Izuku out of the way as it came back, thumping violently against the wall where Izuku's head had been. He beamed and Bakugou glared at him. "Pretty cool right?" 

Kirishima called out for them before Bakugou could answer. They walked across the hall and pushed the door open, finding Kirishima propped up on his elbows with his brows drawn in. "What's going on out there?" He asked, concerned by the excited look on Izuku's face. 

"Deku is playing mad scientist with your new gear." Bakugou grumbled and shoved Izuku. He stumbled and fell onto the bed next to Kirishima. "Do me a favor, keep him there until dinner is ready." He gave Izuku a pointed look before he stormed off to the kitchen, the door cracked open. 

"What did you do?" Kirishima asked when they started to hear cooking noises. He was whispering so Izuku felt like he needed to whisper too. 

"I made him blast your sleeve so I could test the impact absorption and almost got hit in the head with a racquet ball," he told him with a sigh. He turned to the door and fell backward so that he was lying next to Kirishima. 

He very carefully shifted onto one arm so he was looking down at Izuku. He grinned and teased, "That sounds very dangerous."

Izuku grinned. "It was very fast," he replied, trying to school his face into something serious but Kirishima poked his side and Izuku had to cover his mouth to keep from squealing. "No fair!" He groaned, curling into a ball when Kirishima poked him again. "I can't poke you back when you're all broken!" 

"I guess not," Kirishima sighed. Before Izuku could do anything about it, he pulled his arm so Izuku was straddling him. "What are you going to do?" He asked, his voice a low grumble now that there was more noise from the kitchen. Izuku's face was beet red and he looked back at the crack in the door nervously. 

"You said he'll kill you," he barely breathed, but let Kirishima pull him down by his chin, just close enough that he could feel his breath on his lips. 

"If he catches us," he muttered back and that was all Izuku needed to lean forward. It was silly for him to be surprised that his lips were so soft. It wasn't as if his quirk made him hard all of the time-- but his lips gave way so easily to Izuku's that he wanted to push further and test his limits. He would have if he didn't slip and catch his hand in his chest.

Kirishima gasped and Izuku pushed himself up carefully whispering, "Sorry," a handful of times as he climbed off of him and grabbed his face. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, yeah." He blinked up at him and grinned a shark's smile at him. "You can do that again anytime you want." 

---

Eijirou knew that he would benefit from a few extra days of rest, but Midoriya's teasing was driving him crazy. He swore that he had a psychic sense when Bakugou was going to walk in the room and kissed him seconds before then grinned at him and skipped off. It was torture. Fat wouldn't let him come back to work until the end of the week. He would probably be on desk duty for the week after. Fat didn't seem to believe him that he was healed. 

Bakugou sure didn't. He told Midoriya to keep an eye on him when he went to work. Midoriya had grinned and told him, "Oh I plan on it." 

"Let's go on our date," he said when Midoriya's knee hit the couch next to him. "I mean, do you want to go out today?" 

"Yes," Midoriya said with a smile. "I need to go change." Eijirou nodded and fiddled with the button on his shirt. He wasn't actually sure this was his. He pulled his hair free of its ponytail. He braided half of it back before the rest fell on the other side. 

"Are you ready?" Midoriya asked, then stopped when he saw him tying the end of his braid. He stepped forward and ran his hand through his hair. "You look nice," he told him, sounding a little breathless. 

"You do too," he tucked a stray strand behind Midoriya's ear as he looked down at the deep blue shirt he was wearing. He smiled when he saw the tiny All Might logos in the pinstripes. 

Midoriya had to slow down twice for him as they walked down the street. It felt good to be outside. He hadn't done much more than stand on the balcony in Bakugou's room for the past two weeks. 

"What are we doing?" Midoriya asked. 

"Coffee is a normal first date, right?" Eijirou asked. 

"Sure," Midoriya replied, but he didn't sound too sure either. Eijirou didn't know if coffee was right for them. It was supposed to be a way to get to know the person, but they'd been talking for the past week. They'd been living together for months. Maybe they were a few steps past coffee, but he wasn't sure if he was up for much more than that. He was already feeling his stomach tighten. Midoriya made him sit down as soon as they got to the coffee shop Sero had recommended. 

"I got you a cranberry scone," Midoriya told him when he sat down. Midoriya went on about the superiority of blueberries while they waited. Eijirou kept mentioning how good cranberries were every few sentences just to watch his face light up in indignation. They picked at their scones and drank while talking about nothing, and everything at once. 

When they finished Midoriya looked a little regretful. Eijirou took his hand when they stepped out. "We don't have to rush back. There is a park down the street." 

"Okay," Midoriya said and squeezed his hand. 

He knew that Midoriya was smaller than him. But he'd never actually stopped to think about it. Midoriya just had this way of taking up space that made him seem bigger than he was. Holding onto his hand and having his head rest against his arm as they walked he felt the difference in their heights sink in. They stopped at a bench so he could rest. He put his hand on his side and breathed as he smiled at Midoriya. 

"Have you thought about wearing an actual shirt?" 

"My quirk is my skin," he replied. 

"I know that, but you could have an extra layer of protection." 

"I'll try out whatever you want to make me." 

"You promise?" 

He offered Midoriya his pinky and chuckled when he hooked it with a smile. 

They walked further in until they got to a small pond with a gazebo looking out over it. Eijirou tugged Midoriya over to it and sat down. He closed his eyes as he breathed in the scent of the pond and the trees around them. 

"Eiji?" he opened his eyes and looked over to Midoriya. "Can I kiss you?" 

He nodded and had a lap of Midoriya before he'd even finished. Midoriya held his chin in place as he kissed him deeply. Eijirou parted his lips and Midoriya licked into his mouth slowly. His tongue ran over his teeth, and pressed lightly against the sharp tips of his teeth like he was studying him. He moved on from his teeth. Eijirou could barely keep up. He'd never had someone kiss him like this. His hands roamed over Midoriya's back. They settled on his hips and Midoriya pulled away. Their eyes met and Midoriya smiled before diving back in. He kissed him like nothing else existed but them. The ripple of the water, the faint sounds of the city. It all disappeared. 

-

"What did you do today?" Bakugou asked. Eijirou was having trouble staying awake. The walk back with Midoriya had been the longest of his life. He had fallen asleep as soon as they got back. But he was still floating on the bliss of their date. Midoriya had jokingly asked for a grade on their make out. He'd looked over to his swollen pink lips and wished there was a grade higher than perfection. When he told Midoriya that he had just laughed and squeezed his hand. 

"We went to get some coffee," Midoriya offered. Bakugou grunted and went into the kitchen. Midoriya's hand slowly let go of his when he got up and followed Bakugou into the kitchen. That lingering touch curled around the base of his spine. He smiled and cuddled deeper into the blankets on the couch. 

-

The apartment felt quiet with Kirishima back at work. Not that he made all that much noise on bed rest, but there was just something about his sudden absence that felt lonely.  It was difficult to resist the urge to text him. Izuku knew that he could, but he also knew that since he was just getting back to work, there would be a lot for him to catch up on. So Izuku focused on work until he couldn't find anything else to change, then packed it all up for his first delivery. 

He stood outside of Fat Gum's agency for a minute wondering why he was so nervous. He had seen Kirishima that morning, kissed him goodbye when Bakugou wasn't looking like he had every day that week-- but for some reason his face felt hot and his chest tight. He counted himself down before he made the few steps to the door and tried to look as professional as possible when he walked up to the desk. The receptionist looked him over, her eyes kind and curious. Izuku had made a point to change before he came by, replacing his worn and grease cover overalls with a pair of dark jeans and a light button up so he at least looked like a professional. 

"I have a suit delivery?" He hadn't meant to ask. He cleared his throat and tried to sound more sure. "For Red Riot." 

She smiled then and opened one of her drawers, pulling out a visitor's pass. She handed it to him and asked for him to clip it to his shirt. Once he was situated she gave him directions to Kirishima's work space. 

Izuku took his time, stepping carefully off the elevator and into the room of cubicles that blocked the conference room and offices. Kirishima was right where the receptionist said that he would be-- but Izuku was surprised to see Mirio sitting on his desk. He hesitated a few feet back before he finally sucked in a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face. He knocked on the side of the cubicle, resting his chin on the little wall. He had to stand on his toes to do it. 

Kirishima's surprised smile was worth the anxiety, and he surprised Izuku by pulling him down into a kiss when he rounded the corner. Izuku flushed with pleasure and smiled shyly at Mirio who grinned at the two of them like he knew a secret. 

"What are you doing here?" Kirishima asked, pulling his attention back. "Not that I'm not happy to see you."

He lifted the case in his hand. "Delivering your new toys," he offered lamely. 

"Toys?" Kirishima asked. "I thought it was just my sleeves." 

"I may have added a few things?" He admitted grinning at the suspicious look on his face. "Don't worry, I didn't make you a shirt." 

Mirio scoffed and Kirishima pushed him. "Thank you." He smiled and kissed Izuku again. He really needed to get a handle on himself before his nose started bleeding. "But you didn't have to come all the way down here."

"I did actually." He sighed. Guilty for all the gadgets that were in the case. "There are a few things we need to test and I didn't want Bakugou to yell at me for putting hole in the wall."

"I can help with that," Mirio offered eagerly, jumping off of the desk. He beamed down at Izuku, "Kiri's been talking about you all day, I wanna see what you came up with." 

Izuku had to physically stop himself from bursting into tears with anxious excitement. He swallowed and took a deep breath before he forced his smile back on and agreed. Kirishima led them back to the elevator and took them to the basement training rooms. 

Izuku walked over to the table and set the case down carefully, clicking the lock on it so he could pull out the new sleeves. They didn't look all that different from the old set, but he had quilt stitched it to look almost like dragon scales. Kirishima's eyes gleamed when he saw it and he pulled off his shirt to slip them on. It fit him like a second layer of skin when he clicked it into place and flexed. He activated his quirk but there were no rip in the fabric. Mirio reached out to touch it and grinned, cooing over how soft it was. 

"What did you do to it?" Kirishima asked, still smiling. 

"I just added an extra elastic lining." Izuku shrugged  but he couldn't help the swell of pride in his chest. "That should keep it from ripping against your quirk, and-" He pulled a taser out of his pocket and pressed it into the arm, lighting it up. Kirishima jumped, but relaxed when he realised that nothing had happened. "Shock proof." Izuku grinned at him. "Just don't get hit in the chest."

"It's so soft." Mirio sighed. "Like punching a pillow," he said and hit Kirishima in the arm. The fabric hardened just like Izuku wanted it too and Mirio yelped, pulling his hand to his chest. He ran to hide behind Izuku as Kirishima laughed in surprise. 

"I made a mineral wash for it to mimic your quirk when it takes a hit," Izuku explained looking apologetically back at Mirio. "It sucks in the impact and releases on the next hit?" He looked back at Mirio but he was looking at it skeptically, so Izuku took the ball he had packed in the case out and tossed it at Kirishima's arm. It rocketed off and embedded itself in the medal wall with a loud popping noise. Everyone blinked and Izuku smiled sheepishly. Mirio's hit had been a lot stronger than the one Bakugou had humored him with. He cleared his throat. "It should work completely separate from your quirk, so even if you can't keep up your hardening, you still have something to protect you." He let his eyes drop to the floor when Kirishima's turned back to him so soft that he wished that Mirio hadn't come with them. 

But Mirio wasn't paying attention. He pulled out the head piece and poked at the sharp white stones he'd impeded into it. "You are gonna look like a dragon." Mirio beamed like a giddy child and Izuku couldn't help the thrill that ran up his spine. 

Kirishima took it and put it on, seemingly pleased with the way it fit. "I didn't change too much here," Izuku told him. "But-" He walked up to him and stood up on his toes, but even then he was too small. Kirishima bit on his smile and leaned in enough for Izuku to blow at him and a visor automatically came down to cover his eyes. He blinked again and Izuku knocked on it. "Light, but bullet proof. So it'll protect you from any kind of wind resistance and you don't have to be afraid of it shattering in your eyes. And lastly-" He turned back to the case and pulled out the gears that Kirishima wore on his shoulders. 

He slipped them on easily and Izuku helped him get them into place. "They are lighter than they were," he commented and raised an eyebrow. 

Izuku bit his lip and nodded. This had been the part he was most worried about and had spent the most time fiddling with. 

"Press here," he told him, tapping lightly at the button on the inside of the bottom of it. "Each of them has one."  Kirishima did as he was told and the gears split open and started to straighten out into a red blade. "You don't have to use both of them," Izuku told him knowing his face was red as a tomato. "But if you put them together." He held Kirishima's hands and put the blades together. They expanded and made a giant Claymore in his hands. "I did my best to make it light, but that took away a lot of the impact. But that's also why you can use them separately. Just in case." Kirishima stood there seemingly shocked for a long time and Izuku looked back at Mirio. He was also staring, seeming to take in the new hero in front of him and Izuku wondered if he had done too much. Overstepped and made changes he shouldn't have. He squeaked out a nervous, "Do you… like it?"

"I just needed new sleeves," Eijirou murmured to himself as he stared at the sword in his hands. Midoriya deflated. He put the sword down and closed the distance between them. Midoriya avoided his eyes. Eijirou pulled off the mask and glanced back but Mirio was already slipping out the door. 

"I got too excited." 

"No," he told him and shook his head. "It's great. It's just-" He leaned down so Midoriya was looking at his face. "I don't know how to use a sword. Let alone two. What if I cut my arm off? What if I cut someone else's arm off? But I'd look so manly with a sword." He grabbed Midoriya and spun him as he pulled him against his chest. He held up the sword to the empty room. "Come and take him." Midoriya laughed. Eijirou smiled and looked back at him. "Thank you."

"It's-" He kissed him before he could make an excuse. Eijirou had seen how hard he had been working. He'd had no idea that it was all for him though. He had been sure that he was working on his plans for Bakugou's new gear. 

"Come to lunch with us," he said when his phone chirped. "We were waiting for Tamaki to finish." 

"What? With Lemillion?" 

"Yeah," Eijirou said with a smile. "It'll be fun." 

Midoriya agreed and Eijirou slipped out of his new sleeves and struggled to get the swords back into a safer form. Midoriya guided him through each step with a soft smile. 

Mirio and Midoriya got along better than he expected. He had thought that it was just the alcohol making Midoriya talk so much to him at his birthday party, but it continued through lunch. He held onto his hand the entire time. Tamaki spoke a few times when Mirio brought him into the story. "Mirio said you made Eiji a visor?" 

"I did," Midoriya said and squeezed his hand. 

"Would you be available to make me one?" 

"Yeah!" Midoriya said and they talked about what he wanted from the design. 

Tamaki hung back as Mirio and Midoriya walked ahead of them back to the agency. "I like your boyfriend. He's smart." 

"Yeah. He's amazing." Eijirou glanced over when Tamaki didn't respond and he was looking at him with an amused smile. "What?" 

"Nothing. I haven't seen you this happy." 

"I'm always happy," he told him. 

"You're always pretending you're happy. I know what that looks like better than most." Tamaki's eyes went to Mirio before they shifted back to him. "But this is good for you." 

"Thanks," he said and crushed Tamaki in a hug. 

When they got back to the agency Tamaki dragged Mirio inside even as he complained that he wasn't done talking with Midoriya. "You'll see him again. He has your phone number." 

Midoriya shifted in place and looked up at him. "I should go. I can get started on Tamaki's visor." 

"Okay. I'll see you at home. And thank you again." He leant down and kissed him. Midoriya pushed up onto his toes to prolong the kiss when Eijirou straightened. 

"At home. Right." Midoriya touched his mouth then smiled and waved. "Stay safe!" 

-

Eijirou knew that this was a bad idea. Bakugou was asleep on the other side of the wall and they'd been doing so well. Midoriya hadn't brought up telling him again and from the mischievous grin on his face as he slipped through the door he obviously liked the sneaking around. He slipped under his covers and Eijirou looked at him with wide eyes. 

"What are you doing?" 

"You can't send me pictures and not expect me to want to see them for myself," he said and kissed him. He shushed him as he scooted down and kissed his chest. He knew that the pictures had been a bad idea. But Midoriya had sent him one that morning while he was in the middle of a meeting with the police and he had wanted to get revenge. So he'd sent his at dinner. It was just a picture of his chest ending with his unzipped pants. It hadn't been anything too bad, he had sat through too many lectures during school to risk the whole thing. Midoriya had looked at his phone, hummed, and continued with his story to Bakugou. He'd shot Eijirou a tight lipped look a couple minutes later and he had grinned. 

Now with Midoriya sucking and biting his way down his chest he couldn't actually believe he was still wondering if this was a bad idea. Of course this was a good idea. It was the best idea. 

He moved Midoriya and pulled him up so he could kiss him. His legs spread over his stomach and Eijirou's hands slid down them and back up. Midoriya hummed again and kissed him deeper. He'd been surprised when Midoriya actually seemed to know what he was doing. But that surprise had turned to awe the more they kissed and the more Midoriya found each one of his weaknesses. He swore that he was documenting his research, because everytime Eijirou made any noise Midoriya mumbled to himself. 

Midoriya pushed himself back and Eijirou shook his head when he felt his ass slide against his dick. He got a grin and a finger to the mouth. Midoriya didn't move for a moment, but closed his eyes. Eijirou took that time to tell his dick to calm the fuck down. He felt fingers slid over his skin and Midoriya started rocking. It was small teasing movements. Eijirou slid his hand over Midoriya's thigh and nervous eyes met his. He sat up enough to kiss him and Midoriya moaned into his mouth as his hand flexed on his stomach. 

"I'm never suggesting that you wear a shirt again," Midoriya whispered when Eijirou laid back down and bit his hand as Midoriya pushed against him a little harder. His hand flexed on his thigh. Midoriya's fingers slid over his and then up his arm. "Do you like this?" 

"Don't stop," he replied. 

Midoriya grinned and kissed his chest. "I wasn't planning on it." Midoriya kept moving and kissing, but Eijirou had hit a wall. He needed more. His hand slid around Midoriya's ass and he held onto him as he flipped him over. His hair swung down in a wave as he loomed over Midoriya. He looked down at him, he was still in the All Might shirt he slept in and boxers. Eijirou ground down as he caught his lips again. He was careful as he pulled on them and Midoriya let out a whimper. He let go and licked across the red marks. Midoriya's hand brushed through his hair before catching on the back of his neck and pulling him down to kiss him. Eijirou rutted against him, alternating between sliding against his ass and front. Midoriya gasped and Eijirou shifted and picked up speed. He watched as Midoriya arched beneath him. He came a few jerky thrusts later and pushed himself to the side before nosing against Midoriya's cheek. 

"Was that good ?" Midoriya asked quietly. 

"Better than good," he replied and kissed him. 

-

Midoriya was braiding his hair when the door opened. Eijirou glanced up from the book he was reading. Crimson eyes met his and he felt his blood run cold. He barely got his hands up when Bakugou's blast hit them. He flipped over the couch. 

"I told you not to play with his feelings," Bakugou shouted. 

"I'm not," Eijirou squeaked as he ducked a blast. He knew that he wouldn't be seriously hurt by any of them. Bakugou knew better than to use his full power inside, but they'd still sting. 

"Oh yeah? Explain that," Bakugou said and threw a paper at him. It was a gossip rag, but they were on the cover. A picture of them kissing was the main one and one of them holding hands during their lunch with Tamaki and Mirio. 

"It was a date," Midoriya said. He stood up on the couch, blocking Bakugou from him. "We're dating." 

Eijirou watched Bakugou's hand drop as he stared at Midoriya. He didn't know the emotion on his face. He had never seen it before. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Because you forbid him from dating me. Which you have no right to do." 

"I don't want you to get hurt," Bakugou said, his shoulders dropping. Midoriya put a hand on his cheek. 

"Do you really think Kirikun would hurt me?" 

Bakugou looked over his shoulder at him. "No," he whispered. "But what happens when you break up? You're my best friends. I don't want to lose either of you." 

"Then we won't break up," Eijirou said. 

Bakugou snorted. 

"Apologize."

"What?" Bakugou asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Apologize. You blasted him." 

"He can take a hit like that."

"I don't care. Apologize." Midoriya had his hands on his hips as he glared at Bakugou. 

Eijirou looked at Midoriya as Bakugou stalked around the couch and stopped in front of him. "I'm sorry."

Chapter Text

Izuku stood outside of Bakugou's door not sure if he should knock or leave him alone. He had been running away from Izuku and Kirishima all week. He was seemingly fine when it was just them one on one, but when it was Izuku and Kirishima together he always found an excuse to leave. He knew that it bothered Kirishima too, but he smiled it off and told Izuku he just needed time to cope. But it felt wrong. Izuku wasn't sure he had ever gone this long feeling like Bakugou was keeping something from him and they were living together. 

He knocked. Two quick little raps of his knuckles and bit down on his lip listening to Bakugou's heavy footsteps until the door cracked open. "What?" 

"Why are you avoiding us?" Izuku blurted. He heard Kirishima groan from the living room and he got up and stuck his head around the corner of the hallway, frowning at Izuku. Izuku had just gotten up to use the bathroom before they watched a movie, but he couldn't ignore the silence behind Bakugou's door. "Is us dating really that bad?"

Bakugou sighed, "Just leave it alone Deku-" he said, moving to close the door but Izuku stopped it with his hand. 

"No," he told him, determined. "You said you didn't want this to get in the way of our friendship and you just keep running away."

"Deku-"

"You have to talk to me," he told him in frustration. "Talk to us." He motioned to Kirishima who was standing halfway down the hall. "We are your best friends and we miss you. We love-"

"Don't fucking finish that sentence," Bakugou seethed but his face was bright red. Izuku blinked in surprise, he wasn't sure if he had ever really seen Bakugou blush before and it was off putting. "Have you stopped to take a second and think that maybe I just don't want to watch you too be all lovey dovey with each other? That I go to my room so I wont be sick?"

"That's a little harsh, B-" Kirishima started stepping up behind Izuku. He put a hand on Izuku's shoulder and Bakugou's eyes narrowed in on it. 

"Yeah sure, take his side so he doesn't cry about it." He snapped and Izuku recoiled. 

"Bakugou!"

"If you two idiots don't see how this changes things then you obviously haven't thought it through. Forgive me for not wanting to watch this explode later. So just…" His eyes darted to Kirishima's hand again and his face faltered before he could get his glare back in place. "Leave me alone." The door slammed and they stared at it for a moment too shocked to move. Izuku had expected Bakugou to yell, but he always got over it quickly. He never just locked Izuku out. 

He stepped forward to knock again but Kirishima grabbed his hand. He kissed it to take away the sting and pulled Izuku away from the door. "Give him a minute," he told Izuku softly and Izuku followed him numbly back to the couch. 

It was difficult for Izuku to concentrate on work knowing that Bakugou wasn't talking to him. And yet he worked harder than ever as orders kept coming in. Kirishima complained about him working so much. But even as he did it, his eyes always gleamed in pride. He sat with Izuku when he worked late and asked him questions. And when he found Izuku asleep over his newest project he carried him to his bed and snuggled him to sleep. 

And while his relationship with Kirishima was better than ever, Bakugou stayed silent. He breezed in and out of the apartment without a word and ignored Izuku's knocks. 

Kirishima was still in bed on one of his off days when Izuku got up to pack up his newest gear for delivery he had a couple stops to make, so his arms were full and he felt excitement thrumming under his skin. "I can come with you," Kirishima offered when Izuku walked in with all of his cases. "Help you carry the load."

"Nope," Izuku told him and leaned down to kiss him. "I need you to be right here, exactly like this when I came back." He beamed at him and Kirishima pulled on his tie to get another kiss before he let him go. 

The first couple of deliveries went off without any issues, the heros seemed happy and excited with their new gear and asked Izuku for a few of his cards to pass on. He was feeling pretty good when he got to his last delivery of the day, only to be stopped in the lobby by the receptionist who made a call and looked Izuku up and down in distaste. 

"It seems your services are no longer required, Mr. Midoriya," he said coldly. It was such a stark contrast from the last time he'd been here that almost didn't know what to say. 

"I… I just have a delivery."

"We don't want it," the man said harsher still. "Please leave." 

He walked out wondering what was going on. He pulled out his phone, surprised to see that he had a handful of missed calls from Kirishima and at least a dozen from clients. His voicemail was almost full. He frowned and was about to call him back when he got a call from Todoroki and answered that instead. "Hey Shosan."

"Midoriya, where are you?" 

Izuku looked around him and gave him the name of the street he was on. He frowned when a mother grabbed her daughter's hand and steered her away from Izuku like he was contagious. "Is there some kind of virus going around?" He asked, "People are acting really strange-"

"Can you come to my apartment?" Todoroki cut him off. "Now."

"Uh, yeah okay," he agreed, wondering why he was being so strange. 

"Come straight here," Todoroki told him. 

"Okay," Izuku said again, feeling strange, getting stares from all over. "I'll be there in ten minutes. He checked his voicemails as he walked. They were all from clients calling to cancel orders and tell him they had gone with someone different. One was particularly harsh, saying that if they had known he was quirkless they never would have given Izuku business in the first place. That was surprising. There were laws that protected quirkless people, kept anyone from getting their hands on their file so that they couldn't be discriminated against so easily. He had no idea where they could have gotten that information. It burned in his chest and his face when he got to Todoroki's building and took the stairs to avoid running into anyone else. 

Todoroki yanked open the door as soon as Izuku knocked and pulled him quickly inside. His hair was pulled up into a messy bun and he looked angry. "Are you okay?" He asked very seriously. Izuku would have thought he'd just been in an accident. 

"I'm fine," he told him and then frowned. "I mean, I just had twelve cancellations and I don't know why… but I don't…" He stopped when Todoroki grimaced. "What do you know that I don't?" 

Todoroki sighed and stared awkwardly at the floor for a minute before he marched into the living room and grabbed a magazine that was on the coffee table. It was a copy of Hero Insight and Izuku was shocked to see his own face on the cover. He grabbed it out of Todoroki's hands and flipped through the pages until he found the article in question and poured over it. It had everything in it. All of the information he'd thought was private. It claimed their source was a childhood friend that they refused to list and Izuku couldn't discount. He read it twice, the cancellations and the stares all falling into place. 

"Is it true?" Todoroki asked softly. 

Izuku just nodded and sank to the ground. He held his head in his hands and focused on breathing. Todoroki kneeled in front of him and pat his knee awkwardly while he tried not to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening. Things had been looking so good. He was starting to get bigger heroes as clients and now he would be lucky to get a job at a supply store. 

Todoroki's phone rang and he listened as he talked to whoever was in the other line. "Yeah, he's here." He looked up between his fingers and watched Todoroki frown. "Uh, not well." Someone growled on the other end and Izuku immediately knew it was Bakugou, his chest felt tight and all he wanted to do was curl up on the couch and never move again. "Of course," Todoroki said and hung up. "Bakugou and Kirishima are coming to get you," he told him quietly. Izuku nodded. "Do you… can I do anything?" He asked, sounding so helpless and a little sob broke through Izuku's lips. He shook his head and leaned forward hating the shame that burned inside of him. Hating the helplessness he had spent his whole life fighting. Hating that this alone is what the world would know about him. Not how hard he had worked to get where he was-- but his quirklessness. And how no matter what he did, it would never make up for what he was born without. 

-

"It wasn't me."

Eijirou jerked awake. He had only meant to sleep for a few minutes, but if Bakugou was home then he'd slept for hours. He rubbed his face and asked, "What?" 

Bakugou shoved his phone in his face. Eijirou took it and focused on the screen. Izuku's face filled the screen. He scrolled and read the article. He glanced up at the part that had Bakugou pacing in his doorway. He stopped when he noticed Eijirou looking at him. "You believe me right?" 

"Yeah man. And Izuku does too." 

"How do you know that?" 

"Because he knows you. And I know him. It wouldn't ever cross his mind that you had betrayed him." 

"But I've been-" Eijirou sighed and Bakugou stopped. 

"Yeah. That has sucked, but it doesn't mean you suddenly hate Izuku. He told you that when you called him." Bakugou's eyes shifted. "You did call him, didn't you?" 

"No," Bakugou said quietly. 

Eijirou set down Bakugou's phone and grabbed his off the charger. "You can face down villains but you're afraid of Izuku?" He asked as it rang. 

"He's scary when he's mad," Bakugou offered. Izuku's voicemail picked up and Eijirou frowned. He tried again, but it rang through. He was worried when the third call went unanswered, but Izuku was notorious for not feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket. He kept telling himself that even when he left a voicemail asking for him to call him back when he got this. Bakugou was already digging through Izuku's stack of orders trying to see where he'd gone. Bakugou called the first delivery and confirmed he'd left. Then the next couple. When he got to the last Eijirou had to take the phone from him and hang it up when he started yelling at the receptionist. 

"What did they say?" 

Bakugou took a breath. "They said he just left." 

"Where would he go?" Eijirou mumbled to himself. 

Bakugou took his phone back and tapped his foot as the phone rang. 

"Hey. Is Izuku with you?" Bakugou asked. 

"Yeah. He's here." 

"How's he doing?" Bakugou's voice cracked. Eijirou put a hand on his shoulder and was surprised when he didn't brush it off, but pushed into it. 

"Uh, not well."

"Tell him we'll be right there and fuck those bastards." 

"Of course," Todoroki said and the call ended. Bakugou shoved his phone in his pocket and breathed. 

"This is what I was afraid of," Bakugou said. He turned and looked at him. "I tried to keep him away from all of the attention."

"Are you blaming me?" he asked. 

"No one would have looked into him if he wasn't dating you." Bakugou let out a sharp 'hah' and walked out of his room. "Let's go get him." 

Eijirou waited until they were walking down Todoroki's street to respond. "I know you're mad, and I'm the easiest target. But you're wrong. Izuku is brilliant. And you aren't the only one who sees that." Bakugou stopped. He glanced at him before continuing.

Izuku looked like he was barely holding it together. Eijirou crouched in front of him and Izuku looked sad before taking his hand. He wanted to pick him up and wrap him up in a hug and protect him from all the pain, but the fact that he was making an effort to not cry in front of Todoroki said more than anything. Bakugou grunted his thanks to Todoroki. And Izuku touched Bakugou's wrist. Eijirou saw it slide away but Izuku just leaned more into Eijirou's side. He looked up and Bakugou was staring at his hand like he didn't know why it had done that. 

Izuku sat between them on the train. Bakugou glared at anyone that looked their way and Eijirou kept his arm over Izuku's shoulder. Eijirou tugged on Bakugou's sleeve when he looked like he was about to start yelling at a kid that refused to look away. Bakugou huffed and leaned back. He pat Izuku's knee but kept staring down the car. 

When they got to their building Izuku turned and hugged him. Eijirou picked him up while they waited for Bakugou to unlock the door. He walked toward the couch, but stopped when Izuku's arm pulled. He turned and saw Izuku's fingers gripping Bakugou's sleeve. He reached back and grabbed his arm. 

He deposited Izuku in Bakugou's lap and went through the movies until he found the right one. It started and he saw the small smile flicker on Izuku's face. He went and grabbed the leftover cheesecake in the fridge. There wasn't much left, but it was the only sweet thing they had. When he sat down next to Bakugou Izuku moved until he was laying across their laps. His head rested on Bakugou's knee as he reached for the dessert without looking away from the movie. Bakugou was stiff, like he didn't know how to act even though he'd cuddled with Izuku's countless times before. Eijirou rubbed Izuku's ankle and leaned against Bakugou. It took a couple minutes before he felt him relax and his fingers slid through Izuku's hair. 

-

"I have something for you," Eijirou said and set the slightly wrinkled envelope on the table in front of Izuku. He stood back up and smiled. Izuku gave him a weird look before taking the envelope. He fought back the smile that came as Izuku's eyes roamed over the letter. 

"Did you-" 

"No! I was just as surprised as you!" 

"Fat Gum really…" Izuku reread the letter stating that the Fat Gum agency would exclusively be contracting Izuku for any and all support items. "He knows that I'm quirkless right?" 

"Yes. He said that it didn't matter and then he made some comments about how those others were idiots." 

"Wow. I can't believe," Izuku's smile was watery as he looked up at him. Most of his clients had canceled their orders, or had not followed up with any other requests. 

"Does he need anything now?"

"He said he was getting you a list of regular items and some specs for something new he had been thinking about, but he wanted to tell you first." 

"He'll lose popularity numbers," Izuku said. Eijirou and Bakugou both had lost numbers when they spoke out in support of Izuku. Bakugou's had been double when he went on a tirade about the media and called everyone morons. Eijirou had it recorded and played it when Izuku was getting too down. It never failed to brighten his mood. 

"He doesn't care."

-

Bakugou hesitated in the doorway when he got home. Izuku was asleep in front of him. Eijirou offered a smile and Bakugou nodded before heading down the hall. He was surprised when he came back in his pajamas and slid onto the end of the couch under Eijirou's feet. He kept his eyes on the screen when Bakugou's hand rested on his leg. 

When Izuku woke up Bakugou was in the kitchen making dinner and they all ate before Izuku dragged both of them back to the couch. He sat between them and they watched a couple episodes. 

-

Izuku was laying on top of him running his hands through his hair as he absolutely ravaged his mouth. Eijirou's hands were on Izuku's ass and had been for a while. Eijirou wanted to slide them under the thin fabric of Izuku's boxers. He wanted to tease him open. He wanted to feel Izuku's warmth around him. He wanted to hear the noises he'd make. But every time he started to move them forward Izuku stopped. He was afraid to ask why. 

Izuku nipped at his lip before settling back and in turn pressing them closer together. Eijirou's eyes fell shut. Izuku kissed the wrinkle between his eyebrows. 

"What's wrong?" 

"It's nothing," he replied and ran his hands up his back to pull him back in. 

"You've been holding back lately," Izuku told him as he dodged a kiss. "What's bothering you?" Izuku's green eyes peered into him. He knew that he could not lie to him. He sat up and Izuku sat between his legs looking even more concerned than he had before. 

"Do you still want to be in a relationship with me?" 

"Yes," Izuku replied. His hand reached out to touch him like he needed to comfort him. 

"You want to kiss me, sleep with me, have sex with me?" Izuku's eyes slid away and his shoulders hunched in at his last words. Eijirou nodded. It hurt, but at least he knew. Izuku looked at him and made a noise before grabbing his hands. 

"No. No. I do. I do. I just feel guilty."

"Why?" he asked. He held onto his hurt hoping that it would shield him if something else came up. 

"I love you," Izuku said and Eijirou's head shot up. It was the first time anyone had ever said that. Izuku smiled, then it dimmed. "I love you, but I don't only love you." Izuku's hands slid into his own lap as he fiddled with them. "I thought he was crazy, but I think I am in love with him." Izuku mumbled something to himself. "I didn't think you could love two people, but I do. Because I love you and I love Katsuki. It's different. I've been trying to figure it out. I know that I love you and I want to be with you and call you my boyfriend and I do want to have sex with you. But I want Kacchan to hold me and call me his. And I want him to always be in my life." Izuku breathed like that had been hard to say. "I didn't want us to have sex without you knowing... That," Izuku finished lamely with a flop of his hands in his lap. 

"I love you too." Izuku looked up at him in surprise. Eijirou had to admit he was surprised that those were the first words coming out of his mouth. He let Izuku's words sink in. "Do you only want me for sex? Because he's not interested." 

"No, Eiji." Izuku touched his face and shook his head. "I want all of you. I want you to hold me too, and burn the rice." 

"One time," he complained quietly. Izuku kissed him softly and didn't let go of him. Eijirou barely found his voice to ask, "You want us both?" 

Izuku looked surprised and Eijirou realized that the thought hadn't occurred to him. "I think so? What would that mean?" 

Eijirou shrugged. "I don't know. Would Bakugou even want that?" 

"Do you want it?" Izuku asked. 

Eijirou stopped in his imaginings of Bakugou's reactions. He kept replaying all of the dismissals he'd witnessed in school. "Yes." 

"What?" Izuku squeaked. 

"Yes," he said again. "I have loved Bakugou since our first year. Back when I don't think he even knew my actual name." Shitty Hair. It was such a bittersweet nickname for him. "I thought it would go away, but it never really has. I would love to have you both. But-" He tucked his hair behind his ear. "I know he loves you. He doesn't love me." 

"Are you sure about that?" Izuku asked. 

"Yes," he replied, trying not to snap at Izuku. He had accepted it a long time ago, and knew there was nothing that he could do to change it. 

"We've talked about this. You're not the best at knowing what other people are feeling." 

"He's my best friend. I think I would have noticed." Izuku hummed and scooted forward. 

"Do you want to test it?" 

"Izuku," he warned. "This isn't one of your projects." Izuku's curiosity was one of his favorite things about him. Izuku loved when he managed to draw some new noise out of Eijirou and had to know what caused it and if he could make it happen again. Every so often Izuku would still make him give him a grade on some random thing. He always wanted to learn and get better. This wasn't something he thought that they could overcome. 

"No. I know! But I think you're wrong. And it's the only way I can think of convincing you." 

"What would happen if you're wrong?" 

"Then he would just stay our friend," Izuku replied. "If that's okay." Izuku's shoulders were tight as he spoke. 

Eijirou nodded and kissed him. He pulled Izuku back down and rolled so he was leaning over him. "You'll tell me if I stop being enough for you, right?" 

Izuku nodded quickly and pushed up into a kiss. He let him draw him down. 

-

Izuku snickered at his face and scooted forward. Eijirou looked at the laptop and sighed. Project Prove to Kirikun that Kacchan Loves Him was on the first slide. Izuku clicked it and it changed to a picture of Bakugou. It looked like one of the overly stiff profile pictures they'd taken at the beginning of their third year. Izuku clicked again and the first bullet point popped up. It was a simple fact about Bakugou. The next came and then another. Eijirou scoffed when the last one popped up. Loves Kirishima Eijirou. 

"Is the slide show part of the proof?"

"No. Hush. I'm not done yet." 

The next slide was one of the pictures he had sent Izuku after hours of him whining. He felt his face heat up. Izuku snickered and clicked the first point. Each item was something good about him. He stared at the list when Izuku finished. People had always said he was a good dude, but he'd never had anyone list out the reasons why they thought that. His throat was tight and he swallowed past it. 

"These are all things he's told me about you." 

"What?" he croaked. 

"I knew all of this before I ever met you." 

Izuku rubbed his thigh and smiled. Eijirou didn't know how to respond. Finally he cleared his throat. "He's never told me any of that. I wasn't even sure he actually thought we were friends." 

"Refer back to slide 2. He is terrible at expressing feelings." 

Eijirou nodded. The next slide was a list of things Bakugou liked to do. Then things he hated to do. Izuku grinned at him before changing the slide. 

Step 1.

Get Kacchan to do something he hates.

-

"I'm heading out. I won't be back for dinner," Izuku said and ran his hand up his back. Eijirou barely looked away from the game he was playing with Bakugou. They'd been waiting for a month to play and this was the first day that they both had off. 

"Don't forget you have that interview tomorrow. You should probably touch up your hair." 

"I'll do it later." He grunted when Bakugou's character knocked him out of the ring. "Button masher," he grumbled. 

Bakugou just laughed. 

"I'll tell Shouto that you say hello," he told him and kissed him. 

"Tell him he sucks," Bakugou grumbled. Izuku just rolled his eyes. He slid into his jacket and headed out. 

Eijirou managed to get the upper hand on Bakugou's characters, but the time ran out before he could beat him. 

"Where is he going?" 

"A theater across town is playing a marathon of All Might movies. Todoroki apparently has never seen them." 

"Shouldn't you go with him?" 

"I already had plans with you," he replied and changed characters. Bakugou stuck with the same one he'd been playing since they started. "I already know too much about those movies. Izuku went through five different pages of facts last night so he would be able to answer any questions."

"Aw. Man I wish we'd gone so we could see Todoroki's stupid face. Deku's going to talk the entire time," Bakugou said and then cursed when he missed a block. 

They took a break for snacks. He finished first and leaned against the couch as he listened to the menu music replay. He ran his fingers through his hair with a frown. 

"I'll do it," Bakugou said and Eijirou looked over to him. "You were about to ask right?" He hadn't been, but he agreed with a sheepish shrug. 

Eijirou watched Bakugou brush his hair. He didn't know if it was because Izuku had put the thought in his head, but he didn't look as irritated as Eijirou remembered. He still grumbled about him having too much hair, but he kept brushing it even when Eijirou was sure that it was fine. He watched him work through his roots section by section. 

"What?" Bakugou asked. Eijirou forced his eyes away from the mirror. "Am I doing it wrong?" 

"No." 

Bakugou muttered under his breath. He wasn't as thorough with rinsing his hair as Izuku was, but he knew that would be pushing things. Particularly because Izuku liked to sit in his lap as he poured the water over his hair. He felt his face heat up picturing Bakugou frowning down at him as he straddled his waist and told him to-

"Close your eyes." 

He jerked and nearly fell out of the chair. Bakugou stared at him like he was an idiot. Eijirou wasn't sure that this proved anything except that he hadn't gotten over his feelings like he had thought. 

When Izuku got back Bakugou was yanking on his hair as he tried to follow a video Mina had sent him. It felt like he was just twisting it all into one big knot. 

"What are you doing?" Izuku asked. 

"Ripping out my hair. Ouch!" He knew Bakugou had done that on purpose. 

"It looks… Great." 

Eijirou grabbed his phone before Bakugou could reach it and opened his camera. He didn't even need to see the details before he knew he'd been played. "What did you do ?" he asked. 

Izuku had to help Bakugou get the knots out of his hair and by the end of the night he was sitting on the floor in front of the couch as Bakugou challenged Izuku to a braiding contest. He closed his eyes and let himself bask in the feeling. Izuku giggled and Bakugou grouched that he had cheated. He wished the night didn't have to end. He was surprised that it was lasting as long as it was. It finally rolled past midnight and he knew he needed to go to sleep. 

"Sorry, but my hair goes with me," he said as he climbed to his feet. "I have to get up for that interview. Don't stay up too late," he told Izuku and kissed him. He glanced over to Bakugou like Izuku had told him to do and was surprised to see him looking at them. At him. 

"Goodnight," Bakugou mumbled. He parroted it back and avoided looking at Izuku. He knew he would break. 

He was barely starting to fall asleep when Izuku crawled in behind him. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around Izuku. "I told you," Izuku whispered. 

A couple days later Bakugou went grocery shopping when Eijirou got home late after a hard patrol. That was what swayed him. He had not gone to the store since they moved in together. Eijirou shopped and Bakugou cooked. When he woke up from his nap, Bakugou was unloading their groceries and bickering with Izuku over what to make for dinner. He smiled for the rest of the night and told Izuku maybe it was time for Step 2. 

-

Step 2.

There is no step 2.

Eijirou frowned. "What does that mean?" 

"When has Kacchan ever done something that he didn't want to do?" Izuku smiled. 

"I still don't-"

"I'll get him to say the words, but first we need to get him to date us." 

"Do you have a power point for that too?" He asked and Izuku shoved him. 

"I can make one. It'll take a couple minutes."

"No. That's okay." He pulled Izuku back against him when he started typing. "What's the master plan for dating?"

"Do you think he'd notice if we started taking him on dates?" 

-

He didn't. 

Eijirou was starting to wonder if they would have to bust out some candles and violins for him to get it. A couple weeks ago Izuku had agreed that Bakugou was worse at noticing others feelings than Eijirou was. It was a glorious moment. 

Eijirou got home after another interview where they talked about Izuku for half of it without actually asking any questions. He was irritated and just wanted to curl up with Izuku and pretend he hadn't gotten out of bed that morning. But Izuku was already curled up with Bakugou. Izuku waved his fingers before his eyes went back to the TV. Bakugou was passed out. 

"Was he asleep before or after you claimed him as your pillow?" he asked. Izuku's nose wrinkled adorably as he smiled. 

"After. He said he messed up today." If he was telling Izuku about it, it must have been big. He rarely talked about work with Izuku. He would talk about other heroes and battles they'd seen, but didn't talk about himself. Eijirou hadn't heard that anything had happened, but he hadn't been out much. 

"I'll talk to him about it." His exhaustion hit him hard and he sighed and crawled onto the couch. Izuku turned.

"You okay?" 

"What are you doing?" Bakugou grumbled, sounding a little breathless. Eijirou shifted so his weight wasn't pressing down on his ribs. 

"I had a bad day," he answered them both. "This helps." 

He was sure that Bakugou was going to get up and complain about how heavy he was, but instead he felt fingers run through his hair. Izuku's eyes flicked up to Bakugou's face then back to Eijirou. He was smiling before he closed his eyes. 

"This is perfect," Izuku mumbled. Eijirou felt Bakugou freeze. He pushed his head against his hand to keep it moving and after a beat he did go back to petting his hair. 

-

Bakugou knocked on his door a few days later. He looked uncomfortable and uncertain, two things he didn't think he'd ever seen on him. Eijirou set the book he was reading down and sat up. Bakugou took a few steps in then stopped. 

"Deku-" Bakugou moved and sat down on his bed suddenly. "Deku told me that you-- he asked if I would--" Eijirou wasn't surprised that Izuku had caved. He was getting antsy waiting for Bakugou to figure it out. "This isn't some joke?" 

He shook his head and wondered if Bakugou would accept any of his reassurances. "It's not a joke." 

"You really…" Bakugou's hands ran through his hair. "You want that too? Not just because Izuku does. You let people decide things for you too much." 

"Yeah. I do. I've liked you for a while. But I like being your friend too. Even if you don't want to be with us, you'll still be our best friend." Bakugou's shoulders relaxed. "What are you thinking?"

"That you're crazy," Bakugou said, but it was with an exasperated smile. "I don't want to have sex."

"That's fine. Can Izuku and I-" 

"I don't care," he said, cutting him off. "I wouldn't mind…" Eijirou watched his mouth twist. He saw him make a decision and he turned. "Kiss me." 

"Wh-what?" he stuttered under the intense eye contact directed at him. "Now?" 

Bakugou nodded, a tiny movement and Eijirou could see the nerves. He scooted forward. His fingers brushed against Bakugou's, but crimson eyes were too focused on his lips to notice. He leaned forward and shivered when the heat of him reached his mouth before his lips did. Bakugou hesitated, taking the shiver as a change of heart before Eijirou reached out and pulled him into the kiss. When they were back in school and Einiro had still been in the first and most painful stages of his crush, he would spend a lot of time thinking about what it would be like to actually be with Bakugou. When he'd thought about kissing him, he'd always assumed that Bakugou would be the one in control. He never imagined that it could be like this, Bakugou completely vulnerable in his arms, giving himself over to Eijirou -- trusting him to take care of him. He kept it simple. Small. Even though his heart was pounding and his stomach had flipped over, he knew that this was a gift he had not expected to receive. Maybe he would get more. But even if this was all they had, it was enough. He pulled away, but then kissed him one more time quickly and a little shy before he leaned back and Bakugou's fingers flexed against his. Eijirou let him sit in the moment. Then Bakugou stood and he had a new smile on his face. 

"Thanks, Eiji." 

He was pretty sure that he had died and the last thirty minutes hadn't actually happened at all. He realized that Bakugou hadn't actually given him an answer. 

Then Izuku slid into the doorway and crashed against the frame before catching himself. His eyes were bright and he was smiling so big. He leapt into the bed and Eijirou's book flopped to the ground. He was never going to finish it. 

"You kissed him!" 

"Is that okay?" he checked. 

"Oh. Yeah. You're so amazing." Izuku kissed him deeply like he was trying to find the memory of the kids for himself. "He said yes," Izuku murmured as he slid his hands under Eijirou's shirt. "He rushed off to work after. But he said yes." Izuku was so obviously happy as he laughed against his neck. "He's our boyfriend." Eijirou tugged Izuku's shirt over his head and drew him down into a kiss. Izuku pulled away to get Eijirou out of his shirt and flashed a smile at him. 

Ah. So that was Bakugou's boyfriend smile.

Izuku wasn't sure that he'd ever actually felt this happy before. The past months after the article came out and Fatgum signed him to be his exclusive support engineer, other heroes had started stepping up. Best Jeanist vouched for him, and Lemillion and Shouto. Eventually even heroes he'd never met were popping up in the conversation all over the place, vouching for Quirkless rights. He had more business than he'd ever really dreamed of having. He was having fun making new things, watching as heros grinned at him in elated surprise when they got to try out what he had made for them. And then after long days, he got to come home to Kirishima and Bakugou, who were always there waiting with a smile and arms he could climb into. 

He had known that Bakugou would be easy to convince, but getting the confirmation felt like it was just the last piece of a puzzle clicking into place. He looked down at Kirishima, now shirtless underneath him, the beaming smile that had been on his face now falling slightly as his eyes dropped to Izuku's bare chest, red eyes looking nearly black in the obvious want on his face. Izuku's cheeks burned, his heart jumping into his throat as it started to hammer on his Adam's apple. He swallowed against it, but it wouldn't stop and the pressure made him feel suddenly very breathless. 

"Eijirou…" He didn't quite whisper. But he wasn't sure there was enough sound for it to be considered anything else. 

Kirishima didn’t say anything, he just grabbed Izuku by the hips and rolled them so effortlessly and gracefully that he wasn't sure it had happened for a moment. His breath caught as Kirishima pressed his hand into the mattress next to Izuku's head, holding himself over him, hair falling in a curtain over his shoulder. 

"You're beautiful." It leaked out of Izuku's mouth before he could stop it. Kirishima smiled so hard and so quick that Izuku wanted to say it again. But Kirishima had other ideas for his mouth.

He pulled his lips apart with an easy slide of his tongue and pressed his perfect chest down against Izuku's. He was so warm. Not as warm as Bakugou, but still enough that Izuku's entire body felt flushed and heady as a dizzy feeling settled over him to the point he was clutching onto his arms for support. Izuku kissed him back recklessly. Knotting his fingers into Kirishima's hair and raking his teeth over his lower lip. Kirishima moaned and his hips ground involuntarily against Izuku's making him suck in a hard breath. 

"Deku," he breathed and Izuku's heart thumped at Bakugou's name for him. "I want… can we-?" 

"Y-yes," he breathed and Kirishima's answering smile stole the rest of his breath away. 

Kirishima didn’t waste any time pulling off Izuku's pants, boxers quickly following after before he slid down Izuku's body. He was surprised when he moved past Izuku's dick and pushed at his legs until his ass was sticking up in the air. Izuku blinked as Kirishima bit his lip, ass spread open to him. His face was hot in embarrassment and excitement. Of course Kirishima knew that Izuku was virgin. They had talked about it, how he had done just about everything but the biggest thing. He took a moment to crawl back between Izuku's legs and kiss him sweetly, reassuringly. 

"I love you," he told Izuku, looking straight into his eyes. "Let me take care of you." He didn't ask, but Izuku knew that he was waiting for permission. He nodded slowly and Kirishima smiled, kissing him again before he slid back down his body and pulled Izuku's ass up again. 

He held his breath as he waited for it. The first hot lick of Kirishima's tongue against him made Izuku shudder and gasp. He grabbed at Kirishima's wrists that were holding him up, but he only hesitated a moment before he licked at Izuku again and he mewled helplessly. Words were slipping out of his mouth. But he didn't actually hear them and he hadn't meant to talk to begin with. Whatever he was saying, it was egging Kirishima on, pressing him deeper until his tongue couldn't go any further and he had to use his fingers instead. Izuku felt the cold of lube on his ass before Kirishima's hot hand warmed it and ran it between his cheeks. He pressed the tip of his finger carefully into him and Izuku held his breath before he pulled it out again. 

"I'm going to take care of you," Kirishima promised him again, running his fingers over Izuku again. His dick throbbed and Kirishima grinned up at him with the shark smile Izuku loved. "Relax," he breathed against his thigh. It took Izuku a minute before he finally gave in to the feeling and let Kirishima carefully work him open. 

He tried to focus on breathing, but once the stinging pain gave way to a sharp spike of pleasure Izuku's back arched off the bed and all of the air slipped out of him. Kirishima kissed the inside of his thigh, very lightly scraping his teeth against him before he licked over it and added another finger to the first. He pushed very slowly in and out of him until Izuku started to feel a heat blooming in his chest. He knew his orgasm was coming and he didn't want to waste it on anything less than Kirishima inside of him. But Kirishima stopped before Izuku had to say anything. He pulled his fingers out carefully and pushed himself up so he was leaning over Izuku again. His hair was gloriously wild and his mouth a beautiful swollen red. Izuku nodded at the question in his eyes and watched as Kirishima slicked himself with lube before he lined himself up. He took a moment, brushing a thumb over Izuku's cheek that was still red and hot with his need for him. He kissed the other one and very sweetly muttered, "I love you," against his freckles before he pushed in. 

Izuku gasped and pulled Kirishima down against him so that he could wrap his arms around him, clinging to his shoulders as the sting of the stretch settled into discomfort. "I'm okay," he reassured before Kirishima could ask. "Don't stop." It took a moment before Kirishima could get himself together enough to move again. 

He could tell that Kirishima was holding back, moving slowly with an effort as each thrust went a little deeper until Izuku felt the sweet release of him rubbing against his prostate. He moaned and turned to putty in Kirishima's hands, causing the next thrust to come deep and hard. Kirishima had pushed himself back up, holding himself over Izuku and watching his face as he fucked back into him. His eyes were so dark, his mouth perfectly parted making Izuku wonder just how lewd he must look like this. Izuku told him how he looked. He couldn't stop it, the flow of words rushing out of his mouth like Kirishima's dick was pressing a button that kept his mouth open. He told him how good he felt. How his skin felt like fire. How much he loved him. How proud he was of him. 

It didn't take much for either of them to fall apart. They had spent so long going without, that the built up tension wouldn't let them draw it out for as long as they wanted. Izuku came with a sharp cry, shooting up to grab onto Kirishima, his face pressed into his broad chest. Kirishima groaned right after and planted himself deep inside of Izuku as he panted into the top of his head. They stayed like that for a minute, just trying to catch their breath before Kirishima finally pulled out of him. Izuku winced slightly at the feeling of emptiness and then frowned when he sat up, feeling the trickle of cum starting to run out of him. 

Kirishima laughed, a full throaty laugh and kissed the side of Izuku's head. "C'mon, let's take a shower." He said and pulled softly on Izuku's arm until he got him to his feet. 

They took two. Now that Izuku knew exactly how all of Kirishima felt, he had a hard time keeping his hands to himself. 

-

It didn't feel like it had been that long since Izuku had moved in with Bakugou and Kirishima, but so much had changed that maybe it had. Their lease was coming to an end and when they got the letter in the mail asking them if they wanted to resign, they decided to look for something a little bigger. 

The three of them spent the next few weeks looking through apartment listings, trying to find something with bigger rooms so that Izuku could have a larger office space. He had insisted that it didn't matter, and he could just get rid of the bed and put a futon in it-- but his boyfriends hadn't liked the idea. 

"Don't be an idiot," Bakugou growled at him. 

"You'll move into my room," Kirishima said without hesitation, Bakugou nodding like it had already been decided before pulling up a few new listings. 

Izuku sat between them in content and listened to Bakugou and Kirishima argue about what they actually needed. He had to wiggle his way out from between them, shrugging Bakugou's arm off his shoulder when the phone rang and just barely caught it before it went to voicemail. 

"Hello?"

"Hello. I'm hoping to find Izuku Midoriya at this residence."

He blinked couriously. Hardly anyone ever called the house phone. "Speaking," he offered looking around for a pen and the pad they took messages with in case it was a new order. "How can I help you?"

"Mr. Midoriya." The voice sounded warm like there was a smile behind it, and the voice was pleasantly deep. "I'm glad to finally have the chance to speak with you. Please forgive my Japanese. It's rusty. I… have not spoken in some time. "

"It doesn't sound so terrible," he offered. 

The man laughed, a deep rumble that made Izuku smile. "You are too kind," he offered and in that he heard a strange accent that he hadn't in the greeting. 

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" Izuku asked at his familiarity. 

"No, and no need to apologize." The man chuckled again. "I should have introduced myself properly, but with all of the media, I feel like I do already know you. I'm David Shield."

Izuku's heart jumped into his throat and he quickly swallowed past it, turning his back to where his boyfriends were sitting so they wouldn't see the sheer panic on his face. "David Shield… like, the David Shield?" 

"I'm afraid so," the man agreed, still sounding amused. 

Izuku felt completely breathless. He couldn't believe this. The man he had wanted to be since his childhood dreams had been crushed was calling him. "I… I can't believe… I mean, why are you calling me?" He asked suddenly. "You have to be so busy that… shouldn't somebody else--"

"I thought it would be best if I made this call myself," the man said easily cutting through Izuku's frantic babbles. "Seeing as the last time I had someone else extend you a job offer, you turned it down." Izuku's mouth fell open and he had to physically push it back up before he could get any words out. 

"You're… offering me… a job?" He said very slowly. The words didn't sound real. Like he had made up a language that was very close to his own only a few syllables were slightly off so that the meaning didn't quite sit right. 

David Shield chuckled. "I think at this point I would be very foolish not to at least try to get you on my team." He was quiet for a moment letting that sink in before he continued. "I have been following your career, Mr. Midoriya. I cannot say that I am surprised to see how you are thriving. But I also know first hand what it is like to be so young, making a name for yourself so quickly, doing all that work on your own. I think there is a lot that I could offer you. I could help guide you in the right direction so that you can have your own company without facing the struggles that I did. I could get you office spaces, assistants, and interns. Start up loans. A salary that could take care of all your needs. Whatever you needed. All you would have to do is come to America and work with me." 

It was a tempting offer. One that Izuku was sure that he might have accepted months before. But as it was now, he looked over his shoulder, back into the living room where Bakugou was laying on Kirishima's shoulder, glaring at the computer while Kirishima laughed loud and bright. His heart swelled and he knew that there would never be a salary, an opportunity or a celebrity big enough to tempt him away. 

"I'm sorry sir. And I'm flattered, but--" He told his hero after a moment of silence, smiling when Bakugou looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, Kirishima waving at him to hurry up. "I have everything I need right here."

Chapter Text

There was a moment of quiet. Like the eye of a storm. The wind caught his hair and he watched the ends dance. He looked around him at the destruction. Rubble and fire surrounded him. 

"Riot!" Sound came roaring back and he caught the lightning bolt before it hit him. It surged along the blade of his sword and he flung it back at the villain. The woman shouted before collapsing. 

"You trying to get killed?" Katsuki shouted at him as he landed heavily next to him. His new suit was working brilliantly, though it looked like he was breathing harder than normal. Eijirou made a mental note to tell Izuku later. His eyes caught movement and he tugged Katsuki against him and turned to take the hit. 

"I could say the same to you," he said with a grin. Katsuki grumbled, red flashed under the edge of his mask. He ran back into the fray before launching himself into the sky. The storm was calming now that the woman was out of the picture. Eijirou threw out a shield to block a group of civilians still trying to get out of the area as Katsuki let out his mass attack. He watched it imbed itself in the ground and the shimmer of the blasts being absorbed into the surface. He helped them get out before picking up the shield. With a shake it slid back into itself and he hooked it back onto his thigh. Izuku would be pleased with that result. The last shield hadn't been able to fold back up after taking a hit. 

Once he was sure the area was clear he went to join Katsuki. He had already subdued the group and was sitting on a crumbled edge of a building. His mask was pushed back and he was smiling as his face looked up at the now sunny sky. Eijirou tossed a tracker on each of the unconscious villains as he passed by them. 

"Do you think that was a big enough debut?" Katsuki asked when he sat down next to him. He could hear the sirens getting louder. 

"Izuku's going to kill you," he told him. "You know that suit is not done." 

"He should have been done with it months ago, he's just nitpicking." 

"You almost exploded two weeks ago."

"And he fixed it." Katsuki shrugged. One of his eyebrows still hadn't fully grown back. Eijirou rolled his eyes. That had been a difficult night and he wasn't certain that Izuku had moved past it. Sometimes Eijirou even caught himself in a loop of Katsuki's startled cry before his suit erupted in a ball of fire. He put his hand over Katsuki's glove. They were one of the only things that remained of the original Ground Zero costume. That and his mask. Katsuki bumped his shoulder. "I'm fine."

"Oh yeah?" he asked. "So you weren't having trouble flying? And you're not overheating?" 

Before Katsuki could reply the police came rushing into the scene and they stood up. They answered the police's questions carefully. Then were pushed out into the group of reporters on the edge of the barricade. Eijirou kept a smile on his face as the reporters asked their questions. He answered them in short sentences and pulled Katsuki back to him when he started to sneak away. He bowed his head when they finished and got a few laughs. 

"He's not going to be angry with just me," Katsuki said when they walked up to their building. "You're the one that let me in the lab." Eijirou blinked and looked over to him. "He took my access away last week." 

The lobby was big, empty, and white. Izuku hated it. He had talked about putting tables by the windows that looked out at the park across the street. Chairs by the receptionist for clients. And color. He had a pair of abstract paintings sitting in his personal lab that he kept meaning to bring, but never managed to make it. Eijirou and Katsuki were planning on getting it all done their next day off now that they'd gotten settled. That was if they made it to their next day off. Izuku was standing in the middle of that empty room with a screwdriver in his hand and a tablet in the other. 

"What were you thinking?" Izuku asked. 

"New country new suit," Katsuki replied. He kissed Izuku's cheek as he walked past him. He was braver than Eijirou. 

When the green eyes turned to him he smiled too brightly and offered pathetically, "The shield worked great." 

"Upstairs. I need to run a diagnostic," Izuku said. 

"I'm already going," Katsuki grumbled. Izuku poked him with the screwdriver. Eijirou kept their fight from escalating as they rode the elevator up to the lab. Izuku glared at Katsuki as he leaned against Eijirou. 

Katsuki stripped out of his suit and stretched his shoulders. Izuku didn't even stop to take in their boyfriend in just his boxers, he just took the suit and plugged it into his computer. Eijirou appreciated the rare view. Katsuki turned to him with a smirk. "You think he'd forgive me if we made out?" 

"No," Izuku replied before Eijirou could answer him. Katsuki loved kissing more than either him or Izuku expected. Even Katsuki had seemed surprised by it at first. The kissing had gone further exactly once. Eijirou didn't think he'd ever forget the lost look that had fallen on him as Izuku sucked Katsuki off. 

"Come back to the apartment with us," Eijirou pleaded. Katsuki grabbed a hoodie and pulled it on. "When was the last time you took a break?" 

Izuku stopped moving and his shoulders relaxed. He glanced over his shoulder and Katsuki crossed the room and picked him up. 

"Elevator," he ordered. Eijirou nodded and stripped out of his uniform on the way to the elevator. He threw his mask out the closing doors. 

"You're going to clean that up," Izuku complained. He had his head perched on his hands as he hung over Katsuki's shoulder. 

"Later," Eijirou said and darted in for a kiss. 

The door opened to their half unpacked apartment. It was the very top floor of their new agency building. A perk of Izuku's new job. After three years of begging, David Shield had finally gotten his wish. Izuku had a piece of gear on almost all of the top ten heroes and had a wait list that was only growing longer each day. He needed help. After some discussions and Katsuki's plain statement that they could be heroes anywhere, Izuku had accepted the dream job he'd put on hold for them. 

The move had been an undertaking none of them were prepared for. Izuku's clients had to be informed, their cases needed to be closed. Eijirou had had so many emotional lunches with Fat and Tamaki. But a little over two months ago they were given keys to an empty building and a budget that had even Katsuki's eyebrow raising. 

They'd immediately started working. Eijirou had felt like he was back in school studying for a new licensing exam in a language he'd struggled with all throughout school. Izuku quizzed him when he wasn't in the lab perfecting Katsuki's new suit that he'd been working on for years, but had never had any real time to devote to it. They'd gotten their license a week ago. If someone had told him that the guy who called their entire class 'extras' would be part of a hero duo with him, he'd have thought they were crazy. But it worked. Izuku called them his sword and shield when he was sleep deprived and needy. 

Katsuki dumped Izuku on their bed and Izuku stretched out before making grabby hands at them. Katsuki stopped him as soon as his knee touched the bed. He looked over to Izuku and saw his arms fall down as he watched them. 

"I thought you were going to kiss me earlier," Bakugou said. He took Eijirou's hand and put it around him. Like it had been when he'd shielded him from the attack. Eijirou slid his fingers into the back of his hair. 

"Like a damsel in distress?" he asked. Katsuki tilted his head slightly and Eijirou didn't make him wait. He held Katsuki in place as he licked into his mouth. When hot hands gripped his arm he pulled off. Izuku was biting his lip as he watched them. They both turned together and crawled forward. Izuku was caught up by Katsuki's mouth. Eijirou worked Izuku out of his pants and shirt. Then pushed his own out of the way before tapping Katsuki's hip. He laid down and pulled Izuku over him without letting Izuku's lips go for more than a couple breaths. 

Eijirou kissed down Izuku's back and slapped his ass softly earning a moan. He kissed the red skin. As he listened to his boyfriends' moans he worked Izuku open. They hadn't had sex since moving out of their apartment. The hotel they'd stayed at for the last two weeks of their stay in Japan had been tiny and the neighbors too loud. He slid up behind Izuku and slid his dick between his thighs. Izuku bit Katsuki's lip before pulling off with a gasp. He lazily thrust until Izuku was pushing back against him and whining for him to hurry. But Eijirou waited. He watched Katsuki's eyes as he took in the expressions flickering across Izuku's face. 

"Please, Kirikun," Izuku begged. Katsuki looked up at him and he pushed in to Izuku. Izuku's face fell in slack pleasure against Katsuki's chest. When Eijirou was all the way in Izuku's fingers slipped between Katsuki's and held on as Eijirou picked up the pace until Izuku was sobbing and coming. 

Eijirou came just as Izuku's noises were sliding from pleased to pained. He slumped forward and kissed Izuku and nosed at Katsuki's jaw. Sometimes he didn't want to be touched after, but tonight wasn't one of those nights. He drew Eijirou in and kissed him until Eijirou thought he might make a valiant effort of getting hard again. 

"I'm taking away both of your lab access codes," Izuku said as he crawled between them after showering.

"Why am I being punished?" Eijirou asked. 

"Because one smile from him and you'll do whatever he asks," Izuku said and kissed him to soften the blow. 

"It is true," Katsuki said and grinned. Eijirou frowned at them both. They were right though. Just as he drifted off warm in the bed, wrapped around the only two people he'd ever truly loved, Katsuki spoke, "You forgot to go grocery shopping."

"You're the worst," he mumbled. 

Katsuki just laughed and Izuku nuzzled into his chest and squeezed him tighter like he thought he might just run off to the store that moment. 

-

Eijirou woke up and his arm was asleep beneath both Izuku and Katsuki. He let it stay and grabbed his phone hanging off the edge of the night stand. He had an email from Fatgum and a couple messages from the group chat. He opened the email first. 

"Congratulations" was all the subject line said. When he opened it, there was a link to an article. 

"Support tech genius and partners," Eijirou read to himself. The article was about the battle from the day before and Katsuki's new suit. The reporter seemed almost bored with the battle, but went on for paragraphs about Izuku's tech and what Izuku joining Shield Tech would mean for the country. Eijirou looked at the two laying next to him and smiled. They were just getting started.

"America looks forward to what this trio has in store for it."