"What do you think Bakugou wanted to talk about?" Sero asked, staring at the door to the blond's dorm room.

"Maybe we could see if Kyouka will use her earphone jack to let us hear his side of the conversation," Denki replied, looking over to where the girl in question was sitting, "But we would still be out of luck for Kuroki's side."

"No." Kyouka said flatly, not looking up from what she was doing. "Besides, Bakugou's door isn't closed all the way. He might hear you."

"Everyone shut up!" Kirishima whisper-shouted, his ear close to the crack in the doorway, "He just said something."

Everyone in class 1-A hurried to crowd around the door, some managing to peek in through the tiny opening, all of them silent and straining to hear.

 

---

 

Inside, Bakugou leans awkwardly on his desk, Kuroki sitting on his bed. Bakugou swallowed heavily, cheeks flushing slightly as he stared at his feet. He heard a snap and looked up to see Kuroki looking annoyed.

'You know, it was pretty rude the way you just dragged me in here. What is all this about, Katsuki?'

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, Itchi. I just... I really needed to talk to you and I didn't want any of those damn idiots around."

'Well, we're here now, so talk.'

Bakugou was quiet, toeing the edge of his rug and trying to find the words to say. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his signature angry look on his face. "I don't... I mean, I'm not good at this stuff. Talking. I don't really put what I'm thinking into words, you know?" Another snap of Kuroki's fingers has Bakugou looking back at him.

'Kinda hard to have a conversation with me if you won't even look in my direction, Katsuki. Did I do something to upset you?'

"No, that's not it. Ugh..." Bakugou grumbles, pushing off from the desk to begin pacing a bit. "I've never had to deal with this before, and as much as I really hate to admit it, I don't really know what to do."

Snap.

'Katsuki, if it's difficult to say, maybe you could try showing me what's wrong instead.'

"Huh?"

'You've always been the kind of guy who acts rather than talks, at least in the time I've known you. So if possible, maybe you could just... Show me.'

Bakugou stared at the boy sitting on his bed, surprise settling on his face. 'Tch, why didn't I think of that?' he thought to himself, looking away from the boy's eyes. He took a few steps closer, until he was standing right in front of the other.

"I... I'm scared." The words burned Bakugou's throat on the way out, it wasn't something he would admit to himself very often, let alone say out loud to someone. "I want you to know, but I'm scared of how you'll take it."

'Katsuki, you're my friend.' Kuroki signed, reaching out to gently squeeze Bakugou's hand before continuing. 'You're my friend and I won't judge you for anything. Seriously, it would take a lot to lose me, or my friendship.'

Bakugou stared down at his hand, feeling like at any moment it should ignite. He was sweating like hell, and he felt like he was burning hot. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have this conversation inside. The two blonds sat in silence for a second, and then Bakugou's hand slowly raised to Kuroki's cheek, red eyes staring into green. Bakugou's heart felt like it was beating in his throat, but he leaned in closer, closer, until their lips met.

He'd closed his eyes - that's what you did while kissing, right? But it was also because he didn't have the courage to face Kuroki's reaction, if it went badly. To his surprise, however, Kuroki actually leaned into the kiss, pressing their lips more firmly together and resting a hand on Bakugou's hip. Excitement raced through Bakugou's body, and he eagerly threaded his fingers through Kuroki's hair, his other hand grabbing a fistfull of Kuroki's shirt.

Suddenly, though, he was being pushed away, and Bakugou opened his eyes to see Kuroki looking at him rather guiltily.

'Katsuki... Wait.' The other signed, and Bakugou felt his body getting hot.

"What?"

'Just... We need to think about this before we go any further. I don't know-'

"Damn it, what is there to think about?" Bakugou growled, letting go of the other and clenching his hands into fists at his side.

'I don't know if now is the right time.'

"The hell? Right time? No one else is here, Itchi! Why not now?!" Bakugou's voice rose, and he felt his sweat pooling in his palms, gearing up for a fight.

'Please don't yell at me.'

"I'm not ing yelling. I just want to know why you don't want to kiss me!"

"Katsuki."

That shut Bakugou up, he looked at Kuroki with wide eyes - it was the first time he'd heard Kuroki's voice.

"Katsuki, please, listen to me. It's not that I don't want to kiss you. But this is something we need to talk about."

"Damn it, Itchi! You're the one who said I should just act, and show you what I wanted!" Bakugou kept his fists tightly closed, feeling a small spark in them.

"What's the matter? Am I that disgusting?"

"Katsuki, please, if I get worked up, I might lose control, and I don't want that to happen," Kuroki's voice did sound strained, as though he was struggling to get the words out. "I'm just worried for you. Does anyone else know how you feel about me?"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?!" Bakugou said loudly, "This is about you and me! Who the hell cares-"

"BAKUGOU KATSUKI, DAMN IT LET ME TALK!" Kuroki yelled, standing up before continuing. "I'm never going to be able to explain if you don't listen. So Let. Me. Talk." The words cut through Bakugou in an almost physical way, and the fiery boy's eyes widened in shock as he realized what had happened. Kuroki's quirk, Siren, had activated. He felt his words choking in his throat as Kuroki spoke.

"... I'm sorry about that, Katsuki. I didn't mean to..." Kuroki looked shocked, guilty, and he sat back down on Bakugou's bed; his voice returned to normal. "Look, I wouldn't have asked if you told anyone else if it weren't important. Look at the situation we're in now, think about what my quirk is capable of. If all of a sudden we start dating, what are people going to think?"

"They'll think you've hypnotized me." Bakugou said quietly, his whole body relaxing with the realization. Sighing, he sat down on the floor, leaning his back against his desk chair. "No, no one else knows."

'Not even Deku?'

"Especially not that nerd. Though even if I never told him directly, he'd probably hear about it from his mom, if I ever told my parents."

'How would that happen?'

"My parents and Deku's mom are friends. Auntie is really sweet, so of course they'd tell her." Bakugou frowned, "But Auntie would tell that damn moron Midoriya and that wasn't something I wanted to deal with."

'When I stopped the kiss, you asked if I thought you were disgusting.' Kuroki signed, before sliding down to the floor to be on Bakugou's level. 'Katsuki, I don't. I think you're very attractive. Pardon the pun, but you're insanely hot.'

"Damn right I am." Bakugou said, though the confidence in his voice sounded faked.

'Katsuki, why would you think I found you gross?'

"Well, being a homo isn't exactly something that people tend to just... let go." Bakugou hugs his knees up to his chest, and suddenly he looks very young.

"A few years ago, I tried being anonymously open about it. Online stuff, you know? I didn't tell anyone anything about who I actually was, and I made sure I posted from different internet cafes and libraries, never from home. Never the same computer. I didn't want anyone to find me. The ammount of people telling me that I should kill myself was... gross." Bakugou bit his lip, glancing at a spot under his bed, where an old photo of him and Midoriya had been tossed. "I need to apologize to Izuku about that... Just because I was dealing with didn't make it okay for me to say the same to him..."

'You told Deku to kill himself??!'

"I was pissed, he'd gotten into UA's entrance exam, before his quirk manifested. I had a lot of pent up resentment, because even though I was stronger than him, people tended to like him better than me."

'Ever think people liked him more because he was nice? You're pretty rude.'

"Shut up, I can be nice."

Kuroki slid across the floor, cupping Bakugou's cheek and leaning in for a brief kiss. "Bakugou," He spoke barely above a whisper, "No matter how much I want to, we can't let ourselves go any further than what we've done today."

"Any way I can change your mind on that? What if-" Kuroki pressed a finger against Bakugou's lips.

"Us sneaking around would only look worse once someone found out."

"This is stupid."

'I'm assuming you've never dated before, you said earlier you weren't good at the talking thing. Is that why?'

"No. None of the guys at my middle school were... okay with gay people. Although..." Bakugou looked at Kuroki sternly, "You ever repeat this, and I'll kill you."

Kuroki crossed his heart, and Bakugou sighed. "I don't find him attractive or anything, but Deku is probably the only guy I would have considered dating before coming to UA. But he's just so damn irritating, I'd rather just punch him."

Kuroki laughed silently, shaking his head.

"I really... I want to know how this thing between us would go... You sure we can't?"

'Not unless you're out to at least a few other people. I don't want anyone thinking that I forced you into a relationship with me.'

"No, I... I don't want anyone to know yet."

'What about a teacher?'

"A teacher? Really?" Bakugou scoffed. "No way."

'Not even Mr. Aizawa? He's a really cool guy, if you overlook the teacher thing. And I know he wouldn't make you tell anyone you weren't ready to.'

"Would you really date me if Aizawa was the only person who knew, though?"

'I think it's the best compromise. I'm pretty sure he would use his quirk to check if I've influenced you at all. Once he's sure that it's your own choice, though, I think he'd be fine with it.'

"And I wouldn't have to tell anyone else?"

'We'd be sneaking around, which I really don't think is a good idea, but it would keep our classmates from finding out for a while. Kuroki grinned. Wanna bet how long it takes for someone to catch us?'

"Just kiss me again." Bakugou grumbled, and because Kuroki didn't make a move, Bakugou pulled the other into a kiss.
 

---

 

Outside of the room, downstairs in the common area, the rest of 1-A sat in various states of shock and surprise. They'd left Kuroki and Bakugou to themselves once it became clear that nothing more would be said, out loud anyway. Kirishima was the first to say something, looking over at Midoriya uncomfortably.

"Did... Did Bakugou really tell you to...?" He trailed off, unable to bring himself to say the words.

"If you really want to be a hero so badly, I've got an idea for you," Midoriya said, his mouth filling with an acid taste, "Pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off a building." Everyone stared at Midoriya in horror, and the green haired boy looked down at his hands. "I didn't get my quirk until just before the UA exams. Until that point, Kacchan... We all thought I'd be quirkless for my whole life. Kacchan picked on me a lot because of it."

"I knew he was hard on you, but I had no idea it was that bad." Kirishima said, feeling guilty, "You know I thought he just had a hard time expressing himself, but it sounded like he really hated you."

"Maybe he did... But I knew he was having a rough time, so I tried to tell myself that he didn't actually mean it. I figured he would talk to me when he was ready."

"Deku... You really are too nice." Uraraka said, and everyone nodded.

"Yeah, I don't think I would have been able to continue being friends with someone who said something like that to me." Denki said, "I kinda feel bad about excusing Bakugou's behavior up until now."

"Wait, I'm confused." Mineta spoke up, "How does a relationship with two guys even work? That sounds pretty impossible."

"Mmm, not really? It works pretty much the same." Midoriya said, just loud enough to hear before starting to ramble.

"Wait, dude, did you do research on that?!" Denki laughed. Midoriya looked up, his face flushed.

"Well... Yeah. A few years ago."

"That's just like you, Midoriya," Sero laughed.

"How do you research something like that?! It doesn't seem like it's information that's very easy to come by." Mineta asked, and Midoriya covered his face in his hands.

"It's actually pretty easy... It's just a matter of knowing where to look." Midoriya kept his face hidden, feeling it flush a deep red. "I learned a lot more than I was expecting to."

"Guys, let's not pester him about this," Iida spoke up, putting a hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "It's getting late, and we should head up to bed. We do have classes tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're right." Kirishima said, standing. "We can learn more about all this another time."