#lambda writes

So I 100% believe that Bakugou makes ugly faces and yells all the time because he wants to be perceived as threatening and lousy rather than pretty and charming. He got so much praise as a kid, I'm sure he was told he would become a "handsome man" more than once. But Katsuki doesn't want to be a handsome man, just another pretty celebrity for the fans to fangirl about; he is gonna be the Number One Hero, and not for his good looks, but for his fighting skills and his intelligence. 

So he goes out of his way to look ugly. He smirks like a mad man, he has a perpetual frown and he's always too loud. That's what he looks like all the time and that's what people remember about him. If heroes want him in their team is not for his amiability, it's for his talent.

Of course, there are moments where he doesn't have to be so extra. There are quiet, rare moments where Bakugou doesn't feel like he's being the center of attention and thus he can relax. 

They're in Bakugou's room, doing their homework, and Kirishima lifts his eyes for a second because he's finished writing a sentence and he deserves a break, and he catches this rare, soft Bakugou, who hasn't realised he's being stared at.

And boy, Kirishima knows he has a crush on his best friend, but he feels nothing short of infatuated right at that moment, looking at Katsuki's long eyelashes and his beautiful jawline and his plush lips and the blond hair falling over his forehead and-

'You're so pretty,' Kirishima thinks. Out loud. 

Bakugou's hand stops moving over the paper, he blinks. He's frowning with his mouth open and red coming up his neck when his killing glare lands on Eijirou. 

Specifically towards Kirishima, he has:

• Tutored him

• Payed back the money for his night vision googles

• Invited him as his plus one to I-Island

• Given him his jacket at the festival

• Let him borrow stuff and cleaned his room

And it’s not only with Kirishima, Bakugou also played the drums in the cultural festival to show his support for class 1A and probably cooks for his friends more often than he wants to admit.

It makes sense that it’s this way too.

Katsuki is loud and foul-mouthed, awkward with physical affection, and he’s been so spoiled with compliments and praise throughout his childhood that saying them out loud now probably feels hypocritical.

Small acts of kindness and favours are the less risky approach too; if he’s nonchalant enough about it, they can even go unnoticed. And that’s so like Bakugou too, wanting to avoid having to admit that he’s being nice, that he cares.

This makes me think about how much the whole rescue mission must have meant to him, in retrospect. They risked everything to save him. Once he learns to see it not as a sign of weakness, but of love, the guilt and gratitude must be eating at him. And yes, there were five classmates there that night, but it was Kirishima’s hand he took, it was him the one he inevitably had to focus on, because it HAD to be him.

Slowly he will get used to the other expressions of love too. Bakugou has already gotten better with his words of encouragement and advice, he will also learn to accept them back.

Kirishima’s caring advances, the way he touches Bakugou in the most innocent ways - an arm around the shoulder, a punch on his arm, their knees brushing when they sit close - will make him comfortable with physical touch too, he learns to enjoy it, even look forward to it

• Bakugou wears eyeliner

• Kirishima has two mums

• Bakugou helps Kiri dye his hair

• Kirishima wakes up when Bakugou has a nightmare

• They have a secret knock code for when that happens. Three taps mean “I’m coming over”

• Bakugou gradually loses his hearing because of his quirk

• Their love language involves affection through their hands. Hand holding, kissing, fingers brushing whenever they’re close

• They have their own hero agency

boy. When I read this ask I told myself: I’m gonna sit down in front of the computer and write a well-argued answer. So now I have this 1k-words essay in a word document that I’m about to copy-paste here. Enjoy.

On why Kirishima wouldn’t like Bakugou’s mum.

Okay, so first of all, full disclaimer, this is all a result of my own headcanons (that may have been inspired by some canon content), but still remain as that, headcanons.

We don’t know much about Bakugou’s mum besides the fact that she works in the fashion industry and that she’s...

well. Pretty aggressive.

The scene where Aizawa comes ask for the kids’ parents’ permission to move into the dorms is the one time we get to see Katsuki’s parents and their personalities, and while I can understand the appeal of making Mitsuki rough and aggressive (his son really takes after her!), there’s just something that doesn’t feel right.  We see her hit Bakugou multiple times while his teachers are there, she even pushes his head down into an apologetic bow, and we know this must have been normal during Katsuki’s childhood because of what he says during the remedial course.

That’s how he was raised! What does that mean? That he received a few slaps every time he was being a brat? That his mum would yell at him and he didn’t hesitate to raise his voice back until she lost her patience? (is that why he talks so loudly all the time now?) Not the ideal environment for a kid, and yes it probably has a lot to do with all his anger issues as a teenager.  

But what really really gets to me is this one particular panel.

I understand this probably might have been drawn as a gag panel, “Oh look, they’re fighting again haha! That must be lowkey uncomfortable for the teachers!”.

But I don’t think calling Bakugou weak for being kidnapped is funny. And I don’t think he could just brush it off at that time.

The guilt and self-hate that must have (still are) eating at Bakugou, that would build up to the catharsis during Deku vs Kacchan 2, must’ve only been worsened by comments like that one.

So yeah. No. Not at all what Mitsuki should’ve said as his mother.

If we know little about Bakugou’s parents, we know nothing about Kirishima’s family (Horikoshi please this is me begging you). But we do know Kirishima: sweet, friendly, all sunshine smiles and words of encouragement! He is the opposite of Bakugou in that aspect, and that makes me think that his parents mums are completely different from Mitsuki too.

I imagine (again, we are entering headcanon territory) Kirishima was raised in a caring environment, showered with love and affection. He was probably a pretty well mannered kid too, so he didn’t argue with his mums often, and they never raised a hand against him.

So now, what do you think Kirishima’s opinion of Bakugou’s mum would be, if he ever met her?

I don’t think Katsuki talks about his mum much (if at all) with his classmates. Why would he. But then again we saw the “I was raised this way” quote earlier, so let’s say Kirishima and he talk about her at some point, for the sake of this argument. 

Maybe they’re on a study date in Bakugou’s room, Kirishima still finishing his homework while Bakugou reads laying on his bed. Kirishima’s been telling Bakugou about how excited he is to go back home for the holidays because he wants to see his mums, that they’re gonna go shopping and cook together. Bakugou remains silent, humming from time to time to signal he’s paying attention, but not looking at Kiri. There’s silence when Kirishima stops talking, and since it doesn’t seem like Bakugou is gonna say anything on his own accord, he asks: “Hey, I just realised, you’ve never told me what your mum’s like.”

Bakugou scoffs, “she’s fucking annoying.”

“Oh, come on,” Kirishima teases, “she can’t be that bad.”

Bakugou shrugs. His brow is furrowed and his shoulders tense. He turns to his side, showing his back to Kirishima. “I’d much rather stay here training, holidays‘re a waste of time.”

Kirishima’s face falls. It’s not just Bakugou’s words that get to him, but his whole body language. It’s not like when he refuses to hang out with the class in the common room on a week day, or when he reluctantly agrees to go to the game centre with their friends. He looks truly uncomfortable. The idea of not enjoying the precious days one gets to spend with their family is... depressing for Kirishima. He feels sad for Bakugou; just what kind of environment did Bakugou grow up in?

If Kirishima were ever to witness Mitsuki calling Bakugou weak, I’m sure he would snap and jump into the argument to defend Bakugou. Knowing Kirishima’s backstory, and how bad he struggled with confidence-issues in middle school, this is probably one of the worst insults for him – and it’s being thrown at one of the strongest people he knows, a kid he’s grown to admire and whose words serve as inspiration for him!

So Kirishima cannot accept it. He would stand up and praise Bakugou for all he’s worth, his manliness and his ambition, his power and his technique, with such confidence and determination that it would leave Mitsuki at a loss for words. And he would be appalled that it was Katsuki’s own mother who was slandering him so easily like that

It starts with their eyes meeting, Kirishima’s smile. Bakugou feels an inescapable draw, a tug at his heart. He wants to touch him, to feel the warmth and softness of Kirishima’s skin. So he brings one hand to his cheek, brushes it over his jaw, the scar on his eye.

But it’s not enough. He wants more, he longs for more. He’s being incredibly selfish, he knows this, but it’s okay, right? They’ve done this before.

So he leans in, brushes his lips against chapped, plump ones.

Katsuki pulls back, lifts his eyes from those lips to look at the redhead’s eyes. If he saw any sign of rejection, any hesitation, he would pull back.

He always lets out a silent sigh when he’s met with yearning eyes that mirror his own.

One sunny afternoon Kirishima asks Bakugou if he’s into girls. They haven’t talked about it before and, well, Kirishima is very much in love with his best friend, so he would like to know if he has a chance. Not that Bakugou would be interested in him if he was gay, but still.

He was ready for the blond to yell at him, say something like “what kind of stupid question is that?!” followed by an explosion to his face, but he wasn’t ready for Bakugou to burst into laughter. It’s the loudest he’s ever seen him laugh. Bright and wide, arms crossed around his belly. It’s contagious. Kirishima doesn’t get what about the question is so funny, but he laughs too. He loves seeing Bakugou like this. 

 It takes a few minutes for Katsuki to calm down. When he does, he’s looking at Kirishima, a grin on his face. “You really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

There’s no real bite behind the insult. Still, Kirishima would like to answer back; it’s their own game, a teasing give-and-take. He enjoys playing with Bakugou. The way Katsuki is staring at him, though, kills the words in his mouth. It’s intense, heavy, meaningful.

Kirishima considers he’s gotten really good at speaking Bakugou’s language in these past months, he believes he’s reached a depth of understanding no one else in their class has. He takes pride in it. It makes him feel special. Now Bakugou is staring at him like he wants Kirishima to know he is being stared at and Eijirou doesn’t know what to make of it. He blushes and looks away, breaking eye contact, and he would swear Bakugou’s ears are a bit pink too.

“Aren’t you nervous about tomorrow’s exam? I am” 

“M’not, now shut the fuck up.” 

“Okay, okay, sorry. Goodnight.” 

 “...” 

“...”

 “Do you think fish cry?” 

He hasn’t known a soft touch in his life and he has come to associate it with weakness and vulnerability. Katsuki’s convinced himself he doesn’t need anyone, built cement walls around himself and won’t let anyone near him.

But then there’s Kirishima “I’m not impressed by your asshole attitude” Eijirou, Kirishima who sees the bravery and passion and manliness in him, who doesn’t hesitate to jump into battle, who can stand his ground against his explosions and is loud and too fucking friendly and has stupidly bright red hair.

Kirishima Eijirou, who he trusted with his life by taking his hand.

And in that moment he didn’t flinch, he didn’t feel weak, he didn’t feel like there were a thousand needles in his stomach, Eijirou was so so warm but he didn’t burn.

Maybe Katsuki didn’t hate it.

Maybe that fucking terrified him.