If the knocking from the other side of the door hadn't increased in volume, Katsuki could've ignored it. He almost did so anyway. He wasn't in the mood to see anyone else tonight, let alone actually talk to them. Though, if it got whoever it was to fuck off quicker, Katsuki considered it possibly worth it. The pounding on the door quickened the moment he pushed his chair away from the desk.

"Fucking persistent. That better not be four eyes," Katsuki grumbled, walking towards the room's entrance. Twisting the knob, Katsuki ripped the door open, "Who the fuck do you—Kirishima?"

"Hey, man," Kirishima chuckled, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, "You got a minute?"

Katsuki really wasn't in the mood for small talk. "What is it, shitty hair?"

"I need to tell you something, and I'm afraid that if I don't tell you now, I never will."

That got Katsuki's attention. He looked at his friend and did a quick scan. Stiff shoulders, a minuscule frown on his lips, and a gaze that just couldn't manage to look at Katsuki. Whatever it was, it was obviously bothering Kirishima.

Katsuki frowned at him, but nonetheless, he opened the door wider. He walked over to his desk and sat back down in the chair, swiveling it around to look at Kirishima. His friend seemed to grow more anxious as seconds passed. He was biting his lip and clenching fistfuls of his pants. Kirishima wanted to run away – that much was obvious – and was desperately fighting himself not to.

Katsuki sighed. "What is it, Kirishima?"

After another moment of silence, Kirishima put on a brave face. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders only for them to sag in defeat a moment later. Quietly, Kirishima asked, "Do you remember a while back at the I-Expo how there was that afterparty we were all supposed to go to?"

"Yeah, pretty hard to forget. You packed an extra fucking suit for me and everything." Kirishima swallowed hard at that. "What about it?"

"Back then… that night, at the party… I was… I had planned to… Damn it! Why is this so hard?" Kirishima let out a frustrated groan. He put his head in his hands and rubbed at his face. His gaze dropped to Katsuki's knees, and he said, "That night, I was going to ask you to dance with me."

"What?" Bakugou asked dully. Kirishima wanted to dance with him? No, that-that couldn't be right because if it was, then, "Does that mean you like me?"

"Heh, yeah… pretty lame, right?" Kirishima grimaced and seemed to deflate even more. The redhead gave Katsuki a bittersweet smile and walked towards the door. "You don't have to like me back or anything. I just wanted you to know. Night, Bakugou."

With Kirishima's exit, the door softly clicked shut, and Katsuki almost yelled for him to come back.

Katsuki knew that one of the first few words people used to describe him was angry. At the moment though? Fuck that shit. Katsuki was beyond angry now. He was livid and more than fucking ready to set a motherfucker on fire. Said motherfucker being Kirishima, that shitty-haired bastard. Katsuki couldn't believe the fucking nerve of him.

First, that shithead confessed to him (that bit isn't a problem though).

Then, before Katsuki could truly reply, he fucking ran away.

And now, to top it all off, the asshole's been avoiding him like the plague.

The fucker used Katsuki's house arrest against him. Katsuki was almost willing to bet that Kirishima had never been as grateful to go to school as he was that morning. He fucking ran away again, leaving Katsuki alone in the dorm, to clean, with Deku. The shitnerd and he may have exchanged pleasantries that without killing each other, and Katsuki may have given him advice chewed him out on how he was using his borrowed power, but no matter how many worried glances Deku shot at him, that didn't mean that Katsuki was going to fucking talk to him about how Kirishima was driving him up the goddamn wall.

After he was done wiping the windowsills in the common area, Katsuki dug his phone out of his pocket. He clicked the icon for his messaging app and immediately scowled. Earlier that morning, he had sent Kirishima a text almost half an hour before school was supposed to start, but that bastard left him on read. Katsuki quickly typed out a "Hurry up and respond, damn it!" before pressing send.

Call him petty, but if Katsuki had to almost constantly have the other on his mind, then, fucking so did Kirishima.

How could he have been so stupid enough to think that Bakugou would like him of all people? Just because the explosive boy happened to like guys, it didn't mean that guy was Eijirou. He should have just kept his damn mouth shut last night. Then, the two of them could still be friends and Eijirou wouldn't have run away like a coward this morning. He winced at the thought. Eijirou groaned and flopped his head into his awaiting hands. He could vaguely feel the worried glances the rest of the squad was sending him.

Eijirou was going to die sometime in the near future, he just knew it. His crush was going to murder him in a fit of rage, and Eijirou wouldn't exactly blame him. His phone had been going off all morning, and he was pretty sure that all the buzzes from his phone were because of Bakugou trying to get his attention. Eijirou was constantly thankful that his phone wasn't on sound. Otherwise, Aizawa would have ripped him a new one.

The first buzz had gone off before class had even begun. It was a simple message saying that they needed to talk. Eijirou wanted to reply to Bakugou, but he was afraid. And really, what was there even to talk about? Bakugou was going to reject him. Yeah, he'd probably do it nicely since Eijirou wormed his way into being Bakugou's best friend, but a rejection was still a rejection, and it would still hurt to hear.

The second and third vibrations came when the teachers were switching out between lessons.

Just as classes let out for lunch, Eijirou's phone vibrated again. Everyone else in the room started to get up and head to the cafeteria. He just sighed heavily and fished his phone out of his pocket. Quickly unlocking the screen, Eijirou made to swipe down from the top, but he jolted when he heard Mina say his name. She must have noticed he wasn't getting up with the rest of them.

Kaminari turned to him and pointed towards the door with his thumb. "You coming, man?"

"Yeah, just gimme a sec."

"You alright?" Sero asked with a raised eyebrow, his triangular smile ever present.

"Yeah, just gotta answer this real quick," Eijirou said, lightly waving his phone towards them. "You guys can go on without me. I'll meet you at our table."

Kaminari flopped back in his seat. "It's chill, dude. We can wait."

"If you're sure," Eijirou trailed off, his eyes going back to the screen of his phone. Blanching, he kind of wished he hadn't. Along with the text he received earlier, there were four new texts, each getting progressively more annoyed. Eijirou could easily imagine the veins pulsing on Bakugou's head each time he didn't get a reply.

Received 7:26 AM
Hair-for-brains, we need to talk.

Received 8:21 AM
I know you're trying to avoid me, Kirishima, but we need to talk.

Received 9:23 AM
Hurry up and respond, damn it!

Received 10:22 AM
Hey, asshole, you know I can see when you read my texts. Are you trying to die?

Received 11:21 AM
STOP FUCKING IGNORING ME, BASTARD. I KNOW YOU'RE ON BREAK

"Sorry, Bakugou…" Eijirou whispered as he typed out a reply. It wasn't great or even decent, but for some reason, better words just weren't coming out.

Sent 11:24 AM
Sorry bro. Can't talk now. Phone's about to die

Eijirou wasn't necessarily lying. His phone was about to die since he forgot to plug it into the charger last night, but still. Bakugou deserved better than that. Hell, Eijirou himself deserved better than that, but it was all he could manage at the moment. He must have been frowning at his phone because someone asked if he was okay.

"Yeah, guys," Eijirou smiled at them. "I'm just really hungry, you know?"

"I mean, you did leave the dorm without eating," Mina chimed in. "What was that about anyway? You never skip breakfast."

Eijirou just nervously laughed it off.

Katsuki walked into the kitchen as he glared at the screen of his phone. He couldn't fucking believe the nerve of Kirishima. That bastard was just asking to die now. Forget setting him ablaze. Katsuki was going to char him to a fucking crisp. Kirishima would be so black that not even Soy Sauce's hair could compare.

The blond swore as he ripped the door to the freezer open. He rummaged through the cold appliance before finally pulling out a square Tupperware bowl filled with leftover chili. He took off the lid and promptly threw it across the kitchen and into the sink. He'd deal with the dishes after he was done eating and not a moment sooner.

Katsuki stomped over a few feet to the microwave and tossed the plastic bowl in. Forty-five seconds should be enough time before he had to stir the food. As the microwave whirred to life, Katsuki looked back at the text message, almost pleading with the universe that it wasn't the same message he read just a second ago. No such luck. It was the exact same bullshit.

Rigidly, Katsuki moved his arm over the island, barely an inch above the surface. The muscles in his hand were taut with tension, but he managed to force himself to let go of his phone before he broke it. It landed with a thump, and the screen dimmed out. Katsuki sighed. There was no sense in breaking the damn thing. He had gotten an earful from the old hag the first time he did that back in his first year of junior high. Once was enough. He wasn't looking for a repeat.

The microwaved dinged, and Katsuki opened a drawer in the island and retrieved a spoon. Quickly stirring the leftovers, Katsuki popped it back into the microwave for a minute. He walked back over to the island, planning to pick his phone up and most likely get mad again, but at the last second, he stopped. Katsuki groaned and instead just leaned against the island's counter.

Why was he getting so worked up about this? It wasn't like him. Just because Kirishima was avoiding him, it didn't mean h- "That night, I was going to ask you to dance with me."

Oh right, that… What would Katsuki have said? If he was being honest, he probably would have said yes. After all, it would have been Kirishima asking him. Accepting his request to dance and taking his hand would have been easy, instinctual even, and if Katsuki ever did find himself being asked to dance by Kirishima, he would still accept just as quick. It seemed that grabbing onto Kirishima's hand was something Katsuki was drawn to whether it be on the side of a dance floor or in the middle of a fight between the number on- the form- All M-

Katsuki rubbed his hands along his face and groaned. This bullshit with Kirishima had done Katsuki one favor at least. A distraction from his guilt was nice. To be honest, it was actually kind of welcomed. Katsuki hated feeling like that, and yet, for some reason he couldn't let it go. Some part of himself wanted this guilt to keep digging its claws into him and tear him asunder. It was fucked up, and he couldn't help it. He couldn't help that he flinched when he heard his name called either.

"Kacchan?" Katsuki heard Deku hesitantly say again.

"What, Deku?" he asked, voice kind of heavy.

Deku glanced at the microwave and said, "Your food's done."

Katsuki looked over and saw that it was. He hadn't heard it go off, too caught up in his thoughts. Katsuki pushed off the counter and opened the microwave. It couldn't have gone off too long ago though because the container was still on the hotter side of warm. Katsuki shoved the spoon into the chili and walked towards the family room, snatching his phone off the island on his way there. Deku moved into the kitchen on Katsuki's way out. He didn't say thanks to Deku, but neither of them had expected him to in the first place.

When he reached the couches, Katsuki let gravity guide his ass onto a cushion. He was more aware as he ate, but the darker thoughts still nipped at the back of his mind. Eating wasn't improving his mood in the slightest, but it didn't worsen it either. He forced himself to focus on something else, opting to think about the subject of his earlier ire. Unsurprisingly, he felt a tiny bit lighter than he did a second before. That shitty-haired coward just had that effect on him.

"For the most part," Katsuki huffed to himself.

He pulled out his phone to send Kirishima another text. He typed it out, but his thumb hovered over the send button. Eventually, he decided not to send it. He'd give Kirishima a break for now. Though, he couldn't promise that he would when the other got back from classes.

Soon enough, he was back up and moving towards the kitchen again. Those dishes weren't going to fucking clean themselves, and Katsuki was going to yell at Deku if he tried to do it himself. Luckily for Deku, he seemed to have more common sense today. He just moved aside when Katsuki told him to and handed Katsuki the plate he had been using when Katsuki stretched out a demanding hand in his direction. That didn't stop the shitnerd from taking the hand towel off the handle of the oven though, nor did it stop him from wiping a cup Katsuki had put to the side after he finished rinsing it. The two cleaned the rest of the dishes in an awkward but comfortable silence, which stayed with them when they moved to clean the rest of the dorm.

The silence was officially broken a few hours later when the front door opened, and Racoon Eyes and Round Face shouted that they were back. Katsuki promptly yelled back that they better not have tracked dirt into the dorm.

"We would never! Right, Ochako?" Horns chortled before she dashed to the elevator, most likely going up to change out of the school's uniform.

Round Face pumped a fist into the air and agreed. She must have spotted Deku because she quickly walked behind him and started saying that she missed him in class. Deku then replied that he missed being in class, too.

Katsuki internally groaned. Quietly, he muttered to himself, "Seriously, Deku? How dense are you?"

"Honestly," Kaminari said as he dropped down onto the couch beside Katsuki. He lifted his feet up onto the coffee table and relaxed. "Sometimes, I think Midoriya's pretending to be that oblivious. Then again, if he actually suspected something, he'd probably just mumble about it until someone snapped him out of it."

"Oi, Pikachu, get your feet off the damn table," Katsuki demanded. Dunce Face's comment about Deku was amusing, but Katsuki literally cleaned that table only fifteen minutes ago. He wanted it to fucking stay that way for as long as possible.

Kaminari gave him a shit-eating grin and teased, "It's not like you won't be cleaning it again tomorrow."

I'm going to explode your dumb ass, moron," Katsuki threatened.

"Kinky," Sero said as he came into the family room with a glass of orange juice in hand.

Katsuki just gave a frustrated groan, complaining that his friends were a bunch of dumbass freaks.

"Okay, that's fair," Kaminari admitted, "Yeah, we may be dumbasses."

"But who's dumbass under house arrest and forced to clean the dorm for the next few days?" Sero teased.

Katsuki groaned again. Soy Face was always down to people how he saw things, even if it meant calling Class 1-A's most volatile student a dumbass to his face. That was the second time in one day that Sero called him stupid. The first time this morning both annoyed and embarrassed him. Now, it just made Katsuki say, "Shut up. You're both still freaks."

They replied in turn that they could all get freaky together. That made Katsuki snort in amusement. Like he said, his friends were dumbass freaks. They were his dumbass freaks though. The three of them bantered on for a couple of minutes before Ashido came back down and joined them.

She didn't stop the conversation though, just cheekily asked, "Am I freaky enough to join this freaking conversation with my fellow dumbass freaks?"

Kaminari gave her a thumbs up. "We're always down to get freaky with a fellow freak."

"Who's getting freaky?" Katsuki heard the fourth dumbass inquire.

"The four of us," Sero replied, "With you here, we make a complete set of freaky freaks getting freaky."

Kaminari was going to say something again but stopped when Todoroki commented as he came out of the kitchen, "Freak doesn't even sound like a real word anymore."

"No one freaking asked you, Icy Hot," Katsuki shot back without thinking.

A second of silence passed before one of Todoroki's eyebrows lifted and his friends burst out laughing at him. Katsuki's ears picked up Kirishima's somewhat nasally laugh the quickest, and his head automatically turned towards him. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Kirishima stopped laughing, and Katsuki's sour mood almost reared its angry head again.

Deciding not to do this in front of their friends and Todoroki, Katsuki scowled and said, "Fuck off, Half-n-Half."

Todoroki complied without a complaint, and Katsuki found himself being slightly grateful. Getting Todoroki to piss off both made Katsuki less stressed and twitchier. He desperately wanted to ask the other what he missed during that day's supplement classes for the hero licensing, but Aizawa and Four Eyes had made it abundantly clear that he – and Deku – would have to catch up on their own time. He was going to be four days behind in their normal classes, and adding the extra classes just made things worse.

Note to fucking self: make a damn study schedule.

Second note to self: schedule in time to corner Shitty Hair.

Katsuki hid away a scowl as Kirishima settled onto a cushion on a different couch. It wasn't a big deal, but the dumbass usually started the evening with Katsuki on the one that faced towards the kitchen. Excluding Big Lips, he didn't trust any of those fuckers not to burn down the dorm.

For the rest of the day, Katsuki and Kirishima put on an act that everything was okay. Katsuki didn't try to bring up what happened the night before, and Kirishima didn't run away again. It was nice being able to actually talk to Kirishima, even if it wasn't about the topic that was at the forefront of their minds. Katsuki figured that he'd get a moment to speak to Kirishima privately soon enough, and for the most part, he was right.

Typically, a few hours after dinner was over and unless there was an upcoming test, everyone usually went their separate ways to their own rooms. Katsuki wanted to use that time to talk to Kirishima. Once again, however, the redhead became a coward, and he used that opening to run away again by suggesting they all have a movie night together to celebrate one of their first normal days back in class.

Kirishima was a coward, but he was a coward who was one of Katsuki's friends, who all knew he had a set sleeping schedule and changed it for almost nothing. Katsuki went to bed annoyed that night, on time but incredibly annoyed.