Small Steps

He rested his head on his propped up arm as he sat in the library. An open book sat in front of him, the information not even sounding a bit interest. He had better things to stare at. Like the hot headed blond boy who sat only a few tables away from him, taking notes on whatever he was reading. Kirishima wasn't too sure, he just noticed how deep into his book the other was.

Bakugo, the number one person in his class. As dumb as it sounded, he somehow found himself crushing on this guy. Though he knew he had no chance at all to even try to get to know more about him, he couldn't help the way he felt.

A few times he had worked with the blond, but one time was different than the others. With the exercise they were given, he found himself almost blasted off by the enemy. If it wasn't for Bakugo standing in the way and taking the hit with his blasts, he wasn't quite sure where he would have ended up.

To Kirishima, sacrificing yourself had to have been the manliest thing he had ever seen. Ever since that day, he had been crushing on the other, pretty hard.

A hand suddenly popped up in his face, as if trying to get his attention. Raising his brows, he turned and looked at the owner of the hand. "What's up?" He asked confused.

The hand belonged to Mina, one of his closest friends. She looked annoyed, her other hand as pointing to the book she was reading. "We're supposed to be studying, what are you doing? With your grades, you know you don't have time to waste gawking at him." She pointed out in a hushed voice.

His cheeks tinted rose slightly and he looked away, realizing he had been caught. Leaning back in his chair, allowing it to rock on two legs, his lips pressed together. "You don't get it Mina, this is the only time I can look at him. In class, he always sits behind me." He tried to explain. "You're a chick, you just don't get it."

The pinkened girl rolled her eyes and flipped to the next page of her book. "Maybe you could ask him to help you study, then at least you'd get something done." She mumbled under her breath.

He shook his head, there was no way he could ask something like that. What would the other even say? Wouldn't he immediately get rejected? Just because he liked the guy, that didn't make Bakugo a nice guy. If anything, he was always the opposite. Why would Bakugo even consider talking to him?

Whenever they did work together, Kirishima was used to the string of insults that were thrown his way. It was weird that the blonds harsh words didn't send him away, unlike the rest of his classmates.

Looking back over, a soft sigh passed through his lips. What would the chance of him saying yes though? "He's probably a busy guy, too busy for a loser like me." He explained to her, a dry laugh coming out.

Mina nodded, "Despite that probably being true, it's still worth a shot. You don't know what he would say unless you ask." She suddenly closed her book. "I'll make it a little easier for you," she said as she stood from her seat. "I'm going to go study with Lida since he's such a smart guy. Now you don't have anyone to study with, right?" She asked with a forming smile.

He was soon frowning, "Don't do this Mina..." He watched her spin around and head over to another table. "I hate you so much!" He called out in a hushed whisper. She was such a terrible person but he got why she was torturing him like this. He was sure she didn't purposely want to watch him suffer. Maybe she did, he would pretend she didn't. Best friends try to help with romantic things. Sighing softly to himself, he looked back over at Bakugo.

What was the worst that could happen? It wasn't like the other would blast him away for bothering his peace and silence, right? Groaning softly, he closed his book and stood up. Gathering his belongings, he sucked in a breath. He was really going to do this? God, he really was such a loser. Not manly at all.

Turning around, he used small steps to walk over to the table he had just been staring at for so long. He couldn't lie, his heart felt like it would bust out of his chest any minute now. This was crazy! Damn Mina for not really giving him any other choice!

Coming to a stop, he gave a hard swallow. Bakugo was right there, all he had to do was open his mouth and let the words flow out. But what if he said something wrong? Oh god, he would definitely say something wrong. He never really thought about what to say right before he opened his mouth. He usually just trusted his gut. But right now, his gut was all twisted in knots. Not really the easiest time to think either.

Bakugo had glanced up moments ago, watching Kirishima have a mental breakdown. He had simply risen a brow. "Something you need, shitty hair?" He asked, his attention now fully away from his studies.

The redhead's thoughts halted to a stop, he sucked in a sharp breath. "Hey, Bakugo..." He nearly squeaked. "So, Mina ditched me. I... was kind of wondering if I could sit with you?" He asked, his voice sounding weaker by the word.

The blond had simply rolled his eyes and returned his attention back to his book. "Do what you want, just leave me out of your conversation so I can focus on my work."

He immediately sat in the seat across from the other, his sharpened teeth showing as he couldn't help but grin. He somehow managed to really do it. Now that he was closer, he could see Bakugo so much better. He held a light blush as he reopened his book.

Just study like your supposed to, he thought to himself. Being this close also meant he risked being caught staring and appreciating the others looks. Looking down at the unfamiliar words printed on the pages, he realized that he really did need to start studying or he would be seriously lacking behind the others. He didn't even know where to start.

The two sat in silence as they read their books, Kirishima yawned lightly. He was tired, and a bit hungry too. Plus he still had to work out before he could even think about going to bed. Glancing over at his pink colored friend, he noticed she was studying with the class president, just like she said.

"Do you have a hard time concentrating?" He was suddenly asked from across the table.

His face grew hot, his brows raising. "What? No!" He started, his words coming out too fast, not sounding like they should. Looking up, he noticed Bakugo had stopped studying, his book now closed.

"You are looking everywhere besides where you should be, idiot. That's why I asked." He stood up, "I'm leaving, I've studied enough." He explained as he threw his bag over his shoulder.

"Oh, okay." Kirishima nodding, wondering if the other knew exactly who had been distracting him this entire time. "I'll see you later?"

Bakugo paused for only a moment, before nodding. "Sure."

He smiled slightly as he watched the other turn and leave the library. It was hard to explain, he thought this was anything but a failure. He managed to get this close to the guy he liked and Bakugo didn't blast him away like he thought he would have. Sighing contently, he rested his head on the table. All that time he had felt so stressed, now that he got over here, he felt much better.

"So... I watched everything." A voice suddenly popped up next to him, he glanced over to see it was his friend who put him in this situation. Maybe she actually wasn't studying. Maybe she was just pretending, watching him suck at talking to his crush. "Let me tell you, pretty awkward..." She giggled softly, "Now that you manned up enough to ask him to sit by him, now you just have to tell him that you think he looks like a sexy-"

"Stop Mina!" He grew beat red as he was shushed by the librarian. "You are seriously the reason I'm embarrassed all the time." He groaned lightly. "We're both guys anyway, you really think I would have a chance with that guy?" He let out a fake laugh, of course getting a disapproving look from the students surrounding him. Maybe the library wasn't the best place for this conversation. "There's no way."

Mina frowned, "Here I thought you were manly..."

He knew she was trying to bait him, and unfortunately, it worked. "Manly? Of course I'm manly. But even a man knows when he shouldn't do something and this is definitely something I shouldn't do." He explained, his hand running through his spiked hair. His friend made this thing so much worse for him.

"I just don't know what you see in him." She explained as she played with her pencil. "He's the biggest jerk in our class and he doesn't care about anyone, ever. He looks pretty good, yeah, but that doesn't make up for his crappy attitude." She explained with a shrug.

He didn't really know how to explain it, Bakugo was just Bakugo. Everything about him just attracted guy was just one badass character that made it hard for him to look away. Bakugo's voice was deep, almost inviting. He knew it was wrong to think of his classmate this way but he couldn't help it! He shrugged before standing up. "I... need to go. I'm starving." He explained quickly, not wanting to say something he would regret. "I'll see you later, M." Turning, he quickly made his way out, avoiding the unsure look on her face.

The halls were silent, only a few students walked around. Hugging his straps close to his shoulders, he made his way towards the cafeteria. He felt like his stomach was near ready to eat itself.

Turning the corner, he entered the large eating area. More students were here, chatting away at whatever conversations brought interest to them.

Walking up to the food area, he grabbed himself a tray and loaded it with any meat he could get his hands on. Just another reason why this school was beyond amazing. Grabbing a juice box, he turned to search the tables to see if any of his friends were here as well. He frowned slightly when seeing none. What was he supposed to do? Eat by himself? No way would he do that, he was simply too social to do such of a thing.

Continuing to look around, he suddenly paused to see a familiar face sitting by himself. His thoughts went back to Mina and her words about manliness. He was very manly, he wouldn't let something such as a crush hold him back. Anyway, they were friends, kind of. Nothing wrong with hanging out with a friend.

Pressing his lips together, he walked toward the table and found himself sitting down without a word.

A moment past before those familiar crimson eyes were looking at him. "You following me, shitty hair?" He asked, a small bit of annoyance laced in his voice. Kirishima wasn't very surprised.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I just needed somewhere to sit, not many options you know?" He asked cooly, purposely avoiding the other's eyes as the empty tables around them mocked him. Maybe the other didn't notice. "Don't worry, I won't bother you any more than I usually do." He shrugged his shoulders uncaringly, though inside, he was giving himself a mental high five. He couldn't wait to tell Mina about this, she would have to be impressed with him now. This had to count as a step foward.

"Whatever," Bakug shrugged as he shoved another mouthful of food into his face.

Kirishima could only smile as he started eating his own meal. Of course, whoever cooked his meals did an outstanding job. Though he wouldn't dare say it out loud, this food was better than the food he got at home. There honestly wasn't a competition. "So Bakugo..." He started slowly, daring himself to push himself a little. "You doing anything cool later?" He asked, trying to make some conversation. Nothing worse than eating in silence, that would be more awkward than anything.

The blond looked back up, his expression slightly confused.

"I mean, I notice you work out sometimes. I do too, that's pretty cool." Why did his words feel so awkward? This was not the time to start losing his cool. He had to keep up this facade or else he would end up running away with his tail tucked between his legs. No way he would let that happen. Noticing Bakugo look even more confused, he felt his cheeks beginning to heat up. "Let's hang out sometime," he finally blurted out. Now he really did want to run away. Hide in whatever trashcan he could find. Honestly being anywhere but here would be a pretty good idea. But no, now he was just under the gaze of the guy he really liked. And now the other had yet to say anything. He pushed too hard, this was why he never went out of his way to do these kinds of things. Maybe he should just laugh and say 'just kidding!'. He doubted he could recover from something this cringe worthy.

"Yeah...sure," Bakugo replied slowly. "We could...work out together?"

Kirishima's eyes lit up, his brows raising. "Really? Sure, that would be awesome!" Looking down at his platter of meat, he couldn't keep the smile off of his face. All this time he kept his thoughts to himself. He felt as if he approached Bakugo outside of their lessons, he would easily scare the other away. He assumed he would lose his chance completely. He couldn't help it, Bakugo was mysterious in so many ways. No one knew how he would react to things. He wasn't really the type to open up to others. That just made everything a bit harder.

Unfortunately, Bakugo didn't seem too much up for conversation, so the two remained mostly silent. Every now and then, he would say something and the other would give a light response. All that mattered was Bakugo wasn't completely shutting him out like he assumed he would. Sighing contently, he rested his cheek on his propped up arm and watched Bakugo smile only slightly as he spoke. He was surprised the others face didn't crack from the unfamiliar movement. After a good half of an hour, his plate was cleared and his belly was full.

Leaning back, he groaned slightly as he patted his stomach. "Probably shouldn't have eaten this much, definitely going to regret this one later." He chuckled at himself and pushed his tray to the side. Even if he wanted a second plate, he didn't think he would be able to make it to the front of the room to grab more. Now he just wanted to lay down. Of course, he knew he would get to work out with the blond and there was no way he would miss that opportunity. Now he just needed to finish up with his classes and get to the built in gym to work out with the other. Humming to himself, he rested there while the other ate his food in silence. Kirishima didn't care, he didn't want to risk ruining what he had just done. Apreciating the silence for only a few more moments, he found himself ready to go to his next class. Standing up, he groaned slightly. Eventually his stomach would settle. "I should probably head out, see you later."

Bakugo nodded, meeting his eyes. "Sure." His response was short but it still thrilled Kirishima.

Giving him a wave, he headed out of the room with the biggest smile he wore that day. Right now, it felt like the day couldn't even manage to get better.

He was on a roll, imagine what else he could have to guts to ask Bakugo. Who knew? Maybe by the end of the night, he'd have himself a boyfriend! Though it was only a joke, his face grew red at the thought. That was too silly. He needed to get his head out of the gutter. Atleast now he had something to look forward to after class. He couldn't wait.