They moved in together after high school.

Shinso became an underground hero, often doing undercover missions and staying away for weeks at a time. Jirou decided that the danger in trying to balance a music career with her hero career was worth the inherent effort it would require if it would earn her the money and popularity she would no doubt need to support herself and Shinso, especially when she was on a hero team with half of her band mates. Momo had told her, based on her own internships, how much popularity and reputation fed into each other, and how much those fed into monetary gain. Shinso would never have much of either, if he was working as well as he was supposed to, and while she wasn't sure how that would translate to his paycheck, she thought it was better to plan ahead.

They traveled a lot. Small tours at first, promotions and live concerts, picking up whatever hero work they could in the area, then larger and larger things as they got more and more popular.

Bakugo dove head first into his hero career. No one expected differently from him, so it was a pleasant surprise when he made time once a month to meet up and practice with them.

Their home was more like a safe house. People would crash there; Shinso when he was home from missions, she and her band mates when they were home from tour. Sometimes they would be home at the same time and they would be unnaturally clingy due to how rarely they saw each other. They would be together, regardless of where they were or what they doing. Sometimes Jirou would be at her desk working on music or lyrics and Shinso would sit beside her to fall asleep. Shinso might be eating at the table and she would place herself in his lap and doze off until he had to move.

They had more couches than actual furniture. They weren't broke, but they also weren't home often enough that either of them had made the house into a home. There were enough couches for her and her band mates, two tables, one for eating and one for working, and then everything else was bare necessities. Kaminari found time to comment on it every time he was over and Momo would secretly leave behind little things she made with her quirk; pillows and blankets and fancy looking dishes. Jirou told her that she didn't have to do that, but still thanked her every time it happened.

On one notable visit from Bakugo, they were all there, Jirou and Shinso sitting practically in each other lap on one couch, Kaminari and Momo relaxing on the other, enjoying the first day they'd all had off together in months. Bakugo had arrived for his monthly practice with them, took one look at them all and proclaimed, "You all look like shit."

"Thanks, Blasty, you always know just what to say," Shinso told him. The bags under his eyes seemed worse than usual, but she couldn't say whether that was because he was working too much or sleeping too little. One of the downsides of their conflicting schedules was that she couldn't keep an eye on him like she wanted to.

"Stuff it, Brain dead," Bakugo snapped as he strode toward the kitchen. He opened their fridge and stared into it for a full minute before growling, "The fuck? Why the hell is this so empty?"

"Probably because we're hardly ever here," Jirou answered in a bored voiced.

Bakugo stomped back into the room, glaring at Kaminari. "Get up, Sparks, you're coming with me."

"What?" Kaminari jumped at Bakugo's voice, blinking around as he wondered what he'd done wrong. He'd been half asleep beside Momo and his abrupt movement seemed to wake her, as well.

Bakugo's impatience boiled over as he made small explosions in his palms. "Just get the hell over here!"

Kaminari scrambled off the couch and to Bakugo's side. Bakugo pushed him toward the door, snatching up their keys from the table.

"Hey!" Jirou objected.

"You idiots get some fucking sleep, I'll let myself in," Bakugo commanded.

"What are you even-"

"Shut up and go to sleep!" Bakugo interrupted her, then he pushed Kaminari out the door and slammed it behind them.

Shinso huffed. "Good to know he's exactly as he pushy as always."

"Whatever. Let's just ignore him," Jirou said. Despite saying so, all three of them were asleep again in under ten minutes.

Jirou woke to the smell of food. Her eyes landed on the opposite couch first, where Kaminari and Momo were snuggling together underneath a blanket that Jirou was sure hadn't existed when she went to sleep. She had fallen asleep in Shinso's lap, but now her boyfriend was on top of her and she had to wiggle herself out from under him in order to stand. Shinso could be a heavy sleeper when he was exhausted and he barely moved when she got up except to turn over in his sleep, luckily not falling off of the couch. They really needed to buy a bed. They kept swearing to do it, but neither of them had.

She wandered into the kitchen, only somewhat surprise to see Bakugo standing at the stove and stirring a pot. "What's that?" she asked.

"You idiots were going to starve yourself, so I cooked," he answered without turning to look at her.

"What's that? Did I hear concern?" she asked with a smirk.

He didn't turn to see it. "Fuck off, Earlobes. I already know you can't cook worth shit and that bag eyed boyfriend of yours probably isn't far behind. This is charity work."

"Yaomomo could have cooked," Shinso said around a yawn as he walked into the kitchen, leaning against the wall. "So try again."

"This is her day off, asshole!"

"Aww, you care," Shinso told him.

"Say that again!" Bakugo yelled, setting off explosions threateningly. "I'll fucking-" Bakugo stopped abruptly, a blank look coming over his face as Shinso's quirk took effect. Shinso had come a long way in being able to comfortably use his quirk and some part of her smiled whenever he used it playfully.

Shinso grinned, strolling forward and looping an arm around Bakugo's shoulders. "Thanks, Blasty. We appreciate it. Really."

Jirou moved to his other side, taking the opportunity to give Bakugo a hug, in part because she was actually grateful and partly because she knew it would annoy him. "Who knew you were so sweet?" she asked mockingly.

They both pulled back.

"Why don't you go wake up the others," Shinso ordered. Bakugo marched out of the room and Jirou found herself laughing as she watched him go.

"He's gonna kill you," she told him.

"Yeah, guess I better eat fast," he replied. They grinned at each other before she went to grab bowls and he went to get glasses, and they went about serving the food.

They were both surprised when the day ended without Bakugo threatening to kill them again. He tossed their keys back on their table before he left, looking them in the eye and telling them, "Buy a fucking bed already." He slammed the door behind himself, leaving them both smiling more than they had in a long while.

They bought a bed. Momo made them a bed frame and Kaminari gifted them with a new set of sheets. They didn't get a chance to sleep in it before they were off again.

Jirou rarely got even a hint of her boyfriend in the news. It was his job to be discreet, that was true, but she sometimes combed through article after article just hoping for a hint of him or a signature that suggested his involvement. She often came up empty. Midoriya had more luck, having the experience of an obsessive fanboy and she had reluctantly asked him early on if he could send things her way when they were about Shinso. He didn't seem to mind. She secretly suspected that he kept a scrapbook or something on everyone in class and avidly watched their hero careers, though she wasn't sure how he had time, since she was always seeing him in the news doing... something.

Jirou sent him tickets to her upcoming concerts as a thank you, and that was how her band and hero team, Royal Flush, ending touring with Deku and Explosion King.

"Whoa, I wasn't expecting you to bring Bakugo," Jirou commented when the two joined them backstage.

"I figured he would want to see you guys, but he was too embarrassed to say so," Midoriya said brightly.

"Who the fuck asked you?" Bakugo asked loudly. "I'm only here because Round Face was busy."

Midoriya smiled at them. "Do we have time to catch up before you guys go on stage?"

"Hmm, maybe not, but we can catch up afterwards!" Kaminari answered excitedly.

"Oh, one more thing," Midoriya said. He blushed as he held out a notebook. "Can I please have your autographs?"

"You fucking nerd," Bakugo grumbled.

The five of them spent five weeks traveling, doing hero work together and making a name for themselves in new parts of Japan. The headlines were impossible to avoid.

Have Explosion King and Deku Joined Hero Team Royal Flush?

Explosion King and Creation Queen On A Date? Could This Be The Start Of A New Romance?

Chemistry Between Sound Jack and Electric Ace? The Secret Lives of Royal Flush.

"Ugh, this is trash," Jirou groaned as she tossed the newest buzz article onto the table. They were all sitting around the table in Momo's hotel room, since it was the largest of all of them.

"I'm surprised they'd write this when Kacchan already has a girlfriend," Midoriya said, only sparing the article a glance.

Kaminari nearly fell out of his chair in his haste to sit up. "What? Really? Why didn't you tell me? Who is it?"

"Because it's none of your damn business," Bakugo snapped.

"What? Come on!" Kaminari whined. "We're friends, aren't we?"

"Says who?"

"Ack! That hurts!"

"That aside," Momo said, looking at Midoriya and Bakugo both. "We worked together really well. I wouldn't be opposed to having either of you join us. If you wanted to, of course."

Midoriya looked at Bakugo before quickly shaking his head. "Kacchan doesn't want to be on a team with me."

Bakugo's eye twitched, but he stayed silent, crossing his arms and looking away from them.

"You don't have to make your decision based on him," Kaminari said.

Midoriya smiled softly, looking down. "I know, but I don't want to get in the way."

"In the way of what?" Momo questioned.

"Shut up, already!" Bakugo yelled, not looking at any of them. "If you want me on your shitty team so badly, I'll join your shitty team."

"Gee, thanks. Don't go out of your way or anything," Jirou told him.

Bakugo ignored them all after that.

Despite their best efforts, they couldn't get Midoriya to give away what he had meant or what Bakugo might be thinking.

It was nearly midnight when Jirou got a call from Shinso. She had just gotten back to her hotel after a villain unexpectedly crashed their concert and had only moments before allowed herself to fall onto the bed. Without bothering to move, she had her earjacks move to the bedside table where she'd placed her phone, pressing the speaker button.

"Hey, Shin," she breathed, hoping that her voice would carry so that she didn't have to move.

"Hey, Kyo. You sound like that beast hit you harder than it looked."

Jirou turned her head toward her phone. "You saw?" she asked him.

Shinso hummed in ascent. She could hear moving in the background, but she didn't bother trying to decipher it. She wondered if he was at home or not. "Some kid caught most of the battle on his phone and put it on the net."

"Great, just what I needed," she groaned.

"Hey, you looked great out there. One fall isn't going to wreck your reputation," he assured her. "You're killing it in the charts right now. Better than some of our classmates."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll send you the video of Todoroki's last interview. I swear he tanks every time there's a mic in his face."

They shared laughter and Jirou felt herself relaxing a bit more. She didn't always notice how much she missed him, but it was moments like this that she really realized how often they were apart. It sucked, but they were both doing what they loved. It was enough. For now, anyway. Maybe one day it wouldn't be. Maybe one day they would be popular and productive enough to take more time off.

"Tell me what else is going on with you," she said softly. She didn't say, I miss you, but she was pretty sure that he heard it anyway.

"Sure, I'll tell you how Hagakure wiped out and helped me save the day."

Shinso wasn't usually very talkative. Neither was she, really, but for her, he usually found a way to spin story upon story. She listened until she was on the verge of falling asleep and he paused.

"Hey, Kyoka?" he called softly. He probably didn't want to wake her if she'd fallen asleep.

"Hmm?" she hummed, hanging on to consciousness by a thread.

"I love you."

She was pretty sure that was the first time she'd ever heard him say that, but she was too tired to think on it much or even respond, she just let the warmth spread through her as she fell asleep.

"I'm so glad to be back!" Kaminari yelled as he fell face first onto the couch.

"I'm surprised you decided to come back with me," Jirou told him as she sat on the opposite couch. "Even Momo decided to go home after being away so long."

"Kiri asked me to wait before coming back. I'm pretty sure he and Mina are trying to throw a surprise party for me or something," Kaminari answered.

She looked around slowly, happy to be back, but it felt so... empty. It really hit home how bare bones her place was and how much more empty it seemed when Shinso wasn't there with her.

Kaminari turned to face her on the couch to give her a concerned look. "Hey, you okay over there?"

"Yeah, just..." she shook her head at herself. It was silly to feel so lonely when she wasn't alone and had spoken to Shinso not two days ago. "It's stupid."

Kaminari pushed himself up, watching her more closely. "You can talk about it anyway, you know. We're friends. Let me help."

"You can't really help," she told him. Jirou let her head fall back onto the couch and closed her eyes. "I just... miss him a little."

"I get that," he said. "You guys are gone a lot. It makes sense."

"It's stupid," she argued. "It's stupid and clingy and... frustrating," she admitted.

"Clingy like how you guys are all over each other every time you're in the same room?" he asked. "Or like moving in together immediately after high school, no hesitation?"

jIrou felt her face heat up and she grabbed a pillow to toss at him to hide her embarrassment. "Sh-shut up!"

He laughed loudly, even after getting hit in the face with the pillow. "It's okay to be clingy sometimes, Jirou. You don't have to try so hard to hide it."

"When did you start making sense?" Jirou asked indignantly.

"I had to wise up at least a little eventually," he answered. "Between Yaomomo and Bakugo always being on me, you know."

She smiled at him. "I guess you're right."

He pushed himself up off the couch. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you later." She watched as Kaminari saw himself out. A minute later she got up and went to the fridge, but she wasn't surprised when she found it empty.

She was asleep on the couch when Shinso came back. She heard the door creak and slowly opened one eye to watch him as he came to her side. Shinso pressed a kiss to her forehead and spoke softly into her skin. "Hey."

"Hey," she answered sleepily.

"How about we actually use that bed for once?"

She smiled, rolling over to wrap her arms around him and he dutifully lifted her up and carried her to be the bed. She tried to keep herself awake long enough to revel in the feeling and found herself lulled to sleep anyway.

It was a nice feeling, waking up in a bed beside her boyfriend. She watched him as he slept, combing her fingers through his hair and holding him close. "Hey, Shin," she whispered. "I think I love you, too."

She'd thought he was asleep, but he proved her wrong when he squeezed his arms around her tighter and mumbled a sleepy, "I know."

She felt her face heat up and she buried it in his hair. "D-dummy, you were supposed to be asleep."

He chuckled, the sound causing warmth to pool in her stomach. "I wouldn't have wanted to miss that for anything."

She curled around him more, glad that he couldn't see her face. "Don't say things like that..."

He laughed again. "You're lucky I can't see your face, because I would remember how you looked saying you love me forever."

She made a surprised noise in the back of her throat. He squeezed her again.

"You're so cute, Kyo."

"Sh-shut up, Shin..."

Shinso made coffee when he dragged himself out of bed. It was a nice morning, one of the few that they'd been able to spend together since moving in. Jirou made herself comfortable in his lap, clinging to her coffee even though she'd been up longer than he had. It was nice, having her close, holding her, feeling her warmth. He pressed his face into her neck, taking in her scent and leaving a lazy trail of kisses.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked. He could hear the embarrassment in her voice, and he smiled against her skin.

"Waking up," he told her.

"If this is how you wake up, what do you do when I'm not here?"

"Sleepwalk."

She huffed, holding in her laughter. That wouldn't do. He liked the way her laugh sounded. He wanted to hear it. He didn't get the chance to make her laugh as much as he wanted to nowadays and he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass him by.

"Hey, Kyo?"

"What?" She became still as his power took hold of her.

He pressed a kiss to her neck as he said softly, "Laugh for me."

He smiled as she immediately burst into raucous laughter. He pulled back to see the unrestrained joy on her face, feeling warm and soft and wanting her to feel the same. He took the mug of coffee from her hands and placed it on the table, then her cupped her cheeks in his hands. "You can stop."

It wasn't an immediate stop, the laughter taking a moment to die down. "Really, Shin?"

He leaned forward and kissed her. She made a noise of surprise, but melted into him almost immediately. Her earjacks wrapped gently around his wrist and her arms went around his neck. He hummed in contentment, holding her close to him. They were reluctant to part and did so slowly. Shinso pressed his forehead to hers, smiling softly.

"You're surprising romantic sometimes," she told him.

He chucked. "And you're surprisingly easy to embarrass."

Jirou playfully slapped his arm. "Shut up."

"You're right, you're right," Shinso said. "It wasn't all that surprising."

Their fridge was as empty as it always was. They couldn't really keep much when they were rarely ever home, so after finishing their coffee they got dressed and headed out for lunch, since it was well past noon.

"We should go shopping," he said once they were done with lunch. "Our place looks like villain hideout."

"It could do with some sprucing," she agreed. "Wanna go now?"

By the end of the day they'd gotten a desk, a bookshelf, another set of dishes, and a host of useless decorative items that made their place look actually lived in. They spent most of the day decorating, moving things around, arguing about placement, and goofing around in a way they'd sorely missed.

"Blasty just texted me," Shinso said. "You feel like dealing with him?"

"Tell him he has to cook if he wants to come over. Saves us from having to get take out."

"And buy groceries," he added. "You're a genius."

"True."

He responded to Bakugo's text quickly before pouncing on her and tickling her for her arrogance.

Bakugo showed up half an hour later with a suitcase and a bag of groceries. He dropped both on the ground immediately. "Round Face broke up with me. I'm going to take a shower. Don't talk to me." Then he stomped off to the bathroom.

They both looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Did you know he was dating Ochako?" Shinso questioned once he heard the shower running in the other room.

Jirou shook her head. "I had no idea. Midoriya mentioned that he was dating someone, but they didn't say who."

"Well, fuck," Shinso said, looking down at the suitcase Bakugo had dropped at the door. "What do we do?"

Jirou's eyes also dropped to the suitcase. "Wait a minute, he went to take a shower, but he left his stuff here."

"Do we own extra towels?" Shinso questioned.

"I think. We're they in the bathroom?" Jirou asked. Her face was turning red and her eyes widening with incoming panic. Shinso couldn't say that he didn't feel the same at the thought of an angry, naked Bakugo possibly storming around their house.

"You fuckers are pathetic," Bakugo said as he stormed back into the room. Jirou squeaked and hide her face in Shinso's chest before she even had the chance to look at him. "You still haven't gotten this shit hole together yet?"

Shinso's arms went around her immediately, but his eyes were drawn to Bakugo. There had, apparently, been a towel in the bathroom, but Sinso wasn't sure if that made things better or worse. The towel was wrapped around his waist, but there were still drops of water on his chest, glistening in the light. His hair was still wet, making it look the softest that Shinso had ever seen it. Shit. Bakugo was hot. He could feel his eyes widen at the sight, was far too aware of his own staring, in fact, and completely unable to make himself stop. "Fuck," he swore softly.

Bakugo swept past them to pick up the bag of groceries. His eyes landed on Shinso's and he glared. "What?"

"Nothing!" Shinso replied quickly. Too quickly. He was still staring. Fuck.

Bakugo held his gaze for a moment longer, but when he didn't say anything, Bakugo just snorted and walked away.

Shinso shook her as soon as Bakugo turned around. "Kyo. Kyo, I need you to see this."

"What? Why?" she questioned, pulling back enough to look at him.

"I can't unsee it and I need you to suffer with me," he told her sincerely.

"What?"

"Please."

"No wa..." she trailed off as he took control of her.

"Look, this is important, I need you to go in there, look at Bakugo for a full minute, and then come back here and tell me what you honestly think."

He watched her as she walked off, waited for her to return, and then let out a deep breath when she said, "He's hot."

"Thank god it's not just me."

"Oh god, he's hot," she repeated as she came out of quirk, covering her quickly reddening face with her hands. "Why did you make me realize that?"

"I refuse to be alone in this."

"He's an asshole!" she argued.

"We're assholes," he replied.

"Fuck me," she groaned. She sounded nearly as pained as he felt.

Shinso opened his mouth to reply, then he thought about it. Then he remembered the thread of conversation and thought about a few more things. Then his face was becoming as red as hers and he was hiding in his hands, too. "Don't say that, Kyo."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Shin!"

"You're the one that brought it up!"

"What are you idiots whispering about?" Bakugo asked as he leaned in the doorway.

They both jumped. Jirou let her embarrassment turn to anger as she demanded, "Why are you walking around in a towel?" She was hot when she was angry and embarrassed. She stomped toward him, jabbing him with her finger as she demanded, "Put some clothes on."

"Fuck off," Bakugo replied easily. He knocked her hand away, rolling his eyes.

"This is my house!"

"Could have fooled me. This place looks basically abandoned."

Shinso really needed not to be thinking what he was thinking right now. Why was he attracted to hot, angry assholes? Granted, Jirou wasn't angry as often as Bakugo, but...

"Why did you bring a suitcase with you?" he asked. Anything to get his mind off it's current thoughts.

Bakugo looked away. It was a rare show of vulnerability that struck even Jirou, making her pull back on her embarrassment. "I was staying with her and Deku. I didn't think it was a good idea to stick around under the circumstances."

"Wait, her and Deku?" Jirou questioned. "Does that mean..."

Bakugo glared at her. "What of it?" he asked harshly.

She took a step back, putting her hands up. "Nothing! I just didn't know you guys... any of you, were a... thing..."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "That's because I don't like people in my business."

"So why us?" Shinso questioned. "Why'd you chose to come to us?"

Bakugo hesitated. It wasn't something that he was used to seeing and Shinso found himself watching Bakugo with more interest.

"You two are less nosy than the other idiots," he eventually answered. "Even Ponytail would ask a million questions and you two actually know how to mind your own shit." He lifted his eyes to meet theirs. "Also, you guys could probably use the help. This place is an abandoned building half the time. I figured I wouldn't be in the way if I had to crash here."

There was a question in there if one could speak Bakugo. Shinso glanced at Jirou, but they already knew what answer they'd give. He was right, after all. This place was empty most of the time and he wouldn't be in the way. "Sure. You can stay," Shinso said. "As long as you cook."

Bakugo rolled his eyes as he headed back into the kitchen. "As if I'd think either of you could."

Bakugo crashing with them was pretty unobtrusive. He always found a reason to be elsewhere whenever they both had a day off, the fridge was suddenly never empty and they found cooked meals and leftovers fairly regularly. It was surprisingly nice.

Bakugo's presence in their life was louder in other ways. Royal Flush skyrocketed in popularity once people realized that Explosion King had actually had joined the team, which lead to benefits all round. They got better, more lucrative work, which meant Jirou could have more days off and thus had more time to see Shinso.

A week after Bakugo had been staying with them, Shinso came home to find him drinking at the kitchen table. Shinso pulled up a chair, poured himself a shot, and gave Bakugo a questioning look. "Rough night?"

"You're the one that looks like a rough night," Bakugo replied. "Do you ever not have bags under your eyes?"

"Are you ever not an asshole?" Shinso shot back.

Bakugo chuckled, taking a long sip from his drink. "Don't get the wrong idea," he said. "I'm not upset."

"Oh yeah, of course. I sit in the dark and drink heavily when I'm not upset, too."

Bakugo frowned. "I'm not upset because of her," he corrected. "I knew we were heading this way. Stupid Deku knew we were heading this way. He told me he wouldn't stand in the way of whatever I wanted and she was tired of watching me not decide. Like it was even any of her business."

"And what were you supposed to be deciding?" Shinso asked.

"Like it's any of your business," Bakugo replied.

Shinso shrugged. "I could argue that this is my house and that makes it my business. I could also use my quirk and just make you tell me." He watched Bakugo closely as his hand tightened around his glass before chugging what was left of it. "I won't, if you were worried about that," Shinso said. "That would be kind of a dick move."

"Isn't that your whole thing, as a hero?" Bakugo questioned.

Shinso laughed. "You could say that, yeah. Doesn't mean I have to be an ass all the time. You could take note of that, by the way."

"The idiots would have a heart attack if I ever started being nice."

"Hmm, maybe," Shinso agreed. His grin widened as he looked at Bakugo. "But maybe that's a perk, not a flaw." He pushed himself away from the table, stretching briefly. "You can bring your stuff here, by the way. Kyoka and I already talked about it. We've got an extra room, you won't be in the way if you move in."

"You two don't want your privacy?" he questioned.

"This place is already a safe house. The team crashes here most of the time anyway, it won't make that much of a difference."

There was silence between them and Shinso was almost out of the room before he heard a quiet, "Thanks."

"You're going on tour again?" Shinso questioned, looking up from his phone at this announcement. Jirou was sitting at the table with a cup of noodles, Momo was in the kitchen helping Bakugo, and Kaminari was lazing about on the other couch.

"Yeah, sorry this is kind of last minute," she told him. "They called us out for a mission, but our producer jumped on the chance to have us play again when she found out where we were going."

"You should play with us Bakugo," Kaminari spoke up. "You're already on the team, you'll be coming with us anyway, and it's not like you're out of practice."

"No one asked you, Blondie!" Bakugo replied immediately, but there wasn't any heat to it.

"It could be fun," Jirou said. "And you don't have to join the band again if you don't want to."

"Idiot," he said. "Who's going to keep an eye on the crowd if we're all on stage? What if some moron crashes like last time?"

"We'll have a better view of the crowd from the stage, genius," Jirou replied sarcastically.

"Not if we're too busy playing, Earlobes."

"Only if you don't think you can multitask, Dummy."

Their back and forth went on for a while, as it usually did. It was amusing to watch. Perhaps it was as as amusing to watch him and Bakugo, or him and Jirou when they traded their own barbs. He couldn't help but look at them and notice the chemistry between them. The way Kyoka's grin lit up her face and she leaned toward him, the way Bakugo kept his full attention on her whenever he looked he way. He wondered if it was the same when he and Bakugo were bickering, wondered if he wanted it to be.

"How long do you think you'll be on tour?" he asked.

"Shouldn't be longer than a month," she answered. There was a small curl of satisfaction in him at how easily she dropped her conversation with Bakugo to answer him. There was something less warm at the way Bakugo curled in on himself when he turned away from them.

"I'll take some time off when you get back," he told her. "I think I'm finally at the point where I can plan this sort of thing ahead of time and not worry about someone taking my spot."

"Yeah?"

"It helps that Hagakure and I work so well together. Once you learn to tune her out a little, it's way easier."

"You mean once you've used your quirk on her to shut her up," Bakugo mumbled.

"I never said how I had to tune her out," Shinso replied with a smirk.

"I'm glad that things are going so well for you," Yaoyorozu said, smiling as she began to set the table. He had a suspicious those were new dishes that she was putting on the table, but he wasn't about to complain. Half of the reason their house was as lively as it was was due to her.

"Yeah, well, while you guys are going off to live your rock star dreams, I'm going to have t go undercover with Hagakure and Monoma." Shinso sighed heavily. "They get along like spiders and flies, and I'm never sure which is which."

"That sounds pretty rough," Kaminari said with a wince.

"Yeah, and I have to put up with Monoma tapping me every few minutes to take my quirk. I know he's increased his limit, but he refuses to tell us how long and tries to keep up the pretense unless we're actually in the field."

"All this time and he hasn't let go of his stupid rivalry thing yet?" Jirou asked.

"With very few exceptions," he answered, looking at Yaoyorozu.

"Me?" she asked. "Why me?"

Shinso shook his head. "Have you met you? You're pretty much impossible to dislike."

She blushed slightly. "That's sweet of you to say."

"It's true of me to say."

Bakugo walked out of the kitchen and stole the cup of noodles from Kyoka's hand as he walked past. "Hey!"

"Food is ready. Stop eating this garbage," he told her.

"I like that garbage," she protested.

Bakugo looked her dead in the eyes as he used his quirk to blow them up. "Too late now."

"Asshole," she pouted. It was hard for her to stay mad when there was a full meal placed before her, though, and it was only a few minutes before she stopped pouting and started eating.

It was two weeks later on the phone that Shinso brought up the idea that had been lingering on his mind for so long. He was sharing a room with Monoma, but he'd used his quirk to put him to sleep before locking himself in the bathroom. "Hey, Kyo."

"Hey, Shin," Kyoka answered. "What's up? Miss me already?"

"I always miss you," he told her.

She hesitated in her response. He always surprised her when he said things like that and she always hesitated in saying similar things back. Kyoka had an easier time with physical affection; sharing space, sharing touches, that was something she excelled at. Shinso had always been good with words when he wanted to be and putting that to use with Kyoka was always nice.

"I missed you, too," she admitted with a heavy sigh.

They spent a few minutes updating each other on how their days had gone, how their missions were going. It was mostly comforting small talk, a reason to hear the other's voice, and a way for Shinso to procrastinate a little longer. But he didn't want to keep it up forever, so eventually, he asked her, "You're alone, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I... had something I wanted you to think about," he told her. She was quiet, waiting. He tried to imagine what expression she would be wearing, how she would tilt her head in confusion and play with her earjacks nervously if he took too long. "You remember when Bakugo came to us that day?"

He wouldn't need to be more specific than that. He was pretty sure it was burned into both of their brains. "What about it?" she asked quietly.

"Do you still think about it?"

Silence. He wondered what she was thinking about it. What she was thinking about him for asking. He held the phone tighter as he waited.

"Yes... Do you?"

"Yeah," he told her.

So that was out in the open.

She asked the question that he had called to ask in the first place. "What do you want to do about it?"

Jirou spent the last two weeks of her tour contemplating the question. They hadn't really come to a conclusion on the phone, spending more time in silent contemplation than conversation. It hadn't been bad. In fact, it was nice that they could come together on this. That they could talk things out and not feel pressured or the need to pressure the other.

She didn't even think that the problem was what they wanted to do, but what were they willing to do. It was more than obvious that they both found Bakugo attractive and that they got along with him. He was her teammate, her band mate, her housemate... Bakugo had already ended up wound up in their life. He was fun to bicker with, and it had been nice not coming home to an empty house.

Jirou would never say that there was anything mission between her and Shinso, that just wasn't true, but maybe there was still a space that he could fill. Thinking about it, Bakugo was the thing that made their safe house into a home. He was the one that had forced them to buy a bed, he was the one that put food on the table (not that they couldn't, but they never had when left to their own devices). He was a nag, both in battle and at home. Whenever both she and Shin were home he always stole their keys when he went out (until the point when they'd given him his own) and he always respected their time together, but he still... fit. He fit with them. He always had, if she were honest, they'd just never considered what that might mean.

So say they did ask, then what? Did they want him for a night? A weekend? Forever? And what if he said no? How would that make them feel? There were a lot of questions and she felt like she was just spinning her wheels.

Something cold touched her forehead and she jumped, forcefully falling out of her thoughts. "Quit getting lost in your own world," Bakugo scolded her, holding out a bottle of water. "We're supposed to be practicing, not day dreaming."

"Sorry," she answered quietly.

"Something on your mind, Kyoka?" Momo asked.

"Yeah, it's not really important. Don't worry about it."

"Idiot," Bakugo said, lightly rapping her on the top of her head. "If it worries you, it is important."

For a moment she felt surprised, then her expression softened. Bakugo had moments like this sometimes, soft moments that he had displayed more and more since moving in with her and Shin, but it still came as a complete surprise whenever he dropped his guard enough to let her see it. She smiled at him. "You're right. Maybe... I might want to talk about it later?" she didn't mean for it to come out as a question, but she met his gaze anyway. He looked curious, but he didn't say anything, only nodded.

As soon as they were home, Bakugo breezed back out the door to go get groceries. As long as they had been away, it was a guarantee that the fridge would be empty and Bakugo had taken it upon himself to take care of most, if not all, of their grocery shopping. Shinso was home by the time dinner was ready. Momo and Kaminari had fallen asleep on the couch by the time she'd finished her second glass of wine.

It was obvious to her, though she wasn't sure if Shin could tell, that Bakugo was waiting for them to bring up whatever was on their mind. He had shuffled Momo and Kaminari off while he did the dishes and used the wine as an excuse to keep her and Shin in the kitchen. Not to mention the looks he kept shooting them, somewhere between impatient and encouraging.

Finally, Shinso sat back in his chair and I said, "I don't know what to do about this."

It seemed he'd come to the same conclusion that she did. They definitely wanted to do something, if only they could figure out what that something was.

"About what?" Bakugo asked. He leaned against the counter, watching them both with narrowed eyes. His body was tense and she could read the wariness as loudly as he if he had screamed it at them.

"This," Shinso gestured between them all. "Whatever this is. Whatever this could be."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied.

"It isn't like you to play dumb, Bakugo," she scolded.

He glared at her. He didn't deny it. "There's nothing that needs to be done."

"Yeah, that's an option," Shinso said calmly. "Certainly not the most interesting option. And I'm guessing that's not the answer that you want."

"I haven't said shit about wanting something," Bakugo told him.

"You haven't," Shinso agreed. "But I've been thinking about it and it makes sense, doesn't it?" He looked at her. "He came to us. Midoriya didn't want to get in the way and Ochako didn't want to watch him doing nothing. As soon as they cut him loose, he came to us. That seems as close to a declaration as this asshole would get when he was still trying to be unobtrusive."

Jirou sat up straighter. It... did fit. It fit really well. She suddenly remembered how easily he had agreed to joining their team. She looked at him more closely, noting the slight blush on his cheeks. Then another idea hit her. "Is that why you decided to walk around here in a towel that first night?" she asked.

Bakugo shrugged, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on anything but them.

"What? Were you hoping that we'd offer you comfort sex or something?" Shinso asked.

"I didn't say-" Bakugo stopped as his eyes glazed over.

"Come here, Blasty," Shinso ordered, holding out his hand. Bakugo approached them obediently, Shinso taking one hand and Jirou taking the other. "What do you want?"

"I want you two assholes," Bakugo answered.

"In what way," she questioned.

"Answer her," Shinso said softly.

"Anyway. Every way," the answer seemed forced, as if were fighting it.

That was... more than she had been expecting. She looked at Shinso and he was already looking at her. Did they want that? Shinso reached out for her hand. He smiled, shrugged, leaving the decision up to her. She turned the idea over in her head, but as she'd thought earlier, he had already threaded himself through them both. This wasn't much more than that. (It was everything more than that and maybe that was the point.)

"Okay," she answered. "Yes."

Bakugo inhaled a breath, looking at them both with wide eyes as if he thought this would be some kind of trick.

"You already live here," Shinso told him. "It's not that different."

"It is," Bakugo said. He sounded a little choked, as if he had to force the words out. "It's completely different."

"It is, isn't it?" She rubbed a circle on the back of his hand with her thumb. "But it's what you want, right?"

"You two haven't said what you want," he said softly.

"We want this," Shinso told him. "We wouldn't offer it if we didn't."

Bakugo stared at their hands silently for a moment. He gripped them a little more tightly. "Don't think I'm gonna be any nicer to you assholes." He already was, but neither of them were going to call him out on it.

"Wouldn't dream of it," she told him. They didn't want to change him, after all. He was a good fit for him just as he was. Besides, there were better things to dream of. Bickering and banter and this... that she could image instead. She met his gaze and squeezed his hand in return. He seemed to relax a little as he looked at them and he smiled.