The two make it back to the dorms, and while Bakugo immediately heads to the elevator, Todoroki says he has everything he needs this time and that he'll wait for the blonde to get back. Which gives him just enough time to…"Everyone," he calls out to his classmates, seeing that the majority of them are lounging in the lobby. "Listen. I have something to say to you guys." Everyone stops what they're doing and stares, some of them asking what's wrong. He announces, "I talked to Bakugo, and he told me he doesn't love Midoriya." They all gasp a bit at him. "You guys should stop assuming you know how they feel. Bakugo was really upset about it."

"Wait, you told him?!" Ashido is the first to blurt.

"By accident, yeah."

"Geeez! Todoroki! If you ask him that upfront, then of course he'll deny it! You think Bakugo would actually admit he likes Midoriya?"

He hadn't actually considered that, but still, he holds his ground. "…He didn't have any reason to lie to me. It was just the two of us talking. Midoriya wasn't there."

"Wait, what?!" Kaminari interjects, "Since when did you and Bakugo get so chummy?!"

Todoroki stares at him with an expression that makes everyone imagine a question mark floating above his head. "We're friends," he states bluntly. Though he admits to himself that Bakugo doesn't seem to completely see it that way. "Plus he was just defending himself because you guys assumed something about him that wasn't true."

"What?! No! Todoroki! You gotta believe us! He definitely likes Midoriya! He just doesn't know it yet!"

Todoroki's eyes narrow at Kaminari. "That doesn't make any sense. If he liked Midoriya that much, why wouldn't he realize it himself?"

"Well…! That's…! I mean… That's what we wanna know!"

"And why do you guys want to believe it so badly anyway? Midoriya already likes Uraraka, so isn't it a lost cause?"

"Yeah!" Ashido agrees, "That's right, Todoroki! Uraraka won fair and square!"

"Eh?!" Uraraka blurts, "Th-That's not…! I mean…!" Well, technically, Deku-kun does love her, but nothing's official until Midoriya chooses her once and for all, so she wouldn't consider that a "win".

"Kaminari, you guys just can't admit you lost!"

"Yeah!" Hagakure agrees.

"I'm telling you, that's not it!" Kaminari argues, "Bakugo is seriously in love with Midoriya! You guys should've seen it when he—!"

"Hey!" Sero punches his arm. The two were probably thinking about the same event, the time when Midoriya called him cute, and Bakugo actually looked like he might die from happiness. But that isn't something they should talk about here. The blonde would never forgive them.

Kirishima steps in, walking up to the two-tone. "Todoroki… I know this is super confusing, and Bakugo says he doesn't like Midoriya, but you just gotta trust us. Bakugo just doesn't know how he feels, so we gotta wait until he figures it out on his own."

Todoroki stares for a long moment at Kirishima, whom he acknowledges to be Bakugo's closest friend. "…Earlier, he got really upset… and he looked like he might cry… What makes you so sure? Are you saying you know how he feels better than he does?" The others gasp and mumble to each other even more. They'd already seen Bakugo cry once, and that was honestly one too many times for them to handle.

But Kirishima is unfazed. He feels like he's seen the blond cry or get emotional so many times now that he's used to it. But still, he has to figure out how to carefully explain this to Todoroki. "…I know it might be hard to believe," he says slowly, uncertainly, "But… if he really looked like that in front of you, it means he trusts you. Just wait it out." He remembers Bakugo's tantrum in the woods and how the blonde thanked him afterwards for standing by him no matter what. Feeling a boost of confidence, Kirishima finishes, "He'll tell you how he really feels eventually. You just gotta wait for him." Todoroki stares into his eyes and sees how passionate and sincere he is. But considering everything he's seen and heard so far, he's just not sure how to respond. Kirishima puts a hand on his shoulder. "Until then just keep doing what you're doing. Just keep watching and having his back."

"…That's really all it takes?" To be his friend?

"Yeah. Trust me." He beams a toothy grin. "It totally pays off later!"

Hearing that, Todoroki pauses to think. Assuming Kirishima knows what he's talking about, it means Todoroki can't believe everything Bakugo says, no matter how tearfully the blonde insists he's telling the truth. He didn't think Bakugo of all people would be so confusing despite being so straightforward, and it really leaves Todoroki at a loss for words. He sighs. "…Fine. I'll try to be patient. But he really was upset, and I promised him I'd set you guys straight, so if I hear anybody talking about it again, you won't get away with it." He glares at them collectively, and despite him showing no signs of using his quirk, they all feel an icy chill and shiver.

"Todoroki," Kirishima breathes. He energetically slams his hand back down on the boy's cold shoulder. "You really are a great guy!"

"Ow…"

"Bakugo won't admit it, but I bet he wants to be friends with you too!"

Todoroki won't admit it either, but hearing that makes him feel hopeful. Being able to be friends with both Midoriya and Bakugo would honestly be a dream come true. He nods to Kirishima. "Sure."

Just then, they hear the elevator ding, and when the doors open, Bakugo emerges. Everyone goes silent and stares at him, and he freezes as he steps out. "What?"

Todoroki approaches him and says, "Bakugo… I told everyone you don't love Midoriya."

That was fast! Bakugo gawps at him. He'd be mortified if he wasn't so shocked.

"It was a misunderstanding." He glares sideways at the class. "And it won't happen again."

Some of them flinch, then play along and collectively assure Bakugo that they know there's absolutely no way that he would ever, in a million years, be in love with Midoriya. And again, Bakugo might feel humiliated if he wasn't so taken aback. He knows there's no way the whole class actually changed their minds that quickly, but just the fact that Todoroki managed to glare them into submission like this… He looks back at the two-tone, who has a very distinctive look on his face that Bakugo hasn't seen before, a meek but eager twinkle in his eye, like he's expecting something.

He… He looks like… Like he wants to ask if he did a good job and if he deserves to be praised. And as ridiculous as that sounds, Bakugo suddenly can't find it in himself to deny the guy that praise. In this situation… I'm supposed to say… Bakugo's chest twists and squirms with embarrassment as he looks down, avoiding Todoroki's eyes. He still has a hard time saying this, but he knows he has to.

"…Thanks," he says hesitantly. The rest of the class almost gasps again at yet another first: hearing Bakugo of all people actually thank someone sincerely. Kirishima especially swells with pride.

But Bakugo doesn't even notice them stir, because for a flicker of a second, Todoroki's eyes gleam. "Yeah," he replies. Then, looking about as close to happy as Bakugo thinks the two-tone can, he extends his hand and says, "Let's do our best."

Bakugo stares at his hand for a long moment, as if there's some kind of risk involved in shaking it. But slowly, he reaches out and holds it, shaking it firmly. "Yeah."

Deciding to continue to be brave, he shyly looks up into Todoroki's eyes. Then finally he sees it. The tiniest, faintest smile he's ever seen. He stares at it like he's witnessing a miracle, and so do some of their classmates who happen to be sitting at the right angle to see it. He stands there in silence for a moment, taking it in, like the slightest move or sound might make it disappear.

To think that Bakugo never would've seen such a thing if he had stayed in his own head, always worrying about being stronger than everyone. If he had never stopped to breathe for a bit, he never would've experienced how it felt to possibly… make a new friend. The old him would've scoffed at the thought. He's Katsuki Goddamn Bakugo, and he never needed friends to become the #1 hero. But now, feeling recently liberated, he sees it was all just an excuse to explain away something he was always too afraid to do: show weakness. Showing weakness gives others the chance to take you down. But as he looks at Todoroki's smile, Bakugo realizes for the first time that showing weakness also shows you who you can trust.

And to everyone's utter shock and horror, Bakugo actually smiles back.

It's a smile that looks similar to Todoroki's, small, restrained, but still genuine, like it took every ounce of his effort just to crack that tiny little smile, and the whole class stares at it like they would a double (or even more like a triple) rainbow.

Then they hear someone sniffle. "Bakugooo!" Hearing that familiar voice, the blonde glances behind Todoroki and flinches, his smile disappearing. It's Kirishima. In tears. He sobs into his arm and shouts, "I'm so happy for you, dude! That was… so manly, I just… couldn't…!" He sobs again while giving them a passionate thumbs up.

Bakugo stares at him for a moment, mildly embarrassed and maybe a bit disgusted, but then a thought occurs to the blonde. "Call…" He goes quiet for a moment, and Kirishima stops sobbing a bit to hear what he's trying to say. Hesitantly, looking a little bit like a shy child, he says, "Call me Katsuki."

If everyone was shocked before, they're on the verge of a heart attack now.

"B… Bakugoooo!" Kirishima bursts again as he nearly tackles the blonde and sobs into his shoulder. Todoroki even has to dodge him a little.

"…I said, call me Katsuki…"

He sniffles loudly. "Yeah! Then you call me Eijirou! Katsukiii!"

"…Quit crying."

"Sorry! I know I should stop, but… but…!"

Ignoring him for the time being, Bakugo looks at Todoroki. "You too. Call me Katsuki." It might be a bit premature, but Bakugo has a good feeling about this. He wants to trust Todoroki. He's starting to. And this is as good of a first step as any.

Todoroki's eyes widen. Then he recovers, smiles that tiny smile again, and nods. He hadn't been so sure at first, but Kirishima ended up being right. The key to earning Bakugo's trust was just to listen and be patient. It's definitely easier than the two-tone initially expected. "Yeah. Call me Shoto too." Bakugo nods to him.

"Bakugo!" they hear someone else shout, and the three turn to their classmates. The sight of such wholesome male bonding has overwhelmed their little teenage hearts, bringing a few of them to tears as well. One of them is Kaminari, who leaps to his feet and runs over, proclaiming, "Us too, Bakugo! We're sorry we talked about you and Midoriya! We were just so sure! We won't do it again, so let's be—!"

Before he can get too close, Bakugo blocks him by grabbing his face. Kaminari, realizing that he literally just slammed into the most dangerous part of Bakugo's body, freezes in terror.

"Shut up," Bakugo starts, "I wasn't talkin' to any of you." He glares ominously at him, at all of them, and the warm fuzzy feeling they were all prepared to nurture suddenly dies as fast as it came and ends up replaced by the familiar fear and discomfort the blonde was initially known for.

He shoves Kaminari away, and the lightning blonde has the nerve to whine, "Hey! What was that for?! We've known you just as long as they have!"

Bakugo ignores him, and nonchalantly, as if he did nothing wrong, he turns to Kirishima and calmly says, "Let go'a me, Eijirou. We're gonna be late."

"Ah!" Kirishima backs away. "Y-You're right," he snuffles. "Sorry. Good luck in class!"

"Don't ignore me!" Bakugo and Todoroki continue to ignore him as they calmly walk away and out the door, looking peaceful and satisfied with their new friendship. "Kirishima! What gives?! I mean, I'd get it if it was just you, but Todoroki?! Is he serious?!"

Sero argues, "Well, it was sort of a long shot, wasn't it? And you did kind of bust in uninvited."

"It looked like a good opportunity!"

Wiping his face just a little more, Kirishima replies, "Well, what do you want me to say? Bakugo's—er, Katsuki—He's the one who picks his friends, not any of us! Besides, you're always making fun of 'im anyways! Whenever we talk about Midoriya, you always tease him about it!"

"I… I tease because I love!"

"Well he doesn't think it's funny! Listen already, Kaminari!" Kirishima crosses his arms and gives a firm declaration. "Bakugo may be super manly on the outside, but he's got feelings too! And even he doesn't know how to handle them sometimes! That's why a real man helps his buddy get through the hard times when he's not sure what to do! If you're in this just so you can call yourself his friend, then you should quit while you're ahead, before he really starts to hate you!"

They all stop to think about that seriously for a moment. They admit to themselves that no one except Kirishima, Midoriya (and apparently Todoroki) were really thinking about Bakugo's feelings. It took a total mental breakdown in Bakugo for them to fully realize he even had any feelings other than anger. From that point of view, it makes sense that he chose to trust the people who acknowledged his feelings without him even asking. If that's what he uses to determine his real friends, then… they all realize something that probably should've been obvious from the start: you don't ask Katsuki Bakugo for friendship. You earn it. And Kirishima definitely had.

"You… You're right, Kirishima-kun," Uraraka agrees. "Me too… I was so worried about Deku-kun that I totally forgot about Bakugo-kun's feelings. I made him feel awful because I didn't realize he was going through a hard time too." They can all sympathize a bit with that. Bakugo might've acted like he didn't care what happened to Midoriya, but they're slowly learning that they can't trust everything he says directly. He has more hiding under the surface that he doesn't tell any of them, and apparently stuff that even he himself doesn't recognize. Uraraka continues, "But I wanna make it up to him! I wanna help! So Kirishima-kun, is there anything we can do right now for him?"

"Wait, Uraraka!" Ashido cuts in, "That's not it! It's the other way around! Right now, it's about what Kirishima can do for us!"

"Eh?" Kirishima gawps.

"You heard me! Look, we get it. You're Bakugo's bestie. Whatever you say about him, we'll trust you. But that means you gotta help us out!" She points boldly at him and declares, "As of now, you're our official Bakugo translator! If there's anything we don't get about 'im we'll ask you!"

"Ehh?! Wait! No! That's not what I—!"

"Look, Kirishima, not everyone gets Bakugo. Even if we try, he's just a tough nut to crack, y'know?"

"Plus he's scary!" Hagakure adds, and half of them nod in agreement.

That's the real reason, isn't it? He looks exhausted with them.

Ashido continues, "But… just because we don't understand him doesn't mean we wanna see him cry like that again, y'know?"

"Yeah!" Kaminari starts again, "Even if he doesn't wanna be friends with us, that doesn't mean we don't wanna be there for him! What kind of hero wants their friend to go through stuff like that?"

"You guys…" Kirishima starts to understand them.

Ashido finishes, "That's why… if you really care about him, you gotta help us out too. Help us help him… If you don't give up, then neither should we."

Kirishima's eyes brighten. "Yeah… Yeah, you're right! Alright, you guys, I accept! Bakugo will never say it to our faces, but… Class 1-A is gonna be the best bunch of friends he's ever had!"

And everyone cheers to that.