-'-

Chapter 16: The Game - He's Breaking Dishes Up In Here (All Night, All Night) And He Ain't Gonna Stop Till He Sees Police and Lights

"Kirishima! Quirk: Hardening remains un-de-fea-ted!"

Said individual raises his hands to the sky in mock elation to Sero's eerily good impression of Present Mic.

Grinning Kirishima slaps Tetsutetsu on the back. "Not that you aren't still incredibly manly regardless!" He says sympathetically as Tetsutetsu crawls from the 'ring' to rejoin the audience gathered to bear witness to the Very Serious Wrestling Match taking place. Nobody knows who first floated the idea but the tipsy party-goers had all enthusiastically agreed. In Katsuki's opinion his classmates seem vexatiously giddy about this, especially considering they have hero practical training on a daily basis at school. It is still relatively early in the evening so his classmates' foolishness can't even be completely blamed on intoxication. Unlike his classmates, Katsuki has no desire to participate in the ridiculous spectacle but when Kirishima had expressed a desire to participate, Katsuki had felt obliged to monitor him out of concern. Consequently, Katsuki is sprawled out on the floor, feet flat on the ground, weight held on one forearm, watching proceedings with heavy-lidded eyes as he angrily tosses spicy potato rings in his mouth.

They advertise this as spicy? Talk about an overstatement. I hate it when food companies acquiesce to weakling extras who can't handle a lil' heat.

Katsuki scowls yet another handful of potato rings still find their way into his mouth. To Katsuki's immense relief the matches are wrestling and more playfully attempting to mount and restrain the other. It hurt to see Kirishima getting winded so quickly but his determination was impressive. Witnessing Kirishima restraining Tetsutetsu with one arm in a cast embarrassingly caused Katsuki's heart to skip a beat. Kirishima truly was the end it didn't even seem like Testutetsu was holding back that much. The Red Riot aficionado had undoubtedly progressed tremendously and if Katsuki didn't envision Kirishima by his side, he'd be a worthy rival. Katsuki snorts as he watches Tetsutetsu start chattering to another young adult, one with angular eyes, medium length beige hair and most noticeably a distinctive lack of lips. It bothers him that Tetsutetsu doesn't seem particularly upset about someone as severely injured as Kirishima overpowering him. Katsuki knows that if he'd been so inclined he could have given Kirishima a real challenge.

You know I could be so much better for you than him.

The last thought sneaks up on him and Katsuki stubbornly shakes it from his head. Katsuki realises his maneuver was both figurative and literal when he finds himself swaying from the momentum caused by his over-exuberance. Eventually, he gives in and just flops down, loose-limbed and merry. It takes minimal effort to push such intrusive thoughts away with the current atmosphere. There is something delightful about the spectacle before him with Mina squealing as the muscular redhead playfully pins her beneath him. Alcohol makes her incredibly bubbly it seems, even more so than usual. Loud too.

"Stop! You win!" She huffs between laughs.

Instantly Kirishima's fingers stop their skittish dance under her armpits. He sits back on his heels and shoots her a toothy grin.

"Looks like I'm undefeated after all."

"Only because you're so muscular," Mina pouts, nails tapping his biceps for emphasis. "Your skin is probably less sensitive than mine."

"That doesn't sound very scientific." Todoroki remarks.

"Well it is."

Kaminari pairs the roll of his eyes with an overly dramatic groan. "Stop whining and just move out the ring."

Mina tilts her head towards Kaminari, gazing at him sternly though unfocused eyes. Her brow is creased into a frown but her lips twitching uncontrollably with a barely suppressed grin somewhat ruins the intimidating effect.

Practically salivating, Mineta leans forward. "I'll wrestle with you Mina." He offers. The syllables rolling off his tongue sound significantly more lecherous than usual, which is an achievement in itself.

It transpires Mina isn't quite inebriated enough for that, however, and all the female spectators let out a collective sigh of relief. Mina rises unsteadily to her feet and stumbles towards the kitchen while Katsuki stifles a snigger at the Grape's obvious disappointment. Mina zig-zags to the kitchen, her progress only visible in the window's reflection on the zags. Katsuki watches her progress lazily and winces when she smacks her elbow against the doorframe and lurches gracelessly to the side. Good grief. He hopes she isn't going to the kitchen to drink any more rum-punch.

With the play-wrestling over, the audience begins to disperse. Somebody dims the lights and increases the volume of the music. Across the room a few people begin a rambunctious game of Ping Pong Pang. Next to him, Kaminari is lying on his back chugging beer, clearly reluctant to sit up and drink like a normal human being. No longer distracted by his classmates wrestling, he's once again mesmerized by the gentle sway of Ojirou's tail above him. Kaminari tracks each swing of Ojirou's tail with keen eyes, occasionally making aborted movements as if he's planning to touch it before thinking better of it. Oblivious, Ojirou continues his intense conversation with a member of class 3B.

A source of heat on Katsuki's left side indicates Jirou has joined them on the ground.

"What's with that weird-ass hat Denki?"

She reaches for the giant block of cheese perched jauntily on Kaminari's head but he dodges neatly, squirming away to one side.

Katsuki grunts in agreement. "Told ya it was fuckin' ugly didn't I?"

"Hey it's my nicest one!" Kaminari retorts indignantly, his obsession with Ojirou's tail momentarily forgotten.

Curiosity piqued by the raised voices, Ojirou turns to investigate. He considers Kaminari and his dairy-themed hat for a few seconds. "Jirou's right, that hat is terrible. Why on earth did you buy it?"

Kaminari whines softly at the disappearance of the tail above him. "Jirou! Look what you did!" He flails his arms uselessly as if he's a toddler having a tantrum. Unfortunately he forgets his beer and ends up spraying it around, mostly on himself.

Jirou blinks at Kaminari in confusion before shrugging. She rises to her feet apparently having seen somebody she'd rather talk to. Somehow she manages to convince Ojirou to come along with her, which leaves Kaminari and Ojirou's former conversation partner looking more than slightly put out.

"I don't suppose you have a tail?" Kaminari mournfully wonders aloud.

The student from 3B scowls at him before melting back into the crowd.

Katsuki is thirsty. Very thirsty. His throat is lumpy and dry and there isn't enough saliva in his mouth. He briefly considers licking his own sweat for a modicum of moisture, adverse health effects be damned but for some reason even the idea of drinking any fluids is positively terrifying. He knows he cannot allow any liquid to pass his lips and quench his thirst but he can't for the life of him remember why.

Less worryingly, he's also not entirely sure how he ended up under a table with Harada and her boyfriend but at least nothing about this situation is scary or painful, so he does not dwell too much on it. He's facing Harada, him poised on his knees, her looking cutesy in a w-sitting position and Tokoyami lying on his back. Although Harada's talking animatedly, Tokoyami seemingly excluded from the conversation, she still has her hand interlaced with his. Katsuki is torn between whether he finds the physical manifestation of their adoring love sickening or aspirational. Tuning back into Harada's rambling, Katsuki is pleased to hear that she seems to be winding down.

"...I support you uh...I mean support you Bakudo! Sorry! I only have had hmm…" Harada pauses to count on her fingers. Realising one hand is otherwise engaged she uses her nose instead, to tap her fingers against as she counts. "Three drinks!" She exclaims, clearly proud of herself. "So not that many!"

She uses the hand she was counting with to wipe the sweaty skin under her collarbones and it transfers the lipstick residue from her palm to her chest. The pink smear on her exposed skin is a sharp contrast to her navy-blue dress. Katsuki fixates on the transitions from satin to skin to sticky cosmetic residue. However, he quickly tears his eyes away when he realises he's essentially staring at her chest. Katsuki forces his attention to her mouth and the syllables spilling from it.

"But I feel tipsy hehe. Gosh it is hard to remember your name when I'm drunk. Took me a moment Bakudo!"

You find it hard when you're sober too. Katsuki thinks snidely, but externally he satisfies himself with a nod. This is one battle he truly does not have the energy to continue fighting. Tokoyami, however, squeezes his girlfriend's hand to gain her attention so he can gently correct her.

"Thanks Fumikage! Sorry Bakugou! Maybe I should write your name on your forehead to help me remember...I think I have lipstick somewhere...we can use that!"

When she actually starts rifling through her pockets, seemingly serious about her statement, Katsuki can only gawk at her.

Katsuki must lose time because he blinks and finds himself across the room, sitting on the sofa facing the makeshift dance floor. His body is thrumming with barely suppressed joy. He thinks he might overflow with it. As he shifts, he registers that one of his legs is flung over Kirishima's lap. He peers towards the snack table and is shocked to find that Harada is suddenly on top of the table he thought he left her under. Her navy dress has magically turned into a navy skirt and now only a thin black bralette hides her breasts from prying eyes. Tokoyami is nowhere in sight. Two girls that Katsuki doesn't recognize are alternating between licking off the ice cream slathered over Harada's stomach and taking pictures. Like a fool Katsuki waves at them and unsurprisingly neither of them deign to wave back. He hears Harada squeal and laugh as more ice cream is added to her belly. He doesn't wave again though he thinks if Harada had seen she would have waved back.

Twisting back around, Katsuki leans into Kirishima and watches the grind and sway of those on the dancefloor. He's very aware that he is feeling exuberantly bubbly and happy. Why else would he be genuinely smiling at Midoriya's terrible dancing. He nudges Kirishima, who leans closer to shout over the pounding music.

"Wow! He's really forgotten everything Mina taught him first year."

Katsuki grins delightedly. It is not often that Kirishima says snide remarks, at least within his earshot. He wants to tell Kirishima how much he appreciates his trust but when he opens his mouth to tell him so what comes out is a blithe announcement that he's gay. Katsuki blinks at the wide-eyed General Studies students who are staring at him. The sudden harsh lighting in the kitchen is a sharp contrast to the dimmed common room lighting. Confused by his sudden ability to teleport, Katsuki shakes his head violently.

A spray of bile hits porcelain. Perhaps the movement knocked it free? He's trembling, slumped next to the toilet. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, leans back and closes his eyes. His stomach spasms again and the groan he emits in response reverberates through his skull. He imagines the fleshy meat of his brain shaking in the cerebrospinal fluid it resides in.

Wasn't he just coming out? Not that he hides his sexuality but he never saw the point of going out his way to share his business with extras. Anyway. He vaguely recalls being on the receiving end of several of Harada's meaningful looks. He'd probably done it to placate her.

He appreciated her sharing her Quirk so he didn't really mind. For whatever reason she seemed to think he needed help coming out.

So he had done it to pacify her then. Trying to remember with any certainty is quite a useless endeavour. That explanation seems to make the most sense though. Especially since Harada disappeared after his announcement. She must have. He'd remember if she was among the remaining students. They'd flinched when he'd aggressively demanded that anybody who had a problem with his gayness fight him. Even the 200cm boy with long brown hair, glasses and gangly limbs looked quite taken aback. He was sort of cute in a geeky looking way. Non-threatening. Useful.

The first time Katsuki kissed him that night, he'd hoped to use the other teen's caramel flavoured saliva to wash out the poison Asui had unknowingly replanted in his mind. He'd been back underneath the table on the sticky kitchen floor. He didn't understand why he kept ending up there. Maybe he felt safe, the way small children do in their beds or when they hide with their eyes closed, whole-heartedly believing 'if I can't see them, they can't see me.' There was no tablecloth so Katsuki's presence was clearly visible to anybody who cared to look or even those that didn't. Asui peered underneath to check on him. He'd hoped she'd leave after he'd demonstrated his ability to speak without slurring his words. She did not. Instead Asui had closed the kitchen door, muffling the fast-paced dance music pumping from the speakers in the common room. She'd joined him under the table and ignored Katsuki's dismay at his inability to scare her off with his snarling.

Tiny bright lights danced in front of him. He batted the orbs away but they kept returning.

Asui touched his leather-clad thigh. He couldn't feel the sensation of her large fingertips against his leg but he could see it occur, like he was watching the two of them from outside his body. Asui had asked to kiss him. The Katsuki below him didn't look surprised by her admission. Katsuki saw his lips moving to tell her he didn't swing that way. Asui nodded and apologised but still looked like she wanted a kiss regardless. So Katsuki - the Katsuki he could see, not the Katsuki he was - had told her he would kiss her if she liked. The kiss was gentle and chaste but not brief by any means. Katsuki watched as he gently cupped the back of her neck to draw her closer, his hands cushioned by the silkiness of her hair. Katsuki thinks he may have been a little disappointed that Asui had not wanted to give him access to the inside of her mouth; he has always been intrigued by her extraordinarily long tongue.

Afterwards the boy under the table with spiky hair befitting his Quirk had asked Asui if she enjoyed it. Both Katsukis smirked when Asui said it was great. But then she laughed and told him she wanted to try it with somebody it wouldn't mean anything with. He'd been upset by this – not because he likes Asui but because it was a reminder of yet another reason why Kirishima would always be out of his reach. Katsuki's face rippled as he tried to reign in his hurt. He was glad the Katsuki under the table is able to keep up his indifferent facade, snorting in derision at the thought of being in a relationship and loudly proclaiming what a distraction relationships are for a pro-hero.

As Katsuki continues to float above himself and his frog-like classmate he observes that they look surprisingly good together. He wonders if that's how he and Midoriya appear from the outside looking in. His physical form is acting stupid. Kissing Asui had been stupid. Eyes widening, he desperately tries to flip around mid-air. Panic overwhelms him upon the discovery he can't. He's stuck looking down at himself. If he focuses he can see whatever is within his physical body's line of vision but his body is still being obliviously stupid. Why? Why? Why? Why isn't it checking its surroundings? What if Midoriya had seen? What might he potentially do to Asui if he had?

His stomach lurches again and Katsuki crouches over the bowl, dry heaving in between these awful hacking coughs. His mesh polo shirt feels rough against his skin and his choker feels too tight around his neck. He shoves a finger underneath the supple leather, trying to get some more room to breathe, wishing desperately he could take it off. He gulps in air as he waits for the world to stop spinning.

He exits the bathroom stall and briefly considers turning around and walking right back in. His eyes sting at the image of Kirishima pressing another male into the bathroom sink as he sucks bruises on their throat. Kirishima's wearing a bright orange shirt, decorated with off-white gardenias and pineapples that the other boy is desperately clutching as he emits soft whimpers. Feeling miserable, Katsuki leaves, trying not to ruminate on how the couple are too wrapped up in their embrace to notice his presence or care about his departure.

The bass from the sound system is so loud he can feel the vibrations through the soles of his feet. He'd thought Momo had sound-proofed the area to prevent the administration from shutting down the party so he's not sure how that is even possible. If he lays on the plush carpet the vibrations travel through his entire body. It is soothing.

Katsuki thinks he may have dozed for a bit because when he opens his eyes again the music has shifted from k-hop to American house music and his head feels clear.

Now or never.

Katsuki pushes himself up. He's not sure where to find Midoriya but given how his night is going, perhaps he can blink and skip ahead to that part.

Katsuki is annoyed to find that not only does his new-found superpower not work on command, but it takes him close to forty minutes to find Midoriya. He hopes he'll forget this part of the night because the way Midoriya was having him run around...Katsuki feels lucky his teeth haven't become dust with how hard he's been grinding them.

When he finally locates Midoriya he's so on edge his teeth are chattering. He starts to question his plan. It feels dangerous. So much could go wrong. He takes a deep breath, fumbles with his phone a bit, then switches on his audio recording app before entering his bedroom and closing the door.

Instantly, strong muscular arms wrap around his torso from behind, one hand sliding up under his mesh shirt, the other pressing into his choker around his neck.

"Hello Kacchan," a sing-song voice greets him.

Katsuki allows himself to be spun around, so he's facing the smaller boy. Midoriya's hand is still around his throat.

"You look so gorgeous in this," he tells him as he thumbs the leather band. "Much better than me."

Katsuki's eyes briefly drop and is surprised to see a similar band adorning Midoriya's throat. Maybe the collar he was given wasn't supposed to indicate what he thought it did. The thick white band around Midoriya's neck is looser than his and hangs over his collarbone. It is decorated with tiny LED lights and its metallic sheen makes it look oddly reminiscent of his hero costume. Using his grip on Katsuki's neck as leverage, Midoriya pulls him down to capture his lips in a bruising kiss. He feels Midoriya's hum of delight when he doesn't resist. As much as Katsuki has come to despise Midoriya, he can't deny that his touch always feels so damn good. Katsuki allows his hands to tentatively drift down to slender hips, as their tongues fight for dominance. Katsuki's eyes are screwed shut so he's unable to see that Midoriya's are open, gazing in admiration at the physical perfection of 'his' Kacchan. Time stands still until Midoriya tears himself away with a gasp, pupils dilated and hair messy. Katsuki's heart is hammering and he feels the stirrings of interest in his lower stomach. He's certain he looks just as aroused.

"Did you miss me?" Midoriya asks.

"Maybe."

Midoriya's eyebrows disappear somewhere in his hairline at Katsuki's somewhat flirty response. "Is that so?"

"We're playing a game." Katsuki states as he strides over towards the bed, trying to calm himself down.

"To think Kacchan would volunteer to play that type of game," Midoriya teases.

Katsuki grinds his teeth in annoyance. "I swear to hell-"

"You would."

"Just die! Shut up! I'm serious!" Katsuki snaps.

When he goes to sit down on the floor with his back leaning against the side of his bed. Midoriya's gaze becomes even more calculating and intense. Nonetheless, Midoriya seems like he's in a good mood so Katsuki remains hopeful that his plan might actually work.

In his usual bouncing gait, Midoriya comes over and sits cross legged, facing Katsuki. "So what are we playing?" he asks.

Katsuki waves a deck of cards at Midoriya. "Durak."

"Ah. Like when we were kids?"

He gives Midoriya a viciously dangerous smile. "Yup."

-'-

-'-

-'-

Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed the latest update! Please review and let me know your thoughts! (Or even just that you are just still here and reading!)

Fun fact - when I started this endeavour I was convinced I'd struggle to reach 20k words...Now we're approaching 50k and there are still a few more twists and turns left in store!

Fun fact - if it isn't clear from my description, the student Tetsutetsu started talking to is the MHA character Juzo Honenuki :)