How's the saying go, again? Hindsight is 20/20? And that's without the fucking rainbow colored glasses...

There's a noticeable shift in their dynamic after Kamino. "Their" being the entire world rumbling with unrest, "their" being the heroes versus villains, "their" being the way 1-A bands together tighter than ever before. But the "their" that is most noticeable is Kirishima and Bakugou.

Sero is the first to notice. Or, well, Koda is the first to notice, and his soft and wistful sigh alerts Sero, who is then the first to point it out.

He squints for a moment, rubbing his eyes as if that will change what he sees right in front of him before he leans over to tap at Kaminari's shoulder. "Is Bakugou letting Kirishima hold his hand?"

Kaminari spits out the end of a charger and takes in the scene in front of them. "Uh… I would say yes, except I think… Kirishima? Is the one letting Bakugou hold his hand."

And upon further inspection, it's true. Sero takes in the way Kirishima is more focused on finishing his English worksheet before Present Mic screams his way into class, although "finishing" is less accurate than "furiously scribbling the likely-wrong answers from Kaminari's notes". It's an amusing sight to behold, as Kirishima uses his chin to hold the paper down on the desk and keep it from moving around as his right arm moves back and forth with rigour (and really, who writes with their whole arm? Everybody knows it's all in the wrist) while his left arm hangs uselessly by his side.

Perhaps not entirely uselessly, Sero thinks as his eyes trail down and he stares at Kirishima's left hand, so tenderly encompassed by Bakugou's.

"Why… why.." Sero doesn't really even know how to finish that question.

Karminari shrugs, seeming far less concerned as he mumbles around the charging cord, "They have been pretty inseparable since Kamino. Kirishima's probably looking out for his bro, you know, just in case anything bad happens again."

Sero squints, considering it. "I guess?" Kirishima has always been a touchy dude, pulling people in for high fives and daps whenever the occasion called for it. This is just a prolonged high five, with firm manly hand holding. It doesn't completely make sense, but it's the only explanation for the otherwise mystifying situation. Why else would two guys be holding hands?

All further postulating is left for a later time when the class erupts with chaos and noise as Bakugou snorts, pointing at Kirishima's work, "You do realize 90% of this is wrong? Why the fuck'd you ask Kaminari for help, he's probably one of the only idiots in this room that's dumber than you," eliciting a cry of protest from both Kaminari and Kirishima.

Any thoughts of Bakugou and Kirishima leave Sero's mind as he leans over Kirishima's shoulder to wheeze at Kaminari not knowing how to spell "cucumber" in English.

–

"Oh my goodness," Ashido screeches, slamming her hands on her desk as she gets up from her chair.

"What's wrong, Mina?" Tsuyu croaks in concern.

"I thought Cementoss was never going to shut up, I'm starving," Ashido whines, "Now we're never going to beat lunch rush at Lunch Rush unless we hurry."

Tsuyu just cocks her head at Ashido, so Ashido grabs the people closest to her - Kaminari and Kirishima and pulls them along. Before she makes it past the doorway, though, Krishima is gently prying his arm out of her grip, shrugging apologetically when she gives him a look.

"I'm gonna wait for Bakugou, I'll catch up with you guys later," he says, pointing a thumb back to the classroom.

Mina shrugs, "Your loss," before running down the hall.

"We'll save you a seat!" Kaminari yells behind him, chasing after her.

By the hair of their necks, they make it just in time to have the real mob of hungry students nipping at their heels, and carry their way through the line and to a table near the entrance of the cafeteria. Not too long later, they're joined by Sero, Jirou and a few others.

"Oi, Kirishima, over her!" Kaminari shouts, waving across the room, and Ashido looks up to see him picking his way through the crowd of people dragging Bakugou along by the hand.

"Hey guys, thanks," he greets, plopping down in the empty seat Kaminari indicates. Bakugou slides in across from him, next to Ashido.

"Aren't you getting lunch?" Ashido asks, looking at Kirishima's empty hands, just as Bakugou lifts a bento box onto the table.

"Yeah, I'm starved," Kirishima laughs, "My stomach was probably the only thing keeping me from falling asleep during Cementoss's lecture." He reaches across the table, and lifts Bakugou's bento. It splits in half vertically, and Kirishima takes the top half, procuring a pair of utensils from… somewhere and handing one set to Bakugou before digging in with the other.

Ashido looks on, expecting Bakugou to shout or get angry at Kirishima for stealing his food, but he just "tch"s and digs in as well.

"Wait, hey, no fair!" Kaminari says, leaning over to eye their food. "How come Kirishima gets special treatment? What about the rest of us?"

Before Kaminari can continue whining, Bakugou shoves Kaminari's spoon into his half open mouth, growling, "I like to cook and he likes to eat. Now shut the fuck up and don't chew with your mouth open you disgusting gremlin."

When Kirishima supplies no further information, Ashido returns to her own food with a vigor, the only thought in her head being how much she can scarf down before the next five hours of gruelling classes and training.

–

Kaminari scowls at his desk as if staring for long enough can zap his homework assignment into submission. Alas, nothing changes and the red crosses covering more than half of his page stare back at him. If he wasn't feeling so shitty about himself, he might have time to feel bad for Kirishima, who's paper was likely in a similar state at this point.

Bakugou had been right. Which wasn't to say that Bakugou was often wrong or anything, Kaminari is just growing tired of his arrogant gloating every time he is.

In this instance, though, Kaminari realizes the value in letting Bakugou inflate his ego a little more to see if that'll put him in a good enough mood to offer some help or tutoring, so he makes his way up to Bakugou's room, assignment clutched in one hand as the other knocks hesitantly on the door.

There's no answer at first, and Kaminari frowns, fishing his phone out of his pocket to text and ask where Bakugou is before he reads the time and blanches. It's two in the morning, and if he wakes up a grumpy Bakugou, well… Kaminari decides that now's probably not a terrible time to ding dong ditch.

Just as he's tiptoeing away from Bakugou's door, the door right next to it opens and Kaminari, arms arched and toes tipped, freezes as he comes eye to eye with… Bakugou?

Bakugou sleepily rubs his eyes, blinking away sleep as he takes in the sight in front of him. "What do you want, shit for brains?"

Kaminari doesn't move, only swiveling his head back and forth. Why is Bakugou coming out of not Bakugou's room? Did he knock on the wrong door? One look at the name plates confirms that he hasn't made a mistake, but it doesn't matter anyway when he has Bakugou right where he needs.

Clearing his throat, he says, "Hey so I was wondering if maybe you had some time you could possibly help me out with learning some better English? I'm really flubbing it right now and—"

Before Kaminari can continue, Bakugou shoves him out of the way, grunting, "No, I'm busy now move. I gotta fucking pee."

With that, Kaminari is left on the floor in the middle of the hallway, shaking his fist at Bakugou's retreating back.

He hears a small sound, and looks back up realizing that Bakugou has left the door open and finds himself making eye contact with Kirishima who squints at him. Kaminari waves, and Kirishima blinks once, then twice, before muttering, "Manly… sleep… the manliest," and falling back asleep.

Scratching his head, Kaminari picks himself up off the floor and makes his way back to his own bedroom, grumbling about sleepovers he never gets invited to, and how if they're going to do a guy's night without him then he'll just hit up Sero anyways.

The next day he forgets all about the previous night when he compares answers with Kirishima and finds that somehow, the guy that copied off of him managed a better score.

When Kirishima sheepishly rubs his neck and explains that Bakugou helped him, Kaminari turns and fixes the back of the other blonde's head with a glare, whispering, "Traitor, why won't you help me, too."

Without even turning around, Bakugou flips him the bird behind his chair so Aizawa can't see.

–

As it happens, a few days later Kaminari insists on a "guy's night" and invites all of the guys to come hang out in a makeshift fort in the common room while Ashido rolls her eyes at him when he hisses at her to "go away and stop intruding this is for the men only".

"As if we'd want to participate in your stupid hypermasculine rituals," she answers, gathering Yaoyoruzu and Jirou in either arm as she stalks off to paint their nails or whatever.

Mineta sighs wistfully as they head off, tempted to crawl along after them only to be stopped by Kaminari lifting him up by the back of his shirt and depositing him back in the circle. "Nuh uh, all dudes are mandated by law to participate."

"Who's law?" Mineta retorts.

"My law."

There's nothing much to be done about that. Mineta grumbles, but then eases up as the topic shifts over to the latest superhero Billboard rankings.

"Oh how I wish I'd just had one chance to be at the whims of Snake Hero: Uwabami instead of wallowing and suffering under Mount Lady…" Mineta sighs.

Kaminari snorts, shoving him over, "Seriously, why is your type limited to the ladies you will never in a million years have a chance with."

At that, Mineta raises an indignant fist, "As if you would do much better! And who says that's my type, huh? You of all people should know that I limit myself to none, a man who appreciates those of all round, robust - "

"Okay, I think that is enough of that," Kirishima says, hopping over a couch with a tray of snacks and a bottles of soda. "You do realize Jirou could be using her hearing quirk at any moment?"

"Y-yeah, guys," Midoriya speaks up. "Maybe we can talk about something else?" His face is furiously red at this point, grabbing for the soda that Kirishima brought over and gulping it down.

"Why so red, Midoriya?" Mineta turns on him, "I bet you've seen some things, haven't you? You and Ururaka are too close of friends for a guy and a girl, there must be something going on, huh? Is that your type, round and cute?"

"A-ah, type? I'm not sure what you mean!" Midoriya is all but shrieking at this point as he waves his hands aggressively in front of his burning face, "I mean, I think she's quite pretty but, you know, she's a friend of mine, and it would be incredibly rude to think of her in a lewd way – not that I have ever, of course, but I mean, in relation to the subject, I would just say that I think that all women are beautiful, and to be respected, of course – "

Bakugou growls, "Shut the fuck up and stop stammering, Deku," throwing a pillow at his face.

Before it hits him, Iida deftly snatches it out of the air, turning a glare to Bakugou. "Bakugou, you should know better than to incite violence while Midoriya has a drink in his hand. What would you have done if he spilled some on the common room floor, which we all share and are responsible for?"

Iida is thoroughly ignored as Mineta turns his attention, "Well, well, well, what about you then, Bakugou? What's your type, aggressively hot and spicy to match your temper? Or sweet and submissive, or–" Mineta cuts himself off when Bakugou refocuses his glare to him, ominously letting small explosions crackle in his palms. "Haha, just kidding! Kirishima! How about you then?"

Kirishima pauses from where he's stuffing a handful of chips and popcorn into his mouth staring at Mineta for a second. "What?"

"What's your type? You know, what you look for in somebody?"

Sero rubs his chin, "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you show much interest in the girls in our class. What is your type, maybe I can set you up with one of my friends?"

"You got friends, Soy Sauce?" Bakugou growls, only settling down when Kirishima laughs and shakes his head.

"Oh, well, hmm," Kirishima says thoughtfully. "I've never really thought about my type before. I guess if I had to say, well. The main virtue I look for in anybody is manliness."

"Manliness?" Mineta echoes, confusion etched across his face.

Everybody else in the circle chuckles at Kirishima as he rubs the back of his neck, "Oh, you guys know what I mean. Bravery, the ability to stand up to people, that kind of stuff! It helps if they have a little attitude. Oh, oh! And they have to be good looking, obviously."

With everybody's focus on Kirishima, they fail to notice that Bakugou is blushing.

"And, uh, I guess I like blondes…"

"What, like Uwabami?" Mineta prods, trying to visualize it.

"Eh, I think paler blonde than that."

Bakugou fidgets in his seat, muttering under his breath.

"Mount Lady?"

"Huh, yeah, I guess so," Kirishima nods. "But, you know. I think I like shorter hair than that. And soft, and fuzzy."

Bakugou growls a curse under his breath, and Mineta spares him a glance. "What, like Bakugou's hair?"

"Yeah," Kirishima laughs, rubbing the top of Bakugou's head while he hisses back, "Like Bakugou's hair."

"Weird," Mineta says. "Come to think of it, we don't have any blonde girls in our class. Unless Hagakure's secretly blonde? What a shame," he laments, sighing as his mind is filled with the thoughts of all of the other girls at UA that he doesn't have a chance to harass.

–

Not too long after that, Ojiro finds himself being roped into another one of Kaminari's shenanigans as he hooks an arm around his neck, tugging him over to Kirishima's seat.

"Yooo, Kirishima!" Kaminari shouts and Kirishima stares at him, hands over his ears.

"You really don't have to shout, I can hear you perfectly fine from over here."

"Right, right," Kaminari completely bulldozes over him, waving his hand in the air. "Kirishima, Ojiro. What are you guys doing next Friday? I have the absolute perfect thing planned for you guys, are you two free after school?"

"Uh, I think I should be but I'll have to check my schedule first," Ojiro says, hesitant to agree to anything without knowing the full details first, especially if it involves Kaminari.

"Great, great, Kirishima?"

"I'm not doing anything in particular, why?" Kirishima answers, continuing to fold his week-old math worksheet into a paper crane.

"Fantastic," Kaminari says, rubbing his hands together. Ojiro winces, noting how particularly villainous the gesture manages to look in combination with Kaminari's glowing eyes. "You two meet me at the cafe with the pink flamingos in front of it, you know just down the main street at the bottom of the hill? Meet me there Friday after classes. And dress nice!"

"Why–"

"I'll buy so please show up!" Kaminari cuts off Ojiro before he can protest further.

"Nice, free food!" Kirishima crows, finishing his crane and pushing past them to make his way to Bakugou's desk. "Yo, Bakugou, check out this crane I made for you." Bakugou sets in on fire with his hands. "Awww, man!"

Sero leans over then, asking, "Hey why didn't you invite me, too? I want free food!"

Kaminari frowns, "Uh, no way dude. I promised the ladies I would bring the attractive guys from class and you do not make the cut."

"Um, what?" Ojiro asks, but it's too late as Kaminari is running around the room being chased by Sero and a rolled up magazine.

When Ojiro shows up a week later, picking at the neckline of the turtleneck sweater Kaminari had shoved at him the night before, he finds Kirishima and Kaminari already there, seated across from three girls he doesn't recognize.

"Ah, hello," he says, waving a hand, and Kaminari waves him into the seat next to him.

"Ojiro, you made it! Meet Suzuki, Hayashi and Ito," Kaminari introduces. "Ito and I went to the same middle school, and Suzuki and Hayashi are her classmates, they go to the arts school in the city!"

"Oh, well, nice to meet you," Ojiro says, glancing over at Kirishima. Kirishima shrugs back at him, looking as confused and bewildered as he does.

They stumble their way through about fifteen minutes of awkward smalltalk before it dawns on Ojiro that this is a triple date. Kaminari has roped Kirishima and himself into the literal awkwardest group blind date of all time, and without their consent either. Right at that point of realization, Ojiro notices a second thing.

Bakugou and Sero, strolling past them just outside the cafe window. Sero makes eye contact with him through the glass, and Ojiro raises a hand and waves at them, expecting to pass on by, but Sero is suddenly manhandling Bakugou into the cafe.

"Where the fuck do you think you're taking me, Soy Sauce face, I swear I'll fucking kill you!"

All six of them turn their heads to gape at Bakugou as he screams and kicks as Sero pulls him along.

Hayashi leans over then, grabbing Kirishima's arm as she whispers, "Hey, isn't that the guy that got kidnapped?"

She's not quite quiet enough, as Bakugou whips his head around to glare at them when he hears the word "kidnapped" and that's when he seems to finally recognize them.

Ojiro flinches out of the way on reflex as Bakugou comes striding over and slaps Hayashi's hand off of Kirishima. "Who the fuck do you think you are, touching Kirishima like that?" he growls.

"Bakugou! Don't be so rude, these are Kaminari's friends, you should say hi!" Kirishima tries to calm the tension, but Hayashi's eyes are already watering with tears while Ito and Suzuki try to calm her down.

"You're coming with me, Shitty Hair, I'm fucking tired of Soy Sauce dragging me around," and with that, Kirishima barely has time to wave goodbye at them before being dragged off.

"Hey, I mean if you're short a guy, why don't I sub in?" Sero says, sliding eagerly into Kirishima's now empty seat.

Hayashi finally lifts her head then, making eye contact with a grinning Sero and the tears finally spill over, accompanied by loud wailing. Suzuki glares at them while Ito smacks Kaminari on the head with a menu and all in all, Ojiro decides that he's never saying yes to Kaminari again.

–

Jirou yawns, stretching her arms above her head as she leans back from her computer, rubbing her eyes. Checking the time, she curses under her breath when she realizes it's already three in the morning. She had been so lost in a composition she was working on that she didn't realize it was already this late at night.

Saving the file, she stands up to get ready for bed, deciding she might as well grab a glass of water from the kitchen first and slips out the door while using her phone as a flashlight. She turns the corner to the kitchen area, mostly distracted as she tries to figure out how to adjust the harmonies on her new song when she catches movement out of the corner of her eye and yelps as she drops her phone.

"Who's there?" she asks, picking it back up and shining the light in front of her.

"Um, hey, Jirou," she hears a familiar voice, and finds herself looking at Kirishima, who has his hands covering his face to shield his eyes from the light, and Bakugou, who is scowling at her with his arms crossed. Their faces are red and their hair is all over the place and Jirou can hear how heavy they're breathing, even if it isn't obvious by the way Bakugou's arms rise and fall against his chest.

"Hey, sorry, guys. I was just grabbing water," she says, edging past them to the fridge.

"Ah, okay, we were just um…" Kirishima trails off and Jirou snorts.

"I don't really know why you guys are up at 3AM sparring, but you do you," she shrugs. Jirou holds up her glass and wiggles it a little, "Gonna go now. Don't stay up too late or Iida is going to go berserk."

"R-right," Kirishima says. "Good night, Jirou!"

"Fucking dumbass earphone bitch."

Jirou rolls her eyes, forgetting about the encounter as she considers adding some extra snare to her piece this time.

–

As the weather grows colder, the students find themselves bundling up. Tsuyu for one has to layer on extra sweaters and jackets to keep herself from falling into hibernation, getting permission from Aizawa to wear additional outerwear during class.

This causes half the class to start whining, leading to Aizawa telling them all, "I do not care if you are cold or if you choose to wear a blanket, as long as you perform well in your course material."

Ashido takes this to mean that she can wear her hot pink cheetah print jackets, and Ururaka adopts some grey leg warmers.

As they file outside for physical activities, Tsuyu turns her head to Kirishima who stands in line next to her. "Kero? Kirishima, aren't you cold in this weather?"

"N-no, not at all! It wouldn't be manly to not be able to stand a little cold." He struggles to get the words out through his chattering teeth, and Tsuyu can see him literally vibrating as the wind shakes him from head to toe.

"If you say so…"

Kirishima rubs at his head, confessing, "Ah… To be honest I forgot to check the weather today because I was in such a rush after waking up late and I forgot to bring a jacket."

"Idiot."

"Bakugou, what–" Kirishima is cut off by a hoodie being shoved around his neck, and by the time his head has managed to pop out through the neckhole, Bakugou has already moved to stand at the front of the class where Aizawa is using Aoyama in a demonstration. "Oh," he says, pulling his arm through the sleeves.

"You sure are lucky to have a friend that looks out for you like that, Kirishima," Tsuyu says.

"Yeah… I sure am."

–

"Everybody, everybody, my dear monsieurs and mademoiselles," Aoyama calls out, clapping his hands together.

"Can we go inside already?" Sero asks, wondering why they're still gathered on the front porch of their dorms instead of heading inside to shower and nap after a gruelling afternoon training session.

"I have an announcement to make! The time of magic and wonder approaches, the holidays are just around the corner and I entreat you all to appreciate the spectacle of decorations that I have decided to bestow upon you all! Rejoice!"

As if on cue, suddenly the whole place is lit up, just as glittery and sparkling as Aoyama himself and the whole class finds them oohing and ahhing at the lights that stream across each doorway and window. Aoyama flings the door open and reveals the inside as well, decorated with just as many stars, electric candles, and fairy lights in addition to a few candy canes and ornaments hung around the walls.

"Wow, Aoyama when did you find the time to do this all by yourself?" Yaoyoruzu asks, running up to the Christmas tree that sits in the corner. A miniature model of Aoyama himself is sitting at the top of the tree in place of the star or angel that would normally be there.

"Non non non," Aoyama waggles a finger at her, "An expert never reveals their secrets!"

Everybody chuckles at such a classic Aoyama response, and Ashido is gathering everybody to suggest a classwide Secret Santa gift exchange when suddenly, they all stop upon hearing a screech.

"My dears, you must follow tradition!" Aoyama shouts, pointing a finger at Bakugou and Kirishima who lean against a doorway.

When they merely look at each other and back in confusion, Aoyama moves his finger up to indicate the tiny sprig of mistletoe that hangs above that. "You must kiss if you are caught under the mistletoe with somebody, it is tradition!"

Sero and Kaminari immediately begin howling, bending over while clutching their stomachs. "Bakugou and Kirishima, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Why you little shits–" Bakugou shouts, ready to fight them when he's cut off by Kirishima grabbing him around the stomach and twirling him around.

Class 1-A goes silent as they stare, slack-jawed as Kirishima bends and presses his lips against Bakugou's for one, two, three seconds.

The stillness is only broken when Bakugou shoves him off and shouts, "What the hell, shitty hair! Some fucking warning next time?" before stomping off to his room.

Kirishima shrugs, "It wouldn't be manly to break tradition!"

"Right… tradition," Aoyama repeats. "Wait… next time?"

"Well, if you insist that it's tradition," Mineta says, sliding his way towards the mistletoe before he is catapulted backwards and into the tree by Tsuyu's tongue.

"Not happening," the girls chorus in unison.

"My tree!" Aoyama yelps, running to right his miniature self from where it's fallen onto the ground.

–

"Everybody, gather round!" Ashido calls out.

"W-what?" Sato asks, tumbling off the couch where he'd fallen asleep.

"We're doing Secret Santa! Here, everybody pull a name, and if you pull your own name then just pop it back in the hat and draw again," she says, waving around one of her neon green hats. Inside is a clump of notecards, and one by one she goes around the room, having people pick.

"And don't, be obvious about who you got," she hisses as Todoroki pulls out his name and immediately turns to face Midoriya. "No trades, either," she continues, bonking Mineta upside the head when he whines about not getting a girl.

When she makes her way around to Sato, there's only two cards left and he pulls it out and frowns as he reads his name. Bakugou.

"Okay, everybody should have a name! You all have a week to get something together. It doesn't have to be expensive!" she says and Yaoyoruzu looks somewhat embarrassed.

As everybody returns to what they're doing, Sato can hear conversations here and there of people asking each other who they got and gathering information. He sits down and wonders what he could possibly get for Bakugou of all people without getting his face blown off.

"Hey, Kirishima," he calls out, waving him over. "So, uh, I was wondering…"

"Yeah? I can't tell you who I got, if that's what you were going to ask. It simply wouldn't be manly of me to give away my secrets."

"Ah, no, it's not that. I was just wondering, since you're so close with Bakugou… Do you know what he might like as a present?" Sato asks.

"Oh yeah, that's me, close to Bakugou!" Kirishima nods. "Well… Let's see he likes All Might, winning, spicy food, me, snakes, explosions, the color red, being the best–"

"Ah, you know what? I think that's a lot of good info, thanks," Sato says, cutting off Kirishima's rambling. It's a bit of an information overload, but he thinks he might use this opportunity to expand his baking skills and develop a spicy dessert.

"Oh, okay!" Kirishima high fives him, before pausing. "Oh wait, but if this is for the Secret Santa thing – NOT that I'm asking who you have or fishing for information in any way whatsoever – but don't get him the new limited edition All Might funko pop or hot honey or a travel poker set or –"

"Uh, don't worry, I don't think that's in the vein of what I'm getting him?" Sato cuts in.

"Okay, that's good! Because that's what I was planning on getting for him for Christmas. Anyways, good luck man!"

The next week passes in a blur of training and baking as Sato works on perfecting the best "Nuclear Explosion Cupcakes" as he mixes various flavors, spices, and peppers together. By the time the gift exchange rolls around, he's pretty proud of what he's done.

Ashido announces unexpectedly that they're also going to be rating everybody's gifts just like they did with the room tours at the beginning of the semester, and Sato hums cheerily, thankful that he made extra cupcakes.

They go around one by one, presenting presents to one another. Yaoyoruzu gifts an entire iPad Pro to Ururaka who looks like she's afraid of breaking the gift if she so much as breathes on it, and Mineta hands off what distinctly looks like a porn magazine to Kirishima who promptly dumps it in the trash. In turn, Bakugou hands Mineta a six pack of grape juice as Mineta seethes and turns to wail in a corner.

Then, it's finally Sato's turn and he says, "One moment," before heading to the fridge to pull out his gift. "Here Bakugou, this is for you but I made some extra so the whole class could share."

Bakugou hesitates as he opens the box, and then leans in his nose to give a curious sniff. Everybody watches as he pulls out the vibrantly red cupcake and takes a bite out of it before nodding in satisfaction. Sato lets out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding, and smiles happily.

"Here," Bakugou says, shoving another cupcake into Kirishima's face. "Try one."

"Thanks, man!" Kirishima answers, before pausing as he holds it up. "Hey, the red frosting kinda looks like my hair!"

"Yeah, I know. I like it," Bakugou answers, shrugging. He sets the box with the rest in the middle of the table with a shrug, and everybody else takes that as the cue to dig in.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Ashido cheers as Jirou nods in agreement next to her.

Needless to say, Sato wins the votes for best gift with his baking once again.

–

The winter semester draws to a close, and the students are slowly packing supplies for the couple of weeks they'll be spending at home for the holidays, when Yaoyoruzu approaches them all with a pile of fancy cardstock.

Embossed on one side with gold lining are the words, "Yaoyoruzu Family Banquet. RSVP Required."

"My father holds a yearly holiday banquet at our house. I was hoping to invite you all if you will still be in town for the break," she explains.

"Wow, sounds great!" answers Kirishima. "Hey Bakugou, you gonna go?"

Bakugou leans over Kirishima's shoulder to read the date, "If you're going then I guess."

Over to one side, Mineta wails, "The one time my family is going on vacation for break!" Yaoyoruzu notably heaves a sigh of relief at that.

"Since it will be a formal dance, you are welcome to bring partners should you have them, although you will need to RSVP for the additional invite," Yaoyoruzu continues. "I hope that won't be too much trouble."

"I think we're all taken care of, but thanks!" Kirishima answers, gesturing between himself and Bakugou. "Hey, we could wear the suits we had for the I-Island reception!" he suggests.

"Are you stupid or something? Those clothes got destroyed in the fight. I'll prepare something this time, don't spend any more fucking money on me again," Bakugou grunts.

Yaoyoruzu smiles at them, "So no dates?"

"No outside dates," Kirishima answers with a smile. "Looking forward to it, though!"

Once the actual banquet rolls around, Yaoyoruzu finds herself flitting back and forth throughout the room as she tries to keep her classmates out of too much of the typical amount of chaos they bring everywhere with them. Finally finding a moment to breathe, she settles down at a table next to Kirishima who is focused on scarfing down as much of the buffet food as he can in the given amount of time.

"I do hope you're enjoying yourself," Yaoyoruzu finds herself asking.

"Oh yeah, definitely! This is awesome, thanks for inviting us!" At that, Yaoyoruzu smiles and is satisfied with the results, as hectic as it may be.

Before their conversation can continue further, Bakugou strides over with a determined look in his eye. "Turns out that half and half fucker learned how to ballroom dance as a kid. I'll fucking show him who's the fucking best here," he growls before grabbing Kirishima's hand and pulling him off to the dancefloor.

"Oh, sweet, dancing!"

Yaoyoruzu laughs as she watches Kirishima's stiff arm movements next to Bakugou who seems to be trying his best to sincerely waltz with his partner and decides, yes, it was a good idea to invite her classmates.

–

"Izuku, sweetheart," Midoriya's mom calls to him, "Would you mind running down to the corner store and getting us some milk? It looks like we've run out completely."

"Sure, Mom," Midoriya answers, pausing his video game to get up and grab his coat. He's happy to help his mother whenever he can in these short few days that he's at home for the break, and he runs up to press a quick kiss to her cheek before he runs out the door, wallet in hand.

At the store, he picks out a carton of milk, pausing for a second by the candy section and wondering if it's too childish of him to buy a Kinder egg in hopes of pulling an All Might toy. Eventually, he gives in and is just heading to the cash register to pay when he thinks he recognizes a familiar voice.

"Oooh, can we get some popcorn? Wait, wait, how about M&Ms?"

"Get whatever you want, shitty hair, but hurry up. I don't want to be late for the movie."

"Okay, okay, okay, I promise I'll be fast but you know a movie isn't really a movie without snacks!"

"I still don't know why you insist on sneaking food in when they sell some right at the theater."

"It's way overpriced and you know it!"

"Whatever you say– Deku. What are you doing here?" Bakugou growls as he comes face to face with Midoriya.

"Oh, hey, Izuku! I forgot you lived in the same neighborhood as Bakugou," Kirishima says, waving a hand good-naturedly.

"Uh, well, like Kirishima said, I live here," Midoriya answers. "And also I was picking up some milk," he continues, holding up the said carton in his hand. "What are you doing here, Kirishima?"

"Ah, Bakugou invited me to his house for the holidays! I'll be here until Christmas, maybe I'll see you around?"

"Oh, maybe." They're spending Christmas together? Midoriya wonders. They must have gotten really close after Kamino.

"Come on, shitty hair," Bakugou huffs. "We're going to miss the trailers."

"Ah, right! Wouldn't want that," Kirishima nods. "See you around, Midoriya!"

"Bye Kirishima, Kacchan!"

Bakugou levels him with a glare at the nickname, but it seems less fiery, perhaps because of the holiday cheer permeating the air. "Deku," he answers with a slight nod before grabbing Kirishima's hand and heading off.

–

Before they even know it, they're all back at the dorms after a restful break. Luckily, no major villain attacks have jarred them this time around, and friends greet each other happily after a long break.

"Kirishima, Bakugou," Shouji nods as they bump into each other on the elevator. "How was your break?"

"It was great! I missed you guys, though," Kirishima answers, bumping his shoulder up against Bakugou's. Bakugou only grunts, but it sounds friendly enough so Shouji nods and makes his way to his room.

Some of the others are still in the common room comparing new gifts or exchanging vacation stories, but Shouji himself is ready to get some rest after a long day. He settles himself in, stretching his arms behind his head and closes his eyes, ready to drift off when he's disturbed by some thumping next door.

Kirishima must be moving some furniture around, Shouji thinks, letting his eyes drift closed once more. Unfortunately, the thumping continues, followed by what he thinks might be a moan. At that, Shouji sits up, wondering if Kirishima needs some help if he's dropping things and injuring himself before their training even begins.

Tucking a pillow over his head and limbs, Shouji attempts to fall back asleep, almost there when he is jolted awake by a muffled shout of, "Fuck, K-Katsuki!"

At that, Shouji stands up and is ready to knock when his limbs alert him that it has fallen relatively silent again. Bakugou must have gone to help Kirishima, Shouji concludes, and with no more disruptions is able to sleep in peace.

–

The first weekend after the break approaches, and class 1-A is buzzing with excitement as Iida gathers them around for a "critical announcement".

"Everyone!" he shouts in a commanding voice, arms waving back and forth. "I have received Mr. Aizawa's explicit permission to take you all out on a class bonding outing tomorrow. We will be going down to the Lunar New Year festival taking place this week. Unless you have prior appointments, I encourage you all to join us as it will be a great opportunity to learn about your fellow classmates!"

Everybody seems fairly on board with the idea and they clump together in groups to discuss whether what they should wear, bring or buy. Satisfied that most everybody will be attending, Iida moves to head up to his own room when Kirishima approaches him and pulls him aside.

"Hey, Iida," Kirishima starts, "Thanks for putting this all together."

"Of course! It is my duty as the Class Representative that I think of our spirits and teamwork," Iida answers.

"But," Kirishima continues. "I'm going to have to miss out."

Iida frowns, "Whatever for?"

Kirishima smiles at that and, rubbing the back of his neck answers sheepishly, "Ah, actually, I have a date! Uh, we might be in the area, though, so I'll try to say hi if I can."

"I see," Iida answers. "Well it can't be helped." With that, he goes on to hand out the permission forms to everybody that will be going.

By the end of the week, everybody except for Todoroki, who will be visiting his mother, Kirishima, who has explained his situation, and Bakugou, who had merely burned the permission slip to a crips and said "Fuck that shit, I don't need a team", has signed up to go on the trip. All in all, Iida is satisfied by the turnout as he ushers them all down the streets of the festival.

Small groups form as some people are drawn in by the lanterns and others follow the food and Iida looks on with a satisfied smile.

"Hey, Iida," Ururaka says, tugging on his arm. "Midoriya and I are going to go find the sugar blowing carts, want to come with us?" Iida follows along, feeling almost like a parent chaperone as he keeps Ururaka focused and pulls her back in whenever she is about to run off down a different path, distracted by the lights.

As they approach the sugar blowing stand, Iida recognizes two profiles that stand there watching a man turn candy into an ox before handing it to the red haired man who waits with his hand outstretched. "Look, Bakugou! The year of the ox!" Kirishima says with a smile.

"Oh, Bakugou and Kirishima!" Ururaka greets, running ahead. "I didn't know you guys were coming, too!"

"Hello! We were in the area and decided to stop by," Kirishima answers. Bakugou is too busy munching on the tail of the ox, still held up in Kirishima's hand.

"Hello, extras."

"Bakugou! That simply isn't kind to call your friends that," Iida scolds, frowning. "And you know you should have received a permission slip before leaving campus."

Bakugou shrugs, "Yeah, I did, four eyes. Ages ago, so shut up."

"O-oh. I see," Iida mumbles, taken aback.

"Don't sweat it," Kirishima speaks up, nudging Iida's shoulder. "Aizawa knows where we are."

"Of course, it was my fault for assuming the worst," Iida apologies. "Kirishima, how was your date?" Iida asks, "Did it end early?"

"Hmm?" Kirishima asks around a mouthful of candy. "Oh, no not at all! It's going great!"

Iida is about to inquire further about the puzzling tense when his voice is cut off by a loud booming in the sky. Fireworks erupt above and they all turn to watch as the sky is lit with celebrations of the new year.

The lights and colors are reflected on Kirishima's face, and to his side Iida hears Bakugou murmur, "Beautiful."

Looking up at the sky and seeing the shapes created in the air, Iida is inclined to agree. The fireworks are beautiful indeed.

–

As February approaches and Valentine's Day lingers just around the corner, decorations begin to go up all over the dorms as the girls of class 1-A take it upon themselves to hang as many cutouts of Cupids, hearts, arrows shooting through hearts, and anything that is pink and glittery up on the hallways and common areas.

Tokoyami, for one, is sick and tired of the sparkles. He can understand if Aoyama was physically born with a quirk that forces him to sparkle, but the horrendously clashing shades of neon pink (courtesy of Ashido), purplish pink (courtesy of Jirou), and pastel pink (courtesy of Ururaka) is beginning to get excessive.

He relents as long as they keep to the common areas, but when he steps out from his dark, gloomy cavern one day to find that his door has been covered with heart patterned wrapping paper, he tears it off the wall and stomps his way down to the common area where the class mill about.

"Please refrain from putting this pink stuff on my doors," Tokoyami sighs.

"Awww," Ashido whines, "What's gotten you in such a poopy mood? Celebrate, can't you feel that love is in the air?"

"It's girly and gay," Tokoyami retorts.

Ururaka frowns, about to retort when suddenly, a fist comes swinging out of the air and clocks Tokoyami across the cheek.

"That's fucking rude, you know? Just because something is feminine, doesn't make it gay you bird brain piece of shit!"

"B-bakugou," Tokoyami stutters out, holding his face. "What was that for?"

"I don't want to hear any homophobic shit coming out of any of your mouths, stupid extras," Bakugou growls, fist still raised in the air.

"I… I apologize, I did not mean it in a demeaning way," Tokoyami bows his head. Bakugou huffs and stomps away, leaving the rest of the class staring after him.

The silence stretches on for a moment or two, before Hagakure speaks up, "Wow, I didn't realize Bakugou was so passionate about things like that! What a hero mindset, protecting the minority!"

"Right," Ashido mutters. Everybody seems to blink out of their stupor, going back to what they were working on before.

Tokoyami clears his throat, "I apologize if anybody took offense to what I said. I did not think about the impact of my words."

Kirishima waves his hands, "Ah, it's okay! As long as you know now, huh?"

Tokoyami nods, excusing himself back to his room after a few moments. Later in the week, some of the girls put up a few heart stickers on his door, and he leaves them be, interspersing them with some of his own cross and sword decorations.

–

Valentine's Day finally rolls around on a Tuesday and the hallways are filled with giggles of students running back and forth with chocolates and letters and confessions.

Class 1-A has its own share of chocolates exchanged, with Ururaka approaching Deku with a bag of candy, only to aggressively wave her hands in front of her face insisting that it is an expression of camaraderie and close friendship before floating away, as well as Kaminari being slapped across the face by Jirou after a failed attempt at a confession letter that included the words, "Even though you aren't as attractive as a typical girl".

None of that, however, matches up to the scene that is about to unfold next as the entirety of Class 1-A (Aizawa peeking out of his sleeping bag included) looks on as a box of chocolates floats through the air and approaches Bakugou's desk.

"H-hi, Bakugou," Hagakure says, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks even if nobody can really see it. "I just wanted to say, I think you're so cool for standing up for the right thing, and you'll be an amazing hero someday."

Bakugou doesn't bother even looking in her direction as he snorts, "Tch, fucking obviously, floating skirt. I'm going to be the number one fucking hero!"

"R-right! And I hope you'll accept my chocolates as I cheer you on!" She pumps her fist in the air, hoping that her message is conveyed.

Bakugou finally seems to notice the chocolate placed on his desk and squints at her. "These better not be fucking confession chocolates."

The whole class winces in unison as Hagakure's shoulders slump. "O-oh."

"I've got no interest in dating an extra like you, so you can take these back."

"Kacchan!" Midoriya gasps, "Y-you could be nicer to your classmate, you know…" He trails off as he notices Bakugou turning his head to level him with a glare.

Before Bakugou explodes on Midoriya once more, Kirishima steps in with an awkward laugh, "Come on now, Bakugou, Midoriya's right. You don't have to be such an ass about it. Here, why don't you take these instead and calm down." Kirishima pulls out a smaller box of chocolates from his own desk and presses it into Bakugou's hands.

"Who the hell's side are you taking, shitty hair?" Bakugou growls, but backs down nevertheless.

"I'm sorry about that, Hagakure," Kirishima pats her on the shoulder, and she slumps over, shaking her head as she heads back to her seat.

She sniffles a little and watches sullenly as Bakugou digs into the chocolates Kirishima had given him. She wonders if maybe she had given Bakugou her chocolates as a friendship token, he would accept it the same way he accepted Kirishima's.

Shouji offers her a sympathetic smile, and suddenly all thoughts of Bakugou fly out of her head. "Shoujiii~" she singsongs, leaning over to him. "Here, these chocolates are for you, handsome!"

Behind her, Bakugou blasts a corner of his desk off, screeching, "Hey, extra, how dare you change your mind off of me so quickly! I'll show you just how fucking handsome I can be!"

"Yes, yes, you're the most handsome," Kirishima laughs, pinching at Bakugou's red cheeks.

–

"Suspect number one has been sighted, turning the corner by the chocolate shop," Ururaka whispers into her comm piece. With Hatsume's multi purpose binoculars and her rooftop vantage point, Ururkaka can easily keep track of the main suspect's whereabouts.

"Copy," she hears Kirishima answer. "Bakugou and I are approaching from down the street."

There's a small crackle from Bakugou's end as he grumbles, "We should just blast up there and take her out right now."

Ururaka giggles as she hears Kirishima sigh, "Bakugou, you know that's not the point of the assignment. This is about recon and stealth, we can't have the suspect notice they're being tailed."

"If they're a fucking suspect, then they shouldn't be allowed to walk around acting all fucking suspicious, huh?"

"Bakugou, please focus on the assignment at hand," Iida's voice comes through the speaker.

"Exits one and three have been sealed," Todoroki's voice follows. "Yaoyoruzu is on exit two, where she will be waiting with the tapping device."

Everything seems to be going according to plan thus far, aside from Bakugou's grumbling. Which is how Ururaka can tell something is… off. Their teachers have never been ones to let heroics class be so simple as that.

And then Ururaka sees it. "Guys, a second figure is approaching the suspect. They are carrying a briefcase, and based on the binocular's thermals, I have reason to believe this may be our evidence."

"I'm going the fuck in," Bakugou responds, already stomping his way over.

"No!" Iida shouts, making everybody cringe at the volume in their ears. "We cannot make a move without evidence yet. Kirishima, stop him!"

"I don't know, I think he's right," Kirishima answers himself, following Bakugou's heels. "We need to get closer to get that evidence. If the transaction is completed now, the tapping device will be useless."

"But–"

"Don't worry, I have a plan. Ururaka, you approach from above. Todoroki, come in from the west. Nobody make a move though, this might not actually be sufficient evidence."

And with that, Kirishima catches up to Bakugou and takes his hand in his. They're on the other side of the shop of the suspects' rendezvous point, and Kirishima begins talking loudly enough for his voice to carry up to where Ururaka sits on the roof.

"Aw, babe!"

"What the fuck do you–" Bakugou's voice is muffled by Kirishima's hand covering it.

"I know you love chocolate, let's go check out that shop over there!" Kirishima continues.

The first suspect looks up at them briefly before turning away, disinterested. Meanwhile, Ururaka keeps her eyes on the second figure who is turning the corner behind Kirishima. He stills when he spots them and loiters in the alleyway, peeking around the corner. Ururaka whispers into the comm, "Kirishima, Bakugou, the other suspect has spotted you. I don't think he's going to come out until you guys leave."

"Copy," Kirishima mumbles, and then turns his attention back to Bakugou. "Babe, your eyes are so distracting," he calls out before leaning in and pushing Bakugou up against the wall.

Ururaka gasps. From the vantage point she's at, it almost looks like they're… kissing. But then she sees Kirishima's eyes slide over to the second suspect who seems to deem neither of them a threat and finally walks out to meet their original suspect.

Meanwhile, below, Kirishima pulls away from Bakugou and drags him to the window of the shop until he's walking backwards, facing Bakugou.

"He's opening the case!" Ururaka whispers, eyes open wide as she readies herself to jump down.

At that moment, Kirishima, arms waving wide as he babbles, "Wow, this place is pretty cute, why don't we come out here more–" crashes backwards into the two and the briefcase clatters open. It's then that Ururaka notices two things – one, Bakugou was leading Kirishima into a collision course with his fingers wrapped around Kirishima's hips and two, what falls out of the briefcase.

"Oh, my apologies!" Kirishima says. His hand is running through his hair as if embarrassed, but he's pressing his comm simultaneous. "I wasn't really watching where I walked, but I'm glad nothing happened."

"It's fine," the briefcase owner chuckles, picking himself up along with the bundles of chocolates that had fallen out of his bag. Kirishima continues to apologize while Bakugou bristles until the other two men are headed back on their way.

When they're gone, Kirishima turns back and waves up at Ururaka. "Well, that was a close call! I figured it might have been a trick to get us to fail the assignment."

"Right," Ururaka answers, floating her way down. "That was some quick thinking back there! Pretending to be two teens in a romantic relationship would make sense for the context of a chocolate shop."

"Hah, yeah," Kirishima answers, rubbing the back of his head. "Just playing to my strengths, you know."

"Strengths? What, like acting?" Ururaka asks, but before she can question further, Yaoyoruzu is speaking into the comms.

"The tapping device has been attached without the suspect's notice. Mission complete," she says.

"Wow, great job, guys!" Ururaka crows, jumping in the air and pulling the two of them into a hug.

"Ugh, gross," Bakugou whines, but lets it happen regardless.

–

"Hey, Kouda," Kirishima asks, coming up to where he sits in the common room playing with his rabbit. "I've got a question for you."

Kouda blinks up at Kirishima and hides his face in his bunny's fur, but nods to tell him to go on.

"How'd you get permission for your rabbit? Did you have to fill out a form or something?"

Kouda nods, timidly asking, "Are you thinking of getting a pet?"

Kirishima smiles, chuckling, "Yeah, well, Bakugou and I were thinking about adopting a snake together! I hear they're relatively easy to take care of and since we're living together I figure it'll be easy enough to figure out a routine between the two of us."

Kouda nods, remembering that Bakugou and Kirishima room side by side. He wouldn't have pegged Bakugou to be the type to keep pets, but snakes do seem to match his style, as well as Kirishima's manly persona.

"I-I could give you some pointers on raising a snake if you need," Kouda offers with a gentle smile.

"Really? That would be awesome!" Kirishima crows, pumping a fist in the air. "Thanks so much!"

And that is the story of how King Murderman Rock Explosion the Snake came to be.

–

They all sit in the common area, watching the TV as they watch Mount Lady walk down the aisle to Kamui Woods in their public wedding ceremony following the news of a whirlwind romance.

Mineta is going feral to one side, largely ignored as the girls sigh together.

"Wow," Hagakure says, "I hope I look that beautiful in my wedding dress someday."

"Oh, the venue is so beautiful," Yaoyoruzu gushes. "It must have cost them a fortune to set that all up on such short notice!"

"Damn," Jirou mutters, "If even Yaoyoruzu thinks that's expensive then that must seriously be one of the most epic weddings of the year."

Bakugou growls, "Tch, when I get married my wedding is going to top all superhero weddings. I'll have the number one fucking wedding, just you guys wait."

Midoriya frowns, turning to him, "Well you're going to have to find somebody who wants to marry you first."

"Yeah right, as if!" Sero howls, clapping Kaminari on the back.

"Honestly, I'm sorry to the poor girl who's going to have to put up with your temper someday," Kaminari continues.

Bakugou stares at them, but instead of the glare they expected, it's confusion. "What do you mean some poor girl," he bites out. "I'm obviously going to marry Kirishima."

At that, everybody gapes at him.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" Kirishima says, returning from the bathroom right at that moment.

There is general silence as everybody continues to gape at Bakugou, before swiveling their heads to face Kirishima. Finally, Todoroki speaks up, breaking the silence. "Would you marry him for a Quirk marriage? It might make sense, considering Kirishima's hardening quirk is one of the few things indestructible to your explosions, but since you can't have children it wouldn't be an ideal match."

"The fuck, half and half?" Bakugou growls. "Why would I marry Kirishima for a Quirk marriage, that's fucking heartless even for me."

At that Sero wheezes out an attempt at a laugh, "Uh, haha? That's a really strange joke, man…"

Todoroki pauses, considering for a moment, "Then… is this a friendship ritual? A kind of brotherly wedding that friends do? A friendship marriage?"

"What kind of fucking friends get married?" Bakugou splutters.

"I wouldn't really know," Todoroki answers. "I haven't really had many friends to gauge that off of."

"Uh, guys, what's going on?" Kirishima asks, picking his way around the back of the couch.

"Get this," Kaminari weakly manages to get out, "Bakugou just said he'd marry you, and make it an even better wedding than Mount Lady and Kamui Woods."

Kirishima snorts at that as he settles down into Bakugou's lap. "That seems kind of far fetched."

"Right? Totally the most ridiculous thing we've ever heard," Sero nods.

"I barely have any fucking money, and I'm pretty sure Bakugou can't afford that much for a wedding either. Plus, we're still underage so it'll be a few years until we can actually get married."

And that's when they all notice the fact that Kirishima has so casually sat his ass down on Bakugou's lap. Bakugou, who is nuzzling his nose into the back of Kirishima's neck.

Suddenly, all the memories of the past year come flooding back. All of the casual hand holding, cuddling, hugging, dates, hell, even kissing that they had all dismissed as something friends would do. And all of those moments are revealed in perfect clarity with new meaning as they realize what had been presented before their very eyes all along.

Todoroki leans over to Midoriya and asks, "Is it typical friend behavior to press your nose into somebody's neck like that?"

"No… no it is not."

–

"Wait," Shouji speaks up finally. "Are you meaning to tell me that I have heard you guys fucking from just one wall over?"

"Ah…" Kirishima blushes. "Sorry about that."

"You fucking bet you have," Bakugou growls. "And it was the best fuck ever."

"Bakugou!"

AN: thanks for reading! this was honestly supposed to just be short and cute and funny but then my brain insisted that i have a scenario for each and every member of class 1-a so you're welcome!

this was honestly all an excuse so that i could write Todoroki "Friendship Wedding" Shouto

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favs and reviews are always appreciated!