Summary: For weeks on end, Bakugo and Kirishima have held their own private 'Pro-Hero Kombat X' tournaments. Each and every time they play, though, Bakugo mercilessly beats his boyfriend into the ground. Kirishima, however, refuses to give up and challenges Bakugo to a game again every time.
Out of all of the boys in Class 1-A, Katsuki was one of the bests when it came to 'Pro-Hero Kombat X'. He'd played all the previous titles and, thankfully, All Might's moveset hadn't changed much over the years. Because of that, he could pick the former Number 1 Hero in any of the successive games and re-master him almost instantly. Kirishima was one of the higher-ups on that list, but he was far from being the best since he played a much more difficult character; Crimson Riot.
With the addition of the 'Legacy Pack', a lot of older heroes were added into the game in homage of their deeds. Crimson Riot was one of the twelve heroes added in and Kirishima was dedicated to learning and mastering him as soon as he'd found out. The problem with that, though, was that the passionate hero had extremely difficult-to-land combos, which meant the redhead would have to put in extra time to try and master him.
This led to Eijiro constantly challenging his boyfriend to matches in the game to try and do better after his rigorous training in the game. 'If I can beat the best of the best, then that makes me a master!' he would say. Katsuki always scoffed at his excitement, but he never turned down the challenge.
Week after week, Kirishima lost to Katsuki's All Might. The blonde was simply too good. He knew all of the hero's combos, all of the sweet spots for his most damaging moves, and had memorized the button layouts so long ago that they might as well be imprinted on his brain. Meanwhile, Kirishima was just barely scratching the surface of Crimson Riot's massive skillset. The redhead never lost hope, though. Determined to beat Bakugo one of these days, he spent as much of his free time training, both in real life and in the game, in hopes of getting that sweet, sweet 'VICTORY' screen one day.
The only person in their class that could be considered second to Katsuki's All Might was Midoriya's own All Might. Unsurprisingly, the two of them played the Symbol of Peace and constantly butted heads over which of them was better. Out of the six tournaments they'd held since moving into Heights' Alliance, both Bakugo and Midoriya had managed to snag three overall wins each and both boys were eager to face off in the next tournament to grab a one-up on the other.
Kirishima knew that the green-haired boy was the only one to beat Bakugo in a straight fight, but he had no idea how Midoriya had done it. It could be argued that it was just the same raw skill that Bakugo held, but the passionate hero-to-be thought otherwise. With this in mind, he managed to corner Izuku one day while they were walking back from classes.
"How do I always beat Kacchan?" He asked for confirmation, to which Kirishima eagerly nodded. "Well, I grew up with the same games he did. While he memorized every move that All Might had, I memorized every move that all the other heroes had, including All Might."
At that, Eijiro tilted his head in question.
"Wait...so you're telling me you just know every other characters' sweet spots?" He asked, to which Midoriya nodded. A great smile erupted across the redhead's face. "That's so manly! You could probably beat Bakugo with any of the characters, huh?"
Midoriya's smile grew wavey and he began to wave his hand dismissively.
"I-I wouldn't say that...K-Kacchan's still really good with All Might, so it'd take some work to break around what he already knows," Then he stood tall again as the pair walked back to the dorms together. "Still, it's not like I have a cheat code to beat him. We've played the game together forever and I'm used to playing against him is all. It just takes work."
For a moment, Kirishima's smile faltered. Like it was nothing, though, the sun flashed against his bright teeth as he smiled even wider.
"Well, that's kind of a bummer," He admitted. "But it's not like this is gonna kill my mood or anything! I'll challenge him as many times as it takes until I finally beat him fair and square!" He exclaimed, smacking the other boy on the back. "Thanks, Midoriya! I'll catch you later, alright?"
And before the greenette could respond, Kirishima took off running in the direction of the dorms. A mere moment after, Ochako stepped toward to take her place at Izuku's side.
"What was that all about?" She asked, taking Deku's hand in her own with ease. He turned to her and shrugged, despite the smile on his face.
"Kirishima just needed some help with something," He commented before the two of them began to walk back as well. "Want to meet me on the first so we can watch that one TV show you mentioned?"
Ochako smiled, shooting her fist into the air excitedly.
"Yeah! Let's do it, Deku!"
Sipping from a glass of orange juice, Bakugo was nearly bulldozed by a certain overactive redhead who should really watch where he's goddamn going, sometimes!, though he was sure to let it slide.
Kirishima skidded to a stop in front of him, the biggest—dare he say shit-eating—grin on his face.
"Hey, Katsuki," He exclaimed, finally calming down enough to not be yelling at the top of his lungs. "When you're free, can you play me in PHK X?"
The aforementioned blonde raised an eyebrow before slowly pulling his glass closer to his face to take a long, effortless drink. Once he'd drained the glass, he shoved his free hand into his pocket and leaned against the kitchen counter.
"I plan to go train in like thirty minutes. I don't know when I'll be back," Bakugo stated. He watched as Eijiro's eyebrows began to slip downward and a crestfallen look began to take on his face. "But sure. It'll be good to unwind with."
Kirishima's smile blew up even more and he shot his fist into the air happily.
"All right! I'll be practicing till you get back! Don't expect me to be easy!" The hot-blooded hero claimed. Despite his confusion, Bakugo couldn't help the small smile that slipped onto his face. He promptly ignored it, though, and tilted his head in question instead.
"Why're you so excited about it?" He asked. Then; "Y'know what, scratch that, you're always excited. Why is this time anything special?"
Eijiro smiled again before putting his hands on his hips defiantly.
"Because today I'm perfectly motivated!" He exclaimed, punching his fist into his palm. "I haven't beat you yet, but I haven't given up either! I'm gonna beat you, Katsuki! You can best believe that I will!"
Seeing his boyfriend so energetic and expectant made him smile. That smile, though, soon grew into a grin that left Katsuki laughing voraciously; So hard that he had to put his glass down in fear of breaking it or at least cracking it. The kitchen itself was empty, and so was the common room across from them. Because of that, Eijiro was one of the only people to experience Bakugo in such a state of pure mirth. The lines on his face from the deep scowl that he so casually wore were practically nonexistent, replaced by the bubbly air of happiness and joy around him at that very moment. Something about watching Bakugo laugh with no filter and no cap on his happiness made Kirishima's heart thump almost painfully in his chest. It was at this point that he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loved Katsuki Bakugo.
Bakugo wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before looking back at his boyfriend with what could only be called a smile of pure happiness on his face and nodded.
"All right then, Eijiro," He said, his voice quieter than before. "I'll make sure I come back soon so that we can play. Promise."
Kirishima's eyes brightened.
"All right! I'll show you just how much I've been practicing!"
"Hahh? You gonna blow me out of the water with all that 'new skill' of yours?"
"You bet your ass I am! I'll play you as many times as I need to to win, Katsuki!"
Bakugo smirked and crossed his arms. Sure, Kirishima was all loud and excited every day, but it didn't change the fact that Bakugo loved seeing him like that. The brightness that he seemed to carry around with him just infected Katsuki more times than he'd like to admit, though he'd never admit it in the first place. For now, he'd be content with his thoughts on the matter. And right now, his thoughts were telling him the one thing that he already knew to be the truest thing in his world: That he loved Eijiro Kirishima as much as a human being possibly could.
Kirishima held his fist out and Bakugo bumped it with his own.
"As soon as you get back, I'll be at your door," Eijiro said, his voice low and a bit husky. "You'd better be ready!"
"Hahh? That's quite the confidence. You haven't gotten over me yet, don't think you'll be doing it now!"