Worthy of Love (KiriBaku)

Chapter 10: Rukkus

 The ever so devious Mina has planned a little outing with their friend group the following day to destress. With the impending licensing exam the following monday, they weren't the only ones who had asked for permission to leave campus. On saturday morning, Mr. Aizawa waited for everyone to congregate in the common room to make an announcement regarding their time off campus and how they should go about conducting themselves. 

"With recent events and the fall of All-for-One, I doubt there will be any attempt at an attack while you're all out, but, nevertheless, be alert and cautious. If anything should happen, contact me or another teacher."

There were a few concerned murmurs.

"I'm not done." The sensei growled as his students quieted themselves. "Be on your best behavior while you're out. Never forget that the twenty of you represent UA whether on campus or not." He took a moment to gaze at every single student, making sure that they comprehended. "Alright. Be back before dark. Enjoy yourselves."

And with that, Mr. Aizawa left to return to the teacher's quarters. Class 1A erupted in a cacophony of excited shouts. Kirishima didn't really feel like joining in, so he just went back up to his room to study before he was supposed to meet up with his friends later. Most of the teacher's had put off any major assignments until after the exam to give the students more time to prepare, so he didn't have much regular classwork that he had to do. Still, he searched through textbooks and training videos for anything that might help him at the exam. As time went by, he could feel worry eating from within him. What if he wasn't good enough? What if he didn't get his provisional license? Would he even be able to be a hero after all?

Kirishima's phone vibrated aggressively on the desk. He took a deep breath in an attempt to abandon all the feelings of self doubt, and checked his phone.

MINA:

The movie is at 2, so meet up at the common room around 1, K?

KIRISHIMA:

Sounds good

It was still only around 11:00 when Kirishima checked the muscle-armed clock on his wall. He looked longingly at his punching bag, wondering if he had enough time to get a workout in before having to leave. He decided to risk it. Although he hadn't worked out in awhile, it was more to get his mind out of thinking so negatively than actually exercising. 

Wrapping his hands up, he turned on his speaker to get him in the right frame of mind. Since it was the weekend, and a majority of the class had already left for their own activities he turned the volume up to the max. Loud rock music started blasting around the room - the same playlist he would listen to when he went lifting with Tetsutetsu.

Kirishima took a few minutes to stretch out his arms and torso before taking his first punch at the bag. Slowly he began to pick up his tempo, hitting the bag faster and harder to the beat of the song that was on. 

Although he and Shoji had talked over a strategy to ask Bakugo out the previous night, it was just one more thing in his mind that was causing him anxiety. At the time, Shoji seemed to have been convinced that Bakugo shared the same feelings as Kirishima, but what if that wasn't really it at all? Kirishima hit the bag with a fierce right hook, sending vibrations all up and down its support bar. He just realized he was out of breath and sweating profusely. His hands were starting to feel numb, but at least he felt something other than worry. He sat down on his bed for a moment to catch his breath and took off his shirt, using it as a rag to wipe the sweat droplets from his face. 

For a few more moments he sat, regaining his normal breathing before moving over to the few free weights he had. It was best to switch up the workout every once in a while, he thought. He started to do some bicep curls. With each rep, he could feel more tension leave him, being replaced with the pain of muscle fatigue. He had become so focused on the workout that he hadn't heard the banging on his wall. Suddenly, Bakugo bursted through his door, in a rage.

"Dammit, Shitty Hair! Your music is too damn loud!" Bakugo yelled at Kirishima. The red-head fumbled as he set down his dumbbells and turned down his stereo to a barely audible volume. The silence that filled his ears was deafening for a moment.

"Sorry about that." Kirishima said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. The sweat from his head had caused his hair to stick to his forehead. He brushed it back with his other hand.

"And why aren't you wearing a shirt again?!" Bakugo fumed, his face red, Kirishima assumed from anger, but in reality Bakugo was staring at him in all his glory and he was embarrassed at himself for liking it so much. Kirishima was before him shirtless and sweaty. This wasn't the first time Bakugo had seen him without a shirt on, seeing as how he doesn't wear one in his hero costume, but this was different. His abdominals were practically gleaming from a thin layer of sweat. A pair of grey sweatpants were resting very low on his hips, too, his toned hips showing off a prominent v-line and soft line of black hair that led from his navel down south. Not only that, but he was practically panting. Bakugo took a few hesitant steps towards him, unsure of what he was doing himself. 

Kirishima didn't take notice of Bakugo's gaze, instead just thinking of his rather silly question. He sat down on his bed with his chin in his hand. "Well, I was working out. And I'm in my own room so-"

"Oh, yeah, well-"

"Hey!" Sero was now standing in the doorway looking at the two. Neither of them had heard him approach. "You getting ready soon?"

"Yes." The two said in unison. They looked at each questioningly.

"Huh?" Kirishima asked, confused.

"What?" Bakugo growled.

"You guys are coming to the movies, right?" Sero asked them.

"Yes." They repeated again. They made eye contact for a moment before looking away.

"Alright, uh, well, I guess I'll see you guys downstairs in about an hour then." Sero said. He closed the door behind him, leaving Bakugo and Kirishima alone.

"I, um, I'm gonna go take a shower before we leave." Kirishima said, standing up from the bed, breaking the silence that had formed with Sero's exit.

Bakugo just grunted. He watched as Kirishima gathered his stuff for the shower. Unlike before, Kirishima could now feel Bakugo's eyes on him as he moved about his room, grabbing a towel and shampoo. Should he say something? "Listen, I-"

He turned to face the blond at the last second, but was surprised to see that Bakugo's face was only inches away from his own. Neither boy moved away.

"I need to shower, too," Bakugo murmured in a low, gravely voice. There was something in his eyes that was unfamiliar to Kirishima, something almost like fire.

"O-Okay," Kirishima squeaked. He winced at how stupid he sounded.

'So not manly!' He thought to himself.

"So, I'll see you down there," Bakugo continued, not breaking his look of intensity from Kirishima. The red-head gulped.