Kirishima immediately looked taken aback upon seeing Shinsou and Kaminari in the apartment, which was definitely a first. After all, it was his fault that they were under the illusion that they could just show up any time they wanted to. To his credit, however, he recovered quickly.
"Hey guys!" he greeted, but Shouto pushed in behind him and leveled a stare at Bakugou.
"Izuku and I need to speak to you," he said firmly, and Shinsou and Kaminari stood up immediately, much to Bakugou's dismay.
"I need to pick up some energy drinks," Shinsou said, and Kaminari gave a terribly fake yawn.
"I can drive you to the store!" Kirishima volunteered a little hurriedly, and in a whirlwind the three boys were heading out the door and closing it behind them.
Bakugou just stared from where he was still sitting on the couch. What the fuck was going on? He wasn't ready to face them yet, he'd just wanted to unwind and try to forget for a while. And why the fuck had Shinsou and Kaminari just abandoned him?
"Do you have a minute to talk, Kacchan?" Izuku asked, breaking the silence. "We didn't mean to barge in here and interrupt anything."
"I, uh . . . " Bakugou was losing his grip on his nothing matters mantra, "I'd rather not, actually, now isn't really a good-"
"No." Shouto interrupted. Bakugou was a little relieved to see Izuku also snap his head around to stare at the other boy in surprise.
"Shouto-" Izuku started, but Shouto just crossed his arms and stared Bakugou down.
"We are having this conversation now because otherwise it will never happen," Shouto said. "I am not leaving room for miscommunication or needless painful assumptions. We are going to talk about what is going on here, and everyone is going to be honest and open so that we can move forward in whatever way we decide without any communication issues, is that clear?"
Izuku's dropped jaw made Bakugou feel a little smug before he realized he was also in trouble here. The temptation to get up and lock himself in his room was getting stronger by the second.
"Shouto, we need to be respectful of his boundaries," Izuku tried to explain.
Shouto just let out a huff and turned to stare down Izuku instead. "That doesn't mean that no one has to communicate."
"But we can't force him-"
Shouto immediately noticed Bakugou moving to stand up, and he turned on him again. "Sit down ," he ordered, and Bakugou was so surprised that he actually complied. " I am also feeling very strongly about the situation we have here and I am tired of people not communicating and I am going to be selfish and demand answers this one time because I have also been suffering this whole time. I have something to say, and you are both going to sit and listen to it."
Izuku side-eyed him for a moment before he also complied, moving to sit down and stare at Shouto expectantly. Shouto, however, started looking a little uncertain when he realized both Bakugou and Izuku were just waiting for him to continue. He cleared his throat- arms still crossed defensively- and glowered at them both.
"We're listening," Izuku said meekly.
"We need to talk about what you said to me earlier," Shouto started.
"We really don't," Bakugou protested weakly. The alcohol was probably the only thing keeping him from freaking the fuck out, but he was quickly sobering up. Izuku's head was swiveling back and forth between Shouto and Bakugou.
