Chapter Text
Kirishima is lazing by the fire in wolf form when a polite knock sounds at the door. He perks up, ears alert, and looks at Bakugou seated at the desk, drafting a letter.
Bakugou is staring at the door, body tense.
The only people who know how to get to this place are their friends, who would never just knock without yelling. Otherwise, the property is warded to all hell so that no one can wander their way in. No one else should be able to get to their door.
Bakugou quietly sneaks to the door, hand tensed with sparks at the ready.
Kirishima pads to the side of the doorway so that he can’t be seen, but can jump in if he needs to.
Bakugou nods at him, then rips open the door with a growl, opens his mouth to yell, then freezes.
Kirishima hears an unfamiliar voice exclaim “Kacchan!” before Bakugou is bowled over by a muscular, green-haired man in a tackle hug.
Kacchan? Kirishima thinks, staring at the figure.
The man sits up on his knees over Bakugou’s lap. Kirishima can now see that he has a round face and freckles, and is widely grinning at Bakugou with tears in his eyes.
“Deku,” Bakugou grunts, sitting up on his elbows.
Deku?! Kirishima stares at Bakugou, then back at Deku .
“Oh, Kacchan, I’m so glad you’re okay. We looked but… you’re too good at disappearing.” Deku’s eyes fill with tears.
Bakugou sighs, “I’m fine, nerd.”
Deku laughs wetly, “Yeah, yeah. I can’t believe you’re- We heard of you. The name Ground Zero carries so much weight, and Riot Steel has provided so much for everyone, so I wanted to meet them. Then I met Pinky, and she was talking about you and it just - it sounded so much like you . But I couldn’t let myself believe - I can’t believe it’s really you.” He hugs Bakugou again, crying into his chest.
Bakugou pats his messy hair, “Oi, I’m fine, so get offa me.”
“Hehe right, sorry Kacchan.” Deku stands up, wiping his eyes, then notices Kirishima sitting to the side. “Oh! Kacchan, you got a dog?”
Bakugou laughs, a wicked grin lighting his face as he stands, “Yeah. He’s real friendly.”
Kirishima makes to growl at Bakugou, he’s not a dog thank you, but then Deku is there and he doesn’t want to scare him off.
“Aww, oh my goodness, you are so cute! Kacchan, what’s his name?”
Deku reaches towards him from exactly the right angle to make him comfortable, so he sniffs and lets himself get scratched behind the ears. Deku is really good at scratching, and he’s hitting all the good spots, but it’s kind of embarrassing that Deku doesn’t know he’s like, a person.
Kirishima regretfully has to back out of the scratch zone, bite a pair of pants from the floor, then run to the storage room to shift in privacy.
He walks out, red faced, and shoves a wildly cackling Bakugou. “Katsuki! I can’t believe you did that! That’s so embarrassing,” Kirishima turns back to Dekus sheepishly, who’s looking at him with growing understanding and horror, “Um, hi, sorry, actually I’m not a dog. I’m a Werewolf.”
Deku waves his arms frantically, “Oh jeez, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to treat you like that…”
Kirishima scratches his head and smiles, “No, it’s okay. It was actually really nice, but kind of awkward when you don’t know I’m a person. Feels unbalanced.”
“Mean, Kacchan!” Deku huffs.
Bakugou doubles over in full-bellied, shit-eating laughter, hand over his mouth.
Kirishima shoves him again, but it only makes him laugh harder.
“I’m really sorry about that, I should have introduced myself, I’m Midoriya Izuku. My codename is Deku, and you must be Red Riot, right?”
“Yep, that’s me! It’s so nice to finally meet you, Midoriya! I’m Kirishima Eijirou, but you can call me Eijirou.”
“Oh, I’m happy to meet you, too, Eijirou!” Deku grips Kirishima’s hand in both of his and shakes vigorously. “I saw the forge outside. Does that mean, um,” he looks pointedly at the single bed, “that you two stay together?”
Bakugou, having finally pulled himself together, blushes furiously and glances away. Kirishima takes his hand and smiles, “We are together.”
Deku’s eyes well up with tears again and his face lights with a watery smile. “Oh, Kacchan, I’m so happy for you. For both of you.”
“Shut up.”
Kirishima laughs.
Bakugou growls. “I don’t think you came out here just to greet us. What’s really going on, De-Izuku?”
Deku’s eyes widen in shock. “Did - did you just call me Izuku?”
“I won’t if you don’t want me to,” Bakugou pouts, hackles raised.
“No, I - I’m just not used to it. Deku has a different meaning for me now… but I think - I think I’d like for you to call me Izuku.”
Bakugou relaxes a fraction, then nods.
Deku’s face becomes serious. “Anyway, it’s nothing bad, but we’re almost ready, Kacchan. I don’t know how much you’ve been keeping up with inter-city resistance news, but we’re organizing something big. Something that could end the war.” Deku pulls a stack of envelopes from his pack and hands them to Kirishima. “These are orders for weapons and supplies we’re hoping Red Riot can commission. We’re ready to set up an extended raw ore supply chain to you, as well as pay for as many extra hands as you need to get these orders done. We’re looking at six months, if everything goes to plan.”
Kirishima eyes the figures on the papers and whistles. He’s been having Tetsu and Sero help out with the forge for a few months, but it’ll be hard to meet these numbers even with them. He’ll definitely need more hands and materials to get it done, but he knows he can do it.
“I’ll take the orders. You can count on me.”
Deku nods and smiles. “I know. If Kacchan trusts you, I trust you. And Kacchan, um, what do you want to do? Are you going to stay here? I mean, I just want you to know that you are always welcome to come back. Not that you have to. You can do whatever you want, but I just-”
Bakugou cuts him off. “Hey, slow down. I need to be here, at least for now. Someone’s gotta keep this idiot fed while he works, and the refuge needs someone to continue as their go-between.”
Deku wilts a little, but nods. “I understand.”
Bakugou continues, “ but , when shit hits the fan, you better fuckin’ believe I’ll be there.”
“We both will,” Kirishima says.
Deku’s face brightens in a wide smile and he laughs. “Of course, of course. I should have known, you wouldn’t miss it.” Deku’s face darkens again. “Kacchan, Eijirou, we’re finally preparing for the real thing. It won’t be easy. Are you sure you’re in?”
Bakugou smirks. “Who do you think we are? Hell yeah.”