Chapter Text
"Wait..." Bakugou picks his head out of his book, blinks into the distance. "What course does Yaoyorozu study?"
Ashido puts one elbow on the back of each of the front seats. "Business Management."
Bakugou squints. "Wait, what year? How old is she?"
"Last year and she's twenty-four."
Kaminari also leans forward. "She studied Material Engineering before that!"
"What the hell", Bakugou mutters, "that's so badass."
"Wait wait", Sero says without taking his eyes off the road. "Dude, how old are you?"
"Really", Bakugou deadpans. "Really. You ask me now."
Sero shoots him a glance. "I'll trade you."
Bakugou scoffs. "Twenty-two."
"Oh, same! So you must be on your last year of Chemistry, right? Or wait, let me guess. You're getting some greater degree."
Bakugou turns a page, attempts to hide his grin. "I'm on my second year."
Kirishima pulls Ashido back into her seat, who pulls Kaminari in turn. "You what?"
"I'm on my second year."
"How many gap years did you even take?"
Bakugou is definitely grinning now. "None. The opposite, actually. Finished high school at seventeen, got my first degree at twenty. Got high enough marks to get myself partial scholarship for this degree."
"No way", Sero says. "That's too many accelerated courses. I call bullshit."
"What'd you get your first degree on?" Kirishima says.
Bakugou smirks at him over his shoulder. "Culinary Arts."
"I retract my previous statement", Sero says. "I suddenly believe you."
"Now hold on for a fuck", Kaminari says. "Do you even know our ages?"
"No and I don't care", Bakugou says. "You all gotta be around my age anyway. Hanta's exactly that and I'm gonna take a wild guess and say y'all are the same exact age."
"Wrong", Kaminari says, poking his tongue out. "I'm a year younger."
"Oh, wow, you sure got me there." He points at Ashido and Kirishima. "You two said you went to middle school together, didn't you? So you have to be the same age. I'm gonna guess - " he rolls his jaw " - twenty-three. No, five."
"Nope!" Ashido says. "We're both twenty. Kyouka is twenty-three, though."
"No hold up, back up", Bakugou says. "You two are twenty?"
"Yeah man!" Kirishima grins. "What, you surprised?"
Bakugou groans and slaps his forehead with his book. "You're fucking twenty? Fuck. Do you know what I would've given at twenty to pass as well as you two do?"
Ashido pokes his cheek. "If it counts as anything, you pass flawlessly, now."
Bakugou rolls his eyes. "Oh yeah, that's definitely gonna undo all the dumb shit I did two years ago because I was dysphoric. Fuck, I might not have even bought the bike."
"You have a bike?" Sero goes.
"I used to. I sold it."
"What did it look like?"
"I dunno, would you get it if I described it to you? How much do you even know about motorcycles?"
"Wait." Kirishima brings a hand up. "Wait, wait, when you say bike, you mean a motorcycle. Like, a real, actual motorcycle. With an engine and stuff."
Bakugou winks at him through the mirror.
Kirishima fans himself.
"I wanna get a license for a motorcycle", Sero says. "I have one for car, truck, bus, boat... I failed the helicopter pilot one because I couldn't cover tuition in time and they cut me off. Now I wanna get that, and also motorcycle and train."
Bakugou gapes at him. "Bitch you what."
Sero grins his triangle of a smile.
"We should have just about enough money to pay for one of those", Kaminari says. "Do you know how much driving lessons are for a train?"
"I have no idea", Sero says. "But is that really what we should pay for? I mean come on, when am I gonna drive a train?"
"Well..." Kaminari bites his lip. "No, you're right. Truth is we're well on our way of affording an op. So who wants to snatch that?"
"I really wanna get top", Kirishima nods with a frown. "Y'all know that."
"I want bottom but that's more expensive", Ashido says. "I'll have to wait more either way. Don't mind me."
"I'm good", Bakugou grunts.
"I say we get Kirishima the flat tiddy he's always deserved", Ashido says.
Kirishima puts a hand on his chest. "Aww, babe. I'm touched."
"Honestly, we really should be able to just trade, babe. It'd make life so much easier."
"Yeah, that's true", Kirishima says, looking at his knees. "Um. I have something I should say."
"We're listening."
Kirishima bites his lip. "I'm s-- I'm sorry, I have to take some money out."
Kaminari blinks. "Are you getting on T, or?"
"No, it's. For my family."
Sero pulls over so he can turn in his seat and give Kirishima his full attention.
"My littlest sister", Kirishima grits out. "She fell down some stairs... Her knee, her ribs, she's-- I have to help them, my mum can't pay for that, and what's one high schooler's part-time salary gonna help them?" He meets Sero's eyes. "I can't leave them like that."
Kaminari reaches over Ashido to hug him. "We get it. It's fine, Ei, don't say you're sorry. We can't blame you for something like that! It's your family and you love them." He leaves a kiss on Kirishima's hairline. "I hope she gets better soon."
Kirishima sniffles. "Thank you. I hope so, too."
Bakugou catches his eye. "You really love them, don't you?"
"Yeah", Kirishima says.
Ashido leans her weight into Kaminari. "Well. So much for affording stuff. Maybe next year." She sighs. "I just wish we could catch a break."
Sero snorts. "Us? Please. It's not like we can get any rest. Hell, we'll probably still have to pay for shit after we die. How much does a funeral cost?" He pulls back into the road. "Though I guess that's gonna be someone else's problem. Can't rest until we close our eyes for good."
Kirishima gives a weak laugh, wipes his eyes. "Hey, man. Don't go dying before me, I have no idea how to plan a funeral."
"I'm sure Tokoyami knows", Kaminari snorts. "We could ask him."
"To be honest", Kirishima says, "I'd much rather not have to."
Sero hums. "Me too."
Kaminari's room has the semi-constant property of smelling like sex.
Which should be weird, since Kaminari himself only sports that property quadri-constantly. And he does air the room when he can.
However it's not weird right now, considering that sex is exactly what's happening right this moment.
Bakugou has his aids shut off but he can feel the bass of the music they've turned way up to spare their housemates. He has his aids off and a pillow under his head and Kaminari between his thighs and he might be wearing Kaminari's shirt, but he's not too sure.
He can't investigate the matter either, because Kaminari bites Bakugou's thigh and oof, that's gonna bruise tomorrow.
Bakugou's head swims just thinking about it.
Kaminari flattens his tongue against his teeth, offering the best kind of surface for Bakugou to grind down on, and who is Bakugou to refuse such an opportunity?
Thank god they thought to put the music on before. Bakugou is sure he screams.
He did scream.
"I mean, the idea with the music was cute", Kirishima tries. "Just... dude, what did you even do to him?"
Kaminari, who of course knows no mortal fear and therefore ignores Bakugou's death glare, opens his mouth and flattens his tongue at Kirishima.
"Oh, understandable", Kirishima nods.
Bakugou kicks them both under the table.
"Why Culinary Arts and Chemistry?"
"Because it's shit I like and am good at."
"Isn't one enough, though?"
"Are you kidding? I'm gonna fucking keep at it until the university gets fed up with me and bans me. Probably gonna go study abroad if that happens. I could learn another couple of languages."
"Ambitious."
"Fuck you."
"So what's after Chemistry, then? Languages? Sports? Medicine? Damn, you could very well go for Medicine, you madman."
"Probably something with sports. Maybe an art. All the studying has me out of shape, I hate it."
"Babe are you telling me that this is out of shape?"
"Oh, babe, I'm always hot. But I've been hotter."
"True, true."
"But art sounds good, too. Probably gonna leave me with enough free time to work out, right?"
"What art are you thinking of doing?"
"Damn I dunno, music? I like being loud. But I like plastic arts too, fuck maybe I'll go into textiles. No wait shit not textiles."
"Aw. What's wrong with textiles?"
"I... seriously, honestly want to stick it to my parents, and they both work in fashion. If they find out I'm learning how to sew, they're gonna flip their shit. I can't give them the satisfaction."
"You're such a prick of a son, you know that?"
"I'm in the right, though."
"So", Sero says, digging his hands in his coat pockets. "Are we going to the New Year's party?"
Bakugou almost trips. "The who what now?"
"Well... Yao-momo's having a party on New Year's Eve, and uh... Todoroki is also having a party?"
Bakugou squints at him.
Sero shrugs. "I'm like, 90% sure they're gonna join parties. Or after-parties, after the year turns. They're both near each other - whatever, what I'm asking is, are we going?"
Bakugou squints harder. "We."
Sero gives a confused look. "Dude."
"What?"
"Dude, no, be honest with me for a second, how did you actually think you'd spend your New Year's? Alone and miserable?"
Bakugou huffs, kicks a rock as they walk. "I dunno. I haven't thought about it. I don't usually bother much with holidays."
"It's a new year", Sero says, nudging him. "It should start in good company. I don't care about the party, man, but you and Mina do and you have conflicting interests so I wanna know how everyone's feeling before I try to straighten out some of that mess."
"That's... actually really responsible of you, who the hell appointed you Mum Friend?"
Sero laughs. "Listen if Ei gets chore management and you get feeding us and Denki gets social detangling, I have to pick something of equal value."
Bakugou snorts. "What, conflict management? And what does Mina get?"
"Well clearly Mina is the Queen so--"
"Aren't I the King?"
"--of course - so even though you'd think she wouldn't get anything, she does in fact have the biggest friend circle and thus connects the rest of us when we need it."
Bakugou blinks. "Wait, what?"
Sero winks. "Every time you've heard me say 'I know a guy'? Mina knew the guy first. Mina knows all the guys."
Bakugou stares out into the distance for a hot second. Then he slaps his forehead. "Mother fuck, she did say she knew Aoyama since high school."
"Right?" Sero laughs. "Also good catch, for a moment there I thought you'd let me sound cool and pretend like I've said that more than once."
"Hold on, is Aoyama twenty?"
"Are you kidding? No, of course not. He's twenty-four. He had to retake a year because he moved from France. He was on his last year when he met Mina."
Bakugou hides a smirk behind his hand. "Was she a blonde back then?"
"Yes. Ei had his hair dyed, though."
"What? No way."
"Mhm. Started high school with that hairstyle." Sero holds the door open to let Bakugou walk in the coffee shop first. "Apparently it shocked Mina so much that she didn't recognize him for a solid two days."
"What the hell, she wasn't confused that she didn't see her friend for two days?"
"I'm not sure they were that close back then. I know they knew each other in middle school and were dating by the end of high school, but that's about it... I have no idea what happened in-between, or how close they were at the start. Maybe they just didn't talk for a couple of days."
Bakugou shrugs. "Whatever. So, coffee?"
"Black."
Bakugou turns to the cashier. "Can you get me eight extra shots of espresso?"
The cashier looks appropriately dead inside. "Right away, sir."
Coffees in hand, they walk back out. "So, New Year's? Todoroki, Yao-momo, neither, both? What are you up for, Katsuki?"
Bakugou huffs. "I could probably tolerate Yaoyorozu's party easier, just cause I don't know her much... Uraraka's gonna have my head if she finds out I went to a party she was going to, without telling her. Worse, if she finds out I went to the party she wasn't at. Damn. Depends on where she's going to be, then, and also depends on where Deku's going to be, because it goes without saying that I can't stand the guy."
"Of course", Sero snorts. "You're gonna be delighted to hear that they're both going to Todoroki's. They're helping him plan, in fact."
Bakugou gulps down his coffee. "Terrible."
"I'm sure Uraraka's gonna want to pop by at Yao-momo's party at some point. And Mina wants to go to Yao-momo's too!"
Bakugou rubs the bridge of his nose. "Fine, let's go to that. Jirou is decent, at least."
"Oh great, you're fine with that. Less work for me. I thought I'd have to talk you into going."
Bakugou rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Where are the others, anyway?"
"Oh, just down the street", Sero gestures with the hand holding his coffee. "See that tattoo shop?"
Bakugou blinks. "Hanta, be very careful of what you're gonna say to me next."
Sero laughs. "No, they're not getting inked as we speak."
Bakugou pointedly does not sigh in relief.
"They're planning for it, though. Why, you wanna get inked yourself?"
Bakugou sips on his coffee. "Depends. Are you?"
"I'm good", Sero says, tapping at his elbow with his free hand. "You don't have any though, do you?"
"No", Bakugou says.
A bell above the door rings when they walk in. There's a rather large corner couch on which Ashido is sprawled, raising questions about how the hell she manages to keep her skirt behaving while lying down like that.
Sero kocks on her ankle. "Are you dead?"
"Just practicing", Ashido says. "Hanta, it's too much money and too much time! It's not fair..."
Sero takes a seat on a bit of unoccupied couch. "You are allowed to not get another tattoo."
"But Eijirou's getting his!"
"Mine is small", Kirishima says.
Bakugou turns to him and-- yup, motherfucker's already halfway through the tattoo. "Hanta you lied to me."
"This wasn't the plan", Sero says. "I thought you guys said you'd only schedule appointments today?"
"I had a bit of time", Shouji says, wiping Eijirou's arm. "Same-day scheduling is a thing."
He's wearing a different tank top than the one from the party, and yet it is not any less distracting. He looks in even better shape in a well-lit shop. At least, without the lights and the music and the sweat, Bakugou can keep his drooling on the inside. He sips his coffee.
Shouji dips the needle in ink again, and uses it to point at Bakugou. "I don't know how to say this nicely cause you really think you're being subtle, but dude, you're not." He gets the needle on Kirishima. "Was it not enough when you got punched in the throat?"
"I didn't fucking say anything", Bakugou growls, hiding behind his cup. "Motherfuck. Leave me alone."
Shouji is very clearly trying not to laugh under his mask. "Okay, man. Just, you know. Don't say anything. You will get punched in the throat again, I don't need Fumikage for that."
"Okay okay, I fucking get it", Bakugou says, slumping down next to Sero. "Fuck. Sorry."
Sero elbows him. "Look at you, being decent and stuff."
"I thought the point was that I wasn't being decent."
"You weren't", Shouji and Kirishima say at the same time.
"I get it already!" Bakugou snarls. "Whatever, bitch! What are you getting!"
"It's the logo of an old comic superhero", Kirishima says. "Kind of old-school. I really liked him when I was a kid, i might as well have the logo on my skin."
Bakugou nudges Ashido with his knee. "And you?"
She sighs. "I wanted to get, like... a galaxy across my chest."
"Oof, that's a lot of ink."
"That is a lot of ink", Shouji says. "And a hell of a design, it'd take me a few days just to get some drafts done, nevermind finding the right one and eventually, actually getting it on your skin."
Ashido sighs again. "It's fine, I get it. Some other time. Lower priority and everything..."
Kirishima grins at her. "We can always get a galaxy shirt!"
"I have. Several."
"I know. I love them all."
Ashido grins back at him. "And I love you!"
"Aw, I love you too!"
"You guys are adorable", Shouji says.
"Like you're one to talk", Ashido says, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Excuse me?" Sero says. "Shouji and Tokoyami are fucking terrifying."
Shouji laughs. "Say that to his face."
Sero finishes his coffee like it's a shot. "No thank you, I value my life."
Bakugou is nose-deep in his book.
Kaminari has no fear of death, so he taps at the book and places a cup of tea between it and Bakugou.
Bakugou glares at it. "What."
"So, um. The year is ending soon."
Bakugou rolls his eyes. "Hanta already gave me the run-down. Do you know where Yaoyprozu's having her party?"
Kaminari sighs and drapes himself in the seat next to Bakugou, slinging an arm over Bakugou's shoulders. "Yeah. Turns out they're gonna merge parties after midnight. You cool with that, or?"
Bakugou hesitates for a moment, then leans into the side hug. "It's whatever. You guys are gonna be there, right? So it doesn't matter what other motherfuckers show up."
Kaminari grins. "Aw, babe."
Bakugou tests the tea. "Oh what the hell, this is nice."
"Right? I went and got the spiciest thing they had available. There's a whole box in the cupboard for you."
"That's what that is?" Sero calls from the couch. "And here I thought Bakugou turned on us and deigned to buy tea."
"Over my dead body", Bakugou says behind his cup.
Kaminari runs his fingers through Bakugou's hair. "So what about Christmas?"
"What, we're celebrating Christmas, now?"
"I mean..." Kaminari shrugs. "We don't have to, I guess. But I wanted to! It's a couples' holiday, I wanna take you out. Or at least Mina and Ei."
Sero props himself up on his elbow. "We're going out for Christmas?"
Kaminari just blinks for a hot minute. "Wait. Wait, oh my god, Hanta?"
Sero tilts his head.
"Hanta you wanna spend Christmas with us? Even though it's a romantic holiday?"
"Well yeah", Sero says. "I mean, we're dating now, aren't we? Sounds like fun. And if I get uncomfortable I can always just leave."
"I'd go with you", Bakugou says, pointing at him. "That sounds like a plan. We can all go out, and if either me or Hanta want to, we both bail. That way no one has to stay alone. Sound good, Denki?"
Kaminari has stars in his eyes. "I love you."
Bakugou huffs. "Unfortunate. I love you too."
Sero lies back down. "You say unfortunate, but that's four times too bad fortune. Sounds to me more like you lucked out."
Bakugou leans his cheek into Kaminari's chest. "I did", he says. "I really did."