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Coruscant Curry was located within walking distance of UA, making it to a list of favorite hangouts of the students who all resided there. Sure, Lunch Rush was an amazing cook and his Quirk allowed him to feed the hundreds of students and staff with minutes, but sometimes they wanted something different than what the cafeteria offered.
Not to mention it was closed Sundays.
So the students would trek out to grab grub, always going in groups, safety in numbers and all that. And Bakugou's favorite place to go was Coruscant Curry, mainly due to the fact that it didn't wuss out when it came to spicing up food. He could get a five flame chicken curry with extra chili peppers and jalapeños without too much shit and it would be hot enough for his taste.
Granted he could do without the wide-eyed fear and slack-jawed awe and disgusted sneers from his classmates but fuck them. He wasn't ordering for those assholes. Besides, it meant there was less chance of someone swiping a bite off his plate, as was the habit of some of his so-called friends. No one dared try his out of fear their face would blow up, either from his food or his Quirk.
The only one who didn't seem to be acting along the same lines as everyone else was Kirishima, who was unabashedly staring at Bakugou from across the table with a small, soft smile on his face and pride shining in his eyes. The expression had Bakugou feeling warm, just like always, and he scowled to cover up the smile that threatened to break out in response.
"What?" he snapped, Kirishima just as unphased by Bakugou's anger as usual.
"Nothing," the redhead replied, still smiling. "I'm just impressed by how manly you are with that order."
Bakugou's heart did a weird skip-stutter thing and he scowled further, lip curling up in a sneer. Ordering spicy food wasn't "manly", it was just his taste. Besides, he wasn't feeling all that "manly" at the moment, a realization that hit him when he turned his head away, unable to stand the earnest joy on Kirishima's face or the fluttering it caused in his stomach.
Okay, maybe it wasn't an inability to "stand" it, so much as an inability to handle it. For Bakugou, emotions tended to mean weakness and his lack of experience with genuine love and affection from anyone outside of his parents meant he wasn't sure how to react to any of it, much less express it. Kirishima understood though, foot nudging Bakugou's under the table. He'd never taken any of the blond's insults or anger to heart, never let it push him away, instead seeing it for what it was: a scared kid with no clue how to express himself. So he provided support in his usual Kirishima-like fashion, steadfast and true, keeping things just between them as Bakugou got his shit straight.
Totally unfair, Bakugou thought, fists clenching under the table and palms heating up. Kirishima deserved better, deserved more, deserved someone who could give back what he so easily handed out.
Everyone's food arrived and Bakugou glanced around the table as he took his first bite, relishing the burn on his tongue and the way his entire mouth heated up. Pinky and Tape-Arms were stealing bites off one another's plates. Pikachu was feeding some to Headphones. Gravity Girl and Damn Deku were sharing naan bread and blushing like morons when their hands brushed. And he wasn't entirely sure, but it looked like Tail-Boy had his arm around the invisible chick. The floating clothes on the chair certainly made it seemed that way.
He glared at his food, fuming, stabbing at a piece of chicken with more force than necessary. Everyone else seemed to have no issue showing some level of affection with someone else. It was only Bakugou who had hang-ups about that shit.
Yet Kirishima remained by his side, understanding as always.
Damn him. And his stupid hair.
Shoving another forkful of food into his mouth and ignoring the sting to his lips, Bakugou reached over with his free hand, laying it atop the free one Kirishima had laying on the table. The redhead froze for half a second in surprise, smile faltering briefly where he was listening to Bird-Brain. His eyes shifted down without his head turning away, coming across where his boyfriend's hand was laying on his.
On top of the table.
In public.
In front of all their classmates.
No one said anything, no one drew attention to the move, yet Bakugou felt like every pair of eyes were on their hands. His face felt hotter than the food he was shoving in his mouth, heart pounding wildly out of control, and his stomach was rolling with nerves so much he wasn't entirely sure he could keep eating.
Yet Kirishima was cool as always, simply turning his hand over and clasping Bakugou's, giving it a squeeze like he knew the blond was losing his shit. And the nonchalant gesture helped, settling everything inside him, so that when a small secret smile was shot his way, he returned it.
An elbow nudged his left side, Short Circuit staring at the joined hands on the table, and Bakugou glowered without bothering to look at the imbecile. "Hey, Baku--"
Dropping his fork, he aimed his hand in Dunceface's direction, letting small explosions pop on his palm. The implied threat was enough, jaw shutting with a loud clack of teeth against teeth, and he was left alone, no questions asked. Kirishima snorted out a small laugh and shook his head fondly and Bakugou thought maybe he was manlier than he'd originally believed.