Chapter Text
It started off as a normal Friday morning. Bakugo Katsuki had just finished his daily commute to school and leisurely walked into class, throwing his bag down next to the seat. He immediately swung his legs up over the desk like usual.
Much to Bakugo’s dismay, the class president, Iida Tenya, was already there and had noticed this act.
“Put your legs down, Bakugo! Sitting like that is extremely disrespectful to the rest of the class!”
“Oh, shut up,” Bakugo grumbled, already tired of him. “Nobody’s even here yet.”
Iida grit his teeth. “Even though the majority of the class is not present, it is still incredibly discouraging to—!”
“Hey, Bakugo!”
Another voice cut through Iida’s. Bakugo instantly recognized the voice as Sero Hanta. Following him were two other people he recognized as Mina Ashido and Kaminari Denki, Sero’s friends.
“We have a surprise for you!” Mina chirped happily.
Bakugo internally cringed at the word ‘surprise.’ With these three, any ‘surprises’ usually meant detention.
“What now?” he grumbled.
Mina pulled five identical strips of paper out of her pocket and showed them to Bakugo proudly.
“Happy birthday, Bakugo!” all three of the others chanted at once.
It took a second for Bakugo’s eyes to focus on the words on the strips of paper. Once he was able to see them, his heart lifted.
“‘Steel Velvet, seven o'clock',” he read. “No way.”
“Yes way!” Kaminari exclaimed happily.
“You got me Steel Velvet tickets for my birthday?” Bakugo muttered, almost feeling like he was dreaming.
“Well, technically Yaomomo got them for us, but, yeah!” Mina corrected.
Sometimes Bakugo forgot just how many connections Yaoyorozu Momo had.
“It took a while to convince her,” Sero sighed, “but once we told her they were for your birthday, she was instantly on board.”
“That’s...that’s really cool,” Bakugo muttered. “Thanks, I guess.”
“No problem,” Kaminari said, patting Bakugo’s shoulder. “We know you love that band.”
Bakugo shoved Kaminari’s hand off him, a bit embarrassed. He never expected his classmates to do something that nice for him. But someone was missing. The usual cheeriness of the group was definitely there, but it felt muted. Bakugo only realized what it was when he walked in. Kirishima Eijiro, with his stupid floppy hair, made his way into the classroom.
”Yo, Kirishima!” Sero called as the redhead walked through the door. “Yaomomo got us tickets to Steel Velvet on Saturday night.”
Kirishima’s body tensed up as soon as he heard the words "Steel Velvet." His eyes widened in shock. “W-Woah, really?”
He seemed almost embarrassed. A little bit worried, even. Bakugo had no idea why. The way he responded was strange, but Bakugo decided not to press it.
“Yeah. Sweet, right?” Kaminari prodded, finger-gunning. “They’re even VIP tickets. We get to go backstage and meet the band.” He spoke with a ridiculously giddy smile on his face.
“That’s wild,” Kirishima said.
The more they talked about the event, the more worried Kirishima started to look. He was smiling, but Bakugo could tell there was something else behind his eyes. The blond narrowed his eyes skeptically. Nobody else seemed to notice, as they kept talking in the same stupid happy tone as before.
“You’re coming, right?” Mina asked excitedly. “I managed to get five tickets.”
Kirishima scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Actually, I can’t.”
Kaminari, Mina, and Sero all looked immensely disappointed.
“Aw, man,” Sero muttered. “Why not?”
“I got this super big project due on Monday, dude,” Kirishima explained.
Mina balled up her fists in front of her chest and pouted. “But it’s Bakugo’s birthday! Come on and have fun with us!”
Kirishima sighed. “I’m sorry, guys. I want to go, really, but I’m scared I’ll fail my class if I don’t get this done.” He let out a small nervous laugh. It didn’t seem like he really wanted to go.
Kaminari grumbled. “You’re no fun, dude.”
“Yeah, really,” Sero agreed. “We even got an extra ticket for you.”
“All of you, shut up,” Bakugo finally said. He was getting tired of the guilt-tripping. ”If he doesn’t wanna go, who cares? It doesn’t matter to me who goes, so stop fuckin’ pressuring him.”
“Okay, fine,” Sero surrendered.
Kaminari sighed. “Yeah, alright. It is your birthday, after all. You should get to decide what happens.”
Bakugo ignored them and rolled his eyes. He briefly met Kirishima’s gaze, who he could’ve sworn was giving him a grateful look. He decided to ignore that, too.
The bell suddenly rang, startling all the students in the room.
“I’m gonna go sit down. See you guys at lunch,” Kirishima said with a small wave. He made it to his seat just before Mr. Aizawa opened the door. The bags under his eyes were just as prominent as ever and seemed to darken as soon as he walked into the room. He sighed.
“Alright, let’s get started,” his monotonous voice rang out across the room. “Bring out your textbooks and open them to where we left off yesterday.”
Bakugo immediately zoned out. He didn’t care about class. All he could think about was the concert tomorrow night. Steel Velvet had been his favorite band for a while, and he’d always wanted to see them live. Eventually, his mind wandered to the drummer, which shot heat creeping into his face. Drummers were always Bakugo’s favorite part of any band, but this one especially took his breath away. He didn’t go by his real name on stage. He was only known as his alias, Red Riot, which added an extra layer of mystery to the man. The name certainly fit him, as nearly everything about him was red. His hair was fire hydrant red, way too bright to be a natural color. His eyes were the same color as rubies and they sparkled just like the jewels under stage lights. Even the costume he wore to concerts was red. Sometimes in the middle of the show he ripped his shirt off, and revealed his surprisingly muscular abs. He didn’t know how they let Red go without a shirt, as he was supposedly also a high school student, but Bakugo wasn’t complaining. Normally, he didn’t care about other people’s physique. There was just something about Red that made his heart go crazy. Maybe it was the fact that he reminded Bakugo of Kiris—
“Bakugo!”
A sudden stern yell from the front of the room startled Bakugo out of his thoughts. Mr. Aizawa was glaring at him.
“What?” he responded sourly.
”I would appreciate it if you’d pay attention while I’m teaching,” Mr. Aizawa scolded.
“He was probably daydreaming about Red Riot again,” a familiar voice teased. Mina.
A couple of kids snickered.
“I was not!” Bakugo yelled.
“Yeah, sure,” Sero taunted. He didn’t sound very convinced.
”A-Again? You mean...that’s happened before?” Kirishima’s voice asked from across the room. His voice had a twinge of nervousness to it.
“Yep,” Kaminari answered. “He’s got a huge crush on the guy.”
“I do not!” Bakugo shouted to him. “And even if I did, what does it matter to you?! It’s none of your goddamn business!”
More snickers sounded off. Bakugo wanted to punch every single person in the room. Kirishima’s face looked a little flushed. His eyes were glued to his desk.
“A-HEM!”
Mr. Aizawa loudly cleared his throat. For once, Bakugo was grateful that the bastard was there to break up the fight. “Let’s leave this teen romance drama for outside of class, shall we? Now, if you’ll let me, I’d like to continue teaching. I don’t want any more disturbances. Is that clear?”
A simultaneous “yes, Mr. Aizawa” rang out from everyone in the class.
“And Bakugo, keep your attention up here, yes?”
Bakugo rolled his eyes, hot shame still crawling down his neck from Mina’s callout. “Yeah. Fine.”
Aizawa huffed in apparent satisfaction. He continued reading off the chalkboard behind him, the class doing its best to stay attentive.
Eventually, lunch rolled around, and it couldn’t have come any sooner. Bakugo made his way down to the cafeteria. Kaminari, Mina, and Sero were hounding him all the way there. It happened every day, so Bakugo was kind of used to it, but today they were being extra invasive.
“So were you actually thinking about Red Riot in Mr. Aizawa’s class today?” Mina asked in an annoyingly curious tone. Bakugo felt all the shame and embarrassment from earlier rushing through him.
“Wh-What?!”
“I totally said that as a joke, but it looks like I was correct!” she mused, laughing triumphantly.
“I never said that!” Bakugo tried to protest. However, with how badly he was blushing, it wasn’t exactly convincing.
Sero chuckled. “Dude, you’ve got it bad.”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“He means your feelings for Red Riot,” Kaminari interjected.
Bakugo’s heart skipped a beat. He knew they were right, but he would’ve rather died than say it out loud. “I don’t have feelings for that stupid spiky bastard.”
”Come on, don’t try to deny it,” Mina said. “Anybody with half a brain could tell that you’ve got some serious heartache for that drummer boy.”
“You guys are all such assholes,” Bakugo grumbled in reply, still blushing like mad.
“And yet you still hang out with us,” Kaminari observed.
“Don’t lie, Bakugo. You love us,” Sero taunted.
“I’ll fuckin’ beat the shit out of all of you.”
“That’s our Bakugo. Being as tsundere as ever,” Mina sighed.
“I’m not a fucking tsundere!”
“Whatever. Let’s just get lunch already.”
Kaminari, Mina, and Sero sauntered over to the lunch line, Bakugo following them reluctantly. Sero got excited that they were serving beef and rice. They picked up their trays and looked around for an open table.
“Yo, guys!”
Kirishima was waving at them from a table in the middle back of the room. The four of them walked over and set down their trays, taking a seat.
“I saved us a table,” Kirishima said proudly.
“Yeah, we can see that,” Bakugo retorted.
“Thanks, Kiri!” Sero said with a smile.
“I still can’t believe you’re blowing us off for a stupid math assignment,” Mina grumbled.
“You’re really still on about that?” Kirishima asked.
“Well, of course I am! It’s like betrayal.”
“It’s not that deep, Mina. I just don’t wanna fail.”
“Is it really that important that you can’t spend one night with us, though?” Sero prodded.
Bakugo glowered. He just wanted them to stop talking.
”You guys know I don’t have the best grades right now,” Kirishima said with a small laugh.
“Yep, he’s a dumbass,” Kaminari said.
“Like you’re one to talk,” Bakugo replied in a snarky tone.
Kaminari paused for a moment, then shrugged. “That’s fair.”
Bakugo wasn’t sure why, but he actually felt kind of disappointed that Kirishima couldn’t go. There really wasn’t any reason to. He tried to push those feelings aside. They were annoying.
”Wait, we still have an extra ticket,” Mina pointed out. “What are we gonna do with it?”
Sero shrugged. “I dunno. Is there anyone else here who likes Steel Velvet?”
“Jirou does. Oh, yeah! Kaminari!” Mina suddenly exclaimed.
Kaminari flinched at her sudden excitement. “Yeah?”
“You should ask Jirou if she wants the extra ticket.”
“Nope.” Kaminari’s face was instantly as red as Kirishima’s hair. “Not happening.”
Mina groaned. “Don’t be a coward, Kami. Just go tell her you have an extra ticket.”
“Yeah, it’s not like you’re asking her out on a date or something,” Sero ebbed.
“Guys, I’m not asking Jirou if she wants it. I’m too awkward and stupid.”
“At least you’re self-aware,” Bakugo grumbled.
“Come on, Kami!” Kirishima said. “Be a man and ask her!”
“Yeah!” Sero and Mina shouted in agreement.
Kaminari sighed. “Okay, okay! Fine. I’ll ask her. But only so you guys will shut up and leave me alone about it.”
Sero patted him on the back. “There you go!”
Mina clasped her hands together happily. “Yay! Kaminari grew a pair! Now all we gotta do is figure out how to get Bakugo over his crush on Red Riot.”
Bakugo almost choked on his rice. So did Kirishima, strangely enough. “Will you shut the fuck up about that already?”
“Dude, it’s not our fault you’re so easy to tease,” Sero joked.
Bakugo glared at him. Unfortunately, Sero was used to that by now and it had no effect. “Doesn’t mean you have to do it all the time,” he grumbled.
“We’re your friends, man. It’s our job to tease you,” Kaminari said, gently shoving his shoulder. “You know we don’t mean anything by it, right?”
“We’re not making fun of you or anything,” Kirishima said with a stupidly happy smile. “I’m sure we’ve all had some crushes we’re not so proud of.”
Something was off about his smile. He still looked happy, sure. That part was the same. However, he looked unusually happy. And it was kind of weird. And like before, everyone else was too oblivious to notice anything different. Maybe Kirishima was just trying to hold back laughter at him. He decided to keep quiet.
“I certainly have,” Kaminari agreed.
“Yeah, we know. You rave about a new girl every week,” Mina said.
Kaminari blushed. “I can’t help it. I’m a naturally flirty type.”
Kirishima raised his eyebrows and frowned as if to say are you sure about that?
Kaminari, Mina, Sero, and Kirishima all laughed. Even Bakugo felt himself scoff out a bit of a chuckle. The five of them continued eating and randomly chatting about anything they could think of. The others seemed to forget about teasing Bakugo, who was extremely grateful. Eventually the bell rang yet again. It was time to go back to class. All five of them groaned and lugged their way to the classroom.
The day dragged on and it seemed even longer than usual. Eventually class ended and Bakugo made his way home, his head blurry with thoughts. His so-called "friends" kept teasing him endlessly about his crush on Red Riot. He had some serious feelings for the guy, and he was overly aware of that fact. It sucked. Feelings sucked. He couldn't even explain what it was about that stupid drummer that set his heart on fire. Red wasn't even that attractive. At least, Bakugo liked to tell himself that he wasn't attractive, probably in an attempt to deter his own feelings. Before he knew it, he was back home. Apparently he had zoned out thinking about Red Riot for the second time that day. He wanted to punch himself in the face when he realized that. He shook his head, trying to force those thoughts out.
"Hey, Katsuki," his mother, Mitsuki, called from the couch.
"...Hey." Bakugo took a few seconds to reply. "I'm going to my room."
Mitsuki quirked an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
Mitsuki seemed entirely unconvinced, but she didn't press the issue. She shrugged. For once, Bakugo was glad that she ignored him. He just wanted to go to bed, even though the sun wasn't even completely down yet. He stumbled into his room and threw down his bag. He instantly collapsed on his bed, his mind a red haze. He didn't care that he was still wearing his school uniform. The only thing on his mind as he slowly drifted off to sleep was Red Riot. Tomorrow would either be the best experience of his life, or it would break his heart in half. Or both.