bakugou & kirishima are asked by a reporter "what's your fav thing about each other?" and kirishima--exhausted after a long day and therefore more loose-lipped--ends up saying "mmm, probably the face he makes when he wakes up in the morning."

& there's a moment of silence before bakugou sputters out "what the FUCK?" but kirishima just nods absently like "yeah dude, it's super cute."

and the reporter, nearly vibrating with glee, is like "oh? what face? tell us about it." and oh, does kirishima deliver.

"he does this thing where he's, like loading?" kirishima says, smiling faintly, caught up in the memory, "like a computer start up sequence? his eyebrows will scrunch up first, then it travels down to his nose, right.

"and then his mouth will do this--this pouting thing 'cause he hates the taste of his own breath, which is /hilarious/ by the way--and oh! sometimes, if I'm lucky, he'll make this rough, whiny noise and rub at his eyes with his fist like a cat and hide his face in the pillows."

"oh my god" goes the reporter. behind her, the cameraman is slack-jawed, gaping.

"cute, right?" kirishima nods, and--oblivious to the way bakugou is staring at him, red-faced and palms smoking--continues on like:

"I always have to beg for him to wake up, 'cause he loves sleeping so much, especially in the winter. but when he does wake up--" and here kirishima sighs, a sound so lovesick that even the /reporter/ blushes-- "when he finally looks at me with those sleepy eyes...

"I just end up thinking, 'oh. I'd take on the world to have this moment every day forever.' like, 'wow, I'd probably give up my life for this guy.' y'know?"

kirishima stares into the distance, expression fond. "anyway, that's probably my favorite thing about him."

and then he turns to bakugou, waiting for him to give an answer too--except, well. bakugou is flushed crimson all the way down into his shirt, lips pressed into a wobbly line, his trademark scowl morphed into something more embarrassed than mad--something shocked and vulnerable--

and /that/ is when everything kirishima said actually sinks into his brain.

so he's just standing there, face redder than his hair, locked in this staring contest with bakugou--bakugou /katsuki/, aka the guy he just /waxed lyrical/ over, in front of two strangers and possibly hundreds more because interviews are usually live, and he's freaking out--

and then bakugou turns to the camera and spits out, "I don't hate it when he hugs me."

he sounds like he's being held at gunpoint. his gaze bores into the camera so fiercely, as if to make up for how soft he looks blushing that hard, but his words come across clearly. purposefully. like he wants to make himself heard.

"I don't hate that he hugs me in the morning. I don't hate it when I get home, either. I don't hate that he runs warmer than me, that he holds on tight and refuses to let--let go." bakugou scowls harder at the stutter. his voice gets stronger, and kirishima wants to cry

because /of course/ bakugou would treat this like something to win. and it's just so /manly/--

"I don't hate how his hugs make my day better," bakugou grits out. the reporter looks both terrified and fascinated. "I don't hate the way they make me feel."

"and how do they make you feel?" the reporter asks gently.

bakugou looks at kirishima.

kirishima stares back, breath caught.

"they make me feel fucking loved," bakugou declares.

and then he smiles--grins, really.

it's a victorious thing, boyish and happy, like he's delighting in a win with a friend. like he and kirishima have just pulled off a complicated combo maneuver, and kirishima--he--

"are you /crying?/" bakugou asks, cackling.

kirishima holds up a hand, hiding his face with the other. "dude," he says, voice suspiciously nasally, "your attack was too effective! who taught you to do that!"

"you did," bakugou replies dryly. it just makes kirishima groan.

"not fair," he bemoans. "you're too cute, man!" to which bakugou yells something incomprehensible at him ("stop saying that sappy shit! you're making my chest all loud and shit!") and then kirishima tries to hug him, and obviously bakugou has to put up a fight,

despite the fact that he just said he liked kirishima's hugs ("I didn't say that, you idiot, I said I didn't hate them!") but kirishima won't have it ("semantics, bro! I know what you really mean,") and the situation just degenerates into play-fighting

into bakugou slinging half-hearted explosions at his partner, to kirishima laughing uproariously and scooping him up and spinning them around, caught in their own world and heedless to the gobsmacked reporter and cameraman, recording it all.

needless to say, the interview goes viral. it's reposted millions of times and nobody will shut up about it. bakugou throws his and kirishima's personal cells out the window because their friends keep blowing it up. fans have taken to the streets, celebrating.

people are asking about the hows, the whens and wheres. about first kisses and wedding dates and oh my god, does anyone remember that time kirishima went feral over bakugou getting hurt?? it all makes sense now!! and old videos are pulled up, grainy shots from school leaked--

it's official. the people are in love with their love. it's a Whole Thing. nothing else is spoken about for a good week.

and the funniest thing about this is, well...

bakugou and kirishima weren't even together when the interview happened.

they just really, really loved each other.

fin.