Newly out Bakugou decides to give in to friend’s advice and download a dating app. He finds a decent enough guy on there, charming and confident.

The guy stands him up.

Which,,,yeah it sucks. Bakugou was kind of fond for the guy, liked the way he displayed himself through text. So this was embarrassing.

He’s trying to flag down a waitress to pay for his wine when a guy slides into the seat across from him, looking apologetic and a little bit sweaty.

“I am so sorry for my tardiness!” The red head blurts, chuckling awkwardly to himself as he smooths down his dress shirt. “My phone died, I couldn’t find a way to contact you-“

This wasn’t Bakugou’s date. Hell, Bakugou has never seen this guy before in his life.

“Huh?” Bakugou blurts.

The guy was definitely a looker, no denying that. Just Bakugou’s type, built with a sweet smile, alluring crimson eyes, and long hair pulled back to reveal a dark undercut.

He laughs at Bakugou’s confusion with a deep chuckle, tucking a piece of hair back behind his pierced ear. “I hope you weren’t waiting long! I’d hate for someone as gorgeous as you to be kept waiting.”

Who /is/ this guy? Someone his actual date sent in as a replacement? Was Bakugou not good enough for him, so he sent in a buddy?

He opens his mouth to call him out, demand what the /fuck/ he was doing, but the waitress appears with a cheerful smile and greeting before the words can leave his mouth.

The guy orders a glass of Mascato before asking Bakugou if he wants another glass of his own wine, which he declines. He’s already had two glasses, and while he was a bit of a lightweight, he knew it wasn’t the alcohol making him confused.

Once the waitress leaves, Bakugou narrows his gaze on the man. “Alright, who the /fuck/ are you?”

“Oh! I’m Kirishima Eijirou,” the man introduces himself, still smiling and displaying some /very/ dangerous looking teeth. “Sorry for kind of barging in on your dinner. You’ve been sitting here for two hours now and I felt bad.”

Bakugou’s scowl deepens. “And you think I wanted a /pity/ date?”

Kirishima flinches. “No! Sorry, that must have sounded rude. I /did/ feel bad for you, but mostly I feel bad for whoever ditched you? They are missing out on someone like you.”

Bakugou clicks his tongue. “You don’t even know my name yet. How do you know they are missing out?”

This man was an idiot. An adorable idiot. Bakugou definitely was intrigued.

Kirishima blushes, a color that suits him well. “I mean, you are insanely attractive? Beauty isn’t everything but you certainly have it.”

/So do you/. “Bit shallow.”

Despite being stood up, Bakugou was having a good time making this guy flustered. He was adorable to watch scramble over his words, turning bright red as he explained himself.

But a question still lingers.

“Why were you watching me for two whole hours?”

Kirishima groans. “Work party. My friend suggested I go to celebrate another person’s promotion, but it was really boring. I saw you come in and thought you were cute, then noticed you kept looking around? I hated seeing you upset so I figured I’d save you the embarrassment.”

“I wasn’t embarrassed!” Bakugou insists, reaching for his glass of wine. “I was /pissed off/. My first date with a guy and I was stood up.”

Fuck, saying it out /loud/ was embarrassing. Bakugou didn’t even date much before he realized he was attracted to men, and those dates he would pick them up and take them places.

Perhaps he should have done that with this guy. Not that it mattered anymore.

“Well screw that guy,” Kirishima puts it bluntly, shaking his head in disgust. “It’s not manly to ditch someone, even /if/ you changed your mind. Have you tried getting ahold of him?”

Bakugou doesn’t want to think of the few angry messages he’s sent, demanding an answer. They’ve all been read, the notification glaring at him and taunting him.

He also doesn’t want to pay any attention to the dozens of messages from his friends, asking him how things were going, a few winky faces since he hasn’t answered.

“No reply,” he answers shortly. “I don’t care.”

It’s a lie, an obvious one with how his scowl deepens and his fists clenched. He /wants/ to know why, if he said something wrong, if it was something he did.

Kirishima’s foot nudges his underneath the table and he focuses on the man in front of him, who smiles kindly and actually /wants/ to be here.

“What’s your name?” Kirishima asks softly.

Bakugou thumps Kirishima’s foot back. “Bakugou Katsuki.”

“Bakugou,” Kirishima tests the name on his tongue with a dopey grin. “You deserve a nice date with a nice guy who treats you like a prince. Don’t settle for anything less.”

He does. Bakugou knows damn well what he deserves, what he’s worthy of. Most would call him egotistical, tell him to lower his standards.

Those people can choke, in his opinion. Right now Kirishima was doing a damn good job at checking all the right boxes, even /if/ he was a bit awkward.

The rest of the date isn’t necessarily a mind blowing experience, but it is one that Bakugou will remember. Kirishima is a perfect gentleman, hilarious and kind as he listens to Bakugou talk about his friends, his job.

In return he listens to Kirishima talk about his own dating woes, how he doesn’t trust his friends to set him up anymore because they always led him wrong.

“Then again, Denki /did/ tell me to come here tonight. That must count for something?”

Perhaps it did, Bakugou thinks as Kirishima pays for their dinner, suggesting dessert to go that they can enjoy at Kirishima’s apartment nearby.

His phone vibrates as they walk in the direction of Kirishima’s apartment, hands brushing and the itch to reach out growing unbearable.

“Probably Ochaco demanding to know how it went,” He grumbles, opening the message.

It was his date. Or, who was /supposed/ to be his date.

Bakugou doesn’t bother reading the half assed excuse, quickly deleting the message and stuffing his phone back into his pocket. The other guy doesn’t matter now, not when Bakugou has Kirishima.

“I hope your first date with a guy was good,” Kirishima tells him as they stand in front of his apartment, struggling to unlock the door.

Bakugou takes the dessert from Kirishima, allowing the man to unlock the door properly and letting them into the warm apartment. “It was,” he promises, the worlds coming out in a mumble.

Kirishima hears him loud and clear though, judging by the soft smile he wears as he closes the door and steps into Bakugou’s space. “If you’d like, I could make a lot of your firsts with a guy memorable?”

Bakugou wouldn’t mind that at all.

“Can I?” Kirishima asks shyly, stepping closer with hooded eyes and hovering hands.

Bakugou nods shakily, foreign nervous energy running through him as Kirishima’s nose brushes his, his lips slotting against Bakugou’s own in a gentle, easy kiss.

Yeah, Bakugou was definitely okay with Kirishima sticking around if every moment felt like this: explosive, exhilarating, /right/.

Perhaps he should thank Ochaco for suggesting the app to start with.

Then again, he doesn’t want to focus on anything but the feel of Kirishima’s tongue against his own, the soft pants he makes between kisses.

Dessert isn’t near as spectacular as his kiss with Kirishima, but that doesn’t matter. He feels good, light, /happy/.

And as the two of them fall asleep on Kirishima’s couch, full of dessert and sharing soft kisses, he thinks about how grateful he was to be stood up.

It led him to Kirishima, and he supposes there were worse outcomes out there.

END

Ahhh I needed something soft after four days of 8 hour shifts. Hope everyone enjoyed