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Katsuki knows his roommate and hero partner is outside the door when he hears a loud crash, excited yelling, and the frantic sounds of keys jingling in the lock. He makes the brilliant decision to hang up on the manager of his PR team—Hoshi, whose sharp words get cut off with the tap of the red phone symbol—and crosses his arms when Kirishima comes bursting through the living room.
“HAVE YOU HEARD FROM HOSHI?” He shouts, looking incredibly excited when he spots Katsuki at the tiny island in the middle of their apartment. “We’re booked for HeroCon to do a panel together! She said it might help your image with the public.”
“I’m well fuckin’ aware,” Katsuki jerks his head at the buzzing phone that sits on the island. “You have to go with me to show I’m not dangerous or some shit. Dynamite and Red Riot ARE dangerous! We have one of the highest capture rates in this entire goddamn area!”
Kirishima goes to check his own phone and grimaces at the screen, setting his down on the counter. “Well, regardless, this means we get free VIP passes to the convention! I bet Midoriya’s going, I should ask where to get the best merch for us—”
Katsuki watches, simmering in his rage, as Kirishima hustles around, grabbing a notepad before snatching his phone up and dialing Midoriya. “Hey Mido!” He shouts, settling it into the crook of his shoulder. “So long story short, we’re headed to HeroCon with free passes! I need your expertise when it comes to putting a panel together. You're the expert, here.”
He is; even if Deku is ranked higher currently, he still spends a decent amount of money on fan works—old habits die hard. Deku’s working his ass off, even if Katsuki wants to fistfight him in another parking lot, sometimes.
Kirishima’s nodding as he jots some notes down. Katsuki watches as he speaks with Midoriya, diligently taking notes like they’re at an old U.A. tutoring session.
“Fucking hell,” Katsuki eventually mutters, standing up to head to his room. “If I have to hear anymore of this idiotic fucking conversation, I’m going to blow up your phone. You better go to bed if we’re going to this convention, Shitty Hair; the lines are going to be long and we need to get our passes from the front.”
“How would you know?” Kirishima teases, and laughs when Katsuki shoots a pillow directly at his face, nailing him hard enough that he stumbles backwards. “Fine, fine! See you in the morning Bakugou!”
“Fuck off,” Katsuki retaliates, and heads to bed early, slamming the door in his leave.
If he stays awake for much longer he’ll be contemplating the way Kirishima looked at him earlier, eyes bright and full of joy. He curses himself for being a coward, but that stays between him and his rumpled, sweat-soaked sheets.
In the morning, Katsuki’s up bright and early in his hero costume, leaning against the countertop as Kirishima comes stumbling into the living room. He’s dressed in his hero pants, but he’s tugged on a Red Riot hoodie over his bare chest. “Baku,” he says in a voice rough with sleep, and Katsuki turns so Kirishima misses the flush in his cheeks. “Did I oversleep? Our panel’s at one, right? Shit, I don’t want to miss it!”
“We’re not late,” Katsuki sighs, making sure he has their keys and settles a Dynamite snapback over his spiky blond hair. “Yet,” he adds when he notices Kirishima going for a fistpump. “If we’re late, Hoshi’s going to fucking murder us and I’m not in the mood for her to yell at us.”
Without waiting for him to respond, Katsuki snatches his phone and leaves the apartment, grunting a hello when a neighbor waves at him. Kirishima gasps and hustles out after his roommate, making sure their door is locked before running after Katsuki.
Outside their complex, a nondescript car waits for them on the street. Katsuki doesn’t hesitate before ripping open the door and getting in, making sure his brand-new streamlined gauntlets don’t catch on the seat as he buckles. “Star bitch,” he grunts, jerking his head at the passenger seat. “The fuck do we have to do for this stupid ass panel today?”
Their PR manager, Hoshi, turns back to glare at him. She lowers her sunglasses enough for him to see her multicolor eyes flash as she bites back, “Dynabastard, nice to see you again. You and the lovely Red Riot are going to charm the shit outta this audience, alright? Ah, Riot, glad to see you! I expect you’ll keep your partner in line?”
Kirishima squeezes in and carefully closes the door, flashing her a thumbs up. “I heard we have an hour and a half to kill on the floor before our panel? Am I allowed to buy stuff while we’re there? Midoriya asked if I could get him something because his manager won’t let him go.”
Hoshi sighs, muttering to herself and massaging the bridge of her nose. Katsuki dutifully ignores the way Kirishima is pressed to his side as he leans forward to beg with puppy dog eyes.
“Deku and his charm,” Hoshi grumbles before nodding. “As long as you guys can manage to cram it into a few bags, be my guest. Just don’t embarrass yourselves or me. I don’t want to deal with another arcade incident.”
For all her sharp words, Hoshi did genuinely care about them. Fighting tooth and nail for their image so they can continue to be the best at what they do. Considering that Katsuki still wants to be Number One, he can—begrudgingly—admire how dedicated she is to her job and thankful she won’t go easy on them.
“Deal!” Kirishima grins. He leans back in his seat as they head off to HeroCon, where Katsuki knows there’s going to be a bunch of fucking nerds there. The car ride consists of the radio playing and Hoshi humming under her breath, tapping on her phone—working even on the go. Before long, they arrive and Hoshi turns to face them again, lifting her sunglasses and settling them on her long brown hair.
“Listen,” she says in a low voice, pinning them both with a bright stare. “Don’t blow your covers in there. They’ll think you’re both cosplayers, and that should give you enough time to wander the floors without getting swarmed. Head over to the second floor fifteen minutes before your panel starts. I won’t have any trouble recognizing you, since I deal with your dumb asses all the time. Capiche?”
“Roger that!” Kirishima salutes. Katsuki rolls his eyes and gets out of the car, slipping a mask on to help give the illusion of a cosplayer. “I don’t need your inspirational words,” he calls out with a flick of his hand. “We’ll try not to ruin our image in a crowd of snotty teens.”
He ignores Hoshi’s loving “fuck off, Dynabitch” and marches his way to the front with Kirishima, who flashes the attendant their official hero licences. The man’s eyes widen but silently slips them their VIP passes without any fuss and the two enter the convention.
The inside of HeroCon is packed. Katsuki has to push past cosplayers of his former classmates on the first floor dragging Kirishima with him, growling as he tries not to shove a Deku cosplayer to the ground. “That one is really detailed!” Kirishima gasps as they pass a group of them posing. “Wait! Can I get a picture with them?”
“You can get a picture later, dumbass. If I lose you in this crowd—”
“Wow, you guys look great!!”
Katsuki looks down to see a miniature version of himself staring back in awe, thick gauntlets strapped to her wrists. “And you have Dynamite's boots right! I’ve been trying to get the pattern down but I was so worried about the belt and gauntlets that I didn’t have time to focus on them.”
“We’re big fans, so we went all out!” Kirishima says cheerfully. “Hey, you got Dynamite’s mask right, and that’s a pain to get those spikes as pointy as they are.”
“Right?! Can I ask you about your hair for Red Riot—”
Katsuki tunes them both out, rolling his eyes and looking around for a map. Hoshi had given them one, but Katsuki was adamant he could find his way around without her help. It takes him a minute to find a sign with all the floors of the convention, and another moment to find their panel room on the second floor.
“Oi, Shitty Hair, where the fuck did you go?”
There’s no one waiting for him when he turns. Katsuki frowns and spots his tiny clone walking away, hurrying after her. “HEY! Wanna-be Dynamite cosplayer! Get back here!”
The girl squeaks and turns, eyes going wide. “Y-Yes? Hey, you sound like the actual Dynamite; not a lot of people command attention like that, y’know? Are you looking for your cosplay partner?”
“Who?” Katsuki asks gruffly before remembering that Kirishima is technically his partner for this whole trip. “Yeah, where did he go? We have a meeting to get to and our PR—our, uh, friend is gonna murder us if we’re late.”
“He wanted to know where the Artist Gallery was,” the girl says, nervously adjusting her gauntlets. “It’s in the main room of the convention since there’s so many artists this year. Man, why does Dynamite have bulky gauntlets? They’re so infuriating to use, I swear. I’m glad his newest costume upgrade has the thinner ones.”
Katsuki turns his focus to finding Kirishima. “I know, alright? S’why I already talked to that support bitch with the goggles because Deku and Riot wouldn’t get off my ass about it, so they were expedited in the production line because apparently she’s fast and quick at making updates.”
“Wh—”
“Anyways, thanks I guess.” Katsuki slips his phone back in as he catches sight of an arrow stating where the Gallery was being held. “For...the support, and not being that fucking annoying. See ya.”
He marches his way through the crowd and leaves the shocked cosplayer behind, growling as a decent amount of people move out of his way. “Christ, I can’t believe people willingly come to these events,” he mutters, shouldering others out of the way. When he makes it to the Artist Gallery, Katsuki actually curses out loud when he realizes how big the place is.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He complains out loud, looking at all the Red Riot cosplayers out there. He was never going to find Kirishima in this mess.
Thus, Katsuki begins his tedious task of finding the actual Kirishima Eijirou in a sea of people. He runs into a Red Riot buying art prints and stickers from a vendor; Katsuki leans over and grunts when he spots the cosplayer’s face. “Scar’s on the wrong side,” he says before leaning down to look at the art, ignoring the horrified gasp of the Red Riot. “Not bad, kid. You got any charms with both Dynamite and Riot?”
The art vendor blinks before gesturing at a pinboard with charms and pins on it. “I did, but I ran out about ten minutes ago, sorry! I’ve got separate charms starting at $15 if that’s okay?”
Katsuki stares down Kirishima’s charm, sparkly and adorned with a golden star clasp, and rasps, “Yeah, that’ll work. Here's $20 and keep the change.”
He stops by a few stalls to either bother some Red Riot cosplayers or to look at fanworks that actually catch his attention, either buying some or pointing out flaws in his own costume design.
Bakugou Katsuki is a busy man—He doesn’t bother looking at what creators make, especially since there’s so much of it. But as he keeps roaming around, he’s starting to get a feel for why people are so obsessed with this shit.
He’s even snagged a few free fanfics on the way with art on the cover; people walk around with tote bags showcasing their writing, but he tips momentarily before shoving the fanfic deep in his bags.
This is...starting to become an issue.
There’s also some sick looking handmade leather journals, several tables dedicated to D&D dice, and of course, plenty of celebrity autograph signings. Katsuki almost ducks his head when he recognizes Yaoyorozu Momo standing next to Kaminari Denki, smiling and signing autographs.
Of course some of his former classmates would be here; knowing them, they definitely volunteered to show up and meet fans. He’s still a man on a mission, so he does his best to move past the crowd of people starting to form where Creati and Chargebolt are standing. “‘Scuse me,” he mumbles, trying not to draw attention to himself. Someone bumps his arm and makes him snarl, whipping around to the offender. “Can you get out of the fucking way? Goddamn, it’s like none of you people have manners—”
Katsuki freezes.
Midoriya Izuku freezes.
“Ah,” Midoriya stammers, eyes going wide. Katsuki distinctly notes that he’s dressed in a Red Riot cosplay. “Sorry Kacchan, I just...why are you here? You never come to conventions—does that mean Kirishima’s here too? I’m, uh, not supposed to be here according to Mayu—”
“Deku,” Katsuki says quietly. It’s so soft that Midoriya blinks. “You’re going to ruin both of our fucking covers. Shut the fuck up before I personally call Hoshi to tell your PR manager you’re here. Have you seen Shitty Hair?”
“Kirishima?” Midoriya asks, and winces when a few people look his way. “Yeah actually, he was in a competition a few minutes ago for best Red Riot cosplay. I think he got second. He’s over by the R18+ section at the back corner of the convention. Did you need something from him?”
Katsuki grinds his teeth. He wants to talk and spend time with his hero partner, and Midoriya’s expression clears since he reads him like a book. “Gotcha. I’ll help you as best I can, okay? I’ll see you later at the panel Kacchan!”
Without another word, Midoriya rushes off and Katsuki flips him off as he goes. “Fucking moron,” he mutters, turning to the mentioned curtains. “He’s in there? The fuck is he doing, buying shit of himself?”
Katsuki makes his way over to the room and flashes security his ID, smirking when the guard blinks in shock and lets him in without a word. He maneuvers his way around various Midnight cosplayers and finally finds his stupid ass hero partner due to being the only Red Riot in the room. “Oi, dipshit—”
Ah.
Well.
He finds him, alright. Kirishima’s standing at a doujinshi booth, looking over some books with a thoughtful expression on his face. At Katsuki’s voice, he whirls around with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. “OH! Hey, Baku—er, uh, Katsuki! What’s…what’s up? Is it time already? Did our wonderful manager person text you?”
“No,” Katsuki deadpans. “Wh—what’re you doing here, anyways? In the weird ass restricted section?”
He takes a moment to look at the displays. There’s a huge body pillow boasting about DynaRiot’s abs and both splayed in very provocative poses. There’s also several suggestive stickers, charms, and buttons being shown off; a good majority of them are sold out, and Katsuki blinks away the beginnings of a vicious headache.
Kirishima does his best to hide the DynaRiot doujinshi in his hand, but it’s literally plastered all over the booth. The vendor’s looking between them with a bemused smile. “Did...did you want the prints and charms too?”
Katsuki ignores the whispered “yes please” from Kirishima and tries to think about the implications of this. His longtime crush is buying a book full of art and writing about the two of them together. He’s willingly buying this book without Katsuki nearby. Wouldn’t this mean that Kirishima likes him? Does he know that Katsuki’s in love with him? Has he been that obvious?
Judging by the four giant bags he’s carrying around, there’s plenty of merch and other works in there too. The vendor hands over the book and Kirishima slowly slips it into a tote bag so it doesn’t get crushed.
“Kirishima,” Katsuki says again, because Kirishima looks incredibly guilty as he puts the bags behind himself, “whatever you’re doing, we can. Deal with this shit later. We have a, uh, panel to go to—”
“Right! Yeah!”
Katsuki stares at the vendor when Kirishima leaves, enough to make them both sweat in awkward silence, and leaves without a word.
He leaves to try and catch up with his hero partner—possible boyfriend? Who knew at this point—and finds him headed to a staircase in the back of the convention to try and avoid the crowds. Kirishima’s hurrying up the stairs, face burning red, and Katsuki catches him by the arm. Down the hall, they can spot Hoshi standing in the doorway of a side door, and Kirishima almost rips his arm out of his grasp. “Bakugou, lemme go.” He whispers, eyes wide and flickering to their PR manager. “We gotta get to the panel, we’re gonna be late.”
“I think this shit is more important,” Katsuki snaps. “Do you have feelings for me? Just man up and tell me.”
Kirishima stares at him, something so sad and so frustrating in his eyes, and chokes out, “Please don’t do this right now. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and I don’t want to ruin anything before that.”
Katsuki lets him go and watches him hurry away, feeling a sharp lump in his throat. Alright. It’s not like Katsuki isn’t used to rejection before, especially with rankings and everything he’s been working his ass off for. It’s why he didn’t originally want to show up at the con anyways; he shows his passion and fierce personality in the way he saves people, but if the public didn’t like him for it, that was fine. But Kirishima Eijirou is different; he’s been there since Katsuki started to grow up, and continues to motivate him through positive words and by fighting by his side.
And if someone as wonderful as Kirishima didn’t want to talk…
Hoshi ushers Kirishima through before pausing to look at the merch that they’re both carrying when Katsuki follows. “Did you both buy merch—y’know what? I’m not gonna ask. Panel starts in five, we’ve already got Creati and Chargebolt up there. Give me the bags.”
Katsuki wordlessly hands her his spoils and adjusts his mask before marching in, glaring at Kirishima who’s waiting in the wings. The roar of the crowd amplifies and Katsuki sighs when Kaminari and Yaoyorozu turn to look at him with raised eyebrows. “What do y’all want?”
“Dude,” Kaminari says, like they’re not about to go on stage in front of a live camera and a shitload of people. “You never fucking go to these! Someone finally convinced you?”
“Fuck off,” Katsuki snarls before stepping closer to Kiri.
They’re finally ushered out on stage; all four take their places and waving at the attendees. After the MC introduces all of them, Katsuki tunes her out, looking over at Kirishima next to him.
He looks unhappy, nervously fidgeting under the table and doing his best to smile at everyone. Katsuki stares at him and tries not to let sweat soak his palms before spotting their manager on the sidelines. She gives him a look and gestures to the crowd, and Katsuki sighs low enough to not be heard through the microphone.
They get through the panel together. It feels like it takes years, moving in slow-motion, and after dragging his feet through introductions and the rest of it, they finally make it to questions. Katsuki’s antsy as people ask him or the other panelists various questions, and that’s when he realizes that he actually needs to tell Kirishima how he feels about him.
It’s been clear since U.A. that he’s only ever focused on being the Number One Hero, and if he never paid anyone any attention regarding relationships, then it would be a given that Kirishima doesn’t know he’s in love with him. Katsuki has never dated anyone since his heart has only ever belonged to one person, and he chooses the best of the best.
Because Kirishima Eijirou needs to know how much he is loved, respected, and seen by everyone. Most of all Katsuki himself, and that’s all that matters in the fucking world.
Katsuki looks into the crowd and manages to find stupid fucking Deku again from his spot near the microphones, staring at him with eyes wide. Well, no time like the present; if anyone were to understand, it’d be him, especially with his longtime relationship with Candy Cane. Time for him to uphold his earlier promise.
Katsuki locks eyes with Midoriya.
They come to an agreement in a matter of seconds. Midoriya nods, eyes flickering to Kirishima and back again. (And quietly apologizes to his PR manager.)
He stands and draws everyone’s attention. With a flourish, he takes the bright red wig off and reveals his curly green hair, several people starting to gasp at realizing who he is. “Hi everyone!” He greets the fans, grinning as they point and stare. “Thought I’d drop in and say hello!”
Over the growing roar of the crowd upon spotting Pro Hero Deku, Katsuki leans over to Kirishima and says, “I’m in love with you.”
Kirishima jerks back. His eyes go comically huge, and he whispers, “HUH? Katsuki, what the hell—”
“You heard me,” Katsuki replies, growing braver by the second. “It’s bad timing but I know how you sometimes spiral. Listen to me, dipshit; I want you to hold my sweaty fucking hand and go on dates or whatever the fuck people do when they go out. I want you, you want me. It makes this so much easier. Got it?”
Katsuki’s not good with words. He is, however, good with actions and helping people realize that he’s genuine, and this is what goes through Kirishima’s head as he stares at his crush—boyfriend?
“Hold on,” Kirishima puts his hand over the mic, trying not to pass out. “You’re—you what?”
Katsuki stares him down, bright red eyes to Kirishima’s own, and makes him understand.
The next annual HeroCon is packed as always. Izuku slips through the crowd in an updated Creati cosplay, trying not to accidentally shove people over. “Excuse me! Coming through! Thank you! Sorry, got a panel to get to!”
He gets through the line with his VIP pass and slips into a seat near the microphone, vibrating excitedly in his chair. This year was definitely going to be better, and it’s obvious by the way Bakugou walks out on stage first, grumpily plopping down where his name card is placed, glaring at Todoroki’s card next to his own.
Izuku watches as he swaps it with Kirishima’s, trying not to laugh when Kirishima walks out and gives his boyfriend a bemused look. Reading lips has taught him well; Kirishima asks “what’re you doing, babe?” and Bakugou immediately flips him off.
When the majority of the panel is over, and the microphones open up, Izuku almost shoves another cosplayer out of the way, apologizing as he stands second in line to ask the respective heroes whatever he wants.
“And you, Creati cosplayer?” Todoroki says, trying not to smile upon spotting his boyfriend in the modified suit. Izuku huffs out a laugh before looking directly at Bakugou, noticing how fast he tenses upon spotting his childhood best friend.
Izuku leans into the mic and asks, “Are Dynamite and Red Riot dating?”
Bakugou stares him down, murder in his eyes, lunging over the table with no hesitation. Kirishima replies, “Hell yeah we are!” and makes a heart with his hands before pointing at Bakugou, just as he tackles Izuku near the back of the room.
Pro Hero Dynamite gets his picture posted on the news for chasing down Pro Hero Deku, but Kirishima frames the story from a newspaper and shows it off every single time someone comes over to the apartment.
(Bakugou Katsuki becomes a panelist at HeroCon for the rest of his career. He stops by the R18+ section every time, and always, always buys something for himself and Kirishima.)