Yet where does he find himself at 4pm on a Friday afternoon?
At a crowded fucking mall, no thanks to Kirishima.
Kirishima had begged Bakugo for hours the day before to go with him to check out a pop culture store because he heard rumours that there were Nendoroid figurines of their class and class B.
Bakugo very much not wanting to go, points out that they’re going to be shitty knock offs since none of them have signed any merchandise contracts yet. Logical argument, an easy victory for him.
But Kirishima’s counterpoint?
Pouting and bringing out the puppy dog eyes.
He hates when Kirishima does that. (No, he doesn’t).
So now Bakugo finds himself in an extremely cluttered store, Kirishima’s arm wrapped around his shoulders and directing them between rows and rows of ‘official hero merch TM.’
Bakugo lifts a hand to double check that his face mask and beanie are still secure while Kirishima ushers him along. He wouldn’t be caught dead buying any of this junk, all his All Might figures are 100% authentic, thank you very much.
Kirishima on the other hand, looks like a kid in a candy store, ‘ohhing’ it and ‘ahhing’ at any figure that looks super manly.
That’s one word for them…
Bakugo spots a Best Jeanist figure that makes the fibre hero look like a blue giraffe and can’t help but bark out a laugh.
When they finally get to the rumoured Nendoroid section Kirishima slips his arm of Bakugo and practically lunges towards the shelves, instantly grabbing figures of the ‘Bakusquad’ (their words- not his), then practically shoves the boxes in Bakugo’s face.
Blobs of yellow, pink and black so close to Bakugo’s eyes he goes slightly cross eyed before huffing and softly swatting Kirishima’s hand away, “Again Kirishima, they’re just knockoffs.”
Kirishima dramatically gasps in mock offence, cradling their friends and leaning away as if to shield them, “but they’re real to me!”
Bakugo crosses his arms and scoffs, “You’re such a dork.”
Kirishima shifts the figures into the crook of his elbow as he keeps browsing the shelves, inspecting a Uravity figurine before placing it back on the shelf. “Perhaps. They may be knockoffs, but it’s the fist time I’ve seen us as merch! I want to keep them as a memento before we go pro and get licensed and all that jazz.”
Kirishima grins in response, then turns his head towards the store clerk, “Hey man, do you have any Dynamight ones?”
Bakugo can’t help the instant blush that spreads across his face, he feels so flustered that the clerk is going to recognise who he is he snatches Kirishima’s sleeve, trying to yank him towards the exit but Kirishima doesn’t budge, the jerk. Giving up, Bakugo quickly hikes his face mask higher up and tugs his beanie down to hide more of his hair.
The shopkeeper shakes his head as he’s stocking the shelves, “Out of stock kid, Dynamight is always the first one to go. Will probably get a restock in a week or so if you want to come back then.”
“Aww, that’s a shame,” Kirishima pouts. He’s clearly disappointed (and Bakugo tries not to read into /that/) before the redhead perks back up with a smirk, leaning against him to whisper “Look at you Mr Popular, already number one. But that’s okay, I’m willing to wait for you.”
Bakugo elbows him in response, tempted to headlock his best friend in public but the wary glare the clerk sends his way stops him. Looking back to the figures he spots a Red Riot looking up at him from the bottom shelf and snatches it up. Now it was his turn to shove a figure into Kirishima’s face, “You forgot someone.”
Kirishima’s eyes flicker down and then away, not as enthused as he was before. “Nah don’t need one of me, I just wanted y- the squad!”
“I only have enough money for these.”
Bakugo pauses, feeling defensive on the redhead’s behalf, because Kirishima was always dismissive of things that represented himself. He knew Kirishima could feel Bakugo eyes staring hard at him, but he pretends to look busy while he shuffles the figures in his arms.
Bakugo leans against the shelves and shrugs, “Fine, let’s go so you can buy our pack of nerds,” He watches Kirishima’s shoulders ease in relief of the conversation drop before Bakugo holds up the Red Riot box in his own hand and adds, “But I’m taking Red Riot home with me.”
It was worth it watching Kirishima choke on air, cheeks darkening by the second. Now it was the redhead’s turn to try and snatch the figure out of Bakugo’s hand, whining that it’s not worth it, but the blond skilfully dodges him. He struts up to the counter first to drop more yen than what was needed, telling the clerk to keep the change before speed-walking out, leaving Kirishima to fumble with his figurines and wallet to pay.
When Kirishima finally catches up he lightly whacks Bakugo’s leg with the bag. He lets out an exasperated sigh, but Bakugo can see the small blush that stains his cheeks, “You’re a real gremlin when you want to be.”
Bakugo smirks, bumping his shoulder into him in retaliation, “And don’t you forget it.”
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