The cute guy was lifting weights again. Eijiro hadn’t meant to re-arrange his entire schedule around him, but week after week, he had started noticing just when and how often the cute guy would hit their local gym.
He had to be a student (god, Eijiro hoped!), given how practically no one else visited UA University’s, and judging from his defined, well-toned biceps, he must’ve kept up a strict regimen for years. The cute guy had it down to a routine: about 20-25 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical, then another half hour exploring various machines before he returned to the weights.
Unlike half the other gym-goers - like showboat Kaminari or slow and steady Iida - the cute guy made no pretense or illusions about his skill. He bopped his head to an invisible beat, keeping time in his mind as he balanced across a Bosu ball or kept a plank going for more than a minute and a half…
Honestly, the guy was distracting. Cool and calm, from how he never smiled, but distracting.
“You’re staring,” a high-pitched, far-too-amused voice from behind called.
Eijiro swore, nearly dropping his weights onto the floor - “Am not.”
“Are too, and you would’ve taken me down with you.” The person behind him sighed, reaching over for the weights in Eijiro’s hands. His best friend didn’t bat an eye, not even once, as she returned the weights to their stack.
Sometimes, Eijiro really hated Mina Ashido and her knack for interrupting him at the worst of moments. He would ask how she found him, given the scope of the gym and their criss-crossed schedules, but she would never divulge her secrets. (Knowing her, she probably tried that stupid ‘Find my Friends’ app that he really, really needed to delete.)
“Are not, and look. I’ve had an off day.” Eijiro groaned, avoiding unnecessary eye contact. If he stared right into her yellow eyes, she would know that he was lying, and that would draw this conversation out even worse. “What was it that you always said, Mina? Haste makes waste?”
“Yeah, and the bird that pines after the worm never, ever catches him.”
He stared back at her, tempted to engage her in one of their usual staring contests. After what felt like eternity, or maybe just thirty seconds, he gave her a soft, disgruntled sigh. “Mina, I don’t even think he plays for my team.”
She returned that pointed look, setting her hands on her hips, “You’ll never know unless you try. Just ask him out already!”
Her hands pushed up against his shoulder blades, and with all the force of a woman on a mission, Eijiro was shoved straight into the cute guy’s face. Well, more like pushed, given how little room existed between their faces –
“The hell?” The cute guy pulled back, staring at Eijiro, then back at Mina. He pulled out both earbuds, staring them down with an intensity neither of them had seen before, or since, “What do you want?”
Eijiro actually squeaked, holding up both hands in defeat, and Mina –
Well, Mina high-tailed it out of there faster than either of them could blink.
The cute guy, as it would turn out, was Katsuki Bakugou, a fellow first-year studying Mechanical Engineering and Kinesiology. Despite their overlapping passions for sports exercise and physical therapy, Katsuki also held a spot on UA University’s Track and Field team, and often left class early (or skipped class altogether) to compete in regional tournaments.
He was also, understandably, growling at Eijiro to get off him.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Eijiro laughed, taking a couple of wide steps back, still holding up his hands in surrender. “I swear, we didn’t mean to –”
“Oh, Ashido means everything she does.” The cute guy narrowed his eyes, folding his arms and giving Eijiro a brutal staredown. “What I don’t get is why she threw you right on top of me.”
“Beats me.” Eijiro hung his head, mostly to avoid that burning stare. “I’m asking myself the same thing.”
Bakugou groaned, “Does she want us to be workout buddies or some shit?”
Buddies? Eijiro snapped up to attention, trying not to let his heart twist any further - so Bakugou played for the other team. Straighter than an arrow, if that was his immediate takeaway message from this whole stupid situation.
“Um…” Eijiro swallowed down his fear. “Maybe?”
No, she didn’t, but he couldn’t say so without admitting his crush to the middle of a busy gym - and they were staring to attract an audience.
“Let’s get out of here,” Bakugou sighed, glaring up at their onlookers and forcing them to turn away from him. “Less attention that way.”
Eijiro agreed. What he didn’t expect, though, was Bakugou seizing his arm and dragging him towards the (currently closed) juice bar, far away from prying eyes and any unwitting audience that would overhear them.
Despite the acoustics, no one ventured towards this edge of the gym - and that, he figured, was exactly what Bakugou was betting on. Once they found a quiet, secluded table, Bakugou pulled two chairs forward, sitting on his backwards and waiting for Eijiro to speak.
“You clearly have something on your mind,” Bakugou said, craning his head. “So. Spit it out already.”
Eijiro drew in a breath. “Well, this is gonna be weird, but…”
‘But I think you’re really cute and into the same things I am, clearly, so let’s go out on a date.’ Even to him, that train of thought sounded weird. How could he convey this message without coming off as a total weirdo? Let alone, conveying it without fear that Bakugou would take it the wrong way?
Especially if Bakugou was straighter than an arrow?
“But?” Bakugou tapped his fingers impatiently against the table.
“But I think you’re cute.” Eijiro braced himself for impact, balling his hands into fists and ignoring the hardening of his skin - just like always, he would turn into stone, and take the hit. “Ashido threw me at you because I’ve had a major crush for like, months, and I’ve been too shy to come up and say hi and…”
“And it took you that long to ask me out?” Bakugou laughed - actually, genuinely laughed with his entire face, his entire expression softening. “God, you’re denser than everyone told me you were.”
Eijiro paused. “Wait, what?”
“How do you think we’ve had the same workout schedule for the past month, you moron?”
“Oh, uh…” That was a good question, and Eijiro could feel his cheeks burning with heat. “I figured it was our schedules finally lining up, and I might’ve uh - taken the liberty to ask around and -”
Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You weren’t the only one.”
Eijiro stared back, with understanding washing over his entire body like a thousand tidal waves. The cute guy - no, sorry, Bakugou had wanted to ask him out too?
“Wait, then why were you mad at me for just -”
“Because you interrupted my rep.” Bakugou pointed out, with another scoff. “Anyone would get pissed over that.”
Eijiro was pretty sure that wasn’t normal, but Bakugou was - Bakugou was open to the idea? Had even rearranged his schedule to meet Eijiro, again and again?
“In that case…” Eijiro allowed himself a laugh as he reached forward, taking Bakugou’s hands and ignoring just how red Bakugou’s cheeks and ears had gotten, “Bakugou Katsuki, would you like to go out on a date with me?”
Gym - Eijiro Kirishima / Katsuki Bakugou | wordcount: 1,231
He had to be a student (god, Eijiro hoped!), given how practically no one else visited UA University’s, and judging from his defined, well-toned biceps, he must’ve kept up a strict regimen for years. The cute guy had it down to a routine: about 20-25 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical, then another half hour exploring various machines before he returned to the weights.
Unlike half the other gym-goers - like showboat Kaminari or slow and steady Iida - the cute guy made no pretense or illusions about his skill. He bopped his head to an invisible beat, keeping time in his mind as he balanced across a Bosu ball or kept a plank going for more than a minute and a half…
Honestly, the guy was distracting. Cool and calm, from how he never smiled, but distracting.
“You’re staring,” a high-pitched, far-too-amused voice from behind called.
Eijiro swore, nearly dropping his weights onto the floor - “Am not.”
“Are too, and you would’ve taken me down with you.” The person behind him sighed, reaching over for the weights in Eijiro’s hands. His best friend didn’t bat an eye, not even once, as she returned the weights to their stack.
Sometimes, Eijiro really hated Mina Ashido and her knack for interrupting him at the worst of moments. He would ask how she found him, given the scope of the gym and their criss-crossed schedules, but she would never divulge her secrets. (Knowing her, she probably tried that stupid ‘Find my Friends’ app that he really, really needed to delete.)
“Are not, and look. I’ve had an off day.” Eijiro groaned, avoiding unnecessary eye contact. If he stared right into her yellow eyes, she would know that he was lying, and that would draw this conversation out even worse. “What was it that you always said, Mina? Haste makes waste?”
“Yeah, and the bird that pines after the worm never, ever catches him.”
He stared back at her, tempted to engage her in one of their usual staring contests. After what felt like eternity, or maybe just thirty seconds, he gave her a soft, disgruntled sigh. “Mina, I don’t even think he plays for my team.”
She returned that pointed look, setting her hands on her hips, “You’ll never know unless you try. Just ask him out already!”
Her hands pushed up against his shoulder blades, and with all the force of a woman on a mission, Eijiro was shoved straight into the cute guy’s face. Well, more like pushed, given how little room existed between their faces –
“The hell?” The cute guy pulled back, staring at Eijiro, then back at Mina. He pulled out both earbuds, staring them down with an intensity neither of them had seen before, or since, “What do you want?”
Eijiro actually squeaked, holding up both hands in defeat, and Mina –
Well, Mina high-tailed it out of there faster than either of them could blink.
The cute guy, as it would turn out, was Katsuki Bakugou, a fellow first-year studying Mechanical Engineering and Kinesiology. Despite their overlapping passions for sports exercise and physical therapy, Katsuki also held a spot on UA University’s Track and Field team, and often left class early (or skipped class altogether) to compete in regional tournaments.
He was also, understandably, growling at Eijiro to get off him.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Eijiro laughed, taking a couple of wide steps back, still holding up his hands in surrender. “I swear, we didn’t mean to –”
“Oh, Ashido means everything she does.” The cute guy narrowed his eyes, folding his arms and giving Eijiro a brutal staredown. “What I don’t get is why she threw you right on top of me.”
“Beats me.” Eijiro hung his head, mostly to avoid that burning stare. “I’m asking myself the same thing.”
Bakugou groaned, “Does she want us to be workout buddies or some shit?”
Buddies? Eijiro snapped up to attention, trying not to let his heart twist any further - so Bakugou played for the other team. Straighter than an arrow, if that was his immediate takeaway message from this whole stupid situation.
“Um…” Eijiro swallowed down his fear. “Maybe?”
No, she didn’t, but he couldn’t say so without admitting his crush to the middle of a busy gym - and they were staring to attract an audience.
“Let’s get out of here,” Bakugou sighed, glaring up at their onlookers and forcing them to turn away from him. “Less attention that way.”
Eijiro agreed. What he didn’t expect, though, was Bakugou seizing his arm and dragging him towards the (currently closed) juice bar, far away from prying eyes and any unwitting audience that would overhear them.
Despite the acoustics, no one ventured towards this edge of the gym - and that, he figured, was exactly what Bakugou was betting on. Once they found a quiet, secluded table, Bakugou pulled two chairs forward, sitting on his backwards and waiting for Eijiro to speak.
“You clearly have something on your mind,” Bakugou said, craning his head. “So. Spit it out already.”
Eijiro drew in a breath. “Well, this is gonna be weird, but…”
‘But I think you’re really cute and into the same things I am, clearly, so let’s go out on a date.’ Even to him, that train of thought sounded weird. How could he convey this message without coming off as a total weirdo? Let alone, conveying it without fear that Bakugou would take it the wrong way?
Especially if Bakugou was straighter than an arrow?
“But?” Bakugou tapped his fingers impatiently against the table.
“But I think you’re cute.” Eijiro braced himself for impact, balling his hands into fists and ignoring the hardening of his skin - just like always, he would turn into stone, and take the hit. “Ashido threw me at you because I’ve had a major crush for like, months, and I’ve been too shy to come up and say hi and…”
“And it took you that long to ask me out?” Bakugou laughed - actually, genuinely laughed with his entire face, his entire expression softening. “God, you’re denser than everyone told me you were.”
Eijiro paused. “Wait, what?”
“How do you think we’ve had the same workout schedule for the past month, you moron?”
“Oh, uh…” That was a good question, and Eijiro could feel his cheeks burning with heat. “I figured it was our schedules finally lining up, and I might’ve uh - taken the liberty to ask around and -”
Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You weren’t the only one.”
Eijiro stared back, with understanding washing over his entire body like a thousand tidal waves. The cute guy - no, sorry, Bakugou had wanted to ask him out too?
“Wait, then why were you mad at me for just -”
“Because you interrupted my rep.” Bakugou pointed out, with another scoff. “Anyone would get pissed over that.”
Eijiro was pretty sure that wasn’t normal, but Bakugou was - Bakugou was open to the idea? Had even rearranged his schedule to meet Eijiro, again and again?
“In that case…” Eijiro allowed himself a laugh as he reached forward, taking Bakugou’s hands and ignoring just how red Bakugou’s cheeks and ears had gotten, “Bakugou Katsuki, would you like to go out on a date with me?”