Chapter Text
Bakugou’s anxiety? At an absolute f*cking all time high. And it was being a f*cking bitch. Everyone that they had, for lack of better word, freed the previous night were still at the shelter. No one had decided to run off, and things were packed. Bakugou and Kaminari were the ones on breakfast duty that morning, with a few of the people volunteering with prep and clean up.
Every single time someone walked behind him or asked him a question, he expected the heroes to burst in at any f*cking moment to bring everything they worked for, down. He f*cking hated it. One piece of his brain was ready to fight, to defend what they had, to put some f*cking heroes faces to the dirt, but then the anxiety piece of him was itching for any and all possibilities that might happen.
With the help they were getting in the kitchen, breakfast was a simple affair of scrambled eggs and a mountain of pancakes and breakfast sausages. It was positively American but Kaminari had been craving it lately, plus it was easy to make for an army.
Kirishima came into the kitchen, breathing in deeply all of the scents of the prepared food. With a wide smile, he started to wheel the large vats of food into the mini mess hall they had. As Bakugou and Kaminari followed, their helpers on their heels, Bakugou took note of the excited hum of voices that were already filtering down the hallway.
When they all breeched the room, the lights casting a warm glow over everyone, they were met with a small round of cheers. It… felt nice, although they hadn’t gone into the whole thing for admiration.
Bakugou set himself at the end of one of the large long tables they were all sitting at, a plate filled with the fruits of their labor, everyone else going through the line to get their first meal out of that place. And from the way that they all had their clothes hanging off of their shoulders and frames, it might be the first meal they had gotten in a long time.
A piece of Bakugou was glad they made more than plenty, hoping they wouldn't hesitate to get seconds or thirds.
Breakfast finished, they cleaned up with the help of a few of their new residents, and for a bit of time, Bakugou didn’t have anything planned for his day. Until, well, when a trio of people came into the main office. Two girls and someone he remembered that introduced themselves with they/them pronouns the previous night.
They looked nervous and yet there was a vein of steel in their shoulders that even Bakugou could see. The three of them came into the room together, sitting down in front of the squad’s desk without a word. He didn’t want to mess up whatever they came in to talk to him about so he stayed quiet, waiting for one of them to speak up first.
The girl on the right opened her mouth like she was about to say something but no words came out. After a long moment, she closed her mouth and looked down at her hands in her lap, her long black hair coming forward and creating a curtain that hid part of her face. When it seemed like she wasn’t going to say anything at all, a small voice came from her.
“We just wanted to thank you guys. For allowing us to stay here for the meantime and for, you know, rescuing us? I don’t really know how long we were down there, it was just so dark the whole time and that really messes with your mind.” Her voice wavered, but Bakugou wasn’t going to mention it.
The girl next to her took her hand within her own and tried to give her a bit of comfort in the tense moment. As they sought comfort from each other, the one at the end spoke up, their voice breaking as they looked directly at Bakugou. With the weight of their eyes on him, he felt a resolve within himself strengthen to figure out what the f*ck was happening with that f*cking sh*t hole.
“I’m pretty sure we were going… be used.” They began, their nose scrunching at the thought. “One of those f*ckers was talking about a love hotel that we were going to go to in a day or two. They kept trying to get us to drink this- this- this sh*t that just didn’t smell right. Like it was spoiled or something.”
That made a memory ping within Bakugou’s mind, the smell of the club had sent a chill down his spine, the faint tang of something just not right invading his senses.
There was an impatience, or perhaps a hatred in the way they combed their fingers through their hair, offsetting the way that it had been styled that morning. They had black hair, with what looked like feathers growing in the strands, and their nails looked more like small talons than nails, although they had been cut down to blunt tips.
Maybe a crow mutation? But Bakugou wasn’t going to ask, asking about mutations still wasn’t commonplace despite how comfortable the world was getting with things.
“Do you mind me asking a few questions? Just so we could get an idea of what we’re going to be working against?” Bakugou tried to talk calmly, for both them and himself.
With a shallow nod, they responded, the small feathers at their bangs fluttering with the movement.
Bakugou took in a deep breath and then pulled out a note pad. “For the people that did drink the- spoiled liquid, what happened?”
That’s when the girl in the middle raised her head, looking at Bakugou with fierce orange eyes. Her eyes looked like the color that kids drew the sun with, the bright blue hair on her head making her whole vibe seem very summer sky-esque. “It’s like they were blitzed out of their minds. Just- not there any more.”
That made Bakugou’s blood run cold, his arms started to develop goosebumps. “Considering how everyone was able to walk on their own last night, how long does it take to wear off?”
Summer sky looked pained, but she answered still. “We couldn’t really tell time in there, but I want to say a few hours at least.”
“Did you guys happen to catch what love hotel they were going to take you to?” The question tasted vile on Bakugou’s tongue.
Crow spoke then. “I heard one of the guys say something like ‘red burrow’ or ‘red sparrow’, something with the ‘row’ sound.”
Bakugou’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, and wrote that down. “That is very useful, thank you. Really, you don’t need to tell me more.” With a sigh, Bakugou slumped forward just a bit. “I don’t want to say that we’re going to fix whatever is happening but we’re going to try our best to at least stop it. I’m sorry for everything that might have happened to you guys before we got there, but I cannot stress how much that means that you guys do not have to leave anytime soon. Stay, get better, and then we can help you onto whatever path you go after us.”
The three of them nodded at him, and stood without another word.
When they left the office, Bakugou allowed himself to lean back in his chair, a heavy sigh escaping him. But that sigh drew itself out and turned into a groan which then turned into a frustrated yell.
~~~~~
News of that f*cking club getting busted for some f*cking bullsh*t reason popped up on the news a few days after they did their prison break. The face of f*cking Deku was plastered on the screen, his mother f*cking dutiful speech of cracking down on crime being something he holds close to his heart made Bakugou want to retch.
Of course, the heroes were going to take credit for whatever the squad had done there. Even if they didn’t help no one and got there after the fact.
“We found crates of illegal liquor and have found unregulated quirk use all throughout this club. Although we may have put an end to this place, we believe this is just the first bust of this kind. I cannot tell you guys all of the details, but I am pleased to say that I am confident that what happened here will not continue.” Those f*cking mold colored eyes bore into Bakugou’s through the screen, like Deku was talking directly to him.
Perhaps he was. Maybe this was a message for the squad to back the f*ck up from what they were doing. Like f*ck that was going to happen.
Bakugou huffed to himself and leaned his head back. There was a moment of peace as he just- was for a few seconds. Being in an apartment with four other f*ckers gave him almost no privacy and he was going to take all that he could as Queen sprawled out on his lap. Her purrs were loud in the air.
And it was ruined when Sero plopped down on the couch next to him. The way he threw himself onto the couch made Bakugou jump as the couch shifted with the new weight. He took in a deep steadying breath.
“So, you know how I said with Kami that feelings are f*cky and there’s a lot happening? I wanna talk about that. With you.” Sero’s voice was low and even, like he was talking to a feral cat, trying to give it treats.
There was a long second that Bakugou didn’t reply, merely looking at Sero with an unnerving gaze in his eyes. Bakugou hadn’t even talked about feelings with himself yet, let alone anyone else.
“Okay.” He said it just as evenly, giving Sero a small nod to continue.
Sero brought his legs up and folded them close to himself, co*cking his head to the side as he faced Bakugou fully. “I know Meens told you that she doesn’t think all of us dancing around feelings is a smart thing, and I agree with her.”
“When have you started using her given name?” Bakugou asked, genuinely curious.
“When she outed me to Denki.” He said it bluntly. “Anyway, so part of those feelings is that I don’t just like Denki.” Sero kept it open ended, like he wanted Bakugou to fill in what he was going to say.
“You love him. Okay, cool.” Bakugou put in the only thing he could think of.
That made Sero get all red in the face, his blush blooming into a deep beet color. “No- no- we’re not-” Sero started to sputter, before whipping his head back and forth, like he was forcing his thoughts to get into line again. “I- well actually us both. We both like more than… each other.”
Blue screen in Bakugou’s mind.
The silence from Bakugou must have made Sero more nervous because his eyes started to flicker away from Bakugou, like he couldn’t even look at him fully for too long. “Denki also told me about how he kissed you, and how you reacted. So we wanted to bluntly come out and say what we’ve been talking about because I don’t think anything done subtly is going to work on any of you guys.”
Why the f*ck was Bakugou’s skin so hot when his blood was ice?
“Denki and I have found out through a good bit of talking that we are romantically interested in you. And Kirishima. And Ash but we’re not sure if she’s even interested in guys, so there’s that.” Sero’s eyes were boring into Bakugou, that bit of nervousness from a few moments ago gone like it was never there.
Bakugou opened his mouth, but he wasn’t sure what he was going to say. If he was going to say anything at all. The idea of one person being interested in him was foreign, something he still wasn’t dealing with. Let alone two more people. All three of them being some of the closest people he’s ever had in his life.
He closed his mouth after no words came to his mind, and for some treacherous reason, his eyes flicked to Sero’s lips, the dusty rose of them turning a bit red with the way that Sero was biting on his bottom lip in unease.
A searing heat spread from his face down his neck and onto his shoulders. And it was just too f*cking much.
Like the scared little bitch he was, Bakugou stood without a word, upsetting Queenie, making a quick beeline to the hallway with all of their rooms. His bedroom door made a loud noise as it hit the wall behind it harshly. Realizing his mistake, he closed the door softly, his mind already filling with static.
~~~~~
It was… awkward to say the least. For Bakugou at the very least. He hadn’t given Sero any kind of answer, not like he had with Kirishima. And what was he supposed to say? It’s not like there is a guidebook on polyamorous relationships. sh*t, maybe there was.
But he couldn’t think about that because he was across the street from one of the ‘Red Arrow’ love hotels.They had a chain of at least fifteen locations. It was actually a pretty sizable chain. The only reason that Bakugou knew it was the one that had been overheard about was because it was one of the closest places to the club, just a few blocks away. Can’t be a coincidence.
If it was, it was a very bad one.
Ashido was crouched next to him, filling up one of her water guns idly. They had been staking out the place the whole night and hadn't seen anything weird. Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima were at another location, watching and seeing if anything stood out to them.
A piece of Bakugou wanted to talk to Ash about the whole situation that he was having with those three bozos but he couldn’t even admit to any of it to himself just yet. He just knew he was going to sound ridiculous once he got the words out. But Jesus f*ck, he couldn’t hold onto it or he was going to combust.
“So… uh- Kaminari came onto me, and Sero did too.” He ripped it off like a band-aid.
“Ooooo, what happened?” Ashido stopped her task and settled her butt on the roof of the building they were on, her attention fully on Bakugou as her dark eyes looked at him like she could read his soul. That night she had her hair tied up in two space buns, the curls making the buns dense looking.
Bakugou gave a heavy sigh, sitting down fully on the roof too. His knees were starting to hurt from the kneeling position he had been in for an hour at that point. “I don’t even know. Kami kissed me? But then I panicked like some middle school twerp. And then Sero just unloaded onto me that he and Kami are- romantically interested in me, and in Kiri.” He didn’t know if he should mention the part that Sero had talked about Ash.
“You guys are like some cheesy soap opera. It would be funny to watch if it wasn’t killing me inside. I really just want you guys to be able to figure everything out.” She started lightly tapping her fingers on Bakugou’s knee that was closest to her, a small gesture of solidarity without breaching too much of Bakugou’s personal bubble. “But I get it, emotions are f*cking weird, especially when they’re tied up with so much of our lives at this point. I mean, I don’t know how I would take it if one of you guys, my closest friends like ever, confessed to me. I might just shut down like a robot.” She gave a small laugh, still mindful that they were on a stake out.
“Oh you’re going to hate what I’m going to say.” Bakugou couldn’t help himself. “Sero told me that he and Kami talked about you too but he wasn’t sure if you even liked guys. And that’s a fair thing to assume with all things considered.”
That made Ashido pause, her mask scrunching up between where her eyebrows should be, accusatory confusion blatant on her face. “What do you mean they talked about me?” Her voice was nothing but a whisper, giving away how much Bakugou had shaken her with his confession.
But all Bakugou could do was continue to meet her gaze, a small smile on his face, for reassurance. “Said they would be interested in being with you too. Like, I don’t know. All five of us could be a thing, if we were all down with it. Or I don’t know. Some of us only being with some of us. Or something like that. I don’t f*cking know.”
“Oh.” Ashido leaned back a bit, her face going up to the sky, and Bakugou could see the way her eyes searched for some stars despite the heavy cloud coverage and the light pollution. “I- don’t think I’ve thought of being with someone, male, female, non-binery, anyone really. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of love. I enjoy watching dramas and reading love stories but I don’t think I ever gave it much thought for myself.”
She brought her face back down, a smile on her face but it looked like she was holding back tears, her smile wobbling. “You guys are the only ones I feel safe around and I don’t want to risk messing that up.” She took in a shaky breath. “I was so scared the other day when I was taken. It brought up a lot of memories of bullsh*t that I had thought I was over. I kept myself steady because I didn’t want to scare any of the other people in that room I was in but, f*ck, it was hard.”
Memories started to filter through Bakugou’s head about the time period that Ash and all of them had rooted themselves in his room. Everyone was very forthcoming about a lot of the sh*t that had happened to them, except for Ash, she only gave some of the basics. It was a solid year before Ashido must have felt comfortable to tell them some of the details of her trauma. And honestly? Bakugou couldn’t even imagine some of that sh*t. But really, he couldn’t imagine any of the sh*t that has happened to any of them.
And that’s why they’re doing what they are. There’s more than what the heroes deal with, and they wanted to make sure the bitches that got away with those atrocities f*cking paid for it.
Hesitantly, Bakugou placed his hand on Ashido’s knee, the same way that she would if he was having a moment of vulnerability. Nothing that was triggering for each other, but enough to say that they weren’t alone. She didn’t flinch away or move away like she does with a lot of other people, and a piece of Bakugou was glad to have that reassurance that he could be a part of the people she trusted.
He still had a lot of doubts all of the time that he wasn’t the monster everyone thought he was.
A few seconds ticked by slowly as Bakugou looked at Ashido, watching as she took that time to calm herself back down. A strained smile and watery eyes told him that she was going to be okay. Without a word, he gave her a small nod and rolled his neck, ready to change the subject.
“Did you see that four eyes and sparkle bitch are going to be getting married? It was all over my f*cking feed on Instagram. I still regret letting you convince me to make that fake account. Now all I see is them.” Bakugou rolled his eyes, a sly smile on his face. A while ago, Ashido had made Bakugou and the rest of the squad make fake accounts on all social media to keep an eye on their old hero classmates. To keep tabs on them.
“Oh my gawd, yes. I really hope Aoyama keeps true to himself and has glitter everywhere. Knowing Iida, he’s gonna try to make everything uniform and boring. Honestly, the two of them are such polar opposites. I love it.” Ashido’s voice was heavy and wobbly but she laughed all the same.
Bakugou went back on his knees, leaning over the edge of the roof they were on, his arms dangling in the open air. With a huff, he clicked the button for his communicator, a faint static coming in from the other end. “I don’t think doing a stake out here is going to do much for us. We gotta go in it.”
There was a second of silence before Kaminari’s voice popped up. “Yeah, we haven’t seen much here either. A lot of drunk people. Maybe we are in the wrong place?”
“Nah, I think this is the right place. I don’t know if any of you guys have noticed but there’s a good bit of design choices in the lights and the signage that look a lot like that club.” Bakugou scanned his eyes over the front of the building, lingering on the glaring neon lights in the shape of a heart with an arrow through it.
“Well, don’t they have like, a million locations?” Sero commented next, his voice buzzing a bit when he said million.
“Fifteen but it’s very likely that some of these are actual love hotels while others are used for their seedier stuff. We just have to figure out what is what.” Ashido came up next to Bakugou, already typing on her phone at all of the locations they had to investigate. Her thumbs were flying over the screen and Bakugou couldn’t even imagine being that fast at typing. He was constantly called an old man when it came to tech.
Maybe they had a point but it was still a bit annoying to hear it all of the time. Not like he was going to tell them anything though, it was a fun joke in the end.
Ashido stopped her typing and shoved the screen into Bakugou’s face. He had to lean back just a smidge to see what she was trying to show him. Without immediately seeing anything out of the blue, except for google and yelp reviews of the chain on the screen, he leaned to the side and gave her a look.
She rolled her eyes and pointed to the stars in one of the reviews. It only had about fifty reviews, instead of the usual five hundred plus that the other ones do. “This location has been open for a year at this point and yet it still doesn’t have as many reviews as the place that’s only been open for six months.”
“Yeah, but that could be because of bad foot traffic or something. It doesn’t mean that’s where we need to go.” Bakugou took a glance at the love hotel again, watching as a couple ducked into the door of the place.
“Are you really going to be dense on this?” Ashido huffed, a teasing smile on her face as she co*cked her head to the side. Her eyes were almost trying to taunt him.
It only made Bakugou groan and roll his neck. “Yeah, I guess you’re f*cking right. Let’s f*cking go.” With a duck of his head, he spoke into his collar and communicator again. “Ash thinks we gotta go to the one that’s off of the green line and ‘Citrus’ street. Up and at ‘em everybody.”
Bakugou took a second and looked around them, his eyes landing on the sign for the train system down the street. A wicked idea popped into his head. He turned just a bit to look back at Ashido, a mischievous smile ghosting his lips. “Wanna go train surfing?”
