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[machismost]

Who: Kirishima and Bakugou

Where: Saffron Game Corner

When: Week of 06/09

Summary: Boys just being friends in an arcade with lunch at stake? No big deal...

Rating: PG-13 pre-emptory for Bakugou's language

Log:

[ Yeah, it's a fair proposition: Let's go to the arcade because it'd be crappy to make our Pokeomon train in all the smog.

More: Loser [when it comes to tokens] buys lunch.

Kirishima still feels hived with nerves because while he's always felt a little self-conscious asking Bakugou out to do anything with him beyond a spar, he's now asking himself more questions about that feeling ever since a few older men in his orbit have been publicly confessing their affections to other men, or publicly displaying boyfriends/husbands. Where Kirishima's from... well it just isn't common.

Bakugou is his best friend. Kirishima doesn't want to make things weird between them since he still isn't sure what his feelings are. Claudia, after all, had let him know he liked girls, or at least a type that was forever creating and getting shit done. Could he also like men? Or just Bakugou...?

Here they are, in Saffron's Game Corner. Kirishima's spent most of his self-conscious thoughts through the coins and just wracked up points.

Kirishima moves to nudge a shoulder up against Katsuki as the other boy is battling whatever machine. ]

Hey, I found a machine that's a two-shooter!

[ He sounds cheerful and hyped for the prospect, though Katsuki might sense Kirishima is getting bored playing games all on his lonesome. ]

Comments

[apshot]

[ To be fair, Bakugou doesn’t really like a break in routine. He actually would be the type to go out and train in this. Why? Well they might have to fight and battle in this type of environment. Preparing for it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

However, when his best friend proposes that they should probably take off to play some games instead? Katsuki has to think about it. Honestly it has been a minute since the blonde really took a break. His teammates could probably use one too. That’s why he agrees to go in the first place - completely unaware of Kirishima’s inner struggles.

That’s how he is here playing said games. Shitty Hair hadn’t needed to up the ante with payment for food, but it definitely brings out a more competitiveness in Bakugou. So he’s intending to win that challenge, so why is Kirishima getting bored if this had been his suggestion? Does the loser just want to play games together like they’d do in the dorms? Guy’s acting a little off… ]

If you wanted to play together in the first place, you shoulda said something.

[ Ah, there it is. Bakugou right to the point. Of course this is his roundabout way of agreeing to go with Kirishima as well. ]

[machismost]

[ Frankly, Kirishima was in Bakugou's school of thought, and they must have had their Pokemon go cough and hack through their training for a bit before it obviously got to the point they needed to mutually agree they as trainers could only take so much of the smog, or else agree their Pokemon needed a break. ]

I wanted us to wrack up some points first! And I wanna play with you! [ No shame in that, he feels. Kirishima nudges a little firmer against Bakugou during this game the boy's playing. ] Let's wager 500 tokens down to do the duo games, huh? It's still the best player wins the most, but we get to wrack up more points if we're together.

If we do really well in the shoot-em-up, we could get double our input! We just gotta beat a quarter of most player's high scores...

[apshot]

[ The nudge makes Bakugou growl at Kirishima briefly. Not because he's anything less than concentrating on the game and being nudged is not cool. ]

Five hundred tokens? You sure you wanna bid that high?

[ Again, not that he is saying no. Chances are Bakugou is confident that he is still going to pull out head of the redhead in the end. ]

Tch! We'll be in the top twenty-five percent or bust!

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I'm sure playin' with you's worth it for a start. Don't you?

[ Kirishima shoots back, only for a blush to belatedly tint his cheeks as he actually realizes what he just said. ]

H... Hell yeah! We can't leave without one high score in this place!

[ That shouted, he's just going to now quietly watch Bakugou get through his game before, after finishing, he grabs the other boy's elbow and tugs him towards a small booth built to actually bounce and rock with a fossil Pokemon shoot-em-up experience. Naturally, the guns shoot tranquilizers. The 'story' here is a Safari Zone where the fossil Pokemon have broken loose and they're now on some sort of all-terrain vehicle that bounces them after the quarry. ]

[apshot]

[ The innuendo at least goes over Bakugou's head. He just glares at Kirishima from the corner of his eye. Then goes about finishing up his game. He swipes the tokens that he has been awarded and huff. ]

So let's get going. Which game is the one you're talking about?

[ This should be interesting. They normally don't co-op stuff when they play. It's always pretty damn competitive? ]

[machismost]

[ Kirishima is eager to tug poor Katsuki along directly to the game he's been thinking of. It's an enclosed space that sort of looks like a photo booth, but much wider, with curtains on either side opening to main arcade but enough to keep the atmosphere within. There's a big screen in front of a cushioned booth and, between those, a pair of fake guns wired into the game.

The exterior splash art of this contraption/mini-theater is a Tyrantrum chasing after a pack of Archen. Kirishima whips open the curtain while beaming at the blonde. ]

This one!

[apshot]

[ By now he's not even bothered by Eijiro pulling him along. This is... Their normal, really. Kirishima is excited and overeager and just wants to drag Bakugou with. It's because there's no other way to get Katsuki to go along with things.

As he is pretty much shoved into this booth, Bakugou plops his butt down. ]

This has survival vibes to it.

[machismost]

[ Kirishima piles on in next to his friend, jostling companionably before seizing up the guns to distribute. His cup of coins jostle between his thighs as he starts to count up how many he needs to feed in. ]

Is that a plus?

[apshot]

[ Katsuki, on the other hand, has everything ready. He's just waiting for the go ahead from Kirishima. ]

Depends on if you're good enough to compete with me.

[machismost]

[ Kirishima just gives a bark of laughter at that. Clearly Bakugou's not familiar with his skill in an arcade since he never really used to attend those types of school outings before. The redhead just feeds coins into the slot, taking care of both their entry fees for now. ]

I got ya man! Just get ready.

[ He slaps the huge 'START' button in the middle of the machine and taps both the buttons to register two players before he sinks back, shoulder to shoulder with the blonde and grinning. The story begins on a dark and stormy night and the very bottom of the screen looks like the view over the headlights of some sort of all terrain vehicle. The seat buzzez and rocks a little beneath them as the screen shows a dirt road with overhanging bows of trees. The crackle of a voice over a radio ( which pipes in from speakers from behind them ) informs them that they, Safari Zone rangers, need to subdue some of the more unruly subjects that have cropped up in this section of the park as of late with their tranquilizer guns before they break out of the park.

Cue a flood of Archen towards either side of them, which Kirishima immediately tries to shoot. They're slow to start the mission off, so he gets every single one on his side before pivoting his gun towards Bakugou's. ]

[apshot]

[ To be fair, Katsuki doesn't go on these sort of outings with anyone. It's a little much for him if he's being honest with himself. Too many sounds - games, buzzers, kids running around and screaming. Bakugou just doesn't like dealing with those things. He still doesn't, but sometimes? Sacrifices can be made.

He watches the opening sequence. Continues to look on as Kirishima fires a couple of rounds.

They are pretty slow so it's not like Katsuki is going to have trouble with nailing the next three that run from the opposite side of the screen. ]

Got to get harder than this...

[machismost]

[ And of course it does. They roll together into a new scene and now it's two streams of spitting dinos on either side of them with one mini-boss dino in the middle. They will have to choose between shooting the big dino or these small one, keeping in mind the small ones spit things to cover the screen to shoot through before they can hit the mini-boss.

Here, Kirishima is shooting at the little ones so there's less of a blockade for Bakugou to shoot at the mini-boss. ]

[apshot]

[ Because that's just how they roll, right? Kirishima is the "steed." That solid wall of support so that Bakugou can keep going. Naturally he knows what Eijiro is doing and his grin turns absolutely feral.

So he goes after the miniboss while completely trusting Eijiro to watch his back. To carry them to victory. ]

[machismost]

[ And Kirishima does a pretty good job of it, putting the little dinosaurs to sleep in piles that, with all the feathers, rather makes them look like some sort of multicolored boa. ]

Take 'em down, Bakugou!

[ He cheers on the blonde. Within a minute the beast is woozily still approaching them, only to fall right before it hits the 'vehicle'. Still, the force of the impact is enough they're sent flying! The seat beneath them lifts up and everything to simulate that moment of vertigo. ]

OH CRAP!

[ And here's moron, naturally throwing an arm across Bakugou to keep him pinned to the seat as they go bouncing down a hill, finally landing in the water with a splash. But rather than sink, of course, they float, the seat bobbing them along a river towards whatever the next scene will be. Eijiro lets out a relieved sigh. ]

[apshot]

[ As if they don't look like multicolored boas in general. Either way, Bakugou shouts that he's going to. Because there's no way they're gonna lose to some dumb ass mini boss this early on.

And the simulation is pretty interesting. He hadn't anticipated that the seats would try to launch them just a little. Not that Bakugou really gets to move much. There's an arm firmly holding him in place. The realization that Kirishima is instinctively shielding him and without a thought that there's no danger actually hits him pretty hard.

His ears are burning and his neck is red. Even though the game is still going, Bakugou's focus isn't on it at the moment. ]

You thinking we're in some deep shit or something, Kirishima?

[ Bro. The arm is still there. ]

[machismost]

Huh? Oh.

[ Kirishima lowers his arm, grinning sheepishly at the blonde. ]

Sorry, man. It's a pretty realistic game, huh?

[ He attempts to explain himself, his own cheeks tinted. They're drifting along this swampy jungle view, light filtering through the trees and dappling the water. They're being given a moment to breathe and some lovely scenery; likely just a very sophisticated loading screen as the game preps the next leg of the journey. But Kirishima's eyes linger, flickering from Bakugou's ears to his throat as this simulated sunlight also reveals the hint of color there. Eijiro shuts his suddenly very dry mouth and gulps as he forces his gaze back onto the screen. ]

Man, I didn't go to this part of the Safari Zone. Think it's really like this?

[apshot]

[ It's one of those obvious moments of staring. Honestly Katsuki already is sort of aware. Kirishima isn't really subtle... And with the way that those pupils dilate a little and are unabashedly taking in the blonde's features? The sheepish expression that would normally be boisterous laughing and shoving?

Bakugou knows. He knows what's going on here... ]

Probably can find that out.