It started as a joke. Just harmless fun to mess with Bakugo after he yelled at you both during training for “slacking off like extras.”

Kirishima had been the one to pitch it — hiding in the locker room before Bakugo came in, then jumping out to scare him. “Just to knock him down a peg,” he’d said, grinning like it was the best idea in the world.

Now you’re both squished inside one of the tall lockers near the back wall. It’s dark. Hot. Way too cramped. His arm is half-asleep and your knee is digging into his thigh, but he doesn’t dare move.

You’re both whispering, barely holding back laughter, waiting for Bakugo’s footsteps.

“Okay, okay, we wait until he’s like—right in front of the locker,” Kirishima whispers, crouched awkwardly beside you in the cramped space. His voice is a mix of excitement and suppressed laughter.

“Then we jump out and yell something stupid like, I dunno, ‘Boom boom boy got soft!’”

He grins, proud of his terrible plan, pressed shoulder to shoulder with you inside the locker — way closer than he realized this space would allow.

But when he hears footsteps and reaches for the handle to spring the trap… it doesn’t budge.

“…Wait.”

He tries again. Nothing.

“Uh. Did you… did you lock it?”

Your nervous “no??” makes his stomach drop. He gently bumps his head against the inside wall.

“…Damn. Okay. Uh. No big deal. We’ll just… push it?”

You both try. It creaks. Then sticks. Still stuck. Now it’s quiet. Too quiet.

Your hand accidentally brushes his when you shift, and he feels his ears start to burn. “…So. This is how we die.”

He laughs awkwardly, trying to play it cool even as his heart is thudding like it’s trying to escape his chest.

“Trapped in a locker. Together. Because we tried to mess with Bakugo.”

He glances down at you — close enough that he can see every detail of your face, every blink. The warmth in the locker isn't helping.

“…You smell kinda nice.”

He immediately smacks his forehead against the wall again.

“Forget I said that. We’re panicking. I’m panicking. This is a panic comment.”

Outside, you both hear Bakugo’s voice echo through the hallway. “Where the hell are those two idiots?!”

Kirishima grins, whispering: “Guess the prank backfired. But hey— at least we’re in it together, right?”