Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A few days pass since Kirishima had last talked with Bakugou. Kirishima was thankful enough for it, but he told himself not to get too settled, as that thinking had tricked him the last time. Kirishima was sprawled over his tiny couch after a long day of patrol. The television was turned to the news, spouting words that he had no care to hear. He honestly would have changed the channel had he not been so glued to the cheap comfort of his deteriorating sofa.

The lights were off, illuminating Kirishima's body with the blue light from the news channel. It was a sad sight, but no one else was there to see it. Kirishima hadn't seen Tetsutetsu for three days, coming on four. There had been no contact either, he just disappeared without a trace. Kirishima had tried calling him but it always immediately went to voicemail. He tried asking around but that didn't help either. By this point, Kirishima started brushing it off to save him from any intrusive thoughts. Whether Tetsutetsu would admit it or not, the metal man worked for a dying business that often took trips often to try and give itself exposure. Hopefully, that what was going on.

Kirishima was paying no mind to the news until a sudden report caught his eyes. There was a low-resolution phone recording of a villain being beaten down by none other than Deku and Uravity. The villain was a big muscly man, he probably had some sort of power quirk. The scene then cut to a reporter who was commentating over the fight. Uraraka had the guy floating while Midoriya barraged him with his fists. It was quite humorous to see, considering the contrast of ability.

Watching the two of them fight with such synchronization reminded Kirishima of how he used to be with Bakugou. They bounced so well off of each other that people could see it. Kirishima huffs. The reporter addresses this by bringing up the rumor about the two heroes. Midoriya and Uraraka weren't open to the public about their relationship, but they were so obvious that people couldn't help but speculate. Kirishima rolled his eyes, for he knew the truth.

The doorknob jiggles before the door opened. This shook Kirishima from his inactivity and forced him up. In the doorframe stood the presumably missing Tetsutetsu. He was smiling and carrying a plastic bag. Sheepishly, Tetsutetsu brought a shattered phone out of it. Kirishima stood in shock for a few moments before he ran to his roommate. His hug was so forceful that Tetsutetsu was knocked back a step, but he returned it nevertheless.

Tetsutetsu pat Kirishima's back in confusion, "Dude?"

Kirishima then pushed the other man away, "Dude? What the hell do you mean, you were gone for three days!"

Tetsutetsu laughed nervously, "Yeah, uh, I was hanging out with Kendou?"

"For three days? Why didn't you tell me?" Kirishima felt bad for imposing over the unsuspecting Tetsutetsu but it was beyond his control.

"I was going to when I got to her place, but I got jumped," Tetsutetsu shrugged, a bead of sweat forming on this temple.

"When did you leave? Was it night? Why couldn't you have waited until morning so that you could tell me?"

"It was like five in the morning or something and she called me to say that her parents were going on a trip," Tetsutetsu looked to the floor, "I guess I was too excited to think about the time."

"Yeah, Jesus," Kirishima agreed harshly.

"Dude, it was so awesome though, I stayed for like a whole day when her parents came back early. We thought we were in the shits but—" Kirishima's arms were crossed and his gaze was downward, "Kirishima? What's wrong?"

Kirishima flinched at the question, he turned his head farther away from Tetsutetsu, "Please don't do that again."

Tetsutetsu took another moment before he remembered how Bakugou disappeared on Kirishima in almost the same manner. "Shit," Tetsutetsu suddenly understood and collapsed his shoulders to get down to Kirishima's level. With a hand on Kirishima's back, Tetsutetsu soothed, "I'm so sorry, man. I tried to call you on Kendou's phone but you're not in her contacts and I don't know your number off the top of my head."

Kirishima shook his head, dismissing the hand on his back, "It's fine, just," Kirishima finally met eyes with Tetsutetsu. The other man's pathetic wobbly smile couldn't help but lighten his mood. He shook his head again to rid any other doubts. "You said her parents came back early. What happened when they saw you?"

Tetsutetsu smiled at the cleared air, "They walked in on me and Kendou playing streetfighter."

Kirishima smirked, "Scandalous."

Tetsutetsu laughed, "Her parents were really strict back when she was living with them, so she thought that they would freak out," Tetsutetsu was practically beaming, "But they just let me stay for another two days! They thought I was her boyfriend."

"And you're not, right?" Kirishima asked rhetorically. Tetsutetsu nods anyway. "So what did you say?"

There is a moment of hesitation, "Nothing."

"What did Kendou say, then?"

Another distinct silence surfaced. Tetsutetsu seemed to gain more awareness, "Nothing." Kirishima raises a suggestive eyebrow. Tetsutetsu brings his hand to his face in thought, "Am— Am I dating Kendou?"

Kirishima smiled. Tetsutetsu couldn't really find anyone to put up with his eccentric behavior most of the time, so it was a welcome change. Kirishima really wished that Tetsutetsu came at least a day earlier so that the two of them could have spent more time together, since that day was the day that Kirishima had to go to Kaminari's.

"Hey, man," Kaminari looked at his watch, "I have to head out to Kaminari's."

"Seriously? But I just got back!"

"Asshole, you knew that I was going to this all week," Kirishima pushes Tetsutetsu playfully, "And also you don't get a right to say that. You didn't have to go and piss off at Kendou's."

Embarrassed, Tetsutetsu scoffs, "Whatever."

"You wanna hang out later?" Kirishima asked, grabbing his keys.

"I mean, we live together," Tetsutetsu shrugged.

"We could go out," Kirishima suggested.

"We could. When are you getting back?"

Kirishima opens the door. With a thoughtful pause, he replies, "I actually don't know? Maybe at ten at night, it could run late though."

The last thing that Kirishima saw before closing the door was Tetsutetsu's smile, "See you later, bro."

Before the drive, Kirishima texted Kaminari to let him know that he might be a little early. When Kirishima knocked on Kaminari's door, Jirou opened it. She greets Kirishima with a smile. She then walks over to Kaminari to kiss his cheek before heading for the door again.

"Where are you going, Jirou?" Kirishima smiled as Kaminari pat his back in greeting.

"Work," she turns around in the door frame, "Don't fuck up the apartment, Denki!"

Kaminari sighs irritatingly, "You don't have to always say that!"

"That's what you think," Jirou smiles knowingly, "Bye, Kirishima!"

"Bye," Kirishima and Kaminari say in unison.

Kirishima and Kaminari busy themselves in small talk, or as close to it as someone could get when talking to Kaminari. After the sufficient amount of news and weather talk, Kirishima asked when the others would arrive.

"I'm pretty sure Ashido and Sero are coming on the same bus. Bakugou probably won't be coming, but if he does, you know that loser is going to show up late," Kaminari laughs as he scrolls through his phone.

Kirishima almost breathes in his spit. "What?"

"What?" Kaminari parrots. He looks up from his phone to give undivided attention, "Oh, yeah. I never told you that I invited Bakugou."

Kirishima was tired of surprise Bakugou invites. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, "Why would you do that?"

"What do you mean?" Kaminari askes with unsuspecting eyes.

"No one told you what he did before he left?" Kirishima remembers that Kaminari was one of the only ones that didn't go to that party all of those years ago. It was sad to recall how deathly sick he was, Kaminari was disappointed that he couldn’t go.

Kaminari didn't take too long before he tilted his head, "Kyouka said he threw a shot glass at Midoriya? Or Todoroki?"

"Yes!" Kirishima emphasized.

"Was I not supposed to invite him because of that?"

A little shocked, Kirishima fumbles with his words, "You— I don't," Kirishima avoids the other man, "Don't you think that's kind of not cool?"

"I don't understand," Kaminari's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, yet his lip was curled in accusation, "Why wouldn't you want him here?"

"He's horrible," Kirishima so desperately wanted to elaborate to his friend but he really couldn't explain it coherently without feeling dizzy.

"Whoa, dude," Kaminari squared his shoulders, making Kirisima shrink under them, "I'm not trying to say what he did was okay or whatever, but you know him, he was probably just having a bad day."

Kirishima blinked, "How can you say that? He's so rude, Kaminari!"

Kaminari ceased his stare on Kirishima and punctuated his turn to his previous position with a roll of his eyes, "He was never rude, man. You were always the one telling me that, you always used to say that he was just bad at expressing himself," hopelessly, Kaminari glanced at Kirishima for the last time, "Is one mistake enough to change your mind?"

Kirishima's heart started to race. Dismissively, he tried to steer the subject, "You're trying to say that Bakugou isn't rude?"

Kaminari shakes his head, "You're not hearing me, dude. I'm just saying that there must be another reason you're so bitter, because everyone has already forgotten about it," after a solitary silence, Kaminari asks in a small voice, "Did something happen to you two?"

Kirishima shifted, he really should have said something to Kaminari earlier,"We had a falling out," Kirishima summarized crudely. He was glad that Kaminari wasn't looking at him to see the way his mouth twitched.

"Yeah, that's what Bakugou said too," Kaminari added sympathetically.

"What, you saw him?"

"At the bank, how else did you think I invited him?" Kaminari quipped in an attempt to steal a laugh, but it only came out dry, "What the hell happened to you guys?"

"He— He lead me on," Kirishima only explains a small fraction of what he said before.

Kaminari's next glance was either full of pity or concern, neither of which Kirishima wanted. "He knew that you—?" He asked, too sheepish to finish.

"I even knew that he knew. He's a piece of shit."

Kaminari no longer looked denouncing and instead looked genuinely sad, "He's different now, I think."

In a bout of built up anger, Kirishima scowls, "He isn't! Why do you keep defending him?"

Kaminari shifts his torso to face Kirishima, "How are you supposed to know if you keep pushing him away?"

"We keep running into each other and he's the same—"

"He's frustrated with you!" Kaminari seems to surprise himself with the volume of his voice. He sighs, the action almost meant as an apology, "I'm not telling you to forgive him. The reason I'm defending him is because I really believe that he has changed, he was nicer that he's ever been to me the other day," Kaminari smiles a little forced, but it was still soothing enough, "I can't imagine what kind of treatment he'd give you if you gave him the chance."

Kirishima sinks where he sits. His head was ducked down, and the only thing that he could focus on was the area between his clenched fists. His vision threatened to fail him if he didn't blink, so that's what he did. Ashamed, Kirishima grits, "I'm so angry," Kaminari's stare was burning holes into his hair but he hadn't the courage to move, "I missed him. I tried not to but I did. I want to forgive him every time I see his stupid face but I can't just let him off like that."

Kirishima jumps at Kaminari's hand on his back, but it was very much appreciated after the initial shock. The other man rubbed awkward circles into Kirishima's shoulder blade. It lightened his head, even if the thought that calmed him was pity for Jirou and how poorly she must have fared with only the dull-witted man as a source of comfort for all those years.

Kaminari lets out an exasperated and held in sigh, "I can't believe you didn't tell me any of this."

"I—" Kirishima's shoulders collapsed even further, Kaminari's hand following it, "I didn't want to think about it."

Instead of brooding in guilt like he would have assumed, Kirishima was pulled into the side of Kaminari's body, his arm draped loosely around his neck, "Kirishima!" Kaminari pinches his cheek, "You can't keep things in! Not thinking about it won't fix it! You're the one who told me that, you know!"

"I know, I know," Kirishima huffed a laugh. He uncomfortably wrangled his own arm around Kaminari to return the sidehug. There was disappointment and a feeling of betrayal hidden deep with Kaminari's throat, but Kirishima internally promised to be better to him.

"Always thinking about others but never for yourself, even when you deserve it the most," Kaminari mumbles and ruffles Kirishima's hair, "Plus, it's not like he's actually going to come anyway." As if on cue, there is a knock at the door. The two of them set their concerns aside and walked to the door. Kaminari opened it to reveal Ashido, but not Sero.

"Guys!" Ashido chirps and pulls both Kirishima and Kaminari into a rough hug that was more aptly described as a double headlock. She separates, "Nice to see you two in one place!"

"Gosh, I thought you were going to say in one piece," Kaminari sighs.

Kirishima grins, absolutely elated to see his old friend again, "You, too!"

"Where's Sero?" Kaminari asks.

Ashido scoffs animatedly by placing her hands on her hips and pouting, "We were getting on the same bus, so we agreed to meet each other. But he wasn't there? So I just assumed that he was already on the bus, so I got on and he still wasn't anywhere to be seen."

"He missed it, didn't he?" Kirishima snickered.

"Damn square right he did! The bus started moving and when I looked out the window I saw his dumbass running!"

They all stifled their laughs. They all deduced that Sero must have gotten onto the second bus, so they just talked about nothing for a while. Ashido had barely changed from college, she was still spirited as ever, the only difference was probably her voice. It was just a little quieter, something Kirishima didn't notice at the reunion. Soon enough, there was yet another knock at the door. All three of them stood up to answer it and presumably greet Sero, but when Kaminari opened the door, Bakugou was the only man who stood.

Kirishima's blood went hot but his skin went cold. He felt his clothes sticking to him as Bakugou caught his eyes. Ashido and Kaminari's cheer gave him little salvation either, he saw the three of them spin into each other. Ashido hugged Bakugou around his middle. Bakugou looked very constipated, but he did not move away, and after the position was held for long enough he pushed her off instead of reciprocating.

Kaminari and Ashido spoke excitedly to Bakugou, but Kirishima couldn't hear the words. He only saw smiles. After that, his eyes went out of focus and he could only make out Bakugou's mass of an arm gesturing towards something behind him. This drew Ashido and Kaminari's attention away from Bakugou and to Sero, who had shown up just after Bakugou.

Ashido pounced on Sero, teasing him and calling him names for missing the bus, but the most notable name she called him by was his first. Kaminari took the opportunity to point out how left out he was from this exact group again. Ashido and Sero had been working in the same agency for years. Kirishima feels sick. It's crazy what proximity and familiarity could do.

"Hey," Bakugou's words snapped everything back, a little too well. Kirishima almost doubled over from the sudden sharpness.

"Hey," Kirishima said nervously. Content with just that, Bakugou averted his eyes to look at the group of happy and clamoring people near the door. In a way, watching the three of them so caught up in each other united Kirishima and Bakugou together more than anything could have in that situation. Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari were happy, and Kirishima and Bakugou were not. They had a common trait.

Bakugou looked at Kirishima from the corner of his eyes, "Did you miss them?" Bakugou's voice was rough and breaking, seeing as he wasn't used to speaking quietly.

Kirishima wanted to roll his eyes. Like Bakugou would care what he really thought. "Did you?" Kirishima mimicked with a distinct edge to his tone.

Unsure of how to reply, Bakugou only scoffed and shifted his feet. He looked at Kirishima a second time, "Your roots are coming in," Bakugou's voice was louder now.

Kirishima blushed faintly, the color matched his rapidly fading hair dye. Instead of giving Bakugou the satisfaction of an answer, Kirishima shoved his hands into his pockets and huffed an annoyed breath. Bakugou did the same.

The five of them finally reunited into one group and decided to play video games like they used to. It was childish at face value, but none of them really had the pressures to care. Because only four people could play Mario Kart at once, one person had to sit out for each race. Bakugou insisted that he was above playing games for kids, but Kirishima had seen the glint in his eye, the glint of competition. It had never changed. They had all willingly set fires under their asses.

"Shit! Eat my ass, Bakugou!" Ashido yelled, having made second place to the man.

"Fucking gross," Bakugou replied in scorn, but his smile drunk from winning refused to disappear.

Ashido giggled, "Quite the opposite actually, I taste like strawberries," She winked. Sero—who was sipping from a can of soda—choked.

Equally disgusted, Bakugou retorts, "I hope your parents are disappointed."

Bakugou won every single race, excluding the one that he sat out from and excluding the race that Kirishima won. Kirishima was utter shit at this game. He saw how Bakugou purposely swallowed his pride and let him win. Ashido and Sero unknowingly congratulated Kirishima for finally putting Bakugou in his place, while Kaminari just smiled at Kirishima with a raised eyebrow. Understanding Kaminari's point, Kirishima wanted to punch him.

Kirishima met eyes with Bakugou without malice as an act of thanks. For Bakugou, it was enough.

After growing tired of the game, Kaminari clicked through the plethora of channels on the television. None of them were particularly interesting, but they all settled on a cake baking competition show, mostly by Ashido's demand. The boys pretended to be indifferent but it was only an act that disguised their interest.

"Bro, she can't make another cake, there are five minutes on the timer!" Sero expresses the obvious as everyone else watches at the edge of their seats.

Kaminari leans forward, "That bitch better run!" The lady on the show was rushing to get the cake onto the plate that was meant to present it to the judges.

"No, Idiot! She has the cake in her hands!" Ashido gasps as the cake predictably fell out of the woman's hands and to the floor.

"Oh my god!" Sero was practically sweating.

"Five-second rule, five-second rule!" Kaminari chants before Ashido pushes him.

"Not with a fully frosted cake, stupid!" Ashido tried to sound threatening but her sadness at the fallen cake showed through her voice.

Kirishima feels Bakugou's laugh before he can hear it. Bakugou's arm was shaking against Kirishima's from where they sat next to each other. He looks at Bakugou and sees that his lips are pressed tight together in an attempt to muffle his snickers.

"She's fixing it!" Sero points.

"It looks like—" Kaminari starts. He waits for the woman to finish before saying a word, but Ashido beats him to it.

"Complete shit. Garbage."

Kirishima let out a chuckle himself, spurring a shaky Bakugou to cover his laughter with his hand. The three teams had their cakes lined up for judgment. Kaminari made a joke about judgment day that no one laughed at. The three on the left side of the couch tuned out the show host and started betting on which cake would win, but they all surprisingly agreed on the third cake on the right.

Bakugou, who sat to the right of Kirishima, looked thoughtfully towards the screen, but whether he was actually considering anything was unclear to him. Bakugou leaned closer to Kirishima, "They're all shit, but the one in the middle is going to win."

Bakugou was unfortunately correct. The contestants seemed to have been given this bullshit theme and tried to make non-cake items out of cake, which never failed to look gimmicky. That being said, the one in the middle was comparatively better than the rest. "Why?" Kirishima asks even though he agrees.

"Because I think it will."

Kirishima swallows his smile.

"Shh, they're about to say it!" Sero pacifies Ashido and Kaminari.

"And the winner is," Sero, Ashido, and Kaminari pathetically lean forward as if they were scared of missing it, "Team Two!"

"You're shitting me!" Kaminari exclaims.

Kirishima snickers. Bakugou nudges Kirishima, another condescending smile at his mouth, "I told you."

Kirishima smiles at him, exasperated as if to say You sure did.

"What about you?" Bakugou asks.

Kirishima tilts his head, "What?"

"Which did you think?" Bakugou's face was free from its usual accusation.

"I agreed with you," Kirishima shifted uncertainly, but his voice was light when he replied.

The reruns that aired after weren't nearly as interesting. No one decided to try and make another cake at the countdown, no one dropped their cake, and no one had any cake discourse. So systematically, after another two episodes of that, Sero and Ashido made their leave. Kaminari asked them to stay longer, but they both remarked that they could only take so much of him at once.

Kaminari ordered three large pepperoni pizzas to share amongst Bakugou, Kirishima, and himself. Considering that they were all grown men, Kirishima suspected that there wouldn't be any leftovers. He could have sworn that it would have been agonizing without Ashido and Sero there because it left Bakugou and Kirishima more opportunities for them to be forced to interact, but it was actually the opposite. When they were there, Ashido and Sero monopolized Kaminari's attention to the point where Kirishima had no other option but to associate with Bakugou, but now that they were gone, the air seemed lighter.

Kirishima noticed that when Bakugou is around people that he is comfortable with, he grows docile. He always knew this, the thought just resurged as Kirishima and Kaminari held a lengthy conversation and Bakugou just listened, the way it was with the three of them. It wasn't to say that Bakugou liked the people he was comfortable with, or that he even liked people in general obviously, but toleration came easier in familiarity.

"Jirou sure works long hours," Kirishima whistles at the time.

"Don't get him started," Bakugou groans under his breath.

Just the mention of her name makes Kaminari collapse, "Yeah, I miss her all the time. She's so cool, always on TV working hard."

Bakugou rolls his eyes, "Didn't you see Deku and Roundface on the News today? That could be you and Earbuds if you weren't so weak."

Kaminari dismisses the insult, "Always with the nicknames," he slings an arm around Kirishima, "Why don't you have one for Kirishima?"

"I do," Bakugou replies defensively.

"What is it?"

Apparently confused, Bakugou tilts his head, "Shitty-hair."

Kirishima scoffs, "You haven't called me that since highschool."

With reluctance, Bakugou mumbles, "It's not fitting anymore."

Heat rose to Kirishima's cheeks. He forces himself not to look at Kaminari because he already knew the smug look he was wearing, "What?"

"Your hair," Bakugou shrugs while he searches, "It's something to get used to." When Bakugou takes notice of Kirishima's blush and Kaminari's slack jaw, he was quick to defend, "It also looks different since then, quit staring at me like that!"

After the pizza came, there was little interaction, just ravenous digestion. They all grabbed a box and devoured. Bakugou cleared out his whole box, no more, no less. Kaminari had left a single slice, one that he probably could have eaten had Kirishima not stolen it when he wasn't looking. Kirishima was always unabashedly the biggest eater. Their conversations grew hazy along with their heads. It was sickeningly reminiscent of old times and if it wasn't for the food fogging his brain, he probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

"Bro, if I was on a cruise ship or something and I had to puke, where would I do it?" Kaminari slurs with tired eyes.

"If it was a cruise ship couldn’t you just find a toilet?" Kirishima supplied.

"Do it overboard," Bakugou deadpans.

"No!" Kirishima protests.

"Why?" Bakugou growls.

"It just doesn't seem right. Like it would be bad for the ocean," Kirishima huffs, "would puking in the ocean be littering?"

Kaminari laughs shortly, "Littering or not, it’s the Law of Conservation of Mass. Bitch, I came from this earth, the ocean can take it."

"You can't just say that! Where the fuck do you think styrofoam comes from?" Kirishima's laugh betrays his point.

"The depths of hell, apparently," Bakugou adds. Kirishima looks down at his watch to check the time. It was 1:02 in the morning. Tetsutetsu was surely asleep by that point. When Kirishima looks back up, Kaminari is looking at the door. The handle signaled its opening.

It was Jirou, appearing exhausted. Kaminari got up and smothered her, all while she pats his back. It was honestly like seeing a child run to their mother. Kirishima and Bakugou both got the hint and stood up themselves. After Kaminari's assault on Jirou ceased, she walked over to Bakugou to shake his hand, seeing as it was the first time that they saw each other that day.

Bakugou takes her hand and shakes it, a smirk playing at his lips, "I was just about to leave, glad to see I chose the right time."

Still holding his hand in the air, Jirou rolls her eyes, "Nice to see you again, Bakugou."

He hums in agreement as their hands fall. Jirou turns to Kirishima, "Are you leaving too, Kirishima?"

Kirishima nods apologetically, "Yeah, I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer."

Jirou shakes her head, "No, I understand," she pulls Kirishima into a friendly hug, "Thanks for babysitting my Denki."

"Kyouka," Kaminari flushes. Bakugou just snickers.

Kirishima and Bakugou are waved out by Kaminari and they stand on the outside of the closed door, waiting. Bakugou doesn't move and for some reason Kirishima doesn't either. It would make sense for him to leave, with the tension repelling them apart, but they just stood side by side staring at the black of the night.

Kirishima finally builds up the courage to move before Bakugou starts, "That was less shitty than I expected."

"Speak for yourself," the response was immediate and much too cold compared to the way Kirishima had been acting previously. Bakugou tenses in Kirishima's periphery. After a decisive silence, Kirishima sighed, "Why're you telling me? I'm not even the host."

The tension dissolves and Bakugou's face is left blank. He makes the first move, he walks past Kirishima and moves towards the steps, "Goodbye, Kirishima."

Staring at Bakugou's back, Kirishima is awestruck. He has no idea what kind of face the other might have had. His steps away went slow— so slow— it gave Kirishima enough time to memorize the other man for the one last sight. Enough time to learn his every nuanced movement as if it wasn't already something he could play back with his eyes closed. Enough time to wonder what would happen if Kirishima just let him leave like he wanted throughout this whole ordeal.

Kirishima felt like he was breathing through a sheet of paper. He tips forward, he wants to reach out and grab fistfuls of Bakugous thick coat and drag him back. He doesn't even realize his hand shaking outward.

"Bakugou—" The man in question doesn't quite flinch, he just stills. He waits another moment as if he was doubting what he heard. Only his head rotates just enough to look in Kirishima's eyes. Kirishima heaves, for his heart had dropped into his shoes, "I'm fucking angry. I can't stand you."

Bakugou remains unchanged, but Kirishima knows that the words bit hard.

"But—" Kirishima's shoulders slump and he looks towards the sky, completely at a loss for words. Waiting, Bakugou turns around to face him. "I'm tired of being mad at you for the fight because it was never really about that."

Bakugou's eyebrow twitches.

"It's unfair to you, and as much as I don't want you to just get away with all of it," Kirishima grits out the next words, "I really don't know if you've changed, the way I'm acting."

Kirishima couldn't look at Bakugou, his eyes all blown wide.

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you, but I'm done trying to avoid you."

Bakugou's mouth was closed, but his jaw looked completely unhinged. He brings his hands to his chest and loosely grabs at the fabric that separates his chest from his palm, and suddenly he lets out a burst of air. His breath is gusty and fleeting. "Kirishima," Bakugou's voice sounded like silk when it was deprived of oxygen.

Kirishima's heart stutters at the reaction. He feels like it wasn't something he was supposed to look at. He tries to smile, but his lips were pursed tight and they kept twitching. It was difficult.

Bakugou takes two steps, and that's all it takes for the two of them to be almost touching. He used the hand that wasn't on his chest to slip between Kirishima's fingers. Reflexively Kirishima wanted to move away, but he controlled himself enough to where he only flinched. He was embarrassed, his hands had always been rougher than sandpaper, and Bakugou's had always been smooth and shiny from his callouses. It was the same even now, with Bakugou trying to write sentences into Kirishima's palm with his thumb.

"It's going to be different," Bakugou whispers, and Kirishima had never known his voice could get so thin. Kirishima prayed that the other man couldn't hear his beating heart.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to fucking hold you to it," Kirishima grumbled to the ground passive-aggressively, only half joking.

Bakugou slouched a little to meet Kirishima's downcast eyes. His smile was small but genuine, "Well, I always get what I want and I always do what I say, so you're in fucking luck." He spoke a little louder, loud enough for his words not to sound so airy and angelic in the way that made Kirishima's stomach do flips.

In response to Bakugou's stubbornness, Kirishima laughs quietly. It was gross and wheezy, but the way Bakugou's face tightened with emotion made Kirishima dizzy. Unexpectedly, Bakugou lets go of Kirishima's hand and sticks his thumb into the corner of his mouth. This time, Kirishima couldn't stop himself from moving back a bit, but the thumb still stayed, "Eh?"

"Your teeth," Bakugou mumbled, "I missed them."

Kirishima was going to faint. "You? Missing my  teeth?" Kirishima warbled over the finger in his mouth. If he didn't turn it into a joke then he wasn't sure he would have been able to keep his knees from giving out.

Bakugou finally takes a step back and withdraws his thumb from Kirishima's mouth. Wiping it on his jacket, he flushes, "They're still ugly."

Everything drops away and the only noise that Kirishima can hear besides his own heartbeat is Bakugou's. He can see it in the rise and fall of his shoulders. He can see it on Bakugou's hand that rests on his body. He can see it shaking on Bakugou's mouth.

"Are you okay?" Kirishima asks in regard to the hand that has been clutching the fabric of Bakugou's shirt since the beginning.

Catching himself, Bakugou inhales deeply. His hand falls, "Are you?"

With Kirishima's dizzy head and wobbling knees and sweating hands and shaky heart, No, I am not physically okay, but looking at Bakugou's unaccusing eyes and smooth eyebrows, he knew that wasn't what he meant.

Smiling, Kirishima replies, "Yeah."

Kirishima doesn't allow Bakugou to take a cab to his parent's house and drives him by himself. It was a quiet ride, a little awkward, but it was so easy to breathe. On a sharp turn, Kirishima got a chance to see how the streetlights made Bakugou's hair appear orange, and it was the prettiest thing he'd seen all day. For the first time in months, Kirishima felt clean.

Kirishima was starting to get used to stopping on the road in front of Bakugou's parent's house, and he wanted to hold on to that feeling. Kirishima shifted into park, but Bakugou didn't leave immediately. He kept his eyes glued to the glovebox, his face twisted in contemplation.

"I miss you," Bakugou bites out, embarrassed. He had come down from his adrenaline high, it was a lot harder for him to say what he thought now that he had time to meditate, time to be self-aware. The amount of effort it took for him to speak reassured Kirishima that he meant it.

"I'm right here, Bakugou," Kirishima chuckled. Bakugou still wouldn't look at him, he looked to be deep in more thoughts. Bakugou parts his mouth for a moment and then mouths a word to himself, Eijirou. Kirishima tries to dismiss it, but the silence after suggests that Bakugou was testing it on his tongue, weighing whether he should say it or not.

Ultimately, he decides against it because the next thing he says is, "I have a lot of work to do," and without looking at Kirishima, Bakugou opens the door and steps out, "See you later." He slams the door closed and walks up to his porch steps.

Kirishima's heart was beating so fast that he wasn't sure how he was going to drive home.