Chapter Text
Katsuki looked at the sky above. The clouds had a beautiful orange lining around them as the sky went from brilliant orange to a rosy, light pink above. The sky was beautiful no doubt. It obviously had no idea just how much Hell Katsuki and Eijirou were going through.
Eijirou tapped Katsuki's bare shoulder. He turned and followed Eijirou's pointed finger to a concave in the ridge of the cliff they had been following. It looked to be enough to comfortably fit three people. The two of them looked around the hollowed out piece of earth, looking for anything that could deem it unfit. In their circumstance, not much could do that for them anyway. The bar was already so low in both their minds, the small hollow already seemed like a blessing.
Smooth was not the first adjective Katsuki would describe the rocky floor of the cave. It was bumpy, there was moss, overall not the most luxurious of environments. But they set down their sheets and belongings nonetheless. Luxury didn't care about criminals, so who were they to complain?
In a silent agreement, the two gathered sticks and twigs and branches they found laying around. Katsuki grabbed a handful of dry, dead pine nettles to put at the center of the structure Eijirou was creating. They both looked at their creation with pride. That was until they realized it was useless at the moment.
"Fuck," Katsuki muttered. Eijirou looked at the campfire setup pensively.
"Can we try rubbing sticks together?" Eijirou asked. Katsuki picked up two sticks and began rubbing them together with vigor. Katsuki swiped, spun, struck, anything to get even a wisp of smoke from the two sticks.
Katsuki muttered swears under his breath as he bitterly rubbed the two sticks together with no luck. After five minutes he growled and dropped the sticks to the ground. "God fucking dammit," Katsuki snarled.
"Don't give up yet, there are bound to be more options," Eijirou encouraged. Katsuki tuned out his black-haired partner in crime as he stared at the formation of wood. In the middle of his talking, he reached out his hands to the nettle. Little sparks and explosions gently popped from his hand onto the nettles. He sat and tried his hardest not to lose his cool until suddenly a small flame flickered. The two of them glanced at each other as they struggled to keep the flame steady and growing.
Katsuki gently blew on the flame, adding small twigs to the growing fire until it finally got big enough to be able to not worry about. Adding a bigger branch, Katsuki laughed and leaned back in relief. He groaned and allowed himself to let loose for just a moment as to not combust.
"You're really getting the hang of that," Eijirou said. Katsuki paused his relief to look up at Eijirou who had a small smile on his face.
"What do you mean?" He asked. Eijirou shrugged.
"Well, when it first happened, you didn't have much control, it just kinda happened from what you described," Eijirou said. "But now, you can do it on command and make it small enough to not mess up the whole fire setup." Katsuki looked down at his hands, contemplating.
"You too I guess," Katsuki said. It did sound like it from all he knew. At first, Eijirou cut himself with his own ability, and then he was able to use it split second to defend himself against a baton and fight a cop. It was an anomaly really, the thought that he could have even more control over this hazard to humanity that was now embedded in Katsuki's pores. But there he was, controlling it. If Katsuki didn't know any better, he'd say it was—
"A skill," Katsuki muttered. Eijirou tilted his head. Katsuki locked eyes with a confused Eijirou. "Hear me out. This... thing... is like a skill. The more we use it, the better we get. Actually, like a muscle. We keep using it, it gets stronger and under control. We've both gotten better the more we've used it."
Eijirou pondered the theory, chewing his lip. "So... you think the more we use our powers, the stronger we get?" He asked. Katsuki nodded his head.
"It makes sense," he said. "Tomorrow, we're testing that theory. Also, we need to come up with a better name for these abilities. Power sounds stupid, I'm not a fucking Marvel character."
Eijirou laughed as he added another branch to the fire. Katsuki couldn't help but smirk in return as he ran his fingers through his hair. The laughter died down into comfortable silence as the two stared into the bright light that surrounded the wood in front of them.
"Uh, what do you like to do for fun?" Eijirou asked. "Do you play any sports? Or have anything you just like?"
Katsuki pondered the question for a bit, wondering why Eijirou decided now of all times to play 'get to know your fellow fugitive'. Katsuki took a deep breath, looking down at his hands.
"I play baseball," Katsuki muttered. Eijirou smiled, excited to hear Katsuki say anything it seemed. "Pitcher. For the club at my school at least. I wanted to design weapons for the military when I got older. I thought baseball would be a good alternative if I suddenly changed my mind one day. But I like just playing. I have a couple of friends I guess. Wouldn't really consider them friends to begin with, they just follow me around really. Got a mom and dad, no siblings, no pets. Everything is pretty basic."
Eijirou smiled and listened with every bone in his body. He nodded his head and looked at Katsuki with something close to admiration in his eyes. When he was finished, Eijirou smiled. "That's all so cool and manly, dude!" He cheered. "I wanted to play baseball, but I wasn't any good. Just wasn't my thing I guess. But I ended up picking up basketball. I'm not amazing but I've made a couple of good shots."
Katsuki made eye contact with his acquaintance. He had never seen Eijirou this happy before. He always looked so sad, so scared. But here he sat with a huge, stupid grin on his face, every imaginable constellation shining in his eyes. Katsuki slowly found his mind wondering if he was always such a goddamn ray of sunshine before he got fucked over by the police.
"Uh, you said you have little sisters?" Katsuki asked. Eijirou's smile somehow widened.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed. "The oldest is Kiyoko. She's nine now. She's really independent and protective over the other two. She's the manliest girl I know. She's really funny and strong and cool. And there are the twins, Izumi and Mai. They're both five now and they're the sweetest. They both have their own amazing traits, but they're so similar in their kindness and friendliness. Oh, on the twelfth they'll turn six and..."
The smile faded from Eijirou's face as his gaze stretched a thousand meters. The pain and anxiety Katsuki had become accustomed to when looking at Eijirou returned as he looked at the center of the fire. "And I won't be there," he muttered. "I... I won't ever be there for another one of their birthdays again."
Katsuki watched as Eijirou turned his head to squeeze his eyes shut, willing away the tears that threatened to spill over. He let out a pathetic chuckle as his body shuddered. Katsuki could only watch as Eijirou tried to hold back the tears that were already streaming down his face. Eijirou took in choked breathed only to exhale them with unsteady shaking.
"I'm sorry," Eijirou whispered. "Sorry, just give me a second." Katsuki stayed silent as the other wiped furiously at his eyes and tried to get his breathing under control. Chewing on the inside of his mouth, Katsuki came up empty with any way to help the crying teen. He could only sit and stare.
Katsuki added a couple of sticks to the fire as Eijirou sniffles and cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said again with a strangled voice.
" 'S fine," Katsuki muttered. "You can be sad or whatever." Katsuki really wasn't sure what else he could say. He couldn't even recall a time where he comforted someone in his entire life. His mom last comforted him so long ago he didn't even know what to bounce those ideas off it. Every comforting moment was a distant and blurred memory. It somehow felt like Eijirou knew this as he nodded his head and readjusted the way he sat.
Silence fell over the two once more as Katsuki looked up at the sky. He could see a few of the brighter stars as the sun phased out of his current existence. With a sigh, Katsuki ran his fingers through his hair and looked back to Eijirou.
His tears were pretty much gone. His eyes were puffy and he seemed to be struggling to keep it all together. Katsuki chewed his inner lip before throwing out any suggestion. "We should probably rest. You look tired," he muttered.
"Guess so," he muttered. The two set up their sheets a meter or two apart, a safe distance from the fire. Back to back, they lay down and shut their eyes. Katsuki could only hope nothing turned to shit while he was asleep.
Katsuki woke up multiple times in the middle of the night. The ground was uncomfortable, the air was humid, the noises were eerie, the sweat was unnatural.
But when morning finally came, it felt like a blessing. Eijirou was asleep, curled tightly into a ball. He seemed to be trying to protect himself. From what exactly was a mystery to Katsuki, but he let him be as he stretched out and pulled out a peach from their collection.
He waltzed around the area, looking for a specific rock. He kept his eyes peeled, searching avidly for a rock with even the slightest concave. When he finally found it, he was overjoyed. He picked it up and lugged it back over to where the fire was. He set the rock down with more force than necessary, waking up his travel buddy.
Eijirou jumped out of his skin and shouted at the noise. His breathing was heavy as his eyes darted wildly to gather his surroundings. When he locked eyes with Katsuki, he got a grip and calmed his nerves. He chuckled awkwardly as he stretched out.
"You scared me," he laughed. Katsuki kneeled onto the rock.
"I could tell," he muttered. "C'mere, I need your help."
Eijirou walked over to the concave rock, looking at it pensively. "I need you to use your hardening to create a base so the rock won't wobble. Also, make the dip here deeper. Do you think you can do that?"
Eijirou looked at the rock. "I can try," he said. "No promises though."
"Cool. I'm gonna get some water," Katsuki said. He took his hat and made his way to the stream. He submerses the hat and pulled up a foot amount of water. It began to drip through the pores and holes of the hat at a slow rate. Katsuki jogged back to Eijirou who was carefully scraping at the bowl with his fists. He let the water drip into Eijirou's work, making it a little easier on him.
After maybe twenty minutes of scraping and running back and forth, Eijirou stopped and examined the bowl. "Is this good?" He asked.
Katsuki scanned over the bowl. It looked like it could hold maybe a quart of water. It was nowhere near perfect, but it would get the job done. "Yeah, it's good," he replied. He filled up the bowl with water and got another fire started. Placing the rock in the center, the two waited patiently for it to boil. In the meantime, Eijirou practiced his bowl making abilities trying to make the two of them rock cups. He broke two rocks but eventually got them made.
"Do you think I can just put my hand in the water?" Eijirou asked, looking at the boiling water. Katsuki shrugged his shoulders.
"Try it. Just remember we can't exactly go to a hospital," Katsuki said. Eijirou hardened his hand and hesitantly brought it to the center of the fire. He dipped his finger into the boiling water and kept it there. He laughed triumphantly before yelping and pulling his arm out. He waved his hand around while saying fake curse words, making Katsuki bust out with laughter.
"Don't laugh at me!" Eijirou whined.
"You stuck your hand into boiling water and your only words are 'owie! Shoot! Dang!' What are you, six?" Katsuki laughed.
"No, but my sisters are! Can't go teaching them curse words!" Eijirou reasoned. Katsuki continued laughing, mind suddenly panicking to change the subject before Eijirou began to dwell and cry.
"So what happened with the water?" Katsuki asked.
"I could do it for a bit, but then it began to hurt," Eijirou said. "If I'm quick, I think I can get us both some water."
Eijirou did just that. He swiftly grabbed two cups and handed one to Katsuki. He took the warm rock and set it next to him to let it cool. Katsuki looked into the bag of crayfish they had. He took out six and dropped them into the water. Eijirou watched the crayfish bubble in the water as he blew into his water-filled rock.
Katsuki had never cooked crayfish. It wasn't something he wanted to do or ever expected to do. So he was really flying blind as to knowing how to cook it. It couldn't be too different from shrimp, could it?
Better overcooked than undercooked in this scenario. He let it sit in there for five minutes before picking them out with sticks. He set them three apiece on two flat rocks. He began to shell it in a similar fashion to other shellfish he dealt with. Eijirou watched in something akin to fascination in his gaze. Katsuki glanced up at his stare. "You can eat it, y'know," he said.
"I don't know how to take the shell off," he admitted. "You seem like a natural."
"I don't know how either. But it's a shellfish, figured it can't be too different," Katsuki replied. He leaves over to Eijirou's crayfish and pushed on certain parts of the shell, showing him how exactly to do it. Eijirou mimicked his steps with the second, doing his best. With a smile, he shelled breakfast and ate what he could.
As Katsuki expected, it wasn't much. There was only so much edible part of the crayfish and they didn't have that many to begin with. They needed to save some for later after all.
Katsuki handed Eijirou a peach as he finished up his last crayfish. He thanked Katsuki for the food and sipped on his water in the process.