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Eijiro woke up shivering. Being cold wasn’t unfamiliar, but after being stuck as a dragon for several months it wasn’t something he was really used to anymore. He shivered again, and breathed a little jet of fire into his cupped palms to warm them before rubbing at his arms. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what being a dragon felt like. The strength, the heat, the size; the agony of his skin splitting as he shifted for the first time, the look on his mother’s face as she saw what he’d become, the cold ache of loneliness which came with being a monster nobody wanted around.
He shook himself, and got to his feet. It was starting to snow, he realised as he stepped forward and his bare foot met white powder. His half-formed plan solidified at that realisation, and he hurried around the smouldering embers of their fire towards Bakugo’s tent. The door flap opened easily, and Bakugo sat up with an impressive death glare.
“It’s snowing.” Eijiro said simply, re-doing the knots behind himself so the flap wouldn’t blow open.
“You’re a dragon, you big baby.” Bakugo huffed, crossing his arms. The blanket wrapped around him slid down at the motion, and he shivered violently. “But fine, I guess you can stay in here.”
“Thanks!” Eijiro beamed, crawling over to flop down next to Bakugo.
“Why are you so close, shithead?”
“Because you’re cold.” he turned onto his side and scooted closer, right up to the edge of Bakugo’s bedroll. The blanket wrapped around his friend was a thin thing, more a sheet than a proper blanket, and it obviously wasn’t thick enough because Bakugo was shivering.
“And?” Bakugo challenged. Eijiro sighed.
“And I don’t want you getting sick, you dummy.” he reached out and flicked Bakugo in the forehead. “Now c’mon, share.” he grabbed the blanket and tugged gently, careful not to shred the fabric with his claws.
“Fine, but if you kick in your sleep I’m kicking you out of the tent again.” Bakugo relented after a few seconds of glaring, scooting over so there was almost enough room on the bedroll for both of them. Eijiro slid under the blanket quickly, tucking the edge under himself to keep any cold air from sneaking in, and cuddled up against Bakugo’s back.
Bakugo grumbled a bit, but slowly relaxed, sleep pulling him back under. Despite his protests, he made a contented little sound as he drifted off, snuggling back against Eijiro’s chest. He smiled, and drew his arm over Bakugo’s waist in until his hand was pressed to his friend’s shirt. It was hard for him to gauge Bakugo’s temperature now, since he ran so much warmer than normal humans, but he was pretty sure Bakugo was slowly warming up. He wasn’t shivering anymore, at least.
Eijiro hummed softly, and nuzzled the back of Bakugo’s head as he let himself drift off. It was scary thinking about how far from home they were, but with a friend like Bakugo it was hard to stay scared. As long as Bakugo was around, he felt almost invincible, like together they really could do anything, even though he was just ten years old. Or was he eleven, now? If it was snowy, he might be eleven.
Bakugo squirmed in his grip, and Eijiro loosened his hold so his friend could turn over and glare at him. Or, well, this time it looked more like a pout. Bakugo pouting was surprisingly cute. “Go t’sleep, dammit.” the blond grumbled.
“I’m going, I’m going.” Eijiro grinned, moving his hand up Bakugo’s back. Carefully, mindful of his claws, he threaded his fingers into Bakugo’s hair and pulled his friend’s head in towards his chest. “Night, Bakugo.”
Bakugo just grunted in response, but he wrapped an arm around the small of Eijiro’s back and made that small, sleepy sound of contentment again. With his friend curled against him, and no hair in his face this time, it didn’t take long to fall asleep.