Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Guys, I have no idea what I am going to do about the upcoming tests.” Kaminari whines. The Bakusquad was walking back to the dorms together after their classes.

“Same.” Sero agrees, sighing heavily. “Aizawa sensei is pretty harsh, saying there is going to be a test tomorrow out of nowhere.”

“I know, right?” Ashido looked defeated, but suddenly she brightens up. “Oh, how about we all study together today? Bakugo can tutor us.”

“Like hell! I am not gonna waste my time teaching you stupid heads!” Kirishima’s head snaps up when he hears Bakugo’s loud voice. “Go find someone else. I am gonna fucking study on my own.” With that the blonde storms off towards their dorms, Kirishima looks at his friends confusedly. The deaf boy was walking behind the group lost in his own thoughts, like his friends he was worriedly thinking about the upcoming test.

“What happened?” Kirishima asks his friends.

“We were talking about studying together for the test,” Sero says slowly, making it easier for Kirishima to lipread him.

“Oh.” Kirishima looks at the explosive boy walking away from them. “What happened to him?”

“We asked him to tutor us for the test, and to no one’s surprise, he said no,” Kaminari says while signing the words he was saying. “Did I do that, right?”

Kirishima smiles widely. “Yeah.”

Kaminari happily smiles back, he was trying his best to learn sign language for his friend. When Kaminari had proclaimed he was going to learn sign language to the entire class, everyone had laughed it off saying it was impossible for him. While Kirishima was really happy about Kaminari’s resolve and dedication to him, he never thought that Kaminari would ever manage to learn anything. But to everyone’s surprise, the blonde was actually making progress, right now Kaminari was Kirishima’s only friend who can kind of hold a conversation with him in sign language.

Before they knew it, they were all back at their dorms. In the evening, the Bakusquad was simply sitting around the common room, chilling. Yeah, they were the kind of people who would needlessly worry about a test but put no effort in trying to study for it. There weren’t many people around in the common room, most of them had gone off to their own rooms to study.

“Bakugo, don’t you have to study for the test?” Kirishima asks Bakugo who was scrolling through his phone.

“Huh? I am not like you idiots.” Kirishima could hear Bakugo’s voice, but he couldn’t hear what he was saying. Though he was pretty sure he heard the word idiot. “I already finished studying a long time ago.”

Kirishima looks at Kaminari in confusion, asking for help.

He finished studying. Kaminari signs.

“Oh, I see.” A few moments later, Kirishima stands up. “Guys, I am going to go and study, too. I don’t want to fall behind in class… again.”

Do you want to study together?

“Thanks, Kaminari. But I am good.” Kirishima answers. “Plus, if we study together, we won’t get anything done.” With that Kirishima walks away towards his room on the fourth floor.

“He really is trying his best, huh?” Ashido says, suddenly feeling down. “Maybe we should put some effort into studying too.”

“Yeah…” Sero says slowly. “Oh well, it’s too late. Even if we study now, we will not get anything done.”

“That’s right.” Kaminari picks up his video game console. “So, let’s just play a new game. Right, Sero?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Bakugo looks at the two boys with his face twisted up in a deep, annoyed frown. “This is why you guys are ranked at the very fucking bottom of the class.”

“Hey, it’s not our fault we are dumb.” Kaminari defends.

“Yes, it is!” Bakugo shouts out towards the three idiots sitting next to him. He gets up, slowly walking away from the group.

“Where are you going?” Ashido calls out after him.

“Room.” He purposely didn’t specify whose room he was going to.

Back in Kirishima’s room, he was desperately trying to understand an algebraic equation. Math has always been a problematic subject; he just can’t seem to grasp it. It’s hard enough with only numbers, why would they add alphabets to that?! Kirishima thinks to himself. He was especially stuck on one particular question, he tried solving it over and over again, but the answer he got was always different from the one in the textbook.

“Ahh, I give up!” Kirishima lets out a frustrated sigh. “I am gonna go get some coffee.”

Kirishima opens his door and comes face to face with Bakugo. Bakugo’s eyes slightly widen in surprise, like he wasn’t expecting Kirishima to open the door so suddenly.

“Bakugo?! How long have you been waiting there?!” Kirishima mirrored Bakugo’s surprised expression. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you knock.”

“Idiot, you are deaf,” Bakugo says, barely moving his lips. “Even if I did knock, you wouldn’t have heard me.”

“Umm… Bakugo, I have been meaning to tell you this before, but I never understand a single thing you are saying.” Kirishima says. “It’s really hard to lipread you. When you talk normally, you don’t move your lips much; other times, you are shouting loudly, and your mouth is too wide open.”

Kirishima half expected Bakugo to shout at him and walk away. Instead, Bakugo sighs heavily and starts making signs with his fingers.

I didn’t knock. Bakugo signs. I haven’t been waiting here for that long, so don’t worry about it.

“What?!” Kirishima looks at Bakugo in surprise and shock. “Bakugo, you know sign language?!”

Yes.

Wait, for how long? Kirishima signs, still in shock. Don’t tell me you knew sign language all this time.

Bakugo sighs heavily. Yeah, I did.

“Bakugo, that’s not fair,” Kirishima complains. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

You never asked.

“Normally, people don’t have to ask that kind of thing,” Kirishima says. “All this time, I have been trying so hard to communicate with you?”

“Why?” Bakugo asks slowly while signing at the same time.

“Because I want to be friends with you and…” Kirishima trails off.

“And?”

“…Nothing.” The two boys stand there awkwardly for a few seconds.

Can I come in?

“Oh yeah. Sure.”

 Kirishima moves aside to let Bakugo in and slowly closes the door behind them. This was the first time Bakugo had come to Kirishima’s room. Still, he didn’t even hesitate for a second as he walked towards Kirishima’s bed and sat down. Kirishima was having a hard time processing everything that was happening, he had no idea why Bakugo was in his room. Kirishima simply stood in the middle of his room wondering what to do. All the while Bakugo was intently staring at him.

Why are you looking at me like that? Kirishima signs nervously.

There was a long pause before Bakugo started signing. Recently you haven’t been wearing your hearing aids. Why?

“Um… I guess it’s because they don’t really help me anymore.” Kirishima explains. “My hearing is slowly getting worse and worse. It’s already at the point where I can barely hear anything at all.”

But you can still hear some things?

“Well, yeah. Like, extremely loud sounds.” The awkwardness in the air had finally dissipated. Kirishima goes to sit on his chair, facing Bakugo. The red head boy smiles at Bakugo. “I can always hear you; your voice is really loud. I don’t understand anything you say, though.”

Bakugo looks down at his feet, intently staring at the floor. His hands were clasped together, and he was tapping his feet slowly. He seems to be thinking really hard about something like he was having an internal debate in his head.

“It’s okay, Bakugo. You can ask me about it.” Kirishima smiles knowingly. “I don’t bite.”

Bakugo looks up at Kirishima in surprise before scrunching up his face in its usual frown. How did you lose… your hearing?

“In short, there was an explosion in my apartment when I was twelve,” Kirishima recalls. “The force of the explosion threw me out of my window from the second floor and my ears got severely damaged during the explosion.”

You didn’t die. It wasn’t a question. Bakugo looked bewildered, Kirishima couldn’t help but laugh slightly.

“Yeah, that’s what they all said, that I am lucky to be alive,” Kirishima says. “I probably should have died in that explosion or the fall from the second floor should have killed me, but it didn’t… I lived.”

Kirishima pauses for a second, looking down at his hands. “I got my old life back, but I had to sacrifice my hearing. I always wondered… If that’s the case, did I really get my old life back?” Kirishima was mostly speaking to himself.

Kirishima feels a hand on his right knee, his eyes meet Bakugo who was kneeling down next to him.

“Do you regret living?” Bakugo asks slowly. For the first time, Kirishima was able to lipread Bakugo.

“I don’t know… I feel like I can’t truly experience the world anymore.” Kirishima answers honestly. “My life can never go back to the way it was before.”

“Then, just stop trying to go back,” Bakugo says, with a softened expression, though the frown was still visible on his face. “Move forward.”

Kirishima looks at Bakugo with surprised eyes, Bakugo’s comforting words had left his cheeks slightly tinted red. Kirishima chuckles, trying to hide his embarrassment. “What’s with you today? You are being frighteningly nice.”

Shut up. Bakugo quickly gets up going back to sit on the bed. Don’t get used to it.

“Why did you come here, anyway?” Kirishima asks, smiling happily. “Don’t tell me you came here just to hear my sad and depressive backstory.”

“What the hell?” Bakugo says slowly while signing at the same time. “Of course, that’s not why I am here.”

“Then why are you here?”

Bakugo stares at Kirishima for a while before sighing heavily. He points to the books laid out on Kirishima’s desk. Do you need help with that?

Kirishima turns around and looks at the pile of books before turning back to look at Bakugo. “Wait, seriously?! You will help me?”

Only because the test is tomorrow. Bakugo signs, looking away from the boy who was brightly grinning at him. And you better not test my patience.

“I won’t, I won’t,” Kirishima says happily. “Thank you Bakugo, I will do my best.”

What do you need help with?

“Math.” Kirishima almost whines. “I am especially having trouble with this problem.”

“Let me see.”

Needless to say, the rest of the night was spent by Bakugo drilling math problems into Kirishima’s brain, Bakugo showed no mercy while tutoring the redhead. To Bakugo’s surprise, Kirishima was actually better at maths than he thought he would be. Considering he ranked 15th in class, Bakugo had expected him to be way worse.

“Man, I am tired,” Kirishima says, yawning after what seemed like hours to him. “I need to go to sleep. Bakugo you should get some shut eye too, before the test tomorrow.

“Right,” Bakugo says absentmindedly, he was focussed on reading one of Kirishima’s comics.

“So… are you going back to your room or what?” Kirishima asks.

“Yeah, I am going.” Bakugo gets up to leave, he pauses before walking towards the door. Can I keep this? I didn’t finish reading it.

“Sure,” Kirishima replies. “Just give it back to me whenever you are done reading.”

Bakugo was just about to leave the room when Kirishima remembers something. “Oh, Bakugo, next time you can just let yourself in.”

Bakugo gives a slight nod in reply before walking out of Kirishima’s room, silently closing the door behind him. For some reason, despite being really tired, Kirishima felt good. Bakugo’s presence had left him happy and content, he smiles satisfyingly before falling asleep.

From that day forth, Bakugo frequently visited Kirishima’s room with excuses like, he wanted to read Kirishima’s comics or that Kirishima was simply too dumb to study on his own. And Kirishima wasn’t complaining, he was happy to have Bakugo’s company, and he was an excellent tutor. As Kirishima started spending more time with Bakugo, he started discovering newer sides to Bakugo. His proudest discovery was Bakugo’s smile. Kirishima was almost starting to believe Bakugo didn’t know how to smile, when one day, the blonde’s smirking lips stretched into a small smile, and it was beautiful. Kirishima would be lying if he said his heart didn’t skip a beat when he saw Bakugo smile. Recently, Bakugo’s been smiling more often around Kirishima, it feels like he finally let his defences down around the redhead and something about that gives Kirishima a warm feeling in his heart.

You guys have been getting closer. Kaminari signs. The two boys were sitting in Kaminari’s room, just lazing around.

“You guys?”

“You and Bakugo,” Kaminari says slowly.

“I guess…” Kirishima takes a sip of his drink, wondering what Kaminari was trying to say.

I will get straight to the point. Kaminari asks passively. Are you guys dating?

Kirishima splutters his drinks all over the floor. “WHAT?!”

Kaminari watches Kirishima’s reaction in amusement, a smug smile playing on the corners of his lips.

“What gave you that idea?!”

 Are you kidding me? Recently, you two have been stuck together like glue sticks. Kaminari answers. Oh, and I am not the only one who thinks you two are dating.

“Wait, what makes you think I am gay?”

You mean, other than your obvious lack of interest in girls? Kaminari deadpans. And I have definitely seen you checking me out a few times before.

Kirishima averts his eyes in embarrassment. “…Sorry.”

Don’t be, I don’t blame you. Kaminari had a proud grin on his face. I am a pretty thing to look at.

Kirishima rolls his eyes. “Now you sound like Aoyama.”

That bad? Kaminari asks chuckling.

“Yeah…” Kirishima says slowly. “You know, I am not dating Bakugo.”

Yeah, I got that from your reaction. Kaminari signs. But do you like him?

“How am I supposed to know?!” Kirishima looked genuinely distressed. “Is there even any point in liking Bakugo? He is never going to like me back.”

I wouldn’t be so sure.

“Eh?”

A few weeks ago, I would have agreed with you. Kaminari signs. I mean, Bakugo liking someone is bizarre, but recently Bakugo has been…

“What?” Kaminari simply shrugs his shoulders in reply and Kirishima sighs heavily.

 “How do people even know when they like someone?” Kirishima mutters under his breath.

Doesn’t it come down to if you think that person is cute? Kaminari answers helpfully. Maybe like, your heart beats faster around them or something like that.

“What’s with that shoujo manga like explanation?” Kirishima laughs lightly.

Kirishima feels his phone vibrate and he sees a text from Bakugo: Shitty Hair, where the hell are you? Your room is locked.

Kirishima quickly replies back: I will be there in five minutes.

“Gotta go. Bakugo is waiting outside my room.” Kirishima gets up to leave.

Oh really? Kaminari raises a suggestive eyebrow.

“Oh, come on! I told you, it’s not like that.”

Be safe. Kaminari jokes. Don’t let Bakugo eat you alive.

Kirishima rolls his eyes before leaving his best friend’s room. He runs as fast as he could towards the elevator. As soon as he reaches the fourth floor, he sees Bakugo standing in front of his room.

“Sorry, I was with Kaminari,” Kirishima says, and just as he was about to unlock his door, Bakugo stops him.

Come on, I want to show you something.

“Huh?”

Bakugo pulls Kirishima towards the elevator, taking him to the first floor. The two boys step out of the dorms and into the warm night. Bakugo’s hands were tightly clasped around Kirishima pulling him towards…

“Bakugo, where are we going?” Kirishima asks. “It’s late, we shouldn’t be out right now.”

Just follow me. Bakugo signs. And don’t worry about the curfew.

They walk for almost an hour through a route Kirishima had never seen before, finally, they enter a forest. The deeper they went, the darker it got, the only thing guiding them was the flashlight Bakugo had brought with him. Kirishima had no idea where they were or where Bakugo was taking him.

“Bakugo seriously, where are we going?”

Bakugo doesn’t answer, he silently continues walking. Just as Kirishima was starting to think they were lost, they come to an open field. It was a small, circular field surrounded by trees, there was nothing special about it.

Kirishima looks at Bakugo confusedly, Bakugo simply looks up in reply and Kirishima mirrors his action.

Stars. Millions of stars dotted the vast sky and it was beyond beautiful. His breath hitched and time stopped, Kirishima had never seen so many stars in his entire life. The silver dots stunningly lighted the dark sky, taking one’s breath away. Kirishima was hit with the realization that this was nature’s true beauty, the tiny dots shining through the darkness in all its natural glory.

Kirishima looks back at Bakugo when he feels a tap on his shoulder.

You said you won’t be able to experience the world because you lost your hearing. Bakugo signs. But that’s not true at all.

Kirishima’s eyes widen as he recalls what he had said to Bakugo weeks ago when Kirishima had revealed how he had lost his hearing.

You can still experience the world through your eyes. Bakugo looks up at the sky. Most of nature’s beauty is something to see not hear.

“When did you find this place?” Kirishima whisper.

“Yesterday,” Bakugo says slowly.

“How?” His voice was quiet.

Bakugo looks at Kirishima then looks away. I was…looking for it.

“Why?”

Don’t make me say it, idiot. In the darkness, Kirishima couldn’t see it, but Bakugo’s cheeks were slowly turning into the same colour as Kirishima’s hair.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

No. Bakugo answers, not meeting Kirishima’s eyes.

“I am gonna ask it anyway,” Kirishima says. “Bakugo, do you like me?”

Even though Bakugo knew the question was coming, he was still surprised. He didn’t say anything, his mouth was frozen still.

“Bakugo, look at me.” Kirishima cups Bakugo’s face, forcing the blonde to look at him. “So, do you like—”

Before Kirishima could finish his sentence, Bakugo brought his lips down on the redhead. He slightly moved his lips against Kirishima before immediately pulling back.

Idiot, do you really think I would spend that much time with you just for kicks? Bakugo was trying his best to keep his face composed, but it wasn’t really working. Of course, I fucking like you.

Kirishima’s face stretches into the biggest grin ever. He was happier than he thought he would be to ‘hear’ Bakugo’s confession. Laughing happily, Kirishima automatically jumps towards Bakugo, hugging him tightly.

“Bakugo, I am so happy to hear that!” Kirishima exclaims. “I never thought you would ever say that to me.”

Bakugo just stands there getting redder and redder by the second, he was so glad that they were surrounded by darkness.

“God, I have never been so happy!” Kirishima laughs out, looking at the stars. “This is the best thing to have happened to me in a very long time.”

“And Bakugo…” Kirishima softly looks at the blonde in front of him. “I like you too.”

A few minutes pass where they simply stood there holding hands and looking at the sky. “Bakugo, don’t you have something to ask me?” Kirishima asks. Bakugo looks at Kirishima in surprise before relaxing his face.

Would you be my boyfriend? At that moment Bakugo was glad he knew sign language because he would have never been able to say that out loud.

Kirishima smiles and softly kisses Bakugo before answering. “Of course! I would love to.”

Chapter Text

The lightning bolt directly hits Kirishima, electrocuting him. Pain immediately surges through every inch of his body like a wave of fire. The redhead collapses to the ground, panting heavily, he could still feel the electricity flowing through his bones and every fiber of his muscle was frozen still. The students of Class 1-A had just started their training lesson, and Kirishima was already lying miserably on the ground, defeated.

“Kirishima, I am so sorry,” Kaminari says, kneeling beside the half-paralyzed boy.

“It’s alright.” Kirishima does his best to give Kaminari a reassuring smile. “It was my fault, anyway.”

“Why didn’t you harden?” Kaminari asks worriedly. “You had plenty of time.”

“Um, yeah. Sorry about that.” He tries getting up as he slowly gains control over his muscles.

“Why are you apologizing to me?” Kaminari slowly helps Kirishima into a sitting position. “You are the one that got hurt.”

“Yeah.” Kirishima laughs sheepishly while scratching the back of his neck.

“Kirishima, are you alright?” Ashido’s voice calls out. Kirishima turns around to see multiple worried faces of his classmates.

“Yeah, I am fine.” They all look at him with concern. Kirishima gives them his biggest smile. “Really guys, I am fine. Just a small slip up.”

“That small slip up could have gotten you killed.” Aizawa sensei comes from behind his students. “Kaminari, take him to recovery girl and get him checked out.”

“Okay.” Kaminari helps Kirishima get all the way up. “Are you able to walk?”

“Yeah, sort of…” When Kirishima tries to stand on his own, his legs give out under him. “Or not.”

“Just hold on to me, okay?” Kaminari helps Kirishima put his hands over the blonde’s shoulders.

“Thanks.”

“Let’s go.”

Kaminari slowly guides the injured boy towards Recovery Girl. As soon as they arrive at the infirmary, Kaminari places Kirishima on one of the white-sheeted beds.

“What happened to him?”

“Um, I kind of electrocuted him.” Recovery Girl raises her eyebrows. “It was an accident.”

“Alright Kirishima, do you feel extreme pain anywhere?” No response comes from the redhead. “Kirishima?”

A few seconds of silence passes.

“Oh god, is he dead?!” Kaminari starts to panic. “Did I kill my best friend?!”

Recovery Girl goes to check Kirishima’s condition. “No, he is just sleeping.”

Kaminari lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god.”

“You can go back.” Recovery Girl says. “There isn’t much you can do here anyway.”

“Oh, I see.” Kaminari looks at Kirishima. “Um, I will come back to check up on him later.”

“Sure.”

With that, Kaminari leaves the infirmary and as promised Kaminari does come back to see Kirishima with the Bakusquad, but the redhead was still asleep. Even when some of his other worried classmates had come to visit him, he was still deep in his slumber. Finally, late in the afternoon, Kirishima woke up feeling reenergized, he felt like his brain was back to functioning properly again. He looked around, slightly surprised to see he was in the school infirmary, but quickly recalls what happened earlier.

“When was the last time you slept.” A voice asks from beside him, he turns around to see Recovery Girl.

“Um… last night?” He answers nervously. Recovery Girl just stares at him knowingly, daring him to tell her the truth. “Four days ago.”

“How long was your last sleep?”

“Three hours? Maybe less?” Kirishima mumbles. The bright aura around him had completely disappeared, it had been completely turned off. Kirishima had suddenly stopped being Kirishima.

“Kirishima, you need to get more sleep.” Recovery Girl explains. “With the amount of training you do, your body will collapse without any rest. You got lucky today, it could have gone worse.”

“I can’t sleep.” The boy whispers.

Recovery Girl does a quick check-up on Kirishima before walking towards a shelf at the corner of the room.

“Here, this should help you sleep.” She takes out a small packet, giving it to Kirishima. “Add this to a glass of water and drink it. There are only 10 sachets in it so, use it only when you absolutely need it. Try to sleep on your own, if possible.”

Without arguing, Kirishima takes the packet. He has tried sleeping pills before, but they have never helped him sleep better. Rarely, some would help him fall asleep, but the effects wouldn’t last.

“Your friends were here; they were worried about you.” Recovery Girl says. “You might want to hurry back to them.”

“Oh yeah… Yeah, I will do that.” Kirishima composes himself together, going back to his old self. He widely grins back at Recovery Girl before leaving. “Thanks for everything.”

He walks towards his dormitory building, as soon as he enters the common area, he was bombarded with questions from his classmates. He couldn’t pick out one question with everyone talking over each other.

“YOU SHITHEADS, GIVE SHITTY HAIR SOME SPACE TO FUCKING BREATH.” Of course, it was Bakugo yelling. “FOR GOD’S SAKE, HE JUST GOT HERE!”

The students of Class 1-A slowly come to the realization that they were crowding around Kirishima, making him uneasy. A few ‘sorry’ were muttered to which Kirishima simply smiled in response. Kirishima goes to sit next to Bakugo and Kaminari on the couch.

“Thank you, Bakugo,” Kirishima says, smiling.

“Tch.” Bakugo quickly averts his head away from Kirishima. “Speak up if you feel uncomfortable or something. Don’t just stand there smiling like a dumbass.”

This just makes Kirishima smile wider. He really isn’t honest. Kirishima thinks to himself, it’s sad that people think Bakugo doesn’t care about anyone, but the truth is Bakugo cares a whole lot, he just doesn’t know how to show it.

“So, how are you feeling Shitty Hair?”

“I am fine. Nothing wrong with me that Recovery Girl can’t fix.” Bakugo turns around to look at Kirishima who was grinning from ear to ear. “I have made a total recovery.”

“Hmm.” Bakugo hums in response.

“Man, I am just glad I didn’t kill you,” Kaminari says. “I really thought you were dead for a second there.”

Kirishima laughs. “Kaminari, you know you can’t bring me down that easily.”

Kaminari just stares at Kirishima in response.

“I am gonna go and get some shut-eye.” Kirishima gets up to leave. “Goodnight, guys. And sorry for making you all worry.”

“Did he seem a little off to you guys?” Kaminari asks once Kirishima had entered the elevator.

“His smile didn’t reach his eyes,” Bakugo mutters under his breath, but it was loud enough for the Bakusquad to hear. People had gone back to their own conversations, and the Bakusqaud was gathered together as usual.

“Yeah, that… But it’s more than that.” Kaminari says, struggling to find the right words. “Like, you know, I can’t see the sunshine around him.”

“Oh, I know what you mean,” Sero says. “He didn’t have that bright light surrounding him like he usually does.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kaminari agrees, throwing his hands out in exaggerated gestures. “He didn’t have his usual WAAHH atmosphere.”

“Yeah, like it makes you go WOahh, I didn’t feel that just now,” Sero adds, copying Kaminari’s actions.

 Bakugo was looking at the two idiots like watching strange animals at the zoo for the first time.

“He has gone back to his old self,” Ashido says out of nowhere, a look of sadness on her face.

“What do you mean?” Sero asks.

“In middle school, he was insecure about his quirk,” Ashido explains. “Almost everyone told him his quirk was useless, he thought the same. He was bullied for it, too.”

“Huh?! What kind of dumbass shit is that?” Bakugo asks, clearly annoyed. “Shitty Hair’s quirk is one of the strongest quirks in our class… Maybe even the whole damn school.”

Bakusquad was slightly shocked at how Bakugo was defending and praising Kirishima, but for the time being, they decided to ignore it.

“We all know that, but Kirishima is the type of person who easily thinks low of himself,” Ashido says. “Seeing all the quirks in 1-A, it must have gotten to him. He especially thinks highly of you, for him you are number one in everything.”

Bakugo quickly looks away from the group, hiding his face. “That idiot, what is he even thinking? If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t even be here.” Bakugo says recalling the Kamino incident.

“Yeah, he was hell bent on saving you that time.” Ashido says, recalling Kirishima’s determined look at the hospital. “I was quite surprised at that time.”

A few minutes of silence passes as the group worries over their cheerful friend.

 “I am too fucking tired for all this,” Bakugo mutters. “I am going to sleep.”

“Yeah, goodnight Bakugo.” The Bakusqaud calls from behind him.

“Yeah, yeah.” Bakugo simply waves his hand in reply as he walks towards the elevator.

Once he gets to the fourth floor, he walks towards his room, but before that he stops in front of Kirishima’s room, he wanted to make sure Kirishima was really alright. He knocks on the door but gets no answer. After waiting for a few more minutes, he tries the door handle, to Bakugo’s surprise it was unlocked.

“Shitty Hair, I am coming in.”

Bakugo slowly makes his way into the dark room. He sees Kirishima sleeping on his bed and was about to leave when he hears whimpering sounds coming from the red head. He slowly walks over to the other boy. Kirishima was clenching his sheets in a death grip, and he was restlessly twisting and turning around in his sleep, the redhead was clearly having a nightmare.

“No… I am… weak… weaker… not… hero… higher…” He was incoherently mumbling in his sleep. “Homework… bad… weak… quirk…”

Bakugo was confused as to what to do in this situation, so without thinking he takes Kirishima’s surprisingly soft hands in his and holds them tightly. Bakugo rubs circles on Kirishima’s hand in an attempt to comfort him and to Bakugo’s surprise, Kirishima considerably becomes less restless. After a few more minutes the sleeping boy fully calms down, soft snores coming from him. When Bakugo was sure Kirishima had stopped moving around and talking rubbish, he goes to Kirishima’s desk where he had seen a packet of something. He takes the packet, and after turning on Kirishima’s desk lamp, he reads the contains of the packet.

Sleeping meds? It says take moderately. Bakugo looks inside the packet to see that Kirishima had already used up four sachets. God, this damn idiot!

Bakugo frustratingly walks out of Kirishima’s room, wondering how the hell he can help the other boy. He knew he had to do something, he can’t just leave him to suffer alone. Just as he was coming up with a different options, an absolutely ridiculous idea struck him. It was so unlike Bakugo, and it was embarrassingly cliché, but if it helped Kirishima even a little bit then, Bakugo was willing to go with it. So, the tall blonde rushed to his room and took out a pen and paper to carry out his embarrassing idea.

Kirishima woke up the next morning having gotten the best sleep he had gotten in a while. Sure, he still remembers having a nightmare, but they didn’t keep him up all night. And he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night drenched in his own sweat, Kirishima totally considers that a win. Huh, Recovery Girl’s medicine actually worked.

Kirishima gets out of his bed only to see a tiny piece of paper near his door. He curiously walks over to it, quickly picking it up. On the front of the paper, in bold letters, it was written, TO KIRISHIMA.

The boy slowly opens the paper to read what was written in it,

I once read a quote stating that “a true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart.”

You, Kirishima Eijiro, has one of the biggest and strongest hearts I have ever seen. Nothing about you makes me think you are weak; your quirk is strong, and you are even stronger as an individual. You are an amazing person, just being around you makes my day better. Your smile and the words you say always give me strength in ways that you can’t even imagine. I love how you are dedicated to your friends, always going to great lengths to help and save them. Your selflessness is a kind of strength everyone yearns for, but not everyone is capable of achieving it. I have continuously witnessed you throw yourself in front of danger, no matter who it is that you are protecting. To me, you are the very definition of what a hero should be like. Kirishima Eijiro you are worthy of being called a hero.

The letter was short, but the few words written in it meant the world to Kirishima and it brought him to tears. Knowing that there is someone out there who appreciated him, made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He found himself reading the letter at least a hundred times before bursting out the door to see who slid in that letter under his door, of course, there was no one in sight. He went back inside, sitting on his bed he once again read over the letter, memorizing every word and every letter till it was engraved in his mind.

Who could have possibly written this? At first, Kirishima wondered if this letter was truly meant for him, but the words were clearly there, TO KIRISHIMA. He considered all the people who could have written this to him, to be honest, the list was quite long. His classmates were all worried about him yesterday, and any one of them could have written this, but this letter seemed more than just a letter written by a friend. Kirishima didn’t know if he is going crazy, but there were some parts of the message that made it look like a love letter. No way, that’s just ridiculous. It’s just a friend trying to cheer me up… right?

Just as Kirishima was wracking his brain over this, his alarm goes off. He had woken up early, but now it was time for him to get to class. He safely puts the letter inside his desk before going to get ready for school. After quickly getting dressed, he throws his bag over his shoulder before walking out of his room. He was just coming out of his room when he sees Bakugo walking down the hall.

“Good morning, Bakugo,” Kirishima says as Bakugo gets close to his room.

“Yeah.” Bakugo stops to stare at Kirishima for a while.

“What? Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s nothing.” Bakugo continues his walk towards the elevator.

“Hey, don’t just stare at my face weirdly and say it’s nothing,” Kirishima complains.

“Shut up, Shitty Hair!” Bakugo snaps. “I wasn’t looking at you weirdly.”

“But you were, though!”

“Shut it. I will blow your face up.”

Kirishima laughs as they get inside the elevator. “No, you won’t.”

“Tch.” Bakugo looks away.

He didn’t deny it. Kirishima thinks to himself, smiling proudly.

“What are you smiling for?”

“You remind me of an angry, but cute Pomeranian,” Kirishima says without thinking much about it.

“Huh?! What the hell did you say?!” Bakugo growls, explosive sparks coming off his palms. “I am going to kill you!”

Kirishima laughs audibly as he gets out of the elevator. “Race you to class!” Kirishima calls back as he runs towards their school building.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Bakugo growls as he runs to catch up with Kirishima.

“I win!” Bakugo gasps out, once they had reached their classroom.

“You cheated!” Kirishima protests. “You can’t use your quirk.”

“Heh,” Bakugo smirks. “I thought this was freestyle.”

“Like I would agree to freestyle racing with you.” The two boys walk into their classroom. “You obviously have the advantage.”

A few minutes pass as Bakugo takes his seat, Kirishima simply stands next to Bakugo’s desk deep in thought.

“Bakugo, what would you do if someone randomly… um…” He trails off, suddenly wondering if telling Bakugo of all people about the letter was the best idea.

“What?” Bakugo asks with a passive face, a little too passive if you asked Kirishima.

“Nah, it’s nothing,” Kirishima says, smiling sheepishly. “Just random thoughts running through my mind.”

Bakugo just looks at Kirishima in response.

“Okay, class is starting.” Aizawa sensei says from the front of the class. Kirishima quickly runs off towards his desk, taking his seat behind Kaminari.

During class, Kirishima tried to figure out who could have written him that letter. He knew it had to be someone from their dorms, so someone from class 1-A. He took out a pen and paper, writing down all his classmates’ names starting from the front desks. Kirishima was hell-bent on finding this person, so he carefully analyzed each of his classmates, crossing out names as he went.

The first name on the list was Hagakure Toru, but Kirishima simply wasn’t that close to her, and she didn’t seem smart enough to have written that letter, he immediately crossed out her name. Next on his list was Shoji Mezo, whose room was right next to Kirishima’s in the dorms. He could have easily slid in that letter without anyone noticing, but he just wasn’t the type of guy to do stuff like that, especially not to Kirishima, Shoji was out of the list. Next up was Ojiro Mashirao, he seemed like a straightforward guy, not someone who would try to comfort a friend through a letter. Also, he was definitely… straight. Kirishima still couldn’t get over the fact that the note he got felt like a love letter.

Aoyama Yuga was next on his list, he immediately crossed out his name, Aoyama was simply too self-centred to write a letter to someone else. Next up was Ashido Mina, she was one of his closest friends, and he would have thought she was the one who wrote that letter if it wasn’t for the fact that the note seemed to be a love letter, Ashido was on a strict girls-only diet. He moved on to the next person, Kaminari Denki, he stared at the blonde sitting in front of him. Yeah right, he is practically married to Sero. He crossed off Kaminari’s name, moving onto Jiro Kyoka. Well, Jiro and Yaoyorozu were married couple number two of Class 1-A, so she was out.

The next name was Bakugo Katsuki, no, just no. Just thinking about it scared Kirishima. It’s not that Kirishima minded if it was Bakugo, weirdly enough Kirishima found the angry blonde to be interestingly adorable, but there is no way Bakugo could have ever written that cheesy letter. So, he crossed out Bakugo’s name.

Kirishima decided to move on to the next person on the list; Midoriya Izuku, he is always making googly eyes at Todoroki, so not him. Sero Hanta was next, but he was already crossed out by default. Next up was Asui Tsuyu, Kirishima was friends with Tsu-chan, she was even worried for him during the Kamino Incident. But she isn’t the type of girl to write cheesy letters and slip it under people’s door, so he scribbled off her name. Next was Iida Tenya, Kirishima was a hundred percent sure if Iida wanted to make Kirishima feel better, he would give Kirishima a two-hour lecture on how to feel better, so it wasn’t him. Next up was Koda Koji, Kirishima never really talked to the guy, there was no way it was him. The next name on the list was Tokoyami Fumikage who according to Ashido’s observations likes Tsu-chan, so he was out. Next on the list was Mineta Minoru, the thought of Mineta writing that letter freaked Kirishima out so without thinking much about it, he crossed out his name. The next name was Yaoyorozu who was out by default. Next up was Todoroki Shoto, he simply was too obsessed with Midoriya to have time for anyone else. Moving on to Sato Rikido, Kirishima wasn’t close enough to this guy to know much about him, but Kirishima was pretty sure it wasn’t him, he crossed out his name. The last name on the list was Urarakara Ochacco, but pretty much everyone knew she liked Midoriya.

So, Kirishima was right back to where he started, he was no closer to knowing who had sent him that letter than when he began. The redhead sighs audibly, staring at the piece of paper in front of him, he looked over the list of names written on it.

“Kirishima!” Kaminari’s voice snaps Kirishima back to reality.

“What?” Kirishima whispers back to Kaminari who had turned around to look at him.

Kaminari simply points to the front of the class in response, where Aizawa was staring daggers at Kirishima, he instinctively stands up from his seat.

“Kirishima since you are paying so much attention in class, would you mind solving this problem?” Aizawa questions.

Kirishima simply stood there with his head held down in a silent no. He looked up when he heard his homeroom teacher sigh loudly.

“Kirishima, pay attention in class.” Aizawa says. “Don’t let your grades go down again.”

That’s when Kirishima noticed the equation written on the board. “Hold on, I think I know how to solve that.”

“Alright, then come on up.” Aizawa motions Kirishima to come forward.

As Kirishima walks towards the front of the class, he sees Kaminari giving him a wtf look. He picks up the chalk and starts solving the equation, it took him a few minutes, but eventually, he get it done.

“Yeah, I am done.” Kirishima nervously looks at his homeroom teacher.

Aizawa looks over the equation quickly before saying, “Okay, that’s correct.”

“Really?!” Kirishima asks happily.

“Yeah.” Aizawa answers. “You can go back to your seat now.”

“Okay.”

As Kirishima walks back to his seat, he winks his right eye and gives Bakugo a thumbs up, silently thanking him for helping him with his studies. Bakugo eyes widen slightly before he looks away.

For the rest of the class, Kirishima actually pays attention to what Aizawa was teaching. As soon as class ends, Kaminari abruptly turns around, surprising Kirishima.

“Dude, how the heck did you do that?” Kaminari looked shocked. “You solved that equation like it was nothing.”

“I guess Bakugo’s lessons are really helping me.”

“Wait, he is still tutoring you?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s not fair, he is showing partiality among friends.” Kaminari whines. “When I asked him to help me with my homework a few days ago, he told me to fuck off.”

“That sounds like Bakugo.” Kirishima chuckles. “Guess, he just likes me more.”

“He sure does,” Kaminari says slyly. “And we are all really starting to notice that.”

“Huh?” Kirishima tilts his head in confusion.

“Nah, never mind,” Kaminari says, but there was a slight smirk visible on his face. “The next class is starting.”

 The rest of the day goes by in a flash. Before he had even realized it, it was evening. He gathered all his books and walked over to Bakugo’s room. He tapped his knuckles on the blonde’s door.

“Come in.” A quick reply came through the closed the door.

Kirishima opened the unlocked door. Bakugo was already seated on his desk, working on what Kirishima assumed to be his homework.

“Hey, Bakugo.” Kirishima greets.

Bakugo just simply turns to look at Kirishima, acknowledging his presence. Kirishima sits on Bakugo’s bed and opens his own homework. He silently does his homework on his own for a few minutes before remembering something.

“Oh, Bakugo. Thanks for today.”

“Huh?” Bakugo’s face was scrunched up in confusion.

“It’s because of your tutoring that I was able to solve today’s equation on the board.” Kirishima smiles widely.

Bakugo looks away from Kirishima, he was doing that a lot more often now, and it was really starting to bother Kirishima. “No need to thank me,” Bakugo says. “You did it on your own.”

“Yeah, but still. I wanted to say thank you.” Kirishima grins wider. “Oh, and I need help with the ninth problem.”

Bakugo helped Kirishima understand the problem, the blonde was quite surprised that Kirishima had solved almost all of it by himself and actually got the answers right. They spend the rest of their time doing all their homework and assignments for other classes. Kirishima was just about to leave when a thought struck him.

“Bakugo, is there someone you like?”

“WHAT?!”

“No, I am just wondering if there is someone you like.”

Bakugo stared at Kirishima with wide eyes, his cheeks were slightly dusted red. Bakugo seemed to be lost for words.

After what seemed like hours, Bakugo rasps out, “Why are you suddenly asking me this?”

Kirishima shrugs his shoulders. “Just wanted to know, I guess.” Kirishima looked calm on the outside, but even to his own surprise, his heart was having some kind of marathon. It was beating way too fast in anticipation, a part of him wanted to know the answer and another part of him was too scared of the answer.

“How am I supposed to know?” Bakugo grumbles. “Don’t ask stupid questions… Just leave, it’s late.”

“Yeah, goodnight.” Kirishima quickly got out of Bakugo’s room before things got even more awkward.

As Kirishima walks towards his room, he sees Shoji coming out of the elevator.

“Hey, Shoji.” Kirishima greets cheerfully.

“Hi,” Shoji merely says before opening his door. The taller boy stops before entering his room. “Kirishima, is everything alright with you and Bakugo?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t it be?” Kirishima asks.

“No, it’s just that last night I saw him standing in front of your door for a long time,” Shoji explains. “It was pretty late; I was going to get some food from the kitchen, and he was just standing there staring at the foot of your door. Even when I came back to my room, he was still there. I called out to him, but I don’t think he heard me.”

“Oh.”

“Well, if everything is okay with you guys then that’s fine, I guess,” Shoji says. “I was just worried, he seemed pretty dazed yesterday.”

“Yeah, okay.” Kirishima’s mind had gone static at some point. “Goodnight.”

Kirishima robotically walks over to his bed and sits down. For a few moments, he just sits there, trying to calm down the static sounds in his head. Finally, his mind clears and slowly he adds all the pieces together; the letter, the handwriting that had looked very familiar, his blonde friend’s recent behaviour, Bakugo helping Kirishima and only Kirishima with homework, Bakugo always averting his eyes from Kirishima…

The letter… It’s from Bakugo……

Wait…

BAKUGO KATSUKI WROTE ME A FREAKING LOVE LETTER?!!

Before Kirishima could comprehend his actions, he was already grabbing the letter from Bakugo and sprinting to the hothead’s room. He burst opens Bakugo’s door and as soon as Kirishima sees the blonde’s standing figure he instinctively throws his arms around Bakugo, hugging him tightly.

It takes Bakugo a few minutes to recover from his initial shock caused by Kirishima’s surprise attack. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SHITTY HAIR?!” His voice was as angry as ever, but when Kirishima pulled back to look at his face, it was the opposite of angry. Bakugo’s face was flushed red, his wide eyes were looking at Kirishima dazedly, and his lips were parted in surprise.

“Bakugo, is there something you want to tell me?” Kirishima’s voice was strong and serious.

 “No?” Suddenly Bakugo’s voice felt small. “Why would I have something to tell you…?”

“Bakugo.” Kirishima intensely stares into the crimson eyes in front of him. He holds Bakugo’s right hand with both of his and raises it into space between them.

“Did you…” Bakugo trails off. “Do you know something?”

“Maybe…” Kirishima says. “All I know is I got this amazing letter from someone this morning, and because of them I have been feeling great all day… And I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out who it is, but now I kind of want that person to be you. So, please tell me you wrote that letter.”

Again, Bakugo averts his eyes, turning into an even darker shade of red.

“Bakugo?”

“If I said it was me, what would you do?” Bakugo mutters.

“Then, I can finally tell you that I really, really like you,” Kirishima says. “No, I love you. You are always angry and rude, but when you are with me, I am always happy. Even in the most dangerous situations when you are next to me, I feel safe like nothing can stop me. With you, beside me, I feel like I can take on the whole world that’s the kind of strength you give me… So, yeah.”

A few minutes pass as Kirishima just idly stands there recalling his embarrassing confession. He looks up to see Bakugo’s eyes widened in an even more surprising expression if that is even possible.

“Um, Bakugo. You still haven’t replied to my question.” Kirishima says shyly. “Did you write that letter?”

 Bakugo blinks, slowly recovering from his surprised state. He studies Kirishima’s face while going over the redhead’s confession in his mind. Bakugo slowly moves closer to Kirishima.

“Bakugo?”

From there everything happens in a sudden rush, Bakugo grabs Kirishima T-shirt using it to pull the red head towards him, he presses his lips against Kirishima, slowly moving his lips against the red head’s. Bakugo’s hands go to wrap around Kirishima’s neck, pulling him closer. After recovering from his surprise, Kirishima puts his hands around Bakugo’s waist, quickly kissing him back. It wasn’t a very long kiss, they slowly pull back to look at each other’s flushed faces.

“Baaaaaaka, don’t give me such a passionate confession if you aren’t sure who sent you that damn letter,” Bakugo smirks. “Even if it wasn’t me who send it, I wouldn’t have let you go after hearing that.”

“I knew it was you, I was sure of it when I came here,” Kirishima says, smiling ear to ear. “Though, I did have a hard time believing you wrote that letter…”

“Shut it. Do you know how long it took me to fucking write that?” Bakugo grumbles. “Don’t you dare make fun of me.”

“I am not!” Kirishima chuckles. “I thought it was cute… Just like you.”

Suddenly Bakugo starts laughing evilly, and Kirishima instinctively moves away from him. Sparks coms from Bakugo’s open palms. “Oh, I see you have chosen death.”

Bakugo chases a laughing Kirishima around his tiny room, trying to explode Kirishima’s hardened body. Bakugo finally pushes Kirishima onto his bed, kneeling over Kirishima with his hands right over the red head’s face.

“Alright Bakugo, you got me.” Kirishima was still laughing. “Please, don’t explode my face off.”

Kirishima looks up to see Bakugo blankly staring at him, there were no sparks of explosion coming from Bakugo’s hands, they were simply hovering right above Kirishima’s face.

 “Bakugo, what’s wr—”

“Katsuki.” Bakugo cuts Kirishima off.

“What?”

“You can call me Katsuki,” Bakugo says. Once again Bakugo looks away from him. Now, that Kirishima knows that Bakugo looks away because he is shy, Kirishima finds that absolutely endearing.

“Then you can call me Eijiro,” Kirishima says with the brightest smile on his face. “Katsuki?”

The red colour on Bakugo’s face had spread up to his ears. “What is it, Shitty Hair?”

Kirishima throws his arms around Bakugo, pulling him down next to him on the bed. “Can I just sleep here? I don’t want to leave you.”

“Do whatever you want.” Despite his bitter answer, Bakugo’s arms go around Kirishima.

The two boys cuddle up to each other, quickly falling asleep in each other’s comfort. Kirishima for the first time in what seems like forever gets a goodnight’s rest, without any nightmares. From there on days, months and years pass by where Kirishima finds peace and comfort sleeping next to the hot-headed blonde.

Chapter Text

Bakugo raced on his horse towards the tower on the outskirts of the forest, hidden behind a large waterfall. He has been searching for a particular tower which if the rumours are true, held the captured prince of their kingdom. He has been searching for this tower for months, but each tower he entered, he either found it empty or it simply wasn’t the one he was searching for. He was in a tavern when he heard the rumour about a tower hidden behind a waterfall, it wasn’t very reliable information, but something in Bakugo’s gut told him to check it out. The closer he got to this mysterious tower, the stronger that gut feeling grew.

I have got to save him, no matter what! Bakugo thought determinedly as the waterfall came into his full view.

He slowed down, cautiously stepping into the river with his beautiful black horse, Artemis. She was as brave as Bakugo, confidently walking towards the waterfall, through the water. Her confidence showed that she trusted her current rider with everything she got. Her steady steps got them close to the waterfall, where Bakugo stopped her to examine the waterfall and consider their next course of action. The water around them was surprisingly not that deep, it only reached up to Artemis’s chest, and she was still standing on her legs.

Finally, Bakugo motions her to move forward into the waterfall. She looks back at Bakugo as if to ask him if he is sure that’s what he wanted her to do. He gives her a small smile, nodding his head and giving her a gentle pat on her back. Once assured, Artemis starts walking into the waterfall. As soon as they enter, the waterfall sharply falls on top of both Bakugo and Artemis, getting them both wet. Artemis walks through the heavy waterfall for a few seconds before coming to the entrance of a dark cave. Bakugo gets off his partner and decides to walk beside her, it was easier to navigate his way through the cave if his feet were on the ground. He took out the wooden torch he had brought along with him and lit it on fire. With the light from the torch the two started walking into the cave, the deeper they went into the cave, the darker it got.

After what felt like hours, they finally saw a light at the end, Bakugo sprinted towards the light with Artemis right beside him. When Bakugo reached the end of the cave, he saw an open field filled with flowers and trees of various types, everything was bright and colourful. Bakugo stood at the entrance of the cave in mild shock, this wasn’t what he was expecting. All the other towers he had been to were abandoned, always located in dark and gloomy places with no life around it. In contrast, this place was too lively, but the tower itself still looked deserted.

Unlike, the other towers he visited, this one was circular, tall and very wide. One look at the tower and Bakugo knew, he had a lot of space to cover in order to find the person he was looking for.

“You stay here and wait for me,” Bakugo says to his beloved horse. “Hopefully, I can find him in there.”

Artemis gives him an encouraging nudge, pushing him towards the entrance of the tower.

“Yeah, thanks.” Bakugo smiles at her. “I will be back soon.”

Artemis lays down on the grass to show him that she will be waiting for him there. Bakugo looks back at his horse one more time before drawing his sword and entering the tower.

The tower was filled with darkness, the only source of light came from the cracks on the roof and certain parts of the walls. Bakugo threaded carefully through the tower, his heartbeat and breathing sounded too loud in the silence that stretched before him. Each step he took on the stairs echoed back to him loudly making him curse under his breath.

After almost an hour of searching around, he finally gets to the top floor. He desperately searches around the top level but doesn’t find a single living soul.

He was about to give up when he sees a figure sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. The boy on the floor looked tired, his head was held down, making his red hair cover the left side of his face. Bakugo immediately recognized the other boy as the captured prince, relief washed over Bakugo. Finally, he had found the right tower.

“Hey.” Bakugo walks over to the boy sitting on the ground. The prince slowly looks up, his eyes tiredly looking into Bakugo’s.

“So, you are finally here.” The prince says, his voice was very hoarse, it sounded as if he hadn’t spoken in months.

“Huh?” Bakugo huffs out.

“My father send you, right?”

“Your father?” Bakugo asks, confused. “The king?”

The prince looks up at Bakugo with furrowed brows. “You are the knight that’s here to rescue me, right?” The prince says slowly, unsure of his words. “And then you get the honour of marrying me… or something?”

That’s when Bakugo notices, the prince’s legs were individually bounded in cuffs attached to a long metal chain. While he had the freedom to move around, he couldn’t go far.

“Yeah, here’s the thing; I am not a knight, and I am not here to save you,” Bakugo says straightforwardly. “And I sure as hell, don’t want to fucking marry you.”

There were a few moments of silence. “…Then why are you here?”

“I am here to rescue someone else.”

“There is no one else here except me… And the--”

“The dragon.” Bakugo finishes his sentence. “Where is he?”

“He?” The prince stares at Bakugo with his multi-coloured eyes, before answering. “It’s sleeping right in that corner. You shouldn’t wake it.”

Bakugo turns to walk in the direction the prince had pointed to. A few steps and the dragon come into Bakugo’s view. The dragon was sleeping quite close to where the prince was sitting, but he was hidden in the darkness, so Bakugo couldn’t see him before. Happiness and relief wash over Bakugo as soon as he see the sleeping red dragon. He quickly runs towards the dragon throwing his hands around the dragon’s huge neck, hugging him tightly. Despite this, the dragon continues to sleep, Bakugo chuckles remembering what a deep sleeper his lover was.

“Hey, wakey, wakey,” Bakugo says. “It’s time to leave.”

When the dragon doesn’t move an inch from where he lay, Bakugo takes in a deep breath and screams, “KIRISHIMA EIJIRO! WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

Slowly the dragon’s eyes open up, slowly coming into focus. His crimson eyes lands on Bakugo standing in front of him.

“Hey, babe,” Bakugo says casually.

Upon recognizing Bakugo, the dragon stands up on all four of his legs strongly whipping his huge tail, back and forth. He looks to the sky, breathing out burning hot fire from his mouth.

“See, I told you not to wake up the beast.” The prince snaps from behind Bakugo. “He is a dangerous monster.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Bakugo snaps back. “He is not a monster, and he is not dangerous! He is just happy to see me.”

“And how exactly do you plan on stopping that?” The prince asks, pointing to the very enthusiastic dragon. The red dragon was running around breathing fire everywhere, he couldn’t really fly because, one there wasn’t enough space in the tower and two, his dragon legs were cuffed just like the Prince’s. But even with these limitations, he was still trying his best to fly and Bakugo found that endearing.

“Eijiro calm down, alright?” Bakugo shouts so that the tall dragon can hear him. He goes to stand in front of the dragon. “Lower your head, so I can get you back to normal.”

Immediately, the dragon lands in front of Bakugo and lowers his head towards the floor. Bakugo walks closer to the dragon and after wrapping his hands around the dragon’s neck, he firmly places his lips on the dragon’s forehead.

Suddenly, the dragon disappears into a white smoke that had emerged all around him. As the white smoke disperses, a human boy comes jumping into Bakugo’s arms.

“KATSUKI! I MISSED YOU!” Kirishima’s gleeful voice fills the tower.

“Yeah, I missed you too.” Bakugo tightly holds Kirishima in his arms, never wanting to let go. “I searched everywhere for you.”

“I am sure you did,” Kirishima whispers, nuzzling into Bakugo’s neck. “Thank you for finding me.”

“I will always find you,” Bakugo whispers back.

Kirishima pulls back to look at Bakugo, his lips stretched into a wide grin that Bakugo had missed more than anything. Kirishima happily smashes their lips together, longingly moving their lips together in a much-needed kiss. Even after so many years, Bakugo still gets surprised by how good it feels to kiss Kirishima, and it just gets better every time.

Someone clears their throat resulting in the two lovers pulling back…well, Kirishima pulled back, Bakugo didn’t give a shit.

“What is going on?” The prince asks, pointing towards Kirishima. “He was a beast like ten seconds ago.”

“Eijiro is NOT a fucking beast.” Bakugo defends while giving Kirishima some clothes to wear. “He is more like an overgrown puppy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“He literally tried to bite my head off the second I stepped into this tower.” The prince says pointedly. “And then, he tried to burn me to crisp.”

“Well, then you must have done something to hurt him.” Bakugo’s voice was confident.

“I didn’t do anything.” The prince mutters under his breath, seeing that there was no point in arguing with the hot-headed blonde.

“Yeah, right.”

“No, Katsuki. It was my fault.” Kirishima admits. “I thought he was one of the people who put me here and…”

“…And he tried to bite my head off.” The prince says in a very passive tone.

“I am so sorry,” Kirishima says with the softest eyes, but the prince wasn’t looking at him. “I tried to apologize before, but when I try to talk in my dragon form, all that comes out is fire.”

“Well, that explains trying to burn me into crisp part…” The prince pauses for a few seconds before sighing heavily. “I am sorry for hurting you, too.”

“Wait. HE HURT YOU?!” Bakugo yells, walking towards the prince. “I am gonna fucking kill you.”

“Katsuki, wait!” Kirishima stops Bakugo from taking another step. “It’s just a small cut. Plus, you can’t just kill him! He is… he is…”

Kirishima stops to ponder for a moment, he had no idea who he had been rooming with for the past few weeks.

“Wait, who are you?” Kirishima asks, coming into the light to see the prince’s face more clearly for the first time. He never really got to see the prince’s face up close when he was in his dragon form because of the height. “Oh my god, he is… he is the--”

“Prince.” Bakugo completes.

“Hold on, I tried to kill the prince?! Isn’t that treason?!” Kirishima starts freaking out, pacing around the room in a circle. The redhead quickly turns around to look at the prince, getting on his knees. “I am so sorry, Prince Todoroki.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry, no one is going to charge you for treason.” The prince says, weirdly getting concerned about Kirishima’s mental stability. “And please, call me Shoto.”

“Really? Is it really okay?” Kirishima looks up at Todoroki with puppy eyes.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Todoroki answers, smiling warmly. There was something about Kirishima’s energetic aura that made everyone around him feel warm and happy inside, not even the prince was immune to this. Bakugo knew Kirishima was a walking ball of sunshine, but its effects still doesn’t cease to surprise him.

“Thank you, Prince Shoto.” Kirishima was back to being his happy self now that his ‘crime’ was forgiven.

“Just Shoto is fine.”

“Oh. Then I am Kirishima Eijiro, you can call me Eijiro.” Kirishima pulls Bakugo closer to him. “And this is my boyfriend, Bakugo Katsuki. You can call him—”

“Bakugo. Call me anything other than Bakugo, and I will burn you till you turn into ashes.” Bakugo threatens, and Todoroki watches him in amusement.

“Katsuki! You can’t just go around threatening people.” Kirishima scolds. “And you definitely should not threaten the prince.”

“Tch.” Bakugo looks away.

“Please, don’t take it personally.” Kirishima apologizes to Todoroki, again. “He is always like that.”

“No, it’s fine,” Todoroki says. “Mind telling me what happened just now?”

“What do you mean?” Kirishima looked confused.

“You were a dragon before, and now you are not,” Todoroki explains.

“Oh yeah, that. My mother was witch, she hated me, she thought I ruined her life, so she cursed me to spend the rest of eternity as a fire breathing dragon.” Kirishima says the whole sentence in one breath in a very cheerful voice, for a second Todoroki thinks he had heard him wrong. He looks to Bakugo who just shrugs his shoulders in response.

“If she put a curse on you to spend eternity as a dragon, how are you human now?”

“Every spell is breakable,” Bakugo states as if that is the dumbest question he has heard in his entire life.

“Yeah, my curse could be broken by a true love’s kiss.” Kirishima smiles proudly clinging onto Bakugo’s arms. “Katsuki broke it for me.”

“So, how does the dragon form work?” Todoroki asks curiously.

“Well, I can turn into a dragon on my own free will, or sometimes it happens when I am angry or in danger,” Kirishima explains. “But I can’t turn back into a human on my own, that’s where Katsuki comes in.”

“I see…”

“Okay Eijiro, time to leave.” Bakugo starts pulling him towards the exit. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, a minute Katsuki.”

“Now what?”

“We can’t just leave him like that!” Kirishima points to a tied-up Todoroki.

“Of course, we can.” Bakugo states. “Now, let’s go.”

“No, but we shouldn’t,” Kirishima argues back. “He is the prince, and I feel bad just leaving him here.”

“Eijiro listen. The person who saves the prince has to marry him.” Bakugo explains. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell, don’t wanna marry this guy.”

Eijiro pouts, stubbornly holding his ground. Bakugo knew that look, no matter what he said Kirishima wasn’t going to give in. Bakugo sighs heavily, unable to resist Kirishima’s puppy eyes.

“Alright, let’s just untie—” Bakugo starts to say just as he sees a figure jumping towards Kirishima from behind him. Bakugo quickly pulls Kirishima away from the oncoming sword, defending it with his own. The other person jumps back but quickly charges forward towards Bakugo at full strength. Their swords clash against each other, Bakugo was mostly defending. Despite being a strong warrior, he was still reeling from the surprise at the sudden attack and the knight was quite strong.

“Wait, stop!” Todoroki commands. “STOP!”

The knight quickly freezes, turning to look at Todoroki.

“Are you sure?” A soft voice asks.

“Yeah.”

“Where is the dragon?” The knight asks.

Todoroki simply points towards a wide-eyed Kirishima. “There.”

“Huh?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Todoroki sighs. “The dragon is not… harmful.”

“Prince Todoroki, what are—”

“You don’t have to be formal with me here.” Todoroki gives the knight a small smile, who worriedly gazes at Bakugo and Kirishima. “Don’t worry, they are not the type to spread rumours.”

At this, the knight visibly relaxes, quickly running into Todoroki’s open arms.

“Shoto, I have been so worried.” The knight says, voice clearly laced with concerned. “And I missed you, so much.”

“I missed you too, Momo.” Todoroki tightly hugs her back. “I am glad you are the one who found me.”

“Of course, I did,” Yaoyoruzu says. “I made you a promise, didn’t I?

“Yeah, you did.” Todoroki presses his lips against hers, slowly moving their lips together in a soft kiss. “Well, with this my stupid father can’t complain. Now, he has to accept you; accept us.”

“Yeah.”

“Mind getting me out of this?” Todoroki points to the chains holding him hostage.

 “Oh yeah. Right.” Yaoyorozu once again draws her sword. “Stand back.”

Once she makes sure Todoroki is at a safe distance, she slashes her sword across the chain, breaking them apart in one hit.

“WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SWORD IS THAT?!” Bakugo shouts, shocked at the sword’s strength.

“That wasn’t the sword.” Todoroki walks over to Yaoyorozu, putting his arm over her shoulder. “That was all Momo.”

“Huh?”

“You have a fire breathing dragon; I have a powerful and badass knight,” Todoroki says proudly. For some reason, Todoroki’s aura had changed since Yaoyorozu had entered the room. It was like he had been revived back from the dead, simply put it he was more lively now.

“Shoto, we have to hurry back to the palace.” There was a new urgency in Yaoyorozu’s voice. “The people who put you here is impersonating you using their magic. We have to get to the palace before they reach the king.”

“What? This again?” Todoroki sighs. “Alright, let’s g—”  

“Um, what was that noise?” Kirishima asks as a cracking sound was heard.

All four people look up to see the roof of the tower crumbling, large pieces of rock start falling all around them.

“RUN!” Bakugo screams.

Without hesitating the two pairs of lovers starts running towards the exits. As they run the floor starts to crumble beneath their feet, the four barely avoid falling to their death or being crushed. Large pieces of rocks fall all around them, barely missing their heads. They run down the staircase as quickly as their human bodies would allow them. They make it to the exit just as the exit was about to be closed up by falling rocks. The four stands outside the tower, watching the whole place crumble down. Minutes pass by as they stare at the place where the tower once stood, now it was just a pile of rocks.

“Wow!” Kirishima whispers.

“Yeah.” Todoroki agrees.

“What the fuck just happened?” Bakugo asks in a low voice.

“No time to dwell on that,” Yaoyorozu answers, quickly gathering her thoughts together. “Shoto, we have to leave.”

“Oh yeah.” Yaoyorozu and Shoto quickly get on their white stallion, riding off towards what Kirishima and Bakugo assumed to be the palace.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Kirishima says, suddenly cheerful again. He was hugging Artemis with a wide grin on his face. “Ah, yes. I missed you too, beautiful.”

Bakugo walks towards Kirishima and Artemis, laying his head on Kirishima’s shoulder. “Now, can we go home?”

Kirishima giggles, turning around to face Bakugo. He quickly pecks Bakugo’s lips before saying, “Yeah, let’s go home, Katsuki.”