Work Text:
Eijirou doesn't really mind the petals.
Sure, it’s a little annoying how they keep landing on him, and their color does disagree with everything near it, but there’s something about the flowers that makes them hard to hate.
The plant’s true name had been lost ages ago, but the people in the last town he and Katsuki visited had called them what they are: fuyukas, or winter flowers. Not the most original name, but hey, who was Eijirou to judge.
Apparently the fuyukas had been blessed by a nature goddess to bloom in the middle of winter, before any other plant in the area. When everything is quiet and buried, their lilac petals unfurl and bloom in the icy cold, opposing a simple law of nature with a little help from a divine being. The flowers are strong, paving the way as the first of hundreds of plants to emerge each year. Eijirou respects them, and maybe, as stupid as it sounds, he admires them. They’re brave, just like he wants to be.
Eijirou's not a liar, he’ll admit that it’s a bit of a pain to pick the fuyuka petals out of his hair every few minutes, and maybe he does dislike that their color clashes horribly with his hair and clothes, but Eijirou can’t really bring himself to complain.
Katsuki, on the other hand, definitely can.
"I fucking hate these things," he snarls, batting a few of the light purple petals out of the air. They fall to the ground at a snail’s pace, but Katsuki slows down just so he can step on them.
"Well I think they're sorta manly!" Eijirou replies, knocking his shoulder against his best friend playfully.
Katsuki clicks his tongue in annoyance and shoulder checks Eijirou back. "You say that about everything that doesn't try to kill us."
“Well maybe you’re just not appreciating your surroundings enough,” Eijirou offers.
“Maybe all my surroundings are just shitty,” Katsuki shoots back.
“But it’s important to appreciate the things around you! You don’t know what you have until it’s gone, right?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Katsuki says, obviously not paying attention. "Where are we meeting the extras again?"
“Don’t be shy, Katsuki, you can call them our friends,” Eijirou teases, earning a sharp look from his best friend.
"They’re not my fucking friends. Just tell me where we’re meeting them.”
Eijirou slings his pack off of his shoulders and dumps it into Katsuki’s arms with a cheery, “hold this!” and his best friend staggers back, caught off guard by the unexpected weight. He recovers quickly though, glaring daggers at Eijirou who only flips the top of the bag open and offers a bright smile in response.
He digs into his pack, rifling through its contents until his hand closes around a worn-out scroll. Gently tugging it out of the bag and rolling it open, Eijirou searches the various lines and markings on it for the rendezvous point; the kingdom of Onryx. The entire group would be meeting Fat Gum there tomorrow afternoon, during the city’s annual market of realms. But there’s nothing on the map that even remotely looks like Onryx, and the unintelligible writing isn’t much help.
Eijirou huffs to himself and squints at the scrawled print, willing it to make sense. He really wants to explore the market; he’ll be damned if a map is going to stand in his way. But before he can even start to make out the words inscribed on the scroll, Katsuki elbows his way into Eijirou’s space and surveys the map.
“What the fuck are you trying to find on here? I can barely read this thing.”
Eijirou tilts the map towards Katsuki so he can see better. "Well, Iida said that we should meet at the top of the mountain closest to Onryx, but this map doesn’t seem to have Onryx on it at all so I think, emphasis on think because you broke the compass—"
"Get to the fucking point," Katsuki demands, hefting the pack in his arms.
Eijirou ignores him and points to a spot on the map. “So if the mountain that we just hiked down from is this one, then the one we’re going to meet everyone on is to the northeast, but without a compass—”
“Shitty Hair,” Katsuki growls in warning.
"I’m thinking that the mountain we're supposed to meet at is this one, but, y'know, I can't really be sure since we don’t have a com—"
In one swift motion, Katsuki drops Eijirou’s bag and snatches the map from him like a hungry faerie, turning away and hunching over the paper right after.
Eijirou stifles a laugh and gives his friend a second to cool down before peeking over his shoulder at the map. He squints down at what he assumes is the mountain range as he tries to piece together the disfigured mess of drawings in a way that could possibly make sense.
Katsuki mumbles something to himself and traces a line that could be a mountain range or a trail, and suddenly, something clicks.
“I think it's upside down."
Katsuki shakes his head. “No, it’s not.”
“I’m pretty sure it is,” Eijirou says insistently, holding his hand out for the map.
“No, it’s not! Fucking look at it you obtuse lizard—”
“You look at it!” Eijirou emphasizes as he leans forward and swipes at the map, the few inches he has on Katsuki coming in handy. “Onryx is on there, I can read the label upside down!”
“Since when can you read—Dammit, get off me!” Katsuki exclaims, pushing back at Eijirou who’s practically draped on top of him in an effort to snag the map from his hands.
“Then let me see the map!”
“No!”
“C’mon, just trust me!”
Katsuki pauses, and Eijirou can almost hear the gears turning in his brain.
“Fine,” He says, pushing Eijirou away and holding out the map. “Here, take it.”
Eijirou does so with a smile, flipping it over afterward and scanning the paper. The illustrations look a lot more like mountains now, and after examining the range surrounding them in comparison, he silently congratulates himself for being correct.
He holds the map out proudly and points to a small dot with messy but now readable script that clearly says Onryx. “I rest my case.”
Katsuki’s eyes flit across the page, resting on Onryx before he glances up at the mountain range and back to the map. He opens his mouth. Closes it. Katsuki looks up from the map and meets Eijirou's eyes. “Don’t—”
“I told you so,” Eijirou sings, sharp teeth on display as he grins.
“Fuck you,” Katsuki retorts as he pushes the scrool out of his face and starts to walk ahead.
Eijirou takes one last look at the map in his hands, following the web of paths printed on it as he prepares to shove it back into the black hole that is his bag. His eyes rest on a specific pair of trails and he quickly realizes their mistake.
"Wait, Katsuki, we're going the wrong way!"
❅ ❅ ❅
"No way in hell we're resting here."
Eijirou ignores his best friend, throwing his pack to the side and collapsing into the petal covered grass. They’ve been walking for way too long, and even though the grass is wet from melted snow and this position is sorta uncomfortable, Eijirou is pretty sure he never wants to move ever again. He’s just going to lay here for the rest of his life.
However, his plans are foiled when a shadow falls over him.
“We’re not staying here, get up."
Eijirou groans and squeezes his eyes shut. “Can we please just rest for a while?"
Something nudges his side, probably Katsuki's boot.
“Not a damn chance, this place is covered in petals and we’re leaving."
Eijirou props himself up on his elbows, trying to formulate a sentence that doesn't make it sound like he's a five-year-old kid who needs a nap. He cracks his eyes open, blinking as the world comes into focus again and—wow.
Katsuki's standing above him, silhouetted by the sun in a way that makes him look like some sort of celestial god, and Eijirou genuinely forgets what he's about to say. When did Katsuki get so attractive?
“Hey, did you get jinxed or something?” Katsuki says. “Stop opening and closing your mouth like a fish and say what you're going to fucking say.”
Eijirou has always known that he likes Katsuki in more than a friend way. He never lingers on it for too long, fear of rejection or not being good enough always hold him back from properly daydreaming or thinking about it anyways, but the second Katsuki’s words reach him, he realizes he could confess. Eijirou could just tell Katsuki right now. But that would be a complete and utter disaster, so instead he says the first thing that comes to mind.
“You’re amazing,” Eijirou breathes. His words are quieter, and a lot softer than he thought they would be. Katsuki doesn’t respond for a few seconds, and Eijirou starts to doubt that his friend even heard him in the first place.
"Well Duh, Shitty Hair,” Katsuki says, and if Eijirou didn’t know better he would swear his best friend is blushing.
The atmosphere feels a little awkward so Eijirou sits up and tries for a smile, one that Katsuki doesn't even acknowledge since his eyes are glued to the ground.
“Why’d you say it like that?” Katsuki asks, and Eijirou begins to regret ever saying anything in the first place.
“Huh?”
Katsuki drops down next to him. “Why’d you say it like that?”
“Like what?” Eijirou asks, trying to play it cool.
Katsuki finally meets Eijirou’s eyes again. “You said it like it was important.”
Eijirou wants to set himself on fire. “It didn’t really mean anything, I was just, y’know, saying it. I’m also kinda tired so maybe… that was it?”
It’s a bad excuse, but Katsuki goes along with it for some reason. “We weren’t even walking for that long,” he says, leaning over and flicking a fuyuka petal off of Eijirou’s shoulder.
“Yes we were!” Eijirou exclaims, secretly grateful for the subject change. “And I forgot to shift my wings until like halfway through, so now my back hurts!”
“Fine, just rest then, Shitty Hair.” Katsuki crosses his legs and brushes the petals surrounding him as far away as possible. “We’ll leave in a few minutes.”
They lapse into silence, one that’s not uncomfortable or comfortable, a weird combination of both that he and Katsuki have grown accustomed to. They’ve been around each other for long enough that sitting around without talking isn’t something that they’re wary of. It’s unavoidable; a product of arguments or exhaustion or even just boredom, and after knowing each other for years it’s easy to find reassurance in it.
There’s movement next to him, and Eijirou turns in time to see Katsuki fend off a few fuyuka petals that float by him, mouth twisted in a look that screams annoyed.
When a breeze sends the petals his way, Katsuki grabs a handful out of the air and sets off an explosion in his closed fist, wiping the ashes off in the grass once he’s done. Eijirou leans back in the grass, a smile on his face; only Katsuki would use his magic on something a stupid as burning a plant.
Another gust of wind carries a large group of petals through the air, and Eijirou watches as a couple of them fall down to earth, small drafts blowing them off course as they descend.
One particular petal, a stray, floats down and nestles in Katsuki's hair, pastel purple offset by ash-blond.
The color combination almost works, Eijirou thinks as he reaches out and runs a hand through Katsuki’s hair. Maybe he should buy something purple at Onryx's market and give it to Katsuki as a gift.
It’s a good few seconds before Eijirou finally realizes what he’s doing, and it’s not because he came to his senses and snapped out of whatever strange world he was in seconds before, it’s because Katsuki exhales quietly and leans into his touch.
Katsuki. His best friend. The guy he’s known since they were kids, the boy who’s saved Eijirou and been saved by Eijirou, the prince who would rather die than show any kind of physical affection. that Katsuki. Leans into Eijirou’s touch.
“Holy fuck,” Eijirou mumbles quietly, and Katsuki's eyes snap open.
There’s a moment of silence, the eye of the storm.
Then Katsuki jerks away and shoots up faster than Eijirou can blink, disrupting the petals around him with the sudden movement.
“That didn’t happen,” he says forcefully as fuyukas float down around him.
“Okay,” Eijirou says on autopilot.
Katsuki turns to him, face almost as red as Eijirou’s hair. “Don’t—” he shuts his eyes and exhales, “Don’t mention this. Ever.”
“Mention what?” Eijirou asks, because if he’s being honest he still has no idea what just happened.
Katsuki glowers down at him. “Don’t get fucking cheeky, Shitty Hair.”
Eijirou’s tempted to tell Katsuki that he’s not being cheeky, he just genuinely has no idea what that was, but decides not to. Whatever just happened is never going to be brought up again, so he might as well forget about it.
“Alright, we’ve rested in this stupid place long enough.” Katsuki throws the bag into Eijirou’s lap and Eijirou recovers just fast enough to catch it. “Let’s get going.”
Eijirou nods and Katsuki keeps talking, probably trying to get the focus off of whatever just occurred and onto the task at hand. He picks up the map and waves it in Eijirou’s face, saying something about pathways and fastest routes before a voice cuts through the fog.
"Kacchan?"
Katsuki whips around faster than Eijirou can blink.
"Deku?" he says. And then again, louder, “Deku!”
"Kacchan!"
Katsuki bolts over to the edge of the mountain and looks down, a grin plastered on his face. It’s not a kind grin though. It’s a feral one. “So, you fuckers finally decided to show up, huh? You’re late!”
“It’s nice to see you too, Bakugou,” someone—probably Tsuyu—replies as Eijirou pulls himself off the ground and walks over to the edge of the drop-off.
About 40 feet below them, on a very precarious trail that he hadn’t even realized existed, stands Midoriya’s party, looking a lot rougher than they were last time Eijirou saw them.
Todoroki looks up at Eijirou, the usual blank expression on his face. “Hi, Kirishima.”
Eijirou raises a hand in greeting. “Hey! Did you guys get your piece?”
There’s a chorus of hellos from the group, all of various levels of enthusiasm, and Tokoyami opens the bag he’s carrying and pulls out a broken piece of crown. “We did indeed acquire our piece.”
“Nice!” Eijirou exclaims, beaming down at them. “Did you run into any trouble?”
Iida shakes his head no and opens his mouth to expand on his answer, but Katsuki doesn’t give him the chance too.
“Hey, Shitty Nerd! How's it feel to lose again?" he snaps.
Midoriya laughs nervously. "I mean this wasn't really a competi—"
"Oh shut up! I won and you know it!"
"It doesn't matter, Bakugou!” Uraraka shouts, shaking her staff up at them. “Learn some manners!"
Katsuki glares at her, an insult on the tip of his tongue, but this time it’s Iida who cuts him off.
"Technically none of us have reached the meeting point at all yet. For all we know, Yaoyorozu’s group could have beaten us all!"
Katsuki bristles next to him and Eijirou looks over to see that his best friend’s smirk has been replaced by a very large scowl. He meets Eijirou’s eyes, red on red. "We're going to beat all of these shitty extras if it's the last thing we do."
Eijirou grins, the familiar spirit of competition taking over. “Then what are we waiting for?”
Katsuki doesn’t waste a second, bolting down the thin path ahead of them the second he get a reply, but Eijirou takes a second to yell a quick goodbye to the group below them before turning around, snow and fuyuka petals crunching under his feet as he runs after Katsuki.
❅ ❅ ❅
They’ve been traveling at a steady pace for around half an hour when Eijirou thinks he hears laughter.
He brushes it off the first time, because the forest is noisy and he doesn’t feel like going on a wild goose chase today, but a few minutes later he hears it again and he slowly peters off into a full halt when he realizes whose laughter it is.
"Oi, why the fuck did you stop?" Katsuki says from up ahead.
Eijirou shushes him, ears straining to hear his friends’ voices again. As if on cue, another round of laughter rings out, and Eijirou turns, heading toward where he hears the voices. "Cmon, we’re going to go say hi."
Katsuki makes a disdainful noise. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."
"They're our friends and we haven't seen them in weeks. We're going to go say hi," Eijirou says in finality.
Katsuki grumbles something under his breath and trudges after Eijirou, purposefully lagging as far behind as possible.
“Hey guys, it’s Kirishima and Blasty!” Eijirou yells, but there’s no response. They probably just didn’t hear him.
Eijirou huffs, doubling back to grab Katsuki’s hand and drag him along faster. His best friend doesn’t make any objections to it, so Eijirou just tugs him until they're running through the woods; he wants to see his friends as soon as possible, and he's sure that somewhere, underneath a whole bunch of denial, Katsuki does too.
The trees get thicker as they hurry ahead, the afternoon sun flickering between them like a dying ember.
“Hello?” Eijirou calls as they approach a twist on the trail. He pulls insistently at Katsuki’s hand, and they both round the corner into an empty clearing.
"Huh," Eijirou mumbles to himself. He could have sworn the voices he heard were coming from this exact place.
“Where are the extras?”
“They’re definitely somewhere around here,” Eijirou insists, dropping Katsuki’s hand. “I heard their voices.”
Katsuki clicks his tongue. “I guess your shitty hair is affecting your brain now.”
“Hey, I really did hear them," Eijirou insists as he turns in a circle.
He's about to give up when someone slams into him from behind and slaps two hands over his eyes. Eijirou's adrenaline spikes, and he's moments away from shifting before he hears the excited giggle of, "Guess who!" from the person behind him that instantly puts him at ease
Eijirou exhales slowly to calm his nerves, and a few small scales slowly but surely sink back into his skin. "I don't know, this is a hard one."
Katsuki scoffs from next to him and the fingers obscuring his view wiggle a little.
"C'mon, at least try!"
"Well, I know that you're standing on your tip-toes so you can reach up this high, and I’m pretty sure your fingers are pink, so—” The hands drop from his eyes and Eijirou turns around, “Mina!”
His horned friend wraps her arms around him in a tight hug, squeezing hard enough to trap both of his arms and almost cut off his airflow. Thankfully he can still breathe, and when he looks up to find Sero, Jirou, and Yaoyorozu standing behind her, he lifts a hand as much as he can to wave at them. "Hey, guys!"
Yaoyorozu waves back politely, full-body armor clinking together and helmet nearly slipping out of her hold. "Hello!"
"Sorry about hiding from you, it was Sero’s idea," Jirou explains, nodding at both Eijirou and Katsuki in greeting.
Sero groans and throws his hands up in the air. “I thought I told you to stop exposing me!”
"And I told you to stop stealing my knives," Jirou says flatly.
The group seems perfectly at ease, but Eijirou does a quick headcount and gets a sour taste in his mouth. "Where’s Kaminari?"
Mina jumps back, her dark eyes twinkling. "Don't worry, he's fine. Just went ahead with the new guy."
"New guy?" Eijirou echoes.
“Of course!” Yaoyorozu claps her hands together. "We forgot to tell you! Kaminari met a sorcerer who helped us a bit while we were on our part of the quest, and since he's also traveling to Onryx’s market he decided to come with us."
"If we're being honest I think Kaminari annoyed the guy into joining us," Jirou adds.
"He's cool, don't worry," Sero says off-handedly, swinging an arm around Katsuki's shoulders that's immediately pushed off.
"Was your quest alright?" Yaoyorozu asks.
“We got our piece of the crown, if that’s what you’re asking. It was a bit of a mess, but we got through it." He nudges Katsuki in the side. "Right?"
Katsuki shoots him an annoyed glance. "It was fine."
Sero's eyes widen comically. "He speaks!"
"Shut the fuck up."
Eijirou huffs out a small laugh; he missed this. "How was your quest? Anything interesting happen?"
Sero's expression suddenly turns grave. "Sorry, but that's classified information."
"What happens in Solaris stays in Solaris,” Mina says, nodding solemnly in agreement.
Eijirou sighs and turns to Jirou. "What did they do?"
“They pissed off the queen and got publicly humiliated,” she supplies.
"It was all Kaminari and Mina!" Sero insists. "I didn't do anything!"
“Tell that to the jewels that slipped out of your pocket on our way out of the city.”
Mina sighs dramatically. “I can’t even trust my best friends anymore!” She leans forward and makes eye contact with Katsuki, who’s on the other side of Eijirou. “Hey, Bakugou, you’re going to be my new best friend.”
“I’m not going to be your anything, Racoon Eyes.”
“Awww,” Mina fake pouts, “Do you want a hug too?” She advances towards Katsuki with her arms open but he dodges her embrace, pushing Eijirou in between the two of them like a human-sized wall.
“Fuck off!” Katsuki growls. “What is it with you idiots and being so touchy-feely all the damn time?”
“You’re the only one touching someone else right now,” Sero points out, and Katsuki lurches back from Eijirou like he just touched a poisonous plant.
“I—You’re—" Katsuki makes a noise of indignation and turns back to the trail, stomping ahead. “We’re fucking leaving! Shitty Hair, let’s go!”
“What?! Why?”
“Because there’s no way that I’m letting Sparky win," he says, not sparing a glance behind him.
"What’s he unnecessarily turning into a competition this time?" Jirou asks as they watch him go.
Eijirou pulls his pack over his shoulder. "He wants to get to the top of the mountain first."
Jirou cracks a smile. "Classic."
"Stop wasting time with the extras and hurry up!" Katsuki yells from ahead.
Eijirou faces the group with parting words on his lips but Sero steps forward, giant grin back in its rightful place. "Hey, can I come with you guys?"
"NO WAY IN HELL," Katsuki roars, but Sero takes that as a yes because he turns to the rest of them and bows quickly.
"Ladies and Gent, if you'll excuse me," He springs up and runs down the trail, making large indents in the snow as he flies after Katsuki.
Eijirou smiles apologetically at the last of the group. "I should probably go and make sure they don't kill each other, sorry for stealing Sero from you."
Yaoyorozu waves her hand in dismissal. "Don't worry, we’re very grateful."
"We haven't had time to ourselves for weeks, you're doing us a huge favor," Mina assures him.
Jirou makes a small shooing motion. “You’re free to go.”
Eijirou chuckles and begins to walk backward. "Glad I could help! See you guys later!”
The small group choruses their goodbyes and Eijirou waves once before turning around and running up the trail, praying to any god listening that Katsuki hasn’t bitten off Sero's head yet.
❅ ❅ ❅
Eijirou had been hoping that maybe Sero could go for more than five minutes without antagonizing Katsuki. Unfortunately, his wish had not been granted.
“So, you’re telling me that you’ve never, ever, jumped into a pile of snow?”
“Yeah,” Katsuki snarls, eyes burning in barely contained rage. “That’s exactly what I’m fucking telling you."
“But jumping into piles of snow is, like, the best part of winter!”
“Only for idiots like you who enjoy being cold!”
“Okay, okay, let’s take a step back here,” Eijirou suggests, pushing himself in between his two friends. “Blasty just really doesn’t like the cold! I’m actually convinced he only keeps me around because I’m so warm all the time!”
It’s a horrible attempt at a subject change, but luckily his friends fall for it.
“Because I have no other damn reason to keep you around,” Katsuki says, rolling his eyes.
“Oh, so there are other reasons?”
He scoffs and turns away but Eijirou leans into his space, trying to get Katsuki to look him in the eyes. “No, please continue. Why do you really keep me around?”
Katsuki shoves Eijirou’s face away, a small smile on his face barely visible. “Like I’d tell you, Shitty Hair.”
Eijirou chuckles as he’s pushed away, and he turns to Sero when he feels his friend's eyes on him. “What?”
Sero squints at him for a second before waving his hand dismissively. “Nothing, I forgot just how lonely it feels to hang out with you guys when no one else is around.”
"What's that supposed to mean?"
“Stop fucking talking,” Katsuki demands before Sero can respond. “Sparky and whatever-his-name-is are right there.”
Eijirou looks through the trees ahead of them and sees two small figures making up their way up the trail at a steady pace. One of them is definitely Kaminari, Eijirou can tell by the yellow hair and wild hand gestures.
“Alright, I say we go for it,” Eijirou proposes. “Let’s rush in and challenge them to an official race or something.”
Katsuki scoffs. “That’s a horrible plan.”
“So you have a better one?” Eijirou retorts.
“No.”
Eijirou huffs in annoyance. “Y'know, some constructive criticism would be great.”
Katsuki looks like he’s about to throttle him, but Sero coughs into his fist form behind them and both turn to look at him.
“Now that I have your attention," Sero begins. ”I found a fork in the road up ahead that eventually reconnects to the main path again, so that’s also an option for you guys.”
“Just us?” Eijirou echoes as Katsuki holds out his hand for the map. “Aren’t you coming too?”
“Oh, no thank you, I’ve had enough third-wheeling today,” Sero replies, holding out the map for Katsuki to take. ”I’m going to go hang with Kaminari and Shinsou so you two can flirt in peace. See you guys later!”
Katsuki makes a strangled sound from next to him and Eijirou opens his mouth to object to every single word that just came out of Sero's mouth, but his friend has already disappeared into the winter wonderland around them.
They both stand in silence for a few seconds before Eijirou speaks up.
“So, is there actually a fork that leads back to the main path?”
Katsuki nods stiffly as he rolls up the map into a crude scroll.
Eijirou gestures to the path in front of them. “So should we just—”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Katsuki’s already speed-walking down the path, map still clutched in his fist, and Eijirou takes a deep breath before following him, trying not to think too much about Sero’s words as he jogs up the trail.
❅ ❅ ❅
Turns out the fork Sero mentioned is less of a fork and more of an elevated path on a hill right next to the main trail. An extremely thin, tree-covered, buried-in-snow path that Eijirou doesn’t like very much. It's pretty annoying when snow-clad tree branches smack into his face, or when he loses his footing and has to grab onto something near him—usually Katsuki—to say upright. Eijirou loves his friends, don’t get him wrong, but Sero’s seriously pushing it right now.
“So, Shinsou,” Sero begins from somewhere off to their left. Speak of the devil. “Did Kaminari ever tell you about our dear friend Bakugou?”
Wow, Sero is really, really pushing it today.
“Trust me, I’ve heard enough about that guy to last a lifetime.” The sorcerer—Shinsou—says, tone a perfect balance of bored and sarcastic.
Kaminari deflates with a groan. “Oh, come on! I didn’t even get to the good stories!”
"You talked about him for three hours!"
The two continue to bicker and Eijirou lightly nudges Katsuki to get his attention. If Sero really is going to try and goad his best friend into doing something stupid, Eijirou should get him out of here before Sero has the chance. “Hey, I bet I can get back to the main trail faster than you.”
“You’re on,” Katsuki says gruffly. "But the next time I see Soy Sauce I'm going to fucking kill him."
Eijirou doesn't object and Katsuki immediately speeds up, flying through the forest of trees with Eijirou on his heels.
They're getting further away from the group, but apparently not enough because Sero’s raised voice still manages to reach the two of them through the trees. “If you’re tired of Kaminari’s stories, then maybe I could tell you both a new one?”
Eijirou wills the path to curve faster, dammit. He really just wants to get to the top of the mountain with Katsuki, he's not in the mood for detours.
“Remember when I told you about that one time Bakugou's hair got all flat?” Sero, that bastard, says, the last of Eijirou's peace of mind is smashed to bits when Katsuki turns around and bolts back the way they came.
Eijirou exhales slowly before taking off after him, silently cursing Sero as his feet pound against the snowy ground.
“You’re going to love this one, Shinsou," Eijirou hears Kaminari say as he catches up to Katsuki, matching his best friend's horrifyingly fast pace.
“Funny, I remember you saying the exact same thing about the last three stories you told.”
“Whatever, this one’s good!”
Eijirou and Katsuki are quickly gaining on the trio, each step they take promising devastation and probably bloodshed.
“Once upon a time,” Sero announces, “Bakugou got cursed—well, blessed if you want to be technical, by this god.”
Katsuki suddenly swerves off course and straight towards the tree line, palms glowing with orange light and mouth twisted in a snarl.
Eijirou reaches out just fast enough to snag a piece of Katsuki's cape, and he yanks back on it so hard that his best friend goes stumbling into his arms, glowing palms and all.
It wasn't exactly what Eijirou was planning for, but he can work with this.
“What the fuck,” Katsuki spits.
“Sero’s doing all of this on purpose, don’t fall for it,” Eijirou warns, tightening his grip when Katsuki tries to wiggle out of his arms.
“I’m not falling for shit!”
“Really?” Eijirou asks in exasperation. “Then what exactly is happening right now?"
Katsuki slips out of his grip and falls to the forest floor, shooting up a second later. “What’s happening is I’m about to go kill that son of a bitch!” He turns around, probably to run directly into the fight like always, but Eijirou was expecting that.
Another sharp tug on his cloak pulls Katsuki backward and when he turns around his expression is downright murderous.
“Don’t fall for it,” Eijirou says slowly.
“There's nothing to fucking fall for!” Katsuki grabs his cape and pulls back, petty to the very end. “He’s just being an asshole!”
“And you’re not?” Eijirou pulls again, and Katsuki lurches towards him.
He looks Eijirou in the eye. “If you rip this, you’re fucking dead.”
“Sure, Blasty.”
Katsuki stares him down, eyes blazing with more power than the sun, but Eijirou doesn’t waver. If his best friend thinks that Eijirou's going to back down from an argument that he’s winning, Katsuki is dead wrong.
Laughter rings through the trees and Eijirou and Katsuki’s gazes snap to the trio below them, staring contest ended.
Kaminari is bent over at the waist in silent hysterics while Sero tries to explain whatever it is that they’re talking about to Shinsou.
“Usually his hair is spiky and all over the place, but Best Jeanist made his hair flat!” Sero pauses, chest heaving as he tries to collect himself. “You haven’t seen him so it’s hard to understand, but Bakugou with flat hair is just—” Sero dissolves into peals of laughter and Shinsou looks even more tired then he did before, which Eijirou didn’t think was possible.
“Y’know for once I’d like to hear a story that’s actually good." Shinsou pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes shut. “I get it, this guy looked like a melon, but—”
Kaminari shrieks and falls to the ground, clutching his stomach. “A melon!”
“But I just don’t see how that’s funny,” Shinsou finishes.
Katsuki's practically vibrating in rage now, hands shaking and sneer almost breaking his face. The grip Eijirou has on his cape is the only thing delaying Kaminari and Sero's terrible fate. It's only a matter of time before Katsuki snaps, but Eijirou knows he's going to have to pick up the pieces.
Below them, Sero gulps in his air as he tries desperately to compose himself. “But man, you should have seen Kirishima’s face! When he first saw Bakugou he looked so confused!”
"Again, I have no clue as to who the hell you're talking about. I do not know these people," Shinsou emphasizes, but Sero's already laughing again.
“Can you imagine,” Kaminari stands up, chest heaving as he tries to pull himself together enough to get out a full sentence, “having a normal day, and then suddenly your crush rolls up looking like a cantaloupe!”
This time when Kaminari falls to the ground Sero joins him, cackling like overzealous seagulls while Eijirou tries to sort out what he just heard. His thoughts bounce around in his mind too fast for him to follow, forming theories and jumping to conclusions that don't make sense in the slightest.
Eijirou’s stomach flips, but not in a good way. Does this mean someone else has a crush on Katsuki? Eijirou knows that he doesn’t have the right to be jealous, Katsuki isn’t his and probably never will be, but a part of him, the selfish part, doesn’t care.
Eijirou has seen Katsuki at his highest and his lowest, literally and figuratively, in day, night, and every time in between. They’ve traveled miles and miles together, argued and made up, escaped, fought, won, and had the time of their lives through all of it.
But Katsuki’s still not his.
That’s fine though, Eijirou is content with just being friends. All he wants is to be by Katsuki’s side, and crushes come and go fast. Even ones that have lasted a few years. Probably. Hopefully.
And even if his crush never does leave, Eijirou would live with it. It wouldn’t be that bad anyway, he can totally deal with a tiny crush on his best friend, it’s not like he’s in love or—
Oh.
Oh no.
The realization hits Eijirou like a bolt of Kaminari’s lightning magic: straight, direct, and all at once. Memories flood his brain, pieces of a puzzle he had never thought to put together assembling themselves into a masterpiece that holds a world of meaning, one that Eijirou had been blind to for years.
It's clear in every glance, every touch, every shout illuminated by the sun or whisper beneath the stars. Eijirou is in love.
Something slips out of his hand, and by the time Eijirou realizes what's happening, it’s too late. Katsuki is already past the tree line but Eijirou still tries, reaching out for the blood-red fabric that left his hands just a moment ago. He feels it underneath the pads of his fingers, but his hand closes around nothing and Eijirou staggers forward, recovering just fast enough to watch Katsuki hurtle down the hill at an inhuman speed.
Sero and Kaminari scatter into the snow-clad woods when they see him, probably in an effort to lose their explosive friend before he gets the chance to blow them sky high. Shinsou, on the other hand, stays firmly rooted in place, and when Katsuki races past him he watches all three of them disappear into the white and green labyrinth of trees. He looks up and, spotting Eijirou in the thick blanket of white, raises a hand in greeting. Eijirou does the same as he begins to head down the mountain, shoving away thought love or Katsuki. He can process and maybe repress them later, right now he needs to focus on the present, and most importantly, making friends with this new guy.
When Eijirou reaches the bottom of the hill he holds out his hand, a smile on his face. "Nice to meet you! I’m Kirishima."
Shinsou reaches out to it and gives Eijirou's hand a quick but firm shake. "Shinsou."
There’s a loud explosion from somewhere in the forest and a few piles of snow fall to the ground, disturbed by the sudden commotion.
Eijirou peers over Shinsou's shoulder at the damage. "Should we do something about that?"
"No, I don't think we should," Shinsou says. "Kaminari dragged me out here with him for no reason, and I think whatever is happening right now is a great repercussion."
Eijirou nods as he watches his three friends play what seems to be a very intense game of one cat and two mice. “Yeah, I think they all need to burn off some energy.”
The corner of Shinsou's mouth twists up, and Eijirou internally congratulates himself. But he still needs to get on this guy’s good side, so he wracks his brain for something to say.
“So, uh, how did you become a sorcerer?”
Shinsou waves his hand dismissively. "I got exiled from my kingdom and taught myself magic, not the most riveting story."
“You learned magic all by yourself!?" Eijirou asks, awestruck. Magic wasn’t all that uncommon, and everyone that Eijirou knew had been taught it by someone else. Learning sorcery without any help would be a huge challenge.
Shinsou just nods in reply, something that might be pride glinting in his eyes.
That’s like,” Eijirou exhales in disbelief, “so manly!”
“Says the dragon.”
Eijirou freezes. His first instinct is to deny it, to play dumb, to put his horrible acting skills to the test and ask “what’s a dragon?” in the most clueless voice he can muster. But even if that worked—and it definitely wouldn’t—he doesn’t want to lie. Shinsou seems like a good person, and his friends obviously trust the guy, so Eijirou puts on a winning smile and carries on. “Let me guess, Kaminari accidentally let it slip?”
“No, actually, I figured it out on my own,” Shinsou clarifies.
Eijirou’s eyes widen in surprise. “Wait, really?”
“I’m a sorcerer, remember?”
“You guys can do that?!”
Shinsou chuckles, a genuine smile spreading across his face. “I’m joking.” He gestures to Eijirou’s head. “You have horns.”
Eijirou realizes that he must have forgotten to shift all the way back into his human form.“Oh.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Shinsou says, “You’d be surprised by how many people think I know all the details of their life just by looking them in the eye.”
“Does that mean you can know all the details of their life by doing something else?”
Shinsou smirks knowingly. “Maybe. Anyways, since we’re doing this whole introductions thing, tell me how you and that melon guy ended up together.”
Eijirou decides that Shinsou is someone he never wants to mess with.
“It’s actually a really long story,” he admits, trying to piece together an explanation that isn’t overly complicated or way too personal. “The shortened version is, basically, we met when we were young, but then we, uh, lost touch? A couple of years later we found each other again, which was great, except for the fact that we weren’t exactly in the best situation, y’know? Anyways, we escaped as soon as we could and we’ve been traveling together ever since.”
Shinsou nods a little. "Well, I’m not the biggest fan of melon guy, but you two seem like a good match."
Eijirou’s never been more tempted to shift and fly away in all of his life. "We’re—we’re not dating.”
Realization spreads across Shinsou's face and he opens his mouth to speak, but someone slams into him from behind before either of them can say anything.
Eijirou turns around as Kaminari stumbles back, an apologetic smile on his face. “Sorry, Bro—Shit!”
Kaminari darts away, a furious Katsuki hurtling after him a moment later, and Shinsou sighs. “Are they always like this?”
Eijirou nods in response and Shinsou just sighs again.
“Hey, guys!” Sero runs up to them, out of breath and lightly dusted with snow.
Eijirou crosses his arms and levels his friend with a cold look. “If I wasn’t a nice guy you would probably be buried in snow right now.”
Shinsou makes a noise of agreement from behind him. “That, I would love to see.”
Sero laughs, not bothered in the slightest by either of them. “I knew you two would get along.”
Eijirou’s tempted to throw a snowball at Sero’s face, because he’s been annoying Eijirou all day and it’s getting on his last nerve, but Kaminari flies past him with a shout of, “Little help, please?” and Eijirou realizes he’s got a job to do.
Katsuki’s headed their way, pace considerably slower than it was last time, but expression just as murderous, and this time when he rushes by Eijirou steps in, wrapping his arms around Katsuki and pulling him just a tiny bit off the ground, a maneuver that he's perfected over the years.
"Put me the fuck down right now, you reptilian piece of shit!" Katsuki barks as he tries to clamber out of Eijirou’s arms.
"Not a chance," Eijirou replies calmly, dodging what could have been an elbow to the face.
Katsuki struggles some more, punctuating his actions with extremely colorful cursing. He could probably break Eijirou’s hold on him in a second if he really wanted to, but for some reason he doesn’t.
Sero takes a step forward and claps his hands together, looking way too pleased with himself. “Well, I think this worked out perfectly!”
Katsuki pauses his fight for freedom and looks at Sero like he’s insane. “In what fucking universe—”
“This one!” Sero says proudly, spreading his arms wide. “You see, now that we're all here in one place we can actually have a fair and honest race to the top!"
Eijirou lets go of Katsuki. If Sero wants to play with fire, Eijirou isn’t going to protect him from the flames.
Katuski advances, drawing himself up to his full height. “Are you telling me you pulled that entire damn thing just so you could challenge me to a race that you’re obviously going to lose?”
Sero shrugs, smile still taped to his face even with a very angry fire user six inches away from him. “Not exactly, but that’s what it turned out to be in the end.”
Silence stretches longer than what’s probably considered normal and Eijirou itches to wrap his arms around Katsuki again. For Sero’s safety. Definitely not just because.
He’s about to follow through with it when Shinsou speaks up. "Not that I don’t love watching whatever fucked up display of hubris this is, but I’m getting tired of just standing here and would like to get on with whatever Sero planned.”
"Yeah, Bakugou,” Kaminari smiles cheekily and tilts his head, “How about it?"
Katsuki glares at Sero a second longer before turning away. "Eijirou and I are going to beat all of you fuckers,” he declares. “Now get on with it, Soy Sauce."
"Of course, Your Majesty!" Sero replies with a salute, which just earns him a kick in the shin.
Eijirou sidles up to Katsuki as Sero begins to count down, trying not to think about the distance between their hands or how easy it would be to reach out and hook their pinkies together.
"Five."
Kaminari crouches to the ground, gloved fingers pressing into the thin layer of snow and eyes sparking with electricity.
"Four."
Shinsou huffs in exasperation but follows suit, breath fanning out in a misty cloud as he waits for the signal.
"Three."
Sero finishes stretching and lets his arms fall to his sides, heels digging into the ground.
"Two."
Katsuki smirks, harsh and wild and beautiful.
"One."
❅ ❅ ❅
The sun slowly sinks down in the evening sky, casting shadows across the rock formations and bathing the snowy valley in an almost purple hue.
Eijirou watches the sun slide down inch by inch, breath by breath.
He and Katsuki had reached the rendezvous point not too long ago, and being too exhausted to bother with conversation, they had resorted to watching the sunset in silence. The air is colder, with biting wind and a sun that’s barely breaking through the clouds, much less providing warmth. But Eijirou doesn’t mind, the view is worth it.
Miles and miles of trees stretch in front of them, covered in snow and sparkling in the sun’s light. The kingdom on Onryx stands not too far away, today’s market is probably winding down as people head back home for the day, bags full but pockets empty of coins they spent.
"Oi, Shitty Hair."
Eijirou hums in response, turning to Katsuki with the grin he’s been wearing since they first arrived.
His best friend is sitting down, legs crossed like they always are, but his expression is different than usual. He looks calm, happy, maybe even soft. Katsuki motions to the spot next to him and Eijirou grins. Lowering his pack to the ground, he sits down a few feet away from Katsuki, scooting over a bit after a few seconds so the space between them is practically non-existent.
Katsuki shoots him a look but still doesn’t move an inch, and Eijirou goes back to watching the sunset.
The sun is directly in front of them now, shining with burning intensity as it gradually disappears behind a mountain. The sky really is beautiful, with shades of red and orange blending into a purple color that kind of reminds Eijirou of fuyuka flowers.
"Hey look,” he nudges Katsuki to get his attention. “The sunset is red and orange.”
“And why should I care?” Katsuki responds, nudging Eijirou back with a lot more force than necessary.
“It’s our colors!”
Katsuki scoffs. "No, it’s fucking not."
"Yeah, it is!" Eijirou insists, gesturing at the sky. "I'm red and you're orange!"
"Why the hell am I orange?"
"I don't know, you just are!"
Katsuki shakes his head, but his exasperation is paired with fondness. “How the fuck did I end up here with someone like you?”
“Fate is weird,” Eijirou replies with a shrug. “You might want to get used to this though, you’re going to be stuck with me for a while .”
Katsuki’s eyes reflect the sunlight and the minuscule smile on his face glows almost as much as his eyes do when he looks at Eijirou. “Good, I wouldn’t want you leaving anyway.”
The last few words are softer than the rest, quiet and barely discernible. It takes a while for Eijirou to even realize what they were, but when he does the feelings he had been pushing down since he even realized they existed come rushing back. Eijirou is honestly a bit afraid of them, he’s been hiding from his feelings for so long that now, it’s a little scary to acknowledge them. He almost wants to push them away and try to ignore them again, after all, he still has a quest to finish and people to see, but even then there will always be more quests, more people, more jarring realizations and pointless feelings. So, maybe Eijirou can indulge himself just this once.
Katsuki is focused back on the sunset, hair still a little damp from melted snow and ruby eyes sharp but appreciative of the kaleidoscopic view in front of them. Eijirou should probably be watching too, but he’s seen plenty of sunsets and he’ll definitely see more, so why bother? Katsuki’s more beautiful than any view Eijirou’s seen anyways, especially with rays of sunlight painting him like they are now.
Everyone always compares Eijirou to the sun, but Katsuki’s more like the star than Eijirou could ever be. Katsuki’s fiery and unrelentingly passionate, distant yet overpowering, an explosive force of nature that no one could ever ignore. He’s fierce and luminous and powerful all at once, but still warm and familiar in his own way. Katsuki is a radiant, molten gold king. And Eijirou is caught in his orbit.