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Kirishima was having a nightmare.
It was the same nightmare that he had been having all week.
The entire class was out having a picnic. They were relaxing in a park somewhere, and everyone was having a good time.
Kirishima wasn’t with them, though. He could see them in front of him, but something wasn’t right. He had on his Hero costume, but everyone else was in their civilian clothes. As he walked towards them, something appeared in the sky, headed right towards them. Kirishima ran to them, screaming to get out of the way, but they didn’t hear him, nor did they see the fact that they were in danger.
A flash.
And then Kirishima reaches them.
But he’s always too late.
They’re always already dead.
All except for one.
Every time, Kirishima manages to reach Bakugou right as he says his last words.
Cradling him, Kirishima only barely manages to hear the “I’ve always loved you” that Bakugou whispered before he takes his last breath. Hands covered in blood, Kirishima holds Bakugou to his chest and opens his mouth to scream.
It always ends before he can.
At first he’d thought that he’d be able to handle it. One nightmare was feasible when you were a Hero-in-Training.
But when it occurred every time he closed his eyes, it started to take its toll on Kirishima’s mental state.
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Kirishima wakes up, panting heavily as he sits up.
It happened.
Again.
He rubbed his eyes, wincing as his slightly hardened fists bump against his eyelids.
He couldn’t continue like this.
Kirishima stood up, stretching as he paced around his room.
He didn’t know what to do. It was the middle of the night, and anyone who he would have turned to must already be asleep. He didn’t want to burden anyone else with his problems, especially because it seems so childish.
He hadn’t gotten any sleep for a week. He was exhausted.
But he was too scared to try to sleep again.
He must’ve been making too much noise because his phone buzzed. It was a text from Bakugou.
1:53 am: What the hell are you doing in there?
Kirishima debated whether he should even tell Bakugou what was going on. He knew the blonde valued his sleep above all else.
1:55 am: nothing! sorry i woke you!
Kirishima feels his phone vibrate again, and flips it over to see another text.
1:55 am: I know it’s not nothing. Get your ass over here. Now.
Kirishima sighed before pulling a sweatshirt over his head and leaving his room.
He knew Bakugou wasn’t going to drop it.
He opened the door as quietly as possible, closing it behind him as Bakugou stared at him, arms crossed.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? And don’t try to tell me it’s nothing. You’re tired as shit all day, and then you don’t even sleep?”
“I’m trying! But I keep having nightmares.” Kirishima mumbles the last part, trying to not sound as stupid as he feels.
“You keep what?”
“Nightmares. I keep having nightmares. I know it’s stupid, you don’t have to tell me.”
“It’s not stupid, Kir. I have nightmares all the time.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. It’s pretty common for the whole class, actually. Now get your ass over here, you’re going to sleep. I don’t care if I have to knock your ass out myself.” Kirishima grinned as he laid in Bakugou’s bed, squirming to find a comfortable position within the blonde’s arms. Bakugou grumbles about Kirishima moving too much, and Kirishima whispers tired apologies into his ear.
He already feels safer.
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Bakugou hated having his sleep interrupted. He could hear Kirishima walking around his room from the other side of the wall.
He had seen how tired Kirishima was, and could tell something was causing him to lose sleep. Maybe he’d been studying later, or trying to come up with new moves.
But he didn’t expect Kirishima to be having nightmares.
It wasn’t that he was particularly surprised about the nightmares themselves. Everyone in their class had nightmares, himself included.
But he didn’t expect Kirishima to try to deal with them himself. He’d always thought that Kirishima would be the first person to seek out help.
But when Bakugou asked, he could see why. Kirishima was insecure about his self image, and this wasn’t helping. The nightmares weren’t only making him scared of sleeping, but scared of going to his own friends for help. He didn’t want to look stupid, or childish.
And so he suffered.
Bakugou didn’t really understand what the underlying issues were with Kirishima, but they weren’t important.
He would be damned if he let this literal piece of the sun dim.
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Although he invited Kirishima into his bed, Bakugou didn’t like sharing a sleep space with other people.
Kirishima was a prime example of why.
Bakugou was laying on his back, arms crossed, staring at the ceiling.
Silently seething.
Kirishima, on the other hand, was doing the opposite.
He had managed to wrap himself around Bakugou, legs and all. Not only that, but he snored like a motor engine. Bakugou was very sensitive to noise, and Kirishima was LOUD. He also hardened and unhardened randomly during his sleep, so he was constantly poking Bakugou.
Bakugou was LIVID. He was trying to hold in it, but the longer he laid there, the harder it got for him to keep himself from exploding.
It wasn’t helping that Kirishima had that stupid smile on his face, or that he mumbled Bakugou’s name in his sleep, or that he smelled like strawberries and sunshine.
Bakugou thought he could keep his cool. Until he heard Kirishima mumble something that made him unleash all his rage unconsciously.
“I love you, Bakugou.”
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Sleeping in Bakugou’s bed was heaven for Kirishima. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt at peace the second his head hit the pillow.
Kirishima immediately entered a dream, but he could tell that it wouldn’t be a nightmare. The setting was the same as his nightmare, but something about the lighting was too soft. The energy was so opposite to what he was used to that Kirishima felt that he would cry.
It was him and Bakugou. Alone. They laid in the grass, Kirishima letting Bakugou play with his hair as he pointed out oddly shaped clouds. Bakugou was holding him so closely, his eyes sparkling with what Kirishima could only assume was love. His heart felt like it was going to burst.
And then, Bakugou kissed him.
At first, Kirishima couldn’t process what was happening. But as Bakugou continued to press his lips against Kirishima, the redhead’s thoughts cleared, and only one remained.
Bakugou.
Kirishima and Bakugou kissed over and over as the sun began to set over the horizon.
Kirishima breaks their kiss, giggling as Bakugou whines. He takes a deep breath, and says the words that he’d been holding in since his first meeting with Bakugou.
“I love you, Bakugou.”
The blonde’s eyes widen before a grin plastered itself across his face. He opens his mouth to answer.
And then everything around Kirishima explodes.
At first, he couldn’t understand what was happening. Was it his dream?
But Kirishima could feel the heat. Which meant it was real.
He starts to panic. Was he being attacked? Where was he? This didn’t look like his room.
Kirishima had a very intense fear of being kidnapped by villains. Seeing the person who meant the most to him have to go through something so terrifying messed him up more than he cared to admit. If Kirishima hadn’t saved him with his own two hands, he probably wouldn’t have been able to function, much less become a hero.
It took a few moments for Kirishima to realize that he wasn’t being attacked by villains, but by a softly swearing Bakugou.
“Sorry for waking you up. I didn’t mean to do that, I swear.” Kirishima opens his eyes to see himself sprawled out in Bakugou’s bed, practically smothering the blonde with his chest. His face goes red as he crawls off of Bakugou, pressing his hands to his face.
“Oh my god I am so sorry, bro. I was completely invading your space. This is so embarrassing, I’ll go back to my room.”
“Shut the hell up, Kir.” Bakugou grabs Kirishima by the waist as he tries to get up, pulling the boy back on top of him by accident. Kirishima can’t help his giggling as his head knocks against Bakugou’s, causing him to curse again.
“Sorry, bro, sorry.”
“You’re laughing, so you obviously aren’t sorry.” That only makes Kirishima laugh more as Bakugou growls at him.
“I’m super sorry! And I’m sorry for keeping you up. I can totally go back to my room if it would help you sleep, dude.”
“This isn’t the worst thing in the world. You’re warm.” Bakugou mumbled, making Kirishima grin and throw himself on top of Bakugou once again.
“Then I’ll make sure to keep you extra warm, bro!”
“Just try to be fucking quieter, idiot.”
Bakugou knew that he couldn’t tell Kirishima about what he said in his sleep. As much as he enjoyed embarrassing the redhead, he knew that it would mean that he would have to address his own feelings about the boy holding him in his arms, snoring quietly.
And that was something that scared him more than any nightmare.