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Bakugou Katsuki hated funerals.
There was no if, and, or but about it. They always made him feel... weak. Like he was a failure for not being able to do something, lost in 'what ifs' and guilt. He wasn't made to comfort anyone.
He certainly wasn't made to be comforted.
But here he was, sitting in the front row of pews in a quaint little church. Rain bounced off of the colored glass of the windows, making beads of water drip down fragile biblical faces. Bakugou thought it suitable that even angels were crying today. The cloudy grey created a soft light in the open room, it felt and looked hazy, unreal. If he stared at the walls hard enough, it almost felt like he was back at the dorms on a rainy evening. Closing his eyes, Bakugou concentrated on the rain, the way the dorms would fill with quiet chatter and soft music, the way that an occasional crack of thunder would startle a few people, and the loud ribbing if they jumped in surprise.
He remembered sitting in Kaminari's room on a weekend just like this. They had hooked his Wii up to the TV one Saturday morning and stayed there all day munching on snacks as they laughed and played Mario Kart, Kirishima always picking Donkey Kong and Mina picking Peach. Sero sat, hanging off the bed with his head on top of Mina's. He'd been responsible for the snack runs while the others battled it out. Kaminari had sprawled across the floor, using Mina's lap as a cushion while Kirishima and Bakugou leaned on each other.
He remembered how that night had ended, laughter echoing as Kirishima and Bakugou took the elevator back up to their floor. How Kiri had stopped the blond before he could enter his room. How he had grinned and said, "I can't wait to take on the world with you."
The elation had swooped in his chest like a dragon roaring in victory as it took off from a battlefield. Kirishima's innocent, shark-toothed smile was a beacon, it drew Bakugou's attention, his affection. Of course, that was the last time he saw that smile.
The villain attacks got worse, the LOV got worse. It was constant calls to work-study and aiding the pros. The rare moments of calm were spent piled in the common room or in any of their friend's rooms as they caught up on homework and sleep. Then it was back to work. Dynamight had been out on patrol when the call came through. There had been a really bad attack on the harbor. Some docks had been roughed up and a cargo ship had fallen over, they needed help checking for survivors... and bodies.
A lot of his classmates answered the call. They saw the devastation when they arrived, jumping into the fray to help. Questions were asked and the pros who had been fighting the villains who caused the incident were crowded around an area of the ship. That's where Dynamight headed first. He pushed through bodies until he saw FatGum, pushing and pulling at some rubble as dockworkers stood or sat nearby, injured and shocked.
"What happened?" Bakugou asked the nearest worker.
"R- Red Riot and Suneater were here doing evacuations. They disappeared into a hole in the ship and haven't come out yet. It's part that collapsed." That's when Bakugou panicked. Kirishima was in there. His best friend was in a sinking ship. He dashed forwards, digging through rubble, and finally made an opening that he could slip through. It was dark inside the cold metal hull. There was no movement to be heard. He lit up a small explosion and catches a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye.
Then he sees the blood. The red liquid already pooling in a dangerously large amount around the broken body of his best friend- his crush- his- fuck it hurt to breathe and think and fuck why wasn't he here sooner?
Tears slip down his face and Bakugou opens his eyes in the hazy church. A hand worms its way into his, intertwining their fingers and rubbing the callouses on his knuckles from long days of training.
"I'm right here," The sweet voice whispered as a soft puff of air meets his cheek softly. "We're gonna take on the world, get stronger together so we can protect everyone."
Suneater's death had hit Kirishima hard, and it had hit Bakugou harder. He had been the last one to see the teen alive and the first to find the body, still somehow holding the hull up the like he did that day, holding it with shaky arms and broken ribs, long enough for him to insist on Bakugou taking Kirishima. So he did, picking up the bloody body and making it half-way out of the hull. He had turned back, expecting Suneater to be right behind him only, he wasn't. A soft, bitter smile crossed the older teen's face as he collapsed under the weight, beams crushing his body. A cry broke free from Bakugou's lips and suddenly it was all too much-
Kirishima was taken from his arms and placed in an ambulance. He'd taken a week to recover with Recovery Girl's help. Bakugou had finished with evacuation and rescue, heading immediately to the hospital where he cradled a sobbing Kirishima to his chest.
A squeeze on his hand made him turn his unfocused gaze to his left. Kirishima's ruby gaze met his own and a soft pair of lips were placed on his cheek, right above the glistening tear tracks. It was a reminder, a comfort, a drug.
Kirishima's smile had changed. Now it looked bittersweet, sad, no longer innocent. It still lit up a room and Bakugou's heart, but it had lost the childlike softness and wonder.
Bakugou leaned forward and pressed a kiss of his own against the newly scarred skin of the redhead's cheek. there was a slight taste of salt when he licked his lips, forehead resting against Kirishima's. They hadn't been strong enough then when they were alone. But now they were a duo, and together they would get stronger. They would take on the world...
Together.