Work Text:
Hiding under his blankets, Kirishima Eijirou cried, ugly sobs leaving him in between quick breaths. His chest was filled with a deep chasm, stomach empty and churning. He’d had possibly the worst week of his life.
He started off failing the first two tests of the week, which not only dragged his grade into the depths of hell but pissed Bakugou off due to his wasted effort. He’d already been ticked off that morning and the news of Kirishima’s failures had not made him any happier. He had received a royal thrashing, insult after insult about his intelligence thrown at him through gritted teeth.
He hadn’t apologized either, choosing to make him dinner that night instead. While Kirishima had forgiven him, the lack of reassurance about whether or not his words had been true had thrown him off.
His bruised confidence had caused him to make mistakes all week, earning plenty of harsh words from not only his classmates who he failed but his very disappointed teacher. He’d been given detention after messing up an entire training exercise because he’d been focused on his own thoughts and busted the robot they were using.
The punishment during detention was to clean the class 1-B desks and on the top of one, he’d seen the words “Tetsutetsu’s Twin Sucks,” with two tally marks next to it written in pencil. He’d wiped it off with a frown.
When he got back to his room, all he wanted to do was relax and play some games until he went to sleep. He’d been met with Kamianri’s guilty face handing him a shattered Switch, saying he’d fallen while trying to sneak it out of his room so their friends could play Mario Kart.
So he’d taken it and shuffled off into his room, collapsing onto his bed in a pile.
What had sent him over the edge was the text that had been waiting on his phone all day.
Izuku <3: Hey, have you been ignoring me? We haven’t spoken in a while and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. I love you.
Kirishima slammed his head into his pillow, frustrated at himself for ignoring his boyfriend the entire week because he was focused on himself. He was so selfish! The awful feeling of doubt crawled into his gut as he rolled over, the tears falling off his cheeks.
Feeling incredibly guilty, he typed a text back quickly, trying to express his emotions through tiny pixelated letters. It wasn’t working. Everything he kept typing felt empty and devoid of proper explanation. He threw his phone down on the comforter, clutching his shirt as a flash of cold hit him. He pulled up the covers, face buried in his pillow.
Sniffling, he gripped it hard, trying to get the cotton to soak up his tears.
Without his knowledge, the door creaked open, a small figure stepping through. Midoriya shut the door softly, scarred hands filled as he used his foot instead. Red shoes scuffed against the floor as he tried to figure out what to do. Kirishima was still crying, unaware of the intruder in his room.
“Eijirou?” Midoriya said softly, setting the gifts on the bedside table as he sat down on the other side of the mattress. Kirishima picked his head up, dreary eyes looking up at him. Midoriya sighed, frowning some as he scooted closer.
Running fingers through messy red hair, he laid down next to him, wrapping his free hand in Kirishima’s as he rested his head against Midoriya’s chest, searching for comfort in the warmth.
Midoriya hummed, resting his chin against the top of his head, scratching his dull fingernails against his scalp. Kirishima sighed, snuggling closer as he squeezed Midoriya’s hand, trailing his thumb across scarred skin.
“You could’ve told me you were so stressed,” Midoriya’s mumbled, hand trailing down to his tense shoulder, rubbing soft circles into the taut muscle.
Kirishima groaned under the pressure, “You were doing more important stuff.”
“Eijirou,” He whispered, “You will always be the most important thing to me.”
Kirishima knew deep down that wasn’t true. He knew how far Midoriya would go to be a hero and it was much further than he was willing to go for Kirishima. He had accepted it ages ago; he could live with the dull ache of never being Izuku’s number one, no matter how much he wanted it.
“Bakugou was super mean earlier this week,” Kirishima said, voice raspy, “and I know he’s just like that, but it really messed with me.”
“What did he tell you?” Midoriya asked, picking up their intertwined hands to rest them against his lips.
Kirishima drew in a breath, “He called me a failure and said I was too stupid to understand anything. He was mad I had failed my tests, which was fair. He put a lot of time into helping me and I still messed up. I deserved it.”
Midoriya’s chest rumbled, “No, you absolutely did not. He should not have said that to you. Did he at least apologize?”
Kirishima stayed silent, an answer in itself. Midoriya pushed down the feeling of the slowly rising anger, choosing to ignore it for Kirishima’s sake.
He dragged Kirishima up so they were eye level, tilting his chin with a knuckle so that he was looking at him. He smiled, untangling their hands so he could rest one against Kirishima's cheek, tender and soft.
“I think you're amazing Eijirou, and I mean that,” He whispered, pressing forward so their noses touched. Kirishima bit the inside of his cheek gently, gazing off to the side.
Midoriya kissed him gently, fingers lightly digging into the soft flesh of Kirishima’s face. He pulled away with a soft pop and Kirishima shut his eyes tight, butterfly wings fluttering harshly in his stomach.
“You’re so nice to everyone, but you know when to stand up for yourself,” He said, pulling him in for another kiss.
Kirishima felt some of the strain leave his body and Midoriya smiled against his lips, “and I think you’re plenty smart by the way. I see it in the way you fight and talk to others. You’re always aware of what’s going around you. You even have to push Bakugou out of the way sometimes!”
Kirishima wanted to turn away so badly, finger twitching against Midoriya’s shirt as he took in the ghost of the kisses. Another one followed shortly.
“And you are so strong. You’re always willing to stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves, even when you feel like you’re weak,” Midoriya whispered, a certain charge behind his words that made Kirishima’s hands tremble. “Your mental strength is so impressive too. You’re carrying the weight of the class on your back some days and you never complain. I can see you breaking sometimes but you never ask for help.”
He pushed Kirishima onto his back, rolling onto him slowly as red eyes peeled open. He stretched his hands above his head, pinning him down onto the mattress, “You can ask for help Eijirou. You don’t have to carry it by yourself.”
Kirishima shook his head in an attempt to run from the words but Midoriya persisted, “Eijirou, you don’t have to carry it all by yourself. People will help you if you just ask.”
The bending in his chest finally snapped, splintering into a hundred pieces as he broke under the weight of Midoriya’s fingers. He dipped down, pressing his lips to Kirishima’s, dragging his hands down next to red hair. Kirishima breathed in shakily, lungs shuddering as he let the tears flow over his flushed skin. Midoriya drew away then leaned back in, giving Kirishima only a few moments to let his brain catch up with his actions before kissing him senseless.
Midoriya let go of his hands to lay one against his neck and shoulder, moving his knees up to box Kirishima in. He responded by grabbing the small of Midoriya’s back and pulling him down so they were chest to chest, bodies fully connected.
Midoriya giggled, looping his leg underneath Kirishima’s knee. Kirishima smiled against his lips, chuckling lightly as the tears began to evaporate.
“Do you feel any better now?” Midoriya mumbled, looking down at him with pure devotion. Kirishima nodded lightly, reaching back up to kiss him again. They fell to their sides, connected at every end as they traded kisses like bullets across a battlefield.
Midoriya eventually drew away, brushing the bangs out of Kirishima’s face. He worried his lip for a moment before whispering, “I love you, Eiji. I love you so much.”
Kirishima mumbled, “I love you, Zuku.”
Suddenly, he snorted, covering his face as he rolled it towards the ceiling.
Midoriya slapped his chest, “What?!”
“Sorry,” He said breathlessly, “I could hear Bakugou gagging in the back of my head.”
Midoriya chuckled, laying himself on Kirishima's bicep as he smiled up at him, eyes surveying his tired face. Kirishima turned towards him.
He placed the knuckle of his index finger against Midoriya cheekbone, a light bruise still present from this week’s training. He couldn’t get over the way Midoriya’s body consumed color. From the green of his hair to the purple and blue of his bruises and the red of his lips, it all fit into place like a painter's magnum opus.
“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met,” He whispered, shifting back over to his side.
Midoriya lit up in that perfect rose petal red, blush heating his face, “You can’t just say that stuff!”
Kirishima kissed the top of his ear before moving the bottom of his jaw, earning a whine of embarrassment from Midoriya, “I mean it.”
“I know you mean it,” He said, pushing closer to Kirishima’s idle lips, which had now moved to his temple. “That’s why it’s so embarrassing.”
Kirishima wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, sighing into his freckled skin. “You deserve to know how great you are.”
“This wasn’t supposed to be about me,” He groaned, gripping Kirishima’s arm tight. “You always make it about others. I want you to like you. ”
Kirishima didn’t say anything, his hold of Midoriya’s waist tightening. Midoriya let the fight go, glancing over to the goodies on the counter.
“I brought you stuff,” He said, wiggling from his boyfriend’s arms despite the noise of disappointment that left him. He grabbed the small bag, pulling out Kirishima's favorite protein shake that he made - almost unsuccessfully - before coming up here. There were also jerky bites and his favorite strawberry puff gummies. Midoriya handed them over, Kirishima sitting up to take them.
“Oh, wait!” He said, fishing out the contents from the bottom of his bag. He pulled out two Ring Pops Tsuyu had gifted him while in the kitchen. She had noticed Kirishima hadn't been feeling well and wanted to offer up a small gift of comfort to him. Midoriya studied the flavors.
Green Apple and Cherry.
Offering out both to Kirishima, he said, “Which one do you want?”
He scrunched his face in thought, “Um… Green Apple.”
Midoriya let him take it from his hand, turning to his own Ring Pop as he undid the wrapper. He wasn’t a big fan of cherry, but if that was what Kirishima wanted, then so be it.
After a couple of moments of silence, enjoying the candy instead of words, Kirishima leaned close to his ear. Midoriya waited, curious.
“So your sucker is red,” Midoriya nodded, “and mine is green.”
He gave him a pointed look, “And?”
Kirishima smirked, “Wanna make…”
He trailed off, eyebrows furrowing as he stared at the comforter, “Um… what is red and green combined?”
“Brown?” Midoriya answered, cocking his head.
Kirishima frowned, “Damn. Brown isn’t a suave color.”
Midoriya giggled, putting the sucker back in his mouth, “What is a suave color?”
Kirishima grumbled, pulling away, “Whatever. It’s nothing.”
Midoriya grabbed his wrist as he tried to pull away. Yanking Kirishima down, he lined up their faces, “Y’know, you stole my favorite flavor.”
“My bad,” Kirishima whispered, filling the space between them.
“Well,” Midoriya grinned, “Are you going to give it back?”
When Kirishima held out the hand with the sucker, Midoriya removed his own and pressed their lips together. Kirishima let out a noise of surprise before sneaking back in, fist grabbing the blanket below.
When Midoriya pulled away, he saw the dumbfounded look on his boyfriend’s face, “What?”
Kirishima smirked, starting to pull him into his lap, “I am so in love with you.”
“Stop!” He cried, allowing himself to be dragged onto Kirishima's crossed legs.
“I mean it!” Kirishima said, staring at the smile on Midoriya’s face before becoming still. “Izuku.”
Midoriya looked down at him, still grinning, “Eijirou.”
The Ring Popless hand fell against a soft cheek. A finger placed itself against one freckle before tracing over the bridge of his nose. Kirishima’s face was deathly serious, set in stone.
“I’m going to marry you someday,” He promised, finger reaching the other side of its journey.
Midoriya stilled, wrapping careful arms around Kirishima’s neck. His face dropped, a frown replacing the sweet content that had resided there seconds earlier.
“I’m not… good at this,” He admitted, fingers pushing into the hair at the nape of Kirishima’s neck. “I don’t know how you’re so confident in every step you take with us.”
He slotted himself in the crook of Kirishima’s neck, surprised by how well he fit, “but I know you make me feel good about myself. I normally throw myself into danger but…” He tugged on Kirishima’s shirt with his other hand, “I don’t want to leave you behind. I want to fall into your arms after a battle and live there.”
“That’s new to me,” He admitted, “wanting to put something over being a hero.”
Kirishima grinned, reaching a hand back behind him to pull the Ring-Pop off of Midoriya’s finger. Confused, Midoriya pulled away, sitting back on his heels.
“Izuku Midoriya,” Kirishima started, voice dramatic, “I have loved you since we became friends. I’ve watched you pass through and conquer so many challenges in your life, and I am more than happy to sit beside you and watch in awe.”
Kirishima beamed, rocking him some, “I wish to stick by your side forever, or at least until you get bored of me.”
“I’ll never get bored of you,” Midoriya whispered quickly, a smile tugging at his lips.
A laugh escaped Kirishima, “Then just forever. I promised to hold and cherish you for as long as that forever lasts.”
He held the Ring Pop up, “Izuku, will you marry me?”
He shouldn’t be crying because Midoriya knew this wasn’t a real proposal, but it felt real. Kirishima had tears pin-pricking his eyes as he grinned, emotions unhidden even in the dimness of the room.
“Yes. I’d be glad to be yours forever,” He breathed, pressing into Kirishima’s lips.
The ring was slipped onto his finger with grace as he was pulled closer by the waist, Kirishima smiling against his lips as Midoriya desperately tried to kiss him through small giggles.
Cherry and green apple actually fit together quite well.