Work Text:
Kirishima and Bakugo had been best friends for as long as they can remember. And, for as long as their friendship, they’ve had one goal in mind; being top dragon hunters.
They trained together, crafted their own weapons, and were the top two in their recruitment exam.
Things were going well for them, both of them now strong, grown, teenagers and so close to being promoted to proper hunters. Katsuki was more than excited, uncharacteristically beaming about how he’d finally get to take on a long journey with his best friend and hunt.
They’d make a name for themselves outside of their small village. They’d live on the land and fend for themselves—away from his overbearing mother. And maybe, now that they were away, Katsuki could finally confess.
He’d been harboring his crush on his best friend since the day he met him, with his black hair that shone like coals, his bright red eyes the flame below. His smile that could light the night sky, and simply just… him .
He knew Eijiro felt the same. He’s always been really bad at hiding things. Whether it be that he broke another sword that Katsuki had spent time crafting. Or that he ate the last of their food while they were sleeping on their small journeys, like Katsuki didn’t pack extra for that reason anyway. And, he was especially bad at hiding his crush. Katsuki would always catch his glances, his pretty pink blush, the longing stares at his lips.
So, he decided that the best time to tell him the feelings were mutual would be at the start of their first long journey. It made absolute sense, since Katsuki never wanted to stray from his side. Since their bond was unbreakable. This, being in love, just made sense as their next step.
However, as Eijiro had always been bad at hiding things, he had been noticing something was up with him.
A flinch there, an avoided gaze, Eijiro coming uncharacteristically out of breath before they trained.
And, that stupid hat that came out of nowhere that he now wore everyday.
He feared the worst, thinking that maybe he’d gotten it wrong.
Maybe, as they got closer to the time, Eijiro was realizing he didn’t want to spend the rest of their lives together.
Maybe Eijiro was training with someone else, like his cousin TetsuTetsu. The Kirishimas had always been big on family.
So, maybe he’s scared to tell him about his reluctance. After all, Katsuki was pushy—he’d admit that. He’d spent his whole life talking about his goal with Eijiro, so maybe he’s just been believing that he wanted the same without asking.
So, he asked.
They were sitting outside in the forest, resting on a tree, sharing fruit between them. Eijiro had his head resting on his shoulder, playing with his fingers on the dirt below.
“Eij?” He asked, softly, smiling as he just took the plunge and joined their hands.
“Yeah?” Eijiro responded, slightly out of breath at his action.
“You sure you wanna do all this shit? You know, hunting and all that?”
“Yeah! Of course, man.”
Katsuki wasn’t convinced.
“I mean, with me?”
Eijiro looked at him like he had just suggested Crimson Riot wasn’t the best dragon hunter in his prime.
“What? Of course I do, Tsuki.”
“I don’t know, Eij. You’ve been…”
“Ah—I mean…huh?”
“It’s okay to be nervous. It’s a damn lifestyle change.”
“A lifestyle change we’ve been training for our whole life?” He chuckled, scooting closer, squeezing his fingers.
“I just don’t want to push you into something you don’t want.” He admitted.
“Kats, when have I ever let you push me around?”
Eijiro looked up at him with his gorgeous smile, looking into his eyes with a sweet intensity.
He let his heart move his actions, despite his head screaming at him to wait. To take his time.
He pressed his lips to Eijiro’s lightly.
It was as magic as he’d thought it be, silk entering his limbs and sparks tickling his finger tips.
Eijiro breathed against his lips, taking a hand and placing it softly on his waist.
He let his eagerness get the best of him, the warmth of his tongue pressing against Eijiro’s perfect lips.
He felt Eijiro smile, letting him explore.
His body began to tilt, his back being cushioned against Eijiro’s arm above the dirt.
They breathed into each other, hot breaths and pants sounding around them.
He moved to knock that hideous hat away from his head to tangle his hand in those dark locks that he loved to ruffle, and Eijiro stiffened.
In a flash, his back thudded against the dirt, Eijiro’s warmth gone from him.
He stood what felt like ten feet away.
He had his hand on the top of his head, his hat squishing from the force.
“I-I got to go.” He whispered, his voice so… timid .
Katsuki shot up in alarm, “Fuck! Eijiro, wait!”
But, Eijiro ran. Ran away from all his hopes. Ran right into his fears.
For the first time in their lives, Eijiro avoided him.
He’d stomped up to his house after two whole days. Demanding to know why he was being avoided.
His mother came to the door, an apologetic look on her face.
“I’m sorry dear. Eijiro can’t come out to train today. He’s been under the weather.” Eijiro’s mother said, offering him fruit for his troubles.
“Under the weather?” He repeated, raising his eyebrows.
“Uh—yes, sweetheart. He doesn’t want you to catch it, so he’s been in his room.”
He tried not to let the lie clench his heart. He tried to not let the tears come. He tried not to let reality sink in.
Eijiro, who he was quite convinced was the love of his life, was lying to him.
Eijiro, who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, was avoiding him.
Eijiro, who was the sun and the moon and the stars, was a light that was fading from his life.
Wiping the tears from his eyes as the door finally closed, he was determined to train anyway.
He walked to the far end of their forest with a scowl, refusing to let his heart hurt any further.
The forest was usually empty, only stray animals and trees.
They both would always come here to be alone, to sit and bathe their wounds in the creek when they sparred with each other.
It was their place, Katsuki’s safe haven. And he was not gonna let this change in his life take that from him.
He swiped at the trees, his sword hitting the scared bark as the swish of the metal rang in his ears.
He let out loud grunts, his frustration boiling and his hurt pounding.
He moved his sword quickly, shouting as the tears pooled from his eyes like water from a hot spring.
With one large, forceful movement, his sword hit the bark at a harsh angle, the weapon snapping in half from its wear.
He let out a shout that vibrated the trees, the leaves shaking as he let the ruined weapon drop to the floor.
And finally, he let the tears come fully. Sobs shaking his body and the push of his hands against his eyes just worsening the pain.
He couldn’t believe he let himself get carried away. He knew that Eijiro had been pulling away and he pushed himself closer for his own selfish reasons. His avoidance all but confirmed it, and he ached at the thought that he would have to get used to a life without the sun.
As his tears turned into sniffs, he heard an undeniable swoosh, his ears perking up at the sound.
The nerves on his body stood, goosebumps and adrenaline making his body alert.
There was a dragon nearby, in his forest that was a second home, in the forest that was close to his home.
He stood at the ready, grabbing the only weapon he had, shattered and half broken.
But, it would be better than nothing.
He ran to the source of the sound, cursing the crack of the grass and fallen leaves below his feet.
Katsuki could hear deep breaths, large and labored, coming from his left.
It was like the dragon was making no move to flee. Maybe the creature was injured? And, it was a rule—never hurt an already injured dragon.
So, he approached his left carefully, letting his footsteps sound so maybe the creature could get the hint and move.
The breathing came closer, sounding in his ears like a swirling wind.
Paying more attention to the sound as opposed to his feet, he startled himself when his foot hit a branch, an audible crack echoing in the quiet forest.
And, suddenly, a flash of red ran before his eyes.
The dragon wasn’t injured at all.
He ran towards its direction, “Come and fight me, you coward!” He rang out with all his anger.
“What? Are you afraid? I’m not even a full hunter and you’re running scared!”
He ran with all his speed, finally catching up to the dragon as it failed to initiate his wings. His flight faltered, like this was the first time the dragon had even attempted to do the action.
Katsuki stopped, catching his breath and jogging towards the creature as it rested.
He approached it carefully, readying his half weapon.
The dragon made no move to leave, hiding in its wings in shame.
Feeling a twinge of sympathy for the young creature, he put away his sword, bending down to caress its wings.
And as the creature looked up to him with a guilty look in his eyes, gaze red and shining, his heart stopped.
Those eyes looked all too familiar. Eyes that he gazed into longingly for his whole life. Eyes that he yearned for.
With all the courage he could muster he whispered, “Eijiro?”
With a bright flash of light, smoke billowing around him and making him cough, the dragon, Eijiro , disappeared.
He waved his hand in front of his face, swatting away the haze in front of his eyes.
He heard a cough echo with his, the sound all too familiar.
Katsuki took one final swipe at the air before his vision was clear.
And he was met with absolute beauty.
Eijiro had his knees pressed against his chest, covering his bare body as he panted, a panicked look in his cherry red gaze.
Katsuki quickly averted his eyes, but snapped his head back as the dark hair he was so familiar with was now a burning flame. Bright red hair, the same shade of his wonderful eyes, spilled across his shoulders like a blanket of velvet.
In haste, he took off the jacket he had on, tossing it to Eijiro and telling him to cover himself.
“Sorry, I usually bring clothes with me but…”
“Usually?” He asked, exasperated.
“I—my heart started beating fast out of nowhere and something was telling me to come to our place.” Eijiro shifted to let his jacket blanket his lower half.
Eijiro continued, “And then I heard you crying and it’s like my body did it itself. I turned by myself.”
“I’ve always had force myself to change and this time I didn’t and I got so scared and then you were coming at me and I was so afraid that I was going to hurt you but—“
Katsuki kept his careful distance, but interrupted Eijiro with a kiss to his forehead and shushed him.
“How long?”
“Two weeks.”
“No, how long have you known this can happen?”
Tears started to pool in Eijiro’s eyes, and he knew it was out of anger rather than sadness.
“Two weeks.”
“You never knew you… what ?”
“My parents thought it had skipped a generation, so they never told me.”
Katsuki sat down, knees bent as he sat a little way from Eijiro as he was very aware that his best friend was…vulnerable.
“What? Why the hell did they think that?”
“Usually the change manifests when you’re 15. Since it didn’t, they thought it wasn’t going to happen. But…”
Eijiro sniffed, “It happened now at 19. Which is very late and unheard of and it..it’s unfair.”
“Why?” He asked, even though he knew.
“Because, Tsuki. I spent my whole life learning to hunt myself. And now I can’t-I…I can’t!”
“Eiji, it’s okay. There's—“
“No! It’s not! Because you want to live your life as a dragon hunter and I’m a—“
“A dragon?” He chucked.
Eijiro’s tears grew further, “A monster.”
Katsuki reached to smack him on the head, a click of disapproval coming from his teeth. “You are not a fucking monster Eiji.”
“I am.” Eijiro whispered, his voice shaking.
“You’re not.” He said again.
“Yes I am, and you can’t spend the rest of your life with a monster, Tsuki.”
Small tears stung his eyes as he closed them, moving to close the gap between them to place a kiss on his nose.
“So I’m in love with a half dragon? Doesn’t that make me pretty badass?” He laughed, the words leaving him with the weight of the world.
“What?” Eijiro croaked, blinking up at him.
“I love you, Eijiro.”
Eijiro smiled, so bright and brilliant.
“You’re only saying that because of my cool red hair.”
“Fuck, is that why you’ve been wearing that awful hat?”
“You think it’s ugly?” Eijiro tilted his head.
“It’s hideous.” He snorted.
Eijiro laughed right back, “I love you too, Kats.”
Sighing, his lips tingling with the urge to kiss him, he told Eijiro to wait.
“Where are you going?”
“To get you clothes, moron. Can’t go out of the forest fucking naked, dummy.”
He ran to his house, grabbing a pair of pants and a shirt in haste, not wasting a second to come back to Eijiro.
Once he walked into the expanse of the forest, he found Eijiro had moved to their creek.
With his body shrouded in the water, he turned away to let him change.
“Tsuki, look!” Eijiro called out after a second.
He turned to see him fully dressed, arm out in the sun.
“What?” He came closer, grabbing Eijiro’s outstretched arm.
Katsuki touched the skin tenderly, red and rough with small scales.
“Beautiful.” was all he could say.
A year had passed and so had change.
One of the most surprising was the small wings Eijiro had sprouted even in his human form. The first time was when Katsuki had startled him with a kiss, pulling him forward by his shirt collar and pressing their lips together.
It wasn't the first time they had kissed by far, but as he dipped him back, wrapping his arms around his back, the weight of his small wings toppled them to the ground and gave Katsuki a large scratch.
Eijiro had panicked, bringing the wound to his lips and kissing it. The cut had healed and vanished automatically, both of them looking at it in awe, right before they broke out in laughter.
Another change was the small scales that came when Eijiro was at his most relaxed, usually sleeping. His slow and heavy breaths would move the small scales decorating his back. Katsuki would love to run his finger across them, admiring his beauty.
The biggest change, however, was in their lives.
Katsuki had stormed into the dragon hunter's guild, demanding a change in their regime.
As he was the top, young student, already bordering on his twenties and would be an official hunter soon, the elders sat to listen.
Many were wary, many fought back against him. But, with a determined crease in his brow, his love for Eijiro spilling out of his angry, passionate shouts, the room shifted.
"The age of dragon hunting is outdated," said the great Yagi Toshinori, known as All Might."
So, since then—both the leader of the dragon hunting guild and two of their youngest, promising students fighting for change— a new lifestyle was built.
No longer were dragon hunters, hunters , but researchers.
The shift took a while to happen, a whole year since Katsuki walked in and left it all on the line.
But, the change was coming, slowly and steadily. All Might had humbly announced that he was retiring from dragon hunting and vowed to protect the creatures instead.
Katsuki had burst out in tears once they left to their creek, bringing Eijiro into an embrace.
And, for the first time, Eijiro flew.
He brought them through the clouds, Katsuki shouting with a mix of fear and pride.
Their flight had only lasted a minute or two, but Katsuki was taken back at how gorgeous he looked in the clouds, the orange and pink creams cutting around his skin. Eijiro hadn't quite figured out how to get in his full dragon form yet, but his inner strength had fueled his soar.
Ever since that first day in the forest, when Katsuki had proclaimed his love, it was like Eijiro had shifted differently. Instead of fear and guilt from hiding from the one he loved, he was moved by love instead.
And now, a year since then, they were set to go on their journey.
As dragon hunters turned researchers, they were going as a duo to spread the change, to bring their passion and love to other guilds.
"Are you ready?" Eijiro asked, grabbing his hand as they said one last goodbye to their forest.
Their travel bags were packed to the brim, weapons crafted and sharpened for protection.
"Always with you, Eij."
Katsuki brought them into a kiss, full of his adoration. The heat of their unwavering love pouring out in waves.
Eijiro pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around Katsuki's back before catching his breath.
With tears gleaming in his eyes, he moved his hand to caress Katsuki's cheek.
"Hey, Tsuki. I found something out the other day." He said so tenderly.
"Yeah? And what's that?" Katsuki laughed, letting his hand find his lips to thumb at them.
"You know, that time I cut you like a month after I changed?"
"I remember." He rolled his eyes. Eijiro was always reminding him to be careful around him, and that was always the main reason why.
"Well, my parents found some old books from my great grandparents and..." Eijiro laughed, moving so their hands were intertwined.
"And?" He glared.
"It turns out that dragons can only heal their soulmates."
A bright red heat spilled on Katsuki's cheeks, tears prickling his eyes.
Eijiro smiled at him so wide, so fondly, the colors of the early morning sun reflected in his gaze.
"Their what?" He asked, breathless.
Eijiro placed a small kiss on his nose, so light it tickled. He let out a light chuckle at the scrunch of his nose, rubbing his own against it.
"You're my soulmate, Tsuki! Isn't that crazy?"
Katsuki shook his head, his heart jumping and twirling with the realization. Eijiro, his soulmate. It sounded like nonsense and made all sense at the same time.
"I love you." He said, the only thought that was coherent in his spinning brain.
"I love you more." Eijiro pulled him close once more, letting their lips, their hearts, come together.
With a heavily beating chest, he told Eijiro they had to start their journey.
They were due for the next town in two weeks time and had to start moving.
Apparently, in the next town over, the top recruit—a guy named Izuku—was already creating the change on his own.
He was more than excited to have them come, assuring them that they could stay for as long as they needed, as long as they brought a signed letter from All Might.
So, with the letter in tow, they walked out of their forest for the last time in a while.
Eijiro never understood why his parents hid a part of him that was so important—why they would let him be a hunter of his own kind.
He was convinced that it was due to resentment, as the gene had skipped his mother and grandmother and they were shunned for it. And resentment turned to misplaced protection.
But, there was one thing he understood, and he had told Katsuki so.
That, in all the world, he and Katsuki were meant to be. That their love was fated to bring change.
So, as they walked out of the forest not as hunters, but as soulmates, they knew their love was going to span ages, lifetimes.
And that was more than enough.