Chapter Text
Eijirou had been caught off guard when Katsuki invited him to go camping with his family during the summer holiday.
The two of them had been a package deal for about two months when he'd asked, though neither of them were actually out to anyone except each other, not even their parents. Despite this, it still took great effort for the blonde in question to actually ask. (Eijirou had never seen him turn so red, never mind the uncharacteristic blustering.) Of course Eijirou had accepted the invitation, an excited buzz running down his spine, squeezing Katsuki's hand which rested comfortably in his even though they were in public. They had been on a date -Katsuki's idea- to a homey little place that claimed to have the best sushi in the city. Eijirou had thought it brutally romantic, not only the date itself -Katsuki wasn't exactly one for romantic gestures like this- but also that he had tried to warm Eijirou up before asking the question, as if he'd say no.
He couldn't help but recall precisely how many judging and scornful looks they had received that day from a number of adults that eyed their entwined fingers skeptically, but whenever he sunk away from the blonde even a little, Katsuki would hold onto his hand a little tighter and stare right back at whoever needed staring at.
Again, brutally romantic. (And so manly!)
Though, now that Eijirou was standing at the Bakugo household front step, the excitement that had been dancing down his spine had turned into an unpleasant ball of nerves rolling around in his stomach. He had known Katsuki's parents would be there, why wouldn't they be? But he had hardly paid it any mind before now, just focusing on the them together aspect. Frankly, it was surprising he hadn't met them sooner, and now he was going to spend a whole weekend with them. He flinched when he heard shouting from inside, not because he didn't expect it, he'd counted on it actually, but because it just made everything seem so much more real. This was happening. Come on, don't be a wuss. Drawing a sharp breath, he knocked firmly, three times on the door. Almost immediately after:
“KATSUKI, GET THE DOOR!”
“NO SHIT, HAG!”
Eijirou smiled nervously, tapping his forefinger anxiously on his thigh. He focused on the weight of his backpack slung over his shoulder rather than the nausea. Then Katsuki opened the door and his gaze instantly softened from a sharp glare, the original pinch of his face presumably meant for his mother. This was a look Eijirou was getting to know well in the past few months.
He was wearing dark, skinny jeans rather than the school uniform's baggier dressing pants and Eijirou knew he must have looked like a bloody tomato because Katsuki flashed a pleased smirked. “Took you long enough.” He opened the door to let him in. “Don't bother taking off your shoes, we're leaving soon. You have all your shit?” He was watching Eijirou from the corner of his eye as he led the way down a hallway. Eijirou could feel his gaze, steady and studying, gauging him.
“I think so,” he smiled timidly.
“Good,” Katsuki replied, falsely nonchalant, letting out a quiet breath. Eijirou, having gotten quite good at reading him, could see the same nerves on him as he saw on himself. It put him at ease, if only a little, to know he wasn't the only one holding his breath.
“Oi', Parental Units, he's here,” Katsuki yelled, making a right turn into a comfortable looking kitchen, all warm colours and cluttered surfaces. Eijirou, trailing behind him, tried his best not to look like a dog hiding behind his human's leg. He didn't know why he was so nervous. If he had a guess, it likely had something to do with them crawling under the radar, and managing to keep their very obvious gayness a secret. It was easy enough at Yuuei, but those were far different circumstances... but now was definitely not the time to channel his inner Midoriya and try to figure out the tangled cords of his mind.
“Ah, Kirishima. Welcome,” Bakugo's mother greeted him, dressed in an affable smile that reminded him so much of Katsuki it made his chest ache. He wasn't sure any of their friends would know the fact of their twin-set smiles like he did, only their overall likeness. Something about that thought made his chest ache a little harder, but he ignored it and focused on not embarrassing himself. “I'm Mitsuki, Katsuki's mum. I'm glad you could make it.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” Eijirou smiled back, swallowing his nerves from where they rose in his throat back into the pit of his stomach.
“I think we're just about ready. Katsuki's father will be along shortly,” she said matter-of-factly, hands on her hips. She turned to Katsuki who stood beside Eijirou, hands in his pockets, face knotted in a glare with dusted pink cheeks. His eyes were on neither Eijirou or his mother, but rather something to his left.“Katsuki, why don't you take Kirishima to the car, help him get his stuff loaded. We'll meet you guys out there in five.”
“Yeah whatever,” Katsuki grumbled, turning and walking deeper into the house. “Come on, shitty hair.”
“Thanks again,” Eijirou said to Mitsuki, making to follow Katsuki. She nodded once, smile widening.
“Of course. I'm glad Katsuki could make a good friend, let alone a friend at all.” Eijirou's throat felt thick. Her eyes flicked to her son. “Also, Katsuki, watch your language. And make sure you go to the bathroom, it's going to be a long drive.” Katsuki sneered over his shoulder, reaching behind him and grabbing the back of Eijirou's shirt. Eijirou let himself be pulled away, trying to minimize the grin tugging at his lips. They walked through the living room, bookshelves filling a wall, a large window letting in sunshine that filled the place with the same warmth and colour as the kitchen. The backyard was bigger than Eijirou had expected. It wasfilled with lush green grass, complimented by a stone bird bath and a Calico cat laying asleep on the back fence. Katsuki opened the back gate, carelessly offering a brief scratch to the underside of the cat's chin. “You have a cat?” Eijirou asked, jogging to catch up, stopping to let the cat sniff his hand.
Katsuki tsked. “Neighbours cat. Always gets into my room somehow, nasty little rat.” The cat offered a lazy lick to Eijirou's hand and closed it's eyes once more, fluffy tail whipping around behind it. He smiled to himself, trailing after Katsuki.
“I can picture you with a cat,” he commented quietly, loading his bags into the trunk of the car which the blonde had opened for him. Katsuki shrugged.
“I'm more of a dog person.” Eijirou's cheeks warmed and he closed the trunk. Once, before they were boyfriends, Katsuki had made a notable comment about how Eijirou was like an overexcited puppy, then again only a week ago when he snuck into Eijirou's dorm and he couldn't stop grinning.
Katsuki snorted at Eijirou's expression and rounded the car, pulling himself into the back seat. Eijirou joined him. The seats were plush and there was an overwhelming scent of leather and musk and overall car smell. He found some indescribable comfort in it and felt himself relax a little into his seat.
“It's about a two hour drive,” Katsuki informed him, belting himself in. His cheeks darkened. “You can share my water bottle for the drive. And I uh... brought this for you.” He held out a package of beef jerky, not meeting Eijirou's eye, cheeks a deep pink. Eijirou grinned at him, chest filling, and accepted the package gratefully, then glanced around and stole a peck on Katsuki's cheek.
“Thanks, Katsuki,” he whispered. He had only mentioned once that he liked jerky, but of course Katsuki remembered. The blonde gazed at him for a moment, glare firm, cheeks darkening still. There was a few distinct popping sounds from his hands before he clasped them together, snapping his head around to look out the window opposite Eijirou. “Whatever,” he muttered. Eijirou beamed, butterflies bursting from the lingering knot of nerves as if it were a chyrsalis. It was crazy to him, how quickly and easily feelings could shift from something sickening to something not unwelcome.
Soon enough, everyone was piled in the car, and after a brief introduction of Katsuki's father, Masaru, they were on the road, making their way to the Bakugo cabin just past the edge of the city. Katsuki mostly kept his eyes out his window while they drove, so Eijirou observed the blonde's parents, bantering easily back and forth, playfully arguing over music choices and which route to take. Eventually, after a radio station was chosen and a route determined, the talking had died down and Masaru had taken Mitsuki's hand, resting their knotted fingers between their seats. Eijirou looked at their locked hands for a moment, drew a silent breath, and started creeping his hand toward Katsuki, cheeks tinted pink. Would it be alright? He tapped the blonde's forearm gently and only a moment after, without so much of a glance Eijirou's way, Katsuki shifted and entwined their fingers, giving him a small squeeze of recognition. Eijirou's chest filled then, so much so he thought he'd burst. He could see the pink on Katsuki's cheeks too, a warm flush crawling up his collar, and Eijirou grinned to himself, looking out the window, watching the trees replace the buildings of the city. He rested his forehead against the glass with a sigh. He eventually had to roll his window down to spare himself from the thick heat of the car, and once they were well out of the city, he could smell the soil and freshness in the air. He couldn't help but have his head out of the window like a dog, sucking in greedy breathes of the wind, his hair down from it's usual spiked position, blowing out of his face. He turned and grinned at Katsuki, who he had caught staring at him. In response to being caught, he just tched to himself and looked away.
“You're hair looks ridiculous.”
“The air is so clean,” Eijirou commented over the music, patting his windblown hair down. Mitsuki smiled knowingly at him from the rear view mirror, turning down the volume.
“Just wait until you see the stars,” she grinned, looking back ahead of her. “No light pollution in sight. Haven't you been camping before?” she asked, not unkindly.
Eijirou shook his head, catching a brief glimpse of a herd of sheep in a field. “Never for fun. My parents are always too busy with work,” he explained, warding off any sense of loss that threatened to creep into his voice, still holding on tight to Katsuki's hand.
“Well you're here now,” Masaru said gently, as if he read Eijirou's mind. “And I don't see why you can't come next year either if you'd like.”
“Are we almost there?” Katsuki huffed, pulling his hand back and leaning his chin on the shoulder of Mitsuki's chair.
“Fifteen more minutes.”
He slumped against his seat, arms crossed over his chest. Eijirou popped a chunk of jerky into his mouth, then offered some to Katsuki with an easy smile. He couldn't remember the last time he had such a wide smile that lasted this long. His cheeks were starting to hurt with all of it. Katsuki scoffed again.
“No way. You might have the teeth for that shit but I certainly don't.” He popped the lid off his water bottle instead and tipped his head back, draining the remaining liquid. Eijirou tried not to watch his throat bob as he swallowed. It was a whole scene.
When they arrived, all of them loaded all that they brought into the cabin while Masaru ventured to get the electricity and furnace up and running, not that they’d need a functioning furnace in this heat. Sweat clung to Eijirou's jaw and he groaned, stretching out after setting down that last of what they had brought. He’d never been camping, so he could’ve easily been mistaken, but the amount of things the Bakugo’s had brought seemed extensive. “It's nice to not be training the whole day,” he muttered sarcastically, mostly to himself. Katsuki leaned against the doorway, wiping the sweat on his forehead away with his arm.
“Tell me about it,” he agreed, equally sarcastic. Mitsuki grinned at the two and waved them off.
“We’ll finish setting up here. Why don’t you two go see if you can find the lake, it shouldn’t be far.” Katsuki flashed a subtly grateful look her way and pulled at the front of his black T-shirt, peeling it off of his sweat slicked skin. “Looks like I wore the wrong shit for this,” he observed quietly. “Come on.” Eijirou called a thank you back to Mitsuki and jogged to keep up with the blonde who was already halfway down the trail that led deeper into the gorgeous woods. His hands were tucked into his jeans, which clung to his legs and ass nicely. So nice, in fact, Eijirou could barely convince his eyes to focus on anything else. Though, he had been right; it wasn't really fit for hiking and camping and it looked hot. Temperature wise. “You look good though,” Eijirou said, aloud instead of in his head. Katsuki looked over at him and gave him a strange but amused look. Eijirou turned all sorts of red. “I-I meant from earlier.. you uh... I.. You look good in jeans.”
Katsuki snorted. “Don't hurt yourself,” he teased, voice low.
“Oh just 'cause you never bluster,” Eijirou snickered back. Just then, he got a whiff of something unfamiliar, looked up suddenly and gasped, rushing ahead. They had found the lake Mitsuki had been talking about, the sun getting low, reflecting beautifully off the still water, painting an almost perfect reflection of the land in front of them. It was like a scene from a movie; a flock of gulls overhead, song birds singing to each other in the woods behind them, a dock at the edge of the lake, moss and weeds growing up the posts that held the wooden platform above the water. “Wow,” he breathed, Katsuki coming up behind him. “It's so pretty,” he said, full of wonderment. Katsuki studied Eijirou from the corner of his eye and let a small smile escape him.
“Yeah,” he agreed. His grin widened and turned devilish with a thought. Oblivious, Eijirou walked up to the edge of the lapping water, gingerly dipping his fingers in and swishing the water around. “It's so warm,” he murmured. Katsuki leaned next to him, their shoulders bumping together.
“It's been in the sun all day, what did you expect?”
Eijirou looked up at him, lips spread wide. “This is so great and it's barely even started yet,” he admitted softly, then grunted quietly in surprise when Katsuki leaned forward and kissed him. The grunt easily turned into a soft, happy hum and he pushed back.
Katsuki cupped his cheek affectionately and pulled away just enough to utter: “God, I've wanted to do that all bloody day.” His crimson eyes were soft and his mouth was pulled into a faint smile he saved only for Eijirou. Eijirou knocked the blonde's forehead against his lightly, his breath smelling of peppermint and something spicy.
“Well, I've been wanting you to do that all day too, so now we're even.” Eijirou couldn't help but wear a giddy grin when they returned to the cabin, which was now all set up, light bulbs humming quietly and fridge stocked. Katsuki's parents had put all their luggage in their designated room as well, so they barely had to do much work at all, sparing them from overheating even more. Since the sun would be down soon enough, Masaru was busying himself with preparing a makeshift fire pit outside while Mitsuki hung out of one of the windows and told the boys to get properly unpacked and settled and sorry again their isn’t a third room for you, Kirishima.
“Yeah, yeah. We aren't idiots, you know,” Katsuki snarked back.
“Oh no? Well you could have fooled me,” she grinned, ducking back into the cabin. Katsuki glared fiercely at the now-empty window and Eijirou laughed. The cabin was fairly big, big enough that they could probably live there comfortably for longer than a week. Katsuki’s room was smaller than his parents’, but still had plenty of room, more than enough really. Though, there was only one bed... one twin-sized bed.
“Of course she took the big room,” Katsuki grumbled, pulling sheets out of the bottom of a small dresser. Eijirou sat cross legged on the floor, his backpack in his lap, hand rummaging through to find his water bottle. “Surely we don't need that much space,” Eijirou reasoned, making a little aha sound when he felt the cool metal of what he was looking for. Katsuki shot him a daring look. “You just want to cuddle all night, don't you?” he teased. Eijirou smirked at him.
“So what if I do?” he purred. “No, really, I came prepared to sleep on the floor. Safer that way.” Katsuki grunted in displeased agreement. “But, I like cuddling. You smell good,” he admitted, lip curled into a pout as if he was upset about it. After zipping his backpack up and shoving it to the side, he looked around for his air-mattress.
Katsuki huffed out laughter. “What do I smell like?”
Eijirou frowned. “Like...” He stopped. “Not to change the subject, but uh, that whole cuddling all night thing might be a little more realistic than we thought...”
Katsuki looked up, eyebrow arched. “And why's that?” Eijirou looked back at him helplessly.
“I think... I may have forgotten my sleeping bag and mattress...”
Katsuki blinked at him. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, avoiding the blonde's intense gaze.
“You... what?” he hissed. “Of all the things to forget, you forgot your bloody sleeping shit?”
Eijirou laughed nervously in response. “It's fine I can just-”
“Don't even,” Katsuki interrupted. “Don't even suggest you'll sleep with nothing on the ground.”
They were both silent for a few beats before Eijirou countered: “It's not like it's cold!”
“Don't be stupid, shitty hair, it's gonna get colder overnight. You can just sleep with me,” he grumbled. If it had been only a few weeks ago, Eijirou probably wouldn't have been able to tell if Katsuki was truly pissed, but now... the way he looked away and the tint to his cheeks said that he wasn't.
“Are you sure?” Eijirou asked quietly, just to be sure.
“I thought I said not to be stupid,” Katsuki growled, adding a second pillow to accommodate two people rather than one. “I guess I'll give you the benefit of the doubt since it's just habit for you.”
Eijirou snorted, shimmying over to where his bed was. “Will both of us even fit?” he wondered aloud, cocking his head so he was looking at the bed straight on. Katsuki grinned at this and Eijirou shouldered him playfully. “Whatever you're thinking, don't.” Katsuki laughed and shoved him back. “What about your parents?” He shrugged.
“It’ll be fine. We can just tell them the truth.” Eijirou’s jaw dropped. Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Not that truth, dumbass. The truth about your stupid air-mattress.”
“Oh, right. What do you think we'll have for dinner?” Eijirou asked, laying down in the middle of the bed, hands hooked behind his head.
“Mom'll probably send us out into the night to catch squirrels with our bare hands,” he tsked, shoving in beside Eijirou and resting his head on his chest. “It's hot,” he added absently, swiping the back of his hand across his forehead.
“Well maybe don't lay on me then! That won't help!” Eijirou reasoned. Katsuki hummed and snuggled against him anyway. “Once the sun sets it'll be cooler,” Eijirou reassured. Katsuki grumbled in response.
“No shit, genius,” he muttered sleepily. “Glad we could clear that up.” The two rested in an easy silence for a while, just relishing in the closeness despite the raging summer heat. Eijirou let his mind wander, let himself start to slip into the unpredictable jaws of sleep, when an appalling thought crossed his quiet mind, worrying him wide awake and tensing his muscles. He wasn't sure if he too, had drifted off completely, but regardless, Katsuki stirred, likely feeling how Eijirou had gone stiff. Then, Eijirou could have sworn he heard the turning of the doorknob. He choked and whipped himself away from Katsuki, causing the blonde to fall off the bed with a grunt. Eijirou sighed, relieved when he realized it had been nothing but his mind. Katsuki groaned, rubbing the underside of his chin. He grumbled. “Ow, dumbass. I'll kill you. What's the deal?”
Before Eijirou could explain (and apologize) they both turned their heads (Eijirou flinching first) at the sound of Mitsuki calling them outside. They clambered out of their room, Katsuki groggily, Eijirou cautious and stiff with anxiety, wandered out front and stood before the near-complete campsite under the colour-splattered sky. The two adults had miraculously gotten a fire going and the sky was a gradient of blues and yellows and pinks above them. It really was a beautiful sight, and Eijirou couldn't help but stare up while Katsuki watched him. It turned out, Mitsuki had decidedly not planned to send the two of them out to find dinner, and instead informed them she had brought along hot dogs. Before they ate, Katsuki made sure to bring voice to the fact that they were thoroughly disgusting. Soon after that came a debate about why America was always the default and never Canada when talking about English speaking places.
(“Nah, I'm sure Canada has something more sophisticated. Hot dogs are definitely of American origin,” Katsuki declared, tossing a whole dog into the fire to turn to ash, earning him a rough cuff on the head from Mitsuki and laughter from Masaru and Eijirou.) After, they roasted marshmallows over the calmed fire and made s'mores. (Too many to be healthy.) Eijirou had absently noted how much Katsuki (and himself really) had loosened up, how his guard had dropped, and how easily he was laughing along with everyone else. Eijirou couldn't say he had ever seen something as carelessly happy as Katsuki buckling over in laughter. He had wanted so much to kiss him silly then, but managed to restrain himself by shoving more sticky sugar down his own throat. It seemed like no time had passed at all before Mitsuki and Masaru were heading to bed. (It couldn't have been past 9pm, though time does fly.) Eijirou could see where Katsuki got his early-to-bed habit from.
“Make sure to put the fire out before going to bed yourselves,” Masaru advised before heading into the house, Mitsuki on his tail. Before she disappeared completely, she locked eyes with Eijirou.
“Kirishima,” she said, “Don't forget to look at the stars,” then winked and disappeared. Eijirou blinked at where her head had been, then tipped his head back and gasped. The nearly black sky was splattered with stars and colour, so bright he couldn't believe he had missed it earlier. It was like he was looking at the whole milky way. With a brief glance back at the cabin door, Katsuki placed his hand on Eijirou's and tipped his head back as well, leaning against him.
“Let's go sit somewhere better,” Katsuki whispered, breath hot against Eijirou's ear. Eijirou nodded silently, a nervous smile dancing across his features as he took Katsuki's hand and stood with him, gut filled with butterflies. They tramped up the trail that led to the lake, but Eijirou took the lead, turning into the woods, both creeping quietly as if they'd wake the trees.
“Where are you taking me?” Katsuki whispered with amusement, trailing just behind Eijirou, hand stretched out to keep it clasped tightly in the red head's. Eijirou paused and kissed the back of the blonde's hand. He dreamt about Katsuki's hands sometimes.
“Away,” he replied softly.
They came upon a small, grassy clearing, something dreamt up by a lovesick romantic, and laid down side by side, faces toward the sky that managed to be light and dark at the same time. Eijirou drifted away in that sky, stars infinite and bright, the forest quiet but alive alive alive all around him. Katsuki curled against him, tangling their legs together and nuzzling affectionately into the side of his chest. It was more comfortable now that the sun wasn’t cooking them. He let his hand glide up and down Eijirou's stomach, tracing and teasing the ridges of his muscle and skin and bone, then rested his palm flat against his stomach and rubbed up and down like he would to a dog. “It feels like it's just us,” he whispered, so quiet Eijirou might have imagined it. But he was right; the world seemed to stretch out with them at it's centre, and they were no longer Eijirou and Katsuki, but boy and boy. Eijirou let out a long breath, as if he had been holding it for the whole year and finally got to relieve himself. Then Katsuki was there, there to swallow it all up and give him a new kind of relief. He was never like this back home. Well, almost never. Back there, they were both as on edge as Eijirou seemed to always be, and something like this happened maybe every two or three weeks.
Katsuki's mouth was warm, soft, gentle. Every piece of aggression or distance apologized for without words. It was simply perfect. Eijirou kissed him back with a fond hum, his hands wandering to the back of his neck where he let his fingers explore the feathery, baby hairs there before dragging his nails under the hem of his shirt and down his smooth back, making him gasp against Eijirou's lips. This was as far as they had ever gotten; just kissing and the occasional grinding of hips, but the clothes stayed on and the wood stayed hard. Something about this felt different though, and Eijirou's heart fluttered with excitement and a fear he was growing to like. Katsuki pushed against him harder, deepening the kiss, gliding his warm, wet tongue across Eijirou's bottom lip; a question. Eijirou obliged him and parted his lips, welcoming him to explore. He tasted like marshmallows and chocolate and mint. Eijirou's breathing hitched and he gasped when the blonde slipped a calloused thumb under the waistband of his pants, touching the hidden skin. They rested their foreheads together, panting breathlessly onto each others cheeks and into each others mouths. Eijirou's closed his eyes, mouth hanging open, as Katsuki slid his whole hand under his waist band, holding his waist while his other hand glided under his shirt and pressed flat against his breastbone so he could feel Eijirou's erratic pulse booming throughout his whole chest.
“I want you, angel,” Katsuki groaned, voice low, his hips bucking a bit against Eijirou's leg. He shifted his hand so it was over his thrumming heart. Eijirou let out a low growl and pushed himself on top of Katsuki, hands braced on either side of his head, knees on either side of his waist. He relished in the look on Katsuki's face, cheeks flushed, eyes hungry, lips red from Eijirou sucking on them.
“I want you too,” he agreed breathlessly. And so he had him under the stars in the cool, still, forest air on the plush, infinitely green grass, and when it was over, both their stomachs painted white and sticky, they hobbled over to the lake and pushed each other in, startling the fish and awaking the water, filling the night with laughter and noise until the sky turned pink and orange with sunrise.
They were sitting at the edge of the dock watching said sunrise when Eijirou nuzzled his nose into Katsuki's damp hair, gently prodding him awake. “Come on babe, let's go to bed.”
Katsuki grumbled in response.
“God knows your mother will get us up early as it is,” Eijirou groaned, resting his cheek on top of his head. “Do you want me to carry you?” he asked, half-kidding. Katsuki groggily lifted his head from Eijirou's shoulder and blinked at the lake before them.
“No way,” he slurred, “m'notta damsel.” He mused quietly for a second before adding. “My ass hurts.” Eijirou smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. “Yeah, sorry abo-”
“No.” Katsuki interrupted. He didn’t continue, thinking for a moment while he squinted at Eijirou, as if he forgot what he was going to say. He must have been high as hell on lack of sleep. “What the fuck are you sorry about?” he finally spat. “Carry me.”
Eijirou snorted and stood, hauling Katsuki up with him. “You're lucky it's a short walk,” he murmured, making his way down the trail.
“You're the one who offered,” Katsuki countered, nuzzling into the junction of Eijirou's shoulder and neck. “Oi' don't jostle the package, I'm sore, remember?”
Eijirou snorted again. “How fragile you are,” he teased. Katsuki snapped his head up and glared at him, pursing his lips.
“Just you wait till next time, we'll see who's fragile then,” he said. Eijirou bumped his nose against the blonde's affectionately.
“We'll see.”
“You're teeth are stupid.”
“What?”
Eijirou was tucked in snug next to Katsuki in the confining twin-bed, barely any room to breathe. (Not that either of them really minded.) Katsuki was thumbing Eijirou's lips, which he had earlier claimed were “too soft. It's frustrating how soft.” Now he was telling him his teeth were stupid. The red head had an undeclared theory that this, the whole insulting him playfully thing, may or may not have been a sort of defence mechanism or more accurately a knee-jerk reaction. He wasn't sure exactly why, if he was just projecting or if it was something else, but he surprisingly found that he didn't really mind where other's always seemed to.
“Impractical,” Katsuki continued. “Why are they even like that? All sharp and pointy, like your shitty hair.” He worked a finger between Eijirou's lips and prodded at his teeth. Eijirou indulged him curiously, opening his mouth a bit wider, finding it hard to look away from the blonde's knitted brow, the way his nose crinkled when he scowled. Katsuki took the opportunity Eijirou had so kindly provided and slid his thumb completely between his teeth, his free fingers hooked under his chin, pressing gently into the soft skin there. Eijirou remembered the easy affection he had offered to that cat back home, then realized Katsuki's gaze had shifted from his mouth to his eyes, still pushing his thumb down on one of his bottom teeth. Eijirou prudently pushed his tongue up against Katsuki's skin. He tasted salty in a bitter sort of way.
“I thought you liked them,” Eijirou finally said, talking around Katsuki's thumb, giving him a knowing look. Katsuki turned beet red and looked back at his mouth.
“I never said I didn't,” he said forcefully, sounding frustrated. Eijirou effortlessly recognized this flustered state and smirked. He groaned, retracting his hand from Eijirou's mouth and tucking it back between both their chests. “I should not be awake right now,” he growled, squeezing his eyes shut with a glare. “Damned mothers.” Eijirou just smiled at him and rested his warm palm on his warm cheek, everything feeling warm and cozy and close. He tenderly rubbed his forefinger back and forth along his skin and let his eyes fall shut as well. He felt warm and safe and happy, then-
“BOYS! FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME, GET UP!”
“COMIN', YA HAG!” Katsuki immediately roared back, as if he had been expecting it. Eijirou flinched and scrunched his face up.
“Those are my ears,” he muttered. Katsuki snorted, sitting up and pulling the covers back.
“You'd think summer break would mean sleeping in,” he grumbled bitterly, standing and grabbing a shirt to pull over his bare chest. Eijirou instinctively looked away while he did, though they really were past that by now.
“Yeah but it would go against cliche rules if we did,” Eijirou reasoned lightly with a smirk, back turned to Katsuki.
Katsuki's parents bid the two of them good morning when they did finally emerge, and Eijirou made sure to take a moment to tell Mitsuki about the stars. Katsuki had just rolled his eyes, going to make himself useful to his father, who ended up offering him a bag, thirty second directions on where to find the wood, and a shit-eating grin at not having to do it himself.
“I know how to get wood, damn it,” Katsuki growled. “Oi', shitty hair, you're helping. Try not to fuckin' die.” Eijirou smiled at the blonde as he made for the path into the forest, then directed it at Mitsuki. He felt like a little kid staring up at his own mother. He was just so happy. She chuckled and ruffled his hair, which wasn't even in it's spiked up position anymore Katsuki. Then, memories of skin on skin, the taste of sweat, and short gasps and moans filled his head, and his smile tightened. Would she be smiling at him like that if she knew what he'd done? What he was?
“Go on then, Kirishima. Tell him off for his language for me.” She winked and waved him off, so he kept his fake smile plastered on until he was out of view, feeling sick to his stomach, and jogged after Katsuki even though he felt like he'd sooner activate his quirk and float to the bottom of the lake.
The walk down the brambly path was near silent, and Katsuki kept looking over his shoulder, features neutral and unreadable. Eijirou avoided his eyes. Normally, he'd jog until he was right next to Katsuki, probably take his hand, give it a squeeze, then talk about a million nothings. He knew because that's exactly what he wanted to do, but the stone in his stomach was weighing him down, unease forcing his gaze away, too many unsaid words filling his throat and choking him dead, to do anything about it. Part of him wanted to barf it all up, beg Katsuki for reassurance and comfort, beg nothing in particular to make the guilt go away. He knew it was pointless, he knew what they had done had been okay. They both wanted it, that much was clear from how many times they traded the question throughout, and although neither of their parents knew, it wasn't really their business. He knew that, but he also knew that this feeling wasn't so simple that a quick pep talk would fix it. It was like the logical part of his brain (or rational as Aizawa-sensei would say) was fighting whatever animal instinct part and neither were backing down.
His eyes slid to the back of Katsuki's head. Did he feel it too? Is that why he wasn't saying anything either?
“Oi.”
Eijirou flinched, then hated himself for doing so. “Yeah?”
Katsuki stopped walking, looked over his shoulder again, the glare missing from his brow. “You're thinking again.” Eijirou's shoulders were up to his ears and his face felt hot, not to mention the rest of his body. He didn't even have it in him to try and bluster his way through it. Katsuki turned on his heel and faced him, closing his eyes and sighing, brow furrowed, then removed a hand from his pocket and held the back of Eijirou's head, pulling his face into his shoulder, an unexpected show of affection. Eijirou remembered the neighbours cat on his back fence. Katsuki sighed again, heavier this time. “What goes on in that head of yours that you don't tell me, huh?”
“Bakug-”
Katsuki went rigid. “It's about last night,” he said, though it sounded like a statement, not a question. Eijirou, realizing his mistake, bit his lip to keep it from trembling. How the hell does he fix this without sounding fraudulent and fake? Katsuki released him at once, whipping back around and sauntering coolly forward. Eijirou felt an ache without him there next to him, and the tense air between them felt like an impossibley big canyon.
“There's a clearing just up ahead where there's wood,” he said, voice eerily even. It sounded so... wrong. “We probably don't need a whole lot.” Eijirou swallowed the lump in his throat, feet rooted in place. He clenched his fists by his sides, digging his fingernails into his palms. He was so stupid. He wanted to ask why it wasn't closer to where the camp was, who cut it up, how often he went camping, but he just croaked “'Kay,” and forced his feet stiffly forward. So stupid. It was like the two and a half perfect months of them had come to a jarring halt and was replaced by thick, oozing guilt. If only he was like Katsuki, so up front and honest, doing what he wanted when he wanted it without question. Sure Eijirou'd felt this guilt before, if you could even call it guilt, but it had been so mild, easily fixed by a day apart and a want to be near his person again, scornful and judging eyes be damned. This, this, was not the same. This was all-consuming and god-awful, far worse than a little prick in his stomach or a nudge from the angel on his shoulder. This was pure sickening, and what was worse was he didn't know how to fix it, let alone try and talk about it to let Katsuki know what was going on. He supposed he'd just have to ride it out? At least until he figured out what to do, what to say. But the thought of putting Katsuki through hell on his account made him want to barf even more. He had to think, and fast.