Chapter Text
The city lights reflected in the cold puddles, illuminating the pavement as kirishima walked to his apartment. He wasn’t one to be stuck in the past, but lately he couldn’t stop reminiscing about his UA days. more specifically- everything he and his friends went through in their first year. Various attacks from the league of villains , getting their hero licences, moving in on campus, and saving the world from All for One at the cost of Midoriya's chance at a pro hero career. eventful to say the least, but why were there so many memories resurfacing?
“I suppose it's because of yesterday…”, he thought to himself. Midoriya had invited him to UA to give his students some motivation. It didn’t go badly by any means, in fact, one of the kids turned out to be a big fan of his, but it jogged his memory; forcing him to look back in a mature lens.
Back then he felt bigger; as though it was only right to fight All For One because his goal was to be a hero. Kirishima thought if he didn’t fight then, what kind of hero would h eye later? Yet walking into that classroom; where it all happened; he couldn’t unsee those child features still present in the students faces. Did he look like a kid back then too? In the back of his mind he always knew their freshman year was unfair. It was especially evident at Midnight's funeral.
***
“Mina?”, he had asked quietly outside her door. They had just made it to the hospital, and the weight of everything had finally caught up to her.
“Door's open…”, she said sadly. She looked worse. Sat on the corner of her bed with pictures laid across the sheets, some going back to middle school. “How did it get like this?”, She was holding a picture of Midnight. It was torn on the edges, wet with tears, and wrinkled in her pink hands.
He didn’t say anything at the time. They knew how it got like this. They knew about All Mights quirk, and fate intertwined with it. They knew how midoriya took up the burden, and how his spark ignited everyone to fight for a safer future. Sadly, Some passions burned too brightly and were left extinguished. So he kept his mouth pressed into a thin line, and hugged her not willing to let go.
***
He was shaken out of his thoughts by his phone ringing in his pocket. “ Hello?”, he answered.
“Kirishima, hey! I uh- just wanted to tell you how much your talk meant to my students. With finals approaching and licence exams… ah well- you know how it is. “
"Of course man, don't worry about it! I'm just glad I could help. “
“ You did. Aizawa mentioned it too. Something about graduated students being a good source of motivation. “
“ hmm well kaminari has some down time to kill. I could ask him for you? “, kirishima offered.
“That’d be great! Alright well i gotta go- “, Deku continued.
“ Sorry to interrupt but I just gotta know… are you considering it? Coming back to hero work?”, he felt his words come out with a stammer.
“Ah-... yes. I guess it isn’t really going back since I never started but, yeah. I am. Wait- how did you even know?!”
“Todoroki called me asking about crime rates! I know he is your fiance and he’s got a right to be worried; but man was he obvious.”
“That makes sense…”, he sounded flustered. Who wouldn’t be with such a dotting partner.
“Alright Midoriya, I’ll let ya go now. It was good talking to you man. “
He was facing his apartment door now, fumbling for the right key. It was a decent apartment, one he knew he could only afford because of Fargum's agency. But despite the monthly rent it wasn’t much to look at. He lived alone, spent most of his time out on the field, and when he wasn’t he was training and going around town with bakugou and their friends. Honestly there wasn’t a need to make his apartment flashy. It still looks bare though.
Since that phone call he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. It was cruel how Midoriya ended up. Stuck teaching and fostering potential in the youth so they can achieve what he could’ve become. He undoubtedly would’ve been amazing. He had the brains, the quick thinking, most importantly he had the compassion. Although that last one was put to use daily, not much of a waste in that sense.
He had barely set down the groceries, not even half way through making dinner when Mina called.
“Are you off patrol already, Eijiro?”, she asked cheerfully.
“Yeah, working on a recipe bakubro taught me. “, there was a touch of pride in his voice.
She laughed on the other end, “ I can't believe you’re the only one he’s willing to cook with. We aren’t even that bad! “
He ignored the fluttering of his heart. “ eh that’s what happens when you burn something one too many times. “
“Tch that was mean… anyways! me and the guys are gonna go for a Korean BBQ next weekend. Are you free?”
“Hell yeah, count me in.”
“Don’t forget to bring bakugou!”, she said, hanging up quickly after.
He ate his meal alone in the kitchen, entertaining too many thoughts when it came to his relationship with bakugou. The only one he’ll cook with? He really wanted to be unaffected by that comment. They had something good going. As in a friendship! They relied on each other. That was enough. It should’ve been enough, but it wasn’t. And quite frankly kirishima was getting tired of having to convince himself it was.
It wasn’t enough when he saw bakugou go through rehab after the war. It wasn't enough when they graduated and he feared they’d go their separate ways. it wasn't enough when they got signed up by their agencies and the distance pained him. It was never enough to have bakugou just at arms length.
Kirishima just wanted to see him more often. These past couple months they’ve only seen each other with their mutual friends. So what was Kirishima’s plan to get time alone with him? Asking bakugou to be his chauffeur. Not due to lack of transportation- just needed to have an excuse.
Things were just different then. Kirishima was convinced that bakugou got softer during those late drives. He was less abrasive, stared a little longer, thought a bit more. Surely it wasn’t just Kirishima's wishful thinking. Sometimes they would pick up food on route to his apartment or run last minute errands that they conveniently procrastinated on. They would get groceries, go to the bank, cash a check, hell- one time bakugou helped him with dishes. Mundane shit. Regardless of what they were doing, those were the moments he sank deeper in love. It was hard not to dream of a domestic life with bakugou.
He was already in bed when he got his third call of the day. His heart skipped when he saw the name, although he had grown accustomed to it by then.
“Hey Blasty what’s up?”, suddenly kirishima wasn’t sleepy anymore.
“ Saw you on the news today. What kind of fucked up dodging was that? “, he sounded irritated.
“O-oh I was just sore! Wait- Don’t tell me you were worried about little old me.” he teased through the phone. He didn’t want to read it. Bakugou was probably switching through channels and happened to see him.
“ old my ass.” there was a pause. “I'm training tomorrow at 9:00. “
“Is that an invitation?”
“ What do you think, dumbass? Don’t be late. “, Bakugou hung up the phone.
***
Bakugou tossed his phone to his desk. Idiot. Fucking idiot. He’ll land himself in the hospital at this rate if his rusty ass doesn't get it together.
He was on lunch break when he saw the clip on the news. There had been an attempted robbery of this local bank and apparently kirishima was on patrol. Normally bakugou was never worried about kirishima taking a hit. Simply put; the nature of his quirk was the perfect physical defence. But when the villain can manipulate the momentum of an object, and is getting triggered happy with fire- well it’s hard not to worry.
Kirishima had grabbed something nearby, using it as a shield to distribute the damage. He was focused on getting civilians out of the building, letting tamaki deal with the main threat. Hence why tamaki was the only one on screen for a while. bakugou had slouched forwards, letting his elbows rest on his knees to stop his leg from bouncing. The camera zoomed in and out of the scene looking for kirishima. The villain had redirected their attention to some pedestrians. They were too far from Tamaki, too close to Eijirou. Kirishima was never one to back down. he grabbed the girl as quickly as he could, and then the camera cut back to tamaki. bakugou was left with this tight feeling in his chest, he couldn’t name it yet.
Bakugou cursed the camera's lack of clarity. He couldn’t see kirishima. He waited until he caught a glimpse of red in the back, it had to be Kirishima. His hunched form clutching his side.
He let out a breath, finally letting himself relax into the chair. Moron didn’t move in time. he clicked off to a different channel with a newfound scowl on his face.