Chapter Text
It was nearing 8PM, yet Bakugou was still in Kirishima’s dorm room. They were both sitting on his bed, notebooks and pens scattered around them.
“Still not done with #5?” Bakugou yawned. “Fuck, you’re slow.”
With his elbow, Kirishima lightly shoved his friend’s side.
“You’re the one who’s too quick” Kirishima replied. “This is hard as hell.”
Despite time quickly flying past the blond’s usual bedtime, Kirishima wasn’t planning on kicking him out. He had invited Bakugou to do homework together, after all.
Well, ‘invited’ wasn’t necessarily the correct word – as the invitation hadn’t been said out loud in quite some time. He had stopped offering, both of them having fallen into the habit of studying together after eating supper. It had started a little over three weeks ago, and Bakugou didn’t even need to knock anymore.
They were simply together. No invitations needed.
“Well, hurry and catch up, shitty hair.”
Kirishima’s heart skipped a beat when he felt spiky – yet incredibly soft – hair come to rest on his shoulder.
“I’m tired” Bakugou said, his voice a low, breathy whisper.
“S – sure” Kirishima blurted out.
Overwhelmed by Bakugou resting his head on his shoulder, Kirishima tried his best to hold the pencil as still as he could. He took a slow, deep breath, really hoping Bakugou couldn’t hear how untamed his heart was.
Unable to concentrate properly, Kirishima knew this would take even longer than usual. He anxiously continued working on the math problem, having even more difficulty now that all he could think of was how close they were.
Hearing Bakugou yawn again, five or so minutes later, and snuggle ever so slightly closer against him, Kirishima’s breathing itched.
There was no way he’d manage to finish the math problem in these conditions.
He could tell Bakugou that he didn’t need to wait for him. He could wait for tomorrow for a correction. He could tell him to go to sleep.
Yet he couldn’t tell Bakugou to leave.
Kirishima felt like Bakugou didn’t want to leave in the first place – or rather, he hoped that was the case. He really hoped Bakugou enjoyed his company as much as he did, even for mundane things like homework.
For a long moment, the blond silently watched as Kirishima struggled to focus and figure out how to solve the equation. A torturous eternity passed before he finally arrived to an answer. Finally done, Kirishima shakily set the pencil down. He held his breath, expecting Bakugou to lift his head away from his shoulder and start pointing out the countless mistakes he had made.
Nothing came to break the silence.
Daring to glance over at Bakugou, Kirishima found him asleep against him. The red eyes were hidden away under a tranquil expression which replaced his usual scowl. Even the scars running across his face, the remnants of war, were softened into peaceful features.
Hypnotized by the uncommon sight of a soft Bakugou, Kirishima knew.
He never felt like this with his other friends. He never wanted to spend this much time with anyone else. He never made this many excuses or plans to be by someone’s side. He never longed to be close to someone like this.
In a way, he had always known. From the moment he had seen that grumpy face on the first day of school. Even after seeing the aggressive behavior Bakugou had in the beginning. The foul mouth, which stayed despite his violent tendencies lessening, didn’t change anything.
This softer side of him only confirmed it for the millionth time over.
Kirishima knew he was in love.
Snapping out of his daze, his skin heated up. If Bakugou woke up and saw him all flustered up like this, his cover would be blown. He had to get him out of his room, now.
Yet he really didn’t want to wake him up. Admittedly, Kirishima wanted to keep looking at him. He wanted to stay in this moment forever. He wanted to live in the fantasy where Bakugou loved him and had intentionally fallen asleep on him.
But that was all that was: a fantasy.
Not wanting to risk it, he let out an uneasy sigh.
As carefully as he could, he shifted in place, trying to pick up the blond without making any sudden movement that could accidentally wake him up. Kirishima managed to wrap an arm under Bakugou’s knees and behind his back, lifting him off the bed. As muscular as the blond was, he was surprisingly light and easy to pick up.
Fast asleep in Kirishima’s arms, Bakugou’s hair tickled against his collarbone. The blond moved his head slightly, unconsciously nestling closer into his chest.
Kirishima didn’t move for a moment, letting the sight sink into his heart.
Fearing he’d wake up, Kirishima pushed his feelings aside as quickly as he could. He gave furtive glances down the corridor before passing through the doorframe, absolutely not wanting to be caught carrying Bakugou bridal style to bed.
Gently, he placed Bakugou on his own bed. As soon as his arms left him, the blond let out a small grunt – almost giving Kirishima a heart attack – before turning to sleep on his stomach.
Leaving, Kirishima knew he wanted to be more than friends.
Closing the door, his heart pinched.
Whatever Kirishima wanted didn’t matter – because he doubted Bakugou wanted it too.