Inheritance: A My Hero Academia AU

Katsuki Bakugo

I tightened the knot on the rope, giving it an extra tug to make sure it would hold. I was standing on my sailboat, and it was moored to the dock behind my family's mansion.

I double checked the rest of the assorted knots and fastenings, and made sure that everything we needed was stowed in the tiny, sorry excuse for a cabin.

"What's all this?" Kirishima's voice asked from behind me.

I whirled around to look at him, narrowly missing hitting my head on the sail.

"I figured it would be nice to, you know, get out and spend a day on the sea...and stuff," I said, hopping off of the boat and onto the dock. "And I thought it might, I dunno, make you feel better or...some...thing..." With every word, my voice got more and more quiet. I peered at Kirishima out of the corner of my eye, and his lips curled up into a smile. A genuine smile.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Kirishima said.

I blushed, and his smile widened. "Come on. Let's get this day on the sea started."

Kirishima climbed onto my sailboat, and I followed him. I untied the rope that was keeping us connected to the dock, and we started to float away from the beach. Kirishima was at the rudder, steering us away from shore, and I was positioning the sails.

By the time the sun was midway into the sky, we were halfway to the mainland and a ways away from my family's private dock. Kirishima did one last thing with the rigging before plopping down on the roof of the cabin, and he gestured for me to do the same.

I hesitated, reluctant to leave the sails unmanned, but with a little goading from Kirishima, I sat down.

"This is really nice, Bakugo," Kirishima said, looking out at the sparkling blue ocean. "It feels good to be out here, on the ocean and have some alone time with you."

"Good," I grunted, putting my hand on top of his.

Kirishima entwined our fingers and gave my hand a little squeeze before releasing it completely, returning his gaze to the horizon.

"What is it?" I asked him.

Kirishima sighed heavily. "This is really nice."

"You already said that. What's going on? Why're you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you, Bakugo," Kirishima said.

"Of course you are," I said. "You won't even look at me. You said that this isn't just about yesterday morning. So what the heck is bothering you?"

"I just don't understand, Bakugo," Kirishima exclaimed. "I don't understand why you care so damn much about how Midoriya got his money. Why can't you just accept that you're never going to find out and move on?"

"I can't move on!"

"Why not?"

"Because...Because," I stammered, struggling to find the words.

"That's the problem, Bakugo," Kirishima said. "You don't know. I think that this goes beyond just curiosity about your childhood friend. I think this is something deeper, something more psychological. You don't like to lose, Bakugo. You want to know how Midoriya got his money because if he actually worked for it, then that makes him better than you, and it means he wins."

"That's not true!" I yelled, flying to my feet.

"Are you sure about that, Bakugo? Are you sure?" Kirishima said.

I stared down at my shoes and frowned. No, I'm not sure, I wanted to say. I'm not sure, and I need you to help me figure it out. I can't do this without you, Kirishima. But the words just wouldn't come, and I was left just standing there with my mouth half open.

"It's like I said the other night," Kirishima said, standing up so that we're only inches apart. He takes my chin and lifts my face up so that we're eye to eye. "We don't have that much time left, Bakugo, and I don't want whatever war that's going on inside of you to poison it. I don't want this...obsession with your childhood rival, if I can even call it that, to poison it. You need to figure this out."

"Kirishima..."

Kirishima brought my hands up to his mouth and kissed them gently. "I'll be right here, waiting for you, whenever you're ready."

"But I don't know how, Kirishima," I choked out.

"You'll figure it out, Bakugo, I know you will."

I shook my head. "But it's like you said. We only have so much time left together, and if I waste it with all this stupid self discovery stuff, then..."

"I'd rather only have a few days with a content Bakugo then have a whole lifetime with a conflicted one," Kirishima said.

"Really?" I asked dryly, skeptical.

Kirishima hesitated, then sighed. "No. But still. This will be worth it."

Kirishima and I's eyes met, and we spent a while just standing like that. Then I closed the gap between us and kissed him gently, delicately. He gasped but kissed me back.

I pulled away after only a couple of minutes, and we stood like that for a long time, faces centimeters apart, our breath mingling.

"This is like something out of one of those dumb films that Mina makes us go see," I said, breaking the heavy silence.

Kirishima laughed. "It is."

I leaned in to kiss him again, but he turned away before I could. "Come on. We should head back to shore."

"Right," I said, heading over to position the sails.

Across the boat, my eyes met Kirishima's, and in that moment, I couldn't see what I would ever do without him.

Except that I would have to be without him. Not just in the distant future, but for the next few days, as he stepped aside to let me slowly, surely, tune into the inner reaches of myself and find out my shortcomings.

Ha. I sound like a freaking poet.