KiriBaku | Echoes of Music

Chapter 5 | Realization

Kirishima's POV

I sat there in Bakugo's arms, feeling relieved that he was okay. He awkwardly patted my back and said, "Hey, it's okay. I'm crap at this emotional support, but, uh, what's wrong?"

I felt a small sob escape my mouth and I just hugged him tighter. I didn't feel like answering his question, and he seemed to understand.

Instead of patting my back, he finally wrapped his arms around me and held me against him, slowly rocking us side to side to calm me down.

I took some deep, unsteady breaths to try and stop crying before I leaned back up to face him. I wiped my eyes and said, "Sorry..."

"The heck happened?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. 

It was very, very rare for Bakugo to ever be worried about someone. I felt extremely special in that moment. 

"Just a nightmare," I said, wiping my eyes again.

"A what?" He asked.

I abruptly realized that this entire time, Bakugo had been reading my lips. I had nearly forgotten that earlier today, he had permanently lost his hearing. 

I fumbled for my phone, pulled it out, and opened up my notes app. I wrote out 'nightmare' and showed him the screen.

"Oh." He nodded. 

I stared at Bakugo's face for a moment. He always made me feel... different. He was adorable, in a mean, bad boy kind of way. His ash-blond hair looked so fluffy up close and his crimson eyes were full of concern. 

I stared at him long enough for it to be awkward, and finally he said, "Why are you staring at me?" 

I shook myself out of my daze, my face feeling hot.

"Sorry," I said, picking up my phone so I could write it down.

"I understood you, moron," he said, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to write it down."

I erased my message, then with slight reluctancy, I wrote out, 'Can I have another hug?'

He read it, then he sighed and said, "If you tell anyone I hugged you out of free will you won't see another day, you hear me?"

I nodded vigorously and Bakugo pulled me into another hug. I wrapped my arms around his muscular body and immediately felt safe in his strong arms.

Bakugo didn't seem like a hugger, but I enjoyed his hugs. They had a lot of meaning to me, especially since Bakugo would hardly let anyone touch him without blowing them up. 

For some reason, I was the only exception to the rule. He didn't seem to mind if I bumped his shoulder or gave him a fist bump. The only time he had tried to kill me was when I hugged him, but he seemed pretty chill right now. Probably because he was tired. 

He smelled... really good too. Almost like he had showered...

"What shampoo do you use?" I found myself asking him via phone as I pulled away from our hug.

He gave me a strange look and said, "The frick?"

"Just answer," I wrote out.

"I tend to use the ones that don't have any scent," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Now you answer my question: why the frick do you wanna know, shark face?"

"You smell like caramel," I admitted.

A faint sheen of pink dusted his cheeks as he answered, "Well, it's not my shampoo, idiot."