M u t e L o v e // KiriBaku

• Sweet Nights With Him •

The school year's end neared itself quicker due to the consequences of the attack. For better or worse, the principal closed things early in order for his staff to get started on responsibilities gained from his choices.

They are free for the next two and a half months-- loud cheers and shouts of joy roar throughout the quickly emptying buildings of U.A High. Whenever Bakugou felt an increase of vibrations on the ground and walls or whenever people began to move quicker, he always stepped closer to Kirishima, and always kept his eyes on him, alert for anything that Kirishima would sign.

Ever since the two weeks prior, Kirishima has been made victim to hyper-awareness whenever it comes down to Bakugo's wellbeing.

He brings him outside and under a tree shade, agreeing with Bakugo when he had pointed out the unbearable heat they currently walked in. Temperatures have reached 97°F (36.111°C), and despite having constantly been warned, Bakugo had worn his uniform's winter pants.

They catch up to their breaths and Bakugo shares his water with him, absentmindedly pressing the palms of his hands to his ears during the time that Kirishima takes for himself. He's grown into doing so ever since his stay at the hospital and information or reasons as to why he does so have not been given up yet.

Kirishima's finger taps beneath his chin in a manner far too delicately for Bakugo to not release a hum towards.
Kirishima can never help his curiosity's need to ask questions. "Does that bother you?" He asks.

"If it did, I would've put an end to it, wouldn't have I?"

His eyes dance away from Bakugo when a bucket of warmth is poured within him.
To mask his reason for turning away, he reaches over Bakugo's lap and takes his water bottle-- knocking it over a couple of times before finally getting a hold of both it and himself.

He takes a few big gulps, gives a chaotic smile, and tosses the bottle back to where Bakugo had kept it. Still, Bakugo cluelessly chooses to worsen his inner turmoil.

"You're getting better at signing." He said, owning what is by far the most patient of gazes he's ever shown.

"I am!?" Kirishima both signs and audibly squeaks. Bakugo hums in response.

After exchanging where to go next they begin walking together, owning a sweet proximity short enough that the backs of their hands brushed against one another quite often. It brought small smiles to Kirishima's reddened face and undeniable joy to Bakugo.

The dormitory is loud, agitated with the constant ups and downs of students that currently pack their suitcases. Regardless of their choice of staying in the dormitory throughout the summer break, nearly all students chose to head back to their homes.
After leaving Bakugo at a place where he felt comfortable enough to stay alone in, Kirishima jumps in to help Kaminari help with his bags.

The two had thought about it for the past month or two whether or not they would stay. Bakugo chose to stay for the open access to the gym nearest to the dormitory and it was a reason good enough to have Kirishima stay as well. With the two, Tokoyami and Todoroki were staying as well.

With an entire floor to themselves, they felt comfortable enough to keep their rooms open and free of access to one another.
Within the first week, however, Kirishima had asked if Bakugo wanted to sleep over at his. Bakugo had accepted the water much quicker than he wishes he had.

The one night turned into a multiple-night thing where Bakugo would be either too comfortable or too tired to walk out to his own dorm. It was never the slightest bit of a bother to Kirishima and his constant expression of it was appreciated. He enjoyed their nights together; their fooling around, their conversations, and each other's company have grown to be priceless.

Kirishima grew skeptical whenever Bakugo gave the idea of him returning to sleep at his own dorm room. The idea of leaving Bakugou alone, for so long drove him to anxiety-town. Every day, he has a new point to make regarding his hesitancy towards it, the one that's convincing Bakugo the most being "everyone agrees that it would be best if you stayed with someone who could help, in case anything were to happen".

He has reasons of his own as to why he wanted to stay. His talk about "having to sleep in his own dorm" had been his way of testing the waters.
Truthfully, he wanted to stay the first night that Kirishima had offered and removing him would be another war with his emotions.

════════════════════════════════════

"It's raining," comments Kirishima.
Bakugo lifts himself up to his feet to peer outside, his brows lifting at his own confirmation. He flops back down into a cross-legged seat on the ground, reaching over to stuff another handful of sugar fries into his mouth.

"When you wanna sleep, just go ahead, alright?"

He nods at the phrase shown, his eyes blinking heavily as he looks back down to his phone.

"You.. can sleep normally...? After all that?"

Kirishima jumps upon hearing his voice, smiling widely though with pure shock staining its every glimmer.

"Not really, I've been restless," he responds. Bakugo's eyes drop to Kirishima's hands, seeming dull with the need to deny his statement. "What about you?" He then asks, lifting his gaze back up to his face.

"I'm.. fine.. you idiot..."
"You can speak up a bit, you're fine," Kirishima suddenly guides and Bakugo gives a small nod. He says "this?" At a new volume, repeating it once again until Kirishima affirmed of a level good enough to be kept indoors and between themselves.

He's seen how happy it makes Kirishima whenever he uses his voice to communicate, and it's driven him to do so more often.

As if to prove to Kirishima that he can get rest despite it all that they've seen and engaged in, he calls it a night and claims that he'd be going to sleep soon.

Truly, all it took was a trip to the bathroom, and Kirishima returns to him on the floor, curled up though seemingly trying to stay alert.

He kneels by him, touching his ankle first and purposefully making the door cause a stronger gust of wind to let him know of his returned presence without startling him as he's done previously. He tells him "it's fine, you can sleep now," and Bakugo mutters an incoherent "knew that... before... I don't need you.. here.. to sleep..."

Kirishima sits on his bed and begins to plug in his phone, making sure that no alarms had been set for the morning before abandoning it by his bed. His gaze hasn't left the curled-up lump on the floor.

He admires him for a while longer, paying attention to nothing but the way his heartbeat changed whenever he looks at him. A soft hum is exhaled.

"Sleep well, Baku..."

"Baku" was a nickname he had begun calling him ever since he lost his hearing. He felt terrible for it; calling him things and saying his true thoughts basically to his face while Bakugou couldn't hear them was something that made him feel evil.

If only he had gotten the courage before that night.

He still has nightmares of the fact that that night could have been the last night he would have heard his voice, or seen his face.

He still has nightmares of the fact that that night could have been the last opportunity he had to confess, and that he had missed the chance.

//
I can't stand the fact that it almost happened.
I almost lost you
And I never confessed
Should I do it soon?
Will you say it back?
//

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Reminder: The book was not deleted, nor is it missing. This book is edited from its original copy (due to a rather confusing way of jumping towards plot peaks, spelling mistakes, and an overall amount of blurry or unsatisfactory [in the writer's eyes] scenes), therefore new scenes and a cleaner plot has been added. Updates are slow, but surely coming. Thank you!