| Explosive Love |

Together

"Eijirou, I like you."

The words hang in the air, still somehow heard long after they're said. Bakugou can't take it. He can feel the rejection coming like the calm before the storm. So he does what Kirishima would definitely consider unmanly.

Bakugou runs.

He takes off back down the trail they came on, sprinting as though if he stopped a black hole would swallow him up. Branches tear at his face and arms in his hurry, but he can't feel it. A tear makes its way down his face, but he can't seem to care enough to wipe it away. Hurt claws at his stomach, but he ignores it.

"Bakugou, wait! Please stop!" Only Kirishima's faint voice behind him is able to break through the barriers forming around Bakugou. But Bakugou can't stop. He knows that the moment he stops running, the moment he faces Kirishima, the moment he gets rejected will be the end of his world.

Right now feels like the end of the world. The colors of the forest blur into a cascade of green, slowly shifting as Bakugou reaches the city to a monotonous stream of grey, and everything seems to be losing its features and becoming nothingness. But Bakugou keeps running.

He slams through the doors leading into the dorms, giving no regard to the students staring at him as he sprints towards the stairs. They don't matter right now. The aftermath of his confession is the only thing in Bakugou's mind as he sprints up to his room; his classmates' reactions to his frantic state are the least of his worries at the moment.

Bakugou reaches his room and slams the door shut. Tears begin to fully stream down his face as he slides to the ground, wrapping his arms tightly around his legs and resting his face on top of his knees. His heart aches.

Time seems to lose all meaning and definition. He doesn't know how long he spends sitting there, crying on the floor, wrapped within his own swirling storm of unrequited love and heartbreak. Who knew that it'd hurt this much?

Everything had seemed like a game up until this moment. Each day a small challenge, every moment full of light and joy and a decent bit of flirting with Kirishima. It was fun. The confession at the end of all of it had seemed so far away, a fortune told to Bakugou that didn't seem real quite just yet. But now, he felt all of its winds and rain.

It felt all too real now.

A set of light knocks on the door behind him brings an end to the formless time and gives rise to a new wave of panic in his gut. There's only one person it can be. And that person is the one Bakugou really doesn't want to see, no matter how beautiful his face is, no matter how bubbly his laughter is, no matter how much joy he has brought into Bakugou's life. Now, rejection is the only thing he knows lies beyond his door.

"Bakugou?" Kirishima's voice is soft and quiet, just loud enough to be heard clearly through the door separating them. Bakugou covers his mouth in an attempt to stop the sob that so desperately wants to escape. "Are you in there?"

Bakugou stays as silent as possible. He can't face Kirishima, especially not right now. Maybe he can avoid this unavoidable event for just a little bit longer.

"Please, just let me in. I need to talk to you."

Bakugou steels himself in a short moment of courage. Might as well get this over with quickly. Everyone says to just rip off the bandaid, and no matter how much it hurts, the pain will come to an end soon enough. Doesn't mean tearing it won't break his heart.

"Okay." He can't even recognize his voice with how light and empty it sounds.

Bakugou slowly brings himself up to his feet, raising his hand to the door handle before remembering that he's been crying. Lethargically, he drags himself to the bathroom and looks at his reflection in the mirror.

Red marks track the paths his tears took. His eyes are puffy, and the red of his irises lacks its usual spark. Strands of spiky hair stick up in every direction. He looks like shit.

Remembering that Kirishima's probably at the door, he quickly rinses his face with cold water and dries it lightly with a towel. A hand mindlessly runs through his hair as he examines his appearance again. Still terrible, but a little better. It'll have to do.

Bakugou takes in a deep breath before twisting the handle and opening the door to see the eye of the hurricane swirling within his mind. He watches as Kirishima's eyes take in his obviously post-breakdown appearance before his gaze meets Bakugou's.

"I'm sorry." Bakugou's voice comes out cracked and light, its volume just barely above that of a whisper. "I'm so sorry, Kirishima."

Kirishima seems taken aback. To be fair, though, Bakugou almost never apologizes, and when he does, it's almost always punctuated with one of his trademark curse words. "What... what're you sorry for bro?"

"Everything." Bakugou takes his eyes off the redhead before him and instead chooses to look at the floor. "I'm sorry because I know you don't feel the same, and it was a totally shitty move to put you in a situation like that. I'm sorry for having all these fucking feelings. I'm sorry for ruining the one friendship I managed to have. I'm sorry for doing all that shitty flirting this week, and I'm sorry I had to have this stupid fucking crush on you when you don't see me as anything but a friend. I'm just sorry."

Kirishima stares at him for what feels like a century. Then something unexpected happens. A warm set of arms wraps tightly around Bakugou, holding him close to the redhead before him.

"You don't have to be sorry." Kirishima's voice is kind and smooth. Bakugou can feel his chest expand as Kirishima takes a deep breath. "I like you too, Katsuki. I like you a lot."

Bakugou takes a step back, pulling away from the hug to get a good look at Kirishima's face. Rather than having his eyes downcast, his gaze confidently meets Bakugou's. No sign of a lie can be found on his face. Yet, Bakugou can't seem to believe it.

"No joke?"

"No joke. I'm just sorry I didn't say it first."

Bakugou leaps forward to wrap his arms around Kirishima's waist, holding him tight, as if if he let up even slightly with his grip the words so recently spoken would lose their value. Kirishima's arms enclose around him in a similar fashion. The emotional rollercoaster that had been his entire day surges up on a wave of newfound joy. Without letting up on his hug, Bakugou moves his head back to look at Kirishima's face.

"Can you... be my boyfriend, or something, then?" Bakugou says, avoiding direct eye contact as if everything would reveal itself to be fake if he looked straight at the gorgeous redhead before him.

"Hell yeah bro. I've been waiting forever to hear you say that."

"Can I kiss you too then?"

"I've been waiting even longer for you to ask that."

Bakugou hesitatingly moves forward, stopping just before connecting Kirishima's lips with his own as if posing a question. Kirishima quickly answers it as he closes the gap, holding both in a soft, chaste kiss. Those lips seem to be the puzzle piece that had been missing from Bakugou's life for so long. As he pulls back, the only thing on Bakugou's mind is how soft Kirishima's lips are.

He could definitely get used to this.