Silenced

Prologue

"What an honor it is to have the power couple of the decade here on my radio show," the announcer exclaimed in a joyous manner, "ladies and gentleman, sitting with me tonight is the one and only poprocks hero combo! Now, if y'all've been sitting under a rock for the past five years, or so, let me fill you in. Our guest stars this evening are none other than Red Riot, and Ground Zero. And, what an honor it is to be talking with you two one on one. Now," he continued, "you two have made a lot of firsts when it comes to the hero community. Have you not?"

Kirishima, also known as Red Riot, cleared his throat before letting his gaze drift to the announcer, "I'd say so... at least, that's what we've been told. But, we're just people. Nothing special."

"Oh, don't be so modest, Red Riot," a laugh escaped him, which made the microphone fill with static for just a brief moment, "you broke through multiple barriers, and ended up leading the way for many aspiring hero's that otherwise would have been turned away. I mean," the man stuttered, "for starters, you two were the first openly gay hero's, on top of several other things," a pause let the static take over the mic once more as he took a moment to straighten out his collar, "Ground Zero, especially. I mean, to be the first hero to suffer from short term memory loss is a big thing; on top of being mute, as well. Would you mind answering me this," the two made rather intense eye contact, which led the announcer to adjust his collar once more, "how do you do it? Keep tabs on what's going on in a drawn out fight, that is?"

The eye contact broke when Bakugo, known as Ground Zero, turned towards his redheaded husband, and long time friend, and began to sign extensively.

Kirishima, glad to translate, spoke for him, "you need to learn how to trust your friends, and teammates. That's a big part of what it takes to be a hero; you can't do it alone. Disabled or not."

"Very well spoken. Very well spoken, indeed," the announcer nodded justly, as he continued deeper into the topic, "now, I can only imagine how devastating it was to be told that your career as a hero was over just as it had been getting started all those years ago, back when you were first injured. What was it that made you push on despite the backlash from everyone around you telling you you couldn't?"

No time was wasted in responding, and those hands were flying all over the place in passionate explanations. Kirishima's voice matched the feeling, "backlash isn't the word for it. I had more support than I could have ever asked for. If anything, it was an eye opener as to just how much I'd changed as a person back then. Nobody doubted me... that I was close too, anyway. I knew it wasn't over; it was just gonna be harder, is all."

Thoughtful nods came in return, as the whole studio fell silent as to soak up the boy's message. The announcer, after readjusting his collar for the third time, let a grin take over his face as he let himself add to it, "and what do you mean by change? Are you referring to the infamous name you'd gotten yourself after your first sports festival win? If so, I completely agree that you've really turned it all around. Your fan's always seem to have nothing but good things to say about you."

"Yeah," Kirishima, with a bashful blush flushed onto his face, added in before Bakugo had even gotten the chance to comment, "it's definitely gotten a lot better. The support from our fans makes it all worth it. The lives we get to save. I mean, yeah, it's been hard; it's taken a lot to get to where we've gotten... but I'd say it was well worth it," the boy looked over, and met the waiting eyes of his husband, who smiled in return, "don't you think?"

A simple nod is what he got. A nod, and a look that read more kind words than a voice could ever speak.

"Yeah. Me too..."

***