My Ride or Die- Kiribaku Fantasy AU

Eighteen

Bakugou

I ran after Eijirou, trying to keep him in my sight as I ran through the trees after him. Mud splattered my legs and branches whipped my face, but I didn't slow down. "Eijirou!" I screamed.

Eijirou tackled me with a hug, knocking me onto the ground. I grinned up at him. He was finally released from the fear of being captured by Endeavor! We were now free to do whatever we wanted. Together. Eijirou closed his eyes. My heart raced. I knew what was going on. I didn't move, letting Eijirou press his lips to mine. My breath was sucked right out of my body. Eijirou's kiss was so soft, so sweet, and full of love. I couldn't help but stare at him when he pulled away.

That was the wrong thing to do. Eijirou took it the wrong way and must have thought that I was gaping at him because I hadn't wanted to kiss him, but that was far from the truth. I was just so shocked and happy that we finally had kissed.

"Hey, where are you going?" I reached out to grab Eijirou's arm when he started walking away. He just walked faster.

"Eijirou, stay here!" I begged. He shifted into his dragon form.

"Stop! Come back!" Panic overrid my brain. "I love you!"

But Eijirou didn't stop. He didn't seem to hear anything.

And as I shouted his name one last time, the man I loved flew into the sky and over the thick tree canopy. It had been nearly two hours. Tears streamed down my face. My body ached from running, searching, desperately trying to find any trace of Eijirou. My throat was ripped raw from screaming his name into the rain. I tripped over a root and fell on the ground, mud caking my whole front. I stood up and looked back at the root.

It wasn't a root, but a tail. A mud-covered tail connecting to a mud-covered dragon. Eijirou.

I laughed in scared relief. "I found you!" I ran over to his head and lifted it to look into Eijirou's eyes. He was unconscious.

"No no no no." I frantically looked around for anything that could help me carry him back to my cave. I found nothing, but I remembered something that Eijirou had told me.

I stroked the bridge of his nose with my fingers until Eijirou's body began to glow. He shrank and slowly but surely shifted into his human form. Then I picked him up bridal style, with his neck resting on one arm and the crook of his legs on my other, and began walking. I didn't know where I was walking, I just walked.

The rain didn't show any sign of stopping, and I hoped that my instincts were taking me to my cave.

"Katsuki, is it?" A voice croaked from under a giant mushroom. I looked over and saw Tsu standing under it, a basket of leaves in her hand.

"I need your help." I rushed over to the healer and laid Eijirou on the ground in front of her.

"What happened here?" Tsu pressed a finger to the corner of her mouth.

"I'm not sure, I found him on the forest floor and he's too covered in mud for me to see any wounds." I said.

"Alright, I'll follow you to your home and try to heal him with what I have here." Tsu rasped.

"Thank you so much. And I'm... sorry or whatever... about earlier." I looked away when I apologized.

"No worries, it really wasn't my business whatever you two were doing." Tsu winked at me.

I picked up Eijirou again and started back in the direction that I was sure was home.

time skip to the cave brought to you by pain

I laid Eijirou down on the bed that we had made together from trees in the forest. The rain had washed the mud off of him and I now saw the deep scratches and marks that he bore all over his body. Tsu said that it was likely that his wings had given out and he had fallen through the canopy, receiving scratches from tree branches and from the hard landing.

Tsu crushed up multiple herb combinations and slathered them over Eijirou's wounds. She stroked the scratches with her fingers, and the herbs began to glow. The leaf pastes shone white and eventually dissolved into nothing, burning away the marks on Kirishima's body as they did.

"Alright, just let him rest once he wakes up and he should be fine." Tsu smiled at me and stood up to leave.

"Thanks." I said, holding Eijirou's hand.

"No problem." Tsu pushed the vine curtain out of the way and walked into the rain.

I squeezed Eijirou's hand, tears threatening my waterline. "You gotta wake up, okay?" I said quietly.

Eijirou remained quiet.

"I didn't walk through the forest for two hours just for you to die." I chuckled. "You gotta wake up for me."

I leaned forwards and kissed Eijirou's forehead. His eyes blinked open the slightest bit. He mumbled something that I couldn't understand.

I put my ear close to his mouth. "What?"

"I was... scared... you weren't coming for me." Eijirou said slowly, like he didn't have enough energy to talk.

"Why would you think that?" I squeezed his hand tighter.

"Because... I kissed you...." Eijirou closed his eyes again.

"That's bullshit." I smiled down at him.

Eijirou smiled too. "...love you... I know it's... too early but... I have for a while...."

"I love you too, Eijirou." The tears in my eyes finally fell. "You're my ride or die, I ain't ever letting you go. Remember that."

Eijirou let out a long breath, a sigh of relief. I laid down in the bed next to him and pulled him close to my chest. Eijirou lifted his head a little and pressed his forehead against mine. My heart raced, like every time this had almost happened before. I knew for sure that nothing was stopping us this time.

I sat up and Eijirou did as well. We faced each other, Eijirou's arms around my waist and mine wrapped behind his back. I grinned, happiness filling me to the brim. Eijirou smiled sleepily back at me.

I brushed stray hairs off of Eijirou's forehead and let my hand rest on the back of his head. I stared down at his lips, perfect and soft and so so kissable. I already knew it.

I kissed Eijirou's forehead first, bringing a smile to those beautiful lips. Then I pressed a kiss to his temple, moving slowly down his cheek and finally touching the corner of his mouth. I hesitated, but not for long. Eijirou pulled me closer and I melted into the kiss. Our bodies were closer than they had ever been. My face was hot and my heart was pounding.

I grabbed Eijirou as tightly as I could in a hug, pulling him as close to me as we could possibly get. His hands moved down slightly from my waist, surprising me a little and making me smile into the kiss. I never wanted to break apart, never wanted to let go. This was pleasure, paradise, and the happiest I had ever been.

I felt Eijirou's mouth open slightly and I smiled against his lips. His lips closed and we each took a breath before returning to the warm and tender kiss that felt like home, if nothing else.

I began planting soft kisses all over Eijirou's face, making him smile and lean towards me more, eventually resting his tired head on my chest. I stroked his hair, combing my fingers through the knots and softly pulling out leaves and sticks.

Eijirou yawned and his head slid down my chest and into my lap. I smiled down at him, then moved his head gently onto his pillow and laid down beside him, pulling the thick blanket over us both. I kissed Eijirou one last time on the tip of his nose before he closed his eyes.

"I love you." I murmured against his mouth, and felt a smile against mine just before I fell asleep.

word count: 1427