The Horizon and the Sea

Stars...

Bakugo bolted up in the bed, breathing heavily from a nightmare he had already forgotten. He caught his breath and looked down to see an empty spot where Kirishima normally slept. Kirishima disappeared during the night a lot. It rarely happened when they had first arrived but as the months progressed he started to leave more and more. They had already spent seven months alone on the island. The last two months Kirishima had been leaving almost every night, gone more often than not. He always came back before the sun had risen, and Bakugo had normally fallen back asleep before he arrived. He wasn't sure if Kiri knew that Bakugo knew he left so often. Bakugo had followed him one night. He watched as Kiri approached the edge of a cliff. His mind was racing with every terrible thought about why Kiri would come here, but before he called out to him he saw Kirishima just sat on the edge, looking out over the peaceful ocean.

He made his way out of their home, making his way towards the all too familiar path. He made his way towards the cliff, his bare feet snapping the twigs on the path. After months of walking the same path to the cliff, night after night, the brush had started to clear. The path had become flattened leaves and almost nothing more. He stepped out of the tree line into the clearing that led to the cliff. He saw Kiri sat in his usual spot, looking out over the ever-calm sea. Bakugo walked up to him, standing next to him in silence for a moment.

"Do you really think we'll ever get home?" he said, sounding almost heartbroken. Bakugo could see the drying tears track that lined his face. Bakugo's breath hitched as he saw the pain in Kiri's eyes. His chest tightened and his heart ached. He sat down next to Kiri, placing his head on his shoulder.

"I don't know," he said solemnly. He felt Kirishima's breathing speed up underneath him. He breathed out a single pained laugh. "But I do know they will never stop looking for us," he picked his head up, looking at his best friend, "and even if they do, we will always have each other here, so we don't have to be alone,"

"What are we supposed to do?" Kiri turned to him, panic in his eyes. "Do we just wait here forever? How long until we give up hope?" tears began to trace over the dried tracks along his face. Bakugo lifted his hand, wanting to reach out but not knowing how. "How long do we just sit here helpless?" All Bakugo could do was look at him stunned.

"As long as it takes," Bakugo looked deep into his pained eyes, searching desperately for some way to help him. He could see the distress Kirishima was in, seeing him like this made his chest tight. He was scared, but Bakugo couldn't blame him. He had thought the same things before, but he pushed all those thoughts out of his mind. He had always pushed away unconstructive feelings and even some of the constructive ones.

"Do you think they've forgotten about us?" Kirishima spoke in almost a whisper. He looked down at his hands, laced in the short grass. Bakugo placed his hand on Kirishima's cheek, lifting Kiri's face towards his own. He wiped away a stray tear gently with his thumb. Kiri closed his eyes and leaned into Bakugo's touch. His hand was much warmer than the cold night air around them. More tears fell slowly from his eyes. Bakugo's own tears threatened to fall.

"They won't forget us that easily," Bakugo smiled gently, stroking Kiri's cheek. Bakugo wasn't sure how convinced he was of the words he was saying but it seemed to help put Kiri's mind at ease. The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

"Thank you," Kirishima pulled away from Bakugo's touch. "Thank you for dealing with me," he looked out over the ocean, "Thank you for being here Katsuki," the gentle crash of the waves and salty smell in the air was just as calm as Kiri's mind had become. He laid down on the cool grass, feeling the soft blades against his bare back.

"You don't have to thank me," Bakugo looked down at Kirishima who stared up at the sky. "You've done more for me than I think you realize," Bakugo laid in the grass next to him. Bakugo felt Kirishima's hand brush his, and the two locked pinkies. Kiri started to pull and Bakugo felt saddened from the loss of touch. A moment later he felt Kirishima place a finger on the palm of his hand. Bakugo opened his hand and Kirishima laced his fingers in between Bakugo's. The two laid hand in hand in the calm night for what felt like hours. The two felt content to stay like that forever if they could.

"You know," Bakugo broke the silence, "you can see so many more stars out here than we ever could at home,"

"Yeah, out here there is nothing to obstruct the sky, we could stay here and count every star until the end of time," Kiri chuckled softly. "Hey Kat?" Bakugo perked up at the sound of his nickname. Kirishima rarely called him anything other than "Bakugo" and hearing something else made him feel warm inside.

"Yeah?" he responded, waiting with bated breath.

"Will you call me Eijiro?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, if you keep calling me Katsuki,"

"Deal," he smiled, turning to face Bakugo. They stared into each other's crimson eyes for a moment before Kirishima yawned.

"Hey, we should head home, it's much too late to be up,"

"Agreed," the two stood and made their way back to their home, hand in hand. They walked side by side back to their home. The two never let go of each other, staying wrapped together even as they fell asleep once again. The two drifted into a peaceful sleep, the warmth of the two of them giving them peace of mind.