Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gray clouds clashed with the dark night sky, blocking the stars that he stared at when he couldn't sleep. Rain poured from the sky, making the perfect background noise to lull anyone to sleep. But that seemed to be the last thing he could do, as his head was too loud and the recurring dreams of the… incident were so much. He knows it was almost over a year ago, but the memory seems to be etched into his brain.

He could still feel that cold, wet slime on his body. Suffocating him, muffling his blasts and screams of help. Wondering if that was the day he was going to die. If it wasn't for deku or all might, he probably would have to. And that thought alone haunts him. And what was Deku thinking when he tried to “help” him? He didn't need his help, he didn't even have a quirk to save him! He could have gotten hurt or worse..

He sighed, and curled into his pillow, hugging it close. It brought some comfort, at least enough to push the thoughts away. The rain continued outside, and eventually he managed to nod off into sleep.

It was dark. There was a buzz in the air, and it rang so loud it was almost deafening.

He couldn't see, but there was something coming his way.

That familiar coldness wrapping around him, sinking his limbs. There wasn’t even enough time for him to yelp, as his mouth was forcefully covered in the cold slime. The only thing that wasn’t covered was his eyes, and all he saw was darkness still. There wasn’t a soul in sight. No cry for help, no one there to come save him.

**************

A big boom ripped a certain red head from his dream. He awoke with a pounding heart, and very much confused. He laid there, wondering if it was just a dream or something was in the dorms. Not even a minute later, there was a cry, and another boom. It seemed to have been very close, possibly a couple doors down? Kirishima got up from his covers, heart still pounding, but curious as to what was happening. He creaked open his door, and squinted at the darkness. He smelled something smokey in the air, was there a fire? Kirishima was about to investigate when he heard something thump. It seemed to come from Bakugou's room..

Kirishima knocked on the door.

“Bakubro?”

Silence. So he knocked a second time.

“Bakugou? I heard something loud from your room. Are you ok?” Kirishima said.

There was shuffling, and then footsteps approached the door. It opened, revealing an unnerving sight. Bakugou's whole appearance was so unkempt, like he had just got back from a villain attack. His eyes were red, and pooled with tears. It took Kirishima back for a second, before he spoke up.

“What’d you want?” Bakugou muttered, trying to sound annoyed but it came out as tired, and a little sad.

“Are you ok? I heard loud noises from your room.” He noticed how smokey the air from his room was, and it reminded him of caramel in a way. Which was kinda weird-

“S’nothing.” he mumbled. Kirishima knew he was lying, he could notice how his hands were slightly shaking. Definitely not ok..

So he took a risky move, and invited himself inside the others room, quickly closing the door on the way in.

“Hey what are you-”

“No. Something is definitely up, I smell smoke and you look terrible bro, so as your bro, I need you to tell me what's up.” the red head asserted, seeing bakugou's face range from shocked to gazing down at the carpet. They both stood there, kinda awkwardly for a few seconds.

“You didn't need to barge in like that.” Bakugou spoke softly, still looking down.

He never heard him so quiet before..

“I think it was necessary. So you're gonna tell me what's wrong? I'm worried.” Kirishima said, hoping his bro will at least say something. He was worried, anyone would be. This is his bro we’re talking about! (take a shot every time you read bro ur probably gonna have alcohol poisoning-)
The blond shifted, hands gripped at his baggy pants.

“I.. had a nightmare, ok?” he finally said.

Kirishima looked at him. The blond's eyes never meet his own. He really wished he could see them.

“A nightmare?” he repeated.

“Yes. its dumb-”

“I dont think it’s dumb.”kirishima quickly intergected. “If you don't mind me asking, what was it about?”

Bakugou raised his gaze up, meeting those red worried one’s, full of concern. He turned his head away. Why did he suddenly feel the need to tell him everything?

“You.. remember the sludge incident, right?”

Kirishima pondered for a second, nodding his head yes.

“That.. was me. I was the one who was trapped in it..”

“Oh- that was you?!” the red head exclaimed. Bakugou sighed.

“Yes- and i had dumb dream about it again! Do you know how many people came up to me after that?! Asking if i was ok, or to fucking confirm i was the weak one who somehow got caught!” said bakugou, the words just tumbling out.

“I can still feel the cold fucking slime wrapped around me, and i just- i can’t stop dreaming of it and i don’t know why..” he felt tears pool at his eyes, ad kirishima just stood there, shocked.

Bakugou wasn’t the emotional type, that was well known. But even he had breaking points. Kirishima moved absentmindedly, hugging his friend close.

“It’s ok, I'm sorry you had to go through that, but it’s ok now.” he whispered soothingly, as the blond broke in his arms. They stayed like that, and as each minute passed the two became tired, because ya’know it was like 3am by now and both of them were exhausted. Bakugou ended up falling asleep first, and kirishima took that time to think about him. How he knew him as loud and oftentimes rude, but being reminded that he is human too, and incidents like that can traumatize even people like him who try to suppress it.

Kirishima smiled, “g’night bakubro,” and he pressed his lips against his forehead, feeling the warmth, and drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

An aggressive and persistent beep awoke Kirishima up.

He grumbled, and squinted at the sun shining through the window right onto his face. There was a body against his, and for a second he was really confused, then the realization hit him like a train.

Somehow both him and bakugou were on the carpeted floor, leaning against bakugou’s bed. The events of last night flooded his memory, and he felt bad all over again. The blonds head was face planted into his side, the rest of him curled up in a very uncomfy looking position. Definitely going to feel stiff in the joints all day. The beeping was coming from Bakugou's phone, which was laying on the bed. So with as much ease as he could, kirishima felt for the phone up above, desperate to turn it off before the blond woke up, and possibly blow his face off.

His hand grabbed the phone, and he instantly turned it off, so grateful that he could turn it off without putting in a password.

The boy clinging to his side slightly stirred, and Kirishima felt his heart flutter, as Bakugou let out a soft snore. He had never seen a face so calm before. Who knew such an angry boy could look so peaceful?

The events of last night concerned him though. He never knew that the kid on the news just over a year ago was Bakugou himself. They never really said who it was, or maybe he didn’t pay enough attention that day.. Nevertheless he felt bad for him, it’s obvious that it was really messing with him. He knows the spikey blond boy is infamous for never really showing emotions other than anger, he wished he would say something when stuff like this was happening! It’s very manly to express emotions and talk about what's bothering you!

Kiri checked the time, and it was only 10am, thank whatever god is out there for letting it be saturday, or kiri definitely would have just passed away from the mere thought of sleeping in on a school day, and then having to wake him up.. Scary stuff man.
He looked down at Bakugou, who was still somehow sleeping. His arms snaked around Kiri's side, hugging him like a body pillow. The poor red head almost passed out as all the blood rushed to his face, and he was positive it was just as bright as his hair.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod-

The pAnIk was real. Do bros usually get this flustered around each other?? It's totally normal right?? Definitely-

“Hmmp..”

The flustered boy almost had a heart attack, as the boy who was wrapped around his side started to stir awake. His eyes fluttered open, and his face took on a color red kiri had never seen before.

Bakugou shot up, face red. Kirishima stared in awe, not knowing if he should laugh or continue staring like a starstruck idiot.

“You saw nothing.” Bakugou said, voice laced with sleep making it sound groggy.

“You were so hugging me bro, that was a core memory.” Kirishima spoke, smiling.

“Shut up.” he muttered, looking away.

“Awww are you embarrassed? Nothing wrong with cuddling bro, it's very manly.” reassured kiri, trying to ignore how his heart was suddenly thumping.

“No.” he muttered, not making eye contact. He rubbed his eyes, and ran a hand thru his very unkempt hair, which made kirishima almost snort at, it was so much spiker than normal. He didn't know that was possible.

“About last night..” Bakugou spoke, voice so low that kirishima almost didn't hear it.

“Yeah?”

“Please just.. Don’t mention it. It was a stupid dream. Nothing more.”

There was a beat of silence, as the red haired boy was both concerned and confused.

“I don’t think nightmares are just stupid dreams,” he spoke softly,

“You were scared, that’s not stupid.”

“. . .”

“Whatever you say..” Bakugou hastily made his way into the bathroom, gathering a towel and closing the door behind him. Kirishima sat there, the sun shining through the window in lines. He sighed, and hoped that his words at least somewhat got through to the blond. He needs to know that being scared isn’t weak. The sound of the shower interrupted his thoughts, and kirishima decided to take this time to look around the blonds room, because why not? Steadily arising from the floor, his joints popping, he felt how stiff his body was. Yep. definitely gonna be uncomfy for the rest of the day. Worth it though. His gaze went to a bookshelf, filled with books and a few pictures on top. Upon closer inspection, he saw that all of the books were that of romance novels. From a few that he knew, like “fruit basket” and even “maid sama!” Kirishima was in shock, he would have never guessed bakugou of all people read romance books. There were so many too, others being different types of mangas beside romance, but the majority seemed to be lovey dovey stuff. Who knew someone like Bakugou, who often seemed grouchy and did not express feelings like love, would read all that. Kirishima found it very manly. Then there were pictures lining up the top of the shelf. One had a picture of him and Izuku when they were little, both of them smiling so brightly. Both of them were wearing all-might onesies, and Kirishima gushed at how freaking cute both of them looked. Kirishima knew both bakugou and izuku were somewhat acquainted with each other, but he didn’t take into consideration how they were childhood friends. The other picture was a framed drawing, poorly done and obviously done by a little kid, of two kids as superheroes. Kirishima wondered who drew it, if it was bakugou or maybe izuku. He turned away from the bookshelf, and noticed a desk piled with papers and a notebook. Some of the papers had notes from class, in messy handwriting. Kirihshima opted to not open the notebook, he was nosy but not that nosy to pry into his bro’s stuff. Not manly. Instead he let his eyes wander about, noticing a desk lamp, some all- might figures, and a leather bound notebook. He wondered why there were so many notebooks, maybe Bakugou really likes writing?

The red head was interrupted by the bathroom door opening, and Bakugou walking out with his day clothes on. “Oh, you're still here?” he said, tossing the towel into a hamper.

“Did you expect me to leave or?..” Kirishima looked at the boy confused. Did he really expect him to leave?

“No. Just thought you’d go back to your own fukin’ room or something, and you're still in your pajamas y'know.” Kirishima looked at himself, and he was indeed still in his red riot shirt and black pajama bottoms. He felt his face get a little warm.

“Maybe I just wanna be comfy today.” he said, and he swore he saw the tiniest of smiles on the blonds face, as he rolled his eyes.
—

“You're lucky today is saturday. You look ridiculous.” Bakugou commented, as kirishima was still in his bedtime wear. “Hey, it's manly to be comfortable! I have nothing important to do anyways, this is self care.” Bakugou cocked his brow up, and continued to text on his phone. The both of them were in the living room part of the dorms, eating some breakfast that consisted of leftover rice and some egg mixed in, with a little sriracha on top of course. Krishima put a normal amount, while bakugou put like half the bottle in his. He seriously didn't understand how he liked his food so spicy! At that point it's nothing but eating straight up heat, but to each their own.

The area around them was quiet, some of the class went home to their families, as they were allowed to on the weekends. Kirishima didn’t, as his moms were always working, and were hardly ever home. He still loves them of course, but it kinda bummed him out when they would text him and say he couldn't come home, because they were yet again on a business trip. He wondered why Bakugou didn't go home.

“Hey bakugou, how come you didn't go home?” he asked innocently, taking another bite of his rice. The blond swallowed, and stopped momentarily from browsing on his phone. “Parents are outta town for work.” He muttered, and took a bite of his rice.

“Mine are too! Both my moms are always working, what do your parents do?” Kirishima said, looking at Bakugou for an answer.

“Fashion designers, didn't I mention that before?” he questioned, the red head shaking his head. “Not that I know of, that's cool though!”
Bakugou grunted, “In a way I guess.” he mumbled. Kirishima fornwed, noticing how he didn't seem too excited about talking about it. Bakugou in general seemed so quiet this morning, he was way more calm than kirishima is used to. Was he that shaken up about last night? Not that he blames him, nobody should ever have to go through that..
“What do you wanna do today?” kiri asked, trying to ease the sudden tension in the air. Maybe hanging out with him would make him feel a little better!

“What do I wanna do? Does that imply you as well?” Bakugou said.

“Well… yeah, we could hang out today is what I mean. It's Saturday, and we have no homework or anything, sooooo..” Kirishima said, nudging the blond's shoulder playfully.

Bakugou glared at him, swiping kiris arm away from him.

“Don't touch me. And I have no idea what to do.” he grumbled, getting up and stretching a bit. Kirishima grinned.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

–

“I'm going to beat your ass! Take a fucking turlte shell why your at it!”

“Oh come on, just how many do you have?!”

Both boys were in an intense game of mario kart, and kirishima was sick and tired of running into so many damn turtle shells and banana peels. He wasn’t the greatest at this game, sue him. But it was kinda amusing to see just how competitive bakugou was. And surprisingly he was good at the game. Bakugou was grinning like a mad man, tilting the controller in the air like he was driving in real life. Kirishima did the same, and let out a frustrated groan when bakugou’s character (which was princess peach, because she is a queen) drove over the finish line for like, the 5th time.
“HAH! I WIN!” Bakugou shouted, jumping up and pointing at the red head, who was pouting.

“Ok ok, don’t rub it in my face! You had like an infinite supply of turtle shells. How the hell was I supposed to win in those conditions!” Kirishima griped, bakugou laughing evilly in return.

“Because I'm the best, that's why, praise me bitch.” He dropped the remote on the table, still smiling proudly. Kirishima found it endearing how much his friend was enjoying the game. His smile and cackle of a laugh said he was having fun, and that was enough for him. It was his idea to play the game, and they played a good five rounds. The both of them yelling and carrying on, like normal teens do. It was hard being in the hero course and the amount of work they often had to do before doing any sort of fun stuff. It was nice to unwind for once, and just hang out and play video games on a saturday. Weekends were meant for this, and kirishima was beyond thankful that he was hanging out with his bro, even after last night.

“I'm hungry, let's find some lunch or something.” kiri said, feeling his stomach grumble. They were playing for a good hour, hour and a half. To be honest he really didn't keep track of the time.

“If dunce face didn’t eat my fucking leftovers from the other night we might have some food.” Bakugou strolled on towards the fridge, looking for his leftover curry. That fucking highlighter having ass hair always eats his food, becuase appraently he has a death wish. And everytime Bakugou threatens to blow up whoever did it, he denies everything and gets a little twitchy due to his electricity quirk. It’s very obvious when Denki lies, everyone knows that.

“Oh thank fucking all might its still here!” Bakugou hollered, very relieved and now he didn't have to waste his time tracking Denki down and possibly killing him. “Yay! We are saved!” Kirishima cheered, padding on over to the kitchen area. “Dunce face didn’t get to it this time, although i did make it extra spicy, so if he did i would definitely know.” the blonde grinned mischievously, and kiri gave a small grin back. He was a wuss when eating spicy stuff, he could take jalapenos, but anything spicier than that he was breathing fire. Bakugou put the container in the microwave, and put it for 3 mins to heat up. “When did you make that?” Kiri asked, sitting atop the counter.

“Like, 3 days ago.” he replied, getting them both some bowls from the cupboard. “How come I never see you cook? Only time I did was when we went to that summer camp.”

“I dunno. I cook all the time.” he said, the microwave beeping. He took the food out and began putting some into their bowls. He could smell the spicy smell from where he was sitting, jeezus. It looked really good though, kiri felt his tummy grumble at the scent alone. Bakugou looked at him and raised a brow.

“Are you that hungry? I can hear your stomach from here.” kiri smiled bashfully, “yeah just a little bit.” he said, bakugou passing him his bowl of food. His nose practically burned at the smell of the spice, good lord was he trying to kill him?! How can someone eat this much heat! Bakugo had no reaction, he just ate it like normal. Kiri did a small prayer, and took a bite.

For a second, all was ok, the rice and chicken tasted amazing. So much flavor, bakugou obviously knew how to season stuff. Then the heat kicked in.

Kirishima thought he was going to die. He flapped his hands dramatically and jumped off the counter to get some water. Bakugou said nothing, he watched as the boy desperately scramble for a cup, filling it with tap water and downing it quickly.

“hoLY fUcK-” he wheezed, going for more water. It wasn't really helping, but it did take some of the pain away. Bakugou let out a howl of laughter, he couldn't contain it any longer. He doubled over and laughed, as poor kiri felt tears in his eyes. But for a moment, he just stared at the boy laughing. It was a sight he had never seen before, and the sound of his laughter almost made him laugh himself. He even let out a snort, and silently wheezed. Kirishima was actually entranced, and bakugou finally composed himself after several minutes.

“Holy shit, I never laughed so hard in my life.. You should've seen your face.” he wiped some tears away, face just a little red. Kirishima tore his gaze away, realizing he was staring. “Y-yeah it was really fricken hot! How can you even eat that?”

“I like hot stuff, guess it matches my quirk in a way. Oh my god that was hilarious.”

“I don’t think I've ever seen you laugh so hard before, didn't know you were capable of doing that.” kiri said, smiling at the new core memory.

Bakugou gave a rare smile, and for once it seemed to be genuine. Kiri felt his heart slightly flutter at the sight. “Yeah, me neither...” his red eyes stared at the floor, and kirishima continued to stare like the awestruck idiot he is. And for a moment, he forgot his mouth was on fire.