Test of Courage

28

Bakugou's POV
"Come on, dumb hair," I was waiting at the door to the room I shared with Kirishima. He still hadn't put his bag down.

"Where are we going?"

"Didn't you hear what the inn keeper said?" I asked impatiently, "I'm taking you on a stupid date." Kirishima grinned and it felt like my heart was melting.

"Let me fix my hair. It's messy from the wind and traveling all day," He said going to the vanity where a mirror sat. I sat on the bed to wait for him. I ran my fingers through own hair, moving my bangs back. They fell back into place and I let my hand fall to the bed.

"Ready!" When Kirishima came over to me I had to fight back a smile. He changed his hair from his usual spikes. He brushed in back into a small ponytail. You have to be blind to think he didn't look adorable.

"Finally," was my response. He grabbed my hand and I could feel his buzzing from excitement like a puppy. We left the inn to see the sky beginning to set. Villagers started to light lanterns and candles so the festivities could continue.

"Where do you want to go first?" I looked to Kirishima and my breath caught in my throat. The colors from the sunset and the light from the lanterns cast a glow on his face, highlighting his features perfectly. That, paired with his adorable grin and cute pony tail, made my knees turn to jelly.

"Maybe, get some food?" He shifted his gaze from the sunset to me and I could see the colors and light reflect in his eyes. I cleared my throat.

"Yeah, sure," I tore my eyes from his face and scans the streets for the food stalls. We weaved through people and stalls hand in hand, considering our options. Eventually Kirishima spotted a man who was selling meat kebabs. We bought a few and ate while walking through the town.

The last of the sun peeked over the horizon leaving the rest of the sky dark. The lanterns became the only source of light in the town casting a soft glow over everything.

We watched the street shows people performed like playing music, or performing card tricks. Kirishima started to pull me towards a juggling act and I tugged lightly on his hand.

"You can go ahead, Ei, but I want to go do something," I said.

"Is everything okay?" He frowned a little.

"Yeah, I'll come find you as soon as I'm done," I gave him one of my rare sincere smiles. His grin returned and he nodded. He went to watch the juggler and I turned to walk in the other direction.

I wanted to get him something. We didn't get each other gifts often but I thought this was a good time. I wanted to find something he would like and I knew wouldn't want anything big or expensive. While we walked through the stalls I keep my eye out for something he might like, but I was unsuccessful.

He wasn't a big fan of new clothes so I knew that was out of the question. Things like small trinkets didn't seem like a good option either. Food didn't seem like a good gift considering we just ate and it wouldn't last long. I tried thinking of any conversations we've that might help.

Then something caught my eye. A stall when a lady was selling leather bracelets. They had thick and thin strips of leather weaved together in different patterns and the loose pieces at each end were tried together to complete the bracelet. They weren't too flashy or expensive and they seems like his style.

I paid for one and went back to where I left Kirishima. Since I left he moved on from the juggler and I found him listening to a teenager playing the guitar.

"Dumb hair," I got his attention and he smiled, "I got you something."

"Really? You didn't have too," He said.

"I wanted to, so take it," I pushed the bracelet into his hands. He looked at it and grinned. He slid it onto his wrist.

"I love it!" He exclaimed. I didn't bother stopping the smile that spread on my face. Instead I leaned into his side with my arm around his waist. He put an arm around me too and we listened to the guitarist' music happily.

Midoriya's POV
Not long ago the sun set. I climbed into the bed Todoroki and I were sharing. He was already there waiting for me. I curled up by his side and he wrapped his arms around me, making me feel secure.

"I can't believe we'll be home in only two or three days," I sighed. My heart twinged at the thought. I missed the village and my mom. I missed my old idea of adventures where we would discover something in the woods or goof around as friends. I knew it wasn't going to be the same once we got home. All of us changed, even if it was only a little.

"Yeah. It'll be nice to see the village again, and our families," Todoroki said. I nodded. His warmth felt nice and my eyes drooped.

"I miss then," I said tiredly.

"Me too." Next thing I knew, I was dreaming about one of our old adventures where we found a small pond in a secluded part of the woods.

The next morning I woke up in Todoroki's arms, with the sun shining on my face through the window. The sky was clear again. The sun wasn't very high yet so I knew it was still early in the morning. There were still remains of light pinks. I snuggled into Todoroki's chest and closed my eyes. When I was about to fall back to sleep Todoroki began to wake up.

"Good morning," He mumbled when he noticed I was awake too.

"Good morning," I replied with a small groggy smile.

"We should get up, so we can get ready," He said.

"Yeah," I replied. We laid there for a moment enjoying each other's presence. The next thing I knew, Iida was waking us up, knocking on the door and telling us to get ready to leave.

All of us got ready and met in front of the inn, after returning our door keys. The town was still celebrating the summer festival and people were starting to open their stalls and attractions again. The air was cool from the morning dew. Like usual, our group was quiet in the morning, while we were still waking up.

Two days passed before we knew it and the woods around us started to become familiar. My heart beat faster and hands started shaking with excitement. We were so close. Finally we got to the edge of the woods and the village waited in front of us. We could see people walking through the streets, doing their business. I let out a sigh and felt the most relaxed I ever have since before I found the sword. A grin spread on my face. I squeezed Todoroki's hand.

"We're home."