2am Knows All Secrets [Kiribaku]

souls to keep

The anticipation in Eijirou's gut dragged the following day out into infinity. It wasn't that he was looking forward to Bakugou pouring out all of his traumas and tragedies onto him. He was just happy to be helpful! And, sure, maybe a deep part of him was curious about what the hell was going on. And maybe an even deeper part of him hoped that the two of them would bond over all of this.

Eijirou didn't like to dwell on it all that much, but ever since coming to UA, he sometimes couldn't help but feel... lonely. Of course, Class 1-A was great, Eijirou couldn't wish for better classmates, and things had gotten better the more comfortable and settled he became. But those early days, having to start so many friendships from scratch... it had been pretty rough. Isolating.

Eijirou hadn't exactly been the most popular in lower grades, but back in elementary school and middle school, at least he'd had something. A small group of ride-or-dies who watched out for each other. So many evenings at the arcade trying to one-up each other's scores, or at the movies to catch the latest action flick, or the sleepovers, sharing their crushes and hopes and dreams with giggles and hushed voices under the covers.

Those had been the days, Eijirou smiled to himself, picking absentmindedly at his bowl of rice as he reminisced in the cafeteria during lunch. Man, they'd had so much fun together. Back then, when UA had still seemed like a pipe dream, they'd all applied to the same tech school. They'd spend lunches huddled around their picnic table in the courtyard, talking about what sort of companies they would want to work for, which neighborhoods they could see themselves settling in, trying to cobble together a sort of shared long-term plan. They were gonna grow up together.

But then the unexpected had happened, in the form of an acceptance letter, and that plan got flushed down the drain. Even though Eijirou got to live his dream, his schoolwork and training worked him to the bone, and it hadn't taken long for them to lose touch. And dammit, Eijirou missed them! He missed their late nights speed-running video games and clearing out the fridge and planning the grossest dares.

But this wasn't any of his old friends. This wasn't even Kaminari, or Ashido, or Sero. This was Bakugou. Those shenanigans wouldn't fly here. If Eijirou started stuffing mochi into his mouth to see how much he could fit before gagging, Bakugou would just kick him to the curb! Not to mention, Bakugou seemed to be going through some shit. Serious shit. Not the sort of thing that paired well with Mochi Mushing. As excited as Eijirou was for the sleepover, he needed to remember that.

The evening hours trudged slowly onward, and Eijirou spent the agonizing wait in the common room, failing to make any progress on his summer assignments while chatting with Ashido and Sero and Kaminari. There was this compulsion to check his phone every few minutes for some sort of green light or confirmation or something. The further the sun dipped in the sky, the harder it was to focus on even simple conversations, and sometimes he let himself fade out entirely, content to just listen or even not listen at all.

Then, a buzz, and in an instant, his phone was in hand. He glanced at the time — 8:31, had he really been zoned out that long? — and read the notification.

[054-000-0000:]
Are you coming or not?

His eyes widened as he read.

Bakugou. It had to be, right? A grin spread on Eijirou's face. Speak of the devil! ...Wait, how'd Bakugou get his number—?

Didn't matter. Eijirou sent a quick 'omw' and quietly excused himself from the common room, making sure no one gave him any weird looks as he trailed off.