Harder to Love

Rise and Shine

The first thing Kirishima noticed when he woke up was that somebody was holding his hand. 
"Please be Bakugou." He thought. He wanted it to be Bakugou so bad.
But when he opened his eyes, seeing pink fingers entwined with his own, his heart dropped.
But not too much. Mina was still one of his best friends and her hands were magical to hold.
He was in a hospital room. He could tell that much from the sound of beeping and the sterile scent. The memory of what had happened to him came back in a flash and he groaned.
"Kiri?!" He heard Kaminari say as arms wrapped around him and the scent of scotch tape filled his nose.
"Hey! Careful! He could have a concussion!" Mina scolded Sero.
"Sorry, dude. You feeling alright?"
"Mnnh...a little fuzzy...how long was I out?"
And where was Bakugou?
"Two days."
"What?!"
"Yeah, dude. You were hit pretty hard. Don't you remember?"
"I...uh...well..." Kirishima was shocked. Two whole days?
"What did I miss?"
"Well, Kaminari finally asked Jirou out."
"Wow, really? Good job dude!" Kirishima held up his fist, which Kaminari bumped.
"Thanks. It was tough, but I managed."
"I'm so proud of you!"
"So...uh...we heard about your quirk...sorry dude..." Sero sat back down in the chair on the other side of the bed from Mina.
"But, on the bright side, you might not need to use them anymore." Kaminari stated.
"What do you mean?"
"Bakugou." Mina answered. "That scene he caused ended up stirring the whole country. Now; they're calling for votes to overturn the Quirk Protection laws."
"What? Really?!"
"Yeah. That's the only reason your boyfriend isn't here right now. He's out there collecting votes and finding people to tell their story so those without quirks realize that the world needs to change." Mina smiled.
"He's not my boyfriend..." Kirishima realized. They hadn't gotten a chance to discuss it. What were they now?
"Dude, you kissed on live television." Kaminari rolled his eyes. "You're totally boyfriends."
"We haven't TALKED yet!" Kirishima insisted.
"Ah shit...I was supposed to text him when you woke up." Mina reached into her pocket for her phone. "He wanted to know the exact moment you were conscious."
"He did?!"
"Aww. Your face just lit up. So cute!"
"You're in super deep, dude." Kaminari laughed.
"Is he coming any time soon?" Kirishima asked.
"I mean...who knows. He's pretty busy with the whole vote thing."
"Oh..."
"Don't let it get you down. He's doing this for you. He doesn't want anybody else to go through what you did." Mina assured him, squeezing his hand.
"You're right..."
"And I think...I think he's doing it for us too." Sero said unsurely. "Like...he loves you and we're all super important to you so protecting us, making sure our kind can live without worry, is something he needs to do."
"Yeah..." Kirishima smiled. He was proud of Bakugou for doing this, even if it meant not seeing him for a while. He knew Bakugou would come back to him eventually, and when he did...
...their lives would be a little more complete.

I've still got one more chapter to tear your hearts out guys!
I put a fb poll out for those who wanted to vote on either an au where kiribaku fosters a child or a fantasy au and it's kinda leaning toward family rn but I'm open to more votes (yall can just comment your choices TBH and I'll factor them in)
We'll see which one wins on Wednesday. The next fic will probably be out Thursday or Friday!
See you in the finale!!!