CUPID'S LIST (Kirishima x Bakugou)

My Best Friend

Kirishima's gaze remained expressionless. Nevertheless, he opened the door a bit further and let Bakugou in.

Bakugou had often been in the redhead's room and it was chaotic as always. But the full bin, stuffed with used tissues, and the chocolate wrapper on the desk announced Kirishima's condition.

The redhead went into his room, sat down on his bed and crossed his arms, while Bakugou followed him uncertainly. He stood there a little awkwardly, not knowing where to sit. After a brief hesitation, he took a seat on the desk chair, facing Kirishima. Bakugou looked at him, but the redhead looked towards the window.

This position evoked a feeling of déjà-vu from Bakugou, even if it had been in another room. They had also sat like that three days ago, before he sat down next to him and finally kissed him.

"Say what you have to say," Kirishima said quietly.

Bakugou sighed. He still didn't know exactly how to start, even though he'd played out this situation over and over again last night.

"I wanted to apologize."

"You already said that. Then just do it," said the redhead quietly but in a bitter tone. Bakugou only stiffened more.

"Sorry." It was nothing more than a whisper. He had never been good with words. Nevertheless, he put a certain urgency into this one word and hoped that Kirishima understood how seriously he meant it. The blonde was looking for his friend's eyes, but he was still staring out the window.

"Kiri, look at me," he said almost begging. Slowly the eyes of the redhead found his. "Sorry," he said again with insistence. Kirishima closed his eyes briefly and slumped a little. When he opened his eyes again, the hard expression had disappeared.

"Why did you kiss me?"

There it was. That one question he couldn't answer. Bakugou couldn't keep the intense eye contact and now looked out the window himself. He took a deep breath and decided to be honest.

"I don't know. I've already racked my brain about it. But I hurt you and just let you go. You've been so upset the last few days and I couldn't be there for you. I just couldn't stand to see it, because ..." Bakugou became quieter and quieter towards the end. It was hard for him to talk so openly about his feelings, but he couldn't expect Kirishima to be open with him if he wasn't first.

"Because...?", asked the redhead.

"You're my best friend," Bakugou said quietly. It was true, but at the same time it felt wrong. He had the feeling he was drawing a line with these words. A line he didn't really want to draw. He frowned.

But on the face opposite his lay a light smile. Immediately Bakugou felt a warmth around his heart. Even if the smile wasn't as broad and enthusiastic as usual, he had missed it.

"You know, I want to be honest with you. The whole thing has been pretty hard on me, but it's not the main reason why I'm so down."

"Your father?" the blonde asked gently.

Kirishima nodded. "Every day I only heard from my mother that I had to come to the hospital, because my father was able to die any moment ...", his voice broke and immediately he had tears in his eyes again.

"Was?" asked Bakugou, somewhat confused by the past tense.

"He died last night." A lonely tear ran down his cheek.

Bakugou stood up and took him in his arms. After Kirishima sank into his arms and clung to him sobbing, he realized how similar the situation was to that one three days ago. Again, he had acted impulsively and wanted nothing more than to support the redhead. He gently stroked his back and pressed the warm body closer to him.

"My condolences, Kiri," he tried to comfort him awkwardly. He felt so incompetent. Kirishima had trusted him and when he needed a confidant the most, he hadn't been there.

"Why didn't you stay home for a while? I think everyone would be okay if you stayed at home for a few days," Bakugou asked as Kirishima's sobs became quieter and quieter.

"My aunt takes care of my mother. And I ... can handle it myself," Kirishima said quietly.

"I can see that. Have you actually looked at yourself?" Bakugou asked with a humorless laugh.

Kirishima shrugged his shoulders and buried his face deeper in his chest. "Whatever. I wouldn't rather be anywhere else right now," he mumbled into Bakugou's t-shirt.

A small smile crept onto the blonde's face as he continued to rub his hand over Kirishima's back. They sat silently for a while. Then Bakugou noticed the deep breathing of the other. A little surprised, he looked down at Kirishima. A relaxed expression softened his face. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open. He had indeed fallen asleep. He probably hadn't slept at all last night.

Carefully, he pushed him away from himself a little. Kirishima gave an unwilling murmur and tightened his grip, which restricted Bakugou's freedom of movement. Damn he's strong, he thought smiling as he tried to put him in a more comfortable position on his bed. But since the redhead didn't loosen his grip, he had no choice but to lie down with him. Not that it really bothered him. He wanted to be there for him, it was pretty much the only thing he could do, so he didn't think long about it.

He carefully pulled at the blanket which they were half lying on and put the free end gently around Kirishima. Then he wrapped his arms around him again and looked at the sleeping redhead and stroked one of the red strands back from his face. Kirishima seemed to be a little ticklish, at least his forehead frowned and he mumbled, displeased. A slight smile covered the blonde's face. At that moment he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed the closeness of the other. He also closed his eyes as he became more and more addicted to the feeling of the warm body at his side.

Bakugou didn't know exactly how long they lay there. He only dozed because, unlike Kirishima, he had slept enough the previous night. But then there was a knock at the door.