STUTTER | KIRISHIMA EIJIROU.

chapter two.

     You considered yourself a patient person. Even if you were rather lazy and acted aloof most of the time, you didn't particularly rush anything or anyone.

     So, the fact of the matter was that your patience had snapped into two after a couple of months of waiting for your best friend to say something about his deep rooted feelings of insecurity or dream of becoming a hero.

     "Kirishima," you had asked after a few months of knowing him. Your serious yet uncaring tone of voice made him look over at you with surprise. "Is there anything you wanna tell me?" You two were sitting on your queen sized bed with a few inches of space separating your arms from touching. You shut off your cellphone, setting it aside.

     His eyebrows went up, and his crimson red eyes widened comically. "H-Huh!? Why ask that so suddenly, [Name]?" he asked, anxiety laced into his voice. The boy winced, clearly noticing his stutter and tone.

     You let out a sigh, moving to lean against him. He immediately went stiff, but eased up after a few silent seconds. "There's obviously something that's been bothering you." you said pointedly, staring up at your room's ceiling.

     "It's nothing," Kirishima dismissed with a fake smile. "Really! Don't worry about me, [Name]." he punched your arm lightly, teasingly, but his scared eyes took out all of the playfulness.

     You ripped your gaze from the ceiling to his face. He flinched, not expecting your piercing and calculating expression. You took in a deep breath, asking yourself if you had to pull out that card. "There's been something on your mind for the past few months now," you claimed. Your hand tentatively reached out for his that was on his thigh. You clutched it, intertwining your fingers with his calloused ones. "You know that I'm here for you, right?"

     Kirishima held your stare before he averted his eyes to the ground. His fingers were loose in your hand, but his thumb ran over the smooth skin. "I know that." he finally replied after a minute. He looked unsure with himself but not enough to confess.

     You hesitated for a moment before pulling out your ultimate trap card. "Do you... do you not trust me then?" you made your voice quiet, a whisper even.

     And just like that, Kirishima's eyes were back on you in a flash. "What!? How could you even think that?" he questioned incredulously. "You're the person I trust the most, [Name], it's just that... I'm scared that your view on me will change." he admitted nervously, his hand squeezing yours, before his attention was back onto the wooden floor.

     "My view of you isn't going to change," you promised. "It didn't change when you said that Crimson Riot was your favorite hero, and it sure as hell won't change now."

     A moment of conflicted silence went by before your best friend spoke again. "I want to go to U.A. High School," he announced in a small voice. "I want to go to U.A. so that I can become a hero that everyone can think highly of, but I'm not cut out for that kind of stuff, [Name]..." he let out a sigh, using his free hand to rub the back of his neck. "Pretty lame, huh? Sorry that your best friend is a loser." he said while letting out a pained chuckle.

     You stared at his ashamed, anxious face before snorting. The hand that wasn't holding onto Kirishima's reached up to his head of black hair to ruffle it. He let out a surprise yelp with wide eyes. "Well, I think that my best friend is perfect for U.A.—" you grinned, hand still on his head. "—and for the title of one of the top heroes in the future." you finished.

     Kirishima gaped at you with an awestruck look painted onto his face. You could have sworn there were literal stars in his eyes— actually, those may have just been tears. You let out a short "oof!" when he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around you to pull you close; you graciously returned the embrace. He fell back onto your bed, causing you to be directly on top of him.

     "Thank you, [Name]," his voice was muffled against your neck. You weren't sure if you were imagining the feeling of tears dropping onto your skin. "You're the best."

     While running your fingers through his locks of dark hair, you merely nodded at his thanks. "Whatever you say, Kiri." The new nickname rolled off of your tongue easily. His hold on you only tightened, so you at least knew that he liked it.

     "Ah," you remembered while you were still in your best friend's arms. "I don't think I've mentioned this before... but I wanna become a hero, too."

     You had said it so casually that Kirishima's mind almost waved off your statement. "Okay... wait, what!?" he exclaimed, pushing your shoulders back so that he could meet your eyes. His face instantly reddened when he realized what position you two were in. "S-S-Sorry, [Name]! I-I acted without thinking!" he stumbled on his words. "You can get off now, I'm so sorry." he apologized again, embarrassed and flushed.

     You stared at him dead in the eyes for a moment before saying, "Nah, you're comfy," and flopping right back onto him. "Smell good, too." you mumbled against his chest, wrapping your arms around his neck.

     "I-Isn't this kind of... I don't know... inappropriate?" he fumbled with your waist and hips, obviously inexperienced with such affection. He finally settled for hugging your waist, pulling you closer than before.

     "Not unless you make it like that." you answered lazily while feeling Kirishima hesitantly place his chin over your head.

     More moments of peace passed by between you and Kirishima, but it was broken by the latter. "Let's get into U.A. together then, [Name]!" he exclaimed. You didn't need to look at him to see the bright grin he wore— you felt it.

     However, you smiled against his chest, heart warming at the idea of spending your high school years with your best friend. "Yeah, let's." you agreed.