crimson contact (kiribaku SOULMATE AU)

part 2 dont pretend to be what you arent

⚠️trigger warning, mention of abuse and bullying⚠️
kirishima POV
the question took me by surprise. he's never taken an interest in soulmates before. though i tried never to bring it up... given my.. past.
"i mean i guess we all do right?" i answered not wanting to confess that i hadn't found mine yet or even that i didn't have one.
"i mean have you met them?.." he persisted. there was a short silence between us before i could answer.
"n-no.." is all i managed to get out.
"me either. i don't even think i have one" i was visibly shocked and stopped walking, he mirrored my actions as he did the same.
"psh yeah i know it's pathetic but ya don't gotta make fun of me" he raised his voice a bit, beginning to get defensive. i didn't know what to say. what if he was the one, he never could be. he's out of my league. and he doesn't know. he wouldn't love me if he knew. my head started to spin as i ran away into the dorms. when i had finally made it to my dorm i shut the door and locked it, jumping onto my bed to and into my pillows. what the hell was i doing? did i just have a panic attack? WHERE BAKUGO COULD SEE ME?? ugh. i slowly drifted to sleep.
but i was awakened with a surprisingly gentle knock on the door.
"..sniff." was all i could make out. bakugou maybe?... no he doesn't cry.
"oi.. kirishima. it's bakugou." his words floated delicately out of his mouth. he was crying?
"can i please come in" i walked over and unlocked the door then sat back down on my bed.
"yeah.." he slowly opened the door and looked down. he sat at my desk chair and spun it around to face the bed i was sitting on. we didn't say anything. until,
"kirishima. what happened. you'd never just run away crying out of nowhere..." he took a deep breath and looked up at me. his nose pink, his eyes puffy, and his face wet.
"well.." i felt my eyes water up.
"please tell me." he cared. i could tell.
"when i was little i was bullied a lot. a bunch of my classmates found their soulmates young and i hadn't. they told me i was useless and pathetic. that'd i'd never be a hero and i'd never find love" all he did in response is look at me, eyes fixated on my facial expressions. he had no response though so i continued
"and as i got older and realized i was gay, they would hurt me. and then so did my mother. my dad wasn't home much. and i think that's why my mom was always so angry. one time i almost... cut my string. so when i found out you didn't think you had one.. i just-" before i could continue any more bakugo jumped up out of the chair and grabbed me into a tight hug. his arms cradled me a little as i sank into his embrace. tears gently soaking his blazer sleeve. we sat there like that until i stopped crying. then he let go and sat beside me.
"i'm.. really sorry.." he said empathetically.
"it's alright i havnt been abused since i was 14.. and i'm 17 now. so it's getting better." he didn't say much.
"do you think i have a soulmate?" he asked me shakily.
"yes." i replied with almost no hesitation.
"but i also think you need to be honest to yourself. and stop pretending to be what you're not"
hiii, sorry about it being a short chapter. i promise the next chapter will be longer. bye for now