bnha oneshots (vol 1)

028 ⋆ where we can breathe 🌸

ship: kiribaku
note: this was a piece I did for the Something Wicked Zine, a supernatural kiribaku zine, back in October... it's a collaboration with my dear friend Spvce (@spvcervnger) on Twitter and Instagram. I really wanted to forget this fic, but my friend said I should post it here. I don't like it much, but I hope you do. 😅

content warning: this fic contains a bit of violence and gore. also, they're vampires.

⋆

"The sun's goin' down."

Katsuki feels the cooling presence of a shadow pass over his body and removes his hat from his face to see Eijirou's broad figure looming over him. The dull orange glow of the waning sun filters behind him and through the sparsest part of the woods they've settled themselves in for the day. Eijirou steps further into the outfitter, the spurs of his boots rattling with each step he takes towards Katsuki's cot. The tarp falls behind him, shrouding them in an ample amount of darkness save for the sliver of light cutting down the center of the tent at a skewed angle. Katsuki huffs, and moves to sit upright with a grunt.

"About goddamn time."

"Are we going hunting?" Eijirou asks a bit too optimistically, and as Katsuki's post-nap vision sharpens into something much crisper, he notices the traces of blood staining Eijirou's clothes before the repulsing smell hits him. His nose scrunches and he scoffs at the scent, hoping to waft it away with a wave of his hand.

"Why are you covered in so much blood?"

And animal blood at that.

He curls in on himself, head bowing in a poor attempt to obscure his bashful grin with the rim of his hat. Katsuki shakes his head.

"Tch."

Eijirou changes out of his blood-soaked attire because like hell was Katsuki going to let him linger around smelling like a rotting deer carcass. Katsuki replaces his own hat on his head and tightens the belt around his waist, and by the time he fixes the weathering leather straps of his suspenders, Eijirou whines a soft, "I'm hungry," from the opposite side of the outfitter.

"Like hell you are," scoffs Katsuki. "From the looks of you, you just ate."

It's pitch black when Katsuki peers outside. The trees whisper in the wind whilst the crickets and cicadas chirp their discordant song and dance. There's nobody else out here with them, none trekking down the trail nor anyone fishing at the nearby creek. Katsuki glances back at Eijirou, jerking his head towards the outside world. "Get on your horse. We're gonna head into town."

They ride through the woods under the blanket of darkness, the silvery light of the moon illuminating their path towards the bustling town of Silvercity. The full moon above is soon replaced by streetlight lanterns the further they go into town, the hooves of their horses clacking against the cobblestone. They stop at the town's saloon, and as Eijirou leads his Ardennes to the hitching post, a trolley toots its bell and drowns them in a flood of white light as it passes. Katsuki's already down from his horse, hat tipped low over his brows as he murmurs,

"We go about this as per usual." Eijirou grunts in confirmation.

The saloon's packed with patrons varying from the rich and wealthy to the dirt poor—a clear distinction of class too, with the wealthier patrons sitting at the tables lining the wall whilst the others camp out near the bar. Katsuki's nose wrinkles at the scent of alcohol, sweat, and bodily fluids mixing together. But, he swallows down his disgust and saunters over the bar with Eijirou two steps behind him. He slaps down two nickels just as the bartender comes over to greet them, and with a subtle nod of the man's head, he rakes the coins into his pocket and pours out two cups of beer for them, sliding the glasses across the bar. Katsuki catches his mug and stares into the golden liquid whilst his partner downs the entire cup in ten seconds flat. The mug hits the wood with a slap, and Eijirou rocks in a closed-mouth burp as he wipes away the runoff that trickles from the corners of his lips.