The Universe Listened | Kiribaku

'Cause most of our feelings, they are dead and they are gone

They sat somewhere near the middle, that being where the most room was so Riot or the boys weren't squished. The blonde said they were going to the next town over, that he had whipped together a picnic for them to share. Kirishima wasn't sure if he had the appetite to indulge. Was he even supposed to be there? Would it be a good idea to do this, whatever this was, to just go along with Katsuki?

He never answered anything Katsuki asked, never gave any sort of response. His mind wandered, his eyes stared out the window and followed all the shadows they passed by quickly. Katsuki had attempted to pet Riot, speak to him even but just like his owner, the dog was ignoring him. Eventually, he stopped talking, stopped asking questions, stopped trying to keep being overly nice because he wasn't getting the results he was looking for.

The events of the fight, the words that were said, and all the emotions that were felt replayed themselves Kirishima's head once they got off the bus fifteen minutes. Katsuki's fingers were wrapped around his elbow again, his unexpectedly jumping at the contact he knew would happen. They walked through the chilly air, inhaled all the dead trees and passed by many shops, and the entire time, Katsuki was explaining everything in extended detail.

The mountain tops are covered in a blanket of snow, shimmering under the light of the sun. The shop to your right has fresh bread cooling down on an open windowsill despite the air being breathtakingly cold and tourists are weaving in and out of every shop on both sides of the sidewalk, marvelling at all the foods and trinkets. This one girl has bright blue hair, almost as blue as the ocean or maybe even sapphires or the feathers of a peacock. An older woman owns this music shop. She takes pride in the quality instruments she sells, the old CDs and records. She's okay for the most part, a little fucking pushy if you ask me, but nice nonetheless.

We're on a path now, during the warmer seasons its gravel and dirt, not snow. Trees hang over us, towering like skyscrapers. Dear and their babies are littered across the forest, searching for whatever food they can find, and birds are huddled in their nests high above the ground. And in front of us, our destination is a large lake that's frozen over. People are drilling holes into the ice, readying themselves to begin fishing.

They a dock and after clearing the thick layer of snow off it, they sat down and let their feet hang over the edge. Katsuki offered Kirishima something to eat to which the redhead declined and focused on whatever was below him. Riot placed his head in his owner's lap, the warmth of his fuzzy head heating up his legs.

Katsuki handed Riot a treat he had bought on the way to the bus stop. Carefully he took the treat but didn't give Katsuki a second glance as he nearly swallowed it whole. Kirishima wasn't eating, Riot wouldn't even peak in Katsuki's direction like he used to. A blanket of awkwardness covered them, choking them, making each breath a little more difficult than the last, like the air was slowly disappearing.

And then.

Katsuki began to speak out of nowhere; his voice a little softer, his town a little more gentle, his words just as vulgar as always. At least that was the same.

"I'm... sorry," he began, hesitant, careful, so unlike him. "I'm really fucking sorry. You don't have to listen to any of the shit I'm about to say, nor do you have to accept my apology, but I need to get it off my chest because I'm sick of it eating away at me every single fucking day."

He told Kirishima everything. Everything. He told him about his mom and her rocky mental health, he explained the scar, why it was there and even went as far as to describe what it looked like. He gave him the story of his uncle and the things he did to Katsuki when he was younger, that his mom had taken her own life because she couldn't look at her son without losing it. He explained the break his parents had taken, how it affected his mom, how his dad was mostly absent until everything went down but even then after he thought Katsuki was okay when he really wasn't, he went back to being gone most of the time. He said he blamed himself for her death, that he always has because if he would have just dealt with his uncle maybe she'd still be around to watch him grow and succeed.