The Universe Listened | Kiribaku

I'm just a silouhette

•Chapter Twenty-One•

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A simple routine had fallen into place: school, dance practice, and on Thursdays after school and an hour of practice, Katsuki and Kirishima attended therapy. Structure, that's what the two needed. Structure and safety. And it was working, the therapy. Kirishima was the happiest he's been in so long and Katsuki wasn't as irritable as before. Sometimes, if he were lucky, Kirishima could hear a smirk or even a smile in Katsuki's voice. He wondered if it was because of him, he wondered if he made Katsuki happy or if finally being able to talk, to get everything off his chest, just made him feel less heavy, more free. Kirishima didn't want to seem selfish, but deep down in his heart, he wanted to be the source of Katsuki's happiness.

The Saturday sun cast its rays in through the gaps between the curtains, displaying a memorizing line of light across the side of Kirishima's face as he sat on Mina's bed hunched over his phone listening to image descriptions on Instagram. When there wasn't a description, either Mina or Kaminari took the honour of telling Kirishima about the picture, or video if one somehow managed to pop up in his feed. He'd been with them since late Friday night. They stayed up watching rom-coms and eating way too much junk food to even be considered okay.

Kaminari and Mina had their friend back, a friend they could actually recognise. The friend that was always smiling and telling jokes and showing them that even in the face of pain, they could be happy. After all he's been through, he could be happy and that gave them the strength to believe that they could be happy, too. Before, when they looked at him they weren't sure it was actually Kirishima. There was no smile or life or passion. His body was an empty shell functioning out of pure obligation, not because he wanted to him. Seeing him actually smiling, the light behind his eyes, was something they had been wishing for. Both of them had missed his smiles.

"So, I like Katsuki," Kirishima said.

"We know," Mina and Kaminari said in unison.

"I know, but like, this time there isn't an I think. I like Katsuki." A breath. "I like Katsuki," he said again.

"Are you still waiting until after the competition?" Mina asked.

"Yes."

"It's because he's too scared to confess now," Kaminari asked. Mina glared and swatted at his arm.

"I think it's smart to wait, just in case, ya know?" Mina said. "And it's okay if you're scared. Kami was scared."

"Of course I was scared. Have you seen Jiro? She's a violent little thing. A rabid fucking pixie," he stated. Mina and Kirishima were staring at him with raised brows. He just insulted his girlfriend. "My rabid pixie of course."

"Nice save, bro." Kirishima rolled his eyes.

"So, what's it about him?" Mina giggled. She rolled onto her stomach, face propped in her hands as she kicked her feet back and forth.

Kirishima chewed the inside of his cheek for a second too long. "I... I don't know? I guess maybe it's his... touch? Is that weird to say?"

"It's certainly different."

"Bad different?"

"Of course not. What about his touch?"

"It's like... I can feel his heart beating through the palms of his hands and I can feel the calluses and the scars and I can feel where it's smooth and dry. It's like his hands hold all his secrets and stories and thoughts. I want to find them all. I bet I could if I held his hands."