Tw: two curse words, grieving loss, brief mentions of death (no one dies and there's no description of death, just mentions of it)
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Silence
Silence was all Bakugou could register.
One moment, he and his head knight had been fighting side by side, like always, against a mage that ransacked their woods. The next moment, all that was left was him, a clearing surrounded by half-burning trees, and silence.
"Ejirou?" He called out, standing from where he had previously fallen. He limped toward the center of the charred ground where his dragon and their enemy had been brawling only seconds ago.
"Ejirou!" He yelled, growling in frustration. "Kirishima! Get out here, this isn't funny!" His heart started racing.
He was gone, somehow. The mage was too. Everything was gone except him and his kingdom of dragons two miles east.
Ever since he was young, the red dragon had been by his side. He was fifteen when he took the throne, the same age as Kirishima, who was training with the royal knights. The two shared gazes often, finally meeting a few weeks later as the knight graduated his training program, proving he was strong enough to be in a real battle. It was uncommon for his age, just as it was uncommon for someone of Katsuki's age to take the throne. The two bonded over their shared struggles and success, they were unseparable.
When reports of a mage on the edge of their boundary reached the King, he insisted on meeting them himself. He wanted to strike fear in anyone who thought they could encroach on dragon territory, and maybe he wanted a little adventure and a break from his duties too. Of course his second in command went with him, there wasn't a place he would not willingly accompany his king. That was their biggest mistake.
"How could I have been so foolish?" Bakugou whispered to himself, knelt on the ground in the spot where he had seen his companion for the last time. He crumpled, sobbing into the ground where no one else could see or hear.
Hours passed and the royal advisors and knights were beginning to worry. A search party was sent to find the two, which was never necessary in the past. They carried each other, they were always victorious and came back in no time. This was a rarity the kingdom had never experienced.
The knights stumbled upon the charred clearing after following the smell of smoke. All that was visible was their king, a man who refused to show any sort of weakness to anyone under any circumstances, yet he was now sobbing and screaming into the blackened dirt in front of him.
"Your majesty?" One of the knights called out, several running toward him in concern, thinking he was hurt. His leg was mangled and burned, but that was all.
"What happened?" Another questioned, pulling him to stand between her and another knight so they could support him enough to walk on his good leg.
"He's gone, I don't know how but he's fucking gone!" The knights stared at each other in shock, thinking the other half of the duo was dead.
"Where is he?" The lead knight of the group asked, intending to find the body for a proper memorial.
"I just told you, idiot, he's gone! Him and the mage disappeared. Here one second, gone the next!" He was struggling and thrashing his arms against the two knights that held him up, trying to break free. He knew he couldn't walk on his leg and might injure it more, but intimidating and possibly punching the knight who dared to have the guts to imply his second in command was dead was more important to him.
"Your Majesty, you need to calm down," one of his royal advisors emerged from the treeline, having followed after the knights just in case. He had heard everything, of course, with Bakugou's horrid screaming habits.
"I'll show you calm!" He ripped an arm from one of the knights holding him up but didn't manage to get the other one free, which caused him to fall to the ground, grunting at the added pain in his leg. He made no move to get up; he just stayed in the same spot with half his face in the dirt.
"I know he's not really gone. He's alive, still, I just know it. I'm staying here until he comes back."
~
Weeks had passed and the kings advisors had practically forced him to shut down his camp in the forest clearing. He had royal duties to attend to, and spending all day on guard, waiting, wasn't going to get anything done. The kingdom basically had no ruler for far too long, and it was beginning to spiral out of control.
"Your Highness, Kirishima would not have wanted you to neglect your kingdom," his main advisor coaxed.
"Fine, but only if we keep a handful of knights here twenty-four seven. I want constant monitoring and patrols in this forest and a camp in the clearing," he stated harshly, leaving no room for questioning.
Only a week later, the same advisor had yet another meeting with his king on the matter.
"Sir, it's time we face the facts: Kirishima isn't coming back."
Bakugou did not respond. He faced the window, eyes traveling unconsciously in the direction of the forest. He couldn't speak, his throat had closed up. He absolutely did not want to cry in front of anyone, but this one time he wasn't sure he'd be able to withhold from his emotions. He did not cry often, but this was his best friend, the man he dreamed of crowning king alongside him should he accept. The future he had planned was washed away in a mere second all those weeks ago, but he was refusing to admit it.
"If you'd like a memorial service, no matter how big or small, we can do that," the advisor spoke again.
This time, Bakugou glared down at the cobblestone floor below him. "I want the kingdom in a week long state of mourning and a sculpture in the middle of the plaza square depicting his lost valor. He was the best knight this kingdom ever saw and I demand we, as a nation, recognize him rightfully. I want our best artists, sculptors, and carvers here in two days max to discuss plans for this statue," he spat, never once sparing a glance at the other in the room.
"Yes, your Majesty," he agreed with a bow before leaving the king alone to his thoughts.
Maybe it really was true. He's not coming back.
~
It was nearly three years since King Bakugou had lost his best friend and best knight. Of course, life had to move on. The kingdom was once again thriving and the new top knight was almost comparable to her predecessor. She was a half blood of some type, and Bakugou knew she had been friends with Eijirou. His passing was hard on both of them, and although she wasn't necessarily there for him emotionally, it made him feel better that the guards were lead by someone who would bring honor to the lost.
Two stone statues had been carved in respect for Kirishima. One sat in the town plaza, right in the middle of the merchant stands so everyone in the market could see. The other was carved after a dull year had passed and resided in the castle courtyard among the carvings of previous kings, each one paired with a slab detailing their triumphs. Bakugou frequented these locations quite often, more than the advisors would like to admit. He would usually just stare at his lost friend's face, sometimes reaching up to cup his rough, rocky cheek. Other times he would attempt to talk to the stone if he was alone, but he didn't like how vulnerable it made him feel. Today was one of the former.
The plaza was bustling just slightly less than usual for a weekday morning, and the King had come to pick up some fresh fruit. He could have sent a servant or advisor to retrieve it for him, but he needed an excuse to pay respects yet again.
He had not even reached the vendor he claimed to be looking for by the time he stopped to stare into the stone pupils. He missed the ruby glimmer in the real ones; stone just did not do him enough justice. He sighed, eyes fixated on the statue as his surroundings started to fade away, being replaced by foggy old memories. He was so concentrated that he didn't notice the startled people around him.
The bustle had halted, the sound quieting and paths parting to allow a figure to pass. He was headed straight for the center, eyes wide in bewilderment at what stood before him: a towering statue of himself.
He gawked at the sight. Not only was he immortalized in the form of rock before his very eyes, but a man who looked much like his king, only more tired, disgruntled, and slightly older. Heavy dark circles had settled under the other's eyes, sharp in contrast to his shimmering, flaming irises he just adored, and more scars had found their way into littering his fair skin. He was still just as gorgeous, but he looked so lost and broken.
"Katsuki?" He whispered, standing in the open as all the townsfolk had crowded around.
Bakugou hadn't heard him, he was too transfixed on the figure before him to notice the real one was only ten feet away.
Kirishima took several steps closer, "Katsuki!" He said louder, reaching his hand forward.
This time the head of blond spikes whipped around, knowing that voice from anywhere. He stood and stared in disbelief and the man bowing before him, hand gently holding his own. He skin still felt the same, although is was also coated in its fair share of new scars and burns.
"...Eijirou?"
"King!" The redhead cheered, pushing himself up and into a hug with the man he adored, lifting him and spinning him in half a circle before setting him down to hug him again.
"Eijirou! What the hell?! What?! How are you here, you're alive?!" He screamed, tears forming in his eyes. Guards were beginning to come to keep the noise down, but they all halted in their tracks at the sight before them. Bakugou had wrapped his arms tightly around the neck of the other, who clung to his upper back in return. They buried their faces in each other's scents, bodies pressed together.
Kirishima was still wearing exactly what he had been before. His armor was a little more banged up and laced with black from the flames he endured, and his hair was falling loosely in his face. His sharp teeth shone through his thin lips as he couldn't refrain from grinning. It had been too long, albeit not as long as Bakugou had waited.
He had been magicked away alongside the witch, but she didn't have enough power to wisk away more than one of the brutes she was fighting. They fought for hours more in this other dimension, but Kirisima held steady. He did have to resort to means he did not like, but slaying the witch sent him spiraling back to the correct universe, throwing him into the forest clearing from before, which now hosted a ruin of abandoned tents.
He was home now, though. And him and his king would once again be inseparable, now even more than before. Especially as the years continued to pass and Katsuki was able to follow through with his plans.
Now they were both kings; one by blood, and the other by love, ruling the kingdom together. The legendary Kings of the Dragons would be remembered for generations to come, and Katsuki would have his own statue sculpted in the castle courtyard right next to his partner's. They would be inseparable even in death, just as they had been in life.