Notes: Bitch I cried writing this.
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Katsuki sat in the middle of the couch, arms rested on either side of him on along the backrest of the couch. Eijirou squished comfortably beside him, head rested on his chest; Mina's feet sprawled across the ashen blond's lap as the rest of her was placed in Sero's, who absentmindedly watched Mina scroll through her phone, chin resting in the palm of his hand whilst his bulky elbow balanced the weight on the armrest of the couch. His legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles of his socked feet. On the other end of the couch were Denki and Jirou swaddled up in each other's embrace.
Ei leaned into Katsuki, sighing deeply as he draped an arm across his middle and closed his eyes, a minute grin curling his lips upwards just a tad. Katsuki peered down at him, a rare smile coming to his face as he dropped an arm to wrap around his shoulder and pull him in closer. Mina peeked over the top of her phone at the duo, a content look to her features. She nudges Sero, speaking just above a whisper. "We made so much bank off of this, didn't we?"
"I can hear you, asshole," growled the blond. Mina only shrugged in reply and playfully rolled her eyes. Katsuki huffed through his nose, rolled his tongue around in his mouth as he massaged the rings on Ei's ear between his clammy fingertips. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he fished it out to check it, hummed at the notification, then shoved it back into its hidey-hole. Nudging Eijirou to get his attention, he said, "Let's go."
The rest of the group perked up at the phrase coming out of his mouth, and of the four remaining as he and the redhead stood up, Sero was the one to speak up. "Where're you two running off to now?"
"Don't worry about it," was the ashen blond's flat reply as he dragged Ei towards their room by the sleeve of his sweater. The door clicked closed behind him and the blond's hand fell from the sleeve as he stalked towards the night table beside their bed, the covers still disheveled and hanging off the edge of the bed from their earlier escapades. Eijirou watched his back, tilted his head at him, eyes blinking languidly paired with a tiny grin. "What was all that about?"
Keys jingled as Katsuki turned to face him, helmet in hand. He shrugged. "Just feel like gettin' outta here for a bit. I'm getting major deja vu and it's fucking creeping me out."
"Ah? I thought it was just me." Ei accepted the helmet handed to him, following the blond back out into the living room towards the genkan as the other barked their leave to the rest of their friends. Helmet on, Katsuki's bike roared to life beneath them and Eijirou eagerly embraced him from behind. Their destination? Not important. He enjoyed their sporadic, unplanned trips and the adventures they brought when they came about, so he kept quiet, palmed the other's chest beneath his jacket and nuzzled his head at the base of his neck.
They slowed eventually, and when Eijirou removed his helmet and took in their surroundings, he noticed they were at a market. "Is it grocery shopping time already, Suki?"
"No, just thought I'd treat you to some fruit." Eijirou perked up at this, bouncing in-step with the other as they crossed the street with the crowd.
"Wow, really? Are you sure? I'd love that but—gosh Katsuki, you really don't have to; it's too expensive and—"
"Can you quit your blabberin' already? I said I'm treating you."
"Okay, okay!"
Katsuki did end up picking up a couple of things for the house anyway. They were running low on food since their New Year's Eve party, and since most of them had been working overtime for the rest of the holiday season—the week or so people take to visit shrines, they hadn't much time to restock their inventory. All they've been thriving off of was rice, eggs and (possibly poisoned) cupcakes. They reached the fruits soon enough and the blond strolled behind Eijirou as he went and felt up, tapped, and smelled every fruit he came across, debating which of something he wanted to snack on today. He really had a sweet tooth, and his eyes landed on the strawberry stand on the opposite end of the aisle he was in. He licked his lips, mouth watering for a taste, the faint smell tickling his nose. He reached and so did another. Their hands touched. He followed the hand up the arm it was connected to and froze. Katsuki rolled to a stop beside him, glaring.
"F-Father!" Eijirou looked to his mother, who stood beside him. "And mom!" Stammering, he bowed, eyes squeezed shut. "I-I didn't expect to see you here. You've come all the way from Chiba?"
"Stop bowing." His father waved him off. "You're embarrassing yourself."
"Ah, r-right." Eijirou straightened his back and clenched his clammy hands at his sides. Katsuki abandoned their cart to take a protective step besides Ei, hands tucked away in his pants pocket, but shoulder kissing the other's. Mr. Kirishima peered down at him. "Bakugou, isn't it? I've heard so much about you. It's... nice to finally meet you after all these years."
"Likewise, Mr. Kirishima sir," Katsuki all but growled, intimidating intent clear in his tone despite the otherwise polite greeting. Eijirou cleared his throat as his father turned to pick at the strawberries, scrutinizing them.
"So, strawberries, eh?" Eijirou lacked the usually bass in his voice. Katsuki ground his teeth. "They're pretty sweet around this time of the year. Is this why you've come all the way to Musutafu? The fruits always seem to be the sweetest here." He laughed awkwardly, picking up a plump berry in a shaky hold. Mr. Kirishima ignored him and continued to pick out berries he deemed the ripest. Eijirou swallowed the lump in his throat, mirrored him. Katsuki watched his mother watching him intently, her almond-shaped eyes flickering between the two bodies. There would've been complete undisturbed silence between the four if it wasn't for the group of teenagers chatting loudly nearby. Ei stopped at six berries, his father at four.
"So I've read in the paper that you've publicized your relationship with Bakugou here," Mr. Kirishima looked away from the plump berry he currently held in his hand. "Is that true?"
"Well, yes."
A sigh. "Tell me something: was all this worth it? Going to U.A. to become a hero, publicizing such a controversial relationship, and—are you still prancing around? I hope you dropped that poor habit." The elder male swapped out one of his strawberries for another plump berry, it's color as deep and vivid as his own eyes. His small pupils locked onto the ashen blond standing right beside the son he poorly acknowledged. "Bakugou, do you believe all this was worth it in the end? You don't have to continue to be roped up in our son's antics if you wish not to."
The blond furrowed his brows in response, nose scrunching and lips curling while his palms sweated out nitroglycerin threateningly. He dated to glimpse at Eijirou from the corner of his eye and caught the blurred edge of his bottom lip poking out, quivering. Katsuki felt his eyes roll closed and his teeth clench together painfully. "It's been four months..."
A pop sounded. The blond opened and closed his hand into a tighter fist, voice dangerously low "Four of the best goddamn months of my life. If I didn't believe it was worth it—that he's worth it—I wouldn't be standing here facing you today, and evidently, this whole old age homophobic attitude of yours towards our 'controversial relationship' is outdated as shit." Mrs. Kirishima shifted closer towards her husband and Katsuki quickly locked eyes with her too. "And you. You should be ashamed of yourself. Both of you. I'm so fucking glad my parents are nothing like you two."
The blond chewed his tongue to keep from saying anything more than that, turning back to their cart and beckoning for Eijirou to follow with a sharp cock of his head. "Come, Eiji, let's get out of here."
They moved quickly towards checkout, not exactly making haste, but fast enough to get the fuming blond far away from the Kirishimas to extinguish his rage with a deep sigh. He wiped his sweaty palms on the sides of his joggers, took out cash to pay for their things, and as they left the market, he bumped the sullen redhead's shoulder with his own. "Don't worry about them. They can't go on actin' like that towards you forever..." Eijirou let out an exhausted breath. Kat chewed his lip. "But in the meantime, at least we..." He trailed off, frowning at himself for doing so. He was determined to work on conveying his emotions freely without hesitation, so, he dropped the bag beside the rear wheel of his bike, scratching the back of his neck as he pouted at the redhead gazing at him curiously, expectantly. "At least we have each other. And those other extras too, I guess."
Eijirou's eyes widened, sparkled even. He smiled wide and toothily. "You're so cheesy."
Katsuki barked for him to shut up. They rode back home, stowed their haul and prepped their fruit for another leave. Kat stole Denki's car keys, griped about the weather despite the fact they were heading up to his spot off the side of the road. They listened to something that played on the radio, though neither was paying it any mind; Katsuki chatted idly to Eijirou as he sat leaned against the window, a leg curled under himself. They arrived at their spot just as the sun had begun its steady decline, a picturesque and brilliant orange burning across the horizon. They ate their fruit and the blond chatted some more until Eijirou's mood seemed to lighten up. The redhead tapped a shoe with his finger, glancing at the ashen blond. "Would it be dumb if I wanted to listen to a certain song right now?"
Kat arched a brow. "Depends on the song."
"It's from..." Ei chewed his lip and cast his eyes downwards to his twiddling fingers, cheeks becoming rosy. "It's from the Steven Universe soundtrack."
"Tch."
"Don't 'tch' me! It's grown on me."
Katsuki rolled his eyes, grinning. "Go ahead, nerd." Eijirou scowled at him, though it radiated no real aggression. He took hold of the aux, popped it into his phone. The car went silent as he went through his playlist
"If I could begin to be
Half of what you think of me
I could do about anything
I could even learn how to love..."
The blond snickered. "Really? Why this one?"
"I-It, ah, makes me think of you, Suki." Katsuki's brows furrowed, lips quivering back a snicker. It escaped anyway, a soft snort rupturing through. Eijirou whined and curled into himself while the other let out a fit of laughter, his face gradually becoming the same shade of red as his hair. Katsuki calmed himself eventually and let out a content sigh, pressing his head into the cushion of the headrest. He skipped the end credits to the show when they had binged it weeks ago, so it was nice to actually hear it for once. It made him feel light, like he could dance on air...
Katsuki popped open the door to his side, a sharp wind immediately nibbling at his exposed ankle. He griped, "Fuck, it's cold."
"What are you doing?" asked Eijirou when the blond leaned back in to turn up the volume. He tched, swung his door open wider. "If you're gonna be this cheesy we might as well be fuckin' cheesy together."
Eijirou watched his figure retreat to his side of the car. He jumped when the blond popped his door open and let a chilled wind bite at the small of his back that peeked from under his hoodie, but before he could question a protest, Katsuki stuck a hand out to him, his other hand splayed on the roof of the car as he leaned in. Eijirou stared at the hand. "Dance with me."
"Look at you go
I just adore you
I wish that I knew
What makes you think I'm so special..."
Eijirou swallowed the lump in his throat, lips quivering into a smile. He took his hand, let himself be led out the car and out towards a patch of land that wasn't completely covered in grass. Katsuki laced their fingers together, his fingertips caressing the other's knuckles, humming quietly at their slightly calloused texture. His eyes traced an invisible line up his forearm until they reached his face, his expression pillow-soft and endearing. Katsuki's lips curled into a grin, and his other hand raked down Ei's side until they found their home settled at the smallest point of his waist. They began to move, rocking slowly side to side.
"When I see the way you look
Shaken by how long it took
I could do about anything
I could even learn how to love like you..."
Katsuki pulled him in closer to him slotting their bodies together; partially due to the cold, but mostly because he wanted to be closer to him, to feel his steady breaths tickle his chin, to rest both hands clasped together at the base of his tailbone and have the other drape an arm over his shoulder, his hand going to massage the juncture of his neck and the base of his hairline, the other hand pressed between their chests—between their beating hearts...
"Love like you."
Eijirou smiled down at the hand pressed between them, smiled at the faint sensation of the blond's fervent heartbeat. He looked up to question him on it, but his words caught in his throat at the ashen blond's down-to-earth expression, probably the calmest he's ever seen him—as if not a trouble crossed his mind. Katsuki's lids fell half-mast. "I love you, Eijirou."
The redhead inhaled sharply. A million 'I love you's flooded his mind, none of which came out of his mouth immediately. But he did love him, probably more than he loved anyone else in the world, probably even more than himself; and there was something about the way he said it—about the way he looked at him with those glossed rubies, a radiant and deep crimson. He looked at him the same way he did for the years it went unnoticed; when they both refused to acknowledge their feelings, when they both said it for the very first time and all the fleeting touches and soft kisses that followed after that.
"Love me like you..."
Eijirou's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "I love you too, Suki."
Katsuki huffed and closed his eyes, pressed their foreheads together and breathed in his heady amber scent mixing with his own. He pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips, parted his, then dove for a real one, tilting his head to the side, pulling him in impossibly closer, merging them together. A fire lit inside him then, spreading from the point of contact and down through his toes, his heart swelling so much he felt as if it would pop from his chest. To think he, of all people, would get so lucky to be with someone as perfectly matched to him as Eijirou Kirishima...
And to think this all started from one dance.
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Notes: annnnd that's it! I've been sitting on this update for a minute, mostly because I started hating this fic somewhere down the line lol, but thank you for joining me on this nonsensical journey and hopefully whatever other kiribaku long-term fics I make in the future will come out way better than this one (●'□')♡