Its late that night when Kirishima decides to stand outside on his balcony. He stares ahead of himself, seeing the UA entry gate stand like something off a scary movie as the moon shines down on it.

He sighs, shivering a little in the chilled night. Its kinda chilly outside for a summer night.

Hes the only one awake, the time reading 11:53 on his watch.

But he doesn't want to go to bed yet. Hes been waiting, since he saw the news at 8:00, for those gates to open. He wants to welcome Bakugo back, see how badly hes hurt.

Supposedly, if any of the teens showed any disobedience, or tried to sneak from the- disgusting- cages they were being held in, then their throats were crushed in, and they were choked for more than 10 seconds before the villians even considered healing what they'd done.

Most of Kirishima's fellow teens only had that done to them on an average of 3-4 times, or less.

Bakugo got it 35 times.

God. Kirishima can't even imagine that. It had to... Had to hurt like hell, right?

He startles, eyes going wide as the loud creaking of the gates draws his attention. He can't see who walks in, nor can he tell who's speaking as they walk on campus, but as the gates close again, kirishima sprints from his balcony.

He doesn't bother to slip his slippers on, hair hanging in his face as he slams his door open and runs down his hall.

He doesn't bother to take the elevator either, going to the stairs and running down them three at a time.

Kirishima nearly falls, slamming his toe down on one of the stairs and hissing in pain. But he keeps going, making the last flight with haste and slamming through the door into the common room.

He takes a deep breath, running across the dark room and past the couches. He opens the front doors, running across the porch and down those stairs too.

The sidewalk is cool against his bare feet, little pieces of rock poking and bugging his nerves. He forgets that he can harden his feet and prevent the rocks from poking his skin.

As he gets closer to the gates he can hear voices, and he realizes that it's Mr. Aizawa's voice and Almight, their voices quiet in the night. But it sounds like they're talking to someone else, and not eachother.

Kirishima rounds the corner, the low tree coming out of his veiw.

He grins wide.

The blond is silent as he listens to his teachers, staring at them with tired eyes. And Kirishima knows- boy does he know- that he probably shouldn't interrupt what their talking about, but that definitely doesn't stop his feet from moving.

He doesn't realize what hes doing until he slams against Bakugo, and the blond grunts, hands popping in surprise. He wraps his arms tight around the blond, pressing his face into the slightly taller boys shoulder.

Silence envelopes them, Aizawa and Almight standing there looking struck before they realize its just one of their other students.

Bakugo's hand is hesitant against his back, but Kirishima grins wider when he hugs him back, maybe not as tight, but its still a hug.

He pulls away slowly, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Kirishima glances at his teacher, Almight's smiling but Aizawa is wearing that set blank look as he stares the red head down.

"Sorry sir." He mutters, hands twisting behind his back,"Its just... I saw you come in, I couldn't..." He glances at Bakugo.

The blond raises a brow at him, and Kirishima bites his lip some as he looks at the teachers again,"Just wanted to greet you all. Good job on the mission, by the way."

"Its past curfew Kirishima." Aizawa mutters bluntly, and the red head winces some.

"Yes sir, I know."

"Don't do this again."

"Yes sir."

"Well then..." Almight speaks up then, but Kirishima tries to keep his head turned towards the ground, cheeks red. He just passionately hugged Bakugo. Not only was that embarrassing, but he did it infront of his teachers too.

Oof.

"Young Bakugo, you must take these every night before bed." Almight hands a pill bottle to Bakugo, and that does draw Kirishima's attention, watching as the blond rattles the pills, turning the bottle over in his hands.

"And don't try to talk for at least a few weeks... Eat foods that are easy to swallow." Aizawa points at the pills,"Only one a night ok."

Bakugo nods, and Kirishima feels his heart sink.

He can't talk.

"Now then..." Aizawa turns to kirishima,"As punishment, you will be sure to take care of Bakugo, and make sure he takes his meds. You will also be the one to communicate for him, since he isn't allowed to speak until further notice."

"Wha-" Kirishima looks at Bakugo, and the blond glares daggers at Aizawa, obviously offended that the old mentor thought he couldn't take care of himself.

He tries his best to look upset about his "punishment" and he pouts his lips out,"Yes sir."

"Good." Aizawa yawns, looking more tired with each passing second,"You two get inside. Goodnight."

"Goodnight boys." Almight waves as he follows Aizawa, the dark haired man moving the fastest kirishima has ever seen him move to get to his bed. Almight jogs to catch up.

Kirishima looks over as Bakugo passes him, and he hurries to follow, smiling as he looks at the blond,"I heard what you did... That was really brave."

Bakugo nods, glancing at the red head. His eyes have dark circles beneath them, red irises hazy with a sleepy mind.

Kirishima wants it to go away.

"Um..." He swallows,"I took the liberty of writing notes down for you." Kirishima laughs sheepishly,"I'm sure they won't be as good as yours, but I hope they'll do." He grins, looking up at the moon. Oh yeah, that reminds him,"Oh yeah! Midnight taught us how to chart the stars if we ever got lost and stuff! It was really cool, she just had to look at the sky, and she knew exactly which way was which and- oh I could teach you sometime, if you can't convince her to reteach it in a private lesson-" Kirishima cuts off, biting the inside of his jaw,"Ah shit I'm rambling again."

He glances over at his friend, and he sees Bakugo staring at him, the blond smirking about something. Kirishima stares dumbfounded for a moment, before flushing pink. He's glad it's dark out, turning his flushed face towards the sidewalk as he laughs nervously,"Ha, what?"

Bakugo rolls his eyes, looking back at their dorm building as they trudge up the stairs. He opens the door.

Kirishima finds the silence oddly satisfying, but at the same time it's so... Weird.

He's used to talking to Bakugo about anything and everything. And although Bakugo doesn't say much, what he does say is always meanigful, whether it be a snarky comment, or a hidden praise.

Kirishima smiles some, following the blond to the elevator,"I'm uh... Glad you're back. The guys are great and all, but they um... They're not that great at tutoring, ya'know."

Bakugo raises his brows, nodding. Kirishima grins, shifting his weight as the elevator comes to a stop.

The rest of their trek is silent, Kirishima standing behind his friend as the blond unlocks his door.

He stands there after Bakugo opens the door, watching as the blond walks into the rather cool room. He always keeps the air conditioner on in the summer, whether the night is cool or not.

He says its to keep himself from sweating so much, but Kirishima thinks it's freezing sometimes.

Bakugo flips his light on, looking over his shoulder at the red head as he opens his mouth. Then his teeth clack shut, a deep frown creasing his lips as he waves the other boy in.

He obviously doesn't like the no talking thing.

Kirishima sighs, fidgeting some,"So um-"

He grunts as Bakugo shoves something into his hand, and Kirishima looks down at his hands wide eyed.

Bandages sit in his hands, ointment sitting along side it. He looks from it, to Bakugo, the blond flopping on his bed.

Kirishima watches as he carefully removes the hoodie he has on, his friend frowning deeply as he tosses it over on his bed.

Kirishima freezes, hands held tight around the items Bakugo had given him.

There's bandages around the blonds neck, pink and brown from being old. The taller boy slowly unwraps his neck, holding back a pained look as it drags off of cracked and cut skin.

Kirishima stares, watching as Bakugo throws the rags away and presses his fingers to the tender skin.

Kirishima swallows, and walks over, dragging the desk chair to the bed,"Here..."

Bakugo looks up at him, and Kirishima sits down. He takes a deep breath through his nose as he squeezes some ointment onto his fingers.

He rubs it against the blonds throat slowly, and Bakugo takes a breath, closing his eyes as his adams apple bobs beneath the red heads fingers.

"Sorry..." Kirishima smiles some, giving the blond a sheepish look,"I'm sure it hurts dude." He swallows, adding,"But you can take it." So he doesn't seem like hes pitying the blond.

Bakugo stares at him the whole time hes rubbing the ointment in, making sure to get it in between the cracks in the dry and scratched skin.

"Recovery girl couldn't heal it-?"

Bakugo shakes his head no stiffly.

Kirishima nods.

Kirishima is careful as he wraps it, and Bakugo stands as soon as he's done, walking over to the bathroom and closing the door.

He takes a deep breath, letting it fall past his lips in a huge gush as he closes his eyes.

He just... Those eyes.

Those eyes know how to bore holes into him, almost as if hes baring his soul open to the blond.

The door opens again, and Bakugo sits back infront of him, sighing through his nose as he opens his eyes, glancing at the red head.

Then hes leaning over, grabbing a little notebook by his stand and pulling a drawer open, digging through it wildly before extracting a pen.

He writes viciously on the little notepad, turning it around and shoving into kirishima's hands. He glares at it, but its not the usual Bakugo glare, something sitting behind those eyes that Kirishima can't quite place.

The red head looks from the eyes that aren't on him, looking down at the little book in his hands. He stares at it.

[Thanks]

Kirishima smiles, looking back up at his friend,"Somehow, even when you write it, your thankyous sound scary."

Bakugo nearly gawks at him before frowning and snatching the book away again, writing something quickly before shoving it back in the red heads hands. Kirishima looks down.

[Fuck you]

He laughs, grinning as he looks at Bakugo again,"You write the same way you talk Bakubro."

That's earns him the finger, and he just laughs again, smiling brightly as the notebook is taken again.

"So was the mission... Ok?" He asks, finally breaking the ice between them.

Bakugo opens his mouth, then closes it, looking a little conflicted before his face sinks into something solemn.

Kirishima swallows, twisting his fingers together,"Its ok, you don't have to-"

A finger is held infront of his face and his teeth clack shut, watching as Bakugo scibbles something down, face still as stone as he hands the notebook over to the other boy.

Kirishima stares at the look on the blonds face, wishing it would go away. But, he takes a breath, looking down at the little book in his hands instead.

[43]

Kirishima furrows his brows. 43? 43 what?

He looks up at Bakugo, face laced with confussion. The blond sighs through his nose again, face staying still as stone. His shoulders are drawn up, tense, almost nervous, as he reaches up and presses his fingers to his throat. Those crimson eyes finally shift up, locking with ruby ones as he taps the bandages around his neck.

It takes the red head a moment, staring at his friends fingers against his own neck. He slowly reaches up, pressing his own fingers against his neck as his face drops into realization,"Oh." He whispers, then looks up at Bakugo with wide eyes, his own fingers stilling against his own throat,"Oh..."

Bakugo nods slowly, shoulders still drawn up some as he reaches over, taking the notebook to write again.

Kirishima stays silent, his hand dropping back to his lap as he twists a few of his fingers into his sleep shorts.

The blond swallows some, glancing at the other boys face as he hands the little pad back. Kirishima takes it, watching as Bakugo's shoulders nearly hit his ears as he sits there stiffly, an almost nervous composure to his body.

He looks down at the next line of words, red eyes reading the letters.

[It hurt the first couple of times. But then I couldn't feel my throat anymore]

Kirishimas brows furrow with worry, looking at his friend with concerned eyes,"Can you feel now?"

Bakugo shakes his head no, reaching up to his own throat and pressing his fingers against his wounded neck as he looks at his lap. Then his eyes widen some, reaching forward and grabbing the book again as he writes feverishly.

The shoves the book back in Kirishimas hands, and it takes the red head a second to read some of the cursive.

[Don't pity me fucker]

Kirishima grins, laughing as the atmosphere lifts a little,"Dude never." He smiles at his friend, watching as the blonds shoulders un-tense some,"You're tough as hell. I can't pity you."

Bakugo grumbles, then winces, hand reaching for his neck before carefully retracting it.

Kirishima frowns a little, looking down at his lap,"I can't guarantee that I'll be the best of help, but I can certainly try ok..." He smiles, looking at his bestie,"And I will make sure you take your meds dude. And no talking."

Bakugo flips him off, and Kirishima laughs again, watching as the blonds face cracks a smile before hes flopping back against the bed.

He reaches his hand up though, flicking his fingers back and forth in a grabby motion. Kirishima hands him the note pad, the blond taking it and writing something.

He hands it back to the red head, and Kirishima feels his heart stop, staring at the neat hand writing written across the paper.

[I'm counting on it.]

Kirishima feels his heart swell, and he smiles softly, looking up at the blond whos not paying him mind, those crimson eyes staring at the ceiling mindlessly.

God he likes him so much. He loves him too much.

Sometimes it hurts.

He takes a breath, closing his eyes as he hands the book back,"You better man, cause I will definitely bug you to death. I'm a true mother hen."

Bakugo waves the words off like an annoying fly, and the other boy just smiles, watching as the blond pops his hands just for the hell of it.

Kirishima takes a deep breath, looking at the click. Jeez, 1:03 already?

"I should probably go to-"

Then Bakugo requests the note book again, hands doing the grabby motion again until the red head places it in his hands.

He writes something down, and kirishima takes it back, looking at the writing.

[Talk a little longer. Tell me what I missed]

Kirishima stares at it, and he presses the book to his forehead, taking a deep breath as an overwhelming joy fills his heart. Bakugo just inadvertently asked him to stay and just talk.

"Sure dude."