When class A heard about the new dormitories, they were excited by the prospect of all of them living under the same roof. Some, more so than others and for all the wrong reasons. Kirishima had even overheard the girls consider welding Mineta's door shut during the night just in case. After their best room competition and hearing Tsuyu's tearful apology, Kirishima finally got ready for bed.

After doing his nightly routine of twenty push-ups, sit-ups, and dumbbell lifts, he settled underneath his blanket. It was going to be nice to see his friends every day. He was even in the room adjacent to Bakugou who he'd probably call his best friend at this point. To think that his impression of the other boy could change so easily after one interaction at USJ.

"Shit," Kirishima finally said, his eyes snapping open to the dark room. "I can't sleep."

The boy sat up and started bouncing to confirm whether or not it was hard enough for him. He usually preferred firm mattresses as opposed to soft ones. It seemed generally okay. So then he wondered if it was just because he was a little homesick. But that didn't seem right, he was living in an apartment on his own before the dorms were set in place.

Kirishima checked his phone, seeing that a whole hour passed since he had gotten into bed. Maybe he could tire himself out.

Rolling out of bed, Kirishima started jogging in place, trying to escape whatever it was that was trying to keep him up. Every ten seconds, he would get down and do five push-ups before running once more. After about the ninth time of repeating this cycle, there was a knock at the door.

"Crap, did I wake someone?" Kirishima wondered aloud.

Maybe it was Bakugou. The other boy did go to bed early. Kirishima was a little disappointed they couldn't hang out more.

To his surprise, it was Kaminari, who was hunched over, eyes squinted, and hair disheveled. "Dude, what are you doing this late?"

"Was I too loud?" Kirishima asked, receiving a droopy nod from the other boy. "Sorry, I can't seem to sleep."

Kaminari lived directly below the redhead so he woke up suddenly when it sounded like a body had fallen dead. Then came the rapid footfalls of someone running so for a while, the blond wondered if his classmate had been murdered and the culprit had frantically fled the scene. It was a bit of a jump so he decided to go check for himself.

"It's fine," Kaminari yawned. "But you should try counting sheep or something though. Exercise will just keep you up."

"Think so? Thanks man!"

"Yeah… no problem…"

After waving Kaminari off, Kirishima hopped back into bed. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and started counting. Each sheep in his head, rather than having snow-white wooly fur, were spiky and ash blond instead. They kind of looked like Bakugou's head as they hopped over a wooden fence and screamed the numbers as if they were shouting death threats at someone.

"Such manly sheep," Kirishima remarked sleepily.

At "EIGHTEEN THOUSAND THIRTY-THREE!" sunlight peeked out from the curtain. Much to Kirishima's dismay, rest had eluded him.

"…Crap."

Kirishima still had classes to attend so he splashed his face with water, gelled up his hair, threw on his uniform, and sluggishly left his room. Without really looking, he stepped out and nearly crashed into Bakugou who was heading for the elevator. The other boy glared but it seemed to soften a bit when Kirishima started apologizing fervently.

"You look like shit," Bakugou remarked.

"I feel like it too," Kirishima chuckled. "I couldn't sleep last night."

The pair started on their way down to get breakfast in the common lounge. The faculty didn't want to give Lunch Rush a ton of extra work just because the kids were boarding so they had fridges in each dorm though the students would have to buy their own food for the semester. They already filled the cupboards with boxes of tea, instant coffee, and cereal. They were almost overflowing.

"I'll brew you a cup of coffee to wake you up," Bakugou offered. "How do you take yours?"

Kirishima was surprised that his classmate was being so generous. Especially because it was Bakugou of all people. "Lots of sugar!"

"Do you want to wake up or die of a heart attack?!" Bakugou snapped.

Ashido waved to them enthusiastically when they arrived at the kitchen. "Your unique way of caring is getting obvious."

"Shut it," Bakugou grumbled, marching past her.

Ashido giggled to herself before looking over at Kirishima. Seeing the dark bags under his eyes and the messy job he did with his hair, she nearly jumped back in shock. "Whoa! Kirishima, you look awful! Did you fight with the raccoon?"

"There's a raccoon?" Kirishima perked up instantly.

"Oh yeah, you missed it," Kaminari mentioned, mouth full of melon bread. "A raccoon snuck into Mineta's room through an open window and stole one of his posters. So all of us got a show this morning watching him chase after it throughout the front yard."

"Koda just had to ruin the fun by telling it to stop," said Ashido.

As Kirishima watched a video of the incident recorded on Ashido's phone, Bakugou finished the cup of coffee. He poured it into a portable mug and gave it to Kirishima before heading out to homeroom. It happened so fast that Kirishima didn't even have the chance to thank him. Bakugou would probably say something about not needing gratitude for something so simple though.

Their first day back to school was all about making up special moves for themselves. Everyone was super psyched to get back to the hero training after their highly anticipated summer training camp was cut short. No one really wanted to think about that though, much less Bakugou. But the most exciting aspect of the day was probably getting some genuine hero advice from All Might.

"Did you notice the book?" Jirou whispered after the former pro hero finished talking to her.

Kirishima looked away from an Ectoplasm clone. "What book?"

"In his back pocket," she clarified. But then she paused, noticing the bags. "Kirishima, do you suffer from insomnia?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, I just couldn't sleep last night."

"I'll let you borrow a CD of mine, it's really soothing."

"Really?" Kirishima didn't know if he was going to have trouble sleeping that night but it wasn't like he could turn down such an offer from a friend. Besides, it was good to have something just in case it wasn't a one-night thing. It was like having a secret weapon. "Thanks!"

That night, Kirishima was doing his stretches in his room, trying to work out the new knots and kinks that had formed in his body due to training so hard. The CD was inside his bag and it was filled with soft instrumental music meant to relax. Jirou said that she liked to listen to it when her dad was composing since he was often struck with inspiration in the middle of the night and just had to get it out of his system lest he forget.

It wasn't exactly to his tastes but he would have to try it. As he got comfortable underneath the covers, he plugged in his earbuds and hit play. The first track went by and he did feel less tense. The second track played and it was like he was in the clouds. The third track came and it was this love ballad about being lonely at night.

"Jirou listens to this?" Kirishima mumbled. "I never would've pegged her for this type of sound."

Speaking of surprising music tastes, he was reminded of studying with Bakugou for final exams. While they were doing their homework one night, the other boy decided to put on some background music. Kirishima was expecting really screamy metal or hard rock but then came the folk sounds of Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi.

"Alright Shitty Hair, let's get back to business," Bakugou had said, sitting back down.

Kirishima wasn't really paying attention. Like he did in actual class. "No way, you like Nagabuchi?"

"Got a problem with that?!"

"N—No! I just love him too!"

Bakugou made some sort of grunt in response before rolling up an English workbook and smacking Kirishima on top of the head. "You better not get distracted! All of your grades are crap, so I've got my work cut out for me if I'm going to help you pass."

"Yes, sensei!" Kirishima laughed before returning to work.

"You're getting your L's and R's mixed up again!"

"But they sound exactly the same!"

The CD looped back to the beginning and that's when Kirishima figured it wasn't going to work. So with a heavy-hearted sigh, he turned it off. What should he do until he got tired enough to sleep? It probably wouldn't be a good idea to bother Bakugou. What about Shouji, the other boy next door? Pressing his ear up against the wall, it was hard to tell if their largest classmate was awake or not.

"It's one AM," Kirishima sighed. "He's probably asleep…"

Even though that was what he had said out loud, he decided to try anyway. He stepped out into the hall and knocked on the adjacent door. Unfortunately, he wasn't really checking to see which direction he had stumbled into and Bakugou appeared in front of him instead of Shouji.

"The hell do you want?" Bakugou muttered.

How was Kirishima supposed to respond? "Sorry, I, uh, didn't mean to wake you."

"Still can't sleep?" Bakugou sighed. He rubbed at the back of his neck before jabbing a finger at the floor. "Stay."

Kirishima felt like a dog being ordered like that. But Bakugou went back into the dark depths of his room before he could say anything and returned with a small bottle. He forcefully grabbed Kirishima's wrist and shoved whatever it was into his open palm. The contents inside rattled around like a maraca.

"Sleeping pills?" Kirishima blinked.

"No need to return them, I don't use them anyway," said Bakugou. "Now don't fucking bother me again."

With that, the door slammed shut. But Kirishima looked down at the bottle and unscrewed the cap to find that it was still unopened. It was brand new. Did that mean Bakugou went out to a pharmacy just to get it?

"Why can't that guy just be honest?" Kirishima chuckled.

In the morning, Iida found Kirishima passed out in front of the fridge. The contents had been emptied out, even the fresh strawberries that Satou bought for shortcake and smoothies. As it would turn out, some of the side effects of the pills was sleepwalking. But it was written in such tiny font that the only reason why Iida was able to find it was because of how thoroughly he read the label.

Kirishima's joints felt even worse from sleeping on the floor. "Shit, the girls are going to tear me apart. They were really looking forward to that cake."

"You can apologize later," said Iida. "For the time being, we should figure out why you can't sleep. It's not healthy for you to stay up like this."

The class rep worried about everyone, he took personal responsibility when something went wrong or if someone broke the rules. He also took it upon himself to help his classmates with their personal problems. So long as they were willing to explain what was going on anyway. Iida didn't want to pry into a person's private business without their express permission first.

"I don't know what's going on," Kirishima sighed. "It just started when we moved in."

Iida rubbed his chin in thought. "Perhaps it's a scenery change."

"Nah, my room looks exactly the same as my old apartment," Kirishima replied.

When the bespectacled teen took another moment to think, another idea occurred to him. "Then it might be the close proximity to school!" While Iida enjoyed learning and studying, he was aware that most of his classmates did not share in his sentiments. "You might be getting anxiety because you're acutely aware of an educational facility being near you."

"It's not even that I dislike studying," Kirishima groaned. "I'm just bad at it."

But it made sense. That was one of the bigger changes upon moving there. How exactly was he to fix something like that though? U.A. had implemented a curfew on the students and they were expected to be in their rooms at a certain time. Anyone who broke this rule risked house arrest, suspension, and if they already had a bad track record, expulsion.

"Try to think about other things," said Iida. "I'll take your textbooks and assignments for safe keeping overnight. Also look up white noise that's similar to the street outside your old apartment and that might give you the illusion that you're back there."

"Oh, I see," Kirishima nodded enthusiastically.

There came a horror-movie scream from the kitchen that undeniably belonged to Uraraka. "Who ate all the strawberries?!"

Hagakure ran into the living room, waving her arms frantically. "Fess up! Which one of you did it?!"

"Crap!" Kirishima gulped before sprinting off. "Recipro Burst!"

Iida raised a hand high and straight above his head. "Think of your own special move!"

Day two of training and once again, Bakugou separated himself from the rest of his classmates to hone his skills. No matter where anyone was in the gymnasium, they could hear the explosions and the mad cackling after something went well. Those that had visited Hatsume at the support department to get costume upgrades felt like they were experiencing a weird sense of déjà vu.

Kirishima knew that every time Bakugou laughed was a sign that he was getting closer to creating an ultimate technique that surpassed all of his old ones. There was no way he was going to fall behind. At the moment, Kirishima was developing a new form that would make him practically impregnable to enemy attacks. Even Bakugou would have to yield when faced against the sheer manliness of it.

They duked it out once before. But the sports festival felt like a lifetime ago. Still, Kirishima could remember every detail.

During the final event, the sixteen students that had made it were going to battle each other head to head. Some people got unlucky with match-ups right off the bat. Kirishima felt the opposite, getting to prove who was the stronger between the Hardening Quirk users between the two classes. Then even getting to take on Bakugou himself.

It was a complete and utter loss. But it wasn't like Kirishima expected to come out victorious against someone so strong.

"You lasted longer than I thought," Bakugou had said.

Kirishima was sprawled out in the middle of the field, all eyes on them. "Still couldn't win though."

"Then you better get stronger," said Bakugou, heading back to prepare for his next match. "I warn you though, I'll never lose to an extra."

Kirishima couldn't move after taking so many explosions to the front and side. So he patiently waited for the paramedics to take him to Recovery Girl. Bakugou was already out of earshot but the loser of the battle still had more to say. "I'll close the gap… and I'll take a leading role."

That night, Kirishima did as Iida advised. Everything school-related was given to the class rep and he played some street noise on his laptop. If he closed his eyes and pretended that the idle chatter of nightlife college students and rushing cars was outside the window, then he could sort of picture his old apartment. But after about ten minutes in bed, he realized that it wasn't working. It was obvious that the sound was looping.

"Damn it!" Kirishima snapped, sitting up and digging his fingers through his hair. "Why can't I sleep?!"

There was a thump, like someone had kicked the wall on the far side of the room. "Shut up, Shitty Hair!"

"I keep bothering people too," Kirishima groaned. "I can't believe this…"

There was a sudden knock at the door and Kirishima wondered if it was Bakugou, coming to complain to his face. But when he opened the door, he saw Shouji looming over him. The larger boy didn't seem to be particularly annoyed or angry with the noise. Actually, it was difficult to discern any kind of emotion in his expression.

"Is everything okay?" asked Shouji through one his morphed mouths.

"Sorry man," said Kirishima, "I just haven't been able to sleep lately."

"Have you tried drinking warm milk or chamomile tea?" Shouji suggested. "It helps Tokoyami when he can't sleep."

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything. Thanks."

Shouji returned to his near-empty room as Kirishima pushed the elevator button to get ready to go down. But he had to wonder if they even had any chamomile in their cupboards. He didn't really want to boil milk in their kettles since there was always a weird metallic taste left behind. Just as he stepped inside the elevator, Bakugou's door opened and the blond threw a tea bag across the hall.

"Catch, Shitty Hair," said Bakugou.

Kirishima fumbled a bit, nearly dropping it in the crevice. The label read chamomile but once again, just before thanking the other boy, the door was slammed close and the elevator doors slid shut. Was Bakugou listening to them through the door?

Unfortunately, Kirishima was still unable to fall asleep. It was starting to feel like his last remaining brain cells were dying from sleep deprivation. At this rate, forget about the license exam, there was no way he would perfect his unbreakable form by graduation. So he decided to swallow his pride and at lunch, ask his classmates for advice.

"I like to watch YouTube videos until I pass out," said Hagakure.

Kirishima leaned forward, notepad and pencil in hand. "What kind do you recommend?"

"I love prank shows!" she said. "But only the harmless kind that evoke confusion and surprise."

Ojiro cocked his head to the side. "Don't you think that would just keep you up?" The others at the table looked to their tailed classmate, wondering what he had in mind. "Hm? Oh, uh, I've never encountered insomnia before so I don't really do anything to get to sleep."

"How normal," Satou remarked.

"Why is that my one character trait after the whole best room thing?"

Koda twiddled his thumbs before looking up timidly. "I like to cuddle my stuffed animals. I find it to be comforting."

"Ooh, that's a good idea!" said Hagakure. "Kirishima, want to borrow my giant rat plush?"

The image of a madly cackling Principal Nezu leveling an entire industrial zone and smushing Kaminari and Ashido underneath rubble passed through their minds. It didn't matter that this was just a normal doll that happened to look like a rodent, the thought was downright terrifying. "I think I'll pass," said Kirishima.

"I can lend you my frog," Koda offered.

"Do you guys have anything that don't resemble people we know?"

The next couple of tables didn't offer any better answers. Todoroki said that he couldn't sleep if the room wasn't chilly enough. Uraraka and Yaoyorozu both mentioned scented candles. Mineta pulled out a catalog of perverted body pillows. Ashido said that she could knock herself out instantly just by opening up her Japanese textbook and reading. Kaminari had seconded that suggestion.

"I suddenly feel really bad for Yaoyorozu," Kirishima muttered.

"You have no idea," said Sero. "She's like a saint for trying to teach them."

That night, Kirishima tried as many of their suggestions as possible. When he held a bunny doll, he found it uncomfortable that it deflated in his grasp. Maybe he needed something more solid but it's not like that would be much better. The room temperature was perfect as well. Too much below or above was too much. And the scented candles just smelled weird to him.

"Guess I'm not a lavender man," Kirishima muttered. He picked up another jar. "What the hell does a shooting star even smell like?"

The aspiring hero rubbed at his face, trying to figure out just what was wrong. He didn't even have this tough a time sleeping the days directly following the Kamino incident. Well, when Bakugou had been kidnapped, it was difficult to do anything.

Kirishima was there at the training camp just like everybody else. But because of remedial lessons, he didn't get the chance to fight alongside the others. It's unclear whether or not he could've prevented the abduction had he been there but he felt so useless when the telepathic message was sent to the students saying that the enemy was after 'Kacchan.'

"It has to be you, Kirishima."

Ever so slowly, the boy peeled his palms away from his face. He looked at his right hand, flexing the fingers, remembering the feeling of grabbing Bakugou and pulling him out of danger. In the end, it was because of him that they were able to save Bakugou. At least, according to Midoriya.

"Shit," Kirishima sighed. "What am I even thinking about?"

It was about two AM when the redhead decided to kill time in the lounge. It would be easier to do some exercise on the ground floor anyway so that he wouldn't bother those below. But as the elevator doors opened, he found the common area lit up. A black head of spiky hair could be seen on the couch, nose in a book, and a cup of steaming hot tea on the coffee table.

The ding from the elevator doors opening caused the other person to react. Tokoyami turned around to acknowledge the other presence.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Tokoyami smiled wearily.

"You too?" Kirishima replied, jumping over the back of the couch and landing on the cushion beside his classmate. "It sucks."

Tokoyami turned the page of his book. An anthology of poems, it looked like. "I'm used to it."

"Used to it?"

"I'm an insomniac."

There was a joke about Tokoyami being a night owl but it didn't quite occur to Kirishima. More importantly, he couldn't help thinking about a person incapable of falling asleep. Every night, just laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, and waiting for the dawn. It sounded like hell on Earth to go through something like that most days of your life.

"How do you deal with it?" Kirishima asked.

The other boy had stayed in the classroom to eat so he didn't get the chance to be interrogated for ways to get to sleep. Perhaps someone who's gone through the same issue would know a remedy. Even with a hazy brain, that kind of logic still prevailed in Kirishima's head.

"I try to pinpoint what it is that's keeping me up," said Tokoyami, "and then I do something about it."

Kirishima opened his mouth but all that came out was, "Huh?"

Tokoyami closed the book and placed it down in exchange for the teacup which had a straw in it. If he tried to drink normally, the beverage would just spilled over the sides of his beak. So while it may look a little silly, it was something he kind of had to do. Like how he ate by only putting food through the sides of his mouth.

"What did you think about as you tried to go to sleep these last few nights?" Tokoyami inquired.

Kirishima crossed his arms to contemplate this. "Let's see… USJ, studying for finals, the sports festival, the training camp, and the Kamino incident."

Tokoyami explained that there was often a common thread in the thoughts that kept someone up. In most cases, especially for students, it was stress. For example, in the bird-man's case, he'd been struck with insomnia before the entrance exam to get into U.A. or before finals as well.

"I don't think it's stress for you though," said Tokoyami before Kirishima could nail it down on that.

"Huh? Really?" Kirishima blinked. "But there were villain invasions and tests…"

"The sports festival was fun for you though, right?"

"Yeah, that's true… then fighting?"

It was a reasonable enough of a conclusion to come to. In most of the cases, they involved taking on villains. The sports festival also included combat and there was the practical of the final exams. But he hadn't stressed the test with Cementoss, he stressed with academics. There was no fighting when it came to those days unless one included Bakugou hitting him multiple times with workbooks.

"The common thread is rather obvious," Tokoyami chuckled.

Kirishima scratched the back of his head before the thought hit him like one of Bakugou's explosions. "You mean Bakugou? But why would…?"

Tokoyami shrugged. "I can't tell you what it means, just that it has something to do with Bakugou. I think the reason why you can't sleep is because your rooms are right next to each other. The proximity must increase whatever feelings you subconsciously have, making it difficult for you to go to sleep."

"Man, you're like a psychiatrist."

"I've had my fair share of experiences with them."

Kirishima laid down on the couch, lacing his fingers together and placing them on his chest like he had seen patients do on TV. "So, what do I do?"

"My advice," said Tokoyami, "is to figure out what you're feeling and then tell Bakugou, get it off your chest."

It was hard enough just trying to figure out what it was that was bothering Kirishima. Now he had to delve into the specifics?

How did he feel about Bakugou?

To Kirishima, Bakugou was one of the manliest people he'd ever met. He has a rather roundabout way of showing that he cares but still manages to speak his mind. He's strong and smart and never one to back down from a challenge. But most importantly, and this was something people tend to forget, Bakugou's completely serious about becoming a hero. It was possible that no one in their class wanted to achieve that goal more.

"I don't want to chase after his back," said Kirishima. "I want to stand facing him or beside ho,."

Tokoyami sucked up the remainder of his drink. "On equal ground, then?"

"But," Kirishima let out a heavy sigh, "gah, I feel like there's more to it than that."

"I'm afraid I can't help you with this," said Tokoyami, going to the kitchen to rinse out the cup. "These are your feelings. I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Once he was done, he picked up his book and got ready to return upstairs. "One more thing, whatever conclusion you come up with, don't be afraid of what Bakugou's response will be. You'll only suffer worse if you worry."

When it came to Tokoyami's dramatic lines, it was like trying to decipher an ancient text. But there was no Rosetta Stone to help decode the language he spoke. So Kirishima sat there, for the longest time, wondering what the more was that he wanted.

"I want Bakugou…," Kirishima muttered.

As he let the sentence linger there, unfinished, he realized with wide-eyed astonishment that there didn't need to be more than that. It was a complete sentence. Bakugou taught him that much in Japanese. All it needed was a subject, an object, and a verb.

"I want Bakugou."

Kirishima felt a weight lift off of his shoulders only to return full force, doubling down on his body like someone decided to amp up the gravity. He had to express this to Bakugou? Why did every obstacle he overcame revealed a new one behind it?

Kirishima decided that it would be best to just tear off the bandage. Reluctantly, he forced himself off the furniture and into the elevator. As it went up, he could feel his heart sinking down into his stomach until he arrived onto the fourth floor. His brain was filled with multiple scenarios, most of them bad. It would end in swearing and explosions regardless, that much he knew.

It felt like centuries passed as Kirishima stood at the door. Finally, he found the willpower to knock.

Bakugou opened the door with a glare. "The hell do you want this time?"

"Um… that is." There was a speech rehearsed somewhere in the deep recesses of Kirishima's mind but it was no longer there. So instead, he ended up blurting out, "I wanted to thank you for the pills and tea. You know, the other nights."

Bakugou waited for more. "And you're doing this at three in the morning?"

"There's more," Kirishima said. He would have to swallow his nerves. "I… just need to get this off my chest so you don't need to reply to my feelings at this moment. But… I… really admire you, Bakugou. More than admire, really. I… like you. A lot."

No curses. Nothing blew up. But it was clear that the other boy was dumbstruck by this confession. "You fucker."

"Kay, that's all I wanted to say!" Kirishima stated stiffly. At a perfect ninety-degree angle, he bowed to the other boy and tried to escape into the room next door but then a hand closed around his wrist, keeping him from running. "Don't kill me, I was just being honest!"

"Who said anything about killing you?" Bakugou huffed. "What kind of idiot just leaves after dropping something like that?"

Kirishima relaxed a bit. "Uh… Well…"

"I haven't slept much either," Bakugou professed. He kept thinking back to All Might losing his power in Kamino but it didn't help that, "you looked shittier with each passing day. I was actually getting worried about you but it turns out this was all that was bugging you? You really piss me off, Shitty Hair."

This was going much better than Kirishima had expected. "So what you're saying is…?"

"Take responsibility for my insomnia," Bakugou replied. "Sleep with me."

"Eh…? EH?!" Kirishima's eyes were spinning and the dormitory suddenly seemed far away. He knew that the other teen was extremely direct but there was no way that that was what he'd actually said. "Wait, h—hold on, we haven't even gone on a single d—date! Should we really be skipping bases just like that?! I mean, I—."

Bakugou flicked Kirishima's forehead. "Not what I meant, dumbass. Sleep, as in rest."

"Oh."

"Disappointed?"

Kirishima couldn't believe the other boy was smirking at his expense. He had to do something so as to not lose the edge. Love was like a battlefield after all. There was some track on the CD that Jirou gave him that was titled that. "Ha! You wish I was!"

"You're right, I do," Bakugou fired back, resulting in Kirishima turning into the same shade as his dye. "Now get in here."

Two doors down, Shouji sat cross-legged on the floor, one morphed ear raised. It wasn't like he had wanted to eavesdrop on his floormates but he couldn't help feeling curious about how things would go. In his lap sat Tokoyami, who had his back pressed up against the much larger boy's chest, plume just barely tickling his chin.

"You're quite the meddler," Shouji commented.

"Perhaps," Tokoyami muttered softly, eyes closed. "But you're the one who asked me to help."

Shouji enveloped the smaller boy, pulling him even closer. "I just figured he could use some advice from an expert."

"Mm… well my nightmares are mostly gone in any case," Tokoyami chuckled. "Thanks to you."

"Then why do you keep coming here?"

"It's comfortable here."

"…I suppose I can't disagree there."

Kirishima had worried about being able to sleep with Bakugou's arms wrapped around him, hands pressed up against his stomach. But in the morning, he woke up feeling well rested for the first time in a while even if it was only a handful of hours. To his surprise, Bakugou was already up and in the bathroom shouting, "Die you bacteria scum!" as he violently brushed his teeth.

"Has anyone ever told you you're too unique for your own good?" Kirishima asked when Bakugou stepped out.

"Yeah," he replied. "You just did." Bakugou tossed a wet towel in Kirishima's face. "By the way, I didn't give you a proper answer last night."

"You don't have—."

"I'm too busy to date right now," Bakugou interjected. But before the boy on the bed could wilt, he continued. "However, once I become the number one hero, you better still be waiting for me Shitty Hair. If you even so much as entertain the idea of going out with someone else before then, I'll kill you. And them."

Kirishima stared, eyes the size of baseballs, at the accusatory finger pointed at him and the glare. Then he burst out into fits of laughter, knowing full well that Bakugou wouldn't exactly like that reaction. But once he calmed down, he got up and pulled Bakugou into an embrace. The other boy didn't resist and actually returned the gesture. So they held each other tightly in the middle of the room with just their hearts beating against their rib cages and the clock ticking away on the desk.

"So we're going out without actually using the words, 'going out,' then?" Kirishima grinned.

"Think what you want," Bakugou replied. "Just keep what I said in mind."

"Right… I will, Bakugou."