At some point, Bakugou dozed off, the lazy summer air pulling him into a light slumber. When he woke, the sky had shifted from the vast black to a soft rose, and Kirishima was still beside him, though sitting now. Bakugou sat up slowly beside the other, leaning against Kirishima tiredly and watching the light reflect off of the ocean with bleary eyes. Minutes rolled by and the sun broke the horizon, filling the sky with an impossible array of colours and bathing everything in a silvery yellow light. The red of the sky eventually bled into purple and then into blue, promising a clear day of summer heat and no clouds.
There was no point in prolonging it any longer. Bakugou pressed against Kirishima's side a little firmer, just for a moment, and stood up.
"I should go…" Kirishima nodded. He turned to look at Bakugou over his shoulder and smiled that stupid, intoxicating smile one more time.
"Yeah."
The next words were short and clipped.
"I'll come back tonight."
"Yeah. I'll see you."
Bakugou knew he wouldn't see him again.
He walked away without saying goodbye because, no matter how much time had passed, Bakugou still hated them. There was also something in him saying that they didn't need it. Maybe refusing to acknowledge this one thing, one time, at that one moment, was okay.
. . .
Bakugou did return that night, true to his word, and Kirishima wasn't there. At first, he didn't know why he came back at all, the sight of the empty cross had created a wound so large that Bakugou actually felt himself tumble down the stairs he had been constantly climbing. But when he dropped down in front of the cross, heavy sobs breaking free, he realized he came back because he said he would. He cried for what felt like hours, for what possibly was hours, because his heart ached, but a weight was gone.
He was grieving and that was okay.
. . .
Bakugou returned daily for a while, not because he expected to see Kirishima again, but because the presence was calming. On the hard days, it brought relief and on the good days, he had just wanted Kirishima to know that there were good days. Gradually every day turned to every week, every week to every month, and then every month to every year. When he moved away, he stopped by whenever he was in town.
Often times Bakugou went alone, sometimes he went with his friends, but he was always sure to return to Kirishima.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading such a whirlwind of a fic. You are not alone. Be kind to yourself.