Alright, everyone! This is the last *official* chapter! After this, I will be posting an epilogue for the sake of evening out the number of chapters and then that will be it! Press Play will be totally, officially finished. I am...very proud of this book. Of course, I will be going back and editing all of the chapters and maybe retconning some stuff, but overall the plot will remain the same. There are a lot of things I severely wished I had planned out beforehand *ahem* like the whole book, for example *ahem* but overall I am very proud of this book! My first completed Kiribaku fic! Anyways, thank you all so much for sticking around with my weird, random updates of erratically planned plotlines. I know it can be frustrating to deal with. So thank you guys! I really do appreciate you, even if I don't always respond to comments and such. But know that I do love each and every one of my readers! Thank you so much for always being there to support me! And now, without further ado...the chapter!
When Kirishima woke up the next morning to the loud, obnoxious sound of a wooden spoon banging on a metal pot, he couldn't help but smile. It felt nostalgic since that was what Eitaro used to do every year on Christmas morning. He guessed some things really didn't change after all. Bakugo, however, didn't seem to feel the same way. He was about to stick his head out the door and yell at him to shut the hell up before Kirishima stopped him.
They got dressed and headed downstairs together to join the rest of them in the living room. Everyone except for Kayako was there, and Kirishima assumed she was in the kitchen. Sure enough, she entered the room a few minutes later carrying a tray of muffins, which she set down on the coffee table before sitting beside Akio. As soon as everyone was settled and had gotten their food, Eitaro stood up and grinned. "Alright, let's get this show on the road, everyone!"
Kirishima thought back to all those Christmases he'd spent in this very same house. Every year, one of the kids had the task of handing out presents. It had been so long since he'd been here for the holidays, however, that he couldn't remember whose turn it should have been. But apparently it was Eitaro's job this year. He picked up random present boxes from the pile underneath the tree and began handing them out. Kirishima was a little surprised that there were any for him at all, considering how last minute he'd decided to come. But everyone ended up getting something.
Bakugo seemed slightly uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything. Eitaro was nearing the end of the boxes until he finally got to the pile that Kirishima had brought along with him. He'd gotten something for Eitaro and Tamiko both something, as well as Bakugo. When Eitaro called his name, he seemed surprised until he must have realized that it was from Kirishima. He accepted the box with a mumbled thanks and returned to watching the rest of them.
Once all the presents had been handed out, they started opening them. Tamiko went first while the rest of them watched, exactly the same way Kirishima remembered them doing it when he was a kid. She'd gotten a lot of stuff, mainly books and other things. She even received a few merch items from some anime Kirishima remembered her liking. He'd bought her a collector's edition of one of the books he remembered she liked before he left. He wished he'd thought to ask what she liked now instead of focusing on her interests from years ago.
After Tamiko, Eitaro went next. He got mostly clothes, as well as the T-shirt Kirishima had bought for him and a dog tag necklace from his girlfriend, Asami, who'd been sitting next to him the whole time. She went next, although she'd only received a few things, mainly from Eitaro. After her, Kayako opened her presents, then Akio. Then there were only Kirishima and Bakugo left.
"Well, little bro?" Eitaro grinned. "Go ahead!"
Kirishima glanced over at Bakugo, who gave a small shrug. He turned his attention back to the boxes and looked at the tags. The first was from Eitaro and Asami, who had bought him a big hoodie featuring one of his favorite bands. He was a little shocked that Eitaro had even remembered that after so long, so he was thankful. Tamiko had bought him a book from a series she liked. Kayako had even bought him a set of ties, something that Kirishima appreciated even if he doubted he would ever have a chance to wear them. But just when he thought his turn was over, Akio cleared his throat and sat forward in his chair.
"Actually...there's one more for you." He said. His voice was gruff, like he was right on the edge of tears. Kirishima frowned, watching as his father got to his feet only to kneel down right there on the floor in front of him and place his forehead to the floor.
Kirishima heard himself let out a little gasp at the sight, but he didn't remember consciously making the noise. His father...was kneeling at his feet. Actually, physically kneeling down, with his head pressed against the floor and everything. His eyes began to burn, and he raised a hand to cover his mouth.
"I'm sorry!" His father's voice shook, and it was slightly muffled by the carpet. "I can't ever apologize enough for the things I did in the past. And I don't expect you to forgive me either, but I hope you can at the very least acknowledge the fact that I know what I did was wrong. It was so, so wrong of me to put you through all that. And I'm sorry! I'm truly, truly sorry!"
Kirishima was definitely crying now, but he barely felt it. His father's back and shoulders were trembling as he spoke, and Kirishima assumed that meant he was crying too. Slowly, he lowered one hand down to gently tap him on the shoulder. He lifted his head up to look him in the eyes. Sure enough, he was also crying.
His throat felt much too tight to actually respond, so he just nodded. That was enough of a response for him to understand, however. This became obvious when his watery eyes widened and he nearly started sobbing again. Slowly and shakily, he rose on unsteady legs. Kirishima was the one to step forward and wrap his arms around him. His father seemed shocked at first, but quickly got over it and returned the embrace.
"Thank you," he said.
Akio shook his head, sniffing and hurriedly wiping at his eyes as they broke apart. The others were all watching the scene unfold, some with tears in their eyes, but Kirishima didn't even notice. "I should be the one thanking you, Eijiro. For...accepting a deadbeat like me."
"You're not a deadbeat." Eijiro smiled. "You were just lost is all. It's okay. It's in the past now."
Akio shook his head. "No. It's not okay, not yet. But...I'm hoping to make it okay. Someday. I'll do my best to make it happen. I just hope you'll be patient with me."
"Of course I will." He assured him. "You are family, after all."That afternoon, Kirishima and Bakugo were packing up their things to leave. Kirishima couldn't seem to wipe that damn goofy smile off of his face, but Bakugo definitely wasn't complaining. Ever since he and his father had made up that morning, he'd been in a good mood that seemed totally irreversible. Bakugo liked it. He liked seeing Kirishima so happy after seeing him feelings down for so long.
They were carrying their bags out to the car so Eitaro could drive them back to the station at the moment. Kirishima was humming some kind of tune as he piled their suitcases and bags in the trunk. When he finished, he closed the trunk and turned around to grin at Bakugo. "This was nice, right?"
"I fucking guess," Bakugo grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn't about to tell Kirishima it had been his best Christmas in years. "You're awful happy."
"Of course I am! How could I not be?" He leaned up against the car and sighed happily. "I just...I feel so much lighter and carefree now that I'm not worrying about my dad anymore. Does that even make sense?"
"Duh," Bakugo moved to lean against the car beside him. "It was a huge weight on your shoulders for years. Of course you're gonna feel a thousand times lighter now that it's gone."
"Yeah, well..." Kirishima turned his head so that he was looking at Bakugo. Their close proximity started to make him flustered, and he tried to will away the red threatening to creep up to his face.
"Well, what?"
"Well...I was thinking. And I think I'm might be ready." Kirishima's face remained in that stupidly gleeful expression, but Bakugo blanched and almost tripped over his own feet.
"Wait...you don't mean--"
Apparently, he did mean what Bakugo was thinking. Because before he could finish his sentence, he had leaned in and roughly grabbed the lapels of his coat and tugged him forwards so that he could press their lips together. It wasn't their first kiss, but this time felt different. It felt more solid, more meaningful. It only took a few seconds for the initial shock to wear off and him to start returning the kiss.
Time seemed to meld together. Neither of them even registered the sound of the front door opening. At least, not until a new voice laughed and let out an extremely no loud cat call. They immediately broke apart, both of them blushing furiously, and not from the cold and snow. Bakugo was even redder than Kirishima. He instantly spun on his heel and stomped over to the car door, climbing inside and slamming the door shut.
Eitaro smirked at him. "That was one hell of a makeout session, little bro. Sorry for interrupting, but you two will kiss your train if we don't leave now."
"Yeah, yeah." Kirishima waved him off and headed for the passenger side door. Still laughing, Eitaro climbed into the driver's side to take them to the station.
Uh, so yeah. Hi. I'm not dead! Ahem, anyways, I'm sorry this took me so long to post! I didn't have any inspiration to continue this story for the longest time, but I had a sudden flash of inspiration for it so I took advantage of it and finished it. I'm also hoping to get the epilogue finished as well, so maybe expect two updates. And if so then congratulations because the epilogue will be the end of this story! Thank you guys so much for reading! And make sure to check out my other books and my oneshot compilation book! I love y'all!