Katsuki? What are you doing on the ground?" Kirishima looked down at Bakugo, eyes filled with concern and confusion.

Bakugo just stared up in silence, eyes wide with… something.

Bakugo wasn't quite sure if they were feeling shock, confusion, relife, anger, or something else, but their eyes were wide open nonetheless.

Kirishima looked down at Bakugo's two skinned knees, still running with crimson blood. "Oh my god! Katsuki! What happened to your knees?"

Bakugo looked down at their knees, seeming to only now notice the severity of the wounds. They looked back and forth between the boy squatting down in front of them and the bloody mess that was their knees.

"Katsuki? Can you hear me?" Kirishma waved his hand in front of Bakugo's face, checking for any sort of reaction, which he did eventually get when Bakugo slowly grabbed his hand and pushed it away from their face.

Kirishima was quiet as the blonde girl looked away, still holding on to Kirishima's hand, keeping it from moving any closer, or any farther away.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bakugo muttered quietly.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Kirishima replied nervously. "I could also ask you why you're on the ground surrounded by soggy wood chips soaked in your own blood!"

Bakugo pursed their lips tightly together, unable to meet Kirishima's eyes. "I just fell. Okay? Now get lost."

Bakugo couldn't see Kirishima's face, but they could tell from the way Kirishima fell silent that he was thinking. Whenever Kirishima thought about something, it either meant he was embarrassed, or concerned for someone. Bakugo could guess which one it was this time. He would probably ask another billion times if Bakugo was okay, then offer to help them out, or some dumb 'manly' shit like that.

But it confused Bakugo when Kirishima gently tugged his hand out from Bakugo's firm grip. "Okay, uh I guess if you want to be alone, I'll just get going then. Stay safe on your way home, okay?" He slowly began to stand up, Bakugo just watching as he did, unsure of what to say.

Whether it was out of instinct or panic, instead of saying anything, Bakugo felt their hand frantically reach out and grab hold of the hem of Kirishima's rain jacket.

The boy turned his upper body around to stare at the girl who still refused to fully meet his eyes, her lip trembling as her crimson irises rotated to look at him out of the corner of her vision before flicking away again. It was silent for a moment as Bakugo fought for the right thing to say. But instead of saying anything sassy or mean, only two words came out of her lips.

"Don't go."

Kirishima stared back at Bakugo, his ruby red eyes filled with confusion, until something seemed to click into place within them, as if his mind made a decision right then and there. He slowly removed Bakugo's grip from his green jacket and shifted it into his left hand. He seemed unsure of where exactly to go from here, but he squatted back down to Bakugo's level, his eyes shifting around to study the girl's tear stained face and bloody knees.

"Can you stand?"

Bakugo slowly shook their head.

"No? Okay… well, uh…" Kirishima looked around the playground for a moment, his eyes landing on the yellow slide behind Bakugo, before he furrowed his brow and tried to let go of Bakugo's hand.

Bakugo's grip held fast.

"I need to let go for a second, okay?" Kirishima said quietly, and Bakugo's grip loosed, allowing the boy to free his hand.

Now that both his hands were free, Kirishima's strong hands slowly reached out towards Bakugo's arms, hesitant at first, but slowly, carefully he placed his hands under each of Bakugo's arms and gently lifted them up a little bit so that Bakugo could sit on the edge of the slide.

Bakugo's mind seemed to be floating off somewhere else, far away from their body, like they were watching this whole interaction from someone else's point of view as Kirishima squatted down for a third time in front of Bakugo, only this time with his back to the blonde and his arms stretched out behind him.

"Here, get on."

Bakugo blinked a few times. None of this felt real. Their body felt airy and strange, but when two concerned ruby red eyes looked over a shoulder to connect with their crimson ones, Bakugo could almost feel their soul leave their body. Yet at the same time, it grounded Bakugo, giving them something to focus on as strong hands slowly laced Bakugo's arms around broad shoulders. Only when those ruby eyes looked away did Bakugo suck themselves back into reality.

Bakugo had their arms wrapped gently around Kirishima's neck, and the boy held fast onto their thighs as he carefully, but effortlessly straightened from squatting to standing. And just like that, Eijiro Kirishima was carrying Katsuki Bakugo on his back.

"You doing okay back there? Kirishima asked gently, once again looking back at Bakugo over his shoulder.

Bakugo nodded slowly.

"We need to get you home quickly so we can clean up your knees." Kirishima said quietly, turning his gaze back to the front.

Bakugo couldn't remember the last time they had ridden on someone's back. When they were really little, their dad had sometimes given them piggy back rides, but that hadn't been in years. They had forgotten how strange it felt to feel every movement and sway in another person's body as they walked, or how you could feel the rumble through their back as they spoke.

It was strange, but somehow comforting. Bakugo could feel their chest slowly begin to relax against Kirishima's back as they studied the boy's red dyed hair. It smelled so earthy, just like Kirishima's old sweatshirt had. When was the last time Bakugo had been close enough to smell Kirishima's cologne? Did he still use the same one? It sure smelled like it.

Bakugo could feel Kirishima's whole body go rigid for a moment as Bakugo surrendered their entire body against Kirishima's back, but Bakugo chose to pay no attention to it. Their entire mind just focused on being close to Kirishima again. The rest of the world just seemed to melt away, because nothing else really mattered anyways.

Yet, even with how comfortable Bakugo was, the air between the two teenagers was tense. Neither knew what exactly to say, or if anything should really be said at all.

Kirishima, who was never at a loss for words, was silent.

Katsuki Bakugo and Eijiro Kirishima had been best friends ever since they were little, so why now did it seem like they were strangers?

Strangers who knew nothing about the other's life or what the other was thinking.

Strangers who had just met at a nearby park and offered a ride home.

Strangers who would once again part when they reached their destination.

Strangers who would just go back to being strangers the very next day.

But Bakugo didn't want to be a stranger. The idea of being unknown ripped and tore at their heart for a reason they weren't quite aware of yet. But all they could seem to do was hold on to that beautiful stranger for as long as they could before they had to part again, take in as much as they could so they could remember every little detail, because strangers are someone you don't know, but Bakugo wanted to know Kirishima.

Bakugo's eyes wandered from Kirishima's hair, down his neck, and slowly down his back.

Have his shoulders always been so broad?

Bakugo squinted their eyes and studied the boy's back a bit closer, pulling away slightly to get a better look. Kirishima wobbled slightly and peered back at Bakugo with a concerned half grin.

"Don't lean back too far or it will throw off my balance. Then we'll both fall over. Okay?" He laughed nervously. Bakugo nodded in response, too focused on the boy's body to really pay attention to what was coming out of his lips.

Since when…

Bakugo's eyes darted around the boy's back, comparing his shoulders to their own. They were definitely much wider. Kirishima had never had wide shoulders though, right? Kirishima looked like his mother, right? Kirishima didn't take after his father.

Right?

Bakugo pressed their face back up against Kirishima's neck, unsure of where else to rest it. Their eyes traveled farther down the boy's shoulder to stare at his arms. This was most definitely the same raincoat Kirishima had at the start of highschool. Bakugo remembered it well.

It had a hole about the size of a bottle cap burned into the front pocket from when it had rained on New Years, so the two of them had instead set off firecrackers in the garage. The results hadn't been great. The hood on the back had a blood stain from where Kirishima had tried to use it to stop the blood from a cut he'd gotten falling out of a tree.

But for some reason, the coat didn't seem to fit quite as well as it once had. It used to be larger and baggy, now it seemed like it might be a bit too small. It was stretched tight around Kirishima's upper arms, and Bakugo could see lines indicating where Kirishima's short shirt sleeves were.

Huh.

Has he actually…

Grown?

Since when had this happened? Shouldn't Bakugo have noticed these things before?

Bakugo's eyes slowly shifted farther down Kirishima's arm, down to his hands. Those strong, warm, calloused hands that were currently wrapped around Bakugo's things, hoisting them up onto his back so that they wouldn't fall.

Wrapped around…

My thighs…

Bakugo expected to feel anger welling up inside them again, just like it had been all day. That sickening, burning, gross sensation that told Bakugo to hit the first thing in sight. It was a feeling Bakugo was comfortable with. It was easy to express and predict, unlike other emotions. It was also easy to understand. It didn't come with any hidden meaning or other bullshit like that. Anger was just anger. And anger was what Bakugo expected to experience.

But Bakugo couldn't feel it. It was almost as if their entire tank of emotions was run dry from all the crying. All those tears had just seemed to flush out every negative emotion, leaving Bakugo nothing but confused. Confused and… something else.

They could feel their face burning hot with blood, making their head dizzy and floaty. Their whole body felt warm and flushed with heat.

Am I…

Flustered?

Of all the things I could feel right now, am I really…

Kirishima must have noticed something was wrong because he cleared his throat and turned his head slightly to speak to the girl who was holding on to his back. The sound dragged Bakugo back into the moment. They quickly removed their face from the crook of Kirishima's neck and hid it from Kirishima's view, hoping he hadn't felt the sudden heat.

"So, uh… What exactly were you doing?" He asked carefully.

"Obviously I fell you idiot." Bakugo mumbled, still trying to get their body and emotions under control.

"Well, yeah. I figured that much." Kirishima chuckled nervously. "I was more wondering why you were out here without an umbrella or coat, crying your eyes out with two massive scrapes in your knees."

"I- I fell off the slide." Bakugo said quickly.

Bakugo couldn't see his face, but they could assume Kirishima was raising his eyebrow. "That only answered one half of my question, and how would you get bits of asphalt in your knees by falling off a tiny slide. Not to mention that a fall from that height would barely leave a bump."

Bakugo didn't reply. They just let the awkward silence once again take over the already stale air between the two, the smell of the wet asphalt wafting up into their noses, adding to the steadily growing timid, tense atmosphere.

Kirishima sighed, slowing his pace a bit. "How about this? Let's make a deal."

Bakugo narrowed their eyes, thinking about it for a moment before slowly replying. "What's your shitty deal?"

"Here's my shitty deal then," Kirishima said. Bakugo thought they could hear a smile on his lips. "You tell me why you were really sitting in a bloody heap at the park, and I mean the whole reason why," He paused. "And I'll tell you a story about how I got hurt at some point."

"How the hell is that even fair! That's not even a deal!" Bakugo growled, but they couldn't help the small smirk that crept onto their face.

Classic shitty hair.

"That too is a deal!" Kirishima defended himself.

"It is not! What makes you think I care about some dumb bump or cut?" Bakugo growled.

"Come on, " Kirishima pleaded. "I just want to know why you were crying."

"I was not crying!" Bakugo squawked, annoyed. "It was raining! That was rain!"

"Fine, okay. You weren't crying, but can you please at least tell me why you fell and why you were all alone on that creepy old playground?'

"Fine, whatever. If it'll make you shut up." Bakugo groaned, pulling themselves a bit closer to Kirishima's back again, and sighing deeply.

Kirishima took a deep breath at the same time, and their body's shifted ever closer together again as Bakugo tried to figure out how to word their story.

"Well, I guess I slipped on the sidewalk." Bakugo mumbled.

"You guess?" Kirishima looked slightly backwards at Bakugo, one of his eyebrows raised.

"I did slip, okay? And then I saw the park, and I just, you know, felt like going over there and sitting for a while."

"In the rain?"

"Yes in the rain. And that's my story. Are you satisfied yet?" Bakugo growled, turning their face away with a "humph".

"I guess I'll have to be, won't I?" Kirishima smiled humorously, seemingly entertained by Bakugo.

"Yes you will." Bakugo muttered, adjusting their grip around Kirishima's shoulders.

"Well, my turn then." Kirishima said happily. "I suppose you just want me to pick something random?"

Bakugo sighed, burying their face in Kirishima's neck, shielding their eyes from the bright setting sun as they continued on their adventure down the sidewalk. The streets were relatively empty other than the occasional car, which was lucky for Bakugo's fragile pride. They didn't need anybody they knew seeing them being carried by Kirishima because their knees were a hot mess.

"I told you I didn't want to hear any of your dumb-" Bakugo stopped mid scentence.

"My dumb what?" Kirishima said, raising an eyebrow curiously, a big smirk on his face.

"I think I do have one I want to ask you about…" Bakugo said quietly.

"Okay, fire away firecracker." Kirshima said cheerfully, but somewhat apprehensive, recognizing Bakugo's more serious tone.

"That bruise."

"What bruise? I've had a bunch of them over the years. You'll have to be more specific." Kirishima pursed his lips together, turning his face back to the front. Bakugo could feel Kirishima's whole body go rigid beneath them. Every strong muscle against Bakugo's chest tensed up, rippling with tension.

"You know which one I'm talking about. The one that you would never tell me about." Bakugo shifted their hands to grip onto the fabric of the raincoat around Kirishima's shoulders, "You promised me you would tell me at some point, and I told you what happened to me, so you better tell me about that bruise."

"I'm not really sure if your story really qualifies as 'telling me what happend'." Kirishima said quietly, but his voice was dripping with anxiety.

"You want the real truth then?" Bakugo snarled, now desperate to get their answer.

Kirishima seemed to stop for a moment, only a slight second, but continued walking and nodded his head slightly.

"I was running, and I slipped on the curb. Then I realized I was at the park, so I sat on the edge of the slide. When I went to get up, I fell over. Then you found me." Bakugo said harshly, but tried their best to keep calm.

"Were you crying because you fell?" Kirishima questioned quietly.

"Of co-" Bakugo stopped.

They said they were going to tell the truth, so the truth it was.

"No. That's not why." Bakugo mumbled, pulling closer against Kirishima's back.

"I figured you wouldn't cry over something like that." Kirshima sighed before pausing, once again, Bakugo could feel him tense up as he asked another question. "Then why were you crying?"

"I- I can't tell you." Bakugo spoke quietly into Kirishima's neck. "But maybe I'll be able to tell you some day. When I'm ready."

Kirishima nodded.

"Now tell me about that bruise, or I take back my promise." Bakugo hissed softly into the boy's neck.

Kirishima walked quietly, Bakugo bouncing slightly on his back with every step. Bakugo could feel each deep breath he took. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Then the words quietly left his lips, words that Bakugo was expecting but wasn't quite ready for.

"My mom."

Bakugo nodded, not sure of whether to say anything or not. Afterall, what would saying anything help? All they could do right now was listen if Kirishima continued to talk. Listen and try to understand. And if they couldn't understand, maybe they could just be there. Maybe that was enough. Just being there.

"She was angry. Angry that I wanted to be a boy." Kirishima said quietly, the wind almost whisking away every word the moment it left his lips. If it weren't for Bakugo's ear being right up against his neck, they might have missed each word entirely.

"When we got in the car after the appointment, she… She was furious." His body shook for only a moment, but Bakugo caught it.

"I was in her custody because she wanted a daughter, so she fought to play the stable parent role, and she won. But when I decided that I didn't want to be a girl, a daughter, she…"

"She knew if I became a boy, I might take after Dad. And she didn't want that. Every day I woke up after that, she would be sitting downstairs, yelling into the mirror, yelling about Dad. Then she would see me and she'd just… stare."

He fell silent again, and stopped walking. The light of the sunset was slipping beyond the horizon at this point, only a sliver of light still shining feebly over the buildings and trees. A street lamp slowly flickered to life above them, illuminating the wet puddles beneath the boy's feet.

"She cried the other day, you know?"

Bakugo pursed their lips tightly.

"She cried. She said sorry. Sorry for how she treated me. Sorry for all the pain she caused me."

His whole body shook slightly as he spoke, each word rough and harsh in the quiet dusk air.

"She said she loved me. And that she was proud of me. Proud of her son."

"And I… I wasn't sure what to say. Cause I love my mom. I can't help that. But…"

Kirishima, realizing Bakugo was slipping a bit, sighed and pulled Bakugo a bit higher up on his back, causing Bakugo to yelp a bit at the sudden force, but they readjusted their grip around the boy's shoulders, holding on tighter.

"But I walked away. It just… I… I didn't know what to do! I know it was wrong, but I just walked away like a coward! Leaving her crying there alone… " Kirishima seemed to be struggling to get out every word, as if he felt obligated to talk, but wasn't sure what to say. It was painful to listen to. Heartbreaking. "I don't understand why I can't ever seem to do the right thing in these sort of situations. All I can do is just walk away and make everything worse."

The broken, hitching voice coming out of the boy was such a contrast to the large, strong shoulders Bakugo was holding on to. Kirishima just had such a soft, gentle heart. He was confused, lost. Unsure of what exactly to do.

"Huh, and I thought I was bad with emotions." Bakugo huffed out quietly.

Kirishima was silent.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Bakugo growled and lightly bumped one of their fists against the boy's spiky red hair.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kirishima whined. "I could drop you right here you know."

"You wouldn't." Bakugo muttered, bumping him on the head again. "Just deal with it. It's your punishment."

"Punishment for what?!"

"For being such a snot nosed brat who leaves wom- people crying alone." Bakugo growled, bumping him one last time before lacing their fingers back around Kirishima's shoulders. "You are such an idiot shitty hair."

"You already said that." Kirishima mumbled.

"If you knew it was wrong, then why did you do it?" Bakugo growled.

"I- I don't know."

"Is it cause you were scared?"

Kirishima slowly came to a halt once again. What was the boy thinking about right now? What was going through that mind, so full of rocks and rumble? Filled to the brim with nothing but dorky smiles and Judo matches. Was there more in there than Bakugo knew about? Bakugo thought they knew everything there was to know about Eijiro Kirishima… But apparently they didn't. They didn't know a thing.

"I- I guess I was." Kirishima said softly.

"What were you so scared of?" Bakugo kept their usual harsh tone, but lowered it slightly, making sure the dense boy could hear every ounce of force behind their voice.

"Getting hurt. Or hurting someone else. Or being a coward."

Kirishima seemed to hold his breath for a moment. Bakugo wondered if he was thinking about the same thing they were.

Sitting alone in a bathroom stall.

"I'll never know what I could have said. I'll never know if I could have made things better or worse. I just didn't want to ruin what I already have."

Bakugo tightened their grip slightly.

"I never expected that the hurt I experienced also hurt her. It was only one time, and yet, she still thinks about it."

Bakugo remained silent. They had so many things they wanted to say, so many things so close from spilling out of their mouth, but they didn't. They stayed closed up and shut off behind the damn that was their lips as they listened to the boy spill his guts to the empty, slowly darkening streets.

"It's not fair. How is she allowed to cry like I hurt her? I just wanted to make my own decision for once, a decision I actually wanted. Not one put in my head by her."

Kirishima was quiet for a moment, staring down at the puddles below his feet.

"Parent's suck ass." Bakugo mumbled.

"... Yeah. Yeah they do." Kirishima finally exhaled. "I'm really tired of not being sure what to do when the people I care about are hurting, and yet, I'm not sure what to do about it. Everything I do just seems to make things worse."

"Then fix it dumb ass. Duh." Bakugo muttered.

"You say that like it's an easy thing." Kirishima sighed.

"Well just start with not walking away like a coward." The blonde growled. "That's not a manly thing to do. Maybe try just being there."

Kirishima sighed. He was quiet for a moment, seemingly thinking about something as Bakugo adjusted their legs a bit around Kirishima's waist. A chime went off in the boy's pocket, but he ignored it, slowly continuing towards their destination. The text tone did however, seem to connect something in his brain, as he acknowledged the girl he was carrying on his back.

"Katsuki?"

"What now shitty hair?"

"I- I have something else I need to talk to you about."

"What?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly how to say this but…"

Bakugo could feel how sweaty Kirishima's hands were on their thighs. Clearly he was nervous about something. Kirishima bounced Bakugo back up a bit farther on his back, since his hands were slipping a bit on Bakugo's thighs.

"If I ever want to fix things between me and my mom, I need to first figure out how to fix things with you."

Bakugo narrowed their eyes, unsure of where exactly this conversation was going. "Okay…"

"I need to be honest with you, but I'm not sure how exactly you'll feel about the honest truth."

Bakugo groaned. "Ugh. Just skip all the long explanatory bull crap and get to the point boulder brains!"

Bakugo couldn't see Kirishima's eyes, but they could imagine they were hooded, or fully closed. His hands squeezed just a bit tighter around Bakugo's thighs as he seemingly physced himself up for… something. His breathing was steady yet somewhat labored with anxiety and uncertainty. It matched with Bakugo's own rise and fall. Bakugo could hear his lips part in the silence as the words slowly came tumbling out. "I- I… Katsuki? I think… I think I… I think I might… li-"

"Why don't we talk about this later? It seems like it's something important, and we're almost home." Bakugo said quietly. They had an idea of what the redheaded boy was about to say, but they weren't ready. Not yet. They had enough confusion and emotions for one day, and if their intuition was right, that would just mean more shit to deal with. And they weren't ready for that kind of shit yet. Not now anyways.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kirishima said softly as he stepped forward again, continuing down the street. He sounded almost dejected and it hurt Bakugo, but they knew now was not the time. They both had things to deal with.

"Whatever you were going to say, just, save it for later, okay?" Bakugo mumbled. "But for now, promise you won't run away anymore, okay? Just be there."

"Okay Katsuki. I promise."

"Good shitty hair." Bakugo nodded, pulling themselves closer once again. They might have just been holding on so they wouldn't fall off, but Bakugo felt like the way they had their arms wrapped around the redheaded boy, it was almost like an embrace.

Bakugo hated hugs, but right now, it seemed like Kirishima needed one. Bakugo wasn't going to admit it, but they squeezed just a bit tighter, moved in just a bit closer. Kirishima seemed to subconsciously sink into it as well as he continued his steady pace down the sidewalk.

Maybe now they were just two strangers on a ride home, and maybe those strangers weren't exactly ready to become anything more, but for now, that stranger would hold onto the other for as long as possible, while things were still simple. Maybe they weren't ready to address the intentions behind the ride, or the conversations, but for now, they were ready to take that stranger back, and never let them leave again. Because this is where that stranger belonged, there in their arms, safe from emotions, and mothers, and the world. Everything felt good there. For once, everything felt good.