"So," Mina drawled, inspecting her nails, "How's the feral stray doing?" Kirishima groaned and narrowed his eyes at the hologram projecting up from his comm.

To say things had been rocky after landing on Oterra just under a week ago would have been an understatement. Mina was gracious enough to keep her physical distance and this was the first time they had spoken technically face-to-face since the incident. It didn't mean there was no contact, however. She had made up for her lack of presence by bombarding both Kirishima and Kaminari with messages to get some kind of clarification about what she inadvertently stumbled into. When she got the gist of the situation, the messages went to Kirishima only, switching between berating him and fretting over him so quickly that it gave him whiplash just to read.

Her concern wasn't exactly misplaced, either. The glaring reality that Kirishima's good intentions truly weren't good enough was beginning to wear on him. No good deed goes unpunished, he supposed, if the burns healing concerningly slow around his neck were anything to go by.

"He's fine. I think. He hasn't really left my room much." Other than a few quiet noises and the even fewer glimpses of Bakugou, Kirishima had barely any interaction with the human. In fact, if it hadn't been for those two minor confirmations of Bakugou's existence, there would have been considerable worry over whether or not he was even still alive.

And 'alive' was a very generous term. Kirishima was sure Bakugou still wasn't sleeping much. He was eating a bit more if the missing food was any indicator, but whenever Kirishima did see him, the exhaustion was glaring. Although his eyes were alert when they crossed paths and his form remained poised and ready to attack, Bakugou's movements were noticeably sluggish. He dragged his feet, was slow to respond in any way, and the sneers that Kirishima was starting to grow accustomed to seemed to appear as an afterthought.

Human sleep cycles were yet another human concept that evaded Kirishima entirely. He had noticed a couple of times that the light in his room would be dimmed, though never completely turned off, and he figured those were the times when Bakugou was at least attempting to sleep. Nearly every time the silence would last for only a few hours before being interrupted by sharp, gasping breaths that could be heard through the walls. The panicked breathing was loud enough for Kaminari and Kirishima to exchange concerned looks, but when Bakugou was confronted, Kirishima was met with a curt "Fuck off." The light would be bright again and wouldn't dim for a long while.

But, Bakugou was technically fine.

"And he's not feral," Kirishima tacked on after a significant delay, and Mina pointedly looked at the discolouring on his throat, "He's on edge."

"Sweetie, your little friend took being 'on edge' to a whole other level." She wasn't wrong. While Kirishima still believed that Bakugou's aggression, and subsequent violence, was the result of him being scared, it had become clear that maybe the human should be feared in return. Kirishima hadn't wanted that to be the case. He had wanted the rest of the universe's concern regarding humans to be out of ignorance, but, even if Bakugou was a one-off, he wasn't helping Kirishima's effort to smooth over the tension. "Hey," Mina's voice cut in, less condescending and more sympathetic, "I just want you to be safe." He attempted to force a smile and found that he couldn't.

He tried to say that he was safe, but the words didn't mean much after what had happened. "I couldn't leave him there," he said instead, leaning back to rest against his palms and answering the question Mina was going to lead up to eventually. She had already asked every single version of "What were you thinking?" in her previous messages, but Kirishima had been able to skirt around the question every time. He decided to bite the bullet before she even had a chance to form the words. "If you were there, if you saw him like I did, you would've helped him too."

He ignored the twist in his stomach - the frustration that he willed down - when he thought about how well-received his help was. He didn't expect a parade or anything and he definitely didn't want Bakugou to laud over him just for doing something decent. Hell, he didn't even need gratitude but being repaid by having a hand wrap around his throat while it cooked his skin did leave Kirishima feeling maybe just a little bit bitter. Not that he'd admit it. Bakugou was scared, Bakugou was scared, Bakugou was scared... "He looked like he was dying."

"I'm not saying you should've left him there, but you could've contacted the Federation to help him." His friends were never much for logic when he needed them to be so it only made sense that they suddenly became perfect voices of reason at exactly the worst times. "They wouldn't have left him to rot or anything like that. They would've actually known what to do, do it properly, and get him back to Earth safely."

"Well, I…" he floundered for an excuse and ultimately gave up. "I didn't think that far ahead at the time. And then he didn't want to go back to Earth so the Federation wasn't an option!" Mina rolled her eyes, golden irises flipping amongst the black.

"Well there's a lot of shit I don't want to do, too, but we still gotta do it. Just like how you should've contacted the Federation instead of trying to take things into your own hands! I mean, really, Kiri!"

"He had a feeling," Kaminari cooed from behind Kirishima before the redhead could answer, nudging his friend in the back with his foot.

"Dude, don't butt into our conversation!"

"You're in my room!"

Mina laughed suddenly, shifting away from the lecturing, and flapped her hand around to get the attention of her friends again. "You had a feeling? " she echoed, leaning to the side as though she could face Kaminari, "What!?" Kirishima could feel the tips of his ears burning in embarrassment at Mina's instant interest in teasing him instead of scolding and decided that he would rather the scolding. He jabbed his elbow backward into Kaminari's calf, dislodging the foot from his back, and angled the comm away so the two couldn't join forces in the ridicule as easily.

"Why are you guys ganging up on me!?" he whined, glaring at the hologram of the still laughing Mina. "It wasn't like that; Denki's making it sound weird. I will hang up on you."

"Ei, no! Denki, don't be mean!" she said as though she hadn't just jumped in on the mockery and tried to swallow down the giggles threatening to burst forth all over again. With a few calming breaths, Mina wiped at the tears under her eyes and composed herself as much as she could. "You might be right, though," Kirishima braced himself for another round of teasing, "He's different. At least, different from what we've been told about humans. Maybe you did have a feeling. Aren't humans supposed to be kind of boring?" Kirishima begged to differ with that comment and Mina waved him off dismissively before he could. "On a biological level, I mean. They're crafty and reasonably intelligent, but they don't seem to possess anything…" She trailed off, tapping a manicured nail against her chin as she tried to locate a word.

"Special?" Kaminari supplied, not looking up from the game on his own comm, but still very much inserting himself into the conversation. Mina nodded her head.

"Yeah! Aren't they kind of just brutish and practical?"

"We don't know that, though," Kirishima countered just as quickly.

"Their planet was studied for years before they closed everything off."

"Observed," Kirishima corrected. "They were observed at a distance. You can draw all sorts of conclusions when you just watch someone." He was surprised at his own answer, impressed that the courses he had to take to deal with other species and cultures in order to be hired for the contracts somehow managed to stick in his brain.

"What about the abductions?" Kaminari piped up. Abductions were tricky. Beyond tricky, actually, because they were illegal. That still hadn't stopped other species from going to foreign planets to snatch up the beings that lived there. Sometimes it was nefarious, a means to get a quick buck or two, and sometimes it was argued to be in the name of science. The Federation discovered that it rarely ever benefited the abductee, often traumatizing not only them but sometimes their entire planet depending on how widespread the abduction was, and put a stop to it as best they could. "What we know from human bodies are all from abductions, really."

"Yeah, and how accurate do you think illegal research is? And it's been decades since anyone's had a chance to observe or abduct a human. We don't know how much they've advanced since then." Both Mina and Kaminari scoffed in unison at his defense and Kirishima tossed his hands up in frustration. "I'm not saying that what Bakugou has going on is normal, but we really don't know either way! Like maybe there are more like him… Maybe it's not… so weird. Anyway, he's not some experiment. We can't just shove him under a microscope and analyze why he—"

"What if he is an experiment!" Mina gasped, eyes wide, and Kirishima immediately regretted the words that came out of his mouth. Kaminari was sitting up beside him now, interest piqued and ready to fan the flames of the newest conspiracy theory. It wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. It arguably made a lot of sense; why Bakugou wanted to get away, why he was found on a strange planet, why he could do… all of that stuff. "You should ask him." Mina clapped her hands excitedly and Kirishima was snapped out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"You should ask him!" Kirishima laughed at the idea alone.

"No! He won't tell me anyway!"

Kaminari whined and latched onto his arm, jostling him back and forth. "But you're the 'human whisperer,' dude!"

"If he is an experiment, then it's not our business!"

"You rescued him," Mina pointed out, grinning mischievously and leaning in towards the comm again, "He's in your place. He can give you something to go off of - he owes you his life!"

"Kiri's scared to talk to him," Kaminari decided when Kirishima tripped over his explanation about exactly why Bakugou didn't owe him a thing.

"I'm not scared! I'm just… I…" He gave up finding his words and shoved Kaminari back instead, returning his attention solely to Mina - the one he deemed most logical. "You both need to stop reading into things. I'm trying to give him space so he can figure out his plan. I'm giving him time." The grin Mina had on her face fell into something more comforting, soft and understanding, and all the joking around ceased again.

"Yeah, but how much time, hon?" He didn't know. How much time did Bakugou need? What was he even trying to plan?

"Maybe another week?" Kaminari groaned and flopped backward onto the bed, using Kirishima's back as a footrest once more after giving him a knowing kick. "Just a week! One more week. I've got some Units saved, I can take some time off from the contacts and just stay with him here. Maybe you and Denki can team up for a bit."

"A week, Ei," Mina repeated firmly, pointing a finger at him. "You have such a big heart, but don't let him walk all over it because he's in a tough spot. You didn't put him there, you're getting him out." Kirishima nodded his head and let the conversation fall into something more casual. He had a hard time keeping up with the mindless chatter, distracted by his own plan he had to make.

What if nothing happened in a week's time? Was he expected to throw Bakugou to the mercy of the universe and, furthermore, would Bakugou even let him? It was his mess though, Kirishima reminded himself, and even with the support of his friends, he had to be the one to sort it out.

. . .

Two days into the 'week' had Mina and Denki off on a contract.

It meant that Kirishima was now alone with Bakugou in the apartment. It should've been fine because it had been fine up until that point, but as soon as Kaminari left, Kirishima couldn't shake the realization that his friend had been an unintentional buffer and distraction.

There was always a cloud looming over him, Kirishima knew that. Although Bakugou barely made an appearance, it was hard for Kirishima to fully forget that a human was living under the same roof as him. But that 'space' he said he was giving Bakugou very rapidly became smaller when he accepted that he wasn't giving the human space at all. He was avoiding him. That was when the cloud lingering around became extremely noticeable - black and turbulent - and no matter what Kirishima did, the anxieties surged up inside of him.

Mina was right, though, about the fact that Kirishima hadn't been the one to put Bakugou in the situation he was trying to escape from. That didn't mean Bakugou owed him details about his life, as his friends had so wanted him to pry into, but it meant that Kirishima did deserve some sort of respect. At the very least, some common decency. He may have been avoiding Bakugou, but Bakugou was doing the exact same thing and, while he made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to be around Kirishima or Kaminari or anyone for that matter, he still hadn't left. Kirishima didn't need to know the exact details of the plan Bakugou was formulating, he settled on, he just needed to know that there was one.

.

Hiding from his fears was something Kirishima was never okay with. And, again, it wasn't really that he was scared of Bakugou but more scared of what Bakugou could do. He hadn't done anything since that first day and he continued to do nothing even when Kaminari was gone, so the nerves Kirishima felt, the ones that grew with every passing hour of being alone in the space with the human, felt ridiculous. Sure, he had plenty to worry about. Bakugou was still dangerous and had the potential to be even more dangerous now that there weren't any witnesses. Because of that, they kept their safety net in place of Kirishima messaging Mina as often as he could lest she contact the Federation.

He knew they were solely relying on Bakugou's aversion to the Federation to keep him safe, which may have been an issue if the human decided that he didn't give a shit anymore. It was the only upperhand they had, so Kirishima tried his best to convince himself that it was a solid plan as he approached his bedroom's door. At least if things did wind up going sideways, Kaminari wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.

The knock was timid, far too timid for the brave demeanor Kirishima was trying to put up, and he cringed. He wanted to come off as confident and respectful; not meek or boastful. Yes, Bakugou was in his place and in his room no less, but booting in the door with no regard to privacy was just going to bring Bakugou's walls up more. His pathetic knock, however, was only going to show Bakugou how nervous he really was and the human seemed more than malicious enough to latch onto that weakness.

Finding the right balance was hard.

Bringing his lip between sharp teeth, Kirishima knocked again, this time louder (but not too loud), and announced that he'd be opening the door. He gave a moment for Bakugou to respond - to welcome him in or shove him away - and hit the small switch to slide open the door when he received no answer.

Bakugou was sitting on the bed, facing forward at a poster on the wall, just staring and giving no indication that he was aware of Kirishima's presence. For a moment, everything Kirishima had planned to say and do kind of just dropped out of his mind because, wow, Bakugou looked worse than he remembered. His breathing was slow and shallow, and, if it weren't for his eyes being opened although they weren't opened very much, Kirishima would've thought him to be asleep.

It took Kirishima physically entering the room to be a few steps away from the bed for Bakugou to finally acknowledge him with a tired, "What?"

"I need to know your plan." Bakugou blinked slowly and kept his eyes closed longer than a normal blink should've been. He tilted his head, opened his eyes, and continued to stare at the poster.

"Why?"

They hadn't had much interaction, but whenever they did, Bakugou was sure to make everything as difficult as possible. It had been like pulling teeth and, sleep-deprived or not, Bakugou apparently wasn't going to let up now. Kirishima frowned and squared his shoulders, playing Mina's words over and over in his head as a reaffirming mantra. "Because if you're staying here and I'm going to be helping you, I need to know something." This time Bakugou sat up straighter and pulled in a long inhale, as though he had to gather energy and strength which he quite possibly did. He looked over at Kirishima, looking at him like he normally did, like he was assessing him for danger, and met his eyes.

"I told you back on your shitty little ship that I was going to be using you. You don't need to know about what I'm doing." Despite the words he chose, there was no bite to them and no heat to his stare. He was entirely devoid of any emotion, his voice monotone, and Kirishima had to remind himself that the shell of a human he was staring at was the same aggressive one he had met on Alduous. The same aggressive one who was doing absolutely everything in his power to snap at the hands helping him. You didn't put him there, you're getting him out.

"Well," Kirishima shrugged his shoulders, trying to ignore the concern he felt looking into the glazed-over eyes that were hardly able to focus, "do you have a timeframe at least? Something for me to go on?" Bakugou looked away, back to the poster, and ignored him. It annoyed Kirishima; it genuinely annoyed him to be faced with someone so stubborn. Bakugou obviously needed assistance, even a tiny amount, because he was completely out of his element, but he refused. He more than refused, he downright denied needing anything from anyone. Scared or not, Kirishima felt his patience for Bakugou growing thin. "Why are you so difficult?"

"Why are you so friendly?" There was no plan. There had to be no plan. The human's pride was just too big to admit it, but Kirishima didn't have all the time in the universe to sit and bicker with him. He had less than a week.

"You don't have a plan, right? So let me help you make a plan." Something in Bakugou's posture changed, the muscles in his jaw tensing and his back stiffening, and - ah, there was the anger again.

"I have a fucking plan."

"Then tell me your plan!" He hadn't meant to snap back and Bakugou's flinch told him that he didn't expect it either. Kirishima waited one second for Bakugou to reply, two, three, and then pulled his hands down his face in exasperation. "This?" He waved his hand between them, gesturing at them both. "This isn't working. I'm trying to make it work."

Bakugou's fists clenched at his sides and suddenly those tired eyes were narrowed ahead of him in a piercing glare. "Give up," he ground out through gritted teeth, sending a sidelong look in Kirishima's direction.

"Bakugou, if you're going to stay here, you need to tell me fucking something. I need to know—"

"You don't need to know fucking anything!" Bakugou was on his feet in an instant, standing in front of Kirishima, and, even with the dark circles and pallid skin, Bakugou looked no less threatening.

But Kirishima was taller. Kirishima was bigger. Kirishima may not have had a glowing eye, the ability to translate languages at a whim, and hands that ignited like a sun, but he was strong and he was sure that in Bakugou's current state, he was definitely going to be faster.

"I do, though. I do because you don't want to be here and I don't want you to be here. Not when you hurt me, not when you threaten my friends." Kirishima paused and tried to keep from looking down at Bakugou's hands. He was also trying to not be intimidated, but the dull, persistent ache in his neck was serving as a pretty decent reminder to be careful. Kirishima returned the glare with one of his own, refusing to back down, and fought to keep his voice calm and even. "You want to get out of here, right?"

"Yes." The hands flexed.

"Away from Earth?"

"Yes!"

"Then tell me your plan if you have one like you say you do."

"I have a plan!" Kirishima gave up.

"Then what is it, Bakugou!?" Bakugou snarled and stepped forward, but Kirishima met the challenge and did the same, halting the human in his tracks. "What is your next step because you've barely left this room, you've barely told me anything! All you've done is freak out and try to actually kill me! It seems like you've made zero progress on anything!"

Bakugou's eyes flashed dangerously, but he snapped his mouth shut over bared teeth. Kirishima could tell that he was waging a war with himself, weighing the pros and cons of all possible outcomes, before making a decision. If he hurt Kirishima, it'd be the last straw. If he killed Kirishima, then his last known sighting would no longer be Alduous. He would have time to run, of course, but where would he go? He had no ship to physically leave the planet and, as soon as Kaminari and Mina had stopped hearing from Kirishima, the Federation would be crawling all over Oterra; he'd be found instantly.

He was cornered.

Bakugou let out a yell, raw and frustrated, and threaded his fingers into his hair to pull at the roots. "I can't fucking think! Are you happy!?" He sucked in a shaking breath and looked at Kirishima with so much hatred that it very nearly startled him into backing up. "Is that what you wanted to hear!? I have no plan, I'm on some fucking planet I've never even heard of before two weeks ago, and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do! So you can swoop in and be some big fucking hero now! All I know is that I can't go back there!" His voice broke at the end of his sentence, revealing more emotion than Kirishima imagined he wanted to, and all at once it was as though the anger drained from his body. Bakugou stepped back until his legs bumped against the bed and dropped down heavily to sit. "I'm so fucking tired," he muttered, more to himself than Kirishima, and scrubbed at his eyes, "I'm tired."

"Then sleep." Kirishima's response came out more clipped than he intended it to, still irritated with Bakugou's need to be purposely obstinate and his recent outburst. Though the human had collapsed back onto the bed, effectively declaring defeat, Kirishima couldn't let his own guard down yet.

He was relieved he didn't because when Bakugou slammed his fists down onto his thighs, wisps of smoke curled up from between his fingers. He looked up at Kirishima with a scowl and all that rage that had left moments ago came back replenished. "I can't!" Those words had that same rage sapping out again just as fast as it reappeared and it became evident that Bakugou hadn't wanted to admit what he just said. Kirishima saw the regret in his eyes almost immediately.

"What do you mean you can't?" Bakugou's fists uncurled in his lap, his fingers stretching out the tension, and he dropped his eyes to his hands.

"It… It's just…" The fight within Bakugou was back on, but the exhaustion was taking its toll again. He was trying to keep up with his thoughts, trying to force back the words spilling out of his mouth - words not laced with venom that he let escape by accident. "It doesn't matter," Bakugou said softly, so quietly that Kirishima almost missed it. "I'm coming up with a plan and I'll get off this stupid fucking planet and out of your shitty hair and way from them. So just fuck off." He didn't look up at Kirishima, but it was clear that the conversation was done.

With all the hostility Bakugou had displayed, why was it Kirishima who felt guilty?

. . .

The week was nearly up when Kaminari and Mina returned from the contract and, while Mina had been requesting updates, Kaminari was actually able to see that something was off with his friend whereas Mina couldn't. Bakugou not leaving the room was one thing, he had done that back on their ship, but Kirishima on the other hand… Their bedrooms were cramped enough as it was, and though he loved his friend dearly, Kirishima becoming a permanent fixture in his room was going to send Kaminari over the edge if he didn't start leaving it.

Frustration due to their constant close proximity aside, Kaminari also hated seeing his usually bright friend so miserable. Kirishima had attempted to play it off and act as though nothing was bothering him, which Kaminari saw right through as the effort looked too strained to be natural.

Kirishima could bounce back from anything that knocked him down, and it was a trait Kaminari admired. It appeared that Kirishima had forgotten about that part of himself and chose to hide away instead of focus on the resiliency that had always kept him going. Kaminari was set to remind him.

.

"You're avoiding him." He found Kirishima sprawled out on his bed, in the same spot he had practically remained in since he got back, and called him out on his behaviour. "Like, really obviously this time. You were practically glued to his hip since Alduous." Kirishima looked up at Kaminari, unsure how he should respond, because what was there even to say? He was avoiding Bakugou - actively this time. It was stupid and childish, but Kirishima was at a loss.

Kaminari knew that, too. The mess Kirishima had put himself in was growing more and more with each passing day and Kaminari couldn't help but feel a little responsible for not stopping it all sooner. He could've put his foot down as soon as Kirishima found Bakugou and called the Federation right away, but he didn't. He could've called the Federation when Bakugou woke up, but he didn't. He certainly should've called the Federation when he came home to find Kirishima tending to blistered burns, but he didn't. He knew it was a bad idea and went along with it anyway. "You going to just ignore me like your friend does?" Kaminari tried to joke, moving to sit beside Kirishima when he let out a ghost of a laugh and shuffled over to make room.

"I really fucked up," Kirishima said after a pause. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure what he should say, and shook his head. "Like… Dude, I knew it wasn't a good situation - I know it's not a good situation. I kept acting like it was okay when he got violent because I thought it made sense that he'd lash out! But he keeps being so angry and stubborn and I don't even know what to do!" Kirishima stopped again, feeling a burn develop in his eyes. He hadn't wanted to admit his concerns out loud, not after he spent weeks justifying every bad thing that came as a result of his actions.

He was tired of taking two steps forward with Bakugou and then immediately taking ten steps back. He was tired of being wrong. Tired of his optimism, of his curiosity, of everything about himself that told him helping would be a good plan. Kirishima pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes to stave off the tears and groaned.

"And then I yelled at him. We yelled at each other, I guess, but all I wanted to do was offer my help. I wanted to bridge the stupid gap between us so we could sweep all of this under the rug and take the coward's way out; just part ways and pretend nothing ever happened! But he can't sleep, he doesn't have a plan, he has to be terrified being stuck out here with nowhere to go, and I thought yelling at him was going to help? What's wrong with me?"

Kaminari tipped his shoulders up in a shrug. "You need to stop feeling bad for defending yourself, dude. You haven't done anything to hurt him, you've followed through on all your promises you made to him, and he still acts like you're going to stab him in the back. Besides straight up disobeying the Federation, you haven't done anything wrong. At least, not by Bakugou." Kirishima dropped his arms to his sides and looked up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the way the world blurred, and thought over Kaminari's words.

"I know, but I'm better than that."

Silence spread between them and Kirishima's mouth dipped more into a frown with each passing second. He didn't want to admit that everything they had done was all for nought because saying it made it too real, but he felt as though he didn't have a choice. He could at least own up to it.

"You were right. He's dangerous and I made a mistake. But now I can't fix it." Kaminari looked to his friend and saw the way his short brows bunched together in stress and worry, the way he was chewing on the inside of his cheek. Distraught didn't look good on Kirishima; it looked wrong. Kirishima was supposed to be blinding smiles and loud laughter, not whatever he was now. Kaminari let out a sigh and angled himself so he could lie back against the bed beside the other, staring up at the ceiling as well.

"Wow," he said, "You're giving up, then?" Kirishima didn't respond right away. He kept quiet and blinked a few times in confusion before turning his head to the side to look at Kaminari.

"What?"

"Pretty weak." Kirishima sat up quickly at the goad and twisted around to look down at Kaminari in annoyed disbelief.

"What am I supposed to do!? He won't tell me anything and I can't force him to tell me anything! He was literally about to kill me, dude, without even thinking. He didn't even hesitate!"

"But he didn't kill you." Kirishima gawked at Kaminari with wide eyes, trying to process the words he was hearing. From the start, Kaminari had been the one adamantly against anything that had to do with Bakugou. As soon as Kirishima started to agree with Kaminari, as soon as the two of them were on the same page, Kaminari was suddenly changing his mind. The blonde huffed out an amused laugh at Kirishima's expression. "He's a real dick, I still think you should cut him loose as soon as you can, but if you think he's stubborn then you really need to meet yourself." Kirishima rolled his eyes and turned away from Kaminari, pulling his fingers through his hair stressfully, but considering the words.

"So what do you suggest?" Kaminari sat up as well, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and knocking their shoulders together.

"You said it yourself a thousand times when defending him." Kaminari shrugged again when Kirishima looked at him confused, prompting him to elaborate. "He got scared. So, I dunno, man. Make him unscared."

"How?"

"You'll figure it out. You make friends everywhere you go, why should Earth be any different?"

. . .

The pep talk didn't fix everything for Kirishima. He was still clouded by doubt and was still beyond uncertain about what his next step should be, but Kaminari was right about one thing. He was stubborn, too.

He entered the bedroom much like he had before, knocking a few times and letting himself in after announcing that he was going to do so when Bakugou didn't answer. He was met with the usual scowl which he returned with a quick smile and brief wave.

"You have nightmares." The scowl darkened and Kirishima continued. "When I was little—"

"I'm not a child." Kirishima ignored him.

"When I was little I used to have nightmares all the time. I would wake up screaming and crying and my parents tried everything to get them to stop, but the nightmares kept coming. The only thing that worked was a colossal pain in the ass for my mom." Kirishima approached the bedside slowly but casually, ensuring that he kept his movements deliberate enough for Bakugou to track. When he reached the edge of the bed, just as Bakugou had begun to recoil and hiss a protest, Kirishima settled down onto the floor and faced away. "My mom would kind of just hang out in the room with me until I fell asleep. Sometimes she'd stay the whole night. I think just having her there kept the bad dreams away."

Bakugou clicked his tongue against his teeth in an annoyed sound. "It's because you trusted her." Kirishima just nodded along and rose a shoulder in a half-shrug, pulling out his comm to occupy himself with the screen. "I don't trust you."

"Why?" It was an honest question. Kirishima really did want to know if he had done anything or was doing anything that gave Bakugou that reason. Trust had to be earned, and Kirishima had no doubt that gaining Bakugou's trust would take an exceptionally long time, but if he at least knew how to make progress, it'd be a start. If he even knew that he had to apologize for something he did, it'd be a start.

"You could bludgeon me when I'm out and turn me in." Not the answer he was expecting. Kirishima was torn between laughing because he first thought that it was a joke until he remembered that he was talking to Bakugou. He turned from his spot to peer over the edge of the bed, not surprised to find Bakugou's sharp gaze still locked onto him.

"I wouldn't do that…? That's horrible."

"Why not? I would. I wasn't what you were expecting, shit got too real for you, and you needed to find a way out." The answer was instant like Bakugou had put a lot of thought into it already because he undoubtedly had, and Kirishima felt slightly offended.

"I think at this point you've proven that you're more dangerous than me."

"I'm not dangerous." Kirishima inhaled through his nose and let out a frustrated sigh. He angled his body to face Bakugou a bit easier and folded his arms on the edge of the bed to prop his chin up.

"Okay," he agreed, finding no sense in arguing and pointing out the flaws in that statement, "but I'm not either. Let me try to explain this in another way, then. If it ever gets out that I helped you, if I take you to the Federation now, weeks after finding you, I'll be investigated. I might even be charged with abduction because I technically removed you from a planet while you were unconscious and that is a pretty big charge. There literally is no benefit for me if I turn you into the Federation."

"So, you'll kill me instead." Kirishima wanted to scream, but Bakugou looked dead-serious. He really believed that Kirishima murdering him as he slept could be a possibility. Kirishima rested his forehead against the bed, wracking his brain for another approach, and then remembered something.

"You have a built-in lie detector, right?" Bakugou wrinkled his nose and looked at him like he was even more of an idiot.

"A what?"

"Like when we got to my apartment? You checked my pulse and your eye did its weird spinny-glowy thing." Bakugou's stare hardened as he tried to understand what Kirishima was saying and finally a look of something not unlike amusement crossed his features as he recalled the event.

"Dumbass, I was fucking with you. You're just really easy to read." Oh… Enter: Offended Round 2. Kirishima took the insult in stride and wasn't hurt for too long, perking up once he realized what Bakugou had just unknowingly said. He gave Bakugou a wide grin and turned around once more, focusing back on his comm and making it clear that he had no intention of leaving.

"Well, you should trust me then, if you can read me so easily. You don't need to sleep if you don't want to, I just need a place to do some work." Kirishima was sure Bakugou knew it was a lie, but he peered over his shoulder anyway, still wanting to ask for permission. If Bakugou really wanted him gone, if his presence really made him uncomfortable, he'd leave. But he needed Bakugou to tell him. He couldn't guess anymore. "Is that okay...?"

Bakugou stared at him with a mix of irritation and confusion. He was trying to find Kirishima's angle and was torn with the idea that maybe Kirishima actually didn't have one. Maybe there was no ulterior motive to his unwavering kindness. "Whatever," Bakugou growled, rolling away from Kirishima so his back was to him, "I don't give a fuck what you do." He was either too exhausted to care about the figurative or literal knife he thought Kirishima would shove into his back or maybe he did trust him, even just a little. Kirishima hoped it was the latter.

Kirishima didn't bother to hide his smile when he looked away from Bakugou, basking in his small victory. He not very inconspicuously put on the music he listened to when he actually did work, lilting tunes that he doubted Bakugou recognized, and aimlessly scrolled through his comm to seem busy. "Does it bother you if I listen to this? It helps me concentrate."

The soft music filled the silence between them, blending seamlessly with the everyday noises heard throughout the apartments and outside, and then Bakugou responded just as quietly.

"No."

.

A hushed sound pulled Kirishima from his sleep.

He blinked the sleep away and lifted his head from the awkward angle he had it in from resting it back against the bed, the muscles in his neck twinging in pain. The comm was discarded on the floor beside him, still playing music at a low volume, and had most likely slipped out of his hands when he unexpectedly fell asleep. But that wasn't the sound that woke him. Kirishima moved to stand up to see if Kaminari was awake and had caused the noise, but froze when he heard it again. It had come from behind him and the only thing behind him was Bakugou.

Curious and without thinking, he adjusted his position so he was facing the human, surprised to actually see Bakugou sleeping. He was on his stomach now instead of having his back facing Kirishima still, and his face was pointed in Kirishima's direction. He imagined that Bakugou should've looked peaceful after finally getting sleep at long last, but it was all wrong.

Bakugou was having a nightmare.

Kirishima watched as his face twisted into a grimace and as his shaking hands repeatedly gripped and let go of the blankets underneath him as though he were frantically trying to cling to something. He began pulling in trembling breaths, quick and shallow, and Kirishima found himself hesitantly reaching out his hand. He stopped himself before he made contact and his hand hovered over Bakugou's tense back unsurely.

He had only ever heard the tail end of Bakugou's nightmares. He had never expected the amount of pain on Bakugou's face or the desperate scrambling of his fingers or the rapid breaths that fell from his lips. He hadn't expected to see the human damn near vibrating with something that had to be akin to fear.

Then there was a whimper, choked out and terrified, and Kirishima felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach wondering what left Bakugou in this state every single time he tried to sleep. Kirishima didn't need to know the details to now understand why Bakugou fought so viciously against everything and everyone. He was trapped in a pain that dug deeper than the burn he left against Kirishima's skin and he had to fight it every night.

Kirishima took in the expression on Bakugou's face again, horrified that someone could look so haunted and destroyed even if they were having a nightmare. He wondered if Bakugou ever had someone to comfort him before. He wondered if someone was ever able to get close enough to let him know that he wasn't alone.

Kirishima lowered his hand slowly and rested it between the shaking shoulder blades. "Bakugou, you're okay… It's just a dream…" The impossibly tight muscles tensed up even more under the reassuring weight of Kirishima's palm and the short breaths increased at an alarming rate. Kirishima ran his hand up and down the shuddering spine, whispering unintelligible words of comfort until he felt the muscles under his fingers gradually relax and the ragged breathing evened out.

He felt sick watching the crease between Bakugou's brows disappear as his face eased once more. The constant need to push everything away, and to lash out when he couldn't, wasn't so much because Bakugou was angry or even because he was scared.

The way he acted was a necessity; it was the only way he knew how to survive.

A/N: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone and anyone who is reading this fic. I love AO3 to bits, but, while this fic hasn't "taken off" on here by any means, it's definitely getting more traction on this site. I found my fellow space nerds. If you ever want to geek out, you can find me on Tumblr with the same username as on here or Twitter at Citrus_Veins. Thanks again!