All through training and lunch, Eijirou just could not stop thinking about the upcoming sleepover. He had to keep up appearances around the rest of his classmates of course, so they wouldn't suspect anything was up, but in reality, he was a little ball of nerves. A little ball of tired, sleep-deprived nerves.

He wondered if Bakugou was regretting ever agreeing to this. Like, what if he showed up ready to have some deep conversation between bros, only to be kicked out? Honestly, Eijirou had no idea what to expect; as soon as classes had ended, the blond had grumpily bypassed everyone and gone straight up to his room, so it wasn't like he could ask either.

But regardless, the guy didn't seem to be on good terms with anyone in the class, and he seemed to like making rivals more than making friends – so all things considering, it was really cool that he had been willing to talk to Eijirou at all, even if he does end up backing out in the end. It was nothing short of amazing, really.

The hours continued to pass much too slowly. He worked on homework, had some small talk with Ashido and Kaminari, but he wasn't very invested in the conversation or in his work. He was too busy counting down the minutes until… wait. They hadn't even set a time. Oh dang. If he showed up too early, his eagerness could make things awkward. But if he showed up too late, Bakugou might already be asleep.

It wasn't that he was giddily anticipating Bakugou pouring out his tragic misfortunes to him or anything that cynical. He felt more curiosity than anything. Well… maybe he was hoping to stop Bakugou's outbursts so they could get a good night's sleep again. And he was definitely happy to be helping out. But one thing he was excited for was experiencing companionship with someone again. Or… something like that.

In middle school, Eijirou had been quite the popular guy, and he had made some very close friendships with kids who had meant the world to him. But none of them had come to UA, and sometimes he felt lonely. He had been trying to branch out with his classmates, to start forming deep connections with the new people in his life. He yearned to share that level of camaraderie with someone again. So maybe this sleepover would be another step toward that.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed, bringing him out of his reverie. He looked at the time – 8:31, had he really been zoned out that long? – and read the message.

[090-1790-1357:]

Are you coming or not?

… Holy shit.

It must have been Bakugou. It had to be. Wait, how did he get his number…?

Eijirou just couldn't be bothered to dwell on that. He sent a quick 'omw' and quietly excused himself from the common room, making sure no one followed him upstairs. He had always loved sleep-overs and was of the opinion that they were suitable for all ages, but Bakugou seemed to disagree and Eijirou didn't want to embarrass him. The poor guy seemed to be going through enough shit as it was.

After a quick wash-up and changed into his pajamas, Eijirou tugged his futon from under his bed and gathered the thin mattress, a pillow, and comforter in his arms, some of it spilling over and dragging along the floor. He peeked into the hallway. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, he shuffled along and rapped on Bakugou's door.

"Yo. I'm here."

The door opened almost immediately, like he had been waited on. Bakugou's eyes widened at Eijirou's overly-cheery "Good evening!" and the futon that overflowed his arms, but he rolled his eyes and beckoned him in. While Bakugou moved to sit on his bed, Eijirou began laying out the mattress on the floor between the bed and his desk. It was a tight fit, but he was managing.

"Oh man, it's been forever since I've had a sleepover," he beamed mindlessly, slipping the soft cover over the corners of the futon. "I mean, the onsen doesn't really count because it was a field trip. I don't think I've had a real sleepover since my first year of middle school." He unfurled the comforter and laid it gently over his mattress. "What about you?"

Bakugou scowled and looked away, remaining pointedly silent. Eijirou, who had been busy fluffing his pillow, paused and looked up slowly in disbelief.

"No way. Bakugou. My man. Please tell me you've had a sleepover before."

"'Course I have, moron, when I was in fucking elementary school."

"Aw come on, don't let the kid in you die so easily!" Eijirou jumped up, admiring his futon handiwork. After nodding in approval, he looked over to his friend, flashing a grin. Now what?

After a split-second of deliberation, Eijirou plopped down on the bed next to Bakugou. He half-expected the blond to get kind-of explosive about the breach in his personal space – he had just made up a futon which he could sit on after all, and maybe he should have asked permission before flopping on the bed – but it was too late now. And anyways, Bakugou wasn't really reacting to him. Maybe he was busy working up the nerves to talk about their inevitable conversation. Maybe this was the type of thing that Eijirou needed to ease them into with some chitchat.

"So…" While racking is brain for what to talk about, he spayed his hands on the bed behind him, using his arms as support as he leaned back. "I never really got to talk to you about it before, but… you really didn't have to give me that money to pay for the night vision goggles, you know."

"Well I wanted to, alright?" Bakugou mumbled rather tetchily. "For the last time, keep the goddamn money—"

"Hold up, I wasn't finished. I just want to thank you."

There was a beat of silence before Bakugou huffed, exasperated.

"No, really. I treated everyone to Bar-B-Q like I said I would, and after everything that happened with…" Ouch, maybe it was best if he didn't bring up that night. "Well. It really lifted everyone's spirits, and brought the class together again. So thank you."

The blond was strangely quiet, his cheeks ever-so-slightly dusted pink. He finally mumbled an obligatory "Don't worry about it."

Eijirou smiled a little to himself. Seems as though Bakugou was capable of courteous conversation after all. "I just wish you would have joined us. Then it really would have been everyone." No response. "Maybe next time," the redhead finished quietly.

Bakugou didn't say anything to that either, his leg had a slight bounce to it and he was too busy playing with the hem of his boxers. Maybe he was too anxious about the unavoidable topic of conversation to have small talk. So much for trying to ease into it. Eijirou laid his back on the bed, his arms over his head, legs still dangling over the side. Might as well get it over with, for his sake.

"So. No use beating around the bush. Spill. Or… or don't. Whatever makes you comfortable."

At that, Bakugou just kind-of froze in place, staring out the window into the slight fog of night. He wasn't saying anything, but he wasn't telling Eijirou to leave, either. So the redhead stay put. He could be patient, if time was what Bakugou needed.

Finally, the blond spoke. "Do you… do you remember the slime monster? From almost 2 years ago?" His voice rung out in the room, uncharacteristically tentative.

Eijirou sat up, resting his palms on the bed underneath him again. Great. Barely even a sentence in, and he was already lost. "…Slime monster?"

"The one that All-Might defeated when he first came to town?"

"… Yeah…?"

"And you remember how the slime attacked some middle school-ers?"

Eijirou finally grasped what Bakugou was telling him. Silence hung thick in the air, almost palpable, as realization set in. "That was you."

Bakugou took a deep breath, clenching his jaw, seemingly preparing himself for a reaction that he knew was coming.

"Oh my god…"Eijirou knew he couldn't allow himself to freak out, that had been months ago, years, and Bakugou was probably tired of hearing about it. But when he remembered the news, watching some poor kid his age caught up in an attack with a villain, being suffocated, almost dying, he couldn't stop the concern that burble out of his mouth like a water spring. "You're …You're Bakugou. That Bakugou, the one who… Oh my god..."

"How the fuck did you not know that?" The explosive teen clenched his fist, pushing his words through gritted teeth. "People recognized me for months. I thought everyone on this shithole planet knew who I was."

Eijirou shook his head, still wide-eyed. "I honestly had no idea. Oh man. If something like that ever happened to me, I would be scared absolutely shitless. But… I don't see what this has to do with…?"

"That's because you didn't let me finish, asshole." Bakugou glared, but he looked away quickly, taking a slow breath as if to compose himself. "After that shitstorm happened, I... started having nightmares about the attack. It took months for them to go away."

And just like that, understanding dawned on him. Of course, it had to be something obvious. Something that, somehow, he had overlooked in all of his late-night worrying. Suddenly everything that had been happening this past week – the restless nights, the explosions, the shouting – it all fell into place.

"Bakugou… are you having nightmares again?"

The blond's body became even more rigid, is breath becoming shallower, like he was feigning off panic. He was exposing a deep secret, what was possibly his greatest weakness, so the anxiety was understandable. Eijirou held his breath, giving Bakugou the silence that he probably needed.

It was so slight, barely discernable from his trembling, but finally, Eijirou saw a small nod.

"It's the kidnapping this time. Every fucking night, I have a nightmare, and every time I bolt awake with my explosions firing off. In defense, I guess? Hell if I know. But I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear."

Eijirou recalled their first night in the dorm, and awakening to Bakugou's quirk. He had immediately engaging his own quirk. So, in a way, he knew the feeling. But he had never been prone to nightmares, at least not chronically, and…

And then, this feeling of doubt started creeping into his skin. He had never had to deal with nightmares before, his own or otherwise. This sounded way over his head, like something a specialist would fix, not some high-schooler who had no training. But he could still help, in his own way, couldn't he? He had to be there for his friend, no matter what he was going through.

"Have you… thought about seeing someone about it?" he prompted carefully, not wanting Bakugou to get insulted by the implication of getting outside help.

"Like a counselor?" His reaction was strangely subdued. "My shitty dad wanted me to, after the sludge guy. But I didn't. I wanted the dreams to stop on my own terms." That was Bakugou's pride for ya. But, it also wasn't a highly unreasonable request.

"That's fair, man."

Bakugou sighed, rubbing his temples. "Sometimes, though, I wonder if… maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea? Because… don't you fucking dare misunderstand me, it's not because I'm a weakling or something, okay? But… sometimes I lay awake for hours, like, procrastinating on sleep so I can't dream. And that's pretty fucking messed up."

"Well. You don't have to talk to anyone about this if you don't want to."

"That didn't stop your shitty ass from barging in here."

"That's because you're my pal!" Bakugou gave him a look of pure exasperation, and Eijirou couldn't help but grin back at him, absolutely glisteningly. "I care about you, bro. So, so much."

At that, the room fell quiet. Bakugou wasn't looking at him anymore, and his cheeks were a little rosier than they had been before. Oh man. He had just made things awkward, hadn't he? Eijirou scratched the nape of his neck, trying to avoid the embarrassed atmosphere that was threatening to swallow him up.

"Hey, man," he offered, hoping the mood would dissipate, "if the dreams went away last time, they will go away this time too."

"They fucking better," Bakugou practically growled, and it was as if a switch was flipped, his body shaking, his works calloused and rough, and once he started talking he couldn't get himself to stop. "It's just so goddamn annoying, you know? Like… all these shitty nightmares won't piss off and it's fucking exhausting. I've been way too emotional, and things that have never bothered me before are starting to get in my head, making me nervous all the time, and sometimes I don't want to be awake either because I know that I would have to think about things like… like…"

Eijirou felt as though his heart was caught in his chest, but nothing could prepare him for the weight of Bakugou's next shaky words.

"… How the fuck am I supposed to be a hero like this?"

His voice was empty, yet somehow heavy with pain, his words becoming more and more raspy with each inhale. "That's what I was thinking about last night, when you were here," he gasped out, "and even now, the thought won't go away. It happened with the sludge monster, it happened with the villain alliance, it'll happen again!"

The panic that was beginning to wreck through Bakugou's body was like no emotion Eijirou had ever seen from him, like he was coming apart at the seams. And Eijirou didn't know what to do. He watched his friend, on the verge of tears, bury his face in his hands, and was unable to do anything about it.

"I know that every hero has a weakness, but if I have nightmares of every fight I have with a villain, then what sort of hero would that make me? I can't live like that! A hero can't live like that!" Bakugou finally took his hands away from his face, straightening up. He let out one final, long sigh into the hazy silence. Then, Bakugou laughed, but it was dry, with a hint of cynicism. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I was hoping they would stop before coming to the dorm, but they won't go away, and I'm not getting any sleep, and I'm way more emotional than normal, and now you know about this complete fuckfest and probably think I'm a weakling, so it's just an overall pissy situation."

There was a beat of silence.

"I don't think you're a weakling."

"Fuck off. I don't need your pity."

Of course, he would take it as an insult. Eijirou didn't blame him, but he needed to be mindful of who Bakugou was and what he needed. He tried again. "I'm not saying it out of pity. You really are brave. Trust me."

Bakugou stare at him, and when he spoke, it was with an air of finality. "Whatever you fucking say."

And that was the end of that. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence once again, the two just sitting in each other's presences.

"Get your ass off my bed. I'm going to sleep," he finally yawned.

Eijirou blinked. "Oh. Are you tired already?"

"And you're not? I thought you were up all last night being 'invested' or some shit." Bakugou flopped to the mattress, rolling on his side.

"Awww, but it's only 10:30! And it's Friday night! We could talk about all sorts of things."

"If you're just gonna keep me up then I'm calling the damn sleepover off."

"Oh." Eijirou deflated. Seems as though plans for the sleepover weren't 100% set in stone after all. He stood up, walking to turn off the light. "I'll be quiet, I promise," he said as he blindly made his way back to the futon. He sat down slowly, bringing the duvet over his legs. "I love sleepovers and all, but if I've overstayed my welcome, I can go."

"Well it's too late for that now, dumbass. You've practically moved yourself in."

"Oh. I suppose I have," Eijirou hummed. His eyes wandered around the dim room, watching shadows creep across the wall. "To be honest, I don't understand why you agreed to this in the first place. I thought you would kick me out in the first couple of minutes."

The blond let out a groan, rolling over to face where Eijirou was on the floor. "I don't even know what I was fucking thinking either…" he mumbled, shaking his head. "I probably have piss-poor judgment right now, after having only 6 hours of sleep in three days. Not to mention that, maybe… It's probably selfish or whatever, but maybe I was hoping that having someone in the same room will stop my subconscious from giving me nightmares? Anyways, I'm probably just not acting like myself."

Well, that certainly was true. Bakugou had been very subdued around him all evening. Eijirou knew that his chill personality seemed to have some sort of a calming effect on people, but his explosive friend was just so volatile, he hadn't expected to see a noticeable difference. So the lack of sleep made sense, as did Bakugou's other reasoning.

"Well," he lay down on the futon, his voice ringing out clear into the darkened silence. "Whatever the cause, my promise still stands. All of this, everything we have talked about, stays between you and me. I'm not going to compromise your reputation or anything."

He heard the shuffling of covers coming from the bed.

"Go to sleep already, goddamnit," finally came an exasperated grumble.

"Okay, okay. Goodnight, Bakugou."

"Good fucking night, Kirishima."

He stayed up until he heard Bakugou's breathing even out. Then, he allowed himself to drift asleep.

~oOo~

When he awoke, he was disoriented and had no idea what was going on. He was in a strange room, on the floow, there was the sound of sheets rustling, and the occasional crying out…

Eijirou bolted upright, eyes wide. "Bakugou?"

The blond teen in the bed shifted, rolling to his side, his face now just a few feet away from Eijirou's. He was whimpering, his face scrunched in pain, gasping for breath.

"Bakugou, wake up," he said, a little louder.

There was a slight popping sound, and the room erupted with light as tiny, tiny explosions danced on Bakugou's hands. These were not the big explosions that he was used to waking up to. This was like calm before a storm.

Eijirou's fears were confirmed as Bakugou became more restless, as the explosions on his palms became bigger, and brighter, and louder, shit, shit, shit.

Eijirou didn't even have to think, he just acted – he scrambled to his feet, rushing onto Bakugou's bed, remembering to activate his quirk in the last moment before he reclined beside his friend, his arms wrapped around his torso.

At first, the dreaming Bakugou pushed him away, whining in alarm, his explosions igniting right into Eijirou's chest, feeling like nothing more than pinpricks against his quirked skin.

"Shh, calm down, it's me, it's just me"

Bakugou let out a choked sob, the explosions stopping and his body relaxing almost immediately at the sound of Eijirou's voice.

"Shh, shh…" He brought his hand up to rub against Bakugou's back, hoping that his friend would find some comfort in the gesture, even in his sleep. "You're just dreaming. You're okay…"

As he talked, Bakugou became jarringly quiet, as if a lethargic wave had washed over his entire form. After several seconds of sitting like this, Eijirou rubbing lacy circles onto a shaking back, panicked breaths slowed, gasps became more even breaths.

"It's okay. It is all okay. You are okay." He could hear the words coming from his own mouth, and he wasn't controlling them, but he knew they were falling on sleeping ears. "Whatever you're dreaming of right now, whoever your fighting in that dream, you can win, I know it. Shhh…" He continued babbling nonsense, anything that he felt would help. "You're not hurting me, just let it all out… I've seen you do amazing things and you've grown so much just since the beginning of school, and it's so inspiring. You're going to be an amazing hero, Katsuki. Shhh…"

Bakugou's arms slowly wound their way around his torso before the blond fell completely limp in his arms, nightmares making way for peaceful sleep. As the two lay there, holding on to each other, Eijirou felt his own heartbeat calm down, and consciousness began slowly slipping away once more.