**I do not own these characters or the world, that belongs to our lovely author of MHA, Kohei Horikoshi. Also, cover art was a commission by me from the artist Krumbs. Follow them on if you'd like! They are extremely talented!

A/N: So I'm posting this chapter a day early because I'm going to be busy working for most of the day tomorrow plus with the MHA manga ending tomorrow officially, well let's just say I'm preparing myself for devastation. Boohoo. So here's a chapter in case I am busy all day and in case my devastation saps my desire to edit and post.

Twenty-Seven
A Confession and It's Not Even That Late in the Game

Eijiro Kirishima made his way down the hall, stealthy as possible. It was later in the evening, well past quiet time hours, which meant him sneaking down the hall and into Ashido's room was strictly prohibited. Not that it'd ever really been allowed before but now they'd had that spelled out to them it was definitely forbidden behavior. Why? He had no idea. He was fairly certain that if Mr. Aizawa's warning had been because of his interactions with Ashido that the both of them would've received a stern lecture if not worse, and that hadn't happened. So, he was in the clear, or at least he felt like he was in the clear.

He wasn't sure what had inspired Ashido to reach out to him this time. Whenever she sought him out for a 'sleep over' as she put it, she'd always text him about five minutes before abruptly showing up at his room. This hadn't been like that; she'd just texted him to meet her in her room in five minutes. Kirishima had obliged of course, not because he expected her to proposition him for sex—of course he'd like that but he didn't expect that from her—but more so because it was her and like it or not, he cared about her. So, when she called, of course he answered. Deep down he knew that this was probably because the feelings he had for her were far deeper than just mutual respect, friendship, and attraction but he wasn't entirely ready to acknowledge that.

Kirishima stood just outside Ashido's door and wondered if he should knock or softly call out. It was almost eleven o'clock, so almost everyone was in bed except maybe Jiro who seemed to be a perpetual night owl. Still, knocking could easily awaken Ashido's next-door neighbor, Uraraka, or stir up some other unwanted attention.

He was about to clear his throat when her door abruptly swung open and he was yanked inside by a pink hand. Her room was darker than he was used to seeing it. She had only her bedside lamp on which cast a rather pink and girlish hue over the room. Her covers on her bed were pushed back messily, as if she'd been in bed recently and he again wondered why she'd summoned him.

"Ashido—" Ashido put up two fingers to his lips to silence him and looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Did anyone see you?" She asked in a whisper.

Kirishima looked at her in confusion. She always asked the same question every time. "No, no one saw me. Why'd you ask me to come over—"

"Good. Happy Valentines Day," she said softly, interrupting him, and then surprising him by moving in close and wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his.

He was so surprised by the abrupt gesture that he didn't kiss back, just stood dumbfounded as her lips moved against his then started moving over across his jawline and along his neck. His mind might have been experiencing a blank screen but his adolescent hormones sparked up into overdrive. Within seconds of Ashido's soft lips along his jawline and onto his neck he was at full attention.

Ashido stopped when he didn't move and leaned back to look at him in confusion. "What's the matter with you? Why are you just standing there? Why aren't you joining in? You're clearly excited." Her eyes dropped to his groin and back up toward his face expectantly. Her eyes suddenly widened and she moved away from him. "I almost forgot!" She'd gone back over to her bed and was rummaging around in her bedside table and finally produced a small hot pink wrapped chocolate box. With a bright smile she held it out to him.

His mind slowly began to work again. She'd called him over to her room…for a booty call and Valentines Day chocolate. Wait, what? They had an agreement! She said there could be no exceptions! The sleep overs weren't romantic and even though he did secretly desire more, he'd never ask her for that. That had always been easy to honor because it wasn't like she was trying to jump his bones all the time…so what was this?! Why was she making out with him now? What was going on? What was happening? Was this because of Valentines Day?!

"Uh…I'm a little confused," he stammered and looked at her with raw confusion, still not moving to accept the chocolate she held out.

"About what?" She asked innocently.

He paused, was this real? Was he dreaming? He pinched himself but did not wake up.

Must be real. Damn. Wait…isn't that good? Yes? No? Wait, what?

"You said that the time we were together was a one time thing…so why are you trying to make out with me?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Ashido sighed, withdrew the offered chocolate and crossed her arms over her chest. For the first time since arriving in her room he actually took in her physical appearance. She was clad in only a pair of lacey purple panties—how he had missed that until just now he had no idea—and a teal long sleeved crop top with a large pink heart in the center. One shoulder was askew and a saucy black bra strap visible. Had she dressed sexy for him!?

"Yes, I said it was a one-time thing because it was! But today is Valentines Day and what can I say? I'm craving a little slip up," she admitted coyly, amber eyes mischievous.

He practically came in his pants at her purring, sultry tone. Get it together Kirishima!

"But…won't that make things complicated?" Kirishima asked, trying to sound casual and chill while also feeling anything but casual or relaxed.

"No. I'm not asking for us to be friends with benefits…I'm just, ugh, I don't know," Ashido huffed and turned away from him. He couldn't help but stare at that perfect posterior and take in the fine detail of a heart cut into her panties that sat perfectly above her butt crack. "Look, I tried to sleep but I couldn't and the more I tossed and turned the more annoyed I got. It's Valentines Day and we didn't do anything special for it! Not like you and me specifically, but like us as a class, we didn't do anything fun! All we really did was re-watch that awful birth video in class and sure, practically all the girls gave Todoroki chocolate, but that's it! That annoyed me more and then the more annoyed I got about that the more I realized that I just wanted to do something, something romantic for this stupid holiday…so why not put on sexy lingerie and entice my hot friend to a sexy soiree with me where we both can have a fun and sexy Valentines Day?"

Kirishima still felt mildly confused, not really following her logic or how she'd decided that soliciting him would make her feel less frustrated. If anything, it was just going to complicate things. Besides, he wasn't just some toy that she could call up on a whim and willy nilly change the rules about them hooking up more than once. That wasn't okay.

"Look Ashido, I really appreciate that you thought of me, but honestly, when you put it like you just did, well I feel kind of like you're just using me. We were together one time and you made me promise that it would only ever be a one-time thing and you've been insistent that that one-time thing would never happen again, and it hasn't—I've definitely wanted it to, but it hasn't because I respect the boundary you put in place. This feels like it's going to blur that line, like a lot and I don't know that I'm actually comfortable with that," Kirishima admitted. He wasn't even sure why he was being this honest. Why not just take her up on it? She clearly was interested in going for a romp in the hay, so why not be a teenage boy and just do it? Because it wasn't manly! It wasn't the manly or gentleman's way—it would be an easy option but it'd be the wrong option.

"You're rejecting me?" Ashido asked, her voice soft and vulnerable. He hated the hurt he heard in her voice and saw in her face. Couldn't she see the position that she'd put him in?

"No, I mean yes, but no. I want to have sex with you, like you have no idea. Just the restraint it takes me right now to not jump you here and now and go all beast and rip off all your clothes, well it takes a lot, but like I said, the way you put things, it just feels like you're using me because you're frustrated and at the end of the day you and I would both regret it. I guess I could live with it if it was just me that regretted it, but if you felt bad about it too…I don't know. I just don't think it's a good scene." He lowered his eyes, afraid to meet hers, fearful of the hurt and anger he'd see there.

There was silence between them that made Kirishima's stomach twist into knots. Should he not of been honest? Should he have just gone with what his body wanted which was to jump her bones? Was this going to dissolve their friendship? Why couldn't he just have gone with it?

"I guess…I guess I hadn't thought of it like that, that this might be putting you into a bad spot. I'm sorry, I didn't really think beyond myself. Sometimes…sometimes I think I get so excited or worked up about something that I can only see my own wants and can't see that that single mindedness can hurt others." Her words were quiet and when Kirishima did at last look up at her, she was looking away from him, a slight blush in her cheeks.

He took a step toward her. "Ashido, it isn't that I don't want to; I told you, it takes a lot of restraint to not rip all my clothes off and attack you, but I guess, I guess I don't want this to be that. I respect you too much, I like you too much. You're like the coolest girl I've ever known. Forget that we were each other's firsts, even before that you were still like the coolest person I'd ever met. It just seems like it'd be a disrespectful thing and not very manly to potentially take advantage of a situation that I think we'd both regret." Ashido's eyes suddenly lit up and she smiled brightly at him. Why was she suddenly so smiley?

"Did you just say that you like me? Like like me? You totally just confessed to me! Is that why you're hesitant because of that? You want it to be real!?" She'd taken a few steps closer to him and stared at him with excited eyes.

Now it was Kirishima's turn to blush. He unconsciously took a step back from the pink haired girl as she continued to move closer to him. Was it suddenly hot in here or was it just him? Forget anything that had just happened, he needed to make a hasty exit since he'd inadvertently outed himself.

"Well I uh, I do like you, I don't know that I'd say you know that I like, uh, like like you, just yeah, I really er, enjoy, uh, spending time around you and you're just so cool!" He felt like his mouth was moving without any direction from his brain. His eyes briefly darted to the golden dark eyed girl who was standing just a few inches from him, smiling widely.

"That's what this is about isn't it? You like me and if we just had a hook up it'd mean more than just that to you. You want us to be more," Ashido said, edging ever closer to him, her voice teasing but also sincere.

"NO!" It came out louder than he intended causing him to look back at her door in fear of being discovered in a room he was most definitely not supposed to be in. "No," his voice much quieter now, "I mean, yeah, uh, say if I did like like you, then yeah, a random hookup would be kind of confusing and hard—but that doesn't change that you set a boundary in place with me and I respect that boundary and that's really what this is about. It'd just be something that we would both probably regret because it wasn't genuine and we can't just explain it away that it was us fooling around having our first time, so uh yeah, it's all those things."

"But if we were together, like if I admitted that I had more than just friendly feelings for you and that I wanted to explore that, I wanted us to be more, you'd be okay with fooling around with each other from time to time?" Her head was cocked to the side, her face somehow the picture of innocence but tempered with an oh so sultry expression. "And like spend more time together or say go to the movies or an amusement park together?" Her voice was like honey on his tongue, butterflies in his belly, Beethoven's symphony in his ears; it was everything he wanted.

"Hell yeah," his response was so fast that he didn't even have time to think about it, it had just flown out of his mouth without thought. Kirishima wanted to facepalm himself—he really needed to get his brain and mouth to actually work in sync with one another.

A naughty little smile crept over Ashido's mouth at his response. She tucked both arms behind her back and leaned forward toward him, her face close enough that he could have easily leaned barely an inch closer and they'd be nose to nose.

"Eijiro Kirishima, I don't know exactly what it means in the long run or what it'll mean for us, but I have feelings for you. I liked losing my virginity to you and even though I said that it was a one-time thing, honestly, I've wanted to break that promise I made many times. Anytime I see you in your hero costume or hear you talking—well it's hard for me to focus when you're around. I really want to explore what these feelings are and what they mean. I want to explore them together!"

She was saying all the right things and Kirishima felt like his face was going to burn up with embarrassment at her confession while simultaneously feeling like his heart might beat out of his chest. Even with her confession though, he still felt hesitant. Was she just saying this because she was being genuine or because she just wanted to get her way?

"Ashido…I really want to believe what you just said, but I still feel nervous. Are you just saying that? Do you really want to like be together?" He asked nervously. His eyes dropped to the floor, afraid of seeing rejection on her face.

He heard her huff in annoyance or exasperation. "Kirishima! I literally just confessed that I have feelings for you. That took some guts! You haven't even said that you feel the same! If I was just trying to get my way I could think of a few different ways to do that without opening myself up to embarrassment and rejection."

Oof, that was true, he'd taken her confession and not given her anything in return. He'd left her hanging. Dick move. He had to make it right, had to make up for just leaving her hanging…but was he brave enough to be honest about his feelings? What if she didn't really want to explore their feelings and she was just telling him what he wanted to hear?

There was only one way to find out.

"Of course I have feelings for you! Isn't it obvious?! Anytime you ask to sleep over I never ever question it. Whenever you walk into class, I try to look away but I can't. When we did that stupid consent thing in class and you said you didn't consent, I was legit hurt about it. Anytime you treat me like just one of the guys my heart like breaks a little. I really wanted to be paired with you for the stupid group project even though it's super awkward because it would mean I got to spend time with you. You texted me to come over tonight and while sure, I am always thinking about having sex with you, I wasn't planning on it because I didn't think it was something you'd want. I like like you! I have feelings for you! I want to explore those feelings with you more than anything and even if it doesn't involve sex, if it means that I get to have you to just myself and be around you more, it'd be worth it!" He'd squeezed his eyes shut sometime in the middle of his long confession and now that it was finished, he couldn't bring himself to open them. What if she was just blankly staring at him? What if she laughed? Maybe he shouldn't have ever been honest?

The sensation of her lips on his did make his eyes finally spring open. She was kissing him! Did that mean it was like, okay? Were things okay? Were they actually going to explore their feelings for one another?

Without even thinking, Kirishima leaned into that kiss and took the pink haired and skinned girls face in his hands and pulled her toward him. An inner voice was screaming caution but a bigger voice was demanding some kind of tension release after his confession.

He probed her mouth with the tip of his tongue and her lips parted in response and he practically moaned in sheer pleasure at the sensation of her mouth and tongue. His hands quickly moved from her face down her shoulders and along her waist to snake up under that teasing crop top. He felt one of her hands fist into his hair while the other one moved up under his shirt to explore the well defined muscles of his back.

Kirishima was quickly growing too excited and if he wasn't careful, he'd either blow his wad just kissing or end up trying to rip her panties off and try to take her then and there. He didn't want that, so with great effort he broke their kiss and pulled away from her. The sight of her cheeks flushed with desire, her mouth slightly parted, and eyes hooded nearly undid him but he managed to hold fast.

"Sorry, lost control, but gotta get some clarification before we go any further. Are you saying you want to like be boyfriend girlfriend?" He asked breathlessly.

Ashido blinked a few times as if to clear her head. "If that is what it is to like kiss, hold hands, go to movies, and fool around then yeah."

It would have to do; he wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer.

"Okay, Ashido, but first, I have to ask: do you consent to have sex with me?" Kirishima asked seriously, though he couldn't keep the smirk from forming on his face at that question.

Smiling playfully, she sensually wrapped a leg around his hip to roll his pelvis toward hers. "Eijiro Kirishima yes, I consent to having sex with you."

That was all he needed to hear.

F/N: ***If you haven't watched the episode Light Fades to Rain, probably don't continue reading this***

So even though I knew what was coming in that episode having read the manga and all(let me tell you when I got to THAT spot in the manga I about died), fuck me dead I was still so heartbroken to see it. And to see Bakugo so kind of bashful and smiley (smiley for him) with All Might in his little afterlife zone. Omfg. I cried. I knew what was coming and cried anyway. Even knowing the resolution of all that, it still broke my heart a little. Broke it so much I watched studio Ghibli's Grave of Fireflies right afterwards and let me tell you, that left a taste of despair in my mouth, but rather than eclipse my anguish for my ashen haired blonde, it simply combined with it and made me sadder. That little girl in that movie is adorable and seeing her die broke my fucking heart even more.