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"Kirishima?" Katsuki lightly kicks the lump of blankets on the futon next to his bed, attempting to rouse the softly snoring redhead burrowed in there.
"Mmm," a low, slurred moan permeates the air of the quiet morning. "Gimme five more minutes."
"We don't have five more minutes, idiot. We're gonna miss our train if you don't get your ass up."
A disheveled head of vibrant red hair peeks out from under the blankets, sleepy crimson eyes narrowing as a pout Katsuki wishes he could kiss away forms on pink lips. "But Bakugou," he whines, "it's so early. I barely got any sleep!"
Katsuki rolls his eyes, delivering another soft kick to Kirishima's cocoon. "Well, if you hadn't spent half the night rambling about stupid shit, then maybe you'd actually be rested."
With a loud groan, Kirishima kicks away the covers and sits up, stretching his arms above his head. The movement causes his faded Crimson Riot shirt to ride up the slightest bit, revealing a tantalizing sliver of skin that makes Katsuki's ears burn. He twists to face Katsuki, flashing a smug grin. "You like listening to me talk," Kirishima teases. "You can't fool me, Blasty."
"Whatever. You can sleep on the train, ya big baby.”
"That wasn't a denial!" he crows, resting his head on the bed next to Katsuki's leg and peering up at him with those big, round eyes through long, dark lashes. "We've been best friends for three years now, y'know. You can admit you like me. I promise I won't tell anyone."
"You're hardly more than an acquaintance, Shitty Hair." Katsuki scoffs, making a show of turning his nose up and looking out towards the slowly waking city outside his balcony door.
Kirishima huffs, jutting his lip out petulantly. "That's so mean, Bakugou. Why are you so mean to your best friend?"
"Any best friend of mine would already know I'm mean and wouldn’t expect me to say some stupid sappy shit, so you're just proving my point." Standing up, Katsuki has to bite back the smile that's threatening to overtake his face, brought on by their little back and forth.
"Come on," he drags out in a pathetic whine. He sulks for a few moments as Katsuki slips on his backpack before a look crosses his face that Katsuki knows spells trouble. "Nah, y'know what? It's okay. Guess it's just too hard for you to admit. That's fine." He shrugs, eyes narrowed challengingly, and Katsuki resists the urge to roll his own.
Katsuki knows what he's doing, knows he's being goaded into talking; Kirishima has been pulling this shit since they became friends. He knows Katsuki won't back down from a challenge, has exploited that fact to get Katsuki to tutor him, to go out with him and their merry band of idiots, to attend movie night in the common room when he'd rather do anything else. He knows it's happening, but Katsuki is weak for one Kirishima Eijirou, so he lets himself be manipulated time and time again.
This time though, Katsuki's going to get his revenge.
Kirishima should be careful for what he wishes for.
In two quick strides, he bridges the distance between them and cages Kirishima in by placing his hands on either side of his head. Leaning down to crowd into his space, Katsuki grins, wild and mischievous. "You're my best friend. I like spending time with you and listening to you talk about whatever the hell crosses your mind. I like being around you and hanging out with you, even if it's just us sitting quietly doing our own shit in the same room. I like that you weaseled your way into my life despite every goddamn attempt I made to keep you out. I like you , Kirishima."
The words spill easily from Katsuki's lips because they're 100% true, but they're not honest. They're not Being around you relaxes me. They're not You feel like home or I can see a future with you. They're not I'm in love with you, Kirishima.
He's telling facts that feel like half-truths, baring only the tip of an iceberg of feelings he's harboring inside him. In the name of a challenge, he can be sincere without exposing the deeper truth. He can confess without truly showing all his cards. Just enough to fluster, to get back at the cheeky bastard for having Katsuki wrapped around his little finger.
"Oh, and one more thing?"
"Y-yeah?" Kirishima croaks, a pretty blush fanning out across his entire face and up to his ears as he swallows roughly.
"I like when your attention is on me."
Making a distressed noise, Kirishima slaps his hands over his bright red face and slides down the mattress to escape. "You're an asshole, Bakugou!"
Pushing himself away from the bed, cocky smirk pulling at his lips, Katsuki snorts. "You asked for it, dickhead. Now put on some fucking clothes so we can go! We have places to be and I can and will leave your ass behind." Except he won't. Today is all about him, after all.
Katsuki’s spent months planning this day down to the minute , even giving himself extra time in the morning to coax Kirishima and his annoyingly cute pout out of bed. Normally, Katsuki could be persuaded to sleep in a little more, get to the mountain a little later, but today is special and he needs everything to go exactly as planned.
Today is the day that Katsuki is going to confess at the summit of a mountain at sunset and it’s going to be perfect.
“Fine,” Kirishima drags out the word as he stands, shooting a glare over to Katsuki as he grabs his change of clothes and slips into Katsuki’s bathroom, face still as red as the mess of hair on his head.
Katsuki grabs his own set of clothes from where they’ve been laid out on his dresser and starts to layer up. Winter is on its way out and the cooler weather with it, but they’ll be arriving at the mountain early in the morning and the extra layers and gloves will provide the little bit of extra warmth they’ll need. Once they’ve worked up a sweat during their trek, they can deposit the extra layers into their backpacks and keep moving forward.
At least that’s what Katsuki planned; he can’t be sure that Kirishima had the same amount of foresight.
When Kirishima comes out wearing shorts over athletic leggings and a thin jacket over a tank top, Katsuki is visibly impressed, though he does zip up the jacket and grabs a puffy coat from his closet. Pulling the coat on over Kirishima’s other clothes, Katsuki chides, “You gotta layer more, idiot. Gonna be cold starting out.”
“Why do it myself when I can have you do it, Blasty?” he chirps, grinning wide as Katsuki scoffs.
“Lazy ass,” he grumbles as he winds a yellow scarf around his neck.
"Wait!" Kirishima cries, straightening the scarf, fingers lightly grazing the sensitive skin of Katsuki's neck. "There, now my favorite little firecracker won't get cold."
Based on how Kirishima's eyes widen after the words leave his mouth, Katsuki assumes he was aiming for a teasing tone, but the soft, affectionate look he pairs the words with makes them fall short of a joke. They're too sincere, too genuine.
It makes Katsuki's heart hammer in its cage.
And just like that, any lingering apprehension, any lingering doubt that his feelings aren't reciprocated dissipates with that look, with those words.
He'll deny it until the day he dies, but Katsuki smiles then, the rare sight hidden away behind soft yellow fabric.
Predictably, Kirishima falls asleep on the train and as Katsuki mindlessly scrolls through his social media—accounts he was forced into creating by Miruko despite his colorful protests—Kirishima’s head falls onto Katsuki’s shoulder. Once he finishes reading through a thread of Jirou and Sero roasting Kaminari, a small huff of amusement escaping his lips, Katsuki locks his phone and tucks it away in the pocket of his backpack. He rests his own head against the window behind him, letting the puffs of warm breath against his neck and Kirishima’s soft snores lull him to sleep as well.
Several hours later, Katsuki blinks awake as sunlight streams into the windows of the train and directly into his eyes. Based on the scenery racing past and the sun’s position in the sky, Katsuki guesses that they’re rapidly nearing their stop. Kirishima is still asleep, so he gently nudges the solid weight against his side and pointedly ignores the shiver that runs down his spine when Kirishima emits a pathetic whine and presses his face even further into Katsuki’s neck, lips lightly brushing his quickly warming skin. “Come on, idiot, our stop is coming up.”
“I don’t wanna,” he complains, earning an eye roll and another sharp nudge from Katsuki.
“Too fucking bad. We have places to be, so get your ass up.”
Kirishima yawns dramatically, prying himself away from Katsuki and stretching his arms above his head with another whine. “Fine, fine, I’m up, I’m up. Let’s go!” And just like that, Kirishima’s sleepiness is replaced with bright eyes and beaming eagerness, nearly vibrating as he starts spouting question after question about the hike ahead as they exit the train and make their way to the start of the trail.
Katsuki holds up a hand to stop the flood of questions pouring from Kirishima’s mouth so he can get a word in edgewise. “This trail isn’t for beginners; this is a little more intense than the others we’ve hiked. The view at the top is worth the bullshit though, trust me.”
“Always have, always will,” Kirishima quips, throwing an arm around Katsuki’s shoulders with a dazzling smile that unleashes a horde of angry butterflies in Katsuki’s stomach.
With a scoff, Katsuki pushes Kirishima away, who stumbles with a good-natured laugh and launches back into his endless stream of questions. Katsuki answers each with an occasional grunt or a quick explanation, content to listen to Kirishima talk enough for both of them as they trek their way up the mountain.
Several long, arduous hours later, when they’ve fallen into a companionable silence to appreciate the nature around them, their muscles aching pleasingly and sweat beading on their brows, that Katsuki shatters the peaceful quiet. “Y’know the name of this mountain range?”
Kirishima hums and offers a shrug in response, gripping his backpack a bit tighter as he tries to keep his balance on the loose rock on the trail.
“Kirishima.”
“I already told you I don’t know, man.”
Katsuki snorts. “I forgot you’re an idiot.” Once he clears a particularly steep shelf, fingers pleasantly and satisfyingly stinging from climbing the wall of rock, Katsuki extends a hand down to Kirishima with an amused huff. “No, Kirishima. These are the Kirishima Mountains.”
A scarred hand grasps Katsuki’s, its companion hardening into a fierce claw and digging into the rock above Kirishima’s head to get a solid hold, and together, they haul the redhead up and over the edge. Once he’s righted himself, Kirishima hunches over, clutching his side, and tries to catch his breath after letting out a deep groan. “‘A little more intense’?” he cries, recalling their earlier conversation. “This is way more intense than the other hikes we’ve been on together, dude. Are you trying to kill me? Is that the plan? You’re gonna leave me to die up here?”
“What, you’re not up for a manly challenge?” Katsuki goads, playfully sneering at his best friend who whines in response.
“Don’t use that against me, man!”
Katsuki rolls his eyes, huffing good-naturedly. “Just shut up and come on, we’re almost to the summit.”
"Really?" Kirishima perks up upon hearing that bit of good news and pushes past Katsuki in his excitement.
"Wait for me, idiot!"
Hearing Katsuki's call, Kirishima stops his enthusiastic march, hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah, sorry, man! I know you don't like people walking in front of you!"
Katsuki closes the distance between them and they easily fall into step side by side once more. "I don't mind if it's you," he murmurs, pointedly looking away from Kirishima's big searching eyes and willing the warmth in his cheeks away.
In his periphery, Katsuki watches as a wide grin blooms on Kirishima's face, but the redhead doesn't offer a cheeky retort as expected. He just smiles at Katsuki, then returns his focus to navigating the rocky terrain.
They slip back into their comfortable silence until they come upon a trail marker that declares they’ve reached the summit of the mountain. Kirishima sees the sign and brightens impossibly more, fishing his phone out of his pocket and tugging Katsuki in close to take a quick selfie of the two of them with it.
Holding up a peace sign for the camera, Kirishima tucks Katsuki under his arm with a huge grin, making sure to get the marker in the frame before taking the photo. Without releasing Katsuki from his hold, Kirishima examines the picture, then juts his lip out in a pout. “I blinked, we gotta try again,” he sighs, then plasters his smile back on his face and raises the phone to the proper angle.
This time, Katsuki decides to indulge and sneak a peek at his best friend in the moment before the selfie is taken. He cuts his eyes over to Kirishima and is met with a breathtaking view—molten gold sunlight dancing across the planes of Kirishima’s face, highlighting his tanned skin; his tiny scar above his big, gorgeous eyes; his smattering of freckles across his soft cheeks.
The shutter of the camera breaks Katsuki out of his reverie and he can’t even find it within himself to be upset about the fact that his unguarded moment was caught on film, too caught up in how fucking in love and lucky he feels in that moment.
His mind is fully jolted back to reality when Kirishima pulls away, raising his phone to take more photos of the sunset stretching out over the valley of luscious vegetation below, gasping and crying out about the view being absolutely beautiful as he bounces around excitedly.
Eyes never leaving Kirishima as he takes his place at his best friend’s side, Katsuki can’t help but think, yes, it is.
"Eijirou?"
His best friend stiffens upon hearing his given name on Katsuki's lips for the very first time. The reaction sends a nervous jolt down Katsuki's spine, makes goosebumps crawl up his arms.
"Yeah, Katsuki?" he replies, sounding as if he's testing the taste of the name on his tongue, testing if he's afforded this luxury in return.
"You—" Katsuki sighs, closes his eyes and focuses on the sunset burned into his eyelids to center himself, calm his ever growing anxiety. "You know I'm not good with this kind of shit. Like the real shit."
"I know," Eijirou says easily, small knowing smile gracing his lips, "but it's just me and we have all the time in the world, so just go at your own pace. There's no rush."
Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he tips his backpack off one shoulder and takes a knee, unzipping the largest pocket to pull out a worn Crimson Riot blanket and gently unfolds it on the ground. Scarred hands smooth out the corners, dust off stray blades of vibrant grass. Seemingly satisfied at last, he hums happily and turns to Katsuki. Crimson eyes catch carmine and crinkle in the corners, patient and placating and so damn familiar.
"It's just me," he repeats, quieter this time, as if he's worried to disrupt the standstill Katsuki's world has come to upon meeting those eyes, worried that if he says it too loud that the bubble they're suspended in will burst and send them plummeting into a shapeless unknown.
That intuition isn't far off, given the words Katsuki is trying to force past his teeth, clenched hard against his will. They're destructive, they're disruptive, they're destined to derail everything they've built together.
He doesn't want to do this. He doesn't want to destroy something so precious, so genuine and good, but graduation is so soon and if he doesn't finally get this weight off his chest after two and a half grueling years, he's going to have to claw his way into his rib cage and pry his heart from its home just to blow it up by his own hand instead of letting it get crushed under the burden of unrequited feelings.
He has to send them barreling into that shapeless unknown before he explodes under the pressure and becomes ground zero for an emotional devastation he's not sure they'll be able to recover from. At the very least, if Eijirou doesn't feel the same way, then he can finally move on. He can diffuse the bomb ticking away with every beat of his heart and wipe his sweaty brow with a shaky hand and walk away.
Hopefully towards a future in which Eijirou is still present, even if it's not in the way he hopes.
"Hey," a soft voice pulls him from his spiraling thoughts as gentle hands pull open his clenched fists, pry his fingers away from where nails have bitten into tough, calloused skin, "come sit down."
Katsuki lets himself be led to the blanket, mechanically sitting down on the very edge and drawing his knees to his chest. He's trying so hard to wrench those five words from his throat, send them spitting out into the summer air hanging heavy between them, but all that escapes is a frustrated groan as he watches the sun dip behind the far off trees and slowly plunge the world into a blanket of darkness. "I meant all that shit I said earlier," he begins, focusing on the deep reds and oranges and purples bleeding across the sky instead of on the man sitting next to him.
"I know, Katsuki."
"I don't say shit I don't mean, but fuck—" Katsuki scrubs a hand over his face, growling in frustration. He’s done a good job of not thinking about what he’d planned to do once they reached the summit, for once in his life appreciating the journey rather than the destination, and now he’s lost all the words he’s agonized for months to perfect. All it took was hearing Eijirou say his given name for him to be rendered completely speechless. How pathetic. "This is so fucking stupid!"
Scooting closer to Katsuki, Eijirou lays a hand on his best friend's arm, giving it a light squeeze. "How about I go first? I have some stuff I wanna say, too," he offers, giving a warm, reassuring smile that helps melt Katsuki's frozen state.
"Fine," he spits, but there's no bite in his tone as he picks at a stray thread on his jeans, pointedly not meeting Eijirou's eyes.
"Thank you for letting me come with you today. I know mountain climbing is really important to you and it really means a lot that you let me tag along. You’re my best friend, so seeing you so happy and relaxed, doing something you love—it makes me happy, man.”
Katsuki's face burns. "Don’t start with that sappy shit."
"No," he asserts, a steely look taking over his features, "I need to say this. Please let me say this."
"Fine," Katsuki relents.
“It always feels like an honor and a privilege to come with you, but today feels different—special—and you obviously have something planned, but there’s something I want to ask you first, if that’s okay.”
Katsuki’s stomach is in a freefall, his heart pounding so hard he’s sure Eijirou can hear it from where he’s sitting. “Go ahead,” he grumbles, trying to keep his voice from betraying how shaky he feels.
“We graduate soon and I just—I can’t imagine my life without you in it anymore. And I’ve tried, okay? I’ve tried imagining not having you wait outside my door to walk to class together, even though I, without fail, almost make us late every day and you hate being late. I’ve tried imagining not waking up at the crack of dawn on Sundays, our one day of rest, to spar with you, to take your Howitzers and get stronger together. I’ve tried imagining not having you right next door, on the other side of the wall. And I hate it. I hate what life looks like without you in it. I just—” he sighs, ruffles a hand through his loose bangs as he hangs his head, “I just wanna be by your side after we graduate. Hero partners, roommates—I don’t know, I’m not picky. I just want you in my life, Katsuki. However I can get you.”
"Marry me."
Big, round eyes somehow become even bigger, even rounder, as Eijirou emits a strangled noise.
Katsuki feels the world give way under his feet, suspended in that weightless moment before he's sent plummeting to the earth, as his own eyes widen when the two words he’s just thrown into the space between them register in his brain. "Fuck, I—Shit . That's not what I meant to say."
"Katsuki."
"I'm so goddamn stupid, that isn’t how I wanted to do this. Holy shit, I—"
"Katsuki."
"—I'm so sorry, Eijirou, fuck—"
"Katsuki!"
Warm hands come up to cradle Katsuki's face, force his gaze to snap to the front, wide and panicked as his eyes skate across Eijirou's features.
"Yes," he whispers, warm breath fanning against Katsuki's flushed skin and sending a shiver down his spine, sirens blaring in his head at their proximity. Eijirou's close enough to touch, to hold, to kiss, and Katsuki can't think of one single fucking thing outside of the desire to finally feel those soft lips against his after so damn long . " Yes, I'll marry you."
"Yes?" he parrots, because holy fuck, he has to be imagining shit because there's no way this is really happening; there's no way that 'I'm in love with you' got scrambled on his clumsy tongue and spilled from his venomous mouth as an unbidden request to be devoted to each other for the rest of their lives and was met with a resounding yes . Not from anyone and especially not from a man as strong, as kind, as good as Kirishima Eijirou.
"Yes," Eijirou laughs, fat tears spilling from his eyes as a smile as bright as the departed sun blooms across his face. "Holy shit, yes, I can't believe this. Is this really happening? Are you serious? If you're just messing with me, I won't hesitate to push you off this cliff, man. I'm not kidding, I really will. You better not be fucking with me because that's a dick move and I know you're a dick, but that's, like, a dick dick move and—"
Katsuki grabs the collar of Eijirou's shirt and slams their lips together to shut him up and give himself time to recover after this completely unforeseen turn of events. Sighing contentedly, Eijirou pulls Katsuki a little closer, cups his face a little tighter as he angles Katsuki's head a bit to deepen the kiss. That bomb embedded in Katsuki's chest finally detonates under the pressure of Eijirou's enthusiastic reciprocation, sending wave after wave of warmth bursting through Katsuki's body until every inch of him must be burning red hot like his palms before he ignites his quirk.
He's alight, glowing in the falling darkness of the cool spring night, and this feels like the greatest victory of his life, the only victory that truly matters.
When he pulls away, Eijirou shamelessly chases him, pressing one, two, three more pecks to his kiss-bruised lips and Katsuki's not sure he's going to be able to formulate two words in response with the static currently filling his head, but he'll try.
For Eijirou, he'll always try.
"I didn't fucking plan to drop that bomb until after I properly confessed and shit because I didn't want to scare you away, but no, I'm not fucking with you. I'm all in, Red. Cozy little apartment, marriage, hero partners, kids—all that stupid, sappy, terrible, wonderful shit. I want it all with you." Pressing his forehead against Eijirou's, he whispers, "I just want you. Forever."
"Katsuki," Eijirou breathes, sounding awed and delirious and so damn in love that Katsuki aches . “I’ve wanted this for so long, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Then don’t say anything and just kiss me.”
With a hearty laugh, Eijirou obliges and whispers against Katsuki’s lips, “That was pretty damn smooth, not gonna lie.”
“‘Course it was, dickhead,” he states, smirking before kissing Eijirou again. “What else did you expect?”
“Well,” Eijirou pulls away, looking contemplative, and Katsuki doesn’t bother hiding the disgruntled noise he makes because Eijirou’s lips are moving but not against his own. “You—”
“Don’t care.”
“Yeah! You don’t care about interacting with other people, so it makes sense that—”
“No, I don’t care about this conversation. I care about you kissing me until I can’t fucking breathe, so come here,” he growls out, yanking Eijirou forward and crashing their lips together once more. Eijirou makes a surprised noise, but quickly falls into the rhythm, the ebb and flow, of the kiss, enthusiastic and eager.
They keep at it until Katsuki is, as desired, completely out of breath and they’re forced apart for a short break and some much needed oxygen. Sighing happily, Eijirou pushes his legs out in front of him and leans into Katsuki, slipping a hand around his waist.
Soft pants are visible in the cool mountain air as they quietly enjoy the company of each other and the gorgeous scenery in front of them, watching the colors of the sunset slowly give way to navies and deep violets and a smattering of stars in silence.
Until—
"Took you long enough," Eijirou teases, popping their serene little bubble.
"Last I checked, you could've confessed too, bastard," he gripes, pressing a kiss to Eijirou's temple, earning a contented hum.
"Well, guess we'll just have to continue making up for lost time then, so kiss me, stupid."
Twining a hand in the impossibly soft, vibrant hair tied at the back of Eijirou's head, he tilts his fiancé's head up to meet his lips in a slow, tender kiss. "You're already stupid, you don't need me for that," he whispers against soft lips that he captures once more, pulling out Eijirou's hair band and deepening the kiss with a sigh.
Eijirou nips Katsuki's bottom lip lightly before pulling away, exasperated grin spread across his flushed face as he pushes a hand against Katsuki's chest to ease him into laying down on the soft blanket. "Such an asshole."
"Yeah and you're marrying me, so what's that say about you?"
The teasing look on Eijirou's face melts into one of overwhelming affection, eyes misty as he intertwines their fingers, bringing Katsuki's hand up to kiss the back and murmuring against the tough skin, "That I'm stupidly lucky."
Katsuki’s heart is an inferno in that moment, the sight of Eijirou smiling down at him, illuminated by the dying light of the sun, setting his heart on fire.
He’s never had something that he wanted to handle with care, always moved through life by forcefully pushing forward with teeth gritted and bared and unconcerned with the damage he left in his wake, but the way he reaches up to cradle Eijirou’s freckled cheeks is reverent, endlessly careful. Eijirou doesn’t need to be handled with delicacy, he’s shown over and over again that he can take the brunt of whatever life or Katsuki throws at him, but Katsuki finds that, for once in his life, he wants to be careful and it shows in the way that he gently pulls Eijirou down into a kiss, dangerous weapons holding soft cheeks.
With a happy sigh, Eijirou melts into the kiss, bringing one hand up to rest right above Katsuki’s heart, aflame and racing, and the other where his shoulder meets his neck. The way that Eijirou gently brushes his thumb along Katsuki’s jaw, back and forth, as he kisses Katsuki with everything he’s got makes Katsuki think that Eijirou might want to be careful, too.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he finds himself saying through gasped breaths when they pull apart.
“You idiot,” Eijirou admonishes, bowing forward to rest his forehead against Katsuki’s. “You could never hurt me.”
Squeezing Eijirou’s cheeks slightly, Katsuki frowns, brows furrowing. “I could blow your damn head off right now if I wanted to.”
“But I know you won’t,” he says, taking Katsuki’s left hand from his face and pressing a kiss to the palm before placing it above his own rapidly thrumming heart. “So, do your worst, Bakugou Katsuki. I’m unbreakable.”
A moment of silence passes between them, eyes searching for an ounce of doubt.
“Damn, that was fucking cheesy, Eijirou.”
With an exasperated snort, Eijirou lightly headbutts Katsuki and pushes himself up to stand, extending a hand towards his fiancé. “Can’t have one nice moment, huh?”
“Nope.” Katsuki takes the proffered hand with a feral grin. When he’s upright as well, he uses the hand still gripping his to pull Eijirou into another kiss, deciding then and there that kissing Eijirou is the only thing on earth that rivals the rush of winning a well-fought battle.
A disappointed sigh escapes Katsuki’s lips as they part for the final time. "We better get going, we don't want to navigate that trail in total darkness. Shit's dangerous,” he grumbles as he starts to collect their things, folding the blanket and returning it to Eijirou’s backpack.
"Does Aizawa know we'll be getting back late?"
"He knows we'll be back tomorrow, yeah." When he's met with a questioning look, Katsuki's lips pull into a smug smirk. "There's an onsen at the foot of the mountain. Supposed to be one of the very best. I booked a room for the night."
“Wow, a hotel room on the first date, Katsuki? That’s moving awfully fast,” Eijirou teases, breaking out into genuine laughter when Katsuki shoots an unamused glare over his shoulder.
“We just got engaged.”
“Still!”
Pulling his backpack on and tossing Eijirou’s to him, Katsuki doesn’t stop the small smile that pulls at his lips as he says, “Let’s just go, you idiot.”
Brandishing the room key he received from the overly peppy woman working the onsen’s front desk, Katsuki huffs out a laugh as he approaches Eijirou, who is patiently waiting by the floor-to-ceiling windows and admiring the view of the mountains. "Good thing you accepted the proposal. Would've been awkward as fuck sharing a bed after being rejected."
"Aw, it's just like I-Island!" Eijirou coos, slinging an arm around Katsuki's broad shoulders as they make their way towards their room.
After they locate their room and deposit their bags on the carpeted floor, Eijirou plops down on the queen-size bed with an exhausted huff.
Katsuki rolls his eyes at the display, small smile pulling at his lips as he closes the distance between them and situates himself between Eijirou's legs hanging off the end of the bed. "Get up, idiot, your gross ass is gonna dirty up the sheets."
“But Katsuki,” he whines, sitting up just enough to grab Katsuki’s hands and pull the blond on top of him, “I'm so tired. Can't we go enjoy the hot springs in the morning?"
"Absolutely fucking not. I'm not getting into this bed a nasty, sweaty mess and neither are you."
Eijirou presses kiss after kiss up Katsuki's jaw until he reaches his ear and murmurs, "You sure I can't convince you?"
Pushing Eijirou's face away, doing his best to suppress the shiver Eijirou's kisses caused, Katsuki clicks his tongue and tries to keep his voice even. "Didn't you just say you're too tired?"
"Never too tired for you, baby."
"God, you're insufferable."
"Aw, you don't mean that!" he cries, wrapping his arms around Katsuki in a hug and kissing his cheek.
"I really do," Katsuki replies, but the way he leans into the touch betrays his true thoughts.
Eijirou pecks Katsuki once more on the cheek, then travels down to capture his mouth in another kiss with a happy hum.
After a few quiet moments exchanging kisses, Eijirou pulls away and Katsuki shamelessly chases him, pressing a swift kiss to the corner of his mouth before he speaks again. "Y'know, this place is really beautiful, Katsuki. We should come back here for our honeymoon." A sly look finds its home on Eijirou’s face, eyebrows wiggling suggestively as his voice takes on a sultry purr, "Then we could dirty up the sheets another wa—"
Katsuki slaps a hand over his dumb fiancé’s mouth, bright blush travelling from his cheeks all the way up to his ears. "Shut the hell up! You’re fucking ridiculous!"
Eijirou’s muffled melodic laugh rings out from behind Katsuki’s hand, his head falling back against the comforter to smile up at Katsuki, eyes glinting with mirth. “Red is a great color on you, Katsuki.”
“You think you’re hot shit, huh?”
“Oh, I know I am.” Eijirou shrugs, smirk never leaving his face. "And you’re easy to fluster,” he snickers.
Katsuki groans, long and loud, and kisses Eijirou hard on the mouth. “Keep talking that shit and see if you have a boyfriend at the end of the night.”
“Fiancé,” Eijirou corrects.
“Soon-to-be ex-fiancé,” Katsuki snipes back, kissing him one, two, three more times.
Eijirou’s warm hand glides up Katsuki’s back to rest between his shoulder blades and hold him even closer. “You’re being very convincing right now,” he whispers, laughing softly when Katsuki bites his lower lip in retaliation.
“Let’s just go, asshole,” he growls, placing both hands on Eijirou’s chest and pushing himself up to stand. “The baths close soon and I don’t want to hear your ass whining and crying about being sore tomorrow.”
When Eijirou opens his mouth, that mischievous look back on his face, Katsuki snarls out a “Don’t you dare, ” and stomps out of the room, followed by Eijirou’s self-satisfied cackles.
It’s later, when the two of them are alone under the stars, the heavens stretching above them as steam rolls across the water, that Eijirou breaks their companionable silence with a tentative, "Hey, Katsuki?"
Katsuki tears his eyes from Orihime and Hikoboshi, the star-crossed lovers from legend, and looks at his best friend. Eijirou’s eyes are sparkling, the expanse of stars above their heads reflecting in them, and Katsuki finds himself unable to look away from the ethereal sight as he hums to show he's listening.
With a soft smile, Eijirou finds Katsuki’s hand under the water and gives it a squeeze, resting his head on Katsuki’s shoulder. "I love you."
Letting his head rest on top of Eijirou’s, Katsuki gives his hand a light squeeze back as he gazes back up at the stars. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too, idiot."