omg that bakugo fic was absolutely amazing and I def need more! Although for today I want to request a fluffy kirishima where they've been going out for quite a while and kirishima is trying to figure out how to say I love you to reader? Thank you so much you rock!
The orange lanterns painted an otherworldly picture against the inky blue of the night, the sound of their gentle swaying drawn out by the scraping of wooden sandals against stone and the playful shouting of the vendors at their food stalls.
Kirishima had his nose up, his dark blue kimono leaving an open strip of tanned skin down his collarbones and chest. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, but no stars to count either; only two small, luminescent dots, one white and one blue, hovered close to each other as if seeking comfort from loneliness. He suddenly wanted to see you, so much so that he had to sink his nails into his palms to keep from sprinting past the crowd and the stalls in a desperate search for you. So much so that he was about to burst out of his skin.
Restless, he lowered his eyes back to the sea of people in front of him. So many smiles and yet none of them was as beautiful as yours. What color would your yukata be? Should he buy you a gift while he waits? Damn, he wanted to see you…
“Dude, are you okay?” Kaminari’s voice cut into his thoughts, shattering the pretty, angelic, pure mental image of you Eijiro was drooling over. Kirishima shot his friend an awkward smile, reaching up to run a hand through his spiky hair.
“Yeah! I’m good! I’m doing just great!” He forced out a laugh, a thin layer of sweat coating his forehead as Kaminari raised an eyebrow. Realizing how pathetic his attempt at playing it cool had sounded, Kirishima watched helplessly as his friend’s face contorted into a knowing smirk.
“Ah, I get it. Can’t wait to see the wife, eh?”
Red Riot almost choked on his saliva, his face heating up until it was the same exact color as his hair. Being the shameless imp that he was, Denki had taken to calling you ‘Kirishima’s wife’ ever since the two of you had started dating, which was not only incredibly embarrassing, but also a pain in the ass to keep it a secret from you. More often than not, Eijiro would have to quickly cover your ears, sputtering something ambiguous and flushing a bright scarlet while Kaminari cackled like a witch. The way you would innocently look up at him in confusion would only make your poor boyfriend more agitated, and more inclined to go beat the crap out of his stupid friend.
“Of course I want to see my girlfriend…” Kirishima’s cheeks colored lightly as he muttered.
Denki’s bitter tone of voice made Eijiro smile. He was lucky indeed to have you. The day he asked you out was a memory fiercely burned behind his eyelids, the same fear, anxiety and trepidation he felt as he bared his heart to you bubbling in his chest every time he went back to it. The time Kirishima had spent with you had been nothing but heavenly, like a long dream he never wanted to wake up from. And maybe he was getting ahead of himself, the thought of rushing things and scaring you away prickling his side like an icy shard the more passionate his feeling grew. His ‘I like you’ had seamlessly turned into an ‘I love you’ that danced on the tip of his tongue whenever you would smile up at him. Your sweet chuckles threatened to pull it out of him at the most inappropriate times, and Eijiro would often find himself shaking as he strained to keep his feelings in check. He wasn’t a man, he was a big fat coward.
But he wanted to tell you he loved you. He loved you more than anything, more than he’d ever thought he’d be able to love, and more than he’d ever care to love after you.
“Oh, it looks like the girls are finally here.” Kirishima barely registered Iida’s words. His head turned so fast he almost made himself dizzy. Almost, because the sight of you took care of turning his world upside down.
He didn’t know loving someone could pull you out of a moment, the picturesque lights growing dim behind your shoulders as he lost track of his surroundings. The cheerful voices buzzing all around him had faded as if his ears were full of cotton. Your shy expression he could see peeking out from behind a paper fan made him forget how to breathe, a sharp pain in his chest reminding Eijiro that he needed air to survive. He inhaled sharply as you approached him, his hands curling into fists.
“Good evening, Eiji-kun.” The hesitant way you called his name made his heart pick up the pace, sturdy arms relaxing as he settled into the familiar, cozy feeling that washed over him whenever you were near.
You were the most beautiful person at that festival, and possibly every other festival you were not attending, and Kirishima was ready to fist fight anyone who dared to say otherwise. Yaoyorozu had gifted you and the other girls some expensive yukata, and still, the impressive final bill didn’t even make a microscopic dent in her family’s bottomless wallet. The shiny fabric hugged your body in an elegant posture that made your legs look longer. The underside of your sleeves was stretched out like those of a kimono fit for court-ladies, fluttering behind you like the wings of a butterfly with each small step you took on your platform geta, the wood of your footwear painted a brilliant black that made you look like a kokeshi doll.
“You’re beautiful.” Kirishima stared at you with a serious expression on his face, the intensity behind his gaze conveying his feelings in full. He grinned as your cheeks grew hot, his heart-stopping smile doing nothing to soothe your sudden embarrassment.
You had this cute way of holding his hand that made Kirishima want to cry. Blessed, he was blessed as you wrapped your small fingers around his pinky, the innocent, delicate touch sending not-so-pure heat up his entire arm.
He was worried you might have been mad at him for suddenly grasping your hand and making a mad dash into the colorful crowd and away from your group of friends. As you both were catching your breaths, he apologized for making you run in such uncomfortable clothes, and you had nearly stopped his heart, huffing and puffing that it was okay because you wanted to be alone with him too.
“You couldn’t be anymore perfect.” Kirishima gave you a sidelong glance. You bit into the candy apple he bought you, the sugary glace shimmering around your lips; your boyfriend almost fell to his knees.
“You shouldn’t say things like that…” You looked away, focusing on your apple instead of the gentle warmth spreading to your ears.
“It’s the truth!” He chuckled, swinging your joined hands like a happy child, “So, what do you wanna do next?”
You raised your eyes to the sky as you thought, your sweet treat resting against your mouth, “Actually, there’s a stall I wanted to check out…”
The mask stall had always been your favorite, ever since you were a kid. You weren’t scared of even the most grotesque faces, trying on as many as you could and playing silly charades with your parents. Even as a child, you liked to cover up your face and play superhero and villain.
“I didn’t know you were interested in these kind of things.” Kirishima grinned fondly as you looked up at the handmade masks carefully displayed on the large wooden stand.
“Well, I like hand-crafted things in general…” You hummed, “You can really feel the love and passion the maker puts into creating them. Somehow it makes it more special, you know?” You lovingly ran a finger down the red details on the white, sturdy fox mask you were holding, your words eliciting a big smile from the elderly vendor, “The paint job on these is really nice…”
“Hey (name)?” You turned your head towards your boyfriend and your hand shot up to suppress a cackle.
Kirishima was holding an oni mask next to his face, mouth open to bare his jagged teeth in what you guessed was his best scary face, but with his hair making little horns on his head and his innocent, bright eyes blinking at you, he just looked downright adorable.
“No!” You chuckled, playfully flicking his forehead, “You’re much more handsome.” Kirishima’s cheeks colored and he quickly hid behind the mask, his shoulder sagging as he heard your laugh grow louder.
He was going to tell you. He was gonna do it. Kirishima gulped and sneakily wiped his sweaty palms over his folded knees. The two of you were currently sitting on the grass near the riverbank, waiting for the fireworks to start. Well, he was.
Eijiro wouldn’t let you sit on the ground; you had insisted that you were fine, but he was adamant about you not dirtying your kimono. While you looked for a quiet spot away from the bigger part of the crowd, he went and bought you a pink towel; Kirishima had carefully laid it on the ground and helped you kneel on it, making sure no inch of you was touching the slightly wet grass, before settling next to you like a country boy next to a princess.
While your pretty face was raised to the sky, the fledgling hero next to you was having a mild existential crisis. The tingly feeling of your elbow touching his was not making it any easier to think, and Kirishima already knew he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything but the sweet, sweet scent wafting from your hair even as he tried his hardest to formulate a proper confession in his head.
Eijiro didn’t notice when the fireworks started, too busy looking at you to care. How could he possibly convey all the emotions that swirled in his chest every time he looked at you without sounding like a needy, desperate idiot? He watched as you ran your tongue over your lower lip and licked his own out of reflex, wondering if you were still tasting sugar.
Engrossed as you were in the glittering show above you, the crinkly sparks coloring the sky before falling down like burning stars, you didn’t notice him leaning towards you to whisper something in your ear, his warm breath on your sensitive skin sending little shivers down your neck.
“Sorry Eiji, what did you-” You turned around to find him inches from your lips and your heart stopped. The lights above illuminated his profile, coloring the intense flame in his eyes with intermittent reds, blues and greens. He sneaked an arm around your back, gripping the fabric of your kimono tightly as his other hand nervously tugged at the grass, resting his forehead on yours as he inhaled slowly.
The serious expression on his boyish features tempted you to wrap your arms around him and never let go, his scarlet hues melting into pure honey as he took in every detail of your beautiful face before resting on your cherry lips, the sweetness in his gaze turning into eager need.
“I love you. There is so much of you inside my head…” He sounded almost pained, his brows furrowing as his eyes prickled, “I want to be the man who protects you and makes you happy, I can’t even imagine a future without you by my side anymore…Wh- I mean, i-it’s fine if you don’t feel the same way yet! I can wait for you forever…so…” His cheeks had started to heat up, he only hoped you wouldn’t notice in the dark.
But you did, and with a smile playing on your lips, you reached up to gently run your thumb across his cheek, noticing the way his jaw had sharply clenched with tension.
Of course you loved him, how could you not? Kirishima was a sweetheart, a beautiful, courageous soul willing to do just about anything for you. You knew that if you were to drop something in the river, he would wade in the cold waters all night to find it, placing himself and his needs in second place always. It was up to you to take care of him, to make sure that he was cherished like he deserved.
“I love you too, silly.” You interrupted his nervous ramblings, making him go quiet as a statue. The starstruck look on his face was priceless, and you had to hold on tight to your self-control to avoid bursting into giggles right in front of him.
“Wha-what? You do?!” He tried to pull away but you didn’t let him, playfully tugging at the front of his kimono and letting your fingers brush against the exposed skin of his sturdy chest, not missing the shiver that shook him as you placed your soft lips on his. You felt him sigh into the kiss, his strong arm pushing you closer to his warm body as the fireworks blazed above you.
You hesitantly pulled away, resting your forehead against his. Kirishima closed his eyes in pure bliss, the biggest, happiest, dopiest grin you’d ever seen playing on his lips. You didn’t need to be a mind reader to know your boyfriend was this close to pulling you up and into his arms, spinning you around as he physically struggled to contain his euphoria.
No sooner had that thought took root in your mind that you were suddenly lifted up in a hard embrace. Onlookers be damned, he didn't stop there, throwing you up and catching you as if you weighted nothing and scaring the wits out of you as he laughed a loud, powerful laugh and smooched your little head.